//------------------------------// // They sing a jolly carol for you // Story: Silent Night, Starry Night // by NonAlcoholicMartini //------------------------------// Twas a cold winters night in Canterlot, the night they met. Two lovers, starcrossed, their hearts weaved together in a web of love that neither could escape, no matter how hard they would try. A young mare from Manehatten with hair as black as ebony, a soft pastel yellow coat and sparkling navy blue eyes accompanied her friend Merry to a party hosted by the downtrotten Snowfall Frost's assistant, Snowdash. Everypony had been in a joyous mood, enjoying the celebrations of Hearth's Warming Eve. It was at this party that the previously described mare, a violinist by the name of Carol Martelé had met Jingle Jolly, a pegasus who radiated happiness wherever she went as it seemed. Jingle Jolly was a kind mare, facinated by phonographs and vinyl records. She owned a small store in Manehatten in which she would build, repair and even try to improve phonographs. Her mane was a bright shade of blonde, always tied back into a ponytail which contrasted nicely against her light blue, almost cyan coat. Atop her muzzle she always adorned a pair of golden framed purple glasses, why she wore them Carol could not tell, but she assumed it had to be for reasons that included her work. Merry had introduced her to Carol as her old school mate, an academic young lass Jingle Jolly was aswell, it seemed. The two of them had gotten along swimmingly, their chemistry had been undeniable. Soon, they had met up again, and again, and again. They had stuck together through the years, and over time their affection of the other grew into something stronger. Love. When Carol Martelé had realized her fondess of the pegasus, she had felt nothing but pain and sorrow. For you see, Carol Martelé was betrothed to another. An admirable stallion of high class. Not a bad soul at all, he just hadn't been the one her heart desired. Her parents were strict, drilling their ideas of marriage into her head. Jingle Jolly had also noticed her growing love for the lovely earth pony, but had pushed it deep, deep down where nopony would ever uncover it. She had known of her betrothel for a long time, and simply hadn't had the heart to potentially break the one of whom she desired. Their love had been doomed from the very start, and slowly it began to tear them apart. The day of the wedding came, friends and family sitting at their assigned seats, waiting for the bride. Carol had requested Jingle Jolly to be her bridesmaid, to which she happily agreed. Before the wedding, the phonograph enthusiast had helped prepare the lovely bride for her big day and she vowed to make it a memory that would last. For after this day, after this wedding, Carol Martelé would move to Canterlot. Far, far away from the one she loved but could never be with. There she had been, sitting in front of a large mirror to admire herself with Jingle right beside her, an encouraging hoof placed on her shoulder, dressed in in a purple dress which, in Carol's opinion, fit her so nicely. As she had her eyes on their reflection, she couldn't help but imagine. Imagine a universe where she hadn't been betrothed to a stallion she had no intrest in, but rather to the intelligent and beautiful mare next to her. Her fantasy had given her the slightest bit of compfort. She had taken a deep breath and stopped Jingle Jolly from opening the door to get to her assigned spot in the sea of watching ponies. "Thank you for being here, Jingle." Carol had said, her stance more aloof than usual. Jingle Jolly had flashed her a sad smile in an attempt to hide her sorrow. "I wouldn't miss it for the world, Carol." Carol had lowered her head for a moment. "I hoped you would come." She had said to her. "I have something I need to tell you." "Oh? What is it, dear Martelé?" "Jingle, I-" Carol had hesitated. "You mean a lot to me. I'm so, so happy to have met you when I did. You are one of, if not the most enjoyable part of my life and I feel blessed to be able to call you my friend." The smiled hadn't faded from Jingle Jolly's face. "S- Same here, Carol." "It hurts me so much to leave you. I don't want to leave you, Jingle." Carol had wrapped her hooves around the pegasus's own, who returned the gesture. "I'm sure we will meet again... someday." Jingle had tried her very best to stay strong that night, for after she said these words she knew they had been a lie. But it had been worth to see her friend smile again. "I do hope you're right. But if that day doesn't come then..." The mare had leaned in, moving her muzzle closer to the other. She had given her their first and last kiss, it had been tender, longing, and neither had wanted to pull back. And when they had, they had gazed into each others eyes, wishing the moment never ended. "I love you, Jingle Jolly, and I will miss you dearly, every day for the rest of my life." Carol had moved forward, nuzzling her friend lovingly. The pegasus had been stunned at first, blushing a deep red before speaking, "I feel the same way, Carol." She had bitten her teeth together, trying not to cry. "I- I hope you're happy in Canterlot, don't you get too stuck up on me, okay?" Her smile had been genuine. Carol had let out a light hearted chuckle. "I'll try for you, my love." The had parted and once again stood face to face. "Goodbye, Carol Martelé. It was an honor to have met you." Only a few tears had escaped both ponies' faces. "Farewell, my Jingle Jolly." These had been the last words they had spoken to another. The