When I got home, Sugar and Fluffy were waiting for me. Sugar wanted to know what had been going on since I had been gone for so long. Fluffy was just as eager, and I silently thanked her for taking care of Sugar while I had been gone.

Sugar was still beaten up, but at least she was now standing and looked less worried about herself and more concerned about me.

I told her what happened, including the part about Cog almost offing himself when I got to their house. She understandably became upset at that, as anyone would be. I had a feeling she would take it way worse if I told her I found him already dead instead of having gotten there in time.

She was very grateful for the alternative outcome.

We had gotten comfortable on the couch together. Fluffy was sitting close to me with a hoof over my thigh. I didn't know why, but it was very comforting to me. She may have realized that I was a bit shaken after today's events, even when I didn't even know it myself.

I told them what had happened after and that Cog had turned himself in. They were shocked by the news. Sugar didn't know what to say about it, so she just sat there and looked somber most of the time. She did comment on one thing, though.

"He... He thought I should have stopped him from gambling everything away?" She said breathlessly.

I looked at her and saw her hurt expression, and it hurt me to see it. "That's what he told me. Take it with a pinch of salt, please." I advised. While I felt that Cog had just stopped resisting at the end, I didn't know him or trust him. At this point, Sugar didn't know him anymore, either.

"I just," She started, holding a bag of ice over her eye. "I never thought I should. He would get mad at me for commenting on it, and I thought it was the only thing that made him happy. I didn't know how bad it was for him; he never told me."

I shook my head. "Nobody knew how bad it was. Don't blame yourself."

I wish I could take my own advice sometimes.

I put my hand on her back and rubbed it comfortingly. Sugar was sitting on my couch, where she had remained with Fluffy for a while before I joined them. The two of them had been talking after I left. I wasn't sure what, but Sugar said they had talked about what Cog had been doing to her.

I wasn't elated about the fact that Fluffy was involved in this drama, but I was glad that Sugar had someone to talk to. Besides, apparently, Fluffy had been persistent about getting Sugar to spill the beans.

She was stubborn, and I know where she got that from. Despite everything, it made me smile.

Sugar Plum looked at me as I stroked her back. I looked back at her moist eyes. She slowly moved, put down the bag of ice she was holding over her eye, and leaned forward to give me a hug. I didn't shy away; I responded in kind.

It felt nice.

"Jean, I'm sorry you had to do all this," She muttered into my sweater as she sniffed. "But, I'm glad it was you. Thank you."

I rubbed her back some more while holding my arms around her, and Fluffy joined in the hug with us. We were both very careful not to hurt Sugar as she was still fresh off the abuse. I was still fuming mad at Cog Wheel for doing this to her, but my feelings on this matter had now become successfully mixed.

And I hated that.

It wouldn't be easy for Sugar going forward. I believed that she was the kind of pony that would understand when something wasn't fair but refused to see that for herself and her own situation. I was the last guy in the world who should blame others for handling their situation poorly, but the best I could do from now on was to be better.

I was planning to use my experiences to better myself. I wasn't going to look back anymore; I was going to take a step in the right direction, and I was going to do it together with the ponies that I love.

That much, I would promise to myself.

A few days had passed since the incident with Cog Wheel. I was called in for questioning on the matter later the same day that it had happened, and I simply explained my side of it as it was. It wasn't a big deal, and they didn't make it out to be one, either. I didn't get charged for breaking and entering, because Sugar Plum nor Cog Wheel pressed charges on me.

So that was something.

They didn't make me out to be some sort of hero, which I didn't want anyway. I didn't consider myself one, not in this situation. Sure, maybe someone could look it that way, but in this situation, nobody were winners.

Cog Wheel was going to jail for abusing his wife, and Sugar was left with the emotional scars from the marriage. A marriage that had thankfully been officially ended. That was the only good part about this.

It didn't stop Sugar Plum from trying to defend her ex-husband. Only the day after, the court case took place. Princess Celestia was there, but we didn't exchange any words or interact in any way.

Sugar wanted the jury to go easy on him regarding how long he had to spend time in jail. She would go on about the good things about him without ever mentioning anything bad that he did—except for when they asked about it. And what she told them was sugar-coated to a large degree.

I wasn't surprised. She agreed to the separation, but her care for him had not faded. I thought she just wanted to please him.

