//------------------------------//
// Chapter Twenty Seven - Belonging 
// Story: When The Snow Melts 
// by Bluespectre 
//------------------------------//


CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN


 


BELONGING





 

Celestia watched Rush as he worked, occasionally passing across bundles of reeds for him to size and trim. It was steady, monotonous work, but strangely satisfying. She didn’t have to think about the repercussions of making a wrong decision, or worry about what the next messenger pony was going to bring before her. It was simple, physical work and she revelled in it. The smell from the freshly collected reeds was wonderful, so fresh, so healthy. No wonder people clamoured for the mats made from this fascinating material.
 
She had to admit, it made a comfortable bed as well, and the smell that lingered on her coat was quite intriguing. In the future, whenever she smelled freshly cut river reeds, Celestia knew it would remind her of Rush, and it frightened her. She was still young, and alicorns lived a very, very long time. Her mother had warned her of the dangers of engaging in relationships with ponies, their wonderful lives as bright and clear as the fireflies she loved so much. Swooping and whirling above the lakes and rivers of Equestria, the glowing insects fascinated her, but like the fireflies, the lives of ponies were all too brief. She’d known so many—some had become closer to her heart than others—yet all had passed from her world to the next. Some day, the same would happen to Rush, be it in this world or Equestria. Some day…
 
Celestia stared out of the window, lost in thought.
 
Rush lifted an armful of reeds and began to tie them together. “That’s another load ready. Two more and we should be ready for market.”
 
“Rush…”
 
“Hmmm?”
 
“Are you alright?”
 
He laughed. “Of course! Why do you ask?”
 
“Because you seem to be taking all of this very well. Too well.”
 
He shrugged. “Can I do anything about it?”
 
“Rush, I… I don’t know. I’ve never encountered anything like this and it looks like it’s not the first time this has happened either.”
 
“Apparently not.”
 
“Rush, you’re worrying me. Please, don’t shut me out.”
 
Rush put the knife down, placed his hands on the cutting table, and sighed. “I’m not shutting you out, Tia. It’s just that I don’t really know what to say. My mother was an Equestrian; my father was a stallion in the castle guard. Mother stole something important, ran through that archway thing, and ended up stranded here in this world. A few months later, along comes little Rush, the human-but-not-a-human. End of story.”
 
Celestia stood quietly, waiting for him to continue.
 
“It’s funny, isn’t it?” he said, letting out a breath. “I always felt like I didn’t fit in, like this place was somewhere I didn’t belong. The villagers seemed to notice it as well. I was always the outsider, you know what I mean? Even my own family seemed alien to me, my mother…” Rush wiped his face with his sleeve, continuing to stare at the reeds before him. “She never spoke to me about Equestria. At least, not when I was old enough to question her about it or even understand what she was talking about. I never knew, I never realised, until you came here. And now that you have that box, the one she stole…”
 
Celestia, placed a hoof on the table next to him. “That box was a gift from you, Rush, and that is what’s important to me. Whether your mother stole it or not is not the issue. You cared enough to give it to me, a complete stranger from another world.”
 
Rush placed a hand on her hoof and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I don’t want you to leave, Tia. I’m sorry, I know it’s wrong of me to say this, but by all the gods, I don’t want to lose you.”
 
Celestia moved closer and nuzzled him. “Are you sure, Rush, are you really sure you want to leave here, your world, your memories, your friends?”
 
Rush nodded, looking into her large purple eyes. “I want to be with you, Tia, I… I…”
 
She kissed him tenderly on the forehead. “I know… Do you want to know what’s in the box?”
 
Rush took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let it out slowly. “Yes, yes I do.”
 
“Come…”
 
The two of them left the workshop and went back into the house, Rush locking the door, which he’d only recently repaired, behind them. Thorn’s kick had been well placed, but there was now a distinct impression of a thestral’s hoof embedded in the wood. Celestia walked over to her armour and took out the small bag from her pannier in her magic, floating it over until it hovered between them.
 
“Hold out your hand,” she said softly, and carefully placed the box into Rush’s grasp.
 
Immediately, the familiar images of a golden sun, rolling green hills, and frolicking ponies played through Rush’s mind. He turned the box over, the images replaying once more, this time with them sleeping peacefully beneath a pale moonlit sky. He looked up at Celestia, who closed her eyes.
 
“Place your other hand over the box.”
 
Carefully, Rush did as the princess instructed. Moving closer, she placed one of her forehooves onto his hand, bringing her muzzle close to his face. Rush could feel his heartbeat quicken, the warmth from her coat sending a shiver through him. Celestia looked at him and blinked slowly, a smile on her face.
 
