Friday, March 24th, 1701 AFE. Ponyville Town Square. 2:00pm.

Amethyst turned as she heard a distant voice calling for her. Confusingly, it was clearly somepony from town, just running up the path to Fluttershy's cottage. Giving the bunny she'd been tending to one last scratch behind her long, floppy ear, Amethyst stood up and called back to the distant mare. "I'm over here, dear. What's the matter? Has something gone wrong in town?"

Her heart riding in her throat, she began jogging through the slush, to meet the mare halfway while she began to imagine the worst possible reasons somepony from town needed her assistance. The mare rounded the last bend in the path at a run, finally free of the last of the trees on the far side of the bridge. To Amethyst's shock, it wasn't a mare at all, but Rarity’s little sister, Sweetie Belle, bolting over the bridge and to her side. "Oh, Amethyst! You just gotta come help! Rarity and half the ponies are all getting so worked up over this one nest that just won't work right, while the other half are all being super lazy and doing no work at all!"

Crossing the bridge in two steps and taking a gentle grip on the worried foal’s hand, Amethyst gave the filly a serious smile, but internally, she felt relieved. "Oh, thank The Light. Just an argument between the nest builders? Well, at least that's something simple to deal with!"

Flashing Sweetie a smile, she nodded towards town with her head. "Alright, Sweetie darling. Let's go have a word with Rarity. I'm surprised she'd get so worked up over a single nest. Is it a special request Fluttershy made for a sensitive animal or something?"

Shaking her head, distress clearly in her eyes, Sweetie Belle took comfort in Amethyst's offer of support and started to guide her towards town. "No, that's just it! I was showing Dusk how to build a nest and something just went catastrophically wrong! Then Rarity got involved trying to fix it, and soon almost everypony else got drawn into an argument on how to fix it!"

Amazed, Amethyst shook her head, calling out to Cheerilee as she followed Sweetie towards town. "Cheerilee, there is some trouble in town. Can you go assist Fluttershy with keeping everypony working while I go fix this?"

Looking up from the huddle of school-aged foals, she was introducing to a litter of young Pine Marten kits. Taking her hand from the fawn's ears and letting one of the fillies take over scratching by the biggest kit's ears, Cheerilee gave Amethyst a little wave. "Good luck, Ame! It'll be easy for me and Fluttershy to handle things!"

Sweetie's steady tug of determination on her wrist grew stronger as the filly continued to try and guide her off towards town. Worried for a second about not contacting Fluttershy personally before heading to town, Amethyst put it aside and moved to follow the intense filly. "Fluttershy will be fine! She's great with animals. A little overprotective sometimes, but how could that cause any problems when Cheerilee is there to keep her in check?"

Dusk felt like Sisyphus, pushing a boulder uphill in an unwinnable battle, doomed to start again if he slipped and lost even an inch of progress. How long had it been since Applejack had left to grab a bite to eat? He couldn't remember anymore, except how good it had felt when she squeezed his shoulder and cheered him on.

Sometime recently, he had been sure he'd seen a blur of blond and red; had it been Mac? He could have sworn he could remember some other stallion running with Mac, but neither stopped when he'd said hello.

Now his face was drenched with sweat and his legs ached with every step he took, but he could see some movement on the mound of snow before him. The distant sound of something else... was it clapping? His soaked bangs hung over his eyes and obscured his view just as badly as the rivulets of sweat running down his cheeks.

After what felt like an eternity, Dusk stopped, aching lungs burning as he forced them to take in another breath of the crisp air. For a moment, the world around him fell deathly silent, until one voice began to chant. "Come on, Dusk! Just five more feet! You can do it!

Before his brain could identify who had spoken, another called out. "Yeah, Dusk! You're so close! Just another three steps!"

Soon a chant had grown from a crowd he couldn't see through his distorted vision of the world. The growing chant took some of the shooting pain from his back, and the twinge with his every step. Shifting the leather wrappings on his hands to a drier point, Dusk clenched his teeth, and took a step, leaning into the drenched wooden pole.

The chanting voices faded away, and a rhythmic clapping replaced the voices, with a single word echoing forth as they united in that clap. "Dusk!"

He shifted his weight. "Dusk!"

He forced the mighty snow plow forward another foot. "Dusk!"

He leaned his shoulder into the bar, and ground his feet against the earth, grunting with the exhausting effort.

They all fell silent.

Breathless. Nothing left in his body to push the plow yet another inch further, Dusk realized a hand was on his shoulder, and somepony was yelling something. But he couldn’t make it out over the deafening silence. No, not silence, it was the roar of the crowd. They’d gotten so loud and surrounded him suddenly. Some hulking stallion as wide as Big Mac was tall pulled Dusk’s body from the plow and hefted him above the crowd where the roar overpowered his hearing.

One pony pushed him a flask of water, another a platter of sandwiches. Delirious with stale adrenaline and exhaustion, it took a moment for him to recognize the food, and even then he splashed himself with half the flask of water, still too out of it to think about the offered meal. Carried around by the exuberant stallion it only now dawned on him that he'd soaked the man. Still breathless he attempted an apology, "I-sorry."

Unworried or unable to hear Dusk's voice, the titanic pegasus joined in the crowds’ roaring chant, continuing to march him around the packed field.

Drenched, drunk on his own exhaustion and a little twinge of pride, and still sticky from dried-on sweat, Dusk looked around for something that he could use to help him focus on the world around him. It was only when two pegasi swooped down over the plow he was being led away from that he was finally able to see the reason they’d stopped him. He’d made it to the far edge of the farm field, to the waiting crowds who had set up lunch and watched him as he put forward a valiant effort.

Somepony was stuffing surprisingly fresh grapes into his slack jaw, and as he looked over and forced his eyes to refocus, he realized Applejack was deftly plucking them from a bunch in a bowl under one arm, before feeding them to him. Still befuddled, he shook some of the weight of exhaustion away and looked back over at her. “I… didn’t do anything that special, did I?”

Grinning at him and giving Bulk Biceps a stiff nudge in the ribs, Applejack called for a little calm. “Bulk, put him down, please? Unless you feel up to carrying him all the way home.” The giant looked a little crestfallen but complied, and heartily shook Dusk’s hand before leaning him up against Applejack. When they had a more private moment, she led him to a secluded edge of the nearby orchard so they could finally talk. “Dusk, besides Bulk, you don’t see many unicorns or pegasi here, do you?”

Taking a moment to look around, Dusk realized that she was right, and gave a little nod, too tired to speak and too busy enjoying the cold, but joyful tingle of fruit in the back of his throat every time he bit into the grapes she continued to feed him. He hardly realized she was walking him in slow circles until she stopped a moment to give a gesture to the nearly ninety ponies who were just starting to clean up what must have been a massive lunch picnic. “What you did was a real inspiration to them, Dusk. You showed them a unicorn half the size of most the stallions out there still had the heart to try and help out. They’d have loved you for even trying. The fact you really managed to do it? That’s just the fermentation in the cider!”

Looking back again at the trail he’d made as she started making him walk again in small circles while moving his arms and stretching his back, Dusk suddenly grinned a little. “You’re making me cool down, like when you take Dash for a few quiet laps around town after she’s run all day, aren’t you?”

Winking playfully at him, she leaned in close, her whisper having a teasing edge to it. “Maybe I am. Or maybe I just like the smell of a hard-working stallion? You be the judge.”

