//------------------------------// // Twilight // Story: Our Lot, Our Life // by KiroTalon //------------------------------// The sun's slow progress across the sky was once again approaching its inevitable denouement, casting long, sensational streaks of crimson and titian through the atmosphere, vainly resisting the encroaching evening darkness that seeped above the opposing horizon, meek but inexorable, drawing a curtain of plum velvet, dotted with shimmering, eternal constellations. It was a sight so common that many ponies grew accustomed enough to ignore it as they went about their busy day, rushing to complete those insignificant tasks that had escaped their attention until the lanterns flaring to life along the boardwalk alerted them to the coming night. Moonbeam and Sunspot were fortunate in that regard. Their mothers had been devoted admirers of both the sunrise and the sunset, and had worked hard to instill a similar appreciation in their daughters. The indigo unicorn and her ice-blue sister were sitting on the edge of the Ponyville fountain, leisurely watching the sun slip behind the horizon. Moonbeam held a sprout smoothie in her violet magical aura, sipping contentedly as her sister casually flipped the page in the massive tome she was perusing. The dark blue mare nudged her companion. "Hey, put that book away, would you? You can't read a sunset." Sunspot scowled at the other mare for an instant before returning to her book. "You might be surprised, Beam. Mom always said she preferred to read about beautiful things when she could. Easier to notice all the subtle details that way." "Really," Moonbeam scoffed lightly, "because I seem to remember Mom saying she only read when she had to. 'Life is to be experienced, not explained.' Remember?" the cerulean unicorn raised an eyebrow. Sunspot made a show of tapping her chin with a thoughtful hoof. "Yeah, that does sound like something Momma Trixie would say." She turned another page and returned to her book. "But she was also a showmare; obscuring details was crucial for her." The indigo mare rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Spot." She took a sip of her smoothie and turned back to the sunset. "Oh, hey there, Moonbeam!" A chipper voice with a faint southern drawl pricked Moonbeam's ears to her left, and she turned to see Honeycrisp and her brother Blenheim pulling the Sweet Apple market cart back towards the road to the farm. The unicorn smiled as the two earth ponies unhitched themselves and came over. "How's it goin'?" Honeycrisp asked. Moonbeam smiled. "Pretty well. It was a quiet day at the library, so I got a lot of practicing done." She nodded at her sister, who had looked up from her book and was smiling at the two Apples. "Sunspot's been studying, of course." Blenheim chuckled. "When isn't she?" Sunspot stuck her tongue out at the stallion. "You could stand to do a little research yourself, I bet. You might be surprised at what you could learn about horticulture if you would just take the time to read a journal or two." The dark orange earth pony snorted. "Pass. If I can't learn it on my own, it ain't worth learnin'." "Suit yourself," the unicorn shrugged. "How about you, Crisp?" Honeycrisp smiled, but shook her head. "Thanks anyway, Sunny. There just ain't enough hours in the day to run a farm and stick my nose in a book. Ah'm lucky if I get an hour to eat lunch, what with all we have to do." "I understand, but if you--" "Sunny," Moonbeam interrupted her, "let it go." The ice blue unicorn looked as though she was going to press the issue for a moment, but a stern glance from her sister closed the issue, and she shrugged. Honeycrisp cleared her throat and said, "So, uh...what're y'all doin' out here so late?" Moonbeam nodded at the distant burnt sienna sky. "Just watching the sunset. It's not something we get to do very often, what with our studies and all, so I thought it would be nice to take an hour or two to take stock, you know? Remember that the world's a lot bigger than our little library and our desktops." She glanced at Sunspot, who looked up with a slightly guilty expression, then sighed and closed her book, slipping it into her saddlebag. "Fine, fine. I get it." She scowled, but Moonbeam could see a hint of amusement in her eyes. "The sun only sets once a day, Sunny. You can read anytime." "Yeah, yeah..." Moonbeam looked back at Honeycrisp and Blenheim. "You want to join us?" The two farm ponies exchanged a look and a shrug. "Sure," Blenheim said, walking over and dropping heavily onto his rump next to the unicorn sisters. Honeycrisp sat down somewhat more delicately than her brother, but still settled in the dirt, rather than on the edge of the fountain. She removed her well-worn leather hat and shook the dust off of it before sitting it back on her head, snugging it down tightly over her ears. The four ponies sat in silence for some minutes, watching as the sun slowly slid down past the horizon. It was half-gone when another familiar voice broke their reverie. "Watching Celestia say goodnight?" The quartet turned as one towards the voice, and Sunspot immediately broke into a wide grin. "Hey, Mom." Twilight smiled and walked over to the group. "Good evening, Sunspot. I'm surprised you aren't out here reading." Sunspot blushed faintly. "Yeah, well...I was, but Beam made me put my book away." "I did not!" Twilight giggled. "Well, she was right to do so if she did. You know what your mother would say, don't you?" Moonbeam grinned. "Life is to be experienced, not explained?" The older mare nodded. "Exactly." She looked at the Apple foals. "Good evening, Honeycrisp, Blenheim. Where's your sister?" Honeycrisp doffed her hat in greeting. "Evenin', Missus Sparkle. I think Topaz is still at the schoolhouse. Friday night, you know." "Speaking of missing companions," Moonbeam said, "where's Spike?" Twilight nodded in the general direction of the Carousel Boutique. "Visiting Rarity, of course. It's not something he gets to do very often. In fact, speak of the dragon," she said, nodding over the other four ponies' heads. The group turned to see a vast shadow materialize out of the waxing