When Twilight Sparkle became an alicorn, she also became immortal. At first, she didn’t think much of it. Until her friends and her brother started to get older and older while she remained ageless. While she lived in Canterlot, her friends made frequent visits to the castle for The Counsel of Friendship, and her brother and Cadence made frequent visits bringing along Flurry Heart. Though as time passed, it started to show itself on everypony's face. More and more wrinkles adorned their faces and in time, the visits from the others to the castle would turn to her visiting them and their grandchildren in their homes in Ponyville, and weekly letters to the Crystal Empire instead of visits from her brother. Every day filled Twilight with more dread as it passed.
She was hit with the harsh reality of everypony's mortality on a beautiful spring day. Twilight and her barely graying friends were waiting at the Canterlot train station for her family from the Crystal Empire, their last letter said there was news to share that was better said in person. "Maybe Flurry Heart and her special somepony are expecting a foal of their own! Maybe even TWINS!" Twilight rattled on excitedly, her words practically running together into one.
"Twilight darling, I know you're excited but please speak more slowly. It's hard to understand you when you speak so quickly." Rarity grinned at her friend's excitement, looking down the tracks for the smoke trail of an oncoming train.
"Maybe it will be another alicorn and there will be another super duper chaotic crystalling that breaks the crystal heart and threatens to bury the Crystal Empire in snow NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN!" Pinkie exclaimed, still just as energetic as ever.
"Or maybe we can just ask them ourselves," Rainbow Dash pointed out. In the distance, a train came chugging along, the smoke trail dark against the blue sky.
Applejack looked up at Twilight, "Come on now, Sugarcube. Let's get to where they can see us a little better."
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Sure AJ, it's really easy to miss a tall alicorn with a flowing mane." Rainbow Dash did her best Shining Armor impression. "Oh! Where has my sister gone?"
The girls all chuckled as the train doors opened and ponies started piling out. Twilight saw Cadence first and waved her hoof with a smile only for her smile to quickly fade. Cadence and Flurry Heart emerged from the train with tears in their eyes, their gaze grazing over the other ponies and landing immediately on Twilight. "Girls, I don't think this is a happy visit." Twilight lowered her hoof. "Cadence? Flurry? What happened? Where is Shining?"
"We need to talk, Twilight, and it's not going to be easy," Cadence said. "In the castle please, all of you."
They made their way to the castle in silence, Flurry Heart looked sadly at the ground in front of them the entire time. When they got to the castle, Twilight ordered the guard to not let anyone bother them while her family was visiting and they took to the throne room. "Cadence, what happened? Where is my brother? Why are you crying?"
"That's why we're here, Twilight. See, your brother, he…" Cadence paused and took a deep breath. "Shining Armor he… He passed."
The room was so silent you could hear a feather drop. Twilight's mind began racing. Shining can't be dead. Her parents were one thing, they had fallen ill and Shining was there for her to ease the pain. Shining was healthy. He was a retired captain of the guard in perfect health. There is no way that her brother could be dead. Twilight searched Cadence's face. She glanced over at Flurry Heart who still had her eyes trained on a single spot on the floor. "Cadence… I…” Twilight wanted this so badly to be a dream. Just a horrible dream that she would wake up from, but she wasn't waking up. Why can't she just wake up?
"Umm, Twilight?" It was Fluttershy who spoke first, touching Twilight's leg gently with her hoof.
The rest of her friends sat in saddened silence, just watching Twilight to make sure she doesn't lose it. After what felt like an eternity, Twilight spoke again. "What happened, Cadence?"
"Time happened, Twilight. There was nothing anypony could do." As Cadence spoke, Twilight swore felt her heart shatter. "We want his funeral to be very small, just the eight of us in this room and Spike." Cadence looked over at the five other ponies. "Twilight will need you there."
Applejack walked over slowly, laying her hoof on top of Twilight's, "You can count on us, Sugarcube."
"When do we leave?" Twilight asked in barely a whisper.
"Soon," Cadence responded, approaching Twilight and bringing her in for a hug that was not returned. "Help her get things sorted, won't you?."
"You can count on me." Pinkie Pie spoke up. "Pinkie Promise."
A few hours later, they were at the train station waiting for the next train to take them to the Crystal Empire in complete silence. The three alicorns seem to have run out of tears and were huddled close together, while the other ponies and Spike were at a total loss for words. The train ride to the Crystal Empire felt longer than it is, and when they arrived, everypony went to their quarters for the night.
