//------------------------------// // It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like... // Story: A Hearth's Warming Dream // by Anzel //------------------------------// The crackle of burning wood, the warmth of the fire, and the deviously soft mattress beneath Silent gave him a peaceful feeling. Everything was perfect. Everything was—wrong. They didn’t have a fireplace in the bedroom, and their mattress sure hadn’t been this comfortable since Coral had accidentally crushed it with Runic Phial’s instant warhammer potion. With a jolt, Silent was on his hooves, taking in his surroundings. The last thing he’d remembered was—personal—and then after that, he’d gone to sleep with his beautiful wife. Now he was standing in the bedroom of a stone structure. A bedroom that was decidedly not his own. Crystal was there, asleep and nestled against a pillow. The sight of her both comforted and worried him. At least she rested easy, unaware that trickery was ahoof. Few creatures would be powerful enough to transport two ponies from their beds. Even fewer would have been able to do so to the High Marshall of the Knights of the Moon. Silent had been hardened against such things after years of training. This was serious magic they were dealing with. The door to the bedroom creaked as it opened just a hair’s breadth. Silent wheeled at the noise and leapt towards it. He ripped the door open only to find himself staring up at the form of a very large, midnight blue— “L—Luna?” he stammered. Princess Luna softly tapped him on the forehead. “Yes, Silent Knight. Why must you assume everything is a trap or an attack?” Silent Knight inhaled deeply, detecting the scent of hot cocoa in the air. That was odd but could be dealt with later. He then exhaled and looked the alicorn dead in the eyes. “I almost died protecting you from an ambush. Then I actually died protecting you from an assassin. Add in the war and what has been going on lately, and you could say I’m justified.” That brought a frown to the alicorn’s lips. “Accepted. Tonight, however, I wish you to put that aside, for it is Hearth’s Warming Eve!” “It is. Or it was.” He glanced around. “Where are we?” “You’re in your own bed this very instant—snoring, I must add,” the princess explained. “While your body slumbers, your mind is far from there, visiting me in the dream world.” Her expression and voice softened as she continued, “I know that you and Crystal have been missing your friends as of late. As such, I bring you this special gift. I shall connect you all in your sleep as I once did for you and your wife.” A glimmer of excitement shot through Silent at the prospect of a party with all the ponies that weren’t available. It would mean the world to Crystal, and that meant everything to him. He smiled, then almost immediately frowned. “And you can do that? Everypony?” Princess Luna idly wrung her forehooves. “Well, I think I can. I’ll be frank, Silent: I really haven’t done this with so many ponies and in such an elaborate, lucid construct. There are bound to be some snafus, but everypony is perfectly safe, that much I can guarantee.” Magic. Magic always had an asterisk. Why did it always have an asterisk? “Alright… then where is everypony else? Why is Crystal still asleep?” “I can’t bring them here until they fall asleep, and most are not as of yet. And as for Crystal, unlike you, she did not assume that this was a trap. As you went stomping around, she is laying there—” Princess Luna’s voice lifted. “Pretending to be asleep!” “Am not!” came Crystal’s voice from behind Silent. Silent chuckled and asked with barely concealed amusement, “And my foals?” Princess Luna smiled brightly. “I have not brought them yet, though they do slumber. I thought you two might like some time alone.” Silent’s face turned bright red and he cleared his throat. “Oh, thank you, Princess. That is most kind. I just… uh… we… you know, never mind.” He turned his head to look at his wife. “Honey, do you want the children right now or not?” Crystal slipped out of the bed and slinked out to join Silent and Luna. “Is that really a question you want to ask the mother of three sweet, beautiful, and perfect foals?” He nodded. “Absolutely, yes. A mother that probably has had fewer good nights of sleep than she needed in the last few years.” “And they say good stallions are hard to find.” Crystal giggled and shook her head. “As much as I’d like a night off, even if it is a dream, please bring me my babies.” She then sniffed the air, her nose tipping upwards. “Oh! Is that hot cocoa?” Princess Luna