“Now,” she said softly, “all I need to do… is blow…”
 
She pursed her lips, and with the barest of whispers, blew onto the tiny keyhole of the small wooden box. There was the faintest of clicks and the princess closed her eyes, smiling, and took her hoof away. Rush watched in fascination as she then lifted his hand from the box and carefully lifted the lid.
 
From inside, a faint purple glow emanated, bathing both of them in its otherworldly light. Celestia’s smile was inscrutable. Rush’s own expression, he knew, must have been one of childish amazement. The princess’ horn began to glow softly, and a tiny golden filigree key floated out from inside the box, held almost reverently in her magic. It slowly rotated between them, a deep purple gem embedded in bow, reflecting every colour of the rainbow as it caught the light.
 
Rush’s mouth hung open, amazed at what he was seeing. “Tia… what is that? What is it for?”
 
She smiled. “This is the key to a magic that can save my home. When it was stolen, I lost any hope of being able to access its power.”
 
“But you’re the princess!”
 
Celestia chuckled. “I am, but so is my sister, Rush. The power was denied to her as well. However, I thought that I’d be able to defeat her with my own magic, and the strength of my beloved ponies.” She sighed. “I think you already know how that played out.”
 
Rush continued to watch the key. “Will this tip the balance?”
 
The princess shook her mane. “Maybe. I believe it can, but there is only one way to find out for sure.”
 
“You’re going to go back and confront Nightmare Moon.” He felt his heart clench in dread even as he uttered the words.
 
“I am.”
 
“Tia…”
 
“I know, Rush.” She put a foreleg around him. “If you want to, if you’re sure, we can go home…”
 
“Together?”
 
“Together.”
 
Rush lifted the princess’s hoof and kissed it, for he did not know what to say. Words seemed so pointless now, so meaningless. The beautiful white mare watched him, reached out her forelegs and embraced him. Celestia knew what this meant, what would happen… one day, at some point in the future. Still, it was not now, not this day. A tear rolled down her cheek as she held him.
 
“Rush…”
 

**********************

 
The fire had burned down low, and Rush was sleeping peacefully. Celestia sighed happily, gently stroking his hair and watching him breathing peacefully. His chest rose and fell rhythmically, a counterpoint to the beat of her heart that she had become increasingly aware of since meeting this enigmatic man. Of course, Rush wasn’t really a man at all, was he? He may look like one, even act like one, but in his heart, inside, he was what he always had been… the son of Willow.
 
Celestia smiled to herself. Willow, the thief who’d stolen the key to the Elements of Harmony, had produced a son who had, in turn, stolen her heart. A brightly-coloured bird began to sing outside the window, the tune similar to one her mother had sung to her when she was a foal, a long, long time ago.
 
She began to sing, softly, gently, so as not to wake Rush. He smiled in his sleep and snuggled further into her fur. Reaching over with her magic, she placed a few more sticks on the fire, the bird’s song following the rhythm of her own.
 
“Hello?” Celestia froze. Someone was outside the door. “Hello? Rush? Are you in there?” She kept quiet, but the man wouldn’t go away. “I can hear someone in there. Rush, are you alright?”
 
The front door began to wobble as the man tried it. Celestia quickly checked to see that the lock was secure with her magic. Blast it! The human would wake Rush with all that accursed noise!
 
“Hello?” she called softly. “Who’s there?”
 
“Rush? Oh… sorry, it’s Cray. I’m an old friend of Rush’s.”
 
“Cray? My apologies, Cray, Rush is a little out of sorts right now. Would you mind calling back another time?”
 
The voice came back, with an odd tone to it. “I’m sorry to disturb you, ma’am. Please give my regards to Rush for me.”
 
“Of course.”
 
“May I ask your name, ma’am?”
 
Celestia froze. She mentally kicked herself for engaging the human in conversation in the first place. Now she’d have to talk her way out of it and quickly.
 
“Oh please don’t concern yourself, sir. I’m Rush’s cousin come to visit, that’s all. As I said, please call back another day, and I’m sure he will be feeling up to a visit from an old friend.”
 
“I see. Well, thank you ma’am. I’ll be sure to catch up with him another day. Please pass on my regards.”
 
“I will, sir, and thank you for your kindness.”
 
The sound of footsteps crunching through the snow dwindled away, and the princess gave a sigh of relief. How could she have been so careless? She should have known that someone would come here looking for Rush sooner or later. Despite his assertions, he did have friends, those who cared about him. Hadn’t he mentioned this human before though? Cray? He’d been in the forest at the time the thestral had ambushed them. She was pleased he’d escaped, and once Rush woke up, she’d let him know. He’d be so pleased…