Time Moves On

by EagleWings21

Rating: teen
Tags: Sad, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Tragedy, Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 6174

As years go by, so do the lives of friends. The question is: who will be the next to go?

Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle. Two very important, well-respected ponies in the community - but everyone is subject to time. What will happen when Twilight receives some very disheartening news about her last surviving friend?

Note: I filled in a lot of detail where it was lacking. Hopefully, it's better than it was before!

Published 2015-06-26 13:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-07-28 01:29:42 UTC

Some Bad News

Some Bad News

Twilight sat quietly in her study with a book in front of her. She turned up her lamplight slightly to help her wrinkled eyes see the words through the thicker glasses she recently purchased. Her mane may have been grayer and her fur might have been a little less colorful, but she still had that same youthful unquenchable thirst for knowledge. She had spent her entire life studying and reading, researching and discovering; however, time had finally caught up to the alicorn princess. She closed her book, angry that she wasn’t as effective at speed reading like she was at one point in time. She got up from her chair and went to pour some tea, but tripped on the leg of the chair getting up, and fell on the ground on her back. She let out a small shriek, lying on the floor in mild pain. She tried to listen for anypony to come and help, and thankfully heard the familiar sound of claws scraping rapidly against the crystal floor.

With a sense of urgency, Spike threw open the door to Twilight’s room. “Twilight! I need to talk to y-you okay? Did you fall out of the chair again?” He sighed and went over to help the princess up. “You know, I feel bad when I go out like this. I mean, you need help every now and then just as much as Rainbow does, and I’m never really here when you seem to need me.”

She put a hoof around her number one assistant and smiled, “Oh, Spike. You know me, I can usually manage just fine on my own. Now, what did you have to tell me?”

Spike was enjoying this little chat with Twilight. It distracted him from what he really came to discuss. However, it seemed like now was the time to come clean about it. Taking a deep breath, he started off, “Well, you know how I went to Rainbow Dash’s house yesterday to help out, right?”

“Oh yes, I do. How is she? Oh, that reminds me, you can tell her I’m still angry at her for taking that ‘Daring Do’ book from the library. It was the newest one! Sometimes I think she forgets that I’M just as big a fan as she is! And furthermore-”

“Twilight!” He had grown tired of her ranting, and just wanted to get past the hardest part of his day. “What I had to say was...I went there today to help, and...she’s gone.”

Twilight’s expression went from ranting book fanatic to confused, “What? Oh, well, if she thinks she can run away with it then she’s got a whole other thing coming! I’m just going to go and-”

Angered that she wasn’t getting his point, he put his hands firmly on her shoulders and looked into her eyes, “Twilight, she’s gone.”

Twilight shut up immediately at his firmer tone, and finally understood. She felt guilty for going on like that, but eventually felt those feelings subside as feelings of remorse overtook her. Feeling fluid start to gather in her eyes, she asked, “Did – did she at least…go peacefully?”

Spike let out a big, heavy breath. “Yeah, she did.”

Spike had just arrived at Rainbow Dash’s cloud house. Though the house was just as nice as before, it was now much closer to the ground for convenience. What was once a magnificent 3-story castle in the sky was now a humble 1 story cloud home about 10 feet off the ground to compensate for light-hover downs for Rainbow’s seasoned wings. Spike went there every day on Twilight’s request to help Rainbow Dash with anything around the house that she needed. She never married nor had any children of her own, so it was always just her around the house. Sure this was fine in her youth, but as she got older even the simplest tasks became a nuisance. So, though she would never openly admit it, having the help was always nice.

Spike approached the cloud house and walked up the staircase. Twilight had permanently enchanted him with the cloud walking spell so that he could go there whenever he needed to without constantly requesting enchantment. He knocked lightly at the firm cloud door, creating a muffled pounding noise. He heard a loud yawn and the sound of wings fluttering over to where he was. The door swung open. She squinted at the sunlight that invaded her corneas. Her mane was still the same vibrant rainbow color she was famed for, though it had lost some of its shine through the years. Her fur was matted down where she had been sleeping on her side. and she rubbed her eyes to help them adjust further to the light. That was the one thing that never changed, though; her eyes. She still had that youthful spark in them, no matter how much she aged - it was the part of her that reminded all her friends that she was still the same feisty Rainbow Dash they all knew and loved.

