The Mane 6 say their final goodbyes one by one until only Twilight remains
30 years after Twilight became an alicorn, the Mane 6 have slowed down, gotten married, raised kids, etc, but after a freak accident they begin to take notice of something more important...their mortality.
Contains: mild violence, sexual and alcohol references and implied suicide attempt
This story is inspired by the YouTube video, Remembrance, by Argodaemon
Dr. Joyheart slowly entered the waiting room of Ponyville General with a sad look on her face. She had delivered upsetting news to dozens of families in the past but it just felt...different this time around. Maybe it was because her patient had saved not only Ponyville but Equestria as well, numerous times. She looked around the waiting room and finally found the pony she was looking for talking with a small group of ponies.
"Mr. Thundercloud?" she softly said as she approached the charcoal gray pegasus.
Thundercloud raised up out of his seat slowly as the doctor drew nearer.
"How is she?" he asked, already fearing the worst.
"I am truly sorry, sir,” Joyheart replied, trying to keep her composure. "She broke seven ribs, one of which punctured her aorta, one lung is collapsed while other is barely functioning, her right wing is shattered in three places and has suffered a severe concussion.”
“Wait,” said Thundercloud, trying to keep his lower lip from quivering. “What are you saying Dr. Joyheart?”
“The only thing we can do is keep her in a medically induced coma with the ventilator breathing for her.”
"Is there any chance that she will make it?” Thundercloud asked as tears began to fill his eyes.
Taking a deep breath and looking intently at the wooden floor, Dr. Joyheart quietly replied, “Barring a miracle from Celestia herself, we’re going to lose Rainbow Dash within the next 48 to 72 hours”
"No… it-it can’t…” Thundercloud stuttered as a tidal wave of grief began to overtake him.
“Once again, I am truly sorry,” said a teary-eyed Dr. Joyheart. “If you wish to see her, she's been moved to room 120. I only ask that you visit one pony at a time, in case we need to get to her quickly.”
Dr. Joyheart gave Thundercloud a comforting hug and he rejoined the group of ponies and did his best to tell them the bad news about Rainbow Dash.
Thundercloud and Rainbow Dash’s daughter, Thunder Dash spoke up first.
“Dad, may I go first?” asked Thunder Dash.
"Go ahead Thunder," Thundercloud said softly.
Thunder Dash quietly entered her mother's hospital room, hearing only the rhythmic sound of the ventilator inflating and deflating and the steady beeping of the heart monitor. With her vision being blurred by tears, she used her wings to feel her way to the bedside chair. Wiping the tears from her eyes as she lowered herself into the chair, Thunder Dash saw her mother and finally lost control.
"Mom?” Thunder Dash forced out between sobs. “If… if you can hear me…” She paused a moment to wipe her nose and then continued, “I should have… have listened to you when… when you told me…”
Thunder Dash couldn't continue. The sorrow she was feeling was just too much. So she looked toward the doorway and then floated over and got in the bed with Rainbow.
“I am so, so sorry, Mom,” she cried as she extended her left wing over her mother and cried herself to sleep.
Back in the waiting room, Thundercloud, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack were talking quietly amongst themselves, sharing their fondest memories of Rainbow Dash. As they were talking, Applejack started to become silent. Fluttershy took notice of this, moved over next her, and put her hoof around her neck.
"What's wrong?" Fluttershy softly whispered in Applejack's ear.
"Ah'm jus' thinkin'," Applejack replied quietly.
"Is there anything I can do?" inquired Fluttershy.
"Sorry Flutters," Apple Jack choked out as she fought back her tears. "It's just... well, I'm losin' mah competition buddy. Applebloom an' Mac will keep me on mah hooves, but it just won't be th' same as what Rainbow an' Ah had. Ah mean, we did ev'rything tahgether, horseshoes, tug-ah-war, th' runnin' of th' leaves. All that kinda stuff."
As the conversation continued, Thundercloud noticed that his daughter hadn't returned from visiting her mother yet, so he went up to the receptionist's desk and rang the bell.
"How can I help you, sir," asked the young receptionist.
"May I go back and check on my wife please?" he asked. "Our daughter is visiting at the moment and she's been there a while. Our friends would also like to visit her before they have to leave."
"Who is your wife, sir?"
"It's Rainbow Dash, ma'am,"
"Just a moment. I'll go check."
Thundercloud stood on his hind legs and propped his forehooves on the desk while he waited. After a few moments, the receptionist returned and gave Thundercloud the ok to go check on his wife and daughter.
As he entered Rainbow Dash's room, Thundercloud felt tears beginning to form in his eyes from the scene in front of him. The hospital bed had Rainbow Dash laying on her back in the middle, bandaged up from head to toe, wires connecting her to the heart monitor and a tube in her mouth leading to the ventilator. To the right, with her left wing still draped over Rainbow, was Thunder Dash asleep but still softly sobbing. Thundercloud immediately turned around and went to find the doctor.
"Dr. Joyheart?" Thundercloud said as he approached the doctor.
"Yes, Mr. Thundercloud? What can I do for you?"
"Well, you see," he began as he drew an invisible circle on the floor. "I know you said one pony at a time but my daughter fell asleep crying and I just don't have the heart to wake her right now. I was just wondering if..."
"You and your friends could visit while she's sleeping?" Dr. Joyheart finished for him. "I don't see where it would be a problem."
"Thank you, doctor."
Twilight Sparkle and the others were busy deciding who would go visit Rainbow Dash when Thundercloud and Thunder Dash returned when Applejack, who had been silent since Thundercloud left to visit Rainbow, suddenly blurted out, "Does anypony know how in Celestia's name Rainbow Dash got hurt this bad?"
An eerie silence descended upon the five friends as they looked at each other shaking their head no.
"Excuse me, Ms. Dash."
Thunder Dash nearly flew through the ceiling as Nurse Redheart gently woke her up
"What's going on?" Thunder Dash yawned, trying to remember where she was.
"I'm sorry to wake you up, but visiting hours are over until tomorrow."
"How long was I asleep?" Thunder Dash said sleepily as she rubbed her eyes.
"Almost five hours," Nurse Redheart replied.
"Did everypony else leave?"
"Princess Twilight and her friends left about two hours ago, but your father and another pony are still here waiting for you in the waiting room," the nurse responded.
"Can I get a minute to say goodnight?" Thunder Dash asked politely.
"Certainly."
Thunder Dash got down off the bed and clasped her mother's left forehoof in between her own.
"Mom, I'll be back in the morning," she said, kissing Rainbow Dash on the cheek "I promise not to leave you like I did this morning."
As she returned the waiting room, Thunder Dash could hear her father talking to somepony else. As she looked in his direction, she noticed a neon orange pegasus stallion standing in front of Thundercloud.
"Sunrise!" Thunder Dash exclaimed as she trotted over to him. "What are you doing here?"
"Mom told me about Rainbow's condition and how you fell asleep in the bed with her," Sunrise Sentry told her. "I sat with you and Rainbow Dash for a little while you were asleep. You must have been having some wild dreams the way you were talking in your sleep. Do you remember any of them?"
"Yeah I do," Thunder Dash said defensively. "And no I don't want to talk about them. Sorry sweetheart."
"Thunder, is there something bothering you?" Thundercloud asked with concern.
"No there isn't. I'm fine," Thunder quickly responded.
"Are you sure?" Thundercloud inquired. "You were acting really strange earlier today when I got here."
"I. Am. Fine," Thunder Dash repeated with a hint of anger in her voice.
"Honey, I love you and will always be here for you," whispered Sunrise as he gave his fiancé a comforting hug. "If there is something bothering you, please don't keep it bottled up inside. Okay?"
"Thanks, sweetheart. I'll be okay," Thunder Dash reassured Sunrise. "I love you too."
"Hey, I have a great idea," Thundercloud said. "Since we've spent enough time here today, let's go home."
"I'm gonna camp out in the waiting room tonight in case something happens if you don't mind."
"Would you like to crash at my and Thunder's place tonight, Pops?" Sunrise asked.
"That sounds like a good idea, Sunrise. Are you going to be okay tonight, Thunder?"
"Yes, Dad. I'll be fine," Thunder Dash answered. "Sorry for yelling at you a few minutes ago."
"I forgive you, Thunder," replied Thundercloud as he nuzzled his daughter on the cheek.
Everypony said their goodbyes and left Thunder Dash to stretch out in the waiting room.
"MOM! NO!" shrieked Thunder Dash as her head shot straight up. She was drenched in a cold sweat, hooves cold and clammy and her heart felt it was going to burst through her chest. Her breathing was extremely heavy as her eyes darted around her, trying to remember where she was at until one of the nurses came out to the waiting room to check on her.
"Are you alright Ms. Dash?" the nurse asked quietly.
"Um, yeah, sure," Thunder Dash panted. "I, uh, just had a bad dream. I'll be fine, thanks."
"Ok. If you need anything at all, ring the bell on the desk,"
"Thank you, ma'am," Thunder Dash replied with a weak smile.
As the nurse left the waiting room, Thunder Dash wiped her face off with her left wing, took several deep breaths and laid back down.
"Ya hungry there, sugarcube?" said a familiar voice.
"Applejack?" said Thunder Dash, as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "What time is it?"
"I reckon it's 'bout eight o'clock," Applejack told her. "Yer dad came by th' farm last night an' asked me Ah could bring y'all something fer breakfast."
"Thanks, Applejack," Thunder said. "But I'm not hungry this morning."
Applejack stood there with a bewildered look on her face. In the twenty years of her life, Thunder Dash never once turned down any of the Apples' cooking.
"Y'all ok there, sugarcube?" Applejack asked with concern in her voice. "Y'all ain't never turned down mah homecookin'. Even those times when y'all were sick as a dawg, ya always downed mah food."
"I'm fine Applejack," Thunder said. "I'm just not hungry. I'm gonna go visit mom in a few minutes."
"A'ight then. Jus' take the food back with y'all so that ya got somethin' ta eat fer whenever ya do get hungry."
"Okay..." Thunder Dash said reluctantly. "Who else is coming by today?"
"Fluttershy will be by as soon as she returns from Cloudsdale. Twilight an' Flash will be by sometime 'round lunch. Rarity an' Pinkie pie will be here after they git done with work. I'll be back sometime later this afternoon after all the chores are done."
"Did my dad say when he and Sunrise will be here?"
"Yer dad said that him an' Sunrise would be here sometime b'fore lunch, but he didn't give me a specific time."
Thunder Dash and Applejack gave each other a hug and said goodbye. After Applejack left the hospital, Thunder Dash went to sit with her mother, abandoning the breakfast in the waiting room.
A voice just barely louder than the heart monitor filled the room about an hour later.
"Um, Thunder Dash?"
Thunder Dash looked toward the doorway and answered, "Hello Fluttershy. Applejack told me you would be here soon."
"I was in Cloudsdale this morning telling Spitfire and the rest of the Wonderbolts that Rainbow Dash is in the hospital," Fluttershy said in her usual soft voice. "Has her condition changed?"
"Unfortunately not," Thunder Dash whispered as her eyes released a few tears.
"Are you ok? I heard you stayed here last night."
Thunder Dash just nodded as she looked at Rainbow in tears.
"I was, um, wondering if I could ask you a question?" Fluttershy asked, nervously rubbing her forehooves together.
"I guess so," Thunder Dash replied as she stopped sobbing.
"Can you tell me how Rainbow Dash got hurt? Everypony else is wondering what happened."
After Fluttershy finished asking her question, something inside Thunder Dash snapped. She looked at Fluttershy with rage in her eyes as she hopped off the chair onto the floor.
"Thun... Thunder D...Dash?" whimpered Fluttershy as Thunder slowly stalked toward her. "Wh... what d... did I say?"
Fluttershy backed away from Thunder Dash until she was in the corner of the room. Fluttershy then became terrified when she got pinned against the wall with a hoof to her throat.
"It was a stunt that went wrong," snarled Thunder Dash quietly. "Nothing more. She misjudged her distance as approached the ground. That's it. I suggest you leave... NOW!"
Thunder Dash then released the terrified Fluttershy, who immediately bolted toward the waiting room with tears covering her face.
"Don't worry Mom," whispered Thunder Dash as she returned to the side of the bed. "I promise I won't tell anypony what really happened yesterday."
About an hour later, Thundercloud and Sunrise entered the waiting room and immediately took notice of the butter yellow pegasus cowering in the corner. They looked at each other and then trotted over to her quickly.
"What happened to Rainbow, Fluttershy?" Thundercloud asked, fearing the worst.
"It... it isn't Rainbow D... Dash," Fluttershy said between sobs. "It... it's Th... Thunder D... Dash. She... she's gone c... crazy."
The two pegasi stallions stared at her in shock for a moment, until Sunrise spoke up.
"Uh, Fluttershy? What do you mean 'she's gone crazy'? What happened?" Sunrise asked, bewildered.
"I only asked her... wh... what happened to Rainbow," Fluttershy sobbed. "And.. and then she... she backed me into the... the corner and..." she paused to swallow hard before finishing, "...pinned me against the wall by... by... my neck and told me to... to leave."
When she finished, Fluttershy buried her face in her hooves and began crying harder.
Sunrise could see that Thundercloud was becoming furious, so he wasn't surprised when Thundercloud turned to him and said, "Sunrise, will you do me a favor and see if your parents left the castle yet?"
"Mind if ask why?"
"I would your mother to bring her communication book with her. I worry that we might need Sunset Shimmer's help with Thunder."
"No problem, Pops," Sunrise told him. "Are you going to talk have a talk Thunder Dash now?"
"No. I'll stay here with Fluttershy to keep her calm until you come back."
"Sounds good," Sunrise replied as he left the hospital.
About forty-five minutes later, Sunrise returned with his parents, Twilight Sparkle and Flash Sentry in tow.
"So what happened that you wanted me to bring the book I talk to Sunset with?" Twilight asked.
"Well, mom," Sunrise began, "Thunder has been acting really strange since yesterday morning. Something is bothering her, she won't tell us what and we think it's got something to do with what happened this morning."
"What happened this morning?" Twilight asked with an inquisitive look on her face.
"I think Fluttershy should be the one to explain that," Thundercloud interrupted.
Fluttershy began explaining to Twilight and Flash about Thunder Dash pinning her to the wall as Thundercloud quietly slipped away to his wife's room to confront his daughter.
"What in Celestia's name is your problem?" asked the angry pegasus stallion from the doorway.
Thunder Dash's head shot straight up and she snapped her head around to look at the door. What she saw was a charcoal gray pegasus with sparks arcing between the hairs in his mane and tail and throughout the feathers in his wings. Thunder Dash knew what that meant as she had seen it numerous times growing up.
"Dad?!" she said with a look of fright on her face.
"Don't 'Dad' me. I want to know what your problem is," Thundercloud growled. "Ever since I arrived yesterday, you have been defensive, rude and now you've resorted to violence. Fluttershy is a very close family friend and also your god-mare. To think you had the nerve to attack her makes me so angry that I'm sick. So I'm going ask again, what in Celestia's name is your problem.?"
"I'm-I'm sorry, Dad," Thunder Dash said as her eyes began welling up with tears.
"I am not the one you need to apologize to, Thunder," he continued. "The pony you need to apologize to in the waiting room. It took Sunrise, Princess Twilight, Flash and myself nearly two hours to get her calmed down after your little stunt."
After hearing a commotion coming from the room, Nurse Redheart walked in and interrupted the two pegasi.
"I'm sorry, but you two are going to argue, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the building," Nurse Redheart told them.
"My apologies, ma'am," answered Thundercloud. "We'll continue this outside. Let's go."
As Thundercloud and Thunder Dash walked through the waiting room, Thunder Dash took notice of the book that Twilight uses to communicate with Sunset Shimmer.
"Um, Dad?" Thunder Dash asked with a worried look. "Do you know why Princess Twilight brought her communication book with her?"
"Well, you see Thunder," he told her, "Even though you're a grown mare and the right to keep it to yourself, we want to know what happened and Sunset Shimmer the only other pony that can tell us."
"So Sunset is coming to Equestria then?" Thunder Dash asked quietly.
"Only if you aren't willing to telling us," her father said with a stern look on his face.
A look of terror came over Thunder's face because she knew what it meant. "Dad, you're seriously not going along with this. Are you? I mean, I am a grown mare and all but I'm your daughter."
"Sorry but we need to know what is bothering you," Thundercloud said as he gave her a hug. "There's something going on besides a simple bad memory."
Before Thunder Dash could respond to her father's claim, Twilight, Flash, and Fluttershy burst through the doors. Twilight headed toward Carousel Boutique, Fluttershy toward Sugarcube Corner and Flash bolted to Sweet Apple Acres. Thundercloud and Thunder Dash galloped back inside to find Sunrise with a concerned look on his face.
"What's going on, Sunrise? Why did everypony bolt out of here like they did?" Thundercloud asked.
Sunrise stood up on his hind legs and hugged both Thundercloud and Thunder Dash at once and said, "Rainbow Dash went into cardiac arrest a few minutes ago. Mom, Dad and Fluttershy went to get Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie."
Thunder Dash buried her face in Sunrise's neck and began crying hard.
This is all my fault, she thought to herself.
"What's taking so long with the crash cart?" shouted Dr. Joyheart as she continued CPR on Rainbow Dash.
The continuous monotone sound from the heart monitor filled the room and echoed throughout the hallway.
Dr. Joyheart had been performing CPR on Rainbow Dash for five minutes while she was waiting for one of the nurses to return with the defibrillator.
The nurse tasked with retrieving the defibrillator finally returned, out of breath. "Here... you go... doctor."
"Everypony, clear!" Dr. Joyheart shouted as she charged the paddles.
The jolt made Rainbow Dash's body jump, but her heart remained still.
"Clear!" Dr. Joyheart repeated as she activated the paddles for the second time.
Rainbow's heart beat twice before going still once again.
"Almost," one of the nurses whispered as sweat ran down everypony's faces. "C'mon, Rainbow Dash."
"Increase the voltage," hollered Dr. Joyheart as she recharged the paddles a third time. "Clear!"
An extremely weak heartbeat returned after the third jolt. Everypony held their breath while they waited to see if the heart rate would hold.
Twilight Sparkle, Thundercloud, Rarity, and Sunrise all surrounded Thunder Dash in the waiting room each one pointing out reasons why she needed to let them know what happened to Rainbow Dash.
"So what's it going to be, Thunder Dash?" Twilight asked with a concerned look on her face.
"I'm sorry everypony but I'm honoring my word to Mom," she responded with a defiant tone of voice.
"Very well," said Twilight as a pink aura lifted her communication book and a quill from her saddlebag and began to write on the first blank page.
Dear Sunset,
I know it's been a while since I've written but this is an emergency. My Rainbow Dash was critically injured yesterday and the only one that knows what happened is her daughter. We're going to need your telepathy so that we can find out what happened. I will have the portal opened in about an hour.
Your friend, Twilight Sparkle
"What's with th' book, Twi?" Applejack asked as she and Flash walked into the building.
Pinkie Pie, who walked into the hospital with Fluttershy, said, "Well you see, Thunder Dash has been really really grumpy like Cranky Doodle Donkey but won't tell no one what's wrong so then she got became a real meanie head towards Fluttershy by pushing her up against a wall and now Twilight's gonna send a message to Sunset Shimmer so that she can use her mind-reading magic to find out what happened to make Thunder Dash into a big meanie head."
"An' jus' how in the hay do you know that? You jus' got here," Applejack said with skepticism.
"Pinkie Sense," smiled Pinkie.
"Is that really what's goin' on, Twilight?" inquired Applejack.
"That's pretty much it," replied Twilight.
"Sorry to change the subject, darlings," Rarity interrupted, "but has anypony gotten an update on Rainbow Dash's condition since Twilight came to get me at the boutique?"
"Give me a minute and I'll check," Thundercloud said to the group of friends.
The nurse came out after Thundercloud rang the bell and gave him an update on Rainbow's condition. After wiping his eyes, he returned to the group to deliver the news.
"What did she say, dear?" Rarity asked shakily.
"It-it's not good," Thundercloud studdered while trying to keep his composure. "Dr. Joyheart has her stabilized but her vitals are extremely weak. They-they don't expect her to make it... through the night."
As everypony let the news sink in, Fluttershy hugged Thunder Dash as she apologized for the incident earlier in the day. Pinkie Pie's fluffy mane and tail went flat and Rarity's mascara began to run as she started crying. Twilight and Flash held each other as tears began rolling down their cheeks. Applejack lowered her head and pulled her hat down over her face. Sunrise put a hoof around his future father-in-law as a show of support.
"Sorry I took so long, Twilight," said Sunset Shimmer as she galloped in the waiting room. "How is Rainbow Dash doing?"
While Twilight filled Sunset in on the situation, Thundercloud informed his daughter, "You can still change your mind and tell everypony what happened. I doubt Sunset wants to do this any more than we would like her to. Whatever it is you're hiding, it needs to be brought out in the open."
"I'm sorry but I'm keeping the promise I made to Mom," Thunder Dash responded. "I don't want all of you to hate me for what happened."
"Would you be able to cast a projection spell while using your telepathy to find out what happened?" Thundercloud asked.
"To be honest Thundercloud, I don't know. I've never used my telepathy as a unicorn," said Sunset. "What I'm going to do is see what happened to Rainbow and then I'll cast a projection spell afterward."
Sunset approached Thunder Dash and gave her a hug before placing her right forehoof on Thunder's muzzle to see Rainbow Dash's final moments. The events she saw surprised her about Thunder Dash's behavior.
After she finished her vision, Sunset hugged Thunder again and reassured her, "What happened is not your fault. I'm sure there is a professional pony that will be able to help you through this, along with your friends and family."
Thunder Dash held onto her father as tears began to fill her eyes while Sunset cast the projection spell.
"Please don't be mad at me, Dad," she cried softly.
"We've covered a lot so far, Ms. Dash," Dr. Mindmender gently said, "but in order to help you move on, I need to know what happened from you. Remember I'm here to help you, not to judge you."
"But my friends already told you what happened, so why do you need to hear it from me?" Thunder Dash asked him.
"Because hearing it from you will allow me to help you deal with any guilt that you are feeling," the chestnut brown unicorn responded
"I disagree that it would help me, but if you insist," Thunder Dash reluctantly began. "It was beautiful spring day..."
"What's the matter, Mom? Old age catching up with you?" teased Thunder Dash as she did corkscrews around her mother.
"I'm just taking it easy today. I don't want to sprain anything," Rainbow Dash laughed. "Plus it's been a while since I let you outdo me."
"You're joking, right?" Thunder Dash said, raising an eyebrow. "I've been flying circles around you, literally, for almost two weeks now. What's going on, Mom?"