gave a resolute nod. “Yes, I chose a scent that most ponies seem to enjoy. As for your foals, I shall like to see my grandfoals anyway.” She paused for a moment and then smiled. “It is done.” Whatever Silent Knight had expected, the actual reality was far simpler. There was no grand incantation or ritual, just the sound of a door creaking from somewhere else in the fictious dwelling. It was a slow, careful sound. The sound of a pony on her guard. That was followed by the noise of small hooves creeping until Coral’s head peaked around a corner. Her eyes met Silent’s and she galloped to him. “Colonel, we’ve been taken!” she squeaked, fear creeping into her voice. She rushed under Silent, blissfully unaware of everything else around her. Silent set his hoof on his daughter’s back. “Yes, but in a good way. This is a dream, Cadet. Princess Luna is going to throw us a Hearth’s Warming party here with all of our friends.” Coral peered out from the safety of her father’s hoof, then brightened. “Oh, Granny Luna! I didn’t see you there. Is this really a dream?” Princess Luna chuckled and leaned all the way down to the foal’s level. “It is so.” “I’m here, too,” Crystal muttered softly. “Cool! Hi, Mom. Where’s Clem?” “I’m here,” came the lazy voice of Clement Knight as he flapped his way down from a pegasus loft that hadn’t previously existed. He came to a landing on Princess Luna’s back, curling up in her flowing mane. “Can I sleep in a dream?” Crystal shook her head, reaching out with her magic and levitating the colt off the princess. “Not tonight, sweetie, that would be rude to our host. Princess Luna went to a lot of trouble to put this together.” Coral stomped her hooves. “But there aren’t enough ponies for a party, and we were already together at ho—” A low voice of gravel grating under a wooden wheel boomed against the walls. “Greetings, all. Forgive my delayed arrival; I had to first deduce what was occurring.” The hairs of Silent Knight’s coat stood up straight. “By Nocturna’s mane, what in Equestria was that!” “Fear not, Father. It is I, your Cherry Blossom.” the voice echoed throughout the room as the foal floated in from around a corner, her horn lit up and shooting a fountain of multicolored sparks. “She can fly!” Coral shrieked in dismay. “How come she gets to fly?” “Snafu?” Silent Knight asked as he looked up at Princess Luna while covering Coral’s mouth with a hoof. She nodded sagely “Snafu indeed. This is a dream, after all. I should have realized that even though a foal cannot speak, she would have thoughts to share.” Cherry floated to Crystal, who caught her delicately in a hoof after setting Clement down onto Silent’s back. The filly immediately found her mother’s mane and started to suck on it. “It is glorious to be able to express my wants and desires through civilized tongue.” Crystal looked at Luna in horror. “Please tell me that isn’t going to be my baby’s voice all night?” “I’ll work on it,” the princess murmured before her head shot up. “Oh, another guest has just arrived!” “Hello?” a familiar, squeaky voice called from one of the various hallways. It was a voice Silent Knight knew well. “In here, Miley,” Silent Knight called back. “Captain?” came the reply before Miley trotted into the main room. She skidded to a halt and glared at him. “You’re not supposed to be in my dreams!” She then paused and peered at Princess Luna. “And neither are you! I see you two enough at work. Boundaries!” Princess Luna laughed softly. “Miley Hooves, I’ve brought you here for a Hearth’s Warming party. If you wish to be uninvited, I can easily do that.” Miley threw up her forehooves. “No, ma’am. Where is my husband, though? I’d hate to leave him alone.” “He will find his way here as he falls asleep. In fact, more guests are arriving now.” Luna nodded behind them. “Many more.” Silent turned to see archways appearing in the walls, fanning out in all different directions. “Come on, Coral, let’s investigate this.” “Okay, Colonel.” The two trotted to the nearest archway and peered through it. A hall stretched out before them that went on endlessly, lined with doors on each side. One of the nearby doors opened and Velour Step poked his head out, confusion written on his face. Clement Knight, who was half asleep on his father’s back, whooped with excitement and flew off towards Velour. Velour chuckled softly as he caught his little cousin. “Hey, Cuz. What’s going on?” Before any of them could explain, Velvet came out of the door across from Velour’s. She looked at Silent Knight, sighed loudly, and shouted, “Crystal, if you