• Published 21st Dec 2012
  • 6,739 Views, 200 Comments

Doctor Whooves - A Hearth's Warming Tale - Loyal2Luna



Alone for the holidays, Scootaloo is drawn into a strange adventure with Spike and the Doctor as cheer and goodwill disappear from Ponyville's residents. Can they uncover the cause and fix the problem in time to save Hearth's Warming?

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Ch. 4: A Season for Miracles

Chapter 4: A Season for Miracles

*KRISSHH*

“WHOA!”

The windows to the small shack of a house exploded inward, sending small shards of dirty glass showering down over the three ponies and causing Scootaloo to dive under the Doctor’s legs in a desperate attempt for shelter.

“MOVE!” Gus shouted out, breaking into motion as he darted past the Doctor and the filly, rushing past the empty glass cases and towards the back of the house.

“Coward!” Scootaloo managed to scold before a harsh, reverberating sound nearly caused her bones to rattle worse than standing in front of a certain DJ’s subwoofer.

*Tzzzzcccchhhhhhhh*

Almost instantly, the swarm poured into the newly-made openings in Gloomy Gus’ home, their distinct form of buzzing now loud enough to cause the filly to cringe as she drew her ears back. She was unable to look away from the spectacular shimmering effect that the mass of nearly-transparent humbugs created as they moved around near the ceiling.

“Sweet Celestia!” Scootaloo uttered, her heart hammering in her chest as she instantly regretted her offhoof remark of Gus’ cowardice, now thinking that he was perhaps the smarter one among them before a moment of curiosity struck her. “Uhhh, what are they waiting for?”

“If I had to guess, they’re sizing up the opposition, trying to determine if it’s worth the effort.”

“Shouldn’t we run too?”

“Not this time!” The Doctor shook his head, taking in the situation and coming to a clear conclusion. “Stay under me!”

“Why?”

“Because they can only be here for two things: their comrade, which I doubt since swarms don't care about individuals; and the last fresh meal that they can get to without a chisel.”

Scootaloo felt her wings quiver as he made that connection.

“Would it help if I told them that I am not enjoying myself right now?”

*Tzzzzcccchhhhhhhh*

“I rather doubt it!” the Doctor remarked as the swarm moved with an almost singular mind, like a school of fish, dipping closer and causing Scootaloo to back up into the stallion’s hind legs. “Don’t move! I think my presence is confusing them. They’re not sure what they’re dealing with and are trying to separate us.”

Much to Scootaloo’s shock, even from her position down on the floor, she could swear she saw an enthusiastic smile cross the Doctor’s lips.

“Well, that’s certainly not your typical insect behavior,” he mused for a moment before the severity of the situation seemed to impress itself upon him again, and the swarm came in for a dive. “Whatever you do, stay under me!”

*WHIIRRRRRRRRR*

Sparing a glance up, and trying to suppress an instinctive desire to bolt, Scootaloo took note of the chestnut stallion standing over her as he directed a hoof up towards the ceiling. His teeth grit together as he directed his strange, colorful hoof-band device at them, to no apparent effect.

“Come on, come on! Sonic resonance? Melting point? Sub-magical interference?” he listed off, the rainbow crystal at the tip of the device shifting and altering as he spoke before finally giving it a frustrated shake of the hoof. “Come on! Give me something, they’re not indestructible!”

The humbug swarm dipped again, this time brushing into the highest tips of the stallion’s mane and causing him to duck down, bringing his barrel down a bit closer to the filly.

“Doctooorrrr….” Scootaloo flattened herself as much as she could, her eyes shimmering as the rattling sound echoed around them again, the humbugs clearly confident that there was no threat present.

A sound that was suddenly intruded upon by the furious clopping of hooves on ratty old wooden floorboards.

“HOLD YOUR BREATH!” Gloomy Gus called out, the sudden movement apparently enough to make the swarm recoil, unsure as to what the pony that had run off was doing as he darted forward, his horn aglow and a small glass vial held in his soft grey magical aura. With a quickness that belied his age, the stallion quickly interposed himself in front of the filly and the earth pony and lifted the vial into the air, taking in a deep breath and holding it as a rush of energy escaped from his horn and impacted the vial.

*krish*

In an instant, the three were sprinkled with a fine green powder and tiny specks of glass. Shocked by the abruptness of the event, Scootaloo gasped and instantly regretted it as an overwhelmingly powerful, minty taste filled her mouth and nostrils, causing her to cough and gag.

Her reaction, however, was a pittance compared to that of the swarm.

*Tzzzzcccchhhhhhhh*

For a brief second, there was a shower of what felt like cold rain on the floor, as if a cloud had sprung a small sprinkle that was just enough to dampen the dusty surface. The humbugs reeled back and towards the ceiling, and their singular movement was broken up in an instant as the green powder began to settle. The swarm went from a condensed mass to a frenzy of movement as the humbugs broke away from their fellows and made an immediate dive for the nearest exit.

*Tzzzzcccchhhhhhhh*
*Tzzzzcccchhhhhhhh*
*Tzzzzcccchhhhhhhh*
*Tzzzzcccchhhhhhhh*

After a few seconds, the three ponies were again alone in the small home, the only sound remaining being the coughing of an overwhelmed filly as she tried to regain her breath. Her mouth sputtered as she tried to scrape the taste off her tongue, finally giving name to the overpowering flavor.

“Uuuuggh… Peppermint?”

The Doctor let out a sharp equine huff, clearing his nose before allowing himself another hard breath with the express purpose of clearing as much of the ground up herb from his lips before speaking.

“Mentha-piperita leaves. Highly concentrated.” The Doctor shook his head, clearly affected as well by the overpowering flavor that seeped into his sensitive tongue and forced him to smack his lips. “Acts as a repelling agent I take it?”

“Griffins have hung up sprigs of peppermint over their thresholds for centuries specifically to repel humbugs,” Gus managed, before having a hacking fit brought on by his own exposure to the herb. “Standard procedure to dealing with a nest is a liberal sprinkling of the stuff. It melts down their bodies and releases the emotion they’ve managed to drain away, which is carried around on the aroma. Doubles as the treatment for those affected.”

“How do you know all that?” Scootaloo asked, still having to bite back as she tried to get her coughing under control.

“I’m not just some hobbyist. This is what I did for a living. I was once called upon to neutralize dangerous infestations all across Equestria.”

“Well, what a coincidence, Gus.” The Doctor forced a smile, still coughing but managing to straighten himself up. “Because we’ve got an infestation that needs neutralizing right here, right now.”

————————

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Dawn shook her head, holding up a hoof to stop the tale. “Wait, so now the pony who let the humbugs out is the only one who knows how to stop them?”

“Wow, what a lucky break!” Cream commented.

“Doesn’t matter, keep going!” Daring spoke up quickly, but was cut off as their more intellectual friend continued on her train of thought.

“Are you sure this is a true story, Auntie Lu? Because that sounds like one hay of a convenient plot device.”

On the other side of Daring, Cream pulled herself forward and gave the unicorn a sideways look.

“Plot device?” she asked, her tone mixed with both curiosity and a hint of disgust. “Is that something that goes on your…”

“Not even close, Cream,” Dawn put down her friend quickly before the “eccentric” imagination of her friend could run wild and give them all a mental image they wouldn’t soon be able to forget. “A plot device is a literary tool in which--”

“UGH!” Daring threw her forelegs up in frustration before her two friends could continue the discussion. “Come on, girls! I’m trying to listen.”

Luna raised a brow, observing as the fillies began snap at one another and recognizing how they were slowly beginning to spiral towards what happened to all fillies who tried to stay up too late, who only held on so they could reach the end.

————————

“What part of ‘retired’ did you not understand!?” Gus shook his head, glowering at the Hourglass Stallion, who ignored him, turning to pace the floor.

“Alright, so what are we dealing with?” the Doctor considered, his tone curious. “A non-native pest species introduced into a foreign environment where they have managed to reproduce out of control and seize upon a massive food source in Ponyville. Does that sound about right, Doctor Stalk? You’re the expert after all.”

“But they can’t!” The entomologist pony shook his head, still disbelieving. “There’s never been a report of a swarm of this magnitude. Humbug nests simply don’t grow that large! In order to spawn those sorts of numbers, they would need frigid temperatures just to start building a nest large enough to--”

“You mean like the Windigo Blizzard happening outside right now? It is the coldest time in an Equestrian winter,” Scootaloo spoke up, drawing an approving smirk from the Doctor while Gloomy Gus drew back with a stammer.

“But… but they would need food to sustain the swarm and--”

“You mean like an entire town full of cheerful, happy ponies enjoying their holiday festivities?” the Doctor offered, the unicorn drawing back again with sheepish expression. “I’ve happened across a few griffins in my time here, and I wouldn’t exactly describe them as being generally ‘cheery.’ So perhaps that has something to do with the bugs’ typical status as... what did you call them? ‘Scavengers’?”

“This… this isn’t supposed to happen.” Gloomy Gus looked away, his tone now growing more desperate as the earth pony’s logic sunk in. “It’s impossible.”

“And yet here we are.” The Doctor’s own voice grew more agitated before he turned with a softer expression towards Scootaloo. “So, now that we know what needs to be done, how exactly do we go about doing it?”

“Peppermint!” The filly smiled, her heart rushing with a realization and thrill that surprised even her.

“Precisely!”

“Not feasible!” Gus shook his head, ever the pessimist. “You can’t just get a bag full of peppermint leaves and candy canes and throw them up and down the streets! The very notion is absurd!”

“What about doing like you did?” Scootaloo brought up, brushing her coat and removing a few stray flecks of powdered green leaf. “Turn it into a spray or a mist or something? That worked for us.”

