The Winter Solstice

by Turtlehaus

Chapter 5: Carnival of Lights (Part 2)

Wick and Pyre stood near the spinning cups carnival ride watching ponies twirl round and round. Finding great amusement in the ones that got dizzy and had fits of laughter at the ones unable to keep their lunch down. The two brothers seemed perfectly content standing off to the side of the ride, ignoring the looks from many ponies that walked by.

Integrating back into the day to day affairs of the kingdom was not an easy task for them. While not completely loathed as their father had been, the Twins were merely shunned by most ponies for the part they played in the years following the Mad King’s return.

Smolder’s efforts to paint them in a different light had stirred few ponies into offering them a second chance, but most had opted for intense glares and whispers. Such things had already been considered by the brothers, they had no illusions that their return would be met as favorably as Smolder’s was, but it did not make their lives any easier.

Ignored by most. Despised by many. The Twins offered their services to the kingdom from behind closed doors, becoming delegates on behalf of the kingdom, a task Burning Sand once held and stood far from the social spotlight that engulfed Smolder.

Goldie Fleece, the Treasurer of the Ashen Fields, and Ray Horizon, the General of the Flame Pony army, would routinely approach the Twins with issues and requests that fell below the King’s need to address. While many requests were approved and issues quickly resolved it was surprising to most that the Twins were found to be quite knowledgeable on both a financial and a military level.

It was apparent that their time spent speaking with their father through the mirror was not all malice and schemes. In fact it opened up many doors for delegates around Equestria to invite the Twins to their provinces to seek joint ventures and possible inclusions of flame pony marketing.

Although, this did little to sway the opinion of the common flame pony. The Twins helped the populace from the shadows but chose not to make it public knowledge. They had agreed that any publicity, even if given a positive image for them, would be met with negativity and doubt.

Yet here, next to the spinning cups, the Twins found a common ground where those that whispered behind their backs would also be subjugated to their own ridicule of their lost lunch.

“Do you think Smolder and Princess Sapphire are having a good time?” Wick questioned.

“It has been a few hours since their departure… I would assume that things are going well.” Pyre replied.

The twirl of the cups raced round and round in interlocking circles. The screams of enjoyment from the ponies filled them again as a splatter of projectile sick whipped across the air.

Wick chuckled at the sight of the young ponies attempting to cover their mouths from spewing even more. “Have you told Smolder of our decision yet?”

Pyre looked over. “Of our journey to Saddle Arabia?”

Wick nodded to him. Pyre shook his head no.

“We will be gone for several months, brother mine. You know how Smolder dislikes our week long departures to the Crystal Kingdom.” Wick mentioned.

Pyre offered him a smile. “We leave in two days, but there will be plenty of time to let Smolder know after tonight. I wanted him to be free of any worry or dread while on his first date.”

Wick and Pyre watched the small herd of ponies stumble dizzyingly off the ride. One pony could not hold back and found themselves becoming sick in the grass nearby. The Twins applauded the group, watching them weakly wave back.

“Smolder will be alone again.” Wick warned. “He will only have the imp to console him.”

“We’re no longer separated by dimensions. Smolder may not like us being so far from home, but he has endured worse with not knowing if we would ever return.” Pyre replied.

There were a few ponies waiting in line staring at the Twins, their voices in hushed whispers. From the corner of his eye, Pyre glanced at them and found many of them recoiling in surprise as if they could hear everything they were saying.

“Don’t let it get to you, brother.” Wick said.

Pyre returned his attention to the twirling cups. “It doesn’t…”

---

Summer sat at a table of an outdoor cafe, serving some of the Ashen Field’s newest brew of coffee. Her mission to ensure a paparazzi free night seemed to be a huge success on its own as her need to intervene never arose. She was already beginning to think that this was just a big waste of time as the photos that were taken were from civilian ponies that had asked prior before taking them.

A small saucer and teacup clinked before her. Bleak sitting beside her with a cup of his own. Summer looked at the dark color of it, unsure of how it would taste.

“Two cream. Two sugar. Just a hint of mint.” Bleak said.

Summer took the teacup and tasted the drink. The warmth was welcomed, even for a flame pony, but the taste was surprisingly delicious to her.

