Chapters Lily
Inside a wooden old house in the outskirts of the town known as Trottersburg, an old unicorn with the name Shoelace laid idly in his bed. In an attempt to skip time, he frequently tried to sleep the days away. And today was no exception. Through a thin line between the curtains on his bedroom window, he saw snow showering down from the night sky. The wind could be heard clearly through the window; it was a strong blizzard outside. But soon it would be late enough for the night to embrace him with dreams, soon he could sleep again.
The red old unicorn closed his eyes once more, but no. No sleep for him just yet. He twisted around in his bed, shifting positions and moving his pillow. He lifted a glass of water up from his cupboard next to the bed with his magic and drank a little. He felt a little more tired now, perhaps he was ready to sleep. Shoelace slowly placed his head back on his soft pillow. He could feel the night embrace him, but something unexpected threw him back into his house again.
At first he didn’t know what it was, so he sat up in his bed and listened. Three times he heard somepony knocking, knocking on his front door. He trotted down the stairs towards his living-room. He peeked out the window and saw the still raging blizzard, who could think about wandering outside at a time like this?
Shoelace trotted to the front door, but didn't really know what to expect. It didn't really matter anyway, because he would never have expected a small, weak, cold and shivering filly on his doorstep. With a mane that was supposed to be dark brown and a hide that was supposed to be brighter, she stood there with a white coat with snow all over herself and a few icicles in her mane.
Baffled, he looked at her with disbelief. A moment passed in silence since neither of them spoke. But then it dawned that she was too cold to even focus enough to speak. "P- Please, do come in. It is too cold outside for you," he said. Nopony should be outside in that kind of weather, he wasn't heartless.
The poor little filly was shaking, with frost in her fur and lots of snow all over. She was in an absolutely terrible condition. Shoelace knew he had to do something. He stood there for a moment and tried to think. "I- I’ll make you a warm bath!" he said and trotted towards the bathroom. The first and most important thing now would be to warm her up.
Shoelace turned on some warm water in the bathtub and went into his cottage. He returned with a bucket and found the filly slowly making her way towards the bathroom on her ice-cold hooves. The poor little thing was still shaking a lot and moved very slowly. The mere sight of the small filly in this condition made Shoelace uneasy.
Shoelace waited patiently for her to get into the bathroom before lifting her up and lowering her into the warm water. Shoelace filled the bucket with water and poured it over her the whimpering little foal. Shoelace filled the bucket once more and poured the contents over her. She whimpered again, but not as much.
The bathtub was nearly filled with water. But still though, it would take some time for her to become fine again. He combed ice out of her mane, taking it one step at the time. “Poor filly, what’s your name?” Shoelace asked her. “L- l- li- Lily,” she stuttered. At this point any reply was a good sign; it meant that she was improving.
Shoelace dropped the comb and turned off the water. He took a towel and soaked it before placing it around Lily. “Would you like some food Lily?” Shoelace asked her. She replied with a slow nod at him, but Shoelace barely noticed because of her constant shaking. He trotted towards the kitchen, but he took a last worried look at her before dissapearing around the corner.
Shoelace flipped switches and gathered both tools and ingredients with his magic. It was lucky that he knew how to make a good soup with just a couple of ingredients, because that is exactly what she needs right now. Shoelace was stressed way beyond anything he had experienced bef0re. He chopped carrots and other vegetables, filled a pot with water and sat it to boil. Suddenly he heard a *thump* from the bathroom, causing him to drop a frying pan on the floor. He hurried to see if Lily was okay, but found her head under the surface of the water.
This time Shoelace panicked for real! Galloping to the bathtub, he forgot the wet floor. He was *this* close to colliding with the bathtub as he slid across the floor. After regaining his hoofhold on the floor (and his pride), he lifted Lily’s head up above the water again. The light-brown little filly had fainted, the heat was too much for her. At least she wasn’t too cold anymore, but Shoelace on the other hoof had to calm his heart.
Lily opened her sleepy eyes and looked at him. "S- Sorry to have made you worry," Shoelace tried to force a smile back to her. "H- heh- heheh. No need to worry about me, let's just get you dried up. I made you some soup," he said. She stared into the water, probably a very shy little filly. She was just a small earth pony with dark, brown mane and a slightly brighter fur and green eyes. She wasn't all warm yet, but she stood up and stepped out of the tub. Shoelace rested on the edge of the bathtub a little longer. His vision became blurry and his hooves shook, he was too old for this.
Lily looked at him with worried eyes, she was still not all well but the old unicorn that just saved her didn’t look too good either. Shoelace noticed that and pulled himself together for her sake, he wasn’t too weak to be unable to take care of himself. He straightened up and scoured the room for anything to dry Lily with. He lifted a new towel from one of the shelves and levitated it towards Lily. But the world got filled with a thick mist once more, and he dropped it. The towel landed on Lily’s head, which was good enough.
Shoelace trotted into the living-room, he could go for some good sleep now. He sat down on his best chair and leaned back into the soft wool. He could almost sleep right there, but the sound of trotting reminded him that he really shouldn’t just yet. Lily sat down on Shoelace’s couch with the towel wrapped around her. The soup Shoelace had put on the table before Lily didn’t last long, she was surprisingly hungry.
