My Little Pony: One as a Family. "Trials of Friendship"

by SaburoDaimando

Arc 10-5: Friends and Family for Hearths’ Warming Eve

Friends and Family for Hearths’ Warming Eve

“And thus, Holly, Sundrop, Moonrain, The Duke of Auric, Captain Silversword, the Mayor of Joy, The Queens of the North and the South, and every pony in Harmonia lived in joy and happiness. Well except the Ex-Duchess, who was denied her rise in power, and now wished for death.”

Those words came from Princess Celestia as she closed shut the Tale of Holly the Toy Maker. Wanda Young, Abigail Albright, Sunset Shimmer, Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, Sonata Dusk, Cozy Glow, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Trixie and Ditzy Doo had been paying attention to Celestia’s storytelling while Majordomo Kibitz stood to the side, enjoying the moment and some cranberry juice.

“Wow,” Pinkie Pie said. “I didn’t know you had a story like that. Is that the only copy in existence?”

“Oh no,” Princess Celestia said. “It’s a popular story in Equestria, as it does inspire the one lesson to colts and fillies.”

“Altruism,” Rarity said. “When one puts the needs and concerns of others over one’s self.”

“That is true,” Princess Celestia said. “But Holly had also learned a lesson of her own: Just because she’s willing to help out doesn’t mean she should bear the burden of her altruism to herself. One must not be afraid to accept help when needed.”

“Oh yes,” Fluttershy said. “Like if a certain pony feels like she needs help, even though she thinks to herself that she doesn’t, then they should consider asking for help.”

“Yeah,” Adagio Dazzle said. “I know how that feels to want to push help away, and it almost cost me my life.”

“But if there was one thing you had on your side,” Aria Blaze said, holding Adagio’s hooves together. “It was us. We stood by your side because we didn’t want you to be alone.”

“Yeah,” Sonata Dusk said. “No way would we let you suffer by yourself.”

But it didn’t take long for Sunset Shimmer to leave her seat, approach the Dazzling sisters and them all hug, especially Adagio Dazzle.

“And not only that,” Sunset said. “But we also amended our own friendship after we went our separate ways.”

“Yeah,” Adagio said. “And even though we have become friends again, I’m still ashamed of those horrible words I said to you.”

“Even despite that,” Sunset Shimmer said. “I still have my own demons to conquer, and sometimes I still fear that I will cause great harm to all of you. Especially my sister Wanda.”

“Which is why we will be here to help you out,” Princess Celestia said. “And I do have a feeling that you will be more afraid in the future. So if that does happen, they will let me know and I’ll be there to help.”

“I’ll give it a shot, mother,” Sunset said. “But it won’t be easy.”

Pinkie Pie got up on the table, trotted up to Sunset and the Dazzlings and said “It won’t be easy. But it’s these hard challenges that make friendship worth fighting for.”

“I’ll try to remember that,” Sunset Shimmer said. “But there is a good chance that I might break down because of my fears.”

“Note taken,” Pinkie Pie said.

Everyone laughed as Pinkie Pie got back into her seat. Princess Celestia contained her own laughter before she turned back to the younglings.

“Now that the moral of the story was taken care of,” Princess Celestia said. “Do you all have any other opinions on the rest of the story?”

Applejack quickly raised her hoof, catching Princess Celestia’s attention.

“Applejack,” Princess Celestia said. “I take it you have an opinion.”

“As a matter of fact,” Applejack said. “What ever happened to those bandits and mercenaries that ran off the moment they saw the Queens of the North and the South?”

As every other youngling in the room went “Oooooh,” Princess Celestia laughed and turned her attention towards the group.

“Some say they fled the Kingdom of Harmonia, vowing never to step hoof there again,” Princess Celestia said. “Others were ordered by the Queens to perform community service to atone for their crimes.”

“Sounds like deep on the inside,” Rarity said. “Those ruffians were deeply afraid of the queens.”

