Chapter 18: A Royal Hearth’s Warming Part 1
Winter finally hit Equestria. Canterlot was buried in blankets of snow on the roof tops and streets. Flakes of snow were gently falling from the clouds above to the town below. Ponies were busily rushing about in warm clothes as they went about their business to get ready for one of the most loved holiday’s in all of Equestria. The streets were decorated with all kinds of colorful lights and ornaments. Music filled the air as many groups of ponies sang out carols for the enjoyment of others. It was possibly one of the most magical holidays in Equestria.
Dawn Light was trotting along with Blue Blood as the unicorn prince took his little uncle on a tour around the town. Blue Blood was wearing a white coat with black trimming while Dawn wore a coat that was light yellow. Normally, Blue Blood would be held up in the castle where it was warm. But this year, thanks to a change of heart brought on by Dawn, he was actually in high spirits this holiday season. Dawn Light kept turning his head left and right, trying to see everything he could. “Wow, look at that, oh, cool, look at those decorations. Wow, that’s the biggest candy cane I’ve ever seen.” Dawn was just so excited to be out and about Canterlot this time of year.
They had a contingency of guards following them but they weren’t as intimidating as usual thanks to Dawn. It was the four guards that were usually with him. Silver Spark, Night Eye, Night Wing, and Feather Wind walked along behind the two princes. “Now Dawn, please try to stay close. I can understand your excitement, but we don’t want you getting lost.” Blue Blood stated with a smile.
“Don’t worry nephew, I’ll stay close, I’m just so amazed with all these decorations, I’ve never seen any like them before.” Dawn said as he stopped at a store and pressed his face to the window to look in. It was a bakery that had a few festive goods on display. “Woooow, those look so good.”
Feather Wind spoke in a whisper so only the other guards could hear. “Can you guys believe the change in Blue Blood? Look at him, he’s….actually being nice.”
Night Eye responded in a whisper as well. “I know, this long and I still can’t believe the change in him.”
Silver Spark added his thoughts. “And to think it took a young pony like Dawn to bring out his good side.”
Night Wing then came in. “I didn’t think he had a good side.”
Blue Blood’s voice was heard. “Come on Dawn, let’s not forget why we’re out here. We’re going to get a tree for the castle remember?”
Dawn removed his face from the window and looked over to Blue Blood. “Oh yeah.” He trotted up to Blue Blood. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go.”
Blue Blood rolled his eyes with a smile before he started trotting away with Dawn Light next to him and the guards behind. They soon arrived at their destination where a bunch of pine trees stood tall, ready to be taken home by some pony. “Here we are, now let’s find us a nice big tree shall we.”
Dawn Light hovered up in joy. “Wow, look at all those pine trees.” The area was open with just a wire fence surrounding the trees and a few ponies spread out to help customers.
One bulky stallion slightly taller than Blue Blood approached them. “Ah, good day to you your majesties and a happy hearth’s warming. A pleasure to see you both.” He gave a bow.
“Hi there.” Dawn greeted cheerfully.
“You may rise good sir.” Blue stated with a slight hoof shake. “We would like to see the tallest tree you have available. It is for the castle after all.”
“But of course your majesties. Prince Blue Blood, I never thought I would see you out here if I may say so.” The stallion stated.
“Yes well, you can thank Dawn light for that.”
Dawn walked up to the stallion. “I had to practically beg him to come with me.” He then giggled out.
“Oh, ha ha Dawn, very funny.” Blue Blood stated sarcastically. “Come along funny colt, let’s find a good tree.”
“Right this way sire.” The stallion stated with a hoof gesture. “I always keep my tallest trees on reserve for the royal family.
This year, we got a real big one for you I think you’ll like.” He led them to the center of the area where a tall pine tree stood, it was almost ten feet tall.
Dawn looked up in amazement. “Wooooowww.” He craned his neck up more and more until he fell backwards and a crunching of snow was heard. “Whoa!” Dawn’s crown fell off his head. Night Eye was the first to rush to Dawn and help him up, then placed his crown back on his head.
“Are you okay Dawn?” Night asked with concern.
“Of course, no big deal. I was just impressed with the size of the tree.” He looked back up at the tree. “But how are we going to get it to the castle?”
The stallion gave a chuckle. “Not to worry young prince, I have a team of ponies ready to carry it to the castle for you.”
Blue Blood smiled as he looked to the pony. “Splendid, how much do we owe you?”
“One hundred fifty bits will do.” Blue Blood produced the requested amount, prompting the stallion to let out a loud shrill whistle. “All right boys! Haul it out!” In no time, two pegasai flew in and tied a rope around the middle of the tree while two unicorns took up sides of the tree.
