~Anthro-Shadow Chaser world~
Shadow stood at the grave, his black trench coat flapping in the winds. He had stood at this grave every day for the past month and simply stared in disbelief. He ran a hand through his black hair before replacing his authentic Sherlock Hooves hat back on his head and sighing heavily.
When he felt a presence behind him he began hoping it would be the shadow of death to usher him on like he so desired now. The soft country drawl of a girl still grieving the same loss he was carried over his shoulder and even on this blustery, overcast day it somehow brought a warmth to his heart.
"How long have you been out here?" she said, just loud enough to be heard over the wind whipping around them.
"Not long," he lied. "Just a couple of minutes."
"You know better than to lie to me," her voice was closer now. "You been coming out every day?"
"Not every day," he lied, again. He really did not feel like answering questions. Especially not questions about his safety and well being. He was well beyond the point of caring about his well being.
"Stop it, Shadow. You can't keep pushing us all away. She was our friend too." Her voice was now just behind his shoulder.
He whirled around in anger. "What do you want me to say, AJ!? Do you want me to tell you that I've been out here every day for hours on end in hopes that she'll somehow come back!? To tell you that I'd rather die where I stand just to be at her side again!? That I would give anything to get just another minute with her!? Because that's where I am. So unless Twilight has come up with a way to revive her or kill me, I'm really not in the mood to be worried about!" Shadow immediately regretted his words. He'd done well up until now to conceal his anger toward his friends and their worries about him. He knew Applejack meant no harm but his temper had finally caught him.
Applejack, however, never flinched at his words. She stared at him evenly for a long silent minute. As if waiting for him to continue and being polite enough to allow him to continue berating her.
Shadow sighed in exasperation. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I just.. I don't know what I'm doing anymore, AJ. I'm lost without her. She was my light. My world is immensely darker without her. What do I even do now?" He looked at the ground as he asked his final question, looking more defeated than Applejack had ever seen.
Without a moments hesitation she hugged him. As tightly as she could. And he reciprocated in kind.
He rested his chin on top of her head and began to feel the wet spots forming on his shirt. Most of the girls hadn't really had time to grieve properly and sought Shadow for comfort and answers as if he had any answers to offer. He had long since run out of tears.
They stood in a silent embrace for a few minutes before Applejack pulled her face away. Wiping the tears away like she expected to trick him into thinking she hadn't been crying.
"So, what do you do out here? Just stand here?"
Shadow nodded.
"Does it help?"
"Not at all. But maybe it works when there's two of us. Would you like to sit down?"
She nodded and Shadow took off his trench coat, laying it at so they had a clean place to sit. This was ironic because they both loved nothing more than being just a bit dirty.
As they sat Shadow put his arm around Applejack and once more they sat in silence simply staring at the stone before them and missing their rainbow haired friend.