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// Chapter 1 
// Story: Winter Evening 
// by Sun Aura 
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	A cold winter night had fallen over the land of Equestria. Snowflakes drifted down, covering the land in beautiful white. Ponies everywhere were already hiding away in their warm homes, nestled in thick blankets by the fire. Those few ponies still left out were hurrying to join them. Yet in the beautiful city of Canterlot, ponies still stayed outside.
This group of ponies was the most diverse ever to gather in the city. Mares and stallions of all races and colors grouped together on the castle’s grounds. At first, one looking from afar away might assume the princesses were holding the Grand Galloping Gala early. But if you wandered in, the somber faces of everypony would erase your ideas. They had gathered for a funeral, the funeral of a pony who had tried her best to become everypony’s friend.
Her once vibrant pink mane was now quite gray, her coat had become considerably lighter in color. She has always kept bouncing until her last few days of life, and the exercise kept her body in a great shape, making her appear years younger than she was. If you had asked her three days ago, when she was alive, she could have told you the names, birthdays, likes, and dislikes of each and every pony who attended her funeral.
The mortician had done too good of a job setting her up for this. Her mane styled in a shape similar to cotton candy, only a touch of makeup being used to give her an illusion of life. Even in death, the mare kept smiling. One might think she was only sleeping, but they knew she could never be still that long.
One pony, a young lavender mare, walked with purpose towards the mare in the casket, and the crowd parted to let her through. The crowd fell silent in the presence of their beloved Princess Twilight Sparkle. She wondered if they parted for her because of royalty, or if it was from respect for her friendship with the pink mare.
As she neared the end, she began to tremble. She tried to calm herself, but they could see she was barely keeping it together. Twilight stood staring at the mare in the casket in silence for a few moments. She bent her head forward, letting her mane fall down and obscure her face, and began to speak.
“My dear friend,” She said, as if the mare were able to hear her. “Pinkie Pie, I will miss you. You were my first real friend. When I came to ponyville, you were the first to want to know me. It was in your nature to be friendly, but you truly cared for each of us. I never apologized for being annoyed at that first party you threw for me, did I? I never got to thank you for every time you cheered me up, or saved me with that Pinkie Sense of yours.”
The lavender mare sighed, trying to find her words. “I… I wish you did not have to go, I wish we could stay together and make new memories. I remember each and every day with you. From that time we traveled through the Everfree Forest, to the day I became princess, the day we discovered my immortality, to our last night together when we gazed at the stars. It was one of the most beautiful nights I had seen. We smiled, thinking how the night’s beauty and wonder was one of the reasons we came together.”
Twilight tried so hard to keep composed, but she was breaking. Tears were already streaming down her face. “You were my first close friend, and the last of them to leave. Goodbye, my dear, sweet friend. Keep smiling.”
She turned from the casket, hurrying away. These ponies should not have to see their princess cry. They watched in respectful silence as she left. Some wished to go and comfort her, but they did not know her well. They felt that somepony close to her should be there to comfort her. Too late did they realize she had no one left.
Twilight stopped in the street next to the park. The snow kept falling, and the streetlamps provided barely any light or warmth. She let out all her tears where nopony could see. Her crown fell from her head and bounced away, but she did not care to see where it went. Under her breath, she rambled about the unfairness of life and death, she wished for many things, but mostly she just wanted the pain to end. Tears crystallized into icicles in her coat.
A wing landed on Twilight’s shoulder, making her jump. By instinct she began wiping the tears away as she looked for her crown before facing the pony beside her. Mumbling apologies, she continued attempting to look more presentable. A glimmer out of the corner of her eye caught her attention.
“I believe this is what you are looking for,” said the mare holding Twilight’s crown in her magic. She relaxed at the familiar face of Princess Luna. The two stood there, staring at each other for a short time, neither daring to speak. Twilight was still crying, and Luna could only think of one thing to do. 
“Come with me.” The Moon Princess said softly. She activated her magic and teleported them back to the castle. They were in a quiet room Twilight had never entered. Small gems were embedded in the dark ceiling, creating an accurate night sky. Bookshelves covered three of the walls, while the fourth led to a balcony with only a telescope and a table. The floor and bed were adorned with nearly every shade of blue.
“Where are we?” Twilight asked, staring in wonder at the room’s décor through still flowing tears. 	“Why… Why did you bring me here?”
“This is my bedchamber,” Luna replied. “Tia had it designed into the castle while I had been locked in the moon, in case I returned to her. I had to redo the star chart ceiling, but I cannot blame anypony for getting my patterns wrong after not seeing them for years. That, dear Twilight Sparkle, has to do with why I brought you here.” 
Luna levitated a few pillows to them, inviting Twilight to sit as she started up the fireplace. They stared into the warm glow, mesmerized by the dancing flames. Luna waited patiently for the younger Alicorn’s tears to stop. 
