//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 - Hearth's Warming // Story: The Shadow of Equestria // by Eruedraieth //------------------------------// " The house is finished, sir. " " Great. I'll check if it's up to par. Could somepony get Fluttershy and Natura over here? " I shouted in the mess of workers swarming the building. I knew she'd send workers, but this many...? " I will retrieve the yellow pegasus and ginger-bearded human for you. " The architect said, walking off towards the library. "All of you did an amazing job. I heard Pinkie Pie made some treats for all of you to pick up in Sugarcube Corner's bakery. " I said once I got the attention of all the workers. The workers left one by one towards the bakery, leaving just me near the new building to wait for the architect to return with Fluttershy and Natura. I admired the building, looking intently at the framework and how masterful it was put together. I heard hoof- and footsteps nearing the house. I walked over to the front of the building to greet them. " Hey guys, ready to check out your new home? " I asked. " I sure am. Sweet Celestia! They even made these? " Fluttershy called out once she found the pens for the animals. " Princess Celestia told me you were quite in touch with animals, so I hath altered the blueprints slightly to add those in. " The architect said proudly. " They are perfect! Thank you so much, mister...." " Just Architect will do. I do not confide my own name with my clients, whoever they may be. " he said. " Okay. Thank you, Architect. Let's go check the inside out! " Fluttershy said. " It's mostly empty, as most of your furniture was destroyed. You'll have to re-decorate yourself." I said. " Oh, I remembered something. Princess Celestia told me to give this bag to Fluttershy. " The architect said, and handed her a bag. She gasped as she saw it's contents. " Oh my... that's...that's a lot of money... " " You should see the bags I get sometimes. You can literally make it rain for a steady 5 minutes with those amounts of bits. Celestia cares a lot about her subjects. And her friends even more.... " I said. " I will have to thank the Princess at some point... " Fluttershy mumbled. " If my services are no longer required, I will take my leave. " the architect said. " Pass by the bakery in Sugarcube Corner before you go, Pinkie Pie has made something for you aswell." I said. " If you insist. " The architect said, and left for the bakery this time. " I'll leave you two to admire your home and think about the interior. Twilight needs my help with the preparations for Hearth's Warming. And I might have to talk to her about something... " I said. " Alright. Thanks for setting this up for Fluttershy. And me, to some extent. " Natura said. " No problem, my friends. See you around. " I said as I walked over to the library. WWWWW I could hear objects being thrown around inside once I neared the great tree. I rushed inside, and narrowly dodged a chair that broke through the door leading to the main room. Picking up the half-broken chair, I opened the door to the actual home, being careful not to step on the pieces of shattered glass left in the library. " Twilight, calm down! No need to take your anger out on the furniture! What's the matter?! " "HGRRHH! IT WON'T DO! THERE'S HARDLY ENOUGH!" she shouted. " What isn't there enough of? " I asked calmly. " Everything! We're running short on EVERYTHING and I have to take care of it all!" " Well the house is done, so you won't have to take care of anything on your own now. Put your organising skills to use and tell me what we're missing. " " Food. Presents. Ornaments. More food. Socks..." " Socks..?" I asked. " To put on the hearth for presents to go in. " "Really...? That sounds highly impractical. On Earth we would simply put the presents underneath the Christmas tree. " I said. " Tree? You want me to bury the presents under this tree?" Twilight asked, confused. " What?! No! Don't you have those pine trees for putting baubles in, with a star on top of the tree? " " Umm, no? We just put decorations on the buildings, and line the hearth with the socks. " Twilight said. " Alright fine. By the way, a hearth inside of a wooden tree? Is that safe...?" " Magically contained. " Twilight responded. " Oh, okay. Right, gonna have to find myself a pine tree then. Hopefully I can get a large one so I can put it in front.. " I mumbled. " You're going to get a pine tree?" Twilight asked sarcastically. " Well, maybe if you're so kind to help me out.. " I hinted. " No! I can't go running off to get pine trees when there's this much preparation stil to be done! " she said angrily. " Forget the socks. We're gonna do it the Earth way, and I don't care what happens but I'm going to make sure it's the fanciest Christmas tree you've ever seen. Well, you haven't seen any, so it will be regardless BUT STILL." " Promise me you will help out with the rest of the preparations after we get this stupid tree of yours? " Twilight asked. " I promise. And it's not stupid, it's friggin' magical, just you wait. Follow me, I might know just the place to get a pine tree." Twilight