"Ok, fine," admitted Rainbow. "I have been feeling sluggish lately and because of that, I've been saving energy for your wedding with Sunrise."
"What are you talking about, Mom?"
"I'm planning on doing a very beautiful, but difficult stunt for the end of your ceremony," replied Rainbow Dash.
"You're gonna do a Sonic Rainboom?" Thunder Dash said excitedly.
"Well, not exactly," said Rainbow quietly.
Dejected, Thunder Dash asked her mother, "So what exactly were you planning to do, then?"
"I am planning on doing one of my old Wonderbolt stunts. One that no pony has seen since I retired," Rainbow Dash said with a smile.
The expression on Thunder Dash's face changed immediately from disappointment to elation when she realized what Rainbow Dash had in mind.
"Hold on a sec. You mean to tell me that you're going to do a Rainboom Splash?!" she shouted.
"Yeah, surprise," Rainbow again said softly.
"That is so awesome!" Thunder exclaimed. "Now it all makes sense why you insisted we have a lakeside wedding at Ponyville Park."
"So you were having a mother-daughter day and were discussing the wedding," verified Dr. Mindmender as he made notes on his clipboard.
"That's right," Thunder Dash replied.
"That's nothing to be ashamed of. I would probably be just as excited as you were," stated the unicorn.
"I know but that's not the end of the story..."
Rainbow Dash and her daughter landed softly on the grass of Ponyville Park. As soon as they settled on the ground, Thunder Dash started to dig at the ground with her hoof.
"Thunder? What's wrong?" Rainbow Dash asked with a concerned look.
"Mom, I have something to get off mind," Thunder Dash began. "I have been wanting to know how to pull off a Sonic Rainboom to impress Sunrise. I've seen you do it all the time in the Wonderbolts shows and I was wondering...."
"If I could teach you how to pull it off?" finished Rainbow Dash.
"Yes, exactly!"
Rainbow was at a loss for words and could only stare at her in silence. She had tried to teach the fastest Wonderbolt cadet from each class how to create a Sonic Rainboom but nopony was anywhere near fast enough. Now her daughter, who was nowhere near as fast as any of the cadets, was asking her the same thing.
"Mom? Hello? You ok?" Thunder Dash said as she waved her forehoof in front of her mother's face.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Rainbow said as she snapped out of her trance. "It's just, well, I tried to teach the Rainboom to numerous pegasi over the years and nopony has been fast enough to pull it off.
"But Mom, I am fast enough," Thunder insisted.
"No offense but I've seen your top speed and Scootaloo could probably run circles around you."
"Have you seen me when I fly with my friends, Mom?" Thunder Dash asked, slightly annoyed. "We race each other all the time, with me winning every time. I don't fly anywhere near as fast with you."
"Seriously?" Rainbow Dash replied, somewhat surprised. "You've been sandbagging all these years?
"Yeah, I have," Thunder said sheepishly.
A devious grin appeared on Rainbow Dash's face. "Well then, let's race to see how fast you really are. Go on the count of three, ok?"
"Alright," agreed Thunder Dash.
"Three!" shouted Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash took off toward the sky in a flash of color, while Thunder Dash bolted after her being trailed by a deafening thunderclap.
Rainbow heard the rumbling from her daughter's wake closing the distance behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see a steel gray blur closing fast. Rainbow turned back around and put on an additional burst of speed to put distance between herself and Thunder Dash.
As she saw her mother begin to put distance between them, Thunder Dash thought to herself, No way, Mom. I'm going to do whatever it takes to prove I'm just as fast, if not faster, than you.
After another clap of thunder, she began to close the distance on her mother, until Rainbow made a seamless 90 degree turn upward toward the sky. Thunder Dash wasn't as skilled at such maneuvers, she had to slow down slightly to be able to make the same directional change.
The next couple minutes seemed to move in slow motion for Thunder Dash. While Rainbow Dash had her head turned to see how far ahead she was, another pegasus just happened to inadvertently fly in front of her and clipped Rainbow's right wing, shattering it instantly. The other pegasus tumbled a few dozen yards before recovering. Rainbow Dash wasn't as lucky, as she fell to the ground.
Rainbow Dash instinctively tried flapping her wings to recover, but when only the left one moved, she fully unfurled it in the hopes that she could use it as a parachute. Instead, it put her into a tailspin that accelerated her descent.
After shooting past her mother, Thunder Dash stopped and watched thinking Rainbow Dash was pulling off a Wonderbolt stunt as a way of showing off until she heard something faint come from Rainbow Dash mere seconds before hitting the ground:
"HELP ME!"
A pale green aura surrounded Dr. Mindmender's horn as he levitated a box of tissues over to the couch where Thunder Dash was laying.
"Ms. Dash, from what you yourself just told me, this seems like a combination of coincidences and bad timing," Dr. Mindmender told her. "It's not your fault. Your father and your friends do not blame you for your mother's death. In fact, they are the ponies that you need to be open with if you want to get through this."
"It just hurts so much though," Thunder said with tears in her eyes. "I should've known something was wrong but I just hovered there until she hollered for help. By then I was... was..."
"You couldn't have known in the short amount of time what happened," reassured Dr. Mindmender. "As we've already discussed, this was just a freak accident."
The two ponies continued their discussion for another thirty minutes until Thunder Dash's session was finished.
"Ms. Dash, I'd like to continue these sessions for a few more weeks, at least," Dr. Mindmender told her as she got up to leave. "I know that this memory was difficult on you and it will be hard to deal with. But if you need to speak with me, my office is always open."
"Thanks, doctor," Thunder Dash said as she shook his hoof and left the office.
"Applejack?" Thunder Dash asked with a surprised look on her face as she walked through the waiting area. "What are you doing here?"
Feeling her cheeks starting to burn from embarrassment, Applejack responded, "Well, ya see, Applebloom an' Big Mac say that I have..."
"Great job today, Y'all," Applejack proudly said to Big Mac, Applebloom and her niece, Jazz Apple. "Granny Smith would be proud of th' fact that we are gonna have two cider stands on openin' day. We all earned a good night's sleep tonight."
"Thanks, sis," Applebloom responded with a weak smile. "It's great ta stay on th' farm ag'in. Even if it is just fer th' night."
"Welp, Ah'll see y'all in th' mornin' then," Applejack told everypony as she headed toward the front porch of the farmhouse.
"Why aren't you going to bed, Auntie Applejack?" Jazz asked quietly.
"Ah got a few things goin' on in mah mind at th' moment," Applejack replied. "Ah'll be ta bed shortly, but don't worry, Ah'll be rested up in time fer th' mornin', sugarcube."
"Ok then," said Jazz as she gave Applejack a good night hug. "I love you. See you in the morning, Auntie Applejack."
"I love y'all too, Jazz," smiled Applejack.
A few hours later Applebloom woke up to the sound of the screen door slamming closed. Cletus wasn't barking at the sound, so Applebloom just figured it was the wind. Something in her mind told her that she might want to investigate the noise. She quietly slipped out of her room so that she didn't wake Jazz, who was asleep in her old bed.
Trotting softly down the staircase, Applebloom was filled with concern at the scene that was unfolded in front of her. Applejack was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, her Stetson barely hanging on her right ear, a half-empty brown bottle in her left hoof, her mane was almost pulled out of the ribbon holding it and had the telltale signs on her face that she had been crying. It was a sight that Applebloom hadn't seen in nearly seven years.
"What in th' hay is goin' on Sis?" Applebloom hissed. "Are ya tryin' ta wake th' entire house up with yer shenanigans? T'day's th' openin' day of cider season an' th' last thing we need is fer Y'all ta be hungover, 'specially since we got two stands this year."
"Ah wash jusht... *hiccup* jusht havin' me a couple drinksh 'fore bed, that'sh all," Applejack responded with the obvious slur in her voice.
"And jus' how many was 'a couple', sis?" Applebloom asked with concern.
"Well, there wash th' two on... *hic* on the porch," Applejack recounted. "Then there wash the one on th' way ta the barn, then... let'sh shee... I had four or five in th' barn, plush... *hic* plush thish here one."
Applebloom looked her older sister in the eyes and asked, "How much of the cider that's for today did you have?"
"I ain't had any fer the customers."
Letting out a sigh of relief, Applebloom asked her sister what made her want to get drunk.
"Well sugarcube, Ah wash sho happy 'bout how... *hic* how much work we got done, Ah shtarted thinkin' 'bout...*hic* 'bout Rainbow Dash an' how happy she would be that wouldn't be runnin' outta... *hic* outta cider thish year."
Applebloom helped her sister to the sofa and then draped her right foreleg over her shoulder before asking, "Why so much, sis? Th' last time ya were this sloshed, Y'all were seein' Dr. Mindmender."
"Ah'm gonna come clean sugarcube," Applejack began as her emerald green eyes started to fill with tears. "Me an' Rainbow had an extremely closhe friendship. When she died sheven... *hic* sheven yearsh ago, a piece of me... died with her. Ah really miss her, Applebloom. Ah... Ah really do."
Applebloom held Applejack tightly as she began wailing loudly. "All of us miss her, sis. It's gotta be harder on ya 'cause Y'all were so close."
The only thing in the house that could be heard was the sound of the tangerine pony crying her eyes out. Not even the whimpers of Cletus could be heard over Applejack. Applebloom looked toward the dining room and spotted a small silhouette standing in the doorframe.
"C'mon over here, Jazz," Applebloom said softly. "What's the matter?"
"What's wrong with Auntie Applejack?" Jazz asked her mother.
"She misses her best friend," Applebloom responded as Jazz approached them.
The six-year-old filly gave her aunt a hug and asked her mom who Applejack's best friend was.
"Her best friend was a pegasus named Rainbow Dash," Applebloom said to her. "They ev'rything tagether. Horseshoes, hammer throwin' an' 'specially th' Runnin' of th' Leaves ev'rything year."
"Where's Rainbow Dash at now?" Jazz asked her mother.
Applebloom looked at her sister, still with tears streaming down her face, who nodded in response to the silent question.
"Well, she had an accident 'fore Y'all were born an', well, ya remember what happened ta Fuzzy?" Applebloom answered.
"You mean she..." started Jazz.
"Yep," said Applebloom. "Ah'll tell ya th' story when Y'all git older. How 'bout Y'all run along back ta bed. Ok?"
"Ok, Mom," Jazz told her.
Applebloom then kissed Jazz on the muzzle before she went back to bed.
"I hope you feel better in the morning, Auntie Applejack," she called as she went back upstairs.
Applejack's loud crying had slowly transitioned to a soft sobbing by the time Applebloom rejoined her sister on the sofa and reassured her, "Ah'll stay up with y'all as long as necessary, sis, jus' like Ah did after Rainbow Dash died."
"Thanksh, sugarcube," Applejack responded, still slurring her words. "Ah really 'ppreciate it."
Applebloom gave her sister another hug before leading her back to the dining room. "Let's get some water in ya so Y'all ain't hungover in the morning."
As Celestia rose the sun the next day, Applejack, Big Macintosh, Applebloom, and Jazz were putting the finishing touches on the cider stands.
Jazz looked up and was amazed by the line of ponies waiting for the cider stands to open and asked her mother, "Does the line look like this every year?"
"Eeyup," responded Big Mac.
"Too bad Papa's on tour and can't see this," said Jazz disappointedly.
Applebloom laughed, "Yer papa's done seen it 'fore, Jazz. That's how me an' him met nine years ago."
Just then Applejack called out, "Places e'vrypony. Five minutes 'til we open up!"
Applebloom was about to take her place when she looked up and noticed her sister acting strangely. As she trotted over to check on her, she noticed Applejack's face covered in sweat.
"Ya ok, sis? Y'all ain't lookin' too good."
"Sure, sugarcube...Ah jus'...need ta sit...down fer a...a...," whispered Applejack weakly, just before she lost consciousness and collapsed on the ground.
"How's she doin', doc?" Applebloom asked as tears filled her eyes.
"Your sister resting in her room at the moment, however, she is in a coma," Dr. Joyheart told her.
"What happened ta her? Is she gonna make it?" Applebloom worried.
"Applejack suffered a severe myocardial infarction and we're not sure if she'll make it," replied Dr. Joyheart sadly as she looked at her clipboard.
"Pardon me fer askin' but what's a, uh, myocard... whatever it was that Y'all said?" asked Applebloom with a confused look on her face.
"Sorry," acknowledged Dr. Joyheart. "It's more commonly known as a heart attack. Would you be able to tell me what happened before she collapsed?"
"Ah'll start with last night then," Applebloom began as a lone tear escaped her left eye. "We got done gittin' everythin' setup fer this mornin' an' she said she had some things on her mind. She went outside ta sit on th' porch swing while everypony else went to bed. Ah woke up early this mornin' when she came into th' house sloshed ta the gills."
"Ok. Did she say how much she had to drink?"
"She told me that only had eight or nine but Ah believe she had more than that," Applebloom said.
"Alright, what happened then?" inquired the doctor.
"Me an' her talked fer a little bit 'fore Ah got her ta drink some water so she wouldn't be hungover, then we went ta bed," Applebloom continued. "She seemed fine while we put together th' last minute details on th' cider stands. 'Bout five minutes 'fore we opened the stands she started sweatin' bad right 'fore she collapsed. Ah had Big Mac haul tail to get her here after Ah got her on his back."
Applebloom continued to discuss Applejack's condition with Dr. Joyheart until Twilight Sparkle and her friends arrived at the hospital. Applebloom excused herself to relay Applejack's condition to her friends until her husband, Rockin' Out, entered with Jazz.
"AB, I'm really sorry," Rockin' said softly as he hugged his wife. "Are they letting her have visitors yet? Jazz has been bugging me to see AJ since I picked her up from the farm."
"Naw, not yet," replied Applebloom. "What did Mac do with th' cider stuff?"
"He locked the cider barrels in the barn and took down one of the stands," Rockin' told his wife. "Braeburn is supposed to come down tomorrow to run the stand for you and AJ."
"That's some good news," Applebloom sighed. "Hey Jazz, how but Y'all go sit ov'r there with yer cousin Pinkie Pie? Ah need ta talk ta yer papa alone fer a couple minutes."
"Sure, mom," said Jazz before she galloped over to Pinkie Pie and tackled her in the chair.
Applebloom and Rockin' Out moved to the opposite side of the room, out of Jazz's earshot. Applebloom began to sob quietly as she threw forelegs around her husband's neck.
"Ah didn't wanna tell the girls, but... they're.. they're not sure she's gonna make it," she cried. "It ain't fair, sugarlump. Today's her favorite of th' year. She loves meetin' th' ponies that come from all ov'r Equestria. It just... ain't... fair. "
"I don't know what to say, AB," Rockin' whispered in her ear. "It's out of our hooves right now. I'll be with you and Jazz to help you get through this. We just need to be strong and pray she pulls through."
"Wh-what 'bout the tour?" asked Applebloom as she continued to cry.
"Don't worry about that. Everything is under control," he reassured her. "The manager's rescheduling the next couple weeks and issuing refunds. Rara is gonna fill in for me for the charity concert in Phillydelphia."
A yellow blob filled Applejack's vision as she slowly regained consciousness.
"App-Applebloom? That Y'all?" she said sluggishly as she tried to figure out where she was.
"Applejack! Yer awake!" Applebloom shouted joyfully.
"Wha-what in the... what in the hay happened?" Applejack said quietly. "The last thing Ah remember... we-we were gittin' ready ta welcome ev'rypony to Sweet Apple Acres fer... openin' day of cider season.
"Y'all had a severe heart attack, sis," Applebloom told her as she squeezed her older sister tightly. "We were so worried Y'all weren't gonna make it."
"How come?" Applejack inquired silently.
"Ya been in a coma fer four days," Applebloom told her. "Jazz has been here everyday tellin' Y'all 'bout her day an' stuff she has seen that Y'all might've liked. It was touching."
A weak smile appeared on Applejack's face as she began looking around.
"Whatcha lookin' fer?" asked Applebloom.
"Uh, did y'all bring my Stetson along?"
"We put it on yer bed ta keep it nice. Ah can send a message ta Rockin' fer him ta bring it with him when Jazz gets outta school today."
The sisters' conversation was interrupted by a light knock on the door.
"I thought I heard voices in here," smiled Nurse Redheart as she entered the room. "How are you feeling, Applejack?"
"Honestly, Ah'm still kinda groggy but Ah'm also starvin'." Applejack told her. "Ah could really go fer a triple hayburger and heapin' stack of hay fries."
"We'll have to see what the doctor says," chuckled Nurse Redheart.
"C'mon now," protested Applejack. "Ah ain't had nothin' ta eat fer four whole days an' yer tellin' me Ah gotta wait?"
"Sorry but that's the rules," replied Redheart as she checked she checked Applejack's vital signs. "Dr. Joyheart will be in this afternoon to check on you but I'll see if I arrange a bowl of soup at least. Hopefully, you'll be able to go home in a few days if you keep improving."
Three days later, Applejack sat in a wheelchair as one of the nurses pushed her out of Ponyville General. She would have preferred to walk out but it was hospital policy for its patients to leave in a wheelchair. As she approached the entrance, the dreaded words from Dr. Joyheart: No physical labor for seven days.
While she was trying to figure out what to do on the non-market days, the answer grabbed her by the neck as soon as she hopped out of the wheelchair.
"AUNTIE APPLEJACK!" Jazz yelled emphatically at the top of lungs. "I can't wait to help you with the trees when we get back to the farm. I know I'm too little to pull the full baskets but I can push the empty ones for you."
"Hold on there, sugarcube," Applejack stopped her. "Thar ain't gonna be no bucking from me fer at least a week. That's orders from th' doc."
"So what are you going to do?" asked Jazz.
"When Ah ain't runnin' th' market stand, Ah'm gonna spend as much time with mah favorite niece as Ah can," smiled Applejack. "How do y'all feel 'bout learnin' Granny Smith's Cinnamon Apple Pie recipe?"
"You mean you're going to teach me the recipe for the pie that you make me for my birthday every year?" Jazz asked excitedly.
"How 'bout we go home 'fore Y'all start cookin'," interrupted Applebloom with a loving smile.
"Now that sounds like a good idea. Ah spent enough time in there," replied Applejack as the three ponies started toward Sweet Apple Acres.
The large red stallion gently shook his unconscious sister trying to revive her. He made sure not to be too rough so that he didn't risk injuring her.
"APPLEBLOOM!" he bellowed as loud as he could. "IT HAPPENED AG'IN!"
The yellow pony came trotting into the barn and was greeted by what was beginning to be a familiar sight. Applejack was laying on her right side, unconscious, with a half-full bottle of Special Reserve Sweet Apple Cider in her right hoof and her Stetson in her left hoof, along with a collection of at least a dozen empty bottles scattered around her.
"Let's get her inside, Big Mac" sighed Applebloom. "She needs to get some help. Ah'm two moons pregnant an' Ah can't be doin' this ev'ry mornin'."
After Big Mac got the tangerine earth pony moved to the sofa, Applebloom applied a cold compress to her forehead and said to her brother, "If Y'all see Thundercloud when ya go ta town t'day, will ya get the name of that doc Thunder Dash is seein'?"
"Eeyep!" replied Big Mac.
They both looked down at their sister and sighed. Applebloom shed a tear as she whispered, "What has got ya drinkin' like this, AJ? You didn't do this after Granny Smith passed. Why do it now after Rainbow Dash passed?"
"How was that, AJ?" Rainbow Dash asked as she moved from the bottom of the bed to the pillows.
"Ah was really strugglin' not ta yell, sugarcube," Applejack answered as her breathing slowly returned to normal. "Y'all need ta bring the rubber stallion with ya sometime."
Rainbow Dash rolled over to look her lover in the eye before asking, "You really love that thing. Don't you?"
"Yeah, kinda," giggled Applejack as she leaned up to plant a sloppy kiss on Rainbow Dash's lips.
Rainbow Dash rolled back over onto her side so that Applejack could wrap her left foreleg around her. Rainbow Dash nuzzled up to Applejack's neck and as they started to drift off to sleep, Applejack quietly mumbled, "Eventually we're gonna have ta tell our friends 'bout us."
The aroma of apple pancakes and sweet potato hash browns filled the farmhouse as Applejack woke up for the day. After pushing the blankets aside, she grabbed her hairbrush off the nightstand and began brushing her mane and tail before tying them up in bright red ribbons. She wasn't as picky as Rarity about her appearance but she still always made sure to be presentable to others. Finally, she grabbed her Stetson and headed downstairs for breakfast.
"Mornin' Rockin'," she said as she entered the dining room. "Where's Jazz at?"
Rockin' Out replied, "She's in the kitchen cooking breakfast, AJ... under AB's supervision of course. She wanted to cook me a going away breakfast before I head back out to resume the band's tour."
"Ah guess some of mah cookin' lessons paid off this week," chuckled Applejack.
"We'll be finding out here in a minute," said Rockin' proudly. "I can see AB loading the serving tray."
"Where's Uncle Mac?" asked Jazz, as she and Applebloom brought the breakfast to the table.
"I'm right here," droned Big Mac as he stepped inside the house. "Just needed to get th' baskets placed fer tree buckin'."
"Hope Y'all ain't placed too many, Mac. Ah still can't do any buckin' 'til after Ah'm cleared by Doc Joyheart t'morrow," Applejack said.
"Nope! Ah remember," he said to her.
Applejack patiently sat on the table in the doctor's office, nervously awaiting the doctor's decision.
What in th' hay am Ah gonna do if Ah can't buck trees?" she worried. Tendin' ta the fields is mah life. Ah'm gonna go bonkers if she doesn't clear fer my normal routine.
A knock on the door interrupted her train of thought as Dr. Joyheart entered the room.
"Good morning, Applejack. How have you been doing this past week?" Dr. Joyheart asked her.
"Just plum crazy, doc" the farm pony replied. "Between th' bland diet an' them horse pills, Ah'd probably be in th' funny farm right now if my sister an' niece weren't stayin' with me."
A sad look came over Dr. Joyheart's face as she listened to Applejack's heart and checked her blood pressure.
"Well, what's goin' on with mah ticker?" Applejack asked impatiently.
"I'm afraid you're not going to like what I have to say," Joyheart said dejectedly. "Your blood pressure is normal, however, your heart rate is still erratic."
"Y'all mean ta tell me th' diet an' pills ain't worked?" asked Applejack as she struggled to hold back her tears.
"I'm afraid not," replied Joyheart. "I know how much tending the orchards means to you but as of right now I can't clear you past light duty."
"Whatcha mean by light duty?" Applejack asked, still fighting the tears.
"That means no apple bucking and no pulling wagons or baskets," Joyheart clarified.
"So basically all th' borin' stuff," said Applejack.
