TMP: The Curse of Poni

Chapters

1

In a little town of Ponyville things were starting to get snowy and cold, Twilight Sparkle’s friend Tress ‘The Mane-iac’ Ravel just got back from Applejack’s farm where dealing with pigs had gotten really old. So the still somewhat villainous mare that was pulled from a comic book world that now lived in this one with her best friend, she had just gotten finished with a shower and now didn’t know what to do and to what end.

“Ugh, those pigs at the farm even gave Fluttershy trouble.” Tress said as she tromped down the stairs on the double.

Tress flipped her long blue mane and mentally fluffed out her pink coat, her hair powers kept her quite warm as she would like to gloat. From Rarity she didn’t need winter clothing and her regenerative factor kept her healthy and strong, but she still put on and wore the scarf that Fluttershy made her as to do otherwise would be wrong. Fluttershy went to all that trouble to make a cute scarf that was pink, purple, blue and green made with great care, no matter what form she was it always matched Tress’s hair.

Walking forward into the living room moving for the couch, after a hard day of taking on trouble Tress just wanted to slouch. It was their first Hearths Warming coming up in Ponyville which would be later followed by cleaning, after what happened with the pigs Tress figured Fluttershy would still be preening.

Tress didn’t make it to the couch as something on the bookshelf nearby did glow, a book flew out and struck Tress in the head and the anger of the mare did grow.

“Twilight you clocked me upside the head with another book!” Tress roared out to the point that the house shook. During the cold months when there was much snow abound, Twilight’s hairstyling and cutting business found itself lacking customers all around. Trouble taking during the cold months was how they stayed wealthy; else they wouldn’t have enough to heat their home or to stay healthy.

“Sorry Tress I was about to start working on some bread pudding and collecting the stuff I need for the recipe was just done, so why are you coming from upstairs and did you have fun? I just got back myself and you certainly will be fine, to keep you down I’d have to hit you with more than one fully grown pine. You heal fast enough so no complaining, I think you’re just upset because there won’t be any raining.” Twilight came from the kitchen while levitating some tools, anyone allowing her to cook would certainly be fools. Though there is one exception to that rule, Twilight had a knack for making any kind of pudding for which her daughter Barb thought was kind of cool. The comment about the rain was because Twilight knew Tress likes it when it stormed, since where there was thunder it was said lighting was formed. Tress’s powers ran on powerful shocks, not to mention the look of what the rain did to her mane rocks.

“Yeah, yeah, today was certainly quite pleasant, especially after what happened with the one pig and that pheasant.” The mare with the long blue mane stated sarcastically while shuddering and trying to cope, maybe Applejack was finally done with her livestock or so Tress would hope. Once again Tress got glued to a ceiling, her worst nightmare that always leaves her reeling. A lot of things to be said about Big Mac and the word nope, it had took them more than an hour to get Tress down by rope.

“Tress is something wrong here I’m feeling a bit of a change, do you feel like the world rhymes and is acting strange?” It was a small inkling that Twilight the chaotic mare felt all too well, for there was a mild case of zebra pox going around as everyone could probably tell.

“Just go back to what you were doing and please let me rest.” Tress had looked about knowing there was a compulsion to rhyme every once in a while, but when Pinkie caught the zebra pox all it did was make her have a grand smile. “I need to relax, so when are Barb and Smart coming home and please tell me we aren’t hosting a guest.”

“Well Zecora is going to stay with us for Hearths Warming later this week, otherwise there is no other guest I can really think of or seek. They should be here within the next few minutes if Smart is punctual as I am at times, though I still have this nagging feeling that we’re all talking in rhymes.” Shaking her head and well maintained hair, Twilight went off to start on her bread pudding and gave peace to her best friend that was a generally good mare.

“Ignore that feeling as it always happens during the hearths warming season, I personally can ignore it easily enough… well… at least within reason.” Tress just shook her head and her bump did heal, now what could she do while she was lazing on the couch now that her pain she couldn’t feel. Tress was too lazy to work on her projects downstairs in the basement where the laboratory was kept, so maybe a book was in order before she ate dinner and slept. She decided to wait for Smart who was now in the librarian trade, for once someone could actually use her services aside from the reason she was made.

Tress didn’t wait long as the door opened and in flew Smart Esmeralda Pants Sparkle the pixie that at its core was still Twilight’s old toy, said Smart was as her name implied and at times she could be quite coy. The little pixie was a sneaky attractively beautiful little thing, to the hybrid dragon Barb that was Twilight’s daughter a lot of joy did she bring.

“Please don’t tell me you left mom alone in the kitchen, you know that she can’t cook!” Barb’s pony like ears twitched in fear as she shook.

“It’s okay since she’s not trying to make dinner, to let her try that would have me feeling less like a winner. Despite how tempting it would be, even if I were still at my most evil even I’m not quite that stupid you see.” Tress in a quite few words quickly defused Barb’s panic; she then turned to Smart with a grin that looked quite manic. “Say Smart I’m in need of a book to read while I’m taking a break, I had a long day with pigs, pheasants and a dirty ceiling phobia that I still can’t quite shake.”

“Why does everyone rhyme all the time now, is there another town wide gas leak in Ponyville or something again? Ugh, I had to save every single pony in town that day with Barb because you and Twilight were busy in the Ever Free Forest fighting off those encroaching cookie elves.” Aside from Smart, Barb was around for it and they found a fix for the strange situation their selves. Barb following in her mother’s hooves in saving the day was a chip off the block; she was coming into her own magical might with power in stock.

“Don’t remind me of those stupid little guys, if I didn’t have super powers then all of that sugar they forced on me might have went to my thighs. No one is going to put the Cakes out of business thanks to Pinkie taking them out to pasture with relative ease, so how about that book now if you are willing to please?” Tress was not going to scream bloody murder about all the rhyming; she also was also trying to ignore all the mentally thinking it in a similar timing.

“Fine what kind of book do you want, another gore fest with tons of action in it or can I suggest something more classical?” Smart wasn’t put off by the rhyming, in fact she kind of found it hilarious that it didn’t affect her one bit because she technically wasn’t a living organism. She was trying to ignore the incredible fact that she might be slowly gaining her own sentience over time.

“A Hearth’s Warming tale sounds good right about now and I’m in the mood. Maybe something involving hair and as long as it’s not the ‘Gift of generosity’, that story really gets Twilight mad every single time she even hears it being read. She’ll go on ranting for hours that a homemade gift from the heart is more meaningful than any store bought item from the heart. Maybe you could get something with a bit of romance even, something that has a sweet ending and a story I haven’t exactly read yet.” As Tress spoke she realized something in kind. “Hey, would you listen to me I’m not rhyming anymore, well that’s a load off of my mind! I mean it, ugh you have no idea how annoying that is and Pinkie actually enjoys it spreading it around all over the place she was even coughing on ponies so I gave her a good old nice right hoof to the face for it.”

“Well at least your powers helped you to get better; I’m going upstairs to take a hot bath that will make me wetter.” Barb stalked off in an angry huff shaking her head while blushing given that her phrasing sounded so wrong as she was still stuck with the rhyming addiction, in Equestria it was quite a common and a very heavily spread affliction.

“Well… that was awkward wordplay. Okay, I think I might have just the story for you Tress, I’ll be back in a minute so don’t go to sleep.” Smart watched as Tress leaned back while crossing her hooves not saying a peep. The pixie flew towards the front door with a flash, around the doorknob and out the door she closed behind her with a loud bash.

Five minutes later the pixie returned with a relatively large tome, Tress took it with her mane from the Pixie as she struggled to magically lift it through the door to the ponyville Sparkle home.