Cog Wheel barely acknowledged Sugar during the trial. He never took his eyes off the floor. He was given a year of jail time and then had to sign a restraining order not to contact or see Sugar Plum in the next five years.

He signed it without question.

And that was it. After that, some guards escorted him away without any fuss. Not a word was said after.

Was I supposed to feel relief? Where was the part where we would all cheer in triumph over this? At what point would we all have a party to celebrate taking down the big bad pony?

I felt nothing of the sort. I felt only travesty for Sugar Plum.

After all the drama finally ended, I went back to work. Sugar was allowed to have the week off, but she would spend that week off with me and Fluffy. Understandably, she didn't like being in her own house anymore.

I didn't mind. It gave Fluffy someone to spend her time talking to. They had gotten along nicely and continued to get along with each other. It made me happy that Fluffy liked her because I also liked her.

We played many games together, took walks around Canterlot, visited Luna once (which Fluffy really got a kick out of), and talked a lot, too.

While Fluffy and I had gotten closer in the time we had spent alone without my parents anywhere to be seen, I felt we still had not had an enormous breakthrough. Large parts of that was because we still hadn't really talked about what I knew she wanted to talk about deep inside: her mom.

Anyway, after a few days of that, I decided it was time to take Fluffy on a trip. On Friday afternoon, we got into a hot-air balloon that I had ordered and took off toward Manehattan.

Why Manehattan? Fluffy asked me that too, but I figured it would be something she would just have to see when we got there.

So there we were, at one of the landing podiums on the outskirts of Canterlot, looking at a grand balloon holding up a tiny basket, levitating about half a meter above the ground.

Fluffy had never been in an air balloon before, so she was pretty excited about it. Kinda weird, I thought, since she can just spread her wings and fly wherever she wanted to.

We stepped into the basket, and the instructor holding the balloon down told us to just let it do its thing. Completely constructed with a mix of magic and engineering, this balloon would take us to Manehattan and return after dropping us off. It was kind of like it would have a mind of its own.

Back in my day... My internal monolouge went off.

That aside, Fluffy and I got comfortable in the basket togeher. There wasn't much inside of it, just a comfortable flooring to rest on. Given my abnormal size for a pony, standing up in the basket didn't make me feel very healthy, so I decided to drop that idea and sit down to just lean my back against the side of the basket.

Fluffy sat down opposite me and looked very content. She didn't mind at all that we were doing something together; I figured she was just happy to get out of Canterlot for a bit after everything that had been going on.

I was too.

The balloon started slowly rising as the instructor let go of us, and off we went to our destination. It was nice but cold, and it would likely get much colder when we reached a higher altitude.

Fluffy and I didn't talk that much. We had found ourselves in a fortunate situation where both of us could enjoy some silence together without feeling awkward tension. This sort of just developed in the time we had together.

I fished out an oats bar from my pocket that I had brought to share and tossed it to her. She grabbed it, and we munched on it while the balloon rose higher and higher.

It was a beautiful day. The sky was a perfect blue, without a cloud. A slight wind blew cold air at us, and we could see the tops of snow-covered trees far below us. I covered my neck as much as I could with my coat to stay warm.

I wasn't feeling very good when I started looking down, so I opted to stay safely within the basket walls.

From here, Canterlot looked almost like a toy set. The houses were minuscule, and the castle was tiny. I snickered to myself when I imagined a small toy version of Celestia and Luna arguing loudly between their respective towers.

We had risen very high above the ground at this point, making me wonder just how high up we were. I didn't like dwelling too much on the thought, just how easy it would be to just... fall.

"Look!" Fluffy said and pointed out over the edge of the basket.

I looked up and followed where she was pointing, and my eyes widened as I saw a group of pegasi in the distance. It looked like they were playing a game of some sort because I would sometimes see a ball flying back and forth between the two groups facing each other.

Sky Volleyball? Beats me.

"I love seeing them fly," Fluffy commented and looked up at me with a smile.

I nodded in agreement and saw their swift motions as they swirved through the air. "They sure do know how to make it look easy."

"I wish I could be like that." She sighed as she put her chin on the ledge of the basket.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't have a cutie mark yet. What if I'm not destined to fly?"