followed me to the Everfree Forest, which we entered. I led us through the forest to the cave we found which contained the elemental door. " This place? " Twilight asked. " Yup. While we were here, I looked around for a bit. And found.... These. " I said, standing next to a large pine tree. " Pine trees. How will we get them back, though? " " Simple. I'll dig up its roots, and you can shrink the tree afterwards so we can carry it back. " "Or, I'll just pull it out so I won't have to waste time staring at you digging. " she said as she charged her magic. The tree got torn from the ground, and shrinked in size as Twilight used her magic on it. The now tiny tree rested in the palm of my hand. "Aww, such a cute little tree. Let's go back and plant it in front of your library. " I said. WWWWW Once back, we planted the tree in the ground and Twilight made it grow big again. " Now, we have a tree in front of a tree. Happy now? " Twilight said nonchalantly. " We're far from done yet. We gotta decorate it! You got baubles and lights? " I asked. " There should be enough for this tree, but we will need more. SPIKE!" Spike came running outside when he heard Twilight shout. " What do you need? " " More baubles, and more lights. Could you get some socks aswell? " " Already on it! " he said as he ran off into town. " You're still... Oh nevermind. Where them lights at? " She levitated a few baubles and lights with hangers over. " Those should do. String the lights around the tree going up starting from the bottom. I'll put the baubles in. " I said as I took the baubles. We went to work decorating the tree, and eventually, we finished. (Have a tree I randomly found on the Internet.) "Atleast we had a star lying around. Dunno where it came from but it fits perfectly after a few adjustments. " I said. " Lucky you... I must say, the tree does look good. What do we do now? " Twilight asked. " Put the presents underneath it. Don't open untill Hearth's Warming, ofcourse. " I said. " I'll run around the homes nearby to ask if they want to join in on the presents. " I approached every home near the square , and asked if they would join in on celebrating the present opening together. Most were hesitant at first, but gave in once they saw Twilight moving her own presents under the tree. Applejack and Rainbow Dash came by once I convinced the last home. " Hey guys, what's with the tree? " Rainbow asked. "Hearth's Warming, the Earth way. We celebrate it by putting the presents under the tree instead of in socks. " I said. " Now that be soundin' much more practical ta me. Them darn socks always fall off the wall. " Applejack said. " I asked everypony living near the tree to join in on opening presents together. Want to join in? " I asked. " Ah'm 'fraid Ah can't. Ah always celebrate it with mah family on the farm. Sorry. " Applejack said. " It's okay. You, Rainbow? " " I got nothin' else to during that time, so why not? I.. usually just celebrate it on my own... " she said. " You won't have to this year. Say, could you maybe ask Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Natura? And Spirit aswell, if he doesn't celebrate it with the Apple family that is. " "Sure thing! " she said, and flew off. " Ah don't know what Spirit wanted ta do. He seems mighty happy 'round us, but Ah'm not sure how he'd prefer ta celebrate it. " Applejack said. " Up to him to decide. I'm not going to persuade him into doing something he doesn't want. " I said. " Are we done now Primal? We still have things to do." Twilight called. " 'Course Twilight. " I replied. " Well, gotta run. Twilight needs me with the decorating. " " You do that. Sorry again that Ah can't join ya." " It's okay. Traditions above all, right. I'll see you around. " I said, and followed Twilight who was going into the library. " What do you need me do now? " I asked. She threw various things at me, ranging from festive hangers to fragile baubles and mysterious presents. " Careful with those baubles! " I shouted. " You catched them all, didn't you? " Twilight returned. " Jeez, what's up with you? Are you angry because I didn't help sooner? " " No, it's... Nevermind. Just go and decorate the outside of the library, okay? " she said. " Alright then. If you need anything else, you know where I am. " I said, and took the decorations outside. Observing the tree from a distance, I wondered how I was going to do any decorating at all. "Maybe I could be of assistance to you? " Xiz'Rath offered. "What did you have in mind..? " I asked. "Give me control over your body, and you will see. " The essence belonging to the elemental was activated, and my body turned into pure lightning. My mind went blank, and I could feel myself swapping spots with Xiz'Rath. A torrent of energy shot out of our body as Xiz'Rath finished the transformation. " Ah, to feel the air again is such a welcoming sensation. " Xiz'Rath said. "I see what you mean now, with the whole spectator thing. " I said. "We are still one, even though I took control of your body for the moment. My power over Air is vastly better than yours, but I lack your shadow-based abilities. " "If we are to fight as