//------------------------------// // Epilogue: To Turn a Life Around // Story: To Turn a Life Around // by TheEngineer //------------------------------// Epilogue: To Turn a Life Around I woke up to a sudden tapping noise that engulfed the room I resided in, I stood up quickly, getting out of bed only to fall face first on the wooden floor. Apparently it's a little hard to get used to having four legs; walking is easy, getting up is somehow difficult. With a slight groan, I got up and walked towards the source of the sound. It was my bedroom window... Well, my new bedroom window. This house hasn't been broken into and this window hasn't had a flash-bang grenade thrown through it. I couldn't see what was on the other side, yet, since there was a heavy drape covering the window and effectively blocking out any and all light from the outside world. I casually moved the drape to the side with a brown hoof, wincing at the blinding amount of sunlight that is suddenly pouring through the window. "Good morning, care to let me in?" a very familiar voice asked, I waited a few moments for my eyes to adjust before replying. I soon saw a hovering Rainbow Dash waiting for me to open the window. Was that thing that happened yesterday a dream? "Hey, you're up early," I began, "Wait, lemme unlock this thing." I fiddled with the small lock with my hooves with no success, I soon gave up and pulled on the small pin with my mouth and pushed the window open. I watched as Rainbow flew inside both quietly and gracefully. "Why couldn't you just use the front door like it is meant to be used?" I questioned. "Because I knocked five times before realizing that you weren't waking up." Rainbow replied, slightly annoyed. "Yeah, I guess I was more tired than I thought I was, sorry." I apologized. "Hey, no problem, I still got in right?" "I guess... What brings you here anyway?" "We were going to walk around town, remember?" Rainbow reminded me. Uh, I guess I'll come back tomorrow morning to give you a tour of the town. "Oh, right. What time is it?" I asked. "Uh, it was around eight last I checked." Rainbow replied. "Okay then, let's get going." I concluded. "Breakfast?" Rainbow offered. "I sure could go for something to eat, I don't have any money though." I said sheepishly. "Matt, it's not like I expected you to suddenly have equestrian bits on you. Besides, it's about time I started paying you back for those clothes you bought me." Rainbow responded. "Oh.... Yeah." I said with a slight blush of embarrassment, I then started making my way to the front door. I then noticed Rainbow wasn't following, she was simply staring at me, "Uh, Rainbow?" I asked awkwardly. "Matt," she began, now trying to contain her laughter, "Did you ever notice that your flank is blank?" Rainbow finished, now letting loose a giggle. "My what now?" I asked, glancing at my flank. Sure enough, all I saw was a plain, light brown coat. No 'cutie mark'. "Oh," I began in realization, "I still don't see how that's so funny." "You're a year older than me, and you have no cutie mark," Rainbow began, pausing to laugh for a short while, "And you just inspired me of a certain prank we could pull on three certain fillies." A devious grin appeared on my lips, "Fillies is the equivalent of girls right?" I asked, Rainbow nodded. "Alright, I'm in. But let's talk about that later, I'm starving." "Sure thing, let's stop by at the bank first." ... We walked lazily down the street, accidentally bumping into each other every now and then. We stopped at the local bank and we walked slightly faster towards the closest place that provided food. We were headed towards the market, but Rainbow immediately pulled me towards another direction, saying that she knew someplace better. We continued our path through an alleyway and found a restaurant as soon as the alley ended and the street began once more. "This place has some great daisy sandwiches and hay fries." Rainbow commented. "Uh, Rainbow? I don't eat that stuff." I replied hesitantly. "Matt, you have different taste buds now just like I did when I was human." Rainbow said plainly. "Oh yeah, good point." I replied in surprise. She always makes a good point.... ... Rainbow managed to convince me into eating a grilled daisy sandwich with an order of hay fries... As odd as it is to admit, it was pretty damn good. Daisies taste kinda like spinach only with a more citrus-y flavor. "Okay Rainbow, I think you got me hooked