Princess Luna awoke with a huge grin plastered on her face. Today was Winter's Welcome. It was her favorite day, the day of the winter solstice, when ponies all over Equestria celebrated the longest night of the year and honored her, their princess of the night. She made sure to wake up before noon, as she had a plan for this particular evening. Though her windows were closed and her room dark, her internal clock was very accurate.
Already feeling full of life and energy, the princess flung off her star-patterned blanket and leaped onto her hooves, landing on the marble floor with a loud clack. She trotted to her chamber door and threw it open, startling the guard on the other side. Before he fully regained his composure, she addressed him a little too excitedly.
"You there! Guard! Prepare my chariot for a trip to Ponyville!"
He saluted in affirmation and rushed off down the carpeted hall. It had been nearly two months since the Nightmare Night incident in the small town, and Princess Luna was itching to try again, this time with a more important holiday. She squealed in excitement and hurried back into her room to get ready for her big day.
The skies over Ponyville were drab and overcast. This was Princess Luna's first hint that something was terribly wrong. Why would the weather team schedule cloud cover? After all, who could watch the moon rise on a cloudy night? Her chariot, pulled by two bat-winged lunar guards, dove down through the thick clouds until the small town itself was visible.
She located the town center and ordered her drivers to land there. As they neared it, she noticed something else that was terribly wrong. There were no decorations anywhere. No banners hanging above the streets, no star-shaped lanterns sitting on doorsteps, not even so much as a single moon balloon! It was all wrong!
Confused and outraged, Luna hopped out of her chariot the moment it landed and approached the town hall. Ponies in the street stopped and stared, some bowing to the princess. They looked like they were otherwise just going about their everyday business, as though the day wasn't a special one. What was going on here?
Just as the alicorn reached the steps of the town hall, Mayor Mare burst out of it, quickly stopping to bow before addressing the princess breathlessly.
"Princess Luna! We weren't expecting you. Welcome back to Ponyv-"
"What is the meaning of this?" Princess Luna demanded, cutting off the elderly mare and waving a hoof around.
"W-what do you mean?"
"Is today not the winter solstice?"
"Um, well... Yes, I suppose it is. But what does-"
"Where are the banners? The parades? The moon pies?"
"I-I don't know what you mean."
"Enough! We can see that We are still not appreciated here," Luna said, the disappointment and outrage clear in her tone.
Mayor Mare was silently bowing low and quaking in fear. Luna stalked away from her disdainfully. She wasn't going to let this trip go to waste. After all, she knew one pony in the area who would still appreciate her. There was one pony who had understood her and given her a chance during Nightmare Night.
Twilight Sparkle didn't live far away, but the walk through the streets of Ponyville was a harsh reminder that nopony seemed to recognize the winter solstice as anything but just another day of the year. Luna scowled the entire way there, causing some ponies to vanish into their houses or turn and hurriedly walk around a corner when they saw her approaching.
It wasn't long before she reached the large hollow tree that served as both the town library and home of Twilight Sparkle. The princess knocked loudly on the door. Muffled sounds of movement could be heard through the thick door, including a thump and a sharp cry of pain. After a short awkward wait, the door opened, revealing Twilight herself, rubbing her head and wincing. Upon seeing the princess, however, Twilight's eyes widened and she smiled broadly, falling into a quick bow.
"Princess Luna! It's so good to see you again. What are you doing here?"
The princess looked displeased. "Oh, Twilight, not thee as well. Has everypony forgotten our special day?"
Twilight looked confused. "Special day? What's special about-- ohhh," she said, realization dawning. "You mean Winter's Welcome? I've read about that! It was just like the Summer Sun Celebration, but for the winter solstice!"
Luna nodded. "We are surprised that even thou art not celebrating it. It was our favorite celebration of the year, and We thought that of all ponies, thou would remember it..."
"Well, the last Winter's Welcome festival was... almost a thousand years ago," Twilight said, sadness creeping into her voice. "I... I'm sorry, Princess."
The princess sighed heavily, resigned. "'Tis okay. We should have known that everypony forgot. We shall return to Canterlot and celebrate with our sister. Surely she will remember the importance of this day." Luna started walking away.
Twilight's paranoid mind conjured up images of Nightmare Moon cackling and standing over a defeated Princess Celestia.
