The sounds of an empty home. Rarity was accustomed to them by now, having lived on her own for as long as she had with nothing more than the occasional visitor.
The thought wasn't something born out of bitterness in her now old age, no, far from it, actually; she had lived her life around many ponies who cared about her, something that she was reminded of on a daily basis, passing numerous rows of photographs that were framed on the walls, smiles of friends whom she had gained… friends she had lost.
“No, they wouldn't like that out of me, specially today,” she said, smiling as she slowly made her way downstairs. A careful trot that kept her from suddenly tripping, lest she wanted to go out with such an ungraceful whimper— she hadn't lived to the point she had to just go out like that.
It wasn't long till she reached the first floor and went into the kitchen. She smiled as she noticed the tidiness of the area, she had to make sure to compensate the pony who had cleaned accordingly.
She walked out no more than a few minutes later, carrying a teapot and a small cup, she placed it down on the small living room table before sitting down, taking a deep breath, and looking over more portraits on the wall above her.
Her attention fell on a smaller frame, resting near the edge of the wall it hanged from. Using her magic, she brought it down to herself, where she grabbed, and stared at it.
She was momentarily caught with a feeling of nostalgia as she noticed her much younger self, but her focus remained on the younger dragon whom she hugged, showing the smallest of visible blushes, which brought Rarity a laugh.
“Oh, Spike,” she muttered, hugging the picture, and closing her eyes. “I can only help but wonder...”
“Wait, are you wondering? Or do you know?”
“Well, only way to know is if we go that way… though, I believe we've carried more than enough, haven't we?” Rarity noted, looking at the carriage which nearly overflowed with the gems they had found. “And we have gone out a bit too far up this hill, I believe.”
“Does this mean we can go home now?” Spike asked, looking excited.
“We can, and I'll even get you your reward for your wonderful help, as promised, Spikey! We'll probably stop to eat something on our special picnic area,” Rarity stated, walking straight back.
*Snap* with a sudden loud noise, one of the carriage's wheels suddenly broke off, making Rarity tumble to the side, and being dragged along the cart down a small clearing. “Aaah!”
“Rarity!” Spike shouted, quickly reaching out to her and grabbing her hoof. “Whoa!” only to be pulled alongside her.
Rarity's eyes widened once she took notice of the solid ground ending, and quickly did her best to undo the belt she around her waist. “Come on!”
Thankfully, she was fast enough, as the cart was send careening off the ledge, and yet, to her bad luck, they continued sliding, unable to take hold of the ground.
Just as they were nearly send off the edge, Rarity managed to grab on the ledge, barely able to hold herself with her hooves, as Spike still grabbed her leg under her.
“I can't hold on!” Spike shouted, just as Rarity felt him slowly slide off her leg.
“Spike!” she shouted, and just in time managed to grab Spike, and painfully, began to levitate him back up.
“Rarity! You saved me… but what about you?” he asked, looking nervous, seeing Rarity sweat with the effort she was going through.
“I-it's okay, Spike! I'll be fine, just please be quiet!” she said between gritted teeth. "W-we'll be fine! Somepony will come!"
Spike looked around, growing desperate as he realized how far they had gone out. "B-but we are really far out! Nopony will find us here!"
Rarity said nothing, doing her best to raise Spike higher under the strain she was in. "Ugh..."
“Rarity…” Spike whispered, looking down and gulping at the height of the fall. He looked back at Rarity, and with a defeated expression, he said. “I love you, Rarity.”
She winced in surprise at the inappropriate timing and said. “Spike! T-this is not the— wait, why did you say that?”
“Take care of Twilight for me, okay?” he said with a sad smile.
Rarity stared in horror as Spike began struggling in the magic hold. “No, Spike, what are you doing! Spike?”
“Spike!” Rarity jolted awake, looking around wildly, finding herself in her own home. “O-oh my goodness…”
Quickly getting her bearings back, she looked out the window, noticing the slowly setting sun. “Oh no! It's getting late! I must have fallen asleep!” as fast as she could manage, she put the picture back on the wall, and grabbed a scarf and sunglasses that rested on a nearby table, resisting the urge to look for something better to wear, and leaving her home.
Ignoring the sun that beautifully set in the distance (as well as ponies who gave her a passing greeting) she left town, heading directly into a more desolate area she knew well. Her mind ran amok with the thoughts of her dream, but she pushed them aside, set in focusing on what she was there for.
