Critter Snow Day

by Fluttercheer

A Dream or a Nightmare?

.
Now shall we sing songs of harmony within this realm! And with true love and brotherhood, each other we all whelm! This day, apart, warm hearths and hearts, all other doth efface! For friendship and rectitude to all and kindness and grace! Warm hearths to all and kindness and grace!

Alula had barely opened her eyes as her heart began to sting with the leftover feelings from last night. Almost immediately, a fresh batch of tears began to emerge in her eyes. “Why do I have to hear this song again today?” she whimpered, her broken heart hurting. “This horrible day is over, leave me alone!” She pulled the pillow out from under her head and pressed it down on her face hard, almost feeling the desire to suffocate herself with it. Below her, she heard a knock and then the familiar sound of the front door getting opened.

“Oh, good morning, Fluttershy!” the voice of her mother chimed up to her.

“Good Morning!” the timid pegasus mare answered, exuberantly. “I hope you are all ready for fun times today, because it's CRITTER SNOW DAY!”

Alula's ears perked up. She removed the pillow from her face and shot up from the mattress. “Critter Snow Day?! What's going on?!”

“And don't forget to put your snow booties on,” she continued to hear Fluttershy's voice. “It's really cold out here today and we don't want you to get sick!”

Sitting upright in her bed, Alula patted over her body with her forehooves, realizing in confusion that she wasn't wearing anything. She went over the events of the past day in her mind while the conversation below continued. A laugh by her mother broke her concentration just as she had arrived at the moment when she and Train Tracks shared their first kiss.

“Oh, of course I will come, Fluttershy! I wouldn't miss Critter Snow Day for anything in Equestria! I can only join you in the evening, but I will send Alula over. I bet her friends will come, too!”

“Sending me over? My friends?” Alula repeated the words. Slowly, but steady, it dawned on her mind what was happening right now. There was only one explanation for all of this.

“It was all just a dream,” Alula said, her voice sounding more spirited. “I must have been so nervous over my plan that I was dreaming that it all went wrong!” Feeling relief wash over her, Alula let herself fall back on the softness of her pillow. “IT WAS ALL JUST A DREAM!” she shouted euphoric and threw all four hooves into the air. Alula started laughing from joy.

Feeling her bad mood getting washed away and new confidence taking its place, Alula fluttered out of her bed. She landed in front of her desk, where she reached for the corkboard and plucked a photo from it. She looked down at Train Tracks dreamily, then laughed again. “How could I dream something so silly?” she mumbled to herself. “My plan is foolproof, nothing will go wrong! You'll be mine today, Train Tracks!” Alula kissed the photo tenderly, then she pinned it to the board again and skipped into the bathroom.

At the lavatory, as her eyes wandered over her manebrush and her toothbrush, Alula shuddered slightly as the strange feeling that accompanied a déjà vu came over her. She turned on the faucet and splashed some cold water into her face to shake it off, then reached for a towel and wiped her face dry. She did a short glance into the mirror, then nodded at her reflection and dropped the towel into the lavatory.

Feeling ready, Alula stepped out of her bedroom door. Standing at the other side of it, she heard hoofsteps coming up the stairs. As the face of her mother appeared in front of her, she was greeted by a smile.

“Good Morning, Alula! Are you ready for the Critter Snow Festival today?” She was brimming with morning cheer.

Alula flinched, resentment building on her face. “Yeah, yeah, I'm ready.” She rolled her eyes. “But I'll go there only because Train Tracks and Peach Fuzz insist on it.” She marched ahead, past her mother, who was now wearing a frown. As she was halfway down the stairs, an all-too-familiar sound entered her ears and she froze.

“Oh, your alarm clock is ringing, honey. Will you please go back inside and turn it off?” Her mother turned around and looked at her, expectantly.

Alula turned her head around only slightly. “I already turned it off in my dreams, now it's your turn!” She snickered as she continued to descend down on the stairs.

Her mother looked after her with a dumbfounded expression. “I don't know what this means, Alula, but please turn it off. We don't have to listen to this during breakfast.”

The filly groaned over her mother's insistence and turned around fully, stomping back up the stairs and into her room. She hit the button on top of the clock and returned into the corridor.

“There you go,” she said, giving her mother a wide, defiant smile. “Now you can hear your disruptive, way-too-early-in-the-morning carols again, mom!” Without waiting for a response, she marched ahead and down the stairs again. “Close the door, at least, I have important stuff to take care of!” she shouted back up.

The mare looked after her daughter, frowning again. She closed the door of Alula's bedroom with a heavy sigh leaving her lips, then followed her down the stairs.

As Alula entered the kitchen, she stopped in her tracks for a moment. Everything that happened to her was just a dream, that's something she had figured out. But how accurately her dream had predicted everything so far was still unusual and it sent a shiver down Alula's spine. Prophetic dreams were definitely not the most mysterious thing one could encounter in Equestria, but she never would have thought to have such a dream herself.

