“Tell me the story, mom.”

“What? But I’ve already told you that one two times this week!”

“Please, mom?”

“Well… Alright.”

I was tucking my little mare, with her tan coat and auburn mane, in for the night with the usual bedtime routine, which always ended with a story upon her request. Her favorite was the mournful tale of Winterspell.

“Once upon a time,” I began, “There once lived a beautiful unicorn with a sleek, white coat and mane, both as white as snow. Many handsome colts, unicorn, pegai, and earth ponies, wanted to court her, but every time she would turn them down.”

“What does ‘wanted to court her’ mean?” my little mare asked.

“It means they wanted to get to know her a little better before they would marry,” I explained.

My little filly’s face lit up and she smiled.

“They only loved her for her looks,” I continued, “and not what was on the inside. All she wanted was someone to love.

“One day, she had happened by the middle of town when she bumped into a young unicorn with facial hair. They began to talk to one another. Everything he would say made her heart leap. That is when she knew she loved him.

“She became desperate to know the name of the wonderful colt. As she inquired him of his name, she became dumbfounded. It was none other than Star Swirl the bearded himself, known throughout the land as the greatest unicorn on the face of Equestria.

“Winterspell never thought she would fall in love with the great magician and scholar. She didn’t care about that. She loved how he could make her smile. They began to court one another, loving each other’s company.

"One gorgeous night, they found themselves cuddling together by the side of a moonlit pond. They had been courting, by that time, over a year. After a moment of silence, Star Swirl popped the question and Winterspell happily accepted. Unfortunately, these star-crossed lovers would not receive their happy ending.

“All of a sudden, there came a mighty roar and a horrifying beast emerged from the forest. It was a giant red bull, snorting and stamping his hoof into the ground. It used a burst of speed to run towards them.”

I smiled as my little filly tenses up with a terror she had experienced every time I told her the story. She is very easily amused.

“It charged after Winterspell, who jumped up and tried to run away. Star Swirl gave the bull chase. They all trampled through the Everfree forest, running past trees and vines. Soon, Winterspell was trapped in a small alcove with the red bull charging straight for her.

“Star Swirl was quick and used a magic spell to give his love wings to escape her peril. She flapped her new wings vigorously, but she could not fly high enough to escape the danger.

“The great magician had only one option. Quickly, he opened a portal to send the beast away to another world. The bull quickly lost the battle with magic and disappeared into the vortex. Star Swirl, relieved the danger was gone tried to close the portal, but it stayed open.

“Winterspell, still trying to fly, began to be pulled toward the vortex. It wasn’t long before she, too, lost the battle. As she dove deeper into the portal, she screamed his name. Then the portal closed forever.”

By now, my filly was in tears. I wrapped my hooves around her and pulled her close.

“Star Swirl, devastated by the loss of her love, vowed he would never love another and stayed by himself for the rest of his life. They say that, to this day, Winterspell is wandering the world she was banished to, and when you open any portal to another world, you can still hear her scream.”

Quickly, I tickled my little filly until her tears of sadness were tears of laughter. She quickly began to quiet down and nestled into her bed.

“Mommy?” she asked as I was about to leave her room.

“Yes?” I asked.

“Is Winterspell really still wandering?”

“… I don’t know that for sure, sweetie,” I answered. “No one does. But it is possible.”

She smiled and quickly fell asleep.

***

Winterspell stood in the middle of a quite forest, surrounded by the silence and the trees. The wind gently blew her hair back. Tears gently slide down her cheeks as she peers at the sun.

Slowly, she started to trot through the forest, trying to keep her chin up. As she walked, she left a hoof print trail of frost behind her. Magic was scarce in the world around her, and her magic was strong after her emotional trial.

She had been wandering for years now, in a world so unfamiliar to her. Everything looked the same, but she knew not where she was. All she had done was wander around the small forest, living off the grass sprouting out of the ground.

She was too scared to leave; on the account she knew not what lay outside the forest. All the creatures in the forest had been kind to her and treated her with the upmost respect which helped her through the ordeal. She missed Star Swirl dearly and thought about him every night before she fell asleep.

As she was trotting along, she saw a small house a small distance away from the edge of the forest. Cautiously, she slowly trotted towards the edge of the forest to get a better look.

It was a quaint, light blue house with two stories and a large backyard. Winterspell had never seen a house quite like it back in Equestria. She jumped as she heard the snort of a wild beast erupt from in front of the house. All of a sudden, a giant metal beast started running away from the house on strange, circular feet. It was a strange sight. She wanted to get closer, but stopped for fear she might be seen.

Then, two small children, a little boy and girl, opened the back door of the house and ran outside, running and rolling around in the fresh green grass. Winterspell was shocked. She had never seen anything like it. Two, small, fleshy creatures wearing clothing and playing in the grass.

Suddenly, the little girl stopped and peered into the forest, spotting Winterspell and erupted into a surprised gasp.

“Pony!” she exclaimed.

The boy stopped and looked into the forest. Quickly, Winterspell ran as fast as she could away from the house. She could still hear the little girl crying out in glee at the sight of her.

Winterspell had managed to run all the way to the other side of the forest, panting in exhaustion. She laid down on the ground, resting her head and closing her eyes. Her heart yearned to go back home, to Equestria. She started to cry. It wasn’t long before all the creatures of the forest were by her side, trying to comfort her. With their help, she was able to calm down and finally rest for the day.

Author's Note

Pegai is the correct plural form of pegasus btw