“Um... girls?” I lifted a hoof, trying to get everypony's attention.

“What is it, darling?” Rarity asked as the rest of the girls and Spike turned to me.

“...Where's Fluttershy?” I asked, looking about the kitchen for my absent pegasus friend.

The girls exchanged blank looks for a few moments before a wave of realization washed over their faces.

“FLUTTERSHY!” chorused everypony at once as they galloped out of the kitchen and back to the library’s lobby.

There, in the corner of the room, stood a frozen, awestruck Fluttershy. Still wide eyed and slack jawed, staring up to the center of the room where I had levitated the paper some forty-five minutes ago. Rainbow Dash approached her, waving a hoof in her face.

“Hey, Fluttershy, wake up!” Rainbow Dash poked her side a few times, but the yellow pony gave no response. The rainbow pony scrunched her face with a frustrated look before taking a deep breath.

“WAAKEE UUUUUP!” Rainbow Dash bellowed, shaking the foundation of the tree house.

There was a loud squeak as the poor yellow pegasus collapsed into a crumpled heap on the library floor.  She hazily lifted her head and looked around to everypony.

“...Wha-what happened?” Fluttershy asked softly, looking clearly confused.

Applejack patted her on the head. “Prism showed us her flashy magic and it sure as sugar stunned ya,” Applejack informed her, gesturing to a clock across the room. “Ya been like that for quite some time.”

Fluttershy let out a small squeak like gasp as she got to her hooves; her face flushed slightly. “I-I’m sorry girls...”

“Oh no-no-no-no, dear. We’re sorry we didn’t notice sooner,” Rarity cut in, gesturing to me. “Prism had noted something was amiss. It was only then we realized you were missing.  Do please forgive us, darling.”

The yellow mare beamed a small smile. “It’s fine girls, don’t worry about it.” Fluttershy looked back to the clock. “Oh my, is it really that late?” Everypony looked to the clock as well; it read just past 11 p.m.

“Oh, wow, I guess between Prism’s story and our later dinner, it has gotten late, hasn’t it?” Twilight commented, gesturing to me.

Applejack trotted across the room to the door and turned back to us. “Well girls, Ah need to hit the hay. There’s lots of work to do to get ready for the new season,” She said before turning to me. “It’s been a real pleasure meeting ya, sugarcube, welcome to Ponyville. Feel free to stop on by the farm anytime.”

On that note, we said our goodbyes as Applejack left. The rest of the girls made note of how they had much to do tomorrow as well. It seemed things got really busy before Winter Wrap Up. I could imagine, though, changing the seasons without magic would be a lot of work. A large part of me was excited to see the change of the season in such a beautiful town, while the other part was worried what I could do to help. Even though I didn’t use my magic hardly at all, I wasn’t particularly good at anything besides painting and arts and crafts.

Maybe they will let me paint the flowers for them? Or something silly like build some bird’s nests.

I let out a small giggle at the thought before being snapped out of my thoughts. Rarity had poked me a few times with a hoof.

“Prism, darling? Are you there?” Rarity asked before waving a hoof in my face. I took a moment to scan the room. Everypony but Rarity, Twilight and myself had already left.

“I-I’m sorry, I... I must have got lost in thought,” I replied sheepishly, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

Twilight let out a small chuckle. “Don’t worry, I do it all the time,” she commented before turning to to Rarity. “So... Rarity, you mentioned before you had something you wanted to talk about?  About Prism’s magic?” Twilight asked curiously.

“Yes, but I’m afraid it would take quite some time to explain, darling,” she replied, looking to the clock. “And I really must be going, I can tell you more about it tomorrow, dear.”

I walked up to her before gesturing to Twilight. “I’ll stay and talk to her about it, you can go on home without me.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow skeptically at me. “Are you sure?  Can you make it back okay?” she asked with a hint of concern.

I smiled back to her and nodded. “Yes, thank you for worrying about me, but I will be fine; it’s not far.”

Rarity gave me a worried look before nodding. “Alright, I’ll leave the door open for you then. Try not to stay out too late, darling.” The fashionista made her way to the door, turning back to say her goodbyes before she left.

I turned to face Twilight, looking her up and down for a moment. Despite her current frazzled appearance, I found myself rather comfortable around the studious unicorn. I envied her vast knowledge and mastery of magic that I had seen so far.

Rarity controlled objects effortlessly with a sense style and grace, yes, but Twilight had a sense of confidence when she used her magic. Like she knew she could do whatever needed to be done without giving it a second thought. I could tell that this was a very powerful unicorn.

“Yes?” Twilight asked, tilting her head at me.

“Oh!  Sorry... I was just thinking,” I replied sheepishly. “You must know just about everything about magic, don’t you?”

“Well, I don’t know everything, but I have studied it for most of my life,” Twilight replied humbly. “Magic is my special talent. That's, um, why I got so excited to learn more about yours.” She paused a moment, looking deep in thought. “Speaking of which, what was Rarity going to say about your magic?  She looked really worried when she brought it up earlier.”

“She was, and it was really... strange, what happened,” I added.

I explained to Twilight about the gash on my forehead I had gotten the previous day, and how Fluttershy had treated it before we went to see Rarity.

“... So Fluttershy asked her if there was any magic she knew to help my cut.  Rarity said that she knew a minor healing spell for small cuts and bruises that she had learned from you,” I informed her, shifting uncomfortably. “She mentioned how it wouldn’t likely do much, but she could try... I had a bad feeling about it though, I have never had magic used on a cut before.”

