• Published 2nd Sep 2013
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Ice Hearts - GrassAndClouds2



Ditzy and the other Elements must contend with a windigo who wants to find his child, and a noble of the Court who wants the child for herself

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Thaw

Ditzy didn’t care much for a lot of Vicereine’s Puissance’s tastes. She wouldn’t have wanted the mare to select her outfits, or her home decor, or the flowers she put in her window box. But Ditzy did have to give Puissance one thing: the mare’s taste in hot chocolate was impeccable.

The Elements, the Vault ponies, and Puissance sat in another lounge, this one across the hotel from where the windigo had broken in. Almost everypony was drinking the hot chocolate that Puissance’s staff had brewed up, except for the old mare herself, who was sipping a tea drink that involved coating the tea leaves in pure silver before infusing them into the water, Solar Flare, who drank nothing and stood besides Puissance like a devoted bodyguard, and Ice Heart, who was guzzling chocolate milk like there was no tomorrow.

“...and so!” Trixie was saying, her horn flashing as she conjured up illusions and images to better explain what had happened to the Vicereine, “The windigo attacked us, but we drove it back! By using the power of our friendship, we forced it away and out to the steppe where it can’t hurt any of us, or you, or your ward.” She beamed. “And so--except for the brief period of time during which some particularly negative ponies might have been able to argue that you were, in a purely technical sense, ‘frozen’--we were able to prevent the windigo from harming anypony. I hope, Vicereine, that these events meet with your satisfaction.”

“Mmm,” said Puissance, in the most purely non-communicative tone that Ditzy had ever heard. She was wrapped in towels that shone with platinum and silver threading, though she somehow still managed to look regal as she perched on an armchair. “Your skill in driving off the windigo was indeed impressive. I assure you that I will convey my appreciation in my report to the Princess. And I do promise that I will not give… disproportionate attention to the fact that both Dame Blackcherry and I were injured by the windigo.” She took another sip of her tea. “However, I must tell you that certain intemperate comments made by other members of your party--”

“Ah, yes, those!” said Trixie, grinning. “See, when we were fighting the windigo, I used my ‘magic sight’ spell to look at you and Cheerilee--and Ditzy too. The three of you were heavily affected by the windigo’s magic. All those comments? Just the windigo controlling you three to make you mad at each other.” Her grin began to stretch at the sides of her face. “I’d go so far as to say that nopony meant any of them. And, that being the case, I don’t really think it’s necessary to waste the Princess’s time by repeating a litany of insults that nopony in this room would ever have said if they weren’t being influenced by a malevolent monster.”

“Hey!” said Ice Heart, lowering his mug. Ditzy realized that he’d drunk so much chocolate milk that his ice had taken on a faint brownish tinge. Ah, to have the metabolism of youth again…

“...who is nonetheless surely a loving and supportive father,” Trixie corrected.

“Mm-hmm.” Ice Heart smiled, though it looked a little sad to Ditzy--not that she was surprised; she knew how much the foal had wanted to meet his father--and returned to his mug.

Puissance had adopted a pensive look. “I see,” she said. “Well, Dame Trixie, I suppose that--if it really was only at the windigo’s urging that certain comments were uttered--I might be able to justify omitting a few particular remarks. Dame Blackcherry’s assertion that I must have bribed both of my husbands to overlook my ‘clutching, avaricious personality’ and my ‘leathery, wrinkled flanks’ to deign to marry me, for example, could be overlooked. Of course, I--”

“Exactly!” chirped Cheerilee from beneath her own pile of towels, cutting off what would surely have been a request for some favor. “Just like we could overlook your comment to me that I should have had my sister shipped off to Shouma years ago so she didn’t keep humiliating me with her ‘drunken revelries’. I don’t think that needs to come up when we talk to the Princess about our experience on this little adventure.”

Puissance was silent for a long moment. Finally, she said, “I’m glad we’re in agreement that there is no need to mention any such comments. They were said due to the windigo’s influence, and thus are not representative of how any of us truly feel about each other. Certainly they don’t rise to the level of meriting a formal complaint.”

“Or even holding a grudge,” said Trixie. “Yes?”

Puissance inclined her head slightly, and Ditzy--who was also wrapped up in towels, though more conventional ones than the Vicereine’s--noticed that a load of tension seemed to vanish from Trixie’s body as the showmare slumped forwards in what looked like relief. “Yes,” said Puissance. “No need for any of that.”

She rose to her hooves swiftly, as if she had just come to a decision. “I must say,” she told the Elements at large, “That I am impressed by your actions. You protected myself, my ward, and his friends from harm, at substantial risk to yourselves. I will make a note of this to the Princess. Now--” She looked at the others, her gaze eventually landing on Ice Heart, who had tipped the cup upside-down over his muzzle so he could get at the last drops of chocolate milk. “I must send a message to the princess. She may wish to visit us tomorrow to examine the situation; in that event, I trust you will behave with the appropriate dignity. As for now, I will be taking my leave for the night. Come along, Ice Heart.”

“Yes, Auntie.” Ice Heart reluctantly put the mug down and got up. He hurried over and gave Puissance another leg hug, though his face still held a fair amount of hurt mixed in with his relief. “Good night.”

Puissance paused. “Are you alright, dear?” she asked in a voice indicating that company was present and that being alright was thus the only appropriate way to be.

But Ice Heart sighed. “I’m real happy you’re safe, and that Solar Flare’s safe, and that everypony else is safe too,” he said. “But I wanted to talk to my dad, and…”

“Dear, it was not possible. Based on Dame Trixie’s recounting of events, it appears that your father cannot even approach you without being injured by--”

“By my friendship, I know.” Ice Heart sighed again. “But I don’t wanna stop being friends with anypony. I just wanted to talk to my dad.”

Puissance looked confused as to what to do next, but then Orangerie trotted over and scooped Ice Heart into a big hug. “Hey, don’t worry,” she said. “We’re your family. And we’re not going anywhere. Besides, who knows? Maybe when you’re older we can try again.”

“Maybe.”

Puissance coughed. “A splendid idea,” she said without conviction. “We should discuss it tomorrow. As for now…”

Ice Heart took the hint and trotted out. The rest of the Vault ponies followed, with Puissance bidding Trixie and the others goodnight and leaving last.

When their footsteps had faded away, Trixie cheered. “Alright! We protected the kid, beat the baddie, and we did it all without making another Viceroy want to destroy Ponyville. Mission accomplished!”

“I didn’t think she liked us,” said Carrot Top. Her voice was slightly muffled, largely because Ditzy had shifted so that she was leaning against the earth pony as she reclined on the couch. “Even at the end.”

“Oh, I’m sure she doesn’t,” said Trixie. “But she was sincere enough when she was saying there was no need to hold grudges over anything that happened here--especially since, if she were to complain about our conduct or words, we could complain about hers. She might think we’re barbarous cretins in her heart, but on the surface, she’ll live and let live. And trust me, that’s the best you’ll get from her.” She got up. “Now… I don’t know about you girls, but I’m beat. Anypony want to head upstairs with me?”

The others got up, but Ditzy waved a hoof. “I’ll stay down here for a few more minutes, if you don’t mind.” She wanted a warm bed, true, but at the moment the sofa was proving to be too cozy for her to get up. Even if her pillow was heading upstairs with the rest of them. Note to self, she thought. Carrot Top makes a lousy pillow. She’s comfortable, but she gets up and leaves too easily.

“Alright,” said Trixie. “See you soon. “

The other mares headed upstairs. Ditzy lay on her back and looked up at the mural on the ceiling, which featured a stylized image of Equestria’s three great founders, Puddinghead, Hurricane, and Platinum, staking flags in what would eventually be known as the Canterhorn. Staring at the image, she gradually felt herself begin to drift off to sleep.

***

“Ditzy?”

The mailmare groaned and looked up to see Orangerie, who was looking at her with a smile that nonetheless showed some signs of trepidation. It was too still, like she was actively forcing it to remain in place. Glancing at a wall clock, Ditzy realized that she’d fallen asleep for about half an hour. “Um,” said Ditzy. “Hi?”

Orangerie giggled. “I hope I’m not bothering you. I just wanted to ask… um…”

Ditzy rolled over and got to her hooves. “Yes?” she said, moving so that Orangerie could sit down if she desired.

The farmer was quiet for several moments. “What you said before,” she said. “Can you really shut down the Vault if you don’t like it? Did Luna give you that power? Because you seemed awfully confident…”

It took Ditzy a few moments to figure out how to respond to that. “Not exactly,” she said. “All I could do would be to ask Princess Luna. But…” She paused. “Oh. You’re wondering if I’m still planning on doing that.”

Orangerie nodded. “I know you probably don’t care what I have to say--” she began.

“I do,” said Ditzy. “Honestly.”

“--But please don’t. So many of us would have nowhere else to go. We’d lose all our friends. And… even if you don’t like her… we couldn’t bear to leave the Vicereine. She’s given us so much, and asked for so little.” Orangerie looked down. “Please don’t take us away from her and each other.”

Ditzy guided Orangerie onto the couch so that both of them were sitting. “I know you care for each other,” she said. “Or you wouldn’t have been able to hold off the windigo. For that matter, Solar Flare wouldn’t have fought the windigo in the first place if she didn’t love the Vicereine very much.”

“Right,” said Orangerie. “I know the whole idea of the Vault sounds strange, but it works for us.” She paused. “Please don’t destroy it.”

