Of all the times that her cutie mark could’ve failed, it had to be at the train station! On the night of Hearth’s Warming Eve, for that matter! Minuette always had the knack of good-timing. But today, her knack had decided not to work.
‘Of all the worst things, this had to be the worst!’ as Rarity would say.
“I’m sorry everypony, but an avalanche has blocked the route to Ponyville. It will take until morning for our teams to clear the snow off the tracks.” The train engineer shouted above the uproar of delayed passengers. Many ponies were late to work in the lower regions of Equestria, others were trying to get home to their families. It was no wonder why some were grumpy.
Minuette grit her teeth and shoved the Letter from Princess Twilight Sparkle into her saddlebags. “Great! Just what I needed!” She paced about the platform, thinking of how furious Princess Twilight would be because she didn’t show up.
A letter via dragon’s flame was fast, but Spike already had a stomach ache from all the Hearth’s Warming Cards coming in. She didn’t want to agitate that poor dragon’s belly-ache… it was the Eve of Hearth’s Warming, after all. A letter via air mail may have been better, but the post office was also chock-full of Cards and Letters.
How was she going to contact Princess Twilight now?
Worse yet, she was planning on this for ages. She even declined visiting her own family for the Holidays because of Princess Twilight’s request. Now, because of the delays, she had to wait until morning… which meant spending Hearth’s Warming Eve… alone… in her apartment.
The Conductor rushed over to Minuette and instructed “If you have a ticket, I can refund it” She pulled out her ticket stub and hoofed it over. He placed it in a satchel marked ‘Recalled’ and pulled out the exact amount of bits from his dispenser. He instructed her to go up to the ticket counter if she wanted to get a ticket for tomorrow.
The line was long, but she was willing to wait… besides, she had nothing better to do. She had the whole night to do absolutely nothing. She sighed to herself, thinking of all the fun things she’d be missing out on because of a storm.
A strong and icy wind gushed through the station. “Good thing I brought warm clothing,” She mentally patted herself on the back. She snuggled in her soft clothing. She loved her warm trench-coat and scarf. She occasionally wore this, although she couldn’t remember the exact reason why she stuffed it away in her closet.
All of a sudden, a brown hat hit her in the face. The wind pressed it against her face. It was the opposite of soft, it was rough and gritty. She plucked it off her muzzle and examined it. The brown hat seemed to be a Stetson hat, and by the looks of it, it has seen better days.
A Stallion galloped toward her “Terribly sorry miss, that’ll be my hat” he said in a rich, cowpony accent. When she looked up, she found him to be rugged and striking. He had a light brown coat with a dark brown mane. A mustache protruded on his face, and his blue eyes gleamed with determination.
Minuette snapped out of her trance. What has gotten into her? She handed the hat back to him “No, No, it’s fine,” She stared at him longer. He was wearing a blue, tanned vest, with a red bandana around his neck. His hat complimented his apparel kindly. A gleam caught her eye. She found a five-pointed star pinned to his vest. “Sheriff” was inscribed on the star in neat, yet tattered writing.
“Don’t mean to trouble you miss, but where might I find the ticket counter?” He asked.
Minuette answered “Oh, you came to the right pony... er… I mean line!”
He stepped right behind her and got in line “Thank you miss,”
She was unusually nervous now. She dismissed it because he was in law enforcement. Usually, ponies would exaggerate their discreteness… no, that’s not the word… trustworthiness around law enforcement. If they were galloping faster than safe in a horse-drawn carriage, and saw an officer so much as raise an eyebrow, they’d usually slow down and be a little more careful. This was one of those cases.
‘Act natural’ Minuette thought to herself.
He started “So miss, where are you headed?”
“Uhm, actually, I was about to go to Ponyville, but an avalanche blocked the tracks,” She explained.
“Gotcha,” He clicked his tongue while winking and pointing a hoof at Minuette. “Are you visiting family in Ponyville?”
“Actually, I had an invite from a friend,” Minuette clarified. “What about you? Where are you headed?”
He tipped his hat “Same reason. Ah was headed to Appleloosa so ah could get back to my family for Hearth’s Warmin’. Unfortunately, the Avalanche is blockin’ the way home, and you know the rest,”
She turned to him and asked “I hope you get back to your family. Anyways, what’s an Appleloosan pony like you doing all the way up here in Canterlot?”
