Into The Future, Together

"Thank the mother of the Princesses, I never thought she'd leave," Cranky Doodle said in relief, shaking his head with a small smirk as he and Matilda watched a certain hyperactive pink pony bounce along the path back towards the town of Ponyville. Far off beyond the mountains, Celestia's magnificent sun steadily fading away beyond the horizon leaving the sky in shades of orange and red. Matilda nudged his side playfully.

"Oh, come now, Cranky," she said with a smile. "If it weren't for her, you'd never would have found me in the end, would you?" Cranky looked at his beloved Matilda and shared a smile of his own with her as he nuzzled her neck. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I owe the kid that much," he replied. They stayed like that for a minute, before breaking the affectionate nuzzle to retreat into the warmth of Cranky's cottage, as the sunset gradually sank lower and lower to make way for the beauty of Luna's night sky.

"What's the matter, Cranky?" Matilda questioned the donkey as he stood by the window gazing out into the night. "You seem like there's something troubling you."

Cranky shifted his attention away from the stars and looked over to Matilda, sat on his sofa by the fireplace. There was indeed something troubling him, but he didn't want to bother Matilda with his woes right now, not after he'd only found her again after many, many years of searching. So he forced an assuring smile. "Oh, it's nothing, Matilda. Nothing at all," he lied as he trotted over to his beloved, joining her in basking in the warmth and light of the fire.

But Matilda was not convinced, and the look she gave him made it clear that she didn't believe him. "Now, Cranky. We may have been apart for a long time, but I still remember how to read you like a book." She chuckled. "And trust me - while you've been journeying all around Equestria, I'm been reading a lot of books," she joked.

Cranky smiled weakly, mentally scolding himself for forgetting how well Matilda had known him back in the day. Defeated, he sighed. "Alright then. If you must know, I' concerned about what happens to us now that we're together again."

Matilda stopped chuckling, and gazed at her Cranky donkey attentively, her head tilted slightly. "Oh? What do you mean, Cranky?" she asked curiously.

Cranky fidgeted with his hooves for a moment, unsure exactly how to explain. "Well...it's...it's been so long since that night, Matilda," he finally began, bringing his eyes to meet hers. "In the time I've spent searching for you, it's almost like as if a whole lifetime has passed right by us both. I mean, in the time it's taken me to find you, you could have moved on and found someone else to replace me." Cranky lowered his head slightly and his eyes trailed down to the wooden floorboards. "I mean, I always held on to the faint hope I would find you as long as I still had my scrapbook of the Galloping Gala. At least I did until Pinkie Pie burned it in the fire by accident." His eyes narrowed in annoyance as he recalled the incident. Although he eventually forgave Pinkie about it, it still upset him to lose something he had hoped to share with Matilda sometime. As quickly as his irritated expression came, it was gone as soon as he felt something rest upon his hoof, his eyes turned to find it was Matilda resting her hoof on his, a kind smile beaming at him. She raised her eye brows, urging him to continue.

"Well, anyway," Cranky continued, "I suppose what i troubling me is whether we can really just carry on from where we left off. So much must have happened in your life that I was never present for, just as there had been so many things that happened to me I wish you could have been a part of too," he said with a sad tone, accompanied by a look of uncertainty. "Can we really just pick up where we were and go on with our lives? Would it be that easy to do at this point?"

Cranky felt a hoof gently pull his head around, and his eyes widened in surprise as he felt Matilda's lips press against his own. Their kiss lasted for a few moments, but it felt longer to the male donkey. When they parted lips, Matilda stared at him lovingly. "After all this time, you silly doodle, you're worried about whether or not you and I can be still be together after being apart for so long?" she asked with a playful giggle and shake of her head. She moved closer to Cranky and rested her head on his shoulder, snuggling up against his body. "Not one day did I ever believe you wouldn't find me again. You were never the sort of donkey to simply up sticks and abandon me. True, a lot of time has passed since that night at the Galloping Gala, but isn't that all the more reason for us to spend what time we still have in this world together? Because I'm willing to spend the rest of my life with you, if you want to spend yours with me, you silly donkey."

Cranky opened his mouth to form a sentence, but after several attempts he found he was unable to do so. Instead he settled for giving his beloved Matilda a kiss on her forehead, and laid his head against hers. "In that case then," he said as he closed his eyes to enjoy the warmth of his darling, "I think I ought to buy another book for our new memories, don't you agree?"

Matilda chuckled. "I think that is a wonderful idea, my Cranky Doodle donkey."

They sat like that together as the fire burned on through the night, happy and content with having found one another again. After living their pasts separated from each other, now they could look towards the future together.

The End