Last Request
The ancient lavender mare gently closed the old book, looking up to the foals seated on the floor in front of her in a semicircle. “And that's how the Elements of Harmony rescued Canterlot, saving Equestria from the changelings, and the Element of Magic's brother from the Queen's spell.” The old mare finished, slowly standing up with the aid of a young red foal, and walked over to a large bookshelf built into the wall. Surrounding the book in a purple haze, she put it into its place near the top of the bookshelf. “Thank you, Honeycrisp, always so considerate of the old.” She patted his head as she spoke.
“You’re welcome, Grandma Twilight.” He smiled up to her before helping her back to her chair. A knocking sound came from the door as she settled down again; a small, off-white unicorn filly quickly trotted over to the door and opened it.
“Well hello little one. Is Twilight Sparkle in?” the visitor asked, smiling at the young filly.
“Yes Ma'am.” the filly turned and called into the library, “Grandma Twilight, Princess Celestia is here to see you.”
Twilight smiled gently, “Then let her in,” she said, before raising her voice to speak to everyone else. “The rest of you are excused. I would like some time with the Princess, if you don't mind. Oh, and Crystal, can you run and get that package I left with your mother at the Carousel Boutique? It should be done by now.”
“Sure, Grandma Twilight, I’ll be right back with it.”
Crystal started to leave when Twilight called out. “Actually dear, I will be out on a stroll with the Princess.” Crystal beamed and nodded her head as she took off with the rest of the foals. “They are such dears. She reminds me of her grandma, Sweetie Belle. Her smile, her voice, her exuberance, they are all the same,” Twilight said to herself nostalgically as she rose and walked over to Celestia.
“Shall we, my faithful student? I know this day holds great importance to you.” Celestia gently placed a wing over Twilight to help her walk as they left the library, closing the door behind them with her magic.
Twilight turned back and sighed. “It's grown so much. I remember when it was one central room, an upstairs and a basement. Now, the tree has several rooms, not including the two new stories. Though the basement has been filled in and the name changed, it still feels like the library I remember.”
Twilight turned to the library's sign, tracing the letters of her old assistant’s name with her hoof as she reminisced. “These books always were your hoard, weren't they, my number one assistant,” she whispered before turning and beginning her walk through Ponyville, nodding to each pony she passed and being greeted warmly in return.
Not halfway down the street, Crystal came to a sliding halt in front of Twilight with her friends Honeycrisp and Honeysuckle—a yellow pegasus with a pink mane and tail. “Here you are Grandma Twilight: one pouch, enchanted to never be misplaced or lost, and its contents returned if they are ever lost or stolen,” Crystal announced proudly, handing over a lavender pouch embroidered with a light pink six-pointed star. A deep purple chain held it closed, with enough spare length to fit around around a large pony's neck.
Twilight smiled. “Thank you very much Crystal; try not to get into too much trouble today, okay? I know finding your cutie marks is important to you, but you can't be causing trouble to everypony while trying to find them.” Crystal offered Twilight a cheeky salute before speeding off with her two friends. Twilight’s ears drooped slightly as she watched the three fillies run off down the street. A small sigh escaped her lips as she wiped a fetlock across her eyes.
“So much like her grandma… Honeysuckle is the spitting image of her grandmother, and Honeycrisp, his grandfather. I remember Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle running around, calling themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They were such a handful. Crystal and her friends are just like them, always getting into trouble trying to find their special talents,” she said, smiling with a slight quiver in her lip and watery eyes.
“I wonder if my granddaughter ever started her branch of the CMC in Canterlot. Luna really wanted her to. Speaking of her, can you please send this to your sister?” She pulled a letter out from a small bag and wrapped it around the pouch.
“Of course.” Celestia smiled gently as Twilight held the letter wrapped around the pouch out for her. She took it in her magic, and it disappeared with a quiet pop. “Shall we head to the hill while we wait?” Celestia asked, to which Twilight let her lips curl in a nostalgic grin and began walking towards the hill.
