“Hey.”
When Gingerbread returned from her not-so-secret present shopping trip, she found Gusty sitting at the foot of the stairs just beyond the main hallway, waiting for her.
The other mare’s voice startled her; Gingerbread had come fumbling through the door, attempting not to drop any of the packages and bags she was carrying. She was so distracted with her packages that she hadn’t noticed Gusty sitting on the bottom step, leaned casually against the railing, until the other pony spoke.
She blinked in surprise; there was no way the unicorn could have possibly known when she would return, which meant that she had likely been sitting there for a long time, and Gusty was not known for her forbearance. Sitting in one place for no reason would have been maddening for the impatient unicorn.
And yet, there she was.
More surprising than simply finding Gusty there, however, was the glow in her eyes. When she lifted her head to meet Gingerbread’s gaze, tossing her mane out of her eyes, something about her seemed different; something Gingerbread couldn’t quite put her hoof on.
She seemed…lighter somehow, as if something heavy had been lifted from her shoulders. The earth pony didn’t often see the light in her partner’s eyes that was visible at that moment; Gusty was usually much more reserved, as if she held something of herself back at all times. But there, sitting lazily on the carpeted stairs, with nothing remarkable happening, she looked…peaceful.
“Were you waiting for me?” Gingerbread set down her shopping bags, smiling as she unwound her scarf from around her neck, “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know…” Gusty rose from her seat, trotting over to give the other mare a quick nuzzle before retrieving some of the bags with the intention of carrying them upstairs, “I just…It’s been an interesting night and I wanted to see you the second you got back.”
Gingerbread checked her hooves to make sure they were clean and dry, then gathered the rest of her packages. “Let’s take everything upstairs,” she suggested, glancing it the unicorn and wondering at the solemn expression on her face, “and then I’ll make us some tea and we can talk.”
Gusty nodded, “Okay.”
-
“It does sound like you had quite the evening.” Gingerbread said later as she stirred a spoonful of honey into her second cup of tea, “I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you during all of that.”
Gusty said nothing for a moment, just lifted her own cup and took a sip, savoring the bitter taste of herbs on her tongue. It was a pungent flavor, one that took her back to mornings of her childhood. After Daddy had left for the university, she and Mother had often remained in the dining room, lingering over breakfast. Young Gusty had often enjoyed her tea quietly, while Mother fussed about her daughter’s mane and offered her guidance on how to get through the school day. Usually, the advice involved reminders about smiling and putting her best hoof forward so she would make a good impression and make more friends beyond just the eccentric Fizzy, which Gusty ignored in favor of savoring the tea.
She took her tea unsweetened; her mother had always said that was the only way to drink it and it was one of the few things they agreed on.
“I think,” she finally responded as she placed the teacup carefully back on the table, “it was better the way things happened.” She canted her head to the side, stroking her chin thoughtfully, gaze never leaving the beautiful face of the mare she loved. It would have been nice, having Gingerbread there to help her struggle through the trials of the evening, of course, and at the time, she would have gratefully accepted any aid her partner could have offered.
But in retrospect…Things seemed to have worked out for the best and Gusty felt stronger for it.
“What do you mean?” Gingerbread queried softly, peering at the other mare through the dim light of the candle placed between them on the table, her brows knit, a small frown playing across her face.
It was late at that point, the house still and silent, dark save for the light of the flame flickering between them. Lemon Meringue was long since tucked into bed and Graham and Cupcake had retired to their room some time ago, all of them situated for the night well before Gingerbread had even returned home.
It had taken Gusty some time to tell Gingerbread the entire story of the night; she’d not left out a single detail, sharing word-for-word her exchange with Graham, explaining her father’s strange wisdom, all of the feelings running through both her mind and her heart over the course of the evening spilling forth. Usually, she neither talked so much nor shared so much of her heart with anypony, even Gingerbread, a fact which the sensible earth pony had accepted long ago.
Gusty looked up from her tea, meeting Gingerbread’s gaze. A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, and she sat back in her chair. “It wouldn’t have happened the same way, if you were here,” and she meant that, but wasn’t sure if she could explain it in a way that made sense, “and it needed to, you know, happen like that. But if you were here…I wouldn’t have said such horrible things to Graham and if I didn’t, then I probably wouldn’t have talked to my dad the way I did and…I dunno.”
As they looked into each other’s eyes, Gingerbread’s expression softened, her kind blue eyes dancing in the candlelight. “I understand.” Gusty didn’t have an incredible way with words and was often awkward in her explanations, but the earth pony had known her long enough to easily figure out what she was trying to say: Gusty needed to banish her demons on her own. “And I told you,” she reached across the table to push a stray lock of hair from the unicorn’s eyes, “things would get better.”
“You did.” Gusty smiled, leaning into the other mare’s touch, “And you were right.”
Gingerbread giggled, tickling at Gusty’s cheek playfully. “Sometimes, I’m right.”
“Usually, you’re right.” The unicorn replied with mock solemnity, scooting her chair closer to lean against her partner. Her quirky smile returned when Gingerbread’s foreleg slid around her shoulder, hugging Gusty against her side. “Gingerbread, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
The earth pony buried her muzzle in her short mane, inhaling the other pony’s familiar scent. Gusty always smelled crisp and cool, like an autumn breeze, and Gingerbread liked her partner’s scent more than that of any baked good. “Well,” she pressed a kiss against one of the unicorn’s velvety ears, “you’ll never have to find out.”
-
“Do be careful so you don’t break anything, dear.”
“I’m always careful, Daddy!”
