I am old.
One hundred nineteen years, ten months, and eleven days.
Apart from the Princesses, I am the oldest pony ever to walk the face of Equestria. I can barely even walk anymore… Spike, my dragon, had to carry me through the most recent Harmony Day celebration.
Each morning I lie in bed longer, simply staring at the wooden ceiling above me and tracing the grain with my eyes. I could do it all day if I didn't have any responsibilities. But then Spike stomps his way upstairs into my room, belching the latest assignments from the Princess onto my lap. As the years have gone by, I have been able to finish fewer and fewer of them. This morning, the Princess only sent me one scroll. I can barely contain my tears as I begin to read it aloud.
"My dearest Twilight Sparkle,
"I thank you for your continuing service to Equestria, and especially for making your appearance at the Harmony Day celebration yesterday. The young filly, Dawn, is being given treatment fit for a queen thanks to you.
"But this is not the reason I am writing you this morning. I know that you are not immortal, and that your soul will soon pass from your body into the Beyond. Your visions are becoming too frequent to ignore. I write you today to officially relieve you of your duty so you may spend the remainder of your days as you see fit. Consider the remainder of your assignments voluntary.
"You will forever be the greatest of magic-users in all of Equestria… and the greatest of friends. My sister and I will be arriving later today to help you however we can. The needs of the kingdom can wait, for right now my friend is in need.
"Your loving friend and mentor,
"Princess Celestia."
I allow the scroll to tumble out of my forehoof and onto the floor. Focusing with all my strength, I float out of the bed and onto Spike's back. The effort wearies me, and I need a moment to recover. As he plods down the stairs, he comments, "You know, the Princess could be wrong… maybe you're okay, and they're just thinking your visions are coming true too soon. I mean, I know I'm gonna live lon—"
"Spike… please. I know you're trying to help. But right now what I need you to do is go get Owloysius and—" I bite my lip. I'd almost forgotten. Ninety-four years ago today, Owloysius had… He'd… I bury my face in Spike's shoulder. Pausing, he reaches back and gently pets my mane.
"I know. I miss him too. Don't worry, I'll get this place cleaned up in a jiffy. Just you watch." I have no choice but to be carried along as Spike performs his daily chores, meticulously arranging the books on the shelf with a speed and skill that only forty-eight years of dealing with Rainbow Dash's antics could have created. Once he's finished, he carries me outside and walks slowly around the library. I giggle slightly when I recall the first time I brought Spike out for a walk—and now he's carrying me! I weakly put a hoof on the back of his neck and rub. He hums quietly and edges into my hoof.
We spend the rest of the day in total silence. Even Ponyville around me seems subdued. I smile at a few fillies playing with a ball, reminiscing of the time I believed I would go to Magic Kindergarten if I didn't get a letter to the Princess every week. Young Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle had gone to great places. I leaf through a few tomes I hadn't read for a while, including Supernaturals and the newer copy of the Astronomical Astronomer's Almanac to All Things Astronomy Spike bought me after he accidentally burned my original copy.
Finally, as the last rays of the sun are streaming out from the horizon, I hear a knock at my door. Slowly getting up and making my own way to the door, I pull it open with magic. I bow slightly.
"Hello again, Twilight Sparkle. It is good to see you." Princess Luna bows as well, gently touching her horn to mine. I shiver at the contact. "We hope we did not interrupt anything important, O Mighty Wizard."
I smile and stand despite my protesting joints. "No, I was simply passing the time waiting for you and your sister to arrive. I trust she'll be here soon?"
"Our sister is delayed, but should be here presently." A pause. "May we come in?"
I gasp. "Oh, heavens! I've forgotten my manners! Yes, Princess, please come in. You are royalty, and I am loyal to the crown."
Luna smirks. "Your crown is of far more importance than ours, Miss Twilight." She enters, her mane streaming behind her like a velvet cloak caught in a perpetual wind. I am momentarily distracted by the shimmering field of stars that wink in and out of her mane. Spike clears his throat, and I snap out of it.
"W-well, the Element of Magic is what I've been studying most of my life, after all. Its properties are incredible, but by no means powerful on its own. It has to be wielded by someone with the appropriate skill and ability in magic, or else you may as well throw it at a Draconequus for all the good it'll do. It just so happens that I—" I blush, realizing I'm quoting straight from one of my many published works.
"Yes, so I read in one of your earliest letters, my dear student." Hooves clicking against the hard wood of my house, Princess Celestia gracefully enters the still-open door. Her ever-changing mane and tall, powerful frame easily dominates the room. I bow low to her, nearly resting my chin on the floor.
"I came as soon as I could, Twilight. I… there isn't much time left for you, I think." She falters. "I'm… I-I'm so sorry." She closes her eyes and looks away. I can see she is resisting tears.