I rested my arms on the ledge and looked over the edge with her. "Hey, you shouldn't worry about that, kid," I told her, shaking my head.

"It's not like there are any rules in the universe that say you have to get a cutie mark for flying. Some ponies do, and some don't. Those wings aren't just for show, you know." I pointed at her fluffy wings, and she flexed them after a brief giggle.

"Yeah, you're probably right." She said, but she still looked pensive.

"But, uh," I continued. "Listen, just be yourself, Fluffy, and you'll find your cutie mark in the end."

She smiled at me, those cute cheeks brightening from the cold. "Grandma and Grandpa always talk about how I definitely will get a flying cutie mark because it would be crazy if I didn't. I like that you didn't say the same thing."

I shrugged. "I'm supposed to be here to support you, not tell you what to do."

"That's what I like about you."

She got up from her position as I blinked at her response, and she took a small hoof step on the ledge, followed by a leap over it. Her wings flexed as she rode the wind a little bit before she started soaring around the balloon.

A part of me was worried for her safety, given how high up we were, but I tried to find peace and be happy for her wanting to show off.

Fluffy...

She has such complex emotions inside that tiny body of hers. She had all these worries and fears in her, and yet, that's only scratching the surface of it. Strangely, it made me happy to see her like this, how much she had grown.

I was really happy to see it. It sounds weird, but when you see your kid grow, you feel it in your soul. I would not miss another chance to be her father again.

She laughed as she flew around the air balloon. The sound of her laugh and her voice faintly reminded me of my wife's laugh, which made me laugh, too. Fluffy isn't ours by blood, but she may as well be. She showed off her awesome and beautiful wings as she flew circles around the balloon.

"Do a flip!" I encouraged. She did it. I cheered. Fuck yeah.

She wasn't going to be just anyone. I knew that she had it in her to achieve great things. She was going to be something that most ponies could only dream of being, and I couldn't wait to see it happen.

But for now, she was my daughter, and I was going to enjoy every second of it.

A little while later, after she had enough fun flying around the balloon, she landed in the basket again and sat down on her butt next to me. I poked her in the ribs playfully.

"So is it just me, or are all pegasi not suffering from fear of heights like the rest of us?"

She laughed at me. Ouch.

We landed in Manehattan about an hour later. It was a nice trip, but I would never again order a hot air balloon in the winter. Fuck that, too cold.

The balloon set us down in an open area around the harbor, so we didn't have to travel much around in the actual city. It was still early in the day, so the city was as busy as ever. Good. I hated crossing the streets further downtown—too many ponies.

I could see our destination long before we landed, so I started heading straight for it. I did get a few looks while we were walking, but I was used to that. It didn't bother me much anymore since I had been dealing with it pretty much my entire life.

I was very aware of Fluffy's position at all times. I didn't want her to get caught up in someone being careless or whatever might happen. As a parent, you tend to get the craziest ideas about how your child could be exposed to dangers.

So I would keep my hand on her head as we walked, always feeling her close to me.

After not more than fifteen minutes of walking, our destination was now directly in sight. Fluffy must have caught on to what my intentions were when she saw we were making a beeline for it.

"Are we going to that Ferris Wheel?!" She asked excitedly as she pointed up at it.

"Yup, that's the one," I replied with a smile.

"Woooooow!" She exclaimed and sped up past me to reach the entrance before me, which was blocked by a few ponies waiting in a queue. There weren't that many ponies at this time of year, but of course, some wanted to ride—mostly families or couples.

I chuckled as I walked over to the back of the queue and waited behind her. We didn't have to wait for long.

After I gave the pony attending it some bits, we stepped into a carriage and sat down on the opposite sides. It was a small pod for a human, but I'd been here many times so I didn't mind.

The sun was still shining brightly, and once the wheel started to take us up to the top, we could see everything. I could see the entirety of Manehattan and the surrounding areas.

The faint smell of salt from the sea hit us as the ride started lowering to the ground again. We could hear the waves crashing against the shoreline, and it was very soothing to listen to. I looked at the sight and remembered seeing this view with Willow many times.

I looked over at Fluffy for a moment and felt like I was looking at my wife. She was too distracted by the view to notice me staring, and I looked back out again before she caught on.

"It's beautiful, right?" I asked as I watched the ponies milling around in the streets further away from us.

