Snowpony Knows

Having a carrot shoved in your face is unpleasant. Having a carrot shoved in your face by a nine-month old foal, on the other hand — now that's bad.

Little Luna had somehow managed to stab me right in the forehead with the orange vegetable in the most crooked, inaesthetically pleasing way possible, the carrot protruding from my skull like some sort of pointed pimple. I knew it was meant to be a unicorn horn, but really — the child had positioned it in such a manner that anypony could have mistaken it for a third ear. It was ugly, it was horrendous, it was —

"Perfect!" her older sister squealed, clapping her tiny gloved hooves together in delight. "Oh, I knew you could do it, Lulu," she beamed, snuggling up to the foal in her mother's embrace, planting a kiss on her little cold cheek. Then she skipped around the garden merrily, chanting: "I'm going to name it Frosty!"

Great. A name fit to complement my equally terrible facial symmetry.

"What about a nice scarf to keep it warm, Celestia?" her father suggested.

Yeah, like that's going to make — hey, this isn't half bad!

Little Celestia gingerly draped the fabric around my snowy shoulders, taking care not to crumple the cloth or loosen any lumps of snow from my icy body. The scarf was striped in interlacing colours of navy and crimson, the soft, cosy wool hugging comfortably against my neck. Well, I could only try to imagine how it felt — I was only a snowpony, after all, and snowponies, being made of ice and snow, did not have the keenest sense of touch.

Nevertheless, despite the fact that my eyes were merely two black, stony garden pebbles, my vision was quite good, and my vision told me that I looked quite dashing. If I could have done a little strut around the garden to show off my new garment, I would, but alas, my legs were frozen solid along with the the thick, white blanket of snow that covered the ground.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Celestia sighed.

Isn't he beautiful. He. I'm a dude, for goodness' sake.

"Of course she is," her mother agreed. "After all, you built her, and anything created by my precious daughter is beautiful in my eyes."

Now, being a snowpony, you'd expect my heart to be as cold as ice, wouldn't you? You'd think I'd cringe at this sappy sentiment, shuddering at the very thought of being involved in such a cutesy, emotional moment.

And you'd be right. This was all so cliche, I wanted to rip out my pebble eyes from my face, right then and there.

Her mother glanced worriedly up at the sky, where the moon shone radiantly up above them. "Come on, Celestia, it's time to head back inside. It's getting late."

"Can't I play for just a little longer?" The filly pleaded.

"No, dear," her father replied, shaking his head. "It's already way past your bedtime."

Celestia sighed, her white coat glinting in the moonlight. "But the night is so beautiful," she replied to her parents, but the way she was longingly looking up at the stars, she seemed to be talking to them instead. They even seemed to twinkle in reply, perhaps returning the compliment.

"Of course, dear, but don't forget," reminded her mother, ruffling her little pink mane — "The day is beautiful too. In fact, it may just be more important — without the sun, how can we grow our crops? How can we see in the dark?"

"The moon gives out light too," Celestia protested.

"Only as a reflection of the sun's light," her father reasoned. "Now, no more arguments, it's time for bed. Don't you want to wake up early tomorrow to open your Hearth's Warming presents?"

At the prospect of this, Celestia's face immediately lit up, like the fairy lights on a Hearth's Warming tree. She dashed indoors, but only after giving me a big, tight hug.

"Goodnight, Frosty," she said, engulfing me with her little forelegs, even though they weren't nearly long enough to fully wrap around my snowy body. "Have a happy Hearth's Warming Eve!"

The rest of the night proved to be rather uneventful. Save for an... awkward encounter with a rabbit or two (they had decided that the best place for them to defecate in the entire garden was the area right beside my leg, and promptly did their business with no shame whatsoever), the night was peaceful and quiet, with only the silent chirping of crickets trilling through the fresh night air. I had no place to be, no way to get anywhere, anyway — so I was perfectly happy standing out in the snow by myself, with nothing to do except admire the wintry view.

Little Celestia had positioned me near the rose bushes right outside her bedroom window; through the cold, misted glass I could see her in her little bed, her pink duvet adorned with carefully embroidered flowers and tiny red hearts, rising up and down as she breathed in and out. I could only imagine what she could be dreaming about. What exactly do four-year old fillies dream about?

