Six Seconds Leftby TaialinChaptersThreeTwoOneZeroSixFiveFourThreeAh! Moi, la fin? La fin de Rarity? No, I'm too young and beautiful to die! Those things simply don't happen to ponies like me! Oh, but if I go, what will Equestria lose? She'll lose her finest fashion designer and a diva the world over. It will be such a tragedy! At the very least, let me strike a pose before I go so the world can gaze upon her finest marvel even unto the grave. Perhaps I should lay down now and get comfortable; there's no guarantee that I'll stay on my hooves once the end comes. Ah. Much better. Beautiful, but modest, and undeniably tragic. This will be the last image that will be on tomorrow's papers, Rarity, so make it count! Pity that it had to happen now, though. I had so much more planned. I wanted to work with Coco and design a new line with her exclusive to Manehattan. And given Sweetie Belle's new cutie mark, I was just about to give her private singing lessons to cultivate that lovely voice of hers. Neither of those are going to happen now, are they? So much work left unfinished. And they'll all be so sad that I left so suddenly. Especially poor Sweetie Belle. The universe could have chosen a much better time to take me away. But then, I suppose it could have chosen worse as well. I've breached the ranks of the elite in a way never seen before, and I've bedazzled the world with my finest designs . . . notwithstanding the designs I've yet to develop. But then, I've never stopped designing, and I'll always be leaving work unfinished. The work that is out there now is the only legacy that I can leave. It is not a bad one, honestly. I'm not ready. Of course I'm not. Think of all the more good I could give to Equestria if I simply had more time. But the story has to end for everypony, and maybe my chapter is closing now. Early, far too early, of course. But I have left my mark. The world will mourn the loss of such an icon, but it will celebrate everything that she did as well. My work is done, and perhaps it has been done for a while now. There's only one thing left to do. Pose for the camera, Rarity. The obituary photo must look good. TwoNo way, you're playing a joke with me! It's not the right day yet, and I didn't even do anything wrong! That's a funny joke, Rainbow Dash, but you can come out now! . . . No? Hee, that reminds of that time you pretended that someone ate all my cookies. The entire rack of them, poof, vanished! Even the pan! You wouldn't come out for the longest time because when I actually found you, you had been eating all the cookies for so long that there was only half of them left! You wouldn't come out because you thought I'd be mad. Silly Rainbow, I wasn't mad then, and I'm not mad now! Stop eating all the cookies and let me have some of them! I mean, I don't know how you'd be eating cookies at a time like this, but come on out and we can have a good laugh about it, would you? This is pretty serious for a prank, and I thought we promised we wouldn't hurt anypony's feelings with them! This . . . this isn't funny anymore, Rainbow. You made your point, but come out, please? This isn't a prank, is it? But-but . . . no! I can't go away now! Who's going to make everypony smile? Who's going to remember when everypony's birthday parties are and throw them a surprise two-weeks-until-your-birthday party two weeks early? And when I'm gone, no one's going to throw a party for me! A funeral isn't a party at all! Everypony's just all saddy-waddy and they go "but she was so young" and sniffle into napkins and throw flowers! Nopony would cry at my going-away party. They'd be all "she was so much fun" and they'd smile and eat the cookies I baked for them and they'd only throw flowers playing who-can-get-the-chrysanthemum-into-Pinkie's-belly-button! Dying is just something so sad, and I'd want to make sure that everypony remembered all the good times and not that I wouldn't be around anymore. One more smile to put on everyone's face. B-but this isn't a prank! I haven't planned the party yet! I was only going to put it on my schedule when I threw Twilight's 500th birthday! But if I don't plan the party, everypony's going to forget that I wanted ponies to be happy, and they'll be sad that I'm gone instead. There's no time left! Stop, stop, stop, I need to— OneThat's . . . that's really unfortunate. It's my time? I wasn't expecting that it would come this early, and considering my princesshood, I wasn't sure when it was going to come at all. And I certainly didn't think it would be happening to be now. But I guess it can't be helped. I know friendship is a devastatingly powerful force, but even I know it can't transcend death. My mind will be gone and my soul will have flown. I'll do nothing in death but cease to exist and let Equestria move on without me. It's really going to hurt, isn't