Bittersweet Trails

I could only stare in amazement.

I knew Pinkie to be many things. A baker, a party planner, a partier, even sometimes a musician. But a professional-like ice skater?

I have to say I didn't quite see that coming.

I'd been watching her do twirl upon twirl, and pattern upon pirouette for a few minutes, and it was clear-she had definitely been holding something back at Winter Wrap Up. The level of finesse and precision that she maneuvered the ice with was rivaling the grace of a ballerina dancer; sometimes even surpassing said dancer. I watched as she came into a final spin, spreading her forehooves wide and lifting one of her hind legs at an approximate right angle, even going higher than that.

I shuddered, and turned away. While I knew her poofy tail would likely cover any undesired areas, the fact that such a provocative pose could be struck in such a sport, was, in a way, revolting in itself. No matter who did it. Even if she did it, I would refuse to look. I did have standards, after all.

"Come on, Twilight!" she called as I still had my gaze averted. "The water is fine! I mean, the water-ice, because the water is actually ice, but...it's still fine!

As much as I would have liked to, I couldn't. Clothed in a light green sweater, and a set of skates being next to me, I was perfectly content staying on the snowbank. It was a little cold on my rump, but it was certainly better than falling flat onto it. A simple shake of the head told Pinkie my thoughts.

"Awww, are you afraid you'll fall?" she asked, bringing her to a stop right in front of me. "I promise you won't!"

Those eyes that she stared at me with didn't bear falsehood, they only said 'trust me'. I, frankly, was a little afraid of falling so repeatedly-I wasn't a fan of sore muscles. Regardless, I decided to give it a chance. It couldn't be any worse than last time, right?

I sighed, climbing to my hooves. As I did this, Pinkie Pie jumped for joy, and I sighed yet again, as if to stress my reluctance.

Within a few seconds, I had my skates on, and I was staring at the ice. It seemed so...thin, and brittle. How was I supposed to place all my trust in a thin sheet of solidified ice?

"Ooh, great! You know rule number 1!" Pinkie's voice pierced my thoughts, and I snapped my head up to her voice. There were rules?

"Rule number one of skatin': always check the ice!" With this, she quickly brought a hoof crashing down onto the thin surface. The blade shore through it, but instead of the ice fracturing, and taking her with it to the abysmal depths of water below, the blade of the skate simply became lodged midway.

"It's a safe spot," she explained, tugging at the entrapped skate. "Thick enough to do twirls and jumps on if you're careful!"

I watched as she tugged over and over, a few beads of sweat appearing on her forehead despite the biting cold. "I think it's..." Another tug. "...stuck!"

I couldn't help but to chuckle. "Biting off more than you can chew, Pinkie?"

"Not really!" In an instant, she had quickly slipped out of the skate that held her low to the ice, and apparently the other one on her front legs. She now reared up onto her hind legs, taking balance on the two skates she had left.

Pinkie beckoned me forward with a warm smile. "Come on, give it a try! I'll catch you if you fall."

I knew I couldn't stay on the snow forever, so I did it- I took a hesitant step forward, placing a skate on the surface of the frozen lake.

Seeing as I didn't immediately fall on my flank, it was good thus far.

It was only when I took the second step did I find things going wrong. My weight shifted forward by accident, sending me skidding forward. In an attempt to right myself, I brought my rear hooves onto the ice as well, but they served only as another point of balance to mess up.

I found myself flailing around desperately, seeking to regain my balance, to make it back to the snowbank, anything. On complete chance, my front hooves were grabbed by a force I couldn't see, most likely because my eyes were closed tight by now.

I felt the ice below me become a lot more stable, though it still felt relatively frictionless. I finally managed to open my eyes,and look towards what saved me from certain glutei-pain.

Pinkie had actually kept her word. It was her who held me up, mere inches from the ice. She was balanced rather precariously on one leg now, with not even the slightest bit of strain or worry.