“That makes a lot of sense,” Fluttershy said. “In fact, if there was an animal that stepped out of line, I would give them the stare.”

“The stare?” Wanda asked.

“It’s something I rarely use,” Fluttershy said. “But I only use this as a last resort. And I hope I don’t have to use it on other ponies. Seriously. That would be frightening.”

“Noted,” Wanda said. “Besides, I would hate to be on the receiving end of that.”

Pinkie Pie ran up to Wanda and said “You said it. Some say Fluttershy’s stare could cause a Manticore to cower at her hooves, even though she’s a filly like me.”

As Wanda and Pinkie Pie laughed, Princess Celestia cleared her throat and asked “Are there any other comments about the story?”

Rainbow Dash got up on the counter and said “Yeah. Silversword sounds like an awesome pony. The way he chose honor and loyalty to the kingdom, the Queens and to Holly, and the fact that he’s willing to fight back. If he were a pegasi, then he would be Wonderbolt material.”

Ditzy Doo clapped her hooves and yelled “YAY! GO SILVERSWORD!”

Rainbow Dash turned to Ditzy Doo and said “Glad I’m not the only one who thinks that way.”

Kibitz cleaned his glasses and said “Personally, I am a fan of the Count of Auric. Even despite being by the side of the Duchess, his duty was more to the well-being of the ponies of Harmonia than to the Duchess’ own personal agenda.”

Rainbow Dash flew up to Kibitz and said with a smirk on her face “Well at least the Royal Guards could fight back.”

Kibitz’s smile remained on his face as he said “But it was the Count who convinced the Royal Guard to side with Holly, and it was the Count who helped Sundrop and Moonrain free everyone from the dungeons.”

Rainbow Dash slumped down and said “Point taken.”

Trixie flicked the front of her mane and said “That’s actually saying a lot compared to the bandits and mercenaries who took the place of the royal guard when they decided to go rogue.”

“Yeah,” Ditzy Doo said. “Those meanies weren’t nice when they set the Town of Joy on fire, and especially when the Duchess took amusement to that.”

“Thank you for reminding me,” Princess Celestia said before turning to the rest of the younglings. “What are your thoughts on the Duchess of Auric?”

Immediately, every youngling in the room Booed loudly.

“Guess it’s unanimous,” Princess Celestia said.

“Oh that’s an understatement,” Rarity said. “First off, she decided to keep the ponies of Auric in poverty just to satisfy her greed.”

“And what gives her the authority to just march onto the castle and declare herself Empress when the Queens have gone missing?” Adagio Dazzle yelled, stomping her hoof onto the counter surface.

“And her hatred of toys,” Pinkie Pie said. “What’s wrong with toys? Why push colts and fillies into not having fun?”

“And what gives her any right to replace the Royal Guard with a bunch of selfish cutthroats?” Rainbow Dash yelled.

“Overall,” Ditzy Doo said. “She’s a bad, bad pony who needed to be taught a lesson. Thank your name the Queens came back and punished her.”

Princess Celestia looked at Ditzy Doo and blushed a bit.

“Uhhh,” Princess Celestia said in an embarrassing tone.

Cozy Glow immediately raised her hoof into the air, catching Celestia’s attention.

“Cozy Glow,” Celestia asked. “I take it you have a comment on the story.”

“I do,” Cozy Glow asked. “Is it me, or do Sundrop and Moonrain remind me either of Sunset Shimmer and Wanda Young, or rather younger versions of you and Princess Luna?”

Everyone started to talk with each other over Cozy Glow’s comment. Princess Celestia looked at the group and stretched out her metal collar, causing steam to come out.

“Tough crowd, mommy?” Wanda asked.

“Well,” Princess Celestia said. “I can guarantee that I have never been to Harmonia before. Not the one that’s described in the book.”

Abigail looked at the cover of the book and saw a name under the title. She brushed her paw on Celestia’s arm and said “Eternia?”