ceremony had proceeded as planned and soon Carol Martelé had been wed. Jingle Jolly had felt her heart tear apart as she watched them kiss and trot away together. Any other guest would have thought she had only cried for it was a wedding, a truly jolly occasion, certainly an event somepony would have been expected to cry. But Carol had known that that was not the reason her love had cried as she walked away, never to see the one she loved the most ever again. Eventually, after years and years of melancholy, Jingle Jolly had met a kind-hearted unicorn stallion by the name of Allegro, somepony she could imagine spending a life with together. She had never forgotten about Carol, and sometimes she had doubts if she truly deserved to be happy with another. But, as Jingle had told herself, if Carol is a cloud, and Allegro is the rain, and she can't have the cloud no matter how much she chased... then Jingle would be content with spending her life in the rain. It seems the tale of these two tragic lovers ends here, but in truth it goes on, for both Jingle and Carol would eventually have foals. These foals would grow up into big, strong ponies, unaware of the others existence, who would get their own foals. And these foals grew up and had their own foals aswell. And it is here, that the tale continues. Twas a warm summers night in Canterlot when they met. Two lovers, starcrossed, their hearts weaved together in a web of love that neither could escape, not that they tried. A young upstart unicorn Disk Jockey by the name of Vinyl Scratch, who adorned an electric blue mane with lighter blue, almost cyan highlights which worked well against her pale yellow coat, had gotten the opportunity of a lifetime. A gig at the wedding of the Captain of Celestia's Royal Guard, Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or Cadence for short. Her friend, Pinkie Pie, had her hooves in arranging this, and Vinyl would owe her bigtime. And she would owe her even more, for that night, she met a mare with beauty beyond compare. A sophisticated earth pony by the name of Octavia Melody, cellist of the Canterlot Orchestra. Vinyl Scratch was taken by the mare, and Octavia Melody was intruiged by the unicorn. They spent the night talking about whatever they happend to set their minds on. And they met up again soon after, Vinyl Scratch taking the long road traveling from Manehatten to Canterlot to meet up with one she considered her best friend. Octavia was also not one to shy away from bearing the trip from Canterlot to Manehatten to visit her aswell. Their relationship became stronger and sturdier, until it hit a soft spot. And that soft spot was the both of them realizing they had fallen in love with the other. Neither of them deemed this as a problem, infact they were more than happy to act on their feelings, so long as they take it slow. Vinyl Scratch's relaxed nature worked well in Octavia's favor, who had no intent to rush into things with her. They were content being with each other for the time being, expressing their love through the little things. Until the day came that put their relationship on its head, soon finding themselves in the same predicament as their great grandmothers. Octavia Melody's parents betrothed her to another, one who, to her dismay, wasn't Vinyl Scratch. The two lovers struggled with this knowledge, Octavia spent the next nights crying in her lovers arms, who tried her best to compfort her. She couldn't bear seeing her so miserable and tried her best to stay strong for her sake. The day of the wedding was one Octavia dreaded. Not just because it would mean never seeing her true love, Vinyl Scratch, again, but also because Vinyl wasn't invited. Her parents had prepared a guest list, a strict one, one that didn't include some random disk jockey from manehatten. And now, Octavia was sitting in her room in front of a large mirror, almost ready to go out and get married once her father came to pick her up. She stared her reflection. It was so empty, so unhappy. Octavia almost couldn't bear to look at this miserable mare in front of her. When she closed her eyes she imagined Vinyl, standing right next to her at the altar, where she belonged in Octavia's opinion. And when she opened them, she knew she didn't want this to just be a daydream, a wish that would never come true. So she ran. She grabbed her purse, burst open the front door of the Martelé Mansion and galloped as fast as her hooves could carry her in a wedding dress and to the nearest train station. Train tickets were cheap enough and soon she was headed to Manehatten, the city her love would hopefully be waiting for her. Vinyl Scratch had never been more surprised as she was the moment the fully dolled up and ready to be wed Octavia Melody came crashing through her appartment door. Well, that wasn't entirly true. Her surprise grew when Octavia forcefully grabbed her face and pulled her into a first kiss she was sure she wouldn't be forgetting anytime soon. As the days passed the two of them noticed however that they certainly couldn't stay in Vinyl's small one bedroom appartment forever. Well, they could, but both agreed they needed a bigger bed, despite the fact that they're lovers. Vinyl couldn't handle falling out and on the floor every five seconds. Where the two eventually ended up? A small, rural village by the name of Ponyville, sitting in the center of Equestria, where they would live for the rest of their lives. Their love was a strong, unbreakable bond, they cherished every day in each others company and they wouldn't have it any other way.