“Yes, let’s. I hope your sister will join us soon.”
~~
Luna sat in her room, staring out the window with her ears hung low and the corners of her mouth succumbing to gravity. Every year on this day, thoughts of her wife filled her head. It used to be so special to them both, honouring lost friends together.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a small burst of magic that brought a pouch from her sister. As it fell to the bed in front of her, a letter fell away from the small bag. The writing upon the letter glowed blue as an illusion spell activated, and Twilight Sparkle appeared in front of her.
“Luna, my love, before you throw this message away, I need to apologise. I should have told you before I stepped down from my position, and I shouldn't have snapped at you for your reaction. There are so many things I must apologize for, and I fear I may never get to, but if there is one thing that I can say that matters, it's that I love you and I always will. Enclosed in the pouch that came with this letter is my final gift to you. After you open it, I hope you can come and join me and your sister on the hill where our friends are buried.”
Luna gently took the pouch in her hoof and opened it to find Twilight's wedding band. She gently emptied the pouch into her hoof, and the illusion began speaking again. “That wedding band, along with yours, was enchanted to record our memories and our life together. Both bands are a piece of one that I split in two, just like you and I are two halves of one pony.” Luna chuckled at her wife’s corny statement.
“If you put the two rings together on your horn and speak my name, the enchantment will play those memories back to you.” Luna gingerly placed the wedding band on her horn and spoke Twilight's name. She felt a brief surge of magic and the illusion faded. The ring began to glow as a song began to drift through the room.
As the song began, the air in front of Luna lit up. She watched as Twilight walked down a dirt path and up to her in front of the statue of Nightmare Moon. Luna recognized the scene, it was at that festival of Nightmare Night that she had first met Twilight properly. A smile tugged at the corners of Luna’s muzzle.
A pine tree adorned in streamers and colorful glass orbs. A smile split the tear stained face of Luna as Twilight opened her gift, that was the first time they had exchanged Hearth’s Warming gifts. What book had she given her, for the life of her Luna couldn’t remember. She had just been so happy to spend that day with her love little else had mattered.
The pine tree blurred and now stood as a mighty oak tree atop a hill, night the night sky painting a starry backdrop to frame it. Twilight lay below it, alone on the hill starring at the night sky. She saw herself swoop down and land beside the her, laying a wing across Twilight’s back and pulling her close. What followed, she considered to be the greatest moment of her long life. That simple kiss they had shared had changed everything for her.
Twilight walked down an aisle to stand beside her, the largest smile across her muzzle, a single tear of happiness on her cheek. Oh, what a wedding it had been! All of Equestria had showed to watch them vow their lives to each other. Celestia herself presided over the wedding. Luna had never seen her sister so happy, so proud as she had been that day. It had been the most wonderful day of Luna’s life, a day that she would never forget.
The Wonderbolts colosseum with her, Twilight and Rainbow in the princess box, waiting for Rainbow’s son and daughter to fly. Their first show had Rainbow cheering so hard that Twilight and Luna had to hold her down in the chair. Luna remembered how proud of her kids Rainbow had been, making it further than she ever had in the Wonderbolts after her own career had been cut tragically short.
A beautiful gown flowed over Twilight. Luna remembered that day well.. Twilight had stolen the show the moment she walked on the stage in that gown, and made Rarity’s career.
Fruit fell from a tree as Twilight’s back hooves slammed into the trunk. That had been close harvest for Applejack, though what Luna remembered most was what happened that night. As Luna started thinking about it she saw her and Twilight snuggled together under a tree with a glass of warm cider, watching the leaves fall from the fruitless trees.
Fluttershy's wedding to Braeburn, where they had been bridesmaids, such a joyous occasion. She remembered how much it meant to everyone, following so close to the tragic passing of Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy had said she did it to remember Rainbow, show her that even without her that she could be strong.