on daisies..." I announced between mouthfuls. "Ha! I knew you would like em!'" Rainbow declared victoriously. We ate peacefully for a few more moments, only a few moments. Pinkie Pie jumped out from under the table, a small party hat somehow holding on to her head without any string. "Ohmygosh! Matty, Dashie! Just the two ponies I needed to see!" Pinkie cheered abnormally happily before quickly pulling up a chair to our table and sitting down with us. "Pinkie.... Where did you come from?" I asked in the slightest tone of fear, Rainbow gave me a chiding glance. "From under the table silly! You saw me come out from there." Pinkie replied quickly. "Okay Pinkie, why is it that Matt and I are the two ponies you needed to see?" Rainbow asked, saving me from a migraine. Damn it Matt, you forgot the golden-pink rule: never question Pinkie Pie, punishable by brain aches and migraines. "You see, Twilight finally recovered from that nasty case of magical exhaustion and Celestia sent her here by chariot! She's waiting at her place and we should totally stop by to see how she's doing." Pinkie explained at an unbelievable speed. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go see how Twilight is doing." I said, standing up from my chair. "Uh, where exactly is Twilight's house?" "Heh, come on Matt, follow me." Rainbow motioned as she stood up from her seat. Rainbow walked towards Twilight's house, me and Pinkie in tow. I kept trying my best to look at the scenery as we walked, but the way Rainbow's tail swung from side to side was.... Distracting. I caught Pinkie giving me a coy smile, "What?" I asked innocently. "Oh, nothing." Pinkie replied dismissively. ... We were nearing the top of a slight hill when Rainbow looked back at me. "We're almost there." Rainbow announced. "Oh, good." I said, perking up slightly. I soon saw a large tree with a front door and windows. "Uh, it's not that is it?" I asked. "Yeah it is. Twilight's house is both a library and a tree." Rainbow replied. My mind childishly went back to a certain sponge that lived in a pineapple before his show got canceled. Oh, who lives in a li-bra-ry over a hill; Twi-light Spar-kle! I shook the thought out of my head, that was silly. "Nope! It was actually kinda funny!" Pinkie giggled. "What?" I asked. "That lyric about Twi that you just made up, it's kinda funny!" Pinkie chirped. "Bu-but.. I didn't say that out loud." I replied in disbelief. Wait, remember the golden-pink rule Matt! "Well, you see, the reason I was able t-" "No, I don't wanna know." I interrupted Pinkie, getting a slight glance of approval from Rainbow up ahead. "Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie said with a bounce. Now that I think about it, she was bouncing for most of the trip here... Odd. "Well, we're here." Rainbow said, stopping at the front door. Pinkie didn't hesitate before trotting past me and Rainbow, opening the door quickly and closing it behind her before either of us could say a word. Rainbow just looked at me and shrugged, she then knocked on the door and waited for a response. "It's open!" Twilight called from inside. Rainbow opened the door and let me in, it was dark in here... Really dark. We walked inside, hesitating on closing the door since it was our only light source. "SURPRISE!" a massive cheer greeted us, lights being turned on in the process. "What?" I asked once more, I seem to have been asking that a lot lately. Before me, I saw a sleepy Twilight, an overly happy Pinkie Pie and a grinning Rainbow Dash. But there were more ponies in here, ones that I didn't recognize; there was a white mare, and orange one and a soft yellow mare, and... A baby dragon, all smiling hesitantly. I glanced upwards, there was a banner saying 'Welcome to Ponyville Matthew!'... Why is it dedicated to just me? Wasn't Pinkie planning a party for Twilight too? "Matthew?" Twilight asked wearily, "Is that really you?" I nodded, not knowing which words to choose from. "Princess Celestia told me what happened... Did you really sacrifice yourself for us like that?" Twilight continued. "Wait, you didn't know?" I asked, now I was even more surprised. "No," Twilight shook her head, "When Rainbow came back to the room she kept saying that you were fine." Clever mare, she knew Twilight would have come for my rescue. "Well, I'm all right now, so no worries." I dismissed, "So, are you going to introduce me to your friends?" Twilight simply ignored my last