Loyalty
Snowflakes fell slowly to the ground, twirling and spinning before dissolving within the pale grass. It was amazing how something so delicate and intricate could be created by clouds alone. They danced in the evening sky, as the sun hid behind the horizon, ready to sleep.
The trees whispered between themselves and the birds hid between the leaves, singing a haunting melody. Nearly everything was covered in a white blanket as the last traces of Autumn lingered, desperate to stay alive for a few more days.
Cool winter air brushed past a purple pony, who sat silently in a clearing between the trees. Her mane was covered in snowflakes and she wore nothing to keep out the cold, yet she didn't feel the frost. She was alone with her thoughts and the snowflakes. But sometimes, having your thoughts as company is not the greatest thing.
Twilight Sparkle sighed, bringing a hoof up to her face and wiping away what seemed to be a mixture of snow and tears. Five beautifully carved stones sat in front of her, standing proud. Not a single snowflake touched them as Twilight's magic shielded them from the cold.
One was the shape of a diamond, violet and shining with beauty and radiance. The one beside it was a balloon, a brilliant sky blue with the scent of cupcakes lingering beside it.
On the opposite side was an orange apple, crafted better than anypony could ever make, sunlight redirecting off of it like a torch. Beside this one was a pink butterfly, delicate yet sturdy as it stayed strong against the seasons.
In the middle of the four stones, was a lightning bolt, red and seemingly confident in between the others. Yet, there was something different about this one. It didn't have any writing on the front. The other four each had a few lines of writing carved onto them.
Rarity
Element of Generosity
Sister
Dressmaker
Friend
Things Are Better When They're A Rarity
Pinkie Pie
Element of Laughter
Sister
Bringer of Joy
Friend
Never Stop Smiling
Applejack
Element of Honesty
Sister
Farmer
Friend
You're The Apple Of Our Eyes
Fluttershy
Element of Kindness
Sister
Caretaker
Friend
Bring Kindness To Everything You Meet
The middle stone was devoid of any writing, just a clear, almost crystalline surface. Twilight didn't want to look at it but she couldn't stop her eyes from darting over to it from time to time. She mostly looked at the grass and the sky, avoiding looking at the gravestones. They made her feel things she didn't want to feel, remember things she didn't want to remember.
She didn't want to remember her closest friends lying on their deathbeds, their bodies frail and weak, their last breaths escaping their lungs. She didn't want to remember the funerals and all the empty words from strangers that didn't come from Ponyville and didn't really care about the ponies lying still inside the caskets.
She didn't want to remember her coronation, the thing that truly separated her from her friends. But she had no choice against remembering that. The wings proved difficult to ignore.
Twilight was so deep in her thoughts, she didn't hear the crunching of hooves in snow behind her or feel the presence of an old mare smiling sadly at her back.
"It's cold out, Twilight, if you didn't notice" Rainbow Dash chuckled, wrapping an orange scarf around her friend's neck. Twilight turned around to face her friend, and gave a warm smile to the Pegasus behind her.
Dash sat down beside Twilight and glanced at the graves, her smile faltering slightly. Her wings were closed tight, shutting out the cold as she ruffled her feathers and moved her shoulders so that her own red scarf covered her cheeks.
Rainbow Dash had changed over time. The rainbow colours from her mane and tail had faded years ago, leaving behind more grey than anything else. Her azure coat was pale and her wings had lost many feathers. Yet, her muscles were still strong and she could still fly quite well, if not as fantastic as before. Rainbooms were certainly out of the question, though.
The only thing that hadn't changed over the years were her eyes. They were still so full of energy and life that you wouldn't think that they'd belong to the old mare she was.
Those magenta eyes were locked on Twilight, wise and warm. She knew what Twilight was thinking about but didn't want to say anything.
"I can't believe they already put this here" muttered Twilight, running a hoof through her mane. Rainbow saw that she was looking at the lightning bolt shaped grave and a tear trickled down her cheek.
