What Could Be: Or How I Learned That The Mind Can Go In Many Directions

by BronyWriter

Rating: teen
Tags: Original Character, Adagio Dazzle, Suicide / Self Harm, Mane-iac, Violence, Diamond Tiara, Anthology, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 11079

The possible ending of several BronyWriter stories

A supervillain who strives to better her city. A scammer with higher aspirations. A bully given one last chance. A defeated villain at a crossroads. A human-turned-pony with one last desperate attempt. A candy maker trying to stop a mailmare. All have multiple paths before them. Will they help, or will they hurt? Will they improve, or will they descend into a worse state than before?

These are pseudo-sequels to several of my one-shots and short stories portraying possible endings or continuations. None of them are canon. Or are they? They could be. They could not be.
Featuring
I Think I Maybe Want to be a Scammer, I Promise?
Mortality
One Word
Broken Gladiator
Don't Go Into the Everfree Forest, TD
Stop the Derpy!

Forewarning: not all of these are going to be dark drama.

Published 2020-02-03 21:30:02 UTC
Last updated 2020-02-03 21:30:02 UTC

Mortality--Anger

Adagio made the drive back to her apartment, her gaze flicking to her cellphone every so often. Just one talk with Sunset Shimmer couldn't hurt, right? Just sitting down for coffee for half an hour and getting possibly stupid goody two-shoes advice. Adagio pulled into her parking spot and groaned.

Just one call.

She sighed and grabbed her cellphone, flipping it open and scrolling through the contacts. She felt some sense of relief that she'd grabbed the numbers of Sunset and her friends just in case she needed to track them down, or something. She reached Sunset's number and moved her thumb over to the call button.

She paused, her thumb hovering over it. Maybe it would be a waste of time. Maybe Sunset didn't want to even talk to her. Though, Adagio considered, she did like her redemptions. She was just about to snap the phone shut when her conversation with Sonata echoed through her mind again.

You're going to die, Sonata. I'm going to die. Have you really, truly realized that? Has it even set in at all?

I realize it every day. No, I'm not going to live forever. Then again, who does? Best thing is to be happy.

Best thing is to be happy.

She took a deep breath and pushed the call button. She brought the phone up to her ear and subtly flinched when she heard the ringing. No going back now. The phone didn't ring more than three times before somebody answered.

"Hello, this is Sunset."

Adagio grimaced, but cleared her throat and straightened up in her seat. "Hello, Miss Shimmer. This is... Adagio Dazzle. One of the Dazzlings. That tried to... take over the world."

Adagio grimaced, squeezed her eyes shut, and pinched the bridge of her nose. Not the best way to start. She didn't hear anything from the other side of the call for a few moments, but just as she was about to speak again, Sunset spoke up.

"Um... hi. Yeah, hi. Uh... how did you get this number?"

Adagio rubbed the back of her neck. "Canterlot High school directory. I wasn't even sure this was still your number."

"Alright. Makes sense." Another pause. "So what can I do for you, Adagio?"

Adagio sighed and considered hanging up, but for whatever reason her hand wouldn't move her phone away from her ear to disconnect the call. "Well, I was hoping that we could... talk about things. I'm in kind of a rough place in my life, and I was hoping that, you know, as somebody who once tried to take over the world yourself, I thought that you might have some tips on how to get through things. I don't have any powers anymore, obviously. I don't have anyone to turn to."

"Really? You want my help?" Adagio opened her mouth to respond, but Sunset cut her off. "That's great! I'd love to talk to you. Yeah, I had kind of a rough go of it right after I tried to take over, even with my friends, so I totally get what you're going through. How do you feel about coffee? Tomorrow at the Skybucks on Brandywine and Fifteenth?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," Adagio replied. "Eleven?"

"Eleven it is! Definitely looking forward to it. I know better than anyone what you're going through. We all need friends, right?"

"Yeah," Adagio muttered. "See you then."

"See you then! Definitely looking forward to it."

"Sure. Me too."

With that, Adagio hung up the call. She snapped it shut and leaned against the steering wheel, staring ahead at the door to her apartment. She lightly bounced the hand with her cellphone in it. She could call Sunset. Call the whole thing off. Put it off or pretend like none of it ever happened. The article, the meeting with Sonata, or calling Sunset. Just go back to the way things were, as dull and unfulfilling as it was.

When are you going to learn that going through life with the help of someone else isn't weakness? We're not going to live forever, Adagio. We can't do this alone.

Adagio groaned and got out of the car, trying to mentally prepare herself for the meeting with Sunset tomorrow.

* * * *

Adagio pulled into a parking spot opposite the coffee shop and turned her car off. She glanced at the clock on the dashboard. Eleven ten. She scanned the tables and chairs outside of the shop, and her stomach clenched when she spotted Sunset Shimmer sitting at one of the tables opposite an empty chair. She'd definitely grown older. Her hair was in a shoulder-length ponytail, and some lines on her face betrayed her age. Despite all of that, she looked happy. She was smiling and bobbing her head to the beat of whatever music the coffee shop was playing.

Nothing else for it now.

Adagio unbuckled herself from her seat and got out of the car. She began the walk toward Sunset, her heart pounding at the thought of the conversation. It wasn't more than a minute before Sunset looked in her direction and spotted her. She grinned and waved at Adagio.

"Hey, you made it!" she said. She motioned to the seat opposite her. "Take a seat. You want any coffee? My treat."

Adagio stopped in her tracks twenty feet from Sunset, and her heart stopped pounding. A feeling of clarity washed over her, and her face hardened in a glare. Sunset's happy smile slowly faded, replaced with a look of confusion.

"Adagio?" She stood up from her seat. "Is everything okay? Come on. Sit down. They have really good coffee here. We can talk about whatever's on your mind."

Adagio bared her teeth and began walking backwards toward her car. "No. You're just going to judge me. You gave up! You could have been something. I could have been something, but you and your nasty little friends took everything from me!"

Sunset's mouth flopped up and down for a few moments. "N-no! I'm not going to judge you. I want to help you. I've been where you are."

"You're a liar!" Adagio snarled. "Get away from me! Don't come any closer!"

"But... I--"

"Get away from me!"

Adagio turned and ran back to her car, Sunset calling out behind her. She hopped into her car and turned it on, locking the doors as Sunset got closer. She took a half second to buckle up, then hit the gas and drove out of the parking lot.

As Adagio sped down the road, hot tears began welling up in her eyes. This had been a mistake. That much was obvious. She wouldn't fall for whatever brainwashing Sunset and Sonata had surrendered to. She pressed the gas pedal down further, not even sure if she was headed back to her apartment or not.