It comforted me to pretend standing at her window protected her somehow... perhaps I felt like I was a royal guard, doing his duty to ensure the safety of the little princess in the castle. It wouldn't surprise me if she really became a princess one day — her grace, her charm, her kindness at such a young age had to mean something about her, didn't it?

And what of little Luna? I wondered what the future held for her. She was such a sweet little foal — well, despite the fact that she hadn't yet developed the fine motor skills to accurately place a carrot in one's head. But what would become of her? It was hard to tell; she was still so young, so filled with potential.

Ugh. Their sappiness must've rubbed off onto me. Snowponies like me didn't have time for such saccharine-sweet emotions!

I finally averted my stony gaze away from the sleeping filly. But there were hours and hours to go until the sun rose, and I still had nothing to do.

Questions began to fill my mind. How long did I have until my body melted? Would I return to the very same garden next Hearth's Warming? Or would I be scattered in the winds, my limbs torn apart into icy fractals that are carried in the clouds all over Equestria?

I decided that I'd much rather stay here — this family seemed much nicer than the previous one. That other family had two rowdy colts who were the bane of my existence; they'd spent their entire winter using me for target practice for their snowballs. By the time Hearth's Warming was over, I looked as if I was built to resemble a pile of mashed potatoes.

A gust of chilly air swept past me, silently lifting the edge of my scarf as it fluttered in the wind. Yes... this peace... I could get used to this. If fate allowed me to stay here with this family, watching little Celestia and Luna grow up, I would do so happily.

Feeling an odd sensation that somepony was watching me, I looked down at my legs, where another rabbit had paused mid-journey through the garden, staring up at me with its beady little eyes, its tiny nose sniffling as it gazed innocently in my direction. I glared at it, and it hopped away, seemingly aware of my warnings.

Move along now, little bunny. No business for you to do over here.

"Ha ha! You can't catch me, Luna!"

"Just wait and see, Tia!"

Luna raced after Celestia as fast as she could, her little hooves making tiny imprints in the snow as she plodded clumsily after her sister, puffing out clouds of cold white vapour as she ran. In her defence, being only four years old and bundled up in all those thick winter coats that her mother had made her wear, it was quite difficult to walk properly, let alone run.

"I'm gonna get you... I'm gonna — OOF!"

Luna landed face-first in the snow, creating a little white mound with her snout as she slid forward. Shivering, she struggled to pull herself up, tears welling in her aquamarine eyes.

Celestia whirled around, her expression morphing from excitement to horror in a single heartbeat.

"Luna!" She scurried back to her little sister frantically. "Luna, are you okay?!"

She held her sister's face in her hooves, noticing an open, raw, red mark on her left cheek, which dripped wet with tears and snow, mud and bits of broken leaves collecting within the wound.

"It burns, Tia, make it stop!" Luna wailed, as Celestia hurried to comfort her.

"Don't cry, Lu, don't cry," she consoled, pulling Luna into a warm embrace. "It's just a little scratch. It'll be fine."

"But it hurts!"

Celestia grimaced. "Okay. Stay here, I'll get Mummy."

She heaved her sister to a nearby tree, propping her up against the solid bark. "I'll be back soon," she reassured, before running back into the house in desperation.

I wanted to help, but as usual, my legs were rooted to the ground, and I just had to stand there helplessly, watching Luna sob uncontrollably under that tree. I wished I could just walk over to her, tell her everything would be okay, show her she wasn't alone...

"...over here Mummy!" Celestia came running back, their mother close behind her with a first-aid kit. "Under that tree!"

"Oh, Luna," their mother chided, inspecting the wound and hastily rummaging in the kit for some antiseptic wipes. "Didn't I tell you not to be so careless? You simply must be more careful when you're playing outside!"

"But Mummy, she's only four —"

"But she needs to learn. You were a lot less clumsy than her when you were her age," their mother interrupted, casting a sideways glance at Celestia. "Now, Luna. This might sting, so be brave, okay?" She dabbed at the wound gently, as Luna gritted her teeth, fighting back even more tears.

"There. All patched up," their mother said, smoothing a plaster over Luna's aching cheek. "You can carry on playing, but be careful, okay?"

"O-o-okay," Luna replied meekly. As their mother headed back indoors, Celestia put an arm around her sister.

"Cheer up, Lu," she grinned. "It'll heal in no time!"

