Laughter, joy, and warmth filled the air. It was the time of year that everypony was happy, a time of year that just seemed like nopony could be mad or angry about anything. It was almost as if reality itself made it a point to make sure everypony was happy, even if things weren't going the way they were supposed to.
Hearth's Warming was one of the best holidays in Equestria, according to almost anypony you asked, despite the stress and chaos of the holiday. It doubled even more so if you were to ask a filly or colt if the winter holiday was the best holiday. Even Discord liked Hearth's Warming, if not because of the joy, then because of how chaotic it could be when ponies darted through the snow to reach the stores for last minute gifts.
The smell of freshly baked goods and hot chocolate swirled through the air, Twilight closed her eyes and smiled as she inhaled deeply of the warming scent. She held the breath for a few seconds, then released it and opened her eyes. Looking out over the ballroom of her castle, she couldn't help but smile contently. Dozens of ponies, each one her friend, darted about, putting up decorations and spending time with friends. Being able to have them all over to her castle made her happy, and it left a pleasant warmth in her heart.
She knew that many memories would be made tomorrow evening, and she ruffled her wings in anticipation. Her parents, her brother, her sister-in-law, her niece, and even Princess Celestia would be coming. Everything needed to be perfect. If just one string of lights was off by a centimeter or half a degree, then everything would be ruined.
Or maybe she was worrying about nothing. She took a deep breath again, then slowly let it out, watching two pegasi with light gray coats lifted a string of lights to the ceiling. A white unicorn with a styled purple mane and tail scrutinized two ornaments held in her magic, one was a red orb with a golden ring at the top, and the other was golden with a jagged red design going around the center. Twilight knew that whichever ornament Rarity decided on, it would be perfect.
"Ya want us ta go ahead an' bring over the cider and punch?" an orange earth pony with a light yellow mane and tail asked.
Twilight pursed her lips in thought, thinking back to her checklist. She knew what she had written, but to make sure, she teleported the list to her in a flash of her lavender magic. She trailed over the list, then settled on the aforementioned items. She smiled, teleported the list away and turned to Applejack. "Yes, you can store it in the kitchen until tomorrow," she said warmly.
Applejack smiled back and nodded. "Alright, Twilight. Ah'll be back soon. Jus you make sure that Rainbow doesn't get into any of it over the night, ya hear?"
Twilight smiled and giggled, "Don't worry Applejack. I'll put a spell on it that'll make sure she won't get into it before it's time." Twilight turned away from the earth pony as she started walking off, and she looked out across the ballroom again. Everything was going according to plan, and the relative simplicity of it made her feel relaxed.
Until a commotion coming from the doorway drew her attention. She gawked at the sight, the Hearth's Warming tree was stuck in the doorway. She watched in horror as a pink earth pony with a bubbly pink mane leaned into the rope, and tried pulling the tree through. Her pink hooves had no traction on the crystal floor, and she looked like she was walking in place. A sharp gasp drew her attention back to Rarity, who looked at the tree in horror.
Twilight blinked herself back from her panic attack and spread her wings. She glided down and gracefully landed, folding her wings and running over to the pink mare. "Pinkie!" she shouted.
"Don't force it, you'll damage it!" Rarity shouted as she slid to a stop beside Twilight.
Pinkie stopped trying to pull the tree through, and she fell forward onto the floor. The fall didn't phase her, and she immediately looked up at Twilight curiously. "Well, how're we supposed to get it in then? Are we supposed to cut a hole in the ceiling and lower it down?" she asked.
Twilight tried her hardest not to picture that. Unfortunately, her hardest wasn't enough, and she pictured it anyway. The night had started off so well, and things were deteriorating quickly. If anything else went wrong, then she doubted they'd finish in time, and then she'd have to tell Princess Celestia, her parents, her brother, her sister-in-law, and her niece that she couldn't host it.
"Um... Twilight?" a timid, pale yellow pegasus with a long, flowing mane and tail asked as she landed.
Twilight blinked several times and shook the look of horror off of her face. She smiled at Fluttershy sheepishly. "Uh... right..." She raked her mind, trying to decide the best way to get the tree in. "Give me a second," she said while she powered up her horn, casting a pink glow to the blue crystal floor.
Simultaneously, a pink glow enveloped the large pine tree, then in a flash of pink, the tree disappeared from the doorway and appeared upright in the center of the room, complete with the required base. Much to Twilight's surprise, the tree was taller than the overlook. A sky-blue pegasus with a frazzled rainbow mane stuck her head out from the pine needles, looking dazed.
Twilight took a few seconds to compose herself. She wanted to freak out, to have a panic attack, it would have made her feel much better, but she didn't. She shook her head and sighed as the pegasus removed herself from the tree. Rainbow Dash chuckled as she ran a hoof through her mane, shaking pine needles and twigs out of her mane. "I'm guessing you were pushing?" Twilight asked.
"Well... yeah!" Rainbow replied enthusiastically.
Twilight turned to Pinkie. "The tree wasn't supposed to be this big, Pinkie..." she trailed off, groaning softly.
Pinkie tilted her head and looked at Twilight with the sweet innocence that only a filly, or in this case Pinkie Pie, possessed. "You said you wanted a tree to fill the room, silly!"
Rarity grimaced. "She... has a point, darling..."
Twilight sighed and shook her head. "I was exag- nevermind." 'I should have known better...' she thought. "It's here now, I guess we'll just use this then. There's no sense in getting another one."
