Twilight was the first to go.
She died doing what she always did best, saving Equestria and helping her friends. I guess she wouldn't have wanted it any other way. I know I'm supposed to represent the Element of Loyalty, but...she was as loyal as I ever was. Right to the very end. The last thing I heard her say was;
'Run! Save yourselves! I'll catch up with you!' But she never did. Princess Celestia was in the courtyard with a detachment of Royal Guard, having just arrived by airship. She asked where Twilight was, and, when we told her, she rushed inside, alone. Waiting outside the palace, we heard her anguished cries of rage.
She came out, through the flames, the battle finally won. We could do nothing but stare in disbelief at Twilight's broken form which she carried on her back. Nopony spoke. Her face streaked with tears, she gently laid the body of her former student down in the middle of the courtyard. Somepony had sent for a doctor, and he rushed over, but the Princess simply shook her head. There was nothing he could do.
I could hardly believe it. At first, I simply refused to believe it, refused to believe what my eyes and my brain were telling me. Twilight was gone. I just stared.
Applejack removed her hat in a silent gesture of respect. Fluttershy wept silently. Pinkie Pie' s mane seemed to deflate in sadness. Rarity just stood there, like me, staring, with one hoof clasped across her mouth.
The Princess sent for Shining Armour. When he arrived, at first he couldn't see Twilight. She was surrounded by ponies; us, the Princess, the Guard. He forced his way through the crowd. I think he knew, instinctively, before he even saw her.
He just fell to the ground beside her, tears streaming down his face. Apart from his sobs and the crackling of the flames, the courtyard was completely silent.
We buried her in Canterlot- after all, she was born there. Her parents...they were so proud, but so sad. Shining Armour made a speech. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna made speeches. Even I made a speech. Though she had not been in the military, they gave her a funeral with full military honours, as befitted a hero of Equestria. I sat with the others, and with Spike, who, of course, was taking it particularly hard.
The Guard band played the national anthem, and her casket was draped with the Equestrian flag. The crowd was huge; all of her friends, from Ponyville and from Canterlot. The Guard commander called his ponies to attention, and they saluted her one last time. I found myself doing the same.
The Wonderbolts roared overhead in the missing-pony formation, one of them pulling up as they passed over the cemetery and climbing away into the heavens. Such a simple gesture, but so meaningful, especially for me, and especially because there were six of them and there are...were....six of us.
I wanted to perform a sonic rainboom over the funeral too, but they wouldn't let me. So I did it later, by myself. I flew up above Ponyville, above the library that she loved so much, and I dove straight down and said my final goodbye.
Fluttershy was second.
Nopony really knows why. Nopony really knows what happened, or why she went out into the Everfree forest alone that night. Personally, I think she just couldn't take it anymore, and, feeling like I do now, I can't blame her for that.
They found her the next morning. She looked so peaceful.
Her funeral was a much simpler affair, even though the Princess attended. This time there was no flypast, no drums, no fanfare. That's how she would have wanted it, I think. She wouldn't have wanted to make a fuss. I made another speech, and so did Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie. Big Mac wanted to, but he just couldn't find the words. I knew he had a soft spot for her.
We buried her beneath the willow, at the edge of the cemetery. There was no comfort to be found at the wake. Everyone was simply too shattered by the loss of such a beloved mare. Nopony could fathom it- why her? Why? Why, poor, innocent Fluttershy?
Nopony but her knew the real answer. This time I did my sonic rainboom over the edge of the Everfree forest, full of the creatures she had loved to care for more than anything else in this life.
Rarity was next to go.
I think she took Fluttershy's passing particularly hard. They would always be seen together, especially after Twilight's death, going to the spa, designing dresses together, things like that. Combine that with losing those big orders from Canterlot, and I guess she just couldn't cope. Some ponies would say she was just being selfish, but, again, feeling like I do now, I can understand.
This time, it was her sister who found her. The doctor said she had been poisoned. He was going to call the Guard to investigate, but I think deep down we all knew this wasn't a murder.
None of us knew what to say to Sweetie Belle. How do you explain suicide to a filly?
We buried her next to Fluttershy. All kinds of Canterlot fashion big-wigs were there, which she would have smiled about. They didn't want to buy her dresses, but they came to her funeral. I always thought that was kind of messed up.
I went to see Applejack after the funeral. She hadn't taken it well.
'Why, Rainbow? Why are all our friends dying?' she sobbed. I told her I didn't know, and she fell onto my shoulder and she wept. She made me promise to never leave her. I did.
