//------------------------------// // Like a Soldier, to the Stage Part Two // Story: The Twilight Child // by Detectivefish //------------------------------// Hearth's Warming Eve arrived, with a fresh bout of snow to boot. All of Canterlot was covered, making travel across the city slightly hazardous until some industrious unicorns went out and kindly melted the snow off the major paths and streets, as well as kindly helping to save foals who had gotten their tungs stuck to lamp posts or giant candy canes. Twilight Sparkle had roused everypony early, and from all appearances hadn't actually gotten much sleep during the night, as Spike kept saying, until Rarity managed to quiet the dragon by whispering into his ear. Midday was assigned to fetching and carrying the sandwiches Twilight had thoughtfully prepared for everypony, though from the looks of it Twilight hadn't given much thought to individual tastes, or Rarity's claims of being on a special diet that require eating foods that were astoundingly expensive and from quite far away. Midday briefly wondered if that was because Rarity was trying to act more 'lady-like' rather than admitting she could make her own food, or because it was an actual quirk of her own. As they left the Twilight family house, Midday couldn't help but notice Twilight Velvet briefly shooting her a suspicious glare. The seven ponies walked through the somewhat slushy streets of Canterlot, Spike was not walking alongside them, instead the dragon was perched on Twilight's back, carrying a rather large rolled-up scroll, no doubt Twilight's last minute preparation list. Rainbow Dash seemed unusually flighty and inattentive, often rushing ahead of the group before waiting for them to catch up. "Is something wrong, Rainbow Dash?" asked Twilight. The pegasus stared at her. "Yeah, I had something I wanted to do before we got started." "What?" "Nothing important." "What?" Twilight asked again, innocently. "Just... getting tickets for a Wonderbolts performance that'll be on after Hearth's Warming. If I don't hurry I'd have to sit in the crummy seats, or worse yet, standing only." Twilight stopped and stared straight at Rainbow Dash, who was smiling the sort of smile ponies seemed to save only for transparent lies. "The Wonderbolts will have to wait, Rainbow Dash." Twilight finally said. "But!" Rainbow Dash's attempted rebuttal was foiled by Rarity. "Rainbow Dash, while I'm sure your sporting events are important to you, I think the rest of us would prefer..." Rarity looked at Twilight and smiled nervously, "Would prefer not to disappoint the Princess." "Silly Rarity, Twilight's not a princess" Pinkie laughed, tousling the fashionista's mane as she did. Rarity oddly did not even remark upon this. "It's alright," She said upon seeing the scandalised look on Applejack's face, "I'll have crown-hair by the end of the night anyway." They made their way to the palace, and the theatre room, and the small stage located therein, where several ponies were already moving about, the strange stage director from the day before bustling everpony about. "Okay, everypony, we have a long day to get through," Twilight announced, "And only so much time be-" Suddenly there was a brief flash around Twilight's head. Her eyelids began to droop, she yawned, and quickly fell asleep, and began snoring gently. "Somepony put Twilight to on side and... don't bother waking her." Midday said. There was a pause and two unicorns came along and lifted her onto a small chair where she could sleep to her heart's content. Midday noticed six ponies and one dragon staring at her. "I can explain" she said. "Please do" said Rarity. "Well, she's obviously not gotten enough sleep and I'm sure we've all seen what happens when she doesn't get enough sleep, so I zapped her with a calming spell. Don't worry," She said upon Fluttershy raising a hoof, "She'll be awake two hours before the performance, all we (by which I mean, you) have to do is have everything ready so she doesn't go into a meltdown." "Where did you learn that spell?" Trixie asked. "My aunt's pretty good at them. Now then come on, the sooner we get moving the sooner we can prevent the rampage of Nightmare Twilight." Everypony started moving. "The name needs a bit of work" Trixie said, helpfully. Midday simply bopped her on the head. "Make yourself useful, Trixie. Distract the foals or something." Trixie looked confused, then turned to see the CMC, and Dinky, who had arrived to watch the preparations. "Children," she muttered. "Why did it have to be children?" "Skip to it, Lulamoon." Midday laughed, earning herself a summoned snowball from the showmare. "I suppose you think you were being funny, just there?" Trixie asked, glowering at her. "Only a tiny bit." Meanwhile, the mares quickly dug out their costumes, Pinkie giggling at her costume and the thought of getting to wear it. "Why are we doing what she said?" Asked Rainbow Dash, as she dug out her helmet. "Ah dunno. It's like when Twilight says to do something, I guess. Ya just can't help but go along with it." Applejack shrugged. "Huh?" "Because we were gonna do it anyways?" "Uh." "Stop grunting, Rainbow Dash. You're positively giving me a haemmorage." Rarity said, as once more she tried on different crowns. Not because she couldn't choose one, she just wanted to remember how she looked. "Got it." There was a noise from the other end of the room, and a few gasps, and somepony decided to put on a fanfare. Midday turned to look. Walking down the hallway was Celestia herself, calm and naturally resplendent. "Hello, everypony," she said once she'd reached the stage. "I just thought I'd stop by, see how everything was going." She looked about the room, apparently not noticing her slumbering student, though Midday could, and the fact that somepony had