The Note (Request-Driven One-Shot)

The Note

>Evening in Equestria
>You're currently hanging out in the Ponyvill Library.
>It's been about eight months since you've crossed dimensions.
>You have no way to return to Earth, but you've since made peace with that.
>And now, you enjoy a good book, in the comfortable, relative quiet of Twilight's company.
>You're not as big a fan of reading as the librarian herself, but the pastime is certainly relaxing.
>An event more your speed is the stargazing session you and Twilight are planning tonight.
>Space has always fascinated you, and all the constellations are different here.
>Since you haven't been here for the full year, you're still seeing new ones as the visible night sky rotates.
>Spike is off in Canterlot, helping sort and shelve a large new shipment of books.
>So it's just the two of you tonight.
>The observation equipment has been collected and set aside. All that's left now is to wait for dusk.
>In fact, it's getting close. Not missing a beat, the clock on the wall starts to chime.
>Twilight looks up at it, already grinning. She's excited too, it seems.
>You stand up and mark your place in the book you were reading, before setting it down on the table.
“Ready to go?” you ask as Twilight mimics your previous actions.
>”Just about.” She trots over to the bookshelf, levitating both of your books.
>It wouldn't be proper for a library to have books just lying around.
>You chuckle slightly. Always obsessed with organization.


“Alright. I'll grab the telescope and the blanket.” You call out to her as you grab the said items by the door.
>”Ok, I'll be right behind you once I put these away!” She yells back.
>You open the door and duck through, before pulling the blanket and telescope behind you.
>The door shuts lightly and you make your way out to the fields.
>Tonight was going to be great.

–

>Twilight's PoV
>As you place the second book into its place, a piece of paper dislodges from the end of the bookshelf and drifts downwards.
>Quickly catching it with your magic, you bring it closer.
>Hmm. Looks like a note.

>>To whomever finds this note:
>>I give up. I cannot take it anymore.
>>Every day is depressing. Memories of my past life will not leave me.
>>Even worse every time I look outside and remember the time of the year.
>>My family will never know what happened to me.
>>And I will never get to see them again.
>>I apologize to my new friends. Thank you for your efforts.
>>But cannot go on.
>>I will end it soon.
>>                                                                                         --Anonymous



>You read the note once\ more, and again.
>This can't be...Surely he's not...You would have seen the signs, right?
>You inhale sharply, ears flattening.
>Not a single time have you ever deeply observed his mood or emotional tells.
>You completely ignored any sign of his mental state.
>You have books on depression available. But you never thought to reference him against any.
>He was suffering and you had done nothing to help.
>Your eyes start to water up.
>He's alone, without his family. You can't just be fine after that.
>And all you've done is sit around near him reading books.
>That's what he thinks you consider him, isn't it? Less than a book.
>What kind of pony are you? What kind of friend are you?
>He hates being here so much he wants to...to...
>Oh Goddess what do you do?
>...
>You can stop him. You just have to keep an eye on him at all times.
>You won't lose him like this. You can help him.
>But he can't learn that you found his note already.
>Nor can anyone else know about it.
>If the issue gets pressed, he might do something drastic.
>You take a deep breath and regain yourself. Don't want him to get any clues.
>Your eyes snap open with realization.
>Oh no, he's at the park! Alone!
>You quickly grab your saddlebags and stuff the note in a side pocket, before no less than speeding out the door.
>You have to show him you'll be there for him. He'll open up to you eventually.



–

Anon's PoV
>You just finished setting up the telescope. With one last check to make sure everything is in place, you look through and start focusing it.
>The sudden sound of hooves running along dirt pulls you back, and you look over to see Twilight in a mad dash.
“What's the hurry?” You ask as soon as she's within speaking distance. “The stars aren't going anywhere”
>She laughs uncomfortably as she sets her bag onto the blanket. “Heh, yeah. Just, you know, really excited is all.”
>You stare for a second, before smiling and turning back to telescope to finish focusing.
“Same here. I've just about got the telescope finished.” Twilight has a horrible poker face sometimes.
>Something's up, but you know she won't say anything yet. Might as well stick to the original plan.
>Spectating the heavens and enjoying her company.
>Twilight is quiet for a few moments while she opens her book. With the telescope in the rough range you'll be using, you turn back to her staring at you.
“Yes?” You ask, and she blinks a few times before looking down into her book.
>”Sorry, lost in thought for a second. There's a few constellations and starts out tonight that we couldn't see last time. I thought you might like to start there?”
You smile and nod. “Sounds like a plan.” And with that, you move the telescope to the area of the sky she was pointing at and begin.

–

>You're near the end of the stargazing session. You can't say it hasn't been nice but...
>Twilight's been a bit off. She's usually not so quiet, and whenever to look at her, she quickly looks away, ether up to the sky or into her book.


>”Anon?” You hear Twilight speak up for the first time out of answering a question. “You...realize I care about you right?”
>This causes you to blink once, and look down at here. She seems like she's trying to hide it, but you can see a worried expression.
>”I mean...you'd tell me if you were hurting, right?”
>What is this leading to?
“Where is this coming from?” You kneel down closer to her level.
>”I just... you're always so quiet. As your friend, I want you to know I'm here to help you if you ever need it.”
>Is that it? Just a bit concerned? No, there's got to be more to it, right?
>Twilight is a calm and collected sort of girl. She wouldn't bring this up spur-of-the-moment, would she?
>Ether way, she is again giving you nothing to speculate with. Best to just roll with it for now.
You smile and scratch the back of her ears. “Of course, Twilight. If anything comes up that I can't handle on my own, I'll be sure to let you know.”
>She nods, but the look doesn't go away. Its like she's eying you for clues as much as you're are to her.
“I do believe it's gotten late, though.” You say after a few moments. “Want to call it a night?”
>She stands up as you do and starts magically folding the blanket as you put away her telescope.
>In a silence not quite as pleasant as before, the two of you head back to the library.



