Forgive Me

“And then what happened?” barked a colt who sat himself down on the carpet. All around him were other colts and fillies, listening eagerly to the mare on the couch. He was particularly enthused and looked ready to jump, his muscles vibrating like a tightly wound spring, at any moment. His fellow foals turned to glance at him, wary of any potential surprises that may occur. Not wanting to get tackled to the floor or smacked by a free-flying hoof, they slowly backed away from their friend.

The old mare that was telling the story smiled as she continued. “After they were caught, Princess Twilight Sparkle hid inside her library. She had to protect the alicorn magic from Tirek, lest Equestria fall into eternal darkness.”

She paused for a chuckle. “I remember her trying to raise the Sun that day. It was probably the only time that the world would ever see it wobble in the sky.” She smiled as she watched her audience trying to imagine the Sun dancing tangoes far above them. “Tirek found out about her eventually. They fought each other in Ponyville. Twilight was almost going to win, but then Tirek trapped me and Aunt Pinkie. He threatened to harm us if she went any further.”

“Oh no!” exclaimed one of the smaller fillies. She seemed to be on the verge of tears until her sister leaned against her, the warmth and closness bringing a bit of comfort.

“How did you escape?” another colt asked. “Did you use the Elements of… uh… Harmony?”

“Ah, the Elements. Such mysterious trinkets.” The old mare shook her head. “No, Princess Twilight traded the alicorn magic for us.”

The audience gasped. “How could she do that!? She could've plunged Equestria into darkness!” another filly shouted.

“Now, now, no need to be angry. In fact, the sacrifice she made was exactly what she needed to do. We finally obtained the sixth key from Uncle Discord, and we unlocked the Essence of Harmony. With it, we were able to defeat Tirek and restore peace to Equestria, and all the magic he had stolen was returned to its rightful guardians.”

The foals 'ooh'ed at the storyteller. Although she was ancient, they were awed by how much spark she had left in her. Perhaps not as great as when she had been young, but enough that the foals could feel it and respect the substance of her experiences.

“Grandma, can we meet Princess Twilight? She is your best friend, isn't she?” the youngest of the fillies asked.

The mare stared blankly at her, blinking once, twice. She pondered whether to give them her usual answer or to make up some pretext to dodge the question. “Well Valkyrie, we live so far away from Ponyville that I don't think that we would have the means to go there. Your mother and I traveled here when we were younger. Now that I'm old, I don't think I can do it anymore.”

Deep down inside her, she knew she could, and would, if the need arose. Better not to tell these foals that, though.

“We can get Mom to buy us train tickets,” another filly said.

“That's kind of you, but I can't,” the mare replied gently, not wanting to disappoint her grandchildren.

“Princess Twilight is royalty, right? She can get us a carriage, can't she?”

The elder mare started to feel nervous as another grandcolt piped up. “That’s even better! You can write to her, can't you? She would definitely get one ready for us. She's your friend.”

“She is, at that. But still, I don't know… I'm just not sure…” She turned away from her grandfoals, her wrinkled brow furrowed. It had been so long….

“What’s wrong, Grandma? Is something the matter with-”

“Children, that's enough. Time to go to bed,” a light blue pegasus said as she came into the room.

One of the fillies ran to her and tugged at her with a forehoof. “Mommy, can we go to Ponyville?” The filly put on her best doe-eyes, hope shining from them. “Please, Mommy? We really want to see Princess Twilight.”

The mother stroked her filly's mane. “Alright, alright. I'll talk to your father about it. Now everypony get ready for bedtime.”

The foals rushed out of the room with a 'hooray' as the blue mare trotted over to her mother. “How did that come up all of a sudden?”

“I don't know, Bluesky, dear. Maybe all that storytelling had them wondering.” The elder mare sighed and shook her head. “I never want them to go back to Ponyville. That place is just… too heartbreaking.”

Bluesky pulled her mother into a hug. She knew that the older mare had accepted her fate and moved on, and might not even need comfort. But years of helping her find closure had made it into a habit - and besides, she adored her mother and never wanted her to doubt that she was loved. “Don't worry, Mommy. You don't need to go with them. They can go and meet Twilight themselves.”

“I'm sure they'll love her,” the grandmare replied. She looked down at the floor from her couch. “You know, Bluesky dear, sometimes I wish that I hadn't parted ways with her on such bitter terms. From that very day we left, I always wanted to say that I'm sorry for everything.”

She paused, staring vaguely into the warp and weft of the fabric covering the couch. “Sorry that I'm not strong enough to look fate in her eyes and accept the reality of it all.” The old mare let her head droop. “But look at me now. I'm scared. I'm all alone. I'm such a useless p-”

“Don't say that!” Bluesky tightened her embrace as she interrupted. “Mommy, all this time I've known you, you’ve been such a great mare. You were so strong when they all... passed away. You didn't give up on me when Daddy was gone and you took care of my children when I had to work far away from home.” Her voice softened, and the rightness of how she felt shone through. “Mommy, you're the greatest.”

Tears were beginning to stain the elder’s cheeks. “Thank you, Bluesky.”

“I love you Mommy. I always will.” After one more squeeze she disentangled herself, a small smile on her face.

Her mother yawned and stretched, grunting from the effort as the day’s exertions overtook her mind and body. Bluesky didn’t let on how hard it was to see her mother in pain, even if only a little.

“Sleep well, Mommy.” She gave her mother’s mane an affectionate stroke. “I'll cook breakfast in the morning. I'll make your favorite hyacinth rolls.”

“Thank you, Bluesky dear. I don't know what I would do without you.”

“The great Fluttershy could do anything,” Bluesky chirped, giving her a wink. “I'm sure of it!”

Fluttershy smiled weakly, gently closing her old, tired eyes. “I love you too, Bluesky dear,” she whispered, but by then her daughter was out of earshot, getting the grandfoals ready for bed.

Smiling peacefully, she settled herself on the couch and nudged the pillow into a more comfortable position. Her breathing slowed into a soft pace, her pale yellow chest gently rising and falling. It got slower and slower, following her fading heartbeat, until at last she moved no more.