//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 
// Story: Stormy Skies for Ponyville 
// by DarkestAutumn 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 10____________________________________________________________________
One Year Later, 8:47 PM

Twilight Sparkle knocked on the door of Autumn’s house.  “Hello? Autumn? I haven’t seen you all day! Are you okay?” she said. “Come in!” Called a voice from inside. Twilight opened the door with her magic and stepped in, and was greeted with a Darkest Autumn staring longingly out the window. “Darkie, what are you doing?” she asked. The pegasus sighed. “Nothing...” she said. “It’s just that- oh, nevermind.” “Please tell me,” said Twilight. Darkest Autumn turned around to face her. “Oh, alright. It’s just that... today is the anniversary of when Stormy Skies got banished.” “...So?” asked Twilight Sparkle. Autumn looked back at the window. “I miss her so much... She was my daughter, I loved her and... and... I just let her get banished to the moon.” Twilight still looked confused. “...And?” Autumn began to sound annoyed. “150 YEARS, Twilight. One-hundred and fifty YEARS. Do you know how long that is? I’ll be dead by the time she comes back, and I don’t even know if changelings LIVE that long. She might die there, sitting on the moon. All because... I failed to protect her.” Twilight put a reassuring hoof around her shoulder. “There was nothing you could do, Darkie. You couldn’t have possibly known...” But the young pegasus knocked it off. “But it was MY fault she did it! I was too naive, I should’ve just told her the moment she learned to speak english... But I didn’t. I FAILED.” Twilight turned her around and looked her straight in the eye. “You didn’t tell her because you believed it was best for her. You had good intentions for your daughter because you LOVED her, and no matter where she goes you will always be connected by that love.” Darkest Autumn still looked unsure. “Fluttershy was suspicious of the attack from the beginning, and we shunned her because we were foolish enough not to have trust in our friends.” the ashen-black pegasus stared blankly. “But she still came back to rescue us from eternal enslavement. I am in her debt and feel thoroughly guilty. But I can’t spend the rest of eternity brooding over my mistakes.” She grabbed Autumn’s hoof and lifted her up. “Stormy Skies sacrificed her life so you could continue living yours. We have to move on. It... It’s what she would’ve wanted.” Finally, Darkest Autumn stood up and gave her a faint smile. “I’ll never know what she would’ve wanted, because I’m not an astro-pony. But I get what you mean.” Twilight returned the smile. “Wanna go to Sugarcube Corner? It’s open ‘till 9:00, and you haven’t been out all day.” “Okay!”

Princess Celestia sat napping contentedly in her throne room. Her slumber was disrupted by a light *thud* on the carpet floor. The sun goddess woke with a start and saw a lone scroll beneath the window. She groaned. “Honestly, Twilight, can’t your lessons about friendship wait until MORNING?” She levitated the scroll over to where she sat and began to read. She was surprised by the fact that it was not from Twilight Sparkle at all, but from somepony else.

“Dear Princess Celestia,

Sorry to trouble you with meaningless messages that do not come from your faithful student, but I just feel like writing this down and sharing it with somepony.

Tonight I learned that it may be hard to forget your mistakes, or the loss of friends and family, but that no matter what happens, we should just roll with the punches and keep on going. Unless you hit somepony with a truck, then you should probably stop and take them to the hospital first. But all vehicle injuries aside, we must always remember that the show must go on.

Sincerely,
-Darkest Autumn

Celestia tossed the scroll aside halfway through the writing, she was too tired and did not feel like reading. She would leave it for tomorrow. She once again laid herself down to rest, and just before she fell asleep... Did something on Luna’s Moon just... wink at her? No, that was ridiculous, it was probably just her imagination. But nonetheless, she could not stop herself from winking back.

~~FIN~~