A Beautiful Swallow

by Skijarama

The Night of Smiles

It was just after the dance had ended. Star and I were sitting by a small fountain in town square. I had talked to my parents and they had given me permission to hang back for a little while, as I wanted to talk to Star. For the moment, however, we were just sitting there, enjoying the quiet. I glanced over at her, noting how she had her eyes closed. She was thinking, that much I could tell. After a few more moments of silence I decided to speak up.

“So, what are you thinking about?” I asked curiously, looking ahead. Star sighed and opened her eyes, looking over at me.

“I… I guess I’m just wondering why.” she said quietly, leaning into me slightly.

“What do you mean?” I asked, looking at her skeptically. She was silent for several moments.

“Why do you care so much about me? When we first started talking behind the schoolhouse it was simply to help me feel better.” Star said, a shudder running through her.

“I’m honestly not sure. I know that the feeling is there, though.” I replied, earning a skeptical stare from her. ‘Why do you keep asking that?”

“huh?”

“You ask me ‘why do I care’ every so often. Why do you keep asking me that?” I asked gently, resting a hoof on her shoulder. She flinched slightly, but then leaned in, letting me wrap my foreleg over her.

“I guess that I don’t want a repeat of what happened… before…” She grew quiet on that last word, falling silent afterwards.

“What happened before, if you don’t mind me asking?” I asked softly, rubbing her shoulder in a comforting way. She was starting to tremble again.

“I was betrayed…” Star whispered, turning her face to bury it into my neck. I could feel the moisture of tears on my coat.

“Hey, it’s alright. What happened?” I urged carefully, giving her what I hoped was a comforting squeeze. She sniffled slightly.

“I had this friend in Cloudsdale who came here to visit me one day. He and I had made a promise a couple years ago... He promised he would always watch out for me. We were as close as two ponies could get... Then something happened to him in Cloudsdale a few weeks before I convinced him to visit. He refused to tell me what it was and... It changed him. He went from being my closest friend to a quiet, withdrawn recluse. At one point I was starting to get bullied and I had to call to him for help. He didn't help. He just watched and waited. When it was all said and done he... walked away.” Star began to openly sob into my coat.

Something clicked in that instant. If I recalled correctly, Star had not too long ago had a massive meltdown because Mint asked her about a 'friend.' The friend she was talking about now must have been him. I hugged Star closer with a sigh. “I promise, I won't do that to you.” I said, looking down at her as she looked up at me.

“How do I know that's supposed to be true? How do I know you won't change someday and leave me behind?” She whimpered, lower lip trembling harshly.

“Star, I am going to be honest with you. I may change someday and heck, someday, we may have to go different ways. But I will not abandon you. If ever we have to leave each other, it'll hurt me just as much as it will hurt you.”

“Prove it.” Star said, looking down and more tears streaking down her cheeks. Damn, I hated to see her cry like this. I reached my free hoof down to her chin and lifted her head up to look at me. We stared at each other for a moment before I took the initiative and kissed her on the lips. Hey, she did it to me in the dance. Fair’s fair. When I pulled back, her eyes had widened and she was looking at me in surprise.

“Consider that my signature on the contract.” I whispered to her, patting her shoulder affectionately. She stared at me wide-eyed for a few more seconds before a content smile passed over her face. She wiped the tears away from her eyes and hugged me tightly. I returned the gesture.

“Thank you...” I heard Star whisper. I smiled myself and just enjoyed the embrace for a little while. After a few minutes of silence, My ears perked up. I looked around slowly, a sound hitting my ears so faintly I almost thought it wasn’t there. Star looked up at me curiously as I started moving my head a bit faster. The sound was becoming louder. boing, boing, boing. Ah shit.

I blinked and Pinkie was there about ten feet away, bouncing toward Star and I. I gulped at the look on her face. She looked just a bit too excited.

“Hi!” She said as she came to a stop in front of us.

“Um… hi?” I semi-asked, looking at the pink pony carefully. What was she doing here?

“What’cha doin’?” Pinkie asked, taking a somewhat more relaxed posture, if that was even possible.

“Enjoying a quiet moment to ourselves.” I deadpanned, earning an amused giggle from Pinkie. Star was looking between us in confusion.

“Aw, that's sweet! But you know what would make it even better?” She asked cheerfully.

“You leaving us to our quiet, peaceful moment?” I mumbled to myself.

“A nice star filled night sky!” She said and I couldn't help but slam a hoof into my face, given the already clear night that it was.

