//------------------------------// // Chapter Twenty-Four: Outside the Wall // Story: Bricks in the Wall // by _NAME_ //------------------------------// So, in case you didn’t see my BLOG POST about it, I’m not going to be finishing this story. I’m just burned out on it at this point, and I don’t think it’ll ever get done. But, instead of just leaving everyone hanging without finishing this final chapter, I’m posting everything I have written so far, and detailed notes to explain out everything that I hadn’t. What you’re seeing here is the first draft of this chapter. I’ve done no major editing or revisions to it. Normally, I would’ve gone over and refined everything countless more times until I was fully satisfied with it, but this is about as good as it’s going to get. It’s basically only snippets of scenes, rough dialogue, and drabblings of whatever other ideas I had. Large gaps in between paragraphs are just that. Just bits and bobs I wrote, but never connected to each other. I really am truly sorry, but I’ve given this a lot of thought, and I think that this is the only thing to do. Please enjoy this sort-of conclusion to Bricks in the Wall. It’s been four years coming. Again, sorry. Chapter Twenty-Four Outside the Wall Don’t know where… …Don’t know when… …But I know we’ll meet again… …some sunny day… Ever so slowly, I opened my eyes. Harsh sunlight greeted me, beaming down from on high. It was morning now. I had fallen asleep. But now I was awake. I took a deep breath in. And then I let it out. I tried to move, but I found myself unable to. My entire body was numb and unresponsive. A powerful headache was throbbing inside of my skull. I tried to clench my hoof, but I couldn’t find it. For the briefest of moments, I was lost in my own body. Floating. Flying. But then it all came down. I blinked, my eyes refocusing in front of me. A blotch patch of tan swan in the center of my vision. My skin felt like needles as feeling gradually returned to my body, bit by bit. A low moan escaped my lips, and I shifted in discomfort. My joints felt tight and inflamed. All my muscles, sore and raw. The entire right half of my body was cold and wet, soaking in some sort of liquid. I was lying on the ground. I blinked again, and with an unsteady push, I tried to lift myself up, only to fall back down almost instantly. The small puddle of questionable fluids I pooled around my face. But then, I felt a presence. A hoof on my back. My eyes rolled forward, towards the tan blob from before. The longer I held my gaze, the more it seemed to shift into focus. It was a pony, that much I could tell. It said something, I think. I couldn’t hear it. My ears were all muffled. The pony lifted me up into a seated position and propped my back up against a wall. Another groan came out me as my head lolled forward, my neck unable to support it. I was shaking. It was all my body seemed capable of doing at the moment. I tried to move a leg, to do anything, but my muscles still wouldn’t seem to listen to me. All I seemed capable of doing properly at the moment was feeling. Cold. Wet. Thirsty. Hungry. Scared. Sad. The stallion, for that was what he was, was saying something again. Still, I couldn’t hear it. He lifted my head up and spoke directly to me, but his features were still all blurry. I tried to speak, but my mouth didn’t move correctly. All the words got stuck in my throat and wouldn’t come out. All I managed to do was get out a sort of garbled mess of my intended sentence, but I got the impression that the stallion was happy even about that. Then, there was a welling in my chest. A powerful force that exploded outwards in a violent, racking cough. My lungs burned. My throat felt as if it tore. My entire body shook. My head went light as I didn’t get a chance to get enough air in. And still, the coughing continued, for nearly a full minute. But then, just as suddenly as it came, it broke away, leaving me dazed and drained. I blinked. Everything fell down into place. The haze over my vision cleared, revealing the concerned expression of the tan pegasus in front of me, Short. I shifted one of my forelegs, my motor controls returning to me. And then the cotton fell out my ears. “…ere you are. How’re you doin’, Pinky?” A smile broke out across his face. Short took another step towards me. He prodded me gently and I groaned again, only to break into a coughing fit. When that had subsided, I looked up at Short’s concerned face and opened my mouth. “H-hey, buddy…” I croaked out, my voice dry and sore. “Fancy meetin’ you here.” He chuckled. “Me an’ the police have been searchin’ for you for half the night.” He sat down on the ground next to me and sighed. “You’re in some deep shit, Pinky, after the stunts you pulled.” “…The police…?” I forced out the words, looking at him. Short nodded somberly. “Yeah…” He didn’t meet my gaze. “Pink, I ain’t gonna sugarcoat it, but you went crazy last night. Right off the fuckin’ deep end. You destroyed the stage, drove off the audience, assaulted a Royal Guard, and ran off into the night, vandalized private property, an’…” he trailed off for a moment, “An’ you just about permanently maimed three or four ponies, including a colt…”He raised his head up, looking at me. “Pink, I don’t know what charges are gonna be thrown at ya, but it ain’t gonna be good. The Princess herself is involved…” I nodded, numbly accepting what Short was saying. Whatever had come over