"Twi, you know I asked them to put it down. My time is nearly up. I can feel it"
Twilight turned around with a frantic look in her eye. Shuffling towards the Pegasus, she shook her head.
"No, Rainbow, stop saying that! You don't know when it will end. You can't be so sure!"
Rainbow Dash sighed. She had had this conversation with the Alicorn before and she was tired of ignoring how she felt. The times they had spoken about this before, Rainbow had agreed with Twilight and kept quiet about the inevitable. But this time, Twilight needed to hear the truth.
"Twilight, look at me"
The purple mare looked away.
"Look at me"
Twilight's ears flattened and she looked up and into those bright eyes.
"How old am I?" she asked.
"That doesn't matter! Fluttershy was 89! Pinkie Pie and Rarity were 88! You're still here! Appleja-"
Rainbow Dash placed Twilight's hooves back onto the floor and cupped Twilight's face in her hooves.
"How old am I?" she asked again.
"92"
"Right. How old are you?"
"92"
"Right again. Now tell me how old you look"
Twilight slumped and looked down at the dirt, patting a flower that had sprung up beside the gravestones a few weeks ago.
"About 32 maybe..." Twilight replied quietly. Rainbow Dash wiped the tears from her friend's cheek and looked back at the graves.
"Just because your time isn't up, it doesn't mean my time isn't either. Imagine it like a candle. When you are born, it is lit on a tall candlestick. As you grow, the wax melts. When you are ready for Paradise, the wax is all gone and the candle burns out. Understand?"
Twilight nodded and when she looked back into Rainbow's eyes, she could swear she saw a tiny flame, sitting on a small platform of wax. The wax was dripping and the flame occasionally flickered but it wasn't out. Yet.
"Twilight I am old and you can see that. With you, well, look at yourself. At least three hooves taller than me now, that horn of yours has
most definitely grown and your wings are almost as big as Luna's. You can see that you're still growing, which shows your youth"
Twilight knew she was taller but as Rainbow Dash stood up, she saw how much she had grown. She could look down on her with ease.
"Why did this have to happen to me? Why can't I follow you girls to Paradise? Why do I have to wait?!" she cried, leaning on her friend. Dash frowned and patted Twilight's back, leading her away from the gravestones and back towards Ponyville.
"Twilight, honestly I don't know. It's not that bad, is it? I mean, you're a princess! That's pretty cool if you ask me! Maybe twenty percent cooler than being a unicorn, don't you think?"
Twilight managed a small chuckle at the joke but it ceased as old memories came flooding back with the percentage. The Grand Galloping Gala shone bright in her mind. Back when she was a unicorn and didn't need to worry about any of the things princesses worry about.
"I wish it never happened. I wish I never finished that stupid spell. I wish Celestia had never even asked me to look at it. It's ruined everything"
Rainbow Dash was silent. It had caused a fair share of problems. Twilight now had to wait another thousand years before she could meet up with all her other friends in Paradise. She wasn't an immortal Alicorn like Luna and Celestia, but she still had the extended lifetime.
"Hey, it's not that bad. You became princess because of how much you've learnt and how smart you are. That's a pretty big achievement. And it founded the Cutie Map and all the other great adventures we went on"
"What, like being kidnapped by Starlight Glimmer and having our cutie marks forcefully removed? Yeah, great adventures"
Silence descended over the pair again as they slowly made their way back into town, snow crunching underneath their hooves. It had piled up quickly while they were sitting and now nearly everything was white.
After a few minutes of walking, Ponyville came into view and Rainbow Dash found herself having to depart with Twilight. Both were silent and just stood, snowflakes attaching to their manes and scarves blowing in the wind. Twilight was crying again and Rainbow Dash was trying to hold in her tears.
"They're still here, y'know" Rainbow said, shaking the snow from her wings.
"Yes I know. But I wish they were really here, in a real form that I can hug and chat to. But they're not. Just fragments of our imagination"
Opening her wings for flight, Rainbow Dash enveloped Twilight in a hug, wings wrapped around her like a filly. Twilight nuzzled into Rainbow's chest and sobbed.