“If the dream predicted the outcome too.....” Alula began to ponder, but then shook her head. “No, it won't!” she filled her head with a determined thought instead. “It's just a silly dream and my own nervousness! These are all just coincidences!”

Having put this thought behind her, Alula started flying and aimed for one of the cupboards, just as her mother entered the kitchen. “Please close the cupboard again, Alula,” she said, her voice a little strict.

Alula hastily pulled a slice of toast out of one of the bags inside and took a large bite from it before she hovered down to one of the chairs and sat down. She didn't bother to close the cupboard again.

“Alula, what did I just say?” Her mother scolded her.

Demonstratively, Alula shrugged her shoulders and kept eating away at her toast.

Alula's mother used her magic to close the cupboard, another frown building on her face, then she sat down at her daughter's side. She gave her a sad look, then put a hoof around Alula's shoulders.

“Why are you always so grumpy lately, Alula? You didn't used to be like this,” she probed.

Alula huffed, struggling to get free. “I am not grumpy!” she clarified, just a little bit less loud than before. Having freed herself of the grasp, she took flight again, leaving the hoof of her mother hanging. “I just don't have time for all this crap today, I am busy!” she continued while flying towards the fridge.

“Alula!” her mother shouted and turned around in her chair. “How often have I told you not to swear!”

Alula just looked at her mother smugly. “Hey, no rest for the wicked!” she countered, then took a big gulp out of a jug full of milk that she was holding now before she put it back inside. She tilted her body slightly, then smashed the door shut with a powerful kick of her hind hooves.

Paying no further attention to her mother, she flew towards her next destination, the foyer. She reached for her winter jacket but, before her hooves could touch it, her nose tickled and she erupted into a strong sneeze. A bit of mucus trickled out of one of her nostrils and Alula sniffed it back up. She groaned and scrunched her face, suddenly feeling a light headache.

“You're not getting sick, are you?” the voice of her mother entered her ears, then she noticed the sound of her hoofsteps as she came closer.

“I'm okay,” Alula commented on her condition, ignoring the weakness in her voice.

“Turn around at me,” her mother commanded.

The filly followed only begrudgingly and another groan left her as she felt her mom's hoof on her forehead.

“Hmm, no fever,” the mare determined. “How do you feel, Alula? Maybe you should stay at home.” The anger she had felt a moment ago became replaced with motherly concern now.

“I said I am okay.” Some mucus left her nose again as she had finished the sentence, ruining her assertion.

Noticing it, Alula's mother opened a drawer with her magic and pulled out a tissue. She brought it close to Alula's face but, before she could wipe her nose, she felt her hoof getting slapped away.

“I can wipe my nose myself, do you think I'm a baby?!” Alula hissed and yanked the tissue out of her mom's hoof. She landed on the floor and proceeded to clean her nose by herself. The hurt expression in her mother's face was acknowledged by her with nothing more than an angry glare.

As her nose was clean, Alula dropped the tissue and turned back at the rack, aiming for her jacket once more. She didn't have enough time to reach it, though, as her mother hovered a massive full-body anorak with a hood onto her back. “You are going to wear this if you plan on going outside today, young filly,” she spoke in a stiff, cold voice.

Alula turned her head around and took a look at it. “This?! But it's going to take ages to put that on, I finally need to get out!”

Her mother did not reply. Instead, she grabbed her daughter's shoulder and swiftly turned her around, then began to wrap her into the anorak.

Alula groaned and blushed. “For Luna's sake.....” she breathed and rolled her eyes. “Mom? Are you even listening?! I said–”

Her words got muffled by a scarf that was pressed onto her mouth and nose. She felt it getting wrapped around her head, then forcefully tied at her neck. Finally, her mother reached behind her and pulled up the hood, covering her mane and ears. Only as this was done, she let go of her daughter but immediately reached for the boots that were tidily placed under the rack. Before she could grab them and put them on Alula's hooves, however, the filly used her chance and hovered into the air again. She zipped over her mom and landed in front of the door, just as a knock sounded from the other side. Alula hastily grabbed the doorknob and pulled it open. She already wanted to fly outside, as a familiar face appeared in front of her and forced her to slow down.

Framed by the door, Peach Fuzz stood and smiled at her, hoof still in the air. She waved at Alula. “Good Morning, Alula!” she greeted her, voice chirpy as always.

“Morning, but I have no time to talk. A giant hen is chasing me.” The snark in her voice lingered in the air for a moment after she buzzed over Peach Fuzz and away from the house, leaving her friend behind in confusion.

Peach Fuzz presented Alula's mom, who had appeared in the door now, with a quick wave, then she turned on her hooves and hurried after the pegasus filly. “Alula, wait for me!”

Alula's mother looked at the small, flying figure of her daughter in the distance with sadness in her eyes. She wiped some tears out of them, then sighed and closed the door.

“Hey, Alula!” Peach Fuzz shouted at her friend again.