“This isn’t bad.” Summer mentioned.

“Closest thing I get to a warm feeling these days.” Bleak stated.

Tipping his cup back, Bleak seemed to be more accustomed to the drink. His comment wasn’t meant to be a veiled stab at their lack of time together, but Summer took it as such. Although, it was in no small part to her insistence of being by Sapphire’s side even when she wasn’t technically needed.

“I’m… kind of hungry.” Summer mumbled.

Putting his cup down and stretching his hooves high over his head, Bleak scanned the crowd for Sapphire and Smolder.

“Hopefully they’ll stop for food soon, but seeing as they’ve been devouring sweets all night—“

“There’s a booth back aways that was selling some deep fried apples and stuff. I… wanted to try some of that.” Summer interrupted.

Bleak looked over noticing that Summer was uncharacteristically fidgeting in her seat. Her attention was no longer on Sapphire, nor did she seem interested in following them anymore.

A deep blue flush came across Bleak’s face realizing that he was now officially on a date with his special somepony.

“S-S-Sure!” Bleak squeaked.

Summer glanced over at him, noticing that he figured out that she had abandoned her plan to follow the royal couple any further tonight and wanted to pursue something else with Bleak.

“I can try to win you one of those bracelets if you like.” Bleak offered.

Summer smiled wide at the suggestion. “Why would I want some sparkly bracelet?”

“Because… I can’t afford to buy you the real thing… yet.” Bleak confessed.

The mixture of shame and embarrassment flashed across Bleak’s face. His new leaf didn’t allow for any sort of back alley deals or acquisitions of high end things anymore. He was on a budget and it didn’t allow for high end jewelry he knew Summer deserved.

“I don’t want jewelry,” Summer began.

Bleak quickly tried to recover. “I wasn’t trying to—“

“I just want you.”

A flush of orange spread across Summer’s face. Fighting all of her feelings to look the other way and forced herself to look at Bleak. His look was that of the one that had stolen her heart many years ago, a genuine look of disbelief on his face that any pony could care for him.

Summer leaned closer to the speechless Bleak, her shoulder up against his. Her head tilted back as she raised her head up to meet her lips with his. She felt his hoof take hold of her arm, pulling her just a bit closer to ensure she would not pull away too soon.

The two soon parted. Slowly testing the waters with a series of short but loving kisses. Bleak couldn’t help but smile wide causing Summer to smile as well.

“I want to try the deep fried cupcakes.” Bleak mumbled.

“We better hurry then,” Summer replied.

Bleak looked towards the sky, judging the position of the moon, realizing how early into the evening it was. “The carnival doesn’t close for another--”

Summer got to her hooves. A small smile on her face. There was a subtle way in which she walked that had Bleak’s heart set a flame. Nearly leaping from the table to take after her, he stopped short, digging into his pockets for a few bits to leave as a tip.

“We should drink coffee more often.” Bleak muttered to himself before taking off after his special somepony.

---

Sapphire and I stood at a directory we had found somewhere near the outer edge of the area. We had discovered that we had just left the Game Zone. We had worked our way through several booths, trying our hooves at game after game, winning little trinkets and a couple stuffed animals. We couldn’t find any reason to keep most of the prizes we had won, as we agreed that we were far too old for toys, and offered it to any foal or filly that happened to be standing nearby.

“It appears that the carnival is much more vast than I had previously anticipated. A week long affair would be necessary for any pony wishing to see everything it has to offer.” Sapphire remarked.

I lifted my hoof to the directory, waving it in small circles over the arrow that signified our current location. “We’ve got two options,”

Moving my hoof to the right I hovered over zone marked Showcase and then leaned it to the right to where it read Food Plaza.

“We can see what the Showcase Zone is or get something to eat in the plaza.”

There were several other zones listed upon the directory, but these two were adjacent to our current location.

“I’m interested in seeing what the Showcase Zone is, but if you’re hungry we can get something to eat.” Sapphire replied.

“I’m still full from all the candy we won from the games.” I confessed.

“Showcase it is then.”

