>On a warm autumn day, in the middle of a field is a bench underneath a large tree.
>A beautiful young Pinkie Pie meets with the love of her life at their special spot.
“Hey, Pinkie...” You’ve got her attention.
>”Hi Nonny.” 
“Beautiful as always. You’re wearing that jacket again.”
>”I know how much you love seeing me wearing this, so I wore it today for you.”
“Will you be staying long?”
>“I’m sorry, I can’t stay long today, I’ve got to pick the kids up from school soon.” She says with a saddened expression.
“That’s alright. Thanks for coming.” You motion for her to take a seat.
>Pinkie sits down.
>”We really miss you.” She tries her best to not cry. Sometimes she can do it, and sometimes she can’t help crying.
“I know, I wish I could be there.”
>Pinkie wipes her eyes and puts on her beaming smile. 
>Her infectiously beautiful smile.
>”But I know you’re happy now, so that’s all that matters.”
“Pinkie, I’m so sorry. If I could-“
>”I know, I shouldn’t think about it. I can’t help it.”
>Pinkie slaps her cheeks gently and changes the subject.
>”They’ve grown so much since you last saw them. They’re just full of energy.” Her face lights up with pride.
>Sometimes she would bring your kids, but once they started school, she tried to bring them as often as she could.
>”They both have your exuberance.” She says proudly and with a giggle.
“That they do. How old are they now?”
>”Seems like only yesterday they were just little babies. I can’t believe they’re already seven!”
“I can still remember when they were born, how proud I was, and how you cried tears of happiness when you held them for the first time.”
>”How time seems to go by in a flash.”
“It doesn’t seem that long ago, does it?”
>”Seems like just yesterday when we met.”
“Yeah, it does. Remember when we met at the bar?”
 
