Links in a Chain

Chapters

Beneath the Cherry Tree
The Party Is Dead
Silence In the Library
Shattered Diamonds
Poisoned Apples
Broken Rainbows
Epilogue: The Morning Always Comes

Beneath the Cherry Tree

Fluttershy's body lay among the roots of a cherry tree, the soft petals of the cherry blossoms partially obscuring the buttery yellow pegasus. Her animal friends surrounded her, and had woven wildflowers in her hair or laid them around her. Fluttershy's blue eyes were closed, and her feathered wings were folded against her sides, her legs positioned like she could be sleeping. Angel, her pet rabbit,was curled up in her long, floaty tail, keeping vigil.

It was Rainbow Dash who found her first. The colourful pegasus had shared the concerns of all of Fluttershy's friends after Fluttershy had not been seen for two days, and had zoomed ahead of the other four who were travelling to Fluttershy's cottage.
Rainbow had searched the house and garden, before spotting Fluttershy lying beneath the tree. At first, Rainbow tried to wake her friend, before realising that Fluttershy was unnaturally cold, and was not breathing. Rainbow Dash crouched before the body of her friend and cried true tears for the first time in her life.

Shortly, the other four had arrived and began to call for Rainbow and Fluttershy. Applejack spotted Rainbow crouched in the garden and ran over, only to sink to her knees in disbelief.

Pinkie's hair turned straight, she and Rarity burst into tears, but Twilight turned pale and murmured, "Oh, no..." before screaming, "No, NO!" and collapsing beside Fluttershy's body.
The five crouched next to the body of the sixth until the moon rose.
Finally Twilight got to her feet. "What... what happened?" she whispered.
"She was just...lying here..." croaked Rainbow, hoarse from hours of crying.

"Shhh, sugarcube, it's alright." said Applejack, trying to comfort Pinkie, who despite having cried enough tears to fill a few swimming pools was still sobbing her heart out. Rarity dabbed at her eyes with an embroidered handkerchief, make-up streaked down her face from her tears.

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The autopsy showed that Fluttershy had perished of a terminal, underlying medical condition which affected one in 70,000 pegasi. The rare condition would slowly creep up on a pony, not showing or being felt until the last day or so of life. Fluttershy had obviously felt the hooves of death reaching for her, and so had made her preparations then gone outside to breathe her last surrounded by her animal friends and the sweet smell of the cherry blossoms.

Rainbow Dash, taking one last look around Fluttershy's home, which had been left to her animals, found a letter addressed to herself, the other four and Spike propped up on Fluttershy's pillow. Rainbow snatched up the letter and zoomed back to town rounding up the girls before opening the envelope. In Fluttershy's neat, hoofwritten scrawl, it read:

*************************************************************

Dear friends,

I feel my time is short. I am writing this letter to tell you how happy I am to have called you my friends. A pony never had six such brilliant friends as you. Please don't be too sad for me, I'm in a better place now. I owe so much to you all, and I want you to know that I have achieved all I ever wanted. Though I won't be there to see it, I hope you all achieve what you want in life.

Rainbow, I wish I could have lived to see you join the Wonderbolts. But if when you do get there, make sure you stay in touch with our friends. For now, pay a little more attention to Scootaloo, maybe even teach her to fly- she really looks up to you. Do you remember when we all created Mare-Do-Well to teach you a lesson about humility? Be a hero like her, for Scootaloo to believe in.

Rarity, I hope you'll get to Canterlot one day, and be the best designer Equestria has ever seen. In my opinion, you've already reached that level. If it's okay, I'd like to be buried in the dress you made me for the Grand Galloping Gala.

Applejack, I know I can rely on you to keep an eye on my animal friends, especially Angel. I fear he will feel my loss most dreadfully, and I'd appreciate it if you could make sure he isn't starving himself. I've always admired the way you were always there when I needed you, and I wish I could have been more like you.

Twilight, I've grown to enjoy your company and your constant assertions that I can be better, rise higher, that I could make a difference. I hope that I have made a difference to you, and to Equestria, by wielding my Element. I don't know what will happen to the Elements now, but I'll there with you whenever you need to use them.

Spike, you're the most extraordinary dragon I've ever met. I know you'll keep shining as Twilight's best ever assistant.

And Pinkie Pie, please don't let my passing stop you smiling.

I must fervently thank you all for being my friends, and helping me be a better pony. I know I'll see you again, but hopefully not for many years.

Until we meet again,
Fluttershy.

Fluttershy was buried, wearing her Gala dress, in the Ponyville cemetery. Applejack volunteered to be a pallbearer, and Rainbow and Twilight read eulogies.

Rainbow spoke about how she'd known Fluttershy since they were both fillies, and gave tribute to her uncanny acts of bravery; driving out the snoring dragon, joining in the tornado with the other pegasi, and ridding Equestria of scourges such as Nightmare Moon and Queen Chrysalis with her Element, Kindness.
"I've never known any pony anything like her." finished Rainbow, "and I don't think I ever will. Equestria has lost a truly remarkable mare."

There was a wail from the graveside as Pinkie turned the waterworks on, and Rainbow trotted to join her friends as Twilight took the podium.

