Chapter 5
Sweetie Belle, who only mouthed, “Good luck”, shoved Autumn to the door and ran back into the boutique. Autumn opened her mouth to speak, but I interrupted, “Before you say anything I just wanted to ask this one thing of you.”With the princesses as my witnesses, I hope this works.I prayed silently.
“Can we be together for just one night? If you have a condition I don’t care, I just want to spend time with you. Even if it is our first and only date I just want to be happy, and I want to make you happy.” I picked up the rose I had plucked earlier and gestured for her to take it. She caught it in an iridescent orange aura and smiled.
“If it’s only for one night, yes I’ll go. If it’s any longer I’m afraid that-“ she paused, “something bad might happen.” Personally I didn’t care what happened tonight; all I cared about was that I had Autumn Glimmer for one romantic evening- condition or not.
“Ok, come on over at the same time you met me the other night!” I said brightly. I gave her directions to my house and left to once again prepare dinner for my very special somepony.
Tonight’s menu consisted of lasagna, a sweet spring salad, and Very Cherry Pie for desert. I didn’t know how things would turn out, but I hoped that finally all of my hard work was worth it. I set the table with the “special occasion” silverware I had gotten as a gift from my father when I graduated high school, and the cleanest white plates I had; making sure every detail was just perfect. I lit the candles and waited. And waited. And waited.
It had been an hour before there was a knock at the door. I rushed forward, took three deep breaths, and then opened the door. Autumn stood there in the dying light of evening. My heart stopped as I looked into her eyes, they weren’t as focused as before but they were still a deep amber that reflected every red and orange celestially possible.
“Good evening Frosting, I’m terribly sorry for being late but I had some… personal issues to attend to.”
“Oh, it’s fine. Come on in!” Autumn wandered into my house and I escorted her into the dining room. The candles were halfway burned. She sat on a chair and levitated a fork and gingerly took a bite of the sweet spring salad. Her eyes widened as the lemony zest hit her tongue.
“So, how is it?” I asked, eagerly awaiting her approval. She just smiled and nodded, that was all I needed to tuck in myself. We ate in silence until Autumn asked, “Frosting, why do you live on the ground in Ponyville and not up in the sky in Cloudsdale with all the other pegasi?” I almost tipped my seat with surprise. Nopony had ever asked why I lived on the ground.
“Well, when I was a filly my father was a Pegasus and my mom was an earth pony; and truthfully it’s a racial thing that goes back a long time ago. It was almost a “Romeo and Muliette” between them, but eventually my dad decided that he would move onto the ground so he could be with my mom. I just grew up on the ground and I don’t plan to leave anytime soon.” Autumn had been genuinely interested with my story and asked if I could bring out the next course. I obliged. When I came back she was out of her seat levitating her napkin near her mouth. She quickly sat down again. We ate our lasagna in relative quiet with the occasional compliment and general conversation. Once again when I returned from getting the next course out of the kitchen Autumn was out of her seat, but this time she was coughing hoarsely into the napkin.
“Are you OK?” I asked.
“Yes- I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound fine.” She gave me the “I don’t wanna talk about it” look. So we didn’t.
After dessert we talked and joked about everything and nothing. It was good to hear her laugh, like someone ringing a sleigh bell. And shortly we had to bid goodnight. She politely thanked me for the meal and turned to leave, when I stopped her. I gently kissed her under Luna’s watchful moon. The irony taste of blood lingered in my mouth after our muzzles parted.
“Good night Frosting.”
“Good night Autumn Glimmer, I love you.” She looked at me and smiled sadly and then collapsed into a coughing heap.
In the hospital I was by her bed even after Rarity had left. Her eyes had glassed over, blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. I couldn’t have saved her nor could have the doctors. Autumn Glimmer was dead.
I loved somepony once, her name was Autumn Glimmer. She is gone, and I am all alone.