The Monster of Hearths Warming
Luna breathed in deeply, allowing the cold air fill her lungs completely before exhaling, her breath forming a small cloud of white that quickly dissipated in the icy breeze as it blew past, causing her starry mane to billow more erratically. She ignited her horn, and the heavy blanket she had wrapped around her barrel became enveloped in an aura of blue magic as it tightened.
It was cold up here. That was no surprise, as being up in the mountains typically involved days that were usually chilly, even in the warmer seasons of the year. But Winter was different. In the Winter, it was not just simply cold, but so frigid that at times Luna imagined that if she did not check regularly then her hooves would become frozen to the floor beneath her. It was a silly thought, but there was no arguing with the fact that very few ponies were up and about in this weather, especially just before dawn.
Looking out into the distance, Luna patiently waited on the balcony leading out from her chambers, occasionally casting a small spell to keep the icy wind at bay before it could completely sap the warmth from her. From her balcony Luna casually watched the city of Canterlot down below. From her vantage point she could see for miles in almost all directions excepting those that her room did not open out to. She could see the empty snow filled streets of Canterlot. Below those she saw an almost endless expanse of white, Beyond that vast field she could see the little town of Ponyville, little more that a small dark mass in the distance. And beyond even that Princess Luna could just barely discern the tops of large trees bordering an untamed forest, hiding whatever dwelt inside of its depths from the outside world.
Luna sighed somewhat longingly as she stared at the Everfree Forest, wondering if maybe somehow, even from such a great distance as this that she might still might catch even a fleeting glimpse of something silently weaving through the boughs of the forest like a spirit or ghost.
Lightly chuckling at how unlikely that was to happen, Luna shook her head at her own folly, before noticing that the sun was finally starting to peek out over the horizon, indicating that her sister had at last seen fit to rise from her bed and perform her self appointed task. The great ball of light seemed to be struggling to rise up as it climbed ever so slowly into the Winter sky, its rays causing the clouds to turn different shades of purple and pink.
"Come on, you can do it," Luna muttered quietly as she watched the spectacle play out. "Don't think you can slack off just because it's cold Celestia." Although Luna knew better than to believe that she had been heard, it seemed that her words had some sort of effect as the sun finally seemed to broke free of the horizon and began to steadily rise upward, albeit somewhat sluggishly. Nodding her approval, Luna turned around to go back inside to her chambers to warm up, closing the balcony doors behind her with a flick of her magic.
Still keeping the blanket wrapped around body, Luna settled down near a fireplace tucked away in the corner of her chambers, tucking her legs beneath her as she soaked in the warmth given by the red and orange flames. The ability to lay down and simply enjoy the peace and quiet, safe from the biting cold of the Winter wrapped world outside, was one of Luna's favorite things to do during Hearths Warming. There was nothing to disturb her rest, and nary a sound reached her ears save for the crackle of the fireplace. Parties and large celebrations were nice of course, but there was something about the tranquility of simply enjoying ones own company that appealed to Luna. For minutes, or possibly even hours since she was not bothering to keep track of the time, Luna remained in this position, her eyes closed as she savored the moment.
The moment was promptly ruined when a gentle knock came at her door. Despite her guests apparent unwillingness to cause too much of a disturbance, Luna still flinched as the sound of a hoof banging on hard wood echoed through her chambers and her ears. Luna could not help sigh in exasperation as the peace and quiet that she had cherished just moments ago fled from the vicinity.
"Who is it?" she demanded, though not unkindly. Her guest did not answer right away, but Luna did hear the creak of her door being gently pushed open. Opening one eye to see who it was, Luna caught sight of an ivory snout poke inside, followed by a mane that rippled like an aurora of color. "Celestia?" Luna said, raising an eyebrow at her sister, who appeared to be shivering slightly. She could hear her teeth clattering inside of her mouth. "What are you doing here?"
"I should ask you the same thing Luna," Celestia replied. "I swear, no matter what I simply cannot become used to the weather this time of year. I don't know why you insist on being by yourself," she said as she pushed the door the rest of the way open, allowing Luna to see that her sister had adorned herself with all manner of warm clothing. Each of her legs were wrapped in wool sleeves that covered her hooves, her neck was covered in multiple layers of scarves and her body was completely covered by a heavy looking Winter coat. Upon seeing her sister dressed as such, Luna had to bite her tongue to keep herself from bursting out with laughter. Despite her efforts however Celestia still saw the mirth that Luna was trying to contain. "It is not funny," she said with a humph.
