The sun rose red the next morning. A ruby glow stained the snowy countryside, not hours earlier in a deep coma, deserving of much-needed seasonal rest, but now…
Dawn broke, and with it, a droopy-eyed Pinkie Pie came to remember an old Apple Family rhyme that Apple Bloom had once told her.
Red sky in the morning’s a shepherd’s warning—red sky at night’s a shepherd’s delight. What a silly rhyme. What was a shepherd, anyway? She’d have to ask A.J. sometime.
But not now. Now there were little fillies and colts who needed her brand of humour, her cheery demeanour. Through the night she had toiled, running from family to family, in turn offering hugs and promises of a huge make-up-once-we’ve-rebuilt party. The younger ones laughed at her faces, the bubbly façade she put on just for them, able to ignore the wintry chill of a less-than-forgiving night, at least for a short while before they drifted off into fitful slumber.
Most of Ponyville had crammed themselves into Town Hall. All the intact seats were stacked up against the wall; the broken ones were thrown outside, useless clutter to discard in favour of a space to lie down and snuggle up with loved ones. The main doors had remained intact… mostly, save for some damaged hinges that let frequent frigid wisps in every now and then. What small amount of supplies could be salvaged from homes had been, and so most of Ponyville spent their night huddled up to one another, sharing blankets designed for one between three or more.
Pinkie could have fallen asleep on her hooves. How nice it would be to curl up under the fallen Hearth’s Warming tree… hehe, be, tree…
“How’re ya doin’, Pinkie? You all right?”
“Wha—” Pinkie tensed up at her name-call. “Oh, hey, Applejack.” Her mane promptly deflated again, brought low to match her attitude. “I guess so. I mean, apart from not having a home or a job anymore, like everypony else. I’ll be okay though. Still gotta spread that—” her hoof flew to her mouth as it opened wide “—ehhhhyahn, Hearth’s Warming spirit, y’know? Can’t let everypony down.”
Applejack smiled, walked over from her sleeping sister, and placed a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder. “Pinkie, I think everypony’s happy enough just to still be here right now. Why, if’t weren’t for you and your Celestia-blessed Pinkie Sense, who knows what mighta happened?”
“Speak for yourself.”
“Say what now?” Applejack turned and looked over at a morose white stallion. “You not ’ppreciatin’ my friend here for savin’ your ungrateful hide, Locust Bean?”
The stallion snorted. “It’s Carob Bean, miss Apple, and don’t you forget it. Sure I’m still here, but I lived in my shop, and my bed, all my seeds ’n’ other merchandise is buried under six feet of snow and rubble. What’s there to be happy about?”
“Why, you stuck up—”
“Applejack!”
Applejack lowered her hoof. “What? No way’m I gonna let snowy here disrespect the hero of Ponyville.”
“Applejack…” Pinkie lifted her hoof and hugged her friend. “It’s okay,” she said with a sigh in her voice. “I know it must be hard for anypony to be cheery right now, especially when none of us have had a good night’s sleep. Just let Mister Bean be. I’m sure he didn’t mean any harm.”
Applejack glared at Carob, but kept her mouth shut until she turned back to Pinkie. “All right then. But I swear, any more ungrateful clods out there don’t treasure how lucky they are to be alive, and I won’t hesitate to buck ’em all the way to Timbucktu.”
“Okey dokey lokey then,” Pinkie said, mane inexplicably poofy again. “Hey, let’s go and see Twilight. I think everypony’s okay here for now. Plus, she probably knows some super fantabulous wake-up spell she can put on me.” Pinkie sighed. “Wish the Cakes’ coffee supply wasn’t all crushed. I mean, the Marabica beans were kind of already crushed, so I guess I could still dig them up.”
“Nu-uh. No way, sugarcube.” Applejack shook her head as they departed out the Hall doors; they failed to swing back the other way, instead slumping into the snow upon the steps. “You gotta get yourself a decent rest. Y’already done more than enough for us through the night. Why, I bet most o’ them foals in Town Hall’d still be awake right now if you hadn’t kept ’em smiling and sung ’em to sleep. I’m sure their folks appreciate it.”
Pinkie coughed, shivering as an errant gust blew through her mane. “Brrrrrr. Hey, you think so? I just feel like I could do more to help everypony, you know? Ponies need me more than ever now.”