The funeral was held in a small room that was secluded from the other busier rooms of the castle. Twilight, Cadence, Furry Heart, Spike, and the rest of the ponies sat in a small circle. The other girls didn’t know Shining well enough to speak. But Twilight sat and listened to Cadence; who shared the story of how she and Shining met, when they realized they were in love, how Shining proposed to her under the blossoming trees of early spring and reminisced about their time together since. And to Flurry Heart who shared some of her favorite memories she had with her dad. Spike even spoke, talking about how Shining treated him like a brother and welcomed him into the family the moment Twilight’s uncontrolled magic surge hatched him from his egg. Suddenly, all eyes were on Twilight, waiting for her to speak. Twilight opened her mouth… but she just couldn’t make the words come out. They waited patiently for her but the only thing she could manage was: “I’ll miss him so much.”
They spent the rest of the day in each other’s company, silently offering each other support.
When Twilight returned to Canterlot two days later, she demanded that nopony bother her and she dug out an old stuffed animal that Shining gave her as a filly that she kept in storage. And while she felt a little silly, she fell asleep gripping it tightly.
~~~
About a decade has passed since Shining Armor’s passing, and while Twilight still misses him greatly, it’s thanks to her friends that it was made easier every day.
It was the day before the Summer Sun Celebration The festivities were being held in Ponyville again this year and as she was making her preparations, a letter came to her. "What's this?" She opened the letter and as she read it, tears filled her eyes. "Fluttershy…"
Spike came from another room, carrying a pile of large luggage bags with ease. "Twilight, I still don't know why we need to bring this mu-" He stops when he sees the look on Twilight's face. Her magic still keeps the letter afloat until she sees Spike and lets the letter fall at his feet. He bends down to pick it up to read it himself. "No…" he practically whimpers.
Twilight wiped her tears away with her hoof and attempted to compose herself. "I knew this day would come, but why so soon? Why now?"
"Her funeral is the day after tomorrow.” Spike read. “Do you think Starlight will let you stay?"
"I don't think she would refuse." Twilight sighed sadly. "Well, Spike. Let's get going."
The Summer Sun Celebration felt empty without Fluttershy`s face in the crowd. Other ponies were having a wonderful time, but the remainder of her friends sat in silence in the back, watching as Twilight rises the sun. While it was so long ago now, she remembered her first Summer Sun Celebration here in Ponyville like it was yesterday. She lands on her feet, the summer sun now high in the air and makes her way over to her friends before pulling them all in with her wings for a hug. All they could do was sit there in silence.
The next day, the group went to what was Fluttershy's cottage where her daughter Posey, a near spitting image of Fluttershy except with pink eyes and a rabbit cutie mark, now lives with her children: Buttercup, a foal with a yellow coat and a blue spiked mane with a mouse for a cutie mark, and Daisy, a filly who looked like her own mother with a single rose as a cutie mark. Posey was too busy trying to console the animals through her tears to greet them at first, she was only alerted of their presence when the teenage filly looked up from tending a garden filled with greens of every type and waved with a sad look on her face. "Mom, they're here."
Posey looked up to see the group approach them and gave a small sigh of relief. "I'm so glad you're here. I don't know if I'll be able to face this alone."
"Alone?" Twilight asked. "What about her brother?"
"My uncle hasn't been coming around. I haven't seen him for a few years. I did try to send him a letter, though. I tried at least once a moon as mom grew older.. But he never responds. I guess he just couldn't stand to see his sister like-" Posey was cut off by a tall, lanky, and elderly stallion who snuck behind her and pulled her into a hug.
"Posey! My favorite niece. Such a shame we're brought together by an event like this. Rainbow Dash! You came too! Still looking as dashing as ever." Zephyr feigned a grin, though his eyes were red and puffy.
The elderly cyan pony just rolled her eyes through her grief. "Not now Zephyr."
"Yes, now is not the time for jokes." A sad voice rang out from seemingly nowhere.
"Discord? Ya there? Or am I hearin' things again? These dang hearin' aids are always on the fritz." Applejack brought a hoof to her ear, adjusting the small device.