She turned along a beaten path, and a few minutes later, headed into a rougher road, noticing the stones in the distance standing in plain view as if they had been waiting for her. Not forgetting her task, she ran straight through, regretfully ignoring the others whom she had not bothered to see, and yet, in her mind, she was sure they would understand.
And then, she finally arrived, just to find someone else there as well.
“Princess Celestia?” she whispered, getting the attention of the large pony, whose horn glowed weakly as the sky darkened, and the sun finally disappeared in the horizon.
“Good afternoon… or should I say evening now?” she greeted Rarity, giving her a weak smile. “It's a strange thing to see you around this time, you are usually here much earlier, if I'm correct.”
“I overslept,” she replied meekly, walking to stand next to her. “Excuse me, but where would Twi-”
“She was here in the morning, with my sister,” Celestia quickly replied.
“I see,” Rarity sighed, turning her attention to the stone. They stared silently, keeping their thoughts to themselves, until Rarity, feeling uncomfortable by the long quiet, said. "Your Majesty?"
“Yes, Rarity?” she replied, her eyes still locked on the stone.
“Is it always this hard? You know...”
Celestia took a deep breath before answering. “It's always hard, but some years are easy, as terrible as that may sound. Living as long as I do, we just move on.”
Rarity continued looking, gulping as the memory of the dream returned to the forefront of her mind. “W-what if you are to blame? I-is it always this…” unable to hold back, she broke down on the spot. “M-much like me...”
“Rarity,” Celestia spoke up. “Do you still remember that conversation we had back then?" Rarity answered by nodding slowly. "In that case, I'm sure you understand that he make this decision on his own. You are probably here because he chose to do so."
"A-am I supposed to feel better about that?" Rarity asked conflicted.
"No," she replied flat out. "But you must realize that this was not your fault."
“Then why do I feel so guilty!” she cried out. “Dragons live much longer lives, he deserved to live his own… I would have gone, a-and...”
“He would likely be saying something similar if you had been successful in your attempt,” Celestia interrupted. “Tell me, Rarity, are you regretting your own life? Was it not a life worth living? Do you not cherish those moments?”
Rarity said nothing, silently staring at the stone as she thought of the times she had gone through since. “I'm not, It was… and I do,” she stated simply, smiling sadly as she stared at the stone.
“I'm sure I don't have to regurgitate some lesson you and your friends learned long ago,” Celestia continued, lighting her horn, and making a bouquet of multicolored flowers appear, one, which strangely enough, shined in the darkness.
“Oh no! I forgot to buy flowers of my own!” Rarity realized saddened. “I must have been in that much of a rush.”
“I'm sure we can say this is from both of us,” Celestia grinned. “In any case, I must be off. I still have responsibilities to attend to… and I could give you a shortcut back home if you want.”
“I thank you for the flowers, but, I believe I'll stay here for a little while longer,” she explained.
“Very well,” Celestia nodded, staring at Rarity for a few seconds before turning to leave. “Have a good night.”
Rarity nodded, and sat down. She stared at the stone, taking a deep breath. “I wonder, what would you say to me if you were here, Spike...”
…
“Rarity! Wake up!”
“Aah!” Rarity jolted awake, frantically looking around, and stopping as her eyes saw none other than Spike. “S-Spike? What?”
“Whoa, what's with that look? It's like you've seen a ghost!” he said, laughing to himself. “Come on! We are waiting for you!”
Confused, Rarity looked around. “I-I don't understand… who is?”
“Our friends, of course! We are having a picnic,” he replied as if it were the most obvious thing ever. “You coming?” he asked, holding out his claw to her.
Feeling a sudden surge of happiness, she ignored her confusion, and accepted his claw and got on her hooves. “Very well, Spikey, where to?”
“Just over here,” he said, guiding her into a small hill where she soon noticed the familiar frames of her four friends conversing in the distance.
“Oh, and how about Twilight? Where is she?” she asked surprised.
Spike shrugged. “Not here yet, she'll be a bit late, but I'm sure she'll make it.”
“I'll take your word for it,” Rarity said, smiling as she headed up the hill.
There was nothing more to worry about.
Author's Note
My buddy said that I should use the Sad tag, and I did. I hope it fit for you, Mr/Mrs reader!
Anyway, this is the first story I ever write with the sole purpose of sadness, it's something that just came to mind as I was, well, sad because of life's woes.
Still, I hope this was enjoyable in whatever way you find this sort of thing enjoyable, and I hope you read the next time!