For the first time, Shoelace thought about all the questions. Why she was here? How did she get here? Where was her parents? And what should he do? “Um, mister?” Lily said. She had finished the soup and looked at the empty bowl, avoiding eye-contact. “Shoelace. Call me Shoelace,” he interrupted her. She shouldn’t look at him as a complete stranger that would throw her out any second. “Mister Shoelace, is it okay if I could sleep over for tonight?”
Shoelace hadn’t really thought about it, but he supposed that he could be crafty. “Yes, that is fine,” he said without thinking too much about it. He couldn't really object about having a visitor for once. A small smile appeared on the continously shivering little filly. She didn't need to go outside again, and Shoelace seemed like a kind old pony.
Lily laid down on the mattress in the middle of the living-room. One by one, Shoelace blew out the candles in the living-room and switched the lights off. He trotted halfway up the stairs to his bedroom before stopping and turning around. Shoelace could already hear a muffled snore under the blanket on Lily slept in. "Good night Lily," Shoelace whispered.
That little filly would prove to become the ultimate gift in a couple of days time.
The Spirit of a Filly
Shoelace trotted back to his bed and laid his weary legs to rest. His felt like led and it took mere moments for sleep to embrace the old unicorn. But that sleep was short-lived when somepony pulled his pillow. He opened his sleepy eyes and yawned. He searched for his glasses on his nightstand and put them on so he could see who it was. Before him sat a small filly that looked at him begging eyes. “I- it’s scary downstairs. C- could I please sleep with you?”
Shoelace's brain wasn't working properly since it was supposed to be asleep by now, so he didn't really understand the question at first. But a moment repeating the question over and over in his head made it stick. "Yes, yes of course you can," he said.
Shoelace moved over to the other side of the big comfortable bed, and the little filly snuck under the duvet. Shoelace turned off the light and heard a muffled yawn under the other pillow. "Good night Shoelace," Lily said.
"Good night," he replied.
Shoelace woke up with sunlight shining straight at his face. The curtains had been pulled aside, and the sun was really bright. Shoelace grumbled at the unexpected sunlight, he couldn't understand who could have pulled the curtains aside. But it took him only a moment to recollect it all. He grabbed his glasses on the nightstand and trotted downstairs to search for the little filly. The livingroom was a mess, everywhere laid pillows and blankets and boxes and... Decorations...
You can only imagine the surprise Shoelace felt when he saw his tree was already halfway decorated, the bottom half that is. The kitchen tools was still untouched - thank Celestia - but the main door to the house was wide open. Shoelace trotted outside. The snow was full of tracks and marks from the little filly. So Lily had went outside at some point, maybe she went home? Maybe she too left him and would never visit him again? Just like... String... Tears started to form. But the sound of hooves on the floor behind him caught his attention. He turned around to see Lily dragging a long line of light-bulbs.
Shoelace silently observed as the little filly trotted to the tree and hung the light-bulbs over a chair. Then she turned to him and smiled. "I thought I could help you with the tree!" she said with a cheerfull voice. "I did what I could, but I can't reach up! It's too tall," she said.
Shoelace looked at the tree and then at her. Of course she couldn't reach up! Without help she was just a little filly who could only reach halfway at best, even if she stood on the tip of her hooves! And she didn't even use anything to stand on either! Shoelace looked around for something to help with. He had a lot of chairs, but the thin sticks that held them together wouldn't be safe enough for this.
His eyes fell on his largest and most comfortable chair. "What if you stand on that?" he said. Lily looked at the big chair. It was pretty big, too big for her to move alone. "We can move it if we push it together," Shoelace said. Lily's face lit up like a little candle; it suddenly started to shine. She trotted over and waited for Shoelace. "On second thought it IS pretty heavy," he thought. But Lily expectantly waited for him, and he wouldn't dissapoint her by refusing to help! He sighed and gathered up, it wasn't impossible with the two of them working together right? He leaned his head to the side of the chair and pushed.
It was a physical challenge for them to push the chair, but succeeding together made it all worth the effort! Shoelace massaged his neck while little Lily skipped back and forth between decor and the tree, decorating the rest of it. Shoelace sat down on his couch and watched Lily fly around. The little filly had more energy than a hamster on coffee, it was like she was a completely different little filly than yesterday. Again Shoelace wondered how she ended up here, but he pushed that bad thought aside.
Shoelace recognized some of the older decorations, "How did you find my box!?" he asked Lily. She hung up a small sparkling ball on the tree before she gave her work a pause.
"I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find anything to decorate with. But ponies always have some in their attic, and I found this box there!" Shoelace was astounded of her initiative and spirit. Never before had he met anypony like her. The little filly was soon busy again with more decor on the tree, the ceiling and even on the front-door. This year would prove to be interesting indeed!
