Berry Punch felt the warm liquor make it's way down her throat. She wrapped the moth eaten blanket tightly around her as she huddled in the alley.

It began to rain

"Buck." She muttered emptily as she looked up into the gray sky. Smiling a bit, she began to laugh. A laugh of somepony who's given up. She looked down at the now empty bottle of brandy. A slow feeling of emptiness started to make it's presence known as the rain pattered.

Exile, it takes your mind. Again.

Berry leaned against the grimy wall of the alley. The feeling of depression worming it's way through her. All she could remember was her. She seemed to be in every nook and cranny of Berry's thoughts. The rain continued to patter, Berry didn't even bother to cover herself, she let the rain wash over her. And hide her tears.

Exile, it takes your mind. Again.

She still remembered, she remembered everything. The scenes played out like old movie reels in her half hazy mind. The alcohol kept it away, that's why she drank until she couldn't stand.

You've got sucker's luck, have you given up.

Berry still remembered her, she was always there for Berry whenever she got into an argument or a scuffle. Back then she just drank for the fun of it. She drank to live back then. Now, she drank to keep the pain away. She drank to haze the memories that burned like fog lights in the mist. That dimmed her thoughts and misted her eyes. "You know what they say, never take anything for granted." Berry wistfully said bottoming out the hard drink. Due to her chronic alcoholism, she could barely feel the burn as the drink settled. "Well, I guess it's time to say goodbye." She said, her voice taut with exertion as she lifted herself up and made her way out of the alley into the darkened light. The light rain pattered on.

Does it feel like a trial? Does it trouble your mind the way you trouble mine?

All around her everything was wilted and gray, like her soul. The light had left with her.

Exile, it takes your mind. Again.

Exile, it takes your mind. Again.

As she walked past the stores, all Berry could see was her. From the flower stop where Berry first proposed her love. To Little Sae's where they had their first date. All she heard was her laughter, all she heard was her voice like tinkling bells in the whimsical summer breeze. Light and soft like a baby's bottom.

Oh you meant so much.

As she walked she kept her head down, all her ghosts crept out of her closet and danced around her. Suddenly Berry looked up, right into the eyes of her love. Her eyes reflected their question. This was the exact spot. The exact spot where they first met. Berry was being bullied when she came into her life. She still remembered her eyes. Twin pieces of motherly protection and worry. Once upon a time they used to comfort Berry, make her smile. Now they just ask.

Have you given up?

Berry walked onwards, the pain became unbearable, Berry's lips began to quiver as her silent cries became keens.

Does it feel like a trial?

"Why can't I let you go? Celestia it's been two years already. Why?" She whispered, voicing the thoughts that had been eating her from the inside out. Everywhere she turned, she was there. From the flowers she smelled to the ground she walked upon. Berry just couldn't get rid of her.

Does it trouble your mind the way you trouble mine?

"Please stop." She lowered her head further, now she was auto-pilot as she walked through the muck. The rain pattered on. Suddenly Berry heard a scream. She shuddered and shut her eyes willing this particular memory away, but it came. It came like a typhoon. With all the power and unrelenting force of a tornado it came into her mind unbidden by her cries of mercy.

It was one faithful day when the two where walking. Suddenly a stallion came out of nowhere shouting incoherently. A madman. Berry was knocked aside as the stallion charged. His target set, he took out a small pistol with his magic and-

BOOM!

Berry stopped in her tracks, her mind frozen. "Stop it." She said in a shattered voice. Her love's lifeless eyes, the shouts and screams, the ambulance. The sterilized hallways, the intravenous drip. The heart monitoring machine going flat. "Stop it."  

Visiting her love in the coming days, the BPM steady as her love slept in the eternal dream. Day after day the same thing. Visiting, falling asleep, getting shoed out. Going home to repeat.