Discord popped into existence holding a beautiful bouquet of a wide variety of flowers in his claw, his paw wiping his tears away. "Of course, I'm here, Applejack." He sniffs as the rest of the ponies look up at him sadly. "We'll be starting soon. I'll start the eulogies since she was my closest friend after all."
The ponies all took their spots on the large lawn outside of the cottage, taking care not to step on the smallest of the critters around them. "I've never seen so many animals in one place," Spike noted, taking care not to trip over what must have been fifty white rabbits of varying ages scurrying along to take a spot in the front.
Twilight looked around and managed a small smile, "I haven't either, Spike. But I'm not surprised. It was her special talent after all." Twilight glanced toward all her friends: Spike sitting quietly next to her, Rainbow Dash trying her hardest not to cry, Rarity quietly watching the rabbits, Applejack fiddling with her hearing aids to cover the fact that she was tearing up, Pinkie Pie with her mane and tail flattened as she pets a cat that wandered her way, and finally Starlight who was staring off into nothingness. Even Zephyr Breeze was sitting in solemn silence next to Rainbow Dash.
Discord snapped his fingers, materializing a simple black podium in front of him. He blew his nose with tissues before he started to speak. "We are gathered here today to mourn the passing of our dearest Fluttershy. Time is but a cruel mistress…" as he continued, Twilight's mind drifted off. She thought back to all the times with Fluttershy; the first time they were in the Everfree Forest and Fluttershy helped the Manticore without hesitation when Fluttershy became a model to help Rarity when Fluttershy chased the critters into the Gala, and even the fact that if it weren't for Fluttershy, Discord wouldn't be here in front of them today.
She forced her mind back into the present where Discord was shaking with grief. "I… I never got to tell her how I felt. I hoped she would be far more than just a friend. I…I loved her." He sniffed and took a seat that he conjured. Twilight watched as one by one, her friends got up to speak about Fluttershy. A bear even spoke up at one point, though the only ponies who seemed to understand were Posey and Buttercup who both teared up.
Finally, all eyes turned to Twilight. "But I didn't prepare a speech. How am I supposed to prepare for something like this?"
"Oh darling," Rarity wiped her eyes with a handkerchief as she spoke, "None of us were prepared for this. Just say what's in your heart."
Twilight stood up and made her way to the podium Discord materialized. When she stood behind it looking out at her friends. She froze for a moment before she started to speak. "When I first arrived at Ponyville, I wasn't sure what to expect. I came to make preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration and Fluttershy was in charge of the music. She was so gentle with the birds, but when she noticed me she…" Twilight trailed off and shook her head. She took a deep breath and started again.
"If there is one thing Fluttershy taught me it's to always be kind. Sometimes a gentle voice, a soft touch, and a friend is all you need. She touched all of us in more ways than any of us can say. No amount of words can begin to describe our grief, and we'll feel her loss every day. But she'll remain in our hearts and the hearts of every animal here." She looked around at all the faces around her, pony and animal alike while tears pushed their way out again. "I- I…" her voice caught in her throat as sobs took over. Unable to speak, she went back to her spot. One by one Spoke, the rest of the girls and Zephyr Breeze stood up to speak about Fluttershy. The rest of the day was spent in silence until, in time, Twilight had to lower the sun and go back to Canterlot. This time she took her time saying goodbye to her friends individually, hugging each one before setting off into the sky to fly home with Spike right behind her.
~~~
About a moon passed without any news until Twilight and Spike were preparing for their next visit to Ponyville when a sad and graying Sweetie Belle slowly trotted in.
With Twilight in another room, Spike noticed her arrival first. "Oh! Hi, Sweetie Belle! What brings you…" He stopped abruptly upon seeing her face. "N… no. Oh, no nononono." Sweetie Belle just nodded sadly and Spike fell to his knees, bringing in Sweetie Belle for a hug while they both wept silently.
Twilight stepped out from a back room, levitating a checklist, "Spike did you get the…" Twilight stopped abruptly at the scene in front of her and knew immediately what was going on. “Oh no.” Sweetie Belle just nodded. "When?"
Sweetie Belle sniffed and broke free from Spike's hug. "It happened yesterday. The others in Ponyville already know, I came as soon as I could."
Twilight sighed sadly. “When is her funeral?”
“The day after tomorrow. She wanted it to be small, just friends, you know? She’s been expecting this for a while now-” Sweetie Belle started.
