Chp 1: Cold Introductions
"Don’t pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to overcome a difficult one." --Bruce Lee
Snow settles down gently over the ground, coating it a new pure form. The first of one of many year’s snow, has laid itself upon
the dwellers of a certain town. The moon’s rays have been blocked out by the bright grey clouds. You can still see everything around you, but in a different perspective. For instance, the town’s lights are dimmed to their lowest settings, only a lantern in the middle of the street is alight. Everything is hushed, and the only light is the lone flame, burning away the mundane colors that surround the air. You can make out the muted colors of the houses, but the white particles are creeping upwards, and soon a foot of color will be missing from each one.
The snow hasn't been breached by scattered, incoherent trails of busy ponies yet. Save for a lone trail of hoof steps, the first to be planted upon the virgin ice. The sound of crunching snow is heard off in the distance, not rushed but smooth and slow. The hooves rise above and are careful about where the next step is positioned. Blue hooves travel their way through the town as a lone pony makes his art on the canvas of snow. He feels the wind brush across his face in thick full flakes, ones that don’t rush, but take their time as he has done for them. His mane was short, ragged and full of sun bright yellow. The air around his mouth puffs out in the open, completely visible in the cold air. He takes short long breaths to fully absorb the atmosphere that is around him.
"Ponyville….Not quite the night time town are they?” He said, his voice deep but sincere; strong but kind. As he moves down the road, he sees the once rushed markets and shops, now quite and devoted. Perfect for him, no ponies to pester him. No ponies to ask him questions about his arrival or his like or dislikes.
"This is how it should be during the day.” He mumbled to himself, remembering the encounter with that pink pony this morning. How she stopped him from reaching his new job at the town’s library. The assault he was given made his mind melt into fermented orange juice. After she “Pinkie promised' to show him around the simple town, she left him to ponder relocating. He shook his head from the memory, his brown vest and coat now layered in a thin snow blanket. The bigger pieces fell off onto the ground, making him realize how long he stood still for.
“No, I've got a good job here, and she just started to get used to the new school. I can’t do that to her. No matter how much these ponies sometimes annoy me.” He turns left and cuts through a narrow passage. As he walks, he remembers the way the snow felt when he was a little colt. Being young enough to see the world through innocent thoughts and ideals; this had disappeared into his subconscious later in his life. He recalled that his father would tell stories of how he would leave home in the middle of the night, hoping to find diamond dogs that would take him to their underground caverns. He closes his eyes and sighs, remembering the stories his parents would toss around the dinner table at nights like these.
“Yep, little ‘Vimmy’ here, would say that he’d somehow make them their king and bring all the jewels to all the poor ponies of Equestria.” His father would laugh, and so would the rest of the family. Of course the young stallion would defend himself by saying he was barely a colt at the time.
“Come on dad! I was like what, 4 years old or something?” He’d say.
“Four years old and able to break out of your room at three in the morning.” His mom would retort, again making the whole family laugh once more.
“Oh don’t worry Vimmy.” His older bro would tell him. “It’s only for fun.”
“Yeah, fun for you guys.” Vim mumbled, folding his arms in embarrassment.
A lone flake splashed itself across his face, bringing him back into the cold reality. Without realizing it, he made it back to his house. It was a simple place with two bedrooms, each with their own restroom. A kitchen that was easy to maneuver in, with a counter near the table for easier servings of food. Before he unlocked the door, he could hear the grandfather clock near the fireplace strike twelve o clock from within the household.
“I wonder if she’s still asleep?” he said to himself. "I should probably check on her.” After he hung his soaked coat and vest, he traveled through the dark interior.
The grey reflection of the snow, his only light, that is until he saw a little glow from within her room. It was a small nighttime light that he couldn't see from the outside. The warmth of the upstairs heat, made the cold banish from his blue displaced body. His coat had irregular patterns of unhealed burns, which replaced parts of his luscious pure blue fur. Light blur skin traveled from the tips of his muzzle, to down under his stomach. But not one patch spread near to his cutie mark, which displayed a heart on a shield, surrounded by a brave orange fire. He stepped quietly through the door way, pushing the paper covered door a few inches to find a bed with a sleeping, magenta colored pony. Next to her were a pair of brown glasses, and a small flower with yellow petals surrounding the bright pale center, both on top of a small dresser. The blanket rose up and down gently, her small figure only taking up one third of the bed’s immense size.
