A Royal Appearance

by FanOfMostEverything

Angels We Have Heard on High Tell Us to Go Out and Buy

One would have to be both blind and deaf not to notice Hearth’s Warming’s approach in Canterlot. The sights were largely the same as the rest of Equestria: snow, wreaths, pine trees, and so forth. But in addition to foals cheering and ambush parties of carolers assaulting unsuspecting ponies with festive cheer, there was another bit of seasonal sound unique to the capital. As the end of the year neared, the eternal whispered gossip of the nobility revolved around the question of which Hearth’s Warming party Princess Celestia would attend.

The Princess was always coy with her consideration, always careful not to show undue favor to this courtier or that. The nobles approved of this. After all, even if they were snubbed from time to time, at least everypony else was as well.

So it was that after the Fall Finale, as the first shipments of snow came trundling out of Cloudsdale, preparations began for the biggest collective social event of the year. While the Grand Galloping Gala was the premiere single soiree, the combined efforts of the noble houses to attract the princess come Hearth's Warming outweighed it in ostentation and expense. Especially expense. Centuries of gradual escalation had made the cost of a true Canterlot Hearth's Warming party ruinous to all but the wealthiest houses, and even they found it prudent to wait a few years before hosting another.

Because of this, House Sanguinius was the favorite to claim Celestia's presence. Canterlot was abuzz with Prince Blueblood XXXVI's choice to host another party only two years after his last, and even bigger than that one, the better to incorporate his son and heir's cuteceañera.

Of course, that didn't mean that the other nobles were going to lie down and admit defeat. Canapes were purchased by the cartload, tinsel by the mile, Chevaigne by the gallon (Actual Chevaigne, imported from the appropriate region of Prance, as if it needed to be said.) No fewer than seven of Equestria's oldest and most illustrious noble houses threw millions of bits into their parties in the hopes that the consumption would be conspicuous enough to draw Celestia's notice.

And then came the moment repeated so often that it had become tradition. On the evening of Hearth's Warming Eve, as the bells of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns struck seven understated notes that still managed to carry through the whole city, every noblepony in every ballroom raised a glass of Chevaigne in hoof, wing, or aura and looked to the main entrance, waiting to see if their efforts would be rewarded.

---

Celestia considered her destination. The house could not be considered humble. Humble simply wasn't an option in Canterlot real estate, and it certainly couldn't apply to a building with an observatory dome sticking out of the roof like a camel's hump. Still, compared to where she was expected to be tonight, it might as well have been a thatched-roof cottage. She smiled and knocked on the door.

Her eyes widened at the ensuing ruckus on the other side of the door, full of shouts, crashes, and the staccato clopping of little hooves. A few moments later, fuschia magic worked the latch, and the door opened to reveal a wide-eyed filly. Her smile nearly split her face in two as she lunged for Celestia and cried, "You made it!"

The princess smiled as she returned the embrace, a bit of her amusement from the tension of the covert guards scattered across the street and the shadows. "Of course, Twilight," she said.

"Come in! Come in!" Twilight Sparkle halted in her tracks, then turned to face Celestia with an expression of utmost seriousness. "Wipe your hooves first, or Mom will be mad."

"Well, we wouldn't want that." Celestia dutifully wiped her hipposandals on the doormat, taking in the house. Her main impression was one of bookshelves. There was at least one in every room she could see from the entry hall. Plenty of seasonal decorations and other decor, but the house seemed to be as much library as home. Of course, that was how the family liked it.

Twilight nodded once she was satisfied with Celestia's preparations. "I'll go get Smarty Pants." She trotted up the stairs, passing a colt well on his way to stallionhood as he stumbled down them.

"Twilight, get back here!" he cried. "Spike's trying to eat my ear again!" Still looking at the filly, he lurched muzzle first into Celestia's side, only then turning to see what he'd hit. "Sorry, Pri—" Both eyes bugged out as his jaw dropped, sentence forgotten along with the dragon hatchling still savagely gumming his ear.

Celestia smiled down upon him. "I take it you are Shining Armor?"