It wasn't more than a few minutes before red and blue lights began flashing behind her. She narrowed her eyes and sped up. She'd lose him and then head back to her apartment; lock herself in and just forget the world until she disappeared.

Then her world shattered.

In her attempts to lose the police, she didn't notice that she ran through a red light. She was whipped to the side, then snapped forward into her airbag as it deployed. The car spun around twice before coming to a complete stop. Adagio merely laid her head against the airbag, still trying to register what had just happened. She groaned and shakily reached to her seatbelt to unbuckle it.

Once she was free of the seatbelt, she flopped out of the car, holding onto the door to prevent herself from completely collapsing. She roughly shook her head to clear it a bit, then looked to see what had happened. A sedan with a flattened front and shattered windows was right next to her car. A young couple was getting out of the car, but instead of walking up to her, they opened the back doors. The father took out a crying girl of no more than five, while the mother took out a screaming infant. Both parents didn't even register Adagio as they attempted to comfort their children.

Adagio's eyes hardened into a glare and she stomped over to the family as the police stopped just beside the accident. The father hugged his daughter close and his eyes widened when he saw Adagio stomp up.

"Are you okay, miss? Your head is blee--"

"Why weren't you paying attention?!" Adagio roared. "Are you trying to get somebody killed?"

"I..." The father returned Adagio's glare. "Me? You're the one who ran a red! You could have killed my children!" The father turned his attention to his wife, who was still trying to calm the screaming infant. "Is he okay?"

"I think so," the wife said. "He's just scared."

The father nodded. "We'll get everybody checked out."

"Oh, you're not going anywhere until you apologize!" Adagio snarled as the cops ran up to her. "How dare you hit me!"

"Ma'am, you're the one who ran the red!" the father insisted.

"Ma'am, please back away to your car," one of the officers said. "We need to talk to you to make sure everyone is alright."

"You can't tell me what to do," Adagio spat. She stomped up to the officer with enough venom that the officer put his hand on his gun. "You're worthless! You're all peons! You shouldn't be like this!"

"Ma'am, please go back to your car," the second officer said. "We will arrest you if you don't cooperate."

Adagio let out a caw of a laugh. "Oh, that's rich! You, who should be serving me will arrest me? You'd better be on your knees worshiping whatever gods you believe in, because I was there!" She grabbed the cop by the shirt and pulled him close. "It wasn't supposed to be like this! We weren't supposed to die! We were supposed to rule! We--"

Adagio was cut off by the second officer pulling her away from the first. She was thrown on the ground where both officers handcuffed her. She thrashed around as they dragged her to their car.

"Let go of me!" she screeched. "It wasn't supposed to be this way! Nothing should have stopped us!"

She couldn't stop the officers as they stuffed her in the back of their police cruiser. She thrashed about more, trying to escape before they shut the door behind her. As it closed, the fight slowly faded from her, and she slowly sat up as best she could. She looked out the window and saw that the paramedics had arrived and were helping the family while another police officer got their statements. The parents were hugging their children close, with everyone crying. Adagio took a deep, shaky breath and laid back in the car.

* * * *

Adagio shut the door to her apartment and tossed the keys on the nearby table, not even bothering to lock the door behind her.

She felt a small growl, and trudged over to the kitchen to see if any of her food was still edible. She opened the fridge and grimaced. It was nearly empty, and the paltry few items looked like they'd gone bad except for a jar of pickles. She sighed and grabbed them. There were only two pickles left in the jar, but it was something.

Just as she opened the jar, she heard a knock on the door. She growled and slammed the jar on the counter before stomping to her front door and throwing it open.

"What do you--?"

Her breath died in her throat when she saw that Sonata and Sunset were standing on the other side. Sonata had her son in a baby carrier strapped to her chest. The two gave Adagio weak smiles.

"H-hey, Adagio," Sonata said, taking a half step forward. "We heard about what happened, and we wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"I'm fine," Adagio said flatly. "Just a year of probation and paying any medical bills the family had. The parents got mild whiplash, but that's it. Paying for their car, too."

"Oh," Sunset said. "At least nobody was seriously hurt, then."

Adagio narrowed her eyes. "What are you even doing here?"

"Well, like we said: we wanted to make sure that you're okay," Sonata said. "We thought maybe after everything that you could use a friend righ--"

Adagio scoffed, shook her head, and slammed the door shut.

Mortality--No Regrets

Adagio pulled into a parking spot opposite the coffee shop and turned her car off. She glanced at the clock on the dashboard. Eleven ten. She scanned the tables and chairs outside of the shop, and her stomach clenched when she spotted Sunset Shimmer sitting at one of the tables opposite an empty chair. She'd definitely grown older. Her hair was in a shoulder-length ponytail, and some lines on her face betrayed her age. Despite all of that, she looked happy. She was smiling and bobbing her head to the beat of whatever music the coffee shop was playing.

Nothing else for it now.

Adagio unbuckled herself from her seat and got out of the car. She began the walk toward Sunset, her heart pounding at the thought of the conversation. It wasn't more than a minute before Sunset looked in her direction and spotted her. She grinned and waved at Adagio.

"Hey, you made it!" she said. She motioned to the seat opposite her. "Take a seat. You want any coffee? My treat."

Adagio stopped in her tracks twenty feet from Sunset, and her heart stopped pounding. A feeling of clarity washed over her, and her face hardened in a glare. Sunset's happy smile slowly faded, replaced with a look of confusion.

"Adagio?" She stood up from her seat. "Is everything okay? Come on. Sit down. They have really good coffee here. We can talk about whatever's on your mind."

Adagio raised her leg to take a step back, but froze. Maybe it didn't have to be this way. Her glare faded and she slowly walked up to the table and sat down opposite Sunset. "Okay, yeah. So, good coffee?"

Sunset's smile returned and she nodded. "Definitely great coffee. What can I get for you?"

"Uh, caramel frappuccino, I guess."

"Sounds good! Be right back."

Sunset stood up and went inside to order the coffee, leaving Adagio alone with her thoughts. There was still time to run. She could just forget that she was even here and leave before Sunset could come back.

But that would mean she wasted money on a caramel frappuccino.

It was a weak excuse, but it was an excuse nonetheless.

After a few minutes, Sunset walked out of the coffee shop with a large caramel frappuccino in her hand. She sat back down and slid it over to Adagio.

"One caramel frappuccino for Miss Adagio. Wasn't sure if you like whipped cream or not, so I didn't have them put extra on. Is that alright?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Adagio said, taking the piece of straw paper off the top of her straw and taking a sip. She allowed herself a small smile and nodded in thanks to Sunset.

"Glad you like it. So..." Sunset motioned to Adagio. "What do you want to talk about? What can I help you with?"

Adagio put her coffee down and stared at it, poking the straw back and forth. She didn't speak for a few moments.