Vim walked slowly over and sat as careful as he could next to her. The light from her toy candle holder of Daring Do began to flicker. He stroked her deep blue and purple striped mane; which had two spiraled ponytail ends on either side of her head. She breathed contently as he stroked her solemnly. She then gave an adorable yawn before turning to face the other side of the bed. He chuckled before kissing her on the ear and then blowing out the candle. Before his mouth puffed the air to remove the light source, his bright green eyes shrunk into small dots. His breathing began to quicken and he once again felt his burns began to arise once more with the intense fire that scorched him all those years ago. He quickly blew out the candle before getting up from the bed and into his own room.
“Vimmy?” A small voice called out for him. He had made it half way in the hallway when he stopped.
“Yes Dawn?” He said quietly as he again approached the doorway. Dawn was sitting up and rubbing her tired eyes. Still half closed from lack of sleep and her horrible eyesight.
“Vimmy? Is it time to get up?” She said, looking for her glasses. Vim pushed her exhausted hooves from reaching them and sat back on her bed to tuck her under the covers.
“No not yet.” He began to trail around her small form with the sheets, scooting the folds underneath her.
“I heard you start to breathe fast and that’s what woke me up.” She said, smacking her tired dried lips.
“Sorry, I didn't mean to. Sometimes I….well, it doesn't matter right now.” He pushed his hoof in one more spot to finish the tucking in procedure. “Right now, you need rest. And please don't ever light a candle before you go to bed. It could start a fire you know?” He lightly scolded, before he placed his hoof on her head.
“Yeah....Sorry about that…. OH!” She squirmed around a bit to allow her hooves to rise over the sheets and grab the edge of the blanket. “I made some new friends today.”
“Oh? That’s wonderful Dawn. Really it is, I can’t wait to hear all about it in the morning. Maybe you can bring them over and you can all play in the snow.” He said with a smile.
Dawn’s eyes widened. “It’s snowing?!” She excitedly announced, becoming more and more untried from the anticipation of snow. Seeing this, Vim did his best to calm her before she became too awake to go back to sleep.
“Yes, but you need to sleep first. We’ll play in it together first thing when you get back from school,alright?”
“Oh…..yeah… sure….sure, maybe you can play with my new friends too.” She said, now ready to sleep.
“Sure, whatever you want.” He leaned forward and kissed her on the head. She closed her eyes as he ruffled her mane slightly afterwards, just to remind her who he was. Not a father but a brother.
“Vimmy?” She said before he closed the door.
“Hmm?” he responded, now feeling the tiredness began to creep on him.
“Can you open the blinds for me? I want to watch the snow fall.”
“Of course.” He walked across the room, careful to not step on the countless drawings and lead pencils that scattered the floor. He
grabbed the string with his teeth and pulled down to reveal the snow show. Even though her eyesight was nowhere near twenty-twenty. She could still make out the blurry white dots that descended from the sky. They fell gently to the ground, making her shiver from excitement.
"Wow." She breathed. "It's so, beautiful." Slowly her eyes lids fluttered against each other, until finally putting her instantly to sleep. Vim smiled when she started to snore once again.
"Good night Dawn. Sweet dreams." He said before shutting the door softly. Vim made his way to the door on the other end of the hallway. His room was still full of unpacked boxes and unfinished decorations. His bed sheets were askew, and the floor was cluttered with debris.
"Ugh, I'll worry about it in the morning." he stated to himself before lying carefully on his bed. He laid his head against the pillow and wondered about what was to happen next.
"Well, day five in Ponyville." He sighed before dragging the covers to hide his scorched body. “…And counting.” He shut his eyes
tight, feeling the day’s exhaustion catch up to his physical state.
“Wake up big brother!!” Shouted a voice from near Vim’s bedside.
“Huh? What?” He said, feeling his bed start to jump up and down.
“Time for school!! Come on!!! I’ll race you to the kitchen.” Dawn jumped off the bed and dashed down the steps, each echoing bump slowly waking the tired earth pony from his sleep.
“Alright…..alright.” Vim said, letting out a tired yawn. He stretched his back and got a couple satisfying creeks and cracks.
“Ahhhh.” He smacked his lips a few times before slowly getting to his hooves. When he finally was able to trot down the steps, he found a bowl of oatmeal sitting blandly in front of him.