"Pretty much. I'd like to see you back here in two weeks," Dr. Joyheart told her. "If your heart rate has stabilized by then we can look into getting back into your normal routine."
A tear managed to escape each eye as Applejack put her hat back on and shook hooves with the doctor. She somehow was able to keep her head held high as she walked back to Sweet Apple Acres but as soon as she entered the farmhouse, she climbed on the sofa and laid down on her stomach. She then began to cry uncontrollably as she crossed her forelegs and buried her face in them.
Applebloom and Jazz entered the farmhouse about an hour later and were greeted by the unmistakable sound of somepony crying. The two earth ponies made their way to the living room to find the elder Apple sister laying on the couch sobbing. Jazz slowly approached her aunt and wrapped her forelegs around her neck.
"What's wrong Auntie Applejack?" she asked quietly. "Did you get hurt?"
Applejack, with her head still buried in her forelegs, just shook her head no.
"The doc ain't cleared you fer work. Did she?" Applebloom asked silently.
Looking up slightly with tears still streaming down her face, Applejack said, "No she didn't, sugarcube. Ah...Ah don't know what ta do. She said Ah can do all the easy stuff like runnin' th' market stand an' feedin' the critters..."
"But no tendin' ta the fields...," finished Applebloom.
"Right," sobbed Applejack as she buried her head back into her forelegs.
"Did ya tell Mac yet?" Applebloom asked softly.
A muffled 'no' came from the sofa.
Applebloom joined her daughter in embracing Applejack.
"Don't worry, sis," Applebloom said sympathetically as a tear slid down her cheek. "We'll get ya through this."
Applejack galloped into Ponyville General Hospital.
"How's Applebloom doin'? Is she alright?"
"Applebloom and the filly are both doing just fine, Applejack," smiled the nurse.
"Can Ah visit her yet?" Applejack eagerly asked.
"Yes, you may," answered the nurse. "The filly is asleep right now so try to keep the volume down."
Applejack softly trotted into her sister's hospital room and smiled at the sight. Applebloom, noticeably exhausted, was laying in the bed holding a cute, bright red filly with a sparkling gold mane and tail.
"What did Y'all name her, sugarcube?" Applejack asked her sister.
"We named her Jazz Apple," replied Applebloom softly. "We decided she should have a musical name like her daddy."
"That's really sweet," Applejack told as she looked around. "Where is Rockin' at anyhow?"
"He should be back soon. He went ta git me a mushroom an' dandelion pizza," Applebloom said hungrily. "Would ya like ta hold Jazz?"
"Are Y'all kiddin'?" said Applejack as her eyes began watering. "Ah've been waitin' for moons fer this moment."
A warm smile reappeared on Applejack's face as she gently lifted her newborn niece from Applebloom's forelegs.
"She's beautiful, Sugarcube," said Applejack as tears of joy ran down her cheeks. "You an' Rockin' oughtta be proud of yerselves. Ah know Ah am."
Applejack slowly opened her eyes and heard a slow beeping sound coming from beside her.
Not ag'in, was the first that came into Applejack's head. Am Ah really back in the hospital?
Applejack groggily scratched her head with her right hoof trying hard to remember what happened, but her mind kept coming up blank. Lucky for her, the sound of heavy hoof steps walked in while she was in mid-thought.
"Sis?" said an unmistakable voice. "You awake?"
"Mac?" said Applejack weakly. "Wh-what th'... what th' hay happened this time?"
Big Mac hung his head and in his low, monotone voice, told her, "Found ya out in th' North Orchard. Ya weren't breathin' too good. Gotcha loaded on th' apple cart 'n' brought ya here."
"Did Ah have another heart attack?" she asked distressingly.
"Eeyup," droned her older brother.
"But... but how?" she wondered aloud. "Ah stayed on that bland diet an' took them dang horse pills. Ah shoulda been fine."
"That's what doc said," Mac told her. "Said musta been somethin' spiritual."
"How many days have Ah been out fer this time?" Applejack asked as she noticed her Stetson at the foot of the bed.
"Brought ya in this mornin', AJ," he replied. "Doc said ya probably won't be bucking trees no more."
Applejack with tears beginning to run down her cheeks, let out a heartbroken sigh, grabbed her hat from the foot of the bed, rolled onto her left side and faced away from her brother.
Is this the end of mah journey? she wondered as she drifted back to sleep.
"Rarity? Rarity?" hollered Pinkie Pie as she bounced into Carousel Boutique. "Rarity? Are you in here?"
" Is there something wrong, Pinkie?" asked Sweetie Belle as she came out of the backroom.
"I'm looking for Rarity because Applejack's in the hospital again," Pinkie Pie said frantically. "Twilight wants to get everypony together at the hospital because they're saying Applejack's in really, really, really bad shape this time."
"Rarity's in Canterlot today," Sweetie Belle replied. "She won't be back until late this afternoon."
"Can you have her come to Ponyville hospital when she gets home, pretty please," Pinkie begged.
"Sure, Pinkie" responded Sweetie Belle. "I'll even Pinkie Promise you."
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou," Pinkie rambled as she bounced back out the door.
Applejack woke up on the sofa in the living room, disoriented and slightly confused.
'Ah thought Ah was in th' hospital,' she said to herself, perplexed.
A lot of stuff seemed out of place to her. Most noticeably the stove in the kitchen wasn't light like it always was and Cletus wasn't laying on Granny's old rocking chair. She decided to she'd better go light the stove for dinner then go look for Cletus.
Applejack cautiously stepped outside still confused by her surroundings. The only sound she could hear for miles was a soft rattling coming from the cider cellar.
'What in th' hay is goin' on? Ah should at least be hearin' Big Mac crackin' trees in th' East Orchard' she thought as she became even more confused.
Applejack decided to investigate the noise coming from the cider cellar. Everything was getting stranger by the minute as she passed an empty chicken coop, an empty hog pen, and a padlocked barn door before she finally arrived at the cider cellar, which also was padlocked.
'Why is th' cellar padlocked? 'Specially if somepony is inside,' she wondered. 'Ah need to get whoever is in there out 'fore they hurt themselves.'
As she began searching near the door for the key, she noticed something glistening in the sun from under her chin. Reaching up with her right hoof, Applejack found a necklace with a padlock key around her neck.
'What...? How long has this been 'round mah neck?'
Assuming this was the right key, she nervously unlocked the cellar and opened the door, only to be tackled by a rainbow-colored blur.
"Thank Celestia you found that key," said the cyan pegasus, dusting herself off. "I've been trapped in there forever. Thanks... Applejack?"
"Rainbow Dash?!" coughed Applejack as she stood up. "What in th' hay...?"
"Hold on a second," Rainbow Dash interrupted as she looked at her surroundings. "How did I end up here? Luna told me I'd be delivering a message to one of you guys in a dream but I'm back at Sweet Apple Acres."
As she continued to look around, Rainbow's eyes met Applejack's. As they stared at each other, both ponies began tearing up before Applejack walked up to Rainbow Dash and wrapped her hooves around her friend's neck. Rainbow Dash then returned the embrace as both of them began to cry.
"Oh, Rainbow Dash," sobbed Applejack. "Ah've missed ya somethin' fierce."
"Me too, AJ," replied Rainbow Dash, crying just as hard as her former marefriend. "Me too."
After a few minutes, Rainbow Dash had calmed down enough to deliver the message she was given.
"Luna wanted me to tell you that it's time to get ready to go," Rainbow Dash told her.
"Hold on, Rainbow," Applejack said. "Y'all telling me that Ah'm dead right now?"
"Not yet, but you will be later tonight," Rainbow clarified. "Luna's bought enough time for you to say goodbye to everypony before you... you..."
A frightened look appeared on Applejack's face. Rainbow Dash saw this and wrapped both her wings around her.
"It's gonna be fine," Rainbow whispered into Applejack's ear. "Me, your parents and Granny Smith will be here to help you when you close your eyes for the last time."
"Yeah," Rainbow replied, still holding her friend. "Twilight's waiting to talk to you. We'll all be here when you come back later tonight."
Twilight Sparkle lead the parade of friends and family that included Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and her siblings, to visit Applejack throughout the day. Rarity was the only no-show during the afternoon, but Applejack knew she was going to be running late. As the sun sank closer to the horizon, the unmistakable clarion voice of the ivory fashionista was heard echoing through the hallway.
"Terribly sorry I'm late, darling," Rarity apologized upon entering the room. "I got tied up in Canterlot on business and for the life of me, couldn't get away."
"It's ok, sugarcube," Applejack replied weakly. "Ah understand. Besides, Ah knew... Ah knew Y'all were gonna be late anyhow. Sweetie Belle done told Applebloom who... who relayed the message to me."
An uneasy smile crossed Rarity's face she gave her friend a hug.
"Be-besides..." Applejack continued, "it gave Applebloom time ta... ta bring somethin' from th' farm that... that Ah wanted y'all ta have."
She reached over the left side of the bed where her saddlebag was and pulled out her hairbrush and a small, unicorn-shaped topiary sculpture. Rarity's eyes began to well up with tears when she realized which plant it was.
"Is-is this the same sculpture from Twilight's first sleepover?" Rarity asked, holding back her tears.
"It... it sure is," Applejack replied. "Ah kept it as a... as a reminder of how far our... our friendship has come."
Rarity carefully took the sculpture from Applejack, placed it on the bed tray and looked into her friend's eyes. Words describing the emotions she was feeling were escaping her. She was astonished that Applejack had kept this gift she gave to her 39 years ago.
"Rares, are.. are Y'all ok?" Applejack asked, interrupting Rarity's train of thought.
"Yes, darling," Rarity said as her bottom lip quivered. "It's just, well, I don't know how to describe how I'm feeling right now."
Applejack could see the joy showing through the sadness of her friend and it brought a faint smile to her face.
"Ah'd... Ah'd like ta ask a small favor... Rarity," Applejack whispered.
"Sure, dearie. Do you want me to get a nurse or something?" answered Rarity.
"Naw, gittin'... a nurse would be a... a waste of time," Applejack continued to whisper as her eyelids became heavier.
"You mean to tell me that you're..." Rarity gasped.
"Ah just... wanted y'all ta... ta brush mah... mah mane an'... an' tail real pretty like... like yours is," Applejack struggled to say above a light whisper.
Rarity couldn't take it any longer. She lit her horn so that she could begin brushing Applejack's tail while she leaned over to cradle her longtime friend in her hooves.
With her mascara running down her face from crying, Rarity said, "I'm going to miss you, Applejack, but I will never forget you."
"Ah'll miss... ya too, Rares," Applejack whispered using the last of her strength. "Ah... Ah love... ya... sis."
It was with those final words that Applejack closed her eyes and drew her last breath. Rarity held her tightly against her own body for another minute or two before gently laying her head back on the pillow and began brushing her mane.
It was an unusually quiet day at Sugarcube Corner in the small town of Ponyville, as far as business was concerned. In the farthest corner from the sales counter, there was the sound of six friends laughing and having a great time. Those friends were Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and a noticeably pregnant Rainbow Dash, all enjoying their weekly 'Mare's Day Out'.
They went around the table talking about what they did in the past week, congratulating each other on all the good stuff that happened to each of them. When it was Rarity's turn, she immediately got quiet and stared at her double chocolate milkshake. Everypony else immediately knew something was amiss.
"Rarity? What happened?" Twilight asked, worried about her friend.
"Y'all okay, Rares?" Applejack insisted.
Tears began to form in the unicorn's eyes as she tried to think about the best way to break the news. Meanwhile, her friends continued to press her for what was bothering her.
"You know you can tell us anything," Fluttershy quietly told her.
Rarity took a deep breath and open her mouth to speak but the words just never formed, just the sound of a sad pony crying.
Nopony knew what to say as they watched their friend cross her forelegs on the table and bury her face in them, changing their joyous mood into a disheartening one.
"Is everything okay?" Mrs. Cake asked as she approached the group.
"We don't know, Mrs. Cake," Pinkie began. "We were telling about our week and Rarity just started crying when it came around to her turn."
"Oh. Well if you girls need anything just let me know," Mrs. Cake replied.
Rarity managed to lift her head to reveal her now tear-covered face. Her sobs of sorrow had eased up enough to allow her to speak.
"Lonely... Lonely Heart and... and I," she began, trying to keep what little composure she had, "we.. we found out from... from..."
Rarity lost control again as she remembered what she learned from Dr. Friendly, the Manehattan OB/GYN.
Rainbow Dash was the first of the group to begin crying. Being close to term with her pregnancy, she had a feeling as to where Rarity was going with her news.
After another minute or two, Rarity was able to regain enough control to finish what she was going to say.
"We found out from Dr. Friendly that... that I can't... I can't have foals of... of my own."
Her admission of the tragic news caused the pace of her crying to resume to a near uncontrollable level.
Pinkie Pie, whose mane and tail were now deflated, wrapped her pink hooves around her heartbroken friend and reminded her, "This is a super duper big bummer but we're your bestest greatest friends in the whole wide world and we'll always be there for you whenever you need us."
As the rest of the group began crying, Fluttershy reached out and grasped Rarity's forelegs with her hooves in which the other four quickly followed suit.
"Just remember," Fluttershy reassured her, "we will always be here."
Rarity walked into the maternity ward of Ponyville General to visit her friend who had just become a mother for the first time last night. It was bittersweet visiting this ward of the hospital as she knew this was the only way she could be in the nursery. She entered the room and the first thing she noticed besides the twin colts, was her friend's mane which was more frazzled than usual.
"Pinkie Pie," said Rarity in her clarion voice, "whatever happened to your mane? It's everywhere. More than normal I mean."
Pinkie looked in the mirror that was on the bed tray so she could see what Rarity meant.
"Oh yeah," Pinkie laughed, "that kinda happens when you squeeze two objects the size of large pumpkins out of your..."
"Okay, Sweetness," Cheese Sandwich interrupted. "I think she probably can figure it out."
The exchange between the proud parents made Rarity do something that she had hardly done after learning about her condition fifteen years ago: laugh.
"Thank you for the laugh Pinkie. I need it," Rarity told the party pony. "So what did you name them?"
"Well, the yellow one is Sweet Cheese and the white one is Cream Cheese," Pinkie answered cheerfully.
Cheese Sandwich cleared his throat as he nudged his wife to get her attention. After Pinkie made eye contact with Cheese, he nodded toward Rarity.
Pinkie paused a moment to think before responding. Rarity, on the other hand, began to wonder what the hay was going on.
"Oh yeah!" Pinkie finally exclaimed. "Since you can't have foals of your own, Cheesy and I were wondering if you wanted to be the god-mare to the colts."
Rarity was taken aback by the surprise request. "You... you really mean that?" she asked as tears of joy began to fill her eyes.
"We sure do, Miss Rarity," Cheese Sandwich replied with a smile.
"I'm speechless. I honestly don't know what to say," Rarity said, flabbergasted.
Pinkie reached up, grabbed Rarity by each cheek, looked her in the eyes and said, "Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease say yes. It would mean everything to us."
After taking a moment to think about it, Rarity smiled and said, "For you, darling, I'd be honored."
"Yayyy!" exclaimed Pinkie as she let go of Rarity's cheeks to give her a hug. "We know you'll be a super duper god-mare."
Rarity opened the door to Carousel Boutique with her head hung in sadness and slowly walked inside. She removed the dark veil from in front of her face to reveal her puffy eyes that were the result of her crying earlier.
The funeral was one of the most beautiful ones that she had attended. Princess Luna presided over the service that included her sister singing "Amazing Grace" and eulogies from Twilight Sparkle and former Wonderbolts captain, Spitfire.
The ivory fashionista retired to her bedroom so that she could remove the elegant onyx studded dress.
I really should finish designing the costumes for Sapphire Shores, Rarity thought. But I'd like to begin designing a new line in Rainbow Dash's memory.
Lonely Heart slowly moved into the reflection of the mirror as Rarity removed her make-up and cleaned the mascara that had run down her cheeks off her face.
"Are you okay, honey?" he asked softly as he placed his right hoof her whithers.
Rarity looked away from the mirror and husband and shook her head no as the tears began to flow from her eyes once more.
"Rainbow Dash and I had an odd but strong friendship," sniffled Rarity as she wiped her eyes. "We constantly got on each other's nerves but we loved each other like sisters. The girls and I always thought she would outlive all of us, except Twilight of course, due to all the close calls she's survived throughout the years."
"I don't know what to say, honey," Lonely told Rarity as he helped guide her to the bed where they both sat on the edge. "Rainbow's in a better place now, without all the pain and suffering. We just need to live each day like it's our last."
Rarity looked into his eyes as hers continued to release tears. She knew he was right and the pain was going take a long time to heal, in the meantime, she had Lonely to help her through this.
Lonely Heart leaned over and cradled Rarity tightly in his forelegs until she fell asleep from crying.
"I love you, Rarity," he whispered softly. "Forever."
Lonely Heart opened his eyes as the morning sunlight made it through the bedroom windows. He rolled over to cuddle with Rarity only to find her side of the bed empty and cool, meaning she had been up for a while. After laying on his back for a few minutes, he finally got up to make some coffee for himself and a kettle of tea for his wife.
"When did you wake up, honey," inquired Lonely Heart as he levitated Rarity's tea tray into her inspiration room.
"Just a few hours, darling," Rarity replied as she took the tray from Lonely. "I haven't even done up my mane yet."
"I can tell," Lonely said with a devilish smirk. "It almost looks like Applejack's."
A blue aura surrounded a cheap roll of fabric, lifting it off the shelf behind Rarity before flying across the room toward the stallion.
"How dare you compare my beautiful, although unprepared, mane to Applejack's dusty ponytail," Rarity hollered as her husband dodged the roll of fabric.
"I'm going to go make us some breakfast. I love you," he said laughingly as he trotted out of the room.
I really need some time alone, Rarity thought. I know Lonely wants to be here for me and I love him for it but I'm going on a vacation tomorrow, alone. I need some time away from Ponyville, like Manehattan, Canterlot or Appleoosa...
"Honey, you alright?" Lonely heart asked as he waved his hoof in front of Rarity's face. "You've been staring at the same piece of fabric for three straight days now. What's on your mind?"
Rarity looked at him with a mix of sadness and confusion in her navy blue eyes and asked, "When we found out I was sterile 21 years ago, why didn't you leave me? I mean, what good is a mare that can't reproduce?"
He walked up behind her and gently rubbed his left hoof on her back as she began softly crying.
"It's because I love you," he whispered softly in her ear. "Honey, is this what's been bothering you for the past year? Applebloom's pregnancy?"
She replied with a simple nod of her head while she dried her eyes with a handkerchief.
A brief silence filled the air as the midnight blue unicorn turned his wife's face so she could look at him.
"Listen, honey," he said softly, "Until you came along 25 years ago, I thought I was doomed to be alone forever because of not only my name but also my cutie mark. You showed me what it means to love somepony with your generosity. It taught me that life has its high points as well as it's low points. While I'm still bummed out that we can't have foals of our own, I'm still willing to adopt a young colt or filly if you are."
"It's not going be the same though, darling," Rarity sighed. "We can raise a foal that we adopted but he or she won't truly be ours."
Lonely gave her a kiss before leaving the room.
"Will you please do me a favor and think about it?"
Rarity gave a slight nod and went back to staring at the fabric.
Three days later, Rarity and Lonely Heart were joined by Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack and their respective families for Applebloom's presentation of Jazz. Celestia lead the proceedings that included songs sung by the Ponytones and Sweetie Belle.
Shortly after the reception party began, Pinkie ambushed Rarity by pulling her into a corner by her tail.
"Pinkie Pie! That really hurt," Rarity snapped at her friend while she inspected her tail. "My tail is a mess now and I don't have a brush to fix it. What did you do that for?"
"Rarity, I have something super duper important to talk to you about," Pinkie told her in an usually serious tone of voice. "When are you going to adopt some foals? The colts love spending time at your place when you watch them for me and Cheesy but lately they've been wanting another pony to play with when they are there."
A stunned Rarity looked at Pinkie, then at her glass of apple punch and then back at Pinkie.
"Pinkie Pie, I just don't think..." she paused to take a deep breath, "I don't think I would able to raise another pony's colt or filly."
"Why not?" Pinkie asked with a puzzled look. "Every colt and filly needs a home with lots and lots of love. Plus I think if you have a little one galloping around the house will help you get over the funk you've been in since Dashie's funeral last year."
It was something with that statement that made something click in Rarity's mind. Pinkie Pie had a point. She was the Element of Generosity. She suddenly realized the hypocrisy by not opening her home to a foal that needed a loving family.
"Something wrong, Rarity?" inquired Pinkie.
"Not at all, darling," said Rarity as a smile slowly appeared on her face. "Quite the opposite. I'll talk to you later."
"Okey dokey lokey," grinned Pinkie Pie as she gave a secret wink to Lonely Heart, who was watching the conversation from afar.
Rarity rejoined the celebration to talk with her husband. After a few minutes of talking, the two unicorns shared an emotional hug and sought out Applebloom and Rockin' Out.
A few minutes later, Applebloom took the stage and interrupted Vinyl Scratch's song.
"Sorry, Vinyl," Applebloom apologized before getting on the microphone. "Ah wanna thank y'all fer comin' ta th' party. Rockin' an' Ah are really lucky ta have such great friends like Y'all. Anywho, Rarity an' Lonely Heart done asked if they can make announce somethin' ta everypony. Here ya go."
"As many of you all know, 21 years ago we found out that I was sterile, which devastated both of us," Rarity announced to the crowd as she hoofed the mic off.
Lonely took the mic and continued, "Thanks to a verbal nudge from Pinkie Pie, Rarity and I are making a trip to the Canterlot Orphanage next month to adopt a unicorn filly."
Everypony in attendance began cheering and stomping their hooves on the floor. Upon seeing the reaction from the other ponies, Rarity started felt a feeling of happiness that she hadn't felt in years. As they left the stage, everypony was lining up to congratulate the couple.
"You would've thought we told them you were pregnant," Lonely laughed as they began dancing.
"Yes you would, darling," said Rarity, also laughing. "Yes, you would."
Later in the evening, after the reception, Rarity and Lonely began cleaning out the extra storage room so that the filly they were going to adopt would have a bedroom.
"So what age should we adopt, honey?" asked Lonely as he moved a ponyquin out of way.
"I didn't think about it really," Rarity replied as she gathered up some rolls of fabric. "I'd say no younger than three years old maybe, that way we can stop at Quills & Couches so they can pick out a bedroom set."
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Lonely told her.
"This is really making me feel like I'm going to faint," Rarity said weakly. "You wouldn't mind helping me to the bed so I can rest a minute or two, would you?"
