//------------------------------//
// Hearth's Warming 
// Story: Resurgence 
// by BronyWriter 
//------------------------------//

I sighed as I looked into my throne room and gazed upon the absolute mountains of gifts that I'd received for Hearth's Warming this year. It's one of the things I hated about the holiday. Don't get me wrong: it's nice to see that ponies care, but... ugh. It takes weeks to sort everything out, and three ponies working for another two weeks to get the thank you cards sent out. I didn't get a ton of them for my first few years as a ruler, but it especially blew up once we'd won the war. Ponies seemed to have this perception that I'd won it single-hoofedly, and now they wanted to give gifts to their newly minted god of war. I don't want to be the god of war, but that's how they see it, even though the war had been over for almost two years at this point. 

The life of a prince, ladies and gentlemen. At least we found ways to donate them or whatnot. I think most ponies understood. It wasn't exactly a secret that we received mountains of stuff every year. At least it died down a twinge once we made a rule that ponies were only allowed to send us one gift a year, then the next year, we specified even more that families could only send one, after several of them gave us one gift from each parent and then all of the children. 

I walked into the maze and idly picked up a crocheted plushy of myself. It would be heartwarming and really neat if I was sure that I wasn't going to find nine more over the course of the next few weeks. At least the ponies took the time to make them, which did mean that we appreciated them more than the ponies who just got us something from the store. I did have to also make a rule that ponies couldn't forge swords and other weapons for me. Again, rather not be the god of war. 

"Dang, dude. I never really get used to this," Kristen said from behind me. I turned around and saw her hopping over different presents to get to me. "I mean, this is only the second Hearth's Warming that I've ever been here for, but given that you said that this is every year, I'm worried for when the population gets bigger."

"Which it does most years," I said with another sigh. "I mostly just keep the stuff from the foals. Cards and the like. I'd rather get those than..." I picked up a strange contraption in my magic and frowned. "Whatever this is."

"Huh." Kristen tilted her head. "Is that even legal to have, much less give to you?"

"I don't know," I said, tossing it back onto the pile. "Maybe it's their way to give the god of war another weapon. In any case, I at least need to do scans on all of this to make sure none of them are bombs or other hazards like that. We've had that a few times over the years. Never fun."

"I can get that," Kristen said, picking up a nearby card attached to a box of chocolates. "Also probably don't want to eat anything until you've made sure that it isn't poisonous. Or can you even get poisoned?" She shrugged and shook her head. "But I..." She tilted her head and raised her eyebrow as she read the name on the card. "This one's for me."

"It is?" I said, walking over to her. "Who's it from?"

"Not sure yet. Hopefully it's not poisonous." She opened the card and wrinkled her nose. "Great. It has a poem attached to it. This should be good. 'my dearest love, I cannot bear to be apart from you. I know my thoughts and feelings are true. To my heart I must listen, my dearest, most beautiful Kristen'..." She stuck her tongue out and shook her head. "Great. Just great. It's a lovey-dovey one, too. Hopefully he doesn't send me anything for Hearts and Hooves day."

"Hope not. Who's it from?" I asked, despite a growing feeling in the pit of my stomach telling me exactly who this was from."

"Let's see... it says it's from Duke Gold--" Her eyes narrowed, and her teeth bared. Not good. "Golden Banks." She tossed the card and chocolate aside with a grunt of disgust. "When will he get it through his pretty-boy head?! I'm not. Freaking. Interested! I thought I made that clear during the Gala. Besides, how come he waited until now to give me something like this?"

"Dunno," I muttered. Dang it, I'm an alicorn! I need to be better at hiding emotions than this! As if to prove my point, Kristen slowly turns her head to me and gives me a slight glare.

"You wouldn't have happened to be... intercepting packages and stuff like that from him, wouldn't you?"

"I thought that--"

"Ugh!" She stomped her hoof on the floor. "Seriously?! How long has he been sending me stuff?!"

"About once or twice a week since the last Gala."

"Oh for pete's sake! Not only do I have to reject him every time I see him at something stupid like the Gala, but he keeps sending me stuff like this even though I've repeatedly told him no and never replied?!" She ground her hoof and growled. "Fine. Fine. If he wants a reply, he's going to get a reply!"

"Kristen, I don't think that's a good--"

But she had already turned herself invisible and vanished into the pile of presents. Not good. 


*  *  *  *


"Did you have a good Hearth's Warming, Master Banks?"

I chuckled and nodded as I nursed my eggnog. "Yes, I think so, Jeeves. Although..." I gave an unhappy sigh as I set my eggnog on the end table next to me. Outside, the snow was gently falling, creating a powdery blanket on the ground. It reflected my pained heart. "Princess Kristen has not yet replied to any of my mail. I pine after her unlike anything I have ever pined for."

"You did really want that My First Bow and Arrow kit when you were nine," Jeeves muttered to himself before clearing his throat. "If I may say so, sir, perhaps you should move on. Princess Kristen obviously has no intention of returning your affections. It's been many months since the Gala. Certainly there are other mares out there who would be happy to have your company, Master Banks."

"But I only wish for one." I picked up the eggnog and took another sad sip. "To think what would become of our family if we were to be married, and she is a comely mare. I admit that I do not know her well, but that would come in time, and there is certainly nothing about her that would be unseemly."

"If you say so, Master Banks."

