Sunny Gold and the Seven Foals
~ Sunny Gold and the Seven Foals ~
Once upon a time, far, far away, there existed a kingdom ruled by a kind King and his kind Queen. The Queen was blessed with a baby, and as she waited for the final days of her pregnancy to pass, she generally liked to spend her time in the gardens, surrounded by the calmness and beauty of nature.
One such sunny afternoon, she was resting near the calm stream in her gardens, when she noticed an unusually beautiful sight - several soft petals of cherry trees flowed down, slowly carried by the water as the sunshine reflected in the azure stream. The combination of colors struck her as more beautiful than anything she has ever seen, and at that moment, she made a wish to the Goddess: for her child to have a mane as pink and soft as cherry petals, eyes as azure and bright as the stream in her gardens and skin as sunny as the Sun itself.
And wouldn't you know it, the Goddess had heard her wish and granted it, for her child was more beautiful than the Queen herself could imagine. Alas, the birth of her little miracle has worn the Queen out heavily and she got sick. Knowing she did not have much time, she had spent three days and three nights in her gardens with her daughter, caring for her, singing to her and hoping to show her as much of beauties of the nature as she could.
On the fourth morning, she passed away in her sleep.
A huge funeral and ceremony was held in the beloved Queens honor, but the King, driven by sadness and feeling so lonely despite the blessing of a child, couldn't cope with the emptiness the Queen had left behind. Thus, three months later, he had traveled to lands far away in search of a righteous new queen for their land and three weeks after returned home with whom Sunny Gold would get to know as her Stepmother.
Her Stepmother was of such looks that no pony who ever saw her could ever forget her unmatchable beauty or have enough of it. Her mane as gorgeous as the night itself and constantly in flowing motion, almost as if the wind itself tried to compliment her beauty, it was the object of many bachelors' dreams and many mares' envy. Her skin was as dark as the darkest depths of space, and her eyes smart and sharp, resembling two glowing emeralds underneath the night sky.
The Stepmother's heart, however, was worthless compared to her looks, for she was vane and self centered, enjoying in nopony and no things but herself and her Mirror. The Mirror in question, however, was no ordinary mirror. It was a magical object that possessed the great power, able to answer any question ever asked by anypony. The Stepmother vane as she was, would ask the Mirror the same question every morning.
"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall,
who is the fairest of them all?"
And inside of the Mirror, an unusual being would appear, a draconequus to be exact - a mischievous Spirit of mysterious origin and intents, but of honest tongue as the duty towards the Mirror required him to be, and every time with a chuckle, every time with a spin in the air and a playful wave of his hands, he would answer with the same words:
"Oh dear, my dear, have no fear,
your beauty has yet to disappear."
And with those teasing words, every time he would chuckle, every time he would snap his fingers, and he would return to his slumber.
And as long as the Spirit said the same, the Stepmother was pleased.
But one morning, many years later, as the Stepmother approached the Mirror, she found the Spirit waiting for her on the other side in her reflection, for the first time in all of their years together, without being summoned by anypony. Angered by his insolence, she questioned:
"How dare you appear without my consent? Justify your heinous act, or face the consequences of my wrath!"
The Spirit but chuckled at her fury before he finally answered:
"Oh my beloved Queen of night and day,
you'll be in such a disarray
when I inform you, from this day on,
your beauty is the thing of past, done and gone.
Had you forgotten there was a young daughter your King had?
Ever since his wife had passed, and you took her place in our land,
She had been growing day by day, nurtured by her father,
repulsed by your vanity, to her you were not a parent, but a bother.
And her father, of pure heart and mind,
taught her everything about being kind,
about generosity and honesty,
about laughter and loyalty.
Thus she was blessed with immortal beauty.
Her mane as soft as the pink petals of cherry tree,
her eyes as clear as the purest stream
her skin as bright as the Sun itself,
to put things short, my dear, you are full fair, it is true,
but Sunny Gold is fairer than you."
And with those last words, the Spirit disappeared.