"I was just... wondering how you did it."

"Did what?" Sunset asked.

"Get... on track or... I don't know, end up okay? You and your friends are happy, Sonata is married with a son, and I'm just..." Adagio let out a quiet sigh. "I have a job that I hate that at least pays enough to live okay, but I'm not... happy. I haven't been happy in years. It wasn't supposed to go that way. I was supposed to be ruling this world. Now I'm just another average woman with no support, no powers, and no immortality." Her gaze flicked up to Sunset. "No offense on the 'ruling the world' part."

Sunset chuckled and shrugged. "You talked to me because I tried to do it, too. Though I have to say that your plan was a little bit better than mine."

Adagio allowed herself a small smirk, but it faded quickly. She stalled for a bit of time by taking a few more sips of coffee. "So what's your secret?" she asked. "How did you an Sonata do it? I don't know how Aria was dealing with everything, and now that she's gone..."

"I know it may sound crazy, but..." Sunset gave Adagio a kind smile. "It's friends. It's people that you can lean on when the going gets tough. For you, me and Sonata it has to be friends. None of us have parents or other family here, so friends is what we have." Sunset frowned for a moment and tilted her head. "Or is Sonata your sister?"

"Yeah. A little more complicated than that, but for all intents and purposes, yes," Adagio said.

"Well there you go, then!" Sunset said. "You've been doing this on your own for a long time, Adagio. You don't need to. It's been over twenty years. Do you want to be alone anymore?"

Adagio tightened her jaw and poked at the whipped cream in her coffee with her straw. Sonata had said more or less the same thing, and she was doing well. They couldn't both be wrong. She briefly looked up to see Sunset still smiling at her. She lightly scoffed and shook her head.

"You both sound cheesy," she said. "You and your talks of friendships and relationships. Very cheesy."

Sunset chuckled. "Probably, but when's the last time you had a friend? A real friend?"

"I don't know," Adagio muttered. "Other than my sisters... I don't think there was anybody."

"Well..." Sunset reached out and put her hand on one of Adagio's "You have one now."

* * * *

Adagio unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of her car, taking a moment to grab the small box on the passenger seat before shutting the door. She walked past a handful of other cars and for the second time walked up to the brightly painted green door. She could hear the din of several people already inside. She took a deep breath to steady herself, then opened up the door and walked into the house.

There were about a dozen people standing around talking, most of them with plates and drinks in their hands. A few of them glanced in her direction when she came in, but she was otherwise ignored. She began looking around to see if there was a place to place her box, but didn't see one. Before she could get further into the house, her heart stopped when she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, thank you for coming! Can I get you guys anything else to eat or drink? How's your new job?"

Adagio turned in the direction of the voice and saw Sonata weaving her way through the crowd of people. Adagio allowed herself a light chuckle. She'd cut her hair shorter in a pixie cut, and was wearing a plain white sweater and pants that Adagio would describe as "mom jeans." She looked like she was about to drive her son to soccer practice. After only a few seconds, Sonata looked in Adagio's direction. Her eyes widened and she let out a quiet gasp.

"A... Adagio?"

Adagio gave Sonata a weak smile and walked up to her. "Hey, Sonata. Uh, I was thinking that maybe it would be good for your son to have 'Cool Aunt Adagio.' You know. Just to make sure he gets raised right." She motioned to the small box wrapped in green paper with a red bow on top. "I don't know what T.J. already has, so I thought he might like this for his birthday. I have the receipt if--"

Adagio was cut off by the most enthusiastic hug she'd ever received. She almost stumbled back, but she managed to steady herself on a back wall.

"Thank you," Sonata whispered. "I've been wanting this for a long time."

"Yeah, I was doing some thinking and I talked to Sunset and..." She gingerly pried Sonata off of her. "I want things to get better."

"And I think they will," Sonata said. "You talked to Sunset?" Adagio nodded. "Well I'll have to thank her when I see her next." Sonata motioned to the back door. "Which should be in the next few minutes. Her and all the rest of the Rainbooms are in the backyard. Ben is doing some wizardry with the grill." Sonata took the box out of Adagio's hand and began pushing her in the direction of the backyard.

* * * *

Adagio walked in her apartment and placed her bag of groceries on the kitchen counter. All of the food at Sonata's place had reminded her that she hadn't gone shopping in a while. She turned her stereo on and played a song as she began putting her food away. She began absentmindedly singing to herself as she put the food away, but paused when she realized what she was doing.

She was singing. What's more was that it was in tune and didn't sound like she'd just gargled gravel. She quietly gasped to herself, but continued singing along like her gem had never broken. Tears welled up in her eyes as she turned up the song and began singing along with a passion that she had long forgotten. It wasn't more than a few moments before tears streamed down her face, and her sobs nearly interfered with her private performance.

As she sang, the pressure that had consumed her since the moment her gem broke slowly began washing away, and for the first time, she began to realize what Sonata felt every day. The anger and resentment faded, and she lost herself in the return of one of her most precious of her very soul. Somehow Sonata was right. Even through her sobs and tears, she could tell that she was singing better than ever before. And it was... happy. Before she'd sung for power. Before she'd sung for control. Before she'd sung just to eat; to make the hunger pangs of another day go away. Now finally she could sing to enjoy the music and the passion.

Once the song ended, Adagio turned the stereo off and slid down to the floor with her back against the wall. She curled up in a ball hugging her knees and crying in a feeling of joy that she'd never experienced before.

* * * *

"And I think that full house nines and fives takes it." Everyone at the table groaned as Adagio cackled and raked in the small pile of coins. "You're about to go out, Ben."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Ben said as he tossed his cards on the table. "I'll come back."

"You never do, Dad," T.J. said with a roll of his eyes. "You're really bad at poker. I'm seven and keep beating you!"

"Yeah, but I beat you at chess," Ben grumbled.

"And you only play chess with T.J. because you're tired of being whipped by Adagio every time," Sonata said with a giggle.

"She's cheating somehow," Ben said through gritted teeth. "You've still got some of your freaky siren powers left."

"Or I've been playing chess for over a thousand years, and you've been playing it for thirty." Adagio smirked at him. "You're at something of a disadvantage."

"I've actually never known you to lose a game of chess, even when we were a lot younger," Sonata pointed out.

"Hm." Adagio shrugged. "Maybe I'm just great at strategizing. Everything is far more predictable if you just boil it down to its basic components." She turned to Ben and tapped her head. "You overthink things."

"Yeah, Dad, you overthink things," T.J. agreed. "That's why Mom said that you took too long to ask her out, and even longer to ask her to marry you."

Adagio raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? How have I never heard this story?"

"Because Dad doesn't like telling it!" T.J. said.