"I know, Twilight. I know. I want them back to. Not a day has passed where I haven't dropped into Carousel Boutique to chat with Sweetie Belle and look at Rarity's remaining dresses, or Sweet Apple Acres to watch Apple Bloom bucking trees with her filly just because she reminds me of Applejack so much. Or even went into Sugarcube Corner and bought a cake from Pound and Pumpkin because they put as much joy and pride into their work as Pinkie did and I haven't once missed my daily animal feeding with Fluttershy's colt because he is just so kind and caring, exactly like his mother. I miss them so much and I want them back, just to hold them for one more day"
Tears dripped from Rainbow's muzzle onto Twilight's wings and she shivered, pulling herself from the embrace. She passed the scarf back to Rainbow and looked towards Canterlot, to the setting sun and the radiant palace that sat high up on the mountain.
"But, Dash, you don't understand! You will be able to join them soon, or so you keep saying! You can leave this dreadful place and never have to worry about losing them because you'll be up there, together! Without me! I want to be there too! Why can't I? Why can't I be happy?! You're all I have left! I thought you were mean to be the Element of Loyalty and you're abandoning me to a life that I don't want to live, all alone?" she yelled, stamping at the ground in anger.
"Twilight! Of course I understand! Do you really think I want to die? To leave this all behind? Yes, I will be able to see them again but I will have to leave you! Do you really think I want to do that, that any of them wanted to do that either?! I'm calm about it because I have to accept it, I cant stop it from happening and I know that it's going to happen soon but that doesn't mean I want to abandon you! I wish you could come with me but you can't. And I wish it was different"
Rainbow placed the scarf onto Twilight's back and rose into the air, glancing back to shoot Twilight a sympathetic look before disappearing within the clouds.
***
The wind brushed through Rainbow's mane, her wings slicing through the air. The sun was high on the horizon, ponies trotting through the snow down in Ponyville. Twilight's castle stood proud in the distance, Ponyville's own precious monument. The castle was Rainbow's destination.
She saw Twilight sitting outside, the scarf still curled around her neck. She was writing a letter, probably to Celestia but she looked up just in time to see Rainbow descending. She managed a smile, which was met with Rainbow's bright eyes.
Twilight saw the candle. It was sitting in a pool of wax, the flame desperately trying to stay afloat. It pushed itself up, managing a few more seconds on the surface. Then it sank.
Those bright eyes went dark.
Twilight barely had time to think before Rainbow's body dropped like a stone, her wing freezing in the air and her hooves flailing as she fell. Twilight screamed and ran forward, surrounding the Pegasus with her magic.
Rainbow struggled, suspended in mid-air, her wings fluttering pathetically. Suddenly, there was a blinding light. Her eyes closed.
***
When they opened again, she was lying in a hospital bed.
Twilight stood beside her, next to Nurse Blueheart.
"Rainbow! Oh my Celestia, I thought you were gone! I...I thought...I'm sorry..." Twilight sobbed, collapsing with her forehooves wrapped around her friend's body.
Nurse Blueheart nodded at Rainbow and Rainbow nodded back. Blueheart left the room.
Rainbow stroked Twilight's mane and held one of her hooves as she wept. After a while she stopped. And there was silence.
"Twilight?"
The Alicorn's head rose and she looked at her old friend.
"Yes?"
A single tear drifted down Rainbow's face.
"I don't want to leave you behind"
With that, Twilight dragged herself to her hooves and lit up her horn. She tried to concentrate but she was stopped when a shaking hoof touched the tip of her horn. The light died down.
"What...what are you doing?" Rainbow asked, her voice shaking.
"Saving you"
Rainbow sighed, placing a hoof on Twilight's cheek. She shook her head and Twilight froze.
"You can't stop this. I can't stop this. I love you, Twilight. You are one of my best friend's and always will be" she soothed. Twilight wept no tears and just stood in silence. And that's how it was for a few more minutes, Twilight frozen beside her friend's bed and Rainbow with her hoof on Twilight's cheek.