"Sure, honey," Lonely Heart said as he allowed Rarity to lean up against him as they worked their way to the bedroom.
"Thank you, darling," said Rarity as she sat down on the edge of the bed and continued to catch her breath.
"Are you going to be okay?" Lonely asked her compassionately.
"I am now," Rarity told him as she quit panting and gave him a devious smile.
"You mean to tell me..." Lonely Heart started. "You were faking so we could..."
"Yes, darling," Rarity said as she kissed him on the lips. "Can I be on top tonight?"
Lonely Heart and Rarity looked over the files of the three unicorn fillies they were considering for adoption in the office of the Canterlot Orphanage.
First was Twinkle Toe, who was three years old with an incredible talent for dancing. Then there was Happy Hooves, a four-year-old that was able to paint pictures with near realism. Finally, there was High Tone, a five-year-old that could sing almost as well some of the most famous ponies in Equestria.
"So which one do you like the best," Lonely Heart wanted to know.
"I really like Happy Hooves," Rarity said with a smile. "She reminds me of how I was at that age."
"You mean like how she gave the cookie you gave her to the shy pegasus in the corner?" Lonely asked
"Yes, darling," acknowledged Rarity. "Exactly like that."
"What about Twinkle Toe?" asked the stallion. "She has got the most beautiful smile I've seen, besides yours of course."
"Well High Tone could be a duet partner for my sister," Rarity pointed out.
They both let out a heavy sigh and simultaneously said, "This is going to be harder than we thought."
A week later, Rarity and her husband walked out of the Canterlot Orphanage with a unicorn filly nearly choking Lonely Heart from behind as she rode on his back. The feeling of pride the two adult unicorns had could only have been matched if Rarity had delivered the foal herself.
"Ms. Rarity, Mr. Lonely?" asked Happy Hooves timidly. "Can I call you Mama and Papa?"
Rarity spoke up first, "Of course, darling. You're family now."
Happy Hooves, with tears of happiness beginning to flow, let go of Lonely's neck, jumped down off his back, trotted over to Rarity, stood on her hind legs and wrapped both her forelegs around her neck.
"Thank you. I love you so much, Ms., I mean, Mama," Happy let go of Rarity and then trotted back over to Lonely Heart and hugged him. "And you too Papa!"
Lonely Heart returned the hug as Rarity joined them. "We love you too, darling."
Upon breaking the hug, Lonely Heart flagged down a carriage for them.
"Where to?" asked the driver.
"Canterlot Castle, dearie," replied the ivory unicorn.
"Really?!" exclaimed Happy Hooves. "We're really going to the castle?"
"We sure are dear," replied Lonely Heart as the carriage began its journey from the orphanage to the castle. "Mama has an appointment to meet with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna today."
"Will I get to go with you, mama?" the young filly asked.
"Of course, darling," replied Rarity. "It's not really an appointment. I just stop in to say hello to the princesses everytime I'm in Canterlot."
"Are you friends with the princesses, mama?" Happy Hooves asked curiously.
"Yes, I am, darling," Rarity softly replied.
As the three unicorns walked through the hallways on the way the princesses' chambers, Happy Hooves asked questions about the various paintings and stained glass windows as they passed them. Rarity and Lonely Heart answered her questions to the best of their ability, until they came upon a forty foot tall door.
"Mama, what's in there?" asked Happy Hooves.
Rarity and Lonely Heart just stared at the door, dumbfounded. In the numerous times they had been to the castle, walked these halls, how did they miss this? An iron gray door divided into five sections with what looked like a golden combination dial with Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark in the center, Rainbow Dash's cutie mark in the top section and the other four sections blank.
"Sweetie," Lonely began, "we don't know. We have never seen this before. It will be something you can ask Princess Celestia when we see her."
Happy Hooves was speechless momentarily while it sunk in that her new parents were clueless about something so obvious.
"You never, ever seen this before and I get to ask the princess about it? Wowzers!" she replied with excitement.
The three ponies turned around and headed toward the doors at the opposite end of the hallway, passing by the stained glass windows honoring the achievements of Rarity and her friends.
"Mama?" said Happy Hooves curiously. "Is this supposed to be you on the windows?"
"Yes, Happy. It is me," Rarity replied.
She named each pony in the window as pointed to them, leaving Rainbow Dash for last. Happy Hooves noticed the hesitation in Rarity's voice and the lone tear roll down her cheek as she pointed to Rainbow Dash.
"What's wrong?" Happy Hooves asked Rarity.
Lonely Heart also picked up on the change in his wife's demeanor and answered Happy Hooves question for her. "Something happened to Rainbow Dash last year. We'll talk about it at home. Okay?"
"Okay, Papa," Happy Hooves replied as the doors to the royal chambers were opened for them.
"Rarity and Lonely Heart. What a wonderful surprise," said Celestia as she noticed the pink and lavender coated filly hiding behind Rarity's left foreleg. "And who might this little one be?"
"Go ahead and introduce yourself, darling," Rarity softly whispered to her new daughter. "Don't be afraid."
"My... my name is..." the gold maned unicorn said, just barely above a whisper, "Hap-happy Hooves, princess. It-it's nice to-to meet you."
"It's wonderful to meet you, my dear," Celestia said gently. "What do you think about the castle?"
"It-it's really pretty," squeaked Happy Hooves. "Ca-can I, um, ask you a-a question, please?"
"Certainly. You can ask me anything, my little pony," the Sun Princess reassured the young filly.
"Wh-what's that, uh, really big d-door that we, um, saw?" said Happy Hooves as she finally moved out from behind Rarity's foreleg.
"That is a special room that is being built for Princess Twilight Sparkle," said Princess Luna as she entered the chamber. "Only a few ponies besides Princess Twilight know what it's for. My sister and I are not in that group of ponies."
"We asked her what the room was going to be for and she told us that we would find out when it was finished," Celestia added.
"Have you seen the inside of the room?" Rarity asked inquisitively.
"Sadly, no. She has an enchanted seal on it that only she can disable," Luna responded.
Rarity, Lonely Heart and the princesses speculated what could be behind the door for about another fifteen minutes before making plans for Happy Hooves' presentation and then leaving the castle.
"So where in Canterlot do we live at, Mama?" Happy Hooves asked as the family of unicorns waited for a carriage.
"We don't, darling. We live in Ponyville," Rarity told her. "It's small town about a half hour away by train. There's plenty of other fillies and colts for you to play and make friends with."
Happy Hooves smiled as her and her new family hopped into the carriage that arrived to take them to the train station.
Five days later, Rarity and Lonely Heart stood in front of the rest of Ponyville with their newly adopted four year old filly for her presentation. As per tradition, Celestia rose from behind the stage like the sun to start the ceremony. While normally the foal would held by the mare during the presentation, Happy Hooves was a little big to be held so she had stood by Rarity's side.
"We welcome you here today to present the newest foal in Ponyville," Princess Celestia proudly stated as she began the ceremony. "But this presentation is special in a way. The young filly being presented has endured heartache throughout the last four years after being given up for adoption at birth. But today we celebrate her new life with Lonely Heart and Rarity as proud, loving parents."
The crowd of ponies present softly stomped their hooves in applause for the new parents and young foal being presented.
"I ask that we all join in singing our first song, 'A True Friend'," Celestia then stated.
A true, true friend helps a friend in need, A friend will be there to help you see, A true, true friend helps a friend in need, To see the light, That shines from a true, true friend.
Rarity turned her head to face away from the crowd as they sang the song. It hit her hard because the first time she sang it, Rainbow Dash was the pony that helped her during the cutie mark mix-up. Lonely saw her eyes begin to water and discreetly nuzzled her cheek to try to keep her calm.
The ceremony continued with the importance of friendship and a few foalhood songs sung by Happy Hooves adopted aunt. Celestia gave the closing statements and then asked everypony to join her in singing the closing song.
Once, upon a time, You came into my world and made the stars align.
Now, I can see the signs, You pick me when I get down so I can shine.
Shine like rainbows, Shine like rainbows, Shine like rainbows, Shine like rainbows.
Friends, you are in my life, And you can count on me to be there by your side.
And when the music comes alive, We sing our songs to lift us up so we can shine.
And the sound, that we hear, in our hearts, makes a Crescendo.
And the light, that ignites, in the dark, it makes us all glow.
And shine like rainbows, We shine like rainbows, Shine like rainbows, We shine like rainbows.
Together we stand, As the rain begins to fall.
And holding our heads up high, As the sun shines through it all
And the sound, that we hear, in our hearts, makes a Crescendo.
And the light, that ignites, in the dark, it makes us all glow.
And shine like rainbows, We shine like rainbows, Shine like rainbows, We shine like rainbows.
Twilight Sparkle called a meeting of her friends and the other four princesses to discuss the mysterious room that she had requested to build three years ago at Rainbow Dash's funeral. It had just been completed to her specifications and as promised, she let everyone know what it was.
"Ah don't git it, Twilight," Applejack said in her southern drawl. "How in tarnation is anypony s'posed to see any of this if yer th' only one that can git in?"
"Well, it's an enchanted shrine that links the five of us plus Rainbow Dash together forever," Twilight answered.
"How exactly does it work, Twilight?" Candence asked her.
"Inside the room there are five statues, each with a hoof-cut gem in the shape of the harmony pendant that you all wore during our early battles together. Rainbow Dash has a ruby lightning bolt, Applejack has a topaz apple, Pinkie Pie's is an aquamarine balloon, Fluttershy's is a pink tourmaline butterfly and Rarity has an amethyst diamond," Twilight said. "Those gems have been linked to the tree of harmony which are linked to us. So when we die, part of our spirit will be linked to the statues and therefore we'll be able to help each other prepare for the afterlife when we get close to that time."
"But your lifetime has been extended from becoming an alicorn," Fluttershy replied softly. "How does it affect you?"
"It will allow me to communicate with you in the afterlife from here. I'll be able to relay messages from your family to you and vice versa, among other things that can't be discussed at this point," Twilight replied.
"Why do it at Canterlot Castle and not here in Ponyville?" asked Rarity, somewhat puzzled.
"Two reasons. First, there isn't enough room here in Ponyville. Second, Canterlot has a greater amount of magic that can be channelled into the shrine," Twilight responded.
The nine ponies then began debating what to name the shrine while getting some of the smaller details. They finally settled on a fitting name for the room:
THE HALL OF ELEMENTS
Rarity fought against the wind gusts that were fueling the thunderstorm she was walking through to visit Applejack's grave. It had been almost a year since Applejack asked her to "brush her mane and tail real pretty" and Rarity was making her regularly scheduled trip to see her friend in the inclement weather because it was her last available day for almost two moons.
"It's me, Applejack," Rarity said as she approached the grave marker of her late friend. "Sorry I'm late, as usual, but Happy Hooves' showcase ran longer than expected. She's become quite the artist. Your brother-in-law asked her to paint some of his backdrops for his upcoming tour."
Rarity paused for a few minutes as if she was listening for a response. During that pause, her eyes began to well up as she remembered their last few minutes together in the hospital. A light blue aura appeared from under the black poncho as Rarity brought a monogrammed handkerchief out of her saddlebag to wipe the tears.
"Happy Hooves al-also painted a picture... for you, darling," she said as she began weeping. "I-I promised her that I would... deliver it to the farmhouse for... your brother to place in your bed-bedroom."
Rarity paused a second time to wipe more tears from her eyes as her crying intensified. It could have been her imagination but she could've sworn that she heard Applejack tell her everything was ok while she was crying.
"Is-is that you... App-Applejack?" Rarity called out as she looked around, still with tears in her eyes. Upon seeing and hearing nothing, Rarity put her handkerchief back in her bag and pulled out a wreath made of roses in the shape of an apple and placed it against the tombstone then turned to walk away.
"Goodbye, Applejack," Rarity sniffed. "I will talk to you in a couple weeks, darling."
After the tombstone was out of eyesight, Rarity was blinded by a bright light and heard a voice say, "Me an' Rainbow will be waitin' with th' cider, Rares"
"Honestly, Twilight," exclaimed a neurotic Rarity, "I heard Applejack tell me that her and Rainbow Dash would 'have the cider ready' for me when I returned to for my next visit to her grave. I thought only you would be able to communicate with each of us in the afterlife. How was Applejack able to talk to me?"
"I don't know," acknowledged Twilight, who was perplexed by Rarity's story. "Even though we're linked through the Tree of Harmony, the spell used in the Hall shouldn't have allowed Applejack or Rainbow Dash to be able to talk to you."
"I'm just... so... shaken over this. I haven't even gone home yet," Rarity replied as she continued to tremble from her ordeal. "What do I tell Lonely? That I'm going to die within the next moon? He's going to think I lost my mind, darling."
Nearly an hour later, Rarity had finally calmed down enough that she was comfortable to go home. As the castle doors closed behind her, she was blinded momentarily once again by a bright light.
"Rarity, everything will totally be fine. Ain't nothing to worry about," said a voice that sounded exactly like Rainbow Dash.
Rarity froze in her tracks. Are Applejack and Rainbow Dash really trying to talk to me?
Rarity galloped into Carousel Boutique at a high pace and slammed the door closed behind her as soon she was inside. She pulled the cloak off as she gasped for air since was out of breath from not just high-balling it across Ponyville, but also from hearing things that weren't there.
"Honey, is that you?" hollered Lonely Heart as he approached the front of the building. "How was your visit to Applejack's grave?"
A look of terror came across Rarity's face just at the mention of Applejack's name.
"Rarity? Are you ok?" Lonely Heart asked, concerned about Rarity's frame of mind.
"I-I don't... I don't know, darling," Rarity hesitated as her body continued to tremble in fear.
Lonely Heart slowly approached his wife so that he didn't startle her anymore than she already was. Rarity jumped at the mere touch of him wrapping his hooves around her, which made Lonely even more concerned.
"Honey, please tell me what happened," Lonely Heart softly begged.
"Ev-everything was... was fine un-until I left the-the grave site," she stammered. "I-I told Applejack th-that I would... would talk to her in-in a few weeks. A couple of-of minutes later, I-I heard App-Applejack tell me... that..."
"Shhh..." whispered Lonely Heart calmly. "Take your time. There's no rush."
Rarity began to sob uncontrollably and it was enough to get the attention of their now eleven year old filly.
"Mama? What's going on?" asked Happy Hooves as she walked into the room.
Lonely acknowledged his daughter by saying, "I'm trying to find out right now, sweetie. Something happened this evening when your mother visited Applejack's grave."
He then turned to Rarity and asked, "Is it ok if Happy hears what happened or is it something that she shouldn't hear?"
"Sh-she should prob-probably hear this," Rarity continued to studder. "It kind of affects all... of us."
"Ok then, honey," Lonely Heart told her. "Go ahead and finish your story whenever you're ready."
Rarity took a deep breath in an attempt to compose herself and continued her story, "Well, I heard Applejack tell me that... that she and Rainbow Dash... would have the... cider ready when I came back in a couple weeks."
Happy Hooves just stared in shock at what her mother said, while Lonely Heart responded, "Honey, you're just stressed from the workload we have and your mind is wanting Applejack to be around since you were the last pony she saw before she died."
"That's what I thought too," Rarity told him. "And Twilight reassured me that's what it was but the instant I left her castle, I swear I heard Rainbow Dash tell me everything was going to be ok."
Happy Hooves' look of shock slowly transitioned to an expression of fear as she began to walk slowly to her studio upstairs unnoticed.
Is Mama really going to be dying in a few weeks? she thought as entered the room with tears in her eyes.
A lavender aura surrounded a 6 hand by 4.5 hand canvas as Happy Hooves levitated it onto one of her easels, setting it up in a portrait orientation. For as long as she could remember, the only way she knew how to deal with any type of fear or stress was to start painting. This time was no exception as she levitated a stick of charcoal to lightly divide the canvas into five sections. She knew what she was putting in the center section but what was going in the other four sections, she had no idea yet.
Meanwhile, downstairs Lonely Heart finally got Rarity calmed down enough to sit on the couch to pick her mind some more.
"Ok honey," Lonely started as he gently rubbed her back with his right fore hoof. "What do you want to do about this? Do you want to see a doctor and get checked out to see if there's anything wrong?"
"Well I guess it couldn't hurt now, could it?" Rarity told him. "If I have something wrong then at least it can..."
"Y'all ain't gotta go ta no doc, Rares. Yer fit as a fiddle."
Rarity's pupils shrunk to the size of pebbles as she began staring into space. Lonely Heart had to shake her four or five times before she finally responded by wrapping both forelegs around his neck and squeezing him hard, nearly choking him.
"Applejack... just talked to me again," Rarity whispered softly. "Please tell me I'm not going crazy, darling."
"Honey, how about you go talk to Twilight again in the morning. I can keep an eye on the shop until you get back," Lonely said as he continued to comfort his wife.
"I'm so scared..." Rarity whispered, trembling.
"Rarity?" Twilight asked as the fashionista walked into the library with her mane in shambles. "Are you okay? You look terrible."
"It's been a long night, Twilight," Rarity replied, still shaken from the night before. "I left last night and as soon I was outside the castle, I heard Rainbow Dash's voice. Later I heard Applejack's voice again while Lonely Heart was calming me down."
"Hmmm," Twilight thought for a moment. "Your experiences might actually be connected to the Hall of Elements. I could still say that it's your psyche connected to what happened at Ponyville General eleven moons ago if you were only hearing Applejack. But seeing how you're hearing Rainbow Dash also, there must be something else going on. I'll take a trip to Canterlot tomorrow to have a talk with them and find out what's going on."
"Thank you, Twilight," responded Rarity as she gave the Princess of Friendship a hug.
"Anything for a friend," Twilight told her as she returned the gesture.
"Happy? Are you in here?" Lonely Heart said he quietly walked into her studio.
As he looked for his daughter, who had been acting odd since Rarity told them about her graveyard experience last week, he noticed that one of Happy's easels was covered with a sheet. Curiosity set in as he alternated between looking at the easel and checking Happy's favorite hiding spots. After checking all her hiding spots, Lonely approached the easel and lifted the right corner of the sheet for a peek at the hidden painting.
Lonely Heart was both surprised and troubled at what he saw. The bottom right corner had himself, Happy and Rarity in a loving embrace. Rarity was in between him and Happy Hooves, transparent with a golden glow behind her and tears on her face.
Is this a memorial painting? he wondered as he dropped the sheet and left the room, with mixed emotions.
He went to her bedroom to look for her there and found a note that read:
Papa, Went to Ruby's for the day. Mama said it was ok before she went to see Princess Twilight. Be home before Luna raises the moon. Love, Happy
Maybe this will take her mind off Rarity's condition for the day, he thought, somewhat relieved.
He headed downstairs to the front of the boutique where he was greeted by his sister-in-law.
"Have you seen Rarity today?" she asked him. "She was supposed to meet me at Sugarcube Corner for brunch but she never showed up."
"Well, she left for the castle this morning to have her daily talk with Twilight," Lonely told her, scratching the back of his head. "She didn't tell me about anything else she had planned."
"I'm a little worried about her, especially with her hearing voices on a daily basis," Sweetie stressed.
"Let's split up to look for her," Lonely said to Sweetie Belle. The two of them discussed where they would search so they weren't overlapping before they left on their search.
"Rainbow Dash, I need a model for the diamond studded, gold dress for the Hall Of Fame show tonight," Rairity begged. "The coloring of your mane will just make it dazzle under the runway lights."
"No way!" Rainbow Dash replied annoyed. "Besides there ain't a fashion show tonight anyhow."
"And just how do you know that?" Rarity said, raising her voice. "I have all the show dates memorized, especially the Fashion Hall Of Fame show. Considering this year I'm finally going to be inducted after 40 years of hard work creating outfit after outfit for high profile ponies. I know it's happening tonight"
"Sorry take break th' news ta ya, Rarity," Applejack chimed in. "But Rainbow's right. There ain't no show tonight."
"You mean it's been cancelled and no one told me?" She panicked. "What am I supposed to do with all the dresses I made for it?"
"Uhhh, what dresses?" Rainbow asked as she looked behind her friend.
"Why the dresses..." Rarity said as her eyes opened wide in disbelief. "Wh-where did they go? I could've sworn they were right here."
'Rarity?' A voice called out. 'Rarity, are you ok? Say something please? 'Rarity?'
Rarity opened her eyes slowly and saw a terrified look on her husband's face. She lifted her head to try to see what was going on but Lonely Heart stopped her.
"Don't try to move," he said softly. "The medical wagon will be here shortly."
"The-the medical wagon?" Rarity asked weakly. "Why... why do I need that?"
"Honey, do you know where you are?" Lonely asked with concern.
"I... I'm... I don't know," she told him as she tried to remember.
"You're at Applejack's grave," Lonely told her. "I found you here about 15 minutes ago."
"What?" Rarity responded as her eyes shot wide open in shock. "But... how... I don't even..."
"Shhh," her husband said as he continued to try keeping her calm. "We're going to get you to the hospital and get checked out but I need you to stay still and calm."
The medical wagon arrived a few moments later to take Rarity to the emergency room for evaluation. After being checked out and given the all clear, Rarity was discharged from the hospital with strict orders to relax. Lonely Heart slowly walked beside Rarity to keep pace with her as they walked home from the hospital, stopping from time to time so Rarity could rest. They were almost home when Rarity froze solid.
"Sorry 'bout th' dresses, Rares. We needed ta git rid of them b'cause y'all were gittin' confused 'bout where ya were."
"What?" Lonely Heart asked cautiously. "Who was is it now? What did they say?"
"It-it was Applejack. She..." Rarity trailed off.
"It'll be ok," Lonely reassured her. "We can talk about it later if you want."
Bewildered at what happened to her earlier in the day, Rarity laid in bed trying to collect her thoughts. She didn't even remember going to the grave site, let alone passing out on the ground.
Was that a dream I had today? she wondered. It seemed too real for it to be a dream. The sounds. The smells. Rainbow Dash's unwillingness to-Rainbow Dash? Was that really her and Applejack?
"Mama?" Happy Hooves quietly said. "Can... can I show you something? It's in the studio."
"Sure thing, dear" Rarity acknowledged. "Give me a moment."
Rarity eased off the bed and followed her daughter to her art studio. Happy showing off her latest masterpiece wasn't anything new, but Happy stuttering when she wanted to show her paintings was.
Lonely Heart was already in the studio waiting for them with a concerned look when they walked through the doorway. In the center of the room was the covered easel that he had taken a peek under earlier in the day.
"Mama, Papa," she began nervously. "I-I've been, uh, well... you see, how do I put this?"
"Happy, we're not going to be mad at you," Rarity remarked as she hugged her daughter. "Just relax, take a deep breath and tell us what you want to tell us."