"It's nothing special, really," Ben insisted. "I just got nervous one too many times."

"And that was before I told him that I used to be an immortal negative emotion eating siren," Sonata chimed in.

"Oh really?" Adagio said. "And how exactly did he take that?"

"Oh can we please drop this?" Ben groaned.

"Well let's see. How did you exactly put it again?" Sonata grinned as Ben groaned again. "Oh that's right. I remember: 'Uh... you're still... really hot and have a good personality and... you're nice?'"

Everyone at the table except for Ben laughed at his misfortune, but he shook his head and waved his hand. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. It's not like I believed her the first, oh, half dozen times she brought it up."

"What made you believe her?" Adagio asked.

Ben snorted. "She found some old high school pictures and newspaper clippings. Believed it after that." Ben smiled and took Sonata's hand. "But that just showed me that she was really special, and --"

"Oh enough of the lovey-dovey nonsense!" Adagio cried, flicking a coin at Ben's head. "Just deal so I can take the rest of your money!"

* * * *

"So when is he coming up?" Adagio groaned, scanning the program in her hand again. "Are we going to have to be here for an hour?"

"Well, since we're going to stay during the entire graduation ceremony so that we can actually be there when it's time to go home, I think we're going to be here for a while anyway," Sonata pointed out.

"And come on, Adagio. He only graduates high school once," Ben chimed in.

Adagio rolled her eyes and resumed scanning the program. "Very well. Did you have to send him to a high school with such a large graduating class?"

Sonata let out an amused scoff and shook her head. "Yes, I think it was a good idea to sent him to a high school five minutes walking distance from our house, yes. Although if you wanted to drive him to a smaller one far away, you should have just said so."

Adagio scoffed. "You could do that. We only live five doors down from each other."

"And yet, I sent him to the one five minutes walking distance from our house anyway," Sonata said.

"Oh, fine," Adagio grumbled. "At lease he's going to an in-state college."

"You're fine to drive him to that as well," Sonata replied.

"Oh for goodness sakes," Adagio grumbled, looking back down at the program.

* * * *

"So, you're going to go to college in the fall. Excited?"

T.J. smiled and nodded. "Oh yeah, definitely! Been waiting to get to college since I was a fucking high school freshman! I've heard the girls in college are bombshells!"

Adagio narrowed her eyes. "Hey, no swearing. Your mom wouldn't like that."

T.J. rolled his eyes. "Yes, Aunt Adagio."

Adagio nodded. "Good. I want you to behave while you're there, too." Before T.J. could respond, she perked up a bit. "But that doesn't mean you can't have a beer while you're parents aren't looking before then!" Adagio reached into her jacket pocket and held out a can. "Just don't tell them."

"Alright!" T.J. said, snatching the beer out of Adagio's hand. "My lips are sealed! Better learn how to do this anyway, right?"

Adagio allowed herself an inward smirk as T.J. opened up the non-alcoholic beer and began chugging it.

* * * *

"Come on! Throw the ball, idiot!"

"Rainbow Dash, calm down," Sonata said, putting her hand on Rainbow's shoulder. "We're up by twenty with three minutes left to go. I think we're good."

"You never know," Rainbow said through gritted teeth. She whirled around to face the people on the couch. "What do you think, Adagio? They could come back, right?"

"I suppose so," Adagio said with a shrug. "Still not sure how you play."

"I... buh... wha...?" Rainbow Dash blinked in shock. "You've been coming to my place to watch the Super Bowl for the last fifteen years and you still don't have an idea of how the game works?!"

"She might be messin' with ya, Rainbow," Applejack said with a grinthat quickly faded into a frown. "Right?"

"Oh, who knows?" Adagio said with a shrug. "Either way, I'm going to go get more food. You didn't eat all of the cupcakes yet, did you, Pinkie?"

Pinkie Pie snorted and picked up her infant granddaughter. "Tried to, but I made a lot."

"That's not even counting the ones she ate before she came over," Pinkie's daughter said, turning away from her conversation with Rarity and Fluttershy's daughters.

"And I would have thought that you would have calmed down a bit at fifty-five with the whole sports thing," Twilight said, bouncing her own granddaughter on her knee.

"Well she didn't calm down about the 'sports thing' at fifty-four, did she?" Rarity said.

"Might happen someday though, right?" Twilight's son said.

"No," Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Sonata and Adagio all said at the same time. They all giggled a bit before turning back to the TV. Rainbow grinned and fist-pumped.

"Alright! Two minute warning and we have the ball and they have no, no, no timeouts left!"

"I'm still not sure if that's a good or bad thing, Rainbow," Adagio said with a frown. "Does that mean we're about to win or we have a good chance at coming back?"

"I just..." Rainbow growled and facepalmed. "Seriously! You know this!"

"Come on, Rainbow, act your age," Sonata chided. "You wouldn't want to be a bad influence on the grandchildren, right?"

"Eh, that's just how Mom works," Rainbow's pregnant daughter said with a wave of her hand. "One of my first memories is the Super Bowl from the year I was born." She smirked. "And how mad Mom got when her team lost."

"The game was fixed. I know it was," Rainbow grumbled.

Adagio chuckled and stood up to get more food. Given Rainbow's continued passion for sports, this happened every year.

* * * *

Adagio took a sip of her drink and smiled. She could hardly believe that T.J's son was already ten years old. Time had flown by far faster than she realized sometimes.

"You still want some cake?" Sonata said, walking up to Adagio with a pair of plates bearing cake on them. Adagio nodded and took one of the plates.

"You know I do." She took a plastic fork from Sonata and took a bit of cake. She mmmed and nodded in approval to Sonata. "You've gotten better at this."

"That's mostly Ben's lessons," Sonata admitted. "Only took him forty years."

"I've heard that you still can't make an omelette to save your life, though."

Sonata rolled her eyes and swallowed her bite of cake before speaking. "Well, those 'newfangled' cellphones these days still confuse you. There are just things that some people will never figure out." After a few seconds, Sonata's smile fell. "I know that this might not be the best time to talk about it, but I'm worried. When do you get the results back?"

Adagio shrugged. "Doctor said either Wednesday or Thursday. I have an appointment on Friday if they do."

Sonata grimaced and put her cake down on a small table next to them. "Are you worried? You really haven't been doing well lately."

"Not particularly," Adagio said. "Whatever happens happens." Sonata opened her mouth to reply, but Adagio waved her attempt away with her fork. "But I agree: this is a bad time to talk about it. I can't wait for you to see what I got for the birthday boy."

* * * *

Adagio straightened up when the door to the doctor's office opened and a male thirty-something doctor walked in holding a folder in his hand that Adagio assumed was her test results. She smiled at the doctor and extended her hand.

"Doctor. How are you, today?"