"It's n-not just th-that," Luna stammered between sobs, her voice shaky and uneven. "You were gone... and I was scared..." She gazed up at her sister, her eyes shimmering with tears. "Why d-did you l-l-leave me alone, Tia?"

"Oh, Luna..." Celestia sighed. "You know I had to go to fetch Mummy."

The two of them sat at the edge of the garden, next to a gurgling, rippling lake that lay adjacent to their house. In the deep, frozen winter, it had somehow managed to retain its liveliness, schools of colourful fish frolicking in the frothing waters below. Up above them, the sun was beginning to set, casting a beautiful array of red, orange and pink hues onto the two fillies. I watched as Celestia brought her little sister closer to her, four-year old Luna leaning into her side as she began to talk:

"I would never, ever, ever leave you alone, Lulu. We're sisters, and sisters never leave each other."

"You promise?"

"Of course I promise. I promise we will never, ever be separated." But a dark cloud flitted across her face as she said this, and Luna noticed it immediately.

"But..."

"But what, Tia?"

Celestia took a deep breath, then exhaled. More white vapour emanated from her muzzle. "I'll be starting school next year. Daddy said... it'll be a boarding school."

"What's a boarding school?"

"It means..." Celestia hesitated. "It means I'll be staying at the school. In a 'dor-mee-tor-ree'," she said, enunciating proudly. Noticing more tears well up in her sister's frantic eyes, she hastily added: "But don't worry! It isn't very far from here, and I'll be back every Hearth's Warming! And every summer!"

"B-but you'll b-be gone... and —"

"I won't be gone. We'll write letters to each other! I'll tell you all about my magic studies, and you can tell me all about what's going on at home!"

Luna wiped the tears from her cheek with the sleeves of her winter coat. "If y-you say s-so..."

Celestia patted Luna on the shoulder. "I know so. It'll be like I never left. I promise, Luna. I promise that you will never feel alone, ever, ever again."

A voice called to them from inside the house, making them jump. Even I jumped, a few lumps of snow falling off my forelegs in surprise.

"Time to open your Hearth's Warming Eve presents, girls! Take a guess at what Mummy and Daddy got you!"

Luna turned to Celestia, her anxiety now replaced with an expression of delight. "What do you think they got me, Tia?"

"Ooh... I don't know... but I bet it's that new stuffed toy you've always been begging them for!"

"Really? Do you think so?"

"Only one way to find out," Celestia winked, as they darted back indoors, shutting the front door behind them, leaving only snowy hoofsteps in their wake.

This Hearth's Warming Eve, as I had been conveniently built outside the living room window, I finally had the privilege of watching the two fillies open their gifts. Luna viciously ripped hers open, shredding through the wrapping paper like a little violent beast, until she unearthed its contents. Through the window, I could hear a muffled squeal of delight, as she hurled herself into her parents' arms for a hug, proudly waving around her new gryphon plushie. She then proceeded to hug the plushie, so tightly I was afraid the seams would break and its stuffing would burst out. For a little filly, she was very strong.

Celestia was much neater in her gift-opening methods, carefully untying the big, red bow on top and slowly peeling away the cellophane tape. After finally unfolding the paper from her present, a small smile crept across her face, but I could tell it was forced.

She got up, hugged her parents one by one, sat down and stared at her present again. I squinted, trying to make out what it was... it was some sort of clothing, grey and bland, looked rather itchy to wear, too... I squinted even harder and noticed a small patch sewn on the cotton blouse —

It was Celestia's new school uniform.

Her parents didn't seem to notice her disappointment, simply grinning widely at Luna, who was now throwing the gryphon plushie up and down in the air. They seemed completely oblivious to the notion that maybe... just maybe... Celestia wasn't too stoked on going off to boarding school. Meanwhile, Celestia sat by herself on the carpet in one corner of the room, putting the grey blouse against her chest to see if it fit. It didn't. It was at least two sizes too big.

That night, I stood guard in front of the house once again, my pebble eyes ready to stare down any rabbit that dared cross my path. I was prepared this time — I wasn't going to let any bunnies do their business near me this winter!

I heard a rustling noise, and my ears immediately perked up — but it wasn't coming from anywhere in the garden. It was coming from the balcony on the second floor, where one of the windows were open, the curtains rustling in the breeze. That was the room where Luna slept. Why was the window open? I focused my hearing towards the direction of the room, and heard a soft, but sweet, melody:

Hush now, quiet now,
It's time to lay your sleepy head,
Hush now, quiet now,
It's time to go to bed...

