"Luna?"
Celestia is careful to be quiet. She doesn't think that there are any guards close by at this time, but one can never be too careful. After a few moments without a reply from her sister, she tries again.
"Luna? Are you awake?"
She listens closely for any guards outside, wondering if it's safe to raise her voice to catch her sister's attention.
"Yes, I am awake. How could I possibly be sleeping on a night like tonight?" Luna finally replies, turning over on her bed to look at Celestia.
"Fair point." Celestia props herself up on her pillow, and Luna does the same.
"You still remember where our super secret surprise is, right?" Luna asks nervously, followed by a quick little giggle.
"West wing library, third shelf up on the fourth bookcase from the entrance, far right, hidden in the alchemist's guide," Celestia recites, flawless after days of practicing. The two girls giggle again, unable to contain their excitement.
"Are you looking forward to the celebration tomorrow?" Luna whispers, although a bit louder than before.
"You bet I am!" Celestia catches herself after this exclamation. "Oops. We should be more careful with our volume."
"I don't know if I can stay quiet," Luna whines. "I don't think I can go back to sleep either. Or stay still!" She is indeed squirming underneath her blankets, abuzz with excited energy.
The sound of hoofsteps reaches the fillies' ears from further down the hallway leading to their chambers. The distinct metallic clinking accompanying the hoofsteps identifies the pony as one of the palace guards. Celestia and Luna immediately stop talking and pull the covers back up over their heads, looking at each other nervously, and trying to stay as still as they can.
Only a minute passes before the guard finishes walking the length of the hall and back to continue patrolling the rest of his assigned area, but to the royal sisters, it feels like hours.
"Let's stop talking now," Celestia whispers extra softly after she can no longer hear any hoofsteps. "Tomorrow's a big day, after all."
Luna gives her sister a nod, and the two of them lie back down and pull their blankets snugly around themselves. Celestia closes her eyes and starts falling asleep, but is interrupted by Luna.
"Do you think Professor Starswirl will be back tomorrow?"
"Of course he will!"
"How do you know?"
"He left nine days ago. He's rarely ever gone for much longer than a week. I'm sure he'll be back in time."
Celestia slips into sleep just after reassuring her sister. Luna lifts her head from her pillow once more and looks out to the scene below her. A two-feet-thick blanket of snow covers everything around them. It makes cobblestone roads indistinguishable from the untamed ground and turns the trees of the forest into twisty, icy figures sharp against the dark night sky. The moon she has only recently begun to raise and lower gives the whole scene a silvery glow. She sighs and lies back down, giving a simple "I hope so," as she joins her sister in dreamland.
"HAPPY HEARTH'S WARMING!"
Clover the Clever nearly falls over, startled by the two sister's greeting. Before he has the chance to reply, they are already gone, flying down to the dining hall at tremendous speeds. On the way, they also nearly knock over five palace guards, seven palace maids, two scholars, three messengers, and fourteen suits of armor. Having somehow managed to avoid breaking anything, the sisters land just outside the great double door that leads into the dining hall. Before entering, they stop a nearby guard.
"Do you know if Professor Starswirl has returned yet?" Celestia asks him, smiling sweetly.
"He has not returned yet, as far as I know," the guard replies.
"Oh." Celestia's face falls. The guard doesn't seem to notice. He walks away to continue his shift, leaving the young princesses to make their way into the dining hall for breakfast.
"I saw a lot of snow outside last night," Luna mentions. "At least that is a good thing? We have always wanted it to snow for Hearth's Warming."
"Snow also makes travel more difficult," Celestia mumbles dejectedly.
The sisters are silent all throughout breakfast.
The distant sounds of a lively three-beat waltz echo through the hallways of the castle and to Celestia and Luna. They had spent some time in the dance hall at the party, but now they sit in one of the windowsills in the library, gazing outside to the snowy scenery. Its beauty goes largely unnoticed.
"Do you think our surprise is still hidden?" Luna pipes up, still staring outside.
"We just checked a few minutes ago. Remember?"
"Oh. Right."
From the distance, the girls hear the music change, signaling the end of the first dance. A few minutes later, one of the maids walks by the library entrance. She doesn't wear her work clothes as usual but is wearing a dress for the party. Everypony is celebrating together, servants and Leaders alike. Everypony except the sisters. And Starswirl.