Accepting another flask of water, Dusk drained it, enjoying the cool water properly this time, but didn’t argue when she made him give it back and return to walking again, this time towards town. “Just… just as long as they don’t expect me to do that again every year?”

Applejack squeezed his shoulder, half supporting his weight while she rested a hand on his far hip. “Next year you could probably get away with pushing one of the foal’s plows, and nopony would give you any guff. Now let’s start heading to town. Nearly all the pegasi have gone somewhere, and those left don’t have a clue what the new orders are. Plus, Mac’s been missing since he went for the lunch order. Between those two, I wonder who's causing more trouble. Come on, let’s go grab Barb. I’ll carry her and you if I have to.”

Amethyst pulled Rarity away from the table with both hands around her hips, lugging the mare’s body while the rest of the crowd simply ignored them and filed in to fill the newfound gap left in their wake.

Breathing hard, but finally free from the press of bodies and constant barrage of ponies shouting out ideas, Amethyst set Rarity down once they got around the corner of her boutique. Agitated, she panted in an attempt to catch her breath while still trying to find out the source of their commotion. "So, now that we... that we can talk... Just what in The Light was that commotion about, Rarity!?"

Straining to try and see around the corner of her house, her hands beginning to fidget nervously, Rarity looked both anxious and embarrassed at the same time. Nibbling on her lower lip, for a moment Amethyst thought the fashionista might try to refuse giving her an answer before she suddenly broke into an embarrassed ball of nerves. "Oh it's just so embarrassing, Amethyst! It's so easy to weave nests, and I've been doing it for years! But this nest? The one Dusk built? It-it's just impossible! I've asked everypony for suggestions and nothing seems to help! Today's simply a disaster!"

Watching as Rarity quickly worked herself back from embarrassment at her previous behavior into a fidgety mess of frustration and desperation, practically frothing at the mouth, Amethyst was astonished at how quickly the mare got overwhelmed. Taking a steady grip on Rarity’s shoulders, Amethyst pulled Rarity so she looked back into her eyes. ”Rarity, please tell me you didn’t just mean that. That you seriously spent half the day trying to fix one nest? Just… just rip it apart and use the pieces to build a new nest. I mean, honestly!”

Her eyes widening with shock, Rarity looked around as if hunting for something, about to press the issue, until Thunderlane’s voice overhead suddenly broke her concentration. “Derpy’s late again! Clear Skies, Star Hunter, round up two or three more of the high flyers and go look for her along the border of The Everfree; maybe the birds she’s escorting got blown off course. I’m going to go consult with Rainbow Dash, and if you can’t find her during your first pass, don’t enter the forest, come join us, alright?”

As the two pegasi saluted the stallion, Amethyst let go of Rarity and put her hands to her mouth, trying to control her growing panic. “T-... Thunderlane! You… you didn’t send Derpy so close to the Everfree alone, did you!? Th… that wasn’t on the plan!”

Turning around and looking down towards her, Thunderlane looked first shocked, then embarrassed. “What?... Well, I mean, I know you and Dash talked it over and planned for Derpy to take some ponies with her, but Sunshower proved to really be ill after all, and Candy Floss was needed to help with the snow clouds. And, well, Derpy said she was fine with-”

Overwhelmed with a pit of fear, Amethyst turned, momentarily looking back at Rarity who was watching them closely, then back to the Everfree Forest, fighting back the swelling tide of panic in her heart. “Just… Just stop it, Thunderlane! Go tell Dash I’m going to look for Derpy, IN the Everfree!”

Diving down to her side as she marched towards the forest, Thunderlane attempted to cut her off and stand in her way. “Amethyst! Stop, don’t do anything crazy! We don’t even know if Derpy is actually in the Everfree!”

Pulling her magic under her will, Amethyst stopped and stared back into Thunderlane’s eyes. Pulling the two-stone ring from her finger, Amethyst focused all of her thoughts on Derpy, remembering her smile and gentle nature, before pouring her magic into the ring. For a moment, it lifted from her hand and hovered over her palm, the light mulberry aura glowing brilliantly. Slowly, it turned around in mid-air, until the stones pointed squarely towards the forest before suddenly falling back into her hand. That was all she needed to know. Ignoring the fact she’d never tried such a spell before, Amethyst bodily pushed herself past the taller stallion, pushing aside a momentary feeling of lightheadedness, and sneered back at him. “She’s there. Alone. Go find Dash, because I won't leave my mate alone in those woods.”

Dusk was grateful for Applejack's assistance by the time they returned to town. His exhaustion from earlier had grown worse, probably made stronger due to his poor sleep the night before. For all her work to keep him from stiffening up, he still felt like he had been fed through the wringer.

Approaching Town Hall, Dusk was surprised to see no sign of anypony at all, but in the distance, a commotion of noise reassured him that ponies were still hard at work. Taking that as a comfort, Dusk took the first step onto the steps to the front doors, looking back at Applejack as she watched him, a very pensive look clear in her eyes. “If you’re that worried, send Redheart to check up on me, or Aloe, she’s the better masseuse anyways. I am sure it’s just the exhaustion and the fact that I got a little carried away.”

As if his answer settled things for her, Applejack gave him a grin. “Just go lay down in the main hall, Dusk. I’ll send somepony to check up on you as soon as they are free. If you can, get some sleep, I’m sure Pinkie’s planning quite the celebration for when we finish Wrap-Up.”

Winking at her before he continued up the last few steps, Dusk ignored his stiff muscles. “Just stop by and make sure Rarity is okay before hunting down Dash for me, please? When I left, she was very... frustrated at the nest I’d messed up.”

Rolling her eyes at him, Barb shifted her weight on Applejack’s shoulder, yawning against her hand. “You’re a master of understatements, Dusk.”

Applejack shook her head, tickling at the dragoness’ tail. “Oh, of course she’d be frustrated at something like that! I love her, Dusk, but if one little twig’s out of place, she acts like it’s a catastrophe!” Winking playfully up at him when he looked back to see if she was serious, AJ blew him a kiss before turning towards Rarity’s place. “Just go get some rest, Dusk. I’ll make sure Barb behaves. We'll have everything else dealt with before you know it.”

Amethyst was short of breath, and needed to lean against a tree while she wiped sweat from her brow, scowling at the oddly calm in the forest around her. She’d made so much progress and never saw a single hint of the usual monsters that kept everypony from the forest. The quiet was eerie, and she was sure she didn’t want to know what had driven the wild forest to hide.

Ignoring the throbbing pain in her horn, she pulled the ring from her finger again, and once more begged for the ring to direct her to Derpy, glad that the spell worked at all. Spinning in the air over her hand, the ring twisted around and hovered a moment in place, pointing towards a gap between two nearby trees.

Forcing herself to stand up and taking an extra second to steady her balance, Amethyst pushed through the last line of trees and was stunned to see a small house, its appearance only familiar because of the winter’s gossip about Dusk’s house guest while everypony gathered around the fireplace, but a pegasus she didn’t remember was just shutting the door, looking up at her. Shocked, Amethyst called out while staggering from between the trees into the small clearing. “Wait, you found her already!? Is she okay? Did-Did Rainbow Dash get things organized so quickly?! Oh, thank The Light!”

If the mare was surprised to see her, she hid it well, squeezing Amethyst’s shoulder and giving a nod towards the closed door. “Zecora is seeing to her inside, dear. Don’t worry, she’s fine. Just had a little bump on the head when she hit a tree. You’d better hurry and go see her, all right?”

