Orange hooves clopped lightly on the cobblestone. A purple tail swished over the ground.
"Hmm, it happened on a day just like today, didn't it? When that happened..." the pony spoke to herself, glancing up at the sky with lavender eyes. It was bright and sunny; not a cloud in the sky. The weather pegasi had done a great job, making sure that it was nice after the huge storm last week. Not a single pony had been out, hiding inside their homes to wait out the bad weather.
The pony sighed deeply, sitting down on the soft green grass. She opened up her saddlebags to retrieve a bouquet of rainbow flowers, setting them onto the ground in front of her. The pony sat there, staring, for a few more minutes before taking a deep breath.
"So, how is it? I mean, I'm sure you're having a blast up there, flying and doing tricks, but... we miss you down here too. I miss you a lot. More than you probably think.
Things just haven't been the same since you left. All the ponies in Ponyville are acting strange. Even though it's been a few months, it's not the same. Especially our closest friends. Only a few days after the service, Twilight packed her stuff up and moved back to Canterlot. We really wish we could see her more often, but ever since that day she really closed herself up, making sure not to talk to anypony... only if it's important, anyways. That's the only way we can get to say anything to her. But even when we do, she doesn't really say much. She grunts a reply every once in a while, and then escorts you out the door. She's just grieving, Apple Jack told me, but I know she's depressed. She can't handle not having you there anymore. Besides, now that she can no longer fight evil with the Elements, she just sorta gave up.
Rarity has had some luck, I guess. She made some great designs based off you and your personality, and in only a few days some really big fashion designers found her and now she is really famous. She decided to move to Canterlot too, so she can be closer to the other designers and have their opinions more often- that's what she said, anyways. I think she just wants to get away from where it all happened, kind of like Twilight. But she still talks to us as often as she can, unlike her. But I still know she thinks about you. But you're even more famous, because of Rarity's designs and stuff, and the fact you were an Element of Harmony. You were already famous though, even before that, so I don't know.
Pinkie Pie was devastated, but still works at SugarCube Corner. She could never leave Ponyville. All of her friends are here, plus you. You'll always be here too, and I'll stick by your side for forever. Pinkie, being the happy pony she always is, seemed to get over it quickly. You could see in her eyes, though, she was not over it at all. Her hair threatens to deflate everyday when she visits you. And when I say everyday, I mean everyday. She has to almost be dragged away from your side to go back to work. She sleeps next to you, eats with you, and even takes showers in a bath she brought from her place. Always around you.
Sorta like me. But more often. I know this is probably only the sixth or seventh time in these months, but I've been trying to get better, to impress you.
But anyways, back to our friends. Apple Jack is seemingly over it. She misses you, but understands about death, and that it has to happen to everypony eventually. I know what she's talking about. When you adopted me that day, I was so happy. I had already told you that my parents were killed in an accident, and had been in an orphanage for a few years. I know what death is like. But now Apple Jack has thrown herself into work, trying to put her past behind her. She can't forget what happened.
And Fluttershy, oh Fluttershy... She could barely take it... we had to convince her that suicide was not the right way to escape this. When she heard, she didn't even believe Twilight. She raced off the the hospital, yelling that she was coming. I'm not sure what happened when she arrived at the hospital... all I know is that was the last time Fluttershy made another friend. The only way she really made it through was because of Discord being there for her. He's done a lot for her... I think they go a little farther than friends, but at least she has somepony. She has surrounded herself with an invisible wall, blocking any harm from reaching her. But all she is doing is hurting herself. We can still talk to her, but she is even more shy and secluded from the rest of the world. She misses you.
I miss you.
We all miss you.
Twilight knew she should've stopped you from doing that... but you wouldn't have listened to her anyways, you silly pony. And that was ultimately your downfall...
It sure was an awesome trick though. I saw it, as I was laying on a cloud. When I saw the crash, I panicked. I flew off, not wanting to see the damage. It was a cowardly thing of me to do, but I did it. And I cannot change that. Twilight said it wouldn't even had mattered if I had been there.....
...you hadn't even made it."
////////////////
"Rainbow Dash, are you sure this is a good idea? Last time you did this dangerous of a trick you ended up in the hospital for weeks. I really don't think-"
"Easy, Twi. If I can make two sonic rainbooms at the same time, I'll be legendary! Not that I'm not right now, but I will definitely get to be on the Wonderbolts if I do this. And I'm not going to stop trying until I die!" Rainbow Dash announced, stabbing her hoof through the air. Twilight looked worriedly up at the pegasus hovering above her. Rainbow was brave, brash, and bold, stronger than even some of the most well trained ponies in Equestria. But she did not know when to stop.
