//------------------------------// // Luke’s First Hearth’s Warming Eve // Story: Home is where True Peace and Love Is // by MetalBrony823 //------------------------------// In town, Luke continued following Spike to Twilight's Castle, and was anxious to meet this Thorax creature. He continued following the baby dragon upstairs. "Okay, so he should be in the study room." Spike said. He slowly opened the door to the reading room, and there was an insect-like pony creature with the color of yellow and green on his skin, and bug-like eyes. He had orange horns on his head that looked like pinchers. His height was almost as equal as the two princess' in the castle. "ah Thorax, there you are." "Spike! Good to see you, old friend." said the changeling. Then they both hugged one another like they were truly close friends indeed. Thorax then noticed the human and said "Ah, you must be Luke." he recognized him immediately. "Uh-huh." Luke replied warmly. "So you're Thorax, huh? You look very different than Chrysalis." "You can say that again. Rest assured, I am nothing like that evil former queen of my people." Thorax stated. "You're looking at the new king of Changelings." "Nice. Do I have to formally address you as such?" "Nah, you can just call me Thorax." "I thought so. I wonder, how did you even become the changeling king in the first place?" "It's a rather long, yet incredible story." Thorax remarked. Then Luke had a seat, and drank some root beer he brought with him to drink to listen to Thorax' interesting, and true tale. "I first met Spike in the Crystal Empire when the city was on high alert about a changeling problem. "Hmm." "I met Spike on the outskirts of town, and he helped me fit in with everyone else. Of course, I was feared by everypony around me, so I had to do a disguise first." "How did you get found out?" "Shining Armor and Princess Cadence' baby girl, Flurry Heart was so adorable and precious, it was just so much love for me to handle, and I turned back to my real form in seconds, and the alarm was sounded. "What do you mean so much love?" "Well, we changelings used to feast on love, and we were all starving, looking for love to eat." "Huh, kinda sounds like an Incubus or a Succubus." Luke thought. "What's that, Luke?" "Nothing Spike. Continue, Thorax." "Right, so I was finally accepted after Spike persuaded them all." "Wow, that's cool. So how did you become the king?" "One day, Chrysalis and her army suddenly abducted Twilight, Fluttershy, their friends, including Spike, and the princess', and held them all captive in the castle, and it was only up to Discord, me, Starlight Glimmer, and Trixie." "Trixie huh. Who is she?" "Ah she's just a magician who kinda thinks she's better than everypony else, she calls herself the Great and Powerful Trixie." Spike said. But, they all saved me and my friends from Chrysalis, and all four of us have been award for bravery. And I shown the other changelings that we don't need to forcefully feast off of love to thrive, and that's how we all became the all new changeling race." "Wow. "That must have been a huge honor for you." "It was. Especially becoming the new king. Celestia herself said that I was the perfect candidate for my people. But unfortunately, Chrysalis was still evil and stubborn to see that." "FIgures. I just had a run-in with her many days ago. Me and the guys all defeated her nonetheless, and she's locked up forever." "That's good. it's one less loose end to worry about." "Exactly. So you coming to the Hearth's Warming Party too?" "Of course! I would love to attend a soiree like tonight's. A couple of my subjects are coming over to celebrate, too." "Nice." "So Spike told me you came from another dimension, right?" "He told you right. Yep, I came here from a shooting star, and so, here I am, Equestria's only human." "Ooh, that sounds fascinating. What kind of music do you like?" "Almost all except for pop music, techno, and many rap stuff. Metal and rock are my favorite, and as long as there is a guitar solo or a combination of rock and a rap tune mixed together with a guitar solo, I'm pretty much okay with it." "Nice, I'm open to pretty much about anything. And you're good at guitar like Spike told me, right?" "I most certainly am. I've been practicing ever since I was a little boy, and you should hear me play it." "heh, I'll certainly hear you at the party tonight. Well. It was nice meeting you, Luke. I'll see you at the party tonight." "Same with you, Thorax." and he shook his hand with his hoof." Thorax cleared his throat and said "Well, I gotta go try some hot cocoa at Sugarcube Corner with Spike." "Okay, au revoir." "See you soon." Then Luke