The Old Green Mare

“…And now we just need you to sign in,” the secretary at the desk informed Granny Smith.  The lime green filly scribbled her name on the required page.  “He’s in room 143.  His grandson comes to visit regularly, but that’s about all.  I’m sure it’ll be a pleasant surprise for him to see his…  granddaughter?”

“Oh, I’m not related,” Granny Smith replied immediately, prompting the secretary to raise a questioning eyebrow.  “Our families are old business partners.  We go way back…”

“Well, I’m sure he’ll be delighted to see you anyway.  Equestria needs more fillies like you who take the time to visit…” the secretary trailed off, distracted by the myriad forms scattered across her desk.

“Thank you kindly!” Granny Smith said with a smile, and trotted down the hallway toward the current residence of her old associate.  The hallway was decorated with various plaques honoring employees for their service and donors for their monetary contributions.  She paused at one in particular that featured her own name as a “patron” of the retirement home.  Of course, right above her name was that of her husband, who had spent a portion of his final months in a room in the very same hallway, much to his chagrin.  Seeing his name there brought back a flood of unwelcome memories.

“I ain’t goin’ to be stayin’ here, sugar cube, and that’s final.”

“Stop being such a stubborn old mule.  This ain’t easy for me or your grandchildren either, y’know.  Big MacIntosh is old enough to understand, but Applejack’s been taking it a bit harder.  It’s just so soon after…” she was unable to finish the thought.

“I ain’t gone yet,” the stubborn stallion said gently.

“I know.  And that’s why you’re here: to get better.  Then and only then you’ll be able to come back home, just like last time.”

“Is AJ still thinkin’ about goin’ to Manehatten?”

“Eeyup.  I told her we’d sure miss her, but it’s one of those decisions we have to let her make on her own.  She’s growing up so fast.”

“I don’t like the idea of her bein’ there by herself.”

“She’s not going by herself.  She’ll still be with family.”

“Oranges.”

“You say that like your sister-in-law is so much nicer to me,” she teased.  “I swear she’s never forgiven me for not allowing her to be a bridesmaid at our wedding.”

“Just promise me one thing,” the old stallion said, diverting the subject back to the original topic. “If I do stay here, and I’m not sayin’ I agree to it yet, promise me that you won’t get too wrapped up in the farm work, and takin’ care of Applebloom, and zap apple jammin’ and all of that to trot over here for a bit, okay?”

“I promise.  Cross my heart and hope to fly.”

“Good, ‘cause every time I see my wife, I feel a little bit stronger.  When I’m here all by my lonesome, it’s like my recovery is takin’ forever.”

“You’re so melodramatic,” Granny Smith scolded playfully.

“ForEVerrrrrr…” her husband moaned holding his hoof to his head like a damsel in distress.  He winked at his wife.

Granny Smith had kept her promise.  The doctors and nurses assured her that her daily visits were the highlight of his day, and that they were better than any of the medications they were giving him at the time.  But as much as they both wished for it, he never did get to go back home that time.  A year later, he was resting with their children under the big apple tree.  Applejack had left for Manehatten a few days after that.

“Well, as I live and breathe… Granny Smith.” A voice snapped her back to the present.  It belonged to an ancient looking pony with a cent sign for a cutie mark.

“You recognize me, Stinkin’ Rich?”

“Like I could ever forget a pretty filly like you,” the old stallion laughed.  “You’ll have to tell my wife how you manage to stay so young and chipper after all of these years.  If I didn’t know better, I’d say you still look as young as the day our families first met.”

The green filly smiled awkwardly.  Stinkin’ Rich’s wife had passed on decades ago.  Unlike Granny Smith’s husband, who had been sharp as a horseshoe tack to the end, the nurses had told her that her old business associate suffered from a degenerative condition that affected his memory.  Sometimes he believed that it was still fifty years ago, and he often repeated himself.

“My grandson’s coming by this afternoon,” he informed her.

“I’ve heard he visits you every day,” the green filly replied.

“Yes,” Stinkin’ nodded happily.  “He has a daughter of his own now.  She’s about the same age as you,” he finished with a wink.

“You old charmer,” Granny Smith said, flushing.  “I seem to recall Applebloom mentioning your great granddaughter on a couple of occasions.  They go to school together.”

