Twilight
By Fissionprime
Prompt: The very last dance
What is death, Twilight, other than simply another birth? It simply wouldn't do to have life extending ever into the future. You can’t have life without both a starting and an ending point. But that’s the beautiful thing: birth and death are both just moments in anypony’s life. What matters is what you choose to do with the time you spend in between them. Everypony’s time will eventually come, even mine and Luna’s; but if you can be satisfied with how you have lived, death is just another moment that eventually comes to pass for everypony.
Celestia had spoken to her many times on the subject of mortality; always with the same sagely air that spoke of a pony that had seen many generations. And the longer Twilight lived, the more she realized that every last one of her mentor’s words had been absolutely true. Everypony dies eventually—and though Twilight understood this on an intellectual level, it did little to ease what she felt. Her greatest role model, her mentor, her friend Princess Celestia’s time had come.
What was perhaps a bit soothing, if not purely unnerving, was that as Twilight sat in the Princess’ chamber, Celestia sat perfectly calmly in front of her bed, showing no signs of any sort of distress nor of any ailments. But everypony knew. The last rays of sun disappeared over the horizon, giving way to Luna’s night; and Celestia’s final twilight carried with it a strange sense of finality.
However, the Princess herself was entirely undistressed, and simply beckoned with a hoof, “Twilight, my faithful student, would you mind coming here for a moment?”
As Twilight slowly stepped forward, her head down, Celestia continued, “I believe we have discussed this many times before. Nopony can truly live forever. I may have been blessed with a life far beyond that of the average pony, but that doesn’t make this a time for sadness. My time has finally come, and it is as simple as that.”
Twilight looked up at her mentor, damp spots forming under her eyes. “Of course I understood this would happen eventually, but how could I be prepared for this? I never thought that you were going to die before me, and… I just can’t really believe it.”
“I couldn’t have known when it would happen either, Twilight. I’ve felt as though I’ve been living on borrowed time for many, many years; but I only recently realized that this was truly the end of the line. But there is one thing that I would like to ask of you before I go.” She extended her hoof towards Twilight. “Would you share a final dance with me, my best and most faithful student?”
Twilight took the hoof offered to her and silently nodded. Celestia’s horn began to glow, and soon Twilight could make out a slow, melancholy song in the distance. “This is the song of the cosmos. Luna and I listen to it each dawn and dusk. I thought perhaps it would be fitting.”
She took the smaller pony in her hooves and began to slowly move in time to the music.
“Twilight, if there is one thing that I will miss most about Equestria, it will be seeing your continued growth in love and friendship. Your friends are some of the finest ponies in Equestria, and you would do well to never forget that.”
The music slowed down, and the ponies with it. The song, and the twilight with it, were both drawing to a close. Giving Twilight a gentle smile, Celestia spoke: “I am so proud of the mare that you have become. You have truly been the most faithful student I could ask for.” With a twinkle in her eye, she continued, “Please don’t let the passing of an old mare keep you from what you love. There is so much more that I know you can learn about friendship.”
She held her student close as her eyes gently eased shut. Her grip loosened, and Celestia, Princess of the Sun, breathed her last.