“Since you discovered immortality, you cut off nearly all contact.” Luna began, still poking at the fire. “You stayed around only close friends and family, knowing you would lose them to time. But who is left to be beside you? You have Celestia and me, but we were always teachers to you, not friends. Discord was never an option you saw for friendship. You had been friends with Cadence when you were young, yet you never were around her as an adult, and nowadays she acts just as you do, staying either with close friends on their deathbeds, or isolating herself.” Twilight wanted to protest, but the older mare’s words struck true. Nopony was left.
“Spike is a fully grown dragon now,” the Princess of the Night continued. “You visit him fairly often, but not as much as you think you should. Dragons, while living long lives, are not immortal. You will have a few hundred more years with him, one thousand at the most, but he will fall to time as well. What will you do then? Will you hide away again?”
“Did you bring me up here just to criticize me?” Twilight snapped “Or are you warning me for what is to come as if I haven’t already thought of that!” She felt tears forming again, but they were formed from anger, not depression.
“I apologize if my comments came out as insulting.” Luna replied after a moment of silence. “I imagine you have spent countless hours in the last few years attempting to imagine life without your friends, yet the idea escapes you. You become accustomed to the everyday things they do, to the point where you expect it, but when it stops it suddenly feels like a major event. 
When you have to wear a formal dress, you instinctively turn to ask Rarity. A frightened squirrel scurries by, and you find yourself wondering if Fluttershy will be the one to calm it down. Crashing sounds make you roll your eyes at the thought of Rainbow Dash attempting another dangerous stunt. Apples were once a favorite of yours, but you go out of your way to avoid them at the dining table. The books your mother has written have been left to gather dust, and you avoid looking at the Guard Captain unless you have to. In the last few days you paused at what seemed to be random moments, waiting for somepony to interject with a strange saying.”
“What is it you want me to do?” Twilight asked. “I have lost them forever. If I cannot reverse or stop time, if I cannot bring them into immortality with me, at least I can prevent future heartbreak. I always knew I could live past my friends and family, but I had expected for the longest time to join them soon after they left me. I didn’t think so much time could pass without them. I wish they would stay longer. I wish they could have been made immortal too! I wish that I could still talk to them!”	
“But you should not hide yourself away because of it.” Luna said. “Tia and I learned long ago, even if those you love leave you, they still exist with you. Memories of the past do not haunt you unless it is a moment of regret. You wished for different versions of what you would like, for your friends and family to still be with you, but never did the thought cross your mind to say “I wish I never became immortal”. The memories you have are the ones that will stay with you, but do not get so wrapped up in the joy of the past or the possible heartbreak of the future that you cannot enjoy the present.
Even though there is plenty of pain brought with them, you do not regret making those memories. I believe they would want you to make more memories with new friends, especially Pinkie Pie. Start slow, if you wish. Focus on those who cannot leave you, like Cadence or Celestia or Discord. Even I would be willing to have another pony to be with in times like this. We know what it is like to have close friends leave us, and we will stay by you. We can be a shoulder to cry on when needed, or the one who blankly stares at you as you remember a joke made by one we never met, whichever will help you as a friend.”
Twilight looked down as the tears came back to her. They weren’t violent sobs like the ones from before, but they still shook her. “I’m sorry,” she choked out. “I should have handled this better, or come to you and Celestia-”
“No,” Luna interrupted, “You acted as anypony should. We all were the same way for the first few years. Tia and I tried going without anypony else in our lives. We tried to avoiding that eventual sadness, but we ended up coming back to the idea of making friends, but we learned to say goodbye when we had to. Well, maybe not always in my case.”
“Why in your case?” Twilight asked, sniffling and attempting to wipe tears from her face. 
`	“I was not completely friendless before my banishment,” Luna replied in an oddly restrained tone. “When I succumbed to my jealousy and anger and became Nightmare Moon, there were friends I lashed out at in my rage. Their last memory of me is of that terrible mare. I was never able to give them a proper goodbye, or tell them how much they meant to me. They never knew how much they helped in delaying my transformation into Nightmare Moon.”
Twilight watched in shock as tears ran down the face of the dark blue Alicorn. Luna’s voice began to break, but she tried to stay composed. Other than the tears now streaking her coat, she looked calm and reminiscent, like a painting of a crying pony. There was none of the usual things like a reddish face or dripping snot, just tears.
For a long time they sat there together, watching the flames. Neither could think of anything to say to the other. They waited until the flames were nothing but embers and the sun was soon to come up.
“Thank you.” Twilight said finally breaking the silence. “It might take a while for me to… adjust to this. But I am glad to know that I have at least one friend to come to.”
Luna said nothing as she stood. She smiled at Twilight Sparkle, and pulled her into a hug. As much as they would liked to have stayed there, Luna had to leave to lower the moon. They broke the embrace, and Twilight snuffed out the last of the fire as Luna headed to the door. She followed out soon after, still smiling from the night’s talk, and headed to her own bedchamber for what might be the best sleep she had had in a long, long time.