"You're right. I'm sorry, Celestia," Luna apologized, although she still could not help but smile as she watched her elder sister step inside before closing the door behind her. Celestia merely rolled her eyes as she trotted towards Luna before settling down next to her. "Better?" Luna inquired, to which Celestia responded with a simple nod as she scooted a little closer to her sister.
For a long while neither one of them spoke as they shared the warmth cast by the fireplace, until finally Luna spoke up and said, "I must admit, I typically prefer solitude in this kind of weather, but I do enjoy the company."
"It is preferable to sitting around all day in the throne with nothing to keep warm save for a pillow," Celestia replied with a light chuckle. "The fact that most of the nobles seemed to decide that staying at home was preferable to freezing their flanks off is an added bonus."
Luna glanced upward at her sister, one eyebrow raised above the other. "And I'm sure that has nothing at all to do with you yelling at them to stay out of the palace until Spring came around, lest they be carted off to the dungeons for the high crime of leaving the door open."
"Absolutely not," Celestia said sternly as she turned her head away, refusing to meet Luna's eye.
Luna simply shook her head and let out a light chuckle at her sisters antics before turning back towards the fire, and she began to think. She thought of many things. She thought about her sister, about the nobles, about Ponyville, and about the Everfree Forest. The last one she thought about more and more with each passing second, until there was hardly any room in her thoughts for much else. And it was not the Everfree Forest itself that occupied her thoughts, but rather who was currently residing within the depths of the untamed wilderness.
"I wonder if she is doing well," Luna said out loud without meaning to, prompting Celestia to glance down at her sister.
"Do you mean Angela?" Celestia questioned, to which Luna responded with a single slow dip of her head. "I do not think that you need to concern yourself too much about her," Celestia began to say. "I may not have had the pleasure of meeting her as you did, but if what you have told me about your friend is true, then she is in all likelihood dealing with the cold well enough." Rubbing her fetlocks together Celestia added, "Certainly better than I am at the moment."
Luna sighed, shaking her head from side to side. "Believe you me Celestia, I would prefer that our initial meeting did not go as it had. But still, that is not what I meant," she said. Looking up at Celestia she explained, "I know from my previous visits that she is doing well in terms of her health, but I am just unable to shake the thought that I need to be with her right now."
"What makes you say that?" Celestia asked.
Standing up, Luna trotted over towards the balcony doors, looking through the glass out at the Everfree Forest far off in the distance as more of it became illuminated by the rising sun. "Nothing in particular really. It's just. . ." Luna faltered trying to find a way to adequately voice he thoughts in a way that would satisfy her sister. Eventually she said, "Celestia, you recall the meaning behind why we celebrate Hearths Warming, do you not?"
"Of course," Celestia answered. "We celebrate it to commemorate the union between the three pony tribes, long before you or I became princesses. We also do it so that we do not forget that, once long ago, the three tribes were at each others throats before they were brought together in friendship by a common enemy. I'm sure that the play we attended touched upon many of those points. Why do you ask Luna?"
"I just wonder what is going through Angela's mind during this time. . . I try to visit her as much a I can, but I cannot help but feel as though I am just abandoning her each time I take my leave. It does not seem right, especially now of all times," Luna responded, before falling silent once more a she continued to gaze at the snow covered world outside.
Celestia, finally realizing what was concerning Luna, stood up and sidled up alongside her little sister, gently nuzzling her with the tip of her snout. "I understand Luna," she said softly. "And I also believe that there are some similarities between the tale of Hearths Warming and your relationship with Angela."
"How so?"
Taking a moment to organize her thoughts, Celestia explained, "Well, Angela was at one point at odds with us, even if it was born mostly of series of misunderstandings. While she may not have been our enemy, that very well could have changed had you not intervened just in time and gave her a chance to redeem herself. It was you yourself that offered her your hoof in friendship so that future conflicts could be avoided."
Luna glanced downward at the floor in thought, pondering Celestia's words. She could very well see the point Celestia was trying to make. But even still there was lingering piece of doubt in her mind that held her in place, immobilizing her thoughts on what she should do about it. Celestia, able to see the turmoil that was clearly going on in her younger sisters head, nuzzled Luna gently behind her ears. Caught off guard by the action, Celestia simply smiled at her younger sibling and said, "If you like, I would not be adverse to you going out for a little bit."
Luna, seeing what Celestia was hinting at, grinned at her sister before opening the balcony doors with her magic. Spreading her large wings, she leapt off of the balcony, flying forward for a few moments before vanishing in a flash of white light.
