Critter Snow Day

by Fluttercheer

A Perfect Day

.
Train Tracks and Alula trotted up to the counter in the ice cream parlor. Train Tracks huffed. He looked angry. “I hate it that Peachy can't be here to enjoy Critter Snow Day together with us. If I find that pony who dropped a bucket of cold water on her head, then it's going to have a very hard day!” He gritted his teeth.

“Don't waste your time searching,” Alula said, sitting down. “I'm sure Peach Fuzz wants that we enjoy this day even without her.”

“Yeah, you're right, Alula.....” The colt sighed. “But I'm going to visit her later, it's horrible that she had to become sick just one day before Hearth's Warming Eve!” He gritted his teeth again as he took seat at Alula's side.

Alula patted his back, comfortingly. “Come on, don't look like that!” she said as cheerful as possible. “It's just a cold, I'm sure she's back on her hooves tomorrow if she rests today. Hey, how about I buy you a tub of ice cream?” She did not wait for his answer and turned around.
“Okay,” he said, simply.

Alula looked at the mare behind the counter. “Lemon, one scoop, with whipped cream and extra sprinkles.”

“And for you?” The mare looked at Train Tracks.

“Two scoops of dark chocolate without sprinkles or whipped cream, please.”

Alula observed and nodded.

~ * ~

“If I find that pony who dropped a bucket of cold water on her head, then it's going to have a very hard day!” Train Tracks gritted his teeth.

“Don't waste your time searching,” Alula said, sitting down. “I'm sure Peach Fuzz wants that we enjoy this day even without her.”

“Yeah, you're right, Alula.....” The colt sighed. “But I'm going to visit her later, it's horrible that she had to become sick just one day before Hearth's Warming Eve!” He gritted his teeth again as he took seat at Alula's side.

Alula patted his back, comfortingly. “Come on, don't look like that!” she said as cheerful as possible. “It's just a cold, I'm sure she's back on her hooves tomorrow if she rests today. Hey, how about I buy you a tub of ice cream?” She looked at him, expectantly and with an encouraging, eager expression.

“Okay,” he said, simply.

Alula looked at the mare behind the counter. “Two scoops of dark chocolate, no sprinkles, no whipped cream, please.”

“And for you?” The mare looked at Train Tracks.

“The same!” he said, face brightening with surprise. He looked at Alula and smiled at her. “That's my favourite ice cream.”

“Really? Mine too.” Alula answered the look with a feigned surprised look of her own. “It's bitter taste reminds me on it that we have to stay strong during a trying time.” She did her best to give her face a deep, philosophical expression.

“Aha.” Train Tracks looked away and at his ice dream that had just been served alongside Alula's. “Hey, let's clink glasses!” he said then, looking at her again and holding his tub in front of her.

Alula raised an eyebrow. “With ice cream? I mean, sure! Why not?” She raised her tub. “Uh..... To the critters!”

Train Tracks looked disappointed. “I was going to say 'To Peach Fuzz'”. He turned away, put his tub down and began eating his ice cream.

Alula nodded, rejected, and started to eat hers with a frown on her forehead.

~ * ~

“Hey, how about I buy you a tub of ice cream?” Alula looked at Train Tracks, expectantly and with an encouraging, eager expression.

“Okay,” he said, simply.
Alula looked at the mare behind the counter. “Two scoops of dark chocolate, no sprinkles, no whipped cream, please.”

“And for you?” The mare looked at Train Tracks.

“The same!” he said, face brightening with surprise. He looked at Alula and smiled at her. “That's my favourite ice cream.”

“Really? Mine too.” Alula said with feigned surprise. She squinted her eyes for a moment, a little wearily. “It's bitter taste reminds me on it that we have to stay strong during a trying time.” Albeit speaking with a little annoyance, she did her best to give her face a deep, philosophical expression.

“Aha.” Train Tracks looked away and at his ice dream that had just been served alongside Alula's. “Hey, let's clink glasses!” he said then, looking at her again.

“Sure!” Alula raised her tub. “To Peach Fuzz!”

“To Peach Fuzz!” Train Tracks repeated and clinked his tub against Alula's.

Alula put it down, then paused for a moment, seemingly sunken in thoughts. “May you have a fast recovery, Peach Fuzz,” she whispered, just loud enough to be sure that Train Tracks would hear it. Only then she started eating.

The mare behind the counter gave Alula a look between amused and pitying, then turned away. She shook her head while she continued to rub the glass in her hooves dry.

