Only A Memory Away

by Licorice Twist

I Will See You Soon

Fluttershy had not wanted to get out of bed that morning. She was in pain, one of the joys of being a pony her age. She knew today was the day she had been waiting for, however, and knew she must get up. She stood on shaky legs and trotted over to her bathroom, slowly fixing up her hair into the bun she wore it in nowadays. She found her pills and took the ones she needed to help ease the pain, ignoring the rest. She heard a clang downstairs and smiled to herself, apparently her helper for the week was up already.

She made her way to the stairs and spread her wings, lifting herself up and fluttering down the staircase slowly. She didn't want to risk walking and taking a fall, after all. When she got to the kitchen she peeked in and smiled at the bright red pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail.

"Zap Apple, you're up early," Fluttershy spoke in her soft, and now creaky, voice.

"Oh!" he dropped a pan in surprise and turned, drooping his ears a bit. "I was going to surprise you with breakfast, meemaw."

"Such a sweet boy," she smiled and stepped forward, nuzzling the teen colt's cheek gently. "I know you'd rather be out bucking apples than stuck here caring for sweet little animals, and an old lady."

"That's not true!" the colt said indignantly, cheeks flushing. "I like being here with you."

"I'm glad," she smiled and kissed the colt's cheek gently. "Please, feed the animals for me. I'm not very hungry, and today I visit the cemetery."

"Going to visit mamma and mam?"

"And everyone else, of course," Fluttershy smiled softly at the teenaged colt.

"I still miss em," he said sadly, hanging his head. "Do you still miss grammama, meemaw?"

"Of course I do," Fluttershy smiled sadly at the colt. "It's ok to still miss them. You love them very much, and they loved you. But all you have to do is look up to the sky to know they're watching you. Take a walk in the apple orchard and know they're all around you."

"Never really thought about it like that," Zap Apple smiled at the thought, gently nuzzling Fluttershy's neck. "Thanks, meemaw. I'll go feed the animals now."

Fluttershy watched the strong colt head off. She was so proud of him, and all her grandchildren, really. Though Zap Apple wasn't technically her grandson, but Rainbow Dash had the colt late in life, and he just picked up calling her meemaw like all the other Apple foals did. She turned away from the kitchen and took the handle of a small basket in her mouth, stepping outside her house and slowly picking flowers to fill the basket. She never went without flowers to leave on the graves of her dearest friends. Once the flowers had been picked and set carefully into the basket, she stepped back into the house to add a few more things to take with her to the cemetery.

Once everything was ready, she found Zap Apple out back and gave him a little nuzzle and kiss to the cheek.

"Don't get the animals too excited now," she told him fondly, knowing he liked to rough-house with some of the larger, capable animals. She still kept quite the variety, after all. "I love you. I'll tell your mamma and mam what a good boy they raised."

Zap Apple smiled brightly and nuzzled Fluttershy briefly.

"I'll try to be good," he promised, laughing. "See you when you get back, meemaw!"

Fluttershy smiled and turned, heading away from Zap Apple and picking up the basket again, making her way to the cemetery. She really couldn't believe she outlived all her friends, some days. she always expected to be outlasted by Applejack or Rainbow Dash. She still remembered the party where they'd all made a pact....

* * *

A much younger Fluttershy had been one of the first to arrive at Sugarcube Corner for the grand farewell party. She knew she should be so very happy for her friends, but she was still quite sad as well. Their group was going to be split up! She had gotten so used to the six of them being together all these years, and the thought of them ever parting never really crossed her mind. Oh, she knew it would happen eventually, but she'd never wanted to face that 'eventually' could become a reality.

"OHMYGOSH THIS IS GOING TO BE SO FUN!"

The volume and rush of Pinkie's voice startled Fluttershy, leaving her standing there blinking in shock. She shook her mane a bit to straighten it and gave Pinkie a little smile.

"Oh..um, yes. Yes it is," Fluttershy bobbed her head in a nod.