one, maybe we could consider alleviating those lacking features for both of us, or find a way to swap forms quicker. " I suggested. "I do not feel at ease with providing your mortal form with my power... yet. The future could hold such a possibility should it be required of us, but for now, I will attempt to hasten the swapping process. " Xiz'Rath said. "So.. What are you going to do? Do remember there's ponies watching us. " " Do not fret. I will show you. " Xiz'Rath said out loud. All the decorations were lifted into the air, guided by currents of wind and electricity. Each piece took its spot somewhere on the tree, and in just a minute the entire tree looked properly festive. " Who are you? No, no, better question. WHAT are you? " We heard someone ask us. Xiz'Rath turned around to face the pony asking the question. It was Rainbow Dash. " Hail, Rainbow Dash. My name is Xiz'Rath, and I am a being of pure Air. Myself, and the one you call Primal Dagger, share this body. He allowed me to take control over our form to ease the process of decorating this tree for reasons unknown to myself. " Xiz'Rath gave me form outside of his, to prove his point. I waved and said hi to her as my spectral image hovered in the air. "Primal! What did he do to you?! Did he trap you? If he hurt you in any way he's going to regret appearing here. " she bellowed, hooves raised in offense towards Xiz'Rath. " Relax, Rainbow. He told the truth. We share this shell, just like Twilight shares hers with Gaia, even though she lies dormant still. " I said calmly. "Return us to my form, just in case she still doesn't believe it. Which is likely. " I said to Xiz'Rath in my mind. We merged again, and Xiz'Rath returned us to my body. "See? Nothing to worry about. " I said. "Could you give me form? I wish to converse with the ponies. " Xiz'Rath asked. I projected his essence in front of me, giving the elemental a material form again. " Apologies if I have upset you in any way, Miss Rainbow Dash. If you have any questions, I can answer them for you. " Xiz'Rath said. " I do have a question, if you do not mind. You said Twilight and 'Gaia' shared a form like the two of you do, but why is Gaia dormant, and you...well, not? " Rarity asked, appearing behind Rainbow Dash. " We are both still unsure why this is so. Primal believes that the friendship linking the six of you together might lead to the awakening of Gaia, but that is merely a thought. " Xiz'Rath explained. " Wait, didn't you know Gaia , though? You recognised her essence the moment you saw Twilight. " I said to him. " I do... Well, did. Untill something drove us apart. I have not seen her or the other two Elements of Creation in centuries. " " So there are two more... I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Aqua holds the element of Water. Could somepony go and ask her to get here? " I asked. " I'll be right back! " Dash said, and shot off to fetch her. " What drove you apart? " I asked Xiz'Rath. " I cannot remember. Whatever separated us made sure we would forget about it. It did not account us returning, I suspect. WaIt, is that the Element of Nature? " Natura stepped forward. "If that means me, yes. " " There has to be something sinister and dark looming over this land for it to return the Elements of Creation and the Element of Nature back to existence. " Xiz'Rath said. " She seems to be asleep aswell. I notice you have control over your essence, however. How did you not notice her essence? " " Who's essence? All I can find is my own essence, and that of the werewolf. " Natura said. " She must have hidden her essence from you so she could slumber peacefully. As with Gaia, I do not know how to wake her up. Only time will tell. " Xiz'Rath said. " Where is her essence? Maybe I could try to activate it? " Natura asked. " That is unwise to do in such company. The awakening of a slumbering Element in such a way could provoke her to do something she could regret. I myself have done something I regret, and I do not wish it on you or her. " " Okay, we'll do that later then. Why did you ask for us, Primal? " Natura asked. " I asked for all of you to come here because I wanted to propose something. Celebrate Hearth's Warming here, the Earth way. And with here, I mean near this tree, together with the other townsponies nearby. " I said. " I'm obviously going to say yes for myself, but I don't know what Fluttershy wants. " Natura said. " I don't mind. But...will there be...a lot of other ponies..?" Fluttershy asked. " Depending on how many live near this tree, there should be a few. I doubt you'll need to present yourself to everypony though, if that is what you are afraid of. " I said. " Besides, you got Natura. " "Hey! I'm not 'with' her, if that was what you were implying!" He responded. " I wasn't implying anything. " " Good. " " I usually celebrate it with Twilight, so naturally, I shall be present as well. " Rarity said. " Ponies?! Together?! This calls for a PAAARTYYYY!" the pink menace shouted, and vanished into thin air. "Right. Party. She has a reason to plan a party for anything, doesn't she..? " I said plainly. " Yup. That's Pinkie