XI - Boys Cry Tough
Tears of Snow
By - FlashKenshin77
Chapter XI - Boys Cry Tough
Edited by - WeLCxAlphaPuppy
"It's not the goodbyes that hurt, it's the flashbacks that follow..."
~;~
I opened the closet door, peeking around for any hints of movement before I shut the door. Not in there… I closed my eyes and listened as I tiphooved up the stairs. I slowly peeked into our room, failing to spot her in there either. I frowned, walking down the stairs before turning to the guest room. It still held all my stuff in boxes, the few things I managed to go through in random piles.
I rooted around a few boxes, trying to make my way to the closet. I pushed open the door, a few things fell out but not the pony I was looking for. I sighed and sat down, rubbing my bad hoof. It was still sore and every now and then I’d lose feeling in it.
Suddenly I heard a quiet yelp coming from upstairs and I rushed out of the room, tripping on an empty box. I caught myself, heading up the stairs and started listening for movement. Everything was quiet as I walked right past the upstairs closet when the front door opened. “Icy? Snowdrop? Can you help me bring the groceries?”
“Okay-” Me and Snowdrop said at the same time, the door opening as she tumbled out. I caught her, her momentum pushing us down the stairs. We tumbled down, a few random things followed us. Finally, we rested at the base of the stairs, my wings hurting as I looked up at Snowdrop and grinned.
“You’re it.”
She pouted, her cheeks puffing up. “No fair! The only reason you found me was Mom needed help.”
“But I still-”
“Doesn’t count!”
“Yes it does!”
“No it doesn’t!”
Storm walked in, his saddlebags completely full. “Alright you two, that’s enough.” He said firmly. “Icy, why don’t you help bring in the groceries? Snowdrop, you can help me organize them.”
We sighed, Snowdrop getting off me as she and Storm walked into the kitchen. Primrose came back and helped me up before we journeyed back to the small wagon to pick up the rest of the bags.
It had been a week since Snowdrop said she was going to go study with Princess Luna. While everypony was happy, there was a sense of overall sadness in the house and I know Primrose and Storm tried to hide when we were around. But me and Snowdrop knew, we’d stay up late and talk about it, wondering why they wouldn’t say anything.
A couple days ago, a courier arrived and said that Princess Luna wanted to have dinner with us before Snowdrop left. So of course Primrose freaked and we had to clean the entire house, top to bottom. Glad we got out of school… but not the homework. I still had a few pages left to read...
I grunted, struggling to lift a bag. “Here, let me help.” Primrose said, grabbing the other end.
“No, its alright. I can do this.” I said, gritting my teeth and got the bag on my back. I quickly hobbled into the kitchen and dropped it off, heading back out. Primrose stood there, staring off into space. She seemed to do that more lately. “Primrose?” I asked.
She blinked and looked down at me with a smile. “Yes?”
I glanced around, making sure Storm or Snowdrop couldn’t somehow hear us. “Could I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
I swirled my hoof on the cloud. “What… what is Snowdrop gonna learn with Princess Luna? I mean… I understand its a great honor… but she’s not… a unicorn.” I whispered, staring at the side of the wagon.
Primrose sighed, patting my good shoulder with a hoof. “I know its hard…” She paused, trying to find the right words. “When Princess Luna asked us if Snowdrop could study under her, she pulled me aside and said she could sense a great magical presence in her. And she doesn’t want it to go to waste. Why she can’t wait till she’s a little older, I don’t know.” She smiled. “What she will learn? I bet you can guess that answer.”
“You don’t know.”
She nodded. “Yep. We’re all on the same page there. All we can do is trust the Princess. She is the Guardian of the Night and Dreams after all and I do trust her.”
“Me too… its just…” I trailed off, watching Storm and Snowdrop laugh through the window.
