A Wish for Hearth's Warming

Chapters

2nd Movement
3rd Movement
4th Movement
1st Movement

2nd Movement

Before the Princess of the Sun could say anything further, Harmonic’s father quickly went around his son saying in alarm, “Get behind me!” Crescendo held up his fore legs and lit up his horn as if trying to shield him from the rest of the party.

“Dad,” Harmonic whipped away his tears, “what are you doing?”

“Harmonic, run,” he snapped his head to his child, “They’re alicorns in this room!”

“What are you going on- oh…”the Prince quickly realized what he meant by that statement. He placed a hoof on his father’s foreleg, “Dad, calm down, I promise, it’s safe.” His father gave him a puzzled look, “Maybe I should introduce you to everypony.”

“You mean you know these strangers?”

The Violinist rolled his eyes, “Dad,” he gestured over to the tall white alicorn. “This here is Princess Celestia Everfree, co-ruler of Equestria… and… my uh…”

Crescendo raised an eyebrow, “Your what?”

“I’m his adopted mother,” Celestia stepped in, offering a hoof to the yellow unicorn.

The bearded stallion, however, only blinked, “Princess? Adopted mother?” He turned back to his son, “What’s going on here?”

“You mean,” Harmonic sniffed, “You really don’t know?”

“Enough riddles, what is going on?”

The alicorn Prince took a deep breath, “Dad, what’s the last thing you remember before coming here?”

With confusion, Crescendo adjusted his glasses, “We were getting ready for bed when you shouted ‘fire.’ Your mother and I came down to the workshop to find the place on fire and filled with smoke. We were trying to put out the flames while I told you to get out of the house with your violin. But there was so much smoke that I couldn’t see, then suddenly you pulled me into this room… Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Dad,” Harmonic placed both hooves on his shoulder, “This might be hard to take in but… truth is… you’re dead.”

His father scoffed, “No I’m not. Look, I’m still breathing, I can still feel things, so clearly, I’m not dead.”

“Technically, your Dad’s right,” both father and son looked up at the Draconequus floating above him, giving the Prince’s dad quite a scare. “You, quiet down for a moment,” Crescendo found that his mouth was zipped shut. “Just to be clear, he’s not really dead.”

“Wait-a-second,” Twilight step forward, “What do you mean, he’s not dead? He has been just that for almost fifty years.”

“Hhum!?” Crescendo muffled in exclamation while trying to pull the zipper off his mouth.

The Princess of Friendship added, “And isn’t this against the laws of nature to do something like this?”

“Not if you find a loophole,” Discord clarified, downing himself in a graduation gown, complete with a hat and tassel, and holding a clipboard in his paw. “According to the laws of nature, those in the afterlife can never return to the land of the living under any circumstances. This is true. But, what if a certain wish like bring someone back from the dead or meeting a historical figure, never died at all? What if the pony in question was time displaced temporarily.”

“I don’t follow,” Book Mark said.

The mitch-match creature sighed, “In order for this particular wish to work, Harmonica’s father-”

“It’s Harmonic,” the Prince corrected him.

“Whatever,” he waved it off, “For this wish to work, the pony he wants to see, like his Dad, has to be taken out right before he dies. So in other words, you’ve just stalled your father’s inedible death by a whole day. This way, when he goes back, history won’t change because he’ll be dead by the time he gets back.”

A strong sense of dread stiffened the bearded stallion. Discord went up to his face, “So for you, it means that you’re in the future, and your kid just spared you from the flames for the next…” He looked at his watch, “Twenty-three hours and fifty-four minutes. So spend your time wisely.” At this, Discord unzipped the yellow stallion’s mouth.

Wide-eyed, Harmonic’s father turned to his son, “This is the future? Wait, how old are you now?”

“Forty-six,” he told him, “I know, I may not look that old, but that’s my true age.”

“Give me a moment…” the stallion closed his eyes, putting his front hooves on the side of his head. “Forty-six minus seven is…” he opened his eyes, whispering the answer, “thirty-nine years? Harmonic, are you telling me that I have been dead to you for…”

“Thirty-nine years,” the Violinist nodded, “Yeah, I had missed you so much in all that time.”

Crescendo’s jaw dropped, “Dear Goddesses… I get to be spared for an extra day in the future, only to go back to the fire in the end?”

“Dad,” Harmonic trotted up to his stunned father, “all that matters right now is that I’m going to make sure that you’ll at least die knowing that everything for me has turned out well. And that your name will never be forgotten from the legacy you left behind. Oh, dad, I have so much to share with you in this short time, the family that I have made, and how so much has changed for the better. So, if it’s not too much to ask of you, could we spend your last few hours with family, my family?”

Crescendo looked around the room, taking in of all the ponies in the room. He was surrounded by four alicorns, several couples, a late teenager, a little filly, and his son. “Thirty-nine years? I’ve died to miss all of this?” His father looked at him in the eye and said, “As long as I’m still alive, I will spend my final moments with you, and to get to know this new family of yours.”

Harmonic hugged him one more, “Thank you, dad. I still have plenty of ponies that I need you to meet.”

“By all means,” Crescendo smiled, “Show me the children!”

“Gladly,” Harmonic turned to his grandchild, “Cloudy, come here.” The Pegasus filly flew over to him, landing on his grandpa’s back, “Dad, this is Cloud View; she’s your great-grandchild.”

“Great-grandchild!” the father said in surprise, “I’ve been gone that long? Wow, now I really feel old.” He picked the blue Pegasus up with both of his hooves, “Hello there little one, how old are you?”

“I’m five years old,” she told him.

He smiled, “Such a pretty one too. So who are your parents, tinny lady?”

“They’re over there,” Cloud View pointed over to her parents.

Putting her down, the bearded unicorn trotted over to them, “And who are you two?”

Cloud’s dad reached a hoof, “Call me Script, and this is my wife, Page Turner.”

Crescendo warmly shook his outstretched hoof, “A pleasure to meet you, besides, what do you two do for work?”

“I’m a writer and she teaches at a local school here in Canterlot.”

“Canterlot? Is that where we are?”

Page nodded, “Yes sir, Equestria’s capital.”

“Oh my, I’m really far from home,” Harmonic’s father commented, “So which one of you is my son’s child?”

Script frowned, “Neither of us actually. In truth, dad adopted me.”

“Really?” the yellow stallion turned back to his son, “Harmonic, can I ask you a personal question?” His colt told him that he can. “Why did you adopt? Had you in all these years trying to bare children of your-”

“Uh, dad,” Harmonic’s ears folded back. “I uh… I can’t.”

Crescendo blinked, “Pardon? You can’t what?”

“Dad, I… I can’t have… children.”

His father’s eyes widen, “Oh…” he said gloomily, “Oh Harmonic… I had no idea that you were infertile.”

“What?”

“Forgive me, I honestly didn’t know,” the blond unicorn gave him a sympathetic look, “It must be really embarrassing for you. I’m sorry; I promise I won’t ever bring it up again.”

Harmonic was about to object to tell him the truth about the real reason why he’d adopted Script, a thought came to him. Since his father had been picked out of a time when Cermona was still backward in its view of the world, he wondered if it really was a good idea to tell him the truth.

He shook his head, “Uh, thanks dad, here, let me introduce you to the rest of the family.”

His father yawned, “Fine, fine. But I still want to go to bed though.”

“Um… e-excuse me,” the two stallions turned to the green Earth Pony that just spoken up. “Mr. Trotivari, isn’t it?”

“Oh!” Harmonic flew over to his fiancé’s side. “Dad, this here is Whole Note, Cellist for the Royal Equestrian Orchestra. And he’s the current owner of one of your red cellos.”

Crescendo blinked, “My red instruments survived for this long?”

Note nodded, “It’s uh… a-an honor to m-meet you,” he said, holding up a hoof for him to shake.

Harmonic’s father took the hoof shake, “Ah, there’s no need to feel so nervous around me lad. I just make instruments for a living. So how are you related to my son? A friend of his I suppose?”

The Cellist took a quick glance at the Alicorn Prince. It only took a look in Harmonic’s eyes that pleaded him not to tell him just yet that made him say, “I’m his… best friend – the c-closest that he has.”

“I see,” the yellow stallion nodded, turning his attention to the five other alicorns in the room. “Also ladies, I’m sorry about my behavior earlier. Outside of my son, I’ve never seen others like him before. And I guess those ledges about you may have contributed to my conduct.”

“We are not offended,” Luna told him, “Harmonic did mention about how we’re portrayed in your homeland. Yet we’re surprised that you didn’t know who we are.”

Crescendo chuckled, “I live in the Icy North, surrounded by a tick forest, trust me, Cermona is the last place on the planet to know what’s going on in the outside world. But who are all of you again?”

“You can call me Luna,” the midnight Princess said, “This here is Celestia my older sister, Princess Cadence who currently runs the reestablished Crystal Empire-”

“Crystal Empire?” Harmonic’s father drew closer to the pink alicorn. “You mean that myth about Sombra the Terrible was true?”

“Was,” Cadence corrected him, gesturing a wing to her child, “This here is my daughter Flurry Heart.”

“A pleasure ma’am,” he bowed to the respectively.

“And this,” Luna concluded, “Is Princess Twilight Sparkle, who currently dwells in Ponyville, which is not too far from here.”

“Nice to meet you finally,” Twilight offered a hoof shake to the bearded stallion.

“And I think you’re all forgetting someone,” Crescendo turned around to face the Draconequus. “Good evening, name’s Discord, ex-Lord of Chaos and Disorder, and since you’re new, I thought I should give you a proper greeting.” He said as he whipped out of existence a blue cannon aiming at the stallion’s face.

“What is-” was as far as Harmonic’s father got before Discord pulled the rope on the old party cannon.

_*_

“You know Harmonic,” Crescendo told him as he got the remaining shred of sticky confetti out of his mane. “I don’t think I like that Discord fellow very much.”

His alicorn son chuckled, “Neither do I, he’s always been too unpredictable, even after he was reformed.”

“So what is he to your family anyway?”

“A friend of my mother- adopted mother,” Harmonic quickly corrected himself. “Sorry, I’ve been in this place for so long that-”

“You’re used to it?” His dad asked. “In all honesty, I’m amazed that you ended up here of all places. I mean, Cermona wasn’t always kind to you as I recall. I still remember you coming home in tears after those brats had done nothing but beat you. I’ve always said that you’d deserved better, yet I couldn’t imagine you would live here,” he guested to the luxurious hallway of the palace, “and you’ve made yourself as a Prince too!”

“As well as a Violinist,” Harmonic pointed out.

The two of them became silent for a moment before his dad inquired, “I’ve noticed something interesting when you were introducing your family and friends. Never once have you shown me your wife,” the Prince stopped, stiffing up at what his father was going to as he asked, “So where is she anyway? Is she even here in this castle?”

Harmonic took a deep breath, “Dad, my uh… spouse, the one that helped raised Script, has passed on.”

“Oh,” his father’s ears folded back, “I’m truly sorry about that.”

He shook his head, “Don’t be. That was years ago, and I’ve made a promise that I would move on. So what I guess I’m trying to say is that… I’m engaged.”

Both eyebrows on Crescendo’s face went up. With a smile, he said, “Oh good! Perhaps I can still meet with this mysterious new wife-to-be?”

“Well…” Harmonic shifted hooves, “How about tomorrow?”

The yellow unicorn yawned, “Sounds good to me. I’m rather curious as to see who this lucky mare is.”

Nodding, the Violinist continued showed him to his room. As he opened the doors, he tells him, “Sorry about the mess dad, with Hearth’s Warming and the concert tomorrow, I just had my hooves tied.”

“Hearth’s Warming? What is that? I think it was brought up several times but nopony explained to me what it is.”

“It’s a holiday here in Equestria. The big day itself starts tomorrow morning,” as the Prince said this, he trotted over to his bed, lighting up his horn to pick up the loose wrapping paper and unfolding the covers. “It centers around friends and family coming together, exchanging gifts, putting on a pageant that tells this country’s beginnings.”

When Harmonic didn’t hear his father’s reply, he turned around to find that his dad was by the coffee table, where his open violin case was resting on. Crescendo was holding up his violin in his aura, examining the instrument with nostalgia.

“Dad?” Harmonic stepped over to him.

“I remember carving this,” he said, “I’m surprised that after all this time of nearly forty years, and you still carrying this around.”

His alicorn son frowned, “Of course I still carried it around with me… It’s… It’s the only thing I had left from you.” This got his father’s attention, “After the… fire, I was chased out of town; they thought that I was the one who burned down our home. For ten years, I traveled with a Caravan of Gypsies, hiding my wings in all that time, playing the violin so I wouldn’t go hungry. Ponies here say that I’m good playing it, yet what many don’t understand was that I didn’t become a Violinist for the sake of entertainment. Dad, in those ten years, it was really… a fight for life.”

Crescendo’s jaw dropped, looking in the reflection of his masterpiece, he muttered. “It’s all my fault.”

“Dad?”

“Oh my boy, I did this,” his father hid his face in his hooves, “If only I had listened to your mother about selling this violin when it was made, none of this wouldn’t happen. We could have moved away from that Goddesses forsaken village and gone to a friendlier place. You would have been happier and we wouldn’t have to burn.” His body shook before his son heard him sob. “Oh Goddesses,” he croaked, “What have I done?”

Harmonic took the violin, placing it back in its case before hugging his father tightly, “Dad. Dad, listen to me,” the alicorn tells him, “Those first ten years were rough on me. I had suffered from hunger to being treated like excrement whenever a village found out that I’m an alicorn. But, hear me out, as harsh as it was, don’t you think for a moment that nothing good came out of it. Dad, even after all of that, I was able to come to Equestria where I was treated with real kindness and understanding that you would approve of. It was because of my suffering, that I became a better, open-minded pony that vows that he would do everything in his power to make sure that nopony would ever go through what I had experienced.

“Dad, I had learned how to read and write, learn new techniques on the violin, learn about new ponies, how to fall in love openly, raise an orphaned colt to become a wonderful stallion and learn how to forgive those that had harmed me. Yet above all, it’s because I have witnessed Ponykind at its worst, that I was able to see it at its best and hold it close like the violin you gave me.

