//------------------------------//
// Episode 10: "End of an Era, Part 2" 
// Story: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 10 
// by twilightsparkle3562 
//------------------------------//

…

"My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic, Season 10, Episode 10"

"End of an Era, Part 2"

By Jeff Snyder (TwilightSparkle3562)

Edited by SuperPinkBrony12

…

PREVIOUSLY ON MY LITTLE PONY

…

Applejack: "This is the third time this week that Granny's been slow to get up for breakfast."

Apple Bloom: "Granny's gettin' old, Applejack."

Grand Pear: "What's going on down here?"

Applejack: "We'd better get her to the hospital!"

Dr. Stable: "Granny Smith, I'm afraid that this is a sign that your body is failing you. I would start to prepare for the inevitable. All of you."

Applejack: "Granny is the pony who raised us into the ponies we are today. Big Mac, I want to be co-leader of the Apple Family along with you and Sugar Belle."

Granny Smith: "I…I…I must be in…heaven."

Celestia: "What are you going to do?"

Twilight Sparkle: "Prepare for a Ponyville Funeral."

…

"My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic," theme song

…

…

Twilight Sparkle arrived at Sweet Apple Acres to the sounds of crying from the immediate members of the Apple Family. Heading up to the house, she knocked on the door. "Applejack? Anypony?" Twilight called and the door soon opened to reveal Sugar Belle on the other side. "Oh, Sugar Belle! I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, Princess Twilight, we're glad you're here," The newest member of the Apple Family explained as she embraced Twilight. "Granny said she was in heaven and just…"

"Twilight!" Applejack called, her emotions coming out of her as she came down the stairs and hugged Twilight. "Oh, Twilight! Granny's gone! She's really gone!"

"I'm…I'm sure she went peacefully, Applejack," Twilight whispered, unsure of what else to say. "I'm so sorry."

"What are we going to do, Twilight?" Applejack sobbed. "…None of us can live without her! I certainly can't!" Twilight wanted to help Applejack but couldn't find the words to describe her friend's pain.

At that moment, Rainbow Dash came down the stairs, looking quite distraught as well.

"Where's Apple Bloom?" Twilight inquired.

"Upstairs with Granny," Rainbow Dash glumly sighed. "She won't leave Granny Smith's side, Twilight. What can we do?"

"Apple Bloom's just lookin' at a… a shell, Twilight!" Applejack sobbed.

Taking a deep breath, Twilight slowly began to make her way up the stairs and very soon arrived on the scene of Granny Smith lying dead in her bed. It pained Twilight to see Apple Bloom nearby, to see one of her closest and youngest subjects in such grief.

Grand Pear was also in the bedroom as well, also deeply pained by the loss of his former rival.

"Apple Bloom?" Twilight called in a gentle voice as she approached the sobbing filly. "Come here, Apple Bloom." Letting Apple Bloom sob on her shoulder, Twilight led her over to a rocking chair and sat down in it.

"She's gone, Twilight! Granny's gone!" Apple Bloom loudly wailed. "Can't you do somethin' to bring her back, please?!"

Twilight looked down at the sobbing filly with nothing but pity. "I'm…afraid there's nothing I can do," Twilight sighed remorsefully. "Granny Smith has passed on, Apple Bloom. Even alicorn magic can't bring back the dead. And even if I could it wouldn't be right, it'd be violating the nautral order of things."

"It's not fair! It's not fair, Twilight!" Apple Bloom continued to sob. "What did I do to deserve this?! I thought for sure Granny still had plenty of life left in her!"

"Apple Bloom," Twilight sadly sighed, trying to stay strong for the sake of the youngest Apple silbing. "You did nothing to deserve this. I guess a power greater than even my own called her…called her to a place beyond Equestria."

"I want to go with her!" Apple Bloom cried, trying to again look at her dead grandmother's body. "Please, Twilight!"

"No," Grand Pear whispered, walking over to them. "Granny would want you to be here…with us, Apple Bloom. Her spirit is going to live on in all of us. Whatever pain she was feeling…well, she isn't feeling it now."

At that moment, Big Mac entered the room and pulled the sheet up over his grandmother's body.

