There has been peace for 25 years now. Celestia mainly just walks the castle grounds now, enjoying the peace and silence of a world without conflict. This peace is all thanks to the Elements of Harmony. They fought bravely against every new and old enemy throughout the course of their lives from their early 20's to their late 40's. Then, they stopped. They weren't fit anymore. Injuries were more frequent during quests and would progressively get worse. They had to stop. Thankfully when they did, peace had been settled throughout the country.
The last few years, however, have had their share of terrible news. One by one the elements passed on. The most unfortunate demise was of Rainbow Dash. She was out flying for leisure when she decided to attempt a Sonic Rainboom for old times sake. Forgetting how frail her body was becoming she tried her hardest to pull off the trick. During flight though, her wings snapped at a high altitude and, well...gravity took its course. Most called it tragic, some called it ironic, but it was indefinitely a huge loss to Equestria. Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie died of natural causes. AppleJack was said to have died of a broken heart when her big brother, Big Macintosh, passed away. Her heart gave up. They all lived past the age of 65.
One element still remains though. Twilight Sparkle, the greatest mage (that isn't an Alicorn) ever in the history of the country. At the age of 72, she was still doing life with tremendous energy, telling stories to young fillies and teaching things herself to those who pursued magic. She has outlived her friends by four to five years, which has indeed tugged at her heart strings, but she continues to live on. Until recently though, she has been ordered to bed by her doctor. Her body is getting weak, quite rapidly too, which is giving her doctor great concern. Celestia knew of this but was sure it was only something small that her faithful student (long since graduated) could handle. She was, however, wrong.
On a clear sunny day, Celestia was strolling through the Gardens, sucking in the sheer beauty of the scene beheld in front of her. The flowers were the best they had ever been, the animals were very calm, and the weather was making a fine scene for her to see. Her admiration was ruined when the head guard beckoned her. She gave a slight sigh and trotted over to the veteran guard. He informed the Princess that a visitor was in the throne room with urgent news. Celestia asked what the news was about but the guard said that was all he was told. She immediately advanced towards the throne room.
When she arrived, she found a doctor standing near the throne itself. He looked...very concerned indeed. Celestia for certain had never met this doctor before and was quite curious about what he needed to say. What news could be making this poor colt tremble like he was frozen in ice? "Hello my dear doctor...what is your name by the way?" Celestia wished to know his name before any conversation continued. "Oh...my name is Doctor Scope..." "Hello Doctor Scope, I've been told you have news for me?" Celestia's curiosity was rising. "Yes, yes I do but...you may want to sit down first your highness." Celestia was confused but she sat down in her throne chair anyways. "Please continue..." "Well....how do I put this?" The poor doctor was trembling severely now, he knew how urgent this news was but he didn't know how to present it to a Princess! "How do you put what Doctor Scope? I'm sure I can handle whatever news you have for me." Celestia gave a comforting smile to the Doctor. This calmed him, but not much. "You see, well....I'm terribly sorry but it's Twilight Sparkle's time." "What do you mean?" Celestia was a bit dumbfounded. Doctor Scope sighed. "Twilight Sparkle is dying."
The shock Celestia felt was intense. Her eyes flew wide open and just stared ahead, her jaw dropped slightly. Doctor Scope tried to contact her but it was no use. Celestia had broken out of reality for a few moments. Pain swelled up in her throat. Her student was dying? It would happen eventually, but Celestia had hoped it wouldn't surprise her like this. She was glad she was already sitting down though, this news was terrible. She found herself returning to reality. She spoke for the first time in minutes. "Who sent you?" The pain could be heard in her voice. "Twilight's personal doctor, he couldn't leave her in the state that she is in." "When did you know she was going to die?" She just had to know. "She was pronounced terminally ill yesterday. The trip here lasted all day." Celestia still couldn't believe what she had heard. "...Thank you doctor for telling me in person...have a safe trip home."
It was too late to make any sort of trip anywhere now. Celestia slumped around the castle for the remainder of the day trying to digest this terrible news. She had to get some rest, soon. She slowly made her way to her room, the opposite tower to her sister's. When she entered she just collapsed on her bed and cried herself sleep. Her dreams didn't help her get any rest though. She would wake up every few hours from a nightmare. Sadly, these nightmares were turning into reality. That is truly a pity.
When she finally got a decent amount of rest she left her room and ordered for a chariot to take her to Ponyville. She was going to see her student before she was gone forever. When everything was ready she took off, without any hesitation. Her trip only took about thirty minutes (flying chariots are quite fast). Her arrival would normally cause a huge commotion, but everypony in Ponyville knew why she was there. News travels fast in that community. Celestia made no halt when she trotted towards the library in town square. Other ponies just looked at her as she passed by. Nopony was going to stop her from reaching the bedside of Twilight.