“The Curse of Poni, a story about two ponies incidentally cursed by their destinies and coming together? Eh, it’s worth a shot, goodness knows Twilight’s cursed with horrible cooking for the rest of her life and I still love her anyway.” After sighing contently, a blank look crossed Tress’s face as she looked up from reading the summary of the book. Her attention was now on Smart realizing what she had just said out loud.

The pixie floated there was a blank stare; Smart wondered whether or not to start laughing while giving off a twirl with a gleeful little flair.

“Um that didn’t come out right, but please tell me you didn’t hear that anyway!” A very mortified Tress knew she was caught red hoofed.

“Say what?” Smart said with a sly smile. “I lost my sense of hearing for a second there; I may need Twilight to check to see if my enchantment matrix isn’t flagging a bit and for some reason I can’t remember the past few minutes.”

“Exactly, you have no idea what I said at all.” Tress never said it, but Smart having Twilight’s childhood imaginary friends personality really helped in this situation and she tended to be more like what subconsciously went on in Twilight’s head at times. Smart was a true friend even if she wasn’t really physically alive, though she certainly acted like it at times. “Thanks by the way, I’m glad that you’re as equally one of a kind in the friendship department as Twilight is.”

“Still wish Twilight would make another one of me, even if the enchantments would cause us both to go up in an explosion within minutes it’d still be nice to have friends my size.” Smart lamented sadly, she wanted another enchanted imaginary friend personality toy pixie to spend time with outside of just hanging with Barb.

“Why don’t you teach Barb how to make one, doesn’t she use magic on a different frequency or something and wouldn’t that allow there to be another one of you but with whatever personality Barb gives it?” This was suggested immediately by Tress, it was the first thought that came to mind and since she felt she needed to pay the tiny pony pixie back.

“…” Smart immediately zipped off upstairs with a blank if rather thoughtful look on her tiny face leaving Tress to her book.

The super powered mare shrugged and tried to open it. It was a fresh book and hadn’t been opened yet judging by the noise it made when she pulled at the cover, most likely fresh from the library and Tress was the first one to touch it. It was kind of nice of Smart to go through all that trouble of getting her a new fresh unopened book.

Tress cracked open the book to read the tale, everyone else was busy so she had some quiet time now and would be able to do so without fail.

“This tale that is spun does not begin on a dark and stormy night or once upon a time, in fact it starts with a mare who was cursed because of an uncommitted crime.” Tress sighed in a lamenting manner; as she looked over the next few words as apparently the book started in rhyme to her ire. There was just no escaping it; she may as well continue reading maybe to be even accompanied by a choir. “The mare who didn’t commit this crime was a pegasus with a mane of blue, framed she was for her coat color which was purple in hue. It was a case of mistaken identity and what was carried down the family line to every pegasus mare was this unjust curse, despite the real culprit being found the curse was never lifted which was even worse. What the real thief stole was a powerful artifact that curses those who would wield its incredible might, to be free of its curse you had to spill the blood of an intelligent creature at night. Many murders were committed with the cursed artifact but oddly never has a pony ever been cured of its effects no matter how intelligent the beings in the dark that were killed; the curse forces a random form of madness upon the wielder until the requirements to lift it are filled. The thief had perished because of the madness born of the artifact which was carefully returned to whence it came, the now cursed pegasus mare having been forgotten was not to blame.”

Pausing to think for a moment Tress was incredibly be intrigued by this story, she took a look around to see no one listening to her read. She continued on a lot more interested in the story as it had all started with a tragedy which planted the seed. In fact it didn’t say exactly what the unwarranted curse on this particular family line did in oh so many words; just that it only affected pegasus mares that would fly free like birds.

“This was the start of the ‘Mane Queens’ line carried down through the centuries where marrying a pegasus was considered highly taboo as the curse was still very much alive and in the carried blood, eventually the cursed artifact that started this mess fell from the sky in a great storm where it was lost in a mighty flood.” It made Tress wonder what a Mane Queen was with worry; this story was beginning to really drag her in as the next few words were the set up for this whole story. “The law of every curse that has ever come about, it is to be known that they always have an out. The out is always in the form of a puzzle, each and every one that exists will always leave you scratching the underside your muzzle. For that is usually where the cure is found, once that is done to the curse you are not longer bound.”

2

Tress was going to start reading the book for real having finished the opener only to be distracted by a happy sounding moan, this cause her look up from her book as she noticed a certain thing that tended to roam. She saw a spooky floating form in front of her that was familiar to her eyes, she was going to get on to her best friend now about some of her lies.

“Twilight you’re parent’s poltergeist is here, I thought you said we weren’t entertaining guests.” Flatly stated Tress with a bit of angry quirk in her brow, if Twilight didn’t give her a good explanation she was going to get it and how!

“I said we weren’t expecting anyone or I wasn’t going to look, just go back to reading it sounds like he’s enjoying your book! Anyway I think since my parents had plans he might have come here, he might have gotten quite lonely being all alone up there I fear.” Twilight poked her head from out of the kitchen mixing something in a bowl filled with batter; it was quite obvious that she didn’t see what was the problem or the matter.

“Fine, if I keep reading this you’ll be quiet right?” The response Tress received was the poltergeist nodding and smiling, as long as she was able to relax and read without distraction then her anger will not keep on piling. With a flick of her hoof she turned the page, she wasn’t getting any younger and she wanted to get started in this age.

“We will start out with a small orphaned colt with a brown coat and short blonde mane that lives on the street; his choice of lifestyle was most decidedly not very neat. He was puny little thief and nobody cared about his strife, even then he only stole what was needed in life. The orphanage he lived at didn’t have much; he didn’t want to hurt its resources and chose to live in a nearby hutch. Every year he would always be out in the cold, the wind and the rain, needing to steal blankets just to keep warm was a pain.” As Tress read this she started to feel, was this a story of good ending or even for real? It reminded of her past growing up as a magnate for hair care products and she could easily see, that this was as painful as an orphaned childhood could be. She considered herself lucky in that respect since she had comforts since her deceased family had looked out for her; she shivered as something building in her heart began to stir. “He was a selfless little colt that was the truth as it could be said, he knew what he did was wrong but his stomach still had to be fed. On a night he was scrounging for food from the restaurant bins or the ground, he was also on the lookout for things to sell for money if they were to be found. He would only steal in desperation when he couldn’t find the things he did seek; in fact there was one time he went without any food for an entire week.”

“I wish this didn’t sound so horrible, that poor colt.” There was a zebra in the room and there was something was wrong with the way her words were structured as they sounded bad. If Tress didn’t know any better she could swear Zecora was extremely depressed which was sad.

“Did you just… okay Zecora what’s wrong with you and why are you here early? Twilight wasn’t expecting you to come until next week.” Setting aside the book she wanted to read more now, she stood up to figure out why Zecora was depressed and was the elephant in the room like a juggling joke telling cow.

“I have the Zebra pox.” Zecora stated sadly, her tone not sounding like the general wit of a fox.

“I think I can see why you’re acting all depressed now. Are you going to be okay, do you need a hug?” If Tress didn’t give her one about this situation then her conscience would continue to be a bug. Tress wouldn’t offer such a thing at any given regular juncture, but seeing the incredibly depressed zebra made her feel as if in her heart there was a puncture.

“Yes, please. You have no idea how mocking it to lose that part of what I am.” The zebra stated instead of keeping her mouth shut like a clam. With a strong pair of hooves warmly enwrapping her frame, Zecora felt a little bit better about her incurable shame. There was no cure for the zebra pox until it has run its course, though the needy zebra wished she could mix up something to do that by force.

