The reception was even more enthusiastic than she had imagined! Celestia had poked her head into the room where the children were playing, only to have one of the little humans cannoning into her for a hug.
"CELLY!" her young friend squealed at the top of her lungs. Celestia easily caught Sally for a brief nuzzle, before she was surrounded by happy, yelling children. It was a form of adoration and the Princess drank it in, even if they were a little too 'grabby' with their fingers.
Much to her gratitude, Sally quickly stepped in and slapped away a hand which was getting too familiar with her wings. "No! Don't touch!" the girl commanded. "Wings are a bad place and so is the tail!" Her voice seemed to carry some authority and the press of little bodies around her eased somewhat. Finally she had time to inspect her new friends.
Luckily, the birthday girl was an immense help. She pointed them all out for the pony: "That's Eliza, and Mia, and Abigail and Nicky," she explained while Celestia tried to keep up and match names to faces. Eliza was a dark-haired, slim girl with eyes that seemed almost pony-big. She was one of the quieter ones. Then Mia and Abigail were most likely sisters - they looked too alike, both with auburn curls and freckles. Nicky was clearly the troublemaker in the group, there was no mistaking that mischievous smile. It put her in mind of Glitter Dust, or perhaps Twilight Sparkle's friend, Rainbow Dash. The fancy watch the girl wore on her wrist seemed to confirm her knack for human gadgets, further enforcing the similarity. Celestia wondered if she should get the pair together sometime.
Then there were two human colts who had kept their distance. Sally introduced them as 'Oliver Wilson' and 'Will'. Why the first was given a two-part name, Celestia couldn't say. Maybe it was just the way they children knew each other. The mare sat on her haunches and smiled kindly at each one as they were named.
With that out of the way, the sisters - Mia and Abigail, Celestia remembered - spoke up at the same time: "Where are you from?!"
She was only too glad to answer, because it made her remember her home. "I'm from a land called 'Equestria'. It's where all ponies come from. Well, ponies like me, at least."
The next two voices clamored up together. Nicky asked: "Where is Equestria?" at the same time as one of the boys wanted to know what it was like.
Celestia couldn't really answer the first. Magical portals were perhaps a bit too advanced for children. So she focused on the second: "It's a beautiful land with very friendly ponies. The place where I am from is called 'Canterlot'. It's like a big castle, sticking out from the side of a mountain. The view is breathtaking."
Castle was the magic word. It drew the boys closer and they stared at her with wide, fascinated eyes. "Castle? Are there knights and kings and jousting?" Oliver asked. This time Celestia was sure it was him.
"Well, there are no kings in Equestria. The land is ruled by-" It was a tricky one. She couldn't say 'alicorn', not if she wanted to keep Rawsthorne in the dark. The man was right there, even if he didn't seem to be listening. "-by two royal sisters. They raise and lower the sun and the moon each day, and make sure their ponies are safe and happy."
At least, she added mentally to herself, that was the plan. Maybe it didn't work sometimes, but she tried very hard and so did Luna! They both liked to imagine they have done quite well against all the threats they had faced over the years.
"Are you a princess?" came the question that froze Celestia to the spot. She sought out the speaker, who was now in the center of attention. In particular all the girls were staring at their friend in wonder.
"What makes you say that?"
"Uh, n-nothing. I just thought - you're so beautiful and all white. You look like a princess!" came the quiet reply. Eliza was blushing a little with all the eyes on her. The girl obviously didn't like putting herself forward and she reminded Celestia of Twilight Sparkle's friend, Fluttershy. She didn't know the truth, of course, but it was a very perceptive guess. Celestia felt instant sympathy for the shy, quiet girl. She reached out a careful wingtip and gently tilted her face up so Eliza could see the alicorn smile.
"I'm no more special than any pony in Equestria, but there is at least one princess here today," she said with her careful, fine-tuned, diplomatic truthfulness.
She looked pointedly at the birthday girl, who giggled with delight. Crisis was averted and the quiet girl seemed satisfied with the answer. Celestia relaxed a little and answered a few more idle questions.
Her favorite color was either blue or red - even Celestia herself wasn't sure. She had been reminded of Luna and realized how much she missed her sister and her lovely midnight-blue mane, and red was the color of leaves in fall, which was an especially beautiful time of year.
