Surviving The Cold [Rem.]
——
Surviving The Cold
Remastered
By CHopedBOnzzzAI
——
It was near silent for a while in the Everfree Forest. The passing sunset sky shown as a reflection on a clear serene pond, helping the fireflies give light to the sullen atmosphere.
It did not matter, however.
The sky would dim and abandon the fireflies to light the forest alone. To her, this was truth. She had experienced this before already. She had grown tired of it.
She peered up through the thick canopies of the trees to inspect the sky. She could not see much but it was painfully obvious to her. It was sundown, time for the night to envelop the sky, as the natural cycle of things continued. Eyeing the ground again, she walked somberly over to the pond. On the surface of the water, she saw her reflection look back at her with a tired expression.
A light blue coat and an even lighter shaded mane. Her purple eyes blinked, looking at the pond. A light started glowing from a place behind her reflection. She looked back up at the evening sky to find a sole star bravely taking first watch of the night, accompanying her.
“A lonely star, just like me.” Her soft voice breaking the silence. “Are you looking at the same star as I am, father?” She hesitated for a bit, keeping her emotions in check. She had experienced this sensation before already. She had grown accustomed to it.
“...Because I'm not.” She let a single tear free fall down her cheeks.
That tear hit the pool of water and it rippled, disturbing the surface. Waves emanated from the epicenter and with the rippling came a new source of light into view. A fierce light show piercing the night. She vaguely remembered seeing magical fireworks in action up close during her very own light shows aboard her roving stage wagon. All of that, she sold, along with the rest of her possessions to get the cursed Alicorn amulet. An amulet of unimaginable power that equalled the winged unicorns themselves. It was said to enhance her magics dramatically. But, for a price. She could not contain it, and in her blind pride, she let it consume her. Oh how she wished she had not sealed her own fate. Because of it, she condemned herself to this barren forest. Ashamed, deprived, and alone. The chill of the Everfree nights did not compare to the bitter cold she felt in her heart.
Her mouth folded into a grimace in listing her circumstances. The specter of her actions haunted her. It loomed over all corners of her conscience. Binding, twisting, corrupting. She willed her thoughts to shift to the mysterious lights in the sky once more. They spun in spirals of purple, pink, and cyan. She saw more shoot up from the surface with a high whistle. The balls of concentrated magic burst in the sky. An explosion of color, crackling, and ending in fizzle.
She surmised the origin of the fireworks. A lot of things changed her life and her outlook on it in quaint Ponyville. Ponyville was where she was first humbled by a unicorn stronger than her. It was where she had learned to assess herself. It was where she felt actual friendship. She did not learn her lesson, however. After her initial skirmish with the Element of magic, she had returned once more with stubborn pride. Wielding the amulet, she projected her dominance on them, solidifying a large magical force field around the town and enslaving the ponies in it. As she was at her most boastful, she was toppled by the same unicorn who have previously offered her the same conduct between friends. Twice, thus, was her remorse.
It harbored too much memories. She had already said her apologies to the unicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle. She had melted her heart. But fearing that it might freeze again, she left. Instead of feeling relieved, she felt humiliated and foreign. To this day, you confuse me, Sparkle.
“I risked everything to earn my place in this world.” She thought aloud. She looked over to her smothered camp fire. She watched as lone sparks singed the darkened wood, reddening it and attempting to light. Touching rapidly cooling coal, the sparks died, defeated. The wood shed. Ashes rose into the howling air, only to be blown by the wind.
“No matter. I can survive this cold.”
Her fur stood on end in the breeze. She was crying, but she no longer cared. She was alone after all. What, was the forest going to mock her too?
She let her tears flow, feelings becoming more intense. Her melancholy sobbing echoed in the wood of the forest, the bark doing little to stifle them. She had learned that crying left her numb and emotionless. Stoicism, her long-time ally, aided her in passing the hours, the days, and the months.
A gale whipped and sent her cape flapping behind her, a reminder of her only possession. The forest was quickly becoming uninhabitable. She can not stay here. Not for long. And as if nature came up with a reply, the first signs of Hearth’s Warming glided down.
“Snow.” She said after a long moment of silence. Tears dried, she looked up. Snow was now falling everywhere. In moments, they would blanket the forest floor. Without thinking, she added “I need shelter for this kind of weather.” She caught up with herself, collected her thoughts and came to a conclusion, resigned, as she looked around for her wagon. "No shelter, right.”
A lone snowflake floated to her snout. She shivered and huffed. She knew what she had to do and she did not like it. A soft luminescent light glowed from her horn and it summoned an incandescent ball of light that lazily suspended behind her, casting a shadow. Shaking off her fear, she set hoof out of the forest with only a simple light spell to guide her way.
