Water on the Bridge

by Nugget

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sad, Princess Luna, Original Character
Length: 1141

A single stallion waits for his date on a bridge in Canterlot.

They say that love can drive a stallion to do anything for a lady, and that couldn't be more true for a single, lonely stallion. As Pen Name stands on a bridge in Canterlot while the rain pours down upon him, he waits in desperation for a mare he has never meet.

Link to the original short story: Rain on the Bridge (Original Version)

(Re-write) Edited by tommal & Princess Amore Dudette
(Re-write) Pre-read by link4
Artwork by Little Tigress

Based upon the song "I'm With You" by Avril Lavigne

Published 2017-02-20 23:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-02-20 23:30:01 UTC

It's Not Just Rain on the Bridge

The cold rain pours down upon the bricks of this bridge.

As the thunder rolls within the dark background, I kept my umbrella levitated above me. I knew there was going to be a thunderstorm rolling into Canterlot tonight, but I couldn’t have predicted how miserable it was going to be just standing out here in the storm. The cool water has already soaked my mane and coat down to the skin, making me shiver upon the touch of the blowing wind.

My umbrella could only do so much to provide me cover, yet it couldn’t shield me from the rain that fell sideways due to the wind. Therefore, I just had to force myself to stand there and let the water continuously spray upon my body as the storm raged on. I groaned, wishing I could just get off this bridge and seek shelter.

Yet, I told myself over-and-over that I couldn’t do that since this was the place I was going to meet her at.

We had been talking to each other by letters over the past few months, building upon our friendship since being paired together through a dating service. While I was a simple writer based in Canterlot, she was an elementary school teacher from Applewood with likes and interests similar to mine. To which, when we began communicating, I believed I might have found my first ever true love.

Formia, “Mia” for short, sounded like an amazing mare. She seemed intelligent, optimistic, and sorta fearless as well. She liked to talk about her hiking adventures into the mountains around her region and that she wished she could take me along with her. Naturally, I said I wish I could go with her as well. It sounded like a wonderful and beautiful time that we could both enjoy.

Mia happened to also be a fashion model as well for a couple of magazines. On any given day, she would send me the photos from her latest appointments. She looked absolutely stunning from the gold color in her mane to the chestnut brown in her hooves. With her white coat being as pure as freshly laid snow, I swore she had to have been magically created by only Princess Celestia herself. Yeah, Mia just was the very definition of perfection in my eyes.

So here I stand, waiting for my angel to appear from the storm around me. It would be any moment from now that I would be meeting her for the first time, getting the chance to hug her and maybe confess some of my feelings for her. Nothing could ruin this moment, not even the rain that continued to drizzle down upon the concrete bridge.

At least, I thought so at first.

As time seemed to pass by, I continued to stand there in the rain. Nobody was around me. Not single pedestrian was within my sight. I looked left and I looked right, only managing to gaze upon the brightly lit street lamps that made the entire scene glow in an golden aura. I looked down upon my hooves, and saw the bricks shine like I was on the yellow brick road that lead me to paradise.

However, my paradise was nowhere to be found, leaving me all alone and in the dark. I thought at first that there might have been a mistake with the information that we exchanged. However, upon checking the last letter she sent me, I immediately knew this wasn’t the case. We agreed to meet here, underneath the lights at ten o’clock this night.

The time was now midnight.

Agony grew within my stomach, making me feel like it was being forcefully twisted into knots. It began to squeeze out the tears from within my eyes, making them drop upon the concrete railing. It felt horrible, being abandoned like this was something I never expected from her.

Did she just lie about meeting me up here? I thought to myself. Was there something that went wrong and caused her to not make it? Was I the one to blame?

I had so many questions, yet nobody to answer them except myself. I sighed. I guess I should have expected this to happen. Maybe asking her to meet up with me was a mistake on my behalf. Maybe she just wanted to keep our friendship strictly to the letters we sent to each other. Maybe she was too embarrassed to come face-to-face with me in the first place.

Well, whatever the reason was, it didn’t matter to me now. Here I was, cold and alone with nopony around to care about me, or at least I thought. Something was coming up the bridge, wearing a black robe that masked her entire figure from the face to their body. It moved slow, without purpose within its steps.

When it stopped in front of me, I had to ask, “Mia?”

It shook its head before speaking with the most beautiful Equestrian accent I have ever heard, “I’m afraid I'm not the pony of which you seek, however I am one that has seen that look of despair upon your face many times.”

I could only frown. The figure sounded like a mare, but it wasn’t my Mia. “Thanks,” was all I could mutter out.

“Whatever she did to you isn’t worth the trouble of standing out here in the rain,” she said. I assumed that she spoke from her own wisdom.

How does she know that? I asked myself. Has she been watching me this whole time? Why is she now just speaking to me? You know what? Screw it! I don’t care anymore. At least it looks like she is trying to give me some company and comfort.

After letting out a huff, I replied, “I think you’re right, ma’am. I think I do need to move on from her and this was her way of saying that indirectly.”

While she remained hidden within her cloak, I could feel the warmth of her smile. “If that is the case then I don’t see anything wrong with it. You are a handsome stallion from where I stand. You shouldn’t have a problem with courting a beautiful mare one day.”

I smiled back, “Thank you.”

A large pair of wings sprouted out from the cloak, helping to lift the mare into sky. As she disappeared into the night, the storm had resided and left behind the water upon the bricks along with myself. While I still felt cold and wet on the outside, my insides seemed to welcome the warmth of closure and peace. She was right, there were plenty of more opportunities out there.

I just needed to go home, get dried off, and then try again another day, even if it hurts me.