Author's Note
So I was watching Criminal Minds tonight and this just sorta smacked me in the face. So yeah. Completely unplanned, but It demanded to be written anyways. So I just went with it.
Enjoy!
Death Whispers A Lullaby
I can hear them, calling to me, crying.
Darkness is all around me. It is the blackest night. I look around, and I see nothing. Nothing but black. Their voices are the only ones I hear. I stand up, and even though the darkness is there, the ground is solid. I reach a hoof up and reach out to touch the dark. I half expect it to ripple, like Luna’s dreams would. But it is static, though it is tangible. I walk over to the voices, but whenever I try to push through the top of the black, It weighs more than a thousand bricks. I try to listen to what they are saying, but all I can make out is my name, and the soft sounds of somepony crying.
I try and seek a way through the black, but there are no holes, no specks of light. I automatically try and fly, but I cannot. They have taken my wings. I run at that darkness with everything I have, going toward the voices, but there is no wall to hit. Just an endless river of night. Suddenly, the voices grow fainter. I run and run and run. But they fade. They keep fading. And then, I can no longer hear them. I stop. I sit.
They are gone.
And what will become of me? I do not know. But I stay there. And I wait. Something has to happen to me eventually, right?
Time passes. How much, I do not know. I begin to go mad after a while. I know the feeling well. But there are no voices whispering in my ear, no violent images to give me nightmares. In fact, I do not feel the need to sleep. But I know that it has been over a day. It has to have been. I look around again, but nopony is there. Finally, I stand. I speak.
“Hello? Anypony here?” I look around, but nopony comes. I wonder, am I supposed to be here forever?
I scream, until I cannot speak anymore. I beg, plead, and threaten, all to no avail. I am literally talking to a wall. I realize that this will do me no good. So I wait some more.
Days, weeks, maybe even months pass with nothing, and then, something happens. I see a glimmer overhead. My head shoots up, but like a falling star, it vanishes. But something sparks inside of me. Hope. Perhaps the black will not stay much longer.
I keep staring. Then, finally, it happens again. But it isn’t a glimmer this time. It’s like a shimmer of light, all sorts of colors, like the ones that cover the Crystal Empire. The shimmer does not fade. It stays. Then, in a burst of color, everything changes. The blackness is obliterated completely, and colors came everywhere. And in them, I see me. I see my memories. The life I’ve lived. The lessons I learned or didn’t learn. I see my friends, my family, my life in pictures. The colors swirl around me. And then, like they were never there, everything turns black again. I wonder, I truly wonder, was that just wishful thinking on my part?
I look around again. Then, suddenly, a white light opens up, then closes. A hushed voice whispers to me.
“Rainbow. Rainbow Dash.”
It is a calm voice. So soothing. Like my mother after I had a nightmare. Although I have not heard the voice before, I am not afraid. I stand. I look up. A black stallion with a white mane comes up to me, smiling.
“You have done well.” He says.
“Where am I? And What is this place?” I ask.
“This is your mind.” He explains. “You were unconscious for a long time. That’s why everything was dark for so long. I’m sorry it took me so long to get here.”
“And you are?”
“You know who I am. You were looking for me when time was running out.”
“So you’re…?”
“Yes.”
“You’re death?”
“Yes. Well, I’m just what death looks like to you. I change for everypony when their time comes.”
“So you could be anypony you wanted? Even Celestia?”
“Not just ponies. Griffins, Changelings, Draconequus’, any creature that there is. And no, not if I wanted. Just if that pony saw her as me.”
“Alright. So you’re here to take me?”
“Yes.”
“But… Where are we going?”
“A place where there is no more pain or suffering.” He explained. “Come with me, Rainbow. It’s your time.”
I look behind me. “But my friends, and my family…”
“They will be fine. I promise you. Just relax. You will be safe.” He promised.
Hesitantly, I step forward toward the light. The speck enlarges, like it was waiting for me to move. I can feel warmth emitting from it. It wasn’t like it was cold here, but the warmth was welcome. It’s so enticing, so tantilizing, that I step closer. Death comes closer to me.
“It’s beautiful there.” He says.
I nod. “Yes. I can feel it.” I say. As I follow him toward the light, I see something else. Dark spots. Shapes. I squint. There are several of them, actually. All different.
Death steps further toward the light. Then turns for me. “There are someponies who want to see you.” He says.
I get closer. Then, my jaw drops. Standing there are Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Spike, Scootaloo and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders, and my Parents.
I feel myself getting emotional. I reach out to touch them. They reach back. My Mother steps forward.
“Come on, Rainbow. We’re all here. Don’t be afraid.” Says Windy Whistles.
“Come play with us, Rainbow!” Pinkie cheers.
“The Wonderbolts still need their best flier.” Says Twilight.
“And we need you.” Adds Fluttershy.
I come closer, but then I stop. “Death?” I ask.
“Yes, Rainbow?”
“What will happen to me If I don’t stay?”
He pauses. “If you don’t stay, you’ll wake up. But you will be permanently disabled. You will never fly again.”
“But I would be with my friends?”
“Yes.”
For a long time, I stood there, thinking. Was I ready? I could go into the light and be with my friends and family forever. But if I stayed, I wouldn’t be able to fly. But I wouldn’t have to make them suffer.
As soon as the thought crossed my mind, the choice was easy to make. I looked into the eyes of each one of them.
“I love you all.” I say. “But I can’t stay.”
Death whispered a lullaby, but I didn’t go to sleep. The darkness fades, and then, I open my eyes to a blinding light, with the faces of my family and friends staring down at me.
I sigh softly. It’s over.