me last night…I barely even wanted to acknowledge it. We sat in silence for some seconds, until I noticed the bandages wrapped around Short’s chest and abdomen. Come to think of it, he had several bruises all over his body, barely visible, but there. I winced as I remembered that I had even attacked him last night. “Short,” I started, and then stopped, and then began again. “Short, I… Are you okay? I beat you pretty bad last night, didn’t I?” “Ehh, it’s nothin’ too bad.” He looked down at the bandages himself. “The doctors just wanted me to be protected since I was gonna be searching the streets for you. The worst you did was break a rib. You know that I’ve had worse.” I shook my head, my eyes wide. “No, but I was the one who did it. It’s not okay. I broke your ribs—” “A rib,” he corrected. “Still,” I continued, “I lost control, and I hurt you, and I hurt other ponies even more I don’t—” “Pink,” he cut me off again, “you weren’t yourself. I know you, and whatever happened last night was not your fault. I don’t know what happened, but it was out of your control.” “I… But it was still me, Short. I did all of that stuff…” “No. You weren’t in the right state of mind when I found you in the hotel room before, an’ I was so impatient to get you up an’ to the show that I let that doctor shove whatever he wanted into you. That was what caused everything, set everythin’ in motion.” I didn’t respond. My eyes drifted across the wall in front of us. Whatever drugs the doctor had shot me up with may have played into the equation, but I was still the primary reason everything happened, in my eyes. It all had to culminate sometime. “I’m going clean,” I said. “Hmm?” “The drugs, the booze. All of it. I want to get—I need to get off of it all. I can’t live like that anymore. It’s all almost killed me a couple a’ times before. I need to quit.” “Oh! Finally! I—Well, I think that’s a great idea! You have no idea how worried me an’ Rêves were about you.” Almost instantly upon hearing my wife’s name, by heart dropped like a stone. I would have to confront her at some point. Whatever consequences I would be facing with the law seemed less imposing than having to talk with her. “Has she heard about…all this?” Vague. “Prolly not. This all just happened, so it’ll be at least a day ‘fore it’s in the paper.” “I think we’re gonna have to cancel the rest of the tour. I don’t think I’m up to doing it anymore.” This caused Short to burst out laughing. “Yeah, you think? As much as it pains me, we’re gonna have to refund everyone’s tickets. They won’t like it, but once news of all this breaks, it’ll be a big scandal. I’ll have to be workin’ hard to deal with everything when it hits.” I stared down at the floor. “I’m sorry, Short.” I said quietly. “Sorry for all of this. I’m a terrible friend. I treated you so bad over the past few years, an’ I’ve just about killed myself and ended everything we’ve worked for, an’…” “Don’ worry about it,” is what he said. “I haven’t exactly been the best of friends to you either lately. We both just got caught up in ourselves, we’ll try now, won’t we?” I smiled, I think the first time since I woke up. “We’ll try, Short. I’ll try to be better. Right now,” I took a deep breath, “Right now, I feel better than I’ve felt in years. I know it sounds cheesy, but it feels like a shroud has been lifted from my mind, and I just feel so clear right now. I feel happy.” I placed a hoof on the ground and slowly stood up off of the floor. I made it about halfway up before my foreleg gave way and I collapsed back to the hard floor. Short sighed and offered a hoof, steadying my body. So, Short finds Pink in the alleyway, just as he comes back to. After Pink wakes up some, they talk for a while and reconcile. Pink, now having broke through his wall, promises to do better. He has realized that he needs help and has issues he needs to get over, and wants to begin the process of healing himself. He decides to cancel the rest of his tour and withdraw from the public for a while, which is reasonable considering he went crazy, attacked people, went on a rampage, and caused a fair bit of property damage. Short apologizes for being a bad friend, but Pink rebukes him and apologizes himself. Short feels somewhat guilty for allowing his friend to descend to such depths and not try to help. He willfully ignored Pink's worsening mental state, instead caught up in managing Pink's music career. With some struggle, the two of them exit the alley. Short leads Pink to Princess Celestia, and she and Pink talk. If you remember, Celestia attended his concert. The two of them talked briefly backstage, and then later, he insulted her before running off and tearing up the town. There needed to be some closure between the two of them. She is personally invested in finding him, not just because she was directly involved during the concert, but also because she feels like Pink is going through something similar to Luna's own descent into madness and wants to help. “Mister Pink.” Her face was unreadable as we approached her. “I’m glad to see you have been found.” As we stopped in front of her, I bowed deeply, my snout nearly scrapping the ground. “P-princess Celestia,” I replied hesitantly, unsure how exactly to act. “You said some very unbecoming things about me, right to my face. There are not many who have the gall to do so. She smiled. “I am known for giving second chances to those who I believe deserve