The Hearth's Warming Storm

by Neutron Alchemist

3. The way this town works

With her legs sunk in the snow, holding her hat with an hoof, to not let it fly away, Applejack turned back one last time, to see the light filtering through the windows of her house, and told herself that her had been the right choice. The barn was built to be sturdy, but she and her brother have had to work hard that evening to prevent the storm to damage it. Many of Ponyville’s buildings were not so sturdy, and had not an Applejack or a Big Mac to make them safe. Moreover, many ponies would have been occupied to prepare the celebration at the city hall, and her friends would have been among them. At that moment, Applejack couldn’t help but be concerned about them even more than she was for her family, and she wasn’t even sure Rarity knew were her sister was. Granny Smith could take care of the pies, Big Mac could take care of everything that could have happened to the farm, and Trixie would have kept the fillies out of troubl… well, maybe the fillies would have kept Trixie out of… well, every plan had a weak point after all.

Applejack could not repress a smile thinking of Trixie in her house. She should have been very mad at Trixie for what she had done. She would have wanted to be very mad at her. But she realized she couldn’t be. The blue unicorn’s inability to deal with even the more ordinary acts of courtesy reminded her too much of another social awkward unicorn that showed up at the farm some years before. Certainly she preferred to hide herself behind a checklist instead behind being an obnoxious braggart, but a shield is a shield anyway.

As she had anticipated, the short trip to Ponyville wasn’t easy. The wind hit Applejack so hard to make almost impossible to walk in a straight line, and the cold made her most exposed flank almost numb. She couldn’t believe that, in those conditions, that showpony managed to pull a wagon for who know how much miles. The blue unicorn had to be stronger than she seems in that smallish frame of her. Certainly being able to use the telekinesis to at least shield the eyes from the snow would have been of help. But Applejack knew that road well enough to walk through it even with her eyes closed.

Once into the city, the wind seemed to rest a little bit, but the sight in front of Applejack’s eyes was not encouraging. The streets were empty. If it were not for some lighted windows, Ponyville would have looked like a ghost town. The remnants of the Hearth’s Warming decorations, arranged in the streets the days before, had been ripped and piled up in the corners by the storm, or were still rolling on the roads.

Only once reached the city hall’s square Applejack could relieve, seeing that there were still some life in the city after all, and that there were things that would never have changed. There were some ponies coming in and out the front door, and, just inside, she could recognize her friend Twilight Sparkle talking with the Mayor with what seemed a concerned expression, while, behind her, Spike was holding a long scroll and a quill.

Applejack quickly crossed the square, and entered in the hall when the old mare had already left her friend alone. In the big room there were a couple dozen or so ponies busy with the preparations. All her best friends, besides Rainbow Dash, were there. But Applejack had the impression that there was a little less confusion respect to what she had expected, everypony seemed to move slowly, and the atmosphere seemed to be a little oppressive.

“Yo Twily! Spike!” She said to the two, that were the closest to the door, at least trying to seem the more energetic than she can. “Guess who’s at the farm right now?”

“Applejack!” Twilight expression brightened, first to cock her head and look puzzled for the question.

“Your second guest has arrived.”

“Trixie has come?” Twilight smiled almost incredulously.

In the meantime Rarity had noticed the arrival of Applejack, and was approaching, with Fluttershy half hidden behind her. Pinkie Pie too, from the back of the room, was coming, with her usual bouncing pace, and holding the threads of several balloons in her mouth.

Applejack had not realized how tense she was until she saw her friends around her, and the tension disappeared. Everything was going to end up well. Things tended to end up well when they were together.

“I left her at the farm to rest a little,” Applejack replied. “It seems she have had a pretty tough day so far, and I needed a little favor.”

“Sweetie Belle is with Applebloom at the farm, isn’t her?” Rarity asked as soon as she arrived, smiling, but with a little anxiety in her voice.

“She is,” Applejack said ”I was saying Trixie is with them too.”

The smile froze on Rarity’s face.

“I-It’s getting late,” She said, slowly heading to the door. “M-maybe it’s time I go and bring her home.”

“If it would have been possible I would have taken with me both her and Scootaloo. But the snow is already too high for them to walk. I’ll bring them later, with the pies and the other stuff, in the cart.”

“You know Trixie will not do anything bad to them,” Twilight said, stopping Rarity. “Even when she was under the influence of the Alicorn Amulet she had not been harsh with foals. She is a showpony. She has entertained foals for who knows how long!”

Rarity sighed. “This thing is important to you, isn’t it?”