“I’ll make a note to pick up some groceries today.” He mumbled to himself. As he sat on the chair, Dawn appeared from behind him with an enthusiastic smile on her face.
“Look big brother!! I made a new drawing at school yesterday.” She shoved the paper into his face until he pushed it forward onto the table with his hoof.
“Geeze, five minutes up and you’re already hyper. You haven’t been getting into my coffee beans have you?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. Dawn shook her head.
“No, I don’t drink coffee.”
“That’s right, you don’t need. Celestia, I’d hate to know what would happen if you did.” He said, taking a mouthful of his stagnant oatmeal. His little sister rolled her eyes while adjusting her glasses and flower on her head.
“Can you just look at my drawing please? I spent two hours on it for school.” She sat up on her chair next to him and began to eat her cereal. Vim swallowed the first bite before he turned his attention on the paper. It showed him and her, both standing in front of the house. He stood tall and proud with her at his side, looking up at him with a smile. The features done on both of them were made to perfection. Not a single shade was out of place, not a piece of fur or mane was out of line. The house was an exact replica of the one they were sitting in right now. The windows and frames were positioned correctly as well as the roof top. Vim took a minute to marvel over his little sister’s amazing accomplishment.
“Wow……Dawn. It’s beautiful.” He said, making it sound very sincere.
“Yeah but I think I should still try to become a dentist.” She said with a down tone to her voice.
“Oh, Celestia.” Vim grumbled to himself. “Not again.” He pushed the paper to the side, allowing him to slam his face on the table.
“Hey, I just think that’s something I could be really good at.” She protested. Vim didn't say anything, instead he lifted his hoof up and rapidity smacked his head into the table. Making the plates and utensils vibrate underneath his repeated slams.
“Come on Vim. We need to get going, school starts in fifteen minutes and I want to actually play in the snow before it starts.” She pushed her bowl towards him and happily jumped off her chair to grab her snow clothes.
“Every……damned….time.” He mumbled to himself, remembering when she copied an exact replica of the Cauchemar du Vitrail, but then said she felt like she should be a famous rock star.
“No wonder she hasn't gotten her freaking cutie mark. If she keeps doing this to herself, she’ll never get it till she’s as old as Luna herself.” With that, he hopped of his chair, grabbing both used dishes with his teeth. He threw them into the sink for later washing, for now he needed to take his little sister to Cheerlie’s classroom.
“Hurry up!!” Dawn cried out, she ran up to Vim who was already putting his brown vest and snow cape on.
“Chill, we have ten minutes, and school is only a five minute walk from here. We can play for five minutes before you go to class.” He adjusted her flower petal on her purple snow cap with magenta patterns over it that blended with her mane.
“I know, I just really want to see the snow.” She said, dancing in place as Vim moved to the door.
“Don’t worry, the weather team is letting it snow all week. We’ll have plenty of time to do all the things we promised to do.”
As he pushed the door open, Dawn’s bright golden eyes grew to immense sizes. The snow trickled down in a light breeze, making the doorway appear to be a portal to another world. She moved slowly forward, her purple scarf hung loosely around her neck and her snow boots tightly strung around her small hooves. She savored each and every step on the fresh snow.
“Wow……It’s amazing!!” She laughed as her hooves stepped into the deeper part of the snow. The cold floor barley tickled her stomach.
“I’d say about a foot. Give or take.” Vim said as he too made his way forward. He looked out from where they stood. A stupendous view of the entire town, them being only a few minutes’ walk to the school and a few extra to be inside the towns center.
“Well we better...” Vim was cut off from a large ball of impacted snow, smacking him upside the face. He shook it off only to hear small giggles from Dawn. He glanced at her with a playful, menacingly look in his bright green eyes.
“Oh, so that’s how you want to play it huh?” Vim knelt down and crafted his own ball of ice.
“Come on Big Brother!” Shouted Dawn running towards the school. “See if you can catch me before school starts!!” With that little challenge, Vim raced forward, snowball in hoof. She was only a few meters ahead of him, easy prey for the mighty stallion. Instead of merely grabbing the small filly and dowsing her in the cold snow, he stopped the chase and threw the snowball high into the air. With a smile, he let her get ahead of him until she turned around to gloat.