Shoelace watched Lily go on with the decor, it was like she transformed the house as she went on. She even made some decor of her own with paper she cut into stars! But Shoelace's eyes felt weary again, he just needed a quick nap now. He yawned and laid down on the couch with a blanket over him. The constant sound of trotting didn't bother him, it actually felt comfortable to hear Lily do what he wouldn't do anymore.
Shoelace snored loudly - not that anypony ever complained - while Lily put on the last pieces of decor on the tree. She jumped down from the chair to find the most important thing: the star! She brabbed into the box and searched, but she couldn't feel it with her hoof. There wasn't anything pointy at all in there! She emptied the box and looked at what all the things. Shiny balls, sparkling stuff and wooden figurines. But not a single star! The tree wouldn't be complete without one to top it all of! The contents of several boxes soon littered the floor in her search, it had to be there somewhere!
Lily had spent another hour trying to find a star, but it seemed impossible. She sighed in dissapointment, but maybe she didn't really need one. She looked around the room, and it looked pretty good - aside from the mess that is. She decided to quickly stuff the junk on the floor into the boxes again so that she could wake Shoelace. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to empty all the boxes after all.
Lily poked Shoelace with her hoof to wake him up. She was proud of her decorations and wanted him to see. The old red unicorn scratched his nose and steadied himself up on his hooves. He adjusted his glasses and let his eyes adjust to the light. The sight that met him was just... stunning. The decor - no matter it's childish touch - was one of the most beautiful works he had ever seen. He had to just sit and look around him for a while, admiring the work of the little filly that sat beside him.
Lily smiled, full of expectations, he looked baffled so he probably liked it a lot! But she wasn't so sure anymore when a tear dropped from Shoelace's cheek. Then Shoelace started to sob, before he started to cry. Suddenly Lily was afraid she had done something wrong, was it her fault? "Shoelace?" she asked, moving a little closer.
Shoelace dried his eyes with a piece of cloth and looked at her with a weak smile. "Thank you," he said to her.
"For what?" Lily asked him. Shoelace was way too confusing right now. First he looked stunned, then he started to cry and now he thanked her?
"For reminding me," he said. "For reminding me about String."
The Day Before the Day
Lily was quite busy having fun now, and Shoelace was surprised at how incredibly much she could think of in the snow. The snow-foal for one, was something he thought he had seen in town when it came to this time of the year. But suddenly he remembered something. "Lily, I need to go buy some things in the market. Could you help me?"
Lily bounced 180 degrees, clearly eager before even opening her mouth. "Oh! Oh! What do we need?" she asked. Shoelace had to let out a sigh at her never-ending spirit.
"We just need some food. I don't have anything good for tonight," he said. Inside his head he also thought about his sore lack of presents.
That time of the year is the time when the town is filled the most. Even though the summersun celebration and other major events were also high on the list, it could not top the horde of ponies the final holiday of the year summons. Nearly everypony in Equestria stop by for presents and other things, such as food. Even though old Shoelace didn't like to come to town too often, he certainly had to do it now for Lily's sake.
Lily bounced around the streets, looking at all the pretty lights and all that the stores had to offer. She could hardly control her enthusiastic little hooves as one shop had something different to show her, and sweets were handed out there while another shop sold toys. Shoelace had to keep trotting to avoid losing her. In one corner were the food-stalls, across the streets was gift-shops, and in the middle of the market was a stage where a magician put up a show for bystanders.
It seemed like the magician had put up a particularly good show for the crowd, they all cheered for him and stomped their hooves. But suddenly he stood up on his hind hooves and said "And for my next trick I need a volunteer, anypony?"
Shoelace let out a sigh and shook his head; they didn't have time for such foolish cheap tricks now. "I will," he heard Lily say. And to Shoelace's unpleasant surprise, she had already jumped up on the stage.
"So what is your name dear?" the magician said, loud enough for the crowd to hear while he had lowered his head next to her.
"My name is Lily!" she replied. Her eyes sparkled, and she could barely keep her hooves in place with all the excitement she held in her body.
"Give it up for Lily!" the magician cheered, making the crowd stomp their hooves and cheer once more. "Now Lily, I need you to stand on this box and face the audience," he told her. Shoelace didn't like this kind of cheap tricks, but he had never seen this kind of trick before and nor had nopony else.
"As you will see," the magician said and pulled off his hat. "I will not be using my magic for this trick. And if you would look at the box," he continued and levitated the box in the air while continuously turning it around with his magic. "It will not be affected by magic either. If it does become affected by magic, the magic would glow around it like it does right now! Now, Lily," he said and faced her. "Close your eyes."
Lily closed her eyes and waited. She didn't feel anything weird, but the crowd suddenly gasped. "Open your eyes Lily," the magician commanded. When she opened them, she was levitating above the magician and the crowd. But as the magician said, the box was clearly unaffected by magic.
"Now close your eyes again and don't move a muscle," the magician commanded her, and she did as he said. She was a little afraid of heights, but not enough to be afraid. The crowd let out a huge gasp, and Lily felt the world twist for a moment. Suddenly she became a little heavier in her head. "Now open!" Lily opened her eyes once morem but this time she was upside down in mid-air. The crowd was dead-silent. Lily looked at the box; it was STILL not affected by magic!
