I hit the tunnel’s wall at random, blocking out the sound of the approaching boulder. It must be here somewhere…

“Left hoof. Three bricks down, one to the right.”

Oh, darkness below, I know that voice. I hit the brick and, of course, the gate opens; miss perfect can never be wrong. I fly out of the deathtrap, more than a few seconds to spare for a change, and hover in front of the tall white alicorn, wishing my glare to burrow right through her heart.

“This is the third time this year. You were never this careless.”

“Leave me alone.” I start to turn.

“Why so much anger, my —”

“If you call me ‘my little pony’ one more time, I swear, I will tie your muzzle,” I yell, whip in hoof.

“As you wish, daughter of the Domini house.” Our eyes meet, her face locked in her impenetrable princess facade. “I would have expected you to be over that old incident. Though it was your greatest discovery —”

“After all I have lost, you think I care about some dusty old fountain? I have seen everypony and everything I once held dear turn to dust! How could anypony understand what is it like, feeling like a discarded relic without a place?” I turn away from her eyes. “How could you, who can have anything you desire, understand?”

The lengthening silence burns in my ears, and slowly I glance back at Celestia. Her gaze is now distant, fixed at something high above me. The Mare in the Moon, I know without looking, and my anger is submerged in a sea of guilty. “I didn’t…”

“Hush, my…” She pauses, and for a moment I cringe, until her princess mask falls away. “Niece. I understand. Even the part about relics,” she finishes with a wink. “Might it be that you now see why I had to destroy your finding?”

“Yes,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. Forcing a smile, I add, “Whoever said time cures all never had to deal with eternal life.”

“No way,” she mimics me with a smile, and we both start laughing. Goodness, I needed this.

Memories flood back, and the next words leave a bitter taste. “Then why did you let me find it in the first place? Why protect me along the way, preventing anyone else from finding where I was going, only swoop down to destroy the fountain after I had drunk from it?”

There is something different in her eyes, a glimmer that is not her usual kindness, as she says, “You always sold yourself short. Did you ever consider that I had neither horn nor hoof in veiling you from the Gryphon Empire spies? Or that you successfully hid from me and my agents?”

My jaw almost drops as I look at her. Could Celestia be admitting she failed? “Still, you could have told me what immortality was like,” I answer weakly.

“I could. And would that rebellious filly, the one that always ruined her dresses playing roughly and though everything we old crones said was just to control her, paid any heed?”

“... I guess not,” I say, and we stay quiet for a while, two ponies that know what true loss feels like.

She breaks our revelry with a cough, and says, “I could use your help back in Canterlot, you know. I could even reinstate your noble title…”

“No!”, I say, crossing my hooves. “Thank you for the offer, but I don’t want to go back. I could never fit. And Florence D’Aria Domini is a dumb name anyway.”

“Indubitably,” she says, though her sagging eyebrows betray her feelings.

“But I could visit you from time to time. Tell you about my adventures. Maybe even see our family, the ones not yet stuck up at least; I heard I have a new baby grandson named Blueblood.”

She pauses for a moment, and I can almost hear something go ’click’ inside her head. “Why not tell more ponies of your adventures?”

“You mean, as in a theatre?” I ask, taking a step back. “I’m not a people’s pony, it would never work.”

“I was thinking about books.”

“Still won’t work,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m an explorer, not a writer.”

“Time is the one thing we never lack. I know a good teacher, in a few years…”

“Whoa, wait a sec. You want me to go to some school like, like a yearling?”

Celestia just smiles.