it. She leaned closer, “And I believe I am going to be giving even more in the near future.” I blinked. “Uhh…” “I…” For a moment, I saw her composure slip, her calm, loving smile fall. And then, it was back. “And I believe that I will begin with you.” She straightened, her commanding presence all the more imposing. I felt as if I should let her talk. “A long time ago, I failed to properly address another’s distress, sadness, and eventual anger, a mistake that has haunted me all my days since. “When we met last night, I could sense that there was something off. There was great conflict and anger in your mind, and I can tell now that it has all but completely dissipated. I do not wish to pry into the particulars, but I am glad that you have found peace with yourself. “As such, I feel inclined to give you a second chance. On the condition that nothing like this will ever occur again, you will not be going to prison or have any charges levied against you. However, you will be paying for all of the property damage you caused, as well as the hospital bills for the ponies who you injured. Do you understand?” I took a deep breath and looked up at her, nodding my head. “Crystal clear.” Her face hardened for a moment. “But, do keep in mind that whatever happens next is entirely up to you, and, while I am giving you this chance to right your wrongs, I am not likely to give you a third. Whatever befalls you in the years to come, you will be held accountable. They then part ways. Short and Pink say a few more words to each other, and then Pink leaves to go home and confront his wife, Rêves. Last we heard of her, Pink believes that she is having an affair, which becomes the last straw for him and causes him to snap and retreat into himself. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ The scene now jumps to him getting home and working up the nerve to go inside and speak to his wife. I stood outside my house, watching. A hundred excuses as do why I couldn’t go in yet ran through my mind, but I knew I was only delaying the inevitable. I had to go home sometime and face what was waiting inside for me. My wife. I had loved the mare since we first met, all those years ago in school. We had known each other most of our lives; been together through thick and thin, though apparently more thin than thick. I think I knew we were growing distant over the years, but I could never admit it to myself. Eventually, he goes in the door and calls out for Rêves. She doesn't answer. Pink searches all around the house, but she is nowhere to be found. He is incredible saddened and thinks that she has left him for good. Then, the door opens, and she comes in, coming home from shopping or something. Upon seeing him, she drops all of her bags and rushes over to hug him, but stops short before she gets to him. Things are very awkward between them for a few moments, but then she tells him that she's glad he's okay, having already seen the news about his freak-out the previous day. After some small talk, Pink confronts her about cheating on him. She sighs and admits to doing so, but that she regrets it immensely. It had only been the first time and had come about purely by accident, meaning she hadn't planned on doing so, but that it just sort of happened. Pink understands why she did what she did. He had been immeasurably worse, what with all the drugs and drinking, and the fact that he never hid that fact that he cheated on her multiple times. He was horrible to her, and he was in such a bad place, mentally, that he considers it amazing that she even stuck around through all of the pain and suffering he put her through. He apologizes profusely, forgiving her for cheating on him, and is fully prepared to let her leave if she didn't want to be with him any longer. But she too forgives him, and if he is truly wanting to do better and start over, then she was going to stay with him. They both do love each other very much. She stiffened at my touch, as if it was unfamiliar to her, but then leaned into it, returning my embrace. It wasn't going to be easy, repairing what we had. It would take time and a lot of effort on both our parts, but maybe-maybe-we would find eachother again. We would try and make it work. I would try, harder than I've ever before. I loved her. They reconcile and he promises to get rid of all drugs, alcohol, and other vices in the house. After a while, Rêves mentions maybe that Pink should go visit his mom and talk with her, since he hasn't seen her in years. He had been willfully ignoring his mom for many years now. He agrees and says he’ll swing by his old house in a few days. Rêves is confused by this and reveals that Pink’s mom has been living in an assisted living home for quite a few years now. Pink had been so out of it and his mind so addled that he had completely forgotten that her health was failing. Or did he ever even know that she was in such a worse shape? Regardless, Pink and Rêves spend the rest of the day together and eventually go to sleep, safe and happy in each other's embrace. And I reached out a hoof just to touch her soft hair, just to make sure in the darkness that she was still there. And I have to admit I was just a little afraid. But then, she turned her head to face mine and I knew I’d never have to be alone again. I loved her. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ I froze when the building first came into view. I stood there, on the corner of the street, a few other ponies muttering angrily and manuvering around me, and just stared, thoughts of guilt and dread dripping over me. The sign read The Fletcher Memorial Assisted Living Home. Scene change to Pink standing outside the [Fletcher Memorial] Assisted Living Home (I wasn't quite sure if I would name it that or not), lamenting his relationship with his mom. I specifically have switched over to referring to her as his mom, as opposed to mother, as mom is much more familiar and loving than mother. I do the same thing with his dad/father. He enters and talks to the receptionist. She recognizes Pink, since he is famous. She is disgusted and angered over his actions at the concert and insults him. Pink meekly takes it, knowing that she is right. After some more pointed discussion, she reluctantly points him in the direction of his mom. He walks through the nursing home, looking at all the varied ponies living there and has a few moments of quiet introspection about his mom and how terrible of a son he was to her. He reaches her room and enters. “Well hello there, sweetie.” She smiled brightly at me. “Are you the new nurse they’ve been telling me about?” I jerked and stopper halfway to her bed. “What?” I took a step. “I…I—No. No, it’s me, mom, Pink. Your son…?” I approached her bedside. She didn’t say anything for a moment, merely Squinting at me, studying my face. Then she gave a dry chuckle. “Now, don’t try and pull wool over my eyes, sweetie. My baby Pink is still in grade school.” He enters the room and she doesn’t recognize him. He realizes that she has Alzheimer’s or something. She has forgotten him. He tries several times to jog her memory or convince her of who he is, but she doesn't believe him. She only wants to see her little Pink, who she still thinks is in elementary school or what have you. He is sad that he’ll never get to really talk to his mother again. He missed out on the time she was lucid, and they would never be able to properly reconcile. Instead, he speaks lovingly to her, apologizing and talking out his feelings in a roundabout way. At some point, this transitions to her reminiscing hard about young Pink and how much she loved him. She rambles on about how, after losing her husband in the war, she just wanted to keep her son safe from anything that could hurt him, because she couldn't bare to lose him as well. She touches on how she could be a little overbearing at time (a lot over bearing, as Pink remembers), but that she loves her son more than anything else in the world. Yet, she is afraid of pushing him away, which is what ended up happening. It's sad. She then talks about his father briefly, before talking about his school a lot. She seems to recognize that Pink is having some issues at school and with his teacher, but then lapses into silence, forgetting anyone is in the room with her. Pink tries to start up conversation with her again, and this time, it seems that she may recognize him as her son, but then thinks he is a nurse again. This crushes Pink's resolve. After looking at some pictures she has scattered about, he says goodbye to her, goes to kiss her, but instead gives her a half hug, feeling awkward to do otherwise. With one last look at his mom, he leaves, hoping to return soon. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Scene change. Inspired by his mother’s talk of his school, and because I needed some sort of reason for him to confront his old teacher, Pink returns to his school, hoping to find Sir the griffon. As luck would have it, Sir still teaches there. After reminiscing about his schooldays, he finds Sir’s classroom, and as he goes to knock, the bell rings, and the schoolfoals burst out of the room. Inside the room is a much older, feebler Sir. Pink introduces himself and Sir invites him in. The door swung open, revealing a hunched, grizzled griffon, wobbling on his cane. A gaggle of foals poured out from the room. “See you tomorrow!” he called after them, a small smile perched on his beak. “Sir…?” I asked hesitantly, suddenly realizing I could not even remember his name. “Yeah?” he said gruffly. “What you want?” "M-my name is Pink..." He continues to look at me, an eyebrow raised. "I, uh, used to be your student a number of years ago..." I can't exactly read his expression, but his eyes seemed much kinder than I remembered. "Pinkerton?" he said. I nodded slightly. His eyes looked past me for a moment, but then he jerked his head, motioning for me to follow him, and then wobbled back over to his desk. They get to talking, Sir mentions that none of his students ever believe him when he tells them that he used to teach such a famous musician. Then, guessing why Pink is there, Sir apologizes profusely about the way he treated Pink and the other students all those years ago. He then assures Pink that he has since changed his tune and that his students like him. Pink eventually asks why Sir why he always needed a cane. Sir tells a story about how his late wife (good riddance, he might add) was a loud, brash, proud, traditional griffon, and that the two of them never truly got along as well as they should have. When the war came about, she urged him to enlist, which he did so, reluctantly. He was shipped out and was on the battlefront, when, after seeing all the death and destruction, he decided he really couldn’t go through with fighting. He was a coward. He begged with superiors to