“Aerosolization?” The Doctor turned to her with a grin. “Yes. Oh, YES! Shutterfly, you are BRILLIANT! Now, it would take some tinkering, but I could repurpose that old industrial-grade fog machine to…” he trailed off, muttering under his breath as Gus shook his head.

“I... suppose that would make sense... But it still wouldn’t do any good unless you also eliminate their nest!”

“Nest? What nest?” Scootaloo asked, the thought giving her the heebie-jeebies.

Gus rolled his eyes. “Haven’t you been listening, foal? Humbugs are a nesting species. It’s where they gather together to reproduce and store the excess emotion they gather, like how bees bring pollen to their hive to make honey.”

“They would keep it all in one place?” the other stallion snapped out of his thoughts to ask.

“That’s right.” The dusky unicorn nodded. “Although, with the numbers they’re displaying, perhaps ‘hive’ would be a more apt description at this point.”

“Wait, that’s probably where they would’ve taken Spike! Where would they build a hive?” Scootaloo asked, the Doctor’s expression thoughtful as he considered this new information.

“Spike? Who is…? I don’t know… Someplace out of the way,” Gus stammered, his own curiosity beginning to take hold as he thought for a moment. “They usually nest in attics of homes or in sheltered cavern peaks at the higher altitudes near griffin villages. Someplace without any traffic where nopony would disturb them. But to accommodate that many humbugs, it would have to be enormous. I don’t see how--”

“We can do this.” The Doctor grinned, turning back towards the two of them. “Oh, yes! We can do this!”

“What? Do what?” Gus drew back, stunned by the stallion’s enthusiasm.

“Quite simple, my dear colt: We, meaning myself, you and our little filly friend here, are going to put an end to this infestation, rescue a dragon, release all of that stolen cheer and mirth, and save Ponyville in time for the holidays!” the brown earth pony explained quickly before tilting his head. “Now, would you happen to have a problem with that?”

“I-I-I...” Gus stammered for a moment.

“I’ll take that as a ‘no,’” the stallion offered smugly. “Alright, I have to get back to the library in order to pick up some equipment to track down the hive and fix up something to disperse the peppermint!”

“But… we don’t HAVE any peppermint! What I used here was my entire stock!” Gus reiterated as a lightbulb went off over Scootaloo’s head.

“Sugarcube Corner!” the filly spoke up. “The Cakes always have all kinds of peppermint goodies for sale around Hearth’s Warming. I bet they have whole jugs peppermint extract just for cooking!”

“Perfect!” the Doctor approved. “Alright. Leave tracking down the hive to me. Singalong, take Dr. Stalk to Sugarcube Corner and both of you get as much of the stuff as you can get your hooves on!”

“I don’t need a foalsitter. I can go by myself,” Scootaloo complained, making it clear that she would rather not be around the perpetually-grumpy unicorn if she could help it.

“Which is fine by me,” Gus agreed. “Because I’m not going at all.”

The simple declaration served to throw the brakes on the Doctor’s excited momentum, and his expression instantly deflated as he turned to address the sour stallion.

“Excuse me? What did you say?”

“You heard me. I just don’t see why I’m required to tag along in this little adventure.”

“But... we need your help!”

“Tch...” Gus scoffed. “And what I need is to do something about these broken windows. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s glass all over the floor and it’s starting to get drafty!”

“...In case I haven’t noticed...?” the Doctor repeated slowly, his eye giving a little twitch. “In case you haven’t noticed, there’s an infestation of parasitic, happiness-stealing insects threatening to plunge Ponyville, perhaps the whole of Equestria itself, into an emotional death spiral!”

Gus held the Doctor’s intense gaze, with enough tension smoldering between the two that Scootaloo could almost taste it behind the still-present mint in the air.

“I’m sorry, Doctor... but I fail to see how that’s my problem.”

The Doctor’s eyes widened in anger, and a sharp intake of breath was all the warning he gave before he finally reached his limit.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!”

*CRACK*

The exchange was forcefully cut off, and silence held for a moment as they realized that the stallion had stomped a hoof on the floor so roughly that the board underneath had cracked.

“You don’t see how this is your problem, Gus?” The Doctor glowered, all of the humor and enthusiasm that he had been showing gone in an instant as those blue eyes hardened and glared at the older stallion.

Gus immediately drew back, any argument dying in his throat.

Scootaloo also took a step back. Even if she was not the target of that dangerous tone, just being on the edge of it was enough to make her feel as if she suddenly had nothing at all to offer the humbugs in terms of a meal.

“You released a foreign, dangerous life-form out in this town where it’s not only managed to adapt, but thrive,” the stallion explained spitefully. “Every fight, every raised voice, every broken relationship. Every single pain that has been visited on these ponies because of the humbugs all started with your act of negligent stupidity!”

Gloomy Gus swallowed as the Doctor pressed closer on him, his legs refusing to move.

“You’re not just going to sit back in your chair and feel guilty for another eleven years because of this failure. You see, this isn’t just your problem, Gus. It’s your own damn fault!

Gus looked down and away, a shiver running down his body that was clearly visible.

“If you want to sit out on the sidelines and let your life waste away in this room, that is your business. But right now, my friend is missing and this filly is in more danger than your student ever was! So if you want to even have the privilege of spending the rest of your life alone and miserable in that chair, contemplating whether it’s worth ever dragging your sorry flank out that door again, you are going to do everything possible to make sure she stays safe! Because if anything does happen to her, I am holding you personally responsible!”

The Doctor and Gloomy Gus were now snout to snout, the chestnut pony now looming over the target of his ire in an ironic reversal of how Gus liked to intimidate the stock-still filly staring humbled at the exchange.

“And believe me, your last decade of solitude will seem like a lazy summer afternoon compared to what I’ll put you through.”

Gus managed to raise his eyes just enough to catch sight of those harsh blue orbs before the earth pony finished.

“Am I understood?”

Gus tried to speak, though something about the infinite depths of those eyes was causing his throat to hopelessly seize up.

“AM I UNDERSTOOD!?”

“Yes,” he finally managed to spit out, nodding mechanically and causing the Hourglass Stallion to mercifully draw back.

“Good.” The Doctor returned the nod before turning his attention to a quiet Scootaloo, his eyes softening as he brought one hoof up to his side pouch and reached in.

“I...” Scootaloo started, but couldn’t find the words, unable to understand where that harshness had come from.

“Here…” the Doctor offered, the edge in his voice having dulled to a shadow of its former self, withdrawing a small golden clip from the side bag and offering it to the filly. “Put this on your ear.”

“...What is it?” Scootaloo looked at the curved clip for a moment and trying to figure out why Doctor Clockwork was giving her a piece of jewelry.

“Think of it as a magic talking earring,” the Doctor explained. “It will let you know when I’ve found the hive and where to meet me.”

“But…”

“Now, you two: To Sugarcube Corner! We have to hurry if we’re going to get this done in time.”

“In time for what?” Gus asked as the brown stallion galloped towards the door.

“Isn’t it obvious?” the Doctor asked with a sly smile. “In time to save Hearth’s Warming, of course.”

The stallion disappeared out the doorway, moving at full gallop out of the worn-down house and leaving the filly and stallion alone together for a moment, the two exchanging a confused look before the filly brought the golden metal piece up and clipped it over the rim of her ear.

————————

The blizzard overhead was even heavier than it had been so far that day, black clouds covering the moon and stars as a chilled wind picked up across Mane Street. The streetlamps were dark and the roads silent as two ponies trudged through fresh, unbroken snow. It was only the wan, ghostly grey light from Gus’ horn that allowed them to make out their surroundings in the haunting scene.

Scootaloo moved alongside Gloomy Gus as the unicorn’s eyes moved up and down the sides of the street, not a single sign of life to be seen.

“Something’s wrong,” the filly managed, even her natural resistance to the cold beginning to falter as she held her feathered wings to her side, trying to keep warm. “The blizzard should be breaking up… but instead it looks like it’s getting stronger.”

“Without the Weather Patrol keeping things in line, natural cloud behaviors are taking over,” Gus noted, not looking at the filly as he tried to ignore his wet, soaked hooves, now sincerely wishing he had kept some of his cold weather gear from his youthful travels. “This will certainly work to the humbugs’ favor. The longer the blizzard is perpetuated, the more they can entrench themselves. It doesn’t help that the mayor was foalish enough to open up an evaporation spot right in the center of town to give the local clouds more to work with.”

Scootaloo stopped for a moment, the stallion taking a few more steps in the snow before noticing and looking back towards the stunned pegasus.

“What?”

“You… sounded almost like Twilight there for a second.”

“Who’s Twilight?”

“...Nevermind.” The filly shook her head. “You know, I just don’t get you. I thought you were just some cranky old fuddy-duddy that didn’t like anypony.”

Gus snorted.

“No argument here.”

“But then, you’re also all smart and stuff,” Scootaloo continued. “Most ponies don’t get how weather really works. Even a lot of pegasi take it for granted. I mean, you know all that, plus you used to teach classes and have students and stuff.”

“I spent a great deal of my youth studying many different vocations. What’s your point, foal?” Gus asked gruffly, now finding that he had preferred walking in silence.

“How can somepony so smart… act like such an idiot?”

Gus let out an exasperated sigh, his shoulders dipping a bit.

“You’re just a filly. You don’t understand what it’s like to be truly alone,” Gus started, his breath visible even in the dimly-lit streets as he trudged along, keeping his eyes straight ahead. “I’ve spent most of my life in the company of insects and arachnids. As you can imagine, it does garner one a certain kind of reputation. But I continued on, finding a vocation, peers that shared my interests, and even gained some degree of respect in the field. A respect that grew as I took on more and more dangerous specimens and eventually started teaching.”

