Fragments Of Memory

by Applefai


Friendship's Requiem

     An elderly dragon lands on mountainous terrain, looking at a skeleton of a dragon with gold armor and a scepter adorned with a red gem on top. "Looks like I'm here to stay this time, my time draws near, but I don't know how long I have. It could be days or maybe a month left. But I'll see you soon." He said to the skeleton as he passed by. He enters a cave with six items on display. On the ground lay a quill and a journal.

    Lighting the torches in the cave, the dragon let out a weak cough as he struggled to get a breath. He sits down and takes the quill in his claw and starts to write. Despite his size, his penmanship is remarkable. 

     

I have lived for thousands of years and now my time has come. Throughout my life, I have witnessed times of peace, times of war, times of great sadness, and times of joy. My heart aches at what the world had become, ponies are not separated by fear and hatred, it makes me long for the times where all three races would come together on occasion and break bread; but alas those days are gone. I wish I knew what happened to cause this, but the answers elude me as ancient as I am.

      The dragon looks up and sees his reflection in the glass of one of the display cases. Looking down he sees that the wheels are still attached, he put them on so he could travel with his friends. He looks down and continues to write.

     

I am the last of my friends, I've watched them laugh, play, cry, learn, and grow these many years, I've watched their kids grow and die, and so on. I've been married and was unfortunate to watch my wife die. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope to share the stories of the past, but given the times, it'll fall on deaf ears. All I need is a few righteous souls to help.

     The dragon is interrupted by a fit of violent coughing, he struggles to get a breath as he taps his chest to get a breath in. After a few minutes, he finally gets a breath in so he can continue writing.

     

My time with my friends is something I'll always cherish. I have kept a memento of the six I was around the most, but despite me not having a memento of every friend I've had over the years, I have memories of them and have not forgotten them.

     The mighty drake looks at the items and quickly begins to write in his journal.

     

My friend Rainbow Dash was as fast as any of us, well, maybe Pinkie Pie was a bit faster. She was the most loyal friend you could ask for, though her stubbornness could get ahead of her at times, and was rivaled by Applejack. But despite her faults, she stuck her neck out for any of her friends. She and I would have fun going to conventions of our favorite things, her's being Daring Do and his Power Ponies. I remember when she tried to sneak back into the hospital just to finish the first book after Twilight introduced her to it. Her speed actually got her into the Wonderbolts, she even became captain after Spitfire retired, her sonic rainboom was the crown jewel of her routines, every time she performed it, it was like a kaleidoscope in the sky. Unfortunately, she was forced into early retirement due to her aging bones, the amount of effort and strain it took made her bones more likely to break. She died shortly after her husband Soarin.

     The dragon left the book open to allow the ink to dry as he looked outside to see night had fallen, the location he was in was known for auroras. There was even a legend that the auroras were torches carried by dragons of the past, letting dragons know they are still here. 

     Going back into the cave, the dragon pulled out some hay fries he had stashed here and heats them up. He quickly eats them before turning in for the night.

     The next morning the dragon wakes up and goes back to writing. 

     

My friend Applejack was the one that kept us all honest, she was quick to call us out whenever we would go astray from time to time, but she was always kind in her sternness. She ran her family's apple farm with utmost ease, though problems arose, she always found a way through them with the help of our friends. Like the time Flim and Flam tried to take over the farm, in a strange sense of irony, it was a good thing that their cider tasted awful and was literally on the rock. There was also a time where vampire fruit bats took over a segment of the orchard, she tried using magic from Twilight to make them stop eating her apples, but after a mishap that turned Fluttershy into a vampire fruit bat pony hybrid, she decided to sanction off that part of the orchard for the bats, after turning Fluttershy back of course. She was actually the first of my friends to die, her husband Pix Sprite followed shortly after her.

     The sound of wings flapping was heard outside of the cave, as the drake looked out to see what it was, he saw another dragon had come, one he recognized. The new arrival was a red dragon.

     "Hey Garble, I didn't think we'd meet in this place." The drake said taking a break from writing.

     "Spike, long time no see, runt." The red dragon replied as he laid on the ground. "What are you doing here bud? Surely you at least have more time than me." Garble said, looking up at Spike.

     "I just wanted to be here, to die with my friends." Spike said, looking back at the display cases.

     "I told you, you ought to take those to a museum, what is your plan when you go? They'll be left here for who knows how many moons, and who knows how long before ever being seen by anyone again?" Garble asked as Spike's head scales drooped.

     "I don't know, I didn't think that far ahead." Spike admitted as he laid down to meet Garble's eyes. 

     Looking into Spike's eyes Garble saw the pain of a thousand years in them, all hope was almost gone, except a small ember that fought to survive. "I wish I could have helped you, to find out what happened to the friendship between all the races and the ponies." Garble replied as he took a deep shallow breath.

     "You did as much as I did, so don't be hard on yourself. Besides, I thought you hated ponies." Spike said as he added a joke in there.

    Chuckling a bit before speaking, Garble replied. "C'mon man, you know I've changed. And it's all thanks to you, I wish we had more time to be friends. I'm sorry if I was a bully to you before." Garble apologized as a tear appeared in his eye.

     "We've been friends and alive for a few thousand years, Garble. And I forgave you for the past. Spike said as he held Garble's claw. 

