She Brings the Butterflies

by Thithle Candytufth

Morning Always Arises with Vaster Pain

The search continued. Every morning, I would find the apples waiting for me. That was all I ever ate. I would always thank Applejack in my mind before taking the first bite. I cannot say I could taste them. Sweetness had left me. But what was sweet the thought of her, exerting herself to bring these over to me. She was respecting my craziness and my desperation. She was enabling me to continue the search, despite how unapproachable I was, and how terrible of a friend I was being to all of them.

I never went back into town. I stayed in the cottage, and spent my time either searching for her or making futile attempts at sleeping. Though I had ceased talking to all of them, they still showed how much they cared. They understood I was desperately gripping onto a friend I could never accept to lose. They were too; it was just that they were strong enough to carry on with their own lives while doing so.

I did not know how I could ever face them. Parties were a thing of the past. Even a get-together of any sort would only lead to tears. No amount of levity could ever fill the void and stifle the sadness and regret. I was being cowardly. But we were still friends. They cared for me in a different way. An acceptance of my useless attempts at keeping us all together, whilst realizing that I was tearing them apart— that was our new form of friendship.

One morning, I found a ribbon-wrapped box at my doorstep beside the basket of apples. The packaging was most certainly Rarity’s handiwork. I opened it. Within were a knitted scarf and padded snow boots. I noticed that, although elegant in their simplicity, they lacked the particular pizazz her pieces tended to possess. It seemed as if beauty was a sacrifice for practicality. The fact that she was willing to martyr herself in that way, which was most difficult for her, warmed my heart.

Occasionally in my search, I would look up to the canopy of dead branches and see a rainbow trail cross the sky. Despite the blustering winter winds, she was willing to offer her help to me. She brought color to the monochrome landscape. Abandoning her was against her nature. I knew she was surveying the gloomy landscape, her sharp eyes darting back and forth in search of a beige and pink spot. I wondered why, whenever she flew by, it felt as if it were raining, no matter how clear the skies were.

I would also often hear the sound of a mare talking to herself, the sound of magic tinkling, and the sight of a trail of violet sparkles. She echoed me, calling her name into the gloom. There was always some talk of tracking spells, and she mentioned my name often. There was always despair in her voice. She often choked up as she spoke. I always wanted to call out to her, but then I would realize that having her know that I knew she did not let go would only hurt her in the end.

I hoped I could find her. I hoped we could all meet one day, and have a wonderful party and everything would return to normal. But as the days, weeks, and months past in my futile search, I believed in the possibility of this less and less. Seasons came and went, but all days were the same. All of my thoughts were focused on her. I do not know what had me so convinced that she was alive, let alone in the forest after all that time. I wondered if I had missed my chance to find her. I resolved that I was wasting my time, overthinking this. A friend was missing and I needed to find her, no matter what.

I strained myself to stop thinking. I managed to force myself into sleep, though my dreams were still haunted by her.

I checked the doorstep one spring morning. There were no apples. I wondered if Applejack had ceased bothering with me. But I had more faith in her than that. I walked towards town to investigate.

Comments

[Flutterstrucked]

Ohhh, there MUST be a reason for her to stop!(AJ I mean) Can't wait till the next chapter to see what event has happened, because you never know what could be right around a corner....e.deviantart.com/emoticons/moods/love/lust/suggestive.gif

[TheDocTorShy]

Next chapter now, I want to know why. Why must you do this?
I know its all for a great story and its great that you are leaving us with a cliff hanger for now, still great story but i want to read more now.

[Xenonic]

Moar plz

[Thithle Candytufth]

1423731 Ask and you shall receive.

[Not a brony]

Very well-done. Numb angst and resignation seem to be a new theme, but at least she is doing something about it. When a character is feeling numb angst and resignation about something and doing nothing about it, I get frustrated.
So the others still search as well. That's something I did not consider in my rewrite. I should backtrack and weave that in--it would, by far, improve the story.
How would this story be resolved, and what do the other citizens think of this? Are they concerned? What could the Princesses be doing, seeing as one of the Elements of Harmony--kindness, no less--is presumably dead, another no longer embodies her element, and the five that are alive are distraught beyond belief?
What could she find in town?