My Little Warcraft - Happy Hearth's Warming Feast of Winter's Veil Eve!

The skies drew darker as the sun began to set upon the horizon of Canterlot, giving way for the cool darkness of the night and the cosmos that comes with it. As the sky's canvas was washed with the colours of black, indigo and violet, the stars sparkled and the moon shone its silver light upon the sleeping pony folk.

Well, most of them, anyway. The girls, Spike, and Gai'vahros were still awake, practicing and perfecting that which they strove to complete for tomorrow's eve. While the rest of the castle slept, the candles and stage lights remained lit as they continued their rehearsals.

"I'm surprised that we managed to get so much done in a day," acclaimed Twilight, standing beside Gai'vahros. "Everyone's worked so hard and so well today."

"I share your thoughts, my Lady Twilight," agreed Gai'vahros with a smile as he flipped back through a couple of pages of the script. "It was right of you to send little Spike to bed. I think all we need to do now if get on with the acting for a couple more hours and we can call it a night. We can pick up the rest tomorrow."

"Sounds great." Twilight leaned her head over, looking through the page that Gai'vahros has stopped on. "We'll start here?"

"I'm just thinking about some of the fighting scenes. I would like to at least get an idea of how well these can be acted out now so I can get a feel of what needs to be worked on tomorrow." Twilight nodded in acknowledgement. "Okay… Lady Rainbow Dash, Lady Applejack," he called over to them, who were on the far right of the stage still practicing their dialogue, "I would like you two to go through act two, scene three, if you'd please?"

The two ponies made their way to center stage at Gai'vahros' request, but Rainbow Dash stopped short of Applejack and began to look around hurryingly.

"H-hey! I can't find my stuff," exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she turned to look around the stage, from its far sides to the back, and even on the theatre floor beyond it. "Where'd my armor go? And what about my weapon? We can't act out a fighting scene without a weapon!"

"Ya sure you jus' didn't misplace ya stuff, Rainbow Dash?" sputtered Applejack, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah I'm totally sure! I left it all over there --" she pointed over to the backdrop of the stage "-- with all my armor and stuff! Someone else must have moved it all…" Her eyes shifted towards Applejack before focusing on her, deathly so. "I'd bet you moved all my stuff to get back at me for hitting ya!"

"What!? Now why in tarnation would I wanna do that? You think I'd care enough to deliberately halt the play jus' to get back at ya?"

"I wouldn't put it past you to do that!"

Gai'vahros groaned, while Twilight shook her head in impatience. "Girls, could you please stop bickering for once?" he grumbled audibly, but it only fell on deaf ears as the two continued arguing once more.

Even at the far end of the stage Rarity couldn't help but show her disappointment in the two as she sighed heavily. "Honestly," she huffed, "can those two not relax for more than ten minutes at a time?"

"I hear ya, sister," agreed Pinkie Pie with a nod. Even she was beginning to lose her cool with the both of them. "I mean, we're supposed to be, y'know, working together, not fighting each other."

"Well, Pinkie Pie, darling, you make an excellent point. I'm surprised that Gai'vahros has had the patience to put up with them for as long as he has."

"Yeah… Hey, maybe I should give him his present early to cheer him up a bit?"

Rarity looked at Pinkie Pie with surprise. "Oh? You've already brought him a present? Pray tell, darling, what exactly did you buy him?"

Pinkie giggled. "Hey now, if I tell you then it won't be a surprise, would it?"

"You're supposed to say that to the person you're giving the gift to, Pinkie Pie. Besides, I'm awfully curious as to what you've got for him."

"Hmmm… Okay!" Pinkie Pie slowly leaned forward to Rarity's ear, covering the side of her snout with a hoof. "I brought Gai'vahros… a new cape!" she whispered.

Rarity, however, bolted her head away from her in shock. "A-a-a cape?" she stuttered. "B-but that's what I was going to give him for Hearth's Warming Eve!"

"Oh! Well, I thought of it first, so… finders keepers?"

Rarity darted her eyes at Pinkie. "That does not even make the slight bit of sense!" she exclaimed, her cheeks getting hotter. "And besides, what would you know about fashion and clothing? I would have made him the best cape one could think of!"

"Hey! I know fashion, too, Rarity! I have lots of party hats in assorted colours!"

"Those are not fashionable in any way! Just leave clothes and things to me, Pinkie Pie!"

Thankfully, Twilight was quick enough to step in. "Hey! Stop fighting, you two," she called out to them. "What's gotten into you two?"

"Rarity's just mad because I bought Gai a gift that she wanted to gift him before she actually got the gift," explained Pinkie Pie.

"Uh… okay," uttered Twilight. "Can't you just get him another gift, Rarity?"

"Absolutely not," she retorted. "I wanted to make Gai'vahros a gift, not just buy him some shoddy, second-hand, I-just-bought-this-for-an-orange kind of gift. Well, at least Fluttershy thought it was a good idea."

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you told Fluttershy what you were getting him? I told Fluttershy, too!"