“Wait, She was expecting this? Why didn’t she say anything? I thought I was her friend?”
"You were her friend Twilight, she just didn't want to worry you. She thought it would be better if you weren't counting down the days. I’m so sorry Twilight.”
Spike finally stood up, sniffing before poorly composing himself. “Well, let’s get going then. I’m sure the others are waiting for us.”
The three of them made their way to the Canterlot train station and waited in silence for the next train to Ponyville and when it arrived, they took the car closest to the back so they wouldn't be disturbed. Twilight sat in silence with notecards, a quill, and some ink, trying her best to write up something to say when it was her turn to speak. When nothing came to her, she put her supplies back in her saddlebag, glancing over at Spike whose eyes stared sadly out the window. “Spike?” Twilight spoke quietly. “Are you okay?” Spike said nothing, he just continued to stare blankly out of the window, almost like he was in a daze. Twilight sighed and took her seat back. The three of them continued their trip to Ponyville in silence.
When they arrived, the rest of their friends and Rarity's family were there to greet them at the station, their own eyes puffy and red. They gathered in a tearful hug and made their way to Carousel Boutique where they were holding the funeral.
Inside of Carousel Boutique, the main room was lit with candles and the lights were dimmed. Enough chairs were in the room for each one of them. In silence, they took their seats. Again, Twilight watched as one by one everypony got up to speak about Rarity and how much she meant. Sweetie Belle sang the saddest song that every pony has ever heard. Rarity’s daughter, Amethyst, a pale blue unicorn with a purple mane and tail and a cutie mark of a single spool of thread adorning her flank, spoke of how her mother has been nothing but supportive of her interest in sewing. “She entrusted me with her businesses across Equestria, and while I am very nervous, I will do my best to continue making her proud.” Taking her seat, she picked up her son, a young colt with a dark coat and a blue mane and tail, his cutie mark not yet on his flanks.
Finally, it was Spike’s turn to speak. He stood up and made his way to the front of the room and took a deep breath. “When I first met Rarity, I thought she was the most beautiful pony that I have ever seen. I spent years smitten with her, doing small things here and there to get her to love me too. But then, she got married. I knew I would never stand a chance with her then. But I still loved her dearly. Her happiness was all that mattered to me after all. But… I still love her.Even after all these years.” Spike began to tear up and he quickly took his seat.
Yet again, all eyes were on Twilight. She stood up and slowly made her way to the front of the room. She sighed sadly and looked around the room. “There is not a single pony that I know that has not been touched by Rarity’s generosity in one way or another, especially every pony here.” Twilight paused and looked around the room. Her eyes glanced over Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Starlight, and Rainbow Dash. Her only remaining closest friends were looking up at her expectantly with tears in their eyes. “I… I don’t think I can say anything more than what was already said. I’ll never forget her.” Twilight’s voice caught in her throat and she hurried to her seat. She spent the rest of the gathering looking at the floor in front of her, Spike sobbing quietly next to her and the sniffles of her friends were all becoming too much. She had to excuse herself before Starlight started her speech. Hoping that nopony would mind, she quietly made her way out of the door and just sat outside in the warm Ponyville air. In a short while, her five remaining friends and Spike came out as well, but no words were said. Words couldn’t fix the hole in their hearts anyway.
~~~
Three moons later came the news of Applejack. Apple Bloom came to deliver the news in person, and while Twilight was expecting it, it didn't lessen the blow. It was almost time for the Running of the Leaves, and Twilight was getting ready to head to Ponyville for the event when Apple Bloom walked into the throne room looking sadder than ever. "Oh Apple Bloom, it happened, didn't it?" Apple Bloom could only nod. Twilight nodded and went to get Spike with a heavy heart and the three of them once again immediately headed for the train station.
On the train, Twilight lowered her voice when speaking to Spike. "I don't know how much more of this I can take, Spike. What am I supposed to do? I have other friends, but these girls were my first friends when I moved to Ponyville. Is this just going to be an endless cycle of losing my friends? How did Celestia and Luna manage?"
"I don't know, Twilight, maybe you can go visit them and ask them?" Spike glanced over at Apple Bloom who was staring sadly out of the window. "But maybe you could also try to support Apple Bloom." Spike pointed over at the sad mare on the other side of the train car.
"You're right, Spike." Twilight stood up and walked over to Apple Bloom, sitting beside her, she gently pats her wing on the other mare's shoulder. "Apple Bloom?"
