Red Cedar

Red's voice caught in his throat again. Was he actually just asked to be a tour guide for a Princess? Red swallowed hard to recover. "Uhm, of course, Your Highness, I'd be honoured." he replied. His mind began to race about as quickly as the pink Earth Pony spoke as he started thinking about the possible sights of his home to show the Princess. Applejack braced her ears for the verbal storm she knew was coming, and sure enough, it was a level of information that was amazing to process from one pony's voice. After Pinkie's explanation, though, she nodded. "Yeah, Canterlot's great for holiday ideas, that's for sure!" she agreed, then turned to Copper again. "Nice. All set for Hearth's Warming? Bet it looks lovely and homey there this time of year." As Copper looked over to a snow figure off to the side of the plaza, she raised her eyebrow. "Uh... wow... someone actually made a Snowdiscord?" That was easily the fourth weirdest thing she'd ever seen.

Red could only imagine that in a city largely populated by unicorns, an Earth Pony like himself would stand out. Of course, it could also have been his accent. "I'm from Vanhoover, Your Highness, here on holiday." he explained, "And thank you for the evening, it is beautiful." He glanced aside orange Earth Pony mare who seemed a lot more comfortable around the Princess approached. Red thought for a moment that she looked familiar, until his thoughts were interrupted by a blur of pink greeting him with, "Hiya, newguywhoIdunnothenameofbutIusuallyfindoutiftheyaskwhattheirnameis!" Finally wrapping his head around that verbal blur, he smiled, and said, "Hi. Red Cedar's my name." Try as she might, Applejack couldn't quite bring herself to be so informal with royalty as to just call them by their name. It just didn't seem right. "It's no inconvenience at all, Ma'am." she said cheerfully. "Downright pretty." Applejack thought she would have been used to Pinkie's sudden arrivals anywhere, but not when it was in a different city. At first, Applejack thought she'd been found out, but then she remembered, Pinkie's Hearth's Warming gift was safely stashed in her saddlebag out of sight, so, no need to worry. Pinkie wasn't that psychic, was she? "Hi, Pinkie. What brings you here?" she called cheerfully, and then again as another familiar face arrived. "Howdy, Copper. Ain't seen you since Dodge Junction. How y'all been?"

Gradually, Red relaxed when it seemed there had been no harm done, and he stood upright again slowly. Still rather in awe, however, he stammered a little as he explained, "Uhm, yes, Your Highness, it's a lovely evening. My name is Red Cedar, though, I don't believe we've met before." Certainly, Red would have felt that he'd have remembered if he had encountered the Princess before, but unless that was in a dream long forgotten, he couldn't think of it. Applejack couldn't quite put her hoof on it, but something about the group of ponies she had been watching having a large snowball fight in the next courtyard seemed mighty familiar. Tearing herself away from the spectacle, however, she made her way over to where she had seen Princess Luna touring the city, and at the moment seemingly intimidating another Earth Pony. As she approached to within earshot, and hoping not to interrupt, she bowed deeply. "'Evening, Your Highness," she said. "Lovely moonrise tonight."

Yay, Pinkie! Sorry for the delays. Life has sucked lately. Will try and post tomorrow morning.

@Skycoaster @EquestrianScholar All yours.

Red was becoming ever more distracted as he wandered through the promenades of Canterlot, looking over his shoulder often at the trees dusted with white snow, bringing out the detail of every branch even in the pale moonlight. Unfortunately for him, his distractions caught up with him as his shoulder slammed against something quite hard. "Ow!" he exclaimed, then stepped back in surprise as, far from being a streetlamp, he realized he had bumped into the armour-hardened shoulder of a guardpony. "Sorry, I didn't mean to..." Red's voice caught in his throat. This was no mere patrolling guard. Taking another step back in surprise, he quickly lowered on his front knees. "Princess Luna! My apologies!" he said quickly to the snow. Still gazing out over the valley from her vantage point on the balcony, Applejack's ear twitched as she heard some sort of commotion behind her, turning around to see what was going on.

Sorry. Spent the weekend at a convention. Will post tomorrow.

Sorry for the wait. Have at 'er.

Applejack stepped out into the lightly falling snow and a shiver went up her spine. Despite her winter jacket and the scarf wrapped snugly around her neck, the first sudden shock of the outside air hit her immediately after leaving the warmth of the shop. She had spent a couple days in Canterlot already, overseeing the last deliveries of her farm's apples to their clients in the capital to take them through the winter. Now she was taking advantage of being here one more night to do a little Hearth's Warming shopping. Her saddlebag firmly strapped to her middle, she began to trot down the street, when she paused, looking out over one of the city's terraces to watch as the brilliant, silver moon rose slowly from behind the horizon. So early? she thought to herself, but she soon thought better. Of course, it was the first night of Winter, the longest night of the year, so naturally the moon would be up now. Sighing deeply, gazing over the valleys below, she said to herself, "Well, guess that's it. Another year is all but over." It was always a bittersweet moment for her. She could look back on a year's worth of accomplishments, sure, but there was a definite finality to her work each year, dictated by the seasons, leaving her longing for the warmer days of Spring when she could get back into her orchard and begin anew. Applejack took another deep breath, shaking herself back to the present. There was still much about Winter to look forward to, of course. The holidays, the time spent with family and friends, and this beautiful evening to start it off with. Red Cedar stepped out of his hotel and smiled. It was a pretty night, with just a touch of snow falling, the likes of which he rarely saw in Vanhoover. Still, it was a nice change from his home city's constant Winter downpours of frigid rain. With a dark green toque and scarf, and a thick black saddle blanket draped over his back and tied securely under his torso, he began to trot through the city streets, taking in the sights and sounds and smells. While the big city wasn't always his first choice to travel to, he had to admit it had its charms this close to Winter and Hearth's Warming, his favourite time of the year. Besides, camping in the snow meant a whole extra level of preparation, and after a year spent working in the forests had come to an end due to the change in season, a little restful trip was inviting before going back to plant and tend seedlings in the greenhouses after the holidays. As he rounded a corner, his eyes widened. The plaza before him was bathed in subdued light, so that it seemed the streets and buildings themselves glowed. Peering over his shoulder, he watched as the moon slowly rose into view, between the mountains beyond and the clouds from which the snow drifted down gently. "Wow," he said to nopony in particular. "Beautiful."

@PathfinderCS Applejack sighed heavily from exhaustion, barely able to make out Trixie's words, only that they sounded sad and full of regret. Softly, she murmured, "S'okay... I ain't mad... I ain't mad..." over and over until she could no longer keep herself conscious, passing out beside Trixie under cover of the blanket. Applejack awoke... or did she? It was dark. Pitch black. Was she awake, or dreaming she was awake? She couldn't be sure of anything, without anything to focus on. Even her ears were no good. Was the wind still howling or was the blood rushing through her head? Slowly, arduously, she tried to roll over, push herself up. Sucking breath through her teeth, she set herself back down heavily. Nope, she was definitely awake, her shoulder proved it. In fact, she wasn't sure if she was going to get up again anytime soon. She took another deep breath, trying to relax. Maybe she didn't have to wake up yet. If Trixie was still out, there was no point in her not resting some more, especially as they seemed in no immediate danger. She hoped. Taking another breath, she closed her eyes and listened, trying to determine how and where Trixie was.

I apologize. Christmas preparations are in overdrive. Will try to post shortly after.