Snow Covers All Tracks

The cold wind hit Twilight Sparkle’s face hard when she peeked outside the door to the Golden Oaks Library. Snowflakes were falling down from the sky in masses. Together they looked like a large white cloud that covered the real clouds. Some landed on her nose where she could see the beautiful and unique patterns all of them had, but they quickly melted to water and tickled her as they flowed off.

“Spike,” she called inside, “do you have the list of items we need?” The wind pushed some of the snow inside the library and onto the rest of her body. She was wearing a pair of soft yellow boots on top of her hooves; a purple scarf made by her friend Rarity rested on her neck, and a cuddly soft white saddle sat secure on her back. Together they protected her from the worst of the cold.

“I’m coming!” the young dragon responded. He came running down the stairs clad in a thick white jacket. On it hanged a small purse with bits scrambling inside. A long list of paper was rolled up on his left arm. “Geez,” he said when he approached the door, “Twilight. It’s a snowstorm out there. I read that dragons sleep through the entire winter.” A loud yawn escaped him.

“In which book did you read that?” she asked and gave him a small nudge on the head. “According to The Mysteries of Dragons, dragons hibernate for many years, but they make no difference in which season they start.”

Spike sighed as a response. “Let’s just go. The quicker we’re done, the quicker I’m back in my warm bed.” He headed out through the door with large steps. The wind took him by surprise at first and it looked like he was going to fall, but he quickly regained his balance.

Twilight giggled quietly as she closed to the door and followed him. “Today is the only day of the year when the ponies from the Prancing Plains set up market here in Equestria. This time they choose Ponyville. Can you believe it?” She squeaked with joy at her own words. “The books they bring with them are going to fit perfectly in the library. I’ve heard good things of their quills as well. They’re supposed to be capable of lasting forever.”

“I just hope they have some comfy beds there,” Spike replied yawning.

“Jump up,” she said and walked up to the dragon. He did as complied with snow falling off him as he climbed. It will be faster this way. Once he had seated himself comfortably on the saddle, she trotted on through the snow. The snowflakes made it hard to see far, and the houses she usually recognised looked like strangers. Small and short poles had been placed all over the village, and thanks to magic they lit up a small light. It revealed where the roads where so that no pony would get lost, yet she had to squint her eyes to see them clearly.

“Couldn’t the weather team have chosen a better day to bring in winter?” Spike asked. “Someday when I wouldn’t have to move outside would be great.”

“The Earth Ponies need winter to come now so that their farmlands get enough time to rest,” she declared. “It was just an unfortunate coincidence that it occurred at the same time as the market.”

Spike tried to wave off the snowflakes to no avail. Those who hit her exposed body parts melted quickly and tickled her. The few doors she managed to see were firmly closed. On some of them piles of snow had started to appear. Not even an exotic market can bring them out, she thought as she passed by some white houses. Every step she took with her front legs brought forth a whirl of snow that ended up on her face. In the distance a massive clump of light poles appeared.

“There it is!” she called out and ran faster. Soon enough she was close enough to see the first few market stands. They stood opposite of each other and created a small path filled with small poles for ponies to walk on. A thick cloth layer acted as roof and protected the wares from drowning in snow. The ponies standing under them looked bored and yawned when they thought no pony saw. When she approached they immediately changed their behaviour to a more active one.

“Milady,” a green Unicorn started his selling chant. He was standing in a stand filled with wall watches of all sizes. It stood on the very edge of the market space. “Buy one of these and your days shall forever be golden.”

“Let’s get the quill first,” she suggested and gave the merchant a slight nod. “I want to get the best one before they’re all gone. After that, we’ll look at all the lovely books.” Spike yawned in approval as she continued forward. The further she got, the more stands appeared from the snow while the old ones disappeared into it. All the merchants had their own chant to make her buy their stuff. Some of the items she noticed were sweet looking books, winter saddles, summer saddles, sunglasses, horseshoes, and boots.

After the few initial stands, the market divided itself into four different paths. All the snowing made it look like it was a maze. Every path seemed to have a lack of other ponies, but there were no signs of which stands stood where from what she could see. She figured that the middle part was a large square area, and that the two middle roads would eventually join together with the right and left path.

