//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Goodbye // Story: Loss // by Pwnyta //------------------------------// Chapter 3: Goodbye         Twilight Sparkle walked slowly out of the hospital with her eyes on the ground. She raised a hoof to her face and wiped away the last few tears from her bloodshot, swollen eyes. It had taken a while for the doctor to calm her down enough to let her go home. The cool morning air had been replaced by the heat of the afternoon as Celestia’s sun hung high in the sky, and the thought of not being able to ever see Rarity again had not fully been processed in the unicorn’s head. She sighed and started to slowly walk back towards the library.         The lavender mare trudged her way through the town square of Ponyville. Many business owners were now out, attempting to sell their goods to anypony who passed by. There was happy laughter and chatter coming from the outdoor patio in front of the café and around the shopping area. Twilight felt rather uncomfortable walking through the square. She seemed extremely out of place in a world where everypony was happy and the day was nearly perfect. Everywhere she looked, she could think of a memory with Rarity that forced her to suppress a fresh set of tears. She picked up her pace through the square, keeping her head down in hopes that nopony would stop her for a conversation. She couldn’t bear to have to share the bad news with anypony but her friends at the moment.         She arrived back at the library, looking in the window and seeing four other ponies standing around talking and waiting. Twilight felt all the energy drain from her legs. She couldn’t stand the feeling of knots tying tighter in her stomach. How would she possibly be able to form the words to bear the news? She paused for a minute at the doorway to her own house, staring at the small golden handle. What do I even say? How can I possibly explain it to them… she thought to herself as a fresh set of tears covered her vision. The unicorn’s mind drifted back to the previous day. She felt guilty that she was the last of her friends to talk to or see Rarity alive. Why was she so special? Why did she deserve to be the last one to see their fellow Element with her beautiful blue eyes open and happy?         After a couple of minutes to regain her composure the best she could, she pressed down the handle and let the door slowly open by its own weight. The other four ponies in the house looked to see who it was and centered their attention on a distraught-looking Twilight. She looked at each one of them, noticing the amount of concern and confusion displayed on each of their faces. She could hear the muffled sobs of her assistant upstairs behind her closed bedroom door. The librarian felt terrible for the baby dragon. He had never gotten the chance she had to see her fallen friend one more time.         The orange earth pony approached her first. “Twi, what’s the matter?” she asked. “Rainbow and Pinkie here said Spike needed us to come here for you.” She explained. “Did something happen? Are you okay?” The purple pony looked at all of her friends. She felt a large lump form in her throat, and her stomach twisted into an unbearably heavy knot.         “I went to visit Rarity this morning with Spike and she… well… she…” Twilight had trouble with the final part. She knew she had to tell her friends but she couldn’t bear having to be the one to bring them the upsetting news. She felt her emotions overtake her once again. “She died last night!” she finished, sobbing. Silence overcame the entire room. No one moved or reacted as the words sunk in.         “W-whaddaya mean she died?” asked the cowpony, breaking the few minutes of silence.         “Yeah, Twilight. Didn’t the doctor say she was fine yesterday? I’m even preparing her get well party,” said the bright pink pony with a hint of confusion in her voice.         “This… can’t possibly be true!” yelled the rainbow-mared pegasus.         Twilight simply shook her head as she wiped at her wet-furred cheeks. “The d-doctor told me it w-was a c-complication. H-he said there wasn’t any… anyway to save her. I’m s-sorry everypony,” the lavender unicorn stammered through her sobs.         “No! Why?! I don’t believe it,” Rainbow Dash yelled, slamming a hoof against the wall closest to her. Tears had filled her eyes, but they didn’t manage to veil the rage that was blazing through them. The yellow animal caretaker was the first to join Twilight in fits of sobbing.  She was unable to form the words she so badly wanted to speak. I… just saw her yesterday… she was perfectly fine, Fluttershy thought as she felt her own legs give and she collapsed to the ground. Her fellow pegasus flew over and wrapped a hoof around her neck, embracing her in a hug. “It can’t be true… it just can’t,” the blond pony said as she walked over to join the two pegasi on the ground. She began to blink away the tears forming in her eyes as well. Her fellow earth pony followed suit, missing her trademark grin and bubbly personality. Emptiness seemed to reflect from the party pony’s eyes as she took a seat a wrapped a hoof around her friends. Shock had practically silenced the motor-mouthed mare. “I’m sorry everypony…” Twilight repeated silently as she stood in the doorway. She hung her head, knowing how badly she had hurt all of her friends. As much as she didn’t like having to bring them the worst news of their lives, she knew that it was best that she told them. She slowly walked over and joined the remaining Elements of Harmony on the ground as they all silently cried. ~`~`~`~`~         A few hours had passed before the group had all managed to settle down. However, a very heavy air still hung around all of them. Twilight came out of the kitchen carrying a steaming tea kettle in her mouth. The shock of that day still rendered her unable to concentrate well enough to use her magic. She walked around the circle of her silent friends, filling each cup with the same potent honey and chamomile tea that she had shared with her fellow unicorn on that fateful day. The lone unicorn sat down at her spot and sipped at her tea. She wasn’t sure what to say to break the silence. No one knew what to say at all. She looked at all of her friends’ downtrodden expressions. This truly was the worst day of all of their lives.         