Fluttershy’s first foal. Her and Twilight had really started thinking about kids on that day but it wasn’t till the kids first birthday that they had come to a decision. She found herself giggling as her love pinned the tail on Celestia rather than the picture on the wall. Celestia dropped the foal on the cake as Twilight pinned her and the foal just started munching away. Watching that adorable foal munch away at the cake had been the clincher for their decision to adopt.
Luna thought about the orphanage, all those foals to choose from and they had taken the young sky blue unicorn. Luna felt tears run down her cheeks as the Twilight’s memories of raising the foal ran across the illusion; from the foal’s first day of school, to getting her cutie mark, and then to her being accepted into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. It moved through their daughter introducing her first coltfriend, and on to the wedding a few years later.
The years of their life together and their lives as grandparents played before her, letting Luna relive some of the greatest days of her life. Days she wouldn't trade for anything, days she had stopped thinking about. Times she had let her depression erase from her mind.
Luna felt other memories resurfacing, ones she hadn’t thought about in years. She thought about all the time Twilight had been there for her, all the times Twilight had put her life on hold to comfort or help her. She felt the tears streaming down her face and looked out the window. “I am so sorry Twilight. Please let me make it on time.”
She rose from her bed and launched herself out from her balcony doors towards Ponyville.
~~
Twilight and Celestia crested the hill together and looked upon the six gravestones lined up facing the sunset. “Hello girls, how are you? It's been about a month since my last visit, looks like your graves have been tended to quite well. How about you Spike? How have you been? I didn’t talk to you too much last time, sorry for that,” Twilight said, smiling as she walked over to the first stone and placed a hoof on it.
“How's the flying up there, Rainbow? Hope you aren't causing too much trouble with your pranks.” She walked to the next one. “How're the animals up there Fluttershy? Is Braeburn with you helping you care for all the little critters, or is he in an orchard with Applejack and Big Mac, helping feed heaven's residents with the best apples possible?” Twilight moved on to the next grave slowly.
“Applejack, how’s the harvesting up there? Are you still making the best cider around?” she asked the old stone, before shifting to the next one, running her hoof over it and whispering, “I wish I could make it up to you, my number one assistant, but some accidents just can't be undone.”
She patted the stone and moved to the penultimate grave. “I hope your dress designs are as famous up there as they are down here. I hope Spike’s being as good an assistant to you as he was to me,” She said, her voice cracking slightly before moving to the final stone. “How are the parties up there Pinkie? I bet you’re making sure they’re a blast.” Twilight finished; her voice resonated sadness, longing and loneliness as she spoke to each gravestone.
Twilight walked around them to the tree where Celestia stood and sat down beside her before continuing her monologue, “I miss them Celestia. It's been a long time but I miss them so much still. I miss Luna too; we haven't spoken since the fight. I just couldn't do it anymore after I lost Spike.”
“I probably should have told her I was going to do it, but I knew she wouldn't take it well. She can be so foalish sometimes, but she means well. I wish she had stuck around so I could explain. She reminds me of Applejack and Rainbow in her stubbornness. I wrote to her so many times, but I doubt she read any of the letters. It's been so long since I have heard from her.” Twilight’s eyes teared up and her body shook with her repressed tears. “I just want to see her one more time.”
“She was hurt by your refusal to accept your crown. Then, you finally accepted it, only to give it away again so quickly. It nearly destroyed her. All of the letters you sent her were saved. She hid them in a box in her bookcase. I tried to get her to read them repeatedly, but she was just so hurt by your acceptance of death, she felt you were abandoning her.” Celestia tried to comfort Twilight by wrapping her in one of her wings.
“I tried to talk her around many times, but she kept ignoring me. She has never been good at accepting death, and she has never been as close to anypony as she was to you. I don’t think I have ever seen her look so hurt as she did the day you told her about your return to being mortal. She has never been good at letting go of those close to her. No matter how many times she learns that sometimes you just have to let go, she can never seem to.” Celestia squeezed her old student with her wing.
