The Tale of The White Night

by DraconequusMaximus

Hearth's Warming

It was the morning of Hearth's Warming Eve, as you went through the halls nopony could be found. White & Braeburn had never seen it like this before. They made their way to the dining hall nervous at the unheard of quietness of the castle. Their nerves were regained as the nearer they drew to the dining hall, the more a cacophony of sounds could be heard. As soon as they reached their destination Braeburn opened the door for White like a gentlecolt should (because White is definitely the mare in the relationship) .

As they entered they were amazed by the sheer number of ponies at work. Every member of castle staff & what seemed to be temporary hires (they were in street clothes) were covering the room in garland, tinsel & every imaginable manner of holiday decorations. Which was not surprising given the time of year, what was surprising was that everything was varying shades of black, grey, dark blue, purple & white. At the center of the organized confusion sat Celestia drinking her morning coffee seemingly oblivious to the world around her. To her side was Luna barking orders every which way. Braeburn realized the unorthodox decorations must be for the thestral's banquet holiday. He looked over to his coltfriend who was staring around the room like a foal somepony had just informed that they had won a lifetime supply of candy & toys.

"T-this is beautiful" White managed to stutter out, & Braeburn did have to admit that the normally beige & pink room looked entirely different but not in a bad way. Braeburn gazed at the color scheme of the room & had a new-found understanding as to why White was so hard to convince that he himself was beautiful. Thesrals seemed to care only for dark colors & only used white or bright colors in accents or depictions of the moon. White was... well... white, with pink accents. In thestral culture this seemingly labeled him as ugly in everpony's eyes. Braeburn felt terrrible that he had often dismissed White's worries that he wasn't "pretty enough" for Braeburn.

The earth pony quickly grabbed his angel into a hug. White was confused but enjoyed the contact, bolstering his already giddy attitude.

At this point Luna trotted over to them after picking up a large platter in her magic. Luna set down the platter on the dining halls table a few feet away from the stallions as she stopped before them.

"White night, we are glad to see thee, the other thestrals will not be here until the night of the event so I need you to give me input on the decorations and foodstuffs for the event. The ingredients for the feast have all arrived & we have hired a griffish chef & a thestral to prepare the dishes."

Luna lifted a cracker covered in... something Braeburn didn't recognize with her magic & White accepted it. White munched happily on the hors d'oeuvre obviously pleased.

"Oh wow, I haven't had anything like this before! Is this some kind of traditional thestral food?" White asked excitedly.

"This is Foie gras imported from the griffon kingdom. You have not sampled thestral cuisine before? Oh, dear that's right you were always excluded from the feast... my apologies. I will inform the chefs to use their own judgements but will be sure to tell them you enjoyed what you had."

"It's alright Luna, aren't you going to try some? It's really good." White said trying another item from the tray.

"Neigh White Night my body was not designed to process meats." Luna stated. White suddenly began shaking upon hearing this.

"Wh-w-what? Th-thesral food is m-meat?" White asked, obviously distraught.

"Did thou know so little of thy people? Thestrals are omnivores, they can consume whatever they please. But thestrals often eat meat because of their high protein requirement & because that is what was available in the lands they were force-ably relocated to. Your family depriving you of this might explain your diminutive size compared to other thestral." Luna explained to a huddled mass of sobbing that had once been White Night. Braeburn was unsure of what to make of this development but he knew one thing for sure, his angel needed him now.

Braeburn grabbed his coltriend & placed the feather-weight thestral upon his back & began carrying him back to their room, Luna wanted to help as she was somewhat responsible for the situation due to oversight but felt she had already done enough. Braeburn tried calming his love with reassurances & calming words but nothing seemed to help. When the the couple arrived Brae placed his precious cargo on their bed & joined him, gently stroking his silky mane.

"I-I didn't know it was meat, Brae. I really didn't. I wouldn't have eaten it if I had known. I'd never kill something for food Brae, please don't leave me!" White said through tears when he was calm enough to speak. The mournful expression on white's face & the tears streaming from his reddened eyes alleviated any doubt Braeburn had toward his angel. His angel was & always would be pure as snow. Braeburn placed his forehooves on White's shoulders & looked him in the eyes saying:

"If I weren't going to stay with you over this I wouldn't be here now. I know you didn't know what it was, you were just caught up in the feelin' ah belongin' to your people for the first time. I'll admit I wouldn't be thrilled if you wanted to keep eating meat but I wouldn't think any less of you for it. It's part of your culture & we agreed to share each other's culture, you put up with my bull & never say a word, what kinda stallion would I be if'n I backed out on you for a lil' slip up?"