“Applebloom?” Stinkin’ asked, confused.  “I thought your daughter’s name was—“

“Applebloom’s my granddaughter.”

“Oh, congratulations!” The stallion grinned. “Aren’t grandchildren such a blessing?  My grandson’s coming by this afternoon.  He might even bring my great granddaughter with him.  She is the most precious little diamond.”

“Oh, Gramps, I didn’t realize you had company.”

Stinkin’ Rich and Granny Smith turned to see a grayish amber stallion trotting into the room.  He was sporting a red necktie that featured a golden dollar sign.

“That’s my grandson,” Stinkin’ Rich said proudly.

“It’s nice to see you again, Filthy… er, I mean Mr. Rich,” Granny Smith corrected herself.

“Have we met before? You look familiar, and I can tell you’re an Apple, but—“

“It’s Granny Smith, child, don’t you recognize her?” Stinkin’ asked.

“It was a magical accident, dear,” the green filly summarized.  “They’re working on fixing it.”

“Oh...kay.” Filthy regarded the Apple family matriarch oddly for a moment, shrugged, and focused his attention back on his grandfather.  “Gramps, I have a surprise for you. She’s waiting outside.”

“Surprise?  She went back to Cloudsdale years ago.  We haven’t spoken since—“

“No, Gramps.  Your great granddaughter is here.  Come in and see your great grandpa, honey.”

A pink filly with a lavender and white streaked mane reluctantly slunk into the room.  She looked at Granny Smith, and her eyes glimmered with a hint of recognition.  “Hi, GeeGee,” she grumbled.  The stallion smiled a weathered smile in spite of the youth’s dismissive attitude.

“That’s not how we say ‘hi’ to our family,” Filthy scolded.  “We are always happy to see them.”

“Whatever.  He won’t remember it in a few minutes anyway,” the filly retorted, pawing the floor and making circular patterns absently with her right hoof.

“That’s my grandson and his daughter,” Stinkin’ told Granny Smith proudly, indicating his relations with a hoof.  Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes.

There was an awkward silence.  Finally Granny Smith broke the tension.

“I’m going to go and get a drink from the vending machine. Would anypony like anything?”

“I could use a sip of water myself,” Filthy said.  Fishing some bits out of his coin purse, he motioned to his daughter.  “Diamond Tiara, would you please be a lamb and bring me back a bottle of Les Bouillens?”

“They have that in the vending machine here?” Granny Smith asked.

“They do when I own the company that leases them the machine,” Filthy said with a smirk.

Granny Smith and Diamond Tiara walked down the hall, the elder female noticing the frosty disposition emitted by her granddaughter’s schoolmate.

“You’d rather be anywhere else right now, I imagine,” the supercentenarian commented offhoofedly.

“You think?” Diamond Tiara snapped.  “The only thing worse than this would be if I were stuck here with your blank flank granddaughter or her traitor cousin.”

Granny Smith’s eyes narrowed at the epithets aimed at her family, but kept her temper in check.  After all, if this particular filly acted so obnoxiously toward her own kin, why would she be any less so towards fillies whom she considered to be rivals?  She sighed.

“It’s nice of you to visit your great granddaddy like this.  He really appreciates it.”

“How would you know?”

“My husband had to stay here on a couple of different occasions before he passed on, so I’m very familiar with being on the visitor’s side of the door.  He and your great granddaddy were roommates for a bit.”

“Did he have what GeeGee has?”

“No.  His body just kinda gave out at the end.  From what the nurses tell me, apart from a touch of arthritis, Stinkin’ Rich is healthier than stallions a quarter of his age physically.”

“It doesn’t do him any good if his mind’s gone, though,” the pink filly moped.

“His mind’s not gone, he just gets confused,” Granny Smith assured her.  “He recognized me from the moment I walked in the door, and he knew you too.  He’s proud of you.”

“Yeah. I guess.”  Diamond Tiara tried to change the subject. “So what happened to you?  Poison joke?”

“No, I’d look a lot worse if it were poison joke,” Granny Smith replied.  “Twilight Sparkle thinks it’s some other kind of magical hocus pocus.  She’s asked the Princesses and Zecora for help.”

“Help?” the filly asked her, shocked.  “You want to go back to being an old wrinkly mare?  Um… no offense.”