For Rarity, I performed my sonic rainboom flying through an actual rainbow. I knew she would have appreciated the brilliant flash of colours and the beauty of it all.
Pinkie Pie.
Nopony saw it coming. Although she was hit hard by the deaths of her friends, Pinkie had always managed to bounce back to apparent happiness, as we knew she would.
So it was one hell of a shock when they found her, hanging in the basement at Sugarcube Corner. None of us had expected it. We thought she would be around forever, always there to make us laugh. Nothing had ever seemed to depress her for very long, but the combined shock of losing three of her closest friends had driven her too far.
At the funeral, I felt physically sick. All my friends were leaving me. I'd never hear Pinkie laugh again, and I just couldn't believe it. I wept like I had never wept before, even at any of the other funerals. Applejack put her hoof around me and we shared a long glance. We were the only ones left.
At the wake, we all tried to party, like Pinkie would have wanted. I'm sure some of the guests had fun, but all I did was get slowly drunk and cry. As it ended and everypony left, I took my leave and flew away alone.
I came back in at rooftop height, as fast as I could damn well go, not caring if my sonic rainboom broke all the windows in town. It would surprise ponies, and that's why I did it for Pinkie.
Applejack.
It was just us for a while. I talked to her brother a lot and he told me she was really struggling. I tried to be there for her whenever I could, just the two of us against the world. I did it as much for myself as for her; I needed somepony to do the same for me, and she was the only one left.
When I promised to never leave her, I never got her to promise the same for me. Not that it was her decision in the end, but maybe I should have done it symbolically if nothing else.
The doctors told her she had just a couple of months to live, some disease I couldn't even spell. She talked to me about ending it early, but I convinced her not to because of her sister. In reality, I did it for me. I couldn't face going on alone.
In the last week of her life, Big Mac, Granny Smith and I took it in turns to sit by her bedside in the hospital, never leaving her alone. She was in and out of consciousness, but we wanted to make sure that whenever she was awake, somepony was there with her. Big Mac would always bring Applebloom with him, and AJ would always smile when she saw her little sister. I put two pictures on her bedside table; one of the six Elements together, and one of the four we had already lost.
Whether by fate or by chance, I was the one who was there when her life finally came to an end. I had known it was coming, of course, but when I heard the frantic beeping of the life support machines and then the monotone screech of her heartbeat flatlining, I still could not believe it.
'Don't leave me, AJ,' I whimpered. 'Please...don't leave me alone...'
The doctor came in but he said that there was no point in attempting resuscitation, that it wouldn't make any difference at this stage. He left me alone with her to go and inform her family.
And I cried.
I buried my face in her chest, and I wept. I held nothing back; couldn't have if I had wanted to.
I cried and cried and cried, holding her hoof as she passed from this life.
Now I was alone.
Rainbow Dash.
That's me. The only one left, the only surviving Element of Harmony. I have seen all my friends die, one by one, snuffed out like candles, gone, gone forever. Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack. Sweet Apple Acres looked so peaceful as I did my sonic rainboom, my final goodbye to the last of my friends.
There are five more stars in the firmament tonight.
It's like the missing-pony formation in reverse. I'm the only one left down here. As I sit here on this cloud, I can't help but wonder what they are doing now.
My heart feels heavy, though I am filled with emptiness. It hurts all the time. Not a moment has passed that I don't think of one or all of them. Tears fill my eyes, as they have done countless times before. I'm so lonely. So, so lonely.
I have made my decision. It is the toughest choice of all to make, but the alternative is even tougher, and I'm not strong enough. Not without my friends.
I look up at the sky one last time. The stars twinkle and I wonder idly how far away they are, and how long it will take me to get there.
There is nothing left for me here.
I close my eyes and let myself fall backwards, slowly, tumbling into the void.
I hear a shout. Somepony must have seen me. They shout again, and I recognise the voice. Scootaloo.
I'm so proud of her, of what she's accomplished. She could barely lift herself off of the ground a year ago, and now she is flying like a pro. I know how she looks up to me, how she sees me as the sister she never had. She was the one thing, the only thing, that made me hesitate. The only thing that could have kept me here.
But the pain was just too great.
I can hear the distant beating of wings. She must be trying to catch me. She screams my name.
'Rainbow Dash! No!'
I could easily stop myself, spread my wings and halt my descent. Hearing her anguished cries makes me consider it for a moment, but...I just can't go on. I can't face another morning without them.
'Rainbow Dash!'
The wind whistles past me. The end is coming, and I am ready. I say my final words.
'We'll all be together again soon, girls...'