“Not helping, Pinkie.” I said with an annoyed sigh.

“And a dinner.” She tacked on, earning a snort from me. Oh, if only I’d paid a bit more attention.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s- wait, a wha-” Was all I got out before Star and I were dragged off in a random direction by the pink pony. At least, I assumed it was random.

“Is this bad?” Star asked as Pinkie picked up speed.

“This, my friend, is Pinkie pie.” I groaned, oh-so very eager to see where we were going. If you missed my sarcasm, shame on you.

<^><^><^><^>

I had opted to close my eyes for a little bit. I figured that since Pinkie had helped orchestrate this whole date thing she was probably going to try and conduct the end of it. That in mind, I figured it would be prudent to let our destination be a surprise. After a few minutes of Pinkie dragging us along, she suddenly stopped and plopped us onto the ground on our hooves. Opening my eyes, I saw Sugarcube Corner in front of us.

“Um.. didn’t you say dinner?” I remarked as Pinkie trotted up to the door.

“It is dinner, silly!” Pinkie grinned as she opened the door and stepped inside. I hesitated before following after her alongside Star. The lights were on low, moonlight was streaming in through some windows off to the side and Pinkie was waving us to a table. Normally the store would be closed at this hour, so I was curious about this whole setup. Did Rarity help plan this or was this part all Pinkie?

“I thought this was more of a breakfast and dessert place.” Star commented as we made our way over to where Pinkie was gesturing.

“Don’t worry your little head about that. Pinkie’s on the case!” She declared before darting off to the back of the store. I shrugged absently at Star before we took seats at the small round table.

“So, what do you think she’s gonna be bringing us?” Star asked, looking over to the door Pinkie used to exit the room.

“Something baked, probably.” I said quietly in response. I could hear rattling noises in the kitchen, telling me Pinkie was up to something. I looked out the window up at the moon, tracing the craters in it’s surface into the shape of the old, mythical mare in the moon. I followed the moonlight back down to my table and looked at Star through it.

I’ll give her this, the moonlight matched her perfectly. She noticed that I was staring shortly before I did. I know this because she started fidgeting. And thus began a brief but very awkward silence. “Why do you think Pinkie’s doing this?” Star suddenly asked, earning a twitch of my eye.

“Not a clue.” I lied, trying to seem like I was a little bit more romantic than I was. Oh, the naive youth I was at the time. It was at about that time that a scent hit my nostrils. Why did I suddenly smell… pasta?

“What is she making?” Star asked curiously, looking over her shoulder.

“Smells like pasta of some kind.” I said, leaning over slightly to try and get a better view. Then Pinkie came bouncing out of the kitchen, somehow managing to keep a small platter balanced on her back. Where did she get that? It’s not like this was a fancy restaurant. This was freaking sugarcube corner, a bakery. And now she was setting down a fancily designed platter in front of Star and I. The contents were hidden by a lid. Of course. Screw suspense, seriously.

“Did somepony say pasta?” Pinkie asked, lifting the lid. Sure enough, it was a plate full of a type of pasta I had never seen before. Not unlike spaghetti, but something was very different about it just by the look of it.

“Ooooh! This looks good. Thanks, Pinkie!” Star chirped, and I looked up at the pink party pony with a raised eyebrow. “Wait, is this gonna cost anything?”

“Uh, it’s on me, I guess.” I cut in, looking to Pinkie with a hopeful look.

“Nah! It’s on me. Don’t worry about it.” Pinkie replied, smirking at us before winking. Something about that wink sent chills up my spine.

“That’s very nice of you.” Star smiled before looking back at the rather sizable plate of noodle-like food items.

“Not to be rude, but what exactly is this? It kinda looks… off.” I said, picking my words carefully. Insulting the ‘chef’ was the last thing I wanted to do.

“You’ll see.” Pinkie declared before bounding back to the kitchen. I looked down at the plate just in time for Star to take a bite of the supposed pasta with a fork. For a moment she had a contemplative look on her face. Then she swallowed and beamed.

“It’s good.” She said, taking another bite. With a shrug I picked up my own fork and we started eating. Now, naturally, I hadn’t planned on this date including a dinner. The dance was all I had in mind. I had a feeling this was going to take longer than my parents and I really agreed on. I guess I was just in for a flank-kicking when I got home.

Now, for the food. It was good, like Star had said. I’m not really sure how to describe it. It was almost like eating noodle cookies and that sounds disgusting. Yet it tasted delicious. I guess when Pinkie’s the cook, anything can taste marvelous. We ate in silence for a few minutes, and it was starting to get awkward again. I found myself trying to think of a topic of discussion.

