LGO

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// Story: Life Goes On
// Chapter: Life Goes On
// Author: Blue Thunder
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	Rainbow Dash landed next to the Library and shook the snow off herself before walking in. Twilight was sitting at her desk, reading one of her books. Dash walked over and sat next to her. "Hey girl, what you reading?" Dash looked down and realized it was one of the Daring Do books. "Haven't you read that one already?"

	Twilight looked up from her book and gave Dash a quick kiss. "Yes, but it's my favorite. I love the idea of somepony being handicapped in some way but still being able to overcome any obstacle through determination."

	Dash looked at the cover and realized it was the first book in the series. The same book that had gotten her into reading, Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone. Dash snuggled up to Twilight. "I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier."

	Twilight looked up from her book again. "What did I say?"

	Dash placed a wing around Twilight before continuing. "When you said how empty the library is going to be since spike moved in with Rarity to help her when Sweetie Bell isn't around. I was thinking, maybe we could start a family?"

	Twilight snorted in surprise. "Ummmm, you realize we’re both mares, right? Reproduction is physically impossible."

	Dash giggled at the look on Twilight's face. "No, that's not what I meant at all. I was thinking that we could always adopt. We could have a filly of our own to raise and take care of."

	Twilight thought for a moment. "The closest orphanage is in Cloudsdale. I guess I could use the cloud walking spell. We could go next weekend, seeing as we don't have any plans.”

	Dash broke out in a smile. "Forget the orphanage in Cloudsdale. It’s really good and all those foals are really well taken care of. Besides, I have a less fortunate filly in mind."

	One week later...

	Rainbow Dash and Twilight were standing in the town hall. The mayor was showing them where to sign to make the adoption official. As the last line was signed, she turned to a door and calls out a name. A little pegasus filly walked out with saddlebags full of her stuff. Dash walked over and placed a wing around the filly. "Ready to go home Scootaloo?"

	Three month later...

	It was Scootaloo's first spring with her family. Dash decided to take her to a clearing just outside of Ponyville to teach her to fly. Twilight tagged along to watch and to catch Scootaloo if she fell. "Ok Scootaloo, first you have stretch your wings out to make sure you don't cramp up."

	Scootaloo nodded and flexed her wings. She had been exercising all winter, preparing for this opportunity. "I’m ready Dash."

	Dash smiled and opened her wings as well. "The key to flying for the first time is to not overdo it. Instead of flapping as fast as you can try to put all your strength into each flap. Try to just hover above the ground." Scootaloo did as she was told, and slowly her hooves start to rise off the ground. A huge smile formed upon Scootaloo's face as she looked down at Rainbow Dash. "Good job, now lean forwards just a tad and flap just a little harder." Scootaloo started moving forwards, but in her excitement she missed a beat and fell, her panic now tantamount until Twilight caught her and set her back onto her hooves.

	Scootaloo started bouncing around, doing a passable imitation of Pinkie Pie. "DID YOU SEE ME I WAS FLYING!"

	 Dash chuckled. "If you think THAT was flying, wait until you can soar with me in the sky." Scootaloo just beamed at Dash before trying again.

	Five months later...

	Rainbow Dash held a crying Scootaloo in her wings. The two were sat next to a bed in the hospital. Twilight looked at her two favorite ponies. "Don't worry about me. The best doctors and unicorns in Equestria are looking for the solution. I'm going to be fine."

	Somehow Dash didn't believe her. Dash took Scootaloo outside the room and sat her down. "I’ll be right back, ok? I’m just going to talk to Twilight for a minute." Scootaloo nodded and Dash walked back in the room, closing the door. She turned to Twilight and gave her a kiss on the head. "How long do you have before...." She couldn't finish the sentence.

	Twilight smiled and reached for Dash's hoof. "Unless they can find what’s causing my organs to shut down, they give me a week at most."

	Dash looked away to hide her tears. "Why does this have to happen? We were happy, we have a family."

	Twilight reached for Dash's face and stroked her cheek. "Don't worry about me. I’ll be in a better place. I’ll get to see my grandparents again. You have to be strong for Scootaloo."

	Dash wrapped her wings around Twilight and kissed her. She held her kiss for a few precious moments before breaking it and saying goodbye. "I’ll come back tomorrow as soon as visiting hours start, I promise."

