//------------------------------//
// The Rune Family, Part 1: Ice Skating 
// Story: Hearth's Warming is Merry in Our Town 
// by Sketcha-Holic 
//------------------------------//

There was only one day left until Party Favor was the host. Under normal circumstances, he'd be more than happy to celebrate Hearth's Warming with one of his dearest friends and make her happy on the most wonderful time of the year. But, as the time grew closer for Night Glider's turn to end and his to begin, Party Favor was letting a concern vex him. He was grateful that his sister was the understanding type, and so caught her reading in the guest room on his top floor.

"I'm not sure if our family's ready for her yet."

Silk Shimmer looked up from her book. "Huh?"

Party Favor shuffled his hooves. "Yeah, I know, right? I haven't really gotten Dad to come around on the whole horn and balloon things, and I don't know if we might accidentally remind her of her dad if we end up arguing. I mean, her dad and our dad both have high expectations destined to be disappointed, so..."

"Relax, Party Favor, I'm sure Dad will behave while Sugar Belle's around."

Party Favor paced in front of the bed his sister sat on, chewing on his hoof. "I don't want any of our family tension to get in the way of giving Sugar Belle a good Hearth's Warming! She's already had to deal with evil squirrels, bad bakers, and runaway clouds--what if Dad and I fight and some out-of-control magic turns a snowpony into the Abominable Snowpony, and then it eats her?!"

Silk did not hesitate to throw the book in his face. "No, bad Party Favor, paranoid fantasies have no place this time of year." She levitated the book place to her hooves and turned the pages back to where she was. "Besides, I'm sure she'll have a good laugh over those memories in the future. You two laughed over the whole evil squirrel thing earlier."

Party Favor sighed. "You're right, maybe I am getting too worked up about this. We'll just have our normal family traditions.... 'cept with her instead of Kaz." He felt a sharp zap in his horn, and proceeded to cradle his aching head. "Ow..."

Silk scooted over as Party Favor sat down. "Still hurting from yesterday?" 

Party Favor nodded, still holding his head. "I hate being a lightning rod."

Silk grimaced. "That cloud could have fried your brain. I hear that hundreds of unicorns a year die from lightning strikes to the horn. Maybe you only survived and kept your mind intact was because it was a small cloud? Or is it the concentrated crazy of party ponies protecting you? I've seen Comedy Gold get into a lot of situations..."

"Both?" Party Favor deadpanned. 

Silk twiddled her hooves. "Maybe. In any case, you still have a day to rest before we have our turn with Sugar Belle. I wonder how she's doing with Night Glider's family."

A sudden smack on the window behind them made them jump, and they spun around to see what it was. There was Night Glider, pressed up on the glass with a dazed expression, and it was a few seconds before she slid down and fell down to earth. 

The two unicorns rushed to the window, and opened it up to peer down at the pegasus-shaped hole in the blanket of snow. Leaning forward, Party Favor hollered, "Night Glider? Are you okay?"

"Pumpkin spice is overrated. I vote cornbread for president!"

Sugar Belle galloped from over the hill and to the hole, where Night Glider sat up and rubbed her head. "Oh dear! I didn't mean to give you the wrong direction! I got my rights and my lefts mixed up, and you were flying everywhere so fast I couldn't keep up... I'm so sorry!"

"S'okay, Sugar Belle..." Night Glider mumbled. "Helping a pegasus practice a formation is tricky, so I don't blame you." She narrowed her eyes. "Now, Fleetfoot, on the other hoof..."

She sped off into the distance, shouting, "You did that on purpose, Flatface!"

Sugar Belle had a hoof on her head. "Oh, no..." She glanced upward at the two ponies peeking from the window, and explained, "I was being a spotter for them while they practiced for the opening, and they just ended up bouncing off each other. Sorry to bother you guys."

"Oh, we really weren't doing anything," Party Favor said. "Just discussing tomorrow."

Sugar Belle smiled. "I'm looking forward to it!" She turned and started to gallop away. "See you later!"

Party Favor waved goodbye, and then rested his chin on the windowsill with a sigh. That was such a sweet smile that she had; he sure didn't want to disappoint her. He prayed that there wouldn't be any more mishaps for her; she had dealt with enough. 