>”It was the first of many of the happiest moments of my life.” Pinkie tries not to cry but one stray tear falls, which she wipes.
>”I’d seen you at the bar a few times but on that night I was celebrating with friends.”
>”And there you were, slouched over the bar drinking yourself silly.”
“Yeah. I was miserable. I’d just quit my job and I was so down. I was actually annoyed when you came over to me, hehe.”
>”I knew I had to help you. It looked like you needed a friend.” She wipes another stray tear.
“And thank you honey, that was the start of everything.”
>”We got to talking, and you suddenly asked me out. We started dating not long after.”
“There was something infectious about you that I just couldn’t resist. I guess your happiness seeped into my dreary life and made it better. So of course I couldn’t let you go.”
>”Everyday since was just bliss for me. I know it was for you too.” Pinkie takes a breath to calm herself before she continues.
>”And then you proposed to me suddenly, right here.”
>“And this has always been our special spot.”
“Sweety, I was so nervous,I had nothing to lose, so I went for it.”
>”And of course I said yes. I was so happy.” She wipes more tears away.
“Remember when I met your parents?”
>”We went back to visit my family. And told them about our engagement.” Pinkie’s breath hangs in the cold air as she rubs her hands together, warming them.
>”Mom, Maud, Limestone and Marble they were so happy for us! But Daddy, he wanted you gone.”
“He wasn’t too happy when I asked for his blessing.”
“Especially after we had only been dating for three months!” You laugh heartily at the memory.
>”He chased you with a pitchfork all night.” The memory gets a little giggle from her every time.
>”But once you convinced him, he accepted you.”
“How is your father? And everyone?”
>”Oh right! Maud is now engaged! Marble is graduating college next year and Limestone is well… Limestone.” Pinkie giggles cheerfully.
>Almost instantly her expression saddens again. 
>”Daddy really misses you Anon. He always says you were the son he never had.”
>Your kids run over.
>”Mommy are you and daddy talking again?” Your son asks.
>”Yes cupcake. I’ll only be a little longer. Why don’t you go play for a little bit more?”
>”OK mommy! Bye daddy!” 
You wave at them as they run off to play in the snow.
“They’ve grown so much. How old are they? 5, 6?”
>”They turned 10 last month. Maud bought them each their own pet rocks.” 
>”And when they opened their present from Limey, her face turned bright red when they hugged and kissed her.” Pinkie laughs heartily, clutching her sides.
>“I wish you were there to see it.” 
>She sniffles loudly, but it might have been caused by the cold.
“I’m so sorry darling. I would if I could have.”
>”I didn’t mean it like that silly.” She recomposes herself.
>”Marble loves them so much, she spoils them all the time.”
>”Oh, speaking of Marble,” Pinkie checks her phone. “We’re picking her up from the station soon.” 
“Are you leaving then?”
>”Sorry I couldn’t stay longer.” 
“It’s alright darling. Don’t leave her waiting. I’m always here if you need me.”
>”Bye~” Slowly she backs away, blowing you a kiss before walking down the pathway.
…
>”Hello, son.” Igneous takes off his hat and sits down, placing it on his knee.
“It’s good to see you Igneous. It’s very rare that you’re here.”
>”Cloudy and I came to visit the kids and well, I’d thought it’d do me some good to talk with you.” He pulls out a flask from inside his jacket and takes a quick sip.
>”It’s been too long.” He says with a long exhale. Igneous was always a man of very few words.
>But sometimes he’d surprise you.
>”I can’t believe I’m…” He takes a deep breath and rubs his eyes with his index finger and thumb.
>”I promised Pinkamena that I’d do this. For her.” He whispers to himself, steeling himself.
“What’s that Igneous?”
>”Although this is really more for me.” He quietly confesses.
You don’t interrupt, instead letting him speak when he’s ready.
>”Son, we miss you.” He looks out beyond the horizon when he says this, but you know him well enough to know that he is genuine in what he’s saying.
>“And I…I miss you a lot too.”
You’re taken aback by those words.
>Igneous was very cold to you initially when you and Pinkie were dating. Even after you got married it took him some time to warm up to you, but seeing how happy you made Pinkie convinced him that she was well taken care of, and for that he started calling you ‘son’.
“Igneous, I didn’t… I-“ You stutter but he continues.
>“Son, I couldn’t tell you this before, and I wish I had earlier. I am so grateful for you making my little girl the happiest. You brought joy into her life, and given her the sweetest children any parent could ever ask for.”
Is he tearing up? You’ve only ever seen him this emotional on your wedding day.
>A tear rolls down his cheek but he doesn’t wipe it, instead letting it fall with pride.
>”I am proud to have called you my son. And it’s taken me a long time to deal with it, but here I am today.”
You don’t interrupt, you just let him get what’s on his chest out.
>”To be honest, I thought you were no-good for my little girl. Yet, the more insistent I was about you leaving, the more persistent you were on staying. Hehe.”
>His laugh is a like a dry cough.
>"I'm so glad you proved me wrong."
>”I’ll never forget what you told me in the field that night, it was mighty brave of you to be so honest with me, and every day since then you kept your word to me and my little girl.”
"Thank you, Igneous. Really. It means so much to me." You say with a bow of your head.
>”That’s all I wanted to say son.” 
>He stands up, putting on his hat and takes a few steps before turning around to look at you.
>”Know that we still love you son, and we always will.”
>You’re overcome with emotion. Igneous had been more of a father figure to you than even your own father.
 