Once she got adjusted to being awake, she looked at the matured dragon in front of her. “Hey, Spike! Aren’t you a little early?”

“Eh, I figured we could get some stuff done early so that you could have more time for sleeping today. The doctors all agree that you need as much rest as you can get.”

She scoffed, “Yeah, what do they know? I was a pro at sleeping even before they said I needed more of it. Well, come on inside.”

He walked in and sat down on the chair opposite from the couch. He pulled out a list from his bag and started to read from it. “Okay. So, what would you like to do first? Not too much to do today, it seems. All you requested is if I can help you dust, and fix the window garden. Which one do you wanna do first?”

She looked over at the garden. Those flowers really did need some watering, and some of the dirt spilled onto the floor that morning when Tank accidentally flew into it. “Let’s fix up the garden. That’s been bugging me ever since somepony decided that he wanted to try and see if his gardening skills were as good as his flying.” She shot a suspicious look over to Tank, who just smiled a long, tired smile in response.

They walked over and Spike started to clean up the dirt on the ground, as Rainbow Dash watered the flowers. She never really was one for gardening, but these had been a present from Fluttershy, and that gave them a special place in her home.

Plus, she would never say it out loud, but the colors were really pretty.

After that chore had been completed, Rainbow was already starting to tire somewhat. She started to breathe a little heavier, and a small headache was coming on. She looked at Spike, and he looked back. There was a few seconds of silence as Spike raised his eyebrows questioningly at Rainbow, and she nodded. Through their silent conversation, they both knew it was break time. They both walked to the couch, taking a seat. “Geez, Spike, if there’s ever any one piece of solid advice I ever give you, it’s don’t get old. It sucks; big time.”

He gave out a little huff and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, seems like it.”

“Did you eat yet today?”

“Nah, I just kind of woke up and came here.”

“Well, I think now is the perfect time for both of us to get some lunch. Here, I have a little surprise for you.” With that, she got off the couch and gestured for him to follow her. She led him into her kitchen, as she opened up the fridge and got her sandwich supplies ready. He sat at one of the counter chairs and waited for her to make her sandwich. Once she was done, she looked at him and smirked. Rainbow then pulled out some gemstones from underneath the counter. With that classic grin on her face, she leaned over to Spike and whispered, “Don’t tell anypony, but I totally swiped these from Rarity’s after she made my Gala dress.”

Spike laughed at first, but then his eyes grew wide, “Rainbow, how could you?! You know how hard it is to-“He was interrupted by her laughter. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, Spike! Just the look on your face was priceless! After all these years and you’re still smitten! You think I’d seriously steal from one of my best friends? Geez, have a little more faith in me. She gave these to me as presents when she got done with an order. She said she had more than she needed. You know how generous she always was.”

He was a little embarrassed after hearing that. He took one of the stones and popped it in his mouth. With a solid crunch, the taste of sapphire flooded his taste buds and he was in a moment of pure flavorful bliss. Coming back to reality, he finally registered what Rainbow Dash had said. “Yeah, she was great. And I’ll always be smitten, no matter how long it’s been. It’s a shame with what happened, though. When I hear about things like that, it makes me ashamed to say I’m a dragon…”

With a carriage filled to the brim with luggage, Rarity was smiling ear to ear knowing she had finally been cordially invited to help design and create a stunning dress for Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. She looked down at her cat, “Oh, Opal! Isn’t this just the most amazing, splendid opportunity?! To think that I, Rarity, am finally creating art for royalty! This is an absolute dream come true!” She leaned over and hugged her cat, much to Opal’s disliking.

Her thoughts were cut short, however, as the driver had brought the carriage to a halt. Curious, she poked her head out the window, “Excuse me, sir, why are we stopping?”

He looked back and shushed her, and turned his ear to the wind. “Do you hear that?”

She mimicked his actions, and listened for any sound. She did hear something, and it sounded like a loud roar from the east. It wasn’t a bear, or any larger animal of sorts. It was something much bigger, and much more deadly.

