Chapters It was an ordinary day in Ponyville. The morning was clear and cool as any fall morning should be. The golden leaves pirouetted from the trees outside of the school house as middle schoolers milled about waiting for school to start up. The cutie mark crusaders sat under an old apple tree on the east corner of the lawn as the dappled fall light fell in sheaths of red and gold around them as they laughed and chatted. Apple Bloom stood with her back against the tree munching on an apple. Her big pink bow bobbed on her head as she crunched into the stiff pinkish skin of the apple. Scootaloo sat on the ground on Apple Bloom's left. Her pink hair was tied back in a high ponytail that left no stray baby hair behind. She wore her CMS track team shirt showing that today, she and her other track team junior coach, would help decide on who would make the team or not. Sweetie Belle lay on the grass at Apple Bloom's feet so that the light made crystallized patterns across her pale green eyes. Her hair was waving around her shoulders in the cool breeze that ruffled the hem of her new pink skirt that lay draped across her knees. Little did she know, across the schoolyard someone else was watching the way her light dappled face lit up as she cracked a smile. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were talking in hushed giggly voices about their crushes so Sweetie Belle just scanned the schoolyard. She was good at being quiet and fading out of a conversation like that. She used this strategy to avoid Rarity's fashion rants.
"He was so cute the other day when he-" Apple Bloom cut off when the bell rang and students started filing into the school building.
The trio marched up the steps with the rest of the swelling crowd of middle schoolers. Sweetie Belle looked wistfully into the crowd, wishing that somewhere in it was someone who could love her. Little did she know, someone was watching her in the crowd wishing Sweetie's eyes would find hers.
The nest day, the trio sat at their apple tree again as they always did. The school bell rang and the three stood up. Again, they followed the sea of humans into the building. But instead of going to their classrooms, they all filed into the auditorium. Today, was the talent show. The three squirmed in their seats as Principal Celestia explained the event. The CMC's comedy act came and went early on in the show in a blur of laughter, tripping, and applause. Near the end of the show, the whole crowd was getting a little tired, you could tell until she stepped on the stage. She had a wavy black hair with streaks of faded light blue that was tied up in a ponytail with a little indigo bow. Her eyes were big luminous spheres of purple-blue that glowed in the stage lights. She wore a simple black blouse and a blue skirt that went to her knees. She wore black Converse high-tops laced with mud-stained white laces. Mainly quite average beauty wise. She was about average height maybe a little taller. But when she opened her mouth and began to sing, everything changed. At first, it seemed like magic, but Sweetie Belle knew better. She sat there, shell-shocked, as the purest of notes escaped the girl's lips. Her voice was as clear as a crystal mountain spring, as beautiful as the sunrise, and it illuminated the room with an aura of comfort and love. Sweetie couldn't even focus on the words, the sound was so magnificently marvelous. When she closed her mouth, the room felt different. It seemed as though everything that had seemed so pressing before, was now entirely insignificant. Principal Celestia announced the end of the show and everyone started to file out of the room like before. But...not. At least to Sweetie, something was majorly different. Sweetie could hear her friends excitedly talking about their own act, but Sweetie could not take her mind off of that singing pony.
"What was her name?" Sweetie Belle blurted out without thinking.
"Huh?" Her friends responded.
"The pony who sang at the end. What's her name?"
"Night Song", Apple Bloom answered, "We see her all the time."
See her all the time...Maybe she was just like Night Song. Seen but unseen. Maybe they both had the ability to disappear no matter what they were wearing or what they had just said. Maybe they both had the power to become invisible but still be there. Sweetie Belle had been so sucked into the void of her own thoughts that she ran right into her. Yes, her. Night Song.
"Oh", Night Song exclaimed, "sorry!"
"I-I-I'm sorry too. I didn't-I was-" Sweetie stammered
"You looked lost in thought. I get it." And then she smiled. She had the sweetest most beautiful smile Sweetie had ever seen. It was so genuine the way her eyes smiled with her lips. Sweetie Belle smiled too.
"You're Night Song", she said dumbly, "You were- amazing" she finished, hoping that she didn't detect the complete loving admiration at the end of her sentence.