Silk tapped his shoulder. "Okay, can we close the window now? It's cold outside!"





The next morning, Sugar Belle had bruises from breaking up the fight between Night Glider and Fleetfoot the day before, and despite her attempts to clean, she felt as if there was still glitter in her mane from the ornament fiasco the day before that. With their sisterly bond, Night Glider and Fleetfoot certainly weren't going to have a show for the opening unless they got their act together. It made Sugar Belle wonder what her life would have been like if she had grown up with a sibling. 

Would they have been the metaphorical punching bag instead?

Not wanting to dampen her own mood, she instead thought of how today it was Party Favor's family's turn. Knowing that he had a way of lightening up the mood no matter what the situation, she was looking forward to it. After all, if he could provide a little respite from the terror of Starlight's reign, even without his cutie mark, then Hearth's Warming should be a piece of cake for him. 

She had scarcely knocked on his door thrice before it was thrown open and she was wrapped in a hug by a stallion of light blue. 

"I'm so happy you're here!" Party Favor exclaimed. He broke the hug and dragged her inside. "Come on, my sister would like to get to know you better!"

Sugar Belle giggled. "Well, after hearing a bunch about her from you, I'd like to know her too."

Once in Party Favor's living room, where his parents sat on the couch with hobbies of theirs, Sugar Belle was greeted with another hug, this time from a Silk Shimmer exclaiming, "Hi! I'm so glad that our family is finally hosting you!" 

Sugar Belle giggled. "And I'm glad to be a part of your traditions this year."

The father, Quasar Rune, glanced up from his book. "Well, seems that Silk Shimmer has already taken a shine to you, Miss Belle."

His wife, Merry Maykin, was crocheting a scarf. "She did always want a sister."

Silk broke the hug, though still had her hooves on Sugar Belle's shoulders. "Tonight, after the family day trip, we should do makeovers."

"Oh! I've always wanted to do a makeover with my friends, but..." Sugar Belle grimaced, her heart sinking at the thought of those accursed curfews and the hours of effort to make a dish perfect, lest she face the wrath of a certain someone.

Silk tilted her head. "But what?"

Sugar Belle pursed her lips. "Well, my social life dwindled when I was a teenager. My friends got mad at me for baking all the time."

Merry looked up. "But what is wrong with baking, sweetie?"

"Well, when they think that's all your life amounts to, no matter how much you love it, your friends get sick of you being a one-trick pony. One tried to keep up our friendship and help me open a bakery when we were grown up, but she too left when that fell through."

"Oh, ouch!" Silk Shimmer exclaimed. "I'm sorry that happened to you. Being defined as just one thing can be crippling... in more ways than one." She glanced between her reading father and her brother as she said that, expecting some sort of reaction. She then continued, "Well, since you're going to be my 'sister' for the next couple days, I'll happily teach you a thing or two about makeovers and show you a few magic tricks, and maybe you could lend me some baking tips and, uh... okay, I'm curious, what other hobbies do you have?"

"I like arts and crafts. And snowball fights. And telekinesis workouts."

Silk laughed. "I guess that's a non-mage unicorn magic practice you're talking about, huh?"

Party Favor piped in with, "In telekinetic terms... she's buff."

Sugar Belle broke down into laughter, ending up down on the floor in her giggle fits. Party Favor grinned and waggled his eyebrows, while Silk just rolled her eyes and shook her head, though not without a few giggles of her own. "Why are you like this, bro?"

"He's got to compensate somehow," Quasar muttered, not taking his eyes off his book. If he noticed Party Favor's glare, he didn't show it, and most of his distraction fell to his wife hitting him on his shoulder and giving him a scolding glower. 

Sugar Belle stood up, and still laughing, asked, "So, does that mean your brother's 'buff', too?"

All fell eerily quiet. Both Silk Shimmer and Party Favor grimaced, backing away and rubbing the backs of their heads, with Silk having an involuntary shudder. Merry froze in her crocheting, and Quasar simply tensed up, breathing sharply through his nose, and his lips in a tight line. Sugar Belle kicked herself over having said that, because of course Kazam was powerful--it was the misuse of that power that landed him behind bars. She especially looked at Quasar, and wondered what he was thinking.