Fluffy nodded and looked at me, smiling. "Yeah, this is amazing. Thank you for taking me here."

We looked at each other, and I think she may have caught on to my distressed emotional state at the moment because she frowned at me. I blinked and realized my eyes had moistened up. Damn it.

"So... why did you wanna take me here?" She asked.

I took some time to think of what I would say to her. I wanted to just be honest with her because, at this point, that was all that would get us to move forward. So, with a steady inhale, I steeled myself.

"Me and your mom used to ride this thing a lot together. I wanted to come here with you, because I feel like that's something I need to do. It's something me and your mom did together, and I wanted to bring you here to, uh..." I rambled on, trying to find a way to explain my feelings.

I hated this part of myself. It was time to man up and drop the facade.

"I just wanted to spend some time with you, just us, and tell you how much I... l-love you and how proud I am of you."

When I said those things to her, it was hard to keep my emotions in check. I didn't want to be such a baby about it, but I just couldn't help it. I was proud of her, and I wanted her to know that. I didn't want her to ever feel like she wasn't enough because that's not how I saw her.

Fluffy looked shocked. I couldn't tell if she was horrified or delighted.

"I'm sorry for not being there for you in the past," I continued. "I know I could have done a better job with you, and I'm sorry that I let you down. But, I promise I'm never going to do that again. I will always be there for you whenever you need me. Okay?"

I was leaning forward to her and saw that she started sniffing and biting her lip while I was talking.

Tears started rolling down my cheeks, and I tried to wipe them away. I was a grown man, crying on a Ferris Wheel in front of my daughter. I looked like an idiot.

If Giddy saw this he would never let me live this down.

"You didn't let me down... It wasn't your fault, and I know that! You were hurting, and there's nothing wrong with that!" She shook her head and looked angry as she cried.

At the power of her words, I felt as if I had been struck by lightning. Memories flashed through me of my life, the past years that had gone by. She had just come back into my life again, and here we were. It was strange how something so tiny could matter such a great deal.

Even after so much time had passed, it proved that anything could save someone. Coming in like a storm from a completely different direction.

I didn't want her making excuses for me. She shouldn't have had to; I was her father, and I should have known better. Yet her words carried so much power that I wouldn't dare say anything to counter them.

"I love you, Fluffy," I told her.

"I love you too!" She stood up on the seat and wrapped her wings around me in a hug, and I returned it just as eagerly.

"From now on, we'll be together, okay? Don't leave me, I'll do anything." I begged her, and despite knowing her answer, I just had to tease her.

She giggled through her sobs into my shoulder and didn't say anything to me for a while. We just held each other close and let our emotions out. It was amazing. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, way more than it ever felt.

She pulled away from the hug and wiped her tears away with her hooves. I did the same, and then we both laughed about it. I had been looking forward to something like this for a long time without realizing how much I needed it.

We enjoyed the feeling for a few minutes before Fluffy spoke up again.

"I... I want to go see mom."

I wasn't shocked. I had been waiting for Fluffy to bring it up, and at this point, I agreed with her. It was time to put the past behind me, and let go of what I had been carrying around with me for so long.

"You're right." I replied as I took my arms off her shoulders. "I should have taken you there a long time ago. I'm sorry."

"Please... don't be. But do you think we can go there today?" She asked.

It hurt me to think of what it would be like, but I didn't want to live this way anymore. It was time to open a new door to a new life and leave the old one behind. It was time to be brave, because now I didn't just have myself to be brave for.

I had Fluffy. I had Sugar. I had friends I cared about, and I'd even made new friends, too.

I nodded with determination in my heart. "Of course."

Mrs. Solara dragged me back into the school when she found me trying to get away from participating in social activities. I much preferred just getting home and not being forced to spend time with anyone. It was a drag, why couldn't anyone just leave me the fuck alone?

"Young Jean! Everypony has to make an effort to be part of the community, even humans!" She huffed as she got in my way.

I sighed as she blocked my path and pointed a hoof at the school building. "But Mrs. Solara, nobody likes me here. You know it! Everyone just stays away from me. It'd be better if I just left."

She shook her head in denial. "No, that is simply all in your head. You see one pony that does something that makes you sad, and you let it affect how you view everypony. I will not abandon you, Jean!"

