By the Glow of the Fire.
“See you tomorrow, everypony.”
“See ya later, Nyx,” said Apple Bloom.
“Bye Nyx.” Sweetie Belle waved.
“Catch you later, Nyx.” Scootaloo put her hoof up in a goodbye gesture before joining Rainbow Dash and the others in their bid to walk home.
The four fillies went their separate ways, the schoolhouse bell chimed as the wind howled and blew cold. The snow on the ground was deep, rising just up to Nyx’s shoulders and hindering her movements. She would clear the snow before her with her magic as she walked, shivering when hit by the wind, her teeth chattered and her lips dried. She whimpered and pressed on, enduring the icy chill on her way to Sugar Cube Corner. The way ahead was a blur, Nyx’s glasses fogged up and even when she removed them her vision was barred.
The snow pelted down like a storm, Nyx dared not fly lest her wings froze and left her grounded. She let out a sigh and squinted as she looked around fervently for a landmark.
“Great... now I’m lost…” she said with a sigh until she spotted the silhouette of the ice cream cone that topped Sugar Cube Corner through the icy mist.
Nyx was elated and wasted not another moment to move in it's direction, trying her hardest to keep straight, while the wind blew against her side, threatening to blow her off of her path. She blasted her way through the snow with streams of magic, the snow melted as hot rays of magicka zapped away at their frozen matter and became puddles of warm water. As she drew nearer to the store, she saw its welcoming lights through the blizzards haze, and just ahead was the stairs that led up to the stable door.
A jingle came as the door was opened. Nyx stepped inside and shook the snow that had caught onto her coat off of herself, as a warm feeling chased away the cold and settled itself over her like a blanket. She shut the door behind her and walked around to the back of the counter.
“Mr and Mrs. Cake, Aunt Pinkie Pie, I'm back,” she called out in her melodious voice.
“Welcome back, Nyx.” Mr. Cake's voice came from the back room. “How was school today? Learn anything good?”
“School was great, as always,” she replied enthusiastically, “we learned about amphibians today. Ms. Cheerilee brought in a frog, but it froze.” Nyx scrunched up her muzzle to contain her giggle.
Mr. Cake came into the room, he stopped in the doorway and looked at Nyx. “Is the frog alright?”
Nyx nodded. “It'll be fine. Some frogs can start their hearts again after they've been frozen, so there's no need to fret.”
“Nyx!” Mrs. Cake called from the back room. “I made you a snack.”
Nyx smiled and passed Mr. Cake on her way into the back room. Pumpkin and Pound Cake sat nearby on small chairs. They giggled and squealed when they saw Nyx, Pound happily banged on the small bench in front of him, it gained the filly’s attention and brightened her smile.
“Yes, Pound, and Pumpkin, I'm back,” she giggled.
The smell of fresh cookies graced Nyx's nostrils. She sniffed them out and flapped her little wings, lifting herself off the ground and helping her flutter over to the end of the table, where she came to rest in front of her plate. Her eyes locked onto the cookie's, her slitted pupils widening as a hungry grin formed on her muzzle.
“My, my little cookies, all set out and waiting to rest in my belly,” she giggled, “with hot chocolate and marshmallows to go down with you,” she squeed and shrugged in glee.
Nyx levitated a cookie and dipped it in the small cup of hot chocolate beside her plate. She let it soak for a moment, and waited until the beverage had seeped through and softened the biscuit, before lifting it out and pressing her lips on the soft, milk soaked part of it which she broke off with ease. She wasted no more time after that, she finished the cookie and sipped the hot coco to help it go down.
“Thank you Mrs. Cake,” Nyx said with a courteous smile, “and thank you both for letting me stay while Twilight and Spike are away.”
“It's the least we can do, Nyx. Though she actually asked Pinkie Pie to look after you, but…” Mr. Cake looked to his wife.
At the slightest hint of doubt, Pinkie Pie jumped out from a pair of slippers and stared down Mr. Cake, “Hey! Don't you doubt me, mister, I'm taking good care of Nyx for Twilight.”
“O-of course you are, Pinkie. S-sorry to doubt you like that,” Mr. Cake let off a nervous chuckle as Pinkie slowly disappeared back into the slippers with an unkind but somehow comedic glare.
After that, Pinkie reentered the room through the door, she pranced over to Nyx, humming a merry tune before sitting down beside her. “Soo was school good? Did you play a lot of fun games? What happened? Tell me!!!” Pinkie shook with anticipation.