"I'm doing fine, thank you," the doctor muttered, taking her hand and weakly shaking it. "I got your test results back."

"That's what your phone call said," Adagio said with an amused eye-roll. "I figured that you weren't just baiting on old woman."

The doctor let out a humorless chuckle and sat down on a metal chair next to the room's counter. He opened up the folder and grimaced, which told Adagio all she needed to know. She quietly sighed and tapped the handle on her cane.

"So what's killing me, then?"

"Cancer, I'm afraid," the doctor said, giving Adagio a sympathetic look. "Skin cancer. Stage three, will be stage four very soon."

"Hm." Adagio bobbed her head and looked down at the hand resting on the cane. It wasn't shaking like she thought it would be at the news that she was dying.

"There are treatment options, of course. We could--"

"No, that's okay, Doctor. Thank you anyway."

The doctor frowned and raised his eyebrow. "What? What are you talking about? You'll die in five years without treatment."

Adagio rolled her eyes and slowly, shakily got to her feet. "Oh, would that be such a terrible thing? I'm an old woman, Doctor." She smirked at him. "I've been an old woman for a very long time. Far longer than you can imagine. Besides, I get another five years! Five more years of being with my family." The doctor opened his mouth to respond, but Adagio just shook her head. "I've had a good life. Best not waste it in a doctor's office listening to you trying to change my mind."

* * * *

"How are you doing?"

Adagio gave Sonata a fake glare and adjusted herself in her hospice bed. "I feel like garbage, but it wouldn't be as bad if you didn't wake me up from my nap!"

Sonata rolled her eyes and filled up a water cup from a nearby pitcher before putting a straw in it and handing it to Adagio. "It was time to take your pills, but I know you haven't been doing that for a few weeks anyway."

"Damn straight. These jackals are tying to keep me alive for too long. I'm over fourteen hundred years old already!" Adagio said, weakly shaking a fist at the door.

"I feel that," Sonata said. "I should have gone gray far sooner than I did, though I can't say that I'm happy about it. Attempting to dye it to match my old hair color was a disaster."

"Well, that's one of the curses of being old, I suppose." Adagio drained half of her water, then reached out to put it on her nightstand. Her hand began shaking enough to spill a few drops of water, so Sonata reached out and took it. "Thanks."

"Scared?" Sonata asked after putting the cup down.

"Not in the slightest. I'm tired. And who knows? Maybe I'll see Aria on the other side and get to chew her out for dying for a stupid purse."

"Maybe," Sonata muttered, looking down at the floor.

"Sometimes I do go back to when we lost to the Rainbooms that day. We were close, weren't we?" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "We've got the music, makes you move it, got the song that makes you move it..."

Sonata chuckled and shook her head. "We say 'jump' you say 'how high?' Put your hands up to the sky."

Adagio let out a happy grunt. "As good as it was that we were defeated, as much as it worked out... those were some good times, weren't they?"

"I guess they were good for us," Sonata said.

"Sonata?" Sonata looked back up at her. "What day when we saw each other again after twenty-two years of me being angry... that's the day I called Sunset to talk."

"Yeah, I remember her telling me about that," Sonata replied.

"Well..." Adagio let out a happy sigh and leaned back in her bed. "I'm glad that I did."

Sonata put her hand on Adagio's and tears began welling up in her eyes. "Me too, Dagi. Me too."

"Good. It would be awkward if you were lying about being glad to see me after all these years."

Sonata snorted, then reached up to wipe tears away with her sleeve. "Any regrets?"

Adagio closed her eyes and smiled. "No."

Later that night, Adagio Dazzle peacefully passed away, Sonata having not left her side.

Really?

"Ug, you would not believe how, like, awful today has been without you!" I rolled my eyes. "So boring."

Silver Spoon giggled and we began walking further into the schoolyard. "Sorry, DT. My mom scheduled a dentist appointment and I wasn't done until just now. Did I miss anything good?"

I scoffed and rolled my eyes again. "No. It's just boring old school with the same boring old ponies, just like usual."

"Too lame," Silver Spoon agreed. "I can't wait until we can get to trade school where we won't be around so many losers."

"Totally!"

Silver Spoon and I high-hooved each other to start off our trademark hoofshake. "Bump, bump, sugar lump, rump!" We giggled with each other and Silver Spoon started going into what the dentist was like. She said that she had a cavity that she needed to have filled, so her mother scheduled another appointment for her the next week.

So there we were, just talking with each other. It was going good. I mean, we were just hanging out with each other and not talking to anypony else. I guess that fate, or whatever you wanted to call it, didn't want that day to go any better for me. Before I knew what was happening, I felt a sharp pain course through my body, and I fell to the ground with a cry of agony. It took me a moment to regain my senses after the pain faded away, but when it did, I opened my eyes and saw Berry Pinch lying on the ground next to me, a discarded hoofball a few hooves away from her.

She had run into me.

I thought that the stupid blank flank had done it on purpose, like she meant to hurt me. I wasn't going to stand for that. I shot to my hooves and gave her my best glare. "Watch where you're going, twerp!"

Berry Pinch flinched back and covered her head with her forelegs. "I'm s-sorry! I d-didn't mean to! I was just trying to catch the hoofball."

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Yeah, well you should have watched where you were going!"

"I saw her, DT, I saw her running straight at you," Silver Spoon cackled. "She was stumbling around like that drunk mommy of hers. You a drunk too, Berry?"

"My mommy isn't a drunk!" Berry Pinch whimpered, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "Sh-she's just sick a-and that's her medicine!"

Silver Spoon began cackling loudly and before I knew it, I was joining right along with her. That stupid blank flank poor foal of a drunk had run into me and hurt me! She had actually caused me pain and she needed to pay!

"Is...?" My smile slowly faded as Miss Cheerilee's words registered with my again. In my mind's eye I saw the heartbroken expression on her face.

I'm just teasing. It's not like I'm actually hurting them. They're just words.

Diamond Tiara... There are times when I wish that I could break student confidentiality to let you know just what your words are doing to your classmates. One of your classmates said that she wished that you were hitting her because it would hurt less than what you're actually doing to them.

I blinked. This wasn't right. I slowly put a hoof on Silver Spoon's chest, which caused her friend to stop laughing. Silver Spoon gave me a confused look, but I just grimaced and shook my head. I turned back to Berry and extended a hoof.

"Hey, I'm... sorry, Berry. I shouldn't have done that."

Berry sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes as she looked up. She gave my hoof a suspicious look. "What do you mean? What are you doing?"

"I was mean to you, and I shouldn't have been. Not just now, but..." I sighed. "I haven't been a really nice pony to you, Berry. I shouldn't make fun of your mom. I'm sure that she's a nice pony who works hard to take care of you."