Upon realizing what it was, the carriage driver spoke up, “We gotta move now! Hang on!” With that, the driver kicked it into high gear as he and the other stallions raced north to Canterlot, with a worried and terrified Rarity. She looked back in the direction that she last heard the menacing sound, and saw a shadowy figure in the distance.

“Oh, Opal, what are we going to do?” Opal just snuggled closer to Rarity, seeking comfort and protection from the sudden scary situation.
As soon as those words left her mouth, she suddenly felt a gust of wind from the right of her carriage. She looked through the window, and saw that one of the stallions had been plucked right from his reigns. He was still screaming as his voice slowly vanished in the night.

She looked around for any more signs of trouble, but all that kept happening was the same thing. The closer they came to Canterlot, the more stallions were abducted from their driving position. It wasn’t until the last one was stolen that the carriage stopped to a screeching, messy stop.

Rarity gingerly crawled out of the carriage door, checking her surroundings. She checked the top of the carriage, where she was forced to store her gemstones for the trip, seeing as how the inside was for her personals. Everything seemed to be in check, and she was so close! She could see the castle and the surrounding town in the distance! She checked her surroundings, and saw no sign of the dragon. She looked back at Opal, who was looking through the window at her. She walked over to the reigns and slipped one over her, and started to pull the carriage the best that she could. “If I could just make it to the rest stop, I’ll be home free!”

Her optimism was cut short, however, as the same deadly roar came back; this time, with more ferocity than before. She looked behind her as the dragon landed on top of the carriage, and tore off the roof. He took the gemstone bags in his claws, and started to fly away with his reward. However, Rarity just couldn’t just sit there and let her work supplies be stolen! “Hey, those are mine! I need them to make the princess’ dresses with! Those are specifically cut for a certain design!”

The dragon, having just about enough of this carriage and the work it took to secure his plunder, flew back and landed about 15 feet in front of where she was standing.

Her pupils dilated and her voice cracked, “You-you can keep them if you’d like, of course!”

The dragon was not so forgiving. He opened his mouth, and a ball of fire hot enough to melt rock was sprayed directly onto the carriage, and, more importantly, the pony pulling it.

She didn’t even have time to scream.

Rainbow spoke up, mouth full of the last bits of her daisy sandwich. She felt bad looking on and seeing Spike's sad disposition. “Hey, don’t be so down on yourself. The dragon was just drawn to her because of her jewels, its’ not like it had a personal thing against her. She was just…at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Yeah. I just wish she hadn’t been.” With that thought, he popped another jewel in his mouth; Topaz, to be exact. The slight bitterness of the jewel mirrored his emotions perfectly at the moment. “Well, if it’s alright with you, I think I’m gonna start dusting now. I need something to do to occupy my mind.”

“No problem.” She flew over to her cloud hutch and grabbed a rag for Spike to use. He quickly took it out of her hoof and started running it along the fluffy surfaces of her furniture.

While Spike dusted, Rainbow Dash went to her room and picked out a rather large book. She figured Spike could use some cheering up right at the moment, and knew this book could help with that. “Hey, Spike! Take a break! I have something to show you!”

“Rainbow Dash, if we keep taking this many breaks; we’ll never get anything done. I’ll be here all day and not accomplish anything.”

Rainbow gave a smile in return, “So? Is that such a bad thing? C’mon, this is special!” She flew over to her couch and patted the seat next to her with her wing. Spike obliged, and sat next to her. She pulled him in closer with her hoof and explained, “Now, Spike, what I’m about to show you I haven’t shown anyopony else. So, you should feel awesome.”

“Oookaaay…” As much as he didn’t feel like stopping his work, he was rather curious. Skeptical, but curious.

She opened the book; it was a photo album. There were photos from every angle, capturing priceless moments from years past. They ranged from photos of extravagant parties, to special occasions, and outdoor festivities. There were never any photos of just Rainbow Dash by herself, she was always with someone; whether it be Applejack, Twilight, or anypony else. There were even a few that he was in as well. Spike was not just flipping through a photo album; he felt like he was flipping through the pages of timeless memories.

“Rainbow, this is…amazing! How did you even come up with this?”