"What…what's gonna happen now?" Apple Bloom asked. "What are we going to do with Granny?"

"That isn't Granny Smith anymore, Apple Bloom," Twilight tried to explain in a gentle voice. "That's just her body, nothing more than a vessel for the spirit to be in. There is an old saying that when we die, our bodies become the grass of Equestria."

"Twilight's right, Apple Bloom," Big Mac replied with a nod. "And I'm sure right now Granny is up in heaven, gettin' right to work on plantin' more apple trees."

"But what about the trees down here? She's not going to…" Apple Bloom began.

"I'm sure she's still going to see the harvest be carried out in her own way," Grand Pear reassured his youngest grandchild. "And all we can do is remember all of the good times we had with her."

Those words did little to comfort Apple Bloom as Applejack entered the room. The elder sister struggled to come to terms with the unimaginable loss that they were all experiencing.

"Twilight," Applejac spoke up, catching Twilight's attention. "We're…we're gonna need to let all of the Apple Family relatives know what happened. Do you think that maybe…?"

"I'll have royal messenger ponies bring the news to all your relatives," Twilight nodded, having deduced what Applejack was going to say. "Right now I would focus on getting some sleep. Just remember that my door is always open if you need to talk about anything."

…

Returning to the Castle of Friendship, Twilight immediately collapsed into her bed, exhausted and feeling nothing but sympathy for the Apples. But before she could think about sleep she heard a knock on the door. "Come in," She called in a low voice and in stepped Luna. "Hi, Luna."

"I trust that Granny Smith has passed on." Luna inquired.

"She has." Twilight nodded very reluctantly.

"And how's Apple Bloom?" Luna inquired further.

"She's upset, naturally," Twilight sighed while sitting up in her bed. "Imagine losing the only grandparent she spent her entire life with. A pony who she knew more than her own parents. I mean, we all come across death eventually, but…it isn't easy when you face it so young."

Luna sat down at the edge of Twilight's bed and looked at her with sympathetic eyes. "Of course it isn't easy," She remarked. "During our reign as princesses, Celestia and I witnessed or attended the funerals of many important ponies. It was…one of the downsides of being rulers. Ponies would often come to us and beg us for a spell that could bring their loved ones back to life."

"But there's no such spell." Twilight shook her head, thinking back to how Apple Bloom had been begging for the alicorn to use a spell to bring Granny Smith back to life.

"Of course. In fact, that is one of the reason why I decided to retire along with Celestia. I'm young and I want to live life to the fullest because…our time will come one day: my time, Celestia's time, your time, all our times will come." Luna declared.

"Celestia probably was thinking the same thing when she said that you were both retiring," Twilight realized. "Because from out of nowhere…our lives can end in an instant."

"Granny Smith was blessed to have lived the life she led. And, I'm sure she wouldn't want us to be upset at her passing," Luna added. "A wise pony once said to not be sad when it's over, but to smile because it happened."

…

…

The next morning Twilight returned to Canterlot, making about plans for a simple, but elaborate funeral for Granny Smith. Entering the throne room, Twilight saw Mayor Mare arrive. "Thanks for coming to Canterlot, Mayor Mare," Twilight greeted. "I'm sorry that we couldn't meet in Ponyville, but…"

"It's all right, Twilight," The mayor interrupted, walking up to the throne. "I'm more than willing to accommodate according to your schedule. Of course, Sweet Apple Acres is a very sad place right now. I can't help but feel sorry for all of them. I'd known Granny Smith longer than almost everypony, I was there for her when her son and his wife pased away unexpectedly."

"Yes, but all that matters right now is making sure that Granny Smith is honored in the best possible way," Twilight firmly interrupted. "I want a small, simple service because that is how she lived her life."

"But, don't you think that Applejack should be the one who has the final say?" Mayor Mare asked. "It's her grandmother after all."

"Applejack probably still needs all the privacy she and the other Apples can have," Twilight declared. "If you want to talk to her though…"

"Well, I would like to at least offer my condolences to the Apple family, Twilight," Mayor Mare suggested. "It's the least I can do."

It was then that Twilight got an idea. "Why don't we both go together as soon as we're done here?" She suggested. "I would like to at least check on Apple Bloom again. She's taking it harder than anypony else."