it? Not just all of my friends, but the entirety of Equestria. The bonds of friendship that keep up close are what make Equestria strong, and things are going to be different without the Princess of Friendship. I can't deny that the bonds between the girls will be weaker with my absence. Doubly so, because I don't think the Elements of Harmony or Rainbow Power or any of our friendship powers would work with just five. Discord taught me as much. If a villain were to threaten Equestria again, those powers couldn't be used anymore. But I know that my absence will not leave Equestria vulnerable. Friendship is universal, and all of us have tried to spread it wherever we go. Manehattan, Canterlot, Fillydelphia, Saddle Arabia, Yakyakistan. It's a network that covers the whole world, and the loss of one node, even if they're a Princess of Friendship, can't weaken the web. The bonds of friendship and the strength therein will overcome any adversary, even without the full measure of the Elements. Equestria will remain strong. Of course, all that can only happen as we continue to learn. I was still learning about friendship right up until this moment, and I know my friends were as well. Fluttershy was such a timid pony when I first met her, but now she knows that asserting herself is a good thing and doing so doesn't have to compromise her kindness. Applejack has always been strong, but she's even stronger now with her friends and family behind her. Rainbow Dash has always been competitive, but she always puts her friends first. Rarity knows that even as she climbs the social ladder, she can still keep her friends and stay generous at the same time. And Pinkie is still the same fun-loving pony she's always been, and she knows that everypony can make everypony smile. I'm so proud of all of you; you've all learned so much. Keep teaching each other and keep learning. Friendship will never die, even as every one of us does. I couldn't be leaving the fate of Equestria in better hooves. Goodbye, girls. I love you all. ZeroAll was silence and darkness. It wasn't as if silence was commonplace between them all, though. Inside the room of the castle were six friends who normally found it quite easy to talk to one another. Even so, in this instance, nopony dared say a word. Fluttershy was sitting next to Rarity with her head buried in Rarity's breast. Her shoulders hitched every few seconds, betraying the silent weeping she sought to hide from the rest of her friends. Rarity herself was wearing an expression that was simultaneously pensive and irritated. One hoof held Fluttershy close to her body in a protective embrace, while the other ran down the small of Fluttershy's back repeatedly, over and over, seeking to provide what little comfort it could. Her eyes were locked on Twilight, but she said nothing. Applejack was also silent, though her mouth worked up and down, speaking words that nopony could hear. A hoof pulled her hat low over her eyes so they couldn't be seen, and the gesture sent a clear message: don't talk to me. Rainbow Dash was clearly furious, but no sound came from her mouth besides a slightly labored breathing. Her eyes were caught glaring at her own hooves, but she periodically flicked her gaze up to Twilight before bringing it back down. Her wings opened and closed seemingly of their own accord, and her muscles tensed and relaxed at random intervals. The moonlight outside streamed into the room through its only window, and as it continued its oblivious arc through the sky, its light moved in tandem. It seemed to spark as it reached the ground in front of Rainbow Dash's hooves, reflecting in chaotic patterns off the crystal flooring and the drops of moisture on it. Pinkie Pie made no attempt to hide her tears. The soft, diffuse light that made its way to Pinkie's face revealed dark trails and a flattened mane. Her gaze jerked around erratically, landing on Rarity and Fluttershy before moving to another one of her friends. Back and forth. Rarity and Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy. Eventually, Pinkie gave up, and her eyes settled on the floor in front of her. Her forehooves came up off the floor and wrapped themselves around her own body in defeat. All was silence and darkness. Wind blew outside the castle, raising wisps of dirt and gravel off the ground. A single stone lofted itself high in a particularly strong gale and launched itself into the room's window, issuing a loud crack. Everypony flinched. The silence breached once, it only took a few seconds for Applejack to breach it again. "You didn't need to do that, Twi," she said. Her words were pointed, but her eyes remained obscured by her hat, refusing to look at anypony. Twilight blinked a few times. "But I told you all what we were doing and why we needed to do it, and you all agreed to it." "Even so, that 'Make