Visions of the Pastby SkandranonChaptersRemembering herAt the AcresReturn to the CornerInto the BoutiqueTaking one last lookYearnings put to rest & EpilogueRemembering herShe woke in a cold sweat. Trembling, she slowly became aware of her surroundings as the nightmare slowly faded away. The familiarity of her room gently calmed her as her eyes took in the book shelves, with books worn out by attention and love. Her breathing finally slowed to a normal rate as she rolled over and saw her clock hanging on the wall, next to her favorite telescope. Back under control and feeling much more stable, she rolled over again and her breath caught in her throat as her eyes fell upon it. A deep, beautiful blue was accentuated by sparkling stars radiating elegance and grace. Her eyes misted over as she looked upon the dress she had worn to the gala long ago. Unbidden, a picture of her friend's smiling face appeared, eyes alive with hope and expectations for that night and the dreams she hoped to fulfill, but never would. Choking down her tears, she quickly got out of bed, cursing herself for forgetting she had pulled it out last night to be ready for today. It was too much, too soon, she didn't want any reminders right now of what she had lost. Not bothering with her hair or anything, she rushed down the stairs and out the door, desperate to escape her memories that threatened to surface. She was briefly blinded as she came out into the morning sun, but soon her eyes adjusted and she was able to see around her as Ponyville slowly came to life. Feeling better already, she headed out in no particular direction, devoid of thought and just enjoying the bliss of obliviousness. Around her, ponies went about their morning routine, sometimes looking over in slight concern at the usually impeccably tidy librarian now sporting a nest head and dazed expression. Although some were worried at the sight, they opted to leave the mare to herself, figuring she would let them know if she needed somepony to talk to. Unaware of all the attention she was getting, she continued on and soon found herself meandering around the far side of town. A slight rippling sound brought her back to the real world and for a moment she was mesmerized by the small creek, sparkling from the light glinting off its surface. With a start, she realized she was at Fluttershy's cottage. It sat on the slight rise looking empty and abandoned. The life that used to swarm around it was blatantly missing, and before she knew what they were doing, her legs had taken her up the path and over the small wooden bridge up to the front window. Afraid of what she would see inside, she forced down her nerves and looked inside. Nothing moved inside, the many small animal houses were vacant and the couch in front of the fire place seemed unnaturally empty. That was silly, she thought to herself, barely anypony sat on that couch anyways, but the feeling of wrongness remained. "Um....hello?" She turned at the sound, more like a whisper on the wind than a pony's voice. Behind her, Fluttershy had just reached the tiny bridge and had stopped, her animal friends gathering up behind her. Twi’s face went bright red as she realized what she had been doing and what it must look like. "F-F-Fluttershy. Hi, I didn't mean to, I mean I was just checking to see if you were here, didn't want to knock if it looked like I would disturb you." she finished lamely. Behind the yellow pegasus, her white bunny friend, Angel, peeked out and gave the stammering pony a disapproving look. "Oh ok, did you want something?" Fluttershy asked uncertainly, eyes darting to her front door every few moments as if she longed to reach it. "I don't know? Maybe I need somepony to talk about her with." Fluttershy's ears laid back and she hid her face, "I don't think I'm ready for something like that yet, sorry." Barely paying attention to whether her friends followed or not, the pegasus darted up the rest of the path and escaped through the door. After the other animals had made it in, Angel stuck his head out to look at her one last time and shook his head sadly before shutting the door. Inside, she could hear as her friend began to cry, a quick look through the window showed her friend collapsed on the couch, sobbing, as the critters around her tried to comfort her. Wishing for the previous feeling the couch had given her, she retreated out of the yard and back onto the path, stumbling once as she fought the wave of sorrow and guilt that washed over her. She needed to get away was all she could think about. Going to a friend now was out of the question, she had already inadvertently brought more pain to one who didn't need it right now. Depression threatened to crush her as she wandered on till a sudden shadow fell over her. Dreading what she'd see, she looked up and let out a choking noise. The cloud house hovered before her. It looked truly resplendent, as it seemed to be lined in gold. Cascading waterfalls of rainbow only added to its splendor, a monument of beauty up in the sky. All of it so splendid, marvelous and devastating. She tried to turn and escape but stopped at a sound. Around her the world began to feel surreal, as if something was different, or slightly unreal.Turning back in disbelief, she stared up and, thoroughly confused, saw a rainbow maned cyan head poking over the edge of the cloud. "What do you want? I was just taking a nap." Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to form an answer, but couldn't. "We're going to celebrate! Rarity's latest designs were a hit!" Startled, she looked over to see Pinkie Pie shouting up to the cloud excitedly. Beside her, Applejack and Rarity were looking up too, grinning at the sight of their friend. Fluttershy was a little behind them and grinning too, but looked kinda nervous and Twilight stood beside her as the pegasus answered. "That's great! Congrats Rarity, now let’s go party!" Rainbow Dash said excitedly as she hopped off and drifted down to her waiting friends. Watching all this in stunned silence, she was unable to understand what was happening. Then as quickly as it had started they all faded away and she was alone again. Emotions tore through her as she felt herself starting to pant heavily, with a shriek, she turned and galloped off in an attempt to escape it all. At the AcresShe gave a start as she came out of her revelries again. Why did I come here? she thought as her ears laid back and memories once again assaulted her mind. Apple trees were all around her as she continued on the road up to a farmhouse in the distance. A loud thump to her left and several small thuds caused her to look up to the top of the hill, Applejack moved to the next tree and prepared for a good strong buck. "Applejack!"The unicorn shouted out in surprise at the sight of her friend. Standing atop a hill, the orange mare was all set up in front of an apple tree. Her blonde mane looked a bit frazzled as testament to how long she'd been working and her tail swayed slightly as she lifted her haunches in preparation. The orange pony stopped in mid buck and looked up, but not towards the lavender pony. Confused in many ways. Twilight watched in surprise, a wave of nostalgia washed over her, as from where the other pony was looking, five friends made their way up the hill. Twilight, in the lead, had yelled out the greeting, behind her, Rarity followed and Pinkie Pie bounced along happily, a basket in her mouth. Fluttershy also carried a basket and flew carefully with Rainbow Dash above the other three. Unable to look away, the unicorn watched as, after a warm greeting of hellos and hugs with the farm pony, they all set up a picnic on the hill top. She looked in stunned disbelief at the scene playing out before her. "Oh Dash, please be a dear and help me spread out the blanket" Rarity called in a pleasing voice. Pulling out a pleasant looking red and white checkered bundle from one of the baskets. While they set up the blanket, the others all started unpacking the rest of the baskets contents, laying out disposable plates and utensils. Sandwiches and other treats followed,"Y'all didn't need to do this for mah" AJ said in a voice that told how much she appreciated it. "Don't be silly, we wanted to do this, now where did my balloons go?" Pinkie said, hopping