A guard came rushing in, "The royal chariot approaches, your Highnesses!"
"That's Cadence, Shining Armor, Skyla, and Aunt Luna!" Twilight exclaimed and just like before, she rushed out.
Flash merely said, "Here we go again…" He and everyone - except the children and grandparents - followed after her.
By the time they got to the door, the chariot was landing, but already Cadence flew out to meet up with Twilight as they chanted their favorite rhyme, "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" They giggled.
"Oh, Twilight! It's so wonderful to see you again, but should the Queen of Canterlot really be doing nursery rhymes?" Cadence said in a joking manner.
"I don't care. All I care about is seeing my favorite cousin again."
Skyla came up to her mother in excitement and looked up to Twilight, "Hi, Aunt Twilight!"
Twilight was all smiles, greeting her, "Hello there, Skyla. Did you have a fun time riding the chariot over here?"
"Uh-huh. I got to sit in Grandmama's lap all the way!"
Luna trotted forth and beamed at her granddaughter. Shining Armor joined them carrying two suitcases with his magical aura, but he was having a hard time keeping them up.
"If you don't mind Twilight, could you tell me where I should put these?"
"Oh, one second." She signaled for a couple of guards and instructed them to take the prince's luggage. They obliged.
Shining Armor smirked, "Well, you certainly got the queen role down pat."
"You may think so, but I assure you, I still have my doubts. Well, no use standing out here in the cold. Let's get you inside for some hot chocolate and cookies."
"Yay!" Skyla cheered while the adults around her laughed merrily.
Inside, Celestia and Luna were joyfully reunited and Celestia and Sombra gave a hug to their niece and grandniece. Then Skyla joined the other cousins who were talking in a corner, discussing the pageant.
"I hope I get Chancellor Puddinghead! Cause that's who my Mom plays every year!" Cotton Candy told them.
"No doubt I'll be Commander Hurricane!" said Whirl Wind.
"Ooh! I bet I'll be Princess Platinum!" Gemstone motioned.
"Looks like you'll be Clover the Clever, sis." Fire Spark looked at Starling.
"You think so?"
"Sure. That's who Mom is every Hearth's Warming Eve pageant."
Meanwhile, the parents were updating Shining Armor and Cadence of the changes happening this year.
"The kids are going to perform the pageant?!" she asked with wide eyes.
Rarity said, "That's correct, to keep them distracted from searching for presents."
Shining commented, "That's pretty clever. Who thought of that?"
Flash gestured to his wife with a smirk, "Who else but the pony that has played Clover the Clever for years?"
Twilight glared at him, "Very funny." She then smiled, "But true nevertheless."
Cadence asked, "And what of my other cousins? The trio and Sunset Shimmer?"
"I got a message from them saying they left Marendelle Harbor this morning, so they won't be here until tomorrow. As for Sunset… she responded back to my message saying she would arrive today, but I don't know when. I'm also waiting for a surprise that's supposed to arrive soon."
"What kind of surprise?" both Cadence and Shining inquired.
"That's what we would like to know." said Applejack.
"But she won't say a word on what it is." said Rainbow.
"Have you tried tickling her weak spot?" Cadence smirked.
Twilight gasped at her, "You wouldn't dare!"
"You have a weak spot?" Flash asked.
"That's new to us, too." said Dash as the other sisters nodded.
Cadence explained, "That's because only I know where it is. I was fortunate enough to find it one day while I was looking out for her as a foal. And she still has it to this day."
Shining suggested, "Well, then, you better spill that secret before Cadence has to…"
"No fair! That'll ruin the surprise and it's a really good one!"
"How can it possibly be that good?" Applejack questioned.
"Trust me. It is." Suddenly, there was a fanfare and Twilight's smile widened, "And here she is!"
"She?!" they all exclaimed.
A herald then came into the room and blew the trumpet, "Announcing the Countess Coloratura!"
The girls and Cadence gasped in shock, leaving their poor husbands completely clueless. As the mare walked in with her bright pink mane and veil draped over her face, the girls all shouted, "Ra-Ra?!" They immediately went to hug her.
The boys wore confused glances as Discord scratched his head and Spike said, "I don't… understand…"
Celestia held a warm smile as she touched the dragon's shoulder and explained, "Coloratura - or 'Ra-Ra' as the girls nicknamed her when they were young - is a member of nobility. Her family are old friends to me, my husband, and sister. When our children met their only daughter, they became the best of friends, but duty and hardship separated them until now. This must be the special guest Twilight was talking about who would be performing in the showcase."
