"Please, ma'am, let us work!"
Cherry Top followed closely behind a gurney being pushed by four nurses.
"She's tachycardic!"
"Her trachea may have been crushed. I'm having trouble getting a tube in!" exclaimed another nurse.
The medical jargon flew right over the head of the poor earth mare who simply wanted to know if her special somepony would live.
"What are her chances?" Cherry Top pleaded. "What are you doing to her? Please, tell me something!"
Another earth pony, a stallion clad in gilded armor, stepped in and blocked her from following.
“You need to wait here, miss.”
The earth pony tried to force her way past the guard, but he held her firm, “That’s my wife!” she screamed, trying to wrestle her way out of his strong grip. The broad-shouldered stallion held her back as the gurney turned the corner, leaving Cherry’s line of sight.
“Ma’am, please, you can’t go in there.”
Cherry Top, frustrated with the guard’s response, punched the guard in the armor, causing as much havoc as one would expect from a frantic earth mare striking hardened metal. When he didn't budge, she instinctively wrapped her forelegs around the guard's neck.
"I just want to know if she’ll be okay," the earth pony sobbed out, tears streaming down her face and streaking down the guard’s armor.
"I know, Ma'am but you need to let them work. I've seen these ponies work miracles. Just let them do what they do best."
Cherry Top finally relented and allowed the guard to escort her to the waiting room. She cast one last glance down the hallway where the love of her life disappeared from her sight.
The stark waiting room played on Cherry’s nerves. She fidgeted in her seat unsure of what to do with herself as the clock audibly ticked on between the coughing and whispers from the other ponies in the room.
Cherry's stomach grumbled, trying to get her attention. Unfortunately, one word echoed through her mind, drowning out her needs.
How...
Cherry’s thoughts wandered back to earlier that day.
They had waited for so long.
"Oh my goodness, Cherry! Have you seen any place as breathtaking as this?"
They saved for an entire year, scrounging up bits from their cherry farm profits. They had finally made it to Canterlot for the Summer Sun Festival. Dew Drop’s blue mane fluttered in the wind accentuating her bright green eyes.
"We should go take a tour of the castle!"
Dew Drop's voice echoed in her mind, as if she were in that very room.
"Come on, Cherry. The sun will go down soon, and there's still so much to see!"
She blinked back a few tears, remembering their time together that afternoon.
That crashing, that awful racket. It echoed like an otherworldly monster. When the runaway wagon crested the hill behind them, she should've pushed Dew Drop out of the way.
She should have done something.
The wagon barreled right past her, mere inches from her face, but the most horrifying part was the sickening crunch.
The wagon hit a rock just moments after running down the one she loved and turned over, spilling its contents and drawing a crowd of ponies.
"Dew Drop..."
Her wife's name a mere whisper on her breath, she watched helplessly as the one she swore her life to coughed violently. A small stream of blood trickled from her mouth and started pooling on the dry concrete.
"No! How could this happen?"
"Mrs. Top?"
The earth mare jerked back to the present. Standing before her were two figures she had only seen or heard about in pictures or stories. Princess Celestia bore a look of gentle comfort, while her sister stood with her stoically.
"Y-yes?" Cherry asked in awe of the two royal alicorns standing before her.
"I'm sure you know who I am, Mrs. Top." Celestia began. "My sister and I were informed of the events that occurred at the celebration today. It is very regrettable that such a tragedy has befallen you and your beloved. This is not something we do frequently, but with your permission, we would like to assist the doctors in trying to save her life."
The earth pony sat stunned, half believing what she was hearing. "R-really?"
Luna nodded. "Yes. The guards already have the owner of the runaway wagon in custody. He shall face justice for his carelessness in leaving it unattended, but for now we must focus on saving your wife."
Hearing those words from figures of such reverence brightened a spark in Cherry Top's heart. A spark she had almost given up on.
"Please, your majesties. Please save her! She didn't deserve this! We just wanted to go on vacation!"
A soft hoof touched the pony's lips.
"I know, Mrs. Top," Celestia replied. "We will do everything in our power to save her. Now, if you'll excuse us."
Cherry nodded eagerly. She watched as the alicorns walked down the same corridor she herself was barred from. Their stature, their grace seemed supernatural and she realized they were her last chance to see Dew Drop again. Though it was tired and ragged, for the first time after the accident, Cherry Top breathed a sigh of relief.
C'mon, Dew Drop. You have four of Canterlot’s best doctors and two princesses with you. Hang in there just a little longer!
"Mrs. Top?"
Cherry awoke with a start. At some point during the interminable wait, she had fallen asleep, despite the rock-hard chairs offering no comfort to her sore back.She rubbed away the sleep that had gathered in her eyes, and looked up at the royal figures standing before her. Her eyes lit up in anticipation.
"Yes? How is she? When can we go home?" the earth mare asked through puffy and tear-stained eyes.
Both alicorns looked exhausted, yet maintained their royal posture and grace. Luna in particular seemed to have shed a few tears of her own at some point, and Celestia's head tipped to the ground slightly, seemingly unable to maintain eye contact.