Nyx scooted a little bit to her left, distancing herself from Pinkie a little. “Well... um…” she ate another cookie followed by a sip of coco.
“School was good but cold, we played a lot of bored games and Ms. Cheerilee froze her frog, now it's all stiff and needs thawing.” Nyx gradually got quiet toward the end of sentence, talking out loud about a frozen frog was not exactly a pleasant thing to discuss.
Pinkie giggled and snorted. “Her frog is frozen? You sure it didn't croak?” There was a brief moment of silence before Pinkie cried out in laughter. “Hahahaha, get it? “croaked?””
Nyx cringed at the terrible pun and scooted a little more to her left, not once did she take her eyes off of Pinkie, afraid to blink in case she moved closer.
“That joke was a little dark, even for you, Pinkie.”
Pinkie, Nyx, Mr and Mrs. Cake all looked at the door to see Twilight Sparkle, standing in the doorway; with some snowflakes littered throughout her mane, and a large corner smile on her face. The happiest smile anypony had ever seen flashed upon Nyx's face, and her eyes sparkled like the night sky, she shot up and bolted past Pinkie and Mr. Cake.
“Twilight!” Nyx shouted and threw herself against the road-worn alicorn, stumbling the princess who lowered her head and rested it over Nyx's neck in a hug.
“I missed you too, sweetheart,” Twilight chuckled in motherly joy while the filly buried her face in her chest.
“Two weeks... You and Spike were gone for two weeks…” Nyx sniffled.
“Well, we're back now, sweetie, and we can finally go home,” Twilight said assuringly.
Nyx broke away and started to hop up and down like Pinkie Pie, repeating the word yay over and over again in child-like joy.
Another chuckle escaped Twilight's throat and she watched the little filly dance around in glee for a moment. “Alright, go and get your stuff, Nyx.”
Without a warning, Nyx rushed past Twilight and up the stairs to the spare bedroom. The princess watched as she whizzed past, before turning back to look at the Cakes and Pinkie Pie.
“Thank you all for taking care of her while I was away,” she said with gratitude and bowed her head, likewise.
“It was no problem, Twilight,” beamed Pinkie Pie.
“It was our pleasure princess, we're more then happy to look after Nyx while you are out of town,” Mr. Cake said as graciously as Twilight.
“Nyx wasn't too much trouble was she?” Twilight asked anxiously.
“Nyx was an angel, your highness,” Mrs. Cake responded honestly. “She's one of the best behaved fillies in Ponyville, just like Twist.”
Twilight smiled in relief and hummed slightly in a repressed chuckle. Pinkie, unnoticed by the others, quickly nabbed Nyx's last cookie and scarfed it down quickly, followed by a satisfied sigh. Twilight turned around slowly and looked up the stairs curiously.
“Nyx, are you okay?” she called.
“I'm okay, I'm just grabbing a few more things,” Nyx called back.
The sound of hooves clopping along the floor above grew louder as they neared the stairs. Shortly Nyx was seen descending the star, hopping off the last with a few flaps of her wings before landing beside Twilight, where she stood beside her proudly.
“I'm ready to go, mommy,” she smiled up at Twilight; then turned her attention to Pinkie Pie and the Cakes, “Thank you all for looking after me.”
“You are welcome here anytime, Nyx,” Mr. Cake said as welcoming as ever.
“Yeah! Next time you stay, we'll have a sleepover; and we can invite Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. IT'LL BE SO MUCH FUN!!” Pinkie shouted at the top of her lungs.
Nyx shrank back, her ears folded back until Pinkies yelling had ceased. “I'll talk to the girls about it.”
Pinkie jumped up in happiness, crying out a high pitched 'yay' followed by a squee sound. The room was filled briefly by giggles and chuckles, then goodbyes from the Cakes and Pinkie as Nyx and Twilight left the store.
~~~
A domed shield illuminated by the purple glow of Twilight's horn encircled Nyx and herself in a half dome which cut off at their hooves. The ice of the blizzard pattered and pelted against the shield, the cold air was slowly dissipated as the ponies body heat worked to warm the air simultaneously around them.
Nyx looked around at the blurring swirling winds that now circled the outside of the dome as if pulled into a vortex. Ice formed on the outside of the magical field but crack and came apart while the mares moved forward toward Castle Friendship. Both Nyx and Twilight could barely see its highest point through the snow.
