The Wishday Waltz

by Love And What Came After

IV

Misty admired the wide expanse of dense shrubbery and vast, broad-trunked, gnarled trees with both trepidation and admiration. From the rapidly darkening twilight sky above cascaded moonbeams, brightening their surroundings.

“Looks like the moon is rising already. Wow, is Bridlewood always this creepy when it gets dark?”

“Not usually!” Izzy reassured her. “This side of the forest can be a little spooky at night, but the moon and the crystals will give us plenty of light to see. Besides, you have me. I know my way around here.” Without delay, she hopped onto the trail leading between the trees.

Misty hesitated for a moment before the entrance to the forest. Her eyes locked onto the distant Prisbeam on the horizon emanating from the Brighthouse, dominating the sky above Maretime Bay with a gorgeous rainbow. In the Brighthouse, beyond the wide, rolling plains and over the crests of the distant hills, she knew her friends were all merrily whiling away the remainder of the evening together, having a pleasant time. Without her...

“It’s a shame you couldn’t come today. We all had a really fun day together. Really rushed, but still fun. We went to a lot of different places, and…” Izzy paused beside the thick trunk of a huge tree as she waited for her friend to catch up. “Well, maybe I'll tell you later if you wanna hear about it.”

“Maybe some other time,” Misty agreed. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come, it’s just that when duty calls, I gotta answer. That’s how it goes.” She shrugged dismissively.

They walked close together on the narrow trail. Moonlight filtered through the colorful leaves overhead and blue and green crystals growing from the earth subtly glowed, illuminating the path. As the branches above were so tightly woven, the ground had only been sprinkled with a light dusting of snow, despite the constant snowstorm outside.

As they traveled deeper into Bridlewood, the trail broadened and eventually joined a large primary trail leading to the Wishing Tree. It was encircled by a vast clearing and several prominent structures.

“That’s my place ahead!” Izzy gestured to her hollow-tree house. The gorgeous cyan and pink stained glass windows were dark. “I’m going to grab something from inside real quick, okay? I’ll be back in two shakes of a pony’s tail.”

“And you want me to stay out here? By myself? But it’s col—”

“Just two shakes!” Izzy insisted. She threw open her front door and dashed inside.

Misty shifted her weight awkwardly. As she waited, she rotated in a circle and examined her surroundings. Behind were her and Izzy’s hoofprints imprinted in the snow, alongside a multitude of other, less-fresh hoofprints created by ponies from earlier in the day during the Wishiehoof festivities.

When her gaze returned to the tree house, she noticed lights had been illuminated inside. The mix of the yellow illumination shining through the frosty cyan stained glass windows created a brilliant green glow which reflected subtly off of the snow.

The soft hoot of an owl disturbed the stillness. In the distance, its black form was illuminated by the radiance of a crystal below as it descended and perched onto a branch. It surveyed the clearing curiously with yellow eyes which pierced the gloom.

WHAM!

Izzy carelessly kicked her front door, causing it to swing open and slam against the tough bark outside. “Misty! Mysterious Misty!” She paused in the doorway momentarily and tapped her chin with her hoof. “Ooo, alliterative! That’s a good one.”

Misty chuckled. “So, what did you grab?”

“This!” Izzy presented what she had been concealing behind her back—an amaranth and teal scarf. “It’s a traditional hoof-knit scarf! For you! The first time we met, I just knew I had to make one for you. So I did ahead of time!” She wound it loosely around her friend’s neck using her levitation magic.

“Ooohhh…” Misty tugged the scarf a little tighter around her throat and nuzzled the plush material. “Thank you so much! It’s perfect. I love this red color. And this blue color really complements my mane."

“I’m glad you like it!” Izzy waved her hoof, beckoning. “Now, are you ready for the tour?”

“There’s a tour?” Misty looked around expectantly, though, the clearing remained as deserted as it had been when they had initially arrived.

“Well, it’s not so much a tour as it is me telling you where everything was earlier before everypony packed up for the night. There were tents over there and over there, giving out traditional Wishiehoof gifts. I usually set up my own tent this time of year, but this year was the first year I celebrated the holiday with friends.” Izzy lovingly tapped several of the large crystals protruding from the ground as she passed. “And these crystals are still glowing from the Ceremony earlier, after the ornament hanging."