“I know we can be friends,” Twilight replied. “ We have so much in common... We just got off on the wrong hoof. And Gilda too… had been a precious friend for RD for a long time. It would not have been possible if it weren’t any good in her.”

“Rainbow cannot stand bullies,” Fluttershy said, almost imperceptibly, from behind Rarity.

Applejack had almost forgotten the first of Twilight’s guests, that she knew had arrived earlier that day. Actually she had never shared the enthusiasm of Twilight for that plan, nor her optimism for success. It would have been even too good if the old grievances could have been solved with an invitation and a bit of kindness. But Twilight was her friend, and she had to help her the best that she could. “By the way, how it’s going with Gilda?” She asked.

“Queen Mean has not moved from there for at least two hours, …Oh?!” Pinkie said, inevitably releasing the balloons and following them with her eyes, while pointing an hoof to the first row of seats, were a big two-colored griffon was sitting, looking in front of her with a bored expression.

“The attempt to involve her in the preparations has not been very successful” Rarity said.

“Wow! At least Trixie was in a better mood” Applejack replied.

“I admit I thought it would have been easier,” Twilight said, smiling sheepishly “But we have still plenty of time. If only we could finish the preparations here…”

Applejack remembered the real reason why she was there. “How things are going?” She asked.

“We are way behind the schedule” The unicorn said sadly, looking at the scroll held by the dragon. “Many of those we were waiting, to help with the preparations, have not come. Those who are here, those who are not pegasi at least, are afraid of not being able to return home if the snow continues to accumulate. The Mayor is already of the idea to stop it all if the Weather Team doesn’t manage to get rid of this snowstorm quickly, and I cannot blame her, but I managed to make her accept to continue with the preparations till they are still trying.”

“There is Rainbow Dash up there,” Applejack said turning her head to the door. “If it’s up to her, she will never give up.”

“If things will continue like this, I’m afraid it will be up to me to make her give up,” Twilight said. “But I don’t want to quit. Not after all we have already done to prepare for this night, and after I invited two people I want to make peace with. I really wanted this to be a special event...”

“...But we should not be pessimistic, should we?” Twilight continued after a brief pause, with a strangely high pitched voice and a tight smile on her face. “We must have faith in our Weather Team, and do all we can to prepare everything in the best possible way here. At what point had we arrived, Spike?”

“Point 24,” Spike said with a professional tone. “Roof decorations. They had not been even started yet.”

Twilight’s smile tightened further.

Applejack rolled her eyes. The last thing they needed at that point was the responsible for the Hearth’s Warming celebration of Ponyville lost in one of the not-up-to-the-schedule loops of her. Fortunately she was still only dealing with the scroll, and had not yet thought about resorting to a manual on how to prepare celebrations faster.

“Spike,” The purple unicorn said sweating. “Maybe Social Meeting’s manual on festivity planning had a chapter we skipped on what to do when you are running out of time. Can you go to the library and keep it for me?”

“Aye-aye Sir!” Spike replied military saluting “I’ll melt my way!” Then he prepared to run outside.

Applejack casually nailed Spike’s tail to the floor with her front hoof, stopping his rush.

“See?” The blonde mare said. “RD is coming. Maybe she has good news.” But she had not much hopes really.

In fact she had seen the pegasus slowly descending directly in front of the door of the hall, as the two were speaking. Applejack was almost surprised seeing Rainbow Dash really landing before entering. The mare had to be really tired to not keep hovering as usual.

“Hi Rainbow!” Twilight said to the pegasus without changing her overexcited tone, nor her tight smile. “How are things up there?”

“Not good,” Rainbow said with a serious expression, taking off her goggles. “The Night Guards are shuttling between the towns, flying over the clouds, and they brought us the news. The storm is wide. It seems it covers the entire continent. The weather teams of all the towns west of Canterlot had already given up. The ponies have taken refuge in their houses, and are waiting for the storm to pass. Thankfully almost all the houses are full of food in this season, so there are few real emergencies, but this will not be a great Hearth’s Warming for many ponies.”

Twilight sighed, regaining her composure. “There are hopes for us to get rid of the storm?” She asked.

“I’m here cause I need every wing of Ponyville,” Rainbow said. “The rest of the team is calling the pegasi that aren’t here. Maybe all together we can sort something out.”

“But that way you let us with even less helpers than we already have!” Twilight weakly protested.

“Every wing.” Rainbow repeated. “And I don’t guarantee. I’m sorry, but there is not only the celebration at stake. Those clouds are the most dense and thick I have ever seen. So far we have managed to make them partially spare the city, but if we don’t get rid of them quickly, the entire town will be blocked.”

