Ashes to Ashes

Ashes

Luna was alone with her thoughts. She was sat on the bench where she had been all day, alone and unbothered by anypony else. She hadn't moved at all except occasionally to reach into her black jacket and retrieve another cigarette, and to offer a sigh to the winds. The day was long over, the sun had been lowered and Celestia had done her the favour of raising the moon on her behalf. Luna hadn't noticed, so intent was her gaze upon the stone in front of her she hadn't noticed the darkening sky or the creeping chill of approaching night.

Luna didn't care if she was honest. She didn't care about the sun, the moon, she didn't really care about breathing in and out anymore. All she cared about was the slab of stone in front of her, and whom was buried beneath it.

Unleashing another sigh to the night Luna reached into her jacket yet again for her cigarettes and lighter. She turned the metal lighter over in her hand, smiling briefly at the engraving of the moon with three little butterflies upon it. It had been a gift from her wife, one of the first Fluttershy had given her. It was battered and scratched from years of use, but Luna loved it dearly. Flipping it open she thumbed the mechanism, watching the spark ignite into a fluttering flame. Luna observed the flame, fascinated by it. Nudging her head forward she lit the cigarette in her lips, her midnight blue fur momentarily illuminated by the flame. Exhaling a lungful of smoke she took the cigarette in her fingers, the flame from the lighter lighting up her other hand, revealing her old scars.

Turning her left hand over in the light of the flame Luna looked at it, the three inch scar running across its palm and back respectively. It was almost seventy years to the day since Fluttershy had given her these scars, as well as the one that ran up her left forearm. She recalled the moment perfectly in her memory, of the time Luna had braved her loved ones shattered psyche to repair damage she herself had caused, albeit unknowingly. Luna concentrated on the memory, bringing forth the image in her mind. She could hear Cruelty’s cold mocking voice, even after all these years.

"Hold still princess."

Luna ignored her and redoubled her efforts, thrashing and pulling at the chains all the more. Quick as a flash there was a knife at her throat, halting her escape attempts immediately.

“That's better. Now, place the backs of your hands against the wall and keep them there.”

Hesitantly Luna stretched her arms out, and did as she was told. Cruelty shifted her grip on the knife in her left hand, placing the tip of it against Luna’s palm. Without warning she thrust it forward, straight through Luna's hand and burying the blade up to its hilt in the wall behind. Luna's scream shattered the quiet of the room they were in, her pain so much she didn't notice Cruelty had pressed the other knife to get other hand.

Too late Luna registered what was happening.

"Please……..N, no…….please don't….” Her voice failed her, then came back in an almighty scream that rivalled the first as Cruelty repeated her action with the knife, skewering Luna's hands to the wall.

Cruelty turned on her heel and made her way back to the sofa, a warm smile on her lips. She addressed Luna as she sat herself down.

“I did say hold still. Now, I imagine those sting a bit. Best not to move if I were you.”

Almost seventy years had passed since that night, and her scars had refused to fully heal. That had been the night when Luna had revealed her love for Fluttershy, although at the time she had been reticent to act upon it, and to her immense surprise and relief Fluttershy had reciprocated in kind, herself having feelings for Luna, although at the time Luna wasn't sure if this was out of guilt or not.

The years that had followed had been the happiest of Luna’s very long life, and Fluttershy had been with her by her side through them all. They had enjoyed the support and encouragement of their friends, the other Element Bearers, at least until time and mortality had begun to take them away from them.

Sometimes one by one, as in the case of Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty. She had been the first of the group to feel mortality’s failing. Hers perhaps was the most tragic of the deaths that would inevitably follow, if only because of Fluttershy’s love for her. Rainbow had been Fluttershy's first love, and despite what she had told Luna over the years, Luna knew her love never wholly got over Dash’s loss. Sometimes on what would have been Rainbows birthday Fluttershy would speak of her at great length, and out of respect for Dash and love for Fluttershy Luna would listen without interruption, however she couldn't quite fight the feelings of jealousy and envy. Then Luna would spend the next few days ashamed and guilty over being jealous of a dead mare.

Sometimes, Luna reflected, death was greedy, as had been the case with the Elements of Honesty, Generosity and their family.