Ditzy said nothing for a long moment. “I think,” she said at last, “That it’s wrong for her to prevent you all from seeing ponies outside of the Vault. I know she does a lot for you that she’s not required to do, and I know that she’s made your lives happier than they were, but it’s wrong for her to demand that you stay so isolated. She has enough power and wealth to find some way to allow those of you who want other friends to have them without violating the privacy of those of you who don’t. But she won’t, because she has power over you, and so she doesn’t have to. She has the right to make that choice. But it’s still wrong.”

Orangerie’s eyes began to bead with tears, but Ditzy hastened on. “However. You and your friends are adults. If you consent to that environment, then--even if it’s not a choice I would make, and even if I think that the Vicereine is abusing her power over you by not allowing you to stay in touch with your families or other friends--I don’t have the right to get in your way. I won’t ask the Princess to close the Vault.”

Orangerie threw her hooves around Ditzy. “Thank you!”

“I didn’t finish.” Ditzy carefully extricated herself from Orangerie’s embrace. “Ice Heart, however, is not an adult. He doesn’t have the capacity to consent to living in an environment in which he’ll never know another pony his own age.” She was silent for a long moment. “I won’t object to you and Solar Flare and the other adults living in the Vault like you are. However, I will not accept the idea of Ice Heart remaining as he is.” She shook her head. “He needs friends to grow up with.”

“You don’t understand. He doesn’t trust ‘normal’ ponies his own age--and with good reason. I mean, you know what happened to him, right?” Orangerie waited for Ditzy’s nod, then added, “And as for other unique foals... the Vicereine’s been looking to add more to the Vault, but it’s hard. There’s not that many, after all, and even fewer who have no home and need what the Vault offers.”

Ditzy said, “Vicereine Puissance is the most powerful pony in Equestria short of Luna Herself. If she wanted to, she could find him some ‘normal’ friends his own age that wouldn’t be mean to him. You know it as well as I do, Orangerie.”

The farmer sighed. “Yes,” she said at last. “I mean, he’s talked about it too, and I’m sure the Vicereine could be trying harder to find him some buddies. But… even if she’s made mistakes, even if you could argue that she’s not an absolutely perfect mother, Ice Heart still loves her dearly. If you took him away, he’d break.” She looked down. “I mean, it’d be great if somepony could convince her to let Ice Heart see other ponies, but if that won’t happen, Ice Heart’s still happier and healthier in the Vault than he would be outside.”

Ditzy thought for a moment as the inklings of a plan came together in her mind. “You said he doesn’t trust normal ponies,” she said at last. “But I think he trusts me.”

“You’re not normal, though. You’ve got the cool eyes.” Orangerie cracked a smile and pointed at Ditzy’s face. “You should have heard Silver Sculptress, by the way. She said your face is proof that there can be great beauty in violating symmetry.”

Uh. Ditzy made herself ignore that. “I mean, do you think he would trust me to recommend a ‘normal’ foal to him as a good friend? Especially if I could come up with some proof that this other foal can play with unusual ponies?”

“Sure, but… I mean, right after this, we’re headed back to the Vault. I don’t think Puissance will let you take Ice Heart on a field trip to meet a new friend.”

“She doesn’t need to,” said Ditzy, a smiling curling up the edges of her mouth. “I can introduce him to some great new friends right from here. But I’ll need your help.” She explained what she needed Orangerie to do. “Will you?”

Orangerie hesitated. “I don’t think the Vicereine would like this…”

“Probably not. But this is what Ice Heart wants.”

“What he really wants is his father,” mused Orangerie. “But… yes. He does want friends too.”

Ditzy nodded. “If Puissance truly does love you as much as she says she does, then she’ll understand why you’ll do it and won’t hold it against you.” She picked up the other mare’s hoof. “Are you with me?”

Silence stretched across the room for a moment. Besides the howling of the wind on the steppe outside, Ditzy could hear nothing whatsoever. Please, she thought. I need your help for this.

And then Orangerie smiled. “I’m in,” she said. “Let’s do it!”

***

What he really wants is his father.

Ditzy and Orangerie chatted for another half hour, talking about life in Ponyville and the Vault, respectively. Ditzy had to admit that some of the things Orangerie said about the Vault did sound very convenient. The idea of groceries and other supplies being delivered directly to her doorstep, for instance, was something that Ditzy liked the sound of; she hated having to pry time away from being with her child to run to the market because she’d forgotten to get a loaf of bread or a flower garnish. Meanwhile, Orangerie seemed intrigued by some of Ponyville’s own quirks. The various shenanigans that the foals, the flower trio, and Bonbon’s mad scientist mother got into seemed to amuse her to no end.

Eventually, Orangerie yawned and excused herself. With one last ‘good night, ‘she vanished into the west wing of the hotel, and Ditzy was again alone. She got up to return to her own bed, looking forward to falling asleep and putting the very long day behind her, but something stopped her.

What he really wants is his father.

Ditzy glanced out the window and sighed. Intellectually, she knew she was about to do something very stupid. Her friends would surely have counseled her against it if she had asked them. But she wasn’t going to ask them. Ice Heart had endured a rough life, and she had a feeling the windigo’s hadn’t been much more pleasant. If there was a way to do something for them, for their far-flung family which had crossed countless miles for this meeting only to be prevented from so much as touching each other, she was going to find it.

She threw on her coat and a scarf, grabbed a lamp, and left the building.

The snow had almost stopped, with only a light dusting descending to build up the endless piles beyond. Ditzy thus worked her way easily through the wilderness. She had taken this route several times in the past few days, and now that the snow was no longer a blizzard, she could more clearly discern the occasional landmark that poked above the snow--an old shack, a big rock, a banner proclaiming some notable event that had happened there. Ditzy passed them all, heading steadily north of the northernmost village in Rushia, and continuing deeper into the empty steppe.

The windigo was right where they had found it days ago. It was standing with its head bowed, and in the moonlight Ditzy thought she saw masses of new cracks which spread all over its body. But it didn’t look pained, and as it snapped one eye open and directed it at her, she felt a single moment of pure terror. Maybe, she thought, she should fly like the wind and return to the hotel. That would be safer. It would be more pleasant.

But it wouldn’t help Ice Heart, a foal without a father, or the windigo, a father who had lost his foal. So she kept going.

The air seemed to take on a sort of charge as she crossed the empty plain, and her coat was standing on end when she reached the windigo. It had grown while she walked--that was the only way she could put it--and now its open eye was larger than her entire head; its head surpassed her body. When it blinked, the breeze knocked her back a step.

“The old cracks on your body,” she mused. “You got those from Ice Heart’s mother, didn’t you?” She was silent for a moment. “You must have loved her very much. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”

The windigo said nothing.

There has to be some way to communicate with him without Trixie, thought Ditzy. The Shadowbolts did it, right? And Trixie said the first guy to talk to it was some engineer. It has to be possible. I could try drawing in the snow, but with my eyes I’m not going to be able to make clear pictographs at night. I don’t think he gets speech. But that… oh.

She raised a hoof, lingered for a moment, and then gently pressed it up against the windigo’s muzzle.

Her body bucked involuntarily as a blast of the deepest cold she had ever felt swept through her, along with another surge of need, but this time she was ready. She thought of images of her friends, neighbors, and her wonderful daughter, wielding them in her mind like a shield and diverting the windigo’s torrent of desire. I don’t need your needs, thought Ditzy. I have them of my own. I have a child whose needs I have to take care of, and friends, and so many other ponies. I don’t have room for your needs too.

The windigo’s desires battered against her psyche, but Ditzy held, and a moment later they receded… and Ditzy found herself looking at the windigo, really looking, as if she had never seen him before.

They stood still for a moment, neither saying a word.

Then Ditzy began. “Your son needs to be safe,” she said. “Safe from harm and fear.”

The windigo didn’t seem to react.

So Ditzy thought of Dinky and how she had fulfilled her daughter’s needs. How she had found her when she had been trapped in the rain, and wiped her muzzle when she’d been sick with the pony flu, and fed her and sheltered her and treated her as a daughter should be treated. That, she thought, was what any foal needed. She focused on how Dinky must have felt with her needs fulfilled--her belly sated, her cold body warmed up, her illness eased by a mother’s touch--and tried to ‘send’ that to the windigo.

The windigo still didn’t move, but it made the faintest sound… half-grunt, half-hiss, and far too easy to lose in the background of the windswept plain…. and Ditzy hoped that it had understood.

“I’m truly sorry,” she said. “But if you’re near your son, he won’t be safe. You can’t touch him without it hurting both of you.” She reached out and stroked one of the cracks on the windigo’s face, marveling at how it felt colder than cold--it was like she was touching a void, where there was nothing and her heat just leached out of her into the emptiness. “You tried everything you could, but there’s no way to do it. Whenever you and he are close… even if you freeze every other friend he has, he won’t be able to touch you. He loves you too much, and you him.” And she thought of the foal, who needed to be safe from harm, and how horrified and frightened he would be when his father showed up only to break into ice shards upon nearing him. How he felt when his friends were chilled or coated in ice. How his love for his father was drowned in a sea of terror.

The windigo continued to say nothing.

Ditzy dimly saw that her hoof was starting to shake. She figured that it wouldn’t be good to touch the windigo for too long, but couldn’t stop before her job was done. “You can’t be there for your son,” she said. “But I pledge this--I will look out for him. I’ll make sure the mare raising him treats him right--including providing him with friends. I’ll make sure he’s happy and healthy. I will not let him be hurt by the Vicereine’s greed. Do you understand me?”

She formed the images in her mind of her standing over Ice Heart like a shield, protecting him from whatever the Vicereine might put him through. She thought of the relief and ease that Ice Heart would surely feel at knowing he had such a guardian who would take care of his need for safety and protection. And she sent it at the windigo.