"Well now that you've said that, Twilight," Mayor Mare began, reaching down into her desk and pulling out a scroll. "There's something that I would like you to look at."

Taking the scroll from Mayor Mare, Twilight unfurled it and looked at the words that were written.

"It's Granny Smith's will!" Twilight remarked, reading it carefully. "But…why show it to me, Mayor Mare? I mean…this is something for the Apple siblings to look at, not me."

"Because I want to make sure that everything is written exactly as Granny requested," Mayor Mare confirmed. "There cannot be any mistakes on there."

Carefully studying the scroll, Twilight placed the paper back on the desk before passing it onto Mayor Mare. "I think everything that Granny put into this was perfectly reasonable," Twilight declared. "Big Mac will be a good successor to Sweet Apple Acres. Still, I can't imagine the responsibility he is inheriting right about now. It's almost like he's in my shoes, Mayor."

"He kind of is, Twilight," Mayor Mare sighed, rolling the will back up. "The only difference is that he had to wait until Granny Smith died to take the mantle, Celestia and Luna decided to retire of their own free will."

The more Twilight thought about it, the more she began to try and picture Big Mac in the position of running Sweet Apple Acres. It wouldn't be the same as Granny Smith, but there was very little choice to be offered. "Perhaps I can also offer Big Mac some words of encouragement."

"I think he would like that very much, Twilight," Mayor Mare smiled, before Spike came forward with what appeared to be another scroll. "What is this?"

"It's my eulogy to Granny Smith," Twilight answered. "As Supreme Princess of Equestria, I felt like it would at least be appropriate to say a few words about Granny Smith's life at the funeral. It's my first one since taking over the throne."

Reading over the eulogy, Mayor Mare carefully studied the words before placing back down on her desk. "It took a lot of deep thinking to put into words, Mayor. I tried to think of all the good times we had with Granny. More so than the bad times of course."

"Like when the Flim Flam brothers cheated with their machine during the cider making contest?" Mayor Mare bitterly remarked, thinking back to the first time the Flim Flam Brothers came to Ponyville.

"How could I forget?" Twilight sighed. Then before anything else could be said, Twilight rose to her hooves and proceeded to walk towards the door.

"Twilight, where are you going?!" Mayor Mare called. "I still need your approval on…"

"The flags in Ponyville are to be set at half-staff for thirty days, mayor," Twilight interrupted, turning around sharply back towards the mayor. "If we're going to send Granny Smith off, we're going to do it with dignity and respect."

"As you command, Princess Twilight." Mayor Mare bowed, taking note of what Twilight had said. Then having said her instructions, Twilight looked towards the window and her mind once again returned to Sweet Apple Acres.

…

Back at Sweet Apple Acres, Big Macintosh stood in front of mirror, dressed in the same suit he'd worn for his wedding with Sugar Belle. The red coated, muscular stallion was still attempting to absorb the responsibility that had been given to him, a role that he would share with sister.

"Big Mac?" Applejack asked, walking into her brother and sister-in-law's bedroom. "Burnt Oak wanted me to tell you that... Granny's casket is done."

"Oh, uh, thanks AJ," Big Mac stammered, before turning around to face Applejack. "Applejack, I've been…doing some thinkin'. I don't think that Granny would have wanted to have an open casket funeral. It just doesn't seem right."

"For once I agree with you, Big Mac," Applejack sighed, sitting down at the edge of her brother's bed and looking down at the floor before raising her head back up towards her brother. "Somethin' tells me that seeing Granny in her casket doesn't seem like a good idea. Not for you, not for me and especially not for Apple Bloom. Open caskets seem fine for some ponies but not us. I'm thinkin' we keep it closed, but let's have a nice picture of Granny on the casket so that everypony can remember her for the way she lived."

Heeding this suggestion Big Mac struggled to smile. His sadness prevented him from doing so. "What about some of her favorite…?" He began but trailed off.

"Favorite what?" Applejack asked her brother as she pressed for more details.

"Songs, stories, surely there's things that Granny loved that we can share at the funeral," Big Mac suggested. "We need to have some happy memories. We must have some happy memories!"