question and trotted across the room towards me, tackling me into a fierce embrace. "You gave up so much for us, even your life... And you want me to simply forget that?" Twilight said, sobbing slightly on my shoulder. I hugged Twilight back, everyone in the room was quiet, I noticed the white mare put a hoof to her muzzle, holding back tears of her own. "Twilight, I'm alright now. There was really not much left for me back home anyway." I insisted, not wanting to see a friend cry for me at a time for them to be joyful. Twilight pulled away from her tight embrace, holding me at arms length, "Matthew, you really gave too much for us... I don't know if I will ever be able to repay you for the sacrifices you made for us." "Come on now, I already said you have nothing to worry about; we're friends for crying out loud, I was there when you guys needed me, I'm sure you would have done same for me." "Thank you..." Twilight said quietly before letting go of me. "It's all in the past now." I began darkly before brightening back up again, "So, introductions?" This brought Twilight back up to her normal attitude, "Yeah, sure. This is Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Spike." she said pointing a hoof at the orange mare, white and yellow mare and the dragon, respectively. "Howdy there." Applejack greeted in a heavy southern accent. "Pleased to meet you!" Spike said with a wave. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Rarity said in a cultured accent, giving me a slight wink when nopony was looking. Fluttershy just squeaked and tried her best to hide behind her mane, intimidated for some reason. "Hey everypony." I waved, "So, uh... What now?" I asked awkwardly, not sure on how to proceed in this situation. "Well, we heard a rather brief explanation of what happened from Pinkie Pie, I'm sure that you would understand when I say that we would like a much longer, slower, and more thorough story telling of this... Adventure you four had." Rarity spoke up, getting nods of approval from the majority of the audience. "I guess that's fair." I replied, I suddenly got hit with a ton of pillows. "Oh, sorry." Rainbow Dash apologized as she hovered over me, "I was getting pillows for everyone to sit on." she explained. "Er, RD? don't ya mean everypony?" Applejack asked incredulously. "Oh, yeah. Sorry, I picked up a few bad habits over the past month." Rainbow dismissed. "Well," I began, working my way out of the pillow stack, "Everypony just grab a pillow and we can get this show on the road." ... "Your job is to do what?" Spike asked in surprise. "My job was to overhaul, repair and maintain aircraft." I replied. "Your world has machines that can fly? That's... Beyond ingenuity." Rarity said in awe. "Yeah, they are quite a sight." I replied. ... "You were in a what now?" Applejack asked in confusion. "Uh, it's basically a wagon that pulls itself." Rainbow answered for me. "And how the hay is that supposed to work? I sure could use a few of those on the farm." Applejack replied. "It works with an internal combustion engine, it's quite genius really. To think that you could harness thousands of tiny explosions and focus the energy to turn two axles..." Twilight droned on. "Okay, Ah'm lost now. Could we get back to the story now?" Applejack said, regretting that she got Twilight into her fascination mode. ... "Hold on just a minute there darling, did you... Just say that you lived in a world where everypony wears clothes... Every single day?" Rarity asked in a mixture of awe and disbelief, "I knew I should not have let Pinkie Pie take my place in that monster hunt." she said with a slight pout. "Speaking of which, Twilight, did Celestia ever tell you what happened to the weeping angels while we were gone?" I asked curiously. Twilight nodded, "Yes, she told me that she managed to speak to one of them. All she explained to me was that they aren't coming back to Equestria ever again, in a rather... Angry way." Twilight finished hesitantly. "I guess I will know more later." I replied, going back to the story at... Hoof. ... " What's a skateboard?" Spike asked after I mentioned that I was teaching Rainbow how to skate. "Think about Scootaloo's scooter, only without the handlebar, it's also not as wide and the wheels aren't as big. It's also much louder than scootaloo's scooter." Rainbow explained happily, Fluttershy seemed to cringe slightly once Rainbow mentioned the loudness factor. Should I