“There, there it’ll be okay.” The loving and freely given hug from Tress, it made the zebra cry into her shoulder to her dismay. The poltergeist went on ignored as it joined in the hug; the spirit was incidentally imparting a minute amount of its ectoplasm on the rug.

“Tress is everything going well? Zecora does not look good as far as I can tell.” The intrusion of Barb and Smart only made the zebra cry harder greatly soaking Tress’s coat, Tress glared at Barb as her anger began to bloat. With a frown Twilight silently stuck her head into the room, she had a sixth sense for when Tress was about to go boom.

“Barb, just a small word of advice, please don’t talk again and that goes for you too Twilight. At least not a word until the zebra pox clears up; she’s really distressed enough about all of this. In fact I don’t think I can continue reading if she’s going to keep being this upset about it.” In her hooves Tress could feel Zecora stiffen a bit. Pulling away from Tress with red puffy eyes, she sniffled and calmed down a size.

“No keep reading please I implore you, it’s the one thing all day that didn’t sound like it was mocking my normal ways.” It was sad to see that Zecora didn’t rhyme in these days.

“I’ll be sure to knock Pinkie out cold extra hard the next time I see her, but are you sure Zecora? You really seem upset about all this.” It was easy for Tress and everyone else to see that the zebra was nowhere near a normal state of bliss.

“Yes, but can you start the tale from the beginning again? I don’t want to miss the whole story as you don’t seem very far.” Zecora received acquiescence in the form of a grunt from Tress; she pulled from her saddlebags and sat down a tapir in jar.

“Fine, but none of you better interrupt me, GOT IT!” So Tress begrudgingly began the story again up to the point the Mane Queen was given mention. She was interrupted by a wildly waving Barb trying to get her attention; this made her teeth clench together with a tension. “Yes, what do you want Barb, a bathroom break perhaps?”

“No I just wanted to know what a Mane Queen was as to my mind it does cling; it sounds an awful lot like your kind of thing.” Oh if only Barb knew how angry Tress was and the pain she wanted to bring. Tress felt her anger level rise due in part to not feeling the ability to relax to her best, but she released it well enough as this was her best friend’s daughter though it was putting her willpower to the test.

“No, I haven’t gotten that far into the book can we please continue, maybe if we get far enough we’ll find out more about why the line is called that.” Tress wanted to lash out in anger that this was happening to her after her hard day of work where she was glued to a ceiling; Twilight came in and calmed her down with a gentle head pat knowing how she was feeling. “Ugh, where was I again?”

“The young colt of thirteen was foraging around and this was quite an auspicious occasion, for this was the first night he would be cursed from which there would be no evasion. The colt had found the artifact which was a large pair of gardening shears, why he hadn’t seen such good quality in all the useless unwanted things that he has pawned off in the years.” Where Tress would have continued with the story without pause, another being interrupted her again making her show her resentment to the point that they may need some gauze. For who had come through the door was a slightly scratched up special changeling with two friends and in festive clothing, Tress's ire was about to hit to the point of incredibly loathing.

“Hello I’m sorry to interrupt you but I felt a horrible amount of despair. Is there a problem that you need some cheering up from the cheery changelings carolers that now fly through the air?” Chrysalis noticed the large spike of anger coming from Tress directed at her and her two cheery changelings who were traveling around singing holiday songs to bring up the mood; they were most likely doing it because it paid them back with good food.

“Are you okay Tress you’re looking a bit mad, hopefully this doesn’t take us away from story time which is sounding quite rad.” Barb declared noticing Tress was about to go nuclear given the look on her face, she hoped Tress was not really going to do anything to their friends of the changeling race. All they were trying to do was spread a little cheer, this was their first time sharing Hearths Warming with ponies too this year.

“I AM JUST PEACHY!” Tress intoned in a way that was really quite screechy. Now she had to start all over again, she swore that all her friends were going to show up and that there would be no end. Just one more time and in a conniption she as was going to blow, Twilight immediately rushed in with a comb and brush using them cool down the mare so she could continue her happy reading show. She now had a large audience which she half wished would leave, but to stay in the spirit of things for the holidays she still had a story to weave.

Eventually Tress got back to the point she was cut off again the last time and continued reading from there, if someone else showed up she would definitely blow up at them with care. She knew Fluttershy had a possibility of showing up and she dearly did love that good friend of a mare, getting angry at her specifically over an interruption just wouldn’t be quite fair. Sure it would annoy her like nothing else, but she’d swallow that instinct to lay into her and create some nice pony pelts.

“In a back alley the colt stared at the bladed hedge clippers which looked perfectly brand spanking new, the problem is as soon as he did touch them the curse he would accrue. Picking them up without a thought or care as he needed bits to feed his belly, his world went wobbly like a blob of solidified jiggling jelly. The curse took instant effect and randomly chose what would drive him mad, why the next mare he saw on his way out of the alley is where things got quite bad.”

All the listeners cringed including the ghost; they certainly hoped this was not a gore fest being read by their host. Given the description of how to cure the curse would lead one to think, they already thought the poor colts mind was broken and sent to the brink. As Tress turned the page to continue the story for which she read so well, a new intruder into story time received frosty glares that meant hell.

Rainbow walked in while smiling a cheesy grin, she wondered why all these being were sitting around Tress holding a book and felt like everyone here wanted to deliver one to her chin. It was a surprise that even Zecora did a nasty glare, it was almost like Fluttershy when she was properly motivated to do her stare.

“So what are you all doing in here if you don’t mind me asking? When outside you could watch me perform and in my presence you could be basking!” Every single being in the room pointed Rainbow to Tress who lay on her side on the couch in a pose very much agitated in manner, after a moment Tress just smiled as she had become quite the planner.

Getting up from the couch and walking by everyone who wanted to hear her read ‘The Curse of Poni’ as attractively as she did; she walked out into the street to issue everyone a verbal demand to those that didn’t shy away and hid.

“This is to everyone who can hear my voice, for the next being that walks into this house uninvited I will then give everyone a choice! If it happens then I will issue something just so we’re all clear, I’ll just start selling tickets to my reading a story that you all might want to hear! Oh dang I’m infected again with the zebra pox, now excuse me while I go scream bloody murder into a cardboard box.” Tress went back into the house in a huff, she marched upstairs to get said box that was in the attic full of stuff. They could hear Tress scream bloody murder to the distress of the audience that sat in the living room den, Rainbow didn’t know what she had just caused and wondered if she just did something to cause someone else to win.

The audience that sat on the floor was soon passing bits to the one who called the pot, apparently the one who earned the quiet bet was the poltergeist so a lot bits he just got. They all questioned what a ghost would do with all that money; they later learned it would be used in a holiday favorite Hearths Warming Tale in an ironic way that was funny. It was a story about a dragon named Scrudge that would go on during Hearths Warming day, with Twilight’s parent’s poltergeist getting a very big part in that play.

Stomping down the stairs with her still healing spleen recently ruptured, Tress looked over everyone and the poltergeist with the money knowing a bet was planned and structured. She glared at them quietly holding up a shaking hoof, someone was about to die and that horrific scream was the proof. She then took her seat on the couch and started from the beginning once more, oh how the rest of the audience pitied the next pony, dragon or otherwise to come through the front door.

“Tress what happened is you alright, that scream gave me quite a bad fright.” Twilight walked out of the kitchen pouring a bowl into a pan, she thought that Tress couldn’t get any louder then she already can. Her words were met with a flat stare; Tress didn’t count this interruption as it wouldn’t be fair.