Primrose wrapped her hooves around my neck and kissed the top of my head. “I know honey, its hard for me too.” She nudged me with a wing. “Come on, let’s get the rest of the stuff in. I have to start cooking if I’m going to make dinner tonight.”
I sighed, silent as I helped her bring in the rest of the stuff. She kicked us all out of the kitchen, rushing about trying to get dinner started. Storm plopped down on the couch with a sigh, closing his eyes.
I walked up into Snowdrop’s room, Snowdrop hopped on the couch with her dad. I shut the door behind me, sitting down on my bed and rummaging through my saddlebags. Better get this stupid homework done… I groaned, wishing I was there for Mrs. Windith’s lecture; she always knew how to make science sound so easy. I sighed, getting ready to start.
The door opened and Snowdrop walked in. “Icy, you in here?”
“Yeah.”
“What are you doing?”
“Homework.” I said distastefully.
“Oh yeah… I forgot about that.” She paused, silence lingering in the room. “Icy?”
“Hm?”
“Is… is everypony mad at me?”
“What?” I looked at her. “Why would you think that?”
“It just seems everypony’s on edge… I… I can feel it.”
“Snowy, we’re not mad at you… it’s… it’s hard to explain.” I said as she tilted her head and waited. “We… I… don’t want you to leave… but I know in my heart its the right thing to do.”
“I don’t want to leave either…” She whispered, walking over to my bed and sat next to me. She stared at the bedsheet for a moment. “It seems like we were finally able to… you know…” She muttered, her cheeks going pink.
I coughed nervously, my face getting warm. “Y-yeah… I know what you mean…” I watched her fidget for a moment before I had an idea. “Hey, I’ll be right back okay?” I said, getting up.
“Um… okay…”
I quickly trotted downstairs, going into the kitchen and stopped. The table was already set, the living room clean as Primrose and Storm worked in the kitchen. “Primrose?”
Both of them turned around. “Yes?”
I told them my plan, a smile growing on both their faces. “That sounds like a wonderful idea. Just don’t fill up too much, dinner is gonna ready in a few hours.”
“I won’t, I’ll make sure its just lunch.”
“Okay. Do you want us to pay for-”
“No… it’s okay, I got it.”
They were quiet. “Alright. Just be back before five.” Storm said.
“Yes sir.” I said, quickly going back upstairs, startling Snowdrop as she leaned up.
“Icy? What are you doing?” She asked.
I walked over to my dresser, pulling out a little bag of bits that I had from Grandma and Dad. I put it in the small corner of the sling, making sure it didn’t fall out. I smiled, the bag staying right where it was even when I walked. I grabbed Snowdrop’s hoof putting her up. “Come on, I wanna show you something.”
She was quiet, letting me pull her along. We left the house, Primrose hugging Snowdrop goodbye. It was mostly a silent trip, my bad hoof gripping hers. Finally she sighed. “Icy, where are we going?”
“Remember when we met that morning before school?” She nodded. “Well… I thought we could go there again.”
“But… what about dinner? We don’t wanna-”
“I know, Primrose already told me.” I smiled. “Besides… it gives us a chance to relax and be… well, alone.” I muttered, my face burning.
“Oh…” She said, her cheeks as red as mine. She faintly smiled, nuzzling my cheek. “Thanks…”
I grinned, leading her to the familiar ice cream parlor. Through the windows, I could see it was slightly crowded, quite a few tables taken. I opened the door, Snowdrop going first as I followed and walked her towards the back. We sat down, Snowdrop taking the end seat, in a booth as a familiar brown pegasus walked towards us.
He smiled, recognition hitting him. “Hey, its you two. Long time no see kids.”
“You remember us?” I asked, surprised.
“Of course I do! You were one of the first ponies I served when I started here.” He grabbed a notepad. “So what would you two like?”
I nudged Snowdrop with my snout, letting her order. I grabbed her hoof, smiling at her. “We’ll take… um…” She smiled. “Two bowls of cookies and cream.”