It took half an hour with everypony helping, far longer than Twilight had anticipated, but the tree was eventually decorated, and even she was impressed by how nice it looked. So nice it looked that she forgot about her earlier stress and found herself smiling warmly once again. All too soon, or not soon enough according to her schedule, they finished decorating the ballroom. Everypony said their goodbyes and left after a few minutes of light, cheery conversation, at least everypony except for Twilight's closest friends. They stayed with Twilight for a few more hours before departing to return to their own homes. After she bade them goodbye, she retired to bed after finishing her hot cocoa. She found herself asleep within minutes, the stress of the day melting away as she slipped into a slumber filled with excited dreams of the day to come.
Twilight ruffled her wings in anticipation as the doors opened and one of the most regal ponies she had ever seen calmly, and casually, strode inside the ballroom. Princess Celestia with her shimmering white coat, whiter than any cloud, and her beautiful ethereal mane easily put almost every pony she knew to shame, and very few could ever hope to match her beauty, let alone her regalness. "Princess Celestia!" she greeted happily, gliding down from the balcony and landing just in front of her.
Celestia smiled warmly at Twilight, eyes trailing over the cavernous room before scrutinizing the tree. "The castle looks lovely, Twilight. And I don't believe I have ever seen a tree as tall as that one!" she laughed. Twilight laughed, able to think back on the incident and smile, even if it caused her eye to twitch. "Although... I'm surprised more ponies aren't here yet."
"Well, the party doesn't officially start for another hour and fifty-seven minutes," Twilight replied. She glanced behind Celestia, checking to see if anypony had followed her. To her surprise and distress, nopony had.
"I believe your parents are catching up with your brother and Princess Cadance right now," Celestia answered Twilight's unasked question.
"Oh," Twilight replied with a light blush.
"Princess Celestia!" Spike called. The young dragon ran over to Twilight, smiling from ear to ear at the tall white alicorn who easily put Twilight's height to shame. Despite Twilight having grown to match Princess Cadance's height, Princess Celestia and her sister, Princess Luna still put her to shame, not that Twilight was bothered by it. She stood out enough as it was, having a lavender coat and indigo mane with a pink and purple highlight, to say nothing of having both wings and a horn.
"Spike, I was wondering when you'd show up," Celestia said with a light chuckle. The small purple dragon with green scales rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I believe you've grown since I saw you last..." Celestia mused, then shook her head. "How is my favorite dragon doing?" she asked.
"Well, you're right. I have grown, nearly two inches!" Spike answered with all the excitement the baby dragon could muster. Even with having grown two inches, he was still small compared to an adult pony.
"Princess Celestia," called a more reserved voice. Twilight glanced back at the unicorn with a coat a few shades lighter from her. She smiled and motioned Starlight Glimmer to join them. Starlight smiled and casually walked over to them.
Twilight glanced behind Celestia again. Seeing nopony coming, she shut the door. "Please, make yourself at home!" she said. With that, Celestia made her way further into the room, conversing with Spike and Starlight as she walked on in. After a few seconds, Twilight walked over to them, then fell in sync with her mentor.
After a few minutes of idle conversation, there was a knock on the door which carried through the room. "Oh, let me get that!" Twilight said, quickly spreading her wings and flying away from her group. She landed at the door and took a second to compose herself, then she opened the door with her magic. She smiled brightly as she looked down at the two unicorns directly in front of the door, briefly ignoring the three ponies behind them.
"Hello, Twilight!" her parents said in unison.
"Hey, mom! Hey, dad!" Twilight greeted warmly, pulling them into a hug with her magic. "I'm so glad you could all make it!"
"We are too, Twilight," Night Light, Twilight's father said. The light blue unicorn stallion pulled back from the hug and smiled fondly up at his daughter.
"And it's even better because the whole family's going to be here!" Twilight Velvet, Twilight's mother said. The white unicorn mare smiled as Flurry Heart latched around her neck. Velvet nuzzled her grandfilly affectionately before turning her attention back to Twilight. "Well, are you going to invite us in or keep us out in the cold, bitter snow?" she said with a light laugh.
Twilight blushed lightly and stepped aside, granting her family entrance into her castle. Cadance hugged Twilight on her way inside, and the hug was made much easier since both of them were finally the same height. It had only taken a few years for Twilight to reach the height she now was, and Celestia suspected it wouldn't be long before Twilight surpassed Cadance in height and matched Luna's height. That had left Twilight in shock, she had never considered that a possibility.
After Cadance walked passed Twilight, Shining Armor pulled her into a hug that Twilight was sure would have hurt her if she wasn't an alicorn. She returned the hug with equal strength, then released him, leaving her brother with a wide smile on his face, displaying how proud he was of her. Twilight watched them walk inside, focusing most of her attention on the alicorn filly looking back at her and sticking her tongue out at her. She snorted indignantly as the filly clung to her mom, then glanced outside before shutting the door.
She summoned her magic, then teleported back to them. Flurry Heart smiled, then teleported herself over to Twilight and grabbed onto her neck and nuzzled her warmly. Twilight smiled and returned the nuzzle as everpony watched. 'Works every time,' she thought with a smirk. "Are you happy to see me again, Flurry?" she asked.
"Of course, auntie Twilight!" Flurry chirped back. The young alicorn's speech was beyond her years. She could talk almost perfectly, despite being only three years old. Twilight had run tests, all of which were completely safe and observed by both Cadance and Shining Armor, and she had determined that it was because of her being an alicorn.