His head dipped slightly.

“...That all changed after Belladonna,” he elaborated. “The initial inquiry found me free of fault since I had licenses for keeping my collection for study. They found no signs of negligence and agreed that it had been a tragic, unforeseeable accident. But the truth is... it was my fault. I knew Bella’s curiosity outstripped her ability to handle those specimens. I should have kept them secure and out of her reach. But no… All I did was scold her and expected that would be enough. That she would listen to me. After the accident, I didn’t see the point in any of it. If I couldn’t even protect my student, how was anything else I did going to make any difference? I was better off alone, without anypony needing to depend on me.”

“...I’m sorry,” Scootaloo said after a while, feeling a spark of empathy in spite of herself at the sincerity and sadness to Gus’ words. “But I still don’t get it. If you’re feeling so bad about Bella, then why let out the humbugs in the first place, especially now at Hearth’s Warming?”

“Because Hearth’s Warming is when it’s the worst,” Gus divulged, amazed by his own words as he spoke on something he had set aside and tried to forget about for more than a decade. “It was eleven years ago… tonight. The one night I went out with my colleagues in Canterlot and enjoyed myself. The night I left Bella to check on my private collection without supervision. And nopony remembers, nopony cares. And why would they? With the festivities and snow, the pageants and the feasts, it’s the time of year when everypony is happy.”

“So… what? You let out the humbugs to get back at them for being happy?” Scootaloo shook her head. “Look, I get it. Being alone sucks horseapples and boy do know it. I’m sorry about Bella and everything, but how is hurting other ponies supposed to make anything better?”

“Just because you’re intelligent doesn’t mean you can’t have a lapse in judgment.” Gus sighed, a bit more softly. “I don’t know… I guess I was just tired of seeing everypony else smiling and going on about their business without any idea of what happened.”

“When they just don’t understand that some ponies don’t get to enjoy things that they take for granted,” Scootaloo continued on that thread of logic, the sincerity of her voice drawing a surprised look from the older unicorn. “I guess that kinda makes sense... You see, I’m alone a lot too. I’ve got my dad, and we love each other, but he’s out of town working for like, three seasons out of the year. If anything were to ever happen to him, I might not even find out for months. But, even with him gone, I have my friends, and they keep me from being sad and alone all the time. That’s how I can bear to deal with times like this when everypony else is gone.”

Gus was quiet for a moment, looking up as the cupcake-shaped confectioner’s shop came into view, its normally-warm windows dark.

“What are you trying to say, filly?” Gus asked.

“I’m saying… you’re only alone and miserable because you choose to be. You decide to be mean to everypony out of hoof and the only one that really suffers is you,” Scootaloo said, feeling strangely sage-like as she spoke her mind to the older pony. “Maybe nopony can ever replace Bella… but they’re not supposed to. What matters is that you find somepony... anypony to be there for, and to be there for you. If you don’t have that, then what’s the point of any of it?”

Gloomy Gus huffed again as the two approached Sugarcube Corner, a silence falling over filly and stallion alike as they discovered the door was hanging forlornly open.

————————

A few candles were lit on the tables inside as Gus and Scootaloo entered, an unnatural quiet having settled into the normally-busy sweet shop.

“Uhhhh, helloooo?” Scootaloo stepped forward, finding the usually jovial atmosphere of her favorite bakery to be rather eerie in this light. “Mrs. Cake? Mr. Cake? Are you open?”

Gus and Scootaloo looked to one another for a moment before they moved deeper into the shop, the stallion clearly sharing in the filly’s unease as they finally took note of the pudgy blue store owner at one of the tables, her head laid down on her forelegs. Much to Scootaloo’s shock, her coat, usually finely-groomed and always coated with a light dusting of sugar, was marred with large, unsightly welts, as if the mare had been assaulted by a beehive.

“...Mrs. Cake?” Scootaloo moved up towards her, prodding her slightly with one hoof and pulling back with a start when the mare jolted up, looking around as if she had been been woken up.

“Wha… I…” Mrs. Cake started, then slumped slightly, clearly fatigued. Her eyes were half-lidded and puffy as she looked towards the stallion and filly, the fur on her cheeks matted and making it clear that she had been crying for some time. “Oh, it’s just… Yes… I’m sorry, we’re… not open right now, dear.”

Scootaloo felt her heart sink as she heard Mrs. Cake speak, her voice cracking as it was clearly strained and containing a very tired undertone as if her vocal cords had given out.

Scootaloo managed to tear her eyes away from Mrs. Cake long enough to realize that in the chair opposite of her, the Cake twins were curled up with one another, both awake and breathing softly, but silent, as if they had no reason to make their presence known.

“A…are you alright, Mrs. Cake?”

“Oh, yes… Just fine.” The blue mare nodded, but her words were flat and devoid of any meaning as she laid her head back down. “You can just help yourself to anything in the shop. I’m afraid it won’t be here much longer.”

“We just need to pick up some peppermint.” Scootaloo eyed the mare with a worried expression. “It’s kind of an emergency. We can bring in some bits tomorrow for it.”

“Oh, sure… go right ahead,” Mrs. Cake sighed, a sense of complete apathy in her voice.

She simply didn’t care.

“What’s wrong with her?” Scootaloo asked, prodding the mare again but getting no response.

“She’s emotionally exhausted.” Gus shook his head, his own voice low as he interpreted the signs of what was in front of him. “The humbugs fed on her and the foals repeatedly, and when they were done, she must have burned through whatever emotional energy she had left. I’ve never seen victims of an infestation suffer this many bites before.”

Scootaloo lowered her head glumly before looking to the unicorn, who was also clearly affected by the sight.

“So… does actually seeing what you did make you feel any better?” the filly asked with a very apparent hint of disapproval in her voice.

Gus swallowed slightly, watching the blue mare a moment longer before he answered.

“No... No, it doesn’t.”

————————

Sugarcube Corner had been well-stocked for the holidays, with several large bottles of eggnog, decadent Hearth’s Warming chocolates, and dozens of holly leaf-shaped sugar cookies set aside and ready to be dyed in the traditional red and green colors of the holidays.

And, to Scootaloo’s great relief, several large candy-making trays had been laid out in preparation for making the customary red and white treats that were so abundant this time of year, several large jugs of peppermint extract and flavoring out in the open on the counters.

“I hope that this Clockwork of yours knows what he’s talking about,” Gus huffed as he fit the last of four large containers into his saddlebag, “I doubt we’ll be able to find much more of this stuff anywhere else in town. Although I still don’t understand how he intends to distribute it.”

“I’m sure he’ll explain once we get there,” Scootaloo offered, tapping the clip on her ear and running her hoof over it.

“Assuming he even finds the hive.”

“Ugh, are you always so negative?”

“It’s in my nature to assume the worst,” Gus explained, shrugging. “There’s always a chance I’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

“That’s a horrible way to--”

“Shockalla!” a sudden, familiar tone buzzed in the fillies ear, causing her to jerk her head at the change in volume.

“Gah! My name is SCOOTALOO!” The foal stomped a hoof, drawing a surprised look from Gus.

“I… didn’t ask, but I had wondered,” the stallion commented. “Clockwork had referred to you by--”

“No, it’s…” Scootaloo pointed to her ear, amazed to realize that Gus had not heard the Doctor’s voice when she had heard it so clearly.

Magic earring indeed.

“I found the hive.” The Doctor sounded excited, and Scootaloo found it slightly creepy as she turned and had to remind herself that the colt wasn’t right there talking in her ear. “Did you get the peppermint concentrate?”

“Uhh... yeah. Four whole jars of the stuff,” Scootaloo answered.

He could hear her too?

“Excellent! Bring it to the old clocktower on the south end of town, near Fluttershy’s cottage. And shake a leg!”

“The clocktower?” Scootaloo asked, “Wait, the hive’s in the clocktower? How did you find it...? Doctor...?”

“I have to admit… that’s very strange to watch,” Gus considered as Scootaloo reached up to tap her ear clip. “I’ve never seen an artifact capable of such things, not even when I lived in Canterlot.”

Scootaloo looked up to the stallion, a curious expression on her face. “Really?”

“How did your friend come by it?”

Scootaloo paused for a moment, considering the question before she was forced to shrug.

“I… don’t know,” she admitted. A fact that, in light of the Doctor’s earlier display of untempered anger, made her shiver unconsciously. “Actually... there’s a lot of stuff I don’t know about him.”

————————

The Ponyville clocktower was the second tallest building in Ponyville, in addition to being one of the oldest, constructed as a symbol of equine civilization taming the southern border shortly after the Apple Family famously started the colonization rush on the edge of the Everfree Forest.

Few ponies actually used the massive clocktower to keep track of time anymore, as the modern advancement of mechanics allowed for personal timepieces and household clocks to be prevalent in everypony’s home. But still it stood, a reminder of simpler times and, to hear Mayor Mare describe it, quite the tourist trap.

Although now, as Gus and Scootaloo rushed towards the tower, it had a menacing new attribute as, even in the blur of falling snow and the glowing light from inside of the clock’s face, a very slight distortion could be made out. An indication that the tower was no longer unoccupied as both stallion and filly recognized what must have been a massive swarm moving around the upper levels.

They rushed together down the path until they caught sight of the brown stallion, who watched the tower’s obvious entrance; a small unassuming doorway right off the path facing the rest of Ponyville, with a grave interest.