it Real' spell was strictly unnecessary," Rarity said. Her voice was low and monotone, her face staid. She locked her eyes to Twilight's as she turned to look at her. Her hoof continued to stroke Fluttershy's back. "But if your reactions aren't authentic, what was the point of this bonding exercise?" Twilight said. "Given the lives that we live and the dangers that we face, we could be gone at any moment. It's important that we think about our legacy and what we leave behind when our time comes." Rarity broke eye contact to sigh before looking back up and saying, "I understand, Twilight. Really, I do. We all agreed to this exercise and whatever it would entail." Her eyes flicked around to survey the rest of her friends before settling on Pinkie, still hugging herself. She whispered a few silent words to the pony still attached to her breast. After a moment, Fluttershy nodded a few times before taking her face out of Rarity's coat. The whites of her eyes were pink, and she sniffled from time to time. Freed, Rarity got to her hooves and strode silently to Pinkie's position before sitting down and wrapping her hooves around her. Almost instantly, Pinkie loosed her own hooves and wrapped them as tightly as she could around her, her face buried in the side of Rarity's neck. Momentarily shocked by the strength of Pinkie's hug, Rarity nevertheless recovered quickly and started stroking her back just as she did with Fluttershy. She looked at Twilight again, her point made. "But some ponies just don't want to hear the answer." Twilight's mouth was half open. "Um . . ." it managed to get out. She looked at the five best friends she'd ever had spread out in front of her. She couldn't drop the thought that what they just did was necessary and that "it was for their own good." Even so, it was hard to believe that when said five best friends were all in various states of despondency and disrepair because of it. It didn't take a princess to feel the pain her friends were feeling. A heavy sense of regret started to grow in Twilight's heart. She looked at the book by her hooves for just a moment before closing it and returning her eyes to her friends. One Hundred and One Things to Do with Your Friends at a Sleepover, its title read. "I . . ." Fluttershy looked down and shuffled her hooves a few times before standing up. "I'm sorry, Twilight, but I think I'd really like to go to bed now." She rubbed one hoof against the other and kept her eyes locked to the ground. Caught off-guard again, it took a few moments for Twilight to respond. "S-sure, Fluttershy." Fluttershy nodded a few times, keeping her head down, before turning around and retiring to the one of the bedrooms Twilight had set aside earlier for all of her friends. "Perhaps it's time for all of us to turn in for the night," Rarity said. Rainbow Dash took the cue and got up, retreating out of the room and attempting to hide her face from everypony else. Once she returned to her own room and closed the door, stomps and other banging sounds could be heard from it. Rarity waited for the banging to die down before getting up and slowly walking Pinkie back to her own room. They both disappeared inside. Rarity's own room was left unoccupied. Twilight watched them all go, feeling the regret inside her grow heavier. "I . . . I'm sorry," she whispered. Applejack, previously silent, finally raised her hat and got up. "I know," she said. "We'll all have a big long talk about this tomorrow morning, but I think everypony is good and ready for some sleep, at least tonight. I jus' hope I don't have any dreams about Apple Bloom." With that, Applejack was the last pony to leave the room, and the last sound that issued from her was from her bedroom door. Twilight was left alone in the room with nothing more than her thoughts to occupy her. And all was silence and darkness. SixWho will take care of my animals? Who will take care of Angel? Oh, goodness, somepony needs to take care of them! Who will when I can't? Those poor little creatures won't be able to fend for themselves for very long without me. And there'll be no one left to feed them! Oh, why couldn't I have had just a few more hours to set them up with somepony who could care for them? And my friends, too. They'll be so sad when I go away. All of them. Applejack and Twilight are so strong, but even they'll be hurt when I go. That ache in your chest that makes you feel awful and won't go away no matter what you do: it's going to be with them. It's going to be with all of them for a very long time. Spike will feel it too, but at least he'll have a shoulder to cry on. Rarity and I have been friends for so long, and she'll be devastated that she doesn't have a spa and gossip friend anymore. She'll probably hole herself up in her home, and nopony will be around to help get her back out. Who knows how long