"I know that one!" I heard Luna whisper in reply.

"Of course you do. It's a classic," Celestia replied. "Do you think you can go back to sleep now?"

"I'm not sure. That nightmare was so scary. I really thought you were going to leave me!"

"It was just a dream, Lulu. I would never leave you."

"But it seemed so real. And what if you forget? What if you forget your promise?"

I suddenly heard a loud outburst of giggling, leading me to the assumption that Celestia had just launched a tickle attack onto little Luna's belly. "Do you really think I'm gonna forget?"

"No — haha — stop it, Tia!" Luna replied, between giggles.

The room went silent, the laughter slowly dying down. I heard a sigh. "Luna, I know I'm going to be at boarding school for a little while, but I'll never stop being your sister. I'll never really leave you. I just need you to be brave, okay?"

"Okay."

"Here, I have an idea. You see the moon outside?"

"Yeah... it's beautiful."

"Well, whenever you start to feel alone at night, look up at the moon. That way, you'll know I'm looking up at the very same moon too — and whatever's on your mind, you tell the moon, and the moon will tell me."

"Wow, really?"

"Really. Now, go to sleep, Luna."

"Goodnight, Tia."

"Goodnight."

"Come on, Tia, help me finish building the snowpony!"

"Not now, Luna. I need to finish memorising these spells," Celestia replied. Now at 10 years old, she was in her second year of magic school, which seemed to come with a lot of holiday homework.

"Aw, come on. You've been studying those spells for the entire winter," Luna complained, tugging at her sister's sleeve, which Celestia simply brushed off in annoyance. "At least help me put in the snout and the horn?"

"Do it yourself, you're a big filly now," Celestia frowned, focusing extra hard on the thick tome of spells she had laid in front of her.

Luna groaned and trudged back in my direction. "Go away, Luna, I'm busy," she mocked, rolling her eyes. "I need to study. You wouldn't understand, you're too little." I must say, with her posh-accented falsetto, she did do a pretty good impression of Celestia.

Kicking at the snow in frustration, she let out a guttural scream, scaring away a few innocent rabbits from the area. Celestia didn't seem to take any notice; she was too absorbed in her spell book, her eyes squeezed shut in concentration, a few golden sparks sizzling from her horn.

"Stupid magic boarding school," Luna complained, bending down to gather a few garden pebbles for my snout. "Why can't she go and study some other time? But noooo, she wants to sit there and be a nerd for Hearth's Warming."

With all the force she could exert, she plunged one of the pebbles into my muzzle, dislodging bits of snow from my face as she did so. "She doesn't even have time to help me build this stupid snowpony!"

Hey! Who said I was stupid?! My head may be made of ice and snow, but I happen to have a perfectly functioning brain, thank you very much!

She rammed the other stone into my face in a fury, so angry I could almost see the fire in her eyes. Then she calmed down, taking a deep breath. "Well, Snowflake, at least your snout is done now. What do you think?"

Snowflake. And I didn't think it could get any worse than Frosty. I took in a sharp whiff with my new snout, the scents and aromas of Hearth's Warming filling up my senses. I could smell the sweet, natural fragrance of the pine trees lining the garden, each decorated with pine cones that hung heavily from the branches, about to fall to the snowy ground. I could smell the spicy aroma of freshly-baked gingerbread ponies coming from the kitchen window; the fillies' mother had just pulled a batch of them out from the oven and set them on the counter to cool. I could even smell the breath emanating from Luna's muzzle; it smelt of fresh lavender, peppermint and cinnamon.

I thought my snout was great, but obviously, she couldn't hear me.

"Now all you need is a carrot for your horn," Luna said, her expression scrunched in contemplation. "Aha! Wait here!"

I waited there obediently, as she scampered off, her scarf trailing behind her as she ran. It gave me some more time to look at Celestia, who sat by herself on the doorsteps of their house, the sparks coming off from her horn getting more and more vigorous as she concentrated. She was muttering something to herself under her breath — but she was all the way across the garden, and I couldn't make out what it was. The colours of the sunset illuminated her pale, white face; it even seemed to make her little pink mane glow with its own strange radiance.