“Nothing to worry about I’m just fine, though tomorrow you may have to buy tickets to listen to this voice of mine!” With her silent threat still hanging that there might be some pony she would flay, she decided to get back to the story with her mood already in great decay.

“A mare that was the sweetheart of the area with her blonde mane full and uncut hanging all the way down, the colt against his very will smacked her in the head with a frown. His victim went down to the ground and became slightly dizzy, when he finally left the mare would be in quite a tizzy. He roughly grabbed her by the hair pulling it straight up with his magic and cut a majority of her mane off in a manner most tragic. All that was left of her mane was naught but stubble, now the colt found himself in a very severe amount of trouble. He didn’t know what with him was going wrong, he resisted to the best of his will but he couldn’t in time resist the mare’s hair that had become a sirens song.” A lot of the listeners wondered who wrote this story and Tress did so as well with an odd quirk, it was kind of morbid so she wondered what Twilight would have to say about it after she was done calling the author a big jerk.

Fluttershy walked in through the front door and wondered what was now going wrong with her friends and why everyone was staring at a book frowning; Pinkie Pie popped in behind her and started acting out which involved her college degree in clowning.

3

“Tress the story has gotten quite creepy, it is getting kind of late and I’m getting rather sleepy.” Sitting there among the whole group, Barb’s eyes were starting to droop.

“Zecora can you please go in the kitchen and start on a meal. I’m going to shoo everyone out and tell Tress what I feel.” Trotting in Twilight shook her head towards the door; she started levitating the group up from the floor. Turning to her friends Fluttershy and Pinkie with a smile, she wanted them to stay, at least for a while. The changelings and Rainbow she pushed from her house, Tress was in a mood that she wanted to douse. “Sorry to say this to you two guys, but you’ll need to leave soon and did you bring by the pies?”

“Oh of course Twilight we baked them up in good taste, we brought you your order all in due haste.” Pinkie’s happy mood was as infectious as ever, to bad she didn’t run from Tress as that would have been clever.

Quick as a flash Tress knocked Pinkie out cold, and then she turned to Zecora with a look that was bold. A sighing Fluttershy silently stepped around Pinkie slowly dragging in a wagon loaded with several tasty fruit pies, she’d be back to give Pinkie some minor medical attention right where she lies.

“I’m guessing she was the one to infect you with this annoying pox, so what do you think of the story Twilight and those shorn locks?” Tress knew that Twilight didn’t like anything that had to do with shearing. Tress read the story spoken out loud, so in the kitchen Twilight was within range of hearing.

Both the pony and zebra looked to the other and chose who would go first, it was Zecora since she was disturbed by the zebra pox the worst.

“You did not need to knock Pinkie out on my account Tress, though she was the one to give me the zebra pox. Thanks to you I’m not that depressed over it much anymore.” Though Zecora couldn’t say she definitely felt bad about the out cold Pinkie on the floor. To infect ponies on purpose was quite mean, especially with a sickness one of which Zecora was none too keen. She trotted into kitchen followed by Barb as she had to prepare a good feast, it may brighten Tress with her bad mood at the least.

“I’m not upset about the story as more I’m curious then that, if I don’t hear it to the end then my mood will be just flat. Though you shouldn’t take it out on Pinkie quite like you did, on your anger you should probably keep a tight lid. Now move over and tell me what happened to you on this day, you seem testy and in quite a bad way.” A spot was made for Twilight to sit immediately without waiting; the story wasn’t something that she thought of as worth hating. She was more worried about why her friend was feeling down, that was the only reason on her face there was even a frown.

“I’ve just had a really bad day and my mood can’t seem to be relaxed. To start from the beginning of this story several times made my sanity feel quite taxed.” All Tress received was a gentle warm hug from the mare that she did love. When it was Fluttershy or Twilight giving affection freely, then away she would not shove.

Fluttershy smiled walking in from stashing away the delicious treats, all the while she was snacking on a few sugar beets. She held out one in offering it in her hoof, she had heard Tress was once again glued to a roof. She knew her friend’s mood could sometimes get rather dour, Fluttershy hoped that just by being here for her that it would make her feel less sour.

Tress closed the book and set it aside; oh on tomorrow she was going to take Ponyville for a ride. She took the beet and retrieved a gentle smile, there was no use staying mad around Fluttershy even for a short while. Biting into the sweet snack she leaned into Twilight’s cuddle, her anger was now leaving like quick drying puddle.

Nodding her head the shy mare got to work on Pinkie Pie who was still laid out, even at the pink one Fluttershy just wanted to shout. No pony should run around making others sick, meeting with Tress again is what finally did the trick. Sure the zebra pox can be quite funny. To Zecora it caused her to sniffle and cry while leaving her nose quite runny.

Shaking her head at all the distress that was going on this winter, Twilight wanted to keep Tress calm or a few buildings her best friend may incidentally splinter. It was a surprise Tress hadn’t transformed or destroyed anything yet, Twilight just continued giving her head and mane a pet.

“I’m going now Twilight and Tress I hope tomorrow that you both feel swell. I’ll get Pinkie back to Trixie and the Cakes and then I’ll be on my way home as well. I have some animals that haven’t gone to sleep during this season of Hearths Warming. Even then I have plenty of time on my hooves to come give you a massage if more anger keeps on forming.” With that Fluttershy heaved the heavy pink pony onto her back. She swiftly went out the door having finished her snack.

Tress leaned into Twilight who caressed her long light blue hair. Now that she was relaxing to everyone she realized she had given them a scare. She came clean about how her day went; she even mentioned to Twilight about how she felt spent. Dinner was made and quickly consumed by all involved, the poltergeist‘s ectoplasm on the floor had finally dissolved. After dinner Tress slowly crawled into her bed, she laid down to sleep by resting her head.

“Is she going to be okay? She seemed way too calm.” Barb the magic dragon stood staring at her mother, the one who cared for her quite like no other. “Aside from that can I sleep in your room mom?”

Leaning down and nuzzling daughter with her nose, Twilight thought it was a good question that she did pose. She lifted her daughter in her magic and slid under the blankets then pulled her in close to snuggle. Barb let herself be cuddled by her mother; she wouldn’t put up much of a struggle.

Like always the sun rose into the sky the very next day, Tress wrapped her scarf around her neck and finished the hash pancakes made out of hay. She had returned to being of good cheer, she wished that Hearths Warming would be good after last year. A mewling sound drew her attention to a small brown cat with colorful spots looking at her with adoration, Tress rolled her eyes and pulled a bowl of food from the fridge to feed him and thought about taking a long vacation.

Palatable came and went as his owner tended to not worry; he waited for his food to warm as he was in no hurry. He wasn’t around yesterday as he was familiar with his master’s moods; at times like that she was bound to start some feuds. The cat happily consumed the bowl of warm spaghetti and sauce. He crooned his appreciation, since as a familiar Tress was his boss.

Having fed her cat Tress picked up her book and trotted out into the few inches of snow. To the mayor with her plan she would go. If she was going to be interrupted constantly trying to read, she may as well earn a few bits given she has her friend’s mouths to feed. So the trouble taker Tress was going to do something unique, which involved reading the story throughout the rest of this week.

Marching into the mayor’s office she laid her plan down. Then she would have Rainbow put up flyers all around town. She would start reading from beginning to end, if anyone misses a part she was not starting over again. There were tickets to be sold and every pony would only need one, at least making money this way would be kind of fun.

It was a few hours of prep work later, she sat in the town hall in which Applejack and Pinkie did cater. There were snacks and many juices that were brought to the table; she hoped the situation would now stay quite stable. Ponies filed in wanting to listen to the mare that fought monsters with her own hooves, hopefully of this story every pony approves.