"Eeyup?" Apple Bloom sighed, her single word responses mimicking those of her late brother.
"Do you want to talk?"
"Nope." Apple Bloom turned her head away from the princess.
"Well, can I sit here at least?"
Apple Bloom was silent for a moment before just nodding. In a few moments, Applebloom leaned into Twilight's side and the two sat there like that in silence for the rest of the ride.
When the three of them arrived at Ponyville, the train station was empty. Twilight had a moment of panic. While she was frantically looking around, Apple Bloom noticed. "It's okay Twilight. Everypony is already at the farm, and so are all of the Apples."
"All of the Apples?" Twilight's eyes widened.
"Yep! All of the Apples! It's going to be a long day, every Apple loved Applejack. If you need to leave before it ends, you can speak whenever you feel like you're ready."
"Thank you, Apple Bloom." As they walked over the hill, Twilight stopped in her tracks. If she thought there were a lot of Apples before, there are even more now. Colts and fillies who are too young to understand what's going on are running around the farm chasing one another in a game of tag, their parents allowing them to have their fun before they're forced to settle down. The older ponies were scattered about in groups, talking in low voices among one another. Even with all the ponies, it didn't take Twilight long to find Applejack's son Cameo, a stallion who looked exactly like his mother with two apples for a cutie mark, was adjusting his mother's hat on his head while a young mare named Ambrosia with her own green apple cutie mark standing out against her gold mane and red coat was wiping her own eyes with her hoof. Her remaining two friends stood not far from them. Applebloom left their sides to go talk with her cousin Babs.
At the sight of her friends, Twilight's heart sank even further. Pinkie's mane was dull, gray, and flat. But worst of all, Rainbow Dash looked sick. Not wanting to bring the mood down on the farm more than it already was, Twilight just approached them and pulled them gently into a hug with her wings and shortly after Spike joined them in the hug. The four of them sat in silence for a while, it was Spike who broke the silence. "Where is Starlight?"
"She went to the Crystal Empire, Sunburst passed away last week. I don't think she's going to come back." Pinkie sniffed and buried her face into Twilight's feathers.
Twilight simply sat there in silence and looked down at her two oldest friends, unsure of what to say. They were interrupted by Cameo who tipped his hat at them. "I'm glad y'all came."
"We wouldn't miss it even if a herd of buffalo stormed through, kid." Rainbow Dash spoke up.
"Well even still, having you here makes me happier than a clam at high tide." He tips his hat again and starts making his way around to see every pony. "We'll be starting soon."
Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Spike found some seats that some of the Apples started bringing out. They sat patiently while the younger of the apples were calmed and gathered. The first two ponies to speak were Cameo and Ambrosia who shared stories of life on the apple farm growing up with Applejack. Then it was Rainbow Dash, who reminisced about all the shenanigans she and Applejack got into, putting special emphasis on the time their competitiveness made them run the Running of the Leaves again for the foals who were staring at her starry-eyed hanging on to every word.
Pinkie Pie went on and on about how supportive not only Applejack was, but the entire Apple family was when Pinkie discovered she might be a distant relative. She went off on about fifty unrelated tangents about Applejack until abruptly ending her speech with "We never really figured it out after all."
When it was Twilight's turn, she stood up where all eyes were on her looking over the crowd at all of the ponies watching her. She looked over at Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie who were sitting next to each other. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Her ears flopped down and her head hung low. "In the spirit of honesty, I just have to say that… I… I can't do this. I don't know what I'm supposed to say anymore. I'm sorry everypony." With her head still hung low, she takes her seat again. Her mind is blank as other members of the Apple family start to speak. After about an hour, she quickly said goodbye to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie and flew off, Spike having to hurry to catch up to her.
~~~
It was no surprise at all to her when just a few short weeks later, Scootaloo showed up at the castle as an absolute wreck. Twilight and Spike knew exactly what had happened and they both pulled the distraught pegasus in for a hug. "I knew she was sick. I knew it, but I didn't want to say anything."
"What do you mean you knew?" Scootaloo asked in an almost accusatory tone, "She didn't tell anypony until it was too late."
"She just looked sick at Applejack's f.. funeral." She stuttered through tears. "I didn't want to bring any attention to it. Even if I did, you know that she'd just say that she was fine." Spike and Scootaloo nodded. "Where are we going, Scootaloo?"