“Don’t ever think that I’ve never once cursed you or mom after you’d died. I sincerely love you both, and I forever will. It’s because of the selfless love that you gave me your greatest masterpiece is, to me, your greatest legacy.”

His father took a moment to dry his eyes, “Harmonic, your mother would have been proud of the stallion that you have become. Just as I am now,” he added with a smile.

“Thank you, Dad, but I suppose it’s starting to get late.” Harmonic opened a wing towards his bed, “Here, you take my bed while I sleep on the couch.”

“Oh no, you don’t have to Harmonic. I’m in your home, and I shouldn’t be the one to-”

“Dad, I insist,” his son interrupted, “You’re the one who isn’t going to be around by tomorrow night, so it’s best that you get the best of life while you still have it.”

“But I shouldn’t kick you out of your bed simply because of me.”

The Prince shook his head, “You don’t have to worry about me. Trust me, there were times where I had to sleep on the ground in the middle of nowhere, I don’t think me spending the night on the couch isn’t going to hurt me.”

Seeing that this argument was pointless, and he was too tired to do so, he accepted the opulent bed he was offered.

Once the lights in the room were dimmed and flickered out, Harmonic rested his head on a pillow and a blanket over his sides.

Not a few minutes after he closed his eyes, he heard the springs on the bed squeaked, followed by a beat of hoofsteps. “Dad, what are you-”

His father kissed him on the forehead, something that hasn’t happened to him since he was as a colt. “Goodnight Harmonic,” Crescendo whispered, “May your dreams be filled with lovely music.”

For the son, he fought hard not to shed any more tears from such emotional nostalgia because it was the same thing that the alicorn remembered his parents tells him every night before he went to sleep – and to hear it for the first time in decades, brought so much of his early years that he’d nearly forgotten.

Yet, as his father climbed into his bed, Harmonic the full-grown stallion, couldn’t help but complete his childhood nightly ritual by muttering, “Goodnight Dad, let the night sing you to sleep too.”

_*_

“HEY YOU GUYS WAKE UP!” a filly’s voice shattered the tranquility of the morning. Not to say that it didn’t startle grandpa Harmonic and great-grandpa Crescendo right out of their beds. Both stallions screamed as they fell onto the floor.

“Augh! What is it?” the yellow stallion asked in alarm, trying to find his glasses.

“IT’S HEARTH'S WARMING!” Cloudy squealed loudly, “Come on! Let’s go open our presents!” So with that, the little Pegasus flew out the door, no doubt to wake up anypony else who was enjoying the morning.

Harmonic’s father rubbed his eyes, “What time is it anyway?”

“Six-thirty,” the alicorn answered, glancing at the clock in the dim light of the room.

“It’s way too early to do anything at this hour,” the instrument maker crawled back into the bed. “Wake me up until that crazy granddaughter of yours is restrained somewhere.”

His son chuckled, “Knowing her, she’s just excited about today is all. It is her favorite holiday.”

“She could keep it,” Crescendo groaned, “Wouldn’t it hurt her if some of us waited for an extra half-hour or so?”

Harmonic yawned, “Come on dad, let’s just get up and enjoy the day as it comes. Besides, after we open our presents, we always have a big breakfast with all the coffee and pancakes you can choke down.”

“Ugh, fine,” his father grunted, “But at least let me wash up first, and get out of these night clothes.”

His son pointed to the bathroom that was attached. Several minutes later, Crescendo walked out, his nightgown and cap folded up in his aura. Although, as drowsy as he was, Harmonic had to blink a few times at his father, since this was one of those rare moments where the Instrument Maker was without his work apron. Yet, he did saw old stallion’s cutie mark, a chisel carving out the face of a violin, which displayed his passion in making his now famous instruments that bared the name Trotivari.

“I’m all ready,” he said as he placed his night clothes on his son’s bed. “So I’ll just wait for you so we can satisfy my great-granddaughter in whatever she wants.”

It wasn’t too long until both father and son returned to the Music Room where everypony was present, all except for Whole Note’s family. Harmonic asked where the remaining ponies were.

“They’re being slow,” Cloudy said, savaging underneath the tree for any sign of a present that has her name on it. “Can’t we just open these without them?”

“Cloudy,” Script said picking her up, “You know the rules, Nopony can open any presents until everyone is here.”

“It’s a stupid rule,” the filly pouted.

“Now child,” Crescendo stepped in, “You listen to your father when he’s teaching you manners. There’s no need to be rude about waiting for everyone.”

“Sorry for the holdup,” a new voice was heard, ponies in the Music Room turned to find the three remaining ponies walking in. Green Hoof also added, “Book wanted to fix her mane a bit before we came.”

“Oh, it’s quite alright," Celestia said as she took her stalking off the fireplace that was filled with several other things. “Now that everypony’s here, we can now open our presents.”

“Finally!” Discord popped his head out of the tree, “Come on Cloudy, let’s open these things.”

Ripped wrapping paper, cards, ribbons, and string flew in every direction like the scattering of a flock of birds. This was followed by lids being tossed aside as each pony started to open their gifts.

At some point in the storm of gifts, the Cellist came up and sat next to Harmonic with a box wrapped in his mouth. The alicorn, under the watchful eyes of his father, took the present in his aura.

“It t-took me a while to get th-this,” the green stallion stuttered. While his fiancé took care to open his gift, he’d acknowledged to Crescendo that, “I uh… sorry that nopony got you anything.”

He shook his head, “I don’t think it would be a good idea to get me something that I won’t be enjoyed for long. I’m just watching everypony here.”

Harmonic opened the box to find a book that was hoof stitched together. He opened up to find that it was all sheet music which contains duets for Violin and Cello. “You’ve rewritten some of my music?”

“More like rearrangements,” Note rubbed the back of his neck, “It took a while to get them all sound right.”

Crescendo leaned over his son’s shoulder, getting a better view of the musical scores, “I didn’t know you composed,” he commented.

“I used to,” Harmonic clarified, “But I somewhat stopped since my first spouse died.”

“Speaking of which, I’m still waiting to meet your new wife-to-be,” his father pointed out.

“Wife?” the Earth Pony raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, I’m still expecting to know who this mare is like, so when do I expect to see her?”

“Uh, Harmonic,” Whole Note nudged him, “can I speak with you for a second?”

After the Prince excused himself from his dad, he followed the Cellist down the hall and into another room that was way out of earshot from anypony. “So, I guess you haven’t told him about us?” Whole Note inquired.

“Well… not really,” Harmonic confessed, “In truth, I’m not sure now in how to break it to him.”

“He’s only got until tonight to live. When do you’d expect to come out to him?”

“I…” the Violinist sighed, “I don’t know. He’s been picked out in a moment in time where Cermona wasn’t as enlightened, and I have no clue in what he’ll do if he finds out that I’m going to marry a stallion.”

“You’re afraid of his rejection, right?” Harmonic nodded, so his fiancé continued, “But how do you know? Maybe you’re blowing this out of per-pur-(blugh!) perorations? I mean, what if he’s more opened minded then you give him credit for?”

“What if he isn’t? It’s one thing that he and mom loved me despite the fact that I have a horn and a pair of wings, but what about him knowing that I’m gay? Trust me, I’ve been in many places like Cremona that have done awful things to me because of a rumor that I happen to like this particular guy or other. Heck, there’s a reason why I didn’t even come out to Equestria before I met Color.”

“Harm, I get it,” Note placed a hoof on his back, “You’re scared of your dad lear-learning the truth to only treat you like scum. And trust me; it wasn’t easy for me to come out to my parents either. I was terrified of how they’ll think of me. You know w-what? Maybe, your dad will outright reject you, probably disowning you too. But remember, you’ve got us, my parents, Script and his wife, the P-Pr-Princesses, and me to back you up. Harmonic, I promise you that no matter what he would say or do, I’ll be up front to defend you.”

The Prince smiled, “Maybe I should let you put on some armor and knight you beforehoof so you can come to me in distress.”

“What? Doing something like in those cheesy romance novels?” Note rolled his eyes, “We’re not talking about fairy tells here Harm, this is real life.”

“My, my,” Harmonic gave his fiancé a quick kiss on the lips, “You’ve just become boring all of a sudden.”

“But in all seriousness though, sooner or later, your dad is going to need to know that th-there’s no ‘wife’ here. Only a husband.”

“I suppose,” the alicorn thought, putting a hoof under his chin, “But how am I going to break it to him?”

Note shrugged, “I guess whenever you feel like you’re ready. Maybe you c-could tell him over breakfast when we’re all together in one place. “

“Tell me what?” both stallions jumped with a third voice entered the conversation; they quickly found it was Harmonic’s father that stuck his head through the door.

“Oh, uh…” the Prince shifted his eyes, “do you uh… n-need something?”

“I was just going to tell you that the white Princess said it was time for breakfast.” He explained, “That, and that Discord fellow just left, saying something about a kazoo. So what were you two talking about?”

Whole Note glanced over at his fiancé, who at this point was starting to sweat, “Um…” the alicorn started, “P-Perhaps I’d tell you over breakfast?”

Crescendo raised an eyebrow, “Harmonic, is something that matter?”

“No,” he lied, “Everything’s fine.”

But his father hadn’t lowered his suspicious look, “Alright, I’ll just go with everyone else.” And with that, the unicorn left.

The two grooms-to-be waited until the Instrument Maker’s hoofsteps faded away before Harmonic sighed in relief. “I have to do it.”

“You sure?” Note inquired, “You know you don’t have-”

“But you’re right; he does deserve to know too. Yet, I for one don’t think that I’m at all prepared for something like this.”

The Earth Pony leaned his neck up against Harmonic’s, nuzzling him while whispering, “You’ve helped me before, r-remember? P-Perhaps it’s my turn now.”

“Thanks, I just hope I can handle it.”

_*_

Even before the Prince set hoof in the familiar private dining room, the doorway to it might as well have been the edge of the world. Beyond its mundane gilded doors, wrapped around in the garlands, wreaths, and the frost collected on the windows surrounding an elongated table was the whole family being served the nearby waiters. For Harmonic, seeing his father sitting down next to his adopted family, the wheat colored unicorn present was the very point of no return. He knows exactly the question he’s going to ask that will open up uncountable possibilities of what is about to happen.

“Uh-hem,” his thoughts were interrupted when his mint fiancé cleared his throat. Turning to him, Note’s hoof was offered to him, and with a look that says, ‘Since we’re a couple, might as well make it known.’

Harmonic hesitated for a moment, looking between his beloved’s hoof and his father who just noticed them, he took a deep breath and held Note’s hoof as they walked in. Crescendo’s head tilted to the side in confusion but said nothing.

The couple sat took the remaining seats, and they were immediately asked what they wanted to drink along with what they wanted. Once they ordered, they turn their attention to the conversation that was taken place.

“You know what this reminds me of?” Harmonic’s father asked, holding a fork over the already cut crapes beneath. “These are like how my grandmother used to make them: crispy on the edges, light in the middle, and they even got the berry sauce right!”

“Did you eat crepes very often?” Note’s mother asked.

“Ha! Are you kidding? The only time she used to make this, was if something special was going on like a holiday or a wedd- Oh! That’s right,” Crescendo turned to his alicorn son. “I’ve nearly forgotten, Harmonic, aren’t you going to tell me about your new bride?"

The table went quiet, “Bride?” Cloud View asked what was on nearly everypony’s mind.

“Um, yes, my son is going to get married soon isn’t he?”

This time, Green Hoof spoke up, “Well yes Mr. Trotivari but-”

“I mean, this is supposed to be a holiday isn’t it?” the yellow unicorn interrupted before looking around the table. “Why are you all looking at me like that?”

“Hold on,” Twilight piped up, “You mean, you don’t know?”

“That I don’t know what?” the father raised an eyebrow, “He said he’s going to show me his soon-to-be spouse.”

“Pardon me, Crescendo,” Princess Celestia stated, “I do believe there’s been some sort of misunderstanding.”

“What’s there to misunderstand?” he questioned. “I was told that my colt is going to get married and suddenly all of you are looking at me as if a second horn just popped out of my head.” This time, the father of the Prince turned his attention to his son, pausing for a moment to see something that he was a little too familiar with.

Harmonic was showing him something that he’d have seen when he saw him grow up. His hooves were shaking, sweat was trickling down from his head like an overflowing pot, and his pupils shrank to near pinpricks.

His son was afraid, which gave Crescendo Trotivari every reason to be concerned over, “Harmonic?” he asked with caution, “My boy, what’s wrong?”

“Y-You still love me, d-do you?”

This took the Instrument Maker completely by surprise. “What sort of question is that?”

The alicorn Prince took a quick gulp of his drink before continuing. “But, I’m… still, your son, no matter what, right?”

His father, now filled with worry, put a hoof on his back, “Harmonic, what brought this up? Of I do. To me, you’re still the special colt that grew up in my workshop. You’re the one that I’ve labored that violin for you because of how precious you are to me. Son, even when you’ve grown up, you’re still in my eyes a Trotivari, even if you did get adopted by a foreign Royal. But tell me what bothers you? You can tell me anything.”

Harmonic looked up, “Anything?”

His father nodded.

“Would you promise, that you wouldn’t be too shocked if I told you, or angry?”

“I promise.”

The Prince of Inspiration gulped, with his eyes, he pleaded for everyone in the room to please stay with him when this firework goes off.

“Dad,” he said softly, “What if I told you… that… I am getting married to somepony, but it’s not who you think it is?” His father tilted his head. The Prince continued, “What if further, that it was because of this, that in those ten terrible years that I had been alone, it was another reason for harsh, angry mobs to come at me other then I’m an alicorn? Suppose that it was because of this, that for a long time, I thought myself as a monster, a freak to everypony, that it took years, and my first special somepony to help me realize that I wasn’t alone? What if I told you, that I happen to love a pony that flies in the face of every tradition that you know, would you still love me to accept that this is who I am? Would you even still see me as your child even?”

