> The Tale of The White Night
>  by DraconequusMaximus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Really Bad Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER ONE
White Night was a rather solitary creature, he rarely did anything with anypony else because of fear of ridicule. When he did interact with other ponies he never enjoyed it, but he was forced to do so because he was training to be what most thestrals dream of becoming: a night guard.
“At least I only have to deal with other ponies at night during training” Night thought to himself. However the thought did little to comfort him as night was fast approaching and the time to don his armor drew near. Night did not hate his job, no, he had always dreamed of being accepted into the night guard protecting Luna the “mother” of the thestral race. Unfortunately White needed to work much harder to even get accepted into the academy because of his size, he was born a bit smaller and sleeker than other thestrals. Not to mention he faced constant ridicule for his albinism. Non-thestral ponies tended to shy away from thestrals almost all together, thestrals however took pride in this & it gave them a sense of superiority toward the other pony races. White Night constantly drew unwanted attention to himself just by existing, ponies didn’t think he was intimidating at all, he had even once been called adorable! This angered the other recruits greatly as they thought he was purposely ruining the traditional thestral image leading to threats and yet more teasing during drills.
What really got to him was the slurs they threw his way insinuating that he was a colt-cuddler, he in all honesty was one but he wouldn’t admit it out-loud. This above all else made him ashamed of himself, in olden times he would have been culled at birth or left in the wilderness alone for being small, discolored, or killed later for colt-cuddling. He shuddered at the thought but felt relief that the laws from the time of the nightmare were abolished upon the banishment.
“Rrrrriiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnng”  reapeted his alarm several times, he soon found himself going through the autonomous motions of donning his armor that he looked ridiculous in thanks to his coloration. Before he fastened on the last piece of his armor he looked at his cutie mark and sighed. His cutie mark had appeared unnaturally late in life only months before when he was accepted into the academy. A dark bat adorned his flank signifying that despite his bright appearance he was a true creature of the night. He knew it, but he often needed a reminder that he was just as good as everypony else. He quickly finished adjusting his armor and rushed to the training grounds.
After 6 hours of drills and various exercises White was quite tired but more-so mentally than physically, he had endured a particularly harsh taunting tonight but was trying to let it slide from his consciousness like water off his membranous wings. He tried focusing on the somewhat eerie but somehow comforting architecture of the night guard’s training area as he slowly trotted off to the showers.
Before he could get to the showers he had to pass by the head officer in charge of training’s office. He stopped when he heard what sounded like his name coming from Officer Black Wing’s office. White knew that spying was unbecoming of a cadet but the door war slightly ajar & he couldn’t seem to stop himself, leaning in he eyed the scene with great interest there stood Black Wing behind his desk talking to his second in command, a burly thestral named Night Road. White knew him well Night Road seemed to be wherever White was anytime he made even the smallest slip-up. 
“Officer Black Wing Sir! I regret to inform you that I have yet to find any evidence of White Night doing anything worthy of being expelled from the academy.” 
White couldn’t, or didn’t want to believe his ears. Had even the stallion he had always worked so hard to gain the approval of been against him this whole time? In his mind he held onto a sliver of hope that the scene before him was just a fabrication of his tired mind but then…
“That’s not good enough! You need to make him slip up or start a fight with you or another cadet so we can get that filthy colt-cuddling pretty-colt faggot out of here! He’s ruining our reputation and making us look like a bunch of fruits!” Shouted Black Wing at Night Road.
At this point the stress of the day, or more likely of his entire  life simply vanished. Where it had been all that could be found was untamed rage toward the stallion he had always looked up to as a symbol of what he wanted to be.  White Quickly turned on his shoed forewhooves and bucked the door straight into Night Road who didn’t even have time to react or even turn to see the source of the noise coming from the door to his right. He was flung against the wall when the door struck him rendering him unconscious. White was already advancing upon the bewildered Officer behind the desk who was to surprised to effectively guard himself as White Night launched himself over the desk wings flared in anger. White grabbed the offender to his dream by the neck of his uniform as he had already shed his armor after guiding the cadets through their nightly exercises. White proceeded to throw him against the wall of his own office and stand over him. He began beating Black Wing senseless.
White continually screamed “HOW DOES IT FEEL TO GET BEAT BY A FAGGOT?” & “WHO’S THE WEAK ONE NOW?” 
As he continued cadets drew nearer and nearer, he could hear them coming to stop him and he didn’t care. All he cared about was the “therapy” he was engaged in, torrents of tears born from every negative emotion that could be identified flowed down his bleach-white coat beneath his usually pink now–red eyes. The guards grabbing him off the at this point beaten half-dead Officer Black Wing was the last thing he remembered before someone knocked him out to stop him from thrashing about. 
When White awoke he was chained to a ludicrously heavy weight that must have been enchanted to not budge. He managed to stand on his shaky hooves with some difficulty, as he did so he noticed that he had been stripped of his armor and his wings had been bound at the base by an interlocking set of cuffs designed specifically for making thestrals and pegasi unable to flap and make things generally uncomfortable. White attempted to take in his surroundings but it was much too bright for a thestral to see clearly with their super sensitive night-vision eyes. Things were not helped by the fact that his albinism made him even more susceptible to the light of the sun. These facts meant he was essentially blind but he could feel hard and smooth polished stone beneath his hooves and could feel wind blowing above him mocking his momentary flightlessness. It was definitely daytime he could feel his sensitive skin burn as time passed. 
Eventually he heard a door open and shut and the soft sound of somepony walking on carpeting followed be metal clacking advancing on him. He tried to stretch his wings and flee but was met with hard resistance and has going nowhere. The clacking noise  stopped a few feet from him and suddenly he felt himself free of all restraints and unceremoniously lifted into the air under a foreign but somehow comforting power. He was placed upon what he assumed to be very plush carpet, and soon he heard the soft pomf of somepony walking on carpet toward him.
“Why is there such comfortable carpeting in a cell? I must be in a cell I was caught nearly killing my superior, a soldier!” White thought to himself while panicking.
“My vision is still very blurry, I cant see anything except… blue?”   
“Who are you, where am I?” He shouted.
A calm cool feminine voice spoke up, “You White Night are within our chambers, a guest room to be specific. We did not want our bedroom going into disarray were you to become violent.”
“Why are thou unaware of your surroundings? I more than any am aware of the sensitivity of a thestral’s eyes to the sun, but you should have recovered momentarily, Yes? What ails thee?”
White feeling momentarily calmed by not being in jail but still rightly confused stated, “As you can see I’m an albino the sun is harmful to my eyes and skin double what it would be to a normal thestral”
As he began speaking his vision slowly returned to it’s average strength, what he saw however was enough to leave him in a terrified state of awe. Before him stood Princess Luna ruler of the night, the goddess of the moon. Normally this would be intimidating to anypony, however thestrals gave allegiance solely to her as their race shunned the day. This is because thousands of years ago the thestral race lived in equestrian before unicorns, pegasi, or earth ponies. But when the other tribes migrated here they thought the thestrals were just as much monsters as the windigoes and tried to wipe them out the thestrals were fewer in number compared to the now united tribes and fled to the mountains to save themselves. Centuries later ponies discovered them & the tribes were once more prepared to war with them but the thestrals had grown strong and thrived in the mountains. The battle would have been devastating to both cultures but one pony stepped forward, a pony like the thestrals had never seen before. She silenced the ponies with a word and brought forth the moon, the thing thestrals worshiped above all else. For saving their race the thestrals all swore oaths to her and called her the mother of the night, the living moon. White was dumbstruck because this immortal his race held so dear was likely very, very angry at him.
“Ah it seems your sight has seen fit to return to you, now you may see me for your judgment.” She said calmly.
White at this point decided it was probably a bad idea to pass out, unfortunately his body didn’t agree.
When he awoke he saw himself still surrounded by beautiful dark blue furniture, plush carpet, and many wondrous items he could only imagine the various uses of. He then saw the princess on an almost-to-small bed reading a rather large book most likely older than his grandparents. She took notice of him and placed a bookmark in the ancient tome & placed it to the side. She then walked over to him slowly, he proceeded to sweat bullets as she drew nearer.
“Are we that intimidating White Night?” She asked with a mischievous smile.
“Ye… No your majesty!” He said trying to catch himself.
“As much fun it is to tease my subjects there is still a matter at hoof. You assaulted a superior and a fellow cadet in cold blood, do you care to explain yourself?” she asked taking on a serious tone.
…
White Night stood there before the figure his race most revered and realized he couldn’t tell her the truth or he might get sent to the moon for being such a disappointment to his people (and a criminal).
“I have nothing to say your majesty, I for personal reasons I… decline the offer to explain myself.”
This obviously got the Princess’ attention as she looked at him with a raised brow.
“Very well but whenever an internal dispute happens within our night guard it is our duty to get to the bottom of it by whatever means we deem necessary.”
“Wha- ”
White was cut off as luna had touched her horn above his eyes, he felt himself slip away slowly as Luna read through him. The princess of the night felt and experienced everything White had ever been through essentially becoming him for an instant, she knew everything he knew and felt everything he felt. Luna broke away from him when it became too much to bear, she in her long life had seen many things but had never felt the hardship someone else went through to that extent. She had used too much magic after not having had to use such a spell in over a thousand years, a minor but serious miscalculation for something so invasive. While she herself had run through White’s entire life herself, she had accidently just made him live his entire painful life over again in less than a minute.
Once she regained her composure she looked at White, he was an absolute mess. He was sobbing uncontrollably apologizing for everything he had ever done or that he thought was his fault. She had effectively broken this stallion who, in her opinion had merely had a mental break and took it out on the offender. Something Luna herself had done once before, and she had been forgiven for her offense. 
“I promise you White Night I will see to it that the offender never serves again & that you will be healed to the best of my power.” As she said this she picked up the now quiet thestral and placed him upon her back and carried him to the medical wing of the castle as swiftly as it was safe to carry him.
	
> Moving On
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Two

It had been several weeks since white had had the event he could only describe as "the REALLY bad night", Luna had apologized for nearly destroying his brain (and given him a gift basket the size of a small pony full of exotic candies, books, a get well soon card that said "please don't sue me" and an astonishing amount of bits). She had also assured him Black Wing would be alright but would not serve in the military in any capacity as long as he went through a "incredibly boring seminar devoted to love, tolerance, and not making your boss pay for seminars about things that are already fundementals to our culture". Luna had also cleared him of any charges due to mental fatigue and hostile place, at one point she even offered the broken thestral a job working under her personally in a non-militant capacity. He had respectfully declined (just as fast as she asked) & stated he was moving away from Canterlot so he could go somewhere quiet to start fresh.
Thanks to Luna (& some therapy) White was back on his hooves sooner than predicted. He set off to collect his things from the barracks during the day while no one was awake, he had few possessions to get but he needed his traveler's cloak, it was a bit warm for where he was headed but it helped immensely when he needed to be out during the day. Luna's bits had also allowed him to purchase something he had wanted for some time now, a magic pair of contact lenses crafted in the crystal empire. They were designed to reduce the blinding glare produced by the sun shining through countless reflective crystals. To White Night however they were a blessing, he could see clearly during the day for the first time as well as he could at night! Though he did find staring directly at the sun was still not a very good idea.
As soon as he gathered everything he thought he needed: A map of Equestria that even mapped the railways, a large pouch of bits, an extra pair of crystal contacts, and a saddle bag with some more bits, dried fruit, parchment, quills, and ink and a stamp seal that could be used to magic letters directly to Luna. All of this fit in or under his cloak. He lamented that these were the only things he owned in all the world but supposed it was for the best.
"Where is the most isolated place this train goes too?" White asked a confused looking stallion at the ticket booth of the train station.
"I suppose Apploosa would be, it's as far as this train goes and it's one of the smallest dullest places in Equestria. In fact it's nearly on buffalo territory, nopony goes there if they can help it."
"perfect, one one-way ticket please." 
For the first time in...ever White felt totally relieved, he would be going somewhere that nopony he knew anywhere in Equestria would find him. No more jerk thestrals, judgmental nobles, or anypony to tell him he wasnt as good as somepony else.
The train didn't leave the station till 9:35 that night, he had managed to slip into an empty compartment in the train too! Things just seemed to be going his way today, he removed his heavy cloak and bags and placed them in an overhead compartment. He decided to try and get some rest and turned of the electric lighting and quietly settled in on a bench next to the window and he fell asleep staring at the symbol of his patron goddess high in the night sky. He slept a total of 3 minutes & 39 seconds before a loud country accent yelled: "Anypony in here?"  