"Gotcha'!" she giggled. I went to reply, but found myself speechless. My brain only allowed a quick nod before I stared back down towards the ice, mortified at how close I was to smashing my face in.

"I guess we started a little quick...here, I'll help you!" I looked back up towards Pinkie, arching an eyebrow. If I couldn't keep my balance, how could I move?

"Come on now, lean forward. I'll help you! It's as easy as pie! Well, not pie, more like a nice cake..." I ignored Pinkie Pie as she rambled endlessly on-you could never silence her if she truly wanted to talk. I leaned against her, still clutching her hooves tightly with my own as best as I could manage. I could feel her breathing patterns as she helped me to an upright position.

With a sudden realization, I felt my heart pump more fiercely, and I became light-headed, though more in a pleasant way. I wasn't placing my trust in the ice at all-all of it was placed in Pinkie. The mere fact that I trusted her enough to save me from the ice alone, as I didn't even trust myself, said a lot. I'd trust any of the girls, but only Pinkie I would trust with my whole heart.

I found that I'd realized what was missing from all of my previous relationships-trust. I'd never quite put anything into any other pony, because they weren't quite as-

"Nice job, Twilight!" Pinkie's sudden cry startled me out of my revelation, and I realized that I was standing straight up, also balanced on my own two hooves. Though I still clenched tightly to her, I was maintaining balance.

The amount of trust placed into this very moment was simply amazing. I felt something overtake me, and I...

"Now, we're gonna' work on moving forwar-" I silenced her words with a quick movement, meeting her lips with my own.

That was the first time that I'd kissed another pony romantically for real, and...I found it hard to describe. I almost knew naturally what to do, and I was strangely aware of everything that Pinkie did as well. We stayed locked together for a few seconds, and she pulled back.

I tasted mint as I spoke in a tone totally unlike any before: "How's that for moving forward?"

The only response I received was a pink blur that sent me flying backwards, skidding to a stop with my head resting on the snowbank. I hardly noticed it, however, as the energetic ball of energy that everypony called 'Pinkie Pie' was already on top of me, entrapping me in another kiss.

Moments passed, in which she used ever increasing fervor that made my head spin. It was lucky that I was already flat on my back, else I might have fallen back on it regardless. It was a game of dancing tongues, and unspoken passion.

If someone had to win, though, it would probably be Pinkie.

It was maybe a full minute before we broke off. All I could do was gaze at her, and for once, she did the exact same thing. No talking, no nothing. I felt not enough courage to speak myself, as my cheeks were burning enough to fry an egg. I lay there panting as I tried to regain part of the breath that I'd somehow lost, yet she seemed fine. The only sign that she was in any way similar to how I was, was a small glint in her eyes.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Twily?"

"...I don't...think so."

"I'm thinkin' hot chocolate!"

I smiled. Typical Pinkie Pie-on one subject matter one second, and on one entirely different the next. Regardless, hot chocolate sounded nice on such a cold day.

We simply grabbed our skates and went, as if it had never happened.

"...and then I said, 'tomato! How dare you!'"

I shook my head, smiling. "We've already established how 'crazy' your vegetation can be, Pinkie."

Pinkie took another sip of her hot chocolate, coming up with a simple grin. "This is fun, isn't it?"

"Quite." I snickered at how posh I sounded, almost like an aristocratic stallion. Regardless, it had been fun. Me and Pinkie had spent the past twenty minutes simply sitting by a small fire in the library, sharing a blanket and drinking hot chocolate. It was really a quaint afternoon that I'd hardly pictured, but...books give you false impressions on many things, apparently.

I drained the last of my cup, savoring every last drop of the drink. It brought a warm, soothing sensation to my throat, and it felt nice.

As I set the mug aside, I felt Pinkie set hers aside, too. She shifted around in the blanket, bringing herself closer to me. I smiled, glad that instead of preferring to ramble, she just wanted to, dare I say, snuggle.