The first thing that Luna noticed upon arriving in the Everfree Forest was how utterly silent everything was. Aside from the sound of her own breathing there was not a single noise to be heard in all directions as she took a cautious step forward, flinching slightly at the soft crunch of snow beneath her hoof. She was in a small clearing, one which both she and Angela had agreed would be where they would meet each other, but at the moment the girl was nowhere to be found as Luna scanned the surrounding tree line.
It was almost unsettling how quiet it was as Luna continued to slowly trot forward into the forest, her hooves leaving small yet deep round impression in the snow before she exited the clearing, mindful of her surroundings. While the atmosphere up in Canterlot had certainly been rather chilly, here in the Everfree Forest there was a certain savageness that could be felt in the icy air. Unlike most places in Equestria, the Everfree Forest was much less forgiving to those that were not prepared for the changes of the seasons, and any that did not obey its rules were quickly punished.
Luna knew that she should not worry, but never the less she could not help but feel concerned for Angela in this place. She briefly wondered if perhaps the girl was hibernating somewhere where she would have to be concerned about the weather, which might explain why she was nowhere to be seen. It seemed to be a habit among larger animals to sleep through the cold, but of course Angela was anything but a regular animal, and the girl had given no indication that she was about to do anything like that during the last few visits when the seasons were beginning to change.
Deciding that it could wait until she located Angela, Luna forged onward in search of her friend, finding herself suddenly wishing that she had at least brought something to keep warm.
Angela sniffed the air, confirming that she was still on the trail of her prey as she glided forward, her lithe and agile body hovering just above the frozen plants beneath her, barely brushing against them in pursuit of her next meal. It was very close now, no more than a few hundred feet directly in front of her.
Before long she finally caught sight of her prey through the trunks of the huge trees, namely a lone deer that quietly walked around, looking for food beneath the blanket of white. She felt the tips of her three tails twitch in anticipation, and she slowly stalked forward, her form almost perfectly concealed in the shade of the trees.
She came to a halt when the deer suddenly raised its head, its ears swiveling back and forth in an attempt to detect the presence of a nearby predator. While Angela could pounce right now and likely catch the buck, a month of living in the Everfree Forest as Luna had called it had taught her that she should only pounce if she was absolutely certain that her hunt would be a success or if there was no other choice, and given how scarce food had become due to the onset of Winter, Angela would rather not lose the only decent sized meal that she had seen it days to her own impatience. If she alerted the buck to her presence too soon, it could easily lose her in the forest, as when it came to chasing prey through the woods, her great size oftentimes got in the way.
Before long the buck seemed to decide that it was not in any danger, and resumed rooting through the snow with its nose, pushing it aside in search of whatever food might remain that had yet to be completely frozen over. Seeing her opportunity, Angela resumed her steady crawl forward, the only noise she made being the gentle whoosh of air as she glided past, taking extra care to ensure that she did not accidentally scrape against a nearby tree in the process.
Once she decided that she was close enough, Angela crouched, preparing to launch herself forward. Her spines quivered and she raised her saber like claws, planning to skewer it before it had a chance to escape.
Just as she was about to pounce she heard a distant voice call out for her. "Angela? Are you here?" it said.
The moment that the familiar tone echoed through the woods, the deer bolted away. Her hunting instincts taking over, Angela launched herself at it in pursuit, her claws extended to grab it before it could get away. Unfortunately her claws just barely missed the buck by mere inches as she impacted on the snow covered ground. Angela could only growl in frustration as she watched her meal run away from her before it eventually disappeared into the depths of the forest.
A few moments Later Angela became aware of the distinctive sound of hooves trotting through the snow as it steadily approached her, and before long Princess Luna appeared.
"Oh, there you are Angela," Luna proclaimed when she spotted the much larger wraith, who was still looking off in the direction the deer had disappeared to. "I was looking for you. I hope I did not interrupt anything."
'Oh no, of course not,' Angela thought with a snort as she glided past Luna. 'And you should at least know better than to sneak up on me while I'm hunting anyway.' Hoping that the buck did not make it too far for her to pursue, Angela briefly considered trying to pursue it, but after a moment of thought decided against it. The effort of stalking after the deer for another hour was none too appealing to her at the moment, and she was not yet hungry enough to justify it. Besides, in spite of her intrusion Luna was here, which of course warranted her full attention. She could always track the deer down later anyway now that she had its scent.