"Give it up once more for my fantastic assistant Lily!" the crowd went wild. Surely this had never been performed before! And how could it be possible if the magician did not use magic, and the box was not affected by magic? The magician carefully placed the box back down. "Now Lily, you have been a wonderful assistant. And for that you deserve a reward!" he said.
"Let's see what the bag of wonder contains for you today hm?" He pulled forth a small bag in the size of a shoebox. "Now, close your eyes and pull out your reward," he told her. Lily closed her eyes and put her hoof inside the bag. Then she pulled out a small plushy. But the reaction from the crowd told her that it wasn’t just any plushy. They all gasped at the thing she held in her hand.
"Well would ya look at that," the magician said. "It seems like today is this little filly's lucky day!" The crowd stomped their hooves and cheered for her, but Lily didn't know why. The magician noticed her confusion and leaned his head down next to her. The plushy was seemingly a sleeping red dragon. Just like many of the other toys you could buy at the stores, but this one had a small shiny ruby in its chest.
"You take good care of that, its one-of-a-kind. Very special to me, but I think you should have it," Lily looked at him, and he smiled at her. "Now go on Lily, the show is over for now," he said. He turned to the crowd. "That's it folks, thank you for stopping by!"
Shoelace anxiously awaited Lily by the stage. His heart had jumped when the box flipped while she was on it. But he couldn't be angry at the happy little filly that skipped towards him through the crowd, even though she made him worry by going on-stage. "Look!" she said and pointed at the plushy on her head.
He smiled at her, but they should get back home soon before it got dark. "Come on, we need to get those things before the stores close," he said. "Okay!" The stores would be open for a lot longer and the lines were huge, but eventually they got the food they needed. Then there was the one final thing. He wouldn't feel right if he didn't give Lily a present. "Eh Lily, could you go fetch me some cookies?" he said so that he could have some time to find a present he could buy and come back for later.
"Sure!" Lily said and beamed off with a hoof-full of bits and the plushy on her head. She didn't know where the store was, but at least she went in the right general direction. Shoelace looked at the closest stores, it should be easy to find something.
The night came, the house was decorated and the food was in store. An ice-foal and an ice-unicorn shined in the moonlight. Shoelace had helped Lily make another one at his size that they made a unicorn instead of the other foal. The logs in Shoelace's fireplace burned nicely. Lily with played with the doll she received from the magician on the couch, pretending that is was a real dragon.
Shoelace looked out the window, it was dark now. He remembered Lily's story; she wanted to find her parents but found him. What a funny way for fate to bring them together. Lily needed somepony to care for her, and he needed somepony to care for. He looked at the clear winter sky, the stars shined brightly.
Shoelace heard a small sound next to him in the snow. Lily sat next to him and looked up at the sky as well. "I wonder if my parents can see this," she said. Shoelace looked at the little filly, holding around her plushy and staring at the sky with hope.
Shoelace smiled to her. "Of course they do! Every place in Equestria is different in some way, but the sky is always the same." Lily smiled; she took great comfort in those words. "Now, time to go to bed you foal. It's past bedtime for both of us," he said. She giggled and skipped back inside the front-door. Shoelace looked at the sky once more, he thought about String. He sighed and went inside to turn the light off. Tomorrow was the big day when it happened.
Winter Snow
Anypony else than old Shoelace would probably not be as surprised as old him, but he thought he was being attacked by some animal for a moment when Lily bounced around the bed. "Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up!" she cheered while continuously bouncing about. Shoelace couldn't even react before the little filly beamed down the stairs. Shoelace was pretty much completely awake now, opening the curtains right in front of his face would have had less effect than that little filly made.
Lily was standing on a chair she had pushed towards a window. She had the happiest expression she could make painted over her face. She rushed to the door and grabbed a scarf that she swung around her neck one throw. Then she rushed outside and jumped into a pile of soft snow. Shoelace had just gotten to the door before the party had started outside.
Shoelace sighed and shook his head at the scene she made. But he had a smile on his face as he went inside again, he lit the fireplace anew so that the house would stay nice and warm before wondering what to do. Maybe he should have some food ready when that little foal was done playing in the snow and needed something to warm her up again.
Lily literally bathed in the snow. The scarf was big and warm, and she wasn't in the snow long enough to get cold. She could go on like that ALL morning if she wanted to. Winter was her favorite time of the year, even though it was pretty bad the day she met Shoelace. "But no time for sorrow," she thought for herself. It was her fault that she went outside, not the winter.
She also met Shoelace because she went into the blizzard, so it wasn't so too bad after all! She heard the birds chirp in one of the trees. She had seen some birds before, but not too many up close. She trotted closer, standing under the tree. She heard it again, a group of birdies maybe? Or maybe even a nest! The tree had lots of branches, and it didn't look too slippery.
It was good that Shoelace had learned how to cook a good and warm soup - although it was the only food he was really decent at making. They had bought a lot of ingredients for it too, so he could even spice it up with some more goodies for Lily. He grabbed more and more ingredients he knew would work just fine without adding TOO many flavors. The stove started warming up and no smoke in sight, good. But he should probably check on Lily, who knows what she was doing at this point?