The very name of the mare who dared to over-rank her in terms of beauty made the Stepmother shiver with anger. The blasted child of the now dead King, Goddess rest his soul, was the very one the Spirit in the Mirror had proclaimed the most beautiful mare in all of the world. Her own step daughter. It was a shame.
But not for long, oh no. Not wasting a single moment of her time, the Stepmother summoned one of the fastest and toughest huntsponies to her chambers and ordered him to take Princess Sunny Gold in the forest and kill her - blinded by her rage, she even demanded her very heart as a proof of her death.
The Huntspony uttered but a single "eeyup" to his majesty's command. He had fulfilled many of her orders in a heartbeat, and wasn't about to stop. At least not until he saw the beauty that was Sunny Gold.
He had found her outside, in the gardens, among the birds and the plants she cherished and nurtured, singing in a most beautiful voice a tone even the birds seemed to follow. He had found himself instantly falling in love the Princess, but could act little upon it. For one, he was but a mere Huntspony. And secondly, he had a mission to do.
In a low voice, he had asked if she wished of him to escort her outside to the woods, where she could play with the forest animals and pick exotic flowers. The princess, oblivious to the threat, happily accepted.
But the more he watched Sunny Gold prance among the flowers and play with the forest animals, the more the Huntspony realized he could never kill such an innocent creature. Still, a task was a task, and so he advances at her from behind, with a dagger firmly held in his mouth. Sunny Gold had noticed him at the last second and turned around, let out a tiny scream and covered herself, unable to run or even beg for her life, how scared she was. Finally, the Huntspony could not take it anymore, and instead of taking her life, he threw the dangerous dagger into the grass and finally let his secret out, the secret mission he was sent to, the horrible task he was abou tto perform on her Majesty's behalf. Terrified of Stepmother's fury and saddened over Huntspony's horrible position, Sunny Gold questioned:
"What should I do now, good stallion? I can not let the Stepmother punish you!"
"I will manage, my Princess. Just please, run through the forest and never, ever come back if you wish to live! Please, run!" The Huntspony implored, and Sunny Gold had no other choice but to turn around and rush off into the dark trees.
Sunny Gold ran through the forest for a long time, having no idea if the Sun was still shining thanks to the thickness of the trees, until she finally collapsed, tired and worn out, on one clearance. Once she awoke, though, the Sun seemed to shine again. Lost and having no idea where to go, she started to sing a little song to cheer herself up:
"With a smile and a song,
life is just a bright sunny day,
cares fade away,
and your heart is young~"
Unbeknownst to her, the many critters and little birds were attracted to her singing and soon gathered round her. Sunny Gold had an almost perfect understanding of animal language, so she easily made friends with the equally timid animals, who decided to help the poor princess - in no time, they escorted her to the small cabin in the woods, surrounded by a meadow and with a small stream flowing nearby.
Happy to no end that she had found somepony other than animals in the forest, Sunny Gold rushed towards the cabin and knocked once. Then she knocked twice. And another time. Silence was all that came as a response, so she pushed at the door. They opened with a swing, and revealed a messy house that had literally everything possible turned this way or another upside down.
"Oh my," Sunny Gold stared at the mess as her animal friends gathered behind her, "this house is in... in um... under average state." She tried not to offend whoever owned it. Upon inspection she realized everything in this house was so tiny. Tiny chairs, tiny table, even tiny filthy socks gathered in a pile in a corner.
"There must be plenty of little foals living in here," Sunny Gold noticed, "but where are their parents?"
The animals all lowered their heads in sadness, and Sunny Gold realized she had just asked something very sad.
"I see." She answered in understanding. In the next moment though, she cheered up.
"Well, we can not let those little foals fend for themselves, now can we?" She smiled and picked up the first broom she saw. "Let us make them feel welcome in their home once again!"
* * * * *
Not far away from the cabin Sunny Gold and her animal friends were cleaning up, there was a big mine. And in that mine, there was a huge pile of precious stone and rocks ready to dig out. Mostly diamonds, among other things. And that amount of precious, shiny rocks, attracted the Diamond Dogs, a group of bandits that loves to steal as much of them as they could.
Much to their chagrin though, the mine was in fact owned by somepony. Or should we say, some foals?