White's eyes never left Braeburn's for the entirety of the speech, he could see nothing but understanding in the big green orbs he had come to love so much. White wrapped Braeburn in the tightest hug he could muster & instead of tears of sadness tears of happiness flowed from his eyes. The two kissed deeply for a moment until they needed to breathe. They lay there happily until Braeburn spoke up:

"I'm glad that we got that sorted out, & we're better for it, but could you maybe brush your teeth before we do that again?" White proceeded to hit him in the face with a pillow so Braeburn wouldn't see how red he had become. After one of his trademarked sighs White trotted off into the bathroom to rid the meat-taste from his mouth, He was joined shortly by his smiling stallion who began to do the same. The pair decided to skip lunch as neither felt much like eating for awhile. Despite this all was well between the 2. Some time before dinner there was a loud knock at the door. Braeburn took it upon himself to answer it & was surprised to find a guilty looking princess of the night carrying a vinyl-bound book that seemed to be only a few pages long in her magical grasp.

"We apologize for our earlier oversight, We have seen White Night's memories & knew he had not partaken of traditional thestral foods before. But in our excitement we forgot this & caused they who has become our dearest friends great distress. We have taken the liberty of doubling the kitchen staff for the event & now have a full range of vegetarian items as opposed to only a few." Luna then levitated the food list over for White's approval.

"We've already worked everything out Luna, & I'm not mad. While I'll admit I enjoyed it, I can't bring myself to eat other creatures. But that doesnt mean I'm going to look down on anypony that does. We'll still be glad to join you at the head table for New Moon Night." White replied to her as he looked over the vegetarian column. Braeburn smiled brightly at his angel made amends with their host. Luna's somber expression visibly brightened at this as well. Luna told them that tonight's dinner and tomorrow's breakfast would be delivered to their room, as the preparations for the feast were going to interfere with their meals. Lunch tomorrow would be in Celestia's study & afterwards gifts would be opened, dinner that night would be replaced by the Royal Hearth's Warming party that would have plenty of food. Luna would be joining them tonight, which was alright with them. Before long a servant brought in a lasagna (veggie) and a fold-able table & chairs were brought in by yet another.

Dinner went well & was pretty talkative considering the events that transpired not long ago. Luna teleported some wine to the room to go with it. White & Braeburn each got a glass before Luna downed the rest, To this day neither stallion has ever seen her drink anything without ethanol. After dinner the pair bid Luna farewell & went to sleep.

The pair was awoken by the knocking of a servant bearing fruit & porridge for breakfast. Embarrassed that they had overslept White hid under the covers while Braeburn thanked the mare before she left. Braeburn was noticeably chipper while White seemed tenser than usual. Braeburn decided it was just White worrying about his first real holiday. While he dug into his meal. The stallions decided to take a walk through the castle ground until they needed to meet with the princesses. The Canterlot weather team had obviously outdone themselves, there was just the right amount of snow blanketing the ground. Braeburn stared at the winter wonderland in awe until a snowball pegged him in the side of the head. Braeburn turned to see the source but was left dumbfounded. Then another snowball assailed him in the back of the head. He turned to see his coltfriend staring at him with the evilest of grins. White proceeded to remove his clothes, much to the farm pony's confusion. After White finished Braeburn realized that White was nearly invisible against the snow-covered environment without his pink outfit, while he stuck out like a sore hoof.

"Now that doesn't seem fair at all." Braeburn whined, which was swiftly met with a snow-projectile to the chest.

"It. Is. On." replied Braeburn playfully. Braeburn soon regretted his challenge as he could seldom hit the nimble, near-invisible opponent. When he caught the thesral unaware he merely blocked with his powerful wings. At this point Brae surrendered.

"I give, ya'll are too hard to catch." He said to the disappointed thestral as he trotted up to him. However the earth pony surprised him by tackling him to the ground where they rolled in the snow for a moment.