Little did Rainbow Dash know her words would catch up to her that day.
"Fine. But at least be careful. I don't want another accident. I'll clock your time, and then we're done, okay? No trying it again if you didn't get it right," Twilight said sternly, getting out a speedometer. Rainbow saluted then shot off into the sky, calling back to the unicorn-
"Easy peezy one too breezy!"
Twilight watched as her friend disappeared into the clouds. She hoped Rainbow Dash was right.
Meanwhile, the cyan pegasus in the clouds was prepping herself before she did her trick. She cracked her back and lowered the goggles on her head.
"Alright, time to do this!" Dash dived down, gathering speed quickly. She put her hooves in front of her, streamlining her body for the move. She felt the cone form around her, and kept going. This needed to be perfect. She was close to doing one, but needed to get enough speed to do two at a time. The wind tugged at her mane, pulled her cheeks back, goggles stretching back. Suddenly they pulled off her head altogether, and Rainbow's goggles went flying off her head, getting lost somewhere in the background. She gasped, then shook her head stubbornly.
She could do this without goggles.
Twilight held the binoculars up to her face, checking on Rainbow Dash's progress. She looked pretty close to it. But she wasn't wearing goggles anymore. Twilight stood up, signaling her hooves for the pegasus to stop. Rainbow saw her waving madly, but ignored her and went faster. Tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision. But that didn't matter anymore.
The sound barrier broke with a huge boom, two in fact, and the bright rainbow circles spread across the sky.
Rainbow Dash was sent shooting faster than even she thought was possible. The ground was only a little ways off.
"Wait! Twilight! I-I can't stop! Twilight! Help me!"
Rainbow was spiraling towards the ground, going faster with every second. She was now only as high as the first layer of clouds.
Suddenly, another sonic rainboom went off, and the last thing Rainbow Dash felt was a tingling sensation in her neck, and then everlasting darkness.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight screamed, preparing to run to where her friend crashed. But the explosion of dirt and rocks kept her back, making the unicorn shield her face. She held onto the ground with one hoof, digging her back hooves into it. The huge wind blasted the trees and shook the earth.
"Rainbow Dash!"
Twilight sped forward, going straight into the last of the debris and standing over the blue pegasus. She gasped, putting a hoof to her mouth.
A limp blue shape was laying in the scattered dirt. Two bright blue wings stuck up from the body. Her head was at an awkward angle, looking at Twilight. Her rose eyes stared at the unicorn, still wide open, already faded.
"R-Rainbow D-Dash?" Twilight felt tears gather in her eyes, dripping down her face and into the dirt. The unicorn nudged the pegasus gently in the shoulder. But she knew she was gone.
"Don't worry, I'll get you help!" Twilight exclaimed, picking Rainbow Dash up from the ground with her magic. The pegasus hung from her grip, limbs swaying at angles not meant to be, as Twilight sprinted into town.
The unicorn entered the hospital, screaming. "She needs help! Somepony help her!"
Quickly, doctors surrounded them and took the broken pegasus from her. They rushed into the ER, leaving Twilight alone in the waiting room.
She sat there all day. Doctors and nurses left and returned to the room all day, carrying all sorts of equipment.
Until finally, Nurse Redheart came up to her.
Twilight jumped up, her heart pounding in her throat. "Well? Is she okay?"
The nurse looked sadly at Twilight. "I'm so sorry. We couldn't save her. She was already gone."
"But-but-"
"What speed was Rainbow Dash going when she crashed?"
The question caught Twilight off guard. She had been too busy panicking to clock Rainbow's speed. But she had to guess it had been five times as fast as her regular sonic rainboom speed.
"Well, I-I don't know."
"We brought in a specialist, Twilight. At a certain speed, there's no more to say about it."
"What are you saying?"
"At speeds like that, her neck was broken before she even hit the ground."
"What!? No! That- that can't be true!"
"I'm sorry Twilight. Her neck would have been snapped back by the force of the wind. Not even the most skilled pegasi can escape the simple facts." Nurse Redheart put her hoof on Twilight's shoulder comfortingly. The unicorn stood there dumbfounded.
Rainbow Dash was gone.
