Sometimes goodbye’s the only way
“Would you tell me about them?” Sunset asked quietly.
The apple in Aria’s hand stopped, a peel hanging precariously off the knife’s edge. She was only half-way through peeling the fruit when the question had caught her off guard.
“I’m pretty sure I’ve told you about them before.” Aria chuckled a little, looking sadly at Sunset. “Are you sure you want to hear about them again?”
“I am.” Sunset said, turning her head to look at Aria, a small smile visible on her face. “I want to hear about the people you’ve fallen in love with.”
Sunset Shimmer was far past her prime, laying in her hospice care bed since she couldn’t stand up on her own anymore. Her hair had turned silver and gray, still matching the tones she’d had in her youth. Her skin was sagging, wrinkled with age, and had lost its vibrant color. The only things that had kept their luster were her bright emerald eyes that still seemed to sparkle in the afternoon light, and the golden ring around her finger.
Aria Blaze, in comparison, was as youthful as the day they had met. She had tried to hide her eternal youth behind makeup, but there was only so much aging one could artificially add. She’d dyed silver streaks into her hair, grown it out, and changed the style to better fit an ‘older’ woman, but if you washed away the layers of fakeness you would see the youthful and fit young woman she had always been. Her beauty was only matched by the familiar golden ring that was wrapped around her finger.
“Well,” Aria mused to herself as she continued peeling the apple, “As you know there wasn’t a whole lot of them. Dagi made sure we never stayed in one area for more than twenty years, so as to not draw too much suspicion on ourselves. But a few people stood out amongst the crowd, like my first husband.” Aria smirked. “You always did get a kick out of his name too. Good ol’ Plowing Fields.”
Sunset brought a weak hand up to her mouth, quietly snickering to herself. She no longer had the strength to loudly laugh like she once could, but that didn’t stop her from being amused at the name.
“I’ll have you know I’m still proud of having that innuendo catch on.” Aria waved her knife around with a smirk, before continuing to peel her apple. “Man knew his way around the bed sheets and made for tough competition for future loved ones to compete with. Not that you ever failed to live up to them.” Aria gave her loving wife a wink.
“Mmm, always glad to hear I gave you a good time.” Sunset smirked a little, leaning back into her pillows more. “But you cared for him, didn’t you?”
“Humans were still kind of a fresh concept back then, so I didn’t really focus on it too much. I married him more because I thought he was hot than because I liked who he was.” Aria shook her head. “Was a nice enough guy and was able to put up with my bitchiness, so he wasn’t bad as far as humans went.
“My fondest memory of him was this time when he was taking care of his livestock, and I walked by distracting him from his work. Of course that caused him to slip on a patty, right as the goats were laying down, so he ended up pinned beneath them. I still get a chuckle out of that one.”
Sunset tried to chuckled like she did before, but it was much more subdued this time. Aria held a smirk on her face, but she noticed the reduction in energy from her wife.
She turned her attention back to her apple, seeing that it was now freshly peeled. She inspected it for any remaining skin, before placing it down on the nearby tray to start slicing it.
“My second husband was a bit of a kook, but one of the good ones.” Aria chuckled remembering the man. “We were in this quaint little religious town in Austria, and they were deeply devoted to Christianity. It was the perfect place to hide for a while since all they asked of us was to believe in God with them and they’d give us shelter and food. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.”
Aria held one of the peeled apple slices up to her wife, but Sunset lifted a hand and gently shook her head at the offer. Aria furrowed her brow and frowned at that, before sitting back and biting into the slice herself.
She really didn’t like how much Sunset’s appetite had fallen over the last week, but she kept quiet about it.
“So, to better fit in, Adagio suggests we settle in with the locals. Met myself a devout little missionary named Quiet Psalm, and given the other choices the village offered, I’d definitely take the meek sub over any of the other bible thumpers any day.” Aria slipped the rest of the apple slice into her mouth, quickly swallowing it and cleaning her fingers off.
“He wasn’t anything to write home about in bed, but the boy was a loving husband through and through. Tended to my needs, took care of the chores, loved raising our kid. Honestly, if things hadn’t gone so belly up in the end, I’d almost say it was idyllic.” She shook her head at that. “But you know how that turned out. Witch burnings never did go out of style, they just changed names.”
