Everypony knows Luna returned on the day of the Summer Sun Celebration. But she actually returned years before, one cold, snowy Hearth's Warming Eve at Canterlot castle... when Twilight unexpectedly came for a visit.
A somewhat unconventional Hearth's Warming tale: no pony lost in the snow, no Santa Hooves, no struggles to find the perfect present, no humbugs... just a look at how the celebration, by bringing us together, helps us find things we thought we'd lost long ago.
Also serves as a follow-on of a sort for the events of My Little Student, which was always as much about Celestia as it was about Twilight...
Chapters (1)
Aww!!! That's so sweet!
The perfect holiday heart warmer! Happy Holidays everyone!
Cuuuuuute
9362092
And the fun thing was, it was totally a spur-of-the-moment, out-of-the-blue, free-association idea. I was thinking, what kind of traditional dish might ponies have? Well, hayfries -> haystacks, and what's in a haystack? A needle. So there you go...
That's true, I checked my notes and I did have that written down. I kind of left open where Cadance got the doll, though -- it could have been a unicorn she picked up because it happened to have her mane colors, etc. (I'll stop spinning now, getting dizzy!
)
The association between Luna and Nightmare Moon has faded, certainly, which is why Twilight had to piece it together from old legends. My presumption in this story is that Luna is still remembered, at least by Celestia herself and those in the royal suite who deal with the Princess on a daily basis. But the Other Sister has become literally the skeleton (or doll) in the closet: never spoken of openly, because it makes the Sun Princess unhappy, particularly as the prophesied thousand years reaches its end. So in this story, Celestia is finally able to come to terms with the pain of the memory and put it behind her, because now through Twilight she has a slim hope that Luna may be returned to her. At least, that's the headcanon I'm working off here.
Thank you for a very nice holiday story. I have a particular fondness for good filly Twilight stories and good Hearthswarming eve stories. This one checks both those boxes.
Festive, fluffy, and a touch maudlin, all the elements to a good holiday story.
Man, I wish I'd read this wonderful and heartwarming story a lot sooner.
Dawww
This was very lovely and heartwarming. Thanks for writing!
I was wondering if Twilight was a stand-in for Luna (a decendant who did something especially like her ancestor?). But this... so bittersweet.
And for some reason I thought the cover art was badly drawn up until this. Of course, now I realize it is just fine.
-Missing a quotemark before "The friend".
Going to borrow one from the night sky because if she is symbolically spending the night with her sister, princess of the night, they need a real one? Glancing at the next line makes me think not, but if I was right the first time, it seems like something Luna might have done, and which might have even started the tradition in Equestria.
-Clearing a small patch of sky remotely is well within her abilities... and I wonder if she won't be wishing on a star, but o the moon... or perhaps for such a big wish, with over 900 years of wishing behind it four stars are required? (The number that converged with the moon to "aid in her escape.".
-Called it...
That last line brought more tears.
9686976
Thanks so much for the feedback!
Yes, I did intentionally make Celestia and Luna's dolls more sharp-edged -- though I'm not quite sure now if that was depicting the line in the story, or if the line in the story came from the picture.
You know me, nerd that I am, I'm going to use the Big Bang itself...
Not that I want to get you down, but it's nice to hear my writing is that moving. The line that gets me the most is when Celestia suddenly falls silent in response to Twilight holding Luna's doll -- that's the moment when Celestia is finally forced to come to terms with her loss... and finds that after all this time she's able to deal with it at last.
A little story about Celestia, Twilight, Spike, and Cadence celebrating Hearth's Warming together. Lots of happy little moments in here, and I liked all the things you chose for the traditional food items, as well as the gifts the ponies exchanged.
One nitpick I have with this story though, is that it's not clear how old Twilight is. At the start she is not referred to as a filly or foal, and she has a fairly mature way of speaking and acting in general. I actually wasn't positive she wasn't about the age she was for the S1 opener until it mentioned her and Spike being tucked in (which was very late in the fic). Just a little change of wording early on would clear this up very easily, if you would.
And thank you very much for the read.
Instantly reminded me of this sequence:
https://youtu.be/rWNgG1ItPu8?t=58
I'm fond of both pure fluff and light stories with Celestia shortly before Luna's return and heavier, tragic pieces and this was a nice balance between the two, with an pleasing family holiday story to boot!
9731509
Thanks for reading, and thanks much for your feedback! I wrote this pretty quickly to have it ready in time for the holidays, having missed the deadline for the holiday story exchange, so I'm pleased it came out so well, and has been so well received by readers.
9731687
No problem! I’m just pleased to see all the character dynamics captured when most stories like this I’ve read only seem to focus on one or two.
That was so adorable great job
The night that luna returned....onto the mantel