It had been a week since my little shopping expedition with AJ, and Hearth’s Warming Eve was upon us. It had been a close run thing, but I had managed to sort out presents for everypony and everyone. The farmhouse was now decked out in decorations I was familiar with. In the corner of the living room, there was a large, and I mean large as in it reached the ceiling, evergreen tree. It was covered in candles, decorations and on top, naturally, was the star. Apple Bloom had done that of course. When we’d been decorating it, I’d used my magic to get her up high enough much to her amusement. Underneath were all the presents gifted to the family and myself. And it was a large pile too.
In the fireplace a decent blaze was going, keeping the whole house warm and snug. When you think about how large the farmhouse/barn is and how empty the barn section is this time of year, you realise how hot the fire has to be. Mounted over the fireplace of course, were our stockings. I’d gone and bought myself one from the market. It would be the first Christmas I’d not had my own home made stocking from my Aunt Dorothy on hand.
All the living room was plastered with Hearth’s Warming cards from various members of the Apple family. Letters had come from all over the land; Manehatten and Fillydelphia, Appleloosa, Las Pegasus even as far out as the border with the Badlands. I, of course, had been roped in to help draft, seal, and mail the huge number of replying cards from the Apple’s here in Ponyville.
The whole affair was so idyllic. Frost had formed on the windows, thick blankets of snow lay on the ground, marked only by the Crusaders sled races and snow ponies. It was the Christmas you only hear about, though of course it wasn’t Christmas. At the back of my mind, I was reminded that my family and I were still stuck here and I was really the only one who was considering remaining to my knowledge. I was glad though we were all together; I’d have hated this time if I’d had to spend it apart from my family, Apples or no.
Tonight we were all going to go out together to see and in some cases take part in, the Hearth’s Warming play, a story I knew well. It would be pretty much everybody and everypony tonight. We’d have a chance to all meet up and chat and enjoy ourselves. In that sense Christmas and Hearth’s Warming evidently shared some magic.
I stood in my room getting ready to head out. When we finished up at the town hall, where the play was to be shown, we’d all head as a group back to the library for a Hearth’s Warming party. A chance to eat, drink and be merry as one writer put it. And of course, there was a chance to tell stories. I planned on spinning ‘A Christmas Carol’ which I knew by heart to the girls. Mum of course, knew the old story like the back of her hand. It would be interesting to see the ponies’ reaction to our religion.
“All set, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked as she stepped through the open doorway. Like me, she had dressed herself up a bit for the occasion. After their excellent performance in Canterlot, and perhaps a bit of string pulling on behalf of a certain princess, most of the girls would be reprising their role in the play. Twilight of course, now an alicorn, was the exception.
Applejack therefore was dressed as Smart Cookie, secretary to Chancellor Puddinghead. Arguably, the earth pony was the one who saved their tribe for certain disaster on a regular basis. Their chancellor’s behaviour seemed mad even by Pinkie Pie’s standards. Turning around I took a look at the costume.
“Sure AJ Ah’m set. Nice costume. You’re a spittin’ image of Smart Cookie herself.” Her Stetson was once again absent, replaced with a pointed hat that in fairy tales seemed popular with witches, albeit with a huge feather sticking out. She also wore a simple jacket, with armbands reminiscent of Elizabethan times. That was followed up by a decent collar.
“Thanks, Sugarcube. Still, it’s a shame we couldn’t find a part for you.”
“Oh don’t worry ‘bout that. Ah ain’t much of an actor. And even if Ah was, Ah’d have to play some stuck up unicorn who thinks the universe revolves around him.” For whatever reason, self-importance has been a trait unicorns have never been able to fully shake off. It’s the same with earth pony stubbornness and pegasi militarism.
While I was not dressed up, I had once again thrown on my newly acquired scarf to keep myself warm on the way there and on the journey to the library afterwards.
Both ready to go, we headed downstairs and found everypony else assembled and waiting. Big Mac, stoic as ever, was doing his best to restrain if not contain an extremely excited little filly. She was hopeful that next year, she might be able to get a part in the play as were Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.
Granny Smith was busy looking outside. The snow had come to a halt at last, but with the sun down, it was very, very cold out.
“Well, come on youngsters, best get going before it gets any chillier,” she said. And so we set off into the night.