“I believe that I still would,” Crescendo said, rubbing his back, like how he used to calm him down as a colt. “And I don’t think that considering what has happened, being in the future, given a chance to meet my, older, son, with all the strange things that have happened, I don’t think there’s anything you could do or say to me to make me stop loving you.”

“You’re sure about that?”

His father nodded, “Now tell me, who is it?”

“Dad,” Harmonic took a deep breath, “You’ve already met my special somepony,” he confessed, “and that one that I’m going to wed is…”

“Me,” Whole Note said, placing a hoof over his fiancé’s.

Crescendo stopped massaging his son’s back and froze. He looked around, examine each face before turning back to his son, “This isn’t a joke… is it?”

The alicorn shook his head.

His father paused once more, “You’re serious,” he said, “You’re… actually, honestly going to do this?”

The couple nodded.

Sitting straight up, Harmonic saw his dad’s expression, which was the most terrifying of all. He didn’t have the look of acceptance, nor anger, nor fear, or disgust. If anything, it was blank. His glasses drooped on the edge of his muzzle, eyes open and mouth closed. For a solid minute, there wasn’t a sound in the room, not even any of the Princesses disturbed the stillness of the moment.

Then, the unicorn got up, and without a word, starting walking towards the door.

“Dad?” Harmonic called out, but his father kept walking. “Dad,” still nothing, “W-Where’re you going? Dad?” His father’s horn lit up, upturning the handle. He called out once more, but the son’s pleas fall upon deaf ears as Crescendo opened the door and without a slam, he closed the door behind him.

3rd Movement

As for Harmonic, when he couldn’t help but watch his father leave the room without a word, the alicorn couldn’t help but feel devastated. This was surprisingly worse than he’d expected it to play out, he was delivered a blow that didn’t come from physical or verbal harm. Although his dad never said a word, the moment that the truth had reached him, he was now dead to him.

“Harm?” Note asked quietly, “Are you-”

Hunching over in his seat, hooves over his eyes, and all hopes of being reunited with someone that he’d mourned over was broken; the Prince couldn’t help but feel worthless once again.

His mint green fiancé hugged his shaking body as he shook and sobbed. Meanwhile, Note’s mother stood up from her seat, “Come on Green,” she turned to her husband who got out of his seat. She turned to Harmonic’s son, “Script, you too.”

“Why? What are you-” the blue Earth Pony was about to inquire when the Librarian cut him off.

“We’re going to give Mr. Backward a little talking to,” she starting marching towards the door, swinging it open. “Now come along.”

The two other stallions followed the determinate mare while leaving the Princesses and Book Mark’s son to comfort the grieving alicorn behind. It didn’t take long to find the Instrument Maker who was walking down one of the endless hallways.

“Hey you!” the mare called out, getting Crescendo’s attention, “What was that about?”

“Leave me alone,” the yellow unicorn told her, “I really need time to-”

“Oh no you don’t,” she circled around until she was in front of him. “Is that the way you honestly react to your son for telling who his special somepony is?”

“Ma’am, now is really not the right time,” he tried to go around, yet the crossed librarian kept blocking him.

“How could you do that?” she questioned, “Tell me, how could you just disown someone that has gone through all the trouble to bring you here so he could show you who he really is?”

“First of all,” the unicorn said, lighting his horn to move Book out of the way, “I never said I’ve disowned anypony. And secondly, why are you so upset at me and not at your son for?”

“Excuse me,” now it was the Gardener’s turn to block him, his face souring. “What did you just say?”

“I was asking why neither of you aren’t scolding your colt for… this?” Crescendo waved behind him towards the private dining room. “I mean, this is completely going over my head, how can my own boy and yours decided that they would want to wed each other? Does this even bother either of you in the slightest?”

“No,” Green said, “we already knew years ago that our Whole Note trots that way.”

“But, how?” Crescendo questioned, “How could you be alright with something like this? Much less give your permission for this to occur, to begin with?”

“Permission?” Book Mark raised an eyebrow, “What do they need our permission for? They’re full grown adults; they can make up what they want to do with their lives, or even who they want to marry.”

Harmonic’s father’s jaw dropped, “Has the world gone insane in the past forty years? T-This is unheard of! Absurd even! No, no! It’s absolutely incredible that neither of you just don’t care!”

“Hey! Of course, we care.” Green interjected, “We care about making sure our colt is safe and happy. Don’t you dare say that it’s crazy that we would not only allow it but even give them our blessing too.”

Crescendo covered his face, sighing he asked, “What is going on with the traditions? Yesterday, children had to ask the parents’ permission, where husbands get a wife and wives get a husband so that businesses, disputes, and property problems can be settled. And now I find out that my son, my Harmonic, is going to get married to a… a stallion? Why?”

“Because happiness is more important than traditions that make you miserable,” Script answered. “It’s the same reason why I married my wife, not because someone made some business agreement or anything like that. But because I asked her out of my own free will.”

“Getting yourself wed to a mare is one thing,” Crescendo pointed out, “but all I’m asking is… why him? Why a stallion and not a mare? What does Harmonic see in him that would want him to… to…” he cringed.

The Gardener put a hoof on the Instrument Maker’s shoulder, “Look, my wife and I didn’t really know from the start that our son prefers stallions over mares either. In truth, when Note told us that he’s gay; we didn’t really know what to make of it at first. Now, I wouldn’t lie to you if we thought that this was some fluke too, that maybe this was all temporary and he might find a marefriend. Heck, before he came out, I didn’t bother to research anything homosexual related because I didn’t know anypony who was, nor even cared what their history was.

“My wife and I went to our family doctor about it, the same one who we’ve always trusted for years to see if there was anything to be done.”

The Violinist’s father raised an eyebrow, “So what did he say?”

Note’s mother laughed, “He told us that he’d had nothing to worry about, that this was completely natural.”

Crescendo blinked, “Define ‘natural.’”

“As in that this behavior is commonly found in nature in nearly every species on the planet. And it’s not something that is to be afraid of because it’s just a natural trait like how you were born a unicorn and not a Pegasus or an Earth Pony. This means that there’s no choice in the matter. Also, he told us that he can’t change him liking stallions anymore then we lean towards the opposite gender.”

“The point here being is,” Green stepped in, “We turned away from following ignorance and worry to research. We’ve looked into books, searching other ponies who are the parents of children like our own for guidance. And try to figure out where to go from here. As it turns out, the answer is very simple.”

“And what answer, pray tell, is that?” the unicorn questioned, “What do any of you do when your child isn’t what you thought he was? Or that you found something that only makes your relationship with your child seem all the more distant? To the point that you have no idea how to relate to or even why that Harmonic made this, decision to wed your son?”

“For the same reason I guess why you loved your son, even though he’s an alicorn,” Book stated.

Crescendo searched for a response to comeback it, only he couldn’t because it really was the truth. Even when his sense of tradition told to deny it, he hates to even accept such a truth, but the father’s mind went back to the day that his son was born. Back to the time that his village called Harmonic ‘unnatural’ because of his horn and a pair of wings, and how they wished to abandoned him somewhere in the forest so that no evil would come to Cermona.

Yet, he remembered his reason why he didn’t; it was the same one that these parents were trying to persuade. Because he’s still his son, and he is the father who wanted nothing out of him but happiness.

“But…” the stallion objected, “how is he to raise anypony without a wife? I mean, having a father and mother raise foals is the only way it’s been done since the dawn of time.”

“Grandpa,” Script answered him, waving a hoof at him as he started to walk down another hallway, “I want you to show you something.”

_*_

Ding!

The elevator doors slid open, and the Writer and his Grandfather stepped out of the lift and into the darkness. Lighting up his horn, Crescendo followed Script into the unknown.

Along the way down, the bearded unicorn noticed that the blue pony didn’t say a word on the way down. He wondered what his future grandson had in mind; much more in what he intended to show him.

Soon, in the echo of their hoofsteps, and in the dim light of his horn, the Instrument Maker found lines of stone lids that were stacked far above him, assuming that they went up to the ceiling. Each lid had carved onto it a name and two dates.

“What is this place?” Crescendo wondered out loud.

“Canterlot’s Cemetery,” Script told him, “There’s a grave here that I think you really need to see.”

“What? My own?”

His grandson shook his head, “No, something much more important.” He leads him towards a massive iron gate, above it had the seal of the Equestrian Royal Family, the Crest of Everfrees. Script unlocked it and went through with the unicorn following him behind. Then he came to a stop at one of the graves that was near the floor.

In Crescendo’s aura, surrounding the lid were several wreaths of wilted flowers, from roses to orchids that encompassed the portrait in the center. Forever in paint and glass, staring back at them with a soft smile was a unicorn of light brown, white hair and shiny sea blue eyes.

“In life, he was Color Spectrum,” Script said, “He was an artist, my Pa, and Harmonic’s husband.”

“What?” his grandfather asked in surprise.

“Let me finish,” the Writer quickly said. “Before you make your final judgments on my dad, your son, let me tell you about him, his last husband and my biological parents. You see, when Harmonic was discovered here in Canterlot and Princess Celestia adopted him because he was seventeen at the time, my dad once believed that because he was both an alicorn and a homosexual, that nopony in their right mind would ever fall in love with him. But thanks to my aunt, Princess Cadence, that decided to play matchmaker, he was paired up with him,” he pointed to the grave. “And over the course of four years, they dated each other. Color became a kind of councilor to him, where Harmonic could share him his feelings, and secrets like his recurring nightmare of forcing to watch him getting torn apart by villagers from the country you came from.

“Then, after they became Husband and Stallion, they help run Equestria in the arts from music to sculpture and everything in between. Not to say that there weren’t times when they had their arguments. Heck, as a teen, I remembered them arguing over who’s turn to do this particular duty. Yet, in the end, they’ve always found a way to apologize and laugh it off.”

“What does this have anything to do with you?” the unicorn asked.

“Let me get to that. You see, while this was going on, I was born in Baltimare. My real parents, they were not good at all. In fact, my mother died in prison since she was a convicted criminal and left me and dad to fend off for ourselves. My dad on the other hoof couldn’t hold down a job to save his life. We didn’t live anywhere except for some abandoned buildings left over by the city. And to top it off, dad takes this kind of drug that would change his personality, so that when he takes it, I had to leave to wander the streets. I would beg and steel scraps of food or whatever bits I could get my hooves on just so I wouldn’t starve.

“Anyway, on this very day years ago, when I was probably a tad older than when you last saw your son yesterday, my dad took his usual drugs, and never woke up. You could imagine that I bawled my eyes out when he died. I got so sad that I went into some alley, crawled in a cardboard box and spent hours crying in the middle of winter without a coat on. I could have died on that day if it wasn’t for somepony that heard my grief. This turned out to be your son who he and his husband was stuck in the city at the time because of an unscheduled blizzard. And… he saved me.

“He took me to the hospital to get me warm. Then the next day, he and Color came by and I was given a wish that they can grant. I wished for a family that would be there for me, to listen to me, care for me to eat regularly, sleep in a warm bed and a roof over my head. And you know what?” Script smiled with nostalgia, “That wish came true because they adopted me on the spot. Even from the start, I thought it would be weird having two dads since I never knew anypony that had gay parents before.

“But you know what? They stayed true to my wish. I got the family I’ve not only wanted but needed. Under their care, I grew up learning how to be mature, appreciate hard work, and even got my cutie mark in creative writing. From them, they help give me advice in dating my special somepony, who years later turned out to be my wife, Page Turner.”

Then, Script paused for a moment. Harmonic’s father was about to ask what was wrong before he said, “On the day that my Pa died, he was working on our family portrait, except, he never got the chance to finish it. But when he passed away, I don’t think I’ve ever seen my dad cry harder in my life. I was told later that at his funeral, dad played his violin one last time before they put him in there. It would be three years before he picked that instrument up again, yet in that time, he never smiled for anything. Not at my wedding, or Cloud’s birth, nothing. He still did his job, but for a while, he really missed him.

“But when he met Whole Note, however, he was back to his old self again. He’s was so happy to be around him like he did with Pa. Now, don’t tell my dad that I told you this but… Right after he purposed to Note to officially be his special somepony… Whole Note… got raped.”

“What?” Crescendo asked in disbelief.

“My dad's historian wanted to have the throne with Harmonic, but when he asked Note and not him, his employee got drunk and… did it to him. My dad found what he was doing to him. Not only did he fire him on the spot, but had the monster arrested as well, leaving Note crying in pain.”

This was not what the Instrument Maker expected to hear.

But Script continued, “It has taken years for Note to get over it, even when justice was served, he had nightmares for a year about the event. My dad said that he held him for hours at night when he wakes up crying. Yet, just like how Color had comforted him, Harmonic did the same for Note just to let him know that he isn’t alone.

“Grandpa, I know you grew up in a different time and place, but I hope you know what love is when you see it. And I know that you have until tonight to live, but all I can say is that from here to you, you need to decide how you want us to remember you. Do you want to be remembered as a monster, no more different than the foals that had beaten my dad in your town, the ignorant villagers that tortured him for fun? Or, do you want to be remembered as the same, kind father that you son grew up to love?”

The two stallions stood there in silence until Script asked, “Out of curiosity, about my grandmother, Melody. You said that marriages were arranged where you came from, did you love her?”

His Grandpa cleared his throat, “The first time I’ve ever met her, was on our wedding day… She and I were frightened when we were wed in front of everyone. But our parents said that we should learn to love each other.”

“Did you?”

He shook his head, “We were more like friends who happened to be married. I did respect her, but when Harmonic was born, that love for him as a son… that was genuine. For seven, bittersweet years, I watched that tiny baby grew up to a wonderful, helpful colt.” Here, Crescendo chuckled sadly, “Although, he did break a few windows with his ball, and had smashed a few good violins. But what makes it all so weird to me is… I can’t see him other than the colt that I’ve always known. And now, with him getting married to a stallion…? I’m completely lost in what to do.”

His grandpa paused for a moment, “Script, may I be left alone? I think I can find my way out of this place, but I need a moment to ponder on a few things.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded his grandson quietly clip-clopped his way back to the elevator, leaving a unicorn of flesh and a unicorn of paint in the catacombs to meditate.