she'll stay in there all alone? I hate it when Pinkie's mane goes flat, and she starts sulking and stops bouncing. I can barely recognize her when that happens! She becomes a different pony, one who's sad and angry and never laughs. She's not Pinkie anymore. And when I go, it'll be . . . it'll be all my fault. Rainbow . . . She'll try to be "cool" about it, I know she will, but her heart will be breaking inside. We've just known each other for so long; I know she does this. She tries to be tough and callous on the outside, but she really cares so very much about all her friends. I don't even want to think about what would happen if her oldest friend was taken away! All that pain, and it will be all my fault. Oh girls, I . . . I know I say it a lot, but I'm sorry! I hate causing my friends pain, but there's just no way that this won't. You girls are all so strong that I know you'll be okay, but . . . Everypony, I'm so, so sorry! FiveSo . . . this is it, huh? I knew it was gonna happen eventually, but did it really have to happen this soon? It wouldn't've hurt if I'd had another day to get my priorities straight. Granny Smith'll be fine. She's always been the strong and independent type, and one less grandchild looking after her ain't gonna change that much. 'Specially since she's still got two. Yeah, she'll be sad, as will the rest of the family, but she's got support that'll help her get over the hill. Big Macintosh has gotten awful good at taking care of the farm without me when the girls and I are taken off to some adventure. Looks like he'll just have to figure out how to hold it down on his lonesome from now on. Although once the rest of the family hears of this, they'll probably be champing at the bit to come'n give Big Mac and the farm some support and give him some time to grieve. Apple Bloom is gonna take this one hard. I've gotten used to wakin' up in the morning, getting her a healthy breakfast, and walking her to school—making sure that she don't get into any trouble along the way, o'course. It's been our daily routine for a long time. And when she loses her big sister, she'll lose all of that, plus everything else I do for her. No more apple cider, no more sisterly hikes to see the old folks. There just ain't any way around it. It's irreplaceable. But she'll heal. Everything does. She'll remember, but she'll heal. She's got the entire family behind her. Auntie Gala's always been good with crying fillies, after all. The rest of the girls'll heal, too. They've got each other. 'Cause as much as it'll hurt at first, like the first time you buck a tree, I'm just one pony. That ache'll heal, and Equestria will go on without me like I wasn't even there. Sure, there's a lot more that I planned to do, and I don't think it's my time. But Ma and Pa didn't choose when they'd go, either, and maybe I was just next on the list. But there's nothing to do about it now but take the punches as they come. At the very least, I got nothing left to worry about. And with enough time, I reckon, the rest of my friends and family won't, neither. Four. . . You're joking. You're joking, right? Me, death? There is no way. I'm too awesome to die, and I've got too much left to do anyway. Death can kiss my sorry butt and run away with its tail between its legs! . . . It's not going away, is it? Go away! Nopony wants you here! But that's just not fair! Yeah, sure, I made it into the Wonderbolt's reserves, passed the screening test, stood in for Wind Rider, and finally became an active member of the Wonderbolts, but I'm not finished yet! What about that routine I was going to pitch to Spitfire, or that Canterlot-to-Cloudsdale record I was going to break? And this is just gonna take all of that away!? All that work that I put in, down the drain. And I'm never gonna have the chance to do any of that. You have got to be kidding me. I still need to reconcile with my parents again. They came to the training camp that one time, but I never got the chance again to catch them up on things they missed, or catch up on things I missed. I was going to meet up with 'Shy and take them out to eat or see a show on my off time, and now those plans are all gone. The things they never knew about me, and the folks I never got to know . . . And Scoots, I was planning to teach her all these awesome moves. Once I got her in the air for more than a few seconds, at least. And the plans for new weather management, and so many other things that I just can't think of because YOU'RE TELLING ME NONE OF THAT MATTERS ANYMORE. That is just so wrong. If you could have picked anyone, pick somepony who didn't have as much planned. Pick someone who was already finished with their life. You're telling me that I'm gonna die and there's nothing I can do about it. You can still kiss my sorry butt goodbye, 'cause that is a load of horseapples.