Once again, nothing happened.

Ditzy sighed to herself. She hoped that his mind was at least slightly eased, but knew she couldn’t count on that--or even that he knew what she had thought. “Alright,” she said. “I hope you understood me. I’m sorry I couldn’t--”

The windigo’s hoof moved too fast for Ditzy to see it. It swept into a snowbank and retracted with a hunk of pure-white snow about the size of a hoofball. The windigo pressed it up against one of the newer cracks in its body. The cloudy blueness of its body shifted, and Ditzy could see it misting into the snowball until it too glowed with a faintly ethereal blue light. The windigo waited for about twenty seconds, then took the snowball and flicked it at Ditzy. It swerved to her head and stuck there, behind her left ear, at an odd angle. It didn’t feel cold, exactly, but it did feel heavy. Like Ditzy now had a weight attached to her head.

Ditzy had no idea what that meant, but she knew what she had been tasked with doing--and that the consequences of failure were likely to be dire. Still, this was the mission she had asked for, and she was going to complete it. “I’ll give it to him,” she said, thinking of how Ice Heart’s need for his father might be abated--if only slightly--when she hoofed it over. “I promise.”

The windigo snorted. Then it threw Ditzy’s hoof down, turned, and vanished into the falling snow. When the storm ended completely a few minutes later, the monster was nowhere to be seen.

***

Ditzy awoke the next morning to a feeling of genuine peace.

She had finally grown used to the large bed, with its cloudlike mattress and its wonderfully warm covers. Stretching, she let the very tips of her wingfeathers brush up against the bedposts before relaxing and letting them fall back to the bed. She knew that she had to get up soon, that there were important things that had to be done that day, but she decided that she would take advantage of the opportunity for a rare moment of calm.

Then she rolled over and found herself staring at Trixie Lulamoon.

“Ditzy!” said Trixie, a huge smile on her face. “So glad you’re finally up!”

Ditzy blinked. “...Princess Luna’s coming, isn’t she?” She reached up and patted at her head, remembering belatedly that the snowball wasn’t there anymore. “And she’ll be here soon?”

Trixie nodded.

“And you want everypony to be up and ready--”

“Exactly!” Trixie helped Ditzy get to her hooves. “Puissance sent over some fancy clothes that fit us. Try not to think about how she knew our measurements. Just get dressed and eat, and then all of us can be ready to talk to Luna when she gets here!”

Ditzy smiled warmly. “Trixie, don’t worry. I’ll be down in a few minutes--and so will everypony else, I’m sure. You’ll have a full audience when you tell Luna how good of a job you did.”

“That’s not why I want a full audience,” said Trixie. “Rather, I…” She trailed off under Ditzy’s knowing look. “Okay, it’s not the only reason. I want us all there for when Puissance has to admit that we pulled it off.” She chuckled. “She’s been rude enough to us this whole time. I think we deserve that.”

The mailmare couldn’t help but laugh at the image. “Sounds like a good reason,” she said. “I’ll make sure to be down in time to watch when the Vicereine has to give you all the credit for keeping her safe.”

Trixie waved a hoof. “It was a mutual effort. Why, as Team Leader I don’t think I should get more than two or three equal shares of the credit! In fact…”

Ditzy talked with Trixie for another few minutes until the mare went to wake up the other Elements. Then she washed and put on the dress--a sleek, silver-and-blue outfit with sleeves that fit perfectly against her wings and almost made them look armored--before heading downstairs. She trotted into the dining room, wondering what breakfast would be--

And stopped. Sitting alone at the head of the table was Vicereine Puissance.

The old mare looked up at Ditzy. “Dame. Please, sit down. I was just finishing.” She rang a bell by her side and her camel servant appeared in moments. “What would you like for breakfast?”

“An omelette and some buttered bread would be lovely,” said Ditzy. “And a glass of fruit juice. Thank you.”

Puissance gave the order to her servant and sent him away. “I was hoping to speak with you,” she said. “Before the Princess arrived. As to our prior interactions--”

Ditzy held up a wing in a conciliatory gesture. “It’s like Trixie said. The windigo made us say those things. I don’t see any reason to hold grudges, or to complain to the princess.”

“I’m glad you see it that way.” Puissance was silent for a moment. “But that isn’t fully what I meant. I understand you have some… qualms with the way that the Vault is being run.”

The mailmare hesitated. “I’ve spoken to Orangerie about some of my concerns, yes.”

Puissance nodded. “I understand that it is an unusual living environment. But I ask you to trust me that, though some of the rules may seem strange, there are sound reasons behind each one. And that the ponies within the Vault are not being hurt in any way.”

She’s still worried I might complain to Luna about it, thought Ditzy. “I don’t think they’re being hurt, for the most part,” she said. “It just… it seems so tightly regulated. I mean, I love my daughter just like you love your Vault ponies, but I could never see myself controlling her so closely.”

The Vicereine considered. “There are ponies,” she said at last, “who say that it is necessary to choose between great affairs and smaller ones. That one who focuses on fine details can never see the big picture, and that those who move mountains cannot make out the individual blades of grass. I have always rejected this view. If one does not see the big picture, how can they handle the fine details? How could such an artist make sure that their intricate masterworks fit the mediums they were working in, the environments, the locales? Don’t ponies laugh at the fabled mare who spent years molding a cloud into the most perfect replica of a city ever created by pony hooves, only to take it outside and see her sculpture warped and ruined during the first spring breeze?”

“And then there is the opposite, the pony who cares only for the grand scheme and neglects the little details. But the grand scheme is nothing more than the culmination of millions of little details. The pony who would seek to develop a province and yet leaves the design of the individual parks, and villages, and waterways to others, will never create a harmonious territory. They will only yield many disparate elements which can never work together, no matter how grand the planned design.”

“If one wants to create something wonderful, whether that be a prosperous nation, or a beautiful province, or a happy community… or even a single loving child… it is necessary to tightly control all the elements, the small and large alike. Every single detail must be managed with as much care as the overall scheme. I won’t deny that it is a lot of work. But that is the only way that I can ensure that anything, the Vault included, is as good as it could be.” She smiled slightly. “When you were reluctant to allow your child to attend Sharpwhinny, surely one of your reasons was that you would have no control over the curriculum? That the distant educators would be assuming full responsibility for your youth’s education and that you would have no way to supplement or counter it if it was not perfectly to your liking?”

“That was… one of my concerns,” acknowledged Ditzy.

“Then you understand why the Vault has its policy against allowing outsiders. Yes, many of the ponies within it were traumatised by ‘normal’ ponies. Yes, safety is a genuine issue. But also…” She paused. “I want to ensure that these ponies have the best lives possible. That their every moment is joyful. They are mine, and just as I spare no expense in keeping each and every one of my treasures in perfect condition, I want my Vault ponies to live perfect lives as well. But to ensure that, I must be able to control every detail. Even I cannot control outsiders, Ditzy. Their presence could cause discord and strife in the Vault in innumerable ways--ponies with no external friends feeling jealous of the others, for instance, or one of the external friends having a feud with one of my Vault ponies. In order to ensure the happiness and safety of my little ponies, I must keep them protected.”

It wasn’t a horrible argument, and now that Ditzy was no longer enraged due to the effects of the windigo, she could actually see Puissance’s side of the story. But that, of course, was not to say that she agreed with it. “I understand,” the mailmare said. “And I saw how much the Vault ponies love you. They wouldn’t have been able to withstand the windigo had their love been insincere. You’ve clearly given them good homes.” She paused. “But I still don’t agree with you… and I think it comes back to the other thing we discussed.”

“Oh?”

“Do you remember our discussion on love?” When Puissance nodded, Ditzy continued: “You said that love always had to be conditional, because to love something unconditionally was to say that you didn’t love it for any of its qualities which might change--that it made no sense to love a foal unconditionally, for instance, because the foal could turn into somepony unlovable. But the way I see it is--if you know what you love deeply enough, if you know it won’t change into something you despise, you don’t need to worry about that. And then you can love unconditionally, just as I love my little muffin.”

Ditzy gently reached out and touched Puissance’s dress at a point where a shining platinum thread ran through it. “Do you value this dress?”

“What?” Puissance frowned. “Of course I do. It was a present from Princess Cadenza Herself. It contains genuine sapphire, ruby, and emerald powder, not to mention platinum thread.”

“Did you check that?” asked Ditzy. “Before you came on this expedition, I mean. Did you carefully examine the dress to ensure that the gemstone powder had not become dust, and the platinum thread had not magically changed to common dyed silk?”

“Of course not.” The Vicereine looked baffled. “Dresses do not simply change materials.”

“I know. You can trust that your dress still has everything about it which you care about. Certainly, if it changed into a common dress with no expensive components, you might not like it anymore, but you know that won’t happen, and you know that your dress maintains its value.” Ditzy smiled slightly. “My foal is the same way. I know her better than anypony else. I know what I love about her… all those traits I told you about a few days ago. And because I know her so well, I know she will never abandon those traits, anymore than your dress could turn itself into a peasant’s shawl. Yes, if my Dinky became a depraved monster or a horrible criminal I might stop loving her… but I know she will never, ever take such a path. And so I can say I love her unconditionally, with just as much certainty as you could put a price on one of your treasures.”

Puissance said nothing for several moments, and she looked faintly troubled. “I apologize, Dame, but while I do appreciate your candor, I’m not sure what this has to do with the Vault.”