He nodded dumbly, still slack-jawed.

She nudged his mouth shut with a hoof, then tickled Spike under his chin with a wing until he fell giggling off of his quarry and into her magical grip. "Your sister has told me a lot about you, Shining Armor." Celestia's smile widened a bit. "As has my niece."

Shining's pupils shrank to pinpricks. "Oh," he croaked.

Celestia leaned close and whispered, "Carnations are her favorites." She pulled back and gave him a wink.

"Celestia!" Twilight Velvet walked in from the kitchen, smiling and stirring a bowl of something in her magic.

Shining squeaked like a dying rodent. "Mom?"

Velvet laughed.. "Relax, Shiny. Once you've been turned into a houseplant in front of somepony, you feel much more comfortable around her."

"I wouldn't know," Celestia said with a smile. "Still, it's good to see you again, Velvet."

Velvet nodded and watched Shining take Spike from Celestia and go back upstairs, alternating between giving his mother a horrified look and gazing at the princess in awe. Velvet sighed. "Well, he's at the age where he'll be ashamed of me no matter what I do. I might as well earn it." She turned back to the kitchen.

Celestia followed her. Even the kitchen had a shelf for cookbooks, though given how none of them were open, Velvet seemed to be making her current recipe from memory. "So," she said as she dolloped cookie batter out of the bowl and onto a baking sheet, "about this apartment on the castle grounds where you want Twilight to live."

"Not for several years, Velvet." Celestia sighed. "If I'm right, we'll all be asking a lot of your daughter in the future. I'm not going to take her foalhood away from her."

Velvet glared at her. "We're going to need to talk about these plans and premonitions of yours. As you just said, this is my daughter we're talking about. At the very least, I want to know what you think she's going to deal with."

“I’ve tried telling my student everything ahead of time.” Celestia shook her head, trying to chase away memories that still felt fresh months after the portal closed. ”It didn’t end well.”

“Lying to your children for their own good is a big part of parenting.” Velvet looked at nowhere in particular. ”Besides, ever since Twilight’s first surge became an article in the Canterlot Journal of Radiology, I’ve known she was going to either save the world or destroy it.” She turned back to Celestia. ”I’ll take anything you can tell me that will make sure it’s the former.”

"I will, Velvet, and soon, but right now I'm intruding enough as it is." Celestia gestured towards the holly bunches on each corner of the bookcase. "This is Hearth's Warming Eve. It should be a time for togetherness, not listening to an old nag's worries."

Velvet chuckled. "You've clearly never spent Hearth's Warming with my Grandma Twinkle." She floated the baking sheet into the oven.

Celestia looked around. "Where is Night Light? I haven't seen a trace of him since I came in."

"We're expecting a visit from the spirit of Puddinghead later. He's putting together the spells that will let him think inside the chimney without leaving soot on the carpet."

"What do you mean?"

Both mares jumped and turned to see Twilight Sparkle looking up at them, a little frown on her muzzle and a stuffed toy on her back. "Why would Daddy need to help the spirit of Puddinghead?"

"To keep the house clean, sweetie," said Velvet, giving Celestia a split-second smirk. "Chancellor Puddinghead never had to clean up after himself. That was Smart Cookie's job."

"Oh." Sparkle frowned a bit longer. "I suppose that makes sense." She turned to Celestia and beamed. "I can't believe you really came!"

Celestia returned the smile. "Twilight, I've only just arrived, and I can honestly say that this is the best Hearth's Warming party I've had in centuries."

Author's Note:

I've seen the idea of Santa Hooves the jolly reindeer bandied about a lot, but Hearth's Warming isn't quite Christmas, and transposing the mascot of one onto the other feels a little off. Especially when there's an equally jolly figure with a similar affinity for chimneys already available.
And yes, I'm fully aware of the irony of that thought process given the story image and the origin of the chapter title.

Comments

[Alaborn]

"Chevaigne by the gallon"

Blueblood is thinking small. Chevaigne by the hogshead or go home!

[MythrilMoth]

More? Because this needs more silly feels.