“Haha, you can’t catch m---“The snow ball made a well calculated collision with her mouth. She fell over into the snow, snow cap and glasses flying off her head. Her little face poked back out from under the snow, shaking it from the remains of the snowball. Before she could get out of little hole her body made, Vim seized her with his hooves and held her high in the air.
“AAAUUGHHH!” She screamed. “Put me down!!” Dawn struggled but found that his hold was unbreakable.
“As you wish.” He said before he put his muzzle into her soft belly and shaking his head, tickling her like mad.
“HAHAHAH, S-STOP IT VIMMY!! HAHAHA!!!” She screamed, grabbing his head with her hooves, trying in vain to stop the onslaught of tickles he made with his face. Vim stopped to move his head up to her small little neck and nuzzled it much more softly. Dawn kept laughing her little squeals of delight as her big brother held her tight.
“Ok, you can stop now.” Dawn said poking his head. Vim placed her back down on the snow before grabbing her snow cap and brushed the white particles from it. He placed the now cold head gear on her with the now white splotched flower hanging on her head.
“Don’t think this is over.” Dawn threatened. “When School’s finished, I’ll be waiting for you, this time with more allies and ammo.”
“Oh, is this a challenge I hear?” Vim brought his neck down to face the determined Dawn’s face. “Bring it on little filly. You can get
all the little friends you want but you’ll never be able to defeat Vim Invincible.”
They both gave their most serious faces, but unfortunately, Dawn’s small giggles broke the gravity of the situation and turned it into general silliness. They both smiled and laughed at their fake threats.
“Come on, school should be starting any minute now.” Vim said as he walked towards the now visible school house. Dawn walked close behind the blue stallion. His sharp mane shinned a brilliant yellow in the grey atmosphere that surrounded them both. The sounds of the school bell ringing could be heard, making their goodbyes abrupt.
“Alright, I’ll see you at the house ok?” Vim said as he hugged her. Dawn bit her lip before whispering into his ear.
“Ummm, actually, I forgot to mention that Miss Cheerlie wanted to talk to you about something.” She said quietly. Vim pushed her aside, his eyes narrowed in frustration at her deception.
“So you wait until now to tell me?! Come on Dawn; let me know ahead of time so I can better plan out the day.” Dawn hung her head as Vim awaited an apology.
“I’m sorry. I just forgot ok.”
“You can’t just tell me this at the last second and expect me to…..” As they reached the door to the school, right when all the other fillies had gathered inside, Miss Cheerlie opened the door, as if expecting the two. Vim seemed surprised but not shocked at seeing the school teacher. She looked at them and smiled gracefully.
“Oh!! There you two are.” She said as she allowed the two inside the entrance. “I was worried that you wouldn't make it.” Vim glanced down at Dawn who tried her best to avoid his direct eye contact.
“We would've come earlier if Dawn informed me that you wanted to speak to me.” He said with an annoyed tone. Dawn began to rub her left shoulder.
“I forgot.” She mumbled under her breath.
“I’m sorry, I don’t want to distract you from beginning your teachings." Vim began to turn around as they made it inside the building. "So if we can reschedule at a later time..”
“What? Oh no, in fact you couldn't have come at a more perfect time.” Cheerlie knelt down to Dawn.
“Why don’t you put your snow stuff inside your desk while I talk with your big brother? Applebloom and Scootaloo are already here. Why don’t you go talk to them for a bit before the others show up?” She patted Dawn on the head who gasped wildly.
“Sure thing Miss Cheerlie!!” She said before bolting off towards the classroom down the long hallway. Vim stepped forward a bit.
“I’ll see you at three ok!?” He shouted out to her. He saw her magenta body disappear into the classroom doorway. Cheerlie looked back at him, smiling her usual cheerful smile.
“She is such a blessed filly.” She said to him. “With such a wonderful older brother, to look after her.” Vim’s eyes and smile dropped to the floor, he felt regret hit him right in the gut. Cheerlie noticed his sudden depression and gasped suddenly as she got all the signals from his saddened expression.
“Oh, I didn't mean to make you more sad I—“
“It’s fine. That just happens to me sometimes when…….” He shut his eyes as if to mentally stop his mind from going back to the past. “It’s alright. You said you wanted to talk to me about something?” He said, desperately wanting to change the subject. Cheerilie obliged and motioned him to walk with her.