"Oh, thank you" She smiled again and laughed. Her laugh was like the tinkling of little fairy bells mixed with the gurgling of a mountain spring. Sweetie Belle had to pinch herself to not fall forward into Night Song's arms.
"What's your name?" Night asked.
"Sweetie Belle."
Then the bell rang before anything else could be said, and they were both whisked into the crowd of students. Sweetie scanned the hallway for a trace of her, but she had faded in, like a ghost, like Sweetie Belle.
That night, Sweetie Belle lay in her bedroom staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling and mapping out the constellations she had arranged them in. She was in her pajamas and was supposed to be asleep but she just couldn't. The moon was bright outside her window and it cast all of Ponyville in its milky glow. She wondered where Night Song lived if she was staring at the moon too. Night Song. Sweetie couldn't get over her. Her voice, her smile, her laugh, everything about her. She closed her eyes and remembered their exchange in the hallway, how they had both gotten whisked away into the swell. Sweetie's eyes had probably passed right over her as she scanned the crowd. But she was a ghost. Just like Sweetie Belle. She was a magician of beautiful proportions, a fallen angel. At this thought, Sweetie realized something. At first, she pushed it away but as she tossed and turned waiting for sleep, it began to make more sense, it began to click. Her last thought before dreams overtook her, was she was in love. With Night Song.
She dreamed for only a few moments before she was woken up, but in those moments, she saw a blinding blue light. It was beautiful and glowing. It was like the ocean met the sky and birthed the most beautiful of colors. She had only seen it in one other place. On Night Song's skin.
"My, my. Who in the world is Night Song?"
Sweetie Belle jolted at the sound of Rarity's voice.
"Huh-who-who-whezeego"
"Do calm down my dear, it is obvious you have feelings for the 'Night Song', you fell asleep muttering something about her and waving your hands like you were making a chart. I wouldn't make anything of it if not for your reaction just now."
"Ugh, sis"
"What is he-"
"Sis- It's a she."
Sweetie took a moment for it to resonate before continuing. She watched her sister's face go from excitement to confusion to alarm before she paused at somewhere between shocked out of her mind and loving.
"I-Sweetie- You-she-"
"Sis, please, I've seen you and Twilight before, you can't pretend that same-sex relationships are new to you."
"Well-" Rarity's face turned a rosy shade of pink before it faded to beet red. She regained her calm, but that comment about Twilight had really shaken her. She was still smiling sheepishly.
"Well, sis. I'd better get ready for school."
Sweetie ate breakfast, got dressed, and brushed her hair and teeth in a flash and left Rarity alone in her bedroom humming to herself.
Author's Note
The part where I compare what Night Song and Sweetie have in common is to pay homage to how I used to, and still sometimes, feel I could do.
Sweetie skipped out of her house and onto the lane. She was feeling good this morning. Especially after her sister's reaction to her comment about Twilight. She was, again, so lost in thought that she ran into her. Yes, her. Night Song.
"Oh!" Night Song whipped her head around and almost hit Sweetie. "Oh, gosh! Again, I'm sorry".
"I was lost in thought again". Sweetie mumbled with a smile.
"Oh, that happens to me all the time". Night Song said.
Sweetie smiled and decided to follow Night Song to school. Scootaloo was announcing who made the track team out at the course and Apple Bloom was finishing some sort of apple thing with her family so Sweetie sat down with Night Song. Night Song chose a particularly shade-giving tree and sat down. It was across the schoolyard from the trio's tree which made Sweetie wonder how she had never seen her before.
"I'm good at disappearing". Night's comment jolted through Sweetie's thoughts.
"Most introverts practice that skill. Y'know, fading into a setting so that no one sees them".
"I know".
Sweetie looked up at Night Song and saw that a stray beam of light was falling through the branches of the trees. It had landed right across Night's face, giving her eyes the hint of light that they needed to match the color of the angel in Sweetie's dream. She smiled a bit and saw Night smile back. The golden light of the morning sun glinted off of Night's eyes, making it hard for Sweetie to take her eyes off of them.
"How can you disappear when you're just so noticeable"?
"Huh". Night replied.
"I mean, you're so beautiful, and yet you just fade right into the crowd."
Night blushed profusely.
"Well you do too, and you're no less lovely than me". Night said with a smile, making Sweetie Belle's cheeks redden.