Tears running down her cheeks, Amethyst gave the pegasus a tight hug, shaking with relief as she tried to regain her composure. “I... Thank you, so very much. I’m sorry, I guess I was just so worried about her… Can you-” She swallowed the lump in her throat and gave the mare a smile. “Can you please tell Thunderlane I’m sorry for getting so angry at him? Derpy’s just special to me, and if I lost her-”

The tall pegasus wrapped her arms around Amethyst again, pulling her into a tight hug and stroking a hand down the back of her head. “Oh, you poor thing. I’m sorry we worried you so much. Don’t think about it anymore. By the grace of The Light, your love is fine, and should be fine to return to town once Zecora’s checked on her.”

Amethyst felt foolish, yet the soothing touch of the mare was comforting, almost matronly. Pulling herself back together, she straightened up and gave the mare a smile. “Thank you, really. It’s by Celestia’s grace that you’ve found her so quickly!” Turning towards the house, she steeled herself and knocked gently.

Behind her back, the mare winced a little, before taking flight. Amethyst couldn’t make out what she’d muttered to herself because of the sound of her beating wings as she left. Opening the door, Zecora looked confused for a moment, waving her to enter. “What do we have here, another guest? And wearing such a noble vest. The mare’s head has been dressed; there’s no need to feel distressed.”

Friday, March 24th, 1701 AFE. Town Hall. 2:15pm.

Rarity pulled the nest back from Vinyl, scowling at her. “No, don’t you get it!? I tried reweaving it! It just gets twisted up again!”

Glaring back at her over the rim of her glasses, the mare gave her an annoyed shrug, before giving up and walking away from the table, her tail’s flick of annoyance her ‘last word’ on their arguement. Just as Rarity started to smooth the tangled mess of straw again, a roar of wind overhead turned towards her as a pegasus descended towards her table. “Oh, dear Celestia, is everything going wrong already?!”

Shielding the nest with her body, Rarity didn’t realize who had landed before her until Dash’s prodding finger was matched with her voice. “So, is this why Fluttershy’s so flustered? I don’t know, the nest looks good enough to me.”

Rarity very slowly lifted off the table, glaring at the younger mare and ignoring her for a moment to smooth the slightly crumpled mess of a nest on the table before her, pouting a little. “It’s not your fault, really. It’s just that Dash doesn’t understand how important you are, that’s all!” Turning her head up, she glared at Dash again, frowning. “What are you talking about, Dash? Why is Fluttershy coming to you for help, anyway?”

Dash grumbled to herself, resting a hand to her forehead while she turned around looking at the other ponies who were gathered around and watching them. “I don’t know, she’ll catch up in a minute or two. She said we had to stop melting so much snow, they were out of nests and needed my pegasi to help move a bunch of the critters to high ground to avoid the rising water. Anyway, where are the rest of the nests? Inside your house or...?”

Suddenly very self-conscious, Rarity looked around the many tables with half-built nests and bored ponies all engaged in casual conversation or watching her and Dash. Lifting a shaky hand, she shook her head, blushing a little. “I-well, you see… It’s just, we got caught up on this project, and-I think we might have fallen behind.” Her last words were weak and very worried, as her eyes darted from Dash, to the slowly descending figure of Fluttershy.

Fluttershy fell to the ground with far less grace than Dash, gripping onto the table for support as her legs trembled and her massive breasts heaved. Turning to look with wild eyes, she held a hand out for Rarity, before dropping it to the table again, her head resting on her arms. “Dash!!! Don’t fly so fast! I couldn’t keep up~”

Dash rolled her eyes and walked to Fluttershy’s side, folding her wings up properly and smoothing some of the wilder-looking feathers as she looked up at Rarity. “But really, Rarity? You got off track? It’s not like your job’s complicated! Just keep everypony working on nests and make sure somepony takes a few to Fluttershy to keep providing safe places for the critters! Geez.”

Amethyst wiped at her eyes and rested her head on Derpy’s chest, taking care to gently hug her around the neck. Looking back at Zecora as the zebra put away her supplies, she tried to relax and smile. “So you don’t remember the mares who brought her here? They didn’t mention anything about where they found her, or anything?”

Pausing for a moment to look thoughtfully at her door, Zecora’s voice went distant, but her lips curved in a faint smile. “Both were proper ladies, but appeared to be in a hurry. The shorter mare stayed long enough to make sure there was no worry. Her hair was a silvery maroon, her skin as pale as the moon. I warned her of the beasts of the forest acting oddly, but she promised it was no problem very broadly.”

Derpy stroked fingers through Amethyst’s hair, looking embarrassed when both turned to look to her again, as if she were aware what their question was she shook her head and answered before they asked. “I still don’t remember much, Ame. I remember hearing some ponies talking while I flew around the outer edge of the Everfree, and got worried somepony had wandered into the forest by accident. And I know Dash always says not to go in alone, but if somepony was lost in the Everfree on a day like today, it would be forever before somepony noticed and went to go find them! So I just had to investigate, I couldn’t let somepony get hurt!”

Amethyst shook her head and wiped away the trail of tears on her cheeks, hushing her mate and kissing her cheek. “It’s okay, Derpy, really it is. I’m proud you were so brave to go into the Everfree Forest alone!”

Clearing her throat and giving a somewhat embarrassed shrug, Zecora gave them a smile. “Not meaning to interrupt your reunion, but cleaning up after a winter away is my form of communion. Your head should be fine, but I’d suggest a visit to the florist. Rush home before whatever has scared the wits out of the monsters of the forest.”

Amethyst winced, but gave Zecora a nod, making herself stand up, squeezing Derpy’s hand. “Do… do you think you can handle walking home now, Derpy? Zecora’s right, and it will only get worse if we wait for nightfall.”

Sitting up and rubbing at her bandaged head, Derpy gave a casual shrug and squeezed Amethyst’s hand in return before standing up. “Let’s take this as a catalyst, and head home now, Amethyst! No need to persist, I really do insist!” Giggling lightheartedly, she stood up, and took a moment to regain her balance before bowing low to Zecora, grinning warmly to her. “I dare not try to boast, but should you ever come back to town, you’ll find me a grateful host! I might sometimes accidently burn toast, but you will find my hospitality warmer than most!”

Zecora was stock-still watching Derpy closely, and Amethyst worried her lover had gone too far in her attempt to replicate Zecora’s style of speech. But at last, her lips curved upwards, then Zecora began to snicker, her dancing with delight. Soon she’d lost all control and was in a happy laughing fit, brushing tears from her eyes and struggling to squeeze out an answer. “I suppose I must submit, a dinner, I’d gladly commit.”

Taking one of Derpy’s arms and heading towards the door, Amethyst held her protectively close, waving a little at Zecora on the way out. “Really, thank you again, Zecora. And be careful out here. I don’t like how quiet the Everfree is today!”

Friday, March 24th, 1701 AFE. Town Hall. 2:40pm.

Dusk lay on his back on the thick wooden bench, staring at the interlaced beams of the roof. A slow breath inflated his lungs, and pulled at stiff muscles. He exhaled with a hiss between half-parted teeth, and the pressure let go as his chest deflated. Quiet footsteps cross the room from the far side of the room, and a mare cleared her throat. “Magistrate?”