White's response was a loud: "BahWuh?" as he fell off of the bench he had been slumbering on. 
He immediately realized he wasn't wearing his cloak and folded his wings over himself hiding himself from the unknown pony across the room. The golden yellow pony with golden brown mane looked at the huddled cocoon of membranous wings curiously for a moment before he realized it was trembling lightly.
"Uh, I'm sorry if i frightened you there pardner, but i did knock. I reckon you musta' been asleep though, I'm mighty sorry i scared you but all the other compartments seem to be full up."
...
"Turn around for a minute, please?"
The pony obliged him and he quickly shuffled about.
"Might i ask why i needed to turn around?" The golden pony asked still facing away.
... 
"I'm not decent" White hesitantly stated.
The pony chuckled heartily as he heard White open the overhead compartment and then the fluid sound of cloth whooshing as it was hurriedly being donned.This only piqued the pony's curiosity further.
"Pardon me but aren't ponies usually nude?" He asked suspiciously.
"Yes but... this makes me more... comfortable around strangers." White stated unsure of how confident he sounded in his answer.
"Well alright then, wouldn't wanna make you uncomfortable." Said the as of yet unnamed stallion.
"Um, you can turn around now." Said White still unsure of the pony.
White got a good look at him once he had turned around, & it was a GOOD look! He had never seen such a well defined, yet sleek pony, & though the pony was pretty plain other than his stetson and brown vest White had never been more enthralled with a stallion at first glance. After a moment of silently collecting his thoughts (and thanking Luna the cloak went down to his hooves) he said:
"He-hello, I'm White, w-whats your name?" "Smooth, White. You're slicker than silk!" He thought to himself smugly. While White was on an undeserved imaginary power-trip, the pony opposite him was a tad confused as to why this strange pony was so afraid, & what the weird membranes from earlier were. Could this pony be... not a pony? Some sort of shape shifter? Like those things that attacked Canterlot a few years back? Thinking himself paranoid he calmly answered "White" the hooded pony before him.
"Howdy White! M' Name id Braeburn Apple of Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaapppppploooooosaaaa!!!" Braeburn said in a humorous sing-song tone. White blinked a few times in surprise & tried to for a response.
"Re-really? I'm actually going to Apploosa to try and find a house." He said shakily.
"Well don't that beat all! Now i don't have to find you when you get there, I'm Apploosa's best (and only) welcome pony!" Braeburn answered very enthusiastically. Then Braeburn threw out a hoof & White cringed, not realizing he only wanted a hoof-shake. White suddenly felt very silly and then shook Brae's outstretched hoof. Braeburn had already taken notice of the cringe but didn't say anything about it.
"Why is this pony so afraid of everything?" Brae thought to himself.
"He cant be a shape-shifter he'd be much better at blendin in than this."
Braeburn decided to take a seat next to White which worried the latter pony considerably. He was moving away so ponies wouldn't see him and this pony was already getting very close. The two eyed one another now and again but the train ride was eerily silent. Then the stallion wandering the halls checking the status of the train yelled: "Next stop Apploosa!"    
> Down in Apploosa
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

White went as fast as he could without his hood falling back revealing the tufted-tip thestral ears he possessed, but upon exiting the train he was struck with the realization that he had no idea where anything was in this strange town. As white came to a stop, Braeburn merely trotted off the train happy to be home again. Brae then took notice of White who was nervously looking every which way and back.
"You know you've made friends with a native of our little town, I'd be happy to show you around. Ya interested?"
White eyed him cautiously, nopony had ever been so nice to him before. He was a little skeptical of the sudden kindness and being called a friend for the first time since he was a little colt. However he needed to find a hotel, or more likely an inn judging by the rustic nature of the town. 
"Um... could you please point me toward the local inn?" He asked the unusually chipper stallion.
"Inn? son, Apploosa only has near 50 ponies counting the 2 of us. We ain't got an inn cuz nopony ever comes all the way out here." Braeburn said matter-o-factly.
If it was possible White's face seemed to pale further at this remark.
"But where am I supposed to sleep? I planned on staying at the inn until i could get a house built!" White was visibly shaking at this point. Braeburn had already decided to let the poor pony stay with him but Braeburn was a bit playful as he wanted to learn more about this mysterious pony standing before him. So he said: "Weeeell i suppose if'n you tell me a bit about yourself or take off that big cloak o' yurs we wouldn't be so unfamiliar and i could see it in my heart to let you stay with me?"
White weighed his options, and the scale tipped Braeburn's way considering it was the only option he had.
"I-I suppose I can take off the cloak when we're in the privacy of your home, but whenever i go out the cloak goes back on. O-ok?" White said as he feigned an indifferent expression. Braeburn being a member of the Apple family could spot falsehoods miles away and saw White's true, frantic, nervousness. But being a gentlecolt he payed it no mind and motioned for White to follow as he started walking down the main (& only) road in Apploosa. Since they were still in the open, though there were no other ponies out at this hour of night, Braeburn decided not to press White further but pointed to each building along the way explaining who lived there or what business it was. After a walk that took less than an hour they arrived at a charmingly rustic wooden house with a bright red apple painted on the door. The apple looked exactly like the one on a certain pony's flank that he berated himself for thinking about a few too many times in their short time knowing one another.
"Here she is! Casa de Braeburn! That's fancy donkey speak for "Braeburn's house" if'n what that burro told me was true."
"It is, I had to take another language as a prerequisite to get into the acad-" White at this point shoved his own hoof into his mouth before he could finish. He did not want to get too close to anypony, he was too afraid of being mocked & losing control again. However Braeburn was not only a gold-medal winning speaker, but also a silver-medalist in listening. The seeds of curiosity had been planted and Brae was not about to let them wither away.
"Academy you say? Where you from that has such fancy schools?" Braeburn asked with his "you will tell me everything I want to know" smile.From this point on White made a mental note not to look directly at Braeburn if you're trying to hide something.
"Canterlot..." White admitted woefully as he tried and failed to resist Braeburn's charm.
"Well ain't that somethin'! never had a pony all the way from Canterlot wanna stay here before. But I'm a stallion o' my word so let's get you inside." He said as he unlocked his home with a key taken from his vest.
"If'n you ever wanna step out late there's a key taped to the back of the inside of the mailbox." He said as he urged White inside. The words confused White, "how long does he expect me to stay here?" White thought to himself. After a moment of similar thoughts he took in his new surroundings. The house was not as glamorous as any of the homes in Canterlot but none of them had ever seemed that much like a home. Now that he was seeing such a cozy warm setting he felt as though he had never been in a house before.
"This feels so much more real than Canterlot apartments." He unknowingly said out loud.
"Well I've never been to Canterlot but i reckon that was a nice compliment." Braeburn said. White immediately blushed turning a pinkish color. Braeburn noted that the blush coming from this mysterious emotionally distant pony was possibly the most adorable thing he had ever seen.However Braeburn stared just a little too long leading them both to renewed redness. After most of the initial awkwardness had passed Braeburn showed White to the guest room. After Braeburn had left the room White quickly deposited all his belongings aside from the cloak in the dresser in the room. White decided that he wanted to see his new hometown as only a creature with wings could. He knocked on the door to Braeburn's bedroom and waited till he heard movement. He said through the door: "I'm going out to see the town for myself, don't bother getting up. I'll be back before sun-up." This statement confused Braeburn as it was past midnight before they arrived at "Casa de Braeburn". "It's much too dark to see anything properly." Braeburn thought to himself. Just as Braeburn was about to push the numerous questions out of his head he remembered he still hadn't seen White without the big black cloak hiding all but the stallion's face. He decided to ask him to do good on their promise before White left so he crept down the stairs slowly in the darkness of his home. He stopped halfway down the stairs when he heard the guest bedroom door open. Strangely enough White avoided every piece of furniture without turning the light on. Braeburn couldn't claim that & this was his home! There was enough moonlight coming through the front room's windows to see White stop in front of the coat-rack.
"Why would he wanna leave his cloak here to traipse around in the the dark when he treated it like his own skin earlier?" Braeburn asked himself silently. His train of thought was quickly derailed when he saw White begin to remove his hood, underneath was obviously some sort of pony head. what Braeburn really took notice of was the ears they were a tad longer than his own and were furrier at the tips. At this point Braeburn merely thought white had a poor self-image because of his ears, but Braeburn noticed that White was now preparing to remove the garb entirely. What he saw when the robe dropped left him speechless, beneath the robe was a glorious ghost white coat of fur whiter than anything Braeburn had ever seen before. It took a moment for Braeburn to notice there was something hanging at his house guest's sides. 
"Wings? Is he a pegasus? We don't got anything other than earth ponies here." Brae thought to himself. As he continued to watch his new friend, White hung the discarded cloak upon the rack and made for the door. Once White was out the door Brae looked out the moonlit window and saw White stretch seemingly preparing for takeoff, as soon as he stopped stretching he unfurled his wings. Braeburn was no bumpkin but he knew that pegasi are suppesed to have feathers, White on the other hand had webbed powerful wings as white as the rest of him. Braeburn could only say one thing as he saw this seemingly alien creature begin to lift into the air: "Beautiful." 
> The Dam Breaks
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

White unaware he had been spied upon by his new friend, was quickly gaining air. White had never been as strong as the other thestrals, but the night sky was his territory and none could best him for speed. Normally he would revel in how clear and crisp the air above his new home was, tonight however his thoughts were just as clouded as the smoggy air in Canterlot. He couldn't get a certain golden earth pony out of his thoughts, not for lack of trying though.
"Why is he so nice to me? Everypony I've ever gotten to know besides Luna has done nothing but hurt me or make things worse." He thought to himself. His thoughts even started to wander into romantic territory eventually (he took a moment to thank the moon that thestrals don't get wing boners or he would drop out of the sky from immobile wings.) Soon enough the sun was starting to peek over the horizon, & not wanting to get sun-burnt he began flying back to his new home & hopefully a sleeping host.
He managed to return before the sun was completely up and gracefully landed a couple yards away from the door. He slowly crept into the ever cheery pony's home hoping not to disturb the most likely sleeping pony, but just as he thought he was safe when the door latched shut he looked in horror at the coat rack to find his cloak missing. He let out a startled gasp and covered his mouth as quickly as possible, but it was obviously too late as just a moment later he heard: "That you White? I'm in here doing the wash, my vest was mighty dirty & I noticed your cloak was a might dirty too from dragging the ground."
"u-um how long till it's dry?" Replied an extremely shaky thestral. 
"Well its still a tad dark out & i just put it on the line before you came in so might be awhile." Said Braeburn with just enough smugness that White would have caught onto, had he not been frozen in panic. After a moment of uncomfortable silence Brae quickly hung up his vest on the line outside & trotted back into the house through the kitchen. When he entered the living room he found nopony there, until he noticed a tufted ear poking out behind the couch. At this point Braeburn felt pretty bad about what he had done to see White without his security blanket of a cloak. He quietly trotted up to the front of the couch & said:
"White, I feel lower than a rattlesnake been run over by a cart. I was watching you last night when you were leaving, & I wanted to see you like that again, in the daylight."
White took several moments to process this alien notion before poking his head over the couch a bit looking at the soft expression on his host's face. It melted some of the barriers he had put up around himself, nopony had ever looked at him like that before except Luna but that had been more of a mix of motherly feelings and guilt.The look upon Braeburn's face assured him that everything would be alright if only for awhile. He slowly walked out from behind his couch-shield and closed his eyes as Brae stared at his undisguised form. A moment passed and White opened his eyes to see Braeburn with a different almost longing expression on his face, complete with an intense blush. At this time Braeburn once again found only one word in his vocabulary: "Beautiful." 
"Whuh?" Was the only reaction White could formulate at this response. Much to both ponies' surprise Braeburn stepped toward White & embraced him. This confused White immensely but he once again felt the stress of everything vanish, but instead of being replaced by burning rage he began filling up with warmth he had never felt before. Thestrals are most comfortable in the cold, but the warmth White was experiencing made him forget that fact.All White could do was cry, but for the first time ever they were tears of happiness from the first real affection he had ever been given. He was already tired when he came home and the newfound warmth of the pony holding him tightly made it easy to drift into slumber.