ThreeAh! Moi, la fin? La fin de Rarity? No, I'm too young and beautiful to die! Those things simply don't happen to ponies like me! Oh, but if I go, what will Equestria lose? She'll lose her finest fashion designer and a diva the world over. It will be such a tragedy! At the very least, let me strike a pose before I go so the world can gaze upon her finest marvel even unto the grave. Perhaps I should lay down now and get comfortable; there's no guarantee that I'll stay on my hooves once the end comes. Ah. Much better. Beautiful, but modest, and undeniably tragic. This will be the last image that will be on tomorrow's papers, Rarity, so make it count! Pity that it had to happen now, though. I had so much more planned. I wanted to work with Coco and design a new line with her exclusive to Manehattan. And given Sweetie Belle's new cutie mark, I was just about to give her private singing lessons to cultivate that lovely voice of hers. Neither of those are going to happen now, are they? So much work left unfinished. And they'll all be so sad that I left so suddenly. Especially poor Sweetie Belle. The universe could have chosen a much better time to take me away. But then, I suppose it could have chosen worse as well. I've breached the ranks of the elite in a way never seen before, and I've bedazzled the world with my finest designs . . . notwithstanding the designs I've yet to develop. But then, I've never stopped designing, and I'll always be leaving work unfinished. The work that is out there now is the only legacy that I can leave. It is not a bad one, honestly. I'm not ready. Of course I'm not. Think of all the more good I could give to Equestria if I simply had more time. But the story has to end for everypony, and maybe my chapter is closing now. Early, far too early, of course. But I have left my mark. The world will mourn the loss of such an icon, but it will celebrate everything that she did as well. My work is done, and perhaps it has been done for a while now. There's only one thing left to do. Pose for the camera, Rarity. The obituary photo must look good.
TwoNo way, you're playing a joke with me! It's not the right day yet, and I didn't even do anything wrong! That's a funny joke, Rainbow Dash, but you can come out now! . . . No? Hee, that reminds of that time you pretended that someone ate all my cookies. The entire rack of them, poof, vanished! Even the pan! You wouldn't come out for the longest time because when I actually found you, you had been eating all the cookies for so long that there was only half of them left! You wouldn't come out because you thought I'd be mad. Silly Rainbow, I wasn't mad then, and I'm not mad now! Stop eating all the cookies and let me have some of them! I mean, I don't know how you'd be eating cookies at a time like this, but come on out and we can have a good laugh about it, would you? This is pretty serious for a prank, and I thought we promised we wouldn't hurt anypony's feelings with them! This . . . this isn't funny anymore, Rainbow. You made your point, but come out, please? This isn't a prank, is it? But-but . . . no! I can't go away now! Who's going to make everypony smile? Who's going to remember when everypony's birthday parties are and throw them a surprise two-weeks-until-your-birthday party two weeks early? And when I'm gone, no one's going to throw a party for me! A funeral isn't a party at all! Everypony's just all saddy-waddy and they go "but she was so young" and sniffle into napkins and throw flowers! Nopony would cry at my going-away party. They'd be all "she was so much fun" and they'd smile and eat the cookies I baked for them and they'd only throw flowers playing who-can-get-the-chrysanthemum-into-Pinkie's-belly-button! Dying is just something so sad, and I'd want to make sure that everypony remembered all the good times and not that I wouldn't be around anymore. One more smile to put on everyone's face. B-but this isn't a prank! I haven't planned the party yet! I was only going to put it on my schedule when I threw Twilight's 500th birthday! But if I don't plan the party, everypony's going to forget that I wanted ponies to be happy, and they'll be sad that I'm gone instead. There's no time left! Stop, stop, stop, I need to—
OneThat's . . . that's really unfortunate. It's my time? I wasn't expecting that it would come this early, and considering my princesshood, I wasn't sure when it was going to come at all. And I certainly didn't think it would be happening to be now. But I guess it can't be helped. I know friendship is a devastatingly powerful force, but even I know it can't transcend death. My mind will be gone and my soul will have flown. I'll do nothing in death but cease to exist and let Equestria move on without me. It's really going to hurt, isn't it? Not just all of my friends, but the entirety of Equestria. The bonds of friendship that keep up close are what make Equestria strong, and things are going to be different without the Princess of Friendship. I can't deny that the bonds between the girls will be weaker with my absence. Doubly so, because I don't think the Elements of Harmony or Rainbow