"When I was little, I got easily overwhelmed by crowds. My parents and siblings were so the opposite. Whenever we went somewhere and I got claustrophobic, I just closed my eyes and pretended I was flying above all of them. I would imagine that I was a thousand feet above them, not able to hear a word they say. Except, I could. I would always keep my ears sort of on so that I could still listen and observe. This made me great at observing people. I can read emotions through facial expressions and tone of voice. Even by the way someone stands."
"Wow." Sweetie had always felt the same way, but it wasn't a conscious choice to tune out. She just did if she was tired of a conversation. "You're amazing".
"And so are you".
Night Song took Sweetie's hand. Her fingers were warm from laying a milky puddle of sunlight under the tree. It sent shivers of buttery warmth through Sweetie's body making her shudder a bit in delight. Two ghosts sitting under a tree. Watching the world go by without anyone even knowing. Two introverts reading people like they were story books and waiting for their next move to be made. Sitting, holding hands, crisscrossed by sheaths of fall light, contorting their faces into glimmering shapes. Mixing and melting all of their colors together into one pool of golden sunlight. If anyone had looked that way to see the two ghosts watching them, they might have only seen the sun-patterned tree behind them.
Sweetie Belle could've sat there forever. She felt so content under their new tree, melted into one spirit by the sun, connected by not only their hands but by the feeling of invisibility that shrouded them even in the blinding sunlight. She saw Apple Bloom arrive and start texting someone under their tree. Sweetie was tempted for a second to go and join her friend but she couldn't bring herself to break the spell. Night Song leaned her head on Sweetie's shoulder causing a sharp intake of breath on Sweetie's part. But then she smiled. Sweetie leaned her head slightly to the left so that it lay on Night's head. But then, the school bell rang. Without a word, Night stood up, gathered her things and floated off with a huge smile on her face. Sweetie did the same, not wanting to be late for class, but on her way up the steps, she pondered that ghostly existence that she and Night had shared. No one had seen them. They had literally faded into the school yard. Wait. Did this mean that Night Song like her too? Suddenly Sweetie Belle was over the moon. She skipped up the rest of the stairs and all the way down the hall to her homeroom.
That afternoon when school was over, Sweetie was still happily humming to herself. At first, she went to the CMC's tree where Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were discussing the afternoon.
"It's apple buck season down at the farm so my whole family's down there harvestin em. I'm s'posed to go down when school was out. So sorry I can't hang out with Y'all." Apple Bloom stated.
"Yeah, I'm scheduled to go out for a run with Rainbow Dash. She's gonna teach me some track team tricks so that I'm the most superultraextramosamazing junior track coach CMS has ever seen!" Scootallo was bouncing up and down by the end of that statement.,
"What about you Sweetie"? Apple Bloom asked.
Her eyes flitted over to her other tree and saw Night Song watching the school again. Seeing her there made the butterflies in her stomach turn into tigers.
"I was just gonna go home anyway, so that's fine".
"Cool. By guys!"
"See Y'all later"
"Bye".
As soon as they were gone, Sweetie walked over to Night Song.
"Hey".
"Well hello, Ms.Belle. Would you care to come to my house with me to 'hang out'"?
Sweetie was ecstatic.
"Of course"!
The two of them traveled down the lanes of Ponyville passing by the Carousel Boutique and then crossing town. They ended up in a cute backstreet neighborhood. Night walked up the stoop to a chestnut brown front door. Night opened it and they walked into the house.
"Mom, I brought a friend! We'll be in my room. Leave us be please!"
"Ok honey."
"Mom, why are you home so early"?
"I-"
Sweetie didn't have time to take in the rest of the kitchen because Night was leading her up the stairs into her room. As soon as they got in the room, Night slammed the door behind her and collapsed against it. Night's room was very nice. She had dark brown fuzz carpeting and indigo walls. It was a perfect square. In one corner, she had a bed with a pretty white quilt and blue pillows. Next to it, she had a tall bookshelf brimming with books. She had a few chestnut dressers on one wall with closet doors in a corner, and a desk in on the other wall. Above it was a large set of shelves packed with journals and notebooks. She had a bulletin board above her bed with multiple sketches and pictures. But the best part, was the fourth wall. A semi circle window overlooked most of ponyville letting in the buttery afternoon light. Sweetie stared in wonder at the room until her eyes found Night. She was sitting on her bed with her head in her hands. Sweetie walked over and sat down next to her. She put her arm around her shoulder and smiled at her as she opened her eyes.