“You know the Vault ponies very well. It’s clear you have a strong bond with them, or they wouldn’t have been able to help protect you from the windigo.” Ditzy smiled. “You don’t need to keep checking every little detail about them, anymore than I would need to keep checking whether my daughter is lovable… or than you would need to keep checking as to whether your dress became worthless overnight. Surely you can think of some of the Vault ponies who are intelligent, mature, discreet, and otherwise suited to having outside friends without causing discord. Orangerie, for instance. You know her well enough to know that nothing bad will come from allowing her to see her family. Yes, they might cause her to have to make some new decisions or choices that you wouldn’t be able to control. But she can make them on her own. You can trust that.”

Puissance settled back in her chair as the camel servant reappeared with Ditzy’s breakfast. “With respect, Dame, while you make a persuasive argument… we must agree to disagree on this issue. After all, I have raised my family and run my provinces according to my principles of monitoring every detail of their existences, and I believe I can say both have prospered for it. Califurlong is the single richest province in all Equestria, and Palomino has never fallen out of the top four. Their ponies are many and joyous, their civic infrastructure unrivalled, their art scenes flourishing, their farms abundant with the best produce to be found anywhere. And as for my family, I raised them under even stricter supervision than I can provide for the Vault, and it has worked out wonderfully for all of them. My descendants run large businesses, hold high judgeships and commanding posts in the military, and carry out our nation’s most critical diplomatic and internal affairs.” She finished her juice. “Its possible that your method might also work. But, with the happiness of my Vault ponies at stake, I would prefer not to change from a system that I know works. After all, the residents of the Vault have placed themselves in my care. They are mine--my responsibility, I mean. I must look out for them.”

Ditzy sighed to herself. For a moment she’d thought she’d gotten through to the old mare. But what she said aloud was, “And you are. Please don’t take me to mean that you’re somehow neglecting them. I’ve spoken to all the Vault ponies you brought here, and each one was quite clear that you have given them everything they could ever want.”

Puissance did smile at that, a grin which reminded Ditzy of how Filthy Rich had beamed when a visiting trader had complimented his perfect collection of salt shakers from the Renneighsance era. “Thank you,” said the Vicereine. She got up to go. “In that case--”

“Actually,” said Ditzy, “May I ask you one more question?”

“Of course, Dame.”

Ditzy steeled herself. “Suppose I were able to find a friend or two for Ice Heart that I could guarantee wouldn’t disrupt the Vault--a genuinely kind and caring foal, for instance, who would arouse no jealousy or hate. Would you permit that friendship?”

The Vicereine tilted her head. “If it could be guaranteed that the foal truly was as wonderful as you say, I would of course have no objection… but of course, you know how shy Ice Heart is around non-Vault ponies. He would have to be willing. So--if you have ideas for candidates, Dame, please post them to me and I will discuss any suitable options with him.”

Ditzy nodded. She knew that was a ‘no’ and that Puissance would find some excuse to dismiss any choice she might make. Fortunately, she thought, It’s not going to be up to you. “I’ll do my best to find a foal that Ice Heart can accept,” she said.

When Puissance left, Ditzy went to work on her breakfast, enjoying the light, fluffy eggs flavored with exorbitantly expensive cheese, as well as the dragonfruit juice in the crystal glass by her side. The Vicereine, she thought, was going to have an interesting morning.

***

“Princess!”

The Vicereine frowned as Trixie ran forward and nuzzled against Luna, who strode into the hotel with her customary poise and grace. Luna grinned and draped a wing over her, hugging her close before she spoke. “Trixie. It is good to see you again.”

“It’s great to see you!” Trixie beamed. “I can’t wait to tell you about what happened!”

“Vicereine Puissance has already transmitted me a thorough report,” said Luna. Ditzy winced as she saw Trixie’s face fall. “It was clear that your actions, as well as those of your friends, was heroic and served to protect the Vicereine and her guests from a most dangerous opponent. Once again, you have the nation’s thanks.”

Trixie brightened at that, and Ditzy saw the other Elements smiling too. “We do our best,” Trixie finally said.

Luna chuckled at that and turned to the Vicereine. “Were there any other issues I should know about?”

“No, Princess,” said Puissance. “Your Vicereine spoke with the Shadowbolts early this morning and verified that the windigo seems to have left our territory. Ice Heart and the other guests are all healthy and in good spirits, with no ill effects from the previous night, as are myself and, to the best of my knowledge, the Elements as well. Thus, it seems that the windigo is gone without having permanently injured anypony.” Puissance nodded. “Furthermore, while we were unable to reunite Ice Heart with his father--the two could not approach each other due to the windigo’s inability to withstand Ice Heart’s affection for it, not to mention his other friends--I personally confirmed that Ice Heart was overjoyed to at least be able to see his father. Granted, this is hardly a national concern--”

“But no less important,” said Luna. “I am glad that Ice Heart was able to meet his father… even if it could only be for a few seconds.”

Puissance nodded. “As am I. Lastly,we learned a great deal about windigo. If more come, we will have strategies for dealing with them.”

“I am glad.” Luna stepped back so that she could face all the other ponies at once. “Thank you all once again for your loyal service. Now--unless any of you wish to stay longer in Noam, I might suggest that you move to the train station. My own private car is waiting for you.”

Trixie’s mouth dropped. “Wow!” she said, before blinking. “I mean, uh. Thank you for your generosity, Princess.”

Luna chuckled. “You’re quite welcome.”

“Um, Princess?” Ditzy raised a wing. “I had one more thing, actually. May I use the Right of Approach to speak with you on another matter?”

Luna’s mouth quirked upwards. “You do not need the Right of Approach, Dame, since we are already talking. What is it?”

Puissance frowned, and Trixie suddenly looked apprehensive, but Ditzy smiled warmly at both of them before turning back to Luna. “I was talking with Ice Heart the other day, and I know that he would love to see you, princess. Would it be alright if he came out to say hello quickly?”

“I see no harm in that,” said Luna. “Although… Vicereine, as his guardian, would you object?”

Looking thoroughly puzzled, Puissance shook her head. “Your Vicereine would be honored if you again met with her ward.” She turned. “Sonic!” The servant appeared immediately. “Fetch Ice Heart, please.”

Sonic Boom hurried away. A few moments later, a door in the back of the lounge banged open as Ice Heart ran through it. He was grinning like a fool as he scampered inside, and--though he was dressed in formal clothes, as befitting somepony who might be about to meet a princess--he also had a distinctly unusual accoutrement.

Puissance’s mouth dropped, and when she spoke, there was tension in her voice. “Ice Heart. Dear. Why, exactly, is there a potato frozen to your head?” She turned to Luna. “Don’t worry. I’ll have him remove it immediately--”

“No matter,” said Luna. She approached Ice Heart and then knelt. “That is a large potato,” she observed.

Ice Heart grinned. “Uh huh! My new friend told me lots of foals are doing it, and they all compete to see who can balance the biggest one! I figured I could use a really big one cause I can freeze it so it won’t fall off!” He beamed. “So I picked the biggest one I could find and it worked!”

Luna winked at him. “Very impressive,” she said.” Her horn glowed, and within moments a potato appeared on her horn as well. “And an intriguing game indeed…”

Ice Heart laughed, as did the Elements. Puissance seemed to be having trouble deciding how to react. “Ice Heart, Dear,” she said at last. “Which new friend, precisely, were you referring to?”

“Dinky Doo!”

The Vicereine said nothing for a long moment. Luna tilted her head. “You spoke with Dinky Doo? In Ponyville?”

“Uh huh! You see--”

The door opened again and Orangerie trotted in. She was holding the crystal ball, within which was Dinky’s smiling, potato-adorned face. “Sorry,” she said. “I don’t mean to interrupt. But Dinky wanted to see what her new friend was doing--”

“It’s quite alright,” said Luna. She smiled at Ditzy and Puissance. “That was a very wise use of that artifact. I am glad to see that Ice Heart was able to make a friend.”

Puissance still seemed to be confused as to what was going on. “Ah… yes… but, Dear, why didn’t you tell me if you wanted other foal friends? When I asked you last year, you said you were worried they’d be mean to you.”

“I was… but Dinky’s different! First, she was recommended to me by Miss Ditzy, and she’s a really trustworthy pony!”

Ditzy bit back a gulp. She didn’t mind Ice Heart mentioning her role in this, especially since it was obvious anyways, but she would rather he not bring up the real reason why he’d agreed to trust her. He’d been reluctant at first, even after Orangerie had let her into the restricted wing, until he saw the snowball stuck to Ditzy’s head. He’d been able to remove it--neither she nor Orangerie had been capable of getting it off her head--and somehow he’d instantly known it was from his father. He’d even said that he could sense his father within it, which was something Ditzy didn’t pretend to understand. In any event, he’d been willing to trust her completely after that. Ditzy had asked him to keep the snowball a secret, leery of what would happen if Puissance found out about it. He’d agreed, but then again, he was still an excitable foal…

But he didn’t say anything about it. “And second, Dinky’s already friends with unusual ponies! And she’s really nice to them! That’s how I know she’ll be nice to me too!” Ice Heart beamed. “I haven’t had a new friend in ages! This is awesome!”

“Unusual ponies?” asked Puissance. “What unusual ponies? Do you mean the Elements? Or--”

Dinky budged aside, and a yellow-coated face filled the ball. Then it backed up, so all could see that the new foal had both wings and a horn. “H-hi,” she said in a quiet tone. “I’m Alula. Um, I play with Dinky a lot. She’s nice, and she doesn’t tease me about having wings and a horn--”

Dinky rose up from Alula’s side so that she was draped under the other foal’s wing. “We make pottery together sometimes!” she said. “And we’ve played pirates, and Mild West settlers, and Night Court--”

“Night Court?” asked Princess Luna. “How do you play ‘Night Court?’”

