The alicorn poked her head out from under the bushes. The unicorn popped up just a few feet over to the side. He turned over towards his daughter, the pink tips of their horns rubbing against each other.

"You really, really sure about this?" Strawberry asked, his eyes fluctuating from his daughter's gleeful expression to the steep drop, little uptick, and cliff in front of them.

"Duuuuuuuuuh, Dad," Midnight replied, and she wiggled her front hooves across the top of the bushes, "It's the only ledge that would give me the proper speed build-up, then the proper curve, then the proper release!"

Strawberry just nodded. Well, it's not like we don't have half a dozen royal guard pegasii following our every step. He stood up, and he then nudged himself over to his daughter's side. She leaned her back down. He stared at her, coughing awkwardly. Every single time I do this... I always feel just as weird. He reached out with his left hooves, and he then bumped up onto her.

Strawberry hobbled himself onto the alicorn's back. Thank my lucky stars we're at least about the same size. Midnight swung her backside upwards. He leaned down, and all four of his hooves gripped her sides. Oh, goodness, I'm sure this has to look every little bit as bad as it feels. He glanced about, not seeing any guard ponies around snickering. Midnight hopped up a few feet, sticking herself out of the end of the batch of branches.

"Now, ready to ride me?" she cooed. He looked at her hungry expression, desire dripping from every inch of her face. She arched her back, and he slid a few inches forward. "Oh, it's been way too long since someone has ridden me."

He nervously nodded. Oh, sweet mercificul goodness, I hope this doesn't translate into anything... psychological... He tried not to picture Midnight in the hooves of a future coltfriend. It was hard enough, given the quirky glances that she shot around at stallion after stallion in her thirteenth birthday last week. Midnight leaned out a little bit more. Strawberry tried not to zone out at the horrible heights.

He began, "Maybe we should thi--"

Midnight kicked off. Strawberry glared at the open air in front of them. He clutched her sides with all of her strength. She beat her wings, and she curled herself over to the side. Please, please, please let they be just a little stronger... Blast it, biology! Why can't bigger foals have better wings! Wind shot across their faces.

Midnight landed upon the grass, soaking wet pieces fluttering up onto their bodies. The alicorn sped down the hill. She leaned herself over and bent her front hooves out. Strawberry ducked. They gained more and more speed, the trees and bushes blurring. He shut his eyes tight.

*Whoosh*

Strawberry felt the delicate cool kiss of a cloud across his face. His eyes popped open. Midnight grinned from ear to ear, whisps of wing going along her long, flowing mane. He glanced down at her furiously beating wings and then the distant river underneath them. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Then came the ducks.

*Whack*

Strawberry leaned back and swatted a hunk of feathers off of his face. Another duck ran right into his right side. Midnight fluttered her wings back and forth, jiggling around. Strawberry dug into her with her legs as his front hooves wailed around. She jumped up a few feet, and then she flipped over to the left. The mass of ducks sped through the air underneath them.

Strawberry tried to pull himself up. Midnight flipped downwards. He felt himself floating up in the air. He wiggled all of his hooves around, holding onto nothing. His eyes grew wide as dinner plates as he screamed. He fell, wind flying around him. Everything melted into a blur.

"Dad!" Midnight called out. She hurled herself down and skated past Strawberry. She thrust out her right wing and then pulled up in front of her father. Strawberry bonked along her backside and then flipped away through the air sideways.

The unicorn failed about helplessly. Midnight sailed down and tried again to catch him. He bounced right off of her head. She flew herself to the side, flipping about, and then tried to grab him with her bottom hooves. He slipped right out, spinning them in another direction.

The treeline grew closer and closer beneath them. Midnight popped her father off her side again and again like a pony-sized ping-pong ball. She thrust down into the top of a gigantic oak. Her horn glowed brightly, a purple aura forming along her body. She propped up her hooves against the nearby branches, gritting her teeth.

Strawberry landed right atop her chest, letting out a loud groan. Midnight swung back, clinging to the branches with all of her strength. She grabbed him tightly, and she nudged herself down the biggest branch over to the trunk.

"Dad, I love you!" Midnight hollered, burying her father's body within hers, "I'm so sorry. I can't even think. I can't ever bear to live without you." Strawberry felt her tears pouring down along his poofy mane. "I'll never live without you." She squeezed him so tightly that he could barely breathe.

"I love you too, Midnight," he replied in between pants. She moved him to the side a little, and then they sat side by side against the trunk. She couldn't stop gazing at his face.

"Promise me," she said, and she placed her head on his lap. She moved her left hoof along his mane. "Promise me that you'll be there."