As White for the first time in memory flew through happy dreams of meadows filled with moonlight, he came upon something he had never dreamed of before. Apple trees, they where absolutely everywhere and inlaid in the bark of the largest of these trees there seemed to be a door marked with a crest he recognized, the royal seal of the moon. He opened the door not knowing what to find. A bright silvery light erupted outward blinding him. When he opened his eyes again he was in a familiar, very blue room. Princess Luna chose this moment to materialize before him, startling him momentarily. He immediately tried to regain his composure to bow to his sovereign but she motioned for him to relax.
"White Night it pleases us greatly to see thine dreams becoming so pleasant and inviting so soon after your trauma, but it makes us wonder how such a change has occurred so swiftly. Your dreams before departing Canterlot were filled with unpleasantness." She stated in a motherly tone.
"I've made a friend your majesty."
Luna seemed to contemplate this answer before she waved her horn through the air cutting space itself.White looked on astonished as the cut grew until he could see the dreamland he had just been in Luna stared at the scene & suddenly she waved her hoof across the cut and it was gone.
"Tell us, what is the significance of the apple orchard surrounding the meadow?" She asked with a raised brow. White honestly hadn't thought too much of the trees until Luna pointed out that they surrounded everything in his dreamland.
"My new friend has an apple for a cutie-mark your highness." He said sheepishly.
"If this friend of yours can effect your dreams so much and undo the wrongs we did unto thee so quickly we think we would like to meet him." Luna said with a warm smile. 
"You want us to come to Canterlot?" White asked nervously.
"Nay White Night we shall visit the upon the morrow's sunset." Luna said noticing White's apprehensiveness at the thought of returning to Canterlot.
"Tomorrow night?" He asked surprised that a princess would set hoof in a nowhere town like Apploosa.
"Do you know how to get to Apploosa your majesty?"
"We have visited the dreams of citizens of the hamlet before and have the location memorized, I will teleport there as my sister lowers the sun. I will raise the moon when I arrive." Luna said
Before White could say anything about this surprise visit the world around him and Luna seemed to fade to blackness.
"Ah, it seems we are out of time White Night enjoy you're night & we shall see thee soon." Luna managed to say as even she faded into the dark.
White awoke on the same couch he had cowered behind earlier covered in a large homemade quilt covered in many different apple themed cutie marks. As he sat up he heard a loud yawn coming from the other side of the room. There in a comfy recliner was a Barely awake Braeburn. 
"Seems we both just slept the day away. Don't worry about it none though I got a couple days off from the orchard still." Said the golden pony wiping the sleep from his eyes.
"So... are you an angel or sumthin?"
At this White was left speechless for an indeterminate period of time. Slowly repairing his now shattered thoughts he said: "Um... no? Aren't angels supposed to have feathery white wings and halos?"
Braeburn thought about this for a moment before facehooving, followed by falling backwards in his chair laughing at his idiotic question. Once he stopped laughing and got some air he smiled and said: "Suppose your right, pardon me, but I've never seen a pony like you before & i wasn't quite sure what to think of you bein' all secretive an' such."
"It's okay. I'm a thestral, we aren't as common as other ponies and most of us never leave Canterlot."
"Why wouldn't you wanna go out see the world?' Braeburn asked with a curious expression on his face.
"We like to be near princess Luna, thestrals see her as their queen because she saved our species a long time ago and stopped a war from breaking out." He explained
"Really? Wouldn't she want you to go out and live the lives she saved? Is that why you're in Apploosa?"
White's fairly bright mood shattered as instantly as the question passed the farm-pony's lips. Braeburn took notice of this and realized he had unintentionally reopened some wounds that were still healing. 
"I'm mighty sorry if I said something to offend." He said softly as he trotted over to his hurt friend wrapping him back under the quilt and holding him close to himself.
"You don't have to say anything if you don't wanna but Brae's here to listen if'n you wanna talk." He said as tears slowly fell from his friend's eyes. After a few moments White began to pour his soul out to the golden pony telling him of why he had left Canterlot behind, & of why he was so ashamed of himself and his appearance, & of more personal things that Braeburn hated to admit he was a little glad to hear. Braeburn put his romantic thought brought on by the news that the beautiful broken creature in his forelegs was of the same orientation aside as White began to talk of his family. White had been abused in every way imaginable growing up, He had run away at 15 & lied about his age to get a job on the other side of Canterlot away from his family. When he got accepted into the academy he moved out of the broken-down apartment he rented with his meager pay and moved into the barracks. He had hoped to start a new life there but Braeburn already knew how that had went.
White eventually grew quiet and soon was once more asleep. It was Braeburn's turn to weep as he realized the poor stallion snuggled into his chest had nothing in the world, but Braeburn swore from that moment on as long as White needed him he would always be by his side.
> Not So Normal Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

White woke up several hours later, he was surprised to find Braeburn snuggling him underneath the oversized quilt from before. White's blush thankfully went unnoticed by the sleeping pony. Upon examining Braeburn he noticed he was without his hat which let White see that he too had been crying. White couldn't help but wonder if Braeburn had been crying for him. White couldn't bring himself to get up and disturb the stallion that he barely knew but already cared for greatly. He proceeded to hold the golden pony as he was being held, however when he put his arms around the stallion he felt a nibble on his ear (thestral ears are extremely sensitive to touch as well as sound). White wanted to smack the sleeping stallion but he had enjoyed the unintentional flirtations far too much to be truly angry.
After another half-hour or so Braeburn began to stir, immediately upon waking he felt himself being embraced by an embarrassed but still clinging thestral. Braeburn to this very day will tell you that this was the most adorable scene he had ever bore witness to.
"So..." Both ponies said at the same time.
...
"I wanted to thank you for... everything that's happened since we met on the train last night." White said looking into Braeburn's beautiful green eyes. 
"Well that's mighty kind of ya but I don't think I've done anythin' worthy of being thanked over. I've been dragging you out of your comfort zone since we met, & i feel terrible about it. I didn't know what you'd been through or anything about ya but I just kept prying you" After Braeburn had finished talking he got up & trotted into the kitchen & out the back door. White was growing more & more worried each second after Braeburn left the house, but before long the thestral's ears picked themselves up at the sound of an opening door and hooves on linoleum. Braeburn trotted up to him wearing a guilty expression and hoofed him the traveler's cloak that had been on the clothesline. 
"It wasn't dirty, I just needed an excuse to see you without it again. I know I told you that but it still weren't right of me to run of with somethin' twern't mine. I'd never seen anything so... beautiful before i couldn't let you hide yourself away like that." As Braeburn spoke his thoughts there was an unmistakable twinkle present in his eyes.
White was again speechless as he realized he had heard the stallion correctly earlier. After his brain rebooted he said: "I nopony's ever told me anything like that before, d-does this mean you're a colt-cuddler too?" White asked the stallion uneasily as he feared the answer would be "no". Braeburn seemed to think for the first time in his life that actions would speak louder than words. He quicklly jumped at the surprised thestral and embraced him and brought him into a kiss that white accepted eagerly as soon as his brain caught up to the rest of him. 
Neither stallion could tell exactly how long the kiss lasted but when it was over words seemed unnecessary. Braeburn motioned to the kitchen to which White merely nodded. As they walked White ahead of Braeburn the latter took this opportunity to stare at the flank he had just held in his hooves, all he could do was smile. When they reached their destination Braeburn took it upon himself to try and find them something to eat, unfortunately being a single stallion most everything he had in the cabinets where ready-made or instant meals. His refrigerator he knew was not much better. White caught on to the stallions distress after he saw the items in the cabinets and decided to bail him out.
"You know what sounds great?" This caught Braeburn's attention. White himself having lived alone for several years assumed he had the only thing White was proficient at making. White trotted up to the fridge and opened up the freezer to find the foodstuff in question.
"Frozen pizza sound alright to you?" White asked with no small amount of smugness in his voice.
"That settles it. He is an angel, who hath delivered unto me cheesy goodness and hot make-outs." Braeburn thought to himself with wonder in his eyes.
"Sounds delightful." He said calmly.
As they waited for the pizza to cook something dawned on White: He had yet to tell his new friend (coltfriend?) of the princess' visit tomorrow night. 
Not knowing how to bring it up he simply said: "What would you think about meeting royalty?"
Braeburn not knowing where he was going with this answered without thinking long on an answer.
"Well, i reckon I'd be a tad nervous if I knew I was going to be in the company of royalty." As he said this he grew curious at his guest's seemingly guilty expression.
"Brae (White slipped that in hoping he wouldn't mind him shortening his name) I need to tell you something."
While Braeburn thought having him use a shortened version of his name was good progress toward their relationship he was a tad worried by the hesitant tone in his (maybe) coltfriend's voice.
"Theprincessiscomingtomeetyoutomorrowatsundown." White blurted hurriedly. Braeburn was actually slightly relieved when he heard this.
"Oh thank Celestia! For a second I thought you were going to tell me that you were some kinda prince and you didn't wanna be my coltfriend because I'm a common earth pony." Braeburn said as he wiped sweat off his brow.
"Wait... you really wanna be my coltfriend?" White asked with a look in his eyes so cute Braeburn had to stop himself from dropping to the floor clutching his chest going "HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGG" 
"Of course I do! Wait... Princess... Coming... My house?" Braeburn's eyes seemed larger than dinner plates at this point. Then he bolted to a small closet underneath the stairs and retrieved more cleaning implements than White had ever seen at one time. He then viciously began scrubbing the already pristine hardwood floors. This all took a matter of seconds & white was unsure he could have moved that fast with the aid of his wings. White then decided to try and snap his coltfriend (*Squee*) out of his sudden outburst of cleanliness. 
"Braeburn?" 
Nothing. White everything from shouting at him to waving his flank in his face (Having this particular method fail caused a particularly large blow to his new-found self-esteem. After several more attempts he decided it was impossible to distract him from his quest to sanitize the house before the arrival of the princess of the night. He then remembered the pizza in the oven. White found a couple of oven mitts and removed it from the oven and turned of the heat. The very second he turned around to search for a pizza-cutter he heard a rush of hooves, Braeburn was sitting at the table with a plate as if he had been there the whole time.
"Really? I wave my flank in your face and pizza is what grabs your attention?" White said vaguely angry.
"Ya did what now?" Braeburn asked with a raised brow & a evil grin on his face.
"N-nothing! I mean... I was just worried you didn't like how I look..." 
Braeburn could tell that even if White was doing much better than he had been his self-esteem still needed work. Braeburn's solution was to get up and kiss White just as they had before. After they broke the kiss they decided the pizza was still needing eaten. After they finished eating Brae was less enthusiastic with his cleaning and White even used his wings to get to the cobwebs in the corners of the rooms. After several hours of cleaning the two stallions decided it would be a good idea to get some rest as it was already early morning of the day of the visit.
The stallions decided that since things were already going differently in their relationship as they had moved in together, then kissed, and were about to have a visit from what was essentially White's closest thing to a maternal figure, that they would go ahead and sleep in the same bed. In the case of somepony feeling frisky, they were to be forced to sleep on the living room sofa. They both fell asleep holding each other in Braeburn's bed.
They woke up several hours later, & though it felt like morning it was early afternoon. They agreed to spend the time they had until their fateful visit from the. princess getting to know one another. They talked about their likes & dislikes and hobbies. They both were surprised to find that this was the first real relationship either of them had been in. After awhile Braeburn began to feel cold so White grabbed the large quilt and threw it over them. White still wanted to know more about the golden stallion so he asked innocently: "What's with the enormous cutie-mark quilt anyway?"
This question seemed innocent enough but Braeburn's ever cheery outlook seemed to dim considerably.
"It was a gift from my granny. The quilt has every cutie-mark of all the apple family members up until it was given to me. Every year at the family reunion we add more to it. normally we'd just keep adding & adding but..."
"If it's too hard to talk about you don't need to say anymore."
"The reason they gave me the quilt is because I haven't attended a reunion since my father, Bismarck & my mother, Brina died in a fire on the family farm outside Whinnypeg a few years ago. I had already moved here to Apploosa help plant the orchard. I didn't find out for several months because there were no train tracks out here yet or even a post office. I never got a chance to come out to them. Or say goodbye even. They sent my cousin AppleJack here with the quilt a few months ago."
White noticed Braeburn eying three cutie-marks positioned in a row, a slightly lumpy redish-purple apple, a bright red apple with yellow streaking and speckles, and the one that caught White's eye the most was the one identical to Braeburn's.
"I'm sorry I brought it up, I didn't know you'd lost your parents." 
