//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: True Loves // by SweetCarol //------------------------------// "Where are you going BM?" She asked her nephew when she saw him walking towards the stairs. "I'm a little tired, I stayed up all night, excuse me aunt AJ!" He replied while wiping his tears and went to his room to rest a little. "Okay, good rest!" She said, right after she started lulling her niece and went outside, to watch the sunrise. Applejack sat in the old rocking chair of the late Granny Smith and hummed a lullaby for Apple Belle to sleep. Seeing the situation of her nephew and niece, she remembered her childhood without her parents. She always missed a motherly affection and the paternal encouragement that all her friends had and she didn't want her nephew and niece to have to go through the same thing, but life had other plans, cruel and unpredictable. At least they still had their father. It was so hard for him to be emotionally strong, which he wanted to be the way he was physically strong, but for his children, he'd try everything. When the day finally dawned, one of her best friends arrived with her family and by their sad faces, she deduced that they already knew about her sister-in-law's death. "Hi Applejack, we came as soon as we heard!" Pinkie said. "Sorry we didn't stay, we were a little tired with planning the party!" "No worries, It's OK!" She assured the pink earth pony. "We're here to offer our sincere condolences!" Cheese Sandwich said, taking one of the crazy party hats off his head and pressing it against his chest. "Thank you very much guys!" She thanked him, forcing a smile. "What about Lil' Mac? How's he doing?" Lil 'Cheese asked, immensely concerned. "We wanted to leave this little one sleeping at home, but she insisted on coming!" Cheese said between chuckles, ruffling her mane. "It's alright, the poor little colt is desolate. No wonder, he lost his mother so young!" "Where's he? Can I go and talk to him?" "Sure sugarcube, he's in his room. He may be sleeping right now, but you can still go there!" She answered. "Thank you!" She said, soon after she turned and hugged her mother. "I love you so much mommy!" Pinkie smiled, looking affectionately at her as she stroked her mane. "I love you too, my little love pie!" She said sweetly. After hugging her mother, she jumped up and kissed her father on the cheek. "Love you too papa!" "Me too sweet pumpkin!" "Now I'll see how he's doing!" She said, entering the house. "These two will end up getting married!" Cheese said, wrapping one of his paws around his wife's shoulders. "Dad!" Lil 'Cheese complained in an indignant tone, which made the three laugh. "Sorry sugar!" He said between laughs, knowing that saying that always pissed his daughter off. "But what about Marble? I remember that the two were best friends, they went together everywhere when she wasn't with my brother!" Applejack asked. "The poor thing cried all night when she heard about her death, it was only this morning that she managed to sleep!" Pinkie replied. "SB was really amazing, she managed to make friends with everyone she knew, but none was as strong as the friendship she had with your sister!" Applejack said, smiling at the sweet memories her late sister-in-law brought. Meanwhile, Lil' Cheese walked to her best friend's room. When she put her ear to the door to listen and see if he was sleeping as his aunt had said, she felt bad to hear him crying compulsively. She knocked on the door and went inside. He was lying on the bed, his face buried in the pillow, probably drenched in tears of pain and sadness. "Hey Mac, are you okay?" She asked. "No, of course I'm not. I'm like this because of you!" He said, leaving Lil' Cheese outraged by that accusation. "Because of me? But what did I do?" She asked. "You said my mom would be fine, but now she's DEAD, this is the exact opposite of fine!" He screamed at the top of his lungs to her. "Mac, look, I'm really sorry for what happened to your mom, but I didn't know anything, I said that because I wanted to calm you down!" She said, keeping calm because he had lost his mother. "Saying that is very easy, you still have your mother huh?" He retorted. Lil' Cheese was scared, she no longer recognized her best friend. "... You know what? If you really think so, maybe we should stop being friends!" She said, leaving his room and started to cry, even if she didn't wanted to. They had never argued before for more than a silly reason, like when one of them cheated at a game, but they soon made up. Seeing that he accused his friend unjustly, Lil' Mac soon regretted having treated her that way. He