"She's a singer?" Soarin' asked.
"The best from what I've heard across Equestria. But even as a young filly, I can remember her singing beautifully."
The boys kept on watching the reunion.
"I just can't believe you're here!" Applejack exclaimed.
Ra-Ra said, "Well, when Twilight gave me the invite, I couldn't refuse! I haven't seen all of you since well before Cadence suddenly vanished."
The pink alicorn blushed, "Yes, it's a long story. One best told over some cookies and cocoa."
After introductions were made to the rest of the family, the girls and Ra-Ra talked amongst themselves.
"Oh, you have such sweet children…"
Rainbow chuckled, "Make sure you don't say that around Whirl. He hates being called 'sweet'."
"And this idea you have of them being in the pageant is great."
"At first, it was to distract them from presents, but the more I think about it, it really is a great idea." said Twilight.
Just then, a guard came up and bowed before them, "Your Highnesses, a sleigh approaches. We believe it is carrying Princess Sunset Shimmer."
And just like before, Twilight gasped happily and ran out of the room followed by her sisters, leaving Ra-Ra confused. Cadence gave her a half-smile.
"A lot has happened since we last saw each other."
Ra-Ra just glanced at her as Cadence told the tale.
Troubleshoes pulled the sleigh in with Sunset on it. She saw her twin and older sisters waiting by the castle doors.
"Sun-Sun!" Twilight called out to her.
Sunset leapt off the sleigh and cried out as she ran, "Twi-Twi!" The two embraced for a long time before the other sisters had a chance to hug their long-lost sister. Sunset waved back to her old friend, "Thanks, Troubleshoes!"
"No problem. Anything for a friend."
Twilight asked him, "Won't you like to stay for a while?"
"Afraid I can't. I got family to visit just like the rest of my friends."
"I was his last drop off." Sunset explained.
"Have a good time." he turned to go.
"You, too!" all the sisters said.
Once he was gone from view, Twilight turned to her twin, "We have something for you."
"What?"
They all giggled as they led her into the castle and went to a room where a large fireplace was. On the mantel, Sunset noticed, were rag dolls each looking like a member of the royal family.
"Before," Twilight expressed, "there were only ten dolls on this mantel." She pointed to her older siblings, "They were of us, our parents, and Aunt Luna and Cadence. But once we got married, our family grew, as you can see from the many dolls, though Discord's looks more like a plushie than a rag doll… Anyway, you will have noticed there's not a doll of you up there. But that's about to change!" In a bright pink flash, a rag doll of Sunset Shimmer showed up. Sunset stared at it in wonder.
"Twilight…" She took the doll with her own aura.
Rainbow pointed, "Well, go on. Set it up there."
Sunset slowly went toward the fireplace. She felt so touched to be a part of the family she never knew she had to begin with. She gently set her doll next to her twin's. She looked back at them with near tears in her eyes. "Guys… this is so amazing… I never had anything like this…"
They stared at her in confusion. They knew that their sister had lived a life of solitude thanks to her terrible guardian, Starlight Glimmer, but surely not even Starlight would do something so awful as to not celebrate Hearth's Warming Eve… But still…
"Sunset, darling," said Rarity, "are you meaning to tell us you never celebrated Hearth's Warming Eve?"
Sunset bit her lip uncomfortably before saying, "Well… um, actually, yeah…"
Their mouths dropped in shock.
Sunset explained, "I've heard about it, of course, from the guys, you know: Sugar Belle, Double Diamond, Night Glider, and Party Favor. They told me about it, but Starlight forbade us from celebrating it. So this is the first time I've ever seen the decorations, the lights, candy, and even the pageant. I know all about Equestria's history, of course, but to see it being performed, I can't wait to see that."
Applejack held her hoof up, "I'm sorry. It's just hard for me to wrap my head around it, but… you seriously never celebrated Hearth's Warming Eve?!"
Sunset nodded, "Mm-hmm."
Pinkie was on the verge of crying, "But… but that's just so… terrible!" she sobbed.
"That really is terrible!" Fluttershy wept.
Rainbow Dash was speechless. She wasn't sure if there were enough words about how she was feeling toward her sister's misfortune of missing out on one of Equestria's biggest holidays.
"Oh, darling… I am so sorry…" Rarity hung her head.
Twilight was shaking her head, "I just can't believe she would…" Then she faced her twin with a determined look, "If that's how it was, then you know what? We're going to make this the best Hearth's Warming Eve ever!"