Starshine

Autumn Glow grew a wicked smile as Fender started to lose his cool. It seemed that the stallion hadn't put much thought into such thing. She shrugged, the sooner it solved the better it would be for her little sister. The mare in question herself nearly shrunk back into a filly. Morning Mist silently scolded Autumn Glow with her gaze, to which the mare could only shrug in defense. Morning Mist smiled. "If you're not ready yet, then we won't push the agenda on both of you," she said curtly. Winterglade slowly peeked from under the table. "But you should always put it in mind. I don't want to die without knowing whether my daughter would have a husband or not." "Mom!" Winterglade nearly yelled. "Don't talk like that! You will live for another decade, I'm sure of it! You are stronger than that." Autumn Glow laughed nervously. "Well... about that. We checked to the doctor yesterday. He said that at best, mother would only have another three years before the Leukemia fully settled in and finally kill her from the inside" Her eyes drooped. "I'm sorry. I should have came back home sooner to treat her before it grew this far." Winterglade squeaked, but she didn't say anything. It was partially her fault, she left her home too early, her mother was left with nopony but her father for a few months. She sighed and planted her face on the table, utterly dejected.

On their way to their room, Summerfall noticed Luminescence's gait was a bit hobbled, very unlike her usual pose. Her head held high. It was as if she was half expecting something to jump out of any corner. Summerfall herself couldn't help but to feel tense. She let out a sigh when the door was unlocked. Without much delay she made her way through the door after Luminescence and locked it after her. At least we managed to get some food, Summerfall thought to herself as she put the plate on the top of the drawer. Luminescence herself was quick to jump onto the bed and made herself comfortable. The poor filly seemed to be very tired. Her mind trailed back to the dining car, perhaps the cat reminded her of something? Understandably Summerfall was a bit surprised when Luminescence said that whatever it is that was in the room 8 was no longer there, and that something bad was about to happen. Summerfall quickly double-checked the door's lock and around the room for anything that might hide an ambush. Summerfall nodded curtly when Luminescence said that she had a question for her. It seemed that the question would be a very serious one. She stood near the drawer, ready to hear the question. Summerfall was simply stunned when Luminescence finished her line of question. Was she felt inadequate of her help on the train? Or maybe she think that her help was a bit too much? No, it just didn't match. It was rather subtle, but Luminescence was definitely referring to something else, something that she was reminded of by Dawn's cat from earlier, not what had happened between them. Summerfall felt a bit silly that for a moment she was so vain that to assume that the love Luminescence spoke about was between them, it was too good to be true after all. Either way, the question was a very weighty one, she couldn't afford to mess around. She trotted closer to the bed and sat at the floor, in front of Luminescence, bringing her eyes level to Luminescence's. "You know..." Summerfall started. "If there is love between two individual, that one would be willing to do a sacrifice for the other's well-being, without any concern for the promise of reward, then I believe they are no strangers. The criteria of too much or not itself is very subjective, greatly varies between ponies or organizations. What might be easily affordable for one, might be just too much for others. For an example, when I bought you a ticket. I personally know some ponies that couldn't make more than 50 bits a week, paying you a ticket would be but a wild dream to them, but my circumstances are different, they allow me to put myself at better risks and investments, and to help others where most simply couldn't even hope to afford it, without putting myself at the danger of starvation or worse. Another example, when a filly asked her father to spare a day from his work to attend her graduation ceremony. A father that works in simple retail store or as a mailman could easily take a day off and see the proudest moment of her daughter, but a father that works in a huge company and thousands of workers' fate rested on his capable hooves on daily basis, then it would be rather impossible to attend the ceremony, even if he loved her daughter dearly." Summerfall paused for a while, her gaze wandered to her own forehooves. She chuckled. "I know those examples might sound absurd and maybe tad silly, you might know a better example or two, but I'm sure you understand what I'm talking about. Personally, if you have to sacrifice much of these things: your dreams, identity, and Celestia forbid, your own live, then the answer is that the sacrifice is simply too much. It might sounds very honorable and maybe romantic to sacrifice one's self for the one whom they loved. It was the kind of story they made legends about after all, but you should know one thing. The moment you parried the blow that was meant for your loved one, you're condemning them to live the rest of their long life knowing that they and their incompetence are partially responsible for your death." Summerfall gulped. "And some ponies aren't made to endure that kind of burden. Even if, say, one can't live without their loved one's presence, it would be very unwise to risk one's life to give their loved one a chance to live longer. The same could be said with one's dreams and identity." Summerfall's mind reeled with possibilities of what the question might imply. It seemed to be a silly question for a filly to ask, but Luminescence was not any other filly. She had seen enough of the world to understand what Vim's words might imply. Not to mention her reluctance to indulge in much of the details of her parents. Without a word Summerfall stroke Luminescence head lovingly. It was not her right to be privy on her secrets, but she couldn't help but to be curious on what could prompt the filly to ask such question. Was there was a tragedy in her life that involved a predatory cat? Her words that something terrible was about to happen lingered in Summerfall's mind. "I have to admit that I'm very intrigued on what could prompt you to ask such question, but I won't pry on your secrets, if it is indeed one. They are yours to keep, and I respect that." With a start Summerfall stood up and walked to retrieve the food plate and put them on the bed. It was not exactly a cultured thing to do, to eat on one's bed, but then again there was nopony else in the room but the two. "If you're still hungry for some sandwiches, just dig in. They won't be as delicious when they're cold and brittle.

