//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Hearth's Warming Eve is Here Once Again! // Story: The Adventure of the Apex Legion // by DeffBwade //------------------------------// Previously on The Adventure of the Apex Legion Oh. Hello Discord," Princess Celestia greeted back, "And hello Legion." "Hello Tia. Hello Lulu," Discord greeted. "Hi princesses," I said before I bowed when I remembered that I was in the presence of royalty. "There's no need to bow my little pony," Princess Celestia giggled, "Anyway, to what do we owe you the pleasure? It would be nice to just catch up on what has been going on with you." "I'm glad you asked. It involves our little pegasus friend here," Discord replied before he lifted me up, "Well. Go on little one. Show the princesses your little trick." "That is rather interesting," Princess Celestia said as I made my hoof reappear, "I've never seen a pegasus perform magic like that before." "Sister, does thou think that Starswirl's journals were true?" Princess Luna whispered to her sister before she pointed a hoof at me, "And that this child is actually capable of utilizing the magic from the Elements?" "It's quite possible." "Um...what?" I asked. "How did thou hear us?! We were barely speaking above a whisper!" Princess Luna exclaimed. "I don't know. Good hearing?" I answered, "Now I ask again, what do the Elements of Harmony have to do with this?" "Legion. I'm afraid my sister and I haven't been completely honest with you," she answered. "Thou has just teleported," Princess Luna said, "It was a minor, but it was still a teleportation spell nonetheless." "B-but that's not possible!" I exclaimed, "I shouldn't be able teleport!" As we entered the cave, I noticed a bright light emitting from it. The first thing I see is a crystalline tree. Princesses Celestia's and Luna's cutie marks were marked on trunk of it. Sitting on tree were six different colored crystals. Five on the trunks and one in the center. The crystal in the center was rose colored and shaped like a star. There was also a pink colored one shaped like a butterfly, a baby blue one shaped like a balloon, a magenta one shaped like a lightning bolt, an indigo one shaped like a diamond, and an orange one shaped like an apple. "What...what is this?" I asked as I stared back at the tree. "This is the Tree of Harmony," Princess Celestia said, "It has been here for thousands of years. It's where the Elements originally came from." "This journal belonged to our old mentor, Starswirl the Bearded," the princess of the night said, "Thou can thank Discord for discovering it. It includes all of his research on the Elements of Harmony." With Harmony Magic, anypony is capable of doing wonderous things that no normal pony is capable of doing. My only regret is that I don't have the time to research what exactly it could do. Research for another pony to do, I guess. The reason I'm mentioning this is because of a recent event besides the whole thing with Stygian. I had a vision. One that's in the distant future. It was kind of a blur to me, but I still remember a few parts. There was a pony, a pegasus to be specific, who was able to utilize Harmony Magic whenever he needed to. They were able to use magic no pegasus has done before. The pony gave off an aura of light and tranquility. In other parts of my vision, all I saw was darkness, full of...sadness...and anger. Lots and lots of anger. It was...suffocating, to put it bluntly. And in the middle of the darkness was the pony. I don't know what it all meant, but unfortunately I don't have the time to figure it out. I only hope that whoever this pony was is capable of defeating the darkness. As Princess Luna finished off the journal entry, I was left to my thoughts. Was that what was happening to me? I looked at my hoof and turned it invisible. Invisibility, teleportation, and supposedly enhanced healing. Was all this the work of the Harmony Magic that Starswirl mentioned? Was this magic coming from the Tree of Harmony? And this vision that he mentioned. That's what irked me the most. A pony, a pegasus, doing magic. Was this pegasus...me? Was I the one giving off the aura of light? What scared me though was the part about darkness suffocating the pony, or rather, me? What did it all mean? "Why me though?!" I yelled, "The mystery pegasus in Starswirl's vision could be anyone! There's tons of pegasi in Equestria! No, scratch that! The entire planet! So why is it that you decided to call for some random person that's not even from this world?!" "Legion, of course we have brought thou here for a reason. We wouldn't go through such great lengths to bring you here if we didn't have one," Princess Luna said. "Indeed, we have brought you here because you are the only one we've found that's capable of wielding Harmony Magic," Princess Celestia said, "For you are capable of representing everything that the Elements stand for." "Laughter, kindness, and loyalty, maybe," I said, "But honesty, generosity, and magic? I hate to break it to you, but I'm not exactly honest or generous like my professors. And magic? I don't even know where to begin with that one." "Hmm. Perhaps. But just because you aren't really honest or generous doesn't mean that you can't be. You just have to learn how to," the princess explained. "As for the Element of Magic," Princess Celestia continued, "I'm afraid I don't have the answer to that. It'll just...come to you. A sort of spark if you would." "Legion?" Princess Celestia said, grabbing my attention, "At least think about this before you come to a decision. Please. That's all I ask." "Okay," I muttered with a nod. You doing alright man? Honestly...I don't know. I just don't know what to think. The thought that I'm supposedly a pony that