It was a regular day in Ponyville; all of the ponies were busy making their way to wherever they needed to go, while the fillies, and colts went to school. There was a crisp breeze in the air, signaling the start of fall. While it seemed that every pony had a place to go or things to do, what they didn't realize was that one of them didn't. A mare; she had been standing in the once filled crowded plaza-- now not even a whisper as the mare stood there in silence. As time passed everyone had gotten out of where they needed to be, and was now making their way home.
For what felt like a few seconds to the mare, was hours upon hours of silence, a few more minutes and the plaza went silent again. Just like as before, the mare stood there not moving. Now, as everyone was in their homes, she fell over on the ground and started sobbing. As tears shed, and cries of agony were let out, they forever embedded the flow of sound as they passed until they couldn't be heard, and were lost.
After a few moments of crying, the mare regained her composure and walked over to a window, and saw a family. What she found was family eating at a dinner table; all happy and cheerful, but she did not feel this joy. Instead she felt a rush of past memories... A young mare was sitting in her bedroom trying to sleep, when she heard from the other room: "I told you to stop coming home drunk" a mare said to a stallion, who was about to lay down.
"Shut up Mary Rose, I don't have to do what you say." the stallion replied with a tone asking for trouble.
“Get out of my house, I have had enough of this. I want you out now!"
The mare started to tear up in her bed as she heard her father say “that’s it, I have had it" followed by hitting sounds and yelps and crying and whimpers of fear. Every blow caused a rush of tears to fall down her face as she muffled her crying with her pillow to not be hurt by her father either.
The mare was snapped back into the world of reality with tears still flowing out like a waterfall. Remembering too much, she felt that she had to go to where it ended again; to help recall what had been lost to time. As she walked she felt her legs grow heavier with every step she took.
When she reached her destination, she sat down. Then started reading the markings engraved on the stone, "Rest In Peace Mary Rose. May you always be remembered by those you loved." She pulled a rose out of her bag, and laid it next to the grave. As she did this she muttered, "I will never forget you mom..." and walked away to aimlessly wander the empty streets of Ponyville.
'Hey, are you awake?" The mare awoke to find a filly standing there smiling.
"I am now... who are you?" the mare asked. “I’m Petal Moon, who are you?" Petal moon asked.
"Um... My name is..." She stopped, the mare tried to remember her name by scrolling through her memories as if they were a book and each memory was a page making up the story. Nothing, she couldn't remember her own name. She felt like her very existence was being denied; when her thoughts were interrupted by the same filly who asked again,
"What’s your name" the mare stood and said
"I-I can't remember my name..." Petal Moon just laughed and said
"OK, I will give you a name then. From now on you will be known as...Caramel" the mare asked why she had chosen that name only to be answered by “your coat looks like caramel" and after that Petal moon went to school saying her farewells to Caramel. Not confused by the name or by what had happened, she was confused by the happiness of the filly who was with her. She wanted to ask why but it didn't seem right to ask. for the filly most likely had not had the feeling of sadness or the feeling of loss... she thought about what she knew of this feeling of loss and a rush of old memories flooded back like a waterfall, never stopping the endless flow.
She was in her closet with her mom outside it staring in with a look of pure terror, and what she said made it even worse. "whatever you do stay in here don't come out, OK?" caramel nodded her head as her mom closed the closet, soon caramel heard the clopping of hooves coming closer to the door with every heartbeat, suddenly she heard the door to her bed room open as her father walked in laughing manically. She felt her heart skip a beat as her father said
"I’ve have had to deal with you for far too long" he took a deep breath and said with a voice that cracked in the air " now I can be free from my suffering.." she heard a bag move and something slide out with a click.
“please, it doesn't have to be like this" she heard her mother wail in desperation.
Then caramel heard nothing as if the world held its breath and waited for a response. Her father took a deep breath and muttered as if he didn't want anyone to hear but just loud enough that the word rang clear as day “no" and simultaneously 3 loud bangs rippled through the air as she heard something drop to the floor. She fought the urge to cry for if she did, she too would suffer the same end as her mother. As she cover her mouth silencing the whimpers that came from it.
As she sat in disbelief that all this was happening, she got a final confirmation as a pool of crimson red start to form where the crack in the door held the only light in the room she was in. she heard a voice call to her from the closet " i know you’re in there, why don't you come out like a good little girl" as the sound of hoofs banging as loud as the shots of the gun he carried grew closer, her heart pounded in her chest as if trying to break free and fly away. Just as the door was about to open, the world seemed to start falling around her as cold, hard reality set in and heard a voice call to her “caramel."
Aroused from her dream; caramel stood up and stretched before greeting the filly that stood before her.
"Hello again caramel, I have a surprise for you!" Petal Moon said almost jumping out of her skin.
Caramel laughed for the first time since the innocent as she said "OK what it it?" still wiping away the sleep from her eyes.
"I can’t tell you silly, it’s a surprise! Follow me and I will show you" Caramel rolled her eyes; still grinning she nodded and starts to follow the excited filly.
As Caramel walked with the filly, she noticed that Ponyville has gotten a bit more dull than normal as if all the colors were fading from her eyes. She looked down to see that she was a kind of see through color now of what she used to be; but still she trekked on toward her guide to an unknown location.
The filly stopped at a house not far from the square and said "this is the place!" before waiting for a response the filly ran up the stairs and knocked on the door. A few moments later, a mare walked out as the filly said “Mom, I have someone I want you to meet!" and she pointed towards Caramel.
Her mom just blinked and said “Honey, there’s no one there. C'mon inside, you will catch a cold if you stay out any longer"
Caramel was taken aback as Petal Moons mom said that and said "I'm here, don't you see me?" But to her surprise, the filly looked around and said to her mom
"Oh, I guess she went home. Hope I didn't scare her off like this" And Petal Moon went inside with her mom. Caramel stood there feeling colder than the wind that shook her. after a moment longer, she ran back to the square and threw herself on the floor. she went to pull her arm up to wipe the start of tears away until she realized she was almost completely see through, and the once colored world now fell into different shades of white and black. Terrified she went to the only place that made sense to her.
As she ran, rain started to fall and break way to a thick storm. But through the odds she made it, she made it back to her mother’s grave and sat down reading over the words again, and again and again until something had caught her eye. Something she haven't seen before.
She looked over to the grave next to her moms and read the words that were written on the grave "Rest In Peace: Midnight Rose, May you forever be remembered by those who loved you" Then it hit her, it hit the mare like a brick as she spoke the words under her breath "that's my name." and suddenly the rain lifted to release a glimmering white light that engulfed her like the rain once had. And she smiled as she realized what was happening and said “I’m ready"
As she started to float towards the clouds, she took a last look back down on what she was leaving behind and said to herself as she looked upon the sky that was opening up to her "I’m ready to go home."
After that pretty much everything was the same in Ponyville, the foals would go to school and the adults to work, everything was perfect accept for one thing, every day in the morning and in the afternoon. There was a filly who once had met a wonderful new friend whom she adored and played with. Now she waited for that friend to come back with tears of despair and a heart filled with hope. She waited for her friend, to come back and play once more.
