The day was as grey as it always was. The feeling was always melancholy as it had always been. It had not always been like this. There was a time when the grey mare would sit along her friends and they could enjoy their lives and not worry about much. There was no worry for food or water or warmth because the world had been such a lively place.

She would have gone to a party, and had seen different mares and stallions dancing and laughing and having a great time. She would have walked over to the punch table and had taken a few sips as she had watched everyone. Then, a handsome stallion would have walked up to her and asked her to dance. She would’ve obliged, and they would have gotten to known each other. Afterwards, he would ask her on a date, and she would have said yes. She would be nervous, because it was her first date, and her friends would have encouraged her.

The date would be a success and she would return home happily. She remembered the moments she would share with her friends. She would work as a mailmare and she would enjoy seeing a pony’s bright shining face every morning. Maybe not every face was bright and shining, but it was worth seeing the ones that were.

She would share a Hearth’s Warming Eve with her friends, and they would sit around the fireplace, telling stories and jokes. She would have a story about the time that she accidently wrecked the town hall, or the time that she had dressed herself in brown paper bags for Nightmare Night. They would all laugh, and she would laugh with them. She would live her life happily, and, in a sad way, she now realized how much she had taken for granite.

But, she thought as she trotted down the road, At least I have those memories.

It was a moment before she realized that the child was not at her side. The grey mare turned and looked around. Behind her, a few feet away, the filly had stopped, and was staring at something on the side of the road. The mare approached her, and could see that a bleached skeleton was lying on the side of the road. It was small, about the size of half-grown pony, and it was curled in its death position. The ashes that covered it stirred, like some pale funeral petals being strewn to the wind. The child stared at it, an unreadable expression on her face.

The grey mare led the child away, and the child followed along behind her. She was staring at the ground. The grey cloud was above them, and the mare looked up at it. There was nothing bright, and there was not a single sign of the beautiful blue sky that had once glowed so brightly above them. There were no Pegasus ponies, and the cultivated fields around them were covered in ash and inedible weeds. There were no Earth ponies to cultivate or grow them. Her little daughter was alone, and there were no other Unicorns or foals for her to interact with.

“Mommy?”

“Yes, my little muffin, what is it?”

“Your friends all died didn’t they?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t have to lie to me mommy. They died didn’t they?”

The mare stopped in her tracks. She lowered her head.

“Yes.”

“All of them.”

“Yes. All of them.”

“That’s all we ever do. That’s the only thing anypony ever does. There isn’t any point to life is there? All we do is die.”

The mare turned around, her daughter’s words shocking her. Her daughter had sat on the road and was looking down. She had removed her face cloth, and had thrown it down. Her eyes did not shed any tears, but she kept a stoic, and somewhat vacant expression. The grey mare approached the child, but she did not look up. The mare removed her own face cloth.

“You can’t think that way.”

“Why not?”

“Because it isn’t a good way to think.”

“But it’s true.”

“Just because something is true doesn’t mean that it’s right.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I mean, you have to remain optimistic.”

“What’s that mean?”

“It means hopeful. You have to remain hopeful. You have to keep trying.”

“But why?”

The child looked up at her. The grey mare stared into her child’s eyes, filled with affection and care. The child’s eyes were glistening, but she did not cry.

“Because… because we’re together.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have you, and you have me. We have each other. And I love you more than anything else in this world.”

The child actually smiled. She reached up, and hugged her mother. The mother hugged her back.

“I love you too mommy.”

“And that’s all that matters.”

As the two broke from the hug, the mare gently tied the face cloth back onto her daughter’s face, and then placed hers on as well. As she was about to turn, the child spoke again.

“But we’re going to die aren’t we?”

The mare looked at her daughter. She could not lie. “Someday we will. But not today. Not tomorrow. Not anytime soon. Okay?”

The child looked down at the ground. She fiddled her hooves, as she usually did. She was silent, and then she looked back up at her mother.

“Okay.”

The mare nodded. “Okay.”

Until they came to a stop that night, the little filly remained quiet for the rest of the day. That night, in the cold dark huddled under the blanket, the filly cuddled close to her mother, and the mother wrapped her hooves tightly around her. The child asked her mother about her foalhood. The grey mare smiled, and told her quietly.

***

The bright blue sky shone above her, and the misty mountains in the distance seemed to be beckoning her. She looked around for a bit, surrounded by white puffy clouds that seemed to be springing with joy. The air was scented with the smells of springtime, and the land was reawakening, becoming new once again in its endless cycle.

She looked down, and could see the houses below her. As her unique yellow eyes focused to make out the correct one, another Pegasus pony passed by her and shouted out a greeting, to which she waved enthusiastically in reply. When she finally spotted the house she wanted, she dove down, careful to keep her momentum slow as to not over judge her speed and accidently crash like she was so well known for.

A smile beamed on her face, and she focused on the house. There was a special letter that had been waiting to be delivered, and that was what she found the most joyous about her job. It wasn’t her talent, but it didn’t matter. She was happy.

Like the leaves in the wind or the grace of the Pegasus ponies that practically swam through the sky, a gentle breeze of letters followed behind her, waving and twisting in the breeze. Soon she would realize this, and would happily collect the letters when she realized that a few crucial ones were missing. The idyllic breeze fulfilled the wishes of the earth bound ponies below, making the everyday spring season seem like a paradise.

Author's Note

I hope that everyone whom read this far enjoyed!

If anyone wants to leave any feedback, it is always appreciated!
Thanks for reading!