——
“Another great performance yet again, girls!” Mayor Mare joined the six friends as they went off-stage and into the Theater's greenroom. “That's a wrap for tonight. You’ve done a great service to Ponyville with the annual play. You may all rest now, and, a Happy Hearth's Warming to all!” She said her goodbyes and left the group to themselves.
“You think we did okay for the portraying, Rarity?” The lavender unicorn asked her supporting actress.
“Of course, dear!” her friend replied, flipping her deep purple mane. “Why ever would you not be? You were a great Princess Platinum, Twilight. I couldn't have done it better myself.”
“I wish I can say the same for Commander Hurricane over here.” A cyan pegasus laughed.
“W-w-ell…” Another, more reserved cream pegasus, stuttered. “The character was... hard to impersonate…”
“You know what's hard to impersonate? Private. Pansy.” Rainbow Dash said, emphasizing the two last words with a prod of her hoof to Fluttershy's side. “Pansy!” She exclaimed. “The girl's sooo unlike me!”
“Oh I can imagine…” Fluttershy quietly retorted.
There were two silent earth ponies in the group since the ending of the final act. A light orange pony with a stetson hat felt particularly disgruntled. She looked to her supporting actress to find her bouncing in place, seemingly unfazed by the glutinous chocolate that blotted her pink body. Who knew that Chancellor Puddinghead’s cap was actually… edible?
Applejack remembered it so vividly, akin to a pony reliving a near-death experience. Her partner caught a whiff of the pudding’s scent and during the finale, when the Chancellor was giving her speech1, she hatched a needlessly complicated scheme in order to satiate her cravings. In her partner’s frenzied state, Applejack had an incredibly tough time performing. The audience laughed and thought that it was all part of the play2, to her dismay.
“…Y’know, shake things up a little!” Mayor Mare’s goofy voice echoed in her head. Reversing roles for this year’s traditional Ponyville’s founding play was made entirely on the spot by the town’s mayor herself. The cast switched roles with their partners and, through stepping into their hooves, was able to understand the other better. It’s a nice sentiment. Applejack thought. At least, it could have been, were it not for her being covered head to hoof in whipped cream.
The six friends walked out of the auditorium and headed for the corner store bakery for the cast and crew party that Pinkie Pie, undoubtedly, had planned for all of them. It had her standard for Pinkie Parties: a ton of guests, a varied assortment of food eat, and an exaggerated amount of gaudy decorations. To her, it was perfect.
Upon arriving at Sugarcube Corner, they were greeted by all of their viewers. The owners of the establishment, Mr. And Mrs. Cake, were at the counter hurriedly finishing a three-pony tall multi-layer cake. They were putting the last bits of pink fondant on top of it's already creamy white surface. After folding the ladder, they stepped back to examine their work.
“It's... it's beautiful.” Mr. Cake stammered as he scanned the masterpiece before him. His wife, Mrs. Cake, looked at him and he, like a gazelle sensing a dangerous predator, caught her gaze. “O-of course not as beautiful as my wife!" He laughed sheepishly, his eyes darting side to side, never meeting hers.
The happily wedded couple of fifteen years3 broke from their stalemate when they heard cheering outside. “Hey, isn’t she the pink one from the play that tried to eat Puddinghead’s hat?” They looked past their cake to see what all the sudden commotion was about and saw a crowd of ponies huddling near the open entrance. The party planner pony giggled and snorted at the sudden attention. She waved and greeted the ponies that grew to love her performance. When she turned to look towards the store, she saw a towering, mouth-watering cake. Her light blue pupils dilated.
“Dear Celestia…” She whispered to herself.
“Dear Celestia…” The married couple mirrored out of earshot.
Pinkie Pie’s hooves drew her to the entrance ahead of her co-actors. Something primal had awakened in her. Nothing else mattered. All the faces she previously greeted seem to blur and her fan’s loud cheers seem to muffle. She felt her hooves quickening their pace, turning into a trot. As she got closer, her nose caught the scent of the cake’s sugary exterior. The dopamine neurotransmitters shot around in her head and whetted her appetite. Is this what it’s like to feel alive? her tongue licked her lips and she found herself trotting faster and faster until it ended in a full-fledged sprint.
“Pinkie is tha — w-where are you going in such a hurry?” Mr. Cake absentmindedly ventured a question out loud.
“Is she going to —? Pinkie, dear? Pinkie! You better not— Don’t do it, Pinks! This is my first war—” came Mrs. Cake’s only verbal warning before the crazed pink pony leaped at an amazing arc towards them and the cake.
——
Her stomach grumbled and her chest tightened upon seeing the party unfold. She had just seen the pink one tackle the cake head first and chew its innards with such gusto. Trixie wished she was her for a day. Just a day. She would have all the food she ever wanted and the good company that came with it. So was the life she could have had, but left behind, when she ran away from her hometown to pursue show magic. At a young age, she first thought that she had more guts than her older siblings but she had learned, in the hardest way, that it was foalish.
