Twilight walked down the white hallways of the hospital, knowing exactly where she was going. She had been here often enough.
She was the ruler of Equestria now. She had duties, and she didn't come here often enough...she never had. That was her biggest regret. Now they were gone. All of them, save for one. She had been attempting to make up for the lost time that she would never get back. She was coming to visit as often as she could. But it was too little, too late. They were all gone...and soon, Sunset would be gone too.
When she became ruler of Equestria after Celestia and Luna had retired, she, along with her friends had gained longevity of life like the previous rulers...but that did not transfer to her friends in the human world.
It had been many years. Sunset Shimmer was now 95 years old. She was the last of Twilight's friends in the mirror world that was still alive. Principal Celestia had died of a heart attack when she was 85. Luna got Alzeimer's when she was 80, and died when she was 83, not remembering anybody...Twilight had to admit she did not see her very often during that time...she couldn't. It was too painful seeing her like that.
Applejack had passed at 79 years old, though she left behind a lasting legacy that nobody could have predicted from the country girl. She had gotten into electronics, and became so successful, that she started her own line of digital devices, naming her brand after her own family: Apple.
Pinkie had become a world-class baker, pastry and cake decorator, and party and event planner. She had her hands full 24/7, and she loved every minute of it...she died in a head on car crash at 59 years...It had been devastating to everyone. Pinkie...so full of life...gone in a heartbeat.
Rarity became a famous fashion designer, known all over the world. She died at 80 years, not too long after Applejack.
Rainbow Dash decided she wanted to move on from sports, surprisingly, to take to the skies. She got her pilot's license, and eventually joined the famous Sky Bolts. She flew with them for 15 years...until a tragic crash. She was 52 years old.
Fluttershy became a psychiatrist, one of the best in the country. She retired at 75, and passed at 85.
This world's Twilight became world renown, earning a nobel prize for her scientific advancements, and discovering a cure for cancer. The world mourned her passing at 86 years. A monument was built in her honour.
Twilight went to the human world undercover since then...it wouldn't quite do for an exact carbon copy of such a famous recently deceased person to be galavanting around, or wandering the halls of the hospital right now.
As for Sunset...she and Flash had gotten back together and had gotten married. They even had a child, a boy, which they named Solar.
Sunset and Flash had pretty ordinary lives compared to the others. Sunset had managed to snag an office job, which had been a miracle, considering she still had little identification in the human world.
She and Flash worked like the average middle-class worker, providing for themselves, and their child.
When Solar was 25 years old, and off at college, Sunset and Flash recieved a devastating phone call. Solar had been in a car crash, and had died on impact.
They lived the rest of their lives childless. Flash passed at 78 years.
Twilight arrived at the room in which Sunset was staying. Taking a hold of the doorknob, she turned it and entered. Inside the room, the occupant laid in bed. She didn't much leave it anymore.
Twilight approached the bed. The frail old woman occupying it had grey hair. There was no sign that it had ever been a fiery red and gold. Those days were long gone, never to be seen again. Her once perfect skin was now full of wrinkles and creases. Her entire appearance held the effects of time, and the changes it brought. No matter how many times Twilight saw Sunset this way, she felt as though she would never get used to it.
Where had the time gone? Twilight could have sworn the fall formal fiasco just happened a year ago. Who was this fragile old woman on the cusp of death? Where were her other friends from this world?..
Gone.
The old woman's eyes fluttered open, staring off at nothing, really.
"Hi Sunset." Twilight tried to say cheerfully.
A blink. No other response than continued staring off into space.
Twilight frowned. "Hello Sunset." She tried again, a little louder this time.
The old woman's eyes glanced her way, recognition dawning.
"...Twilight?" She said faintly. "When did you get here?"
Twilight chuckled. "Not long ago at all. I just got here. How have you been?"
"Tired..." Sunset grumbled. "I tell you Twilight, getting old sucks. I envy you. All these years...and to still be full of youth."
"Ya, I can't blame you for that." Twilight agreed. "Have you heard anything from the terrible trio?"
Sunset rolled her eyes. "Aria and Adagio are still old grumps. Although, Sonata does talk to me from time to time. I doubt Adagio or Aria know."
"hmm, same old huh? I guess some things never change."
"Too few things...it seems like the things that do change are the ones that should stay the same, and those things that don't change, are the ones that should." She sighed. "Life's not fair."
"No, it's not." Twilight agreed. Slight anger in her voice. "When I took over ruling Equestria, nopony told me that I'd aquire long life, and have to watch my friends come and go...for who knows how many years now?.. I could almost wish I wasn't Equestria's ruler now..."
Sunset looked at her, gaze hard suddenly. "Don't you ever say that Twilight Sparkle. You're going to help so many ponies, and you already have. If you don't believe me, all you have to do is look right in front of you, as you are doing right now."
"But would you want this Sunset? If our roles were switched right now, and I were in that bed, and you were now ruling Equestria, not knowing how many friends you would have to see get old and..." Twilight couldn't finish the sentence, tears already in her eyes. "Would you want that??"
Sunset had no answer for that.
"I don't...I don't want that..." Twilight said quietly. "I don't want it to end."