Her favourite food was cake, which elicited a round of clapping and laughter from her new fan club. No, she wasn't married and there was no colt-friend. That last part made all the girls blush and the boys look away. Of course the children had heard stories from Sally and wanted to see a bit of magic. The alicorn obediently floated her present to the birthday girl. It made them all gasp in delight.
"Here, open it!" She felt her face go a little hot at the idea, but Celestia found she liked Sally's friends. They weren't a bad sort and she couldn't fault them for being a bit too 'grabby' when they first met her. Of course most of them never had a chance to see a real pony, they were understandably excited.
There was a gasp as Sally tore up the paper and pulled out the little saddle. She looked up at the alicorn and said the question: "You'll give me more pony rides?!"
Despite the unease, Celestia found her enthusiasm quite infectious. She kept her smile and confirmed it. "Of course, but you have to promise me something first, okay?"
The girl nodded with a very serious expression. This was obviously important and the alicorn knew she could trust Sally's word.
"You have to promise me you won't make a pony give you rides if they don't want to, okay? I'm sure if you ask nicely, they won't mind, but you must respect it if they say no."
"I promise," the child said. Even some of her friends were nodding. Perhaps Celestia was doing something good, at least. If they learned at this early age to treat ponies as people, rather than things, the future relations between their people would be better.
"In fact, I will give all of you rides today."
There was a loud chorus of voices raised in delight. "YAAAY!"
The girls rushed closer for a hug and Celestia wrapped her wings around them. It would be tiring, but also quite rewarding if the last time with Sally was anything to judge by. The only downside she could think of was Rawsthorne with his jokes and jabs, but she had an idea how to silence him now. A mouthful of snow, that was how! Before the girl could start strapping the saddle on the alicorn, Christine came with a cake on a big tray.
Celestia felt a pang of guilt over that. She had promised to bake it for the party, but by midweek Rawsthorne had noticed how hard she was driving herself and guessed that the mare wouldn't be up to it. How correct he was. If they had relied on her, there would be no cake this day. Luckily, her owner had called Christine and explained, and the woman had ordered the cake from a shop. It probably wasn't as good, the alicorn thought, but it would do.
There were nine candles on it. It looked like she would get cake before she had to give the children rides. It suited the mare just fine! After that they would go out and have some winter fun outside. She had seen the colorful, full-body suits in the hallway. It wasn't hard to guess they were made for the children to roll around safely in the cold snow. After all, humans didn't really have fur and they were remarkably sensitive to cold. She had seen that with Rawsthorne that very morning! She stopped making plans when Christine passed her a plate with a delicious, brown, sugary piece of chocolate cake.
Sally was the first to have a pony ride, as was proper for the birthday girl. She showed the others how to sit and follow the mare's movements. It helped immensely and the others did much better than Celestia had expected. Even the boys had accepted her magnanimous gift, although they sat rather more stiffly than the girls.
Those two would never have stayed on her back without the saddle. She didn't mind, though. When she had let him down, Will quietly asked if all ponies were as pretty as her. The human was a little young, but it still made her blush at the question and the mare didn't know how to answer.
"Uh, I don't know..."
It didn't help that the small human blushed as red as she did. Luckily, he could be distracted by cake so she avoided having to answer. Other than that, the riding went smoothly. After a bit of walking up and down the room, and out to the hallway, Celestia took each child through the kitchen, where their parents were all too eager to snap pictures. She was happy that they were making memories with her and the mare made sure to smile widely for each photo. Improving relations, that was the key.
Once they were done, the adults made sure their young were warmly dressed before they let them go outside. Celestia could already hear their screams of delight. She had an idea and went to speak quietly with Christine. A few moments later, Sally was dressed in her snow suit and the pony came up to the impatient girl.
"Come, let's ride outside, okay? After all, a princess needs her steed!" She had kept the saddle for a bit longer and now accepted the burden once more. She was a little tired after the other children, but Celestia was looking forward to the next part. She didn't mind a bit more effort and - she had to give Sally some credit - the young human was very sure of herself in the saddle. She was learning quickly.
The alicorn barely had to think about her rider as she walked outside. The gloved hands around her neck weren't a death-grip. As the two emerged outside, there was a cheer with only a few jealous overtones.
