Wind Chill's Hearth's Warming

by Nebula Star

Chapter 3: The Concert

Wind Chill’s Hearth’s Warming
By: Nebula Star

Chapter 3: The Concert

***

As Wind Chill had thought, Tundra Blossom was more than happy to have Maestro spend the afternoons at their home. And while Whisper Song had told her a bit about Maestro’s talents, she hadn’t had a chance to hear any of his work. So when Maestro showed up the next day, carrying his trumpet in its case, she was just as excited to hear him play as Wind Chill. Then after Maestro had regaled them with his amazing talent, he had eagerly agreed to help in the garden, especially since it gave him a chance to try the berries and other fruits that Tundra had taken to growing. Many of which were not usually grown in the desert climate.

Growing up as an ice unicorn in the Frozen Empire, Tundra had learned the ice unicorns’ unique magic for adapting plants to almost any climate. Of course, once it became known that she enjoyed working in the fields, she hadn’t been allowed to anymore. But now, after nearly two decades of being able to practice her talent, her garden was certainly something to behold.

After that, it quickly became routine. Maestro would arrive, often with an instrument or some of his music collection, they’d spend some time just hanging out and either listening to him play or listening to music together, which usually led to the two of them dancing around the living room. Then they’d help Tundra out in the garden for an hour or so before Wind Chill would usually take Maestro home.

Wind Chill did still have other responsibilities though, and still had to go into town, but she found the chore to be less of an issue now. Her magic still built up every time, but now that just meant that When Maestro arrived on those days, they’d go out to the ravine to have a snow day. Snowball fights, snow-ponies, and a couple times they found a good smooth slope that Wind Chill would cover in snow for them to have fun sliding down. Neither of them owned a sled.

A few months passed and before long, the holidays were coming. Maestro got busier with the orchestra as they prepared for their holiday concerts. He had finished several winter themed songs and was to be the guest conductor when the orchestra played them at their annual Hearth’s Warming concert. He still spent the afternoons at Wind Chill’s, but would then have to get home for a quick dinner before going to the concert hall for rehearsals. The first concert was planned for two weeks before Hearth’s Warming and there would be repeat performances the following weekend, and then on Hearth’s Warming itself. It was about a week before the first concert that Maestro surprised her.

Wind Chill stared at the ticket in her hoof. Trimmed with gold, and decorated with holiday red and green, it was a ticket for one of the best seats in the concert hall on opening night. “You want me to come to your concert!?” She gasped, still unsure.

He nodded eagerly. “Then you can hear some of my music how it’s meant to be played!”

She stared at the ticket a few moments more in shock. She’d love nothing more than to go and hear Maestro’s work. Both to support him, but also because the young colt had taught her quite an appreciation for music in the past months. But there was a problem. To go to the concert would mean being in a crowded auditorium for a few hours at the very least. An auditorium that would likely contain a great deal of ponies from Dodge; ponies that knew who she was; that hated her. She had a hard enough time walking around the town market. To be in close proximity to so many ponies that hated her; she might not be able to control her magic in such an environment. But at the same time the holiday concerts usually drew ponies from all over Equestria. It was possible that most the crowd would be from out of town and to them she’d just be a white unicorn… with a snowflake cutie mark. Maybe she could get a dress, in fact, it would likely be a good idea to get something to wear anyway. It was a special event after all. That might help.

She looked up at Maestro seeing his happy grin. She couldn’t turn this down. It would be difficult, but it was only a few hours, right? She’d just be sure to drain her magic before she goes and then again right after if she needed to. She smiled despite her misgivings. “Thank you, Maestro!” She said and pulled him into a quick hug.

He hugged her back. “I wanted to get enough for your whole family, but they were already sold out, so I could only get this one.”

“That’s okay. Maybe next time you can invite my mom and dad too.” Wind Chill assured him.

The rest of the afternoon, Wind Chill couldn’t help worrying about the concert, though she tried not to show it. Maestro had a rehearsal that night, so they had to get him home a little earlier so that he could get ready. As usual, Wind Chill walked him home.

“Mom! I’m home!” Maestro called as he entered the house, Wind Chill following behind him.

