//------------------------------// // A Love Lost... [APD] // Story: Scraps of a Sober Alcoholic // by NoLongerSober //------------------------------// The room was silent and empty, the machines having been powered down hours ago while the ponies had left shortly after. Only a single pony remained, glued to the bedside as he was, dried tear-tracks clear on his face. Don’t close your heart. Her final words echoed endlessly in his head, over and over again. Glancing down at the now-cold form of his wife, Barrier stood and took in her features one last time. There was a smile on her wrinkled grey face, accompanied by slight tear-tracks. Her passing had been peaceful at the very least; she had simply went to sleep. “Barrier.” a soft voice from the doorway called to him. “The funeral home representatives have arrived to remove her body…” The voice was awkwardly gentle, as if not knowing how the unicorn would react. “Relax, Luna. I’ve known this was going to happen for a long time now.” Barrier leaned over and pecked the cold body of Octavia one final time, his tears renewed as he trotted carefully past the princess of the night. “Even so, it doesn’t make it any easier.” The princess of the night followed. Barrier couldn’t really argue that; the princess was one of only a handful of creatures who could understand what he had -and was- going through at this moment. How many more times would he feel this hollow ache in his chest? He had already buried Night Light and Twilight Velvet…Shining Armor would be next, he supposed. After that, only his children and grandchildren would remain. “Barrier…?” Luna placed a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder. “How Luna? How can I let this go? I’ll have to watch them all die…” he began to cry anew, suddenly hugging the alicorn and burying his face in her shoulder as he cried. *** “What do you mean I’m still twenty-seven?” “Just that,” he repeated “you’re a perfectly healthy twenty-seven year old stallion.” It had been nearly ten years since Barrier and Octavia had gotten married; after the first eight years, Barrier began to suspect something; he didn’t feel older, despite all the years that had passed. After that, he and Octavia had started watching his health more closely. After another two years, they decided a doctor’s visit was in order; according to the doctor, Magic Barrier was in the prime of his youth. With that nugget of knowledge, they turned to the highest authority on the matter: Princess Celestia and her sister, Luna. They had ultimately decided that when Barrier was hit by the Elements of Harmony and sealed with Princess Luna, one of two things happened; either his soul was bound with that of Luna, or, the more likely of the two, that the elements of harmony had caused him to stop ageing entirely; they had forced his body into perfect harmony. Barrier hadn’t taken the news well, the thought of likely never reuniting with his family or outliving Octavia and his kids. It had been more than he could handle and he’d had a break-down no sooner than they walked through the door of their Manehattan home. Over the next several years, Barrier found himself in and out of therapy for a mixture of depression and alcoholism. The unicorn couldn’t even begin to count how many times he’d found himself holding nothing more than a length of rope. Ultimately, Octavia had managed to once again save him from himself, convincing him that he should be living.