Being a good distance away from her house now, Alula finally turned around and landed, just in time for the other filly to catch up.

Peach Fuzz came to a halt, panting. “Hey, what was that about a giant hen?” The confusion was still plastered all over her face.

Another smirk appeared in Alula's face. “I told you, a giant hen!”

Puzzled, Peach Fuzz stared at Alula, then her face cleared up as the realization slowly kicked in. It turned into a disapproving frown a second later. “Your mom looked really sad, Alula. Why are you mean to her like that?”

“Mean? Pfft.....” Alula gave the air above her a single eye roll. “Hey, I am twelve years old and she wanted to wipe my nose like I'm a toddler! Maybe she will treat me with respect from now on!” She stared into Peach Fuzz' eyes, angrily.

The frown in Peach Fuzz' face got deeper. She glared at Alula intensely, then trotted past her without saying another word. After a few steps, she increased her tempo to a fast gallop. Alula turned around, as well, not paying heed to it how mad she just made her friend as she tried to catch up.

After a few moments of running like that, Alula's eyes caught sight of an orange colt coming out from a backstreet and joining Peach Fuzz' side.

“First Base,” she mumbled under her scarf. She watched the other foals talking, then noticed how glued First Base's eyes were on Peach Fuzz. He barely paid attention to where he was running to. “Sorry, buddy,“ Alula commented on the sight. “You're not going to win Peach Fuzz' heart, it already belongs to another pony. But maybe you can have her once Train Tracks is mine. Then everypony's happy!” For once, there was no trace of sarcasm in her voice.

Alula had almost reached the other two foals, as her right forehoof stepped on a patch of snow and caused her to slip. The sudden loss of balance caught her off-guard. Alula yelped as her body did a 180° turn and she painfully landed on her back. “Why does my dream have to predict even this?” she whimpered.

In front of her, Peach Fuzz noticed and turned around. She scrunched her face and gritted her teeth as she heard the thud of Alula's involuntary contact with the ground. Now concerned for her friend, she stopped her gallop and turned around.

“Alula! Are you okay?” Peach Fuzz stepped up to her and reached out a hoof. “Here, I help you up.”
Alula groaned, then took her friend's hoof. “Thanks,” she said taut while getting up, anger audible in her voice.

“How do you feel? Does anything hurt?” Peach Fuzz placed a hoof on Alula's shoulder.

“Nah, it's fine. It hurts a little, but this body isn't ruined so easily.” Alula casually wiped some dirt of her anorak, then she started running again without prior notice. “Come on, let's finally go and see Train Tracks!” she shouted back over her shoulder, grinning from anticipation.

A warm smile building on Peach Fuzz' face indicated her agreement and she followed Alula eagerly.

Five minutes later, the group of foals, now completed with Train Tracks, stepped on the Ponyville Market. All around them, ponies were bustling and skipping between stalls. Some of them were calm, holding a cup of hot cocoa or cider in their hooves while strolling around and admiring the goods and the festive decorations on the stalls, but many where in a hurry and their faces were strained.

Peach Fuzz and Train Tracks, looking into two opposite directions, scrutinized the marketplace. Only Alula stood there with disinterest, her tired and bored-looking eyes fixated on her friends while she hoped that they were done here fast. Time had slowed to a crawl for her as Train Tracks' voice entered her ears.

“Hmm, there are too many options, I can't decide what we should get for the critters. What about you, Peachy?” He removed his hoof from his eyes and looked at his fillyfriend.

“It's the same on my side,” she responded, her eyes still gliding over the stalls meticulously. She stopped and turned around to face Train Tracks. Wrapping one foreleg around his neck, she pulled him closer. “But no problem, we still have enough time to decide and together we will!” She wrapped her other foreleg around Train Tracks and now gently pulled his face closer. She nuzzled his nose and a bright blush was building on her cheeks. Train Tracks joined into the embrace and while Peach Fuzz was still nuzzling him with compassion, he planted his lips on hers. Their eyes glowing and fixated on each other, they engaged in a long and satisfying kiss.

As they had released their lips after what felt to them like a wonderful eternity, Peach Fuzz looked over her shoulder at Alula, who still stood at her spot and was now slightly frowning, with a cold look in her eyes.

“Alula, let's split up, okay? Me and Train Tracks check out the right side and you can go to the left.” She did not wait for a response before she looked back at Train Tracks. Still wearing the blush, Peach Fuzz giggled, then she removed her hoof form Train Tracks face and pulled him with her with the other one. The colt gladly obliged, showing no resistance.

Alula sighed. “Yeah, whatever.....” She turned away from the two happy lovers and stomped into the other direction, her eyes glaring down at the ground. “It's just a little longer now,” she mumbled into her scarf, reassuring herself. “I just need to keep myself together until the evening. And just in case my dream really was a vision of the future, I will do it a little different this time.” The words having their intended effect, her lips curled up into a smile and her eyes started to radiate a fierce determination.

Her tempo increasing, Alula looked up from the ground and set her eyes on a random stall. She trotted up to it swiftly.

