Rising, in human form for the moment and the moment alone, leaned against one of the pillars on the balcony, watching the world outside slowly turn and pass. He simply watched and observed intently, his eyes slowly wheeling all the while holding a somber but contented expression.

He heard several hoofsteps and turned to see the three Princesses and the other Bearers of Harmony slowly trot up to him, Princess Celestia leading the group with a curious look, "Rising? Is there something wrong?" She asked gently.

He gave a sad smile and shook his head, "No, Celestia. In fact nothing is wrong, but everything is changing." Rising turned his head back to the outside world and continued to watch.

The mares looked at each other in confusion before Rising asked, "Do you feel it?"

"Feel what?" Luna asked, as naive as a young child not understanding what was happening around her.

Rising only gave an amused chuckle at her response, "Do you feel what is preparing to leave?"

This still confused the group before Celestia attempted to try and feel around with her senses and with her heart. At her first attempt, she only felt her warm and hard jewelry that had rested on her body for most of the day, smelt only her friends and sister, saw only Rising and the balcony showing the world outside the castle, and heard her friends and her former student ask and mutter in confusion.

But with her heart, she felt something moving slowly. Something that felt like she was about to be seperated. Much like a dearest friend was soon departing and would never return to her.

Curiously, Pinkie Pie trotted forwards and sat next to Rising. She turned her gaze outside and her ears drooped as she whispered, "Yeah, I do."

Celestia asked again, "What is it?"

Rising merely blinked as he explained, "That, dear Princess, is a great spirit that held a deep presence in this land, and the lands outside of Equestria. It's what inspired and held great joy, fellowship, a deep sense of togetherness the likes that pen, paper and text cannot convey. It is what held and brought many lives and those of similar minds together in a happy purpose," He slowly turned back, showing his remorse and sadness, "And it shall soon leave us."

This caused the other mares to both wonder what was happening, and why it was happening. One by one, they started to feel the same senses within their hearts, the same presence that Celestia found.

Twilight asked, her ears slowly drooping as well, "Where is it going? Will it return?"

Rising only gave a sad smile, "To another world, similar to this one, but what it will contain even we cannot tell nor discern. I doubt any of us shall ever know until that world will host this spirit."

"But it'll be back right?" Twilight asked with a small tone of desperation, "It'll come back to us?"

Rising shook his head, "No. It will not. It has served long and well for ten years here. Now it shall spend time traveling to another, and rest there for ten. But no, its time and purpose has long since passed here."

It was then that the mares began to sense and feel the same presence as it slowly started to fade, almost akin to the slow sunset taking away its light and warmth and surrendering to the coming twilight. Where the light and warmth that the world would have to supply itself with for the rest of its life.

None of them had realized just how deep, warming and comforting that presence had been, how during the very start of their adventures, when Princess Luna as Nightmare Moon returned, they felt like the world could throw all its weight and all its problems at them and they would never suffer against any of it.

And now, realizing too late just how much this presence mattered to them, did sorrow and a desperate refusal against its departure start to arrive.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack were the first. They both asked Rising if there was anyway to have the presence stay and not leave, to keep them company or even take them with it.

Fluttershy simply sank to the ground and watched and felt the presence leave with growing despair, akin to an abandoned pet that watched helplessly as their former owner began to walk away, mere moments before trying to get their attention and return to them. Had her voice been any louder, her friends would've heard her beg, "Don't leave."

Rarity herself was teetering on the edge of being both angry that this was to happen and that she had no warning or time to prepare herself to be bereaved, and losing her grip on her conflicting emotions, chose to lie down with Fluttershy and cry alongside her.

Twilight leaned against her mentor, who took both her and Luna under her wings and held them close to both comfort and be comforted in return, now having to see the one thing that brought them the greatest happiness and joy continue to fade and leave them.

Both Pinkie and Rising simply stayed side by side and watched, with Rising simply refusing and telling the slowly getting angrier farm-mare and Wonderbolt how and why there was nothing that could be done, despite their pleas and ideas of bargaining and desire to drag the presence back.