"All things come to an end Twilight. There is nothing we can do to stop or change it. But we shouldn't be sad. Rather, we should be happy and thankful for all the memories that were made. So don't cry because it's over...smile because it happened."
Author's Note
The reason I changed "Wonder Bolts" to "Sky Bolts" is because at CHS, they were known as the "Wonder Colts"... I just felt like Wonder Bolts and Wonder Colts were too similar of names...so I changed it.
The sirens are aging as well, just not quite as quickly as a regular human. They're about 30 years behind Sunset right now, so 65ish.
Twilight and Sunset talked for a while after that, before Twilight had to leave. They said their goodbyes once more. Twilight hated when she had to leave, knowing that there was always a very real chance that she may never see Sunset again.
Sunset had to admit that Twilight was right...she didn't want it to end either. She had never wanted any of it to end. Just being the last of her friends in the human world was hard enough. But how many times would Twilight have to go through losing her friends, only to keep living, herself?
Twilight was right. Sunset wouldn't want that.
It was already hard enough for her. She missed them. She missed them all.
Sunset put her hand to her arm, and her eyes flashed white, as she re-lived all of her memories.
She could see them again this way...all of them, like a movie playing. Nobody else could remember their loved ones this way. All they had...and all Twilight would have, were thoughts of times long past, that would slowly fade over time. But everytime she watched memories like this, it was like immediately living them again, and the memories would then be fresh in her mind again, so that she would never forget.
She watched them all. She would spend hours like this, re-living them all, one by one, down as far as the Fall Formal.
.............................................
Twilight came again the next week. They spent time speaking of times long past. Soon, Sunset decided to ask Twilight something she had been wanting to for a while now.
"Twilight, can I ask you a favor?"
"Anything Sunset." Twilight replied.
"I want you to show me what it's like in Equestria now, and the things you do everyday there while ruling."
"Show you?.." Twilight hesitated. "Well, gee Sunset...I can't exactly bring you over there now."
"You don't have to." she said, gesturing to Twilight's arm. "You brought it with you."
Twilight understood. Sunset was referring to her memories. Her recent memories of Equestria, and ruling it.
"Oh! No problem!" Twilight agreed, holding her arm out for Sunset to take.
Sunset's eyes flashed and turned white when she touched Twilight's arm. Twilight thought it was a very interesting and unique gift that Sunset had. Nopony in Equestria had the ability to look into another pony's memories...and it wasn't just ponies and people whose memories Sunset could see...she could see animal's memories, and even the natural elements' memories, like when she catches a snowflake, she had told Twilight that she sees its process of becoming that snowflake. Or when she touches something wooden, like a chair, she sees the process of it becoming that chair, starting from the time that it was a tree.
Sunset could basically see the memories of all living things... and that was impressive.
Sunset stayed like that for a while, before letting go of Twilight's arm.
"Wow Twilight, you've really got your arms full, no pun intended."
Twilight laughed. "Ya, it's pretty hectic."
"Looks like Equestria has really changed."
"It has." Twilight agreed. "It's hardly recognizable anymore from what we grew up with."
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Sunset joked.
"I'm...not sure." Twilight said quietly.
"I love to make you smile, smile, smile, yes I do."
"Come on everybody, smile, smile, smile, fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine. All I really need's a smile, smile, smile, from these happy friends of miiiine!!"
She was watching Pinkie's funeral. They had played the one and only song that Pinkie, herself had written, sung, and recorded. A song of how she wanted everybody to smile and be happy...a stark comparison of the event it was being played at. Nobody had felt like smiling or being happy.
Sunset let go of her arm.
She couldn't help but think of the inevitable. What would happen after she was gone?.. What would her funeral look like? Would there even be a funeral? Who would there be to attend it? All of her friends were gone, save for Twilight. Maybe Sonata would attend.
Maybe they would have her cremated, and spread her ashes somewhere...heh, wouldn't that be fitting, after all, she had sung that phoenix song all those years ago...
She couldn't help but think that she had never found the true meaning of her cutiemark...a red and yellow sun, in a ying yang symbol. She had gotten it when she hatched Philomena as her entrance test into Celestia's school...but she had never found out what exactly it actually meant.
She missed that phoenix...she had grown quite attached to that bird before going through the mirror portal and leaving him behind. She had told Twilight about him, and was surprised when Twilight told her that she had seen Philomena. Twilight had been quite ecstatic to find out that Philomena had originally belonged to Sunset.
Sunset had been surprised that Celestia had taken over caring for Philomena, but she was thankful to hear it, nonetheless. Thankful that the bird was still being well taken care of.
When Celestia had retired, Twilight took over caring for Philomena, and still did to this day.
Sunset put her hand back to her arm, looking far back to some of her earliest memories of when she first entered this world, and the awkward moments. She chuckled to herself. There was the time when she mistook a porcelain throne for a water source, and how she thought it was magical that it was self refilling.
Then, there was the even more awkward moments... like when she mistook a brand mark on one of the Apple family's horses, for a cutiemark. Poor Applejack had a really awkward time trying to explain that to Sunset...they stopped that practice soon after.
Sunset removed her hand from her arm and sighed. It was all over now. She was old. Her story was nearing its end. She just hoped that Twilight wouldn't fall into a deep depression after she was gone.