Dusk closed his eyes, leaving his arm over his head, cursing under his breath as he counted to five, trying to think of a polite way to ask the inquisitive mare to leave him be. As he reached four, she stepped in beside the bench he had stretched out on and knelt down, her hands rubbing over his calf. “You’ve been working very hard today, Dusk. I’m impressed, really.”

Opening his eyes and looking at the mare, Dusk hunted for a name to put to her face, and found himself without an answer. Deciding to simply live with admitting the truth, he smiled at her and shook his head. “I apologize, I thought I knew all the unicorn mares here in Ponyville. Are you new in town, miss?”

Laughing gently, the mare moved her hands to his other leg, rubbing thumbs into the knotted muscle of his leg as she turned to look at him, her enchanting smile reminded him of somepony, but he couldn’t place her. “I am simply visiting, Magistrate, don’t feel bad that you don’t know every mare in town. After all, any stallion who knows too many mares tends to acquire... a reputation.”

Dusk didn’t need her suggestive wording to figure out what she meant, and looked away, blushing at the fact he really could already be considered ‘that kind’ of stallion. Drawing a carefully-controlled breath, he tried to recover the situation. “You’d be right, of course, but I try to keep track of everything in town and that includes getting to know most everypony. Do you mind if I ask what your business is?... Or are you just visiting Lyra?”

His one card played, he waited a moment, watching her very calm face, in hopes of catching some change in her expression to tell him if he’d guessed right. She arched a brow at him and sat back, focusing hard until her eyes closed and a silver-blue light formed on her horn, before enveloping his legs. If her hands had soothed his tense muscles, her magic numbed them completely. Finally satisfied, she settled her hands on her legs and arched a brow, watching him. “I am Princess Luna’s advisor during the day when she’s resting. My name is Moonlight Dreamer. As for Lyra, I have yet to see her today.”

Dusk watched her closely, trying to gauge the truthfulness of her words regarding Lyra. But after considering her unreadable face, he let it drop, making a mental note to confront the mare later. “I see. I apologize, but after winter being so quiet, I began to wonder if Princess Celestia and Luna would begin to start testing me again.”

Rolling her eyes at him, she walked around him and settled behind his head, propping him up to sit forward while she ran a finger over the aching bones of his shoulderblades. “I am here for a more immediate problem. Princess Cadence is busy with some studying for her majesty, and asked if I could look into your back pain. Is it localized? Your letters never went into very many details.”

The mare’s touch was icy yet soothing as she poked at his aching shoulders, tracing the lines of pain as if she could see them. He bit his lip and tried to ignore the screaming spike of pain that shot down his spine when she touched the sensitive point just below his shoulder blade. When he’d caught his breath again, he gave a sigh. “No wonder. I apologize, but after overworking out in the field with the earth ponies today, all I feel is pain and stiff muscles. Best that I can offer is that it's been localized to two points just below the joints of the bones in my shoulder blades. The… err... scapula?”

Shifting her touch and exploring the bones in his back, she muttered quietly to herself, or did she curse under her breath? He couldn't tell for sure anymore. A soothing cold soon soaked into the bones of his back, alleviating the pain in his back, just like she’d numbed all the tension in his legs. “You have the general area correct. I need to consult with Princess Cadence, but I think you simply bruised both bones at some point in the past, perhaps your childhood? They appear to have healed, and poorly. Do you remember any accidents from your youth? I’m surprised it wasn’t part of your medical records.”

Growing sleepy from the cold, it took all of Dusk’s mental energy to even hear her, let alone answer. “I... suppose so. When… when I hatched Barb, there was a moment when incredible magic energy surged forth as I discovered my cutie mark, and what we later learned was a Sonic Rainboom burst in the air over Canterlot. Barb grew to a massive size and I was thrown hard into the wall by the backlash of magic. Princess Celestia saved me then, but I blacked out for a few days after. That… that is the only time I can remember passing out.”

Resting her cool hand to his forehead, she hushed him, and smiled gently. “Then you have an answer at last. Now rest a while. Thy pain will soon be forgotten.” Unable to fight the soothing cold and drowning exhaustion, Dusk gave her a little nod, and let his eyes close again.

Applejack couldn’t believe her luck, Dash was standing with Rarity and Fluttershy, both simply waiting for her! The fact they appeared to be arguing worried her, and she took a moment to scratch her fingers at the joint of Barb’s tail and spine to try and soothe her own worries about what must have gone wrong to get them all gathered together and arguing. Clearing her throat as she approached, she tried to break into the conversation and end their argument. “Dash, there you are! What’s happened? Why are all the pegasi wandering off? Has something happened?”

Dash rolled her eyes and jerked a thumb at Rarity and Fluttershy, who’d ignored Applejack’s question and continued to argue about nests. “It’s these two you need to talk to! Rarity fell behind on nests and now she won't let them out if they aren’t perfect, and Fluttershy won't let us melt any more snow because we don’t have any more nests to move the critters into!”

Rarity thrust her hands onto her hips and scowled at Dash, her attention pulled at last from Fluttershy to Dash. “That’s not it at all! I’ve got everypony back to work, really, I know we fell behind, but it was important to make sure we were making the nests properly!”

Fluttershy crossed her arms and lifted her head, huffing angrily. “The birds could make better nests than this if you think it’s so important, Rarity! I don’t know why we don’t just take all the hay and let them do it themselves!”

Rushing down from above, and stumbling from the speed of his decent, Thunderlane rushed up to the table, sweating hard and panting for breath even harder, but smiling a little. “Derpy and Amethyst are almost back! Zecora found her! Everything is okay now, really!”

Applejack was shocked, stepping up to the table and shaking her head. “Really? That's what this is all about! At least Thunderlane has a decent reason to be worried! I mean, who let Derpy go off into the Everfree forest alone anyways!?” Giving them no time to reply, Applejack slammed her fist down on the table. “Besides, Fluttershy, we need to start planting seriously! You can just move the critters out of the way for now, no need to pander to them just because they’re a little sleepy! If we don’t get the snow melted and the seeds in right away, it’ll start flooding the fields! Dash, start gathering your team back up, the planting can’t wait!”

Dash took two steps back from the table, throwing up her hands and shaking her head. “Hey, woah now! Amethyst’s orders said to delay melting for planting till the critters were clear of the flood fields! Besides, I didn’t order Derpy or anypony to go near the Everfree! She was supposed to take a group and go around the south end to gather the birds! I mean, geeze Thunderlane! How can you mess something that simple up!?”

Fluttershy wasn’t going to have any of Applejack’s comments, and slammed her hands down on the table between her and AJ, causing everypony to back away from the table in fright while her voice grew faintly hysterical, drowning out Dash. “Oh, sure! Just continue the melt, not like that changes anything for anypony! It’s not like there aren’t two or three hundred families of critters that might get flooded out or worse! Right Applejack?!”

Rarity snatched up the bruised nest upon the table, clutching it protectively to her chest and sneering at the others. “Stop it! You’re hurting poor Nestual’s feelings! You girls should have a little respect for others’ feelings!”

Barb had scrambled from Applejack’s shoulder and was inching away from the growing torrent of arguments. Over her head, Thunderlane cleared his throat, bending down beside her, his eyes wild with worry. “I-I thought I was bringing good news. Did I somehow make things worse?”

