//------------------------------// // Magic to the Rescue // Story: All Is Calm // by Cranberry Muffin //------------------------------// “Our Tree of Light this year was donated by Pine Needle and Spearmint, the ever-generous ponies of the Evergreen Tree Nursery. They assured me that it is their finest tree, and as it stands before us, waiting to be lit, we can see that this magnificent Noble Fir is indeed a thing beauty. It stands a proud thirty feet tall and was erected here just beyond the citadel by a team of pegasi who took time out of their busy schedule with the Royal Weather Team to hoist it. Decorations were furnished as always by Galaxy, who will now say a few words about the significance of the Tree of Light before illuminating it.” Gusty rolled her eyes as Razzle Dazzle stepped down from the podium in front of the patiently waiting tree, glancing anywhere but at her mother, who was beaming brightly. The Evergreen ponies were standing proud and tall beside their tree, looks of bliss stretched across their faces at having such an honor as their tree being chosen to light the night. Next to them, the pegasus ponies who’d put up the tree were high-hoofing and patting each other on the back, supremely pleased with themselves. A pink-coated unicorn with a spray of tiny stars across her flank stepped up to the podium and smiled benignly down at the assembled citizens of Canterlot. She tossed her luxurious ruby-red and white mane back over her shoulder as she adjusted the microphone, and when she spoke, her voice was rich and commanded attention. “During this magical time of year, as our hearts are full and our lives awash with the renewed bonds of friendship, we celebrate the love and camaraderie that united our three races so many, many years ago. It is said that our ancestors began erecting the Tree of Light as a beacon of hope and welcome for those who are less fortunate than us; those who have yet to discover the true magic of love and friendship.” Galaxy paused a moment for dramatic effect, flashing the crowd another dazzling smile. “Our tree will shine gloriously through Princess Luna’s darkest nights of winter, showing all who happen by that the light of friendship burns brightly in our hearts.” And then she stepped back, lowering her head and illuminating her horn. A swirl of pink magic emanated from its tip, winding its way around the glorious tree until the whole thing was sparkling with the unicorn’s distinct magical aura. The crowd waited with baited breath, silent and unlike the raucous ponies Gusty was used to at tree lightings in Ponyville. Galaxy must have been doing some sort of mental countdown, because she seemed to have anticipated the exact moment when all eyes would be on her before the candles adorning the tree’s mighty branches erupted in a brilliant blaze of tiny pink flames, enchanted to twinkle continuously throughout the days and nights to follow. At that exact moment, a high-pitched cry of alarm shattered the stillness of the night and the tree began to sway, gently at first, then more precariously. Amid the magical pink lights adorning the tree, a sudden glow of yellow shot forth. And Gusty felt her heart stop. Lemon Meringue. Her magical aura was yellow; she’d used it here and there over the course of the week, in the trivial ways that young unicorns often used their magic. And where was Lemon? A quick glance around failed to reveal the spirited yellow filly. She’d wandered off a little while ago, insisting she was a big pony who wanted to watch the tree lighting with her friends. Gusty had been more than happy to see her go and give her poor ears a rest, but now… The tree started to tip, headed straight for the table of goodies Gingerbread and Cupcake had painstakingly arranged as refreshments for after the ceremony. Some of the gathered ponies scrabbled to escape the mighty tree’s fall, though most stood motionless, too shocked by this turn of events to really do anything. And though everything was happening in a split second, too quickly for anypony to react properly, Gusty felt like she was watching it in slow motion. She could see every tiny movement of the swiftly falling tree, the panic etched across Cupcake’s face, Gingerbread’s look of absolute terror as the shadow of the tree loomed larger and larger over her. It came as instinct; Gusty didn’t think, just shoved her way through the crowd, galloping towards the table and the two earth ponies with no real way to escape the oncoming disaster. Her horn lit of its own accord, the silvery-blue aura of her magic brighter than she’d ever seen. She was running blind, barreling headlong into danger, the flow of her magical energy causing her coat to stand on end. She wasn’t entirely sure what happened next; her own light was far too bright to even see. She was relying heavily on her other senses and could feel when the tree froze midair, caught in the frosty blue glow of her magic. An ethereal wind whistled through the assembly of ponies, effectively snuffing every last tiny tongue of flame lighting the tree’s branches, lest a candle fall and set something not meant to burn on fire. “Gusty!” From somewhere in the heavy branches of the tree, a piping voice shouted her name. Gusty forced her eyes open, nearly losing focus and dropping the tree in the process. She didn’t have good control over her magic on a good day and this was decidedly not a good day. Still straining to hold the tree steady, she looked up, searching for the source of the voice. She