ONE LAST DAY
It was a beautiful Friday morning - the sun was shining, the birds were chirping and the sky was clear of clouds. It was just the perfect day to go and do something fun and entertaining. It looked like everypony was spending the day outside, but there was one particular unicorn that would rather stay inside her home, and that unicorn was Twilight Sparkle - the smartest pony in Ponyville. She would gladly go out with her friends, but she couldn't do it, because it was an important day for her, it was re-shelving day! Twilight has waited all week for this.
She positioned herself in the middle of the library and using her magic she stacked all the books in the library into one big pile at the center of the library. Seconds later, she had made a four foot tall stack of books. Re-shelving wasn't a problem for her at all, because it was really fun once she got into it.
While Twilight was busy sorting various books, her assistant, Spike, noticed a unique book left on the table.
"Hmm, “Mysterious spells and incantations”. Twilight! I think you missed one." The baby dragon walked over to Twilight and handed her the book.
"I've never seen this book here before." Twilight turned her head out of curiosity.
"Well then, read it, see what it says."
"Yes! I will read it right now." She picked up the book and started heading towards her bed.
"But Twilight... You should finish re-shelving the books first... I always end up tripping over them." The baby dragon tried to stop her.
"Oh Spike, Just watch where you are going and I’m sure you will be fine." She pointed out with an eager to read the book.
"Come on Twilight, can you just re-shelve first, I mean, this book isn’t going to disappear or anything.."
"Maybe you are right.. I'll re-shelve and then I’ll read."
"Do you promise?"
"I promise."
"Pinkie promise?"
Twilight sighed and said "… Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
"Yes! Now you have to re-shelve." He points his claw at her.
Twilight just giggled and continued re-shelving.
~~~*~~~*~~~
The purple mare is finally done with her chores for the day. Books - re-shelved, groceries - bought, library - cleaned.
"Finally, some free time for myself." She took a deep breath and eased up, “… Oh, I was so busy with my chores, I almost forgot about that book I wanted to read." She chuckled.
At that moment, Spike was at Sugarcube corner, so Twilight was able to talk out loud and not be embarrassed while doing so.
Twilight picks up the book and opens it.
"Hmm, let's see.. Teleportation spell.. I already know that, and this, and that.. This too.. That too..."
It seems that the book Twilight was reading contained the spells that she had already knew from before.
"Wait a second.." Twilight’s eyes stopped for a moment as she stumbled upon a spell that seemed different from all of the other ones, "… Revealing spell - a spell used to see things that the pony eye can't.. I don't exactly remember learning this spell.." She tilted her head right, trying to remember if she had even ever heard of it, "… Maybe not, but this is a great opportunity to widen my knowledge." Twilight, out of curiosity, starts reading the instructions on how to use the spell.
~~~*~~~*~~~
Hours had passed, but Twilight was still sticking her snout in that book, trying over and over again to cast that spell.
"Alright, one more time!" Her horn started to glow brightly, "Almost... got it…" She said while white particles started appearing from her horn, "Just a little bit more...!" And after that, it felt like her horn exploded, she made a small magic shock wave in her library, while her eyes started to glow in white.
"I did it!" She shouted with joy.
Now she was able to truly see everything. The air, her breath, creatures behind walls and ceilings.. Strangely enough, the sky was emitting white and golden beautiful lights. She quickly went outside, but as she did, she ran out of energy and her eyes turned back to normal.
"Wow, this spell is really exhausting.." She said while she was trying to keep her balance.
She glared at the sky for a few seconds, "I still wonder.. Why was the sky glowing like that?" She figured that she needs to improve, so she went inside and practiced the spell so she could cast it for a longer period of time.
~~~*~~~*~~~
The door opened and Spike entered the library.
"Twilight, I'm back." Spike raised his voice so Twilight could hear.
"Great! Did you buy the quills I asked you to?"
"Yeah, I will put them on your table." Spike noticed that Twilight didn’t come down to greet him, "… Uhm, Twilight.. What are you doing?" He continued.
"I am practicing a new spell that I found in the book I read, but I can't make it last longer than a few minutes."
Spike closed the door and went up to the second floor.
"And what other spells did you find in that book?"
“Oh, nothing new.. Just a bunch of spells I already knew. There was just one spell I didn’t know."
"And what does it do?" The baby dragon concentrated his vision on Twilight as he was expecting something spectacular from her.
"Well, the spell lets me see objects that a plain pony eye is not capable of seeing."
"Like, like... ghosts?" He lowers his voice.
"Oh Spike, like I've already told you before, ghosts do not exist."
"How can you be so sure about that Twilight, you've never even seen one…"
"Exactly, that’s why even with the spell already casted, I didn’t see any ghosts."
After a short talk with Spike, Twilight decided that it is enough practicing the new spell and it’s time to go outside, while Spike on the other claw, decided that it's best for him to stay in the library, as he had already spent half of the day outside.
Twilight galloped to the front door.
"Spike, I'm going out for a walk, don't go anywhere until I'm back."
"I know, I know! For the love of Celestia, I'm not a baby Twilight!" Spike yelled back.
"Sorry Spike, I just don't want to lose you, you know that I care for you.” Twilight smiled, “… You’re my number 1 assistant not for nothing, after all.." She giggled.