“Meetin’ in Canterlot for all ponies in Law-Enforcement. Appleloosa had a new law passed, so we needed to attend basic trainin’” he explained. He took off his hat and held it over his bandana. “I hope my family’s gonna be okay with me missin’ out on Hearth’s Warmin’ Eve”
The wind caught grip of his hat and blew it away again. He cursed “Shoot, there goes my hat again” he was about to run after it until he saw the brim of it being enveloped in light blue magic. Minuette’s horn glowed, and she levitated it back to its owner.
He placed it on his head “Thanks again ma’am, that pesky wind just wants my hat, doesn’t it?” He placed it on his head and made sure it was secure.
“No problem sir” Minuette shifted her weight onto another hoof and asked “By the way, I haven’t caught your name yet”
The Stallion stood up. “Oh boy, where are my manners today? Ah am Sheriff Silverstar” He tipped his hat again. “What’s your name miss?”
She bowed “I’m Minuette,”
“Gee, that’s a pretty name” He smiled.
“Th-Thank you” Minuette blushed. “So, Sheriff, where are you staying tonight, since the train is delayed?”
Sheriff’s eyes turned pale. He stared at her nervously “Well, ah honestly don’t know…”
“You mean you don’t have a place to stay?” Minuette’s jaw dropped
“Yeah, ah never thought of that until now… I got so used to the hotel, that I completely forgotten where I am going to stay an extra night” Sheriff said “I guess Ah can wait here at the station until mornin’”
Minuette’s heart rushed “Oh no, no, no, that wouldn’t be acceptable… you gotta have a better place to stay”
Sheriff shook his head “Ah have enough bits to buy me a daisy-sandwich, but not a place a stay for the night”
The Sheriff brought up a good point. Everything in Canterlot seemed to be more pricy. Paying to eat out here was standardized, but the price of an apartment could buy a mansion in Ponyville.
Minuette thought of the poor Sheriff alone and freezing in the night. The poor Stallion would shiver all through the night, covered in snow. Suddenly, she got a crazy idea. So crazy in fact… it just might work. “Hey, how about you come over to my place?” She blurted
Sheriff perked up. “Your awfully kind Minuette, but Ah really shouldn’t”
“C’mon,” Minuette begged. “I hate for you to freeze”
“I… I really shouldn’t trouble you”
“What trouble? It’s just for one night!” Minuette implored “Besides, you are in law enforcement! If I do something bad, then you could… um… arrest me!” She mentally facehoofed… that wasn’t exactly the brightest of answers. She was flustered, so she wasn’t exactly sure where that last part came from.
Sheriff thought for a bit “You do prove a point,” he looked her in the eye “Ah guess anything would be better than settlin’ down on a cold park bench”
“So it’s a yes?” Minuette’s Eyes lit up.
“It’s a yes” Sheriff Silverstar confirmed “Don’t push your luck though, it’s only for the night”
After they got their tickets, they headed for Minuette’s home. They had to hurry though, since a winter’s storm was about to come in, as scheduled by Cloudsdale. The winds were howling, foreshadowing a close storm as ominous clouds loomed overhead.
Minuette levitated a key to the door and unlocked it. The door was unique, since it had an hourglass inscribed on the wooden surface. She held the door open with her magic and let him in “After you, Sheriff”
Sheriff stepped in. Minuette trotted in after, hastily closing the door behind her. She hung up her coat and scarf and flicked on the lights. The room illuminated and revealed its charm. The sheriff looked around “Wow, you got a nice place here, Minuette” He marveled at the smooth, flowing architecture that laid around her condominium. “I’m not one that enjoys modern art, but this place… You’ve really outdone yourself”
Minuette stepped into the kitchen and turned on the stove to start boiling water. “Thank you, Sheriff.” She pulled out two mugs and asked “Would you like some hot chocolate?”
“Aye,” he answered enthusiastically. Minuette stared at him confused, until sheriff corrected himself “Sorry, I meant ‘Yes Please’”
She chuckled “Have a seat,” a chair scooted out from under the table, enveloped in a blue aura. He took it and sat down. Looking around, he also looked at the pictures hanging on the wall. One caught his eye “You have met Princess Twilight?!”