wanted me to stay that badly, you should have just said something! You didn’t need to call in an alicorn favor on me!” “This is not my doing!” Crystal’s voice came from behind Silent. “Uh-huh,” Velvet replied before trotting by Silent, giving him a light push. “Make way.” “My mother speaks true, Auntie!” Cherry’s voice boomed. The sound sent Velvet halfway up the wall. “Sweet Celestia!” Crystal cradled her foal close to her chest. “That is just Cherry, but we’re working on that! Luna, please fix it!” Princess Luna huffed, “I’m working on bridging dreams here. Give me a moment, please.” Another door opened and Sunny Day poked her head out. “Alright, two minutes ago I was with Celestia and Asvoria. What’s happening?” Coral snapped to attention under her father and gave a crisp salute. “Major!” Silent explained, “We’re having a Hearth’s Warming party in our dream tonight. Courtesy of Princess Luna.” “Oh, this could have been worse,” Sunny replied before trotting out of the hall into the main room, shouting, “Hey, Soarin, Azurite! Where are you two?” The pair emerged from one of the other halls. Azurite galloped over and threw her hooves around Sunny. “Yay! I’m so glad to see you! It’s been super weird not having you with us.” Soarin followed behind and kissed Sunny’s nose. “She’s right. Even weirder than the questions they ask. In fact, you not being there has led to even more questions. Awkward questions.” “Sorry, my boss is a real jerk. He demanded I work,” Sunny said, facing away from Silent but somehow directing her voice right at him. “Hey…” Silent trailed before the sound of a door opening caught his attention. Doors opening was usually normal, but this time the noise came from above. He looked up and then grinned, “Hey, Runic!” Runic Phial crawled out of a trap door in the ceiling and fluttered down to the center of the room. “Hi, Silent! Are we dead?” “Nope, just a dream!” “Whew, okay, good.” Runic nodded and started to look around them. “I was worried that my current project had wiped Canterlot off the mountain and killed us all.” Silent forced a chuckle. “Oh, you.” A shiver then went down his spine and he trotted over to Miley and whispered, “Send somepony to check out his place tomorrow morning.” Miley whispered back, “Yes, sir. How about as soon as I wake up?” “Yeah, do that,” he trailed before trotting back over to Runic to give him a hug. “Where is Marmes?” Runic’s head was down, a magnifying lens over his right eye as he inspected the stone floor. “Who?” Coral squeaked, “Marmes Malade! Your fillyfriend!” “Yes, Runic,” Silent said in a tone between teasing and concerned. “Marmes Malade, your fillyfriend!” Runic looked up, his eyes focusing on Coral through the lens, and he jerked away from her. “Whoa, you got bigger!” “Runic!” Coral huffed before pushing the magnifier away. “Where is Marmes? I love Marmes!” “Oh, she probably isn’t asleep yet,” Runic said, looking back down. “She had knitting to do. In fact, she was on a mission.” He frowned. “Should I tell the princess this stone is all wrong? Nothing like this exists in reality and it certainly couldn’t have a castle built out of it. If I could just change it…” His hoof touched the nearest stone and, as soon as he made contact, it changed into one that was darker gray with a different look to it. Runic blinked. “Huh. That is interesting.” He then touched another stone and it changed, too. “Ah, well that makes sense, we are dreaming. I’m going to fix this. Coral, would you like to help?” Coral’s eyes got wide and she asked, “Can I, Colonel?” Silent motioned. “By all means.” Runic was already trotting away, touching stones and turning them. Coral followed off behind him, doing her best to help. With his daughter safely engaged, Silent turned and trotted back over to Crystal and Princess Luna. More ponies were starting to pour in from the archways. Wallflower trotted out, seemingly unphased by her situation. She crossed the room to Silent and Crystal and reached out to take Cherry into the crook of her hoof. “So, this is what we’re doing this year?” Crystal smiled brightly. “Yes, it is a gift from Luna.” “And what a lovely gift it is. I get to see my grandfoals!” She cooed as she tickled Cherry’s tummy. “Ha, ha, ha! Grandmother, you are a gem!” Cherry boomed. Silent’s mother shot him a look and he just shrugged. “Snafu.” “I see,” Wallflower replied before bouncing the foal, eyeing her warily. Just about that time, Iridescence and Winterspear wandered out. Iridescence took one look around and then leveled a gaze at Princess Luna. “Alright, we talked