Winterglade coughed, the blood was still leaving her face. The quick kiss was nice, but it was rather unwelcome. She was trying to be upset after all. She gave Fender a playful punch just to keep the stallion away for a while. Then her mother asked a question. She could feel the blood quickly drained from her face. What if her mother wouldn't appreciate her relationship when she found out that Fender was a street singer? She gulped. Autumn Glow still busied herself with her iced tea, but her eyes wouldn't leave Fender. While the stallion spoke, Morning Mist herself stayed still, her expression unreadable. The look of her face was that of neutrality... Or acceptance, depended on how one would interpret it. She chuckled a bit when Fender facehoofed. "I'm glad to hear that you're both managing yourselves quite well. But... I do hope that you would get something better in the future," she said blankly. Winterglade almost sunk to her seat, her meal left untouched. Fender was a nice stallion, and his singing voice was almost heavenly, it would be only a matter of time before somepony would take him to the stage, or something. "It's okay, mom," she said to her mother."Fender everyday brought home enough bits to feed us both for two days. I also worked in a rather nice place. It might not be the best, but we never had any problem. Also, with the current jobs both of us earn enough to save some bits for us in the future to buy... something that we might need." Her mind trailed. In truth she had been thinking about buying a patch of skyline somewhere to be her cloud house. The dream seemed to be very distant, but now she really wanted to do it. Morning Mist sighed. She could see from the glimmer in her daughter eyes that, yes, she was strong in her commitment to live with the stallion. She briefly smiled before taking a moment to take a drink. Autumn Glow suddenly blurted out, "So, when's the big day? I'm certainly sure that you guys would have to make it official after some while."

Morning Mist simply smiled and followed everypony else by taking a sandwich of her own. At least Fender seemed to be a fine stallion. Judging from Winterglade's reactions, she loved him very much so. She felt proud that her younger daughter finally found herself somepony to take care of her. Winterglade nearly choked on her petunia sandwich. She coughed once, twice, and finally thrice before finally asking for a glass of water with a raspy voice. Autumn Glow herself laughed her flank off, she offered her sister the water. Winterglade quickly chugged the entire thing in one gulp, her face was pretty much pink all over. "Pwah... Fender, don't scare me like that!" she whined while punching Fender's shoulder. Morning Mist giggled seeing her daughter's antic, and also from Fender's statement. "I take it you both are working somewhere right now?" she asked.

