The ponies left behind found themselves in a vacuum, none willing to be the first to speak. Rarity eventually gathered herself, then stepped around the kitchen island and methodically poured herself a snifter of brandy from a half-empty bottle on the counter. She drained her glass before speaking. “A warm welcome to the family, Darling. And a Happy Hearth’s Warming this is turning into. If only I could go back to Ponyville and uninvite you...”
“I recall I invited myself, and bein' customarily insistent about it." Applejack frowned. "Look, I can tell your Aunt Glory is hurtin’ way deep down inside, but it’s no excuse for what she said. You just let me know if you think anypony needs their good sense knocked back in ‘em. I could feel good ol’ Kicks McGee gettin’ restless the more she went on.”
Rarity managed a smile. “Thank you. I’ll consider it. Of course I won’t be staying here tonight. We can find out tomorrow morning when flights will be resuming.”
“Are you sure?” Rarity’s father asked. “I mean, I can’t say I blame you wanting to leave. I knew it might be bad, but I didn’t think it would be that bad.”
“You don’t have to go,” Cookie said. “She can’t really kick you out in the snow, you know. Anyway, if I know Glory, my sister will be hiding under her covers til tomorrow afternoon. We can still set up the rooms like we planned."
“No, Mother. I refuse to be an unwelcome houseguest,” Rarity said. "We will find someplace else for us to stay."
"If you really insist on leaving, there might be room at the bed-and-breakfast where Pepper is staying, or in one of the inns on Lake Street. But it won’t be easy to find enough empty beds for all of us on Little Hearth’s Warming Eve," said Cookie.
“I mean, ‘us,’ as in the two of us,” Rarity said. “You and Dad and Sweetie Belle should stay here. She doesn’t get to see her cousins nearly as often as she should, and nopony has asked you to leave—not yet anyway. And Glory was right about one thing: at the moment, it appears I own a perfectly fine house practically around the corner.”
Cookie audibly gasped, and looked completely taken aback. “Oh, no! You don’t want to stay in that drafty old place. And that's not to mention that, you know, Aunt Silver just passed away in her own bed, right there in that house. You really can't stay there!"
Rarity raised an eyebrow. “You surely aren’t suggesting that the house is haunted by Aunt Silver's ghost, are you Mother? At any rate, Applejack and I have faced far worse than specters. Isn’t that right, Darling?”
“Well,” Applejack mused. “Huh. We beat ol’ Sombra, and he was kind of a spook or somethin’, at least by the time we met him. What was worse than him? I mean, there was that time you led an army of horrible moon monsters into Ponyville on a crusade to extinguish all the light from the entire world. That was pretty bad. It was probably—”
“How about Tirek?” Rarity quickly prompted. “Let’s go with Tirek, shall we?” Applejack shrugged and nodded before Rarity continued. “At any rate, Mother, we will be fine. I love you dearly, and Father, and you, Sweetie Belle, but I think I would like to have a quiet evening, away from all of this. I know the way to Aunt Silver’s house. It can’t be more than a quarter league. We won’t freeze. We're going.” Rarity watched her parents share a glance before turning back toward her with that same startled deer look she had observed during the sleigh ride.
“It’s just not a good idea, Kiddo,” her father said, shaking his head.
“And I don’t think you should be out traipsing about in this weather,” Cookie added. “What if it gets dark? The days are so short now.”
“It’s barely afternoon, and we would be traipsing through the same snow if we decided to go into town. It isn’t as if I propose to trek through the wilderness, or across the frozen lake. As I recall one merely turns right onto Whinnywend, right at Edgewater, and right again on Westonka Point Road. I distinctly recall that one can clearly see the house across the inlet from the backyard here. Go out and look, and if we haven’t gotten the lamps lit in two hours, then you can summon rescuers.”
“I’m sure there must be some room available in town,” Rarity’s father grumbled. “If you want, I could even trot on over to Lake Street and find something for you. Maybe rent a sleigh while I’m at it.”
“No, thank you. I’ve made up my mind,” Rarity declared. “Applejack and I are going to Aunt Silver’s for the night, and we will reconvene here tomorrow morning.” A sudden realization struck her that she had forgot to vet her scheme, and she turned to Applejack. “That is of course, if you want to go, Darling.”