She hid in the bushes, just outside the perimeter of the confectionary filled store but far away enough to not meet ponies that have been mingling outside. Her inner mare really really wanted to eat the sweets there. Her belly groaned at the thought and she sank deeper into the bush. A pony close by heard the leaves of her shrub rustle. Her heartbeat quickened. Did they hear? The stranger leaned closer and squinted to find the source but was called by his friend to join them. Looking around one more time, he turned around and walked into the store. Nothing good would come from this. She slowly backed away but hit something behind her. It was something soft. She shut her eyes, petrified. Trixie closed her eyes and, with her front hoof, tried to feel what she hit. She stretched it further beyond until she hit it again. This time she felt something more than soft. Something... alive.
“Fur…” She whispered to herself. A drop of sweat forming on her forehead. “A… chest?” She slid her hoof upward. “Er. A face? Ears... Snout…”
“…Eeeyup.” A deep masculine voice spoke up.
“Ah-mhm!” She had the quick thinking to muffle her screaming as she jumped back inside the small bush.
“Oh, mighty sorry, did Ah frighten yah?” the deep voice drawled in an inquisitive tone.
Trixie looked back at the voice and found herself mortified. A big red earth pony was staring blankly at her.
“…I-uh, no.” She lied. No other pony was in earshot of her sudden piercing cry of fear. Good.
“Listen miss, Ah may not be the most talkative ‘round these here parts but let me tell yah something. I've seen yah walk out of the Everfree. Now, I don't know what you're doing near the rim but you best stay clear from here.”
Hearing those words pierced her heart and she drooped, eyes scanning her hooves. At least the one who shooed her away was not one of the six. That would have been devastating. These words, nonetheless, was still painful for her to hear.
“Did’ah say somethin’ wrong?” His green eyes cooly looked around to see if there was any other pony watching and to his relief, none looked their way. Good. The stallion was never really good with words. There was a reason he was known to not speak beyond his usual ‘eeeyup’s and ‘eeenope’s. The silence of the pony in front of him unnerved him. Big Macintosh, Applejack’s taciturn older brother, brushed his blond hair aside and finally thought of something to say.
“Ah'm just saying that yah shouldn't go back into the forest... Ah'm mighty sorry… again, for that matter, …if’n Ah hurt yah in any way.”
Trixie, too stunned to move the rest of her body, perked her ears up in bewilderment. Perhaps she had heard it wrong? Did the stranger just tell her to leave or did the stranger just tell her to …stay? For some reason, she did not run back to the woods like she would have normally done. It was a foreign feeling, a mix of trepidation and anticipation. she found herself planting her hooves to the ground, not saying a word.
The stallion had his fill of pony interaction for the night and decided that it be best to leave her be. Ah didn't even think Ah'd meet a pony on mah pony-proof way home. The stallion thought to himself. “Guess Ah'll be heading along now,” Big Macintosh moved past her. “Yah stay safe now, alright?”
“…Wait!”
His neck turned to face her. He was not talking to a pony-shaped statue after all. He faced her and gave her an honest smile.
“There we go, what can Ah do yah for, miss?”
The light blue unicorn felt her stomach lurch and then looked up at him. “I... I am in need of a favor.”
He listened expectantly but Trixie motioned him to lean in closer. With a hoof, she cupped her snout and whispered at length into the stallion’s ear. The stallion after a while, blushed. He did not imagine he would be this close to a mare at this hour but Trixie did not seem to notice.
Breaking away, the stallion4 stood back. “A-are yah sure that's all yah need? Ah know Ah can get a bushel—no, bushels more—”
“No, no” Trixie sighed. “That won’t be necessary. You’ve done so much already. You have my thanks.” Trixie smiled, the truest smile in the longest time. She could do that. She forgot what it had felt like. She wished she could have done this more but at least this was a start.
Big Macintosh motioned at her to walk with him.
“…It’s been so long since I've had ponies like you come my way.” She followed.
The stallion understood her sentiment and nodded. ”Well, No problem. Ah don't usually run into ponies in these here parts of the wood, uh, miss…?”
“Please, just... Trixie would be fine.”
Why did you blurt out your name, you foal! Would her identity matter that much to him? He will recognize that name. If he did, would he take back what he said? He will condemn you. Will he have second thoughts about telling her to stay? There is no doubt. All these thoughts contended to stay in the forefront of Trixie’s conscience. The deafening voices in her head increased until she thought they were real. She was about to cup her hooves around her head but they all disappeared when the stallion walking beside her spoke up.
“…Ah’ll be going there now, Miss Trixie.” Big Macintosh acknowledged her and left through the tree line.
