Crayons and swords
A young filly sat in the living room of her house playing, while her mother sat on the nearby couch reading the daily paper. Quickly, she scanned the obituary section searching for a particular name. Not finding it listed there, she gave an audible sigh of relief as she slouched in her seat. Hearing this, the gray mulberry filly turned to her mother and gave her a quizzical expression while tilting her head. Her mom smiled in return and the filly just shrugged and returned to her world of imagination.
After a few minutes of silence, the filly spoke suddenly. “Mommy, where’s daddy?” She asked without looking up from her crayon drawings.
“Aura, we’ve talked about this already. You know where daddy is.” The gray earth pony responded.
“But can you tell me again? Please?” Aura asked, her full attention and body turned to face her mother.
“Of course sweetie.” The mare responded as she gestured for Aura to sit on the couch next to her.
Aura climbed onto the couch next to her mother. As she did so, her mother wrapped her hooves around her and placed Aura on her lap.
Stroking Aura’s opal mane, her mother cooed, “You remember what daddy’s job is, right?”
“Yeah!” Aura exclaimed excitedly. “Daddy is in the army!”
“That’s right, he’s in the army.” She replied as she continued to stroke her daughter’s mane. “And what does daddy do in the army?”
“He fights all the bad guys!” Aura said as she pretended to swing a sword wildly.
“Yes, he does.” She chuckled at her daughter’s over-zealous enthusiasm. “But to do that, daddy has to go very far away for long periods of time. Do you know where daddy went this time?”
“Um... I forgot.”
“He went to the Griffon Highlands across the sea.”
“Why?”
“That’s where they needed daddy to be, and that’s where the bad guys are causing trouble.”
“Daddy will take care of them, won’t he mommy?”
“I’m sure he will.”
Hopping down from her mother’s lap, Aura trotted over to her pile of drawings on the living room floor. Picking one up with her mouth, she returned to her mom.
“What’s this?” Her mother asked as Aura pushed the drawing into her hooves.
“A picture. See? That’s you mommy, then there’s me, then daddy.” Aura said as she pointed towards each drawn character proudly.
“Why, that’s wonderful darling! I’m sure daddy will love to see it when he gets home.” Her mother exclaimed as she became immersed in her daughter’s picture.
The picture had a large green field with a blue sky, with the occasional fluffy cloud. The sun was visible in the upper right corner, while standing in the field were three ponies. They were all smiling and holding hooves. She recognized herself on the left, then came Aura in the middle, while her husband was on the right, wearing his golden armor. She looked intently at this picture for awhile, but was snapped out of her thoughts by her daughter.
“Mommy?”
“Yes dear?”
“I miss daddy. I want him to be home.” She said sullenly, her eyes and ears downcast.
“I do too, I do too.” He mother replied, hugging Aura tightly.
They sat in each other’s embrace for a long while, silently thinking and dreaming to themselves. A knock on the door interrupted their silent communion. Instantly brightening up, Aura rocketed toward the door.
“I’ll get it!” She happily cried as she made for the front door.
Her mother could only shake her head and smile as she got up from the couch, walking toward the door to meet whoever was knocking.
“Uncle Flash!” Aura yelled happily from the door.
Coming around the corner, the mare could definitely see that it was indeed Flash at the door. He was a dull yellow pegasus and was dressed in his ceremonial uniform. A couple of medals adorned his chest, with a small purple one being new to the small collection. Flash was not Aura’s uncle. Rather, he was a friend of the family, and one of her father’s best pals. The nickname “uncle” stuck after Aura called him that after meeting him for the first time.
“Hey there kiddo! How are ya doin?” Flash said as he embraced Aura in a big hug. Looking up he tipped his cap and said, “Well hello there Miss Maybelle.”
“Hello Flash.” Maybelle replied. “What brings you here?”
“I just came by to see how you two were doing.” Flash said as he tussled Aura’s mane.
“Is daddy here with you?” Aura asked as she looked outside the door and onto the porch.
Flash gave a slight wince when Aura mentioned her father, but he replied, “No, your dad isn’t with me. He’s still overseas.”
“Awwww....”
“But hey, what’s new with you kiddo?” Flash pressed on energetically.
Aura then proceeded to describe her past few months with Flash as he listened intently. What she did with her friends, how school was going, and everything else. He was involved throughout and gave the occasional comment, and remained smiling. After Aura finished, Flash spoke.
“Hey Aura, could you give your mom and I some time alone for a few minutes?”