The pegasai began to lift it up while the unicorns combined their magic to help with the lifting. “Whoa, cool.” Dawn was a little impressed with the display.
“Right then, this way please.” Blue Blood started leading the ponies away with Dawn and the guards trailing behind.
“Wow Blue Blood, I’ve never seen a tree that big before.” Dawn stated with a smile.
Blue Blood looked down at Dawn. “I must admit, this one is bigger than the trees we had in the past for the castle.”
The group soon arrived back at the castle with the tree. As soon as Dawn walked in, he was assaulted by a group hug. “DAWN LIGHT!” Three filly voices called out.
Once Dawn recovered from the shock of being tackled, he smiled brightly. “Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, you’re all here! I can’t believe it.”
As this was going on, Blue Blood continued on with a smirk as he lead the ponies through the castle to where the tree was to be set up.
“Howdy Dawn, long time no see.” Apple Bloom greeted with a smile.
“We really missed you Dawn.” Sweetie Belle stated.
Scootaloo then came in. “It’s great to see you again.”
Once the group got up, Dawn looked them over. “I’m glad you’re all here, but what are you doing here?”
“We invited them over.” Celestia informed as she and Luna walked up. “Looks like you and Blue Blood found a big tree for us this year.”
The three fillies stepped aside as Celestia approached. “We sure did, that thing is huge.” Dawn informed. “So you invited them over?”
Luna gave a smile. “We did, we figured it has been too long since you last saw your friends, so we sent out an invitation for them to come over for a visit.”
“It was Twilight that brought us along.” Apple Bloom informed.
Dawn’s smile grew more. “Really? Where is she?”
Twilight’s voice sounded from behind Celestia. “I’m right here.” She and Spike walked out from behind Celestia and up to Dawn. “Hello Dawn Light, good to see you again.”
Dawn rushed over to Twilight and hugged her. “Cousin Twilight, I missed you.”
Twilight happily hugged back. “I missed you too Dawn, happy hearth’s warming.”
Dawn then moved over to Spike. “Hey cousin Spike.” He wrapped Spike in a hug as well.
Spike hugged back. “Hi Dawn.”
“I’m so glad your all here. We can decorate the tree together.” Dawn suggested.
Scootaloo hovered up in joy at the suggestion. “That sounds great. I like decorating the tree.”
Dawn noticed Scootaloo was practically flying. “Scootaloo, are you flying?”
Scootaloo kept herself up in the air. “Oh yeah, Rainbow Dash has been helping me learn and I finally got off the ground, isn’t that great?”
“It sure is, congratulations. Come on, let’s go decorate the tree. Sisters, are you coming?”
Luna answered first. “Of course, let us go.”
Celestia walked up next to Twilight. “You all go ahead, there is something I wish to discuss with Twilight.”
“Okay, we’ll save a few for you to put up.” Dawn and the others then trotted off to where the tree was set up.
Twilight turned to Spike. “You go ahead with them Spike. I’ll be along shortly.”
“Okay Twilight, see ya soon.” Spike then ran off after the others.
Twilight turned her head up to Celestia. “So what did you need to talk to me about princess?”
Celestia wore a serious face and took a moment before responding. “Twilight, you like Dawn don’t you?”
Twilight was a little taken back by the question. “Of course I do.”
“And you don’t mind him calling you cousin?”
Twilight just smiled. “I’ll admit it was strange at first, but I’ve grown to like it, I’m proud he thinks of me as his cousin, even though it is technically true.”
Celestia then gave a smile. “Tell me, how would you feel if you were Dawn’s teacher?”
Twilight was surprised by this. “Me…his teacher?”
“I realize that with you running the library and acting as a teacher might be a lot of work, but I can’t think of any pony more suited to being Dawn’s teacher than you. He adores you and loves being with you. And as you’ve seen, he values family very much. I think you would be an excellent tutor for Dawn Light in ways of magic and other areas. Since you’re no longer my student, perhaps you could take on the role of teacher now. I’ll understand if you say no, but it would mean a lot to Dawn if you would do this.”
Twilight didn’t even need to think about it. “Princess Celestia, I would be honored to take on this role. I promise to do my best to teach Dawn Light and act as his tutor.”
“Thank you Twilight, I know you’ll do just fine.”
Twilight then had another thought. “But what about your parents, the king and queen? Would they be okay with me acting as their son’s teacher?”
