"They Said It Would Help..."
Flint walked solemnly through the graveyard, a cool fall breeze flowing through the scattered trees like water. Red, yellow, and orange leaves skittered about his hooves as he made his way to see her again. It had been a while, the last time he saw her. Even though it wasn't that long, a year or so at the most, it felt like a lifetime ago that he saw her smile. The wind kissed his blood-red mane as he walked, the tips tickling his silver coat on the back of his neck. The roses in his saddlebag swayed lazily as the wind brushed them softly as well. At last, he arrived at his destination, the stone looking cold and unwelcoming. 'Here we go...' Flint thought to himself, placing the roses in the small hole in front of the tombstone.
"Hey Steel. I remembered your name." Flint started, sitting down. "I think about you every day. How could I forget you, Steel?" Flint said, brushing some leaves away from the smooth stone marker of Steel's final resting place. "I know it's been a while... I don't like coming here. I love seeing you, though. It's... always cold here, y'know?" Flint said, holding his jacket closer. "I hope your warm enough. I know it's got to be cold here at night, huh?" Flint said, looking off to one of the distant oaks as its branches swayed gently in a distant breath of air. "Mom and Dad miss you too. They say I don't smile as much. I think their right, too. You always made me happy, always made me laugh... you always were a joker. I guess that's one resone I fell for you like I did." Flint said, turning back to the grave.
"I haven't talked to your parents in a while, not after the service." Flint said, pawing at the ground awkwardly. "Heh, they never really liked me though, right?" Flint said with a small chuckle. "No, they never did." He thought aloud. He stayed silent as another gust flew lazily around the graveyard. The leaves softly rustled in the air doing small loops and spirals. It was very peaceful, very calming. Flint needed that; he wasn't sure how much longer he could last without some support. What he wouldn't give to hold her hoof in his again...
Flint sighed before he turned back to face the tomb. "I love you. And I miss you." Flint said with a small, sad smile. "I just thought I should tell you that. I haven't said it in a while, so... y'know." Flint said. "Uh, listen. I've been going to a therapist for a while now. Nothing serious, mind you. Just to get me to be a little happier than I have been. They said it would help if I started meeting you every now and again. Little visits and whatnot." Flint explained, brushing more stray leaves from the stone. "It... it kinda feels better, just being able to talk to you again. Even if it's kinds one-sided. It's talking to you, that's the important part." Flint said.
"So, that reminds me. There is something... important I should tell you." Flint started, looking at the grass in front of his fore hooves. "It's that... I blame myself for what happened. Like I could have done something to save you. I know that there is nothing that I could have done, doctors said you were dead soon as you hit the ground. But... it doesn’t stop me from thinking that I could have done something, anything to help." Flint said, tears welling up in his eyes. "But the only regret that I have... is not being able to tell you how much you meant to me. Not being able to say goodbye." Flint said, tears rolling down his cheeks. "Well... I think that's enough for today. Sorry I can't stay longer. I see you soon, okay? I love you." Flint said as he turned to walk back to the entrance.
Two Months Later
Flint held his scarf close, the winter air nipping at him with a fierce bite all over his skin. 'Brr, it's cold. I'm gonna have to make this shorter than normal...' Flint thought as he walked for the grave he had seen twice every month. Flint wiped the snow off of Steel's grave and cleared a small spot for him to sit in front of it. "Hey Steel, I remembered your birthday." Flint said with a sad smile. "I got you this..." Flint said as he dug around in his saddlebag to reveal a gold chain necklace with an emerald in the middle in the shape of Steel's cutie mark, a hammer and anvil. "I made sure it was emerald, I know it's your favorite gem." Flint said, placing the necklace around the small hole that he usually put flowers in.
"Hearths Warming is coming up. I need to remember to get you a present." Flint said as he sat up straight. "Let's see... you turned... twenty-five today, right? Yeah, twenty-five." Flint thought out loud. "I was planning on proposing today, before you took that spill. I hope the necklace makes up for it." Flint said, feeling the tears form already. "Before I go, I need to say... first, I love you. Second..." Flint let some of his tears fall onto the snow before he continued his report. "Second... I'm starting to forgive myself. I didn't do anything wrong, but I'm forgiving myself anyway. Because I remembered, one day, we're going to be in heaven together. Where we never have to say goodbye." Flint said through his tears.
"Until then, I have to live with myself. But I can't... not fully yet. I will though. I promise you that I will. It's what you would want... right?" Flint said, looking at her grave. 'Yes.' Flint heard in his mind. 'It's what I would want.' Steel echoed in his head. Flint thought that he saw her smile in the cold stone in front of him. Flint smiled despite his tears,"Alright." Flint stood and turned back for the entrance. "Oh, before I go..." Flint said, turning around to face her once more. "There is nothing I wouldn't give to see my little piece of heaven looking back at me." Flint said with a real smile, the first one in a long, long time. "I love you." Flint said as snow started to drift slowly from the sky above, melting as it touched the necklace, running down the stone like tears.
The wind flowed softly through the graveyard, brushing flecks of snow off branches here and there. Soon enough, the wind blew smoothly over the stone that marked where the body of Steel resided. The snow was loose, and fell of the tombstone in a small fluid motion. Had anyone been around to witness this, they would have taken not that the snow melted as it touched the emerald where it lay. Also, one would be able to read what was carved in the stone, easy to read now as when it was forged:
Here lies Steel,
Daughter,
Lover,
Friend.
While her body lies in the earth,
Her memory, her spirit, will never be forgotten.
May the Creator watch over her in her new journey.
The wind finished its mundane task, and blew off in another direction, as Mother Nature would have it do. While it didn't feel nor care about what it's invisible touch felt, it could almost feel the soft skin of a long-dead pony as it rose up from the ground, sat down where it's body rest, and look off into the lowering sun, longing for the day that her hoof could be held by his, her lips dance with his, her voice say, “I love you" one last time. But, that would have to wait. It would have to wait until he came to heaven as well, where they never have to say goodbye...