Summerfall didn't want to admit it, but Vim seemed to be rather clueless about what did he just said. She felt a bit bad about him, maybe his age finally caught up to him? Nevertheless, what done is done, he had implied that she was a dishonorable mare, be it intentionally or not he had to learn to keep his trap shut when he can't think of anything good to say. Solemnly she noted to suggest to everypony in the marketing board to never invest anything in the Los Pegasus Express. Why don't you put his name onto the blacklist? No. The mare smiled, her eyes softened slightly. At least one of her worry has been taken care of without any major trouble. From the side she could hear Ambrosia calling out to Vim, she would have to give her reply, fast. "Thank you, Vim. Apology accepted. I'm also at fault that I reacted harshly earlier, for that I also owe you an apology myself. I hope this won't make any bad vibe between us," Summerfall replied. She knew that she wasn't supposed to say something like that, but for now she couldn't afford to have a bad impression on a pony who likely had the final say on the nature of her arrival in Los Pegasus. She would have to keep her thoughts to herself for now. Summerfall listened intently as Vim explained to Ambrosia about the strange happenings on the train. At first she tried to brush it aside as some random hijinks of Magicon and Asteria, but the more she listened, she couldn't help but slightly concerned. A big cat in one of the cabin? Magicon and Asteria were nowhere to be found on the rearside of the train? Summerfall's mind reeled in the possibilities. Magicon didn't seem to be the stallion who would take an advantage over the filly. The gruff unicorn himself looked to be rather capable in the field of magic, it was even in his name after all, it was not exactly impossible that they both were hiding in somewhere by virtue of the stallion's spells. That, or the big feline had managed to take both of them down and currently in the process of eating them. Summerfall's face turned even greener just from the mental image alone. Summerfall almost balked, but she repressed the urge. Reading a mare's personal journal should be counted as felony. She was even more surprised when Dawn agreed to the notion. Summerfall sighed inwardly, while it was absurdly ridiculous, it made a glimmer of sense that Dawn would prefer to prove her innocence. After what happened to her by Lapis, Summerfall couldn't blame her. Dawn's sudden joyfulness nearly put Summerfall on an edge. When the cat suddenly appeared out of the shadow, it was even more unnerving. Summerfall found herself to be captivated by the cat's presence, its eyes were... different. Very unlike any other cats that she had came across in her life. Was Vim referring to this cat when he spoke of a big one earlier? No, Vim wasn't the stallion to overreact to a relatively large but still small cat like that. Feeling the poke, Summerfall quickly averted her eyes from the cat to Luminescence, who was now seemed to be outright spooked by something. Slowly she put a forehoof onto Luminescence back to calm her down. Looking around the room, she noted that some passengers had made their way out of the car. Where were they could be going? Ah, their objective was not hers to be concerned about. Right now she had something more important to take care off. Summerfall turned to Vim and said, "Well, since the ticket has been settled, I'll excuse myself for now. I would love to stay to chat more, but I don't feel so good. I think I need some rest in my room. See you later at dinner, Vim." Summerfall ushered Luminescence to take the lead back to their room. Following closely behind the filly, Summerfall spared a moment to snatch a plate of fruit sandwiches and two glasses of cider from a nearby vacant table. Without turning back she left the dining car and closed the door behind her. She exhaled a breath in relief. "Phew! That was interesting," Summerfall muttered as she balanced the plate on her back. She unlatched the room's key and gave it to Luminescence. "Seems like we will have to keep an eye on ourselves until Electrobolt and others take care of the room 8. Can you open the door for us? I'll be right beside you."

So... I get tiny weeny curious about your reviews here, and I'm also still thinking on how I can improve my OCs. It would be very appreciated if you can tell me what's lacking in these ponies :­) Autumn Glow - Changeling, drone Starshine - Unicorn, colt Springsteps - Unicorn, filly I apologize in advance if their backstories can be rather unwieldy. I got this silly habit to expand on weird things. Thanks b4 E: Somehow I mistyped Springsteps as Weyland. Derp x_x