“I’m game for a walk and a little fresh air,” Applejack said. “Besides, like I already told you, I go where you go. You can follow my lead next trip.”
“Then it’s decided,” Rarity stated.
“But—”
Cookie raised a forehoof to her husband’s lips, then physically turned him to look into her eyes. “We’ve said all we can say, Hon. It’s her decision in the end. It’ll be okay.” Then she turned back to Rarity. “I’ve still got a key to Aunt Silver's house in my bag.” Rarity’s father sighed dejectedly.
The idea of relocating to Silver Belle's house seemed more appealing to Rarity the more she thought about it, and there was also the matter of getting there before dark; they were ready to leave within minutes. Conveniently, all of their belongings were still packed, and it only required donning their outerwear again for Rarity and Applejack to be prepared for the journey. The suitcase full of Hearth's Warming Gifts was left inside the door, given they might not be returning. Perhaps it was adding insult to injury, but Rarity felt only moderate guilt about pilfering a dinner's worth of bread and cheese from the pantry, along with what was left in the bottle of brandy. Applejack, of course, had mostly filled her single traveling case with apples. Hugs were exchanged. Sweetie Belle was nuzzled again. On her way out, Rarity was surprised to find Mist waiting outside the front door, harnessed to a large wooden toboggan.
“Mom’s been upset for weeks,” he said. “I guess she just reached her breaking point, but she’ll get over it. I hope you’re not mad at the rest of us. I brought my sled so I could help move your stuff.”
“Thank you, Mist,” Rarity said, offering him a smile. “But I think you should stay here and look after your family. I have a knack for the sort of magic that keeps things floating around me in an organized fashion. I'll manage just fine on my own.”
“Actually, I’ll borrow that sled if you don’t mind,” Applejack said. “I reckon she'd appreciate a little bit of rest, and that she’ll be mighty grateful to you for it.” She gave an exaggerated wink.
“You really think so?” Mist asked, brightening. “Okay, here you go! Thanks!”
Once Mist had disappeared back into the house, Rarity turned on her most reproachful look.
“What?” Applejack asked innocently. “It’s cute that he likes you. I mean, I like you. Everypony likes you! It’s only natural that your cousin likes you. You’re a likeable sort of gal.”
Rarity sighed elaborately. “Oh, be quiet and pull the bags.”
“Hello there, ladies!” a new voice said, causing Rarity and Applejack to look up as a rangy Pegasus stallion descended and alit on the snowy lawn in front of them. His wings continued to beat slowly even on the ground, while his nostrils puffed clouds of steam into the air. Rainbow Dash had explained that while Pegasi did not feel the cold in the same way other ponies did, it was still important to keep the blood circulating and the flight feathers ice-free. “I have a message for a Rarity Unicorn at this address,” the stallion said. “Is she inside?”
“No, she is right here,” Rarity said, surprised. “You managed to catch me on my way out.”
“My lucky day,” the Pegasus said. “Here you go.” He looked critically at Applejack. “You wouldn’t be Glory Dwells, would you? I’ve got another one for this address in here.”
“Hardly!” Rarity exclaimed. “You’ll find her inside.” As the Pegasus trotted up to knock on the front door, she examined the card he had pulled from his satchel. “It’s from Silver Belle’s lawyer,” she said. “He 'humbly requests' a meeting in his office tomorrow. Hm. In the moment I had forgotten all about the official side of things, but I suppose I should meet with him before we think about leaving for home.”
“Must be pretty important business for a lawyer to be workin’ on Hearth’s Warming Eve,” Applejack said.
“I suppose it must,” Rarity admitted.
The trek to Silver Belle’s house was accomplished with little difficulty and in near total silence. The temperature had climbed, and now hovered at a basically-tolerable mark somewhere just below freezing. The snow on the roads had, by and large, been dealt with through a combination of plowing, packing, and grooming. It took no more than twenty minutes for the white clapboard house to come into view, two compact square stories huddled beneath a steep roof, looking every inch the same as it always had in Rarity’s memory. It rested precariously at the tip of the thin spit of land called Westonka Point, and was prone to flooding whenever fierce storms whipped the lake into a frenzy. Outside, the snow was covered in preserved hoofprints, and criss-crossed by deep runner tracks from one or more large sleighs. One set of tracks would have been a sleigh from the mortuary, come to take Aunt Silver’s body away. With her gone, the house seemed dead, too.