Shoelace trotted out the door. It was cold, but he didn’t plan on staying outside for long. "Now, where is she?" he asked himself. The snow was riddled with hoofprints everywhere, so it would be nearly impossible to find her by looking at the snow. "Lily?" he trotted further out the door, looking back and forth for any signs of her. He called for her repeatedly, but didn't get an answer. A sudden giggle caught his attention. He trotted closer to the source but couldn't find her. He ended up standing and listening at the birds chirp, listening for Lily. "Lily?" he repeated once more.
"Shhh, up here," she whispered. Shoelace the sound didn't come from around him, nor from behind any of the piles of snow around him. Shoelace looked up, and his heart sank in his chest when he saw a hoof waving at him from the tree. Far, far above him.
"Lily? What are you-"
"Shhh, you'll scare away the birds," she said. Clearly she wanted to see them, and it looked like she had succeeded in getting to them.
"P- Please come down," Shoelace begged. "That tree doesn't look safe." He trotted a little back and forth in unease.
"Psssh, it looks fine to me," she replied to him. Suddenly a big lump of snow fell next to Shoelace with a thump, nearly stopping his heart. "Don't worry, that was just my bad," she said to him. But now he was seriously worried.
"Lily, I-" he started in an attempt to try reasoning with her again. But his start of a sentence was interrupted by some noises above him from Lily.
"Woah, woah, watch out!" Lily said. The birds flew away, and snow fell everywhere. Shoelace could hear a branch breaking, and then he saw the little filly falling.
Shoelace wasn't very talented with magic. Sure, he was very decent with practical things in the house. But he didn't really excel at it, especially now that he grew old. Luckily, his reflexes and sharp mind quickly thought out what to do. He quickly gathered up as much snow as he could with his magic into one pile, focusing it all under Lily. The pile was almost instantly large enough, and not a moment too late either. Lily dived into the pile with her head first, halfway disappearing into the snow.
Shoelace's heart threatened to make a jailbreak through his chest, but now he could let the boulder in his stomach fade away. He pulled the little foal up by her legs - since she obviously couldn't get out by herself with half of her body submerged in the snow. She gasped for air and shook some snow out of her hair. "That was fun! Let's do it again!" she cheered.
Shoelace sighed again and put the little rascal back on her hooves. "Maybe we can, later. Come on, I've made you some soup," he said. He thought silently that she would be the end of him, but it seemed as if she never would run out of fun.
Lily was tucked in a big blanket on the couch, while Shoelace sat comfortably in his biggest chair. Lily appreciated the good soup, but she wasn’t content just yet. "Can't we make big piles of snow like that again? Please? It was so much fun!"
Shoelace sighed again. "Tell you what. If you eat your soup now, we can throw water on the snowfoals to make them into ice foals!" he said, purposely saying ice a little louder. He couldn’t have predicted her response more accurately. She gasped loudly about such a cool idea.
"And- and we can make another one as big as you!" Lily cheered. Shoelace laughed, it was still some time before dark. Still a little time before the big moment...
The Final Night
Shoelace sat in the snow, waiting for Lily. The locks on the bedroom-window went up and a little filly peeked over the edge. She measured the distance, but her ears fell flat along her head when she realized how far up a whole floor was for her. Maybe this was not such a good idea after all? But no, she couldn’t back down now. She jumped up on the edge of the window and closed her eyes.
While she had nearly panicked up there, Shoelace sat quietly and gave her the time she needed. A small silhouette soared across the sky with the sun behind for dramatic effect. Sadly, that was just a bird. Lily jumped just a second after with a little less grace.
For a moment she hung in the air, but suddenly gravity got back to work and pulled her down. She accelerated quickly towards the ground. She didn't open her eyes out of fear, but the trip was shorter than she expected. Crashed into the snow with a soft *thump*. Her face was cold and full of snow, but the adrenaline was too strong for her to notice.
“That was awesome!” she thought. It was the single most incredible thing she had ever done! She tried to push herself up again, but even Houdini would find it difficult to get out. She was stuck again... Shoelace grabbed her hooves with his magic and lifted her up. He looked at her with both a smile and a frown; he would probably go tired of pulling her out of the snow sooner or later.
"Again?" Lily asked with her cutest little voice and begging eyes, the serious look on Shoelace's face and his frown told her it didn't work this time. "Tomorrow, it's getting dark now," Shoelace said and placed her down again. "Why don't you go inside, and find some cookies?" That offer was good enough for her! "Okidoki Shoelace!" Lily trotted inside while Shoelace stood for himself outside.
Shoelace always watched the stars this time of the year. Maybe it was just superstition, but it gave him comfort to always look at that one shiny star. He and String had watched it together too, maybe that was it. Then a realization hit him; he forgot to buy a star this year! Even though he didn't always decorate his tree, he always placed a star on the top every year. But his last star one broke last year! "Shoelace! I got the cookies!" Lily called behind him. Shoelace snapped out of it and gazed one last time upwards before heading in.