be sent home, but they wouldn’t let him. So, out of desperation, and some alcohol, he picks up a claw hammer and breaks his own leg, so he wouldn’t be able to fight. The doctors fix him up as best they could and sent him back home, where his wife is deeply disappointed in him. To her, this was their chance to finally gain some respect and clout with other traditional griffon families, especially since they were already looked down on for living in Equestria. This eventually slips into a pattern of abuse, first verbal and then physical. He is cowardly and weak and doesn’t fight back and takes all the abuse. Sir, having taken up a job teaching while this goes on, begins to take his frustrations out on his students. Also, alcohol. He gets drunk a lot, sometimes even during school, which, he tells Pink, is something he is most ashamed about. This leads to him abusing his own students, since they are the only thing that he can control in his life. At some point, his wife left him for some stronger, more powerful griffon. This devastates Sir, because, at some level, he still did love her. He drifts for a while, did some soul searching, gets better, and then come back to teach at the school, striving to do better. Then, the school bell rings, and the next class comes in. Pink thanks Sir for his time, and then leaves. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Scene change to an undisclosed train station. Spurned by Sir’s talk of war and his mom's talk of his dad, Pink decides to visit his dad's grave for the first time ever. He walks through the town to his destination, thinking about how he never really knew his dad. His dad was buried in another city, in a war cemetery along with many other soldiers. He eventually reaches the gates. There were ponies around me, but I hardly even acknowledged they were there. My breath went in and out in shallow intervals as I walked down the street, my hooves practically moving of their own accord. There, just on the other side of the street, was my destination. Time seemed to slow as I stared up at the large, wrought iron gates. ‘The Fletcher Memorial National Cemetery’ was what the sign said. Somewhere, among the gravestones, was where my dad was buried. I didn’t know where exactly, as I had never once came to visit before. My mom had come here many a time when I was young, but I could never bring myself to as well. But now, it was time. I took a deep breath in and walked across the road. The gates were shut Here, I just want to point out the name of the cemetery. Fletcher Memorial. Now, in several different chapters, during Pink's hallucinations or dream sequences, there were many different people and places named Fletcher. The reason for that, which we find out here, is because Fletcher Memorial is where his dad is buried, and Pink sort of internalized that fact, and it popped up several times in his subconscious during the events of the story. Anyways, Pink then enters the cemetery and searches for his dad's grave. He finds it, and there is some young, pink mare mourning at the grave next to his father’s. Pink looks at the grave for a while, unsure what to do or say. Wishes he had brought some flowers, as the grave the mare is at is bursting with flowers. The mare next to him speaks up, asking if Pink thought they knew each other. Confused, Pink asks for clarification, because he doesn't know the mare. She further explains she was talking about her grandfather, the grave she was at, and Pink's father, as they both served in the war, and had died on the same day. Pink admits he doesn’t know. The mare then talks about how she likes to think they did, and that maybe neither of them had died alone. She then explains about how she never knew her grandfather, but her granny always used to tell stories about him, one of which she relays to Pink, and makes him laugh. Pink then tentatively tells her how his dad died when he was very young, and that he never really knew him. He doesn't have any stories to tell her about his dad. He then mentions how this is the first time he has ever visited his dad's grave. The mare is surprised by this and decides to leave Pink alone so he can have some time alone with his dad. He thanks her, and she leaves. Now alone, Pink talks to his father, about how much he missed him growing up, and how much he admired him. He tells him how he used to be angry, but now accepts his death. A lot of emotional stuff gets outpoured here, since this is the catalyst and beginning of all of Pink's issues. Something about how his dad's death wouldn’t be in vain any longer, now that Pink has decided to be a better pony and connect with life and all of his friends and family. pink promises to be someone that his dad could be proud of. If one does not tear down their own metaphorical wall, those trying to get in and connect with you will eventually give up and leave you to your own lonely life. This is almost what happens to Pink. The moral of the story: Though there will always be personal and social barriers created out of fear, oppression, pain, and isolation, it's the job of every socially conscious individual and community to never rest in tearing down the walls that separate us all. I stared down at the tombstone for the very first time. His tombstone. Below my hooves was the body of my dad. I wasn’t sure what to do. What to say. What to think. So, I don’t for some time. I simply look. My eyes stare at the