Twilight praised Fluttershy for her personality instead of her actions, and then spoke about how they should not be harsh to judge her for not telling anypony of her illness; to face Death alone, to stare into its eyes and go fearlessly into its embrace, took more courage than any of Fluttershy's other conquests. Twilight finished with words of moving on, and stated, "Though it may seem dark now, the morning always comes."

Author's Note

I have made myself feel sad.

Strangely, I wrote this story back to front. So this was the last chapter I wrote.

I wanted to see how I could handle tragedy. I think this went okay, but please give your opinions!

The Party Is Dead

Pinkie Pie walked back to Sugarcube Corner after Fluttershy's funeral, with no miniscule amount of her usual bounce and cheer left. Her mane and tail hung straight instead of taking on their usual fluffy style, and no laughter glittered in her eyes, no smile was plastered on her lips.

Fluttershy's death had crushed Pinkie's spirit. Despite Fluttershy's plea in her letter that Pinkie not let bereavement stop her smiling, Pinkie just couldn't force her face into even a small smile, let alone the toothy grin which was more often than not spread over her features. Pinkie trotted back into the kitchen at Sugarcube Corner and began to pour sugar into a mixing bowl on the side. After emptying the full kilo of sugar into the bag, Pinkie followed it with a whole bottle of vanilla extract, a full 5 kilograms of flour, and was about to empty a whole pot of baking soda into the mix when Mr and Mrs Cake trotted in. As Mrs Cake went upstairs to check on the twins, Mr Cake cast a quick glance at the contents of the bowl and said tentatively,
"Pinkie?"

Pinkie mutely turned to look at him.
"Pinkie, I think you added too much flour... and sugar... and vanilla."
Pinkie shrugged and dumped the baking soda into the bowl before reaching for a bowl of chocolate chips to her right. Mr Cake blocked her hoof firmly.
"Pinkie, you're obviously too distracted to work today, why don't you take a few days off?"

Pinkie shook her head, pushing his hoof out of the way to grab the bowl, emptying the chocolate chips into the bowl before cracking twelve eggs one by one, ignoring the bits of shell which fell into the bowl. Mr Cake watched her pile ingredients into the bowl before going to throw the bags, pots and tubs away.

He came back into the kitchen just as Pinkie attacked the pile of ingredients with an electric mixer on full power. "NO!" shrieked Mr Cake, but too late; flour, icing sugar and baking soda flew everywhere, followed by the eggs; and then there was a bang and some smoke as the whisk became jammed, a large, very solid block of butter wedged firmly in the spinning whisks.

Mr Cake ordered Pinkie to take a few weeks off, and she walked through town feeling very miserable. She went home, curled up and fell asleep. For two weeks she moved around in a daze, eating and sleeping when the need took her. Other than that, she just lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling, something her old self could not have done for more than 10 seconds, but now she was content- well, not content, for she felt very little these days- but she had no aversion to lying there for hours on end.

On one of Pinkie's rare trips into town for food, Twilight saw Pinkie walking past from the library window, and called to her. "Pinkie!"
Pinkie trained her blue gaze on the lavender unicorn. "What do you want, Twilight?"
Twilight, though slightly unnerved by Pinkie's tone and appearance, beckoned the pink pony. "Come in!"

Pinkie pushed the door open and Pinkie saw that Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were there too. Her heart took another hit from Fluttershy's absence, and she lowered her head.

Applejack patted Pinkie's back. "Now, sugarcube, we're all sad 'bout Fluttershy, but you cain't let the fact she ain't 'ere no more drag you down."

Rarity nodded. "You can't walk around constantly grieving. That's not what dear Fluttershy would have wanted, is it?"

Twilight looked into Pinkie's eyes. "Don't you remember what Fluttershy wrote in her letter? She didn't want you to-"
"I KNOW!" screeched Pinkie. "She didn't want me to stop smiling! But friends- you four, and Fluttershy- are the most important things in my life, so I can't be happy when one of them isn't here!"

Rainbow sighed in exasperation. "Pinkie, Fluttershy's gone, okay? She's dead, and there's nothing we can do to bring her- mfff!"
Applejack had shoved a hoof in Rainbow's mouth, but the damage had already been done.
"NO!" screamed Pinkie; her irises shrunk to a miniscule size and a savage snarl shaped her features; she looked quite mad. "SHE'S NOT GONE! She can't be dead... not when she's... right here...". Pinkie placed a pink hoof over her heart. "But I can see you have all just forgotten her. 'The second she's in the ground, let's all pretend SHE NEVER EXISTED.'?!" Pinkie's voice rose until it reached fever pitch in her fury.

Tears glistened in Twilight's lilac eyes. "Pinkie, you know we'd never-"
Pinkie turned on Twilight, her eyes wide. With an insane giggle, she hissed, "Or maybe you cast a spell to make them forget! Yes, the oh-so-clever Element of Magic could have done-"

Rainbow threw herself in front of Pinkie. "You're crazy! We haven't forgotten Fluttershy, and we never will!"
Pinkie stared at the blue pegasus for a few seconds, suddenly shuddered, then her eyes went back to normal, her expression turned to horrified confusion, and then her eyes rolled up in her head and she fainted.