I sighed. There was nothing to be done. I didn't want to get in trouble with the teachers here; I was already treated like a special case enough as it was.

She confidently guided me back to school without letting me respond. I really didn't like when these teachers started going off about things they really had no idea about. How could they possibly know more about me and what ponies around me think of me than I do?

As I was escorted back into the building, I challenged her. "What am I even supposed to do? I don't have magic. All the school clubs focus on magic-based activities. Where does that leave me?"

She huffed, and we went into one of the hallways along the building. "Nonsense! There are several things you could do without magic. For example," She said as she burst into one of the doors along the wall.

"Everypony, you have a new member. Please make him feel at home." She announced to the room's inhabitants while gesturing for me to enter.

I poked my head out from behind the door and looked inside of the room. There were a few ponies stationed at what looked like industrial kitchens. Several models of the same kitchen stretched out in a long line so that several groups of ponies could work on different projects or tests by themselves.

I admit, it had my attention. If not visually, the smell was amazing. I didn't see many ponies inside the room, only about half a dozen of them that I hadn't seen much of before, probably in other classes. There was a stallion teacher I recognized, standing with some of the students.

All eyes were on me and Mrs. Solara.

"Ah, a new member, eh? Good! Please, come in!" The stallion grinned and walked over to us while the students inside watched us with interest.

The light brown stallion beckoned me inside, so I slowly and reluctantly stepped inside the room.

"So you want to join our club, huh?" he said in a friendly manner. I hadn't had many interactions with this teacher, but I liked him from what I had seen of him. He seemed kind. He hadn't so much as batted an eye at me, but my mental blocks decided to disagree with the logic.

"I don't know," I shrugged. "I mean, I'm not really a pony and-"

"I don't see what that has to do with anything," he said, cutting me off and shaking his head. You can cook, can't you?"

"Um... no. I don't know how to."

He chuckled. "Well, that's why you're in this clubroom, isn't it? So I can teach you how to cook. I promise it's easier than it sounds."

I looked past him to get a good look at the other students, and in my mind, I only saw what I wanted to see: unfriendly faces ready to tell me what I could never do or would never be.

"I don't know... I don't think this is for me," I told him, taking a step back, trying to retreat to safety.

He gently approached me some more, persistent to convince me. "Oh, come on. You just need to give it a chance. It might not be your thing, but it's worth a shot, right?"

I looked at Mrs. Solara. She gave me an encouraging look and shushed at me with a hoof. I didn't like this, but I didn't want to let them down by not doing this, so whatever. What's the worst that can happen, right?

Giving in to it, I lowered my shoulders and nodded. "Okay."

"Splendid!" He clapped his hooves together and smiled. "Now that that's settled, let's get you started!"

He went up to me and pushed me in the direction of one of the kitchen sections that only had a single pony working it—a unicorn girl.

When she saw us approaching her section, she looked around her at the other ponies, and they giggled at her.

"You'll be working with Miss Rose here." He patted me on the back, and I waved at the unicorn as I arrived before her, courtesy of the stallion pushing me all the way. After that, he went back to the other students, presumably to finish the conversation they had been having before I interrupted everyone.

Mrs. Solara had already left the room, because I didn't see her behind us when I turned around to check.

Traitor.

This pony, Rose, smiled. She probably just felt sorry for me or something like that. I could tell. It was always the same.

Regardless, she didn't react as I expected her to. "Hi! I'm Willow Rose. I guess we'll be working toge..." She tried greeting me, but her nose started sniffing the air strangely. Moments later I noticed a faint burning smell around us.

"What... OH NO!" She flipped around and ran back to the oven. "My-precious-rainbow-and-chocolate-flavored-cookies!"

She frantically opened the oven as she babbled the title of her project and took out a tray of roasted cookies. I cringed when I saw their state and mentally slapped myself for being somewhat responsible for it. She blew on them, attempting to rescue her poor creations.

Dejectedly, she slammed the tray on the table, which made the cookies bounce on it. The other ponies around were giggling at her.

Her face fell, and she looked like a lost puppy as she whimpered at the tray of cookies.

I...

I started to laugh too.

"Hey, what gives?" She looked confused.

I don't know why, but it was just funny to me. Her whole demeanor was just amusing to me, and it was honestly refreshing.

