The end of an infinite tale

“And so, the breaking point has come at last, a milestone in time. The reckoning of life, and the emptiness by those who are left behind, an unbreakable cycle, bound to each living creature, and the other way around. The expectators cannot hope to interfere, as we are not bound to the cycle, we are not alive. Oh, poor creature, tormented by her own choice, I know it’s hard to tell how troubled you feel, hoping what you need is behind every door, but the loss of someone close is inevitable, you’re just locking your own shackles”.

Moonlight’s head was spinning, memories rushing relentlessly to her mind. Laughter and sorrow, joy and sadness. Was it really true Silver was gone? How was it possible? He was with her not so long ago, and now he was no more. “Help me, Moon, please”. Those words echoed endlessly in her mind.

“I couldn’t help you Silver, I’m so very sorry. I was so panicked I couldn’t react fast enough, but you were always so sharp, so ready for anything…” Moonlight broke in tears before his grave.

Right after the Rosie broke the news to her, she walked into the hospital and demanded to be discharged immediately. She was confused, agitated, and disoriented; the doctor didn’t agree at first, but after the insistence of Moonlight, the improvement of her bruises and her clearly altered state of mind, he agreed to discharge her that same day, but on the condition she had to go for a checkup soon. Moonlight didn’t even took notice of the doctor’s demands, she didn’t even notice the whole journey to Silver’s grave; Rosie Buns had offered to go with Moonlight where Silver was buried, but Moonlight refused politely the offering without thinking about it.

“Oh Silver, I’m so sorry, it’s because of me that this happened. I loved you like a brother, I really did, but I failed to protect you. I will find a way to make things right Silver, I promise. I’m sure they have been here before, but your dad, Rosie and your son are fine, they just miss you, just like I do. Just look at me, I’m a mess; I’m sure if you could see me, you would probably make one of your jokes, like, ‘Hey, who let this hideous pony out the madhouse’” Moonlight laughed at the idea of Silver making such comment, it was perfectly visible in her mind, although she continued to shed tears as she laughed. Moonlight took a deep breath and wiped her tears. Rosie had told her that the grave was just a decoration, given that Silver’s body was never found, only one of his wings, and this brought back the memories of Silver and his signature pose.

“I have to go now Silver, but I’ll come back, I promise, and I will find a way to make things right” quickly said in a grave, solemn note, and as soon as she finished, she turned around and started to walk home.

Days went by, and as routine started to reestablish in the life of everypony, Moonlight’s restlessness grew stronger. It was obvious that Rosie Buns and Silver’s dad were saddened by the loss of Silver, but Moonlight’s feel of loss was beyond words, like something was violently and suddenly snatched from her, but there was nothing to do about it. Whenever she could, Moonlight tried to help Rosie with her chores and taking care of her newborn, Copper Rust; she felt that even with the promise that she made to Silver, it was all that was within her power to help, and therefore, a feeling of being powerless started to grow in her chest, right next to the sadness she felt. Even Rosie could tell that the most affected of Silver’s death was Moonlight, no doubt about it, and everypony else could reach the same conclusion, even so, her mood hardly went down, and she kept cheering those around her.

As the strong, independent mare that Moonlight Dust supposedly was, she lived by herself in a cottage near the woods, at the very edge of Horsetown, were she could get some peace a quiet after a long day in the city. A few days after Silver’s passing, a certain day Moonlight received a very peculiar envelope, addressed specifically to her.

“Sweet Celestia! This banker ponies don’t know when to give up! I’m becoming a professional in turning them down!” exclaimed ironically while she used her magic to open the letter.

As soon as she started reading the letter, she felt goosebumps.

“I know who you are, and I know how much you’re suffering. You put a strong façade trying to fool everypony, but you’re only fooling yourself.
What would you do if I told you there is a way to go back in time and prevent certain events from happening, at the expense of your own welfare? Would you be willing to sacrifice everything for a possibility to change things?
If you do, you must embark in a great journey that may not end well; your first destination will be the Everfree Forest, in the very heart of the forest. There you will find some of the answers you seek.
D.E.”

“Well, that was no bank offer, all right!” said Moonlight to herself out loud. As soon as she finished reading the letter, she started to wonder how much of it was true, if any.

“There are some ill-intentioned ponies out there that might want to take advantage of me” reflected while she read the letter again, “but if what this pony says it’s true, I can save Silver!”

The slightest ray of hope seemed like a whole promise of salvation to her. Even though the letter warned her about sacrificing her own welfare, she put no attention to it. It was known by everypony that the Everfree Forest was a savage place were beasts and old magic roamed free, a place where many entered, but only a few came out; the sole act of going there by herself was a life threat of its own. Even the possibility of it being a scam was completely erased from her mind.

It was not incredible to think that in the forest there could be some kind of magic that could help Moonlight, as she had heard about the mirror pond, a mystical little lake where your reflection came alive, or the magic used by the deers, unknown to any unicorn in Equestria, even the old castle of the princess sisters was said to be haunted by the shadow lurkers. When she thought of that, the idea of an unknown mystical time traveling magic was not so unthinkable. That moment her eyes burst with the flames of determination and her mind was set with the sole purpose of recovering his dearest Silver, no matter what it took.

“Well, I guess it’s time for me to do a little road-trip to the Everfree Forest” exclaimed as she walked out of the front door, defiant of the world.