“I can never apologize enough for how humans treated you over the years.” Sunset murmured. “You deserved better than that…”
“Now you and I both know that’s a lie Sunset.” Aria laughed. “We were straight up villains who preyed upon humans for food. Hell, even after the battle it took years to get Adagio to stop calling humans scum. We always had it coming. I’m just glad we managed to survive till now.” She smiled at her wife.
Aria could tell from the look in Sunset’s eye that she didn’t completely agree, but was trying to hide it behind a loving smile. Sunset had always been bias to a fault though. Love did that to a person.
“After that, I kind of gave up on the whole ‘love’ thing for a while.” Aria leaned back in her chair, munching on another apple slice. “Of course I had plenty of flings, had a bunch of kids, but I never ‘married’ again till my third husband, and I still wouldn’t say I was deeply in love with the guy. That whole marriage ended up being an absolute mess thanks to the great depression.”
“Not one of our finer moments.” Sunset remarked.
“Ol’ Pinstripe. Was a good businessman during his day, but the idiot went and got himself wrapped up in the war in the end, and that was the last I heard of him.” Aria shook her head. “He was an excellent breadwinner for the house, which worked out for me and my laziness, but the poor fella never got the most out of life.”
“You never had much luck with men.” Sunset chuckled softly.
“Good lays, terrible to keep around.” Aria waved her hand around. “I always did find myself more emotionally attached to the girls in my life, but you know how it was. Couldn’t exactly have a happily married life with them, nor kids to keep the family going. So most of them were just flings that lasted a year or two at most.” Aria sighed, leaning forward and resting her chin on her hand.
“Marigold Daisy, Silver Weave, Hay String, Crescent Moon, Strawberry Passion, Aquamarine, Elegant Caress…” Aria listed each of the names that she remembered the most, the passionate young women who had come into her life and left just as easily, before she turned to look at Sunset with a cheeky smile.
“And then I got myself wrapped up with a wicked woman named Sunset Shimmer. Fell head over heels for her and ended up married to her for like, a bajillion years.” Aria scoffed. “She even took me to this weird horse world and did some magic bullshit that let us have kids. Can you imagine the insanity of it all?”
“She sounds like a righteous bitch, she does.” Sunset smirked cheekily.
“Hey, that’s my wife you’re talking about, don’t make me beat your face in!” Aria pointed at Sunset with a smirk. “But you’re not wrong either. She had her moments of bitchiness, but that’s what I loved about her.” Aria leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes as she remembered the old days.
“At first, Sunset really knew how to get under my skin. She was an Equestrian outcast like the rest of us, but unlike us, she seemed to get everything she wanted.” Aria scoffed. “She took away our magic and then had the gall to try and suggest ways to improve our life in the human world. Can you believe the audacity of that? Like we weren’t having it rough because of her in the first place.”
“I can only imagine.” Sunset smirked back.
“But she eventually started showing up more often, so naturally we just started talking more. Though it wasn’t so much talking as it was, I would get angry and get in her face, and she wouldn’t back down easily. Eventually we just sort of ran into each other in a bar one night and just got absolutely wasted.” Aria grabbed an extra apple slice, running her finger along it at the memory. “And in a drunken fit she admitted to me that she had an attraction to my sister Adagio, and I was thrown for a loop at that. I mean, the rivalry my sisters and I had with Sunset was legendary, and Sunset was admitting to being attracted to one of us? Talk about world changing.”
“I get the strange feeling that didn’t work out for her.” Sunset chuckled.
“I’m still not entirely certain why I agreed, but I told her I’d help her get a date with my sister. I think I thought it would be funny to watch her crash and burn at the idea, or maybe it’d be fun to watch her get stepped on by Adagio. After all, no one Doms Adagio, so Sunset would get put in her place.” Aria munched on the apple at that, smirking.
“So I went and taught her everything she needed to know about dating my sister, and when they day came to ask out Adagio, she actually said yes. I’m not sure what my sister was thinking, but the two of them went on a date and I was just at home waiting to hear about how it went.”
“And the date didn’t quite go the way you thought it would, did it?” Sunset smiled at the memory of that night.