Twilight gave an affirmative nod. “That might be because healing magic is not only exceptionally difficult, but extremely dangerous if not done properly,” Twilight said matter-of-factly. “Even I only attempt it sparingly, and not for anything major, but some unicorn doctors are extremely skilled and can do amazing feats with healing magic. Then, there's skilled unicorn surgeons that can even...” Twilight paused for a moment, before smiling sheepishly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent, go on.”

I covered a small laugh. “Oh no, it’s fine. I find magic really interesting, I love learning more about it,” I replied as I sat down on my haunches. “Anyways, so Rarity assures me it should be fine, she uses it all the time, but shortly after she began the spell, something went wrong.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed at the mention of the spell going wrong.“Healing magic and ‘went wrong’ don’t mix, what exactly happened?” Twilight asked in a stern voice, listening intently.

I told Twilight in great detail how the event had played out. My sensations, the girls’ reactions and how somehow when it was over, my wound had all but vanished.

“Ugh!” Twilight groaned as she facehoofed. “I told Rarity if I taught her that spell she was not to use it on anypony else!  It’s too dangerous!”

I shrank down at the lavender unicorn’s sudden outburst. “P-please don’t be mad at her, she was only t-trying to help,” I pleaded, but Twilight shook her head.

“Still, something could have-did! Go seriously wrong!” Twilight blurted out before she looked me over, cowering before her. The lavender unicorn paused as her eyes widened in realization. She slowly hung her head. “...I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. I... I just didn’t want anypony to get hurt, I warned her about this. Had you been anypony else, something—”

I hushed her, softly covering her mouth with a hoof. “I understand, but if she didn’t try, I wouldn’t be healed right now,” I said with a smile, tapping a hoof to my forehead.

Twilight’s expression changed from frustration to curiosity almost instantly. “Just how did that happen anyway?” she asked, examining my forehead. “A wound magically closing itself, without the caster’s consent?” Twilight mused as she began pacing back and forth. “I have a few theories, but It will take some time. I need to gather more information.” Her horn lit with a purple glow as she levitated a swarm of books from multiple sections of the room’s bookshelves.

I was... impressed to say the least.  I could barely manage maybe one of those books, certainly not one of the bigger tomes, but Twilight levitated the horde of books as if it was second nature.  Twilight quickly began to flip madly through many pages of several books before letting out a loud yawn, which she physically shook off.

“Um, Twilight you really shoul—”

“Just a second, I’m sure I recall something about spontaneous magic somewhere in—”

I walked up to the studious unicorn and laid a hoof on her shoulder.

“Twilight, please... stop,” I requested softly.

Twilight sat down the books she had been cycling through in her levitation and gave me a confused look.  I covered a giggle.  With her obvious lack of sleep look and confused expression, she looked really silly.

“Please don’t run yourself into the ground because of me. You really need to get some sleep, Twilight,” I stated before gesturing to her face. “Besides, I have stolen enough sleep from you.”

Twilight shrank back sheepishly. “I suppose you're right, I probably should get some rest.”

“I appreciate your interest and wanting to know more about my magic, but you can start your search again later. Preferably after a good night's sleep,” I added with a wink.

“Alright, you win,” Twilight declared with a sigh as she straightened up. “If you wouldn’t mind coming back soon, I would love to discuss with you what I find.”

“I would love that too, you can expect me in the near future,” I commented, trotting over to the door before looking back to her. “...But for now, please get some rest, okay?”

Twilight beamed me a soft smile. “Okay, it was nice meeting you, Prism. I hope you enjoy your new life here in Ponyville.”

“Thank you, Twilight.”

On that note and we said our goodbyes, but I didn’t take my eyes off her until she was up stairs. Satisfied she was going to get some sleep, I threw on my cloak before making my way outside.

* * * * * * * * * *

The night air was far colder than earlier this evening. A sudden gust of frosty wind caused me to shiver.

I looked about the night streets, making sure nopony was around before hastily beginning the trip back to Rarity’s boutique. The streets were empty of anypony, or any sound for that matter. A sudden chill went down my spine as I picked up my pace.  I was used to the ambience of the big city at night, the dead silence of the country I found very eerie.

The silence was shattered by the sound of a door being forced open and then immediately slammed shut. I jumped up with a small squeak as I panicked to find someplace to hide, and a conveniently placed bush was just the ticket. I dove behind the bush as I scanned my surroundings for the source of the sound.

My eyes fell on a plum colored earth pony with a magenta mane as she... stumbled? Away from a larger building. After watching her a few moments longer it was very evident this mare was extremelyintoxicated. I couldn’t help but smirk watching this pony’s drunken antics as she passed by my hiding place. The mare’s sudden tripping and falling became too much as I quickly tried to muffle a small snort.

The mare suddenly turned to me and pointed a hoof. “Don’t cha know it’sh rude to laugh at poniesh... dumb bush!” she slurred, flopping her hoof back down to the snow before weakly getting to her hooves. She paused for a moment.  “...I’m talking to a laughing bush?  I think I had a bit too much, Colgate’sh not gonna be happy,” she mused to herself, rubbing her temple with a hoof.

Colgate? Isn’t that some fancy Canterlot brand of toothpaste?

The intoxicated pony shrugged, before wobbly making her way past, heading to wherever she may be going. Once the earth pony was safely out of sight, I sprung to my hooves and galloped the rest of the distance to the Boutique.