Pinkie woke up lying on Twilight's bed, her four friends standing over her with worried expressions. The memories of what she had done came rushing back to Pinkie and she began to cry harsh, broken tears.

"Now, now, darling, it's okay."
"Yeah, Pinkie, you didn't mean it."
"Ah understand why ya did it; ah was angry at first."
Twilight gazed sadly at Pinkie. "We'd never forget Fluttershy, Pinkie."

Pinkie sat up and got off the bed. For a moment she was dizzy, and remembered that she hadn't eaten since the day before. But strangely, she didn't feel at all hungry. Pinkie began to trot towards the stairs.
"Pinkie, where are you going?" said Twilight.

"Home." said Pinkie vaguely. "For... sleep. Yeah, sleep."
The other four exchanged glances, and then Twilight said, "Okay, then. Remember, we're all here if you want to talk to us."

Pinkie nodded in a glazed sort of way, before trotting home. Once there, she went to her bedroom and fell asleep.

She woke to darkness outside. Her stomach growled, and she hefted herself up off the bed, descending to the kitchen. But though she stared at the cookie she got out of her cupboard, she just couldn't work up the appetite to eat a single bite. She climbed back up to bed.

In the morning, she woke up to pain in her stomach. She dragged herself out of bed, using almost every scrap of energy she had. Rising onto her hooves, she swayed as she stared at herself in the mirror. Her body, so used to being constantly crammed with sugary treats, was suffering even from just two days of only water. Her ribs showed beneath her pink coat, her cheeks were concave, her legs skinny and face gaunt. Yet still she was not hungry. Pinkie took one step and her legs gave way. Unable to get back on her hooves, she sunk into unconsciousness.

She woke once more to horrible pain and skeletal limbs, before she passed graciously into death.

Author's Note

I have used the electric whisk like that before, and that is ACTUALLY what happened.

Silence In the Library

Twilight found Pinkie's pathetic form collapsed on her bedroom floor. She could tell by the glazed eyes that the pink earth pony was dead. Her skeletal body showed that she had perished from starvation, a fate Twilight could never have imagined for the pony with the seemingly bottomless stomach.

Pinkie was buried in her Gala dress, like Fluttershy, but her body had to be padded out to get the dress to fit properly. Rarity, despite her misery and slight revulsion at being near her friend's corpse, was encouraged by Twilight to re-fluff Pinkie's mane and tail, so that when she was buried beside Fluttershy, she looked almost like the Pinkie Pie they had all known and loved, but without the lively spark of laughter in her eyes.

Twilight made arrangements to travel to Canterlot straight after the funeral; she wanted to talk to Celestia about how the Elements would work without two of their bearers. She took the Elements with her, noticing as she packed them up that the butterfly crystal and balloon crystal on Fluttershy and Pinkie's Elements had grown grey and dull.

Later that day a royal coach arrived to take her to Canterlot; waved off by her three remaining friends she was carried towards the huge city.

Twilight entered the throne room to see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in serious conversation. Celestia suggested something, but Luna shook her head sadly. Celestia turned towards Twilight as Luna stalked away.
"Hello, Twilight Sparkle." said Celestia regally. "I sense there is something worrying you."
"Yes, Princess. My friend Pinkie Pie died two days ago."
"I heard." Celestia looked sad. "You're here to ask if the Elements will still work."

Twilight nodded, taking the six Elements out of her bag. "Kindness and Laughter seem to have faded."
Celestia stood studying the Elements for a long minute. "I don't think they have. It appears the auras of Kindness and Laughter have simply divided into the other four Elements. You should still be able to use them- not to full effect, but enough to defeat any foe you might face."

"Thank you, Princess. But I had something else to ask- you see, even though there have only been two deaths, I can't help thinking they're linked."
Celestia blinked. "Linked in what way?"
"To the Elements. Like... the Element bearers are deeply linked.

Celestia raised her gaze to Twilight's sharply. "Do you think there will be another death within the Elements?"
"I think there will be four more. I can't help feeling that me, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack might end up dead too."

Celestia's expression became solemn. "If this is truly what you believe, you must make sure you and the other Elements take extra care. I do not wish to lose you, my faithful student."
Twilight nodded, packing the Elements back into her bags and left the throne room, unaware of the troubled look on Celestia's features.

When she arrived back in Ponyville after staying the night in Canterlot, Twilight threw herself into researching the Elements, investigating her suspicions of some sort of deep bond between the bearers. She spent all day scanning book after book after book, before taking a pile of books up to bed with her, leaving the candle on her desk lit and the (blank) piece of parchment for any useful information lying next to it.

Twilight read through every book she brought up, yawning, finding nothing, but then, in the last book, she found something. With the book held in her magic, she raced towards the stairs, only to skid to a halt as hungry flames leaped at her. The entire library was ablaze.

The candle Twilight had left on her desk had slowly melted, molten wax oozing out of the candle holder onto the desk and parchment. The fire had followed the wax, igniting the parchment and the desk. The fire had very quickly engulfed the room, thousands of books crackling merrily as their covers and pages burned.