The mentioned foals were seven brave little ones who did the best they could to defend the only thing of any worth that was left by their parents to them aside from their home. The seven were called Scoots, Sweets, Bloom, Tiara, Spoon, Snips and Snails. So they would spend the whole day fending off the Diamond Dogs, from the moment the Sun came up until it would set, and knowing it was the same thing waiting for them all the days afterwards, they would go home, happy with the amount of their parents' property they protected for the day.
But when they finally reached their home that day, the Sun long gone from the sky, they were terrified to see the lights behind the windows and the smoke rising from the chimney.
"What's that? Somepony 's in our house!" Bloom cried out to inform the rest.
"Ha! Yet another Diamond Dog looking for our things, I assume." Tiara bitterly started, as she always did. "We should go in and kick their flanks!"
"Don't say that, we should be careful." Sniffed Scoots as she rubbed her nose.
"We don't have much options, Scoots. Keep your run from sneez-- I mean, keep your nose from sneezing, we wouldn't like to away them ch-- I mean chase them away! Alright, follow me!"
The six foals waited for the Snails to catch up and finally carefully opened the door to their house. At first they saw nothing unusual but the fire burning, when Scoots suddenly gasped.
"Look at this! The floor is clean and free of our stuff!"
"The dishes are cleaned and polished!"
"Our clothes is drying outside!"
"Someone made food!" Spoon notice joyfully and was about to approach the giant pot when Tiara interrupted.
"Are you crazy? It could be poisoned!"
"Who in their right mind would clean up a house to poison us?" Bloom wisely questioned.
"G-guys, I... there's something in the air, I ah... ah... AH..."
"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"
Scoots suddenly sneezed with such force that all six of the other ponies crashed and tumbled into the wall under the force of her sneeze.
"Oops." She sheepishly grinned. Tiara gave her a mean glare and angrily trotted off to the table where she grabbed the bouquet of flowers that was guilty of Scoots' sneezing and promptly threw it out of the window.
"We need to send someone upstairs to check out the bedroom. Someone who is capable of staying quiet." Bloom said. All of the eye fell on Snails. Then all six pairs of hooves did their best to force him up the stairs. Shaking like a leaf, the silent colt climbed up and opened the door. At first, everything seemed fine and quiet as it always was - until Snails saw the sheets moving that is. Letting out a pitch so high even the animals could not hear it, he ran down right into the hooves of his friends.
"What was it? What? A monster? Sleeping? IN OUR BEDS?" Tiara was positively fuming. "That's it - we're going up, and we're taking that thing DOWN!"
There was no place for argues when Tiara demanded something. Shaking in unison, the foals climbed up and finally approached their bed, ready to attack - that is, until the candle light shined upon the most beautiful mare they have ever seen.
"Wow." Shy Sweets commented for the first time that day. Even Snips, who usually took little interest in anything but his own bed, seemed astonished.
"She is gorgeous." Bloom said the obvious.
"How did she get here?" Scoots wondered.
"I don't care, but I want her to stay!" Spoon happily commented as she let out a chuckle. "She seems like a nice pony."
"Idiots!" Tiara interrupted them. "You let the looks decive you! She is probably a witch!"
"Quiet, you'll wake her up!"
"Shut up!"
"No, you!"
"Guys, guys!"
"Um... Excuse me."
The argument stopped the moment foals realized the mare was awake and sitting up. Giving them the most beautiful teal colored stare she could, the Sunny Gold carefully observed the young kids before her. Then she smiled.
"Oh, so someone does live here! I am so glad! I already thought I would have to eat the whole pot of food by myself."
Silence. Despite her beauty, the kids didn't expect her to act so... friendly. Sunny Gold eyed them all carefully.
"So, what's your name?"
Before the mare could even blink, all of the seven children spoke at the same time. It took her a while to calm them all down properly, and she suggested they go down to talk as they dine.
They learned a lot that night about each other, and specifically about Sunny Gold's origins. Terrified by the fate Sunny Gold had almost endured, the foals all vowed to protect her. Their innocence and bluntness made her laugh a lot, and in the course of one evening, she found herself loving the little ones much more than she had expected, even though they were all so different.