Reaching the door I slowly, quietly let myself in. All of the lights in the building seemed to be off as I snuck my way up the stairs to my guest room, careful to not wake anypony up. It wasn’t until I laid my eyes on the majestic bed that I realized just how tired I really was. The past two days had been hectic and very eventful. I approached the edge of the bed before rearing up on my hind legs, and flopping onto it.

“Oh, silky goddess, how I’ve missed you so...” I said quietly to myself as I nuzzled into the soft bedding with a yawn. I rolled up into the comfortable sheets and In a matter of moments I quickly fell into a deep sleep.

* * * * * * * * * *

In contrast to the previous two days being extremely eventful and very busy, the following few had been exceptionally slow and dull. I spent the entirety of them inside the Boutique, which was normal for me, as I often stay indoors for long periods of time. Although, at my apartment I had Mr.Wiggles to talk to and art supplies to keep myself busy. My lack of social interaction and itch to paint were starting to get to me.

“Sooo bored!” I whined aloud, rolling back and forth across the guest room floor.

Thankfully, Fluttershy had stopped by to visit a few times for some tea and conversation, but that entertainment was short lived, as she too was busy with preparations for the change of seasons and couldn’t stay long with each visit.

I tried helping pass the time by seeing if I could help Rarity in some way or another. She had been working night and day on last minute vest orders and concepts for her spring lineup. Though every time I asked if there was any way I could help, all she had me do was hold stuff or ask for opinions. I wanted to actually do something to help.

During this time, I also got to know Sweetie Belle a little better. The little filly is such sweetheart, very kind and polite. I learned that she also loves arts and crafts and showed me a few things she had made for her sister, I was quite impressed of the quality of her work for her age. I look forward to seeing a painting done by her. Though, unfortunately she never stayed indoors for too long, she always had ‘crusading’ to do, as she would put it.

“Perhaps I should go out...  Maybe the other girls might need help with something?” I mused, stopping mid-roll on my back, looking up to the ceiling.

I had been reluctant to visit anypony the last few days, because I didn’t want to get in their way or overstay my welcome. The boredom of nothing to do eventually caught and passed my worries of bothering the other girls. My first thought was obviously Fluttershy, but I had spent so much time with her lately, I didn’t want to annoy her or wear out my welcome. So I decided it best if I didn’t bother her for a while.

Twilight Sparkle.

Hmm...  The impression she gave me, is that she’s somepony that overworks herself.  I’m sure there’s something I could do to help her.

With a goal in mind, I hopped up to my hooves and collected my cloak with my usual ritual of tying back my mane and tail. Once satisfied I trotted up to a mirror across the room and struck some impromptu ‘sexy’ poses.

Keep dreaming, Prism...

I rolled my eyes at myself with a small smile before making my way downstairs to find Rarity. Sure enough, she was in her ‘Inspiration Room’ as I had learned it was called. The poor mare had several sewing machines running at once before her as she struggled to finish her workload before tomorrow.

“Um...  Rarity?” I called out to her, lifting a hoof. “I’m going out for a bit, so, um, I’ll be back later.”

Rarity dropped what she was doing to turn to me with an interested look. “Oh? And where might you be off to, darling?” she asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.

“Just to the library, maybe find a book to read, or see if Twilight might need a hoof with something,” I replied before making my way to the door.

“You really don’t go out much, do you, dear?” Rarity commented with a worried look. “You and Twilight certainly do have that in common.”

“Well... I don’t care much to go out during the winter, but I love spring. So, I’ll likely go out more then,” I declared, looking back to her.

Rarity beamed me a smile before turning back to her work. “Do have a good time, darling.”

“Thanks, Rarity.”

I made my way out of the boutique, and into the busy Ponyville streets. Winter Wrap-Up was tomorrow, so everypony seemed to have last minute errands to run before the new season.

Everypony except for me, that is.

Looking to change that, I hastily made my way across the town square towards the library, hoping to get out of the crowds as quickly as possible. I got about halfway there, before the tantalizing aroma of baked goods hit my senses, stopping me dead in my tracks. My stomach suddenly emitted a low rumble as a crude reminder that I had not eaten yet today.

That reminds me, Pinkie had asked If I would stop by Sugarcube Corner sometime for something to eat.

I had a few bits on me from ‘helping’ Rarity yesterday, enough for a small treat. So I figured, what better time than now? I redirected my course to the source of the delicious smells. However, as I about to walk through the door, I paused reluctantly. The place looked really busy... I slowly began backing away from the door.

“HEY!” shouted a hyped-up voice from above.

I jumped with a small squeak at the sudden shock. I looked up to see none other than Pinkie Pie herself waving to me from a window on another floor of the building.

“So you finally decided to stop by, huh?” Pinkie asked, resting her head on her forehooves with a large smile.

“Oh... Um, i-it looks like you’re really busy, so maybe I’ll just come by another time,” I replied slowly, but the pink earth pony had already vanished from the window and reappeared out the door of the bakery in the blink of an eye.

“Don’t be silly! We aren't that busy!” Pinkie Pie declared, rolling her eyes with a big smile.  Although, as if to punctuate her sentence, a light grey pegasus mare with a blonde mane sporting two very large saddlebags overflowing with muffins exited the bakery. Pinkie turned to watch the pony leave before turning back to me.

“Okay so maybe we are, but still! We are never too busy for guests! Come on in!” Pinkie announced, opening the door with a hoof and waving me inside.

I paused reluctantly for a moment before walking inside the bakery and—

Sweet Celestia’s Sun! It smells AMAZING in here!