around excitedly. "Oh silly me, this isn't the balloon basket, it’s the rock basket. No wonder it was so heavy." "Pinkie's right, AJ, we're happy to come out and have a picnic with our hard working friend," Twilight said with a smile as she shook her head in amusement at her pink friend's antics. "Aw shucks, you all are the best!" AJ smiled, slightly blushing, then went and joined her friends on the blanket where they were laughing and joking with each other as they ate and shared the latest gossip and going ons in town, enjoying the peaceful afternoon and each others company. Her eyes misted over as she fought the tears that threatened to spill. The young unicorn watched and wished with all her might that this moment would never end. She reached out a hoof longingly at the hill as the scene slowly faded away, till she was alone once more in the empty orchard. She turned and galloped back the other way, unable to be there for another minute. It had hurt too much, seeing her again, smiling, laughing and well. Why does this keep happening? she thought in torment as the images followed her in her flight. In an attempt to regain some control, she began to sift through the various emotions she had and deal with them that way. Sifting through them, a chill ran through her as she came upon a baffling feeling, it seemed like an expectation, a hope of something to be shared and understood, but it wasn't hers. How could she have an emotion that wasn't hers? It was as if she picked it up from somepony else, but that was impossible. Although quite talented, empathy wasn't among her array of spells. To further complicate the matter, a sense of disappointment and sadness had also appeared when she ran away. Starting to get scared that she was losing her mind, she gave up her attempts at getting it all under control and lost herself in concentrating on where she put her hooves as the world went by in a blur of colors. She galloped on, back towards town. Return to the CornerShe finally slowed down as she entered the town again. For a moment, she was interrupted from her confused thoughts as a pony asked her for directions. She mumbled out a response then moved on, not caring if she was understood or not. She also became aware of her surroundings, every now and then, as she occasionally bumped into ponies or was stopped and asked for more directions. Realizing she needed to get out of the street in the mindset she was in, the lavender pony hurried into the first place she came to, only realizing after she came in that it was Sugarcube Corner. Her eyes widened and her ears plastered to her head as all the sights around her threatened to bring back memories she didn't want to see right now. "Twilight, you really must stop studying so often, you'll wear yourself out" The voice of Rarity jerked the unicorns attention over to a table in the corner. Six all too familiar mares sat there, sipping on milkshakes, as they enjoyed each others company. "You’re one to talk, how many dresses did you design this week?" Twilight shot back, but in a kind voice to take any of the bite out of it. "You both need to take more breaks more often, after all it’s hard to eat cake when you’re so busy." Pinkie Pie interjected happily. "Sugarcube, we're not eatin cake now, we're having milkshakes" AJ said with an amused grin on her face. "We aren't!? well then wait here, I'll go get some!" the pink pony said energetically as she zoomed off, leaving her friends laughing and enjoying her latest shenanigans. "Dear are you alright? you look kinda pale." A voice gave her a jolt, the six mares faded away and she found herself looking at a table with a couple of pegasi and four earth mares, she'd never seen before talking together. "I'm fine, Mrs. Cake, thanks for asking." she said quickly, hoping the flood she felt inside was not showing in any way on her face. Mrs. Cake gave her a penetrating look, then seemed to accept the assurance,"Ok, I'm surprised to see you here, though. I thought you'd be overseeing everything." "No, I setup the initial plan and gave it to a capable pony to take care of the details, somepony with more capable hooves than me at more formal affairs." the lavender unicorn answered absently, staring at the table again. One of the occupants saw her and gave her a questioning look, but when she didn't respond, he shrugged and went back to the conversation with the others. "Well that's not like you dear, are you sure you’re alright? I'm always here for you if you need somepony to talk to or a shoulder to cry on." Mrs. Cake said softly. "No I'm fine, really," she said as she felt another wave of sadness as she realized that there was an absence of loud noises coming from the kitchen. Once again, she felt the need to be away from there, "Well I gotta go." She said quickly, as she made her exit, relieved when the kind mare didn't try to stop her. "Don't keep it in dear, we all loved her, you know, and we know how you feel! Don't be afraid to talk to us!" Mrs. Cake called after her, then shaking her head sadly, turned back to her shop and the waiting customers. Into the BoutiqueOnce again, she made her way down the street as she was jostled and interrupted now and then by ponies. Not caring if she was being rude, she tuned them out and kept thinking about what she'd seen at the acres and now at Sugarcube Corner. Every time she saw her smiling face or watched her laugh, she felt a coldness through her body that threatened to overcome her. She had lost so much, why had she been taken so early? The sad mare thought bitterly. Another thought, that didn't seem to be her own, intruded and seemed to make her see that there was something else to be seen from her visions, something she was missing. She pushed it aside and went back to her other thoughts of loss. Bumping into a door, she fell down on her rump. Looking up, she saw that she was in front of the Boutique. With a slight bit of guilt, but an overbearing sense of need to go in, she used her magic to unlock the door. "What are you doing?" a cheery voice behind her asked as she slowly opened the door. Jumping slightly, the lavender mare turned and immediately suppressed the urge to cry. Pinkie Pie stood there with a big smile on her face, but it was wrong. As you followed the smile up, it never reached the eyes, in them was an anguish that she knew was reflected in her own. Pinkie tried to hide it for her friends, putting on a fake facade to do her best to help them, but they knew her too well. They knew that her curly hair was, for once, not natural, that she had gone to the saloon to get it looking that way again. It pained her to see Pinkie like this, but she didn't know how the pink pony would react if she didn't play along, so they all pretended that her plan was working. "I just have to go in for a minute, I need to look around," she said in a subdued voice. "Okie Dokie Lokie, I'll go with you!" Starting to protest, she stopped, not having the heart to deny her friend anything anymore. The two ponies entered and headed into the main auditorium. The unicorn's ears twitched as she heard voices up ahead, she stopped and stared as they reached the big room. "Aren't they just marvelous! Even better than my last ones if I do say so myself." Rarity beamed. "You can say that again, these sure are mighty purdy." AJ agreed. "I can't believe it! This is awesome, Rarity." Dash said as she hovered over the dress. "It really is wonderful." Fluttershy said in a quiet confident voice. "They are great! What's the occasion, Rarity?" Twilight asked. "No occasion, can't a pony just do something for her friends?" Rarity said dismissively. "SHUT UP! I DON’T WANT TO SEE ANYMORE!" she screamed causing Pinkie to jump at the sudden outburst. As the images faded, the unicorn slumped to the floor and buried her head in her hooves. Pinkie sank to her haunches beside her friend and gently pulled the crying unicorn into her lap and stroked her mane comfortingly. Sobbing, she only vaguely registered her friends touch, her mind too abuzz to care about what was going on around her. Why? Why? Why? It shouldn't have happened! She was young, had much more life in her and was now gone. It wasn't fair! IT wasn't fair! IT WASN'T FAIR! "It will be alright, we'll get through this." Pinkie said comfortingly