//------------------------------// // Triple Dog Dare // Story: All Is Calm // by Cranberry Muffin //------------------------------// “Your mom seems really nice, Gusty.” Gusty looked up from where she was curled on the couch, lazy under a fuzzy blanket. Once she’d passed Lemon Meringue off to her mother, the unicorn had retreated to the safety of the sitting room, using the blanket to shield herself from the world. She was tired; socializing always wore her out. And having to keep up with Lemon was like running a marathon; the filly was all over the place. After leaving Fizzy and Lofty, Lemon had wanted to check out all the other shops in the neighborhood, which meant a lot of traipsing in and out of stores, the little unicorn touching everything, trying on hats, and making lists of things she wanted for Hearth’s Warming. And she wanted more than any foal could ever need. The entire morning –even the enjoyable parts with Fizzy and Lofty- had left Gusty exhausted and she was half-asleep when Gingerbread trotted into the room. “My mom is nice.” She didn’t bother to sit up, even as the other mare settled near her on the couch, reaching over to play with her tail, twisting the ends together in a loose braid. Gusty just snuggled down further, pulling the blanket up over her head and letting Gingerbread do what she pleased with her tail. “We’re just…really different. I don’t think she understands me at all.” Gingerbread was quiet for a moment, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. “She…She loves you, though. I’m pretty sure of it, the way she talked about you.” She said quietly, releasing the other mare’s tail in favor of wedging herself between Gusty and the back of the couch. “And…please don’t be mad, but…She knows.” “…She knows?” Gusty poked her head back out from under the fleecy fabric to twist around, looking over her shoulder at the other mare. “She knows what? I told her I was going to be in Canterlot.” The earth pony buried her face in Gusty’s shoulder, effectively hiding herself in the blanket as well. She was worried she’d broken the unicorn’s trust in her; that Gusty would be pissed off. “No…She knows.” Her voice was a mere whisper, muffled by the blanket, “About us.” Gusty didn’t say anything. She just rolled away, disappearing fully under the blanket again. “I didn’t mean to!” Gingerbread could feel her throat tightening; it was almost as bad when Gusty didn’t yell as it was when she did. “I know you told us not to talk about you and I didn’t intend to; honest. But she asked me about Ponyville and mentioned you and she seemed so sad and upset that I just wanted her to know that you were okay and that somepony loved you…” Tears were welling in her eyes, threatening to spill over at any second. She hadn’t meant to break her promise; she always wanted to keep her word, especially when it came to Gusty. The unicorn just listened to her, easily noticing the telltale waiver in Gingerbread’s voice that indicated she was on the verge of tears. The sensible earth pony didn’t cry often, but when she did, it was heartfelt and sorrowful, as if she wept for the entire world rather than just the thing that made her sad. And Gusty hated to see her cry. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t wanted Gingerbread and Cupcake to mention anything about her to her mother, or even why she was reluctant to talk about the wonderful mare she loved with her family. There was absolutely no shame to be had in loving Gingerbread; she wasn’t the kind of mare to be kept like a dirty little secret. She was so kind and amazing that it was hard to imagine anypony disapproving of her, and yet… It did cross her mind that maybe she just wanted to keep that part of her life separate from Canterlot; to keep Gingerbread from getting spoiled by the attitude of most Canterlot ponies. What she loved most about the earth pony was that she was so incredibly different from everypony there in the royal city. Gingerbread was hardworking, practical, and incredibly sweet, the exact opposite of the kinds of ponies she’d known growing up. In some way, she thought that maybe she was afraid Gingerbread would be ruined by being there with the less innocent, more worldly ponies, a thought which utterly terrified her. “Gingerbread…” She rolled as best she could without falling off the couch, turning to face the other mare. The couch was wide enough for both of them to fit on it together, if they stayed close. There wasn’t much room to move and there certainly wasn’t enough room for any space to remain between their bodies. Gingerbread peeped up at her over the edge of the blanket, pale blue eyes lit with uncertainty. Gusty’s voice was flat and even, not giving away a certain hint to her emotions. Gingerbread had learned over the years to read some of her facial cues, but the unicorn had an amazing poker face, which made doing so difficult at times. The room was engulfed in silence as Gusty shuffled on the cushions, reaching to tug Gingerbread close against her. It was a tight squeeze, but they somehow managed, pressed belly to belly, muzzle to muzzle. “I’m not mad at you.” “…You’re not?” One of her eyebrows arched and Gingerbread sounded genuinely confused at that. Gusty completely understood why; she was usually much more volatile, especially when it came to things she didn’t particularly want to talk about. Gingerbread was used to her sniping at everypony, especially when she was annoyed, and Gusty didn’t often hold back from snapping at anypony, no matter who they were. “Do you remember how you were worried that you