My train of thought derailed itself completely and exploded twice as my mouth began to water. The sweet aroma of cakes, muffins and other heavenly treats tickled my taste buds. My stomach let out another involuntary growl, a reminder that it was not to be ignored.

“Whoa, somepony’s hungry!” Pinkie stated, trotting past before looking back to me. “Let me get you something, anything you would lik—oo!  How about a muffin?  Or a cupcake!”

I thought for a moment. While I did enjoy the occasional cupcake, I found them to be a bit too sweet for my tastes.

“I would very much love a muffin, please,” I said, scanning the many confections on display.

“Coming right up!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, hopping up to a particular display case. “Uh-oh...” She paused, bringing a hoof to her chin.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, tilting my head.

Pinkie turned back to me with a worried shrug. “I guess we’re all out of muffins, would cupcakes do?”

“Yes, that would do just fine, Pinkie.”

She quickly hopped across the room before scooping a pair of cupcakes from another display case and placing it in a bag.

“Here you go, on the house!” Pinkie announced, gesturing a hoof to the bag. She watched me expectantly for a few moments before a look of realization struck her. “Oh yeah!”  She picked up the bag in her teeth and brought it to me.

“Herh yugh gow!” she said, muffled through the bag.

I looked at the bag of treats reluctantly then back to her. “Pinkie... I-I couldn’t—”

“I insifft, tafe et!” Pinkie mumbled, bringing the bag closer. “sinff whe din’if haf eny muffens.”

I looked up to the bag again before licking my lips, I was just too hungry to decline any more, and they just smelled so good.

“...Alright,” I sighed defeated, taking the bag from her. “Thanf yew”

I sat the bag down at a nearby table and took a seat before removing the cupcakes. Without a moment's hesitation, I took a large bite out of one, and oh, sweet bliss! This cupcake was perfect!  It was sweet, but not sugary, it was just right.

Now, I have had many cupcakes in the many bakeries of Manehattan, but this cupcake took the cake... so to speak. I gluttonously scarfed down the remainder of the scrumptious delight before quickly inhaling the second. I was distracted by a sudden giggle. I turned to face Pinkie with an embarrassed look, at this point she fell over with hearty laughter. My face went flush out of embarrassment for making a pig of myself.

“Pinkie, those were delicious!” I exclaimed, wiping some frosting from my muzzle with a foreleg and licking it off. “...Did you make these?”

“Fresh this morning!” Pinkie declared, climbing to her hooves. “I help the Cakes on the busier days.”

I looked about the bakery. Two very frantic and flustered ponies were scurrying about the place trying to keep up with the customers and baking demands.

“Well, thank you for stopping by, I would love to talk more, there is just soooo much I want to ask you still!” Pinkie announced before looking back to the two scrambling ponies. “But the Cakes really need my help today. There's just so much to talk about, please stop by again soon!” With that, the pink earth pony turned away and began hopping back to the counter.

I turned to her and held out a forehoof. “Pinkie, wait!” I called out to her. She stopped mid-bounce, hovering in the air, looking back to me with a curious look. “I-is there, um... anything I could to do to... to help?” I asked softly, sheepishly tapping my forehooves together.

Pinkie Pie’s expression lit up as her eyes turned to saucers.  She hit the ground and quickly darted up to me, pulling me from my seat and to my hooves.

“Oh-my-gosh-that-would-be-so-wonderful-it’s-really-busy-today-and-we-could-use-the-extra-hooves!-We-could-bake-more-muffins-since-Derpy-cleaned-out-the-last-of-them-what-do-you-say-want-to-bake-some-muffins-with-me?!” Pinkie’s face was night right up to mine.

I took a step back in discomfort, silently wondering how a pony could possibly say all of that with a single breath of air.

“S-sur-”

“Great! lets get started right away!” Pinkie stated, grabbing my hoof and dragging me across the room, behind the counter and into a back room.

The room turned out to be the kitchen, and a very lovely one at that.  It had everything you would expect from a bakery, many bags of sugar and flour, cooking utensils and ovens.

That's a lot of ovens.

I pulled away from Pinkie and examined an oven. It was not quite as nice as Rarity’s, but it was still very nice quality. It made me think back to the baking Mother used to do with our old wood oven. She wasn’t the greatest cook, but she baked wonderful bread, cakes and pies. I used to tease her how she couldn’t scramble eggs without burning them, but could make the most delicious cakes. I stifled a small giggle at the memories.

“No time to be thinking, it’s time to get baking!” Pinkie exclaimed, pulling me from one end of the room to the other.

I watched as the earth pony quickly collected ingredients for muffins. She must have known the kitchen up and down, as she gathered everything without hesitation and in the blink of an eye. To be honest, I too was a little excited to get started. While I had done most of the cooking at home, I had never really baked before, that was Mother’s specialty.

“Alright, lets do this!” Pinkie exclaimed enthusiastically before turning to me. “Have you ever baked muffins before?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No, but how bad could it be?” I replied with a sheepish smile.

I quickly ate those words...

I found myself having to redo many measurements. Too little or too much throws off the batch, Pinkie said. Then there was mixing, that in itself was a challenge that I struggled through slowly.  All the while, I kept telling myself how magic would make this so much easier, but I pressed on. We whipped up enough batter for several batches of muffins. Pinkie continued to pour the batter into tins, then set them into the ovens to cook.

We passed the baking time with idle chatter; Pinkie really did have a lot of questions for me.  She was a very curious pony when it came to new ponies. I now saw why Rarity and Fluttershy were so worried about her meeting me before they could have a talk with her. I’m not sure how I would have handled a surprise party of the caliber this hyper pony was capable of.

