Snowy Days at the Turnpine Inn

Nearly two moons after the first coming of Winter, Starlight Glimmer had received a letter. It was the kind of day best spent indoors around a fire, reading a book or chatting with one of her friends, a cup of cocoa at her side. Yet, for some strange reason that she could not recall, Starlight had been outside, braving the bitter cold with a scarf wrapped tightly around her neck, blue toque with a pom-pom fitted snuggly over her ears, when Derpy had come up to her, breathless and shivering.

At first, Starlight had expected that the mailmare had delivered to the wrong pony, or was searching for Twilight with some desperate plea from the Princess--which wasn't altogether abnormal when Twilight and Spike were away on separate errands. These hopes were dashed when, after being urged inside the nearby Sugarcube Corner brandishing her rugged sack of mail, Derpy spilled out the reason for her mission.

"Letter for Miss Starlight," Derpy wheezed, brushing snow off her back with a great shake of her body and wings, sending tufts of wet snow across the room and over Starlight's face, "from Sire's Hollow! It says 'URGENT'! So I had to get it to you right away!"

Starlight, brushing snowing off her face and out of her mane, gave Derpy little more than a look of amusement. She recognized the writing on the envelope as being from Stellar Flare, Sunburst's mother. That mare always had a flair for the overdramatic, and any mention of urgency from a mare like that brought little concern to Starlight's mind. Still, something seemed off about the way her writing on the envelope was written with shaky pen, or how it had been sealed hastily. This was unlike Stellar. Most peculiar.

Before she had a chance to ponder this any further, Starlight had become aware that Derpy had been shifting awkwardly whilst still holding the envelope. Realization dawned onto Starlight that she had, in fact, been standing there staring at it, neglecting to actually take it. It was Derpy's turn to give her a weird expression, though one of confusion.

"Erm, of course. I'm sure it's nothing. Thank you, Derpy. Can I get you a cup of hot cocoa, or...something? Awful day to be doing deliveries..." Starlight cleared her throat and took the letter in her magic, tearing it open quickly.

"No thanks, Starlight!" Derpy smiled broadly. "I think I'll take a raincheck on that. Got other deliveries to make, and my little Muffin is waiting for me back home!" Swelling with pride, Derpy turned tail and headed straight back out into the blistering cold, leaving Starlight to ponder over the letter with a growing sense of dread.

Dear Starlight,
Your father has taken gravely ill. The family home has fallen under disrepair and I fear he may not make it through the winter in such bitter cold if the holes in his roof are not fixed. He does not wish to worry you, but I fear for his condition. We are doing what we can, but he will accept our help no longer. I don't know what's gotten into him. Please see to him at once. We worry for him.
Yours, Stellar Flare.

Starlight didn't move for some time after that, her eyes glued to the neatly written signature at the bottom of the letter, a stark contrast to the hurried scrawling on the outside of the envelope. At first, a sense of bitterness rang though her. How could her father do this to himself? Why was he so selfish? It was probably some ploy to see his daughter running back home to tend after his every waking need. No, she wouldn't indulge him. He didn't deserve that satisfaction.

Sipping her tea, Starlight mulled it over for what felt like hours. Her bitterness and rash anger faded away into a feeling that she had grown accustomed to since being under Twilight's tutelage; reservation. She knew well enough now how to control those negative feelings such as anger and resentment, and the irrationality caused by such emotions, even if she faltered from time-to-time. What remained was acceptance, reserving herself to let things simply be as they were, reminding herself that there was little she could do to control it.

The howling winds outside caught one of the wooden shutters and slammed it against the windowsill next to her, waking her out of her mental seclusion and bringing her back to the present. She stared around the room as if she had just woken up from a daydream, where what few other ponies who'd braved the trek were huddled in booths around tea and cocoa, and the fireplace directly across from her. Outside the window, Starlight could see untouched snow piled high onto roofs and on the streets in places that had been bustling with traffic just months ago, but were now all but deserted. Next to the street where snow had been plowed by stallions brandishing shovels just a day ago were large drifts of it, accumulated over time as more and more of it had been piled on.

Once, many years ago as a filly, Starlight had begged her father to take her sledding. This was years after Sunburst had left her life and she had few friends. Her father had obliged and taken her to the biggest and most popular hill in Sire's Hollow. While it was a simple enough event, it was one of the few cherished memories of unbridled happiness in her youth that wasn't beleaguered by sadness or resentment for ponies more capable of making friends than her.

After hours of rushing down the hill on her little wooden sled, squealing with glee, and rushing back up to the top, little Starlight had attacked her father with a few well-placed snowballs to the back. In retaliation the stallion had picked her up in one swoop and dunked her into a nearby snowpile just like the one outside, amidst her fit of giggles. Naturally, she had plopped back out, covered in snow, and pelted him once again. It was a snowball fight he was destined to lose.

The sound of a throat being cleared a mere several feet away broke Starlight's daydream, and she turned to face Cupcake, who was looking down at her patiently from the end of the table.

"I said, did you want another cup of tea, sweetheart? You look out of sorts, how about a cupcake? Just baked it this morning. It's on the house! It'll definitely cheer you up!" The mare smiled kindly, but Starlight shook her head and politely refused.

"No thanks, Mrs. Cake. I think...I have somewhere I need to be."