“I don’t know,” the green filly admitted, ignoring the insensitive part of the blunt comment.  “What I do know is that this ain’t the natural order of things, and that means that if I can put it right, I should.”

“That’s crazy.  If something like this had happened to GeeGee, I’d be thrilled.  He’d be happy to be a colt again.  We could do stuff together.  Real things, not sitting around playing chess or bingo or staring out the window like he does now.  We’d have all of these awesome adventures and it would be great.”

“So you used to do these things with him before he came here?” Granny Smith believed that already knew the answer to that question, but she asked it anyway.

“Well, we went mountain climbing once, but I was strapped to my dad’s back.  I don’t even remember it myself, but my dad has pictures of me, him, my grandpa, and GeeGee together.  Four generations.  It was the last big adventure for both my grandpa and Geegee.”

“I raced Applejack to the barn the other day for the first time since she was your age,” Granny Smith said.  “I think the best part was that I wasn’t even all that tired afterward.  Before this happened, I danced with Apple Strudel at the reunion and paid for it for the next two days.”

Diamond Tiara looked wistfully at her classmate’s grandmother.  “Do you think it would be possible to take a bit of whatever magical accident made you young and give it to GeeGee?  Just a little bit.  Ten years should be enough.”

“I ain’t a unicorn, so I tend to leave the magic to them," Granny Smith answered.  "Just like I can’t say how or why this happened to me, I have my doubts that I’ll be able to use it to help Stinkin’ Rich.  Believe me when I say that I would if I could.  He’s been a friend of the family for over two centuries.”

“It’s not fair,” the pink filly pouted.

“Don’t I know it,” Granny Smith agreed, albeit for different reasons.  “Keep in mind that from what I’ve seen, Stinkin’ Rich is happy.  He has a grandson and great granddaughter who he loves very much and who love him.  His memories take him back to happy times, which are as much of a blessing for someone in his condition as we can hope for.”

“A blessing?”

“Some ponies with more severe form of dementia have been known to get violent with the staff.  It’s heartbreaking to watch.”

“I think one of GeeGee’s former roommate was one like that.  Not your husband, I don’t think, the one after him, maybe.  They moved him to a different wing that you need a special code or something to unlock the doors.  He won’t end up like that, will he?”

“Celestia willing, no.  He’s on a schedule, and your dad checks up on him every day.  It tends to happen more frequently with ponies who don’t have family or friends to check up on them.”

“So me just stopping by once in a while helps?”

“It doesn’t hurt.  The nurses said it was the only thing that kept my husband going as long as his did.”

“Maybe card games, chess, and bingo aren’t that bad then... if they make him feel better.” the stripey-maned filly mumbled.  Granny Smith smiled.

“You gettin’ anything?” a voice rasped behind them.

The pair realized that they had been talking in front of the vending machines without making the intended purchases.  A bespectacled balding pony with a red spotted bowtie was behind them, waiting to buy something himself.

“Oh, go ahead, Mr. Waddle,” Granny smith said, flushing.

“Age before beauty, eh?  Thank you kindly, young misses.”  The elderly pony said with a warm smile.  He plunked his bits into the machine, and a bar of candy popped out.  “I never had a sweet tooth like this when I was younger, but nowadays, I just can’t resist Mares Bars… don’t tell my wife,” he whispered, and strolled away. Diamond Tiara purchased her father’s bottle of water, and Granny Smith bought herself an apple soda.

“Nothing for yourself, dear?” the green filly asked.

“No, I was going to meet my friend Silver Spoon at Sugarcube Corner for milkshakes later,” Diamond Tiara explained as they began trotting back to her great grandfather’s room.  “So how long do you think this spell is going to last?”

“I don’t know.  It’s been two days already.”

“Do you think you’re going to have to grow up all over again?  Will I see you in school?”

“No,” said Granny Smith with a touch more venom than she intended.  “That is to say, I’ve already spoken with Cheerilee about it.”

“What, do you have something against school?  Why do adults send their fillies and colts there if they don’t want to go themselves?”

“I had a bad experience my first time around, I don’t need to go back.  But young’uns like you need to get educated if you’re going to amount to anything.  Don’t you want to run your dad’s business one day?”

“Not particularly.  I’d much rather work at the jewelry shop with Sparkler.  She said I could when I…” she stopped.