Even her fast paced speech left me a little uncomfortable. I felt as though I couldn’t relax around her, and was very tense most of the time. Pinkie Pie just had too much energy for somepony like me to handle.  Even so, she still got many laughs and smiles out of me. Her enthusiasm and high spirits were quite infectious. It was easy to tell that she was extremely friendly and loved to make others happy. The tile of “Element of Laughter” was a perfect fit for this cheerful pink pony. Our conversation was halted by the sound of a kitchen timer going off, signaling that the muffins were finished.

“Time to get those muffins out!” Pinkie exclaimed as she turned to the ovens and opened all their doors.

The smells were truly divine, and the muffins looked so delicious. I quickly found myself beginning to wonder why this pony’s special talent was not baking. Pinkie grabbed a few oven mitts before quickly turning and passing one towards me.

“Catch!” she called out, though all too late. The mitt ended up slapping me across the face before falling to rest on the floor. ”Uh, well, you almost had it!”

The pink earth pony went about removing trays of muffins from the ovens. I leaned down and picked up the mitt that Pinkie had haphazardly thrown to me, then turned to face a nearby oven.  Despite my great enthusiasm for ovens and the wonders of their baking prowess, I found myself in a bind.

…How am I supposed to get these out?

I tilted my head as I examined the open oven, thinking of the many possible ways I could burn myself in any attempt to remove the tray of sweets. I turned to watch Pinkie for a moment as she removed trays effortlessly with a hoof, without second thought. I figured It couldn’t be that difficult, so I slipped the oven mitt on a hoof and reached in to remove the tray.

Lifting the sheet out, I found that I quickly had lost my grip and watched in horror as gravity snatched away the delicious treats from me. With a loud ‘pang’, the tray bounced off the hard kitchen tile as its contents tumbled out onto the floor, ruined; the muffins had been lost.

It was at that moment that I could have sworn I heard an agonized, “Noooo!” call out from somepony else in the back of my mind.

What was that voice?

Quickly dismissing the thought, I slowly turned to Pinkie as my ears fell back, and my body sank down to meet the floor.

“I-I... I’m sorry. They just, s-slipped out of my hoof,” I stammered out apologetically to Pinkie as she examined the lost muffins.

She looked up to me with a neutral expression and shrugged. “Eh, those muffins were bad luck anyways,” she declared, dismissing the issue with a smile. “We wouldn’t want to give anypony bad luck, would we?”

The mare quickly darted across the room, returning with a small hoofbroom and dustpan. She promptly swept up the poor muffins before disposing of them into a nearby trash can.  My ears perked up as I heard the strange voice again.

Is that... crying?

I looked around the room as I pondered the voice for a moment before eventually shrugging it off as just my imagination.

I spent the remainder of the morning helping Pinkie catch up on baking muffins. They were quite popular and sold fast, frankly I was surprised at how many sold. With muffin levels at a secure amount, Pinkie thanked me for my help. I felt like all I really did was slow her down, she could have got finished much faster without my constant mistakes, but she was grateful for the extra helping hoof nonetheless.

She insisted I be paid for my time, but I promptly declined, and continued to refuse despite her insistence.  As I was leaving Sugarcube Corner, the pink earth pony darted out the door before me, yelling to the Cakes that she would “be back later”.

Somehow, I had a bad feeling about her sudden exit, but I pushed the worry aside as I made my way out to the busy Ponyville streets. The walk to Twilight’s was a bit stressful; I had went way out of my way to avoid passers by.  Everypony was just so busy today, surely Twilight needed an extra hoof with something too.

As I reached the library I could hear noise, lots of noise, coming from inside. I scratched my chin with a hoof as I wondered what Twilight was up to, then approached the door with a soft knock...  The door slowly cracked opened with a touch of my hoof.

It’s open?

I slowly pushed the door open a crack and peered inside. The sight was... terrifying. I thought Rarity’s inspiration room was a mess, but this, this was just ridiculous. Scrolls, charts, lists, books and worn out quills were everywhere, particularly littering the floor around a frazzled, fantic lavender unicorn.

“Um... Twilight?” I called out to the mare, but received no response.

The studious pony simply continued furiously scribbling notes and obsessively going over lists. A very disgruntled and overworked Spike entered the room, carrying a mountain of scrolls. After he sat down his payload, I called out to him, waving a hoof to get his attention. The baby dragon’s mood quickly brightened as he noticed me. He ran up to the door to greet me.

“Oh, hey, Prism. What's up?” Spike asked, opening the door the remainder of the way.

“Oh, um... I was just wondering if maybe Twilight needed some help with—”

“SPIKE!” roared Twilight from across the room.

The baby dragon rolled his eyes before his expression went utter deadpan.  He gestured for me to come inside as he turned back to her.

“Coming...” he replied less-than-enthusiastically before slowly pacing himself across the room to her.

Twilight turned to the baby dragon and blurted out a slew of instructions. “I need you to get Foalgor’s ‘Compendium of Checked Checklists’ for me, while you're at it, I need some more quills and ink, and I’m running low on parchment, and—” Twilight paused as she noticed me. Her face flushed as she smiled to me sheepishly.

“Oh, um, I wasn’t expecting any company,” Twilight stated, glancing down to the mess around her. “I’ve just been so busy trying to get everything in order for tomorrow.” Twilight brushed aside some of her mess with her magic to clear a path to me.