put a blanket over her. "It-i-It's fine, fine!" Rarity said, taking the initiative. "Everything is going well and everything draws apace for tonight." "Except Twilight's having a brief nap-time" Pinkie grinned, before Rainbow Dash and Applejack dragged her out of sight. Celestia's gaze turned to Twilight, then to Midday, who grinned sheepishly. "I see" she said calmly, though Midday was certain that was the beginning of a grin somewhere on her face. "She's been working herself a bit ragged the last few days. I thought she could use a bit of rest." Celestia paused for a moment, apparently struggling with the slight grin on her face. "Very well then. Keep up the good work" Midday watched as the Princess of the Day walked out of the room once more. She was aware of a number of relieved sighs. And she couldn't help but feel relieved Fluttershy hadn't fallen over. "Okay, back to work." She smiled. ***** In fact, everything went to plan. Smoothly. Flawlessly. Nothing was broken, or damaged, and Rarity quickly wrenched herself away from playing dress-up with the crowns to rehearse. Trixie, from all appearances, seemed to be enjoying performing, even if only for children, and children as restless as the CMC at that. "Any questions? Any questions that aren't how I performed that trick?" Midday watched and laughed. Everything had been going fine. Then she heard Twilight yawn. The mare looked up, and then around, and a look of panic instantly crossed her face. "Oh no." The purple unicorn uttered. "Oh no!" She yelled. "Oh nononononono!" There was the sound of teleporting. Twilight looked distressed. "I fell asleep? I can't have fallen asleep!" She looked around the stage. "Where's my checklist, my checklist!" She yelped. "Here." Midday said, waving it at Twilight, who then teleported it out of her hold. "You... filled in my checklist?" she said, in the same tone used to confirm whether someone had eaten a puppy. "Well, you needed rest, Twilight. Can't have you going up on stage half-mad from lack of sleep and worried out of the rest of your mind. And look, everything's been taken care of" Twilight looked up at the scroll, then at Midday, who was trying to look eager and earnest. "I shall have to examine everything for myself." She said, all emotion gone from her voice. Midday suddenly decided she needed coffee, and noted that it was roughly two hours before the show started. ***** As it turned out, Twilight could find no problem with her checklist, though not for lack of trying, and so preparation continued without a hitch, until a few minutes before the curtain went up, when Twilight decided to mention what an honour it was for them to be chosen to peform the play, presumably for the sake of being original. And of course Fluttershy had a panic attack "Fluttershy, darling" Rarity said soothingly, "There's nothing to feel nervous about." "No?" Midday practically feel the hope rising in Fluttershy's voice, and felt with a certain dread that Rarity would probably say the exact wrong thing. "Of course not. All across Equestria, ponies are preparing their own pageants for Hearth's Warming Eve, in their own towns of course. It's tradition." Had Rarity actually bothered to tell Fluttershy that? It wasn't like the pegasus was an exchange student from Zebrica. "So you're saying they'll be to busy to come to our play?" Fluttershy asked. "Well no," Midday buried her face in her hooves as Rarity continued, too focused on powdering her face to notice Fluttershy's rapidly rising panic, "We're in the Canterlot Pageant, the biggest, most important production in all of Equestria. A lot of ponies will come to watch us." Midday quickly walked over to Fluttershy. "But it's okay, Fluttershy, because even if you are a bit nervous about going on stage, you'll still be there with your friends, who will be right there for you, and with you. Even if their idea of 'help' is a bit... exactly the opposite." Rarity 'hmmph'd', and continued powdering her face. "And they won't all be looking at you." "You mean it?" "Well... they will be looking at you sometimes, and some of them a bit more," She added, noting Fluttershy's former career as a model. "But still, you won't be alone out there, remember?" Midday's attempt to rouse Fluttershy's spirit was interrupted by a sudden sharp breeze from the window. "My hair!" Rarity yelped, "Applejack! Be a dear and shut those windows, will you?" However, Applejack was quickly distracted by Rainbow Dash, who seemed from Midday's perspective to have snapped, and believed she was being cheered on by a roaring crowd. Cheered for what, Midday wasn't certain, though knowing the mare's self-worshipping tendencies, it was probably just for existing. "It ain't the Rainbow Dash show!" Applejack snapped. "Well it should be the 'Rainbow Dash show'. I'm the star." The rainbow-maned pegasus snapped back. Midday had to admit that apart from being twenty-three years younger, and brasher, and her armor being dull grey, she looked almost exactly like the Rainbow Dash of her time. Minus all the positive growth she hadn't yet gone through. Applejack and Rainbow Dash quickly descended into bickering, and Fluttershy apparently had dived into a box containing decorations, and Rarity seemed unwilling to move to close the window. Midday sighed, and walked over to it. The windows slammed, and everypony looked at Midday. "Thank you" Rarity said, before going back to her hair. "Curtain goes up in two minutes" announced Spike, dressed in his frankly adorable costume. Midday wished she had a camera around. She couldn't help but feel Impy would've probably collapsed with laughter at seeing Spike dressed like that. "Okay, girls, this is it!" Twilight said, standing tall (as she could) and proud. "Everypony remember their lines, and how to act." "Rarity, manipulative. Rainbow