Pie. " Twilight said, appearing from the library. " You decorated the tree quickly. " "With thanks to my buddy here. " I motioned to Xiz'Rath. " Ah, Xiz'Rath. Weren't you part of Primal? " Twilight asked. " I am. This is merely a projection of myself. " He demonstrated it by walking through me. " Interesting. Also, you said Gaia's essence was within me, slumbering? Any ideas on how to awaken her? " Twilight asked. " None yet, other than it having to do with your friendship with the other Elements of Harmony." Xiz'Rath said. " I know how to awaken her. But I want something in return. " We turned to the cloaked newcomer. It was the pyromaniac. " If you think anyone here is going to accept that, you're in the wrong town. " I said, daggers poised. Xiz'Rath had a lightning bolt charged and ready to launch at him too. " Oh, but that is where you are wrong. For you see, I have something, or rather, somepony that belongs to all of you. " "And who would that be? " Twilight asked. " The brash pegasus, Rainbow Dash. " A cage appeared, holding an incapacitated Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow!! You monster! " Twilight shouted. " This seems almost too much like Krampus, now... Only you're not some half-goat monster. " I stated. " What can I say? I just love seeing you squirm." " You must've had quite the bad upraising for you to turn out like this. " I said. " My parents actually did a good job at raising me. Too bad I got pulled into this world the moment I finally fixed my life. Getting close to the brink of insanity and escaping it only to get thrown back to it does wonders to one's mind. " "And that's why you need to cause suffering to all around you, Searing Hatred? " I mocked. " That, and a very tempting deal with a dark and evil being. It offered me salvation if I carried out its plans." " Great. A devil's deal, then. What did you want for Rainbow Dash and the knowledge for awakening Gaia? " I said. " You. And either for the pony, or the knowledge. My master does not want both in your hands. " " What could it possibly want with me? It already has you, doesn't it? " I said. " It's always a good thing to expand one's army. " "Don't do it Primal! We'll find another way to get Rainbow back! " Twilight shouted. " Twilight, I have to. I can't let this monster harm Rainbow Dash, and if it wants me, so be it. " I said. " Good...Good... Step into this circle here, and I'll release this pathetic pony. " Searing Hatred said. A dark-red runic circle appeared on the ground. I slowly walked over, and stepped into it. The magic shackled me, and teleported me to a different place.... WWWWW Change of Character - Primal Dagger -> Twilight Sparkle " NOOOO!" Searing Hatred let Rainbow loose, and she dropped to the ground. " I'll see you soon.... " With that, he dissappeared in a puff of smoke and fire. " Why.." I sobbed. Fluttershy dashed over to Rainbow. " Are you okay?" " Unghhh.. What happened? I was flying to Aqua's home to tell her to come here, and then everything just went.. black..." she mumbled. " You got captured. Primal traded himself so you would be released. " Natura said. " Not exactly... but you will find out in a moment. " Xiz'Rath said. I threw him a confused look, but my confusion cleared as I realised what Primal had done. " Oh, you clever, tricksy devil. " I said. " What? What do you mean?" Rainbow asked. " I have to give it to him, that was clever. I doubt it will work another time, but we should be more prepared by then. " I said. Rainbow was begging me to tell her what happened, but I remained silent. " How about we further discuss the celebrations while we wait?" Xiz'Rath suggested. " Good plan. Could you girls get and place your presents under this tree? We'll open those tomorrow, during the actual celebration. As for this evening, there's no show planned this year I believe, so we could spend it at my home, or visit Applejack at her farm. What do you think? " I said. " The sudden change in subject is odd, but okay. As for this evening, I think we should spend it together at the farm. With everypony and everybody. " Rarity said. " But I want to know what happened to... Ah nevermind, you're not gonna tell me anyways. " Rainbow said. " That is correct. " I said with a smug smile. " Party at Applejack's farm! " Pinkie cheered. " Will you join us too, mister Xiz'Rath?" " Ofcourse. " " FANTASTIC! I got a 'Welcome to Ponyville weird lightning thing' party to plan too! " Pinkie said. " Yes, right... " " Let's go get everypony's presents under the tree. " I said. " Each of you go and get your presents you got for everypony and everyone of our closest friends, and we'll meet back here in half an hour to go to the farm together. " " It sure was difficult getting presents for all of you, and all our newest friends. " Fluttershy said. " I'm sure whatever you got for me,Spirit, Primal and Aqua will be perfect. As for the rest, you've known them longer so I doubt it would be a problem. " Natura said comfortingly. " I'll pass by Aqua and tell her what's up. " I said. Each of us went their own ways, and I made my way towards Michelle's new home. Once I got closer, I heard