“So, what can I do for you, Prism?” she asked, approaching me.

“I, um, was wondering if maybe you needed help with anything?” I asked, looking around at the floor’s contents. “It looks like you have a lot to do...”

Twilight shook her head. “I’ve got this pretty much handled; thank you for asking, though,” she said before levitating a checklist in front of her. “I’m just organizing everypony’s teams and jobs for tomorrow.” She then levitated what looked to be some sort of a statistics sheet.

“But of course I had to go over which pony would be best for which job, judging by their physique, work ethic, and special talents,” she commented before levitating another sheet of parchment.

“Um, Twi—”

“But not before reviewing their experience from previous Winter Wrap-Ups.” My eyes lit up in horror as she levitated a slew more of papers and continued to ramble on about her research.

“Twilight!” I called out to the entranced mare.

She paused for a moment before turning back to me. “Oh!  Um, sorry,” she replied, scratching the back of her neck sheepishly. “Anyways, I have everything under control, don’t worry about me.” She brought a hoof to her chin, looking deep in thought.

“...Though I’m sure Applejack could use a extra hoof, now that I think about it.”

“A-alright...” I replied, visibly disappointed. I had really hoped I could have at least helped her with something, but at least I knew that another friend needed some help.

“Thank you for coming by to see if I needed help, though; I really appreciate the thought, Prism,” she said before pausing for a moment. Her expression suddenly changed as she looked back to me. “Oh!  I think I may have found something that may shed some light into what happened to you at Rarity’s, but I’ll have to save that for another time, there's so much to do still before tomorrow.”

I nodded. “Alright, well... I’m sorry I couldn’t be of any help, but thank you for the tip,” I replied, turning to open the door. “I’ll stop by another time then. Good luck, Twilight.”

She smiled back to me coyly with a small laugh. “Thanks,” she replied before turning back to her work.

Spike also turned to me and waved me off. “See you later!” he called out as I left.

* * * * * * * * * *

The walk to Sweet Apple Acres was a bit longer than travelling between Twilight’s and Rarity’s.  However, the roads were far less busy, which was a nice change from the hustle and bustle of the town square. As I approached the farm house I became lost in thought, reflecting back on my previous visits.

Rarity didn’t want my help, Twilight didn’t need my help, and all I did was slow Pinkie down...

I let out a hard sigh as I looked down to my hooves as they tread through the powdery white.

Well at least Applejack needs—

I let out an involuntary squeak, having slammed into something solid. My momentum coming to a sudden halt caused me to fall back into the snow with a soft crunch.

I really need to start watching where I am going.

“You alright miss?” asked a deep, soft voice.

I opened my eyes and looked up to see a very large red stallion standing before me. I found myself at a loss of words as I looked him over. He was very muscular, tall and extremely handsome.

“I-I, um, s-s... I-I” I stammered incoherently as my face went flush.

The stallion raised an eyebrow at me before leaning down to meet me at eye level. “...Hello?”

I let out another small squeak as I grabbed the hood of my cloak and pulled it down to hide my face. I felt my face flush even deeper as my heart began to pound. I quickly scooted away.

“S-sorry!” I finally managed to blurt out before quickly jumping to my hooves. “I-I’m, f-fine...”

I quickly bolted past the stallion down the road to the farmhouse, not stopping until I reached the door. I took a few moments to catch my breath as I clutched my chest. I was not very good with talking to stallions, and being placed into an uncomfortable situation with a particularly handsome one didn’t make it any easier.

Who was that...?

I looked back to the road to see the stallion idly looking back to me with a curious expression. I quickly turned away.

Right, I’m here to see Applejack so...  I’ll just, um, knock on the door then. Ignoring the big hunk of a stallion watching me, who probably thinks I’m really weird right now.

I let out a hard sigh. “You’re such a foal, Prism,” I said to myself under my breath before turning to the door and knocking with a few soft taps.

A few moments later, a small filly answered the door. She looked to be about Sweetie Belle’s age.

“Howdy, can Ah help you Ma’am?” the little filly asked with a curious tone, looking me over.  She had an off-yellow, almost tan coat and red mane, but her most prominent feature was the large red bow that she wore in her hair.

“Yes, um... I-Is Applejack home?” The filly’s expression suddenly exploded into a happy smile.

“You must be the pony Sweetie Belle told me about!” she exclaimed excitedly before holding out a hoof. “Ah’m Applebloom, Applejack’s little sister!”

I took a step back at the filly’s sudden outburst, eyeing her hoof skeptically for a moment before meeting it with my own. “N-nice to meet you, Applebloom, I’m... I’m Prism,” I replied softly before idly looking about. “Is Applejack here?”

“Oh yeah!  She’s out in the barn, in the cellar,” Applebloom announced, gesturing to a barn in the distance. “Come with me, I’ll show ya!” The little filly closed the door behind her as she left the farm house and started for the barn. I quickly trotted to catch up to her.

“So—”

Applebloom cut me off excitedly before I could even begin.

“Sweetie Belle told me that you’re great at arts and crafts, oh, and that you’re really nice, and...” Applebloom paused for a moment, stopping in her tracks before turning to me with a guilty look “She also told me you’re quite shy, Ah’m really sorry.”

I covered a small laugh. “No, it’s fine! Don’t worry about it! I’m just not too good with meeting new ponies, that’s all.” I assured her with a smile.