Noticing her, the pink mare with the bright green mane waved at her. “Hello, Alula!” Daisy said, happy to see another customer. “Are you here to buy something for the critters? I'm not sure if we have the right things for them, but feel free to look around!” Behind her, Lily and Roseluck, her two sisters, restocked the shelves of the stall.

Alula ignored the friendly greeting and the words spoken by the mare and glanced briefly over the assortment of goods that lay spread out in front of her. She grabbed an apple off the table and, not caring for it how waxy it felt in her hooves, held it in front of Daisy's face. “This one,” she said, then immediately opened a pocket of her anorak and pulled out a couple of bits, which she dropped on the spot she had just taken the apple from.

“This?” Daisy said and raised an eyebrow. “But that's a wax apple, you can't feed this to critters.”

But as the words were leaving her mouth, Alula had already turned around and was trotting away from the stall. “Yeah, yeah, an apple is fine,” she mumbled in response, absentmindedly, as she left the stall behind her.

It was a couple of minutes later that Alula found herself at the edge of town, not far from Fluttershy's cottage and near the entrance of the Whitetail Woods. Alula trotted over the snowy field swiftly, doing her best to ignore the chit-chat of ponies about the Critter Snow Day and the loud dance music coming from all sides and out of speakers that had been set up all over the place. Her eyes were firmly fixated on a pile of food on a wooden structure, at the far end of the festival grounds and near the entrance to the Whitetail Woods, as a turquoise filly with a light brown mane slowly staggered into her direction. The green ear muffs she was wearing did nothing to hide that she seemed to freeze. She was small in size, barely reaching up to Alula's head, which made it all the more easy for Alula to look through her. Alula's eyes brushed over the tiny figure only for a brief moment, then they were set on her destination again. The young filly stretched out a trembling hoof just as Alula passed her. For a moment, Alula could hear the teeth of the filly clatter from the cold, then she was out of her sight.

A few steps closer to the pile, Alula's concentration got broken by a screechy and exciting shout of her name.

“Alula?!”

Alula flinched. “Okay, now this is getting scary.” She turned towards the sound of the hoofsteps that approached her and her eyes fell on another pegasus filly, with an orange coat and a purple mane. Her wings buzzed in excitement as she dashed closer.

“Alula!” she shouted again. “I knew it's you! Wow, it's been a really long time!” The filly waved friendly.

Alula rolled her eyes, annoyed by the interruption. She turned her gaze away from the filly and focused on her destination again, trotting at a faster pace now.

The other pegasus, though, zipped right in front of her, forcing her to stop. “I can't believe that I meet you here! I always thought you hate the Critter Snow Festival!” She grinned widely.

“I do,” Alula replied, her voice deadpan and her eyes expressing a desire to get away.

“How are you doing?” the orange pegasus nudged Alula, invitingly.

“I did fine until you crossed my path,” Alula responded with a snark. She attempted to get past the eager pegasus, but found her way blocked once more.

“Hey, come on! Don't tell me you don't remember me!” The cheerful expression in the other filly's face did not falter, but her voice contained a portion of accusation now.

“Nope, I don't, bye.” Alula tried to escape again, but once more, it proved impossible.

“Really?!” the orange pegasus said, an incredulous expression on her face. “It's me! Come on, I know it's been a year since we hung out with each other the last time, but that's not enough time to forget a pony!” She nudged her again. “Come on, think! I bet you can still remember my name!”

Taken aback, Alula scrunched her face. “Is it 'Scooter'?” she smirked. The sadistic part of her mind made her eager to see the reaction.

“No.....” The other filly flattened her ears, looking disappointed for a moment. “It's Scootaloo!” she said then.

The yellow filly looked at her, smug.

“Cutie Mark Crusader!” Scootaloo poked Alula. “Scoots, the Cactus! Come on, filly! We've been in the same class!”

As Alula still did not react, Scootaloo lowered her eyes and sighed. She came a step closer and pointed a hoof at Alula. “I won the contest to be the flag carrier for the Equestria Games!” She let her wings buzz.

Alula just blinked.

“I got my flank hoofed to me real bad during the Applewood Derby and almost kicked the bucket!” Her wings buzzed again.

Alula's face became more amused over Scootaloo's attempts.

Scootaloo put her hoof down on Alula's chest. “I tried helping you to get your cutie mark until you told me not to anymore.”

It was only then that Alula decided to stop playing dumb. “Cactus Scoots?” she asked in a baffled tone.

“Uh-huh!” Scootaloo nodded, smiling now.

“Jumped through a ring with her scooter during the Equestria Games Opening Ceremony?”

“Bingo!” Scootaloo grinned.

“The winner of the Applewood Derby?”

“Right on!” Scootaloo lifted her hoof and nudged Alula's chest enthusiastically.

“The Scootaloo who helped foals with getting their cutie marks all over Equestria?!”