Yep. Too early for that, Winterglade agreed. Still, being asked so suddenly made her mind wander all around. It's been a month ands o far things have been going well for both her and Fender. Maybe in a year or so things will be different? The thought alone brought back the blush to her cheeks with a vengeance. Ashamed, she quickly covered her face with her forehooves. To make matters worse, her mother giggled at her expense. Now Winterglade wanted nothing more but to curl up under the table and sleep there until the next week. "Ah, my name? You can call me Morning Mist, or Mist for short," the elder mare answered. She smiled again. Not until Autumn Glow returned with trays full of food on each of her wings did she speak once more. "Well then, it's time for us to eat some breakfast. I hope that you didn't eat too much before we came here. Oh, and don't worry about your father, Winterglade. Your dear brother is taking care of him now." "Dig them up!" Autumn Glow cheered as she put down the trails on the table. There were plates of pancakes and sandwiches and some iced tea, which all would be enough to feed at least six ponies. Autumn Glow sat next to her mother and quickly pulled closer two ponies' worth of breakfast and started eating like no tomorrow. Winterglade peeked from behind her hooves, face still flushed, and hesitantly took a sandwich while ushering Fender to do so with her.

Winterglade awkwardly took a vacant seat in front of her mother. As fast as she came, Autumn Glow excused herself and trots away to call the waitress. Fender took the seat next to her and greeted her mother. Winterglade gulped. It's true that she had been planning to meet her mother, but this was way too early. "Hello too, mom. Are you sure you can leave the bed this early? Where's the guys?" The elder mare only nodded once to Fender and her daughter, her smile never falter. It had been quite some while since the last time she had seen her daughter in a relaxed setting. Her brittle bones felt cold, but it was worth it. She looked at Winterglade and said, "I see that you already have a coltfriend. Just a matter of time, I'm always wanting to cradle a grandfoal of my own." Winterglade quickly turned beet red, the fur behind her neck quickly stood on its end. "M-Mom!" she whined. "We are not there yet! It's too soon to start speaking about foals."

"Yeah... lets." Winterglade didn't waste any chance to cut her breakfast, she instead gulped everything down in one bite. It was such a waste not to enjoy the delicious caramel, but anything is better rather than spending the rest of the morning stuck with her father in public. A quick calculation latter, she dropped a generous amount of bits on the table and moved away from the tab- "Where are you going, little snow?" A hoof caught Winterglade's shoulder. To her credit, she managed not to jolt upward in abject terror, ruining the table and everything nearby. Winterglade whimpered. She looked back, her sister somehow managed to slip behind her without Fender or her even noticing. "Um, hi sis. I'm just going to show Fender around the city, so will you please-ahahaa..." The mare could only sag down in resignation as the older, clearly much stronger mare dragged her limp body to her mother's table. The elder mare herself was sitting on her seat, looking positively entertained. Autumn Glow called out to Fender. "Come, join us! There are enough seats for everypony."

"I don't really think that's the kind of name you can call dorky. It's more like lively-happy-songy feel." Winterglade flailed her forehooves around in circular motions. In truth she had no idea what's the name would be about. At least Fender looked cute when embarrassed about his name. She let out a chuckle and start cutting her pancakes to tiny pieces and shoved them to her eager mouth. "My full name?" she asked in return. "I'm not exactly sure, but as far as I remember my mother never called me with anything other than the simple Winterglade, so I guess I only have one word for a name. Nothing special." She continued eating. Much to the mare's delight, the caramel was positively delicious, as in honest-to-Celestia not-made-of-chemical delicious. Her eyes almost watered from sheer joy. But just when the day seemed to be starting perfectly, the restaurant's front door opened. "Oh buck," spat Winterglade as her sister, Autumn Glow, trotted into the building, following closely behind the cerulean pegasus was her mother. The elder mare's fur and mane had since lost much of their beautiful sheen, leaving only dulled yellow fur and errant strands of white mane. Autumn Glow looked around the restaurant and led her mother to a nearby 4-seat table. "Oh great, the stallions are coming too," Winterglade nervously said while trying to be as small as possible to avoid detection. "Do you think we can just drop the bits here and fly out through the window?" she asked to Fender.

It took Winterglade quite some while to fully comprehend what Fender just said. When he asked her to promise not to laugh, she was half expecting something silly or jarring. The waitress trotted by and put their orders on their table, Winterglade smiled to the waitress and waited until she was well beyond earshot before replying to Fender, "Well... To be honest, Your name is not exactly something that I would call ridiculous. It's almost cute even." She took a sip out of her milkshake before continuing, "Plainsong Skyjumper... Yeah, it might be a bit mouthful, but it's not that unusual in my opinion." Winterglade shrugged. She had known some ponies with even much sillier names, she didn't really understand why Fender would feel embarrassed by that name. "Anyway, if you aren't feeling comfortable with that name, I will keep calling you Fender, just like usual."

