//------------------------------// // Making Peace // Story: All Is Calm // by Cranberry Muffin //------------------------------// “There you are! You took off and everypony was really worried and Gingerbread wanted to go after you but the other ponies wanted their goodies so she had to get back to work and Lofty wouldn’t let me find you for some reason so we were all hoping you’d be back soon!” Fizzy pounced on Gusty almost the second the white mare reappeared near the refreshment table, somehow spotting her as if there wasn’t a throng of ponies crowded around the table, politely jostling to help themselves to goodies and hot cocoa. Gusty shouldn’t have been surprised; the teal unicorn had always had some kind of sixth sense allowing her to zero in on the individual least likely to want her attention, and she’d always made use of that talent in the most obnoxious ways. Gusty squawked, stumbling backwards at the impact of Fizzy plowing into her in an enthusiastic hug, and nearly stumbled into Mimic in the process. The filly, however, deftly sidestepped, horn sparking to life as she gave the two of them a powerful magical shove in the opposite direction. “I already got knocked down once today!” She snapped, the sassy attitude returning with a vengeance. She wrapped her aura tightly around Fizzy -who flailed wildly in a useless attempt to get away- and dragged her away from Gusty, depositing her unceremoniously on the ground a few feet away. “I don’t wanna be again.” The older unicorn landed with a muffled thud, still flailing, this time to push her hair bow back into place. “What’s the big idea?” She squeaked, hooves working frantically to get her hair out of her face and get a good look at her ‘attacker.’ She hopped to her feet, giving her head a shake, and rounded on the lime green filly. “It’s not nice to go throwing ponies around!” Mimic glared at her from beneath her scraggly mane, sullen and unimpressed. “It ain’t nice to be knockin’ ponies down, either.” She shot back, tail lashing from side to side. Gusty rolled her eyes, taking a step forwards to place herself between her friend and the foal. She wasn’t overly worried about anything Fizzy might do to the small unicorn, but Mimic was proving to be unpredictable – Who knew what she might do in the face of Fizzy’s thoughtless comments? While she wasn’t overly good at diffusing tense situations, Gusty didn’t particularly want to find out. “…What is she doing here?” Whatever was about to happen next was interrupted by Lemon Meringue’s sudden arrival on the scene. She cast a suspicious glance in Mimic’s direction, giving the other filly a dark look, then peered up at Gusty. The older unicorn frowned down at her, not at all liking the demanding look on the filly’s face. “Isn’t everypony invited to the Tree Lighting Festival?” She asked mildly, cocking a brow as she gazed down at Lemon. She had learned pretty quickly that one needed to be firm with the yellow filly; arguing with her got you nowhere. Lemon scowled, tossing her mane and rearranging her fluffy scarf around her neck. “That’s not what I mean and you know it, Gusty!” She snapped, not even thinking about the fact that Gusty might not have had any idea who Mimic was in relation to her. The white mare looked down at Lemon for a moment, searching her face for something, though she wasn’t sure what. Then she glanced over her shoulder at the other two, who were still standing behind her. Fizzy was still half-glaring at Mimic, but the filly seemed to have forgotten about her and was hiding behind her mane, green gaze fixed on Lemon Meringue. “Fizzy,” Gusty began, startling her friend, “will you take Mimic to get a cookie or something? I want to have a little chat with Lemon Meringue.” “What? Gusty-!” Fizzy started to protest, but the other mare cut her off. “Just…go!” She snapped, stamping her hoof against the snowy ground and shooting a look that would brook no argument in the teal unicorn’s direction. Fizzy knew that look all too well; it was Gusty’s no nonsense, you-better-do-as-I-say look. She wheeled about, wrapping her own soft pink magic around Mimic and dragging the unwilling filly along behind her towards the refreshment table. Satisfied that her friend would follow her instructions, Gusty turned back to Lemon Meringue, giving the filly a cool look. “I kinda had this idea that you’re smarter than I thought, Lemon. I guess I thought wrong, because what you did today was pretty stupid.” “It was Mimic’s fault!” Lemon protested in that special obnoxious, whiny tone that only children knew how to speak with, “She’s the one who dared me to do it!” “It is not Mimic’s fault.” Gusty countered, rolling her eyes and giving the filly a Look, “You were the one who took her stupid dare. You coulda just walked away from the situation, but for whatever reason, you decided to go along with it and climb that tree. And you almost wrecked everything…What the hay were you thinking?” Lemon stared up at her, eyes filling with