Dash, bluster as much as possible." "Right." "Applejack and Fluttershy, you two are stuck in jobs you don't want, you don't like who you're working for, keep them from doing any damage." The two nodded, though Fluttershy could just have been shaking. "And Pinkie." Twilight turned to the grinning party pony, who was adjusting her pudding-themed hat, and paused. "... Babble." Pinkie's grin grew. "Break a leg." Trixie cheered. ***** The showmare and Midday watched from the sidelines, not quite as fun as watching from the front, as Spike began the introduction, leading everypony past the bits everyone knew: the three tribes, what they did, and the Long Winter. "Do you see that?" asked Midday, as she stared at the stage. She was certain it had been a lot smaller a few moments ago. Not that it was some small stage with barely enough room to swing a cat, but it suddenly seemed more spacious, and the roof seemed higher up. Midday felt her blood freeze, and the temperature seemed to have dropped regardless, and there were odd ghost-like noises. Something had gone wrong, at last. ***** Midday kicked herself for forgetting. Stories had power, it was a know fact. It was why some stories triumphed against all odds, poor recepticon, bad reviews, bad acting, that sort of thing, and endured for so long. The oldest stories wore grooves in the world, and it seemed, as she had been concerned about, that the power of three rather strong unicorns, mixed with the power of story, were warping reality. Midday frowned. 'Still,' she said to herself, 'I am reasonably confident nothing really bad can happen.' Though she did prepare herself just in case. Instead of the cheap stage props, something Rarity had been complaining dreadfully about, there was now a vast field, not entirely unlike one of the small farms next door to Sweet Apple Acres, with numerous earth-ponies in threadbare clothes working on it, while more respectably dressed unicorns walked up to them, disdain on their faces, as pegasi in dresses (or whatever they were actually called, stola, or something) flew above them. "And what prompted ponies to clash?" Spike narrated, though Midday couldn't see him, "'Twas a mysterious blizzard that overtook the land" And indeed, the fake sunlight vanished, the skies clouded over, and snow buried the entire... stage? She looked down. She was standing cannon-deep in snow! "This is weird" she muttered, shaking some snow off her hoof, uncertain of whether to use magic to melt the snow or not, even though it felt real. Spike continued on, describing how the tribes reacted to the disastrous weather, and how the tribes gathered to discuss the situation. "I love this bit" Midday heard Trixie whisper. Midday was certain she saw the illusion break, and some ponies dragging a small table onto the stage, then the illusion kicked back in. Rarity walked in (or on stage), dressed in finery and wearing a somewhat ostentatious crown. Midday was certain she heard an appreciative little filly 'oohing'. "Of course, Platinum wasn't at this thing," Midday said, not caring who heard her, "She wasn't allowed." Then Rainbow Dash landed on the stage, and Midday was certain there was something different about her, and not just the uniform. Then, there was a burst of kazoos, and Midday was certain she could see across the stage to where the musicians were seated, just out of sight, several of them looking furious at having to reproduce the Earth Pony Anthem so precisely. She heard giggles after the first few notes, and not just from the filly trio in the front row. One sounded remarkably like Bon-Bon. The three ponies stood at the table, placing their head-gear in front of them. Rainbow Dash, or Commander Hurricane, was the first to speak. "I WANT TO KNOW WHY YOU GROUND-POUNDERS ARE HOGGING ALL THE DAMN FOOD!" 'She' yelled. Midday was impressed. Rainbow Dash had gone beyond 'bluster'. She even got the cursing right. "Us?!" Puddinghead, or Pinkie, Midday wasn't able to tell which, "We're not hogging all the food, you are!" She glowered at Hurricane. Then she paused and giggled. "Oh wait. You're right, it's us." She reacted to Hurricane leaning towards her by getting angry. "But only because you pegasususususes are making it SNOW LIKE CRAZY!" Hurricane slammed her hoof down. "FOR THE HUNDREDTH TIME, IT'S NOT US! WE'RE NOT MAKING IT SNOW!" Hurricane glanced at Platinum, the first time in the proceedings. "It must be the unicorns." She growled, "They're doing it with their crazy magicks!" "Why would we freeze our only sources of food?" Midday was certain she could hear Twilight saying something about the script, but it didn't seem important at the moment. "I don't know!" Hurricane rolled her eyes, "Maybe you're stupid enough to think you'll actually survive FREEZING YOUR STUPID ASSES!" "How dare you!" Platinum hissed, "We would never do such a thing." "Well, if you non-earthers aren't gonna stop using your weirdo powers to freeze us all, then I'm plum out of ideas." Puddinghead smiled. "Oh, what a shocker. A ground-pounder with no ideas!" "Commander, please cease with the insults!" Platinum said, apparently she meant it. "You're not the boss of me, your royal snootiness." Hurricane said, hovering over the table and leaning right into Platinum's face. Rainbow Dash looked like she was about to get physically violent. Puddinghead started muttering. "What did you say?" Hurricane hissed. "What did you say?" "Stop doing that!" "Stop doing that!" Midday remembered what her mother had once said about the three rules of the pony-tribes. Pinkie was doing Twilight Sparkle's educated and well-researched summation of the Chancellor absolute justice. All three looked about ready to tear each other to shreds, and then, suddenly, they turned and walked out. Or off-stage. For a moment, Midday