darkness and settle heavily to the ground in front of Town Hall. The massive purple form took shape as it stepped into the flickering light cast by the lanterns around the fountain, and the scaly face broke into a broad grin as the owner recognized the small party. "Hey guys," Spike said, his deep voice perpetually undercut by a low growl deep in his chest. Most ponies would be terrified to face, let alone speak to a dragon, even one that was still relatively small, but Moonbeam and Sunspot had been cared for by the big purple beast since they had been born, had grown up climbing all over his smooth warm scales and hiding under his big leathery wings, and had treated him like one of the family for their entire life. Honeycrisp and Blenheim had similarly grown up around Spike, and although they'd spent a great deal less time around him, they still treated him like just another pony in town. All four ponies' faces lit up with wide smiles, and Sunspot actually jumped down off the fountain to go nuzzle the dragon. "Spike! How have you been? We don't get to see you too often around here any more." Spike chuckled as he leaned into the embrace. "Aw, shucks. Well, you know there's not a whole lot of room for a dragon in Ponyville, even a little one." "Little, he says," Blenheim repeated, laughing. "Spike, you haven't been little fer a while. Heck, you've been bigger'n me as long as I can recall." Spike grinned. "Well, when you put it that way..." He stood up on his hind legs and spread his wings as far as he could. Fully extended, he was roughly three-quarters as tall as Town Hall, and his wings were broader than the building by several hooves. The collected ponies stomped enthusiastically in appreciation, and the dragon made a show of flexing and posing for them. Twilight rolled her eyes and giggled. "Alright, alright, enough showing off. You're making everyone nervous, Spike." "Don' be silly," Honeycrisp scoffed. "Ain't no pony in Ponyville who'd be afraid of Spike. Heck, we're the only town with their own resident dragon." "Well, I'm not really a resident, exactly..." Spike said, rubbing the back of his neck with a claw. "Shucks," the yellow earth pony said, "you grew up here, didn' ya? That makes it yer home, no matter where else ya go." Twilight smiled. "I think that's fair to say, don't you, Spike?" Spike nodded. "Yeah...yeah, I guess so." He looked around, sighing shallowly. "Canterlot never did feel as cozy as good old Ponyville." A wistful smile tugged at the edges of the dragon's face. "So," Twilight said, "how was your visit?" "Oh, it was pretty good," Spike said, the smile widening for an instant, and then fading. "Well, as good as it ever can be anymore..." Twilight nodded, walking over and nuzzling the dragon's shoulder. "I know what you mean. It's hard to visit any of them these days." "Sure...did you get to see Trixie and the rest of the gang already?" "Yeah, I did the rounds earlier today so I could take care of my errands without worrying about getting a chance before we had to leave." Spike nodded in agreement. There was a moment of reverent silence before the dragon spoke again, his voice quiet in spite of his size. "I miss them a lot." Twilight closed her eyes against a wave of tears. It wasn't very strong, more of a token response to a well-worn painful memory, but it happened every time just the same. When she opened them again, the tears had subsided, and she was able to nod and actually smile. "We all do, Spike, but that's a good thing. It means that they were loved, and that at least someone in this world will never forget them." "Well, you aren't the only ones!" Sunspot suddenly spoke up, her voice lightly tinged with offense. "We won't forget them either, you know." Twilight smiled. "I know you won't, sweetheart." "Yeah, but we won't live to be a million, Sunny," Moonbeam smirked at her sister, who shot the indigo unicorn a nasty glare. "So? That doesn't mean we'll forget!" "Girls," Twilight said, her voice quiet but stern. "Relax. Sunspot, no one's saying you'll forget, or that your love is any less valuable. Moonbeam, stop antagonizing your sister." Moonbeam rolled her eyes and sighed. "Yes, mom." Twilight came over and nuzzled her daughters. "As wonderful as it is to see you girls, I'm afraid I was only in town for the day. I've got to go back to Canterlot before the sun sets completely." "Aw," Sunspot said, folding her ears back on her head. "Are you sure you can't spend the night? We've got the spare room in the library, you know." Twilight giggled. "You mean my old bedroom." The two unicorns nodded. "Thanks, girls, but it's sort of important that I be there, you know." "Yeah, yeah..." Sunspot sighed and looked sadly at her hooves. Twilight nuzzled her daughters again, gently kissing Sunspot's forehead. "I'll visit again soon, Sunny. I promise." She smiled at the Apples. "Good night, Honeycrisp, Blenheim. It was wonderful to see you again." "Likewise, Missus Sparkle," Blenheim said. Honeycrisp simply doffed her hat again. Twilight turned to Spike and said, "Spike, I'll meet you back at the castle later, right?" "Yeah, I'll be there in a couple hours." The lavender alicorn nodded and spread her wings, the powerful magic lacing through them rendering her capable of lifting off with a single graceful flap. She took a slow lap around the courtyard as she ascended, reveling in the wind whipping through her mane and tail. As amazing as Rainbow Dash always swore it was... She glanced reflexively down past the Boutique, beyond which lay the small, peaceful plot of land that constituted Ponyville's only cemetery. In it, she imagined she could see six immediately recognizable headstones, each with a different gem set into it: a rose quartz balloon; a topaz butterfly; a ruby apple; a sapphire diamond; a pearl rainbow; and an azure wand. Tears she had avoided on the ground now flowed freely past her ears, blown backwards by the rushing wind. The alicorn allowed herself a moment of reflection before she left. Goodbye, my friends. I will never forget you...and maybe someday...we'll meet again. Then, in a flash shorter than the beat of an aching heart, Twilight vanished.