Sitting down and starting the tale from the beginning once more, she had no idea how long this tale was or what was in store. All the ponies gasped, but did not interrupt her reading. Making them pay to listen to her made Tress almost felt like she was cheating. She got back to the part where the colt knocked a blonde mare silly. Pinkie raised a hoof and Tress ignored her because, REALLY?

“It didn’t take long for the colt to realize the curse of the artifact that looked to be hedge cutters; he tried to stay away from long hair and the beautiful allure with which it now flutters. He fought against the curse tooth and hoof with all that he had. To be rid of it now he would certainly be glad. Not knowing the legends or how to break the effects, he didn’t know what to do with the hair he now forcefully collects.” Flipping the page Tress felt her tension melt away, every pony was hanging onto her words and in her sway.

“The poor colt didn’t have much going on before and now needed help, but no one would want take in a hair cutting whelp. He was chased out of his hometown and away from his cramped little cage; he didn’t want to cause all the ponies there to hate him with rage. He was a friendly colt who before wouldn’t hurt a fly, now he had to make his presence quite shy. He moved from town to town as best that he could, as he was trying to keep a low profile as he should.” ‘The Curse of Poni’ may be starting a bit slow, but tension in the room it did seem to grow. Tress sat up on the stage in a comfortable chair; she stopped to take a sip of juice made from a pear.

“Not only was this colt pushed from the place where he was now considered a thorn, he was trapped with a madness of which he was not born. He needed to trim at least one mane from a mare a day with the cursed trimmers to keep his mind clear, for hurting any pony in madness was what he truly did fear. He only targeted mares that already had their manes short; as more trouble the colt did not wish to court.” A pony sneezed and Tress looked up at Vinyl rubbing her nose, Octavia hoofed her one napkin into which she swiftly blows.

“One might ask why this unicorn didn’t try to destroy them or even leave them alone. He didn’t want anyone else to get cursed and if that happened he knew he wouldn’t quit until he could atone. He wandered the world not finding a place he could stay for long, for every mare he came near he knew might wrong. Destroying them was impossible as they were impervious to harm, the colt found this out while he was working on a farm. He had grown into a stallion of eighteen who took to selling junk to stay alive. He was still trying to figure out the curse, of which the source he still couldn’t derive. He wished to find a way to break free of the artifact to which he was bound. The stallion’s hopes at finding a solution to this problem, it was clearly not to be easily found.” Flipping the page, Tress quirked an eye and looked up to all the ponies in the room hanging on to her words. Oh the story has changed and it didn’t seem for the birds. “Huh so this is the other side of it… hey my zebra pox is gone again!”

Quite a lot ponies in the audience cheered that she was good as new, while many were glaring at a sheepishly smiling Pinkie and that was quite a few.

“There was a mare born with wings and a thick mane, apparently her ancestors forgot the legends of the curses pain. She grew up in a mansion a pegasus mare with hair that was a beautiful shade of blue, her coat unlike her parents was also strangely a light shade of purple in hue. The first part of the curse made all pegasus births were always a mare; they all looked like their ancestor who had beauty to spare. Growing up this mare had always wanted to fly; unfortunately because of the curse she would never know the touch of the sky.” Tress looked up and saw Rainbow hugging Scootaloo, that poor currently flightless foal. This heart rending story on many was taking its toll.

“She grew up reading many a book as she was an intelligent lady of a noble birth, but when it came to talks if she could fly she would always say she was rather down to earth. While she knew the reason why she couldn’t get up in the air, it was all because the weight of her impervious curse powered hair. Her parents were always in a rut, it was most likely because her flowing mane was impossible to cut.” Okay now how would this story bring them together Tress did wonder, as the intrigue in the room had shot up as if everyone heard thunder. Shaking her head and shifting her blue mane against her body, her hind legs squeezed together since she needed to go to the potty. “I would like your attention please every pony, changeling and dragon; I need to use the bathroom. So we’ll take a ten minute break before I continue.”

All the ponies went to get some snack so that their stomachs would be sated, all the while for Tress to come back from the toilet they waited. Tress came back and sat down to watch the clock; she was doing a very good rendition of a hawk.

“Okay is everyone ready for me to continue or do any of you have any objections to me continuing to read this?” If someone had an objection then Tress wasn’t hearing a single remark, so with the rest of the story she would soon debark.

No pony spoke up from the crowd; they were all somewhat silent except some that were whispering out loud. Invested into the story many mares, stallions, fillies and colts were, they wanted to know how it ended now for sure.

4

“The mare being intelligent as she was kept using her wings; the hope of being able to fly is something to which she clings. They were well exercised and strong enough to get lift, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t use the natural pegasus gift. She’d lift grocery bags and weights with them; she’d always used them to manipulate things on a whim. From the smallest to largest thing, when she need to do something she’d use a wing. To the finest of manipulations she uses her feathers, all the talk about her flightless nature she easily weathers.” Flipping the page Tress saw what was coming next. In this story there was still plenty of text.

“The mare left the mansion on a fine sunny day where she usually stayed, her massive main was done up in a bun and a braid. Her massive mane and tail always needed to be twisted and put in a bind; her hair dragging on the ground constantly which would have not been something good to her mind. Her mane stopped growing after a nominal length, the knowledge that she could take care of herself gave her strength. It would come in handy when a thief tried to steal her purse the one which she held in her wing, instead of being wrapped around her neck on an easily breakable string.” Pausing Tress took another sip of her juice, she cleared her throat to make sure her vocal chords were loose.

“The culprit of this theft was a shaggy haired thief of the female persuasion. To the stallion that saw this who recently came into town, this is what brought him into the equation. The mare that struggled against her offender with relative ease, still the stallion needed a mane if his curse he was to please. The stallion ran up to them quick and with his closed shears he hit the thief in the head. He didn’t use enough force, so the thief wouldn’t have bled. He had yet to do any pony lasting harm; he was most certainly attracted by the defending mare’s charm. Instead of berating the thief and hurting her more, the stallion came out with the fact that he knew what it was like to be poor. The unkempt mess that was a raggedy red mane laid out in the street, he wanted to help her even if it would ruin his recent feat. He felt sad for what he was about to do to her, the earth pony thief had quite a nice shade of yellow fur.” Tress noticed that the room was really quiet right about now, has she finally become fully relaxed somehow?

“The stallion profusely apologized for what he was about to do, to both the thief and the noble mare in front of him. He grasped the unconscious thief’s mane; tightly binding it in his magic he forcefully gave her a short trim. The noble asked him why exactly did he do that, at least she was willing to listen and have a nice chat. The stallion so entranced by her beauty, he came out with the fact that he was cursed as if it was his duty. He pointed out that a long time ago he touched this cursed artifact the shears that could cut through many things. The mare stared at it with interest and extended her wings.” Everyone in the audience did twitch as this was the moment of truth, would the stallion help the mare given his curse he fought hoof and tooth.

“The noble mare asked if the stallion could carry the thief back to her abode, with her kind of beauty his willpower was completely overrode. The stallion decided to introduce himself by his name. His noble pony host decided to do the same. He was a poor unicorn stallion named Ardent Claim; hers was Amethyst Allure the less than rich dame. Her parents had spent a lot of money trying to find a cure for her strangest feature; as for a job she was quite the history teacher. The hedge trimmers this stallion had may have been the cure to her uncut mane that she did seek; to fly just once was a dream that was becoming bleak.” Closing the book Tress stood and stretched out, while most of the audience sat there beginning to pout.

It was time that Tress called it a day; maybe tomorrow she could finish the book. She wondered what would happen if she read ahead at home in a quiet little nook. All the ponies that had gathered gave a sigh wanting to hear the rest, but to wait until tomorrow might have been best.

