The Best Gifts are Unexpected
Over the last few moons, Starlight Glimmer had found that most friendship lessons were just recognizing her past mistakes for what they were. She knew Princess Twilight wasn’t showing her her own errors and flaws out of spite. Really, the only things that seemed capable of angering the princess were inadvisably applied magic, threatening her friends, and Trixie. But Starlight still winced at her own past foolishness when she registered it, whether that foolishness was years or minutes old.
Tonight, it was the latter. The Hearth’s Warming party really was lovely once she'd let herself enjoy it rather than looking down her muzzle at a frivolous excuse for presents and candy. Yes, plenty of both abounded, but they were part of the celebration, not the purpose in and of themselves. It was all part of how ponies were, well, people. Not things for Starlight to optimize according to her own criteria.
Which was kind of the problem.
Starlight hadn’t meant to gravitate to the edges of the castle’s entry hall. It just gradually happened after the reprise of "Hearth's Warming Eve is Here Once Again." Several minutes after the last echoes of the carol faded, she found herself with her tail to a wall, an awkward smile straining her cheeks as she ponywatched.
“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Starlight.”
“Gah!” She leapt at the sudden sound, but mentally patted herself on the back for not atomizing the source once she recognized it. “Fluttershy!” Starlight took a moment to get her breathing under control. “Sorry, I didn’t notice you.”
“It’s fine. I wasn’t trying to be noticed. Here.” Fluttershy held out a wing, a mug of warm cider in her pinions. “It helps if you look like you’re too busy with your drink to talk to anypony.”
“Um, thanks?” Starlight took the mug in her magic and took a longer drink than she meant to. She figured she’d get used to the local produce in time, but for now, it was still astonishingly good. Though going by how Fluttershy downed hers, maybe the bloom would never fall off that particular rose. “Not sure if you should be teaching the royal friendship student how to avoid social interaction.”
Fluttershy shrugged her wings. “Everypony moves at their own pace. I’ve been in your horseshoes more than a few times, and that was just with smaller Pinkie parties. I thought you’d appreciate a familiar face to talk to.”
“Thanks." Starlight looked back at the crowd. It was so much easier to think of them as variables to solve in some grand social equation. As people... "I know I should get out more, but all those ponies…”
“Unfamiliar, risky, possibly judging you,” Fluttershy said with a familiar weariness.
“Exactly. I know most of them don’t know what I did, and the ones who do have forgiven me, but…” Starlight sighed, her head dipping down. “It’s my own guilt more than anything.”
Fluttershy nodded. “It’s good that you recognize that. It took me a terribly long time to realize it was my own anxiety and nothing they really thought." After a moment, her ears folded back and she took a more nervous look at the crowd. "Usually. I hope.”
Starlight felt the knot in her chest loosen a bit. At least it wasn't just her. She held up her mug for a toast. “Baby steps?”
“Baby steps.” It was more of a clunk than a clink, but it left both mares smiling. “So, what convinced you to come down in the first place?" Fluttershy's eyes widened for a moment. "Not that we’re not happy to have you, of course.”
“I know. Twilight read me this story that…" Starlight trailed off into a thoughtful frown. "You know, in hindsight, it’s almost suspiciously appropriate for my circumstances, given the powerful unicorn who wants to rewrite history and alter equine society to fit her misguided view of the world.”
“'A Hearth’s Warming Tale'?”
Starlight quietly balled up all of her suspicions and set them on fire. Mentally, not literally. Not after last time. “Yes. That." After a moment, her curiosity prodded her with a few issues that had escaped the purge. "Are there really characters with names like ‘Snowdash’ and ‘Flutterholly’ in it? Those seemed a bit on-the-muzzle too.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Oh yes. My great-aunt Flutterholly was named after the character." She gave a slight frown. "You’ve really never heard the story before?”
“My dad was kind of a history nut," said Starlight. "Anything written in the last century or two wasn’t worth his time. And by the time I was old enough to pick out my own reading material, well, Sunburst had left. I wasn’t exactly in the mood for feel-good seasonal fables or warnings about hubris.” An epiphany struck her, making her snort before she could stop herself. "Haven’t thought about Dad in quite some time. I’m almost glad I’m celebrating Hearth’s Warming far from home.”
The words played back in Starlight's mind just after they escaped from her lips. She reminded herself that time travel didn't solve anything, no matter how much she might want it to. "I, I mean—"
Yet Fluttershy just smiled. “I completely understand.”