The walk to town wasn’t too bad, if I’m honest. We were all wrapped up like Hearth’s Warming presents anyway. Still, our teeth chattered a bit and I did begin to loose feeling in my hooves. To take my mind off the cold, I indulged in a spot of stargazing. The one good effect of the cold was that it made the stars clear, like crystals. Apple Bloom quickly spotted this after I inadvertently bumped into her.
“Blade Star,” she complained. “You’re s’posed to keep your eyes on the road. What are you lookin’ at anyway?” Apple Bloom knew I enjoyed stargazing but had not really taken much of an interest in the sky herself.
“Take a look for yourself, Apple Bloom,” I replied, returning my gaze to the heavens. Much to my delight, I heard her gasp. This was one of the first clear nights we’d had for a while, so I could forgive her for not taking notice sooner.
“Applejack, Big Macintosh, look! There’s million and millions of them!” I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“A fair few of those stars have planets, AB. Some of them are like this one. And there are billions more beyond them.” I lowered my head to her level. “Ah can almost guarantee that someone’s lookin’ back at you right now.” The yellow filly continued to look up. Right up until she blundered into Granny Smith.
“Ow, careful now, Apple Bloom,” she chided. “I know you’re eager to get in but you have to wait.” Neither I nor AJ could resist giggling as the filly realised that she’d been staring so long, that we’d reached Ponyville and were in a queue.
The play was to be held inside town hall, which had a large enough stage as well as all the equipment associated with such a show. Applejack quickly peeled off to meet up with the others backstage, leaving me alone with the rest of the Apples.
“Hey Blade Star. What’s that star there?” Apple Bloom asked, poking my leg. I looked up and followed the filly’s outstretched hoof. The star she was pointing at was one of the brightest in the sky.
“That’s the North Star, AB. Ponies use it to find their way. And if you look below it you’ll see the plough. See, like a question mark.” Apple Bloom quickly connected the literal dots.
“How do you know all this stuff anyway,” she asked as we continued to edge forward in line.
“Just something that interested me Ah suppose,” I replied. “When Ah moved out of my home town, Ah bought myself a telescope and got star maps out of the Sunday paper each week. Ah just learnt as Ah went. The moon is even more interestin’. Some humans even managed to get to it once and walk on it. Tell you what, how ‘bout tomorrow night after you’ve opened all your presents, Ah teach you a little bit.” The yellow filly nodded, her pink bow bobbing back and forth in her mane.
Five minutes later we reached the front of the queue and were able to finally get inside out of the cold.
The inside of town hall had been cleared out to accommodate the large audience that had gathered to hear the story of Equestria’s founding. It was very much like going to a theatre, though of course, there were no chairs or pews. Most ponies were content to sit on their hind quarters, whilst Lizzie and my parents, who had also come along, were forced to sit Indian style, since chairs would make them far too tall in the crowd.
Once we settled ourselves down and had said hello to everypony, I began to take a look through the programme. The one question that had been bugging me was who the organisers had found to replace Twilight this year. The result came as something as a shock.
“Lyra?!” I exclaimed.
“Lyra?” parroted nearby ponies.
“Yes Lyra,” Bon-Bon said, a hint of smugness noticeable in her voice as she trotted over. The candy producing earth pony mare had been sitting just ahead of us, looking quite proud. “She’s wanted to have a big part in this for ages. Next to her human obsession, this has been one of her biggest dreams.”
I hadn’t really considered Lyra for the part; I’d expected them to go for Minuette or maybe Vinyl. I’d seen her around Ponyville a couple of times, but I’d not talked to her much beyond the occasional greeting. Still, if she’d been given the part she had to be up to it. Though I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to accept her version of Clover the Clever.
Off to my left, my parents settled themselves down with Lizzie. Having spotted me, they had got up and joined us. The girls were of course, currently backstage. Twilight though, much to my amusement, was sitting in the specially constructed royal box with Spike in attendance. She hadn’t gone for anything formal; in fact she wasn’t even wearing her crown. While I liked and respected the princesses, for the most part, I preferred her semi-formal approach to governance.
With everypony settled, the house lights dimmed and the show began.
