I stepped back into the main corridor. The aorta of Storm Side. My father was waiting dead center in the lonely hall. "You ready?"

I walked up to him. Things seemed too calm for what we were about to do. "I am. Show me."

My father cleared his throat and turned to face the other end of the corridor. "Dust Memorial Grounds."

I took a deep breath and walked past him. "Of course. Where else would she be."

My father joined me on our long walk down the empty hall. The vaulted ceiling seemed to funnel his words around me. "She wanted to be buried in Sydney." He laughed weakly. "By the time I figured out where she meant, I'd paid for the spot here."

I swallowed hard. "I'm sure she'd understand--"

"You never even spoke to her--"

I turned to face him. "She's my mother. I don't have to know her, I am her, I'm her Celestia damned blood!" I patted my chest. "I'm sure she's fine, wherever she is, I'm sure she's looking down at you and I with the widest smile she could make!" I thought back to the picture of her, the only sight I had of her. "I know it. And I'm glad she's here, I'm glad she can look down on me and smile while I visit her!" I beat my chest. "If you think--"

"Glass. It's enough." My dad walked up to me and put a hoof on my leg. "It's enough."

I took a deep breath. "Is it? Will it ever be enough?" I grabbed my chest. "...Can I hear her? Can I--"

My dad rubbed my leg. "Let's go see her, we can talk there." He patted my thigh and turned back down the hall. "Come on, sooner the better." He hurried along at a brisk pace. I took a moment to collect myself before following. I wished Darcy was here. I wished I could have her hand in my own. I needed something to squeeze, I needed something warm to be there for me.

I hurried down the hall. The halls I'd grown so accustomed to seemed foreign and long. Each concrete step felt new, each painted wall older and more faded as the walk progressed. Each turn and loud clop of hooves echoed softly. "Dad, where are we?" I looked t the faded walls, bits and pieces weathered beyond the capacity of my years.

My father sighed loudly and took a hard right. "A really, really old corridor." He turned towards a wide open ending to the great blank hall. Painted vines and ponies with snowflakes pouring from their horns faded out into the great white room that lay beyond. It was blinding. I could only see the faintest outline of pillars beyond the blinding white light.

My dad turned to face me, blank against the white light. "Glass, you coming?"

I swallowed hard and pressed on into the light. "Yeah, just give me a second." I shielded my eyes and stepped into the room. The blinding white light dissipated as I stepped into the vast empty field. The sky was clear overhead, the giant square room laden with snowy grass and pillars stood bolt stiff from the earth. The sun sat high above the arctic world of Storm Side, made all the brighter by the damp greenery that lay before me.

My father stood out on the path through the mile long room. "Glass, come on kid, this way."

I followed idly after him. The massive indoor track was a behemoth, now shown the light of the late spring thaw. I walked upon soft ground, in awe of the serene silence of it all. The path through the room was simple hardened dirt, guiding me along after my fathers. I could see his steps buried in the dust.

i carried on through the bright white pillars, some capped with gold or bright colored marble. The dead surrounded me, yet I had never felt more at peace. Not even in Darcy's arms did I feel so calm, so secure in my future. "I should have been an undertaker...." I looked to my side. My mark was a bright white star. I'd grown up wanting to be a magician, but I could barely pick up a blowing tool, let alone cast an actual spell. Now all I could associate my mark with, was the peaceful dead. "Dad...this place is really eerie."

My dad turned around, ducking down to avoid getting slapped in the head with a sparrow. "It really is. It's even worse when it's closed."

I hurried over to him. "Did that fucking bird just--"

My dad nodded. "Yeah, they're not used to actual living things, so they try to attack whatever shows up. They're harmless."

I swallowed and walked over to him. "Still, that's a bit odd to say the least."

My dad turned to a small white obelisk and sat down. "Birds aside, we're here."

I walked next to him and looked down at the gold plaque. "Alice N. Glass...." I turned to face my father. "Is this where it--"

My dad licked his lips. "It was for her, and you went into those classes well enough."

I felt lost. Like the one mainstay I had, my work, my life, my family, all of it was slowly eroding around me. I knew there was something wrong from the start, but the pieces were slowly coming apart in larger chunks than I'd anticipated. "What did she do?"

My father turned to me with a dulled frown. "Violinist, and one of the nicest ones I've ever known."

I rubbed my throat and ducked down before her grave. I rubbed my side. "So...we still don't know what this is?" I stood up and shook my head. "You know what...that's okay." I rubbed my face. "That's okay." I took a deep breath. "I have her." I smiled down at the grave. "I've got this much, and I think that's enough."

My father walked up beside me. A small box sat in his upraised hoof. "Here kid, I think it's about time you had this."

I took the box from him and watched as he walked off. "Dad?"

He walked backwards away from me. "They won't kick you out. And I've got things to do. You take care of yourself kid, and go back and enjoy your life."

I watched him leave. I was alone, but I had something to turn to. The grave at my back, a mare to my front, a family at my side. I opened up the box idly before looking down into it. A small thumb drive was sitting inside. I cocked my head. "Why...would he give me this...?" I closed the box and put it into my pocket.

I turned to the grave and sat down before it. I looked down at my hands, then to the grave. I took a deep breath and looked up to the sky. I had my family lines, I had my home, I had people to turn to, and I had the sunshine on my skin. I smiled up at the bright blue sky overhead.

I was at peace, and with my family known and the haunting uncertainty gone from my chest, I could go home and try to make a proper life back in Ponyville.

My smile refused to face. The arctic sun decided to shine bright and warm upon me. I laid down on the grass by my mother's grave. I never knew her, I might never still, but I knew of her, and that was enough to settle my heart and ease my stomach.

Spring had come and guided me through to a warm spot in the sunshine. Summer was here.