“There you are!” Whisper Song said coming out of the kitchen. She was usually awake by the time Maestro got home these days. “I was beginning to wonder if you were going to be late,” she said as her son ran over to give her a hug. She hugged him back smiling. “You’d better go get ready.”

He nodded and galloped off to his room.

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” Wind Chill called after him.

“See ya then, Windy!” He called back, followed almost immediately the sound of his door shutting.

After he was gone, Whisper Song looked up at Wind Chill. “You have a good day?”

She nodded. “Yes, we helped my mom with weeding in the flowerbeds.”

“Oh, fun.” Whisper Song said sarcastically.

“We had fun with it.” She said with a shrug. “Then Maestro gave me a ticket to his concert next weekend.”

“He did? I wondered when he would give that to you.” Whisper Song said, having known about the ticket.

Wind Chill nodded. “Yeah, I’m a little worried about it though. Because of my magic.”

Whisper Song looked at her concerned. “Are you worried you won’t be able to go?”

“No, I… I think I can handle it.”

The older mare looked at her for a moment, frowning. “Have you told Maestro how your magic works? I’m sure he’ll understand if you think you can’t handle it.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want him to worry about that. I’m pretty sure I can handle it. I mean, it will mostly be ponies from out of town, right? So most probably won’t even know me and if I wear a dress as well, they won’t even know I’m an ice unicorn. I’ll just be sure and drain my magic before I go.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah, it will be alright, and I really don’t want to disappoint him.” Wind Chill told her, trying to sound more confident.

Whisper Song watched her for a moment, still concerned, but eventually nodded. “Alright, well I’m going to be on duty that night, so I won’t be there, and Astro won’t be home from his trip until Saturday, so could you make sure Maestro gets home safely.”

She nodded, smiling. “Of course.” She likely would have waited to walk home with Maestro anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal. “Well, I should probably get back home then. I’m sure Maestro’s going to take a bit to get ready.”

“Thanks again for looking after him.” Whisper Song said, seeing her out.