Misty lifted her forelegs to examine the snow-blanketed ground beneath her, illuminated by the vibrant icy glow of the blue crystals embedded in the soil.

“That’s the Crystal Tea Room over there. Until midnight tonight, Onyx is workshopping verses on the open mic with a bongo accompaniment by Dapple. Do you want to pop in and say hello to everypony quickly? We don’t have to stay for too long.”

"Oh!" Misty racked her brain and rushed to devise an appropriate excuse. "Um, no! No, not tonight! I actually don't really like tea, and, y'know, it's getting pretty late and I don't wanna miss out on everything you want to show me, so... maybe another time?"

"You don't like tea?!" Izzy gasped and reeled in shock. "But everypony likes tea!"

"Well, not me! Haha!" She laughed awkwardly, attempting to conceal the pain of the lie.

As Izzy resumed walking, Misty trailed behind, hesitating. She swept her gaze across the vast clearing, the distant Crystal Tea Room with its cheerful illuminated icy windows and chimney puffing white smoke, and the gigantic Wishing Tree with its huge, gnarled exposed roots.

Something about the forest, drenched in the navy gloom of dusk, was striking. Some quality physically forced her to halt and consider. Familiarity. The temptation was maddening, but with fog clouding her mind, she couldn’t recall the key details she knew lingered just beneath the surface of her consciousness. Misty huffed a sigh and kicked a lump of snow in frustration.

Izzy's voice called her name from far ahead and her ears swiveled in the direction of the sound, though, so engrossed was she in her recollection, the words didn't register at first.

"Misty?”

"Coming!" She cantered to catch up. When she drew alongside Izzy, she came to a screeching halt and gouged narrow trails in the snow with her rear legs.

"You know what I think? You just haven't tried the right types of tea. I think you've tried the wrong types of tea. That would make perfect sense! I promise the next time we go to the Brighthouse, I'll make you some of my favorite brews.

“And that’s the Wishing Tree up ahead. It’s technically too late to pin ornaments on the tree this Wishiehoof, butttt I think we can make an exception just for you.” Izzy leaned close and brought a hoof to her muzzle to conceal her lips from unseen watching eyes. “But you have to promise not to tell anypony we’re doing something Jinxie, okay? We’ll get in trouble. And I have a previous record! I'd be done for!”

“It’ll be real tempting to blab to everypony, but I think I can manage to keep my lips sealed. Just for you.” Misty smiled slightly to indicate she was joking.

Izzy gestured widely in the direction of the Wishing Tree. “The Wishing Tree is decorated with everypony’s ornaments they crafted for Wishiehoof this year. Even those all the way up there, on the Wishing Tree’s highest branches. So, are you ready to make your contribution?”

“O - Oh! Uh…” Taken aback, Misty flinched and her eyes widened in shock. “I didn’t know I was supposed to make one ahead of time! I’m sorry.”

“But you already have one.” Izzy prodded the flap of her saddlebag using her horn.

Misty considered protesting initially, but, after some consideration, she held her tongue. She lifted the flap of her saddlebag and sifted through her knickknacks carefully. “Are you sure? All I have is my phone, and,” she withdrew a pair of ivory-framed glasses, “these Filly Four sunglasses that I, uh, actually forgot to give back, and—” She withdrew Madame Taffytail and balanced it atop one of her hooves.

“Ornaments aren’t only supposed to be festive, they’re also supposed to be creative and hoof-crafted.”

“But this is just junk.”

“‘Just junk’? Haven’t you seen my crafting? That’s the spirit of unicycling!”

“Right, unicycling... Making something new—” Misty cut herself off as a realization washed over her. “Taking something old and making something new out of it. Giving it new purpose.” She raised and inspected the unicorn toy.

She stepped beneath the shadow of the gigantic Wishing Tree and inserted the toy amid an ensemble of origami figures, finely-painted festive bulbs, and hoof-chiseled crystals nestled beneath one of the Wishing Tree’s roots.

“So, Madame Taffytail, here we are. And… you fit. You fit… really well, actually."

Madame Taffytail’s googly eyes wiggled as it was deposited onto the ground. It regarded her with its glassy expression. It seemed content resting among its new companions.