"Wait, hold on. You both told Fluttershy what you were going to get Gai'vahros for Hearth's Warming Eve?"

"Y-yes," a small voice came from beside the three of them. Fluttershy had emerged from the dresser room, with her hat now neatly fitted on her head properly. But she found it hard to make eye-contact with any of the three of them. "I, um… Pinkie Pie told me what she was getting… and then Rarity told me afterwards, and… um…"

"Fluttershy," spoke Twilight as she walked over to her, "why didn't you say something? You should have told Rarity when she came to you!"

"I… I tried to, but --"

"What do you mean, you "tried"?" exclaimed the Unicorn. "It can't be hard to just tell Rarity that Pinkie had already bought her that gift!"

"B-but I…"

The entire stage was just one storm of chaos and ceaseless arguing, fighting, and raised voices at one-another. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were now literally butting heads with each other, pressing their foreheads together and trying to push back one-another, all the while arguing and slinging insults at one another.

Rarity and Pinkie Pie continued to argue with each other about Gai'vahros' present, with Rarity impossibly adamant that only she should think about getting Gai'vahros that cape, while Pinkie Pie was equally so in how she had already bought it and even wrapped it up for him. There was no room, no corner, for negotiation and compromise.

Even twilight was having a heated discussion with Fluttershy. Despite the frail, shy Pegasi trying to talk, Twilight just gave no room for her to speak. All the while Twilight scolded the shaking, trembling Fluttershy to the point that she was being driven to tears.

But everyone heard something that sent chills down their spines and made the fine hairs of their coat stand on end, perking up their ears towards it. A loud, metallic clang rang through the theatre, echoing off the walls and ceiling as it slammed against the floor of the stage. They could all feel the vibrations under their hooves. As they turned, the object became evermore clearer to them -- a single, gold and red-silk gauntlet lay upon the stage. And then they looked up to see the one who had thrown it down.

Gai'vahros was beside himself with anger. His face was disgruntled to the point that the creased along his cheekbones looked as though they were carved into his face. His nose and brow wrinkled as he darted his gaze upon them as though he was ready to slay each one of them. His eyes shifted from one couple to the other, and as each one was fixated upon, they had given him their undivided attention.

"I am disgusted with the lot of you!" he exclaimed, swinging his bare hand in front of him. "I cannot believe what I am witnessing! You, Applejack! Rainbow Dash --!" he flung his hand towards them, pointing at them with a shaking hand. "You are too quick to blame one-another! Even more wretched is the both of you not owning up to your  own faults, quick to find excuses to justify yourselves!"

he violently swung around to rarity and Pinkie Pie. "And you! You are so caught up in stupid things such as gifts, and who should give what, revelling in commercialization than what really matters!"

Gai'vahros turned to Twilight, gazing upon her and the cowering Pegasi behind her who eyes were filled with tears. his hand lowered, but he did not spare her his wrathful expression. "And you… Twilight Sparkle…" he breathed a heavy exhale. "It is you, most of all, who I am disappointed with… No, who I am most upset with. Of all people, I would have thought that you would be above all of this. Look at what you have done, Twilight…"

But she knew. She knew what she had done. And it was that knowledge that kept her frozen in place, her eyes looking only towards Gai'vahros. But no matter what she did, what she tried to ignore, she could still hear those choked up sobs of her frail friend.

"Look at her, Twilight."

And so she did. Slowly she turned her head to face Fluttershy. No matter how much she wanted to think that it couldn't be as bad as she thought it would, she couldn't prepare her heart for what was before her. Fluttershy had her face buried into her mane, sobbing and sniffling as the tears ran down her cheek and onto the stage floor.

"I… I didn't…" Twilight tried to find the words, but she herself was too choked to even speak proper. She turned back to Gai'vahros, hoping to find something, anything to say. "Gai'vahros… I didn't mean to…!"

Gai'vahros paid no heed to her. Instead he raised his other hand, still clutching to the script. His fingers and thumb clenched it tightly, creasing the corner of it. "I always knew this was a bad idea," he muttered. As he turned to face them, he tossed the manuscript towards them, their eyes widening as the pages scattered upwards and away from one-another before drifting back down onto the floor. Sluggishly he hopped from the stage onto the ground below, heading towards the doors. "I've no want for any part of this any longer."

His heavy footsteps rung throughout the theatre, stopping only for a moment as the creaking doors opened, and then slamming shut. Then the whole theatre fell into complete, deathly silence. Between the six of the ponies, none of them knew what to say.

What could they say?

Only the cold dead of night could give Gai'vahros some form of comfort for the moment. Hunched over, his arms crossed over on the stone wall that circled the edge, leaning gently on them. The cold barely touched him, not giving it any notice as his mind began to spin inside his head. As he sighed heavily, a thick mist poured from his lips and into the air in front of him.

"Of all people," he muttered to himself, looking out to the sights before him. He could see it all -- the grandeur of Canterlot, the snow-white streets and even the fields so far off into the distance, and the falling snow that he had never the chance to see for himself. Tiny flakes fell gently upon his head and nose. "of all the people to fight…"

But before he could ponder any further, he noticed that the stone wall began to glow a really faint colour. A faint, lavender colour. He recognized its aura all too well. "I didn't think you would find me so quick, Twilight," he spoke as he turned his head towards her.