"I'm sorry Twilight, it's just that sometimes I get annoyed by that.." Spike paused, "It feels like everypony keeps treating me like a baby…"
"Believe me, you don't want to grow up. The older you get, the more and more you miss being younger." She gave Spike a warm smile and left the library.
It was truly a wonderful day, just the perfect day to meet up with friends and have some fun. At that thought Twilight was already heading to Sugarcube corner to invite Pinkie for a walk.
Upon arrival at Sugarcube Corner, Twilight took notice of a rainbow mane visible through out the window. She opens the door and enters. It really was a rainbow mane, which belonged to the cyan pony named Rainbow Dash.
"Hello there, Rainbow Dash."
"Huh?" Rainbow Dash noticed Twilight standing with a curious look on her face.
"What are you here for?" Twilight asked.
"Sup, Twilight. I'm waiting here for Pinkie Pie. She told me she's free today, so I thought we could have some fun together. And what are you here for?"
"Funny, I had the same idea." She lifts her head up with perked up cheeks. "How about we go together?" She suggested.
"We could have a huge picnic!" The pink pony exclaims upstairs.
Both Rainbow Dash and Twilight stared at the stairs confused.
"I'd better watch out if I were you…" Mrs. Cake said backing away from the stairs.
Everyone heard a loud crash and Pinkie sky-rocketed at Rainbow Dash and Twilight.
"We should totally go to the park and have a picnic, girls!! Oh, oh, we should invite Applejack and Rarity too, oh and how can I forget Fluttershy, that shy pony will-"
"We get it Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash shouted and put her hoof in Pinkie’s mouth.
Pinkie Pie just tries to utter something but fails.
"You see Pinkie, Applejack can't go because she has to finish bucking apples and Rarity has a lot of dresses to make. We'll have to make a picnic ourselves." Rainbow Dash explained.
"Okie dokie~!" Pinkie started jumping around, "… Hey, wait a second, what about Fluttershy?"
"I don't know."
"Oh, I know! I'll get all the things we'll need for the picnic and you guys go check if Fluttershy is free for the picnic." With that, the pink pony jumped off to her room to prepare.
"I'll go help her, just so she doesn't bring too much stuff to the picnic." Rainbow Dash chuckled slightly.
“Right, I guess I'll go check on Fluttershy then."
Twilight exited Sugarcube Corner and headed to Fluttershy’s cottage.
When she was approaching the cottage she noticed that the air started to feel a little bit colder than it should. Strangely, Fluttershy’s cottage seemed normal on the outside, but she doubted that it would be the same on the inside.
As she got closer and closer to the cottage, the noises coming from it got louder and louder. "What could Fluttershy be doing that would make so much noise..?" Twilight thought to herself. She knocked on the door, but the noises still continued. It sounded like if some wild animals got loose in Fluttershy’s house. She slightly opened the door and peeked inside.
"Fluttershy?!" She got surprised.
Fluttershy’s house was full of critters running around. The yellow mare did her best to try and round them all up, but she was worried about scaring them too much.
"Oh.. Twilight.. Could you.. possibly.. maybe..help me round all these critters up, please?"
"Yes, of course." She quickly answers.
Both of them started running around in Fluttershy’s house trying to catch the critters and let them all outside.
~~~*~~~*~~~
After about 10 minutes, they managed to get them all outside.
"Thanks a lot Twilight, I wouldn't have done it without you." Fluttershy grinned.
Fluttershy quickly flew over the critters outside and started pointing at all of them as if she was counting.
"Eighteen! Where are the other two?!" She started panicking.
Fluttershy started flying all over her cottage like crazy. Twilight, seeing that, used a spell to stop her.
"Don't worry, I'll help you look for them, just stay calm, and everything is going to be alright."
"I guess so..." Fluttershy nervously replied.
Both of them started looking around the cottage for the two missing critters.
"What are we looking for again?"
"Two brown squirrels."
"Okay."
With every passing minute, Fluttershy got more and more stressed.
"Oh, what if we'll never find them, what if they get trapped.. or lost." She gasps, "… What if they d-" Twilight puts a hoof in her mouth and remembers that she has learned a new spell not a long ago.
"Everything is going to be ok. Look, I'll try a spell I've learned, it should help us find them."
Twilight concentrated. Her horn started to glow slightly, and with every second passing it got brighter and brighter. After she concentrated enough, her horn sent out a little shock wave and turned Twilight’s eyes white.
"Are you ok, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked worried.
"Don't worry, I'm fine, it's just a spell."
Twilight begins scanning the area for some signs of life. She starts to see two green figures in a fog-like view behind a closet.
"Huh, I can even see things behind the walls?" She asked herself not believing what she saw, "… Fluttershy, go check the closet, I think something is in there."
Fluttershy walked up to the closet and with a face of fear and attempted to open it. She grabbed the handle and slowly opened it to find that two squirrels were inside.
"The squirrels really were in the closet Twilight, thanks again for helping me." Fluttershy eased up.
"You're welcome." She grinned.
Twilight turned to the door and was about to go out, but she stopped as soon as she remembered about the picnic. She turned back to Fluttershy.