“Eh, it’s just a little something that Pinkie Pie and I threw together. She was going on this crazy sugar-enduced rant about how she wished she could capture ‘every single waking second’ with us forever, and I reminded her that cameras existed. After that, the rest was history – as you can tell.” She chuckled at that last part, remembering the day Pinkie got her camera from the store. She wouldn’t stop taking pictures – even when she probably should have.

Spike was glancing through the pictures and saw one of Rainbow and Applejack at the Sisterhooves Social. It was Applejack and Applebloom vs. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo in the 7-legged race. Applejack was laughing as Applebloom fell down, and Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo took the lead. The next picture was Rainbow hugging Scootaloo tight with one hoof as they held the first place trophy high, while Applejack and Applebloom sported second place ribbons and smiles on their faces for their friends' victory. The one after that was with all four of them together in a group hug, celebrating having a great time and enjoying themselves.

Rainbow smiled fondly at that memory. “Heh. AJ was always trying to beat me at something. ‘Most daring’ this, or, ‘I bet I could beat you’ that. She never knew when to quit, just like me. I think that’s why we always got along so well, despite how different we were; because, in the end, we really weren’t so different after all.” She chuckled at the last part, saying it in a southern accent just like her late friend; trying to not show her true emotions. She quickly subsided as a more serious expression betrayed her face.

Applejack had been apple bucking for the fifth day in a row now. She was getting up there, and it took her longer to kick the apples down and often required more effort in those later days. She came to the part of the orchard that was closest to the house, and started kicking. “Heh, ah still got it. Ah’m gonna show that Rainbow just how powerful these here legs still are this year when we enter in that marathon. Maybe that’ll show that mare who here’s the real champ. Yeee haw!” With that, she gave a mighty kick to the tree and the last few apples clutching to the branches released their hold and fell into the baskets next to the trunk. She picked them up and carefully started trotting over to the barn, feeling just a bit more winded than she just was.

It was just about sundown at Sweet Apple Acres and Applejack was getting ready to close up shop for the day, when she spotted it: an apple tree that still needed bucking in the distance. “Aw, horse apples! Ah’m never gonna finish the day! Dag nabbit, it’s always somethin’…” With that, she picked up an empty basket and started to head over in the direction of the tree. She flinched as she felt a pain shoot up from her left forehoof and into her chest. “Just a…few…more…feet…” She came to the base of the tree, and set the basket down beneath the apples. She pulled her legs back for one good kick, and kicked hard. The tree’s apples fell down, and so did Applejack.

She was gasping for air at this point, sweating up a storm. She tried as hard as she could to cry for help, but to no avail. With one mighty push, she forced out, “Applebloom!” She then fell into a coughing fit as her sister raced from the house out to where her sister lie.

“Applejack! What happened?!”

“Applebloom, tell Big Mac to go to town to get help. Ah think Ah had a heart attack. Now, ah ain’t too sure if ah’m gonna make it outta this one…so, if ah don’t, the farm is yours, okay?” She coughed some more. “Please, take good care of it fer me. I know you can. You’ll make me proud – you always do.”

Applebloom raced to get her older brother as Applejack closed her eyes.

It was Spike’s turn to speak first. He placed a claw on Rainbow’s shoulder, “I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash.”

She wiped a tiny tear from her eye, resulting in it landing on the photo with all four of them holding each other. “Yeah, me too. All I know is, she better be ready to race when I get up there! She might have gotten me on a few occasions here, but there’s only room in Heaven for one most daring, most awesome pony, and that’s gonna be me!”

Spike laughed and let her have her moment. He often didn’t like when she inflated her ego, but this time he made an exception.

The dust rag lie forgotten on the couch cushions as Spike and Rainbow Dash looked through more photos. These were taken from literally every angle: upside down, sideways, looking toward the sky, and any other way possible. Spike laughed, “Looks like Pinkie Pie really enjoyed that camera, huh?”