Now, how did one start a snowball fight? Ah, of course! The mare scooped up a bit of snow in a levitation spell. It was the work of a moment to round it into a sphere. Then she picked a target at random and let it fly - not too fast, so it wouldn't injure the child, but also not too slow.
Oliver was the unfortunate first victim and caught the ball right in his chest. "Hey!" he yelled and leaned down to make his own ball. Some of the others broke off and ran for cover, while the rest followed suit and began urgently scooping up snow.
Celestia giggled in excitement and yelled up to her rider: "Hold on! We have to escape!"
The grip around her neck tightened. The alicorn wasn't too worried. If Sally fell off, she would land in the soft snow, but she still took care as she cantered away and around the house. Not quickly enough, though. A snowball caught her right in the flank and the mare gasped. It turned into a giggle and she sped up to escape. By the little yelp, Sally also got one in the back.
"Us against them, right? We can't lose, not with my magic!"
"Yes!" the girl yelled back. She pointed with a hand. "Go that way! There's a shed we can hide behind!" The pony changed her direction. She saw the building and tried to decide if she would make it. Running through full snow was incredibly tiring, especially with a passenger on her back.
She made it - barely - and the two collapsed into the snow, laughing. The mare needed a few minutes, but she waved a wing at the surrounding snow.
"Quick, we need defenses. They probably saw us!"
The human began piling up snow into a crude wall, while Celestia caught her breath. Soon she was ready and looked around. Everything was quiet.
The calm before the storm.
The war was on and the mare wriggled in the snow a little out of sheer delight. She didn't even see where the expertly aimed ball came from, but it splashed harmlessly against the saddle. The alicorn stuck her tongue out in the approximate direction of her assailant, then rolled over behind Sally's wall before they could get in another shot.
"What now?"
The girl gave it some thought. "Let's sneak around the back! We'll get them from behind." It was a good plan. Celestia was glad that her ally was a good tactician. She began rolling up balls, so they would have ammunition ready. Then she lifted her head above the wall and listened intently. The rustle of their snow suits was unmistakable.
"They're coming!" she whispered and pointed a hoof. Sally nodded with a grim, determined expression. It looked like there would be no survivors.
It wasn't much later that the pony was lying flat on her belly, hiding behind yet another makeshift wall of snow. She tried and failed to suppress her giggling. Snowball fights were so much fun! No wonder her subjects took every opportunity! Something whizzed past above her and the alicorn jumped a little in surprise. She scooped up a bit of snow in a simple levitation spell and rolled it into a ball. Then she raised her head to look for whoever threw it.
A sleeve from a pink jacket was sticking out from behind the house corner. It wasn't a clear shot and Celestia crawled slowly to the side. It was amazing just how nimble and fast the children were. She had thought that magic would give her an unfair advantage, but the balls of slush came from all directions before she could deflect them and her own throws missed more often than not.
There was a rustle as Sally got to her knees to follow, but Celestia waved a wing. "Stay down. I'll get her! It's Abigail!"
The child nodded and moved back to the relative safety of their hastily constructed fort. The birthday girl had proven a valuable ally in this little war. She would be protected from the pink-jacket - their enemy! Celestia tried to move as low and as silently as she could. It worked and soon she was quite a distance from her hiding spot. She saw both Abigail and her sister, Mia, crouched just around the house, looking intently at the spot where Sally was still hiding. They had their snowballs at the ready, but they hadn't seen the mare crawl away. Of course! White fur on white snow. She was the epitome of stealth once she discarded her saddle.
The mare hefted the ball and prepared herself to launch it. Not too fast, of course. She didn't want to hurt the child, but she had to toss it with enough force to make it fly true.
There was a thump against her flank and Celestia jumped up in surprise. When she twirled around, she saw Sally and the two boys, advancing on her. Each was holding a couple of big snowballs and even as she looked one caught her right in the face.
"Eee-gh!" The pony spat out the snow and tried to make sense of the situation. "Betrayal!"
At the shout, the pelting began in earnest. The mare lifted up a lid of magic to save herself, but it didn't help. There were yells from behind and the pony saw that the sisters were coming at her from that direction. Even as she noticed that, Celestia took yet another ball in the rump. The cold impact made her yelp and twirl around. Sure enough, there were Eliza and Nicky, running into the fray.