Barb shook her head and grabbed onto his collar. “Just… just get me to Amethyst. Dusk’s supposed to be sleeping and would probably hurt himself if we got him up to try and fix all this mess! But he trusts Amethyst, so let’s get her back here fast!”

Unnoticed by everypony else standing around and complaining, the formerly lazy ponies who had been working on building nests gave one another guilty looks, and returned to their tables, returning to their duties with a newfound fervor.

Slightly breathless, Amethyst was glad to finally see the edge of the forest, and rushed Derpy along, still really anxious to escape the uncomfortable silence of the Everfree Forest. Pushing for Derpy to go just another five, ten feet further, she finally relented when Derpy let go of her hand and clung to a lonely tree, panting for breath. “Ame! Can’t we stop!? We are really far away from the forest, and it’s not like we saw a single monster of the Everfree the whole way back!~”

Amethyst turned to look back at the forest as she let Derpy catch her breath, needing to get her own back, but she still worried about just what might be happening in the forest. Nervous, she tapped her foot on the thin path that had formed from the edge of the forest, pulling teeth across her lip in thought. Finally, when she was sure she could talk without panting for breath, but still refusing to look away from the forest, she reached over and squeezed Derpy’s hand. “Are you feeling better? I think… I think we need to tell Dusk about the Everfree. It’s… it bothers me. It has never been this quiet the entire time we’ve lived here.”

Derpy squeezed her hand in return, and that somewhat soothed her frayed nerves, but ever the optimist, her answer felt lacking to Amethyst. “Maybe the monsters that populate the Everfree are just celebrating Winter Wrap-Up too? They like holidays too, right?”

Suppressing her worry, Amethyst gave Derpy a smile and shook her head. “I’m sorry dear, but I’d still feel better after talking to Dusk. Do you think you can make it the rest of the way home or should I walk you there first? I should check up on Rarity before going to see Dusk, gotta make sure she has kept on track.”

Standing up from her tree and flexing her arms, Derpy grinned at Amethyst. “I am feeling great, Ame! Whatever was in that drink Zecora gave me really helped with my head. I still can’t remember what happened, but I’d be happy to go back to work if Dash is shorthanded!”

Amethyst winced, and squeezed Derpy’s hand again, giving a little sigh. “Just… just go home, I’ll send Dinky to check up on you as soon as I can. You need your rest, okay?”

Derpy looked like she was about to offer another disagreement, but gave a little sigh and offered her a pout. “Okay… but if you don’t come home before dark, I’ll have to come hunt you down. Can’t have you overworking yourself too much!”

Turning back to the path towards town, Amethyst followed the path, hand-in-hand with Derpy until the more permanent road opened up before them, and split off into several different smaller routes. Continuing on alone, she had hardly gone another ten feet when a voice called to her. “Amethyst! Wait! We must talk!”

Coming from the direction of the forest, the words’ dark intent sent a chill up her spine. Against her better judgement, she turned to look back at the woods, yet saw nopony in sight. Swallowing back her own fear, she called out to the empty air. “I don’t know who you are, but I’m not going back into the Everfree. I don’t care what monster is out of control or who's in trouble. I can’t handle it. No more disasters, not today!”

The beating of wings made her look up, just as Thunderlane dove to the ground and landed at a run, rushing to her side and squeezing her shoulders. Clinging to his back, Barb’s eyes were wide with terror, but she buried her head in the pegasus’ wings and shouted at Amethyst. “Well that's too bad! Because we’ve got a disaster and Dusk’s busy taking a nap in Town Hall! Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy and AJ are nearly brawling over whose fault it is that they’ve all fallen behind! It’s a disaster!”

Feeling a throbbing pain forming behind her eyes, she gripped Thunderlane’s shoulders in return, her lower lips quivering. “Dusk's sleeping, now? But so much has gone wrong! Wait! What about Pinkie and the ice carvers?! They’re still on task, right?”

Looking panicked, the stallion looked over his shoulder at Barb and shook his head, peeling the dragoness from his back and handing her to Amethyst. “You catch her up, I’ll go check. Please let Pinkie have kept serious, just this once!”

Shifting the dragoness in her arms and watching as the stallion took flight in a bolt, Amethyst tried to pull herself back together. “Alright, hit me. What happened?”

Barb laughed a little with her own nervous panic, shaking her head. “What happened? What didn't!?”

The sound of the ongoing argument told Amethyst that things really were as bad as Barb had described them to be. Steeling herself and stiffening her back, Amethyst gave Barb a smile and took the dragoness’ hand, walking towards the greatest source of the noise. All around ponies had gathered, including most of the flying team, easily a hundred earth ponies, and a large part of the animal team. In the moment she paused to look over the crowd, she was happy to see that at least the nest builders were still at work, with some of the tables now piled up so heavy that the ponies working there had been forced to move to other stations while they continued to work on.

Gathered in the middle of the clearing, right before Rarity’s home, all of the leaders besides Pinkie Pie were at each other’s throats, with angry jeers and comments from their supporters that were waiting around, probably for new orders.

Letting go of Barb’s hand and putting two fingers to her lips, Amethyst drew a deep breath and whistled as sharply as she could, holding the note until the gathered ponies were all looking at her. Glad to finally have gotten their attention, Amethyst gave them a glare. “Just what in The Light are you all doing standing around here arguing?! We are in the middle of Winter Wrap-Up and you ponies are standing around instead of getting your work done!”

Everypony appeared to start talking all at once, the noise of their combined babble a torrent that Amethyst could hardly handle. Fluttershy was the loudest, her voice still hysterical. “It’s not our fault! We had to stop Dash and Applejack from drowning the critters!”

But AJ wasn’t about to be accused that way, shooting back. “I didn’t want to hurt no critters, I just wanted to get back on track! If you had just kept to schedule, we’d never have had this problem!”

And Dash didn’t improve the situation, crossing arms over her head and turned her back to the others. “Hey! Don’t blame me, Fluttershy! I did what you asked! It’s Rarity’s fault she fell behind anyways!”

Of course, Rarity wasn’t going to let anypony question her methods, even if she wasn’t very proud of her own work today. “How dare you!? I was just getting everything back on schedule until you all showed up and suddenly drove all my workers to distraction with your gripes and complaints! We’re only behind at all now because you won't leave us alone and let us do our work! Why didn’t you keep everypony focused on their own work, Amethyst!?”

Amethyst had to hold her calm, and looked from one pony to the other as she tried to answer them all before their arguments resumed again. “Now, look everypony! This isn’t the time for that! We-”

Suddenly, an authoritative tone of voice cut Amethyst off, and drowned her out. “I was hoping my amazingly inspirational speech would urge everyone to do better than last year, but now it looks like we're going to be later than ever. I mean, just look at this catastrophe! First Big Mac discovers that Caramel let the town’s emergency seed supply go rotten, then when I go to check on the ice carvers, I find they made the chunks too big to melt. Then there’s all the clouds still in the sky, the critters are still hibernating in the flood zones and don't get me started on the western birds! Amethyst, this isn't good, not at all! I thought you told me you could handle this without Magistrate Dusk Shine’s help!”

As Amethyst tried to respond to the mayor, Thunderlane arrived with a guilty-looking Pinkie Pie, a frustrated Big Mac, and a broken looking Caramel, their presence only further driving her failure home. Struggling now, and crying with frustration, exhaustion and exasperation at how everypony was blaming mistakes she could never have taken into account on her, as if she’d done these things personally, she looked up at Mrs. Mayor, and tried to answer. “But… we checked the seed supply last week! How could I know-”

Turning away from her, the mare dismissed her words with the wave of one hand. “We don’t have time for excuses, Amethyst. Oh, why did I trust one pony to lead Winter Wrap-Up!? Every year this is a guaranteed disaster!”

