Syntax was a burst of frantic activity. Putting her plans into action had been slightly more challenging than anticipated, but she had finally managed to accomplish her goal, and now she was trotting eagerly up to Fluttershy's front door.

The energetic rap of her hoof on the wooden surface was answered by the door gently opening to reveal Fluttershy, leaning against the wall for support since her limbs refused to hold her upright on their own without vicious wobbling.

"Fluttershy! Hi!" Syntax leaned in and gave her friend an affectionate nuzzle. "Good to see up on your hooves, I was afraid I might have to pick you up right out of bed!"

Fluttershy chuckled softly. "I wanted to try getting around on my own for once. You've put together some kind of special day just for me, the least I can do is not force you to have to coddle me."

"Nonsense!" Syntax huffed in mock indignance. "What are friends for? Also we're going a long walk away soooooo..."

Without further ado, she moved to her friend's side, sliding her body underneath hers and easily standing up with the frail mare fully sprawled on her strong back.

"Oh! Oh my." Fluttershy managed, with a slight blush. "Syntax, are you sure I'm not too...heavy?"

"Hey, are you calling me weak?" Syntax craned her head around to give her a look of fake offense.

Fluttershy giggled. "No, not at all, I just...I'm a heavy mare, so..."

"And now you're calling yourself fat!" Syntax shook her head. "I never."

The giggle-snorts coming from her passenger made her grin as she carefully walked outside and pulled the door closed behind them. In reality, Fluttershy was far from heavy. Her illness had left her frail and thin, and she weighed a lot less than a sack of feathers might.

"Where are we going?" Fluttershy asked, wrapping her forelegs about her friend as she rested her head on top of hers.

"Well if I told you that, it would ruin the surprise!" Syntax admonished cheerfully. "So I'm not telling. But trust me, you'll love it."

She kept at a brisk but steady walk, letting Fluttershy enjoy her surroundings without fear of being accidentally jostled off her back. The mare's sighs of contentment as she observed the nature she had loved for so long made Syntax smile with a mix of joy and sorrow. She flinched at the sadness creeping in, and quickly shook it off. Today was meant to be a thoroughly happy day. A very special day. She'd spent a lot of time and effort to make it that way and she wasn't going to let any surprise attacks of sorrow ruin it.

Eventually, she paused. "I need you to shut your eyes for a few minutes, Fluttershy."

"Ok." Fluttershy responded, doing it without question.

Syntax didn't even bother to check, she knew she could trust the mare to do as asked. She continued walking, slowing her pace as she rounded some brush and ascended a tall hill. Fluttershy hung on and kept her eyes closed tightly, eager and excited to see what Syntax had planned. At last her friend stopped walking.

"Ok. You can open them now."

Fluttershy opened her eyes, letting out a gasp as she was met with a chorus of cheerful "Surprise!". Syntax looked back at her, grinning like it was Hearthswarming Eve and she'd just been giving the best gift in Equestria. Also grinning at her were a group of friends she instantly recognized.

"Fluttershy, dear." Velvet Remedy was smiling widely as she leaned over to nuzzle her favourite mare in Equestria, and the one who had inspired her to be the nicest and kindest pony to all.

"Velvet!" Fluttershy's eyes were glistening as she looked about her. "And Calamity!"

"Yep!" Syntax piped up. "And Derpy and Homage! And me!"

"Oh my. What is all this?"

"This is the moment you wished you could have." Syntax said softly. "I know we're not the actual ponies themselves, but, we've taken their roles and well, yeah."

"Oh Syntax." Fluttershy nuzzled her head against her friend's neck. "You set this up?"

"I did." Syntax smiled. "I wanted you to have the best gift I could think of, because after everything you've been through, all you suffered, you deserve to spend your remaining time in peace and love and friendship. I couldn't give you Twilight, AJ, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, or Rarity...but I could give you the emodiments of them. The ones that now bear their Elements. Us."

"She planned everything." Homage spoke up with a gentle smile. "She did all the food, picked the spot, and hunted all of us down and would not take no for an answer. She spent so much time on this."

"Time you could have spent writing." Fluttershy hugged Syntax tighter. "You gave up the time you'd normally spend writing and put it all into something for me."

"Ah reckon she'd do Rarity proud." Calamity put in, nodding.

"It was worth it." Syntax responded firmly. "If I had to choose all over again, I'd still put the time in. Because friends matter more."