“You? Seriously?" Starlight winced. "I mean, no offense, but—”
Fluttershy spread a wing, putting a pinion against Starlight's lips. "It's Hearth's Warming. Problems with family are almost as traditional as mulled cider."
"Really? Even for you?"
That got Fluttershy to look back out at the celebrating crowd. Her gaze lingered on the rest of Twilight's friends, scattered about the hall. "Between the seven of us, either we can't be with our families tonight, or we don't want to be."
"Well..." Moons of Twilight's lessons made Starlight pounce on the friendship word problem. "I guess Twilight would want to be there for Flurry Heart's first Hearth's Warming. And even I know Applejack has as much of her family with her as she can. But Rarity's parents are right there."
Fluttershy nodded, smiling as Rarity locked eyes with her, nodded at her father's sweater, and gagged. "For the first Hearth's Warming in three years. She only just forgave them for missing Sweetie Belle's cuteceañera."
Starlight felt her jaw drop. The only sound she could make as Fluttershy looked back at her was a faint croak in the back of her throat.
"You don't spend as many spa sessions with her as I do without picking up some gossip. And I think it'd help you to see how we have our flaws as well.” Fluttershy pointed towards a stallion with an obvious family resemblance to Rainbow Dash knocking back cider with her. “That’s not even Rainbow’s dad. It’s her uncle.”
That shock got Starlight's mind back in order. “Wait, really? What’s the story there?”
Fluttershy glanced away. “That’s... a bit more personal."
Starlight considered what the difference might be between that and Rarity's drama. "Nopony shouted the details in the street?"
"In so many words."
"I see." So, running down the mental checklist... "Well, what about you?"
"In my case…" Fluttershy sighed. "Well, let’s just say it’s my brother. We have an understanding, you see. I send cards up to Cloudsdale, and he knows that I have a bear hibernating on my couch until spring.”
Starlight blinked. “That’s, uh... that's quite the understanding.”
“Zephyr’s quite the pony." For a moment, Fluttershy bore a look of half-lidded exasperation that Starlight had never seen on her before. It vanished after a deep breath, not so much replaced by a more typical mild grin as buried under it. "But let’s talk about something happier.” Fluttershy pulled a thin, wrapped rectangle out from under the wing facing away from Starlight. “Happy Hearth’s Warming.”
“Oh!" Shame welled up as Starlight took the present in her magic. "I, I’m sorry. I never thought to get you anything. Twilight’s been keeping me on my hooftips, and—”
Fluttershy shook her head. “Don't worry about it. None of us are expecting anything back from you. We know you’re still collecting yourself.”
Starlight looked back at the party. “The others have gifts planned too?”
That prompted a soft giggle. “You didn’t hear it from me, but Pinkie may have slipped more party mines into your bedroom.”
“Yikes. Consider me warned. But as for this…” A few rearranged force vectors took care of the wrapping paper, but they couldn't decipher what lay beneath. “A… piece of cardboard?”
“That’s just the backing. Turn it around.”
Starlight did so, revealing a mouth-written coupon. “‘Good for one hour of judgement-free discussion of… Equalism.’ Oh." The earlier knot in her chest came back, bringing a weighty friend for her stomach. "And look, you even drew little equals signs along the border with the butterflies and starbursts.”
Fluttershy frowned, eyes glistening. "Do you not like it?"
"I..." Starlight bit her lip, gut twisting as she forced herself to put aside pretty lies. "Fluttershy, if I got this from anypony else, I'd think it was a sick joke."
There wasn't any screaming or tears or shock. Just a confused tilt of the head and a "What do you mean?"
Starlight gave Fluttershy an equally confused look, then tried to ignore the irony. "The whole point of Twilight's friendship lessons is to get me away from the mindset that led to Equalism. I don't think she'll appreciate an invitation to defend my earlier position."
"Oh." Fluttershy gave what she probably thought was a sly smile. It was like looking at a four-year-old "sneaking" her way to the cookie jar. "Well, you have to remember, Starlight. I'm not Twilight."
"Well, yeah. You certainly aren't if you think this is a good idea." Starlight jabbed a hoof at the floating coupon to better emphasize its overall this-ness.
"I have a bit more experience in reforming creatures who haven't exactly been nice in the past." Somehow that smile looked a lot more cunning when backed with evidence.
"Oh." Starlight coughed into a fetlock. "Right."