could swear she saw a strange swirling phantasm in a vaguely horse-like shape. "Windigos" she said to herself. The scene changed, to the Pegasus capital, where for some reason Hurricane was sitting outside instead of inside, say, an office, as one would expect of a leading military official, even in those times. Fluttershy, or rather, Private Pansy, who was probably her descendant (Though given Fluttershy's less obvious talents, being the descendant of Pansy wasn't as much of a surprise.). Pansy saluted as Hurricane landed. "Aren't you curious as to how it went?" she asked, her former bluster outright gone. Now she sounded... well, almost motherly. Midday tried not to burst out in fits of laughter at the idea of Rainbow Dash being a mother. "How did it go, sir?" Pansy asked. The commander sighed. "Horribly. The other leaders were so... disrespectful. It's like they don't even realise we are warriors, not to be crossed." She sighed, and rubbed her front hoof against her forehead. "Perhaps we should break ranks with those fools." The scene abruptly changed to the interior of a stone palace, where Twilight, or Clover the Clever (Pupil of Star-Swirl the Bearded himself) was waiting, dressed in only a simple cloth hooded cloak. Platinum quickly entered and shut the door. "How did it go?" Platinum looked at Clover and smiled as warmly as could be managed, though she looked weary beyond her years. "Poorly. The other tribes were impossible. Hurricane was a blustering, blundering oaf, and Puddinghead..." She shuddered, and walked over to a small blanket. She stared at it for a moment, and smiled. Clover looked nervous. "Your Highness?" "Yes, Clover? What is it? Why are you looking so nervous?" "Because you've got that face on." "What face?" "The 'I'm thinking of doing something mad and dangerous' face. I have nightmares about that face." "This is my normal face." Platinum said, a slight air of hurt about her. "I know." Clover looked down at her hooves Then the scene somehow changed again, though if Midday had a guess it was just the actresses standing on different parts of the stage, as she had seen during the rehearsals, though that all seemed strangely distant. It was the inside of something that in modern times would look more like a cabin, with a little unlit fire. Suddenly Pinkie, or more rather Puddinghead, appeared out of it. "Wouldn't it have been easier to use the door?" Asked Applejack, her voice strangely missing a lot of her accent. "Maybe for you, Smart Cookie." Pinkie smiled, and Midday knew the audience was probably smiling as well, since everypony and their mothers knew about the chimney bit. "But I am a chancellor. I was elected because I know how to think outside the box." She walked over to the chimney again, and ducked under it, "Which means I can think inside the chimney. Can you think inside the chimney?" Smart Cookie didn't get a chance to respond. "Didn't think so" Puddinghead beamed. There was a disgusted sigh from the poor pony. Midday wondered if anypony in the audience even knew of Cookie's reaction to being 'elected' for her current job, which while heartbraking for the poor mare, would be considered comedy gold to any modern viewer. Suddenly, Puddinghead gasped. "Hold on to your hooves! I am about to be brilliant!" "That'd be a first" Smart Cookie muttered under her breath "I have decided earthers are gonna go it alone!" Smart Cookie paused as she tried to figure out what that meant for the discussion with the tribe leaders. "You mean the other tribes didn't come around? Shoot..." A bit of Applejack's natural voice leaked through. Midday wondered, was the play making her use that voice, or was it something Applejack was doing herself? And she couldn't help but remember that orange was not the natural colour of any apple she knew of, and her Smart Cookie voice sounded like it was from... Manehattan, and there were the famous Manehattan Oranges, which meant... she made a mental note to check that out later, if she remembered. "I-I really though we could get through to them if we-" Puddinghead walked up to Smart Cookie and pattered her condescendingly on the head. "Don't worry about them. We're the ones with all the food, right?" Smart Cookie stared straight at her. "Actually, we're all out" she said, pointing to a window, where the constant snowstorm raged on. "Fine," Puddinghead shrugged, "Then we'll go somewhere new where we can grow some new food." She puffed up her chest, "And with me as our fearless leader, what could go wrong?" "(Where should I start?)" Smart Cookie muttered "The point is" Puddinghead declared, at which point Pinkie, Rarity and Rainbow Dash spoke as one to declare their intent of finding a new land. That was the first act break, and suddenly the illusions vanished into nothingness, and Midday found herself standing just off-stage next to Trixie, who looked slightly damp and very confused. "What just happened?" the showmare whispered. "The... story took over the play." Midday stated, trying to sound like she knew what she meant. The two quickly rushed to the others, who all looked a bit confused. "What was going on there?" Rainbow Dash asked, "I wasn't going to shout that loudly." "An' ah wasn't gonna speak like that." Applejack said. "Is it possible the play was somehow... acting through us?" Rarity suggested. Twilight scoffed. "Please, that's preposterous pseudo-magical nonsense. I'm sure there's a perfectly rational explanation." "Well, ah'm pretty sure ah have never spoken like... like... that" Applejack said, thought she twitched slightly as she said it. "That was quite the unsual accent. None of our voices changed, except Spike's and he was deliberately doing it." "It's the play," Midday said, "Plays are words and words have power, the story seemed to be acting through you all, probably