"...I'm sorry I said that."

Quasar sighed and stood up. "Oh, no... I suppose the term 'buff' applied to him too... though more in general magic than just telekinesis. But, you meant no offense, Miss Belle, so I won't take any. But, let us get ready for our outing."

He turned and left the room, presumably to fetch something. Sugar Belle heard Party Favor growl, and asked, "Is he okay?"

Party Favor scoffed. "When the jailed favorite gets brought up, he sulks over the tragedy; but it's perfectly okay to pick on the disappointment."

Merry resumed her crocheting, focusing on finishing that last row. "Now, now, Party Favor, your father does have a right to be upset over one of his foals being incarcerated, though he should get over his problems with your disability. He does love you and has always wanted you to reach your full potential. His problem is that his definition's a bit narrow, and he can't take a hint."

Party Favor looked up at his horn and grumbled, "Not like I asked for it, Dad."

"Okay, we're not here to wallow in any misery, we're here to share our happy Hearth's Warming traditions with Party Favor's friend," Silk Shimmer said. "This entire thing was your idea, little brother, so...

"Heh..." Party Favor cleared his throat, and turned back to smile at his pink friend. "So, Sugar Belle, have you ever been ice skating before?"

Sugar Belle put a hoof to her chin. "No, but I've always wanted to."





"Okay, I'm having second thoughts on this."

Sugar Belle couldn't quite recall how she got in the middle of the mountain pond. All she knew was that she was there, barely keeping balance on a quartet of ice skates, and that any momentum she once had vanished, leaving her to slide to a stop. Looking down at the sheet below her, her mind went to every possible thing that could go wrong. Frostbite, slipping and hitting her head, falling through the ice, a sudden avalanche, or maybe all of the above could happen and have them all injured or even dead. 

Then there was Party Favor and family, most of whom danced across the ice like professionals. Merry and Silk jumped and spun in various edge and toe jumps, with axels and Lutzes being spruced up with shimmering magic creating Hearth's Warming-themed illusions. The girls often weaved past each other, and sometimes even twirled together in their improvised ballet. She swore she could hear classical music go along with them. 

Party Favor frequently went up on two hooves, mainly to mold some balloons into a hoop (without popping it with his skates somehow), and jumping through it. Forwards, backwards, with a flip, or even hula-hooping with the balloons, the blue party pony was having a blast. He did not go unnoticed by Quasar Rune, who just rolled his eyes, and continued skating in a simple promenade. 

Sugar Belle tried to shuffle forward. Oh, how she envied their prowess! But she was no stranger to a fear of slipping, and she did not want her chin or even her rump to feel how cold the ice was. It was almost embarrassing, feeling this pathetic from barely moving and thinking about the potential pain so much. 

And she could hear his voice mock, "Here you are, flinching again, you little wimp! Come on, you know that I wouldn't leave a mark on you when I'm letting off steam, and you're pathetic for always crying about pain that never comes. Besides, I would've dented my lucky pan with your thick head!"

She was willing to bet that he'd kick her to make her go faster.

Quasar Rune drifted to where she was. "It appears you're having trouble, Miss Belle."

"Oh, uh, I'm sure I can get the hang of this." She smiled weakly at the older unicorn and attempted a step forward. "I mean, I'm very much self-taught with my baking and I've done all my homework on my own as a filly, so why can't I teach myself how to--YIPE!"

She was lucky that Quasar caught her with his magic just before her chin hit the ice. "It is not advisable to attempt a regular hoofstep on the ice. See, this is more about pushing yourself across the ice than it is about pulling yourself forward."

Party Favor was the next on the scene. "Hey, what's going on here?"

"Honestly, I'm disappointed that you didn't notice your friend's struggle sooner, Party Favor," Quasar said, balancing Sugar Belle on her skates. "But, nevertheless, she needs assistance, and I'm willing to show her the proper technique."

"It would be nice to figure out the whole skating steps thing," Sugar Belle said. "I mostly just slid like an awkward deer."

Party Favor glanced between them, and then went forward to take Sugar Belle's foreleg in his own. "I think she'd learn faster by doing."

