Twilight stared out into the night. The stars covered the sky forming all sorts of constellations and the moonlight lit up the ground in a silvery glow. The air was crisp, mild, and autumnal. Light breezes blew onto her face to which she inhaled deeply, then exhaled. Her eyes were not trained on the night sky though, their focus was on something else, something in the distance, something she had fantasized being at for so long, something that was now out of her reach.
That something, was Sweet Apple Acres.
Twilight sat silently with a stoic look, one that could rival the royal guards' looks and even Big Mac's. Her chest rose lightly with her breath, but her heart beat faster than she could breath making her chest pound rapidly. Her eyes scanned the orchard intensely, squinting just to get a glimpse of some of the trees and maybe even her. A hint of doubt started to shatter her hopes and she considered it a lost cause almost looking up towards the sky. She stopped when she saw two silhouettes dancing with each other on an open field.
One wore her signature stetson while the other stayed airborne constantly. They looked to be playing tag, one running on the ground throwing her head and mane back. Twilight assumed she was laughing while her companion chased her down. Twilight felt jealousy tug at her heart again, like all the other times she looked out over there.
She had had a crush on Applejack for quite some time, she didn't know exactly when it started, but she could count that it lasted a good six months. She wanted dearly to confess to Applejack her affection towards her, but unfortunately she was beaten to it by Rainbow Dash, like always. She hadn't found out until the day before she was going to tell her, when the two gathered everyone at the Acres and made the announcement. They had all been happy for them, even Twilight who marked that day as the day her heart was shattered.
After the announcement Twilight fell into what was probably the hardest time of her life. The only pony she had ever loved was now beyond her reach in the hooves of another. She spent most of her time hiding in her room, crying her eyes out at first, then she sobbed, finally it died down into a depression. She didn't want to risk going outside for fear of seeing Applejack and wondering what could have been, then to see Rainbow Dash and know that it was pointless.
From that point on Twilight spent most of her time in her room, reading, writing, practicing spells, whatever would take her mind off of reality. She was never experienced in the field of love, that she consulted Cadence for, and none of her books had any guides on the subject, leaving her in the dark. Finally, when she just couldn't take it anymore, Twilight decided to just come out and tell Applejack.
And she did.
She told her, told her that she loved her honesty, her determination, even her stubbornness. The outcome was what she had expected, Applejack simply didn't feel the same, and Twilight was left with a hug of friendship and a simple "I'll see you later". Twilight returned to the library, heart heavier than before. Now it was confirmed, she would never have Applejack. Never, never ever in a millennium...never.
She returned to her habits, reading, writing, practicing, pondering. It was a daily routine, one she wouldn't break nor wanted to. She hadn't experienced what heartbreak was before, but this was enough to give her some. Everyday she would go about her routine, then at night she'd hold a vigil on the balcony staring out at the acres, letting her mind run across those fields with Applejack. Then she'd realize that it was just her imagination, that it would never be real.
Her friends would worry about her, at first knocking on the door asking if she was okay, then it would escalate into demands, and when they couldn't draw her out, they asked Spike for assistance. Rainbow would try to fly in through the balcony, but Twilight had prepared for that and locked it down with a spell preventing any entry. Applejack tried to bust down the door getting the same result.
Then night came and Twilight took her place again. Watching the acres, hoping for something to appear, to catch a glimpse of her love. That night they never came out, much to Twilight's disappointment. Something else came out though, something she would've never expected. As she sat vigilant, she didn't hear the soft flapping of wings behind her. She did hear the creak of the floorboards under someone's weight, forcing her to turn around.
Fluttershy stood before her, with a soft look on her face.
Twilight recognized it as sympathy, but that didn't make sense. Why would Fluttershy have a sympathetic look on her face? Her question was answered when Fluttershy asked her if she was okay, to which Twilight didn't answer at first.
Twilight cringed as more of the memory came flooding back.
Fluttershy approached her slowly, gently, in a way only she could. The same way she'd approach a hurt animal, which Twilight assumed she was. Twilight didn't object when Fluttershy embraced her, she didn't shy away from it, but instead leaned into it and let all the frustration, all the hurt, every single ounce of heart she had left flow out. She didn't know how long she had been crying and she didn't really care. The longer it went on, the lighter her chest felt.
Twilight assumed it was at that point her life made a gigantic U-turn. Her love for Applejack faded harshly, but it did not go out. Instead it seemed to have shifted over to someone else, it seemed to have shifted towards Fluttershy instead. Twilight realized that she had been spending a lot of time with the shy pegasus only after Rarity had brought it up at the spa. Fear crept up into Twilight's mind as she was once again reminded of Applejack, which was a memory she'd rather forget.
Twilight, out of instinct tried to deny this at the time fearing that this outcome would be similar to Applejack's. Rarity somehow sensed this fear in Twilight and the following conversation turned into a pep talk trying to get Twilight to make a move before it was too late. Spurred by determination and adrenaline, Twilight made her move when Fluttershy came back. Looking back on it she could have done with just a little bit more subtlety than just outright-
"Twilight."
Twilight's reminiscing was interrupted by a soft call and floorboard creak followed by hoofsteps moving towards her. She didn't bother turning around for she already knew who it was. A shiver slithered down her spine as a pale yellow wing draped over her shoulder. Her heart started beating a little faster as she felt someone press against her. Twilight felt a head lay on her shoulder making her grin.
"It's Applejack, isn't it?" Fluttershy asked, though she already knew the answer.
"I don't know why, I just can't get her out of my mind. Every night I look out over there and wonder what could have been..." Twilight answered. "Though every time I think about what could've been, I think about what I have now."
The couple shared a quick kiss then turned their attention back to the acres. The two ponies out there now lay together on a field in each others arms. With their interest no longer towards that couple, they turned their attention skyward at the stars. Each one twinkled brightly lighting up more of the dark sky.
"If you think about it," Twilight started. "Love is like a fire. The more you feed it the bigger it'll grow, but then it'll rain and put that fire out. But there will still be embers left over to start new fires. Ones that might grow even bigger than the last."
Twilight looked down at Fluttershy and smiled. She'd no longer be sitting out on the balcony wondering what could have been, but instead she'd be in the library enjoying what she had. Twilight's fire for Applejack had gone mostly out letting it's embers start a new one for Fluttershy that grew bigger and bigger each day.
As the two prepared to head inside, Twilight looked out at the Acres one last time.
Then, and only then, did that fire finally go out.
Author's Note
So...
This idea was originally based off of an analogy I had thought of when I was eating breakfast.
This is a one shot I wrote as a kind of break from writing a chaptered story.
Thank you for reading and keep the comments nice please.
Stay Classy.