“I understand, Pinkie. Trust me.” Applejack stopped to place a hoof on Pinkie’s barrel. “Former Element of Laughter, everypony’s favourite party planner and all that jazz. But you know, you ain’t the only one capable of bringin’ some Hearth’s Warming heart flutter.” She winked as they resumed walking, Twilight’s castle coming slowly into view. “Family’s got a big cider stash in the cellar we always keep for this time o’ year, whole bunch of kegs that don’t quite measure up for sellin’ during Cider Season. Way I figure, we may as well share it around this season, even if it is lower quality than I’d like.”
Pinkie giggled before giving another yawn. “Better keep your eyes on Dashie then. You know how she loves that ‘Apple sauce’.”
Applejack’s turn to chuckle. “Heck, yeah, you said it. I’ll make sure to save her a schooner or two. Anyway, she’s already flown off to Cloudsdale to help the Wonderbolts. Reckon it’s getting mighty silly up there right about now.”
“No problem! With Dashie helping out, all those pegasi are in good hooves.”
“It’s not just the pegasi, girls.”
Pinkie and Twilight looked to the giant blue doors; Twilight Sparkle stepped through, Spike snoring on her back and a newspaper in her grasp. “Good morning,” she said before pausing, as if to catch herself. “Er, as good a morning as it can be, anyway.” She looked at the sky, still casting a faint but no less eerie red glow. “Wow. This is the first red sun in over a thousand years, according to today’s Equestria Daily. Princess Celestia only raises them in times of nationwide mourning.”
“Y’all got a newspaper?” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “How’d you score that? Nopony’s deliverin’ mail today and Printing Press’ news stand’s nothin’ but splinters.”
“Applejack.” Pinkie pointed to Twilight’s back at the scaly green lump.
“Oh, right. Heh.” Applejack knocked a hoof on the ground. “Hey, uh, can we see that real quick? Just wonderin’ if my other kin are okay.”
“Sure.” Twilight nodded and floated it over to Applejack, who caught it in her mouth. “Come on, let’s get inside. Fluttershy and Rarity are already here.”
“So, um, that’s how my night went. The house was just so full of animals that I could hardly move.”
“Goodness gracious, darling,” Rarity said after sipping from her teacup. “That sounds like more than just a full house—I’ll bet you had more than four of a kind there? And in such close quarters too… however did you stop them all from fighting with one another?”
“Well, it wasn’t easy.” Fluttershy sighed and lowered her own cup. “The mongooses wanted to eat the chinchillas, the tarantulas had eyes for the wrens up in their perches, and Angel Bunny was playing a very, um, stealthy game of hide and seek with Harry. Honestly, I’m amazed I even slept an hour. Although, maybe ‘slept’ isn’t the right word. More like passed out.”
“Hmmm.” Rarity rubbed her eyes. “Oh, I’m going to have a three-piece luggage set under my eyes by the end of the day. There’s just so much to do. Dozens of blankets, maybe some stuffed toys to make for ponies with whatever supplies I can salvage. Why, it breaks my heart to think of all those little foals without their Hearth’s Warming gifts, no solid roofs over their heads…”
“Oh, my. It’s just horrible, isn’t it?”
Fluttershy and Rarity exchanges glances and stared at their cups, each swirling their tea leaves around in pointless circles.
“Hey, you two.”
Fluttershy and Rarity both looked up; Twilight entered the throne room with Pinkie and Applejack in tow. “Applejack said Rainbow Dash left for Cloudsdale to help the Wonderbolts with the refugee effort, but she and Pinkie stayed up all night here to help comfort the townsponies. So I guess it’s just us five.”
Spike snorted on her back, raised his head, and opened a single bleary eye. “Huh? Is nap time over?”
Twilight giggled. “Make that just us six. How’re you feeling, Spike? Still sleepy?”
Spike stretched out his arms, arching his back across Twilight’s so much he could be mistaken for an ouroboros. “Aaaaaghaah. Wow, that’s much better.” He caught sight of the others upside down, quickly righting himself and jumping off Twilight’s back. “Wake up, everypony,” he said, waving a claw around, “today’s not the day for a sleep in.” He quickly leaped up onto his throne and began tapping his knees with his claws.
Twilight rolled her eyes, but sat on her own throne without a further word; Pinkie and Applejack followed suit.
“So, everyone, how are you all?” she said, eyes darting around the crystal table.