Changes
A short story by Blue Blaze {COMET}
The wind led their cooling pushes of air through my locks of lengthy, curly hair, blowing them aside and making Goosebumps stand tall on my arms. My head was tilted up, skyward and locked in a deep stargaze. I took a lock of ringlets from the front of my canvas and pushed it behind my ear, creasing it so that it would stay there for more than a few moments. I could feel the strands of fine, distinct hairs perk up along the surface of my skin, and I shivered a bit. A shoved my hands into my jean pockets immediately, wishing that I had brought my red sweater out with me before I started staring aimlessly at the cosmos above. I was in too much of a hurry for it to have even crossed my mind. I was regretting it.
A mass of constellations twinkled in the sky, shining brightly like the suns they were. Vibrant flashes of aquamarine, lavender and ginger scattered and painted itself across the galaxies, lights of aquamarine and crimson dotted the otherworldly plains and the waving, dancing lights in the north fluttered in the distance between the highest of mountains and outer space. Princess Luna told me that they were not, in fact, suns millions of light years away but instead tiny orbs of bright light that hung over the stratosphere across Equestria. There weren't any stars anywhere else besides the fabled pony land of peace and harmony and the neighboring kingdoms have only been barely able to experience night like an Equestrian, but Luna these past few years has been trying her very best to spread her works of art to all four corners of the planet so that everything and everyone could enjoy the company of night, even when the land around them is its darkest. I could only imagine that she still felt bad about transforming into Nightmare Moon, even though we've reassured her many times that she has nothing to worry about.
I took a deep breath in and let it stir in my chest. The thin, chilling air of progressing fall sat in my lungs and I enjoyed and absorbed every moment of it. I could smell the morning dampness forming on the grass, the leaves of the trees fluttering through the air and the scent of apples wafting from the dense apple orchard down lower in the Ponyville Valley. When I exhaled, I could barely see my breath form below my nose and a fine layer of condensation formed on the curve of my upper lip.
This was the place where it all came together, where I realized the truth in front of me. This was the place where we all sat down and watched the stars fall from the sky in brilliant streaks of moonlight, cascading down the curtain of midnight just to land somewhere on the frontline horizon. All eleven of us, stared at the natural wonder that only the lunar goddess could give to us at a time like that. The wide smiles on our faces could not accurately describe the sense of wonder we were all experiencing. The coos and calls of awe and admiration we all voiced could not accurately portray the rising emotions of astonishment and amazement we were experiencing. It was the one moment where I accepted who my friends were and that we really had something to draw ourselves together to, something in common. I came to the conclusion on that fateful night that whether or not I could foresee caring and tolerance in the future, I had six great friends to help me through my times.
The fleeting southern wind came to tickle the bottoms my earlobes, whispering tempting intentions into my ears. It spoke of chance and strength, of betrayal and morality. It tried to coax me into the reasons for an end to where I could finally relax, take it easy and not have to worry about anything ever again. I didn't listen to it. It didn't matter what I did next, events around me were already set in stone. I was just one simple being, such an insignificant speck of life on the great plains of destiny! I could not curve fate! I could not shape my future with my own two bare hands! I did not have choice in this world, only direction and distance to monitor myself from where I was to witness my uncontrollable destination!
Crickets were cheeping in the background, playing the sounds of the night on the crosses of their legs. The breeze leaping through the air played with the leaves of the nearby trees, brushing them at their roots and shaking the leaves off of their carved wooden arms. I closed my eyes, and the images of my memories came to me. It had only been three years, but it felt like a lifetime. All the joy, all the pain, all the sorrow; it came from somewhere. I could only put the pieces together as six different mares appeared in every single picture, whether it was in grand castle mounted on a mountainside, in a kingdom of shining gems or in a world across the clouds. I followed them every step of the way, and with every adventure they had I was there for them too. Or, perhaps, they were there for me.
A strong draft of wind suddenly came pressing down on my back, escaping down the collar of my neck and the bottom of the shirt hemming. I heard the flapping of large wings, mighty, strong and weighty, followed by the thump of an object landing on the ground with too much force for an ordinary bird. I opened my eyes again and resumed peering into the eternal abyss above me, folding my arms in anticipation. I knew she would come looking for me sooner or later. I wish she never found me.
"Daniel…" she spoke somberly. I didn't turn around to face her.
"The stars are beautiful tonight, aren't they? They really pop out of the night sky. Luna did a great job this time." I proposed to her, my hands tightening on my biceps.
I could imagine the corner of her lips shifting to a frown. "Daniel, I know this is all a huge change of events for you, but could we at least talk about it? It might make you feel better if you told me why you were so angry at me."
It was my turn to remove my stagnant expression. "That would be so easy, wouldn't it? Just talk it all out, tell each other about our feelings, work out the problem through conversation. That would fix everything, wouldn't it? No, it would be too easy, too simple! No conflict goes without a little bit of drama, otherwise it wouldn't be exciting as it normally is! You need tension, you need despair, and you need trauma for a good, long lasting dispute."
I heard her hoofsteps against the soft, cool soil behind me. She was taking it slow, as if it would make me any less stressed. "I'm sorry nobody told you about what happened to me, or about the coronation, but Applejack and the others couldn't find you! You just ran off to somewhere we didn't know about and stayed there until all of it was over! We can't help you if we can't find you!"
