Coda

Of course Diamond Dream's debut as an infant Buttercup liked a little too much. Even with the scars she was perfect. This time Buttercup would not let Ironhoof's brew ruin Honey... this one would be different.

They'd had her for almost nine months. Though nervous, Buttercup allowed Ironhoof to sedate Honey once a week for the longest time. She was very afraid of losing her to this, but it also made her very happy. That made it worth it, to see that little smiley face each time. Every night after playing, laying her head on her pillow to rest... Buttercup usually didn't sleep well. She didn't tell Ironhoof, though... it would worry him, which would worry her even more, and she was having much too much fun to think about things like that.

In time, however, she found things to help her keep thinking about it less and less. This was natural, of course. She enjoyed having Diamond as Honey, both sedated and not... that was also natural. Diamond ended up being a good baby -- easy to feed and change after a month. It was almost like clockwork. The problem was, however... even after a month to adjust, she hardly ever looked up at Mommy anymore like when they started. Everything was feeling mechanical, but not after Iron Hoof's sensitives. She'd look right up with those big, beautiful black eyes, and they'd go play for a few hours. They'd laugh, of course, and make each other feel good... and those few hours really made everything she'd done to get Honey worth it.

As had happened before, once a week turned into twice a week, then... every now and again three times a week. Ironhoof shook his head each time, warning his mistress, but the more often Honey was sedated the less Buttercup thought about the bad parts, and the less guilty she felt, as the less of Diamond Dream she saw. She'd have known, though, if she'd let the young mare out unsedated... that she could hardly walk a straight line after a couple weeks of three injections. Ironhoof knew this type of symptom, if not backed away from quickly, was usually a warning of things to come...

"Mistress, perhaps we could go to the cinema tonight?" Ironhoof started suggesting. "Give Honey some rest for a while? She'll always be there, and... we don't want to kill her."

"I know what I want, Ironhoof," Buttercup would almost always reply. "Tomorrow we can go. I want to play with her tonight. Really badly! ...please."

"Very well."

At times his suggestions were taken, but not often enough.

Even as part of Honey's face began to droop and she had trouble swallowing, Buttercup only saw what she wanted -- a cute, little foal to play with who need somepony to take care of her. That needed to be somepony special, somepony who would be there forever... and she would love to call Mommy. Buttercup didn't even notice when Diamond began losing control of her bladder regularly, as that's just what she wanted. She also never noticed when her sight began to fade... as Honey could still make out the shape of the ball and follow her voice easily enough. Ironhoof suspected he was poisoning her and even tried to talk to Diamond while Buttercup was away, but Diamond would just look up at him and tell him how she felt:

"You're a monster," she said once. "You know you're hurting me... it's a game to you. Just go away."

Still he tried:

"How is it hurting you? Is it hurting you? Tell me so I can tell her... it's important you last forever, Diamond. It's very important us."

She turned away. There were ways to make her speak up, of course, but his mistress would not approve... what was he to do except ask again, which he did each week.

By the time he heard a difference in her voice -- her speech somewhat slurred -- he knew it was too late to try to preserve her. He still tried, talking to his mistress... telling her what he noticed, but he knew it would do little good. Sealing it was when Diamond finally told him the truth after a month and three weeks of three injections:

"I can barely see things anymore and I can hardly hear. Everything sounds muffled and all I see are just vague shapes with blurry colors. Happy now?"

He walked off silently... knowing an apology would mean nothing. He had done it again, not wanting to. He stopped trying to barter with his Mistress at this point, allowing what would happen to just happen naturally...

It happened that Buttercup went down stairs one autumn morning after a night of playing to discover Honey had stopped moving. Like so many others at this point... she had also stopped eating. There would be no injections that day, or even that week. Even though Buttercup held out hope, a few days later Honey stopped breathing.

Of course Ironhoof was there to hug her... like always. That never changed, and it did make her feel a bit better. He even told her the truth, exactly as she wanted to hear it:

"I gave her too much. The blame rests on me... please forgive me."

Even though there was more to it, this much was true -- Ironhoof was the one holding the syringe. In the aftermath, though, his warmth was better than nothing... and he was a constant, after all.

Buttercup had had Honey for a time, and in that time she loved her so very much. The weeping willow in the back yard would appreciate her after that. It had grown so much over the years, and would grow even bigger after Spring arrived. That was all that could be done, for a baby who did nothing wrong and deserved a peaceful rest like the few others Buttercup had truly grown to love so very much.

THE END

Author's Note

Thank you for reading Making Honey. It was something I've been working on for the past few years, off and on, and I'm happy to present it.

I had a couple issues writing this story, and a few times writer's block crept up and made it difficult for me to work out a few events, particularly the ending.

Hope everyone enjoyed it, or at least found something to be liked in it. A number of fans reaching out to me through Fimfiction and Derpibooru asking about it helped drive me to complete it. Thanks for that.

Peace!