If you find any stupid grammar or spelling errors, tell me and I'l fix it as soon as I can.
‘Wha- When did they... pass after I left?’ Spike asked Celestia, who had come to visit him in his cave but this time without Luna.
‘What do you mean?’ The regal pony asked back to him as she paced around the large cave. Spike laid his head down on the cave floor and drew a deep breath.
‘Twilight... The others, for how long did they live after I left?’ He anwered in a sullen tone.
’Oh...’ Celestia answered with a sigh. Twilight had been her favorite student, she didn’t like talking about the loss of her or her friends, but she had a reason to talk about it now. ‘All of them had good lifes, but Twilight never forgave herself for you leaving. She thought that it was her fault.’ She looked up at him with a hurt expression.
‘But it wasn’t her fault...’ Spike said in a low tone.
‘She believed that it was.’ Celestia sighed again. ‘She returned to Canterlot afterwards and stayed there for two months, until she finally returned to Ponyville.’ She walked up to him and sat besides him. ‘She searched for you but she never found anything that would reveal your location. She gave up after a year and continued her life, even when a big part of it was gone. She passed peacefully in her sleep surrounded by her family. She was the last of the Elements of Harmony of that generation to pass away.’ She leaned towards his massive head for comfort and he lifted it slightly to return the favor.
‘What about the others? What happened to them?’ He asked her after a moment of silence.
‘Applejack continued her life and her work at the farm, she had many colts and fillies, and just as many grandchildren. She lived a long life, and she became the second oldest element.’ Celestia said as she stretched her wings before she folded them neatly against her back again. ‘Rarity moved her boutique to Canterlot a few years after you left and expanded her business. She became a well-known designer amongst the upper crust in Equestria, but she had just as much guilt as Twilight did when it came to your departure. She felt like if she hadn’t shouted at you, you would have still been there.’
‘What happened to Rainbow, Fluttershy and Pinkie then?’ He asked in a low tone. He had to know what happened to them.
‘Four months after you left, Rainbow Dash was finally accepted to the Wonderbolts.’ Celestia took another deep breath, as she was about to say something horrible. ‘After two years in the Wonderbolts, there was an accident and... And she didn’t survive the aftermath. She was the first element to pass. It was hard for everypony, especially Fluttershy and Scootaloo, as she and Fluttershy had been best friends for almost their entire lives. It was hard for Scootaloo as she saw her idol die in front of her eyes.’
That’s... That’s horrible... What happened?’ Spike had to fight back tears, as the memories of the cyan mare washed over him.
‘They were flying in an advanced formation, and Rainbow Dash was supposed to climb in altitude before she would drop and dive towards the ground. She was supposed to do a-’
‘Sonic Rainboom...’ Spike interrupted her.
‘Exactly. However, everything was going as planned, until a mysteriously strong gust clipped her wing and she was thrown into something as the Wonderbolts called a ’‘death roll’’. She wasn’t able to get back control, and before anypony could react she made contact with the ground. She landed on her head and died at impact. They said it went so fast that she didn’t even feel any pain.’ Celestia sighed and wiped off a few tears with her right hoof and leaned closer to Spike. Spike didn’t know what to say, or what to do. A single tear rolled down his cheek. His mouth was slightly open, exposing his menacing fangs. He laid his head down on the cave floor with a thump. Even when Celestia was standing at full height, she barely reached his eyes. She placed a soft hoof on his nose and sighed.
‘What about Pinkie and Fluttershy?’ He really didn’t want to know anymore, but he felt like he had to know.
‘Both of them passed like Twilight and Applejack, peacefully in their sleep surrouded by their respective families.’ She held her hoof on his face, and moved it softly in a small circle.
‘Losing someone is never easy, it doesn’t matter if it happens by an accident or by natural causes. It hurts to see someone you love being buried right in front of you, knowing that there’s nothing you can do to re-live all those precious memories that you shared with them. When you have lived as long as I have, you learn to endure. Even though loss is never easy, it’s something that is needed for the natural order to continue.’ Celestia said as she laid down besides Spike and leaned towards his head.
’I guess... But you’re right when you said that it hurts, it still hurts for me, even after all these years alone with nothing else than memories of good times and times that were a little harsh. The pain will always be there, but you learn to live with it. Spike said as he softly leaned his head towards the not-so-little pony besides him.
‘You have become wiser over the years, Spike. You have gained a new perspective of life and death over the years.’ Celestia closed her eyes softly, taking in the warmth of the dragon she was lying next to.
‘Well, being alone for over a thousand years with nothing else than your thoughts gives you plenty of time to contemplate about life, death and everything inbetween.’ Spike said with a huff. ‘And talking with only yourself for a thousand years also messes with your head a little.’ Celestia couldn’t help but to chuckle at his expression and Spike snorted and chuckled a little at his own choice of words
After they had calmed down, Spike stretched his arms forwards and with a loud snap and a groan from him, he made himself comfortable. He stretched his neck to its full extent and carefully laid it back down on the floor, surrounding Celestia with it. She felt safe when she was around him. She didn’t need any guards while she was in his presence. She remembered what had brought her to his cave other than a nice conversation. She poked him softly beneath his right eye.
’I almost forgot, but I came here to give you something that I think you will appreciate.’ Her horn started glowing in a soft yellow light, and something that looked like a scroll popped into existance next to her. She used her magic to unroll it, and what he saw made him force hard to not to drop his jaw to the cave floor. It was an old photograpgh of Twilight and her friends. All of them were there. Even Spike was there in the middle. His grin was unnaturally big on the photo. He ran a gentle claw over the picture, almost as if he was expecting to feel Twilight’s soft coat again. He could only mutter a few slow thank you’s as he stared at the picture, his eyes being as wide as ever.
Celestia reluctantly stood up and moved away from the dazed dragon. She walked into his view. He slowly shifted his gaze to her and focused on her.
’I have to go now.’ She said in a sad tone.
‘Aww, already? It has only been 7 hours...’ Spike said in an equally sad tone.
‘Duty calls, but I will be back as soon as I can. And maybe Luna will also come that time’ Celestia said in a much happier tone.
‘Really? Then maybe I can finish that staring contest with her!’ Spike said in a very cheery tone. Celestia simply chuckled as a wide smile appeared on his face.
We’ll see when the time comes. Now, bye for this time.’ She said as she slowly walked towards the mouth of the cave.
‘Alright, bye then.’ He said as she spread her wings and looked back at him and smiled. She flew off with a slow start but her pace increased further the more she flew, until a bright light engulfed her as she teleported the rest of the way to Canterlot.
Spike sighed and looked back at the photograph he was given. He missed all of them so much, but he couldn’t go back to them, but he wanted to go back so much. It was impossible. He had learned to endure, but he still had to learn to handle loss.