Braeburn's expression lightened a bit as he looked at his coltfriend. He leaned over & pecked White on the cheek and pulled him into a hug. He quietly said: "It's alright neither of us are alone anymore & maybe we can catch the next reunion, I'm sure my family would like you."
"Really? I-I've never really felt like a had a family before. Do you think they'll accept... us?" White asked uncertainly.
"Us Apples stick together, I just let myself forget that." Braeburn said as he pulled his "angel" into another kiss. Lost in their own little world populated by only them, they failed to notice the shimmer in the air that indicated long distance teleportation. As the sun sank lower beneath the horizon the shimmer grew brighter until a blinding flash broke the concentration of the stallions on the couch. Neither being familiar with magic, they held each other tight in fear until the light had dimmed and the princess of the night stood before them. 
The silence between the cuddled colts and the lunar princess was later nominated for most awkward moment of the century. 
"we apologize for our earliness it would seem we are interrupting something." Luna said while trying to put on a convincing smile. At this point Braeburn looked back to his coltfriend as he was unsure what to do. This was of little help as it seemed White had fainted at the moment they were discovered.
"Horsefeathers!" was all Braeburn had to say to this.
> It Went Better Than Expected
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Braeburn carefully placed white in his recliner he offered the entire couch to Luna as she was a tad larger than he. When Braeburn had settled on the floor & Luna on the sofa the awkwardness resumed while they waited for their common link to regain consciousness. This continued for several minutes until Luna remembered an age old ice-breaking technique the royal sisters often employed when confronting foreign diplomats. 
...
"Would you like to get wasted?" Luna asked completely straight-faced.
"Oh Faust yes!" Braeburn replied quickly, & just like that the beast of awkwardness had been slain. Braeburn took off to the kitchen to retrieve every drop of liquor he owned, while he did this Luna took a moment to properly position the moon and magically send her sister a letter saying: 
Dear, Tia

Getting smashed, please lower the moon at the appropriate time as we will most likely be too hungover to do so & neither of us want us to try when I'm like that. I still miss Atlantis, the beaches there were so beautiful.

Love, LuLu

P.S. Our pony White Night got a coltfriend before thine own Twilight Sparkle so you owe us 100 bits.

Rumor has it that the stream of curse-words coming from the castle filled the royal swear jar (AKA The national Equestrian Treasury).
Braeburn returned with bottles of all shapes, sizes, & colors much to Luna's delight. Braeburn himself chose a bottle of hard cider while Luna was already half through her second bottle of AppleJack. Braeburn chose not to question this as anypony that could could also likely cripple you for criticizing their drinking habits. Though after an hour or so it became apparent that Luna's immortal body could handle it, however she was quickly depleting Braeburn's stash of booze in her attempts to keep herself intoxicated. Braeburn decided in his judgement impaired state that perhaps she just needed something stronger. He got up and quickly went to retrieve something his friend Hayseed had given him awhile back.
"Princess why doncha try this here, it's a touch stronger than anything else I got." Braeburn said as he presented her with an unmarked bottle of clear liquid.
"Is this vodka?" She asked 
"No ma'am this here is what us country-folk call moonshine."
Luna, intrigued by the strange beverage took a mighty swig before Braeburn could stop her.
...
"By mother's Mane! This is the greatest thing we have ever drank! Why have we not heard of this spirit before, golden one?" 
"My name is Braeburn your majesty & well, Moonshine ain't exactly commercially produced in Equestria." 
Not catching his meaning in the slightest Luna downed the bottle and stated:
"We shall most definitely rectify this when we return to Canterlot." 
Braeburn chose this moment to down the bottle of cider he had been nursing. Luna thought nothing of this but thought it time to enact phase 2 of her master plan, gossip & tell stories about White while he was passed out. Braeburn was quite pleased when she wanted to start talking about his "angel" (a nickname neither he or Luna would let him live down for years to come). They talked of their new relationship as well as White's insecurities & how they thought they could help him. They even eventually talked about Braeburn himself and his past. About an hour after the conversation picked up White began to awaken.
"Buh... Brae? I had the weirdest drea-" White stopped as he saw the princess and his coltfriend chatting happily with the former surrounded by various empty liquor bottles. He breathed a deep sigh of relief that his dream was real but had turned out pretty well apparently (aside from him losing consciousness for 2 & 1/2 hours). The drinkers turned to him and smiled warmly at him as he approached. 
"I see Luna has drug yet another pony into her life of high-functioning alcohol dependency." White said sarcastically.
"We do not know the meaning of these modern words you speak." Luna said trying to feign ignorance. This caused the tipsy stallion beside her to giggle uncontrollably. White submitted to peer pressure of the best kind & started searching for a bottle that would strike his fancy, At this his inebriated companion & the princess cheered until the dark alicorn fell off of the sofa. This got White laughing too and the cycle continued. White settled on a hard cider though he preferred fancier drinks. Luna who was sobering up quickly remembered this from White's memories and saw him looking disappointingly at his cider. Luna without warning lit her horn & in an instant the three had vanished from the house & reappeared in an upscale looking bar. The patrons of the bar noticed the new arrivals but as soon as they saw Luna they all shrugged it off as a common occurrence. White sighed loudly but offered up no complaints. Braeburn on the other hoof was now entirely sober and & rather confused. 
"What just happened? Where are we?" He asked staring at white nervously. 
"Luna knows I'm into more "froo froo" drinks and we were running out of liquor so she teleported us to her favorite bar. "The Lunar Eclipse" she took me here all the time when she was trying to cheer me up." White said as he cast an annoyed glance at the princess in question who was already ordering them drinks. Braeburn was visibly calmer as he seated himself on the bar stool next to the one White was now occupying. Their drinks arrived soon after they had settled in, Luna was having a Caribou, White a Fuzzy Navel (his favorite), and Braeburn Luna had of course given an Appletini.
Braeburn had never really been one for mixed drinks but the stuff here was great & he sucked down more than his fair share of appletinis. White stuck mostly to his fuzzy navels but had enjoyed the Orange Whip Luna had recommended. The goddess herself had consumed enough alcohol to kill a herd of elephants but was still none the worse off & yet again sobering up. All the while he was cursing her unbeatable liver & kidneys. The stallions gave up drinking long before Luna but continued to chat & flirt with one another which Luna was thrilled about but still intent to answer the age old question "How much Absinthe does it take to drop an immortal?".
As dawn crept up on them Luna lost her battle with herself once more and teleported them back to Braeburn's home. Luna used her magic to clean up all the bottles littering the floor before bidding the stallions good morning and taking off before the blowback from processing literal gallons of ethanol rendered her temporarily catatonic. She assured them it would only last a few moments & she would wake up with a headache that would render her unable to use magic properly. White knew this from experience and reassured Brae that "She had had worse." The stallions themselves retired to bed to get some much needed rest.
They slept until the next morning when Braeburn's alarm clock forced them to awaken. Luckily they had slept through the immense hangovers they had earned. They ate a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs & apple juice. They made small-talk as any couple would but eventually Braeburn said: Now I know the last few days have been great but i gotta get back to work on the orchard at the edge of town. I'd like to introduce you to my friends later on too if'n you wouldn't mind coming into town with me." 
White's expression saddened a bit when Braeburn mentioned having to go to work. When he mentioned meeting his friends White had officially begun to panic. He had never really formed a bond with anypony other than the princess & Braeburn. Nopony had ever even tried to interact with him except for those who wanted to ridicule him, or Braeburn. 
"I've never really tried to make any friends myself, have I?" White silently asked himself. He hated to admit it but going into town seemed like the best option for meeting people. 
"Alright I suppose I could use some help with my social life. When do we need to go in?" White asked begrudgingly.
Breaburn quickly looked to the wall-clock in their kitchen and said: 
"About five minutes ago, You took a little longer to convince than I had planned." 
White's face reddened in embarrassment before he said: "You're terrible you know that?"
"Well not all of us can be angels ya know?" He said with the smuggest grin White had ever seen. White groaned and double-facehooved Before sighing and saying: "Let's just go."
With that they hurried out the door and trotted toward the town in the distance. 
> Out & About
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Braeburn walked up to the office at the entrance to the orchard with White at his side. Brae punched his time card in & turned to White giving him a quick kiss before he motioned for him to follow him back out toward the orchard proper. White hadn't actually walked through the town with Braeburn, White convinced his coltfriend to let him fly far above as they progressed toward the orchard. He landed as soon as he thought they were close enough to their destination that he wouldn't be seen. White had never seen so many trees before now, & hanging from the branches of each tree were countless apples much like the one adorning the flank he wasted no opportunity to stare at. He noticed that each tree had several baskets around it, this confused him until he saw Brae turn on his forelegs and deliver a powerful buck to the tree behind him. All the apples from the tree fell neatly into the baskets.
"Care to give it a go?" Asked Braeburn, who then motioned to a tree yet bucked. White not wanting to seem weak in front of his companion took up the challenge. White copied Braeburn's motions with the grace of a master, however only one worm-eaten apple dropped to the ground completely missing the baskets.
...
"Well it's obviously not for everypony, but you looked right fierce trying if you want my opinion." Braeburn said in a semi-sultry tone. It did little to help White's already crippled ego but still painted a smile upon the thestral's face.
"How about i just sit under a tree & let the professional take care of it?" 
"Well i reckon you could do that, or you could go introduce yerself to my boss in the office & maybe the secretary too if'n you feel brave enough." Braeburn said with a hopeful smile that was not lost on his companion. At this White could only sigh and nod before he began to walk off to the office. He soon found himself back in the office where Brae had punched his time card less than ten minutes ago. He headed down the hall and turned the corner to find a light-orange mare with a poofy pink mane sitting behind a desk. Her name placard read "Mrs. Peachy Keen", she was busy with some sort of form & had yet to notice his presence. He lightly knocked on the wall of the office to garner her attention. Her head immediately shot up & after a moment examining him she smiled & said: 
"well hello there! Are you here to see Upper Management?" The odd question left White a little confused but he didn't dwell on it. 
"Actually I'm White Night & I'm new in town & Braeburn said he'd like me to meet his coworkers." He said trying to keep his composure before the new pony.
"I see, well it's not often we get somepony moving all the way out here of all places. I'm not surprised Braeburn already got to you he always greets everypony new to town even if they're just visitting. I don't recall seeing any construction recently, where are you staying?" She asked in her sweet, nearly sing-song voice. 
"Um... well you see... I'm going to be living with Braeburn. I-I'm his coltfriend." White said, suddenly feeling much smaller than he already was. At this point Mrs. Peachy Keen got up from behind her desk & trotted right in front of a very nervous White. White was to panic-stricken at this action to notice her expression was one of joy instead of anger. He didn't snap out of his trance until she embraced him in a bone-crushing hug & said: 
"Oooooooh I'm so glad you found each other, Braeburn has been so down lately! You treat that poor stallion right you hear me?" 
"Y-yes ma'am... ma'am... I can't breathe." White struggled to say through her monstrous hug. This got him dropped  onto the floor promptly, as he was finally able to breathe again he pondered the mare's words.
"So you knew Braeburn was gay?" He asked genuinely surprised.
"Well not for certain but it wasn't to hard to pick up on. I didn't peg Braeburn as one to go after pegasi though." 
"I-I'm not a pegasus ma'am I'm a thestral." He corrected her.
"Oh, like princess Luna's guard? I'd seen pictures of them since her return but I thought that all of you were a blue-gray color?" 
"normally we are but I'm an albino so I look like this." He said with sadness noticeably returning a bit. But before she could apologize the door on the other side of the room swung open revealing an abnormally burly chocolate brown stallion with a dark chocolate colored mane who said: 
"Peach I need you to call the Flim Flam Bros. & tell them to stick their "proposal" for us to buy automatic apple pickers up each of their skinny fla- ..." At this point the stallion noticed the white stallion standing next to his secretary shielding himself with has unusual wings.
"Who's the pegasus?" The stallion asked his secretary. 
"This is White Night he's new in town." Peach informed her boss who White learned was in fact named Upper Management from a name-tag attached to his work shirt.
"Is he looking for work? We are a tad short handed when it comes to collection." 
"No sir, it seems he & Braeburn are an item & he's here to say hello to us." Peach stated happily. However at this news Upper Management's expression grew more serious & he leaned in close to White & asked:
"Is this true little stallion?"
All white could do was nod shakily. To which the massive stallion immediately softened & White was swept up into a hug that could reduce diamonds to dust.