as she did her best to soothe her friend. "NO IT WON'T!" Twilight suddenly shouted, an angry glare could be seen dancing in her eyes, behind the tears, as her head came up to glare at the pink pony, "We can't just hide it! she's gone, and she won't return. Pretending it’s all ok won't change anything!" A little scared now, Pinkie Pie had gotten up and was slowly backing up from the irate unicorn. "Lies, all our answers, lies! You and your fake smile and cheery appearance aren’t fooling anyone! She left us! She left me." she said quietly as she reached the end of her tirade. She blinked in surprise as she found herself lying on her side, gently reaching up to rub her cheek in disbelief as she felt the place where Pinkie’s hoof had slapped her. Looking up not able to believe what the party pony had done, she cringed a bit as Pinkie loomed over her. Gone was all pretenses of the smile, now replaced with a smoldering anger. "How dare you say that! She would never do this to us on purpose and you know that. It was her time and none of us can argue when that time comes. We're all hurting and miss her, but we need to move on. She would have wanted that and we owe it to her to be happy. To do all she can't do anymore and move on. Now pull yourself together and think about what you’re saying." Panting slightly with a few tears running down her cheek, the anger drained away, never able to remain in the pink pony for long. Slowly, the lavender mare got back up as her friend’s words sunk in. Shame came over her as she recalled what she'd said and how she had once again hurt a friend, "Pinkie, I'm sorry. I just need time to think, yeah to think. See ya." She whispered sadly. "Wait, what-" Pinkie felt a familiar build up in the air around her, a tingling ran through her mane. With a flash of purple light, Twilight was gone and Pinkie looked sadly down where she had been at the slightly burned floor. Taking one last lookIn a burst of light, she was back in the world, looking around to see where she was, having teleported with no destination in mind. The scene before her came into focus as horror crept through her and froze all her limbs. "Not here." she whimpered as the place she visited in her nightmares every night came into focus. She was shaking uncontrollably as she was forced to take it all in. The white pristine walls were broken up on her left by a small window with simple curtains. A brown wooden door was left ajar to her right. A wastebasket sat to the right of the bed, its sheets all white and tucked in nicely. A comfy looking white pillow placed up against the brown headboard. Some machines she knew about from her studies sat dormant to left of the bed, all lights off and no sounds emanating from them. beep Her breath stuck in her throat at the sound. beep Please no. beep Not now, not here. beep Terror gripped her as she tried to move, but couldn't. The machines had come back to life and she could only let out a moan as she was shown a scene she had seen too often. First when it happened, then every night since in her dreams, her nightmares. Her friend was in the bed, her once striking mane lay limp and faded. Wires and plugs ran from her to the machine and a clear breathing mask covered her muzzle, feeding her air as it prevented her from speaking. Not that her friends were sure she could anyways, her face looked haggard and worn. Her once dazzling eyes seemed to have lost their spark as she gazed over her friends, trying to hide the pain reflected in them. She couldn't stop now, tears ran freely down her cheeks as she stood rooted to the spot, unable to look away as a lavender unicorn with a beautiful sapphire blue mane accentuated by a streak of pink and purple made her way to the side of the bed and looked down at her friend. "Looking good as always." Twilight said, grinning down at her, "The doctor says you’re doing better, you'll be out and about doing what you like best in no time." Lips bending up slightly in a smile behind the mask, she seemed to see right past the lie, but appreciated it anyways. Her resolve dissolving, Twilight fell down next to the bed placing her front legs on the side as tears began to run down her cheeks. "This can't be happening, it’s not right. You shouldn't be trapped in here, you should be out, free and enjoying life. your-" Unable to continue she buried her face into the covers, shaking slightly from her sobs. The others watched silently, tears of their own dropping to the floor. Slowly, a leg made its way out from under the blanket and she gently touched her hoof to Twilight's, causing her to look up. Looking into her friends eyes Twi felt as if she was trying to tell her something but couldn't. "I-I'm sorry, I don't understand." Twi managed to gasp out. She smiled sadly at Twilight, then suddenly, a look of pure contentment came over her. A shine seemed to light up her eyes again and they seemed brighter than ever before. Hope flared in Twilight as she saw this, then her friends eyes slowly closed, her smile remaining as her body went still. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Not again. eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee NOT Again! eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee NOT AGAIN! she cried as she once again was forced to watch her fade away. Confusion eating away at her, at how she could have been so content to leave it all behind when she still should have had so much time left to pursue her hopes and dreams. Finally, to her relief, the image faded away as her friends all gathered around her in a comforting hug. She collapsed to the floor of the hospital room, now completely empty and quiet except for her crying. Twilight wasn’t sure how long she was there before a soft voice brought her head up to see nurse Redheart one, looking down at her in concern. "Are you ok, I didn't see you come in?" Wiping away her tears, she smiled weakly up at the worried mare, "I'm fine, just finding some closure." "Okay, if you're sure." She didn't look convinced, but was hesitant to press the issue. "Yeah, this helped, well I'm a mess. I better go get cleaned up and ready for this afternoon." She said a little too quickly as she got up and headed for the door. "Ok then, see you there." Redheart called after her, then scowled a bit at some burn marks on the floor. Yearnings put to rest & EpilogueEndlessly wandering. the lavender pony thought to herself as she wandered the streets again. After making a quick stop at home to get cleaned up and dressed, she soon found herself at the edge of town again. She looked to her right, then the left: she knew she needed to go right, but was tempted to just go down the road to her left and never stop. With a sigh, she hung her head and headed down the left side road. Following it, she soon found herself entering the cemetery and as she reached the edge near the fields she, heard ponies around her but didn't bother looking up, "And first, we'll hear from Twilight Sparkle." She heard the Mayor say. As she trudged up to the podium, she heard a few gasps and noises of disapproval at her attire, but ignored it. If they knew her friend like she and the other Elements of Harmony did, they'd understand. She put down her notes on the podium and, not looking up, began to talk into the enchanted mike. "Thank you all today for coming to pay your respects to a great pony and dear friend of mine," looking at the next line, she felt sick, when she had first written her speech she had added the joke in as a tension release, but now it just seemed wrong and inappropriate. With a sigh, she forged on, “(insert joke here).” She'd expected a few uneasy chuckles and sympathy laughs, but was so surprised when she heard the cacophony of appreciative laughter, that she looked up for the first time. Her jaw dropped as she looked at the crowd of ponies before her, a sea of colorful manes seemed to stretch out before her as far as she could see. Sensations welled up in her as her eyes ran over the sheer number in disbelief. Here and there, a face would pop out as she recognized some, there was Fancypants accompanied by Photo Finish. Donut Joe, Zecora and pop sensation Sapphire Shores. Easy to spot in the crowd of black attire, were the wonderbolts in their custom garb. Near the back, so as not to