The Hunt For Something Perfect
Luna And Tiberius Try To Find Celestia A Hearth’s Warming Gift.
“Oh, Tiberius, what am I to do?” cried the deep blue alicorn, her wings drooping off the sides of her bed.
The opossum cocked its head and skittered up the hanging blanket. The pudgy rodent then waddled next to the Princess' face and bobbed its head up and down.
“I must get her something! Hearth’s Warming is but three days away, and I am caught with no gift!” Luna exhaled letting her pursed lips flap about with a loud farting sound.
Tiberius squeaked and started to nibble at Luna’s ear.
“No, no, we already tried that remember? Quills And Sofas was fresh out.” Luna rolled into her back and kicked the air like a fussy foal. “I would attempt to make her a cake, but baking is not really my forte… Besides, I do not think I should be fueling her bad habits.”
Tiberius crawled onto Luna’s belly. It was warm.
“Do you think she needs a new portrait. You can never have too many portraits.” Luna stopped and imagined a room entirely filled with her sister’s face and gagged. “On second thought, yes you can.”
Suddenly, just as Tiberius was beginning to build a home inside her mane, an idea exploded into the Princess’ mind. “I know how I can find out what she wants. I’ll go fishing!”
Luna’s tiny companion lifted its tired head and let out a quiet chirping.
Luna’s face went blank. “It is an expression.”
The rodent swung its front paws in front of its face as if it were conducting a little animal orchestra.
“Did I not feed you mere hours ago?” The Princess shook her head. “Regardless, what I was trying to say is: I will talk to Celestia and fish an idea out of her.”
Tiberius looked up at its master with great pouting black eyes.
“Of course you may come with me! Sister is having a Pre-Hearth’s Warming get-together with Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Just make sure you stay hidden. We do not want anypony thinking you are a vermin do we?”
***
Sounds of uproarious laughter echoed through the banquet hall in a great chorus of holiday cheer. Bright rays of sun pierced the windows and shone onto the long wooden table. Outside, workers cleared massive sticky clumps of cotton candy snow off of the drawbridge, and the young castle pages frolicked through the white-coated streets, giggling with glee at the festive wonderland around them. Princess Luna remembered what is was like to be a filly during the holidays. To her, the best part was instigating surprise snowball wars with her bookish sister. Celestia never seemed quite as keen.
“Ohmygosh!” cried Twilight Sparkle’s blue friend, her hooves squished against the sides of her face. “This is awesome!”
“Yeah! Fanks fur the fooood!” mumbled the pink one through a mountain of chocolate cake and various other sweets.
“I'm glad you are enjoying it,” said the towering white figure, a soft smile across her face.
“Thank you both so much,” added Twilight. “It was so sweet for you to invite us all over like this.”
“'Twas nothing,” Luna said, waving a hoof. “Celestia did all the real work… Speaking of Celestia I uh…” She flicked her eyes back and forth, looking for a topic of conversation. “Love the new… PLATES!” Everypony looked over at her, their stares penetrating the very fiber of The Night Princess’ soul. She cleared her throat. “Yes the, uh designs are just marvelous sister. Where did you get them?”
Celestia blinked. “You bought them for me two years ago, remember?”
“Oh yes. I did.”
“Not that it wasn't nice of you or anything!” Celestia reassured.
“Yes, forgive my forgetfulness." Luna slid back in her chair and attempted to cover her now red face.
“They are fabulous plates,” Rarity insisted. “You have good taste.”
“Why thank you I—” Luna nudged her fork on to the floor. “Whoops I dropped my silverware! How am I to ever enjoy the wonderful meal that you so lovingly prepared for us if I do not have a fork… Excuse me a moment.” Luna eased her way under the table like a sparkly blue submarine. “Tiberius!” She whispered. “What am I to say?”
The possum turned up from the piece of cheese that it was mauling and made a strange knocking noise.
“Yes, I mentioned the plates!”
Tiberius flicked his tail onto his own face.
