//------------------------------// // Saturday afternoon // Story: The Refrigerator Light // by Petrichord //------------------------------// “Well, that was…that was a thing,” Ember replied as she pulled out a sapphire from a basket of gems Applejack had set out for her, bit down and looked casually over at the fireplace. “Can’t say I don’t feel warmer now.” “Miracle of a good fireplace, ain’t it?” Applejack replied over the lilting guitar echoing from the nearby radio as she sat at the dining table and talked between bites of a large, red apple. “I wasn’t talking about the fireplace.” Ember stared at Applejack and quirked an eyebrow, and Applejack blushed. “...Though you’re right. Good call on that, especially given how much of a non-inferno things turned out to be.” “You’d figure I’d know what I’m talking about.” Applejack’s reply sounded half-defiant, half-flustered, as if attempting to use bravado to cover up shades of embarrassment. “Oh, I do! Or I should. Trust me, I’m not doubting what you’re capable of, at all.” Ember popped the rest of the sapphire in her mouth, chewed and swallowed. “Mmmm. But yeah, honestly—if any one pony can do all these things that you pulled off, like with the cabin and everything, it’s you. By a wide margin. I’m just impressed that any one pony could do it at all.” “Twilight—” “Yeah, yeah, I know, they helped you with learning some things or another. But you could have done that just by going to the archives, or…library, or whatever you call it.” Ember waggled a claw in the air. “Point is, they could know how to do it, but they still wouldn’t put in the effort. They’d cut corners, if nothing else. But you? This is flawless.” Applejack’s blush brightened. “I figure you’re…maybe underestimatin’ my friends a little.” “I think maybe you’re underestimating yourself a little.” Ember walked over to Applejack, lifted her hat and tousled her mane. “Maybe it’d help if I phrased things a different way? Because I know you can be more yak-headed than any yak I’ve met.” A small smile flickered onto Applejack’s face. “That’s ‘cause you’ve only met Yona.” “Doesn’t mean I’m wrong!” Ember chirped. “But hey, new tactic. You know how everypony has dreams about how one thing or another could be perfect, right?” “What’cha mean?” “Like, uh…That blue feather-winged friend of yours, uh…Rainbow Dash? That’s her name, right? Anyways, she’s got a perfect idea of the sort of Wonderbolt she wants to be. Like, she can picture it in her head.” Ember tapped her head for emphasis. “But even though she’s putting in the work to y’know, be that kind of Wonderbolt, she still doesn’t know exactly how to be that picture that’s in her brain. The steps she’s taking are the steps she thinks, or was told, would help her get there, but that’s just going to get her in the general area of what she wants. Not that specific picture.” “You’re sayin’ she doesn’t know what she wants?” “Not exactly? More like what she wants isn’t what she thinks she wants. Or what she thinks she wants isn’t…gahhhhh.” Ember gave Applejack’s mane a slightly too forceful tug while dislodging a small clump of wet leaves. “The problem is what she wants isn’t material. It isn’t stuff, which means it isn’t something she can hold onto or look at. And since she has no clue what her idea should look or feel like, there’s always going to be some x-factor that could throw her off, and no matter how foolproof she thinks her plan is there’s always going to be a point where she ends up winging it and hoping for the best.” Silence. Ember chuckled. “Heh. ‘Winging it.’ She’s got wings. Didn’t intend that pun, honest.” “Huh.” Applejack cleared her throat. “Honestly? I got distracted from what point you’re tryin’ to make by the fact that you remembered what Rainbow Dash wants better than her name.” “Actions speak louder than words. Besides, pony names are all the same.” Ember shrugged. “Except for you. You’re impossible to forget, AJ.” “Shucks.” Applejack’s smile returned. “But yeah, uh…where were you goin’ with all that?” “What I’m saying is that the whole reason things turned out perfectly, or so close to perfect that I can’t tell the difference, is because you knew exactly what you were going to do, exactly what you needed to do, and then did that. Anypony else, no matter how hard they wanted it to happen? There’d be mistakes, because they wouldn’t know the absolute right thing to do, and so they’d slip up on all the bits they couldn’t perfectly conceptualize. And that’s why you can do things in a way that no other pony would be able to do as well. And that’s why the only thing holding you back is being a pony in the first place. And that doesn’t even appear to be slowing you down that much!” Applejack was silent. “And that’s why you’re the best pony ever. And why you would be even if you weren’t very, very special to me.” Ember smiled. Applejack