It was no sooner that I'd contendedly drawn a hoof around her that there came a knocking at the door. Who could it be?

Pinkie, however, had no questions whatsoever. Instead, she quickly disentangled herself from my grasp, bouncing towards the door. "I got it!"

I shook my head, looking towards the floor. While it was nice that Pinkie Pie liked to help me with certain things, she tried to do it with everything. She seemed to be forgetting that I wasn't a foal.

"OmigoshomigoshomiGOSH! How you been, big sis'? It's been like, for-ev-er!"

I whipped my head around as she said this. Big sister? And what were they doing here?

As Pinkie stepped aside, and quickly bounded back to my side, rambling on in delight, I was able to take stock of the mare that soon entered.

She had a coat of gray fur, and carried herself with a certain aloof pride not unlike the walk of the higher class. A flat, monochromatic dark-gray mane floated down her neck, only adding to a strange sense of uniformity. Upon her back lay a large string instrument, of which I knew not of its caliber. Judging from the size, it might have been either a cello or a double bass.

A small, pink bowtie completed the gray pony, slightly outlining her lavender-like eyes, almost as light as my own coat.

"Twilight, this is Octavia, who is the bestest sister ever!" Pinkie 'explained', still bouncing in circles around me. "And sis', this is Twily, but everypony else calls her Twilight! She's my-"

"I know." Octavia spoke, dryly cutting off a certain whirlwind of excitement. The air became incredibly heavy with silence afterwards, and I found myself reaching out to Pinkie's supposed sister.

"Well, as Pinkie so elegantly explained, I'm Twilight Sparkle," I said, cautiously extending a hoof. "It's nice to meet you."

The supposed cellist reached out her own hoof, grabbing my own as if it were a deadly fly trap. "Hmm." A single shake was all she gave before quickly extricating herself from my attempted hoofshake.

Always the conversationalist, Pinkie was the one to break the silence. "So what brings you here, Octy? I didn't even have time to throw you a party!"

"You very well know why, Pinkamena." A cold glare in my direction made me pointedly more uncomfortable, and I made the mistake of shrinking back. "I mean...look at her."

"I'm sorry, um..." My voice had a raspy tinge to it. "What is this all about?"

Octavia tossed her hair. "I'll be blunt as possible, though that won't be too easy. Sit down and listen a bit.

"Pinkie's, as you have seen, my sister. We're related by blood, as hard as it may seem to believe. Me being upright and on the fast track, her...elsewhere."

Well wasn't she a caring sister, with oodles of extraneous empathy?

"I, as a young pony, didn't know anything of what life could be, until she threw 'that' party on our quaint rock farm. It was only slightly enjoyable, but hey, I guess they aren't my thing. But her and that gathering helped kickstart me in my music career. I mean, who wants to farm rocks?"

I assume she's implying that even rock farmers don't want to farm rocks.

"As we were in the awkward stage of...dare I say puberty, I noticed her going out with all these stallions, all these mares...and every single time she would come back, crying. I took it upon myself from that point on to comfort her, and find her the right pony. She just didn't know who would break her heart, and who wouldn't. So I decided to do the job myself. It's the least I could do. I mean, she only began my life."

Ah, there's that compassion.

"Ever since, I'd noticed she's never had a spout of premature heartbreak. It's amazing, really-she seems so perky every time I see her. I thought she'd given up entirely on relationships..."

Another cold glare brought me back to my senses. "...and then I get the wonderful, wonderful news of you." The pure contempt in her voice was not masked in the least, and such an act of intimidation was totally out of left field.

"Sis', it's fine this time! Twilight and I have been friends for-"

Pinkie's hurried protests seemed only to make it worse. Immediately, Octavia cut her off. "That may be fine in perfect-dandy world-"

"This is Ponyville, silly!"

"-...but it isn't with me. You know how this goes, Pinkie. The routine."

I was still in confusion as Pinkie Pie simply hung her head. "Fine. But if you pull Night Deuce again..."

