Normally, if the Crystal Empire was ever covered in snow, it was cause for great concern and mass panic, seeing as it meant the protective dome around the settlement had somehow malfunctioned.
Snow was all too plentiful outside the empire, after all, and the crops they grew were sufficiently fueled by the magic radiating throughout the place.
Thus, any degree of precipitation whatsoever was considered both unwanted and potentially deadly.
Oh, how Pound Cake wished it had stayed that way.
But no, a recent law had decided that the Crystal Empire needed to feel the 'holiday atmosphere', and mandated that the dome be weakened in a few areas as Hearth's Warming approached. Oh, to be sure, the snow was wonderful to gaze at from the safety of indoors. Splendorous, fresh, and white as it was.
Fortunelessly, eighteen-year-old Pound wasn't indoors at the moment, so the descending snow and blustering winds served only to make his perilous flight all the more difficult. I swear to Sparkle, if I wasn't dating her daughter I'd beat some sense into that Cadence. Snow? In the Crystal Empire? Not controlled by pegasi?! A recipe for disaster if Pound ever saw one, and as a professional baker, (in training) he was well acquainted with recipes.
Finally, the pegasus' desperate flight came to an end and he touched down just outside one of many of the palace's smaller servant entrances. After ensuring his last-minute ingredient hadn't been lost to the winds and knocking loose what little snow he could from his figure, Pound stepped inside, immediately relaxing as the well-heated palace interior warmed his frozen form.
Doffing his well-loved cloak and worn earmuffs, the baker made his shivering way up to the kitchens, sniffling slightly as the last of the cold wore off. Pound's workplace was enormous, ornate, and well-stocked with all but the most exotic ingredients for all the royal family's nutritional needs. No less than twelve ovens lined the walls, with hundreds of cabinets above to choose from, all carefully organized by Pound himself.
What caught the most attention, however, and what the stallion immediately set off towards, was the cottage-sized gingerbread house dominating the middle of the room. Complete with usable doors, four-inch-thick gingerbread walls, and sugar-glass windows, it was Pound Cake's masterpiece, his chef d'oeuvre, his magnum opus.
And it was missing one key aspect of all gingerbread houses: Icing!
But no regular icing would suffice as a gift to his beloved! No, Pound had had to go all out for this creation, and he wasn't about to allow the royal palette of his fillyfriend to be accosted by the inane plainness of such a bland concoction. It didn't matter if Flurry herself would be just fine consuming anything with a sufficient percentage of sugar, he was going to go all out!
Withdrawing the prized bottled ingredient from within his satchel, Pound flew over to the bubbling cauldron of heavily-seasoned icing-in-progress before popping the cork. The youth accidentally caught a whiff of the gaseous substance contained within, which sent him into a spluttering fit. Nirik's breath is some seriously potent stuff! Maybe they should consider using mints in the future.
Regardless of the stench, Pound knew the magical culinary properties of such a powerful material were unparalleled in the world, which was why Kirin were some of the best chefs out there. A few were employed in that very kitchen, and the pegasus had had the displeasure of witnessing them transform to breathe on their products many times before.
Finally, everything was complete, and Pound rushed at speeds the new Wonderbolt captain would be proud of to finish the house in time for his scheduled date. Stepping back, he could finally say with certainty that it was perfect, to a degree nearly reaching that of his fillyfriend. A fillyfriend that I oughta meet up with in about... Glancing at the ornate wall-mounted clock, Pound's eyes bulged in panic and he set off straight for the staircase leading upwards. I'm late!
One frantic rush through the innards of the castle later, Pound reached the top of an oversized, ornate staircase, heaving heavily as he attempted to catch his breath. The youth collapsed in relief upon seeing his fillyfriend still at their arranged meeting location, but his eyes bulged once more upon closer inspection of her.
Her Royal Majesty Flurry Heart, Princess of Sugar, Physical Affection, and the Crystal Empire, was gorgeous. Her splendorous amethyst mane outshone even the brightest crystals, its luscious curls and fabulous blue stripe simply bedazzling to the unprepared eye. The alicorn's pinkish-white coat was immaculately brushed, gleaming in its own right, and Pound knew from experience that both words and similes failed to fully describe its utter softness. None of this was to speak of her wings, which in and of themselves made every immigrated pegasus in the whole empire green with envy due entirely to their combined mass and downy texture.
