It felt like forever. Yes, forever, since the moment he passed.

Do you trust me?

It didn’t take the doctors more than an hour to tell me you were gone.

One day you think ‘Oh, everything is great!’ And then BAM! Life smacks you upside the face.

I’ve been waiting for two whole days for somepony to wake me up. Waiting for somepony to shake me, tell me that I needed to start my mail route. Waiting to get up and be excited to see you again.

...But I won’t have you back.

Twilight couldn’t wait longer than a couple days. She wanted to give you the proper rest, because that’s what a Princess would do, especially for a hero, one that even I will always consider to the hero of my life.

Twilight had stood before the crowd, the absolutely enormous crowd, and she spoke volumes. She told us about the best assistant in all of Equestria, and the best friend she ever had. And now that assistant and friend would never be replaced. I think she’s wrong though. She’ll probably find a new assistant some day, but I do agree that she’ll never have her number one assistant again. That’s what a Princess would do. And that’s what you would want.

Maybe I'm the stupid one here for thinking things could just be easy and happy like they’ve been. Yeah… that’s probably it.

No, Spike. You were never stupid.

You were the best. You visited Dinky when she was sick, and you did more than you ever knew to cheer me up when things were at their worst.

You made me fall in love. You made me fall in a love with an ‘obnoxious dragon’ that made me smile more than I ever thought I could. And then you showed me exactly how the world worked… and how amazing and fun it could be when you had somepony to share it with.

I mean, I’m not gonna force you to do anything. But, if you really wanna see the surprise, you’ll have to trust me. It’ll be worth it.

You said that to me all the time. You told me that I could trust you and that you could make me happy. I guess I am happy. I’m happy that I experienced life with you, even for a little bit.

Alright, on the count of three I’m gonna let go and you can look.

I trust you, Spike.

Okay. One…

I feel the flower in my mane, and you looking at me with your smile.

...two...

There’s a chimichanga on my plate, while I see you devouring a hayburger, and talking about root beer.

...three!

I’m in my favorite place, in your arms, and we’re on that giant building in Manehattan again. It was a place I’d never seen before.

It was the place that you kissed me for the first time.

Derpy opened her eyes.

It was nighttime now as she overlooked the city from her perch on that tall building. Ponies went about their lives down below, street lamps illuminating the soft haze that decorated the streets.

She looked off in the distance, waiting for Spike’s arms to wrap around her. Waiting to hear about his latest argument with Starlight or about some strange lesson he learned from Twilight.

But she didn’t feel his arms. She didn’t hear his voice.

All she could feel was the gusts of wind ruffling through her wings and mane. All she could hear were the distant shouts of ponies in the distance. But she could see something.

Through the lights and haze, she could make out a single star twinkling in the sky. It couldn’t have been easy for the light to make it through all the clouds and lights from below. But, it found a way.

She never really took time to notice the stars before. They were certainly beautiful.

...you don’t need me to see how awesome the world can be.

“You know what, Spike?”

It’s always been a beautiful place. We just helped each other to see it.

“You’re right.”

She reached into her mane and pulled out the small, yellow flower. It was dried out now, crinkled and broken. Being preserved in a book for a couple months will do that.

But she loved it all the same.

She planted a soft kiss on it before gently placing it back in her mane. A stray tear fell down her cheek as she gazed out at the horizon. At the far edge, she could see the sun barely peeking up in the distance.

“The world really is a beautiful place.”

Author's Notes:

Guys, thank you so, so SO much for reading this story. It means the world to me. For further explanation about the story and why it is the way it is, please see this blog:

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Keep rocking, people!