words written on the stone, but I don’t fully comprehend what they say. I could see his name, his day of birth, his day of death, and the cliché, pleasant words that assured anyone who looked that he was both a loving husband and father. Some words form in the back of my throat, and I open my lips to speak, but my mouth had suddenly grown dry. Nothing comes out save for a strangled gasp. I clamp my mouth shut and then take a deep breath. “Hey, dad,” is what I managed to say, though even that was barely a whisper. And I grew silent again. I glanced over at the grave next to him, where the young mare had been. Her grandfather. After a minute, my eyes find their way elsewhere, anywhere else, but then fall down to my hooves. I sigh. “I, uh… I missed you.” There was no answer, save for a single, chirping bird in the distance. I continue. “You know, when I was younger, I used to be so angry that you were gone. I thought it was so unfair that you had left me and mom. You just had to go and get yourself killed, you know?” I let out a dry chuckle. The words flowed out easier now. “I love you so much, dad.” As I walk out, there is an elderly pegasus stallion digging a fresh grave under a large oak tree. He looks up as I go past, tipping his hat in greeting, his crinkled eyes smiling out from behind his glasses, and then goes back to his work. I smile at him, mutter a hello, and then continue past. At the gate, I glance back behind me, taking one last look at my father’s grave. I knew I would come by again sometime later, maybe even with Rêves or even my mom, if I could. I hardly even notice that the blue pegasus stallion had vanished from under the tree. Pink then leaves and returns home, feeling fulfilled and emotionally cleansed. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Scene change, to Canterlot, the night of the 1000th Summer Sun Celebration. If Pink's initial touring schedule had continued, he would've ended back up in Canterlot on this night, to perform in a gigantic concert that celebrated the event. Instead, there is nothing of the sort happening, and everything is calm and quiet. So, Pink and Rêves are out and about in the city, spending an evening together having a wonderful time celebrating the holiday. This is something they used to together do before Pink got too famous and then lost himself to drugs and alcohol. They might share a dinner or something, but eventually end up at the very stadium that Pink would’ve been performing at, had he not canceled his tour. It's not illegal to be there, since its open to the public when not is use. There are a few other ponies there, but no one pays them any mind. They sit on stage, curled together, and watch the stars. Pink reflects about how great everything is is now and how much he loves his wife. He knows that he will never go back to how he was before, and he doesn’t know how he even let things get that way in the first place. He is happy. As the two of us sat together under the stars. My beautiful wife looked into my eyes and she smiled. And I couldn’t help but to smile back. Neither of us wanted to break the peaceful moment, and we had no need to. Wordless understanding passed between the two of us, as gray eyes stared into blue ones. ‘I love you,’ that understanding said, ‘Everything will turn out alright, you’ll see...’ Rêves nuzzled into my chest, perfectly content to sit there with me and watch the starry night grow older. Our entwined bodies generated more than enough heat to carry us through the frigid night. As we sat there, I thought about the concert I almost had on this night. I could virtually imagine the stagehooves running to and fro, carting all sorts of equipment across the stage. Outside the cover of the curtains, the crowd would be waiting anxiously for the concert to begin. Short would probably be panicking, making sure everything was going smoothly. Most likely, I would be sitting somewhere backstage, making sure I knew what I had to do, what lyrics to sing, and getting in the way of every other pony who had something important to do. If I listened hard enough, I could almost hear hundreds of ponies chanting my name, my name. The curtains would part, revealing me and the band in an explosion of music, smoke and lights. After a moment, I would step forward to the microphone and— A pair of moist lips presses against the side of my snout, interrupting my thoughts. Rêves smiles at me, shifts around and leans her head against my shoulders. Her warm fur presses up against me, a feeling I never appreciated how much I missed. I love her. I realize that now. None of what could’ve been mattered. Only the here and now. I gently touch the spot where Rêves had kissed me and I glance down to see my wife’s loving face looking back up at me, and I know, I know, that I couldn’t stand another moment away from her. The two of us together, we sit there under the stars and moon and my mind finally feels at peace. I finally feel whole. And now, as I think back on everything, I realize that, for what is probably the first time in my life, I am truly happy. I smile and hold my wife closer. My life may have been filled with twists and turns, pain and loneliness, but I was now here, and all of that was behind me. Everything was going to be alright from here on in. Forever and ever. And yet...as I lay here, I can't help but reminisce about how I got here. And now, I find myself thinking... “Isn’t this where…