disturb the proceedings ,were the Princesses. Luna standing stiff and attentive, while Celestia smiled down encouragingly at her student. Finally her gaze came down to the front where her friends all sat in honor of their friend, a beacon of brightness in the dark. Her eyes fell briefly on a empty seat and a pang of sadness and disappointment ran through her knowing who was missing. She couldn't be angry though, hadn't she considered the same things just before coming here? Then there was the Cutie Mark Crusaders, or should they still be called that? she thought as the first real smile of the day gently tugged at her lips, she gazed at their wonderful and fitting cutie marks. There must be over a thousand of them she thought in shock, Where did they all come from? It then dawned on her, how unusually crowded the streets were, the ponies constantly stopping to ask for directions, they had all come from out of town for this. That's when the second realization hit her, as her gaze swept over the countless faces all sharing expressions of respect and sympathy for the deceased, they were all here to give their respect to a pony that had touched all their lives in some way. "Please excuse me a moment, I need to get my thoughts together." Twilight managed to choke out then hid behind the podium. Murmurs could be heard in the crowd, but seemed to be made up of condolences and understanding. Twilight sat there, crying softly as thoughts tried to put themselves in order, the realization of how loved her friend actually was caused her to see her friend's death and life in a new light. She'd been so wrapped up in her sorrow and loss, that she had missed something important. A new determination came over her and she knew what she had to do. She wiped away her tears and got back up, facing the crowd, "I had planned out what I was gonna say but I realize now it’s not what needs to be heard, so I'm gonna use something from my heart instead." She told them, there were a few gasps from the locals as she tossed aside her notes, the out of town ponies oblivious to how significant that act was for her. "A good friend once told me that we were here to sparkle, to each shine bright for all of Equestria to see, so that we would be remembered long after we're gone. I never quite understood what she meant until now. Looking out at all of you, I can't help but see that she has accomplished this and more. I heard the whispers and the rumors, but never quite made the connection of what it really meant." "In her circle of admirers, I know she has been started to be referred to as the Shooting Star, a title of respect for one who achieved the peak, but was taken early. Everypony gets 15 minutes of fame is another saying, and I know she always dreamed of hers," Stopping as she began to choke up, she took slow breaths till she felt she could continue. All around her was a silence as they waited patiently for her to continue and she felt a growing gratitude for it. "She finally made it to the top, her fifteen minutes of fame, but that would never have been enough for her and she managed to achieve her dream forever. How can you fall from the top if you’re not around long enough to do so? she left this world as she would have wanted, all eyes on her, giving the world something beautiful to see." She stopped again as she could no longer hold back her tears. Realizations ran through her, her friend hadn't left things undone, she had lived her life to the fullest. Her dreams and aspirations were achieved, all she had looked forward to seeing had happened, Twilight thought as her eyes looked over at the CMC again. She hadn't missed time with her friends, but rather had enjoyed more time with them than she could hope for. Turning to look at the open casket behind her, she saw her friend, lying peacefully with a smile still gracing her face. Her coat and mane, now cleaned up, shined and accentuated her continuous beauty and grace. That's what all the visions were about today, she thought in sudden understanding, you were trying to show me this all along, to not dwell on what was lost, but on all that was had. For a moment she saw her friend standing beside the casket,beside her was a taller pony that she couldn't make out, her eyes refused to focus on it. Her friend smiled, a look of relief showing on her face as she gave a brief nod. She blinked and they were gone. It had been so quick she wasn't even sure if it had really happened or not. Wiping her eyes she turned back to the waiting crowd. "Sorry about that, let me finish this up while I can. We should all go through life following her example, live it to the fullest as if every day is your last. Fight for your dreams and goals, but also remember to spend time with those you love. Those moments will be cherished forever, like a rare gem, and I know for me none will ever be more precious and rare to me as my memories of my friend. I'll miss you forever and I hope someday that we can see each other again, my faithful and wonderful friend....... Rarity." Epilogue She made her way slowly up the stairs and went about getting out of the dress Rarity had made her so long ago. Sitting on the bed, she looked over at the purple form huddled up in the basket, waiting a few moments before she spoke. "I was disappointed that you weren’t there." No response. "I understand though, I know how much it hurts." There was a slight shuffling but otherwise nothing. "She wouldn't want you like this, she would want you to smile, like she loved to see. We can't bring her back, but we can honor her memory." Slowly, the little dragon rolled over and looked up at her with tear stained eyes, pleading up at her, "How can we do that?" Spike whispered. "By remembering the good times, by living our lives as she would have wanted. Crying is fine, but we can't let our grief keep us from the things life gives us. Although short, we were blessed to have had our time with her, and now we need to let her go." The little dragon seemed to think this over, then with a sniff and a look of determination, he sat up, "You’re right, I'll do it for Rarity." Spike stumbled a bit over the name. "Now I think you should say goodbye, the others should be all gone and I instructed the caretaker to leave it open for another few hours. I figured you'd want to see her one last time." "Thank you Twilight, you’re the best!" Spike wiped his eyes again, then jumped up and ran down the stairs. Twilight smiled as she watched him go, then pulled out a letter she had tucked in her mane. She looked at it, admiring the one word on the front, “Twilight.” It was written in a beautiful flowing script and postmarked over a week ago, but had only been delivered this morning. With a bit of trepidation, she opened it and began to read: To my dear friend Twilight, I know my time is short and wanted to be sure nothing had been left undone. Whatever happens, always know none of it was your fault. At some point we all need to go, and now was my time to. I've done all I ever wanted and gained more than I could ever have hoped for. Our times together with all our friends was the best, and you were always all there for me and don't you forget it. Also, remember that although a lady will cry, she will always then put on a strong face afterward for the world to see and follow her example. Be sure to keep an eye on my little sister, she has always been life's greatest blessing and I thank the heavens everyday that they let me stay long enough to see her get her cutie mark. Also be sure to watch over my little Spikey Wikey, I know it will be tough, but he’s strong and will pull through. And thank you for all you've ever done, though here at the end I have many friends, none mean more to me than you five and I'll count the days here in the afterlife until the day I will see you all again. Until then, continue on for me and be sure to bring me many tales of your adventures to come. Your Friend Forever, Rarity Tears stained the paper as they dripped down. A rueful smile slowly spread on Twi's face, "Too bad I didn't check the mail today, wouldn't of taken me so long to learn my lesson then, would it, Rarity." she whispered to herself. She sat there, staring down at the letter, a warmth spreading through her and a smile slowly growing on her face. Memories ran through her mind, reminders of happy times and a promise of things to come.
