>Be sitting at the side of a hospital bed. >You hear the soft beeping of a heart rate monitor. >Holding one of the front hooves of your decades long marefriend. >You’re both sitting in silence, enjoying each other’s company. >Her mane and tail have gotten gray now. Her beautiful coat is missing patches in some places. >You lean over and nuzzle the top of her head. “I love you.” >She looks up at you. >”I know.” >You just want to hold her one last time. >”Do you remember that one time we got into a bar fight?” “Yeah. That was a ton of fun.” >You pause. “That one guy was crazy strong though. I can never thank you enough for taking care of him.” >”Still got it.” >She says with a strained grin. >You both sit in silence again, until you finally loose it a little. “I’ll miss you.” >She shifts and runs her other front hoof along your cheek. >”You’ll be just fine. I promise.” >More silence. >It has been many days like this. Visiting her, talking about nothing, just hoping that you’d be able to spend her last moments together. >You ponder. “I suppose it would be too much to ask for you to stay forever?” >She gives you a somber smile. >”It’s not a fairy tale. This just isn’t how things work.” “Right…” >Silence again. >You used to like these quiet moments. Back when you both would just sit on a sunny day by the riverside, drinking a beer, simply enjoying the company. Now it just feels like you’re wasting time. “I’m sorry.” >She makes a face like she’s pretending to be annoyed. >”Shush. You know what I told you. Thank someone rather than apologizing.” “I know.” >She slowly closes her eyes. >”Thanks for staying with me. You’ve always been a card.” >The beeping turns into one long noise. >The tension in her muscles is gone. >Was this really your last conversation? >You just wanted to hold her one last time. >A nurse walks into the room. >She instructs you to walk outside as a number of other hospital employees crowd around Starlight’s bed. >You stumble outside. >Guess it’s finally time to put that piece of rope to some good use.