“How's Spike? I’ve missed him so much.” Nyx looked up at Twilight curiously as she asked.
“Spike's missed you too. He talked about sharing his new comic book with you as we were coming home.”
“He's got a new one?” Nyx's voice was raised a few pitches in excitement, her eyes sparkling brightly.
“Mmhm.” Nodded Twilight, “you'll see when we get there.”
Nyx looked forward with a merry smile and flapped her wings gently. She lifted herself off the ground, and fluttered beside Twilight along the way.
Then she became curious, “why wasn't Spike with you?” she asked curiously.
“I asked him to go on ahead to open the castle for us.” Twilight answered and chuckled lightly, “He wanted to surprise you.”
“How could he surprise me? You're back, therefore Spike is back; right?” Nyx circled Twilight, giggling while she did.
Twilight ducked her head and moved it in the opposite direction of Nyx when she flew around. “Careful Nyx, I need to keep focused on the force field. It's going to get a lot colder if I don't.”
“Oh…” Nyx slowed and landed gently on the ground, “right, sorry.”
Twilight ran her wing down Nyx's neck and back. She let out another soft chuckle of caring amusement. The silhouette of the castle came into view through the grayness of the snow. Warm welcoming lights shined through the windows, casting their shine on the ground outside and illuminating the path ahead.
Together they stepped up to the large golden doors; then with a click and a clunk, Twilight Sparkle pulled the doors open. Although it let the heat out and the cold in, much to Spike’s chagrin, it washed Nyx in the yellow light of home, and she and Twilight both spent not another moment outside in that cold.
~~~
“Power Ponies issue nine hundred and ninety nine?” Nyx stared at the front cover of the comic book before lowering it to look at Spike, her eyes sparkled like Rarity's at a fashion show.
“Pretty cool, right?” Spike said with prideful flare, his arms folded and chin up proudly.
“It's super cool!” Nyx squeed, hopping in place.
The sound of Nyx’s squeaking prompted a smile from Twilight as she rounded the corner into the living area, stopping to watch Spike and Nyx interact over the plastic covered book of pictures.
Nyx calmed herself down and sat beside Spike, close enough to look over his shoulder and see the page. “Have you read it yet?”
“Not yet. I was saving it up so we could read it together.”
“That was awfully nice of you, Spike,” praised Twilight.
“Nyx enjoyed the last lot of comics I showed her, and I haven't read any of them in a while. Nyx was there when I cracked them out to read for the first time since arriving in Canterlot, it was only fitting we should read this newest issue together.”
“Well don't get too engrossed in your reading; I hope to start dinner in half an hour and I expect your help, Spike.” Twilight stretched her wings and continued past the room. She disappeared around the other side, her hoof steps echoing around the hall until they’d gone unheard.
Nyx watched Twilight pass then looked back at the comic book. “Come on Spike, open it; let's read.”
Spike chuckled, “alright, alright. Here goes.” Pressing his fingers on the corner of the page, Spike slowly opened the book. A bright glow shone from the page as though it were some great treasure. Spike and Nyx leaned in slowly, the page revealing the start of the comic, a continuation of issue nine hundred and ninety eight.
“Look, Brooding Bat is still trapped by the wicked Trickster!” Spike exclaimed as an old timey play narrator.
“She'll get out, she always does,” Nyx said with the characters fierce determination, as if she herself was the caped crusader, Brooding Bat.
Spike chuckled in a demoralizing manner. “I wouldn't be so sure about that. The Trickster is very prepared for whatever Brooding Bat has planned this time.”
Nyx scoffed, “I doubt that. Brooding Bat always has a plan.”
“Oh yeah?” Spike grinned confidently, his eyebrows furrowed with determination.
Nyx gave Spike the same look and pressed her forehead against his, as a spark of rivalry connected like two lightning currents between their eyes. “Yeah!”
Without wasting anymore time, both dragon and filly got stuck into reading, pressing their cheeks against one another, smirking and itching to prove who was right.
~~~
“I told you so!” exclaimed Nyx victoriously.
Spike pounded the floor with his fist, looking down in shame. “The Trickster... how could you?!”
“I knew it, I knew Humdrum would save her, I just knew it.” Nyx pranced around the room in glee. She started to repeat ♪Humdrum saved her♪ like a tune.
Spike looked up at Nyx and hopped to his feet, pointing a claw at her. “Mark my words Nyx, next issue; we will see what becomes of the Power Ponies, mwahahahaha!!”