Following her mother's advice, Happy took a deep breath and continued, "When you told us about what happened last week, I-I got scared we weren't going to be a family no more..."
Lonely interrupted her speech by telling her that they would always be a family, no matter the circumstances. This elicited an emotional response from his girls he wasn't prepared for as they both broke down in tears.
"So I... I came upstairs and... and..." Happy paused to wipe the tears from her face before continuing, "...and I started this painting that... that... well was about you Mama."
Happy grabbed the sheet with her teeth and gently pulled it off to reveal the most beautiful painting either of her parents had ever seen. It was divided into five sections, the center was diamond shaped with Rarity in the gown she wore to the latest gala with jewels of all shapes, sizes and colors painted in the background. The rest of the canvas was divided equally into four sections.
The top left section showed Rarity with her friends at a picnic together, the top right had Rarity hugging Sweetie Belle as she held a trophy, the bottom left corner had the three of them posing together with the five alicorn princesses and the last section was the one Lonely saw earlier.
"That's a beautiful painting, Rarity. It-it's actually bring tears to my eyes."
"That thar would be nice ta have above th' fireplace, Rares."
"Thank you, darlings," she whispered with tears running down her face. "It's nice you can see it."
"Who are you talking to, Mama?" Happy asked, confused.
The question snapped Rarity back into reality. Did I just talk back to my friends out loud? she thought.
"I, uh, wasn't talking talking to anypony. Hehe," she lied. "Lonely, can you watch the store tomorrow? I'm going to visit Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy after my daily talk with Twilight."
Rarity slowly opened her eyes as she heard a pounding on the front door of the shop.
"Lonely, can you unlock the front door? I seem to have overslept," Rarity shouted.
But there was no response.
'Happy has school today so she can't unlock it. I guess I'll have to answer the door with my mane a total wreck,' she thought as rolled out of bed.
Rarity unsteadily began heading for the front door when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She looked above her and Lonely's dresser to see the painting of her that Happy had made a couple weeks ago.
'Did Lonely move this when I was asleep?' she wondered.
Rarity levitated her hairbrush over to herself and began brushing her mane as she continued to walk toward the front door.
"I'm coming! Just a moment!" Rarity hollered as the pounding continued.
'Where is Lonely at? He always watches the shop if I oversleep'
She got to the bottom of the stairs and set her hairbrush on the sales counter. She stopped short, however, when she saw the pictures beside the door. They weren't the normal family pictures that hung there but smaller versions of Happy's collage. The pounding continued as she stood there, baffled at the pictures. Rarity light up her horn to open the door but when it finally opened, nopony was there.
'What is going on?' Rarity asked herself.
"How much cider y'all want?" a distinct voice said.
"I'll have as much I can handle," said another voice.
"How much ya want, Rarity?" the first voice said.
Rarity, struck with fear, slowly turned around to verify the voices she heard. Sure enough, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were standing in the middle of the shop with two cases of Special Reserve Sweet Apple Cider. Applejack and Rainbow Dash slowly walked up to Rarity and embraced her tightly, attempting to comfort her.
"Wh-what's going on, darlings?" Rarity whispered as she began crying. "I... I'm so confused."
"You're with us now, Rarity," Rainbow Dash said as tears formed in her eyes.
Rarity jumped back in shock. "Wha... Whe... Am I..."
"Dead? Yes y'all are," Applejack told her as she removed her hat. "That's why Happy Hooves' painting has replaced all of yer pictures in the shop."
"But I-I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to... to her and Lonely," Rarity sobbed. "I told her tha-that loved her when I tucked her in but I..."
"Me and Applejack are here to help you make the transition easier," Rainbow said softly. "We've been talking to you for the last few weeks trying to get you ready, not terrify you."
"How long have I been... been... been dead?" Rarity asked between sobs.
"Only a few minutes, sugarcube. When y'all opened the door, that's when ya passed on," Applejack replied.
Rainbow came up to the other two ponies carrying a trio of cider bottles on her right wing.
"We understand that you're scared. I was eight years ago. AJ was last year," Rainbow told her as she handed out the bottles. "But on the bright side, you didn't suffer. I mean, you saw the shape I was in and Applejack was so weak from her heart attacks. You come to us in your sleep, peacefully."
"If ya want, Luna might be able ta let ya say g'bye in their dreams," Applejack told her.
Rarity thought it over a moment and then surprised her friends saying, "No. It's going to be hard enough. If go in their dreams, it'll make it that much worse. Besides, I think Happy accepted it weeks ago, judging by her painting."
The three friends each drank their cider bottle they had in their hooves before walking out the front door together.
'Huh?' thought Rainbow Dash as she woke up slightly confused. 'My wing is healed? But it was shattered a little bit ago...'
She sat up on the edge the bed, grabbed her robe, stepped into her turtle slippers and headed for her morning shower. She turned on the water and noted that it went straight to her preferred temperature without having to fight with the knobs.
'Okay, this is getting weird,' Rainbow thought becoming more confused. 'I have never had my shower go straight to the perfect temperature.'
She hopped in the bathtub and let the warm water flow over her multi-colored mane. She extended her left wing straight up and began preening her feathers. While he didn't mind the preening because it was normal for pegasi, the fact Rainbow did it in the shower and left the damaged feathers in the drain, a habit she had done for years, drove Thundercloud nuts. After finishing her left wing, she carefully moved her right wing expecting to have a searing pain from it being broken, but was surprised a the lack of pain after fully extending it.
'Okay, while this is awesome that I have no pain in my wing, there is something really weird going on,' she realized.
She finished her preening and subsequently left her feathers in the tub. Rainbow then lathered her body up in her favorite mixed berry scented shampoo before rinsing off and climbing out of the tub to dry off. She nearly flew into the ceiling in shock when she opened the bathroom door, because standing outside the door was Princess Luna.
"I am sorry for startling you, Rainbow Dash," Luna said as Rainbow Dash landed and bowed before her. "I noticed that you are having some difficulty figuring out what is going on and I'm here to help you out."
"Ok, so what is going on?" Rainbow impatiently asked. "I gotta be dreaming if you're here, right?"
"Not exactly..." Luna replied, somberly.
Fluttershy stood next to Rainbow Dash's parents as a line of ponies stopped by each one to give their condolences. Even though she technically wasn't family, Rainbow's parents asked her to stand with them, Thundercloud and Thunder Dash during the wake because of how close her friendship was to their daughter. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were stained from the amount of crying she had done throughout the day.
After the wake was over, Fluttershy went to home to get some rest so that she would be rested up for the funeral tomorrow afternoon.
"I'm going miss you, Rainbow," she quietly said as she looked toward the sky.
Fluttershy then slowly made her way into her cottage where she was greeted by all her animals. While she fed them, she couldn't shake the words that were said to her three days earlier.
It was a stunt that went wrong. Nothing more. She misjudged her distance as approached the ground. That's it. I suggest you leave... NOW!
The thought of her god-filly attacking her over a simple question had been giving her nightmares for the last few days. Her friends had been there for her at the hospital after the incident to calm her down, but since then they've seemed to forget about her since.
After feeding the animals inside and removing her funeral gown, Fluttershy walked outside to feed the chickens and that's when she noted the rope swing hanging from a nearby tree.
Luna had just left Rainbow's house after delivering the morbid news, when Rainbow Dash heard a crash come from her kitchen.
'What the hay is going on now?' she wondered as she got up from her armchair.
She entered the kitchen ready to pounce on whatever was in there. Although from what Luna had told her, nothing should be in her house that she didn't want. So when she saw the source of the crash, it nearly knocked off her hooves.
"Fluttershy? Is that really you?" Rainbow asked the pony in question.
"Um, yes," the shy pegasus replied.
"What are you...?" Rainbow inquired before seeing something catch her eye. "What is that mark around your neck?"
"Well you see, um, I was outside a few days ago after your wake and, um, well..." Fluttershy nervously told her.
Tears began to form in the eyes of the former Wonderbolt as she interrupted her friend.
"Flutters, you didn't try doing what I'm thinking, did you?" she asked.
"Yes, I did," Fluttershy responded, quieter than normal.
"But... why?"
"When you were still in the hospital, Thunder Dash wouldn't tell anypony what happened," Fluttershy began. "When I visited the second day, I tried asking again what happened. She got really mad, pinned me against the wall by my neck and yelled at me to go away. Everypony else tried helping me calm down but I've been having terrible nightmares ever since then. I just couldn't take it anymore."
"Okay, first, I'm really sorry about Thunder Dash," Rainbow said as a couple stray tears landed on the floor. "Second who found your body? Because there's no way it time for you to go."
"How do you know I'm not supposed to be dead?" Fluttershy asked.
"Because Luna just explained to me that when it's your time to die, all injuries you aquire when you're alive are instantly healed. That includes bruises and scars." Rainbow Dash told her. "And considering you have a bruise around your neck, this isn't your time."
"How will I know when it's-" Fluttershy started to say before a bright light filled her vision.
"I have a heartbeat," someone shouted, sounding relieved. "Let's get her loaded up."
Fluttershy had just enough strength to lift her right eyelid about halfway to see a sea blue pony in a white coat carrying her on a stretcher and Vinyl Scratch standing by the medical wagon with a distressed look on her face.
What happened? Fluttershy asked herself in her head. I went Rainbow's funeral... I came home... I talked to Rainbow Dash in her house... and now I'm on my way to the hospital...
"She gonna be okay, Yo?" she heard Vinyl say before losing consciousness once more.
"I think so," one of the medics told her. "The doctor will be able tell you for sure after we get her to the hospital."
"Can I hitch a ride with ya?" Vinyl asked the medics. "I'll stay outta the way, my stallion."
"Only if you are family," the second medic responded.
"She's my marefriend," Vinyl told them after taking a deep breath.
"Bout time you woke up, Critter Lover," said a relieved Vinyl Scratch. "I've been freaking out hoping you'd be cool."
Fluttershy was still extremely weak and the pain around her neck prevented her from saying more than a couple words at a time.
"Can I have..." Fluttershy whispered in a hoarse voice, "quill and parchment... to talk."
"Okay," Vinyl answered excitedly. "Back in a flash."
That was odd. Why did I see Rainbow Dash after I jumped out of the tree? she wondered. She almost seemed mad at me for being there.
Vinyl returned a few minutes later with the items Fluttershy requested and set the parchment on her chest and set the quill in Fluttershy's mouth so she could write what she wanted to say.
How long have I been in here?
"I found you two days ago," Vinyl told her. "The medics said if I was any later, they wouldn't have been able to revive you."
That explains why Rainbow Dash said I wasn't supposed to die right now. You found me in the nick of time.
"Rainbow Dash talked to you? That's some heavy stuff," Vinyl said in disbelief.
Yeah, she did. We were in her kitchen and she was completely healed up. It was so surreal.
"That freakin' rocks you talked to her though," replied Vinyl.
I'm getting tired. Can we talk later? I love you, Scratchie.
"I love you too," Vinyl told her as she gave Fluttershy a soft kiss on the lips. "Sleep tight my critter lover."
"Thank you for visiting me while I was recovering for the last moon, Scratchie," Fluttershy told her special somepony as she rode through waiting room. "I don't know why I didn't think about talking to you. You're my marefriend."
"You can always confide in me with no worries," Vinyl told her as she nuzzled her cheek. "I've been driving Tavi nuts at night trying to get a song written for you."
Fluttershy felt a tear of joy trickle down her face when the love between the two ponies showed through the warm smile of the white unicorn.
"I gotta idea Flutters," Vinyl continued. "Let's head on over to Sugarcube Corner and get you one of your favorite cupcakes."
"That would be wonderful," Fluttershy softly said. "I haven't had any fresh sweets except those donuts you smuggled in a couple days ago."
After the two ponies made their way Sugarcube Corner for a light snack, they back to Fluttershy's cottage so she could settle into her new routine.
"I want thank you and the girls for taking care of the animals," Fluttershy said as she nuzzled Vinyl Scratch's neck.
"Hey, you're worth it, critter lover," Vinyl responded as she nuzzled her back.
"Eeep!" Fluttershy squeaked after viewing the scene inside her cottage.
"It's so nice to see you finally out of the hospital," Pinkie Pie said cheerfully.
"We don't know what we would've done if you had left us so soon after Rainbow Dash, darling," Rarity told her as she gave her a gentle hug.
Twilight was relatively quiet as everypony else welcomed the shy pegasus back to her home. She was feeling some guilt over what happened due to being the Friendship Princess and ignoring her friend after such a tramatic event.
"Thank you, everypony ," Fluttershy said quietly. "This means a lot to me. I do have an announcement to make though. Vinyl is going to be moving in with me to help care for the animals."
"Y'all mind if Ah address th' elephant in th' room?" Applejack asked with an uneasy smile.
"What elephant is that?" Pinkie said. "There's lots of animals in here but none of them are elephants, silly."
Fluttershy put on a weak smile her face at Pinkie's literal interpretation of Applejack's question, however she knew what was about to be asked.
"Um, okay, Applejack," Fluttershy quietly answered her friend.
"Ah'm sorry if Ah make y'all uncomfortable by sayin', but how long are ya gonna be in that thar wheelchair?" Applejack asked warily.
The entire inside of the cottage fell silent in anticipation of the yellow pegasus' response.
As tears began to slide down her face, Fluttershy responded, "For... for..."
Vinyl Scratch cradled Fluttershy in her hooves to help calm her down and proceded to finish for her marefriend, "She broke one the bones in her neck when she, well, you know. Because of that, she's lost the use of her hindlegs and has extremely limited use of her wings. It took this last month for her to regain movement in her forelegs."
The silence inside the cottage was deafening. The news of her condition caught everypony off guard and nopony knew what to say to her. She had sent messages to her friends that she was spending a moon or two in rehab and she wouldn't be able to have visitors beyond family but she didn't elaborate past that.
While Vinyl continued to hold Fluttershy in her hooves, the rest of the ponies in the cottage began talking amongst themselves between sobs on how they could help her.
"Why didn't you tell us how bad your injury was?" Twilight asked with tears in her eyes.
"Well, I-I was afraid that, well, that nopony would want to-to be around me because I-I couldn't move on my own," Fluttershy stammered. "I-I'm just going to be... be a burden on everypony... that's why."
"Darling, you are not, I repeat, not a burden nor will you ever be one," Rarity reassured her.
"That's right," Applejack chimed in. "Look at how y'all been helpin' Rarity all these years cope with her condition."
A small smile began to form on Fluttershy's face as her crying slowed to a few sniffles. "Th-thank you everypony."
Vinyl moved back slightly as the other four ponies crowded around Fluttershy for a loving embrace.
"So are y'all gonna stay here or..." Applejack began.
"I'm going to move in with Scratchie and Octavia until we can find a place that's big enough for my animals and only one floor."
Twilight's eyes lit up when she heard that. She motioned to Applejack to follow her out of Fluttershy's earshot.
"I have an idea but I need your help..." Twilight told her quietly.
"I can't believe you found me a new house for me already," Fluttershy told her friends as Vinyl pushed her through Ponyville.
As they continued through town, Fluttershy took notice that the route they were taking was the same one to her cottage. Confused about why they were going there, she spoke up.
"Um, Twilight?" she asked to get Princess' attention. "Why are we going to my cottage?"
"We're going to pick up the rest of your stuff for your new place," Twilight replied with a warm smile.
"Scratchie, I appreciate you and Octavia helping me out," Fluttershy said over her shoulder to her marefriend.
"No biggie, critter lover," Vinyl replied as she leaned forward to nuzzle Fluttershy on her right cheek. "That's what you do for those that you're crazy about."
The three ponies crossed over the small bridge in front of Fluttershy's cottage before reaching the front door and slowly opening it. Fluttershy was in shock at the sight before her. There were the rest of her friends below a banner made by Pinkie Pie that read:
WELCOME HOME (AGAIN), FLUTTERSHY!
"What's this?" Fluttershy asked, confused. "I thought you said you found a new home, Twilight."
"That was ta throw y'all off fer th' surprise," chuckled Applejack.
Fluttershy's eyes lit up as she was filled with anticipation, wondering what the surprise that her friends had put together for her.
"Ya see, while y'all were stayin' with Vinyl we done retrofitted yer cottage so that it'll be easier fer ya ta git 'round in here," Applejack said as she stepped to the side. "The biggest difference in here is th' elevator that takes y'all ta the second floor. We also done lowered all yer shelves an' cabinets ta make it easier fer y'all ta access."
"We also put in a mechanism that will allow you to get in and out of bed by yourself," Twilight added.
Fluttershy just sat there, speechless. The only response she could come up with a tearful smile. She couldn't believe that they had been able to pull this off in just three weeks. When she finally was able to get the words she wanted, there was a knock at the door. Vinyl opened the door to reveal Dr. Hooves with a large crate.
"Delivery for Fluttershy," he said.
"That's me," Fluttershy said quietly.
Applejack pushed the large crate inside where Fluttershy had Vinyl open it to reveal a new wheelchair. Fluttershy looked it over and saw it was noticeably different from the one she was sitting in. Dr. Hooves explained to her that it was his newest invention, a wheelchair that was powered by rechargeable magic cells, which could be operated by the pony sitting in it.
"Heya, critter lover, you okay?" Vinyl asked as she lifted her shades up and rested them on her horn.
Fluttershy just nodded as she sat there with tears of happiness streaming down her face. The atmosphere inside the cottage was silent but the joy radiating off the yellow pegasus could be felt by everypony present. Nopony wanted to break the silence until Fluttershy expressed her feelings first.
Taking a deep breath, Fluttershy finally managed to quietly squeak out in between her sobs of joy, "Th-thank you... ev-everypony. This means... *sniff* so much to m-me. I-I can't even... *sniff* tell you how hap-happy I am."
"There's even more to make it super duper better," Pinkie Pie told her as she brought her saddle bags over to the rest of the group. "You're gonna be really, really, really happy when you see what's in here."
Almost as if on cue, a little white bunny poked its head out of the bag, which caused Fluttershy to break down in in tears.
"Awww, he reminds me of... *sniff* Angel," Fluttershy told them with a large smile on her face. "I'm going to name you... *sniff* Spirit."
"That's an absolutely gorgeous name, darling," Rarity exclaimed.
"Thank you so much everypony," Fluttershy said as she hugged Spirit. "I love everything you've done. I was so worried about how much of burden I thought I would be that I completely forgot how far you would go to help me have some independence. Scratchie, Do you think you could help me to my new chair?"
"Sure thing. Hop on," Vinyl said as she knelt down in front of Fluttershy so that she could lean over onto the unicorn's back. Vinyl gently carried her from the manual chair to the power chair. Vinyl then lit her horn to steady Fluttershy as she set her into the new wheelchair.
"Wow. Y'all look ya did b'fore," Applejack said to the couple with a smile.
"Actually we do," Fluttershy replied. "Scratchie does it this way for me because it doesn't make me feel helpless like it would if she moved me with her magic."
"I almost forgot about the super duper most important thing here," Pinkie suddenly blurted out before leaving the room.
"What's that?" Fluttershy asked with some excitement in her voice.
Pinkie Pie returned pulling a small cart behind her that had 5-tier cake on it.
"It's vanilla swirled with strawberry with super sweet strawberry frosting," Pinkie said full of excitement.
Fluttershy's face practically glowed at sight of her favorite flavor of cake. She gently eased herself over to her friends in her new wheelchair and brought them in for a hug.
"I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am for all of this," Fluttershy beamed. "I could say thank you for moons and it won't be enough."
Everypony in the cottage was crying to some degree as they all embraced Fluttershy to say "You're welcome."
"I am not going!" said Fluttershy in louder tone than normal. "I've been doing this for almost a year, Scratchie. It just isn't working."
Vinyl Scratch looked at her paraplegic marefriend and just sighed. Fluttershy needed to go to her physical therapy appointments to try to build strength in her wings and hind legs, even if she's not able to use them again.
"I know you feel like it ain't working but it's for your own good, critter lover." Vinyl responded calmly.
"The only thing I've been able to do is learn how to drag my butt across a glorified yoga mat!" Fluttershy shouted in frustration. "I can never fly again, nor will I be able to walk. So what. Is. The. Point?!"
After taking a deep breath Vinyl responded, "Do we really need to have this argument again? I love you, Fluttershy but I'm really tired of having this discussion before every therapy session. You need to go."
"Ugh, fine," was the only response Fluttershy could come up with as she shifted from the sofa to her wheelchair.
"Do I need to follow you again to make sure you go?" Vinyl whispered in her marefriend's ear.
Fluttershy's only response was a slow passionate kiss on Vinyl's lips.
"Good. I’ll have a rockin' dinner ready when you get home then, critter lover." smiled Vinyl as they broke their kiss.
"I love you Scratchie, see you in a few hours."
Twilight Sparkle was sitting in the royal chambers of her castle tending to her royal duties when a loud knock came from the chamber doors. She knew who it was immediately due to the rhythm of the knock.
"Come on in!" she hollered across the room.
The famed DJ trotted into the room and gave Twilight a friendly hug before levitating a chair up to the throne from the wall and sitting down.
"So how is everything going, Vinyl?" Twilight asked Vinyl with a smile.
"It's rockin' for the most part," Vinyl replied before showing a little hesitation.
"But...?" Twilight pried.
"Well... it's about Fluttershy." Vinyl told her.
A worried looked came across the alicorn's face as Vinyl began to express her concern. "What about Fluttershy?"
"I don't know what the hay to do. We have the same argument every time she's supposed to go to rehab." Vinyl sighed. "She needs to go so it don't screw her internal plumbing up. There's been a couple times I've had to follow her to make sure she went."
"Does she get mad a lot?" Twilight asked.
"Actually, yeah. She's been getting mad a lot lately. Sometimes just for nothing at all."
"How long ago did this start?" inquired Twilight.
"Maybe four or five weeks ago" Vinyl answered after thinking for a moment.
"How's her depression doing?"
"It stopped shortly after she began getting mad at everything."
Twilight sat in silence for a few minutes while she tried making sense of what Vinyl Scratch was telling her. It almost sounded like the Kübler-Horse Model but she wasn't sure.
"The way you are describing her actions, it almost sounds like Fluttershy's going through the grief cycle." Twilight finally replied. "About the best anypony can do right now is stay calm and not get angry when she goes on a tirade. If you want, I'll talk to her about what's going on but it probably won't do any good."
"So I gotta stay chill when she goes off her rocker? I think I can handle that." Vinyl said with a small grin. "Thanks, boss! Catch ya on the flip side!"
"No problem, Vinyl" said Twilight with a smile. "See you later."
Fluttershy couldn't believe it. After three years of continuous therapy, she finally regained the ability to hover for a few minutes at a time. It took most of her strength to do so, but she knew she could do it.