"I'm back Snowflake!" Luna exclaimed as she scurried back to me, carrying with her the biggest carrot she could find. It seemed freshly pulled up out of the ground — clumps of dirt and soil dropped off the orange vegetable as she ran, but I didn't mind too much. She positioned the carrot carefully over my forehead (an improvement from before, if I do say so myself) and placed it perfectly just above the middle of my eyes. "There! You're a finished snowpony! Tia! Tia!! Come look at the snowpony I built! Isn't she beautiful?"

Celestia wasn't listening. Instead, her eyes were squeezed tighter than ever, her hooves trembling as she held the spell book out in front of her. Suddenly, she dropped it into the snow with a thud, and a blinding ray of golden light shot from her horn, expanding and expanding, and becoming brighter and brighter as slowly but surely, she levitated off the ground, floating higher and higher until she was level with the chimney of their little house.

"T-t-tia???" Luna gasped, her jaw dropping in horror. Even their parents, having heard the commotion, burst out of their house and gaped up at their eldest daughter, who was shining so brightly up in the sky that she almost had the luminosity of... of...

The sun seemed to float with her, rising as she rose; the two of them almost appeared to be at one with each other, shining as the other one shone. The sky began to change colour, red, orange and purple morphing into blue, getting lighter and lighter until finally, the wintry evening of Equestria had been illuminated with the daylight of a sunny summer's midday.

"C-celestia?!?" Their father stammered, his eyes bulging out of his head. Their mother didn't say anything, completely dumbstruck with shock.

KABOOM! An explosion of light erupted from behind the incandescent filly, silhouetting her against the sun like some sort of solar eclipse — which was rather fitting, to say the least. She began to make her way down to the ground, her eyes still peacefully shut, as if in a deep slumber. And when she finally did reach the ground...

Celestia's eyes snapped open, an eerie white glow coming from them for a second or two, then returning to their usual magenta. She blinked once, blinked again.

"Mummy? Daddy? Luna? What happened?"

There was no audible response, only shocked expressions on all other ponies present.

"What's going on... why are you all staring at my —"

She glanced at her flank and saw —

"My cutie mark! I did it! I finally got my cutie mark!"

She noticed something else.

"Wait... wings?!?"

That night, their mother prepared a sumptuous Hearth's Warming Eve meal for the family: delicious roasted carrots, scrumptious three-cheese mashed potatoes, creamy butternut squash soup, mouth-wateringly tasty wheatballs and gravy, tangy cranberry sauce... and those were just the side dishes! In the middle of the table, which groaned at the weight of all the dishes heaped atop of it, was a gargantuan lasagna, and of course, the new alicorn filly got the biggest serving of all.

"Oh, I'm so proud of you, Celestia!" Their mother marvelled, scooping even more mashed potatoes onto Celestia's already full plate. "Can you believe it? An alicorn, in our very own family!"

Her parents had insisted on Celestia keeping the sun up for the night, to commemorate the occasion. Somehow, I doubted the Equestrian authorities would be particularly pleased with this decision, but then again, how were they going to argue against the decision of a new princess? I watched little Celestia pick at her plate quietly — she didn't seem very happy with all this attention. Luna, on the other hoof, gazed jealously at her sister's new cutie mark — a bright yellow sun with eight beams of orange light coming from its centre.

"We'll travel to Canterlot tomorrow," their father decided. "I've just received word from Starswirl the Bearded that he'd like to personally tutor you in your magic studies from now on. He'll help you refine your powers!"

Celestia's eyes widened. "You mean I would have to —"

"Who could pass up an opportunity like that? Yes, Celestia, you'll be living in Canterlot. Your mother and I have already arranged your accommodation over there. It's with a very nice family, and I've heard the city is absolutely stunning... "

Celestia sent an uneasy look towards Luna, but her mind was on other things. She was staring straight at me with a horrified look in her eyes, and it was then I realised —

"MUMMY! DADDY! I NEED TO BE EXCUSED!" Luna almost screamed, springing out from her chair and racing for the door. Her parents exchanged one of those 'what is it this time' looks and followed her outside, where she sat helplessly, trying to pat bits of snow into my melting body, but they just slid off like sludge. "Tia! Please! You have to lower the sun! Snowflake's m-m-melting!!!"

"Now, Luna," her father said sternly. "This is Celestia's special day. You can build your snowpony again tomorrow evening."

"B-b-but..." Her eyes filled with tears, a lump forming in her throat. "This w-was m-m-my first time building a snowp-p-pony all by myself! I worked so h-h-hard on it!"

