The Devastation of a Lifetime

The room was cold. Well, perhaps not cold, but cold in spirit. Even though the warm sunshine of springtime streamed through the various windows of the small parlor, the atmosphere was one of ice. It was the thickest ice anypony had ever known, and their hearts seemed to leech off of it. The frozen quality of that day was all internal, and they knew it. There was nothing that the beauteous weather could do to reverse the frowns and tears that decorated their faces. What was worse, the entire reason that they were all gathered was missing, for the rescuers had not discovered Rainbow Dash’s corpse. They had searched and searched, but had come up empty hooved.

But Pinkie had watched her beloved crumble downwards under the sheer weight of the water. She knew that her wife had not survived the devastating fall, and she had spent an hour hanging over the cliff, wailing her grief to the heavens. Nopony tried to stop her, for they all understood the immense pain that forced its way into her heart. Her emotions had all lost their expendability, and she experienced every single one of them. The spectrum from grief to anger back to grief had been a hell of a roller coaster, and she felt completely alone.

In the two weeks since Rainbow had disappeared beneath the waves forever, Pinkie had been visited by her dutiful friends. They had each attempted to cheer the formerly ecstatic pony up, but their efforts had been met with a mixture of negative emotions. Sometimes, Pinkie would simply burst into tears and collapse into their embrace. Other times, she would become hot tempered and drive them away. In her agony, her mind had become clouded. All thoughts of parties and streamers and friendship had gone by the wayside, replaced by a dark and rather frightening version of the pony they loved so much.

Now, they all sat in front of an array of flowers, ranging in color to form a rainbow. The words “we miss you, Rainbow Dash,” adorned a banner that hung in a respectful, honorable spot above the small stage. They each had a part to play in this memorial service, and it was Twilight’s job to begin the proceedings. The princess’s heart was broken, both for the memory of one friend, and for the sharp swap in attitude of another. In a way, she felt she was attending two funerals. But she had a duty to her friends, and to all Ponyville, so she slowly got up and managed to drag herself to the microphone.

Her flanks shook as she tried to maintain some semblance of composure. “My dear friends,” she began as the tears came, “I…am honored to be here to remember and celebrate the life of somepony who was like a sister to me.” She gulped and continued. “Rainbow Dash was the best of us. She was somepony that you could always count on to be there. She was loyal to a fault, and that sense of…almost rebellious allegiance permeated everything she ever did. She was a good mare, a friendly mare, and, above all, an Equestrian mare. She knew and honored everything that Princesses Celestia and Luna strove to teach us. No, she was not perfect, but she was…if you’ll pardon the expression…a damn good pony. She must be remembered as such. Now, I’d like to invite each of my friends to say a few words.”

Every member of Twilight’s original group came forward and delivered heartfelt, touching tributes to the departed. Fluttershy spoke of how Rainbow would often help her with the animals in her sanctuary. Rarity, who had to be helped off the stage due to excessive weeping, spoke on how Dash would often act as a model, even when she didn’t want to. Applejack talked at length about her many competitive events with Rainbow, and how much she enjoyed having her as a friend and confidante.

Finally, it was Pinkie’s turn to eulogize her mate. As she slowly rose from her seat next to Twilight, the black trane of her gown fell to the floor and drug along behind her. She managed to put one hoof in front of the other and reach the podium. She silently dug out a small piece of paper that she had tucked away and opened it. Tears splashed onto the page as she read aloud, and afterwards, everypony’s heart was completely smashed. This is what she had to say:

“My beloved Rainbow Dash was much more than just the pony I planned to spend my entire life with. She was the epitome of what a good friend should be. I like to think that she didn’t just represent one Element of Harmony, but she had components of all six within her. Yes, she might have worn the badge of loyalty with pride, but she was also kind, generous, honest, a great source of laughter, and, indeed, very magical. I treasure every single moment I had to spend with her. The good times, and the bad times were all made simply magnificent as long as she was by my side.

As you all know, we had been going through a very rough patch. When Rainbow lost her wings, she lost everything that made her who she was. She had such a rough time dealing with it, that she lost a bit of her friendly nature. I had to deal with that, but I would gladly go through it all again if it meant she were back among us. The moment she fell from Catastrophic Cliff, I knew that the time for us to part was here, and it shattered my soul. In turn, it put me into a mood that I had never experienced before. I do not deserve the wonderful friends who have worked tirelessly to try and make my life better these last couple of weeks. I have treated them with disdain, and for that, I am deeply sorry.

I’ve never had to say goodbye to somepony forever before, and the grief is almost overwhelming. But I know that Rainbow would want me to continue on in life, just as she would all of you. I feel that the best way we can honor her legacy is by showing everypony just what kind of a friend she was. If we do this, we shall keep her memory alive forever.”