“Are you interested in the finest silk in all of Equestria?” somepony asked her. She turned in the direction the voice came from and saw a yellow Earth Pony standing within her stand and holding out a large piece of green fabric. The edges of it seemed to have been damaged by the snow.

Rarity doesn’t like green, Twilight thought and gently declined the offer without inspecting it closer. She chose to start on the right path and hurried away. Shortly thereafter the path turned left and new stands started to appear. The first one they passed by was filled with saddle-bags; most of them looked too small to even fit a small book. The merchant, a blue Unicorn dressed in thick black clothing, looked like she was going to fall asleep and paid them no attention.

“I could use one of these,” Spike declared when they passed by a stand filled with thick and thin mattresses. A pink Pegasus stood guard over the items, but she said nothing to lure them in.

“You can go there after we find the quills,” she responded. “That way we’ll spend our time more efficiently, and you’ll get back quicker.” Two stands stood near them without customers; the first one contained sewing materials, and the other homemade figurines. The merchants didn’t seem to notice her as she passed by.

“Where do you think everypony is? I would think a big market like this would bring out lots of ponies, even in this weather.” She smiled when a small stand filled with quills appeared within the snow. “There it is!” Her hooves brought her there within seconds. Quills of varying sizes and colours lied on a small wooden table protected from the snow by a thin roof. A red Unicorn with a bottle of ink as a cutie mark acted as the merchant at the stand.

“Welcome,” the pony greeted them. “How can I be of assistance to an adventurous pony such as you?”

“I would like to try out all the quills here,” Twilight answered. She grabbed a small brown quill. It looked like it came from an owl. She wrote with it in the air and felt it move between her teeth. Whenever it moved, it tickled her tongue slightly with a disgusting taste. Writing on a hard surface only made it push further in and fill her entire mouth with the taste, so she placed it back on the stand beside the other quills.

“Try as much as you wish,” the red Unicorn responded and brought forth a small box. “They’re all of a fine quality from the Knight’s Peak. I’m sure you’ll find one to your liking.”

“I’ll check out the mattresses,” Spike said and jumped down from his friend’s back. His small feet sunk deep into the snow when he landed. Snow flew in all directions when he freed himself. “It looks like this will take some time.”

“Don’t fall asleep there,” she called out to him before grabbing a light grey quill. It moved around her teeth regardless of how hard she bit. On a hard surface it fell out of her mouth after the first stroke. I wonder if there’s a book here that can describe which creature these feathers are taken from.

She tried out most of the quills lying on the table, all of them to her dismay, until she reached a purple one. The feather slowly moved through her teeth thanks to the strength of her tongue. Its taste was a mix of lemons and oranges. Her writing went quickly on the wooden stand. The quill followed her every command. “I’ll take this one,” she said with it still in her mouth.

The Unicorn yawned before realising she was being addressed. “A fine choice,” she said with an awkward voice. “That will be fiv, one bit.” From the box she grabbed a small plastic bag. With the help of her customer she placed the quill in there.

“Spike?” Twilight asked and looked around. Only snow and a few hard to see stands were nearby. Oh no, he has the bits. He must have fallen asleep there. She sighed at the thought. “Excuse me for a minute. I’ll be right back.” The quill stand quickly disappeared from her sight as she retraced her steps. Most of Spike’s footprints had been filled with snow, but every now and then she could see small signs of them going towards the mattresses. Merchants that recognised her shouted offers towards her, but she only nodded at them and continued.

She violently shook off some of the snow from her mane as the mattress stand appeared blurry in her sight; there was no pony on the path to take offence from the flying snow. The pink Pegasus who was in charge of the stand had changed her position from when Twilight had first passed by. Instead of guarding the merchandise, she was sleeping on one of her own mattresses. The others stood firmly untouched on their place under the stand’s roof. There were no signs of Spike, nor did any of the items contain marks from him using them.

“Please excuse me,” she said and clapped the Pegasus gently on the head. The pony moved slightly with her hind legs in response to the touch. Twilight retried her attempt, this time much harder. Her target flew up from the mattress to the ground in a second. The eyes moved to all directions like they were trying to access the situation.