Bloom, while constantly mixing up words, was clearly the brightest one in the group, clearly a leader of this little gang. Which maybe couldn't be said for Snails, since he didn't talk at all - but yet, he seemed to be far from being unintelligent. He was more of an enigma.
Tiara and Spoon were like two sides of a same coin - completely different, yet totally inseparable
Sweets was probably the shyest little filly she ever got to know, but it didn't stop her from her rambling on the moment she felt like she was accepted by Sunny Gold.
Then there was Scoots, who during the dinner almost sent the table flying two times with her sneezing if it weren't for everypony's quick reactions.
And finally, there was Snips, about whom Sunny Gold couldn't learn much because he was napping almost literally every second of time he could get.
Hours later, the dinner was done and dishes cleaned. All of them settled before the fireplace, still not quite ready for sleep. The foals enjoyed Sunny Gold's gentle singing voice that almost lulled them all into sleep, as she sang them one of her favorite lullabies.
"...baby oh mine~"
By the time she was done, Sweets had tears in her eyes. At first, Sunny Gold thought she was merely touched, but...
"Oh please, Miss Sunny Gold!" Sweets suddenly cried. "Please don't ever leave us! Please stay with us forever! We'll be good to you!"
Surprised by the sudden cry, Sunny Gold swiftly approached her and embraced her, petting her mane.
"What is wrong, Sweets? Why are you crying?" She asked quietly, wondering what is the matter.
Sweets sniffed, but didn't reply. Instead, Sunny Gold heard a sigh and a grumble coming from Tiara. She had her usual, hard cold look fixated on Sunny Gold's eyes.
"It is about our parents, Miss Sunny Gold." She started, apparently not wanting to stop at that. "One day... one day they went into the mines and... and they never..." Tiara hung her head, her hard and determined eyes suddenly looking down at the floor boards in a broken stare.
Different kind of silence embraced them and Sunny Gold felt her own tears flowing down her face. Her eyes slowly looked at all of the little foals surrounding her, and in every single pair of those eyes she could see the pain. The loneliness. The tears they were going to shed into their pillows tonight.
She finally spoke, a bit shakily:
"Listen, my little foals. I... I know I could never replace your mom. I know I could never replace your dad. I know that well because... I myself lost both of my parents when I was very young." Sunny Gold shook her head, chasing the old, sad memories away. "But if you wish, I can do my best to be your parent. I have no where to go, and I do wish to stay with you so much. I can honestly say I have never experienced so much happiness but here. With all of you."
The foals all exchanged excited and nervous looks. Parenting was obviously something that were detached from by now, and to get used to it wouldn't be easy for them; going down that road would be a painful experience full of long forgotten memories of their own parents. Yet, they all together rose up as one and approached Sunny Gold, giving her a warm hug and accepting her as a part of their small, but still strong family.
A family that had just grown stronger.
* * * * *
"Same old, same old, like I already told,
you're still number two, no attention for you.
She's away in the forest, in hiding and happy,
if I had emotions, I'd almost call it sappy."
The draconequus span around in his mirror and laughed mockingly as the Stepmother roared in frustration, stomping around her royal chamber.
"That incompetent fool! Couldn't kill a single foolish filly! I'll show him... And I'll show you, Spirit! I'll show ALL of you that I and I only am the fairest one of all!" The Stepmother rushed out of her private chambers and down into the castle dungeons. She swiftly approached a tapestry, and removed it, revealing a tight, secret passage. Making sure no one followed her, she descended down into the dark depths of her secret chambers, filled to the brim with books on dark sorcery and knowledge, and mostly likely a book or two that could easily explain exactly why and with help of what powers was the Stepmother so beautiful.
"I shall get rid of the little nuisance once and for all... once and for all, I swear!" The Stepmother spat. Summoning the first book that her stare fell upon she flipped through the pages like mad until her eye finally caught sight of something interesting. An apple. An apple as red as the blood. Looking more lucrative than any fruit she had ever seen.