exited the castle back to Fluttershy's, and Spike walked to the sweets shop with Thorax to have some cocoa together. Luke was more than happy and excited to be back in Equestria’s capital city, Canterlot. Yes, lots of decorations for Hearth’s Warming on every building big and small. It was seven in the evening and the moon rose up to the sky while the sun set below the mountains far abroad. Everypony In the city was wearing winner clothing to keep them warm, and so many lights were lit here and there. Several Christmas trees were seen scattered across the city, making it all the more beautiful. “We’ll Here we are.” Said Twilight. “You glad to be in Canterlot, Luke?” “Oh yeah.” The Human replied. “It feels so good to be back in this beautiful city. I can hardly wait to go to the party in the castle. I can imagine my family and friends faces when they see me again.” Fluttershy was close to him, and smiled as she looked at the holiday scenery. “Oh my, it’s so beautiful this time of year.” She remarked. "I do concur." Rarity agreed. Despite what she just said, she was shivering from the cold, even with the warn clothing she was wearing. "Oh dear, really should have worn a coat with more fleece in it." "Didn't really think that through, eh Rarty?" Applejack teased. "Ha ha, very funny." The white unicorn narrowed her eyes at her. "Well come on, everypony." Twilight said. "Let's go." And everyone followed Twilight to Celestia and Luna's castle to enjoy the party. They all gave their tickets to the two guards standing post on the open drawbridge, and promptly went in the foyer. "Wow, look at the decorations in here." Spike admired the scenery within. "I know, right?" Rainbow agreed. "This is totally cool." Just then, Discord appeared out of nowhere as usual with his mischievous magic, startling his friends as usual. Lyra made a small growl before she said "are you gonna keep doing that to us? Because it's getting pretty old now." "As long as I am still having fun with this, then yes." Discord replied woth a devilish smile on his face. "Anywho, look who's here to see you, Luke." And the human. Saw his closest friends and family again, all happy to see him again. "Luke!" Said the father. "Guys!" And then he ran up to them ready to hug all of them all at once. As usual, Luke's parents were the first to hug him, since they technically raised him. Larry and Louise always felt so glad to hold their son once again after being gone for yet another while. "Glad you can all make it here." "Wouldn't have missed it for the better, buddy." said Larry. "this party looks really nice." "Yeah, I'm glad Discord brought us here." said Luke's cousin Frank, who was ten years old and lived in Salt Lake City. "This party looks so much fun." "You can say that again." Pinkie agreed with the small boy. "it's gonna be fun fun fun!" and she joyfully bounced three times to show her enthusiasm to make her point. "You should try the candy I made for all of you." Bon Bon said. "Lyra and me made them ourselves." then she pulled out a bag of lemon drops for everyone to snack on. All of Luke's family and friends had a taste of her sweet, sweet hard candy, and they thought it was delicious. "Oh god." said Grandpa Robert. "This is possibly the best lemon drop I ever had in my life." "Glad you all like it!" Lyra remarked in a friendly voice. "There's plenty more treats from us where we came at in this party. And if you like, I can show you my beautiful Lyre skills." "Ooh, that would be nice." said Uncle Jim. "Listening to sweet sounds of a harp. Wait, how can you even do that with only four fingers total?" "Easy." and Lyra used her magic to create fingers from her hoof, making everyone gasp in amusement like a magic trick that Chris Angel would do. "Ta-da! Couple of fingers to help me play my favorite instrument." she said boldly. "Don't show yourself off Lyra." "Oh shut up." Lyra chuckled jokingly. "I thought you know me better than anypony." Bon Bon made a cute smirk on her face "You bet i do." "Well come on." Spike said. "The night is very young and let's celebrate Hearth's Warming Eve." "And bring Christmas to Equestria." said Louise. Then they all went to enjoy this wonderful soiree. All of them went to the ballroom where many wreaths were hung up on the walls, and there was a gigantic Hearth's Warming tree so hard, the very top of it almost brushed the ceiling with the big glowing star on it. Many ponies from both Ponyville and the city of Canterlot outside of this castle, attended the room to celebrate with their own friends and family as well. Luke decided to have the honor of looking out the gigantic window, looking at the snowy garden below