Winter had arrived and arrived with force, Celestia mused, looking out the windows of the cabin. They’d come to this small valley nestled high in the mountains to the east of Vanhoover. Down the hill from their cabin was a small alpine lake. Reflecting in the lake, craggy mountains soared above the valley. Brilliantly white from the snow, they served as imposing sentinels; overshadowing the valley and making all within it seem smaller than it really was. The forested valley was thickly blanketed with snow. While not a problem to those inhabitants with wings, the several feet of snow served well in keeping all land based creatures from wandering. Evening was just beginning to fall, light shining out from the windows of the cabin becoming visible, creating small pools, glowing on the snow.
Celestia turned from the window to gaze at the cabin behind her. It didn’t take long; the cabin was very small. The inside of the cabin was decidedly rustic. There were three rooms total. The bedroom was in the back with the bathroom. It opened out into a great room. A kitchen lined the side of the room facing out towards the stream, in the spring, the cook would have the best view of the stream running through the woods. One wall was lined in bookshelves, heavily weighted with books. In winter, however, the focal feature of the cabin shifted to the far wall where the fireplace was. It wasn’t the largest fireplace, but then again, it wasn’t a large cabin either. It put out plenty of heat, however, and kept the cabin nice and cozy.
Lying in front of fire, Twilight Sparkle was reading a book. Honestly, knowing Twilight, this was the most expected course of action she could possibly be undertaking. An open book sat next to her, Celestia’s own reading that she had momentarily abandoned. She glanced over at Twilight. “What is your book about?”
“Hmmm? Oh yes, my book. Well, let me preface telling you about it with a disclaimer. Rarity gave it to me and forced a promise out of me to read it. It’s called ‘Trotting to Heaven’ and quite frankly, it’s terrible. The characters are paper thin, the main character’s main feature seems to be that she exists and the male protagonist is into her. Speaking of, this guy is creepy. The author set up several scenes where she seems to think what he is doing is romantic, but it’s not. I mean really, who sits next to a girl’s bed all night and watches her sleep? The plot exists only to move from one sex scene to another. One chapter transitioned into another with, and I quote, “But I was cold and needed a heater. So I went to Blaze Sentinel. His warmth warmed me.” Don’t even get me started on the editing. I have found so many typos… urgh.”
“Well, that seems… interesting. May I see that for a second?” The book was enveloped in a golden glow as Celestia picked it up. “Mmm-hmm, yes, I see. Fear not, I know what to do with this.” She tossed the book into the fire.
“Noooooo!!!” Twilight leapt to her feet, her horn instantly lighting up as she tried to grab the book back from the flames. Purple glow clashed with golden glow in a short tug-of-war. Golden won out. As it turns out, magic powerful enough to pull the sun over the horizon has a distinct advantage in contests of strength.
“Pleasenobookcomebackdontgointothelightwhyohcomeon.” Twilight was panting, staring in horror at the fireplace.
The flames flared up as the paper caught. Celestia's horn continued to glow until the entire book was aflame, ensuring the fiery demise of the prose that had so offended her.
Twilight's eyes were wide with shock. “Why? FIRE! Not good.. paper... widjama... But... Book! No burn book! War crime!”
“Words Twilight. Use your words.” Celestia was smiling calmly at her.
Twilight shook herself. Looking at Celestia she asked, “Why would you burn that book?”
“Because my dear, it's terrible and you aren't enjoying it. We are here for enjoyment and our time is too short to waste on atrocious books.” Celestia said simply.
“Well, what should I tell Rarity when she asks for her book back?” Twilight asked.
Celestia smiled impishly. “I suggest, 'the Sun ate it.' Now, while you pick out a new book to read, would you like a snack?”
“Uhh, sure.” Twilight said absently, her gaze already drawn to the bookshelves, distracted from her outrage by the prospect of a book she'd actually enjoy. Her eyes flew over the shelves, searching out a new book.
Celestia moved to the kitchen area. As she glanced out the windows, she called over to Twilight. “It's starting to snow again. I expect this one to be the blizzard we saw scheduled before we headed out here.”
“That's nice.” Twilight called back, distractedly perusing the available books.
Celestia took a loaf of fresh baked bread and cut two thick slices. Then she buttered each slice and sprinkled sugar and cinnamon over the top. Lighting her horn, she conjured a mini heat source to start toasting the bread while she turned to the vastly more important part of the snack: Hot Chocolate. The ingredients whirled about her head as she pulled them down from the cupboard; Cocoa, Milk, powdered sugar and finally, the secret ingredient, a tiny amount of cayenne pepper. As she combined the ingredients in mugs, she performed the simplest act of alchemy, fusing the parts into a creamy, delicious and steaming whole. Satisfied, she placed the snacks on a tray and carried it over to Twilight.