Ceilestia placed a wing on Twilight’s back. “Don’t worry Twilight, I already discussed it with them, and they agreed with this as well. I’ve told them all about what a wonderful pony you are and how smart you are. They think you’re an excellent choice as well.”
Twilight’s smile returned. “I’m honored they believe in me. I won’t let you or your family down.”
Celestia brought her wing back. “Come on then, let’s go see how the tree decorating is going.” She led Twilight to a large room where the tree stood tall with a fire place off to the side and cushions set around the room for sitting or lying on. Dawn and Scootaloo were flying around the tree while placing ornaments about it. Luna and Sweetie Belle were using their magic to place ornaments up while Apple Bloom and Spike walked around it to place a few as well. The king, queen, and Blue Blood were lying off to the side to watch.
Tooky was flying along with Dawn in decorating the tree as he happily squawked.
Discord was using his magic to make some of the ornaments come to life and fly around the tree before coming to a rest on a branch. “I just love this time of year, don’t you?” He directed at Dawn.
“I sure do. It’s been too long since I’ve been able to celebrate this holiday.” Dawn pointed out.
“Thanks for letting us help with the tree decorations Dawn.” Scootaloo said as she flew up to him.
Dawn gave a smile to Scootaloo. “No problem, I like spending time with you.”
Scootaloo then seemed to notice something different about Dawn. “HEY! YOU GOT YOUR CUTIE MARK!”
The sudden shout surprised Dawn where he suddenly covered his flank and stopped flapping his wings. “AH!” He yelped out in surprise. He fell down and into a box still full of decorations.
Every pony rushed over to make sure he was fine. “Dawn, are you okay?” Spike asked.
Dawn poked his head out of the box. The top of his head and muzzle were covered by garland and his crown sat askew on his head. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
Cosma lifted Dawn out with her forelegs. “Dawn, are you sure?”
“I’m fine mom, really. I was just surprised by Scootaloo is all.”
Scootaloo flew down just as Cosma placed him down. “Sorry Dawn, I didn’t mean to scare you, it’s just I just now noticed you have a cutie mark.”
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom came up to him then. “Really?” Sweetie asked. She looked to his flanks and saw his mark. “Wow Dawn, congratulations. When did you get it?”
Dawn went through his explanation to his friends of how he got his new cutie mark. “So…that’s it, that’s when I got my cutie mark. I….hope this doesn’t mean I’m out of the club.”
Apple Bloom started. “Well…” She paused though as she realized something. “Actually, we never did come up with what would happen should one of us get our cutie marks.”
“I call for a cutie mark crusader huddle to discuss the matter.” Sweetie belle declared with a raise of her hoof.
“Right, club huddle.” The three fillies gathered in a huddle with hooves on each other. Scootaloo looked over to Dawn. “Come on Dawn, you too.”
“Huh, oh, okay.” Dawn walked over to join the huddle.
Twilight, Luna, and Celestia couldn’t help but chuckle at the four foals huddled together like they were.
“All right, so we never decided on whether or not a cutie mark crusader member can stay a member once they earn their cutie marks.” Apple Bloom pointed out.
“Right, so the question is what the rule should be about that.” Scootaloo said.
“Well, we did form the club to help each other earn a cutie mark, right?” Asked Sweetie Belle.
“Right.” Apple Bloom agreed. “So I think that once a member earns their cutie mark, they can stay a member as long as they agree to help the other members with the crusading. What do you think Dawn?”
Dawn gave a smile as he agreed. “I think that’s a great idea. I do like being part of your club.”
“Then it’s agreed, any member that gets their cutie mark can stay a member, they just have to help the other members earn their cutie marks.” Scootaloo pointed out. With a decision made, the group broke their huddle and went back to decorating the tree. Once they finished, only one thing was left, the star for the top of the tree.
Dawn went back to one of the boxes to pull out a star. “I got the star! Luna, I think you should put it up.”
Luna smiled down at her little brother. “Actually Dawn, I have a better idea. Watch this.” Luna closed her eyes and lit up her horn with her blue aura. A white glow formed at the tip of her horn. It floated up and spiraled around and up the tree till it reached the top where it came to a rest. “There we go, I think that makes a much better star, don’t you?”
“Wow, that’s beautiful Luna.” Dawn said.
“Well done sister.” Celestia stated as she walked up to Luna’s side.
Solaris gave a hearty chuckle. “HAH, that’s my girl, way to step it up.”
Luna blushed a little at the compliments. “Thank you all.”
Finally, Twilight decided now was the time to inform Dawn Light of Celestia’s request. “Dawn Light, now that your done with the tree, there’s something I want to tell you.”