"Good, good, Braeburn always works better when he's happy! I can get more work for the same wage now!" The Stallion bellowed happily. He then unceremoniously dropped a very sore White flat on his flank. He then returned to barking orders at his secretary while shooing White out the door. White knew the introductions could have been worse so he took the strange events as a personal victory.
As he trotted back to the orchard proper he spotted Baeburn hard at work while speaking to an orange creature a bit shorter than him that had a curly mane adorned with a feather. White realized this must be a buffalo, the stallion at the train station had told him that Apploosa was very near buffalo lands. Confident that it was safe to approach with Braeburn being there he trotted up garnering a smile from his stallion. 
"Hey White this is one of my friends, her name is Little StrongHeart she's the daughter of the chief of her tribe." Braeburn said.
"Hello, White. Braeburn has told me much of you since my arrival today. I have never met a thestral before. It is a pleasure to meet one who has made my friend so happy." StrongHeart said with a warm smile. At this point Braeburn's face was in full blush (a phenomenon White would often try to replicate).
"Well thank you, I've never met a buffalo either. I'd be glad to be your friend but please don't hug me, ok?" To this statement Brae & StrongHeart both chuckled heartily as they told him of their own first encounters with Mrs. Peach & her monolithic boss. All three of them shared a laugh at one-another's misfortune though White still ached whenever he laughed. Soon time passed and Brae & StrongHeart returned to bucking trees while White laid under the now barren tree he had originally tried to kick as to avoid the sun's rays for awhile.
After several hours of endless tree kicking Braeburn's workday was over & they could escape the monotony of the orchard. White didn't feel the need to fly up to avoid the public eye anymore, so long as he was with the beautiful stetson-wearer beside him.Braeburn even stopped to introduce White to some of the ponies they passed on their way including the town sheriff. They had reached there destination before long, the only restaurant in town. The building was plain like most of the town but the large sign over the door that read: "The Golden Trough" made it stand out a bit. Before they could enter White began doubting himself again as he had never been one for public places full of ponies. White only ever went to a small rundown all-night diner when few ponies would be awake when he had lived in Canterlot. Braeburn felt a featherless wing stretch over his barrel as he was pulled towards White's side. He noticed the thestral in question was staring at the restaurant's door like it was going to grow teeth and devour him. Brae knew his angel was not one for anything public but this new apprehension coupled with the wing-grab (which Braeburn would not object to, because he enjoyed the public display of affection) told him that this would be a big deal. So Braeburn did literally the only thing he could think of, he kissed White there on the doorstep. White was caught off guard but his instincts soon took over & his both his wings draped over Braeburn's back pulling him into a tight embrace with the now care-free thestral. After a moment (or 5) of bliss they looked into each other's eyes White's pale pink slitted eyes reflected in Braeburn's big luscious green eyes. Braeburn took no small amount of willpower to break the silence, he said: 
"We should probably go inside now, don'cha think?"
...
"Can i keep a wing over you till we sit down?" White asked with the best puppy-dog eyes he could muster with slitted pupils. Though they seemed to work wonderfully.
"Course you can, now let's go before I starve 10 feet away from dinner." With that the couple entered the building side by side.
White was no expert on fine dining but "The Golden Trough" seemed like a large bar more than an eatery. The bar stretched the length of the wall to their left, aside from the numerous stools there were three  round tables that could seat 4 comfortably. There were various dated photos lining the walls, this revealed to White that the town was only about 5 years old. White noticed Braeburn & several other ponies he had met doing various tasks in the photos. In a far corner opposite the bar was a large jukebox playing a strange song saying something about diamond dogs. All in all White was extremely relieved that the "restaurant" was not much more than a glorified tavern. He & Brae took up 2 stools at the center of the bar. The bartender, White was surprised to see was a unicorn dressed in bar tending clothes you might see in an old film. He noticed the pair & promptly trotted over.
"Evening Braeburn, who's the pale guy?" The bartender said.
"This is White, he's always pale. He's my coltfriend, you'll be seein' lots of him from now on. He's staying with me up at the house." Brae replied.
The bartender looked at them both with a confused expression for a moment before saying: 
"You work pretty fast Brae, you took a train ride back to Whinnypeg single less than a week ago & came back with a stallion in tow? Didn't think that was a social visit but who am I to judge."
At this both White & Brae both blushed a bit before White spoke up: 
"A-actually I'm from Canterlot, we met on the train here." 
Braeburn wanting to shield his angel from further personal question changed the subject as fast as he could.
"I'd love to catch up sometime but I've been in the orchard all day & I'm a might peckish. I'd like a salad & some hayfries with cheese-dip. White?"
"I think I'll just have the same please." Said the thestral, grateful to his companion for the topic switch. This seemed to also switch the barkeep into business mode immediately as he wrote down their orders the second the words had left their mouths. He proceeded to place them on a windowsill that opened into what white assumed was a kitchen, an unknown set of hooves swept up the paper & various sounds could be heard.
"What can I get you to drink gentlecolts?" the bartender asked as he turned back to them.
"I'll just take my usual cider." Braeburn said, garnering a nod.
"What about you?" He said looking at White. 
"Do you know how to make a fuzzy navel?" White asked. 
As soon as the words left his lips the barkeep & Braeburn both looked at him with expressions only describable as indescribable. Then they proceeded to bust out laughing much to White's confusion. After a good minute or 2 they calmed down & the bartender said:
"My apologies for not introducing myself, my name & specialty are both Fuzzy Navel."
"Oh... heh it's alright I just wasn't sure what to make of the looks i got." White said blushing greatly.
"I'll have those right out to ya." Fuzzy stated as he began getting their drinks. While he worked he said: 
"You know I think I like you 2 as a couple, Your guy here as impeccable taste in drinks Brae." This lead to another round of blushes. As White & Braeburn chatted their drinks & food came & everything was good. Eventually more ponies started to enter The Trough for drinks and small-talk with their friends & neighbors, even a buffalo couple came in for a quick drink. White had already met many of the ponies & grew to realize the town really was as isolated and sparsely populated as he had been lead to believe. This, combined with the liquid courage he had been consuming let him relax as the ponies here were all generally accepting of him thanks to everypony's mutual friend Braeburn. After a night of more socializing than White had done in his lifetime the stallions headed home at a reasonable hour to keep up with Brae's early-hour schedule. 
	
> Winter is coming.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Several weeks passed & the couple had grown stronger each day they spent with one another. It started to get chilly so White used a few of his many bits from Luna to buy himself a new outfit that Braeburn described as: "Flippin' adorable." much to White's chagrin. But White couldn't hate the attention so kept it. For the first couple weeks White had nothing to do until Fuzzy told them he was moving to Canterlot where more ponies appreciated his drink-making skills & asked for more than hard cider. White trained with fuzzy until the move & was now tending bar at The Trough in his stead, When he worked days he merely had to take orders & clean tables which wasn't really to his liking, but he truly shined during the night-shifts were he could show off his new found skills whenever somepony wanted a complicated drink. Braeburn made it a habit to stop by after work every day for a drink to have an excuse to spend more time together.
Eventually it became the off season for the apple-buckers of the small town. Braeburn didn't particularly mind not having a steady gig since the two were financially stable thanks to White's & Braeburn's savings going largely untouched in the bank, coupled with small, but steady income. Thanks to being the new barkeep White became a part of the town before he knew it.Nearly everypony supported Braeburn's newfound love & those that didn't wouldn't say anything because The Trough was the only place in town to get alcohol. 
Eventually December rolled around the corner prompting Braeburn to ask: "Did You have any ideas as to what we should do for Hearth's Warming? It is our first together ya know." 
White nearly spilled the drink he was mixing as he had been dreading this question since mid-November.
"Actually I've been meaning to talk to you about that." He said guiltily.
"Somethin' the matter Angel?" Braeburn asked with a worried tone. While White passed a mare at the bar her drink.
"Well... thestrals don't really celebrate the Hearth's Warming." White said with a down-trodden tone. 
...
Everypony within earshot of the 2 stallion's conversation grabbed their food & drink & found seats elsewhere as this was sure to be an emotional conversation they didn't want to be caught up in. Braeburn was greatly confused by White's words, everypony he had ever known had celebrated Hearth's Warming day. It was the biggest day of the year in Equestria, not celebrating it was unheard of.
"What?" Was all Braeburn could get his mouth to produce. White sighed at this & said: 
"Look I definitely want to spend the day of with you but this time of year is different for thestrals ok? Can we talk about this when we get home?" All Braeburn could do was nod & watch White get back to work. About an hour later the stallions were walking home in the first snow of the year( it was unplanned as Apploosa has only one winged resident & white has no weather control training). The walk was uncomfortably quiet, as neither stallion had much idea as of what to say. When they got home as soon as they turned on the lights they were greeted by an enormous present wider & taller than either of them, it was covered in midnight-blue wrapping paper printed with extremely detailed snowflakes. The whole thing was tied in deep purple ribbon that was most likely real lace. It seemed almost too beautiful to open. But both stallions thanked Faust silently that their uncomfortable conversation was put off for the moment.
"Should we open it?" Asked White.
"I reckon that's why it's here." Braeburn answered. It fell upon White to open it as neither of them could reach to undo the ribbon, but White used his wings to hover up and delicately untie the beautiful topper. As soon as White did this the entire present exploded into a haze of purple smoke and confetti cut to look like holiday items. White's wings folded to his sides from fright and he fell to the floor, As soon as he landed & the smoke had cleared White saw the princess of the night standing before him wearing an ugly holiday sweater & santa pony hat. 
"Greetings to you our dear friends! The princess of the night comes bearing wonderful news!" She bellowed out in the royal Canterlot voice, blowing Braeburn's hat off his head. Both stallions were completely speechless. Luna took this as a sign that she should continue in a softer tone.
"We are bringing you to the spend the holidays with us & our sister this year as neither of thee has immediate family." she stated matter-o-factly.
"We'd be honored Luna but..." White said unsure of how to finish.
"Then thou already has plans?" Luna asked with her head drooping considerably.
"Well... No..." Braeburn said not wanting to lie to his friend/royalty. At which Luna visibly brightened.
"Then it is settled!" Luna said while lighting her horn.
Before either of the stallions could offer so much as a word of protest they were already gone. They appeared in an extravagant guest room in Canterlot castle. White regained his composure quickly as Luna had teleported him many times during his stay with her. He noticed that it was much like the room he had met Luna in on that fateful day. This room however was a bit larger with a grand balcony that gave a view of the entirety of Canterlot. The room itself had a bed fit for a princess in both size & quality. several bookshelves lined the walls. There was even a bathroom larger than the kitchen of their own home attached to the room. As was traditional with everything in Luna's half of the castle the entire room was various shades & hues of blue and purple.
Braeburn recovered slightly faster than the last time he had been teleported & he too began taking in their surroundings. The country stallion had never been in such a luxurious room before. Renting this room would probably cost several times the value of their house per day.
"We welcome to your quarters for the time being my little ponies. We hope you will find them to your liking, Our own rooms are across the hall from this one. Should you need anything there will be a servant in the hall at all times. We invite you to join us in the dining hall on the morrow for breakfast. The servant will show you the way. We would like nothing more than to catch up with you but we hath wasted much time standing in a box waiting for thee." Luna said & then turned to leave them but was interrupted when white asked: 
"What about our friends & my job?" 
"Ah yes we mailed letters telling the townsfolk that you would be absent for the holidays & sent your employer sufficient funds to hire a substitution while you are away. Everything was arranged one week before today. Being a diarch (god-ruler) has its advantages, you were the last to know of the surprise." At this White gaped for a few seconds before hanging his head and sighing.    
Luna taking this time to leave stepped out to attend to her duties. Braeburn moved closer to his angel & embraced him as he knew Canterlot was a major trigger for White's anxiety. White accepted the hug gratefully though his expression was still rather sullen. They broke their hold on each other & made their way to the magnificent bed where they lay together & soon fell asleep. They would need their rest as tomorrow there was much to talk about.
> Last Minute Shopping 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

White awoke long before Braeburn and decided to take a shower and try to relax his frayed nerves. It did little to help so he decided to take a seat at the desk at the opposite side of the room from the bed. He couldn't do anything too loud for fear of waking Braeburn, so he settled on one of the many books upon the room's shelves. "The Magical Flora & Fauna of Equestria", the book offered no relief either. He ended up putting the book away after nearly falling asleep again.