I’ll not bore you with the details of the story of how Equestria was created and the threat of the Windigoes was banished for good. What I will say is that Lyra was a remarkably good actress. She was a good counterpoint to Rarity’s Princess Platinum, daughter of King Bullion head of the Unicorn Council. As for the other member of the cast, there has never been a pony more suited to a role than Rainbow was to the part of Commander Hurricane, Wing Commander of the Pegasi Weather Force. The same could be said of Pinkie as the Chancellor of the earth ponies, Puddinghead, I really do wonder which would have made the more suitable leader. Applejack and Smart Cookie too had a great deal in common; sensible, practical and wise. Only Fluttershy seemed to have to put a bit more effort in. I would attribute that though to the many leaps and bounds she has made with her fears. A couple of times I could even see her biting back retorts.
As the play ended though, there was a brief silence. Then Twilight started clapping. As soon as she did so, the rest of the crowd joined in. I suppose that is the effect of royalty. I briefly heard my father mutter to himself.
“God, they’re like Austrians. Always follow the emperor.” I stifled a laugh.
With that, the cast and crew all came on stage to take a bow. The cheering of course, quickly gave way to the Heath’s Warming Carol, a short, but nonetheless lovely tune. A reminder that no matter what, come revenge hungry alicorns, mad spirits of chaos, twisted insectoid love thieves or any other opponent one could devise, Equestria, with its foundations of friendship, love and harmony would always triumph. This was a nation built on friendship that had stood up to evil time and again. But never once did it feel imperialist, nor was it ever tyrannical. The world was not a utopia, everywhere has its flaws, but Equestria was damn near close. And I would be proud to say that I would stand up in its defence.
With the play completed, we all met up outside the library. It was naturally a case of congratulations all around for the five mares who had taken up the leads. We did offer Lyra the opportunity to join us, but she respectfully declined, stating that she wanted to spend the evening with Bon-Bon.
Arriving outside, we quickly all took notice of the decorations adorning the library. For the most part it was magical lanterns in all sorts of colours. Outside the front door were a couple faux candy canes and perched in the highest branch was a golden star. It’s not every day you can turn a house into a Christmas tree.
Inside, Pinkie and Spike had had everything all set up and ready to go prior to the play. Party music played loudly from a gramophone in the corner of the room, whilst all the library tables were covered with punch bowls or buffets. And the whole room was naturally covered in balloons and streamers as per Pinkie’s exacting standards. Cheese Sandwich may be able to throw larger parties, but Pinkie is able to do just the same with a small venue, limited resources and fewer ponies, quality over quantity. To my mind that makes her a better party planner.
I quickly grabbed myself a drink and went to talk to my family.
“So, how did you like the play, you two?” I asked as I wandered over.
“It’s certainly some story,” my mother replied. “But aren’t Windigoes a Native American myth?” I started, again my mother proved to be a source of useful knowledge.
“Ah don’t think the two are the same, Mom.” I offered as an answer. “There’s probably a couple books in here on them Ah’d like to bet.” I paused to think for a moment. “Hey Spike, where's the Animal Aficionado’s Almanac to All Abnormal Animals?”
“It’s on loan. Zecora has it.” Spike replied from across the room.
"You've been spending too much time here, Bones,” my father said, laughing to himself.
“Well Ah’ve got to do something, Sweet Apple Acres ain’t exactly busy right now,” I countered. “Besides, it doesn’t hurt to learn about the world does it? Ah mean, no one else has ever had access to anything like this.” I’ll admit, for a while I was spending a bit too much of my free time here. But come on, I had headcanon to confirm.
Anyway, as the night wore on, the foals and Spike began to grow weary. Tomorrow, they would undoubtedly rise before Celestia herself, and wake all of Equestria up in their efforts to open their presents. As for us grown-ups though, we would cheat and wait until midnight. Plus, with the youngsters out of the way, Pinkie was able to bring out some Hearth’s Warming cheer of the liquid variety. Quite quickly, the fruit punch was replaced with cider and we began to enjoy ourselves.
Now, as you may or may not know, one of the effects of alcohol on the mind is that it reduces or removes inhibitions. We do things we would normally be too embarrassed or shy to do otherwise. Over the course of the past fortnight, I had kept an eye on AJ. Quite quickly, I concluded that she did like me, it was obvious to anypony. The question then of course became did I like her back. Such a profound notion had left me at something of an impasse, between my mind and my heart, as tacky as that sounds.
A part of me was tempted to confront Applejack about the whole issue, taking the proverbial plunge. Another was quick to point out I may very well not be in Equestria forever. Then there was the issue of my disinterest in…certain matters. All in all, I was befuddled by this turn of events, which led to me doing my best to ignore the problem entirely and at best send mixed signals.