"Yes... yes, that is it... I shall deliver her the poisoned apple... the Apple of Eternal Slumber... heh heh..." She snickered maniacally to herself as she continued to go through several other books.
"I'll deliver it myself... she will never recognize me as long as I... as I..." a simple solution came to her mind and the Stepmother bit her lip. Can I do it? Can I stand several hours in my original form? Surely it couldn't... it couldn't be that bad. Besides, I need a disguise of any kind. Even a scary old pony witch would be fine, but I don't need to go overboard. My original looks would be fine. Right?
She shook her head, abandoning negative thoughts and relaxed. With a simple spell from her horn, her powerful disguise started to fade, and she felt her height was losing, her wings getting small and her gorgeous, magical misty mane turning into a regular pile of midnight blue hair.
The Stepmother opened her eyes and checked herself out. She was... ordinary. A horn. Pair of wings. Her skin not black and dark like before, but merely a few shades darker than her mane. Her eyes have lost its sharpness and their unique form, now looking round and regular. Of the same color as the rest of her. She was blue from head to hoof. Looking so... regular. She shivered.
"Just once again... then I'll... then I'll truly be the most beautiful pony that had ever walked the lands or soared the skies." She looked at her own mane with disgust once more before finally returning to her recipe for the Apple of Eternal Slumber.
* * * * *
"Don't you think it is dangerous for a few little foals to defend a mine from a pack of bandits?" Sunny Gold questioned. "I mean, you're all so small and--"
"Aww, no problem, Miss Sunny Gold! We've been doing this for a few years now. They're as wooden as a stup--Ah' mean they're as stupid as wood, is what Ah' was sayin' to try-- Ah' mean, tryin' to say!" Bloom confidently informed her. "Thank you for the rich breakfast, Ah' never in my life tasted pancakes!"
"Well, you can expect plenty more of those." Sunny Gold assured before giving Bloom a kiss on the head. "Off you go then. Good luck with defending the mine!"
Bloom trotted off swiftly. Tiara and Spoon got out and each of them instantly received a kiss on the forehead. Spoon giggled, while Tiara pretended to be disgusted with difficulty.
Snips and Snails followed soon after them and before she gave a kiss to Scoots, she gave her a pack of tissues as a matter of precaution. Finally, out stepped Sweets, who shyly approached Sunny Gold and nuzzled her mane.
"Thank you for staying." She quietly said. Sunny gold smiled.
"Thank you for accepting me." She grinned. "Go on now, don't let them wait for you."
And with those words, the foals all soon trotted out of her sight. Sunny Gold sighed and got back into the house. It had been a beautiful night. All of them pushed their beds together to sleep like a family they now were. It had been a night filled with stories, jokes, memories, both laughter and tears, but all in all, the pleasant feeling of togetherness.
Sunny Gold was preparing to start the chores for the day, when she spotter a stranger among the trees. A beautiful looking mare who was as blue as the sky on the soft evening, as blue as the grass appeared to be under the full moon's shine.
"Oh, I didn't know anypony else lives nearby." Sunny Gold exclaimed as she approached the mare. The stranger chuckled.
"I don't live too close. In fact, I visited here by flying." The mare spread her blue wings. "My name is Night Flight, and I am a travelling merchant. Today, I got something very lucrative for sale. Some apples."
"Oh, as much as I love apples, I'm afraid I don't have anything to pay you with." Sunny Golg shook her head. Night Flight seemed to have lost herself a bit once she heard such an unexpected reply, but then she added:
"How about one on the house then, eh? You have just got to try these!" And with those words she gave her the reddening, shiny example of the fruit. Sunny Gold couldn't tell why, but there was something about it that made her want to eat it right there and then. But she knew better than to act like a glutton.
"Oh, are you serious? Thank you, that is so very kind of you." She said as she accepted the piece of fruit. She opened her nuzzle and gently nibbled on the fruits. It was the sweetest taste ever to fill her mouth and she smacked her lips in satisfaction.
"Wow, this is definitely the most... the most..." As the poison ran through her system and through her blood, Sunny Gold started to feel dizzy. Before her, the beautiful blue mare shape-shifted, and before her now stood the Stepmother.