Winterglade was idly scanning the menu up and down when Fender spoke up. Her ears quickly perked up. "Really? That's kinda unusual, but it's understandable that you might start to forgot your real name after using your nickname so long. Of course I promise not to laugh, but... are you sure you're okay with telling me this?" Winterglade was trying to hide her curiosity, but she failed miserably. Her eyes were now widened and totally focused on Fender.

Summerfall duly noted that Flow was particularly outgoing among the group with the new pegasus. From the group she heard something about old main act, which she presumed to be Trixie, and many other minuscule details that were not worthy of notice. The white pegasus stallion from Lapis' gang briefly stared at Luminescence before answering that Vim might be somewhere deeper on the train, along the passenger cars. It was hardly helpful, almost pointless even. She also vaguely noticed that Dawn the unicorn seemed to take a rather unhealthy dose of interest on Luminescence. Summerfall silently took a note to keep an eye on both the white pegasus and Dawn. Summerfall was justifiably annoyed when Electrobolt approached her and started to inquire what the problem might be, right after admitting that he also had no idea where Vim was, and the irritation was shown quite clearly on her face. From what she had saw since the first time she saw him wearing the fancy conductor hat, it was quite clear that Electrobolt was merely an assistant, not somepony who had the authority to get to the bottom of things. She had little to no patience on those who deliberately try to hinder others' progress just for the sake of their own curiosity. Summerfall was slightly surprised when Luminescence announced her name and her wish to be addressed accordingly without any sweet talks, but then again, it was something that she should had expected from the filly. She was indeed a prideful one, being called 'little' wouldn't sit so nicely with her. Summerfall let out a small chuckle. Luminescence was also quick to point out that the white pegasus' answer was undeniably pointless. Now she found herself hoping that the pegasus wouldn't take it the wrong way. Before Luminescence could finish what she wanted to say, Vim entered from the parlor car and quickly made his way into the kitchen, and almost immediately left it. Did he lost something? He looked very concerned, but then again it was not her business. She patiently waited until he finished giving out orders to his fellow crews. Just when Summerfall was about to move toward the conductor Luminescence dashed off to the stallion. Summerfall took this small chance to reply to Electrobolt's earlier question, even though Vim's presence already rendered her answer null, but she felt the need to make a point. "Your earlier offer of assistance is much appreciated, Electrobolt, but unfortunately this is not something a replacement assistant can help. Certain predicaments can only be worked out by those in the position, and those who are below should know when is the time to stand aside and let the capable hooves handle everything," Summerfall explained to Electrobolt. She hoped that it would put an end to his meddling. Just after that she remembered about her other problem just a moment ago. "However, if you want to help, I guess you can check up room 8. I believe there is something in that room that should be taken care of at the earliest convenience." Satisfied that was taken care of, she turned her attention to Luminescence and Vim. Luminescence called out for the conductor, but the big red stallion quickly looked elsewhere. When his eyes met hers, Summerfall motioned her head to Luminescence. The filly called out once more, and this time Vim's gaze rested on Key Gear, who simply stared back in response. Luminescence coughed, then finally Vim found her, only after the third call did he learned her existence. Summerfall rolled her eyes in exasperation. She hoped that Vim wouldn't come to the worst conclusion before she could explain her case. The stallion himself looked a bit confused, looking back and forth between Her and Luminescence, before he finally spoke. For a moment, Summerfall was at lost on what to think about Vim's... unexpected reply. She barely knew Vim, but everything she had known from the stallion so far signifies that Vim was not the type of stallion that would play mares, but then again she had no idea what the stallion usually do for entertainment off-duty. What really ticked her off was Vim's words somehow implied that she as a mare was... leaning on the dark side. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself down. Letting it loose would ruin what chance she may had to ensure a ticket for Luminescence, not to mention Luminescence herself might got the wrong idea. She opened her eyes, and stared deeply at Vim's own. No words were spoken, but the message was clear. One more word from the stallion, and she would make his life hell for all eternity and beyond. If a single part of it became known to public, not only his, but his crews and their families would face the dire consequences. Not before two seconds of eye contact had passed Summerfall finally softened her gaze. She pulled Luminescence closer to her, carefully positioning her body to stand between Dawn and the filly, and spoke to Vim with reassurance, "I certainly wished that you would not arrive to such conclusion, Vim. You may rest assured that she is not in any way related to you." And thanks Celestia for that, Summerfall added in her mind. She paused to recollect her thoughts before continuing, "You see, this filly is a good friend of mine. Her name is Luminescence, we met in Ponyville and she followed me onto the train when nopony was looking. She was hiding somewhere in the baggage car up until a few minutes ago she knocked my door, feeling a bit uneasy. I hope that you wouldn't mind her intrusion to the train and let her stay with me in my room. Of course I would pay for her late ticket." She unlatched the small bag of bits from her neck and offered it to the conductor. "One hundred bits, and a little extra for the apples that she ate when she was hiding."