will fight an entity of darkness, it scares me. But...if it's my destiny to protect this world, then...sigh...I don't know. Maybe. The Adventure of the Apex Legion Written by DeffBwade Chapter 11: Hearth's Warming Eve is Here Once Again! The frigid snow from the clouds outside blew gently against the windows of the school. You know, I haven't actually seen snow in person for...who knows how long. Years at best. It doesn't snow back where I lived. Just cold weather during the winter season. It was both a blessing and a curse. I never had to shovel snow off the driveway or worry about being late to school due to roads being covered in ice. But at the same time, it meant school was never cancelled during the winter season besides Christmas break. Speaking of Christmas, I looked around the room and saw ponies chatting away happily. Around the room were festive decorations like the classic wreathes, red ribbons, pretty lights, and a tree covered in decorations and surrounded by wrapped presents. Sound familiar? That's right. Christmas time is finally upon us! Or as Equestria calls it, Hearth's Warming Eve. You might be wondering what happened after my talk with the princesses. After Discord brought me back to the school, I walked back to my room in hopes of just sleeping the whole ordeal off, but I was soon approached by Ocellus. Turns out, she didn't tell anyone where I went. Although, she did tell the others that I had to do something important, but that's pretty much it. She questioned me on what I talked about with the princesses. I only told her part of the truth. Actually, I probably told her a complete lie. I just said that the princesses are looking into my whole...problem. Okay, forget what I just said. I lied to her completely. One of the perks of being me, is that I can be a good liar. It's all about keeping a calm expression, speak in a convincing tone, and try not to stutter over your words. I don't think such tactics would work when talking to Professor Applejack though. She really is a living lie detector. It did pain me a bit to lie to my friend, especially if it was sweet, little Ocellus. I mean, I lie to my friends a lot, but those were all jokes and most of the time I make it obvious that I'm lying. But this time, it's legitimate. In my mind, I told myself that I'll listen to Princess Celestia's request to think about the whole situation. My magic, Starswirl's vision, and learning the other traits of the Elements: honesty, generosity, and magic. That was almost two weeks ago, and I'm still thinking. I could learn about honesty and generosity, but magic wouldn't be easy. The princess said that it'll just come to me, like a spark. Dude, it's magic. I can already fly and do magical tricks. What exactly will the this spark feel like? And that's if I choose to act upon the princesses' words. A small part of me wants to just ignore the whole ordeal completely and go back to a normal life. Well...as normal as living as a pegasus in Equestria can be. But the events from a few weeks ago still linger in my mind. Sigh. When I heard that Hearth's Warming Eve was coming soon, I decided to use that as a...I guess you can call it a distraction. Something to focus on other than my magic or the whole mumbo jumbo. I mean, something other than midterms, which actually weren't that bad, besides Headmare Twilight's history portion. So here I am now, sitting with my friends as we prepare for the holidays. God, that was hell. Just like all the other history tests you've had. As Sandbar decorated the tree, he sang one of those festive Christmas songs. "Pony's voices fill the night, Hearth's Warming Eve is here once again~," he sang happily, "Come on every creature, sing!" Nobody actually sang along. They just glanced at him and then continued talking to each other, including me and the others. "Sorry Sandbar. Not that I think the song is bad or anything. I just don't know the lyrics. Plus I don't sing...in public at least." "La la la la la la la la, la la la la la la la la~," Sandbar sang the tune as he walked over to me and the others, and then prompted Ocellus to sing as well. "La la la la la," Ocellus muttered with a nervous smile. Sing it girl! I couldn't help but have a small smile on face. "Not every creature celebrate same way, you know," Yona said with a stern face. "Yeah. Dragons don't do pony holidays," Smolder said. "Sure we do. I love Hearth's Warming Eve!" Spike said as he, Headmare Twilight, and Professor Dash approached, "It's all about friends, and presents, and family, and presents!" "Amen to that dude." "It's also about putting aside difference to come together. Like earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns did on the first holiday," Headmare Twilight explained. I honestly don't know if that's better than the fact we celebrate Christmas in order to remember the birth of Jesus Christ. I mean, Jesus did save us from sin by being hanged on the cross, so...wait. Why are we getting religious all of a sudden? "Oh. Is that why you put their Fire of Friendship on top of the tree?" Ocellus as she pointed to a pink burning heart that laid on the tree, "To help us remember their unity?" "And...cause it looks cool," Professor Dash said. "It really is. Although I can't help but wonder whether or not that's a fire hazard." "This is my favorite day of the year!" Silverstream giggled excitedly, "Not that I don't like the other ones. Tuesdays are great!" "At least she didn't say Mondays. Mondays suck ass." "Yona like any day at the start of winter break," Yona exclaimed. "Agreed," I said with a nod. "Two whole weeks without classes. How will Ocellus survive?" Gallus sarcastically asked, eliciting a nervous giggle from the shy changeling. It's times like these that are