Not just gone as in on a vacation, but gone gone. Forever.
And forever is a long time, Twilight realized.
"I'm leaving."
"Excuse me?"
Twilight turned to Redheart. "I'm just going to go now."
"Oh, of course. You probably want to tell your friends now. Send them my sincere apology."
Twilight nodded firmly, then walked out the door. She would have to tell her friends now, wouldn't she?
The unicorn walked to SugarCube Corner in what seemed like slow-motion. The jingle of the door opening immediately drew Pinkie Pie's attention from her work. She bounced over to Twilight happily, already taking a huge breath for what she was going to say.
"Hey Twilight! What have you-"
"Pinkie Pie."
Pinkie looked at her friend. Twilight almost never interrupted her. "...Yes?"
"I-I have some bad news." Boy, that was an understatement.
Pinkie bit her lip. "What happened?"
"It's not going to be easy to tell you, but you need to understand it."
"Oh, okay. I will."
Taking one more deep, shuddering breath, Twilight told her. "Pinkie, Rainbow Dash is gone. Forever. She was doing a trick and she crashed. She died."
"W-what? Rainbow Dash... is gone?" Pinkie whimpered, her hair deflating like a balloon.
"Yes Pinkie. Rainbow Dash is gone." Twilight pulled her friend into a hug, feeling the tears drip into her purple fur.
"The doctors couldn't save her?"
"No Pinkie. Her neck broke, she was going so fast. Nurse Redheart told me she was gone before she hit the ground."
"Our Dashie..."
"I know. Our Rainbow Dash...."
That was when Pinkie Pie lost it. She started bawling, a flood of tears pouring out of her eyes as she clung to Twilight. Customers looked curiously over at them. But they didn't care as they mourned their lost friend.
"I-I never g-got to say goodbye!!!" Pinkie wailed.
"Me neither. The last thing I told her was she wasn't going to try it again..."
"I miss her already Twilight!"
"Me too, Pinkie, me too."
"Do we have to go tell the others now?"
"You don't have to come with me, but you can if you want. I don't want you to be alone."
"I'll come with you."
"Okay." Twilight retracted from the hug. Pinkie wiped her nose with a hoof. The two set out for Carousel Boutique next. The unicorn knocked on the door, earning a "coming darling!" from Rarity.
Light blue magic opened the door for them. The fashionista pulled a hoof through her mane and looked at them with a smile. A smile that disappeared as soon as she saw the looks on their faces.
"Oh dear! What happened?" Rarity asked worriedly.
"Something terrible has happened, Rarity. Rainbow Dash was doing a trick. She went too fast and then crashed. She's dead," Twilight told her. Rarity stood there, mouth open, for a few moments. She looked at the ground, then her blue eyes slowly slid up to look at Twilight.
"No... not Rainbow Dash!"
"I'm sorry."
Rarity put a hoof to her mouth, tears streaming down her face. She backed up and closed the door. Sobbing was heard as it closed. Twilight and Pinkie looked at each other, knowing she would probably not want anypony to see her like that, so they moved on to Apple Jack.
The walk seemed like forever as the two traveled to Sweet Apple Acres. Apple Jack was outside, unsurprisingly, bucking apples. She greeted her friends with a wave.
"Well howdy y'all!"
"Um, hi Apple Jack..." Pinkie Pie murmured. Apple Jack looked at her friends, confused. Why were they crying?
"What's the matter? Ah've never seen you two so upset."
"We have to tell you something," Twilight said.
"Well, lay it on me." She perked one orange ear. She tried not to think about whatever had got them so worked up.
"Rainbow Dash died doing a trick!" Pinkie Pie yelled, wanting to get it over with. Apple Jack twitched her ear.
"Ah'm sorry?"
"Rainbow Dash is gone!"
"Ah beg your pardon?"
"Apple Jack! Stop! It's true! Rainbow Dash is dead, okay?"
"But-but, what...."
"What? But what? That's all there is to it," Pinkie finished with a sob, leaning against Twilight.
"But.. Why can't she just be careful for once!?" Apple Jack's expression turned from sadness to anger as she smashed an apple cart with her fore hooves, wood cracking and splintering under them.
"Apple Jack stop!" Twilight shouted, using her magic to hold the enraged earth pony back. Her orange hooves were bleeding, but she didn't care. She struck out with her back hooves and hit the cart again, further destroying it.