rummaging inside. I knocked on the door, and Aqua opened it, carrying a box in her hands. " Hello Twilight, I'm kind of busy, but what do you need me for? " She asked. " I wanted to ask, or rather tell you, that we will be celebrating Hearth's Warming together near the tree we planted in front of my library. " I said. " You planted a tree? I'm guessing that was Primal's idea. " she said. " It sure was. He wanted to celebrate it the 'Earth way'" I said. " Luckily I managed to get some presents for everyone just in time for the celebration. " Aqua sighed. " When you're done, could you either go to the tree or to Applejack's farm, depending on how long you will take?" I asked. " I'm actually almost done. Why don't you come inside for a moment? " " I got to... Eh, sure, why not. I live right next to that tree, so moving the presents won't take much time. " She stepped aside to allow me entry, and closed the door behind me. " Don't mind the mess. Moving all sorts of stuff around is tiresome, so I just leave most of it lying around. " she said. " You sure got a nice place. " " Yeah, it's perfect. Close to the train station, and close enough to the actual town. Plus, it's quite spacey! " Michelle said, placing the box in the corner. I noticed a broken mirror with a very ornate decoration next to a table. " Why do you keep a broken mirror like that around? " I asked. " Oh, that? I read up on that specific mirror in a book here, it apparently has magical properties, but only if it's twin is connected to it. And the mirror has to be whole, ofcourse. " " Twin mirrors.... twin mirrors.... It does ring a bell. " " The Twin mirrors of Alumesh is what they were called, I believe. " Aqua said. " Alumesh? The phase-portal mirrors? Where did you get this from? " I asked. " A shop belonging to that rich pony Primal had to take care of. " " Interesting. Well, if I come across the other mirror, I'll let you know. Shall we go? " " Sure, let me collect the presents first. " We left for the plaza together. Rainbow Dash was already there, having moved her presents over faster than anyone else. Aqua placed hers next to Rainbow's. " What a lot of presents. It's going to take the entire day if we have to open all of them! " I stated. " Let me help you get yours outside." Aqua offered. " Oh, Thanks! Follow me! " I guided her inside, and pointed to the pile of presents I had neatly stacked together next to Primal's. " Let's get those outside too while we're at it. " I said, motioning to Primal's presents. We moved all the presents outside, and Fluttershy and Natura had arrived aswell with their share of presents. " We could fill an entire home with these if it continues like this. " Natura said. " Where's Rarity and Pinkie? " I asked. " HERE!" Pinkie shouted as she appeared in an explosion of party streamers and 9 presents. " That is convenient. You just explode and leave your presents everywhere. " Xiz'Rath said, who had been quietly waiting near the tree. His body expanded slightly as the hum of magic got audible when he moved all of Pinkie's presents together in a neat pile next to the others'. " Thanks! I need to modify my party cannon slightly, it's too inaccurate!" she said, mysteriously acquiring her cannon from somewhere and started wrenching it. " Pinkie is here now, where's Rarity? " I asked again. " I think I see her approaching over there. " Natura said. Rarity was indeed approaching, towing forth a small cart loaded with presents. Xiz'Rath used his magic to move her presents next to all the others. " Thank you, kind Elemental. These presents were getting heavy." Rarity said. " My pleasure. It looks like everyone is here, let us go to the farm pony's farmhouse." Xiz'Rath said. " We should make haste if we want the Apple family to include us this evening. " I said. Me, Fluttershy, Natura, Aqua, Xiz'Rath, Rarity, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash all headed to the farm. I was silently wondering what was taking Primal so long to return, but I simply waved it off as part of his plan. WWWWW " 'Ello everybody! What brings all o' ya to our farm?" Applejack asked as she saw our party. "Well, since you are celebrating with your family, I wanted to ask if you got space for nine more. If there isn't enough space, we can just-" " Nonsense! There's always enough room at our farm! Come inside, it's gettin' mighty cold out here. " Applejack said. We followed her inside, and were greeted by an excited Applebloom. " Hey guys! Are y'all staying over this evenin'?" " They sure are. Wait jus' a minute, ya said nine right? You're with eight. " Applejack stated. " Where's Primal? " "He... uhh... will join us later. " I said. Applejack shot a mistrustful glance at me." Well Ah'm sure he'll be here soon. " " He will, just give him some time. " Xiz'Rath said. " Mah sis' told me y'all have a festive tree near the library! What's it for? " Applebloom asked. " It's a Christmas tree, or rather, Hearth's Warming tree. Its something Primal, Aqua, Spirit and Natura use back on Earth to celebrate it. They put the presents underneath it instead of in socks. " I said. " I sure do miss Earth. Actually, I