Twilight looked up at the sunset. “I know how she feels. I kept Rainbow alive because I couldn’t bare to see my first love go. I wanted her to see her foals achieve the dream she lost. Rainbow taught me that letting go is sometimes the best thing you can do, even if it hurts you to do so. It took me awhile to let go of her, but it was better for everypony that I did. There was no way to save her.”
Twilight took several deep breaths, trying to keep herself from breaking down. She had done so much wrong by using magic to keep Rainbow Dash alive. “If I had let go sooner, she probably wouldn't have suffered as much as she did in the end. It's those kinds of lessons you learn through experience and not books.”
She smiled. “Something Applejack taught me after she got sick. She needed someone on the farm to help harvest and do their taxes. I read everything I could about apples and harvesting and caring for the trees, but it all paled in comparison to her knowledge. It was all this common sense stuff that books just couldn't teach me. I learned all these little tricks and such through experience that I never could have learned from a book.”
Twilight shook her head. “It hurt to watch her wither away before our eyes. To think such a strong pony could lose out to a heart disease so rapidly. I often wonder if we might have been able to help more had we caught it sooner. I know there wasn’t, but some part of me has always wondered.
“Her brother was lucky—he wasn’t around during her decline, though, I wish Fluttershy had been. She was so kind and had such a great demeanour around the sick. It would have been very helpful for Applejack if she had been there to care for her.” Twilight looked up at the sky and sighed.
“It kind of fits that Fluttershy died of a broken heart after Braeburn's accident. She was too kind for her own good sometimes. I’m glad that both of their kids were grown up and able to care for themselves before she passed. I was amazed at the maturity they showed about the whole thing. They didn’t shed a single tear at the funeral.” Twilight paused, trying to speak around the lump forming in her throat. “Luna and I were there when they did break though. We spent an entire week consoling them. They were strong like their mother, but also like her, they were very emotional.
“It's funny, the only two of my friends to die of old age were Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Pinkie, with her parties, lasted the longest; maybe she was right, and laughter was the greatest medicine.” She chuckled.
“I think the reason Rarity didn’t outlast Pinkie was because of the stress; if she hadn't led such a stressful life, I bet she could have been with us ten years longer. She was so tenacious. I have never seen a unicorn work so hard in my life. It didn’t matter what you threw at her, she would get it done.” Twilight leaned into her old teacher and sighed.
A tear formed slowly in Twilight's eye. “She never did forgive me for Spike. It was an accident and she knew it, but she always blamed me for letting him die. She said I shouldn't have been performing experiments like that. After it went wrong and took Spike away, she didn’t talk to me for almost a month.”
Twilight paused, sniffling, and tried to keep her tears at bay before she continued. “She thought I could have saved him. I wonder if maybe Spike was as important to her as her work. She could never be with him, but she could still love him, and I think she did, even if she denied it. She was the one who got the library renamed to the Spike Memorial Library. She even did a lot of the redecorating and carved that statue that sits in the center of the reading room herself.”
A shadow fell across them both as Luna glided in and landed on the hill beside Twilight. “Sister, can you give us a moment, privately?” Luna requested, to which Celestia nodded her head and went down to the bottom of the hill.
Luna turned to Twilight. “Twilight, I’m sorry. I should never have tried to force you to stay longer than you wished. I know you weren't abandoning me, but it felt like you were. I have watched so many ponies close to me pass on while I could do nothing, and it hurts so much to watch. I hope you can forgive me for leaving you alone these last eight years.”
Twilight smiled. “Luna, I could never be mad at you, especially now that you are here. I love you, and nothing in all of Equestria or the stars above will ever change that. I’m the one who should be sorry. I… I should have discussed my plans with you before turning mortal again. If I had had known what it would mean to you, that I wouldn’t see you for years, that I…”
She sniffed. It shouldn’t be this hard. “I would have talked to you first. It probably wouldn’t change my decision—I don’t regret it, only not letting you know and hurting you, losing all those years together.”