due to the high amount of magical potential in the room, and the audience getting engrossed in the story." Twilight stared at Midday like she had just ranted about 'thinking in the chimney' herself. "With all respect, Midday, that is a total load of-" "Which of the ponies in this room faced down a draqonequus who could fold reality in half like a sandwich? Or managed to destroy a rampaging moon-god with love and tolerance? And you're telling me that after Pinkie-sense, Him and Nightmare Moon, plays possessing ponies is where you draw the line?" "Please tell me you didn't say that on purpose." Rarity sighed. Midday looked at her in confusion. "The cave scene? Act 3?" Midday nodded once she remembered. "Ah gotta say, it did feel a bit like somethin' was making me speak differently, and no matter what, I couldn't fight against it." "Did it tell you to kill your loved ones and bring about ever-lasting night?" Midday asked. "... No. Would'a remembered that." Applejack said, nervously. "Then I don't think there's any malevolence in it, though perhaps we should be a bit cautious going ahead, just in case. Last thing we need is Nightmare Farmer trying to do away with pears and bring about ever-lasting apples." Pinkie giggled slightly at that, though nopony else did (most especially not Applejack). "Any suggestions on how to deal with it?" Twilight asked, as she looked through a book for answers. "Let the story run it's course? We all know how it ends, and I doubt it's going to deviate that seriously, though I think there should be some emergency chocolate on standby." "How do you know about all this anyhow?" Asked Applejack. Midday paused, and tried to think of the best answer. Finding none that suited her, she decided to be flippant. "I'm Midday Eclipse," She said calmly, "I know stuff" ***** The curtain-call for the second act went up, and Midday took her place just off-stage, watching but feeling slightly more concerned than before. Spike began recounting how the tribe leaders set out, and the actors began showing this, with more differences than before, save except for most of Puddinghead's scenes which remained entirely the same, barring a few moments where Applejack's accent slipped. "THIS IS THE NEW LAND WE'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR! OUR NEW HOME" Hurricane proclaimed, looking over the pleasant fields of green. "I can see where I'm going to build my home." Pansy declared. Hurricane posed in mid-air, a mad grin over the pony's face. "I DECLARE THIS LAND TO BE... PEGASOPOLIS!" ***** Platinum moved from rock-formation to rock-formation, oohing and aahing every now and then. "Such riches, such value. This whole land just... dazzles" she said. It was not the most measured comment a princess as supposedly dignified as Platinum would make, but for whatever reason the illusion did at least illustrate what the old Equestrian territories looked like. Green and verdant and lush, and while the gems sticking out of every surface was a bit of an exaggeration, they were still amazingly beautiful. Platinum produced a flag from the large backpack Clover had been wearing, and planted it. "I hereby dub this land... Unicornia!" Midday could hear sniggering, and somepony who sounded an awful lot like Scootaloo making a cutting remark about 'corn'. Midday couldn't admit to having any moral high-ground there. If a filly was criticising a name like that, how in the world were full-grown adult ponies supposed to say it with a strange face? 'Unicornia' indeed, she thought to herself. ***** Puddinghead rushed around a hillock, cheering and whooping and dancing her utterly insane head off. "The air!" She took a deep breath. "The trees!" She sniffed around several trees that had looked like part of the backdrop. Then she scooped at the ground and took a bite of the dirt. That was certainly Puddinghead. Even Pinkie, extreme omnivore as she was, didn't eat dirt. "The dirt!" She cried without chewing. "This dirt is the dirt-iest dirt in the whole dirt world!" Smart Cookie took a small sample and examined it, presumably using earth-pony magic to determine its strengths. "And fertile, too. It'll be perfect for growing food" she smiled. Puddinghead bounced to the top of the hillock, and produced a flag from nowhere, and planted it on top. "In the name of the Earth Ponies, I think I'm gonna name this place..." The background music built up. "Earth!" The music suddenly stopped. Smart Cookie looked around. "Earth?" she said, or rather Applejack said because it was with her accent, "That's a terrible name for a place. Might as well call it Dirt. Welcome t' Dirt" she muttered with some disdain. "Dirtville!" Puddinghead declared, before stomping her hooves. "Glad I thought of it!" And than all three leaders spoke at once, and then noticed each other. "I PLANTED MY FLAG FIRST! THIS IS PEGASUS COUNTRY!" Hurricane boomed. "Did not!" Puddinghead jeered. "I DID!" Puddinghead paused, and actually appeared to think. "Well, we planted it earlier than first!" Smart Cookie face-hoofed "We could share the land?" Platinum suggested. "YOU ARE TRESPASSING IN PEGASOPOLIS!" "Dirtville!" "PEGASOPOLIS!" "Equestria?" Platinum said, as the pegasus and earth-pony squared off. "Anypony?" Hurricane rushed over to her. "I SAY WE FIGHT FOR THE LAND, AND WHOEVER IS LEFT STANDING (me) WINS!" Midday couldn't help but notice a sharp increase in wind, and a rapid temperature drop, but the characters didn't, even as the ground beneath their hooves dried up and snow began to waft increasingly faster past their faces. "That's barbaric." Platinum sniffed. "Look," Clover spoke up, "Perhaps if we all calmed down..." "I agree" Smart Cookie said "I vote for calm." Pansy added. Hurricane turned on her. "I'LL HAVE YOU DONE FOR INSUBORDINATION!" There was a sudden wet splat as