"Oh and Fluttershy, I forgot to tell you tha-" Twilight froze in place because of what she saw.
A black figure was standing behind Fluttershy. Twilight gasped and as she did, her spell broke and ended, she could no longer see that scary and mysterious thing.
"What's wrong Twilight, did I startle you? I'm.. sorry if I did…" She lowered her head in shame.
"No, no, I just thought I saw a ghost, that's all."
"You know ghosts aren't real, right? You even said that once yourself."
"I know, I know.." She said in a low calm voice, still trying to figure out what the black figure could have ment.
"So, what was it you wanted to tell me?"
"What do yo- The picnic! I totally forgot about it.. Well, me, Pinkie and Rainbow are going for a picnic, and we thought you could join us."
"Oh, thanks for inviting me Twilight, but I got to take care of these animals today, so I can't do anything besides staying here."
"Don’t worry, that's fine."
Twilight walked back to Pinkie and Rainbow, who are now standing ten meters away from Fluttershy’s cottage.
"What took you so long?" Pinkie Pie shouts from a distance.
Twilight walks up to both of them.
"I was helping Fluttershy with her animals.. She also said she can't go, so, it looks like it's going to be the three of us then."
"It's still a picnic even if there are only three ponies attending." Pinkie pie exclaims.
"Well then, let's get a move on it." Rainbow Dash spoke up while her patience was slowly running out.
~~~*~~~*~~~
Spike was very concentrated on finishing a drawing of Rarity. Just when Twilight left the house, he immediately started drawing. He drew Rarity standing near him and kissing him. It wasn’t the best drawing Spike has ever made, but it was worth it. Spike’s concentration suddenly ended when he heard somepony opening the door.
"Spike! I'm back from the picnic." Twilight said, right after she closed the door behind her.
He quickly hid his drawing and the tools used to make it behind the table and rushed to the door.
"Hey Twilight, how was your walk?" He asked Twilight, with an awkward smile, and cheeks as red as Big Mac’s coat.
"Oh, it was nice, we had a picnic and.... Hey! Why are you so curious about it and why are your cheeks so red? Spike, what are you hiding?" She gave him a serious look.
"Nothing, I was just... just... umm... " Spike started nervously looking around, trying to find an excuse. "I was just wondering if you've visited Rarity."
"No, that's not it."
Twilight galloped to the second floor and started examining the place. All looked clear. Everything was in their places.
"Spike, what did you do?" She asked him with a raised voice.
"Nothing, it’s just that.. it’s really.. hot here… that's all."
"Well, I guess you wouldn't hide anything from me anyways.."
Spike stopped blushing. Twilight failed to find out about Spike’s secret, or did she?
Right after thinking that Spike wasn’t hiding anything, she noticed that the table was out of place.
"Aha!" She shouted proudly.
She oversaw a piece of paper behind the table.
"No! Twilight, please, don't!" Spike started begging her to not to check what he had hid there.
Twilight slowly took the sheet of paper. She lowered her head to see if there was anything more there. There was a pencil and an eraser there too. She looked at the sheet of paper, the same sheet of paper where Spike drew Rarity kissing him. Twilight’s expression suddenly changed to one of apology.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Spike.." She put the sheet of paper on the table. "You just made me think that you were hiding something dangerous, I just wanted to make sure you are safe."
Spike got embarrassed. Twilight knew that Spike had a crush on Rarity, but he didn't want her to know that he likes to draw her too. It was an embarrassing moment to him.
"Come on Spike, there's nothing to be ashamed of, so what if you like drawing, other ponies do things that are way more embarrassing than this, besides, this picture isn't that bad.. You should be proud of it." She gives him a comforting smile.
"You...you really think it is good?" He asks still slightly embarrassed.
"It's better than good."
Spike ran off to draw, while Twilight lay on her bed and picked up a book to read.
~~~*~~~*~~~
Fluttershy was lying on the floor. She was really hurt.
"Help me, Twilight, please.. I need your help..." Fluttershy started coughing blood.
The dark figure that she saw earlier in Fluttershy’s cottage was near Fluttershy’s lifeless body. It took a swing of its scythe, to take away Fluttershy away.
Twilight started screaming and instantly woke up. It was a nightmare. Spike woke up and rubbed his eyes.
"What's wrong Twilight, why were you screaming like that?"
"Never mind that, I just had a nightmare, that's all."
"Whatever the nightmare was, you should calm down Twilight, everything is going to be alright."
Spike lay down and fell asleep.
"Maybe you're right Spike, maybe you're right..." Twilight said quietly.
Twilight laid back, closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but the image of that dark figure kept haunting her. She jumped out of her bed. Spike was still asleep, so Twilight decided to find out some information about the shadowy figure she got scared of.
~~~*~~~*~~~
Upon reading some books, she came to the conclusion that the shadowy figure is no one else, than Death itself, and that really got her scared and worried. "Oh no.. What is Death doing in Fluttershy’s cottage?”
"No..." She "spat" it out.
She quickly went to check the time. It's 6 a.m. It's cold outside in the morning, so Twilight put on her scarf. She went back upstairs to tuck in Spike and then quietly left the library. A cold breeze went through her. She shivered.
"It sure is cold out here."
