The Deep Cold

I opened the door to the pleasant autumn air, enjoying the sudden clarity of breath that accompanied the new season. Perhaps it was the freedom from the pollen, or the more stiff wind that the meteorologists ordered to help clear the trees of their leaves. I had themed dresses on autumn before—some had been more obvious, motifs of leaves and colors of green, grown, and orange. Overstatement is a vice of my artistic style, though, so I try to challenge myself with more subtlety. An autumnal dress might be a more simple thing, with flowing paths of silk that drifted through the air, colored in modestly mottled greens...

I would have to get to that, some day. Dressmaking, for now, was more hobby than business. I turned, and noted the sign hung in my window. "Carousel Boutique," it said. "Closed for the indefinite future." It was disheartening, more for sentimental reasons than practical ones. I put a lot of work into my business, and to see it closed always made me feel some way or another. I used to like seeing it as the declaration of a day's job, well done. Usually, the doors were open, but business was light. Almost like the store didn't exist, and ponies just came to the friend of their friend, Rarity, who made them a dress for a small fee. It made my work feel comfortably personal, even when it came to the big commissions that I lived for.

Seeing it closed out of my own laziness hurt, in a way, but I probably wouldn't stop making dresses. The art was a hunger that gnawed at the corner of my brain. I'd have to feed it eventually, and I owned plenty of my own dresses already. I'd have to make them for somepony, though. Maybe I'd start making dresses for free, for no reason other than to feed the hunger. I could definitely afford it, now.

"Rarity!" I heard the call from the distance, and turned. Twilight Sparkle trotted towards the boutique at a modest pace, a small saddlebag at her side. Her hair was longer than I was used to, in need of a trim. I stepped toward her, and felt grass pillow underneath me, and the earth hold firm beneath my hooves. The grass was plentiful, long, and begging not to be trimmed. Buds of flowers started to peek from some of the shoots, pleading to have a chance to flower, ignoring the season for the chance to pretend, just for a second, that it was actually spring. I took my time stepping forward, savoring the grass and the air as I waited for Twilight to approach a polite distance for me to respond.

"Yes, darling?"

Twilight slowed to a walk, turning to fall in line beside me, and heaved out a sigh. She was terribly out of shape, even considering that unicorns were famously the least active of the ponies. I tossed around the idea of asking Rainbow Dash to lead her in some exercises, though I had my doubts that something so barely tangential to flight would keep her interest. She was a diligent friend, but terribly easy to distract. Maybe if Twilight had wings, it would work? Twilight did know a spell to make a pony have wings... and her mouth was moving? I really must start paying better attention.

"Rarity?"

"I'm dreadfully sorry Twilight, I got lost in my own thoughts. Could you repeat that, please?"

"No apology necessary." Twilight smiled gently. It was a touch different than the beaming curve I was used to, but it still had all the warmth. "I was just mentioning that we—Spike and I, that is—have been working on a surprise for you, and it's about ready. Do you have time to stop by the library this afternoon?"

I mulled it over a bit more than a second, and responded with a bit of comfort in my heart. I had a surprise of my own for her, as it happened, so I needn't feel guilty for accepting.

"Of course, darling, of course. What time would you like to see me?"

"Anytime after lunch is good, really. I'm meeting with AJ at Sugarcube Corner, to talk over some food about some plan she had for her farm. I'll be home at half past one, though, so around then is fine."

I nodded, and glanced back to her. She met me in the eye cautiously, and I smiled back at her. "That works well for me."

As the walk continued, local silence drifted from reservation into the realm of the awkward, then to a deep pensive state. I noticed that Twilight had long since used her reason to stay by my side, but that she followed anyways. I didn't complain. I felt the pleasantly chilly wind blow past her at times, reminding me of the coming Winter. I reflected on the turning leaves of orange, yellow, and brilliant red.

"How wonderfully calm it is, don't you think, Twilight?"

"I, uh," she coughed. "I suppose it is. It's a bit quiet for a market day, though."

As if on queue, mumbling rippled out of the air and to my ears. A glance on one side, and a bit further to the other, revealed the odd pony returning a glance. The others were busy pretending that they hadn't been looking, and were setting up their stands, or browsing in a direction away from me. Twilight was unhappy, frowning. I careened sideways, bumping into her with my shoulder, startling the curve of her lips back into a pleasant bowl.

"Mmm, yes. It is a little early in the morning, though. I'm sure things will get a little more hectic as the day trudges on."

My response seemed to wash over Twilight, and I watched her alternately bristle and relax as she reflected on it. Eventually, she decided on a change of topic.

"So... have you had any success finding a new project?"

"Oh, I really can't say I have. It's been much too difficult to put thread to needle, these days."

"Oh!" Twilight Sparkle lit up in the way only Twilight Sparkle can. "Our surprise tonight should help with that!"

"Hmm?"

"Oh." Twilight's eyes darted this way and that, in the way they do when she looks for a new topic in the environment. "Ah, so do you have any ideas?"

"Well, I figured that with winter coming soon enough, my first project should be a new coat. Something big, and woolly."

"I can't wait to see it." She smiled, earnestly. "You really do blow me away with the things you make."

"Really?" I mused. "They always seemed so garish, to me."

Twilight gaped. I redirected my course, and bumped into her again.

"Got you, darling."

A giggle from her brought a chuckle to me, and I continued. "I figured that I'd go for something more comprehensive this time, though. I still want to keep my standards for aesthetic, but I'd like to make something a little more practical as well."

A nod. "Yeah, your last outfit looked a little cold."

"You'd be surprised, darling. A hood and scarf do a lot more than you'd think."

Another nod, and a grunt of assent. We walked for a beat, then Twilight dropped off behind me, stopping in place.

"Twilight?"

"Your appointment's over here, Rarity." She smiled at me, knowingly.

"Do forgive me, I was on autopilot. Something in me thought we were going to the spa."

I turned to the modest home, built in a solid and more cottage-esque fashion than most of Ponyville. There were two stories, with walls made of irregular stone unlike the bricks and wood that were the common theme. It's color was natural, greys and the brown of supporting beams of wood. A sign was stuck into the ground—

Deep Cold Caverns Ahead
Severe Danger
DO NOT ENTER, by order of THE PRINCESS

...No. It was a different sign.

It was smaller, and made of a lighter oak wood, with the words "Psyche, An Ear Right Here!" carved into it with care. A golden loop hung off one end of it, and a comfortable border had been painted around its edges.

"Are you sure about this, Twilight?"

She nodded. "He's the best therapist around, better than pretty much every one I've hand in Canterlot. He's also got an eye for fashion, of a sort, so you two will get along fine."

I selected my words slowly, feeling them fall out of my mouth like big boxes, and curving around the spaces in between. "Are you sure this is really necessary, though?"

Twilight Sparkle opened her mouth, then frowned. There was an edge to her voice the next time she spoke, an edge of insistence, but also a growl of something more upset. "Aside from the obvious issue at hand, I think that there isn't a single pony in Equestria who wouldn't benefit from a monthly visit to a therapist. Therapy is far too demonized these days, it's not anything at all to be ashamed of."

I knew that it wouldn't benefit to press the issue.

"Well. Two, then?"

"Two?"

"I'll see you at two, darling?"

"Oh," she smiled. "Yes, that sounds nice."

I smiled back, then went for the door.