“Don’t do that again,” the merchant sighed at the sight of the Unicorn. “A hard worker like me deserves some rest when ponies can’t even bother to look at my wares.” She raised her right front hoof to the air.

“I’m sorry,” Twilight started, “but I wouldn’t have woke you up if it wasn’t important.” She quickly looked around the place and the nearby path without moving. There still weren’t a single pony who had dared to come out into the snow in the small distance she could see. “I’m looking for a young dragon. He has purple scales covering all of him except for the underbelly which is green. His spikes are bright green. Right now he’s dressed in a thick white jacket. It’s impossible to miss him.”

“I’ve seen him alright,” the merchant responded. “You don’t need to tell me every single detail of him.”

“Sorry. It is of uttermost importance that I find him. When was the last time you saw him?” She moved her eyes to the path constantly to no avail. The snowflakes stood for all the movement.

“He was sitting on your cute little saddle when you went by without even looking at my wares.” The Pegasus spat after saying the words.

Twilight moved slightly backwards while lowering her head. The movement made her horn much clearer. “Did he not come back here afterwards?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since then. Now, are you going to buy something or just waste my time? I do not have the patience as some others have.” The merchant seated herself on the same mattress she had slept on. Her movements made sure her flank and cutie mark were never visible.

“I shall be on my way if you’re so eager to be rid of me.” Twilight turned around without waiting for a reply and made her way out into the snow again. She looked back every now and then, but the harsh pony seemed to have gone back to sleeping. I’m not going to buy anything from there. That was not a kind attitude.

She headed back towards the start while ponies called out towards her. It was easier to hear their chants than it was to see them. The pathway took her all the way back to the stand with the books she had passed by earlier. “Do you have any book with a spell that will track a dragon?” She headed right in under the roof and levitated up almost all of the books.

“I do not believe so,” a grey Earth Pony responded. She had a short blue mane and the page of a book as a cutie mark. Her face was filled with wrinkles, and under her brown eyes were large black spots. “I have brought with me books from lands far away, but magic were never a concern of mine. Ack, I lack the basic means to use it.”

Gardening books flashed by Twilight eyes; new ones constantly replaced the old ones. Some books had an interesting enough title for her to look at the index page, but a quick glance revealed that they would be of no assistance to her for the time being. “Do you know if there are any other books being sold here?” she asked as she placed down the last book on its place.

The lady coughed before starting to talk. “If I wasn’t the only one, I wouldn’t even be standing here, young lady. The rules of the market are clear on this matter. We need to difference ourselves from each other. Only one is allowed to sell books for that reason.”

“Thank you for your time,” she responded and galloped away. Maybe he went to another stand. A place where they sell gemstones is something that would attract him. “Spike!” she called out as she ran back to where the market divided itself. This time she chose the left path from the entrance. She continued to call out as she ran along the stands. There was a plethora of clothes for different body parts and all kinds of homemade items. Once in a while she would get a response to her call, but the voices always sounded different than Spike’s, and when she saw who had responded it was always a pony. With a lack of other customers, they seemed to try to lure her into buying something.

The market’s exit didn’t look much different from its entrance. A few poles stood and lit up the way among all the snow. The old pony hadn’t lied when she declared that were no more stands with books inside the market, but there weren’t any with gemstones either. Where are you?

With her head held low towards the snow filled ground, she started making her way back to the library. Her hooves constantly kicked up snow that almost reached her face.

Sunshine reached down on her when she approached the library. A Pegasus team worked with clearing the current clouds while another brought in new ones. It took only a minute for the exchange to be completed. The area beneath it was now free from the snowfall. A small pile of snow had been built at the front door to her home. She used her magic to clear it away quickly and entered.

Inside the books stood ordered on their bookshelves. The Unicorn statue stood firmly on its place, and the wooden table underneath it was spot free, as was the floor and the stairs. She removed the boots from her hooves at the entrance and slowly moved up to the next room. All the books were in order there as well, and her ink and parchments had not been moved from the small table at the window. She moved up the last set of stairs to her bedroom. Two beds stood there; one was a large wooden one with a blue sheet filled with the pattern of stars and half-moons. The other one was small with a white sheet; it lied beside the bigger one. The first sheet was positioned finely on top of the bed without any wrinkles while the second one was wrinkled all over it as if somepony had recently slept there. A bookcase stood opposite of the beds filled with some books she had found great for reading during the night.

