Ready as I'll Ever Be

The storm blew on, and with it, most of the town.

Days passed.

Weeks passed.

The following morning was much more peaceful in comparison to the one that came before, part of the reason being that the six newcomers could wake up knowing exactly where they were. Twilight had met her friends in front of the inn, and they all agreed to spend the day exploring the town together, Twilight having kept her natural form in hopes of building better bonds with the townsponies. To the alicorn's dismay, Olive Glow was no where to be found when she woke, but she found herself gifted with a key to the small house to be used for the duration of their stay.

"Are you sure she's really all that trustworthy, Twi?" Applejack asked upon hearing of Olive's gift.

Twilight frowned slightly, but noticeably. "Of course I'm sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

The earth pony mare sighed, averting her attention to the snowy ground beneath her hooves. It was a wonder the Frost Village inhabitants could keep the roads clear on a consistent basis, what with the everlasting flurries of snow. "I dunno Twilight it's just... she gives me the willies."

Before Twilight could reply, a high - pitched screech filled the air, and all eyes in the area immediately shot towards Rarity, who was practically hanging off of a nearby ice sculpture depicting a pony surrounded by fluttering snowflakes. Every detail of the sculpture was chipped and carved to near perfection, depicting a glittering beauty in the light of the sun, as well as conveying the slightest hint of danger with the sharp edges of the ice.

"Oh, just look at this! Look at it!" Rarity exclaimed. "Such perfection in ice! My sales would double, no, triple if I had something this magnificent in one of my shops!"

Applejack rolled her eyes, but Twilight was personally quite happy with the distraction from her conversation.

"Who created such an astonishing piece?!"

A pegasus stallion who had been passing by when the commotion started stepped forward. "Snowflake did. She's basically the town's resident sculpture artist. Everypony knows her work, and all of it, at least what you'd see here, is hers."

To this, Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. "Snowflake?! As in, quiet, boring Snowflake?!"

The stallion's muzzle scrunched up in displeasure after hearing the pegasus mare's description of the pony who was clearly positively known amongst the community. "Yes. Her." His reply was stiff, and he hurriedly walked off.

"Rainbow, can you at least make an honest effort ta be polite? Jus' this once?!" Applejack snapped at her rainbow - maned friend, receiving a dramatic eye roll in response.

"It would be nice to pay Snowflake a little visit again after what she did for us yesterday." Rarity commented, still admiring the intricate sculpture.

"Yeah! Maybe she can even make us some more of that no - more - forgetty - forgetty tea!" Pinkie Pie chirped, although nopony paid any mind to whatever it was she had just said.

The decision seemed to have been unanimous.

Once the small group arrived at Snowflake's home, they were greeted by a wide open door, and for just the slightest moment, Fluttershy's silent fear that there had been a break - in didn't go unfounded. However, when they stepped inside, it was found that there was not a break in, and instead just Snowflake balancing on her hind legs to reach a particularly high spot on what would likely soon be another ice sculpture, which also explained why the door was open and letting all the cold air from outside in. It was doubtless she'd heard the group of ponies come inside, but she said nothing, not even the silent utterance of a greeting.

Rainbow Dash wasn't having it. "Helloooo? Snowflake, are you there?"

"Assuming you're not blind and can see me standing in the middle of the room, the answer to that question should be obvious."

Rainbow growled in response, but a dark glare from Applejack was all it took to get her back under control.

Twilight cleared her throat. "We saw the ice sculptures around town, and somepony told us you were the one who made them." She gestured to the ice block in the progress of being cut, although the mare wasn't facing her. "You have quite a talent with handling ice."

To this, Snowflake dropped her tools and turned around, her violet eyes almost icy beneath her black - framed goggles, made to keep any stray ice shards from hitting them. After a short while, they reverted back to their nearly emotionless state, and she sighed, turning back to her half - finished piece. From the looks of it so far, it depicted a colt, wielding what might soon be a sword or axe.

"Yeah. I've been doing this since I was a filly." She looked up at the incomplete statue. "Back then, nothing really mattered. Not like it does now, although nopony here thinks anything does matter besides what they're doing during the day. That's what happens when you live in a small, sheltered town where nothing's supposed to happen."

Everypony was silent, including Rainbow Dash, who had been absentmindedly hovering in the air as she barely tuned in to the words spoken. Everypony, including Snowflake, felt similar chills race up their spines, but the open door wasn't the source. After many silent minutes, the pegasus continued.

"Like most ponies in this town, I lived here my whole life. Never been out of those gates. Never wondered about the world outside of it because this place was the only world I felt had any importance." She angled a purple - feathered wing at her unfinished piece, "That and my best friend, anyways. Thorn. Although ironically, he wasn't anything like a thorn. More like a declawed bear."

"What do you mean 'wasn't'?" Fluttershy piped up, tilting her head.

Snowflake hesitated for a moment, still wearing her look of indifference. "He... he's dead now. Died about ten years ago."

Twilight took a few steps forward, reaching a hoof out to the quiet mare, who looked to be batting with herself internally. "Snowflake... I'm so sorry."

"Don't be." She replied. "It wasn't your fault. It was Olive's."

Applejack didn't hesitate to respond. "Just what in the hay is that supposed to mean? You suggestin' Olive Glow killed somepony when y'all were kids?"

"No. Not exactly." Snowflake picked her tools up once again. "I'm not sure what I'm suggesting. The memory of his death is hazy, but I know I last saw him alive when he was with Olive, and after that, he's in a coffin, and Olive Glow shows no emotion. I stopped trusting her right then and there, and I suggest you all stop while you're ahead so nopony you care about ends up like Thorn."

The reactions in the room were mixed, from Fluttershy whimpering in place to even Pinkie Pie stopping her light bouncing to wear a grim expression. The only relatively calm expression was Twilight's, who seemed more indifferent than anything. After surveying the looks she received in response to her warning, Snowflake picked up her tools and went back to work, without the slightest utterance of a word.

"You can stay and watch me work if you'd like." she muttered, as though she had only had a light conversation rather than speak of the death of her late friend.

Rainbow Dash was all too happy to be freed, and she left alongside Applejack and Twilight, while their remaining three friends stayed behind, likely to strike up further discussion.

"Well, that was surprisingly dark." The cyan pegasus commented to nopony in particular, gliding slowly through the air above her friends like a vulture stalking her prey.

"Hol' on a sec sugarcube." Applejack stopped in her tracks. Her green eyes had taken on a stern, motherly tone as she stared Twilight down. "Twilight, I don't want you goin' back to that house with Olive."

"Why not?"

For a moment, the earth pony was at a loss for words. Had she not been in the same room as they were, hearing the same things they did? "You got cotton in yer ears or something?! She can't be trusted! That mare is weird, this whole damn town is weird, but this is goin' too far. I don't want you sleepin' in the same place as Olive Glow. It's like playin' Russian Roulette with yer life!"

Twilight frowned. "Applejack, have you seen Olive do anything incriminating? Have you seen proof of her doing anything bad in the past? I'm not saying Snowflake's crazy, but I feel as though you're all jumping to dangerous conclusions."

"We want you to be safe, Twilight-"

"As the Princess of Friendship, I refuse to allow anypony -- whether they're from a strange town or not -- to be accused of something without proof, especially something of this caliber."

Applejack didn't say anything. She looked into her friend's eyes, her own filled with worry and fear. At this point Rainbow Dash came down from her airborne position, landing beside the farm pony.

"Applejack's right, you know." She said, her voice low.

Twilight sighed. "I understand that you girls are worried, but I promise you...

"There's absolutely nothing to worry about."