"What to do, what to do?" Tempest asked herself as she sat on a bench in the Canterlot Marketplace, "Come on, you stupid mare, this should be an easy decision to make."
It's a week before Hearth's warming, and Tempest has yet to find the right gift for Twilight. She'd looked all month, but nothing was coming up. She thought at first if there was any books Twilight didn't have, but couldn't ever think of one. She was deep in thought when she felt something poke her leg. She jerked up to see what was touching her, only to find a young filly sitting beside her. The filly was had a light orange coat, with a yellow mane and tail. She had a peach colored splotch on her flank, but no cutie mark.
"I didn't mean to scare you," The filly said, "It's just that you looked sad, and nopony should be sad before Hearth's Warming."
"It's alright, little one," Tempest said, straightening up, "I was just trying to think of what to get a good friend of mine."
"My mommy always says it's not the gift, but the love behind it that matters most," The filly said, "Whatever you end up getting your friend, if you put enough love behind it, it'll be more than enough."
"You have a good point, and it sounds like you have a really smart mom as well," Tempest said, "Speaking of which, where is your mother? And your father?"
"I don't know. They left about a week ago, and I haven't seen or heard from them since," The filly said, slumping down.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't know," Tempest said, suddenly feeling bad for bring up such a thing, "But I'm sure they'll be home by Hearth's Warming."
The filly just sat there, not saying anything. With each second, Tempest felt more and more guilty.
"You know, I happen to be good friends with the Princesses. I'm sure they'd be more than willing to help you out till your parents come back," Tempest offered.
"Thanks, but no thanks," The filly said, "Wouldn't make much of a difference."
"Oh, don't be that way," Tempest said, "Let's start over here. My name is Tempest Shadow. What's yours?"
"My name is Honeysuckle," The filly said.
"That's a pretty name," Tempest said.
"I guess, yea," Honeysuckle said, "So, know what you're gonna get your friend yet?"
"Not yet," Tempest admitted, slumping down, "She's a huge bookworm, even lived in a library once, but I can't think of any books that she doesn't yet have."
"Is she a fan of Starswirl the Bearded?" Honeysuckle asked, "You know, he just wrote a neat auto bio graph book. I hear there's only going to be one hundred books made."
"Seriously? Well, she wouldn't have that one yet, else I'd have heard about it before now," Tempest said, bolting up.
"I think the bookstore near the grand park still has a couple copies left if you want to get one," Honeysuckle pointed out, "If your friend's really a bookworm, she'll love it. Plus, it's a gift from you, so that'll make even more special."
Tempest said nothing as she got up and attempted to get off the bench. Her legs had gone, numb, however, so she fell ever so ungracefully and face-planted the ground.
"Are you ok?" Honeysuckle asked, jumping off the bench.
"Yea, just lost my footing is all," Tempest said, trying to save face.
Once she got feeling back in her legs, tempest stood up and shook the snow from her coat.
"You're up, good. I'll meet you at the bookstore near the grand park," The filly said before running off.
Tempest immediately gave chase, worried for the filly's well being. No matter how fast she ran, however, she could not seem to catch up. "How is this kid so fast?" She asked herself as she ran. When she finally stopped, she was outside the very bookstore Honeysuckle had mentioned. The filly was nowhere in sight, so Tempest hurried inside to see if she could find her, checking first at the check out counter.
"Excuse me, I don't mean to sound impatient, but you didn't happen to see a little filly run in here, did you?" She asked.
"No, I haven't seen any colts or fillies today," The cashier said, "What does she look like? What's her name?"
"She's a little orange Earth filly, doesn't have a cutie mark, and her name is Honeysuckle," Tempest explained.
"Ho-honeysuckle? But, that's impossible," The cashier said.
"How so?" Tempest asked, finally catching her breath.
"She and her parents passed away in a house fire last week," The cashier explained, "They were good ponies, and she was such a sweet kid. I was heartbroken when I got the news, even closed the shop for a couple days."
"You've gotta be thinking of the wrong filly," Tempest said, "I just talked to her. She said she'd meet me here, and took off."
"Orange coat, yellow mane and tail, with a pink ink spot on her flank?" The cashier asked, earning a wordless nod from Tempest, "Yea, she's the same filly."
Tempest sat down, shocked. She'd just been with the filly, and at no point did she ever get a hint of talking to a ghost.
"She was a good kid. Kind and fun to be around, she could always make you smile even on the worst of days," The cashier said.
"I'm sure she was special," Tempest said, "She led me here saying that you might still have a couple copies of Starswirl's autobiography. Please tell me you still have one."
"Yes, we do have a fair few left," The cashier said before leading Tempest to the display, "She had one of her own, and she loved it. Whenever she came in, she'd always have something new to tell me from it. She'd have made a fantastic Liberian one day with how much she loved books."
The two eventually reached the display, and Tempest grabbed the first copy she saw and bought it. She had it gift wrapped before leaving the store. After walking out, she looked up and silently thanked the little filly who led her to that store.
Author's Note
Sorry for the sad end, there. I promise, I'll make it up to you in the next chapter.
It's Hearth's Warming morning, and Tempest was fast asleep. She was deep in dreamworld, having fun with Twilight on a snowy day. In fact, they were caught up in a snowball fight. Unable to dodge in time, Tempest took a snowball right to the face. She then bolted upward and found herself in her and Twilight's room. She looked around for Twilight, but found only a tray with food on it and a note.
Woke up and early, and didn't have the heart to wake you up as well. You just looked so peaceful, and I didn't want to ruin whatever dream you were having. I made some breakfast and placed a preservation spell on it to keep it warm and fresh for you.