In contrast to the hustle and bustle of the gaming area of the carnival, there seemed to be ten times as many ponies within the Showcase zone. It was reminiscent of the Next Big Thing held in Canterlot nearly a year ago, but this area seemed to accommodate countless stages where every presenter offered different products, ideas, merchandise, occupations, and even live events. Each one attempting to draw in as many onlookers as possible to promote their ideas or wares in hopes to reach a wider audience.

We walked by motorized carriages, art exhibits, musical performances, we saw dozens of Magical Academies looking for gifted unicorns to enroll in, several Military Recrutement tables seeking brave young ponies to enlist, and countless booths that served the common pony trying to make a name for themselves through their passions. Sapphire and I found these to be the most interesting.

“Smolder! Look!” Sapphire squealed in excitement.

Sapphire nearly bolted away, rushing to a tablet that had several rocks multi colored rocks strewn about. A lone unicorn mare sat behind the table, covered in an assortment of her own homemade jewelry of these rocks looking quite pleased at Sapphire’s excitement over them.

“I see you’re a purveyor of the Arcane Stones.” The mare remarked.

I wandered up to Sapphire fawning over the glowing rocks. “The what?”

“Arcane stones, or magical rocks, are naturally occurring magic within nature that sometimes imbues itself within certain stones for unknown reasons. Each stone carries its own unique power and is extremely rare.” Sapphire clarified.

I looked around the table at the rather large collection this one mare had. “But… she has so many.”

“I made these,” The mare spoke up. “Have a look.”

The mare offered me a small lime green stone that slowly pulsed with magic. I took it from her, watching a small ghostly fish leap from the stone and disappear back into it.

“Do they all do that?” I asked looking pleasantly surprised.

“I have tried to imbue each stone with its own unique character, these stones are meant to be personal and for the wearer to enjoy.” The mare informed me.

“Back home we have a few stones that we imbue with magical spells that assist us with certain things. I used one for a meeting to display the message you left within the seal.” Sapphire stated.

“Have you ever imbued a stone?” The mare asked Sapphire curiously.

“Well I’ve only dabbled in small spells to see if I could, but I’ve never tried to get artsy with it.” Sapphire confessed.

The two mares spoke in length over their process of imbuing magical stones. I was beginning to think that Sapphire’s knowledge of rocks were of a more spiritual side than a geological one. I smiled at the not too distant memory of her crushing dirt clod after dirt clod attempting to win a bracelet. That’s when I saw it.

A small piece of blue cordierite with a ghostly white aura of magic floating within it. My heart thumped hard, I could feel my flames sizzling, and I knew I wanted to give this to Sapphire.

“Please take a pamphlet and I’m so glad that the mysteries of the Arcane Stones are beloved by even the most noble of ponies.”

Sapphire took the pamphlet offered to her. “I sincerely hope that you find a real Arcane Stone in your travels, it would find a good home with somepony who admires and respects them as much as you do.”

I watched Sapphire walk away from the booth, her nose in the pamphlet looking over the process the mare used to imbue her stones. I was hesitant to follow, trying to find the words and the courage to ask about the cordierite.

“Two bits.” The mare said.

“What?” I asked in surprise.

The mare smiled at me. “Two bits… for the cordierite stone.”

I felt my face flush realizing how obvious my intentions were. I fumbled into my hoodie for the money while the mare picked up the stone to place it in a small leather pouch for me.

I offered her two bits before taking the leather pouch from her. “Thanks.”

“You two are very close to one another, are you not?” The mare questioned me.

“I-- uh-- we--” I stammered.

“I can sense your aura... it’s so very warm and inviting. I can see why she likes you.”

“M-M-Must be my flames!” I remarked nervously.

I watched the mare roll her eyes at me and slightly shook her head. My face was burning hot from how embarrassed I was. I thanked her once again before hurrying after Sapphire.

Through crowds of ponies I wormed my way through, worrying that I had gotten separated from Sapphire. Luckily, I spotted Sapphire standing in a rather vacant area looking around for me as well and rushed to meet up with her.

“Hey,” I said strolling up to her.

Sapphire smiled in relief. “There you are. I was worried that I had lost you in this crowd.”