Luckily, Star broke the ice. “Mind if I ask you a bit of a potentially sensitive question?” She asked shyly, looking intently at her fork.

“Depends on what it is. Go ahead, though.” I replied, looking at her with a curious expression. She hesitated before speaking up.

“Do you mind telling me a bit more about the issue you’ve been having?”

I winced slightly at the memories that reared their heads again at the question. Star wilted slightly as my own expression sunk from awkward to sad. I suppose there was no harm in telling her. After all, it’s not like it could make the pain much worse.

“Well… A ways back I met a unicorn named Twinkling Swallow. She was amazing, to be honest. She was kind and gentle and very forgiving. Eventually… I grew to view her as far more than a friend. When I finally confessed my feelings… she told me she didn’t feel the same way. Then, she had to move out of town, all the way to Canterlot. I’ve been talking to her through letters but… well, it’s been hard on me.” I managed, giving her the basic gist. Star looked at me with a sad expression for a moment.

“I see… I’m sorry to hear that.” She said softly, reaching out a hoof to rest on mine in a comforting gesture.

“Thank you.” I muttered, taking a somewhat smaller bite of food afterwards. The silence carried on for a short while once more, but I barely even noticed. My mind was now completely on Swallow. I heard Star saying something, but the words didn’t fully register for several moments.

“Nettle, are you okay?” She said, causing me to look up. I hadn’t realized it, but a couple tears had escaped my eyes. I nodded and wiped them away with a hoof.

“I’ll be fine.” I said quietly, earning a disbelieving stare from Star. She made no comment, however and instead went back to her food. We sat in silence once more. It didn’t take long for the remaining food to be eaten. Pinkie gave us a moment before she came back and took the dish away. Soon enough, Star and I were outside again. We trotted along slowly, and I found the cool night air beginning to make me feel better.

“I need to turn off here.” Star said as we came to an intersection. I nodded and turned to look at her.

“Right. I guess I’ll see you later.”

“Probably.” We stared at each other for a moment before Star stepped forward and gave me a hug. I gladly returned it, and smiled at her when she pulled back. She smiled in return and then we went our separate ways.

<^><^><^><^>

Star and I, soon enough, were dating pretty actively. To be fair, at the time, it did make me happy. I am definitely thankful to Star for that. Everything was going well and time began to fly. Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. School came back into play soon enough, much to my irritation. Buckler and the others noticed my happier demeanor and how much time I was spending around Star. I don’t really know what they thought about that. I didn’t really talk to them very much anymore.

But as it was, I was enjoying myself. Star and I really got to know each other very well and spent a lot of time together. My family was glad I had finally pulled myself out of my rut of depression over Swallow and were helping me keep things that way. Speaking of Swallow, I received a reply from her a week after I sent my own letter telling her about how Star and I had started dating.

Nettle,

That’s so sweet. I’m happy to hear that you managed to let go of the past. Or at least move on enough to focus on somepony other than me. From your letters Star sounds like a fantastic pony. I hope you take good care of her. From the sound of it, she has her own plethora of problems. Correct me if I’m wrong on that. Treat her well and she’ll do the same for you.

Now, as for me, things are going well. School is going well enough. I took a few summer classes when the official school year ended, so I haven’t really had much reprieve. The class was on creative writing, so I’ve been working on jotting down my dreams. Things are pretty calm in them right now, but I’m noticing signs that things could get crazy again soon.

Take care of yourself, Nettle. Okay?

~Twinkling Swallow.

After that, I didn’t communicate with Swallow anywhere near as much. I was focusing most of my attention on Star. Before I even really knew it, School came to a close again. Time definitely flies when you’re having fun, I suppose. Whatever the case, as the one year mark of Star and I dating began to draw closer, I began to feel a looming sense of unease. Something was coming; Something was going to happen soon, and I had a feeling it would be bad.

Oh, if only I had known just how bad my situation was about to get. If only I had known how suddenly the pillars holding my emotions up would crumble. It all came apart so fast. All because of one stupid mistake and one realization. I wish with all of my heart things hadn't happened the way they did. I can’t change the past, though.I can only retell and remember it, even if sometimes I wish I didn’t.

I suppose you’re wondering how everything came crashing down, aren’t you? Well, I’m getting there. There are a few things I need to go over first. I also need to remind you; I regret what happened completely. But enough of me hinting at it. It’s time to actually tell you what happened.