Better Days
By: Vennyr
Twilight Sparkle awoke like any other day. She got out of bed, and made her way into the bathroom where she bathed and groomed herself before trotting downstairs to the lower floor of the library. The scent of pancakes filled the air as she entered the kitchen. Spike, her number one assistant, had breakfast already made and set on the table.
“It smells delicious, Spike,” she remarked, as she sat at the table and helped herself to a couple of pancakes, smothering them in syrup and taking a bite.
“It’s the least I could do, since you have to leave for that funeral later on this week,” he replied, taking the seat across from her. “I’m going to head out to your parent’s house in Canterlot later on this evening,” he added after a few moments of silence.
“That’s fine, I’m going to go out into town in a little while. Afterward I am going to Applejack’s. I’ll bring you back something before you leave, okay?” She smiled at him before taking another bite of breakfast.
Half an hour later; Twilight and Spike had cleaned up their meal and opened up the library. Twilight had left Spike in charge of the library while she went shopping. Once again she promised again to bring him something before he left.
***
It was a cool and bright day in Ponyville; the spring flowers were blooming in the brightest blues, greens, yellows, and every color in between. It was a perfect day to be out on the town. Normally Twilight did not mind staying inside all day, but she was beyond glad that she picked a day like today to go out into the town’s market place. She stopped by Sugarcube Corner to pick up an order that she had placed a few days before.
“Oh, hello there Twilight!” Mrs. Cake cheerfully greeted the lavender mare as she stepped inside, “What can I do for you today?”
“Hi, Mrs. Cake!” Twilight replied in an equally cheerful manner as she made her way up to the desk. “I was just wondering if you had my order ready today,” she asked, maintaining her cheerfulness.
“Oh, yes. Just a moment!” Mrs. Cake replied as she disappeared into the back of the bakery. A few moments later she arrived with a box and set it on the counter. “Here you go deary, one Spice cake with cream cheese frosting,” she smiled at Twilight.
“Thank you Mrs. Cake,” Twilight smiled back. “Oh, by the way how are the twins doing?” she asked, her tone carefree as she paid for her cake.
“They’re doing great! Thanks for asking,” Mrs. Cake happily replied. “Before you go, could you do me a favor?” she asked.
“Sure thing Mrs. Cake, what is it?” Twilight smiled.
“If you see Pinkie Pie today, could you ask her if she can babysit for us again?” Mrs. Cake asked, “My husband and I are going to a baking convention later this week and we’re going to need somepony to babysit them.”
Twilight nodded before making her way merrily out the front door and back into the streets of Ponyville. She trotted through the market place once again, admiring the many things that were on display. In fact, she was so mesmerized by all the things that she saw, she had forgotten to watch where she was going and ended up bumping into another pony.
“Oh my gosh! I’m sorry, Miss,” Came the timid voice of one of Twilight’s closest friends, Fluttershy, “I wasn’t watching where I was- oh, hi Twilight, how are you today?” she asked after taking notice of her friend.
“It’s okay, Futtershy I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going either,” Twilight smiled, offering a hoof to help her dear friend to her hooves. “And I’m fine; what about you?”
Fluttershy took her friend’s hoof and stood. “I’m fine, thank you.” She said in her soft, quiet tone while she got to her hooves.
“So what are you up to today?” Twilight asked after helping her friend up.
“I-I was out to get some medical supplies as well as some food for my animal friends.” Fluttershy timidly replied. “Wh-what about you, Twilight?”
“I was just coming back from Sugarcube Corner. Then I was going to head over to Sweet Apple Acres to talk to Applejack.” Twilight explained, enjoying the light conversation she was having with her friend.
“Umm… if you’ll excuse me Twilight, I have to get going….” Fluttershy softly declared.
“Okay, see ya Fluttershy!” Twilight smiled at her friend before letting her pass.
“See you, Twilight…” she gently replied returning Twilight’s smile and heading off further into the market place.
***
*[A Few Minutes Later]*
Twilight was happily trotting through downtown Ponyville when she spotted another of her good friends. This time it was a particularly hyper pink mare by the name of Pinkie Pie who was merrily skipping down the opposite sidewalk.
“Pinkie!” Twilight cheerfully called out to her friend.
“Oh, hi Twilight!” Pinkie called back in a chipper voice as she skipped towards her friend, “Whatcha’ up to today?” she asked with a wide grin on her face.
“Not much, just on my way to see Applejack,” Twilight smiled in reply, “Mrs. Cake told me to ask you if you could babysit the twins later this week.”