them. It looked very beautiful on the valley below him, the snow falling, and the lights spread on the hedges and trees in the garden to fit in the holiday spirit. Another thing was that he could hardly wait to do a holiday song for everypony in this castle, for he knows that everyone will love it for sure. Of course, he didn't exactly know what the song would be yet, but he is certainly think about what he was going to play for all his friends, fans, and audience who haven't heard of him all at once. Meantime, he just decided to enjoy the party and unwind in this wonderful privilege the princess' have given him. He looked over and saw Cranky and Matilda having a conversation with his grandparents, and the same with Granny Smith, and even had a good laugh together. Another thing he saw was his young cousins that were kids playing with Pip, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and one of them, Alana was having a little talk with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, talking about how pretty their dresses looked. Looking at the large tree towering the whole ballroom, Luke knew this was a symbol of love and the spirit of the holidays. It was just then he began hearing Lyra’s beautiful playing on that lyre of hers, soothing his soul. Discord suddenly scared him by appearing out of magic in front of his face. “Boo!” The Human jumped and fell on the floor while still sittering on the chair. The Human was quite annoyed by his prank, but he didn’t stay completely because of him bringing his friends and family back to Equestria to see him again. “Discord, I hate it when you do that!” He complained as he got back on his feet. “But I really Thank you for bringing my friends and family from home back to Equestria.” “De rien, Luke.” Discord replied with a humble chuckle. “De rien. They were all excited to come see you again. How could I even turn down such a nice deal for them on the Discord express? And it didn’t even cost them a single bit.” “And the best part is my family and friends are showing Equestria Christmas.” Luke said. “For a minute, I thought you were going to send them to another dimension besides here.” “Pish-posh, my boy.” Discord Said. “I would never do an act so evil and vile such as that.” “Okay, Okay.” Luke admitted. “I know you would never do that to my whole friends and family. Besides, i’m Pretty sure if you did, Fluttershy would have a cow.” A chill crept down Discord’s spine just thinking of how furious and angry his closest friend would be, and he would have to face her wrath. If there was one thing Discord was certain, it was not to make Fluttershy angry. “I can imagine that.” He said flatly. “I’ve seen how horrifying she can be when mad.” “Right. But at least you’re better than Angel Bunny.” The master of chaos made a chuckle and replied “thst is so true. I for one hate that Bunny with a burning passion myself.” “Well, I wouldn’t hate him, because it’s a strong word.” Luke admitted flatly. “I just don’t like his spoiled attitude at times.” And he went to take a sip of his hot chocolate from a fresh cup with little marshmallows in the delicious beverage. “I just wish that rabbit would understand the world doesn’t revolve around him.” “Angel is like a little kid, Luke.” Discord Said. “And kids need limits.” “Heh, Angel is comparable to a fat, spoiled child.” Said the Human, taking a sip of his drink. “I honestly wish I can spank that little rabbit’s ass to make him behave.” “Ha! I like the way you think, Luke.” “Ah well, no one’s perfect.” He flushed. “So enough of that. Are you enjoying the party?” “Of course, I always enjoy this wonderful privelage. Of course, she would have a number of guards to keep an eye on me in case if I cause any mischief around here.” “And do you still cause mischief in parties like this?” Luke asked cursiously. “Never!” The Human just raised his eyebrow skeptically and didn’t really respond to that. “Well... i’m The master of chaos! What can you expect from me? It’s all good fun.” “Good point.” “Anywho, I have to go run now. I want to listen to Lyra’s beautiful Harp playing.” Then he rushed forward to hear Lyra playing more of her nice tunes and strumming. Luke decided to do a little exploring in this really big party. He honestly didn’t know where to start exploring in the ballroom. “Ah Luke, I thought we would find you here.” Said a British voice. The Human looked to his right side, and saw Fancy Pants, and his good friend, Fleur De Lis, both walking up to greet him. The Human was just as happy to see them. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, my good chap.” “Same with you, Fancy.” Luke replied before taking a sip of his hot cocoa again. “I honestly can’t believe it’s almost the end of the year.” “Indeed, time does go by fast.” “Bonjour, Luke.” Fleur greeted warmly. “Comment Ca va?” “Ca va bien, Fleur. Et vous?” “Ca va bien, aussi.” Fleur promptly replied. She and Luke exchanged small kisses on their cheeks to show more flattery, and Luke even had the honor of gently lifting her right hoof and kiss the tip of it. “Oh you are so sweet, Luke. Merci.” “De rien, ma Cherie.” Luke replied. “So, you both enjoying the party?" "Of coruse." said Fleur. "We always enjoy what the princess give to ponies like us at their beautiful parties. Especially for Hearth's Warming." She waved her mane around two times to show off her beauty. "And the best part, no paparazzis to harass us because of our fame and social status. You got to be careful who you make friends with, you know?" "Well to be honest, I'm not that kind of a celebrity like you or Sapphire Shores would be, at least I never had a posse of paparazzi swarming close to me and harassing me, and I hope it will stay that way." "Good for you, old boy. Always avoid a group of those annoying photographers at all cost if you ever become as famous as we are." "I'll take your word for it." Luke admired. "Do tell me, Luke." Fleur said. "Do you know what you are going to perform for us tonight at this party? I am quite curious." "Actually. I am going to do a couple of songs that would fit the spirit, I honestly don't know if they will have vocals or not, probably just be instrumental." "That's perfectly alright." said Fleur. "You play whatever fits you best." "Indeed, it is your call." Fancy added. "Ah Luke, there you are." said a familiar African voice. It was Zercora, who was wearing a beautiful foreign dress from Zebrica that was sleeveless and she had her mane down. "Are you enjoying this soiree? Because this is the best one I have had all day." "Zecora, nice to see you again as always." Luke said, then he kissed her cheeks two times to show flattery. "This party looks beautiful tonight, especially for Hearth's Warming. Create any potions lately?" "Not recently, no. But a special type of brew is a go." "What kind of brew?" "It's called sleeping lion serum. It's guaranteed to make even a gigantic dragon sleep with one drop of that liquid to his tongue, and it could be quite handy for good luck." "Nice. Who's it for?" "My family back home in Zebrica, for they all suffer from insomnia, and are in desperate need of sleep to gain more stamina." Zecora replied. "Nice. It's glad you can be here." "Of course, my dear. I would never miss it for the better. You never cease to fascinate me, and I am glad that there will be another performance that I will eventually see." "Actually my dear Zecora." Fancy Pants stated. "Luke said he might do a small number of performances instead of just one." Zecora made a bigger smile on her face. "So listen, I'm still thinking of visiting your home one of these days. Do you think you can take me?" "Of course I can." the zebra replied warmly. "You are always welcome to my homeland. My family and other types of animals will like you, for in Zebrica, there is so much to do." Luke built a smile of hope on his face. "Awesome, maybe when the holidays are over?" "of course? We will talk, but for now, I cannot wait to see you rock." "Right." Then Luke continued walking with Zecora while Fancy Pants went to mingle with more ponies, and wished him luck on the upcoming performance. "So it is beautiful over there, right?" "In Zebrica, there are wondrous beauties, many you will definitely love, sweetie." said Zecora. "of course, the savannas and grasslands hide many dangers, but the grass can hide you as well, as your savior." "Perfect." He can already dream of going to Equestria's version of Africa. Sure, it might not be exactly his favorite continent in his homeworld, but this place sounds just as promising. "I can already imagine me going over there and seeing the animals. But wait, what if all the other zebras and the antelope and buffalo think of me as a monster?" "Oh don't worry about that." Zecora doubted. "They hardly, minus the buffalo, hardly get mad." "That's good. I'll be sure to ask you about it after the holidays are over." "And I look forward to it." Next, after his nice little chat with Zecora, Luke saw Iron Will, the Minotaur from a few days ago munching on the food table like Donkey Kong rapidly eating his bananas. He smirked and decided to shoot the breeze with him now. He was wearing a black tie tuxedo, and despite the name of the gown, he was actually wearing a red tie below his neck, a clip-on one, too. "Uh, you enjoying the food, big guy?" The large beast