“Yes, yes!” She clapped her hooves together. “And now that you remember me again, how about we spend Hearth's Warming Eve together? Apple Bloom celebrates with her extended family on Sweet Apple Acres, Sweetie Belle leaves town with her parents over the holidays and Rainbow Dash spends the evening with her friends in Twilight's castle, so I'm free!” She leaped up into the air and let her wings buzz as hard as she could to keep herself above the ground.

A sardonic smile played around Alula's lips. “It was nice seeing you, Cactus, but use your miniature wings and fly off now, I'm sure there's a pony with a cutie mark problem somewhere!” Finally marshing past the over-enthusiastic pegasus now, Alula did not see anymore how Scootaloo teared up and landed on the ground with a thud as her wings stopped their buzzing instantly.

Having left Scootaloo behind her, Alula reached the pile of food for the critters without any more distractions. She plucked the apple that she had purchased earlier from her back and tossed it carelessly onto the pile. It bounced off of it, fell down and landed on the snow. Alula was about to turn around, as Fluttershy came into her view.

“Good Morning! Welcome to the Critter Snow Festival!” she cheered. Angel was sitting on her back, licking his lips as he saw the pile.

Alula frowned and rolled her eyes, turning away in annoyance and disgust. “Of course I was going to see this stupid, wanky excuse of a pet here,” she whispered. Fluttershy overheard the remark, but Angel picked up the words. He stuck his tongue at Alula and crossed his paws.

Alula growled and gritted her teeth, piercing the bunny with her eyes.

Fluttershy looked at the pile for a moment, admiringly, then noticed Alula's apple on the ground. “Oh, looks like you dropped your apple, Alula. Let me pick it up for you!” She took the apple, which was partially covered in snow now, into her hooves and attemped to put it on the pile. Before she could do so, though, Angel jumped in front of her and landed on the pile. He crossed his paws, forming an X.

“Angel?” Fluttershy asked. “What's wrong?”
Angel took one of the other apples on the pile and pretended to bite into it, then grabbed his chest and let himself fall. He stayed like this for a few seconds, lying on his back and letting his tongue hang out, then got up again and pointed at Alula's apple in Fluttershy's hooves. He shook his head.

During the entire display, a more and more intense glare got built up on Alula's face.

Fluttershy looked down at the apple in her hooves. She wiped off the snow, then saw what it was. “Oh!” she said. “That apple is made of wax, sorry Alula, but animals can't eat this.”

Alula feigned a charming smile. “Oh, that isn't my apple! Mine's in the paws of your monster, I mean, bunny.” For Alula, there really was no reason to drag out this conversation any longer, but a lot of reasons for bringing it behind her as fast as possible.

“Oh.....” Fluttershy let her hoof sink. “Weird, which pony would think it's a good idea to feed a wax apple to the critters?” Her face was puzzled.

Angel slumped his shoulders, then facepawed with a loud smack.

“Anyway, my friends wait, bye Fluttershy!” Alula said quickly. She gave Angel a mischievous grin, then trotted away.

“Finally,” she exhaled in relief. “I really wish I had remembered that part of my dream, meeting this insufferable bunny is a chore. Anyway, on to the important part.” She held a hoof at her eyes and began scanning the area. “So, where is–” The sentence stopped abruptly as she spotted her target in the distance, trotting at Peach Fuzz' side. Eagerly, Alula reared up and kicked her forehooves into the air, then she took flight and zipped towards the duo.

Already from a few meters distance, she could hear the voices of her friends. Unlike before, they now sounded strained and exasperated.

“But it's not good to treat yourself like this, Train Tracks!” Peach Fuzz' voice was clad in worry.

“What do you know?” Train Tracks shouted back at her, perhaps lashing out a bit too much. “I always worked myself through any trouble that way and it went fine!”

Peach Fuzz gasped and looked down, a few tears appearing in the corner of her eyes.

“Hey, what's up?” Alula appeared in front of the bickering foal couple, startling them. “Trouble in paradise?” She teased them with a smug smile and a wiggle of her eyebrows.

“Don't stick your head into this, Alula, we're doing fine!” Train Tracks pushed her aside rudely and stomped away from the two fillies. He stopped a few steps away from them, not turning around.

For a split-second, something glimmered in Alula's eyes. “Ouch,” she commented on the reaction and landed on the ground. “Yeah, there's definitely trouble in paradise.” She turned to face Peach Fuzz. “What's wrong?”
“We just had a little fight,” Peach Fuzz explained, her trademark, cheery tone reduced to a faint whisper.

“Again,” Alula added. “It happened, like, a million times before! You always fight because of the same reason.

Peach Fuzz nodded weakly. “But we're going to be fine. It will calm down.”

“Hopefully,” Alula agreed. She took off again and flew past Train Tracks. “It would be so horrible if you break up after just six months because you find out that you don't fit to each other.”

Train Tracks lifted his head and looked after her.