I’m going to find you, she thought and seated herself on the stairs. Her eyes moved all over the room, but they always found its way back to Spike’s little bed. He always used to love sleeping for long, and he rarely found the time to fix his own bed. It doesn’t feel the same without you. I can’t have lost you now. I’m sure I just passed you by. She levitated over a large book filled with spells and scrolled through. Out of all the books that existed in the library, she couldn’t recall ever reading about a spell capable of tracking somepony. The Canterlot Library might have it, she thought and placed the book back in its spot. Her hooves moved swiftly down the stairs to the entrance. Snow fell off the boots when she placed her hooves inside them.

It’s a long way to Canterlot, but there’s other place to find the spell I need. However, he might still be in the market. Her horn glowed slightly and the door opened up to what looked like a whole new Ponyville. It had stopped snowing, and without it she could see much farther than previously. White clouds now covered the sky. Some of the poles were still glowing, but most had faded out. Ponies didn’t seem to mind it as they happily trotted on the snow covered ground. She went the same way she had during the morning and ended up behind two Earth Ponies. One was red with green hair and had two pears as a cutie mark. The other one had a bright orange coat, red hair, and three pears as a cutie mark.

“Did you hear about the market from the Prancing Planes? They have set up shop here. Why would anypony want to shop there?” Twilight couldn’t help but overhear the two ponies talking loudly to each other as if they were the only ones there.

“And to cross a snowstorm for it?” the red pony asked laughing. “No wonder they complained to the mayor over the lack of customers. Last I heard, some ponies never returned from there.”

“I heard some of the items broke after a few days of use,” the other pony responded laughing. “Such a waste of bits, and time. The mayor should never have allowed them to set up their market here.”

“I agree wholeheartedly. My cousin recently had her birthday party. Can you believe what happened there?” The two ponies followed the road leading towards the town hall while Twilight continued towards the market. Soon their voices had died out completely.

Missing ponies? she thought for herself and started galloping. Spike is missing as well. This isn’t good.

The market was slightly more busy than usual when she arrived. Ponies of all kinds were occupying the roads and inspecting the wares, but there were still lots of free space, and many stands stood empty of customers. She moved through the small crowd while looking in all directions. The book stand still had all the books lying in the order she had placed them, but the old lady was gone.

“What is this?” a blue stallion with brown hair yelled towards the stand where boots were being sold. Large bits of fabric lied at his hooves. “I’m not paying for this! It broke at first touch!” He stormed away leaving a yellow Unicorn with blue hair looking sad. Some ponies observed the situation before sighing and walking away.

“Do you need any –“ she approached the Unicorn when a small purple being with green spikes moved through the crowd “– Spike?” Twilight pushed through the crowd in the direction she had seen him. The path took her back on the road leading to the quills. “Spike!” she called out as loud as her lungs would allow her. Some ponies looked at her while whispering things to the nearest pony, but no pony said anything to her.

She continued onwards until she reached the mattresses. The stand was empty of ponies, and some of the items seemed to have been sold off. The one that the merchant had slept on was almost completely covered in a red fluid that had destroyed its otherwise white look. She touched it with her hoof and sniffed. Paint. There were neither paint pots nor brushes nearby from what she could see.

I read three different books on this, and they all said this was a great place. Then, why are ponies so suspicious? Missing ponies they said, or maybe a missing dragon. She looked down on the paint dripping down on the snow from her hoof. I shouldn’t listen to such gossip. The drops coloured it red. A few more similar spots lied within the perimeter. They led outside the stand, but there were no hoof-prints to be seen.

“Have you seen a young purple dragon around her somewhere?” she asked from within the stand to a pony that passed by. “He’s impossible to miss.”

“Afraid not,” the pony answered and went on her way.

Twilight sighed as she went back up on the road towards the quill stand. Whenever she caught up with a pony, she would ask if they had seen Spike, but even after detailed descriptions the answer was always no.