“No I did not mention the placemats!” Luna buried her muzzle in her hooves. “Somehow I do not think dinnerware is the answer to our problem. What kinds of things does she like…” The panicked pony princess peered at her puny possum pal. “Idea!”
The room went silent as Luna resurfaced from under the table, a mildly disturbing plastic smile etched onto her face.
“Ya alright there, Princess?” asked Applejack, her eyes wide and unblinking.
“Of course! Why would I not be alright?”
The fruit-colored pony raised an eyebrow. “It just took ya a long time down there… And I think you forgot about yer fork.”
Whoops! Luna screamed inside her head. “I lost it.”
“Yeah.” The farm pony coughed. “That there’s a real shame.”
“So,” Luna turned to Twilight’s yellow companion. “Fluttershy, do you remember the last time I saw you? When we talked about pets?”
“Not really I—”
“You see I have been thinking.” The Moon Princess rubbed her chin. “If I were to get a pet, what would be best for me? Celestia has her phoenix, Philomena, but what would work for my needs?”
“Well, I think a possum would work very well with your—”
“By the way.” Celestia locked eyes with her sister. “How is Philomena doing?”
The alabaster alicorn jumped in her seat. “She's doing fine. I have not had much time to spend with her lately. My royal duties have really been piling up to my head in the last week.”
“I see. So—” Luna bit her lip. “—If you were to get another pet, what would it be?” Nailed it!
“Oh my, I don't think I would have the extra time to take care of it.” She scratched her head. “I guess it would have to be a puppy! Those things are just too cute!”
“A puppy huh?”
***
“What do you mean you are out of puppies!” Luna paced the sidewalk at supersonic speed. Tiberius clung to her leg for dear life.
“Sorry Princess,” said the grizzly brown stallion who manned the adoption agency. “Puppies always go outta stock this time of year. Too many little fillies who gotta have one you know?”
Luna sighed, her breath drifting away in hot clouds. “I understand.” She gave the stallion a quick nod and began down the road.
“Wait!”
The Princess turned around, her bundled body shaking from the light dusting of snow atop her head.
“You can still buy something!” The stallion grunted as he lifted a hefty cage from behind his desk. “We have a great deal on skunks!”
Luna jolted back like a filly touching a hot stove. “No, thank you.” She spun back around without even looking at the cage. “I think I will pass on that one.”
The stallion sighed and looked at the chubby black and white animal. “It's okay, Tulip. I still love you.”
Ponies of all ages played in the Canterlot streets. Children pelted each other with clumps of snow, and parents made sure nopony got killed. It was a beautiful sight. Every year Luna made it a point to take a walk through the city. Seeing the collage of brightly colored decorations filled her heart with cheer. Ponies climbed up ladders and hung iridescent glass baubles and sparkling tinsel from their roofs all in an attempt to make this the most magical time of year that anypony could experience. As the snow froze, the selfish hustle and bustle of the city melted away. Everypony had a common goal, to spread happiness. The city was a canvass, and everypony inside were artists. Their paints were love and cheer, and the brushes were kind words and good deeds. Together they made a holiday masterpiece.
The icy roads crunched beneath Luna’s hooves, and the puffy flakes of snow disintegrated as they landed on her body. “Well, that was a failure.” She glanced down at Tiberius who was tucked into her scarf, its tail dangling out the bottom like an engorged earthworm. “I do not know what else I can get her! She is royalty; she has everything she could ever want at her beckon hoof.” Luna stopped and began to watch a group of fillies build a snowmare. “Maybe if the two of us actually spent time together, this might be easier.” The gaggle of giggling girls were wrestling with the head, trying to affix it to the stump neck. Suddenly, one of the fillies slipped and the miniature boulder came crashing down onto her with a great splatter. Soon the poor girl began to bawl like a newborn. Her two friends tried to cheer her up, but she just kept crying. “The poor thing. Quick Tiberius, we must be the hero!”
“Hello little one,” said Luna as she bent down in front of the despondent filly. “Why are you crying?”