something hit Hurricane's face. A snowball. Platinum began to chortle, before a snowball hit her. Both pegasus and unicorn turned to glower at Puddinghead, who already had a dozen snowballs lined up and ready to throw. Then she suddenly stopped mid-throw. "Wait... where'd this snow come from anyway?" Hurricane's line in the script indicate 'she' was supposed to utter 'oh no, not again'. Instead, Rainbow Dash's character uttered something that was both more character accurate, and incredibly rude and unsuitable for publication. Midday felt a dreadful pang in her soul as she knew one of the CMC would repeat that phrase at some point, right when it was most inconvenient. ***** The eight mares reconvened. Twilight looked both weary and excited. "Okay, girls, we're almost at the end. We've just got a few more minutes, and then the anthem, and that'll be us." "That's nice, though I was beginning to enjoy myself a bit." Fluttershy whispered. "There'll be other plays" Pinkie smiled. "Ah don' know. This don't seem natural to me, mucking about with stories being alive." "My throat hurts." Rainbow Dash croaked. Suddenly Ditzy appeared with a bowl of soup, which the pegasus downed rapidly. "Oh, that's better. Ditzy, you are a lifesaver." The mailmare smiled. "Thanks, Rainbow Dash." "I owe you one." The mare gave Rainbow Dash a smile that suggested that she'd remember that, and rushed off. "Only one more act." Rarity said, calmly. "And it's the best bit!" Pinkie bounced up and down. "And then it's Hearth's Warming time!" Trixie declared. Everypony stared at her. "What?" "You're in a cheery mood" Twilight observed. "I'm watching national heroes acting on stage. Why shouldn't I be?" She grinned, before gliding off. "Ah can't tell if that was an insult or not," Applejack considered that statement, "An' ah'm not sure ah want to, either." ***** The curtain went up once more, and Spike began to narrate. "And so the paradise that the ponies had found was soon lost, buried beneath a thick blanket of snow, and hard feelings. Instead of beautiful, it was blizzardy" "That's not a real word!" Twilight hissed. "Instead wonderful, it was wintry." Ponies were already looking annoyed. Midday rolled her eyes. "Instead of spectacular, it was snow-tacular." Midday opened her mouth to speak. "Instead o-" There was a sudden explosion of noise from the blue showmare beside her. "GET! ON! WITH! IT!" Spike fell over from the shock, though he wasn't the only one who was startled. He stood up and laughed nervously, and began to actually narrate properly. The story-fueled illusions kicked in once more, showing a tiny cave with the six ponies inside. And of course, the leaders began to fight while the underlings tried to make peace. Or that was how the script went. Strangely enough, Pansy and Hurricane began to fight, and when Platinum and Puddinghead attempted to intervene, Hurricane knocked them out. Midday frowned at that. She knew the context, but without that precious context, it was meaningless. She noticed it was beginning to get really, really cold, and all she could think of was the things that made her unhappy. Being stuck in the past, Rainbow Dash's boorish behaviour, Applejack, Twilight's total lack of common sense, the mess she'd made of her life, Star-Swirl ruining everything by existing, and then... she saw it. Ice was beginning to form around her feet. "What the hay?" She muttered. She could see ice forming around Trixie, who looked equally panicked, although for her it was spreading quicker. "Trixie, quick! Think happy thoughts!" "I know what's going on," the mare snapped, "I know it's those Windigo things, and we're caught up in the story, like you've been saying non-stop all evening! Trixie didn't fall off the back of a wagon, you know!" "Sorry." Midday said. She looked over to the fighting ponies. Rarity, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash were now completely covered. There was a hideous roaring noise, and everypony who could looked up at the ceiling. "What is that thing?!" Fluttershy yelled. "They must be Windigos!" Clover stated Smart Cookie and Pansy looked confused. "My mentor Star-Swirl told me about them. They're winter spirits that feed off fighting and hatred. The more hate the spirit feels, the colder it becomes." 'Bravo for Star-Swirl' Midday thought to herself, 'Didn't bother to put it down in paper, or in that fantastic journal of his' She shook her head. Angry thinking wasn't going to help. She had to think positive, think of the positive. "Then... this is our fault!" Smart Cookie said, "We three tribes... we brought the blizzard to our homes by fighting and not trusting each other. Now it's destroying the land, too." "Now we've destroyed ourselves as well, I'm afraid." Clover said quietly. Midday knew the script mentioned something heavy-hoofed about hatred. She'd have preferred re-writing it to include a heavy-hoofed lecture of trust, herself. "But, we're not fighting," Pansy chimed. "And I don't hate you guys." She paused, as the ice began to move up their cannons. "And I don't really hate Hurricane. She can be loud almost all the time, but she is alright once you get to know her." "I don't hate you two either" Smart Cookie smiled. "Nor do I" Clover laughed. "No matter what our differences, we're all still ponies." Then, there was a strange glow from Twilight's horn, and from the look on her face, it wasn't scripted. It shot up into the ceiling, and then spread. It washed over Midday and felt warm, and lovely, and like- Birthdays with mom and dad, laughing with Shining Sapphire, learning from Uncle Shining Armor, cooking with Pinkie Pie the other week, helping Rarity and Impossibility sew and laughing at the mistakes. It felt like the time mother had said she was proud of her, how Aunt Cadance always smiled and lit