She stood there in the partial shade of the Everfree’s outer boundaries. In the shrubbery, she could hear the general merriment of the nearby ponies as they enjoyed each other’s company. She heard a passing conversation between ponies walking back to their homes and she jumped back into the bushes. This made her acutely aware of her situation. Trixie felt the winter cold bite her exposed fur. And as she kept painfully quiet and still, she found herself once again left out and anxious.
——
“Heeey Big Mac! Sooo glad you could join us tonight!” Pinkie Pie yelled and zoomed to the entrance of Sugarcube Corner. The red stallion walked in and surveyed the room purposely. Confetti, streamers, and other decorations littered the floor. Leftover beverage spills and pastry crumbs made the furniture and parts of the floor sticky. On one side, there was a large multi-layer cake with a pony-shaped hole on the top of it. Ponies who could hold their drinks and food comas stayed near the tables, propping themselves up.5.
“Mighty over-the-top party here, Miss Pie but-” Big Macintosh stopped. He had fixed his eyes on his surroundings but when he saw the mare, he lost his train of thought. Of course she would wear a beard made out of sugary white frosting.
“Oops! Sorry, let me fix that!” Pinkie extended her tongue and licked herself clean with a quick whirl. “Aaaah... You were saying?” She asked as if nothing happened, twirling her mane.
Big Macintosh blinked and started again. “It's a mighty ...nice party, Miss Pie.”
“Of couuurse it's a nice party!” Rarity interrupted them with a wine glass following her around encased in her magic. Big Macintosh noticed her drink but did not say anything. Who was he to judge? The white unicorn took a sizable sip of her pink wine and continued. “Though, why ever did you just arrive at this hour? I’m afraid we’ve passed the zenith of the party a looong time ago.”
“Ah came to pick up some candy for a... new friend of mine.”
“Oh?” Rarity arched an eyebrow, taking another swig. “No stallion I know asks somepony to get candy for them, your new friend must be a mare. Hmmm.” Finally, something to think about! She squinted and put a hoof to her chin to ponder about it.
“While you do that, Ah’ll just grab what Ah came here for and be on mah way so—”
“Oh Fluuuttershy~!” the somewhat tipsy unicorn yelled to the cream yellow pegasus who was sitting alone, minding her own business in the corner of the room. In a distant corner, two drinking mares clinked drinks and shared hearty laughter.
The shy mare heard her name and walked over to the two ponies at the counter. Pinkie Pie had gone to go eat another cake. “Y-y-yes, Rarity?” She stuttered.
“Why didn't you tell us you had a date?” Rarity looked over to her, triumphant, as if she had solved a long-debated quandary. She simply loved being in the know.
“A... a what?" Fluttershy's eyes widened and her cheeks were nothing but flushed. She had never gone out on a date with anypony let alone have the courage to ask a stallion out in the first place.
“Oh don't act like you don't know, dear!” Rarity nudged Big Macintosh on the side. "You and Big Mac…” She thought out loud. “Why didn't I see the potential before! You two. Are just. Perfect for one another!” She brought her wine glass close to her lips and dipped it down but nothing came. Dissatisfied, she looked for another. Big Macintosh was certain that this mare was going to drink herself under the table at this rate but once again, he did not speak his mind. It was easier this way.
“M-m-mmm me... a-a-an and B-Bi...Big Macintosh?” The pegasus could feel her face heating up. She did not ever imagine that her name and Big Macintosh’s would be linked together with an ampersand. It almost felt like a dream. A sweet, blissful, romantic… woozy dream.
“Perfect... me and... Ooh.” Her mind could not grasp the thought any longer. With an image of the both of them walking down that special isle, Fluttershy’s knees gave way and she fainted, face still a brilliant red flush.
“Oh my.” Rarity set her half-done light blue wine on a nearby table and she inspected the pegasus, still blushing, on the floor. “…Maybe I teased her a bit... too much.” She laughed awkwardly. The stallion felt bad for her but he had yet to understand why she fainted. Was he really that bad of a colt? He checked his breath.
“I’ll just pick her up and let her sleep at my boutique. I'm sure my little sister wouldn’t mind.” Rarity's horn glowed a soft indigo and the same shade appeared around the unconscious mare as she was gently lifted off the ground and was brought to Rarity's side. She was about to take her leave when she caught Big Macintosh's bemused expression. She only winked at him. “Shame, I was wondering what she might say.” Rarity hinted and left, Fluttershy6 in tow.
“…Mares…” Was all he had to utter under his breath, pushing what had just transpired into the back of his mind. He walked to the counter where two, more sensible ponies were fixing a sizable mess that a certain pink pony made.
“Mr. and Mrs. Cake.” He greeted them respectably. They looked up to the sound of their names. “Ah,” Mr. Cake hid his broom behind him. “W-what can we do for you, Mac?”
On one of the far corners of the store sat Rainbow Dash and Applejack, one much more boisterous than the other. Their emptied bottles littered their side of the bakery but one was left standing. The other could barely contain herself.
