All was quiet in the Castle of Friendship. Five ponies slept sweet dreams oblivious to the force of nature that was due to come at the first rays of dawn. An Earth Pony mare slept with her head on a gently used piano's keys as evidence of her attempt to do the impossible. A Unicorn mare was using a spell book as a pillow in a manner similar to the castle's main resident on more then one occasion. Another Earth Pony mare was sprawled out on her back on a laboratory floor surrounded by countless unused candy wrappers of various colors. A DJ Unicorn was snoring like a lawnmower in her bedroom with the grace of an atom bomb, something she shared with a Pegasus mare a few rooms away. All was quiet. All was peaceful. Then the first rays of dawn passed the horizon and entered one particular window in the castle. The ray slowly trailed down a wall before striking the face of a purple baby dragon. He let out a groan as the light forced him out of Luna's domain and dragged himself into a sitting position. His half-awake mind slowly started to take note of everything around him as it rebooted. When his tired eyes landed on a nearby calendar, they shot open as a massive grin spread across his face.
Then, the peace everypony enjoyed was shattered as the dragon joyously declared, "IT'S HEARTHS WARMING!!!"
Twilight shot to her hooves as not even a second after her Assistant's happy cry, a whole cacophony of noise filled the castle. With faint bags under her eyes, she glowered at the sheepish baby dragon.
"Oops?" he shrugged.
***
"Well, that's one way to wake people up," Vinyl yawned as she stepped out of her room.
A few feet away, Lightning staggered out of her own room, hoof rubbing the top of her head as she hissed curses under her breath. Smiling, she walked over to her friend and gave her a playful shoulder nudge.
"You okay Lightning?"
"Been better," she sighed, "You?"
"Fell out of bed, but I'll live," she shrugged.
"Lucky," she chuckled, then flinched still rubbing her head. "I went the other way. Crystal ceilings hurt like a bitch!"
Vinyl burst out laughing at that as they made their way towards the dinning room. What they saw made both mares freeze when Vinyl pushed the door open with her magic.
The table was loaded with all kinds of food and drinks for everypony in the castle and then some. Stacks of pancakes four feet hight topped with everything from maple syrup to cinnamon spread. Fresh baked cinnamon buns covered with snow white frosting the size of softballs dominated a serving tray in a two-foot tall pile. Two towers of waffles reined supreme over the royal feast as the morning sun shined across their maple covered brilliance. Bowls of spiced fruit mingled among the diabetic monuments full of every type of berry or tree-bound fruit one could imagine as well as a few alien to the Terrans. To call what they were seeing a feast would've been the ultimate understatement as they walked slack-jawed towards the table and took a seat.
"Spike is a god," Lightning gasped.
"Think he's single?" Vinyl stage whispered, not once taking her eyes away from the table's offerings.
"Seriously Vinyl?" a familiar cultured voice said from the other side of the table.
"What? I'm just asking," Vinyl demanded, shakily summoning a bun to a plate set in front of her.
"I'm with Vinyl on this one," another voice, Bonbon, said in Octavia's general area. "I mean, come on Octavia you've had his cooking!" A bit of cheek entered her tone as she added, "Don't tell me the thought never crossed your mind."
There was a long pause before the musician said, "I..may have entertained the notion."
"Well," Lyra said, a tower of waffles hiding her from the other mares. "Polygamy is a thing here."
Everypony besides Lyra paused at that, then collectively left their seats to give the mare a questioning look. She stopped eating, locked eyes with them each in turn, then exclaimed, "I was curious!" as her face turned bright red.
"I see," Octavia said, raising a brow. "Anything else you stumbled across in your studies."
"Not really," she said quickly, only to glower as she added. "Though I did find out that Unicorns shoot lasers when you spook them awake."
Lightning and Vinyl burst out laughing at that while Octavia and Bonbon blinked in confusion.
"What did you break?" Bonbon sighed.
"Nothing!" Lyra snapped. "The spell bounced off the walls and flew out the window."
"It didn't hit anyone, did it?" Octavia asked, concerned.
"Just a snowman I made yesterday," she pouted.
"Better then what happened to me," Bonbon grumbled.
"What happened?" Lightning asked through a small stream of chuckles as she returned to her seat.
Bonbon sighed, then said, "Let's just say I owe Twilight a few test tubes and beakers."
"I did hear some explosions this morning," Vinyl mused aloud as she returned to her seat.
Lyra leveled a glare at her now sheepish friend.
"And you asked if I broke something?"
"I panicked!" she exclaimed.
"Well," Octavia coughed, breaking the tension between the two mares. "Seems like this has been a very exciting morning for everyone."