Pinkie Pie was slowly taking over Sugarcube Corner, and in fact, it was practically hers now. The Cakes were getting older, and spending more time with their children. They were perfectly happy to let Pinkie Pie manage the shop, and she was doing well. Pinkie would definitely be staying in Ponyville. And of course, Applejack would never leave Sweet Apple Acres.

"Are you excited? I'm excited!" Pinkie was bouncing around the shop on all four hooves, and somehow managed not to knock anything over.

"I am, yes, just a little..." Fluttershy was interrupted when the door burst open, Rarity standing in the frame posing fabulously.

"Hello, darlings! So glad to not be late, I was simply giving Applebloom some last minute pointers! Oh, this is simply wonderful, Pinkie Pie! I absolutely love the decor you've put up!" Rarity trotted into Sugarcube Corner, taking in all the lovely, glittering ribbons and decorations. Sugarcube Corner had been practically transformed.

"Well, duh! This is the last time we're all living in Ponyville together, silly-nilly! It has to be big!"

"Well howdy everypony!" came Applejack's familiar voice, stopping in the doorway and standing in her familiar hooves-crossed pose, smiling at her friends.

"Hey guys!" Twilight stepped up beside Applejack, grinning brightly.

"Yay! We're all getting back together with everyone watching!" Pinkie Pie bounced in place happily.

"Everyone watching?" Twilight frowned, looking around. "Who's watching?"

"Oh, you know!" Pinkie raised her hoof above her head and waved it around. "Once everypony shows up for the party!"

Before Twilight or the others could respond, there was a loud "YAHOOOO!" and then the sound of a crash, before both Twilight and Applejack were hit from behind, both crying out in surprise as they were sent skidding into the middle of Sugarcube Corner, one big pile of pony, purple and orange limbs tangled with cyan blue.

"Oops, sorry..." Rainbow Dash managed to mumble sheepishly from the bottom of the pile.

Twilight and Applejack managed to untangle themselves slowly. Twilight stood and tried to straighten her mane a bit while Applejack simple rolled over on top of Rainbow Dash and bopped her hoof lightly on top of Rainbow Dash's head a few times.

"Ya make the Wonderbolts and yer still crashin about?"

"HEY!" Rainbow Dash cried out, cheeks flushing.

Applejack laughed and kissed the side of Rainbow Dash's muzzle affectionately, getting to her feet. Rainbow Dash flushed even more and stood, hoofing at the floor a bit, wings twitching a bit.

"Aww, don't do that AJ! You know what it does..." Rainbow Dash mumbled.

"That's why Ah do it sugarcube," AJ chuckled.

Rarity delicately cleared her throat, bringing attention to the rest of the ponies, causing both AJ and Rainbow Dash to blush.

"Yes, well, now that that charming...reunion...is taken care of, I do believe congratulations are in order, Rainbow Dash!"

"Yeah! GO RAINBOW DASH!" Pinkie jumped into the air, waving her limbs eagerly and hopping in an ecstatic circle.

"Pinkie...you're so RANDOM!"

And so the six friends had a huge, happy farewell party, with all the ponies of Ponyville popping in and out of Sugarcube Corner to say goodbye to the friends that were leaving, wishing luck to Rarity and her new Canterlot Boutique, congratulating Rainbow Dash on achieving her dream, and wishing Twilight well on her new appointment as one of Celestia's newest wizards.

As the party wound down, the six close friends were once again alone. They were sitting together around a table, relaxing after the rather wild party. Rarity managed to look perfectly unruffled, sipping her drink daintily. Applejack was leaning on Rainbow Dash tiredly, and Twilight's mane was all disheveled, having done her spastic little dancing most of the night.

"Anypony need their drinks refreshed?" Pinkie Pie said, looking perfectly happy and energetic.

"Oh, up, no...thank you..." Fluttershy murmured, stifling a yawn.

"Okie-dokie-lokie!"