The fireplace burned nicely with some large logs. The entire house had a feeling of warmth and a happiness, very different when looking back at the night when Lily knocked on the door for the first time. Shoelace opened a closet next to the bathroom while Lily sat and ate cookies with her plushy. He lifted his gift towards the living-room with his unicorn-magic.
"Lily, I have a present for you," he said. Lily's ears sharpened up over the couch and she peeked over at Shoelace. She gasped when she saw the toboggan; she had always wanted to sweep down hills on one. But then she remembered. "Oh, right! I have a present for you too!"
"What!? B- But how did you get a present?" Lily snuck her head under the tree and pulled out a neat box with silver wrapping. Shoelace was out of words. Lily giggled at the dumbfounded old colt. She placed the box in front of him. "Wh- Where did you get this?" Shoelace asked her.
Lily just smiled at him. "Come on, open it!" Shoelace could only stutter since he really didn't know what to say. It had been so long since he had received anything from anypony, and the gift didn't look anything like something even he could have gotten.
He sat down and picked up the box with his hooves and un-wrapped it. Inside was a silver star, the most beautiful he had ever seen. The details and quality of the star surpassed the craftsmanship of anypony he knew. “But, h- how?” Shoelace stuttered. Their attention was drawn towards the door when somepony knocked. Shoelace was about to trot over and open, but Lily was there on the blink of an eye and opened the front-door before he his first hoof made contact with the floor. Shoelace's jaw would have dug into the ground if the laws of nature would allow it. He dropped the box with the silver star. "String..."
Shoelace got tears in his eyes, he couldn't believe it. There she was, standing in front of him after all these years. Her hair had a more pale tone than before, and she didn't have her hair tied up like before. But there was no doubt that this was the same pony he had met so long ago. Shoelace was breathless, no words could express his emotions right now.
String didn't say anything either, she didn't even look at him. She had closed her eyes the second she saw Shoelace's old face. Lily looked back and forth between the two. She purposely coughed to hint that they should say something, and Shoelace took the hint first. "W- Why are you here?" She looked at him for a brief moment before re-directing her eyes towards the floor.
She swallowed deeply before forcing herself to speak."I- I'm so sorry. I’m so sorry I left even though... Even though I knew I should have stayed.” She took a step backwards and lowered her head. “I- I just couldn't come back, n- not after hurting you l- like I did."
Lily trotted back to the couch again. “I met her when I looked for the cookies, she saw me talking to you and wanted my help!" she said, seemed like this was meant as a surprise for him.
String closed her eyes shut and raised her voice. "I know it was wrong of me to leave, I never even told you why! Please, I'm so sorry!" She still couldn't look him in the eyes. "I understand it if you hate me. I came here because I wanted to see you again. I-" She bit her lip. “I-” her eyelids clenched together a little harder, barely letting a tear escape from one of her eyes. “I left so that I could play music,” she said.
Those last few words hit Shoelace like a dagger, no, like a sword through his chest. Even though he could barely hear what she said since she barely uttered the words while fighting her shame, he heard exactly what she said. He understood now: Her profession was music, as her cutiemark and name fit so perfectly for. She had left him for her career when he needed her. She had left him behind... Without a single word... When he needed her...
It hurt shoelace so much to realize that. He took nine steps forwards, standing a single step away from String. She raised her head and forced herself to look at his face with her teary eyes. She couldn’t even see his facial expression with her blurry vision. Shoelace's voice was flat, dry and emotionless. "Every day I waited for you to come back String. I sat in my house, alone, just sitting there. Waiting patiently for the moment when my only true friend would come back for me," Shoelace said. His words lacked any particular tone, making it impossible to tell how he felt.
“I never knew what it would be like, but I knew you would be back. Maybe you would come barging in, calling out to me. Maybe you would surprise me somehow, catching me off-guard. Or maybe you would just come knocking on my door.” Each sentence stung String in the chest like a dagger being shoved further and further into her chest. The shame she felt was unbearable, and she didn’t dare to look at his face anymore. “I never knew how it would be, but the days went by silently. Days turned into weeks, months, years, decades...”
String took a step backwards, but Shoelace took a step forward and lifted her head up with his hoof. They stared into each other’s teary eyes for a moment. “But I knew you would come back,” Shoelace whispered. String threw her hooves around him and hugged him as hard as she could. She lost control of her emotions and cried loudly on his shoulder. Shoelace hugged her tightly and began to cry as well, he forgave her for what she did.
They held each other for a long time, letting their emotions flow on one-another’s shoulders. Lily - who had sat idly and watched them - picked up the shiny silver-star. The cutton surrounding it made sure that the star remained unharmed when Shoelace dropped it. She looked at the tree a second, then she trotted right next to it and took aim. The star went straight up. And when gravity took hold of it, the cylinder-formed little pipe on the bottom landed perfectly on the highest vertical branch. Lily took a step back and admired the completed tree. Then she grabbed the cookie-box "Who wants some cookies?"
Several wishes had been fulfilled that night: One of them was somepony who wanted somepony to care for her, while another wish was for one pony who wanted somepony to care for . The third wish was from one pony who wanted to be forgiven. And the last wish was from two ponies who wanted happiness for their little filly. And hey! She got cookies!