Just then, Sugar Belle came into the room and saw her husband and sister-in-law in front of her. "Mrs. Cake's already hard at work getting the food ready for the funeral reception," She somberly informed them. "Sorry if I'm interrupting anything."

"No, you're not interruptin' anythin', Sugar Belle," Big Mac reluctantly replied. "Applejack and I were just... talkin' about the happy memories of Granny Smith that we want to share at the funeral."

"I'm sure there are plenty of good memories you can share," Sugar Belle suggested. "I may not have been married to you for very long, Big Mac, but I can telll that there's nothing but good memories that you had with Granny Smith."

"Like the time we went with to Goldie Delicious' with Pinkie Pie?" Applejack chuckled, looking over at her older brother. "Despite how bumpy everything was? Going over that waterfall?"

"Eeyup," Big Mac replied with a giggle. "And how about that time she was brainwashed by Starlight's anger?"

"Or when Celestia and Luna carried her across the street and how she was so grumpy about it afterwards?" Applejack chuckled. "Ah, that was a hoot! Wasn't it, Big Mac?"

"Eeeyup, it sure was," Big Mac declared. "She wouldn't stop talkin' about it for days, AJ."

"And those are just a few of the good memories you could both share," Sugar Belle encouraged. "I know Granny Smith was always one who was so regimented about her dentures being clean. Remember she was banging on the kettles to get us up to take her to the dentist, even though it wasn't even sunrise?"

The three ponies shared a hearty laugh upon recalling the memory. It wasn't much, but it was at least a good distraction from the sadness that was engulfing the farm.

…

"Yeah, yeah, those were all good times," Applejack remarked, walking over to a picture of Granny with Bright Mac and Pear Butter. "At least Granny Smith was always there for us when we were at our lowest moments. After all, she was kind enough to accept ma into this family after Grand Pear disowned her."

At that moment, another pony came into the room. It was revealed to be Grand Pear. "At least they are all together again," The elderly earth pony declared as he walked towards them. "Granny Smith, Bright Mac, my daughter, all up in heaven savin' a seat for us."

"How's Apple Bloom, Grand Pear?" Applejack asked. "Still takin' it hard?"

"Yeah. Poor filly can't stop crying," Grand Pear reluctantly answered while looking back towards the door. "The pain is going to be around for a while, that's for sure," Sighing heavily again, Grand Pear walked over towards the picture that Applejack was looking at. "If there's one thing that Granny Smith did right," He went on. "It was to accept my daughter for who she was… even when I didn't. Sure, we had our rivalry, but…"

"Everythin' that happened in the past is in the past, Grand Pear," Applejack advised, placing a hoof around her grandfather's shoulder. "I mean…you and Granny had some lifelong memories after you came back into our lives."

"Yeah, both of you walkin' into town to sell your respective products," Sugar Belle remarked. "And I remember how everypony in Ponyville was enamored of how both Apples and Pears tasted. You both sure made quite a difference in town, I will say."

"Sugar Belle's right," Big Mac added, walking up to his grandfather. "You both made a difference in Ponyville and that's somethin' y'all will never forget."

Grand Pear couldn't help but smile at these kind words in spite of his persistent sadness for his former rival and partner. Then he cleared his throat. "In na case, I came to tell you both that Granny's being embalmed and prepared for the funeral. If you want, we can have the vigil tonight once all the Apples get here."

"As long as we don't see her in the casket," Applejack replied while looking over at Big Mac, who agreed with her decision. "I don't want to see Granny lookin'…dead."

"Eeyup, don't wanna have to think about it." Big Mac nervously declared.

Sighing again, Grand Pear gestured for his grandchildren to join him at the edge of Big Mac's bed. "Listen here, you two. There is something important I need to explain to you," He said. "Sometimes…I think seeing an open casket might be a good thing."

Both Applejack and Big Mac were shocked to hear such a thing!

"But, Grand Pear…" Applejack cried,only to be silenced.

"It would bring closer to all of us if we all saw Granny Smith one last time," Grand Pear explained. "After your mom died, I had to learn to face the fear of seeing my dead daughter. Ever since then, it helped me move on, knowing that my daughter was truly at peace along with your dad. I didn't get to see them at the funeral, but I had to accept that they weren't gonna be around anymore."