Power or any of our friendship powers would work with just five. Discord taught me as much. If a villain were to threaten Equestria again, those powers couldn't be used anymore. But I know that my absence will not leave Equestria vulnerable. Friendship is universal, and all of us have tried to spread it wherever we go. Manehattan, Canterlot, Fillydelphia, Saddle Arabia, Yakyakistan. It's a network that covers the whole world, and the loss of one node, even if they're a Princess of Friendship, can't weaken the web. The bonds of friendship and the strength therein will overcome any adversary, even without the full measure of the Elements. Equestria will remain strong. Of course, all that can only happen as we continue to learn. I was still learning about friendship right up until this moment, and I know my friends were as well. Fluttershy was such a timid pony when I first met her, but now she knows that asserting herself is a good thing and doing so doesn't have to compromise her kindness. Applejack has always been strong, but she's even stronger now with her friends and family behind her. Rainbow Dash has always been competitive, but she always puts her friends first. Rarity knows that even as she climbs the social ladder, she can still keep her friends and stay generous at the same time. And Pinkie is still the same fun-loving pony she's always been, and she knows that everypony can make everypony smile. I'm so proud of all of you; you've all learned so much. Keep teaching each other and keep learning. Friendship will never die, even as every one of us does. I couldn't be leaving the fate of Equestria in better hooves. Goodbye, girls. I love you all.
ZeroAll was silence and darkness. It wasn't as if silence was commonplace between them all, though. Inside the room of the castle were six friends who normally found it quite easy to talk to one another. Even so, in this instance, nopony dared say a word. Fluttershy was sitting next to Rarity with her head buried in Rarity's breast. Her shoulders hitched every few seconds, betraying the silent weeping she sought to hide from the rest of her friends. Rarity herself was wearing an expression that was simultaneously pensive and irritated. One hoof held Fluttershy close to her body in a protective embrace, while the other ran down the small of Fluttershy's back repeatedly, over and over, seeking to provide what little comfort it could. Her eyes were locked on Twilight, but she said nothing. Applejack was also silent, though her mouth worked up and down, speaking words that nopony could hear. A hoof pulled her hat low over her eyes so they couldn't be seen, and the gesture sent a clear message: don't talk to me. Rainbow Dash was clearly furious, but no sound came from her mouth besides a slightly labored breathing. Her eyes were caught glaring at her own hooves, but she periodically flicked her gaze up to Twilight before bringing it back down. Her wings opened and closed seemingly of their own accord, and her muscles tensed and relaxed at random intervals. The moonlight outside streamed into the room through its only window, and as it continued its oblivious arc through the sky, its light moved in tandem. It seemed to spark as it reached the ground in front of Rainbow Dash's hooves, reflecting in chaotic patterns off the crystal flooring and the drops of moisture on it. Pinkie Pie made no attempt to hide her tears. The soft, diffuse light that made its way to Pinkie's face revealed dark trails and a flattened mane. Her gaze jerked around erratically, landing on Rarity and Fluttershy before moving to another one of her friends. Back and forth. Rarity and Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy. Eventually, Pinkie gave up, and her eyes settled on the floor in front of her. Her forehooves came up off the floor and wrapped themselves around her own body in defeat. All was silence and darkness. Wind blew outside the castle, raising wisps of dirt and gravel off the ground. A single stone lofted itself high in a particularly strong gale and launched itself into the room's window, issuing a loud crack. Everypony flinched. The silence breached once, it only took a few seconds for Applejack to breach it again. "You didn't need to do that, Twi," she said. Her words were pointed, but her eyes remained obscured by her hat, refusing to look at anypony. Twilight blinked a few times. "But I told you all what we were doing and why we needed to do it, and you all agreed to it." "Even so, that 'Make it Real' spell was strictly unnecessary," Rarity said. Her voice was low and monotone, her face staid. She locked her eyes to Twilight's as she turned to look at her. Her hoof continued to stroke Fluttershy's back. "But if your reactions aren't authentic, what was the point of this bonding exercise?" Twilight said. "Given the lives that we live and the dangers that we face, we could be gone at any moment. It's important that we think about our legacy and what we leave behind when our time comes." Rarity broke eye contact to sigh before looking back up and saying, "I understand, Twilight. Really, I do. We all agreed to this exercise and