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Fate must be Cruel only to the Kind
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Act 1: The Joyful Dream of the Little Sister
“The Applewood Derby!” The eyes of the turquoise-grey filly glistened from excitement as she looked down on the poster in front of her. It showed a slick, modern racing cart, the silhouettes of two ponies; one big, the other one small; sitting in it, on a curvy racing track, with more ponies at its side who cheered for the racers. The big headline on top of the poster said “Equestria's Famous Applewood Derby!”. In smaller letters under it, the text revealed the location of where the derby would be held: Ponyville.
Her eyes growing ever wider in fascination, the filly gave her joy free rein. “The Applewood Derby! The Applewood Derby!” she repeated cheerfully. “Finally I'm old enough to participate!” She reared up and kicked her forelegs into the air, the happiest giggle she could create leaving her mouth. The wings on her back buzzed in excitement and she was about to begin with another shout of joy as a voice coming from the pond to her right distracted her.
“Chirpy! Come into the water finally, what are you waiting for so long?!” a grey pegasus colt with a light orange mane shouted impatiently into her direction.
Chirpy Hooves looked over to the center of the pond where the voice came from and frowned. Then her face softened again and she answered the impatient question. “It's too chilly this evening to go swimming! Can't you feel the cold breeze?”
Indeed it was a rather cold evening on this summer day. While the weather was hot for most of the day, the temperature had begun to drop in the late afternoon and now, cold winds were blowing all over Rainbow Falls. But the colt just rolled his eyes over Chirpy's objection.
“Pfft! That's nothing! Only feeble ponies leave the water just because it gets a little cold! Come in, Chirps!” He waved her over.
Chirpy flinched as she heard the word “feeble” from the mouth of her big brother and for a moment, an expression of insecurity appeared on her face. “Fine,” she said then and turned towards the pond. “I'm not one of those feeble ponies, Crackle, just wait for it!”
She cantered towards the water and brought the few meters between the pond and her behind and as she had reached it, she did a jump into the pond from the edge of its shore. Her hooves stretched out widely, she hit the surface of the pond and dived under it. Chirpy's whole body convulsed in a matter of seconds as she felt the cool temperature of the water on her skin. As she had emerged again, she couldn't breath for a few seconds, her body suddenly being paralyzed by the pond's chill water.
“C-c-c-cold!” she said between her clattering teeth as her breath finally returned. She wrapped her hooves around her body and began to shiver.
Crackle Pop swam over to her, a smile on his face. His little sister followed his movement with her eyes while her teeth continously clattered. Crackle gave her a pat on the shoulder. “You'll get used to it, Chirps! Just swim a few rounds, then you will feel warm!”
Chirpy nodded tardy, then she slowly retracted the hooves from her body, brought them in front of her and started with a few, hesitant breaststrokes around her brother. He turned around to follow her swimming and his smile grew bigger as he saw that Chirpy became more confident. She answered the smile with a smile on her own and increased the pace.
Ten rounds later, she joined Crackle in the middle of the imaginary circle she had created around him with her swimming and gave him a nudge. “Thanks!” she said, all the shivers and clattering having vanished from her voice now.
Both siblings raised a hoof and with determined expressions, exchanged a hoofbump with each other. Then Crackle lifted up his hoof and gave the filly in front of him a noogie. “You've done good, sis!”
Chirpy giggled and rewarded him with a gentle expression. Then it turned into naughtyness and, using the moment of surprise, she splashed a portion of the cold water into his face. Crackle gasped and coughed, then he showed the same expression and answered the sudden attack with a splash on his own. Soon, the two foals were engaged in a fierce water fight without mercy, both of them determined to defeat their sibling. Eventually, they had to stop their fight without declaring a winner, as splashing around with the cold water resulted in exhaustion. They gasped for breaths until Chirpy's brother brought up her currently favorite topic.
“So, you're excited for tomorrow?” he asked her and ruffled through her dark blonde mane a second time, a grin on his face.
As he had retracted his hoof again, Chirpy nodded excitedly. “Mhm! I can't wait for it! Every year I wanted to participate and everypony always told me I'm too young for it, but now that I'm ten years old, I'm finally old enough to race in the derby! YAY!” A bell-like laugh sounded from her throat.
