"%I - The Last Request%"
Orion was particularly fond of the winter season. He enjoyed the longer nights as they revealed the beautiful sight of the heavens above. And why wouldn't he; him specifically? After all, he aspires to become an astrologist. At least he was fond. Nowadays, he cares not to absorb the glories of the celestial patterns, instead, only feels the darkness of the night sky consume him in an aura of a melancholy gloom. And why would he not? Since being given word of his ill mother, slowly descending into death, he has felt this way. Despite the best efforts of his friends, professors, and family, they could not seem to distract him from the coming, inevitable fate that shall take his mother and essentially us all.
This winter's night, however, Orion knew not how to feel while he packed his things. Twas one week ago that he has received a letter hand delivered from the nurse of the doctor who has been tending to his mother. He read it as followed:
My dearest son Orion,
I write to you now for a very important manner. I implore you to not worry or exaggerate this over my current condition. I only ask that you follow my instructions as you read on, as you always have as my little colt. I need you to come home within the next month. I have only that and two weeks left in my life say the doctors. I have enclosed a train ticket that should take you here whenever you have the time, though I suggest to come as soon as possible. You should remember where my room is as I wait for the passing. I also ask that you tell no one of this letter or these strange instructions; only that you are to visit me in me in my last few hours. Your presence is all that I want now. You are my final request. As always, I love you Orion, and I look forward with great anticipation for your arrival, my love.
Love always,
Mother
"She always loved to see me in this vest. I suppose I should bring it to make her happy." Said Orion who followed it with his head in his hoof. He began to leak out his emotions no matter how hard he attempted to suppress the tears for he believed in always having a positive attitude, especially in his mother's case. "Why must she suffer, why must it end? She doesn't deserve this kind of end." He lets out a whimper of struggle trying harder now to seal these thoughts of pessimism. This time he has successfully collected himself and continued to pack. Still the thoughts lingered, naturally as they would in the mind of any other sane pony, creature, entity, or any being with a hint of intelligence and emotion. Yet the primordial question he has pondered since the letter still remained. "Why me? Why would she want me as her final request?" Of course he knew the reason of her love towards him, and he didn't mind to see her in her last moments of life. The mysteriousness of it all, or least to him, was why send a letter? He would have gone to her without the request. His reasoning derived the sense of an underlying reason, and he would be a fool to think otherwise. He's an intelligent stallion, and a hard one to et by so easily.
That one question still remained, though. That one baffling question. "Why? For what reason?"
"%II Preparations%"
That same night, the mother of somber stallion laid in her death bed asleep, dreaming of her memories past. How she relished in the sweet joys of her life, that of which she felt were now gone in a sea of other forgotten memories of those already passed. She thought of this not in a sense of depression, rather in a sense of acceptance. In fact, she has aged with grace; without complaint and of the highest of all attitudes. She has been treating death as if it were an old friend. Not many could even up and do the same, what with the influence of collective thinking. Everyone saying, "Age is a curse, to be old is nothing but a nightmare, dying is only the decent into an unforgiving hell." For this particular mare, this was not the case. She faced aging with its eventual conclusion with acceptance.
She awoke from her nap with a kind of smile, as if greeting the dawn of day, feeling refreshed, empowered, in her natural habitat. Yet she was weak, and struggled to move; she could only lay there immobilized, only having the ability to grab items from her nightstand with the aid of her magical horn. Even that, however, could tire her quite easily since it had required much of her concentration, focus, and energy. When it comes down to it, with the simple task of levitating ones cup to thine own lips for refreshment, only requires a passive instinct with intention. But even these requirements were much of what the aging mare had left in her. Before she could get the chance to attempt to retrieve her water from the stand, a knock had sounded from the door.
"Enter." She said in her frailest of voice. And so opened the door revealing an earth pony mare, one of the nurses put on post while the doctor was away at night. What she lacked in her size, she made up for in her beauty, and so remarked the aged one, "Aren't you a beauty. What's your name? Oh, and if you wouldn't mind, do you think that you can hand to me that cup of water?" In a gracious reply the nurse responded, "I'm Remedy, and thanks for the compliment," She hands the patient her water, "I must say, you're particularly nice for a patient, especially when compared with the ones that I've dealt with, and believe you me, I have dealt with a lot of ponies." She thens makes her way to the closet and pulls out a night gown sewn from a thin, airy, comfortable fabric. "Shall we get you ready for the night?" "I suppose, yes. Have you any idea when the pastor shall arrive?"
Remedy looked over to the clock atop a wooden shelf on the wall of the door that she has entered through just a moment ago. "Pastor Purelight should be here within the hour, that much I can tell you. For now lets get you dressed." She then proceeds to help the ill one up into a sitting position, then continues to guide her arms through the short sleeves. "I must say Ive always enjoyed the feeling of these robes." "They are quite nice aren't they. Will you be needing anything else, Miss?" Asks Remedy. "I believe I'm fine for right now, thank you." says the mare in bed. "Well then I best be on my wa-" A knock had sounded a second time before the sweet nurse could finish her sentence. Again the mare answers, "Enter."
This time a unicorn is revealed in the door frame. His coat a homely gray and his mane an enticing, deep black which contrasted his robes perfectly. His robes were of a woven cotton lined and edged with dark purple. Its shoulders and rear had folds and layers that held a look of authority as well as folds on the cuffs. He removes his hood to unveil his soft blue eyes looking upon the old mare with a look of joy and welcome. "Let me first say how honored I am that you have chosen me for your final service, and also how delighted I am to meet you miss-" "Miss is fine enough, thanks. There is really no need to be honored either." Insisted the mare. "Perhaps not, nonetheless it is an important ocasion for you, so for you to have chosen me to perform it, I am still flattered." Retorted Purelight, "Nurse, if you wouldn't mind as to exit the room." Remedy exits through the door way, nodding her head for her farewell.