explain that the loudness depends on the bearings? Nah. ... "Now why would ya think tryin' somthin like that would keep that guy quiet?" Applejack questioned. "Hey, I had to think of something quickly. And it seemed to work anyway." I defended. "Yeah, and you should have seen him, it was so awesome! I almost believed it too, if it weren't for the synthematic life thinggy." Rainbow added. "Synthetic." Twilight corrected, cringing slightly at the slaughter of vocabulary. ... "Y-your friend was killed? Who could possibly do such a horrible thing?" Rarity asked, her eyes quivering. "My own government... They saw an act of treason and acted upon it at once, even if it was my fault that he was involved to begin with." I said bitterly, remembering the painful words of the interrogator. Ted Kimell's death was your fault. I pushed those thoughts back, they were lies, painful lies. "I'm so terribly sorry for your loss, but rest assured, you can't possibly blame yourself for Ted's death, you couldn't have known." Rarity soothed. "Thanks." ... "So you barricaded the first floor doors and windows, but didn't expect them to attack from the second floor?" Spike asked once I mentioned the 'we got captured' part. Yes Matt, barricade the first floor Matt, they totally don't have the technology or the logistics to attack from the second floor Matt... "Yeah, I kinda slipped up on that part." I replied. "How did you escape?" Spike asked excitedly, clearly very much into the action. "Let us get to that part." I replied calmly. "Yes, and since we're almost done, that means we're just minutes away from starting the real party and serving cake!" Pinkie Pie added excitedly, seeing how she hasn't spoken in some time, I can tell that she's really eager to celebrate. ... "He questioned me for some time, it really didn't take me long to realize that they were planning on torturing me if I didn't cooperate. Now that I think about it, I don't think they were planning on letting me out alive since the interrogator was giving me more answers than I could have hoped for." I told, leaving out a few details. "What happened next?" Rarity asked quickly, she was now laying down on the floor, head resting on her forearms. "Well, I knew that my chances weren't very good. But the ropes on my wrists weren't as tight as they should have been." Applejack snorted at that, "So I tried my best to stall the interrogator while I untied my wrists. I was unbelievably lucky, the other guy by the door decided to leave before 'things got messy'. So that's when I decided to make my move, I managed to get the interrogator close enough for me to head-butt, followed by a really hard push once I released my arms." "No one wins the head-butt!" Rainbow whispered to herself. "I then... Untied my legs and used the rope to restrain the interrogator." I lied. "He... Died didn't he?" Fluttershy intercepted my lie almost instantly. "Don't be a silly filly Fluttershy, nopony jest dies from bein' tied down." Applejack responded, not entire understanding what Fluttershy meant. "No, nopony just dies from being tied down." Fluttershy repeated, shaking her head, "But that wasn't what happened, was it?" Fluttershy gave me an apologetic look. Everypony else stared at me in surprise once I didn't deny the truth. "No... It wasn't what happened." I answered darkly, "How did you know?" "That look in your eyes. It's the same look I saw in Mr.Grizzles' eyes when he came to me after accidentally killing his friend in a fight." Fluttershy answered sorrowfully. Well, no turning back now. "Do you all really want to know what happened?" I asked, there was a unanimous nod of agreement. , "When I pushed the man, he fell back into the locker filled with his instruments of pain. That locker was apparently not secured to anything and it just.... It just fell on him. I didn't do it on purpose, but there it was. When I managed to see what had happened... The blood, oh god all of the blood. That man spent his last dying breaths to tell me that I wasn't going to escape." I said, looking down at the ground, not daring to look at anybody in the eye. I heard the small gasps coming from all around me. "Hey, it was either you or him." Rainbow said, putting a comforting hoof around my neck. "Yeah, it was. it's still haunting, seeing someone like that." "Hey, don't beat yerself down sugarcube. It ain't like ya did it on purpose." Applejack tried to comfort some more. "Yeah, but the next two