about this. You’re supposed to ask in advance before invading my dreams.” The princess tipped her nose up in a huff. “If I had done it on this occasion, it would not have been a surprise. Besides, Silent Knight did not complain when I used to practice on him.” “Silent Knight is overly obedient and easily to manipulate,” Iridescence replied before grunting when Winterspear poked her in the ribs. “That’s my brother,” she hissed. “Tell me I’m wrong!” Iridescence replied. While his sister and sister-in-law argued, Silent’s attention shifted to the princess. She looked like she was sweating, her face tight with concentration. Silent set his hoof on Luna’s foreleg. “Are you certain you’re up for this?” Princess Luna didn’t look down at him. “I am certain. You ask for nothing and give so much. Allow me to do this for you and your family.” “As you wish, Princess,” Silent replied, doing his best to hide the concern in his voice. He turned to look at his wife, whose face suddenly lit up. Crystal squealed, “Horsey!” From another one of the archways, High Horse, Savoir, and all of their foals appeared. Each little pony huddled around their mother like baby ducklings, and she stood over them protectively. “It’s a dream but we’re all together,” Velvet called from where she sat in a beach chair, looking out a window that showed a gorgeous ocean view. “Don’t overthink it.” Crystal zipped across the room to hug Horsey before she started scooping up the foals to give them each a kiss. “Oh my gosh, you’re all here!” “Yes, yes we are… I guess,” High Horse said softly before grinning and hugging Crystal. “This is such a lovely idea. Once you stop overthinking it.” Velvet raised some kind of alcoholic beverage with a little umbrella in it, then knocked it back in one gulp. As she lowered the glass, it refilled almost instantly. “It’s a fantastic idea!” The princess panted softly. “I believe we are nearing the end of the guest list, thankfully.” “This cannot be, Grandmother Luna. We are missing an important guest! Father, where is Hoof?” Cherry cried, stopping everypony in the room and focusing all attention on them. Princess Luna’s brow furrowed and she looked down at Silent. “Who is Hoof?” Silent swallowed. “Oh, well Hoof is—” “Hoof is my best friend! It cannot be a party without Hoof! Please, Grandmother, bring him.” Cherry replied, urgently. The princess and everypony in the room looked to Silent, whose face was turning red. Crystal left Horsey to return to where Silent stood. She softly set a hoof on his cheek and whispered, “There are things fathers do for their daughters, no matter how hard they are.” Silent just gave a small nod before holding up his right forehoof and bending it at the ankle. In a high-pitched voice, he wiggled the hoof and said, “Hello, Cherry!” Cherry clapped eagerly. “Hoof! Welcome! I am delighted to see you.” The tell-tale cackle of Velvet tore through the air. “Oh, this is priceless!” Silent turned his back to the crowd and nestled down onto the ground in front of his daughter and mother. “Thank you, Cherry! I’m really happy to see you, too! Have you washed your mane?” Hoof asked before ruffling the foal’s mane with a soft ‘om nom nom’ sound. “It tastes great!” Coral, who was still helping Runic change stones, looked over and scowled. “How come I never met Hoof?” Crystal chuckled at her eldest daughter and replied, “You were more interested in swords and war stories. This is what Cherry likes.” “I guess that is fair,” Coral grumbled going back to changing stones with Runic. “I’ve never met Hoof, either!” came a happy, bouncy voice, and they looked up to see Dream Pop repelling down from the ceiling. Hoof lifted up higher and wiggled at her. “Hi, Dream Pop!” Velvet breathed in between barks of laughter, “Priceless! I can’t wait until we wake up.” Silent scowled at her before turning back to Cherry. Dream Pop trotted over, have Wallflower a quick hug, and nuzzled Cherry eagerly. “Hi, my little explorers!” “Hello, Auntie Dream Pop!” Cherry boomed in gleeful response. Blinking, Dream Pop tilted her head to the side. “Well, that’s new!” Crystal looked over at the Princess. “Luna, please! My baby.” When Silent looked over, the princess’s lips were pressed tightly together and it was clear she was concentrating hard. “Princess? Is everything alright?” “Yes,” she replied in a strained voice and forced a smile. “Everything is fine. Please, enjoy yourselves.” When Silent opened his mouth to argue, she turned to walk into the crowd, swallowed up in the growing chaos of so many ponies and their dreamy conjurations.