Friends, Forgiveness, and Magic

by Invinsible

Heartwarming Eve

Friends, Forgiveness, and Magic

Heartwarming Eve

‘Twas the eve of Hearth’s Warming, and all through the castle
Not a sound could be heard, no commotion, no hassle
The decorations were hung around the crystals with care
The Cutie Mark Destroyers were calmed, an occasion most rare.

Trixie was nestled asleep in her bed
With visions of fireworks dancing in her head
Diamond wore her tiara while Sunset wore her cap
The Elements and their friends were all settled in for a peaceful winter’s nap

For they all were quite tired, exhausted from performing in the play
That told of Everfree’s founding, which everyone knew by heart to this day.
Discord was sleepily chuckling as Polaris licked his face
The young Windigo unbothered by the story or the dark past of his race
For he knew his old family were hidden safe in their frozen cave
And with no hatred he could sense, Polaris had no reason to misbehave.

Rarity was happily mumbling in her sleep
Chrysalis yawned and wiggled under her sheets.
Smog dreamt of gems, and Gilda dreamt of flying teams
Loony and Moony wandered through their heads, guarding their dreams.

Rainbow Dash was snoring, and Fluttershy was too
Her gentle, quiet voice as soft as a kitten’s mew
Cadance slept near Fluttershy, and my brother as well
Yes, everyone slept while I worked on my spell

It was another sleepless evening, for this bookworm princess
As studying magic always left me rather restless
My family and friends all said to put my books away
But sleep could wait until the next day

Then out on the roof there arose such a clatter

I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter.

Out of the window I flew like a flash
And landed on the roof, which was strangely covered in ash.

Out of all the bizarre sights I had expected to appear
I was shocked to see eight Derpy clones, dressed up like reindeer
The mirror clones chatted and drank glasses of warm apple juice
The lead clone even waved at me and said, “Hi princess! I’m a moose!”

I asked them all to explain, “Why are you here?”
The clones said to go back inside and all would become clear.
I snuck back inside; of trouble I would be aware
And then around the corner I spotted a familiar mare.

She wore a red cloak, which flowed from her head to her tail
Her pink coat looked white, for its colour was so pale
The mare was Celestia, eating a midnight snack
But the cloak confused me, as did the toy bag on her back.

Oh her eyes, how they twinkle! Oh her smile, so merry!
As she ate her chocolate cake, and swallowed its topped cherry.
I was curious of her visit, so I cast an invisibility charm
I would spy on Celestia quietly, and cause her no alarm.

As soon as she had finished with her midnight snack,
Celestia slipped into a bedroom and opened her toy sack.
She spoke not a word, as she did carefully slip
A toy into young Silver Spoon’s sleepy grip.

She visited everyone in the castle and left them all a present
I now understood why from the pageant she was absent
She had been gathering gifts, with her friends she planned to share
Each present she picked with tender, loving care.

Scootaloo received a new scooter, and Apple Bloom a new bow.
Smog and Sunset received gems that forever softly glow
Rarity got a jeweled mirror, to admire her own beauty and grace.
While Discord was happy to get a pie splatted onto his sleeping face.

Many others received wrapped boxes, their contents so mysterious
But I would not peek, no matter how curious
She gave gifts to everyone, every creature big and small
From a book, to a hat, to a game, or a doll.

She visited the changeling queen, her mane so holey and teal
She kissed Chrysalis’ head, who burped like she had eaten a full meal.
And lastly she visited her sister and niece
And stared at them both, so calm and at peace

She gave them their presents and giggled with glee
Then she turned around and winked right at me!
She gave me a book, it’s cover a starry sky blue
Then she opened the window and outside she flew

She flew to the clones, and to her team gave a whistle
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard Celestia exclaim, as they flew out of sight
“Happy Hearth’s Warming to all, and to all a good night.”

Comments

[Europa]

Short but sweet. The rhymes felt a bit clunky at times, but that's because I have difficulty holding them rhythm of this song in my head even in its original form. So sweet of Sunbutt to do so.

[Miss Appolonia]

D'aw, what a lovely idea. A refreshing change of style.
Thanks for this little shimmer of Christmas-/Hearth's Warming-feeling. Even if it's not December, holiday specials remind us of the good feelings we had and that are yet to come again.

Sunset wore her cap

If you meant nightcap, that makes for a precious image in my mind.
Or was it a cap that belonged to her costume?

And with no hatred he could sense, Polaris had no reason to misbehave.

Ah, so hatred and quarrels cause windigos to go mad with the power they're receiving through them. But they live hidden and rather peacefully if not. And as long as no one sets them on (friendship-)fire, one can survive in a rather harmonic environment.
Well, there are always minor everyday quarrels on which Polaris can live, but doesn't get overpowered like his ancestors, I guess. And maybe living in the chaotic domicil of a draconequus helps as well.

How nice of Tia.
If I had to make a guess relating her future in the kingdom, I'd say she could start teaching at Sombra's school.
While Luna was already more of a knight and warrior while guarding the dreams of her subjects (as is her daugther) and fits pretty well into the guard, Celestia is the teacher, scholar and scientist, she belongs into a school or academy.

[Diamond Sparkle]

Very nice.

[FancyFan]

I have but one word: Dawwwwwwww

[howard035]

I love your characterization of Celestia over the last few chapters. She's willing to admit when she's made a mistake, and Nightmare Pupa/Sunshine is just so adorable. I assume she always smells like cream cheese and has Danny Phantom DeviantArt she wants to share with others? I can't wait to see more of Discord and Sombra competing for her attention.