“Sunset was just suddenly at the door to my room, and I was baffled. I asked her how it went, and she said that the date made her realize that Adagio wasn’t the one she wanted.” Aria felt her cheeks flush remembering that, her smile stretching across her face. “And right then and there, she kisses me. Pushes the two of us into my room, and let me tell ya, I still have dreams about how magical that night was.”
“I do too.” Sunset said dreamily.
“What else can I say from there?” Aria smirked, licking her fingers clean from the apple slice. “It was a bit of a whirlwind romance for the following years. The two of us were inseparable, and we pretty much set the town on fire. Even literally that one time.”
“I don’t think the fire chief ever truly forgave us for that.” Sunset grimaced.
“And one day Sunset just up and asks me to marry her.” Aria smirked, leaning forward and resting her chin in her hand. “The big dummy had fallen so head over heels for me that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me. How could I possibly say no to someone wanting to worship the very ground I walked on?”
“And I never regretted a single day of it.” Sunset smiled lovingly.
The room was quiet after that, the two of them just sat there smiling at each other, a tender warmth spreading throughout them. Sunset’s eyelids slowly drooped, though her smile never faded.
“But every single time you fell in love, they had to leave your life at some point.” Sunset spoke quietly. “And you moved on from them every time, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.” Aria replied just as quietly. “It kind of became a requirement just to keep living. If you stop to regret everything you’ve lost, you miss out on everything new that comes your way. And you can’t live that way as an immortal.” Her smile faded as she spoke those words. “You never forget the life you’ve lived, but you keep marching forward to the next big thing life has in store for you.”
“So…” Sunset murmured, leaning into her bed as she stared straight at Aria. “I don’t have to worry about leaving you behind, do I?”
Aria felt a lump form in her throat at those words, realizing just what Sunset had been getting at with this whole conversation.
She had no snarky comebacks for that, no witty retorts, or even anything normal to say. Sunset had always been good at getting her to lose her words, but this was the hardest question Sunset had ever asked of her.
Aria slowly stood up from her chair, inching closer to Sunset, before reaching down and wrapping her youthful hand around Sunset’s aged hand.
“Sunset...” Aria struggled to speak properly, the lump in her throat clogging her words. “I’m not ready to say goodbye to you yet. I’ll move on, sure, you’re not the first person I’ve lost, but you’re the first one I’ve cared this much for.” She squeezed Sunset’s hand a little tighter, lifting her other hand to wipe at her eyes.
“I’m sorry Aria.” Sunset murmured weakly. “You and I both knew the day you had to say goodbye was coming…”
“Yeah.” Aria sniffed a little, frowning at that. “Yeah I knew it would come… Just… I hate it. I hate that it has to be a thing at all.”
“You’ve still got the kids though.” Sunset spoke up, doing her best to squeeze back, but her grip was so weak. She didn’t have even a fraction of the strength that she used to have. “You’ll be there for them…”
“Of course I will.” Aria said firmly. “I’m going to make sure our kids get the best damn care in the world, just like I made sure you did. And I’ll watch over their kids, and their kid’s kids. I’ll be the best damn guardian grandmother they never knew they needed, and they’ll love the shit out of me, and everything will be great…”
“That’s what I like to hear…” Sunset said with a weak smile, feeling her eyes grow more drowsy. “I… I love you Aria Blaze. More than anything else in the world…”
“I love you too Sunset.” Aria sniffed, wiping at her eyes again. She leaned forward, brushing some of Sunset’s bangs out of her face, before carefully pressing her lips against Sunset’s.
The two shared that gentle embrace, one they’d shared so many times over many long years together. It was as filled with love now as it had been then, and the only thing that kept the passion from the lips was just how weak Sunset’s whole body was.
Aria let the kiss linger before pulling back, pressing her forehead against Sunset’s. She ran her fingers through her love’s hair, just trying her best to keep her composure.
“Aria…” Sunset murmured, a weak smile on her face.
“Yeah?” Aria responded, her voice cracking from the tears.
“I’m… Going to get some sleep now…”
Aria sniffed, wiping at her face, before smiling.
“Yeah… You get some rest love. You’ll need it.” Aria lifted her head up and pressed her lips against Sunset’s forehead, letting that kiss linger as well before pulling back.