"No buts," Her mother frowned, trying to drag Luna back inside, but the little filly was too strong. "LUNA! Look at you! Already seven years old and this is how you behave? Your sister just became an alicorn, for goodness' sake! Be a supportive sister and leave your snowpony!"

"I don't care about her being an alicorn!" Luna yelled back. "She was gonna leave me for her magic studies anyway!" And with that, she stormed into the house. I could hear a vase being shattered and a voice screaming: "Stupid vase! Stupid sun! Stupid magic school!" Hoofsteps pounded against the stairs, then a door slammed shut. It was muffled, almost inaudible, but from the room upstairs, I could hear crying.

Something wet dripped from my face too. I wasn't sure if was a tear, or my melting ears, but I really hoped Luna was okay.

Three more years passed. Each morning, Celestia raised the sun at dawn, all the way from her new home in Canterlot. Meanwhile, her younger sister grew up too, attending the local magic school and, even though she studied hard, she hated every bit of it.

"Stupid magic school," she complained, adding a little more snow to my flank. "It took away my sister, and now it's taking away all of my free time.

"At least I have enough free time to build you, Freezy. A little more time in the snow, then I'll finish my homework."

Freezy. By then, I'd gotten used to the bad snowpony names, so I didn't mind as much. And somehow, they still thought I was female.

"I just wish I could be building you with Tia," Luna sighed. "Oh, right, you don't know who Tia is, do you? That's okay."

I watched quietly as she sat down beside me, leaning against my snowy legs for support.

"Tia is — I mean, Tia was the most amazing, most caring, most wonderful sister in the world. We used to do everything together. Building snowponies just like you, singing songs, baking cakes — cakes were her favourite!" Luna added, smiling as she relished the memory. "When I laughed, she would laugh too, and when I cried, she would comfort me, tell me everything would be okay.

"She's gone now, though. Gone off to magic school, under the wing of 'the great Starswirl the Bearded'. I don't even know who in Equestria that is, but he sure seems like somepony who could help my sister with her powers.

"You see that setting sun, Freezy? Over there in the distance? That's my sister who's doing that. Cool, right? She's really powerful, so powerful that they even made her a princess! Mummy and Daddy are really proud of her... and so am I, of course.

"But I miss her. She's my family. And she promi—" Here, her voice broke, and so did my heart. "She p-promised she would n-ne-never leave me alone.

"Why did she break that promise, Freezy? Did she not want me in her life anymore? Why won't she reply to the letters I send her?

"Right, right. Of course you wouldn't understand. You're only a snowpony, after all."

She pulled herself up off the ground, dusting the snow off her shivering legs. She had certainly grown up a lot in the past three years, but her short stature still remained, and she was still much smaller than all of the other fillies in their neighbourhood. One thing that did set her apart from the others, however, was a huge, inky blotch on her flank. It wasn't a cutie mark, nor was it a bruise, but it had grown significantly since Celestia left, and was growing even faster by the day.

A voice called out to her from inside the house. "Luna? Have you done your homework yet?"

"Oh, pickles," Luna muttered under her breath. "Not yet Mum! I'll do it in five minutes!"

"That's what you said half an hour ago!" Her mother stepped outside, her expression hot with fury. "Stop playing and do your homework now."

"But Mum..." Luna whined.

"No buts. Your sister is out there raising the sun every morning with her magic, and you're too lazy to levitate an apple? Really, Luna, when are you ever going to grow up? Get inside and finish your homework!"

Luna waited until her mother had gone back inside, then kicked at the snow furiously, launching a spray of ice into my face. "Ugh! Stupid magic homework!"

Yes, calling everything 'stupid' wasn't the best of Luna's insults, but it was probably for the best that she hadn't picked up any curse words yet.

"How in Equestria am I supposed to do better than Celestia? She's an alicorn princess, for Celestia's sa—" She groaned. "They've even made a saying outta her!"

With a quick swipe of her hooves, she lashed out at a nearby garden gnome, which smashed into the garden wall with a loud crash. "I hate doing homework. I hate magic school!"

I watched helplessly as she stomped to the other end of the garden, angrily muttering under her breath. "And why does everything have to be about Tia? It's always Tia this, Tia that..." Cobalt sparks flew from her horn, fizzling and crackling as she toppled over yet even more garden ornaments, which crashed to the ground, exploding into a million fragments.

