The only thing you need to know is...
It was… quiet, that night. Not much else to say about it. There really isn’t a good way to describe silence. It’s just something everypony happens to know. But tonight,’ Silence’ didn’t seem to fit. Neither did calm. Or tranquil. Nor peaceful. In fact, out of all the different synonyms for quiet, ‘Silence’ was the only thing that fit the closest. To a certain extent. Silent usually implied solitude. Cold, distant solitude. In this case, it happened to fit reasonably well. It WAS cold out tonight, and the limited light did nothing to help that. The light of the half-moon in the sky was usually a sign that the only ones up tonight would be a few curious foals, and Princess Luna, of course.
But tonight, there happened to be another who wasn’t resting. There, on the edge of Ponyville, just out of sight of nearly everyone else, sat a pegasus mare. Her coat was tan, her mane blue, and her eyes green. But tonight, rather than bright and happy, her eyes were… different. They weren’t filled with laughter. Nor light. Not even peace. Tonight, they were filled with tears. One of which spilled over, rolling down her muzzle, before it hit the cold ground.
Odd for a night to be this cold. At least without snow. But as tonight was, it was cold and dry. Slightly breezy, but not much else. The breeze did nothing to distract the mare from her brooding. Another teardrop soon landed beside the first, followed by a third. Was this really how much it had meant? Did it really have to hurt so bad? She was a full grown mare, for Celestia’s sake! Why was this suddenly so hard to grasp? It shouldn’t be this difficult to-
"It’s really eating away at you, isn’t it?” Her ear twitched, as she didn’t bother raising her head; she could recognize his voice from anywhere. Those that couldn’t however, would find that the voice belonged to another pegasus. A stallion, this time, with a mane the same shade of blue as hers, though some might argue that it was a little darker or lighter. His coat was a deep maroon shade, a bit like desert sand. The most distinct thing about him, though, had to be his tail. It was a tad longer than most other stallions, and rather than a tail that came straight down, his tended to stick out, a fair distance from his hind hooves. While he argued that it was for better balance in the air, others liked to think he styled it that was because it looked “radical.” Had the mare turned to look at him, she would have found that he wasn’t looking directly at her. Rather, he was looking up, towards the sky. While most would think it was a cliché thing to do, the reason behind it was because he himself couldn’t bear to see the mare in such a state. A few seconds passed, a breath of wind ruffling their manes some. As far as things went, the both of them were in total opposition. One a mare, the other a stallion. One sitting, the other standing. One looking up, and the other staring down. One in tears, and one… Not. For now.
Soon though, the balance broke, as the stallion gave a sigh, and seated himself beside her.
“Leaping…” He began. He paused for a moment, trying to think of the right words. “Leaping… I honestly…” Another pause. “All I’m going to say is that… this type of thing is going to eventually happen. I know it sure as hell happened to me. Several times… as unfortunate as it sounds…” Another long pause, this time, ended with a breath. “And the only thing I’ve managed to learn from it is… it hurts. Every time. It never gets any easier. You think that everything is fine… and it just…”
“…Gets torn from you… just like that. No warning.” She finished for him. He turned to her in mild surprise, only to see that she was in fact looking towards him. Her eyes were… Different. Still filled with tears, certainly, but… different somehow. Maybe more hopeful? Probably the best word. They were at least understanding. There was that. He gave himself a moment to nod in her direction, before looking ahead again.
“Exactly… No warning.” He sighed again, giving her a gentle nudge with his wing. “I’m… Really sorry it happened like it did… Could’ve at least let you down gently.” Another brief moment of silence. Well, not exactly brief. The two pegasi sat together in silence, before the stallion finally moved his wing again.
It extended to its fullest length, well behind the mare, before it drew her closer to him. She shivered slightly, partially from the cold, partially from being touched. She looked at him strangely, but he didn’t look back. He didn’t talk. He just stared straight ahead, as though he was trying to deny the situation’s existence.
For the moment, she shrugged it off. She was getting a little cold anyways. Pegasi were naturally more resistant to temperature, but even they had their limits. Besides that, it was nice. The wing-hug wasn’t exactly romantic or anything of that nature. Both had their reasons as to why. Rather, it was comforting. The silence was different now. There was something else in it, changing it. Making it… better. It was a different kind of quiet. One that was more tranquil than before. Maybe it had something to do with the Stallion’s company. Maybe it was his words. Or maybe, it was the wonderful, beautiful realization that, while some friends come and go, no matter who or what you are, some friends will stay by your side. Forever. Solar Flare was one of those friends. And that gave Leaping something she had all but abandoned on arriving to this lonely spot. Hope.
“Flare… Thank you.”
He only nodded.
Neither of them moved for the rest of the night.
