It was time. Twilight knew what she had to do, but she wasn't sure she would be strong enough for this.
She had done so much in her life, made so many sacrifices. Defeating Tirek, it seemed, was just a taste of what was to come for her. By now she had fought dozens of threats to Equestria. She had even killed another pony, in an incident she was not keen to remember.
She had served as the Princess of Friendship for almost 50 years now and by this point she had made more friends than she could count. After Rainbow Dash had been killed on one of their missions, she had thought that she understood pain, that she understood loss.
As her friends died one by one, claimed by the old age that would never touch Twilight herself, she had clung to this belief. That losing Rainbow had made her understand, made her strong.
It seemed she had been wrong. Nothing could truly have prepared her for this day, she quickly was coming to realize that much. It seemed that some things just never hit home until they finally happened.
Twilight sighed, deeply. She wished Spike would be here, but he was in another cycle of hibernation. She was tempted to wake him up, but from what she knew about growing dragons it wasn't likely to end very well for either of them.
She paced around in her study, the ever-growing city of Ponyville visible far below the north tower of her castle. So long ago, so very long ago, she had come here at Princess Celestia's urging, to study the magic of friendship.
And study it, she had. Friendship, Twilight had learned, was significant in a way that she had never though. On one level, friendship was a fundamental magical force, a potent and ancient power which held together Equestria.
On the other hoof, friendship was what made life worth living. Twilight smiled to herself as she thought back to that first day, when she had first arrived in Ponyville. She looked to the exact spot where she had first run into Pinkie Pie, her smile widening. That pony had always been crazy, but on that very first day she had only seen that part of Pinkie, the incomprehensible over-the-top energy. It had taken her longer to see how truly kind and strong Pinkie Pie was, how devoted she was to her friends.
The same had been true for all 5 of her best friends, who had come to represent the elements of harmony along with her. Fluttershy had taken the longest to get along with. It was just so darn hard to make that pony talk at all, but once you got her to consider you a friend, she would always be there for you.
Fluttershy had been the second to die. She hadn't been given a chance to die from old age. 7 years after Rainbow Dash was lost in the Griffon war, Fluttershy had faced down another dragon. This one, though, hadn't given her time to talk.
Poor Fluttershy. Twilight had tried to help her overcome her anxiety, of course, they all had, but they had never made any significant progress. Somepony had hurt her once and she had never recovered from that. In contrast with her anxiety around new people, her outgoing and positively jubilant attitude towards animals and small foals had been something Twilight had always admired. She smiled to herself again, the memory of Fluttershy's charred corpse gone for a moment as she thought of the mare removing a thorn from the paw of the manticore that they had encountered on that first trip into the Everfree forest.
All good things must come to an end. She shook her head to try and clear the image of the charred corpse from her mind. It did not do to dwell on such things too much. Twilight had duties, she had other friends, and it was necessary to be strong for what she was about to do. She could not let others see her cry, for it was her destiny to be their rock, to be strong on their behalf and suffer so they did not have to.
Still, that was easier said than done. They hadn't lost anyone outright after Fluttershy, but the death of both the pegasus ponies had left a wound in all of her friends that had never quite healed. Her friends had still been loyal to her, of course, but as the years passed they all slowly grew apart.
It didn't help that Twilight was now twice the height of any of her friends, her horn longer than their legs. Alicorns, it seemed, simply grew larger than other ponies.
If the physical difference pushed them apart, age did at least as much. Applejack had been unable to buck apples for almost 10 years before she had passed away, older than Granny Smith had been when she had died. The pained expression on the farm-mares' face the one time Twilight had offered to help had been enough to prevent Twilight from offering again. The Apple family would take care of their own, and Apple bloom and her foals were now taking care of the farm. Twilight smiled to herself again. She still could not believe that Applebloom had ended up marrying Scootaloo. Still, they were a great couple. After Sweetie Belle had eloped on tour with her colt-toy Button Mash, the two girls had been thrust together and seemingly discovered just how compatible they were.
Her smile vanished quickly as she saw a group of foals walking down the main street of the ever-growing Ponyville, wearing their crusader capes and looking up towards the castle, talking happily. These foals would never come to her for private lessons in the same friendly, relaxed manner that the original crusaders had. She was Princess Twilight now, and nobody would ever let her forget it.
She had talked a lot with Celestia, of course, which had helped. This was something that all alicorns went through as the realities of immortality began to sink in. She would never grow old, but her friends and loved ones would. Everyone she cared about would wither away. It had been hard on her when Shining Armour had passed, but not nearly as hard as it had been on Cadence. Princess Cadence was only a few decades older than Twilight, the first of the two new alicorns which Princess Celestia had decided were necessary to defend Equestria.
Celestia and Luna both had been married more than once. Alicorns were barren, so there had never been any foals, which in retrospect was probably for the best. Hearing her two mentors talk it was evident that they still carried the loss of each spouse with them. She did not think either of them would stay sane through losing their children, as well.
Celestia had taken Twilight to the grave of her first husband after Twilight had first broken down in front of her, crying about the inevitable fate of her friends. It had been a quiet, private place, a humble tree growing outside of Canterlot which marked where Spring Cherry, the first mate of Celestia, had been buried millennia ago. Celestia did not cry, but Twilight did.
In a way, it had helped her to grieve on Celestia's behalf. Her mentors had both dealt with this and they had both survived. They were both still strong. In another way way, it had not helped at all and the inevitability of losing everyone she cared about had crashed down on her harder than ever before.
Thousands of years. It had been thousands of years since Celestia had first given her husband over to the soil. It was almost an impossible idea to bear.
Twilight wiped the tears off her face and steadied her breathing. No. She could cry later, in private, but not now. It was only a few minutes and then she would be needed. Ponies had gathered by the hundreds and they were all mourning, too. Her job, now, was to be strong. Strong so that others would be able to go with their lives, strong, so that they did not have to be.
That was her job. She was the Princess of Friendship, and a true friend is always there when they're needed. Now, she was needed more than ever.
Twilight levitated a small necklace off of one of the shelves in her study. It was beautiful piece in sleek silver, mimicking the original element of Harmony that had matched Twilight's cutie mark, but was also more subtle. It was, truly, a masterpiece.
It was also Rarity's last gift to Twilight. The ageing mare had spent almost 3 years working on it, her arthritis making the work slow and painful. But she had completed it and given it to Twilight months before she had passed away. After her magic had been stolen, she had never quite recovered as an artist, except for this one piece. This, Rarity had explained, was her magnum opus. Her great work. It had been Rarity's hope that Twilight would carry it with her forever, as a reminder of their friendship through the centuries to come.
Twilight used her magic to place it around her neck and put on her crown. The two items matched perfectly and gave her a look that was both regal and refined. Twilight smiled again. Rarity really had improved her art in the last few years of her life. Twilight had every intention of honouring Rarity's wish, and the necklace was as heavily enchanted as any item in Equestria. Not even dragon-fire could destroy it now, although Twilight had resisted the temptation to embed any actual power in it, not wanting to risk anyone trying to steal it from her.
A small knock was heard on the door. It was finally time. After a long look at Ponyville and a deep sigh, Twilight straightened up and marches to the doors, towards her unpleasant task.
It was Pinkie Pie's funeral, after all, the very last of her friends, and everypony would expect her to give a speech.