–

Twilight's PoV
>You blew the stargazing session.
>You spent the entire time mostly silent. Simply pointing out the next star.
>But you couldn't help it. What do you say to a friend that could be gone the next day.
>'Please don't go'? 'We can help you get past this together'?
>And when you finally work up the courage to start a conversation, you were too blunt.
>So much so that Anon decided to just end the session there.
>But the worst part about it is that he looked you in the eyes.
>And lied. He lied about hurting. As if everything was just fine.
>He can't think of you as such a close friend after all.
>But you still have to try. You have to show him that you care.
>That he's not really alone.
>Because it's the right thing to do.
>And because he's still a close friend to you.
>Just can't let him be alone.

–

Anon's PoV
>Twilight opens the library door from behind you, and you step through. You set the telescope next to the door, but out of the way.
>The blanket floats down alongside, and her saddlebag as well. “Would you like some tea, Anonymous?” Twilight asks as she heads in the kitchen's direction.
“Sure, if you wouldn't mind” You respond and sit on her couch. You were actually feeling a bit tired and planned on heading home.
>But Twilight always makes a nice cup of tea, and you couldn't bring yourself to turn that down.
>Soon, She floats in a pair of cups and you accept yours from the magic field.
>She sits down on the other side of the couch and takes a sip. You follow suit and enjoy the flavor of the warm drink.
>The uncomfortable silence settles in once more. After a few moments, Twilight breaks it.
>“Say, Anonymous? Do you think you could sleep over tonight? I have a project I wanted to start, early in the morning, and I could use your help.”
>Helping Twilight with science was always fun, and you enjoyed learning the subtle contrasts in this universes physics, but you've got plans already.
“I would love to.” You say, looking over at her. She's starring forwards, a neutral expression on her face. “But I already have something I need to take care of”
>She senses up for a seconds, before relaxing. “I see...”
You return your gaze forwards again. “I can stop by after lunch, though, if you'd like.” You go to take another sip, but shatter of broken glass stops you.
>”How can you say that.” you hear her whisper. “How can you just sit there and lie to me?”


>You look back, and immediately notice a small stream of tears.
>”Don't you know how much we all care about you?” She turns to you. “Don't you know how much I care about you?”
“Twilight?” You go to scratch her ear. “What's wrong?”
>She knocks your hand away. “I know what you're planning. I know that you're hurting. But please. Let me help you.”
“Twili-”
>”I can't relate to you losing your whole family, but-” She lets out a sniffle and looks down at her hooves. “Please don't leave me...”
You set your cup on the table and lean in close, speaking in a soft voice. “Twilight, I don't know what's gotten you so upset. But I don't plan on going anywhere.”
>She says nothing, instead just looking over to her bag, still sitting next to the door.
>A small wadded up ball of paper floats over to you and lands in your hand. You unfold it before reading.
>And suddenly everything makes sense.
>You drop the paper and pull Twilight into a hug. She immediately latches on, silently crying into your shoulder.
“Twilight, I won't lie to you. When I wrote that, I was in a dark place.”
You start to slowly scratch the back of her head. “And as I wrote it, I didn't plan on waking up the next day.”
>This causes her to squeeze a bit tighter. As if that line said would make you vanish. As if she could keep you from suddenly dissipating.
“Losing everyone I knew, every person dear to me, its hard. And coming here in winter, with the very snow reminding me of our holidays that bring family together...”
“It got to a point where I didn't feel like I could carry on.”


You break the hug so that you can look her in the face. “But the day I wrote that note was eight months ago.” Twilight eyes widen a bit.
“I haven't had any intention of following through for a long time now.” Her body straightens again, and she blinks a few times to clear her eyes.
>”You...you mean-”
“I'm here to stay.” You finish for her. She stares at you for another moment before her face lights up.
>This time she jumps into a hug on you, the momentum pushing you backwards so that you end up lying down on the couch.
>You no longer feel her tears in your shoulder.
>”I was so worried. Worried that you would leave us.” Her voice drops to a whisper. “That you weren’t happy being my friend.”
>That makes you feel a bit warm and fuzzy inside.
>It makes you feel more guilty, though. Sounds like she was struggling with how to handle this for a while.
“Hey, Twilight? I'm really sorry for all of this. I'd completely forgotten about the note.”
>She doesn't respond, instead opting to just lie quietly. You don't mind, and you feel the easy, content atmosphere return as it was.
>After some time, she speaks up again. “If you don't mind me asking, what was it that kept you from following through?”
>You've gone back to stroking her mane. It just feels right to, you guess.
“That night was Christmas Eve where I come from. But that night was also the first night you asked me to join you stargazing.”
>She sniffs again, before laying her head on your shoulder.
“Pinkie's parties, watching Dash's stunts, everything was just so forced. As if everyone was just trying cheer me up because they felt like they had to.”
“But as we sat on that hill, for the first time in a month, I was truly happy.”


“After that night, I didn't really want to end it. I felt like I belonged. Like someone truly cared, not just giving me sympathy. After a few weeks, I lost the idea”
>You hear Twilight take a deep breath. “I had no idea...”
>The room is silent again for a few moments.
>”I'm glad you're still here, Anon.” She says finally.
You smile. “I'm glad I'm here too.”

/*
Twilight finds a suicide note from when Anon first arrived in Equestria. She confronts him about it. Feels happen.
*/