were." I announced, everyone except Rainbow seemed shocked to hear that. "Hey, you had to! It's not like they weren't trying to kill you!" Rainbow consolidated. "Yep, true." I replied simply. "Is that how... You perished?" Rarity asked hesitantly. I nodded. "I grabbed the interrogator's gun and managed to trap the guy that left inside of the interrogation room. Well, I trapped him inside, but not without him firing a shot off into the air, alerting another agent who came down a hallway. I managed to shoot him in the head, and he managed to shoot me in the left thigh." I explained briefly, "I was bleeding badly, but eventually the pain numbed away and I was able to limp towards the end of the hall. I found another agent who was headed toward Rainbow but saw me as a greater threat, pointing her gun at me. Rainbow took the opportunity to surprise the agent lady and I came up, pulled Rainbow away and shot the woman in the leg, almost without thinking about it." I said, that last part surprising even me. "What happened then?" Applejack asked eagerly, she didn't seem conflicted with the 'I have killed' thing. "That was when I started getting dizzy, I don't remember too much from then." I answered. "Yeah, he slumped down on the wall and told me to just leave him there." Rainbow took over the story,"I kept telling him that I couldn't just leave him there, but Matt proves to be too stubborn sometimes. He gave me his timepiece and demanded that I go." Rainbow paused, almost shedding a tear, almost. "So, I ran. I just ran back to Twilight and Pinkie without looking back and told Twilight that Matt was fine, knowing that she would try to save him if I told the truth." "I... I don't know what to say." Twilight responded in defeat. "Matty? Is it okay if I asked what... Dying feels like?" Pinkie Pie asked hesitantly. "Sure, I guess people would like to know if someone else went through it and came back to talk about what just happened." I began, trying to get my thoughts organized. "You know? It was actually a lot like falling asleep. I did start feeling numb and a little cold, my vision was also getting really blurry... But besides that, it was like going to sleep." I answered. Everypony in the room was quiet, letting that thought sink in. "Well, that certainly was not the answer I expected to hear." Rarity commented. "Well, it certainly wasn't something I expected to experience, but that's how it was." I shrugged. "Can we start the party now?" Pinkie Pie asked anxiously, shifting her weight from side to side. "I guess we c-" I almost managed to respond, only to be interrupted by Pinkie Pie jumping unbelievably high into the air, confetti spraying in all directions. "Whoohoo!" Pinkie exclaimed in mid-air. Where did all of the confetti come from? "Well, I guess the party started." Rainbow announced, her mood lightening up considerably. ... This was certainly a very interesting party, considering that all of the participants, albeit one purple dragon, were ponies. I also learned how to dance with four hooves, which was surprisingly easy to do. Put your left hoof out, put you right hoof in. Now, reverse and head-bang. The cake was amazing too, Pinkie managed to bake it this morning as soon as she heard that Twilight had woken up. She really lives up to her self proclaimed title of Allaroundsuperfantasticironchefmareden, seriously, this cake is beyond amazing; it's almost like it gets tastier with every bite! ........... The sun was coming down now and we all went our separate ways. Rainbow tagged along with me since my house was on the way to hers. "Your friends are really nice." I complemented, trying to throw around the proverbial ball of conversation. "Thanks, I've known Fluttershy since I was in flight school." Rainbow replied in an uncharacteristically soft voice. "A very perceptive one she is." I replied, recalling the fact that she saw through my iron curtain. "Yeah, that was actually very surprising. She never found out anything from me that I didn't want her to know, but she saw right through you." "And I'm some sort of experienced liar too, considering that I totally fooled that guy in the street." I said with feigned pride. "I really can't say this too often, that was amazing. It was like nothing I've seen before, you had him fooled all along." Rainbow said with an adorable giggle. "Heh, that was pretty hilarious from my point of view now that I look back at that." I commented. "You remember