[Papa Dragon]

Oh the nobility, outdone by a filly's invitation.
Was not expecting Twilight, should have seen it coming.
Either way, amusingly enjoyable.

[ScyBlade]

Moar pwease?

[Jordan179]

Again, I pushed you to 11 upvotes!

Nice little tale.

[Jordan179]

6808054

I think that, even this early in their relationship, Celestia likes Twilight Sparkle much more than she does most of the nobles.

[IkioStar]

Sweet.

[FanOfMostEverything]

6808009
Even since Blueblood XXIX insulted the honor of Prance by proposing a bulk discount, they refuse to sell it by any greater quantity.

6808039 6808369
I have a bad habit of writing one-shots that people want to see expanded. Well, I suppose it's a good thing that you want to see more, but I don't have anything planned beyond this. We'll have to see. Still, thanks.

6808054 6808387
Given that Twilight's family didn't try to recreate the Gala with tinsel or use the sheer gravitational pull of spent bits to attract Celestia, she was more than happy to take the presented alternative.

[Ri2]

So…is the Chancellor's ghost actually coming, or…?

[Lurks-no-More]

I like the idea that Puddinghead's spirit brings the Hearth's Warming gifts to all the good fillies and colts. Very creative, inside-the-chimney thinking, that.

[FanOfMostEverything]

6809257
Yes, Ri2, there is a Puddinghead. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.

[Ri2]

6809653
Right, right.
And will any of that be coming down the chimney?

[Bugsydor]

A princely gift you gave in the exchange. If only I'd been aware of the collab during the sign-up phase...

Seeing Velvet discuss her concerns with Celestia was very nice. I get the feeling that Velvet would not have loved her daughter any less if she'd received the second answer.

[Misplaced Mage]

6809150
I have to wonder; why isn't Cadance at this Hearth's Warming party? Or is she the one stuck filling in for Celestia at one of the nobles' parties?

[Blue_Paladin42]

6810333
She is at that age where asking her to join an elder family member on an outing, even to a place she would normally enjoy, is the highest form of torture.

Also Shining Armour is there ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh.

[Xanderfox]

6810333
Clearly she's visiting her adopted earth pony parents for Hearths Warming. I expect once Luna returned Hearths Warming parties got more... intense with the sisters enjoying themselves a bit too much, just got this feeling with Luna back Celestia is much more playful

[DreadedCandiru2]

Oh, my. This is kinda nice. Also, it's kinda why they kinda don't let Twily play any reindeer games. All those rich idiots trying to attract her and where does she go? Somewhere that might as well be a fridge box as far as they're concerned.

[FanOfMostEverything]

6809636
Thanks! It's one of those ideas that take a while to conceive, but once I did, I was amazed that no one else has thought of it. Or so I assume...

6809667
Well, at the point in time when this story is set, the generosity and devotion are stone spheres in the middle of the Everfree. The love may be coming down the chimney later, but she's probably waiting until after her aunt and future in-laws leave.

6810333
What 6811032 and 6812045 said. One of the reasons Cadence chose to babysit was a chance to get out from under Celestia's wing once in a while. Vsiting her family both made a convenient excuse and was something she genuinely wanted to do. Certainly not because I forgot about her.

6812084
At first, all of the nobles assumed Celestia went to one of the other grand parties, and jealously snubbed the other houses in the traditional manner. It took more than a week before ponies compared notes and realized that Celestia seemed to have vanished that night. By the time they discovered the truth, it had to compete with rumored appearances in every other major party, a few homeless shelters, an enterprising young baker's new donut shop, and the surface of the Sun.
The only pony who ever held a grudge against Twilight because of this incident was Blueblood XXXVII, for taking away his auntie from what should've been the best night ever. Of course, most of the nobility was already jealous of Celestia's pet filly before this.

[Blue_Paladin42]

6812607
You know, I kinda actually feel bad for lil' Blueblood. He is probably young enough that the idea of a visit from the Princess has an appeal beyond simple prestige. This would probably be enormously disappointing. Especially for a kid who probably is very unused to disappointment.