“I’m sure it’s a fun game which promotes friendship and love and certainly nothing disreputable am I right?” said Trixie immediately.

Dinky blinked. “Yes. That.” Ditzy thought back to her own memories of the game--including Scootaloo’s hours-long fillybuster which lasted until Silver Spoon agreed to pass her motion proclaiming Rainbow Dash the most awesome pony in all recorded history--and smiled to herself.

Ditzy turned to Ice Heart and Luna. “Ice Heart had a hard life before he came to the Vault,” she said. “Vicereine Puissance has clearly done her very best to raise him--and she’s done a truly wonderful job. I just thought I could help introduce Ice Heart to some new friends, and maybe even a whole new community. I figured he would like to know that there’s towns in Equestria where even unusual ponies can live happily and healthily.” She smiled and turned to Alula. “Alula, you’re happy in Ponyville, right? Ponies are nice to you?”

“Uh huh,” said Alula. “I like it here.”

That should forestall Puissance from trying to add Alula to her own collection, thought Ditzy. Since she just said in front of the princess that she doesn’t want to leave. As for Ice Heart… “I know we might not be able to keep the crystal ball,” she said. “But perhaps you would like to become pen-pals with my little muffin?”

“Yeah!” cheered Ice Heart.

At the same time, Dinky grinned. “Ooh! That sounds fun!”

‘Luna tilted her head. “Actually… Vicereine, you spoke with Archduke Fisher when he wished to utilize those crystal balls for military purposes, didn’t you? As I recall, you said they were of limited practical use because they could easily be interfered with by my sister or other adversaries?”

“Yes…” said Puissance.

“In that case--if they’re not of use for more important things, might I request that you allow Dame Ditzy to keep one so that she and your ward can continue to communicate? The two seem very happy to talk to each other. And--given the understandable conditions which have led to Ice Heart’s relative isolation--I believe it would be good for him to have a friend.”

Puissance opened her mouth, and she seemed to be trying to come up with a reason to oppose Luna’s request. After a few moments, though, it was clear she had nothing. “I see no reason why not,” she said. “Ice Heart, Dear, if you’d like to remain friends with Miss Doo, you may of course continue to use the crystal ball--”

“Of course I would!” said Ice Heart. “Awesome!” He grinned. “Next time we talk, Dinky, I’m gonna have a potato twice this big on my head!”

“Oh yeah?” squeaked Dinky. “Well, I’ll have one three times as big! It’ll be bigger than my head!”

Alula frowned. “But what if somepony thinks you’re a potato and plants you?”

Dinky blinked. “Oh yeah. Um… I’ll paint it purple so ponies know it’s not a planting potato! It’s a Dinky potato!”

Ditzy laughed, as did the other Elements, Ice Heart, and Luna Herself. “A wise decision,” she intoned. “I’m glad to see that--even if you could not meet your father, Ice Heart--you were at least able to make a friend.”

Ice Heart nodded, and Ditzy smiled.

Sometimes, she thought, things work out just right.

***

“...Register the Noam hotel with the National Registry of Historic Places.”

Vicereine Puissance strode through one of the lounges on her airship. She didn’t need anything in the next room, but she liked the sensation of motion. Her ship wasn’t some commoner craft in which a pony could spend a fortune for a single seat. The whole ship was hers, and she would make use of it.

“The photographs that Red Snapper took of the architecture and the furnishings should be sufficient, but if not, contact one of the castle historians and commission them to fly out and confirm the authenticity of the hotel and its collected artifacts,” she continued. Solar Flare, who sometimes functioned as Puissance’s secretary when the mare was with her, made notes in a pad and followed. “Once that’s done, apply for a Historic Reconstruction and Restoration Grant for the hotel--first to get it repaired, and second to have it relocated to a more accessible location. Cite…” She frowned. “The Education bill sponsored by the Viscount of Konetikut and passed four vernal Equinoxes prior, which argues that historical facilities and museums must be made accessible to foals. As precedent, cite how the museum within the Castle of the Pony Sisters was relocated to Manehatten after that one tour group was almost eaten by giant spiders in the Everfree Forest.”

“Yes, Vicereine,” intoned Solar Flare.

“After that motion is accepted, commission a reputable third-party agency to determine the best places to move the hotel in terms of accessibility to foals, historical accuracy, and tourist revenue. The correct answer will be History Village in Palomino, since I’ve spent the past five years setting up that district specifically to house historical sites, but make the study thorough anyways. I don’t want the Princess accusing me of stealing some historical monument.”

Puissance turned at the edge of the lounge and began to walk back the way she’d came. Solar Flare finished writing down the last sentence and then said, “Vicereine, if you don’t mind me saying…”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to protect you better.” Solar Flare dropped her head, looking less like the Tyrant Sun than like a little filly who had disappointed her mother. “It is my fault.”

Puissance smiled as she gently patted Solar Flare on the back. “It is alright,” she said. “You did your very best against a monster which, it turned out, could only be defeated by the Elements themselves. You have nothing to apologize for.” She paused for gravity. “I still love you and all the other Vault ponies, whatever happened in Noam.”

Solar Flare tilted up her head, smiling and teary-eyed. “Thank you,” she said. “I swear to never fail you again.”

As the Vicereine continued to reassure Solar Flare, a small part of her sighed in comfort. This was how ponies should treat her, she thought. She was the mare who had everything, the mare who would carefully arrange things so that all her loved ones and dependents were happy and productive and had the best lives possible… and all she asked for was their love. And yet she so rarely received it from her ungrateful family. At least the Vault ponies valued her.

But then there was Scepter--bright, energetic, and not yet poisoned by her family’s treacherous whispers. She simply had to take a firmer hoof in his rearing and ensure that he had the proper respect for the Vicereine and the position she embodied. I should really think about forcing my grandcolt to hire one of my nannies or tutors for him…

But that was a subject for another time. She straightened and said, “Next--I think I need to have a talk with Ice Heart about this new friend of his. Obviously, I would never go against the Princess’s wishes, but it would be a shame if his new companion caused him to spend less time and attention on his real friends, the ones with whom he plays every day.”

Solar Flare nodded. “Would you like me to summon him?”

“Yes--”

As they walked, they passed a hatch connected to another room within the airship. A squeak issued from inside it, and when Puissance turned, she saw Ice Heart giggling as he wrapped himself around the crystal ball. Orangerie was lying on a couch nearby, her horn occasionally sparking as she powered the artifact. “You’re silly!” he announced. “You can’t be a pirate! You don’t have an eyepatch!”

“I have one at home!” Dinky chirped. “An’ a hook and a wooden sword Miss Trixie made for me! And I can ‘yar’ really well!”

Puissance coughed, and Ice Heart and Orangerie both looked up. Ice Heart grinned. “Dinky, I gotta go, but we’ll talk later, okay?”

“Okay!”

Ice Heart scampered over to Puissance as the crystal ball’s magic faded. Orangerie got up, but Puissance waved her back as Ice Heart skidded to a halt just in front of her. “Auntie! Hi!”

“Hello, dear.” Puissance picked up Ice Heart and cradled him. “How are you?”

“Great!”

“You’re not still sad about not being able to speak with your father?”

“I am, but…” Ice Heart sighed. “I got to see him, at least, and I can still feel him too. Thanks for taking me all the way up here, Auntie.” And he hugged her.

Puissance returned the hug and smiled, feeling at last like all was right with the world and she was receiving the adoration she so richly deserved.

“And thanks for letting me keep talking with Dinky!” Ice Heart added. “She’s awesome!”

“Yes… but about that, dear, I think--”

“It’s like you knew what I wanted for Hearth’s Warming!” continued Ice Heart. Then his mouth dropped. “Hey, you did know! You’re psychic!”

Puissance glanced at Solar Flare, but her aide didn’t seem to have any more ideas than she did. Are all foals this random? she wondered. “I beg your pardon?”

“The one thing I really wanted for Hearth’s Warming was some new friends,” said Ice Heart. “I didn’t think I could get it, though, ‘cause we need to keep the Vault secret so mean ponies don’t hurt us. But now that we found more good ponies…” He grinned. “Yay!”

“Ah…” Puissance trailed off. “Dear, I thought you told me that you and TIM wanted a train.” She didn’t understand the purpose of a train that could just go in circles around one village, but apparently the foal liked to play with them, and TIM liked to write in them, so she’d had one installed. It boasted top-of-the-line rail technology, including wards that prevented the sound of the train from traveling, so that it wouldn’t disturb those Vault residents who wanted peace and quiet. She’d even purchased a prototype engine from Fisher Locomotive so that Ice Heart could stand in the engine and pull the bell, which had kept him amused for about three days straight. “Was it not what you wanted?”

“Oh, no, I wanted it. It’s great!” Ice Heart grinned winningly. “And I know TIM likes to write on trains, so he’s really happy too. But what I really wanted, more than anything, was some new friends to play with. And now I have them.” He beamed. “You’re the best Auntie ever.”

Puissance wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “I… thank you,” she said. “However--”

“So, when can I talk to Dinky?” Ice Heart asked. “She said that she can probably chat with me once or twice a week. What about Wednesday nights? I promise I’ll do all the homework Yang Chew assigns me. Is Wednesday okay? Please?”