"Well it was going to be in Cloudsdale, but then Thunder Chaser knew that meant Pinkie Pie wouldn't be able to be there, so instead, it's going to be held in Ponyville park." Scootaloo wiped her eyes with her hoof.
"That was thoughtful of him to think of Pinkie Pie," Twilight stated before looking at Spike and sighing. "Well, let's go."
Another silent train ride to Ponyville later, they arrived. They met up with Rainbow Dash's son Thunder Chaser, a cyan pegasus with a navy blue mane and tail with a thunder cloud cutie mark and his daughter Twilight Skies, a white pegasus who has a scruffy pink mane kept in the same style as her late grandmother's a cutie mark of a full moon partially covered with a cloud on her flanks. "Thanks for coming." Thunder Chaser greeted them with tired eyes. He has been trying to refrain from crying. "There won't be many of us, but some of the Wonderbolt recruits she worked with will be flying in for a memorial of sorts, you won't want to miss it."
"We wouldn't dream of it, Thunder Chaser." Twilight offered him a hug, then went to sit next to Pinkie Pie who had already arrived.
"You know, Twilight?" Pink greeted without looking up, her mane deflated. "I've already talked to Cheesecake and Cherry. I don't want my funeral to be a super duper sad mopey time. I want everypony to remember me for the super duper fun party pony I was."
"Pinkie, maybe now isn't the best time to talk about this," Spike said, taking note of the pained expression on Twilight's face.
"No, Spike." Twilight sighed sadly, "We have to talk about this." she sniffed and wiped her eyes with her hoof. "It's going to happen, I can't make Pinkie live forever. Even if I could, why would I do that to her now? What kind of life is this?"
"Twilight? I didn't mean to make you sadder. I just don't everypony sad when I go, I want them to have fun with each other and remember my jokes and laugh." It was at this point that everypony took their seats and Thunder Chaser was the first to speak.
Twilight watched as Thunder Chaser stood in front of the small group first. She only half listened as he spoke about his mom being a role model for him, about how he wanted to be a Wonderbolt too, but he had a daughter instead and he would trade a lifetime of being a Wonderbolt if it meant having his daughter with him. He went on to talk about how wonderful of a grandparent Rainbow Dash was to his daughter and about all the things she taught him. Scootaloo talked about how Rainbow Dash took her under her wing and adopted her as a sister. She talked about growing up with Rainbow Dash and how Dash taught her that flying isn't the only thing a pegasus can do with her wings. Twilight Skies talked about the lessons of loyalty that her grandmother taught, and reminisced about the times that Daring Doo was read to her when her father was working late at the weather factory. Pinkie Pie spoke about all the pranks they pulled on other ponies, even in their old age, taking care to focus on the fun and positive of Rainbow Dash trying to get small chuckles out of the small group of ponies there. Twilight Sparkle was unable to speak. She didn't even try moving from her chair. She just watched the skies as the Wonderbolts flew by, making a spectacular show for their fallen member.
After watching the show for a while, Twilight said goodbye to Pinkie Pie for what she was expecting to be the last time and she asked Spike to follow her to the Everfree Forest. They explored for a while until they found a small clearing. "Twilight, what are we doing here?"
"We're making a memorial, Spike. I need your help." Together the two of them sought out five large rocks and several gemstones. While Spike placed the large rocks in a semicircle, she used her magic to not only shape the gems but affix them to the stones. From left to right she affixed a purple diamond, a pink butterfly, an orange apple with two green leaves affixed to the top, and a red lightning bolt. Finally, she crafted a single light blue balloon. She didn't affix the balloon to the stone yet, but instead, she put it in a small pouch and gave the pouch to Spike. "Keep this safe." Spike just nodded. Twilight set the sun and the two of them remained there for some time in melancholy silence, pleased with the work that they did.
~~~
Twilight managed to get three moons worth of time with Pinkie Pie before the news arrived. Winter Wrap Up was nearing and preparations had to be made all over Equestria. Cheesecake made his way into the throne room trying his hardest to still smile. "It happened."
Twilight felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. “So soon?”
Cheesecake nodded. “Yes. Everypony is arriving in Ponyville now. And I do mean everypony. You know how she was.”