I have to let Twilight know about this so she can tell Rainbow the next time she goes to the Hall of Elements, Fluttershy thought excitedly as she wheeled out of the therapy office.
She went to Vinyl Scratch's Music Outlet to surprise her marefriend with her accomplishment. She went up to the counter, intentionally out of her reach, and leaned forward rest her forelegs on the counter. When she did, Fluttershy fell face first on the floor.
"Critter lover! Are you ok?" shouted Vinyl as she galloped around the counter to help Fluttershy back into her chair.
"Yes. I need to show you something before I get up though," Fluttershy said with a big smile as she rubbed her muzzle with her right hoof.
Fluttershy sat up on her haunches so that she could balance herself properly and slowly unfurled her wings. Then, with all her might began to flap them hard enough to lift herself about foot off the floor. Fluttershy was only in the air a minute or two but the sight was enough to bring tears of happiness to Vinyl as she lifted her shades to wipe her eyes.
"That was radical" Vinyl said as she nearly knocked Fluttershy over to hug her.
"I... I'm... so glad... you... you made me... keep going to... to rehab, Scratchie." Fluttershy said as she panted for air.
The ponies that were shopping gathered around the two on the floor to see what happened. There was a collection of "awww" and "congratulations" from the small crowd as Vinyl helped the weakened pegasus back into her wheelchair.
"I'm so proud of you, Fluttershy!" Vinyl told her as she wiped another tear from her face. "How about you stay with me until closing time and we'll go home together?"
"That... that sounds great," Fluttershy replied as she continued to catch her breath.
"Is it necessary to do this in front the whole town?" Fluttershy panicked.
"Darling, the whole town is not attending." Rarity said as she attempted to calm her friend down. "It's only your friends and family. Now can you please hold still while I get these diamond bands in your mane."
"Is Spirit dressed up for her part?" Fluttershy asked as she looked around for her pet bunny.
"Not yet, dear. For a pony that is paralyzed in her hindlegs, you sure do wiggle a lot you know,” Rarity fussed.
Fluttershy let a small smile show at Rarity's comment as she continued to squirm in her wheelchair. However that smile vanished as quickly as it appeared when Twilight entered the room, allowing Fluttershy to catch a glimpse of the crowd in the main hall.
"Eeep! I thought you said it was just friends and family?" said Fluttershy as she continued her meltdown.
"I did, that's only friends and family sitting out there." Rarity said as she flashed an exhausted smile toward the lavender alicorn.
"Fluttershy, I know you're nervous but you need to settle down so you're not a mess in front of everypony." Twilight calmly explained. "Close your eyes, take a deep breath and picture yourself someplace where you feel comfortable."
"Um, okay." Fluttershy said before following Twilight's instructions and imagining she was back in Cloudsdale playing with Rainbow Dash as a filly.
"Thank you, Twilight." said Rarity as she breathed a sigh of relief. "If you hadn't come in, we probably would've been in here until next week. We have how long until the ceremony and I haven't even started on myself yet."
"No problem, Rarity." Twilight giggled. "When I saw that there was a little over an hour and you were still in here, I knew I needed to check on you."
"An hour?! Sweet Celestia! There's no way I'm going to be ready by then!" Rarity shouted, snapping Fluttershy out of her mental tranquility and causing the yellow pegasus to resume her meltdown.
”Is there anything I can do to help?" Twilight asked.
"Can you get Spirit in her outfit for me, that way I can get this train fastened to the back of the dress properly." Rarity said frantically.
"Do you want me to put Fluttershy's makeup on her while you fight with the train?" Twilight calmly asked the fashionista.
"Oh that would be wonderful, Twilight." Rarity said happily. "We are using a lavender base with violet glitter for the eye shadow and a pale pink blush. Oh, and don't forget the eyeliner and mascara."
Twilight levitated the tray of eye shadow closer to where Fluttershy was sitting and began to carefully add the color to her friend's eyelids while Rarity finally got the train attached in the proper place. Rarity gave a quick glance to make sure the makeup was being properly applied to Fluttershy's face before putting her own dress, redoing her makeup so that it matched Fluttershy's without the glitter and finally plaiting her mane and tail with Twilight's help.
"Are you ready to do this?" Twilight asked Fluttershy with a warm smile.
"I think so." Fluttershy said with a hint of sadness in her voice.
"What's wrong, darling?" Rarity asked Fluttershy.
After taking a couple moments to compose herself Fluttershy responded, "It's, well, I wish I did this years ago so that Rainbow Dash and Applejack could've been here too."
"Rainbow told me she was proud of you when I talked her after you got engaged. If you remember, Applejack reinforced that before she passed four moons ago." Twilight reassured her.
"Yo, critter lover!” Vinyl shouted upstairs from the bathroom. "Can you get the door? I'm in the middle of my shower."
Spirit hopped off Fluttershy's bed into her lap before she made her way to the elevator. Fluttershy paused a moment on her way to the door
"Um, Scratchie, did you say something?" Fluttershy hollered softly.
Not getting a response from her wife, she continued to the door. When Fluttershy placed her hoof on the doorknob to turn it she heard somepony whisper something to her.
Goodbye Fluttershy. You have been a wonderful friend. I shall miss you dearly.
Fluttershy opened the door to reveal two distraught ponies. The look on their faces spoke volumes.
"It's Rarity. Isn't it?" Fluttershy said quietly before either of her visitors could speak.
"Yes, b-but how did you know?" Twilight asked shockingly.
"Somepony told me goodbye just before I opened the door," said Fluttershy.
Pinkie Pie stood there with her mouth open in surprise while Twilight's facial expression had changed from somber to concerned. Another one of her friends is now hearing voices of the others. She began to wonder if what Rainbow Dash told her about the Hall of Elements was correct.
"Tell me, how did she go?" Fluttershy asked her two remaining friends.
Twilight and Pinkie looked at each other as if to decide who should break the news before Twilight answered.
"According to Lonely Heart, she died peacefully in her sleep."
Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief knowing that her high-class friend didn't suffer any more than she had in the last 28 years, however she was also sad knowing that Happy Hooves would be without a mother for the second time.
"Yo girls, what's with the low vibes?" asked Vinyl Scratch as she entered the room with a towel around herself. "It's almost like somepony... oh... OH!" Vinyl caught herself as she realized what she about to say actually happened.
"Rarity died last night, Scratchie," Fluttershy responded.
"Aw, horsefeathers. You girls were really close," Vinyl said as she gently rubbed Fluttershy's back.
"Mmhm," replied Pinkie, who was unusually quiet.
"Lonely Heart was hoping you would be able to get your songbird choir to sing alongside Sweetie Belle for the funeral," Twilight told Fluttershy.
Fluttershy thought a moment before giving a response. The songbirds hadn't done any performances in the last year or so and she wondered if they'd be able to pull it off given the short practice time. But this was to celebrate the life of a dear friend, so Fluttershy told her friends that she would do her best to get the birds ready.
"Pinkie, are you going to be throwing a party for Rarity like you did for Rainbow Dash and Applejack?" Vinyl Scratch asked.
"Absolutely, I was thinking about asking you to DJ at the party like did last year for Applejack's," Pinkie replied.
"Please make sure Pinkie makes a chocolate cake for the party, Fluttershy."
A small smile made it's way onto Fluttershy's face, joining the tears that were leaking from her eyes, as she heard Rarity's request. The others noticed the smile and asked the pegasus what was going on.
"Oh, um, just Rarity wants her favorite flavor of cake for her reception," Fluttershy quietly said, earning confused looks from the other three ponies.
"So it's true..." Twilight said barely above a whisper.
"What's true?" Pinkie asked.
"That the Hall of Elements gets stronger as each pony passes on," Twilight said. "The last time I was there Rainbow Dash told me that as time goes on, the magic joining the dimensional gap has been growing stronger and when Applejack passed last year there was a large boost of magic to it."
"So that means that we can talk to them whenever now?" a confused Pinkie Pie asked.
"I'm not sure. I'll have to ask the girls when I go to the Hall after Rarity's funeral," Twilight responded.
Fluttershy wheeled herself into the Ponyville Cemetery with three wreaths, one diamond-shaped, one apple-shaped and one lightning bolt-shaped and three gifts. It had become a personal tradition to lay a wreath and gift on Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity's graves every Hearth's Warming Eve over the last four years.
This gets surprisingly harder every year, Fluttershy thought sadly as she approached the three tombstones marking her friend's graves.
"It's *sniff* that time of year again, girls," Fluttershy said as she fought the tears in her eyes. "I brought you each *sniff* a new wreath for your graves and a Hearth's Warming Gift like usual."
"What did you get us?" came from what sounded like Rainbow Dash's voice.
After looking around a moment to find where the voice came from before replying.
"Well, each of the *sniff* gifts are from Twilight, Pinkie and I," Fluttershy responded. "Dashie, we got you *sniff* a six-pack of Special Reserve Apple Cider. Applejack, there's a new *sniff* hat for you in your box. Rarity, we got a *sniff* new necklace and earring set for you."
"Thank ya kindly, sugarcube," Applejack's voice said.
Fluttershy couldn't hold back any longer. The walls holding her tears crumbled at the sound of her late friend's voice.
"I'm sorry," Fluttershy cried. "I just miss... you girls dearly. Es-especially during this... time of year."
"We miss you too, darling. We'll continue to watch over you, Pinkie and Twilight until we're all together again," Rarity's voice echoed in Fluttershy's ears.
Fluttershy extended her right wing and turned her head so she could wipe the tears from her face with it. "Thanks, girls."
After a few moments of reflection, Fluttershy turned around and began to descend the hill. Before leaving sight of the tombstones she looked over her shoulder and could've sworn she saw a faint image of her deceased friends waving at her.
"Scratchie! Come here! Quick!" Fluttershy hollered across the yard.
Vinyl came out of the cottage at a high gallop, fearing some tragedy had befallen her wife. She was treated to a pleasant surprise upon reaching Fluttershy.
On the ground next to the chicken pen was Fluttershy, noticeably exhausted, standing shakily on all four hooves. A huge smile appeared on both of the ponies' faces just before Fluttershy collapsed. Vinyl laid down in front Fluttershy so that the pegasus could climb onto her back and then helped her back her wheelchair.
"It... it... only took... four... fourteen... years... but I finally... man... managed... to stand... on all fours... again," Fluttershy said while catching her breath.
"All those therapy sessions were worth it, weren't they, critter lover?" Vinyl asked as she continued to hold a grin from ear to ear.
"Haha... yeah," Fluttershy replied softly as she turned her head toward Vinyl to give her a passionate kiss. "Thanks, Scratchie."
Vinyl leaned back into the kiss as a few tears of joy rolled down her cheeks. She was so proud of Fluttershy for continuing to beat the odds.
Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes as the light from Celestia's raising of the sun filtered through the curtains. For the first time in almost sixteen years, Fluttershy literally hopped out of her bed and landed on all four hooves.
She softly hummed a song as she strolled down the stairs to make breakfast. About halfway down the staircase Fluttershy paused, realizing something was off. She looked around and noticed that her elevator was gone, as well as her cabinets being at pre-paralysis heights.
'What the hay is going on?' she wondered. After drawing a blank while trying to figure out what was happening, Fluttershy resumed her humming and descent to the first floor. As soon as she reached her living room a loud clap of thunder echoed through the house, causing Fluttershy to fly under the staircase.
'Something isn't right,' Fluttershy thought as she slowly crept out of her hiding place. 'The sun is shining through the window, so where did the thunder come from?'
"I can explain that," came from the other side of the front door. Fluttershy cautiously walked toward the door as another clap of thunder, this one louder than the first, echoed in the house.
"Can you tell me through the door?" Fluttershy shouted after retreating back under the staircase.
"Sorry, I can only tell you inside your house," the voice shouted.
"Um, okay. I'll be there in a moment," Fluttershy responded, creeping back out from under the stairs staying as low as possible to the floor.
"Fluttershy please let me in," the voice insisted. "This is extremely important."
"Okay. I'm almost... EEEP!" Fluttershy said before hearing yet another clap of thunder sending her back into hiding for a third time.
And then it dawned on Fluttershy. She was fighting for her life. She just had to be. Her injuries her healed but everytime she approached the front door it would thunder, causing her to go into hiding.
"Fluttershy if you open the door the thunder will stop," the first voice told her.
As Fluttershy continued to comprehend the gravity of the situation, she could feel her body begin to weaken. As she looked around nervously she saw her kitchen begin to morph so it was wheelchair accessible, as well as the elevator and her wheelchair materializing out of thin air.
"Please Fluttershy. Can I have a..." the first voice trailed off as Fluttershy climbed into her wheelchair.
"I have a pulse..." a new voice hollered.
Fluttershy managed the strength to open her eyes enough to see a white and blue blob next to her.
"Scratchie? Ish that you?" Fluttershy said with her speech slurred.
"Happened to you? You... *sniff* you had a... a stroke," Vinyl finished.
"How bad wash it?" Fluttershy asked her wife, still slurring her words.
Vinyl used her magic to remove her glasses from the top of her head and set them on Fluttershy's face as she cried into her wife's hooves before telling her the truth.
"I'm sorry, critter lover. They... they don't... expect you to... to..." Vinyl stuttered before breaking down.
Dashie, I'm ready to go now, Fluttershy thought as tears began form in her own eyes. "I'll love you forever, Scratchie."
Vinyl pulled Fluttershy into a tight embrace as the pegasus lost consciousness and began going limp.
"I'll always love you too, critter lover," Vinyl cried as she laid her wife back in the bed and covered Fluttershy's head with the sheet on the bed.
Pinkie was galloping back and forth throughout Ponyville Park checking on the reception activities to make sure everything was how it was supposed to be. Rainbow Dash had the skies cleared, Applejack was arriving with some apple cakes, Fluttershy had the songbirgs tuning up, Twilight was preparing some fireworks that evening and Rarity was putting the finishing touches on the dresses for the event.
After about the third hour of Pinkie running laps around the park, Twilight had enough and caught Pinkie by her tail in her magic, dragging her over so they could talk.
"Pinkie, you need to slow down some or you're going to be out of energy before this afternoon," Twilight whispered to the party pony.
"I know but I just need it to be absolutely superly duperly looperly perfect, Twilight," Pinkie Pie worried.
"I realize that, Pinkie, I was the same way sixteen years ago, if you remember," Twilight reminded her.
"You're right, Twilight," Pinkie replied as she threw her forelegs around Twilight's neck. "And I told you that there isn't anything to worry about."
"PINKIE PIE!" Rarity called from across the park.
"Ooooh, It must be time to get dressed," Pinkie shouted as she released Twilight and shot across the park with the speed of a lightning bolt.
"What's wrong with Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash asked after setting down next to Twilight.
"Wedding day jitters," Twilight chuckled.
"What did you tell her?" Rainbow asked.
"I told her to remember what she told me when I got married," Twilight told Rainbow Dash.
"And that was...?" Rainbow inquired impatiently.
"There isn't anything to worry about," Twilight said with a smile.
"Right," agreed Rainbow as she gave Twilight a high-hoof.
Two weeks later, Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich returned home to Ponyville and were greeted by Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack and their families at the train station.
"How was y'all's honeymoon in Yakyakistan?" Applejack asked the newlyweds.
"It was soooo pretty in the northern mountains. You know Yakyakistani snow is softer than ours?" Pinkie replied.
"Are you serious, Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"It's true," Cheese Sandwich replied with a laugh. "The barrage of snowballs that Pinkie hit me with would have knocked me unconscious anywhere else."
"That's so awesome. I'll have to talk to somepony in Cloudsdale about adjusting our snow formula," Rainbow squealed with joy.
"What else did you do there besides snowball fights?" Twilight asked them.
"We tried some delightful yak dishes, went to a performance of Beauty And The Yak and then at night we... Mmmph" Pinkie said before having a hoof cover her mouth.
"That's, uh, private there, uh, Sweetness," stammered Cheese as his cheeks turned cherry red.
Pinkie pulled her husband's hoof down and continued, "At night we would go on the balcony and cuddle while we watched the Northern Lights. What did you think I was going to say, Cheesy?"
"Oh, I, um, well, uh," Cheese continued to stutter as he began rubbing the back of his head with his forehoof.
"What? You thought I was going tell them about that? This is a T-rated fanfic, you know," Pinkie laughed as the rest of the group stood there bewildered. "What?"
"Uhhh, Pinkie? What's a... you know what, never mind," Rainbow said before facehoofing, causing the pink party pony to laugh harder.
"How about we get going back home before my bride dies from laughter," Cheese Sandwich said to everypony.
Cheese Sandwich called a secret meeting with Twilight and Pinkie's other friends to discuss a matter of great importance. While most ponies wouldn't think twice about asking Pinkie Pie to throw a surprise party, throwing one for her has been another story. Word had gotten around years ago about how Pinkie Pie nearly went insane when her friends threw her a surprise party. Since then, nopony had ever dared trying to throw another surprise party for her.
After everypony arrived at Fluttershy's cottage, Cheese Sandwich provided some refreshments for the group as he opened the meeting.
"Thank you all for meeting me on short notice. I know everypony's busy but I wanted to take advantage of Pinkie throwing a birthday bash for Applejack's cousin in Appleoosa," Cheese told them.
"A surprise party? Hay, yes!" Cheese Sandwich replied excitedly.
A look of concern crossed the faces of the five mares in the room.
"What? Is that a bad thing?" Cheese asked.
"Well, how to put this delicately, darling... yes," Rarity responded.
"Okay. Why is that a bad thing?"
"Well three years before you and Pinkie had your 'Goof-Off' at my Birth-iversary Party, the five of us tried to throw her a surprise party for her," Rainbow Dash explained.
"Th' probl'm was that Gummy's birthday is th' day 'fore hers an' she done thrown a party fer Gummy," Applejack added.
"When we left for the night after the party, I told her that we should do this again soon," Twilight continued as she hung her head. "I, we didn't think she would hold another party less than 24 hours later."
"I see. So what happened then?" asked Cheese Sandwich.
"Well, we had to make excuses as to why we couldn't attend the 'After-Birthday' Party for Gummy," Rarity said. "Twilight told her she had to study, Applejack said she had to pick apples, our heroic pegasi claimed they had to cave-sit for a bear and I, gulp, I had to do the most revolting thing in Equestria."
"And what might that have been?" Cheese pried.
"I had to... oh dear, I think I'm going to be sick... I had to stuff my head in th-" Rarity said before hauling tail to Fluttershy's bathroom to vomit, leaving Cheese Sandwich confused.
"Rarity stuff'd 'er mane in th' garbage cans ta git outta goin' to th' party," Applejack chuckled. "Ah pers'nally found it down right hilarious when she told us 'bout it."
After a short laugh at Rarity's expense when she returned to the room the legend of Pinkie's first surprise party resumed.
"Anyway, we thought we were in the clear until I happened to walk past Pinkie, who was hiding in a hay bale, and said hi," Rainbow Dash said.
"Hold it! Two questions; first, why was she hiding in a hay bale and second, why was it such a problem saying hi?" Cheese asked.
"I don't know why she was hiding and I had my saddlebags loaded full of party supplies," Rainbow answered.
The ponies continued discussing that day including the part when Rainbow Dash went to get the birthday mare.
"You never did tell me what you meant about being replaced by a bucket of turnips," Twilight told the cyan pegasus.
"Well, you see when I picked up Pinkie she had a bucket of turnips, a huge ball of lint, a stack of rocks and a sack of flour with party hats on them," Rainbow shuddered. "She told me that she was having a good time with her new friends."
"Soooo, Pinkie felt you didn't want to be friends anymore because you had to make excuses so you could get her party set up. Is that right?" Cheese asked.
His question was unanimously answered "yes" by the other ponies before he continued, telling them what they did wrong.
"You see, even though you all had a hand in planning the party, nopony kept her distracted from the rest of the group," Cheese explained. "Even if it was only one of you that went to Gummy's After-Birthday Party, when it came time for her party, just ask if you could move the party someplace else to kick it up a notch."
There was a complete silence among the five friends, not realizing the simple mistake they could've avoided. The silence was short lived however when Rarity broke the silence.
"So how long do need me to keep her at the spa next week, darlings?"
"This has been super duper crazy awesome fun today, Rarity," Pinkie cheered as she bounced around her friend in circles. "And best of all it's on my birthday! It's too bad everypony else had stuff to do and couldn't join us."
"I know, but maybe next time, darling," Rarity said to comfort her friend.
"Oooh, oooh. We can still throw a birthday party! Me and Cheesy can probably throw something together and we can still party all night," Pinkie shouted.
"Honestly that sounds wonderful, darling, buuut-" Rarity said as she opened the door to Sugarcube Corner.
"SURPRISE!" shouted Cheese Sandwich and the rest of Pinkie Pie's friends.
Pinkie Pie's eyes grew wide in astonishment as she took in the scene around her. There were balloon bouquets, a gift table, a record player, a six-layer cake, streamers and a banner that read:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PINKIE PIE!
"What do you think, Sweetness?" Cheese Sandwich asked.
"I... I... I..." Pinkie stuttered before passing out and collapsing into a heap.
All the ponies in attendance laughed at the pink earth pony's reaction, thinking it was an act. However the laughter stopped abruptly when Pinkie Pie didn't regain consciousness.
"Pinkie?" said Twilight as she gently shook her pink friend. "Pinkie? Are you ok? This isn't funny... Pinkie, say something!"
“Oooh! It's so sparkly and balloony and cakey and..." Pinkie Pie paused. "Wait... where am I?"
Pinkie looked around trying to figure out what was going on. She was in a room made from clouds but as she made her way to the next room she found it was made of stone and crystal. Both rooms were decked out in party decorations and had huge cakes in the middle of each room.
"Okay... now this is... the dining hall in Twilight's castle and the other room is... Dashie's living room," she said as she finally recalled where she was at. "But how am I able..."
She trailed off as something else caught her eye that lead her to investigate the next room after.
"Hold on a second!" Pinkie yelled to no one in particular. "Now I'm in the Crystal Palace?! What in the holy hay is going on?"
She walked into the next room after that and found herself back in Rainbow Dash's living room.
"There you are, Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash said as the cyan pegasus threw her left foreleg over the pink pony's neck while holding a glass of punch that Pinkie called "Gummy Juice", which was named after her pet alligator.
"Ummm, yeaah. Here I am. Hehe," Pinkie nervously chuckled. "Where else would I be?"
"Well you said had to go to the bathroom a half hour ago and when Twilight went to check on you, the bathroom was empty," Rainbow Dash told her. "We looked everywhere but nopony could find you."
Pinkie just stood there dumbfounded. When she was in Rainbow's living room a few minutes earlier it was empty and now everypony was here enjoying a party that... she...
'Wait! I've been here before,' Pinkie thought to herself.