"I'm so sorry Mrs. Top, but we... we lost her."
With one simple sentence, all of Cherry’s hopes were dashed. Even with two of the most powerful beings in Equestria, and the finest doctors in Canterlot, they were still unable to save her.
"Dew Drop is... gone?"
"Please hold out your hooves, Mrs. Top," she requested.
The earth mare did as she was asked, though her hooves were shaking. Celestia's horn glowed, producing a tiny, white object from a medical container. It gently landed in her hoof, and she peered down on it in wonder.
"A... a seed?"
Princess Luna nodded solemnly. "It was all we were able to save of her."
The earth mare trembled, and the seed fell from her hooves. Her eyes burned in anger as the tears returned.
"How... how dare you! How dare you stomp in here like deities and give me a seed like it’s supposed to mean something!" Cherry Top seethed. She wanted nothing less than to pound them both into dust.
Celestia calmly levitated the seed and placed it back in her hooves.
"Feel the seed, Mrs. Top."
The earth pony seemed taken aback by her gentle request. She reluctantly did as the princess asked and this time felt a warmth from the seed. A glow that radiated from her hooves and throughout her body, producing a calming effect.
"What... what is it?"
"Your wife's body was... failing. We used our magic to hold her spirit here while the doctors attempted to revive her," Princess Celestia explained.
"Before long, the agony in her soul became too great. Her spirit begged, pleaded us to let her go," Princess Luna added. "The procedure had ceased to be a life-saving effort, and had instead become torturous. We had no choice but to let her go."
Cherry sobbed openly at the cruel truth. Dew Drop had suffered immense pain while they tried to save her. The whole time, Cherry had been so intent on Dew Drop’s survival so that she wouldn’t have to face tomorrow alone. Never once had she considered the immense suffering her love must have gone through.
"B-but what about the seed?" she choked out through the tears.
"When we relinquished her soul, many emotions flooded us," Princess Luna began. "She was thankful... thankful to finally have release, but the strongest emotion of all was love. Her love for you was tremendous. It backfed through our magic and overloaded our spell. The sheer strength of her love combined with our magic materialized into the very seed you hold in your hooves."
Cherry held the seed, her face turning to unbelieving wonder. "This... this is her soul?"
Celestia shook her head. "No, my little pony. Her soul is at rest, though I would not be surprised if her spirit has a connection with it. It is the physical embodiment of her love for you, and her final gift to you. I must tell you, it is extremely rare for this to happen. In all my years, I have only seen such an occurrence three times."
A fresh teardrop fell from Luna's eye. "It... it is the first time I have seen such a miracle."
Cherry, despite her grief, reached over to Luna and touched her gently, offering comfort.
"Are... are you okay?"
Luna shook her head. "You do not understand. It was not sad, nor was it mournful. It was one of the most beautiful feelings I've ever experienced in my life. It was like waking from an eternal nightmare, only to have the warmest light shine upon you."
Though it was a shadow of what the alicorn described, Cherry also felt that warmth. Celestia's wings wrapped around her protectively, adding to the morbid beauty of it all.
"She has given you an extraordinary gift. Please tend to it wisely."
The wind whistled through the branches of a lone tree sitting atop a hill. Beneath the leaves lay an earth pony, her red mane gently tousled by the breeze.
"I'm nervous about meeting her," Cherry Top said aloud, her voice carrying through the plains.
Five years had passed. Cherry tended the seed as she was instructed. The little seed sprouted quickly and grew extremely healthy in the fertile dirt and through her careful doting.
"I've not gone on a single date since you... since the accident."
The tree shielded her from the harshness of the sun, letting just enough through to warm her hooves.
"I'd always thought it would be betraying your memory, somehow..."
The branches seemed to rustle in reply.
"I still love you so very much. I know we promised each other to move on if something happened... but it still feels wrong."
The branches jostled on the large tree, mimicking the sound of fresh rain.
"I miss you, Dew Drop. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of you... of us. Of what we had."
Cherry sat in silence. She knew her date would be along any moment now, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave.
A drop of moisture fell from the leaves above, landing on her shoulder and causing her to jerk in surprise. Looking up, a smile crossed her face as she blinked back fresh tears.
"Thank you, Dew Drop. Thank you for watching over me."
With newfound confidence, the mare rose to her hooves and started down the path to her house. This precious tree, this... gift that she shared a vigil with, was planted outside of her orchard so that it could grow without limits or competition. Cherry had often wondered what Dew Drop's final legacy would provide her, what fruit might hang from her branches. She wasn't even sure it would provide enough for her to sell alongside her bountiful cherry harvest. She still remembered the day when her heart overflowed with joy upon seeing what the young tree had yielded.
Nestled among those strong branches born out of love were not apples, oranges, nor any other type of fruit. Hanging from the branches were the most beautiful flowers she had ever seen.
Author's Note
So... I fell ill last night and somewhere in my fever, this idea just begged to be written. In the space of an hour and a half i pounded it out.
Thoughts of my fiancee ran through my head the whole time and i had to stop several times to finish it.
I hope you enjoyed it and that this touches you somehow, in some small way.