The purple glow that surrounded the rose disappeared in a single instant, it fell on soft, grassy earth. The grass lay in the shadow of a tall flat stone, on that stone read:
Spike
#1 Assistant
Twilight Sparkle stared at the rose and the stone for a couple seconds before turning around. Her eyes pouring salty tears that blended with the heavy rain. Rainbow Dash had neglected the clouds for today, but Twilight didn't blame her, the loss of Spike was intense on all of them and on this day, the day of the funeral, Rainbow was in as much mourning as her and all of Twilight's friends. Twilight was obviously the last to leave the funeral, since she was closer to Spike than any of them. She walked slowly away from the grave, slowly through iron gates bearing the words "Ponyville Cemetery", and slowly into Ponyville.
The aura of the otherwise happy town was dark, nopony seemed to be smiling. Being a small community, a death in the town was always a a massive tragedy, even ponies who barely knew Spike seemed to be hit hard by the loss. Twilight wondered how her friends were doing. She walked towards Sugarcube Corner looking down at her hooves the whole time. When she finally got to Ponyville's most popular sweet shop, another pony walked out the door. Twilight heard a rather happy high-pitched voice.
"Thank you, come again."
Twilight was glad to know that at least Pinkie Pie was feeling cheerful and she was about to walk in when she saw Pinkie's true feelings from the door window. The moment she thought she was alone, Pinkie started to completely bawl. If it weren't so sad, it might of been considered comical the way the tears launched from her eyes. Twilight decided that this wasn't the best time to visit Pinkie and just decided to continue walking. Visiting Sugarcube caused Twilight to remember the sapphire cupcake from Spikes birthday party, but that soon started to make her feel sad. She would've taken the giant, greedy spike instead of him just completely gone. Her memories hit her hard and not caring what other ponies thought, she stopped in her tracks and cried. Looking at the ground, all she wanted was to dig down into it and bury herself right there, don't ask me why, people get all sorts of strange thoughts when they're sad. Twilights crying soon turned into screaming.
"Spiiiiiiiiike!!!" She screamed looking up to the sky, "Spiiiiiiiiiiiiiike!!!"
Other ponies started to watch, but they all knew that it was best to leave her be. At long last, Twilight managed to get on her hooves. She started trudging to yet another destination, Carousel Boutique.
The bright colors of the store seemed so depressed along with everything in Ponyville. Twilight cautiously approached it, in order to make sure her presence wouldn't upset Rarity. As she approached a door, Twilight noticed an elegant sign that brought tears to her purple eyes.
Closed Due To Death In Family
Rarity, she loved Spike. Almost more than Twilight, who calmly put her hoof on the door. She knocked. No answer. She knocked again. This time, somepony opened the door. It was Rarity, she wore a black dress along with a massive black-lace veiled hat. The same one that she wore to the funeral. The fashonista looked like she was about to cry and her hair was split in all directions.
"Oh, hello Twilight," she managed to say between sobs, "please come in."
The shop was a bigger mess than Rarity's hair, Supplies sat in piles of fabric, Opal had turned a giant pile of fabric scraps into a bed, and there were empty tubs of chocolate ice cream all over the floor.
"I'm sorry," said the white unicorn, "I haven't been myself lately. It's just that...that Spike..."
"It's okay Rarity," Twilight reassured her trying not to cry, we're all feeling this way. Twilight recalled the time she and Spike had first met Rarity, the way he immediately fell in love. Twilight wondered if Rarity and Spike would've been in a relation if...if he hadn't.
Twilight started to cry again, and without saying goodbye, left the boutique. Twilight just kept walking, as of now, she didn't care where she was going. She just had the urge to get away, away from Ponyville, away from her problems. Twilight just felt so alone.
Twilight was still walking. And she didn't slow down until she saw one of the last houses in Ponyville, Fluttershy's cottage. Twilight knew better than to go inside since Fluttershy would probably already be in hysterics. The last thing she would want to do would be to disturb her.
"Oh, hello Twilight," said a timid voice. Twilight quickly turned around to see a pale yellow pegasus with a long pink mane. Fluttershy seemed very calm and solemn despite the circumstances so Twilight was a little confused.
"Are you okay Twilight?" Said the kind mare, "would you like to come inside?"
Fluttershy's cottage was as bustling as it always was, small critters ran from walls and houses in order to get some snacks from piles of grain around the house. A small pile of tissues stood in Fluttershy's wastebasket. This took Twilight by surprise. Fluttershy pored some tea and put some biscuits on a plate, she brought them to her coffee table and sat down. Twilight sat down too.
