Day 1854
It was the last time I’d have to face it. It was the last time my heart would be torn to shreds. It was the last goodbye I’d ever make.
Though the wounds would now be eternal.
Nopony else was there. Just her and I.
I lost many friends over the years. From age or from conflicts.
Discord had been gone since Fluttershy died. I haven’t seen or heard from him since. I don’t know if he is okay, nor do I know if he will ever come back. I hope he’s okay. She wouldn’t want him suffering.
Spike, well, it was inevitable. Dragons are made to be alone once they reach full maturity. It’s a calling they have. Leave, isolate, build a horde, and lavish in it. Even with the connection we had, the faith we had in one another, I had seen it happening to him slowly over the years.
It didn’t help that I wasn’t the same, and neither was he. It hurt him too much to watch me falter, and it hurt him too much to know he’d outlive us all. Once he watched most of us fade away, I knew he had made his decision to leave. I respected it, even if it stung.
But, there was always one who was loyal no matter what.
Loyal to a fault.
Today, my final friend bid me farewell.
Today, Rainbow Dash left me.
Not us, just me.
It was only her and I, in that quiet, serene field.
She refused to be in the hospital. Refused to bid farewell to the world stuck in a bed. She was a free spirit. She had lived for danger. She lived to fly. She lived to savor everything life had to offer.
And so, we enjoyed life together one final time.
She hadn’t flown in years. Age took her speed, her agility, her very ability to fly. She couldn’t recall the feeling of wind under her wings, but I wasn’t surprised when she gave me one final request.
To let her feel the sensation one last time.
I fulfilled that request.
I shrouded her in my magic and took off into the open sky. She was right by my side, smiling softly as the wind ran through her faded, rainbow mane, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
I missed this.
She missed this.
It was nice to relive it. I hope I went fast enough to fulfill her wish entirely. Nopony was faster than the Rainbow Dash after all.
But I tried my best to emulate her.
We flew for just over an hour, but as I saw her smile begin to waver I knew it was coming. I flew down back to that field. Laying her next to me as we watched the sunset.
She laid against me, clinging to me tightly. I knew she was afraid, but that ego of hers would take that admittance with her to her grave. I found it endearing, and it reminded me of the daring pegasus I had spent decades alongside.
She had fought hard. She didn’t want to leave me. She didn’t want to abandon her friends. Her last friend. We were all that was left. She feared her own death heavily, but she feared leaving me even more.
Loyalty does that to a pony.
I reassured her, I told her it was okay. I told her she’d fly again. She’d do tricks again. She’d even perform the rainboom again.
She chuckled lightly.
I could’ve sworn I heard her mumble ‘Egghead’ right after.
That raspy voice of hers was weak. Not the loud, clamoring one I knew from years and years of having her in my life. No cocky remarks, bragging, or anything of the sort. Just slow, heavy breaths and the occasional sniffle.
“It’ll be nice to fly all the time again.”
I think that’s what she said, as she looked up at the clouds and smiled.
I couldn’t tell, my tears and pained cries clouding my vision and hearing. I knew it was coming.
She trusted me. I gave her comfort. I finally got through that stubborn exterior of hers.
And she let go.
That last breath, the last remnant of my friends, struck me to my core. Feeling her resting on my side, that fiery flame of hers finally extinguished.
I never cried more in my life. I never felt greater pain. I never felt so alone.
She was loyal to the very end.