Flurry Heart's appearance, however, was only part of what made Pound's eyes bulge, and a very small part at that. No, the main reason the baker was gaping in shock was that his fillyfriend was currently in the middle of a rather unflattering crash landing. She spiraled uncontrollably towards the ground of the Great Hall, wrapped most thoroughly in streamers, pieces of garland, and the enchanted Hearth's Warming crystal strips unique to the Empire.
Pound rushed forward once more in hopes of catching her in a classic romantic move seen in all the movies, but a pair of crystal ponies beat him to it. The mares caught the spiraling princess easily enough and immediately set to removing the various tangled decorations from around her form. The young stallion made it over to them just in time to catch the end of what sounded like a light chastisement as they finished removing the mess.
"Now, princess, I think it's time you stopped helping us with the decorations. I'm sure you have much better things to do. Maybe that colt over there is an example, hm?" Flurry jolted at this and finally looked up, sheepishly meeting Pound's gaze while rubbing one foreleg with another.
"Oh! Hi, Pound! Fancy meeting you here, huh?" The alicorn gave a nervous chuckle as the servants to either side of her tittered into their hooves just before shoving her towards her special somepony and turning around with a swish of their crystalline tails.
"You run off now, dearie. You wouldn't want to keep your colt waiting any longer, would you?" Flurry shook her head with great fervor at this before quickly closing the gap between her and Pound, bumping shoulders with him as her smile gained a more eager quality. The pegasus spared a few moments to compose himself and finally fully catch his breath, frowning as a few sniffles marked the end of doing so and some shivers wracked his fatigued body. Looks like I'm still cold from being outside.
Still, not wanting to dwell on unpleasant things when such a pleasant one was nearby, Pound returned his fillyfriend's smile and set off back down the stairs. Flurry lightly bounced in place with barely-contained glee as they walked, causing him to give a hearty chuckle.
"So, what's that surprise you said you had for me?" The alicorn smiled innocently during her inquiry, but Pound responded with a teasing boop to her nose, which made her stick her tongue out in turn.
"Ah-ah-ah, Flurry, you'll find out soon enough!" She sagged in mock despondency at this, but popped up immediately after with a small giggle. Pound found himself envying her seemingly limitless stores of energy, only barely able to disguise his own fatigue. Luckily, Flurry couldn't exactly be described as the most perceptive of ponies, so there was little concern that she'd get worried over his exhausted demeanor.
They reached the kitchens soon enough, with Flurry's enervated bouncing dramatically increasing the moment she realized where exactly the couple was headed. Throwing open the grandiose door with a giant grin on his face, Pound watched in glee as she shot inside only to immediately pause, her jaw effectively dropped to the ground. This is perfect! Right about now, she'll ask how the heck I managed to build it. Then, I'll explain the whole process, really focusing on the various ingredients and percentage of sugar used. Then, we'll have a romantic tour through the house where I'll let her sample the various decorations aaaaaand she's already going for it.
Pound Cake's fillyfriend was a pinkish torpedo, one that impacted his creation at speeds rivaling that of sound itself as a demented squeal of glee issued forth from her lips. Flurry's alicorn teeth met the hardened, tempered and reinforced gingerbread, (plain gingerbread wouldn't have held up a whole house, after all, and Pound wasn't one to take chances) with one force being simply too great for the other.
The pegasus youth's hoof slapped against his face as he made the core realization he should have done days ago: She's the Princess of Sugar. Did I honestly think she wouldn't go to town on the house? The baker decided then and there to simply sit back and enjoy the show.
And what a show it was:
Cracks ran all throughout his creation, all growing as it was continuously assaulted by the ravenous being of destruction.
Several piles of debris were already spread throughout the room, some forming quite far away as chunks of gingerbread were sent flying.
Those same chunks impacted just about every surface in the room, soaring in every direction like sugary meteors of doom.
And in the middle of it all stood Flurry Heart, wearing a dopey smile as well as what had to be several pounds of candy, ravenously shoveling the Niriks' Breath-infused icing straight into her pie hole with reckless abandon.
All told, roughly half of Pound's creation had been either demolished completely or consumed by his special somepony, all within the span of thirty or so seconds. Once those seconds were over, however, the princess seemed to regain some modicum of sanity, judging from the way she paused to make sheepish eye contact with the young stallion. Flurry spoke in an abashed tone, only remembering to swallow halfway through her inquiry.
