The moon was high in the sky, and somewhere in the distance, an owl hooting could just be heard. The grounds in front of Canterlot High School were absolutely still, save for the young man sitting on the front steps, his head down to stare at a collection of photographs held in his hands.
It had been a few hours since Beebee passed through the portal at this point, and everyone else had returned to their respective homes long ago. Sunset had been the first to depart, leaving the friends and family of Beebee to their privacy. Scootaloo had gone next, seemingly uncomfortable with the depressing atmosphere. Sweetie and Apple Bloom followed soon after, leaving together in an attempt to comfort one another.
Fluttershy had stuck around the longest, sitting with Eventide for almost an hour after he went back to his car and retrieved the photos. He had brought along a copy of every single picture of Beebee he had ever taken. Fluttershy had asked about a few she hadn’t seen before, and the two had talked in whispers for quite sometime before the animal enthusiast had to head home herself.
Now, Eventide was all alone. He flipped the top photo to the bottom of the stack, finding himself at the beginning all over again. His eyes lingered on that picture, a photo of Beebee sleeping soundly in Fluttershy’s lap. They’d still been living in the old house, back then. As he thought of it, a rush of memories came over him, and he was not able to stop that sad sigh that slipped out of him.
“How are you feeling?”
Eventide jumped, startled, and looked up. To his surprise, Fluttershy stood not far away, her hands clasped behind her back and a worried look on her face. “Wha... Fluttershy?” he asked in a croak before clearing his throat. “What are you doing here? I thought you were going home to get some sleep.”
Fluttershy looked down, idly brushing her foot along the pavement. “I couldn’t sleep… and I remembered how upset you were when I left, so I thought I’d come and check on you.”
“How did you even know I’d still be here?”
She smiled at him and walked over. She sat down next to him on the steps, her eyes glued on the portal. “I didn’t, but… I figured you probably would be,” she explained before glancing sideways at him. “I know how long things can take with you, sometimes.”
Eventide managed a snort of amusement at that before shaking his head. “Eh, fair enough, I suppose,” he grumbled before his eyes settled on the portal. “Well… to answer your question… I feel like garbage.”
Fluttershy hummed, leaning into his side. “I’m sorry… is there anything I can do?”
Eventide sighed and shook his head. “I dunno… just… sit with me for a while, I guess. I could use some company right now,” he explained quietly, subconsciously draping an arm over her shoulders to pull her closer.
“Okay… I can do that.”
The two fell into a long, companionable silence after that. Fluttershy looked up into the night sky, her eyes catching sight of the moon, half full, snaking its way across the sky. Eventide, meanwhile, kept his eyes trained intently on the portal, his mind wandering.
“I’m gonna miss him,” he suddenly stated, making Fluttershy look down at him again. His eyes were starting to mist up again, and the beginnings of emotional tremors could be felt in his body.
She sighed and pressed herself into his side a little more. “I know… I’m gonna miss him, too.”
“I just… when I go home, he isn’t going to be with me. I’m gonna wake up in the morning, and he won’t be down in the basement, waiting for me to hug him for breakfast. He won’t be playing w-with Buddha, or napping with her on the chair or the couch, and… and…” he rambled on, the trembling in his voice getting worse the more he went on.
Fluttershy suddenly leaned away from him, using her hand to lightly grab his chin and turn it to face her. She looked into his eyes for several long seconds, her expression unreadable. “Eventide,” she whispered before reaching behind her with her other hand.
“Fluttershy…?”
Suddenly, she leaned back and pulled her hand back, revealing a thick, leather-bound book. It had a symbol of a black heart with a green glow surrounding it emblazoned on the front cover and a honeycomb pattern around the outer edges. She presented it to him, a warm smile spreading on her face. “Here.”
Eventide blinked, confused. “Wha… What’s this?” he asked, reaching out and lightly taking the book in his hands. It was heavier than he was expecting, and he could tell that it was hand-made. He turned it over, studying it, before opening it up to examine the contents. To his surprise, every page was blank.
“I asked Sunset to get it made before you and Beebee went through the first time,” Fluttershy explained softly, and Eventide’s mind briefly wandered back to that day. He did recall seeing Fluttershy talking to Sunset in hushed voices as he had pulled up in the car. “I would have given it to you earlier, but I had to wait for the other one.”
“What do you mean, ‘other one?’” Eventide asked, baffled at this turn of events. But then a memory came to him, of Sunset Shimmer writing into a journal much like this one, and replies magically appearing on the pages. His eyes went wide as the realization clicked into place, and his jaw fell open. “Wait… Fluttershy… is this?”
She reached into her pocket and withdrew a simple ballpoint pen. She held it out to him and smiled. “Say hello.”
Eventide stared at the pen for several seconds, his brain trying to catch up and his heart daring to hope. Hesitantly, he took the pen in his hand and turned back to the first page, finding it just as empty as all the others. He licked his suddenly dry lips, and put the pen to the parchment, slowly writing out a simple message.
“Hello? Beebee?”
Several seconds passed in silence.
And then the page lit up with a gentle light, a response writing itself out below what he had written. His eyes widened, recognizing that horn-writing anywhere.
“Dad?”
Eventide just stared for a second, blinking a few times to see if what he was staring at was a hallucination. But it wasn’t. The word remained on the page, staring back at him as proof.
“I… Fluttershy, I…” he choked out, a whole new wave of tears rolling down his cheeks. With a strangled sound, something between an overjoyed laugh and a sob, he practically threw himself against her, pulling her into a bone crushing hug. He buried his face into her shoulder, weeping tears of joy. “Th-thank you… thank you…”
Fluttershy didn’t say anything. She just returned the hug as tight as she could, a serene smile on her lips. After a few seconds, Eventide pulled back, smiling at her. He then reached down and picked up the book and pen. He sniffled, wiped a hand over his eyes to dispel his tears, and got to writing. All the while, Fluttershy rested comfortably against his side, her eyes trained on the page.
And that was how they stayed. The young man and his childhood friend sat together on the front steps of the school they had shared when they were young, talking to the child that they had raised together.
And they were happy.