"Wait!" Twilight said suddenly, stopping the princess in her tracks. "I have an idea. But I'll need your help."
Luna's ears perked up at this. "An idea? Prithee, tell me!"
"Well, we've still got several hours before the moonrise, right? I happen to have some pretty amazing friends. If anypony can make a festival happen on such short notice, it's them. I just need you to tell me what the festivals were like. Spike!" Twilight yelled.
The little dragon appeared behind Twilight in the doorway holding a marshmallow. "Whaf if if, Fwilighf?" he asked through a mouthful of what was presumably marshmallow.
"Go round up our friends and tell them to meet me here at the library. I've got a checklist to make!" Twilight put on a determined and confident expression as she grabbed a quill and parchment from a nearby table.
Spike made some kind of muffled noise of affirmation and ran out the door right under the tall dark blue alicorn. Luna entered the library, closing the door securely behind her.
Twilight began asking Princess Luna about the holiday and furiously scribbled notes as they talked. It wasn't long before Spike's efforts proved fruitful as Twilight's friends began to show up one by one. In a brilliant display of efficiency, Twilight's checklist was finished just before Spike entered the library followed closely by Fluttershy, the last to arrive.
Twilight gathered her friends and began speaking to them all. "Listen up, everypony! We've got a festival to make happen, and only a few hours to do it! Rainbow Dash, you clear the sky so that everypony can see the moon rise. Applejack and Rarity, we need a stage with moon-themed decorations for the princess. Fluttershy, get your songbirds together to perform a night-themed song. Pinkie Pie, try making some of these moon pies. I don't have a recipe, but I can describe them to you. Everypony got it?" They all nodded before rushing out the front door. Twilight had to grab Pinkie Pie by the tail to keep her from leaving before she knew what she would be making.
As Twilight described the moon pie to Pinkie, Princess Luna found herself feeling ever more excited. She started fidgeting, unable to completely contain herself. After waiting a thousand years, however, what was a few more hours?
"Okey dokey lokey!" Pinkie said before pronking out of the library. Apparently Twilight had finished giving her instructions while Luna was lost in thought.
Twilight began wordlessly double-checking her checklist when an impatient Luna spoke up.
"So, what would thou have us do now, Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight looked up from her list. "Well, I need to go around town and see what other ponies can do to help with the preparations. Maybe you should stay here, so that it's kind of a surprise!"
Luna did like surprises. She figured she could wait a measly few hours, however eager she got. She nodded at the idea. "Very well, We shall remain here whilst thou make preparations."
"Okay! I'll come get you about a half hour before the ceremony," Twilight said, rolling up her checklist, grabbing Spike in her magic, and depositing both on her back. She waved once more on her way out, then closed the door, leaving the princess in the silent library.
Poof! Rainbow Dash kicked a small cloud, breaking it up into tiny pieces that dissipated into the air. Next to her, Cloudkicker did the same, living up to her name. Rainbow was glad to have the best sky clearer in Ponyville there to help out, but it seemed like it would not be enough. Only a few ponies from the Ponyville weather team had shown up. This was a volunteer job with no warning after all, and most of them either had plans or weren't home.
Rainbow was sure there wouldn't be time to clear the sky, so she yelled her concerns over to Cloudkicker. "Hey Clouds, I don't think we're gonna be able to finish this job in time."
Cloudkicker stopped before bucking a cloud and simply landed on it. "You're right, Rainy, this would be too much even if we had the full team here. But what can we do?"
Rainbow Dash thought for a moment. "Well, it's a moon raising ceremony, so as long as everypony can see the moon, that should be enough, right? Then we only have to clear that area."
Cloudkicker nodded. It was the best they could do with what they had, so they changed their tactic, focusing on clearing a long strip across the sky. It would look strange and unnatural, but it would have to be enough.
Applejack sat on the grass, completely unsure of how to continue. There was no way she could build a stage in time for the ceremony. She looked over at Rarity sitting next to her.
"Well, whaddaya think, Rarity?" Applejack asked.
"I do believe we are, as they say, in a pickle."
"Ah think the best Ah can do is a frame, maybe... ten hooves tall and thirty across. We could use it for a backdrop, if ya think you can cover it."
"Hmmm... I should have the fabric and time for that. Ten by thirty you say? I'll start right away."
