Pinkie sighed as the casket was lowered into the ground, the fifth in a row in a special part of the graveyard. She was sad, yes, unbelievably so, but she’d run out of tears a long time ago. Besides that, the casket was empty of course; there hadn’t been a body to collect. She and Twilight had been the last two Elements of Harmony when another new threat rose to Equestria, and Twilight had tried to channel the remaining four through her own body. It worked, thankfully, but the magical overload had left Twilight… corroding was the only real way either of them could put it. The purple Alicorn had thanked Pinkie, deeply and from the bottom of her heart, for teaching her how to laugh – and then she was gone. It had never really felt like the other girls had left before Twilight did, her friend’s penchant for powerful magic let her bring memories to life, in a way, and the two had often relived their favorite times together with their closest friends.
But now Twilight was gone, too, and Pinkie would never see any of them again. Not in person, anyways.
She pronked back to her home in Sugarcube Corner, the mare old but having never lost her bounce, and headed upstairs. She passed Pound Cake and his own son Bundt on the way up, neither of them saying anything to Pinkie beyond small nods of condolences. She liked Bundt – he’d taken after her, in a way, and was a perpetually upbeat and cheerful little stallion. Today, though, he knew better, and the somber look he wore was no mask.
Striding to her room, Pinkie withdrew a round folding table and chairs from her closet and a dusty box from beneath her bed. Laying the table out in the open space in her room, she set the six chairs around it, and set the box in the center. Pinkie inhaled deeply and blew the dust from its cover, a few of the particles going up her nose and eliciting a sneeze. Pinkie giggled – laughter was her element after all, and she’d never lose that. She turned for a moment and closed her door, gently sliding the bolt shut to lock it. This would be their last party together, and she wanted no one to interrupt it.
“This is your singing telegram,” Pinkie whispered to herself.
She drew forth from the box five photographs – portraits taken by the late Photo Finish, many years before. She circled the table, setting one at each of the seats save her own, facing inward. Twilight Sparkle to her left, then Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and finally Fluttershy on her right. They all looked so beautiful, so happy, so full of life – their smiles and laughter etched into the pictures for eternity. Pinkie left her own photo in the box – the box had been all of the Elements’ idea, really, one final message of friendship to whoever they left alone when they moved on.
The pictures were not the only thing contained in the box, though. Another reminder of each of her dearest friends sat in it – six small plush ponies, each fashioned in the likeness of one of her friends. They had been Rarity’s idea, the little stuffed animals, and Pinkie had to admit they were rather cute, with their beady little black eyes and soft fur.
“So that no matter what, we never drift apart,” Rarity had told her.
Pinkie repeated the process of placing each stuffed animal at their respective position at the table, lingering just a moment longer with Fluttershy’s, nuzzling it softly before setting it down. The party pony once again left her own within the box, not wanting to ruin the magic of the moment, what little magic there was left without Twilight Sparkle in the world.
One last set of items remained in the box. Six little black cylinders, each marked with an engraving of a cutie mark. One for each of them. Again, Pinkie withdrew the five that weren’t hers, but instead of setting them around in front of the photos, placed them in front of herself on the table. Five little tubes that contained the last words she’d ever hear from her best friends. The order she chose for these was different, though, putting first the one from the pony it had been the longest for.
Applejack.
It had happened suddenly, unexpectedly, but not by any accident or foul play – Applejack was simply a hard-working pony, and age had caught up with her. She went in her sleep, peacefully, and with no pain. The funeral had been a wonderful service, and it was honestly the hardest Pinkie had ever cried. She had half-expected AJ to suddenly stand up again, and claim it was all a joke, just a prank – until the dirt hit the wood, and she was gone. Pinkie gently pressed the button. The little cylinder hummed softly, a familiar purple aura covering it as Pinkie set it back down.
“… an’ you say I just need to press this button when I’m done, right?” Hearing AJ’s voice, her accent, her words, brought a smile to Pinkie’s face, like putting on her favorite disguise again.
“That’s right, Applejack,” Twilight’s voice floated in, quieter, sounding distant, “I’ll leave you to it then.”
“Thanks, Twi,” AJ’s voice came back, before the click of a door and soft hoofsteps fading into the distance.
“It feels weird, leavin’ a message that nopony’s gonna listen to until after I’m gone. Heh, that sounds like a line outta some cheesey movie, but it’s true – ‘specially not knowin’ who in particular I’m leavin’ it for. I guess… I just wanna say this, though. You girls, no matter which one of ya is listenin’, you girls are hooves down the best thing that ever happened to me. I loved each and every one of ya like family, and well, Rarity, if it’s you hearin’ this, I loved you a bit more even. Not to say I didn’t love all of ya, but… oh, you know me. Y’all know what I mean. I can’t really imagine what it must be like for ya, bein’ alone at the end like this. I… I’m sorry for leavin’, I really am, even though I haven’t really done it yet I guess. I love y’all. I just can’t say it enough,” Applejack’s voice finished, with a note of finality, but the recording didn’t end quite yet, a few moments of silence before a loud thunk. “Oh consarn-”
The recording cut off suddenly, and Pinkie had to giggle. Applejack, by her own admission, had never been particularly good with unicorn technology of any sort, and even the simple recording device had evaded her for a moment. Pinkie smiled, and took the next cylinder – a small cloud with a rainbow-colored lightning bolt adorning it.