"The most delicious meal you'll ever have - and very suitably, the last meal you'll ever have, you treacherous little filly!"
"W-why, Stepmother? I-What have I ever..." Sunny Gold found less and less strength for speech and she fell to the ground. Above her, the Stepmother laughed.
"No longer will you be the object of adoration! From now on, I and I only shall be the most beautiful pony that had ever walked the land and soared the skies!"
"But... but you already were..." Sunny Gold could no longer speak and in the next moment she closed her teal eyes and breathed out the last breath.
The Stepmother was no longer smiling, instead pondering over the last words of her stepdaughter. She already was? Whatever did she mean by that? She used to be the most beautiful pony that ever walked to lands, and yet... she couldn't have been mocking her. Was she sincere in her last words?
She shook her head, realizing it didn't matter. It was done and once more, she was the fairest of them all. With that thought, she flew back to her castle for the whole day and night and arrived to her Mirror just as the dawn started to break, not wasting a moment of time before stepping towards it and asking:
"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall,
who is the fairest of them all?"
The Spirit showed up in the Mirror as he always did, but this time, there was something different about him. He was chuckling, eyeing her mockingly. He didn't even answer, but proceeded to speak:
"Oh dear, my dear, now you should fear,
for you might altogether just disappear.
Your heart so far was dark and cold,
locked behind the bars, in a prison so old.
You let no one scar it anymore,
but who said it won't harm itself nevermore?
Oh dear, my dear, you should SO dread,
you might now now, but close is the end.
But before your own vileness takes your life, I implore,
take a look at your reflection, not me, just once more."
The Stepmother stepped forward and for the first time since she consulted the Mirror, looked at her reflection instead of a Spirit hiding in it. And what she saw terrified her. She saw a pony so hideous, so scary, so vile and ghastly that it was sure to remain in her nightmares for the longest time. Turning away, she cried:
"No more, Spirit! No more, I implore!
I can not look at this creature anymore!"
"But that is you, my dearest Queen,
your heart, as you see, is not that clean.
Envy and vanity, murder and lies,
all of those things is what's causing your cries.
Your original looks that you hated so much with passion
how do they look now, in this hideous fashion?
You reap what you sow, and you sew the fear,
now fear is in you, and your end is near."
The Stepmother wailed and cried, screamed and yelled, blasting away every single object in the room out of pure fury and shame, fear and sorrow as all her deeds, all her sins suddenly came flowing into her mind with such clarity; she felt sick for every time she ever remembered lying. She felt pain for every pony she had thrown in the dungeons. She felt dizzy for every dark spell she ever used for her own gain.
She felt like dying every time Sunny Gold's eyes flashed before her own.
Finally, after hours of crying, hours of regret and hours of pondering, the Stepmother stood up. She knew what to do. She knew what she could do to at least try to amend for all the horrible things she had done. Not even that, in fact - she could care less if she was forgiven or not. For once, the Stepmother wanted to do something for somepony else. She once again summoned the Huntspony. The Huntspony stood before the Queen, prepared to most likely be sentenced to death, for he never brought back the heart of Sunny Gold, but the heart of a Timber Wolf.
"Brave Huntspony, I have sad news for you." She started. "Sunny Gold's life is over, thanks to my hoof."
She could clearly see the regret, sadness and fury in the Huntspony's eyes, but he himself knew that, as much as he wanted the Queen's life to end right here and then, he could do nothing against her powerful Majesty.
"Hate me. I deserve it. Nopony in this world should love me nor care for me. After all, you reap what you sow." She repeated the ominous words of the Spirit. "However, I can help you bring her back. Do not question why, do not question how, just listen to me and know that after this, you or the people of this land will never have to suffer from my hoof again; I swear on my own life."
The Huntspony listened carefully.
"Very good. Young stallion, there is a way to bring Sunny Gold back from the land of the Passed." The Queen said. "It is the presence and a kiss of the person who loved her more than anypony else. I know your heart. You're pure and righteous, and you loved her more than anypony I ever saw. Go to her. This Spirit will lead you." The Stepmother approached the mirror for the last time.