Twilight coughed in the smoke, backing into her room as the fire advanced. Twilight pulled a sleeping Spike onto her back then, the book still grasped in her magic, looked for an escape route. She spotted the window and dashed towards it, then suddenly there was a splintering sound and she was falling...
The floor beneath her had collapsed, sending her plummeting into the heat of the fire on the lower floor.

Twilight crouched down, fire on every side, Spike still asleep on her back, blissfully unaware of the danger. Twilight could hear shouting outside, and suddenly Rainbow Dash smashed in through the window, flying around the leaping flames.
"TWILIGHT!" she yelled. "SPIKE!"

Twilight coughed, and wheezed, "Rainbow!"
But Rainbow Dash didn't hear her over the roar of the flames. Luckily, however, the pegasus scanned the floor and saw the purple unicorn. Rainbow hovered over Twilight, unsure what to do. Twilight, however, knew exactly what Rainbow should do.

"Take Spike!" she coughed, levitating the dragon into the air. Rainbow took him over her shoulder, but didn't move.
"What about you?" she called down.
"I'll be fine! Just get him out of here!"

Rainbow didn't look happy, but she flew back out of the window with Spike.
Twilight pulled the book close to her and was about to make a run for it through a gap in the flames when the whole ceiling collapsed. Burning rafters were everywhere, and Twilight could no longer see a way out.

With a desperate scream, she threw herself at the place where the gap had been, and felt a last moment of terror as orange tongues of flame rose to claim her.

Twilight's scorched body lay in the flames, the book lying where it had fallen when her magic had failed. Fire licked around it, and even as Twilight opened one eye and whimpered, it began to smoulder before bursting into flames.

Twilight's eye glazed over as her last breath shuddered through her body and her spirit fled.

Shattered Diamonds

As soon as she got back from Twilight's funeral, Rarity threw herself onto her bed and began to sob. Fluttershy, Pinkie and now Twilight; it seemed some mysterious force was doing away with the Elements one by one. That horrible thought swept over her like a wave, and she panicked. What if she was next? Or Rainbow Dash, or Applejack? The idea of losing either of her two remaining 'inner circle' friends was too hideous to contemplate.

"Now, now, Rarity." she calmed herself. "That's just the grief and superstition talking. You must learn to move on; it's what Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy would have wanted."

A last shaking sob sounded in her throat before the white unicorn pulled herself off the bed. A new thought came to her and she gasped. "Why, I have been so selfish! Poor Spikey Wikey has known Twilight all his life; losing her now must have crushed him. And since the library burned, he doesn't even have a home! I must go and see him at once!"

Rarity replaced her make-up before trotting over to the hospital, where Spike was being treated for minor burns. She met Spike just as he left the hospital, a travelling haversack slung over his scaly shoulder.
"Oh, hello, Rarity." muttered Spike. "What are you doing here?"
Rarity was horrified by his emotionless tone. "Spike, are you alright?"

Spike looked up into her sapphire eyes, and a spark of anger flickered in the depths of his emerald gaze. "Do I look like I'm alright?" His voice cracked. "I just lost the one stable pony in my life, the only one who's always been there for me! I... I can't..."
Rarity wrapped a comforting hoof around him as the anger in his eyes dissipated and died to be replaced with sparkling, salty tears.
"Spike, I'm here for you, and so are Applejack and Rainbow Dash."
"But Twilight... she was special." whimpered Spike. "We learned so much from each other. I enjoyed watching her get better at magic, and she watched me grow up. But now she's gone."

"Spike, I've lost three of my friends, but I know they would want me to carry on with my life, not curl up and wallow in my own misery. I also know Twilight would want the same for you."
Spike stood up. "I know. That's why I've decided to move on. I'm leaving Ponyville, and I'm never coming back."

Rarity was appalled. "But Spike, where would you go?"
The dragon shrugged. "Wherever, just away from everything I remember. Remembering Twilight, and Pinkie, and Fluttershy, is too painful for me to bear."

"Spike, memories of those we've lost are painful at first, but when you think about the fact that you'd be so much worse off if they had never lived to create those memories, you realise that remembering them is a happy experience. You shouldn't be sad that they've died, you should be happy that they lived."

Spike turned to look at her. "But I haven't got anywhere to live. The library is a pile of ash, nothing's left."

"Spike, I'm certain I can have some accommodation set up for you."
"But..."
"No buts.You can come and live at the boutique until your accommodation is finished. I will not have you sleeping rough."
"But..."
"What did I just say about no buts? I insist."
Spike gave up and trailed in Rarity's wake as she trotted back to the boutique, muttering to himself.

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Over the next few days Spike remembered why he had a crush on Rarity. She was beautiful, clever and dignified. Rarity, unaware of his rekindled love, continued to design, and then criticise, new fashion items.

But one day, a few weeks after Twilight's funeral, Rarity had nothing to do, having finished an order ahead of time. So she, Sweetie Belle, who invited Applebloom and Scootaloo, and Spike got on the train and went to visit the coast. While the Crusaders played in the surf, Rarity, loath to wreck her mane with salt water, went for a walk along the cliffs. Spike accompanied her, and the two walked along the cliff edge, the wind whistling around them.