The mares left the sled with their bags in the yard for the moment, and Rarity proceeded to open the front door with the key Cookie had provided. They stepped inside into darkness. Thick brocade draperies had been drawn closed over every window, and all the lamps were off. The air was heavy, still, and cold. Rarity had braced herself for some terrible smell of sickness in the closed-in space, but she could detect nothing beyond a faint hint of old potpourri.
“Brrr!” Applejack exclaimed. “It ain’t hardly warmer in here than outside. Why don’t you stay put whilst I go turn on the gas and get the furnace goin’. Just need to throw open some of these curtains so I can see what I’m doin’.”
“Nonsense,” said Rarity. “I’ve got a working horn, and the basement windows must be completely covered by snow. At least let me go with you.” She attempted to ignite her illumination spell, but the resultant glow was no brighter than the dim light sneaking in through the open door. She was more fatigued than she had thought.
“You need to take it easy, Rare,” Applejack said, moving quickly through the space, seemingly searching for something. “That exchange would have taken it out of me. I can admit it. Here, there are some chairs in this next room, and … Aha! Candles and matches.”
Rarity sighed. “Thank you, Darling. I hope we can both get some rest here. The first door in the hallway to your left leads downstairs.”
"Thanks. Now, rest! Y'hear?"
"I do!" Rarity called back. She, however, had no intention of heeding Applejack’s exhortation. Instead, as soon as the glow of the candle disappeared down the stairs, she began working her way through the first floor, exercising her magic to open the draperies and let in the waning winter sun. This trip had been disastrous, and yet she could not help but find something exciting about finally being in this place, as if some force of destiny had meant for her to be here, to embrace and try to understand all the buried emotions and fragments of memories that had been welling up inside her. Even the meager telekinesis required to fasten the draperies to their tiebacks was taxing at the moment, but she hungrily took in everything the light revealed.
She remembered the gorgeous oil portrait of Silver Belle in her glamorous heyday hanging over the fireplace mantel. Other paintings in ornate frames depicted various scenes from the ballet, and some of these, too, clearly showed a young Aunt Silver leaping, stretching, being caught in the embrace of a strong young stallion. There were framed playbills, too, for shows all across Equestria, and some beyond. Such was the life Silver Belle had sacrificed forever when she moved to Ponyville.
Rarity moved through the hallway and opened the door at the end, leading into the spare bedroom that Silver Belle had converted years ago into her craft project and sewing room. Inside, she was surprised to find that some large and heavy piece of furniture had been moved to block the only window, and the room was too dark to make out anything clearly. She took a few steps toward the dark outline of the furniture, intending to try to move it by hoof, then bumped into something which clattered loudly to the floor. With effort, she mustered her magic just enough to see what it was. A wooden easel had collapsed on impact, spilling a large canvas and a number of brushes. Apparently Silver Belle had taken up painting. Rarity considered that her aunt might have mentioned it in one of her letters.
The painting on the floor was unfinished, but complete enough to be recognizable. A landscape. The sea. A sandy beach with crashing surf. Rarity felt her heart clench. It seemed an impossible coincidence.
“Gas is on!” Applejack shouted from somewhere below.
In a state of near panic, Rarity raced to turn the knobs on the wall sconce lamps, then stood trembling as each lamp catalyzed and ignited in turn, flooding the project room with light. Rarity’s eyes flicked back and forth, unable to focus on one thing. The walls were completely covered in paintings. Some were framed, but most not. All hung haphazardly, crowded too close together, some overlapping, most crooked. What plaster was still visible on the walls was cracked and chipped from too much hammering and too many nails. Every painting depicted the seaside. Rarity realized she was hyperventilating a moment before she swooned and collapsed unconscious onto the cold floor.
Huh? A seascape? I am intrigued.
Sweetie must be nuzzled when arriving and departing, it is law!