Upon getting home with a zebra, her best friend and her child, Tress took to the couch and was about to read the evening away since her mood had become mild. The book was quickly snatched from her hooves in a manner most upsetting. Twilight taking the book from her was not something on which Tress was betting.

“Why did you take the book from Tress mom?” Barb was happy to realize that she was not forced to rhyme and remained calm.

“If you’re being paid to read it out, then you’ll hear the ending with every other pony about. I’m going to stow this away now… did I just stopped rhyming? I guess the zebra pox must finally be burning out.” Twilight did a jig that was less then spry. The mare just couldn’t dance; there was no reason to ask why.

“Well that’s good for all of us, but why can’t I finish reading the story now?” Tress asked with a bit of distress, she wasn’t about to try and fight with a mare whom she thought of as a mistress. In explanation Twilight owned Trims, Tresses and Trouble Takers, any problem that comes their way would certainly meet their makers.

“Tress you petitioned the mayor for the right to use town hall to do this, also because you’re making money from this venture and both Pinkie and Applejack are getting a cut of the profits. It would be kind of bad having to refund all those bits if you don’t feel up to reading it tomorrow because you read ahead.” Twilight paced around in a tight circle in front of Tress, that this is a problem she would address. “Now I’m going to seal this away for a while using temporary enchantments, it’s your turn to make dinner tonight anyway.”

Tress sighed and with a roll, she came to her hooves and into the kitchen she did stroll. She would wait until tomorrow to find out what happened in the onset of Amethyst Allure, the mare who Ardent Claim would come to adore. As that is the way the story seemed to be heading, now to some vegetables for a stir fry she would be shredding.

“You know mom she really seems invested in that story.” Grabbing a clean comic book from a nearby shelf, Barb sat down on the couch to read the latest Power Ponies to herself.

“Yeah, I am too admittedly. It does seem like Allures problems would be solved by those cursed hedge clippers.” Twilight decided to curl around her daughter while kicking off her warm fuzzy slippers.

“I am not so sure that as to what will exactly occur. Now where is that Pixie, it is Smart to whom I refer?” Zecora brightened up as she realized with good cheer, that her rhyme was back and quite nice to hear. “Oh joyous day my mouth is back in action, especially after my rhyme has long since been in traction.”

“It’s nice to know you’re feeling better Zecora, so why don’t you join in listening to Barb regale us with another Power Ponies adventure?” It was nice to hear the zebra pox cases were all but done, with a lot of patience and time any pony will have won. Anything with vitamin C like fruit really did help, as did warm mud baths at the spa along with some kelp. “Now you’ve got me wondering what Smarty could be getting into, I’m sure she’ll turn up eventually. It’s not like she’d be appetizing or filling for predators anyway if she’s flying around out there somewhere. I looked it up in some medical books that zebra pox hits a zebra harder than it does a pony, it must have been really trying for you.”

“I am quite okay right now; it is to your friendly words that I bow.” Zecora joined the other two on the couch without being a nag. With the weight of three beings, it had begun to sag.

That night the stir fry was delicious as could be, Tress was in a better mood as all her friends would agree.

It was the next day in town hall, that the rest of the story awaited its fall. As all the ponies talked, onto the stage Tress did walk. Planting her butt into the seat, everyone stopped talking for a beat. Continuing where she left off, she didn’t hear a single pony scoff.

“On the way home Amethyst Allure struck up a conversation about her cutie mark, as they were currently taking a shortcut through park. Amethyst had earned hers simply enough it was a dark purple jewel in the shape of a winged heart; her special talent was making others pay attention to her for a start. Her talent was useful for teaching history as that was her vocation, living close to the school she was in a good location.”

“Amethyst asked Ardent what his cutie mark meant, it was hard to figure out or for her intelligence to dent. Ardent Claim had long known what was special after his years of selling junk or working random jobs to stay alive, finding things others no longer thought of use he did strive. His cutie mark was of a pile of junk, it was something he could be passionate about even in a funk. Incidentally it was his special talent that led to finding the cursed hedge trimmers he had in his possession. In the curse he got he had learned a very valuable lesson.”

“Outside her mansion home Amethyst let in the two ponies including the thief. Even she couldn’t help but feel sorry for the other mare’s assault since it had been brief. She wished to get to know Ardent some more, if only she knew that there was much in store. She asked if Ardent thought that the thief would like a meal, she also didn’t know how the haircut would make the thief feel. Ardent told her she would be upset at the thought, to lose more then what she had sought. Amethyst didn’t know the feeling of having her hair shorn; it had been a part of her ever since she was born. Now was a time to ask if the hedge trimmers were as strong as he said, maybe she might actually lose some hair from her head.”

“Amethyst wanted to test the strength of the cursed object that she once read about in a tale, they could cut through almost anything without fail. So she had Ardent place the thief in her own bed to rest, then she brought out a large chunk of metal to put the cursed artifact to the test. The hedge trimming blades cleanly cut through the metal without chipping. No denting or damage was found after the cursed artifact was done ripping.” A lot of ponies leaned in to hear what next happened; their moods were all about to be dampened.

“Amethyst then asked if he could put the blades to a portion of her tresses. Why she would want him to do that, Ardent only guesses. Levitating out a portion of her mane he slid the hedged trimmers into the thick hair, he tried to close them but through the tresses the blades could not tear.” Every pony in the audience gave off a gasp. Tress gave them a flat stare, for reasons none of them could quite grasp.

“Amethyst sighed sadly that the portion in the blades had not been shed, it surprised Ardent that the locks did not fall from her head. So the blades could not sever, that which Amethyst has been living with since forever. Amethyst told Ardent of having a curse for as long as she has known. Among the effects such as her mane being to the length it has grown. Sighing Amethyst walked away to get some food prepared for the two. The hedge trimmers Amethyst now knew were not quite a blessing and this left Ardent to stew.”

“The thief had woken up in an unfamiliar place, she saw Ardent sitting at the edge of the bed at the odd look on his face. She was worried about he would do. He looked at her noticing she was awake and apologized, to her that was something quite new. It didn’t take her long, to see why the apology came out so strong. After she calmed down and having bucked Ardent once or twice, hearing about his curse she even thought about being nice. Getting hit by an earth pony hurt a lot, Ardent wasn’t about to give as good as he got. He truly deserved the pain, after the damage he did to her mane.” A few earth ponies and Tress chuckled at this, getting one of them mad was nothing to miss.

“Eventually the flightless noble returned telling them it was time to eat, down the stairs their hooves did beat. Over the course of the meal Amethyst told the thief that she was welcome to stay with free room and board, until she could find a job and a place she could afford. Ardent on the other hoof had attracted her attention, in such a special way that it warranted mention.”

“Many a stallion had found Amethyst beautiful before, alongside mares quite a many were attracted to her allure. Not one did what Ardent could; this was speaking to her normally as a friend would. She would ask Ardent to stay the night, while she looked up a few things in the library to help make things right. Upon the next morning she would seek him out, hopefully the cure to his curse would be about.”

“Upon studying the history of the random effects the cursed hedged trimmers had dealt to others. It had ponies eating bananas and their peels, to always wearing a thick crooked shoe on one hoof or hurting their family members no matter whether they were father, mother, sisters or brothers. This was the least damaging that Ardent’s curse could have been to Amethyst Allure’s mind; in a sense he was a stallion who was put in a bad situation and it was amazing that he was still so kind.” Tress was glad that it was too cold for there to be monsters to smack, unless it was wendigos giving the Trouble Takers some flack. She leaned back and prepared for the end of the line, to hear what happened next her heart would pine. Until then she was curious as to where the little toy in the form of a pixie went, all this relaxing made her feel less spent.