But with a healthy amount of cider running through me, these concerns began to evaporate. It was while I was in this slightly deluded state that Applejack trotted over to me. Like me, she had had a glass or two, but she seemed alert and steady on her hooves.
“Enjoyin’ yourself, Sugarcube?” she asked.
“Ah’ll say so, AJ. Ah haven’t been to a Hearth’s Warming party before anyway. It’s nice to be able to celebrate with more than just my family.” Applejack smiled back at me.
“Ah know what you mean. It’s been nice havin’ you around the farm too,” she trailed off for a moment. “And there has been somethin’ ah wanted to ask you.” My internal organs summersaulted.
“Oh, err sure. What is it, ‘Jack?” I asked hesitantly. Applejack leaned forward, closer to me. I tensed a little, expecting a sudden kiss. What I got though was:
“Apple Bloom’s been buggin’ me all the way from town hall to here about that astronomy stuff. Seems like you’ve gotten her and the Cutie Mark Crusaders interested. Ah don’t s’pose you’d be willin’ to teach them a little bit sometime. Ah don’t know much ‘bout that kind of stuff really.” I relaxed and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sure, AJ. Ah’d love to. Plus it’ll be good for them. Ah mean, how can they do any damage looking for an astronomy cutie mark?” I instantly regretted saying that. Applejack merely giggled.
“Well, Ah’m sure you’ll find out,” she replied. Briefly she glanced up at the ceiling, a smile played over her lips. "There’s just one more thing, Bones.”
“What?” I asked inquisitively. She gestured upward with a hoof. Hanging directly above us, was a branch or two of mistletoe. I giggled to myself a little. “You know AJ, back on Earth, if a couple were standin’ under mistletoe they were supposed to…” I didn’t get to finish the rest of that sentence.
With little warning, Applejack kissed me, on the lips. I quickly felt my cheeks flush bright red uncontrollably. Though I must confess the experience was not unpleasant. Applejack wasn’t particularly invasive; she was polite enough not to use her tongue. Still, I was quite taken aback and it was a few moments before my mind pointed out that you were supposed to return a kiss.
After a few moments, though it felt like hours, Applejack broke off. She looked me in the eyes; hers were filled with such kindness and gentleness, yet an undeniable spark of confidence. I on the other hand, had my mouth open like a landed bass and I expect my eyes had of glazed over.
“Happy Hearth’s Warmin’, Sugarcube.” And with that, she temporarily left the party to take Apple Bloom home. And just when I thought it was over, I saw my father standing across the room, a big grin on his face.
Applejack, Rarity and Dash and my mom, all of whom had gone to take their respective sisters or daughters back to their homes, returned just before half-past eleven. Twilight had taken Spike up to bed as well in spite of his insistence that he wasn’t tired. In another half hour or so, it would be Hearth’s Warming, Christmas to me and my family. All the presents we had for each other had been piled up in the middle of the library, and quite a tidy pile it was too. We continued to chat amongst ourselves as the clock crept round for the final time. Eventually, the clock in the library began to strike the hour.
“Well, Happy Hearth’s Warming and Merry Christmas everypony,” Twilight said as we all clinked our glasses.
“Well come on then, let’s go have a look see,” my father encouraged. We all promptly left the table and headed over to the small mountain of presents. “Well, let’s see what we’ve got. There’s one for you Rainbow, from Fluttershy.” Instantly, the Pegasus grabbed the box and tore the paper off. Inside she found a rather strange looking contraption that looked like a miniature life raft. We all turned to Fluttershy for an explanation.
“It’s a float for Tank to use. I thought it might save energy on his rotor. He can sit on the water while you go fishing, Rainbow,” she explained. Dash was naturally grateful.
Next up was my present for Dad. He got a bead on what it was when he heard the bottle clink. He said he’d save it until New Year’s then split the bottle.
After that Rarity got one from Twilight. Twilight being Twilight of course, princess or not, had bought Rarity a book. Though to be fair it did detail the entire history of fashion and clothing in general in Saddle Arabia.