“I can't believed that happened!” She slammed her hoof onto the wooden table in front of her in laughter. “You shoulda seen it, AJ! It. Was. Hilarious!” She emphasized her words with a poke into Applejack’s ribs. Slightly annoyed, the country mare rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, Ah did.” Applejack said flatly. “It's not even that funny anymore. You've been laughing your flank off ever since they started talking.”
“But it’s—pfft— funny!” Rainbow Dash felt a new batch of laughter prime up in her stomach. Her joviality getting the best of her, she burst out laughing and fell to the floor. Applejack did nothing but shake her head in disapproval.
She looked over to the still giggling mare at the floor and looked at the bottle she had been drinking. “Huh, Cheese Sandwhich’s Double Hard Cider. If this won’t knock you out, I don’t know what will! HAH!” She read the the bolded warning at the bottom. “Consume in moderation.” Applejack held the bottle at eye level and swished it around. Nothing. “Ah knew yah were a tenderhoof, Dash.” Her scowl turning into a smug as she put the bottle back down.
In the peripheries of her vision, she noticed her brother at the check-out counter talking with the owners of Sugarcube corner. Passing over the still laughing form of her cyan pegasus friend, she picked up her hat and walked to them. “Where you goin'?” the pony on the floor asked in between fits of laughter but to no reply.
“Thank yah kindly, Mrs. Cake.” Big Macintosh gave a short bow and picked up the pink paper bag with his mouth and put it into his saddlebag. Preparing his bits, the red stallion asked “How much would those be?”
“It's our treat, it is Hearths Warming Eve after all.” Mrs. Cake replied. “...Our treat?” commented the husband. The couple looked at each other. “Have a nice Hearths Warming and good night Big Mac, to all your siblings as well.” Mrs. Cake smiled.
“Happy Hearths Warming to yah both.” Big Macintosh returned the smile. "Have a good night as well, Mrs. Cake, Mr Cake.”
Saddlebags in tow, he turned around and bumped into his little sister. “Last time Ah checked,” Applejack started, eyeing his saddlebag curiously. “Yah didn't eat any sweets.”
“Well it’s the season to try them out.” He deadpanned.
Applejack, among many things, was the element of honesty. She always knew if a pony was lying. Even if that pony was her own big brother. “Who yah giving them too? Come on now, it's okay to tell me.” The orange pony smirked.
“Ah simply can't tell yah.” He said simply.
“Ohoho,” The orange earth pony got it. This is going to be a fun tease for at least a working week! She laughed knowingly. “It's for a mare, ain't it? Who's your super special somepony, Mac?”
“It ain't a mare friend.”
Applejack laughed and then stopped. Wait an apple-bucking minute. She took a moment to process what her big brother had just said, and, once she formulated a conclusion, her face changed.
“O-oh Uh, I didn't know your barn doors swung that way, Mac, I’m real —no, I didn’t mean—”
“W-woah there sis! Ah do not even wanna go there, and to answer whatever's going through your head, no, Ah do not… swing that way.”
Big Macintosh huffed and walked past her sister, still blank-minded at his words. Was every mare this side of town this crazy on Hearth’s Warming Eve? He made his way to the exit and he saw a pony reading in the moonlight. “…Miss Sparkle.” He greeted, wishing this mare of all mares would have the common decency not to stir up trouble like the rest of them.
Twilight Sparkle looked up from the book she was reading and removed her earmuffs. “Oh, hey Big Macintosh. How have you been?”
“Doing good, but I have no time to chit-chat now, I'm afraid.”
“All right, well good night, Big Mac.” She said returning to the the sentence where she stopped.
He nodded and continued on. A pleasant far cry from how all the mares in the party were treating him. Twilight Sparkle watched him walk away and wondered why he was in such a hurry to go back to bed. Historically speaking, Big Mac always liked talking about his day, no matter the circumstances. It was not always that exciting or lengthy but he always found time to notice something different in the everyday grind. Her curiosity piqued and traced where he came from and she saw her farmer friend still frozen in place. She sighed softly, putting a bookmark on the page. Closing her book and having it float next to her, she walked over to her.
“Applejack? Hello? Equestria to Applejack? Can you read?” She waited for an answer but none came. The unicorn used her magic to telekinetically moved her friend's head to face hers. “Applejack, are you okay?” The earth pony heeded her words and shook her stupor off.
“Twilight! Just the mare I needed!” Applejack held on to the lavender unicorn’s woolen scarf. “Yah gotta help me Twi! We need to find out what’s happenin' with mah brother!”
“We?” Twilight questioned as she freed herself from her friend's hooves. “I'm pretty sure it's fi—”
“No, it’s not, Twi! He has never given sweets to anypony before and it’s not like him to just... not tell me! Who knows what's going on in his head!”