_*_

Script walked out of the elevators and walked towards the private dining room where he last saw his dad. He hoped that he might have enlightened his grandpa a bit from what he told him. Although, he confessed to himself that he wasn’t all too sure about if what he had to say made any impact with the stallion from Cermona.

“Dad,” he snapped his attention upward, finding his daughter above him. “Where’ve you been? And where’s grandpa’s dad?”

“I just had a talk with him, sweetie.”

The little filly lowered herself till all four hooves were on the ground, “Did he mean to make grandpa cry?”

“I don’t think that was what he intended to do,” the blue Earth Pony picked his daughter up, “Right now, he’s just confused and need some time to think things through. And speaking of your grandpa, is he still in the dining room?”

“No,” Cloudy shook her head, “He and Note went to his room. Aunt Luna and Cousin Flurry are pretty upset with grandpa’s dad leaving without saying anything.”

“What about everypony else?”

“Well… Celestia, Twilight, and Aunt Cadence are talking with Not’s parents right now, and mom was wondering where you’ve gone to.”

“Oh, I see,” Script swung the filly onto his back and started to continue on his walk. “Where is your mom anyway?”

“She was looking for you,” Cloudy moved around, trying to hug his dad’s neck, “since you’ve just disappeared on us.”

“I’m sorry for that, but I had to show Harmonic’s dad something first.”

“What was it?”

The writer shook his head, “It doesn’t matter now, how about we go find your mom?”

As father and daughter walked on and turn into a different hallway, the elevator door rang, its doors opened up to the Instrument Maker. His mind deep in thought, he wondered down passed hallways and elaborate rooms aimlessly. It didn’t matter where he was going, but rather to walk off what was on his mind – something he intended to do from the start.

Eventually, he came across the doors that lead to the winter outside. With a flicker of his horn to open the doors, the arctic winds that bit on the yellow coat, but walked out to the crunchy snow nevertheless. Although, as freezing as it was, Crescendo found it appealing given that there wasn’t anypony on the palace grounds.

He walked along the labyrinth of shoveled pathways of this Icy Wonderland. Nearly every inch of grass, bushes, statues, trees, even the buildings, and mountains were layered in crunchy snow. Winds danced wildly around the statue gardens to the point that the bearded stallion could have sworn he could see ghosts doing a traditional dance from his village.

The Instrument Maker paused for a moment behind a snow covered hedge that blocked most of the wind and thought for a moment.

‘Am I really being so inconsiderate?’ he wondered. ‘After all, my boy did go through all the trouble just to see me one last time. Come to think of it, he just wanted me to meet his family, his children- adopted! Remember you old fool, every single one of them are adopted! There’s not a drop of Trotivarius blood in any of them.’

Crescendo looked up at the massive castle, ‘But, does that matter? They took you in; Harmonic introduced me to what he considers to be his love ones. Maybe not by blood, but he has a family now. On the one hoof, in this future, he’s happy, safe, and has raised a colt of his own that’s now a stallion himself. Oh, but on the other hoof, he’s going to wed a stallion and not a mare, twice! Then again, Script was raised by two fathers, and even in Cermona, he would be perceived as a normal fellow. And that Note does appear to be a polite, if not tongue-tied at times. If he and my colt were to raise another foal again, perhaps whoever they raise, may grow up to be an upright, moral pony.’

He shook his head, ‘But on the other hoof, this is going way outside of the norm, no matter what country this is. I mean, who’d ever heard about a stallion that’s capable of falling in love with another? There’s a reason why traditions like a stallion and a mare get together to raise a family has endured for so long, this is just something new. Yet, maybe all traditions started out as new once, did they?

‘Besides, from what he told me last night, and by the looks of it...’ Harmonic’s father looked around the Splendor, if not frozen palace. ‘Things can’t get any worse for him… From what he’d had to endure, they can only get better.’

Feeling the chill all over his body, it was about time that the bearded Instrument Maker moved indoors for his ponderings. He followed one of the shoveled pathways that lead to a different part of the castle. Walking through another pair of double doors, he shook the fallen show off of him and whipped the fog that formed on his glasses.

As he did so, a question popped into his mind, ‘Why does it matter what gender Harmonic’s spouses are supposed to be?’

Spotting a couch a little way down, Crescendo walked over to sit down in it, musing over this new question that he’d never considered thinking before.

Minutes passed by with the stallion never moving from where he was resting. Then, a butler noticed him and went up saying, “Excuse me sir, are you Crescendo Trotivari by any chance?”

“Yes, and?” he questioned.

“Sir, the Princesses have been looking for you everywhere, partly being that it’s now time for lunch and that the Prince has been upset over you.”

Harmonic’s father blinked, “Upset?”

“He’s with his fiancé in his room, and he’s been furious. Whatever you’ve done, it really soured his mood quite a bit.”

Making up his mind, Crescendo stood up, “Can you take me to him?”

_*_

Up several staircases, down hallways, passed armies of the castle staff and guards, and dozens of festive rooms later, Crescendo stood at the double doors that bared his son’s cutie mark of the familiar, elegant “f” that he’d covered countless times before.

He knocked twice on the tall doorways, a moment later; it opened up to find his son peeking out from it. Who by the look on the alicorn’s face had quickly frowned when he saw who knocked.

“Harmonic, I think we-” was as far as the unicorn got before the door was slammed in his face, quickly followed by the door being locked. Annoyed, he knocked again, “Son, let me in.”

“Why?” his son questioned with a hint of anger, “I think your silence spoke for itself.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You walked out on me, even when I tried to ask you to stay to hear me out, you wouldn’t. So it looks like now that I’m dead to you isn’t it.”

“Harmonic, look, you’ve got it all wrong. That’s not what I meant to intend. I mean… this is all a big shock to me. I left so I can comprehend what was happening, since… I never had to deal with anything like this before.”

“So? You could have just said, ‘I need a moment’ or something other than just walk right out. Besides, why did you come back to me anyway?”

“I just wanted to talk.”

There was a thump from behind the door, “Let me guess,” Harmonic said, “You’re going to say that I’m no longer your son anymore and follow it with every insult that I’ve ever heard in my life? Like saying that I should be treated lower than dirt because I’m a delusional, selfish, sick, perverted, stallion-stuffing, demon-possessed, queerer-than-a-fairy, manure-eating, weak, pathetic, stupid faggot that should never have been born – was that what you’re going to say? I think I’ve pretty much covered it.”

His father shook his head, “No, that’s not at all what I was going to say at all.”

“Then what,” Harmonic asked coldly, “what were you going to say?”

He paused, inhaling, the Instrument Maker said, “You have my permission.” At this, the locks on the double door were opened, and Harmonic’s head peaked out.

“What?”

Crescendo took a breath, “What I meant was… if you wanted to wed this other stallion of yours… you… have my permission to do so.”

Slack-jawed, the Violinist stood there in shock, not saying a word, the bearded stallion continued, “Let me make this clear to you. I have thought this over about what some of your family said to me into consideration. Personally, I don’t understand this, and given the limited time that I have left, I doubt that I ever will. Is it weird for me that you’re going to marry a stallion for the second time? Of course, it is.

“And I don’t know who, or what put the idea that I’m suddenly going to disowning you in the first place, but that’s not what I’m ever going to do. In my eyes, all I see from you is the same, timid seven-year-old who has been unjustly thought by the village as nothing more than a recreation of a monster. I still see someone of my own flesh and blood that all he asks in life, is to find something to make him happy. Harmonic, I am a stallion of my word when I told you that there’s nothing that you could do or say to me that would make me stop loving you, my child.

“Perhaps, I’m not the one that’s caught up with all the changes in ideas since this is forty years into the future for me. Maybe there’s something in what you’re doing that I’m still missing and just don’t quite see it. But you know what son? As long as you are safe from harm, and can still give a real smile, it’s all I ask as a parent. And by the look of things, I don’t think I’ve done a good job at it lately.”

Sighing, Crescendo added, “Harmonic Trotivari, for what I’ve put you through… I’m sorry.”

As for the Prince, he embraced his father with not only his fore hooves but even wrapped him in his wings too. “Thank you, dad,” Harmonic said, “I… I don’t know how to express how much this means for me.”

His dad pulled away, but still kept his son’s wings around him. “But I have to ask, are you sure that this is what you want to do? I mean, marrying another stallion again.”

His son smiled, “Yes dad, I’m absolutely sure of it. Whole Note has made me happy more than you could possibly know. I can say this without any hint of sarcasm or lie to you by saying that I love him.”

Nodding, his dad asked, “Speaking of which, where is that Note, fellow? Is he in there with you?”

One of the double doors were pulled aside, revealing the mint green Cellist behind it. “Y-You wanted to see me?”

Letting go of the hug, Harmonic’s father turned to him and told him, “Son, I want to have a moment to speak with your… fiancé in private. In the meantime, I’ve heard that they’re serving lunch now, so how about you head off there and we’ll join you later?”

The Prince of Inspiration raised an eyebrow, “Why?”

“I’m not going to scold him if that’s what you’re thinking,” the yellow unicorn said as he stepped in. “I just want to get to know the pony who’s going to be marrying my son is all. Now run along,” His horn lit up, gently pushing his son out and closing the doors.

Alone with his fiancé’s biological father, Whole Note gulped, “Uh… Could I uh… Help you with anyth-thing?”

“Have a seat,” he waved a hoof over to the couch.

Even when he was hiding his increasing nervousness, Whole Note obeyed. The stallion watched Crescendo trot over to the couch, sitting down across from him.

“I’m rather curious,” the bearded stallion began as he adjusted his glasses. “How did you come to know my son?”

“Well,” Note scratched the back of his neck, “We’ve met a few ye-years ago when he’d rejoined the orchestra.”

“That’s right; somepony said that you play the cello.”

He nodded.

“How long ago was it?”

The Cellist put a hoof underneath his chin, “I… I think it was about three… maybe, four years ago?”

Crescendo nodded, “But, why him?”

“S-Sorry?”

“I mean,” he clarified, “Out of all the ponies in the world, why did you choose him?”

“Oh. Well, truth be t-told, I didn’t really choose him, o-o-or even asked him to marry me. He did.” The father tilted his head in confusion, “Ya see, I had developed a kind of crush on him years ago. I mean, how could I not? He started out as this role model for me, from coming out to my parents t-to picking up music as a passion.

“But, when I was good enough to join the Royal Equestrian Orchestra, and the day he rejoined it,” Crescendo noticed that a slight tint of red started to form on Note’s cheeks. “Oh, I was j-just so nervous. I guess from both being star st-stu-struck, and being in the presence of this, violin God to the point that I couldn’t help but distance myself from him. Yet, on one Hearts and Hooves day, a miracle happened. He’d noticed me, not just that, but took some time to talk to me, a-and even it grew to give me a chance go d-date him.”

“So in other words, he was the one that gave you the chance to be… romantically involved with him.”

Note smiled as he said, “You may not know it, but your son, Harmonic, is an incredible gentlecolt. He takes the time to listen to me, my compositions, and unlike some of these uptight na-no-nobles in Canterlot, he never saw me as an everyday pony that you’d easily forget because they’re not worth your time. Instead, he saw me, a Cellist who has a few mental disabilities, living in an apartment as this kind of treasure to be taken care of. Not to mention his k-kindness and selflessness, this is a rare thing for any royal mind you.

“Although he’d offered me several times that he can help finish paying that stupid rent on my apartment once and for all, I’ve always declined it because I wanted to pay it all from my honest work from the orchestra. Yet, when I had my uh… bad day, when I got hurt, he was there beside me until I was w-well again.”

“You seem to speak highly of Harmonic,” the unicorn pointed out. “So I assume it’s safe to say that you do care about him?”

“No sir,” Note shook his head, “I love him. I-It’s just as s-simple as that.”

Leaning back in his seat, Crescendo turned his head towards the fireplace in thought.

Finally, he spoke, “I’ve always been protective of my son. In a place where ponies like alicorns are viewed as tricksters, you tend to hold a different view when that said alicorn is your own flesh and blood. There were times when the village demanded that he should be thrown into the well or sometimes a rock would be thrown at our window that wants your son dead, I bet even you too would do everything you could to make sure he’s safe. Yet, even for somepony that makes string instruments, you can’t always be with him; you have a job to do to keep your family feed.”

“I th-think I understand,” Note nodded.

“There have been times when my Harmonic would come home crying because those brats pulled on his wings until the feathers fell out. Or that he would run home with the children throwing leftover food at him. In fact, when I last saw him yesterday, he dropped out of school for two years because those foals treat him so harshly while the adults dismiss his cries of help.

“Of course, I tried convincing the elders that my son deserved much better treatment, yet I was always ignored because they think I and Melody had done something wrong to get a child like this. So you could only imagine how frustrating it was for us living there.

“Believe me, I have worked hard, both on the quality of my instruments and show my Harmonic as much love that a father could give him. I went out of my way of making the best violin I’ve ever made for him, and even taught him how to play the instrument too. Simply because that he loved music, it was his comforter, a constant friend that I wanted to pass down to.”

“Are you a good musician?” Note inquired.

Crescendo laughed, “When you’re the one who’s making the instruments, you might as well know how to play them so you could sell them!”

The mint green Cellist tilted his head, “And what do you prefer playing?”

“The guitar,” he grinned, “as much as ponies like to play the violins (like my son for instance), I for one always loved the guitar because it’s much easier for me to play.”

“Huh,” Note commented, “I n-never knew that. I knew Harmonic talked about how you used to play music for him, but I somewhat expected you’d play the violin or something.”

The Instrument Maker shook his head, “I’m an amateur at best. True I’ve taught him how to play the violin, but it’s not something I’m entirely good at. A dying cat performing can do better playing on the violin in its final death twitches than I can on a good day!”

As soon as his laughter died down, Harmonic’s father turned serious looked at the Earth Pony and stated, “On a serious note. I may have just given the both of you permission to wed, yet, the last thing I want from my boy is to have anypony, especially you to make his life more miserable then what he’d already had gone through. I may be going to die tonight, but if I somehow catch word that you do something to make my Harmonic unhappy, I will do everything in my power to come back and haunt you until the day you breathe your last breath.”