Rarity ran off muttering measurements and ideas to herself, and Applejack headed toward the lumber shop for the supplies she'd need. It wouldn't exactly be a grand stage, but it would have to do.
Birds were singing in Fluttershy's garden, all perched on four long sticks arranged like choir stands. The yellow pegasus had gathered them together to warm up before practicing the song they would be performing soon.
The problem was that Fluttershy didn't know which song they would be performing. Apparently there were many songs about the night, the moon, and even Princess Luna herself. None of them were widely known, and certainly not by Fluttershy or her songbird a capella group. Twilight had said something night-themed. Even if Fluttershy knew an old song, her birds would need several days to learn it themselves. The only song that she knew that kind of fit the theme was...
"Okay, everyone. Let's try doing Hush Now, Quiet Now. Ready? A one, a two, a one two three..."
Moon pie. It sounded delicious. Pinkie remembered how Twilight had described it to her. It was a white cheesecake filled with lots of pieces of gray rock candy and topped with crushed gray chalk candy. It was supposed to be like taking a bite out of the moon itself. Pinkie had never been to the moon, so she didn't know what it tasted like.
There was another problem however. While she did have plenty of cheesecake, she didn't have rock candy or the ingredients or time to make or buy any. She only ever made it for her sister Maud, on rare occasions. She also didn't know what chalk candy was, only that it was how Luna had described the topping. Pinkie's first thought was the Hearts and Hooves Day candy hearts, which she also unfortunately lacked, as they were out of season.
It seemed like she would have to improvise. She began going over the ingredients she did have, trying to think of what she could use to replace the two key items she was missing. She finally decided on whole almonds inside the cheesecake, and finely crushed cashews covered in a layer of powdered sugar as the topping. It probably wasn't very moonlike, but Pinkie knew ponies would love it. She nodded to herself as she settled on a plan, then began preparing the desserts.
The hours passed with relative speed as Princess Luna found some interesting books to pass the time. She was skimming through a romance novel featuring Princess Celestia and the castle's head chef when the library door opened. In walked Twilight with Spike in tow.
"Twilight Sparkle! Thou art over a minute early! We take it the preparations are complete, then?" Luna asked loudly, slamming the book on the table. The overeager alicorn seemed to notice she had been a bit loud and continued with a more reasonable volume. "That is to say... Let us not tarry."
Twilight simply smiled at the alicorn and nodded. "Yep, come on! They're waiting for us there now."
The ponies left the library, with Luna doing her best not to prance in the street. As they walked, the princess looked up at the sky and noticed it was still almost completely covered in clouds, with an out-of-place strip of clear sky running across it. Her excitement died down quickly and she scowled suspiciously at the odd sight, but she continued without a word.
Her excitement returned when she saw the crowd of ponies waiting for her. They had all come to watch the moon rise on the longest night of the year, and it made her ecstatic. Most of the ponies in Ponyville must have been there.
"Twilight Sparkle, We cannot thank thee enough for... is that moon pie?" the princess said suddenly, noticing the snack table. It was laden with disposable plates carrying precut squares of the special cheesecake she so fondly remembered. She rushed over to the table and quickly floated a piece into her mouth and chewed on it. She promptly spit it out.
"Peh! Eugh! What is this? Are those... almonds? We hate almonds!" Luna spat, both literally and figuratively.
Pinkie Pie, who was close by, saw this and frowned sadly. "Oh no! Princess Luna, I'm so sorry. I didn't have the right ingredients so I just kinda had to improvise."
"Perhaps 'twould have been better to have not bothered trying at all, then," Luna said with her eyes narrowed at the pink mare.
Tears formed in Pinkie's eyes and she ran off crying, disappearing around a corner. Twilight caught up, looking none too pleased.
"Hey! What the hay was that all about?" she asked Luna. The alicorn didn't seem to hear the question as she stared at the stage.
It wasn't a stage at all. It was a small raised platform seemingly made from a few stacked wooden boxes. Behind it was a black backdrop patterned with seemingly randomly placed stars. If this was supposed to represent her night sky, it did a poor job of it.