As the cliffs rose higher, Spike struggled to stay on his feet as the wind grew stronger. Rarity turned, and, seeing him struggling, started to walk back to him.

Just then, the wind picked up considerably, sweeping Spike to the edge of the cliff. It was his claws which saved him. He dug them into the soil on top of the cliff, and pulled himself back onto the cliff top.
It was then he noticed that he could not see Rarity. He panicked. Had she been swept over the edge? As the wind died, he called her name, and immediately got a reply.

He ran to the edge of the cliff to see her standing on a narrow ledge a few feet below him. Even as he watched, some of the ledge crumbled away, falling into the sea many metres below. Rarity looked up at him, her blue eyes full of fear.
Spike stretched a claw out to her, and she stood on her hind legs trying to reach it.

He leaned forwards as far as he could, his back claws firmly embedded in the soil, and finally managed to clasp her hoof in his claw. He pulled, and she climbed, the ledge crumbling away beneath her, until he held both her front hooves, kneeling on the cliff edge, and her back legs and body hung in space. Lifting her eyes while still scrabbling at the cliff face with her back hooves, Rarity saw how tired Spike was, and felt his claws slip slightly. She knew then that this was it; that the curse which had been killing all the Elements had come to claim Generosity.

Getting Spike to understand that would be much harder than it had been admitting it to herself. As he struggled, she kept her gaze on his face. Eventually, exhausted, he stopped trying to pull her up and returned her gaze. In that gaze, they expressed more emotion than any words they could ever say.

Rarity, with one last effort, stretched forwards to kiss him. For a few seconds they shared their first and last kiss, salty tears running over both of their faces, before Rarity broke away, gently whispered, "I'm sorry," and kicked her back hooves into the cliff face, at the same time pulling her front hooves free of his claws. Gracefully, her face calm, and without uttering a single sound, she fell backwards into oblivion.

Spike screamed, throwing himself forwards to look over the edge in case she had somehow landed on another ledge. But all he saw was the waves breaking on the cliffs, hundreds of metres below.

Rarity was gone.

Author's Note

Writing this chapter's ending with a musical accompaniment of We Are The Fallen's 'Sleep Well My Angel' actually did make me tear up a bit.

I support Sparity, because I think it's cute.

Poisoned Apples

It was with great sorrow that Applejack walked away from Rarity's graveside. Rarity's body had been retrieved by the coastguard, and Rarity had been dressed up in her Gala dress, as Fluttershy, Pinkie and Twilight had been, and then laid to rest beside the other three, with an expression of calm peace on her face. Spike and Sweetie Belle were understandably devastated, and Spike had decided to stay in Ponyville to look after Sweetie, knowing it was what Rarity would have wanted.

Applebloom had been understandably traumatised by Rarity's death, and was feeling sad for Sweetie Belle. Now she followed her sister towards home, worry playing on her mind.

Applejack had to smile at the memories of how she and Rarity had clashed in the early days of their friendship, but the smile soon faded. The Elements were all but gone; only Honesty and Loyalty remained. She had realised that the Elements were dying one after the other, and vowed to herself that she'd fight to live, unlike the quiet way Fluttershy, Pinkie, Twilight and Rarity had allowed death to take them. If she was going, she was going down fighting.

Applejack trotted through town towards Sweet Apple Acres, Applebloom trailing after. Applejack had cried herself out a long time ago, and no more tears would come even if she wanted them to.
When she got back to the farm, Applejack cantered out to the west orchard, where Big Macintosh was harvesting their crop of Red Delicious. Applejack gave her brother a look, and then began to kick the trees so hard she left hoofprints in the bark. Big Mac blinked respectfully at her before pulling his cartful of apples back towards the barn.

For several days the harvest went on, until every tree in the western field was bare of fruit. As Applejack rested in the barn, Applebloom came in. "Applejack?"
"What is it, Applebloom?"
"Can ah talk to you?" asked Applebloom
"Sure y'can, little sis. Ya know ya can talk to me about anythin'.
"Well... I'm worried about ya, Applejack. So's Big Mac. And even Granny Smith."
Applejack smiled. "Y'all don't need ta worry 'bout me. Ah'm a tough 'un. Why would y'all be worried?"

"Well, it's jus' that all the Elements have been dyin'... and ya're an Element. I don't wanna lose ya, Applejack."
Applejack chuckled and ruffled Applebloom's mane. "Don't worry, sis. Ah ain't going nowhere."
Applebloom smiled at her sister. "Yeah, ya are a tough pony. Ah just wanted to tell ya."

Applebloom skipped out of the barn, almost bumping into Big Mac as he trotted in. Big Mac watched Applebloom until she was out of sight, then turned to Applejack, who was lounging on a hay bale with a stalk of hay in her teeth. "Applejack."
"Big Mac?"
"Applejack, y'all are scared. I can see it in ya face."
Applejack spat the hay stem out. "Hayseeds! Ah ain't scared of nothin'."
"Y'all are scared of dyin'. Or of Rainbow Dash dyin'.
Applejack opened her mouth to argue, but Big Mac cut her off.
"Don't argue wit me, Applejack. Jus'... be careful, 'K? We can't afford ta lose ya."