After an hour & a half Braeburn awoke alone in bed for the first time in quite awhile, It wasn't an experience he wanted to repeat if he could help it. He found his angel drooping his head over the desk across the room. As not to alert him Braeburn stepped as carefully as he could until he was directly behind him. He slid his forelegs around his stallion's neck gently embracing him from behind. For several moments things were quiet until White broke the silence.
"I'm sorry I put off talking to you about the holidays until now, but I didn't know how you'd react to the news so I just kept putting it off. I understand if you're angry with me."
"I'm not angry just confused, why wouldn't you celebrate the founding of Equestria?" Braeburn asked in a soft tone. White let out another sigh in an attempt to gather himself.
"Hearth's Warming isn't just about that, it's mainly about the union of earth ponies, pegasi, & unicorns. Thestrals already lived here when the other tribes came from their homeland. After they beat the Windigoes they saught out other monsters to be gotten rid of so they could build their country together. Thestrals are usually bigger & stronger than I am with glowing yellow eyes and dark dragon-like wings. Thestrals originally lived in dark places & only came out at night, we were persecuted as monsters and driven out into the mountains at the border or were killed. Equestrians thought we were extinct for 300 years until they snooped around in the mountains. The fighting started again but this time the royal sisters had been born, Luna silenced the tribes with nothing but her voice and everypony watched as she moved the moon as a display of power. Thestrals had always worshiped the moon, seeing her save them from extinction & move it like nothing they all swore oaths to her alone. We eventually integrated into Equestria but neither side trusted the other for centuries & there are still only a few thousand of us today do to low birth rates."
Braeburn was dumbstruck, large dark, but important chunks of Equestrian history were completely missing from record. He was ashamed to say he was glad he couldn't see the down trodden look on his partner's face. He didn't have anything to say other than:
"I didn't know." At this White broke their  awkward embrace & replaced it with a proper one.
"It's alright it happened nearly 2000 years ago, but I don't know if I can celebrate Hearth's Warming like you, but I don't want to ruin it for you." This got Braeburn thinking.
"Is there a holiday thestrals celebrate this time of year?" He asked hopefully.
"We celebrate the New Moon Night on the 1st of January, it's basically a big feast to be with loved ones to talk about plans for the new year & make set goals to be achieved by the next year." White also went on to explain that his family had never let him participate in any of the feasts before he had run away from home. This further soured Braeburn's opinion of White's parents & increased his sympathy for the stallion. 
"Why don't we celebrate both?" Braeburn asked innocently?
"IT SHALL BE DONE!" Yelled the princess of the night who had until now gone unnoticed by the cuddling stallions who were promptly blown backwards by Luna's enthusiasm. 
"We hath not celebrated the feast of New Moon Night for over a thousand years! I shall inform Tia of this development post-haste."
...
"Luna, what are you doing in our room?" Asked a very confused White.
"It is nearly breakfast time & we had hoped you would accompany us to the dining hall. We did not wish to interrupt such a heart-felt scene, It reminded us of our sister's "soap opera" programs. Now come breakfast waits for nopony when Tia has first dibs."
The stallions decided not to question this as their problem had seemingly been solved by an eavesdropping goddess. As the three walked down the hallways of Canterlot castle they stayed mostly silent, but the stallions fell back to walk side by side so White could do the wing-cuddle Braeburn was so fond of. Luna took notice of this & smiled as an idea formed in her head.
A few minutes later the trio arrived in the main dining hall. White had been here before & was not surprised by the majesty of the room. Braeburn on the other hoof was feeling insecure as the room was at least twice as large & high as their home. White noticed Braeburn's expression & used his hoof to close his coltfriend's gaping jaw. This calmed Braeburn until he noticed the occupant at the far end of the table: Princess Celestia, who at this point noticed their presence.
"White, so good to see you again. Is this the stallion you've become involved with recently?" The solar princess asked.
"Yes Celestia this is Braeburn Apple, & as always it's good to see you too." answered White calmly, causing Braeburn to gaze between the princess and his coltfiend. Celestia merely rolled her eyes as she was used to the star-struck reaction from ponies. She decided to see if she could get him to speak.
"Are you familiar with the element of honesty Braeburn?"
Hearing the princess speak his name immediately refocused his attention. 
"Y-yes Your highness she's my first cousin, though the last time we talked on decent terms was 3 years ago when she delivered an apple tree to Apploosa to help start our orchard."
Celestia wondered why he had said "on decent terms" but decided to merely get the information from Luna or White Later. Instead she merely smiled & said: 
"Well if you're family of an element & involved with the stallion my sister treats like family I have no objections to you staying with us for the Hearth's Warming. Now please be seated breakfast is getting cold." With that Luna took up the other vacant seat at the table's head next to Celestia while White took a seat to Luna's left. Braeburn unsure of where to sit took up the spot next to White. As soon as everypony was seated Braeburn turned his attention to the menagerie of foods upon the table. Everypony else had already started filling their own plate even the usually nervous White was chatting with Celestia as they filled there plates as if this were an everyday occurrence. Braeburn quickly remembered that White had lived here for a little over 2 months while recovering from his accident with Luna. Braeburn reasoned that if his meek little angel was so carefree that he could afford to lighten up.
Soon everypony was chatting up a storm while eating until White asked the princesses: 
"Shouldn't Princess Cadance & Prince Blueblood be here with you for the holidays?"
Celestia & Luna answered:
"Cadance is spending the holiday with her husband & princess Twilight & the rest of the sparkle family in the Crystal Empire." 
"And buck Blueblood." Luna added.
"To Tartarus & back." Celestia stated calmly. White seemed pleased with this answer, but Braeburn was a little surprised to hear it but decided to ignore it. Luna picked the conversation back up:
"This reminds us Tia, we will be reviving the traditional New Moon Night banquets  which the stallions will also be staying for. Celestia sighed at this but nodded her approval. 
"What is the matter Tia? You always enjoyed our banquets a millennium ago." Luna asked her less-than cheery sibling.
"I still haven't fulfilled my goal from the last banquet a thousand years ago."
Luna seemed to think on this for a moment before failing to hold back a fit of giggles.
"Thou still hast not lost any weight or given up your "Midnight snack" of an entire chocolate ca-" Luna was cut off by a large armored hoof being shoved in her mouth. After removing her hoof Celestia stated: 
"We will hold the banquet but you will pay for it from your half of the treasury, & you will need to plan the event yourself as thestral tradition has always been kept orally. As such the traditions you learned from the thestrals a millennium ago will be the least corrupt."
"Agreed, It shall be held here in the grand dining hall at the stroke of midnight on the 1st of the new year, White Night & Braeburn will have a special have a special place among our table for providing the inspiration to revive the holiday." This last comment made White a bit nervous but he felt very happy none the less. 
After breakfast White & Braeburn decided that since they were going to celebrate the New Moon Night, they would also celebrate the Hearth's warming, but only for the sake of themselves being together. However now that they had a definite plan for the Holidays, the harsh reality that they had little time to get each other gifts as Hearth's Warming eve was tomorrow. The two decided to take whatever bits they had & that would be their individual spending limit. Braeburn surprisingly enough, had 136 bits tucked away in his vest. White had 113 with him. Braeburn decided it would be a good idea to shower as he had not done so since before work the previous day because Luna had whisked them away. When He exited the bathroom he saw White, but there was something... different about his attire. Noticing Braeburn's confused stare he explained: 
"Since we're going out into Canterlot to go shopping I asked Luna to magic my clothes to look more like a noble-pony's. I wouldn't recommend it. She says they'll return to normal by morning." Braeburn tried to withhold the smile creeping up on him but to no avail. 
"Yeah, Yeah, laugh it up. Lets just get ready to go get Luna So we can leave." White said as he trotted toward the door to find Luna waiting in the hall. Luna  lit her horn & teleported them into an alleyway in downtown Canterlot. The couple shared a quick kiss & seperated. Luna was going with White so the multitude of strange ponies wouldn't trigger a panic attack while he searched for Braeburn's gift. 
Braeburn tried & failed to find a gift in the first 6 stores he tried, nothing he found felt special enough for his angel. However he eventually found a store selling silver flasks. Braeburn liked the flask he found for 80 bits but it didn't seem personal enough. Braeburn noticed that there was a sign stating that inscriptions, engravings and enchantments could be placed on the flasks for a few extra bits. Braeburn haggled & begged with the unicorn behind the counter until he had what he wanted. He left the store with only one bit left in his pouch, which he gave to the mare collecting for charity outside the store. Braeburn tucked the box containing his gift into the pocket where his hard-earned bits had once been. 
Braeburn was the first to return to the alley the where to meet back at when finished shopping. 20 minutes later the snow-white thestral & the dark princess returned. White held a circular box under one wing & a square box beneath the other. Braeburn was curious but resisted the temptation to ask why his coltfriend carried 2 gifts.Luna was first to speak when they returned.
"Hast thou not found something to your liking Braeburn?" 
"Got it right here." He replied tapping his vest. 
"Good, Luna has agreed to have the gifts wrapped & placed under the tree in Celestia's study so nopony get tempted to peek." White explained.
With that, Luna brought them back to the castle using her magic. Luna took the gifts in her magic & trotted down the hall, presumably to take care of the gifts. The stallions were quiet as they couldn't tell each other of their days or the surprise would be ruined. Though White did mention that he too had spent every bit he had. The couple trotted off to the dining hall for dinner but noticed Luna absent from the seat closest Celestia. The remaining princess said:
"Luna had to take care of a few things she put off to help you with your shopping. You most likely won't see her until Hearth's Warming itself. She's got much to do to get ready for the banquet."
The stallions sat down to eat with the solar diarch & made a bit of small-talk but with Luna absent the room seemed less cheerful. After dinner they headed back to their room & snuggled, for awhile White even got Braeburn to talk of past Hearth's Warmings from when he had been just a little colt. They both chatted, White asking question & Braeburn answering best as he could. Eventually the pair fell asleep with White with his head across his stallion's chest. There they laid undisturbed until morning. 
> Hearth's Warming
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the morning of Hearth's Warming Eve, as you went through the halls nopony could be found. White & Braeburn had never seen it like this before. They made their way to the dining hall nervous at the unheard of quietness of the castle. Their nerves were regained as the nearer they drew to the dining hall, the more a cacophony of sounds could be heard. As soon as they reached their destination Braeburn opened the door for White like a gentlecolt should (because White is definitely the mare in the relationship) .
As they entered they were amazed by the sheer number of ponies at work. Every member of castle staff & what seemed to be temporary hires (they were in street clothes) were covering the room in garland, tinsel & every imaginable manner of holiday decorations. Which was not surprising given the time of year, what was surprising was that everything was varying shades of black, grey, dark blue, purple & white. At the center of the organized confusion sat Celestia drinking her morning coffee seemingly oblivious to the world around her. To her side was Luna barking orders every which way. Braeburn realized the unorthodox decorations must be for the thestral's banquet holiday. He looked over to his coltfriend who was staring around the room like a foal somepony had just informed that they had won a lifetime supply of candy & toys.
"T-this is beautiful" White managed to stutter out, & Braeburn did have to admit that the normally beige & pink room looked entirely different but not in a bad way. Braeburn gazed at the color scheme of the room & had a new-found understanding as to why White was so hard to convince that he himself was beautiful. Thesrals seemed to care only for dark colors & only used white or bright colors in accents or depictions of the moon. White was... well... white, with pink accents. In thestral culture this seemingly labeled him as ugly in everpony's eyes. Braeburn felt terrrible that he had often dismissed White's worries that he wasn't "pretty enough" for Braeburn.
The earth pony quickly grabbed his angel into a hug. White was confused but enjoyed the contact, bolstering his already giddy attitude.
At this point Luna trotted over to them after picking up a large platter in her magic. Luna set down the platter on the dining halls table a few feet away from the stallions as she stopped before them.
"White night, we are glad to see thee, the other thestrals will not be here until the night of the event so I need you to give me input on the decorations and foodstuffs for the event. The ingredients for the feast have all arrived & we have hired a griffish chef & a thestral to prepare the dishes."
Luna lifted a cracker covered in... something Braeburn didn't recognize with her magic & White accepted it. White munched happily on the hors d'oeuvre obviously pleased.
"Oh wow, I haven't had anything like this before! Is this some kind of traditional thestral food?" White asked excitedly.
"This is Foie gras imported from the griffon kingdom. You have not sampled thestral cuisine before? Oh, dear that's right you were always excluded from the feast... my apologies. I will inform the chefs to use their own judgements but will be sure to tell them you enjoyed what you had."