“Do you need a break Tress, you’ve gotten pretty far into the book and its sense of rhyming is not exactly the best in the world you know.” Twilight wanted her friend to be at ease as this was her show.

“Yeah, ten minute break every pony, changeling and magic dragon! Hope for the best, because by the end of this we’ll find out if the curse on these two ponies is broken.” A general murmur started throughout the crowd at the words Tress had just spoken.

5

“Okay everyone let’s get this back on track.” Tress was back from her break, sitting down in the chair on the stage and hoping the ending didn’t lack.

“On the next morning Ardent woke up and found himself in an unfamiliar place, a large yawn was soon crossing his face. After finishing breakfast with the alluring pegasus teacher, she started talking to him about his curse and the things it did feature. She told him the old legend of what would free him from under the curse that was his prison; he was horrified by the idea of spilling blood and gave the idea derision. He asked Allure has it ever worked before? The mare answered back that it has not worked once since evermore. The clues to be cured of the curse were at best vague; the many minds slowly driven to madness it did plague.”

“The hedge trimmers were once two swords separate and used in many a war. Before they took the form they are in now, the blood of many they’ve caused to pour. All the blood was let in battle and since they became the combined cursed blades they’ve always taken the blood of those who fight, but would a pony willing to let their blood spill make things right? The history teacher went over the text for the cure to the madness that the hedge trimmers brought, for many these two blades were of a great power that was highly sought. At night, spill the blood of the closest intelligent thing, then the curse will break from what it does bring.” This was beginning to sound rather dark to Tress and she looked up at the crowd, she licked her lips before she spoke out loud. “Is there anyone in this audience that is squeamish? I mean aside from you Fluttershy. This may get dark pretty quickly, so is there some of you who may not want their children to hear the rest of this?”

No pony moved, none of them spoke out. They were all silent as a mouse; they wanted to see this to the end and as the audience they had clout.

“Okay then, onwards. Allure swiftly brought out the fact that the cursed blades were in fact related to the one she had of her own. For her ancestor was cursed and had fallen from her pegasus home. Incapable of flight was unable to return to have her cursed removed, she would live out her life on the ground forever saddened by the loss of what was taken. She eventually moved on and forged a new life for herself instead of remaining a sad pony that was forsaken. Allure being a direct descendant acquired it down the Mane Queen line, the curse doesn’t dilute no matter the blood and how it was fine. She thought that the presence of the curse artifact might have been able to absolve her of her mane temporarily to allow her to fly just once, now she sat here feeling sorry for herself like a dunce.“

“Allure told Ardent that her parents were out there somewhere looking for a cure to her predicament while trying to keep hold of their vast wealth, thus far nothing that had been attempted was good for her health. She was becoming tired of living and hadn’t seen her parents in years, seeing the object that doomed her to being flightless just exacerbated her fears. Her family’s retainers stuck to her side, they would not give up on her and told her she just had time to bide.”

“In the hopes that it might cure the curse on Ardent and her line, Allure tells Ardent that she was willing to let her blood spill. With a flash Ardent make a starch claim that was something he couldn’t do and that he never will! The thief forgotten sat off to the side with a thoughtful look on her face, there was a hint of something on her mind and it was something she wanted to trace. Both Ardent and Allure were embroiled in an argument that came off as rather insane, the thief sitting at the table about ready to truly complain. With a shout the thief who was warmly welcome into this home as a guest despite being caught red hooves in an act of theft, if it was anyone’s blood that needed to be spilled then she should be the one bereft.”

“Ardent and Allure both stopped arguing about the chance to finally have a cure for her family and his ailment, the thief coming into their argument caused quite a large derailment. The thief calmly sat there still eating some food; if they were going to be childish then she may as well be rude. The thief wondered why Ardent didn’t just spill a little of his own blood if hurting others bothered him so? She pointed out that the blood spilled did not have to make one’s life go. It was in that instant that Allure paused in offering herself as a sacrifice and her eyes went wide. That was an idea even if the thief had come off as snide.” Now Tress thought the story was beginning to sound less dark. In fact after reading the next few lines, in choosing a story with a good ending Smart might have hit the ball out of the park.

“Ardent wouldn’t want permanent harm dealt to a stranger; much less put a beautiful spirit like Ms. Allure in any form of danger. Amethyst sighed; as that only solved the problem of a good and just stallion who became cruelly cursed by happenstance that she may have thought was attractive. Her mane and her own curse were still a point that was distractive. They both agreed to try to cure his curse later that night, as for Allure herself to see the sky like another pegasus from above would be a wish that would take a godly might. The thief finally decided to introduce herself and apologize for accosting Allure. Her name was Fickle Fate who knew she hasn’t been a good pony, but at least her methods were pure. She hasn’t been the death of any pony and would never steal from anyone poorer off. Stealing from a rich pony like the Allures was something at which she would admittedly not scoff.”

“Her special talent was to predict the immediate future with the faintest of a random twitch every now and then. Sometimes it would mean something good for her and sometimes she just couldn’t win. She got hurt plenty of times until she figure out what a warning twitch meant, she had felt one before Ardent struck and into unconsciousness she was sent.” Tress stopped reading and every pony in Town Hall all turned to Pinkie Pie who looked around at everyone wondering why they were staring at her with a distinct feeling of awe.

Pinkie was glad those feelings of anger that many a pony had held for her after spreading the zebra flu around was no longer raw. Why did ever pony have to get so grumpy with her when the town was supposed to be filled with cheer for all ponies to hear? Well at least she knew spreading a silly sickness around was a bad thing, which every pony made perfectly clear.

“You get three fourths of the town infected with a sickness that enforces rhyming during the jolly months and every pony is suddenly against you. So it’s a tad highly overly impossibly incredibly stupendously contagious, who knew?” Pinkie shrugged as every pony in Ponyville glared. Tress had already knocked her for a loop twice and everything was considered partially squared. “And what a loop that was, on that note I’m always covered in fuzz!”

“The newly christened friends spent the day talking and learning about each other’s lives, they talked of good times and bad even if they were ponies where poor fortune thrives.” Tress decided to continue and ignored Pinkie’s antics quite well; she still had this stories upcoming ending to sell. “When it became late at night having spent the entire day amongst others who were worse off then she, Amethyst didn’t think her curse was the worst it could be. She had the use of her legs and was strong, to complain about all that she had would be wrong.”

“The two mares sat there watching as Ardent lifted the cursed blades with his magic, he kept them closed and stabbed them into his flank hoping to avoid something tragic. With a blinding flash his lit up in a bright glow, he was free of his curse now as anyone who saw the light show would know. He was happy to be free of his curse and no longer feel the madness encroaching him, but a sudden sense of sadness overcame him and he turned to Ms. Allure holding out a limb. He proclaimed that he would find a way to free her and help Fickle as well, now that he was free of his curses spell. He would repay their kindness and help as they were his now friends. To all those he had sheared before, Fickle felt a warm tingle that Ardent would eventually end up making amends.”

“It was a week later that the two attracted ponies were split apart, Ardent had many to ask for forgiveness from and Fickle was a start. He set out after a tearful good bye, he promised to return to Amethyst while she was still spry. Fickle had found a job nearby and lived with Amethyst to keep her company; she noted her friend was sad that Ardent had left to fix all the problems he left in his wake. Amethyst’s mood dropped south and without Fickle her depression would have been hard to shake.”