No pony is awake, so no problems. She started running towards Fluttershy’s cottage. The air got colder and colder as she got closer and closer to it.
~~~*~~~*~~~
As soon as she arrived at Fluttershy’s, she's starting to look through the windows to see if Fluttershy's ok. Fluttershy is peacefully sleeping in her own bed.
"Phew, I guess she's safe. But to be sure, I need to check it with the spell one more time."
Twilight’s horn glowed again and her eyes became white. She started observing the place from the window. The black figure was still standing near Fluttershy’s bed, just looking at her.
Twilight was worried like she had never been before, one of her friends is about to die and she can't do anything to help her, or can she? She gulped and then she thought to herself: "Come on Twilight, your friend is in danger and you won't do anything to help? I need to help her, I will learn how to summon.... Death... and I'll talk to him and settle this once and for all." And not a second sooner, she turned off the spell and galloped towards the library to learn about Death and find out how to summon it.
~~~*~~~*~~~
Spike was still sleeping in his bed. The library’s environment was just perfect. No noise, no distractions. Twilight started running through her books searching for any book that could help her.
"Hmm, "Dark sorcery and rituals", that sounds helpful."
She started flipping the pages in search for anything related to Death.
"Aha." She uttered quietly.
She had found what she was looking for, now all she needed to do, is to get Fluttershy out of her cottage for a moment, so she could talk to Death without noticing Fluttershy about it.
~~~*~~~*~~~
It's time, time to summon, Death. Twilight isn't sure if what she's doing is wrong or right, but she wanted to help Fluttershy no wonder what. While Fluttershy is helping Zecora to gather plants, Twilight broke in her cottage and drew a lot of symbols on the ground. She started chanting and after that she felt a cold breeze. The symbols she painted started glowing and in the middle of them, it appeared.
Death was now in the middle of the strange symbols. It's a tall black humanoid type of being. From the looks of it, he was wearing some kind of black robe, the robe itself wasn't that good, it looked burnt up and ripped in several places or even aged for a thousand years, but it had neither sleeves nor holes for arms and was emitting some sort of black fog from the bottom of it. The robe like thing was hooded and it was covering his face, or something that seemed like it. You could see two white dots in the place where eyes were supposed to be. The dots looked like they were floating in an empty void. Twilight got cold just by standing in the same room with it. She suddenly realized why it got colder everytime she approached Fluttershy’s cottage.
"By whom am I, Death, summoned."
"By me, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight tried her best to stand firm and fearless in the face of death, but failed to do that.
"By what purpose have I been summoned?" His emotionless voice is echoing throughout the room.
"I have summoned you here to ask you some questions."
"Twilight Sparkle, do you realize that Death is not a toy to be played with?"
"I... I do understand that, but there are things I must know of." She got a hold of herself, "… Why are you staying at Fluttershy’s? I know you've been here, I've seen you with my spell."
Death stood there in complete silence for a moment.
"The pony you speak of is nearing her end."
Twilights eyes started filling up with tears, she bit her lip. "No, not now, I can cry later..." She said to herself in a low voice. "… What do you mean?" her voice is now louder than earlier and the fear she had before had disappeared.
"A disease is slowly killing her."
Twilight wanted to cry, but she forced herself not to.
"But she's absolutely fine! She can't have a disease." Twilight, unable to understand what Death was saying, fiercely shouted.
"I'm afraid there's nothing you can do about that, her faith is sealed.. Please, stop wasting my time."
Twilight just stood there, wishing it all was just a horrible nightmare.
"Why?! Why did it have to be her?! She's the kindest, nicest, most caring pony in Equestria!" She started yelling at Death.
"Everyone gets a visit from me from time to time, nothing is eternal. Life has to end sooner or later."
Death paused to let Twilight calm down.
"But I came too early for a selfish, yet for a great reason. I'm taking her before her pain starts. I've been watching that pony for quite some time now and a pony like her does not deserve to feel such unbearable pain. So I'm taking her tonight, while she sleeps." Death answers her, once again, without any emotions.
Twilight is still sad for what Death will do, but for some reason, she felt that it's right of Death to do this. She stood silent for a moment just to think. Her eyes filled up with tears. After a moment, they started dropping down. She wished she could somehow extend Fluttershy’s life for a little bit longer.
"Can... can you give her some more time..?" The purple pony barely uttered those words out.
"I'm sorry Twilight Sparkle, I wish to take her tonight, not anytime else."
"Please... I beg you... Give her more time..." Twilight started to cry more and more as time passed. "I can give you some of my life, take a year, no, five, no, take all of it! Just please... Please! ...let me be with her if not for a week, maybe for a day. Let me have her… for... one last day..."
"You really care for this pony, don't you. I think I can let her live for another day, but I will take five years of your life for it."
Twilight, without being able to say anything, just nodded to Death, therefore agreeing with what he had offered. She was very shocked, terrified and deep in tears.
"Very well. I shall allow that, one more day." Deaths voice is lighter and had a bit of emotion in it.
"Th-....Thank you..." Twilight stuttered out.
"That pony is a very lucky one, to have a friend like you…"
And with those words echoing through Twilight’s head, Death faded away with the symbols she had painted on the ground.