Pinkie’s face lit up. “I’d love to!” she cried bouncing with joy. “Oh, we’re going to have so much fun! Firstwe’regonnaplayhideandseekandthen…” Pinkie droned on as she bounded off in the direction of Sugarcube Corner.
Twilight was speechless; the energy that her pink friend possessed was enough to drain that of the ponies around her. She smiled and waved her friend off as she continued to skip in the direction of her home. As soon as she was out of sight, Twilight continued on to her destination.
It only took a few more minutes before she left the most heavily populated area of Ponyville. The bright and beautiful scenery had hardly changed as she made her way through the town’s park, still intent on visiting her friend Applejack. The short encounters with her other friends weren’t in any way a bother to her, she just wanted to get the business she had done and over with so that she could get that gift she had promised Spike and return home before he had to leave.
The sun was high in the sky, pointing out that it must be sometime around noon. The birds had fully awakened and their chirps were cheerful and carefree, adding to the beauty of the day. While on her way up a small slope, Twilight spotted her friend Rainbow Dash, as well as the orange pegasus filly named Scootaloo. Curiosity had got the best of her, and she began to head in their direction.
“Hey there, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash called towards her friend, momentarily ignoring the task she had been previously occupied with.
“Hiya, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight called back as she trotted up to the two pegasus-ponies. “What are you two up to?” she asked, politely smiling at the two.
“I’m-”
“Rainbow Dash is teaching me how to fly!” Scootaloo chirped, cutting off Rainbow as she nearly passed out of pure excitement.
Twilight smiled. “That’s nice of you, Rainbow.”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “The little squirt said that she wanted to be as awesome as me someday. So I told her that to do that, she’d need to be able to fly first. And, well, here we are,” She finalized with a smug grin.
“Come on Rainbow Dash! Let’s start already!” the little orange filly anxiously begged.
“Well, see ya Rainbow!” Twilight said, starting on her way again.
“See ya!” Rainbow Dash called over her shoulder, turning back to the young filly.
***
As Twilight walked off and returned to her initial path to Sweet Apple Acres she could hear the two talking behind her. She couldn’t quite make out what was being said, but she could tell that the fan-filly was appreciatively admiring her friend Rainbow. She continued up the hill and down a dirt path until she reached the entrance of Applejack’s farm and trotted through the gate. Applejack was getting a couple of extra baskets for the day’s apple bucking.
“Hey Applejack!” Twilight called out, temporarily startling her friend.
“Oh, hey ther’ Twi’,” Applejack replied, regaining her composure, “Ya’ll startl’d me. What can ah do ya’ fer?” she asked, taking a breath and fixing her hat.
“I was wondering if I could, umm… buy some of your hard apple cider…” Twilight trailed off, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment.
“Sure, but what’s the occasion?” Applejack asked, looking over her friend suspiciously.
“I just heard from Rainbow that it was pretty good, so… I thought I’d try some…” Twilight muttered timidly. It wasn’t usually her style to go out and ask to buy any form of alcoholic beverage, but from what she had heard from Rainbow Dash, and judging by how good their regular cider was, she was quite interested in it.
“That filly’s got a mouth on her, doesn’t she?” Applejack laughed, motioning for Twilight to follow her. The lavender mare obediently followed her friend into the cellar of her home.
“Wow!” was all that Twilight had to say when she saw the various shelves stocked with bottles of the very thing that she set here to get.
Applejack chuckled. “You’d be s’prised at how many folks ‘round here enjoy this stuff,” she said as she grabbed a bottle off of the shelf.
“How much do you want for it?” Twilight asked as she looked over the hoof-bottled cider.
Applejack scoffed. “Yer mah friend Twi’, I’m givin it ta ya’ fer free yer first time,” she smiled and handed the bottle over to Twilight. “Just b’ careful sugarcube, it’s a might stronger than whatever Rainbow made it out ta be.”
Twilight nodded in reply before giving her thanks to Applejack and taking her leave.
***
The sun was starting to get a little bit lower sinking behind the distant, tall, mountains. The sky had become a brilliant golden color as the sun began to set. Twilight was almost home from Sweet Apple Acres when she remembered her promise to get a present for Spike. Hastily she made her way to the Carousel Boutique where her friend Rarity would have what she was looking for.
Fortunately, she wasn’t very far from her friend’s place of residence, for she made it there in only minutes. She raised a hoof and gently knocked on the door to which the voice of her friend called out, “Come in!” She opened the door and trotted through the door of the Carousel Boutique to where Rarity was waiting.