“When what, dear?”

“When I finish school and take some accounting classes,” the filly groaned.  “Math is soooo boring.”

“My grandson is the number cruncher on the farm,” the green filly chuckled.  “I stick to zap apple jam and cider making myself.  Trust Cheerilee to at least teach you the basics, and then go with your special talent.  You can’t go wrong there.”

“I guess you’re right,” she said reluctantly.

The walk back to Stinkin’ Rich’s room had not taken as long as the walk to the vending machines had, but Filthy Rich still eyed the pair curiously as they entered.  Diamond Tiara gave her father the bottled water he had asked for.

“Long line at the vending machine?” Filthy Rich casually joked.

“We did take our time getting there, I guess,” Diamond Tiara said, noticing the clock on the wall.

“That’s my grandson and great granddaughter,” Stinkin’ Rich informed Granny Smith yet again, as proudly as if he were telling her for the first time that day.

“You know, your birthday is coming up, Gramps.  I was going to have Diamond Tiara order your cake at Sugarcube Corner this afternoon when she goes.  What kind of cake would you like this year?”

A thought came to Granny Smith at that moment.

“I’m sorry to have to cut our visit so short, but I just had a doozy of an idea.”  She whispered something into Filthy Rich’s ear, and backed away, looking for a sign of approval.

“That… that would be amazing,” Filthy exclaimed.  “Do you think that the mayor would agree?”

“Why wouldn’t she? Granny Smith asked.  “She’ll be the easy one to deal with.  I’m more worried about keeping Pinkie Pie from going overboard.”

“Good point.  I can’t believe you’d do something like this for us, though.”

“Fiddlesticks.  You’re friends of the family,” Granny Smith scoffed.  She couldn’t help but notice Diamond Tiara wince at being referred to as a “friend,” but she let it go.

“Diamond Tiara, why don’t you go with Granny Smith?  You were still planning to go to Sugarcube Corner, weren’t you?”

“Um… yeah. Okay.”

~~GS~~

“…and that’s the plan.  What do you think, Mrs. Cake?”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea, Granny Smith,” Cup Cake replied.  "He'll be so happy."

“Do you know when Pinkie Pie will be back? “ Granny Smith asked.  “I was hoping to tell her about her part of the planning personally, just to make sure she doesn’t get the wrong impression.”

“I wish I knew,” Cup Cake said, her brow furrowing.  “Her note didn’t say exactly when she’d be back, just that it would be before dark.  She’s apparently helping Twilight Sparkle with something ‘super super specially important’ in her words.”

Pinkie Pie is working with Twilight Sparkle?  Twilight’s supposed to be the one working on my… current situation, Granny Smith thought.

“Maybe it’s for the best, then,” she said out loud.  “I need to see the mayor anyway, before her office closes for the evening.  She left a few bits with Mrs. Cake as a deposit, and trotted out of Sugarcube Corner, waving goodbye as she left to Diamond Tiara, who was sitting with Silver Spoon in a booth enjoying a pair of milkshakes.  Silver Spoon cocked an eyebrow at Granny Smith questioningly, and Diamond Tiara blushed.

“It was a weird afternoon,” was all the filly told her friend.

~~GS~~

“This is a wonderful idea,” Mayor Mare informed Granny Smith with a smile.  “Rather short notice, of course, but I think there will still be plenty of time to gather certain VIPs if we hurry.  It should fit right into our Fall Foliage Festival, right before the annual Running of the Leaves.”

“Oh dear,” Granny Smith said, concern crossing her young face.  “I’d forgotten all about that.  Did you still have me signed up to be the emcee?”

“I did,” the mayor said.  “You aren’t thinking of backing out on me, are you?”

“Well…” Granny Smith mumbled uncertainly.

“If you do, just let me know so I can ask Pinkie Pie to take over for you.  She’s already asked about doing the commentary from her hot air balloon again.  I’m sure she wouldn’t mind the added duties.”

“If I do change my mind, which I never said I did, you’ll be the first to know, Madam Mayor,” Granny Smith replied, a little more defensively than she intended to.