One thing I would love to find out more about: The inhabitants of Canterlot. Did Canterlot skip forward 100 years, or were they just trapped in a force field? I also wonder about their attitudes now that Celestia's spell has been removed, I wasn't sure if it was actual brainwashing or just magic supression. I would not be surprised if, even after the brainwashing magic disappears, the inhabitants of Canterlot still love their Celestia. If fact, I wouldn't be surprised if there is some discontent in Canterlot. From their point of view, they are now no longer the capital, their alicorn princesses (plural) have had their princesshood removed, all by a normal unicorn who's simply incredibly proficient in dark magic. I'm sure Luna and even Nightmare Moon and Twilight can help smooth things over with those folks, but for now if I was Sombra I wouldn't visit Canterlot alone after dark.

I wonder if Luna is going to finally accept her princesshood back, now that her sister has been redeemed? I bet it would smooth a lot of ruffled feathers if she was named Princess of Canterlot or something, those ponies want a big old traditional alicorn princess around, even if they are ready to let in non-ponies in greater numbers.

Oh, and I do love that rhyme, I'm not sure if this chapter is supposed to actually be canon or not, but it certainly looks like Celestia is off to a great start. I hope we get to see more of her bonding with non-ponies in the future.

[Miss Appolonia]

5520762
I wondered about that, too. You make good points.
If I had to guess, I'd say they lived in their magic nightless equilibrium for a hundred years if they didn't crystal-sleep like their princess. I don't think Tia would curse them, after all she loves her Pony-Canterlotians and wants them to be happy, not like Canon Sombra who (probably) saw nothing but slaves in the Crystal Ponies.

With the CE and Canterlot, it's a little like with Bonn and Berlin after the German Reunion in 1990 (I am German, that's why I immediately think of that). In this historical case, Berlin became the capital again, but Bonn got to keep a lot of the ministeries. Maybe they'll do something similar here?
Or we'll get the Crystal Nobles competing with the Canterlot Nobles.

those ponies want a big old traditional alicorn princess around, even if they are ready to let in non-ponies in greater numbers.

Maybe they will see the moon rise in more than one way... Just a thought.

[howard035]

5521141 That's a great real-world example. I mean, Celestia did name Nightmare Moon her Knight and heir, that's probably good enough for them.

I had another thought: Sombra talks a big game about how Equestria is now Everfree, where all creatures are equal, but of course, we only ever see unicorn and alicorn rulers (wait, is Spike considered King of all Dragons? What about Chrysalis as Queen of changlinges). I think from the opposite side, the non-ponies are going to want to see a non-pony princess as well, who has authority over everyone, even if they are subordinate to Sombra. Basically, I hope Sombra stops hoarding the titles and makes with some coronations already!

[Miss Appolonia]

5521160
I think Chrysalis is a changeling queen biologically. She's the leader of her hive in Peaceville and is called Queen Chrysalis officially because of that, but I think she is not Queen of all Changelings (like she was in her dream in Return of Redemption), that I guess is her mother, grandmother or another one of her female relatives back in the Badlands.
I guess as long as female royal changelings stay at their parent's hive, they are princesses. As soon as they start their own hive, they get the title changeling queen. I hope we see a little more about Chryssy's past in following chapters, how she came to Peaceville for example. In the Cadance's flashback, she seemed rather scared of what she heard of ponies.

I mean, Celestia did name Nightmare Moon her Knight and heir, that's probably good enough for them.

Yes, good point, remember how excited that stallion was when they heard about Nightie's relation to Tia? OK, they were in trance, but if they are still loyal to Tia...

Basically, I hope Sombra stops hoarding the titles and makes with some coronations already!

He named Cadance a countess instead of princess, I think because of the same reason he got his title changed from prince to king - no unnecessary rememberance to Tia and Sparkle, Emperor Napoleon and the French, remember?
Well, she gets to be a go-to-gal of the Everfree SWAT-teams along with Luna, Blueblood and most recently, Twilight. But other than that, she doesn't really have an area to administrate (yet).
Yes, I think Spike is the leader of the dragons. Smog almost worships him like a god and he lead the dragons during the migration, so I guess he counts as their king.
But... Maybe Canterlot gets not one ruler, but six? Or we venture towards a constitutional monarchy? Or does Everfree already have some sort of parliament? They have mayors in each town, after all. And surely, even though in Peaceville it's a pegasus, every adult can be candidate.

[howard035]

5521371 If by "Constitutional Monarchy" you mean "Representative Princesses, including Princess Ditzy," and by "Parliament" you mean "Council of the Sparkliest," then that sounds great. There are many types of reformers though, and I think King Sombra's focus is on racial equality, rather than widespread political representation.

Yeah, I can definitely see Canterlot getting 6 Princesses. I bet they see having a Princess as similar to having an Opera House, the more you have the classier your city. 6 Princesses means you have some alicorns for continuity, and also some non-ponies as princesses to drag Canterlot kicking and screaming into the 10th Century. What about Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Trixie (would hold her breath until she was added to the list) Gilda and Luna?

[Miss Appolonia]

5515462
That is good. I wouldn't have been able to guess Hex Girl because I didn't watch Scooby Doo that much. And it took a google-search to figure out Trixie-opolis because I didn't see that episode of The Emperor's New School. Now I have.

[Dark_Knight]

5524820 SCOOBY DOOBY DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? WE NEED SOME HELP FROM YOU NOW!

[Pinkacalypse]

5539640 Np I find it is common courtesy to point out typos and thanks for the explanation on Cadance and the Elements, it makes since if it falls under corruption.

[Comment-Pony]

In nutshell: Christmaslestia