Winterglade let out a chuckle, she should take Fender for a trip around the town after she's done with her parents. Maybe to the museum? Or maybe the entertainment center? Nevertheless, now she was rather excited to see the end of the day. "Pancakes!" Winterglade jumped excitedly. "I hope they have a real caramel, not those fake thickened fructose syrup with food coloring. It's disgusting," she said while lolling her tongue to the side to put an extra emphasize. Her stomach weakly rumbled in agreement. Yep, she could totally use s super sweet treat right now. After a few minutes of trotting, the pair entered the restaurant Winterglade referred to earlier. It was not exactly a huge place, but the main area looked quite roomy. Winterglade quickly took a seat, glanced briefly to the menu to ensure that the price wouldn't render her bankrupt, and called for a nearby waitress, "Excuse me! I would like to have two pancakes with a strawberry waffle, and a chocolate milkshake, please." She turned to Fender. "And your order?"

When Fender gone to take a shower, Winterglade took the chance to groom herself a little bit. Her feathers were surprisingly unrustled from her sleep. She only preened her wings for a moment before turning to her cape. She sighed. It was subtle, but the pull mark on the seams was unmistakable. She didn't know if putting it to be repaired by a seamstress in Manehattan would be a good idea. It seemed like the cape would have to wait until they get back to Ponyville. "Oh! It's breakfast time!" Winterglade answered a bit too excitedly. She was a bit hungry after all. "Yesterday when we ate dinner I saw a not-so-fancy restaurant that might have pancakes in the menu. Pancake sounds nice. Let's go!" After checking her cape for the last time, she trotted through the door and out from the inn, eager for a double pancake. Outside, the sun was shining quite brightly, almost blinding even. Ponies around her were going back and forth minding their own business, seemed not paying any attention to the scorching sun. Winterglade squinted and looked above. There was no cloud all around, which is quite odd considering it's rather impossible to keep the skyline clear in a city as huge as Manehattan. But this time there was no cloud, not a single one. "Weird," she commented. When Fender trotted to her side, she continued, "By Celestia the sun is hot! It's almost like there would be some kind of parade going on at noon. There is no special holiday at this time of the year, right?"

"I know that. I'm just..." Winterglade trailed. Fender was right on the 'too early' part. Good chance everypony was still asleep in her house. She shrugged. "I say we can talk about it later. We should get some breakfast, and after that maybe fly around the city. Judging from your reaction yesterday, this is the first time you've been in Manehattan," she said. "Anyway, I'll take a shower for one moment." Winterglade took her still folded cape and trotted to the bathroom, and started doing the usual self-hygiene stuff. Thankfully the inn provided a soap in the bathroom. After a while she trotted out, cape already worn on her back. "Um, maybe you should at least wash that tail of yours," she commented. Note: welp, gotta go now. I have a certain plan for the weekend, so I won't be able to check in on the forum for a while. See ya in Tuesday :3

Winterglade could only smile sheepishly while Fender shook his tail. She didn't know how would Fender react if he found out that she had somehow spent the night chewing on his tail, for whatever reason. Maybe it was related to her dream somehow? The mare nodded. She jumped off from the bed and stretched her back, sounds of cracking joints could be heard. "I'm ready." Winterglade reviewed her list of things to do for the day. So far there was only one thing that must be taken care of at the earliest convenience, and that was her parents. She sighed. After what happened last night, she didn't really fancy the idea of going back home. At least her mother seemed to be quite stable. "Well... Do you have anything in mind?"

