Chapter 1
"I guess this is it," said Princess Twilight Sparkle, looking down at the fresh mound of dirt at her hooves. Her words, though, were addressed to the spirit of the mare whose cold, still form lay in the wooden box deep beneath that mound. "You were the last." She reached into a saddlebag, pulling out a worn leather cowboy hat, which she turned over in her hooves as she thought.
It had been over five hundred years since her ascension - the event in which a unicorn, pegasus, or earth pony becomes an alicorn. Ascended alicorns were becoming increasingly common, though this basically meant she was no longer the only one; there were perhaps fifty in all, four of whom were Twilight's former students. There were also the blood alicorns: the very few - six, in fact - who were born to at least one alicorn parent. These were the Royal Sisters: Princesses Celestia and Luna, Luna's twin brother: Prince Umbra, Umbra's daughter: Princess Cadence, Cadence's daughter: Princess Flurry Heart, and Flurry's son: Prince Dawnbreaker.
Though not truly immortal like the blood alicorns, ascended alicorns still had a lifespan that far outstripped even the hardiest of earth ponies, living on average for nearly a millennium. Twilight, of course, had no idea of this when she ascended, being the first to do so since before Discord’s rule. It started becoming very clear, though, as she watched her friends, the ponies she was closest to in all of Equestria, slowly grow old and pass away one by one while she remained physically in her prime. Now, she stood beside the final resting place of the last one... the last fresh grave she would come to in this area of Sweet Apple Acres before the one she herself would be laid into, though probably not for several more centuries.
“I’m glad your brother did this for us,” she said, fresh tears coming to her eyes as she continued to fiddle absently with the hat. “We should all be together at the end.” She referred to Big MacIntosh, who had donated this section of the farm for just this purpose after taking it over upon Granny Smith’s death hundreds of years before now. It was his daughter, Apple Pie, who owned the farm now, though his grandson, Washington, did most of the day-to-day chores.
She heard hoofsteps behind her - two sets of them - but ignored them as she fell further into her memories, salty wet stains forming on the worn leather between her hooves. “Twilight?” the owner of one of the sets called softly. It was Starlight Glimmer, one of the former students of hers who had ascended. She guessed absently that the other set belonged to Sunset Shimmer, also an ascended, though she considered herself more Twilight’s student - her first, in fact - than Twilight did. The two of them had come with her for the funeral, having also been friends with all those buried in this place.
It occurred to her then that Spike hadn’t attended. He had, of course, been close to all of them as well, though he had moved from Ponyville after marrying Princess Ember long before. He had been here for the previous ones; why wasn’t he here now? She really needed him; he could truly understand her position, still being relatively young as dragons go and likely the only member of the old group who would outlive even her. Would he bother to show up when her time finally came? She sighed, silently admonishing herself for letting her own bitterness at her fate trigger such a thought. She vaguely remembered hearing something about him and Ember having a possible uprising on their claws in the Dragonlands.
“Twilight,” Starlight called again. “We really should head back. Apple Pie is expecting us to stay for dinner, and the Alicorn Summit in Canterlot is tomorrow.” Was Starlight really reminding her of duty? Did she really have that much nerve?!
The Princess of Friendship spun angrily on her former pupil... just in time to see Sunset rest a hoof on Starlight’s shoulder. “I’m sure Twilight is fully aware of our responsibilities,” she said calmly. “Remember, she’s had to say goodbye to all of them twice now, just like me.” As Twilight settled a little and Starlight looked questioningly at her, she continued. “The world of Canterlot High had versions of all of them; when the portal mirror was destroyed, stranding me back here in Equestria, it was almost as if all of them died at once.”
Starlight sighed, more in shame than resignation. “I’m sorry, Twilight; I guess I still have a few things to learn about sensitivity.”
"Besides," said Sunset, "I'm sure that, under the circumstances, the others will understand if we're a little late".
"The other ascended will," said Twilight sourly. At the other two's confused looks, she continued. "The bloods go through all of eternity knowing at least one member of their family will always be there; how can they understand...?"
"You really believe that?" Starlight interrupted. "They might live forever, but bloods can still be killed."
"Cadence and Flurry didn't appear any less upset than you at Shining Armor's memorial," added Sunset, "and didn't you tell us that you actually saw Umbra when he lost his wife, Cadence's mother?"
"Still..." Twilight grumbled, then sighed, blowing out her unwarranted anger. “I understand... and you’re right; we really should be heading back soon. Could you please just give me a couple more minutes?”
“We’ll meet you back at the farm house.” Sunset gave her a sad smile, then stepped forward and extended her wing to put the tip on Twilight’s wing. “If you want to talk, I’ll be glad to listen.”
“We both will,” Starlight added. Twilight gave a slight nod, and the pair turned back the way they’d come as she turned back to the new grave.
“I promise I’ll come back to visit soon,” she told the departed spirit, “and you’ll always be in my heart... all of you”. Her form shuddered with a sob as she tenderly placed the hat atop the gravestone, adorned only with the late pony’s cutie mark, as was Ponyville tradition. She let the tears fall freely as she reached out with her wing to touch the apple-on-shield that Apple Bloom had been so proud of when she’d first gotten it. She raised her glance, first a little to take in the similar shield marks of Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo on the markers beside this one, then further on to the older markers... the three apples... the three balloons... the three diamonds... the three butterflies... the cloud and lightning bolt... one day, the marker of the star surrounded by five smaller stars would join them, but for now, all she could do was miss them.
She turned and started to follow the path of her students, then stopped to look back over her shoulder one more time... to her friends. Her voice was barely a hoarse whisper as she said one word.
“Goodbye.”