"I'm happy to see you too," Twilight said softly. It seemed like everypony loved Flurry Heart, and nopony could ever have enough of her. Twilight was a little jealous of her brother and Cadance because they had a filly, but she was glad that she could spend as much time with her niece as she did.
"And where is my hug, Flurry?" Celestia asked with a slight pout. Flurry pulled away from Twilight, then teleported into Celestia's mane. Flurry giggled and wrapped her arms around Celestia's neck as the alicorn's made tickled her. Princess Celestia joined in on her laughter, smiling warmly. The sight could have melted the coldest heart, and not a pony nor dragon was left in the room with anything short of a smile.
Minutes passed as they talked and laughed, and those minutes quickly turned into an hour. Eventually, there was another knock on the door, one which Twilight was obliged to answer. She swiftly teleported to the door and opened it. "Hey girls!" she greeted her friends, all of whom smiled back at her. She immediately welcomed them and motioned them inside. Everypony walked inside, with the exception of Rainbow Dash, who preferred flying over walking.
All six of them quickly gathered around Flurry Heart, smiling. Flurry Heart took turns giving each of the new arrivals a hug and nuzzle, and even Rainbow Dash couldn't resist her cuteness. They talked for a few minutes, then the six mares departed to set everything up.
Twilight and Rarity quickly set out tables, then they returned to the kitchen to find Pinkie Pie pulling out all of the previously prepared goodies, along with freshly baked goods that Twilight had no idea where they came from. Twilight chose to ignore them and continued on her task. She was unsurprised when she rounded the corner and saw Rainbow smiling at the keg of cider. She rolled her eyes and took it in her magic, breaking Rainbow from her fantasy. "Tonight, Rainbow," she promised.
"Yeah, yeah..." Rainbow muttered, flapping her wings and picking up a second keg.
They both quickly returned to the ballroom and placed both kegs by the recently set up drink table, then they retrieved two more kegs, and Applejack brought the last one in. They quickly set up the kegs and Applejack cracked one open. Rainbow heard the crack and froze in mid-air. She landed quickly then raced over to Applejack and looked at her with big eyes, pleadingly. "Please?" Applejack rolled her eyes then poured her a small glass of cider. "Yes!" she shouted, flying up into the air and doing a little loop before landing and greedily drinking all of the cider. The cold, sweet apple cider was refreshing, and she smiled contently after she swallowed it.
Meanwhile, Twilight made her way to the door, then opened it and put a spell on it. Ponies could come and go as they pleased, but the warmth inside couldn't leave. Twilight smiled happily after completing the spell, then trotted back inside and teleported her checklist to her. After ten minutes, ponies started showing up, and according to her checklist, everything was ready. 'I'll have to thank everypony for their help after tonight,' she noted.
Eventually, ponies started making their way inside, and Twilight was there to greet them. She would have rather been with her family and friends, but she knew the ponies coming and she was happy to welcome them. It also served to help break the ice, with two princesses there, ponies could have been a little nervous, if not because of Twilight then because of Celestia, even if they were growing used to having Princess Celestia around Ponyville.
A white unicorn with a brilliant blue mane and purple glasses approached the castle, followed closely behind by a gray earth pony with a, flowing, dark brown mane. "Vinyl, Octavia! I'm so glad you two could make it!" Twilight greeted.
"I didn't think we'd be back in time, but here we are..." Octavia, the earth pony, said. Vinyl just nodded her head in agreement.
"How was the trip?" Twilight asked.
"There were a few delays, but we made it. I didn't expect Canterlot to be so busy, even if it is Hearth's Warming, but I guess I should have known better," Octavia said with a slight chuckle.
Twilight giggled. "I've heard there's a lot of traveling going on this year."
Octavia nodded. "Most definitely," she said. "The station at Canterlot was packed-" Vinyl nudged her with an elbow, drawing Octavia's attention to her. The unicorn extended her hoof and pointed. Octavia sighed. "Yes, Vinyl..." she said, then turned back to Twilight. "I'm afraid we'll have to catch up later, Twilight. She somehow roped me into making her a promise..." she trailed off shaking her head.
"That's alright," Twilight said as the two made their way inside.
"Ahh! Twilight, what a lovely evening, isn't it?" A familiar voice called, causing the alicorn to shiver. He was her friend, but the tone of his voice gave her flashbacks to events where he had that same, almost too friendly tone.
Twilight blinked the memories away and looked up at Discord. He smiled down at her, then slithered through the air and landed. "I didn't expect you'd be here, Discord," Twilight said in a pleasant tone.
Discord looked away from her. "Yes, well... I told Fluttershy I would consider stopping by and seeing what all the fuss was about."
Twilight smiled. "Well, I'm glad you decided to stop by, and I hope you have a good time." Discord smiled, and Twilight shifted her weight as the draconequus snapped his claws and teleported away in a flash of white light, leaving her with a feeling of dread. She did her best to keep it down, knowing that Fluttershy would keep him in check, but it still concerned her a little.
A few minutes passed and the volume of talking, laughter, and music gradually increased as she welcomed more ponies into her castle. Eventually, the number of ponies arriving slowed down. She waited ten more minutes after that before pulling back from the door, but not before sparing the darkness outside one last look, checking for anypony else. She didn't see anypony nearby, but she would leave the door open.
She smiled as she looked around at all the ponies present, proud to call the vast majority of them friends, and the remainder she could call acquaintances. She cheerfully trotted back inside, glancing around and searching for her family. She found it strange, she had thought they would have stuck out more than they did since her sister-in-law was much taller than almost everypony present, but it still took her several seconds to locate them. From there she casually made her way back to her family, smiling at ponies as she walked along.