Note couldn’t do anything but meekly nod, ‘Celestia Harm! Your dad can be really scary if he wants to!’

Getting out of his seat, a smile quickly appeared on the father’s face, “So with that, let’s go get some lunch, I’m getting hungry myself.”

4th Movement

Lunch in the palace started off as tense when the bearded stallion walked through its doors once more. The looks on most of his future relatives started out as judgmental before Crescendo took his seat.

Whole Note took his seat across from him and next to Harmonic. “Was he rough on you?” the alicorn asked.

“Not really. He just wanted to know how we met and a-all.”

“So I trust that you have come to terms with your son?” Luna asked rather stoically.

Harmonic’s father sighed, “Look, I can tell some of you are still upset with me, but please understand, this is all new to me. I left so I could think this over.”

“You could have said that,” Flurry pointed out.

“I know. I know – it was both foolish and rude of me. And I shouldn’t be the one to judge since this is the future, a different country, and a new rules altogether. Besides, I don’t have much time left, and I don’t want to spend it by shunning, but to get to know all of you, as a father ought to do. So, if it isn’t too much to ask of all of you, is it possible to start this again anew?”

Around the table, ponies looked at one another. The stallion did present an excellent point, it would be anything but honorable to not give somepony a second chance when they have already extended the olive branch to the ones that were offended.

“Okay,” Cloudy said, “Hi there, I’m Cloud View, I’m five years old – who are you?”

Chuckling, the unicorn answered, “Hello there little one, I’m your great-grandfather, Crescendo.” Soon, around the table, amends were made, apologies were given, and the soup was served.

“So Harm,” Page Turner asked, “Are you guys ready for the big dinner tonight?” Crescendo asked what was so special about it, in which she explained, “Here in Canterlot, the Princesses throw a Hearth's Warming Dinner in which she gathers the most influential ponies of the year. And Harmonic came up with the idea a few years ago to throw in a recital at the dinner itself by the students at the… what’s the school called again?” she asked slyly.

“Oh! That’s right,” the Prince said with some embarrassment, “I think I’ve forgotten to tell you didn’t I?”

“Tell me what?” his father inquired before scooping up a piece of potato.

“Well, some time ago, I’ve opened up a rebuild conservatory, or a music school and I… named it after you.” This got the Instrument Maker’s attention. “Yeah, I’ve dedicated it in your name as a kind of remembrance. Anyways, the students there tend to compete to be at this dinner in hopes that they might get noticed by some of these influential ponies that’ll be there.”

“Wow son, that’s actually… such an honor that you would do that for me.” The unicorn then added with, “So this recital dinner thing, do you play at it as well?”

“Only at the very end,” his son nodded.

“Then I hope you intend on inviting me, I want to know after all these years how you sound on that violin.”

“Speaking of violins,” Twilight piped up, “Can I ask you something Mr. Trotivari?” He said that she could, “Maybe for the sake of insurance, could you tell us how you make your violins?”

The yellow unicorn put down his spoon, “What?” Princess Twilight repeated her question, but Crescendo raised an eyebrow, “Why does that concern you?”

“With all due respect sir,” the lilac alicorn clarified, “I’m asking because I just had a thought. What would happen in the future that your son’s violin gets broken? I mean, a Trotivarius violin like Harmonic’s is priceless as it is, and in the future, it’s only going to get harder to replace. Especially when each good quality violin is worth millions of bits and-”

“What did you say?” Crescendo interrupted, dropping his spoon in his bowl. His eyes inflated to the size of cartwheels, and his muzzle hung open. “My violins are worth… how much?”

“Enough to nearly bankrupt a whole country with,” Script said.

It was here that Harmonic’s father started laughing, “Millions!” he guffawed, “My dealers have been swindling me this whole time!” Crescendo laughed like a madpony, “Hey son! Did you hear that? We might have been rich, yet someone has taken all that money away, leaving us nothing but scraps!”

“Dad, calm down, that doesn’t matter anymore,” the Violinist told him. “There’s nothing any of us could do about it.”

“I know that,” his father slumped down in his seat, “But… it’s just so frustrating to hear that my instruments, my work were sold for less than what they’re really worth.”

“But look on the bright side,” Green Hoof said, “Even if you didn’t get the bits you deserved, at least you get to have some kind of immortality of how rare, and incredible the stuff you made is.”

Sighing with reluctance, the unicorn agreed, “I suppose that… Twilight isn’t it?” she nodded, “That she’s right, I’m the only one in the world who knows how to make a string instrument correctly, and it may get harder for my Instruments to get properly repaired. I’ll tell you what, after this, I’ll share you my secrets in how I make them. But only on the condition that no one outside of this room knows about it, agreed?”

Twilight was more than happy to comply.

“Now, I do have a question for all of you,” Crescendo added, “Since I have a limited time here, what should I be doing with all of you?”

“Well, since the big dinner is at six,” Celestia thought out loud, “I think that after you spend some time with Twilight, perhaps you could be with Script and his family for a bit. After that, hopefully around three, perhaps you can have tea with me, Luna, Cadence, and Flurry. After that, I suppose you can be with Note’s family; but this of course if completely up to you.”

Harmonic’s father told her that it sounded fair before returning to his soup.

_*_

In the Prince’s room, a Violin and Cello were singing together. Harmonies were practiced one last time with grace for what was about to happen in the next few hours. The melody of high and low strings hummed in counterpoint yet neither instrument offset the other. Hooves and bows synchronized their centuries-old ballet that abides both stallions to produce such music.

“Stop,” Note said taking his bow off the red cello. Harmonic did the same, in which he asked if he needed to rest. “Yeah, let my hooves stop for a sec.”

“Tired already?” His fiancé nodded. Looking at the time on the mantle, he noticed that it was getting close to five-thirty, and the Prince hasn’t seen his dad since lunch. “What do you think he’s doing now?”

“Who? Y-Your dad? I don’t know, maybe he’s talking with our family or something.”

Harmonic sat his violin down on the coffee table, “So… What do you think of him?”

Whole Not leaned back on the couch they’ve been practicing on, “For one thing, I’m impressed he didn’t act like a bully to-tow-toa- (blugh!) towards us. Sorry.”

“It’s alright. I’m actually glad that dad was able to accept the fact that I’m about to marry you.”

The cheeks on the mint green Cellist turned a light shade of pink, “Yeah. It’s almost weird isn’t it?”

“What?”

“Well… the fact that I’m going to officially be y-yours in about a year. Once all my rent is paid for of course.”

“Yet, my offer still stands,” the alicorn wrapped him with a wing, “I could provide the means for us to get hitched sooner you know.”

“Harm, we’ve been over this, I want to pay it all on my own before I move.”

“I know, but I just can’t wait for Your Highness to become my King.” Note tried to hide his blush from that comment, “Besides, a year is still a good deal of a long time to wait for.”

“But you c-can live forever,” the Cellist pointed out. “I’m sure that you’ll be able to wait a bit longer.”

“You’re no fun,” Harmonic sighed, “But if you insist, then I shall do so. Still, once we do become Husband and Stallion, where in the castle do you want to move into?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, the moment you say, ‘I do,’ you essentially become Royalty, and therefor, you can move into the palace. So, which room do you want to move into?”

“Well,” Note put a hoof under his chin, “Would you mind if I did som-something different than what your last husband did?”

“And that being?”

With a warm smile, his fiancé asked, “When we do get married, can I move in with you… i-in your room?”

“Really?” now it was the alicorn’s turn to feel a little flustered, “Are you sure you don’t want a room of your own?”

“Nah, I guess I’m a little old fashioned,” Note leaned in his withers, “Right here. This very room, with you in it… this is all I need.”

Harmonic smiled, “So you wish it, so shall it be.”

There was a knock on the Prince’s door. The Violinist opened it with his magic to find his father there.

“Oh!” Crescendo quickly looked away, “Sorry was I interrupting something?”

“Not much,” Harmonic said, getting up from the couch. “How was your day so far?”

“Interesting,” his father admitted as he walked in, “Now that I’ve just spent some time with everypony, I think I should spend the rest of my remaining hours someone that matters most. I’ve got to say, I’ve learned quite a bit about you.”

His son nodded, “I’m glad you did… But… What do we do now? You don’t have much time left, and this very well may be the last time we’ll be together as a family. Nearly everything I’ve wanted to say to you has been said.”

“Nearly?” his father raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?”

“Hey, Harm?” Note asked as he got up, “S-Should I leave or…?”

“No, you can stay,” Harmonic turned back to his dad. “It’s just, with everything said and done, how do you say ‘Goodbye’ to somepony that you know you won’t see again?”

“Son,” Crescendo Trotivari, put a hoof around his neck, “truth is, I don’t know exactly what to say either. As much as I do appreciate this unique opportunity for me meeting an older you, I’m not exactly sure if there’s anything I could do or say to make this easier.”

“Aren’t you afraid?” Note cautiously asked, “I mean, with dying an all?”

The unicorn shuttered, “I’m going to go back into the fire, what pony wouldn’t be? Yet, I’ve always known that I was going to go sooner or later, just not like this.”

“Dad,” Harmonic asked, “Is there something that I could do for you?”

“The only thing I want from you is to hear you play on your violin. A sort of musical sendoff is just what I need.”

“Of course,” his son nodded, “For the recital tonight, I and Note will be playing a trio with one of the students at the very end.”

“I see,” the Instrument Maker said, now approaching the cello leaning up against the couch. Looking through the ‘f’ holes, he exclaimed, “Oh that’s right, this is one of mine.” His horn lit up to make the cello stand up. “By the looks of it on the varnish, it’s starting to fade but at least the color is still preserved. But what about the sound,” he leaned his ear on the back of the instrument, listening to the taps he gave on certain points of the Instrument. “Remarkable,” he commented as Whole Note trot in front of him, “Considering its age of… forty-five or sixty so years, the sound box is just as good since the day I made it.”

“I think your son said that it’s o-one of the la-las-last remaining red cellos in the world,” the Cellist told him.

“If I were you,” Crescendo hoofed the instrument over to him, “I keep a close eye on this.” While Note nodded, the unicorn suddenly was struck with a bit of inspiration, “Hey Harm, I have a request from you.”

_*_

The last crescendo of strings marked the end for the young student at the piano as her performance finished on the last climatic notes. This was quickly followed by the applause from ponies in the expansive Ballroom, where among the festive garlands with red flowers, and the giant decorated evergreen, Equestria’s most influential applauded from their tables or where they stood.

The young mare stood up from the piano and took a polite bow, now relieved that her piece with the students went well.

Prince Harmonic, and Whole Note applauded for her performance, they were there alongside the students at the very back of the room near the tall windowpanes. The alicorn Violinist also got up from his place to shake the student’s hoof to tell her that she did a great job.

“And now, Mares and Gentlecolts,” he said as servants started passing out music sheets to the students, much to their confusion. “Before we get to our final performance for this evening, we have a surprise, special performance for all of you to enjoy.

“Now, this next piece, of Vifilli’s Guitar Concerto in D Major, won’t be performed by anyone from the Crescendo Trotivari Conservatory.” At this news, the attendance in the room whispered in confusion. “But for this pony, he is someone who is widely known in the music world, yet this will be his first, and unfortunately, his last recital.

“In fact, this particular pony, for this night only, will be playing for not only for you but for me as well, on the very instruments that he had painstakingly created. For tonight, all three movements of the Guitar Concerto will be performed, by my father, Crescendo Trotivari himself!”

The doors to the back of the Ballroom opened, there, the guest found three ponies there. Two of them were Guards who stood next to the pony in the middle with an old looking guitar in his copper aura. Not to say that the room erupted in amazement, suspicion, and some shock in others.

Many of the guests noticed as the bearded stallion walked in, he did seem to get increasingly nervous. His hooves were shaking and twitched, even his glasses nearly fell off several times in which he had to readjust it.

This didn’t go unnoticed by Harmonic who flew over to his father’s side whispering, “Dad, do you want to back out of this now?”

“No, I-I think I can still do this. I know this is the last minute since I doubt that these ponies really rehearsed this.”

“But are you sure that you can still perform? This isn’t the streets or anything like that.”

“Look at them,” his father pointed out, “They all know I’m here, so there’s no turning back now since they want me to play… Although I admit… This is rather a bit large than what I’m used to.”

“Okay then,” Harmonic said as they climbed up the stairs to the platform. “A bit of advice, don’t focus on them, only the music sheets and nothing else.”

“I hope the few minutes of practice would help,” Crescendo muttered before taking his place at the very center of the platform where the music stand was. Now placing the wooden instrument in his hooves, he glanced at the first few notes. To his son’s credit, the piece he chose for him did seem easy for him to follow. And as he noticed from his limited practice time, each movement moved at comforting speeds in which he could manage to perform.

“Ready Dad?” his son asked, placing the violin underneath his chin.

Taking a deep breath, the unicorn looked only at the music before him, placing his hooves on the strings, he gave a nod; cueing Harmonic to start the concerto.

For the first movement, strings from the student’s instruments and even the guitar bounced with each note. This bubbly melody from the Braeque era was as warm as the room it was played in. Almost possessing the personality of a young, playful filly on the first day of summer. The tiny orchestra made up of students played off from the stallion in which their school was named after. It truly was surreal for nearly all the ponies present in the room to hear the solos from the same pony that carved these priceless masterpieces.

Among the audience listening, where the clanking sounds of china, silver, and cut crystal muted to listen to this unusual performance. Even the Royal Family present, some of them couldn’t help but fall under the spell of Crescendo’s lighthearted performance. Cloud View and Princess Cadence were either bouncing their heads or tapping to the lively beats of both guitar and bowed instruments.

As for Whole Note on his new red cello, his strings danced with pizzicato to accompany his fiancé’s father’s solo. Even for him who has played pieces with this much whimsy, it was difficult not to get intoxicated in this music.

For Harmonic, all he could feel as he played along with the students, Note, and his father was nostalgia. In a way, his dad’s nervous playing was better than how he’d remembered it. There was a sense of peace as the music went on.

