A New Year's Moment by Epitaph


                                            https://desuarchive.org/mlp/thread/39457666/#39472203


                                            >The chill nighttime air is cold against your uncovered hands. The sky is clear, and the moon is bright.

                                            >The party is still going on, and probably would be for some time. You like a little time alone to reflect.

                                            >What a year. It's been difficult, no doubt. Harder than ever.

                                            >But in its own way, so very rewarding.

                                            >You breathe deep, stinging your nose and filling your lungs with the icy air.

                                            >It's nice to reflect sometimes. A rare moment of peace in your busy days.

                                            >A voice breaks the silence, snapping you back to attention.

                                            >"Hey bud, i've been looking everywhere for you!"

                                            >There's that voice. You'd recognize it anywhere. Recognize her anywhere.

                                            >She's hard to miss.

                                            >You keep your eyes locked on the stars. Crunching hoofsteps in the snow tell you she's walking up to your side.

                                            >"Everything okay? You're missing the party."

                                            >You take another deep breath of frosty air.

                                            "Fine, Dash. Just enjoying the air. Thinking."

                                            >You turn to face her. Brilliant magenta eyes stare back above a smiling cyan snout.

                                            >Tiny flakes of snow are falling now, dusting her in a fine layer of frost, giving her a silvery glow in the moonlight.

                                            >"Whatcha thinking about?"

                                            >A billion answers cross your mind. You could tell her about home. About family. About your year. But one thing sticks out.


                                            "...How glad I am to have met you."

                                            >Her cyan fur is accented with a nice pink blush. For someone so quick to brag she sure is weak to compliments.

                                            >You like that about her.

                                            >Her eyes break away. She can't hear stuff like that and hold your gaze. She opts to view the stars with you.

                                            >Her reaction lights a fire in your belly. A deep instinct tells you to press your luck.

                                            >You move in close. Despite the snow you get down on one knee, putting yourself at eye level with her, and wrap one arm around her side.

                                            >She instinctively moves one wing around your back in kind, shielding you from some of the cold. Soft feathers gently tickle you.

                                            "I mean it. I can't thank you enough. For everything."

                                            >"You don't have to-"

                                            "I know. I want to. Want to show you how much what you've done means to me."

                                            >She's been there for you. An ear to listen. A hoof to help you move. Advice when you were lost. Reliable, even when you weren't. Just fun to be around.

                                            >She's your best friend goddamn it.

                                            >Her entire face is pink now. Probably not from the cold.

                                            >In the distance the voices grow louder. You faintly recognize the sounds of a countdown.

                                            >As if on queue, fireworks begin to set off a short distance away. The loud booms startle you, and you pull even tighter into Rainbow.

                                            >The sky lights up into brilliant hues of reds and greens, whites and golds. Silver sparkles pop and explode.

                                            >The lights catch and dance across her wonderfully prismatic mane, a shining, glittering rainbow of colors before your eyes.

                                            >Illuminated in the starlight, and practically glowing under the fireworks.

                                            >The most beautiful thing you've ever seen.

                                            >The sight is simply too much to bear. The fire in your chest rises, lighting your heart aflame. Your limbs move on their own.

                                            >One hand to her cheek, the other wrapping as tightly around her as possible.

                                            >You pull her close, lips pressing into lips, carrying to her a message you could never put into words.

                                            >The year was hard, and there's no guarantee this one will be any better.

                                            >But right here, right now, bathed in moonlight and a trillion different sparking colors.

                                            >Everything is right with the world.