The red stallion walked back out of the barn, leaving Applejack to sit and dwell on his words.
"Ah'll be fine, and so'll Rainbow. There's nowhere I can fall around here, I certainly ain't gonna starve, I'm not sick. There's fire, o'course, but everypony is so watchful fer it now that it just ain't gonna happen." Applejack laid back again and crunched on an apple.

A week later, the Cox apple harvest began. Applejack, Big Mac and even Applebloom were out working the fields 18 hours a day, trying to harvest their biggest orchard before the fruit was past its best. Big Mac did little of the actual applebucking, as he had to drag carts full of apples back to the barn. By the time he got back from one load, there was another to take back.

When there was only one more field to harvest, Applejack let Applebloom have a day off. Sweetie Belle had become a recluse, and with Applebloom working the fields Scootaloo had been left alone for a week. Applebloom headed into town with her pegasus friend while Applejack and Big Mac continued working.

Big Mac left with a cart of apples while Applejack harvested the apples from the last few trees. When she was done, she sprawled beneath a tree and pulled her hat down over her face. She was just drifting off when she heard something hiss nearby. Flipping her hat back onto her head, she scanned the ground and spotted the unwelcome, scaly, definingly-patterned back of an adder.

Applejack knew she had to get rid of it; she couldn't risk it biting Applebloom or Big Mac. She got to her hooves and walked towards it, slowly. The adder's eyes swivelled to glare at her, but it didn't move. With careful steps, Applejack got closer, forming a plan in her mind.

She had to disable the head, that was clear. If she planted one hoof on its neck, she could crush its head with the other hoof, a quick if not painless death for the snake. But even as she stepped forward, the adder gave a menacing hiss and raised its head, a clear warning. But regardless, Applejack had to get this dangerous snake out of Sweet Apple Acres. If only Fluttershy were here, she thought fleetingly.

Applejack moved back a few steps. The hissing lowered in volume, then the head sunk back down, but the yellow reptilian eyes were still fixed on Applejack.

Applejack suddenly dashed forwards, leaping to land her hooves on the adder's head and neck. But the snake's head suddenly blurred as it lunged, and she ended up with one front hoof on the adder's body and the other one on the ground.
Before she could react to this twist in her plan, the adder turned its head and struck, its fangs sinking into her front leg and dispelling its poison into her blood.

Applejack gave a whinny of shock and pain, stumbling backwards a few steps as the adder, now reasonably defenseless without its poison, began to slide away. Applejack shook her head, which seemed slightly fuzzy suddenly, and sprang again for the snake, one hoof precisely on the back of its skull. The other front hoof- the bitten one- pounded down forcefully on the adder's head once, twice, three times.

The adder's body thrashed for a minute in its death throes, then grew still. Applejack picked up the body and slung it away, then began to limp back towards the farmhouse.

Big Mac, returning with his empty cart, found Applejack collapsed on the track. His heart in his mouth, he checked her vital signs, and to his relief she was breathing, her heart beating a faint rhythm against her chest. As he hefted his sister's limp form onto the cart, he saw the snakebite on her foreleg.
He had never pulled the cart so fast.

Back at the house, Big Mac laid Applejack on her bed, before galloping into town to find the doctor.

Big Mac came back with the doctor to see Granny Smith sponging Applejack's forehead while Applebloom sat beside her prone sister, tears in her eyes.

The doctor examined the snakebite. "An adder." he sighed; he hated giving bad news. "It's an adder bite. An adder bite is fatal 85% of the time, and judging by the fact that she's unconscious, I'd say she won't last the night."
Applebloom broke down, sobbing, while Big Mac pounded his hoof on the floorboards. "Surely there's somethin' we can do?"

The doctor fixed him with a gaze. "You can hope that she's in the 15% that survives."
The doctor departed, with his condolences. Applebloom climbed on the bed with her sister. "Ah'm sleeping here t'night, just in case she wakes up before... before..."Applebloom sniffed.

"Now, dearie, don't talk like that!" wheezed Granny Smith. "Your sister's a real fighter; she'll pull through."
"Eeyup." said Big Mac, though his common sense told him otherwise.

"Wha..." came a croaky voice.
Applebloom jumped. "Applejack!"

Applejack's green eyes opened and blearily tried to focus on her sister. "Ooohhh, heyyy thurr Appleblooooom..." she slurred.
Applebloom smiled through her tears. "She can talk! She'll be alright! You were right, Granny Smith!"
"Darn tootin' I was!" cried Granny Smith.
"Hold it." said Big Mac, pointing a hoof at Applejack. "She's gone again."
Applejack's eyes had closed again. Applebloom nudged her, but she didn't move.

For most of the evening, Applejack drifted in and out of conciousness. Big Mac, leaving his sister's side for a little while, managed to track down Rainbow Dash and tell her what had happened. Rainbow was gone in a flash of colours, and was sitting by Applejack's sickbed when he got back to the house.