Knock. Knock. Knock. The sound was that of a hoof hitting wood. The strange trance that had enveloped everyone was suddenly broken by the loud noise. Twilight stood up and walked over to the door, opening it. Standing in front of her was a large white stallion and his pink mare wife. Twilight, a little shocked, stepped back and allowed them to enter.         “Hello Twilight Sparkle,” began Rarity’s father as he scanned the room, “oh, I see all of you are here. Good, that will make it a bit easier. I just wanted to thank everypony for being with our daughter until the end. If there’s one thing our Rarity loved, it was spending time with her friends. I’m sure she was very happy to have seen all of you together one more time before she passed,” he continued.         “O-of course, sir. We all loved Rarity very much. Can’t imagine what it’s gonna be like without her ‘round here no more,” Applejack said, standing up and walking up to meet Twilight. Rarity’s mother began to cry, burying her face into her husband’s shoulder.         “Oh, my, we had better be quick. I came here to tell you that we are having the funeral tomorrow afternoon. It would mean a lot to us if you would be there,” he finished as he tried to console his wife.         “We will be there. There’s nothing that will stop all of us from saying goodbye,” Twilight said to the couple. They gave each other a confirmatory nod before the husband turned and led his wife out of the library, Twilight slowly closing the door behind them.         “Well, I guess that confirms it,” the orange cowpony said, hanging her head as she let go of the last string of doubt in her mind about the situation. Upon hearing those words, the group broke down into a fresh fit of tears. ~`~`~`~`~         Twilight watched as her group of friends slowly walked out of the library. She sighed as she closed the door behind Fluttershy, the last of the demoralized ponies to leave. The unicorn gave a heavy sigh and slowly trudged upstairs, drained from the horrible day. She opened her door to find Spike laying in his bed, seemingly asleep, clutching the sapphire he had made for his pony crush. As cute of a sight as it was, the mare could not manage to form a smile that day. She walked over and knelt down next to the dragon’s bed, wrapping her hooves around her assistant’s neck and embracing him tightly. The dragon stirred, surprised by the sudden contact.         “Oh Spike, I’m so sorry, I know how much she meant to you,” Twilight said to her friend as she pressed her muzzle against his back. The baby still wasn’t willing to speak, but the rubbing of his hand on her furry leg was all the confirmation she needed that he was listening. “I feel so terrible you weren’t with us yesterday. It would have meant the world to her if she got to see her favorite dragon one more time,” the mare continued, feeling one more set of tears beginning to roll out of her eyes. “Come sleep up in my bed tonight, Spike. I don’t want to be alone,” she finished.         The baby dragon was taken aback by the request. He sat up and faced his pony friend. His eyes were swollen, the undersides crusted with dried tears. He had a sad look upon his face as he examined the lavender mare. After a few seconds he nodded in understanding. He stood up out of his bed and followed the unicorn to her bed. With a little assistance, he climbed into her bed and rolled over under the sheets. Twilight followed him and tucked the sheet in behind her. She wrapped her arm around the baby dragon and closed her eyes, feigning sleep as she felt the dragon’s rhythmic breathing slow down as he entered slumber.         The mare ran through the past two days’ events in her head. She couldn’t believe that only yesterday, he closest friend was alive and very well, complaining about completing dresses on time. How could she ever face life without her friend? The unicorn closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on the picture frame sitting on the dresser near her door. After a few seconds, she finally was able to create the levitation spell necessary to bring the object into the air and over to her. She grabbed a hold of it with a hoof as she let the spell dissipate.         