//------------------------------//
// Moving On - Step By Step 
// Story: The Long Lost Rainbow 
// by Ribe_FireRain 
//------------------------------//

Chords echoed through the cold, soothing winter air, their sounds going loud before disappearing into the distance. They played a slow, sad melodic tune and each chord came from the heart that once was held together by the love of one girl, a pony who changed the heart of many ponies around the world with her angelic voice and the passion that came with it.

Three fillies watched the sight as the stallion played away with his guitar as he sat on a tree stump, facing them. One was an earth pony with a rich, cream coloured coat and red mane with amber eyes that glistened with life, the second one, a pegasus, had orange fur and a scruffy purple mane with matching eyes. The last, a unicorn, had a snow-white coat and her mane was two toned with purple and pink and her eyes were a pale green.

They all watched and listened to the clear notes that drifted through the air with hearts that felt like they were being pulled, releasing a soft, sympathetic emotion from their eyes. The stream of heavenly notes were passionate and heartwarming, yet somewhat sad.

Finishing off the last set of chords, the stallion opened his eyes to reveal a pair of glistening emeralds that upon being opened allowed a tear or two to drip down his cheek. He wiped them away with a hoof while he simultaneously breathed in and slowly released a sigh from his nostrils. 

Placing his instrument aside, he looked down to the three fillies with a soft smile. Noticing their tears trickling down their cheeks, the stallion slowly got to his hooves and approached them, leaning down before he wiped each of their eyes of the running fluid. Raising back to his normal height, he continued to smile warmly to the three young fillies who looked right back with smiles of their own.

''That was beautiful, Strike.'' The white unicorn commented, rubbing her eyes with her small, white hoof.

''Why, thank you, Sweetie Belle.'' Strike smiled to her. ''I'm glad you enjoyed it.''

''Yeah, you definitely have some talent with that guitar!'' The orange pegasus chimed in. 

''Um...Strike?'' The final filly asked, slowly looking up to meet Strike's green eyes with her amber ones. ''What happened to her?'' She asked, catching Strike a little off guard at first to the unexpected question. He opened and closed his mouth a few times as the fillies continued to watch him with new found curiosity.

Not knowing how to respond to the question the filly asked him in a delicate way, he simply managed a smile as he placed a hoof gently on her shoulder. ''She's gone, Apple Bloom.'' He said to her softly, eliciting a small, shocked gasp from her and her two companions. ''She's gone.'' He repeated again, this time quieter than a whisper.

He turned around, approaching his guitar once more before he picked it up and placed it on his back. Upon turning back around, he could see the fillies looking at him with sad eyes. It was the orange pegasus who spoke first.

''B-But...how?'' She asked, much to Strike's sad gaze that grew deeper as he looked her back in her purple eyes.

''I can't tell you, Scootaloo. Maybe when you're all a little older enough to understand. I'm sorry.'' He exhaled a frosty breath and tried to calm his still pained heart.

It has already been a year since he moved back to Ponyville with his sister, Rainbow Dash, and through his time of being back in town, he has tried to find peace after all the heartache he has been forced to go through, yet he still finds it hard to cope without his beloved Remedy. She was the only pony that could ever truly make him feel whole.

Without her around, all he had to make him feel better was Rainbow Dash.

Strike actually smiled to himself as he recollected his thoughts on the last time he ever shared a kiss with Remedy and the time when he proposed to her and that night of the bar. However, that smile soon transformed into a deep frown as he hung his head down in sorrow after feeling those memories play through his mind like a tidal wave of emotions that yearned to be released.

With all his will-power, he forced himself to conceal his tears as he tried to calm himself by breathing in a calm manner in an attempt to keep himself in control of his emotions.

Turning back to the small fillies, he gave a left-sided smile. 

''Come on, I'll walk you girls home. It's dangerous out here alone in the snow.''