"Why do you say that?" Lightning asked around a mouthful of spiced peaches.
"Well, I never knew I could clear a grand piano with one leap before this morning," she said bashfully.
Everyone paused, then Lightning said, "I would so pay money to see that!"
"Seconded!" Bonbon cheered.
"Aye!" Vinyl grinned as she put a hoof in the air.
"Looks like we all know what we're doing later," Lyra said, grinning like a fiend.
"Now wait just one minute!" Octavia demanded as the room filled with giggles.
At that moment, the dinning room doors opened to admit one lavender Alicorn and a sheepish young dragon.
"Happy Hearths Warming everypony," Twilight cheered, then gaped as she took in the feast before her.
"Whoa!" Spike exclaimed as he stared. "You guys work fast!"
"Huh?" the mares asked as one.
"Wait," Lightning gaped. "You didn't do this?"
"I'm a dragon," Spike stated flatly. "Not a djinni."
A deep chuckling filled the room, startling all but Twilight and Spike into looking around worriedly.
"What can I say?," the voice intoned, dripping with mirth. "Tis the season after all!"
Suddenly, a small serpentine creature with mismatched limbs popped out of a bowl of spiced cherries wearing a red and green bathrobe in front of Bonbon. She blinked at the strange creature, stared at the small cluster of cherries she served herself just moments ago, then gently pushed it a foreleg's distance away. Octavia's reaction was a lot less subdued as she grabbed a spoon and tried to crush the small Dreconequis, all the while screaming "Snake! Snake!" like a lunatic. Meanwhile, Discord was laughing like a loon as he casually dodged her attempts by ducking, diving, and even dividing around the implement.
"Oh honestly," he cackled, hovering just above a horizontal swing. "Is this anyway to thank a chef?"
Octavia paused as her mind registered that last bit of information.
"Y-You made all of this?" she stammered.
"Yep!" he cheered.
With that, he teleported to Twilights right, now in his normal size as he smiled at the small cluster of mares.
"Just a little thank you for my Hearths Warming gift this morning."
Everyone blinked at him in confusion as they tried to figure out what the fever-dream Chimera was talking about.
"Why, nopony has ever gone to the trouble of causing so much chaos so early in the morning for me in years!"
The Terrans continued to look confused while Twilight and Spike let out mortified groans. Smirking, Discord snapped his fingers and a cup of coffee appeared in front of each of them. Smiling appreciatively, she took her cup with her magic then took a small sip. All grogginess flew out of her all at once the second the sweet elixir of life hit her tongue. Twilight reared back a little, giving the beverage a few stunned blinks.
"I'll give you the recipe later," Discord winked, then pushed the two Equestrians towards the table. "Now eat up before everypony else gets here."
"A bit late for that, darling," a cultured voice tittered behind him.
Everyone turned to be greeted by Twilight's friends. Each of them gave a polite nod as they strolled past the Chaos God at the door to get to the feast he prepared.
"Whoa! Spike went all out this year!" Rainbow cheered, loading up a plate as she took a seat next to Lightning.
"Actually," the dragon chuckled. "Discord did all this."
All the newcomers turned towards the Equestrian in question, then with wide smiles thanked him. Discord clutched his chest and staggered back at that.
"Too much nice is not good for the heart!" he exclaimed. "Somepony please think ill of me, I beg of you!"
"I think you ruined cherries for me," Bonbon said flatly as Applejack took a seat to her left. "Does that help?"
"Immensely, thank you," he said with a relieved sigh.
Giggles filled the room as everyone found a place to sit. It was then that they noticed a few more empty place settings.
"Where are the Shys?" Octavia asked as she passed a plate of waffles to her right to Rarity.
"Probably too cold outside for them," Vinyl smirked, earning a snort from Pinkie as she hoofed over a bowl of spiced peaches.
"Really Vinyl?" Bonbon said flatly as she passed some apple spread to Applejack. "It's a little quick for things like that, don't you think?"
"Ask Applejack," the DJ snorted.
The candy maker looked at her neighbor only to be greeted by a hat-covered face. Bonbon's jaw hit the floor while a full fireworks display was going off at Discord's end of the table.
"Damn, girl moves fast," Lyra chuckled as Twilight grumbled irritably into her coffee mug.
"Merry Christmas, everyone" a soft voice giggled.
Before anyone could move, a pair of winged ponies silently glided to one side of the table from an open window next to Discord. Both shys shared cheeky smiles as they served themselves, ignoring the surprised stares from their table-mates.