The photo within the frame was of the Elements of Harmony together as a group. Each one was dressed in their unique, handmade dress for the Grand Galloping Gala that was held during Twilight’s first year in Ponyville. The unicorn sighed as she remembered the trouble that they had all put Rarity through to make those dresses, along with the abominations they had suggested as well. Her fellow unicorn had taken the whole thing in stride, however, a feat of patience that impressed even Twilight. She truly was the Element of Generosity, Twilight thought to herself as she put the picture on the bed stand next to her, facing her. I just wish we had one more chance to talk; she finished thinking as her mind slowly drifted off towards dreamland. ~`~`~`~`~         Several birds had landed on the windowsill and chirped loudly outside of the circular window of the bedroom. The lavender unicorn stirred awake at the penetrating noise. She rubbed at her eyes, which were extremely sore from all of their work yesterday. As her vision came into focus, she noticed she was staring at the picture from the night before. Everypony had a large smile on their face, unaware of the disaster each one was going to face during the celebration. Best night ever, indeed, Twilight thought to herself as she focused her attention on Rarity. She looked absolutely regal in her dress, with its dark purple shawl wrapped around her neck, matching well with her pearl white fur. Each frill of the light-purple and gold dress was set absolutely perfectly and the crown of jewels that lay just under her horn was a perfect complementary piece. Rarity always knew how to design the perfect dress for any pony in any situation.         The lavender unicorn sighed as she shook Spike gently to wake him. The baby dragon grunted as he awoke from his sleep. He noticed a letter sitting in front of him, probably as a result of a hiccup overnight. He handed it back to the mare as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. Twilight took the letter with her magic and broke the seal, unfurling it.          My faithful student,         News has been delivered to me on the death of your friend, Rarity. I am extremely sorry to hear about your loss. If there is anything you need from me at this time, simply write to me and I will reply posthaste. Remember, Twilight, I love you and cherish you and your friends very much, and I will do all in my power to make sure you all make it through this hard time. I will see you later today, for I will be speaking at Rarity’s funeral at the request of her parents. If you would like to talk afterwards, feel free to seek me out.                                         With much love,                                         Princess Celestia         Twilight clutched the letter close to her body. Being able to see her lifelong mentor was exactly what she needed at this time. She read the letter aloud to Spike before hugging him and helping him out of the bed. Twilight relieved him of his usual duties by preparing breakfast for the day, giving the dragon the day to rest for what would become quite possibly the most upsetting experience of his life. She stepped outside, stopping at the front step and looking down at what lay in front of her.         On the ground was the Ponyville Times daily newspaper. The front page was adorned with a large picture of Rarity, posing in front of several dresses from her store. Her head was turned slightly to the side, showing off the natural curl of her mane just a slight bit more. The headline read “Local, celebrated Element of Harmony dies tragically.” Twilight felt her eyes fill with liquid once again. She used her magic to pick up the newspaper and unfold it to read the article:         Early yesterday morning, the well-known dressmaker Rarity died of complications from a cardiac issue she had suffered the previous day. Sources at the hospital have explained that the complication was one that can arise from the use of blood thinning medication in order to clear a clot. By not completely removing the clot from the body, the risk exists that the clot would travel and lodge itself elsewhere in the body. This is most likely what caused the death of our young owner of the Carousel Boutique.         Rarity was well known for her talent in designing jewel-adorned dresses and outfits for Equestrian celebrities. She, along with several of her close friends, represented the Elements of Harmony in order to stop the conflicts that have troubled Equestria several times during the past few years, most specifically the crises involving Nightmare Moon and Discord. Rarity herself stood for the Element of Generosity. Anypony wishing to pay their final respects can do so at her funeral, which will be held at Ponyville Cemetery this afternoon. Please turn to page 14 for a five-page memorial, including a look at the life of Rarity as she made a name for herself among Equestrian elite. Twilight sighed as she folded the newspaper. She had to prepare for the funeral, and now was no time to make herself more emotional by reading further into the article. She carried the newspaper inside and put it on an empty space of a bookshelf near the door.         “Hey Twilight,” said a familiar male voice, “um… I’m ready if you are.”         Twilight smiled at her friend. “Oh, Spike, it’s so nice to hear you talk again,” she said to her dragon friend. She trotted up and gave him a quick hug. Unfortunately, it didn’t cheer his mood up.         They headed out in the direction of Ponyville Cemetery. The sky was a dull gray, as rainclouds covered the sky. From what Twilight remembered, it wasn’t supposed to rain for several more days. I really hope that Rainbow wasn’t the cause of this, she thought to herself. It would be an absolute disaster if it rained during Rarity’s funeral. Along the way through the town square, the lavender mare looked towards Carousel Boutique. She took notice of the closed sign hanging in the window. She looked away as she felt her emotions working their way up again. I guess we will never see the other side of that sign again, the mare thought as she picked up her pace, rounding a corner and leaving the boutique out of sight.         