Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot

by Equimorto

Wish You Were Here

Applejack stared at the lights of the town outside through the glass wall of her hotel room. She would pull the curtains once she chose to go to sleep, but that wouldn't happen for a few minutes at least. Or maybe she wouldn't, and she'd keep watching the city as she fell asleep. Whenever she actually decided to go to bed.

She should have gone to sleep minutes before. She had planned to. She was ready to. In her pajamas, all ready and set to slip under the covers, done with everything for the day. She didn't need to wake up all too early, true, but she still would have preferred not to get up late.

It was her only night in the hotel, she would finally move to the new place the morning after. Maybe she could blame it on that. On the new room, or on the nervousness from moving, or on the lights coming in from outside. Or she could blame it on the thin walls and the people in the rooms next to hers, even though the night was completely silent.

She looked at her phone for a moment. Resting on her nightstand, sleeping. She didn't want to open it. Nothing new of what she could find there would make her feel better. Nothing old of what could make her feel better was something she wanted to see at that moment. There were things there she wouldn't delete, but she knew it wouldn't be right to go back to them. Not right then.

Not right then. Not with the direction her thoughts were sailing towards, not with the memories they were worming their way to. She couldn't stop those from being unearthed, but she could at least limit herself to her own memories, instead of the digital ones her phone held of those same events. She would regret it in the morning otherwise, far more than she knew she would either way. It would feel dirty.

And yet she couldn't help but wonder if Rarity felt the same. If Rarity did what she was doing, and what she was stopping herself from doing. If Rarity had even held onto those recordings and pictures, or deleted them in a fit of emotion. And Applejack hated that she thought of all that, but she didn't stop herself. Deep down, she wasn't sure if she wanted to stop herself.

Her thoughts went to Rarity, still, and she couldn't find the strength to divert their course. And to a memory, or maybe a dream. Rarity, there on her bed, hair messy after a stressful day. Her makeup just slightly smudged, her clothes a little ruffled. Lying on her back, breathing slowly, almost panting. And her blue eyes half closed, her wrist on her forehead. The painted nails on her other hand like birds gliding over the sea of her dress.

Applejack turned off the light, but she left the curtains as they were. She pulled away the covers and laid down, but didn't pull them back over herself. Not yet. She'd blame her loss of sleep on the lights from the city outside, or maybe on the walls being too thin. But her eyes and ears were focused on the fantasy of Rarity in her mind, and her hands soon began to follow the other girl's in their movements.

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Don't know if I want to hug her or smack her. Right now, she could use both.

Of course, I'm still not sure what she's running from.