the face he made when you showed him your wallet?" Rainbow asked. We suddenly broke out in laughter. "He was so confused! I didn't even give him enough time to get a good look at it." I commented once I regained control of my laughter. "Heh, yeah." Rainbow replied, wiping a small tear from her eye. "This sunset is really nice." I said after a moment of silent walking, my voice dripping with awe. "Nice? It's one of the most beautiful things in Equestria." Rainbow replied, looking towards the sun. "Yes, but not the most beautiful thing in Equestria." I said quietly. "How would you know that? You haven't been here for all that long." Rainbow asked in shock. "Well, I just know, you know?" I answered lamely. "Look, I know this spot in the park where you can really see how beautiful the sunset is. Let me show you because you really don't know what you're talking about." Rainbow insisted, nudging me to the left. "Okay, okay, I'm turning left." I replied. "Good, the park is right there anyway." "So it is." I nodded. Rainbow and I eventually came to the park Rainbow mentioned. The park was marked by a modest fence, the only trace of interference inside was a dirt path and a few benches in the distance. Rainbow led me down the path, accidentally bumping into each other every now and then. I didn't mind too much, it certainly wasn't anything to make a fuss about. "Okay, follow me." Rainbow said, steering from the dirt path and into was seemed to be just woods. "Sure thing boss." I obeyed. We walked slowly up a slight hill, the trees started clearing up. We soon arrived to the top of the hill, it was occupied by a single tree and provided a clear view of the sunset. "Welp, this is it." Rainbow concluded. "Wow, you weren't kidding. This really shows off the beauty of the Equestrian sunset." I complemented. "So, does that mean I convinced you?" Rainbow asked curiously, taking a step forward. "Um, no." I said curtly. "Well, I guess that means we will have to stay here until you say so." Rainbow said, sitting next to the tree. "Try me." I said with a smirk, laying down next to Rainbow. ... "So, tell me; what exactly is more beautiful than this sunset?" Rainbow asked after a long moment of silence. "Oh, I can't say." I replied innocently. "Oh? Why not?" Rainbow asked curiously, ever so slightly scooting over towards me. "Because." "Cmon, I trusted you without question before, why can't you tell me one tiny thing?" Rainbow begged with a tinge of disappointment. "Well, if you really want to know." I replied hesitantly. "Yes?" Rainbow asked. "It's something really personal, really." "Yes?" "Are you super sure that you want to know?" "Yes..." This could be thin ice you are treading on right now. "You, Rainbow Dash." I finally said. Very thin ice. I cautiously looked over at Rainbow Dash... I was surprised to see a small smile on her lips. "That's... A surprise." Rainbow managed to say. "Well, now that we're in this situation, I'm going to ask... Do you, uh, want to be my uh... My girlfriend?" I asked awkwardly, I haven't done this in a long time. "I thought I already asked you." Rainbow said with a smile. "Wha-?" I began confusedly. "You do remember that kiss last night, right? That, Matt, was me asking." Rainbow explained. "So, that's a yes then?" I asked, I'm having some trouble realizing that this is actually working out for me. Rainbow gave me the most beautiful giggle, "Yes Matthew, I will be your marefriend." she replied slowly, as if making sure I understood. "Oh, well, that was kind of easy." I said, cheering up. "You saying that I'm easy to get?" Rainbow retorted with feigned insult. "No, not at all." I replied seriously, "Easy to get isn't the right words; easy to ask is more like it." I answered. "Yeah, I guess that's true." Rainbow replied with a bright smile. Nice save Matt. No problem, Brain; you saved me enough times for me to start saving back. What? "Hmm, it's getting dark; we should get going now." I eventually said, watching the last bits of the sunlight disappear. "Yeah, we should." Rainbow answered warmly, giving me a quick nuzzle. I looked at her in surprise, "What? We're a couple now, I should be able to nuzzle you when I want to." Rainbow defended. "I think the same goes for me then." I replied, giving her a playful nuzzle to emphasize my words. I then sat up, looking deeply into Rainbow's magenta eyes. "Well? Let's get going then." Rainbow said after a very long, yet comfortable