Set on the ground at his hooves were two odd devices, one of them being a metallic-looking sphere a bit smaller than a beach ball. Although it seemed round, a closer look indicated that the surface was lined with tiny spouts that immediately made Scootaloo think of hundreds of mouse-sized teapots had been somehow fused together. The top of the contraption had an open hatch, the top of which included a squared-off handle and two buttons on the smooth metal top, one red and one green.

Next to that was a box-like device with several lights set onto the top of it and what almost looked like spinning cogs connected to a crank by a black ribbon. On its front, facing the tower, was what looked like a very small loudspeaker.

The Hourglass Stallion clearly took note of the two ponies approaching him, breaking his line of sight with the door and waving them down.

“Ah, Dr. Stalk, Sallyforth, glad you two could make it.”

“For the last… time… Doctor...” the filly panted a bit, having run the whole way there. “It’s Scoot-a-loo! How would you feel if I called you ‘Clunk-Lazy’?”

“About the same as when you call me Clockwork,” the stallion answered nonchalantly, not even giving the filly a beat to consider what he meant by such a statement before he got back to the matter at hoof. “So what do you think, Gus? Slightly elevated over the rest of the town, out of the way. Perfect place, right?”

“Indeed.” Gus sounded impressed at the Doctor’s deduction as he removed the borrowed jugs of extract from his bags and placed them in the snow. “But how did you know?”

“Got the idea when you mentioned they take the good vibes they knick from ponies and turn it into nectar for the hive. All that positive emotional energy in one place gave me something to track down. Had to modify one of my old toys.” He leaned down, tapping the box-like device. “Now it’s a Merriment Monitor.”

The grey unicorn gave the earth pony another puzzled look before the Doctor continued.

“It goes ‘ding’ when there’s stuff. I just had to change the kind of stuff it goes ‘ding’ for. I’m glad I haven’t had to go near any chicken coops; I’m not sure if I managed to iron out that particular bug yet,” he explained coyly before he reached down, using his teeth to untwist the cap from a peppermint bottle, and spitting it out after a moment, gagging slightly. “WOW! That’s strong stuff. Hope it’s enough. Now come on, it’s twenty till midnight. We don’t have much time.”

“You’re really taking this ‘saving Hearth’s Warming’ thing seriously, aren't you?” Gus shook his head.

“I always do. To be honest, this kind of thing happens to be sort of a holiday tradition for me,” the Doctor remarked, before muttering slightly under his breath: “Same holiday, different name... Always something going on.”

“Well...” Gus shrugged, not understanding or really caring what the colt was talking about. “I just hope you have a plan.”

“That I do.” The Doctor nodded towards the metallic orb. “This, for the sake of simplicity, is a miniature cloud maker.”

“Really?” Scootaloo tilted her head, looking at the strange device. “Uh, Doctor, I’ve been to the Weather Factory in Cloudsdale. Cloud machines are a lot bigger than that.”

“As I said, this is a miniature model,” the Doctor dismissed her objection, carefully lifting another extract container with two hooves and pouring its contents into the device. “It’s not all that complicated; all I have to do is fill it up and get it to the top of that clocktower in the open belfry. Once it’s in place, pressing this button...” He motioned to a small green spot on the opened hatch. “...will set it off, and it will release a steady stream of fine peppermint mist. Wind willing, it should be enough to coat the entire town and get into anything that’s not airtight by morning.”

“Sure. Just a short run past the humbug hive to get there,” Gus pointed out.

“Uhhh, won’t they see you guys?” Scootaloo objected for a brief moment before another thought came to her. “For that matter, why haven’t they noticed us yet?”

“Combination of reasons I’m sure. Mostly, I think we’re still covered in that peppermint from earlier.”

“That may be so, but it won’t be enough to save you if you go in there,” Gus warned cautiously. “You may have been able to somehow escape their bite so far, Doctor. But intruding on their hive is sure to agitate them. With a small nest it’s not an issue, but with that many, there’s no telling what might happen to you.”

“I know, but it’s a risk that I have to take. If this is where they brought Spike, then he’s been inside for hours. I can only hope he’s been able to keep his eyes and mouth closed for that long, and that the humbugs aren’t clever enough to start reenacting ‘Humpty Dumpty.’” The chestnut colt grimaced for a moment, shaking his head as concern shone through his usually stalwart expression. “If anything’s happened to him, Twilight will never forgive me.”

Gus bit his lip for a moment, considering the Doctor’s words.

“Which is why I should do it,” he offered, stiffening his posture. “You should focus on getting your dragon friend out of there.”

The Doctor and Scootaloo both looked towards the grey unicorn with a degree of shock, the Doctor being the one to recover first.

“Are you sure? It’ll be dangerous.”

“It’s always dangerous.” The pony that had been dubbed “Gloomy Gus” shook his head, resigned. “It’s supposed to be dangerous. That’s the nature of the field of entomology. That’s what I forgot. I spent so long fuming over the fact that most ponies don’t give proper respect to the smaller creatures of our world, I forgot that I too could underestimate them.”

He looked up towards the tower, to the distortion of the humbug swarm milling around over their heads.

“I did this... I’m the one who caused everything to go wrong,” he muttered lowly, flashing back to the scene in Sugarcube Corner. “And it’s about time I assumed responsibility for putting everything right.”

The Doctor tilted his head back slowly, eyeing the resolute expression on the older unicorn’s face appraisingly. After a while, his lips turned up into a small smile and he gave a quick nod in understanding.

“Halfway out of the dark...” he said under his breath.

“What was that?” Gus asked.

“Nothing,” the chestnut pony replied, shaking his head. “But you’re right. We stand a better chance if we go in together. I’ll look for Spike while you ascend the tower with the device.”

“But...” Scootaloo started, her cheeks growing flushed in spite of the cold air around them, flexing her small wings. “Maybe we can get that thing up there without going through the hive. I mean, I’m a pegasus. I should be able to get up there without--”

“You can’t fly. Your wings haven’t grown in yet,” the Doctor stated bluntly, the simple reminder hitting the filly hard and causing her to recoil. “Besides, of the three of us, you’re by far the most vulnerable if these things turn hostile. You need to stay down here.”

“Maybe not. I mean, we could use that to our advantage. I could run a distraction. You said they were after me, so I could--”

“Not an option.” The Doctor shook his head, opening the last of the peppermint jugs and pouring it into the device.

“But--” the filly let go of a soft breath.

“Scootaloo...” the Doctor said softly. “You need to sit this one out.”

“Why? Is it because I’m a just some foal who can’t do anything?”

“No.” The Doctor’s voice was steady as he tilted the extract into the metal container, which was just about filled to the brim. “Because there is something else you have to do. Something important. Just not tonight.”

Scootaloo took a step back, trying to comprehend his meaning as the “cloud machine” was filled to capacity, the Doctor setting the fourth jug, still holding a bit of leftover extract, aside before he quickly closed the hatch on the device and pressed a red button on the top, which elicited a sharp whistle.

“There, it’s building pressure,” the stallion stated, looking up to the clocktower. “Twelve minutes left! We’ll go in at the same time. I’ll go up first and try to get them on me. With luck, I can find Spike and pull him out in the confusion while you make for the belfry.”

Gus nodded. “Alright. I know a few spells that can keep them at bay long enough for me to get to the top, I think.”

“But... Doctor,” Scootaloo called out, only to receive a quick pat on the head from the brown pony’s hoof.

“Stay here where it’s safe, alright? We’ll be back before you know it.”

“...Promise?” Scootaloo asked, drawing a soft smile from the stallion as he leaned a bit closer.

“Trust me,” he told her in a soft whisper. “I’m the Doctor.”

Drawing back, the filly could only watch as the two stallions then nodded to one another, Gus picking up the round device in his teeth before both charged at full gallop towards the doorway, disappearing inside the threshold and leaving Scootaloo alone once again.

————————

The minutes ticked by slowly.

It was perhaps more painful because Scootaloo actually had a giant clock face to watch as they did so, sitting back in the cold as she watched the minute hand edge ever closer to the twelve.

“Come on...” She found herself clicking her back hooves impatiently as she watched the door, her ears perked and listening for any sign of the two stallions.

As the large hand of the clock ticked again, Scootaloo inched ever closer to the doorway.

“Where are they? Maybe I should...” she debated with herself, wondering if it was really in the best interests of all involved for her to remain where she was told.

An internal debate that was broken as the doorway to the clocktower was thrown open, the brown stallion quickly pulling himself out and slamming the door shut with a hind hoof before he managed a few more steps out of sheer momentum.

Then his legs collapsed out from under him, the purple dragon holding around his neck remaining in place as he kept his eyes shut.

“UNGH!” the pony grunted as Scootaloo gasped, rushing forward. “That was... considerably less pleasant than having ponyshoes put on...”

“Doctor!”

“Scootaloo?” the small dragon managed through clenched teeth, cautiously blinking one eye open before he caught sight of the pony. Opening both, he gasped slightly, panting as he released the Doctor’s neck and slip down to the ground.

“Spike! Are you okay? What happened?” the filly demanded, her voice cracking as she took note of the Doctor’s fur, small welts covering his flank and neck as he took in ragged breaths.

“Kinda unclear on that myself.” Spike shook his head, blinking as he reached for a clawful of snow and put it in his mouth, clearly very thirsty.

“I’ve been stumbling around blind with those things crawling on me for hours,” he explained as he quickly munched on the fresh snow. “Tried to feel my way out, but those things kept grabbing and dragging me around every time I managed to find stairs. Then I heard the Doc and some other pony shouting and running around, then I got picked up and carried off.”

The young reptile looked around, taking stock of his surroundings for perhaps the first time since he had been dragonnapped.

“Hey! We’re at the clocktower!” he deduced, his statement of the obvious causing Scootaloo to roll her eyes.