Pinkie on the other hoof, simply stayed silent and watched. Her mane had lost some of its puffiness, however it did not completely deflate into the streamlined flat mane that signified the complete loss of laughter and joy in her life.

It would be an hour until both Applejack and Rainbow stopped pestering and demanding ways to fix this. Applejack simply sat down and buried her head into her hat in an attempt to hide her tears that had arrived as she argued, not wanting to show any of it. Rainbow herself simply sat next to Fluttershy and held a hurt and betrayed expression at the horizon.

It was when Rising said, still facing away from the mares, "We will not say, 'Do not weep.' for not all tears are something to be ashamed of. Bottling up your emotions is like containing evil magic, it is harmful to the mind and emotions, it does you no good to hold them back."

Rainbow Dash grumbled in a quavering voice, "'Not crying." Though unsurprisingly, she rubbed her eyes with her hoof just before giving a choked sob.

It wasn't long before the entire group, minus Rising, gathered around the athletic mare and gave in to their own emotions, tears of sorrow and bitterness falling from their eyes and either onto each other or onto the floor, lumps swelled in their throats and their voices sounded choked and quivering. A few times they would give a crying gasp, while at other times they sobbed and buried their muzzles into one another's side or shoulder.

Rising, in the while, had known sadness and loss, having lost so many whom the Legions had individually cared and loved and had been loved in return. The loss of family and friends was always hard, and the loss of those who held unyielding and unwavering guidance in their lives and paths in life was always difficult to ever pass on.

Yet it was their bond connecting them to each other that they had, which enabled each of them to comfort and support each other during this time of mourning the loss of the beneficent entity which had a positive influence upon the world and its inhabitants.

Words started to form from them, something that would kindle and alight hope in the soon to come unending twilight, as Rising looked down and said, "All is never lost, even now."

Only Celestia and Twilight were able to hear him say that as he continued, "Though the light shall leave us, there still remains many, smaller lights in the sky, more than the stars themselves. Each light holds remembrance, fond memories, and the knowledge that even though time may pass, neither they nor us shall be forever gone. Yes, many shall fade in time, some shall drift away and even more shall forget. But there shall be many who will pass on what they know and share their experiences with others, inspiring them to see what we've seen, and feel what we've felt. So long as they hold together and stay true and remember."

Luna could only say, "It hurts. It feels as if we have lost our parents again."

"Because of how much it mattered to you." Rising nodded, closing his eyes.

"But what are we gonna do after all this?" Twilight asked, staring at Rising, "Without this ..."

Rising stayed silent for a while before giving a deep breath, "We breathe in, we breathe out. We cry until we cannot mourn anymore, then we dry our tears. We join with our friends, family and allies and celebrate what we had and still have. Then," He leaned away from the edge and walked towards the mares, "One step at a time, we continue to live."

"Besides," Pinkie softly spoke up, tears still falling in her eyes and still holding a sad smile, "We're still here, and we'll still be here."

And so, the group of mares and human watched and waited until the last shred of the presence that the mares, barring Pinkie Pie, had just discovered and realized how much it had affected and mattered to them had finally disappeared.

And then the world seemed to turn darker, and lost its vibrant colors.

Rising then muttered, "It is gone now."

Their tears returned anew.

Author's Notes:

I suppose all good things must end at some point. Sometimes it gives way to better or just as good things, sometimes it gives way to the bad.

All in all, I don't think we can really stop change, but we can remember what we had and have and just try and make sure that the memories and the good times live on to anyone willing to listen, even if we have to annoy a few of them.

But we still have this community, and we may as well do our best to keep it together and once G5 comes about, we'll see if its a welcoming sight or just something to keep G4 closer.

In that time, we'll just keep doing and going. Much like Rising said, one step at a time. We continue to sail and continue to be. We're just doing it without canonical support now.

The actual chapters coming around, I'm getting into the groove again, though I'm just rambling and writing about different events but it'll get to the actual chapter soon enough, I'm definitely not letting this get Hiatus or dead anytime in my life or someone else's life.....

Now good night morning whatever