The Vicereine looked into Ice Heart’s big, smiling eyes, and she said nothing for a moment. Finally, she thought to herself, Well… one external friend won’t hurt him, I suppose. “Of course, dear. On the condition that you do all your homework--”

“YAY!” Ice Heart hugged Puissance again, chilling the mare without even noticing. “Thanks, Auntie!”

“You’re very welcome, dear. Of course, speaking of homework…?”

Ice Heart sighed theatrically. “All right,” he said, beginning to trot away. “Don’t worry. I’ll do it!”


Puissance watched her ward go before turning back to Solar Flare. “And so,” she said. “Next, have my agent purchase the collection of Cavallian art that should be going up for auction this week at the Canterlot Auction House. Distribute it as follows: the two paintings of Cadenza with her wings outstretched to my country estate in Palomino, the sculpture of Princess Luna to my Canterlot residence, the statues of Cadenza’s lovers to the East Field Park in Califurlong… on that note, contact the East Field Park manager and direct her to switch to Topnotch Topsoil brand dirt. That should save three hundred bits and seven jangles in her budget. Reinvest that money in repairing the fountain and painting the bandstand, something patriotic…”

She began to pace again, smiling as she looked out the portholes and watched her nation float by under her. Sometimes little hiccups occurred in her life, but whatever they were--a windigo, a Tyrant Sun, Princess Luna’s ire, even an unexpected friendship--she’d find a way to continue on. She would ensure that all she had--her nation and her provinces; her towns, villages, and parks; her Vault ponies, her family members--continued on their proper courses. Because she was the Vicereine, and she took good care of her things.

“Also,” she told Solar Flare. “Contact the niqab sect which took in Red Rose. I want to know why she stopped writing me. While you’re at it, see about purchasing the White-Rock oasis with the unusual palm tree formations…”

***

When he was back in his quarters, Ice Heart glanced around and then pulled a big snowball out of one of the boxes. It hadn’t melted, even though the airship was heated above freezing, and it seemed to whisper when he touched it. He nuzzled it briefly, letting it press against his skin for a few seconds, before putting it away.

“I wish I could have seen him longer,” mused Ice Heart. “But… it was still a good trip. I’m glad I went.”

With a smile on his face, he began to go through his homework problems.

***

“Almost there!” called Carrot Top as the train began to slow down. “Next stop, Ponyville!”

Lyra sighed theatrically. “Can’t we go on a little further and then come back? I like this car!” She stroked one side of the couch. Luna’s private car had furnishings which put five-star hotels to shame, the very best food, and--most importantly to Lyra--a heater. It seemed she hadn’t enjoyed the cold up north very much. “I wish we could ride it all the time!”

“Maybe someday, when Luna makes me a Vicereine, I’ll give you one!” said Trixie. “Sound like a plan?”


Raindrops snorted. “Sure. That’ll be right after she makes me Captain of the Wonderbolts.”

“Hey, it could happen!” Trixie grinned. “Even if I’m just a Viscountess, I’ll bet she lets me use it occasionally. I have a way with her.”

“Of course,” said Cheerilee. “I believe it is called ‘The Complaining Way.’”

Trixie threw a pillow at her.

Carrot Top stretched. “I’m glad we won’t have to deal with a windigo anymore, but I can’t say I’m all that excited about getting back home. I kind of liked having a vacation from fixing up my barn…”

“I’ll help,” said Raindrops. “I’m probably going to have a few extra days off soon.”

“Why?” asked Cheerilee.

Raindrops grinned and showed her a piece of paper. “I got that Sonic Boom guy to give me an autograph. Bet you Rainbow Dash trades me at least a week of vacation for it.”

“Me? I’ll be baking with my Bonnie as soon as I get home. And composing a new ballad about six awesome mares beat a windigo.” Lyra grinned. “I’ll call it, The Ballad of Six Awesome Mares who Beat a Windigo.

“Worked all night on the name, huh?” joked Raindrops.

Lyra stuck out her tongue at her.

Trixie turned to Ditzy. “What’ll you do when you get home?”

Ditzy grinned. “What do you think?”

In mere moments, the train stopped, and Ditzy raced out of the door. She scampered through Ponyville and hurried down the streets, saying ‘hi’ to the occasional passerby but keeping focused on her main goal. She reached the post office, raced up the stairs to her apartment, burst in--

And saw her daughter sitting in front of the fireplace toasting a marshmallow.

“Hi Momma! Sparkler’s in the bathroom, and--oof!” Dinky grinned as Ditzy enveloped her daughter in a massive hug. “I missed you too, Momma!”

Ditzy nuzzled her daughter. “I love you as much as any pony could love another,” she whispered. “And I’ll always love you. Unconditionally.”

And it was true.

Author's Note:

That's all, folks. It's finally finished. Hope it was worth the wait.

Thanks to RDD and T&T for being my betas.

Comments ( 27 )

Don’t ponies laugh at the fabled mare who spent years molding a cloud into the most perfect replica of a city ever created by pony hooves, only to take it outside and see her sculpture warped and ruined during the first spring breeze?

“And then there is the opposite, the pony who cares only for the grand scheme and neglects the little details. But the grand scheme is nothing more than the culmination of millions of little details. The pony who would seek to develop a province and yet leaves the design of the individual parks, and villages, and waterways to others, will never create a harmonious territory. They will only yield many disparate elements which can never work together, no matter how grand the planned design.

“If one wants to create something wonderful, whether that be a prosperous nation, or a beautiful province, or a happy community… or even a single loving child

delete ".
_________

Register the Noam hotel with the National Registry of Historic Places.”

Hotel
_______

Contact the niqab sect which took in Red Rose.

Capitalize
__________

I hope someone goes to Luna about the Vault. Building it up, what with talk of how they can bing it down after the windigo / talk to Luna. Then not doing it feels like a cop out if it doesn't get done. At least bring it to her attention. As for "Luna couldn't give them all the stuff Puisance does". Puisance is a master at shifting resources to get the money she needs to get stuff doen. And I doubt the wealth she's been shifting / the things she's done to get the Vault as it is is illegal.

Thus they'd still have the lifestyle they've come to expect. More or less.

Grass, this was such a sweet ending I'm gonna have to go on a diet. :ajbemused: But really. Nice job.

And I love Solar Flare and kinda hope we see her again at some point. I'd love to hear more of her back story, like why her parents were either incredibly brainwashed sun cultists or like those parents that name their kid 'Adolf' to be edgy.

The d'aww is strong in this one, yes.

5478695 : After this long, I feel it needed a lot of d'awww to make up for it. :-)

Besides, Ice Heart is so adorable! He, Scepter, and Dinky should start an adorable foals club. Diamond Tiara is not invited. :-P

Ditzy didn’t care much for a lot of Vicereine’s Puissance’s tastes. She wouldn’t have wanted the mare to select her outfits, or her home decor, or the flowers she put in her window box. But Ditzy did have to give Puissance one thing: the mare’s taste in hot chocolate was impeccable.

Huh, the more you know.

“Ah, yes, those!” said Trixie, grinning. “See, when we were fighting the windigo, I used my ‘magic sight’ spell to look at you and Cheerilee--and Ditzy too. The three of you were heavily affected by the windigo’s magic. All those comments? Just the windigo controlling you three to make you mad at each other.” Her grin began to stretch at the sides of her face. “I’d go so far as to say that nopony meant any of them. And, that being the case, I don’t really think it’s necessary to waste the Princess’s time by repeating a litany of insults that nopony in this room would ever have said if they weren’t being influenced by a malevolent monster.”

I'd say Trixie is very good at the Indy Ploy, being a performer and all, she must be used to thinking on the fly.

Puissance had adopted a pensive look. “I see,” she said. “Well, Dame Trixie, I suppose that--if it really was only at the windigo’s urging that certain comments were uttered--I might be able to justify omitting a few particular remarks. Dame Blackcherry’s assertion that I must have bribed both of my husbands to overlook my ‘clutching, avaricious personality’ and my ‘leathery, wrinkled flanks’ to deign to marry me, for example, could be overlooked. Of course, I--”

“Exactly!” chirped Cheerilee from beneath her own pile of towels, cutting off what would surely have been a request for some favor. “Just like we could overlook your comment to me that I should have had my sister shipped off to Shouma years ago so she didn’t keep humiliating me with her ‘drunken revelries’. I don’t think that needs to come up when we talk to the Princess about our experience on this little adventure.”

Guess Passive Agressive is the attack of the day.

Carrot Top makes a lousy pillow. She’s comfortable, but she gets up and leaves too easily.

Indeed?

Orangerie’s eyes began to bead with tears, but Ditzy hastened on. “However. You and your friends are adults. If you consent to that environment, then--even if it’s not a choice I would make, and even if I think that the Vicereine is abusing her power over you by not allowing you to stay in touch with your families or other friends--I don’t have the right to get in your way. I won’t ask the Princess to close the Vault.”

Good.

“I don’t think they’re being hurt, for the most part,” she said. “It just… it seems so tightly regulated. I mean, I love my daughter just like you love your Vault ponies, but I could never see myself controlling her so closely.”

So it's not the Vault itself she has a problem with, it just feels so tightly controlled that it's unnerving for her, makes sense.