“Oh I'm sure he's just trying something new.” Twilight reasoned in an assuring tone. “And plus,” she added, thinking Applejack was not convinced yet. “Who are we to interfere if he's going to be giving it to his special somepony?”
“That's the deal, Twilight!”
“What is?”
“What if... What if his special somepony is... is…”
“Is?” The lavender unicorn arched an eyebrow.
“Ah don't even want to think about it!” She clutched her Stetson hat and shook her head to fight back the thoughts that had invaded her mind once more. Of course she was okay with… it but still! It’s family! It’s weird!
Twilight looked back at her book that was floating alongside her in her magic and read the title ‘The Art of Soothing Conversation by Silver Tongue’ Obviously, her soothing methods did not calm Applejack. She had to take on a different approach. Chapter 6, Remember? Different Approaches.
“Okay then, who's going to take care of the... uh, less mindful ponies while we're gone?” Twilight looked around them and pointed out the two ponies in the room which was such. "Rainbow Dash is a laughing mess on the floor and Pinkie Pie is suffering from a sugar-induced migraine— I didn't even know that was possible!”
“Correction, Miss Sparkle.” Pinkie Pie raised her head from a half eaten Brazzo de Mercedes cake. “I am just taking a timed and calculated rest to relax my eating muscles.” After she had said her piece, she slumped back down. "Ugh..." She muttered, suffering from a sugar-induced migraine.
Twilight Sparkle looked back at Applejack, her point proven. “Uh.” Applejack looked back. “Still! At least their heads will be okay tomorrow! Who knows what's going to happen to Big Mac?” It’s still weird! Her worry7 had gotten the best of her.
“Ah… Ah'm going after him!” Applejack galloped ahead leaving Twilight Sparkle. She sighed and let out a loud distinct whistle. After a few seconds of waiting, her pet owl swooped in, rested on the night post and hooted at her.
“Owliscious, Is Spike asleep?”
“Hoo.”
“Hmm, what about you? you doing anything for tonight?”
“Hoo…”
“Oops, well, sorry about that, Owly. You’re leisure time is very important. But, I have an important job for you to do. I need you to help me out.”
“Hoo?”
“Yes, I just need you to watch over them for a while.” Twilight look back at the two ponies. Knocked out. “See? They’re harmless.”
“Hoo…”
“Ok fine, not totally harmless but that's beside the point. Are you willing to do it?”
“Hoo!”
“That's the spirit, Owliscious! Now, I'll be on my way. Keep a watch!” Twilight Sparkle stood back and light emanated from her horn. A purple glow enveloped her body. “Good luck!” In a flash of light, she vanished with a pop.
Owliscious blinked in bewilderment at the spell and quickly composed herself. She flew into the store, the owners unaware of her arrival, and perched on one of the counters, minding all the sticky desserts. She looked at the dysfunctional ponies and stared at them for a while.
“Hoo…”
——
Applejack hid behind a dense bush, trailing her brother. He was not one to walk too fast so the nimbler sister was able to track him down and follow him. Her brother stopped himself at a particular clearing near the rim of the Everfree forest. What was he doing here, of all places? Applejack’s mind fired up.
“Are you still here?” His deep voice bellowed out, louder than usual.
Applejack was about to reply but another voice called out from somewhere farther away. “…You’re back?”
The cowpony let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, the voice was feminine. But a thought, however, crept up to her. This voice sounded awfully familiar. Where has she heard this voice before?
“Are yah sure you're not freezing your tail off in this cold?”
“I assure you, I'm fine.” The voice answered back.
“Ah brought what yah asked for.” Big Macintosh reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a pink paper bag and set it on the ground.
“Why did you bring so many when I asked for so little? Wasn't it costly?” The feminine voice sounded worried. “I don’t have the bits to pay f—”
“It's on the house, the folks said. Such kind people.” Big Macintosh commented as he nudged the bag over to her. “Well, it's yours now, Miss Trixie.”
“…Trixie?” Applejack repeated in a hushed tone. And at that moment, a swirling purple light began to form next to her. Immediately, a surge of magical energy erupted and Twilight Sparkle materialized into existence just beside her. This made quite the noise and the two ponies Applejack had been spying on stirred at the purple explosion.
“Trixie?” Twilight Sparkle, still slightly disoriented from her spell, shook her head in disbelief. “Whoa, it really is you!” She stepped out of the vegetation to greet her. The light blue unicorn was surprised. Did her new acquaintance lead them here? What were they planning to do? She felt like a caught burglar.
“…Where’s mah little sister?” Big Macintosh asked, though he already knew the answer. Twilight Sparkle’s face said it all.
“Oh, she's just—”
“…Here.” Applejack surfaced from the bush and walked up to her brother, stopping next to him.