Twilight surprised herself by letting out a small chuckle. “Sure do.” She calls out sadly to Spike. “Spike! Another trip to Ponyville.” On the train, Cheesecake was going over notes that Pinkie Pie left behind. Taking a glance at it, it even makes Twilight’s checklists look small. “Wow, she thought of everything, didn’t she?”
“Mhm,” Cheesecake muffles, still engrossed in making sure everything is prepared. “She even wanted a crying corner and requested chocolate rain from Discord, but I haven’t seen Discord around since Fluttershy passed.”
Twilight sighed. “Poor Discord. After his confession at her funeral, I can’t even begin to imagine how he feels. I hope nothing happened to him.”
“I don’t think anything can happen to him, Twilight,” Spike spoke up. “Unless he found a way to turn himself into stone or something.”
Twilight was suddenly filled with worry. Surely Discord wouldn’t do that. He hated being a statue. She didn’t have much time to mull over it when the train pulled into Ponyville station and opened its doors. Twilight stepped out and both her mouth and Spike’s hung open. They have never seen so many creatures of Equestria in one place. Yacks, buffalo, changelings, hippogryphs, griffins, and ponies of every age were filing out of the train or flying in from all sorts of directions to head to the park. “I knew Pinkie Pie made friends with every pony, but I wasn’t expecting all of this!” Twilight stepped to the side as a young buffalo pardoned her way around the alicorn princess.
“My mom wanted one last big party to be how every pony remembered her.” Cheesecake waved at his daughter Cherry from across the platform. A red blur with pink hair bounced towards them. When she finally stood still long enough, her single blue balloon cutie mark stood out against her flanks.
“Well, everything is going as planned except, for one thing, Nopony can find Discord!”
“Well, we can’t just make a creature of chaos appear if he doesn’t want to. So make some chocolate milk and we’ll have to serve it normally.” Cheesecake patted his daughter on the head before she promptly sped off in a blur again.
“We should get to the park,” Spike said, looking over everypony and making his way there, Twilight and Cheesecake following shortly behind.
When they got to the park they couldn’t believe what they saw. There were clown ponies making balloon animals, a cotton candy stall, a bouncy castle modeled after the castle in the crystal empire, and there was even a petting zoo run by Posey who waved at them as they arrived. “Only Pinkie Pie could make a funeral like this." Twilight waved back to Posey.
"It is one big party," Spike stated. "I honestly wouldn't expect anything less."
Cheesecake spoke up. "She wanted to call it a fun-eral. It wasn't easy putting all of this together. But it turned out almost perfectly. If only Discord showed up."
Twilight excused herself to walk around. Ponies approached her to offer condolences but while she wanted to laugh and enjoy herself how Pinkie would want, Twilight made her way instead to the corner of the party reserved for grieving. Some ponies went up to talk about Pinkie, but Twilight couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead, she sat in silence with the other grieving ponies, mostly consisting of the rest of the Pie sisters and their young foals from the rock farm. She silently watched throughout the day.
One by one the creatures of Equestria headed to their homes and Twilight lowered the sun, she sent Spike home and just sat quietly in the park. Suddenly, she heard the pop of Discord appearing next to her. "They were looking for you, you know."
“I know Twilight. While I never felt the same way about her as I did Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie was always my favorite. She appreciated most of my jokes and pranks.” Discord snapped his fingers and summoned a pink fluffy cloud leaking chocolate along with two paper cones. “Cotton candy chocolate-filled cloud?”
“You know Discord? I think I will.” Twilight took the offered treat with her magic and together the two of them sat in the night looking up at the moon. Discord draped his pawed arm around Twilight’s shoulders, and the two sat there for most of the night.
~~~
The next day, Twilight left Spike in charge of the castle in Canterlot and headed to Silver Shoals. She had questions, and only two ponies could answer them.
“Twilight Sparkle! It is so good to see you. Come in!” The retired princess of the night, Luna, was the one to come to the door. “Please, sit. I will have my sister prepare you a nice warm beverage.”
“Thank you, Luna.” Twilight’s eyes were red and puffy, fatigue showed on her face. She couldn’t sleep. She walked in, took a seat, and waited quietly while Luna went to another room to get Celestia. As Twilight looked around the room, she was surprised to see that all over the room were all the pictures she sent to Celestia over the years. Even the last one she sent with her friends together before time took them away.