She continued to look over the scene in front of her as Rainbow continued to talk to her. The cake was strawberry with rainbow icing, pink dinnerware and napkins, there was stack of presents on a table by the wall and everypony enjoying the best batch of "Gummy Juice" that she had made in a long time.
'Holy Celestia!' Pinkie thought to herself as she backed away from Rainbow Dash in fear. 'I have to check out the other rooms again.'
She poked her head back into the dining hall and saw a similar scene. The Twilight, Flash Sentry and their friends, presents stacked on one of the back tables, a vanilla cake with bright orange icing and a banner hanging from the ceiling that she couldn't make out.
'I need to sneak past everypony somehow otherwise I'm going to have another conversation like with Dashie,' Pinkie thought as she zipped behind everything she could to get to the other doorway without being caught.
"Pinkie, this is a beautiful party you've thrown here this afternoon," Cadence told her as soon she entered the room.
"Pinkie Pie, may I have a word with you?" Luna asked her.
Hoping to get some answers, Pinkie agreed as the two ponies walked out of earshot of the rest of the party.
"Are you okay? You look distressed," Luna inquired.
"Hehe, yeah sure. Kinda. Maybe. Not really. No. I'm really confused about what's happening," Pinkie answered nervously. "I've been in all three of these parties years and years ago. Can you pretty please help me?"
"Sure. For starters, you're not dead or dying. This is a dream," Luna reassured her. "Second, think about the theme of all these parties. That will not only be able to help you figure out what is going on but possibly put your mind at ease."
Pinkie paused for a moment to think and then the answer hit her.
Twilight helped steady the pink earth pony onto Applejack's back so that they could set her on a blanket until the medical wagon arrived about ten minutes later.
The medics brought a gurney into Sugarcube Corner so that they could get Pinkie loaded up quickly in the waiting wagon outside.
"What happened before she collapsed?" one of the medics asked.
"Pinkie and I had just entered the store after a day at the spa," Rarity answered. "After coming in everypony in here yelled 'surprise' and then she just collapsed."
"Any warning signs that she would collapse? Like complaints of dizziness or feeling lightheaded?" the medic asked.
"She stumbled a little bit this morning after getting out of bed," Cheese Sandwich replied.
The medic turned his attention back to Pinkie Pie to finish preparing her to be loaded on the gurney. Cheese Sandwich followed the medics into the wagon to make their way to the Ponyville General Emergency Room, while the rest of her friends followed on hoof. A few minutes later, an electric blue unicorn greeted the medics at the ER doors to take over the care of Pinkie Pie.
"How long has she been unconscious?" the unicorn asked.
"About half an hour," Cheese Sandwich answered. "Please tell me she's going to be fine."
"We'll do our best, Mister...?" the unicorn asked Cheese.
"The name's Cheese Sandwich," answered Pinkie's husband. "And you are...?"
"Dr. Zero Hour, but you can just call me Zero for short," the doctor replied before realizing who was in front of them. "Are you the Cheese Sandwich? As in Pinkie Pie's husband?"
A tear rolled down Cheese's cheek as he nodded his head.
"Nurse, could you get the EEG cart while I get her vitals? And also have somepony from the lab come down to draw blood for these tests," Zero told the nurse assisting him, handing her a scroll.
A few hours later, Zero Hour returned to Pinkie's room where she was still out cold. Cheese had fallen asleep in the chair next to the bed with a tendril of drool extending from the corner of his mouth. Zero let out a light chuckle at the all too familiar sight that comes with being an ER doctor.
"Excuse me, Cheese Sandwich," he softly said, startling the light orange earth party awake.
"Huh? Wha..? Oh... hiya doctor," Cheese Sandwich said as he yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "What's up?"
"Sorry. I had a few questions for you before I go over the findings if that's alright with you," Dr. Zero Hour told him.
Cheese nodded again as he yawned again and continued to rub his eyes.
"Okay. One of the medics said that you told them that your wife was stumbling around a short time after waking up this morning. Was this the first occurrence of this?" Zero Hour asked.
"Hmmm," Cheese Sandwich thought a moment before continuing. "Actually it's happened a few times a week for about the last five or six weeks."
"Alright," Zero said as he made a note. "Has she had any changes in personality recently?"
"Not that I can think of."
"Any change in appetite or diet?"
"Yeah, she's been eating more salads and drinking a lot more water than normal," Cheese told the doctor.
"And when did that start?"
"Around the same time she began stumbling around in the mornings."
Zero Hour made one last note on the parchment that was on the clipboard before levitating a separate piece of parchment from his lab coat.
"So based on the tests from earlier today, her blood sugar, heart rate and brain activity are all normal. However she did have a mysterious drop in blood pressure, which I'm guessing is the reason why fainted," Zero Hour said.
"What could've caused her blood pressure to drop suddenly?" asked Cheese Sandwich.
"It could've been any number of reasons. Something in her diet-" Zero Hour said before being interrupted by a pink blur that attached itself to Cheese Sandwich's face.
"I love it! I love the party! Thankyouthankyouthankyou," a revived Pinkie Pie said to her husband. "Hey... why are we in the hospital?"
Cheese Sandwich opened his mouth to tell her what happened but before he could say anything, Pinkie planted a huge kiss on his mouth.
"Hi Dr. Zero Hour," Pinkie said quickly before turning back to Cheese. "Are we in here because of the baby?"
"Baby?" both stallions said at once.
"Yeah. I'm pregnant," Pinkie elaborated.
"How do you know?" Cheese asked with a look of confusion.
"Princess Luna helped me figure it out in the dream I was having. It was really weird. First i was in Dashie's house then Twilight's castle then the Crystal Palace then back in Dashie's house then back in Twilight's castle then in the Crystal Palace again and then I saw Luna and she was like 'You're dreaming' and I was like 'what am I dreaming about' and she was like 'think about all these parties' and then I realized I was pregnant and then I woke up here," Pinkie rambled before having to gasp for air.
"If you don't mind Pinkie Pie, I like to have a pregnancy test done just to be sure," Zero Hour requested.
"Sure. No problem," Pinkie Pie replied.
Two hours later, Dr Zero Hour returned to deliver the results from the pregnancy test. This time he introduced a unicorn mare that was a pale yellow with a bright yellow mane.
"Pinkie Pie, Cheese Sandwich, I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Delivery. She's the OB/GYN here at Ponyville General and she'll be taking over your care from here out," Zero Hour told them. "It was nice meeting you and I wish you the best of luck."
Dr. Delivery shook hooves with the two party ponies before reading off the test results to the expectant parents. "It's always nice to meet new parents and I'd like to give you the best care possible. So without further ado, here are results."
Pinkie Pie did her best to keep calm while the doctor read her and Cheese the results.
"I have good news and bad news," Dr. Delivery said.
As tears of worry began filling her eyes and her hair beginning to deflate, Pinkie Pie held Cheese Sandwich's hooves in preparation for the impending morbid news.
"So, the good news is that everything checks out for a mare that's two moons pregnant," Dr. Delivery said with a goofy smile before changing to a more serious look. "However, the bad news is that you still have nine moons left to go."
Pinkie Pie sat there in silence with her husband before a smile appeared, which then turned into a giggle and then a full blown laughing fit from all three ponies.
"You... you really had... had us going there for... for a minute," Pinkie managed between breaths as she continued to laugh at near uncontrollable levels. "I... I thought there was... was something really... really wrong."
Dr. Delivery managed to be the first to settle down so she could talk to the expectant parents calmly.
"I'm sorry," Dr. Delivery said still smiling. "I play that joke on all first-time parents. Although, I don't ever remember getting a reaction as big as you two gave me."
"Don't be sorry when it comes to making ponies laugh," Pinkie said. "It's the bestest greatest thing you can do."
"I'm glad to see that your doctor has a great sense of humor, sweetness," Cheese Sandwich said with smile.
"I've always had a positive attitude toward life," Dr. Delivery said. "I figured since my parties were terrible when I was younger, I'd do the next best thing besides a party planner and became a doctor. But just like all other doctors, I have to lay down a few rules."
Pinkie moaned in disappointment as Dr. Delivery went over the dietary and lifestyle changes, which included a dramatic reduction in sweets, that Pinkie needed to implement during her pregnancy.
Pinkie Pie woke up on the couch after what had become her daily afternoon nap. She needed a dozen cupcakes to snack on but due to the gestational diabetes she had developed over the last three moons, that was not going to be a possibility. So she slowly rolled off the couch to the fridge for her replacement snack, cucumber sandwiches.
I can't believe I have three more moons of this diet, Pinkie thought grumpily.
As she loaded the sandwiches about a foot high on the plate, Cheese Sandwich walked into the kitchen to check on her.
"How was your nap?" he asked as he gave Pinkie a nuzzle on the cheek.
"It could've been better if the foal would've taken a nap too," she chuckled. "I can't wait for D-day though. My hooves are killing me, I gotta use the bathroom all the time, I'm the size of a buffalo and all these naps are keeping me from planning super awesome parties."
Cheese just smiled as he grabbed a sandwich off of Pinkie's plate, earning him a death stare.
"This is your freebie for the week," Pinkie growled. "Do. Not. Take. My. Sandwiches. I need these."
"Well don't take too long. You have your doctor's appointment in a little bit," Cheese reminded her.
Pinkie paused a moment before swallowing half the sandwiches in one gulp and put the rest in her saddlebag to eat on the way to the doctor.
"Oooh. We get to see the foal again today. Maybe we see if we're having a colt or filly this time," Pinkie replied excitedly. "What are we waiting for? Let's go! C'mon slowpoke."
"Sweetness, two things. Your appointment isn't for two hours and you're not supposed to be bouncing," Cheese Sandwich told her.
"Oh, right," Pinkie smiled as she returned to walking. "But maybe they'll let us go in early if we leave now."
"I doubt it but we can try if you want," Cheese relented. "No galloping!" he shouted after her as Pinkie took off out the door.
"Awww," Pinkie whined as she came to a stop.
"Ms. Pie?" the nurse called to the waiting room.
"Hey, it's your turn," Cheese Sandwich said as he nudged Pinkie Pie, who had fallen back to sleep in the waiting room.
"Huh? Wha... ? Oh..." Pinkie mumbled as she wiped the drool from her chin before slowly gingerly climbing off the chair.
"I tried warning you that coming two hours early was a bad idea," Cheese told her.
"Yeah, yeah..." Pinkie grumbled as they was lead to the exam room to get her vital signs.
Pinkie's post-nap grumpiness was quickly changed back to excitement when she saw the ultrasound monitor.
"When is Dr. Delivery coming in to smear that goopy gel stuff on my belly?" she asked the nurse as she clapped her hooves together like a little filly.
"She'll be here in a few minutes," the nurse chuckled at the pink pony's enthusiasm. "I've been doing this for a long time and I think you're the first pony to look forward to the ultrasound gel."
"Really? Cool!" Pinkie replied.
After the nurse finished and left the room, Cheese asked Pinkie about who the god ponies should be.
"Well, there's lotsa ponies that would make good god ponies," Pinkie said, rubbing her chin in thought. "Did you have anypony in mind?"
"I did actually. I was thinking about..." Cheese said before being interrupted by Dr. Delivery entering the room.
"How's my favorite party pony doing today?" the doctor asked.
"I'm super duper doc. I'm really excited to see the foal again," Pinkie replied.
"So the nurse tells me," Dr. Delivery chuckled. "First we need to check the foal's heartbeat though, okay?"
Pinkie nodded as she laid back to give the doctor easier access to her stomach. Dr. Delivery ran the fetal heart monitor over Pinkie until she found the heartbeat. But there was something off about the heartbeat.
"Well now, it's a good thing we're running an ultrasound today," Dr. Delivery said. "Something sounds different about the foal's than it should."
"Like what?" Cheese Sandwich piped up first.
"It almost sounds like two hearts," the doctor replied.
"Well, duh. There's my heart and the foal's heart," Pinkie responded as the ultrasound gel was applied to her stomach. "Oooh. That's cold!"
Dr. Delivery flipped on the ultrasound monitor as she moved the wand back and forth until she found what she was looking for. What she found caused her to open her eyes wide in shock.
"What's wrong doc?" Cheese asked as the monitor was turned toward the expecting parents. "Why does our foal have six legs?"
"That's why I'm surprised," Dr. Delivery replied. "There's nothing wrong with either of the colts."
Pinkie and Cheese looked at each other before shouting in unison, "Colts?!"
"Yes, one of them must have been hiding when I did the first ultrasound. Congratulations on carrying twins!" Dr. Delivery said as Cheese Sandwich fainted.
Years later, Pinkie Pie threw the first farewell party for any of her friends. The biggest difference between this party and the other farewell parties she had thrown was that the pony it was being thrown for never showed up.
"You know Pinkie, Dash would've loved this party," Spitfire told her. "I personally would like to thank you for inviting me and the other Wonderbolts. Dash was like family to us."
"You're welcome, I just never threw a funeral party before," Pinkie replied.
"I think it's helping boost most everypony's spirits," Spitfire told her. "You might want to check on your friend Applejack, though."
The two ponies looked over in the direction of the tangerine farm pony. She was sitting in a corner booth staring out the window in a trance. The black Stetson that Rarity custom made her for Rainbow's funeral was on the table and a bottle of cider in her left hoof. She was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice Pinkie Pie sit down until there was a pink foreleg around her shoulder.
"Oh, heya thar Pinkie," Applejack said quietly. "Great party."
"What's wrong? I mean, besides not seeing Dashie anymore," Pinkie asked in a soothing tone.
"That's jist it. We was real close," Applejack paused to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Now I ain't goin' see her no more. It's almost like... like a piece o' me died the other day."
Pinkie didn't know what to say to that so she wrapped her other foreleg around Applejack and hugged her so she could have somepony to support her while she released her tears. Pinkie felt her Pinkie Sense go off when she looked out of the window to see a distressed Fluttershy fly off toward her cottage. So she whistled at Vinyl Scratch, who was in the dj booth, to get her attention so she could chase after her marefriend.
"Everything okay?" Twilight asked as she approached the corner booth a few minutes later.
"I don't know. I felt my whole body shudder and then I saw Fluttershy fly away toward her house," Pinkie replied.
"Whole body shudder? When was the last time you had one like that?" Twilight asked.
Pinkie thought a moment before answering, "Ummm, the last time I felt a doozy was shortly after you moved to Ponyville."
"Pinkie... that was 33 years ago," said Twilight. "This must be one whopper of a feeling."
"I know, ri..." Pinkie trailed off as she saw a medical wagon head toward Fluttershy's cottage.
"Has anypony seen Rarity?" Pinkie asked over the country music coming from the radio.
All the ponies in attendance were busy mingling at the moment and couldn't hear the party host trying to find one of her closest friends. Rarity was supposed to deliver a small speech around the midway point of the party regarding Applejack, but while her husband and daughter were there, Rarity was not.
Pinkie began bouncing around from pony to pony trying to find out if they had seen her or not and everypony had the same answer: No.
Oh where is she? Pinkie worried. She was the last one by AJ's side and it would most appropriate for her to give a meaningful speech.
After making three or four laps around Sugarcube Corner asking everypony where Rarity was, Pinkie just stopped cold in her tracks trying to figure out what she was doing.
"Sweetness? You okay?" Cheese Sandwich asked his wife.
"Yes indeedily. Why?" she replied, confused.
Cheese Sandwich planted his right front hoof on his forehead in response the Pinkie's question.
"Pinkie, did you remember your medication this morning?" Cheese asked with concern.
"I... well... I think so," Pinkie answered as she scratched the back of her head. "Can I ask you a question Cheesy?"
Cheese just sighed and nodded because he knew what the question was going to be... again.
"Have you seen Rarity? She's supposed to be here," Pinkie asked.
"For the fourth and final time, no," Cheese told her. "How about you head over to the boutique to see if she's there."
"Oooh, that's a great idea!" Pinkie squealed. "Be right back."
Cheese took over running the party as Pinkie headed out the door toward Carousel Boutique.
"Rarity? There's a party! Where are you?" Pinkie shouted outside the boutique.
Not receiving an answer through the window, the pink pony entered the building to see if she was home. What she found inside was sketches of cowpony-inspired dresses, a couple of them half finished and a silhouette in a window that looked like Applejack. Pinkie Pie moved closer and found it was actually her missing friend wearing a deep blue Stetson and her mane and tail styled in ponytails with the ends tied in cyan ribbons.
"Rarity? Is that really you?" Pinkie asked.
"Of course it's me, Pinkie" Rarity replied in her clarion voice. "Who else would be sitting here in the corner?"
"Why do you look like Applejack?"
"Well somepony's got to wear their mane in ponytails," Rarity answered. "And besides, Applejack's mane looks like mine used to. That's a style that... that... oh Pinkie. Why did she have to die?"
"I don't know, Rarity," Pinkie said as she hugged the ivory unicorn while her mane and tail simultaneously deflated.
Rarity buried her face into Pinkie's chest as she released most of the tears she had been holding back since the funeral. Rarity had been in the hospital room with Applejack as she drew her last breath. It was something Rarity never expected to happen in her lifetime. It was the reason Rarity was asked to give a small speech at the farewell party because she was having trouble dealing with it.
"Pi-Pinkie? Do... do I have t-to go?" Rarity cried. "It... it's just too... painful. I can't..."
"It was Twilight's idea. She thinks it will help bring, uh, what's the word?" Pinkie tried explaining.
"Cl-closure?" Rarity suggested.
"Yeah, that the word" Pinkie said.
Rarity looked into Pinkie Pie's bright blue eyes as she wiped her own. Even in the sadness in Ponyville, Pinkie somehow was able to bring a smile to anypony that crossed her path. This time was the same as every other one, as a weak smile appeared on Rarity's face.
"Let me *sniff* get changed and I'll be there," Rarity sighed.
"Actually going to the party like that might help everypony," Pinkie suggested.
"Hi, Starlight!" Pinkie Pie shouted as she answered the door.
"Um, sweetness, that's not Starlight," Cheese Sandwich told Pinkie as he approached the front door.
"Oh, yeah. Hehe. Silly me," Pinkie giggled. "Sorry, Twilight. I shoulda known it was you. You have wings and Starlight doesn't. Plus 'Twilight' and 'wings' both start with 'T'. I'm so silly. Hehe"
Twilight and Cheese Sandwich just looked at each other and shook their heads in response. It was clear the party pony's condition was worsening.
"So where's Fluttershy and Rarity?" asked Pinkie.
"I actually came by to get you because we need to visit Fluttershy," Twilight told her.
Cheese Sandwich noticed the sadness in her voice from the last statement. So he looked Twilight in the eyes, pointed to his face and smiled, hoping the princess would put a fake smile on her face so as not to disturb his wife.
"Did you do any friendship stuff lately, Starlight?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"I'm Twilight, remember? And we both went to Baltimare a couple days ago to help that elderly couple," Twilight reminded her friend.
Pinkie Pie paused a moment to think before responding.
"Ummm, I don't know," she answered. "But do you remember that time we went to Baltimare to help that couple that was fighting?"
Twilight patiently hung her head and sighed.
"Oh! You know what we need to do? We need to throw a 'Welcome Back To Ponyville' party and invite Fluttershy and Rarity," Pinkie blurted out.
An uneasy smile crossed Twilight's face as she finally was given the opportunity to deliver the news she had.
"Umm, Pinkie? Rarity won't be coming to anymore parties," Twilight said as a tear began rolling down her right cheek. "She died in her sleep last night."
Pinkie just stood there speechless as her degrading mind tried to assimilate the information that was presented to her.
"How did you find out so soon?" Cheese Sandwich inquired.
"Lonely Heart and Happy Hooves came to the castle as soon as Celestia had the sun raised to tell me," Twilight replied.
"How are they taking it?" Cheese asked Twilight.
"They seem to be taking it pretty well," Twilight said.
"That's good to know," Cheese Sandwich replied. "I'm guessing that me and Pinkie are going to have to plan a farewell party then."
"Why?" Pinkie Pie asked unhappily.
"Because there was a filly that had to be hospitalized from it," Twilight answered. "I'm sorry but I can't let you use your party cannons without supervision anymore, Pinkie."
The pink pony's semi-curly mane completely deflated upon hearing the information that was presented to her from the lavender alicorn. The party cannon was her signature item at parties that ponies always looked forward to seeing. Even with her Alzhorser's Disease advancing, Pinkie did realize that Twilight had a point. She has had a few close calls in her solo parties in recent moons when setting off the cannons and somepony finally got hurt.
"Pinkie, I'm really sorry," Twilight repeated. "This wasn't my call. Princess Celestia informed me that if I didn't tell you, she would."
"But-but what am I going to use to decorate parties?" Pinkie asked as her ears drooped with her mane.
"Now I didn't say you couldn't use them. I said that you need to be supervised when operating them," Twilight responded. "Technically Celestia banned them but since they're a tradition here in Ponyville, I'm allowing them here as long as Cheese Sandwich is with you."
Pinkie's mane and tail began to slowly inflate as she digested Twilight's bold decision to go against her former mentor's ruling.
"Won't Celestia be mad at you for still allowing my party cannons?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"Probably but I really don't care," Twilight answered coldly. "My friends, the few of you that remain, come first. Come on, Pinkie. Let's get you home."
Sweet Cheese frantically galloped into the Palace of Friendship to enlist the aid of Twilight and Starlight Glimmer to help find his mother. Pinkie Pie had gone missing during a cute-ceañera about an hour earlier and nopony could find her.
"Slow down, Sweet Cheese," Twilight said as she tried to calm the young stallion. "What happened to her?"
"Nopony knows, Princess," Sweet Cheese told her. "The last couple days she's been talking about Ms. Rainbow's baby shower from before I was born. We checked the hot air balloons thinking she might have tried going to Mr. Thundercloud's house but they're all accounted for."
"She couldn't have gone far," Starlight said thoughtfully. "She's an earth pony. Which means she can't fly anywhere like a pegasus or teleport like a unicorn."
"True, but this is Pinkie Pie we're talking about," Twilight reminded her. "She once joined a band, went on tour with said band and broke up with the band en route to Yakyakistan during our peace negotiations forty years ago."
"You don't think she went to the Everfree Forest, do you?" Sweet Cheese asked.
Twilight sent a quartet of guards to Everfree as her, Starlight and Sweet Cheese continued to debate where else Pinkie Pie could have gone.
About an hour before Luna raised the moon, one of the groups of guards that Twilight sent out finally returned with a muddy, disoriented Pinkie Pie. Upon seeing her, the Cheese twins and their father galloped up to the chariot and threw their hooves around her in relief.
“Mom, where have you been?” Sweet Cheese asked first.