"...all over the place! Almost like it was snowing!" Flurry giggled from Cadance's back. The rest of Twilight's family joined in with chuckles of their own as Twilight approached.
Twilight Velvet glanced at her daughter, then looked back at Flurry Heart. "Better not let Twilight hear about that," she said. Twilight Sparkle looked at her mom quizzically but decided it was better not to ask.
Cadance shook her head, still chuckling lightly. "We fixed it, though. Sunburst knew a spell to repair-" she glanced sideways at her sister-in-law, "-it."
"Enjoying the evening?" Twilight asked.
"You bet!" Spike said eagerly.
"It's a shame Sunburst couldn't make it, though," Cadance mused. "But somepony needed to make sure things didn't get out of hoof in our absence."
"I'm still surprised that you gave him such a prominent position," Twilight said inquisitively.
"Well, he was Flurry's Crystaler, so it wasn't that big of a step," Shining replied. "Although it would have been nice to have all three of you here to coordinate on Flurry's lessons."
"I'm surprised that she doesn't already have a cutie mark in magic," Twilight Velvet chuckled. "She's almost as talented as you, Twilight!"
Celestia looked at Twilight thoughtfully. "I would imagine that is because she has had three very capable teachers." Celestia smiled slyly.
"Auntie Twilight's my favorite teacher," Flurry said in the firm, yet cute way that only a foal could. Twilight's smile widened at that, and everypony nearby cooed.
"In fact," Celestia continued, "I would even go so far as to say that you probably know more spells than I do, Twilight."
Twilight felt warmth rising to her cheeks. No matter how much she tried, Celestia's praise always made her feel giddy. "W-well, I don't know about that..."
"Oh, come on, Twilight! We all know you're one of the four most powerful ponies around!" Starlight urged.
Twilight smiled sheepishly. "I-I'm going to go get some punch, anypony want some?" she asked quickly and turned around, not bothering to wait for an answer.
She paused only when she felt a small filly wrap herself around the back of her neck. "Can I come with you? Please?" Flurry asked.
Twilight knew there was no way she could say no to that smile. "Okay," she said, then glanced at Cadance. The older alicorn shrugged. Twilight flashed her a smile, then started off at a leisurely pace, heading towards the refreshment tables. More than a few times she walked passed a pony, and the pony immediately forgot what they were doing and smiled at Flurry. The small pink alicorn would always smile back, and after a few seconds, the pony would look away as they passed on.
Twilight slowed as she approached the refreshment table, catching sight of two ponies with rainbow manes. She couldn't help but smile. "Hey, Rainbow," she greeted. Both pegasi turned around to face her. "Hello, Spectrum."
"Hey Twilight," Rainbow greeted. Flurry Heart peeked out from behind Twilight, drawing the attention of both ponies. "I see you have a passenger," Rainbow added.
"Yep," Twilight replied with a beaming smile.
"Hi, Rainbow!" Flurry greeted, then she turned and looked at Spectrum inquisitively.
"Princess Flurry Heart?" Spectrum asked.
"Yep," Rainbow answered. Rainbow looked back at Flurry. "Flurry, this is my dad, Spectrum."
"You two look a lot alike," Flurry giggled.
Spectrum smiled and chuckled. "That we do," he agreed.
"Oh, hello Spectrum," Fluttershy greeted.
"Fluttershy!" Spectrum turned to face her. "I was wondering when you were... er..." he trailed off, glancing at the draconequus floating beside her. "Is that... Discord?" he asked.
"Ah, yes," Discord said, landing on the floor. "You're Rainbow Dash's father? I don't believe we've met before, allow me to introduce myself," he lifted a claw and closed his eyes, only for his claw to be enveloped in Twilight's magic aura. He blinked open his eyes and saw both Twilight and Flurry Heart looking at him sternly, though the foal was hard to take seriously. Discord sighed, then swatted away Twilight's aura with his free paw, then he folded his arms across his chest. "I suppose it isn't really necessary..." he said dejectedly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you?" Spectrum said, unsure as to what to think of the being standing before him.
"Mmm... Yes, yes, of course it is," Discord said quickly. Fluttershy nudged him with a hoof. "I mean- uh- happy Hearth's Warming Eve!" he said joyfully.
"I didn't think you had it in you, Discord," Twilight said with a smirk. Discord rolled his eyes at her. Both of them landed with the number one facing up.
"Ew," Flurry said with an exaggerated gag, then buried her head into Twilight's mane.
Twilight lifted her brow. "Well, I should probably get back to Celestia, then." She turned around, then grabbed eight cups with her magic and filled them in turn with punch. After that, she held them above herself in the air and made her way back to her family. She was careful not to spill any of the punch on anypony, and she returned without incident, then distributed cups of punch to everypony, much to their surprise.
They all thanked her, and Flurry quickly drank all of her punch and fell backwards onto Twilight's back. She looked at the ceiling in confusion, not sure what had happened. Celestia giggled, then levitated Flurry over to Night Light. The stallion hugged her and sat the filly on his back.
"So did I miss anything?" Twilight asked, glancing around.
"Not too much, dear," Night Light replied. "Starlight was just telling us about the time you and her went to Las Pegasus-" Twilight's eyes went wide- "and spent the night-"
"O-okay!" Twilight said loudly, chuckling awkwardly. "That's enough of that..." She looked around, then her eyes landed on Spike. Twilight tilted her head and looked at him like she didn't know he was there. "Spike!" she said loudly. "How have you been?" she asked, redirecting the subject with absolutely no tact whatsoever.
