Man these bags are heavy. Midnight Snow was slogging back to the cottage he shared with Foxtrot. His tailor made saddle bags were filled to the brim with many goods from Hoofly market.
Having nothing much to do until Blessed Beard returned from his latest dig, so Foxtrot had tasked him with keeping the cottage clean and stocked up with whatever was needed.
Midnight turned round the corner onto the street that his home was on, and glanced up at it. He was surprised to see foxtrot departing from the cottage. Out of uniform, heading the other way. Strange He pondered. I thought she was on duty today.
Midnight watched her gently trot off down the street’ with a bouquet of white flowers held aloft in her magic. Their cottage was on the outskirts of Hoofly, there was not much beyond it and Foxtrot’s garrison was in the other direction. Midnight followed her but didn’t call out to her.
Several paces behind Foxtrot, he watched her turn off the cobbled street and into a grassy field, sectioned off with a low cut evergreen hedge.
Midnight halted outside its entrance, a set of polished iron gates. An arch hung above them, in which the words ‘Hoofly Cemetery’ was forged.
“A graveyard?” Midnight thought aloud.
Midnight looked beyond the gates and spotted Foxtrot heading through the rows of tombstones. He passed under the arch, slowly pursuing. Out of all the grand headstones that were arranged in the grounds, Foxtrot found her way to a plain and square pillar. It was made of dark marble and was about three hooves wide’ and tapered to a wedge at the top. The mare stood silently still for a time, then placed her bouquet on the grave
“Hello Dad,” Foxtrot said softly. “It's me again.”
She gently sat on the soft grass’ Midnight was a few paces back.
“Sorry it been a while, several things have happened and several things are the same,” -Her ears dropped with this last statement- “Mothers still ignoring me’and I’m still a private but I'm not alone these days”
She then explained the events in Ponyville six moons ago and taking in the lone survivor.
“And so Midnight is now living with me. He recently turned into a stallion and is settling down nicely in Hoofly.”
I shouldn’t be here Midnight told himself. This is meant to be a private moment.
He turned slowly around but the gravel path beneath his hooves betrayed his presence.
“Midnight?” She said hearing his hoof steps.
“Yes it's me,” -He came out from a lavish headstone he had been hiding behind- “I wasn’t trying to pry’ I was just…”
“I know,” She interrupted’ beckoning a sit next to her.
Midnight saddled up to her left-hand side and sat down.
“Father, this is Midnight Snow,” Foxtrot introduced. “And this is my Father, Echo Whisky.”
“Hello, Sir…” Midnight said’ with slight unease in his voice.
The was a moment of silence following this, neither knowing what to say. Midnight’s attention was drawn to engraving on the marble pillar, which read ‘Echo Whisky, Lieutenant of the Royal Guard, Taken from us aged 31 with honour’.
“It's been 4 years to the day,” Foxtrot said’ drawing back Midnight's attention. “He was on a training exercise in some mountains west of here. There was an avalanche that swept him off a cliff edge.”
It was now that Midnight saw the tears slowly running down Foxtrot’s cheeks. “I miss him, I miss him so much.”
Midnight could see she was close to bursting. He fumbled with a strap on his saddle and them slide off, uncovering his one good wing. Which he then used to embrace Foxtrot. She intern was slightly surprised by the wind but after a second nuzzled into it, calming herself down.
And here they stayed for a long time, neither aware that they were being watched.
From the spot Midnight had been using, Dr Twinstar glared at them, her face contorted with a silent rage. After her humiliation at the hooves of Nightmare Moon last night and Celestia this morning, she had come here today hoping she could find some time to contemplate her next move in the peace of a graveyard.
Instead, she found the. A one winged alicorn embracing the continuous disappointment in her life that was Foxtrot, her daughter.
Twinstar turned and almost stomped out of the cemetery, with her anger and frustration only increased.