She also caught the sweet melodies of songbirds drifting from that direction and she swiveled her ears toward the music. It wasn't any song she recognized, and in fact sounded much too soothing to fit a proper winter solstice celebration. It actually sounded like a lullaby. Her displeasure grew, for she didn't like lullabies. They were just another reminder that ponies preferred to sleep through her beautiful nights. And indeed, there was even a stallion asleep in the crowd, somehow still standing on all four hooves and snoring softly.
"Princess Luna? What's wrong?" Twilight asked, gently placing a hoof on the princess's withers.
"Everything!" Luna said. "This is nothing like the festivals of old. We are displeased and insulted by this... farce!"
Ponies had started to notice the princess, and many were now staring at her with mouths agape at what they were hearing. Ignoring the onlookers, she continued.
"The sky should be completely clear! One cannot fully appreciate the night sky if one cannot see the stars. And speaking of stars, what is that backdrop? Surely 'tis not our night sky, riddled with inaccuracies as it is. Are We expected to perform the moon raising ceremony on that... that trash heap of a stage? And what is this abomination of a moon pie? 'Tis nothing like it should be. And why, why, why is the music of choice a lullaby of all things? Art thou trying to put our subjects to sleep?"
Murmurs arose from the gathered crowd as ponies began voicing their concerns to each other. Princess Luna looked at the ponies' faces and saw anger, disappointment, and fear among them, but no sympathy for her. She recognized those looks. It was happening again. She was ruining what could have been a special day for everypony. Her heart raced as her emotions ranged from outrage to fear. She didn't want to be responsible for another disaster. Her fight or flight instinct kicked in, and while she normally defaulted to fight, she was afraid that would only cause more harm. She took a step back, feeling the sting of incoming tears in her eyes, then turned away and fled.
Twilight called after her and immediately gave chase. Luna had no destination in mind as she simply ran away from the ponies she had let down, turning corners and passing increasingly blurry buildings as her tears came. She came to a stop in an empty alley and collapsed, sobbing. Twilight was still right behind her, and upon seeing the princess on the ground, stopped to approach carefully.
"Princess Luna?" Twilight said in her softest, most comforting tone. "I... I'm sorry. We failed you."
Luna sniffled and took a calming breath before speaking. "Nay, Twilight, it is We who have failed thee."
"Huh?" Twilight said, looking genuinely confused. "But we couldn't make a proper Winter's Welcome festival in time."
At this point, Princess Luna knew her expectations had been far too high. With little time to prepare for an unfamiliar event, she had set them up for failure. But why had Twilight been so confident? Luna seemed to realize something then, and paused to think before speaking.
"Tell me, Twilight, why did thou think 'twas possible to prepare in time?"
"Well... Because I thought, with the help of my friends, we could all handle it."
"Thy bond with thine friends must be strong to have so much faith in them, and to have no doubt in their ability to handle this impossible task." Luna's tears had stopped coming, her features showing sad contemplation. "Would that We were so lucky to have friends like those."
Twilight looked surprised at this. "But you must have lots of friends! You're a princess, for Celestia's sake! Er... pardon the expression."
"We have many acquaintances and subjects. We've only ever had one true friend. Our sister. She is often busy, however." Luna looked down at the ground sadly.
"Acquaintances and subjects? Princess, I mean no offense when I say this, but that is ridiculous. You can be friends with anypony. Maybe you should try seeing these acquaintances and subjects as friends."
"A-art thou saying We can be friends with everypony? But how? We have not the time for that."
"A friend doesn't have to be a close friend. As for how, just treat them like you would any friend. Trust them. Believe in them. Forgive them for their mistakes. If you do that for them, I'm sure they'll do the same for you."
Princess Luna smiled and thought it over. Maybe it was a mistake to view her subjects as below her rather than equals.
"Perhaps thou art correct. Thank you, Twilight Sparkle. The night has yet to even begin. 'Tis far too early to end on such a sour note. Let us return so that we may apologize to our subj- er, friends."
Twilight smiled and Princess Luna returned the smile warmly. Twilight led her back to the festival where the ponies seemed largely confused about what had happened. When they saw Luna, whispers and murmurs could be heard, but she didn't let it stop her. She went straight to the stage and raised a hoof to silence the crowd. The soothing music of the songbirds could still be heard, and she waved in the direction it was coming from. A yellow pegasus that Luna recognized as Fluttershy was conducting the music with enthusiasm, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings. One stallion who was near the area trotted over and tapped her shoulder, causing her to jump and yelp in surprise. He whispered something into her ear, and she suddenly motioned for her birds to stop. With that taken care of, Princess Luna addressed the crowd of ponies using her Royal Canterlot Voice.