“Yeah, she was one of my best friends before she moved to Ponyville.” Minuette poured a few teaspoons of powder into the mugs. “Recently, she came back and made amends. It was hard making up to some of us, but she eventually pulled through.” The container levitated back to the pantry. The teapot started whistling “Occasionally, she comes up to Canterlot and pays all of us a visit.” Minuette picked it up with her magic and poured some boiling water into the cups. She levitated the cups over to the table, and took a seat. “That picture was taken about a few months ago, as a matter of fact”
“You’re so lucky, ah only got the chance to make her acquaintance, and that was before she became an Alicorn.” Sheriff took a sip of cocoa. “Ah would give anything to have that chance again, even if it was only for a second,”
Minuette never actually gave that much thought. Since the Princess was one of her close friends, she had taken that friendship for granted. Not many ponies had the same opportunity. Let alone… a second chance.
“Ah take it that’s the reason why you were going to Ponyville? Were you were planning to visit the princess?” Asked the Sheriff.
“Yeah, actually” Minuette stirred her cocoa “However, as you now know, I get to go tomorrow instead of today”.
Sheriff Silverstar spent a minute pondering on their predicament. Suddenly, he sprung out of his seat. “Hey, you are a unicorn. Ah heard unicorns can teleport. Why don’t you teleport us to Ponyville or Appleloosa?”
Minuette shook her head. “You Earth Ponies think we can do anything huh?” She sighed and trotted back into the kitchen. She pulled out some bread and daisies from the cupboard. “Well, I would’ve used that and avoided the train completely, but you need to know what the area is like, otherwise your spell will backfire.”
Minuette slapped the slices and daisies together. She levitated the finished sandwiches over to the table and trotted back to her seat. “Ponyville has changed dramatically since I have been gone, having the new castle and everything. Besides, I never been to Appleloosa before, so I can’t teleport there either”.
“Huh” Sheriff Silverstar took a sandwich and munched on it. “Sorry, Ah just want to get back to my family, that’s all”
“I understand, I would Teleport to Ponyville if I could, but unfortunately, I can’t” Minuette put her daisy sandwich down “Enough about me… tell me about your family, they sound really nice”
“Oh, they are, ahm the oldest of two siblings, yet both are married and one of em’ already have foals.” Sheriff Silverstar said “They’re very nice to me, since ah was the last one to earn their cutie mark.”
“Huh, that’s a rare case. Usually the oldest earns their cutie mark before their younger siblings get theirs,” Minuette took a seat at the table.
“Yep, but then again, Ah did earn mine eventually.” Sheriff Silverstar finished his sandwich and asked “What about you? Got any family around?”
Minuette nodded. “I do, but they are all the way back in Mane-hattan visiting extended family. I declined their invitation because Princess Twilight got to me first.” She took another bite “You can’t really decline an invitation from the Princess, if you know what I mean…”
“The ponies who decline a special invitation from royalty are either rude or dumb… or both” the Sheriff clarified.
“Exactly” Minuette shivered “My, it’s getting cold in here” her horn glowed, and suddenly, the fireplace lit itself with a roaring fire.
The fire reminded Sheriff Silverstar of something. “Hey, Minuette, would you mind if I showed you one of my family traditions?”
“Sure,” She smiled “I’m always open to new traditions”
Minuette came out of her room wearing thick socks, striped blue and white. Sheriff was sitting by the fire and was holding out a long, skinny pole over the fire. He looked to Minuette and snickered, trying to hide a grin under his bushy mustache.
“What? My hooves are cold!” Minuette blushed.
Sheriff couldn’t wipe his smug smile off his face. “Sorry, ya just look cute in em’ socks”
Minuette’s rosy cheeks turned beet red. “Stop doing that, or I might just kick you out of my house”
“Stop bein’ cute, or ah might just actually arrest ya,” Sheriff teased back.
Minuette rolled her eyes “Enough of that already, you’re pushing your luck” She took a seat beside him. “Besides, you can’t be arrested for being cute,”
Sheriff was about to use the pickup line ‘yes it is, because you stole someone’s heart!’, but he decided it was best to hold his peace. He tormented the poor mare enough. He wanted to stay in this warm house, away from the unforgiving cold
Minuette reminded “So, anyways, what did you have in mind?”
Sheriff pulled the pole out of the fire and plucked the marshmallow off the pole. He topped it with a piece of chocolate and sandwiched it between two graham crackers. He hoofed it over to Minuette “Here, have the first one, first batch’s usually best.”
Minuette picked up the weird concoction. She didn’t know what it was, and hesitantly nibbled on its side.
She couldn’t believe how good it tasted. Creamy fluffiness of marshmallow mixed with chocolate and cinnamon. “Mmm, that’s good… what do you call it?” She asked.
“You mean you never heard of a s’more before?” Sheriff gasped
“S’more?” She asked. “What’s a S’more?”