Crescendo Trotivari, however, he was doing his best to not only follow the notes but to keep his eyes off of what he assumed to be judgmental eyes from everypony that was listening. Even though he played his own instruments in his lifetime as a form of advertisement, he’d never dreamed of playing in front of some powerful ponies in a place like this.

Once the first movement was finished, there was polite applause, ‘That’s good I suppose,’ the Instrument Maker thought.

On with the slower, second movement, where this time, the atmosphere of the music had changed. While this one was longer than the other three, Crescendo actually like this part because of how relaxing it was. Yes, that was what this movement was, a perfect representation of pausing to take something in.

This simple tune gave the stallion confidence as it went on. With violins and cellos transfigure the moment into something beyond sublime. It was almost as if the orchestra was meditating yet never interrupting the Guitarist’s thoughts of such beauty. Yet the guitar was still creative in its pacing and playful lines of notes as if creating a heavenly fantasy out of the bright greens and reds from the decorations themselves.

Harmonic couldn’t stop smiling seeing his father’s worry melt away, replaced with a smile of his own from the dominant voice of the instrument in his hooves in this musical interpenetration of a daydream.

Once finished, there was louder applause from before. Ponies knock on tables or stomped on the tiled floor before the bearded stallion could turn the page on the music stand.

The final movement started out as a kind of dance while still keeping onto that gentle warmth. Perhaps, the closest thing that came to Crescendo’s mind was like a kind of winter’s solace dance from Cermona. Where there was a lot of movement that twisted and jumped for warmth. Even the conversation with the orchestra from all violins, violas, cellos, basses and double basses were almost a convincing illusion for the Guitarist that he was taking part in a celebration that never ended.

Once again, for the moments where Crescendo had his solo, Whole Note’s cello was there to accompany the background of this spirited dance. Playing a whole-hearted song from a bygone age but still has the sense of a breathing tradition that is difficult to kill.

Yet, the concerto came to a close when both the music and the Instrument Maker took a bow. The only expression that Harmonic could read off his father’s face was a relief when he stepped off the platform and headed towards the table where the Royal Family was sitting at.

“That was quite lovely,” Celestia said as he sat down, leaning the neck of the guitar against the table.

“Oh thank you, Your Majesty,” Crescendo sighed in relief. “To tell you the truth, I was quite nervous being up there.”

“But you did have fun up there, didn’t you?” Twilight asked.

Before Harmonic’s father could say anything, his son spoke up, “And now, for our final performance for tonight will be a trio. For the piano, once will be played by Ms. Alto, myself for violin and Whole Note for cello as the three of us play for you a piece from the late Symphonic Melodies: Romance for Trio.”

The three musicians gathered at the center of the platform, with the mare behind the piano once more, and Harmonic pulling up a chair for his fiancé. The couple, once they were ready with their bows in position, exchanged a smile to the other before the Prince told the Pianist to start.

As first, the piano played the first few bars, Whole Note took a breath before he began to play out the melody. All the while, he looked upward at the Violinist, playing not so much for the ponies in the Ballroom as much as he was wooing his beloved. On that red cello, as bright as a Hearth's Warming flower, it sang out to him without ever speaking.

The Violinist, in turn, played out a poem of sound. Although as old as he and the Violin were, its strings spoke nothing but an ode to the other. Soon, both violin and cello couldn’t help but say their love without mentioning the word once. Yet, the sound of love itself from the two alone was all that was needed.

“What do you think?” Crescendo’s attention was turned towards Flurry’s.

“Over what?”

“Them,” she pointed at the couple, “I mean, with my Uncle and his special somepony.”

“Oh…” he turned back to the performance. “Look at him. In all my years of raising him, I’ve never seen him smile like that before. It’s quite rare you know.”

“You must be proud of him, right?”

“Between you and me,” he whispered back, “I still think that this arrangement he’s made is still too weird for me to fully grasp. Wait, hear me out. As much as part of me still doesn’t want to accept this, how can I deny something that would give him that makes him as happy and at peace like that? The colt I knew had grew up in a place of misery, so who am I to say where his happiness comes from? He’s a grown stallion now, and he’s free to do as he pleases. Yet, all I ask is to be sure he’s going to be with someone that will make him a better pony than I last saw him.”

“I think that’s what happening right now,” Flurry smiled. “I many not have mom’s ability is detecting love, but going off by the music alone, I think that this sort of love won’t do anything but grow.”

Harmonic’s father didn’t respond as the three of them played out the final notes.

_*_

How does one prepare themselves to die? What sort of preparation, requests, and wisdom does one do, ask, or share before they depart into a land where none return from? And who is the last pony you speak with before passing on?

These were the questions that the bearded stallion was asking himself the time for him to depart was approaching. Not to say that this was the most sobering hour of his life, but the father of the alicorn already knew who he wanted to spend his last moments with.

On the highest tower on Celestia’s balcony, where the snow and ice were cleared away was a table, a tea set, and two warm pillows. The dying pony’s request, underneath the frosty night and above the snowy landscape, Crescendo wished for only to be with his son and his violin to have tea for the last time. He even had brought up a particular brew in which was done in the way that he was familiar with. The Royal Kitchens put in the particular amounts of particular herbs that he used to make at home.

It wasn’t long until his son stepped into the icy air with his violin and bow in his aura.

“Evening,” his father said, lighting up his horn to pour the steamy liquid into their cups.

Harmonic nodded, “Hey Dad.”

“Have a seat,” he gestured over to the other pillow. “I think you and I should have a talk.”

His son obeyed and carefully placed the violin on the table.

“Here,” Crescendo levitated a blanket over him, “I figured that you may get chilly.” When Harmonic said nothing, his father tried to start up a conversation. “What a day, no?”

“Yeah,” the Prince muttered as he picked up his cup.

“But it was an interesting one,” the unicorn pointed out. “I mean, I’m nearly half a century into the future, you are adopted by Equestrian Royalty, and learned about your… love life and you were an excellent Violinist.”

“I know,” his son said softly.

There was a pause before his father changed the conversation a little. “Um… Script and his family showed me Color’s last painting.” This got Harmonic to look up, “It was the one where it was a family portrait of you, him, and Script before he married Page.”

“And…”

“And, I must say, that portrait was very powerful.”

“Color never finished it,” his son took a sip from his cup.

“Yet, even so, that portrait was the last nail in a sort of idea that I used to uphold.”

“And that being?”

“That a real family consists of a father and mother with their children, something that only a family structure like that could only work. Yet, even if I’ve never met your late spouse, I would have considered him an honorable father.”

“How so?”

“I would imagine that painting is something that would take time, and effort too to achieve such quality. With that painting, and considering that Script told me that he was on his deathbed, the last thing that was on his mind was you and your son. And if that painting was honest, I would have assumed that the three of you were quite the happy family, perhaps, happier than anyone I knew in the village.”

“That’s because we were,” his son said, putting down the cup. “Color died too soon. Yet in his time that we had raised our Script, as there were some complications as you might expect from raising another, younger pony, to this day, I’ve never regretted it because of all those small, unexpected joys from parenthood. And if Color would here, he would agree.”

Crescendo nodded, taking a few sips from his evening tea, he asked, “Harmonic, is there anything from me that you wanted to know about? Have there been any questions you’ve always wanted to ask from me? If so, I think this is the perfect time to do so.”

His alicorn son thought for a moment, “Just one, how did you and mom meet?”

A gulp later, the unicorn told him that, “To be honest, I never fully knew who Melody was until our wedding night. I was the son of an Instrument Maker and she was the daughter of a silversmith, so before, we didn’t even knew each other that much or even cared until my father found out that the family business was about to go under and needed the money. So, he and the silversmith arranged a deal for us to be married.

“I was against it at the start because I was only seventeen and her fifteen. So you could only imagine how terrified we were that we were getting married to a total stranger for financial reasons.”

“So…” Harmonic asked with caution, “I guess you didn’t really love mom, did you?”

“Was I in love with her like you are with Whole Note? No. But that didn’t mean that I hate her outright. Actually, after the wedding feast was over and we were tossed into a room, we both agreed that we should at least start out as friends. Over time, I learned a bit more about her like her interest in learning about every traditional song in the village, and I to make the instruments to accommodate that music.”

“In other words, you two were like friends who just happened to be married?”

His father nodded, “Exactly. We tried not to fight as often as some of the other unhappy couples. We did keep our distance, as well as trying to find some kind of common ground. So, we thought that the best way to do that is for us to try to have children.”

“So I guess this is where I come in.”

“Only several years later,” his father pointed out, picking up his teacup. “I can’t tell you how many times we have tried and failed. For a long time, we thought that one of us was infernal for some reason. We tried medicines for our doctor to picking up tricks from passing caravans. Yet, nothing worked. I remember times when your mother would get so depressed that she threatened that she would kill herself by drowning in the river. But once we found out that she was pregnant with you,” the bearded unicorn smiled, “we were so happy that we celebrated all night.”

“Now this part, I do know,” Harmonic smiled, “I remember mom used to tell me from here that the night she told you she was pregnant, you two did nothing but sing and play music for so long, that the neighbors banged on the front door to keep it down.”

Chuckling, the father replied, “But they only added the beat of our rejoicing.”

“It’s amazing that they tolerated us for so long, even before I was even born.”

“Ha! You should have been there when your grandfather had played a prank on the tailor! He moved every scrap of fabric into our workshop just to watch him get angry.”

“That’s horrible.”

“I know,” his father grinned, “I remembered him rolling on the floor when the tailor was tearing up his shop looking for the fabric.”

“Wow, we Trotivaries are awful.”

“But the town knows about our mischievous reputation of giving some offense to someone for generations, it all just depends on the pony is all. While each of our family is pretty much a wild card when it comes to upsetting everypony, like you being born an alicorn is no exception, we’re also known in the village for our music or making the instruments to make said music.”

“I suppose,” Harmonic took another sip of the tea.

There was another moment of silence between them. It was at this moment that Harmonic noticed something about his father as he asks, “Aren’t you cold?”

“I don’t think it will matter now,” the unicorn replied, “Since I’m feeling quite war-” Crescendo was cut off when he was engaged in a coughing fit. In which, much to his son’s horror was coughing out smoke.

“Dad! Are you alright?”

“Give me a minute,” he croaked as some more smoke exited his mouth. “Sorry,” the unicorn cleared his throat, “It’s apparent that my time is almost up.”

Harmonic rushed over to his father’s side, hugging him, “You even feel a little too warm.”

“Why do you think I’ve asked to meet out here for?” Crescendo whipped the tears from his eyes. “The heat is growing stronger for me. I apologize that you have to see me go like this.”

“But…” the Violinist shut his eyes tight, “I don’t want you to go.”

“Son,” his father said, “Look at me.” He did, trying his hardest to keep the tsunami of emotions back as much as he could. “You need to be strong for me, you hear? It doesn’t matter now if you’re adopted, you are a Trotivari, and now, more than ever, you need to be the stallion to uphold the family name. You need to move forward with no regrets, no remorseful tears, but you need to be strong for your family, and for Whole Note as well. He looks to you for guidance to become a better pony than before. You did this for Script, and you must do it again for all of your love ones. Can you be able to do that?”

“I promise Dad,” Harmonic whipped the tears from his eyes, and with contempt, smile added. “It’s just so hard that I’m losing you again.”

His father coughed but continued, “I’m never dead, my Instruments are what keep my legacy alive. Now, can I ask you something son?” he nodded, “Do you remember the lullaby that I first taught you on that violin?”

“How could I forget?”

“Play for me,” his father told him, “so at least the last sound I’ll hear is the sound of your violin.”

Harmonic’s horn glowed, levitating the instrument underneath his chin. The black chin-rest was cold to the touch; he ignored it while clenching the bow in his right hoof. “Dad,” he said, “There’s something I wanted to tell both you and mom years ago on that night.”

“What’s that?” his father asked as he coughed once more.

“Goodbye Dad,” his son finally told him, now tears breaking their barriers. “I love you both.”

Crescendo Trotivari smiled, “I know. Now, please play.”

Harmonic played for him the lullaby that he once practiced every single night, the same bittersweet tune that he had carried with him for decades. The melody was able to calm his father now he was not only coughing out smoke but slowly turned into a cloud of it. Yet, Harmonic continued on, through the frosty wind on his back and the inferno heat in front of him.

“Goodnight Harmonic,” his father whizzed as the smoke and fire engulfed him. “May your life be filled… with music.” And just like that, the bitter winds of winter scattered the smoke away until nothing remained, not even his beloved father.

Drawing out the last note of the lullaby, the Prince stood there in the Icy night. For the second time in his life, he saw one of his parents, his biological father, go up in smoke. But this time, there wasn’t out of fear, or horror, or even depression that tears were falling from the alicorn’s eyes. Rather, it was a sense of peace, as if everything has now just come to a balance. Whipping his eyes, Harmonic responded in a whisper, “Goodnight Dad, let the night sing you to your eternal sleep.”

“Harm?” a voice shattered the winter air, which nearly made Harmonic jump. He found his fiancé at the door. The mint green stallion cautiously approached him, “Is everything alright?”

Sighing, the Violinist lowered the violin onto the table before nuzzling him, “I think,” Harmonic started as he wrapped him in his wings, “That everything is going to get better from here.”

“So… did you get your wish?”

“Huh?”

“With bring your dad back for a day.”

The Prince nodded, “Yeah, I got my wish. So now, I have everything, and so much more.”

“More?” Note raised an eyebrow, “What could you have more of?”

Harmonic answered his question by kissing him. Quickly realizing, Note pulled away, his cheeks flushing, “You do realize how c-clichéd that was?”

“What? A cliché is called a cliché because it’s always true, no matter how many times you get sick of it.”

The Cellist nuzzled him, “You’re really weird… don’t ever change.”

Smirking, his fiancé replied, “So you wish it, so shall it be.”

Ten Years Later...