"Generosity at its finest." Velvet put in.

Fluttershy was overwhelmed, tears of joy spilling from her eyes. Syntax backed up to the blanket spread on the ground, crouching down slightly, and Velvet lit her horn, helping to steady Fluttershy as Syntax carefully eased her off her back. Derpy approached, holding up a notepad she'd scribbled on.

"We all love you, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy smiled through the tears, and Syntax sniffled loudly.

"Ok ok, enough onion cutting." She swiped at her eyes. "It's time to party!"

Between herself, Velvet, and Homage, the large picnic lunch was served up with extreme dramatics, which made Fluttershy laugh. The happy group shared the meal, as well as tossing stories around, and listening to ones about the original Elements from Fluttershy.

"Ah sure woulda liked ta meet em." Calamity offered. "Sounds like ya'll had a time!"

"We did." Fluttershy chuckled. "They would be proud of all of you. You've taken their...your, Elements very seriously. And you're doing a really good job."

"We'll never let their memories or their Elements die." Velvet said softly.

"I made a promise." Syntax stood and paced for a moment. "I pledged to never let the memories of what happened be forgotten. History must never repeat itself. It's my mission to continue spreading awareness until my very last breath."

"Our mission now." Homage laid a foreleg around her, looking at Fluttershy. "All of us, together. We will make sure the legacy of the Elements lives on, and that history never repeats itself this way again."

Fluttershy gazed at each pony in turn, eyes seemingly searching for something, and finally she smiled.

"Spike chose well when he picked you."

Syntax returned to her side and settled down next to her, and her friend laid her head on her back, gazing off across the rolling green hills at the clear sky in the distance, her eyes slowly closing as she gave out a single tired yawn. When her mouth closed, she slightly smiled.

"Thank you, all of you. Especially you, Syntax. A mare couldn't ask for better friends, and your special day for me was perfect."

Syntax nuzzled her as the others settled down around them, just enjoying each others' company. Fluttershy's eyes fully slid shut and her breathing evened out and slowed.

"You did well, Syntax." Velvet told her quietly, so as to not disturb the sleeping pegasus.

"I wanted her to have the best last gift possible. Maybe now she can finally rest peacefully after so many years of turmoil."

"She will. You gave her an amazing gift, Syntax." Homage, on her left, nuzzled the younger mare lightly. "You gave her a feeling of being surrounded by love, friendship, and peace, and for Fluttershy, that means the world. Trust me."

Velvet laid her head on Syntax's back, next to her friend's, their muzzles touching slightly. Derpy watched the scene with bright eyes, and Calamity rested his head on Velvet.

They stayed this way for a long time, none of them wanting to break the complete peace of the moment. And then, the sacred silence was disrupted by a very quiet voice that carried a note of sadness.

"Syntax?"

Syntax looked back at Velvet, as the others did. The mare had not moved her head, her muzzle still touching Fluttershy's, but there were tears of emotional pain glistening in her eyes, and she looked sideways to her friend before returning the grief stricken glance to Syntax.

There were no words spoken. No words were necessary. Every pony just knew what Velvet couldn't bring herself to speak. Homage leaned her head down to rest on Velvet's, tears filling her own eyes. Calamity tugged his hat over his eyes in an effort to hide his own tears. And Derpy laid her head on Homage's back as her ears flopped back.

As for Syntax, she gazed at Fluttershy for a long moment, then nuzzled her head into the side of her neck, hot tears welling up in her eyes.

"Oh Fluttershy. Be at peace now. You deserve it."

The group remained huddled together on the hill, not speaking or moving, the only sounds being the quiet rustling of wind through the grass and the happy chirp of birds overhead. They did not even move until the golden sun began its slow descent down behind far off hills, casting soft rays of light over them.

Author's Note

Ok that's almost a wrap for this tale. My emotions won't let me write much of anything else for it. Just getting this far has made me tear up on more than one occasion. So...brief epilogue to follow then it's done.

Hope you enjoyed this. Also Velvet, Calamity, Ghoul Derpy, and Homage belong to Kkat and the original Fallout: Equestria.

If I remember correctly, they represent Kindness, Loyalty, Laughter, and Honesty, respectively.
I temporarily made my OC Syntax Generosity (as I can't recall if that element was ever pinned to a pony in FoE or not). Magic was missing due to be unable to satisfactorily find a substitute.