There was nothing. Above, below, around her, there was nothing. Winterglade found herself drifting slowly in the abyss, only the fog around her to keep her company. It was weird, usually her dreams were more 'colorful' than this. It was a welcome change, though, an empty dream would always be better than- "Wakey wakey!" What. Winterglade opened her eyes with a start. No, not her eyes, she corrected, she was still dreaming. Gone was the nothingness, replaced by a familiar sight. Three small beds, a couple of drawers, a wooden lamp, and a crude painting of a princess, and a smiling filly right in her face. Winterglade blinked twice. It was her bedroom back when she was a foal. "Wha...?" "Wake up you sleepy face!" Autumn Glow cheered, still paying no regard on Winterglade's personal space. "Today is the big day, we will get to see the ground! And the snow! Just like your name!" She practically squeeing in unmitigated glee. "It's your turn to take a bath. I'll help mum prepare the lunch boxes." With that said, Autumn Glow jumped off from Winterglade's bed and galloped to the kitchen, leaving the confused filly to her own mind. Winterglade looked at herself. Yep, she certainly need to take a bath, her fur was messy all over, there was even a huge pock mark of dried saliva on her still blank flank. The filly sighed, she was always the one to kick around while sleeping. Tentatively she stepped down from the bed and tidied it up as best as she could. She made the trip to the bathroom a quick one. *** It had been three hours since the last time she saw her mother, or any of her siblings for that matter. Winterglade hiccuped. The snow had been too beautiful, she was a bit too excited to finally see her namesake in firsthand, now she was lost. She tried to call for help, but her throat was too coarse from all that crying. Her hooves were aching, and she couldn't see anything past her own snout thanks to the rising wind. She tried to follow the wind, in hopes that it might carry her to her mother, but all it did was to misled her even further. Winterglade sat down at the base of the largest tree she could found, curling up and clinging to her thick jacket as best as she could. She already lost feeling of her extremities and her wings. Is this it? she asked herself. Is this how she would meet her end? There was no answer, only her own sobs. *** Again, she was alone. This time, instead of eternal state of twilight and choking fog, there was only light. She tried to speak out, but her voice failed her. She felt weak. Her every joints refused to cooperate, her wings draped to the ground, its muscles too sore to keep it tucked, her mane and tail sagged as if there was a weight set on each individual strand. It was horrible. Then she saw him. His form was hard to discern at first. Winterglade initially tried to shy away, but something about this new presence made her feel... welcome. She slowly walked to the stallion silhouette. Slowly but surely, her self felt gradually lighter the more she walked to the stallion, her gait no longer feel burdened. She broke into a faster trot. Soon, they met somewhere in the middle, and the mist around them cleared... He was a handsome stallion. Gray coat, with mane of bright green and brown, a pegasus just like her. The one who would make her happy and safe, his smile meant the world for her. Before anypony could do anything, there was suddenly a picnic basket next to the stallion. Winterglade nearly balked in surprise. But then again, in dreamscape, anything is possible. She giggled to herself as the stallion brought the basket between them and took out a bread for himself. Winterglade followed suit. Without further ado she bit down on the bread, a huge smile still on her face. *** There was a tail in her mouth. Winterglade slowly stirred awake, the memories from yesterday slowly flooded her mind, eyes fluttered open, and yet she couldn't stop munching on the mysterious tail. It was odd, considering her own tail wasn't long enough for her to snack on. Unless... "Mmhum?" she groaned. There was a thicket of green and brown hair in front of her face, and a good clump of them was somehow tangled themselves in her mouth. It took her a while to figure out what happened, but it seemed like she had somehow managed to turn around in her sleep and start chewing Fender's tail. "What the... hay?" she spat the now saliva-drenched tail. The stallion himself was still fast asleep. From a wild guess it still six in the morning, and considering she was technically on a vacation, Winterglade saw no need to leave the bed just yet. She rolled ever to face Fender and pecked the him in the cheek. "Good morning there, sunshine."