The purple duo arrived at the cemetery a few moments before the beginning of the funeral. Through the gates, she could see the crowd gather around a small clearing. She was surprised at the size of the crowd. Rarity seemed to have more reach than she presented, as Twilight recognized multiple famous celebrities, music artists, and some of the richest ponies she had ever heard of sitting in the audience. Twilight quickly walked through the aisle that was split down the middle of the crowd. She found her friends already seated towards the front, with two empty seats bearing reserved signs. Applejack turned and spotted the lavender mare. She waved her over, and then embraced her in a large hug as she approached and took her seat with Spike. Twilight looked to the end of the aisle and saw Princess Celestia sitting in a seat, her eyes focused squarely on the ground. Even the ruler of the land of Equestria seemed to look severely impacted by the loss of the dressmaking pony. The chatter began to die down as the small hired orchestra began to play a somber melody.         Five unicorns all began walking slowly down the aisle, carry a large casket. Everypony turned their attention back towards the group as they moved forward. Almost military-like, they hovered the casket with their magic towards a small platform at the front of the audience, setting it down gently before turning in unison and walking out of sight to the side. The casket was a bright pearl white. It almost looked like it was shining despite the heavy cloud cover in the sky. On the side it was adorned by three diamonds, organized and cut into the shape of Rarity’s cutie mark. The same pattern was found along the cover of the casket.         Another unicorn, dressed in a black robe, approached the casket. Using his magic, he unlocked the top and opened half of the casket, revealing Rarity’s upper half to the crowd. Wails of agony could be heard as people began to lose control of their emotions at the sight of the deceased pony. The five remaining Elements all began to have tears fall down onto their cheeks, staining their fur. Rarity lay in her casket, eyes closed. The unicorn simply appeared to be in a state of slumber. Her face held a serious look to it, one that her friends saw when she was fully concentrating on one of her projects. Her mane was, once again, styled absolutely perfectly, and her fur coat looked flawless. No one would expect anything less of Rarity, even in death.         Princess Celestia stood from her seat as the black-robed pony walked off to join the pallbearers on the side. She approached a platform and turned to face the audience, giving it a quick scan before focusing her attention on the five remaining Elements sitting in the front row. She cleared her throat and began to speak.         “Today we are gathered in mourning of a young, very prestigious pony. But mourning does not just mean that we grieve, but also celebrate her life. Miss Rarity had her life cut extremely short, but in the time she had on this planet, she managed to affect the lives of everypony that is here today. Not only was she a great businesspony, but she was a wonderful friend.         “I have only met Rarity a few times, but in the times I had, I was touched by how kind of a pony she was. She represented our Element of Generosity very well. She always put her friends’ needs first, and she was extremely thankful for every little thing that she earned or was given throughout her life. Rarity was quite the handful for her friends at times I’m sure, but in the end, she always managed to do the right thing.” The princess finished her speech. She looked back at the Elements. She was saddened by the sight she was greeted by. Twilight and Fluttershy both had their faces buried in their hooves, sobbing quite hysterically. Applejack and Rainbow Dash tried their best to calm their friends, but the Princess could see the tears flowing freely from their eyes as well. Pinkie Pie sat with her head down. Her normally curly hair was flattened today, adding to her sad expression. She was not anything like the party pony that she was known to be.         Princess Celestia was silent as she moved forward and stood by the casket. She looked down at the former Element. “Rarity, you were truly an inspiration to us all. Your giving nature, combined with your strong personality made you a wonderful pony to grace this world. I consider myself blessed to have known you,” she said aloud for the crowd to hear. With that, the tip of her horn lit up as she looked skyward, and a beam of light shot out from it. The beam travelled straight up into the sky, scattering a small hole into the cloud cover. Through the hole, sunlight beamed downwards hitting the casket. The casket was illuminated, the pearl white almost blinding. The diamonds lit up a brilliant blue, reflecting a blinding light into the audience. The princess faced the audience as the light of her magic died down. “Anypony who wishes to give Rarity a final goodbye may do so now,” she said as she stepped away from the casket. She walked by the five Elements and took her seat. The audience began to shuffle and form a line. One by one, they laid flowers on the ground in front of the casket, paying their final respects as they continued on past. There wasn’t a dry eye that left the cemetery that day. The five Elements stayed in their seats through the whole ordeal, comforting each other. When the rest of the audience had finally dissipated, the princess stood up and faced the five girls. “I’ll give you all some time to say goodbye before I fetch the burial crew to finish the ceremony,” the princess said before walking off. The girls sat in silence for a few