     "A few thousand years is not much for dragons and I know, but one more apology can't hurt, right? I'm glad I could call you a friend." Garble said as he drew his last breath."

     "Same, I'm honored to have known you, even the bad times. Goodbye, my friend, I'll see you soon." Spike said as he closed Garble's eyes.

     Spike returned to his cave, tears swelling up in his eyes as he continued to write.

     

My friend Fluttershy was a gentle soul, no matter who you were she would offer nothing, but hospitality. She cared for every living creature and opened a sanctuary for the animals that were treated by the vet, but still weren't well enough for discharge. Her kindness knew no bounds, she even helped reform one of our most chaotic foes. Discord, he changed so much with Fluttershy's help. He learned so much about friendship from her and was a prime example that even a monster such as him can become a friend. But that shouldn't discourage you to think of the possibility of foes. Just because he became an ally, doesn't mean that everyone will become a friend. It's sad but true. But back to Fluttershy, when she died after her husband Bulk, Discord was so distraught, Fluttershy was his first friend and his most cherished friend. He couldn't live in a world without her so, he used all of his magic to dispel all of his chaos magic into the world to where it'll act on its own, it wouldn't be as zany or wacky as when he would use it, but doing so allowed him to die, I was there when it happened. I could tell Fluttershy greeted him at the gates because he had a smile on his face.

     Taking a break Spike ventured outside. He watched the sky as dark clouds started to roll in, looking at Garble's body Spike found an empty cave and moved him inside so he wouldn't get rained on. Spike returned to his cave before it started raining and started to write again.

     

Rarity was our most generous friend, she would literally give you the clothes off her back if she had them on. She was also our most ambitious friend, having three shops, one in Ponyville, one in Canterlot, and one in Manehattan. Though those locations are probably gone now. I actually pinned for Rarity in my younger years, but eventually, I came to realize that it was a childish crush, as much as I loved to help her, we barely shared any interest. I eventually found out that the current Dragon Lord at the time, Ember, loved Power Ponies and gem baking. We eventually started dating and then we married. Together we had four hatchlings, two boys and two girls. They are still young, so I hope that when friendship comes back, they're able to meet these new ponies. I am unfortunate to have outlived Ember, but I will be joining her soon. Back to Rarity however, She eventually became a famous fashion designer. When her husband Applefai passed, she never remarried, just like the rest of our friends. I heard through the grapevine that she passed because she and another pony got trapped under some snow in Yakyakistan. She was found alongside a pony who was rushed to the nearest hospital and survived thanks to the jacket found around him.

     Looking out at the rain Spike let out a sigh, the rain, though looking grim, brought Spike a sense of calmness, hearing the gentle trinkle of the rain sent shivers down his spine as he entered a calm state. He continues to write, wanting the history to be recorded.

     

Pinkie Pie was our most energetic friend, she was probably the only one to outmatch Rainbow's speed. Her Pinkie sense was scary, but at the same time helping out in strange ways. She could take a rainy day and still have fun. Her parties were always out of this world, and if you ever attended one, you would have fun multiplied by infinity. She married Cheese Sandwich and they had the best party planning empire one could imagine. She could always get you to smile, no matter how dark the sky may have been. I heard that she and Cheese actually died together in each other's hooves.

     Looking up at the display with the crown, Spike sighed. He opened up a secret compartment in the back and started writing, one last time.

     

My friend, no. My sister/mother figure Twilight was the one I was closest to, both literally and figuratively. I was her assistant for many years. She along with our other friends helped save Equestria from many threats. There are actually too many threats to list here, but the biggest threat was when three of our enemies banded together and tried to take over Equestria. Tirek, the magic draining centaur, Chrysalis, Queen of the changelings, and Cozy Glow, a pegasus filly with a cute shell, but the mind of an evil overlord. They sought to divide ponykind and freeze Equestria with the wendigos, but in the end, all races came together and we were able to defeat the terrible trio and imprison them in stone. It may have been extreme, but they were never going to change. It's a sad truth we all have to learn. After that, Twilight ascended to the throne and took over the duties of Celestia and Luna for a while. Until she casts a spell so that the sun and moon will rise on their own, and as for dreams she casts a spell so that no dreams can hurt ponies. She ruled for many years and watched as her friends died one by one, she even got news of Celestia's and Luna's passing. Alicorns are thought to be immortal, but that's far from the truth, they just live longer, a kind of delayed aging. But they can still die. Once her husband Flash Sentry died she fell into a depressed state. I would bring her meals to her room, but in the morning, it was hardly touched, maybe a few bites, but not much. That went on for about ten days until one day, I brought her breakfast to her, but she didn't respond. I gently shook her shoulder only to feel it stiff and cold, I called the medics as fast as I could, but it was too late, she had passed in her sleep. At the funeral, I could swear I saw her smiling, which brought a little happiness to me, but I was still saddened. I went on living, watching as everyone close to me died. I was here when the divide happened, but like I said. I don't know how it happened, and I doubt if I will, my only hope is that this new generation remembers the past and reunites once again.

 

     Spike closes the book and places it in the secret compartment, he then closes it and lays down, awaiting death, but he soon hears voices at the entrance of the canyon.