Suddenly, her little toy appeared to truly belong somewhere—alongside all of the other Wishiehoof ornaments.

Misty stepped back several paces to admire her handiwork from a distance. “It’s like this is where you were always meant to be, from the very beginning.” Her downcast eyes drifted to the snow-blanketed ground as she pondered.

“Frosty Shivers, Misty!”

“Hmm?” Her ears swiveled in the direction of the approaching sound of hooves crunching on snow behind her. She turned to look. “Oh! Frosty Shiv—” She cut herself off as she noticed the frown her friend was sporting. “What’s wrong?”

“Your horn—it’s not glowing.” Izzy’s head cocked to the side.

“Is it supposed to?” Misty chuckled awkwardly, unnerved. The face her friend expressed seemed to indicate she knew more than she was willing to share.

Izzy neared ever closer until they were mere inches apart. The volume of her voice lowered to a tender whisper. “Misty, I think I know why you don’t have a cutiemark.”

“Y - You do?” Her head retreated and her neck craned as she maintained a comfortable gap between their faces.

“You’re from a distant corner of Bridlewood, right? You lived cooped up inside all the time, and you never did anything fun or exciting, and you never made any friends. You never learned about the traditions from my side of Bridlewood. You never even learned about Jinxie! Is that right?”

“Well, that's kind of right, I guess.” Misty’s ears drooped shamefully. “Y - You ponies are m - my first real friends... that part is true.”

Izzy closed the distance between them to rest her head over her friend's shoulder in an embrace, much to Misty’s embarrassment. She protested meekly, shifting her weight slightly and making an ineffectual attempt to withdraw from the hug.

“Come on, there’s one last thing I want you to see.”

Misty’s downcast eyes locked onto her friend’s hooves as she watched her trot away, producing fresh hoofprints in the ever-deepening expanse of snow. Izzy inevitably halted, turned, and waved invitingly, though Misty was, inevitably, unprepared. She breathed several deep, calming breaths to steel herself, then reluctantly followed.

They passed the great Wishing Tree and several cozy unicorn tree houses. Through a wall of tightly woven branches, Izzy led the way to a small, isolated glade. Private, completely sheltered from the snowfall, and illuminated by the subdued glow of several stubby orange crystals.

“There’s lots of these little nooks scattered all across the forest, but this one is special.” She gestured to a record player atop a wheeled round table. “I asked somepony for a favor and borrowed this! It’s a phonogr—”

“I know what it is,” Misty gently interrupted. “I’ve seen one before.” Her hoof tapping against its flared brass horn produced a distinct resonating sound. “Somepony has been taking good care of this one. It’s not even dusty at all.”

“Usually Elderflower lets me unicycle her old broken records, but this time she let me borrow her music player!” Izzy lifted the record from the platter, raised her hoof into the air and spun it deftly on the tip of her hoof, then slotted it back into place.

“Is that how her records usually break?” Misty smiled slightly to indicate she was joking.

“See if this sounds familiar.” She lowered the arm, inserted the stylus, and flipped a switch.

The cheerful music emitting from the brass horn was peppy, merry, encouraging the listeners to perform a lively dance. The tune she had heard constantly on radios. The record’s rendition, though, was played at a slightly faster tempo.

“I heard you humming this Wishday song, so I knew I had to show you the original version.” Izzy grinned as she noticed her friend’s embarrassed expression. “Elderflower told me, many moons ago, ponies used to dance to this song in dresses. In ballrooms! It was probably lots of fun.”

“Um, what’s a ballroom?” Misty cocked her head to the side.

“It’s a big, fancy room specifically for dancing for lots of ponies. There was enough space for a whole band in one corner.”

“Wow. Canterlot must have been so gorgeous,” Misty breathed, zoning out momentarily as she imagined the possibilities.

“It was fancy, definitely. Probably a lot like Zephyr Heights, just less modern.” Izzy gently swayed her head side-to-side in tune with the music, then her torso, then her entire body. “Come on!”

“What do you—” Misty blinked. “O - Oh, no! No, sorry! I don’t know how to dance. I’ve never done it before!”

“It's okay, I do! Besides, anypony can figure something out if they give it an honest try. What do you think the first ponies did when they didn’t know how to dance?” She beckoned, waving her hoof. “They tried something.”