whatever it would entail." Her eyes flicked around to survey the rest of her friends before settling on Pinkie, still hugging herself. She whispered a few silent words to the pony still attached to her breast. After a moment, Fluttershy nodded a few times before taking her face out of Rarity's coat. The whites of her eyes were pink, and she sniffled from time to time. Freed, Rarity got to her hooves and strode silently to Pinkie's position before sitting down and wrapping her hooves around her. Almost instantly, Pinkie loosed her own hooves and wrapped them as tightly as she could around her, her face buried in the side of Rarity's neck. Momentarily shocked by the strength of Pinkie's hug, Rarity nevertheless recovered quickly and started stroking her back just as she did with Fluttershy. She looked at Twilight again, her point made. "But some ponies just don't want to hear the answer." Twilight's mouth was half open. "Um . . ." it managed to get out. She looked at the five best friends she'd ever had spread out in front of her. She couldn't drop the thought that what they just did was necessary and that "it was for their own good." Even so, it was hard to believe that when said five best friends were all in various states of despondency and disrepair because of it. It didn't take a princess to feel the pain her friends were feeling. A heavy sense of regret started to grow in Twilight's heart. She looked at the book by her hooves for just a moment before closing it and returning her eyes to her friends. One Hundred and One Things to Do with Your Friends at a Sleepover, its title read. "I . . ." Fluttershy looked down and shuffled her hooves a few times before standing up. "I'm sorry, Twilight, but I think I'd really like to go to bed now." She rubbed one hoof against the other and kept her eyes locked to the ground. Caught off-guard again, it took a few moments for Twilight to respond. "S-sure, Fluttershy." Fluttershy nodded a few times, keeping her head down, before turning around and retiring to the one of the bedrooms Twilight had set aside earlier for all of her friends. "Perhaps it's time for all of us to turn in for the night," Rarity said. Rainbow Dash took the cue and got up, retreating out of the room and attempting to hide her face from everypony else. Once she returned to her own room and closed the door, stomps and other banging sounds could be heard from it. Rarity waited for the banging to die down before getting up and slowly walking Pinkie back to her own room. They both disappeared inside. Rarity's own room was left unoccupied. Twilight watched them all go, feeling the regret inside her grow heavier. "I . . . I'm sorry," she whispered. Applejack, previously silent, finally raised her hat and got up. "I know," she said. "We'll all have a big long talk about this tomorrow morning, but I think everypony is good and ready for some sleep, at least tonight. I jus' hope I don't have any dreams about Apple Bloom." With that, Applejack was the last pony to leave the room, and the last sound that issued from her was from her bedroom door. Twilight was left alone in the room with nothing more than her thoughts to occupy her. And all was silence and darkness.
SixWho will take care of my animals? Who will take care of Angel? Oh, goodness, somepony needs to take care of them! Who will when I can't? Those poor little creatures won't be able to fend for themselves for very long without me. And there'll be no one left to feed them! Oh, why couldn't I have had just a few more hours to set them up with somepony who could care for them? And my friends, too. They'll be so sad when I go away. All of them. Applejack and Twilight are so strong, but even they'll be hurt when I go. That ache in your chest that makes you feel awful and won't go away no matter what you do: it's going to be with them. It's going to be with all of them for a very long time. Spike will feel it too, but at least he'll have a shoulder to cry on. Rarity and I have been friends for so long, and she'll be devastated that she doesn't have a spa and gossip friend anymore. She'll probably hole herself up in her home, and nopony will be around to help get her back out. Who knows how long she'll stay in there all alone? I hate it when Pinkie's mane goes flat, and she starts sulking and stops bouncing. I can barely recognize her when that happens! She becomes a different pony, one who's sad and angry and never laughs. She's not Pinkie anymore. And when I go, it'll be . . . it'll be all my fault. Rainbow . . . She'll try to be "cool" about it, I know she will, but her heart will be breaking inside. We've just known each other for so long; I know she does this. She tries to be tough and callous on the outside, but she really cares so very much about all her friends. I don't even want to think about what would happen if her oldest friend was taken away! All that pain, and it will be all my fault. Oh girls, I . . . I know I say it a lot, but I'm sorry! I hate causing my friends pain, but there's just no way that this won't. You girls are all so strong that I know you'll be okay, but . . . Everypony, I'm so, so sorry!