Quasar shrugged. "Hm. Just as long as you don't make her jump through any balloon hoops."

"I know the concept of 'baby steps', Dad," Party Favor replied, narrowing his eyes. He turned to Sugar Belle and brightened. "Come on, Sugar Belle, let's have a little stroll around the lake!"

"Okay--whoa!" Sugar Belle didn't have much time to speak before Party Favor pushed forward and glided across the lake. At first, she tried to canter across the ice in her shock, only for no traction to be gained and for her to revert back to being frozen on stiff legs, only this time she was holding Party Favor's foreleg as tightly as she could, to the point that she worried her skate was poking him. Breathing rapidly, she felt like she was barreling toward her doom. 

"It's okay, I've got you!" Party Favor said. "Just push your back left..."

Sugar Belle nervously complied. 

"And then your right..."

She followed suit, and started alternating between pushing and gliding with each hoof. The more she did it, the more natural it felt, and she felt herself growing more comfortable with each step. Without Party Favor's instruction, her one front hoof on the ice started playing along.

Party Favor grinned. "Haha! You're doing it! You're starting to get it!"

Sugar Belle giggled. "So I am! It didn't end up like Double Diamond's skiing lessons!"

"Well, we can't say that for sure until I let you go." Party Favor winked. "Just tell me when you're ready, and I can let you glide freely."

Left and right, left and right, Sugar Belle thought to herself. She kept looking down at intervals to make sure that she was still doing it correctly, unsure if she should ask Party Favor to let her go. But, still, looking up made her want to gaze at the beauty of the snowy hills, glistening under sunbeams poking through the overcast sky. She also wanted to watch Merry and Silk jump and twirl, creating their illusions of stars and snow, and of bells of Hearth's Warming trees. She also noted Quasar's watchful eye, making sure they weren't getting into trouble. Indeed, the longer she went, the more fun she was having. 

As she watched the girls, she remarked, "They're sure giving a flair to their skating."

He shrugged. "They're performers, they can't really resist giving them a flair. My mom's a professional magician, and when she's in performance mode... well, of course she's show-offy. Silk Shimmer's a little shyer, but just enough that... well, you heard the story about her assisting those con artists for a time because she had trouble selling herself."

"Yep. Hehehe, I still find the idea of a circus train funny."

"Well, I prefer real circuses, with amazing performers like the great clown Ponyacci! Though, it's cool to think about Silk in a circus, with the kind of tricks she's using right now." He pouted in thought for a moment. "Now that I think about it, does Double Diamond know how to skate?"

Sugar Belle turned back to him. "Maybe? His family did say he was always into winter sports."

"Well, if not, I bet he'd be a fast learner; like you are!"

Sugar Belle smirked. "Well... we can't say for sure until you let me go, hm?"

Party Favor blinked, nodded, and drifted away, slowly releasing his grip, up until they were only attached by the blades. "Okay, are you absolutely sure you're ready?"

Sugar Belle felt her heart jump into her throat, but said, "Yes", anyway.

They broke apart, and Sugar Belle was on her own. She looked at her hooves, making sure they were still doing the push-and-glide thing that she was told to do, and then looked forward to see any obstacles. She turned before she could hit Quasar Rune, and as she passed him, shouted, "Your son's a great teacher!", and then continued on. 

Party Favor jumped for joy and spun. "You're doing great, Sugar Belle!" 

As Party Favor landed, Merry laughed and hollered, "You're so proud that you just did a triple axel yourself!"

Sugar Belle laughed. She continued to glide over the ice, with her legs automatically performing the movements. She felt like she was flying, much like a bird who escaped its cage. Was this how Night Glider felt when in the sky, or how Double Diamond felt when he was skiing? The euphoria of just skating across the ice was breathtaking, and she can only imagine the thrill of landing a jump. 

Finally, she met up with Silk Shimmer, and skated by her side. "By the way, thanks for your help."

Silk pouted. "I didn't realize you were having trouble! I get brain farts like that a lot. At least Party Favor helped you out, hm?"

Sugar Belle giggled. "Well, I sure hope you're planning on a good makeover tonight. Judging by how you apply your own, doing my face should be a piece of cake."

