Twilight sat at her desk in her home.
She had it set out like she always had; a sole candle on the desk, extra quills on the side, spare ink, a stack of paper, and a window ahead of her that gazed out into the deep black night, with the spots of white scattered across it, and Luna's Moon hanging in the sky, providing a source of light for those late night walks.
Twilight didn't want to sleep , she wanted to make this night as long as possible, for she dreaded each morning and day as they came to past.
She had been an alicorn now for at least 80 years, and whilst her body structure continued to stay as young as ever, her friends didn't, each of them showing more and more signs of age as each day went past.
She didn't want to lose them, she wanted them to be with her forever, she wanted that more than anything, but deep down, she knew that that wasn't going to happen, she would have to say goodbye one day.
A sudden gust of cold, night wind blew through the window, extinguishing the candle, and sending a shiver down Twilight's spine.
'Celestia that's cold' Twilight thought 'Better get to bed now, nice and warm'
She smiled at the thought of a nice warm bed, and as she lay in it she mumbled something inaudible about soft pillows, and slowly drifted off to sleep.
***
A loud banging at the door woke the alicorn.
'Uhh, who in Celestia is knocking on my door at this hour?' Twilight thought as she slowly got put of her lovely warm bed and trotted downstairs.
Opening the door with a small bit of magic, the first thing Twilight noticed was a dull, orange coloured mare, with an obvious look of age on her face.
'Oh, hey Applejack, what brings you here?' The tired alicorn asked
Twilight only noticed then a small tear forming at the base of Applejack's eye, and a sad expression on her face.
'Uh, Twi, there's been an issue, meet me at Fluttershy's cottage, I gotta go get Pinkie' and with that she ran off into the night.
Now, Twilight became worried, and immediately spread her wings and flew off into the cold air, in the direction of Fluttershy's cottage.
***
A few minutes later, Twilight arrived at Fluttershy's cottage, walking up to the door, she knocked and waited patiently.
And waited.
and worried, it was too quiet inside.
She knocked again, a bit harder, before the door was opened by an old butter yellow mare, with a dull shade of pink for a mane.
'Oh, hello Twilight, come in, we knew you would come.'
Twilight walked in, only to find an old white mare lying on Fluttershy's couch, even though she was curled up in a bell facing away from them, Twilight knew instantly who that was.
'Rarity?, are..are you ok?'
Rarity coughed weakly before turning to face them
'Oh, h..hello Twilight, you look wonderful today' She replied weakly with a small smile on her face.
'Thanks Rarity'
Twilight turned to face Fluttershy
'What's wrong with her?' she whispered gently into her ear.
Fluttershy held back a tear, she had to tell Twilight, she didn't want to, but she had to.
'Twilight... Rarity is...well, dying.'
Twilight's heart stopped for a second.
'Wha..what do you mean?, she can't die!' Twilight replied, raising her voice a bit 'She can't die!, I won't let her!'
Fluttershy backed away slightly, unsure of how to respond.
'I..I.I'm sorry Twilight, but...it's just her time.'
'But I...' Twilight began before being cut off.
'Darling, it's alright' Rarity politely interrupted 'As Fluttershy said, its just my time, there's nothing I can do about it, and neither can you.'
Rarity gave a small cough before continuing
'Everyone has a set time to live here in Equestria, some longer than others, yours especially. But the point is, there is nothing anyone can do, I will accept my fate, and I tell you this...These years is Ponyville with my friends, have been the best I have ever had the pleasure of living through.'
She coughed again before giving a small smile to Twilight.
Twilight hung her head in defeat, she couldn't stop it, she could only hope to be with her friend in her final hours, or in this case, final minutes.
'But, why are you in Fluttershy's cottage?'
Rarity smiled.
'Well, I was going to make some jackets for her creatures who didn't hibernate in the winter, because they might get a bit chilly, so I needed measurements, but when I got here, I felt a sharp pain in my chest... I collapsed, and Fluttershy brought me in. So i've been in here ever since.'
Twilight could only nod.
She walked over to where Rarity was lying and sat down on the floor next to her, always looking directly into her eyes.
At this point, there was a large knock on the door, and Fluttershy walked over to answer it.
Twilight heard more hoofsteps on the ground, but she didm't care, she was looking right into Rarity's eyes.
She saw a tear build up underneath Rarity's eye, as she mouthed the words 'Take care now' before closing her eyes.
Twilight just sat there watching and waiting, before turning around and crying into her friends.
She just couldn't take it.
***
Twilight and Fluttershy stood together on a hill next to a tree, under the tree lay a small rock, perfectly cut and perfectly smooth.
With lines of text in the middle of the rock, and a image cut into the rock in the shape of three diamonds, there was no mistaking who's grave this was.
Behind them, Twilight heard footsteps, and turned around to see a lanky drake, making his way up the hill.
Spike hugged Twilight when he reached her, before kneeling on the ground in front of the grave and bursting into tears.
Fluttershy walked over to Spike and draped a wing around him, before leading him back down the hill.
Twilight didn't leave, she never wanted to, she couldn't bring herself to.
She hung her head low, and felt a few drops of water on the back of her neck.
It soon turned into a full scale downpour, but Twilight didn't mind, she was adding to the rain by crying herself, knowing that things would never be the same again.
Twilight look at the grave, scanning the words where it read.
'Here Lies Rarity, A great Friend, a loving Sister, and the most beautiful mare in Equestria.'
'Here lies The Generous Dressmaker'
'May she Rest In Peace.'
'Now, and Forever more.'