The girl rolled over and wiped her runny nose. “I-I messed up the thing.”
“I see.” Luna flashed a warm smile and lay a hoof onto the child. “Do not be sad. You have done nothing wrong.”
The mouse-pony loosened her rigid body and looked up at The Princess. “The head was heavy.”
“Yes, the head always is the hardest part is it not. Say, would you like some help? I am a big strong princess, and I know a few tricks to help things go quicker.” Luna extended a helping hoof.
“Well..” She blew a few strands of her ice blue mane from in front of her eyes. “I guess so.”
“Wonderful!” Luna clacked her hooves together like an overexcited seal. “So the first thing about snowmares that you will need to know is…”
After mere minutes, the new head was complete. However, that is not where the girls stopped. They kept building. They made the snowmare a coltfriend. They gave her clothes. They even made a snow Tiberius. It was a stunning whimsical adventure to break up the monotony of royal life. Adulthood, particularly that of royalty, favors conformity rather than uniqueness. There used to be no one clear cut way to do anything, but as the years set in, Luna found herself more conchrite in her beliefs. She no longer wanted to make things for the sake of fun. However, being with the children and having the freedom to sculpt as she pleased unleashed her shackled creativity. Feeling young again, it was the most fun Luna had in centuries. Her worries and responsibilities flew away with each new creation. She was helping somepony have fun, and to her, that was the greatest feeling imaginable.
Eventually it came time for the children to go inside. The filly’s parents thanked The Princess for her generosity before launching into a long conversation full of random questions.
“You can stay for dinner you know,” said the filly’s mother. “It's not every day you have royalty at your doorstep.”
“Thank you for the offer, but I really must be going.” Luna kneeled down to the filly’s height and looked her in the steel gray eyes. “You be good now, okay?”
“Yes, Princess Luna,” she chimed.
“I have to go now, but I promise I shall come back some day, okay?”
The filly’s eyes squinted slightly, and soon began to water into great crystal ponds.
“Oh my,” Luna pulled hair from the girl’s face, and wiped a tear away. “Do not cry. It is alr—”
Suddenly the tiny pony threw herself around her playmate and squeezed her with all the might she could muster. There was a moment of apprehension, but soon, the princess smiled and returned the hug.
“See you soon, little one.”
Luna trotted down the sidewalk on her way back to the castle, but before long, she stopped in front of the first snowmare. It had a smile of stones and button eyes. It's body was draped with old coats and scraps of found fabric. It looked more like a homeless pony than a high society mare, but The Night Princess was still proud of their work. It just seems like there’s something missing. Suddenly, it came to her. It's neck was bare. “I think this mare could use a scarf. Right Tiberius?”
The rodent pirked up from its gentle slumber and began a screaming protest.
“Oh, come on lazy!” Luna placed a light grip on the scruff of the possum’s neck and pulled him from his snug bedding. “You can sleep in my coat!” She then removed her ruby scarf and draped it over the the statue’s exposed snow. “No, that's not right…”
The Princess then continued to fiddle with the cloth for about ten minutes.
“There! Perfect!” She sighed and wiped the first beads of chilled sweat from her brow. It was late, and her sister’s orange disk was just dipping below the horizon.“What a day.”
The now shivering Tiberius crawled from Luna’s lapel pocket and let out a shaky chirp.
“The gift? Oh, I think I have an idea.”
***
Celestia winced as the morning light launched an assault on her retinas. “Oh joy. Hearth’s Warming, my favorite day of the year,” she mumbled. She dragged her stubborn body from under the warm bedding and plucked Philomena from inside her cage. “ A full day of public appearances. Are you ready?” Philomena produced a shrill squawk. The weary princess let out a deep breath of sorrow as she opened her cupboard. “Me neither.” She grabbed ahold of an ornate bag and dropped it onto her table. “Ah coffee!” She then shook the coal-black beans into an oversized funnel and used her magic to turn a crank more suited for a torture device than a coffee machine. “The gift that keeps on giving. Well I am waiting for that…” She scowled around the room as if somepony could see her. “I might as well treat myself today, it being a holiday.”