Sheriff popped two more marshmallows on a stick and started to roast them over the fire. Minuette took a spare poll and followed his lead. Sheriff began “S’mores are a treat that many fillies and colts in Appleloosa love. Even some mares and stallions are suckers for this Appleloosan treat.” A small tear fell from his eye as he gazed at the blazing fire “Every Hearth’s Warmin’ Eve, the whole town gathers around a huge bonfire. Some tell stories, some sing Classic Hearth’s Warmin’ Tunes, but most of us roast marshmallows on sticks and make S’mores”
Minuette’s marshmallow caught fire. She started to panic, but Sheriff leaned to the marshmallow and blew out the flame. “No need to freak out when a mallow catches fire, all you need it to blow it out and peel off the burned part. Then, you can put it in a S’more”
Minuette peeled off the burned part with her magic, leaving the gooey part underneath. She slipped it in the crackers and chocolate and munched on it. “Thanks Sheriff, S’mores are good!” She spoke while munching on the S’more
“You’re very welcome, Minuette” popped a few more on his stick and continued to roast more.
Both ponies were stuffed full. Minuette knew she overate, but those S’mores were hard to resist. The only thing that stopped her was the dying embers of the fire. The sheriff tipped his hat to the fire “’til next Hearth’s Warmin’, may we meet again,”
Minuette marveled at this odd, yet fascinating tradition. She thought of a tradition she could share with the Sheriff “Hey Sheriff, could you tell me how you got your cutie mark?”
Sheriff Silverstar looked over to Minuette and thought for a bit. He was about to say ‘Aye’ again, but caught himself and replied “Yes”
Minuette sat up. Sheriff started “As you know already, Ah was the last one in my family to earn theirs. It happened all the way back when Appleloosa was a small farming community. Not much than an hoof-full of farms and a schoolhouse.” He shifted “Anyways, just a normal day in school, avoid the bullies who tease blank-flanks. But today became… unusual. A blank-flank friend of mine lost her pet bunny. Of course it was the bullies who were playing mean tricks again. They were going to miss recess as punishment, until Ah came into the scene. Ah didn’t particularly like em’, but ah knew they were innocent.”
“Ah went out searching for the bunny, until I found the bunny hiding in her bag and eating her lunch. As soon as Ah found the bunny, Ah told the teacher what was happening, deeming em’ innocent.” Sheriff took a deep breath “That’s when ah got this cutie mark here.” He added “Later, they became my friend and vowed never to pick on a blank-flank ever again. You see, ahm more than a law enforcer, ahm a peacekeeper”
He asked “So what about you? How did you earn your cutie mark?”
She looked to her flank. “I earned mine when attending a family reunion. It’s been a vague one, but I narrowed down my talent to being in the right place at the right time” She said.
The sheriff wanted to keep the conversation going, but both of them were tired and winding down for the night. He asked, with a yawn “What do you want for Hearth’s Warming Minuette?”
“Nothing, really… spending time with somepony is enough for me…” She returned a favor “What about you sheriff?”
“Same… I just want to get back to my family… that’s all” He answered, eyes half open
Minuette closed her beautiful blue eyes “Don’t worry, Sheriff, Tomorrow you’ll be able to see them”
Both ponies woke up in time for Luna to lower the moon and Celestia to raise the sun. They jolted out of Minuette’s apartment as fast as they could. By now, the workers must’ve cleared the tracks.
Minuette’s special talent kicked in. They were just in time to catch the Train before it departed. The passenger cars were awfully crowded with Ponies delayed from last night’s cancelled departure.
Luckily, Minuette and the Sheriff were able to find two seats next to each other.
Once they took their seat, the conductor shouted over the din of complaining ponies “Listen here! While we travel down the mountains to Ponyville, it is going to be a bumpy ride! Whatever you do, do not lean on the side of the train!” He traveled out of the caboose and to the engine of the train.
As soon as the train started down the mountain, Minuette and the Sheriff knew what they were talking about… they were purposefully speeding down the mountains to make up for lost time. The train was speeding above the limit so fast, when it passed around the curves of the rail, it tilted slightly, scaring the ponies who had mild acrophobia.
In one curve however, Minuette unintentionally clung to the Sheriff. When they passed it, Minuette’s cheeks turned bright red as she pulled her hooves away from the Sheriff. “Sorry” She managed to squeak.
Sheriff grinned “No problem. Those curves are a little bit frightenin’, if you ask me”
The train braked ahead of time so they could stop at Ponyville station. As soon as the doors opened, many ponies flooded out in a colorful array. Minuette waited for her turn to get out.