Mystery and a nice dose of family drama! Glory's bitterness for Rarity was well established... Between their physical similarities providing a reminder of what might have been, and the lingering resentment over being the one who didn't make it out of their hometown, it's easy to see how both the circumstances of having to care for Silver and the resulting inheritance left her feeling betrayed. (Not that she might not have earned an introduction to Kicks McGee anyway...)
I like the doting younger cousin who obviously looks up to his cool, worldly, (and coincidentally extremely attractive) older relative. I look forward to spending more time with the family, as uncomfortable as it might ultimately be for our heroes.
It looks like Rarity has a rather big revelation about herself coming, judging by the fragments of obviously shared recollections and her parent's reactions. Not so much ghosts in that house, but secrets. Tirek was probably far less traumatic in the long run.
Really loving this story and looking forward to more! The double-chapter didn't quell my thirst at all...
I agree with everything Harwick said. Need more soon please.
Typos
___1 (in chapter 4)
Little, violently blue Gentian, youngest of the four children,
Little, violently blue, Gentian youngest (move the comma)
___2 (in chapter 4)
“Hi, Aunt Rarity,” Mist said as they approached,
cousin (not Aunt)
___3 (in chapter 4)
“And you too, Genny Darling!” But now let’s get in out of the cold, shall we?”
darling! But (remove quotation mark)
___4 (in chapter 5)
Applejack to look up as rangy Pegasus stallion descended
as a rangy (also Rarity didn't give him a tip, she didn't even say thanks...)
This story does keep you guessing! I thought perhaps we were going for travelogue for a while, then it shifted to family drama, and now we're edging into gothic family drama with possible full-fledged ghost story going on.
Glory needs to check herself. She's gone completely irrational with spite at this point.
Hmn, I hope Rarity isn't really planning on skipping out on the funeral because of that one fight. That'll just end up looking like she came into town to pick up the inheritance and left without even paying her respects to the departed.
That's a fun little detail. I can even recall a few scenes in the show where Dash was walking around on the ground and still flapping.
That ending, have I forgotten a reason why the seaside would have that effect on Rarity?
5596312
The loss of a beloved family member does very little for your charm. Worse when you were right there watching them waste away. She still went way outta line, though.
5596886
I guess, but the important thing about Glory is that she's still sniping Rarity even after Rarity abandons the estate. If Glory's priorities were what she says they are, she should sullenly accept the one-third and then set to grinding axes with the remaining two members of the elder generation, her partners in the inheritance. Saying "All us siblings had a shared implied duty to care for Mother, but only I stepped up and did it; the two of you should recognize this and turn over your share of the inheritance to me" is at least within spitting distance of sanity. "I alone among Silver's children cared for her, and so Silver's granddaughter who herself had no implied duty to care for Silver should recognize this and turn over the entire estate to me" is irrational to the point of absolute bat-fucking madness. The only way it is not indicative of something approaching an actual psychotic break is if Glory had a quiet grudge against Rarity that long predated Silver's failing health, which I expect is the case.
5597070
Inheritance battles always seem to hover right on the edge of completely nuts, and there is the legitimate question of why Silver cut everyone but the granddaughter (though I thought Rarity was her great-niece). However, yes, Glory's words are much harsher than they needed to be, even in context. SOMETHING else is going on, and I bet dollars to donuts it involves that beach. Granted, that is not a very tricky deduction, but still...
5597089
5597070
I confused the issue by mistake in the last chapter, but Glory is a niece and Rarity is a grandniece. Glory's parents/Rarity's maternal grandparents are deceased.
It's hardly logical but I'm not sure Glory's position is all that unrealistic - the Anna Nicole Smith inheritance dispute, for example, was so acrimonious and unsolvable that the court case actually outlived the disputants on both sides. People are unwilling to accept completely reasonable settlement offers when family is involved. That said, Sky has latched onto the idea of something going on below the surface, which means I must have done something right.
5596312
5596886
Some of this is probably an unfortunate byproduct of the hiatus giving rise to a few new and better ideas for this story. I've made some changes to the first chapter already, but additional backfill may be necessary to patch up and smooth things out before the complete button gets pressed.