“Uhm, hey,” Rainbow Dash started. “I uh… never been too… elok… elo…”
“Eloquent?”
“Eloque- Twilight get out of here, I thought we were supposed to do these in private!”
“You’re literally sitting in the bathroom of our house, that’s not exactly somewhere private.”
“Ugh, fine. Just a second,” Rainbow trailed off, before a loud whooshing sound filled the recording for several seconds – she must have been flying away. “Aaaand back. Okay, so… well the first thing is I hope whatever happens – or, well, happened, by the time somepony’s listening to this – happens quickly, or in my sleep or something. I mean… I put on all this bravado and this mask of bravery, but honestly? The idea of dying absolutely scares me to death. I mean, not me personally, I’m not scared of anything,” the Pegasus continued with a nervous laugh, “but it terrifies me what my being… dead will do to all of you. I don’t want you to think I died frightened or alone or anything. I just… I want you to be happy, don’t be sad for me, because I’ll be too busy being sad for you. Even though I’m dead. I’m just that awesome,” Rainbow Dash’s voice cracked, “Oh who am I kidding, I’d be nothing without you guys. You’re my friends, each of you, all of you… and Twi-twilight,” Rainbow Dash had quickly lost composure, all semblance of pride shattering as she sobbed into the recorder, “I… I l-love you with all my h-heart, and I have ne-never been hap-pier than the day you t-told me you loved me, t-too. Oh now she’s gonna see I’ve been crying…” a soft click indicated the end of the message, Pinkie covering her mouth with a hoof. She knew Twilight and Rainbow Dash had been madly in love, the two ponies having never really grown out of the honeymoon phase even decades after they’d been married, but to think Rainbow Dash had bet on Twilight being the last one so much…
To her comfort, Rainbow Dash’s passing had been quick. Perhaps not painless, but quick. An uncontrolled thunderstorm had broken loose from the Everfree, one of the more dangerous ones in a long time. Dash had gone out searching for Tank long after everypony should have taken shelter, and had been struck by lightning mid-flight. Dashie had known full well it was stupidly dangerous, but not even Twilight could stop her from searching for her pet of sixty years. To say Twilight was devastated would have been an understatement – it had taken three weeks and five visits from Celestia to coax the mare out of her house after that, and even then Twilight had never really been the same.
Fluttershy had been next.
The mare had meant the world to Pinkie, the two having shared sixty-seven beautiful years of marriage before time took the Pegasus. Twilight’s sorrow had looked small compared to Pinkie’s, the earth mare’s mane going flat for an entire month, and never really regaining it’s original volume. She’d lied through her teeth when her friends tried to offer their condolences, insisting she was alright. Pinkie picked up the butterfly-embossed cylinder and was about to press the button… and then thought perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if she broke her order a little, and set it down after Twilight’s.
Instead, Pinkie selected the little device with the diamonds on it. Generosity – Rarity. Wife of Applejack, she’d taken her spouse’s death far better than Pinkie or Twilight had theirs, or so she’d lead ponies to believe. Rarity had worked herself to death, her hooves stiffened against the thirty-eighth incarnation of Applejack’s old Gala dress when her sister had gone to check on her after hearing nothing for more than a day. Leaving just Twilight and Pinkie, the blow dealt by the death of Generosity had been taken hard, and had lead to the two ponies spending so much time together with their memories.
“Is this thing on? Hmm, yes, ahem,” Rarity cleared her throat, “My dearly beloved friend… it is with great sorrow that I realize I have been one of the five to leave you so alone,” she began, the white unicorn clearly reading from a script. Rarity had needed glasses in her later years, for distance, which lead to her peeking under them when she needed to read. No matter how hard she’d tried to correct the habit, though, Rarity’s voice pitched down ever so slightly every time she did so, and Pinkie smirked listening to her. “I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me for- for what I’ve done to you. I somehow suspect my own death will be a little less dignified than you’re used to seeing me, but please, do not mourn my passing too much. Just know that I- that you-” Rarity’s voice cut off, a choked sob interrupting her speech, “This is why I wrote it out in a letter, so this wouldn’t happen! You girls came into my life and made it so interesting, so vibrant, so exciting – so much fun! And if you’re listening to this it means I repaid you by dying on you! That’s not generous at all, is it? That’s selfish, so selfish… I’m so… Applejack…” Pinkie listened as the recording became nothing more than sobs. The sound of Rarity’s wails filled the room for several minutes before Pinkie clicked off the recording herself.