Fluttershy looked around the group and felt sad. There would be no more of Pinkie's spontaneous partying with the six of them together. No more random visits, adventures. And she could tell it wasn't just going through her mind. The others seemed to slowly be drooping a bit as well. The only one who seemed perfectly perky was Pinkie.

"Well girls..." Twilight began carefully. She gulped when everypony's eyes turned to her and idly tapped the edge of the table with her hooves.

"Ain't nopony wantin' to say it, huh?" Applejack piped up quietly. "Tonight we part ways."

"You would be the one to say it, Applejack," Rarity said kindly, pushing her drink away and sighing quietly, giving the orange Earth pony a soft smile.

"We can still visit," Twilight began softly.

"YEAH! And I still have my cloud house, duh! I'll be comin' here often when I'm not with the Wonderbolts! After all..." Rainbow Dash paused and coughed into her hoof, blushing. "You're here, AJ..."

Applejack chuckled and bumped her shoulder against Rainbow Dash. "Ah know Ah ain't losin you fer good, sugarcube."

"It...won't be the same....." came Fluttershy's quiet murmur, followed by a little sniffle. "We won't all be living here together again, and we all know it's a big trip to Canterlot to do every day...I...sorry..." Fluttershy ducked her head when everypony looked at her, hiding behind her mane.

"Oh, darling..." Rarity rested her hoof on Fluttershy's side, trying not to tear up herself. She was about to speak again when...

"OH!OH!" Pinkie Pie suddenly exclaimed. "I GOT IT! WE SHOULD ALL GET BURIED TOGETHER! THEN WE'LL ALL BE BACK TOGETHER AGAIN!!" Pinkie Pie clapped her hooves together, grinning brightly. She paused and looked around at all the shocked stares. "What?"

The other five eventually picked their jaws up off the table and looked around.

"Well, you know..." Rarity paused, tapping her chin with her hoof. "That...actually is not a bad idea..."

"Ah reckon so....y'all ARE like family...."

The others nodded slowly, and even started to smile. Rainbow Dash just shook her head, still in a bit shocked by the sudden outburst.

"Pinkie....you...are...so...RANDOM!"

* * *

Fluttershy couldn't help chuckling to herself softly and shaking her head at the memory. What a night that had been! And really, she was so happy Pinkie came up with the idea. She never would have thought of such a thing herself! And having the rather....morose...thought at a party? Well, it was something only Pinkie Pie could do. And not even realize it was morose, of course!

She paused and looked around, suddenly realizing where she was. She'd walked all the way to the cemetery and hadn't even realized. She lowered her head and set her basket down by the first set of graves, letting out a soft smile.

"Well girls, I'm here!"

Comments

[sierra_seven_]

Dare I read about sad Flutters?
Alas, I do not

[ShaOS]

Hmmm...? Incomplete?

*Checks blog post again*
"and now the first chapter is on its way"

So this won't be a one-shoot, or am I wrong?
I would like to see how it will continue, since most stories like this are one-shots. (Well 100% of which I read at least. )

PS:
Thanks for the !!

[ozpakko]

Well... *stares at the screen for about ten more minutes* That's... sad...
I can only say: "Life Happened."

[ChromeRegios]

R.I.P Lightning Crash, dies in sadness and joy... *Thank you for making this.... sadness came back to haunt me!*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmChBxMxRiA&feature=plcp Here's a little music for this story--

[PonIver]

Not sure exactly how to feel about this one. I must commend for at least having proper grammar, but the storytelling itself is a bit lacking. Conceptually it's not a bad story, albeit one that many have tried to do before, but overall I feel it is making light of a sad situation. Fluttershy is described well, but I'd watch the voice of other characters. Twilight wouldn't say 'hi guys' she would address them as girls or perhaps at this point in their lives, ladies. RD seems to just rattle off lines from the show, which is always something that should be avoided unless handled delicately. And Pinkie... Well she is still random, but she lacks silly, and even goes dark at the end.
Zap Apple is a cute idea, even though he's a Gary Sue. Also, some of the interaction between him and Fluttershy comes off as a bit... romantic. And something tells me that you didn't intend that.
Keep working hard. You've got a lot of thoughts about this piece, I'm sure, and it has the potential to be really great. Good luck!