Walking the Path... Alone
Walking the Path... Alone
For so long had Shoelace pushed away his memories with String. At first he simply felt painful and sad, but then he simply pushed it all away and forgot about her. But now he remembered, and he remembered why she meant so much for him in the first place. A lot of ponies in the town knew his name, but not a single one knew him as a person. Until she visited his house. He had been working from day to day. Making fancy boots for royals and whatnot. Not that everypony are using shoes mind you, but if anypony needed a pair then he was their unicorn.
But String didn't find his house to place an order. In fact, she didn't have a reason to come by at all. Just as Lily found his house by chance, so did a stranger with an umbrella and a wet mane step on his doorstep. But that was so long ago. Shoelace barely remembered her face, but he could never forget her soft voice, her sweet laughter and the sweet song from her violin. *Smoky flashback effect*
He remembered poking his hoof with a needle by accident while sewing together a pair of shoes when somepony knocked on the door. Annoyed he swung up the door with the use his magic without caring who it was. It was probably just another snob that had a long list of details for some shoes he/she wanted finished before some tearparty. Shoelace merely mumbled a "welcome" to the visitor he hadn't even bothered to look at. But despite the rude first impression, the sweet filly had shook the water off her umbrella before quietly making herself comfortable.
She had - without Shoelace's knowledge - trotted to his kitchen. She was hungry and before Shoelace knew it, the sweet scent of food filled the house. Shoelace didn't have much, but somehow she managed to make so much good out of it! Shoelace sat and focused on his work, even though the smell was enchanting. He continously tried to pretend he didn't care, but the treacherous growling from his belly told String otherwise. "There is enough for two if you're hungry," she giggled. He hesitated, but ultimately gave in to the temptation.
Shoelace placed the tools back into the drawers on the desk in front of him. The sound of his the drawers being shut and his key locking everything was very familiar to him. Combine that and the fact that he was in his own house, and you could say he went into a state of carelessness where you don't bother to look before you walk. And Shoelace walked straight into String. The food String made, the plate she had it on, herself and Shoelace littered the floor in a single mess.
Shoelace pulled a leaf of lettuce away from his nose. He stood up, and tried to fathom what in the hay had just happened. "Ahem," he heard under him. A hoof brushed aside a sandwich from String's face, and she looked at him with a frown. "Is this how you treat a visitor?"
"W- W- Wha-" Shoelace stuttered. String stood up and flicked some grass off her shoulder, she looked at him with serious eyes. She took a step towards him and stared into his eyes, forcing the socially incompetent unicorn to retreat backwards and into a wall. String took another step forwards, staring at him with focused eyes. Her nose nearly touched his, that's how close she was.
Shoelace's heart had raced, he didn't know what to do! He closed his eyes and waited. He felt something wet on his nose for half a second. He opened his eyes and saw String licking her cheeks. "You had some sauce there!" she said and smiled. Shoelace scratched his nose and looked on his hoof to find a drop of a thin liquid: Sauce.
That night they both sat together. Shoelace was hesitant to try anything new, but String dared him to talk about himself by putting on a smug grin and saying something indirectly insulting to Shoelace. Shoelace responded by defending himself, and String responded to that by laughing and assuring him she was just kidding.
In time they laughed and had more fun. String told Shoelace about noblemen she had met that had put up a weak show to gain her attention. But every time she managed to point out that they lived in their mother's house, that they used fake and/or cheap jewelry to gain attention or that they smelled like the backside of any farm animal you could name.
Shoelace told String about a cat-lady that stopped by once and demanded a free pair of shoes of highest quality. He had told her to bug off, and she had yelled to him that she would have him arrested as she walked out the front-door only. But about three minutes later, she returned to get about five of her cats that had made themselves comfortable around various places in his house. String laughed out loud at the last part, she didn't lack a sense of humor.
At the dinner table later that night, they ran out of things to say. But they just rested their heads on the table and looked into each other's eyes. He smiled, and she smiled back. But when the night ran late she had to go she promised him to return often to his house, and she did too.
String visited Shoelace frequently. She brought him some food while he did what he did best: Making beautiful shoes as gifts for her. But it was clear that she didn't really want them, she always just talked with Shoelace. Sometimes she didn't even remember to take his gifts with her! She just cared about him, and he just cared about her.
Shoelace always looked forward to seeing her again. Sometimes he would just sit in his chair, just waiting for her to stop by. But one time she didn't seem like herself. She seemed upset and didn't want to eat anything or talk too much. "Something wrong?" Shoelace asked her. She shook her head and assured him it was nothing, she just didn't feel alright.
Shoelace tried to cheer her up, but she had something on her mind that she tried to build up the courage to talk to him about. "Shoelace," she said while looking out the window. "Yes?" he responded expectantly. Turned to face him and looked at him for a moment with teary eyes. "It's been fun," she said. She trotted out the door and was gone. Shoelace waited patiently for her in the next months, but she didn't show up.