FiveSo . . . this is it, huh? I knew it was gonna happen eventually, but did it really have to happen this soon? It wouldn't've hurt if I'd had another day to get my priorities straight. Granny Smith'll be fine. She's always been the strong and independent type, and one less grandchild looking after her ain't gonna change that much. 'Specially since she's still got two. Yeah, she'll be sad, as will the rest of the family, but she's got support that'll help her get over the hill. Big Macintosh has gotten awful good at taking care of the farm without me when the girls and I are taken off to some adventure. Looks like he'll just have to figure out how to hold it down on his lonesome from now on. Although once the rest of the family hears of this, they'll probably be champing at the bit to come'n give Big Mac and the farm some support and give him some time to grieve. Apple Bloom is gonna take this one hard. I've gotten used to wakin' up in the morning, getting her a healthy breakfast, and walking her to school—making sure that she don't get into any trouble along the way, o'course. It's been our daily routine for a long time. And when she loses her big sister, she'll lose all of that, plus everything else I do for her. No more apple cider, no more sisterly hikes to see the old folks. There just ain't any way around it. It's irreplaceable. But she'll heal. Everything does. She'll remember, but she'll heal. She's got the entire family behind her. Auntie Gala's always been good with crying fillies, after all. The rest of the girls'll heal, too. They've got each other. 'Cause as much as it'll hurt at first, like the first time you buck a tree, I'm just one pony. That ache'll heal, and Equestria will go on without me like I wasn't even there. Sure, there's a lot more that I planned to do, and I don't think it's my time. But Ma and Pa didn't choose when they'd go, either, and maybe I was just next on the list. But there's nothing to do about it now but take the punches as they come. At the very least, I got nothing left to worry about. And with enough time, I reckon, the rest of my friends and family won't, neither.
Four. . . You're joking. You're joking, right? Me, death? There is no way. I'm too awesome to die, and I've got too much left to do anyway. Death can kiss my sorry butt and run away with its tail between its legs! . . . It's not going away, is it? Go away! Nopony wants you here! But that's just not fair! Yeah, sure, I made it into the Wonderbolt's reserves, passed the screening test, stood in for Wind Rider, and finally became an active member of the Wonderbolts, but I'm not finished yet! What about that routine I was going to pitch to Spitfire, or that Canterlot-to-Cloudsdale record I was going to break? And this is just gonna take all of that away!? All that work that I put in, down the drain. And I'm never gonna have the chance to do any of that. You have got to be kidding me. I still need to reconcile with my parents again. They came to the training camp that one time, but I never got the chance again to catch them up on things they missed, or catch up on things I missed. I was going to meet up with 'Shy and take them out to eat or see a show on my off time, and now those plans are all gone. The things they never knew about me, and the folks I never got to know . . . And Scoots, I was planning to teach her all these awesome moves. Once I got her in the air for more than a few seconds, at least. And the plans for new weather management, and so many other things that I just can't think of because YOU'RE TELLING ME NONE OF THAT MATTERS ANYMORE. That is just so wrong. If you could have picked anyone, pick somepony who didn't have as much planned. Pick someone who was already finished with their life. You're telling me that I'm gonna die and there's nothing I can do about it. You can still kiss my sorry butt goodbye, 'cause that is a load of horseapples.
