The Golden Age

by The Quiet Party

VI: HAGERSTOWN, MARYLAND, February 9, 2194

HAGERSTOWN, MARYLAND
February 9, 2194

A man in his forties approached Luna. “Hi, Mom,” he said simply.

Luna stood up and hugged her son. Right now, she was completely heartbroken and looked every bit of the ninety-four years she was supposed to be. It was, obviously a disguise, but Tabitha Holliday was 94 now and meant to be in middle age. For once, Luna wished she could be her alter-ego, as it meant she could someday be reunited with Alex…

...instead of being left behind as she inevitably would.

“How is it?” he asked her.

“It’s bad, Jason. Even with the experimental treatments that my company developed that retard age, the doctor said the cancer’s too far gone.” She laughed bitterly. “All the money I sunk into magical potions to extend the human life, and I never thought to even try to cure something like cancer! I’m such an idiot.”

Jason pulled his mother’s face up so he looked right at her. “When was the last time you ate? Or slept?”

“Two, maybe three weeks ago?” Luna commented.

“Mom, go home,” Jason told her. “Maria and the kids will be here in a few, and we can keep an eye on Dad. Plus, you need to look your best when the rest of the family gets here. Nicole will be here in a few hours, and you know the rest will be as well.”

Luna was about to say something, when they heard footsteps. Both turned to see a young woman, not much younger than her late teens, walking towards them. She had strawberry-pink hair and beautiful blue eyes that accented her cute face. “I got here as quickly as I could.”

Jason gave the girl a smile. “Hello, Aunt Fluttershy.” He would have said more, save that Fluttershy went over and hugged both. “It’s good to see you. But I wasn’t expecting for you to get here from Equestria so soon.”

Lady Fluttershy, Duchess of Ponyville, smiled. “I was actually attending to business in Tokyo when I got the message.” She tapped her element, currently around her neck as a golden necklace. “My Element thought I wouldn’t want to deal with crowds, so it cast the amniomorphic spell on me.” She reached into her purse and looked at the ID the spell had created. “Right now I’m … um… Andrea Libman, college student at Yale, if I’m reading this right.”

“I’m sure you are,” Jason said. “Would you do me a favor and take Mom home? She hasn’t rested in weeks, and no, I don’t think that’s a metaphor.”

Fluttershy gave Luna a sly glance. “Alicorn constitution?”

“Shut up, Shy,” Luna moaned.

“Time to get you home,” Fluttershy replied. “I’ll see you later, Jason. Give my love to your wife and kids.” Not expecting an answer, a teenager dragged a middle aged woman practically against her will out of the hospital. The fact that Luna wasn’t reacting wasn’t a good sign.

Once they got to Fluttershy’s rental car, the pegasus-in-disguise plunked her phone into the slot and told the car where to drive them. As the car drove off, Fluttershy reached over and hugged Luna. “I know this isn’t easy, Luna, but I’m here for you. We all are.”

Luna let go of the spell she had overlaid on her, and a second later a twenty-something girl was holding one just slightly younger. As she felt the tears start to burn on her cheeks, she said in a soft voice, “Why is this so hard? Why do I have to lose him?”

Fluttershy let go of her friend and wiped Luna’s cheeks. “Remember that I was asking that same question a decade ago when my wife died. I swore that after Airspeed died I’d never fall in love again and ten years to the date my husband died I met Sunflower and we had a life together. And now I’m alone once more.” Fluttershy chuckled at a bittersweet memory, then added, “Nowadays I just bury myself in my work as Governor of Ponyville Province and spend time at the Ponyville Zoo whenever I can. I tell myself I’ll never fall in love again, but I know I will, because that’s how life is.”

“When did you get so wise?” Luna said, tears still streaming down her cheeks, but a comforting smile on her face.

“When you’re a coward and the stallion you love leaves you at the altar because he decides to be random, you learn to grow up really quick. Between the war and Discord disappearing, well … I’m not the same filly I used to be. But I suspect none of us are anymore. Now, let’s find a place to eat. Even if you can go for weeks without food, I’d still like a cheeseburger.”

“You eat meat?” Luna asked, mildly surprised.

“I do when I’m human, since humans need protein,” Fluttershy said without a trace of irony. “I did tell you I’ve changed, after all.” The two women sat in silence for a few minutes while Fluttershy looked for a decent restaurant. After she did and punched in some commands, she asked, “So how are things, otherwise?”

“Well, the winery that Alex and I own is doing well; my daughter runs it now and she’s got everyone else on the planet just about jealous at her vintery skills. The company Alex founded has made some promising developments in AI and spaceflight technology. As for Lunar Investments, we’ve just paid for a new research facility on the Moon, and we started funding the terraforming of Mars a few years ago. With all the equipment and mages we’ve sent over there, we’re expecting to have a full atmosphere there by the end of the century. Then after that, it’s cleaning up Venus and seeing what we can do about Mercury.”

Fluttershy smiled. “It sounds like you’ve been keeping busy in your retirement. Does the Earth Government still pester you about joining?”

“”Not as much anymore,” Luna admitted as the car pulled up in front of a restaurant. “Once the capital got built in Geneva, the government got entrenched and people forgot that there’s an alicorn here on the planet. And personally? I’m perfectly okay with that.”