//------------------------------//
// Together at Last 
// Story: Swing With a Friend 
// by Silver Moon 
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	It is execution day. I watch from my cell window as the sun chases the moon away. It is beautiful, but I find myself unable to enjoy this last sunrise. Silently, I turn from the window and walk to the bars separating my cage from hers. Maybe I should wake her; she might enjoy a final sunrise. She has always been better at appreciating beauty than I have. But she looks so peaceful that I cannot bring myself to rip her from her dreams. I long to hold her again, to wrap her in the safety of my wings, to tell that that it will all be OK, but she has asked me not to lie to her. The cold metal bars keep us from each other, just as equally cold and metallic chains trap my wings against my sides. Her wings have merely been clipped, but it was only a formality for her. She was never one to fly much, not like me. I pace back to the window and watch until the sun completely dominates the sky. They will be coming for us soon. They will come to take our lives away. They will try to take us from each other soon.
Soon, but not yet. We still have time.
I walk back to the edge of my cell and watch the sleeping yellow mare for another hoofful of seconds. I close my eyes and bow my head, hating myself for what I’m about to do. I don’t want to wake her, I don’t want to steal whatever hope or joy she finds in sleep, but better me than a guard and I think she would like us to spend this last morning together.
“Fluttershy?” I whisper. I don’t want to be loud because noise might call a guard and I will not let them take our last few moments away. “Fluttershy, wake up,” I whisper again. This time, my voice reaches her and starts to rouse her from her slumber. I watch as she struggles against the cruel grip of reality, hating what is to come. Finally, she raises her head and opens her eyes, looking straight at me. I smile weakly and offer a greeting. “Morning, Flutters,” I whisper once more. Her only reply is a whimper as she takes in the sight of my face. I’d forgotten what I must look like. I turn my head away, trying to hide the bruises, the cuts and the black eye from her. 
“Don’t,” she whispers. Her voice has always been so soft, so almost silent, even more so now that they took her down here. Unable to deny her anything that might give her strength or happiness, I face her again. Her eyes caress my face, taking in the pain and hurt, before falling into mine. We stare at each other, lost in the memories of the past few days.  
They had called us witches. They called us demons that must be cast from the world. Among them, at the head of the mob, had been the ponies we once called friends. They had moved forwards, eyes full of anger, trapping us in a circle of hate. I remember how badly I wanted to take to the air, to fly where the mob could not follow us. But Fluttershy had been hurt and I would not leave her. She had told me to flee, but instead I had fought, unwilling to let anything hurt her. But there had been too many and they had beaten me unconscious. I remember her pained scream as the world blacked out on me. I remember waking yesterday to the yellow mare begging me to wake up, to not leave her. I told her I would stay with her forever, no matter what. 
“Is today…?” Fluttershy asks me now, bringing me back to the present. I nod and she starts to weep. 
“Shh, shh,” I croon, reaching a hoof forwards to try and reach her. The cell I’m trapped in prevents me from holding her, but I will never stop trying. She reaches up her hoof and lines it up with mine. I can feel her without touching her. I can see her without looking. We are one, bonded against the hate and anger that we have been faced with. I know that she has tears on her face. I know that they are falling down to the cold, rocky floor. I can deal with tears. It’s not easy and it’s not fun, but I can deal with them. What hurts me is the fact that I can do nothing about it. Nothing I can do will stop them from coming. Nothing I can do can save her. “Shhh,” I whisper again. “Don’t worry. Don’t cry. Look at me, Flutters, look at me.” I wait for her to raise her head again. The pain in her eyes hits me like a knife, but I have to tell her the truth. “I’m not sure what is going to happen next. They are going to come for us, I know that. But I need you to know that I will always be here for you. I will always stay with you, no matter what.  When they come, I want you to be ready to run. I’m going to try and fight them. I want you to run. Run as fast as you can and never look back and save yourself. I want you to-”
“No,” she says. She sniffs deeply, but the tears have stopped. Her face is determined and I know I will not be able to change her mind.  
“No,” I repeat with a sigh. “I didn’t think so. Is there any way I can convince you?”
“No,” she says again, shaking her head. I sigh deeply.
“OK then. I can’t make you do anything and I would never want to. But Fluttershy, will you hold your head high? We did nothing wrong. We are who we are and these ponies cannot accept that. So hold your head high, Flutters, be proud of who you are. Try not to cry. Soon we will be away from all of this hate. Soon we will be together, where nothing and nopony can keep us apart. Do not feel bad for us, Fluttershy. Feel bad for these ponies, blinded by lack of understanding. Pity those who do not know what we feel, those who dislike us due to a small difference. Hold your head high, Fluttershy. Soon, we will be together.” She nods her head in understanding and we fall silent. We are still sitting like that, our hooves trying vainly to connect and our heads bowed, when the guards come. Fluttershy goes quietly, keeping her head high but unable to stop a few tears from falling. I have more of a challenge being cooperative and struggle against the guards until Fluttershy looks at me. Her eyes tell me that it will be OK, her eyes tell me what my words told her and I listen. I stop protesting and raise my head. I quicken my pace until I am walking next to her. I flick my tail, daring the guards to try and separate us. But they let us walk together this one last time. 
We step into the blinding sunlight and into the roar of angry ponies. I still don’t understand why they want us dead, why they cannot accept us. But the reason does not matter as they walk us to the gallows. I reach out a hoof to Fluttershy as they fit the ropes around our necks. So clipping her wings was more than a formality, it was to keep her from hovering and therefore stopping the rope from doing its job. The mares and stallions before us cry out for our deaths as the executor steps back and grasps the lever in their mouth. I can feel Fluttershy beside me quaking in fear and give her hoof a squeeze to try and comfort her. I look at her and tell her it will be OK. Then I close my eyes and face the mob. 
I’m ready. I’m ready to be with my love forever. I’m ready to leave a world of hate and anger and misunderstanding. I’m ready for my body to swing with my long-time friend, my recent love. I’m ready to soar above the clouds with her. I’m ready to swing with my friend. I’m ready.
I hope she is too, because I can hear the creak of the lever over the cheer of the crowd. I can feel the floor beneath my hooves start fall away and my wings try instinctively to free themselves. I have enough time to open my eyes and look at Fluttershy and exchange a smile.
Then the floor falls away completely and I know that I will never have to leave her again.

The crowd watches eagerly as gravity pulls at the two mares, pulling the lethal ropes tight. The cheering doubles as the bodies twitch once or twice, then still. The dead Pegasi are still grasping hooves as they sway slightly in the wind. 
They hang there, side by side, the butterfly and the rainbow. They are neither in the sky nor on the ground. They are nowhere, where they belong. But they are together at last and they will never be separated again.