"Spirit of the Mirror on my wall,
listen to my prayer, listen to my call,
just one more thing I'll ask,
just one more most important task.
If I let you out, will you show him the way?
If you help me now, I'll do whatever you say."
The Spirit, bound by the Mirror to speak only the truth, finally said:
"Oh fine, oh fine, it is a Deal,
just hurry up already and break this seal."
The Stepmother crashed her hoof into the Mirror and it fell down in thousand of pieces, and out of its shards a Spirit appeared, happy to breathe in the real air once more.
"Come now, stallion brave,
let me show you Sunny Gold's grave."
And with those words, the Spirit clicked his fingers, and they both disappeared, leaving the Stepmother alone to wait for the Spirit in her misery and to wait and see what would be of the Deal they made.
* * * * *
In the house of seven foals, there was silence. Nopony was anywhere to be seen. All them got out to pick as much flowers as they could, for no amount and no beauty of any flower was enough to honor Sunny Gold's pure heart.
They did not speak of it. They could not speak of it. Once they found her, lying in front of their house, with nothing but a rotten-looking apple next to her, the foals knew right away they didn't manage to protect her. Their little house in the forest was not hidden well enough. And for that, they seemed to blame themselves.
Shame. Sorrow. Loneliness. Despite their numbers, with yet another parent lost, the foals felt utterly alone in the whole world.
The put Sunny Gold on a bed of flowers underneath a cherry tree, in a casket of glass so they could always admire her beauty and because they felt closer to her; she looked almost as if she was just sleeping, ready to wake up at any minute.
A full day passed. The foals did not go to the mines that day, gathering around the cherry tree, admiring her beauty even in death and missing her joyful presence.
But somewhere in the afternoon, something happened. With a loud snap, out of nowhere, a strange Spirit and an unfamiliar stallion appeared out of thin air. The filies all got defensive, with Tiara ahead of them, proclaiming angrily:
"You will not take Sunny Gold!" as the tears rolled down her face.
"Calm down kids, do not fear,
we have a solution here.
For if it is her gentle heart you greatly miss,
She can be awakened by true love's kiss"
Understand their intention, they stood aside, letting the red coated stallion pass. The helped him rise the casket of glass and he approached her. She was as beautiful as he remembered her. With slight hesitation, he leaned in and gave her a small, chaste kiss on the lips.
But the Sunny Gold didn't move or open her eyes. The foals hung their head, the Huntspony shed a tear one more, but the Spirit seemed to be deep in thought.
"Just as I suspected, it isn't true,
there's somepony who loved her more than all of you.
Luckily, I think I can do what is asked,
For this mare didn't yet get to visit the Land of the Passed."
And with those words he cast a spell on her that would help her visit the Land of the Passed.
* * * * *
"W-where am I? What is going on?"
"Sunny Gold." A mare spoke to her. She had very famliar eyes. Could it have been...?
"Mother?"
"Oh, darling, it is me indeed."
"Mother, am I-... am I dead?"
"Yes, and no dear. You have been put under a powerful spell thanks to the poison in the apple. In the physical world, you're no longer alive. But in the Spiritual world, you can't move on, for your time has not yet come. Yet, it appears someone from the living world is helping us meet. So here we are."
"Oh, what do I do now, mother? How do I go either way?"
"It is alright, my child. The answer is right before you."
"You, mother?"
"Me, my child. Remember that I will always protect you, no matter what. In life and in death, you can always know someone is watching over you. Just like you're watching over those seven cute little foals."
"Mother... I have so many questions about you... and father-"
"Your father is fine, my dear." She smiled. "Don't worry, one day we shall be together once again. As saddening as it is in the world of the living, it'll return as eternal happiness here in the Land of the Passed."
"In that case... thank you for protecting me, mother. Thank you for everything."
"Go along now, my little filly. Your prince is awaiting."
"Prince?"
* * * * *
"She-- she is moving!"
"Sunny Gold is alive!"
"Sunny Gold!"
The foals all rushed towards her, hugging her like they never intended to let go of her again. Sunny Gold smiled, happy to see them all again, alive and well. Then her eyes fell upon the face she hadn't seen in a while - the Hunter. She blushed gently.