"My talks with Discord have helped both of us understand the reasons why he wreaked havoc on Equestria, and healthy ways he can fulfill those same needs."
"You know, I keep forgetting you have the physical incarnation of madness and anarchy over for tea on Tuesdays." Starlight's already shaky smile slipped further when a thought struck her. "Are we, uh, expecting him?"
Fluttershy shook her head. "Oh no. Seasonal allergies. Carols give him hives, and the honey would get everywhere."
Starlight blinked midway through her sigh of relief. "I'm really not sure how to process that, so I'm just going to move on."
Somehow, that got Fluttershy to give a wide smile. "See? You're already sounding like my other friends."
Starlight felt an eyelid start twitching at that. "Except that I'm trying to internalize that your incredible diversity is a good thing, despite it flying in the face of everything I believed! Because I was, and I cannot emphasize this enough, wrong about everything."
"I'm not sure I believe that," Fluttershy said with that impossibly understanding look of hers. "I'm not sure you do either."
"Oh, I do. I absolutely do."
Fluttershy just looked into her mug, still smiling. "I don't think pure wrong, pure evil, really exists."
Starlight needed a moment to process that before she could respond. "Seriously? Twilight's taught me about some of your adventures. What about Chrysalis? What about Tirek?"
"Chrysalis was trying to feed her people; she just didn't see any better way than taking what she needed by force. Tirek... Well, Discord says he was there when it all started. In the end, Tirek was just trying to get his father to respect him. Every creature has a reason for why they do what they do. Luna was lonely. Sunset Shimmer felt betrayed. Discord told himself nothing mattered." Fluttershy looked back up at Starlight. "If you reach out to others, you can try to understand the pain they carry, and try to help heal it. That's practically my job."
"So I'm just another bird with a broken wing." Starlight said it flatly, but at least she could pin some kind of understandable motive on the gift beyond delusional self-destruction.
Or she thought she could. Fluttershy shaking her head challenged that. "No. You're a mare with a broken heart. That's a lot trickier."
Starlight found herself grateful that she'd emptied her mug earlier. "I think you may be reading too much into Sunburst and me."
Fluttershy tilted her head. "I didn't say anything about Sunburst," she said with genuine-sounding confusion.
"W-well..." Starlight sputtered her way through several sounds that were almost words before facehoofing. "Ugh, I can't tell if that innocent look's an act or not."
A giggle answered her. "The point is that you're still healing, still trying to make sense of the world after what you thought was true got torn down. I've been there myself."
"You? Really?"
Fluttershy nodded. "Getting my cutie mark made me reevaluate everything. I'd never even considered living on the surface before then. And when you're rebuilding your sense of who you are, you need more than one pony to help you. Twilight's a great friend, but sometimes she thinks a little too much about the process and not quite enough about the pony."
"Well, I can't deny that." Starlight looked back at the coupon. She'd all but forgotten she'd still been holding it. "But do we have to talk about my dumb, back-flankwards philosophy?"
"You mean the one that brought together a bunch of ponies who felt lost and alone and gave them a home and friends?"
"Sure, and a cheerful overlord to dictate their every thought." Starlight sighed. "You're not the only one who's tried to understand the pain others carry, Fluttershy. But I was never very interested in healing it."
Fluttershy spread a wing over her withers. "They still came to you. They still stayed."
"They didn't have much of a choice."
"But you still tried to help them in the way you felt was best, just like Twilight helped you tonight."
Starlight grimaced. "You're being really generous about my motives there."
Those big, green eyes stared straight into her soul. "Am I wrong?"
"Well..." Another knee-jerk objection came to mind, but this time, Starlight actually let herself think about it. Maybe it was the contact; nopony had ever felt that comfortable with her in Ourtown. Maybe it was just the seasonal spirit of camaraderie. Whatever the case, she found her lips making an uneasy smile. "I have to admit, I did want to at least keep everypony pacified enough not to think about leaving. I guess that counts?"
Fluttershy squeezed her with her wing. "It's a good start. And together, we can grow from there."
"I'm still not sure about that, but I guess it can't hurt to get out of the castle." And yet something yet nagged at Starlight. "Still, what do you get out of this?"
"Me?" Fluttershy blinked with what Starlight suspected was less than authentic innocence.
"Come on, Fluttershy. You wouldn't be this insistent without a reason. And not just 'To help a friend.'"