~~GS~~

“…and before we knew it, we had built ourselves a nice little town, bustling with all kinds of ponies.  And it never would have happened without the Gentlecolt of Honor, Mr. Stinkin’ Rich!” Granny Smith announced from the podium.  There was a large roar of approval from the audience of ponies, clapping their hooves together in applause.  Stinkin’ Rich looked out at the throng who had assembled to honor him on his birthday, grinning from ear to ear.

“Speech!  Speech!” I shouted.  What, does it surprise you?  When I found out about the party, I was so excited, but Granny Smith told me that I needed to reign it in a bit because Stinkin’ Rich probably isn’t interested in games or the Pony Pokey so much anymore at his age, but I said that doesn’t mean that other ponies wouldn’t want to play, but then she said “Pinkie Pie!” in that tone of voice that says “Pinkamena Diane Pie, you’d better listen to me or I won’t let you help plan the birthday party, so I just agreed and said “You’re in charge, Granny Smith,” and let her have things her way. *gasp* That was a long sentence…

Granny Smith assisted Stinkin’ Rich to the podium.

“As I look out at so many ponies gathered here to honor me, of all ponies, I cannot help but feel blessed,” Stinkin Rich began.  “My memory isn’t nearly what it was ten years ago, so forgive me if I end up repeating myself a bit.  I might end up repeating myself a bit, too, so please forgive me.”

The audience murmured awkwardly.

“That was a joke, my little ponies,” Stinkin’ Rich chortled, and the audience hesitantly began to laugh along with him.

“At my age, if you can’t laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?  But seriously, it’s such a blessing seeing all of you here.  I’m truly touched.  Granny Smith was telling you before about this cane here.” He held up a gold topped cane. “Ponyville tradition has this cane passing down to Ponyville’s oldest living citizen.  Celestia knows I never expected to live long enough to have it myself, never mind hold on to it for as many years as I have. A father certainly isn’t supposed to outlive his son,” he added wistfully.  “But I’m so proud to have my grandson and great granddaughter with me today.  I was told that I have them and Granny Smith to thank for all of this.  I don’t think I’ve had this much fun since I got this cane, thank you ever so much.  It’s good ponies like you who remind an old gelding like me that I haven’t been forgotten, no matter how much I forget myself.  That was another joke, just so you know.”

The crowd laughed again, a little easier that time.

“My eyesight’s a bit blurry, but I think I see a pink mare in the audience signaling me that it’s either time for cake or that someone fell into a well suffering a compound fracture of the lower mandible.”

So I wanted cake.  Sue me.

Cup and Carrot Cake wheeled out an amazing confection topped with row upon row of candles.

“Either they were out of those fancy number candles, or they wanted to roast marshmallows over my cake,” Stinkin’ Rich continued.  “I think Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara are going to have to help me blow all of these out.”

The crowd applauded as the Rich family combined to extinguish two hundred sixty seven individual birthday candles.

“Bless my soul, you’re a match for Smaug himself,” Stinkin muttered to himself.

“Did you make a wish, GeeGee?” Diamond Tiara asked.

“It wouldn’t be a birthday if I didn’t, would it?” Stinkin’ replied with a smile.

“Can I hear it?” the filly asked.

“You know the rules, Diamond Tiara,” Filthy Rich said with a wink.  “If he told you, it wouldn’t come true.”  The businesspony saw his grandfather’s face fall slightly.  “What’s wrong Gramps?”

“Well, it’s not going to come true anyway, so I guess there’s no harm in saying it out loud,” Stinkin’ grumbled.

“You never know,” Granny Smith urged him quietly with a wink.

“Well, I heard someponies talking about the Running of the Leaves, and I thought… but no, it’s foolish to think that.”

“Think what, Gramps?”

“To think that you’d let me run one more time.  The mare I overheard talking about it was saying that she came in fifth place a couple of years ago by just pacing herself.”

Filthy Rich looked like he was about to object, but he thought about it for a moment.

“Just because it’s called the Running of the Leaves doesn’t mean you have to actually run, right?” he asked tremulously.

“Nope,” Stinkin’ replied with a grin.  “I remember the year I walked the entire thing with a broken hoof just because your Uncle Richie bet me that I wouldn’t.  I showed him.”

“In that case… we’ll do it.  Mayor, sign the three of us up,” Filthy said, his eyes full of resolve.  Stinkin’s face lit up like a colt’s on Hearth’s Warming Eve.  A certain light purple filly on the other hoof wasn’t as enthusiastic.

