//------------------------------//
// January 
// Story: The Long Year 
// by The Red Parade 
//------------------------------//


January.


‘I’m sorry.’


“A lot of ponies have questions for you.”

Cheerilee didn’t answer, staring out the screen door towards her backyard. 

Night Glider rubbed her chin. “I get you need space, but you can’t keep hiding this forever. Cat’s already well out of the bag.”

“So what are you suggesting we do?” Daring muttered. “We can’t exactly just pretend that nothing is wrong here.”

“I don’t know. But we need to start having this conversation. The longer it sits…” Night Glider shook her head. “I don’t even want to start thinking of the consequences.”

“Can’t you stop acting so bureaucratic for one second?”

“I’m being realistic. We need to start talking about solutions. This is more than a breach, this is a loose end.”

“Well it’s not like we can just give it back, so do you have any other ideas?”

The garden was gone now, try as they might none of them were able to return to it, as submerging in the lake failed to bring them to the other side. 

Cheerilee ignored them both and opened the door, stepping out onto her porch. Strawberry was there, staring at the porch swing that rested behind the wooden railing. “Hasn’t moved once,” she noted. “Just sits there. Stares.”

“I know,” Cheerilee whispered. 

Strawberry sighed quietly. “What are you going to do?”

Cheerilee didn’t reply. Slowly, she began to approach the swing.

A mess of wood, leaves, and plantlife sat on it. Empty eyes stared out at the backyard, nothing shining behind them. 

It was unnatural. Like a facade of something long gone.

Cheerilee looked to her left. A woodcutting ax was leaning against the wall. She picked it up, weighing it in her hooves, before approaching the swing. Carefully, she lowered herself onto the seat next to the creature.

The creature didn’t acknowledge her presence at all.

Cheerilee lay the ax across her lap and stared at the thing that was almost Applejack.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Malum, malum, malum,” she whispered quietly.

Hours later, it began to snow.