"Oh, I've been great!" he answered. "The party is even better than last year since everypony could make it."
"The tree might be a bit much, though," Celestia commented, idly watching the lumbering giant.
"Pinkie Pie got it," Twilight said dryly.
"Oh. Well, I guess in that case we should be thankful it wasn't any larger," Celestia replied with a laugh.
"Well, she said to get one that filled the room!" Pinkie replied.
"Gah!" Twilight shouted as she jumped in the air. Her magic holding her punch failed, and it was only Cadance's quick reaction timing, honed by three years of practice with Flurry Heart, that she was able to catch it in time to prevent it from spilling on the floor.
"She kinda walked inta that one," Applejack admitted.
Twilight landed and immediately checked her heart to make sure it was still beating. After a few seconds, she finally decided that it was still beating, although it felt like somepony had cast an acceleration spell on her. She sighed. "I really did," she admitted.
"Told you so," Spike commented with a smug smile.
Twilight shot Spike an indignant look but said nothing. She loved that baby dragon, but sometimes his jabs could hurt.
"Ya gotta admit that it's kinda nice, though. Real cheery an' all that," Applejack commented. "Ah know Applebloom liked it. Why, when she first laid eyes on that I thought her eyes were gonna fall out of her head!"
"Yeah..." Twilight said with a smile. "It is nice, isn't it?" 'It's not perfect, though...' She pushed the thought aside as Applejack and Pinkie Pie made their way over to the refreshment table.
"Hey, Twilight! Mind if we join you?" Rainbow asked as she landed off to the side and walked over between Twilight and Celestia.
"Of course not," Twilight said.
"Thanks," Rainbow said. "Dad wanted to ask..." she trailed off, looking back and to her right. She frowned, seeing Spectrum hesitate. "Dad?" she asked, jerking her head and motioning him forward.
Spectrum hesitated, staring at the mare to Night Light's left. His hesitance drew more attention to him. "Velvet?" he asked, staring at Twilight's mom.
"Spectrum..." Twilight Velvet replied in a voice filled with surprise.
"I... I thought that..." Spectrum trailed off, walking forward. Twilight Velvet winced.
Twilight looked between both of them, smiling obliviously. "Mom, I didn't know that you knew Rainbow's dad."
"I knew him quite well..." Twilight Velvet mumbled, staring at the floor. "But I didn't know that Rainbow was his daughter..." she trailed off, looking at Rainbow Dash with a new light, and a look that somehow made the pegasus uncomfortable.
"Only daughter," Spectrum said. "And... This is your husband?" he asked, nodding at Night Light. Both of Twilight's parents nodded and Night Light smiled.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Spectrum," Night Light said.
Spectrum blinked then nodded. "Yeah..." he said.
"Wait, wait. How do you two know each other?" Rainbow asked, gaze shifting from her dad to Twilight Velvet.
Both Spectrum and Twilight Velvet shifted their weight uncomfortably. Spectrum glanced at Twilight Velvet, the mare didn't quite meet his gaze. Spectrum took a deep breath, then turned back to Rainbow Dash. "She's your mother," he said simply.
Rainbow blinked and stared at Spectrum blankly. Twilight started choking on her punch. To both of them, it felt like the entire party had come to a stop. The only sounds they paid attention to where from their immediate area. After a few seconds, Rainbow started laughing. "Hah, good one, Dad!" She shook her head and wiped a tear from her eye. "You really had me there... But seriously, how do you two know each other?"
"I wasn't joking, Rainbow," Spectrum said seriously.
"You..." Rainbow paused. "You're... not?" she asked. "What!?"
"I'm afraid he's right, Rainbow..." Twilight Velvet said, drawing attention to her. She shifted her gaze between Twilight, who she could tell was having trouble processing what was said, to Rainbow, and then to Spectrum, before coming back to Rainbow. "I'm your mother..." she said. She had seen Rainbow Dash before, but she never knew. 'How didn't I see it...' she wondered. She only knew two ponies with a rainbow mane, Spectrum and Rainbow Dash. Three, if you included her first filly, although apparently that filly wasn't so small anymore.
"Wait, wait, wait... What!? You!? But! You're Twilight's... What!? I... What!?" Rainbow stuttered, looking between Twilight Sparkle and Twilight Velvet.
"We're..." Twilight slowly looked up from the floor and frowned at her mom. "We're sisters?" she asked, a look of betrayal flashing over her features. "I... how?" she asked unsurely. "You never said that... that I... had a sister..."
"I thought it would be better if you two didn't know," Twilight Velvet said, glancing at Shining Armor, who stared at her with equal shock.
"But... I don't..." Rainbow trailed off.
"I thought that something had happened to you, Velvet..." Spectrum said. "I... I thought that was the only reason that you would have disappeared and... left her to me..."
Velvet sighed and snorted. "I... I was young. I wasn't ready to raise a foal... I... I regret it, but..." she trailed off, shaking her head.
Shining Armor shot an accusatory glance at Night Light. "Did you know?" he demanded.
Night Light nodded seriously. "She told me that she had had a filly before, but I never asked for details."