Luna felt her shoulders sag and hung her head a little in shame and her latest sigh became a sob as fresh hot tears stung her cold cheeks. Luna hated herself for thinking of her friends, no, her family, in such a cold manner, after all they had names, they weren’t merely titles to be forgotten. They had been living breathing ponies, friends and confidantes all. She had known them, loved them and mourned their passing, each and every one. Fluttershy had used their names, and Luna felt she owed Applejack and Rarity the same honour. They had been the first of their circle of close friends to be taken from them after Luna had gotten with Fluttershy, and though every loss was of course keenly felt, theirs was indeed a hard blow to take.

Luna closed her eyes and sniffed back more tears as she lit up another cigarette. She didn't care for the taste much but they did help sooth her frayed nerves and lift her mood. Unbidden, the memory of that day fifty years ago swam across her brain, as fresh now as it was so long ago.

“C’mon y’all, we need to get the car loaded up an’ get goin’ if we wanna make Baltimare by nightfall!” Applejack had yelled for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. “RARITY! Move it darlin’!”

Applejack and Rarity had finally gotten together a little over ten years earlier, and this two week trip to Baltimare was their tenth wedding anniversary gift to each other and their family. Applejack had wrestled their two five year old colts, Amethyst and Diamond Apple into their car seats, either side of Sweetie Belle's pegasi coltfriend Wildfire. Rarity was busy getting their third child and only filly Emerald ready, true to form the little filly decided that was the right moment for a diaper change.

“Coming darling!” Rarity came bustling out of the house, carrying said filly to the car and seating her in her seat next to the grumbling Sweetie.

Once everypony had been secured in the car, Applejack had started the white automobile up and sped off, to the shouted goodbyes and waves of Luna, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Twilight who had gathered to see them off.

That was the last time anypony had seen them alive.

Unbeknown to their friends Applejack had chosen to take the mountain road, probably for the view. It was only when they failed to arrive back on time after two weeks of no contact that they knew something was wrong. Search parties were organised immediately, but were hampered by not knowing which road they had taken. Eventually, a week later, their remains had been found.

A freak rock slide had caused Applejack to lose control of the car and plummet the thousand foot drop to the bottom of the gorge below. Only Applejack and the two colts had survived the impact of the crash, and that was only because Rarity had cushioned their fall with her magic on the way down, sacrificing herself in one last act of generosity. Sweetie had tried to do the same for Emerald but her magic wasn't strong enough. The search party had found Applejack's broken body a mile from the wreck of the car, where she had finally bled to death. She had attempted to crawl for help on two broken legs. Scavengers had scattered the remains of the colts. Before succumbing to blood loss Applejack had scrawled the details of her wife’s sacrifice on a note and hidden it under her stetson.

Between the effects of exposure, decomposition and scavengers what the search party brought back barely filled three coffins, let alone seven.

Luna finished off her cigarette, reliving the awful memory of the funeral they had held for Applejack, Rarity and their family. Barely into their mid forties they were too young to be taken like that. Much too young, to say nothing of their passengers. Of all the mourners that day, Scootaloo and Pinkie Pie had taken it the worst. It came to light afterwards that Scootaloo had nursed an unrequited crush on Sweetie, and her loss lead to a deep depression from the orange pegasus never recovered, until one day several years after she threw herself under the wheels of the Friendship Express.

Sitting on the bench in front of the silent grave a gentle snowfall had begun, Luna, wrapped up in her memories hadn't noticed until she went for another cigarette and the light dusting of white fell from the arm of her jacket. Involuntarily she shivered at the chill seeping through her clothes, but still Luna sat on the public bench, unmoving save to bring the nicotine to her lips. A quick flash of light from her horn cast a spell about herself that warmed her up and served to keep the cold at bay. She wasn't finished here just yet. Luna had another friend to speak to, another memory to revisit.

Pinkie Pie, poor, poor Pinkie.