Puissance settled back in her chair as the camel servant reappeared with Ditzy’s breakfast. “With respect, Dame, while you make a persuasive argument… we must agree to disagree on this issue. After all, I have raised my family and run my provinces according to my principles of monitoring every detail of their existences, and I believe I can say both have prospered for it. Califurlong is the single richest province in all Equestria, and Palomino has never fallen out of the top four. Their ponies are many and joyous, their civic infrastructure unrivalled, their art scenes flourishing, their farms abundant with the best produce to be found anywhere. And as for my family, I raised them under even stricter supervision than I can provide for the Vault, and it has worked out wonderfully for all of them. My descendants run large businesses, hold high judgeships and commanding posts in the military, and carry out our nation’s most critical diplomatic and internal affairs.” She finished her juice. “Its possible that your method might also work. But, with the happiness of my Vault ponies at stake, I would prefer not to change from a system that I know works. After all, the residents of the Vault have placed themselves in my care. They are mine--my responsibility, I mean. I must look out for them.”

I like this, I really do, Puissance isn't a bad pony, she's just a bit paranoid and her methods are a bit unique, that's all, plus she's willing to be what she's supposed to be, a mature grown up mare and asking to agree to disagree and willing to concede that Ditzy's methods could work, it's really nice.

The Vicereine frowned as Trixie ran forward and nuzzled against Luna, who strode into the hotel with her customary poise and grace. Luna grinned and draped a wing over her, hugging her close before she spoke. “Trixie. It is good to see you again.”

I like moments like this, Luna is like a mother to Trixie sometimes like this, not just a mentor, it's heartwarming, it really is.

Luna’s mouth quirked upwards. “You do not need the Right of Approach, Dame, since we are already talking. What is it?”

Guess even Luna can get a little amusement out of small things like this,

Luna winked at him. “Very impressive,” she said.” Her horn glowed, and within moments a potato appeared on her horn as well. “And an intriguing game indeed…”

Not quite sure how to react, but it's good to see that Luna can relax.

“Of course,” said Cheerilee. “I believe it is called ‘The Complaining Way.’”

:rainbowlaugh: And this is why you're the Element of Laughter.

Huge difference in the way Ditzy and the Vicereine interacted after the windigo left. I'm not a huge fan of "the devil made me do it," but in this case both sides were equally affected, and once the cloud of rage was lifted, both were able to be more rational and work out most of their differences. The thought that while Puissance may not be entirely happy with Ditzy's manipulation, she's not going to be vengeful about it shows character as opposed to her Windigo-enhanced villainous threats of taking Dinky away.

Nice catch to keep her from trying to find a way to claim Alula as well.

5479552
I got the impression that in this case, it was as much Trixie desperately trying to defuse the situation enough to keep the Vicereine from devoting her free time to destroying Cheerilee and Ditzy's lives, and using the windigo's influence as an excuse so that they could all back away without making things worse as it was an actual explanation for their behavior toward each other. Yes, the windigo exacerbated things, but by using it as a scapegoat to take all of the blame, it lets the three of them back off from each other without bruising Puissance's ego to the point of continuing a vendetta.

That was great, even the Windigo got some closure.

Argh, five minutes into a final comment and my tablet spontaneously reboots. :pinkiecrazy:

Let's try this again...

Good story with a great ending. As 5481578 mentioned, I especially liked that even the windigo's situation got addressed.

The orb communication setup might be a nice start to the changes that the vault needs. I don't really think that it should be closed down as there really are ponies that need it as a refuge against the trials of the outside world, but it also needs a post office and permission for the residents to have foals. As micromanagey as the Vicereine is, I'm pretty sure she could easily expand it into more of a small village while retaining the extra tolerant culture it already has. Hopefully Dinky and Co having fun with Ice Heart in an environment that requires a third party observer (whoever is running the orb for them) will create some cracks in the carefully constructed Normal = Bad, Different = Good narrative that will snowball into more of the residents pushing for outside contact.

*Claps.* Brava. I really liked this story. Moral is good the arguments between the vicereine and the L6 was good as well. As well as character development. I did read the complains about a fellow reviewer that including almost all of the known vault members was not really a good idea and that the story should have worked better if it was just focussed on two or perhaps 3 vault members then the entire known cast.

His points are valid though I think by adding them actually enhanced the story because I loved the interaction of all of them with the L6. I guess it's just a matter of taste. I prefer to have characters being fleshed out more when ever the opportunity arises. Or simple interaction between the others. Seeing how they act with different characters. It's those things I love the most to read about the interaction and character development.

Overall a good story that I enjoyed from start to end. :twilightsmile:

5496859 : Sorry, but I still don't agree that Puissance needs to be blown up. RDD's ideas that she needs a visit from 3 ghosts and/or an epiphany during Golden Horseshoes works better, in my opinion. I'm fine with her subsequently dying of old age, but I don't like the idea of her being brutally killed when her horseshoes explode or whatnot.

Just my 2 cents.

Bravo, Grass. Excellent conclusion, there. Ah, Puissance. Your web untangles without you even knowing about it. Good! Lovely ending, too.

“Night Court?” asked Princess Luna. “How do you play ‘Night Court?’”

“I’m sure it’s a fun game which promotes friendship and love and certainly nothing disreputable am I right?” said Trixie immediately.

Dinky blinked. “Yes. That.” Ditzy thought back to her own memories of the game--including Scootaloo’s hours-long fillybuster which lasted until Silver Spoon agreed to pass her motion proclaiming Rainbow Dash the most awesome pony in all recorded history--and smiled to herself.

:rainbowlaugh:

I'm glad Ditzy was able to do some good for Ice Heart.
And the Lunaverse foals are awesome!

“I know. You can trust that your dress still has everything about it which you care about. Certainly, if it changed into a common dress with no expensive components, you might not like it anymore, but you know that won’t happen, and you know that your dress maintains its value.” Ditzy smiled slightly. “My foal is the same way. I know her better than anypony else. I know what I love about her… all those traits I told you about a few days ago. And because I know her so well, I know she will never abandon those traits, anymore than your dress could turn itself into a peasant’s shawl. Yes, if my Dinky became a depraved monster or a horrible criminal I might stop loving her… but I know she will never, ever take such a path. And so I can say I love her unconditionally, with just as much certainty as you could put a price on one of your treasures.”

Credit were credit is due; this is a wonderfully compelling argument that marries the values of each stance .

I only wish I had anything else positive to say about this final chapter...

The door opened again and Orangerie trotted in. She was holding the crystal ball, within which was Dinky’s smiling, potato-adorned face. “Sorry,” she said. “I don’t mean to interrupt. But Dinky wanted to see what her new friend was doing--”

This is just terrible. Right form the start I was a afraid that this was exactly why you'd included the crystal ball in the first place, and so now my objections over such an artifact existing are only all the stronger. If you wanted Dinky and Icehearts to become friends fine, but you should have contrived a reason for her to actually be physically present in this fic itself rather than introduce a magical artifact that otherwise violates the standard limitations of communication in the setting.

Moreover, if the two characters are going to be friends, then that is a friendship we should have been allowed to see grow and develop over the course of the story --again a reason why Dinky should have just been present the whole time in person-- not tacked on like some sort of incidental afterthought.

“In that case--if they’re not of use for more important things, might I request that you allow Dame Ditzy to keep one so that she and your ward can continue to communicate?

No, just plain no. We don't need Dinky holding onto some magical artifact just for the sake of keeping in contact with her strange new friend. Bring Iceheart out of the vault, or keep him inside, but don't try to do it half way -- especially not wen it just turns into baggage that intrudes upon the Ponyville stories with a character who is now both around and not at the same time.


and second to have it relocated to a more accessible location. Cite…”

Please no, that's just stupid. We don't need to turn this location into another permanent set piece by relocating it to anywhere more convenient. Leave the historic locations where they already are, after all, the location is itself just as much part of the supposed history and should be allowed to remain intact.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to protect you better.” Solar Flare dropped her head, looking less like the Tyrant Sun than like a little filly who had disappointed her mother. “It is my fault.”

There's a potentially interesting relationship to be explored here... too bad you never hinted at it previously and thus left no time in your own story to actually do so. Moreover, I just really can't buy into Solar Flares existence in the first place. It's all just to big a list of coincidences for her to not only be a hybrid, but also to have a coat and mane that resemble Corona, a fire related special talent, and to top it all off to have been born into the period of time when Corona herself would actually return.

When you originally proposed the character as someone Puissance encouraged to look that way (possibly dying her mane and/or coat) it sort of worked, but it seems the implication is that this is indeed her natural appearance, which combined with everything else just stretches any and all credulity beyond the breaking point.

Seriously, TIM used to be the vault pony I detested most, whose mere existence I found insulting... and well, that's still the case, but Solar Flare has fast turned into a close second.


I'm sorry, I wanted to like this fic, I really did, but in the end I just can't. I could forgive most everyone of my previous grievances, but this last chapter just stacks on far too many needless contrivances. You just can't ever leave well enough alone, can't show even the smallest modicum of patience to wait and see which parts of your story actually inspire other authors to follow up on. Instead you shoehorn in things like Dinky now having a magical pen-pal she communicates with through the use of a unique artifact -- and worst of all you do so without ever even developing any actual chemistry between the two characters.

Obviously, I would never go against the Princess’s wishes, but it would be a shame if his new companion caused him to spend less time and attention on his real friends, the ones with whom he plays every day.”

That goes both ways, and with so many other foals that actually live in Ponyville we shouldn't have to now always be stuck accounting for Iceheart too. It's not nearly as bad as when you wanted to give Dinky a literal ghost friend, but it's a still just something that breaks form with what should otherwise be the ostensibly "normal" lives of our foalish cast.

I admit to not really caring much about this story because I wasn't interested in the premise, but I still trust you to have given it your all and done a good job.

I admit I don't like the way you use this story to unilaterally bring the likes of TIM into canon, but as long as they stay in the Vault, and that you have RDD's approval it's all fair. I don't like it, but that's on my end.