[Lurks-no-More]

6812734
One of my bits of headcanon is that Celestia, privately, considers Blueblood being an elitist snobby jerk one of her worse failures. Because it, in a real way, is a repeat of her error with Luna: being too occupied by her own business and not paying enough attention to a family member to notice them going off the rails because of bad influence and a cascade of bad decisions.

[cowbrony93]

l read the chapter title and this is what immediately thought of:

(of course, had l read the story, l wouldn't have had to post the video)

[Sunny]

I finally know what to call Celestia's shoes. This pleases me.

[FanOfMostEverything]

6853682
Glad I could bring the term to your attention. You can thank MrNumbers for teaching me and my ridiculous capacity for trivia retention.

[Zubric]

Daww twily so cute and innocent

[Grey Bard]

Regarding the chapter title; I love that comedy bit :)

[Steven Kodaly]

*Reads chapter title*

Hey, isn't that a Tom Lehrer reference?

*Scrolls down to author's endnote*

Yes, yes it is.

*Scrolls back to top of page*

Time to have fun!

[ColdGoldLazarus]

This was a cute and all-too-brief read. I also really liked the conversation between Celestia and Twilight Velvet - it's always nice to see that stuff addressed.
Now, I'm half-tempted to join in the chants for further updates, but I also understand the feeling of being asked for more when one only intended to do so much to begin with, so I'll just say that I quite enjoyed this.

[FanOfMostEverything]

7243222
Actually, "A Hearth's Warming Tale" gave me inspiration for a sequel. I can't tell you when to expect it quite yet, but I am chipping away at it.

[ColdGoldLazarus]

7243233 Awesome! Looking forward to it.

[Petrichord]

How did i forget to favorite this? Criminy Crumpets, Foamy, this was one of the better christmas gifts I've gotten. Cheers!

[Malandy]

7243233

If there is a sequel, I'd expect the sequel on this Christmas, perhaps... but the New Year's might make sense as well.

And might as well ask here:

"Do you know of a story where Cheese Sandwich visited the yaks and had them expect a Pinkie (Pie) Party, and she was relating the story to her daughter, who I thought was called Sachertorte, but searching that doesn't seem to give what I'm looking for..."

And I found it a few minutes later. https://www.fimfiction.net/story/216531/8/dueling-keyboards/mascarpolo

[Themaskedferret]

Beautifully fitting for the holiday season.

[SirNotAppearingInThisFic]

Canapes were purchased by the cartload, tinsel by the mile, Chevaigne by the gallon (Actual Chevaigne, imported from the appropriate region of Prance, as if it needed to be said.)

Not sure if this irks me because (as per my style) the period is in the wrong spot, or because it's just missing one.

[Bloody_Tofu]

Awww. Fun read! I’d have loved to see this expanded a bit more to the dinner and afterwards but still a great story.

[spoonlol]

I came here after read The Stars are Wrong and this has gotten me right in the mood for Christmas

[Nineveh Orion]

So I can think of two reasons why Cadance wasn't here.

1. She left Canterlot to visit her earth pony parents. Knowing that Celestia was going to Twilight's family for the holiday, as much as she wanted to visit her favorite filly, she wanted to get away from Celestia more.

2, and the real reason me thinks. The author just completely forgot she existed, and just never got around to adding an in universe reason.

Love the story by the way. Just can't get around the lack of where Cadance is for the holiday.

[FanOfMostEverything]

10552072
If you'll check the comments, you'll find my confirmation that it's a combination of those two reasons.

[DannyJ]

This was nice. Exactly the kind of thing I'd expect to have occurred at some point in these characters' mutual history.

Liking the idea of Puddinghead's ghost as a Santa analogue too. Might steal that if I can find a way to square it with the canonical depictions of Santa costumes. The work of an Equestrian carrot juice company, perhaps?

[FanOfMostEverything]

10674474

The work of an Equestrian carrot juice company, perhaps?

Makes sense to me. The question is whether they ride Twilight's growing popularity to a rebranding outside of the worldlines that end Equestria in balefire.

[kits]

Love the Lerher reference. Not sure how I haven’t read this one yet :P