Celestia reached the front door. She didn't just walk in however, she just knocked. Twilight's Doctor answered the door. He looked quite exhausted. He had stayed up most of the night to make sure everything was fine with the poor old mare. He still had some energy left in his tank though. "Oh, Hello Princess, please, do come in." He sounded a bit groggy too. "Thank you Doctor...?" "Truth be told I only go by Doctor. I'm not really....proud of my name." This confused Celestia but she respected his request. "Well, Doctor, thank you for sending a messenger. This is truly a...troubling time." She expressed her concern quite clearly to the doctor. "Good thing you came, she was insisting that she wouldn't die before seeing you. Naturally, she would've died anyway, even if she didn't want too, but there's no harm in having hope."
"Is she in her room Doctor?" Celestia hadn't seen Twilight for some time and personally couldn't wait to see her student again. "Yes she is. Go ahead, she's awake right now and taking visitors." "Sadly, Doctor, I believe I'm really all she has left..." Celestia remembered the passing's of the other elements as well as Twilight's parents. Why was there so much death? "Well then, by all means stay with her until it's time." "That's what I had planned to do in the first place Doctor." The Doctor announced that he would take a short break to rest and left. Celestia was told again that she was welcome to see Twilight now and until nine-o-clock that night. It was time to re-unite the teacher and the student.
Celestia opened the door to Twilight's room. "Princess!" Twilight was indeed happy but her voice sounded terribly frail and diseased. She was also quite pale and had also lost quite a lot of weight. This worried Celestia, but she already knew the future for the purple mare. "My dear Twilight, how are you feeling?" "I'm feeling fine..." Twilight began coughing rather severely. "...Doctor won't let me live my final days the way I want too, ugh!" Even though she was dying, her humor still radiated from her. "Twilight, I'm here to spend your last moments with you alone. The only other pony that would be here is Doctor...what's wrong with his name by the way?" Celestia's curiosity rose again. "I don't know, he's very stubborn. The first time I met him he just said his name was Doctor. I asked for his real name but he just ignored me and moved on. I really thank you for being with me too...you really are all I have left, other than Spike..."
Spike had grown to a full size dragon around twenty years prior to Twilight becoming sick. It hurt everyone's feelings in Ponyville, but a vote was cast ans it was decided that it was not safe for the town to have a full size dragon around. It was hard for everypony to see him go, but it was for the better good of the town. Spike now resides in a cave just above Canterlot. He serves as a guard of Canterlot and receives orders from the guard itself sometimes. Spike knew about Twilight's situation but knew he couldn't see her without possibly crushing a part of town itself. He awaits news from Celestia on her return.
"You are very welcome. So, any gossip that I've missed from the past six months?" Celestia and Twilight ensued conversation after conversation for the rest of the evening. The topics ranged dramatically in all areas of possible conversations, some of which only the two would understand alone (very powerful magic for instance). Eventually Doctor returned and told Celestia that Twilight needed to get her rest now. This saddened her but she respected his wish and left the bedroom. She waited outside as Doctor prepared Twilight for sleep. When he came out he said that accommodations had been made for the Princess to stay in the library if she wanted too. She immediately agreed to stay there.
Celestia's dreams that night were more comforting than the previous night. After her conversations with her dear student earlier, her thoughts were eased quite largely. Yes, she still knew Twilight's hour would soon come, but she was too happy right now from earlier events to ponder it for too long. Her faithful student was still full of energy, even though she was weak. She admired the strength in Twilight greatly, even though her battle was already lost. Still, Celestia could not wait for the coming day to talk to Twilight again.
When she woke the next morning, she found herself in Twilight's study. Nothing looked much different at all for lasting all those years. Strange how she didn't notice where she was last night when she came in. Everything Twilight had worked on and finished was in this room. Book after book lined the walls in shelves (of course, neatly organized). Everything was as if the room was suspended in time. In 52 years the room hadn't changed a bit.
Celestia then rose and left the study. It was time to talk again. She got to Twilight's door and stopped. Doctor was fast asleep on a stool just beside the door. She once again pitied the poor doctor. Obviously he wasn't going to wake for some time, plus he was the only pony aloud to wake Twilight, so Celestia headed into town. So many memories rushed to her on her stroll. The many times she had visited her in the past. The many times she had seen all six of the elements together, all in this one small town, now well known throughout the country. It was hard to believe that the years had gone by this fast. Celestia was now on the doorstep of the death of the final element. To Celestia, however, the death of her most special student and friend ever. This brought tears to her eyes and she sobbed silently. She had found herself in Apple Acres.
