Visions of the Past

Endlessly 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.