“Spike, could you help start dinner?” Twilight called from door way, spoiling his fun and interrupting what would be another performance between the two.
Spike looked over to the princess, happy to help, if not a little sore that he couldn’t finish his performance. “Sure, Twilight. I'll get right on it.” he replied before smiling at Nyx and waving to her as he passed Twilight and disappeared around the corner.
With a tired sigh, Twilight stepped into the room and picked up the comic book in her telekinesis, closing and putting it away gently. “We're having mashed potatoes with carrots and peas tonight.”
Nyx smiled brightly. “That sounds nice.”
“I've been thinking about having that for dinner for quite a while. I'm actually happy there's a chance to have it,” Twilight admitted and grinned like a goof.
Nyx stared out into the snowstorm from the widow. Ice formed on the glass and froze the windows shut while cool air chilled Nyx to the bone. She shivered and stepped away from the window, back into the warmth that came from a nearby hearth.
“Too cold?” Twilight asked and got down to Nyx's height.
“Freezing more like it.” Nyx shook her hoof by the fire, shuddering at the sudden contrast of warmth and cold. “But this is much better.”
Twilight giggled and wrapped Nyx within the glow of her aura, the filly looked around as she was carefully picked up off the ground and brought over to the alicorn. She plopped Nyx down in front of her gently and put her hooves together.
“So how's school been for you while I was gone?”
“It was good. We learned about crustaceans and sea shells. We also learned about the weather machines in Cloudsdale.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Don't you already know that?”
Nyx looked to her side, poking her cheek with her tongue. “Yes, but the books didn't say they needed to be cleaned after every snowfall.”
Twilight chuckled. “Oh really? I must not have the right books then.”
“No, that can't be it,” a cheeky corner smile formed on Nyx's face.
“Hm, well would you like to tell me what it could be?” Twilight smirked and got in closer.
Nyx shook her head stubbornly and poked her tongue out at Twilight. She tried to run away, but using her wings, Twilight managed to catch Nyx off guard and tickle her sides. She squirmed and giggled, Twilight giggling along while continuing without letting up.
Nyx pleaded with Twilight to stop, all while her words were being drowned out by her chortling. Twilight pressed her lips on Nyx's belly and blew onto it, her cheeks puffing up and making a silly sound that brought both mother and daughter to howling fits of even more laughter.
Spike peeked into the room. he looked over at Twilight, rolling around, her mane a mess; then at Nyx, who stayed on her back trying to stop her own laughter, scrunching her face in vain attempts but letting it out mercilessly.
Spike lifted his hand and a claw to get a word in. “Um... Twilight, you coming to help?”
Twilight rolled over and sat up to look at Spike, tears streaming down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away with the limb of her wing and stood up, regaining her composure.
“I'll be right there Spike.” Twilight looked happily at Nyx and grinned warmly.
Nyx watched as she left the room, she sighed and wiped her own tears out from her eyes, then looked over at the fire burning luminously in the hearth. She got and walked over to it, only to sit down and grab a book to read until dinner had been served.
~~~
Nyx stared up at the shiny, blue, ageless and cold armor of Nightmare Moon, resting untouched on a black mannequin. Once a torturous reminder of her days as queen, has since become a beautiful display of the craftsmanship of ponies of ages past. She tilted her head and stared at her reflection in the pristine space metal alloy helmet, then turned her eyes to the large alicorn converted training dummy that had once been a Twilight Sparkle doll.
The floor of the room was cool under her hooves, she shook and shuddered, snowy wind beating against the windows. Nyx pressed her wings against her in an attempt to keep warm as the room chilled. Hoping the warming spell cast on her blankets would be enough to last the night Nyx climbed up onto her bed and burrowed under her blankets, the warming spell ended once she was settled in her bed and the bed sheets were warm enough to keep keep her all snug and heated for the night.
“Well you certainly wasted no time hopping into bed,” Twilight said as she strode into the room and over to Nyx.
Nyx shook her head. “Nope. It's cold in here...” She shivered.
“Your bed should be warm enough to last through the night. You'll be warm and toasty in the morning for sure.”
Nyx hugged Twilight and nuzzled her. “Goodnight, Twilight.”
“Goodnight, sweetie.” Twilight placed a kiss on Nyx's forehead and turned toward the door, turning off the bedroom light and closing the it behind her.
Now, Nyx laid still in her still warm bed, her ears flickered at the sound of pitter pattering wind blown snow, and though in her element, Nyx closed her eyes and drifted into sleep.