~ * ~

Alula and Train Tracks stood together in Ponyville's sweet shop, having just gotten offered a free sample of chocolate. Train Tracks took it from the tray the mare was holding and bit into it. “Mmm. That's delicious!” he said, impressed.

“What did I tell you?” Alula responded, a proud smirk on the face.

“How do you have so many good connections?” he asked curiously.

“I've spent a lot of time getting on the good side of ponies,” Alula explained, chewing her own chocolate. “It's not hard with small-town ponies.”

“That makes sense.” Train Tracks laughed, lighthearted.

“Would you like some white chocolate next?” Alula offered, chewing the last bit before she swallowed it.

“Ugh, no, that makes me sick.” Train Tracks scrunched his face in disgust. His left cheek twitched slightly.

“No white chocolate,” Alula said, taking a mental note.

An uneasy grin appeared on Train Tracks' face. “This feels so familiar suddenly..... Did you ever have a déjà vu, Alula?”

Alula smiled at him. “Hey, didn't you just ask me that?”

Train Tracks grinned and laughed.

~ * ~

Clover Café was jam-packed with ponies. Old Equestrian folk music played from a radio while a waitress picked up a few large mugs from the counter in the middle of the café and carried them away. She trotted past a table at which Alula and Train Tracks sat, seemingly in the midst of a captivating conversation.

“I think train mechanics worry too much about the future of railway services,” Alula said.

Train Tracks sat opposite of her and smiled interestedly, playing with a toothpick in his right hoof. A nearly empty bowl of salad stood in front of him.

“I mean, sure, airships have been on the rise lately. But they also need time to get somewhere, while trains are so much faster. And airships can't land everywhere.” She sipped from her drink. “What do you think?”

“I couldn't agree harder, Alula! I'd like to be a train mechanic one day and I know that my life leads up to this!”

“Maybe it will lead me there, too,” Alula suggested.

“Wow, you and me working as train mechanics, we would be so far away from what we're doing now, Alula!” Train Tracks grinned.

A laugh rang out of Alula's throat. “Yeah, at least as long as Peach Fuzz wouldn't be there, too, she would waste so much of our time together!”

Train Tracks' face face turned cold instantly.

“I mean.....” Alula fidgeted around. “I mean, she would waste her time there. I don't think she would be good at fixing up trains.”

Train Tracks stood up and left.

~ * ~

Clover Café was jam-packed with ponies. Old Equestrian folk music played from a radio while a waitress picked up a few large mugs from the counter in the middle of the café and carried them away. She trotted past a table at which Alula and Train Tracks sat, seemingly in the midst of a captivating conversation.

“I think train mechanics worry too much about the future of railway services,” Alula said.

Train Tracks sat opposite of her and smiled interestedly, playing with a toothpick in his right hoof. A nearly empty bowl of salad stood in front of him.

“Yeah, airships have been on the rise lately, but they also need time to get somewhere, while trains are so much faster. And airships can't land everywhere.” She sipped from her drink. “What do you think?”

“I couldn't agree harder, Alula! I'd like to be a train mechanic one day and I know I will!”

“Maybe I will, too,” Alula suggested.

“Wow, you and me working as train mechanics, we would be so far away from what we're doing now, Alula!” Train Tracks grinned.

“And so much better!” Alula emphasized. “Just imagine it, you and me, repairing trains together and taking care that all ponies can safely travel through Equestria!”

A warm smile built on Train Tracks' lips. “You're really just like me, Alula.”

“Yeah!” she answered the smile.

A couple hours later, the sun had set and the sky was full of stars, Alula and Train Tracks were outside, busy rolling around a large ball formed of snow. In some distance, a snowpony without a head stood. They rolled the ball steadily towards it.

“The last time I did this was when I was a little colt,” Train Tracks said. “I forgot how much fun it is!” His voice sounded exuberant.

“Yeah, just good, innocent fun between you and me!” Alula chimed in.

Once they had arrived at their creation, the two foals lifted the ball together and gave the snowpony its head. Alula reached into the pockets of her anorak and put two pieces of coal as eyes on the snowpony. Then a carrot to indicate its mouth, a silly clown nose, a woolen hat and a scarf followed.

Train Tracks laughed. “Did you just have these things with you?” he asked, incredulously.

“Yep! I love building snowponies, I always have a complete set of snowpony accessoires with me!”