"Pfft, I've done multiple of my friends' faces at once. As Party Favor would put it, I'm magically 'buff' too."

"Is your whole family 'buff'?"

Silk snorted and shook her head. "We really need to stop using that term. But, yeah, strong magic runs in the family." Silk frowned and watched Party Favor as he was showing off for their mother. "It really made it all the more glaring when we found out about Party Favor's horn. Since then, Dad had been cooler toward him, and his cutie mark... didn't really help. I'm not as powerful as Kaz, but at least I didn't feel unloved because of something I couldn't control. I can't imagine what that's like."

Sugar Belle looked down on the ice, thinking back to her foalhood. Named after her mother, who died in foaling, and unfairly blamed for it. Expected to become exactly like her namesake to repent of her 'sin'. Treated kindly when she behaved like her, and treated harshly when she dared to be different. How dare she not be as interested in shopping as her mother, and how dare she end up inheriting something from her father. How dare she not be the supposed perfection in baking that Mother was, or even as 'good a cook' as her father. What a wonder that Sugar Belle didn't turn out like Starlight Glimmer. 

Now that she thought about it, what had Starlight's life been like?

"Me neither," Sugar Belle muttered. She wasn't quite sure if it was a lie or not. 

Then, out of nowhere, Silk shouted to her brother, "Where'd you get that kite?!"

Sugar Belle looked up, and sure enough, Party Favor had acquired a kite somehow. However, noticing how colorful the kite was, it was plain as day that he made it out of his balloons. The real question was where the heck he stored those balloons. 

His kite caught the wind and pulled him forward. His skates slashed thin, white lines across the blue ice, and he weaved around the lake as if he was water skiing. He alternated between spreading his legs wide and bringing them close together again, and lifted various limbs to strike a pose like a professional figure skater would. He even took the time to wave to his mother, and to the still promenading Silk Shimmer and Sugar Belle as he passed them. 

Quasar let out a sigh. "Why can't he leave balloons out of these activities for once..."

Then, Party Favor made the mistake of trying to jump. Instead of landing like he did earlier, a sudden updraft carried him up high into the air. Joyful laughter morphed into terrified screams, and before he knew it, everypony else were colorful dots on the ice. 

Meanwhile, Sugar Belle gasped. "Oh, no! I don't think the balloons will survive up there for very long."

"The atmosphere is not kind to balloons," Quasar murmured, watching the scene carefully. "If he didn't defy the laws of physics regularly, I'd say that's the biggest risk, but, I'm expecting a descent more ridiculous than that."

"Why are you so calm?!" Merry snapped. "My baby's up there!"

Silk Shimmer skated forward. "Well, I'm going to find out where he's landing so--"

She didn't get to finish the sentence before a family of birds flew right into Party Favor's balloon kite, and the pop startled her out of talking. As her brother fell, Silk prepared a bouncy bubble spell on the ice to give him a soft landing. Unfortunately, she realized that she had formed it just a few feet off, as Party Favor crashed through the ice, and into the black water right next to her. 

Everypony flinched at the sight, and skated over to the hole that Party Favor made. While Merry was screaming and trying to shake her hsuband in a fit of rage, Silk and Sugar Belle held her back, while Quasar leaned over the hole, his horn glowing for a few moments before he levitated a shivering and coughing Party Favor out of the hole. 

"Only you could survive something like that," Quasar said. "Still, taking your magic signature earlier this week proved to be useful."

He levitated him over to Merry, who grabbed her baby and hugged him as tightly as she could. Both Silk and Sugar Belle breathed a sigh of relief, and gathered around them to make sure that he was all right. Aside from the shivering, Party Favor only cradled his horn and complained, "Ugh... I'm cold... I ache... and my horn hurts again..."

"Yeah, I imagine that getting electrocuted and falling from the sky into a frozen lake in the same week is not very good for your health," Sugar Belle said. "Maybe we should just head back to your place. Ice skating was fun while it lasted."

"I was thinking the same thing," Quasar said, skating back to land to fetch their items. 

As everypony carried him back to shore, Party Favor said, "While I warm up, you girls can have fun with your makeovers."