resisted the urge to wipe the sweat from her brow, grit her teeth, and continued the search. “Gusty, help me!” There! Lemon was clinging to an upper branch, all four of her limbs wrapped around it as it creaked against her weight. She wasn’t a particularly big filly, but the higher up in the tree one got, the smaller and weaker the branches became. The little unicorn looked terrified; she was shaking uncontrollably. Gusty could feel her whole body growing damp with perspiration; there was no way she could hold the tree up much longer, let alone levitate the filly safely from the its branches. Her magical abilities weren’t refined enough to do two things at once and she knew that the only way to help Lemon Meringue was to let the tree fall and vice versa. “Don’t worry!” A new voice broke the silence and caused time to regain its natural flow. Lofty came swooping in, wings flapping willy-nilly as she careened over the crowd of onlookers at a dizzying pace, “You take care a the tree, Gusty! I’ll get the kid!” She attempted to pull up, only to misjudge the distance between herself and the tree, and went flying face first into the branches. “Lofty!” Fizzy had suddenly appeared at Gusty’s side, eyes impossibly wide. She winced when her friend disappeared into the tree, prancing past the white unicorn and straight towards the precariously balanced fir. The branches stirred a little as the blonde pegasus popped her head out, looking rumpled but no worse for the wear. “I’m okay!” She called down to the teal unicorn, pulling herself free from the branches. A shower of pine needles rained down as she flapped her wings, bouncing off Fizzy’s head and littering the snowy ground. “And I’ll get Lemon; hold on a sec.” She zipped up a little higher, reaching into the branches and tugging the filly free. The tree groaned ominously as it was jostled, sagging a little further towards the ground. Gusty braced herself, leaning in, as if the motion would strengthen her flagging magic and keep the tree from falling. It was at that time that the rest of the ponies gathered to watch the tree lighting ceremony seemed to regain their wits; as Lofty spiraled towards the ground with Lemon Meringue dangling below her, several other pegasi and unicorns sprang into action, the unicorns employing their magic to help stabilize the tree as the pegasi set about securing it upright in its stand once more. As the other ponies took over, Gusty slumped, sitting back on her haunches and dragging a hoof across her brow to wipe away the sweat gathered under her bangs. Her weakening aura dissipated quickly when she stopped trying to force her magic, and she closed her eyes for a moment, too drained to deal with the flurry of activity taking place around her. “Gusty!” Gingerbread’s voice cut through the haze of exhaustion that clouded the unicorn’s mind and Gusty opened her eyes, turning to see the earth pony cantering towards her. “Gusty, that was amazing!” Gingerbread skidded to a stop in front of her, breath coming in little puffs of white against the chill of the night. Gusty was quiet for a moment, slowly looking all around her at the whirl of ponies rushing to fix the problems. Over near the refreshment table, Cupcake was hugging and kissing Lemon Meringue as if her life depended on it, Graham with a foreleg wrapped protectively around both dam and filly. Lofty was sitting nearby, patient while Fizzy picked pine needles from her braided mane. Galaxy and Razzle Dazzle were bossing around the ponies straightening the tree, the former checking to see that her magic candles were all still in place, the latter berating the pegasi for not properly securing the tree to begin with. And all of the spectators were chatting among themselves, some laughing with relief now that the danger had passed, their excited voices mixing and mingling as they waited for the festivities to get back on track. Then she looked back at Gingerbread, taking in her sparkling eyes and rosy cheeks, the way her bangs ruffled on the gentle night breeze. And it hit her then, as Gingerbread smiled at her, that if her magic hadn’t worked the way she wanted it to…Gingerbread could have been crushed beneath the tree. She could have been hurt. She could have died. For the second time in the past ten minutes, Gusty felt as if her heart had ceased to function within her chest. The thought of Gingerbread being hurt –or worse- was unbearable; how would Gusty be able to function without her? Their lives had become so intertwined that the unicorn couldn’t imagine ever being without Gingerbread again. And there, as the tree blazed back to life, as the crowd of ponies abandoned decorum in favor of cheering wildly and stamping their hooves against the ground, as –from somewhere in the back- a heartfelt chorus of The Heart Carol rose up above the gathered ponies…There, amidst everypony, Gusty managed to find it in herself, some last burst of magic that she used to pull Gingerbread closer. And then she was kissing her, soundly and passionately; suddenly it didn’t matter who saw and what they thought. Gingerbread felt that odd tingle as Gusty’s unique aura rushed over her, tugging her close, and before she could utter a single word, she was being kissed in a way that left her completely breathless, her knees weak and trembling. “Awww, how romantic!” The moment was broken by an excited squeal, and Gingerbread looked up, face flushed red, and met the sparkling magenta eyes of a teal unicorn with an unruly mop of curly hair