“It’s really no trouble at all.” Wind Chill assured her as she stepped back outside, and with one last wave, started her walk home.

~~~

The following week seemed to pass far too quickly. Wind Chill did go into town and purchase a nice dress for herself, which the local seamstress sold to her begrudgingly. Her uncle had died in the battle of the badlands pass, as she was sure to mention at least four times while Wind Chill was there. It was a nice dress in a shade of blue that complimented her coat and mane well and cut in a style that hugged her figure in a way that was slimming while still accentuating her curves. She did have some vanity after all. Most importantly, it covered her cutie mark so there’d be at least one less clue that she wasn’t just a simple unicorn. Still, she couldn’t help feeling more and more nervous as the day of the concert approached.

More than once she considered not going, but quickly disregarded the idea. She didn’t want to disappoint Maestro. The young colt was getting more and more excited each day. Busy as he was with recitals almost every night, he still stayed at Wind Chill’s for an hour or two after school before he had to get home in time for dinner before going to the concert hall. Finally, the day of the concert arrived, and Wind Chill found herself alone in the ravine draining her magic as far as she could possibly manage. After nearly an hour she was certain that even the effort to put on her dress would likely be enough to drain the last of her magic. It wouldn’t last long, as soon as she got near almost anypony from Dodge, her magic would rapidly begin building again. But hopefully she could avoid any direct attention from them and so would be able to last the night.

Returning home, she quickly got dressed and spent almost an hour on her mane and tail, wanting to look her best. She was in one of the best seats in the house after all. Finally ready she went to find her parents to let them know she was heading out.

“Oh! You look lovely, Windy.” Tundra Blossom said seeing her daughter as she entered the kitchen.

“Wow, if Maestro were a few years older I’d say he was one lucky colt,” Blazewing teased.

Wind Chill just snorted. “Aren’t you supposed to be overprotective and try to keep colts away from me?”

“Oh, right. Maestro’s lucky he’s not a few years older or I wouldn’t let him near you with you looking like that!” Blazewing tried again.

She rolled her eyes at her father’s antics. “I’m heading out. I’ll be back after I get Maestro home, I don’t know how long he’ll have to stay after the concert, but it will probably be late.”

“Alright, we’ll see you when you get back!” Tundra said knowing that that was the plan.

“Have fun, kiddo!” Blazewing said and with one last wave to her parents, Wind Chill left and started toward the concert hall.

The concert hall was on the northeast edge of Dodge, so it wasn’t difficult for her to skirt the edges of the city and avoid most of the crowds. Once she got to the concert hall itself, she had no choice but to join the mass of ponies heading toward the entrance. Fortunately, as she’d thought, many were from out of town and didn’t know who she was. She slipped into the flow among ponies she didn’t recognize and was glad that she didn’t feel any negative emotions from the ponies around her. They were on their way to a concert after all.

Upon reaching the hall, however, she began to see some of the locals. Not many saw her, but even those who didn’t harbored a small bit of hatred for her and her family. It wasn’t much, but she could feel it; more importantly she could feel her magic beginning to grow stronger.

A few more locals saw her as she reached the entrance causing a spike in the negative emotions coming her way, but so long as her seat wasn’t near any she was confident they would forget about her almost as soon as she was out of their sight. The biggest problem came when she had to show her ticket. The staff of course, were all locals, and the usher glared at her as she nervously levitated up her ticket. He looked at it, seeming surprised at what seat she had, then begrudgingly gave her directions. She said thanks, despite not really wanting to, and quickly made her way down the aisle finding the correct row.

There were already a few ponies seated in the row she needed, fortunately none of them were locals, in fact most looked to be rather wealthy tourists, here specifically for the hearths warming pageant. Some might have even been nobles from Canterlot, judging by the cloths and jewelry on display. Despite her new dress, Wind Chill suddenly felt very out of place. Still, they weren’t locals so it should be alright.

As politely as she could, she made her way past the ponies already seated, and took her seat, just a little to the left of center, only a few rows back from the stage. Widely considered one of the best seats in the house, being in the center of the concert hall’s impressive acoustics. Maestro had said that from here, the music would practically surround her. She smiled. Though she could still feel some of the negative emotions the local townsfolk had for her, it was just in the background; not the burning anger or hatred she felt when they were actually thinking about her. It seemed none were close enough to notice her and even if they did glance her way, they probably wouldn’t believe it was her sitting among the wealthy. To everyone else she was just another unicorn, even with her white coat and icy blue mane. Settling in, she waited for the rest of the audience to take their seats.

Slowly the auditorium filled, and eventually the seats around her were claimed by more wealthy looking ponies. She noticed rather quickly the looks she was getting from some of them. Most just seemed annoyed to see her sitting in one of the best seats in the house. But a few looked at her in disgust. It was unclear whether they’d guessed she was an ice unicorn. That might have been it, but Wind Chill suspected it was more likely that they recognized that she wasn’t one of the rich and elite and were disgusted that a commoner was sitting among them. She hadn’t considered the possibility that the ponies in the seats around her would resent her for not being wealthy as they were. Still the negative emotions were nowhere near as intense as the hatred that many of the townfolk held for her.

