The Last of Its Kind
by Crystal Secret
Its tormented agony blew a gale against the mare's shivering body, but she stood mightily against the storm's ferocious and sinister anarchy. The empty fields were completely absent of light except for that of the small lantern she carried before her. Its little light was slowly flickering out as she made the long and difficult journey across the field.
A dark and mysterious forest stood just beyond the exposure of the wheat covered plain. She knew of the undiscovered and precious wonders that it held but to get there was what kept her from coming out here often, especially on a stormy night such as this. Her mane blew uncontrollably in the relentless wind as she continued her journey slowly but not without the subconscious desire to suddenly give up and return to the safety and warmth of the palace.
For years now it had been her rightful duty to preserve the life and well-being of the single rarest species of flower known to pony kind. Even though she had more important royal duties to take the helm of, she still felt the burning desire to be sure that she did something for herself every once in awhile. It was not uncharacteristic for her to sometimes go to extreme lengths to do what is right. But in her own mind, she felt against all odds she could make this almost like a special ritual, a dedication to what lives had now come to pass.
The entrance to the forest stood solemnly before her and beckoned her to enter its dark and luminous depths. Like many days, this one was just as hard to get through but when she took those few, fearless steps into the forest she could feel a wave of unfamiliarity wash over her once more.
A variety of calls and voices filled the silent forest once more as she made her entrance. Tall, sumptuous trunks stood proudly around her as they twisted and intertwined on the forest floor. Large, coiling shrubs grew off the dying soil of the earth as a somewhat path stood promisingly before her. It rigidly rounded its way through to the heart of the forest.
Millions of pairs of yellow eyes fluttered in the dark and an overwhelming sense washed over her as she felt like she was been watched from every direction. But she had been studying this forest for years and knew that there weren't any nocturnal creatures that could harm her, it was indeed fairly safe, especially for a powerful magic user such as herself.
As she continued along the path, the forest stood still and not a sound was to be heard. All of a sudden she could hear a low, rumbling growl from behind her. She stood still for a moment as she tried to figure out what it could possibly be that was about to make her its next meal but the growling became louder and louder until she could feel the creature's breath on the back of her neck, warm and fast as it panted in rage.
She slowly turned around, only to be faced with a gigantic, ferocious and hungry looking manticore standing before her. It let out an obnoxious roar, she didn't flinch a muscle. She had already decided that this thing needed to be taught a lesson. She concentrated her energy to creating a powerful ball of her magic's very essence as the manticore continued to roar at her.
With one swift movement, she relinquished the ball of energy and threw at the manticore, sending into a deep part of the forest. The manticore simply cried in agony as it crashed into a large tree in the distance. With a smile of satisfaction she turned and carried along on her way.
In between the gaps of the leaves she could just make out the pale moon as it drifted slowly across the stormy sky. The thick branches prevented most of the downpour and created a nice barrier from the storm as it raged on all around her. The trees were swaying at the mercy of the wind's ferocity and the forest was suddenly more alive than it had been in several years.
It was incredibly rare to find the forest in such a state of commotion, she was lucky enough to experience such an event first hand. However, as she approached the heart of the forest the commotion slowly died down. It was as though the forest's wild untamed call had been hushed to an almost silent whisper. The forest knew why she was here and it knew that she was close to finding what she had come all the way out here for.
A large, old oak tree stood solemnly before her. Its ancient roots intertwined into the earth as they spiralled around its trunk. Not even the ferocity of the wind could move this gentle giant from its peaceful resting place. If it were not for this sacred artefact, she would have had this forest cleared decades ago. But as it stood there, she felt as though she was about to say goodbye to a good friend.
This tree was nearly as old as the royal sisters themselves, in fact, it had grown as they too had grown. This hideous overgrown forest used to be the very courtyard that they played in as children. The tree would stand in the centre surrounded by beautiful, golden flowers that could never wilt. But as time had passed, they grew up and ruins just north of the forest used to be their palace, but that was just ancient history now.
Suddenly, a bright golden stem sprouted from the ground in front of the tree. A beautiful, golden flower that was born from the pure golden drops of Princess Celestia's first sun, blossomed before her. It was the very last of its kind and she had only discovered it after the passing of not only her five best friends, but also the royal alicorn sisters Celestia and Luna.