Remembering herShe woke in a cold sweat. Trembling, she slowly became aware of her surroundings as the nightmare slowly faded away. The familiarity of her room gently calmed her as her eyes took in the book shelves, with books worn out by attention and love. Her breathing finally slowed to a normal rate as she rolled over and saw her clock hanging on the wall, next to her favorite telescope. Back under control and feeling much more stable, she rolled over again and her breath caught in her throat as her eyes fell upon it. A deep, beautiful blue was accentuated by sparkling stars radiating elegance and grace. Her eyes misted over as she looked upon the dress she had worn to the gala long ago. Unbidden, a picture of her friend's smiling face appeared, eyes alive with hope and expectations for that night and the dreams she hoped to fulfill, but never would. Choking down her tears, she quickly got out of bed, cursing herself for forgetting she had pulled it out last night to be ready for today. It was too much, too soon, she didn't want any reminders right now of what she had lost. Not bothering with her hair or anything, she rushed down the stairs and out the door, desperate to escape her memories that threatened to surface. She was briefly blinded as she came out into the morning sun, but soon her eyes adjusted and she was able to see around her as Ponyville slowly came to life. Feeling better already, she headed out in no particular direction, devoid of thought and just enjoying the bliss of obliviousness. Around her, ponies went about their morning routine, sometimes looking over in slight concern at the usually impeccably tidy librarian now sporting a nest head and dazed expression. Although some were worried at the sight, they opted to leave the mare to herself, figuring she would let them know if she needed somepony to talk to. Unaware of all the attention she was getting, she continued on and soon found herself meandering around the far side of town. A slight rippling sound brought her back to the real world and for a moment she was mesmerized by the small creek, sparkling from the light glinting off its surface. With a start, she realized she was at Fluttershy's cottage. It sat on the slight rise looking empty and abandoned. The life that used to swarm around it was blatantly missing, and before she knew what they were doing, her legs had taken her up the path and over the small wooden bridge up to the front window. Afraid of what she would see inside, she forced down her nerves and looked inside. Nothing moved inside, the many small animal houses were vacant and the couch in front of the fire place seemed unnaturally empty. That was silly, she thought to herself, barely anypony sat on that couch anyways, but the feeling of wrongness remained. "Um....hello?" She turned at the sound, more like a whisper on the wind than a pony's voice. Behind her, Fluttershy had just reached the tiny bridge and had stopped, her animal friends gathering up behind her. Twi’s face went bright red as she realized what she had been doing and what it must look like. "F-F-Fluttershy. Hi, I didn't mean to, I mean I was just checking to see if you were here, didn't want to knock if it looked like I would disturb you." she finished lamely. Behind the yellow pegasus, her white bunny friend, Angel, peeked out and gave the stammering pony a disapproving look. "Oh ok, did you want something?" Fluttershy asked uncertainly, eyes darting to her front door every few moments as if she longed to reach it. "I don't know? Maybe I need somepony to talk about her with." Fluttershy's ears laid back and she hid her face, "I don't think I'm ready for something like that yet, sorry." Barely paying attention to whether her friends followed or not, the pegasus darted up the rest of the path and escaped through the door. After the other animals had made it in, Angel stuck his head out to look at her one last time and shook his head sadly before shutting the door. Inside, she could hear as her friend began to cry, a quick look through the window showed her friend collapsed on the couch, sobbing, as the critters around her tried to comfort her. Wishing for the previous feeling the couch had given her, she retreated out of the yard and back onto the path, stumbling once as she fought the wave of sorrow and guilt that washed over her. She needed to get away was all she could think about. Going to a friend now was out of the question, she had already inadvertently brought more pain to one who didn't need it right now. Depression threatened to crush her as she wandered on till a sudden shadow fell over her. Dreading what she'd see, she looked up and let out a choking noise. The cloud house hovered before her. It looked truly resplendent, as it seemed to be lined in gold. Cascading waterfalls of rainbow only added to its splendor, a monument of beauty up in the sky. All of it so splendid, marvelous and devastating. She tried to turn and escape but stopped at a sound. Around her the world began to feel surreal, as if something was different, or slightly unreal.Turning back in disbelief, she stared up and, thoroughly confused, saw a rainbow maned cyan head poking over the edge of the cloud. "What do you want? I was just taking a nap." Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to form an answer, but couldn't. "We're going to celebrate! Rarity's latest designs were a hit!" Startled, she looked over to see Pinkie Pie shouting up to the cloud excitedly. Beside her, Applejack and Rarity were looking up too, grinning at the sight of their friend. Fluttershy was a little behind them and grinning too, but looked kinda nervous and Twilight stood beside her as the pegasus answered. "That's great! Congrats Rarity, now let’s go party!" Rainbow Dash said excitedly as she hopped off and drifted down to her waiting friends. Watching all this in stunned silence, she was unable to understand what was happening. Then as quickly as it had started they all faded away and she was alone again. Emotions tore through her as she felt herself starting to pant heavily, with a shriek, she turned and galloped off in an attempt to escape it all.
At the AcresShe gave a start as she came out of her revelries again. Why did I come here? she thought as her ears laid back and memories once again assaulted her mind. Apple trees were all around her as she continued on the road up to a farmhouse in the distance. A loud thump to her left and several small thuds caused her to look up to the top of the hill, Applejack moved to the next tree and prepared for a good strong buck. "Applejack!"The unicorn shouted out in surprise at the sight of her friend. Standing atop a hill, the orange mare was all set up in front of an apple tree. Her blonde mane looked a bit frazzled as testament to how long she'd been working and her tail swayed slightly as she lifted her haunches in preparation. The orange pony stopped in mid buck and looked up, but not towards the lavender pony. Confused in many ways. Twilight watched in surprise, a wave of nostalgia washed over her, as from where the other pony was looking, five friends made their way up the hill. Twilight, in the lead, had yelled out the greeting, behind her, Rarity followed and Pinkie Pie bounced along happily, a basket in her mouth. Fluttershy also carried a basket and flew carefully with Rainbow Dash above the other three. Unable to look away, the unicorn watched as, after a warm greeting of hellos and hugs with the farm pony, they all set up a picnic on the hill top. She looked in stunned disbelief at the scene playing out before her. "Oh Dash, please be a dear and help me spread out the blanket" Rarity called in a pleasing voice. Pulling out a pleasant looking red and white checkered bundle from one of the baskets. While they set up the blanket, the others all started unpacking the rest of the baskets contents, laying out disposable plates and utensils. Sandwiches and other treats followed,"Y'all didn't need to do this for mah" AJ said in a voice that told how much she appreciated it. "Don't be silly, we wanted to do this, now where did my balloons go?" Pinkie said, hopping around excitedly. "Oh silly me, this isn't the balloon basket, it’s the