Rainbow chuckled as she looked at the photos. "Yeah, sometimes a little too much. Look at these pictures! I never wanted to be in half of these!" There were some of her eating, some of her yawning, and one where Pinkie had busted into her bathroom while Rainbow was brushing her teeth wrapped up in a towel. “I remember when we had that sleepover. She almost got kicked in the head for that one. She could get annoying sometimes, but I loved her even then. We’d never be the same without her. I’ll never forget how many pranks we used to pull; no one ever suspected a thing. Especially you, Spike." She gave him a little noogie. They looked at more photos; this time, it was Dash with the camera. For every picture Dash took of Pinkie hanging out with someone, there were five more of her eating sweets. This sparked another memory for Dash, one that she wished she could forget.

Pinkie had already had fifteen cupcakes, five donuts, and one large slice of cake. And that was just an after-breakfast snack. For lunch, Pinkie decided on some éclairs with extra sprinkles on top. She decided to take a break from her frosting frenzy and go visit Rainbow Dash to collaborate on some more pranks to pull on unsuspecting ponies.

She called out to the cloud house that was being renovated to be moved closer to the ground. “Rainbow Dash! It’s Pinkie! I’m here on time this time!” She giggled, thinking about how she said ‘time’ twice like that.

“I’m comin’, Pinkie!” Rainbow flew down to where Pinkie was standing, rubbing her sore wings. “Good thing I retired from the Wonderbolts Reserves when I did. My wings just can’t seem to cut it anymore.” Her face fell a little with what she said, but luckily for her, her friend was there to make her smile.

“Well, don’t be down in the dumps for too long, Dashie! We have A LOT of pranks to pull today! Now, I heard that Twilight is going to be-” Her sentence was cut short as her eye started twitching frantically and her face became distorted. Her words were no longer clear. She stumbled, and quickly fell to the ground.

After getting Pinkie to the hospital, the doctors came out. “Glad to see Ms. Pie’s got friends like you, Ms. Dash. Now, it appears that your friend here did have a severe stroke. Probably from all of those sweets she’s so famous for baking – and eating. We drew her blood to see her chemical balances, and her blood sugar level was over 200. She NEEDS to have somepony monitor her eating habits from now on. Otherwise, this could lead to something worse happening.”

Rainbow didn’t like how he said ‘worse’. “Alright, doc. I’ll take care of her.” With that, he nodded and slipped the clipboard down over the hook at the end of the bed. She looked back at Pinkie, who was starting to regain consciousness. “Pinkie, hey, Pinkie! Are you with me?”

She looked up at Dash and smiled the best smile she could muster at such a time. “Hey, Rainbow.” Her words were slurred and choppy, as the right side of her face seemed paralyzed.

Rainbow sighed, “Pinkie, you know how much your blood sugar was? Over 200! That’s ridiculous! You shouldn’t be eating like that, especially at your age! You know how worried I was when you fell down? You scared me half to death!”

Pinkie winced at what Rainbow was saying, but knew deep down somewhere that all of it was completely true. She only ate this way in an effort to retain who she had once been, figuring that if she had that much sugar in her, she could keep a certain part of herself the way she used to be. “I’m…I’m sorry, Dash. I just…I just…” She stammered at the last bit, feeling sobs starting to emerge from her throat.

Dash was quick to interject, wrapping her hooves around her bedridden friend. “It’s okay, Pinkie. Look, I’m gonna help you from now on, okay? I’m gonna stay with you for a while, and help you get back on track! Everything’s gonna work out just fine, you’ll see!”

Pinkie smiled as she closed her eyes and felt her friend’s embrace. “Yeah, it’s going to be just fine.”

Those would be the last words she said, as she passed on soon after Rainbow had left for home.

Rainbow closed the photo album gently while Spike looked at her. “When I saw her hit the ground, it was like my whole world just stopped. But, I try to keep going. It’s what she would have wanted.”

Spike listened to that last bit as he and Rainbow Dash reminisced silently about their departed friends. Their thoughts were interrupted though whenever Tank came by and started to rub his neck on Rainbow’s legs, signaling that it was time for his dinner. “Oh, hey buddy! I almost forgot about you, didn’t I? I’m sorry Tank, let’s get you some yummy lettuce.” She picked up her pet, and flew gently into the kitchen. Spike followed her into the kitchen, wanting to be nearby in case she asked anything of him.