basically the reason why love hanging out with these creatures. We're all unique in a way, both appearance (besides Sandbar and I, species wise) and personality wise. Sure we tease each other from time to time, but in the end, we're all great friends who's got each others backs. I'm not gonna tell anyone this, but my best friend is probably Ocellus, cause we have a few things in common. We're both the scholarly types, we're both shy (although admittedly she's shyer than me), and we're really nice to our friends. Also...I find changelings to be very cool, mostly because they have the ability to shapeshift. If you had that kind of power, what would you do? Probably turn into a naked chi- Okay! Moving on. "I think you'll all enjoy the time off to be with you families. To celebrate your own traditions," Headmare Twilight said. "Shit." And...this is where my happiness died down a bit, despite me continuing to smile on the outside. How could I have been so stupid? Here in Equestria, I don't have a family to go back to (well that sounded really depressing to say out loud). Everybody believes that I have family back in Canterlot. The only ones that know the truth are the princesses and Discord. "Attention every creature. School is officially out. Happy holidays and we'll see you after the break," Headmare Twilight announced, to which everyone in room, sans me and the others, walked out, "And for those of you traveling outside of Equestria..." "Yeah, shouldn't you guys be getting ready to go?" Professor Dash asked, "If you miss that train, it's a really long walk." "Go pack up and we'll take you to the station," Headmare Twilight said. We then got up and walked back to our dorm rooms. I didn't do any packing at all. I just lied down on my bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking. I mean, what did I have to pack? Besides my saddlebags, bits, toiletries, and school supplies, I didn't have much. I guess that's one of the perks of being part of a species that don't really wear clothes. The other one being that you don't have to decide everyday what you're gonna wear. But back on topic, the School of Friendship is more or less my home in Equestria. I don't have anywhere else to go. Neither in Ponyville nor Canterlot. Since my friends believe that I have family back in Canterlot, I'm sure they'd get suspicious of my origins if I ask one of them if I can go with them back to their homes. And I don't feel very comfortable with the idea of just asking the princesses if I can stay with them in the castle during the two-week break. I'm already living at the school rent free. I would ask Discord if I can stay with him, but I'm kind of scared to know where he lives. I bet it's some freaky alternate dimension where reality is an illusion and the universe is a hologram. Buy gold. Sigh. What am I gonna do dude? Beats me. What if I- "Might as well give up, whoever you are! We got you cornered!" Oh shit! The cops are here! Quick, hide the drugs! That sounded like Professors Dash actually. Was she confronting someone? "Hello? Is anypony there?" That sounded like Headmare Twilight. What's going on? I got up from my bed and opened my door. Out in the hall was the headmare and Spike. "What's going on?" I asked with confusion as Smolder and Silverstream exited their rooms. "Gasp. Is there gonna be another decorating party?!" Silverstream asked excitedly. "Has any creature come in here?" the headmare asked. "Well...yeah. All of us did. To pack? Like you told us to?" Smolder answered. "After that," Spike said, "Did you hear anything?" Smolder, Silverstream, and I shook our heads, before the others exited their rooms. "What's up?" Gallus asked. "Yona done packing!" Yona proclaimed. "Is something wrong?" Ocellus asked as Professor Dash flew into the hallway. "The backdoor's locked. No way out!" she exclaimed. "But whoever did had to have come in here," the headmare said, "We saw them." "Whoever did what?" Ocellus asked. "Helvete (Swedish for holy shit)," I muttered. "That...is so not cool," Sandbar said as we all stared out the tree, which was now covered in some kind of purple goo. In fact, said goo was all over the room, covering the furniture and dripping from the ceiling. Don't take that out of context. "And...whoever did it ran into your rooms," Spike pointed at us as he, Headmare Twilight, and Professor Dash gave us stern glares, "No one came out, and all of you are still here." "One of you must've done this!" Professor Dash pointed at us accusingly, "But...why would any of you wanna sabotage Hearth's Warming Eve?" We all spoke in unison, claiming that we didn't do anything. "Yona not do this," Yona scoffed, "Yona offended by accusation." "We don't know what happened. Maybe this wasn't even on purpose, but I wanna give whoever caused this mess a chance to tell the truth and explain themselves. I'll make it easy for you. Close your eyes," Headmare Twilight asked before we all closed our eyes, but I opened my eye a bit and saw that Ocellus had to nudge Yona when she was being reluctant, "Now, if you did this, raise your hoof...or claw...or whatever." I'm pretty sure none of us raised their ho-...limb. I then heard the headmare sigh. "Come on Spike, looks like we have to-...Spike, you can open your eyes," I heard her say. "What? Oh," Spike said. "Um, what about me?" Professor Dash asked. "You all can," the headmare said, eliciting an embarrassed chuckle from the professor. We then opened our eyes, "But...since no creature took responsibility for this mess, you're gonna have to help clean it up before you can go home." Needless to say, none of us were happy as we all complained. Oh, you're one of those teachers, I see. The type that gives punishment to the whole class while that one person that was