“I just went for a walk in Ponyville Park and went decided to go for a swim but I don't remember the water being that muddy,” answered Pinkie as she freed one of her hooves to scratch her head.
“That’s because we found her in Froggy Bottom Bog doing a backstroke through the mud,” one of the guards answered. “She was so muddy that we wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for her curly mane.”
Cheese Sandwich, who was now partially in mud, piped up. “Sweetness, you know you're supposed tell somepony if you want to go somewhere. We worry that something bad will happen if you're out wandering alone.”
The three stallions then escorted their matriarch back to the house so that they get her washed up and something to eat.
"Sweetness, we need to go to the hospital," Cheese Sandwich said.
"I don't want to go. I'm not sick," Pinkie retorted.
"It's not for you, mom," Cream Cheese explained. "Ms. Fluttershy is in the hospital and Princess Twilight asked us to take you so you could say goodbye."
"Goodbye? Is she moving out of Ponyville?" Pinkie asked.
"No, mom," Sweet Cheese told her. "Ms. Fluttershy is dying. We're going to say goodbye for good."
"Oh, why didn't anypony say anything? That's not very happy news," Pinkie Pie replied. "We should probably go to the hospital. Don't you think?"
"That sounds like a great idea, sweetness," Cheese Sandwich told her as he and their grown colts escorted the former party pony out the door.
"Awww," Pinkie Pie complained. "I got to use the party cannons last time and nothing bad happened."
"Mom, you personally haven't used a party cannon in almost four years," Sweet Cheese said flatly. "It's been me or dad setting them off since then."
"Are you sure?" Pinkie asked. "I could swear I set them off at Fluttershy's farewell party."
"Mom, we haven't had the farewell party for Ms. Fluttershy yet," Sweet Cheese explained. "We're throwing that tonight. Remember?"
"Ummm, no I don't," replied Pinkie.
Sweet Cheese just sighed in response. The last few years have been trying on the family of party ponies. Pinkie Pie's condition was worsening on a daily basis and the three stallions had really learned the meaning of the word patience in that time.
"Is Fluttershy going to be coming to the party then, Cheesy?" Pinkie asked with a smile.
"No, mom," Sweet Cheese deadpanned. "She can't. She died three days ago and I’m Sweet Cheese, not dad.”
"Oh. Why didn't you tell me Fluttershy died the other day?"
"We did. Don't you remember going to the hospital to visit her before she died?"
"Oh yeah. That was the day we went to the hospital to see her after her uh, um, her..." Pinkie replied.
"Her stroke," Sweet Cheese finished.
"Yeah that's it. Thanks a bunch. I'm getting kinda silly today, aren't I?" Pinkie smiled.
Sweet Cheese just sighed.
The sunlight filtered through the shutters in the apartment above Sugarcube Corner, brightening the bedroom slightly. In the bed laid a bright pink pony with dark pink hair. At the foot of the bed laid a tiny, toothless alligator.
"Good morning, Gummy!" Pinkie Pie squealed as she removed her eye mask. "Today's your birthday and I got all sorts of stuff planned for your party! That reminds me that I gotta go make your cake before I go invite all our friends so that we can have the bestest greatest most wonderful time together. You think I should do that singing invitation that I was planning to do for a long time?"
The small alligator just laid in the the bed and blinked in response.
"You're right. It's your first birthday and it should be extra extra extra special. Ya know, now that I think about it, didn't you already have your first birthday party? I mean, because you died about 15 years ago so I'm kinda confused as to what's going on."
Gummy just stared at his owner and licked his right eye just before hopping off the bed.
"Gummy you stay here. I'm going downstairs to see where Cheese Sandwich and the colts are at. Okay?" Pinkie Pie asked her beloved pet even though she knew she wouldn't get a response.
As Pinkie bounced down the stairs, she heard a explosion each time she landed. After getting halfway down the stairs she realized that the explosions were party cannons going off.
"The Cakes aren't gonna like this," she said when she saw the confetti and streamers covering inside the store. "I should probably clean this up before I go looking for everypony else."
Pinkie Pie hopped down off the stairs, causing yet another hidden party cannon to explode the instant her hooves hit the floor.
"Ugh, where are these party cannons coming from?" Pinkie Pie groaned the cannons continued to fire as she bounced to the closet to get the broom. "I'm never gonna get this mess cleaned up if they keep going off."
"Hey, Pinkie!" came a voice from the door. "What time is Gummy's birthday party tonight?"
Pinkie's head quickly spun nearly 180 degrees and stared at the door. 'Was that...? Naw, can't be...' Pinkie thought.
"Um, Pinkie Pie? Are we still bringing our pets to Gummy's party?" a quieter voice called.
"Dashie? Fluttershy? Is that you?" Pinkie called.
"Me an' Rarity are out here too," called the distinct voice of Applejack. "Y'all reckon ya can let us in?"
"Umm, I don't know. It's a pretty big mess in here," Pinkie hollered. "Plus there's no wheelchair ramp for Fluttershy."
An awkward silence filled the bakery after that. Some muffled whispers could be heard through the door as Pinkie continued to sweep up the confetti. "Dashie? Are you all still there?" Pinkie shouted toward the door.
"We're still here, darling," Rarity replied. "There's no rush. Whenever you get the place decorated we'll be ready for you to let us in."
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Pinkamena Diane Pie," Princess Twilight recited to nearly the entire population of Ponyville. "As the last original bearer of an Element of Harmony, the Element of Laughter, we can all agree that she always made anypony's day brighter no matter what their mood."
Twilight took a moment to compose herself for the next part of the speech so that she could keep the service flowing smoothly.
"Even in the last few years as her mind deteriorated, we could still manage a smile while trying to help her," Twilight continued. "But in the end, against the advice of her husband and twin colts, Pinkie fired an overstuffed party cannon that exploded in her face."
Lightning lit up the night sky as Twilight Sparkle slowly climbed the tallest hill in Ponyville Cemetery where her friends Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were laid to rest. Twilight normally talked to her friends in the Hall of Elements but she felt that this was a more appropriate approach this time. The thunder rumbled as she reached the crest and began to organize her thoughts.
"Hey girls. I know we've not talked in awhile but I just wanted to give you a heads up of what's going on," Twilight said. "I'm headed to Canterlot tomorrow for our traditional Mare's Day Out that we have every five years. It's hard to believe it's been 200 years since we first met here in Ponyville."
She paused a moment to wipe the rain and tears from her eyes. It was a futile endeavor as the deluge was so heavy she could barely see more than few feet in front of her. Still, it helped her keep to stay somewhat composed.
"I know Tia is going to have a fit about it due to the events of last time, but we've been doing this over 100 years and I'm not about to stop," continued the heartbroken princess.
The glistening of the tombstones from the lightning flashing was the only response she received. Twilight bowed her head in respect and slowly turning around to retreat back down the hill.
"See you tomorrow," Twilight softly said as she looked back one last time before leaving the vicinity of her deceased friends.
"Why do you insist on doing this every five years, Twilight?" Celestia asked her former student. "I get worried each time you do this. You've been inside the Hall of Elements longer each time you cast the spell."
"It's because of a special bond I have with the girls. I can't explain it," Twilight replied nonchalantly. "If I could, I'd do it everyday. but it takes roughly five years to recharge enough of my magic do cast this spell. I've explained this to you numerous times."
"But they're not your actual friends," Celestia argued. "They're statues that gain the ability to move after becoming enchanted by your friends' spirits."
"I know that but it's the closest I can come to be able to physically interact with them," Twilight responded defiantly.
"Well can you at least tell me why the last few times you haven't resealed the door after entering the Hall?" Celestia asked. "Are you expecting something negative to happen to you?"
Twilight just sighed at the question of her former mentor. The last few times that she had cast her animation spell, it's taken more magic each time and it's been taking her longer to regain consciousness after using it. So as a precaution, Twilight began leaving the door unsealed in case something were to happen.
"Twilight, I know we've had some rough patches in over the last 150 years or so that's affected our relationship negatively but I still love you like a daughter," Celestia said with a sigh.
"I feel the same way, Tia, but I've been doing this for over a hundred years," Twilight replied. "The girls look forward to this interaction and I don't plan on stopping."
"I really wish you wouldn't call me Tia. But back to the subject at hand, how long do you think your magic will allow you to keep doing this?" Celestia continued to argue. "I remember you telling me that you had asked Discord to help recharge your magic last time.”
Twilight slowly turned her back to the sun goddess to walk out of the Royal Chambers and responded emotionlessly "I'm sorry, Tia. I have to get going. If you wish to escort me like always, you may."
A bright light appeared to Twilight's right, followed by a multi-colored flowing mane. Twilight looked to see that Celestia had teleported next to her as she walked to the Hall of Elements.
"Twilight, I... I'm sorry," Celestia apologized as she slowly walked next to her former protegé.
"I know, Princess," Twilight said. "But you and I both know that if I wasn't an alicorn, we wouldn't have this argument every five years. I..."
Twilight's train of thought was lost when she looked at the stained glass window commemorating her and her friends victory against Nightmare Moon as she and Celestia walked past it. For the first time since beginning this tradition, the memories of the final interactions with each friend began to flood into her mind.
"Applejack?" Twilight said quietly as she entered the hospital room. "Are you awake? It's Twilight."
Applejack remained motionless in the middle of the bed, her breathing somewhat shallow. Twilight walked up to her bed and gently grasped one of the farm pony's hooves.
"I'm not sure if you can hear me but if you can, I'm proud to have been your friend," Twilight said as single tear slid down her cheek.
"Tw-Twilight?" Applejack quietly said, as she slowly began to regain consciousness.
"Oh, Applejack," Twilight said softly. "I'm so glad you're awake."
"Me too," replied Applejack with a weak smile. "B'cause Ah'll git ta say goodbye to all of y'all."
"What? Don't talk like that, Applejack," Twilight told her, trying to hold back tears. "You're going to be just fine. You just need more rest and you'll be back on the farm bucking trees in no time."
"Listen, sugarcube," Applejack whispered, as her eyes began to water, "Promise me that y'all won't tell nopony this, 'cause Ah... Ah'll tell them mahself when they visit."
Twilight was already putting the pieces together, so she just nodded as the dam holding her tears back broke.
"Ah... Ah know fer a fact that this is mah... mah last rodeo," Applejack sobbed as the purple alicorn leaned down to hug her. "Ah... Ah..."
Neither pony could say anything because of their crying, but the message was clear. Twilight was about to lose her friend in a few hours.
Twilight gently knocked on the door of Fluttershy and Vinyl Scratch's cottage and patiently waited for one of the residents to open the door. After a couple minutes the door slowly creaked open as Fluttershy pulled on the doorknob.
"Hi, Twilight," Fluttershy said as she greeted the princess. "How are you this morning?"
"I'm doing great. How about yourself?" Twilight replied with a smile.
"I, I'm fine. Come on in. I just made a fresh kettle of tea and some cucumber sandwiches. Would like some?" Fluttershy offered quietly.
"Yes, thank you," Twilight replied as she sat down on one of the sofas as Fluttershy went to retrieve the tea and sandwiches. "Where's Vinyl at?" Twilight called to the pegasus.
Fluttershy rolled back into the living room with a tray across her lap. "Scratchie went to get a few groceries from the market and a cake from Sugarcube Corner. I wasn't feeling well so that's why I stayed home. She should be back in a little bit though."
"Okay," replied Twilight. "In the meantime, I heard you did something amazing the other day."
"Um, okay?" Fluttershy said as she hid behind her pink mane. "What did somepony tell you?"
Twilight got off the sofa and trotted over to the paralyzed pony before putting her right foreleg around Fluttershy's neck. "I heard you managed to do something for the first time in sixteen years" Twilight whispered in Fluttershy's ear.
Fluttershy's face turned a bright crimson as she twisted her mane in her hooves. "Wh-who told you that?"
"Vinyl did yesterday when I saw her delivering a drumset to somepony," Twilight smiled.
"Nothing special? Fluttershy standing on all four hooves, even for a minute or two, is extraordinary for a pony that's paralyzed," Twilight beamed.
Fluttershy sipped at her tea as she slowly turned red from embarrassment while Twilight made her way back to the sofa to snack on one of the sandwiches as an awkward silence filled the room.
"Would... would you like to see, Twilight?" asked Fluttershy nervously.
"That would be spectacular but I'm not going to force you," Twilight replied with a smile.
Fluttershy set her cup on the table next to her and slowly leaned forward to allow room for her wings to unfurl. With a flap of her wings, Fluttershy landed on the floor in front of the alicorn.
"Give... me a minute," Fluttershy requested as she began focusing on moving her hind legs.
"Take your time. There's no rush," Twilight told her.
Fluttershy tried to flap her wings to assist in raising herself up, however only the right wing moved.
"Fluttershy? What's wrong with your wing?" Twilight asked worriedly.
"I-I don't know," Fluttershy replied. "I jusht used it a minute ago."
"What's going on Fluttershy? You're slurring your words."
"My whole left shide ish tingly," Fluttershy slurred. "I can't even move my left foreleg. Twilight, I'm getting shcared. Help me please."
Twilight picked up Fluttershy with her magic and gently set her on her on her back just as the pegasus lost consciousness.
Vinyl Scratch was returning home just as Twilight burst out of the cottage.
"Yo, Twilight! Where you going?" Vinyl shouted.
"We're going to Ponyville General. I think Fluttershy is having a stroke."
"How did you sleep last night?" Twilight asked Rarity as she entered the castle library.
"Same as always, darling," The ivory unicorn replied. "The odd dreams keep coming."
"Care to talk about any of them?" Twilight pried as she levitated a pair of teacups and a kettle between them.
Rarity nervously looked at the crystal floor as she thought about the best to describe her most common dream.
Twilight, noticing her expression, added, "Of course if it makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to talk about it."
"No it's okay, darling. It's just... well, I've been having this one dream over and over where I'm woken up by a pounding on the front door. I always make my way to the door but either Lonely or Happy will open it before me," Rarity told her friend as she breathed heavily.
"What happens when they answer the door?" Twilight asked her as she walked around the table to sit down next to Rarity.
"As soon as one of them answers the door I wake up in a cold sweat," Rarity told her with a look of fright in her eyes. "It's been happening more and more. Sometimes more than once per night."
"Have you had any interactions with Applejack or Rainbow Dash recently?" Twilight asked Rarity as she draped her right wing over her.
"Not since the dreams have started," replied Rarity. "I have been wondering if they might actually be connected somehow."
Twilight levitated one the teacups to her lips before responding, "It's entirely possible that it is. The voices started almost a moon ago and up until last week, you've been hearing them on a regular basis. Now that you're having this same dream and they're no longer communicating, I don't mean to sound morbid, but might be getting close to your time."
The thought of passing away caused Rarity to lose her concentration which caused her to drop the cup onto the library floor and shatter.
"You... you really think so, darling?" Rarity asked Twilight as she began to cry. "I'm not ready to leave Happy Hooves or Lonely Heart yet. It's too soon."
Twilight moved closer cradled her frightened friend in her forelegs, allowing Rarity to cry her eyes out into Twilight's shoulder.
"Rarity, everything will work out fine. I promise."
"I... I... I don't want to leave my... my family, Twilight," Rarity cried. "I... I love them too much."
Twilight held the ivory unicorn tightly in her hooves and draped her left wing over her back. "Everything will be okay," Twilight whispered softly.
"How is she today?" Twilight asked Cheese Sandwich.
"Not too good," Cheese Sandwich said sadly. "She almost wandered out of the house again this morning."
"You think she'll recognize me even though it's Sunday?" Twilight wanted to know.
"Maybe," Cheese sighed. "Some days she remembers ponies, other days she can't even remember her own name. Why do you ask?"
"I have to go to Appleloosa tomorrow morning for yet another land dispute with the buffalo. I more than likely won't be back until Wednesday or Thursday."
"I understand what you're saying," Cheese nodded. "Is somepony else going to visit in your place?"
"Starlight and I swapped days so that she won't get too upset, hopefully. Is she upstairs in her party room?" said Twilight.
"Yea. Her latest 'work' is, well, interesting" Cheese answered with a small chuckle. "I'll leave it to her to tell you about it."
"I have to hoof it to you and the boys with your patience," Twilight told him. "A lot of ponies would've given up and put her in a rest home."
Twilight reached the top of the stairs and made the left turn into Pinkie's party room. Upon entering, she noticed her friend was under the bed with just her head and forehooves poking out from underneath.
"Pinkie? What are you doing?" Twilight asked with her right eyebrow raised in confusion.
"Planning parties, Starlight," the pink pony answered. "This one's a doozy."
"I'm not Starlight, Pinkie. It's me, Twilight," the alicorn corrected her.
Pinkie furled her brow and took a better look at the pony that was sitting in front of her.
"Noooo you're not," said Pinkie. "Today's Sunday. Only Starlight visits on Saturdays and Sundays. Twilight visits on Tuesdays and Thursdays."
Twilight just smiled and played along. "Okay, you got me. I thought I could play a little joke on you and try to be Twilight. But you saw through it."
Pinkie giggled before responding to Twilight. "Hey, take a look at this." Pinkie spun around the parchment she was writing on. "It's a 'Thank You For Being Awesome' party. I never did one of those before."
Twilight looked over what Pinkie had put down on the parchment. Even with her mind mostly gone, she somehow was able to put some good parties together. One thing Twilight noticed was who the party was for.
"What do you think?" asked Pinkie.
"It looks super, Pinkie. I just have one question," Twilight replied.
"What's that?"
"I'm not familiar with the name of the pony the party is for. Who is Argodaemon?" asked Twilight.
"Oh he's..."
"Rainbow, I always admired the self-sacrifices that you've made over the years," Twilight softly said as tears escaped her eyes. "While I don't know what happened to you at the park yesterday, it had to have been extremely devastating to your daughter for her to act the way she has."
Twilight paused for a few minutes so she could get herself composed to resume. Gently taking the bandaged foreleg of the cyan pegasus in her hooves, she leaned forward and pressed her forehead against the hoof of the rainbow-maned mare.
"I-I'm so sorry, Rainbow Dash," sobbed the princess. "I-I'll do what I-I can to help your family. I'm... I'm going to miss you badly Rainbow Dash."
Twilight set her friend's hoof back down on the bed and noticed something that made her begin crying uncontrollably.
A dark blue line appeared that ran from Rainbow's eye down toward her neck.
"I... will... miss... you... Rainbow and... and I-I'll never forget y-you," Twilight whispered through her sobbing.
"...Bad feeling about this," Celestia said as Twilight snapped out of her trance.
"I'm sorry. What was that you were saying?" Twilight asked.
Celestia let out a deep sigh before repeating what she had said.
"I said, I know how much this tradition means to you but I've got a really bad feeling about this," Celestia responded flatly.
You have no idea, Twilight thought before responding audibly. "What makes you say that?"
"Twilight, tell me the truth," demanded Celestia. "Are you just casting your usual animation spell or are you going to try something different?"
"Geez, it's just going to be a normal visit," Twilight lied as the two alicorns approached the sealed door that led to the Hall of elements.
These arguments over the last couple decades had worn down her patience with the Equestrian ruler. Now Celestia was demanding to know what her plans were, something she hadn't done before, it took a lot of emotional strength not to fly off the handle. Twilight had no intention of telling Celestia that she was planning to revive her friends. As it was, resurrection of ponies was illegal and if Twilight told her the truth, she would probably be banned from entering The Hall, thrown in prison or even revoking her alicorn status.
"Twilight... I know I've already said this, but I'm sorry," Celestia quietly said. "I'm not saying this in reference to our earlier argument. I'm sorry for what I've said and done over the last century and a half that caused us to become distant."
The two alicorns stared at the door before Twilight stepped forward and raised her head to focus on opening the door, completely ignoring Celestia's apology. In response to Twilight's indifference, Celestia lowered her head and slowly made her way back to her sleeping chambers, informing her guards that she was not to be disturbed until further notice.
Twilight looked back once more at the grief-stricken princess before closing the doors. It's now or never, Twilight thought as she made her way down the long entrance to where her cutie mark was painted on the floor.
"Hey girls, I know you've been waiting for today. So have I," Twilight said to the statues while she walked around each of them. "In a few minutes we'll be on our way to the train station bound for Ponyville. Just give me a chance to charge up."
Twilight stood in the center of her cutie mark, took a deep breath and uttered Starswirl The Bearded's friendship spell.
"From one to another, another to one. The mark of one's destiny singled out alone fulfilled."
She lit her horn to begin charging up for the second half of the spell, which also caused the floor to glow a bright pink. As Twilight summoned more magic the glow became brighter and five small orbs began to orbit her body.
It's time, she thought before lifting herself about five feet off the floor. Once she was in position, Twilight shouted, "From all of us together, together we're friends. With the marks of our destinies made one, there's magic without end." She then did a mid-air flip to send the magic orbs into the statues.
As the orbs hit their targets, Twilight's wings vanished and she collapsed onto the floor and lost consciousness the instant her hooves landed. The now purple unicorn opened her eyes as five silhouettes filled her vision for a moment until they came into focus. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Applejack all looked down at their friend and smiled as Twilight returned the gesture.
"Girls? Is that you?" asked Twilight weakly.
"Yes indeedily," shouted Pinkie as she tackled Twilight. "It's time for us to have a 'Together Forever' party! It's gonna be sooo awesome. Oooh. I need to make a cake..."
"And AJ can supply the cider. Special Reserve, of course," Rainbow Dash interrupted as Twilight was processing something in her mind.
"Um, Twilight? Is there something wrong?" Fluttershy asked quietly as she landed next her.
Twilight now had a slight look of fear in eyes as what Pinkie said finally began to click in her mind. Nervousness taking over, Twilight asked, "Did the spell work? Was I able to bring you all back to life?"
"Umm, not exactly," Applejack said with an uneasy smile as she rubbed the back of her head. "Take a look at th' floor over yonder."
Twilight looked in the direction where her body had landed moments earlier and saw herself still laying on her side, lifeless.
"Am... am I..." Twilight choked out.
"Yes, darling. The instant you relinquished your alicorn status, your age caught up with you," Rarity told her with a few tears filling her eyes.
"Y'all died from ol' age immediately," Applejack finished.
A wave of emotions ranging from confusion to joy flooded through Twilight as she began crying.
“What's wrong there, sugarcube?” asked Applejack as she and the other four ponies joined in a group hug with Twilight.
“I-I was hoping the spell would allow us to be together in the living realm,” Twilight sobbed.
“But we're all still together. Doesn't that count?” Fluttershy asked.
Twilight sniffled and nodded her head. There was a feeling of regret slowly surfacing as the friends continued their embrace of each other. Twilight realized that somehow she needed to reconcile with Celestia before she could truly be happy with her friends in the afterlife.