"Hey Shy," Rainbow smirked, putting a hoof around her friend's shoulders in a one-legged hug. "Haven't seen you all week! Happy Hearths Warming!"
"Happy Hearths Warming," she smiled, a small giggle bubbling out of her as her marefriend put a wing over her back. "And yeah, I've had a busy week. Sorry about that."
"Hey, no prob," she chuckled, sliding her foreleg free and looking past her to address the other mare. "Happy Hearths Warming, uh, other Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy gulped down her mouthful of pancake then turned to face Rainbow, her thick sunglasses reflecting the nervous athlete's face back to her.
"Oh, Merry Christmas," she smiled. "And you can call me Flutterbat if it makes things easier for you."
"Oh, thanks," Rainbow smiled, then frowned as she asked, "What's Christmas?"
"It's their version of Hearths Warming," Twilight explained.
The other Equestrians in the room let out an understanding "Oh" at that and returned to their food. After a few minutes of light chitchat over breakfast, Flutterbat took note of everyone present and raised a question that made everyone pause.
"Where's Sunset and Derpy?"
Everyone stared at her in confusion, then collectively remembered that she wasn't present when Celestia made her grand entrence at the start of the week.
"Princess Celestia came and took them with her to Canterlot to spend some time with her family," Twilight explained.
"Oh, that's great!" she cheered.
"Yeah," Twilight smiled. "Though I don't think we'll need to wait too long for them. Princess Celestia sent me a letter last night that told me that they should be here at around eleven, so I don't think Sunset and Derpy are going to miss the gift exchange today."
"Yeah.... presents," the Thestral whispered, her face heating up as she suddenly became more interested in her food then the conversation.
Twilight gave her a worried frown, but that quickly turned into a small knowing smile as she saw the native Fluttershy react in a similar manner. She nudged Discord in the side to get his attention. When she succeeded, she gestured for him to lean down. When he complied, she whispered, "When its time to give gifts, take them someplace to get some privacy."
"Consider it done," he smirked.
***
Twelve jaws hit the throne room floor as a mountain of presents sat atop the Cutie Map. The Terrans of the group could only gawk at the tower while the Equestrians smirked as they leveled looks at Discord.
"What?" he shrugged. "It's only fair that their gifts come here too."
Lightning was the first to recover as she soared to the top of the pile and slowly spiraled around it as she searched for her prey. Octavia merely rolled her eyes as she casually made her way towards the monument of gifts. The rest of the herd soon followed suit, the Unicorns and Alicorn of the group taking the presents off of the more unstable upper portions of the structure before the land-bound ponies caused an avalanche. Only two mares kept their distance as their friends tore into their bounty.
What am I going to do?! Fluttershy thought, panicking as she stared at the pile. I can't let them see Fluttershy's gift! It's too...
She gulped, then turned towards her girlfriend for comfort, only to see her in just as much of a panic as she was. Both mares flinched as they felt a hand rest on their shoulders.
"No need to fret ladies," Discord smiled, two rectangular packages hovering above him. "Even I know certain things are better left private."
With a snap, the two mares found themselves in a familiar guest room on the farthest end of the castle, the windows still covered by thick curtains. Equestrian Fluttershy stared into the darkness, a faint smile gracing her muzzle as her now sharper eyes watched her marefriend take off her glasses. Red eyes met teal ones as both mares felt a soft warmth in the darkness, a darkness that neither feared while the other was near. Be it blinding sunlight or smothering darkness, they had each other and that was all they needed. Now no longer held back by their insecurities, they exchanged gifts. Both took note of the blush the other sported as they tore into the paper, the cute sight spurring them on with mischievous smiles. When they opened the wrapped boxes, they gasped in synch as they held up their gifts. The rustling of fabric filled the room as the two mares struggled to don their presents. A tense silence filled the room, both mares struggling to regain their previous senses of confidence. Then, they turned and gasped.
Equestrian Fluttershy was dressed in a golden-orange dress covered with teal butterflies in a seemingly random pattern in small clusters at the collar. A loose hood covered the Pegasus' head enough to hide the upper half of her head in shadow, but not enough to hide her slackened muzzle as she stared at her marefriend. Fluttershy's dress was a cross between navy-blue and dark-purple with a collection of red bats in place of butterflies at her throat. Like her girlfriend, her dress also had a hood that hid her face in the same manner. Both marveled at the beauty before them. For one, it was like looking at an angel at the first rays of dawn while the other saw a hunter in the shadows of dusk moonlight. It was the most beautiful thing they had ever scene as they rushed forward into a deep kiss. A kiss shared at twilight between an angel and a hunter in the room where it all began.