don't really. Apart from my job there's nothin' back there. " Spirit said. " I miss my girlfriend.... But I hope she could understand. I sent her a quick message telling her I'm leaving somewhere and I had to break up with her. Something along the lines of it not going to work anymore. " Natura said. " Primal basically dragged the two of you here, didn't he? " I said. " Kind of. He didn't really tell us anythin' 'bout this place. Apart from seein' you, that be all we had for information. " Spirit said. " Not that I really mind. " " I don't mind either. Apart from my girlfriend, job and family who I never talk to anyway, I left little behind. I think Primal had to leave the most behind, since he had regular contact with his mum and had a laboratory of his own. You don't leave such things behind easily. " Natura said. " He seems okay with it though. " Rainbow said. " He has accepted it to some degree. " Aqua said. " I don't think it'll ever be perfect, though. For any of us. Even though we made peace with leaving Earth, the memories will linger. " " Those memories would be crushed in a matter of a few years back there anyway. Earth was dying. " " Primal! You're back! " I shouted happily. " 'Course I'm back. Sorry that took so long, had to keep the facade real for as long as possible. They found out though, this scar serves as a reminder of the torment my clone went through. " he pointed at a long scar on his arm. " They ain't messin' 'round are they. " Applejack said. " Definitely not. They'll be back sometime." " You said Earth was dying? " Rarity asked. "Yeah. The reason for the world-travel experiment in the first place was to find a new home for Earth's inhabitants. The planet was slowly heating up, thanks to an overdose of grenhouse gases. " " Why is that bad? Means more sunny days and sunbathing! " Rarity said. " Well, if the north and south pole of the planet are covered with ice... which melts rapidly thanks to the increased temperature... increasing global sea levels... more devastating natural disasters... harsher weather..." " This planet is pollutant-free though. " Spirit said. " Yup. And I'm not going back to tell the humans about it either. This world is peaceful, and inviting billions of humans here will probably result in disaster. Both for the flora and fauna, and the current inhabitants." Primal said. " Food should be nearly ready. " Applejack shouted from the kitchen. " There isn't even enough space here for all of us to sit down! " Primal said. " Oh, there is. Show 'em, Applebloom! " Spirit said. Applebloom buzzed around the room, and within moments the room contained a large table big enough for at least twenty ponies ot humans. " I said nothing. " " How did Applebloom do that all on her own? " Aqua asked. " Earth pony power! " the little filly said. " Applebloom, Spirit! Ready the table for everyone! " Applejack shouted. They both went to the kitchen to collect the food and plates. " Did you learn anything about Searing Hatred's master? " Xiz'Rath asked. " Not really. My clone was blindfolded beforehand, so I only heard a voice. " Primal said. " Disappointing. " " Well, enough about that. Time for festivities! And LOTS OF FOOD!!" WWWWW Change of Character - Twilight Sparkle -> Primal Dagger "Last Christmas, I gave her my heart. But the very next day, she gave it away...." I paused momentarily to check if Twilight was awake before continuing my singing. "This year, to save me from tears, I'll give it to somepony special..." "Thats so... touching.." Twilight said silently. "It's a christmas song from Earth." I said. "Christmas song? Sounds a bit gloomy for a christmas song, doesn't it?" Twilight asked. "Heh, it's quite funny actually. Most christmas songs on Earth are lyrically gloomy, but the music makes it sound cheerful. Hidden meanings like 'Third world countries don't have christmas' and things like that." I said. " Third world?" "A term used for countries that are economically poor, and lack behind on social servicing and teaching to the rest of the world." I said. "I can't imagine what that would be like... Here, most ponies live in relative wealth. Everypony has adequate schooling, too." " Having seven billion people on a planet like that takes it's toll, both on the environment and on the populace. Honestly, I'm more worried about the environment than about the populace. You can't replace an entire planet." "You talk as if the populace are a commodity to be used..." "I suppose everyone deserves to live, but I couldn't really be bothered to care about seven billion others. In fact, I try not to care about anyone other than myself. Brings too much pain when something goes wrong." "You're a cold-hearted person, y'know that?" "I guess. Skipped years, school trouble and nobody to care for you but your parents can do that to someone." I said. "Well, we care for you! We all do!" Twilight made clear. "I know.. Habits are hard to change..." "Aww, c'mon. Let's get ready for today, we got a lot of presents to open!" Twilight said. "Go on ahead, I'll be right behind you." I waited for Twilight to leave the room, and Xiz'Rath appeared in the room in a