>She’s gone.
>Mom’s really gone.
>You saw them bury her.
>Hell, you helped bury her.
>She was always so chipper, so full of life.
>Even just before the end.
>You all knew it was coming, but she never let that stop her.
>You were forcing out tearful laughter when she uttered her second to last words.
>”A pony tried to sell me a coffin y’know? I told him that’s the last thing I need.”
>And then you completely lost it when she did utter her final words.
>”I’ll always love you Anon.”
>Now it’s late evening, and you’ve been sitting on your couch for several hours since the funeral.
>Pumpkin and Pound already stopped by to check up on you.
>So did the other powers.
>And while you appreciated the effort...
>You never left this couch.
>How could you?
>Why would you?
>She’s go-
>Several knocks sound at your door.
>Everypony who wanted to visit knew you never locked your door.
>Probably just Derpy running late again.
>The knocking doesn’t stop though.
>For almost an hour, there’s a few knocks every minute.
>A mix of anger and annoyance well up inside you.
>You practically throw yourself off the couch and stomp to your front door.
>Throwing it open violently so you can yell at whoever was inconsiderate enough to bother you after today leads to you staring at nothing in your door way.
>Your desire to scream catches in your throat, sending you into a coughing fit.
>You double over to catch your breath and spy a small wooden box on your doorstep.
 
“What the hell is this?” you growl silently.
>Not so much at the box, but at whoever though it was necessary to pester you and then cower away at the last minute.
>You kick the box into your home and slam the door shut.
>Stomping back to your warm spot on the couch, you settle in and fume over the last hour.
>Whether you mean to or not however, your eyes keep darting to the box on the floor.
>You trudge over and pick the box back up.
>It’s just a simple wooden box.
>No markings, no notes.
>No anyth-
>There’s a little slip of paper, it’s tucked in to a small groove in the box.
>You find yourself back on the couch, where your candle light is close by.
>Removing the slip of paper, you unfold it and read what’s written inside.
[Hi Nonny,
>It’s mom’s mouthwriting.
>Your sobs are already coming out and you have to read the page at arms length to avoid staining it with tears.
[I thought that you might be lonely without me, even if that’s a silly idea because of all the friends you have.
[You’re a silly boy though so I wanted to try proving that you’re not alone.
[I left very super dooper special instructions with Derpy to deliver this box to you.
[What she doesn’t know is that I’m gonna try to stop her from where I am.
[You’re mom’s a real trickster huh Non?
>You stop reading for a moment, and let yourself cry for a few minutes.
>Just so your tears would stop long enough for you to see again.
[If you’re reading this, then that means it didn’t work...
[I’m sorry Anon, I promise I tried really really hard for you, my little monkey boy.
[But, at least I set up a win win for you Nonny.
[I need you to smile at my box though, its the only way to make it open.
[And don’t you dare try to break it instead mister!
[I taught you better than that.
 
>You curl up in your spot for a time, crying silently into your knees.
>When you feel like you can function as a person again, you reach out to pull the box close.
>Summoning what feels like monumental effort, you give a pathetic smile to the box.
>Something clicks inside, and you can feel the box lid rattle in your shaky grasp.
>Setting it down in your lap, you remove the lid.
>Inside, your eyes lock on to the parchment tucked inside.
[You did it!
[I should’ve expected as much from you though huh Nonny?
[Either way I’m still so proud of you!
[Here’s the win-win, I figured, you’d either have proof that I’m still with you, or…
[…
[(This is the part where you look at what’s actually in the box silly).
>You look inside to find the box is chock full of all kinds of candy.
>Rock candy necklaces are the majority of the sweets inside.
[Or you get a box full of yummarrific candy!
[Yay!
[We were both the funnest of times to each other huh?
[I’ve loved getting to spend my life with you Anon
[You’ve been a great party full of wonderful experiences.
[The sound of your laughter.
>The sound of your giggling.
[The touch of your funny hands.
>The feeling of your soft fur.
[The smell of rubber from all the balloon things you can make.
>The unique smell of gunpowder, candy, and baking cake (even when there was no oven around you).
[The sight of all your smiles, from the eensiest little baby ones, to big grown up ones you have now.
>The sight of your amazing mom, always smiling up at you.
[And the burnt taste of every sweet you ever tried to make ( I still liked them though).
>The unmatched greatness of anything you tried to make.
 
>Even pickled kumquats…
[So I figured, that as long as I could tickle some of those sense out of you, then I’m only gone from myself. Not from you.
{I’m sorry I couldn’t stop this package Nonny…
>You hug the box tight to your chest.
>A this point you can’t tell if you feel better.
>Or you’ve cried yourself dry.
>The last line of her note makes you think that you do feel better though.
[But I’ll try to get the one for next month for sure.