Applejack and Big Mac both couldn't figure out how to respond to this suggestion. In their minds, seeing a dead body was out of the question.

"We all have to do things in life we don't want to do," Grand Pear continued. "Including seeing our deceased loved ones one last time. If it helps we can all face Granny's body together, .as a family."

Applejack and Big Mac both took an enormous gulp, realizing that what their grandfather was saying although they were indeed reluctant to follow through.

"But, Granny…" Applejack began.

"Granny wouldn't mind if we looked at her body one last time," Grand Pear insisted. "After all, it isn't really her that will be in the casket, it will just be a shell that once housed Granny's spirit."

At that moment, they all heard more steps coming up the stairs and Apple Bloom entered, her face red from crying. "Twi-Twilight's here." She declared, her voice shaking as Applejack trotted to the top of the stairs, looking down to see Twilight walking up the stairs and hugging her friend tightly as Mayor Mare and Spike were following closebehind.

"I… wanted to see how you all were doing." Twilight softly spoke.

"Grand Pear suggested that we…" Applejack started to say, looking back to her grandfather. "Go and see Granny…in her casket."

"Eeyup," Big Mac added as Mayor Mare and Spike entered the room, with the young dragon flying over to hug his friend. "What should we do, Twilight?"

Looking over at Grand Pear, Twilight considered her options. "I think that…" She started to say, knowing her answer would greatly upset Applejack and Big Mac. "I have to agree with Grand Pear on this one. It's not easy, but seeing an open casket does in fact give closure to the deceased's loved ones. Personally, I think it would make you all feel better."

Apple Bloom trotted sadly over to her family upon hearing this. She was the youngest and the decision to see her dead grandmother troubled. her greatly. "It wouldn't make me feel better, Twilight," She whimpered, clutching Applejack's foreleg. "She…she won't wake up."

Draping a wing over Apple Bloom, Twilight gestured the youngest Apple to look at her. "Of course she won't wake up, Apple Bloom," She tenderly declared. "But Granny is still alive…just not physically with us. And she'll be at the funeral even though we can't see her."

Looking up at the rest of the Apples, Twilight received the acknowledgement of her words. "If it helps," She suggested. "Spike and I can be there with you when you're with the casket."

"Yeah," The little dragon added. "We'll get through this together, no matter what it takes."

"Well," Applejack sighed, knowing that she and her family had reached the point of no return. "I guess it's settled, then."

Having said her peace, Twilight left the bedroom and made her way downstairs leaving Spike and Mayor Mare with the Apples.

…

A little while later, Grand Pear, Applejack, Big Mac and Apple Bloom came downstairs with Applejack wearing her best mare dress from Big Mac's wedding from not too long ago. Twilight could see the anxiety that was in the eyes of the three grandchildren.

Just then, Burnt Oak came into the house."The casket is at the apple/pear tree," He declared with tears in his eyes. "I got to tell you, Granny never looked so good."

Taking a deep breath, Twilight led her friend and her family out of the house and towards the tree that had been planted by Bright Mac and Pear Butter many years ago. As they neared the tree, they all stopped to see Granny's open casket, surrounded by four lit candles and a large assortment of simple flowers.

"Ready?" Grand Pear whispered to his grandchildren and Twilight watched as they all approached the casket and looked down to see the body of Granny Smith, lying on her back, wearing a light brown dress and simple brown shoes. A small bouquet of sunflowers rested in her front hooves and one of her signature scarves was placed around her neck.

"Oh, Granny…" Applejack sobbed, struggling to hold back tears that she quickly lost as she sobbed audibly, no longer crying on the inside. Big Mac along with Apple Bloom each could no longer hold back their tears as well. "Oh, Granny!"

Seeing the sobbing family in front of them, Twilight couldn't help but also feel a tear flowing down her face as Sugar Belle approached her, wearing a sleeveless black dress. "They did it," Twilight sighed. "They're having closure now. It isn't easy, but…"

"It had to be done," Sugar Belle finished, looking over at Twilight. "As hard as it was. It's a way of saying goodbye, I guess."

Twilight said nothing as she and Sugar Belle watched the grieving process continue.