flash. "I do not think she picked up on that." he stated. "I'll just tell her later... She'll probably be over the moon then." "Careful what you say. Who knows, she might get banished to the moon for some weird reason." he said, and disappeared again. "I sure do hope not. Don't want to have a corrupted Twilight to fight." I mumbled. I quickly got into my clothes, and headed down the stairs. Spike was not awake yet as I could hear loud snoring from his bedroom. I poured myself a glass of orange juice and sat on the bench. "Look who's being lazy again." Twilight said as she walked down the stairs. "I'm a man, I'm supposed to be lazy all the time." I replied. " You could chose not to be lazy though. " "What am I going to do at this time of day then? " I asked. " I don't know, maybe... Make breakfast? " " It's going to be terrible most of the time if I make it. " I said. " Nonsense. Last time you made those Croque Monsieur, they were pretty tasty. " Twilight complimented. " Yeah, that was once. Besides, I'm not really that hungry to begin with. " " You could've atleast made something for me. " Twilight said, annoyed. " Ah, yeah. I'll make it up to you a next time, 'kay?" I said. " Fine, I'll hold you to that one. " 'CRASH!' " Could you... stop making dramatic entrances like those? Especially indoors? " Twilight said. " It's quite frustrating to fix the damn window every time. " " Hehe, sorry. I really have to stop trying out new stunts near Ponyville. " Rainbow said. "Or just don't try any stunts that close to the ground. I don't want you lying on the ground, broken and somewhere only Celestia would know where. " I said. " Why would you think Princess Celestia knows where I'd be? " Rainbow said. " Because figure of speech. I don't mean anything with it. She may be powerful, but I doubt she knows the locations of all her subjects. " I said. " Anyway, everypony is waiting at the tree for you guys. I got bored of waiting so I took to practicing my moves. " I shadowstepped onto a chair, and shadowstepped outside, taking said chair with me. " Well, I'm ready. " I called out, taking an extremely relaxed position on the chair. " Really? You're that lazy? " Aqua said. " No I'm tired. 'Course I'm lazy, gotta keep it up somehow don't I? " " Where's Twi?" Pinkie asked. " Inside, getting something to eat. Actually, be right back. " I blinked back inside, and proceeded to Spike's room to wake him up. "Spike! Wake up, the others are here already! " " Rarity too? " the baby dragon said. " Yes, she's there too. " Spike shot outside within seconds. I left the room, shrugged when Twilight looked at me with a questioning gaze, and left through the open door. Spike was near Rarity, as expected. Rarity looked at me with asking eyes, but I shrugged again. " Nice to see you are awake, and quite full of energy. " Rarity said to Spike. " Anything for you. " Spike sighed, love-hearts appearing in his eyes. Twilight trotted outside, levitating a sandwich. " We got a lot of presents to go through. Whose do we open first? " Twilight mumbled, mouth full. "Mine! " Rainbow shouted. " Where are yours? " I asked. " Over here! " " There's just four here, though. " Aqua said. " Yeah... I...umm... only got presents for Rarity, Twi, 'Shy and Pinkie. I didn't really know what to get for you guys... " " That's okay, I don't mind. If you truly had no idea, then no harm is done. It's quite hard to grasp what we'd like if you don't spend that much time with us like you do with your pony friends. " Natura said. Rainbow gave the corresponding present to everypony, and waited for them to open them. Twilight was the first to cry out. " A SIGNED copy of Daring Do's latest book?! How did you get this? " " Had to pull a few strings, but I managed it in the end. " Rainbow said proudly. " A skystone gem? You must have been through a lot to get one of these! " Rarity said. " I somehow had one lying around, think I got it from somepony a year ago. I thought you'd like it! " "I sure do! These gems are exquisite! " " A... feather? " Fluttershy said. " Not just any feather. Look closely. " " Oh my... It's a phoenix's feather.... thank you! I know where to put this! " " A piece of cloud? I know I'm random but this is just plain kooky! " Pinkie said. " Don't you guys ever look further than just what it looks like? " Rainbow said, slightly annoyed. Pinkie squeezed the cloud gently, and snow crystals felll out, chilling the ground they landed on. " I don't see why this is useful! " Pinkie exclaimed. " GAH! Use that over something you want frozen!" " But why would I want something frozen? I'd rather let it go instead of freezing it! " "Pinkie, you're making zero sense right now. " I stated. " You could use that cloud for a new kind of frosting, maybe? Or make instant ice cream!" Twilight said. " Ofcourse! Ice cream! I have to wait untill summer though..." " I'd eat ice cream any day, even in winter. " I said. " OH! That reminds me, be back in a second! " Pinkie said, and disappeared. " What was that about? And how does she move so quickly? " I asked. " It's Pinkie, don't bother trying to make sense of her. " Rainbow said. " Alright, mine