Despite Alula's impatience from earlier, the rest of the day flew by like a blur for her. Now it was after sundown, the moon stood in the sky and the three foals sat close to the huge fire that had been built in the middle of the festival grounds. Each of them held mugs filled with steaming, hot cocoa in their hooves. Peach Fuzz and Train Tracks were huddled close to each other, with Peach Fuzz' head gently snuggled against the underside of Train Tracks' chin. Occasionally, the filly cooed softly into the warm chest of her coltfriend. Train Tracks was holding her affectionately with one hoof, a warm smile on his lips, but there was a strange kind of uncertainty in his eyes, like the colt's mind was very far away. The expression had been there for the entire day and every time Alula looked at his face, she could see that something was gnawing away at him.

It was now a mere half hour until the highlight of the Critter Snow Festival, the big ceremony led by Fluttershy during which the critters would receive their Hearth's Warming gifts, brought to them by Ponyville's residents, would begin. Peach Fuzz took a sip from her mug and emptied it. A glance into Train Tracks' mug that was close to her face showed her that her coltfriend had nearly emptied his mug, too.

Peach Fuzz stirred at his chest, then sat up. She smiled at him. “I'm getting another cocoa,” she chirped. “Should I bring one for you too, Train Tracks?”

The colt nodded. “Um-hm. I would love this, Peachy.” He nuzzled her cheek, then planted a kiss on it, making her giggle. Then he emptied his cup and Peach Fuzz took it and placed it on her back, alongside her own.

Before leaving for the stall with the refreshments, Peach Fuzz turned at Alula. “Would you like me to bring one for you too, Alula?”
“Sure!” Alula replied. “Wouldn't mind another one.” She took a last, long sip from her mug and gulped down the remaining cocoa. A brown streak remained above her upper lip and the filly wiped it away with her left hoof, then she gave Peach Fuzz her mug.

Now carrying three empty mugs on her back, the filly cantered away in an upbeat fashion, a skip in her movement. As she was out of sight, Alula directed her gaze towards Train Tracks. Instead of looking after his fillyfriend, the colt stared into the flickering flames of the fire in front of him. His eyes had cleared up for a moment when Peach Fuzz talked to him, but now their expression had returned to the same distant one as before. The flames got reflected in Train Tracks' eyes, but the colt appeared like he wasn't seeing them.

Noticing this sign, Alula did not waste any time. She inched closer to Train Tracks and gave him a hug. “Hey, what's up? You're staring like this for hours now, ever since your fight with Peach Fuzz. Does it have anything to do with it?”

Train Tracks exhaled a weary sigh, then he looked over at his friend. “Yeah, yeah it does,” he said.

“What's bothering you, buddy?” Alula draped her left foreleg over Train Tracks' back, comfortingly.

The colt sighed again, then leaned forward, resting his forelegs on his thighs. “I'm not sure about me and Peach Fuzz anymore,” it broke out of him.

“How so?” Alula asked, her voice radiating innocent curiosity.

Train Tracks closed his eyes for a moment before he answered. “The day I and Peachy met, I thought we are so alike each other. When I have trouble with something or feel bad over something, I never let that get me down. I just push through an obstacle until I have overcome it. And Peachy is just the same as me, she also never lets anything get her down and she stays always cheerful and optimistic. We noticed that about each other and that's why we fell in love. But now.....” Train Tracks trailed off, his eyes gazing at the flames again.

“But now you think you are different, after all,” Alula continued the sentence for him.

Train Tracks nodded. “Yeah..... She goes about it so differently, she keeps telling me how being harsh with yourself isn't the right way to overcome obstacles and that it will hurt me to do that. But I'm doing it like this as long as I can think and it always helped me! But Peachy doesn't understand this. Sometimes–” He cut himself off, not daring to speak further.

Alula's face became compassionate. She rubbed over Train Tracks' back. “I understand how that makes you feel. Love is tough.”
“Yeah,” he just said.

“And you might be right,” Alula continued. “Maybe you and Peach Fuzz really don't fit together. You fight way too often.”

Train Tracks gave her a sad look, but nodded. “Sometimes..... Sometimes I think Peachy isn't as strong as I thought she is. She always stays positive, even in hard times. But how she keeps laughing and giggling and acting happy, no matter what bothers her, it's like she is ignoring all problems she has.”

“That's possible,” Alula replied. “To be honest..... I think the same about her.”

Train Tracks' ears perked up and he turned around at Alula, the filly's foreleg sliding off his back. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Alula nodded, then met his gaze. “A problem doesn't go away by laughing about it or by staying cheerful. You need to deal with the problem. And if it's a really big problem, you need to be harsh with yourself and force yourself to deal with it. That's the only way it works.”

Train Tracks' eyes grew bigger. “Yeah! Yeah!” he exclaimed excitedly. “That's what I explain Peach Fuzz all the time! But she never understands and insists on it that being so harsh with yourself isn't good for you and that you need to meet your problems with a smile. She's so ridiculous sometimes!” The words had barely left his mouth, as Train Tracks pressed a hoof on it. “I shouldn't have said that about her.” He looked to the ground, guilt spreading out in his face.