“Hello there, Twilight, what can I do for you?” Rarity asked in a kind tone as she stepped towards her fellow unicorn.
“Hi Rarity, I was wondering if you had any spare gems that I could give to Spike? You see, he’s going to be staying with my parents while I attend a funeral in Trottingham,” Twilight explained, “I wanted to give him a nice gift before he leaves later today.”
“Say no more, Twilight, I have just the thing!” Rarity replied before disappearing into her back room. She soon returned with a couple of sapphires enveloped in her light blue magic. “Here you are darling,” she said as she set the jewels in her friend’s saddlebags.
“Thank you so much, Rarity. I’m sure that Spike will love them,” Twilight smiled as she thanked her friend.
“No problem at all. Tell Spike that I said ‘hi,’ and I’m sorry for your loss. If you need to talk to anyone about it you can come to me, Twi’,” she finalized before seeing Twilight off and returning to her work.
***
It took little over five minutes for Twilight to return to the library. The sun had just begun to set, a vivid spectrum of pinks and oranges filled the sky. Normally, this would have distracted Twilight from the task at hoof, but she had to make it home before Spike left for Canterlot. Fortunately, he had just barely finished packing when she came trotting through the library’s entrance.
“Oh, there you are Twi’. I was wondering when you would get back.” Spike smiled at the mare.
Twilight returned the smile, pulling the gems from her saddlebags. “I got these from Rarity’s place,” she smiled, giving them to the baby dragon.
“Thanks Twi,” Spike said enthusiastically, rushing over to hug her. The lavender mare smiled and patted him on the head before sending him on his way. “Umm… Twi?” he said turning back to face the mare.
“What is it Spike?” Twilight asked in a kind tone.
“A-are you sure you want to do this?” he questioned, looking deep into the mare’s eyes.
“I’m sure, Spike,” she answered with sincerity in her voice as she disappeared within the confines of their home, closing the door behind her.
***
The rest of the day was rather uneventful. Twilight managed the library for the remaining hours that it was open. It was a rather slow day and no pony seemed to want to check out any books, save for Rainbow Dash who came in to return and check out another Daring Do book.
“How was the flying session with Scootaloo earlier today?” Twilight asked as she stamped in the due date on the card of the latest addition to the Daring Do series.
“It went well. I think the little squirt will be flying and doing tricks just like me any time now,” Rainbow proudly replied as she put the new book into her saddlebag. “Thanks. See you later Twilight!” she called as she left the library.
Twilight closed up the library early after Rainbow Dash had gone. The sun had set completely and the moon took its place in the dark, star-filled sky. She took notice of this as she glimpsed out the window before heading into the kitchen to make herself some dinner. She sat alone at the table and thoughtfully chewed on a daffodil sandwich while she read the last few chapters of a book that she had been reading for the past couple of days.
As she came upon the last chapter, her mind wandered to the bottle of hard cider that Applejack had given her earlier that day. She set down the book gently as well as her sandwich and went to search for the bottle. She smiled slightly as she found it exactly where she had left it, in her saddlebag, alongside the cake box. She grabbed both items and brought them into the kitchen.
She took down a small wine glass she had hidden on top of one cabinet and uncorked the bottle, filling the glass with its fizzing contents. The pale golden liquid foamed slightly as she brought it over to where she had been sitting. She resumed her reading and finished her sandwich. A few moments later she was done reading the book and set it down and took a sip of the apple cider.
“Wow, Applejack wasn’t kidding…” She commented with a shake of her head before taking another sip and re-shelving the book. She slowly trotted back to the kitchen and opened the cake box to find just what Mrs. Cake had told her. Embroidered upon its face were the words ‘to my loving friends'. She carefully cut it into six pieces and placed it back into the box, returning the lid to its original position.
Twilight poured herself another glass of cider before trotting over to her writing desk. Sitting down, she grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill and began to write. She wrote for a few moments before taking another sip of her cider and rolling up the parchment in a scroll-like fashion. She took the cake from the kitchen and placed it and the scroll on the front desk of the library. After she had finished that task, she went upstairs to bathe. A few minutes later she emerged from the bathroom, sporting a bathrobe and a neatly brushed, wet mane.