wouldn’t be able to love me, if I changed?” Gusty’s pale eyes met Gingerbread’s blue ones, catching and holding her gaze. Her voice remained just as solemn, even as she pressed a little closer, suddenly desperate for more contact with the soft, warm body already squashed against her. Gingerbread nodded slightly, causing their noses to bump together. “Uh-huh.” “It’s just that…” Gusty swallowed, fighting the lump forming in her throat. This kind of stuff was difficult for her to talk about, so she usually avoided it. But here, in Canterlot, with her mother practically a stone’s throw away, it didn’t seem as if she could elude the subject. “I don’t…I don’t want anything Canterlot to touch you. I don’t want you to ever be different. Look what being here did to your sister. She’s just like everypony else that lived in my parents’ neighborhood: materialistic, greedy, featherbrained. And my mother might be nice and kind and everything, but…I just don’t want to share you! The ponies here don’t deserve somepony like you. I’m scared they’ll ruin you…” She trailed off, looking away as her voice faded to nothing. The other mare just looked at her for a moment, running all the words through her head and trying to decipher them. Gusty’s way of thinking was sometimes odd, sometimes misinformed, and almost always archaic. She had been raised, Gingerbread knew, by rather traditional unicorns who both came from old Canterlot bloodlines, which explained some of her curious thoughts, though she suspected others were just part of Gusty’s personality. “Gusty,” There were, on occasion, moments were Gingerbread was able to easily discern just how vulnerable the unicorn really was underneath her brash personality. This was one of these times –the solid walls Gusty had built around herself seemed to be deteriorating, the longer she was in Canterlot- and seeing how insecure her partner was always made her heart feel heavy. “I like my life. I like everything about it. Nothing will change that. Even if we stayed here for a year, it would never be home, because my home is in Ponyville, with you.” She nestled close, pressing her muzzle into Gusty’s neck, “I wouldn’t want to live here…And I certainly wouldn’t want to ever become a snobby Canterlot pony.” “I don’t wanna take any chances.” Gusty rolled them over so she was snuggled on top of Gingerbread, wrapping all four legs around the other mare as if to shield her from the world, and rested her head against the other mare’s chest, listening for the steady, reassuring beat of her heart. “Can’t I just hide you somewhere?” Gingerbread giggled, reaching to nudge Gusty’s chin up so she could steal a kiss. “I don’t think you have to worry…I think I’ll be just fine.” “Still,” the unicorn returned the affection eagerly, brushing Gingerbread’s bangs from her eyes with a gentle hoof, “better safe than sorry.” And she meant it, too. She’d rather keep her partner away from everypony than risk letting her become embroiled in the politics and social climbing of her mother’s world, though she knew the very idea of that was impossible. She’d already been exposed to the citizens of Canterlot and would continue to be so as long as they stayed at Cupcakes. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be changing her at all. “Oh Gusty…” The earth pony’s expression softened, eyes glowing in the fading sunlight of the afternoon as it spilled through the window, and she kissed Gusty again, wrapping her front hooves around the other mare’s neck and pulling her close. - “Are you going to the Tree of Light Festival this year?” Lemon Meringue glanced up from the pocket watch she was inspecting, turning to look at her friend. She and Silver Thread were back in the shopping district, perusing the stores for gifts for their parents and Lemon had decided on purchasing a new pocket watch for her father, though it was taking her an awful long time to choose the perfect one. Silver Thread, a pale grey unicorn with an almost-white mane and tail, was leaning against the display counter, a bored expression painted across her face. She had been waiting for nearly half an hour for Lemon to make up her mind, and though she had nearly unlimited patience for her best friend and her pickiness, enough was enough. Seriously, Lemon just needed to pick a watch for her father already and get it over with! “Of course I’m going!” Lemon Meringue tossed back her curly mane, turning back to the counter and pointing to another watch, which the salespony carefully removed from the case, dangling it over a hoof for her to see. “Mother is in charge of the refreshments for the festival and she and Auntie Gingerbread have been working their hooves off getting everything ready.” “And Razzle Dazzle is planning it, so everypony who’s anypony will be there.” Silver Thread pointed out, stepping away from the counter and wandering over to a display of small crystal clocks meant to reside on a mantle or nightstand. Lemon turned the watch in question over, inspecting the casing. Though her father predominantly sold jewelry and gemstones, he still knew a fair bit about watches and he was always attempting to impart his wisdom on his daughter. As such, she’d developed quite the discerning eye, even at such a young age. “I’ll take this one,” she said to the salespony, opening her change purse and carefully counting out the correct amount of bits. As he wrapped the purchase, she turned back to her friend. “My Auntie Gingerbread’s special somepony is Razzle Dazzle’s daughter.” “Really?” Silver Thread squealed, pale green eyes lighting with