rock basket. No wonder it was so heavy." "Pinkie's right, AJ, we're happy to come out and have a picnic with our hard working friend," Twilight said with a smile as she shook her head in amusement at her pink friend's antics. "Aw shucks, you all are the best!" AJ smiled, slightly blushing, then went and joined her friends on the blanket where they were laughing and joking with each other as they ate and shared the latest gossip and going ons in town, enjoying the peaceful afternoon and each others company. Her eyes misted over as she fought the tears that threatened to spill. The young unicorn watched and wished with all her might that this moment would never end. She reached out a hoof longingly at the hill as the scene slowly faded away, till she was alone once more in the empty orchard. She turned and galloped back the other way, unable to be there for another minute. It had hurt too much, seeing her again, smiling, laughing and well. Why does this keep happening? she thought in torment as the images followed her in her flight. In an attempt to regain some control, she began to sift through the various emotions she had and deal with them that way. Sifting through them, a chill ran through her as she came upon a baffling feeling, it seemed like an expectation, a hope of something to be shared and understood, but it wasn't hers. How could she have an emotion that wasn't hers? It was as if she picked it up from somepony else, but that was impossible. Although quite talented, empathy wasn't among her array of spells. To further complicate the matter, a sense of disappointment and sadness had also appeared when she ran away. Starting to get scared that she was losing her mind, she gave up her attempts at getting it all under control and lost herself in concentrating on where she put her hooves as the world went by in a blur of colors. She galloped on, back towards town.
Return to the CornerShe finally slowed down as she entered the town again. For a moment, she was interrupted from her confused thoughts as a pony asked her for directions. She mumbled out a response then moved on, not caring if she was understood or not. She also became aware of her surroundings, every now and then, as she occasionally bumped into ponies or was stopped and asked for more directions. Realizing she needed to get out of the street in the mindset she was in, the lavender pony hurried into the first place she came to, only realizing after she came in that it was Sugarcube Corner. Her eyes widened and her ears plastered to her head as all the sights around her threatened to bring back memories she didn't want to see right now. "Twilight, you really must stop studying so often, you'll wear yourself out" The voice of Rarity jerked the unicorns attention over to a table in the corner. Six all too familiar mares sat there, sipping on milkshakes, as they enjoyed each others company. "You’re one to talk, how many dresses did you design this week?" Twilight shot back, but in a kind voice to take any of the bite out of it. "You both need to take more breaks more often, after all it’s hard to eat cake when you’re so busy." Pinkie Pie interjected happily. "Sugarcube, we're not eatin cake now, we're having milkshakes" AJ said with an amused grin on her face. "We aren't!? well then wait here, I'll go get some!" the pink pony said energetically as she zoomed off, leaving her friends laughing and enjoying her latest shenanigans. "Dear are you alright? you look kinda pale." A voice gave her a jolt, the six mares faded away and she found herself looking at a table with a couple of pegasi and four earth mares, she'd never seen before talking together. "I'm fine, Mrs. Cake, thanks for asking." she said quickly, hoping the flood she felt inside was not showing in any way on her face. Mrs. Cake gave her a penetrating look, then seemed to accept the assurance,"Ok, I'm surprised to see you here, though. I thought you'd be overseeing everything." "No, I setup the initial plan and gave it to a capable pony to take care of the details, somepony with more capable hooves than me at more formal affairs." the lavender unicorn answered absently, staring at the table again. One of the occupants saw her and gave her a questioning look, but when she didn't respond, he shrugged and went back to the conversation with the others. "Well that's not like you dear, are you sure you’re alright? I'm always here for you if you need somepony to talk to or a shoulder to cry on." Mrs. Cake said softly. "No I'm fine, really," she said as she felt another wave of sadness as she realized that there was an absence of loud noises coming from the kitchen. Once again, she felt the need to be away from there, "Well I gotta go." She said quickly, as she made her exit, relieved when the kind mare didn't try to stop her. "Don't keep it in dear, we all loved her, you know, and we know how you feel! Don't be afraid to talk to us!" Mrs. Cake called after her, then shaking her head sadly, turned back to her shop and the waiting customers.
Into the BoutiqueOnce again, she made her way down the street as she was jostled and interrupted now and then by ponies. Not caring if she was being rude, she tuned them out and kept thinking about what she'd seen at the acres and now at Sugarcube Corner. Every time she saw her smiling face or watched her laugh, she felt a coldness through her body that threatened to overcome her. She had lost so much, why had she been taken so early? The sad mare thought bitterly. Another thought, that didn't seem to be her own, intruded and seemed to make her see that there was something else to be seen from her visions, something she was missing. She pushed it aside and went back to her other thoughts of loss. Bumping into a door, she fell down on her rump. Looking up, she saw that she was in front of the Boutique. With a slight bit of guilt, but an overbearing sense of need to go in, she used her magic to unlock the door. "What are you doing?" a cheery voice behind her asked as she slowly opened the door. Jumping slightly, the lavender mare turned and immediately suppressed the urge to cry. Pinkie Pie stood there with a big smile on her face, but it was wrong. As you followed the smile up, it never reached the eyes, in them was an anguish that she knew was reflected in her own. Pinkie tried to hide it for her friends, putting on a fake facade to do her best to help them, but they knew her too well. They knew that her curly hair was, for once, not natural, that she had gone to the saloon to get it looking that way again. It pained her to see Pinkie like this, but she didn't know how the pink pony would react if she didn't play along, so they all pretended that her plan was working. "I just have to go in for a minute, I need to look around," she said in a subdued voice. "Okie Dokie Lokie, I'll go with you!" Starting to protest, she stopped, not having the heart to deny her friend anything anymore. The two ponies entered and headed into the main auditorium. The unicorn's ears twitched as she heard voices up ahead, she stopped and stared as they reached the big room. "Aren't they just marvelous! Even better than my last ones if I do say so myself." Rarity beamed. "You can say that again, these sure are mighty purdy." AJ agreed. "I can't believe it! This is awesome, Rarity." Dash said as she hovered over the dress. "It really is wonderful." Fluttershy said in a quiet confident voice. "They are great! What's the occasion, Rarity?" Twilight asked. "No occasion, can't a pony just do something for her friends?" Rarity said dismissively. "SHUT UP! I DON’T WANT TO SEE ANYMORE!" she screamed causing Pinkie to jump at the sudden outburst. As the images faded, the unicorn slumped to the floor and buried her head in her hooves. Pinkie sank to her haunches beside her friend and gently pulled the crying unicorn into her lap and stroked her mane comfortingly. Sobbing, she only vaguely registered her friends touch, her mind too abuzz to care about what was going on around her. Why? Why? Why? It shouldn't have happened! She was young, had much more life in her and was now gone. It wasn't fair! IT wasn't fair! IT WASN'T FAIR! "It will be alright, we'll get through this." Pinkie said comfortingly as she did her best to soothe her friend. "NO IT WON'T!" Twilight suddenly