“I'm happy for you, sis!” Crackle Pop answered the overjoyed outburst. “You were always so jealous when I got to participate the last two years. Although.....” A mischievous grin appeared on his face. “Maybe I'm still changing my mind. I enjoyed it to participate in the Applewood Derby with our big sis and I only got to do it two times so far. Maybe I'm the one who should go anyway.....”
Like she was just struck by a sudden thunder, Chirpy's face turned into disappointment. Her lips pointed downwards and began to tremble slightly and in her eyes glistened something that could be the precursors of tears. “B-But I look forward to it so much! A-Are you serious?” Now small pools of tears got indeed accumulated and she looked at her big brother with watery eyes.
His expression broke a little at this sight. Regret showed up in his eyes and his mouth opened slightly. “Of course not,” he said in a soft tone and lifted up his sister's chin. “I was just joking, sis. I know how important it is to you.”
Smiling returned into Chirpy's face now. She reached up with a hoof and wiped the tears out of her eyes, then she squeezed her brother in a tight, short hug. As she had let go of him again, her expression turned playfully strict. She splashed some more water in his face. “That's your punishment for scaring me!”
Crackle Pop laughed, but then his face became slightly stern. “I just wish the derby could happen here in Rainbow Falls. Every year they combine the foals of Ponyville and the foals of Rainbow Falls to race in the same event, because they can't build a racing track here.” His dark orange eyes glided over the various mountain plateaus the buildings of the small town were scattered across. “If the derby would happen here, then mom and dad could be our partners and we both could participate in the race. But their jobs don't let them any time to leave Rainbow Falls for a whole day.....” He sighed. “At least one of us gets to meet Derpy there every year.”
As he noticed disappointment growing in his sister's eyes again, he gave her a reassuring smile. “But don't worry! I will yield to you this time, Chirps. It's your first year and I won't stand in your way.”
Chirpy gave him an admiring smile for these words.
“Maybe I can race again next year. But for this year, the spotlight is all yours, sis!” He answered her smile.
Chirpy's cheeks were now raised by how much she was smiling. She stretched out her hooves and wrapped up her brother in yet another hug. As she released him again, a strong, female voice called over to them. It came from a pegasus mare with a turquoise coat and a fiery orange mane and tail.
“Chirpy! Crackle! It's time for dinner, come home!”
They looked into the direction the voice came from. “We're coming, mom!” both of them shouted at the same time. The two siblings presented each other with a last smile, then they left the pond. They shook the water out of their coats, Chirpy hastily grabbed the poster and then they galloped home.
As they went over the doorstep, their grumbling stomachs indicated that they couldn't await to get a hearty meal into them. Or, at least one that would satisfy them until it was time for breakfast in the morning.
In a rush, Chirpy and Crackle took seat on the chairs at the kitchen table. It swayed slightly, but both of them were so hungry that they didn't notice. Their mom began laying the table and now approached them to place small bowls and spoons in front of them.
“Be careful with the table, you two,” she said, striking a slightly strict tone. “You know we can't afford a new one.”
The two foal siblings immediately showed a sheepish expression. Squees escaped their throats, followed by apologies.
As their mom had set down two more sets of a bowl and a spoon, she trotted back to the kitchen unit. A slightly rusty oven was there and on top of it, a big pot was placed. Steam arose from it and a familiar scent wafted into the noses of Chirpy and Crackle, which made their stomachs grumble even more.
Opposite of them, their dad, a hunky pegasus stallion with a grey coat and a short, blonde mane, took seat. He looked over to them and the strict expression in his yellow eyes pierced through them. Then his face lightened up and he laughed. Seeing their wet manes, he asked “Have you given your sister swimming lessons again, Crackle?”
“Mhm!” The young colt nodded with a smile. “She's getting better every day, dad! If she continues like that, she'll be fast enough to beat me in a race soon!”
His father gave Chirpy a smile, who just quietly sat on her seat and raised her head, wearing a proud expression.
Unfortunately, her mom didn't share the sentiment. As she approached the table again, now the pot with the steaming soup in her hooves, she raised an eyebrow and shot a disapproving glare at Chirpy.
Chirpy didn't notice, though, and so, instead of addressing her mom's disapproval, she reacted as on cue as she heard her brother using the word “fast”.