"I... No. This is just some kind of joke," Rainbow said, glaring at Spectrum. "It's not funny!" she said, then beat her wings and flew off fast enough to shake the interior of the castle. It was a mark of how used to unordinary things in Ponyville that nopony batted an eye at the shaking, nor the pegasus shooting out of the door.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight shouted, turning around to follow her, only to be stopped by a hoof on her shoulder from Princess Celestia. She looked up at the alicorn, and she was surprised by what she found. Sadness, pity, surprise, and regret. The mixture of emotions perplexed Twilight. "I should go after-"
"Give her time... You should talk with your mother first," Celestia said softly. She glanced around the immediate group and grimaced. "I... I think I shall go see what Discord is up to..."
Twilight opened her mouth, then closed it. She watched Celestia walk off, then turned around and stared at her mother. "She's... How can... What?" she asked, still unsure. "Rainbow's my... sister?" she asked with disbelief. Her mother nodded solemnly. Twilight paused, knowing that it was only a matter of time before her mind recovered enough that she would have a panic attack. She took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. "I have a sister," Twilight said. It scared her. It made her happy. She didn't understand it. One of her best friends, apparently, was her sister.
She did a quick rundown of all her lists and plans in case of an emergency. Much to her shock, she had somehow never made an emergency checklist for finding out that one of her best friends was her sister.
Her five closest friends were like family to her. And apparently, one of those friends actually was family to her. "Why didn't you tell us?" Twilight asked sharply.
Velvet shifted her weight, not meeting anypony's gaze.
Princess Cadance bit her lip, then levitated her daughter over to her. "I'm going to give you some privacy..." She slowly turned around and started off, then paused and looked back. "Spike? Starlight?" she called, both the unicorn and dragon blinked and scurried over to her, then they walked off.
"She... doesn't look anything like you?" Twilight said, staring at her mother.
"Flurry doesn't look much like me," Shining Armor said.
Twilight opened her mouth to argue that, she could, in fact, see some of him in Flurry. However, she realized that it was a moot point. "I should go find Rainbow..." she said, shaking her head.
"Twilight," Velvet said as Twilight turned away from her.
Twilight paused and glanced back at her but said nothing, then she looked back forward and quickly slid through the party, making her way to the door. Ponies watched her go by with curiosity, and several ponies smiled at her. She, for one of the only times she could remember, didn't smile back. She had a lot on her mind. As soon as she was out the door, she lit her horn and cast a spell to find Rainbow Dash.
She smiled and prepared to teleport herself right to the pegasus, but thought better of it. 'How would she react if I just showed up beside her?' She grimaced and spread her wings, then took flight. It took her several minutes of flying before she got anywhere near the fast pegasus. Even with as much as she had grown, Rainbow was a far more capable flier than her.
Rainbow Dash flew. She didn't have a particular destination in mind, at least not other than away. Her dad thought that prank was funny. She didn't. She knew funny pranks. Sometimes her pranks could go too far. His certainly did. It had to be some kind of joke. There was no way Twilight's mom was her mom. It made no sense, it made less sense than Discord did. Sure, her dad had told her that her mother had been a unicorn, but he never went into much detail.
Despite knowing it had to be a cruel prank, part of her couldn't help but wonder if it made sense that he never told her much about her mother.
'There's no way Twilight's mom is my mom! That would make Twilight my sister! There's no way I'm related to an egghead like her, it's impossible!' she argued. 'And why would somepony just abandon their foal like that!?' She furiously snorted into the wind at that thought. It hadn't bothered her before. She couldn't ever remember not knowing her mom bothering her, but now it was. 'This is just a prank!'
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight called.
Rainbow briefly slowed her flight, then turned around and looked back at the alicorn. She was about a minute away from reaching her if she estimated correctly. She could slow down and let Twilight catch up to her. She could speed up and fly away from the alicorn. She wasn't obliged to stop for her. Twilight was a princess, and she did have power and authority. Twilight supposedly was her sister. Twilight was her friend. Her dad said Twilight's mom was her mom. Half a minute passed while she considered it all, and she found that she had sped up while thinking.
She put even more effort into it, and before she knew it, Twilight was fading off in the distance. Then a pink flash of light appeared from where Twilight disappeared. She immediately slowed to a stop, barely managing to stop herself before crashing into the alicorn. "Rainbow," Twilight said.
Rainbow stared at her, hovering in the air. "Leave me alone, Twilight," she said forcefully.
"Rainbow, please, can we talk?" Twilight asked.
Rainbow gritted her teeth and folded her arms. "What do you want to talk about?" she asked through clenched teeth.
"About what Spectrum said, that you're my-"
"If you say, 'sister,' I swear to Celestia I will fly all the way to the Changeling Empire and request an asylum."
Twilight recoiled at that. 'Maybe Celestia was right...' she thought gravely. "Rainbow..." she said cautiously, knowing she had to tread carefully. She didn't know whether Rainbow was being serious or not, but she didn't want to press her luck, considering how the evening was turning out. "It's... not that bad is it?"
Twilight groaned and flailed out her arms in exasperation. "Yes, it is! There's no way I'm related to you, Twilight!"
"Think of it as an opportunity!" Twilight retorted.
"An opportunity for what!?"
"To have a sister-"
"So you're just okay with this!?" Rainbow shouted furiously.
Twilight took a deep breath. "I did not say that," she said in a low voice. "I'm upset too, Rainbow. Screaming like fillies won't help us any," she said.
"Speak for yourself!" Rainbow retorted. She wanted to make good on her promise, to go fly far away and never come back. Twilight was her friend. Her life and friends were all in Ponyville. That knowledge was the only thing keeping her from flying away. "Why would somepony just... abandon their filly!?"