And so the night wore on. I got to open a couple. Rainbow offered to perform a sonic rainboom for me to celebrate the New Year. Rarity, much to everypony’s amusement had used some of the material she’d bought in Canterlot (and hidden under her bed when I’d entered the hotel room) to make a decent replica of a Confederate shell jacket, complete with gold buttons marked ‘CSA’. Even better, Twilight had bought me a vinyl copy of ‘The Fall’; an operatic piece detailing the tragedy of Princess Luna’s banishment.
The most interesting moment came towards the end of the evening. There were only a couple of presents left; two for me and one for Applejack. AJ picked up her gift from me.
“So what have we got here?” she asked as she examined the size and weight of the box.
“Just a little something Ah thought you might like,” I replied in an effort to be cryptic. Applejack removed the wrapping and lifted the lid on the box. She gasped as she picked up the small glass bottle. Rarity meanwhile was busy swooning.
“Aww thanks, Bones,” she said as she hugged me, sneaking a quick peck on my cheek. “Now come on, best you open my little gift to you.” She passed me a large, but nevertheless light box. Inside, was a very nice surprise.
Lifting the lid, I beheld something I’d always wanted, but never been able to find, a proper Stetson. A genuine cowboy, though perhaps cowpony is more appropriate, hat. I quickly set it on my head, adjusting it so it sat properly. Combined with Rarity’s gift, I imagine I looked like one of Bloody Bill’s boys.
“Oh wow. Applejack Ah love it,” I said, looking up to the brim of the hat. “Where’d you get this?” Applejack smiled again.
“We’ve got loads of ‘em lyin’ around. Ah figured you’d earned it. You’ve worked like a darn cowpony, only fair you get the hat.” It was a few shades darker than Applejack’s own signature headwear, more of a dark brown colour than the tan of hers. Still, at least it wasn’t a black hat; black hats always mark a villain.
The last present was covered in deep blue wrapping paper and tied with a blue silk ribbon. That alone looked expensive. Twilight and the others had gotten together to send presents to both princesses in Canterlot, I myself had sent Luna a small gift (a mug with the words ‘Best Princess’ on it). Twilight had naturally received a gift from Celestia, which was to be expected. However, I was quite surprised to find that my last gift came from Princess Luna.
I removed the ribbons and lifted the lid. Whatever it was, was wrapped up in bubble wrap and encased in a form of Styrofoam. On the top though, was a slip of paper with my name on it. Turning it over, there was a message written in Luna’s flowing hornwriting. It was a couple of lines from an old Lunar Guard hymn that had been written during her exile.
One sword at least thy night shall guard,
One faithful star shall praise thee.’
Slightly confused, I removed the top layer of protective cover. As it turned out, the box contained a sabre; clearly a ceremonial piece. Held in its scabbard, it looked to be an officer’s sword, the hilt bore the emblem of the Lunar Guard, whilst the scabbard had the phrase ‘Vivas Noctus’ carved onto it, as did the blade itself.
Underneath that, there was a large piece of cloth, far too large to be clothing. It was deep black in colour and folded into a neat square shape. With my dad’s help we were able to open it out. On one end we found eyelets; it was a banner, Luna’s to be more precise. The design was quite simple, but striking to look at. The entire thing was made of black silk, except for a white crescent moon in the centre. This was surrounded by four equally white stars, one in each corner. It resembled the image of when the stars aligned back in Season One.
Finally, at the bottom of the parcel, there was a more extensive explanation in the form of a short letter.
‘Dearest Blade Star,
These artifacts were recovered from the old barracks of our Lunar Guard shortly after my return. Your father told me of your interest in history, particularly of military matters, so I thought you might find these of interest. Please take as good care of them as my guards did before you.
Luna’
I was amazed by the condition of these two gifts. If what Luna said was true. Then they had both been crafted prior to the Lunar Rebellion, over one thousand years ago. Yet the blade was sharp like it was new and shone brightly in the lamplight. The banner’s condition was even more remarkable, not a single mark could be seen, nor had it faded. Lacking a better explanation I chalked this up to magic and carefully placed both items back into the box.
The party began to break up around one, after I had finished spinning 'A Christmas Carol' from memory and Mum had gone over her best recollection of the second chapter of the gospel according to Luke. Quite a few of us would have to endure the boundless energy of young children in a few hours. Applejack and me picked up our presents and headed back through the snow towards home. I needed the rest and so did she. Between the play, celebrations, presents and my first kiss, the pair of us were worn out. We both headed straight to bed as soon as we got back, falling asleep almost before our heads touched the pillow.