~~~
Despite the warming spells efforts, the warmth of Nyx's blankets did not last long. Now the cold night air had crept up on her, hanging low on the floor like a belly-dragger. Ice had formed on the window and a shroud of mist seemed to blanket the floor. Nyx shivered and curled up to stay warm. She whimpered lightly, her teeth chattered and her coat started to grow ice cold, her breath visible with every breath.
Nyx opened her eyes, half-lidded and squinted, she let her eyes re-adjust to the darkness, the dark appearing to be brighter in contrast to a normal ponies vision. She kept her blanket around her like a shroud to stay warm. She sat up and looked toward her bedroom door. She focused on the handle, she turned it and pushed the door open. She bit her lip and bunched up once more as another wave of cold brushed over her, bringing her to whine and whimper again.
She took a deep breath and without another moment's hesitation, bolted from her bed and onto the ice cold floor. Her hooves chilled but she didn’t let that stop her. She exited her bedroom and looked up the stairs to the highest point of the castle. Her running became little more than a little trot up the stairs as she neared her mother's study. Looking down she saw the glow of a fire coming from beneath the door. She could feel the warmth from within with her hooves so close to the crack close to the ground.
Sighing deeply, and mustering some courage, Nyx opened the door and stepped into the study. The walls of the room had shelves lined with books, some were curved to compensate the design of the large circular study. There were books stacked here and there, some open and others waiting to be picked up and read once more. They were a safe distance from the fire place, a circular rug laid in front of the hearth like in Celestia's study, bearing Twilight’s cutie mark and resting on top, reading a scroll was the alicorn herself.
Nyx approached Twilight unnoticed. She passed by stacks of books and left over tea which had since gone cold; and carefully nudged her mother’s wing so it would be lifted, allowing Nyx to settle down underneath. Twilight felt the filly's movement, she looked up from her scroll and looked to her side to see Nyx hiding in her shadow, her eyes glowing like a cats.
“Nyx?” Twilight was surprise, “what are you doing out of bed?”
Nyx looked to her left, feeling scolded. “It was too cold.... Today has been nothing but cold... I want to stay warm…” She snuggled into Twilight.
“Didn't the warming spell work?”
Nyx shook her head. “It didn't last…”
Twilight sighed, disappointed that her spell didn’t last as long as she hoped, and nuzzled Nyx's head gently. “I'll adjust the spell so that the warmth lasts longer.”
Nyx closed her eyes gently and gave a sweet smile. “This warmth is all I need…”
Twilight put on a motherly smile and kept Nyx close. “Would you like to stay with me for the night?”
Nyx reopened her eyes and looked up to Twilight, nodding once. “Yes, thank you Twilight,” Nyx snuggled happily into Twilight's coat even more, her smile even wider than before.
Twilight was perfectly content to let Nyx lay there while she looked into the scrolls. Nyx glanced over to a book bearing Celestia's cutie mark on the front cover, wondering if Twilight had gotten a message from the other world yet. She didn’t ponder it, and turned her eyes away from the book and out the window. She watched the snow dance and fall, and yawned as sleep reached out to her.
“Why does it snow, Twilight?” she asked groggily.
Twilight looked at Nyx once again, surprised at this question. “I thought you knew.”
“I do, but I want to hear you talk about it.” Nyx looked up to Twilight eagerly.
After a moment's stare, Twilight chuckled and relented without issue. She put the scroll down on a nearby table and cleared her throat.
“Well, for all the years since Equestria's founding, after the bitter winter of the land before; winter has played a vital role in the lands rejuvenation. For a whole year, Equestria is 'awake', providing food for us and the animals, life for every living thing.
“Unimaginable beauty and indomitable weather. It takes a lot of magic for the land itself to maintain this balance, that's why we have winter. A time for the land to rest, and the animals to dream. A time of great joy, snowy days, snow ball fights, snow pegasi and snow mare's. It's a truly remarkable cycle, warm and waking, hot and bothering, cool and tiring, cold and sleeping.”
Twilight's smile became brighter, “Was that the answer you were looking— oh…”
Whilst Twilight went on with answering her question, Nyx had fallen asleep, curled up in a black ball, breathing gently and peacefully, snuggled into Twilight's warm coat. Twilight chuckled to herself and kissed Nyx's forehead gingerly, a proud, soothing smile of content on her face.
”Sweet dreams, my little pony.”