“Apparently, we underestimated both their intelligence and their aggressiveness. They were laying in wait until we reached Spike, and then ambushed us.” The Doctor winced, his exposed withers and hind legs twitching erratically. “They behave less like honey bees and more like hornets when their hive is threatened. Doesn’t feel like they tried to sap out happiness, more like ‘everything.’ Luckily, they seemed reluctant to leave the hive itself to pursue.”

“What about Gus?”

“Gus? Who’s Gus?” Spike asked, still confused before the Hourglass Stallion managed to pull himself up with a pronounced grunt into a sitting position, sticking his tongue out.

“No peppermint on the air. Something must have happened. He was still moving and had the device when I lost sight of him on the stairs. He should have had the chance to activate it by now...”

Scootaloo took a look up at the belfry towering a good fifty feet overhead, watching as the minute hand clicked another notch closer to the twelve.

“Something’s gone wrong.”

“We don’t know that.” The Doctor shook his head. “But just in case, I should get up there and…”

The stallion attempted to push himself up to his hooves and failed, requiring the baby dragon’s assistance to prevent him from falling over.

“You’re not fooling anyone, Doc,” Spike scolded. “You barely made it back out the first time. You’ll never make it to the top!”

Scootaloo looked to the clearly drained and exhausted stallion, amazed that even in this state he was trying to pull himself together to see the task done.

Trying so hard.

The foal shook her head, tears forming at the rim of her eyes before she looked around wildly, her mind racing as she tried to think of what to do. Even if she tried to help, she’d end up overwhelmed by the swarm just like the Doctor was...

Laying a short distance away lay Gus’ saddlebag and the four jugs that they had taken from Sugarcube Corner, sitting empty.

All except for one...

Scootaloo’s eyes widened in a moment of revelation as she darted forward, plowing through the snow to quickly grab hold of the fourth container in her hooves and, holding her breath, upturning the jug over her head.

It was cold and wet, nearly as thin as water, but not sticky like she expected. The filly spared a second to consider what a pain it was going to be to scrub the smell out of her fur and feathers, but those would be worries for another time as she dropped the depleted canister and turned back towards the clocktower at full gallop.

“Scoot? What in Celestia’s name are you--” Spike started, only to be cut off as the Doctor quickly recognized her intention.

“NO! SCOOTALOO! Don’t you--”

The demand was cut short as a peppermint-coated Scootaloo reached the door, pulling it open and diving inside.

————————

It was icy cold inside the Ponyville Clocktower, far colder than the snow outside.

This in and of itself was not a problem, as pegasi were well-adapted to the cold. They had to be in order to live in their sculpted cloud homes high up in the sky. In fact, it was often a wintertime source of pride to young pegasi like herself and her fellow winged classmates that they could go without earmuffs and scarves when even the earth ponies in class were shivering.

But this was something far beyond the young foal’s experience.

As she ascended the spiral staircase at the center of the clocktower, the wet sensation soaking her fur tingled against her skin. The usually-pleasant smell and taste that permeated her senses was probably strong enough to make a diamond dog keel over at a hundred body-lengths away, and made breathing difficult as she panted through her mouth. Her eyes watered as she moved, having to blink constantly just so she could keep focused on each step in front of her as she passed the third, then the fourth floors, coming up to a door that led to the inside of the great clock itself. She thought it odd that she hadn’t been swarmed yet, but then remembered what the Doctor had said, about how the humbugs had lain in wait, ambushing them once they were deep inside the tower. So, eventually, they would come, though exactly how and when, Scootaloo had no way of knowing.

And now, as she opened the door, everything seemed to slow down.

She had half a second to see her surroundings as she rushed forward, and yet she managed to make out all sorts of details. A single oil lantern hung at the center of the ceiling, casting a flickering yellow glow over a complicated assortment of moving parts and turning cogs that kept the giant clock working. Their movements were silhouetted against the inside of the opaque clock face, its minute hand now sitting at two till twelve. The wooden walls inside this large cavernous room, the only parts that didn’t seem to be in motion, were coated with a thick layer of clear ice. Much to her surprise, the ice looked pitted, as if somepony had taken a melon baller and taken exact, perfectly-rounded scoops out of it.

Unfortunately, Scootaloo had no time to reflect on what it was she saw, as a painfully-loud noise forced her to press her ears flat against her skull, wincing at the volume. At least she didn’t need to wonder where the swarm was anymore.

*Tzzzzcccchhhhhhhh*

Her vision was blurred as she was swarmed, thousands upon thousands of the shimmering icy insects descending upon her in an instant and obscuring her vision as she felt the little weights attempt to land on her fur in order to work in concert, whether to bite or to push on her as they did with Spike, she didn’t know. However, in some part of her brain that was keeping up and not panicking, she realized that as soon as the tiny insects were landing on her peppermint-laced fur, they were melting, an action that seemed to further infuriate the swarm as it redoubled its efforts and rolled against her.

Seeing her advantage, Scootaloo broke into a gallop, plowing straight through the thickest part of the swarm.

Before she had taken two steps, she was completely soaked.

“HAH!” she shouted defiantly, emboldened by her own genius. “CAN’T TOUCH ME!”

As she reached the base of the stairs leading up to the belfry itself, Scootaloo found herself smiling in triumph as the swarm washed over her again in a wave.

It’s okay, Scootaloo, you got this! You can--

She suddenly felt a sharp pinch right between her shoulders.

“OUCH!”

The foal paused, bringing a hoof up to swat at the back of her neck at what felt like a minor pinprick, knocking something small, cold, and hard out of the way with her hoof. The pinch had not been overwhelmingly painful, nothing she would have normally given much thought or even bothered to look to if she had felt it under any other circumstances.

But the pause gave the filly a moment of clarity as she realized something.

She was soaked, her fur dripping with freezing cold water. The minty tingle against her skin was almost gone and, while her nose was grateful for the drastic drop in that overpowering smell, its absence set off alarm bells in Scootaloo’s head.

Then she felt another pinch.

“Ugh!” The foal instinctively flicked her tail up to brush at the annoyance on her rump before her eyes went wide with realization, turning towards the main body of the swarm, which was now coming at her for another pass.

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!” she screamed, rushing up the spiral staircase as fast as her legs could carry her, her heart hammering as the sound of the unified humbug swarm chased after her.

She felt the next couple of stings even more acutely as she ran, on her legs and back and wings, gritting her teeth as she moved up the darkening stairway. And this, it turned out, was an aid rather than a hindrance, as the bites distracted from her blind panic in time to recognize the obstruction in her way.

Laying on the staircase, several steps in front of a trapdoor that clearly led up to where the clocktower’s massive bell was kept, lay the grey and black unicorn, his chest rising shallowly but unable to move as what looked like hundreds of bite marks showed on his coat. Lying just in front of him was the Doctor’s machine, having fallen from Gus’ teeth when he was obviously overwhelmed by the humbug swarm mere steps away from his goal.

*BBBBzzzzztTTT*

Scootaloo’s wings flared, assisting her breakneck jump over the stallion and fighting to ignore the soreness growing in her joints as she landed, having to pause for half a heartbeat to turn and grasp the heavy metal orb’s handle in her teeth.

That pause was just enough to allow the swarm to catch up with her, filling her vision as the last of her protection was worn away, and a curtain of icy needles fell upon her.

Scootaloo cried out, nearly dropping the device in her teeth as the minor pricks on her skin began to grow in number and intensity.

Suddenly, she felt overwhelmingly tired, for some reason.

What was she doing? Why was it so important, again?

She should just lay down… Yeah, lay down and rest.

Surely it would be better than having to put up with more bug bites. Actually, doing nothing at all sounded like a great idea.

The filly’s legs wobbled as she felt her eyes close.

Yeah... just give up. Why bother? Let somepony else do whatever it was she was supposed to do. She didn’t care.

She was better off just doing nothing at all.

As Scootaloo began to list off, her thoughts entered some kind of dreamy haze while her subconscious took over, playing a series of grainy images in her mind’s eye.

————————

She looked back over her shoulder at the train station, resigned to the fact that her dad was probably never coming back.

She looked out the window of her lonely house, watching Pip and Twist win the Snow Sculpture contest without her help, while she just sat there, thinking the whole thing wasn’t even worth getting out of bed.

She opened the door to her house, looking down to see that two brightly-colored postcards had somehow become dislodged from the mail slot. On them, she could make out the images of her fellow Crusaders, enjoying their respective holidays on vacation with their families alongside personal, heartfelt, hoofwritten messages. She looked at them for exactly one second, before giving a huff and continuing forward, stomping the cards underhoof.

She saw the Doctor and Gus, rushing headlong into the clocktower, heedless of the danger as they sacrificed on behalf of the entire town... before turning her back and trudging away through the snow... not caring if they ever came back out.

Hearth’s Warming in Ponyville... ruined forever...

Because she...

————————

“NO!” she screamed, her voice muffled as she clenched her teeth around the hard metal handle, diving forward against the humbug swarm.

She felt them on her fur, their hard, cold impressions turning to a more forceful push as they started to congregate together, attempting to grasp and pull her back.

She reached the trapdoor.

The insects seemed to be aware of the danger, gathering in larger numbers against her chest and forelegs as she pushed forward, her crown hitting the door with some force as she pushed against it. They tried to drag her back as she shoved the door up and open, opening the hive up to the outside as the massive bronze bell sat just over her head. Four brick pillars held up the housing, but still allowed for a sweeping panoramic view of Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. The only way to get a better view would have required being able to fly.