Before I could respond, I saw what appeared to be a small flash of light out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head with a frown. No, it couldn't have been anything more than the fire. However, I noticed one last box underneath the Hearth's Warming tree. It was barely larger than my hoof. I stood up and walked over to it. It was small enough that I can see why it was missed. With a burst of magic from my horn, I levitated it over to me.

"Jeeves, what is this?" I turned the box in my magic, examining it. There wasn't a tag on it. A cursory glace around the base of the tree did not reveal any kind of note indicating who it was from. 

"I know not, Master Banks," he said, walking up to me to examine the box for himself. "I don't recognize it as something I put under the tree."

"Odd." With another burst of my horn, the bright red wrapping paper fell to the floor, revealing a simple brown box with an eighth note on it. A music box. "My word. I wonder who it could be from."

"Or if it's for you," Jeeves pointed out.

"It's under the tree in my room. It has to be." 

With one final burst of magic, I lifted the lid.


*  *  *  *


"Prince Antares? Mister Golden Banks is here to see you."

Sigh.

"Alright, Time Keeper. Let him in."

There was no way this wasn't about whatever Kristen had sent him. I tried everything I could think of to get her to tell me what she'd done, but she just stayed in her room and didn't bother responding to me at all. I guess it was time to figure out what she'd put him through. 

The door to the throne room opened, and Golden Banks walked in. His mane was frazzled, sticking out at odd angles, and the bags under his eyes indicated that he hadn't gotten much rest lately. Stuck to his hoof was an open brown music box. That can't be good. He stopped in front of my throne and collapsed. 

"P-Prince Antares," he wheezed. "M-make it stop!"

Ugh. "Make what stop?"

"Th-this!" he groaned, raising the hoof with the music box attached. "Some cruel prankster or domestic terrorist must have sent this to me. I can't get it off or close the lid?"

I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head. "What music is playing? I can't hear anything."

"Hearth's Warming songs, Prince Antares." He shook his hoof again, but the box didn't budge. "High-pitched voices. Like how a chipmunk might talk. Singing of hippopotamuses for Hearth's Warming! And Hearth's Warming shoes for mothers! It's all I can hear!"

Wow. Wooooww. Okay, I get that she's annoyed with him, but I might need to make that illegal if it isn't already. The box was bad enough, but the songs... that was wrong. I lit my horn and encased the box in my magic. Yeah, tons of chaos magic around it. I negated it with a quick spell, and the box fell to the floor, snapping shut upon impact. Golden Banks curled into a ball, muttering something to himself. 

"Time Keeper, if you could see to it that he gets something to eat and... maybe a therapist, I need to get to my next appointment."

Time Keeper bowed. "Very good, Prince Antares." He walked up to Golden Banks and nudged him to his hooves. "Come on. Let's get you some soup, alright?"

Golden Banks just kept muttering to himself as Time Keeper led him to the dining room, and once they were gone, I left out of the side door and make a beeline for Kristen's room. When I reached it, I pounded on the door with perhaps a little more force than necessary, but it matched my irritation.

"Kristen, Golden Banks came in. I got the music box off of him."

The door swung open, revealing that her pool now went to the edges of the room. That's new. Kristen glared at me from the middle of the room, where she was laying on her back in the water. A fully-grown Bob floated idly beside her. 

"I told him to stop at the Hearth's Warming party. He kept hitting on me, once stopping just short of asking to go into the back room for some 'private time'. I told him to stop more. He didn't, even when the guards dragged him away. He got what he deserved."

"I know it sucks, and we do what we can to make sure that you two aren't around each other, and I get that you were frustrated, but driving him insane isn't the right way to go about getting him to stop. Besides, he doesn't even know that the box is from you, so it's pointless."

"Oh, he'll get it," Kristen said, idly examining her hoof. "He hasn't opened his second present yet."

I groaned and rubbed my temple. "What is it? How exactly are you going to get him to stop without revealing your powers?"

"Maybe you could stop inviting him to the palace's events and forcing me to go?"

"You know why we can't," I growled. "His family is one of the most important in Baltimare, so not inviting them to events would be a disaster, and you're a princess. Ponies expect you to be there. If you weren't at the Hearth's Warming party, ponies would talk."

"Ponies would talk, and my word, we can't have that!" she said, mimicking a Canterlot accent.

"You said you wanted to go to the Hearth's Warming party, but..." I groaned and thunked my head on the door frame. "I'll figure out how to get you out of more events."

"'preciate it."

"But only if you tell me what his second gift is so that I can stop it."

She rolled around onto her stomach and looked up at me. "It's a box with a speaker in it that will start playing those songs every time he looks at my name or sees me in any way, be that in person or even a picture." She pointed to a small box that was bobbing in the water next to a floating lamp. "I haven't sent it yet."

"And you won't," I replied, taking the box in my magic. "I'll have a talk with him about it. I'll make sure he doesn't bother you anymore."

"He'd better not," Kristen growled. "I managed to get a hold of one of the letters he sent yesterday." She shivered and slowly started sinking until only her head remained above the water. "I needed brain bleach."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'll talk with him."

"Wonderful." 

With that, the door slammed shut in my face. I turned and walked down the hall, shaking my head and muttering to myself.

"I really need to make that illegal. Although, maybe if we got into another war I could... no. Too much."