1st Movement

The only sound that Harmonic heard in his room was the crackling of his fireplace and the dancing strings of his violin. Before him was a music sheet of one of countless Hearth's Warming carols. It sounded warm, welcoming, and the song promised hope for a brighter future. Of course, the Prince did pencil in a few things into the traditional song such as trills, extra notes, and a harmony of the other strings, but that bright music still gavottes around the large room.

The alicorn looked up at the mantle; it was nearly time for the Hearth's Warming Eve party that Harmonic was looking forward to. A family affair for the Royal family for sure, but this year, since Whole Note had officially become his fiancé, he was especially looking forward to seeing him at the small gathering.

‘Okay,’ he thought as he put the violin back in its case, looking at the colorfully wrapped gifts on his bed. ‘Mom and Aunt Luna’s gifts are over here. I’ve just found Twilight’s and Spike’s presents and they’re ready to go… Cadence and Flur are here too… Script, Page, and Cloudy’s are in one pile. Note’s parents are by the pillow, and his present is-’

Harmonic paused; he scanned around the bed in increasing dread. “Wh… Where’s Note’s present?” He tossed the pillows on his bed, his panic started to increase. “Where did it go? I know I placed it here somewhere! Where is- Oh,” the Prince sighed in relief, finding the present with a golden bow had only fallen off the bed.

Using his magic, the Violinist put the package back in its proper place.

“Okay, so who else am I missing?” he looked over the bed once more, rechecking each present to see if he was forgetting somepon-

“Oh yeah,” Harmonic frowned, “him.”

In truth, the Prince was indeed looking forward to the family’s party tonight. However, there was a particular guest that he wasn’t looking forward towards. It was someone that he’d avoided for a very long time. Not because that this particular guest was bad, but it was because that the one coming is considered as the weird friend who always comes around once in awhile.

Harmonic knew where “his” gift was, it was on the nightstand, wrapped in green paper and orange plaid ribbon.

There was a knock on the Prince’s door, in which he called out for whoever it was to enter. It was a Solar Guard that marched in, giving him a solute.

“Your Highness, they have just arrived and headed their way into the music room.”

“Thanks for that,” Harmonic turned to pick the presents up from his bed. “Has he arrived?”

“Who? Your fiancé or-”

“No,” the alicorn interrupted, “I mean… him.”

It took a moment for the guard to register what he was talking about, “Oh! Oh no, we haven’t seen him yet. But knowing him, we’d expect for him to make a dramatic entrance in one form or another.”

“To be honest,” the Prince confessed as he walked out of the room with all the organized presents in tow. “I really, really hope that he wouldn’t come this year, especially today of all days.”

“Why’s that, Your Grace?”

“Well… It’s because that this will be the very first time that Note’s parents will be meeting the whole family. They all know how important it is for me to give them a good impression of what kind of family they’d expect to be a part of. Now I have the stress of leaving in the hooves of fate that even if he does come, he wouldn’t scare them away. I mean, we all remember last year, right?”

The thought alone was enough to make the gilded Earth Pony shiver, “So many kazoos.”

“I know, I was there – and frankly it’s a miracle that we all escaped for our very lives.” Harmonic shook his head to banish the memory. “So just to be sure, is Whole Note’s family here?”

The Guarded nodded, “Everyone is. Even your family too is waiting in the music room.”

“Excellent,” Harmonic grinned, “You know, I think this Hearth's Warming is going to be a very good one.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

One short walk later, the Prince walked into the warm and festively decorated room. As to fit the theme of an old fashioned Hearth's Warming, every light in the room was lit by the light of candelabras, and a fireplace to help illuminate the room. In one corner of the room was a pine tree that was adorned with colorful glass balls, red beads, tiny candles, and a small gilded sun at the top. And below the tree were lines of presents of various shapes and sizes, all of which waited for their owners to rip them open.

Bundles of holly, strings of scarlet tinsel and reefs of evergreens linked the walls of the room. Trays of entrees, dinner, and desserts were on display on several tables and the piano. And sitting on the piano, a phonograph plays out as warm and festive music to match both the season and the room itself.

Yet, what drew Harmonic in the most were the ponies present, especially with one in particular.

“Note,” the alicorn greeted him, getting his fiancé’s attention. Although his snowy mane was as messy as ever, this time for the occasion he was wearing a suit with a simple, standard black suit over a milky white vest, shirt and tie over his mint green coat. Whole Note smile brighten when he spotted his husband-to-be.

“Harm,” he trotted up to the Prince. “I was starting to w-wond-wound-bleagh! Sorry, I was wondering when you’ll be here.”

Harmonic laughed, giving him a quick kiss on the lips, “Happy Hearth's Warming Note. Look, I brought gifts!”

“Grandpa!” the Violinist was suddenly ambushed from above a little Pegasus filly. “Where’s my present?” she asked in sheer excitement.

The Alicorn craned his neck over to his back, “Now Cloudy, you need to wait like everyone else,” as he said this, he elevated his gifts to take their place underneath the tree.

His granddaughter, however, was disappointed by this. “But Grandpa,” she whined, “I’ve been waiting forever!”

“Just a little longer,” Harmonic lit his horn, lifting the filly off his back. “I promise you that the wait will be worth it.”

She then looked over to the green Earth Pony and asked the Cellist, “Can you convince him to have me open my present early?”

Whole Note shook his head, “Sorry, but I don’t th-think it would be fair. If you s-s-start opening yours, everpony else will too.”

“So it’s best if you wait after the party,” Harmonic added, “where you can open one present before tomorrow morning. Does that sound good?”

“No,” Cloud View’s face soured before she is picked up by her Pegasus mother.

“Hey Harmonic,” using her other foreleg, Page gave her father-in-law a hug. “How’ve you been?”

“Busy, but nothing too serious.”

“Oh good,” she nodded.

“Where’s Script?”

She pointed over to where the punch bowl was, “He talking with Note’s parents, just trying to get them to relax.”

Harmonic thanked her before he and his fiancé walked over to his beloved’s parents. An earthy green stallion in an outdated baby blue suit and a yellow mare in glasses and her main done up in a bun were nervously talking to the alicorn’s adopted son. An Earth Pony too, who had nothing on except a black vest.

“So,” Script started, “Book Mark, wasn’t it?” the mare nodded. “You work in my Aunt’s library in Ponyville?”

“Oh, yes,” she politely smiled, “I uh… just got promoted to work full time at the Golden Oaks.”

“Good thing too,” her husband, Green Hoof added, “Since it’s the winter season, you can’t really do much when you’re a Gardener.” The stallion laughed uneasily, “So it’s always tough this time of year.”

“Evening you two,” Harmonic cut in, in which his beloved’s parents quickly bowed to him. “No, neither of you don’t have to do any of that. You don’t bow to family.”

“But you two aren’t married yet,” Green Hoof pointed out, “and again, sorry but I guess old habits really die hard.”

Whole Note rolled his eyes, “So Mom, I hope the trip here was too bad. With all the snow-”

“It wasn’t all that bad,” Book waved a hoof. “Sure it was quite cold when we got here, but all the ice didn’t stop us from coming here.”

“And again,” Note’s father nodded to the Prince, “Thanks for inviting us over.”

Harmonic smiled, “It wasn’t a problem Sir. I thought it would be a good idea if you guys got the chance to meet my family so you’ll know what we’re really like.”

“Behold!” a voice cried out, that came from a dark blue mare that held a large barrel over her head, trotting in through the door. “I have brought the wassail!”

“You two have met my Aunt Luna, have you?” the Violinist asked.

“Harmonic!” the Night Princess beamed, settling the keg on the table, “A happiest of Hearth’s Warming.”

“You too Aunt Luna,” the Prince nodded, “I think you’ve already have met my future in-laws, have you?”

“Ah, the Parents of Whole Note the Cellist,” she wrapped a hoof around the two now stiff ponies. “We met at last, is it true that you’ll be spending this splendid of holidays with us?”

“Um, we are Y-Your Majesty,” Green Hoof told her, “Both of the boys invited us here after all. It would have been rude not to.”

“Yes,” Boon Mark nodded her head, “What he said.”

“Would either of you care to have some wassail?” Luna asked, “I’ve brought plenty up from the old caller.”

“Excuse me, Aunt Luna,” Harmonic interrupted, “Has, you-know-who arrived yet? I don’t see him anywhere.”

“Alas, neither I nor my sister has seen him lately, why?”

The Price silently sighed, “It’s nothing, it’s all I need to know.”

While Luna dragged his fiancé’s parents off, Harmonic and Whole Note quickly decided to talk with everyone else in the room, beginning with the nearby Twilight Sparkle and Celestia that they were having a conversation by one of the windows.

“So what are you girls talking about?” Harmonic asked, getting their attention.

“Hey Harm,” the purple alicorn immediately hugged him, “Long time, no see.”

“How’s my favorite teacher been doing these days?” he asked, hugging her back. “Where’s Spike anyway?”

“He couldn’t come, sorry,” Twilight let go of him, “He’s spending with his Hearth's Warming in Fillidelphia with his special somepony’s parents. But he told me to tell you ‘Hi’ though.”

“I understand,” Harmonic gestured over to Note, “Speaking of spending time with their special somepony, Twilight, this is my fiancé, Whole Note.”

She smiled and shook his hoof, “Welcome. I’ve only seen you in the news a few times, but it’s good to see you in the flesh.”

“Likewise,” the Cellist said politely. “I uh… hea-ha-heard about what happened to Fluttershy, I’m sorry about her passing.”

“Oh, it’s… It’s okay,” she said melancholy, “I’m not upset about it anymore. She’d lived her life beyond what she could have dreamed of. And I was there to help shape it. Although, since you’re here Harmonic,” she turned to the amber alicorn, “Have you heard anything from Cadence recently?”

“A little,” Harmonic replied, “I think she’s getting better after Shining’s passing. I don’t think she’s been looking for anypony to date, however, I’ve heard a rumor from Flur.”

“Oh?” Celestia inquired, “And what is that?”

“How about we ask her?” the Violinist pointed to Cadence and Flurry Heart, who held their mugs by the fireplace. “They are both here after all.”

The three of them agreed, they made their way over to the fireplace, where Cadence was the first to notice the Prince.

She smiled, “Hey Harmonic.”

“Hey Uncle,” Flurry put her mug down. “So it is true that you and Note are going to get hitched?”

The mint green Earth Pony nodded, “Uh-huh.”

“By-the-way,” Cadence took a sip of before putting her cup down. “When’s the wedding anyway?”

“We haven’t sa-settled on the exact date yet,” Note rubbed a foreleg against the other. “I’m uh… almost paid the rent fully from my apartment-ment.”

“When would that be?”

“I think… August or probably September, maybe.”

“So anyway,” Celestia stepped in, “How are things with you two in the Empire?”

“Oh it’s, good,” the Princess of Love said, “We’ve been expanding our borders a bit since ponies started immigrating there. Oh! And Flurry?” this got her daughter’s attention, “Do you want to tell them about Baker?”

Her child grunted, “Mom, I’ve already told you, Honey Rolls and I are just friends.”

“Uh-huh, ‘friends,’ sure, whatever you say,” the mother said, clearly not convinced.

“What’s going on here?” Twilight asked.

The smaller pink alicorn sighed, “Look, I don’t know what any of you have heard, but Rolls and I are just best friends, nothing more. We were just hanging out since she’s free from her classes during the holidays. Oh, and for the last time mom, I’m straight.”

“I believe you,” Cadence smiled, “But you can’t be too absolutely sure on these things you know.”

“Mom! Stop embarrassing me in front of everypony!” Flurry quickly covered her face and her ears folded back.

There was laughter all around, then Note added, “You know, you kinda remind me of myself wev-when I came out to my parents.”

Harmonic turned to him, “How so?”

“Well, after I told them that I’m gay, the very first thing my mom asked was which one of my friends I was dating.”

Flurry moaned, “Someone please change the subject!”

Her wish was granted in a truly odd way. From the chimney of the roaring fire, there was a Bump! Bang! Crash! Honk! Splat! Hey Macarena! Crack! Crunch! Before something fell through and rolled onto the carpet.

“Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!” it cried, beating up the flames that had caught his velvety red robe with a furry white trimming. The thing dropped a carpetbag onto the floor with some noticeable sedge marks on its sides. It dropped on the ground and rolled around the floor and the walls until the flames were put out.

“You’re not Saddle Claus,” Little Cloud View pointed out.

“True Sherlock, I’m not really,” he said as the mitch-matched creature got up. “But I want to pretend that I am for a change.”

“Good evening Discord,” both Harmonic and Twilight said dryly.

After popping a few joints and spinning his head around, Discord stood up proudly. “It’s Happy Hearth's Warming, Discord.” He corrected them before turning to the carpet bag, “Also, sorry for being a wee bit late, I had to reconsider some of all of your gifts for the big day tomorrow.”

Luna blinked, “You brought gifts for everypony?”

“Even one for me,” the Draconequus unclasped the mouth of the bag. “Give me a sec, I’ll go get them.” The Saddle Claus impersonator floated up to the lit chandeliers above before taking a swan dive into the depths of his bag.

“Is this normal…?” Book Mark asked with caution, “Does this happen every day or…?”

“Only on every other day,” Discord’s voice echoed from the bag. “The rule is, weird tomorrow, weird yesterday, but never weird today.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Celestia said, sticking her head in the carpetbag, “Even for you, there hast to be a ‘Weird today.’”

“Oh no it can’t Celie; it’s usually weird every other day. It just so happens that today is one of those days. Now did I put them by the library or the swimming pool?”

“What are you looking for anyway?”

“Come on, I knew I put those stupid gifts somewhere. But where did they- Uh-ha! Found them!” Discord sprang out of the bag, in his lion’s paw, he carried a stack of white envelopes, “Here it is, the perfect stocking stuffers.” On the mantle, thirteen stalking materialized, twelve of which had all the names of the guest at the party – with the Spirit of Chaos’s name at the very end which was the longest of the bunch.

“Now,” Discord popped over at the fireplace, distributing each stocking with the envelope. “One for you, one for you-”

“Discord,” Cadence interrupted, “What did you give all of us?”

“The ultimate gift cards,” he said as he placed an envelope in Cloud View’s stalking. “And before anyone asks, the answer is no. They don’t have any cash attached, although you could if you really want to.”