Berry took a deep breath and stopped trying to block the images and memories. And like the opening of floodgates, they came in torrents. Happy moments, sad moments, funny moments, scary moments. All of these moments plucked from the ever changing river of time and stored in her mind. Lovingly taken care of like books by her librarian, her heart. Every moment they spent together was golden beyond value. Berry smiled with them, cried with them, laughed with them all. They played like movie reels and she was the sole audience.

She held her head high as she made her way to her destination. One could melodramatically call it her final destination.

Now you're thinking too fast, you're like marbles on glass.

She continued walking as the rain tapered off. The sun started to poke through the clouds as they dispersed finally empty of their burdens. Berry looked up at the clouds and godrays coming through and thought "someday I want to be a cloud." She smiled at the notion and continued walking. The town of Ponyville took on an artistic calm in the fading golden light, the puddles and businesses seemed to glow in quiet. Sentinels to her thoughts.

Berry felt at peace, something she hadn't felt for the longest time. She had felt some measure of it when she forgave the madman.

Vilify, don't even try.

It was like the burden on her soul was lifted, like she was a pegasus finally breaking through the other side of the storm. And now that she was on top of the storm cloud she looked down on those years spent in misery and laughed at them. All the sadness and loneliness transformed into an almost foalish giddiness.

Vilify, don't even try.

Finally she arrived. It was late afternoon and the sun was going down but she made it, through the ghosts and rain and the pain she made it. She walked through the rows of sleeping and found the one she was looking for.

She smiled taking in the details of her love. The picture was one of three smiling sunflowers, her cutie mark. The inscription read; While you're gone from out lives, you will never be gone from our hearts.

"Hey dove." She said finally sitting down and letting out a groan. "It's been a while hasn't it?" She asked, she wasn't expecting an answer and was greeted as such. She glanced over to her love to discover a small family of squirrels living in her shade. Berry laughed. "Still caring for others even now huh?" She said wistfully looking up to the clouds, the sun was setting behind the green hills, it illuminated the clouds like big golden beasts riding through the azure.

"Lemme tell you these last two years haven't exactly been easy on me." She began, even though the emotional roller coaster had ended she still felt a sort of finality settle over her as she talked. She was finally able to say the things she had held back in life. All the things that had kept her away. All the things that had kept her from passing on.

You've got sucker's luck. Have you given up? Does it feel like a trial? Does it trouble your mind the way you trouble mine?

Finally she ended, her entire life story, everything she had ever done was prostrated in front of her. Her love didn't say anything as she stayed there stoic and quiet. Berry felt happy and tired at the same time. Tired was a new feeling for her. For a moment she sat there surprised but soon quickly got over it.

Does it feel like a trial?

Finally. As the two sat there, Berry turned to her love. "You know? All this time I've kept asking myself 'Why'? And now? hah, now I don't care anymore." She said illustrating with her hooves.

Did you fall for the same empty answers again?

Berry just sat there, for the longest time she had blamed everything and everyone. For everything. She blamed Princess Celestia for not intervening, she blamed the mane 6 for not doing something with their Elements. But now as she felt the sleepiness overtake her, she let it all go.

Vilify, don't even try.[2X]

Finally everything was said and done. Berry looked down in mock surprise but soon smiled and turned to her love. "Goodbye, and thank you." She said before letting the waves of sleep overtake her.

Vilify

==================================================================================================

Cheerilee awoke with a start. "Wa? Wa? Who?" She stuttered before regaining her composure. She looked around but was met with the same scenery that had bid her sleep before. Cheerilee rubbed her head with a hoof, confused. The trees rustled in the breeze as she shook her head again. She could have sworn she heard a voice. "....Berry? Is that you?" She tried, her voice taut with anxiety and worry. Nothing returned her call. It seemed whatever it was passed.

She looked at the grave again. A picture of a bundle of grapes and a strawberry stared back at her. She smiled sadly as she placed some flowers. Suddenly the wind picked up again and she heard it in the breeze.

"Goodbye, and thank you."

Cheerilee felt tears sting her cheeks and blur her vision as she turned and walked away.

"You're welcome." She whispered back.

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