“Why?”
“So we can talk about boring adult stuff.” He grinned.
At the mention of the words “boring” and “adult”, she bounded away saying, “Okay!”
Laughing, Maybelle said, “I don’t know how you do it Flash.”
“I don’t know either. It’s probably because I don’t have any kids of my own.” He chuckled to himself. “Regardless, there is a purpose behind my visit, although it shouldn’t be heard by little ears.”
Both adults checked the hall to make sure it was devoid of fillies. Aura could be heard racing around in the basement, putting their fears to rest.
“What is it?” Maybelle asked, becoming worried. “Is it about Starbuck?”
“Um... yeah, it is actually...” Flash said as he looked down at the ground and to the left.
“Is it serious!? Has he been hurt!?” Maybelle quickly fired off, afraid of the answer.
“No, he’s not hurt...”
Maybelle let out a huge sigh of relief. “Then what’s the problem?”
“Well, about a month ago he went out on a patrol. He never came back.”
“What!? He’s missing? Why wasn’t I informed!?”
“Standard procedure is to wait at least one month before notifying the next of kin that somepony has gone missing in the field. There was a chance that he could have been found and such.”
“But still... Oh Celestia...” Maybelle said as she collapsed into the bench next to the door.
“There’s more. I volunteered to tell you personally as it would be easier on you, plus I was coming back for leave anyway. But when I arrived in Equestria...” Flash trailed off and bowed his head, unable to complete his sentence.
“But what!?” Maybelle screeched as she jumped to her hooves. “Tell me. Is it news about my husband? Please, tell me!” Maybelle shouted as she clutched Flash, tears forming in her eyes.
Pulling himself together, Flash forced himself to look Maybelle square in the eye. He took a big breath and continued.
“When I got back in Equestria... I was infor-informed that they found his body. They found him laying in a ditch with his throat slit. I’m sorry Maybelle, I’m truly sorry. Starbuck is dead.” Flash finished and turned his head away, unable to stare into the eyes of the heartbroken mare any longer.
Maybelle’s eyes widened in terror upon hearing those words. Dead. Found in a ditch. Throat slit. Her eyes glazed over with pure sorrow and tears as she protested against the workings of the world. That death had claimed her beloved husband and the father of her child.
“No... no... no...” she cried hysterically. “It’s not possible! It’s just not possible! You lie! You lie!” She screamed as she began to pound Flash’s chest, while cursing the world, military, Flash, and the two sisters themselves in her sadness.
Flash did nothing to stop her. He could only look at the broken and desperate mare in front of him. He too, started to cry, as a solitary salty tear carved its path down his cheek. Finished with her outburst, Maybelle collapsed against Flash and was sobbing over his shoulder.
“Why? Why me?” She cried. “How can we move on? What will I tell Aura?”
Flash embraced her lightly and said, “I don’t know Maybelle, I don’t know. I’m sorry.”
---------------------------------------------------
The funeral for Starbuck was held the week after Flash delivered the unsavory news. Aura was informed by her mother of the news and did not take it lightly. Still being so young, she could not fully grasp the concept known as “death” and its permanence. She foolishly thought that maybe her dad was sleeping, and that he would wake up. Unfortunately for her, death is a sleep that none shall ever awaken from.
As the funeral came to a close and the casket was being lowered into the ground, the protests of one small filly sent many into tears.
“Mommy, where’s daddy going!? Why are they putting him in the ground!? Daddy, wake up! Don’t go!”
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After the funeral, Aura sat alone, next to the newly erected headstone that marked her father’s grave. The inscription read:
Here lies Cpl. Starbuck,
Who honorably gave his
life defending Equestria
Beloved husband, father,
friend, and comrade
May he Rest In Peace
In her hooves, Aura held the drawing she had made just a week ago. Tenderly, she placed it against the headstone, and placed some rocks on top of it to keep it from blowing away.
“Mommy said you’re asleep, but that you’ll never wake up. I made this picture for you, I hope you like it.” Aura said, pleading for a response. Hearing nothing but the bitter cold wind, she continued. “I have to go now, but I’m sure you understand. I’ll make sure to visit you every once in awhile. I love you daddy.”
Aura ran her hoof along the smooth surface of the headstone as tears formed in her eyes. Pulling herself away, she began to weep openly. She ran to her waiting mother, not wanting to look back and accept the horrible reality that was forced upon her at such a young age. The drawing rustled in the wind, revealing three smiling ponies holding hooves in a sunny field.