Later on, after the talk with Death, Twilight spent her whole day mostly by crying in her room. She wanted to tell everything to her friends, but they were always with Fluttershy, and Fluttershy was always with them. She couldn't bear ruining Fluttershy’s day. What made it worse for Twilight, is that Fluttershy was always with her when she needed it, caring, loving, understanding, comforting.. To know that one of your best, kindest, nicest friend is going to die, and that you can’t do nothing about it, is the worst thing ever that have ever happened to this purple coated mare. The only thing she could do was just calm down and try to make her last day - the best day she had ever had in her whole life.
~~~*~~~*~~~
Twilight invited Fluttershy to come over to her house. They had fun, drank tea and talked about things they’ve done through the day. When Fluttershy was about to leave, an idea came to Twilight’s head.
"Hey, Fluttershy."
"Yes, Twilight?"
"It's getting late and all, so I was wondering, would you want to have a sleepover at the library with me?"
"Well, well, well, looks like somepony's cheering up a little bit." She smiled. "Why, of course, I would do anything for a friend."
"Thanks, Fluttershy."
"I'm just happy I can help." She booped Twilight’s nose.
"I promise you, tomorrow is going to be the best day in your life."
Both of them stayed up for quite a while. They were talking, playing all kinds of games, including board games, had make overs and told scary stories. Before going to sleep, both of them decided on what they are going to do tomorrow. After that, they wished goodnight to each other and went to sleep.
~~~*~~~*~~~
It was an another beautiful day, there was not a single visible cloud in the sky. It was just the right weather for that day. It seemed that Fluttershy was still asleep. Twilight came near her and whispered to her ear. "Good morning, sleepy head."
"Huh? Oh Twilight, it's just you, is it morning already?" She yawns.
"It sure is." She said with a bit of worry in her voice.
"So, are we really doing everything we planned yesterday?"
"Yeah, and guess what's first on the list?"
"Breakfast?"
"Indeed, breakfast at Sugarcube Corner."
~~~*~~~*~~~
09:00 -- Breakfast with Pinkie at Sugarcube Corner.
Pinkie Pie was very happy seeing them up this early, on the other hoof, so was Fluttershy. She really cared for her friends and spending time with them meant the whole world to her. All three of them had some cupcakes and a small cake to start off the day. They especially liked talking with Pinkie, as she had a lot of funny stories to tell.
10:00 -- A walk at the park.
Taking a stroll at the park was the best thing that they could think of doing at this time. Their stomachs were filled with delicious cupcakes that the Cakes' made for them. Fluttershy, as usual, started to play with the critters. Twilight wasn't a real fan of the critters, but Fluttershy taught Twilight how to handle them, and through her help, it wasn't long until Twilight was covered in critters. I guess Fluttershy had such great knowledge of animals that she could easily teach another pony like Twilight to understand them as well.
11:00 -- Spa time with Rarity.
Fluttershy really wanted to take a trip to the spa. After all, Rarity was her best friend and she enjoyed spending time with her. The spa was very relaxing to all of the ponies except for Twilight - she was too tensed and too nervous to relax, their activities included all of their friends so she was worried about them. "Should I tell them? I mean it is her last day, and everyone should at least be with Fluttershy for her last few moments..." Thoughts like this kept her thinking deeply the entire time they were there.
12:00 -- Helping Applejack with the apples and having lunch.
Knowing that Applejack always does her chores like a game, both of the mares wanted to help her. When Applejack discovered this, she was excited to have her friends to be so interested in assisting her. Bucking apples and storing them wasn't all that hard for them, so they had plenty of time to talk and make jokes. Everypony had a part to do: Applejack bucked apples, Twilight made sure that all of the apples fell down and if they didn't she pulled them out herself, and Fluttershy flew to the trees and shook them; it was just like bucking, only from the other side.
After all of the bucking, the ponies decided that it was a great time to stop for lunch. There were so many apple goods to choose from at Applejack's place: Apple pie, apple cake, caramel apple and so much more. From the look of it, Fluttershy really enjoyed Applejack’s apple dishes.
14:00 -- A stop by Rainbow Dash’s cloud home.
The two mares were on their way to a place that Twilight really wanted Fluttershy to see. It was a surprise for her, so Fluttershy didn't really know what to expect. But once they realized that the road met with Rainbow’s cloud home on the way there, they decided to stop over at Rainbow's for a visit.
Both of the mares are now standing in front of Rainbow’s cloud home. It looked so beautiful from here, the rainbows, the clouds, and the architecture, it looked so perfect.
"Hey Rainbow, it's me, Twilight, come on out!" She shouted loud enough for Rainbow Dash to hear.
The cloud home doors opened and the cyan pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash flew out doing a few loops in the air and landed safely in front of Twilight and Fluttershy.
"Hey, what are you girls up to?"
"Oh, we were on our way to one special place I want to show Fluttershy, and we thought we would check on you first."
"And what is that "special place"?"
"It's a surprise." Twilight booped Rainbow Dash’s nose.
"Hmm, I don't have anything more to do today, so maybe I could join you."
"Of course you can!" Fluttershy exclaims with a big smile on her face. She was friends with Rainbow when she was a filly, so going out with Rainbow made Fluttershy even more happy.