***
An hour after everyone finished going through the tower of presents, a familiar spike in magic made Discord snap a pair of sunglasses onto everyone's face. A second later, a bright flash filled the room as Princess Celestia teleported in, Derpy, Sunset, and Princess Luna at her sides.
"Sorry we're late," Sunset sighed, teetering slightly as she stepped away from her mother. "Had to take care of a few things before we could leave."
"Like what?" Bonbon asked, handing her a small bag of treats.
"Well..." Sunset chuckled as she accepted the bag.
***
Sunset quietly crept into the guest room, three small wrapped boxes held in her magic. The fillies slept like logs, thoroughly exhausted after a long day of training. She suppressed a giggle behind a hoof as she heard Sweetie Belle mutter something about candy-coated candy as she nibbled on her pillow. She placed the presents on the nightstands by their beds along with a note as she watched them sleep for a minute. A gentle smile crept across her face as she used her magic to tuck them all in properly. As she stepped through the door, a mumbled plea made her pause.
"Ah'm sorry...Sunset."
Sunset turned towards the sleeping filly and smiled.
"I forgive you, all of you."
With that, she stepped out of the room and gently closed the door, ready to move away from the ashes of her past and into her next great adventure.
***
"Let's say, things are gonna be a little crazy for a while," Sunset chuckled.
As she said that, Derpy pulled her in close with a wing and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Everyone in the room gasped at the display, then Vinyl and Octavia said what every Terran had been thinking.
"FINALLY!"
"Huh?" Sunset and Derpy said in unison.
"With all due respect love," Octavia grimaced. "We were afraid that we were going to have to do something drastic to get you to this point."
"Yeah," Vinyl laughed. "It was pretty obvious you two liked each other. Lightning and I were a step away from throwing the two of you into a room!"
"I would've supplied the music of course," Octavia said, faint mischievous smile gracing her muzzle.
The young couple blushed, but otherwise stayed put as their friends continued their good natured ribbing. It wasn't long before they joined in on the laughter as they mingled. Celestia watched from a distance as her daughter and her friends spent time together, laughed, and took playful jabs at each other over gifts. She wiped away a proud tear as she turned to her left to the grinning Chaos God that she had become rather close to lately.
"She's changed so much," she smiled. "Polaris would be so proud to see the mare she's become."
"Tell me about it," Discord chuckled. "She's not even mine and I'm proud of her."
"That won't be for long," Luna smirked. "Perhaps the two of you should take a page from her book and stop hiding your feelings."
"Luna!" Celestia snapped, cheeks lightly blushed.
"She has a point," he said, casually summoning a glass of eggnog and taking a sip. "I can't be the only one dropping hints, you know."
Celestia let out a sputtered squawk at that, mind torn between denying the truth and coming to terms with the fact that Discord was open to the idea of having a relationship with her. Meanwhile, Sunset was causing quite the stur among her group as she handed out their gifts.
"My word," Octavia said, eyes as wide as her mouth as she held the polished beauty of a cello in her hooves. "Sunset, it's....it's.... magnificent! Thank you ever so much!"
As she said that, she gently set the instrument aside and pulled her into a tight hug.
"Your welcome Octavia," she smiled.
"NO WAY!" Vinyl exclaimed, a sealed record held delicately in her hooves. "A SEALED 1966 BEETLES YESTERDAY AND TODAY RECORD!"
"You like it?" Sunset asked, a sheepish smile coloring her face.
Vinyl beamed at her then said, "Like it? Sunset, if you weren't taken, I'd marry you right now!"
"Yeesh Vinyl, calm down," Bonbon giggled as she opened her gift. "It's not like she gave you the holy grail or anything. Calm down."
"This goes for a hundred and twenty five-thousand dollars back home Bony," Vinyl said flatly. "She may as well as gave me the key to a gold mine."
"Musicians," she giggled, rolling her eyes as she pulled her gift out of the box. "Huh, she got me a blue hoodie."
"Kind of," Sunset smirked. "Put it on and I'll show you what I mean."
Shrugging, she humored her and slid on the article of clothing. Sunset's horn flashed as a small ball of fire formed above her friend, heating up the air around her like a small sun in the middle of summer. Just when the Earth Pony was about to sweat, the hoody started to glow. It slowly morphed from a warm winter hoody into a thin blue vest perfectly suited for the heat of summer. Bonbon gawked at her gift as Sunset canceled her spell, forcing it to return to its original form in response to the cold.
"It took some work," Sunset smiled, drawing Bonbon's attention. "But I was able to enchant it so that it will change to match the weather around the wearer as needed. I know how much you like having things that serve a purpose, so I thought you'd like a jacket for any occasion."
