Second chance

Heart Flash trots along the riverbank, hanging her head down. Her eyes shows no sparks that normally has on each one of living pony, only loneliness and sadness splatters to her figure. Her golden mane doesn’t shine like it used too, 500 years ago. It was full of locks and tip of it sticking out. Her reddish orange doesn’t even flare like most ponies with that kind of coat does.

“ Nightrain…” She muttered, “Sunrise…”

She sighed. Stopping in her track, she stares down to the reflection of herself in the river. Slowly, her reflection changes to one of her memories, she saw them. Her friends. In the reflection, they look younger, maybe in childhood. They were playing with her. What was that game called? She thought about it for a moment. She shrugged.

“…I can’t even remember…” She tried to laughed at herself, but couldn’t. She just end up in tears.

“I can’t even remember the bucking game…” She muttered, tears runs down, freely. Like the river. The tears fell on a growing dandelion. Its’ sparkles under the ray of celestial sun.

“Why…” Stopped.

“Why…” She repeated, but stop yet again. ‘Thank you’ the small, growing dandelion spoke in it softest voice. Heart Flash didn’t hear it and keeps on crying. She curls herself into a ball. She glances at her flank.

A crimson heart and a yellow lightning bolt behind it. That what she got as her ‘special talent’. When she was a filly and got every foals’ dream; a cutie mark, a few ponies says that it shows she would do anything to save her loved one. She believes it then. Now, she likes to believe it but, even she knows what it’s meant. Taking lifes of other ponies.

She closes her eyes tight. Memories floats through her mind. Their naught. The sleepovers. Their very own cutie marks. The first lesson. Everything roaming in her mind. “Why didn’t any of you just say ‘yes’!!? It just that easy!” She screamed. “Things could’ve been different!!”

Flashback

“I’m scared, Heart.” Nightrain stares at the white ceiling. The alicorn was taken aback.

“What?”

“I’m scared…” She repeated. Coughing. Her tired eyes stills staring at the ceiling. Heart Flash also stares at it. There’s nothing out of ordinary. Sure, there’s a few souls that roams around, but Nightrain couldn’t possibly see it. She’s a normal unicorn.

Unlike other ponies, alicorns are far more special. They already have their very own destiny. For example; Celestia, the goddess of the Sun and Luna; the goddess of the Moon and Star. Alicorns can not changes their destiny. Even her. But, Unlike Celestia and Luna, their age would soon come to an end. Her, she would keep going and going to the very end of the world, as long as there pony die.

“Why?” She asked, as if she doesn’t know the answer. She strokes the old, dying mare’s mane. Back in the early years, Nigthrain were the most beautiful mare that everypony ever seen. A blue with a bubblegum streak running down her mane and tail. Baby blue coat. A bright pink pair of irises that beams a wanting for more knowledge.

Her personalities were also charming. She loves to learn, expected. She’s the most independent out of them three. She was a mother-like attitude; cook, clean, knitting, etc. Nightrain has a little pegasus sister, from her father side, called Music Glow. She loves her sisters so much, that she would even learn the wings’ form magic, just to fly together.

But, she also has her down-side, she obsessed with carrots. Lots and lots of carrots. Whenever Heartflash went to her hous, she saw an infinite carrots’ stock. From small too big. Common and rare. Orange to white to green, she doesn’t even want to know where the green one came from.

“What is it up there? Am I good enough? When we up there does it mean that we’ll stop learning? What if I don’t belong up there? What if I can’t find Sunrise there?” She asked, in the speed of sound. She stares deeply, searching for some answer.

The true is she doesn’t really know what’s up there. Despite that she leads the souls through the bridge in between life and death. She could go up there if she wants to see it. But it’ll take thousands of years when she reaches back. It tempting, but not as worth as leaving her friends.

“You know I can give you a life of an immortal,” Heartflash softly whispers into those old ears. Nightrain raises an eyebrow before shakes her head.

“Thanks, but no. I can’t take it, you know that,” She said, “If I took it, the world would be unbalanced. In the life cycle of the world, ponies have to die in born of new ones. Besides, would it be fair to other ponies if I got to live forever?”

Heartflash wasn’t surprised. She have expected them coming from the old unicorn. Her sights began to blur with tears. She blinks them away. She gazes upon the clock on the wall.

12:04 pm.

Two more minutes. She gulped. She looks back at the coughing mare. She was afraid, now. Not for the coughing fit, but he time that almost up and she have to do her job. She closes her eyes, taking a deep breathe and let go before taking in another one. She needs to calm down. Suddenly, she feels something squeeze her around the neck. She opens her eyes, and saw Nightrain was hugging her.

“It’s going to be okay, Heartflash.” Nightrain comforted her. She returned the hug. Tight. She didn’t realize that tears running down her cheeks.

“I’m not ready for this, Night…” She mumbles in tears. Nightrain pats her back and pull away from the embrace. She lays back down. Heartflash wipes her tears.

“Neither am I…” Her voice fades away. She returned back to staring the ceiling. “Nopony will. But that what we all need to face in the end of the day. In the end of life. Death.”

“But you can live for as long as you want if you just accepted my offer.” Heartflash stammered. Nightrain shakes her head again. Smiling.

“Even if we live long enough, we won’t be ready. So, no, I’ll choose to embrace the death of mine.” She stopped for a second. “Heartflash, could you promise me something?”

“Anything.” Her horn began to lit up with green glow. She slowly, touches the tip of Nightrain. Hers also glow, in pink. Heartflash and Nightrain eyes met for one last time.

“Whatever you do, please don’t fall into the shadow…” She drifted off. Her horns began to sparks. Nightrain jolts for a second and her eyes widen before slowly closing. Nightrain stares at the souls of her friend came out of her body.

“Promise…” She heard. The souls vanished. She gazes once more at the clock.

12:06 pm.

“Promise.” She whispers to the dead friend. She covers the body with a blacket. Then, focusing her magic, she disappears in lime green light.

End of Flashback

She sighed and wipes away her tears. She glances at her very reflection. Standing on her hooves, she uses her magic to splashes herself with the river water, a few times and shakes herself dry. Looking around she found back the direction and began to trot again. Being an alicorn means you’re a combination of Earth pony, Pegasus and unicorn, which make her can fly into the sky and head straight for Ponyville, which far easier that to trot. Alicorn can also use magic to teleport there. She always wonders why she likes to just trots along the way. She’s neither afraid of height nor falling. Or that she don’t know how to teleport. She always wonders about that.

Shaking her head, she focuses on the main reason she’s here for. She was suppose to reach for Ponyville an hour ago. To find a certain old, sick mare. What was her name? She thought Ah right, Granny Smith.