Twilight didn’t reply. She and the others followed the blue pegasus into the main hall, where Rainbow Dash stood, in front of the Mayor.

“Weather Team report!” Rainbow begun. “The layer of clouds over Ponyville ad not been eradicated yet. I’m here to recruit every pegasus of the city to join the Team. We will get rid of those clouds, or we will die in the attempt!”

Everypony in the hall turned at Rainbow with an alarmed expression. The Mayor giggled instead. “It will not be necessary to go that far Rainbow Dash. I know you all will do your best. Please, just be safe.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, then turned to the centre of the hall. “Did you heard? Are you waiting for an encouraging speech? Get out of here. Others can take care of the preparations. The weather is up to us!”

About ten pegasi were in the hall. They left what they were doing and went out, without enthusiasm, but without complaining too. To Applejack they seemed mostly worried, but also determined to carry on their duty. Rainbow Dash knew her fellow.

But the blue pegasus had not finished yet. While the others came out, she approached the stage, and flanked Gilda.

“We’ll try the cut-and-kick.” Rainbow said to her. “I need you too to cut.”

Gilda smiled viciously and stood. “It’s obvious you need me RD,” she said to the pegasus. “if it were for those weaklings, the town would be doomed.”
Then she headed for the door “I’ll wait for you outside,” and then, looking to the group of mares, especially to the pink one, “it’s stuffy in here”.

Twilight approached Rainbow Dash when Gilda was out, shook her head and sighed. “Will she ever understand?”

“Maybe not,” Rainbow replied. “But she is really good at flying, and I really need her up there” Then she turned to a pile of props near to the stage. “In this regard…”

Rainbow trotted behind the stack. “I said every wing!”

The answer was too low to be understandable.

“You will be up there with any of us! I can not make exceptions for friends!”
Then there was a soft ‘Eek!’, and finally Rainbow Dash stepped out from behind the pile, a pink tail tightened in her mouth, and a yellow pegasus mare, desperately flapping her wings to flee back behind the shelter, attached to it.

“I want to fight the storm from here!” Fluttershy cried.

“Fee you lader,” Rainbow said, or at least tried to, while leaving, dragging her friend with her. “Don’d worri. We will ford oud fomeding”.

“And now?” Twilight asked hopelessly, mostly to herself, once the pegasi had left, while looking at the alf made preparations, and at the few ponies remained.

“It will not work” Applejack said, looking at the door.

“What?” Twilight roused from her thoughts.

“Surely the other towns tried it too,” The blonde mare continued, heading to the front door of the hall, followed by the others. “maybe not the big cities, but all the towns of the size of Ponyville had certainly tried to recruit all the pegasi in their weather teams, but in the end, they all gave up, and I think I know why.”

“See?” Applejack, once reached the door, pointed to the windswept roofs the other side of the square. “is the same problem we had at the farm. It only takes more time here, since the town had been partly sheltered. The wind makes the snow accumulate on one side of the sloping roofs, and don’t allow it to fall. Rainbow Dash had not realized it yet, but the great part of the pegasi of Ponyville lives in normal buildings, not in cloud houses, and they are not built to withstand that weight. The pegasi will soon have to decide whether to continue to fight the storm, or save their houses.”

“And the others too,” Rarity added. “In the country, farmers do it themselves, but in the town usually are the pegasi that shovel the snow off roofs, since they are not at risk.”

The four stood in silence for a moment, looking at the wild night on the other side of the door. Applejack still felt the calming effect of having her friends with her. But that time perhaps, not everything was going to end up so well. Of course, nothing irreparable was going to happen. Only another town buried in snow. Maybe she still had time to reach the farm, and spend the Hearth’s Warming with her family, the other fillies, and that mad showpony. Maybe she could invite the others too. It could have been even funny. And certainly there would not have been shortage of pies. But she felt sorry for Twilight’s efforts.

Applejack noticed that, behind them, the Mayor-mare was approaching too. She thought it was better that way after all. It would have been up to the Mayor to tell Twilight that, with so few helpers and so little possibilities that someone would come to assist, it was better to give up with the celebrations.

“That’s not right.” Twilight finally said.

Applejack looked at her, thinking that her disappointment was easily understandable.

“The pegasi are doing all the work!” Twilight continued, surprising the blonde mare. “They are up there, fighting the storm, and maybe they will have to shovel the roofs later while, apart for the few that are here, all the others are hidden in their houses. This is not what I learned here! This is not the way this town works!”