She swung the shield around and looked for cover. Unfortunately, that opened up her side to Sally and her collaborators. Two more slapped against her hide. Out of desperation, the mare wrapped more magic around herself until she was encased in a bubble. All the kids were now advancing on her. Every now and then a ball smashed against the translucent barrier. But nothing got through.
She was safe for the moment, but completely surrounded. If any of them were surprised or amazed at the spells they didn't show it. Her little shields and her levitation had come into play a number of times and the children had quickly accepted it as fact. Even this latest spell didn't cause undue comment. Most of her little adversaries just grinned and waited for her to lower her guard. Sally was the one to approach.
"No fair!" the girl yelled and slapped her hand against the shield. "Magic is no fair!"
"Is too! You betrayed me!"
"Nuh-uh! I was a spy all along!" th girl claimed, even though they had entered the war together and never separated. When had her friend had a chance to switch sides?!
Apparently the alliances were shifting even more rapidly than at a Griffon trade negotiation. The groups seemed to have merged simply into the children against the pony. Well, now that she thought about it, Celestia had thrown the first ball.
There was no way out. The mare was trapped and out-snowballed. "Okay, I give up! You won't pelt me if I lower the shield?"
The children were bad liars. They promised they wouldn't, but the alicorn could read their faces clearly. She didn't mind. She let the bubble vanish and then feigned surprise as snow flew at her again.
"EEEEP! No! STOP!" Celestia yelped, but then she couldn't hold back the laughter anymore. She shielded her eyes with a wing and looked for the little traitor. In a few steps she was upon Sally and grabbed her with her hooves. The two rolled around in the snow and alternated between squealing from the cold and laughing out of sheer excitement.
The assault was so sudden that Sally's friends didn't know how to help. A few of them threw their last ammo at the pony, but half the balls hit the girl instead. In the end, Celestia got the upper hoof. She pinned the little human's arms to the snow.
"Yield! Truce?"
Sally struggled for a bit longer, then nodded. "Okay! I promise."
This time Celestia believed her. She let her go and the girl sprang up to hug the pony. They were both shivering, so the mare made a judgement call. "Okay, I think this is enough." There was a chorus of disappointed groans.
"Let's get some more cake and warm up!"
This quickly changed the tone and her new friends ran for the house. The mare helped Sally up and followed.
Rawsthorne shook his head in dismay as he helped to wipe Ceelstia down with a towel. She was dripping with water and there were still clumps of snow melting in her mane and tail. Her fur was almost entirely soaked and the pony shivered a little even in the warmth of the house.
"Looks like you had a lot of fun," her owner commented. Celestia chose to imagine that he was jealous. In fact, all the grown-ups had probably been looking out the window at their little war, envious that they couldn't join their children.
It was so easy to picture his envy. "You could have joined us if you wanted!" the mare replied. "Oh, and remind Christine to go fetch the saddle, it's outside... somehwere."
He chuckled, but shook his head. "I don't think it would be very appropriate for me to join. That's just for children."
"So I am a child?" She didn't mind the implication. It was part of what she had wanted when she came to Earth. To release the filly inside and let her play a little!
"No, but it's different for you," her human explained. He found a fresh towel somewhere and carefully began drying her back and mane. It was very nearly like a massage. Just for that, she forgave him the unintended insult.
"Oh, so you are the magical helper?" came a new voice. Another human approached them and grinned at the alicorn. He held out his hand. "Jeff."
Celestia remembered the name as she reached a hoof up for the man to shake. "Sally's father?"
The man nodded. "That's right. I wanted to say thank you for clearing our driveway. It saved me a ton of work with the shovel."
She liked the praise, even if it wasn't entirely deserved. "It was a very simple spell, Mr. Jeff. Gregory needed a space to park his car and it was no trouble to clear the rest of your front yard while I was at it."
The human wouldn't take her modesty: "Maybe it was simple to you, but it was still amazing to see. All that snow, just floating up and moving aside."
She didn't argue anymore. "Well, you're quite welcome."
She and her owner followed the man back into the living room, where most of the children were wrapped up in blankets or towels. The mare remembered her other gift, which was in Rawsthorne's coat pocket.