smiled back, but it was slightly yet unmistakably forced. “I…could think of a couple of ways I couldn’t make it all happen like I wanted to. Mebbe.” “Maybe?” Ember frowned. “What the heck’s that supposed to mean? You think maybe you did things the right way, or maybe not, but you haven’t decided for some reason?” “It’s…it’s a time thing.” Applejack blinked. “Like, it’s somethin’ I’ll know turned out perfect for sure or not only in the future, when it happens. An’ until it happens, I can’t know whether or not I did the exact right thing. Does…does that make sense?” Ember stared at Applejack. Applejack stared back. “...No.” Ember took her claw away and straightened up. “It doesn’t. But I’ll take your word on it, okay? As long as you tell me when this mysterious point in the future is.” Applejack shivered. “Prolly tonight.” “That soon? Heck yeah!” Ember grinned, turning on the spot and heading back to the basket of gems. “Can’t wait to see what it is for myself!” Ember grabbed an emerald, chewing loudly with her back turned to Applejack. She didn’t see the expression on Applejack’s face, watch Applejack’s lips move or hear her mutter something under her breath. “And now I’m cold again” Ember muttered. “We can’t exactly bring the fireplace along with us,” Applejack replied as she walked along the forest path. A persistent wind took some of the sharpness out of her words, but the point remained, and Ember scowled at nothing in particular. “Yeah, yeah, I know. It was just so…comfy in there.” Ember jabbed a talon at Applejack. “This had better be a super nice clearing you’re taking me to.” “It will be, don’t worry. Besides, the weather’s supposed to clear up soonish. Granted, it wasn’t s’posed to be this cold or cloudy at this time of day, but…” “Can’t control that. I know.” Ember walked closer to Applejack, then paused. “Wait, no, you ponies can control it.” “Control every inch of the sky, all the time, to the last raindrop?” Applejack turned, grabbing her hat to prevent a sudden squall from plucking it off of her head. “Ain’t possible. Ain’t even close to possible.” “But I’ve seen the blue one—” “Touch up a couple of clouds right over a town? Yeah. But there ain’t enough pegasi to keep all the sky perfect all the time.” Applejack turned back. “That’s why us folks on the ground gotta do our own work, ‘specially those that don’t live right next to places like Cloudsdale.” “I…” Ember paused in place for a second, then jogged back up to Applejack. “Okay. I kinda hate how that makes sense, but I guess I can’t say it wouldn’t make sense. At least it explains the crummy weather.” “It’ll get better.” Applejack smiled softly. “Can’t stay cloudy forever.” But, in the immediate future, the weather seemed perfectly content to prove them wrong. The chill sapped the vigor out of any thoughts of small talk, and the wind carried isolated words away into the shadows in the foliage. The two of them walked in silence, side by side, as if trying to reclaim their warmth through shared body heat; but this, too, was insufficient, and Ember and Applejack found themselves shivering as they walked. Chill air and the dull sky blotted out the perception of time. Their silent walk passed through seconds, minutes, stretches of time which seemed formless, nameless and endless. They walked until it seemed as if there was no point to the walk anymore, even when the wind started to die down. Then Applejack veered off to the right. Ember followed her off the path, around a few trees and through foliage— And there it was. Soft grass, well-tended; somecreature had been there recently and taken care to keep it scythed down to townpony standards.The trees formed an almost circular ring around the area, creating an unusual yet not unwelcome air of hospitality to the clearing, as if it had been designed for travellers to rest in after a lengthy excursion. Ember walked into the clearing, letting her feet sink into the grass and soil, and hadn’t crossed over more than a meter or two before the sun finally broke through the cloudy sky. All at once, light and warmth washed over the two of them, in those moments banishing any memories of the chill that had reigned over them mere moments ago. With a happy sigh, Ember sat down, then let herself sprawl onto the grass, arms outstretched, eyes closed. Blanketed in the sun, Ember soaked up the softness and the warmth around her, breathing softly. Something nudged her claw. Opening her eyes and looking over, Ember saw Applejack looking back, stretched out on the grass in a mirror of Ember’s body, hoof outstretched as if ready to grasp onto Ember’s claw. Without hesitating for a second, Ember rolled over and on top of Applejack, body slightly curled on top of the earth pony, chest pressed against chest, breathing softly. Their rest was witnessed only by the sun, the trees and a robin gone astray.