shouted, an angry glare could be seen dancing in her eyes, behind the tears, as her head came up to glare at the pink pony, "We can't just hide it! she's gone, and she won't return. Pretending it’s all ok won't change anything!" A little scared now, Pinkie Pie had gotten up and was slowly backing up from the irate unicorn. "Lies, all our answers, lies! You and your fake smile and cheery appearance aren’t fooling anyone! She left us! She left me." she said quietly as she reached the end of her tirade. She blinked in surprise as she found herself lying on her side, gently reaching up to rub her cheek in disbelief as she felt the place where Pinkie’s hoof had slapped her. Looking up not able to believe what the party pony had done, she cringed a bit as Pinkie loomed over her. Gone was all pretenses of the smile, now replaced with a smoldering anger. "How dare you say that! She would never do this to us on purpose and you know that. It was her time and none of us can argue when that time comes. We're all hurting and miss her, but we need to move on. She would have wanted that and we owe it to her to be happy. To do all she can't do anymore and move on. Now pull yourself together and think about what you’re saying." Panting slightly with a few tears running down her cheek, the anger drained away, never able to remain in the pink pony for long. Slowly, the lavender mare got back up as her friend’s words sunk in. Shame came over her as she recalled what she'd said and how she had once again hurt a friend, "Pinkie, I'm sorry. I just need time to think, yeah to think. See ya." She whispered sadly. "Wait, what-" Pinkie felt a familiar build up in the air around her, a tingling ran through her mane. With a flash of purple light, Twilight was gone and Pinkie looked sadly down where she had been at the slightly burned floor.
Taking one last lookIn a burst of light, she was back in the world, looking around to see where she was, having teleported with no destination in mind. The scene before her came into focus as horror crept through her and froze all her limbs. "Not here." she whimpered as the place she visited in her nightmares every night came into focus. She was shaking uncontrollably as she was forced to take it all in. The white pristine walls were broken up on her left by a small window with simple curtains. A brown wooden door was left ajar to her right. A wastebasket sat to the right of the bed, its sheets all white and tucked in nicely. A comfy looking white pillow placed up against the brown headboard. Some machines she knew about from her studies sat dormant to left of the bed, all lights off and no sounds emanating from them. beep Her breath stuck in her throat at the sound. beep Please no. beep Not now, not here. beep Terror gripped her as she tried to move, but couldn't. The machines had come back to life and she could only let out a moan as she was shown a scene she had seen too often. First when it happened, then every night since in her dreams, her nightmares. Her friend was in the bed, her once striking mane lay limp and faded. Wires and plugs ran from her to the machine and a clear breathing mask covered her muzzle, feeding her air as it prevented her from speaking. Not that her friends were sure she could anyways, her face looked haggard and worn. Her once dazzling eyes seemed to have lost their spark as she gazed over her friends, trying to hide the pain reflected in them. She couldn't stop now, tears ran freely down her cheeks as she stood rooted to the spot, unable to look away as a lavender unicorn with a beautiful sapphire blue mane accentuated by a streak of pink and purple made her way to the side of the bed and looked down at her friend. "Looking good as always." Twilight said, grinning down at her, "The doctor says you’re doing better, you'll be out and about doing what you like best in no time." Lips bending up slightly in a smile behind the mask, she seemed to see right past the lie, but appreciated it anyways. Her resolve dissolving, Twilight fell down next to the bed placing her front legs on the side as tears began to run down her cheeks. "This can't be happening, it’s not right. You shouldn't be trapped in here, you should be out, free and enjoying life. your-" Unable to continue she buried her face into the covers, shaking slightly from her sobs. The others watched silently, tears of their own dropping to the floor. Slowly, a leg made its way out from under the blanket and she gently touched her hoof to Twilight's, causing her to look up. Looking into her friends eyes Twi felt as if she was trying to tell her something but couldn't. "I-I'm sorry, I don't understand." Twi managed to gasp out. She smiled sadly at Twilight, then suddenly, a look of pure contentment came over her. A shine seemed to light up her eyes again and they seemed brighter than ever before. Hope flared in Twilight as she saw this, then her friends eyes slowly closed, her smile remaining as her body went still. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Not again. eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee NOT Again! eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee NOT AGAIN! she cried as she once again was forced to watch her fade away. Confusion eating away at her, at how she could have been so content to leave it all behind when she still should have had so much time left to pursue her hopes and dreams. Finally, to her relief, the image faded away as her friends all gathered around her in a comforting hug. She collapsed to the floor of the hospital room, now completely empty and quiet except for her crying. Twilight wasn’t sure how long she was there before a soft voice brought her head up to see nurse Redheart one, looking down at her in concern. "Are you ok, I didn't see you come in?" Wiping away her tears, she smiled weakly up at the worried mare, "I'm fine, just finding some closure." "Okay, if you're sure." She didn't look convinced, but was hesitant to press the issue. "Yeah, this helped, well I'm a mess. I better go get cleaned up and ready for this afternoon." She said a little too quickly as she got up and headed for the door. "Ok then, see you there." Redheart called after her, then scowled a bit at some burn marks on the floor.
Yearnings put to rest & EpilogueEndlessly wandering. the lavender pony thought to herself as she wandered the streets again. After making a quick stop at home to get cleaned up and dressed, she soon found herself at the edge of town again. She looked to her right, then the left: she knew she needed to go right, but was tempted to just go down the road to her left and never stop. With a sigh, she hung her head and headed down the left side road. Following it, she soon found herself entering the cemetery and as she reached the edge near the fields she, heard ponies around her but didn't bother looking up, "And first, we'll hear from Twilight Sparkle." She heard the Mayor say. As she trudged up to the podium, she heard a few gasps and noises of disapproval at her attire, but ignored it. If they knew her friend like she and the other Elements of Harmony did, they'd understand. She put down her notes on the podium and, not looking up, began to talk into the enchanted mike. "Thank you all today for coming to pay your respects to a great pony and dear friend of mine," looking at the next line, she felt sick, when she had first written her speech she had added the joke in as a tension release, but now it just seemed wrong and inappropriate. With a sigh, she forged on, “(insert joke here).” She'd expected a few uneasy chuckles and sympathy laughs, but was so surprised when she heard the cacophony of appreciative laughter, that she looked up for the first time. Her jaw dropped as she looked at the crowd of ponies before her, a sea of colorful manes seemed to stretch out before her as far as she could see. Sensations welled up in her as her eyes ran over the sheer number in disbelief. Here and there, a face would pop out as she recognized some, there was Fancypants accompanied by Photo Finish. Donut Joe, Zecora and pop sensation Sapphire Shores. Easy to spot in the crowd of black attire, were the wonderbolts in their custom garb. Near the back, so as not to disturb the proceedings ,were the Princesses. Luna standing stiff and attentive, while