My heart was pounding furiously again. I wanted nothing more than to give her the stone, but I knew that this wasn’t the right time. Unfortunately, this left me flustered in front of her without any good excuse so I did my best to save face.

“So… rocks, huh?” I asked.

Sapphire’s face lit up. “Weren’t they adorable? I really didn’t know which one I wanted to get. I thought about making one of my own, but I wouldn't know what to imbue it with.”

“Does it take a lot of practice to do something like that?”

“Well imbuing certain stones with the most basic of spells requires careful and detailed casting. The magic placed into the stone must be considerably powerful to allow the spell to remain within it for an extended period of time. It relies heavily on the wielder and the the stone being used because if you—“

Sapphire continued to speak about the deep arcane art of imbuing inanimate objects with great delight. My knowledge of magic had grown considerably with Mira’s help, but it was mostly shadow magic. I was novice to many magical arts Sapphire knew so in-depth about. Her enthusiasm for it made me smile.

We walked on as I listened to Sapphire talk about the stones a bit more, to which it eventually evolved into her love of ice sculpting. It was a hobby that her father had shared with her and taken to it with great interest.

“Have you ever tried sculpting, Smolder?”

I was caught off guard by her question. My thoughts had been occupied by how I was going to give her the gift I had gotten her and now realizing I hadn’t been paying attention.

“I… I haven’t really tried… splitting rocks is about the extent of my… sculpting.” I mumbled.

“I would love the opportunity to see how flame ponies carve stone. It probably has its own challenges on the type of stone used, as well as the tools needed.”

Thoughts of carving statues had brought up the most frequent statue I visited from day to day. As if we were drawn here by the simple thought alone, we found ourselves at the final resting place of my father.

Wingston’s memorial had been adorned with dozens of flowers, small lanterns, and candles. The eternal flame at the base burned strong, unwavering, and illuminating the features on his obsidian statue.

There were several ponies admiring the memorial. A few placing some offerings to decorate Wingston’s memorial further.

I stared at the black obsidian where the eyes beneath his hooded cloak stared back at me. A whirlwind of feelings rushed back into my heart like a door being blown open. I took a deep breath trying to settle myself when I felt Sapphire's arm grip mine.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” I said smiling encouragingly. “I just wish he was here… to see all of this...”

I trailed off. I felt Sapphire’s head lean against mine.

“He knows,” Sapphire whispered. “And he’s so very proud of what you’ve done here, Smolder.”

I smiled. Looking back up at the memorial and slightly nodding my head to my old friend.

“We have… a… section being built just for you, Wingston. In the museum…” I mumbled. “It… it will have some of your favorite books. Parts of your old… clothing…. and some…”

I struggled to say more but knew I couldn’t.

“We have commissioned some very talented artists to provide paintings of you during crucial moments in flame pony history. The exhibit will also feature Lord Scorch and Lady Glow, explaining the untold truth of what really happened to them.” Sapphire added.

I looked to Sapphire who stole a glance my way before flushing slightly.

“I know that Smolder cared about you deeply and that he had to set aside his mourning for you, sooner than he was ready, to be the King everypony needed him to be. Much like you he puts the needs of the Kingdom before his own and works tirelessly to live up to everypony’s expectations. He has remained studious in his academics, focused on his magical lessons, and has been the most gentle of colts to me.”

I felt Sapphire lean against me and grip my arm tighter.

“I’m sorry we don’t come by more often, but everything Smolder does echoes your teachings. You are always with him and I will always have his back.”

I nestled my head against hers. My silent way of thanking her for speaking when I could not.

“Thank you, Sapphire.” I whispered.

Comments

[Winter_Solstice]

Hey, wait a second...

[Turtlehaus]

10088675
I was honestly confused about how the story commented on itself and laughed realizing it was another author's username. I assure you that it is just the title and that it doesn't lend any credence to your own stories or persona.

[Night_Striker]

smolder and shaphire are so cute i'm dying inside and keep up the great exselent work man can't wait when the trubel start brewing up again poor smolder

[Stellar_]

Took me a while to read this chapter, but got around to it eventually

As always, the relationship between our two favorite ponies continues, wonder where all this'll go