Trixie stood, trepidation gripping her, in the midst of the ponies here. She had only braced herself to meet one pony and now, he was joined by the element of honesty and the element of magic. The two ponies that she had made fun off in the past, let alone recently. She was not ready for a confrontation, nor did she think that she will ever be.
“I’ll… just leave now…” laughing awkwardly, she picked up the bag with her magic and started to retreat back into the woods. Fearing the worst, she turned tail and was about to sprint.
“Trixie wait!” Twilight Sparkle’s voice cut through the heavy air and stopped the magician dead in her tracks. “What are you doing here?”
Trixie dropped her bag of food in surrender. “I know, I know, I'll just leave. Please just—”
“No, don't go that way, you're going to freeze your tail off in there!”
Trixie’s eyes turned to Big Macintosh. “What'd Ah tell yah?” He said, simply.
“There… is no other way to turn to, Sparkle.” She felt her self-esteem diminishing. “That is why I'm here.”
Trixie’s eyes welled up in resentment. She still had the pride in her to not explain herself. Was there anything to gain for sharing her sob story? These ponies wouldn’t care. These ponies would— They despise you. You should never have come back. You should never have come back. You should —
“Stay at my house in Ponyville!”
“What…?” Trixie looked up from the ground. “Ponyville?” She repeated. “No. I can't go to that place anymore, not after what I've done.”
“Trixie, You were corrupted. I'm sure you—”
“I let it corrupt me, Twilight.” Trixie looked away. “It had always been my fault from my start.”
Twilight Sparkle paused at what she said. “…This is your chance to prove yourself wrong.”
Her words struck a chord within her, A tear began to form and it slid down her cheek. “I... I no longer know about that, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Then this should be the chance for you to find out as well.” The bearer of the element of magic said with resolve.
Upon hearing those words, she sat on her haunches and she let her tears hit the ground, her own resolve melting slowly away. “But... But how can you forgive me so easily? Why can you forgive me for what I have done? I enslaved this town! I exiled you from your friends, and I—”
“All those don't matter anymore, those are in the past now. If there’s anything I’ve learned, Trixie, is that there is an innate goodness in all ponies. They trip sometimes. They fall upon difficult times. They choose the easy way out.”
Twilight Sparkle’s horn glowed and she telekinetically helped Trixie up. “What matters most is what you do afterwards to make up for it.” She slowly walked to her.
The sobbing unicorn looked up to her. Twilight Sparkle continued on, magically removing her own scarf and putting it snugly around Trixie. "If we keep dwelling in the past, we'll never have our wits on the present. I was teased and picked on in magic kindergarden but I never held on to that memory for strength. It doesn’t make sense to use lapses of weakness as your motivation.”
Big Macintosh and Applejack watched wordlessly as the whole scene unfolded. Big Macintosh felt something drop to his nose and itched it. He sneezed, prompting every pony to look at him. He shivered. “Ah think my tail’s starting to freeze”
“You're right.” Twilight Sparkle started. “It's getting late, everypony. The pegasi’s scheduled temperature drop is starting. We need to head on home. Applejack, you can leave with Big Macintosh now, I'll make sure Trixie here gets a good night sleep.”
"Okay then, Twi, good night, and uh Trixie?” Applejack had mixed feelings about this but she always trusted Twilight’s judgement. Trixie looked to Applejack at the mention of her name. “…You too." She tipped her hat and she began to leave with Big Macintosh following her. He turned and he said his goodbyes as well. The two set course to their home, Sweet Apple Acres, not too far away.
“Twilight, I…” she stood up, still wobbly from the numbness of her back legs. "I just want to thank you... so much for forgiving me. You're the first pony who's actually comforted me after such a long time.”
“I remember your gambit with me,” Twilight Sparkle said slowly “When we had that duel,” She turned to face her with a smile.
“All you ever wanted was a home, right?”
Trixie looked on, not answering out loud but she searched for answers in her head. She was tired, weary. She was always moving from place to place. Or perhaps, always running away. She was alone for the longest time left to her own devices, left to fend for herself against the wilderness. Bust most of all, she had been left alone with her thoughts. It had been gnawing at her relentlessly. It was taking a noticeable toll on her. She wanted a place away from that. A place away from the isolated life she had been living. A place to settle down, to connect with relatives and old friends. A place, she concluded, just like Ponyville.
She smiled at the thought.
“...Thought so.” Twilight Sparkle's horn began to glow. She was getting ready for another teleportation spell.
“If it's all the same with you, Sparkle, I'd much rather stick to walking, it's been a while since I tried my hoof with advanced spells. I want to take in the scenery, enjoy the night. You know, the quiet stuff.”
The light from the purple unicorn lost its light. “Sure, I understand." She smiled. "Let's go. It's getting colder by the second.”