…
>”Hey Nonny, do you remember?” 
>Pinkie leans her head back and looks up the summer sky, taking in the warming sunlight.
>”Our anniversary is coming up again.”
“Wow that sure was fast. I can’t believe we’ve been married for 6 years already.”
>There’s a moment of silence as Pinkie, hung up on a thought zones out for a second.
>”Eight years.” She dully remarks.
”Oh. Eight already?” You weren’t really good at keeping track of these things.
>“Eight years and I still can’t bring myself to take this off.” She fidgets with her wedding ring.
>Pinkie takes a breath and dabs the corners of her eyes with a tissue.
>”I’m so sorry that I always cry honey. But I’m getting better at dealing with this.” She says choking back tears.
“It’s OK. You’ve got nothing to apologize for. You’re handling things incredibly well.”
>She brings her hands together as if she were making a wish.
>”I wish we could be together again, Nonny.” 
”Me too, honey. Me too.” You quietly whisper to her.
You try to wrap your arm around her to comfort her but she stands up before you can.
>Applejack approaches with a wave.
“Well looks like you’ve got to get going now.”
>“Hiya Pinkie. Hiya Anon.” She says tipping her hat.
You respond with a slight bow of your head.
>"D'you need another minute, hun?" She asks.
>Pinkie shakes her head with a smile. 
>Applejack again tips her her hat to you but holds it for a few seconds longer.
Again you bow your head slightly in reply.
>”I’ll catch up with you again soon, kay?” She says with a little wave.
>Pinkie hugs her friend, leaving with her.
“Of course sweetie. Any time.” You wave at them until they disappear from view.
…
>”It’s our anniversary today cupcake!” Pinkie says quietly. She’s no longer the spontaneous firecracker she used to be.
“Anniversary already?! Shoot! I forgot, how long now?”
>”I know you’ve probably lost count, so I’ll go easy on you. It’s been ten years now.” 
“Ten years already? Wow, I can’t believe how fast that went.”
>”Yes indeed-y. Ten years since we got married.” Her tone quiet and lacking any of her usual enthusiasm.
“Honey, what’s wrong?”
>She just sits there for a moment, unmoving, and lost in thought.
“Hey, come on now, what’s wrong?”
>”Ten years of my life…” She mumbles as her eyes glaze over as if she were in a daze.
>”I… hate… you…” She all but whispers.
You lean in closer as you sure you heard wrong.
>”I HATE YOU!” She screams loudly into the air.
>Her words shock you as normally she is happy and carefree but even she bottles up her emotions from time to time.
>”I HATE YOU SO MUCH ANON!” She lashes out angrily.
>Her screams are loud but they lack any venom. Occasionally she would come and scream and just vent out all her frustrations.
”Just let it all out honey. Get it all out of your system.”
>”I WISH I NEVER MET YOU!”
>”I REGRET GETTING TO KNOW YOU!” 
>”IF I DIDN’T MARRY YOU, I’D BE HAPPY NOW!”
You’re so used to this that you know she’s almost out of steam now.
>”I HATE you… SO much Anon…” Her tirade fizzles almost immediately and she is left a teary mess on the bench. 
>”But I Love you so much!” She struggles to choke back her tears.
>”Why did you leave me..?” She begins to bawl.
“Honey, I’m so sorry, but you know why.”
>”If I didn’t meet you Anon… maybe… would I be happier now? Maybe I would have married someone who wouldn’t leave me!” Her sobs and sniffles almost drowning out her question.
You know it’s best to just let her say what she needs to say, and you let her finish in silence.
>”I want it all back Nonny! My life, all those years I spent crying, EVERYTHING!” She brings her hands to her face and cries into them for a moment.
>”Sometimes… I wish…I never fell in love with you…” She mumbles from behind her hands.
>”But then… I wouldn’t have been as happy as when I was with you…” 
>After a minute of silence she wipes her tears and blows her nose.
>”I’m so sorry darling. I didn’t mean any of it.” After calming down she blows her nose again.
“I know you didn’t. I’ve told you so many times that you were the best thing in my life, and I meant it.”
>”You were, no, ARE still the best thing that ever happened in my life.” 
“If we could go back to that night, would you have still agree to a date?”
>”Even if I could go back in time, I don’t think I would change anything. I wouldn’t give up what we had for anything.”
>”I just… miss you so much.”
>Your teen-aged children run over, how they’ve grown you think to yourself.
>”Mom, what’s wrong? Are you alright?” Your daughter asks.
>”I’m fine. I just needed to get that off my chest.”
>You’re filled with happiness seeing your kids growing up so fast, but so full of regret at not being a part of their lives.
>”Alright then, we’ll give you some time.” Your daughter pushes your son away.
>Such thoughtful kids, they take after their mother.
 
