Starts as it Should

Autumn Blaze was cold.

She hesitated to open her eyes, but as she gripped at the blankets atop her, trying to organize them in a way to give her more warmth, she begrudgingly accepted that being able to actually see what she was doing would be helpful.

Thankfully, the sun had not yet come out very far, as the light coming into the room through the partially closed blinds was dull. Or maybe it was just behind some clouds at the moment, and at any second they would part, leaving the sun in the perfect position to blind her with its harsh rays.

But for now, the dull light filtered into the sparse room, allowing her to see her half-unpacked bag and, most importantly, the collection of blankets pooled at the base of the bed. Pony beds, it seemed, made Autumn squirm in her sleep. She kicked at them, trying to grip a few with her back hooves. Her ears flicked as she caught the sound of cloth hitting the wooden floor with a soft whooph. She groaned, pressing her head back into the hard pillow, head in her hooves.

With a sigh, she decided to bite the bullet and just get up. She was awake now anyways, and there was very little chance of her going back to sleep. She rolled off the side of the bed, catching herself with her hooves before she could hit the ground. Autumn Blaze had only gotten to Ponyville a short while ago, but had quickly picked up that maneuver for effortlessly getting out of bed.

I should finish unpacking.

Autumn stepped over her luggage and opened the door to her room with her horn, filling the space around her with a bright blue, making her cringe and close her eyes. It was far too early for this.

She stepped through the door and closed it with a hoof. And then tried to pick up all of her other hooves when she realized just how cold the crystal floor was in comparison to her carpeted room. She felt the cold seeping into her legs, traveling into her bones and up her legs slowly and in as uncomfortable a manner as possible.

In a swift pace, she made her way down the long, winding, confusing hallways of the castle, trying her best to remember Starlight’s instructions to her from when she came in over a week ago. Two rights, a left, down the stairs, another left… and then a right?

She opened the door presented to her with her magic, the light from it bothering her a bit less now, and was met with the kitchen/common room. Autumn let out a quick sigh of relief. She knew the way out from here, but getting to this point was always tricky.

Trotting over to the refrigerator, Autumn gently opened it to see just what she was working with for breakfast. There were a few notes on containers, some listed with just names claiming their contents, others listing what exactly their contents were.

Pancake Batter, a small jar proudly claimed. Autumn’s belly rumbled, able to smell the delicious meal, taste the syrupy, buttery, gooey goodness. She took it out and set it on the counter, then went searching through the multitude of cabinets for something to make them on. After far too long and far too many spice drawers, Autumn had gotten her hooves on a skillet and, with a bit of finagling, got the stove to work as well. She quickly dumped half the batter onto the pan and got to work making herself some food.

A few minutes later, Autumn had a 2-stack of pancakes, drizzled generously with syrup and lathered even more generously with butter. She levitated a fork and knife in front of her, slicing off a large piece and promptly shoving it in her mouth.

Autumn could hear Rarity in her head. “Simply divine, Darling!”

Then she heard Applejack’s. “Heya, Sugarcube!”

She didn’t quite understand how that was relevant to her amazing breakfast, but she could listen to her friend’s southern accent all day long, so she wasn’t complaining. She cut off another piece and started chewing on it as well before she even had time to swallow the first one. She was hungry, and these pancakes were delicious. A dangerous choking hazard.

It came again. “It’s purdy early, Autumn. I didn’t wake ya, did I?”

Her ears flicked. Wait. Was that… coming from behind her? She slowly turned her head and, sure enough, walking up to her was none other than Applejack.

Autumn nearly spat out her food in surprise, but then decided to instead swallow everything as fast as possible. As should have been expected, doing so nearly choked her and was very painful while the thick, sticky, half-chewed bites slowly traveled down her esophagus. She gave a few hearty punches to her sternum, along with some similarly timed coughs, trying to guide the food down.

Autumn swiveled on her bar stool, completely facing Applejack now. “Hey! Applejack! Funny meeting you here. In the castle. In the common area. In the morning…” she trailed off, glancing away, not quite able to meet the farm pony’s eyes. She coughed again. “And what was it you asked? Oh, uh, no. You didn’t wake me up. At least, I don’t think you did. What were you doing?”

Applejack continued trotting towards her, making Autumn’s heart race and face flush. But then Applejack passed her by, heading for the fridge. In a few swift motions, Applejack opened the door, took out a jug of lemonade, and kicked off the cap to chug it. Autumn just watched as she kept gulping it down, strangely impressed by the feat.

Starlight’s warning a few days ago echoed in her mind. “Now Autumn, don’t drink this. It’s lemon juice, not lemonade. It’s still very sour.”