responsible is just sitting at the back and smiling while watching everyone suffer. "Why do I have to stay?!" Smolder asked. "But the holidays!" Sandbar complained. Headmare Twilight's only response was to levitate a bunch of cleaning supplies to us. "While you're cleaning, we'll bring you into our office one at a time," she said, "Since honesty is one of the Elements of Harmony, we wanna give each of you a chance to tell you the truth." "Oh jeez, thanks. Maybe I can use this opportunity to activate the honesty part of my magic," I sarcastically said in my head. "And once we find out who did it, just you wait. We're gonna...we'll...What are we gonna do exactly?" Professor Dash asked. "Sigh. The guilty party won't be going home over Hearth's Warming break. She or he will stay here for some one on one friendship lessons," the headmare said. "But what if none of us confesses?!" Silverstream asked. "Then...sigh...I guess there's no holidays for any creature," she responded, "You'll all stay over the break." While everybody gasped at this, I just stayed silent. What the fuck?! What kind of bullshit is that?! I don't think you can even do that! That's just...despicable. ... I hope whoever did this is happy. Now if they chose to keep silent, then all of our friends can't go back home and celebrate the holidays! I mean...would that really be a bad thing? What do you mean? Think about it. Like I said earlier, the school is the only home I have in this world. I don't really wanna spend the next two weeks here without the others. But if they were forced to stay here, then maybe the holiday break won't be as bad as I thought it will be. Do you even know what you're saying?! Of course I do! The culprit stays quiet, then my friends stay here. Sure, we'll probably be getting new lessons, but it'll be worth it in the long run if it means I don't have to be alone for two weeks. W-what...but I...sigh...I guess I can't be too mad about what you're saying. I mean, you aren't the one that actually caused this mess. As soon as the three staff members left the room to discuss about who to interrogate first, we all got started on cleaning. A few minutes later, they came back. "Alright, let's get to the bottom of this," Headmare Twilight said, "Who wants to be interviewed first." "Meh, I'll go. Beats mop duty," Gallus said as he tossed his mop to Silverstream before leaving the room the professors and Spike. "Hey, I know. We can make a game out of this. See who finishes cleaning up first," Silverstream said. "Woohoo, yak win! Yak is best at cleaning!" Yona said proudly before she continued cleaning. "Let's save time and cut to the chase," Smolder said as she wrang out a towel, "Which one of you did it?!" Lol. Just kidding. "I would never do something this horrible! I love Hearth's Warming Eve! And I do not wanna miss going home for it," Ocellus said with a pout. "Huh. I didn't even know changelings celebrate Hearth's Warming," Sandbar said. "Oh yes! It's our favorite holiday," Ocellus cutely giggled, "Well...since Headmare Twilight shared it with us last year. She gave our hive very clear instructions." "Ahem. Welcome to traditions and fun of Hearth's Warming. Here's a guide to help you enjoy the celebration of pony history," Ocellus said to her parents and siblings as she unrolled a very long scroll, "Families start the holidays by putting the tree up." Ocellus and her family pulled on the rope to put up the tree. Once they were sure the tree was fully pulled up, they secured the end of the rope around a rock. They looked at their work proudly as the ordinary tree was left hanging upside down. "Thirsty? Dive into some holiday punch." Once they were sure the punch was ready, they proceeded to dive into it. They had a lot of fun swimming around in the large, pool-sized bowl of punch. "Just before bed, every pony exchanges gifts." Ocellus and her family sat in a circle giving each other gifts to the changeling next to them. They did it again with the exact same gifts they gave each other. And then again. And then again. Then again. Again. And Again. "It doesn't say how long we keep doing this." "And to finish celebrating, you can build a fire..." Ocellus's father hammers down the last nail in the built fire made of wood and coated in paint. "...light it up..." Ocellus and family then picks up a bunch of lanterns and held it near the fire. "...and sing carols." "Carols, carols, carols, carols, carols~," Ocellus and her family sang. "Ocellus, please don't stop being cute," I said in my head. Or at least, I thought I said in my head, as everybody looked at me while Ocellus had a large blush on her face, "Did I just say that out loud?" It was my turn to blush in embarrassment (thank God I have a dark coat color) as everybody slowly nodded their heads, while Smolder had a smirk on her faces. Fuuuuuuuu... Well, well, well. Look at Romeo over here- SHUT UP! Just...shut up. Please. "Ahem! Anyway...Ocellus, you might've taken Headmare Twilight's instructions...a bit too literally," I said. Ocellus continued to stare at me with a flushed look, "But...I bet it was really fun and you can't wait to do it again." "If we ever get out of here," Smolder said. "Ocellus?" Headmare Twilight said as she came back with Gallus, "Your turn." This snapped Ocellus out of her flushed state before she nervously followed the headmare, but not before giving me one last look. The moment they left, however, Smolder turned back to me with that shit-eating grin. "So...you and Ocellus, huh?" Smolder teased, making my blush return. "W-what?! No! I-it's nothing like that!" I cried out. "What? What happened?" Gallus asked. "Oh, well-," Smolder started before I interrupted. "Smolder, don't you dare say anything!" I practically begged, "Nothing! It's nothing Gallus! Nothing at-" "Legion thinks Ocellus is cute!" Silverstream chirped happily. "Silverstream!" I complained. Now it was Gallus's turn to smirk. "I'm sorry, but I just couldn't help myself!" Silverstream said. "Aww-," Gallus started before I quickly flew over to him and pressed my hoof against his beak. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, but my wing has finally healed up. "Not. A. Single. Word. Please," I begged. "In his defense, I think you and Ocellus would make a great couple," Sandbar admitted. "Yona agree!" Yona proclaimed, "Changeling and pony have a lot in common!" "Oh my stars! Are all of you just gonna tease me about this?!" I cried out as I took my hoof off of Gallus's mouth. "Most likely," the griffon admitted. I definitely will. Thanks. Appreciate it. You're welcome. "So are you gonna ask her out and take her on a date?" Silverstream asked slyly, causing me to sit on my haunches and cover my face with my hooves. "Groan. Please kill me," I muttered. I like Ocellus. I really do, but I just see her as friend. A best friend actually, as I mentioned before. I don't see Ocellus in that way. Right? "Um, Legion?" Ocellus asked as I lifted my head up and saw her coming back, a slight blush still on her face, "S-sorry, but...they said they wanted you to go next." "O-okay," I said as I got back up and walked out of the room and towards the headmare's office. Ocellus was starting to get nervous again as Legion walked past her. She couldn't believe what he said. Sure, he didn't mean to say it out loud, but regardless, she still couldn't believe it. Legion, her crush, actually thought she was cute. When the pegasus finally left the room, Ocellus couldn't help but smile a bit. "By the way Gallus," Silverstream said, "What did you say to the Headmare when she called you?" "What do you think I said? I told her I didn't do it," Gallus said. "And I'm guessing, Ocellus, that you didn't confess either?" Sandbar asked, to which the changeling shook her head. "ARGH! Yona tired of waiting," Yona emphasized with a stomp, "Yona always home for holidays." "How do you celebrate Hearth's Warming in Yakyakistan, Yona?" Sandbar asked. "Yaks do not. Our holiday much better. It's called Snilldar Fest," Yona said, "Night before, yaks gather things to smash, and put them in big pile. Then, in morning, we smash them! In afternoon, we smash them again! Then, in evening..." "So, it's just about smashing stuff, like all your other holidays," Gallus said. "No! How griffon get that idea?! This holiday about so much more. Last year, for example, most perfect Snilldar ever," Yona cooed, "All family. Grandpa and grandma yak. Yona's brother, sister, mother, father yak, all go to woods, singing yak song!" "Yak song! Yak song! Not very long, sing again!" "Yak song! Yak song! Not very long, sing again!" "Yak song! Yak song! Not very long, sing again!" Yona, whose hair wasn't braided at the time, and her family continued to sing as they walked through the snowy woods. "Yaks and family pick out perfect smashing log...then yaks smash it!" SMASH SMASH SMASH SMASH SMASH "Then yak family build perfect snow fort...and smash it!" SMASH SMASH SMASH SMASH SMASH "Then we hang perfect things on perfect moss pile and-" "You smash it," every other creature in the room deadpanned. "What you think yaks are? Barbarians?" Yona asked, sounding offended, "Moss pile is for special family rituals. Last year, ritual for Yona. All yak family gather around Yona, and braid Yona hair for first time." "So...to recap. Your holiday is about smashing things and family," Gallus recapped. "Two most perfect things ever, put together. Happy Snilldar Fest!" Yona cheered before she started smashing one of the buckets. "Happy Snilldar to you too Yona! It's so cool to learn new traditions from new friends!" Silverstream cheered before she tried smashing another bucket. Emphasis on 'tried.' "Yeah, well, one of these 'new friends' has gotten us all in trouble, and they better confess soon," Smolder warned. "Sandbar," Legion said as he came back into the room, "You're next dude." "So what did I miss?" I asked as Sandbar calmly left the room. "Well, Yona just finished telling us about Snilldar Fest, which, in a nutshell, is all about smashing stuff and spending time with family," Gallus explained. "Got it," I said before I turned to the others, "I said I didn't do it, if that's what you're wondering." "Ah come on," Smolder complained. "Why the rush to go home Smolder?" Silverstream asked, "Like you said, dragons don't really do holidays. Do they?" "Meh," Smolder blanched. "That's so sad," Ocellus gasped, "You must do something in the winter for fun." "Well...we do have the Feast of Fire. Every dragon gets together and tells stories. The best one wins a pile of gemstones," the dragon explained. "Oh! What story won last year?" Yona asked. "It was called A Dream Come True," she answered. "Come on! Now you've gotta tell it!" Silverstream said. "I like happy stories," I said with a smile. "Sigh. Fine," Smolder said. "Once upon a time, there was a sad, little dragon. Her name was Scales. She lived alone in the wilderness with nothing to eat." As the storm continued on, the small, pink dragon clutched her stomach as it began to growl violently. "But one night, as she sat alone in the storm, she heard something." Scales got up and walked out of her shelter to check out the noise. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a giant dragon with a scepter flew into view. "It was the dragon lord! Scales was scared, but the dragon lord told her not to be afraid. That he was taking her to the Dragon Lands for a great feast." Later that night, Scales found herself ravenously eating on tons of gems with the dragon lord and other dragons seated around her. "Scales sat with the dragon lord's family and friends in the biggest and best dinner of gemstones she has ever eaten. Then, while the dragons were telling stories, Scales thought it would be so easy to seize power from this feeble and sensitive dragon lord." Scales continued to eye the scepter in the dragon's claw with malicious intent. Before any dragon could, Scales blew a torrent of flames at the dragon lord. "She saw her chance and took it! She claimed the Bloodstone Scepter and took over the Dragon Lands! And forced the dragon lord to live out in the cold just as she used to." As the dragon lord sat in the small cave in the rain, Scales just laughed evilly. "Vad fan?" I asked as me and the others, sans Gallus, had our jaws dropped, "That was...depressing." "Yep. Dragons usually like hearing about weak, kind creatures getting defeated," Smolder said. That explains so much. "Silverstream! You're up," Professor Dash called out as she and Sandbar came back, "Let's go." As Silverstream and the professor left, Smolder approached Sandbar. "So, did you tell them you did it?" she asked. "What? No way! Why would I say that?" Sandbar asked in disbelief. "You already live in Ponyville," Smolder said, "Staying here over break is no big deal." "School of Friendship good place for a pony to a pony holiday," Yona said. "Should I be offended by that?" I whispered to Gallus. "Maybe," he answered. "I'd still rather spend it with my family back at home," Sandbar said, "Oh! That reminds me. I've got the best holiday story ever! It's called...The Day My Hearth's Warming Doll Almost Fell Into the Fire." "Woah," we all said. Wait, what? "Just before we went to bed, my mom, my dad, and my sister, all put our Hearth's Warming dolls up on the mantle. Just like we do every year." As Sandbar turned his back, his doll started to slowly tilt forward. "But this year, I put my doll too close to the edge, and it fell!" "Noooooo!" Sandbar screamed as his doll fell. "And?!" Ocellus asked in anticipation. "My doll hit the floor," Sandbar shrugged, "BUT...it could've gone in the fire." Fucking hell. What a twist. "Oh my stars," I muttered with an amazed face, "Best story so far." The others just deadpanned. "That's a great story, and you told it really well," Smolder sarcastically said. "Yeah. It was a Hearth's Warming miracle," Sandbar said proudly before the door opened, and the professor and Silverstream returned. "Next!" Professor Dash said, "Smolder, come with me. Yona, Twilight's waiting for you." After the door closed, Ocellus had a nervous expresssion. "The last two," she said, "So if neither one of them confesses, that mean..." "We're never going home!" Silverstream panicked. "We'll be here forever!" Ocellus panicked as well. "Beyond forever!" Sandbar cried out. "Forever ever!" I followed, although there was a bit of reluctance in my tone. Thankfully, nobody noticed. "But I can't miss the Three Days of Freedom Celebration!" Silverstream exclaimed. "How long does that last?" Gallus asked sarcastically. "It used to be only one day, but now to commemorate our escape from the Storm King, we're adding two more days of awesome!" she said excitedly before pulling out a book, "See?" "There's a book?" Gallus asked in surprise. "Mmhm," Silverstream nodded, "Queen Novo had these made for the Mount Aris Board of Tourism. To explain it all to guests." "We'll spend the first night in Seaquestria, thanking the ocean for protecting us from the Storm King, with sea dancing, whale singing, shell stringing. Lot's of '-ings.' The second day, we'll be on Mount Aris with sky dancing and a wind song in the Harmonizing Heights, to celebrate the Storm King's defeat. Then the third day, every creature will party together, on land and sea. Grandparents, and parents, and sisters, uncles, brothers, acquaintances, neighbors, and cousins! And at the end of the night, Queen Novo is gonna give out presents!" Whistle. Wow. Three days of celebrating with friends and family? Sounds like a very festive...festival. Heh. Yeah. It does. ... As well as the other's celebrations. "W-wait, hold on. Cousins? What are those?" Gallus asked. "Your aunt's and uncle's children?" Ocellus replied, "You know, part of your family." How the crap does he not know what cousins are? ... "Heh. Oh, you're teasing us again, right?" Ocellus asked. As Gallus was about to reply, the door opened up again before Smolder and Yona walked in, both with annoyed expressions. "I'm guessing neither one of you confessed," Sandbar blanched. "Sigh. Headmare Twilight said wait here," Yona said with a stomp of her paw. "Maybe they're changing their minds about sending us home," Silverstream said with hope in her voice. "Why would they? Face it, we're stuck here," Smolder said. "B-but, but I have to go home!" Ocellus cried with tears in her eyes. "My mom makes the best kelp fritters!" Silverstream cried, also with tears in her eyes. I just stood there with a sad expression on my face. Although, if I'm being honest, I don't think it's for the reason that you might think. Yona, Smolder, and Gallus just had annoyed expressions. "How can you guys be so cool about this?" Sandbar asked the three annoyed creatures. "We're mad. We just show it differently," Smolder explained. "More like you don't show it at all," Sandbar said with suspicion. "H-huh?" This snapped me out of my stupor as I looked back at Sandbar. "What pony getting at?!" Yona asked as she shoved her face closer to Sandbar's. "Maybe it wasn't just one prankster. Maybe there were three of you, and you're trying to hide your guilt by not being upset!" Silverstream deduced. "It does make sense," Ocellus said. "Guys, stop it," Gallus said. "Or...maybe whoever did it is only pretending to be upset, to