“By ‘the three of us,’ Daddy, you meant you, GeeGee, and Granny Smith, right?” she asked her father, hopefully.

Granny Smith chuckled.  “Better make it four, Mayor, and tell Pinkie Pie that she can be the emcee this year.”

“Want to make it even more interesting?” Stinkin’ asked with a sly twinkle in his eye.  “Riches versus Apples?  Loser pays for milkshakes at Sugarcube Corner?”

“I think your family would be outnumbered, Stinkin’,” Granny Smith shot back lightheartedly.  To her surprise, the elder Rich started clucking like a chicken and flapping his forelegs.

“Oh, it is so on,” Granny Smith thundered.  “Me, my three grandchildren and my great neice Babs against you, your grandson, your great granddaughter… and two other Ponyville citizens of your choice, one filly and one adult.  Nopony calls Granny Smith a chicken and gets away with it.”

“Can Silver Spoon be on our team?” Diamond Tiara asked immediately.

“Sure thing,” Granny Smith agreed right away. “Better go find your fifth.  The race starts in a couple of hours.”

“Better go round up your kin, Granny Smith,” teased Stinkin’ Rich, “I haven’t had one in years, but I happen to enjoy ginger alfalfa milkshakes…”

~~GS~~

“You did what now?” Applejack asked her grandmother, stunned.

“Oh, it’ll be fun,” Granny Smith pleaded.  “Applebloom! Babs!” she called.

“Yeah, Granny Smith?” the fillies answered.

“How’d you like to participate in the Running of the Leaves?”

“Um… will it get me my cutie mark?” Applebloom wondered.

“No, but we’re gonna be racing against your friends Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon,” Granny Smith said mischievously.  “Loser pays for milkshakes…”

“Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?  We’re so there,” Babs announced.

“You don’t know who they’ve got as their fifth?” Applejack asked, concerned.

“Does it matter?” Granny Smith countered.

“I guess not,” Applejack conceded.  “I’ll go find my brother and let him know what you’ve dragged us into.”

~~GS~~

“Rainbow Dash?” Applebloom gasped.  “You can’t be serious.”

“She wouldn’t listen to me when I begged her not to join a team that had Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon on it,” Scootaloo moped.  “She overheard Mr. Rich talking to Twilight Sparkle, and she was all ‘If you really want to win this race, you should have the fastest Pegasus in Ponyville on your team.’  She also said something about a rematch against your big sister.”

“So does this mean you’re not going to be cheering for me and Babs?” Applebloom asked with her puppy dog eyes that could charm almost anypony.

“You and Babs, yes… but I can’t not cheer for Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo admitted.

“I suppose we can’t hold that against you,” Babs said, “considering she is your hero and all.”

“Uh-oh, looks like my sister just found out who she’s competing against,” Applebloom noticed.  Indeed, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had already started the competitive trash talk.

“I bet Granny Smith finishes before you do,” Rainbow Dash taunted.

“I bet all five of us finish before you even get halfway,” Applejack teased back.

Not to be outdone, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon joined in.

“Ready to lose, blank flanks?  Bump, bump, sugar lump rump!”

Babs rolled her eyes.  Applebloom gritted her teeth, but kept her temper in check.

All of the contestants gathered at the starting line.  I had my party cannon ready from my balloon.  I was so excited.  This was going to be the best Running of the Leaves ever!  Remind me to thank Granny Smith for letting me take over for her as the emcee…

~~GS~~

A cut scene?  You cut out the part where I announce the race with Spike?  You big meaniepants…  see if I ever narrate for you again.  *sigh* Fine.  I know, it’s not my story, you can have it back.

Team Rich and Team Apple sat at a large table inside Sugarcube corner.  Seven of the ten racers’ faces bore huge grins.

“That was the most fun I’ve had in a while,” Filthy Rich said.

“Speak for yourself,” Rainbow Dash muttered.  “Just wait until next year, Applejack.”

“You can wait,” Applejack countered.  “I’m a-gonna sit back and enjoy this moment for a bit.”

“Me too,” Stinkin’ Rich piped up.  “I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday.”

“You’re not mad about losing the race?” Silver Spoon asked, surprised that it was even possible for somepony to have any fun at all after losing.