immediately stopped his eating and noticed Luke. "Ah, fancy meeting you here, human." he said joyously. Without warning, Iron Will immediately hugged Luke with his mighty muscles, almost squeezing the human to death. "Oh right, can't hug you too tight." he suddenly remembered, and let Luke go, making him drop on his hindquarters. "Ow! That hurts." he said. He got himself back up and swiped away dirt from his rear. "Anyway, are you enjoying the party?" "Oh yeah, Iron Will is greatly honored by the princess' to attend to this party. I never even been invited to a party before. "Glad you're enjoying it, Iron Will." and the sound of Lyra's beautiful harp playing caught his ears again. "Boy, Lyra is a damn good harp player." "Huh, I know!" the Minotaur agreed with a hearty chuckle. "Impressive for a pony to create fingers from her hoof so she can play that sissy music thing." "Well, glad you're enjoying the party." "Oh Iron Will, try not to eat all the food on the table." Fluttershy sighed. "Please." "Sorry, sorry, it's kind of a habit. I mean look at me, I have four stomachs like ordinary steers would have." then he patted his abs. "You should participate in an eating cottage." Luke suggested." "That sounds like a perfect idea." The Minotaur began thinking of participating of a hay-burger eating contest, being a big winner of the competition and holding a big, golden trophy to flaunt his victory, along with his muscles of course. "You alright, Luke?" asked Fluttershy "Of course, just enjoying the cool party." Luke replied flatly. "I hope my family and friends are having a really good time." "They are." the yellow pegasus replied. "We are having good laughs with them all." "Awesome." "Ah Luke. I found ya." said a voice Luke recognized from earlier in the day. It was Thorax, who didn't really dress formally, but it didn't really matter. "I thought I found you at the party." "Hey Thorax. W'sup?" "Not much. You enjoying this soiree?" "You know it." "Me and Spike cannot wait to hear you play Hearth's Warming and this... Christmas holiday song. Is that what it's called in your home?" "Yep. I promise you will all like it." Luke assured. "These songs will all melt your hearts with holiday joy." "I look forward to it." said the changeling king. "Why don't you go meet Luke's friends and family back home, Thorax?" Spike suggested. "They would be fascinated to meet you." "Sure. I always love meeting new faces." Then the changeling king went to meet Luke's friends and Family, where Zecora was mingling with all of them as well. A few hours left in the party, Celestia, with Luna right next to her, made a big announcement. She cleared her throat into the microphone, and began: "Attention everypony, the time has come for Luke Smith to perform beautiful, holiday songs for us all. And a tremendous uproar from the crowd was heard. The human promptly went onstage and pulled out a chair to sit on for when he was going to play on the guitar. "Good luck, Luke." Luna remarked warmly "Thank you." Luke cleared his throat and said "Hello everyone. First of all, I wish you all a happy Hearth's Warming, and a merry Christmas to my family." and another sound of cheering was heard, the loudest from Luke's friends and family members. "I hope you are all having a good time at the party and I will play you holiday songs to fit the mood. When he was done playing the first song, everyone loved it, and a tremendous uproar of cheering was heard once again. "Alright, now I'm gonna perform a more acoustic song to all of you." and Discord appeared next to him. "Alright, is the flamenco guitar ready?" "Yep, all said." "Thanks Discord." then the master of chaos poofed back into the audience again. After Luke was done playing the second song, a bigger sound of applause was heard, some of the audience had tears in their eyes. Many of Luke's friends came on stage to congratulate him personally. "Luke, that was so amazing!" said Thorax. "And beautiful." Pip added. "You sure have some talent, buddy." said Rumble. "You should totally do this again next year." Cloudchaser suggested, giving him a gentle tap on his arm with her elbow. "Aw thanks guys. You are all too much." "That was so beautiful, that even bring a tear to Iron Will's eye." said the Minotaur. "Luke, my boy, you never cease to make us proud." said Larry." "Yes, sweetie, you truly are talented." said Louise in agreement. Then everyone began chanting Luke's name again, and enjoyed autograph signing like he would usually do with his fans and new ponies who have heard his music for the first time, then everyone went back into the party to enjoy themselves. this time, Luke was becoming the talk of it now.