	Twilight smiled once more. "You’d better. I’ll be waiting."

	The next day...

	Dash and Scootaloo entered the hospital and sat in the waiting room for visiting hours to start. A nurse looked sadly at them before turning away. Dash had an uneasy feeling in her stomach. When two more nurses walked by and stopped talking as they passed by, Dash got up, telling Scootaloo to wait while she checked something out, and walked towards Twilights room. When the nurse behind the counter moved to stop her, she broke into a run. When she reached Twilights room she stopped at the window. Inside, Twilight was hooked up to a breathing machine. Her eyes were closed and her mane all messed up. Dash lightly tapped on the glass.

	The nurse walked up to Dash, not having broken a sweat, and stood by her. "Her heart stopped a little after midnight. We got it started again, but she went almost six minutes without oxygen to her brain. We fear she suffered brain damage. She's not breathing on her own. I'm sorry."

	Dash pressed her face up against the glass, tears wetting her cheeks. "Can we see her?" The nurse nodded an affirmative. Dash went back for Scootaloo. "Scootaloo, we’re going to go see Twilight. She's in a deep sleep so she can't talk but she can still listen."

	Scootaloo looked up with tears in her eyes, she’d drawn her own conclusions. "She’s going to wake up, right? She’s going to be alright, right?"

	Dash looked away so Scootaloo couldn’t see her cry. "No, Scoots. I don't think she's ever going to wake up." Dash led her down the hall and into Twilight's room. Scootaloo climbed up onto the bed next to Twilight and curled up next to her. Dash picked up Twilights’ hairbrush and began to untangle her hair. They stayed like that for the next few hours; Scootaloo curled up next to Twilight and Dash whispering sweet nothings into her ear, until the heart monitor next to the bed beeped. Dash looked over and saw Twilight's blood pressure slowly drop followed by her heart rate. Dash leant over Twilight and kissed her once more. "Goodbye Twilight. I will always love you." Scootaloo woke up and gave Twilight a hug as the monitor flat lined. Dash reached over and pulled the plug on the machines, bringing an eerie silence to the room. They stayed with her until the doctor came to fill out her death certificate.

	Three days later...

	The burial ceremony was short. Only her, the Elements, Spike, Scootaloo, and the three princesses and Shining Armor were there. They buried her in the clearing Scootaloo had learnt to fly in. Princess Cadence carved Twilight's name and date of birth and death into a large rock that she then placed at her head. Everypony said a few words of respect, although none could bring themselves to say them out loud, for fear of not being able to hold their tears back. Afterwards, dash carried Scootaloo home and laid her in her bed. She climbed into bed next to her and covered her with a wing before falling asleep.

	Five months later...

	Dash woke up from the cloud she had been dreaming on. She was freezing and covered in frozen mist. She flew up to a solitary cloud, high up in the atmosphere. She liked coming up here, the atmosphere was thin enough that you could see the stars no matter what time of day it was. She would lay up here and talk to the stars, and Twilight. But today she was up here for a different reason. She was up there to say goodbye. "I will always love you, Twilight Sparkle. Remember that. I look forward to seeing you again." She took a step forward and jumped off the cloud. Usually she would open her wings a little and glide slowly back down to the ground, but today she left them folded and just fell. The fall took a long time, but the entire time she fell all she could think about was how much she missed Twilight. She opened her eyes and saw the ground fast approaching, closing her eyes against the wind. Just before she hit the ground she flared her wings and slowed down just enough to land on her hooves hard. She opened her eyes again and walked forwards, removing some of the built up momentum. She stopped at a stone at the edge of the clearing she had landed in. On it, she could still clearly read 'Twilight Sparkle'. Dash kissed the rock, then looked up into the sky to see Scootaloo gliding towards her. "Hey Scootaloo." She threw a hug around Dash before walking over to the stone and lying down next to it. She came here every day around noon, just to sleep with Twilight like she used to when she had a nightmare. Dash walked over and curled up around Scotaloo. They fell asleep and relived their memories with the Purple unicorn. Eventually they woke up and headed over to Pinkie's house for the memorial party. As she walked away, Dash turned back towards Twilight. "I will never forget you."