Twilight slowly walked toward him, her horn creating that distinct glow as she carried the elf's gauntlet just past her face, trying to hide her visible, sorrowful expression. "Well… I know that when you get upset," she spoke softly as she placed the gauntlet gently upon the floor between them, "you like to look up at the skies, at the stars…"

But the elf merely huffed at her, turning his head back towards the scenery before him. "I never told you why I never celebrate the Feast of Winter Veil, did I? The true reason…"

But Twilight remained silent.

"Feast of Winter Veil was meant to be about venerating the ones that you love. Family. Friends. It's a time where different people -- race, factions, beliefs -- celebrated with one-another. Shared with one-another. Talk with one-another. But only for that time, it seemed."

"Gai'vahros…"

"Why is it so hard, Twilight? If everyone, races from the Horde and Alliance, could get together and be happy together for a single fortnight… then why can't they do it for the rest of the year? And having seen the way you all acted today just…" he sighed heavily once more, shaking his head. "What is the point in celebrating something that people don't believe in? Because of tradition? Because we get free gifts? Because it's the time of year where drinking and riding is legal and, in most cases, hilarious to watch?"

"I… I know what you mean, Gai'vahros. And I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. We all are…"

A flood of gentle steps rung quickly in rhythm from the entryway. As Gai'vahros turned to see, he saw the rest of the girls slowly step forwards. Every one of them had upon their faces of regret. Their eyes drooped as they looked upon the elf with grief.

Rainbow Dash stepped forwards from the line as though she was silently told to present herself. "Gai… I know that I've been a huge pain today. You were right, though. I was making excuses and trying to blame everyone on Applejack, but it didn't change the fact that it wasn't gonna solve anything. We've been talking and… well…" she blushed in embarrassment. "I found all my stuff in the dressing room. I, uh, kinda forgot that I moved everything in there when twilight asked me to. Gai… I'm really sorry for all the trouble we -- No, the trouble that I caused…"

Applejack slowly proceeded forwards, taking her hat off. "Hey, Gai? Um… I know that ya real mad at us an' all, but… I'm real sorry for everything I done. I was too caught up with arguin' with Rainbow Dash that I didn't see what it was doin' to everyone else. I'm really am sorry for everything that we've done. Honest…"

Both Rarity and Pinkie Pie stepped up together, looking at each other. "Gai… darling," spoke rarity softly, trying not to choke on her words, "we've all been really horrible today… and I feel like I was even more rotten than anyone else. Pinkie Pie was right -- she did buy your present before I did. But I was too caught up in by frustrations and my pride, and I lashed out. It was wrong of me. Stupid of me."

"But we did what you said, Gai," joined Pinkie Pie, her voice slow and ragged -- far from her usual demeanour. "We talked about it, and we thought that we would work together to get you a really awesome gift together! I don't know if you still want it, but… I really hope that you'll accept it. We just wanted to show you how sorry we both are…"

But Gai'vahros found that one wasn't accounted for. Fluttershy still stood at the back, looking away from him with her hat almost obscuring her face. "Fluttershy," softly called Gai'vahros, drawing her attention, "what about you? Are you okay?"

Fluttershy slowly crept forwards, moving the hat from her brow as she looked up at him. "Y-yes. I'm okay," she cooed. "me and Twilight were talking when you left and… she's really sorry for everything. And I forgive her." She turned to Twilight and smiled, while Twilight sighed in relief and smiled back. "But, um… Gai'vahros… I just wanted to know, are you… are you going to stop the play? It's just… we really want to do it. But we don't want to do it without you…"

The elf looked upon them. He bore his judging eyes into them, finding their very core. Sadness. Guilt. Regret. He saw all of that within them.

"They say, to err is mortal," he spoke softly, "but to forgive is divine." To all of their relief and joy, Gai'vahros smiled. "Let's get this finished."

The six of them smiled great open smiles, rushing towards him and collectively hugged him, embracing him as much as they could. And he too did embrace them, holding them close for as much as he could within his arms.

But Rainbow Dash blushed before breaking away from the rest of them. "Okay, okay," she stuttered a little, "let's not get too touchy! I think we should get some sleep and carry on with all this tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me," agreed Applejack as she yawned. "I need to hit the hay, and quick…"

As the group made their way back into the castle, Twilight hung back and stayed beside Gai'vahros. "I really can't say how sorry I am, Gai'vahros," she uttered quietly.

"Twilight," he responded in kind, "when I hurt all of you, you all took it upon yourselves, in your heart of hearts to find forgiveness for me. Despite all that happens -- good or bad -- I will always remember upon that time and always find it within myself to give you forgiveness."

"I'm… I'm really glad to hear you say that, Gai'vahros…" Twilight leaned her head upon the side of him, finding comfort in his touch. "And the saying is, to forgive is "equine"."

"Oh, whatever…"