“Twilight! I’m so glad you've come to visit!.” The white alicorn made her way around the corner with her sister shortly behind her, hovering a tray of tea and biscuits in her magic aura. She had a smile on her face that quickly faded when she saw her former student’s face. “Twilight? What’s wrong?”
“Why weren’t you there?” Twilight whispered.
“Sorry?” Celestia set the tea tray down on a table. “I didn’t hear-”
“WHY WEREN’T YOU THERE?” Twilight shouted and sprung to her feet, tears streaming down her face. “THEY’RE DEAD! THEY’RE ALL DEAD! AND YOU WEREN’T THERE!” She turned her attention then to Luna. “NEITHER OF YOU WERE!”
“Twilight? What do you mean?” Celestia remained calm and kept her distance.
“Who is dead?” Luna asked, taking a single step back.
It was at this moment that it dawned on her that Celestia and Luna didn’t know. She had just assumed that somepony would tell them. Twilight took a breath. “Shining Armor, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie and probably even Starlight, too. they… They’re all gone.” The retired princesses’ eyes widened. “They’re gone, and I’m still here. I didn’t know this would happen when I became an alicorn. I know I have other friends, but they were my best friends. What am I going to do without them? Can’t you change me back? Please change me back!” She pleaded.
“Twilight Sparkle, we are so sorry-” Luna led.
“But we can’t change you back. There’s no way to.” Celestia concluded.
“I don’t want this anymore! Am I just cursed to outlive them all? Just watch as all my friends, and their children, and everypony after them dies and I stay the same? What kind of life is this anyway?” Twilight’s body began shaking as the tears took over. “I hate this. If I knew that this was going to happen, I would have refused. I HATE THIS! I have been trying so hard to keep it together for everypony. But I can’t do this anymore. How did you manage to get through this?”
The minutes felt like hours. Celestia was the first to speak, stepping closer to Twilight and attempting to wrap a wing around the younger princess that was just shrugged off. “It’s not easy Twilight. But in time it does hurt less.”
“I DON’T WANT IT TO HURT AT ALL!” Twilight shouted.
“I know Twilight. I know.” Celestia’s horn started to glow, wrapping Twilight in a warm light gold aura.
As the glow surrounded her, Twilight felt calmer. Her rage settled and her voice lowered, “I’m sorry. I just miss them so much and I don’t think it will ever stop hurting”
“It will, Twilight. I promise.” Celestia’s horn stopped glowing, along with the aura that enveloped Twilight. The three of them sat in silence until Twilight had to return to Canterlot.
~~~
The Summer Sun Celebration came again and nothing got any better. The smallest things reminded Twilight of her friends. How her cutie mark closely resembles her brother’s, the butterflies in the castle garden, the dresses that she sees ponies wear that once hung in the window of Rarity’s boutique, apple cider season, the Wonderbolts flying overhead as they practice, even something as simple as a lost balloon from a child’s birthday party sent Twilight into a spiral of painful memories. In the moons that passed, she prepared Luster Dawn, her top student to take her place, though she didn’t tell the unicorn what was the plan behind it all. She also ordered Spike to stay by Luster Dawn’s side no matter what. Spike argued for a while, but eventually, he obeyed Twilight’s commands. Twilight herself took a book and a sack of supplies to what is now the abandoned home of Zecora in the Everfree Forest. When she arrived, she cleared the cauldron of dust and cobwebs and took it with her along with some other supplies. She made her way to the clearing with five stones and on the end, she made a sixth one and on it, she affixed a magenta six-pointed star gem. She opened to a bookmarked page in her book and got to work carefully measuring ingredients and mixing them into the cauldron, a fire that she had set burning under it, letting it bubble while she stirred. She added several of the poisonous plants from the forest in it as well as all of the other potent ingredients. She cast a spell on herself so her body wouldn’t regent the potion, and in one last surge of her magic, she made it so the sun would rise and set on its own.
She didn’t have to worry about Luster Dawn. Having made friends of her own by now along with the aid of Spike, she’ll be fine. After checking the potion one last time, Twilight removed her crown, took a drink, and laid down to sleep. It took a while, but the last thing she saw before everything went black was her friends at the peak of their youth rushing to greet her.
Author's Note
This is my first attempt at any real fan fiction. The only reason it's here and not lost to a void somewhere is thanks to my good friend Codex92. So.. thank you Codex.