tears. It wasn’t often that she got yelled at -or even reprimanded- for anything and her immediate reaction was always to cry. It was usually effective, especially with her teachers at school and her mother. She wasn’t sure if it would work with Gusty -the older unicorn was a lot more unemotional than most of the others in her life- but it was such a normal reaction there was no way she could even stop it. “I…I didn’t mean to…I mean, I…I just don’t want her making fun of me!” “Lemon…” Gusty was trying to be patient, really she was. But she wasn’t especially good at dealing with children and their weird logic – There was a reason she didn’t often spend time with foals. “Ponies are always gonna make fun of you. Everypony gets picked on, no matter how cool and talented they are. But you know? Ponies are less likely to make fun of you if you don’t let what they say get to you. D’you know why Mimic goes after you?” “Because she’s a jerk!” Lemon tossed her head, the tears drying as quick as they started as she turned up her nose, “She-” “Lemon!” Gusty shot her a sharp look, effectively silencing her. The filly glared back at her, but didn’t bother to argue anymore, just sat there, looking grumpy. Gusty stared at her hard, frosty blue gaze piercing. What were Cupcake and Graham teaching their daughter? Why did she think it was okay to be mean like that? And why was Gusty the one there, talking to her about her bad attitude? “…What’s school like for Mimic?” For a moment, the filly looked confused, cocking her head and blinking brightly blue eyes up at Gusty. “Um…” She began slowly, taking a moment to really think about it, “I dunno. Not so good? The others make fun of her a lot ‘cause she’s poor and dirty sometimes and never combs her mane.” “Y’ever think that’s maybe why she’s so mean?” “…That’s a dumb reason to be mean.” “Would you want to be nice to somepony who’s mean to you?” Gusty countered, arching a brow as she looked down at the foal, “’Cause I’m kind of thinking no.” She herself had certainly never been inclined to be kind to the other ponies who made fun of and teased her and she could only imagine what Mimic’s life was like, if she was poor and different and didn’t fit in. “…No.” Lemon’s response was a mumble directed at the ground. Gusty watched as the filly pawed at the snow beneath her hooves, tail lashing anxiously. She had her head lowered and was hiding her face behind the tangle of her mane, expression obscured by the curly locks. For a moment, as she looked down at the little yellow unicorn, Gusty almost felt bad for her. But it crossed her mind…Would Lemon Meringue actually feel bad, if Gusty hadn’t brought the subject up? She had the grace to look ashamed, but would it ever have crossed her mind that maybe things could be different with Mimic if her own attitude changed? The older unicorn, having survived her own bullying, didn’t think so. She knew all too well how easy it was for foals to justify their actions – Hadn’t Lemon done it only mere moments ago? That thought left Gusty feeling rather unsympathetic , though she wasn’t sure it was entirely Lemon’s fault. If her parents weren’t teaching the right way to act, there was no way she would possibly learn. “Look,” the older unicorn finally said, “I’m not saying you have to be friends with her. And I’m not saying you gotta like her or even be nice to her. But you should respect her, because every pony deserves that. And even if she still treats you bad, at least you behaved better.” “Fine.” When Lemon looked back up, her blue eyes were lit with some strange fire, her expression something similar to one the mare had seen on Graham’s face only a couple days before. “I’ll be the better pony, because I am the better pony.” The statement was followed by her usual dramatic toss of her mane, her nose turned up, eyes sliding shut. Looking like that, she was the epitome of snobbery, a prime example of everything Gusty had hated about Canterlot and everything she had sought to escape. The white unicorn was about to open her mouth in response to Lemon’s less-than-enthusiastic declaration when a flash of lime green and pink entered her line of vision. Mimic had made her way back from the refreshment table. “I’m sorry!” And there was Fizzy, suddenly back by Gusty’s side, prancing anxiously in place, curls flying in her face, “I tried to keep her over there, I swear! But she didn’t really want to listen to me.” The teal mare’s magenta eyes were wide and, as soon as she stopped speaking, she began worrying her lower lip between her teeth. Given that she hadn’t been completely sure what she was going to say to Lemon Meringue next –and fairly certain she would have flown off the handle in the face of the spoiled filly’s attitude- Gusty was actually glad for the distraction. “It’s okay,” She assured her friend, glancing at the two small unicorns, “…I think.” Mimic had advanced a few steps, wary emerald gaze fixed firmly on Lemon’s face. Crouched low with her shoulders squared, her