Cupcake smiled to herself, sinking further into the cushions of the velour sofa in the living room, and sighing happily as some of the tension seeped from her heavy body. She’d been so busy the past few weeks that she’d forgotten how nice it was to just relax and let somepony else handle things and as she settled against a throw pillow, she felt like singing in jubilation.
Of course, it wasn’t just the work load that had left her exhausted and tense; with just a few weeks until the new foal was due to enter the world, her body had become very awkward and unwieldy, making both everyday tasks and the extra work she’d been plowing through more difficult than it should have been. She found herself tiring easily, her back aching against the strain of the extra weight she was carrying. It had been long enough since Lemon Meringue was born that she’d forgotten how trying the final weeks of pregnancy were and had she known at the time she’d accepted the Hearth’s Warming catering job that she’d be pregnant and this much so, she never would have taken the job.
Thank Celestia for your auntie, she thought, patting a hoof lightly against the side of her swollen belly, smiling again when the foal kicked in response. Despite how weary and cumbersome she’d been feeling, she couldn’t wait to meet the new addition to their family and every little movement, hiccup, stretch and yawn she felt was treasured. I never would have been able to get everything done without Gingerbread.
It was the following morning; the day of the Tree of Light Festival. Graham had taken the day off, having promised Lemon that they would decorate the house before going to the Tree Lighting, and the two unicorns were working on sorting out ornaments, lights, and tinsel, while Cupcake supervised from her comfortable seat on the sofa.
“Daddy got the best tree this year, right Mother?” Lemon squeaked, drawing her mother’s thoughts away from fantasies about what the foal might look like and back to the present. “It smells really pine-y and has room for lots and lots of decorations!”
“It’s a beautiful tree.” The earth pony agreed, smiling down at the excited filly. Lemon was rummaging in a box for her favorite ornaments, a trio of tiny crystalline hearts, each made from a different semiprecious stone. They held special meaning for the whole family; Graham had brought them home one by one, giving the first –an aquamarine- to Cupcake on their first Hearth’s Warming together and the second –a citrine- for Lemon’s first Hearth’s Warming. The third one had appeared on the tree only the year before, at Lemon’s insistence that her daddy needed a special heart on the tree, too. Made of smoky quartz, Graham’s heart was the only earthy-colored decoration festooning the tree.
“And we’ll need a new special heart for next year!” The filly continued enthusiastically, finally tugging the box containing the three crystals out from under a case of glass baubles, “’Cause the foal is going to need one for his first Hearth’s Warming, just like Daddy got for me.” She set the small box reverently on the coffee table, gingerly lifting the lid and pawing through the tissue paper inside to find the hearts, which she laid out on the table.
“Yes,” Graham, busy fussing with a string of twinkle lights, looked over at his daughter, “I’ll be looking for the perfect stone for the new foal’s heart once we meet the new foal. “ When Lemon grinned at that, he returned her beaming smile, then glanced up at his wife.
Cupcake smiled softly as their eyes met, blowing him a kiss from across the room. In spite of her physical exhaustion, she felt emotionally rejuvenated; as if her heart had woken from a long slumber the night before. It had been a very long time since she’d seen the softer side of Graham that had emerged the previous night and over the course of the past fifteen hours she felt as if she’d fallen in love with the stallion all over again.
Lemon Meringue dove back into the box of decorations as her father paused in his untangling to cross the room and kiss her mother. She hummed happily, digging around for other treasures of past Hearth’s Warmings, intent on making this year’s tree the most beautiful one of all.
By the time she had everything sorted out, Graham had finished untangling the lights and was levitating them, winding the strand carefully around the tree. That taken care of the his satisfaction, he set about helping with the baubles and ornaments, placing the more breakable ones on the higher up branches that Lemon and her limited magic could reach.
The filly chatted animatedly about each and every ornament, reminiscing about the decorations’ origins, begging for stories about those her parents had acquired before she was born, eager to know each last decoration’s secrets.
Graham indulged his daughter, patiently explaining just where each ornament had come from and what significance it held, while Cupcake added commentary from the sofa, a chenille blanket pulled up under her chin.
The room was so cozy; so perfect. Lemon Meringue couldn’t remember a happier time ever occurring in her young life; Mother and Daddy gave her everything, but were often too busy for all of them to spend a quiet morning like that, and the little unicorn was delighted to have both of her parents to herself with no interruptions.
The filly had gone to bed the night before with thoughts of what she was planning on doing to prove her coolness swirling through her mind. She still wasn’t one hundred percent certain it was the right thing to do, but anytime she’d had second thoughts, Mimic’s taunting had drifted through her mind, words cruel, tone harsh, and she knew she had to go through with it, no matter the cost.
But there, surrounded by the warmth and love of her parents, Mimic and the star atop the Tree of Light were the furthest thing from her mind; she hadn’t spared a second thought for what she intended to do before Galaxy lit the tree and everypony tried Mother’s goodies.
She had forgotten all about it, that is, until her father wrapped the delicate silver star that always topped their tree in his green aura, lifting it to place it carefully on the tallest branch of the evergreen.
“There.” He nodded with satisfaction, taking a moment to straighten the already-straight star, then stepped back, looking over at the two female ponies. “It looks quite spectacular, if I do say so myself.”
Cupcake nodded cheerily, a bright smile dancing across her face. “You’ve outdone yourselves this year, both of you!” She chirped, clapping her front hooves together, “It’s the best Tree of Light I’ve ever seen.”
Lemon could only stare at the star, nervousness pooling in the pit of her stomach.