After that, all three of them started walking towards the surprise. They were talking, telling stories to each other, even playing games on their way there.
15:00 -- The Surprise.
The three mares finally arrived at their destination, The kind forest "Nestas". It was the most beautiful forest in Equestria. Even if it did take them an hour to get there, it was still worth going, anything to make Fluttershy as happy as she could be.
"Ok, were almost there." Twilight said to Fluttershy who had her eyes closed, "… Just a little further." Twilight is leading her closer to the entrance of the forest, "… There." Twilight backed away so she wouldn't be in the way, "… You can open your eyes now!" She exclaims.
Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes. As she did, she instantly started smiling, the corners of her mouth were reaching eye level. I don't think anypony has ever seen her so happy.
"I... I don't know what to say..." She said before flying all over the trees and investigating the wildlife.
Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash, which was also smiling and starting to tear up.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh," She sobbed, "... nothing, It’s just been so long since I've seen her so happy like this."
"Yeah.. I don't even remember her being this happy."
"I know, right… she was always this happy before, until her best friend moved away from Cloudsdale."
Twilight shook her head in confusion. "What friend?"
"He was her best friend, they were friends from when they both were 3 years old, his name's Golden Glow. They were together for 9 years, but his family eventually moved to Fillydelphia and her happiness stopped. Forever.. It took some time for her to get back to her old self, but the true happiness from her childhood never came back…" Rainbow Dash started feeling sorry for Fluttershy as she was holding her tears back from coming outside.
"Oh.. wow…" Twilight turned her attention back to Fluttershy, which was now with two squirrels on her front legs. "… Do you know where he lives?" A great opportunity sparked in Twilight’s heart.
"I think I do. But I've never heard from him ever since he moved out. I don't even know if he still lives there.." Rainbow Dash sighs.
"Oh, don't mind that, if he doesn't live there anymore, it won’t make it any harder for me to find him, don’t worry." Twilight gave Rainbow Dash a warm confident smile. She was very determined to do anything for Fluttershy and make her the happiest pony in Equestria, before her hour comes..
"Wait, why.. Why do you want to get him?" Rainbow Dash, surprised of Twilight’s kindness, asked her with a slightly suspicious look.
"Maybe Fluttershy would like to meet him again. That would bring her happiness back, don’t you think?" Twilight still had a heartwarming smile on her face.
"You know, that's actually a really good idea. Do it Twilight, if not for her, then do it, for me.." Rainbow Dash started smiling too, while a tear slowly rolled down her cheek..
17:00 -- Heading back to Ponyville.
Fluttershy was very happy, she couldn't stop thanking Twilight for what she is doing for her. The forest truly was a magnificent site. The trees, the birds, the animals, the lakes, everything was so perfect.
18:00 -- Gather friends for the picnic.
Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash scattered across Ponyville to find Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack for the picnic. Twilight told everypony to gather near Fluttershy’s cottage precisely at 18:30. She also told them to bring some food and drinks.
18:30 -- The picnic.
Everypony from the mane six was there. Applejack brought some delicious apple goods, Rarity brought chocolate, marshmallows and biscuits to make s'mores, Rainbow brought some sandwiches, Fluttershy brought some juice to drink, Pinkie brought some pie, cupcakes, cake and sweats, and Twilight, she brought a few favorite photo albums of all of them together.
The picnic was great. It started off by a chat, but as soon as Pinkie Pie mentioned food, everypony started making s'mores and eating the cupcakes that Pinkie had brought. After that, they all started playing some games. Though the games were pretty difficult, Fluttershy, surprisingly, was always in the lead. Though it seemed so short, the picnic lasted for two and a half hours.
21:00 -- Saying our goodbyes and going home.
They've planned to end the day by 9 p.m., but there were some things that Twilight wanted to do before saying goodbye.
~~~*~~~*~~~
The picnic is over and just as planned, Spike rushed in.
"Spike! Nice of you to make it here, but were already leaving." Said Pinkie Pie.
Spike just ignored her and ran to Twilight. Twilight lowered her head so Spike can reach. He whispered her something.
"Now I don't get it. What're ya hid'n Twilight?" said Applejack with suspicion.
Twilight trotted over to Fluttershy and whispered her something. After she moved her head away Fluttershy started tearing up. She turned around and looked at the bushes in front of her and her cottage. She looked back at Twilight with tears in her eyes and a lack of belief of what she just heard. Twilight nodded to confirm what she just said. Fluttershy started smiling like never before, she quickly wiped away her tears and ran off to the bushes. Twilight and the other ponies caught Golden Glow’s look for a few seconds. His coat was yellow and his mane was golden colored, he was even shining like it. They even got a glimpse of his cutie mark, which looked strange - it was a pair of white wings spread wide.
The mane six were very confused that moment, everypony, but Rainbow Dash. Rainbow quickly remembered the talk she had with Twilight at the park. She just smiled at her.
"Twilight, what did you tell that shy little pony that made her cry? And who is that stallion behind the bushes she ran off to?" asked Rarity.
"You see, earlier today, I asked Spike to find Golden Glow, the stallion that is behind the bushes, Fluttershy’s best childhood friend. Once Spike found out where he lives, he sent him a letter." She looks back at the bushes where Fluttershy ran, "… And now here we are. Spike told me that he's waiting for her behind the bushes, and that's what I told Fluttershy. I wanted for them to be alone, to catch up on their lives.."
