//------------------------------//
// Five 
// Story: Six Seconds Left 
// by Taialin 
//------------------------------//

So . . . this is it, huh? I knew it was gonna happen eventually, but did it really have to happen this soon? It wouldn't've hurt if I'd had another day to get my priorities straight.

Granny Smith'll be fine. She's always been the strong and independent type, and one less grandchild looking after her ain't gonna change that much. 'Specially since she's still got two. Yeah, she'll be sad, as will the rest of the family, but she's got support that'll help her get over the hill.

Big Macintosh has gotten awful good at taking care of the farm without me when the girls and I are taken off to some adventure. Looks like he'll just have to figure out how to hold it down on his lonesome from now on. Although once the rest of the family hears of this, they'll probably be champing at the bit to come'n give Big Mac and the farm some support and give him some time to grieve.

Apple Bloom is gonna take this one hard. I've gotten used to wakin' up in the morning, getting her a healthy breakfast, and walking her to school—making sure that she don't get into any trouble along the way, o'course. It's been our daily routine for a long time. And when she loses her big sister, she'll lose all of that, plus everything else I do for her. No more apple cider, no more sisterly hikes to see the old folks. There just ain't any way around it. It's irreplaceable.

But she'll heal. Everything does. She'll remember, but she'll heal. She's got the entire family behind her. Auntie Gala's always been good with crying fillies, after all. The rest of the girls'll heal, too. They've got each other. 'Cause as much as it'll hurt at first, like the first time you buck a tree, I'm just one pony. That ache'll heal, and Equestria will go on without me like I wasn't even there.

Sure, there's a lot more that I planned to do, and I don't think it's my time. But Ma and Pa didn't choose when they'd go, either, and maybe I was just next on the list. But there's nothing to do about it now but take the punches as they come. At the very least, I got nothing left to worry about. And with enough time, I reckon, the rest of my friends and family won't, neither.