"Now, *huff* who's being *huff* unfair?" White asked. Braeburn simply responded by sticking out his tongue & making a *ppplllllbbt* noise. The 2 of them began laughing loudly until they were both out of breath once more. By the time they found all of White's clothes in the disturbed snow the clock in the center of the grounds struck noon & chimed loudly telling them they needed to meet up with their rulers for lunch.

By the time they made it to Celestia's study they were 15 minutes late. Luna was a tad upset as she was acting like a foal when they entered the room.

"Tiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! why do we have to eat first? Meals happen all the time! Presents only happen today! Or my birthday, or hearts & hooves day, or all the random gifts from our ponies... So can we open gifts now?" Luna said ignorant to the newcomers' presence. White coughed into his hoof grabbing Luna's attention.

"Ah Yes we were simply discussing with Tia how wonderful our Hearth's Warming lunch looks." Luna said nonchalantly as Braeburn snickered a bit while White sighed & shook his head before they took their places at the table that had been brought to the study.

The food was amazing, each pony had an acorn squash that had been stuffed & baked, a portabella and arugula salad, & a minted chocolate mousse. Luna, unsurprisingly finished first followed by Braeburn, then Celestia with White finishing last. White seemed to tense more & more as the time to open gifts drew nearer. Celestia seeing White had finished opened her mouth to say:

"Well, I suppose that it's time to open the gi-" She was cut off by a flurry of wrapping paper that assaulted her personal space. Luna had already begun ripping open a reasonably large box revealing a new NS4 (neigh station four, made by pony multimedia Inc.) which Luna immediately began prancing around in circles, like a foal. Apparently Braeburn's gifts were wrapped in yellow, White's in white, Celestia's in pastel rainbows, & Luna's in dark-blue with stars. Luna also received the new Xbox-Pon-3 (made by Vinylsoft). Celestia got a new set or regalia, & a box of imported chocolates large enough to give the east coast diabetes. Braeburn received a bottle of expensive finely aged apple brandy that had been bottled by the founding members of the Apple family from Celestia & an extremely beautiful pocket knife with his name engraved into the extravagant gold handle in fancy script from Luna. White received a very expensive home bar set from Celestia complete with mini-fridge that was being installed while they were away. Luna's gift caught the thestral completely off guard, inside the box was a silver necklace with a rounded center that bore the dual-seal of the royal sisters. Seeing this item Celestia's eyes widened and she dropped the teacup she held in her magic. White seeing Celestia's reaction grew more confused than ever.

"Luna? What is this? I've never seen a necklace quite like this before."

"That is unsurprising as that necklace is over a thousand years old, It signifies that you have been accepted into the royal family & you now bear the title of duke." Luna said happily.

"Luna! You could have asked me about this! Adopting White into the family is a wonderful idea but making him a duke? We haven't done that in a thousand years! Noble ponies are going to have a fit about this!" Celestia bellowed at the dark alicorn.

"We do not care, White has been through much because of us & in his life, but he still calls us friend. We have grown to care for him deeply, & have already filed the necessary forms to make him family & royalty in name only. Something thou neglected to do before transfiguring 2 ponies into alicorn princesses, also without our consent." Luna retorted haughtily leaving Celestia quite speechless. Neither princess noticed White hyperventilating into a paper sack until the argument was over. White eventually returned to a reasonable breath rate. At this time the only thing Braeburn could say was:

"Angel? You gonna be alright there sweetie?"

"I-I'm royalty now? We're family? But you're both so important! I'm just a defective thestral!" White said slowly sinking back into panic-mode. Braeburn punched him in the shoulder fairly hard, White looked at his coltfriend who he had never seen looking this serious before. Both princess were deathly quiet as they surveyed the scene. Braeburn eventually grabbed hold of White in the tightest embrace he could muster without hurting the delicate pony.

"You don't ever say that about yourself! I don't care what color you are or how strong you are or if you're a vegetarian! You're my angel! You're perfect, there's not a thing wrong with you! I love you the way you are, royalty or not. You're mine & I'm not letting you go! You're all I've ever wanted, it tears me apart to see you bein' so down on yourself. Please just know no matter what you are or what you do ah'll always love you." Braeburn declared through a steady downpour of his own tears.

This was the first time either pony had fully admitted their love for the other, as they had not been a couple a terribly long time though they both knew how the other felt. But hearing it out-loud obliterated the cold, negative thoughts running amok in White's mind & replaced them with a familiar warmth he had felt the first time Braeburn held him.