“A year after Ardent had left the two and the town in which Lady Allure and Fate did live. The stallion had finally returned from a long journey bringing a grand gift to give. He had travelled far and wide asking for many legends and lore, knowing Amethyst was a bookish pony he brought back history books and folk tales galore. Amethyst was certainly pleased with the gifts she got, she was happier Ardent returned to her life and lot. Fickle was also given a few things that filled her with joy; she noticed that Ardent hid a gift that seemed to resonate within her some form of ploy.”

“He saved the best gift for last and pulled out a simple looking necklace, he figured out a partial cure to her curse and the way to remove it entirely. As he put the silver chain with pendant around her neck, Amethyst Allure wanted to know this answer direly. Whoever cursed her family line was quite cruel, but the information he sought far and wide brought him to a solution that was quite cool. The curse would be broken only if she could fly to where the hedge trimmers were stolen from, the method to be cured was quite dumb. The curse would only be lifted if she could fly, yet the curse made it impossible for her to even touch the sky. He ran his hoof through her thick blanketing mane that covered her whole body from head to flank. After he was done enjoying the beauty of her mane, it shrank. Her tail also became more manageable size as it didn’t drag along the ground; she was incredibly surprised that a solution had been found. Ardent explained that while her hair could not be cut and while it was nothing that he could change, he thought of an interesting solution that was quite strange.”

“The weight of her mane was lessened as it was shrunk down, on Amethyst’s face you could not see a frown. She spread her large wings unsure if she should take to the air, with a little prodding from Fickle she kicked off launching way up high. With a few flaps she felt the air flow through her wings, after a swoop and a dive she targeted Ardent in her haste to thank him profusely for the gift he did buy. It was not over yet, as Ardent stopped her unbridled bliss. Ardent warned her that this was an opportunity she should not miss. She hadn’t all the time in the world as the magic of the pendant would only last so long. Its power to keep her mane shrunk down to what it was wasn’t that strong.”

“Amethyst had to do was fly to the city in the sky to the place from which the cursed trimmers fell, then her curse would fully be gone as well. She wanted to kiss Ardent for the chance to be free, but she had other problems she needs to take care of as one could see. She awkwardly flew higher and higher until she became a distant speck, finally capable of flight with her mane no longer covering her back. Ardent and Fickle worried about the storm in the distance, hoping it was time that she didn’t lack.”

“A few days passed without a word, since their friend took off like a bird. Ardent confessed to Fickle that he had not a cent left having spent everything he had on gifts, especially the one that required thinking outside the norm. He told her he put everything he had into making that pendant; finally Fickle noticed that ever since he got back he hadn’t once lit his horn! He sacrificed all his energy to make Amethyst’s dream come true, the loss of his magic did not make him feel blue. He had put everything into her dream at a cost; Fickle couldn’t believe how far he went and what he had lost.”

“When angrily asked why he didn’t say anything to Amethyst before she left, while Fickle pushed him against the wall with quite a heft. Ardent Claim said that he was in love, Amethyst from his thoughts he just couldn’t shove. Amethyst Allure didn’t need to know, that the cure for her curse had dealt him quite a blow. Fickle wanted to scream, rant and rave. A sudden gentle hoof upon her withers and her anger it did stave. Turning to the owner Fickle saw that Amethyst looked quite sad; her mane was now trimmed down to a normal neck length. She walked up to kiss Ardent passionately; he had given her all of his strength.”

“Her thoughts were quite bitter until Ardent showed her a smile; he’d do it all again no matter what the sacrifice would take from him for a long while. Amethysts cried onto the stallion that gave up a unicorn’s power to let her wings take her up high, she felt his love for her as he had given her the sky.” Tress flipped the page and looked at the end; she tossed a concerned look at all of her friends. “Last page guys, do you want me to read it?”

There were a lot of tears in the town hall; they were waiting for the last horseshoe to fall. They all nodded with the same look upon every face, if Tress didn’t finish it now she was in for a chase.

“Ardent Claim and Amethyst Allure became closer from that day. They later married and for their vows, they had a lot to say. Without Fickle they would have never met, a good friend was the best gift they both could get. Fickle would eventually find love in a stallion that was quite shy, while foal sitting for Ardent and Amethyst she eventually met a pony named Cherry Pie. Amethyst’s parents finally returned hearing the news, that their daughter was cured and had a husband that she’d lovingly hold in her hooves. Ardent would eventually recover what he had lost, but it would take a while. Even without magic, just seeing his wife soar always made him smile. With the curses gone, the hedge trimmers hidden away and the trauma weathered with the help of a friend. All that is left is to say is, The End.” Closing the book with a snap, Tress looked up at the crowd seeing no gap. A thunderous applause rose throughout the room, and here Tress thought that it was Smart she would have to doom.

As Tress, Barb and Twilight wearily made their way home to the Sparkle house near the library. There was something nagging at the back of Tresses head, it was as if she had forgotten something important.

“Hey Barb, have you seen Smart at all recently?” Asked Tress blithely now that the world felt much more normal, she didn’t feel like anything rhymed anymore.

“No, I haven’t seen her since she told me she had a few things to teach me in the future.” Barb looked around and didn’t see her mother’s heavily enchanted toy anywhere. Usually Smart was hovering around her protectively all the time. While she appreciated spending quality time alone with mom or Tress, it just felt off that she hadn’t seen sign of Smart at all.

“I’m sure she’ll turn up, she’s not designed to go seeking out self destruction and I would know if Smart was destroyed.” Twilight hummed thoughtfully as she trudged through the snow. “I thought the story was okay, I like that Ardent thought his way around Amethyst’s cursed mane problem. The romance wasn’t all that heavy really except for what lengths the stallion would go to for his love. Sacrificing a huge amount of magic like that all at once hurts and I would know. It took me a while to recover when I gave birth to Barb here and when I dragged you out of the comic book.”

Barb leaned into her mother’s hoof and sighed happily when she felt her mother’s love. As Twilight opened the door to their home, she immediately noticed something rather peculiar as she walked into the room and looked up.

“Whoa, I guess Smart has been busy decorating.” It was an understatement and Tress knew it. The ceiling in the Trouble Takers home was entirely covered in fake mistletoe, every single last in inch of it. “Where in Tartarus could she have possibly found this much fake mistletoe at this time of year, considering it’s so close to Hearths Warming?”

“Smart Esmeralda Pants Sparkle, come here right now!” Even Twilight thought this was incredulous and was a little put off by how much mistletoe the little pixie had managed to attach to every surface above their heads.

“Could you maybe keep it down, I’m low on solar energy and entered my energy saving mode a while ago.” Smart stumbled out from behind the couch and her wings were wilted and she actually look tired, given she wasn’t actually biological that was a good bit of work on Twilight’s part as a master enchanter.

“What is all this?” Twilight started with an angry tone as she glared down at the pixie who grinned smugly back at her. “Well I obviously know what it is, but where did you even get all of it?”

“Oh I have my ways; just something I thought would make the house more festive. Also since you’re both under it, you have to kiss now!” A sly smile crept onto the Pixie’s face as she looked towards Tress. Tress mouthed a quick ‘thank you’ behind Twilight’s back and her smile broadened slightly.

“Fine…” Twilight turned and kissed Barb and Tress on the cheek. After Twilight did this, Tress waggled her eyebrows and kissed Barb on the cheek and then Twilight on the tip of her horn causing her to blush profusely. “T-Tress, don’t do that, you know how sensitive horns are!”

Soon an evil laugh erupted from within the home. Smart had just given Tress a Carte Blanche in kissing Twilight as much as she wanted without having to let her real feelings be known. There would be a lot of teasing going around for Hearths Warming day and it would take them forever to get all the mistletoe down.