“As I said before, you couldn't have arrived at a more perfect time.” She started. “On the first week of the snow days, I give the little fillies some extra time to get here. So we have a while before I start.” They stopped near the doorway where they could hear small children in the other room chatting to each other.
“I wanted to see how you two were adjusting here. Moving from Manehatten can take out a lot from a pony.” She began.
“Is Dawn having trouble with her school work?” Vim asked, with an upfront tone in his voice.
“Well, at first she had some trouble getting used to the new ponies. But her new friends seem to have given her a lot of encouragement to open up a little. Academically she’s fine, artistically, she’s AMAZING.” Cheerlie said that last part with as much emphases as possible. Vim smiled as he knew he wasn't the only one who recognized his little sisters potential.
“Yep, but let me guess.” He began. “She wants to try and be dentist first right?” Cheerilie rolled her eyes in agreement.
“Yes, she seems to have the same trouble realizing her true talents as the Cutie mark crusaders do.”
“Cutie mark crusaders?” He asked thinking of whom she might be referring to.
“Oh, her new friends are students of mine who go out trying to find their cutie marks by doing little shenanigans around the town. They seem to have included her in the group and have encourage her to try new things.” Vim nodded and felt a large burden lift from his mind.
“Thanks, I really needed to hear that she’s doing fine.”
“My pleasure, but I also wanted to know how you’re holding up as well.”
“Well, I've been looking after the town library at the moment. It seems that the new princess has been quite busy with the whole getting used to the royal duties.”
“Oh, princess Twilight, yes, she has been quite busy. Have you two been staying there?”
“No, I only stay during the day to help with ponies who want to check out books. She usually takes over around two or three, unless she wants me help to help with other projects.” He looked up at the clock that read seven fifteen.
“I usually get there at eight.”
“I see, I’m glad to know you have something to keep yourself busy with. If you ever need to know how Dawn’s doing, or just to talk. Don’t hesitate to drop by for a while.”
“I’d appreciate that.” Vim said shaking her hoof.
“You’ll come to find that Ponyville has lots of caring ponies, have a pleasant day Vim.” With that she walked back into the room to sort out the morning lesson.
Vim turned around for the exit, but when he opened the door, he saw two well dressed fillies walk up to the entrance. They stopped as they quietly laughed to each other. One had a grey coat with a silver mane and fancier glasses than Dawn. The other had a similar color coat as Dawn but brighter and dressed like a self proclaimed princess, crown and all. They had expensive winter coats and boots with bright scarves wrapped around their necks that matched their purple and white manes. The grey one snickered to the pink one as they looked at each other.
“Did you see her face? She cried like a little baby foal.” She said, seeming to enjoy whatever crime she had just committed. The other huffed as she proudly raised her head in the air.
“She shouldn't take fashion criticism so personal, even if she does look like a blank flank hobo pony.”
They both laughed at the horrible name as Diamond Tiara reached for the door. Her hoof grabbed at the handle but soon discovered it to be already open, with a blue earth pony covered with a large light blue spot on his muzzle and around his left eye socket. He looked down at them with a blank expression, his body moved to the side to allow them entrance. Diamond and Silver looked back at each other before laughing again at his brown vest and snow cape that hid the rest of his scalded body.
“I spoke too soon.” Diamond cried as they mocked the blue earth pony that stood to the side, allowing them to enter the school.
“He’s even more ridiculous looking than the blank flank.” Silverspoon cried out, making sure he heard them.
Vim kept the same expressionless face as he did before until the two little monsters made their way to the classroom, still snickering to themselves. Vim sighed, letting the anger leave his system. He looked at his brown vest and coat, not once thinking with shame but with pride. He walked outside and onto the road, but stopped when he heard sobbing from across it. Curious, he walked towards the sound until he found a little white filly crying under a tree. It would be difficult to distinguish her from the snow, for her fur blended almost perfectly with it. Her light purple mane and scarf where what made her stand out. Vim walked carefully up to her. The sounds of his crunching hoof steps were drowned out by her crying.
“I knew I shouldn't have worn this stupid thing!” She cried. “Everypony thinks I look like a dumb, stupid, blank flank hobo pony.” She folded her hooves over her head and sobbed into the ground. Vim put the pieces together and realized what had happened.
