and she fell

When other ponies talked about Cloudsdale, most were surprised to find that Cloudsdale had a cemetery. It wasn’t like the cemeteries based on the ground that earth ponies and unicorns used. Fleetfoot always found that fact interesting.

From the funerals of earth ponies and unicorns, she had found that those groups mostly preferred burials and coffins. Being a pegasus, the idea of spending eternity in a coffin shocked her.

After a pegasus died, it was tradition for them to be cremated. Then their ashes would be released, letting them take one last flight before they moved on to… whatever came after life. That very thought sent a shudder down Fleetfoot’s back. She didn’t like thinking about death.

The cemetary was dotted with markers, made of enchanted materials like stone and wood, and in many shapes and sizes. They bore the names of those that passed on, who spread their wings and faded away into the sky they loved. Or something, Fleetfoot scoffed. She always thought it just sounded… sappy.

Fleetfoot wandered through the cemetery, making her way through the paths in between the gravestones. She was dressed in her formal uniform, a deep blue dress coat over a light blue shirt, complete with a row of medals over her heart and a white, black brimmed hat on her head.

She stopped in front of three large monuments near the cloud cemetary’s edge. A frown formed on her muzzle. She had been here when the first was constructed, and she returned when the second was built. And now there were three.

The funeral itself passed quickly for her. She didn’t remember much of it, other than it was like all the other funerals she had been to. The pegasi had two ceremonies: one traditional one with a wake, eulogies, and remembrance speeches, and the ceremonial release of the ashes. The last flight, it was called. She had learned all of this at her first funeral, that of her mother’s.

A chill ran down her spine as she approached the crowd gathered in front of the monuments. There were pegasi dressed in black suits and dresses, and dotted in the crowd were deep blue uniforms, the same as the one she wore.

Avoiding eye contact, she made her way to the base of the monuments. Each monument bore the same inscription, the Wonderbolts’ motto. “Who fliess, livess. Who livess, daress. And who daress, winss,” she said to herself.

“Please, I’ve heard enough of that for a lifetime.” Fleetfoot’s ear twitched as a voice chuckled from behind her.

She turned around to see an ever familiar white pegasus, dressed smartly in uniform with his eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses, a habit he picked up from his predecessor.

“Ssoarin’,” Fleetfoot said. “Nice to ssee you.”

Soarin’ smiled in response. “Of course, it’s always nice to see me. Wish it was under better circumstances though.”

“Don’t we alwayss,” she replied, turning back to the monument.

Soarin’ walked to her side, following her gaze. “Aw, come on Fleety. Don’t be such a downer.”

After all these years, Fleetfoot grumbled to herself, Soarin’ still loved butchering names.

“A downer? Ssoarin’, we’re at a frickin’ funeral.”

The pegasus nodded with a sad smile. “I know.”

“Then what are you ssaying,” Fleetfoot snapped back. “That I sshould be happy? Do you think thiss iss a joke?”

Soarin’ took off his sunglasses, clipping them onto his uniform shirt. “Death is nothing to joke about, Fleety. Even I know that. What I’m saying is that you’ve been like this for awhile now, before the funeral.”

“Sso?” Fleetfoot rubbed her eyes. “I’m sscared of death, okay? When I firsst heard about it, I didn’t want to believe it. Is that sso bad?”

Soarin’ lay a hoof on her shoulder. “Listen. You can be scared of death. I am, Spitfire was, everyone is. But it’s a part of life, even if it’s the end of it. Let me ask you this. If we lived forever, would we do anything?”

Fleetfoot blinked at the question. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that if you knew that you were going to live forever, why would you do anything at all? Now, I know Spitfire always said I never did anything, but in the end I had to accept that I wouldn’t be around forever. We all did.”

Fleetfoot just sighed. “Sso what are you ssaying? That no matter what we do we’ll run out of time?”

“Well when you put it that way, sure. But time’s all we have. Why waste it? It’s what Spits told the recruits every single morning. It’s what she told me, and it’s what I’m telling you.”

The mare frowned at the name.

“I miss her too,” Soarin said. She winced as he extended a wing and gave her a hug. “But do you get what I’m saying?”

Fleetfoot cast her eyes on the ground. “Ssort of. But thiss issn’t like you, Ssoarin’. You don’t give philosophy lessons.”

Soarin’ rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you’re right. But I think that if you spend your whole life worrying about when things end, you’re never going to get anywhere! Like eating a pie!”

She rolled their eyes. “And there’s the normal Ssoarin’,” Fleetfoot muttered.

“No, hear me out! Life’s like eating a pie. You know that eventually you’re going to run out of pie, but if you just stay really sad because you’re going to run out of pie, then you miss the joy of eating the pie!” Soarin stood proudly with that, a wide smile on his face.

Fleetfoot just chuckled, shaking her head sadly. “Can’t get your mind off of pie for one second.”

Something still felt wrong to her. It felt just like old times, where she would sit in the captain’s office after practice, cracking jokes and mocking the new recruits. When Spitfire would rant on about how the higher-ups were trying to screw them and Soarin would chime in with a horrible joke. “Do you misss her?”

Soarin’s goofy grin faded. “Of course I miss her. I always have, Fleety. But I had to get on with my life. You were all counting on me. I didn’t just forget her, or stop missing her, but the world still moved on.”

With a defeated sigh, Fleetfoot lowered her head. They did have a point. “Right, sorry. I’m just… having a hard time-”

She felt a hoof on her shoulder. “Trust me,” Soarin’ said. “I know.”