"Sure," he replied. I guess... Oh, I don't know. Lies. That's what parenting is built on, right? 'You make that face too long, it'll stay like that forever'. Lie to her. He gazed back at her. He knew that he'd only seen one more beautiful creature in his entire life.

"Say it like you mean it," she said, and she pressed her head against him, "Please, Dad. Please." She started to tear up once again.

"I'll always be there," he replied, and he ran his hooves across the top of her face. Her huge, innocent eyes seemed to suck up the whole world around them. "No matter where you go, or what you do, I'll be with you forever. I'll never stop loving you. I'll never stop caring for you. I'll always be there." She smiled. She let out a little sigh, and she curled her back hooves around.

Strawberry then stuck out his right hoof, and he patted it right on her chest. He then pushed a little bit down, feeling her heart beating.

"I'll be in here."

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The crowd exploded. Ponies threw their hooves up in the air and beat them against each other. Dozens of them whistled. Luna just sat back and took in the whole arena. She felt so proud that she couldn't put it into words. It wouldn't matter if it was the first concert or the hundredth concert. Every time felt like the first time.

The sea of strings started. The wonderful melody soothed through every last one of the seats. Luna's eyes traced down the row of violins to the small section of violas and then over to the conductor. No Octavia? I suppose she's there. She just doesn't want to hog the spotlight from the star. Luna smiled a little bit wider. She shifted her gaze over to the middle of the stage.

Luna's eyes drank in every little bit of the singer as she walked up. Luna looked up the alicorn's long, flowing mane-- eyes dancing around the inky dark pink strands mixed in the with frizzy black streaks. Luna glanced down the cutie mark-- a image of the moon atop a set of dark reddish-purple roses-- and she smiled. Our roses... Our love...

Midnight stepped right in front of the microphone. She nestled it right inside her right hoof. She looked up at the hundreds of ponies all locking eyes with her. "Looooooooooooookinggggg frooommmmmmmmmm--" Midnight sang. Luna went ahead and let the tears come out. "A window-- aboooovve--"

Luna stuck her neck out and scanned the bottom of the stage. Strawberry seemed nowhere in sight. Wow, I hope he doesn't miss the whole tune. She shifted a little in her seat.

"It's like a story of love," Midnight sang. Luna hummed along, and she sniffed at the emotion put in that last word. Happens to me every time... "Can you heeeeeeear meeeeeee..."

I guess Strawberry just had to use the little colts room, that's all. She shifted her eyes down to the edge of the crowd to her right. Somepony short bounced up and down, a little pink tipped horn popping into view every few seconds. Luna smirked. She tapped the red-haired pegasus besides her.

"Flanders, tell the little one to get over here and give her grandma a kiss," she whispered. The pegasus smiled, and Luna tossed her mane around her head. The pegasus then shivered out of his spot and nudged himself over. Luna glanced out at the performance once again.

"All I needed was the love you gave," Midnight sang, and he curled her front hoof across-- pointing from left to right across the whole audience, "All I needed for another day..."

"Grandma," whispered a silvery-blue unicorn. Luna leaned over and picked her grandson up. Luna then nestled him snugly inside her lap.

"And all... I ever knew..." Midnight went on, bringing her voice a little lower. Luna took a deep breath, and she squeezed her son tightly. "Only you..."

Luna sniffed. She tucked her head down, and she saw her tears pitter-pattering across her grandson's short blue mane. "Oh, I'm sorry I keep missing out on the performances, but royal duties and all," Luna whispered. The crowd burst out in cheers once again, but Luna kept sitting-- the foal locked tightly inside her hooves. That's a lousy excuse, and I know it.

"Mom will be so happy," the foal said, looking straight up at Luna's face. She locked eyes with him.

"Of course she will, Nexus," Luna replied, and she let out a little sigh, "I don't know how she does it, all the difficult things that have been going on." Difficult things... that you don't need to worry about. Things that I could never let you worry your little head over. She scuffed his mane. "I hope you and your brother aren't running her ragged."

"Maybe..." Nexus replied, and he shifted his expression to the cutest little duckface. Luna moved her hooves down, and she caressed his sides. She felt along the bare skin where wings could have been. She twisted her head to the side. That's where they should have been. Well, that's biology for you... that's fate... that's destiny...

Midnight twirled about on stage. She ran her hooves along the microphone stand. She then curled her head back, and she let out a loud hum. The crowd applauded yet again. Luna shifted about in her seat. Does Midnight really have to do that mediocre 'lounge' tripe from her latest album? I don't care if it hit number three.