But to all who saw her, Applejack was clearly getting weaker, and though they tried to deny it, inside they could see her fading. Applebloom stayed hunched on the bed beside her sister for hours. As the sun set, Granny Smith tried to pull her away, but Applebloom wouldn't go, protesting, "What if she wakes up and I'm not here?"

Rainbow Dash stayed too, and even as night set in, the Apples didn't have the heart to ask her to leave.

Applejack woke for the last time late at night. She knew what was going on from snatches of conversation she had picked up through the veil of unconsciousness, and grinned as she thought, Well, if I'm dying tonight, at least I've gone fighting like I vowed I would. She twitched a bit, and immediately Applebloom sat up.
"Applejack, are you awake?"
"Eeyup." said Applejack weakly.

Rainbow stood beside her, a few tears trickling down her face. "Applejack, I thought I'd lost you."
Applejack didn't say anything, just reached out and patted Rainbow's hoof with her own.
Applebloom whispered, "Applejack?"
Applejack coughed. "What... what is it, little sis?
"Are you going to die?"

Applejack thought for a few seconds, then went with the hurtful, but truthful answer. "Ah think ah might, Applebloom."
Applebloom buried her face in Applejack's mane and Applejack felt tears on her neck. "Ah just... cain't lose you, big sis! I jus' cain't!" Applebloom choked.

As Applebloom continued to sob, Applejack looked up at Rainbow. "Stay with me fer the end, won't you, Rainbow?"
Rainbow cracked a smile through her tears. "Of course I'll stay with you. That's why they call me Loyalty."

"Ah, don't you cry too. Ah'm the one who's dyin."
Rainbow gave a harsh laugh. "Honesty really suits you, Applejack."

An hour later, as the three Apple family members, Big Mac with tears running down his face and Granny Smith and Applebloom bawling, and Rainbow Dash, one blue hoof in Applejack's orange one, watched, Applejack slipped away quietly, having fought her all.

Broken Rainbows

Rainbow Dash skimmed over Sweet Apple Acres, her eyes welling up at the thought of all she had lost. She was the last of the Elements of Harmony, all of the others had died, one after the other. She thought of the five gravestones in the Ponyville cemetery, markers of where her five friends lay.

Big Macintosh glanced up from his work as the brightly-coloured pegasus flew over, then averted his eyes. The sight of Applejack's friend was too painful for him to bear.

Rainbow continued, her wings flapping in a deadbeat. She felt so miserable that she couldn't even contemplate performing any stunts. Wheeling around, she decided to return to Cloudsdale and sleep. Things, she mused, were always a little brighter after sleep.

However, as she flew over Ponyville, she heard a cry from below.
"Rainbow Dash! Hey, Rainbow Dash!"
Rainbow looked down and spotted Scootaloo running along below her. Rainbow sighed, but swooped down to land beside the orange filly.

"I'm really sorry about Applejack and the others." said Scootaloo. "It must be awful losing your friends like that."
Rainbow almost poured her heart out to the young pegasus, but managed to maintain a brave face.

"Speaking of which, where are your friends, squirt?"
"Oh." said Scootaloo dejectedly. "Sweetie Belle's really cut up about Rarity- she's been crying over every scrap of fabric with Rarity's perfume on it, and she hasn't left the boutique since the funeral. Applebloom... well, the wound's still so fresh. I wouldn't be surprised if she's sobbing her heart out over a tree with Applejack's hoofprints on it." (Which, incidentally, is exactly what Applebloom was doing at that precise moment.)

"Ah, it's okay, squirt. Rarity and Applejack were their family, ya know? They should be upset." Rainbow pulled her face into a smile, and remembering Fluttershy's letter, said, "Hey, wouldn't suppose you fancy a few flying lessons with me, huh?"
Scootaloo jumped a few feet in the air. "Would I!"
Though her heart was still heavy, Rainbow had to smile at Scootaloo's raw enthusiasm.

*****************************************************************************
"Here we are." Rainbow Dash landed neatly in a wide open field on the outskirts of Ponyville.
Scootaloo jumped off Rainbow's back. "But there's nothing here."
"Precisely. When you're learning to fly, you have to fly close to the ground, so you don't fall too far if something goes wrong. Now, I'm going to give you some momentum, and then we'll see if you can glide."

Rainbow carefully helped Scootaloo stretch her wings in preparation, and then showed Scootaloo the correct wing position for gliding.

Rainbow took off, circled around and then scooped up the filly with her front hooves. She flew a few feet above ground, then flew in a straight line, letting go of Scootaloo as she went. The filly extended her small wings and as the forward momentum carried her on, she yelled, "I'm flying, I'm flying!"
After a few seconds however, the momentum started to peter out, and Scootaloo buzzed her wings in an attempt to regain it, but to no avail- she fell with a thud to the ground. Spitting out a mouthful of dirt, she struggled to her feet just as Rainbow Dash scooped her up again for another try.

After a few days Scootaloo mastered gliding and Rainbow began to train Scootaloo as she had trained the pegasi on Tornado Day in order to strengthen their wings. Rainbow teared up at the rush of Fluttershy memories the training brought, but kept the flow hidden from her young trainee.
When Scootaloo's wings were strong enough, Rainbow showed Scootaloo how to move her wings for flight. Scootaloo's hummingbird-like buzzing was nowhere near sufficient enough to hold her body weight, and could not be kept up for long.
Instead, Rainbow displayed the ellipse motions the wing tips needed to make, which, though they seemed alien at first, would soon come naturally.

