He's supposed to go on. There's a foal to care for, employees constitute another level of responsibility... in theory, he has so many reasons just to get up on the morning after her death. And the next, and the next, until he meets the lost in the shadowlands once again. When his part of the contract comes due, and he can finally feel whole again.
But he can't seem to remember having gotten up. Going to work. There's snippets, but... just that. Because if he pays attention, he has to live, and living means he has to remember, and if he remembers...
Mr. Rich knows he's supposed to go on alone. He just doesn't know how.
Read it here
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Tropes include:
- Dramatic Irony: Bright Mac makes his first in-person appearance in the Continuum to comfort Mr. Rich after his wife's death. It's implied that what happened to the Rich family inspired the Apple parents to make sure they had their affairs in order. And judging by the ages of the Apple children, Bright and Pear don't have long for this world.
- Emotion Suppression: Mr. Rich's primary coping mechanism.
- Heroic BSoD: Mr. Rich spends the entire story in this state.
- He's Back!: After an eye-opening conversation with the Apple parents, Mr. Rich begins trying to open up to the world, reading to his daughter, seeking therapy, trying to run his business again. But it's also made clear that the wound left by his wife's death may never fully heal.
- Meaningful Rename: Diamond's Mother, Spoiled Sweet, defied pony convention and superstition to change her name.
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Reality Subtext: Estee hasn't been having the best year . . . - Survivor's Guilt: Mr. Rich blames himself for his wife's death. Bright Mac lays it out specifically for Mr. Rich
- "An' what Ah'm hearin' is a pony who needs somethin' to blame 'cause he couldn't do anythin' t' save his wife, in a situation where he did more than most, an' so he's gonna blame himself. That's the truth of it, ain't it? Somepony's gotta be responsible for this, so it's gonna be you. Sound right?"
- Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: Something that helped the Rich parents bond when they were first dating.