“But you're right, you know,” Alula reassured him. “What you said isn't wrong, you two really are pretty different from each other, if you look at it from that angle.”

“I guess you're right. Her cheery attitude often comes across as weak to me, how she seems to push her problems away instead of pushing through them. And I hate weaknesses.” He eyed the ground again, his eyes looking once more like his mind was far away. Train Tracks stayed like this for a few seconds, until he started talking again.

“Alula..... Do you think I should break up with Peach Fuzz? Should I leave her and try it with a filly that fits better to me?”

“Well..... yeah. I think that would be for the best, for your sake and for Peach Fuzz' sake. You kind of only hurt each other anymore.”

The painful expression in Train Tracks' face became more intense. He sighed, loud and deep. “I knew you would say this..... and you are right, Alula. Peach Fuzz and I really aren't such a good pair as I thought for the past six months.”

The compassion in Alula's face grew. She rubbed over Train Tracks' back again. “I wanted to tell you for a while already that breaking up is probably for the best.”

“I understand, Alula. But if I break up with Peach Fuzz, then I will be alone and lonely again and I don't want to be lonely anymore.” Train Tracks began to draw circles in the snow with one of his hind hooves.

This last sentence from the colt was like a signal. A blush appeared in Alula's face and she hesitated for a moment. But then she gave herself a push, tightened the grip around the colt and pulled him closer. “Maybe I could be your fillyfriend, then you don't have to be lonely!” she spoke the words before they could escape her.

Train Tracks directed his eyes at her and gasped. “Y-You and me? A-Are you sure?” he stammered.

“Yeah! I actually have a crush on you for a while now, Train Tracks. I just didn't say anything because I didn't want to get between you and Peach Fuzz.” She gave him a sheepish smile, then giggled. “That's completely stupid, isn't it?”

“No, that's not stupid at all, Aluna!” he shouted. “Just very surprising.” He remained silent for a few seconds to digest this confession.

The silence made Alula's heart bump stronger from nervousness. The time until Train Tracks spoke again felt like aeons to her.

“Would you be my fillyfriend, Alula?” Train Tracks finally asked, relieving Alula's stress.

“Yes!” Alula said swiftly. “After all the things you just told me, I think we have a lot more in common than you and Peach Fuzz have and I'll be here to cure your loneliness!” She inched closer and snuggled up to him tightly, resting her head on his mane and pulling him into an embrace.

Train Tracks smiled, then chuckled. “So we are together now, I'm glad this happened. It's going to be hard for Peach Fuzz, but she is just going to push that problem away, as always. I'll tell her later.” He closed his eyes and nestled into the chest of his new fillyfriend.

Alula's smile grew wider and her heart started beating in a crescendo, pumping blood through her veins faster than it ever had before. Feeling that she had reached her goal, she let her right hoof glide down Train Tracks' back affectionately. She stopped it on his flank and began to rub over it gently. Train Tracks was holding his breath for a moment, then the surprise wore off and he put his own hoof on Alula's flank, reciprocating the gesture. The reality around them blurring, the colt and the filly caressed each other's flanks. Train Tracks squeezed the flank of his new fillyfriend and brought them a little closer yet again.

As both of them had reached the peak of their intimacy, they got flung back into reality by the sound of Peach Fuzz' voice right in front of them.

“Train Tracks? Alula?” she asked, confused over the scene that happened before her. “Did anything ha–” Her eyes had wandered down their bodies and now rested on Alula's flank. Peach Fuzz' hooves began to tremble and she lost the grip of the mugs she was balancing. With a loud, shattering sound, they hit the ground and broke, their content slowly melting the snow around the shards.

Alula and Train Tracks opened their eyes and looked at their friend, the former's face filled with glee, the latter's filled with a bit of guilt.

“T-Train Tracks?!” Peach Fuzz stammered anxiously. “W-What are you doing?” Tears had started to collect in her eyes already and the sentence had been accompanied by a sob.

The two other foals broke their embrace, sitting down at each other's side. Their hooves were still draped across their backs.

Alula opened her mouth to say something, but Train Tracks was faster.

“Hi, Peach Fuzz,” he said, his voice regretful, but taut. “I am sorry, but..... I think it doesn't work between us anymore.”
The words lingered in the air. Peach Fuzz gulped. “B-But..... We were happy!” Peach Fuzz squeaked. “Train Tracks, please tell me it's not true.” She did a hasty step closer and placed a hoof on Train Tracks' thighs, staring at him intensely while more tears accumulated in her eyes.

Sad, he shook his head. “It didn't work for a while now, Peachy. We're just fighting anymore, that's not how a relationship should be.” He stopped for a moment, thinking about his next words. “I don't think we are really a match, Peachy. It's the best for both of us to break up and try it with another pony.”