Twilight couldn’t contain herself any longer. She slumped to the grass and sobbed apologetically.
Luna took a deep breath. “It was the right choice my dear. I know I have trouble with ponies passing on, but it’s much harder to watch ponies spiral into depression as they lose their friends and family, unable to join them because they are stuck here living on. It is part of how I turned into Nightmare Moon. The grief had consumed me. I thought for a long time about your decision and I know it was right. It's just hard for me to admit it.”
She paused, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat. “You are the greatest thing to have happened to me. Even before I was banished, I had nothing like you. Perhaps if you had been there before, I might not have fallen. You showed me true kindness and acceptance, knowing full well of my past. It is the greatest gift I have ever been given.” She wrapped her hooves around Twilight and embraced her in a tight hug.
The two rested in the grass in silence, reveling in each other’s embrace while they watched the sunset. Twilight never wanted the moment to end. To experience this just one more time, it was all worth it. Without so much as moving, Luna had brought out the moon and painted the sky with the most beautiful starry landscape Twilight had seen in years. After what felt like a blissful eternity, Luna broke the silence.
“Twilight,” she started, “your enchanted ring is my second greatest treasure, second only to the memories that they contain. Unfortunately, my immortality means that, over time, my memories grow dim and fade away. However, you have given me the ability to relive the greatest times of my life, forever. I can now keep your acceptance, your love, your presence with me, close to my heart, fresh and eternal. And in a way, with these memories, you too will remain eternal, immortal or not.
“Thank you, Twilight. For everything, everything that you are, everything that you were, everything you will be. I love you, and I will always love you, for all eternity.” She moved her head towards Twilight’s and gently kissed her cheek.
Twilight smiled, her eyes heavy as she replied, “You’re welcome dear, our marriage and life together was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. Greater than any of the times I saved Equestria, than when I met my friends, or when I wrote the laws of harmony. All of those pale in comparison to marrying you, adopting a foal together and growing old with you. I am so happy you could forgive me and you were able to join me today. I was worried that you still felt I was abandoning you, and that you wouldn’t be able to see past it and join me. I know it must be hard for you, but it means the world to me that you came.” Twilight finished, leaning into Luna as she sighed and closed her eyes for the last time.
Luna leaned down and kissed Twilight’s forehead just below her horn. “Goodbye my love.” She crossed her horn with Twilight’s as her sobs started. “Say hello to all of our friends for me.” Raising her head she turned to her night sky. “With this last star I will immortalise you in the night sky for all of ponykind.”
Luna gelt a wing drape across her back as her tears began to flow. “Why now, why not sooner? There was so much more to be said. We didn’t have enough time, why did I have to let go of all that time with her. Why couldn’t I cherish it more.”
“We all make mistakes sister. It’s part of how we grow. Sometimes we don’t see what’s right before us because we are too busy looking ahead. Twilight wanted to correct the mistake she made by looking too far ahead before she passed.” Celestia closed her eyes as a few tears rolled down her cheeks.
Luna reached up and touched the two rings on her horn. “Have I always been this foolish. I loved her so much but I let idea of the future destroy our present.” Luna looked up at the sky. “I just wish I could have seen it sooner. Maybe then we could have said everything we needed to. I will miss you my love, thank you for that last chance to say what needed to be said. I love you now and I will love you forever more. I will cherish the memories we had as I go on to make new ones with new ponies.
Luna closed her eyes as she conjured a small ball of light at the tip of her horn. “May your tribute to Equestria never be forgotten, and may I never forget what you have taught me.” The light took on a lavender hue and shot into the night sky, coming to rest in the center of a circle of five stars. Luna closed her eyes and let her tears fall freely as the lavender mare beside her turned into thousands of small motes of light that drifted into the night sky, leaving her alone on the hill top. “Goodbye my love, goodbye.”