*Tzzzzcccchhhhhhhh*

The orange pegasus foal felt them pulling against her, as if she were caught in a high wind that was threatening to send her tumbling back. All the while, the swarm stung mercilessly, jabbing at her skin with such fervor that it felt like she was on fire.

Her jaw unclenched painfully, dropping the heavy orb unceremoniously from her mouth where it rolled a few inches away.

And the swarm kept stinging.

The foal felt tears rolling down her cheeks, warm against the cold as the humbugs pushed again, nearly lifting her off her hooves as she flailed forward, reaching out to the device.

“Graaaaaaaagh!” With one last primal shout of effort, she slammed her hoof down on the large green button.

*FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS*

*Tzzzzcccchhhhhhhh*

She was dropped immediately, her barrel hitting the ground as the round device let off a burst of what felt like warm steam from every spout-like pore. The filly panted for a moment, her body aching all over as her hind legs gave out, laying back over the steps leading up to the hatch.

*GOOONNNGGGG*
*GOOONNNGGGG*

Scootaloo winced as the bell overhead rang, her ears folding back as the sound drowned out both the sound made by the cloud machine and the furious, rattling cry of the humbugs.

Twelve times, the filly felt her insides turn to liquid as the bell rang, until it fell silent, the initial fizzling from the Doctor’s device fading to nothing before, all at once, its contents were explosively released.

As the thick, white wave of minty freshness overwhelmed her senses, Scootaloo felt her chin hit the cold wooden floorboards of the clocktower’s belfry. Her eyes closed shut, as she simply didn’t have the will to keep them open anymore, and the darkness took her.

————————

“Is Scootaloo gonna be okay...?” Cream asked, eyes half-lidded, although in spite of her obvious concern, her words were accompanied by a wide yawn that seemed to surge from her, over Daring, and finally across to Dawn.

Luna, however, did not take this as any sort of offense to her storytelling abilities, as she recognized that she had perhaps spun her tale a bit too long.

“Shhhhh... Hush little ponies,” the Princess of the Night crooned, very much aware of how their eyelids were drooping and that they were holding on by the sheer virtue of needing to know the ending. “While this little tale may be coming to a close, Scootaloo’s story is far from over...”

————————

“Unngghhhh...” Scootaloo shifted her shoulders uncomfortably as she felt that annoying lump in her couch jutting right into her back, between her wings. After a moment of squirming around, she felt a distinct warmth against her front as the fireplace glowed in front of her and a golden light impressed itself on her eyes, eliciting her to come out of the cool darkness of her sleep.

She lay there for a few moments, her eyes closed as she started the steady climb back to consciousness.

Then her eyes bolted open as she surged upright, the memories of the night before rushing back as she looked around.

She was in her house. The embers of a fire dying out in the fireplace as if it hadn’t been tended to for some time. Around her, everything had been cleaned up, and over the table was hung her “Welcome Home” banner, which she had intended to be a surprise for...

Wait…

The filly reached up and felt at her ear. The gold clip she had been wearing was gone.

She patted down her chest and barrel, her wings flaring as she felt her fur. Nothing.

No bite marks, no bruises. She felt fine. Better than fine, she felt great.

Scootaloo shook her head, confused as she looked around. It couldn’t have been a dream… could it?

No, certainly not… it was too…

And yet, everything felt like…

The filly hopped down from her spot in front of the fireplace, moving quickly to smother the remaining embers before she darted towards the door, grabbing hold of her scooter. It didn’t occur to the filly until she was out on the street that the handlebar was no longer bent from her accident with Gus.

Fixed up good as new.

————————

The sky was clear and a cool winter sun beamed down over Ponyville as the pegasus filly rolled through town, keeping her speed down as her wings buzzed to propel her down the roads. The blizzard had clearly broken up almost everywhere, except for the mass of condensed grey clouds that were all floating over the center of town, towards which the filly immediately made a beeline for.

“Good job, everypony!” Scootaloo heard Mayor Mare’s voice over a loudspeaker as she stood at ground level, a heavy snow falling in a perfectly round area over Town Hall, which was quickly beginning to regain its winterly look as the snow built up to match the rest of the town. “Your hard work is greatly appreciated. At this rate, everything should be back on track for this afternoon.”

This afternoon? Scootaloo thought, remembering how the Town Hall had indeed experienced a very fast thaw that it was now recovering from.

The filly’s train of thought was derailed as she continued along, coming up on Sugarcube Corner where she took note of Mr. Cake standing in the doorway as she passed, his baker’s hat in one hoof and a thick bouquet of wildflowers held in his mouth. She happened to witness the moment as the door opened and, before a word could be said, a very relieved-looking Mrs. Cake fell upon him in a warm embrace.

So, that did all happen? But…

*WOOOOOOOOOOOOOT*

Scootaloo’s ears perked, her heart jumping and causing her to turn her head so hard she nearly crashed.

That was a train whistle.

Everything else in her mind was immediately put on the backburner as she skidded and shifted her direction, her wings pumping furiously as she dashed across the snow-covered lanes towards the station.

————————

“ALLLL ABOOOOARD!” Box Office called in his usual fashion as several ponies milled around the station, getting themselves organized following their trip along the tracks. Satisfied that nopony was moving to get onto the train, the ticket clerk gave the signal to the conductor, who tipped his hat towards the Ponyville Depot’s caretaker.

“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Box!”

“You too, Coal! Now get on home before you get in trouble with the missus!” Box Office told the dust-covered stallion, who answered with a simple laugh before pulling the train’s whistle again, signalling its departure as the wheels began to turn.

Satisfied that everything was in order, Box Office started towards his office when he saw a very familiar foal zipping up to the stairway, hopping off her scooter and pulling her helmet away quickly before she rushed past the gate.

“Ahh, there you are, kid.” Box nodded. “Was starting to worry you were put off about yesterday.”

“Yesterday?” Scootaloo managed to ask as she looked around among the ponies that had disembarked, only paying peripheral attention to the ticket clerk.

“Yeah, sorry about all of that. Don’t know what it was all about. Must have been some twenty-four hour case of the grumps or something. I just didn’t want to do anything,” the colt offered before he noticed the filly urgently scanning the crowd.

“It’s okay, it wasn’t your fault. It was just…”

“Excuse me, Miss?”

The voice that came up behind the filly made her heart jump, her reaction drawing a soft smile from Box Office, who stepped away politely.

“I’m looking for this darling little pegasus foal...”

Scootaloo rounded on the voice, turning to face the dull red pegasus stallion with a short-cut violet mane, who pushed his large round glasses up on his snout before continuing.

“About... yea tall.” He held a hoof just a bit shorter than Scootaloo’s head height. “Purple mane...” He rustled her mane lightly. “Orange coat...” He smirked.

“DAD!” The filly jumped forward, wrapping her forelegs around the pony’s neck.

“Dad?” the stallion feigned confusion, although he turned about, letting the foal hold on as he swung her around playfully. “You must be mistaken. The filly I’m looking for isn’t nearly as grown up as you.”

“Oh, stop it, Dad. You know it’s me.”

The taller pegasus let out a throaty chuckle. “Apparently not. My, my, just look at how big you got. Jeez, how long was I gone this time?”

“Two months.” The foal let go as her sire stopped his spin, poking his leg accusingly although she couldn’t get rid of the smile. “Where have you been?”

“Manehatten mostly, trying to mediate a dispute between a weather strike and the city planners.” The stallion rubbed the back of his head with one hoof. “I’ve been telling those idiots for years: ‘If you build your buildings too tall, it’ll throw off the wind currents and you’ll have to overclock your local patrols to keep the clouds in place, which means having to raise your WMS budget. But do they listen?”

“Nooooooooooo~” the stallion and filly rolled their heads with the word in an identical fashion before the stallion reached down and scooped Scootaloo up, giving her a light kiss on the head.

“Oh, I sure missed you, Buzzer.”

Daa-aad…” Scootaloo’s cheeks flushed at the pet name, her wings buzzing slightly in reaction like they had ever since she was a littler filly. “I thought you weren’t gonna call me that anymore.”

“Nuh-uh-uh.” The stallion shook his head. “I said I wouldn’t call you that in front of your friends.”

“‘Buzzer’?” came a voice that suddenly turned the filly’s light blush into full on embarrassment. “I am definitely holding on to that one for later.”

Scootaloo turned her head, taking note of the approaching, goggle-wearing chestnut stallion with a soft smile on his face. On his back, grinning deviously, was a familiar purple and green dragon who was snickering into his claws. And at his flank, a grey stallion whom a few days ago would have sent the filly running in the opposite direction, looking around uncomfortably like there was someplace else he would rather be at the moment.

“Oh... Hello there.” The red stallion gave the two approaching colts an appraising look before he shifted Scootaloo around to his back, giving a pleasant, if somewhat concerned smile before nodding to the young dragon. “I know you. You’re Miss Sparkle’s assistant at the library. Who might these fine gentlecolts be?”

“Uhhhh...” Scootaloo hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. “Just some friends of mine.”

“Oh... Whoops.” The stallion shrugged insincerely, clearly not at all regretting “slipping up” with that nickname.

“Good morning.” The brown stallion nodded. “I’m the Doctor...”

“AHEM!” Spike cleared his throat loudly, and the brown stallion winced ever so slightly when he felt the young dragon nudge his side with his foot.

“...Clockwork. Dr. Clockwork, at your service,” the Hourglass Stallion completed somewhat awkwardly, drawing a black case from his side pouch and holding it open for the red stallion.

Scootaloo was surprised when she saw what was written on it.

She didn’t know that the Doctor worked in Pranceton Plainsboro's Pediatrics Department.