"Sunset," she smiled, falling to her haunches as she hugged herself and her friend's gift. "Thanks. I'll take good care of it."
"So what does my gift do?" Lightning asked, holding up a pair of brass aviator goggles.
"Well," Sunset smirked. "Try them on and find out."
Shrugging, she put on the goggles. Her jaw dropped.
"Like it?" Sunset giggled. "They're enchanted to give the wearer twenty-twenty vision as well as zoom in and out on things if you focus hard enough. Plus, they're self-cleaning, unbreakable, scratch proof, and can transition into tinted lenses when outside."
Lightning moved the goggles to her forehead and leveled a smirk Sunset's way.
"Welp, guess Vinyl's not the only one with bling, cuz I'm not trading these things for anything. Thanks Sunset, you rock!"
Sunset giggled at that, only to turn in shock as a loud thud came from a few feet to her left. Lyra laid on the ground, legs twitching as a card sealed in hard plastic laid beside her half a foot away.
"Lyra? Are you okay?" Sunset asked, poking her with a forehoof.
The Unicorn suddenly came back to life and pulled Sunset into a tight hug.
"THANK YOU-THANK YOU-THANK YOU-THANK YOU-THANK YOU!!!"
"What the heck?" Lightning muttered, picking up the sealed card. "Black Lotus? Huh?"
"MINE!!!" Lyra cried, yanking the card out of her friend's hoof, holding it to her chest like the most precious of treasures.
"Easy girl," Lightning said, putting her hooves up in a placating manner. "It's just a card."
Bonbon cringed as she saw the Pandora's Box her friend unintentionally kicked open at that comment. Lyra's eyes widened in incredulity only to narrow a second later as she jumped in front of her friend.
"Just a card!? This is one of the rarest, most valuable, most iconic cards in the game! Just a cheap replica can set a person back hundreds of dollars. This is an Alpha version with Rush's autograph on it! If I sold this at full value, I could get enough money to buy Tavi's house and then some!"
"Sh-She's kidding, right?" Lightning asked, casting a cautious smile over Lyra's shoulder to Sunset.
"Nope," Sunset shrugged. "The shop owner nearly wet himself when I gave him the bag of bits to pay for it. Don't think he ever saw a million bits before."
"A MILLION!?" everyone exclaimed, Terran and Equestrian combined as they stared at the card.
Twilight quickly approached Lyra, examined the card in her hoof, then lit her horn. The plastic suddenly took on a crystalline sheen, small runes lining the edges like fine print.
"There," the Princess smirked. "Now it's completely protected and the Preservation Spell I placed on it should keep the print from suffering light and air damage."
Lyra stared at the sealed card, a smile growing wider on her face as she slowly shifted her attention back to the Alicorn before her. A happy squeal slipped past her lips as she pulled her into a tight hug.
"Thank you Twilight!"
"No problem Lyra," she chuckled, as the Unicorn pulled herself out of the embrace.
"Now that I think about it," Lightning mused staring at the card in her friend's grip. "Since its a card from another dimension, doesn't that double its value?"
"Probably," Rainbow shrugged, adding herself to the conversation. "I mean, if I had Wonder Bolt gear from another world, it would probably be worth like, a billion bits or something."
Lyra's eyes widened at that. She stared at her card for a moment, then let out a happy sigh as she once again fainted. Sunset chuckled then looked around for another member of her motley crew of crazies.
"Where's Fluttershy?" she asked, a large box held aloft in her magic as she scanned the room for the Thestral.
Before anyone could answer, both versions of the mare in question stepped through the doors leading into the throne room. Both of them were still wearing their gifts as they approached the mesmerized group of ponies, wings draped comfortingly over each others backs while they walked.
"Merry Christmas Sunset," Fluttershy smiled, her sunglasses all but hidden in the shadows of her hood.
"Um, Happy Hearths Warming," Equestrian Fluttershy offered behind a shy smile.
"Same to both of you," Sunset laughed. "Hope I got you guys the right thing."
As she said that, she lowered a present before the two mares. They both stared at it in confusion, then carefully worked their way around the wrapping. When they got to the box and opened it, they gaped in surprise. Two black leather bound journals greeted them, one bearing a pink bat with half a moon peaking out from behind a wing on the front and the other bearing a cluster of pink butterflies in the same place.
"Their enchanted to be like the journals Twilight and I use," Sunset smiled as the couple pulled their journals out of the box. "I put everything I had into making them as durable as possible so no matter what happens, you two will always be able to stay in touch with each other. I even added a spell that will teleport it to you no matter where you are so you'll never lose it."