Every youngling came to a stop as they turned towards Princess Celestia, who let out a sigh and picked up the book.

“It’s true,” Princess Celestia said. “My mother, Queen Eternia, wrote this story back when Luna and I were fillies and we lived with her. The original book that we carried was one of the surviving artifacts from Everfree City. Furthermore, Starswirl the Bearded has used his magic to keep the book intact for as long as possible, even going as far as to create duplicates of the book. Once I learned that spell from Starswirl, I continued with his work of keeping the book in circulation to keep ponies inspired by mother’s story. And even to this day, I had kept a copy by my side so that I could read it to the orphans I look after.”

“Wow,” Cozy Glow said. “I never knew your mother wrote that story.”

“Mother has always been wanting to keep the memory of Queen Eternia alive, even after so long,” Sunset Shimmer said. “And that story that she told us was one of Eternia’s legacies. Sure she is gone, but Luna and I will never forget the kindness and warmth that she gave to us.”

“Aww,” Fluttershy said. “To lose your mother so long ago.”

“Yeah,” Pinkie Pie said “When Princess Luna showed the class the history of Equestria, they did state that Queen Eternia had disappeared after the Great Everfree War. And it’s so sad that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna became orphans afterwards.”

“I hope that with this Hearth’s Warming Eve,” Princess Celestia said. “We can all share the warmth together, knowing fully well that you all have loved ones that care for you that want to see you thrive in Equestria.”

“And we hope to always be together as both friends and family,” Wanda said. “After all, as a family we are one together, and friendship is magic.”

Suddenly, everyone overheard the sound of Princess Luna yelling “We’re back.” When Celestia turned towards the kitchen entrance, there was Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle and Spike, carrying a bag of gifts with them.

“Aunt Woona,” Wanda cheered as she got out of her seat and gave the moon princess a hug.

“Wanda,” Luna laughed. “We were only gone for an hour.”

“I know,” Wanda said. “But I missed having you around.”

“And so did I,” Shining Armor said as he gave Wanda a head noogie, causing Wanda to giggle.

Twilight Sparkle walked up to the counter and got up to an empty seat, where Pinkie Pie and Sunset Shimmer gave her a high hoof. Abigail got off the counter as Spike ran up to her and gave her a hug.

“So what did I miss?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, just a story that mother told us,” Sunset replied.

“And these delicious tacos that Sonata made,” Pinkie replied.

Sonata Dusk placed a plate of tacos in front of Twilight Sparkle and said “Here. I still got plenty of tacos left to make.”

Twilight Sparkle picked up one of the tacos and took a bite, chewing with delight. She swallowed in a gulp and said “Wow. So tacolicious. I didn’t know you could make that.”

“Surprising, isn’t it?” Sonata Dusk said.

“It’s one of Sonata Dusk’s hidden talents,” Sunset Shimmer said. “Well that and she’s a great singer.”

Princess Luna walked towards Princess Celestia, all while holding Wanda Young closeby. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor walked up next to the moon princess, each holding a huge sack of goodies.

“We were expecting to fight packed crowds,” Princess Cadance said. “But once again, we were given the royal treatment. And while we did try to decline it, they still insisted.”

“Guess this means Equestria takes our celebrity status a bit too far,” Princess Celestia joked.

“The one benefit from this is that it didn’t drive my sister all Twilinanas.” Shining Armor said, spinning his eyes in a tizzy.

“Hey,” Twilight said from the counter. “I do not go Twilinanas.”

Shining Armor smirked at his sister before he said “Explain ealy ago when you went over a list of what to get the others for Hearth’s Warming.”

“Oh speaking of which,” Princess Cadance said. “I had to bring them along.”

“Oh?” Princess Celestia said. “And where are they?”

But just as Princess Celestia finished speaking, in comes Starlight Glimmer, Sunburst, Moondancer and Danged Spell, running down through the kitchen before coming to a stop. The other fillies cheered as Trixie, Sunset and Ditzy Doo got out of their seats.

