Two Background Ponies Revisit Season Five

The Mane Attraction

The entire town of Ponyville had come out to the edge of town see her off: the pink pegasus with a short, curly, black and blue mane and a cherry chimichanga for a Cutie Mark. Many were smiling, but many also had tears in their eyes. Derpy herself was being supported by Rainbow Dash, unable to keep from crying out loud. Sam Listens-To-Carl's-Problems and Incarlsistency were there too, beaming with pride and yet also struggling to compose themselves.

Tears in her own eyes, Princess Twilight Sparkle stood at the front of the group and advanced a single step, yet no further...as if getting any closer would drive her away even faster.

"Do...do you really have to go?"

"I'm sorry, Twilight." The pink pegasus answered as she shook her head. "It's time. The Great Alicorn was there with me at the start and she passed on...and now it's my time to follow in her hoofprints."

Twilight couldn't help it. She started to break down.

"I never would have gotten all seven of those tickets and to the Grand Galloping Gala if it wasn't for you..." She started to sob.

"I...I never would have met Matilda again..." Cranky Doodle Donkey stammered.

"Cheese Sandwich wouldn't have come to Ponyville!" Pinkie started bawling.

"I'd never have passed that test to get into the Wonderbolts Reserve!" Rainbow Dash shouted just as sorrowfully.

"I never would have been welcomed into Ponyville..." Zecora added, her own voice starting to break.

Carl blinked at that, then turned to her. "Wait, that didn't-"

"Do not be so asinine! Not everything I say has to rhyme!"

"We got our Cutie Marks because of you!" Apple Bloom shouted, losing composure completely.

"Fluttershy got her confidence to publicly perform from you!" Sam suddenly found himself crying out.

"And the Diamond Dogs captured Rarity because of you!" Carl tried to join in...immediately wincing. "Which...Rarity probably didn't care for so much but the rest of us all got a laugh out of it... And you gave Derpy a voice! Sure, a bunch of angry people called in about it and she ended up getting practically taken out of the show for it, so you probably did more harm than good on that one, but you meant well!" Pause. "And Rainbow Dash and Applejack got into that pointless rivalry because of you, but as a result the 'Appledash' fancanon started so it couldn't be all bad..."

"Carl, please shut up."

"The point is...can't you stay?" Twilight finally asked.

The pink pegasus sadly shook her head and looked off to the horizon. "I'm sorry...but my work here is done. It's time to move on. Because somewhere...far out there, beyond land and sea, earth and sky, there's another world. A world where unicorns are severed heads that float alongside horn-wearing girls. A world where children struggle to unravel the mystery of a remote mountain town. A world where a surprisingly large number of Jedi survived the Imperial genocide. And they need people like me."

The princess bowed her head a bit at that, and then looked up and asked meekly.

"Will...will we ever see you again?"

The pegasus smiled.

"...You'll see me every time you admire the wordplay in one of Zecora's rhymes. You'll see me every time there's a callback to Gustav LaGrande, Donut Joe, or Mulia Mild. You'll see me every time Cranky and Matilda smile and embrace. I'll be in every glimmer of the Cutie Marks of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, on every word that passes Derpy's lips, in every clothing euphemism that comes from Sassy Saddles, and..." She rolled her eyes a moment. "If there's any justice in the Emmy committee..." She looked back down. "In the golden luster of the award for Best Animated Original Song of 2015. I placed a part of myself in each one of you that will never fade or go away. Princess Twilight Sparkle..."

She stepped forward, and placed her hoof on her chest over her heart.

"I'll be right here."

In spite of her tears, Twilight was able to smile at that.

The pegasus smiled a bit warmly at her...and for a moment her own eyes seemed to form tears in them.

"It was...fun."

Then, spreading her wings wide, she gave one flap to launch herself into the heavens, before turning and soaring off to the horizon. As the citizens watched, each one stared until she was nothing more than a dot on the horizon...and then gone.

No one moved. They just smiled softly and began to freely cry as they remembered her.

Eventually, a quiet voice broke the silence.

"...'Svengallop'...really? I mean, that's like naming Chrysalis 'Princess Evil Doppleganger'. Telegraph, anypony?"

"CARL, SHUT UP!" Everypony in Equestria yelled in unison.

Amy Keating Rogers...R.I.P. 2015

...She didn't die, Carl.

It makes her sound more meaningful if she did, Sam. People will remember her fondly.

...She didn't retire, either.

You're a real buzzkill some days, you know that?