“No, that’s what they think.” He said, walking up to the small filly. She immediately stopped her sobs when she heard his soft voice. She turned her head and saw him knelling on the ground right next to her.
“Who are you?” She asked with a sniffle. Vim could now see the horn from her head and light purplish curly mane with pink lines darting across it. Her scarf matched her mane exactly which brought out her soaked bright green eyes.
“My name’s Vim. Vim Invincible, I just moved in from Manehatten with my little sister.” He said.
“Oh, you’re Dawn’s big brother aren't you?” She said, wiping her eyes with her hoof.
“Yeah, and you must be one of the famous cutie mark crusaders.” He said with a smile.
“Oh, you heard of us?” She began to feel like she had a reputation among the adult ponies. “I’m Sweetiebell, one of the first crusaders.” She smiled when she said her name with pride.
“Well it truly is an honor to meet such a hero. I heard you like to help others find their special talents.” His encouragement began to
make Sweetiebell lighten up from her previous state.
“We sure do! We even included Dawn into our group, and later today we’re going to see if we can get our marks in Snow wars!!” She proclaimed. Vim chuckled lightly, her face beamed through the snow as he continued to make her feel proud of herself.
“Sounds like a lot of fun. I’m pretty sure Dawn will love it too.” Vim stood up from the icy ground as did Sweetiebell.
“You should get to class, don’t want to be late.”
“Hey, uh Vim?” Sweetie said while walking with him towards the door.
“Yes?” Vim felt her jump into his body. She hugged him tight around the chest, squeezing into his vest.
“Thanks.”
Vim stood there, not uttering any sound as she held him tight. He could only pat her on the back of the head and smile.
“You’re welcome Sweetiebell.” He pulled her aside and let her see his face. At first she couldn't fully see the burns, but as he came closer they became less transparent in the light snow drops around them. She stood there looking at his sweet smile and warm heart. Vim raised his hoof and patted her on the head.
“Don’t let anypony tell you who you are. You tell them, because everypony is special in their own unique way.” And with that, Sweetie smiled and walked happily into the school. Now with a new skip in her step.
Vim watched her make her way into the school, the door shut and his eyes trailed over to the window a few feet away. Here, he saw Miss Cheerlie looking at him through the glass. She stared at him with a tear trailing down her right eye and a hoof covering her smile from seeing the sweetest thing unfold before her. She sniffed and turned around to greet the now happy Sweetiebell. Vim turned around and made his way into the town, on his way to the library. He felt a new burning sensation inside him, one that felt soothing and warm.
"Spike?" Twilight turned her head around to look for the absent baby dragon.
The library was neatly cleaned, as always, but books seamed to be miss palced on the high shelves. "Darn it Spike." Twilight closed the book she was reading and walked to the front door. She looked around the main room, kitchen, bedroom, and even the bathroom. Still no signs of the little guy any where. Twilight's frustrations began to grow, but she quickly wrapped her head around the Idea of him helping his crush out with 'specific' chores and such.
"I swear to Celestia, if he can't keep still for one minute without trying to..." Suddenly, the door opened and in walked the element of generosity, Rarity. She pranced forward, her chest stuck out to show her new light blue sweater jacket. It wrapped around her front hooves while her other half was still exposed. She also wore a matching colored hat with a small white posh on top. She walked up to Twilight and nuzzled her face.
"Good morning Darling, how are you doing today?" She asked.
"Oh, hey Rarity." Twilight nuzzled back. "What are your doing here?"
They heard a loud shuffling from the entrance, a large pile of stacked boxes walked through as they were held by two small purple claws. Spike poked his head to the side of the mound.
"Heya Twi! Me and Rarity are going to give some presents to our friends." Spike gently set the pile down, and walked up to Twilight who patted him approvingly on the head.
"How thoughtful of you two. Just please tell me when you leave. I hate looking for you when you go without telling me."
"I'm sorry Twilight." Spike answered, pulling his purple scarf to the side.
"Speaking of presents." Rarity used her horn to grab hold of a small box. "Here you go Twilight. Happy Hearth Warming day!!" giggled the unicorn.
"Rarity, you know it isn't till next month." She said as she grabbed the box with her magic.
"I know, but consider this the first of many gifts till then. A little something to get you by in the dreaded cold."