“Alrighty, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He said, walking away.
She turned to me. “I hope that’s okay…”
“Of course, I love cookies and cream.” I said, squeezing her hoof reassuringly. I watched some of the other ponies, laughing and having a good time. I turned to face her. “So…”
“Hmm?”
“Do you wanna talk about what’s bugging you?”
She faintly smiled. “Is it that obvious?”
“A little, yeah.”
She sighed, placing another hoof on top of mine. “It’s just… everypony wanted me to go and just assumed I would.” She looked at me. “Even you did… It’s like I didn’t have any say, everypony decided for me.” She whispered. “I don’t wanna leave Mom, Dad, you…” She turned away. “I finally found you… and I’m leaving you… after everything.”
“Snowy, you’re not leaving forever.”
“But I’ll be gone for a long time.”
“I know… but we’ll visit. I’ll write every day if you want. I’m sure the princess doesn’t mind-”
Basky came back, putting the bowls in front of us. “Here you go kids, enjoy.” He said, walking away.
I helped her get a spoonful, the ice cream seemingly making her feel a little better. I took a spoonful, enjoying the cookies. “Snowy… do you want to study under Princess Luna?”
“Of course! I can’t believe she’d even ask me…”
“And if me and your mom and dad visit, would you be okay? And if we wrote?”
She was silent, enjoying her ice cream. She swirled the spoon in the bowl. “I… I guess…”
“I know its a big change…” I said, nuzzling her cheek. “But sometimes we have to leave everything we know behind to find who we really are.” I licked the spoon, finishing up my ice cream. “Going through my Dad’s stuff, I realized how much we moved. I don’t remember a lot of it… but we were constantly moving from town to town. I know its hard to imagine not living at home… but… think of it like a long sleep over!” I said, my hooves waving for emphasis.
“It’s not just that… I…” She took another bite. “I feel like I have to rush everything. I don’t have enough time with Mom… Dad, you.” She turned. “It’s like I’m moving slow and the world is going by fast. All the things I had planned once I told you… I can’t do any of it!” She said, dropping her spoon in the bowl.
“Snowy… I…” I paused. “I can’t even begin to understand what you’re going through. I just want you to be happy-”
“Everypony says that! But you know what’ll make me happy? Being able to spend time with you, Mom, Dad without having that hanging over my head.”
“If you didn’t wanna go so much, why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because no pony would believe me anyways… and I do… it’s just… It’s hard to explain.”
I gently grabbed her hooves. “Snowy, you won’t be going through this alone. I’m not going to just leave you all by yourself, not after everything we’ve been through.”
“Really? But I thought you wanted to get rid of me… that’s why you wanted me to go…” She muttered.
“Of course not! My chest hurt and it felt like somepony just hit me in my tummy! I…” My voice died out as I realized something.
She turned to look at me. “What?”
I let go of her hoof, my forehooves nervously rubbing each other. “Snowy…”
“Yeah?”
“I said you should go… because I was afraid…”
“Afraid? Afraid of what?”
“Me and you were finally getting close… and then you said you were leaving… I thought you wanted to get away from me cause of all the problems I cause.”
“Icy…”
I nervously chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ve moved on past that point… I was overreacting.. it was stupid-” Her lips gently pressed against my cheek and I face was on fire.
“Icy, I understand. It feels like everything is moving too fast…” She grabbed my hoof. “But I’ll be there for you just like you’ll be there for me… right?”
“Of course.” I said, pulling her into a hug. Her hooves wrapped around me as mine did hers. I sighed, finally able to relax and not have to worry about anything for awhile. Snowdrop was happy, for the moment, it was just us, and we didn’t have to worry about the Princess taking her… Wait a minute… “Hey Snowy?”
“Hmm?” She asked, looking up.
“I-if I could, would you want me to come with you?”
She blinked. “What do you mean?”