Like somepony had waved the white flag, everypony returned to shouting their grievances again. Amethyst’s hopes for the day dropped like a rock, and she ran, ran from the noise, ran from the heartbreak, ran for the first quiet place she could find.

Dusk had been sure he’d drifted off, but the sudden sound of painfully-sad sobbing drew his attention back and woke him again from his sleep. His body was still numb in nearly every joint, yet he forced himself to sit up and move, even when every muscle resisted any attempt to act.

As he attempted to stand, he hissed a groan, and the distant sound of sobbing had cut off. Whoever it was, he’d scared the poor mare. Standing up regardless of his stiff limbs, Dusk lifted a hand to his mouth and called out to the sad pony. “Excuse me? I don’t mean to intrude, but it sounds like something has gone quite wrong. I can help if-”

Just as he stepped away from the bench he’d been laying on and stepped through the open hall door to look towards the dark entranceway, the outline of a small form huddled by the door was all he could make out, yet he got an answer. “Oh… Dusk! I’ve simply ruined everything! First Derpy got lost in the Everfree! Then when I was gone searching for her, everypony else just fell apart! Now they’re all fighting, and it’s all my fault!”

The wave of panic shot through Dusk’s weary body, and he took three rapid steps to get to her side, ignoring his aching body as he knelt down beside her and smoothed her hair from her eyes so he could look into them. “By The Light, Amethyst, forget about the silly celebration! Is Derpy okay? Can I help search for her? Have you made sure that Dinky’s alright?”

Amethyst almost didn’t want to look at him when he brushed her hair aside, then suddenly broke down and collapsed into his arms, hugging him back and for just a moment, she sobbed again, uncontrollably. He just started trying to soothe her by running fingers down her back while she cried against his chest, when she suddenly recovered, sitting up and wiping tears from her eyes. “She’s-I mean, Zecora and some others found her and took care of her. She’s at home now. I-I was going to send Dinky home to take care of Derpy, but everypony is at Rarity’s place, and Miss Mayor showed up, angry about how badly I’d handled things when I was trying to get them back to work.”

Dusk couldn’t help himself, he scowled at the mention of the mayor. Trying again to offer Amethyst some support, he stroked his thumbs across her cheeks. “The mayor panics easily. After everything that happened before Gilda’s arrival, I’ve seen how quickly she lets things overwhelm her. If you are sure Derpy’s okay, then let's try and fix this, alright?” When she gave him a nod and took a deep breath, he began again, mentally reviewing her plan. “So, where did things go wrong? What needs to be fixed?”

As if his voice was a point she could center herself with, Amethyst closed her eyes and looked up, biting down on her lower lip for a single long and drawn out breath, before finally answering. “We need a new source of seeds if what Mrs. Mayor said about Mac’s recent discovery is true. And she also said Pinkie cut the ice too large to melt very well. The nest builders were working really hard to try to catch up, I guess they felt guilty for getting so far behind. The rest is just getting everypony back to work, really.” She looked distant for a moment then slapped her fist to her open palm. “And somepony needs to go find the western birds! Derpy didn’t have the time.”

Dusk smiled, and forced himself to stand up, gripping her hands and pulling her to her feet at the same time as he rose. “Then Amethyst, I have a mission for you. Can you do it for me, your magistrate?”

She gasped a little and opened her eyes, looking at him. She looked surprised at how he’d used the title, but he gave her a grin and she seemed to steel her spine. “Yes, Dusk. I promise I will. What do you need from me?”

“I need to find Pinkie, Mac, and Barb. I will get the ice carvers back to work, properly breaking the ponds into even pools. I suspected she was doing them wrong earlier, but I thought she simply knew better. It’s my fault and I need to fix it. I’ll need a few of the stronger pegasi who can be spared to ferry the ice carvers around. I need Mac to place an order for seeds from Canterlot; Princess Celestia always makes sure to keep extra in stock in case of a disaster like this, and with Barb’s help, we can have the shipment here by morning. I need you to get the others back to work. I don’t care how you do it, just get their attention and remember, they have made just as many mistakes as you have, so don’t let them guilt you again.”

Her jaw quivering a moment, Amethyst’s eyes darted in the direction of Rarity’s. “But… what if they won't listen?”

Dusk grinned, reaching out and twisting the door latch open as he prepared to leave. “Make them listen, however you must.” Stepping out of the door, he paused a moment in thought and grinned at her. “Oh! And get the earth ponies focused on moving the nests and critters, and plowing the ground. Planting can wait for tomorrow morning, when the shipment of seeds arrive, so redistribute the extra earth ponies to help everypony else catch up.” Slapping his fist down on the palm of his other hand, Dusk grinned at her. “If we can get them back to work, we can save Winter Wrap-Up.”

Amethyst turned to the open door, and swallowed audibly, looking out towards the quiet town. “I’ll do it, Dusk. Thank- thank you for caring about Derpy before anything else. And don’t worry, I’ll remember to get Dash to look for the western birds”

The sound of an out-of-breath dragoness rushing straight at them made both turn and look, as Barb rushed to grab Dusk’s hand. “Oh, Dusk, it’s a disaster! Everything’s falling apart and everypony’s fighting! What are we going to do!?”

Ruffling his hand through Barb’s head spikes, Dusk grinned down at her and winked at Amethyst. “Barb, we have it handled. First, I need you to take a letter!”

Friday, March 24th, 1701 AFE. Town Hall. 3:00pm.

Amethyst steeled her spine and walked back towards the still-noisy boutique. Breathless ponies sat at the tables, the piles of prepared nests now spilled off the tables and formed stacks on the ground all over the open clearing. Off to the side, Bronze Feather and Nurse Redheart stood quietly talking, and she went to them first, remembering Dusk’s words. “Excuse me, Nurse Redheart, Bronze Feather, I’m sorry for interrupting, but I need your help to save Winter Wrap-Up.”

For a moment, both mares looked at one another before offering a shrug, the Nurse taking charge and smiling at her. “Amethyst, if you can fix this disaster, I’d be happy to help. It’s simply sad to constantly see Ponyville end up failing to uphold Winter Wrap-Up.”

Bronze was more casual, scratching at her arm. “If Dusk’s still sleeping, I don’t see why I can’t help. What’s up?”

She pointed first at the piles of nests and the empty snow carts the earth ponies had left behind as they arrived to join the argument. “Redheart, can you grab whatever ponies who will listen and start filling the snow carts with the nests? We desperately need to get things back on progress and showing everypony that the nests are ready would really help.”

Rather than question her, Redheart looked at the piles of nests as if seeing them for the first time and laughed a little to herself. “I never even noticed they’d suddenly gotten so hard at work. No problem, Amethyst, we can get things moving again at last.”

Bronze was watching things more carefully now, mumbling under her breath before laughing a little. “I just did a quick spot count, there has to be at least four hundred nests ready; I think they’ve got extras to spare. When did they ever manage that?”