Silver Spoon's jaw dropped, and Berry flinched back as though worried that I would take it back and hurt her more. After a few moments, Berry reached out and took my hoof, allowing me to help her up."

"Do you mean it?" Berry whispered. "You're not just being mean?"

I shook her head. "No, I'm not just being mean. I haven't been nice to any of you. You ran into me, but I know it was an accident."

"Oh. Yeah." Berry bit her lip and lit her horn, encasing the hoofball in her magic and lifting it off the ground. She began slowly backing away in the direction of the foals she had been playing with. "Thanks, I guess."

I watched Berry until she resumed playing her game, then turned back to Silver Spoon, who was still staring at me in wide-eyes shock.

"Wh-what was that for, Diamond? Her mom is a drunk! It's pathetic!"

I shrugged. "Maybe, but... we don't have to be mean about it, right? Besides..." I allowed myself a small smile. "It was... kind of nice not being mean."

Silver Spoon frowned, but didn't comment further. "Uh, yeah. Sure. You wanna go play teatherball?"

"Sounds good."

As the two of us walked in the direction of the teatherball pole, we passed the front of the schoolhouse where Cheerilee was standing at the doorway, watching over the class. As we passed, she gave me a small smile and said just one word.

"Really?"

I smiled back at her and nodded. "Really."

I Am a Scammer

Hard Head's heart started beating a little faster. This was it; the call he'd been trying to get for his entire scamming career. A scared old pony who was willing to pay anything to stay out of trouble. The perfect mark. He just needed to tune out his conscience screaming at him that he was being a horrible pony. Things would get easier after the first time.

"I don't know how I can pay," Happy Day moaned. "I'm on a fixed income, and I need that money for things like medication and doctor's appointments. If I pay the full amount, I won't be able to afford things like that."

"Ma'am, which would you prefer? If you don't pay your income tax then you won't get your medication in prison, but if you, then you'll be out of prison and can maybe have ponies around you help pay for your medication and doctor's appointments."

"Maybe... is it possible that I can go on some sort of payment plan? Maybe twenty or thirty bits a month until I can get it paid off."

Hard Head quietly sighed, a small ball of pressure slowly building up in his chest. The hopeful tone she had at the payment plan idea wasn't helping matters much. Hard Head briefly considered it. Twenty bits was better than nothing, and he wouldn't have to destroy this mare's life. But no, if she had family, then they would take care of her. Maybe... maybe she could even get help from Princess Celestia or somepony like that. They had to have... something for her. Yes. Certainly. Hard Head adjusted his headset and took a deep breath.

"Ma'am, I'm afraid that I cannot do that. Our policy forbids that for the purposes of making sure that suspects do not default on their payment plans. Besides, even we did set up a plan, there would be an interest rate of between thirty-six and fifty-five percent based on the individual case, compounding, I'm afraid, and given your situation, I am of the belief that the number would be closer to the fifty-five. I'm sorry, Ma'am, but we need the full amount."

Hard Head only heard crying on the other side of the headset, and the ball of pressure increased. He cleared his throat and began rubbing it away while waiting for her to calm down. He waited for a solid five minutes before Happy Day finally calmed down enough to speak again.

"So..." She sniffled again. "So what do I have to do?"

Hard Head tightened his jaw. "Er... firstly, do you have a Barnyard Bargains around? Something where you could pick up some gift cards?"

"Er... I suppose that I do. It might take me a while to get over there to get them. Twenty minutes, maybe?"

"Very well. Just as long as you get them before my shift is over. If you do not get them before we close, I shall give your arrest warrant to the local authorities."

"No, don't do that! Happy Day pleaded. "I'm going right now."

"Very good," Hard Head said. "Once you are there, pick up two thousand bit gift cards and four five hundred bit gift cards. However, I must strongly caution you to not talk to any of the managers or other workers there. If you do, they will either call the local authorities to have you arrested for tax evasion themselves, or they will charge you a great amount of interest, making the cards unaffordable, and they will pocket the difference."

"W-well I don't know about that, sir. Mr. Stock Shelf has always been very kind to me, and I don't think that he would turn me in for tax evasion or steal from me."

"Maybe he won't steal from you, but he may turn you in because he knows that he can either turn you in for the reward money or face prosecution himself for turning a blind eye to illegal activity. That also reminds me: If they ask you why you are buying so many gift cards, you must tell them that it is for your personal use. If they try to tell you that I am a scammer, it is just so they can turn you in to get the reward money."

"I'm telling you: I can't see either Mr. Stock Shelf or any of his workers doing that," Happy Day insisted. "They're a very kind group of ponies."

"They may be, but they are doubtlessly trained to question such large gift card purchases and act according to what I have said," Hard Head replied. "Even the nicest ponies..." He grimaced and cleared his throat. "Even the nicest of ponies can act differently when there is a large sum of money on the line."

"I guess you're right."

Happy Day didn't say anything after that. Hard Head grabbed a pen in his magic and began idly tapping it on the notepad next to his phone. He slid part of his headset off, listening to the dozens of other ponies scamming other ponies just like he was doing to Happy Day. He occasionally heard Fast Talker giving encouragement and advice to his new co-workers. He just sat back and listened to the sound of theft all around him. Finally, he heard Happy Day on the other side of the headset.

"Alright, Mr. Collector, I'm at Barnyard Bargains. I've grabbed the six gift cards like you've asked."

"Good. Now go purchase them. Once again: do not let them know what they are for. You can never fully trust them."

"If you say so. It just doesn't sound like something they'd do." Hard Head's hear began pounding as he heard Happy Day make her way up to the register where he heard the voice of a twenty-something mare greet her. This was it. The make-or-break moment.

"Hey there, Miss Day! You having a good day?"

"Oh, er... yes, I think so."

"Happy to hear it. What'cha gettin' today?"

"Oh, just these gift cards, dearie. They're for... my grandchildren.

The mare paused, causing Hard Head's heart to beat faster. This mare's suspicions were the only thing in the way of a big haul.

"Uh, not that I'm prying, but... four thousand bits in gift cards is a lot for two children. You sure it's for them?"

"Oh... completely sure. It's almost Hearth's Warming, after all. Why not spoil them a bit?"

"Well... I guess so. It's just... did somepony tell you to buy these? Like, they wanted you to pay off some debt to the government, or something?"

"Oh, aha, no, no, of course not, dearie. They're for my grandchildren. One of them is about to graduate from high school, and the other one from middle school. It's an exciting time!

"Just? They don't graduate until summer and it's winter."

"Well, better early than late, I always say. So... the cards?"

"If... if you say so. You'd tell me if somepony was forcing you to buy these, right? Sometimes they say things like how we'll call the cops or charge interest, or something like that."