“But what could they do?” Rarity asked soothingly. “Only the pegasi can take care of the weather, and those that are not, would be hardly able to shovel the snow off a roof in normal conditions, let alone with the storm out there. It may seem unfair, but somepony falling from a roof would be worse.”

Twilight Sparkle turned to Applejack, looking at her with pleading eyes. Obviously she was expecting her to say something, to support her position.

Applejack looked down, and started to scrape the floor back and forth with an hoof. She could not have said that she liked the situation. Thinking of doing nothing while others were working for her was something more than annoying. Something almost inconceivable for her. The more so, as she was used to do that job by herself at the farm. But it was not something that the ponies of the town could learn in few minutes and put into practice under the storm.

However, not everypony were incapable of doing it. Some of the farmers were in that same all, helping with the preparations. There were the construction workers, and some some other pony she knew that she could trust for that kind of work. On the other hand, if they had failed, she would have probably lost even the chance to reach her family.

“Maybe we can put together a team to shovel the roofs. That way the pegasi could work without other concerns” She finally said. Then, smiling to Twilight, “Maybe I know the right ponies for the job, but no offense, there will be no unicorns there. The telekinesis of many of them isn’t strong enough to really handle a shovel, and they are not used enough to use their hooves to do it standing on a roof.”

“Good!” Twilight said smiling, her eyes shining, then, turning to the mayor “In any case we need another team too, to shovel the streets, otherwise the roofs will be clean, but the town will be blocked. This job would be safe for everyone.”

“And we need a team to continue the preparations here!” interjected Pinkie Pie with her usual, overexcited tone.

Applejack would not have wanted to spoil Pinkie’s party, but she thought she had to. “I’m sorry Pinkie,” she said, ”but there is much more than the party at stake, and probably we don’t have enough ponies to…”

“But we have to find them silly-filly,” Pinkie interrupted her, smiling and staring directly into her eyes. Then, bouncing around ”That,s why we are doing this. There is no need to shovel the streets without the party, right? We want to clean up them to allow everypony to come. As everypony wants to come to the Hearth’s Warming party tonight!”

The four other mares looked at each other. Applejack had the odd impression of having forgotten something important, until Pinkie had reminded her. The real reason everypony would have helped them, the desire to spend that night together anyway.

Rarity snorted, turning to Applejack. “She is right, isn’t she?”

Then, the three young mares turned to the Mayor questioning her with the eyes.

“So be it!” She finally said. “Ponyville will remain open for business tonight!”

“But the teams will need coordination.” She added, addressing to Twilight.

“That’s for sure,” Applejack said.”We must pull the ponies out of their houses. It needs a work plan for the roof team, and to coordinate it with the street cleaners, and…” Just listing everything they had to do was enough to confuse her.

“We’ll make it,” Twilight interrupted her with a self confident tone. “First of all… Spike, do you have other scrolls?”

Spike Was already holding a new scroll.

“Brilliant, first assistant. We need to cut to the bone the points for the preparation of the pageant, only the minimum to have an acceptable show. Pinkie?”

“I’m here Sir!” Pinkie saluted, standing on her hindhooves with a serious expression.

“I’m sorry Pinkie, but I think you have to prepare the party alone for now. I don’t know how many ponies I will have for the preparations of the pageant here, and the preparations for the party can be still finished during the show.”

“There will be no problems, Sir! Everything will be ready in time.” then, resuming her usual expression. “I’d better start now!” And she left, bouncing toward the backstage.

“You have to find the ponies you were talking of.” Twilight said to Applejack. “For when you will come back I will have a work plan ready for your team. Then the rest of us will have to convince the others to start shovel the streets”

Applejack looked at the door. “Hoping that, up there, they will be able to give us a clearing. Otherwise, all this may be useless”.

Comments

[nightwalker]

So far the story is good, and I did quite enjoy Trixie's chapter.

This one was rough, though. You need to proof read it. There's misspellings, missing words, etc all over the place. You misspelled Mayor as Major throughout the entire thing for instance.

[Neutron Alchemist]

5962290 Thanks for having pointed out. At least I fixed that, and I'm glad you have enjoyed the story so far.

I know my limits (I have plenty), and I tried to find an help at the time of publishing "Return Home". What I got was a downvote on my request (It does not matter what the group) and an attempt to vandalize the Gdoc page. Maybe I'm not so good at asking, so I thought it was better to try to improve by writing (other than reading, obviously). But any help, or ideas, is welcome.

Meanwhile, I'll try to read this chapter again.