Alula looked up into the sky as her attention got detracted by something. A shooting star crossed over them. Alula's eyes started to gleam at the sight.

“One day, I want to do this, too,” she said in a dreamy voice.

“What are you talking about?” Train Tracks followed Alula's gaze, catching a last glimpse of the shooting star.

“Just what this shooting star does,” Alula replied. “Travelling through space and exploring it..... Maybe I could find other ponies on other planets!” A sincere cheer was in her voice.

To Alula's surprise, Train Tracks put a hoof around her. “Do you think a spaceship could look like a train? A spacetrain?”

“Of course!” She averted her gaze from the sky and looked at Train Tracks. “If I could explore space together with you, it wouldn't matter how the spaceship looks. Just as long as you're here.” She nestled her face into his chest and Train Tracks let it happen.

Holding each other close, Alula and Train Tracks trotted through the nightly, snow-covered Ponyville. Train Tracks laughed happily. “It's amazing how perfect this day was. Even without Peachy. It's not what I expected.”

Alula looked into his eyes. “And do you like how it turns out?”

Train Tracks nodded. “I like it a lot.” He presented her with a smile. “It's a perfect day, Alula, I wish we could plan a day so perfectly.”

“Oh, I can plan a day like that!” Alula assured. “It's just so much work.” She giggled and Train Tracks joined in.

“Come home with me,” she said then, as her giggling had stopped. “There's something I want to show you.”

Now, Train Tracks suddenly hesitated. “I'm not sure if I should, Alula. I still haven't visited Peachy and she is still sick from that accident today. I really should go and see her now.”

“Please, just a moment!” Alula pleaded. “It's something really special! I'll just show you this one thing real quick and then I'll kick you out right away so you can go to her, I promise!” She grinned playfully.

Train Tracks smiled in defeat.

About five minutes later, Train Tracks trotted through the door into Alula's bedroom. “You have it really cool here, Alula,” he said as his eyes wandered over the various Wonderbolts posters, the space-themed bedding and models of several planets at the back of the room.

“Would you like to sit on the bed for a bit?” Alula invited him. “I can turn on a lamp that makes the ceiling look like a sky full of stars!”

“Okay.” Train Tracks climbed into the bed and Alula eagerly took position at his side. She snuggled up.

“It's really nice in here,” Train Tracks admired Alula's bedroom once more.

“Now it is,” Alula corrected him and pulled him closer. She leaned in and started kissing his lips.

Train Tracks reciprocated the kiss but, after a few seconds, he stopped and looked worried all of a sudden. “Alula, I'm sorry, but we shouldn't do this.”

“I think we should,” Alula responded simply and pressed her lips on his again.

For a few more seconds, Train Tracks joined in again, but then turned away a second time. He chuckled, a little uneasy.

“That's the perfect way to end a perfect day,” Alula kept prodding, interrupting her kissing for a moment.

Train Tracks responded to another kiss, then spoke again. “Yeah. But I already have a filly, Alula.”

“I know.” Alula ignored the rejection and started to kiss Train Tracks' neck.

Train Tracks turned away from her completely. “I should go now, Alula. I have to.”

Alula looked at him, some accusation in her eyes. “Go? Where would you go anyway?” she asked.

“To Peach Fuzz.” His voice had become a little stricter. It carried the same accusation that was in Alula's eyes a moment ago.

“But we have it perfect here!” Alula leaned away and turned a switch. The lights in her room got turned off and the ceiling was suddenly lit up with the stars she had mentioned. “We have this perfect sky above us and I have books about trains we can read together!”

Train Tracks sighed. He gave Alula another smile. It looked impressed, but also impatient and pitying.
“We have ice cream in the fridge! Just wait a minute!” She jumped off the bed, raced out of the room and came back a few seconds later, panting a little, with two small cups of ice cream in her hooves. “Dark chocolate?” she asked, now attempting to bribe him.

Train Tracks sighed, still with that smile on his face. “I love dark chocolate ice cream, it's my favourite. Thank you, Alula.”

“Yeah, I thought so!” She placed one of the cups, together with a spoon, in his lap and climbed into the bed again. Alula snuggled back up to him. “Please, stay.”

“No, Alula. Really.” Train Tracks had become more stern now. “I am tired, it's late and I need to see Peachy today before she falls asleep. Maybe we can see each other tomorrow.” He put his ice cream and the spoon into Alula's lap and got up from the bed.