"Relax. I've got this." Her sibling finally took a seat, facing me. For once, instead of glaring at me like I was one of the worst scum-bags on the planet, she instead looked at me with a certain interest that piqued my own.

"So tell me, Miss Sparkle..." she began, tossing her hair back once more-it seemed a rather compulsory habit. "One of the first things I noticed when I walked in was how utterly clean the place was. Are you an organized type of pony?"

How somepony couldn't draw conclusions from the obvious evidence, I had no idea. Regardless, I doubt she'd heard of my organization-related breakdown, so I answered anyways. "You could say that."

She only shook her head in reply. "Either this is perfect, or an utter disaster..." Octavia muttered. She cleared her throat, before looking me straight in the eyes, and beginning again.

"There's a few key things I'm going to say right now. Say the first thing that comes to your mind. Ready?"

Uncertainly, I nodded. This was getting weird.

"Princess."

That one was easy. "Celestia."

"Date."

That was certainly random. A date could be a fruit, or an event. I decided to go with my first choice- "Fruit."

"Beautiful."

I didn't know what I was thinking, or rather, I wasn't. The words were out of my mouth far before I could stop them. "Pinkie Pie."

If it stunned her, the cellist made no visible note of it. All she said was "That's two words", before she continued.

"Romantic."

Oh Celestia, romance? I knew nothing of the sorts! While I'd read books on the subject matter, I wish I'd had time to open a book. But as Octavia's interested gaze slowly became sullen and hostile, I was forced to blurt out the first word I was thinking of: "Candles."

Candles? What the buck was I thinking?

"Bits."

"Pieces."

Octavia nodded, rising from her haunches and nodded towards Pinkie, who had simply watched in silence.

Almost immediately, her eyes lit up. She seemed failed for words as her jaw flapped open and shut multiple times. "Y-you mean..."

"Hang on there, Pinkie." The cellist quickly withdrew a small sheet of paper, handing it to Pinkie before quickly turning away. "I'm sorry..."

In an instant, she was gone. Out the door and around the corner.

I looked to Pinkie. "That was moderately strange, wasn't it?"

She said nothing, only staring at the paper even more. I could have sworn I saw tears in her eyes as a heavy, dark silence wreaked its mark on the room. "...Pinkie?"

Her eyes shot up from the paper, and she beamed, all smiles once more. "Oh, it's nothing! I'm just so surprised that my sister accepted you!"

"Accepted...?"

Pinkie took the hint, and took her place at my side once more, snuggling her neck across the back of mine before continuing once more. "Well, as great as a sister Octavia can be, she's a little overprotective. She was just making sure you wouldn't leave me."

I found myself wishing that I had a sister, and one equally as thoughtful as Pinkie's own. "Well, that's nice." I wrapped a hoof around her, pulling her closer to myself and finally taking the time to warm up to her. Even if I for some reason had wanted to leave her, this moment would have changed my mind entirely.

Quite a few minutes were spent in silence, trading both hugs and nuzzles between the two of us. If this constituted a romantic evening, I was very much enjoying it so far. The warmth of the pony I loved right next to me, and the fire's own right in front of us...

The air was so calm, and the area so undisturbed as to be completely quiet. I could feel the gentle rising and falling motion of Pinkie Pie's breathing against my body, occasionally a hair or two being ruffled on my coat thereafter.

By the time my eyes drifted slowly closed, the time whence I began delicately yawning, I hardly was aware of anything. I was slowly slipping into a state that I could call dreamlike, almost entranced. I heard a few things said by her, but they had little impact on my half- muddled mind. Gentle assurances of love and quiet self-discussion of plans came to mind.

The only thing that left an impression was a number, spoken so differently from the rest that if it were not tinged with a strange level of emotion, unclear whether it was joyful or not, I would hardly remember it.

It was the last thing that I heard before slowly drifting into a sound, dreamless sleep of which I'd not had since...well, yesterday.

"Two sixty six...”