"Oh! You do have cocoa, right? I have some marshmallows with me!" She levitated the packet from the entrance hall and made her way to the kitchen. One last thing to make the party complete! Well, the beverage and another slice of cake. It wasn't as good as hers, but the Princess had never turned down cake before, and she didn't intend to start now. Rawsthorne left her with Christine and went to sit somewhere with Jeff. They would probably talk about TV, the mare guessed. Humans often did. She began to hum a gentle melody as she poured a pot of water. Meanwhile Christine was getting the cocoa powder from the pantry.
Children's parties, Celestia decided, were great!
"So..." Rawsthorne said quietly as they drove back. "Had fun?"
Celestia didn't have to think about the answer. For that matter, the human didn't really need to ask! He could probably read the smile on her muzzle. She bobbed her head up and down happily anyway.
"Yes, it was lovely!"
"It was nice of Christine to give us some cake to take home," Rawsthorne went on.
Her smile widened as the alicorn remembered. "Yes. We'll each have a piece."
That was news to the human. "No need. You can have it all. I know you appreciate it more."
The mare firmly shook her head. Rawsthorne still didn't enjoy confectionery. She still had the Quest to complete! "We will each have a piece!" She spoke calmly and resolutely. There was no mistaking her tone of command. She would wrestle her owner to the floor and force feed him, if she had to.
Rawsthorne seemed to sense her determination. "Okay, okay, I'll try it!"
The alicorn reached over with a wing to give her owner a pat on his head. "Good human."
He sighed and probably rolled his eyes in exasperation. Celestia couldn't see from her angle. She also couldn't quite judge if he was annoyed. Perhaps some mending of bridges was in order?
"I am very grateful you took me, Gregory. It was probably rather boring for you."
Now the human glanced at her, but too quickly to see his expression. "You're welcome."
She fell silent as they stopped on the driveway and waited for the garage door to open, but then she had an idea. Why not include Rawsthorne in some of the fun, at least?
"Wait!" Celestia quickly opened the car and stepped out.
The human looked around in surprise, thinking she had spotted something. "What is it?" he asked and leaned over the passenger seat to see what she was doing.
"I'll just clear our driveway, too. It's easy!" It was a ploy, something the mare had thought up on the spur of the moment. She had to get the human out of the car and outside. Undoubtedly he would come and watch after he parked. As she waited, Celestia prepared the magic she would use.
Exactly as predicted, Rawsthorne moved his vehicle inside and turned it off. Then he hurried out to watch her magic in action.
What he got instead was a snowball, right to the face!
Celestia roared with laughter at his shocked expression and choked mewling sounds that came out. She watched closely what he would do next. There was always the risk he would be annoyed, maybe even send her to bed without dinner or bath, but Celestia was willing to risk it.
The mare nearly squealed with excitement when the human crouched down and grabbed a fistful of snow. "I'll get you for this!" he roared and let it fly, but the pony was faster. She ducked around the house and his throw missed.
Celestia scooped up another ball and peered around the corner, only to see her owner running toward her. She yelped and shot the snow toward him, before turning tail and galloping away. She didn't run too fast. The fun was in the chase, not in actual escape. Every now and then Rawsthorne paused, grabbed some snow and chucked. Most of those found their mark and Celestia was soon covered.
She gave as good as she got! Her magic was fast and the earlier practice with the children had significantly improved her aim. More than once Rawsthorne had to stop and wipe snow from his face and hair, and each time Celestia blew him a raspberry.
"Just you wait till I catch you!" the human roared in mock rage. It just made the alicorn giggle some more and spurred her on.
After a time they both saw that the human was gaining on her. It took some clever hoofwork to make it look like she was running as fast as she could, yet still somehow slower than Rawsthorne. Soon, she could no longer pause to throw snowballs. She concentrated on dodging a clumsy grab as they reached the end of their back yard and continued around the house for yet another lap.
The human was right behind her! She glanced back and - despite the fact that she had engineered the situation - squealed in fright.
The look was to be her undoing. Celestia yelped in surprise and tripped. Her forelegs collapsed before her and she plunged forward in a spray of snow. Her hind hooves kicked uselessly at the air as the mare tumbled head over wings and ended up on her back, helpless. She was immensely proud of the performance and Rawsthorne didn't suspect a thing!