pinned back from her face by a large, festive bow. The unicorn was beaming, her face split with an impossibly huge grin, eyes wide. She was also entirely too close to the couple for comfort. Gingerbread edged away and closer to Gusty, who wrapped one foreleg around the earth pony, lifting the other to shove Fizzy away. “Get outta here,” She grumbled, rolling her eyes, “Go eat a cookie or something.” The other unicorn simply sidestepped, easily avoiding the half-hearted push and sidling close to Gingerbread. “Hi!” She bubbled, “I’m Fizzy, you must be Gingerbread, and it’s supernice to meet you!” She wriggled excitedly, tail swishing, “And gee whiz, wasn’t it so cool how Gusty stopped the tree from falling? I’ve never seen her do magic like that before and we’ve been the best of friends since we were little fillies!” It took Gingerbread a moment to realize that the strange vibrating her body had suddenly began doing was the result of Fizzy enthusiastically pumping her hoof up and down. She blinked, glancing between the two unicorns –Gusty was scowling, though her aggravation didn’t go quite all the way to her eyes, while Fizzy was beaming brighter than the sun- uncertain what was going on. “Um…Hi?” She had no idea who this apparently hyperactive unicorn was, but clearly, she was somepony who knew Gusty. In front of them, Lofty had pressed a hoof to her face, sighing in exasperation. “Fizzy…” She loved the unicorn; really she did. But Fizzy was both ridiculously impossible and impossibly ridiculous. She certainly did her fair share of boneheaded things, and interrupting what had probably been a meaningful moment between the two white mares was definitely one of them. “Yeeeees?” Fizzy batted her eyelashes, playfully tipping her head and causing her curly mane to bounce around her face. She hadn’t moved away from the other two mares and instead had somehow managed to wedge herself between them, one foreleg around each of their shoulders. Gusty was frowning and trying to scrape her off, while Gingerbread just looked utterly bewildered and uncomfortable. Fizzy, oblivious to the other two ponies’ discomfort, tightened her grip, hugging them both and effectively trapping them in her mania. Lofty thought quick; trying to figure out how to diffuse the situation before Gusty lost her cool and really got mad. When Fizzy got excited –and Fizzy was really excited- it was difficult to calm her. Lofty knew from years of experience dealing with the cheerful, overactive unicorn that very little could bring her down from an emotional high and the young pegasus wasn’t very good at coming up with ideas of how to do so on the spot. So she just did the first thing that came to mind. Fizzy’s excited bouncing ground to a halt, her hooves falling away from the other mares’ shoulders, eyes going wide from shock rather than excitement as a pair of soft lips claimed hers. Though Lofty’s inexperienced kiss only lasted a scant few seconds, Fizzy felt as if it went on forever. She’d never been kissed before; never full on the lips, at least, and it was like an electric charge jolted through her, sizzling and painfully sweet, causing her curls to tighten and her fur to stand on end. In her mind, bells were pealing a joyous tune; fireworks flashed through her vision. And her heart? Her heart beat wildly like a drum, blood rushing through her ears and effectively silencing the crowd of ponies that faded into the background. All too soon, Lofty pulled away, stumbling backwards over her hooves and looking away, cheeks and muzzle stained pink with an embarrassed blush. Fizzy couldn’t move, couldn’t talk, couldn’t blink. She couldn’t do anything beyond stare at the other pony, eyes impossibly wide, mouth hanging open. Gusty had been about to grab Gingerbread by the hoof and drag her away from her two friends, but when Lofty leaned in and planted one on the other unicorn, she froze, shocked beyond all belief, her own jaw practically scraping the ground. She had known Fizzy for a long time and Lofty for practically her entire life and still…She had never seen that coming. “Gusty!” An excited voice broke through the spell that had fallen over them, effectively shattering the awkward moment and causing four pairs of eyes to swivel towards the newcomer, “Oh, Gusty, darling, that was astounding!” Razzle Dazzle hurried over, still elegant and graceful, even when rushing, “I always knew you had incredible magic just waiting to be put to use!” She gushed, eyes sparkling like twin aquamarines, “And you saved the entire Festival!” And then everypony in the little group was looking at Gusty again. Razzle Dazzle was beaming proudly, her head held high. Lofty, glad for the distraction from her awkward display of affection for Fizzy, stamped her hooves against the ground, cheering for her friend. Fizzy’s manic grin was once again spreading across her face, her chubby body beginning to vibrate with pent up glee. And Gingerbread just looked amused, her eyes dancing. “Gusty’s a hero!” Fizzy shouted, pumping a hoof into the air. Her outburst attracted the attention of some of the gathered throng of ponies, who turned and looked, recognition lighting in their eyes when they spotted the pony who’d stopped the tree from falling and crushing the caterers. Gusty took a step back as the crowd advanced, all talking at once, jostling to get close and congratulate her. Somepony’s camera flashed, momentarily blinding the mare, and she stumbled a few steps further away. Then she turned tail and ran.