I got the same feeling with Applebloom as I did with Sweetie Belle. She struck me as very friendly and kind, but she was also exceptionally polite and well mannered for a filly. I found it very easy to talk to her as we closed the distance to the nearby barn. She was just like Sweetie Belle, so full of questions. I couldn’t help but smile as I answered them all.

“So, what exactly is your sister doing to get ready for tomorrow?” I asked, looking down to the young earth pony.

“Ah think she's gettin’ the seeds out the cellar.  We plant our crops as soon as we plow the snow off the fields,” Applebloom informed me, gesturing to the snow-covered fields around us.

“I see...” I commented slowly as I looked about at the snowy plains. They stretched for miles in all directions. “That’s... a lot of land. You have to clean up all that snow and plant the seeds tomorrow?  Isn’t that a lot of work?”

“Yeah, it is, but everypony does their part to help!” she exclaimed before she rushed up to the barn door. “Hey sis’ you have a visitor!” A familiar orange earth pony with her trademark stetson exited the barn and gave me a friendly wave.

“Howdy Prism, fancy you stoppin’ by. What can Ah’ do ya for?” the earth pony asked, patting Applebloom on the head as she passed her.

“Um, actually... What can I do for you?” I asked, walking up to meet her. “Do you need any help getting ready for tomorrow?” Applejack adjusted her hat with a hoof, giving me a look of reluctance.

“Well, as much as Ah hate to admit it...  Ah could really use the help.  Ah got to get all these here seeds up from the cellar up to the barn by at least sundown. Gotta get some sleep ya know?” Applejack declared with an affirmative nod. “You up for some heavy liftin’?” The orange pony gave me a curious look.  

I returned with a sheepish laugh and smile. “Eh-hehe... Sure,” I replied, less-than-confidently.

Oh, Prism... you’re going to regret this...

“Great! Just come follow me then, I’ll help ya get started.” Applejack stated.  

I followed her into the barn and to a small hatch in the back corner and peered inside dubiously. Following Applejack down, I quickly noticed that the air was really stale and dry. The the floor of the cellar was covered in aged straw, only adding to the musty, dry feel. It was clear nopony had been down there in a long time, prior to today.

“Alrighty then, the first thing we need to do is get these here larger bags of seeds upstairs so we can divide them into small bags of seeds,” Applejack declared, gesturing to a large pile of bags.  They closely resembled large bags of flour.

“O-okay,” I replied reluctantly. Applejack kicked up a bag into the air, catching it on her back then proceeded to do the same with a second. My eyes widened as I watched on in disbelief.

Just how strong is this mare?!

“Alright, now you go on and take one,” she instructed, gesturing to the pile.

While I was obviously nowhere near as strong as Applejack, I was sure I could handle at least one at a time, making the job at least a little quicker for her. I approached the pile and tried kicking up a bag in the same manner Applejack had done an—

A loud popping sound emitted from the joints just above my hoof.

“Ow!” I cried out as I withdrew my hoof, shaking it a bit. Applejack let out a small chuckle.

“Maybe you should just try liftin’ them normal-like, instead,” the earth pony commented.

I leaned down, and with a straining groan, pulled on a bag atop the pile with my teeth, but to no avail; it was too heavy. I glared down at the bags in spite as the feeling of not being useful quickly got the better of me. Applejack shot me a concerned look.

“Uh, here, let me help you with that, sugarcube.” Applejack walked up to the pile and kicked up a bag for me to catch.  The bag just about knocked the wind out of me as it landed on my back.

Oh Celestia, that's heavy!

“You... sure... that these are... seeds?” I commented with a few straining goans as I took a few steps forward. “...and not... rocks?” I managed another step before my legs gave out from under me and I fell flat on my stomach.  

Applejack’s look of concern heightened as she pulled the bag off me.

“Uh... Sugarcube, maybe this isn’t the best thing for you to—”

“No, I can do this,” I assured her. I clenched my teeth as I got to my hooves. At this point I was becoming very frustrated at my inability to help anypony.  

With a stubborn sense of determination, I turned to and focused on the bag with an intense glare.  My horn lit up with its prismatic glow as the same aura covered the bag of seed. I strained hard, using every ounce of willpower and mental focus to will the bag into the air, but still to no avail; it was just too heavy for me to do anything with. Applejack approached me and laid a hoof on my shoulder with a hard sigh.

“Look, Prism, Ah really appreciate your trying, but—”

“I can still do this!” I growled, glaring angrily at the bag.

I let out one more straining groan in a last-ditch effort to lift the bag. Much to my horror, my prismatic field was quickly replaced by a wall of fire as the bag suddenly burst into flames. The fire quickly began to spread along the dry hay, threatening to take the entire cellar and barn with it.

“WHOA-NELLY! WATER, WATER!” Applejack cried out as she scrambled back up the stairs.

I danced about in place in panic as the fire began to spread from the bag and towards the pile containing the others.

“What-do-I-do?! What-do-I-do?!” I cried out in panic as I glanced back and forth between the fire and the storage of seed.

I couldn’t think straight, but I knew I had to do something. I leaped from where I had been standing to the short distance between the fire and the pile and began stamping the fire out. My hooves flared up with sharp pains as I could feel burns begin to set in.

...I’m not gonna to stop it!

Despite my best efforts, I was unable to stop the spreading flames and watched on in horror as the pile of seed quickly erupted into a small inferno. Applejack returned to the cellar with a pail of water, but dropped it in a sudden gasp as she caught sight of the flaming destruction.