There it was, sitting on the table:
A seven layer angel food cake with real buttercream icing, made from scratch.
The Solar Princess’ mouth became a waterfall, and her legs wobbled into gelatin.
Suddenly, right as Celestia was about to go scuba diving into Diabetes, there was a banging at the door. She grunted and hung her head to the ground. “Oh, what is it now?” The ivory alicorn dashed to the door and swung it open so hard the door knob slammed a hole in the wall. “I swear, if Luna’s toilet is clogged again I—” Celestia looked at who stood before her, and a sudden wave of red washed over her face. “Oh, good morning sister… What is it that brings you to my door?”
“Happy Hearth’s Warming?”
Celestia coughed and straightened her back. “Yes. A very merry Hearth’s Warming to you too. I would love to spend it with you but I am going to be very bu—”
Luna grabbed her sister by the hoof and reeled her out the door like a fish from water. “No! We are going to have none of that this year.”
“No really Luna I ca— Oh my… What did you do?” Celestia looked out the hall and through the windows overhanging the courtyard. Somehow, she found her jaw open even wider than when in front of cake.
“I had the royal guard do it overnight.” Luna’s hooves were dancing on hot coals. “ is something wrong? Do you not like it?”
“No. Luna, it is beautiful!”
Every visible inch of the castle was bathed in a tidal wave of holiday love. Twisting banners of reds and greens connected from tower to tower and leafy plumes of holly and mistletoe hung from every archway. The famous courtyard fountains had been turned into a kaleidoscope of rainbow colors, their dyed water refracting the light of the rising sun into a mosaic pattern on the cobblestone. Candy canes, each several feet in height, hung from the roofs and sprouted from the ground in a forest of sweet mint. But what Celestia adored the most was the fleet of lanterns. Balloons carrying colorful flickering flames floated by in a mad bee’s nest of swarming polychromatic light. They were all around, hanging from every post and sitting atop every fountain. In all the years of Hearth’s Warming celebrations, never before had a light show of the same caliber been created.
Everypony in Celestia's court and every soldier in her guard swam through the magnificent display, singing carols and drinking mugs of hot chocolate. A cacophonous echo of laughs and cheers boomed from the crowd as Celestia moved to the window. It was a party and she was the only one missing.
“They are calling you down.” Luna stepped to her sister and wrapped a leg around her body. “We did this all for you, you know?”
“Why?”
“Every day I see you rush off to your job. You do so much to make your subjects happy. I simply thought it was time for us to make you happy.”
It started with one singular drop, but before long it became a flood, the tears of a monarch on the stone floor. “I'm sorry sister!” She gripped Luna, caressing her slender blue body in a soft embrace.
“Do not be sad. You have done nothing wrong.” The Night Princess leaned in and planted a soft kiss on the crown of her sister's head.
“Ever since you were banished, I took on all our duties, and even though you're back, I still act like I am the only one who can work. I never have time for you…”
Luna rocked her sister back and forth like an abandoned foal. “You do not have to do it all yourself. We are a team; I can help.”
“Thank you… For all of this. It means so much. Now I feel bad, all I got you was a new scarf.”
Luna grinned. “ A scarf is absolutely perfect. Besides I could not have done any of this without Tiberius here.” Suddenly a small head stuck out from Luna’s mane and started chirping.
Celestia laughed from the bottom of her stomach. “Of course! We cannot forget about Tiberius!”
The elated opossum squeaked him approval before jumping onto The Solar Princess’ head.
“I want this to be like when we were young, back when we worked together to make something amazing.” Luna looked at the floor. “Back when we had fun.”
Celestia stepped back and looked into her sister's ocean eyes. “I think we can. Together.”
Luna hopped into the air, a beaming smile holding her face hostage. “Shall we get started? I know a great place to make a snowmare!”
END