Eventually, she came back to the library. She found that Doctor had once again gone out and the door to the bedroom was wide open. Celestia walked in and greeted Twilight again. Celestia's worry rose though. through the night it seemed that Twilight's figure had gotten worse. She had more coughing fits, she was even more pale, she was now very weak, and she sounded more frail than ever. For awhile though, this didn't affect their talking. They conversed for hours again. Eventually, Twilight said something that made the Princess feel very sad.
"I know I don't act like it but....I really do truly hurt right now..." Tears welled up in both their eyes. "I want the pain to end but at the same time, I don't want to die...at least not yet." They both sat in silence for quite a while now. Sadness filled the room and choked both of them. Twilight broke the silence. "You have always treated me very well. I wasn't just a student to you, I was a friend to turn to for anything. I was a shoulder to cry on at times too. In turn, you were the same to me. You are more than a teacher, you are like a sister to me. You stuck with me, even up till the inevitable end. Thank you..." Twilight began to cough severely. Doctor came in and asked if Celestia could leave, Twilight really needed her rest now. Celestia went to her bed sobbing. She will miss her faithful student, indefinitely.
Celestia's dreams were once again slightly nightmarish. She couldn't get much rest at all. She would wake up every few minutes. She wasn't enjoying this night at all. So much pain from earlier still haunted her and it truly was terrible. She knew that the time was getting closer, but she could not know when. She was finally getting sleep when Doctor came in and woke her. She was startled a bit, but Doctor then said very chilling words. "it's time."
They both entered the bedroom. The purple mare was in a severe coughing fit. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She knew it was time as well. Celestia hurried over to her student's side. She knew it was coming, but she didn't want it to be so soon! Eventually, Twilight began speak softly but audibly. "I've always hoped you would be here in my darkest hour...." "Don't worry Twilight, I'm here till the end."
"I know....how hard this is....for you....it's' quite painful....for me..."
"I know my dear, the pain will soon be over.."
"I look forward.....to that.....but first....time with my dear friend......you..."
Celestia began crying here, rather severely too. Her dear student, best friend, Twilight Sparkle was about to pass on. It hurt to see her hurt, but felt good knowing it was almost over for her.
"And thank you.....Doctor....you did your.....best..."
A tear rolled down Doctor's cheek. It mean't a lot to him to know his patient respected him, even near death.
"Princess.....there is always.....something you must.....remember..."
"What's that Twilight?" The pain in Celestia's voice was very audible.
"It's that.....no matter what.....I.....I"
"You what Twilight?"
".....love you...."
Celestia began sobbing even more loudly now. The time was now, her pain was almost over, her suffering almost ended.
"I love you too, Twilight Sparkle..."
Celestia then reached over and kissed Twilight on her forehead. Twilight took her final breath and laid-back and closed her eyes. She died with a comforting smile on her face.
......................
The following day, it was raining. The town was eerily quite and the air was very cold. Nature knew of Twilight's death. Celestia watched as they carted her body to the morgue to prep it for burial. The funeral was to be tomorrow, which gave time for the information to be sent out and speakers to be invited. Celestia was one of those speakers. She needed to do something special for Twilight, something to bond them even in death. She got a great idea.
The following day came along and the funeral began. Hundreds of ponies gathered to honor the life of accomplished mage, Twilight Sparkle. Some were close friends, most were admirers, but Celestia was closest to Twilight than any other pony there, even Luna, who was invited to the funeral. It came time for Celestia to speak. Instead of a long speech however, she executed her idea. She read to the crowd her final letter to Twilight Sparkle.
My Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle
Your life will be forever celebrated. You accomplished much in your lifetime and also shared much. You touched the hearts of other ponies who stand here today to honor you, and you alone. Even though that honor is great, I honor you myself for being the best friend I could ever ask for. Even on your death bed I admired the strength you showed, even though you knew you had already lost the battle. For me, it's tough being an Alicorn. Sure I get a long life and I get incredibly magic, but it's not worth it most of the time. I see those I love wither and die in front of my eyes while I live on as young as ever. My day will come too, but not for thousands of years from now. Anyways, I hope this letter binds us together still, even in death, so that our friendship can live forever. I hope you rest very comfortably and we may meet eventually on the other side. When, I am not sure, but I will meet you there.
From,
Your teacher and friend forever,
Princess Celestia
After reading the letter, Celestia slipped it into Twilight's casket. Tears running down her regal face. All round were the sounds of sobs as the line to view the open casket began to grow. Celestia was the first and the last pony to view her body. When she came up the last time she did something very painful for her but very special all the same.
She said her last goodbye.