Luna glanced back down at the foal, now looking pretty bored. "You can tell your mother that I'll be at the Hooftington ceremony for sure," Luna said.

"Oh, that's great," Nexus replied. He stuck out all of his hooves into the air and wiggled them. He then gazed back at Luna's face. "But it is like what she always says. It doesn't matter if she can't see you there. Because--" Nexus reached out with his left hoof and then pressed it against her chest. "You'll always be in here."

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The alicorn stared at the big marble square. "Dead, dead, deadski, dead-a-rino, deceased," she muttered. She then tapped both hooves against the top of her head. "Finished. Finito. They're late flowers. They're pining for the Fjords."

Her eyes danced along the naked thorns and branches. Little blackish bits of former flowers littered across every inch. She magically shifted them around for a moment, and then she looked over to see if anypony was behind her. She paused, noticing that the coast was clear, and she sobbed. She then let her eyes peek out of her hooves for a second.

"Hey, wait a moment!" Midnight called out. She magically lifted up a tiny one of the reddish-purple roses and held it up besides her face. "This one is still alive." It'll work! Right? She twisted the rose about in the air. Her face shrunk, and she pawed at the air besides the rose as if it was a parasprite trying to bite her. "Why does it have to be almost dead? Just look at how weak and droopy-- ugh!"

She held it up closer. No thorns? I guess it will... It will do. She placed the flower along her shoulder. She stood up, and she gazed up into the castle. Her eyes danced around the gigantic windows. Well, Nexus is deep inside the castle... getting what he wanted. Fencing lessons? Seriously? And it's all to catch that pretty little mail unicorn, as if being a Prince wasn't enough. She sighed.

She turned to the side, and she trotted down the marble path besides her. "I guess it's an okay birthday present," she said, peeking at the flower on her shoulder. "Still, it's..." She halted. She felt dozens of different emotions fighting it out in her mind. "It's such a horrible little omen. It's Strawberry's birthday for crying about load, and I'll give him something that's going to die." She resumed walking back to the little park at the end of the path. "Although, roses don't last very long in the first place. Story of my life, I put all of myself into something that should last forever but only holds on for days."

It doesn't matter if things last forever or not. That's not the important thing. 'Forever' is just a word. It's what you make of it, with everypony that loves you. She plopped herself upwards against the huge white doors, scraping her hooves down along the wood. She then poked her head against it. Oh, for goodness sake, I'm a Princess. I'm not giving him A SINGLE ROSE. I could probably summon a whole dancing troupe to perform or something.

She sighed. It just... It all feels wrong. "Dad... Dad..." she muttered.

"Yes!" Strawberry called out from the other side. She jumped out a few feet. The doors opened, and she gazed at the unicorn walking out. They embraced.

"It's been too long," she said, and she felt a tear dripping out, "I haven't seen you, been with you, in ages." She couldn't help thinking of her first garden. She cried so much when those flowers died. She buried himself in her father's hooves back then.

Midnight stepped backwards. She ran her eyes up from the unicorn's calloused hooves to the droopy, faded pink mane to the incredibly thick, telescope like lenses atop his eyes. Life has moved on. Or, at least, life has wanted to make me move on. She looked straight through the glasses to his eyes. She still found that same everlasting shelter that she always had.

"It doesn't matter how long it seems," he said, and then he coughed. Midnight moved forward to grab him again, the coughs rattling on one after the other. He waved a hoof in the air. He then took a deep breath. "It really doesn't matter. All that matters, is that you know that one thing."

"You're always in here," she said as she patted her chest. She magically lifted up the rose, and then she floated it over to his hooves.

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Nexus dug his hooves into the cold mud. Raining... Praise Luna, why did it have to be raining? He pulled his coat closer. The unicorn moved over along the well-worn path. The water poured across his thick blue mane down his sides. He came up to the familiar grassy hunk before him.

Nexus stepped up over to the gravesite. He leaned over, and he let out a sigh. He felt his tears rubbing off of her face, joining the never-ending torrent of rain. He shifted his head to the side, magically lifting up a single rose from his satchel.

"Strawberry Dawn," he whispered. He closed his eyes, and he placed the rose upon the tombstone as he had done for decades. He opened his eyes again. He expected to cry once more, but what he felt surprised it. Everything seemed... warm.

Nexus reached out, and his hoof wandered about in the air in front of the tombstone. Strawberry Dawn is loved. Because he isn't really gone. He never went anywhere, and he never, ever will. The unicorn held his hoof up against his chest. He didn't say or think anything else. He didn't need to.