"Did you...er...want some?" Pound only chuckled once more in response as he trotted over, avoiding several piles of sugary rubble in the process before finally arriving at the site of the devastation. The youth noted with a raised eyebrow that Flurry's figure had not been altered in the slightest after her rampage; not even the slightest bulge could be detected around her midsection. She reminds me of Aunt Pinkie, in more ways than one.
Pound accepted the icing-dipped slab of gingerbread proffered to him by his special somepony, letting out a good-natured sigh before biting into it. As expected, the flavors, texture, and overall experience were utterly impeccable, to such a degree that the pegasus knew it was the finest work he'd ever done. After savoring the candy to the fullest extent possible, Pound made eye contact with his repentant partner, who beamed at him with a hopeful smile.
"Yes, Flurry," The pegasus spoke, magnanimously releasing the evildoer from her transgressions, "You are forgiven." Pound could only hold his stoic expression for a few moments more before the both of them simultaneously burst into laughter, with Flurry adopting a mock bow before his greatness.
"Oh, thank you, master!" She was barely able to get the words out between bouts of frenetic giggling. It was a few minutes before the mirth faded away enough for the alicorn to stand by Pound, lightly bumping his flank with her own as she gestured to the candied ruins. "So, what did you actually have planned?" The young stallion smirked, touching their noses together and guiding her through what remained of the house.
"We will now have a scenic tour through the Great Gingerbreadian Ruins. On your left you can see the fractured remains of what was once a bedroom fit for royalty, now reduced to mere rubble due to the ancient attack conducted by a ravenous monster of severe beauty." Flurry blushed at this, likely from a mixture of embarrassment and Pound's flattering, and gave him a swift peck on the cheek. He guided her to the only other room still standing, his smirk growing as he realized just how far the devastation had gone.
"And over here, around three or so steps to the right, you can witness what was once a prehistoric bathroom, having been worn down by the tides of time." Pound ran a hoof down one of the adjacent walls in longing before swiftly turning to face Flurry once more, his amused smirk having turned into a wry grin. "Aaand that concludes our tour." It was meant to be a joke; a gentle jab at his fillyfriend's having reduced the once-great structure to a mere two rooms and thirty-second tour, but Flurry started looking rather crestfallen as she spoke with a saddened voice.
"I'm sorry I wrecked your gingerbread house, Pound. I just haven't eaten that much sugar all day until now and when I saw it I just-" But the pegasus cut her off with a hoof to her lips, lifting her chin soon after to enforce eye contact between the two.
"Hey, Flurry, I don't mind. Really, I don't!" Pound's smile had shifted into one of genuineness, but it couldn't stay that way for long, soon after regaining its wry characteristic. "Besides, you had way more fun demolishing it before my eyes than I could ever hope to actually use it for..." Flurry sniffed at this, and the pegasus inwardly cringed at his poor choice of words, speedily trying to salvage the situation and get his point across. "...And that's all I could ever want. I'm happy you had so much fun, Flurry. I'm glad you demolished it. The house was meant to bring you joy, so I'd say it's served its purpose."
The alicorn's gorgeous smile returned to her visage, causing Pound to mentally sigh in relief. I wouldn't want our special Hearth's Warming Eve date to be ruined by something so trivial. Besides, the picture of Flurry enjoying herself so much is one easily worth the time it took to make the house. Mission successful!
"So, how'd you end up so tangled when I came to get you?" Pound inquired as the couple exited the ruins, causing Flurry's blush to return to her face as her horn charged with a spell. The icing, head-sized candies, and powdered gingerbread dust was magically cleaned from the two of them in the span of a few seconds. The alicorn shook her body in a manner not unlike how a dog would dry itself to get rid of the feeling of sticky candy throughout her painstakingly-maintained coat before responding.
"Well, when I went to the Great Hall to wait like you told me, I noticed that the maids were still putting up some last-minute decorations." Flurry gestured vaguely with a hoof, her eyes wandering over to the nearby stairwell as she explained herself. "I figured it couldn't hurt to help out a little, and I was very helpful in reaching the higher places until these things-" The princess flared her enormous wings, each at very least triple the size of what normal pegasus wings would be for one of her frame. "-Got in the way." Pound nodded sagely at this, though his gaze was solidly set on those enormous, plush, downy wings.
"Well, sounds like you need to get finer control of your flight before you help out any more." Flurry pouted at this, tucking her wings back to her sides in mock shame as she did so.