Training Scootaloo took Rainbow's mind away from her friends for a few weeks, but when the filly could finally fly independently, Rainbow no longer needed to coach her and fell back into her misery. So it was that the day Scootaloo gained her long-sought cutie mark, she also lost her idol and mentor.

It was a stormy day when Scootaloo flew up to join Rainbow Dash on a rain cloud high above the ground.
"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo cried. "I bet I can beat you in a race to the other side of Ponyville!"

Deep in Rainbow Dash's crushed spirit, a spark of competition flared into life. "You're on, squirt."
Rainbow and Scootaloo stood on the cloud, wings raised, waiting. A flash of lightning in the distance, and the race began.
Rainbow quickly took the lead, but then was surprised as Scootaloo's lighter frame shot past her on an updraft.
"See you at the finish line!" yelled Scootaloo, and then Rainbow saw the danger.

Rainbow zoomed forward and shoved Scootaloo aside. Scootaloo's cry of indignation was lost in the consequent crackle of lightening, and Rainbow blacked out.

A few seconds later, she opened her eyes. She was falling, but though she tried to stretch out her wings one would not respond, and she fell through the rain, her mane and tail leaving her trademark faint rainbow. She saw a flash of orange, heard Scootaloo call her name, saw the desperate face of the orange filly as she tried to catch up to her falling hero, there was a boom- then a moment of horrible pain, and then - nothing.

Rainbow Dash eventually woke, and saw five faces she had thought not to see again. Her friends and fellow Elements were smiling at her.
"Guys!" Rainbow gasped. "You're alive? But..."
Twilight was shaking her head ruefully. "No, Rainbow. I'm sorry, we are indeed dead."
"Then..." Rainbow swallowed. "I'm dead too?"
Rarity nodded. "But it had to happen, darling. After Fluttershy died, the Elements broke. A new six had to take them up, and for that to happen, the Elements had to break their bonds with us."
"But... that isn't fair!" burst out Rainbow. "We had other things to live for! Applejack, Rarity, your families, especially your little sisters, they're lost without you! And I taught Scootaloo how to fly... then I fell, struck by lightning when I pushed her out of the way."
Applejack looked sad. "I know the Apples'll miss me, but ah had another calling. Applebloom... well, she'll recover. We're hardy, we Apples."
Rarity agreed. "Sweetie Belle will miss me, but she'll learn to move on."
"Dashie, we know about Scootaloo, we were watching!" chimed Pinkie.
"Speaking of Scootaloo, she got her cutie mark trying to save you." said Twilight.
"Really? What is it?" said Rainbow, suddenly feeling proud of her trainee.
"A lightning bolt."

Author's Note

Last one. The next chapter is the epilogue.

Epilogue: The Morning Always Comes

Rainbow Dash's body was buried beside those of her friends, so that six gravestones stood side by side. But the six were never forgotten, and there were many tributes left on the graves.

Spike accompanied Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom to the graves one morning in springtime, and they planted a bush or sapling on each grave.

Applejack's grave naturally bore an apple sapling, while Rarity's had a white rose bush. Twilight's grave was adorned with a hawthorn sapling, Rainbow Dash's featured a colourful red stapelia bush, and Pinkie's had a plant none of them recognised; Scootaloo had seen it as she flew over the Everfree and had taken a cutting of the bush, which had lovely, bright pink flowers.
Fluttershy's grave bore a simple cherry tree.

Scootaloo already had her cutie mark, a lightning bolt, white against her flank, after she had flown so fast in her fruitless attempt to save a falling Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo had blamed herself for Rainbow Dash's death, but found solace in cloudbusting and stunts. Once, when privately re-enacting her dive after Rainbow Dash, she managed to accidentally pull off a Sonic Rainboom, and she took this as a sign that her hero was watching over her and egging her on.

Applebloom had consoled herself by pretending, with a vivid imagination, that apple trees in the orchard were the snake which had killed Applejack, and with her talent for applebucking had found her cutie mark: a shiny apple with an apple blossom beside it. She still liked to paint and design, but she pushed this into a back seat as she focussed on becoming as good an applebucker as her big sister.

But it was not until a year later that Sweetie Belle finally found her cutie mark. There was to be a festival to remember the six original ponies of the Elements of Harmony, and with a lot of encouragement from her friends, she sung a song of her own creation before the whole town. Though she took fright and had to flee and hide halfway through the song, she gained a glittering microphone and musical note for her cutie mark.

Six ponies living in a town on the other side of Equestria had taken up the Elements, and though their names would go down in the history books, they would never go down in legend like those of Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Rainbow Dash would.

And whenever Spike or one of the others missed them, they would always remember Twilight's words at Fluttershy's funeral:
'Though it may seem dark now, the morning always comes.'

Author's Note

So that's the end. If you've stuck with this story, thank you.

Not the most original idea, but I wanted to see how I could handle tragedy.

Please give me your opinions!