The Bitterness of Mortality

 The Bitterness of Mortality is a fanfic written by SilverSolstice. The story can be found on FIMFiction, it is sad and set in an alternate universe where Twilight Sparkle becomes an Alicorn when she is old.

Style
The Bitterness of Mortality is written in third person.

Summary
Whether by the sword or the slow decay of time, Shining Armor will die.

Storyline
The story starts out with the narrator telling about Shining Armor's mortality and that Princess Cadance is a Goddess of Love and immortal because of the powerful magic Alicorns have and they hardly age. They also cannot share their power with other ponies (not even for a spouse). Princess Cadance chooses not to think of what will happen to Shining Armor and uses her magic to treat the symptoms of his aging.

Then one day when Shining Armor was over one hundred years old, Cadance teleportes to Canterlot with her semi-conscious husband screaming for Princess Celestia to help. When Celestia asks Cadance what had happened, Cadance explains that Shining Armor had collapsed and that he wasn't waking up, even after Cadance tried all the magic spells she knows. She asks her aunt what was wrong with Shining Armor, Celestia (remembering a lover that she had lost) explains to Cadance that Shining Armor is dying.

Cadance begs Celestia to save him, but Celestia explains that he is beyond their help. Cadance tries to reminds her that she is the most powerful unicorn in Equestria, Celestia explains that even she has no power over death and that alicorn magic couldn't be shared with the pony they love. Cadance refusing to accept the truth tries desperately to save her husband and begging him not to leave her forever. Then Shining opens his eyes and weakly replies "Mi Amori Cadenza.  My Love Cadance.  Goodbye.”  Then he dies.  Cadance tries to bring him back, but he never woke up.  She then hugged her dead husbands body and screamed to the top of her lungs with sorrow.  When the guards and others rush in to see what had happened, Princess Celestia holds them back and tells them to let her be.

Following Shining Armor's funeral at the Crystal Empire, Princess Cadance overcome with grief locks herself away from the her kingdom and her daughter Princess Skyla.

Twilight Sparkle comes to visit Cadance, even though she has lost her brother, her parents, and her friends (the mane six); Twilight in her old age has come to the conclusion that her end will come soon. She finds Cadance outside on the balcony with her fur, feathers, mane and tail were disheveledand asks if she needs anything to eat, when she doesn't answer Twilight begins to leave when she hears Princess Cadance call out to her. She asks Twilight if their is an afterlife. Twilight says that is possible if "there’s a level of reality above our own" and she brings up a joke about talking apes, but Cadance tells her that she is being serious. Twilight apologies and explains that a ponies consciousness  to transcend to their level of reality upon death or the fact that their world that they live in is a dream.

She tells Cadance about Pinkie Pie and how she had magic in her despite the fact she was an Earth Pony. Twilight then tells Cadance that Pinkie proved to her that their world was a dream by going into a portal that only allowed them to go a certain length of the portal and Pinkie explains that only a soul can travel further into the other world. Twilight cries at the thought of their world being only a dream, and she asks Pinkie why she was still happy despite knowing the truth. Pinkie laughs and says "Because it is a game silly!" Twilight relised that Pinkie choose to make ponies happy, despite knowing what she knew about the truth about their world being just a dream and that Twilight should live up to her goals in life. But she worries that her friends might not know her when she see's them on the other side.

Cadance reminds Twilight that not all dreams fade away and she begins to weep over the fact she never wanted to be a Goddess and that she only wished she was a mortal. She worries that she will become like Celestia and not form the simplest of friendships and that she will be alone forever. Twilight reminds her of  Celestia, Princess Luna, her daughter, and Spike will be there for her. Cadance calls Spike a "plot-hole", Twilight explains that Spike is not a plot-hole but a dragon and that dragons lack the social skills of more gregarious species. But Spike still has a good heart.

Cadance apologies to Twilight but she reminds Twilight that she isn't a dragon. She is the Goddess of love who must live on with somepony to love. She then asks Twilight if she envy's her for being a Goddess. Twilight says yes and explains that she loves Equestria and she has saved it a couple of times, she admits that she miss her parents, her friends, and her brother; however she see's Celestia has her second mother and Spike her younger brother and she only wishes she could stay with them longer. Cadance tells her that Celestia loves her as well, but she believes that Twilight's death will bring her grief.

Twilight explains to her that she cannot spare Celestia from her loss, but Cadance use her magic to envelope her body and she tells her she can give her a trade. A trade of her immortal life to be given to Twilight, but Twilight realises that Cadance will die if she give away her powers. Cadance explains that Skyla can take over the Empire and live on like Celestia and Luna and endure until the end of time. Twilight begs her to stop and tries to talk her out of it, but Cadance tells her that her life is worthless without Shining Armor and she cannot take anymore death of anypony she loves. She also hopes that she'll find Shining Armor and that she knew that she was going to give up her powers once Shining Armor died and that she only trusted Twilight with her immortal powers. She goes on to say that Twilight would be a far better Goddess than her, because she is a hero of Equestria and her new immortal life is a gift to all ponies including Celestia.

Then Cadance says "Goodbye Twilight. Please don’t waste my gift to you. Make my aunt happy, and Equestria proud.”  With that Cadance's horn touches Twilight horn and she dies when her body disintegrated into blue dust and her magic is transferred into Twilight Sparkle.

After the transformation; Twilght is now younger, tireless, longer horn, and she is around Luna's hight. Celestia teleports to the Crystal Empire having felt the spell that ended Cadance's life.

Twight breaks down into tears and apologies to Celestia telling her that she tried to stop Cadance from doing this and begs her not to hate her. But Celestia is overcome with tears of joy, explaining to Twilight that it was Cadance's choice and that she is with Shining Armor, however she tells Twilight that she must not do what Cadance had done for her and that she'll stay with her forever and be her most faithful student.

Princess Twilight Sparkle, Goddess of Magic, and Friendship says yes.

Links
The Bitterness of Mortality (FIMfiction page)