It was cold outside; the dark clouds threatening to rain on the group of ponies gathered, wearing their simplest black suits and dresses. There was a somber hush over the group, the only sound being the steady wind blowing over the hill. Many ponies simply looked forward, stony faced; while others had streams of silent tears running down their cheeks, a few struggling to withhold their sobs.
A young, parchment colored stallion was standing at the front of the group; the new mayor of Ponyville was giving a speech in front of the grey stone that was the reason for everypony to be gathered there. It was short and slightly uncaring; he had not known the mare that well after all, so he had little to say. As he stepped down and took his seat; Princess Luna, along with Princess Twilight Sparkle, got up to stand in front of the stone.
“Thank you all for being here with us today, it means a great deal to know how liked our daughter was,” Luna addressed the crowd as she draped a comforting wing over Twilight’s back. “I am glad to see so many of her closest friends.”
Luna lowered her head and turned towards the stone with Twilight.
“Our dearest daughter; we will miss you terribly. I often have thought of times past, when we were happy and ignorant of this fate; when we would play, laugh, talk, even the sad times, the times we’d fight. Though it didn’t last long, these are my most treasured memories. Memories of the most energetic pegasus filly I have ever had the pleasure of having in my life."
Twilight sniffed loudly and pushed closer to Luna, causing her to pause in her speech and give her a reassuring nuzzle. Looking up, she continued.
“I remember when we first met; I will never forget it. It was my first Nightmare Night in Ponyville; I had come to earn the pony’s trust and friendship, to show them that I was no longer the nightmare they feared. You were amongst the group following the pink mare in the chicken costume, your own little wolf outfit was so adorable.” At this, Twilight couldn’t help but let out a quiet giggle and a soft smile appeared on her face, making Luna smile as well as she kept speaking. “Though, it wasn’t until after Twilight Sparkle had helped me with my… social problem; that we actually spoke to one another. I must say, you had so many good pranks thought up for that night.”
Many of the gathered ponies giggled a bit; a few shifted uncomfortably, having been on the receiving end of some of those pranks.
“I do regret, however, that it took me so long to discover your tragic situation. Not until after Twilight took you in and informed me that you were an orphan. I felt sorrow for you at the time, but it turned to such happiness after Twilight brought you with her to see me and we began to raise you. Not that you needed much; you already knew so much about the world, more than a young filly like you should have.
“I also regret how little time we spent together; Twilight always was the selfless one, dropping whatever she was doing at the time to play or take you out, while I was always so busy. I can never apologize enough for not spending more time with you. And how I wish I had, especially now."
Luna began to sob. She felt such a great pain tugging at her heart, she could barely continue.
“We love you so much! Why did you have to go? Why did you not just accept Twilight’s spell?” Luna was shouting now. Many of the ponies were beginning to feel frightened, even Twilight, though she remained by Luna’s side, a comforting hoof placed on the night princess’ shoulder. Luna seemed to deflate at this and her shouting became barely more than a whisper. “It would have made you immortal like us, so why did you deny it?”
“Shush, it’s alright Luna,” Twilight said, running her hoof along her lover’s side. Though she knew the exact reason why their daughter had not accepted the immortality spell, she could not share it with Luna for fear that the knowledge would only break her heart further.
Twilight knew, though she enjoyed spending eternity with her greatest love, the pain of losing your precious friends was too much for many ponies to bear. She had not been given that choice, she was destined to become an immortal alicorn while her friends and family would remain mortal and eventually pass on.
Luna could say no more; she was now lying on the ground, sobbing loudly. Twilight helped her to her hooves and consoled the weeping princess before she turned back to the stone.
“Though I am also sad that you didn’t accept the immortality spell; I understand why. You found your happiness. You found a love to call your own, a beautiful young mare who made you the happiest we had ever seen you; you even adopted a young colt. But, even without life prolonging spells, you outlived her. You even outlived your own son. I know it is very hard to deal with that and I don’t blame you for not accepting my spell.” As she spoke those last words, Twilight stepped towards the stone and gave it a kiss before leading Luna back to their seats.
Though the group of ponies attending had been sizable, very few actually spoke; most only being there to show respect to the princesses.
Apple Bloom, the last of the Cutie Mark Crusaders still living, had gone up and spoke a bit about their adventures from when they had been little fillies before she ended up falling asleep in front of everypony. A couple of colts, her grand foals, had to go up and drag her home.
Many ponies had left after that, offering their condolences to the princesses. In the end, there was only Twilight and Luna left. They walked up to the stone to give their final goodbyes.
“Dearest daughter; no matter how much time passes, I will never forget the time we spent together.”
“We will always love you, sweetheart, no matter what.”
The two princesses gave each other a short hug and nuzzled before spreading their wings and flying off. Leaving the hill empty; and the cold headstone that read, ‘Here lies Scootaloo; one of the greatest flyers in all of Equestria, loving wife and caring mother.’
Author's Note
This short little story had been nagging at the back of my mind, begging me to write it for a couple months now. I finally had the time to oblige. This is not related to That which Holds the Moon, in case you were wondering and afraid/hoping that this was some little glimpse of what I have planned for that story, it is completely separate from that story.