5596222
Thank you. I greatly appreciate corrections like this. In this story it can be presumed that Equestria operates like the US and it is either not customary or actually prohibited by law to tip couriers.
5597546
Sorry! I got the family tree mixed up. Same basic sentiments apply, though.
5597595
The way I read it it's perfectly logical, somewhat acceptable, and entirely forgivable behavior.
Basically: Glory dedicated most of her life, time, and income to taking care of Silver despite everything else, like taking care of her own family and kids, while none of her other relatives bothered to. Now Silver has died and at the last minute changed her Will to say "Forget you Glory! You get nothing!", so Glory is lashing out against Rarity because she can't lash out against Silver.
Glory is taking the death the hardest because, as far as she's concerned, she loved Silver the most and she showed that love to her more than anyone else but despite all that love she's getting the biggest fallout from it.
...Unless she is really just conniving and had only giving that "love" in order to inherit everything/most everything, and now she's upset about her plan falling apart... but that would be some kind of 'cartoon super villainy' ...I don't really think the story is going that way.
5597731
I don't think it's going the way of cartoon supervillainy either, but your quite excellent points notwithstanding, there's gotta be more to the story.
5596639 There's a brief dream at the start of Ch. 2 that describes a picture with Silver and Rarity at the beach. Don't feel bad for forgetting; when it was referred to in Ch. 3, I had to look back to refresh my memory too.
5597568
If it helps, I actually re-read chapter 1 when you started updating again, after reading the two stories that came before first.
5597731 5597739
I agree, but beyond that there is also what Rarity represents to poor, thankless (and ironically-named) Glory. They look so much alike that they can't help seeing themselves in each other, yet Rarity is ten years younger, unburdened by family commitments, free to travel the world and pursue her own (selfish) interests, yet celebrated nationally as a hero for her "generosity". As a result she is showered with fame, mingles with royalty, and as a final insult is rewarded with everything Aunt Belle had to give.
With this inheritance, Rarity's entire life must seem like an attack on the Glory's sense of self-worth. There may indeed be more to the story, especially as there does seem to be a family secret or two trying to escape into the light, but I really have to admire how much simmering resentment was crammed into that one explosion.
I am happy that you have come back and are contributing pone words again.
5597731 That's pretty much exactly what I figured, though that homophobic shot she made didn't help her case. I feel like the fact that Rarity and Glory have been mistaken for sisters in the past will be relevant in the future.
I am enjoying revisiting this story.
I am getting the distinct impression that Glory has spent several years now trying to control Aunt Silver, and the dearly departed didn't want her to.
It may be that there is a lot of money involved and Silver was suspicious of Glory's motive all along. The fact that the will change wss recent implies that Glory and Silver argued over something, or something changed in their relationship.
And maybe I'm full of hot air. Regardless, Glory lost my respect before her jab at Rarity and Applejack, her entitled little 'I loved her most' speech did that.
Loving the new chapters, I'm looking forward to more.
It's not hard to imagine family drama in the frozen north at the moment, as up here in New England we're having what's being dubbed "the blizzard of 2015". With almost 5 feet of snow in the last week or two, and more than one stay home day involving an unfortunate amount of shoveling, well, let's say this isn't exactly feeling like escapism at the moment.
As for the mystery, that's getting pretty deep too. What do Rarity's parents know about the beach that they're so afraid she'll find out? They clearly didn't want her to see the house, and the things within, but not badly enough to outright stop her.
Finally caught up to this update today, and I continue to love it. Also, I thought of a slightly cracked long-term (as in, probably not til a hypothetical sequel) prediction: Rarity's struggles with her own extended kin are going to inform her decision to join the Apple clan by marrying AJ.
Welcome back. We missed one of our best Rarity writers
Also, passing out at the sight of seaside landscapes is a bit...out there. Definitely thinking that as usual something else is going on and it probably has to do with why Glory's been whipping out such a huge hateboner.
Wow, I really enjoy your writing style. It fits Rarity really well. Despite the fact that you started this over a year ago now, it all runs together seamlessly, even adding in the small details like the comic and Tirek.
I'm glad I was going through some of white diamond's art and found your fic linked.