It had been one of the most difficult times of her life as she realised what this would mean for her future. She would now have to take on a very big responsibility as she provided night and day for all of Equestria. But having to say goodbye to some of the most important ponies in her life, was even more challenging. Taking up the role of being the sole ruler of Equestria; other than Cadence was by far one of the hardest things she had ever done.
As she looked at the flower she noticed that its petals were beginning to fall. It suddenly occurred to her that this flower was wilting in the same way that her friends were slowly beginning to wilt because time had taken a momentous toll on all of them. However, their time had now passed and she had to learn the art of letting go, because letting go was the hardest part of saying goodbye.
The petals were falling off slowly, one by one as she fell onto her haunches. Painful memories emerged to the surface of her mind as she realized the way the flower's death resembled a series of unfortunate events in her own life. She could feel a painful beating in her chest as she could most feel her heart break in two. She had not felt this way since the day she heard the news and was faced with one of the most important decisions she would ever have to make. She only had two choices; she could either spend the rest of her life in mourning or stand up and face the world head on, leaving all the pain behind.
There was an entire nation that needed its princess, its ruler and she couldn't possibly sit around for a month and mope, she had to step forward and take her place on her throne. But there would always be certain mementos that would remind of her the times long gone. For example, the first time she ever sat on her throne on her royal coronation day, a overwhelming feeling of authority washed over as memories of her beloved teacher flooded through her mind, yet somehow she remained calm throughout the entire procession.
Days like those were countless in number and were what made up the several long years that she spent adjusting to her new life. Over time, thoughts of her friends and fellow princesses slowly drifted to the back of her mind as she took charge as the ruler of Equestria. She felt as though she had been trained her whole life to become just that. It was though at birth her destiny had already been paved out for her, she just needed to follow it.
As the last helpless petal fell from the wilting flower, she could feel her heart stop. Once it touched the ground, the light slowly flickered out from the flower as tears began to roll down her cheeks and into the soil beneath her. For years now she had been caring for this insignificant and helpless life form. Knowing that at some point it would pass from this life like so many other things before it. Not only that, but it was the last of its kind and therefore she had just witnessed a species go extinct.
It was a troubling thought, she imagined what might happen if pony kind went extinct, although the odds on such an event occurring were more than unlikely and so she had nothing to worry about. But as she stared at the last remaining pieces of a once truly beautiful flower, she let out a sigh and realised that like many things in life, she had to learn the art of letting go, of moving on and not letting the past haunt her forever.
When her five best friends perished before her she struggled to recuperate to the surface once more. It had been the hardest thing she had ever done. But finally letting go of those five amazing ponies was a truly traumatizing experience. Now, a heavy weight of responsibility rested on her shoulders and as each day went by, her heart slowly began to heal from all the pain.
That was when she discovered the flower, on a long thought provoking walk through the forest that was located just off the Eastern coast of Canterlot. For awhile, it provided her with a sense of purpose and even allowed her to move on from the death of her friends.
There was only one thing left to do and that was to leave and never return to this dark and now haunting place. She stood up and walked away from the oak tree, leaving the remains of the flower and all its memories behind her. It was the best thing to do. After all, the flower could not be preserved any longer and therefore she would need to find another way to relinquish all the pain that still rested inside her aching soul.
As she left the forest there was this sense that a heavy burden had just been lifted and for the first time in many, long and enduring decades the princess cracked a wide smile. She turned to take one last long glance at the entrance to the forest before making her way across the fields once more.
With the storm slowly giving up and a light, cool breeze waving through her mane she realised that she had finally learnt the art of letting go. Because this would be the beginning of a new chapter and even though this wasn't the first time she had to let go, she also knew that this wouldn't be the last.
There was a spring in her step and one singular thought was nestled in her mind;
"My name is Twilight Sparkle, I am the sole ruler of Equestria and I have just learnt a very important lesson today...Dear Princess Celestia,'
The End
Author's Note
Just a short little story I wrote from the heart.
I give my thanks to Bronetheus for doing such a wonderful job of proofreading it for me. If it had not been for him, this story wouldn't be as easy to read.
I hope you enjoyed my story and don't forget to review, rate and follow!