Shoelace saw String again though, and it was the happiest day of his life. He opened his weary eyes to the sound of noise coming from downstairs. He wondered if it was another customer, but he stopped when sweet music filled his ears. Slowly, trotted down the stairs so that he could hear it better. The music was like a piece of divinity, he could hardly fathom how beautiful the melody that graced his ears sounded. It almost felt like a sin every time the sound of his hooves interrupted the steady flow of music that floated through the air like waves washing against a shore.
Shoelace felt spellbound, he couldn't tell if it was real. Shoelace stopped halfway down the stairs. The living-room was full of decor, the dinner table had a meal waiting with along with two plates and two glasses. But in front of his fireplace, playing the celestial music, was String.
She stopped and placed her violin into its box befire slowly turning around. She looked at him with a weak smile, and Shoelace's eyes nearly filled with tears when he saw her face. "Hi Shoelace," she said with her soft voice and smiled at him. He galloped to her and hugged her tightly. Her soft mane felt like silk to his cheek, and she returned his hug.
String played for him that morning, while he sat back and listened. He had barely even seen an instrument before, and he had never heard much more than something from the schoolyards in town. But she was no doubt a true artist, and she played just for him. Another day slowly went by as they had the time of their lives. They walked the streets at night, seeing stands with items of all sorts. They listened to children singing songs for bypassers, and they had watched as street artists competed for the attention of the audiences.
As the night came, they went back to his house. They where both so happy when they laid on the mattress again in the living-room, staring into each other's eyes. Shoelace felt so happy when he fell asleep, he didn't care about anything else in the world than her. And he felt like the world circled around them when they where together.
He woke up from the sun shining on his face through the windows the following morning, but it was as if though he woke up from a dream. The decorations was there, some leftovers was there. But String was not. She didn't say goodbye, she didn't even leave him a note. He searched everywhere in his house, surely she was just pranking him... Right?
The days passed, one by one. He thought that she would come back at any moment, any day. He even left his door open at night, but she didn't come back. A month later, he held his hope in it's last thin straw. He decided he wouldn't work that day, decided that he would have everything ready for her! But he went to bed crying, shattered into an infinite number of pieces.
Lily had quietly listened to Shoelace's story, even when Shoelace broke down into tears when he finished. Lily imagined his pain, she tried to imagine how awful it must have been for him to have gone through that. She wrapped her hooves around him and held him tight. Shoelace stopped crying, then he hugged her back. They hugged each other a while before Lily broke the silence. "I never knew my parents," she said. "What!?" Shoelace said. He could never have imagined that.
Shoelace could see her eyes filling with tears. "I wanted to meet them," she said. "I was told you could wish for anything you wanted when the brightest star shine..." A pattern slowly formed for old Shoelace. "I wished to meet my parents," she continued, barely having control over her voice. "And I thought I saw them... I-... I-... Thought they where there..." she managed to say. But now she too broke down in tears, she hid her face in her hooves and started to cry.
Shoelace understood, seems like he wasn't alone when it came to feeling the pain of loneliness after all. "Shhh," he said. "It's okay, I'm here." Shoelace wrapped his hooves around her again and held her tight as she cried on his chest. They both had a cruel past, but it was just a past now. He hushed her again and held around her head with his hoof to comfort her.
Shoelace couldn't hold back his tears for long. And soon they both sat still on the couch, embracing each other as they let their emotions flow. At the end they were both so tired that they fell asleep right there, with their hooves wrapped around one another. The fireplace crackled its last few burnt logs before it's flames where put out with the final gust of wind of the day.
A small bird sat on a branch outside. It's song carried across the forests and woke both the slumbering winter life and the two ponies sleeping in an old wooden house out in the forest. Shoelace and Lily forgot the sorrows of yesterday, today was the day before the BIG day! Lily woke up first (of course). She pulled aside the curtains and ignored Shoelace's instant whining behind her. Lily squealed with joy and trotted to the front door to borrow a scarf and from Shoelace, whom adjusted his glasses.
Shoelace trotted slowly down the stairs to have a look outside. When he reached the door he saw the trees and land covered in snow, and Lily rolling a bunch of small snowballs around. "Shoelace! Do you have carrots?" she asked him out of the blue.
"Wh- I- I'll take a look," he said. "Hurry, the snowfoal needs a nose!" Shoelace didn't understand anything she was talking about. Why in equestria would she need a carrot? And who needed a nose!?
Shoelace opened numerous drawers in search of a carrot since he didn't find one in his fridge. He emerged victorious in his search and trotted outside. Lily shoved the last snowball in place, it was a snowfoal! Foals in town used to make those when it was snow outside.
Lily scratched some marking on the snowfoals's head, it looked kind of something similar to a regular foal except for the round form and the... snow. "Ah thanks," Lily said said. She jumped up and caught the carrot, then she took a few steps back and took aim. The carrot flew through the air and hit the forehead of the snowfoal dead-on.
Shoelace laughed, the snow-foal was now a small unicorn! It seemed like Lily had everything a small filly could have, and more than Shoelace could ask for. But she would still surprise Shoelace more than you can fathom on the last day.