"Apple Jack!" Pinkie exclaimed, dodging a flying piece of wood.
"She was never careful! She caused that to happen! If she hadn't been so reckless, this would've never happened to her! To us!" Apple Jack yelled, pulling away from Twilight and running off, smashing things in her wake. Pinkie ran after her.
"You go tell Fluttershy! I'll talk to Apple Jack!" She raced off, disappearing from view.
Twilight sighed and teleported herself to Fluttershy's cottage. She knocked on the door. A yellow pegasus appeared in front of her.
"Oh Twilight! How good it is to see you! Won't you come in?"
"I'm afraid I can't. I have to tell you something- something you won't like."
"Oh?"
"It's about Rainbow Dash..."
"Oh no! What did she do?"
"Fluttershy, she was doing a trick... And she crashed. She's gone."
"No! Twilight, please tell me this is some sort of cruel joke!"
"I would never play a joke like that on you."
"No! NO! Rainbow Dash, I'm coming Rainbow Dash! Hold on! I'm coming!" Fluttershy reared on her hind legs, churning her fore hooves in front of her, before jumping into the air. She raced off, long pink hair and tail flowing behind her. Twilight watched as she went.
She would be even sadder knowing Twilight wasn't lying.
////////////////////
"Yeah, I miss you, Rainbow Dash..." the pony sighed, scraping her hoof along the ground.
"I think everypony misses her."
"Huh?" She turned around. Discord was hovering behind her. "Oh, hi."
"Visiting her again, are we?"
"Yup. I haven't for a while."
"I don't blame you. It's almost too sad.." The spirit landed next to her and laid on his back.
"You got that right..."
"But you know something?"
"What?"
"Don't feel sad. That will only ruin your life."
"Well how am I supposed to not be sad? She was my idol.. my mom..."
"I know. But sadness makes you bitter, depressed... shielding yourself from the world. Just look at Twilight, Fluttershy... Sadness really isn't good for you."
"But death isn't good for you either."
"Everypony has to die eventually."
"But some before others."
"Yup. That's just the way things work around here. Life must go on, though."
"Yeah, your life will go on forever."
"Well, yes, but yours won't. You will all see Rainbow Dash again someday. Think about that."
"I know, but someday. Not everyday. I'd rather see her everyday."
"Scootaloo, listen to me. Just because she's gone doesn't mean she's gone. Her spirit is with you, always. Everyday, she's cheering you on in every fight you fight, every game you play, every day you live. In the end, it'll all work out."
"Wow, that was really touching... You know, you're not as bad as I thought."
"Yeah, but don't tell anypony. My reputation will be ruined."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Yes. And for free, I'll let you ask another."
"Oh. Wow. Whatever. Anyways, are you and Fluttershy, well, um.."
Discord's head shot up. "Oh! That... Well, I don't know. I'm more of a helper, I guess."
"Are you in the friend zone?"
"Oh shut up Scootaloo!" He punched her in the arm, and she laughed. "Oh, she can laugh! I didn't know that was possible!"
"I've just been so sad..."
"Remember, sadness bad!"
"Whatever.."
"You know I'm right."
"Hey, when Fluttershy dies will you not be sad?"
"Well, when that day comes I'll deal with it. I'd rather live today in the present, not in the past."
"Hmm, I've never thought about it that way."
"Of course you haven't! You've been too sad!"
"Uh."
"You got that right! God of Chaos, doing his duty!"
"Whatever."
"I'm great, aren't I?"
"Can you go now? I-I'd like to be alone with my memories."
"Of course. But just remember what I said." With a snap of his fingers, he was gone. Scootaloo looked back to Rainbow Dash's grave.
It was a statue of her, fully colored, standing up with her wings flared. She was grinning, one eyebrow cocked, almost making her look as if she was laughing at something, and she had one fore hoof off the ground.
"Looks so life like..." Scootaloo murmured sadly, flying up closer. It was larger than her, so she could just stand under it. She ran a hoof down the statue's wing.
A huge boom split the air, making the earth shake. Scootaloo crouched close to the ground as the rumbling passed. She looked up into the sky.
A sonic rainboom.
Only Rainbow Dash could do those.
"Was that you?" Scootaloo called into the air. She heard wing beats, and then a small thud. A faint wind rustled the fur around her ear, like a whisper.
"Was that a yes?" she called again. And into her ear, Scootaloo clearly heard:
"...Yes..."
The end...?