What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.
- Albert Pike
The bright beams of Celestia's eternal sun shone down over Ponyville, the early morning dew shining as the rays passed through them. A slight breeze rolled through the streets, carrying a sweet scent of muffins and pastries from Sugar Cube Corner. There were very few ponies walking through the cobbled streets of Ponyville, since the sun had just slightly risen over the horizon. For the ponies who were awake at this hour, they were able to enjoy the serenity that the town had to offer when there wasn't an event here or there caused by the mischievous Pinkie Pie. Even though her crazy antics did tend to get on their nerves, it felt nice that somepony wanted to make them smile no matter what the cost.
Rainbow Dash, who always seemed to be awake in the early morning hours, gracefully glided through the air. Her wings gave a shimmer when they came in contact with the sun at a perfect point. Circling the home that housed her favorite librarian, she gently made her descent to the compacted earth just in front of her door. Her landing was stiffer than she had anticipated, and her body wasn't treating her as well as it once did. A groan escaped her body as she stretched her hooves out, the joints popping and crackling with each movement. It wasn't something that she had wanted to accept just yet, but age was finally getting to her. There wasn't much she could do anymore besides that of a normal flight. The features on her face had also begun to age, her eyes wrinkled and her lips cracked from years of flight with chapped lips. The one thing that she could still say that she was proud of though was her mane and tail. They had somehow managed to keep their effervescent glow, while other ponies tended to fade over the years. For her, it seemed as if they had actually gotten brighter. For her, she was lucky.
Today would be the day her and Twilight would test out a new elixir that she had concocted; something that she claimed would relieve all stress in her body and free her muscles from their tired state. It was something that she had been looking forward to for a matter of weeks after Twilight had briefly mentioned it over lunch one day. It would mean getting what she was, and what she used to be, back. Not only that, but that would give her and everypony some extra time to spend with their friends, full of energy; not sore and tired.
A cyan hoof rose from the ground, coming down on the wooden door and knocking once, twice, and three times. Rainbow Dash pressed her ear against the door, listening for some sort of moving rusting coming from inside of the house. No sound came, and she knocked once again. Spike would have answered the door, but he had gone on yet another quest to find out who exactly he was. There was no sound, which was strange seeing as how Twilight was supposed to be up by now. Rainbow swung the door open, knocking over some petri dishes which shattered as they fell to the floor.
“Uh, Twilight?” Rainbow asked, staring guiltily over at the broken petri dishes. “Twi? Ya there?”
The only response that echoed through the hollowed tree was that of her own voice. Things were beginning to become eerie, Twilight always responded when somepony referred to her as 'Twi'. Ranbow made her way up the worn staircase to the loft, the steps squeaking as she took each step.
“Twi?” she called out once again, only to hear her voice echo.
Peering out over the top of the staircase, Twilight's bed rested in the middle. Spike's bed still lay in the corner it always had, serving as a reminder of her number one assistant. From where Rainbow stood, she could see a pony sized lump hidden underneath a purple blanket. A small smile cracked across her face, thinking that Twilight had actually taken her advice to sleep in for once. About to back down the stairs and leave, a small glowing blue vial caught her attention. On the nightstand next to where Twilight lay was a small folded piece of parchment, held down by the vial that had taken over Rainbow's mind. She stood there for a few minutes, just staring at it. Eventually, her curiosity got the best of her as she moved light on her hooves to the nightstand where the potion sat, pulsing a glowing blue.
She glanced over at Twilight making sure that she was still asleep, but doubled back after she realized what was right in front of her. Twilight's lower jaw hung loosely from her face, and her arms lay limp at her side. The once vivid lavender coat was now a loose lavender gray color. Rainbow didn't want to accept that her friend right in front of her could have possibly left this world. There was no reason that she would, Twilight seemed fine when she had talked to her just a few days before.
Rainbow gave another look at the pulsing potion, tears starting to flow freely from her eyes. The parchment that had been held down by the potion had her name on it, and was clearly written by Twilight. She picked it up, the parchment shaking as she lifted it to her watering eyes.
Dear Rainbow Dash,
Life is funny, if you think about it. When we were just young fillies, we wanted to grow up. We wanted everything that being a grown up pony had to offer. But now that we are where we wanted to be as a filly, all we strive to do is get younger again. It's just so strange and frankly illogical that our brains would cause us to reverse what we want, but the mind wants what it wants I guess. It just seems so funny, in its own twisted way.
I have finally made that elixir I had told you about that one day Rainbow. The look in your eyes when I began to talk about it... I could tell that it was the only thing that you could want in your aged body. I have done it; but I have also worked myself far harder than I thought I would have. I just feel so tired now, and just want to sleep. All I want to do is sleep, now that you can fly with energy though the skies once again.
I write this just in case what I think of as sleep is what I really fear it will be. I fear the extent of my exhaustion is more than what a night's worth of sleep can ward off. It may be more of an eternity, but there is no saying whether or not I am right. But because of my age, and the amount of work I have put into the potion since you had last seen me, my calculations have told me that it may be my time.
I just wish to see the excitement on your face when you find the energy flowing through your body again. I have done this so that you can be happy Rainbow, and that's what really matters. Not whether I am happy; but if you get what you dream of. As long as you are happy, I will be too.
When you read this, that is if you do, only take one drop of the potion at a time. It is extremely concentrated, so there is no telling what an entire vial may do to a pony's body. Now Rainbow, if you can find it in yourself to tell everypony of my... passing, should it happen. I trust you with this, my loyal friend.
Your Egghead,
Twilight Sparkle
Rainbow looked down at the glowing blue test tube in her hooves, the top equipped with a small rubber nipple as the dropper. Twilight had done this for her, and had actually worked herself to death just trying to make her friends happy. She had done it... just to make her happy. It didn't make sense why she wanted to make her happy, but she had done it anyways. Did she really care that much for her friends?
There was too much of every emotion from anger to sadness flowing through her body that she couldn't cry or yell. All she could do was stare at the vial that had cost Twilight her life. Looking up at Twilight, Rainbow made a decision in the spur of the moment. Tilting Twilight head back, she grabbed the rubber nipple in her teeth and pulled it straight off, spitting it away from the bed. She held the tube next to Twilight's lips, still contemplating her decision. She clenched her eyes tight, and lifted the potion. It rolled off of Twilight's lifeless tongue and down the back of her throat, still glowing as it flowed. Once Rainbow had emptied the contents of the vial, she took a step back and stared at Twilight, expecting something to happen. She didn't care what, but she wanted something to happen. Either way, if something did happen or not, she felt some relief giving Twilight back what had gone and taken her life.
Rainbow sat at the top of the staircase, her emotions finally flowing through her as they should have. She buried her face in her hooves, letting the torrent of tears flow for her fallen friend. She had never thought of it to happen this way, one of them going for her. It was just all so selfish for her to want to much... that it would go and cost a friend their life. There was nothing else to do but cry, and wish that it could all somehow be better, as a faint clicking on wood echoed through the tree.
“Rainbow?”