“NO!” Alula shouted and climbed out of bed, too, not caring that she spilled the ice cream on her blanket. She rushed in front of him and cut off his path.

“I've waited for this so long, it needs to happen tonight!” Her face showed a desperate expression.

Now anger shot into Train Tracks' face. “Happen?!” he repeated her words. “What needs to happen, Alula? What do you think you are doing here?!”

“Just what you need!” Alula's voice turned pleading. “Peach Fuzz is only hurting you because she is so different from you! But I am exactly like you! You said it yourself!”

Train Tracks huffed. “When did I ever say that? I don't want to get rid of Peach Fuzz! I love her!” he clarified.

He caught his breath for a moment. “You know I can't stay with you, Alula,” he then added, calmer. “I won't.”

“B-But.....” Alula stammered, running out of options. “But I love you, Train Tracks! I always did!” Her eyes became wet.

“What?” His eyes bulged, giving his face a baffled expression. “You love me? Alula, you don't even know me enough to love me! We're only friends!”

The words stung in Alula's heart. She came a step closer and put her hooves around Train Tracks' neck. “But I do! I know everything about you, Train Tracks!”

For a moment, Train Tracks did not know what to do or say. Then something in his mind clicked and his eyes widened. He shoved Alula away and trotted past her. “I can't believe you did this, Alula! And I fell for it!”

Alula turned around at him, now tears in the corner of her eyes.

Train Tracks did the same. “This was all just a trick to pinch me from Peach Fuzz! Do you have any idea how much this is going to hurt her once she finds out?” The colt was furious now.

“No, it won't!” Alula cried out, grasping for straws. “Peach Fuzz doesn't even love you, you know how often she fights with you!”

“And I HATE strawberry milkshakes!” Train Tracks ignored her sentence and retched.

“Okay, okay! So, no white chocolate and no strawberry milkshakes, but please–”

Train Tracks' face fell apart in disbelief. “You..... You even make a list about me?!”

“No, I–”

“Did you interrogate Peach Fuzz and my friends to find out what I like?!” He growled.

“No!”

“Do you think I'll start loving you if you do this?!” He came a step closer to her, then stomped a hoof into the floor. The floor planks creaked menacingly.

“No! I mean..... Yeah, I do, but I really am the right filly for you, Train Tracks, and Peach Fuzz is the wrong one!” She took one of his hooves into hers, then fell around his neck for a hug. She kissed his neck.

Train Tracks pushed her away. “You will stop saying that!” he demanded.

Alula looked at him silently, the hurt in her heart now letting tears run down her cheeks.

“You're crazy, Alula. You're obsessed.” His voice faltered a little as he said that. “I could never love you. You only care about yourself, but not about the feelings of other ponies. I..... I don't even want to be friends with you anymore after what you tried today. I'm done with you, Alula. Forever.”

Alula sobbed. “N-No, I'm not! I care about you, I care about you and Peach Fuzz and I just wanted the best for you two! Please, Train Tracks, give me another chance!”
More anger flared up in Train Tracks' face over hearing this plea. He lifted his right forehoof and slapped it into Alula's face. A resounding smack came from the impact on her cheek as her head got yanked around.

“There is your chance.” He huffed. Not saying another word, he turned around, trotted out of the room, down the stairs and out of the house.

Alula held her reddened cheek and looked after him, gulping, as more tears soaked her worn face.

~ * ~

The sky was full of stars and Alula and Train Tracks were outside, busy rolling around a large ball formed of snow. In some distance, a snowpony without a head stood. They rolled the ball steadily towards it.

“The last time I did this was when I was a little colt,” Train Tracks said. “I forgot how much fun it is!” His voice sounded exuberant.

“Yeah, good, innocent fun between you and me!” Alula chimed in.

Once they had arrived at their creation, the two foals lifted the ball together and gave the snowpony its head. Alula reached into the pockets of her anorak and put two pieces of coal as eyes on the snowpony. Then a carrot to indicate its mouth, a silly clown nose, a woolen hat and a scarf followed.

Train Tracks laughed. “Did you just have these things with you?” he asked, incredulously.

“Yeah, always have a complete set of snowpony accessoires with me, wow, I love building snowponies so much!”

Alula looked up into the sky as her attention got detracted by something. A shooting star crossed over them. Alula's eyes started to gleam at the sight.

“That's what I want to do someday,” she said in a dreamy voice.

