Waleska, Georgia 12:36 PM
The bright, luminating sun that dawned on the small town of Waleska was in all aspects the perfect day. The flowers bloomed, the paperboy made his routes, and the lawns sparkled with morning dew. It was all so perfect.
Save one bright yellow, lonesome household on the corner of Birch street.
Inside, a gloomy man hunched over his laptop was monotonously filling out an audit for the local Wal-Mart. A woman sat at a table on the back porch looking at a picture of a young man with her moist, teary eyes. A teenager sat in his room, clutching the controller to his PlayStation 4 and stared at the pause screen, not knowing what to do. An older girl in her teens ruffled through the make-up box on her dresser trying to keep her mind off of the impossible.
And upstairs, a young boy lay on the ground in a fetal position, crying his eyes out.
The father that sat downstairs typed away, ignoring the medals and military telegrams that surrounded him as he focused his thoughts on the unusual rise in sales for black Prada shoes.
"Lets see... carry the four..." He thought out loud.
Gene Ross was interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the living room ahead of him. There his wife stood, shaking her head at the her husband, ashamed at his pitiful acts to drown out the death of their son. Gene could only look away in embarrassment, but there she remained, a lingering ghost reminding him of his selfish actions a few months ago.
"GOD DAMNIT ALICE, WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?! I MISS HIM AS MUCH AS YOU DO!" Yelled Gene, finally cracking under the humiliating pressure.
Feeling she had inflicted enough pain, Alice Ross shambled away. Gene however, was glued to his seat, grasping the picture of his smiling boy in full marine fatigues.
"I want you back Arthur... I want you back so much..." The poor man cried to himself.
Ding-Dong
Lifting his head up, the sobbing father ceased his cries for a moment. Was that the door?
Ding-Dong
Wiping the mucus and tears off his face with his sleeves, Gene Ross approached the front door and adopted the best door-answering face he could. Reaching for the knob, thoughts raced through Gene's mind.
Who could it possibly be this time? Haven't we had enough camera men interrupting our lives about 'the heroic sacrifice of Captain Arthur Ross'? Don't they know we're just a family in mourning?
Swinging open the door, Gene had to gasp at what he saw.
In front of the bereaved father stood four figures. The first two were United States marines adorned in their dress blues. The two behind him were the last thing Gene expected to see. Two ponies, both clad in their ceremonial parade armor, stared at the man and the house interior behind him. Sure he had heard about the talking animals and heck, he had even seen the news documentary on them, but ponies? Here? Most humans desired to visit 'Equestria' much more than equines wanted to come here. Noticing the ponies, most of the neighbors had turned their gaze at the front yard of the Ross family, such a rare sight not to be squandered in this simple, small town.
"Excuse me sir, are you Gene Ross?" Asked a marine.
Stuttering, Gene spoke up, still mesmerized about the four legged beings standing in front of him.
"Y-y-yes. That would be me."
The largest of the two Equestrians stepped up, removing his helmet in respect.
"May we come in sir?" Asked the distinguished pony.
Not saying anything, Gene stepped aside and nodded his head, permitting entrance to the four soldiers.
They wandered into the living room, eyeing the place up and down, paying their respects to the dwelling of a true hero and an even better friend.
Gene walked in after shutting the door and entered the room, finding his wife leaning up against a banister as she watched from afar. Clearing his throat to get the attention of their visitors, Gene gestured to the couch in front of them.
"Please, take a seat." He said.
After watching them take the kind offer, Gene sat in his recliner and gulped.
"I suppose you're here on behalf of my son Arthur?" He managed through a wavering voice with a look that only a father who had lost his son could muster.
After nodding his head, a marine stuck out his hand and spoke.
"Yes... and no. Mr. Ross, I'm Captain Preston Ward, United States marine corps and this is Lieutenant Richard Avery. We fought in the same outfit as your son." Said Ward.
Shaking the man's hand, Gene sat back, taking in a deep breath.
"Next to me is Captain Shining Armor and Lieutenant Silver Sparks of the Royal Equestrian Guard." Said the captain, gesturing to the two ponies to his right.
Shining Armor leaned forward.
"We fought alongside Arthur and his troops during the war. He was the finest soldier I have ever seen sir. You ought to be very proud." He mentioned.