"Aren't you going to join the festivities?" she calls to the sisters.
"No thanks," they mutter simultaneously, still window staring.
"Not even for any cake?"
The sisters don't even reply. The maid leaves them to go back to the party.
Minutes pass. Each minute feels like hours. Eventually, Celestia breaks the silence.
"Maybe we should go back to the party. Waiting here isn't going to make Professor Starswirl return any sooner."
"All right." The two hop off the windowsill, exit the library and make their way down the hallways. As they approach the site of the celebrations, they hear the lively, bright, joyful music grow louder and louder. Near the dance hall, Luna breaks the silence between them.
"We might as well celebrate for a little while, right?"
"Right." Celestia smiles for the first time in hours. "At least we have each other."
The two sisters stop walking for a moment to hug. As they do, they hear the sound of Clover the Clever's voice, coming not from the party, but from off to the left.
"Are you not feeling well? You would never say something like that!" His exclamation carries down the hallway and to the sisters.
"Who is he talking to?" Celestia asks, breaking the hug.
"Let's go find out." Luna is already running to the source of the mysterious snippet of conversation. Celestia joins her. They round a corner and hear Clover's voice again, as well as another unknown voice that is currently laughing.
"I have told you this for years now! What made you finally come around?"
The sisters finally reach Clover around another corner and see who the unknown voice is at the exact moment he next speaks.
"I guess it just finally sank in after all these years." He smiles at Clover, who looks shocked.
"PROFESSOR STARSWIRL!!" Celestia and Luna shout. And indeed it is. He jumps a bit at the unexpected noise, but then turns to the sisters, beaming.
"There you two are! I've missed you!"
The sisters immediately run towards him and get scooped up in a big hug from their long-awaited teacher. They hug him as tightly as they can, while Clover stutters in surprise, and then just gives up and walks away. The three break the hug, and Celestia promptly asks "What were the two of you talking about?"
"I was telling him to lighten up. It is Hearth's Warming, after all, and here he was fretting over little details of the festivities. It's supposed to be a celebration, not another thing to nitpick!"
"Now I know why he sounded so surprised," Luna replies. "You never tell other ponies to lighten up!"
Starswirl chuckles, a rare sound. "Indeed, I am usually the one complaining about celebrations, but not today."
Celestia suddenly remembers the super secret surprise and nudges Luna with her wing. Luna looks at her, visibly confused, and then she too remembers.
"What are you up to now?" Starswirl has noticed the looks on their faces.
The two give a guilty, excited stare at each other, before giggling and telling him, "Follow us!" In a rush of excitement, they start flying back to the library they had just left, laughing all the way. Starswirl follows them, and in under a minute they all arrive at the entrance of the library. Celestia and Luna now tell him, "Wait right here!" and then fly inside the library.
Celestia locates the prized alchemy book and retrieves the piece of paper they had hidden inside it. The sisters walk back to Starswirl, holding out the piece of paper in their magic. "Happy Hearth's Warming!" they say as he takes the paper in his own magic and begins to read it aloud.
"We future Princesses of Equestria, Celestia and Luna, hereby declare Professor Starswirl the recipient of the official Best Teacher Ever award, in commemoration of his ability to make learning fun and magic understandable." The paper is formatted to resemble an actual legal document with some differences, most namely the quality of the writing.
"Do you like it?" Celestia asks him.
"We made it all by ourselves!" Luna adds.
Starswirl is speechless for a moment but finally replies. "Yes, girls, I like it. I would have gotten you something too if only I had thought of it."
"Having you here is enough," Celestia says, as she and Luna go in for another hug, to which Starswirl complies, taking them in once more. The two children don't notice him hastily wipe a tear from his eye before it can fall. After a bit, they release each other.
"Let me put this in my room, and then I will join you at the celebration," Starswirl tells them, then teleports away.
"You heard him, Celestia! Let's go see if there's any cake left!" Luna starts flying back to the dance hall.
"Race you there!" she shouts in reply, and the two fly off together, their hearts full with the joy of the season and their teacher's return.
Author's Note
Merry Christmas!