The pegasus drew back her wing, shifting her mane to hide behind it. "I like helping my friends."
Starlight raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"Well..." Fluttershy gave a sheepish grin from under her mane. "I also don't have much to do with so many of my friends hibernating for the winter."
"There it is. And I understand. Not like this is good kite-flying weather either." Starlight put on a bashful look of her own. "And after the last time I tried to fix that..."
"We had some... issues last Fall Finale," said Fluttershy. "The weather teams wanted to make sure this one went off without a hitch."
"Anyway, I'll be happy to come visit, weather and Twilight's lessons permitting." Starlight held up a forehoof. "But. I'm not making any promises about Equalism."
"I suppose I can't ask for more than that."
Shouts drew both mares' attention to the heart of the party. Somehow, the entire Hearth's Warming tree was teetering back and forth like a metronome. If Starlight had to guess, it was probably related to Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Ditzy Doo singing rather raucous carols and conducting with three sloshing mugs of cider, more or less in time with the tree.
"Actually," she said, unable to tear her eyes away, "how about I take you up on that offer right now?"
Fluttershy nodded in her peripheral vision. "I think that sounds like a very good idea."
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THis is wonderful! I'm so glad to know that *someone* took similar lessons from the show that I did! Keep it up!
That's a really nice interpretation of Fluttershy's character.
This definitely has a wintery feel and I’m not sure why.
Fluttershy is, of course, kind. And it’s freaking Starlight out, and I love that. Yes, this is a mare who is genuinely friends with Discord.
I think Starlight could do to sit and think about ways in which society should be more equal, without treating the ponies in question as things. Flutters and Starlight as the activist duo keeping Princess Twilight honest once she takes over...
Oof, good thoughts about the implicit family problems.
When you’re singing a drinking song so enthusiastically that the tree gets caught up in the heartsong it’s probably wise for others to reach minimum safe distance.
The phrase 'party mines' terrifies me. And yet does not come as a surprise.
10596242
Well the streamers aren't bad but the confetti ones get everywhere and while the cupcake one are tasty, sometimes Pinky forgets to make sure the confetti is first rather than last in sequence and it can be a pain to pick it out from the cupcakes.
10596175
Weather Wax continues to work very well as a pony name.
👍
I…what? I get the word play, but at the same time… I just have no idea how…
Ahem. Moving on.
This is one of the reasons I love Flutters so much. Sometimes, its just a matter of stopping, listening, and understanding. Not trying to "fix" someone. Just listen.
What happened here? The paragraph looks like Discord got a hand on it.
Hmm... That's Latin for "Other things being equal".
10596448
Makes perfect sense to me. Not sure what you’re seeing there.
Very sweet. I've always found it endearing that everyone was willing to put so much work into helping Starlight become a better pony, and this is a wonderful interpretation of that. Fluttershy probably knows a lot about emotions and how to help others deal with them, considering her line of work. I don't remember these two having many interactions in the show, and this was a great prompt. What a nice holiday story.
I've never felt a closer connection to Fluttershy than I do here.
10596354
This is how you can tell when you've written Discord accurately.
Nice to see Starlight opening up about her past life.
This is a delightful story! You are a fantastic writer. I enjoyed reading it.
10596175
Pretty sure they'd need to do more than keep Twilight honest. They'd need to prevent her doing outright retrograde things like permitting contracts for indenture or cannonading crowds of striking workers. Then again, I'm not sure they can be trusted - they didn't stop her doing exactly those things in the show.
Nice; thanks for writing. :)
Reading this later because I like latin terms for things
Okay, this might sound mean, but I can't imagine wanting to spend Christmas with Zephyr, even if I was related to him.
10596129
Fluttershy's tension between all-loving heart and socially anxious mind presents some very fun opportunities. Especially when paired with someone who matches her in only some of those regards.
10596242
They're basically canon. Remember the hidden party cannons from when Pinkie helped renovate the castle?
10596288
She refuses to join Granny Smith for the trips to Las Pegasus ever since the incident with that one unicorn.
10596354 10596682
I am quite happy with this portrayal of Fluttershy, yes. I'm especially happy with that Discord joke.
10596175
You're going to need to be a little strange to hold his interest. And we've seen that Fluttershy has always been willing to meet him in the middle.
Twilight did select her advisors well.
It really says something that the member of the Mane Six with the least family drama is the one with dead parents.