posture was defensive and she made Gusty think of an injured raccoon she had once encountered in the park. It had been in pain and needed help, but –uncertain whether or not it was safe to approach the groundspony- it had hung back, staring at her nervously until Gusty herself had decided the best course of action would be to just leave it and get Fluttershy. Only here, there was no Fluttershy to intervene, only Gusty, left to deal with a situation she was incredibly ill-equipped to handle. She watched, uncertainty and a small amount of dread curling in her belly, as Mimic took a few tightly controlled steps closer. The filly’s limp mane hid most of her face, so Gusty could only guess at what she might be feeling or thinking, but the way she was moving…It didn’t appear that whatever would come next would be a good thing. “’M sorry.” From under her hair, Mimic mumbled something, not bothering to neither look up nor speak up. Instead, she sat on her rump, only a foot or so away from Lemon, her hidden gaze cast somewhere to the left of the other small pony. At the whispered apology, Lemon’s head dropped, all air of snootiness surrounding her vanishing just like that. She looked at her schoolmate, eyes widening and standing out brightly blue against the pale yellow of her coat, a look of sheer surprise making a home for itself on her face. “…What?” “I’m sorry, okay?” At that, Mimic did look up, limp hair parting to reveal a mouth set in a thin line and luminous green eyes, bright with shame and fear, “I shouldn’t a dared you to do something so stupid. I shouldn’t a dared you to do anything. Just…please, please don’t tell nopony, because I don’t wanna get in trouble and lose my scholarship.” She sounded desperate, though Gusty suspected she spent most of her life trying to seem anything but. Lemon looked at her quietly for a long moment, the thoughts flickering through her mind practically visible. Being a young pony, she hadn’t yet learned to master her emotions, and a wide array of different feelings crossed her face at lightning speed. For a moment, she looked positively devious and wicked, as if her exact intent were to get the other filly in trouble; as if she would relish the very thought. Then she looked sad for a second, mouth turning downwards, ears flattening back. Then shameful, as if perhaps Mimic’s problems were somehow her fault. And, finally, her customary innocent expression settled back in place on her face, and she smiled, giving Mimic the sugary expression she usually saved for her parents. “I won’t tell,” she practically chirped the words, “but you must be nice to me from now on. No more calling me a baby or saying I’m stupid or making fun of me.” She finished with a smug smile, eyes twinkling in the glow of the Tree of Light’s magical candles. Gusty glanced over at Mimic, having absolutely no clue how the other filly might respond to that. The way Lemon Meringue had said it –so casually, yet so positively cruelly- would have sent Gusty herself into a snit as a young mare. But Mimic just looked coolly back at Lemon, gaze assessing, all of the fear leaving her eyes. “I’ll treat you nice when you treat me nice.” She said stubbornly, turning up her own muzzle in a mockery of Lemon’s earlier snobbery, “Because it ain’t fair if you get to be all rude still. Maybe I did somethin’ dumb, but so did you…And you could get in big trouble to, you know, ‘cause you tried to steal Galaxy’s star.” At that, Lemon’s expression hardened again, her guileless eyes narrowing beneath the brim of her sooty grey crocheted beret. She opened her eyes to respond, but Gusty –suddenly incredibly tired and not wanting there to be a scene- cut her off. “Can’t you both just be a little nicer to each other?” As she looked between the two fillies, Gusty found herself wishing for nothing more than to return to her mundane life, where things were so much less complicated and made sense. “…Fine!” They both spat out the word at the same time, though they both sounded as if they hated the idea. Lemon’s voice was high with indignity, her cheeks flushed red, while Mimic’s tone was solemn and deep, the voice of an already world-weary child. Then Lemon turned tail and trotted away, clearly indicating that now was not the time to start being nice. Gusty watched her retreating figure –her nose high in the air again, her tail bouncing in a mess of curls- and shook her head slightly. Then she turned and looked at Mimic, who was glaring after the other filly. “I, uh, should be getting back to…” Gusty wasn’t sure what to say anymore, so she just gestured vaguely in the direction of the refreshment table, “But…I’d like a chance to talk to you again before I leave town.” At that, Mimic cast a suspicious glance her way, emerald eyes searching her face. “…Why?” She asked dryly, one brow arching beneath the matted mess of her bangs. The older unicorn lifted a shoulder in half a shrug, pale blue eyes never leaving the filly’s face. “You remind me of me.”