ran after her, hoping for them to be reconciled. "Cheesecake, please wait!" He said, when he saw that she wouldn't stop. "For what? For you to insult me ​​and accuse me unfairly again? No, I'll pass!" She replied coldly without stopping walking. Seeing that there was no other way to stop her, he held one of her paws, which made her stop and look at him with a remarkable expression of anger and indignation, but at the same time with tears in her eyes. "... Please listen, I'm so sorry, okay? I'm sad and angry, but taking it out on you isn't fair. Could you forgive me? You're my best friend in this whole world and I ... I just can't lose you too!" Seeing that the Bright MacIntosh the Second she knew had returned, she smiled, which made him smile back. Suddenly, he was surprised when she kissed him on the cheek and hugged him. Despite the pain he felt for his mother, Lil' Mac felt something at least weird that he had never felt before, it was as if 1000 butterflies were flying inside his stomach. "It's alright, I forgive you!" She said sweetly. "Thank you, I'm sorry again!" He whispered back. "I'm really sorry for your mom. It didn't happen to me, but I know that someday if I lose my mom, I'd be heartbroken too!" She said, rubbing his back gently with one paw. "I know. I miss her so much already, of her hugs, when she stayed by my side until I fell asleep when I had a nightmare. She sang out of tune, but I would do anything to hear her sing again at least one last time!" He said, started crying again, but was feeling better with Lil' Cheese's confort. "There, there, cry all the pain out, I'm here!" A few days later, Sugar Belle's body was released to be buried. It seemed that all the pegasus knew what was going on, because they scheduled to rain on Ponyville that day, which totally combined with the sad mood that was her wake. Marble Pie approached the white coffin with golden details with a bouquet of daisies and cherry blossoms, Sugar Belle's favorite flowers and placed on it to be buried next to her. "Thanks for coming!" Big Mac, who was always by the coffin, thanked her. "I couldn't help but come, after all she was my best friend!" She replied, as tears started to stream down her cheeks. He opened one arm and she didn't hesitate to accept his hug. Separating themselves from the embrace, the two forced smiles to show that they'd always support each other. "I'm really sorry for you and the kids too. She asked me and I'll keep the promise, whenever they need anything, you can call me!" She said. "Thank you, Marble!" He replied. After a nod, she sat back in her seat next to her husband and daughter, resting her head on Caramel's shoulder, who lovingly stroked her mane. Soon after, the Mayor of Ponyville took the stage to say a few things, while everyone listened to her quietly. "And now let's hear some words from her family, who wrote eulogies for her!" She said. "Bright MacIntosh the Second, go on stage!" "Are you ready for this?" Lil' Cheese asked him, they had their paws interwined all the time. "No, but I'll go!" He said, taking the paper with the words and went on stage. "My mom was the most beautiful and sweet mare in the whole world. My best friend always says that when a pony dies, they become a star, so that they can look after their family members who are still on the earth. Every day now I look for for the biggest and brightest star in the sky, I feel it could be her. Before she died, she said she'd always be with me, which made me totally sure that even though she's not a star, her spirit is somewhere watching over me. I'll always love you mommy and I'll miss you every day of my life. Thank you!" He came down from the stage and hugged his best friend as tightly as his arms could. He didn't know why, but being with her made him feel better. After all the eulogies she received, which were many, her coffin was finally closed to be buried. But before that happened, Big Mac noticed his little unicorn wanting to reach her mother's body, but she couldn't. "Wait just a second, please!" He asked the gravediggers. Soon after he took Apple Belle in his arms and lifted her up to the coffin. She stretched out one leg and stroked the forehead of Sugar Belle's body. "Bye, mommy!" She said. At that moment, Big Mac saw that his daughter wasn't too small and innocent to understand the things around her, each one had a way of dealing with grief and so did she. The death of a loved one is something that no one's really prepared for, everyone consoled themselves with the fact that life wasn't over and even with the pain they felt, they knew that someday they'd overcome, despite never forgetting.