“Swimming? The only thing I'm caring about being fast at right now is the derby tomorrow! Maybe I'm winning it even and finally get a ribbon for fastest cart for the Hooves family!”
An angry expression appeared on Crackle's face and he shot it into Chirpy's direction, who stuck out her tongue in response, then following up on the cheeky gesture with a giggle.
“Make sure to eat your hay soup as long as it's hot, Chirpy,” she reminded her daughter on it that it was time to eat as she poured some of the soup into her bowl with a scoop.
Her attention having been brought to the meager meal in front of her, Chirpy frowned, but didn't say anything. Instead, she constructed a smile and looked into her mom's face. “Thanks, mommy!” she said, making her voice sound as happy as she could. As she noticed her brother frowning like she had just a moment ago and not saying anything after their mom had filled his bowl with hay soup as well, she gave him a slight kick with her hoof.
It seemed to wake up the colt from a trance. “Oh!” He abruptly looked up and directly into the unhappy faces of their parents. “T-Thanks for cooking for us, mom!” he quickly stuttered some gratitude. Then he took the spoon into his hooves, dipped it into the watery, yellow soup and began to eat, trying to seem as enthusiastic and happy about it as possible. A guilty expression was adorning his face.
Now Chirpy was starting to eat too. Dipping her spoon into the soup, she continued to smile at her parents, then broke out in fake praise for the meal once she had tried the first spoon full of soup. “Mmmmmmmmmmmmmh!” she said, stretching the expression really long. “I love your hay soup, mommy! It's the best one you can find anywhere!”
Her mom replied to the compliment with a smile, yet there was still a sad expression in her eyes.
Noticing it, her husband changed the subject. “Nimble, are you sure that our Derpy in Ponyville got the letter in time? We don't want her to be too surprised when Chirpy comes out of the train instead of Crackle.”
She nodded while taking his bowl and filling it with soup. “Yes, of course, Dapper,” she answered. “Why wouldn't it be? I sent it off days ago.” Her voice sounded strained.
A laugh rang out from Dapper's throat. “Haha, you're right! It's not like she had to deliver the letter to herself!”
Hearing the lighthearted stab at their big sister's clumsiness, Chirpy and Crackle interrupted their eating and broke out in giggles, that sooned turned into loud, hearty laughter. A faint smile finally appeared on the face of their mom and, quieter than the rest of her family, she joined in on the laughing.
She regained her composure quicker than the rest of her family, though, and after she had wiped some tears of laughter out of her purple eyes, she filled a bowl for herself and put it down in front of her. “Now, let's stop laughing about this,” she said while reaching for a small bag at the side of the pot. Carefully, she opened it and took out four small and very dry-looking pieces of bread. She placed one at the side of her bowl, then hoofed the other three ones over to her husband and her two foals. “You know that Derpy is working really hard for Ponyville's mail service. We shouldn't make fun of her just because she muddles up some of the letters here and there due to her eyes.”
Upon hearing that, the laughs of the other three ponies subsided slowly.
“And at least she's doing a better job in giving her daughter a good life than we ever did with our foals, Dapper.....” she answered sorrowfully as the laughing had finally stopped.
Immediately, the faces of Chirpy and her brother turned into compassionate, sad expressions. “That's just crap!” Crackle Pop burst out only a moment later, setting his spoon down on the table with force. It swayed violently at the impact. “You do a good job too! I know it isn't always easy, but Chirpy and me are happy, mom!”
Agreeing with her older sibling, Chirpy nodded towards her mother. “Crackle is right, mommy! We're okay. Even though you can't buy me as many books as I would like, I can always trade some. Please don't be sad, okay?”
Her dad took the word as she had ended. “Chirpy got it right, Nimble. Have you forgotten that tomorrow is her big day? Let's not ruin our daughter's joy by making this a sad evening.”
Abruptly, Nimble's head shot up, epiphany and traces of embarrassment visible in her face now. “I'm sorry, Chirpy!” she shouted quickly. “It's your first time in the Applewood Derby and it's so important to you and all I do is sulking.....”
Satisfaction spreading out over her little face, she smiled at her mom now. “It's okay, mommy! I know you didn't mean it.” As her mom didn't answer, she returned her attention back to the soup. Chirpy gave her a sad glance, then she proceeded with eating.
