To be a Pony, Pt. 6 - Celebratory Reflections

'''Peace has finally come back to Equestria. The Elements of Harmony have bravely sacrificed their lives to banish Hellgate from their world. But one Anathemite cannot yet join the festivities. Not just yet.'''

Background
To be a Pony, Pt. 6 takes place right before the end of Come Hell or High Water. It is told entirely from Lynna's perspective.

Synopsis
The solo begins with Lynna on an outside balcony, having just finished a talk with Princess Luna while the rest of her friends and the entirety of ERAC were partying inside. The conversation was sticking with her, reminding her of the gnawing pit of could have's and should have's that had been plaguing her for nigh-on three years, ever since she, Terminos and Oneiros had killed Executor. With the knowledge that the Elements of Harmony were very likely dead, she thought that the pit would grow wider--except, it wasn't.

She wondered if Luna's words were keeping it all from sinking in. Or if Hellgate's defeat was lessening the pain. Some of them echoed in her head while she closed her eyes, imagining each event that she perceived as a personal failure: Executor's death, the destruction of Ponyville, Hellgate converting all of Canterlot into his personal dominion, and now the dead Elements of Harmony, materializing in her mind. But, instead of looking angry or sad, they were smiling, putting her at ease and filling her with a peace she had missed for so long.

Lynna looks up to the sky, wondering if she could move on. Her memories suddenly jump to Executor's final moments, feeling as if Executor was staring directly at her right before he perished, his eyes passing on one last message to her: To remember the past, but never dwell.

With that in mind, she apologizes to Executor for holding herself down for so long. She knows that she'll still regret not being able to change what happened for as long as she still lives, but realizes now that she shouldn't hold on to them like crutches. She isn't sure if she can truly get away from it all, but she promises that she will look ahead along with all the friends she's made.

With a deep exhale that seems to breathe out the last bits of worry, she turns around and heads back inside with a smile on her face. And as she enters, she swears she feels Executor's warm smile on her back.

Trivia

 * This part was a somewhat unplanned addition. Kanako felt that Lynna needed some amount of personal closure in regards to those events, and the talk with Luna that immediately precedes the solo helped make that decision.