"And so we begin. Just allow me to set up a few things." Purelight then reached inside his satchel to pull out a few instruments. Of these included: two white candles, two black candles, six gold candles, a stand with six platforms, an urn, and some incense. He set up candles accordingly where there were one of each black and white candles on either side of her bed as she lay, ablaze lighting the room dimly, and the six gold ones upon the stand, remaining unlit. He proceeds with loading a little of the incense inside the urn and then lit it with a quick spark of magic from his horn. He levitated the urn and walked around her bed chanting the opening words, "As the Princesses watched and protected thee, we shall pay back our last will fulfilling the Elements of Harmony." He then continues, "So what this kind of service entails is that it shall bring you closer to your passing with grace and happiness. We will meditate upon your actions in life and relate best we can to the Elements and will end once we've covered each of them. We don't have to get too personal, you only need to meditate about it in true vision in your heart. So let us start with the element of Loyalty. Can you tell me of when in your life, you fulfilled this element?"
The mare had thought for a second and soon responded, "I sacrificed my vision and my personal desire to remain true to my family and my fellow ponies. "Excellent" responded the pastor, "and so you thought this vision of yours would drive you away from your family?" "Yes." Confirmed the mare. "Well then splendid that you've remained true through self sacrifice, tis a true sign of loyalty." With this, the pastor lit the first gold candle with the lightning bolt engraved at its base. "The next element is Kindness." She thought for a moment when she replied, "For those who looked up to me, I've tried to set examples for, and to give them my heartfelt friendship." "Ahh, to extend a friendly hoof to those who feel under you, is a true act of kindness" says Purelight as he lights the next candle with the engraved butterfly, "Next is Generosity." "For those who were poor and mistreated, I lent to them what they needed to feel good of themselves. So they could feel like everypony else. I felt for them, I knew their position." "To give to them what they had not that you had is generosity in its simple form." And so he lights the candle with the engraved gems.
"These next two, are of experience rather than of performance, for not all of life is of doing and acting, but of viewing and experience, to have its great gifts as well as giving them, so you know that your time here is complete. The first is Laughter." Explains the robed stallion. "With my closest friends, the sweet memories we've had, and my sister. We were always close, enjoying ourselves and each other... I miss her." She began to let out a few tears as she looked down, remembering the good times that she had here in the world. This world, that she would soon be leaving. "It's good that you've made these memories. They were made for you to enjoy and have pleasure from. There's no reason to be sad; think that though your sister may be gone, you may reunite with her soon. Hold on to these memories, for they will serve as reminders to how you have shared your happiness with the world." Says Purelight lovingly as he comforts his patient while lighting the candle with the engraved balloons. "The next is Magic. Magic can be taken in a multitude if ways. Though spoken of a blessing among unicorns and alicorns, it is not just an ability, but an emotion with no name, only describable by you personally, and personally by everyponies' individual." "Magic for me, pastor, is just through pure joy. Joy, beautiful spark of the alicorns' blessings, daughter from heaven, that as we enter drunk with fire into its heavenly hall, we are welcomed. Its magic reunites what customs strictly divided, that all ponies become brothers and sisters where its gentle wing rests. What you'e told me just now, through these memories with my friends, my family, especially my son, I have felt joy. The magic of joy." So eloquently says the mare in her bed, bringing a tear to the pastor's eye that with no words, he lights the candle with the engraved stars.
"You speak so beautifully of Magic. I have no words to say on it other than that you must have one of the purest souls I've seen. Finally, we conclude with Honesty. Honesty is when you bear no fa-" "I-I'm sorry Pastor Purelight, but I cant do this one with you." Interjects the pure souled mare. "Excuse me, Miss, but what do you mean?" Inquires the holy-pony. " I haven't been exactly honest my entire life. Ive held secrets that I've told no one of." "Well then there is no obstacle, a simple confession would suffi-" "Im sorry, your holiness, but I can not confess to you my secrets, I just can't." Insists the dying pony. "Then how do you expect me to conclude this ceremony madam?" Asks Purelight in a sort of sarcastic tone. "Believe me, I feel the same as you. Nopony should die with secrets in their grave. Twould be dishonorable to do so. Yet I have no intentions to confess my secrets to you for if you were to hear, I fear you would not find an interest in concluding this service. You would look upon me with disgrace. I've invited my son, Orion, here so that I may confess to him my secrets. He's the only pony I can trust and I feel close to that I can tell him anything without fear." She explains further. "But madam, what do you expect me to do? I can not just simply close up shop and start again tomorrow, this is a holy ceremony you realize, yes?" Rebuttals the Purelight. "I understand. This is why I ask that you please stay here, I implore you, I beggeth you to not leave. Just leave the candles and the incense so that the service continues uninterrupted. ... ... ... As a dying pony's wish, please."
...
"So how did it go?" Asks Remedy to the tired Pastor as he closes the door behind him. "I think you mean how is it going." Responds the irked stallion "I don't understand should it not be over? IS SHE ALRIGHT?" Exclaims the nurse in sudden fear that inevitable happened at the worst of times. "She's fine, but she can only complete Honesty with her son, so I have to wait until he comes and she speaks with him." Reassures the robed Purelight. "Don't you have to be in there for the entire service?" Asks Remedy, now baffled by the situation at hand. "I'm only needed to open the ceremony, light the candles, and say the closing incantations. So now we just wait." A silence had went on throughout the space between the two, both looking back at each other and at the door, with the same question in mind, "What in all of Equestria could she be hiding at her age?"