"It's alright Luna, aren't you going to try some? It's really good." White said trying another item from the tray.
"Neigh White Night my body was not designed to process meats." Luna stated. White suddenly began shaking upon hearing this. 
"Wh-w-what? Th-thesral food is m-meat?" White asked, obviously distraught.
"Did thou know so little of thy people? Thestrals are omnivores, they can consume whatever they please. But thestrals often eat meat because of their high protein requirement & because that is what was available in the lands they were force-ably relocated to. Your family depriving you of this might explain your diminutive size compared to other thestral." Luna explained to a huddled mass of sobbing that had once been White Night. Braeburn was unsure of what to make of this development but he knew one thing for sure, his angel needed him now.
Braeburn grabbed his coltriend & placed the feather-weight thestral upon his back & began carrying him back to their room, Luna wanted to help as she was somewhat responsible for the situation due to oversight but felt she had already done enough. Braeburn tried calming his love with reassurances & calming words but nothing seemed to help. When the the couple arrived Brae placed his precious cargo on their bed & joined him, gently stroking his silky mane. 
"I-I didn't know it was meat, Brae. I really didn't. I wouldn't have eaten it if I had known. I'd never kill something for food Brae, please don't leave me!" White said through tears when he was calm enough to speak. The mournful expression on white's face & the tears streaming from his reddened eyes alleviated any doubt Braeburn had toward his angel. His angel was & always would be pure as snow. Braeburn placed his forehooves on White's shoulders & looked him in the eyes saying:
"If I weren't going to stay with you over this I wouldn't be here now. I know you didn't know what it was, you were just caught up in the feelin' ah belongin' to your people for the first time. I'll admit I wouldn't be thrilled if you wanted to keep eating meat but I wouldn't think any less of you for it. It's part of your culture & we agreed to share each other's culture, you put up with my bull & never say a word, what kinda stallion would I be if'n I backed out on you for a lil' slip up?" 
White's eyes never left Braeburn's for the entirety of the speech, he could see nothing but understanding in the big green orbs he had come to love so much. White wrapped Braeburn in the tightest hug he could muster & instead of tears of sadness tears of happiness flowed from his eyes. The two kissed deeply for a moment until they needed to breathe. They lay there happily until Braeburn spoke up:
"I'm glad that we got that sorted out, & we're better for it, but could you maybe brush your teeth before we do that again?" White proceeded to hit him in the face with a pillow so Braeburn wouldn't see how red he had become. After one of his trademarked sighs White trotted off into the bathroom to rid the meat-taste from his mouth, He was joined shortly by his smiling stallion who began to do the same. The pair decided to skip lunch as neither felt much like eating for awhile. Despite this all was well between the 2. Some time before dinner there was a loud knock at the door. Braeburn took it upon himself to answer it & was surprised to find a guilty looking princess of the night carrying a vinyl-bound book that seemed to be only a few pages long in her magical grasp. 
"We apologize for our earlier oversight, We have seen White Night's memories & knew he had not partaken of traditional thestral foods before. But in our excitement we forgot this & caused they who has become our dearest friends great distress. We have taken the liberty of doubling the kitchen staff for the event & now have a full range of vegetarian items as opposed to only a few." Luna then levitated the food list over for White's approval.
"We've already worked everything out Luna, & I'm not mad. While I'll admit I enjoyed it, I can't bring myself to eat other creatures. But that doesnt mean I'm going to look down on anypony that does. We'll still be glad to join you at the head table for New Moon Night." White replied to her as he looked over the vegetarian column. Braeburn smiled brightly at his angel made amends with their host. Luna's somber expression visibly brightened at this as well. Luna told them that tonight's dinner and tomorrow's breakfast would be delivered to their room, as the preparations for the feast were going to interfere with their meals. Lunch tomorrow would be in Celestia's study & afterwards gifts would be opened, dinner that night would be replaced by the Royal Hearth's Warming party that would have plenty of food. Luna would be joining them tonight, which was alright with them. Before long a servant brought in a lasagna (veggie) and a fold-able table & chairs were brought in by yet another.
Dinner went well & was pretty talkative considering the events that transpired not long ago. Luna teleported some wine to the room to go with it. White & Braeburn each got a glass before Luna downed the rest, To this day neither stallion has ever seen her drink anything without ethanol. After dinner the pair bid Luna farewell & went to sleep.
The pair was awoken by the knocking of a servant bearing fruit & porridge for breakfast. Embarrassed that they had overslept White hid under the covers while Braeburn thanked the mare before she left. Braeburn was noticeably chipper while White seemed tenser than usual. Braeburn decided it was just White worrying about his first real holiday. While he dug into his meal. The stallions decided to take a walk through the castle ground until they needed to meet with the princesses. The Canterlot weather team had obviously outdone themselves, there was just the right amount of snow blanketing the ground. Braeburn stared at the winter wonderland in awe until a snowball pegged him in the side of the head. Braeburn turned to see the source but was left dumbfounded. Then another snowball assailed him in the back of the head. He turned to see his coltfriend staring at him with the evilest of grins. White proceeded to remove his clothes, much to the farm pony's confusion. After White finished Braeburn realized that White was nearly invisible against the snow-covered environment without his pink outfit, while he stuck out like a sore hoof.
"Now that doesn't seem fair at all." Braeburn whined, which was swiftly met with a snow-projectile to the chest.
"It. Is. On." replied Braeburn playfully. Braeburn soon regretted his challenge as he could seldom hit the nimble, near-invisible opponent. When he caught the thesral unaware he merely blocked with his powerful wings. At this point Brae surrendered.
"I give, ya'll are too hard to catch." He said to the disappointed thestral as he trotted up to him. However the earth pony surprised him by tackling him to the ground where they rolled in the snow for a moment.
"Now, *huff* who's being *huff* unfair?" White asked. Braeburn simply responded by sticking out his tongue & making a *ppplllllbbt* noise. The 2 of them began laughing loudly until they were both out of breath once more. By the time they found all of White's clothes in the disturbed snow the clock in the center of the grounds struck noon & chimed loudly telling them they needed to meet up with their rulers for lunch.
By the time they made it to Celestia's study they were 15 minutes late. Luna was a tad upset as she was acting like a foal when they entered the room.
"Tiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! why do we have to eat first? Meals happen all the time! Presents only happen today! Or my birthday, or hearts & hooves day, or all the random gifts from our ponies... So can we open gifts now?" Luna said ignorant to the newcomers' presence. White coughed into his hoof grabbing Luna's attention.
"Ah Yes we were simply discussing with Tia how wonderful our Hearth's Warming lunch looks." Luna said nonchalantly as Braeburn snickered a bit while White sighed & shook his head before they took their places at the table that had been brought to the study.
The food was amazing, each pony had an acorn squash that had been stuffed & baked, a portabella and arugula salad, & a minted chocolate mousse. Luna, unsurprisingly finished first followed by Braeburn, then Celestia with White finishing last. White seemed to tense more & more as the time to open gifts drew nearer. Celestia seeing White had finished opened her mouth to say:
"Well, I suppose that it's time to open the gi-" She was cut off by a flurry of wrapping paper that assaulted her personal space. Luna had already begun ripping open a reasonably large box revealing a new NS4 (neigh station four, made by pony multimedia Inc.) which Luna immediately began prancing around in circles, like a foal. Apparently Braeburn's gifts were wrapped in yellow, White's in white, Celestia's in pastel rainbows, & Luna's in dark-blue with stars. Luna also received the new Xbox-Pon-3 (made by Vinylsoft). Celestia got a new set or regalia, & a box of imported chocolates large enough to give the east coast diabetes. Braeburn received a bottle of expensive finely aged apple brandy that had been bottled by the founding members of the Apple family from Celestia & an extremely beautiful pocket knife with his name engraved into the extravagant gold handle in fancy script from Luna. White received a very expensive home bar set from Celestia complete with mini-fridge that was being installed while they were away. Luna's gift caught the thestral completely off guard, inside the box was a silver necklace with a rounded center that bore the dual-seal of the royal sisters. Seeing this item Celestia's eyes widened and she dropped the teacup she held in her magic. White seeing Celestia's reaction grew more confused than ever.
"Luna? What is this? I've never seen a necklace quite like this before."
"That is unsurprising as that necklace is over a thousand years old, It signifies that you have been accepted into the royal family & you now bear the title of duke." Luna said happily.
"Luna! You could have asked me about this! Adopting White into the family is a wonderful idea but making him a duke? We haven't done that in a thousand years! Noble ponies are going to have a fit about this!" Celestia bellowed at the dark alicorn.
"We do not care, White has been through much because of us & in his life, but he still calls us friend. We have grown to care for him deeply, & have already filed the necessary forms to make him family & royalty in name only. Something thou neglected to do before transfiguring 2 ponies into alicorn princesses, also without our consent." Luna retorted haughtily leaving Celestia quite speechless. Neither princess noticed White hyperventilating into a paper sack until the argument was over. White eventually returned to a reasonable breath rate. At this time the only thing Braeburn could say was: 
"Angel? You gonna be alright there sweetie?" 
"I-I'm royalty now? We're family? But you're both so important! I'm just a defective thestral!" White said slowly sinking back into panic-mode. Braeburn punched him in the shoulder fairly hard, White looked at his coltfriend who he had never seen looking this serious before. Both princess were deathly quiet as they surveyed the scene. Braeburn eventually grabbed hold of White in the tightest embrace he could muster without hurting the delicate pony.
"You don't ever say that about yourself! I don't care what color you are or how strong you are or if you're a vegetarian! You're my angel! You're perfect, there's not a thing wrong with you! I love you the way you are, royalty or not. You're mine & I'm not letting you go! You're all I've ever wanted, it tears me apart to see you bein' so down on yourself. Please just know no matter what you are or what you do ah'll always love you." Braeburn declared through a steady downpour of his own tears.
This was the first time either pony had fully admitted their love for the other, as they had not been a couple a terribly long time though they both knew how the other felt. But hearing it out-loud obliterated the cold, negative thoughts running amok in White's mind & replaced them with a familiar warmth he had felt the first time Braeburn held him.
"I-I'm sorry everypony for ruining the holiday, I've felt so wanted before, & my family just tripled in size. I should be happy but I just got overwhelmed. Can you forgive me?" White said head hung low.
"You have nothing to apologize for White. We are yet again the cause of your anxiety, we are impressed by thy lover's words. We have never had a love so great before & will admit we shed several tears during his heartfelt deceleration." Luna said as both she & Celestia dryed their eyes. White turned to his coltfriend & looked deeply into his eyes before breaking into tears of happiness.
"I-I love you too Brae, I've been waiting for the right time to say it. I've never felt closer to anypony. Even Luna who has literally been in my head. I'd be lost without you Brae. I need you." At this the couple joined in a kiss paying no heed to the goddesses only a few feet away. When their embrace ended they both looked at the princesses sheepishly with reddened faces.
"Well, I believe you 2 still need to exchange the gifts you got for each other." Celestia said trying to move the event along. Luna proceeded to levitate each stallion the color coordinated boxes.
"You first." White instructed his love. To which Braeburn simply nodded, had completely forgotten about the gifts in the emotional havoc that had just occurred. Braeburn unwrapped the square box first & opened it to reveal a vest identical to his own but made of better, jet-black material. Upon closer inspection it had little ornate gold buttons running down one side. It was just the right size & felt wonderful to the touch. Braeburn opened his mouth to thank his coltfriend for the wonderful gift but White put his hoof to Brae's mouth and held up another box, the circular one he remembered seeing in the alleyway. White lowered his hoof when he took the box. Brae unwrapped this box as well revealing a hat identical to his but just as fine as his new vest. The hat too was jet-black with a red band on it and around the bend were gold decorations with raised images of apples nearly identical to the one adorning his flank.
"It took some haggling to get it for 113 bits but having a goddess behind you making threatening gestures at the seamstress helped the process along. The fabric I picked out is magic, the vest & hat are a set so it won't stain or fade or damage easy so you can wear it as much as you want to & the hat doesnt come off unless the pony wearing the vest takes it off." White explained while looking at Braeburn hoping for the stallion's approval. Which he received in spades in the form of a deep kiss that left White's wings fluttering lightly.
"Alright angel, I love my new duds but i would have been happy with anything. but now it's yer turn to get spoiled." said Braeburn as he donned his gift new favorite set of clothes.