She made a futile motion with her hoof to try and stop whatever was happening, but stopped herself. Surely Applejack must have known by now that it wasn’t what she thought it was. Right?

Applejack finished off the entire jug, letting out a loud belch and a sigh, followed by an “Excuse me. Whew doggy, that was good! I dunno if it’s better than apple juice or cider, but I am awake and refreshed now. Oh, I should’a saved some for you.”

Autumn blanched. “N-no, I think I’m fine with you having the rest of it. Not really my, uh, my drink of choice.” She was trying not to be awkward around her, but considering whatever had just happened, that was proving difficult. Instead of speaking, she just took another bite of some slightly colder pancakes. If she didn’t finish soon, they’d become a soggy mess.

“If ya say so.” Applejack set the empty container on the counter and then leaned a hoof on it to help support her weight in a semi-casual manner. “I was workin’ on some redecoratin’. Twilight insisted that the rest of us make our own rooms up in this here castle, but mine is gettin’ to be a li’l bit more complicated than I was expectin’.”

“Hmm, that so?” Autumn said around a mouthful. “Where’s it at? My schedule’s wide open for today. And, truth be told (I know you’re all about that, huh?), I’ve been starting to get a little stir crazy again. I could use something to do.”

Applejack’s eyes widened. “Oh, no, I couldn’t ask that of ya. ‘Specially not so close to Hearth’s Warming. Don’t feel right calling in favors at this time o’ year.”

Autumn laughed, which made Applejack switch from concern to confusion. Autumn composed herself once more and poked Applejack lightly in the shoulder. “You’re silly. You’re not calling in any favors here or anything. I’m just offering to help. It looks to me like you could use it, and I’m just gonna be roaming around Ponyville for the thousandth time in the cold if I don’t.”

Applejack glanced at the floor, rubbing her forehead right beneath her hat, obviously in thought about it.

Autumn continued. “And, we’re both kind of country. I mean, different kinds of country, as you’ve got the accent and the cool hat, but I’ve also got those wilderness survival traits!” She hovered her hooves in the air in what could vaguely be interpreted as a fighting stance, though she was still sitting down.

Applejack finally relented. “Fine. Autumn Blaze, would ya kindly help me decorate my room?”

Autumn thrust out her hoof excitedly. “Kindly is my middle name! Well, actually it’s Birch, but I’d be happy to help!”

Applejack reached for the hoof as well, shaking it firmly to signal a deal well made.

“Well, I’ll let ya get back to eatin’ yer food. My room’s two floors up, two lefts, go straight, then a r—”

“Wait!”

Applejack froze mid-sentence as Autumn held out her hooves in alarm, then watched as Autumn furiously shoved the pancakes in her mouth, some hanging out slightly, dribbling syrup below her as she got out of her chair, floated the plate into the sink, and gestured with a hoof to the door.

Applejack shook her head. “Y’all keep finding new ways to surprise me.”

In no time at all, they had made their way up and to Applejack’s room in the castle. It was easy to spot in the hallway, as it was the only one with twenty or so boxes outside the door, all overstuffed with various nicknacks, farming equipment, and Autumn could have sworn she had seen one filled entirely with mud.

A type of country she might have been, but she couldn’t honestly think of a use for the majority of this stuff.

“Rarity’s been tryin’ to teach me a bit more about decoratin’, but I don’t know how much use it’s been. I was trying to go for something… quaint yet rural.”

Autumn walked fully through the door, getting a good view of what she had to work with. She wasn’t exactly Rarity either (though nopony was quite like Rarity), but it seemed doable.

“Well, we better get started now if we want to get done by sundown!”

Both mares flopped onto the old couch that had been set up. As expected, it took them all day to get it done, with a few scrapped ideas and reworks along the way, but at long last it was finally over.

Though Autumn could only smile. It was work, but it was done with a friend, which made everything so much better. And, though the sun was quickly retreating behind Equestrian hills, the temperature dropping with it, Autumn realized that she didn’t feel cold anymore.

There was a warmth inside her that she hadn’t felt before. Being a kirin, she had felt all kinds of warmth, from the fiery, passionate rage to actual, real fire. But this was better than anything else.

This was friendship. Autumn almost laughed at how silly that sounded. But if hatred can bring about the flames inside a kirin, why not friendship as well?

“So, uh, Autumn,” Applejack started, knocking her out of her thoughts. “Do ya wanna come over to Sweet Apple Acres for Hearth’s Warming? I know that you kirin don’t celebrate it, but it’s always good to be around those you care about anyways.”

Autumn smiled even wider, if that were even possible. She didn’t even have to think about her response.

“I’d love to.”

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