"I-I'm sorry everypony for ruining the holiday, I've felt so wanted before, & my family just tripled in size. I should be happy but I just got overwhelmed. Can you forgive me?" White said head hung low.

"You have nothing to apologize for White. We are yet again the cause of your anxiety, we are impressed by thy lover's words. We have never had a love so great before & will admit we shed several tears during his heartfelt deceleration." Luna said as both she & Celestia dryed their eyes. White turned to his coltfriend & looked deeply into his eyes before breaking into tears of happiness.

"I-I love you too Brae, I've been waiting for the right time to say it. I've never felt closer to anypony. Even Luna who has literally been in my head. I'd be lost without you Brae. I need you." At this the couple joined in a kiss paying no heed to the goddesses only a few feet away. When their embrace ended they both looked at the princesses sheepishly with reddened faces.

"Well, I believe you 2 still need to exchange the gifts you got for each other." Celestia said trying to move the event along. Luna proceeded to levitate each stallion the color coordinated boxes.

"You first." White instructed his love. To which Braeburn simply nodded, had completely forgotten about the gifts in the emotional havoc that had just occurred. Braeburn unwrapped the square box first & opened it to reveal a vest identical to his own but made of better, jet-black material. Upon closer inspection it had little ornate gold buttons running down one side. It was just the right size & felt wonderful to the touch. Braeburn opened his mouth to thank his coltfriend for the wonderful gift but White put his hoof to Brae's mouth and held up another box, the circular one he remembered seeing in the alleyway. White lowered his hoof when he took the box. Brae unwrapped this box as well revealing a hat identical to his but just as fine as his new vest. The hat too was jet-black with a red band on it and around the bend were gold decorations with raised images of apples nearly identical to the one adorning his flank.

"It took some haggling to get it for 113 bits but having a goddess behind you making threatening gestures at the seamstress helped the process along. The fabric I picked out is magic, the vest & hat are a set so it won't stain or fade or damage easy so you can wear it as much as you want to & the hat doesnt come off unless the pony wearing the vest takes it off." White explained while looking at Braeburn hoping for the stallion's approval. Which he received in spades in the form of a deep kiss that left White's wings fluttering lightly.

"Alright angel, I love my new duds but i would have been happy with anything. but now it's yer turn to get spoiled." said Braeburn as he donned his gift new favorite set of clothes.

White gently undid the wrapper on his gift unlike Luna who tore through hers with reckless abandonment. White put the paper to the side & opened the box revealing a beautiful silver flask with an engraved bat exactly like his cutie mark on the front. However right above the bat was a halo, a reference to the pet-name that embarrassed the thestral to no end. He didn't care at the moment as, he grabbed onto his coltfriend with gusto. Braeburn fought to no avail to break the hug.

"Now come on, ya'll got a chance to explain your gift's fancy magic." He said, earning an apologetic look from White. As he straightened himself out he said:

"It wont, tarnish or open for anypony but you or me & it's some kinda fancy space-magic that makes it lots bigger inside, than out. Barely had enough to get it with all the personal touches, but i wanted you to have the best I could give ya."

"Can I hug you now?" White asked feigning annoyance.

"Yu-" Was all Braeburn got a chance to say before being pounced upon. After a required minimum of 5 minutes of "I love you"s, kisses & hugs was over the stallions took the time to thank the goddesses who had watched the young lovers embarrassing displays the party disbanded & each party went to their rooms with their gifts. When White returned he placed his flask on the desk & tried on his new necklace, the symbol of his belonging to the royal family. As time passed he grew to accept the idea more & more, so long as he didn't have any official duties he was alright with his new-found status. Satisfied with the fit he placed it on the desk next to his flask. Braeburn was had hung his vest on the bedpost and was relaxing above the covers while still wearing the hat. White removed his clothing & placed each article neatly on the chair at the desk before joining him.

"Hey Brae? You know our... bedroom rule about getting made to sleep on the couch?" White asked with a blush on his face.

"Y-yeah?" Braeburn said with a much faster-than-normal heart rate.

"There's no couch here." White said as seductively as he could manage.

The stallions were not seen at the castle's Hearth's Warming party that night.

Author's Note:

Unfortunately I don't do clop. But i do love to tease people.

Comments

[Vinyldropsthebase]

Still adorable