❤ Love, Twilight ❤
Tempest couldn't keep herself from smiling.
"What a dork," She said to herself as she set the note down.
The food was a great spread. A small stack of pancakes already covered in syrup, over buttered grits, a chocolate muffin, and a mug of peppermint cider. All of it prepared just as she liked it.
After she finished the meal, she took a shower and got all cleaned up before heading to the kitchen.
"Well, look who finally rolled out of bed," Spike said as Tempest entered the kitchen with a tray of dishes, "I'll get those for you."
"Thanks, Spike," Tempest said as she passed the tray over, "Say is-"
"Main hall, waiting for you," Spike said, knowing what Tempest was about to ask, "I'll be down once I fin-ahhh."
"Nope, you're coming with me. You can wash dishes later," Tempest said as she dragged the young drake away from his work.
Spike grumbled the whole trip, but Tempest refused to have him miss out on the fun.
Once in the main hall, The two were met with a very lovely, decorated tree. Twilight was sitting underneath with a Santa hat, red coat, and red nose. Tempest burst out laughing when she realized what she was looking at.
"What's so funny?" Twilight asked with a pout.
"This whole getup of yours. You are such a dork," Tempest explained.
"Yea, well... I don't care what you say," Twilight said, still pouting, "Besides, you know you love my dorkiness."
"Guilty as charged," Tempest said, earning a gag from Spike, "Oh, you may think it's gross, but just wait till you find a lover for yourself. You'll be just as dorky."
"Humpff, as if," Spike said.
"So, I guess Starlight won't be joining us?" Tempest asked.
"Nah, she went to spend the day with Maud and Trixie," Twilight explained.
"Well, hope she has fun," Tempest said before grabbing a small box and giving it to Twilight.
Twilight unwrapped the present and exploded with excitement when she saw the contents.
"YOU GOT A COPY OF STARSWIRL'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY!?!" She asked as loud as she could possibly manage, forcing Spike and Tempest to cover their ears, "Heheheheheh, sorry about that. But how did you manage to get one of these? I was sure they'd all be gone by now."
"I got word of where to find a copy, and jumped on it immediately," Tempest said, "I knew you didn't have one, and I know just how much you idolize that unicorn, so I just had to get you a copy."
"Thank you, I mean it. I'm gonna enjoy reading this," Twilight said.
"Maybe we could read it together later on tonight in front of a warm fire?" Tempest suggested, slightly mentally wincing.
"Yea, I'd like that," Twilight said before grabbing a box and giving it to Tempest.
"I'll be right back," Spike said.
"And where do you think you're going?" Tempest asked, "I said do dishes later, remember?"
"I just need to grab something real quick, I'll be right back," Spike said before taking off.
Tempest just shook her head before taking the present from Twilight. She opened it up as gracefully as possible to reveal a small, wooden chest. Her first thought was a ring. Was Twilight about to propose to her as soon as she opened this chest? Is that why Spike left? He didn't want to get in the way?
"It's not going to open itself, you know," Twilight said teasingly.
Tempest sighed and opened the chest. What was inside left her speechless. She took a step backwards, gasping with shock. Sitting there, laid on the purple satin interior, was a crystal horn. It was gold in color, and had a small black strap to keep it in place. She stared at the horn for a couple minutes before speaking up.
"I... Twilight, I don't know what to say. It's... this is... I just... you didn't have to do this," Tempest said, tears forming in her eyes.
"No, I didn't, but I wanted to do something special," Twilight said, "I couldn't find a gemstone that matched your coat, so I went with your birthstone instead. And the base is form fitting, so you don't have to worry about it not staying on or falling into the cracks."
"Thank you doesn't even come close to enough for this," Tempest said, tears now falling down her face.
"No, but your smile is more than enough thanks," Twilight said, "Wanna try it on?"
Tempest wasted no time in doing just that. She picked up the horn and slid it over her horn, the gel on the base forming perfectly into the cracks and spaces.
"Well, how does it feel?" Twilight asked.
"The strap is a little awkward, but nothing I can't ignore," Tempest admitted.
"Wanna see it?" Spike asked as he came back into the room.
"Yes, I do," Tempest said.
Spike held the mirror flat, confusing Tempest at first. She didn't understand what he was doing. Surely he knew how a mirror worked.
"Close your eyes and invision the mirror," Twilight instructed, "Think about only the mirror, nothing else."
"Um... how's that gonna help?" Tempest asked.
"Just do it," Twilight urged before Tempest finally complied, "Got a good picture of it?"
"Yea, but I still don't get it," Tempest said.
"I want you think about the mirror leaving the ground and turning to face you, I want you to picture yourself looking back at your reflection," Twilight instructed.
"Ok, but what is this supposed to do?" Tempest asked.
"Open your eyes, now," Twilight instructed.
Tempest opened her eyes to see the mirror floating right in front of her face, surrounded in a light blue aura. Her reflection showed her new horn also giving off that same blue aura. It took a few moments, but she finally realized what had just happened.
"I'm... able to use focused magic," Tempest said softly, "This horn... it isn't just for show, it actually works. And you just helped me with my first real spell."
Tempest couldn't keep her grip much longer, and the mirror soon fell. Spike was quick to catch it, though.
"Best Hearth's Warming ever," Tempest said as she pulled Twilight into a tight embrace.
As she looked onward, behind Twilight, she saw a little Earth filly standing near the tree with a smile on her face.
"Happy Hearth's Warming," The filly said.
Tempest mouthed a thank you before watching the filly fade away. She blinked a couple times, and then the filly was gone, and she was left holding Twilight with the biggest smile on her face.