Trixie picked up her bag of food and she followed Twilight out of the cold. On their way, Trixie recounted her tales to her newfound friend right after she fled that faithful night. She told of stories where she had to run away from creatures in the Everfree Forest, she told her about the time where she had accidentally ate a Poison Joke flower8 and she was forced to cope with a bigger-than-normal horn on her forehead. A zebra, of all equines, in the swamp helped her out, miraculously. She was grateful, but, still fearful. Running away the instant her affliction was removed. She talked of a time where, just for fun, she ate pinecones for an entire day. Just pinecones.
“Who knew they were so delicious? You must try these with me, Sparkle.” The two unicorns shared a laugh.
The two walked until they reached Golden Oak Library. Ponyville’s only public library. It also doubled as the Princess’s apprentice’s home. As its name suggested, it was a huge tree. It had ornaments hanging on its branches and there were rooms, walls, and windows carved into it.
“We're finally here! Welcome to Ponyville's finest library!" She unlocked the door with her magic to hear the soft snores of spike asleep in his own bed on the second floor. Twilight Sparkle herself walked in first and then Trixie followed shyly.
“So many books.” She looked around her. Everywhere, shelves upon shelves of books. There was a book case seemingly everywhere. One carved into the stairs, one in the dining room, one in the kitchen, even one in the bathroom.
“My humble abode.” Twilight Sparkle made a little curtsy and made her way to her writing desk. “Please wait a minute.” the lavender unicorn whistled the same tune as last time and the same pet owl flew in, sat on her writing desk and regarded everypony in the room with a “Hoo.”
“Right. So how were they?”
“Hoo.”
"See? I told you they'd be harmless.”
“Hoo.”
“Well at least you dodged it right on time, right?”
“Hoo.”
“…Let me see.”
Owliscious turned her body and she let Twilight Sparkle see her cream coated feathers.
“Aww, terribly sorry about that, Owliscious. You should go wash that before they begin to stick.”
“Hoo.” The owl said as it flew to the bathroom and closing the door shut.
The door slammed loud, waking up the slumbering baby dragon. Spike yawned. “What’s everypony doing so early in the— is that Trixie?" He blinked multiple times and he scratched his eyes. "It really is Trixie!" He said in horror.
Spike jumped down and hugged Twilight Sparkle's front leg tightly. “Please don't take Twilight away from me again!”
Trixie felt shame was over her again. “I deeply apologize for what I have done, dragon. I am not doing that again. Rest assur—”
“But there's so many things I haven't done with her yet like— wait what?”
“She said she's not going to do it anymore.” Twilight Sparkle spoke up, levitating spike's grasp away. She put her hoof on his head and started patting him lightly. “Trixie will be staying with us for the night.”
Twilight started retelling what had happened a while ago. At points, the dragon laughed and at some points, especially the last part, he felt bad for the poor mare.
“Oh! I’ll fetch us up some hot cocoa,” Spike suggested. “You girls catch up. Welcome home, Trixie, I'm Spike and I’ll be your server for tonight, nice to meet ya!” He extended his paw and the ex-magician shook it back.
He disappeared into the kitchen, leaving the two mares alone.
“I have a spare bed upstairs so you can sleep there for the time being.” Twilight Sparkle said, going to business. “I'll ask Mayor Mare first thing tomorrow morning if there's a living space you can rent and I'll have to register your information…”
Trixie, as excited and thankful as she was to be in another’s home, she could not find the energy to focus on everything her friend had been saying. A small yawn crept up to her lips.
"But." Twilight Sparkle stopped, seeing her friend looking exhausted. Trixie's ears perked up and her eyes snapped back to her.
“That can wait 'til tomorrow, I can't imagine how tired and sleep-deprived you must feel.” She smiled.
Spike returned with a tray of mugs filled with delicious hot chocolate. Twilight Sparkle and Trixie each levitated one and Spike got the last.
“Say,” Twilight Sparkle started, catching a whiff of the sweet-smelling aroma of her beverage. Would you want to celebrate Hearth's Warming with us?”
Trixie was quiet for a while. Unable to find words to describe the warmness of her heart. The feeling of pure gratitude. Her dried tears seemed to have washed away all the anguish and pain she had been bottling up for the past moons. Finally, she had addressed them. Never again will she be tormented about her regretful past. She hated her actions, she hated her thoughts, she hated herself. I hated that I hated me.
But she would no longer focus on it. She could never deny that it had been a part of her, a part of her history, but it shall not be her legacy. It will forever be committed to memory but she would not let herself slow down because of it. She knew this is where she wanted to be. Where she fit in the world. She felt that she did not deserve this. And for now, that can be dismissed. But I’ll work up to it eventually.
She took a sip from her mug. She let the rich flavor slide down her throat as she drank it down, warming her belly. She loved this. All of this.
“Yes.”
Trixie looked up from her mug, smiling. “I’d love that very much.”