"Well that's mighty nice of you Twilight." Rarity responded.
Everypony started smiling and talking to pass the time while Fluttershy was with her long lost friend."
~~~*~~~*~~~
Twilight and the other 4 ponies were gazing up at the stars, it was truly a marvelous sight. Suddenly, everypony heard something move in the bushes, and all of them focused their attention on it. It was Fluttershy, who was crying and smiling at the same time. Her smile was different, though, something that nopony has seen for quite a long time. It looked like she was so happy, that she started emitting a strange illusionary glow. Twilight couldn't help herself but start shedding tears of joy, knowing that she accomplished her task and that her friend is as happy as she could get..
Fluttershy walked over to Twilight and gave her a tight hug.
"Thank you, Twilight!" Fluttershy’s emotions were leaking out as she kept hugging Twilight harder and harder.
"You- you are... you are welcome…" Twilight stuttered out when Fluttershy released her.
Pinkie Pie looks up to the sky again.
"Oh! Girls, girls, girls! Come see this!" She starts pointing at the sky. "Look, a falling star!"
Twilight wiped her tears off. She looked at Fluttershy. She had her eyes closed, already making a wish. Twilight did that as well.
Everypony was lying on the grass, up on the hill, near Fluttershy’s cottage. They were silent, happy, but silent. They did not need to talk, as they could feel each other’s feelings without expressing them.
~~~*~~~*~~~
It was eleven p.m., all of them are preparing to go home. They said their goodbyes, all of them, but Twilight. As everypony except Fluttershy, headed home, they were left alone with each other, again.. Twilight started tearing up again and biting her lip. Her tears were flowing down her warm cheeks. She realized.. It's time… time to say goodbye. She did not want to do it, she did not want this to be the last time she sees Fluttershy.
"Twilight, why are you crying?" Fluttershy got confused, "… You made this day the best day in my life, you should be happy, not sad." She gave her a smile.
Twilight just keeps holding back her tears, but she fails. She stops biting her lips, she relaxes her muscles and lets her emotions flow. She starts smiling and crying at the same time. She realized that she succeeded, this is the best day ever in Fluttershy’s life.
"Twilight, I don't know what you are worrying about, but I can assure you one thing, everything is going to be alright. If you're feeling down, you can always sleep over here. Why, that would make this day even better!" Fluttershy smiled out of joy.
Twilight gave Fluttershy a warm smile. "I think I'll stay."
Fluttershy insisted Twilight to sleep in her bed, even though Twilight tried to refuse, Fluttershy constantly asked. "Well, it is what she wants, so I guess I can cope with it." Twilight thought. And with that Fluttershy went downstairs to sleep.
"Goodnight Twilight, I hope you have the best of dreams, I know I will!"
A tear runs down Twilight’s cheek. "Good night, Fluttershy."
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~
It is yet another beautiful morning, perfect for a picnic, though, not so perfect for Twilight. She knew what has happened, she was just too afraid to look.
Twilight slowly got out of Fluttershy’s bed, stood up. She was a little dizzy from standing up too fast. After that she started walking over to the stairs.
"Fluttershy?" She asked, just wishing to hear her delicate little voice, but sadly, no answer.
Twilight began going down the stairs. She stopped. There she was, lying on the floor, curled up in a little ball. She was smiling.
Twilight slowly approached her and started petting her on the back with her hoof. She died a painless death. Twilight wanted to smile, but she couldn't. She teared up again and the floor started to get wet from her tears.
"She.... she's gone....." Twilight cries harder for a little bit. "... gone to a better place..." She tries to comfort herself.
She couldn’t take it anymore, she finally cracked. Twilight wrapped her arms around Fluttershy, crying in her mane and coat, wishing this was just huge nightmare.
Sadly, it wasn't.
~~~*~~~*~~~
There were a lot of ponies at the funeral. All of them were sad, but not as sad and depressed as the mane six were. Twilight took it the most. She wasn't willing to even look at the cast Fluttershy was in.
Princess Celestia walked to the cast.
"Today, we lost a very special pony. A pony who was kind, helping and all forgiving. You couldn't find any pony kinder than her, which is why she is the element of kindness." Celestia takes a deep breath. "I know it's hard of you girls, but do you have anything you want to say or give before we bury her?" She turns to the mane six.
"We do." Applejack said.
The mane six formed a line to the cast. Applejack was first. She took her hat off her head.
"Mah parents gave me this hat when Ah was lil', before their..." Applejack's eyes began filling up with tears, no matter how hard she tried not to cry, she just couldn't hold back. "They told me that ah was the nicest and kindest pony they ever knew. Ah don’t know anypony that’s as kind as ya are, so Ah'm giving mah hat to ya." She turns around and walks back in front of the crowd. Tears were now flowing freely.
Next in line was Rarity.
She wasn't looking as she would usually look. The unicorn was with no makeup. Even though it was a funeral, she still shocked a lot of ponies, Rarity would always wear makeup, but not today. The unicorn took time, her emotions literally couldn't let her speak properly. After a few seconds of silence, which seemed hours for Rarity, she opened her saddle bag and took out some sort of folded dress.