next. They're a bit small, but don't let that deceive you. " I said. Xiz'Rath appeared next to me in a bolt oflightning. I got used to him being able to summon himself, but the others jumped in shock. Rainbow managed to dodge out of the way just in time. " Gimme a warning next time! " She said. " I don't know when he decides to summon himself. " I said apologetically. " I should have told him beforehand so he could warn you, my bad. " Xiz'Rath said. " I will tell you now, you will like his gifts. " "You guys will definitely like my gifts. I've marked each of the with a symbol only seeable by myself and Xiz'Rath, so I'll hand them out." I said. I gave everyone their respective present, and waited for them to open them. Rainbow Dash was the first to cry out this time. Holding up the pin i made: "Oh my gosh this looks cool! Did you make these? " Rainbow said. " I have. Took a lot of time and secrecy, but I managed to make them quickly enough for noone to notice. " Twilight held up her pin next. " It's amazing, thank you. " Twilight said. Rarity was next to hold up the pin. " This must have taken you really quite some time to make these. " Rarity said, admiring the pin in her hooves. " Custom works require some effort.I can't surpass your artistic skills though. " I complimented her. " Wow... It looks so much like my cutie mark... " Fluttershy held up her pin so everyone could see. " I obviously based them off of that. It's a great idea to make each gift feel more personal. It's a bit rough around the edges here and there, but atleast I tried to make it life like. " " Look at mine! Look at mine! " Pinkie was bouncing around, the pin shaking too much to get a good look." " Stand still Pinkie, I can't look closely at it! " Twilight said to Pinkie. " Oh, right! " " Hey, you even got one for me. " Natura mentioned. " You got one for my mark too. " Aqua said. " 'Course I did. You have your mark, don't you Natura? " I said. Natura lifted the sleeve of his shirt to reveal the green claw marks. " I never noticed. " " I made one for Applejack, Spirit and myself too. I'll give the pins to them later as a delayed gift, but I can show mine. " Whoa, that looks quite badass. " Natura said. " I know, right. Your claw mark is very cool, too. The thing I made for Spirit is also pretty damn awesome. " We proceeded to open all of the remaining presents. Rarity made custom outfits for everyone, including myself, Aqua, Spirit and Natura. Pinkie had dashed off earlier to retrieve cupcakes with everyone's mark on them, and varying flavours. Fluttershy had hoof-picked various flowers that symbolised everyone's personalities: Lavender for Twilight, Iris for Rarity, Delphinium for Rainbow Dash, Peony for Pinkie, Viburnum for Natura, Hydrangea for Aqua and a Daffodil for me. Twilight got a special book for everyone to read. " What are these potions, though? " Twilight asked. " I made those. Each contains a different blend of ingredients. They should have interesting effects, I haven't really tested them but I know they are not dangerous. " Natura said. Everyone took a sip of their potion. Mine felt like bottled lightning, as it zapped through my mouth. It left a sour aftertaste, which he knew I liked. Everyone was taken aback by the power of their potions. " How did you make a liquid do that? " Twilight asked. " The secret of these ingredients cannot be told, otherwise I'd have no special thing to make. " Natura replied. " Well, I'd say it's about time for dinner. It's nearly six o' clock now! " I mentioned. " Wow, we took long. Who will we have dinner at, though? " Natura asked. " My library. I got something prepared already. " Twilight said. WWWWW " That was an interesting day. I also expected that book from you. " I said. Everyone had left now, and it was just me and Twilight. Spike had carried his hoard of acquired gems everyone gave him as present to his room and was fast asleep by now. " You live in the same house, so you would've noticed the missing book. " " I didn't, actually. " I looked around to check the bookcases, and found where the book came from. "I have now. " " I'm too predictable, am I not. " " Kind of. Doesn't make you any less likeable, though. " "You still didn't really give me an answer, you know. " "I hinted at it with the song I sang this morning, but I don't think you picked it up. " I waited for the coin to drop. " Oh my. Ofcourse I should've noticed that song's lyrics were slightly off. So..." " Yes, Twilight. I would love to be together with you. You have done so much for me, and I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather be with than you. " "Shut up. " Her lips touched mine, silencing me. I never felt so alive, and yet time had seemed to have frozen completely. She left my lips, but came back shortly after for a more drawn out, passionate kiss. " You're a good kisser, you know that? " Twilight said. " And that for someone who had no previous experience. " " You don't need experience, you just need the love and want to make it good. Let's sleep, you got a day to prepare for a big trip tomorrow. " Twilight said. Love found a way to my heart. Will it stay?