Into the West
The soldier felt nothing as he opened his eyes, it was only as he shifted that he felt it: A fiery pain in his chest, and he dared not move his head for fear of eliciting more pain. Letting his head rest on... whatever it is his head was resting on, he simply continued to gaze up at the sky and its beautiful violet hues. He could not remember whether it had been night or day before he lost consciousness. His view was suddenly dominated by a lavender mare. Slowly, as if his thoughts came from miles away, he realized that he was staring at his princess. Gazing upon her however, he no longer saw the princess of magic, nor the mare he'd met so long ago. As he stared at her tear stained face, he saw the child of days gone by. With a grunt he forced his hoof up in order to brush away her tears. As his hoof brushed against her cheek, she reached up to hold it and began to openly sob.
"Don't... Don't cry Twilight." He pleaded despite the pain from his chest, " you needn't cry over me."
"I mu... must cry for something, I've failed." She sobbed, before his hoof gently wiped away her fresh tears.
"You've not failed Twilight, the battle's over isn't it?" He smiled, "and you've even made it out alive."
"This wasn't a success, it was a slaughter." She looked away as guilt and anger flashed across her face. "Damn those nobles."
For a long time they just sat there, all he could do was stare at her as she battled with her emotions. He had long lowered his hoof, and now he just waited for death. Looking as far away from Twilight as he could, he continued to gaze at the stars. He thought about how he'd gotten mixed up in this mess: there had been a missive sent, he'd been visiting when it happened; then he'd accompanied her to the battlefield, some beach if he remembered correctly, as the soldiers had been getting ready. She'd said a few words, inspired the troops, and then they'd began the waiting game. The initial skirmishes had come out of nowhere, with enough ferocity to decimate the front line. That had been when the real fight had begun. He remembered losing men left and right, then there was a flash and the sensation of flying, and that had to be when he lost consciousness.
Taking stock of his current condition, there was little doubt of what awaited him. Glancing back to the mare sitting in the sand next to him, he sucked in a breath of air before talking, "Twilight?"
Her ears perked at the sound of his voice, and she turned back to him with concern etched on her face. "Yes," she answered, "what is it?"
"What do you think awaits us?" As he asked it, he watched her face, and saw the uncertainty written there.
"I don't know-" Before she could finish he kept talking.
"Because I've always wondered..." He stopped to gulp down more air, "wondered if we'll just keep on going, or if there's just nothing, if we'll just cease after our last breath. It terrifies me that I'll soon find out and I would just like to hear your thoughts on it."
As she took in his question, he saw a quick flash of confusion in her eyes, quickly replaced by the confidence she was known for. She stood straight and looked back at him.
"Can I show you something? I'll need to prop you up so you can see it."
"Sure... I can't feel most of my body anyways." Quickly and gently would be the two words the soldier would've used to describe her helping him sit up. When they were finally facing the ocean, he couldn't help but gape at the spectacle before him. The stars appeared to be dancing across the horizon, flitting in and out of the water while their neighbors waited for... Something.
"What do you see on the horizon?" As she asked it, he felt her tighten her grip on his shoulder.
"The stars, dancing." He felt as he'd said it, that that was somehow incorrect.
"That's not what I see." Glancing over at her, he once again saw tears staining her cheeks.
"What do you see Twilight?"
"I see ships, made of starlight." As she said it he too began to see them, they were exquisitely built: they each had four masts, with billowing sails catching some unknown breeze; their prows each had a matching owl figurehead, each with a certain uniqueness about it in order to differentiate the ships.
"What are they?"
"They come after every great battle," as she said it he continued to watch them come closer, and then he caught something out of the corner of his eye. It was almost transparent, an equine shaped light; and there, another of them, hundreds of the lights were moving towards the shore.
"They've come to take you home." He turned to face her, and saw in her eyes joy, "go, there are ponies waiting for you." Suddenly he felt like standing up, and as he did so, the lights he'd been seeing turned into ponies, mares and stallions he'd just met, and those who he'd known for some time. There were those he'd fought with this day as well, walking shoulder to shoulder with their pony counterparts. Turning to Twilight, he saw tears of joy shimmering on her eyelashes. rushing back to her, he gave her one last hug.
"Thank you Twilight, for everything."
"I should be thanking you... Now go, they're waiting for you." Pulling away, he smiled before turning and walking to the shore.
As the ships left that night, he gazed back at the shore for a moment, and felt thousands of eyes follow his, to see Twilight waving goodbye. Waving back, he felt nothing but joy in his heart. Turning back to the distant shore, he couldn't help but let a few tears fall at the sight before him.
As she watched the ships pass back to their realm, she could no longer bury her despair. Going back to where she'd been sitting, she couldn't help but embrace the body of her friend.