Gene's fingertips dug furiously into the armrests on his chair as he spoke angrily.
"Tell me captain, will an infinite amount of pride bring my son back?" He said in a low growl.
Shining Armor recoiled slightly and shook his head earnestly.
"No sir, I meant nothing by it. I just want to emphasize how grateful I am to have had the pleasure of serving alongside your son. You should know that I was with him till the very end." He exclaimed.
Calming down, Gene took on a sad, slightly whimpering voice and struggled to get the next few words out of his mouth.
"Was... was it quick?" The mournful father asked.
Avery gulped, unsure of how they could answer that question.
"Not especially sir... he died a hero's death." Said Avery.
"I see... I take it telling me about my son's death wasn't the reason you've come here?" Asked Gene.
The four soldiers squirmed in their seats, confirming his guess with a nimble shake of their heads.
Waleska, Georgia 12:41 PM
Dennis Ross sat, huddled in his closet upstairs, crying in the name of his role model. His hero.
His big brother.
When they got the news, Dennis' father was out at work. His mother burst into tears while his brother and sister hugged her. Dennis could only stare at the telegram, with shaky knees, as he slowly broke down in front of his family. Before he could be comforted, he pulled away from his mother and ran upstairs, not leaving his bedroom for a long time.
"Dennis?" Called his father.
As usual, Dennis Ross ignored the plea to come downstairs and continued wallowing in his despair.
"Dennis? Come down please." Called his mother this time.
Damn their persistence. He had never disobeyed his parents before until the day he heard of Arthur's death. He wasn't about to end his streak of disobedience just because they had asked nicely.
Until he heard the next few words.
"There are some important people here that want to see you."
Ward, Avery, Silver Sparks, and Shining Armor stood patiently by the foot of the stairs, waiting for the child to leave his nest and confront them.
"I'm sorry, he's never usually like this." Said Alice Ross.
By now, the entire Ross family had gathered in the living room, all waiting on the last family member to come downstairs and bring himself back into their lives.
Gene sighed and spoke almost irritably.
"Hold on, I'll go-"
Gene was cut off by the sound of small footfalls and the sight of a short figure slowly walking down the stairs. In awe, Dennis stared at the ponies and marines as he descended. When he finally reached the end of the staircase, he gazed for a long time into the face of the marine that had taken position in front of him.
"Dennis?" Asked Lieutenant Avery.
With a quaint nod of his head, Dennis waited for the man to say more.
"So your Mr. baseball champ? Arthur sure did speak highly of you. My name is Richard Avery. We're all friends of your brother." Said the man with a smile.
"Why are you here?" Asked Dennis, just wanting to get this over with and return upstairs.
Avery shifted so that he was out of the way of the pony behind him.
"I believe we have something that belongs to you. Lieutenant Sparks?" Said Avery, gesturing towards the somber pony.
Trotting up to the human child, Silver Sparks relinquished a small parcel from his saddle pack wrapped in a bundle. Hoofing it to Dennis, Silver Sparks watched the boy grasp it without saying a word.
Dennis stared at the object in the palm of his hand. Deciding on what to do with it, he slowly began to unravel the packaging until he came to the core of the leathery cloth. Inside the carefully bundled rag was a slightly dented medallion, missing it's colorful ribbon. Swallowing his words, Dennis did the only sensible thing he could think of at the moment.
He pulled Lieutenant Silver Sparks in for a hug and sobbed uncontrollably.
"Th-thank... y-you..." Cried Dennis, not lifting his face from the ponies fur.
Not wanting to interrupt the tender moment, Gene stood in silence. He was almost on the verge of tears when his wife crouched down to the pony embracing his son and joined in on the hug. Alice, crying as well, pulled in a sobbing Billy and Janice as they sat on the floor. Gene felt he had no place in the hug, until a hand stuck out from the pile, beckoning him to accompany it into the hug.
It was Dennis.
Finally breaking, Gene Ross let loose a wall of tears and joined the embrace.
With his free right hand, Dennis even reached out for Shining Armor, Ward, and Avery. Glad to oblige, the three soldiers crouched down and fused together with the mournful group. For hours, the shaken beings on the floor huddled close together in silence, sharing the warmth of the medallion that emanated the spirit of a well loved friend.
Gone, but not forgotten.