She’d probably be fine. If needed, there was a half hour intermission, perhaps she could find a place nearby to quickly drain a bit of magic just to be safe. Besides, Maestro’s first song which he would conduct himself was scheduled to be just before the intermission. If worse came to worse, she could just leave at the intermission and come back to walk Maestro home after the concert. He’d probably be disappointed, and she’d likely have to explain how her magic works to him, but she was sure he’d understand. And at least she’d get to hear one of his songs.

A wealthy couple and their teenage daughter made their way past her with a friendly enough greeting which she politely returned, letting them pass. They took the seats just past her while more came in from the far aisle to take the seats past them. It looked like almost everypony was seated when the couple that had the seats to Wind Chill’s left finally arrived. Obviously very wealthy, they had the look of what Wind Chill had always imagined Canterlot nobles to be. The mare took one look at her and sneered in disgust, but took her seat without a word, right next to her.

Wind Chill had to fight not to show any emotion while she groaned inwardly. With how much negative emotions the mare was radiating toward her, she’d almost definitely have to find somewhere to drain her magic during the intermission. She decided it would be best just to not call any attention to herself, and hopefully the mare would forget she was there once the concert started, and her negative emotions would subside.

“You excited for the concert?” The mare on Wind Chill’s other side asked politely. Distracted by the negativity of the other mare, at first, she didn’t even realize the question was directed at her.

“Oh, yes. I’ve been looking forward to it.” She replied conversationally.

“We have as well.” She replied indicating her family. “The Frontier Orchestra is our favorite. We just love their more modern spin on classical music.”

Wind Chill nodded having gained an appreciation for the Orchestra’s music as well. “Yeah, even when they play the old classical pieces, they add their own touch that makes them feel fresh and new.”

“And the modern compositions they play are just as impressive. In fact, I understand a few of the pieces tonight were written by an eleven-year-old prodigy, and that he’s going to conduct them himself.”

“Maestro.” Wind Chill provided, smiling fondly. “He’s actually the main reason I’m here.”

She looked at her curiously. “Oh?”

“His mother and mine are old friends, but his mother is a nightguard and she sleeps during the day, so I watch Maestro for her for a few hours after school most day.” She explained.

“Really?”

She nodded. “He’s the one that got me the ticket for tonight. He often practices his music while I’m watching him, and He said he wanted me to hear his music how it’s meant to be played.”

“Oh, I see!” She smiled “It must be interesting looking after such a genius.”

“Well, when it comes to music, Maestro is incredible, but in just about everything else, he’s just a little colt like any other.” Wind Chill said with a smile.

“But tonight, is all about the music.”

Wind Chill nodded. “And he’s definitely been excited for it. The first of his pieces will be just before the intermission, if I remember correctly.”

She levitated up her program to check, and nodded smiling. “Looks like it. I’ll look forward to it.”

Just then the lights were dimmed, and the audience quickly quieted, taking the que that the concert was about to begin. Wind Chill and the other mare quickly turned their attention to the stage where the members of the orchestra were quietly taking their places. Soon the sound of each of the musicians checking the pitch of their instruments filled the hall. As they did, Wind Chill began to notice an increase in the negative emotions around her. Something she hadn’t noticed due to her conversation. None of the negativity was coming from the mare or her family of course, but all around she could feel mild negative emotions; annoyance, disgust; much of it directed toward her. Even the mare on her other side seemed to be putting out even more negative energy than before.

With a sinking feeling she realized that her conversation with the other mare had likely confirmed for them that she wasn’t wealthy or of noble birth, but a simple commoner who had been given the expensive ticket as a gift. Many of the snobbish ponies likely believed she didn’t belong among them in that section of the auditorium. She’d almost definitely need to find a place to drain her magic during the intermission. Suppressing a sigh, she tried to ignore it. She should be fine at least until the intermission.

For a few minutes the cacophony of sound as the musicians tuned their instruments continued until one by one, they were satisfied with their instruments. Then even as the last of them finished their tuning, the orchestra’s head conductor and the host for the concert stepped up to the podium. After a brief introduction, the concert truly began.

The first few songs were the more traditional Hearth’s Warming carols with a bit of a modern touch. The musicians’ skill was on full display and Wind Chill found herself getting lost in the music for a time. They went through half a dozen traditional songs, before moving on to some modern compositions.

That was about when she began to realize she was in trouble. Distracted by the music, she hadn’t noticed that her magic had been building up faster than she’d thought. There were still four songs left before the intermission, the last of which would be the first of Maestro’s, but already her magic was beginning to feel strained.

By the end of the next song, she began to worry; already a headache was coming on. She might not make it to intermission.