Amethyst had no time to worry about the nest builders productivity, taking Bronze’s arm, she cleared her throat to get the mare’s attention back. “Dusk is up, and he needs your help, Bronze. The ice carvers scored the ponds unevenly. He’s currently mapping out patterns to thin out the sheets they’ve already cut. You’re a strong mare, can you grab whatever ponies you know are good at carrying things and go gather up the ice carvers? Dusk said if you all work together, you can get the ponds cleared up in no time. Just ferry the carvers from pond to pond and catch your breath while they skate.”

Marveling at her suggestion, Bronze laughed and gave her a nod. “I’ll grab a few ponies I can trust. Don’t worry, I’ll show Dusk we can get stuff done when he trusts us!”

With that reassurance, Amethyst shook Bronze’s hand, wincing only a little at her strong grip. “Oh, and can I borrow your whistle? It’ll help.” When Bronze handed over her military brass whistle, Amethyst clutched it tightly, and muttered to herself, looking around again. “Then that leaves only Big Mac to find before I face the others…”

As if she’d called him, the giant stallion tapped her upon the shoulder, a worried look in his red eyes. “What can I do? Carry the first load of nests?”

Shocked at how he had seemingly melted out of the background, Amethyst grinned up at the stallion and patted his hand. “No Mac, Dusk needs your help. He says he can have an order of seeds ready to arrive on the morning train from Canterlot if you just tell him what he needs to order. He is with Barb at the Town Hall, working on a letter for mail as soon as you tell him the figures we need. Okay?”

For just a second Mac looked suddenly relieved as she took the weight of his worries from him, offering a solution to what had clearly concerned him the most. Then just as suddenly, he stiffened up again and gave her a grin. “Seeds? I know exactly what we need. Dusk’s at town hall?”

Amethyst gave the stallion a nod, squeezing his hand as firmly as she could. “He is. Can you hurry?”

Mac winked at her, grinning a smile of bright white teeth. “Eeyep.” And then he was off at a jog that turned into a run after three strides longer than she could jump, and soon burst into a gallop she knew she’d never be able to match.

Taking a breath to steady herself, Amethyst looked to the squabbling bunch gathered around Rarity’s house. This time, she was ready for them. Her fingers stiff on Bronze’s whistle, she drew it to her lips. It didn’t take the full note to get everypony's attention this time. The ear-piercing brass whistle blew out with such strength that many staggered away from her and slapped hands over their ears to shield themselves from the sound. But Amethyst didn’t relent until she’d run out of breath.

Lowering the whistle and panting a little, it was the mayor who stepped out of the argument, and glared at her. “Amethyst?! Why did you do that! We are trying to fix your mess.”

Tightening her fist around the brass whistle, Amethyst shook her head, and raised her voice, using the last of her magic to make sure everypony heard her. “Respectfully, Mrs. Mayor, shove it. I am the head of this year's Winter Wrap-Up, and I’m going to make today a success, even if I have to twist everypony’s ear personally to make sure you all get back on task!”

Shocked, the mare staggered back a little, as did many others, amazed at how forceful Amethyst had become. No longer the sweet mare who supported Derpy from the shadows, she now stood glaring at the mayor. It was Fluttershy who spoke next, her tone full of worry, but already Amethyst’s tone had an effect on her repeated argument. “But we can’t! We need nests! And Rarity’s been busy trying to fix that one all day! The critters will freeze or drown if we-”

Redheart’s authoritative voice cut Fluttershy off, the nurse’s tone making Amethyst feel like she was simply playing leader. "Fluttershy, I am just loading the fifth cart of nests to haul to your critters. If you’re ready, I’ve already got the other four hitched up, thanks to some help from Miss Cheerilee, Nurse Snowheart, Nurse Sweetheart, and Nurse Tenderheart. Give me a moment to pull on the hitch and I’ll be ready to go.”

Turning to face Nurse Redheart, Fluttershy suddenly locked up, blushing darkly. She looked at the others for a moment, her hair falling back over her eye and helping to cover some of her obvious shame. "I-oh my. I'll be right there, Redheart!" For a moment, she shifted her bangs back again, away from her eye. Twice she tried to say something but only stammered over herself, her voice a high pitched squeak. Finally she righted up again and looked at Applejack. "I-well... I'm sorry for accusing you of being heartless."

As if a logjam in a river had suddenly been cleared, everypony’s attention turned to the five mares and carts stacked high with nests. A vibrant new energy spread through the crowd. Applejack stepped forward, her voice conciliatory, even possibly, ashamed. “No, I'm sorry for not thinking about what you were trying to get done, Fluttershy. And… now that you’ve fixed things, Amethyst, what can we do to help?”

Victory blossoming in her heart, Amethyst linked arms with the towering earth mare, and grinned up at her. “Dusk’s revised the earth pony schedule. Planting can wait for fresh seeds to arrive tomorrow. We need your help moving the rest of these nests and settling in the critters. Those you can spare should go back to the farms and finish whatever snow plowing that is left before turning their attention to plowing the dirt in preparation for seeding.”

Excited now, Dash shot around to Amethyst’s other side, pulling her into a somewhat overenthusiastic headlock/hug. “And what about us? If we aren’t melting snow, what can we do!?”

Coughing a little and fighting for some freedom to breathe before answering, Amethyst gave Dash a scowl, and the mare looked at least momentarily apologetic. “First, send a wing to find the west birds. No, make that two! We don’t need anypony else getting lost around the Everfree! Then take everypony you can spare and send them to help Bronze Feather and Pinkie with the ice carving.”

Pinkie, hearing her name called, shot to Amethyst’s side, excitedly taking her hand in her grip and jumping up and down like an excited foal. “You figured out how to fix the half-melted ponds! Oh, thank you, Amethyst!”

Amethyst let Pinke have her fun, but still replied right away. “No, Dusk is working on that. You should coordinate with him and Bronze Feather right away.” A thought flared and she pushed the brass whistle into Pinkie’s hand. “And make sure Bronze gets this back, alright?”

Pinkie saluted her sharply, but ended up bonking herself in the head with the brass whistle. Staggering a few steps before laughing, she straightened up again. “Alright! See everypony? We can still save Winter Wrap-Up!”

All around, ponies were suddenly on the move again. It made Amethyst’s heart soar. “Dusk was right. I can make this work. I just needed to stand up when they questioned me.” As she turned, her eyes fell to the mayor who stood watching her closely, panic welled up in her heart. “Oh dear… I do hope I didn’t go too far…”

Instead, the mayor came to Amethyst’s side as the others cleared out, with their vigor renewed. Her voice was worried, and she kept looking towards the Everfree. “Amethyst… I need to apologize. I also heard about Derpy on the way here, but after so many years of failed Winter Wrap-Ups, I just… I suppose I got carried away…”

Amethyst looked past the mayor, finally seeing little Dinky, who sat at a corner table, still quickly building yet another nest. Amethyst turned and smiled back at the mayor, shaking her head. “I should apologize, Mrs. Mayor. You were simply trying to fix my mistakes and get Ponyville back on track. Can we just let bygones be bygones and forget about today? I need to get Dinky home to her momma. I’m afraid we all have had a long day and might have said some things we didn’t mean.”

The elder mare gave her a smile and nodded, stepping out of the way. Exhausted, Amethyst walked to Dinky’s table and gently picked up the filly’s last nest, inspecting it a moment before smiling down at her filly. “I’m sorry hun, but we need to go home. Other ponies can finish the nests, your momma needs you. Okay?”