She grabbed some lettuce out of the fridge, and took Tank's bowl from the sink from where she cleaned it and gave it to Spike. She gave him some lettuce, and he dropped them in the bowl. “Here ya go, buddy. Don’t fill up too much, or you’ll miss out on some dessert!” She dangled a bag of daisies in front of his face, earning her a slow, but endearing smirk from the old tortoise’s mouth.

All this made her think back to Fluttershy. This one was the one that really hit home for her. She had grown up with Fluttershy after all, so when she lost her, she felt like she lost a part of herself, too.

Fluttershy was tending to her animals as she always did for many years. Angel bunny was lying on the couch, sleeping away in peace as he usually did at such an early hour. However, he was disturbed from his slumber when he heard the ear-piercing shriek of Fluttershy.

Near the edge of the Everfree Forest, Fluttershy was attempting to feed the local bear that she had named ‘Barry’. “Okay now, Barry. I have some fresh honey, just the way you like it. It wasn’t easy to get, but it’s as fresh as can be!” She took some fresh honeycomb from her saddlebag and rested it on a stump near the bear cave, where soon a rather large black bear emerged from. He groaned and rubbed his eyes as he came over and sniffed the honey, soon taking little licks at the comb to gather the sweet nectar. However, what they both were not counting on was a rouge bee being stuck in the honey, and being swept up on Barry’s tongue. The bee, realizing the predicament it was now it, started stinging his mouth like mad, causing him to go into a terrible fit. “Barry, what’s wrong? Barry? Barry, no!”

She barely had time to shriek as he brought a stray paw into the air and swiped Fluttershy across the face. His claws were sharp as razors, and she stood no chance against the powerful blow.

Twilight was walking around with Spike, taking a census for Mayor Mare. The last stop on her list was Fluttershy’s cottage, since it was so out of the way. She knocked on the door, but was alerted by Angel running up to her, tugging on her foreleg and pointing to where Fluttershy’s body lie. They approached the gory scene, appalled by what was before them.

Needless to say, it was a closed-casket funeral.

Rainbow walked over to her cloud bar after feeding Tank and poured herself a shot of apple vodka. She downed the shot in one fluid motion. Spike raised his eyebrows and asked, “Rainbow, are you okay?”

She took a breath. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just got stuck thinking about Fluttershy again.” She poured another shot, and downed it even quicker than the first one. “That was one that I did NOT see coming. You would think that the one that was great with animals would never have one turn on her. I remember when Twilight told me. Ironically enough, I was packing up to go with her on another one of those totally lame butterfly migrations.” She was lying through her teeth and she knew it. She loved going on those migrations, because it was a chance to enjoy some one-on-one time with her best friend.

She looked through the window and saw the sun was beginning to set. “Anyways, I think all that needs to be done around here is done. It’s getting late, and that old cook at the castle needs someone around to make sure she doesn’t fall and break a hip or something.” Dash winked at Spike, earning a chuckle out of him. “Oh, and that reminds me.” She set her glass down and flew to her room, returning with a book in her mouth. Depositing it on the counter, she said, “Make sure this gets to the egghead before she has a conniption. Don’t want her going on one of her legendary freak-outs and have her start singing to you. If she does, come find me. I’ll take care of you while she calms down.”

He laughed even harder, knowing how true it all was. “Sure Rainbow, whatever you say.”

She watched him put his gem bowl into the sink. Then, she thought out loud, “I just can’t believe it’s down to me and Twilight. Huh…didn’t see that one coming.”

She grabbed her glass again and poured herself another shot, and also one for Spike. He chuckled at how she was stalling him, just like she always did. He downed the shot, grimacing at the burn. He brought the glass up to his eyes, blankly studying it for no reason in particular. “Yeah, it’s amazing what happens over time.”