seconds before they all stood up, each fetching a flower from the rose wreath that hung on a stand by the side of the casket. They formed a line of their own, with Applejack at the front. The orange earth pony stepped forward, placing the flower inside the casket across Rarity’s front hooves. She wiped tears from her eyes. “Rarity we-we’re gonna miss you. It w-won’t be the same without any of your beauty or personality to l-liven the group up,” the cowpony said through sobs. She bowed her head to her friend before walking forward towards the exit of the cemetery. Pinkie Pie stepped forward next, placing her rose right on top of Applejack’s. “Oh Rarity, n-nothing is going to seem right without you. P-parties just won’t be as b-beautiful without your touch,” said Pinkie before she broke down into tears and slowly shuffled off, covering her muzzle to suppress the sobs. The yellow pegasus stepped forward next. She placed her rose into the pile and sobbed, trying to wipe her eyes the best she could. “Rarity… um… I’m so sorry… I wish I could have helped…” she managed to squeak out before moving forward, following her friends out of the cemetery. Rainbow Dash moved forward next. She added her rose to the top of the pile and examined Rarity. The light-blue pegasus couldn’t summon the words she wanted to say. All she could do was stare helplessly as she let the tears blur her vision. She blinked the salty substance out of her eyes as she trudged forward past the casket and towards the gate. Spike moved forward next. Tears flowed freely and easily from his eyes and down the scales on his cheeks. He looked at Rarity for a few seconds before his stomach could take it no longer. The dragon moved forward and stood on his toes, placing the small sapphire he had crafted on the pillow besides her head before he ran away, his sobs audible until he was past the gate. Finally, Twilight stepped forward, using her magic to gently place her rose with the pile. She looked down at her fellow unicorn as tears clouded her vision. She wore a sad expression on her face. “Rarity… Well… I’m so happy to have known you, even if the time was so short. There was so much I still wanted to say to you. I wanted to tell you about Canterlot Castle, about growing up in magic school, about what it meant to me to have you in my life… I guess it will just have to wait until we meet again. Thank you for everything you’ve given me. Be it the memories we share, or even something as simple and wonderful as our friendship. Goodbye… Rarity,” she managed to choke out. Twilight closed her eyes, causing tears to be forced out of her eyes and down across her cheeks, dampening the fur on her face. She began concentrating with all of her power as her horn light up. After a few short seconds, she let out a loud grunt as a popping noise formed in the air. The unicorn opened her eyes and before her hovered the golden necklace adorned with a blue diamond. She gave a small smile as she placed the Necklace of Generosity around Rarity’s neck. The lavender pony stepped back in order to examine the body one last time as she felt a fresh set of tears well up into her eyes. “That was a beautiful goodbye, Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Celestia said to break the silence. The purple mare was surprised by the shadow that enveloped her as the princess approached from behind her. The librarian turned quickly, facing her mentor and bowing her head. “Oh, Princess, why did this have to happen? Why was there no way to stop such a tragic thing from happening? She was way too young to be gone,” Twilight pleaded to her mentor. Celestia simply bowed her head and wrapped a hoof around her student’s neck, pulling her in close. “Nopony will know why things like this happen to such wonderful ponies, and there certainly is no way to prevent it,” Celestia explained. “But just remember what I said during the funeral. While we mourn for her death in sadness, we should also celebrate all of the great memories we have with her. Based on the letters you have written to me, it seems you had many wonderful memories you shared with Rarity. I have to go for now, Twilight, but always remember that I am simply a letter away. If you have anything you need to say at all, don’t hesitate to write to me,” she finished. The princess took a few steps away from her student and looked down at her, giving her a warming smile. Princess Celestia kicked off the ground and expanded her wings, flapping a few times as she sailed off into the sky that was now tinted orange by the setting sun. Twilight stood there a few minutes more, letting the tears freely flow down and drip to the ground. She didn’t want to leave; she wanted to stay there with her friend forever. But the lavender mare knew that it was time to have her friend laid to rest. She gave the casket one more look before slowly walking out of the cemetery, never to see her fellow unicorn again. The librarian arrived back at the library and slowly trudged up the stairs. She opened the door to her room to see Spike lying in her bed, already in a deep slumber. A small damp spot had formed on the dragon’s pillow from the time he spent sobbing before he finally fell asleep. Twilight gently lifted her assistant’s head and moved the pillow, replacing it with hers. She quickly replaced the pillowcase and placed the pillow back on the bed before crawling under the sheets next to Spike. She looked at the picture of the six Elements that still sat on the bed stand, letting the tears continue to fill her eyes. She sobbed for an hour before her lack of energy forced her body into a deep sleep.