“Why would I be?  They won, fair and square. Besides, for me it was never about winning.  It was about family and friends having fun.  We should do this more often,” Stinkin’ said, slurping down a mouthful of his milkshake.

~~GS~~

Granny Smith woke up the next morning to a tapping on the door.  She had fallen asleep in the rocking chair again.  I need to stop doing that, she resolved.  She trotted over to the door to see who could possibly be awake before the rooster had even crowed.

“You,” Diamond Tiara snapped accusingly. The filly’s mane was disheveled, and her namesake hairpiece had been knocked askew.

“Diamond Tiara,” Filthy Rich cautioned her.  The business stallion’s eyes were puffy and red.  If Granny Smith didn’t know better, she would have suspected that he had been crying.

“No, Daddy, it’s all her fault.  Her stupid idea for the stupid party that made him make that stupid wish,  you… you… stupid stupidhead!” Diamond Tiara burst into tears.

“That’s enough, Diamond Tiara,” Filthy Rich scolded.  “I’m really sorry to bother you, Granny Smith, especially before the crack of dawn, but Gramps passed away last night.”

“Her fault,” Diamond Tiara accused as she wept.

“Land sakes… how did it happen?”

“It was quick.  We brought him back to his room yesterday evening, he went to bed, and when one of the nurses checked on him a couple of hours ago, he was just… gone.”

“I can’t believe… was it the race?”

“Yes!” Diamond Tiara cried.

“No,” her father insisted.  “The doctor said he couldn’t find a reason other than age, and they’re not going to do an autopsy on a two hundred sixty seven year old pony.  It was natural causes.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Granny Smith said, tears welling up in her own eyes.  “If I’d known…”

“No,” Filthy Rich repeated.  “Gramps said himself that he couldn’t have asked for a better birthday.  You helped give him that.  Yesterday, he was the most lucid I’ve seen him in… forever, and he was happy.  Celestia willing, if you’re gonna go, that’s the way to go…” His voice cracked, and a tear worked its way free from his eye.

Granny Smith said nothing.  The words just would not come to her.

“Since a lot of the family is still in town because of yesterday’s party, we thought it best to have the funeral today.  Mr. Waddle offered to give the eulogy.”

“That’s kind of him,” Granny Smith said, dazed.  We should do this more often, she remembered Stinkin’ saying at least three times while having his milkshake.

“When he found out that he’s be getting Gramps’ ceremonial cane, he said that it was tradition for the successor to say a few words at his predecessor’s funeral if they are able.” Filthy Rich added.

“It’s been so long since that cane changed hooves, I’m surprised anypony remembers that,” Granny Smith replied with a slight smile.

“Well, we have to break the news to a few more ponies,” Filthy Rich said.  “I knew you’d rather hear it in person from me, though.  I do apologize about waking you up—“

“Not at all,” Granny Smith cut him off.

“The ceremony will be this afternoon around three.  That should give us enough time to round everypony back up.”

“I’ll see you at three then,” Granny Smith nodded.  She watched as Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara slowly walked away, the latter giving her one last accusing glare as she left.  Granny Smith sank to the floor, shaking her head.

“What was that about?” she heard Applejack call sleepily from the stairs.  “The rooster ain’t even awake yet, so it must have been serious.”

“Stinkin’ Rich passed away last night.  The funeral’s today.” Granny Smith said simply.

“Shoot.  That was unexpected.  Do y’all need me to do anything?”

“Other than be at the ceremony to pay your respects… no.”  Granny Smith shakily stood back up.  “Tell MacIntosh that I expect him to be there, too.  It would be nice of Applebloom and Babs if they went to support their school friend, but don’t force them if they don’t feel comfortable. I’ll be in the clubhouse for a bit if you need me.  I need to think.”

“Sure thing, Granny Smith.”

~~GS~~

What a difference a day made.  The sun was shining, and it still reflected off of the fall leaves the same as it had done the previous day, but for the attendees of Stinkin’ Rich’s memorial service, it was as if a bit of the glossy finish had been stripped away from everything.

“I’ve never done this before, have you?” Babs asked Applebloom.

“I wasn’t old enough to remember,” Applebloom mumbled, looking over at her siblings who were old enough.  “I heard that my parents and grandpappy went within a year of each other, but it was when I wasn’t any older than the Cake twins.  Applejack said she had to bring me to both of them because there was nopony else to watch me, but I don’t remember it one bit.”