stare. "Yeah, let's." I answered, waiting for Rainbow to get up before we started walking back. We were bumping into each other a whole lot more now, not sure if it was accidental anymore. ... By the time we reached my house it was nearly pitch dark, the sunlight went away really quickly. "So, this is it." Rainbow said, "See you later then." "Sure." I said, leaning in for a kiss. Rainbow beat me to it, pushing forward with an amount of passion that sent a chill down my spine and set my blood to a boil. I pulled myself out of the shock and started pushing back with just as much passion, our tongues now partaking in a moving dance, a dance that repeatedly sent pleasant chills up and down my body, my mind turning into a fuzz of thoughts too incoherent to remember. I heard Rainbow's wings flap a few times before we both pulled away. "Wow, that was certainly something." Rainbow commented in awe, a gentle blush on her face. "Yeah." I replied, pausing with a peculiar thought. "Wait, it's really dark right now, are you sure you can get home safely?" I asked. "Um, I dunno, it's actually really hard to see clouds in the dark." Rainbow replied with a peculiar gaze. "Well, would you like to stay the night?" I offered. Rainbow gave a soft giggle, "I would love to." I nodded, opening the door and motioning her to come in. I watched her walk past me, her rainbow tail flicking my nose. I gave a soft sigh of bliss. My thoughts once again becoming prevalent. Who would have thought that things could change so dramatically, so quickly, in such a short amount of time? Barely a month has passed by since I first met my three special friends. In that relatively short time, I learned of a new world; I taught a new friend how to skate; I tried the dude challenge, again; I was chased by secret agent men; I rejected a promotion; I lost my job; I lost my childhood friend... Still, there's one thing that rings in my mind, one phrase that keeps repeating itself, one phrase that had to be told to me countless times: move on. Ted told me, Simmons told me, Mr.Naidoo gave the same advice... It's about time I started telling the same thing to myself. Moving on... It's what Ted would have wanted me to do, he would hate for me to go on in grief once more like before. It's what dad would have wanted me to do, he believed that the only way to go is forward; because you can't go back and just standing there is just silly. So that's what I'll do, that's what I did do. I finally moved on and accepted, I could not have prevented their deaths, but I can preserve their memories. I should have a memorial built eventually, that should do them some justice... Mom, dad, aunt, uncle, Sadie.... Ted. Who would have known? At times where hope is but the smallest ray of light in a bottomless pit of misery, there is still that small hope. For me, that pinprick of light grew into the form of three mares. It was those three special friends that managed to shock me into the fast lane of recovery, and it was those three that finally managed to turn my life around. The End. -------------------------------------------- Author's note: This was certainly loads of fun to write, I even surprised myself in a few parts of this story. I'm sure that many of you found Ted's death as a surprise, I'm almost sorry to say that I planned his death from the very beginning; his last name was actually a hint towards that, Kimell? The word kill is in that name, and you can only assume two outcomes from that. I did mention before that I would have very subtle foreshadowing! I would like to give a massive thanks to refferee for an outstanding job as my editor. You sir are a very awesome individual and I look forward to continue working with you. Refferee's work has been accurate, efficient and an overall stelar job. Well, this is something I'm really curious to ask. Did you guys like the ending? I've written and rewritten this epilogue five times, each time I was very disappointed with how things came to a close and this one seemed like the only way to make a happy ending; and since this is my first story, I really wanted a happy ending. I'm going to continue writing after this, in case you were wondering. So, stay tuned for some more fanfics! In the meantime, feel free to thumb up (Or down if you really, really want to) favorite, comment, watch; the works. I really hope you guys enjoyed this story, this is TheEngineer signing off, only to sign back on in a short time.