Twilight was still having trouble speaking, "I...I'm glad to see your doing fine, Pinkie and Rarity are devastated. And...you were crying so much at the funeral."
"Well," Fluttershy bowed her head, "I was devastated at first, but they say it's better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness."
"But you're so...sensitive," Twilight caught herself before she said weak.
"I am, and to be honest, I'm still devastated and I would still give anything to have Spike back." The pegasus took a sip of her tea.
"I still don't understand Flutters," said Twilight.
Fluttershy put her hoof on Twilight's shoulder and looked her directly in the eyes, "Twilight, there are three things that you have to accept. The first is that you have to know that Spike is gone, and that no matter how much we wish, he isn't coming back. The second is that Spike wouldn't want us to live are lives in a constant state of depression. And the third is the most important, you must never forget this, Spike will always be with us, just as long as we keep his memory alive."
"Fluttershy...I...I don't know what to say," Twilight was surprised that her friend knew so much about the subject, "I guess I'll be going now."
"Umm...okay, goodbye Twilight."
Twilight walked out the door, the sun was out, the pegasus weather team had cleared the sky, Twilight looked up towards the beautiful sky and saw something amazing. A cloud that looked exactly like the baby dragon. Twilight started to cry again, but she was now smiling at the same time.
"Thank you Fluttershy," she whispered, "thank you."
Twilight Sparkle searched her library's shelves frantically. She was looking for a book. A book that she rarely dug out. But on a day like this, it would be needed more than ever. Eventually she stopped. The purple unicorn smiled as a single tear ran down her cheek. It was her old photo album. On which was labeled,
Spike
Twilight's horn began to glow brighter as she levitated the book closer to her, and even brighter as she began to open pages. She looked at the first picture. Spike was taken to Twilight's dorm at the School for Gifted Unicorns on the day that photo was taken. The photo showed him looking around it for the first time. His eyes wide and his mouth agape in a strong, childlike wonder. Twilight then looked at the next photo, a photo of both her and Spike. Her parents had taken that. Twilight sat on her bed while cradling Spike in her forelegs. She looked at the camera with excitement. She had good reason to. She had become Celestia's student, earned her cutie mark and gotten Spike all in the same day. Twilight flipped through the album some more. When she was a filly, she had made sure to document all important events in Spike's life. His first meal, his first steps, his first words, the time Princess Celestia enchanted him with the ability to send letters and the time that he read his first book. Twilight had pushed him to read since the day her was born and it payed off eventually. Twilight eventually reached the end of the book. She began to cry, Fluttershy may have been right, but Twilight still wanted Spike back more than anything in the world. The teary-eyed mare looked around the house. Spike's bed, which was now empty, Owloysius, who now had the ability to magically deliver letters to and from the Princess Celestia, Twilight's dresser, on which rested a glass box containing fragments of Spike's egg. As hard as Twilight had tried to clear her mind for the past few days, Spikes memory seemed to be haunting her everywhere she went. She thought she had found salvation when she talked to Fluttershy, but it wasn't enough. In a blind fit of rage, Twilight levitated Spike's bed and threw it against a wall. The basket sank on one side and the blanket and pillow fell out of it. As well as something else. It was a scroll. The scroll didn't bear a ribbon or a wax seal, so it wasn't from Twilight's shelves or from the Princess. Twilight grabbed the scroll with her magic and opened it. The scroll was a note. Written in the handwriting of none other than, Spike. Twilight read the note.
Dear Twilight,
If you are reading this it means that you've found it from under my pillow, as well as me. As you already know, I'm ill. What you didn't know however was that I had always had a strong feeling that this would be my last day alive. I can feel my life slipping away from me, but I at least have enough energy to write you this note and hide it under my pillow. I know that it was devastating when you saw me like this, but I must say that I believe that my time has come. Despite only ten pony years, I feel that I have fulfilled my journey down the road of life. I know that you are on an errand right now, so you won't be with me, but somehow, that's how I feel it should be. While you are on your errand you will at least have some last feelings of bliss until you come home. I beg of you to not feel guilty about this in anyway. You have already done enough for me.
I also want to tell you how lucky I feel to have had a friend like you. You have taken care of me since I was first born and I am very grateful. You where always there for me and you always loved me no matter what the circumstances. Thank you for everything.
Yours truly,
Spike.
Twilight put the letter down, astounded at what she just read and angry at herself for not finding this sooner. Suddenly, a feeling of bliss flew through her. She almost felt like she could be happy again. She realized what was troubling her the most. It was the feeling of guilt. But, Spike had forgiven her, and she felt so happy. Twilight hugged the note tight in her forelegs.
"Oh, Spike," she said looking down at the note, "I love you so much."