“If I could stay with you… for a few days at the castle while you get comfy… you know, help you walk around and stuff…”
“Ohh… would… would you really do that?”
“Uh huh… if it’ll help you, of course I would.” I smiled. “Only if they let me though…”
She squeezed me tighter, my hoof throbbing. “I hope they do…” She whispered. “That’d make things so much easier.”
“Alright, I’ll ask Primrose when we get back.” I said, looking at the clock. “Which we should be doing soon.”
“Oh? Okay… we don’t wanna be late for the Princess…” She said, letting go of me and scooting out.
I followed her, grabbing the two bowls and placed them on the counter, paying for the meal as Snowdrop waited by the door. She opened it for me and we walked around town. A few ponies stopped by and congratulated her, her face going red. I pulled her away from all the attention, taking her the long way back home, through the park.
We finally got back, Primrose and Storm relaxing on the couch. She looked up and smiled. “There you two are, we were starting to worry.”
“Sorry…”
“Did you two enjoy your date?” Storm asked.
Both our faces turned crimson. “It wasn’t a date Dad! It was just some ice cream.” She said.
“Alone… with your coltfriend. I don’t know, sounds like a date to me.” He chuckled.
Her cheeks puffed out again and I grabbed her hoof. She looked at me and sighed. “Yeah… we did.”
“I’m glad.” Primrose said, elbowing Storm. “Why don’t you two wash up before the Princess gets here?”
“Okay!” We said, rushing upstairs.
=
The doorbell rang, Primrose quickly rushing to open it. Me and Snowdrop hopped off the couch, Storm standing right next to us as the Princess of the Night looked at us. We all bowed, a small red blush appearing on Luna’s cheeks.
“Please, no need to bow for me.” She said. We all rose, a smile on her face as she saw Snowdrop. “Thank you for accepting my offer little one.”
“Um… no problem Princess, thank you for offering it…” Snowdrop said.
Luna looked around the house before her eyes fell onto me and she smiled. “And this must be the infamous Icy. I’m glad to see you up and moving young one.”
“T-thanks Princess, so am I.”
“Icy…” Storm warned.
“Tis quite alright, Tia has told us of his humor.”
“So Princess, I hope you’re ready for dinner.” Primrose said, leading everypony into the kitchen. My stomach grumbled as I stared at the food. It looked like lasagna and Primrose made the best I’ve ever tasted. Along with it, she had several stacks of baked rolls, steam still rising from them. Next to that was some bright green salad, my mouth watering just looking at it.
A few guards followed her in, one standing guard by the front door while the other trailed her into the kitchen. He pulled the chair out for her and pushed her close to the table as I did the same for Snowdrop and Storm did for Primrose.
She divvied up the food, giving Luna the most as we all sat down, a moment of silence falling as Luna ate first. She chewed for a moment, closing her eyes as a smile graced her face. “This… this is wonderful Ms Primrose. You must show the chefs at the castle how to make such an exquisite food.”
Primrose blushed. “I’ll try Princess, on one of our visits.”
I cleared my throat and everypony turned to me. “Speaking of that… um Princess?”
“Yes?”
“Would be alright if I come with you and Snowdrop? You know… to help her get settled?”
She was silent, enjoying her dinner. She finished her bite and shrugged. “Well I don’t see a problem with it. I’m glad that she has such a caring friend.”
We smiled at each other and hugged before going back to dinner. “Thank you so much Princess!” I said.
“No problem, just remember, I’d like to get started on training as soon as possible. But since this is all new, I’ll give you the next few days to get used to Canterlot. It is very different than Cloudsdale.” She said, a warm smile on her muzzle.
“Okay Princess.” We said together.
I tuned out the rest of the conversation, Luna telling Primrose and Storm about Snowdrop’s school, what she’d learn, and stuff like that. I was too busy recovering from the food coma and resting next to Snowdrop, who seemed just as happy as I was.
“I’m glad she’s letting you come with us…” She whispered.