Hard Head held his breath. Now or never.

"Oh, I assure you that nopony is doing that. These are for my grandchildren. They'll really love them."

"Okayyy. Uh, I hope so, then. Let me just... ring these up."

"I appreciate it, dearie. This is going to be very good for... my grandchildren."

"Good. Just... seriously, you know that me and the rest of the crew here wouldn't do anything bad to you. Sometimes bad ponies try to trick you by saying stuff like that."

"Oh, I know all about that, dearie," Happy Day replied with a slightly uneasy laugh. "But these are for my grandchildren."

"If you say so. That'll be four thousand bits."

"Er... yes. Of course. Let me get my checkbook. One moment." Hard Head took a deep, quiet breath. This was it. The moment when all of his efforts would finally come to fruition was almost here. "Alright. Here you go."

"Alright. Let me just submit it. Okay... and... there you go. The check cleared. Here are your cards."

"Oh, that's great. Thank you so much."

"Yeah. I hope your grandchildren appreciate those."

"I'm sure that they will. Have a good day now."

"Yeah. You too."

"Okay, so don't talk to me until you are out of the Barnyard Bargains and are somewhere alone. Once you are, scratch off the silver strip on the back of the cards and read me the numbers."

"And when I do, I won't owe you anything?"

"Not a penny, ma'am. Now, can you read me those numbers?"

"Of course. I think I have a spare bit in here that I can use to scratch the silver part off."

"Whenever you are ready."

Hard Head brought the tip of his pen close to the notepad and began jotting the numbers of all six gift cards down. With each one tension eased from his shoulders, but a slight pressure began building in his chest. Even if he didn't take the cards now, the mare had still wasted four thousand bits on cards she could be using on other things. By the end, though, Hard Head had all six numbers.

"Okay, that's the last one. Does this mean that I don't have to pay the government anymore?"

"That is exactly what it means, ma'am. Now good day."

"But what should I do about my med--"

Hard Head hit the hang up button on his headset and leaned back with a sigh. He'd done it. He'd actually done it. Months of attempts and spectacular fails had led to this. He'd successfully pulled off a scam for the first time.

"Hey! How are you doing over here?"

Hard Head forced a smile on his face and turned around to see Fast Talker standing behind him. "Oh, good. Really good." He motioned to the notepad. "Just got four thousand bits from somepony. Didn't take that long, either."

Fast Talker grinned and slapped Hard Head on the shoulder. "Now that's what I like to hear! Four thousand; not a bad haul at all. Can I get the numbers?"

"Oh, sure." Hard Head lit his horn and tore the top page of numbers off of his notepad and floated it over to Fast Talker, who folded it up and put it in his suit jacket.

"Very well done. Since this is your first successful time, you get a nice little bonus from that. Two hundred bits isn't too bad at all!"

Hard Head gave Fast Talker a weak smile. "Two hundred on top of the usual?"

Fast Talker scoffed and waved his hoof. "No, no, nothing like that. What are we, a charity? No, two hundred bits overall. But hey, keep up the good work!" Fast Talker slapped Hard Head's shoulder again. "We're expecting big things from you. You're already doing great. But..." He motioned to Hard Head's desk. "Back to it. The more time sitting here talking to me, the more time you waste calling ponies."

"Yes sir," Hard Head muttered before turning back to his desk. He adjusted his headset and looked at the next number in line. His stomach tightened at the thought of Happy Day and how he had possibly ruined her life, all for two hundred bits in his own pocket. He could just leave. Walk out the door and let Princess Twilight know about what was happening.

But no. He'd already successfully scammed someone. He'd get in trouble. He was in too deep now. With another deep breath, he began dialing the number.

* * * *

"Everypony get down on the ground with your forelegs spread out in front of you! If I see any magic, there's gonna be Tartarus to pay!"

Hard Head barely had time to react to the sound of the doors to the call center breaking down before the shouting started. He flinched back and nearly fell out of his chair as he heard the sound of the Guard rushing into the room to arrest them all. He heard Fast Talker's protestations, followed by the sound of him being tackled to the ground. He backed out of his cubicle and glanced at the back door. Nopony was there. He was just about to start sneaking in its direction when it burst open and more guards rushed into the room.

"On the ground now!" One of the guards pointed at Hard Head. "I said on the ground!"

Hard Head grimaced, but slowly laid down on the ground as the guards instructed. He squeezed his eyes shut and flinched when he felt hoofcuffs being put on his forelegs. He whimpered to himself, but knew he could do anything but stay quiet and cooperate. Maybe nopony from Ponyville would hear about this. Especially not...

"Hard Head?"

Hard Head groaned at the voice, but looked up to see Princess Twilight looking down at him with a confused frown, while Tempest Shadow glared at him.

"What are you doing here?" Princess Twilight asked, walking up to him. "I haven't seen you in months."

"I think it's obvious what I'm doing here," Hard Head muttered, looking back to the floor.

"I know what you were doing here, but that's not what I'm asking. I'm asking why you're here," Princess Twilight said.

"Does it even matter at this point?" Hard Head replied. "There's nothing that I can say."

"Pathetic," Tempest growled. "Not even brave enough to look her in the eyes."

"Tempest, calm down," Princess Twilight said. "Get him with the others, then we can figure out what to do from there."

"Very well, Princess." Hard Head grimaced when Tempest grabbed him and pulled him to his hooves. "Up you go, scammer filth! There's a nice, comfy, crowded jail cell waiting for you."

Hard Head began trudging in the direction of the front door where several other guards were herding his co-workers out of the room. He chanced one last glance back at Princess Twilight, who returned it with a sad look and a shake of her head. She didn't look at him for more than a few moments before turning around and walking away.

Everfree Forest--Fall

Such a beautiful day out. Should be for the next couple of days. I don't think the pegasi have any rain scheduled until next Tuesday. As such, I could see the depths of Ghastly Gorge stretching out for miles. It was my favorite area in Ponyville. I came here for my walk every day, just to walk the edge of it. It never got old looking down into the depths, seeing those rock eel thingies popping out of their caves, and whatnot. Though I did have to be careful. Sometimes I'd find myself drifting pretty close to the edge. Guess I just get lost in thought sometimes. Happened a lot when I first started my walks near Ghastly Gorge, but I guess I was becoming more aware of my surroundings, because those instances went down a lot. It only ever happened every once in a while now.

Still, I found it strange that it happened at all. I mean, geez, if I did ever fall down, the drop would kill me instantly. I'd want that. I mean... wouldn't want that. Weird.

I picked a nice spot and sat down, right near the edge of the gorge. I looked down into its rocky depths and nodded, impressed. I guess that's why I liked coming here. It reminded me a bit of... I... wait, what would it remind me of? There's nothing else like it in Equestria. Maybe some trip I took with my parents? Can't remember what that'd be, though, or when.