What was even more surprising was the fact that it was clearly the only certification visible, when the last time she saw it, the paper listed enough professions to be worth a dozen cutie marks at least.

“Oh, I see. Well, then. I’m Doppler… Dr. Doppler of the ECA,” the meteorologist pony introduced himself before looking over towards the grey unicorn, who seemed less than eager to jump into the conversation. “I’m Scootaloo’s father. And you, sir?”

“...Dr. Asparagus Stalk.” The older grey stallion confirmed. Although his tone was still a bit gruff, there was also a hint of discomfort, as if he was not quite used to introducing himself like this. “Just… checking in.”

"Wow, three doctors all in one place," Spike commented amusedly, off on his own little tangent. “Hey, maybe Twilight can finally put together that Ponyville Academic Society she always wanted to set up.”

“Stalk?” Doppler’s expression puzzled for a moment before recognition set in. “As in: ‘The Stalk Report’ Asparagus Stalk? The Butterfly Wing Theory? The effect of winged insect populations on the greater currents of Equis’ airstreams?”

“You… know of my work?” Gus rocked back slightly in shock.

“Of course!” Doppler nodded. “It’s astounding to think something as small as the flap of an insect’s wing could have such profound impacts on the atmosphere. That concept changed how we look at weather patterns and how minute adjustments can make the all the difference when dealing with wild storms.”

“Excuse me,” the Doctor interjected himself in the conversation. “But while I’m sure you two have plenty to talk about, I have a ‘patient’ to check up on.” The stallion shot a wink in Scootaloo’s direction.

“Patient?” Doppler queried, sounding concerned.

“Oh, yes, the poor dear’s been feeling a little under the weather for the last couple of days,” the Doctor explained, and Scootaloo was glad that she was sitting on her sire’s back so that he couldn’t pick up on her confused expression. “With Miss Cheerilee and your filly’s friends out of town, Spike here asked me to look after her when she came down with a nasty ‘bug’ that’s been going around. Most of the town had it, actually, making everypony generally unpleasant to be around. To that end, my associate, Dr. Stalk, and I have been keeping her company. I was just going to make sure she was fully recovered if that’s alright with you, sir.”

“Oh… Yes, of course. Thank you for looking after her.” Doppler relaxed, letting the foal slip down off of his back as Spike did the same for the Doctor, allowing him to reach into the side bag and pull out a few medical examination tools, as well as a stethoscope.

“Actually, we were worried you were not going to make it, Dr. Doppler,” the Doctor mentioned as Scootaloo sat down across from him, Spike offering him his various instruments as he performed what looked like a perfectly routine medical checkup, speaking all the while. “The train from Canterlot wasn’t running and nopony was sure what had happened.”

“Oh, the problem sure was obvious enough on our end,” Doppler admitted, shaking his head as he explained. “A few days back, some foal of a unicorn tried to clean out the engines with a Water Scrub Spell instead of doing it the earth pony way with a scour and a sponge like she was told. That night, when the Windigo Blizzard’s deep freeze set in, there was so much water still in the engine blocks that they broke wide open when it froze. Nine steam engines utterly destroyed in one night.”

“Really?” Scootaloo looked up, moving a bit as the Doctor looked in her ears and causing him to have to hold her head still, much to her annoyance. “And it took them this long to fix it?”

Doppler smirked.

“Oh no, the Ponyville Line’s conductor and engineer were both working overtime to get just their train running, but the damage was too extensive.” He shook his head. “According to what they told me, the train’s engines would have to be almost completely replaced, and to do that, you’d need to order parts from all over Equestria. Trust me, there were more than a few unhappy ponies at the station. I even tried to throw some weight around and call in some favors to get the Windigo Blizzard lifted enough to allow carriages to fly, but I got overruled by the Canterlot Council.”

He huffed in aggravation.

“‘Traditions must stand’ indeed. I bet the Princess would've let me do it if the Solar Court wasn’t out of session for the holidays.”

“But, that was a train that just departed...” Gus noted, pointing a hoof at the column of steam rising off far in the distance, himself now intrigued. “How did they manage to get it running?”

“No idea,” the meteorologist admitted. “I’ve been sleeping at the station since all of the hotels and hospices were full for the holidays. This morning before dawn, the conductor and engineer came in to give it a last ditch effort, but here’s the rub... When they showed up, everything was already fixed! Good as new!”

“Huh?” Scootaloo asked as the Doctor wrapped something around her foreleg, stepping on a pump that tightened it. “How did that happen?”

Doppler shrugged. “Nopony knows… Last night when they left, the engine was literally in pieces. This morning, they showed up and it was not only put back together, it was like it was never broken in the first place.” The pegasus stallion let out a slight laugh. “And Celestia bless 'em, they were still willing to make a run to bring their passengers home in time for the holidays.”

Neither Doppler nor Gus, who seemed equally puzzled, took note as the Hourglass Stallion and the purple dragon shared a knowing glance, something that Scootaloo caught, but couldn’t quite interpret.

“Well...” The Doctor winked to Scootaloo. “…tis the season for little miracles.”

With one quick motion, the Doctor pulled off the plastic leg band pump and started to set it back into his pouch.

“There we go, fit as a fiddle and all set to enjoy the day.” The Doctor nodded, offering a hoof to Doppler.

“Thank you, Dr. Clockwork.” The bespectacled pegasus nodded back, taking his hoof. “For looking after my foal. I don’t get to nearly as much as I would like.”

“Oh, no… Thank you.” The Doctor smiled as Spike, uncharacteristically quiet, pulled himself up onto the stallion’s back. “That’s one remarkable filly you’ve got there. You should be proud.”

Scootaloo felt a slight knot in her chest as her father nodded, beginning to turn about.

“Don’t worry... I am,” he said simply, a statement of fact that didn’t require any knowledge at all of what had transpired the night before. “Well, I suppose I need to get my saddlebags and luggage from the holding carts.”

“I’ll wait here,” Scootaloo opted quickly before she could be volunteered to help.

“I’m not surprised.” Doppler shrugged, supposing that it was hardly a fault that the filly didn’t want to spend any time attempting to earn her cutie mark in sorting luggage.

As he moved towards the small rack outside the ticket office where a few other ponies were also trying to collect their gifts and saddlebags, the filly turned to the Hourglass Stallion with a question on the tip of her tongue, finally free to ask it without being overheard.

“Doctor... what happened? Last night, I mean.”

“Oh, well, without delving too much into detail...” The stallion smiled, looking back for a moment to a smirking dragon. “You pretty much saved the day. After a little ‘aromatherapy session’ down at the base of the tower, I managed to recover enough that, with Spike’s help, I was able to make my way up to the belfry to find you and Gus in fairly sorry states. We managed to get everypony down and back at your house to recover.”

“But... the bites... the humbugs... they were all over me.” Scootaloo brought a hoof up, running it down the soft fur on her chest and still amazed that she wasn’t covered in sores or welts like the type she had seen on other ponies.

“Nothing a peppermint steam bath couldn’t fix,” the Doctor explained. “Once you set my little fog machine off, those parasites didn’t stand a chance. As far as I’ve been able to tell, they all melted on contact with the fog, as did their whole hive.”

“We really should let the mayor know about all the water damage inside the clocktower,” Spike commented.

“Weeeellll, I’m sure somepony will notice sooner or later. No need to bother them with something like that during the holidays.” The Doctor shrugged in response before turning his attention back to Scootaloo. “When they melted, all of the happiness and joy they had been guzzling up and hoarding was released and distributed on the fog. It spread over the town in about an hour or so, and as it did, it seemed to aid in treating infected ponies both for the physical and emotional symptoms. Just lucky for us that natural peppermint extract doesn’t contain any sugar. I certainly wouldn’t want to wake up to that mess.” He shivered, clearly imagining having his fur matted down with what would have amounted to a sticky candy-cane coating.

“So... they’re all gone?” Scootaloo asked hopefully.

“Well, more or less. Might be a few stragglers that managed to get away, but they won’t be able to cause any trouble like that again,” the stallion assured her. “With the blizzard lifted, it’s not very likely they can construct a new nest and start spawning again. And from what I saw of the new weather schedule, once Hearth’s Warming is over, there’s a nice little warm up planned for the next week or so to keep things pleasant.”

“Okay, but... shouldn’t we... you know, tell somepony?” Scootaloo asked. “I mean, after all that... what if it happened again?”

“Eh, don’t worry too much about that,” Spike commented, shrugging as he leaned against the Doctor’s head, lounging on the pony's back. “A whole bunch of stuff just happened to go wrong at the same time. It was a fluke.”

“True, the chances of such an event occuring again are not very likely. After all, I very much doubt that Gus would...” The Doctor turned to the side, his voice trailing off as he realized that the grey-coated unicorn was nowhere to be seen.

“Huh?” Spike took note as well, Scootaloo looking around for the unicorn, certain that he hadn’t noticed the flash of light that accompanied a talented magic user’s teleportation. “I coulda sworn he was right next to us... Where did he go?”

The filly considered for a moment, her eyes darting around the station before, acting partly on impulse, she rushed off to the side and towards the exit.

Before either the dragon or the stallion could ask, she had donned her helmet, pulled her scooter up, and revved her wings, sending her flying down towards Mane Street.

————————

Doctor Asparagus Stalk moved at a somewhat brisk trot, which was unusual for him as he nodded to the passing ponies, many of whom smiled back towards him for a moment before returning to their own festivities.

The air about them seemed to be all but buzzing with positivity, and, if he was being honest with himself, it all still seemed rather sappy to him.

But he had to admit... it was a fair sight better than the alternative, that was for sure.