I touch my hoof to her leg. "It's all right. I'm ready." My horn bursts into a brilliant indigo glow as I raise myself up to Celestia's eye level. "Just remember, Princess… not even death can break the bonds of friendship. Not forever." Spike holds his wing under me, and I plop down onto it. I pant with exhaustion. Slowly making our way back upstairs, the Princesses follow me and Spike. He deposits me gently on the bed, where I arrange the covers comfortably with magic. A solemn hush fills the room.
"Twilight… You're the best thing that's ever happened to me." Spike begins. "Without you, I'd just be a monster, hunting ponies and being hunted as an animal. You helped show ponykind that dragons aren't just monsters—we're just as capable of friendship and… and love…" Spike chokes on his words for a moment. Rarity has been gone for almost forty years. "A-as the rest of you guys." He hugs me gently, a single tear falling from his scaled cheek onto mine.
Another moment of quiet.
"You saved us from a lifetime of isolation and pain." Princess Luna breaks the silence. "You showed us how to befriend people, and how to fit in with our subjects after being away for so long. We would be a deadly ball of hatred and fury—or worse—had you not used the Elements of Magic to transform us back from Nightmare Moon. We will be eternally grateful." Luna leans forward and brushes her horn against mine one last time.
"Twi…" Celestia is unable to even begin. Her composure fails, and she begins to sob openly. Luna places her hoof on her sister's shoulder, trembling as tears begin to well up.
I struggle to sit up slightly, gazing at each of them in turn. "Spike, Princess Luna, Princess Celestia… you have been the best friends and teachers any pony has ever had. Your unending support and kindness, even when I'm a little crazy, has always helped me to keep one hoof on the ground.
"As much as I hate to go, you must always remember that death isn't an end... it's the beginning. The beginning of the grandest adventure of all! We've never studied the magic of the Beyond, but hey, somepony's got to do it, right?" I smile, trying to hold myself from tears for Celestia's sake. I shudder, feeling my hooves grow colder.
"I'll miss you, but I need you to remember that life continues, even when those you love are gone. Ponies live on, and the seasons are changed, and Equestria lasts forever. Nopony, apart from the Princesses, can live forever. And that's as it should be. If we were immortal, Equestria would get pretty crowded, don't you think?" I chuckle, which quickly gives way to a wheezing cough as I settle back onto my pillow. Summoning the last reserves of my strength, I levitate the tiara of the Element of Magic from its case onto my forehead. "I love you… I'll always…"
I can hear Celestia's cry as my vision slowly begins to fade. Subtly, the whiteness creeps in from the edges and engulfs my surroundings. Soon, even Luna's dark face is lost to me. Spike whispers, "Twilight..?" I can't respond. Celestia is standing over me—I can feel her presence—but soon even the feeling of her love fades from my consciousness.
I am gone from this world.
I am old.
One hundred nineteen years, ten months, and eleven days.
I am falling through an endless plane of nothingness. My body is twisting and turning, trying to figure out which way is up to no avail. I look around, searching for some indication of where I am. There seems to be no end to the void, the blank expanse of nothingness. Minutes, stretching into hours pass by. Tears well up in my eyes. If this is how it's like being dead, then what's the point! Maybe if I'd studied harder, I could have figured out a spell to—
I hear laughing. Familiar laughing. My sense of balance returns as I alight softly on a grassy hill I cannot see. I experimentally twist my head from side to side, gasping as I realize… my body is no longer old! I flex my youthful legs, bouncing softly on my hooves. I look around, noticing faint outlines appearing around me: five ethereal figures standing around me in a circle. My eyes widen as colors begin to return and I realize…
"Welcome back, ya goof!" Rainbow Dash laughs.
"Twilight, it's been so long. We've all missed you." Fluttershy whispers.
"My dear, you look simply… divine!" Rarity chuckles at her own pun.
"TWILIGHT, TWILIGHT, I'VE GOT EVERYTHING READY FOR YOU!" Pinkie Pie bounces excitedly in place, a noisemaker clutched in one hoof.
"Well I'll be. An' here ah was figurin' you was gonna live forever." Applejack tips her hat at me.
Tears spilling out of my eyes, I pull all of them into an embrace. "I've missed you too… so much. I knew one day I'd see you again. Nothing could possibly come between us."
I hold them tighter. "You'll always be my friends… forever."
Author's Note
Whew.
Looking back over my time in the fandom has been an emotional experience for me, and I wanted to share some things I wrote back when FiM was young and we were all such bright-eyed and bushy-tailed yearlings.
I wrote this one-shot way, way back in the forgotten times of 2011. Somewhere around November or December, I believe. I wrote it as a follow-up to this Reddit comment. I've left the story largely untouched apart from a few style and grammatical fixes that nine years of editing has helped me see.
I distinctly recall writing the last segment of the story while listening to From the Wreckage from the Mass Effect soundtrack. The cover art is One Last Parade by harwicks-art. Show them some love, they've been wonderful.
Thank you for going on this journey with me.
Estu bone.