Both mares beamed at that and hugged their journals to their chests as they pulled themselves closer together.
"Thank you Sunset," they beamed in unison.
"No problem," she smirked then walked over to Derpy and playfully nuzzled into her neck.
Bonbon smiled then placed a wrapped gift in front of the Unicorn.
"Don't think we forgot about you now," the candy maker chuckled as Sunset's eyes widened in shock.
"Probably not going to be as awesome as what you got us," Lyra giggled as she placed an envelope on top of Bonbon's offering. "But you deserve something for all the hell you went through."
"Amen to that," Vinyl chuckled, placing a gift of her own in front of the fiery Unicorn. "Let's end the year with a bang!"
"As crude as ever," Octavia said, smiling ruefully as she set a small box in front of Sunset. "But I couldn't agree more love."
"What they said," Lightning smiled as she added a present to the cluster in front of her friend. "Let's hope things look up in the future."
"Hold up now!" Discord smirked, four boxes hovering above him as he, Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and the rest of the Equestrians in the room joined the group.
Each of them held a wrapped gift for her and a smile as bright as the sun as they added their good will to the Terran herd's growing light.Sunset stared at the small pile of gifts in front of her, her hanging jaw turning into a smile as happy tears slid down her cheeks. Derpy nuzzled her cheek as she shared a smile with her girlfriend with the rest of her friends and family watching. Then with a the brightest smile she could remember wearing, Sunset tore into her gifts. All the while, her mind wandered to the previous day, and the greatest gift anypony could've ever given her.
***
Sunset laid in bed, body heavy with exhaustion as her magic reserves slowly refilled themselves. Her mother's Phoenix, Philomena, was wrapped in a faint orange glow as she tried to speed up the process with her own magic, but it didn't accelerate her recovery rate by much. Sunset stared at the ceiling with heavy eyes as she made sense of the events of a couple hours ago in her head. She wasn't stupid. She could tell that her knack for Pyromancy wasn't normal, but she thought it was a trait she picked up from her mother. Her transformation offered a more extreme possibility, especially when she stopped and thought about her past actions.
The door burst open as Derpy stumbled in, eyes wide with panic and panting as she scanned the room. The second she saw Sunset, she bolted to her bedside.
"Are you okay?" she asked, grabbing her girlfriend's hoof like a life line. "I heard you got in a fight this morning and-"
"It's okay," she rasped, too tired to do more than smile at her panicking Pegasus. "I'm too tough to go down easy Derpy. Just give me a few minutes to get my magic back and I'll be back on my hooves again."
"Th-That's good to hear," Derpy sighed, tears starting to fall as she locked eye with Sunset's. "When I heard you got in a fight I... I..."
Sobs took the place of words as the Pegasus hugged her Unicorn's foreleg.
"I just got you on your feet," she sniffled. "I don't want to lose you."
"You won't," Sunset whispered, gently wiping her girlfriend's tears away with her free hoof. "No matter what, I'm gonna make sure your stuck with me for as long as possible."
"You promise?" she sniffled.
She nodded, then said, "Cross my heart."
Derpy smiled, then pulled the fiery Unicorn into a gentle embrace. Sunset smiled, enjoying the soothing aroma of vanilla until she was carefully lowered back into the bed. It was then that she made a decision that added a bundle of nerves to her weariness.
"Though, there's something you should probably know," she said sheepishly.
"Is it bad?" she asked cautiously.
"No," Sunset sighed. "But it might make things a little difficult for a while."
"Th-Then what is it?" Derpy asked, not sure just how much more crazy she could take.
With a gulp, Sunset used a little of her diminished magic to pull the blanket off of her body and laid out on her side as she closed her eyes.
"On the ashes of my past, I stand alone. With the weight of my loved ones on my back, I move forward to a new dawn."
Sunset's body briefly flashed and again she was in her draconic form, only instead of forming a set of fiery wings a prismatic trail of fire flowed down her back to her tail. A sign of how little magic she had at her disposal as she laid nervous and helpless before Derpy. The Pegasus stared with wide eyes and hanging jaw as she took in Sunset's new body. She stared at her scales that shined like melted gold. She stared at her curved, razor-sharp horn. She stared at the flames that shimmered like an aurora across her back and tail. She stared at Sunset's face, now sporting a set of reptilian eyes and fangs that showed her apprehension.
"Beautiful."
Both mares blinked in surprise at Derpy's words, one at the compliment while the other over how they found the courage to say it.
"D-Do you mean that?" Sunset asked, blushing.
Derpy nodded, a matching blush coloring her cheeks.