Those sparks... I felt like I'd seen them before, but... could it be?

"They want levitation spells? Oh, I'll show them a levitation spell..."

She squeezed her eyes shut, and with a deafening scream, let loose a ray of blinding blue light.

"Oh, come on Luna, you can deal with a few smiles."

"No I can't. When I smile, it's like I'm either a serial killer, or I'm just constipated."

"At least wave your hoof to everypony."

"Why do we do that, anyway? We've already greeted them at the start of this charity event."

I felt something being pressed into my face among the chatter, something small, like a stone.

"Oh, Luna. You've made the eyes crooked again."

I blinked. I seemed to be standing in the middle of a crowd of adoring ponies, each of them clad head to toe in thick winter wear. They formed a circle around the two princesses, who were standing on either side of me, patting snow into my torso.

"Well, I'd like to see you do a better job. Besides, Tia, who cares? Nopony's even close enough to notice!"

"It's Celestia. Princess Celestia. Not —" Celestia winced upon saying this, as if the name itself was enough to permanently deplete her reputation. "— 'Tia'."

"Oh, is that nickname getting too common for a posh princess like you?" Luna scowled, as Celestia waved at the onlookers, smiling casually. "I should've known. All that stupid royalty stuff has gone to your technicolored mess of a head, hasn't it?"

"Luna," Celestia warned through gritted teeth. "We're in public. Why do you always have to be such a pain in the neck all the time?"

"Ugh, fine," Luna dusted the snow off the carrot she was given, which looked so picture-perfect it could have been the perfect poster child of all carrots. She paid no regard to its exemplary flawlessness, however, and shoved it into my face with great boredom. "When does the event end? I wanna go home."

"The event ends," Celestia said, forcing an exasperated smile, "When you finish the snowpony. So please do hurry up with it, okay, dearest sister?"

I didn't mind being the centre of attention of the hundreds of Equestrian nobles gathered around me, but it was a little awkward being at the centre of the two sisters' argument. The two princesses were shooting daggers at each other through their menacingly hard stares, each of them trying not to have a sudden outburst of rage in the middle of the annual 'Save The Orphans Of Canterlot' parade. The heat emanating from their furious glares was enough to make me start sweating — or was that my ears melting again? Either way, the tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

Luna threw a scarf onto my back, which merely hung there limply until Celestia rolled her eyes and neatly readjusted it. "There, all better now."

"Yeah, and we're done. Can we go home?"

Celestia cleared her throat and in the Royal Canterlot Voice, boomed: "CITIZENS AND NOBLES OF EQUESTRIA! WE ARE PROUD TO PRESENT TO YOU THE OFFICIAL 'SAVE THE ORPHANS OF CANTERLOT' SNOWPONY! WE HOPE IT ENCOURAGES THYSELVES TO DONATE TO THIS CHARITABLE ORGANISATION! HAVE A HAPPY HEARTH'S WARMING!" Then, dropping her voice back to its normal volume, "Okay, fine, we can go home now. But remember to smile and wave, or else —"

They were interrupted by an uproar of applause. Apparently, Equestrian nobility really liked the look of the snowy mess that I had become, what with the excessive sweating and what was the worst-designed scarf of all the scarves I had ever worn as a snowpony. (Seriously, who puts purple and lime-green stripes on a snowpony? That's just a disaster waiting to happen.)

"Huzzah for Princess Celestia!"

"All hail the Princess of the Sun!"

"Take my money, Princess, take all of it!"

"Looks like they love you a lot more than they love me," Luna remarked, scowling.

"Who wouldn't?" Celestia smirked. "I give them the sun every morning. You just raise the moon. Did you know the sun is 76 million times larger than the moon?"

"Oh, wow, I totally wouldn't have known that," Luna replied sarcastically. "But here's an interesting fact: Did you know, the same thing could be said about your ego?"

"Well, at least I try to make a good appearance for my subjects!"

"Your subjects? Starswirl made the both of us the rulers of Equestria!"

"Then I guess the great Starswirl the Bearded does make mistakes sometimes!"

"Why, you —"

They heard an awkward cough from beside them, which came from one of their royal guards. "Uh, Your Majesties? I think we should head back to the castle now."