Twilight clenched her jaw. "I..." she sighed, ears drooping. "I don't know," she admitted softly.
"This is just stupid! I'm not your sister! There's no way I'm related to an egghead like you!" Rainbow practically screamed.
Twilight winced, hurt by what Rainbow said. She knew she could be angry, she could let herself yell at her for that comment. It hurt. Some part of her felt that she would be justified for yelling back at Rainbow, but she knew that would only make things worse. She didn't let herself yell or shout back in anger. She took another deep breath to help compose herself. The pain still lingered. "Rainbow-"
"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," Rainbow apologized, staring at the snow-covered trees below them. She looked back up at Twilight. "It's just..." She shook her head furiously. "I never used to care who my mother was, and of course now of all times I do," she snorted venomously.
"Why don't we go back to the castle-"
"I don't want to see either of them right now," Rainbow stated firmly.
"O-okay, we don't have to. We can go to the library and-"
"Library?" Rainbow snorted. "That's so you. How can I be related to... to somepony like you."
"Rainbow..." Twilight said gently. "Think about it. It's an opportunity... How many ponies can say that for Hearth's Warming they gained a sister?"
Rainbow didn't reply. Over a few seconds, she slowly smiled. "I... guess..." she said at length. The smile faded and anger replaced it. "But I'm still mad!"
"So am I, Rainbow... And I'm pretty sure Shining Armor is too," Twilight replied.
"You don't seem very mad," Rainbow accused.
"I'm just better at hiding it and dealing with it," Twilight said. "Perks of having Princess Celestia as my mentor."
"Yeah, right," Rainbow snorted.
Twilight pursed her lips. "Are you... jealous?" she asked.
Rainbow squinted at her. "Why would I be jealous of you?"
Twilight opened her mouth to list off the reasons but then realized that wouldn't help. She shook her head absently. "Rainbow, I'm sure that... that mom didn't want to... to give you up," she said.
Rainbow looked at her with hatred.
"Rainbow..." Twilight trailed off, watching the pegasus carefully for any signs that she was going to bolt. "Let's go back to the castle. You can spend the night, and we can talk. How does that sound?"
"I don't want to talk, Twilight," Rainbow answered.
"Then we don't have to talk."
"Then why should I go back to the castle with you!?"
Twilight sighed, raking what was left of her mind for a valid reason that Rainbow would agree with. The answer she found almost made her sick. She was sure it would work, but it felt wrong. She mustered her courage. "Don't let mom take this away from you. Hearth's Warming is tomorrow, and being angry on Hearth's Warming ruins it. Do you really want that?"
"She's not my mom," Rainbow retorted, looking away from Twilight and staring at the castle that pierced the Ponyville skyline. "A mother wouldn't abandon her foal. What kind of pony would do that!?"
"Rainbow, it's better to forgive than let anger fester in you. That anger you're feeling right now, deep in your chest. The bitterness? Don't let it consume you. It will grow, and it will destroy you. Just look at what happened to Princess Luna if you need proof. Forgiving isn't easy. And no, I'm not close to forgiving mom either. She kept this from me as much as from you." Twilight scrutinized Rainbow's expression, and seeing signs of her giving, she smiled.
"Fine," Rainbow snorted. "I'll go back to the castle. But I am not talking to your mom or my dad, okay!?"
Twilight smiled. "That's all I ask." She tentatively flew forward, then hugged Rainbow.
"What are you doing, Twilight?" Rainbow asked with uncertainty.
"Hugging my sister," Twilight replied.
Rainbow pushed back and looked at Twilight with disgust. "You're adapting to this waaaay to easily. Are you in on this!?"
Twilight wanted to groan. "Rainbow, it's Hearth's Warming Eve. And I'm pretty sure that I'm not thinking straight right now, being told that one of your best friends is actually your sister, and being as... me as I am, liking to plan everything out... might be responsible for that." She frowned. Rainbow shook her head. "Look on the bright side..." Twilight trailed off, smiling. "This also means you're related to Flurry Heart..." Rainbow stopped shaking her head, and a smile crept back onto her features. "Do you want to keep flying for a little bit, or are you ready to go back to the castle?"
Rainbow thought about it for a few seconds. "Fine. But I'm still not talking to..." she squinted, "mom..." she trailed off with disgust, as if saying the word was revolting. A few seconds passed and her expression lightened, "Or dad," she added.
"I'm sure... our brother is giving mom a hard time already..." Twilight said, lighting her horn and casting her teleportation spell.
"You know, Fluttershy..." Discord trailed off, smiling and stroking his goatee. The yellow pegasus looked up at her questioningly. "Maybe Hearth's Warming isn't so bad after all..." He paused. "Don't get me wrong, it's far too happy for my likes, but it's... kind of nice seeing everypony get along. It may not be as chaotic as I'd like, but I'd be lying if I said I haven't grown to enjoy a good bit of harmony," he admitted.
Fluttershy smiled warmly at him. "I knew you had it in you," she said. "Hearth's Warming always brings out the best in everypony."
Discord nodded in agreement. "I believe you're right."
Neither Twilight nor Rainbow were seen the rest of the evening. Princess Celestia covered for her after figuring out that Twilight went after Rainbow. She thanked everypony for coming as they left, and made sure to wish them a good evening and happy Hearth's Warming. It was well into the night when the last ponies left, leaving only Twilight's family, who would be spending the night, along with the original inhabitants of the castle.