Peach Fuzz' face and heart froze at the confirmation. Stiffly, she removed her hoof from Train Tracks' thigh and did a step back. She was staring at Train Tracks, wordlessly, while everything inside her was boiling. Then, without a warning, she turned around and galloped away, leaving a trail of loud and heartbreaking sobs in her wake. Train Tracks followed her with his eyes, until she had skidded to a halt, not far away from the refreshment stall where she had gotten the new cocoa for them. Unable to stay on her hooves any longer, Peach Fuzz sat down on the cold ground, covered her eyes with her hooves and started to weep into them. It reached Train Tracks' ears over the crackling sound of the fire and the voices of the chatting ponies around them. He felt his own heart breaking at the sight and the sounds of Peach Fuzz' crying. Then he looked away, first on the ground, then into Alula's face.

“Did I do the right thing?” he asked the filly at his side.

Alula wrapped her hooves around Train Tracks' neck and turned him around to face her. “Yes,” she answered his pressing question. “Peach Fuzz feels hurt now, yeah, but she will calm down and get over it. And if you would stay together, it would cause her much more pain because of more fighting. It's the best for her to let you go now.”

Train Tracks directed his eyes to the ground, pondering. The gears in his head turned, but then he nodded and he looked back into Alula's face. “You're right, Alula.” To confirm his words, he leaned in on the filly and gave her a passionate kiss.

Alula moaned in bliss and joined in. Their lips locked tight, they kissed each other ferociously. Train Tracks prodded his new fillyfriend's lips with his tongue and requested entrance. Alula gladly obliged and a moment later, their tongues were intertwined with each other and the air around them filled with sounds of both of them moaning. The heat in their bodies increased so much that they expected the ice and snow around them to melt.

It was only for one second that Train Tracks opened his eyes after minutes of lust-filled ardency, but it was enough for him to see that Peach Fuzz had left her spot and was trudging away from it. The expression in her still leaking eyes was as broken as her heart. Sharp feelings of guilt and regret sliced through Train Tracks' heart. They caused a certain instinct to kick in and, with zero hesitation, Train Tracks pulled his tongue out of Alula's mouth. He jumped down from the log and galloped away as fast as his hooves managed. “Peach Fuzz, I'm sorry! Please don't run away!”

Train Tracks was gone before Alula knew what was happening. Panic rising in her chest, she turned and saw Train Tracks running away from her. “Train Tracks!” she called his name, desperately. “What's wrong?”

Train Tracks did not turn around, nor answer. Instead, he approached Peach Fuzz and placed a gentle hoof on her back, requesting her to stop. Peach Fuzz turned around, sharply. Her mouth moved furiously, then Alula witnessed how Peach Fuzz slapped a hoof into Train Tracks' face. The colt's head got yanked to the side. Insecurity in his face, he rubbed over the red spot on his cheek. Then his hooves reached towards Peach Fuzz and he pulled her into a hug, holding her tightly. The filly squirmed and tried to pull out of the embrace. Train Tracks' mouth began to move, unleashing a seemingly neverending torrent of words on Peach Fuzz, while tears ran down his face.

Eventually, Peach Fuzz' squirming weakened, then stopped. Her hooves twitched, then she lifted them and wrapped them around Train Tracks' neck carefully. Painful surprise rushed through Alula's heart as she saw that Peach Fuzz slowly stroke over Train Tracks' mane.

The two foals stayed like this for a moment, then broke their embrace. Frozen tears stained the hairs in Train Tracks' face. There was care and forgiveness suddenly radiating from Peach Fuzz' eyes and she leaned forward and placed a kiss on his nose. Her mouth moved again, calmly this time, then she draped a hoof over his neck again. Before she gently pulled Train Tracks with her, Peach Fuzz pierced Alula with a scornful look. Then both of them vanished from Alula's sight as they sat down at the other side of the fire, where the large, burning pieces of firewood covered them up.

Back at the spot where Train Tracks had left her, Alula broke out in tears on her own now. She felt as if the world were breaking apart around her as the tears streamed down her face and froze into tiny ice crystals that pricked her skin.

“No.....” she whimpered. “How could I fail like this just when I finally got what I wanted?” She sniffed and wiped a hoof over her nose. “Why did it go wrong?”

Unable to stand upright any longer, she sunk down on her haunches and started crying herself. She had been so close to her goal and then lost everything in the moment of victory and all of this came crushing down on her at once now. Covering her face with her hooves, Alula started weeping into them, letting out all her desperation and grief, not caring for who watched her while being at her weakest.

It was after a couple minutes of crying like this, that Alula managed to move again and got up. Setting one tired hoof in front of the other, she trudged through the streets of Ponyville, towards her house. Arrived inside of it, Alula did not even bother to remove her anorak nor to switch on the light. She found her way up the stairs and into her room, where she let herself slump down on her bed. Burying her face in her pillow, Alula continued to weep and cry until she had fallen asleep.

Comments

[Bronycommander]

So, just the same, except she did it in a calm manner. Right?