Every time I met someone these days, the conversation always started with 'What are you?' or 'You look pretty weird.' She didn't really do any of that—at least, not initially. But that was enough for me to feel a bit less anxious about this.

I probably looked very mean laughing at her. She was almost tearing up over her ruined cookies and I was laughing! I just couldn't help it.

"Aw, come on, dude! This is so not funny! You're gonna help me make new ones to make up for it, right?"

My laugh died down, and I grinned. "Yeah, why not? You're gonna have to teach me though. I've never touched a spatula in my life."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Really?! Oh my, you don't know what you've been missing! You don't have to use a spatula for cookies though! Oh, you've really been missing out, my new friend!"

"Missing out on things like burnt cookies?" I poked one of the crispy failures with a finger.

"How rude! No, way better things than that. I can teach you if you'd like."

I smiled, and I forgot all about what kind of plans I had that day. What was I even planning on doing when I got home later, anyway? What did I always spend my time doing? I never did anything good with my time or made use of my life, so I felt like I could finally do something here, in this place.

I realized I hadn't responded to her, so I quickly nodded at her, which made her perk up.

"Alright! So, anyway! Tell me, ...

"... who are you?"

My face remained expressionless as I walked into my wife's room. It was always the same. Each time, however, it felt like she was fading more and more.

For the past few years, her condition had become increasingly worse. She had started to actually forget about me and our memories together. That was what truly broke me in the end, something that I was holding on to so dearly was lost forever, or was slowly being taken away from the world.

However, this time, hearing those words out of her mouth felt lighter than it had before. I hadn't seen her in a very long time, and I thought it would hurt me much more after so much time had passed. I had to stop coming here as often to avoid facing reality, but in the end, I just hurt myself by doing that.

I had a bouquet of flowers with me, and I walked over to put them into a vase on her nightstand before sitting on a chair next to her.

She watched me lazily from her position in the bed as I sat down next to her. "Hey, baby."

She looked like she had just been asleep. These days, that's what she always looked like. She was very skinny, skinnier than a pony should be. She looked as if she tried walking on her own, she would likely not make it very far.

She tilted her head at my greeting. "Hmm? I'm not a baby." She said while looking at nothing in particular. I tried leaning forward to get her to look at my face but she kind of just glossed over it.

I tried a bit more to get some sort of greeting from her but gave up in the end. After all, I came here with a purpose and didn't want to disorient her too much.

I sighed as I removed my gloves from my hands and put them on the table. "I brought someone with me today, Willow. A guest."

"A guest? But I'm not decent." She muttered.

I looked to the door that I had entered moments earlier, where I saw the small frame of my daughter poking her head through and I swallowed a big lump of nervousness down. It's only fair for her to see her mother, even if it's in this state.

Willow didn't notice my companion; her head was tilted vaguely in my direction, which was opposite to where the door was. Willow had started muttering to herself, so I gestured for Fluffy to enter the room, and she did very quietly.

I looked at Fluffy's worried expression as she took in the shape of her mother. She hadn't seen her since she started getting sick; I wouldn't allow my parents to take her. I just didn't want her to go through what I've been going through.

I could see my mistake much more clearly now. I had been forced to reflect on many things. I cleared my throat as I gently grasped Willow's hoof.

"Willow... I'm sorry I haven't been here much lately. I've been having some hard times." I told her. "My life has been going nowhere, and I have had a huge empty space in my heart for a long time. But... lately, I've had reasons to feel differently."

Willow frowned but didn't reply. I liked to believe she was listening to me.

Fluffy had been slowly walking up to the bed while I was talking, and she was also listening to me talk. She gave me a reassuring look that helped me stay focused, and I internally thanked her for that.

When did my daughter become my therapist?

I pointed behind her. "Fluffy is here."

"I'm not fluffy," Willow responded as if she was a child. I shook my head and got closer to her so I could gently turn her head in the direction of Fluffy.

"Mom?"

I felt the moment Willow's eyes landed on our daughter's face. I felt the muscles in her face twist and turn into a smile. I looked at her as she saw our daughter, and my jaw dropped as I saw her actually registering something. Her eyes seemed to regain focus, and she started to tear up.

"Fluffy!" She said in a weird mix between a quiet and a loud voice. "Look at you, you're so big!"