"This was the dress that you and I made five years ago. You always loved my work and always gave me confidence when I was down, and after we finished the dress, you wore it for every party. It got small, so you wanted me to have it, or give it to somepony who can fit in it. I kept it as a reminder of you." Rarity looks up in the evening sun and smiles with tears in her eyes. "… And now I want you to have it and never forget me." Her smile turns to a grin filled with sadness, as she puts the dress in the cast and walks over to Applejack.
Now it was Pinkie Pie’s turn.
She took out some kind of box she had in her saddle bag and put it in the cast. The box was very colorful, there was a lot of pink and yellow colors there. On the top of the box there was a picture of Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie baking some cake together, there were balloon stickers all over it. The pink party pony just stood there for a few moments letting the memories she shared with her sink in to her.
"I've collected them all and put them in this box here. I hope, that wherever you are..." The pony couldn't hold back her emotions any longer. Water started pouring down her eyes as she tried to finish the sentence. " ... I.. I hope you'll remember me."
Everypony was surprised as Pinkie’s mane stayed inflated. At a sad moment like this, it should have been flat. But it couldn't be flat. No matter how sad it was, Pinkie knew that she is happy and would not want to see her friend crying and being depressed like that.
She wiped her tears off. Her eyes were still full of tears, but she smiled. She wanted to be remembered happy and smiling. After a good minute, she walked back to where she was standing in the first place.
Rainbow Dash was next.
She took out an old ticket and put it in the cast. It was a ticket to the Wonderbolts performance in the Cloudsdale arena. "It seems like it was just yesterday. You gave it to me on my birthday. We had so much fun there, I just wish I could relive that moment, so I'm giving it back to you, so that where ever you are, you can always remember that day." She was grinning a lot while she was talking. "… I promise that we'll meet again, you'll just have to wai-" She cracked and started crying.
Rarity hugged the cyan pony and leaded her to the rest of the girls. Now only Twilight was left.
Twilight walked over. She tried to say something, but she couldn't, the constant crying made her unable to speak. She was taking it the hardest. Everypony from the mane six walked over to give her a hug, but she just turned around and ran away. She didn't want to do this, she wasn't ready. Rainbow Dash raised her wings and wanted to try and catch her, but Applejack stopped her. "She just needs some time alone."
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~
Twilight ran where her legs could carry her. She didn't exactly see where she was going, but she didn't care.
After a few minutes of running, she came to a stop. She was on a hill. It had a nice view. You could see a river, some trees and some critters there, "… Fluttershy would have loved this place..." She thought and the tears came back up again. It was mid-day, the sun was still high up in the sky. Twilight started thinking of all the times she spent with Fluttershy. She wants her back.
Twilight’s sadness turned to depression. She has lain here for hours, just thinking of Fluttershy. She didn’t even realize that she had fell asleep.
~~~*~~~*~~~
The unicorn slept for about 2 hours and woke up depressed, but something was strange. She felt warm. As if somepony was hugging her. Twilight stood up and quickly scanned her surroundings. No pony was there. It got her even more depressed. The unicorn remembered one thing. The sky, it was so beautiful when she looked at it with the "Revealing" spell. She thought of casting it one more time just to check the sky.
Twilight stood up, she ready to do this. Her horn started to glow and not a second sooner, her eyes were infused with magic. She took a glance at the sky. It was majestic, so shiny and white. Of course it had some holes in it and bright golden light was coming from them, it was truly a beautiful sight nopony else has ever seen. But something caught the unicorn’s eye, something yellow at the corner of her eye. She turned her head to the left and for her surprise, she saw her. She saw Fluttershy. Twilight’s jaw dropped and she started crying. Fluttershy just stood there and smiled at her.
"Thank you, Twilight." She whispered.
Twilight’s eyes were filled with tears. She did not believe what she saw, but suddenly her doubts faded away as she remembered the warmness she felt when she woke up. It was Fluttershy, her soul was with all of them all along…
"Thank you for everything you've ever done for me. Don't forget, I'll be watching you from up there." Fluttershy winked Twilight.
Twilight wiped her tears off. She was feeling slightly better. She remembered a few books she had read before about a place called "Heaven", and so she finally realized what the majestic golden glowing from the sky was all about.
Fluttershy turned around and nodded to someone. Twilight looked at a tree Fluttershy nodded at. Golden Glow was behind it. Twilight was surprised. "Was… was he dead all this time?!" Her thoughts echoed through her mind. Fluttershy and Golden Glow started to fly up to the sky and soon faded away to the light. Twilight slowly walked over to the tree that Golden Glow was standing near. She found a tombstone with a text graved on it:
Here lies Golden Glow
The most loyal stallion a pony could ever dream of.
May he protect the ones he loves in life and death.
"...no. He's her guardian angel.."
With that sentence, Twilight walked back to her library and told her friends the whole story. They were very proud of what Twilight did for Fluttershy. Her friends reminded her that she didn't give anything to Fluttershy before lowering the cast to the ground. Twilight knew that, so she went to the grave and put some kind of letter on it. A letter, for Fluttershy. She smiled and looked at the sky.
"I know you will read it, I just know it."
THE END