She looked around anxiously, trying to find the Princess, if she decided to come. Suddenly, she saw the tan Stallion step right next to her.
“I thought you had to go to Appleloosa, Sheriff” Minuette said.
“Ah do have five minutes til’ the train departs again,” he replied “It’s the least Ah can do, I do owe you a favor for giving me a place to stay for last night”
Out of nowhere, a Purple mare tackled Minuette. Her wings flapped in excitement. Minuette was happy to see her friend too.
Minuette wheezed “Uhm, Twilight, could you get off of me, it’s getting hard to breathe…”
Twilight hopped off her friend “My apologies, I’m just so happy to see you” she hopped up and down in excitement. ‘Was this Twilight… or was this actually Pinkie, dressed as Twilight Sparkle?’
Minuette got up and brushed herself off. Twilight started “I heard the train was delayed last night...”
“Snow was blocking a tunnel on the tracks,” Minuette fiddled with her saddlebags. She looked at Twilight and asked “What about you? How are you and Spike doing?”
“Fine, Spike is getting over his stomach ache now,” Twilight took a deep breath and added “Though I calculated that it won’t go away for approximately 2 weeks,”
Yep, this was Princess Twilight alright… Only Twilight would know how to calculate the elapsed time for a dragon’s stomach ache to stop.
“Wow, how do you calculate that?” Minuette asked.
“It’s easy, Biology of a Dragon mixed with Medicinal Chemistry… I could do it in my sleep” She replied. She glanced over to Sheriff Silverstar and asked “Who’s your friend?”
“Oh, you’ve met each other before,” Minuette pointed to the Sheriff “This is Sheriff Silverstar, Sheriff of Appleloosa.”
Twilight held out her hoof to shake. Sheriff Silverstar accepted “Pleasure to meet ya, Princess”
Twilight smiled warmly “Nice to meet you too! I believe I met you back when Appleloosans and the buffalo were having a major disagreement over the land?”
“Eeyup,” He nodded. “The rumors are true, Princess Twilight does has the ability to remember everythin’”
“Oh no, it’s just because I study, that’s all” Twilight rubbed her left forehoof nervously. She blurted “When did you two meet?”
“Yesterday, actually,” He tipped his hat to Minuette “This sweet mare offered me a place to stay for the night… you have a really nice friend, princess,”
Minuette blushed slightly.
The train whistle blew. The Sheriff bowed “Pleasure meetin’ ya both, If ya’ll don’t mind, I need to head back to my family, they’re probably worried sick” He trotted away and entered the train. The door shut behind him and train took off.
Minuette waved goodbye to the train, seeing the Sheriff wave back through the window. Minuette waved back, then looked back at Twilight.
Twilight sensed a twinge of something… something different. Minuette was smiling, but Twilight could see in her expression that the smile was of half-heart. This happened every time a pony said goodbye to a friend. “Minuette, are you okay?” She asked.
Minuette replied a tad too fast “Yeah, I’m fine, I’m just… cold is all”
Twilight rolled her eyes. She hated to be blunt, but Rainbow Dash taught her when it is best to be ‘direct’. She leaned toward Minuette, whose head was slightly drooping. “Go after him, Minuette”
She jolted upward and reared in confusion “What?!”
“Go after him, Minuette” Twilight repeated.
“I don’t know, Twilight… I don’t want to seem like those crazy mares who think a stallion is all theirs” Minuette looked down at the ground
Twilight lifted her head “I can sense something between you two, a strong friendship. I can’t explain how it all happened in a day… so call it an anomaly, or just intuition, but you two are fit for each other.” Twilight giggled “Sorry, I enjoy observing the things I can’t explain.”
“Well, we had a whole day planned yesterday, I don’t want to cheat you out of it,” Minuette reasoned “You are the Princess, after all,”
“Oh Minuette, I have good ol’ Rainbow Dash to keep me company and an achy Dragon to tend. Don’t worry about me” Twilight glanced up at the clock hanging from the rafters of the station. “We have an hour til’ the next train to Appleloosa arrives. Why don’t we go and get a cup of cocoa at sugarcube corner?”
“I guess that sounds good,” Minuette nodded in agreement “Only on one condition, you pay”
“Great! While we wait, tell me about the wonderful night you and the Sheriff had” Twilight suggested.
Minuette smiled and rolled her eyes “Okay, but only because you are the Princess”
The end