Sunset looked up at Aria, the love of her life, with a lingering smile, and stayed awake for as long as she could. Her eyes grew heavier with each passing second, and soon enough, she closed them completely, her weight slowly sinking into the bed.
Aria held onto Sunset’s hand, never letting go of it for a moment. She watched her wife sleep, and she waited.
She would have waited forever for Sunset to wake up again.
To be the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes.
The first one to tend to whatever her needs were, no matter what they were.
Be it food, or a bath, or just someone to let her know she was loved.
Aria stood there, and waited.
Fresh tears fell down her cheeks as she waited.
She waited.
And waited.
But she knew...
Sunset wasn’t waking up again.
And the sun will set for you
At that point in her life, Aria had been to plenty of funerals. It wasn’t something she had done much of when her and her sisters had first arrived, seeing as there wasn’t much point in getting attached to the humans.
When you roamed around as much as they had, you never got to know the people being lowered into the graves, and you never stayed long enough to see anyone you knew be lowered.
That had all changed with Sunset.
Sunset had been there for each of her friends when it was time to bury their parents or siblings or even their pets, and Aria had been along for the ride. Sunset was also the last of her friends to pass away, so Aria had been to each and every one of their funerals.
The main thing she learned was that most funerals weren’t like how the media portrayed them. Most happened on bright and clear days where everyone was able to attend comfortably, since rain made it difficult to properly bury a casket. Especially if it rained too hard.
And most viewings were held indoors first before being moved to the grave later.
Aria had insisted on Sunset’s funeral being an outdoor viewing.
It had been a warm day, only partly cloudy, and the crowd that came to see Sunset had been surprisingly thin.
Not because she wasn’t adored by a lot of people, but because there weren’t many of those people left to attend her funeral.
The service had been a simple one. A viewing box with loved ones saying a few words in her memory to the gathered crowd. Aria had said her piece last, though it was hard to compare to prolific public speakers like Princess Celestia or Princess Twilight.
Twilight’s speech had been particularly hard to listen to, since Sunset had been the last of her human friends to pass away, and it showed in how she carried herself. Celestia at least had had a lifetime of watching her friends and loved ones pass away to keep herself composed.
The two of them had given their condolences after it was all over, and even made sure to remind Aria that she always had a home in Equestria if she needed it.
The rulers of Equestria inviting a siren with open arms into their kingdom. She imagined Starswirl would’ve been rolling in his grave if he hadn’t had a change of heart in his old age.
But that had been the service, and it had been over for a few hours now. Celestia and Twilight had returned to Equestria promising to keep in touch, and only one or two guests still remained. Sunset had been lowered into her grave and properly buried, and the spot next to her had been left open.
Just in case.
It was a gesture Aria appreciated, but just looking at the spot, she knew it was going to remain empty.
She knew better.
She’d been alive for a thousand years already, and she doubted that would change for the next thousand. If she did die, she would love nothing more than to be buried next to her wife.
And it was tempting.
It was an offer more tempting than she had expected it to be.
She’d always wondered why humans were so desperate to go and ‘be with’ their loved ones when they passed away, but now she knew why.
It hurt.
It hurt a lot.
But she couldn’t let herself die anytime soon.
She had to live on.
It was the last thing she had promised Sunset.
And Aria Blaze was not one to break her promises.
“Hey mom. How ya holding up?”
Aria’s thoughts were broken by a familiar voice. She turned her head, seeing her beautiful daughter stepping up close, a saddened smile on her face.
Sunrise Serenade. She was in her mid 60s now, with hair of light violet tied up in twin tails hanging loosely down her back, light yellow and gray stripes spinning around her locks. Her skin was a tannish pink, and her eyes were the same emerald green as her mother’s. For the funeral she had dug out an old, slightly tattered, leather jacket that had been passed down to her from Sunset, in honor of her mother’s memory.
“I’m holding up.” Aria said with a smile that almost seemed genuine. “What about yourself?”
“I’ve done my fair share of crying.” Sunrise chuckled softly, wiping at her puffy and red eyes. “What about you?”
“I’ve done some crying. I’m sure I’ll do more. I’ve got all the time in the world to miss her.” Aria spoke softly, turning back to look at Sunset’s grave. Several bouquets were scattered around the simple stone tablet as Aria’s eyes scanned the words on the grave once more.