Silence hung in the air for a few minutes. The only sounds came from the ponies around the table eating their soup. The silent atmosphere only ended as Crackle Pop broke it, addressing his sister.
“Hey, Chirps, what if you win the ribbon for fastest cart? Will you hang it up in our room or will you just trade it for more books?” His voice sounded teasing and his lips formed a cheeky grin.
“Of course I'm not trading it!” Chirpy shouted at her brother while piercing him with a glare at the same time. Then she noticed the playful expression in his eyes and she giggled.
All of a sudden, it was like a dark cloud that hung over the table disappeared. One after another, Crackle, his mom and his dad joined in with Chirpy.
“You have to find a good place for it if you win it,” her mom then said as they had stopped laughing and poured more soup into Chirpy's now empty bowl.
Chirpy looked at her, eyes full of surprise. “Another one? Do we have enough soup today to eat two bowls?”
“Just for you,” her mom replied. “And just this once. We want you to be strong for tomorrow.”
A gigantic smile built itself up on Chirpy's face now and her eyes glistened. Bursting from joy over this gesture, she took flight and threw her hooves around her mom. “Thank you so much! I'll do my best tomorrow!”
“I know you will make us proud, Chirpy.” Her mom hugged her. “But now fly back before your soup becomes cold. And eat your bread too.”
Chirpy nodded, then she did as her mom had told her. Now so excited that she couldn't wait to get to sleep anymore, so that the next day would come quickly, she slurped her soup faster than she ever had before, while occasionally taking a bite from the chewy slice of bread.
Her whole family smiled while watching her.
As she was finished, Chirpy leaned back in her chair, satisfiedly rubbing her now full tummy. A little burp escaped her throat, which caused her family to laugh again. She looked around sheepishly. “Sorry,” she said then, with a bright blush on her face.
“You should go to sleep now,” her dad adviced her then. “You want to be fit for tomorrow, isn't it?”
This was something he didn't need to tell Chirpy twice. Enthusiastically, she nodded and got out of her chair, her brother following right behind her. With a tempo no other pony would be able to reach so easily, she waved at her parents, wished them a good night and dashed up the stairs, her thundering hooves sounding like they were making short work of the wooden stairs.
With a grin, Crackle looked after her. He turned around to his parents and wished them a good night as well, then he trotted up the stairs and followed his sister.
As he entered their room, he found Chirpy standing in front of the bookshelf to the right of the door, a pondering expression on her face. Before he could ask what was up, she shook her head. “Nope! No reading before bed tonight!” Then she turned around at the spot, did a jump into the bed under the window at the back wall of the room and slipped under the blanket.
Crackle Pop laughed. One thing was sure, once his sister had started reading a book, she was barely able to put it away again. Many nights happened where she just kept reading while he was deeply asleep at her side. And there were a few times where he woke up in the morning and Chirpy was still buried muzzle deep into a book. He could understand very well why she decided to not read something in this night.
As he slipped under the blanket at the side of his sister, she was already yawning and rubbing her eyes. Surprised, he looked at her. “You're so tired already?” It was way earlier than their usual bedtime and the surprise over her tired state was written all over Chirpy's own face as well.
“Maybe it was the swimming this evening,” she said sleepily, trying to come up with an explanation.
“Even more important that you get to sleep early tonight then!” he exclaimed in response.
Tiredly, Chirpy nodded, followed by another yawn. The filly lied down on her back and pulled the blanket over her, then she turned onto her right side and neatly rested her hooves in front of her on the blanket. She closed her eyes. “Good night, Crackle,” she said, in a voice that sounded like she was already half asleep.
“Night, Chirps!” Crackle replied. He rested his head on the pillow as well and crossed his forehooves under it, bringing himself into his preferred sleeping position. It was too early to sleep for him and unlike his sister, there wasn't a big and important task he had to do on the next day, so he could afford staying up late. Yet he didn't, as he feared that whatever he did in their small, shared room would prevent Chirpy from falling asleep, so he decided to join her in bed early and to count sheeps until he would be asleep as well.
Soon, steady breaths came from Chirpy. Crackle looked over to her in the dim light of their room as the sun slowly descended under the horizon and a smile flashed over his face.
He watched his little sister sleeping until his eyes closed and he was swept away into the realm of sleep as well.....