A tear fell from Fleetfoot’s face, disappearing into the cloud under her. “Does it get easier?”

“No,” Soarin’ answered. “It never does. And moving on and letting go doesn’t come easier either. Every one hits harder than the last.” He paused, letting out a remorseful sigh before continuing. “You remember what I told you when you became captain? You see the best of the team and the worst of them. But no matter what they think of you, you’re still their friend and their still your team. And that’s why every loss will hurt. But it’s good, because it means you care. If you lose someone and don’t care...” Soarin’ shuddered as he trailed off.

In the silence, a wind blew through their uniforms, chilling Fleetfoot to the bone.

“It’s like falling,” he finally decided. “When we learn to fly, we’re scared to fall. But even after we fly, we’re still scared to fall. That fear is always there, isn’t it? Especially for the Wonderbolts. But we still fly We don’t let a fear of falling stop us.”

“Yeah… I guess. I guess you’re right.” Fleetfoot dried her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. “Sorry,” she heard herself say.

“It’s not wrong to cry at a funeral,” Soarin’ chuckled. “But you know what always helps? A flight.”

A flight sounded good right about now, Fleetfoot thought. A chance to spread her wings and set her mind free.

Before she could respond, something caught her eye. The group of ponies was moving away from the three tombstones and headed to the edge of the cloud. The crowd broke, allowing three ponies to advance to the cloud’s edge. A smile fell upon her muzzle. “You go on ahead,” she said. “I’ll be right there. There’s something I have to do first.”

Fleetfoot set off, weaving through the crowd until she ended up near the front. She watched as the three ponies turned to face the crowd. Two were wearing the same dress blues that dotted the crowd. The first, a rainbow maned pegasus, shuffled nervously. Her eyes never left the urn that lay on the cloud by her hooves.

“You ready, Cap?” The second pony of the group, a black and white pegasus, gently nudged her.

Failing to elicit a response, the third pony, a non-uniformed purple pony, cleared her throat. “Rainbow?”

Rainbow Dash blinked, then adjusted her cap. “Uh, yeah. Sorry. Ready.”

Her hesitation made Fleefloot shake her head and chuckle. It wasn’t like the carefree pegasus to be nervous, but who was she to judge? She hadn’t been much better when she led the ceremony.

The third gave a small nod. “Okay. Captain Dash, Lieutenant Thunderlane, shall we proceed?”

Thunderlane nodded, but Rainbow hesitated again. “Uh… Sorry, Twi. It’s just-”

Twilight Sparkle raised a hoof, silencing her friend. “It’s fine, Rainbow. You need to let go. Everyone here does, that’s why we’re here.”

Rainbow took a deep breath, still staring at the urn by her hooves. “I know that. But it’s hard, you know?”

Twilight lay a comforting hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Rainbow,-”

“I remember her,” Rainbow said aloud. “I remember that day, walking onto the stage and shaking her hoof. I remember her looking into my eyes and smiling as she said, ‘Congratulations captain.’ And I remember everything she told me about being captain and, and… And I don’t think I’m ready.”

“Hey. She knew what she was doing,” Twilight said. “She made you her lieutenant, didn’t she? She could have picked anypony, but she picked you. She believes in you, Rainbow, and look around.” The mare waved a hoof over the crowd. “She’s still here, with us. In us. We’ll carry on her legacy.” She pointed to the three monuments. “We’ll remember her, just like we remembered Spitfire and Soarin’.”

Rainbow closed her eyes, dropping her head. “Yeah, you’re right. She’s gone, just like they are. Twi, does loss get any easier?”

“I can’t say that it does, Rainbow,” Twilight replied sadly.

Rainbow finally looked up. Her eyes scanned the crowd, seeing the familiar ponies in suits, dresses, and uniforms. Then, she nodded. “Okay,” she said in a small voice. “Let’s do this.”

A hush fell over the entire cemetery as Twilight picked up the urn in her magic. She raised the urn until it was eye level with Rainbow. Rainbow and Thunderlane took a step back and saluted. The uniformed pegasi in the crowd returned the motion, tears in some of their eyes.

“Okay Captain Fleetfoot,” Twilight said gently. “Time for one last flight.”

Rainbow turned to the crowd and nodded. “Who Flies, Lives. Who Lives, Dares. And Who Dares, Wins,” the uniformed pegasi shouted.

Twilight closed her eyes, doing a quick calculation to take account for the wind. She opened the jar and floated the urn over to the edge of the cloud. “Celestia be with you,” she whispered. The urn tilted, and the ashes flew off into the breeze.

From somewhere behind her, she heard Soarin’s voice calling out to her. “Come on, Fleety. Skies are waiting. You coming or not?”

“I wouldn’t misss it for the world.” Fleetfoot smiled, bliss filling her. She walked over to the edge of the cloud, staring up at the endless horizons above her. She pulled her cap down so the brim was over her eyes and turned around. The crowd of ponies was talking now, turning their eyes away from the edge and back to the monuments. Nopony was looking in her direction, except for Rainbow Dash. The new captain stared blankly at her as she stood unmoving.

With a broad smile, Fleetfoot saluted her. Rainbow blinked and saluted back, not completely aware of what she was doing. “Thank you,” Fleetfoot whispered. She reared up on her hind legs as the noise died around her. Finding her balance, she looked up one last time and closed her eyes. Fighting the urge to spread her wings, she leaned back. And she fell.

-

-

End.