Wings, Songs, and Other Things

Night fell over the castle. Most of the royalty had turned in for the night, leaving the guards to patrol the palace. Twilight Sparkle, however, knew she wasn’t getting any sleep tonight. After Spike had fallen asleep, Twilight quietly slipped out onto the balcony of her room. With a deep breath, she watched the stars twinkle in the dark night.

Twilight sighed, taking a deep breath. She shivered as a cold wind blew across her face. She wrapped herself in a blanket, but her body was still cold. Twilight knew her body was longing for the warmth of some pony's hooves, but it was a warmth that she would never feel again. Twilight sighed again as she held the brown stetson hat in her hoof.

Applejack was gone now, Twilight reminded herself. And it wasn’t a good kind of gone, either. It wasn’t like she could write her a letter, telling her how much she missed her. And it wasn’t like Applejack could send Twilight a postcard from… wherever she was now.

Twilight sighed, remembering the first day after she heard the news. She had stayed on the balcony all night, weeping into her chest. When she looked up, Celestia’s sun was rising, and the inky black night had faded away into a shade of light blue. It was something she had watched with Applejack countless times, but now it different, more empty. She couldn’t describe the beauty of a sunrise when there was no pony next to her to listen. Twilight had looked down at her hooves, wishing that Applejack was there to hold them, to comfort her.

She knew back then, that she would find repose somehow. But after 2 sleepless nights, any hope of tranquility was dashed. Everywhere she turned she was swept with nostalgic memories, painfully reminding her of a time that would never come again. So every night she couldn’t sleep, she would sit on her balcony, watching the stars and waiting for the time of day she was named after. Although it hurt to think of Applejack, it made Twilight feel less alone.

Twilight shook her head, clearing out her thoughts. It seemed like she thought of her more times then she blinked these days. Twilight smiled sadly as she stared into the night sky. She wasn’t waiting for sunrise, not this time. Finally, Twilight saw it.

Two large shooting stars streaked across the sky, shining brightly and moving faster. Suddenly, a smaller shooting star appeared, in between the two large ones. The three stars flew across the sky, leaving a trail of white light in their tail. Twilight smiled, contently this time. She knew, that when the heavy feelings of guilt lifted from her wings, and when her violet eyes glowed brightly again, she would leave the ground forever. “I won’t forget you, Applejack… I’ll see you again someday,” Twilight said before turning and walking back into her room. She paused, watching the stars from the corner of her eye. “I wish you were here AJ.”

High above Twilight, farther above the clouds, sky, and sun itself, Applejack smiled. “Ah wish ah were there too, Twilight.” The orange pony sighed, seeing the sun rise. “Ah’ll be waiting for you.”

Song: Vanilla Twilight by Owl CIty