...
>At the start, she’d use to spend hours talking to you.
>Over the last few years, she’s been staying less and less.
>Today, was different however.
>It was brief. Very brief. 
>”Let me indulge just once more, please.”
“Sure honey. I’m all ears.”
>”It was so long ago, it almost feels like a dream to me.” 
>”I’m so glad I spoke to you that night. And I was so happy when you asked me out.”
“Well, I had nothing to lose, so I just went for it.”
>”Why did you ask me out? Why me? I was nothing special.”
“Because you were so full of energy, and life, that… I wanted some of that happiness for myself.”
>"It was a few dates later that you would finally tell me why you asked me out."
>A single tear falls down her cheek. 
>”You had cancer.”
>For so long she had cried remembering this, that today only a single tear fell.
>”You had 12 months to live, and you wanted to enjoy life and you asked me to help make your time memorable.”
“Honestly, I just wanted to know what it was like to be in love, and to have someone. I never thought I would fall so in love with you.”
>”I never thought I would fall in love with you, but I did. And I’m so thankful that I did.”
>”Then we got married, and the twins were born.”
>”You were getting better and before we knew it, the kids were 3!”
“I’m so glad I got to see all that. It wouldn’t have happened without your love and support.”
>”We were visiting my family and we had just had a great dinner.”
You vividly remember it all. It was such a great weekend, spending it with your family.
Igneous and Cloudy were over the moon to see their grandchildren, and your sisters in law were so happy playing with their niece and nephew.
It is one of your most cherished memories, and as the day slowly came to an end, you wished for it to last forever.
>”Everyone was exhausted, and you were so tired.” She sniffles.
>”We all sat around the fireplace, and the kids fell asleep hugging you.”
>”I saw you dozing off, and I leaned over and kissed you.”
>“You told me you loved me so much as you pulled me close to you.”
>”We all fell asleep right there in front of the fireplace. It was perfect.”
“It certainly was.”
>Pinkie's smile slowly fades from her face and she takes a moment to enjoy the memory.
>Her hands start shaking on her thighs, and her voice is raspy.
>”Nonny, please forgive me.”
“What is it honey?”
>”I… I…” She starts to cry. “I…don’t feel connected to you anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
>”This is hard for me. So very hard, and I’m so sorry Anon.”
>She clutches at her heart and lowers her head to rest on her balled hands.
>”I need to let you go. I need to move on. From us.”
What she says surprises you more than it shocks you, but you had been anticipating it for a while now.
>Maybe today it was really finally time.
>A man approaches, putting his hand on her shoulder.
>You’ve seen him around for years now, but he was always waiting in the car or far away, never daring to come any closer.
>Obviously giving Pinkie the space and time she needed.
>”You don’t need to force yourself to do this Pinkie.” He reassures her.
>Pinkie replies, “I need to do this.”
>”I feel I am finally ready to move on. I wanted you to be here, this is a very important to me.”
>”I understand." He looks at you, "Hello Anon. It’s an honour to meet you. I’m…”
You don’t really focus on his name. Your focus is more on your wife, standing next to him wiping away tears.
>For the first time she’s not wearing her wedding ring.
“Nice to meet you.”
>”I’ve heard a lot about you. And I just want to say that I have never tried to replace you, and I don’t ever intend to.”
His words soothe you, but you weren’t angry to begin with. You feel at peace.
>”What you and Pinkamena had is something… I can’t even begin to imagine how deep your relationship is. I only wish to look after her now.”
>You knew this day was coming, it was only a matter of time.
>Yet, you’re glad that you got to spend a little more time with your wife.
“Promise me, you will cherish her every day. Love her like no other, and make her the happiest.”
>”I promise you. I will cherish her every day and love her more and more.”
>”I want to make her as happy as she makes me.”
So this is the end, but it’s not really the end. Finally you can move on knowing that your wife has found happiness again.
“Then, I wish you both many years of great happiness together.”
>”Goodbye Anon. You’ll always be in my heart.”
>She leans in to give you one final kiss.
You smile happily at the couple, and bid them a final farewell.
>Before you take your leave, you remember that night once more, and how perfect it was.
>The whole day spent with your family, playing with your kids and chatting with your in-laws. It was pure bliss.
>A great memory and you shared it with all of them.
>That night you fell asleep by the fire happy.
 
>”Goodbye Anon. You’ll always be in my heart.”
>For the last time, like so many other times over the years, a more mature Pinkamena kisses the plaque on the bench.
>The plaque reads:
>“This bench and this tree were erected by family and dear friends, to honor the memory of Anon. A dedicated and loving father, husband and friend. Forever in our hearts and memories.”
>That night by the fire you never woke up.
 
 
 
 
**MT88 notes**
Hope you enjoyed reading this short as much as I enjoyed writing it.
 
This was a bit of a challenge to write.
There's two ways to read this, as it is presented and only reading the parts with '>', which are Pinkie's perspective and her dealing with loss.
 
Something that has always stuck with me, and inspired me to write this was Dr. Cameron, from House MD.
Season 2, Episode 1 "Acceptance."
It's the only episode I've ever watched start to finish and what she says at the end really stuck with me, and I think is something Pinkie would actually do.
That line is: "She tells Wilson about how her late husband would have died alone if she hadn't married him and that when a good person dies, there should be an impact."
 
Often I wonder how my wife or I would deal with loss if one of us should pass, and this is how I'd like to think we'd manage to cope.
That's what I was trying to convey here.