[Path_of_cloud]

1050812 You forgot one other big plot hole, no Spike. Everyone's parting ways, and, for some strange reason, Spike just isn't there, or even mentioned.

[JaydexTheShadowKnight]

I'll have to Read this later, when I have some spare time. Sounds like a good one. BTW the song "Only A Memory A Way", that wouldn't happen to be the one used in Sailor Moon now would it? As soon as I saw the title and then read the lyrics, it was the first thing that came to mind.

[PonIver]

1050983
Mane SIX buddy. I don't care about Spike. No one does. Except you.
Just kidding, yeah I guess there's a lack of Spike, but I generally don't notice those things because I honestly don't care what happens to him. I should though, for the sake of critique.

[Path_of_cloud]

1051011 Yeah, you're a horrible person like that. Just deciding Spike shouldn't' exist, and then letting him not. And actually, Spike is officially listed in the main cast, not supporting characters.

[mechafone]

I guess all the stuff I could mention about how to help your story was already mentioned up there ^
But as for the rest, I really enjoyed reading this, and I'm looking forward to future chapters. I'm guessing this is gonna be a two-parter, three at most, which I think would be best if you're gonna have Fluttershy pass on peacefully at the cemetary. I'll be pleasantly surprised though if that's not the case and you have something else in mind. Either way, you've got me hooked :)

[PonIver]

1051043
Like I care about your 'canon' cast! Silly writer. If Spike wants to be included so bad, he should have been born a pony.
Yeah, you're right. I should stop hassling you before you go back to creatively planning out my demise.

... Crackle is best dragon!

[Zornia]

THE TEARS!!! THE TEARS!!

[Path_of_cloud]

1051106 Hey, I think my party cannon is jammed. Mind sticking your head in there and checking.

[Licorice Twist]

1050661
Yeah, it's going to be multi-chapter. And you're welcome, haha. I have a hard time seeing them with anyone else.

1050812
There's a difference between romantic and affectionate. I look at it as more affectionate without the romance part. Pinkie can get dark sometimes, but it was supposed to be a dark without realizing or having any idea why it would be dark. I figure she's a bit older by this point, so would still have a lot of random but perhaps a little less silly. And no offense, but it sounds like you're thowing "Gary Sue" out there without having any idea what it actually means.

1050983
Good catch. He'll be worked into a later chapter.

1050984
Yep, the Sailor Moon song.

1051099
I'm looking at about one chapter per friend. And leave it to you to read my bloody mind >_< RUINED! lol

[Spectrum 117]

Ugh. All I needed to get sad was the title and the description, the actual story is near overwhelming.
But I'm glad you didn't make it so when Applejack and Rainbow Dash are into each other, you didn't go overboard with it.
But overall, this story already has my emotions churning.
I'm putting this in my read later.

[PonIver]

1051149
I understand why you'd say that about the Gary Sue thing, but I only meant it's bordering on that territory whenever you introduce a character with any sort of trait that makes them stand out (i.e. a rainbow colored mane). Sorry that I was unclear with that comment.

I also didn't mean it was outright affectionate, and I agree with how you meant to portray things and that is what I saw. Only meant that I can see it being interpreted differently by some readers.

[Mordecaiser]

and THIS is why i will be the first to die among my friends...you can count on that
probly around the age of 36 i dont wanna grow old and brittle

[Licorice Twist]

1051549
The rainbow mane is hereditary. But the next chapter will touch on that.

[Church]

Well well, I see this has come to light.

Now I have yet more things to read.

[Spectrum 117]

When will your 2nd chapter be released? I'm dying here!
*Thor reference*
MORE CHAPTERS! *breaks coffee mug*
encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcScddEjpOI_TdapZRwXBK4pYfWIqi7KioNgkPbb5RCxrQXEH4hkyA