Pinkie’s death ten years ago at the age of eighty was a true tragedy in that it didn't have to have happened at all. It was entirely preventable. The old mare had her health issues, everypony knew that, purely because everypony knew Pinkie so well. Best friends with absolutely everypony. It was no surprise after a lifetime around sugary snacks, baking and eating in obscene amounts that Pinkie had developed type two diabetes, what had been a shocker to everypony was her diagnosis of dementia as she approached sixty. Neither condition was allowed to hold her back though, and in true Pinkie Pie style she carried on as ever, throwing parties almost every week. She was allowed to self medicate for both conditions though, and this was ultimately her downfall in the end.

She had kept both conditions in check with medication so well for twenty years ponies forgot she had them, but despite the meds Pinkie's dementia had steadily gotten worse over the years, to the point a week before her death she was forgetting more than she remembered. One of the things she forgot was to take the insulin for the diabetes. At the end of that week having missed a Pinkie Party she was found in a diabetic coma from which she never woke up from. Twilight herself had authorised the medical staff to terminate the life support.

Finally, Luna got to her hooves and picked up the package that rested at her side. Snuffing out her latest cigarette she walked over to the first grave and stood silently in front of it for a moment, a simple stone marker engraved with a lightning bolt coming from a cloud. From her package Luna withdrew a single black rose and placed it on Rainbow Dash’s grave. A brief nod of her head and Luna turned to walk to the next resting place in her lonely walk.

This plot was bigger. Applejack and Rarity were buried together with their family. The large headstone dominated the tiny graveyard, decorated with engravings of their cutie marks, three apples and three diamonds respectively. This time Luna took seven black roses, one for each of the family, and laid them reverently on the large grave, shedding a single tear for each of the children as she did so.

The snow had begun to fall quicker as Luna made her way to Pinkie's grave. Even in near darkness she had no trouble finding it, it was the only gravestone painted bright pink. In spite of herself and her melancholy Luna couldn't help but laugh out loud at the absurdity of it, the sheer ‘Pinkiness’ of the pink headstone, adorned with three brightly painted balloons. Pinkie had gotten her wish in the end, everypony who came to visit her ended up smiling. Luna repeated her actions, placing a single black rose before making her way back towards the bench and the final grave she had to visit.

Fluttershy. Her death had been completely expected and prepared for. No accident or heroic last stand had claimed her wife of seventy years. Instead Fluttershy had succumbed to time, simple as that. Five years ago, on their wedding anniversary she had passed peacefully in her sleep, Luna as ever by her side. It was a kind death, if there is such a thing, just what the kindest pony who ever lived deserved. Twilight was sat by her bed as she died, as were the thirty or so members of their extended family.

It was Fluttershy’s only regret in life that she was unable to bear Luna a child of her own, despite the many spells available, Fluttershy was barren. So, they had gone to the orphanage in Ponyville with the intentions of adopting two, maybe three at the most. She and Luna had walked around the place, and so shocked was her wife at the conditions there she burst into tears and ran out without a backwards glance. While the fillies and colts who lived there weren't being mistreated in the strictest sense, it was very clear they were unloved and unwanted by those who ran the orphanage.

Luna smiled at the memory, it had taken her almost a whole day to calm Fluttershy, but when she had her wife was insistent that they adopt them all. So they did, the very next day in fact. Overnight they became legal guardians of seven fillies and eight colts, different ages, needs and backgrounds. In fact Luna had gone the extra step of using her royal funds to buy out the orphanage all together, turning it into their home. Over the years ponies brought ten more unwanted babies to their door. Fluttershy and Luna never ever turned any one of them away, and when they were big enough to start their own families, they always came back to their old home to thank their momma Shy and momma Lulu who had taken them in.

Before Fluttershy had gone to sleep for the last time she had asked Luna if she would continue their work with the foals. Luna had replied immediately that she would, without a second thought. It had been their life's work together, and a more fitting tribute to the Element of Kindness didn't exist in Equestria. Luna was honoured to carry it on.

So it was finally, before Fluttershy's grave, Luna found her visit at an end. Emptying her package she placed a bunch of black roses at the foot of her wife's headstone, and with a mumbled “happy anniversary my love,” that was choked by her tears, Luna turned and left the little graveyard, happy in the knowledge that her wife and their friends were together and happy, wherever their spirits rested.