Pinkie sat quietly for a moment, wishing some way, somehow, she could tell Rarity it was ok, that it wasn’t her fault, that nopony blamed her. Instead she picked up the rarity plush and hugged it tightly, the squeeze therapeutic. Setting it down, Pinkie wiped her eyes as the tears began to form, and sniffed. She eyed the last two cylinders, and picked up Twilight’s. She picked it up and held it gently, the empty coffin still fresh in her memory, before pressing it lightly. A heavy sigh, trademark to Twilight, emanated from it before her friend’s voice picked up.
“Thank you. That… whoever listens to this… that’s what I want to say most. I want to thank you for everything you girls have done with me and done for me throughout my life, not the least of which being teaching me about friendship and everything it means. The day I met all of you is one of my fondest memories, if more than a little awkward at times, like having to ask Fluttershy what her name was a half-dozen times and still not getting it. Oh, that was… yeah. That used to be me, that used to be us. But look how much we’ve all grown. Rarity, you’re a famous dress designer now, wildly more successful than any other pony in the past century. Applejack, your apples and foods are famous across Equestria, and ponies come from miles to get a taste of them fresh. Fluttershy is the premier veterinarian in the whole world, Pinkie is a renowned party-planner for even the highest echelons of society, and Rainbow Dash… you… you mean everything to me. Your loyalty pulled me through some of my darkest times, and I could always count on you to knock some sense into my head. I love you, Rainbow Dash, I have for a very long time, and I will for even longer, and… if you’re hearing this… I don’t know what I can do to comfort you other than keep telling you that. I love you, Dashie, I love you so much,” a pause, and another sigh, “You have all done so very, very much for me, and I can’t help but feel I haven’t done nearly enough in return, but I want to thank you all, for everything. If I could do it all again, everything… I wouldn’t want it any other way,” the recording finished, with a click.
Twilight had this way of bringing out the best in everypony around her, and even though that tended to put her down in her own mind, she always came through. She was the rock of the group, whenever something went amiss, Twilight would be there to help fix it. Unless she was the one gone amiss, of course – and that had happened more than a few times. Pinkie giggled to herself at the memories of Twilight freaking out over a test, or unable to reconcile her Pinkie Sense with science. The giggle faded when the recording started up again, a much older Twilight speaking now.
“Pinkie… if you’re hearing this… I just want to say I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s coming, but Celestia has told me I’ll need to use the Elements one last time, and that without all six of us to channel it through, it will probably kill me. If you’re hearing me say this now, then it has, and I’ve left you all alone. I don’t know what it is or when it’s coming, but please, Pinkie, never lose your laugh, not because of me. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
The device clicked again, and this time it did not resume.
“She knew,” Pinkie breathed, “She knew she wasn’t coming back that day, and she went anyways… oh Twilight, you should have been the Element of Bravery, not Magic… I’m so stupid, I should have had her share some of the load on me…”
Pinkie looked up, at the photo of Twilight next to her, the young Alicorn smiling out of the frame like nothing could ever go wrong. She sniffed, fighting back tears that wanted to fall, willing herself to keep her composure for just one more recording. To her left sat the portrait of her wife, and Pinkie reached over and picked up the yellow stuffed pony, clutching it to her chest. Reaching forward, she took the last cylinder in her free hoof, and ever so softly pushed the button, and closed her eyes.
“I love you.” Click.
Pinkie’s eyes shot back open, and she looked down at the little cylinder. It wasn’t humming like the message was still playing, and no purple aura surrounded it. Pinkie hit the button again.
“I love you.” Click.
Once more.
“I love you.” Click.
Many emotions flashed through Pinkie’s mind, not the least of which was confusion. Fluttershy’s voice sounded so certain, so determined, and her tone slid upwards at the ‘you’ like it did with no other pony than Pinkie. A quick flare of anger – how could Fluttershy sum up sixty-seven years of marriage with just three words? But no – they… they were the right words. They were simple, but they were true.
She knew. She knew I’d be the last one. That mare…
Pinkie collected the stuffed animals and took them to her bed, not noticing the tears that had started falling from her eyes. She laid down, hugging her friends close to her heaving chest – after all, a good nap was always the best thing after a party. After one of her parties. After her last party.
“I miss you all so much,” Pinkie sobbed, “What’s the use of laughter if there’s nopony to share it with? I don't want to be here without you guys! I want- I want to-”
“I love you.” Click.
The voice came out muffled, buried somewhere in the center of the stuffed animals Pinkie was clutching. She hadn’t even realized she hadn’t put it down, but sure enough, only four of the little cylinders were still on the table. She squeezed again.
“I love you.” Click. The voice came from right behind the little Fluttershy staring her in the face.
“I love you, too, Fluttershy,” Pinkie replied, closing her eyes and kissing the facsimile softly.