"I appreciate it, thank you very much." Twilight leaned forward and hugged her best friend before she opened the lavender colored lid. What came out was a nice cyan snow sweater. It worked the same as Rarity's but came half way towards her cutie mark.
"Oh Rarity, it's amazing!!!" She used her magic to place it over her body.
"Yes, and I remembered to put holes through the back so your wings would come out."
"Yeah, nice thing Rarity remembered. I sometimes keep thinking your still just a unicorn." Spike commented as Twilight's head poked through the neck hole.
"Wow, amazing, and It feels so warm." She spun around to get a full feel for it.
"It looks so dashing on you darling."
The door opened again, this time a blue earth pony walked in. His brown vest and snow cape where lightly covered in snow.
"Good morning your highness." he said, before placing his attire on the coat rack.
"Vim, how many times do I have to tell you? You can call me Twilight." Twilight, Rarity and Spike walked over to him. His body was completely uncovered as he put his last piece of clothing on the rack. He turned around and found Rarity's face in complete shocked.
"You must be Rarity." He responded.
"Uh...yes. I'm miss Rarity." She did her best to carry on into a somewhat normal conversation.
"You must be Twilight's new help." She extended her hoof towards him with a smile on her face. Vim looked at it before shaking it rather slowly.
"Vim Invincible." he said as he lowered his hoof. He kept a silence on him before Spike walked up to Rarity.
"Uh, we're going to need to get going if we want to get these presents delivered to our friends." Spike said before he grabbed the large pile of boxes.
"Can you manage that Spike?" asked Vim who walked with him to the door. He opened it and allowed the dragon to walk through.
"Yeah, I'm tougher than I look you know?" He responded rather irritably.
"Just be careful out there." Twilight called after him.
"Don't worry darling, I'll make sure he'll be fine. Can't be too cold out now can it?"
"The snow is going to stay in small flakes for at least two days." Vim said as he held the door open for her.
"Oh, thank you ever so much mister Invincible. That is great to hear, now I can better plan my week." She walked outside but stopped to say her goodbyes. "Good bye Twilight, oh and Vim. Please feel free to stop by the boutique anytime. I do hope we meet again soon." with that she trotted off with Spike.
"Yeah, real soon." He mumbled before leaving Twilight at the door.
"Uh Vim?" Twilight turned around to already find him grabbing the ladder. "You alright?"
Vim said nothing as he pushed the ladder around on it's wheels to get to his desired shelf. Once it stopped, he looked back at Twilight as if now just hearing what she said.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I'm just not that good at making new friends." He said as he began to climb the shelf.
"Still, you should at least try to make some friends here." Twilight looked back outside, remembering the first time she came to Ponyville. Mostly like Vim, she found it rather irritating at first, but soon her new friends made her life even better than it was before. She continued to let the cold air inside the library, still reminiscing about her life. It wasn't until Vim coughed abruptly that snapped her out of her trans.
"Kind of freezing to death here Miss Sparkle." He said, taking a step down to fix another unorganized shelf. "Thanks for the help Spike." He grudgingly thought as he switched two completely different copies of "The Great Batspy." "Old renditions go on the south shelf." He said to himself in a not too upset tone in his voice.
He stole another glance at Twilight, who now was slowly trotting towards him. He than noticed the new clothing she wore and found it rather adorable on her. "Nice sweater." He said while smiling. Twilight looked up at him and than back at her sweater. She twirled a bit to give him a full view.
"Oh thank you. I really like it."
"Really brings out that authoritative stature in you." He grabbed a few books with his teeth and sorted them around on the shelf he was working on.
"You really think so?" Twilight asked, confused from his well mixed sarcasm and sincerity.
"Sure." He said, hoping she would catch on to his sarcasm and have a few luaghs. Unfortunately this was not the case with the new princess. As smart as she was, she still took his supposed complainant, as an actually compliment. Not catching on to his little joke.
"Oh thank you! I never thought I could look authoritative by just wearing a simple sweater!!" She happily trotted past the now dumbfounded Vim. He slowly watched her merrily make her way up the stairs, pausing as she 'trained' herself by slowly and elegantly trotting up on each and every step. When she finally shut her door, he could pick up the words. "Attention" and "I am princess Twilight Sparkle." In a very well mannered and royal tone. He sighed before he lightly knocked his head into the ladder.
"All hail our benevolent leader." He sighed, continuing to sort the group of books.