"What's wrong about you mom being home early"? Sweetie ventured.
"It means that she's getting closer to being let go". Night replied despondently.
She shook her head and fell backwards on her bed. Sweetie followed her down. As she stared up at the ceiling, she realized that Night had glowing stars just like her. She smiled at the thought that at night, they were both looking at the same artificial constellations.
"I just don't know what to do", Night said, "I love my mom so much, but the choices that she's made about her life at this point, are just gonna tear her apart."
"Hey, you can always talk to me." Sweetie said, touching Night's shoulder.
"I know, I've just never had someone like you. Someone who I can share my disappearance with, someone who is so like me. Someone who i think could love me."
Sweetie inhaled sharply at this last part. Did this mean that Night loved her too? Did this mean...a thousand questions whirled in her brain for a moment before she gained her senses and said,
"Well, I do love you."
Sweetie waited for disaster to strike, for Night to be disgusted and throw her out of her beautiful window. But instead, there was a small smile and a response.
"And I love you too."
Night leaned her face into Sweetie's and kissed her. At first, Sweetie wanted to break away until she registered what was happening. Night Song was kissing her. Her lips were sweet and soft and tasted faintly like strawberries. A thousand feelings whirled inside of Sweetie. Colors and noises echoed through her brain reverberating into a huge symphony of joy and confusion. She felt Night's lips move slightly against hers, making her heart thump in double time. Her heart was beating so hard and so fast she wondered if Night could hear it. Sweetie felt extremely helpless so she moved her arms, She moved one over Night's shoulder waiting for a response. When she got nothing but more butterflies, she draped her other arm over Night's other shoulder. Then she felt Night's hands on her back, pulling her in closer, pulling her into Night moving her in time with her moving lips. Sweetie's hands slid along Night's back making her shudder. She could feel a mile against her lips and she could almost taste the sweet notes of Night's song. When Night broke away, Sweetie wanted to scream. She felt so exposed to the world now with out the security of Night's embrace. Night kept her arms around Sweetie, pulling her down onto her bed. The two lay there for a moment, eyes locked. Then, Night curled up against Sweetie making her feel so loved and safe. Sweetie curled around her, shaping herself to accommodate Night. They lay there together, again feeling unseen to the world. Floating away and above the rest o the universe and into their own secret corner of shadow where they could lay together in peace. With these thoughts in her head, Sweetie fell asleep.
When Sweetie woke up, she smiled. Judging by the way the light fell across the floor, she had only been out for an hour or so. She turned her head and saw the wall. Wait. The wall? She bolted upright. Where was Night? She turned around, scanning the room. The door wasn't open, where could she be? She opened the door and raced down the stairs.
"Where's Night Song"? she demanded from night's mother.
"I-I thought she was with you". The mother said, clearly confused.
Now Sweetie was really starting to panic. She raced around the house, opening doors and searching the halls, slightly aware of the confused and worried presence of Night's mom.
"What's goin' on here?" Night's mother finally asked.
Sweetie explained. Except she replaced the kissing and falling asleep together with talking and napping. The two raced downstairs when they heard knocking on the door. It was their neighbor, Tuttle Turtle. the one who night had called the 'least responsible neighbor ever'
"Hello. I just wanted to let you know, that about a half an hour ago I saw Night Song being taken away by some swiss cheese bug thing. Thought you should know. Tootdleoo."
He left.
"Tha knuckle head. Probably just his way of playin' a sick joke."
Changelings. Sweetie knew it. But how. She couldn't stand it. She sat down in the alley and cried. She cried harder than she had ever cried. She cried rivers and oceans of sadness. Then. She fritted her teeth and said to herself.
"Night Song. I swear on the river Styx that I am going to get you back."
As in a response, the sky clouded and thunder boomed in the distance. She lifted her tear streaked face to the clouds and looked to the distance. Somewhere out there, was Night Song. And she intended to find that somewhere and bring her home.
Author's Note
Not exactly sure about my romance writing status so I'm not sure how muc you all liked it!