The human landed on her with a triumphant yell. "AHA!" he shouted and his arms wrapped around her barrel to keep her from slipping away. Only for a moment, because the man quickly shifted his body and straddled her belly. There was no escaping from the weight, even if she wanted to.
Celestia had to keep up appearances. She fought fiercely, but was careful not to kick Rawsthorne as she flailed her hooves.
"Throw snowballs at me, will you?!" the human demanded. It would have been scary had Celestia not seen him grin, which Rawsthorne quickly suppressed. "I'll teach you some manners, you horse!"
Too late the alicorn understood what he was about to do! This time her yelp of fear was real. "No! Please, not that!" she begged, but there was no preventing it. Two handfuls of snow came to meet her muzzle. Her giggles became intertwined with squeaks, before being muffled. "No! Plea- gah! Agh-!"
She spluttered as she involuntarily swallowed some snow. Her wings flailed ineffectually against the ground, but no quarter was given. She barely managed a breath before Rawsthorne rubbed more snow in her face. The human was grinning openly now as he focused on his work.
No part of her muzzle was dry any more and the pony stopped struggling. "I yiel- gurk! I yield!" She had to choke it out between mouthfuls of snow. "Mercy!"
The punishment ended, but the human still sat on her. It made Celestia acutely aware of her back pressed into the freezing ground, but she didn't mind. She was concentrating more on Rawsthorne's thighs straddling her sides.
Rawsthorne leaned down to get a better look. His fingers gently wiped a bit of melting snow from her face. It was perhaps the nearest they had been while not asleep. Celestia knew exactly what to do. A warm lick of appreciation! She reached up with her head and closed her eyes.
The alicorn later suspected that neither of them knew how it had turned into a kiss. She certainly never intended it. Nor did Rawsthorne. Maybe he had opened his mouth to object to her licking, but had been a moment too late? The pony often thought about it afterwards. It was a fateful moment.
At first, she froze in shock. Her lips were touching his, and since she had intended to lick, her tongue was out.
Or rather - in.
Celestia opened her eyes and looked straight into Rawsthorne's. It seemed to go on for a while, as neither of them dared move. As soon as they pulled apart, they would have to blush and she would probably apologize. They would pretend it had been an accident.
Perhaps it had been, but it was one they both needed to push them along. The human wasn't moving away! Maybe - the mare couldn't be sure, but she really hoped - he was leaning in?! The thought seared its message across her mind and Celestia dared let herself hope. Maybe this time it didn't need to be an accident! Maybe she wouldn't have to apologize!
She certainly wasn't sorry! The mare pushed all thought away. There would be time for it later. Right now, she spread her wings open and wrapped them carefully around the human. Her hooves sought out his flanks and her tail swished up to brush his thigh. Neither of them felt the cold.
The kiss went on forever, then suddenly stopped.
The pony watched the human.
The human watched the pony.
Neither spoke.
Rawsthorne lifted his hand again and brushed a drop of water from her muzzle. Alas, they could not stay like that. Now that it was over, Celestia became aware of her freezing back and began to shiver. The slight movement broke the spell.
"Oh, sorry! I forgot! We should get you inside!"
The mare heaved a sad sigh, but then brightened up. She was still holding the human with her wings. He wasn't leaving yet. "Only if you p-promise we'll do t-this again!"
She held her breath and turned both ears toward the man, so she wouldn't miss the 'yes'.
"Yes," Rawsthorne said quietly.
Celestia felt her mouth split open in a smile. She released the human and accepted his hand to help her up. A shake dislodged most of the snow which clung to her fur and feathers, but it didn't make her warmer.
On the contrary: the mare started shivering wildly as a slow but freezing wind picked up around them.
"Come on. Let's get inside and have a hot cup of tea," her human insisted. She was only too glad to obey, but Celestia glanced back at the trampled snow.
Something important had happened. Something monumental! She didn't yet know what would come next, but she was eager to find out. The pony hurried to catch up with her human. They would have to take it slow, but she was fine with slow. She could wait a little longer.
Celestia had the perfect idea. "So would you like to cuddle on the couch with that tea and a blanket and a nice movie?"
Rawsthorne stopped to look at her. The mare kept her smile and held her breath again as she waited for the verdict.
"Yes, I think I'd like that very much, Celestia."