Though there was still tension in the air when Celestia returned to the group, most of it had dissipated, although Shining Armor made a point not to meet Twilight Velvet's gaze or even look at her. She was surprised by how well Spectrum and Night Light were getting along, and it made her happy to see both stallions not fighting or showing even the slightest hint of hostility.
"Do you think somepony should go look for Twilight and Rainbow?" Cadance asked eventually.
"I believe it would be better if we leave them be," Celestia said, smirking as she laid down a card on the table. Spike shot her a glare as he reached over to the pile of cards and drew four more. "Green," Celestia said.
Night Light quickly put down a green seven. Twilight Velvet smirked and laid down a green draw card, then looked at Cadance, who smirked back before laying down a yellow draw card. Shining Armor looked at the two laid down cards in horror. He glanced at his deck and found a bead of sweat crawling down his forehead. He looked at Cadance, sticking out his lower lip and pouting. "Don't blame me," Cadance said with a warm smile.
Shining Armor sighed, then drew eight cards from the pile.
Spectrum smiled and put down his second to last card. "One," he said aloud. Everypony looked at him with fear.
Starlight smirked and laid down her last card. A blue five. Spectrum looked at her with horror. "Well, I think I'm going to call it a night... Not that winning hasn't been fun or anything..." Starlight said sweetly.
Celestia glanced at the clock. "It is getting late," she agreed.
Over a few minutes, everypony departed to their rooms or left in Spectrum case. Spike stopped by Twilight's room to see if she was there. To his distress, the alicorn wasn't there, and it was only on Cadance and Celestia's insistence that he didn't run off to search for her. He had trouble falling asleep that night, and he tossed and turned all night long, but he wasn't the only one. Almost everypony in the castle had a rough night, some worse than others.
"That smells great, Spike," Night Light said as he smelled the pancakes being cooked.
Spike puffed out his chest with pride. "Thanks!"
"Is that the same recipe that I taught you?" Twilight Velvet asked.
Spike nodded eagerly, drawing a smile from the older mare.
In just a few minutes, three plates were heaped full of pancakes, then placed carefully on the table. Plates and utensils were distributed to everypony, then they all helped themselves to the pancakes, though they made sure to leave plenty for Twilight whenever she showed up. Idle conversation passed between them, and they carefully avoided the topic that had come up the prior night.
Until one alicorn and pegasus showed up, both having just woken up and with disarrayed manes. Velvet immediately swallowed at the sight of both her daughters, although she was pleasantly surprised that neither of them looked ready to tear into her. "Twilight, Rainbow..." she acknowledged.
"Mom," they both said in unison. Velvet winced and prepared herself for the inevitable verbal assault which didn't come.
"We're both still very upset at you, but I think Rainbow's decided she's willing to work around it," Twilight said. "I managed to convince her to give you a chance, and I'm pretty sure the only reason I was able to, is because it's Hearth's Warming."
"You have a lot of questions to answer," Rainbow said evenly.
Twilight Velvet swallowed and sat up straighter. "I'll... answer anything you ask to the best of my abilities, Rainbow."
Both Twilight and Rainbow sat down at the table, and Twilight levitated another plate over to Rainbow, then distributed pancakes between both of them. They both started eating like nothing had happened, drawing concern from everypony else. "These are really good Spike, did you use mom's recipe?" Twilight asked.
"Yep," Spike answered.
"Rainbow Dash, I'm sorry that I-"
Rainbow cut her mom off, "Stop," she said. She wasn't as bitter as she was last night, but her voice was still cold. "I don't want your apologies. Nothing you say will make up for what you did. Nothing you say can make up for it. If it wasn't for Twilight, I don't think I would talk to you or dad ever again."
Velvet licked her lips and looked at Twilight. "What did you say?"
"She said that it wasn't worth it," Rainbow said simply. "Being angry wouldn't change anything, and it would only hurt me more in the end. Don't get me wrong, I'm still very angry. I don't think anything will fix that, but I'm willing to give you a chance. Not because of any apologies from you, but for Twilight."
"I'll... make it up to you, Rainbow. I promise," Velvet said.
"You really think you can make up for twenty-six years?" Rainbow asked with a huff.
"I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you if I have to," Velvet answered, her eyes filled with determination.
"Would you have if you never found out?" Rainbow asked. Velvet said nothing. "Figured as much," Rainbow said, turning her attention back to her pancakes.
"This will certainly be a Hearth's Warming to remember," Cadance mused in a strained voice.
"It may not mean much coming from me, Rainbow, but welcome to the family," Night Light said with a smile, doing his best to ignore the chill of the hostilities in the air.
Rainbow eyed him curiously. Twilight elbowed her in the ribs and glared at her. "Uh, thanks..." she said, drawing a smile from Twilight.
Author's Note
To err is human but to forgive is divine. Forgiveness is not always easy, but by holding a grudge, you are poisoning yourself. Hating someone for their actions or inactions only hurts you in the end, and they might not even know they have wronged you. How would you feel if you went to confront someone for a major slight, only to find that they had no idea they hurt you? You might feel pretty petty or foolish.
So... This is kind of awkward. I had told myself and determined not to write a Christmas special. Then the Monday before Christmas came, and I found myself writing this. Then the week passed and I didn't get around to editing and having this preread properly (Probably because of how short notice it was...
), and my the time Christmas Eve was here, I realized that Christmas Eve was the Saturday I had planned to release it, and then I thought "Publishing a story on Christmas Eve is probably a bad idea..." so I never published it. And then I got sick, and then it was January, and before I knew it, half a month had passed...