“Starlight,“ Trixie said as she ran up to Starlight and gave her a hug. “I didn’t expect you to come by, tonight.”

“Well,” Starlight said. “We were busy helping Twilight and the others out with gift shopping.”

Sunburst shook his head before he said “All those crowds at the malls in Canterlot. Hoo boy. I’ll stick with the shops in Sire’s Hollow, thank you very much.”

“I’ll say,” Danged Spell said. “Lio Lani never had that many ponies buying up toys and gifts for Hearth’s Warming Eve.”

“I think Cape Coltnaveral had its fair share of holiday shoppers,” Moondancer said. “Then again, I think Canterlot topped it.”

Twilight got down and walked up to Moondancer before she said “By the way, what are your thoughts on the stars above Canterlot right now?”

“You mean for Hearth’s Warming Eve?” Moondancer replied. “They are beautiful.”

“I take it you would want to stare at the stars with that telescope of yours,” Sunburst asked.

“I would,” Moondancer replied. “It would be so amazing just to see them.”

“That’s Moondancer,” Twilight Sparkle replied. “Always a real stargazer.”

But as Moondancer and Sunburst laughed at Twilight’s comment, Sunset walked up to Wanda, who still held onto Princess Luna, and tugged on her dress.

“Hey Wanda,” Sunset said. “You might want to go cuddle Starlight for a bit.

Wanda lets go of Princess Luna before running up to Starlight and giving her a hug, with Trixie wrapping her arms around the Man’s Cub’s back.

“I was wondering when you would come by,” Wanda said.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the whole world, Wanda,” Starlight said.

“Maybe we should become a trio,” Trixie said. “Wanda the Wonderful, The Glimtastic Starlight, and me, the Great and Powerful Trixie.”

“A trio?” Wanda asked.

“An inseparable crew,” Trixie replied. “Even if I’m away, I should come by to visit to make sure you two are happy and content.”

“I would look forward to it,” Starlight said.

“Me too,” Wanda said.

As the younglings laughed in harmony, Princess Luna watched as Sonata Dusk place down a plate of tacos in front of her.

“So,” Princess Luna said. “You know how to make tacos.”

“Try them,” Sonata Dusk said.

Princess Luna picked up one taco and took a bite, chewed slowly before swallowing.

“Not bad,” Princess Luna said. “But I wish you used my El Diablo Peppers. That packs a kick.”

Sonata Dusk smiled before she said “Next batch, I’ll consider it.”

“Yeah,” Danged Spell said as he got up on his seat. “After all, variety is the spice of life.”

And thus, everyone laughed out loud as they got up and began eating tacos.

“Here’s to all of us,” Wanda said.

“Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve,” Princess Celestia said.

“Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve,” The younglings shouted.

But as Wanda, Sunset and all their friends cheered with Celestia and Luna, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance looked at the younglings as they snuggled together.

“What a chaotic night,” Princess Cadance said. “Maybe we should have spent Hearth’s Warming Eve just enjoying life with our sisters and their friends.”

“No argument there,” Shining Armor replied. “Maybe next year, we should buy the gifts in advanced.”

“Agreed,” Princess Cadance said.

Later that night, on the roof of the palace, Eleanor Young looked down at the ponies of Canterlot, sipping more hot cocoa. Her ears picked up the sound of a door opening as Bright Mac and Buttercup walked out, carrying a plate of tacos.

“Eleanor Young, I presume,” Bright Mac asked.

“I was told you would come up in place of the Princesses,” Eleanor Young said.

“And she sent you a little treat,” Buttercup said.

Buttercup placed the plate of tacos next to Eleanor Young. She picked up a taco and took a bite, chewing before swallowing. Though her face looked a bit red, she took a swig of hot cocoa before it returned to its normal color.

“Not bad,” Eleanor Young said. “The El Diablo pepper, I take it.”

“It was Princess Luna’s suggestion,” Buttercup said.