The entire crowd of nobles were silent, their eyes goggling at the arguing princesses in disbelief. "How's that for a good appearance?" Luna chuckled smugly.

"Silence thyself, sister," Celestia muttered, following the royal guard back towards the royal chariot. "Before I do something I'm going to regret."

I hear crying.

Sobbing, even, uncontrollable sobbing.

I feel the same pressure against my face as before, and I blink, vision entering my senses.

It is midnight, the moon high up in the pitch-black sky as trillions of tiny stars twinkle sadly around it. The moon seems... different, somehow. Had something changed since the last Hearth's Warming?

"Welcome to the w-w-world, little snowpony."

I blink again. Celestia?

She looks straight at me, her eyes brimming with tears as she strokes the side of my head. "I'm going to name you Luna. Not that anypony could r-replace h-h-her though," She added, her voice breaking.

What was going on? Why was she crying? Where was Luna? Did she... did she...?

"She's gone. And it's all my fault."

Oh, no. Celestia... Celestia couldn't have...

"If only I had listened to her. If only I hadn't been so caught up in all the attention, all my fans..." She wiped the tears from her cheeks with her hooves. "If only I had k-kept my p-p-promise...

"But it's for the best, right? Equestria is safe now. No more eternal night. I did the right thing, didn't I?"

I had never seen her like this before... so weak, so vulnerable, so depressed... it was as if she had been turned to glass, and the slightest bit of reassuring comfort would only shatter her fragile heart into a billion irreparable shards. What had happened to the strong, independent, mature filly that I had watched grow up? And... eternal night... what was that all about?

Then she chuckled. Slowly, she stood up, sniffling snot back into her snout. "Funny, isn't it? Here I am, talking to an inanimate object. Ponies say it's one of the last signs of going crazy.

"You know, Luna and I used to build snowponies just like you a lot. Every Hearth's Warming Eve. It was a sort of tradition that we'd do every single year, that is, up until I left for magic school.

"Luna was afraid, of course. Afraid I would leave her alone forever. And I didn't want to, but..."

She broke down into an outburst of tears, flooding down her cheeks as she collapsed to the ground again.

"She w-was r-r-right! The at-t-ttention, the love, the m-marvelling at what I could do... it got to m-m-my head! I f-forgot the promise I k-kept, and now she's turned... now she's..."

Now she's what? I was both curious and concerned at the same time; I wasn't sure if I wanted to know the answer.

Celestia sighed, collecting herself. Her once flowing, magical mane had now gone droopy, like a wet multicoloured towel just sitting on her head. "Even though she's Nightmare Moon now, she's still my sister. I still love her. I still miss her."

Nightmare Moon? What... what was going on? What was that even supposed to mean?

"A thousand moons. It's such a long time. Such a long time without my little sister."

Wha— why? Where'd she go?

Celestia looked up at the moon, a small smile creeping from the side of her mouth. "Little Luna. I remember when you couldn't sleep, I'd sit by your bedside and sing you a lullaby. Do you remember how it goes?

Hush now, quiet now,
It's time to lay your sleepy head,
Hush now, quiet now,
It's time to go to bed...

"It's time to go to bed, Lulu. It's been a long, difficult journey, but it's time for you to have a rest now. You've suffered so much by only being my sister.

"I'm so sorry, Luna. I'll miss you.

"Goodnight."

A THOUSAND MOONS LATER

"You know, Tia, I've really missed this."

"You have?"

"Of course! A thousand moons without my favourite sister? Of course I would miss this tradition!"

"Luna, I'm your only sister."

"I know, I know... but still. It doesn't snow on the moon, you know."

"Right... about that... I'm really sorry for breaking my promise. I promised I'd never leave you alone, and then I just left you alone up there for a thousand moons. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Are you kidding, Tia? You didn't do anything wrong! In fact, it should be me asking for forgiveness. I tried to cover Equestria in eternal night, for goodness' sake."

"Heh, true. The both of us made mistakes."

"But there's still one thing I can't forgive you for, Tia."

"Huh...? What is it?"

"You finished building the snowpony without me! How dare you?"

"No I haven't."

"Uh, yes you have!"

"Okay, okay, fine. But... I've saved a carrot for you to put into her forehead! Just like old times!"

"Really? Thanks!"

"So... do you forgive me now?"

"Oh, Tia. I forgive you for everything."

"I forgive you too."

"Happy Hearth's Warming, Tia."