Time stretched on. The rain eased up, with only little pitter-patters of water dripping onto his head. Nexus stood up straight. He looked up at the distance, and he saw the sky clearing. He focused, and he spied a familiar looking bluish alicorn in the far distance-- clouds parting all around her. Nexus smiled.

He trotted down along the path. "Gee, I wonder what time it is?" he asked. He glanced over at a little piece inside his stachel. "Oh, goodness, Pinnacle is going to get so peeved this time." Another fraternity ceremony I've missed... I feel like such a dork. At least I have a good excuse this time. He slapped his hooves against the mud. "And, of course, she's going to be slumming in her locked room for hours then." He made a metal note to bake his daughter something fancy that night.

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Luna sailed through the treetops, Ponyville appearing in the horizon. Her eyes hopped about from rooftop to rooftop, shop to shop, and garden to garden. The alicorn beat her wings hard and tossed herself straight up. She flew along a sudden gust of wind along the town square over to the new apartments.

Luna stuck out her hooves, landing gently upon the chimney. She bounced off to the right, sailing down onto the cozy little duplex nearby. She swung along the top of a maple tree. She ran her hooves down, moving onto a big, thick branch. She wiggled a little to the side. She stuck out her neck and gazed into the nearby window.

Luna's eyes chased the tall white unicorn walking about the living room. The unicorn magically lifted up a little chair behind her, and then she placed in right atop the big grey in the middle of the room. A short, stubby blue earth pony popped up from the side of a table. Luna focused upon the chair, but the ponies kept speeding about every which way.

Finally, the ponies walked out of the way. Luna gazed at the beautiful little foal inside the chair. Her eyes ran up her sandy blue hooves to her long, frizzy dark blue mane up to her puffy, cute face. She then glanced up, and she smiled. Just like Strawberry, just like Midnight... She eyed the tall unicorn horn with the thick pink tip as if it had been dipped in frosting.

"She's wonderful," Luna moaned. She noticed the foal's parents bouncing around, grabbing party decorations. The earth pony set out a pile of birthday presents in front of the foal, and Luna eyed the small, grey box at the top. She curled her head back, and she muttered a quick spell to help her hear inside.

"Who is this one from again?" the earth pony asked. He wiggled the little grey present in between his hooves.

"A very, very distant relative," the unicorn replied. She shuffled her hooves around a little bit, clearly wondering how to express the torrent of feelings going on inside of her. "Look, I'll just explain later. It's complicated. You'll meet her later."

"Fine, fine," he replied, "Ready to open your first present?" The foal bounced up, making a huge grin. He then threw himself down and almost devoured the box, grey wrappings tossed all through the air.

"Coool," the foal called out. She clutched the ball in her hands. She hurled it up for a second, but then she pressed it up against her face. Her eyes grew wide, and she focused upon all of the little printings across the sides of it.

"Can I see that?" her father asked. The foal held the ball closer, letting off a loud groan. She paused. She then curled her head and offered the ball over. The earth pony clutched it between his hooves. He then whistled. "Wow, look at how intricate this is. The... let me get this right..." He eyed a little label atop the ball. "The Official Canterlot Moon Model... I can't believe the details that this has! All of the lunar seas, the craters, and everything else... Not to mention that--" He crushed it in this hooves, and it popped right back. "It's squeezable!"

Luna leaned down, and she rested her head upon her hooves. She felt herself getting warm all over. Her eyes moved across the parents as they walked about, picking up the wrappings. The unicorn then held up another box, and she giggled it in the air a little. Luna took a deep breath, and then she beat her wings.

She hovered above the tree, and she looked straight up at the night sky. She then looked back down at the foal. The birthday girl seized the new present, and she let out a loud squeal. Luna sailed out into the skyline.

"It doesn't matter if I can't see you, Strawberry. It doesn't mean you're not there. Because, you'll always be there with me," Luna whispered, carrying herself up through the clouds into the stratosphere, "You're down there--" She glanced down at the little dot in the horizon where Ponyville was, nodding her head. "And you're--" She patted her chest with her right hoof. "In here." Luna closed her eyes, and she let out a happy sigh.

"Well, there she goes," said the white unicorn, looking out the massive window. Her eyes saw a little blue blur shrink and shrink until it just blended into the night sky. Her husband wandered over and stood besides her.

"For crying out loud, what are you looking at out there?" he asked.

She shifted herself from side to side. She narrowed her eyes, and then a little tear dripped down across her cheek.

"There... she... goes..."

The End

P.S. If you've read all of the endings up to this one, then... THANK YOU! It means so much to me that you like my writing. If you have any comments, thoughts, concerns, or anything like that, please leave a post here or message me at [email protected] Thanks once again, and happy reading! - SwiperTheFox