She reached out to her with her hooves, and Fluffy jumped into the bed and embraced her mother carefully. She didn't hesitate when she saw that she remembered her.

She... remembered her?

I watched in silence and disbelief as they hugged in the bed. Fluffy was crying, and Willow was smothering her with every bit of strength she had. The voice she used when speaking our daughter's name, how she said it, and how she registered her... It broke me.

I started sobbing quietly to myself. This was the most emotion I had seen from Willow in years, and I didn't know whether I wanted to laugh or cry. I tried wiping my eyes.

Could it even be possible? "Willow?"

She looked up at me over Fluffy's head. "And what are you crying about, weirdo?" She asked me in a raspy voice, with a look in her eyes that told me she was completely aware of her surroundings.

I didn't answer; I could only look on in shock, my jaw having a conversation with the floor.

I leaned in close to her and cupped her face in my hands. "Willow?"

She held my head in her hooves and moved it forward so that our foreheads were touching each other. She closed her eyes.

"Jean," She whispered so that only I could hear. "You're a big boy. Don't be such a crybaby."

That sweet, lovely voice—I remember it. It was still in my heart, floating around like a melody only I could hear. The way it hit my soul when she spoke could only be compared to what it would be like to find true peace.

It's something one could only find once in a lifetime.

"I love you," I told her, and I meant it. I didn't think I could ever love someone this much. It was all I could say; it was the first thing that came to mind when I was looking for what words I told myself I would say to her when I saw her again.

Willow snorted and smiled as she rubbed her forehead on mine. "I love you too, my love. Now please stop crying, you're making me cry."

I took a deep breath to calm myself down. "I'm sorry, sweetie." I tried to focus on something and find something to talk about when it hit me. "Hey, Fluffy and I went to Diamond Harbor today, where we used to hang out, remember?"

She nodded and grinned. "Yeah. I remember. We went on the ferris wheel together."

Fluffy finally emerged from Willow's embrace and joined in our sob party. She put her head together with ours.

What a big happy family we were. A tall, freakish human, a tiny, fluffy pegasus filly, and a skinny unicorn bedridden in a hospital. What a view we must have been.

"Yeah. We had fun, right?" I said to her. I felt Fluffy's eyes on me as she watched us speak.

"Oh yeah, I do. We spent almost every Friday night up in that thing! I really wish I could have gone with you..." Willow pouted.

I snorted at her, and kissed her. "Then, why don't we all go together next time? What do you think, kid?" I looked at Fluffy.

Fluffy nodded teary-eyed. "Yes, please!"

"Looks like someone's excited."

My wife giggled. "Oh, I'd love to go back there. It's been so long... I think. Wait, where were we going?" She asked as she suddenly shifted and blinked several times.

The smile my daughter and I had on our faces fell at those words, and I backed up a bit to see Willow's face twitch a little. She tried getting back into bed, because it looked like she was about to collapse.

She was exhausted, only after a short time sitting up.

It seemed to bring her out again, for only a short time, seeing Fluffy again. Fluffy and I knew we were on borrowed time with her, but it was enough. I never thought I would see her like that again, but the fact that I did was a bigger gift than I could ever ask for.

I got to spend a few precious moments with my wife, I couldn't have asked for anything better than that. It truly, truly made me happy.

She was now lying down again, and my daughter continued trying to talk with her about our trip while Willow slowly started to fade back into her empty self again. I couldn't watch, so I turned my sight to her hoof, which I held on to for dear life.

My lifeline, my anchor, my rock, my heart. My savior.

The doctors had told me last time I was here, which was a few months ago, that Willow likely wouldn't make it through the next half year. She was simply deteriorating too much, and her condition was only getting worse.

Losing someone is hard, but seeing someone you love slowly fading away is a whole different thing. Not only can you do nothing to help them, but you must also live with yourself and accept it.

But here we were. And I was given a small chance to see her again, as she used to be. As did Fluffy. I felt Willow's gaze land on me as I held onto her hoof.

The life I led with my wife was a beautiful one. We would always laugh and smile when we were together. We always had fun with each other, and those few sad moments we shared always ended with a laugh.

So instead of looking like a damned fool the last time she saw me, I would smile.

And smile, I did.

Author's Note

The next chapter will end this story. I hope you have all enjoyed following it despite it taking a while to move along. Thanks!