Looking around she realized she was trapped. She’d have to make her way past near a dozen ponies in either direction to get out. Taking a deep breath, she tried to keep calm and focused on keeping her magic under control. Unfortunately, the mare on her left noticed her fidgeting and her annoyance with her grew.

Trying to keep calm, she made it through the next song, just two more to go… Perhaps she would be alright waiting until intermission. She closed her eyes, just listening to the music, trying to block out everything else.

That was a mistake. The mare next to her noticed her closed eyes and seemed to take it as her being disrespectful to the performance, by the sudden surge of annoyance and disgust that washed over her. That was it. As the last song before Maestro’s began to wind down, she knew she had to get out.

Turning to the snobbish mare, she said, as politely as she could, “Excuse me, I need to leave.”

The mare’s eyes narrowed, anger flaring up in her. “You can wait until the intermission.”

Wind chill winced as the strain of her magic trying to escape surged. “Please, I have to get out of here now or something very bad is going to happen.” She said, not as a threat but as a warning.

The mare seemed to take it as a threat anyway, and her anger increased while several others around them took notice of the confrontation. Wind Chill was engulfed by a surge of negative emotions sending a spike of pain into the base of her horn, making her grimace. “You can wait one more song,” the mare repeated angrily. “Didn’t I hear you say the guest conductor was your little coltfriend?”

Wind Chill glanced toward the stage where Maestro was being introduced. Her heart fell, knowing how disappointed he’d be, but she had to go. She turned back toward the mare. “I have to leave!”

“Sit down, you can wait one more song!” The mare said loudly enough to call even more attention to them. More negative emotions poured in, causing her magic to surge. She fell to her haunches, her forehooves going to her forehead, her teeth clenched. Pain like she’d only felt once before spread from her horn to her entire body as her magic grew too powerful for her to contain any longer. A scream tore from her lungs making her throat raw in an instant. The concert hall fell silent as every eye turned toward her, anger pouring in from all around her.

Wind Chill opened her eyes and much of the anger turned to fear, as they saw her eyes were glowing pure white with raw power. She saw their fear, the same expressions she’d seen on her classmates all those years ago. But this time, she knew what was about to happen.

“Run!” She said, her voice weak.

Those closest to her took a step back, bumping into the ponies behind them. Then Wind Chill’s horn burst to life as the magic would no longer be contained.

“RUUUNNNNN!!!”

Chaos erupted around her as her magic burst from her horn. It took all her focus to direct the first torrent of icy energy spiraling upward away from the ponies nearby. All around her ponies pushed or tripped over one another trying to get away. Wind Chill put her all into controlling the magic just a little longer. The first time this had happened, she’d still been young, her magic relatively weak. This time the damage would be much worse. She had to keep it under control until everypony got out… if she could.

Already the magic was slipping from her control, spiraling around her, covering everything in ice and snow. Quickly the ice storm expanded, spreading toward the fleeing ponies. She clamped down on her power, trying to slow down the flow as much as possible. She couldn’t let anypony get hurt. She screamed once more, in pain and determination, though the sound was almost lost in the howling winds of her ice storm. Soon she could no longer see the rest of the hall. Still, she held on as long as she could, giving everypony as much time as she could to escape. Finally, though, she couldn’t hold on any longer. The magic broke free of her grasp and the world became white.

The concert hall was almost unrecognizable. Ice crawled up the walls. Snow flowed in drifts, spiraling out from a point near the center just in front of the stage. Here and there part of an instrument or one of the seats was just visible mostly buried under the snow.

While only a short while before it had been filled with festive music, now it was silent, save for the soft sobs of one young mare, lying in the center of the devastation. She was almost buried in the snow; heedless of the icy temperatures. Wind Chill laid there, her hooves over her eyes, not wanting to look, afraid of what she might see. So she cried.

She didn’t hear anyone approaching until she felt a touch on her shoulder. She looked up sharply to see a mare wearing the dark armor of the night guard. With her eyes full of tears, at first she didn’t recognize her, but the lack of negative emotions toward her meant there was only one pony it could be. When her vision cleared, she saw there was only pity and understanding in Whisper Song’s eyes.

“Did everypony…”

Whisper nodded understanding what she meant. “You held on long enough for everypony to get to safety. There were a few minor injuries in the chaos, but nothing serious.”

Releif filled her and she cried a few more soft sobs. Whisper pulled her into a hug, embracing her with her wings, holding her as she cried.

“I’m sorry, I…”

“Shhh. It’s not your fault.” Whisper said softly.

“Maestro… I…”

“He’s fine.” She assured her softly. “I’ll explain everything to him; he’ll understand.”

Wind Chill whimpered. “I’m sorry… I thought I could handle it.”

“You shouldn’t have to handle it.” Whisper Song said firmly, then gave her one last squeeze before standing back up. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”

Author's Note:

Been a while since I posted any updates. For this one, once it got to be a couple months after the holidays, I decided to wait until this holiday season to finish it. I intend to finish it over the next week. I'll be posting a blog soon with some progress updates on the rest of my stories and series as well.