*Bbbbzzzzzzzzzttttt*

The sound that approached Gus at high speed instantly caused the fur on the back of his neck to rise as he recalled a certain high velocity impact a few days earlier. This, of course, caused him to recoil with a slight cry, diving to the side and into a snowbank as the blue scooter came up quickly behind him. With a deft turn of the hooves, its experienced driver managed to skid to a stop just short of him.

After a heartbeat or two of looking at one another, with Scootaloo clearly trying to puzzle out why the unicorn had panicked and the elder stallion trying not to be impressed by the filly’s ability to control the infernal wheeled device, the younger pony spoke first.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked, her tone mixed between demanding and amused.

Gus, who found himself having to consider that snapping at the filly would be in poor taste after all that had happened the day before, simply sighed, finding it simpler to just explain himself.

“With things being as they are, I didn’t see the point in sticking around...” he expressed gruffly. “Then again, I guess I wasn’t needed to begin with. I couldn’t even fix my own problem without you having to come to my rescue. So, I suppose I’m just going to head home. I still have to clean up that mess from yesterday and try to find out how long it can be before I get a repair pony out to my house.”

“But... it’s Hearth’s Warming,” Scootaloo pointed out. “I mean, I know it’s not your favorite time of year, but I was thinking that, you know... you could at least give it a chance...”

Gus dragged himself back up to his hooves, letting out a slight grunt as he tried to think of how best to describe his current situation to the filly without being too harsh.

“I’m sorry, but it just isn’t for me. You were right: Hearth’s Warming is meant to be spent with the ones you care about.” The older stallion looked off to the side morosely. “Your father should consider himself lucky. At least he has somepony waiting for him at home... I don’t even have that...”

Scootaloo watched the unicorn turn slowly and begin plodding down the street, finding herself unable to speak as his very obvious sadness touched upon something inside her.

“I suppose it’s fitting, though...” he added a final thought before considering the matter closed. “After the suffering I’ve visited upon you and everypony else here... it’s the least I deserve.”

Scootaloo watched as the lonely old colt started away, biting her bottom lip as she held onto the handlebars of the scooter and considering carefully what she was about to do.

“Gus! Wait!” she called out, causing him to stop and perk one ear in her direction.

“...What is it now?” he asked, a bit more gruffly than he intended to, perhaps, but old habits die hard.

“Would you... like to spend Hearth’s Warming with me and my dad?”

At this, the grey pony turned his head to face the filly, a look of blank disbelief apparent on his muzzle.

“...What?”

“There you are! You really shouldn’t wander off like that, you know!” A new voice interrupted the stillness of the scene, belonging to none other than the chestnut-coated stallion himself as he came trotting up to them. He slowed his pace as he approached, with Spike still astride his back as a relieved smile graced his muzzle.

And shortly on his tail, obviously struggling against the weight of several bulky packs secured to his form, was Scootaloo’s father, similarly relieved to have found his daughter.

“Scootaloo, I thought you said you were going to wait back at the station,” Doppler panted, a mild disappointment in his voice as he shifted his shoulders around his heavy burden, giving a clear reason as to why it had taken so long for the two stallions to find the wayward filly.

“Uhhh, sorry, Dad... I was just...” The little pegasus looked back towards the entomologist, who still seemed to be processing what he had just been asked earlier, and decided to take advantage of his hesitation. “Is it alright if Gus comes to our house for Hearth’s Warming?”

Before the unicorn could say anything, Doppler’s disappointment lifted, an intrigued expression crossing his snout as he reached up with one hoof to push his glasses back.

“Well... I don’t see why not.”

Gus snapped out of his daze, brusquely shaking his head. “I... I don’t think so. I appreciate the gesture, but I certainly wouldn’t want to impose.”

“It’s not imposing at all,” Doppler reassured him. “In fact, I would love a chance discuss a thought I had about the Fillydelphia Parasprite Event. We saw a six percent rise in updraft and thermal activity in the skies over the city during the course of the infestation. My peers at the meteorology department believe it was due to a low pressure system pressing in from the sea, but I can’t help but think that the timing was too concise to…”

Scootaloo shook her head in amusement as her father continued to talk shop, showing off a side of himself that she was sure Twilight would fully appreciate if she ever had the chance to meet him. The quick-talking pegasus drew first a confused, then curious expression from Gus, as Doppler laid out a theory that had something to do with parasprite wings and barometric pressure that she didn’t really understand.

As her father droned on, Scootaloo subtly sidled up next to the dark-maned unicorn, nudging him in the side in order to get his attention.

“It really wouldn’t be the same without you Gus... Please?”

Gus looked down at the wide-eyed filly, who was putting every ounce of effort she could into giving as pitiful and heart-melting a look as possible. She even tossed in a little lip quiver, just in case.

As the baffled-seeming unicorn looked between her and her father, still bright-eyed and going on about academia, his breath caught in his throat as he felt as if something was trying to escape past his lips.

And then, Scootaloo watched as Gus did something that the filly never expected to see him do. Something that he hadn’t done in eleven long years...

He smiled.

It lasted for a fraction of a second, replaced by a serious expression, but the sentiment behind it was not lost as he quickly stepped forwards and addressed Doppler before launching into a theoretical tangent of his own. Scootaloo watched the two grown-ups share a back and forth about the finer points of insects and precipitation before the brown stallion drew her attention away from what she was almost sure was the start to a beautiful friendship.

“Well, I suppose that we had better get going.” The Doctor nodded to her.

“What?” Scootaloo drew back in shock.

“Well, you know... Things to do. It’s a whole new day and there’s so much to check up on,” the stallion explained, running his hoof down over his mane. “Need to make sure there are no aftereffects from the emotional drain. I should also perhaps check on the library to make sure nopony vandalized it while they were out of sorts. And I never did get around to seeing if they sell proper eggnog in this town...”

Scootaloo listened and watched as Spike rolled his eyes, clearly not happy about the sort of activities that the chestnut stallion was suggesting and leading the filly to the most obvious solution to what was clearly a problem.

“Maybe you and Spike would like to join us too?” Scootaloo offered. “The more the merrier.”

The Doctor paused for a moment, drawing back a bit at the unexpected invitation before he let out a small laugh.

“Oh... well, I... Ummm, I don’t know. I mean, we have a fairly full itinerary, don’t we Spike? We really should be--”

“Come on, Doctor…” Scootaloo pleaded with her best impersonation of Apple Bloom’s patented “Adult Mind Control” that she had just recently deployed to great effect on the unicorn formerly known as “Gloomy Gus.” “Pleeeeaaaaaaase?”

The Doctor offered her his best apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, Segway Lane, but I’m afraid that--”

Spike frowned, giving the back of the Doctor’s head a glare before he took matters into his own claws… literally.

“OW!” The Doctor twisted his head around to glare at the offender. “Spike did you just claw my shoulder!?”

“What he means is that we’d love to.”

“No, that’s precisely the opposite of what I mean. I told you before, I’m not good with-- AGH! Spike!”

“After all, some ponies need to practice what they preach,” the dragon spoke up, standing on the Doctor’s shoulders as he set a claw on the top of the pony’s head and returned his glare. “You know... stop hiding away in their ‘special box’ while everypony else is out having a great time.”

There was a moment of tenseness that Scootaloo felt, but didn’t quite understand as the Doctor’s eyes hardened slightly, the baby dragon attempting to drive home a point.

In all of their observations, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had noticed that Spike was often near or around the Doctor during his rare forays into Ponyville, clearly showing himself to be close to the mysterious stallion as, they assumed, his friend.

If nothing else, this moment verified that theory better than anything else that Scootaloo could have imagined, as the stallion, whom she had learned could be absolutely terrifying when provoked, ended up sighing in resignation.

“Well... perhaps... this one time...” the stallion admitted, which allowed Spike to relax as he backed up and set himself into a lounging position on the colt’s back.

“Hey, sport. Are your other friends coming as well?” Doppler called back, having clearly missed the exchange while engaged with Gus.

“If that’s alright,” Scootaloo replied, getting only a confirming nod from her sire before he waved her over.

“Well, come on then, these bags aren’t getting any lighter and we don’t want to be late for the Town Hall events, do we?”

The small herd started down the street, Doppler leading the way with Gus on one side and Scootaloo closely at his heels. Off slightly to the side of them, the Doctor and Spike moved forward as well, the dragon clearly considering joining other ponies for the festivities to be a triumph in and of itself.

As they moved towards her home, the filly considered what a stroke of luck it was that she was about to spend an entire, carefree day in close proximity to the enigmatic Doctor Clockwork.

In the course of that day, who knew what secrets she might be able to uncover regarding the mysterious stallion? She considered all that had happened since the day before; how he had come out of nowhere, tracking down and facing a menace that most of Ponyville remained unaware of. How he had set a broken stallion on the path to rebuilding what was left of his life and how he was so intent on saving the day before it had even begun. He had been funny, clever, frightening, and also a bit thick, all throughout the course of their short adventure. And yet, now he seemed eager to just back away and tell nopony of what had actually transpired.

She considered that for a moment.

He had tried to give her the credit, but the truth was that without the Doctor, they never would have found the humbug hive or had a way to treat the town.

He was pretty much solely responsible for saving Ponyville.

Not even that; he saved Hearth’s Warming for everypony.

And yet, he asked for no reward, no recognition, not even so much as a “Thank you.”

She took a breath, realizing that there was now something else that she had missed all of this time... The faint hint of peppermint on the air.

It made her smile as she forced herself to put those thoughts in the back of her mind, content as she chased after her father and her newfound friends.

Even a special agent for the Princess keeping tabs on this mysterious stallion could take a break from her duties and set things aside for one little day.

After all… It was Hearth’s Warming.