"Y-You're not scared of me?"
She shook her head, not once looking away from the bed-bound mare.
A bright smile grew on Sunset's face, all fear melting off of her like frozen water in the sun.
"Thank you Derpy."
She smiled, then hugged her girlfriend, careful not to touch the flames covering her body. Sunset noticed and gave her a small giggle.
"Don't worry. They won't burn you unless I want them to."
"Good to know," Derpy smiled. "Don't think your mom would want her bed cremated."
"Probably not," she giggled. "But you know, this is going to make things a little rough in the future."
"How come?"
"Well, dragons are known for being kind of difficult to deal with. I might be a bit of a pain until I figure out how to work with this."
"Hey," Derpy frowned, placing a hoof on Sunset's cheek. "It's gonna take a lot more then some dragon hissy-fit to get rid of me. Like it or not Sunny, you're stuck with me."
Sunset giggled, then added,"Guess I better start liking it then," as she leaned into the offered hoof. "That reminds me."
With that, she turned towards Philomena and gave the bird a nod. The Phoenix let out a happy trill before spreading its wings and shooting out the window. A second later, she returned with a small lavender box in her talons.
"I was going to give you this tomorrow at the castle," she smiled. "But I think now is as good a time as any."
As she said that, Philomena placed the box in front of Derpy then returned to her perch. Curious, she opened the box and gasped. Sitting in it was a pair of light-orange half-heart pendants with thick silver chains. Giggling, Sunset levitated one of them out of the box and put it on.
"They're Couple's Pendants," Sunset explained as she helped Derpy put her's on. "New couples wear them for luck when their starting out. What do you think?"
Derpy stared dumbly at the pendent around her neck, then faced Sunset and said, "Wait a second. I'll be right back!"
With that, she staggered out of the room in a disjointed gallop, leaving a confused and slightly concerned Sunset in her wake. A minute later, Derpy returned now wearing a gray Couple's Pendant along with the one bearing Sunset's colors while its mate danged from the end of an open wing. Now it was Sunset's turn to stare as the Pegasus nimbly slid the necklace into place beside its orange twin.
"Guess we're twice as lucky, huh?" Derpy smiled.
Sunset examined the necklace with slightly trembling hooves as a flurry of happy flames burned inside her. Then before either of them could blink, Sunset pulled her girlfriend in close and kissed her. A shocked squeak slipped past Derpy's sealed lips, but that was quickly replaced by a happy hum as she leaned into it. Joy beyond description passed between the two mares as they shared their first kiss, igniting a flame that made Sunset's own look like mere party poppers in comparison. When their lips parted, they gasped for air like drowned ponies at sea with cheeks that burned like the sun.
"W-Wow," Derpy stammered, brain sparking as it tried to recalibrate. "Th-That was....Wow."
"Guess I've got a bit of my dad's greed," Sunset smiled, struggling against her urges to go for another kiss. "Wanna go again?"
Derpy nodded as she leaned in close to her bedridden girlfriend and closed her eyes.
***
Sunset's face burned when she remembered what happened next, earning an understanding chuckle from Derpy. With a small smile, she pulled her in closer with a wing as she went through her gifts.
While the party went into full swing, Discord stepped away from the crowd to a darker portion of the room. He watched as the ponies went about their busyness, laughing, smiling, and overall enjoying each other's company. A sight that warmed his heart as he reluctantly teleported away to where he was needed. It was time to tie up some loose ends.
"You really stepped in it, didn't you?" he sighed, turning to face a bedridden Unicorn.
Gold Vine's hospital room was silent as a tomb, the only deviation being the rhythmic beeps of a heart monitor by her bed. Her whole body was wrapped in bandages, most inscribed with healing runes to replace her charred flesh. It was as thorough a beating as could be and she knew it. Her titles and assets now belonged to the very same mare she tried to kill. She had nothing, not even the fur on her back as she stared blankly at the Dreconequis before her as he walked around her.
Discord let her stew a little longer, then continued.
"You had so much, and now you have nothing. Do you know how this all happened?"
She said nothing, her mind empty as her shattered pride drifted in fragments in what was left of her heart.
"Let me tell you. It wasn't because you tried to ruin Sunset's first date. Celestia wanted to snap you in half for that by the way. It wasn't because you tried to kill Derpy, though it was a factor."