Floating back towards the Princess, Angela reached her clawed hand down, struggling to remember the correct set of symbols to use as she wrote in the snow with Equestria letters. "Why are you here?" she wrote down. Luna looking at the writing, reading the somewhat uneven lettering with a critical eye before she answered.
"I see that you are improving. That is good. It seems that my teachings were not in vain after all," Luna said, giving Angela an approving smile. Angela felt her spines quiver slightly upon hearing the praise, but did not allow herself to become distracted by it as she waited for Luna to answer her question.
Finally Luna said, "Actually Angela, to answer your question, there is no particularly urgent reason why I am here. I simply wanted to stop by to check up on you to see how you were doing."
'That's it?' Angela thought while looking off in the direction of Canterlot. Again she began to write in the snow. Halfway through writing she paused, trying to recall from Luna's lessons what symbol she was looking for. After a moment of thought she was able to complete the sentence which read as, "Long way to go for a visit, don't you think?"
"Perhaps," Luna replied as she shifted her wings a little. "It's really no trouble though, so you needn't worry about that. Besides, I really only came to see how you were faring in this weather."
Angela simply shrugged. The cold did not bother her all that much if she were to be honest, which actually surprised her a little since she had no pelt to speak of to keep herself warm. The only difference that she really noticed when Winter came around was how the color of her leathery skin had shifted from her normal dark grey to a slightly lighter shade, but she doubted that was what Luna was inquiring about. The alicorn knew full well that Angela was fine out here by herself. Sure it could be lonely at times, but she had become accustomed to it over the last few weeks.
So why was Luna here now? She had said that it was only to check to make sure if she was okay, but for some reason Angela felt that there was something else behind it, something that Luna had not yet told her. Hoping to get a straight answer, Angela brushed away her previous sentences and wrote down another. "Why are you here?" she asked, underlining the question to give emphasis.
Seeing that Angela would not be satisfied until Luna had told her the real reason why had dropped by, Luna sighed, her breath creating a cloud of steam that soon disappeared as she said, "Angela, are you familiar with the concept of Hearths Warming? I know I mentioned it to you before, but I don't think that I properly explained it in detail."
For a moment Angela was silent as she thought about what Luna just said. She did recall hearing the Princess give it a passing mention, but aside from that had never given it very much thought. She just assumed it was some sort of pony holiday that she did not need to get involved in, although the fact that it was called Hearths Warming reminded her very much of another holiday that she used to celebrate when she was much younger, long before. . . certain things had happened. Things that she would rather not think about.
Pushing those thoughts out of her head Angela motioned for Luna to continue in her explanation, curious to hear what she was going to say.
"I suppose I should start with the basic definition then," Luna stated. "You see Angela, many centuries ago, long before either I or my sister became the rulers of Equestria, the three pony tribes were once embroiled in a heated dispute. I won't bore you with the specifics, but what happened was that their hatred for each other was so great that it very nearly brought about their doom, until they finally realized that such hostility was getting them nowhere and they came together in peace and friendship."
At this point Angela had settled herself down to the frozen ground, curling up slightly to conserve her body temperature as she listened to Luna explain, still unsure where she was going with this or what it had to do with her.
"Thanks to their decision, the nation of Equestria was founded, and peace between the three tribes has reigned ever since. In honor of this union, Equestria regularly celebrates Hearths Warming every year through a variety of ways. One of those ways being simply enjoying the company of family and friends."
Upon hearing Luna say that, Angela perked up a little bit, finally realizing what Luna was saying to her, and the thought surprised her more than she would have expected. Was Luna really offering Angela the pleasure of her company? If so then why? Wanting to find out, Angela wrote down that very same question, wondering brought about this decision.
"I suppose," Luna explained as she took a step towards Angela, "the simplest reason I can give is that I don't want to know that you were alone. Nopony, or nobody in this case, should be alone out here, especially during Hearths Warming." Stepping closer to Angela until she was close enough to set a frigid and snow covered hoof on her friends leathery arm, Luna added, "Angela, if you would have me, may I spend Hearths Warming with you as a friend?"
For a long while Angela was silent as her mind went blank, unsure what to even do as she slowly took in what Luna just said to her. She could see it Luna's eyes that she meant every word. She was genuinely willing to be with Angela, a monstrous creature capable of untold amounts of destruction, out in the freezing cold with nothing to keep warm, all so she did not have to be by herself for a holiday that the girl did not even really need to celebrate.