up the room, of that Luna from the other world who had believed in her, of meeting her double, being with Wisp, every time. Now the friendship was spreading, she felt like she could feel everypony else's joy. Running through a forest, a sleepover gone wrong and right at the same time, being reunited with an old friend though lost forever, of a successful party. of a much needed hug after a long day, of being there for the triumphs and the failures and everything inbetween. It was friendship, and it felt like magic, and it felt good. There was one more pitiful wail from the Windigos as the illusion vanished completely. Six ponies stood upon a stage, staring at the audience, who stared right back. Above Twilight's head was a glowing fiery pink heart, exuding warmth in both a physical and an emotional sent "What was that?" Fluttershy said. "I didn't know unicorns could do that" Applejack frowned. "I didn't either," Twilight whispered, though from the looks of it she was still acting "Nothing like this has ever happened before. But I know it couldn't have been just me. It came from all three of us, joined together in friendship" She was certain she could hear Scootaloo making gagging noises, before there was the sound of a swift kick, most likely from Apple Bloom. Spike finished the narration, of how they thawed out the leaders, and such, and founded the very beginning of Equestria, leaving out the bit where everything fell apart and Discord came along, and the Crystal Empire vanished, and Nightmare Moon of course. It was a happy ending for this play. 'Happy endings' Midday smiled. And then everypony began to sing. ***** The eight mares sat about, laughing and talking and chatting. "So, you think the illusion's gone." Midday frowned, and smirked. "Well, the story ended, Twilight, like almost all stories. Every story ends" she said. "Except the ones that say 'to be continued'" Pinkie smiled, "I like those stories, because then you can just keep telling them forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever-" "I think it'll return, next year, and the next. Good stories are worth repeating." A few heads nodded slowly as that statement was considered. "We should be so honoured that Celestia chose us" Twilight smiled, "She must really think we exemplify what good friends are." "Well, you managed to take down two rampaging gods together using harmony. Bit of a clue there: Harmony." "-And ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and-" There was a sudden draft. "I thought you closed that window." Applejack said. Midday looked over to the window. "I thought I closed it as well." "I though Rainbow Dash was supposed to close it." Trixie said. "-And ever and ever and ever an-... Hey, where'd Dashie go?" "Good question." Midday said as her horn glowed, closing the windows. "Where is Rainbow Dash?" She looked around the room. "Probably jus' went to the bathroom or something." There were more nods. "Now, shall we go wait for her in the main hall, then perhaps go get some delicious Hearth's Warming Eve dinner?" ***** "FOR THE LOVE OF BUCK, I only want to find one unicorn! How hard can this be for you? One unicorn, that's all I'm looking for!" Rainbow Dash yelled at the pony. He was not the sort of unicorn prone to evilness, except the sort of evil that comes from making ponies bored, and that particular sort of bored that a) is costing you money, and b) occuring when you should be having a nice time. But this pegasus was quite insistant, on Hearth's Warming Eve no less, of looking at his records, and the guards couldn't arrive fast enough. "Look, I'll even give you a name if it speeds up the damn process. Midday Eclipse. M-i-d-d" The stallion held up a hoof. "I can spell" he said calmly. He sighed. "But yelling at me will not change the nature of reality. I can assure you, ma'am, there is no pony who has ever worked for any branch of he-.. of Their Majesties government with that name" "Are you absolutely sure?" he stared at her. He wanted to go home. He wanted to sit in his nice chair covered in cushions in front of the fireplace and put his feet up, not argue with an overly wound-up pegasus about filing errors. "Look," the pegasus said, "Just give me five minutes, that's all I ask. I just want to find one pony, I know the file I'm looking for. Just show me the file, and I'll be out of your hair." Wheels began to turn in his mind. He sighed. This required doing things in a different way than he was used to. "Very well, come with me" he said. He ducked down behind the desk and removed the small set of keys that hung there where nopony could take them. He led the pegasus along to a room. He opened the door, revealing a near totally empty room, save for one solitary filing cabinet. The pegasus speeded over to it, and opened the drawers, and finally found one that matched what she was looking for. "M... m a... m e... m i... mic... mid" She stopped. There were the sounds of folders being flipped, and reflipped. He pitied the poor pony who would come in after the winter break and find his or her files untidily flipped. The noise stopped. "She's not here." The pegasus stated. "Why isn't she here?" she turned on the stallion, and advanced on him. "WHY ISN'T SHE HERE?!" Her breath smelt unbearably like cheap coffee. "I honestly cannot say." The mared groaned, which turned into a full roar and she kicked the wall. He just raised an eyebrow (A skill all good buraucrats develop sooner or later, if not at basic training). He walked out into the hallway. The mare followed him. "Fine, I'll just look through every folder I can until I find her!" She hissed. There was the sound of ponies who had previously been walking silently making an effort to be loud. Rainbow Dash turned to see two imposing guards looking down at her. "Is there