A red-hot snarl made it past his lips as he leaned in close to the mare and said, "It was because you threatened to kill the mare I cared about. Their aren't a lot of buttons on me that a pony can press, but that one is one that will set the world on fire bitch! The second you hit that button, I made it my mission to destroy you in every possible way imaginable. For that, I gave you and your cronies cursed weapons designed to strip away their luck to get the worst possible outcome depending on what they chose to do and made you take all of the accumulated bad luck afterwards. Then, when you made your move, the curse would take away everything you hold oh so dear in your twisted black heart in one fell swoop. The battle, your survival, all of it was meant to lead up to this point all thanks to the bad luck your own actions have gathered.
Tears started to form at the edges of Gold Vine's empty eyes as she stared at her tormentor.
"You know," he said, a cruel smile gracing his lips as he locked eyes with the helpless mare before him. "I never said what I wanted out of our little deal you proposed, did I? I do believe you said I could have whatever I wanted, correct?"
He snapped his fingers and a muffled scream shot out of her muzzle as her body shifted on a fundamental level under her burned flesh. When her vision cleared of its agony centered haze, she stared at Discord. Her eyes widened as she saw her horn in his lion's paw.
"I want you to live the rest of your days as an Earth Pony. You will live for as long as I see fit with no assistance from your previous life. You will be unable to take your own life. You will not be able to harm others beyond what is needed for self defense. This is your personal Tartarus Gold Vine, and I'll be the most vicious Cerberus I can be to keep you there for as long as possible."
With that, he teleported away, leaving the broken mare more shattered then she ever thought possible as she stared blankly at the ceiling.
***
Sunset and her friends stood in front of the mirror portal, bags loaded with gifts as they stood at attention before Princess Celestia. The Princess of the Sun smiled as she locked eyes with the Terrans, pride shining in her eyes as she stared at her daughter and her special somepony.
"Before you return home, I have a few things I would like to give you."
As she said that, seven gold cards about the size and shape of credit cards appeared beside her held in place by her magic. With practiced ease, she distributed them to each of the Terrans one by one.
"These are Honorary Equestrian Passports," she explained as each pony took their card. "With them, you can use any mirror to travel between your world and ours whenever you want. They are also laced with enchantments that protect them from theft, destruction, and misplacement. Just in case something should happen in the future."
"Awesome!" Lyra squeaked as she stared at her passport.
Sunset smiled at the passport as she put it into her saddlebags next to Derpy's gift. Celestia stared down at her daughter with pained joy as she came to accept what was going to happen; her little girl was going to leave her again, but this time it wasn't going to be forever.
"Please come back again soon," the Solar Diarch said, tone a mix of hopeful and pleading.
"I will mom," Sunset smiled. "I promise."
"Cross your heart?" she asked.
"Cross my heart," Sunset nodded with a smile.
Celestia stared at her daughter, pride and pain filling her heart in equal parts. It soon became too much for her to bear as she pulled the mare into a hug, forelegs and wings wrapping her in warmth and love as she held her close.
"I love you. I will always love you my Little Sun."
"Me too, mom," she smiled, tears forming in the corners of her own eyes. "I love you too."
Reluctantly, they pulled apart and stepped back from each other, mother and daughter sharing one last smile before parting ways again. Sunset stared at Twilight's library one last time as she felt the magic of her home world swirl around her one last time like a friend giving her a smile before leaving.
"Wait a moment," Luna said, smiling gently as she approached the leaving party. "We have one last minute gift to give before we part ways."
As she said that, she turned towards Derpy.
"Lady Derpy, as a sign of gratitude for everything you have done for our niece, we wish to return to you what was so cruelly taken from you. May this be the start of many ways that we may repay our debt."
With that, Luna's horn began to glow as a series of spells filled the air between the two mares, then the same glow started to come from Derpy's false eye as the Princess' enchantment took form. A bright flash filled the room, dazzling all who looked at it. That fact came with a cosmic sense of humor with what the gray Pegasus declared minutes later.
"My eye...I...I can see!"
A wide smile spread across her face as she turned to face her slightly dazzled girlfriend. Sunset shared her smile as she locked eyes with her, both eyes alined with her's.
"We could not give you back your lost eye," Luna smiled, drawing attention back to her. "So instead, we enchanted your prosthetic to function as one instead. Think it both a Hearts Warming and Christmas gift on our part."
"Thank you, Luna," Derpy smiled. "You're the best!"
"Tis nothing," the Lunar Princess smiled, eyes drawn to the ceiling as a small blush colored her cheeks.
Everyone chuckled at that as the Terrans turned to face the mirror. A small smile graced Sunset's lips as she stared at her reflection, the mare in front of her no longer the lonely retch just a step away from falling to pieces. She wasn't alone and stronger then ever before as she took a step forward into the portal.
See ya later Equestria! It's been fun, but now, I'm coming home!