My ears perked up at a sudden thundering of hooves from above. I looked to the ceiling and followed the rumbling sound to the staircase. To my surprise, the large red stallion from before quickly flew down them, carrying a large tarp in his mouth. Without a moment's hesitation he kicked the bag I had attempted to lift into the inferno, and threw the tarp over the flaming pile. He quickly threw himself atop the tarp and began rolling across the pile, smothering the flames. After several long moments, and with much effort from the stallion, the fire was extinguished.  The large red pony looked back to us girls as he got to his hooves.

“Everypony okay?” He asked in his soft, deep tone.

I slowly nodded while Applejack stood frozen, wide eyed staring at the destruction caused by the fire. She slowly passed the larger stallion as she approached the charred pile and removed the scorched tarp. I felt an impending doom sink in as I slowly lowered myself to the floor in worry and guilt. A loud sigh escaped her as she removed her hat and scratched her head.

“Well, Ponyville will be short on corn this year...” she said flatly, before turning to the red stallion. “You okay, Big Macintosh?” He nodded to her.

“Eey-nope!” he hissed out as he winced, falling hard to a knee.

I covered a gasp as I got a good look at his injuries. He had horrible, horrible burns along his sides, back and flank.

“Let’s get you to the hospital, those burns must hurt a’might fierce,” Applejack suggested before folding one of Big Macintosh’s forelegs over her shoulder. The two took a step and about stumbled.

I jumped up to my hooves and approached them. “Let me help,” I offered, extending a hoof.

Applejack looked to me and shot me a sharp glare. “Don’t you think you have helped enough for one day?” She scowled. “I swear, you unicorns; Thinking you can just solve everything with your fancy magic. When will y’all learn that some things are just best left to the honest working ponies.”

I felt my lower lip began to tremble as my eyes swelled with tears that I desperately tried to fight back. “I-I... I’m, s-sorry—”

“Well that jus’ makes everything better, now don’t it?” she stated sarcastically, cutting me off.

I quickly exploded into sobs as I bolted for the stairs, climbing them and dashing out the barn.

I’m so useless! When I try to help, I just get in everypony's way!

My thoughts ate at me and my burns stung as I ran. I ran as hard as my legs could carry me away from the farm that I had nearly destroyed. My mind flooded with negative thoughts as my tears refused to stop. I reached the edge of town, not even caring about the crowds of ponies at this point. I had one goal in mind: Get away from everypony and just be alone, somewhere where I wouldn’t slow anypony else down.

Reaching the boutique, I exploded through the door and ran across the room for the stairs.  Rarity jumped at the sudden sound and turned to me.

“Prism?! What—”

Whatever she had tried to say escaped me as I flew up the stairs and through the kitchen, making my way to the guest room. I could hardly see straight through my tears as I quickly passed through the door, slamming it behind me. I winced in sharp pains as I hastily ascended the stairs and—

“SURPRISE!”

I tripped over the last step from the sudden shock, falling flat on my face.

“Um, oops!” Pinkie giggled. “Sorry ‘bout that!”

I weakly picked myself up off the floor on shaky, injured hooves as I turned to face the intruding pony. She gestured at a large object standing next to her. I froze in place as my emotions began to swirl into a hazy mix of uncertainty and confusion.

“What do you think? Do you like it?” She exclaimed enthusiastically, looking at me expectantly.

I stared on in disbelief at the scene before me. A brand new easel with many frames of canvas leaning against it, complimented by several sets of paints, stood next to the earth pony. I let out a idle few sniffles as the sight sunk in. Examining them I quickly recognised just what it was.

It was a professional painter’s easel, but not just any easel, oh no, this was the easel. Top quality and hoof-crafted by none other than Pittura Peindre, an exceptionally famous painter and craftspony. The canvas and paints were of some of the finest quality, clearly imported from Prance judging by the labels. For many years I had wanted one of these easels, but could never even dream of affording it.

“Rarity told me the other day what a boredy-bored pants you had been the past few days, and I had this great idea! Since I couldn’t throw you a welcome party, I would get you a welcome gift instead!” Pinkie Pie announced, bouncing up and down excitedly. “She also told me you loved to paint, but didn’t have anything to paint with! So the two of us got together and bought you some things to get you started!”

I fell onto my haunches as tears quickly came to me again and I broke into sobs. Pinkie’s excited expression quickly vanished.

“...What’s wrong?” she asked, confused, approaching me with a worried look. “...You don’t like it?” Pinkie turned to the sound of rushed hoofsteps as Rarity ascended the stairs.

“Prism, darling, what happened?” the fashionista asked. “...Why are you crying?” She looked down to me with great worry in her expression.

“I don’t think she likes our gift...” Pinkie commented, visibly disappointed and saddened.

“That’s not it!” I cried out, furiously shaking my head. “I don’t deserve it!  I don’t deserve anything from you girls!  I don’t even deserve to be here!”

Before either could respond, I leapt to my hooves with a sharp wince and bolted past Rarity and down the flight of stairs.  I faintly heard both ponies call out to me, but it didn’t matter.  An overwhelming feeling of guilt quickly replaced their voices in my mind. I had done nothing but slow down and hinder ponies today; I didn’t deserve anything special, especially not something as wonderful as that.

At this point, I couldn’t simply be alone right now, no... today had just gone too wrong to ignore.  I needed somepony to talk to, I had to get things off my mind. In times like these, I always had Mr. Wiggles to help me through them, but since his passing, I had found only one other pony I could really open up to comfortably. Against my better judgement and worries of bothering her, I hastily exited the boutique and set out to my last hope.

Fluttershy, I need you...