And yes, once Twilight gets enough in her, your safe proximity to her is directly proportional to your own blood alcohol level.
10596448
Not seeing the problem. It's good cider. Starlight and Fluttershy are both enjoying it.
10596461 10597278
I can think of few better titles for a story about adjusting a few parts of Starlight's approach and leaving the other variables unchanged.
10596595
It's funny. When I first got the prompt, I actually struggled to come up with something compelling, as compared to previous Jinglemases. Big Mac and Sugar Belle? That's a lay-up. especially with added holiday family drama. Spike and Petunia Paleo? Bizarre enough to really get my mind going. But these two have so much screentime, yet share so little of it that it stumped me for a bit.
Then I remembered how Fluttershy was the one member of the Mane Six who unreservedly liked Ourtown. Combine that with her unmatched talent for one-on-one villain reformation and it went from there.
10596902
Very glad to hear you enjoyed it! As noted above, this was a more challenging prompt than I expected, but I'm quite happy with what came of it.
10597387
Fluttershy agrees with you, so it can't be too mean. I think that's how that works.
10596930
Okay, I understood the reference to the swap meet and Rainbow Dash selling Fluttershy for a book—which, I will note, was Twilight enforcing already established rules during her very first instance of having any actual governing power—but I'm going to need you to cite your sources on her bombarding a labor action.
10597631
I was referring to this moment in the Summer Sun Setback (4:05). Mandela Effect convinced me that the cannon went off at some point rather than being pushed menacingly past, but the idea's the same. You don't haul out firearms without being willing to use them.
10597734
If you're going to engage in malicious defamiliarization, you could at least make the other party do a little more work to unravel your argument.
In this case, that intended use, as demonstrated in the very clip you posted, was to assist the striking pyrotechnicians once they agreed to perform.
10597827
Where do you get that? The cannon is pointed in their direction, and the strikers react to it with surprise and alarm.
10597902
Start at 4:51 in the exact same video you linked. And note that Twilight also reacts with alarm when the cannon rolls by. That should tell you whether she intended it to serve as a threat.
10597930
Cold feet is not the same as lack of knowledge.
Merry Christmas!
10597947
Dude, you're looking into it too much. They're not being threatened with a canon, it's being pushed nearby. Heck, you can see them agreeing to preform even before the canon appears on screen, so it's not like they were threatened and then agreed.
Besides, they're not looking at the canon, they're following Pinkie Pie getting carried by Spike, which is more surprising than seeing a canon for fireworks.
This was both lovely and thought-provoking. Very interesting characterisation. And the Discord honey joke was magnificent. An excellent seasonal story! Thank you as always, FoME, and Happy Hearth's Warming to all
Makes me sad that Hasbro just kinda forgot about Rainbow Blaze. Would have been cool to see a more level heated stricter figurehead in dash’s life next to her parents.
I loved all the little family details, especially rarity Gagging at her dads sweater, can totally see that being a thing.
Fluttershy’s being open to talking with Starlight about her cult is an amazing idea, and something I could totally see happening in the background.
Great story, nice work
10597734
Are you referring to the part where Twilight stares in shock that there's a cannon being pushed past her while she's cheerfully engaged discussion?
Threatening Trixie or just Trixie?
That, and Fluttershy proved to be the one vulnerable to Starlight's little project in the first place. Perhaps she also wants to talk about it because, well, to her, it wasn't all wrong and rotten at the core. It's entirely possible she longs to work out some of her own thoughts regarding Our Town.
This is nice. Just two ponies bonding in the midst of their introversion.
Dang. I missed this!
Hmm... Beyond talking about Equalism, Flutters could also talk about parents...
And Fluttershy can also talk about marks and the Mark Switch because wow. Her. Getting Pinkie Pie's Mark. Introvert being forced into being an extrovert.
...
How would Zephyr have done in Our Town? And Troubleshoes would be someone else who'd want their mark removed...
A little odd to think of so many of the mane six apparently being estranged from their families to the point of not wanting to be with them for the holidays. I mean, it makes sense with the information canon provides, but still, not the interpretation I'd have gone with.
Very interesting character interaction with Glimmer and Fluttershy, though. I like the way you make these kinds of logical connections with characters and explore implications that I never would've thought of.
10599885
Introvert bonding is best bonding.
Starlight did have a point about a lot of things- maybe she and Fluttershy can develop communism together!
An oddball ghost happened across your fic and read it. Have a review!