Just lean forward a little bit more. Please. I can't do this anymore. Let today be the day.

Today. What was today? I didn't have some appointment, or event that I had to attend, right? I didn't think so.

Just a little more. Then it'll all be fine.

Sheesh, this is strange. Maybe I should stop coming to Ghastly Gorge if it's going to be dangerous like this. Yeah, I think I'll do that. It's beautiful and all, but Whitetail Woods would be safer. Or just stop the walks. Relax during my lunch.

It hurts. Just a little more.

Got a lot to do this week. Princess Celestia has been coming by a lot. Guess that makes sense. Twilight is her student.

Lean forward.

For some reason, I began slowly leaning forward. If I leaned too much, I'd go right over the edge to my death. I didn't want to do that, but something told me I should. That I needed to. But that was silly, wasn't it? Ponyville was my home. Equestria was my home. Where I'd lived my whole life. I loved it here.

Just a little more.

Before I could lean back, I lost my footing and slipped down. Time seemed to slow as I plummeted into the depths of Ghastly Gorge. As a last-ditch effort, I twisted around and swung my hoof, hoping beyond hope that I could grab a branch or sturdy rock to stop my fall. It was my only chance. It was the only possible way that I could save myself.

My hoof hit nothing but air.

My mind told me that I should be screaming in terror. There was no way that I was going to survive this. I only had a few precious seconds of life, and I should be terrified. Instead I felt...

Relieved.

Somehow a small smile crossed my face just before I hit the ground.

* * * *

I ran through Whitetail Woods, Rarity and Fluttershy following close behind. We were calling out for TD, hoping that he'd just gotten lost in the woods. Even if he had, he still probably wouldn't be in a good shape. Nopony had seen him since I had at lunch the day before. Rainbow and Applejack were checking the Everfree Forest, though if he'd gotten lost in there, I didn't have a lot of hope that he'd be okay.

"Are you sure he's in here?" Rarity asked. "I thought we checked yesterday evening."

"I know we did, but we need to check again!" I said through gritted teeth. "We already failed by not finding a cure for him, but I'm not going to fail him by letting him get lost and die somewhere!"

I heard sniffling behind me, and I screeched to a halt. I turned to see Fluttershy hiding in her mane and twitching with sobs. I grimaced and walked over to her to put my hoof on her shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay. We'll find him. We'll make sure that he's okay."

"It's all my fault," Fluttershy whimpered. "If I hadn't asked for his help finding my chicken, none of this would have happened!"

"Darling, it's not your fault," Rarity insisted, placing a hoof on Fluttershy's back. "You required help to save your chicken, and TD was just being a good friend. It's more unfortunate happenstance than anypony's fault in particular."

"Buh-but if... if I'd just kept a better eye on my chickens or repaired the fence better or--"

"Hey, Fluttershy, it's okay," I said with my best attempt at a comforting smile. "We'll find him and Princess Celestia will fix him, and we'll put all of this behind us, okay?"

"Do you promise?" Fluttershy whispered.

I hesitated. The truth was that no, I couldn't promise that everything would be okay. I couldn't promise that we could fix TD. The longer he was missing and the longer he was in a lobotomized pony form, the more certain I was that we'd never get TD back. Whether that meant that he was mentally gone for good or that he'd gotten himself killed somehow, I didn't know. Either way, I didn't know what to do. If it was the former, would I eventually just grow used to it? I'd just become numb to his situation and try to pretend like it never happened at all? And if he was dead... knowing him, would that be for the best?

I was just about to respond to Fluttershy when Thunderlane landed in front of me. I didn't miss his flattened ears, or the grimace he had on his face. My stomach dropped as I braced for what he was going to say.

"We found him," Thunderlane muttered. "Ghastly Gorge."

"Is... is he okay?" Fluttershy whimpered.

Thunderlane's look told me all I needed to know. Tears began welling up in my eyes, but I didn't say anything as I teleported out of the woods and straight to Ghastly Gorge. Several ponies were standing on the edge, looking down as the scene below. Some were even crying. I teleported down to the gorge and flinched back at what I saw.

TD was lying on the ground, clearly dead. I wailed and collapsed next to him, my body wracked with sobs as I let it all out.

"I'm so sorry, TD," I groaned. "I'm so, so sorry! We tried. I tried!"

Even through my sobs, I couldn't miss the look of contentment on his face.

Everfree Forest--Walk

I picked a nice spot and sat down, right near the edge of the gorge. I looked down into its rocky depths and nodded, impressed. I guess that's why I liked coming here. It reminded me a bit of... I... wait, what would it remind me of? There's nothing else like it in Equestria. Maybe some trip I took with my parents? Can't remember what that'd be, though, or when.

Just lean forward a little bit more. Please. I can't do this anymore. Let today be the day.

Today. What was today? I didn't have some appointment, or event that I had to attend, right? I didn't think so.

Just a little more. Then it'll all be fine.

Sheesh, this is strange. Maybe I should stop coming to Ghastly Gorge if it's going to be dangerous like this. Yeah, I think I'll do that. It's beautiful and all, but Whitetail Woods would be safer. Or just stop the walks. Relax during my lunch.

It hurts. Just a little more.

Got a lot to do this week. Princess Celestia has been coming by a lot. Guess that makes sense. Twilight is her student.

Lean forward.

For some reason, I began slowly leaning forward. If I leaned too much, I'd go right over the edge to my death. I didn't want to do that, but something told me I should. That I needed to. But that was silly, wasn't it? Ponyville was my home. Equestria was my home. Where I'd lived my whole life. I loved it here.

Just a little more.

I frowned and leaned back. Yeah, that was weird. The small voice in the back of my mind telling me to jump slowly faded until it was completely gone. Hopefully it wouldn't be back. I shrugged and walked away from Ghastly Gorge. Yeah, it was beautiful and all, but, eh, when you've seen the rock eels one time you've seen them a hundred times, right? I still had some time left in my lunch break. Might as well take a short walk through Whitetail Woods.

* * * *

Princess Celestia had already left by the time TD returned from his lunch break. Good. Then I wouldn't have to see him bow to her like he did. For some reason, when I saw the two of them, I began wishing more than anything that he'd just get up and punch her in the face, just to let me know that old TD was still in there and fighting. I let out a half-amused snort and somehow managed a small smile. TD noticed and smiled himself.

"What? What's so funny?"

My smile evaporated, and I looked down to the ground, taking a brief moment to glance up at TD. He was giving me a confused look and tilting his head. I sighed and shook my head.

"You..." I took a deep breath. "You wouldn't get it."