Auld Lang Syne
The counting starts.
“10”
It’s been ten years since we were all together.
“9”
There are nine ponies at this party.
Mr. and Mrs Cake, and their twins, Pound and Pumpkin, Bon Bon, Lyra Heartstrings, Caramel, Carrot Top, and myself. Of course they didn't come, they aren't around anymore, silly.
It’s been so long since I've gone to a party, even longer since I've thrown one. There hasn't been much worth celebrating lately. I’m not in the mood to celebrate. It doesn't feel right anymore. I wouldn't even be here, but they insisted I should come. I’d rather be alone.
“8”
She was eight months pregnant when the complications started.
She had been so happy. She loved to take care of animals, and she was so good at it too. It was her nature. In a way her connections with her animal friends made up for her lack of social skills. She was very shy. We never expected her to find a coltfriend, let alone marry. She surprised us about twelve years ago.
A few months later she surprised us again. She was going to have a little foal. We were all so happy for her. The baby shower was the best party I ever threw. But complications arose. She was rushed to the hospital. They did everything they could do, but in the end, the foal was stripped away from her. Then she was stripped away from us.
I think the baby shower was the last party we all had together.
“7”
It took her seven minutes to die.
We think she was asleep when it happened. She was found on her bed. It was the middle of the night. She could have done something if she was awake; teleported out, conjured water, cast a shield, anything. She was so strong and so smart, she would have thought of something. Why didn't she feel the heat, or hear the crackling of her burning books? The fire department didn't arrive in time to save her. The tree was charred when we saw it. They told us that it was the smoke that killed her. They told us it was painless.
He was standing outside with the fire department. We tried to tell him that it was only an accident. That it wasn't his fault. That she would have forgiven him. That we forgive him. He left this town and never came back.
I wonder what he looks like now.
“6”
Six new Elements of Harmony.
The princesses started finding new ponies to fill the Elements as my friends left them. Life goes on, and Equestria must be prepared to handle new threats. I met them, and they are all great ponies. Looking at them is like looking at us so many years ago. I abandoned my spot years ago. There's not much reason for me to laugh anymore.
“5”
There are five graves in Canterlot.
They lie in a special place on the castle grounds. There is a monument built there. I've attended five funerals. I've seen five families in black clothing. They weren't even that old. Most of their parents were still alive. They weren't supposed to die yet. Why were they all dead? It was so unlikely, so unbelievable. It was so unfair. Maybe if only one or two of them had died, things would be different, but now there are five graves in Canterlot.
“4”
She had a Hundred-and-Four degree fever.
She was supposed to be the tough one. When she came down with fever everyone said that she would get better. That she would buck this fever where the sun don’t shine. She was even complaining about missing work. Then the fever got worse. She was taken to the hospital. The last time she talked to me, she told me she was going to be fine, but her eyes were shifting, and her voice didn't sound right. On the fourth day, she was gone.
How is her family doing? I haven't seen them in a while.
“3”
They took her for three days.
She had been in Canterlot, trying to meet important ponies and sell her clothing. She had lost her flair. By that time we had all lost our flair, but it was worse for her. She couldn't make beautiful things anymore. Her business slowed down. She lost her shop. Maybe she thought that if she met the right pony, her business would take off again. She was socializing in a bar when they gave her a drink.
The police called me in three days later to identify her body. Her hair was matted down with grease and sweat. Patches of her coat were missing around her legs. Some of her teeth were gone. Her mascara had run. She looked so dirty. I almost didn't recognize her.
I wish I hadn't.
“2”
Her skull was fractured in two places.
It had been just the two of us. She wasn't taking it very well. One day I realized that she stopped napping. Dark rings were under her eyes. I never asked her about it; we were barely talking by then. She threw herself into her practice; it was all she had left.
The Wonderbolts never accepted her. Each time she failed she started practicing even more. Eventually she was trying too hard. She started getting these tiny injuries. She never rested, and each day she just got worse and worse. Her wings couldn't handle that much stress. Her flying became sporadic and uneven. She was losing control. Then one day she flew up high into the air, fell into a dive, and never pulled up.
The ponies at the hospital told me that her skull had been fractured in two places. I’m just about sick of hospitals.
“1”
I’m the only one left.
It’s just me, alone.
A party of one.
"Happy New Year!"
I’m swept up in the cheering.
I find myself singing with them.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
Suddenly I don't feel much like singing.