Dinner was quickly concluded. Once the table had been cleared, Barb flew up to her room to get something, leaving Spike and Smolder alone in the kitchen.
"Spike, are you ok? You haven't said a word about your visit." Smolder didn't need to say any more. Spike knew she was talking about his trip to the graveyard.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Although, Barb wants me to talk about them with her. She thinks it'll make me feel better. She's right, of course, but I could use your company for that. I'm not…" He choked back a quick sob. "I'm not sure I could handle that by myself."
"Of course, Spike. Don't forget, they were my friends too."
After a few more minutes, Barb descended the stairs to find both of her parents waiting for her in the living room. She took a seat beside her father and quickly revealed what she had gone upstairs to receive: the Book of Memories. It had been a gift for Twilight from her friends on her coronation day. It had been Twilight's most cherished possession for decades, so when she died, she left it to Spike in her will. Upon seeing it, Spike's face morphed into a sad smile.
"Thanks, Barb. This will certainly help." Barb handed the book over to him and he opened it up at the first page.
Barb had been correct. Reminiscing about Twilight and the others was certainly putting Spike in a better mood. They had been talking about them for a couple of hours now, and she had seen him laugh for the first time in weeks. However, there was one topic she had noticed he had been avoiding. She knew she was about to play a risky game, but she knew that if he kept it bottled up, then this joviality wouldn't last.
"Dad, how did they… die?" Instantly, Smolder glared at her.
"Barb!" However, she calmed down when Spike put a claw on her shoulder.
"No, no, it's alright. I can't avoid talking about it forever." Once everyone had relaxed again, and once Spike had taken a deep breath, he spoke.
"Well, to get the full story, we'd need to start a lot earlier."
It had been a week since Twilight had been crowned as Equestria's new ruler. So far, apart from her rather disastrous coronation, things were going pretty smoothly. Celestia had been training her for this for years, after all. She knew what she was doing. Well, mostly. That was why she was currently on a trip to Silver Shoals, the retirement community where Celestia and Luna now lived. Accompanying her was Spike, sticking by her side as always.
Celestia and Luna were, of course, living in one of the largest buildings at Silver Shoals. It was still a massive downgrade from the luxury they had grown used to in Canterlot Castle, but neither of them were really complaining. They hadn't been expecting company, but they were nonetheless more than happy to welcome Twilight and Spike.
"Twilight! Spike! Welcome! How have you been handling your first week?"
"Just fine, thank you. Nothing I can't manage so far. I just have one more question remaining that I hope you can answer for me."
"Of course, Twilight. We'd be more than happy to help you figure out any queries you have about ruling Equestria."
"Actually, it's not that. I want to know about me." Celestia and Luna shared a confused glance, before looking back at Twilight.
"I'm sorry?"
"That didn't come out quite right. It's about being an alicorn."
"Alright. What would you like to know?"
"Well, to put it simply: am I immortal like you two now? I know Cadence and Flurry Heart are both growing older as alicorns, and I know that I was as well, but I don't know exactly what the rules are."
"Hmm. That is an interesting question, Twilight. But, first I need to clarify that being immortal doesn't mean you suddenly stop aging. Luna and I were born as alicorns before Equestria had even been founded, and we continued growing older until we had been ruling Equestria for almost twenty years. Therefore, there is a chance that all five of us are immortal, but there is also a chance that that's not the case. If you recall when Flurry was born, we told you that the birth of an alicorn in Equestria was beyond our understanding. Flurry is still the only natural-born alicorn that we have seen in Equestria, and we aren't even sure if she's immortal or not. But, in the case of yourself and Cadence, you were not natural-born alicorns. You became alicorns because you were both deemed worthy of it. It is true that we are immortal, but we are not sure of the exact rules either. I'm sorry, Twilight, but I do not know if you possess immortality like we do. We do not know if the immortality is just part of being an alicorn, or if it's linked to the crown, or if it's dependent on how one became an alicorn. Although, maybe Star Swirl would know. He's the only other pony alive today who has any knowledge about the Land of Alicorns, so maybe he knows something more for you."
"I see. Thank you, Celestia. I need to get back to Canterlot soon, so I can't stay long." Twilight stood to leave.
"Wait, Twilight. Before you go, why do you want to know this so soon?" There was a moment of silence, and the expression on Twilight's face was enough to cause concern for the two sisters. The moment was short-lived, before Twilight finally responded.
"No reason." Once again, the sisters shared a worried glance upon hearing the obvious lie, but, for now, Celestia decided not to press the issue any further.
"Alright, Twilight. Please take care, and say hello to the others for me." For a brief moment, Celestia could have sworn she saw that dark expression return to Twilight's face when she mentioned the others, but it was so brief that she thought nothing of it.
"I will. Thank you for having us. It was a pleasure seeing you both." With that, Twilight and Spike walked through the door before taking to the skies for the long flight back to Canterlot.
Now things are moving! This will be how the rest of the story will be: we'll have brief glimpses back to Spike and his family now and again, but the main meat of the story from now on will be based in the 'flashback' timeline. Another narrative trick that I thought I'd try out. Hope it's a good one! Feel free to let me know how you feel about this style in the reviews or PMs, along with any questions you'd like me to answer. But, for now, that's all from me! See you in the next chapter! Ciao for now!
OnTheSpectrum