throw us off!" Smolder accused as she pointed a finger at Silverstream and Ocellus. "Me?! But I didn't!" the changeling pleaded. "Come on. Let it go," Gallus said with an annoyed expression, but his words fell on deaf's ears as everybody started arguing and blaming each other for this whole mess. Everything was supposed to be fine, but instead everything went to shit. Everyone's fighting and pointing fingers as if we were in a game of Among Us. We were originally at the notion that if nobody confesses, and nobody goes home. That's it. No harm done. And the worse part? That's exactly what I wanted. "Come on! Ocellus, you know you did it!" Sandbar blamed, "Just fess up!" Jeez. Even Ocellus, the sweetest creature I've ever met, is on the receiving end of the blame game. Sigh. Fuck it. What's the point of being with your friends if there's only mistrust? Besides, after hearing about the other's celebrations, sans Yona and Gallus, it became apparent to me that they all had friends and family to get back to. I don't know why I didn't get that through my head at first, though. I don't know who did it, or what their intentions were, but I really don't care right now. Even though it wasn't me, it might have as well have been. There's only one thing I can do to stop all of this. I'd get in the trouble, sure, but in the end, it'll be a win-win for all of us. "Just stop fighting, please!" I yelled as I ran up and pushed my friends away from each other, "You guys wanna know who did it?! Well, fine! It was me, okay?! I messed up the tree!" Dude, what are you doing?! What I have to do. They all gasped at my lie, although Gallus didn't respond. "You?!" Smolder shouted with a glare, and a bit of disbelief. In fact, everyone was in disbelief. "Pony mess up decoration?!" Yona asked. "No way!" Sandbar said. "Please say it isn't so!" Silverstream pleaded. Gallus just remained silent. "Why?" Ocellus asked, causing me to look in her direction and see total sadness in her eyes, "Why would you ruin things for us?" While it was easy to lie about committing the crime, it was hard to figure out a clear motive. Wanting to stay with my friends alone wouldn't be a plausible reason, seeing as they think I have family back in Canterlot. I sighed as I realized I had to tell the truth, or at least, some more of it. "Do you...do you guys remember when I talked about my childhood in Canterlot?" I asked, to which they all nodded, "Well, being the only pegasus out of my family and the few friends I had, it made me feel...out of place. My family and friends always studied new spells and tried to become adept in magic, while I was just there, no horn to levitate stuff, shoot laser beams, or any other magical spells. Just wings that I've never learned how to use. I always felt like the odd one out." In a way, I was telling the truth. Yes, I loved my family and friends, and they loved me, but I still felt a bit out of place. My father can work with computers, my mom is a a nurse, and my brother is now following in my mom's footsteps and studying nursing in college. As for my friends back on Earth, the ones from my school I mean, most of them were all playing sports like football, wrestling, and track. Meanwhile there's me, the nerdy kid with weak muscles who's hobby is making YouTube videos of me playing video games. The only friends I didn't feel out of place with were Jrod and Gaming, because they were gamers as well. The only thing...I never met any of them in person. I don't even know what Gaming looks like in real life. "Meeting all of you, though, made me feel...complete. Like I belonged here. And I just...wanted to stay here. With all of you," I said. "But...what about your family?" Ocellus asked. "It's...complicated," I sighed as I turned my gaze away, "I'd rather not talk about." "No..." I heard Gallus whisper, causing me to look in his direction. "I'm sorry Gallus," I apologized, "I know I'm being selfish, but I now know that-" "No! I mean, that's not possible! It wasn't you! It couldn't have been you!" Gallus shouted, "You're lying!" "And what makes you I am lying?" I asked. "I know you're lying because I did it!" he shouted. Ah fuck." "Wait, what?" Silverstream asked. "Gallus, what are you talking about?" I asked. "What do you think I'm talking about?! I'm the one that put goo powder in the Fire of Friendship!" he shouted, causing me to facepalm and approach him. "Gallus, whether it was you or not, I am willing to take the blame if it means you and the others can go back home for the holidays," I whispered to him. "Well, maybe I too don't want to go home for the holidays!" he responded, making me back up. "What do you mean?" I asked him, causing Gallus to sigh. "Do you know what the Blue Moon Festival is?" he asked us. "Isn't that the holiday festival that griffons celebrate?" Smolder questioned. "Yeah. The one time of the year where griffons are nice to each other. Well...as nice as we can be," he responded. "Families get together to eat, and then complain about the food, and give each other presents they don't like, and mostly just try not to yell at each other." A quartet of griffons sat around a table in preparation to eat. When one of the griffons, however, came back with a plate of scones, the eldest of the table gagged at the food. This caused the one that brought the scones to give a glare and, overall, just ruin the mood as every griffon put on an annoyed expression. "Well, at least you get to be with your family," Silverstream said the silver lining. "No. Because I don't have a family," Gallus sighed. "Oh shit," I thought with sorrow as my eyes widened. Outside of the window of the quartet's house was Gallus, looking inside with a look of sorrow and longing. "What about Grandpa Gruff?" Sandbar