White gently undid the wrapper on his gift unlike Luna who tore through hers with reckless abandonment. White put the paper to the side & opened the box revealing a beautiful silver flask with an engraved bat exactly like his cutie mark on the front. However right above the bat was a halo, a reference to the pet-name that embarrassed the thestral to no end. He didn't care at the moment as, he grabbed onto his coltfriend with gusto. Braeburn fought to no avail to break the hug.
"Now come on, ya'll got a chance to explain your gift's fancy magic." He said, earning an apologetic look from White. As he straightened himself out he said:
"It wont, tarnish or open for anypony but you or me & it's some kinda fancy space-magic that makes it lots bigger inside, than out. Barely had enough to get it with all the personal touches, but i wanted you to have the best I could give ya."
"Can I hug you now?" White asked feigning annoyance.
"Yu-" Was all Braeburn got a chance to say before being pounced upon. After a required minimum of 5 minutes of "I love you"s, kisses & hugs was over the stallions took the time to thank the goddesses who had watched the young lovers embarrassing displays the party disbanded & each party went to their rooms with their gifts. When White returned he placed his flask on the desk & tried on his new necklace, the symbol of his belonging to the royal family. As time passed he grew to accept the idea more & more, so long as he didn't have any official duties he was alright with his new-found status. Satisfied with the fit he placed it on the desk next to his flask. Braeburn was had hung his vest on the bedpost and was relaxing above the covers while still wearing the hat. White removed his clothing & placed each article neatly on the chair at the desk before joining him.
"Hey Brae? You know our... bedroom rule about getting made to sleep on the couch?" White asked with a blush on his face.
"Y-yeah?" Braeburn said with a much faster-than-normal heart rate.
"There's no couch here." White said as seductively as he could manage. 
The stallions were not seen at the castle's Hearth's Warming party that night.           
> New Moon Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next several days went well, though White had fainted when Luna asked him why he had been walking funny. A story Braeburn was far too happy to tell ponies for White's taste. Despite this the 2 of them had been bonding wonderfully, the pair had even went back to "The Lunar Eclipse" for drinks with Luna & found their friend Fuzzy was the new bartender there.
"Well I never expected to see you two in Canterlot, let alone with a princess." Fuzzy stated happily
"Why are you with the princess?" He added after thinking about it for a second.
"White Night is an honorary member of the royal family & holds the lofty title of duke" Luna stated as if it was common knowledge even though the paperwork had only gone through just days ago.
"Seriously?" fuzzy asked with a skeptical tone & raised brow. White lowered the scarf he wore at all times to show the silver necklace with the royal seal that had been given to him. Fuzzy looked at the ponies before him for a moment before saying:
"Meh, that's cool I guess. That doesn't mean I'm giving you any free drinks, but you being my friend & former apprentice gets you a free first round." White new Fuzzy well enough to know that he was a good colt, but not the best comedian so he brushed it off. Fuzzy without having to ask made White his eponymous specialty after getting Braeburn a cider while asking:
"What will you have princess?"
"We will have a black Sunday if you are aware of it." Fuzzy always one to accept a challenge gained a serious expression & hoofed White his drink before rushing off to find the necessary ingredients. 
"We admire this stallion's gusto, we heard that he is the stallion that taught thee the art of drink?" Luna asked White, who nodded affirmative. 
"Then we shall put his craft to the test!" Luna said with an evil smile that sent shivers up both stallions spines.
"So, how's the banquet prep going? Everything gonna be ready by tomorrow night?" Braeburn asked her, breaking her away from the near endless catalog of over-complicated drinks she thought about getting Fuzzy to concoct.
"Yes, everything is ready & all the thestrals serving in the military as well as their wives will be attending." The princess answered as she was served her drink. To Fuzzy's dismay she downed it quickly & ordered an entire bottle of something called Hayseed's special 3X. At this Braeburn blanched for a moment.
"Luna, did you say, Hayseed's-"
"Indeed, we enjoyed the "moonshine" your acquaintance made so much, we searched out the stallion & gifted him a distillery & a sum of bits for the first batch of product. He has done quite well for himself in such a short time."
At this White gave Braeburn a look that could only be described as: "you sleep on the floor tonight". Braeburn could only sigh & nod at this.
The night waged onward & Luna put Fuzzy through his paces as White lost count as to how much Luna had downed. At the end of the end of the night Luna's tab had reached mythic proportions but Fuzzy had not once failed to fulfill her requests. Luna offered him a job at the castle but Fuzzy didn't feel like working around the clock 24/7. Braeburn didn't end up on the floor, thanks to having to carry White back to the castle after Luna dared him to try some "Hayseed's special". 
Now it was the day of the banquet & White was flying around their room essentially orbiting Braeburn out of both excitement & anxiety at the prospect of his first cultural holiday. Braeburn had long since stopped trying to get him to calm down, so instead was reading a book about peach farming he had found in the desk. This continued until Wite tired himself out & took a nap. It was unusual to see his reserved little angel so irrational, but Braeburn had to admit it was just a bit funny too. 
Braeburn woke him in time to prepare for the banquet, White & Braeburn decided to shower together to save time (seriously, nothing happened. Deal with it). Braeburn ran a lint roller over his clothes at the behest of his coltfreind. White spent a good deal of time making sure he looked his best, & had gotten his favorite, "Flippin Adorable" outfit professionally cleaned for the event though he left the scarf off to leave his status symbol visible at Luna's request. A servant came to fetch them so they could take their places at the head table with Luna.
When the Stallions arrived the hall had only a few ponies, mostly servants setting the enormous table. They walked up to the special table set horizontal forming a T with the regular table. Luna of course was center seat she directed White to the seat directly at her right. White took it with Braeburn sitting to his right. 
"Where's Princess Celestia at?" Braeburn asked (he had not yet dropped the title with Celestia as he had with Luna).
"Our sister thought she already presided over too many important events so we will see this threw ourself. Though we believe she did not wish to make another promise she was unable to keep." Luna stated with a grin. Braeburn was still adjusting to the facts that the immortal rulers of his country were a closet over-eater & somepony who was determined to become an alcoholic. So he merely tried to block this out. Eventually a couple of unicorn nobles, seemingly husband and wife arrived & took up the 2 seats to Luna's left. White at one point asked who they were.
"we are unsure Tia asked them to attend to make the event seem more important to Canterlot ponies other than the thestral population." White thought this was rather thoughtful & made note to thank her.
Soon scores of thestrals & a few other ponies filled the seats at grand table White recognized several of the thestrals sitting in a group as the cadets he had trained with before the Black Wing incident. Night Road looked up at table to see White sitting next to the princess he was training to serve. White noticed the stallion's surprise but decided to take the mature approach to the situation, He waved to his former classmate & smiled before sticking out his tongue & blowing a raspberry at him. Luna noticing the stallion as well delivered a glare in his direction that seemed to say: "I know who you are, & what you did. I will end you." The enormous stallion seemed to deflate visibly even from such a distance. 
The Hour drew near & Luna rung a bell signalling everypony to cease their chatter & direct their attention to her.
"Greetings to all of our children of the night & guests of the same. This is the first feast of the New Moon Night celebrated by royalty since we fell too far into the darkness. This feast was meant to be about familial togetherness & setting goals to better thyself in the coming year. This year we shall all set goals come feasts end, however since royalty is hosting the feast, we shall express togetherness by introducing to you a fellow child of the moon who has never been included in this sacred event. We would have you bid welcome to the newest member of the royal family who was instrumental in bringing the tradition back to the castle, Duke White Night the 1st!" Luna bellowed loudly as she beckoned White to stand. He managed to do so if a little shakily, the alarmed expressions of the cadets that had taunted him fueled his confidence even though he hadn't expected this.
"White Night has endured much hardship at the hands of his fellow thestrals, yet he agreed to attend the event where even now some of the perpetrators sit amongst you. You could all learn a lesson in forgiveness from him. Now as is traditional the host will engage their lover in a kiss to set the night in motion. However since our return from the moon we have not taken a consort. As such the duty falls to the thestral of highest rank." White's ears instantly drooped when Luna said this, his left eye visibly twitched as he tried to process the fact that he was now expected to kiss Braeburn in front of a room in full of thestrals, who's culture damned same-sex relationships. Luna noticed his building anxiety but motioned for White to move in front of the table, he was required to obey his sovereign.
"White Night, please call upon the one who holds your heart." Luna said calmly 
"I-I call upon Braeburn Apple." He said much to the surprise of the entire thestral population of the room. Braeburn was also a tad uncomfortable with the unexpected situation but wanted nothing more than to support White. As such, Braeburn took lead & pulled his angel in front of a thousand pairs of eyes, into a deep passionate kiss. At first White was lost in everything but soon nothing bit the moment mattered, & White pulled them tighter together with his wings. The room was filled with gasps & the sound of flashbulbs from reporters. When the moment of passion ended White felt extremely liberated despite the stares of anger, confusion, & disbelief. Luna then teleported from behind the table to between the now separated stallions. 
"We are aware of the ideals & traditions that became commonplace so long ago, however the world has changed much over the centuries. Tradition is a wonderful thing but can become outdated as the ways of the world change, the other races realized this several years ago & now anypony can marry anypony else. I whole-heartedly support this long overdue development. But it seems my children of the night are behind the times, there has even been persecution toward White Night for something he has no control over, in the future anyone found persecuting another for their orientation & right to pursue happines as such, will be disavowed from their service to the night." Luna stated, with her tone sinking darker toward the end. White later explained to Braeburn that this was the greatest dishonor a thestral could receive. It was essentially the deity you prayed too telling you you were scum, & they never wanted to see or hear you again. Braeburn definitely thought this sounded like something to avoid. The crowd thought this too instantly as nopony got up from their seat. but a few grumbles were heard.
"The feast will now begin anew tonight, as it will every year from now on. White Night as highest ranking thestral will continue to play host until as such time he is succeeded by another. There will be none to question this as, none can claim rank upon him or I. The feast will now begin." 
Everypony began talking amongst themselves as numerous dishes were brought out to the table, The trio that had garnered so much attention returned to their seats as food was brought to the head table. White was unsure of how he felt about being the poster-foal for a major cultural shift until a thestral stallion approached the head table bowing to not only Luna but to White as well. 
"Lady moon & Duke White Night, there are no words to express the thanks we feel towards your revolution." The stallion said near tears.
"We?" White asked before noticing a unicorn standing off to the side watching them nervously. 
"Yes, I'm Dusk Eater & this is Spearmint." He said motioning the unicorn forward.
"We met at a bar while I was a cadet, but I was too afraid to see him openly until now. Nothing is set in stone but if it weren't for you three's display we would have never gotten the chance." Dusk eater said folding a wing over Spearmint. The three talked with the pair for awhile before the new couple left. During the course of the feast a couple other stallions & three mares came forward as well. White knew now that even if he still hated the attention the actions Luna "coerced" him & Baeburn into would radically affect the world for the better.
The Night wore on & the feast ended with Luna promising to finally achieve a state of complete drunken-ness, while Braeburn & White resolved to get back at Luna for manipulating ponies lives so much. Luna merely laughed & stated they were welcome to try & stop her.  
> End 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The holidays now over with the pair bid farewell to the princesses & returned to Apploosa with their gifts to get back to their lives. Braeburn & White were glad the Canterlot papers didn't reach this far out as they just wanted to return to the way things had been before. Braeburn received numerous complements on his new attire around town, White was never without his gifts though he kept the necklace hidden under his scarf & the flask over his heart hidden under his shirt. Things returned to normal after about a week. 
Things once again were stirred up by a letter that arrived the 10th of January that stated the Apple family reunion had been moved up to the first of February due to the Auntie Applesuace's sudden passing. White comforted his love to the best of his ability but nothing seemed to pierce the gloom. White then decided to take the best option before him.
"We're going, I promised we would months ago & now you need it more than ever." White stated with a stern face Braeburn had not seen before. 
"But i haven't seen the family si-"
"I know Brae, you've been avoiding them but your family is better than mine was so you don't need to ignore them like I do mine. I know you miss them, you nearly cried when Celestia gave you that brandy." White was having no complaints about this & Braeburn knew it. 
"What would I do without you to keep me in line?" Braeburn asked playfully
"Lets hope we never learn the answer." White added as his expression returned to caring.
"I love you angel"
"I love you too Brae"
With that the stallions began making arrangements to be absent for a week or so at the first of the month as fate began to pull them to their next destination: Ponyville's Sweet Apple Acres.