“I’ve never seen so many grown-ups crying.  It’s weird,” Babs shuddered.

“I guess it means that a lot of ponies liked him,” Applebloom suggested.  She resisted the urge to make a verbal jab at Diamond Tiara, seeing the light purple filly in tears across the common.

“Hay, the casket’s open,” Babs said with a gulp.  “We’re gonna actually… see him.”

“They do that all the time,” Applebloom said flatly.  “Unless the deceased has been in some sort of accident where they can’t fix ‘em up with makeup or something.  What, you’re not scared of him, are you?”

“Naw, I’m from Manehattan.  I see worse sights than this all the ti— oh, who am I kiddin’?  You’ll be there with me when we’re up there, right?” Babs shot her cousin a guilty look.

“I got yer back, cuz.”

Granny Smith approached the casket, tears freely flowing as she laid a small jar of Zap Apple Jam on it.

“In case y’all get hungry,” she sighed.  She noticed a few other tokens that myriad ponies had left behind.  There was a photo of Stinkin’ taken in his prime during the year he had actually won the Running of the Leaves race.  Big MacIntosh moved beside Granny Smith and gently placed the blue ribbon that he had won in the previous day’s race next to the picture.  Applejack followed, adding a picture of the Apple and Rich teams celebrating at Sugarcube corner to the pile.

Granny Smith made it to Filthy Rich in the reception line, and gave him a hug.  They didn’t say anything.  It had already been said.  They just smiled weakly.

“Mr. Rich?” Babs caught the businesspony’s attention.  “I just met your Gramps yesterday, so I didn’t get a chance to know him very long, but from what I saw, he was really cool.  I’m glad I got the chance to know him for just a little bit.”

“Thank you, dear.” Was all Filthy Rich could say without breaking down again.

“Yeah, what she said,” Applebloom agreed.  “Yesterday was really great…  I ain’t any good at this.”

“You’re doing fine,” Filthy said, tapping a hoof to his heart to indicate that he understood where her words were coming from.

The two crusaders looked uncomfortably at Diamond Tiara who just stood there looking at the ground, fiddling with the ribbon on her dress.  Hesitantly, Applebloom extended her front hooves, silently offering a hug, but expecting to be swatted away like a fly.  Instead, Diamond Tiara pulled both her and Babs into a crushing embrace and wept uncontrollably.

The ceremony itself went by relatively quickly.  Princess Celestia made a short humble speech, expressing her regrets that she had missed the previous day’s festivities, and adding a personal anecdote about Stinkin’ from the early days of Ponyville.  Mr. Waddle provided a lovely eulogy, which oddly turned into an acceptance speech when he drifted off topic and talked instead about the history of the ceremonial cane and why it had been given the nickname “Rosebud.”  Lyra Heartstings collaborated with Fiddlesticks to provide a touching arrangement of what Granny Smith believed to be a classic Beet Offering requiem. She resolved to ask the mint green mare to confirm her suspicions later if she remembered.

The ceremony concluded at the Ponyville cemetery, where Granny Smith was surrounded by more names and dates than she really wanted to think about at that moment.  Very few Apples were there, as they had their own small area at Sweet Apple Acres, but as one of the earliest settlers of Ponyville herself, she knew that every stone represented somepony she probably knew at least a little bit.

The Rich family had a mausoleum at the top of the hill.  Granny Smith couldn’t help but notice when she approached that Stinkin’s date had already been added to the memorial.  They’d probably had a unicorn do it, she reasoned.  Her eyes wandered down the list of names of the ponies resting within, including Stinkin’ himself, his wife, his sons and their wives, as well as a couple of individuals whom she hoped were close friends, if not family.  Gargoyles and grotesques were carved into the sides of the mausoleum for protection from the rain and decorative purposes.  Granny Smith winced at the ugly imagery, thankful that her site would be marked with a plain granite block.  She barely heard the final words of the blessing, delivered by the Mayor.

“…and if Celestia sends you down a stony path, may she also give you sturdy horseshoes.”

“Thus may it be,” Granny Smith murmured the appropriate response absently.  Even if she lived to be as old as Celestia herself, attending these things was never going to get any easier.  She needed to speak to Twilight Sparkle.