asked. "That's just his name. He's not any griff's actual grandpa. I felt like I never had a place in Griffonstone, kind of like how Legion felt like he never had a place in Canterlot," Gallus admitted as he walked over to the window, "And then I came here, and well...met all of you. So I don't want to go home for the holidays, which is why I did it, pretty much for the same reason Legion said. I figured that if I made a mess, then our teachers would make us clean. We'd be together a little longer, and when Headmare Twilight threatened to cancel winter break, that meant I could be with all of you, through the entire holiday," he then turned towards me, "Look, Legion, I appreciate you taking the blame for me, but I can't do this if our friends are just gonna be fighting and blaming each other. That's the opposite of what the holidays mean, except maybe Smolder's." Smolder was about to say something in response, but then just shrugged. I then flew over to Gallus and wrapped a hoof around him. "Then we'll both take the blame," I said with confidence, "Let me take the L with you." "W-what?" Gallus asked out of surprise, "Legion, no, I-" "Gallus, what I said was the truth. I didn't want to spend the break without you guys. So if getting in trouble means that I can spend it with at least one of my friends..." I smiled, "...then I think it's pretty worth it. And besides, I'd feel like such a jerk if I let you face punishment alone." "I..." he said in disbelief, "I don't know what to say." "You don't have to say anything," I reassured, "Let's just go confess to Headmare Twilight." "You don't have to." We all turned our heads to see Headmare Twilight, Professor Dash, and Spike standing in the doorway with proud smiles on their faces. "We already know," the headmare said. "We...kind of guessed it was you, Gallus," Professor Dash said, "But we wanted to give you all a chance to tell the truth." "I'm proud that you did, and I'm glad to see you've been paying attention to Professor Applejack's honesty classes," Headmare Twilight said before she turned to me, "And Legion, I'm proud that you were willing to show such loyalty to your friend, even at the possibility of getting in trouble." I nodded in thanks. "However, Gallus, you're still gonna have to make amends, and stay over break for extra friendship lessons," the headmare said, "By yourself." "No Headmare Twilight," I said, "Like I told Gallus, I'm staying here as well." "And I'll stay with them," Silverstream said as she approached us, along with the others. "Me too!" Ocellus said. "Yona stay also!" Yona proclaimed. "I'm staying!" Sandbar said. We all then turned our heads towards Smolder. "What?" she shrugged, "Oh alright. I guess pony holidays can't be that bad." "Heh. Looks like this will be the first time you spend Hearth's Warming with friends that care about you," I said as we all hugged Gallus, including me. "Looks like they don't need any extra lessons," Professor Dash said proudly. "Since you obviously know that Hearth's Warming is about coming together, I'd be honored if all of you would join my friends as guests at our holiday table," Headmare Twilight announced, causing us to cheer, "After we finish cleaning up." We all got back to work right away. "Hey, this reminds me of another story," Sandbar said as we continued cleaning, "The Time I Almost Spilled Grape Juice on the White Couch." "Does it have a depressing ending?" Smolder asked with a hopeful smile. "I'm not sure pony stories work that way," Ocellus said. "Hey...Legion?" Gallus said, grabbing my attention, "Thanks. You know, for being willing to take the blame for me? That was pretty cool of you." "Don't mention it, Gallus," I said with a smile. "Um, Gallus want Yona braid feathers?" Yona asked. "Erm...pass," Gallus answered. "How do you even braid feathers?" "Hearth's Warming Eve is here once again~," Silverstream sang happily. Later that evening, I asked Headmare Twilight if I can go to the library to put back a few books that I borrowed. I entered the library and searched for the action/adventure section. Remind me to thank Professor Dash for recommending Daring Do and the Quest of the Sapphire Stone. It was actually quite interesting. Basically, this Daring Do pony is this world's version of Indiana Jones. Enough said. When I finally found the right section, I put back the Daring Do book and out a heavy textbook on pony holidays out of my saddlebag. What, you think I learned about Hearth's Warming Eve from history class? Hell no! I barely pay attention in that class. When I finally found the nonfictional history section, I flew up and put the textbook back in the shelf. You know, Gallus was right. That was pretty cool of you to try and take the blame for him. Stupid, but cool. Eh, it's no big deal. It's like what I said earlier. It doesn't really matter to me if I'm told to get some extra friendship lessons. I'm willing to do it if it means my friends can be happy for the holidays. ...generosity My eyes widened and I stopped once I heard it. A sort of calming whisper. The same kind that I heard a few weeks ago at the Tree of Harmony. I backed up a bit as I shook my head to clear it. Unfortunately, my back was turned towards the bookshelves and I ended up nudging it. I snapped my head up as I heard a book topple over to see that the textbook I borrowed was falling. I yelped, shut my eyes, and put my hooves over my head as I crouched down. Dude, just teleport! Or blink! Or whatever you prefer to call it! When I heard the book hit the ground, but didn't feel it impact my cranium, I assumed I subconsciously did blink. However, when I opened my eyes, I gasped as I realized that was not the case. The textbook would've hit me...if it wasn't for the cyan shield hovering above me.