Dawn turned to face Twilight. “What is it?”
“I have great news, I’m going to be your new teacher.”
Dawn’s face lit up with joy and a huge smile. “Really? ALL RIGHT!” He cheered as he flew up and all over the place. “MY COUSIN TWILIGHT IS GOING TO BE MY TEACHER!” He did loop de loops and rolls all over the space above everypony’s head as he cheered. Eventually, he came down and hugged Twilight. “This is great! I would love it for you to be my teacher.”
Twilight hugged back with a smile. “I’m glad you feel that way Dawn.”
Cosma pointed something out. “You know what I just realized? This is going to be the first time our family was together like this after that one thousand year period.”
Solaris smiled brightly. “Hey, you’re right. Isn’t that something. Let’s not forget, Cadence and Shining Armor will be joining us for Hearth’s warming too.”
“Will Twilight be joining us too?” Dawn asked.
Celestia gave a slight chuckle. “Hm, of course, along with her family.”
Twilight was surprised by this. “Really? Your inviting my mom and dad to join you?”
“Of course, it will give Dawn a chance to meet the rest of his extended family.”
Discord picked Dawn up and gave him a toss. “This is turning out to be one heck of a hearth’s warming isn’t it? Such a big family coming together.”
Dawn laughed as he was tossed. “Heh heh, yeah, this is great.” Once Discord set Dawn down, he walked over to Cosma. “Mom, do you think Santa Hooves forgot about me? I have been gone a long time.”
Cosma picked Dawn up in a hug and nuzzled him. “Don’t worry Dawn, Santa Hooves knows about every pony. I have no doubt he knows you came back home. I’m sure he’ll come around with a huge load of presents just for you to make up for so many years missed.”
“He doesn’t have to bring me anything, I have just what I want right here, to be with my family again.” For the rest of the snowy day, Dawn had fun with his friends as they played in the snow.Tooky stayed home as it was too cold for his taste. They made snow ponies, had snowball fights, Twilight took them to a skating rink in Canterlot to try ice skating. The crusaders were all too happy to try and earn a cutie mark in that area, sadly though, it didn’t work out. They just ended up slipping all over the place, Dawn included. They still had fun though. The sun was starting to go down so Twilight escorted the three fillies and the young prince back to the castle where they gathered around a fireplace wrapped up in blankets with cups of hot cocoa to help warm them up. Tooky sat next to Dawn near the warm fire.
“I had a great time girls.” Dawn said to his friends.
“We did too, that was a lot of fun today.” Sweetie Belle added.
“I had no idea you could have so much fun in the snow like that.” Dawn stated.
“I like the part when Sweetie Belle slid into that pile of snow. She popped up with a snow mustache on her face. Ha ha.” Scootaloo laughed.
“Yeah, heh heh, you sure looked funny Sweetie Belle.” Apple Bloom laughed along.
Dawn took a sip of his drink. “I’m glad you girls get to sleep over tonight, I just wish we could spend more time together like this.”
Sweetie Belle took a sip of her cocoa next. “Yeah, me too, it’s too bad we can’t come over more often.”
They sat and chatted more about the day until Luna approached them. “All right little ones, it’s time for bed.”
They whined out in unison. “Aaawwwee.”
Luna gave a light chuckle. “Hm hm, come on now, Dawn’s bed is big enough for you all so you can stay together a little longer. Then in the morning, we’ll have a nice big breakfast, then Twilight will escort you all home.
“Okay.” They said in unison again. Celestia met them as they exited the room and she ushered them to Dawn’s room. Tooky flew over to his perch and got comfortable.
“All right little ponies, get comfortable.” She pulled the covers back for the little ponies with her magic. Dawn removed his royal attire first before climbing into bed. He was directly in the middle with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle on one side and Scootaloo on his other. As they lay, Celestia pulled the covers back over them. “Is every pony comfortable?”
“Yes princess Celestia.” The girls said in unsion.
“Yes big sister.” Dawn said as he looked up at her.
“Good night little ones, sweet dreams.”
“Good night.” All four said together.
Celestia left the room and closed the door behind her.
Before going to sleep, Dawn spoke up. “If I had this much fun today, I can’t wait to see how much fun hearth’s warming will be.”
“Me too, I love hearth’s warming.” Scootaloo stated.
“Just as much as Nightmare Night.” Sweetie Belle pointed out.
“Yeah, that holiday is so fun.” Apple Bloom added.
Dawn gave out a yawn. “I really look forward to the next time we can hang out.”
“Me too.” The three fillies said together before all of them closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep.