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One Last Sunrise3,135 words
One Last Breakfast2,658 words
One Last Friendship Mission2,627 words
One Last Game1,571 words
One Last Dinner1,230 words
One Last Sunset1,098 words
One Last Unknown1,052 words
One Last Journey2,028 words

One Last Unknown

The six didn’t feel any sudden change. No bright lights, no trumpets, no clarion call. One moment they had been on the balcony, then suddenly they were here. The place seemed so dark. But it was a strange darkness. Each of the ponies could clearly see the others, but they didn’t seem lit up. They could simply be seen where nothing else could be seen. They stood on a level surface that felt life soft cloth but didn’t give like cloth, it was solid under their hooves. The peace and quiet was pierced by a shriek of alarm.

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash quickly circled up back to back but noticed that they were down three. They scanned the blackness only to all quickly look away as they saw Applejack having had pushed Rarity onto her back and was kissing her passionately. When the kiss broke Rarity was blushing brightly, embarrassed but pleased. “What was that for darling?”

Applejack let out a slightly chagrined chuckle as she helped her mate up. “Sorry Rares. You’re just so darn pretty I couldn’t help it.”

Rarity chortled and opened her mouth to respond before she noticed that Applejack also looked amazing... Rarity gasped loudly and looked at her hooves. “We’re young again!” She grinned and posed, luxuriating in her body being young again. Admittedly she hadn't aged nearly as hard as others had, but she still missed her young mare body compared to her mature mare body.

"Not all of us are quite that young it seems." Twilight stood there, not old by any means, but she was not on just over the cusp of marehood like Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. She and Fluttershy were closer to a few years along into their adulthood as compared to the other three. Twilight frowned as she looked around and caught a shock of pink mane behind Rainbow Dash. "Pinkie why are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding!" The pink foal launched herself onto Rainbow Dash's back as she protested, Rainbow Dash jumped at the sudden weight on her back but young Pinkie just giggled. "I'm young again! Yay!" She grinned as she laid on Rainbow Dash's back. "I did sooo many parties!" She rolled off Rainbow Dash's back and hopped over to Twilight who smiled at the younger Pinkie, before she felt a hard bap on her nose and a frowning little pink pony looking up at her. "Naughty princess!" Though the statement's harsh rebuke was ruined by the grin that overtook the frown moments later as Pinkie hopped off.

Twilight looked around, smiling. "Fascinating, it looks like we all reverted to our favorite ages. Fluttershy and I enjoyed the more orderly and settled years of our adulthood, while still being young enough not to worry about our bodies. Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash all preferred their younger years near the age of physical perfection." Rainbow Dash and Applejack both exchanged grins as their reasons were quite different from Rarity's, who was still posing. "Then Pinkie probably when she was most carefree." Pinkie was at the moment doing cartwheels and letting out loud squeals of happiness.

Pinkie grinned as she continued to hop around, smiling at all her friends. "Yep yep yep yep! I wonder if we are stuck like this." She screwed up her face in concentration before she suddenly was older, about the same age as Twilight and Fluttershy and she grinned, nodding. "Oooh! We can be whatever we want!" She rolled over happily as she continued to enjoy her seemingly boundless energy.

"Well, that's nothing new." Rainbow Dash chuckled as they all watched Pinkie Pie having her fun. Letting the pink pony alone she looked to her other friends. "Well, what do you think we should do now? I don't see a way forward, everything here seems the same. Should we start exploring?"

"Oh, that won't be necessary, Rainbow Dash." All the girls looked to the center of their, or at least what used to be a circle that they had appeared in. Suddenly standing there was a creature of who wore a black robe, it stood over the ponies heads as it leaned a long wicked looking scythe against its body. The voice was monotone and cold as it continued. "It is time to put you all where you belong."

While normally they would all have reacted poorly to seeing such a creature. A looming figure with a weapon hiding its form in a black robe. Its skeletal hands clasped around the scythe it carried. But none of them were disturbed by its presence. Everyone felt a simple acceptance of the presence of the creature that stood among them. After a few moments of silence, it spoke again. “Excellent. None of you are arguing. You were ready for this journey then.” Death sat down, reclining in mid-air with its scythe leaning against it. “Who shall be going first then?” It steepled its bony fingers together, settling in to wait patiently for the answer.

There was silence as the six old friends all looked at each other, Fluttershy smiled reassuringly at her. Twilight took a step forward and raised a hoof. “Is it alright if we all go together?”

The creature paused for a moment before answering, seeming to consider its answer. “You can, but only if you are all going to the same place. I cannot change your destination no matter what, though I can delay your going so you all go at once, if possible. But be warned. I cannot, and you cannot say for the hearing of others where you go. It is not for any but myself and the traveler to know where they travel to.” It raised a bony finger before any could react. “And this term is non-negotiable. This is not like those stories. You cannot negotiate with Death.

This time there was an even longer pause as the group huddled up and had a hurried conversation. Though there wasn’t really anything for them to talk about. Death had done what it could to accommodate them, assuming it was being truthful. But it was holding all the cards, so even if it was lying there wasn’t anything for it but to accept. They all nodded and turned to face Death. Ready to face the unknown, one last time.

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