Suddenly, Twilight saw what appeared to be three ghosts floating towards the open casket! But these weren't just any ordinary ghosts! She realized that they were the ghosts of Granny Smith, Bright Mac and Pear Butter.

"Oh, shucks, I can't stand to see you all so sad," Granny Smith's spirit cried out, noticing her suriving family mourning profusely over her open casket. "I don't even look all that great. You could never get me to wear a dress like that."

"Well, I will admit, Ma, you do look nice," Bright Mac's spirit replied, looking despondently at his children. "Oh, if only I can hug you all right now."

Pear Butter's spirit bent down to try and hug Apple Bloom but to no avail. She was a ghost and Apple Bloom was mortal. "I can't…I can't hug them, Bright Mac." Pear Butter's spirit said sadly as Bright Mac went over to his wife's side.

"None of us can't, Buttercup. We can't hug them even if we want to." Bright Mac replied.

"If only there was some way we can let them know I'm all right," Granny Smith's spirit pondered. "How do y'all talk from beyond the grave, Bright Mac?"

"There is a way," Bright Mac said looking back at the spirits of his mother and wife. "Come with me. I have an idea."

And the three spirits disappeared to seek out what they needed to do.

…

On the day of the funeral, both Apples and non-Apples close to Granny Smith gathered in front of the united apple and pear tree as Twilight addressed the gathered congregation.

"Granny Smith was more than just a living legend of Ponyville," Twilight began, looking down at her notes from the podium. "She was a grandmother, a mother, a friend and a mentor to so many. I myself had some pleasant times with her and had the honor of getting to know her."

Twilight stopped for a moment and gathered her thoughts before she continued on. "But," She paused briefly. "While we all struggle to come to terms with Granny Smith's passing from this world into the next, we must never forget the good times we had with her: Whether it was the many Apple family reunions, the Sisterhooves Socials, and even her facilitating Trivia Trot at the Hay Burger. I will admit that I did put on quite an act at one of her last trivia trots."

The congregation couldn't help but chuckle at this remark.

"In all honesty, Granny was a pony who harnessed a lot of history in not just Ponyville, but throughout all of Equestria," Twilight resumed speaking after the laughter died down. "I'm sure right now, as we all sit here and reflect on her passing, she is probably looking down on us and saying that we shouldn't be sad at her passing, we should be happy that we got to spend so much time with her."

As Twilight spoke, she looked over to the distraught Applejack and her family with Rainbow Dash and Rarity sitting on their left and right.

"Granny Smith," Twilight went on while looking up to the sky. "We commend your spirit to the heavens in the hope that one day, we will all be together again. May you join the heavens with the greatest of Equestria."

Suddenly, at that moment a loud boom was heard as the crowd looked up and saw a rainbow streaking across the sky, much to the surprise of all in attendance!

"What…what's going on?" Rainbow Dash cried. "That's a Sonic Rainboom! But only I can do that!"

Applejack saw otherwise as happy tears formed in the corners of her eyes. "That's because it wasn't you who did it," Applejack whispered, looking up at the sky. "It was Granny who did that…to tell us that she's fine and lookin' down on us all."

Up in the heavens, Granny ran across the sky with the rainbow streaking behind her while she laughed long and loud. "Here's your rainbow, Apples!" She cried out. "You haven't seen the last of me! I'm always watchin' out for y'all!"

…

…

Later that night, once the funeral came to an end, Applejack was left alone in front of the gravesite of her grandmother, directly in front of the united tree where the tombstone read:

GRANNY SMITH APPLE,

BELOVED GRANDMOTHER AND PILLAR OF PONYVILLE

Touching the gravestone, Applejack sighed deeply in reflection. "Thank you, Granny," She whispered. "No matter what happens, we'll always love you."

As she said those words, three stars came streaking across the sky, signaling the newest of the Apple Family's team of guardian angels. Closing her eyes, Applejack sang quietly to herself a simple song that she once heard a long time ago:

Look up in the sky,

Up towards the north.

There are three little stars,

Brightly shinin' forth.

They're shinin' so bright from heaven above,

Gee we're gonna miss you,

Everypony sends their love.

It was the end of one era in the Apple Family and the beginning of another.

…

END OF EPISODE

…