Eleanor laughed before she said “Have you ever heard of the Kilauea Volcano Pepper? It puts the El Diablo to shame.”

“Kilauea Volcano Pepper?” Bright Mac asked.

“The spiciness of this pepper on Evevanya puts the El Diablo to shame,” Eleanor said. “One bite and you will breathe fire like a dragon.”

Bright Mac and Buttercup laughed embarrassingly as the latter said “I think we’ll stick with the El Diablo.”

Eleanor Young looked down at Bright Mac’s legs and said “I see your legs are back to normal.”

“Yeah,” Bright Mac said. “It took a couple of months. But my leg is fixed up.”

“Sadly,” Buttercup said. “The path to La Maresa was blocked off by some boulders, and it seems some changelings and Windigo’s cults are preventing the demolition team from clearing it.”

“That’s horrible,” Eleanor Young said. “Maybe after Hearth’s Warming Day is over, I can go and give them a hand.”

“You mean hoof,” Bright Mac said.

Eleanor laughed before she said “Different species.”

“Anyway,” Buttercup said. “You might want to come inside. It’s starting to get chilly.”

“I’ll be alright,” Eleanor said. “Between this hot cocoa and the El Diablo pepper tacos, I’ll be warm tonight.”

“Well,” Bright Mac said, tipping his hat towards Eleanor. “I think it’s time we bid you goodnight, for now.”

“And I believe I should say,” Eleanor Young said. “Happy Hearth’s Warming to you.”

“And to you,” Buttercup said. “Happy Blessings of Winter.”

“And Merry Christmas,” Bright Mac said.

Bright Mac and Buttercup walked towards the doorway and went inside, leaving Eleanor Young looking down at the ponies of Canterlot.

“You know,” Eleanor said. “I think Equestrians, Evevanyians and Earthlings have more in common than we realize.”

Back inside, Bright Mac and Buttercup looked out at Eleanor Young before turning towards each other.

“Do you think we have a lot in common with the Earthlings and Evevanyians?” Buttercup asked.

“We may be equine,” Bright Mac said. “But there is more to all of us than meets the eye.”

Bright Mac and Buttercup nuzzled their heads together with their eyes closed and with a smile on their faces. But their moment was halted when Bright Mac felt a poke on his leg. Bright Mac looked down to see Applejack looking up at him.

“Pa?” Applejack said. “Who’s that outside?”

Bright Mac turned to Eleanor Young, who was still looking down at the citizens of Canterlot.

“My dear Applejack,” Bright Mac said. “That’s a guardian angel.”

“A guardian angel?” Applejack asked.

“Let’s just say,” Buttercup said. “She’s been looking out for us for a long time.”

With that, Applejack gave Bright Mac and Buttercup a big hug.

Outside, the moon rose to its highest peak as the snow fell down towards the city of Canterlot. Ponies continued to enjoy the moment of the night as they walked around the city of Canterlot, handing gifts towards each other, singing, eating food, and enjoying the night. The bells chimed loudly into the Hearth’s Warming Eve night as the clock reached the top of the hour.

Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve

Stay Tuned for…

Arc 11: Sunset’s Sickness Blues

No Thrill for the Ill

Author's Note:

Now. Sometimes, I won't conclude a Part with "To Be Continued." Instead, I will conclude a part with "Stay Tuned For." This is something that will be going from here on out.

Anyway, with the Hearth's Warming Eve arc over, here's my plans for the next four Arcs.

The next Arc will focus on Sunset Shimmer. She has fallen sick, and the Dazzlings and Cozy Glow will look after her, with help from the grown ups.

Following that, Moondancer, Danged Spell and Ditzy Doo will have their own arc to themselves.

And after that, The Mane Six will get an arc of their own.

Finally, Starlight Glimmer, Sunburst, Trixie and Wanda Young will share an arc together.

That's the plans for the next four arcs. After that, that's my big secret.