I never liked that you turned Ditzy and Dinky into such a codependant pair that you had to contrive a ridiculously overpowered communication artifact (artifact that, if I may make a suggestion, you should hint at being of Saurian origin to explain why there's isn't more of them!) so they could keep in touch...but now I find that ONCE AGAIN you're ready to leave a powerful magical artifact with a foal!

I don't mind the idea of Iceheart and Dinky being friends, that's cute and all, but I don't like that it all happened off screen. You could at least pepper some interactions here or there, or even include an extra chapter/webisode dealing with their communications.

But the magical Skype ball is too much. We already have a well furnished cast of foals, we don't need to have to constantly keep the skype ball in mind whenever Dinky is on screen.

I think they should keep it to good old fashion letters (would be fairly appropriate with her mom as the mail mare). The fact that Puissance would allow such communication with the outside of her Vault would actually help to make her seem not so evil ya know? Plus we could use the letters as narrative devices later on to recount events without delving into boring exposition. For exemple when talking about the changes Puissance will do to her Vault when close to her death! We could have it being told in a letter Iceheart writes to Dinky about how he'll try to contact his family or something like that.

Anyway, it seems to have gone over well with the readers. Congrats on finishing another story!

5574938 : Dinky herself won't be holding onto the crystal ball (if for no other reason than she's not a strong enough mage to use it yet). I figure it goes into Trixie's or Twilight's desk or something, and only gets taken out when Dinky wants to chat with Ice Heart.

I also don't think that we really need to keep the crystal ball in mind when doing stuff with Dinky, any more than I needed to keep Snips, Pipsqueak, Scootaloo, and the other foals in mind in this story. Dinky can be understood to be taking ten-twenty minutes every now and then to chat with Ice Heart without us needing to bring it up whenever she is on screen.

I considered letters, but there's a few problems with them. One is that it would be very easy for someone to write Puissance coaching Ice Heart on what to say (or outright having someone tamper with them) for her own ends (e.g., breaking up the friendship, trying to get the Doos to move to Puissance's provinces, etc), and while I personally wouldn't write or support such a characterization, we've had instances of things getting darker than intended in the Lunaverse. So I didn't want to leave an opening for that. Second, I like the idea of the foals being able to just chat. Letters are a very delayed form of communication; you say everything at once, then wait for the other person to say everything they have to say, and only then can you respond, and so forth. I like the idea of the foals being able to chatter away--it's something Ice Heart doesn't really have now, since he has no foals his own age to play with, and so I like the thought of him being able to just yap with Dinky. And third, I wanted the two foals to be able to look at each other--both for the revelation of Alula, and also because I find the thought of Dinky in a crystal ball with a sweet potato on her horn to be full of d'awww.

5575033 But the setting has limits on instant communication, you can't just break them because you have an idea that seems cute.

And really I don't think, with the quorum, AND the end of the Night Court as antagonist arc, that you should be affraid of tempering with letters.

Trixie keeping one of the crystal ball makes sense, it's a potent artifact that could be used in certain important events, but the other one becomes useless in the Vault. For the sake of Equestria it might be better put to use replacing Trixie's sending hat.

5479970
I think it's both. The Windigo was influencing them and they think those things on some level, but without it they wouldn't have necessarily said them out loud. So now they're pretending they don't think them at all.

5496964
Yeah, if she's blown up, who's going to throw awesome Nightmare Night parties where foals can find real treasure? And rig them so a lot of goes to the children of those most in need? Sure, she's doing it for all the wrong reasons, but how many nobles would do that kind of thing at all?

5610630 : Personally, I think the hat is reliable enough. I don't see what the crystal ball will do that the hat doesn't. Luna isn't likely to always keep the crystal ball in her pocket (if ponies even have them), so I don't think it would be terribly helpful.

5610696

Personally, I think the hat is reliable enough. I don't see what the crystal ball will do that the hat doesn't.

Which is really why the crystal balls should have never existed in the first place. Prior to this story, Trixie's hat had always been presented as the most advanced form of magical long range communication. To now not only introduce a pair of magical video-phones, but to leave them in the hooves of mere foals just so they can chat face to face upsets the entire balance of the setting. I was never happy with you including the crystal balls, if you'd wanted Dinky and Ice Hearts to become friends then you should have just included Dinky herself in the fic, rather than inventing a new magical artifact. Still, I would have been willing to overlook that, if you'd kept the crystal balls selfcontained to ONLY this story, and NOT something that stuck around afterwards.

Seriously these artifacts are not needed. Ditzy is a post mare for crying out loud, so I think it's only all the cuter for her daughter to have a more traditional pen pal. Whereas for the occasions when the foals might want to communicate in real time...well, we know that Puissance owns her own private telegraph, and there's been talk on forums of having Ditzy learn to be an operator now that Ponyville has one. Sure sending messages by wire is expensive, but Puissance is supposed to spare no expense in making her vault ponies happy. It could maybe even be expanded into making the whole vault less isolated. The crystal balls can only facilitate communication between the two foals, but if Puissance lets Iceheart make use of her private telegraph, then it would only be a matter of time before other residents started asking the same favor.

As to the prospect of tamping with any correspondence, I think your ending otherwise would cover that just fine. Even as it is now, you already show Puissance contemplating ways to break the foals up, only to change her mind after she see just how excitedly Iceheart is chatting with Dinky. It really wouldn't be any harder to instead rewrite the scene with him excitedly drafting his first correspondence letter, and could just as easily show Puissance's genuine lenience by perhaps having her be the one to offer then and there to let the foals communicate not just by written post, but by telegraph as well.

If the idea is to show that despite her faults Puissance isn't all bad, than that should be enough and we shouldn't be left with doubts that she'd try fake any of their correspondences. Especially, as you also already tied it together with Puissance's own concerns over not having received and recent letters from Red Rose, thus potentially showing that she does value such correspondences and as such wouldn't deny them to one of her favored "possessions".

what I don't like is that the vault has been put on the back burner, and the bad aspects of it have yet to be addressed. HOPEFULLY, this will come back up in future stories, but that can't always be counted upon (such as one author deciding not to destroy an evil artifact on the off chance it could somehow be used in a future story). however, if there are plans to adress this, than I'm fine.

HOWEVER, my biggest gripe is Puissance. yes she's pragmatic and does a lot fo good accidentally, but she's still a villain and still a horrible pony who has NOT changed for the better. I know she's at leats gonna be the antognist in a future story but...this REALLY comes off as her being a karma houdini so far, and villains like that are ANNOYING. All this build up with puissance and her personality, the way she rubs ditzy the wrong way, her incredibly selfish and arrogant thinking, and what does it lead to? hints at future stuff. I want at least a villainous breakdown, some bit of 'she has lost' or something. really, while she did have small losses, she shrugged htme off so quickly there is no effect. and i ESPACIALLY hate how NONE of the vault ponies' opinion has changed about her, they still all adore her, and really, that's not fair. I do hope that the crystal ball will sow the seeds of discord and doubt, as it were, and cause ice heart and the others to rethink their postion, cause really, its sad that they barely go through any change or development, and thus ties into arguements why they allhad to be there and not just some.

yeah, i may sound revengey and hate filled, but really, that's cause you did such a good job developing puissance as a vile, awful creature (and lets face it, she is NOT gonna have some sudden epiphany and turn good like greengrass sorta did) only for her to face literally NO commuppance.
her eventual villainous breakdown better be glorious, is all I am saying.

5479247 uh no, she is not. her good actions are a result of prgamatic villainy and egotism than anything actually good, and in the long wrong she'll just end up hurting the vault ponies and others under her care. she has already hurt several members of her own family due to her own controlling nature and quite frankly is cruel and mean spirited. she is NOT a good pony and she will NEVER change, as we have seen from the several arguements ditzy and cheerilee have with her.

basically, the reason I want her to just die is because she cannot be redeemed realistically and any attempts to do so would come off as heavy handed and weak.

but, I don't really want her to die, simply suffer a villainous breakdown and be defeated for good, such as rotting in a prison or being exiled far, FAR away.

Hell, the only reaosn she allowed ice heart to keep dinky as a friend is cause doing so would break the illusion of her being generous and kind, thus risking her lovely little vault.

Are all foals this random?

:coolphoto: Yes. Yes, they are.

That was an absolutely wonderful story. Actually... Lunaverse fics are good as a rule, but I'd go so far as to say this is probably among the best fics I've read in a very, very long time. I especially enjoyed how you managed to interweave what amounts to a philosophical discourse on the nature of love while managing to avoid being boring. Good work!

9754832
well I for one still think Puissance is an awful garbage person who needs a severe kick in the butt, but that's just me

Puissance is an interesting character. She has the mind of a corrupt antagonist, but the heart of a pure protagonist.

My issue with the Vault isn't about it's moral implications, since they are all consenting adults (with the exception of Ice Heart). My issue is that they would prefer to hide from bullies rather than stay in the public eye in order to normalize their abnormalities. They're hiding from bullies rather than trying to stop the bullying. Granted, it would take time to normalize. But a real world example would be homosexuality. For a long time, gays would get bullied because they were different; they were "abnormal". So they would hide from the rest of the world to avoid bullies. But eventually, they got sick of hiding and made a stand. Homosexuality became normalized. Granted, it's still a work in progress, and there will always be bullies. But homosexuality is common enough that "being different" is no longer an excuse. That's my issue with the Vault ponies. Hiding from the problem doesn't fix it. And I'm sure Ditzy would agree with me on that on some level.

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