As the fourth minute came to pass, the hoof fell.
Rainbow Dash's candle blew out.
And Princess Twilight Sparkle collapsed.
***
Twilight didn't understand.
She knew where she was, she knew why she was here.
But she didn't understand.
Why where all these strangers here? They didn't care about the death of her final friend. They didn't even know her.
They weren't even from Ponyville.
She remembered a red unicorn walking past her when the funeral had started. She had said she was sorry that Rainbow had died. Twilight ignored her. She knew this pony. This pony was from Canterlot and the only interaction she had ever had with Rainbow was when she had commented that the new member of the Wonderbolts was a disgrace.
Twilight wanted to hit the unicorn. Hard.
Princess Celestia stood at the front of the hall, Princess Luna beside her. Celestia's face was neutral but every once in a while, her voice cracked. Luna's face was hard. She was glaring at the ponies from Canterlot. Twilight respected her for that.
Even though Celestia's voice rang out through the hall, Twilight couldn't hear a word she was saying.
She just wanted to be alone with her thoughts. And the pony that lay inside the casket.
Suddenly, she heard her name.
"Now, Princess Twilight Sparkle will say a few words"
Everypony turned to look at the broken pony that sat at the back off the hall. Twilight hesitated. Then she stood. She stumbled towards the front of the hall, desperately trying to stop her legs from buckling. When she stopped walking, she found herself at the front of the hall.
Her throat was dry. All eyes were on her. She hated it. Turning to the casket, she saw her friend's body. Instantly, she remembered her soft touch, her hoof on Twilight's cheek. She remembered the warmth fading. And the hoof falling.
Twilight frowned. Using her magic, she closed the casket. She turned to the waiting audience.
"Get out"
Confused murmurs and gasps flew through the audience but Twilight silenced them with her hoof.
"Get out. If you don't know her, get out"
She heard a snide remark.
"GET OUT! ALL YOU SNOBBY, PATHETIC PONIES FROM CANTERLOT, GET OUT!"
Nearly everypony left, each one leaping from their seat and bolting towards the door. Soon, the hall was empty, barring the princesses, a few Ponyville ponies and some of the other girl's family members.
"Twilight-" Celestia started but Twilight cut her off. She turned to the remaining ponies, the ponies that actually cared about the Element of Loyalty.
"I'm sorry"
Princess Twilight Sparkle fled the room.
***
The moon was bright. The air was cool. The snow was still.
There were no stars out tonight, not even from this high point.
Princess Twilight Sparkle stood motionless at the edge of the cliff, her mane blowing in the breeze. Her wings were open. Her eyes were closed.
"Paradise" she muttered.
She remembered writing the letter to the princesses. When she had the scroll and quill, she told Spike to take a note. But then she remembered he wasn't there. Nopony was.
She remembered leaving the finished letter on the throne, where she knew Luna would find it when she held court. Good. She wanted her to cease the court for all those pathetic snobs. They deserved to wait.
A sudden breeze brushed past her ear and Twilight could've sworn she heard Rainbow's voice.
A candle
Twilight could see her candle. It was shrouded in darkness but the flame cut through it like a knife. Five cutie marks swirled around it. Butterflies, balloons, diamonds, apples and a lightning bolt from a cloud. They closed in on the candle, embracing it. They disappeared. The candle was tall.
For once in a long time, Twilight remembered happily. She thought about the first time she came to Ponyville and everything that followed. All the lessons she learnt. Defeating all the villains with the help of her friends. Doing everything with her friends.
Her friends. She was going to see them. Even though her candle was still tall, she was going to see them.
And she had no regrets.
A warm smile spread across Twilight's face, her body light. She opened her eyes. They were bright.
She turned to the moon and saw her friends, waiting. For her.
Princess Twilight Sparkle closed her wings.
Princess Twilight Sparkle exhaled.
Princess Twilight Sparkle jumped.
Her body was light and free. She was flying with no wings. She was happy.
"Do you know you're all my very best friends?"
Her candle blew out.