My arms unfolded themselves and dropped to my sides. I clenched my fingers. "I don't think they tried hard enough. I wasn't that hidden. I wasn't too misplaced."
"Then where were you this entire time?" she asked, her voice louder with anxiety.
I threw a lie at her. "I've been here this entire time, Twilight. Staring at the stars, watching the days pass by. I was grabbing food from Zecora and Sweet Apple Acres, just to keep my stomach at bay. It's not like anyone was at the farm, the entire Apple family was at your coronation!"
"Well then why didn't you leave a message, a sign, anything telling us where you went?"
I had a strong urge to turn around. I resisted. "Have you ever thought that I didn't want to be found? Huh? Did it ever occur to you that I didn't want to be seen, that I wanted to be alone for a few days? Did you ever thing of that?"
I felt her hoof on my shoulder. "Please, Daniel."
I whipped my arm away, shrugging her off and taking a few aggressive steps forward. "Things change, Twilight! The seasons rotate and the bears and bunnies hide off for the winter and the leaves fall and the sun moves on! I would think that out of everybody I know, you would understand change the most."
There was silence, except the wind, which was insistent on its previous offers. It was much harder to turn them down this time.
"… Why did you run from me?"
I couldn't stop myself. I turned around. Bright purple eyes met mine, shining under the bright reflection of the crescent moon. I could see dark, wet spots under her eyes, and noticed the small sniffling noises that came from her. The crown, her element sat on her head, proud and standing tall underneath the mare that commanded it. Wavy silhouettes of lumps on the side of her body were twitching, jittery and couldn't seem to keep in control of themselves.
"Why did you come to find me? Who told you I was here? Why did you come?" I demanded to know, advancing on her.
"I was worried about you, Daniel! Nopony had seen you for days, and the only hint I got was that there was a mysterious figure trudging around the outskirts of Ponyville! I had no idea you were here! I was afraid you'd gotten yourself in danger!"
"Where are the others? You could have easily brought Rainbow Dash with you! Heck, she would have made scouting out for me easier! I can't imagine you can fly very well with those THINGS on you sides! Why are you all by yourself? Can't you just leave me alone?"
She inhaled heavily through her nose, bypassing all the fluids that were draining from it. "I-I wanted to talk to you Daniel. I wanted to have a nice, peaceful conversation about you and your emotions. Yo-you know you can ta-talk to me. You know yo-you can trust me. I wa-anted to have a nice, conversation with you. Friend to friend-"
"YOU DIED TWILIGHT!" I screamed at her, taking all my rage and scorn and throwing it into one big ball of breath. "I SAW YOU DIE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, AND ALL THE OTHERS DID TOO! You shot up in a huge, fiery explosion right in the middle of the library! We all thought you were dead!"
She didn't know what to say to that. She cast her gaze aside, not courageous enough to face mine.
"I'm pretty sure you know this, but you were gone for ten hours. TEN FREAKING HOURS. It was early afternoon when you died, and by the time you came back, the sun had already set and the moon raised! What do you think that did to us, Twilight? What do you think that did to six really great, close comrades of yours that have risked life and limb for you and your safety just for it to blow up all in our faces by a spell involved with the elements? What do you think that made us think? What do you think that made us feel?"
She took a few steps back. Her head was pointed down, her ears pointed back and I couldn't see her eyes underneath the shadow of the moonlight anymore.
"I ran Twilight, I ran! I ran to the farthest corners of Equestria, searching for a way to bring you back! I thought you were dead! Gone for good! Kaput! I didn't want that! None of us did! We all thought you were doing your own, smart magic thing again saving the Cutie Mark crisis with your sharp wit and intelligence! Next thing we know, you died because of a spell from an old coot that had issues with socializing with others!"
I fell to my knees. Tears ran down my cheeks. I couldn't take it anymore.
"I thought you were dead, Twilight."
She looked back up at me, her eyes as solemn as they were before. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Daniel."
Her head was shaking, liquid dreams coming out of her tear ducts and streaming down her face. I could see mucus start to form out of her nostrils.
"You died. Dead and center. I knew it. All the others knew it. But you came back from the dead, didn't you? You didn't accept death, instead you bucked it aside, told it to shove off and continued on your merry way, didn't you? You defied death as it was on your doorstep, and instead of taking it for an answer you chose the other way around. You chose to fight back. You chose to live."
Her eyes traced downward again, her pupils unfocused.
"I'm so sorry." she whispered, shivering underneath the blanket of night.
I stood up. Salty water was still leaking from my eyes. I had enough. I had enough and this was too much to take. I didn't want to see her anymore. I couldn't. I didn't want to look. But I did.
"When you came back Twilight," I began, taking a breath between thoughts to gather them properly. "you came back changed. You were different, not as if you were before. You were not the cute purple mare I knew and loved for three years, Twilight. You came back and entirely different pony, strong and brave, challenging and selfless. You changed. Made me almost believe you did die in the explosion."
She fell to her haunches, unable to find the strength to keep her standing anymore. I turned around and started walking away, leaving her on the ground, in tears, alone. I shook my head, trying to shake off the feeling of deep, deep envy and jealousy.
"Everything changes after time, Twilight,"
Just like I had these past few days.
"I wish I could still remember why we became friends."