=BiE 74=

-Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0D7T348GYo-
>Year 42 in Equestria.
>You sat in your chair.
>You were numb.
>It had all happened so fast...
>You watched as the casket was partway lowered into the ground to reveal the headstone.
>"Rainbow Dash: Element of Loyalty, Wonderbolt, Mother, Wife, Friend." It read.
>Everything had happened so fast...
>Dash had been practicing, dammit she had always been practicing...
>She had been pushing herself hard for months and it had finally caught up to her.
>You watched as she had flown high into the air and simply fallen out of the sky.
>She hadn't been breathing.
>You did the best CPR you could until an ambulance came.
>They had taken one look at her and shaken their heads...Dead On Arrival.
>That's when it had started, the numbness.
>The doctors had performed an autopsy to determine the cause.
>Sudden heart failure brought on by over-extending herself.
>The same thing that had made her the captain of the Wonderbolts, the thing she based her entire life on, had taken her away from you.
>Everyp0ny had shown up to the funeral, everyp0ny who's life Dash had touched in hers.
>The rest of the girls were wrecks, save Twilight who was putting on a brave face for everyp0ny.
>The Princesses had presided over the funeral, saying it was the least they could do for their Element of Loyalty.
>Thunderstrike, yours and Rainbows little boy, had flown in all the way from Cloudsdale with his family.
>With a sigh, you watched as Thunder rose from his seat and walked to the podium.

>Thunder looked over the gather p0nies with a low face. "My mother..." He began. "My mother came into my life one day when I was barely four years old. She had come to try and find a foal to call her own...and probably to show off a little bit." Everyone in the crown chuckled.
>"When I saw my fist Sonic Rainboom, I was...amazed that any pegasus could have flown that fast. I thought that was going to be the last I saw of her, but her and Dad kept coming back just to see me."
>Mous nudged you from the seat next to you.
>"For my fifth birthday, I got a father to teach me all about the world, and a mother who never gave up on me no matter what I said or did."
>Thunder stepped down from the podium and ran his hoof along the casket. "I love you, mom. And I'm sure gonna miss you." He said as he returned to his seat.

>The next to take the podium wasn't even a pony.
>You had only met Gilda for the first time at your wedding, but her and Rainbow had remained close friends afterwards.
>Gilda would fly down every so often to see her little "Thundersquirt" as she called him, even helped teach him how to fly.
>"Dash and me...we were best friends in flight camp."
>Gilda cast a sorrowful glance at the casket below her before she regained her composure.
>"W-we worked together, goofed off together, and did nothing together until she moved to P0nyville."
>"I came to P0nyville once, thought maybe I could hang out with Dash again like the old days, but..."
>You can hear Fluttershy and Pinkie shift in their seats as they remember what Gilda did when she came to town back then.
>"I got into a bad way when Dash broke it off with me...did a lot of stupid things and made a lot of mistakes."
>Gilda glanced and Mous. "But then some dumb ape came and told me to go to Dash's wedding."
>Mous extended a single finger as Gilda kept talking. "Dash...said she forgave me for everything I had done, she said that she wanted things to go back to the way they were."
>"Ever since then I got my best friend back, and I guess I got a couple other ones too..." She said as she glanced over the crowd.
>Gilda stepped down and ran a talon over the casket. "See ya Dash..." She choked out.

>As Gilda sat, Mous nudged you in the ribs.
>You silently shook your head. You were in no mood to give a eulogy for your wife who was alive just a few days ago.
>Mous sighed and rose from his seat, walking to the podium himself.
>"In this...emotional time, I'll be giving my own eulogy." He said. "I'm just gonna be riffing here, so give me a minute..."
>"What can really be said about Rainbow Dash that hasn't already been said?"
>Mous leaned on the podium. "Rainbow Dash was arrogant, brash, vain, single-minded, and narcissistic..." 
>Everyone was staring as Mous paused. "...And she was one of the best friends any of us had ever had."
>"She welcomed two aliens with open arms, helped us fix our house, defended and protected us when she could, and was one hell of a wife and mom..."
>"The true embodiment of loyalty..." Mous looks up at the clear sky. "Look, she even made it a nice day for us."
>Several chuckles echoed through the crowed as Mous stepped down. "Later, buddy." He said as he ran his hand over the casket.