“What does that mean?” Whole Note asked as he trotted up to the stalking with his name on it. Before the stallion could even touch the envelope sticking out, his hoof was slapped away.

“Hey! Careful! These wishes are fragile you know!” the Lord of Random scolded the Earth Pony.

Note was completely taken aback, “W-What did you say?”

Discord was about to replete what he told him until he realized too late of his mistake. The whole room became dead quiet.

“Sorry,” Harmonic stepped forward, “Did you just say, ‘wishes’?”

The Draconequus moaned, “Welp, there goes the big surprise! But yes,” he placed the remaining envelopes in their stockings, “all of these contain one wish per pony. And trust me; none of these were easy to make either. Call it a cheap cop-out, but it’s rather difficult to find the perfect gift for all of you since ponies usually hate the things I give them.”

“Like what happened at my son’s birthday?” Harmonic questioned him, sharpening his eyes.

“Hey, I honestly didn’t know that being in a tank of piranhas that sing wasn’t any of your idea of fun,” Discord held his arms defensively.

“Or the time you gave my last husband the Yakstainian Crown that nearly triggered a war?”

“Oh come on, those Yaks get offended at the drop of a horny hat.”

“Or the time that your idea of a Hearts and Hooves Day present for me was putting a want-it-need-it spell on me that attracted everypony within a twenty-mile radius?”

This got his fiancé’s attention, “When did that happen?”

The alicorn sighed, “It was after Color died and during my depression years. Thankfully I was able to convince Mom to erase everypony’s memory that was involved on that day.”

Whole Note blinked, “So I’m guessing this is why you don’t really ever mention Discord, even when I asked about him.”

“Oh don’t mind him,” Discord waved a claw, “He just has a simple grudge against me, and he’ll get over it eventually.”

“Um, excuse me,” Script spoke up, “Where we just talking about wishes a moment ago?”

Discord leaned back and fell into a hammock, “I suppose we were. Since the surprise is up, I guess I should explain a bit in how they work. Each wish is on a little card that if one touches them directly, it activates, which is why they’re all in envelopes.” With a snap of his claw, a coconut cup appeared in his paw, which included a straw and a little umbrella. “They’re simple to use, all you have to do is touch it, make your wish, and then tear it up for the magic to happen.”

Whole Note’s mother raised an eyebrow, “Wait-a-minute, what’s the catch here?” the Draconequus raised an eyebrow. “I mean, from all the books I’ve read about wishes, there’s always some catch that comes with it.”

“Oh,” Discord flopped back in the hammock, “turns out, there is a catch. All of these can grant all of you a single wish, however, that wish will only last for a day. This means, according to the dumb laws of the universe, a wish can be granted, but it can only last for a period of time. So I would think extra carefully about your wishes if I were all of you, because of it whatever you want, it won’t last for very long.”

Flurry Heart, like everyone else, eyed their stalking, “But, aren’t there some wishes that are… I don’t know, forbidden?”

The former Lord of Chaos shook his head, “Not if that said wish has a time limit. With these, there is no such thing as an evil wish, only dumb ones. Like, say if you wanted somepony dead, they’ll only stay deceased for twenty-four hours to only come back from the grave to sue you. Or if you want riches, you’ll have it for a day, but it’ll be gone. And if you wish for your time limit to extend to forever, it’ll just cancel out.

“But let’s not waste our time on wishes,” Discord turned to them, “We have a party to celebrate!”

_*_

If a wish was offered to you, but it can last for only a day, what would you wish for?

This was the question the Prince Harmonic was trying to ask himself. While the party continued on despite (to Harmonic’s annoyance) Discord antics to spice up the family gathering, it was still going well. Jokes and magic tricks were exchanged; stories and questions were asked by everypony. And the Violinist was playing with his grandchild with Page Turner.

But sometimes, he would glance over at the stockings hanging by the fireplace, particularly the one that had his name stitched on it. What could he wish for anyway? As of now, he had everything then anypony could dream of having. He went from a beggar, traveling across the Icy North with a caravan of Gypsies, playing his violin for food, to being adopted by Royals, dating and marrying anypony of his choosing that was free from prejudice, and he was living in a palace. He ate well, slept in a warm bed, and he still gets to do what he loved, playing his father’s violin.

On top of that, not only did he have everything, but even much more since he has a family of his very own. He’s the grandfather of a playful filly, his son is starting to gather respect as a writer, and he was about to get married to Whole Note by next year.

So really, what was there for him to wish for? With all that has happened, what’s the use to have any wish granted. All except for…

It was in that moment of self-reflection that Harmonic noticed Note talking to his son. After excusing himself from his granddaughter, he gestured his fiancé over to the window to talk to him.

“So…” he started as soon as the Cellist went up to him. “How are you doing so far?”

“Okay, I guess.”

“And your parents?” at this, the green stallion looked over his shoulder to find his parents playing limbo, using Discord as the poll.

“I think they think he’s really weird but harmless.”

Harmonic huffed, “Yeah, for now.”

Note’s smile fell to a worried look, “Has Discord been that bad to you?”

“It’s a little complicated,” he sighed, “I already know that Discord is trying to be good. But the thing is, I don’t really trust him all that much. He’s a little too unpredictable. Besides, there’s a good reason why Twilight didn’t invited him to my first wedding. I mean, you already know about him turning into stone twice, his betrayal to Equestria from Terek, and what he actually did in past Galloping Galas.” Harmonic looked over to Discord again, “Although, I have to give him credit, you’re parents are at least still in the same room so far.”

“That can’t be the on-only reason why you don’t like him,” Note pointed out.

“He’d almost hurt Script.”

Whole Note’s eyes widened, “What?”

“You see, when Script turned fourteen, he came to the party, asking him what he would like for his birthday. At the time, he wants to have a pet of his own. So Script asked something simple as a bowl of fishes to look after. Well, he made a huge tank appear, and filled it with piranhas, with him still in it! We were lucky to get him out before any of those fishes took a bite out of him.”

“You’re kidding?” the Earth Pony’s jaw dropped.

The Prince shook his head, “You could only imagine how angry I was at him for doing so thoughtless.”

“I… see,” Note turned to his parents where Discord lowed himself a notch.

“A change in subject,” the alicorn said, “Have you thought about your wish?”

His fiancé shook his head, “Not really, I don’t have clue what ke-ka-kind of wish I’d make. And one that lasts a day? What is there to wish for?”

Harmonic turned to the window, where the gray clouds still unleash a blizzard of white to the earth below. “Note, can I ask you something personal?”

He nodded.

“Have you known anyone that has died? I mean, someone who you had some sort of personal relationship with before they passed on?”

“Well… There was Grandma Wick. As a colt, she’d used to make candles, the kind that has a sent. She uh… she died before I came out.”

“Did you ever get the chance to tell her goodbye?”

The Cellist paused before answering, “Um… y-yes. I remember talking to her several hours before.”

“But what if you hadn’t?” this got the stallion to look up at the Violinist. He continued, “What if you’d never gotten the chance to tell her everything you want to say before she left? What then?”

Note looked at his fiancé for a moment, “Harm, where are you going with this?”

Harmonic looked over to the fireplace, “What if you were given a chance to see someone who has died one last time?”

“U-Uh, where are you taking this?” Note asked nervously.

“I’ve been thinking,” He confessed, “Discord did say that our wishes have no limitations, and they only last for a full day. So… what would happen if I wish for a certain somepony that I could say goodbye to?”

“What? Like who?”

Harmonic looked at his beloved in the eye and asked, “Whole Note, how would you feel if you got the chance to meet my father?”

“W-W-W-W-What?!” The alicorn shushed him, his fiancé asked, “Are you serious? Do you want to bring Crescendo Trotivari back from the dead? Why him of all ponies?”

“Let me explain,” Harmonic placed a hoof on Note’s shoulder. “Out of all the ponies that I know that have died, only three stuck out. My parents, and Color. Now before you ask, I’m going to tell you why my father above all else.

“I could have gone for Color. As much as I love him so, for all that he’s done, I don’t think it would be a wise choice. I mean, what would the point of him being here again? He made me promise on his deathbed that I would find somepony that would make me happy again. With you, that promise is being fulfilled. Besides, even if I did, I know him well enough that he would approve you being my husband-to-be.

“With my parents, however, it’s a little trickier. You see, unlike my last husband, I never got the chance to tell them goodbye when they were alive. Nor expressed to either how much I loved them in that fire. But the reason I want to see my father is that he’s the one who has made the biggest impact on me. Even if he was here for only a day longer, at least I would have plenty of time to tell him the things that I had been grieving in the past over. And maybe, if I have the courage, come out to him.”

Whole Note turned to the window in thought, through the wintery nocturnal reflection, he commented. “Are you sure be-bringing him here would be a good idea? And how would that even work?”

“Note, I miss him,” Harmonic said solemnly. “There are stages in my life that he’d never got to be a part of. Like the time that I’ve finally learned how to read, or fly, or my first violin recital. Nor was he there when I first got married, or adopted Script, or was there when Color passed away. He maybe a great-grandfather to my Cloud View, but he died too soon for my life to improve. That’s why, just for once, even for a holiday that he’d be unfamiliar with, I want him to spend time with the kind of family he’d never live to be with.”

“Come around everypony!” Celestia’s voice was heard, “It’s time!”

The green stallion looked at the alicorn, “What’s going on?”

Harmonic placed a wing over his love, gesturing him to follow him. “You know how some families have a tradition where the night before Hearth's Warming day, they would pick out one present to open before the morning? That’s what we’re doing now.”

The family gathered around the tree, each one picked out from the pile one of several wrapped gifts to choose from. Everypony unwrapped their boxes and opened the oddly shaped objects, much to their delight. However, Harmonic eyed on a particular gift that his hooves itched to open.

Luna noticed this and called out, “Harmonic, are you not going to open one of your gifts?”

Making up his mind, the Prince walked over to the mantle and with his horn lifted his stalking off the nail.

Discord took notice too, but the Prince of Inspiration took no notice of him as he lifted the envelope into his hoof. “Hey, gather around,” he told the party, “Harmy’s going to make a wish!”

Ponies, young and ancient zipped around the alicorn. The first one to be at his side was his fiancé with a concerned look, “Harm, think what you’re doing here.”

“He’s right you know,” Book Mark pointed out, “It’s best to be careful whatever you’re going to be wishing for.”

Yet, their worries fell on deaf pointy ears as Harmonic open the plain white envelope. Inside he pulled out a card with Discord’s winking face on it and a thumbs up from his claw, “1 Free Wish!” it said in blue, “To use: touch paper of this card, pronounce wish, and rip it in two.”

Harmonic looked up at the fire in the mantle. His thoughts returned to that dreadful night nearly half a century ago. He’d look back at the real starting point of his misery. Back to that cold night where his father looked at him in fear for his safety to run while he could. And the very night when the last sound he could remember from him was the screaming.

“I…” he started, looking back at the card in both of his hooves. “I wish…”

Ponies all around leaned in closely, “I wish,” Harmonic Trotivari Everfree said, “that Crescendo Trotivari, my father, was here with us again,” and with that, he ripped the card in two.

The first thing that the alicorn felt, was heat that was coming from the cards, with a cry, he dropped the cards with “HOT!” escaping his muzzle. The torn pieces of paper fell onto the brick of the fireplace before they too burst into flames. From the flickering light, milky white smoke arose in the mantle. That smoke grew within the fireplace to the point everypony could see something moving in there! There was a failing shadow that moved frantically. It grew thicker until to everypony’s horror, there was a scream from that smoke.

“DAD!” Harmonic shouted. Without even thinking about it, he plunged his hooves into the flames and felt something solid. Grabbing hold, the stallion yanked the thing away from the flames. The Prince felt something heavy falling on top of him that was waving his legs about.

The pony on him screamed, “MELODY! I CAN’T SEE!” Harmonic pushed the frightened pony away, now getting a good look at someone who he’d haven’t seen in years.

He was wearing a nightgown, although it was a little burnt since he just got pulled out of a fire, the ponies nearby were throwing glasses of water and punch on him. His coat was blond, as yellow as wheat, and his main, tail and beard was light brown, the same color as bread. Yet his eyes through his glasses were the same shiny copper as his son’s.

“AUGH! WHAT!? WHAT’S GOING ON?!” he asked frantically, looking around the room, “AND WHO ARE YOU ALL?!”

Harmonic stood up, “Crescendo?” this got the panicky stallion’s attention. “Is… Crescendo Trotivari?”

“Who are you?” he looked up at the alicorn. “What do you want?”

There was a pause, “Don’t you even recognize me?”

“What’s going on?” the bearded stallion demanded, “Where am I?”

The Prince slowly turned to the side, so that he could show his father his cutie mark, “Do you know me?”

His father paused, getting up from his soaked nightgown. He went up to the alicorn, examining his mark, ruffling up his wings until he came face to face with him, messing up his mane a bit. He looked into those familiar copper eyes that pleaded him to find something familiar in it.

“No,” the stallion said, shaking his head in disbelief, “Are you…? Harmonic? My boy, is that you under there?”

At this point, it was too much for the Violinist, he nodded his head, tears flowing down his cheeks. “H-Hey dad,” his voice croaked, leaping onto his father, hugging him for the first time in years in which he wept openly.

“Harmonic?” Crescendo asked in confusion. “Harmonic, my child, what happened to you? Why are you so old?”

“I missed you,” Harmonic whispered, “I’ve missed you so m-much.”

“Missed me?”

“Y-You h-have no ide-a how l-long-g I’d w-w-wanted th-this!”

Mystified, the father broke the hug, placing a hoof over each of his son’s cheeks. “But I don’t understand. What happened? You were just a boy a moment ago, a-and then, I-I’m here. What’s going on?” he looked around the room, “Melody? Where’s your mother?”

Harmonic sniffed, “I’m sorry dad. I’m really am,” he said before balling his eyes out. “I-I didn’t think a-about that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Pardon me,” Celestia stepped forward, “Mr. Trotivari?” his father’s eyes went wide. “I think we all have some explaining to do.”