"Ponies of Ponyville, We have come to make amends. We wish to apologize for our outburst. 'Twas wrong of us to lash out at ponies who were only trying their best to help us. We hope that everypony can forgive us. But first, now that the sun is setting, it is time for the night to truly begin. We will now raise the moon for thee as is tradition."
Princess Luna looked up to the sky as her horn was enveloped by a frost-blue aura. She could feel her sister's powerful magic setting the sun, the sky darkening as it fell below the horizon. As soon as that was finished, Luna began raising the moon slowly and dramatically. Her dark mane's flow seemed to slow, as though she were drawing power directly from it. After a moment, the moon slowly appeared on the horizon in Ponyville, painting the dark Equestrian landscape with soft moonlight. Though the clouds hid most of the stars, they framed the moon perfectly. The crowd oohed and ahhed at the spectacle, and Luna felt a mix of pride and relief for the positive reaction, for it implied that they had indeed forgiven her. She spoke to them once more as the glow faded from her horn.
"We thank thee, beloved friends, for attending this most wondrous event. 'Tis our favorite night of the year, and We hope to see thee again next year. But let us waste no more time, for the night is young and there is much merrymaking yet to be had. Happy Winter's Welcome!"
Luna waved to the crowd once more before stepping down from the stage as they cheered. She saw Twilight waiting nearby and trotted over to join her, both mares smiling broadly. Twilight was the first to speak.
"Princess Luna, that was amazing! I've never seen the moonrise spell in action before. Thank you so much for giving us another chance!"
"Nay, Twilight Sparkle it is We who should be thanking thee," Luna replied. "Were it not for thy words of encouragement, We may have raised the moon in privacy and gone back to Canterlot. Our little ponies are our friends, not just our subjects. That is a mistake We made a thousand years ago when We expected their respect without giving it in return. We nearly made the same mistake today with our high expectations."
Twilight was grinning slyly. "Then would you say you learned a lesson in friendship?"
The lunar princess nodded. "Verily."
"Would you be willing to write a letter to Princess Celestia about it?"
"If it is about thy friendship lessons, We can do better and simply deliver this lesson ourself when We return to the castle."
Twilight pranced excitedly in place. "Yes! Done early! I'm gonna get so much book sorting done this week!"
Luna placed a hoof over her mouth and giggled at the purple unicorn. Just then, Applejack showed up, scowling at Luna and holding a comforting hoof over a dejected Pinkie Pie.
"Now listen here, Princess," the earth mare said, pointing an accusing hoof at Luna, "we tried our darnedest to make this winter festival thing for y'all, and Ah ain't gonna let you insult anypony for doin' their best, least of all my friends! And Ah don't care if yer royalty, that don't make it okay."
Princess Luna, at first taken aback by the outburst, lowered her head as she realized they likely missed her apology. She noticed Twilight take a step forward to speak, and raised a hoof to stop her.
"Thou art correct, Applejack. We were unfair to all of thee, especially Pinkie Pie. The festival has actually been a resounding success despite the very late warning. 'Twas foolish of us to insult thy efforts."
Applejack looked a bit surprised at how easy that was, as if she had expected some kind of confrontation. Pinkie Pie, on the other hoof, was beaming. She began pronking circles around Luna, speaking excitedly.
"Ohh, do you really mean that? A resounding success? Is that like twice as successful as a sounding success? So if we do twice as good next year, will it be a re-resounding success? Next time I'll make the moon pie taste just like the moon!"
"Nay, Pinkie Pie, that would not be necessary," Luna said, stifling a laugh. "Trust us, the moon does not taste good. 'Tis bland and chalky. Your treat was much better than that, even if We did not like it. If you make a traditional moon pie next time, however, We would be overjoyed. But enough talk about next year, for there is still a party to enjoy now. That is, if all is forgiven?"
Luna smiled at Applejack, whose skeptical look melted into a smile. The farm pony held out a hoof and the princess took it and shook gratefully. When Pinkie saw this, she bounced gleefully and shouted what was on everypony's mind.
"Alright, everypony, let's get this party started!"