Once again, the mare couldn't help but to giggle like a prepubescent filly. With so many uncertainty going on around her day, Fender served as a great anchor. She smiled. "As long as I'm with you." The trip back to the inn was rather quick. As soon as they entered their room, Winterglade unlatched her cape and folded it nicely on a small chair. The thick fabric was a bit coarse to the touch, there was even a sign of tear at the far end. Seemed like she will had to repair it later. She raised an eyebrow when Fender commented on how snuggling may not be optional. She took a glance to the tiny bed. "Really? I would be surprised if we won't fall off during our sleep," she replied. After looking back and forth between the bed and Fender, Winterglade shrugged and shoved Fender onto the bed and snuggled in to use his body as a makeshift pillow. She yawned. "Now that's more like it..." Before Fender should so much take a breath, Winterglade already dozed off, far gone to the dreamland.

Winterglade smiled weakly, the day's fatigue finally catched up to her. Fender was right, there is no need to muse with things too much. For now, it's time to take it easy. Winterglade's mind wandered back to one month before. They were on their way back home from Fluttershy's house. She remembered that Fender indeed promised her that he would commit himself to her happiness, a promise that sealed her life together with the stallion. Her cheeks turned a faint shade of red from the wonderful memory. If she wasn't so absurdly tired she would move and swoop on the stallion already. She nodded slightly. "Thanks..." The waitress came with their food. Winterglade spared no time to wolf down on the salads, paying no mind that Fender might be a bit revolted on the sight of it. She sighed in satisfaction. "Now this is dinner!" she cheered, absentmindedly flicking a piece of carrot to the air before catching it with her mouth. "You're right, Fender. Tonight is just between us, no need to worry too much about anything any more." Winterglade slurped her tea greedily. After an entire afternoon and evening with empty stomach, even a simple meal like salad tasted like heavens. "Tomorrow..." she murmured. "I'm not sure if we can go back to my home that soon. I still need to talk with my family." Her ears fell flat, doubt fully expressed on her face. "Would you be okay with staying in this town a bit longer?"

Winterglade raised an eyebrow, partially in confusion, when Fender stammered out an answer. His face was also looked a bit red. Winterglade chortled a laugh when she finally figured out what had happened in the lobby earlier. She closed the distance between them, a content smile on her face. Stallions can be silly sometimes. The pair entered a small restaurant, and Fender quickly placed an order. "Um..." She took a peek to the kitchen area. It seemed like the place was preparing to call it a day. No big menu for tonight. "I'll take two salads and a tea," she said to the waitress. She was a bit hungry after all that happened since the morning. After the waitress left to retrieve the meal, Winterglade took a seat on a table and flopped her face to the table. "By Celestia my head hurts..."

Winterglade tilted her head in confusion when Fender turned aside and coughed. Did she said something wrong? She looked around the lobby, there was nopony else but the still musty-looking receptionist who hardly paid any attention at everything. After a moment of she decided to shrug it off. "Wait!" Winterglade called out. She quickly excused herself from the receptionist and pocketed the room key before galloping to follow Fender. The idea of being left alone in an empty building just didn't suit her. "Don't just leave me like that! I want to go around the place too." She coughed. "Anyway, what food do you have in mind?"

Winterglade chuckled. Honestly, spending the night in a damp alley somewhere would be okay with her, as long as Fender would stay on her side. She jumped and took flight next to Fender. "Let's go!" she said.. She took one last look at her house before taking flight to the nearest inn she remembered. It didn't took Winterglade long to find a suitable lodging for the night. The building was rather unassuming, built on mahogany, two stories and about three rooms wide. It was a bit different than the one she remembered standing on its place, but it will do for the night. She entered through the door and made her way to the receptionist. The exchange was brief, the old receptionist hardly looked at the slightly irritated mare. With a sigh Winterglade snatched the room key and called for Fender, "I guess we will be sleeping on a small room tonight. Before we go to sleep, do you have anything in mind?"