>The service concluded after a speech from Twilight and another from Princess Celestia.
>Everyp0ny rose from their chairs as Rainbow was lowered into the ground.
>You didn't blink as you watched the groundskeepers shovel dirt into the grave.
>"Goodbye Dashie...I love you..." You whisper as you lose sight of the coffin to the falling earth.
>You feel somep0ny walk up next to you. "Hello, Anon." They say.
>"Hey, Luna." You respond, still staring at the ground.
>Luna had been re-acclimating herself to Equestrian society over the past couple decades, she still had her antiquated way of speaking, but you two had struck up a friendship as you both worked with Twilight on various magical experiments.
>Luna sighed next to you. "This really...accentuates it, doesn't it? The curse of a long life...?" You can see Luna look to the colt behind her from the corner of your eye.
>"Yeah..." You say.
>You look down at your hands. Not aging was easy to get used to at first, you were rather used to your own face.
>As the years went on however, and Dashie and Thunder had grown older, you couldn't help but feel a growing knot in your stomach.
>You knew that one day, you'd be without them both.
>You just didn't anticipate that it would be this soon...
>Luna turned to you. "Anon..."
>You glance her way.
>"Should you ever need someone to talk to, know that I am here." She says with a concerned face.
>You force a small smile. "Yeah...thanks Luna."
>Luna returns with a smile of her own and turns to leave. "Come Pippen, let us leave Anon to himself for now..."

>You hear Luna trot off.
>You silently turn and begin walking in a direction, you don't know where you're going or why, but you just keep walking.
>At least until a pair of hands grip your shoulders and say. "Easy Seabuscuit."
>You almost trip over your feat as you turn to Mous. "Hey man..."
>"Where are you going?" He asks.
>You sigh and look down the hill in front of you. "I dunno man...I'm just gonna walk for a while."
>Mous's eyes drift over you. "Not alone, you're not."
>You turn to try and stop him. "Dude, wait, you don't have to-"
>That's as far as you get before Mous shushes you and kneels down to Lotus. "I'm gonna go take care of him for a bit, okay? Don't wait up."
>Your eyes drift over Lotus...while she normal kept herself in good health, her normally pink mane has been turning ever greyer, and more wrinkles were forming on her face every day.
>Lotus kisses Mous on the cheek. "Be safe." She says.
>"I'm always safe." Mous says as he rises and walks towards you.
>"Alright man, lead the way." He says.

>You and Mous skulk through the woods for a while, eventually ending up on the shores of a small lake.
>The two of you hoist yourselves onto some nearby rocks and sit, the only sound coming from the rocks Mous was skipping across the water's surface.
>"We gonna talk?" He asks as he tosses another rock.
>"What is there to talk about?" You sigh.
>"You. Your state of mind."
>"My state of mind? My state of mind is that my wife just died."
>Mous is silent for a bit. "...We both knew this was going to happen."
>You grumble. "Yeah, but not this soon..."
>The two of you sit silently for a while.
>"It's just..." Mous turns to you. "I never got the chance to say goodbye..."
>Mous's head drops. "I know, man..."
>You push yourself off the rock and stand. "You know, I think I can get what you were saying all that time ago...about just leaving."
>Mous jumps up onto his feet. "Whoa...you're not?..."

>You shake your head. "No no...I still want to stay. It's just..."
>Mous puts his hands in his pockets. "This is our life now..."
>The two of you look over the lake. "What are you gonna do now?"
>You shrug. "I don't really know. Maybe I'll travel, or bury myself in research or something."
>"But you're gonna be alright?" He asks.
>You look up into the sky. The same sky that had reminded you of Rainbow whenever you looked at it.
>You let out a deep sigh. "Yeah...It'll take a while, but I'll be good.
>You look up at Mous. "Thanks man."
>"It's what I do." He says.
>You extend your arms. "Come on."
>Mous rolls his eyes. "People already think we're gay without us hugging in the middle of the woods.
>"Mous, I'm not leaving until we hug this out."
>You feel Mous cringe as he weakly hugs you. "You hug like a girl."
>He grunts.
>"And your shampoo smells like crap."
>You can't help but laugh as Mous shoots himself off of you. "Okay! We're done here!"