They let a comfortable silence fill the room. However, the peaceful silence would soon be broken as Rainbow had a certain question. “So, would you mind me asking you something?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Now, I don’t mean this in a bad way but…what do you plan on doing after Twilight…you know…”

Spike let out a heavy, tired sigh. “I know you don’t mean it in a bad way. Honestly, I’ve thought about it myself, and I have no idea. She’s been so many things to me throughout the years. She’s been a mother some days, an older sister on others, and a mentor on just about every one of them. I haven’t gone a day without her in my life… I know there will be a void that just won’t ever be filled when she leaves.” He had set the glass down on the counter. “I’ll just have to cross that bridge when I get to it, I suppose.”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “I’m sorry, Spike. After all this, I'm sure that's the last thing you want to think about right now.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s something that I’ll have to start thinking about soon, right? Maybe I’ll join the dragon migration, or go back to Canterlot with Princess Celestia or Luna.”

She nodded her head and smiled, trying to put a good spin on things. “Yeah, those sound like great ideas! See? It’ll all work out in the end.” Rainbow suddenly stopped her words as a sharp pain went through her chest. She clutched it, and Spike responded,

“Rainbow, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I think it’s just some heartburn. I think I had one too many shots. I’m gonna go and lay down on the couch, okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Spike helped her to the cloud couch and put a blanket on her as she got comfortable. “Would you like me to stay longer? I can just write a message to Twilight and crash here for the night to make sure you’re okay, if you’d like me to.”

“Nah, I’ll be alright.” He looked at her hesitantly, as if waiting for her to change her mind. However, when she shot him a smile and a nod, he figured she wanted this. He began to walk over to the door, and she felt another pain shoot through her chest. She had a strange gut-feeling about that pain and what it was leading to. Not wanting to miss the opportunity for some last-minute advice, she called him back. “Hey, Spike, can you come here for a quick sec?” He walked over to her and bent down to her level. “So, what I’m about to do is totally un-cool and sappy but…just forgive me this once, okay?”

“Rainbow, you’re scaring me-”

She interrupted his thought with a hug that caught him by surprise. “I can see why Twilight always calls you ‘number one’ all the time. Don’t ever change, you got it? Don’t ever change for no one, Spike. Always be the great dragon you are, okay?”

Spike was speechless, but managed to grab a few words. “Okay, I…I promise. Rainbow Dash, are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

“Just a little tired, Spike, that’s all.” She lied. She knew what was coming, and she was ready to go. Another pain in her chest caused her to release her grip on him and she faked a stretch. “I’m gonna get some shut-eye now. Come by early tomorrow, okay? Tank’s going to be up early, and someone’s gotta feed him while I’m sleeping.”

“Alright, sounds like a plan.” He grabbed the book from where Rainbow had left it on the counter, and started to make his way to the door once more. “Goodnight Rainbow Dash!”

As he walked away, Rainbow Dash closed her watery eyes. The pain was getting worse. However, thoughts of being with her friends again flooded her mind, and the idea of being with them for eternity caused a content smile to grow on her face. She would get to race with Applejack again. She'd be able to taste Pinkie's cupcakes once more. Rarity could design a colorful dress using real rainbows. She'd hear Fluttershy's timid voice again. As these thoughts filled her heart, the pain went away. Though her eyes were closed, she saw and felt a light brighter than anything she had ever seen envelop her, and she muttered her last words,

“Goodbye, Spike.”

Twilight was quiet. Spike pulled the book from a bag he had picked up when he first came in the castle and gave it to her. “She said she didn’t want you to have a conniption.”

She chuckled through her tears as she held the ‘Daring Do’ book she was ranting about earlier in her hooves. She pulled him in for another hug. “Thank you for the news, Spike. Let’s go and get everything arranged.”

Twilight couldn’t sleep that night. She didn’t feel like reading the ‘Daring Do’ book that Rainbow had returned to her – it was just too soon.
Her mind was everywhere at once that night. After Spike had gone to bed, she started to think more than she usually did. Out of the six, she was now the only one left. Part of her was thankful, but part of her also wanted to be with her friends – her family, again. She got up from her bed and walked out onto the balcony that was adjacent to her room.
She looked up at the stars and began to cry, wishing she had just a few final moments with Rainbow Dash. However, as she looked up, fresh tears of joy overtook her. She saw a comet flying through the sky; but instead of its usual white tail of light, it streaked through the blackness of night with a rainbow.

Author's Note

Okay, so I did a re-write on this story. It's still the same story, just much more filled-in than it was. Reviews are always appreciated. Thank you, and God bless!