"Princess Sunny Gold." He bowed slightly. "I am terribly sorry for everything that happened. I can assure you though that your Stepmother's ways are a thing of the past. She had retreated from her wicked ways."
"Speaking of which, I have to leave" the Sprit threw in,
"I have a few unused aces up my sleeve."
With a click of fingers, he disappeared.
Sunny Gold sighed in content, happy that things were finally over and back to the old. She looked at the hunter and asked:
"So, um... what is your name - that is, if you don't mind telling me."
"Humbert, Princess."
"Do tell, have you anywhere to go?"
"N-nope, Princess."
"Oh, call me Sunny Gold. I was thinking... if you really don't have anywhere to go... you could always stay here with us. What do you think, my little foals?"
The expressed their approval by crushing him with their hugs.
Since that day onward, things were perfect.
Sunny Gold and Humbert soon confessed their growing feeling to each other - being together all day, Sunny Gold soon started to see more in brave Humbert.
While it was a somewhat painful process, the kids accepted them rather quickly as their new parents. It wasn't hard seeing as Sunny Gold was already friendly with them, and Humbert seemed to have loved children and children's games.
The foals were still determined in their decision to defend their mine from the greedy paws of Diamond Dogs, for their parents memory was something they weren't exactly keen on letting go, but this time they had an experienced huntspony with them - thanks to him, it was like a child's play instead of a task.
And so, their big family continued to live in the forest, happily ever after.
But what had happened with the Stepmother? Nopony knows. Nopony ever found out exactly why was she so obsessed with beauty in the first place. Some say the Spirit had simply taken her life, taking revenge into his own paws. Some say he cursed her to live forever as an ugly, old mare. Some say he literally did ask her to do whatever he told her, according to their Deal, and that he kept her as a personal servant.
But, the most well known story is the one that says the Spirit, instead of using their Deal for his own gain, asked the Goddess herself to assist the Stepmother. The Goddess, who had been observing the events carefully, saw the regret and sorrow in the Stepmother's heart, saw the honest and true side of her, saw how she changed abruptly and tried her best to rule the country as a good Queen before she would die. For the first time, the Goddess saw Stepmother doing something for the well being of somepony else, not at all caring for herself anymore as long as she could help anypony else, for it made her happier than anything.
And the Goddess knew the Stepmother deserved forgiveness, for she had realized her wicked ways.
Even tonight, if you carefully look to the sky, some say you can see the Stepmother's face in the Moon, the place she was given when she died, as a reminder to all those who know of her, as a lesson to everypony selfish and heartless, as a memory of a story that was going to be told for generations, and generations to follow.
"The End." Twilight Sparkle finished. Spike had been staring at her wide-eyed.
"Wow, that was some story. I don't remember it going like that at all." He commented. Twilight nodded her head.
"It is a wonderful story of parenthood and forgiveness. It is odd how well it fits, this Moon part. We had the same thing with Nightmare Moon, haven't we?"
"Well, it might've been inspired by that." Spike noticed.
"Probably. The coincidence is just too great."
"C-could you read me another one?" Spike asked hopefully, but Twilight shook her head.
"Spike, it is late and you're sick. You need to rest."
"I know but... I can't sleep like this. I don't even know what is wrong with me. Colds usually don't last this long. I feel like I might die." He didn't meant his words seriously, but Twilight Sparkle did seem to stiffen at his words. He didn't notice it though.
"Don't talk such silliness." She assured. "If you go to sleep now, I'll read you another story tomorrow. And day after and after, if you wish."
"Thanks, Twilight, that would be great. In fact, I don't know if your story is what I should thank, but, my head is not hurting anymore as much."
"I'm sure it is just Zecora's medicine working." Twilight smiled gently. After a moment of hesitation, she leaned in and gave him a kiss to the forehead. He was burning.
"Good night, Spike."
"Night, Twilight."
Twilight Sparkle retreated into her own bed, but could not sleep. The moment she hear the little dragon snore, she pulled out a book titles "Mysterious diseases - How to handle what you don't know" and started to read frantically.