"But I love decorations! They're one of the best parts about Hearth's Warming!" The Princess of Sugar gracelessly flopped onto her back to stick her legs straight into the air, gesturing to it energetically. "The whole Empire gets all pretty and festive and everypony's in a great mood and I get to spend time with you!" Pound burst into unfettered chuckles at the display, which caused Flurry to give him a mock glare, crossing her legs in feigned indignation.
"Oh, Flurry. Whatever did a humble baker like me do to deserve you, huh?" The alicorn's jaw dropped__Or, rather, rose__at this, her scowling becoming genuine as she stared Pound dead in the eyes.
"Is that an insecurity I sense? I thought I'd stamped all of those out of existence long ago!" A shiver of fear crept down the pegasus' back, though it could have just as easily been from the cold that still lingered in his body. Pound shook his head desperately in an attempt to ward off the oncoming attack, but Flurry just gave a predatory grin as she rolled to her hooves. "Seems like there's some remaining traces, eh?" Pound took several steps backward, but the fluffy predator before him matched his progress hoof for hoof. "Well, time to deal with those!"
Pound Cake's special somepony leaped forward, spreading her enormous, gorgeous wings mid-jump to soar straight into his face, wrapping his head in a death-grip before landing on his back. The pegasus grunted under the new weight, but soon found himself enjoying just how soft and warm his fillyfriend was. Her oversized downy wings draped themselves around his body, feeling exactly like a cozy blanket.
All told, the warmth had simply too much of a relaxing effect on the unprepared stallion, who collapsed to the floor in toasty bliss, which was likely Flurry's plan in the first place. She giggled triumphantly as she burrowed her muzzle in the back of his neck before reciting her go-to mantra for this sort of situation.
"I love you, Pound! You're funny, you're witty, you're wonderful!" She squeezed her forelegs around his head in a merciless hug, speaking directly into his twitching ears. "You're also a really good baker, and I love your food!" Flurry froze suddenly as she realized something, gasping in shock as Pound's brows creased. "Sweet Sparkle, You're also really cold!" She stood and walked into view of the pegasus' eyes, which found themselves unable to make contact with hers. "Pound, why are you so cold? Are we not heating the palace enough?" Pound shook his head, guiltily eyeing the crystal floor his head was laying on as he gestured to the door outside.
"No, I had to get some Niriks' Breath from the marketplace last-minute for the gingerbread house. I guess it's colder out there than I'd thought, huh?" Flurry squinted at him, an unreadable expression on her face as her horn lit up once more.
"Alright, then. Enough of this. Time to warm you up, bub." Pound let out a surprised whinny when he was suddenly lifted in his fillyfriend's lively yellow aura and slung across her back, kept in place by her gargantuan wings.
"But, I'm not sick, I can walk on my ow-" But the princess cut him off with a sharp:
"Nope!"
Flurry set off through the castle, her alicorn magic allowing her to walk with his weight nearly unaffected. The pegasus attempted to shift in place several times, but found himself pinned tight by the wings holding him on.
"Couldn't you just cast a spell or somethi-" But again, he was cut off.
"Nnnope!"
Really, Pound should have known better than to even think of denying a determined alicorn her snuggles, but at least he tried to save his dignity.
Minutes later, Pound found himself wrapped in a bear hug in front of a crackling fireplace, Flurry's massive wings forming a tent around the two, isolating them from the outside world. He gratefully returned the hug as the last of the chill finally faded away, resting his head on his fillyfriend's shoulders. The orange glow of the fire perfectly illuminated her beaming, less-than-slightly self-satisfied smile before she buried her muzzle in his neck.
The world around them faded into oblivion as they simply basked in each other's presence, leaving all worries behind to enjoy the simple comfort.
Pound often joked mentally about how much Flurry loved cuddling, but the truth was that he enjoyed it almost as much. It was impossible not to, with such a wonderfully fuzzy partner to snuggle with.
A thought abruptly entered Pound's head, one he quickly put voice to, filling the small room with the only sound save the crackling fire since the affection session had begun.
"We should probably leave. The festival is starting soon, and we both need to be there." Flurry hummed, her throat vibrating against the side of Pound's head as she nodded hers slightly.
"Yeah. We should probably go."
Despite this mutual agreement, however, neither pony moved a muscle.
Minutes later, they still weren't moving.
The two were far too invested in their perfect places to move.
Surely it couldn't be too bad to miss a few minutes of the festival.
Or thirty minutes.
Or hopefully several hours.
Hearth's Warming was the perfect time for spending it with those one loves, after all.