I look at Oakley across the field from me. He's silent, and his thoughts never leak out, unlike mine. He stares at me every day, and I stare back at him. Sometimes, it gets to an unbearable point. We've lived quite a while, and survived through all the flames and the smoke. Sometimes, I feel like I actually like him. We're obviously friends, but to the point where it's romance? It's a bit confusing at times, even for someone as old as I am. I'm sure that thought has leaked out from me, too. But I'll never know, because Oakley only stares back at me, no emotions showing. He just sways in the wind like everyone else. Everyone but me, of course.
Sometimes, I wish somepony would notice me. I want someone to call out Goldie as if I were actually there. But ponies just see me as something for decoration. When will I ever have a purpose in life?
Anyways, this doesn't matter anymore because the world is at war. Again. It's been at war before, several times, actually, but this is one of the longest battles I've ever lived through. My favorite used to be the one between Gusty the Great and Grogar, which was a lot longer, but that's probably over ten-thousand years ago. I'm not sure. When you've lived that long, you lose your sense of time. Oakley is around my age, probably a year older. But, being over a thousand years old, one year isn't much of a difference.
Losing sense of time is a bad thing. I forget the simplest things, like today. Today was supposed to be a special occasion. Oakley's turning however many years old, and I'm turning one year younger than that. Today. Oakley and I have the same birthday, but who would be up for celebrating in the midst of a war? Me, apparently.
I obscurely remember our first birthday together. He was one and I was zero. We've been friends ever since. I send my thoughts over to him. Happy Birthday, Oakley! Again, I think to myself. Again, another year of a silent birthday celebration. But something surprises me as I hear his thoughts once more. You too.
I almost smile with my nonexistent mouth. I haven't heard you in such a long time, I've forgotten how you sound. I want you to speak to me more. Please?
Birthday wish granted. For one day only.
I almost cry. One day is not enough. I want him for longer than that. We used to talk so much when we were little. Like best friends do until they die. Why'd you stop?
For the first time in so long, I see him look at me with the nostalgic stare. I thought his memories were lost forever. We were young and playful then. But you're old enough now. You should understand that trees don't think.
I'm enraged. I think all the time, and I'm sure he does too! I make sure he knows that. He just shakes his leaves violently in the wind. Now I really wish I were a pony, because ponies don't have to go through this stage. The one where they learn that they aren't supposed to make any thoughts known. That's when we hear hoofsteps walk by. Trees are not like ponies. They live almost as long as an alicorn would. But their thoughts will be known to others if let them be.
Oh. Now I understand. Oakley doesn't understand the meaning of friendship. But it seems that the ponies do not, either. Why else would they be fighting one another? As they did so many centuries ago?
The pony we heard earlier is right there, watching two trees fight. She lowers her ears and sits down on the path that seperates Oakley and I. "Goldie," she says. "Oakley." We stare at each other before looking at Princess Twilight sitting down there. "I don't want to see you two fighting. It hurts me, because you're the two I know will stay together when the rest of Equestria falls apart."
I feel sympathy for her. She hung and hid three things on each of us back when her friends all died in the beginning of the battle so long ago. They were getting older, and the death was not too surprising, but it struck everyone terribly. Mostly Twilight. On three of my branches lie mementos of Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Starlight Glimmer because they were all bubbly and up in the sky like I am. On Oakley rests requiems for Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack because they were hard-working and modest, like he is. Not to mention the Fluttershy stillness.
"I wish I were a tree, like you. Trees don't do war, and trees don't have troubles. They live next to their loved one, for longer than ever. They are so peaceful. I love you two, and I wish I could switch places with you." I consider her words. I took being a pony wrong. I only wanted to get attention with my spirit, but I never thought about how cruel ponies could be. But her words remind me of Fluttershy, one pony we all loved who has sadly left us.
She stands up and digs a hole in the path between us. In it, she buries a shiny green gemstone, bigger than any I've ever seen before. It lights up the park, but she soon covers it in dirt and makes the path look normal once more. Like nothing ever happened. It takes me a while before I come to the shocking conclusion. Is Spike... dead?
It's so hard to say the word, especially using it for someone I've loved for so long. I remember when Twilight, as a small mare unicorn, took him climbing trees between two oak trees, me and Oakley. We smiled that day, all four of us. But now, we stare at the dirt ground that has a faint outline of where Twilight removed the dirt. It lies in the shape of a claw, one as small as the little Spike used to have. He was so adorable back then, Twilight's number one assistant.
I'm sure Twilight hears that last thought, the one that just leaked out from me. "He is not dead, and he will never be replaced. Always my number one assistant."
I cannot speak anymore. Luckily, Oakley decides to use his one-day only voice. What happened to him, then?
"The world is at war again, as I'm sure you already know. But the war does not only affect ponies. It affects all creatures. And Spike, being a dragon, can't be a part of the pony league. The terrible part is, now that he's left, I'm all alone. The pony nations have split up once more, and as an alicorn, I have no place to go. There is Flurry Heart and Cadance, which is good enough to suffice. But there is another alicorn, one named Opaline, who refuses to work with me. She's my enemy."
You can come with us, I tell her. Seek refuge in my leaves, find a place to live on my branches. And give your friends proper burials, for goodness sake.
She starts to cry as I say that. "I can't. My friend's things have to be hidden. And I don't get to bury their... corpses, not even as a princess. All the warriors took that away. I only get to keep mementos, and even that's illegal. They're secret. Only you two can know, okay?
"It's like how trees having thoughts is illegal. Kind of. I'm the only pony who will know that. It's a secret, as well as a fact."
In the stillness, there is no sound but explosions and screaming, both of which I've learned to block out. But my heavy breaths can be heard, I think, and Twilight hugs me one final time. She does the same for Oakley. "Remember me for me, alright? This may be my final stand."
I would cry, I would, if trees had such an ability. I'm sure Oakley would too. We move our leaves and make her a medallion of leaves, my golden ones forming her cutie mark in the center. She cries and we do our pretend sobbing with her. Another boom, one louder than usual, fills the air. "That's my cue," she whispers. "Thanks for the final memory. And thank you, again, for the peace I will always remember. Once I'm up there."
We drop more leaves, which I guess is the equivalent of ponies dropping tears. And that's the last time we ever see her again. But before she left us, she screamed at the top of her lungs, "For my loved ones! Happy birthday and happy rememberance day! I will NEVER forget you, any of you!" And then she runs off into the dust. Never to be seen again.
Oakley and I stare at each other again, like we've done for years. Except this time, Oakley speaks first. The silence doesn't bother me. But you're right, I should speak more. Maybe just to help keep the memory alive.
I want to smile, but even if I did have a mouth, I couldn't. I'm too full of despair to do that. Instead, more of my leaves drop. I decide to stop it, because if I don't, the keepsakes will all show and be taken away. I hope whoever finds these things in the future remembers Princess Twilight and her friends. Oakley and I drop our leaves to make a picture. Twilight's cutie mark. It's on the ground right above Spike's emerald. And the memory will hopefully stay alive.