“Did you find a book?” Celestia asked.
“Well, I was looking for something like, ‘An Admonition to the Nobility of Equestria’ or something a little more topical like ‘Marenheight 451’,” Twilight replied, “But I think I'm going to read this one. It's called ‘The Mare Affair’. The only thing I know about it is that it's supposed to be pretty funny.”
“An excellent choice, Twilight.” Celestia handed her a plate with toast on it and a mug of hot chocolate.
Twilight picked up her mug and took a sip. “You made this? This might be the most delicious thing I've ever drinked... drunk... drank... drunken? Whatever, this is great and I want more of it already!”
Celestia smiled at the praise. “Of course I made it. What you're drinking is the end result of twenty years of tinkering with hot chocolate recipes to get my favorite. I like to call the first ten years of that time the “Dark Ages”' I still can't believe it took me that long to figure out that dark chocolate is terrible as a drink.”
“Well, thank you very much.” Twilight settled down with her book and snack to get back to the serious business of reading. “By the way, what book are you reading?”
“Oh, my book is a mystery. It's called Her Majesties Agent. It's actually a fictionalized version of Cadance. Apparently there is enough intrigue going on that I've tasked my niece with spying for me. Then there's a murder and things go wrong and I'm rather enjoying it.”
“You're reading about yourself?” Twilight asked, “Isn't that a little... awkward? I mean, that’s supposed to be you right? But that character is often saying things that you would, well you just wouldn’t say those things. Books often have you doing things… to people…”
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “I think you’ve been talking to Rarity about books just a little too much.”
Twilight blushed. “Leaving out lewd or lurid literature it still just seems strange to be reading along in a book, hit a character doing a thing and realize, ‘Wait, that’s supposed to be me.’
“It used to be strange, but I got used to it. I decided that I didn't want to avoid good books just because I popped up as a character.” Celestia replied. “You'll probably have to get used to it yourself, now that you're a princess as well.”
Twilight blanched. “I'm not looking forward to that. I just don’t know how much I like it. It feels... weird to be a character in a story.”
“Don't worry too much, Twilight. No matter how the rest of the world views you, I shall always remember the little filly who built a fort out of books in my library.” Celestia reminisced.
“Hey! Fort Knowledge was a perfect place to study!” Twilight protested.
The two ponies laughed at that. Then, settling down before the fire, the winter storm beginning to rage outside, they went back to their reading. Time passed. It could have been minutes, but was more likely hours. Pages turned, hot chocolate was sipped. Jokes and talking were shared between the two of them. As both readers became more and more involved with their books, silence came to reign in the room.
Eventually, Celestia looked up from the chapter she had been reading. The fire was still crackling away. The flurries of snow danced in the windows. As the snowfall thickened, it had cut off the outside world, creating a swirling, sparkling curtain. Between the snow and the way the fire danced in the hearth, throwing shadows over and around the room Celestia was lulled into a very contented state. This was a place of warmth and comfort. No one here was looking to her for wisdom, comfort, protection or anything really.
Here was a place where she could just… be.
As Celestia sighed with heartfelt contentment, Twilight looked up from her book sharply. “You're bored aren't you? I’m sorry. I know that this isn’t the most exciting way to spend an evening. A vacation to the mountains just to read? How silly of me. I knew I should have come up with something more exciting to do. Sadly, I’m a boring pony, when it really comes down to it. I get so caught up in my reading that it’s like the rest of the world just fades away. If you want to leave; if you want to find something to do I would completely understand…” Twilight trailed off as Celestia placed a hoof to her lips, cutting short Twilight’s growing unease.
“Twilight. That wasn't a sigh of boredom. I'm happy here. I haven't had the opportunity to take a vacation like this in decades. There is no where I would rather be than here. There is nothing I’d rather be doing then this. Most importantly, there is no pony I’d rather be with then you.” She leaned in and kissed Twilight softly on the forehead. “Finally, I have time enough to do something purely for the pleasure of it. Now let’s get back to our reading, shall we?”
Twilight smiled back, “Thank you, Princess. This is where I want to be as well.”
The two turned back to their books and lost themselves once again in the words and the worlds contained therein.