excitement, “That’s so cool!” “I know!” Lemon gushed, taking her package from the salespony and tucking it safely in her designer saddlebag as they stepped back out into the snow. “And she’s really neat…Not like anypony I ever met before. She even took me to meet some of her friends from when she lived here. They own a soda fountain!” It was later that same afternoon, the very same time when Gusty and Gingerbread were canoodling on the couch. After returning home, Gusty had practically shoved Lemon at her mother, even though the filly had wanted to spend more time adventuring with her new favorite auntie. But Gusty had trotted off before she could say so for the umpteenth time, muttering something under her breath about needing some space. And Mother had listened patiently as Lemon rambled about the morning’s fun, though the filly was observant enough to notice her mother’s eyelids drooping and the yawns that kept slipping out. The doctor had told Mother that she needed more rest than she was getting, especially if she wanted the foal to be born healthy, and though she wanted an audience to listen, Lemon had made the executive decision to shoo Cupcake off to bed for a nap. But not, of course, before obtaining permission to go over to Silver Thread’s house. If all the adults were going to be too boring to spend time with, Lemon would have to make her own fun. “Will you take me to meet Razzle Dazzle, then?” Silver Thread asked eagerly, a combination of excitement and the cold making her pale cheeks rosy, “My mom and dad have been to some of her parties, but only the fancy ones and they say I’m too young to go, so I always get stuck at home with a sitter.” She pouted, snorting a little at the implication that she wasn’t yet a big pony. Lemon trotted importantly down the sidewalk, muzzle held high in the air. “I’ll see what I can do,” She said, “Razzle Dazzle, Mother and Auntie Gingerbread are very busy ponies, after all. Especially with the Tree Lighting in only a couple more days.” She really had no clue if Razzle Dazzle even had any idea she existed; her mother had only been meeting with the elegant unicorn since late in the summer as they worked together to create a perfect holiday celebration and Lemon herself had never met the party planner. Silver Thread hurried along, trying to keep up with her much faster friend. The grey unicorn filly came from a well-off family, but she had several siblings and as the middle child, was often forgotten by her busy fashion designer mother and paparazzi father. Lemon’s parents doted on her and though they were the same age, the other filly often seemed much more mature and worldly to Silver. “This is going to be the best Hearth’s Warming ever!” “Why?” A harsh voice suddenly demanded, a shadow looming over the two fillies, “Are you babies going to get lots of presents from Santa Hooves this year?” Both little unicorns skidded to a stop, looking up at the sneering face of another foal. Mimic was a classmate from their magic school, and though she was a gifted filly with a wide arsenal of magical abilities at her hooves –the teachers called her a prodigy, though Lemon Meringue and Silver Thread had yet to decipher what that word meant- she was not very nice. A scholarship student from a lower class neighborhood, Mimic didn’t have much and she had to sometimes work odd jobs to help out her parents. She was jealous of her wealthier classmates, and she let her jealousy get the better of her quite often. To put it plainly, she was a bully who preyed on the ignorant, silly foals who had it infinitely easier than her and the naïve Lemon Meringue was one of her favorite targets. “We’re going to the Canterlot Tree of Light Festival.” Silver Thread turned up her nose, looking away from the frosty green gaze of Mimic in a bid at snubbing her – Something which rarely worked. Snubbing Mimic just usually made her that much more unbearable. “Puh-lease. Everypony is invited to that; the entire city is welcome to attend. There’s nothing special about going and it’s stupid anyway.” Mimic scoffed, giving her head an impatient shake and sending her multicolored mane flying about her face, “Besides, only little foals get excited about lame things like that.” “It’s not lame!” Lemon snapped indignantly, taking a step forwards towards the larger filly, head still held high, “And my mother has worked really hard getting ready for the festival!” “No, it’s lame.” The greenish-yellow unicorn put on a sad, solemn face, shaking her head dramatically, “All of this Hearth’s Warming stuff is a load of horseapples. And if you’re getting excited about standing out in the freezing cold and singing some namby-pamby song about love, you’re lame too.” “You take that back!” The yellow filly shrieked, voice rising, splotches of red coloring her cheeks, “I am not lame and I’ll prove it!” How dare Mimic say she wasn’t cool? She was Lemon Meringue, for Celestia’s sake! She was stylish and friendly and everypony else at school loved her! Mimic’s expression dropped for a moment, face going blank before a sinister grin slowly curled the corners of her mouth upwards. “Oh yeah?” She smirked, “You know what would really prove you were cool and didn’t care about foalish stuff?” Lemon swallowed, attempting to rein in her anger. Father always said not to let ignorant ponies that were below her get to her; they were just jealous and didn’t know what they were talking about. And she really didn’t like the tone of Mimic’s voice, or the smile stretched across her face. “…What?” “Stealing the star from the top of the Tree of Light.”