Misty shuffled forward and gingerly extended her hoof. “I feel like I have four left hooves, thoug— Whhaa!” She was forcefully tugged near her partner, and, after Misty failed to properly halt her momentum and balance, they both wobbled, practically tipping over.

“Careful!” Izzy giggled.

They held hooves, and Misty felt as if it were the one thing anchoring her and preventing her from collapsing. Her legs quivered anxiously like jelly. “Um, now what?”

“Stand normally for a moment. You can do that, can’t you?”

“I can try.” Misty inhaled and exhaled deeply to quell the anxiety welling within her. Her legs straightened and her posture solidified.

Izzy gently nodded her head to the tune of the music. “One, two. One, two. One, two. Do you hear it?”

“No.” Misty frowned, uncomfortably perplexed. “It just sounds like music.”

“Think of it like a metronome. Musicians use them to practice their timing. You know?” When Misty tilted her head to the side, Izzy nodded and adapted her analogy. “Think of it like a ticking clock. It has a tempo, right? Well, so does music. This song has two of them.”

She retreated several paces to present her movements. “Sunny told me about this dance. It's actually not that complicated. One…” She placed her right rear leg. “Two.” She placed her right foreleg. “One…” she placed her left rear leg. “Two.” She placed her left foreleg, thereby completing the cycle.

They approached each other with newfound confidence—though Misty was notably less confident—and hesitated as they waited for the first section of the song to repeat.

“So, since I’m leading, I’ll go first, alright? And you just have to copy what I do.”

Hmm, hmm…

Rear leg. Foreleg. Misty found herself practically tripping over her own hooves as she desperately attempted to twist her legs in the way her partner did seemingly effortlessly.

Hmm, hmm…

Contorting her body like how her partner moved was even more challenging. Instead of a fish gracefully propelling itself through water, she felt like a fish out of water flopping helplessly on the ground.

Hmm, hmm…

Then, it repeated for another routine. After the first routine, Misty had witnessed all of the movements and sloppily performed them herself, but it wasn’t adequate practice. The second routine was equally as awkward as the first.

Hmm, hmm…

As the second routine concluded, they both paused to rest, panting lightly from exertion.

“T - That was r - really difficult... I think I should have stretched before we started.” Misty released her partner’s hoof and retreated several paces to stretch. She folded her forelegs and bowed, then raised her chest and lowered her rear legs.

“You should always stretch before exercising!” Izzy kicked her legs and leaned to and fro to quickly stretch, then stood straight in a neutral pose as she waited patiently for the second movement of the song to repeat. “This is the second part. It’s one two three, one two three, one two three…” She stepped with one rear leg, then lifted the other and crossed it over the first, and then stepped with a foreleg in rapid succession. Right rear leg, left rear leg, foreleg.

Misty observed the daunting maneuver with wide eyes. “How are you even doing that?”

“I don’t know, I’m just doing it!” As Izzy concluded the second routine, she performed a little playful hop as she adopted a neutral pose again. “I think that’s how Sunny said it goes. I might be misremembering, though. Want to give it a go?”

“Errr…” Misty glanced sidelong nervously, though, lacking the necessary courage to speak up and refuse the offer, she gingerly extended her hoof and allowed Izzy to take her hoof and escort her into the proper position in order to be led.

Hmm hmm hmm…

Misty attempted to count in her head as she lifted and placed her hooves in tune with the music. But as soon as she lifted one rear leg over another and attempted to cross them, she tripped, lost her balance, and, still clutching Izzy’s hoof tightly, toppled over alongside her friend in spectacular fashion.

“Whhooaa!” They collapsed onto the cold ground in a heap of tangled limbs, causing leaves and tufts of grass to hurtle in all directions.

“Sorry! O - Oh my gosh…” Misty frantically withdrew herself from the pile and scurried away to provide her friend ample room to stand.

“It’s okay! Don’t worry, sometimes you take falls like that. I know I did a lot!” Izzy rose to a sitting position.

“I, uh, think I need more practice.”

They quietly stared at each other for a moment, and as the music resumed cheerfully playing in the background as if nothing were amiss, highlighting the ridiculousness of the situation, Izzy broke into giggles, and her raucous, snorting laughter encouraged Misty to crack a broad grin and laugh along.