Yes, I know it's only October, but I wanted to write a Christmas story. So sue me.
Christmas With You
Written by; Zero_Starlight
I peeked around the door into Twilight's room, and a bemused grin crept along my face when I saw her so peaceful, a book laying askew and forgotten on her chest when she had surrendered to sleep. I noted the calendar hanging by her closet, a picturesque landscape of snow covered trees and mountains adorning it's upper halve, and the latter filled with red Xs. Almost all of the dates had been crossed out, and the one next in line for scratching out was instead circled multiple times and had a small sticker with the words, CHRISTMAS! Written upon it.
Yes, it was that most wonderful of days, the time that came only once a year, and had fillies squirming around in bed the night before, dreams of gumdrops and whatnot in their mind's eye. What made this particular Christmas special, however, was the simple fact that it was our first together. Sure, we had gone to the parties and gone to friends houses to exchange gifts, but this year, this wonderful year, was the year when it would be just me and her. I noticed one again that Spike's basket was empty, and Owlowiscius was not present on his perch. Both were at Fluttershy's cottage, doing what, I did not know, nor did I particularly care at the time. My thoughts were on Twilight and Twilight alone.
I was absolutely determined to make sure that we had a great Christmas together. I had everything put together, and now all that remained was to wake up Twilight. I grinned evilly, and padded along the wood floor to Twilight.
Pulling a feather from my bag of tricks, I slowly began tickling Twilight, just between her neck and collarbone. She shifted, batting away at the offending object without opening her eyes. I knew she was awake know though, so I placed the feather back in my bag, and moved closer, moving to a kneeling position in front of Twilight.
Suppressing a chuckle, I leaned in and placed a few light kisses upon her muzzle. She reacted to this approach more favorably, leaning in and nuzzling my own nose slightly. She still had yet to open her eyes, however, so I leaned my head in further, resting it carefully atop her own. I heard a quick exhale of breath underneath me and a shudder rolled through Twilight's upper body as she tried to hide a giggle while passing it off as a grunt of annoyance.
"Up and at em' Twilight…" I murmured softly into her ear, causing it to flick slightly from the warmth of my breath. "I'm sure that somepony as intelligent to be taken in as Celestia's number one apprentice has the brain power to remember what day it is…?"
That got her attention.
With a squeal of delight, Twilight bolted out of bed, and rushed downstairs, leaving me to chuckle and follow her down, although at a slightly slower pace.
Twilight took the stairs two at a time, rushing down to look under the tree we had picked out earlier that month, giggling with delight and excitement in anticipation of finding out what had been left for her this year.
I smiled, it wasn't a fact that Twilight had easily divulged, and she had no plans to tell her other friends, but before she came to Ponyville, she had only experienced a few Christmases with her family. Once she had thrown herself into studying, she had no time for presents and festivities. She might have a larger vocabulary than most librarians, and more magical prowess than many could hope to have, she was still a child at heart when it came to holidays.
"Zero! Zero! Look at all the gifts that came!" Twilight happily exclaimed, a multitude of brightly wrapped presents floating around in the purple glow of her magic.
I laughed, "That may be Twilight, but it won't be much fun if you open every single one at the same time, now will it?"
She blushed sheepishly, and the presents settled back into there previous places.
I picked up a small box with Twilight's name written in elegant scripture on the tag. "This one is for you."
Twilight's magic enveloped the gift, gently tugging it away from my grasp. She set it down before her. She shook the box, listening intently for the sounds the contents inside might make.
I laughed again, "Twilight, just open it!" I said warmly.
Twilight giggled, and tugged at the bow keeping the parcel shut. The ribbon fell from the box easily, and the wrapping paper fell to the floor with it, negating the mess of paper that would likely have ensued if it had remained firmly attached to the present.
Inside the box was a simple necklace made up of a single stone, emblazoned with the symbol of the element of magic. Also inside the box was a small note. Twilight gasped with delight and placed necklace to the side, reading the note aloud.
My faithful student Twilight Sparkle,
I wish you well on this wonderful holiday. This necklace is my gift to you.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia
I smiled, picking up the necklace and looking it over. "It's a beautiful peace of art. But I think it would look better on it's intended wearer. Come over her Twilight." I motioned her over, and she sat down next to me on the couch, her back to me. I carefully undid the clasp of the necklace, and pushed Twilight's lavender mane out of the way. With a click, the clasp shut, and Twilight turned around to face me.
"It looks great on you Twilight!" I said, with a smile on my face.
Twilight clapped her hooves together and used her magic to levitate a present my way...
The present opening went on for a few hours, and by the end a multitude of colors and hues of wrapping paper had fallen to the floor.
Twilight had gotten a broom and a basket and had begun to magically sweep away the assorted garbage on the floor, while I went to make breakfast.
Walking into the kitchen, I looked around, making sure that Twilight was busy with cleaning, before quietly opening one of the cupboards, and removing five boxes of increasing size from a dark corner. I made a dramatic gasp and called out.
"Twilight! Come check this out!"
Twilight wandered into the kitchen, her eyes growing large when she saw the presents. "I guess we missed these earlier!" I said with a smile. Twilight happily went back into the main room while I brought boxes.
I handed her the smallest first, making a show of noticing the note stuck to the top of the box. It had the words, 'Smallest to Largest', written neatly on it. Twilight shrugged and opened the box, finding another note and a small gift card in the box. She set both aside, then opened the next, and found another note and a package of quills and a few ink pots. She opened the third box, finding that it contained yet another note and a weathered old tome with faded letters inscribed on it. She gasped in surprise, understandable seeing as she had been looking for this particular tome for months.
Opening the fourth box, another note greeted her along with a noticeably newer book, this one penned by a Professor Clock Keeper, one of Twilight's favorite science lecturers.
Finally, opening the largest and final box, Twilight's face fell as she found only another note with the word, TWILIGHT, written on it. She turned to me, her eyes downcast.
I picked up the other notes and handed them to her, speaking softly. "Read them in the order you found them." Confused but intrigued, Twilight put the notes in a row, reading them aloud.
I love you, Twilight.
Twilight looked to me in confusion, her face changing to surprise to find me holding a small picture out to her. She levitated it with her magic, turning it to face her, and tears welled up in her eyes. She looked at me for a moment, before tackling me, knocking me onto the couch.
"I love you too, Zero… But what about you? You hardly got any presents at all this year."
I smiled, and said, "I got the greatest present I could wish for. To spend my Christmas with you."
Twilight nuzzled close to me, placing the picture of me and her on our first date on the mantle next to the tree.
Aww, wasn't that just adorable? Remember to review, it helps let me know that people enjoy my stories.
Until next time!