Here Lies Sunset Shimmer
1996-2090
I’ll always be by your side, so hold your head high, and give the world hell
“Hey.” Sunrise spoke softly, placing a hand against her mother’s arm. “The family’s getting hungry, so I was going to take them out to dinner, it being a solemn occasion and all.” She chuckled softly. “Did you want to come? I know my kids love having their grandma around.”
“It’s a tempting offer kiddo, but I’m gonna stay here.” Aria looked at her kid, lifting her hand to rub the top of Sunrise’s head. “I appreciate you looking out for me though.”
Sunrise couldn’t help but scoff and laugh a little, playfully swatting the hand off of her head.
“You’re never gonna stop treating me like a kid, are you?”
“Be older than me one day, then we’ll talk.” Aria grinned. Sunrise couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
“Like anyone can be older than you.” Sunrise snarked back, but lifted her arms up and gently wrapped them around her mother. “I’m here if you need me mom. Don’t bottle everything up inside, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Aria chuckled, hugging her kid back. “I’ll be in touch. I promised your mother I’d look after you and your kids, and I don’t intend to break that promise anytime soon.”
“Better not.” Sunrise sniffed, but pulled back from the hug with a smile. “I’ll save a piece of cake for you.”
“Have a good night kiddo.” Aria waved, Sunrise lifting her own hand in return before walking off.
A gentle breeze blew through the area as Aria watched her daughter leave. Even now she couldn’t believe that something so beautiful could have come from her. It was crazy the miracles love and Equestrian magic could perform.
She watched her daughter until she disappeared from sight, then turned back to her wife’s grave and sat down in front of it. She didn’t have anywhere to be or any business to attend to, so she was going to stay by her wife’s side until she was ready to leave.
Aria blinked as something orangey was put in front of her face. She pulled her head back enough to realize it was a drink, then turned her head up, spotting Adagio holding it out for her.
“I figured you could use a drink.” She said with a smirk, shaking the glass a little bit in emphasis. Aria couldn’t help but smirk back and took hold of the glass, looking it over.
“A tequila sunrise.” Aria chuckled at the sight of it, letting out an involuntary sniff as she felt her eyes moisten. “You never had much tact, did you Dagi?”
“What better way to remember those we’ve loved and lost than with a little bit of nostalgia, hm?” Adagio said with a smile, sitting down next to her sister. “I know I’ve given you grief about drinking your problems away in the past, but I think I’ll let it pass this time.”
“You shouldn’t have to be alone on days like this.” Sonata spoke up, sitting down on the other side of Aria. “That’s what family is for after all!”
Aria looked between her two sisters for a moment, smirking as she felt a fresh tear roll down her cheek.
“You two don’t have anything better to do, do you?” Aria laughed, unable to stop the tears from flowing now.
“Only if that ‘something better’ is giving you a little sass,” Adagio said with a smile. “To remind you that you’re not alone.”
“And you never will be.” Sonata said with a nod. “She’ll always be with you in your heart, and we’ll always be with you in person. So remember her with a smile.”
Aria laughed again, a little more sputtering this time as her tears mixed in. She lifted her head up and looked beyond the hill they sat upon, towards the horizon as the sun made its way to the edge of the world.
She held her drink up, making the sun silhouette around it as she watched its descent.
And for a moment, it was so, so many years ago...
She could still hear the crash of the waves, the smell of the sea air, and the warmth of the setting sun in front of them.
Sunset was in the prime of her life, vibrant and glowing with beauty and youth. They were newly married, and the two of them couldn’t have been happier to have each other in their lives.
In each of their hands was a Tequila Sunrise, held up to glow in the light of the sun as it dipped behind the horizon and cast the world in its orange glow.
Sunset had turned to look at her wife with a smile and love in her heart, and Aria had turned to look at her back with just as much love in her heart.
And Aria knew that she was going to remember that moment forever, and she wanted Sunset to know it.
“And now, every day I will think of you.” Aria spoke aloud, “Because every day I will watch the sun set.”
Sunset’s laugh was lost to time, but Aria could still hear it clear as day. She smiled at the love of her life as she brought the drink to her mouth and took a sip.
It tasted even better than she remembered.