a... problem?" one said. Rainbow Dash looked at the guard, and the other guard, and considered her options. She muttered something unladylike. "Fine, fine, I'll go" She muttered. ***** The group waited for a full ten minutes for Rainbow Dash, and she finally appeared flanked by two guards, who quickly departed once she mingled with the others. "Hooray! Rainbow Dash has returned and we can all get dinner," Pinkie cheered. "It really takes it out of you, being turned into a metaphorical personification of a historical figure." There was a slight pause. "It's just Pinkie." Fluttershy said when nopony else did. "Jelly baby?" The pink mare said, waving a small paper bag in everypony's face. "So where were you Rainbow Dash?" Asked Twilight. "Just looking for something I left here last time." She muttered, half-heartedly. "Guessin' ya didn't find it." "Not yet." Rarity slowed her pace, and Rainbow Dash slowed hers as well. "You couldn't find anything?" Rarity whispered. Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Not a blip. It's like she does't even exist." There was a slight moment of silence. "And no, I didn't get to check anywhere else. I don't think I'd have gotten away with it. I think we need to step up our game." "After the holidays, Rainbow." "Duh. Not wasting my time off. I'm gonna be doing awesome stuff." "Like napping?" "That too." The two quickly resumed walking fast alongside the others. Midday watched them and suddenly called out. "You girls go on ahead, I've got somepony I need to talk to about things." ***** Some fifteen minutes later, there was a knocking on the door of Princess Celestia's private chambers. The Solar Diarch looked up from her book. "Who is it?" The door knocked again. She sighed. If this was Shining Armor with another blasted report, she was going to recommend he have a psychiatric evaluation. She opened the door and found Midday smiling at her. "I was in the area, though I'd come by and say thanks." "For... what?" "Well, for whatever you did with all the stuff on me you've had that nice Gumshoe collect for the last few months." Celestia blinked. "You... knew about that, about him?" "I can spot a guard trying to blend in. Bearing in mind I grew up around members of the guard." Celestia nodded at that. "I suppose you would have." Midday nodded and stared aimlessly at the room, and noticed Celestia was ungarnished. Just her, not jewelery or shoes. "By the way, the play..." "Yes?" "That happens every year, right? You have somepony reignite the 'fires of friendship' with that play?" "It's worked so far, and it's a good story." "But you knew Twilight wasn't in danger, right?" "She had her friends with her. I knew they'd manage." For an instant, Midday's smile flickered, and she went silent. "What... exactly," She said after a few moments silence, "Did you do with the stuff on me?" "Well, I had it hid in the last place anypony would think to look." Midday considered this for a moment. Then she grinned and started laughing. "You didn't!" "I did." "Nice one." "Thank you." "She'd never look for it there." Midday laughed. "Well, have a good Hearth's Warming." She turned to leave, "You are spending it with family, right?" "Don't worry about me, Twilight Twinkle. You just enjoy time with your family." "Bet you enjoyed that one." Midday smiled, before closing the door behind her. Celestia sighed and returned to reading a book, briefly pausing to look at a picture of her with Twilight and Spike. She smiled slightly. She looked at the book, stood up and went to find Luna. ***** "Happy Hearth's Warming, everypony!" Twilight Velvet smiled. "Here, here" Rarity raised her glass. Everypony, and Spike, did the same. "Slow down, Trixie, no need to go all Prench on us yet." Midday cautioned. The showmare waved a hoof. "Let Trixie have her fun. Besides, I've got you to remember everything for me." "Guess that blast of friendship got to you, huh?" Applejack smiled. "And to those who aren't here." She said, noticing the look on Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity and Twilight's faces. ***** "Cadance..." "Shining..." "Happy Hearth's Warming, dear." ***** "Lyra!" "Sweetie!" ***** "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS CAROL SINGERS! YAY!!!" "Not indoors, girls." "Aww..." ***** "Luna?" "'Tia?" "I see you're not wearing your sweater." "It's not Hearth's Warming Day yet. And neither are you." "... On the count of three." "Ready when you are." "As I'll ever be." "Happy Hearth's Warming Luna." "Softie!" "Somepony needs a Hearth's Warming Hug!" "Stay back, back! Aghhh! Itchy, itchy, itchy, ITCHY!" ***** "Muffin." "Night momma." ***** Several ponies lay slumbering in the drawing room of the Twilight House. Rarity sleep on a sofa, with Spike curled up next to her. Rarity claimed he was a functional hot-water bottle, and didn't mind his scaly skin. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were passed out next to Fluttershy, and Trixie had fallen asleep on Twilight. Only Pinkie, Twilight and Midday remained awake. "You know any songs 'bout going to sleep there, Midday?" Pinkie asked. "Me? I know one, I suppose, but... no." The royal blue unicorn scoffed. Twilight and Pinkie stared at her. She looked down at her hooves. "I don't wanna sing it. And it gets real loud." "C'mon, it's already one in the morning and we're gonna pass out in a few moments anyway" Pinkie sighed, "Go ahead and sing." "I don' like singing." "How old are you?" "Eighteen. Ish." "You look older than that." Twilight muttered. "I know." "C'mon" Pinkie slurred as her eyelids drooped. "You've got a song, so sing." "My father sang it to me once, when I was little. I don't know where he learnt it but, I guess... just this once..." She coughed slightly and took a breath, and began to sing... "Lay down, your sweet and weary head..."