Again she poured herself a glass of cider and headed out onto the balcony. She stared for what seemed like an eternity at the night sky, taking in its numerous constellations, stars, and planets. A tear slipped over her cheek and she wondered what it would be like to live among the heavens. Slowly she stood and sighed before looking over the side of her silvery, moonlit balcony. She gasped; the beauty of the view was genuine and quite striking. Sipping the last of her cider she placed the glass on the rail of the balcony. Taking in the night’s beauty, she sighed longingly before stepping over the rail.
A sense of serenity filled her body as she stood on the edge of the balcony with her back legs, her forelegs wrapped around the supporting poles of the rail. She looked down to see the calm, cool grass a considerable distance below her. Taking in a deep breath and releasing her support slowly, she let go. Calmness followed by a falling sensation tickled her senses as she plummeted to the ground below. Clinging to her last moment of life, Twilight Sparkle opened her eyes to see the faces of all of her friends and family before everything went black.
***
*[The Next Day]*
It was early morning; Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity made their way to the library’s front entrance. The five of them were coming to see how their mutual friend, Twilight, was feeling with the funeral coming up. They all had slightly different reasons at first; however, it was soon known amongst them that one of their friend’s family members had passed away, they made it a priority to cheer her up.
When they arrived, it was Applejack who knocked on the door. “Sugarcube, are ya’ home?” she asked softly as she continued to knock. When no reply came she called out again, “Sugarcube, it’s your friends! We came over ta’ make ya’ feel better.”
A scream pierced the air suddenly; it was Pinkie. The others rushed around to the side of the library where the now straight-haired, matte-pink mare was sitting next to a lavender heap in the grass. “Sh-she’s not b-breathing…” Pinkie sobbed.
The other four gasped and surrounded their friend. Twilight was lying limp and cold in the grass with an emotionless expression upon her face. They quickly dragged her inside of the library, finding that the door had been unlocked the whole time. They whole group was dumbstruck and in a panic as they laid Twilight onto one of the many couches in the library.
“Rarity! Go get a glass of water and a blanket!” Applejack illogically commanded her friend through her panic.
Rarity nodded and turned to the kitchen, only stop and stare at the library welcome desk. “G-girls…” she said, almost choking.
“What is it?” Applejack called out, hastily galloping to Rarity’s side. Rarity whimpered slightly as she pointed a hoof at a large, rather out of place scroll atop a small box. Applejack picked up the scroll in her mouth and trotted back to the others. She stopped in the center of the small circle her friends made.
“Wha-what is i-it?” Fluttershy asked, a continuous stream of tears pouring down her cheeks and stinging her eyes.
Applejack unrolled it, tearing up as she looked over its contents. “I-it’s a note…” Applejack choke, unable to tear her eyes away from it.
“W-well, wh-what does it say?” Rainbow Dash asked, fighting the urge to cry.
Applejack sighed and began to reading the contents of the scroll aloud:
“To My Beloved Friends;
By the time the five of you read this, it will be quite clear that I am no longer alive. I sincerely apologize for leaving you girls the way I did; I just couldn’t handle life much longer. I know that I never showed signs that anything was wrong, but I’ve been having a very hard time lately. It’s actually been this way for months. I can’t place my hoof as to why, but I’ve lost the will to live. At least this way I’ll be on my way to better days.
“I know that there probably isn’t anything that I can say or do to justify my actions now. I just honestly can’t take it anymore. I know that I’d told a few of you about a funeral that I had to go to in Trottingham, but that was a lie. The only funeral that I’ll be attending, will be my own. I’m sorry that it had to be this way. By leaving this note I just wanted to say, ‘Good-bye my dear friends,’ and that I hope to Celestia that you all can forgive me. Even if it takes a while.
“I left each of you a slice of cake; one for each of my beloved friends who helped me to live as long as I did. I wish I could have stayed with you longer. I realize that I haven’t made it very clear as to the reasons behind my actions. To be honest, I am not even sure myself. I’ll miss all of you dearly.
Your Friend,
The late Twilight Sparkle.”
Applejack looked up from the note, tears streaming down her cheeks. The others’ faces mirrored her agony, the pain and confusion was mutual between all five ponies. Pinkie Pie was crying into their deceased friend’s side while Rarity and Fluttershy stared blankly into space, crying silently as they tried to coherently gather their thoughts. Rainbow Dash had excused herself to the bathroom where her sobs could be heard through the silent tree-home.
Applejack stood and made her way sluggishly over to the lavender unicorn. She sobbed as she took her cold friend into an embrace and whispered in her ear, “We’ll miss ya’ Surgarcube…”
___________________________________________________
The End
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