After a while Luna ears fell when Angela did not answer right away. Retracting her hoof, she backed away a few steps before saying, "Although, I would understand if you do not wish for that. I myself usually prefer solitude more often than not. If you sincerely wish to be alone, then I will not force you to do otherwise." Luna then turned around, going back the way that she had arrived. Angela, realizing that the Princess had unfortunately mistaken her silence on the matter as an outright refusal to her offer, quickly picked herself off of the ground and sped towards Luna.
The Princess never eve saw the wraith coming as she was suddenly picked up off of the ground by a large clawed hand, causing her to yelp in surprise. She struggled for freedom for a second before remembering that she was not in any danger as Angela carried her somewhere.
"Angela, what are you doing?! Where are you taking me?!" Luna demanded as she was unwillingly carried through the Everfree Forest at high speed. She had not the foggiest idea where Angela was taking her, but after receiving no response of any kind Luna chose to simply go along with it and let herself be carried around to whatever destination Angela had in mind.
Whole minutes passed in this manner, by which point Luna was beginning to feel the onset of motion sickness as she was all but helpless to do anything in Angela's grip except watch the ground rush past. Thankfully after a little while longer Angela began to slow down enough to let her regain control of her stomach, and a moment later she suddenly came a stop before setting Luna down gently. The Princess swayed a little bit as she recovered from her impromptu transport, but otherwise kept her balance.
"Angela, where did you. . ." Luna began to say, but fell silent when she saw where exactly Angela had taken her, and the sight of it filled her with mixed feelings.
It was a castle, one that she recognized even after hundreds of years of being left to fall apart in the Everfree Forest after it was abandoned shortly after her banishment. As she looked at it, Luna found herself remembering moments long past of when she and her sister would walk through the halls of the once great palace together, when friends and acquaintances from all over the world would come to gather. . . where Luna had betrayed her sister out of jealousy.
Even after all these years it still astounded Luna that the castle was still standing in most places, most likely due to the walls being saturated with layers of spells meant to keep them upright even as the forces of the Everfree battered against it, vying for control. Nature would eventually win, but for the moment the castle would remain.
Luna was unsure how to feel about that.
A sharp hiss got her attention, and Luna looked around to see that Angela had moved over to a portion of the castle had caved in, allowing easy entrance while keeping most of the snow out.
"This is where you were staying all this time?" Luna asked. Angela nodded once in reply before motioning for the Princess to follow her as she entered the opening, her large body barely fitting inside. Not wanting to keep Angela waiting, Luna approached the opening, having to scale many piles of rubble to get to it. Once there, she cautiously set a hoof inside, looking all around at the dark interior. Steeling her nerves Luna trotted the rest of the way in, almost stumbling a few times before her hooves found level ground.
The stone beneath her hooves was cold, but preferable to the frigid conditions outside, and every step Luna took produced a sharp clack that echoed throughout the large chamber she found herself in. Curiously, Luna found that on some parts of the wall strange runes had been scratched out, and beneath them were words that at least closely resembled Equestrian writing. She guessed that Angela had put them there to help herself remember what each one meant.
Looking around for the girl, Luna soon found her curled in a corner of the chamber, looking expectantly at her. Luna noticed that beneath her was a bed made up of various bits of shrubbery and plant life that had long since withered into a dull brown mass. With a swift tilt of her head, Angela motioned for Luna to come over to her. Knowing better than to decline, especially after saying that she would be spending at least some time around her, Luna approaching, appraising the nest that Angela had made for herself. At least it looked dry.
Hopping up onto the bed of shrubbery, Luna soon found that it was actually much softer and noticeably warmer than she would have thought as she sat down next to Angela, finding herself appreciating the care that girl had taken into constructing it.
"This. . . this is nice," she said, to which Angela hummed in contentment. She then surprised Luna by curling around the pony with her tails and wrapping almost her entire sinewy body around her in a large circle. In spite of where she was, Luna felt herself relax and become more and more at ease, and she laid down next to Angela's chest, listening to the gentle thudding of her heart.
Before long Luna closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Curling tighter around the much smaller pony, Angela soon followed suit, finding herself glad that Luna had interrupted her meal if this is what she got in favor of it.
Author's Note
I swear it's purely platonic.
Aside from that I hope that you enjoyed reading this short little tale I wrote up for the occasion. I don't really know where the idea for this came from, I just wanted to make a short follow up story to Hollow Shades. It's not as action or drama oriented as the original story, but it's not meant to be. Keep in mind that it was written in about a couple hours, so forgive me if there are any errors that you happen to see and alert me to them in the comments section below.
Thank you for reading.
Dilos1