Worried, the filly sat up, biting down at her lower lip. “I- what’s happened to momma?”

Drained, Amethyst needed a moment to answer, yet it was Rarity who stepped in. Looking deeply ashamed of herself, she tossed the ruined nest onto Dinky’s table and gave the filly’s cheek a stroke. “She’s fine now dear, she just needs your company. If you’d like, I will make you three some dinner so you can all rest up a little. You’ve been working far harder than I did all day, Dinky, and I want to apologize for leaving so much for a filly to accomplish.”

Amethyst locked eyes with Rarity, and for a moment both were silent. It was Dinky who broke it as she pulled a single long strand of hay from the nest, gasping with wonder as the strand simply went on and on for what felt like forever. Yet as it came loose, the nest evened out, and smoothed into a somewhat ratty, but otherwise serviceable nest.

Gasping with joy, Sweetie Belle clapped her hands and hugged Dinky tight. “So that’s what was wrong! You’re a miracle worker, Dinky!”

Amethyst watched the fillies’ joy as they decorated and filled out the nightmare nest, and reached over, squeezing Rarity’s hand. “I think we could use that dinner, Rarity.”

Swallowing hard, Rarity gave a nod and watched the girls, her voice joyful and sad at the same time. “A foal-” She needed a moment, and wiped tears from her cheeks before continuing. “A foal who can fix that mess of a nest should have it to keep. Maybe you can get some birds to move into your yard.”

Friday, March 24th, 1701 AFE. Dusk’s Library. 9:15pm.

Bronze felt tired as she pushed open the door of the library, and enjoyed the wave of warmth that met her as she stepped inside. The cracking sound of wood drew her to the fireplace, and her heart jumped when she saw Dusk sat alone on the couch, watching the flames dance. Unable to help herself, she lingered at the entrance to the room, worried she might be interrupting something if she spoke. Outside, in the distance, the sound of celebrations and a party told her those who had the energy had gone to join Pinkie’s post Winter Wrap-Up extravaganza.

Dusk broke the quiet, his voice distant, worn out. He held a cup of tea in one hand and sipped from it just before speaking. “Not in the mood for the party? Pinkie is always able to make one fun even after a hard day like today.”

Still leaning against the door frame, Bronze shook her head. “I got to spend plenty of time with Ponyville today. It was fun, but I don't need a party to get to know ponies better right now.” She found her eyes lingering on the mostly empty couch, and couldn’t help but ask him a question. “No Barb?”

Draining the last of his cup of tea, Dusk shook his head and set the empty teacup to rest on a coaster. “She said I got her up too early and went straight to bed after a hot shower.”

Stepping into the room, and preparing herself for rejection, Bronze slipped onto the free part of the couch, careful not to sit on the blanket Dusk had placed over his lap. When he said nothing, she put her hand on his, and squeezed gently. “You tried really hard to help out everypony in town today.”

Dusk gave her a nod, but didn’t say any anything.

“You could have come and straightened the mess out for Amethyst. She looked so scared. Even when she was telling the mayor to jump off a cloud.”

Dusk’s hand squeezed hers in return, but he didn’t look away from the fire, his voice was very distant, and equally quiet. “But I didn’t.”

Bronze blushed as she felt his hand tighten, and she scooted closer, her head lowering to rest on his shoulder. “You didn’t. Because you trusted her to get it done? Or because she needed to stand up to everypony, even if it scared her witless?”

Yawning broadly in the silence of her question that hung in the air, Dusk took what felt like a lifetime to finally answer her, his free hand pulling some of the blanket out from under his body while he spoke. “Why can’t it be both?”

Bronze somehow felt that was the best answer, and didn’t argue with him, her eyes slipping closed as she snuggled into his neck. The smell of his tea had been bugging her, and she finally had to ask. “Do you always drink such a strong muscle relaxant? I know today was hard, but you’ll never feel properly rested if you’re always drinking tea that makes you sleepy.”

Dusk yawned, but shook his head, tossing the loose end of the blanket so it settled across her body, and tucked the hand she still held under the covers, to hug her around the hips. “I think Nurse Redheart upped the dosage again today. It helps with my backache.”

Worried, she opened her eyes, looking up at him. “Backache? But you’re so young, why-?” She cut her question off as she realized he’d fallen asleep as she spoke. Squeezing his hand against her belly under the blanket, she leaned into him again, and enjoyed the warmth, his gentle breathing and the hug of his arm. She’d worry about his back tomorrow. Tonight was too special to ruin. Eventually, she too fell asleep.

Friday, March 24th, 1701 AFE. Bonbon’s home. 11:15pm.

Lyra laughed with Bonbon, but helped the drunken mare through the door, ignoring the way they pressed against one another. Clinging together, glad that the intoxicated mare wasn’t the kind with roaming hands when somepony was helping them home, Lyra continued to guide her along. Leaning against the door of Bon’s room, shi had to juggle the mare from one arm to the other to get a hand free to open the door, and from there, they staggered inside.

The bed was what defeated hir, as it was simply too tall to simply let hir landlord/recently-new friend fall into. Scooping the drunk up under her knees, Lyra lifted her up into the air, and suddenly found hir mouth inches from the mare’s half-open shirt and the sweet scent of candy that Bonbon used for perfume.

Moaning a little, Bon shifted in Lyra’s grip and thrust her chest into hir face, her voice incoherent but ending with a giggle. Finding hir willpower tested, Lyra leaned in a little as shi settled the mare down in the bed and used the excuse of pulling blankets over the mare to take a second whiff of the scent shi found far more appealing and intoxicating than the drinks they’d shared before.

This time, Bonbon’s voice wasn’t so hard to understand, and Lyra froze just as shi was about to step away from the bed. “If ya wanna stay, there’s room for two… and it’s warmer than sleeping alone~”

Hir heart in her throat, Lyra watched the drunk mare, as Bonbon's hands inexorably reached for hir face, and pulled hir into a deep kiss that lingered for a painfully long time. Aroused, Lyra felt hir body harden and respond in ways shi’d not considered in months. They’d never gone into sexual matters, not after Lyra’s outburst at the spa.

Against hir body’s demands, Lyra tucked in the mare, and pulled hir mouth from the kiss, letting hir lips linger by Bonbon’s ear. “Not tonight, but thank you for the offer. Maybe sometime when you… we aren’t so drunk?”

Laughing drunkenly, Bonbon patted hir cheek, and blew hir a kiss. “Okay~ Then we should try again next week! You’ll see, I’m good company~”

Resisting the urge to go back every step of the way to hir room, Lyra let hir tongue dart over hir lips, enjoying the echo of Bonbon’s taste. “Just like sweet candy.”

A black piece of paper stuck out from under hir doorway by only a quarter of an inch, but the magic that came from it was so powerful Lyra could have seen it in the pitch black. Swallowing back hir lust and drunken thoughts of debauchery, shi unlocked hir door and used the excuse of smoothing out the mat before hir door to snatch up and hide the black fold of paper from sight.

Only when shi was safely inside, with the door locked, keyhole plugged, and windows shuttered, did Lyra finally sit on hir bed and use the spell Silk’s unicorn assistant had taught hir to safely open the letters seal. Inside, the black paper held only three short lines of text. “The eaters come on Thursday. The fencer on Friday. Prepare.”

Author's Notes:

And at last, Winter has finally been successfully wrapped up!

Next, comes Chapter 12: Swarm of the Century!