“Me too… I’d feel like a horrible pony if you had to deal with this all alone.”
“But like you said earlier, I’m not. I have you… Mom, Dad…”
“I know, but still. Makes me feel a little better knowing I can help you.”
She blushed, her hoof grabbed and squeezed mine. “You’ve done more than enough for me…”
Dinner was finished as we sat at the table and Primrose quickly got up and brought in the dessert. That was finished rather fast, even the guard couldn’t resist the apple pie. Soon, an awkward silence hanging over us. “So… I guess its that time.” Storm stuttered, his eyes filling with tears.
“I’m afraid so. We should be heading out before it gets too much later.” Luna said, getting up and looking at me and Snowdrop. “Is your stuff packed?”
We nodded. “Yes Princess.” I put a hoof on Snowdrop’s. “Stay here and spend a few minutes with Primrose and Storm, I’ll get our stuff.”
She sniffed. “You sure?”
“Yeah…” I kissed her cheek. “Be right back.” I said, walking up the stairs. I checked our saddlebags, making sure everything was in there that we wanted. I took as long as I dared, giving Snowdrop some time alone with her parents. I paused, remembering last night as I went to ‘bed’ early, so they could enjoy some time without me. I sniffed, wiping my nose as I put on my saddlebags, wrapping Snowdrop’s around mine. Finally, I walked down the stairs, the three of them wrapped in a hug as Luna and the guards watched on sadly.
Storm looked up, his eyes red as he walked over to me and got to my level. “Take good care of her.” He said, pulling me into a hug.
I nodded, my voice gone as I hugged him back.
He let go, going back to the other two as I walked up to Primrose. She grabbed and hugged me tight, a few tears hitting my sling. “Be careful okay?” She asked, her voice cracking.
“I… I will.” I said, patting her back. “I’ll make sure she’s fine.” I whispered.
She nodded and let go, Snowdrop standing there alone as she stared at the floor, her eyes bright red. Everypony sniffed a few times as we headed towards the front door, the guard moving out of the way. I grabbed Snowdrop’s hoof, squeezing it reassuringly as she looked at me, sadness full in her eyes. I leaned over, nuzzling her cheek as me, her, Princess Luna, and the guards filed out.
Luna turned around, Storm and Primrose holding each other. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she is fine. Whenever she wants to come home, I will teleport her myself.”
“T-thanks Princess…” Storm managed to say. “Study hard!” He told Snowdrop.
“I… I will Daddy!” She said, the guards leading us to the chariot.
The guards put her in first, then Princess Luna, then helped me. Snowdrop sat by the window, looking out as her parents waved at her. I nudged over, sitting next to her and grabbed her hoof, waving goodbye for her. I felt the chariot take off, the cloud home slowly disappearing into the dark of night.
Snowdrop took a shaky breath before turning to me and nuzzled up to me, resting her head on my chest as she sobbed, the tears flowing freely. Luna looked at us sadly. “There there little one, I know its hard but you’ll see them soon.” She said, patting Snowdrop’s back.
My hooves wrapped around her as I rocked back and forth, holding her as tight as I could as the chariot headed towards Canterlot, the stars twinkling in the night.
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D'waaaaaaaaa.
They're leaving and they'll have lives and love and
Sorry. The emotions destroy all cognitive thinking.
This was well written and it made me feel sad. Didn't cry though. Too cold for that but you almost got there.
Loved it.
/10
You better make that trilogy. I won't have epic voice read this if you don't.
This chapter...
media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqeszvkwFf1qll5u9.gif
Aaaawwwwwww!!!!!!!!!
I'm too tough to try *sniff* but I'm gonna miss them. *punches wall*
You have earned another follower as well as a favorite.
love love love this story and am looking forward to more of the sequel just take your time my friend
8938841
I hope you enjoyed the story ~
Hey there! I would comment on every comment you did, but thought I'd wait till the end hehe