“What are you talking about?” Train Tracks followed Alula's gaze, catching a last glimpse of the shooting star.

“What this shooting star does; travelling through space and exploring it, maybe I could find other ponies on other planets! Hey, maybe even some space monsters, then we can fight them with laser weapons like the ones in the sci-fi comics I read and save Equestria, maybe even the whole universe, wouldn't that be awesome?!”” A sincere, albeit slightly strained, cheer was in her voice.

Train Tracks put a hoof around her. “Do you think a spaceship could look like a train? A spacetrain?”

“Of course!” She averted her gaze from the sky and looked at Train Tracks. “If I could explore space together with you, it wouldn't matter how the spaceship looks. As long as you're here.” She leaned against him, then wrapped her hooves around his body. Getting more and more pushy, she nestled deeper and deeper into Train Tracks' chest.

Train Tracks smiled, a little disconcerted, but let it happen.

“You will stop with this!” Train Tracks lifted his hoof and slapped Alula's right cheek, filling the cold air in front of her house with a resounding smack. He turned away from her and hurried down the snowy path they had come from.

~ * ~

“You only care for yourself, Alula!” Train Tracks slapped her right cheek.

~ * ~

“And that was for hurting Peachy!” Train Tracks turned around and let Alula stay behind. She grabbed a piece of snow and rubbed it over her reddened cheek.

~ * ~

Alula smiled, but instead of getting a smile in return, she received a slap in the face from Train Tracks. “Never talk to me and Peach Fuzz again, Alula!”

~ * ~

“You can stop now, Alula, I'm done with your tricks!” Train Tracks let his hoof come down on Alula's right cheek. Furious, he turned around and hurried away.

~ * ~

Alula's sentence got interrupted, as Train Tracks' hoof hit her right cheek with a smack. She looked at him with a hurt expression, holding her cheek, but Train Tracks had already turned away from her.

~ * ~

Her right cheek burned as Train Tracks' hoof hit it. Alula looked at him in shock. “That pain is nothing against what Peachy feels now!” Train Tracks yelled at Alula.

~ * ~

“If you don't want another slap like that, Alula, you better never talk to me or Peachy ever again!” Alula stared at Train Tracks, wordlessly holding her cheek. She reached out with her other hoof and opened the door for Train Tracks. He disappeared inside his house without looking at her again.

Alula turned away, too. Disappointed and frustrated, she moved away from his house. Aimlessly, she trotted through Ponyville. Her eyes fell on a snowpony and a sob rang out of her throat.

~ * ~

“Alula, we're over here!” Peach Fuzz waved at her from the distance as she trotted morosely closer.

“Where have you been the whole day? Train Tracks and I had so much fun!” Peach Fuzz smiled her usual smile, but then it faltered in worry as she saw the look on Alula's face. “You look terrible today, Alula. What happened to you? Did you have a bad night?”

Yeah,” Alula said, nodding weakly. She seemed to stare right through Peach Fuzz.

~ * ~

The voices were like hammer blows on Alula's ears. “Now shall we sing songs of harmony within this realm. And with true love and brotherhood, each other we all whelm,” Alula muttered and repeated the words she could hear below while looking at the ceiling with an empty stare.

Comments

[Fluttercheer]

9547717

The next part is out now! Since I forgot to publish it yesterday, there are going to be two updates today.

Edit: Make this two updates today, because I forgot it again.

[Bronycommander]

It seemed like the Perfect day...

[punzil504]

More anger flared up in Train Tracks' face over hearing this plea. He lifted his right forehoof and slapped it into Alula's face. A resounding smack came from the impact on her cheek as her head got yanked around.

There's a lot to like in what you're doing with this story... but I'm starting to get hung up on two problems.

The first is the fact that unlike Larry and Rita, Peach Fuzz and Train Tracks are in a relationship, even if it's young love. Alula is actively trying to break them up to woo Train Tracks, which is not the same as Phil trying to woo Rita. It changes a lot about the narrative direction of the story.

The second is Train Tracks smacking Alula. Rita slapped Phil over and over in the movie... and no one bats an eye. It's disconcerting to see a colt hitting a filly. You never saw Charlie Brown slug Lucy after she pulled the football away, or Calvin physically assault Susie Derkins with anything more dangerous than water balloons and snowballs. Don't get me started on the line from Hitch where he says that girls hitting guys means they like you, because this wasn't like that. Double standard? Perhaps, but a simple gender flipping of the slap alters the narrative significantly.