Celestia smiled down encouragingly at her student. Finally her gaze came down to the front where her friends all sat in honor of their friend, a beacon of brightness in the dark. Her eyes fell briefly on a empty seat and a pang of sadness and disappointment ran through her knowing who was missing. She couldn't be angry though, hadn't she considered the same things just before coming here? Then there was the Cutie Mark Crusaders, or should they still be called that? she thought as the first real smile of the day gently tugged at her lips, she gazed at their wonderful and fitting cutie marks. There must be over a thousand of them she thought in shock, Where did they all come from? It then dawned on her, how unusually crowded the streets were, the ponies constantly stopping to ask for directions, they had all come from out of town for this. That's when the second realization hit her, as her gaze swept over the countless faces all sharing expressions of respect and sympathy for the deceased, they were all here to give their respect to a pony that had touched all their lives in some way. "Please excuse me a moment, I need to get my thoughts together." Twilight managed to choke out then hid behind the podium. Murmurs could be heard in the crowd, but seemed to be made up of condolences and understanding. Twilight sat there, crying softly as thoughts tried to put themselves in order, the realization of how loved her friend actually was caused her to see her friend's death and life in a new light. She'd been so wrapped up in her sorrow and loss, that she had missed something important. A new determination came over her and she knew what she had to do. She wiped away her tears and got back up, facing the crowd, "I had planned out what I was gonna say but I realize now it’s not what needs to be heard, so I'm gonna use something from my heart instead." She told them, there were a few gasps from the locals as she tossed aside her notes, the out of town ponies oblivious to how significant that act was for her. "A good friend once told me that we were here to sparkle, to each shine bright for all of Equestria to see, so that we would be remembered long after we're gone. I never quite understood what she meant until now. Looking out at all of you, I can't help but see that she has accomplished this and more. I heard the whispers and the rumors, but never quite made the connection of what it really meant." "In her circle of admirers, I know she has been started to be referred to as the Shooting Star, a title of respect for one who achieved the peak, but was taken early. Everypony gets 15 minutes of fame is another saying, and I know she always dreamed of hers," Stopping as she began to choke up, she took slow breaths till she felt she could continue. All around her was a silence as they waited patiently for her to continue and she felt a growing gratitude for it. "She finally made it to the top, her fifteen minutes of fame, but that would never have been enough for her and she managed to achieve her dream forever. How can you fall from the top if you’re not around long enough to do so? she left this world as she would have wanted, all eyes on her, giving the world something beautiful to see." She stopped again as she could no longer hold back her tears. Realizations ran through her, her friend hadn't left things undone, she had lived her life to the fullest. Her dreams and aspirations were achieved, all she had looked forward to seeing had happened, Twilight thought as her eyes looked over at the CMC again. She hadn't missed time with her friends, but rather had enjoyed more time with them than she could hope for. Turning to look at the open casket behind her, she saw her friend, lying peacefully with a smile still gracing her face. Her coat and mane, now cleaned up, shined and accentuated her continuous beauty and grace. That's what all the visions were about today, she thought in sudden understanding, you were trying to show me this all along, to not dwell on what was lost, but on all that was had. For a moment she saw her friend standing beside the casket,beside her was a taller pony that she couldn't make out, her eyes refused to focus on it. Her friend smiled, a look of relief showing on her face as she gave a brief nod. She blinked and they were gone. It had been so quick she wasn't even sure if it had really happened or not. Wiping her eyes she turned back to the waiting crowd. "Sorry about that, let me finish this up while I can. We should all go through life following her example, live it to the fullest as if every day is your last. Fight for your dreams and goals, but also remember to spend time with those you love. Those moments will be cherished forever, like a rare gem, and I know for me none will ever be more precious and rare to me as my memories of my friend. I'll miss you forever and I hope someday that we can see each other again, my faithful and wonderful friend....... Rarity." Epilogue She made her way slowly up the stairs and went about getting out of the dress Rarity had made her so long ago. Sitting on the bed, she looked over at the purple form huddled up in the basket, waiting a few moments before she spoke. "I was disappointed that you weren’t there." No response. "I understand though, I know how much it hurts." There was a slight shuffling but otherwise nothing. "She wouldn't want you like this, she would want you to smile, like she loved to see. We can't bring her back, but we can honor her memory." Slowly, the little dragon rolled over and looked up at her with tear stained eyes, pleading up at her, "How can we do that?" Spike whispered. "By remembering the good times, by living our lives as she would have wanted. Crying is fine, but we can't let our grief keep us from the things life gives us. Although short, we were blessed to have had our time with her, and now we need to let her go." The little dragon seemed to think this over, then with a sniff and a look of determination, he sat up, "You’re right, I'll do it for Rarity." Spike stumbled a bit over the name. "Now I think you should say goodbye, the others should be all gone and I instructed the caretaker to leave it open for another few hours. I figured you'd want to see her one last time." "Thank you Twilight, you’re the best!" Spike wiped his eyes again, then jumped up and ran down the stairs. Twilight smiled as she watched him go, then pulled out a letter she had tucked in her mane. She looked at it, admiring the one word on the front, “Twilight.” It was written in a beautiful flowing script and postmarked over a week ago, but had only been delivered this morning. With a bit of trepidation, she opened it and began to read: To my dear friend Twilight, I know my time is short and wanted to be sure nothing had been left undone. Whatever happens, always know none of it was your fault. At some point we all need to go, and now was my time to. I've done all I ever wanted and gained more than I could ever have hoped for. Our times together with all our friends was the best, and you were always all there for me and don't you forget it. Also, remember that although a lady will cry, she will always then put on a strong face afterward for the world to see and follow her example. Be sure to keep an eye on my little sister, she has always been life's greatest blessing and I thank the heavens everyday that they let me stay long enough to see her get her cutie mark. Also be sure to watch over my little Spikey Wikey, I know it will be tough, but he’s strong and will pull through. And thank you for all you've ever done, though here at the end I have many friends, none mean more to me than you five and I'll count the days here in the afterlife until the day I will see you all again. Until then, continue on for me and be sure to bring me many tales of your adventures to come. Your Friend Forever, Rarity Tears stained the paper as they dripped down. A rueful smile slowly spread on Twi's face, "Too bad I didn't check the mail today, wouldn't of taken me so long to learn my lesson then, would it, Rarity." she whispered to herself. She sat there, staring down at the letter, a warmth spreading through her and a smile slowly growing on her face. Memories ran through her mind, reminders of happy times and a promise of things to come.