All the quills she had tested still lied on the small wooden table. A few ponies stood around it and tested while the red Unicorn happily obliged them. “Spike!” she called out again and moved on. The road took her back to the far end of the market where the four roads joined together. There were a few more ponies there since the last time she had rushed through.

Where are you, Spike? I don’t want to believe it, but all that paint falling from the sky. I need to investigate this further. She took one look back at the road where he had gone missing before walking in on one of the middle roads and collided. The impact sent her down to the ground. Fabric flew up in all directions before landing on top of her head and blinding her.

“Oh goodness,” a mare’s voice said opposite of her. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Twilight replied and levitated the fabric away from her face. In front of her was a white Unicorn trying to get up. Her horn was glowing blue and a lot of items were floating in the air with the same glow. She had a beautifully styled purple mane, and a similarly styled tail. Her eyes were bright blue with a light eye shadow on the eyelids. “Rarity?” The cutie mark was the last thing she noticed; three blue diamonds. “What are you doing here?”

“Twilight!” Rarity exclaimed. “What a pleasant surprise. Spike never told me you were here as well.” She placed the items in six large paper bags. They all had different brand names decorating them in capital letters; Twilight didn’t recognise any.

“You saw spike?” she asked and assisted her friend with the items. She folded them all so gently that she could, yet they always looked rougher and took more space in the bags than Rarity’s. “I’ve been looking for him all day. Do you know where he went?”

“Why, yes. He has been a true gentleman and helped me carry what I bought. He was even generous enough to insist on paying some of the fabrics. Of course I couldn’t let that occur, but there was no stopping him. He was right behind me just a minute ago.” Rarity turned around towards the street she had recently walked on. A few ponies stood haggling at some stands, but there was no Spike.

Of course he had to, Twilight thought and placed the last piece of fabric in its bag. I suppose I won’t be getting a new quill today, or any new books. She sighed loudly.

“Out of the way!” a voice yelled behind some of the ponies. “Coming through! Really dangerous stuff here!” Out from the small crowd of ponies came a pile of walking bags. They were panting heavily, and underneath she could see a pair of small feet moving.

At least he was safe all this time, and those rumours were not true. That is what matters. Twilight watched as Spike slowly waddled his way to Rarity. The bags were piled up on each other; some of them had unique branding names, while others were without. She counted at least twenty of them.

“Sorry I’m late, Rarity,” Spike said with a large breath as he approached the Unicorn. It looked like it was impossible for him to see, yet he found his way around.

“It’s okay, darling,” Rarity responded with a sweet voice. She levitated her six bags up in the air and allowed them to hover over her back. “You’ve been very helpful to me today, but now there’s somepony else who need to speak with you.”

“Hi, Spike.” Twilight said. The mere words made the dragon jump slightly into the air. For a second it looked like he would drop everything. “I hope you didn’t forget about me.”

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Spike started his pleading. “It was just that I ran into some issues with the mattresses, and then I ran into Rarity. I couldn’t let her carry all this on her own.”

That merchant was quite harsh. Maybe she did lie to me. It seems like a thing she would do out of spite. She went forward and hugged the parts of Spike she were capable of hugging.

“You’re not mad?”

“All that matters is that you’re safe.” She hugged him harder before letting go. “Besides, the books here didn’t look too interesting.” Next year they’ll set up in Yanhoover. I need to start preparing for it now.

“You don’t want to buy those books, darling,” Rarity declared with a smile. “Haven’t you heard of the quality in this market? You need to be very careful in what you buy. Most of it is some ruffian trying to trick an innocent pony with horrendous wares.”

“I heard something like that,” Twilight responded and thought back on the two ponies who had talked about the market. At least not everything was true. She levitated all the bags Spike were carrying and allowed them to float around her. “Let’s head back. Do you need any help unpacking, Rarity?”

“That would be very kind of you.”

Twilight lead the way out of the market with the other two following beside her. She looked at Spike every now and then as he easily kept their pace. Small rays of sunlight reached down on his smiling face; his eyes were always drawing towards Rarity. No books. No quill. I didn’t even manage to buy a single item. This day could have been spent much so better.