A Tender Touch of Snow
A story by Duskhoof, Edited by Synesisbassist & AmorousArts

Chapter Three

The second scroll appeared on the second day while Cadence had taken a new throne during her break. This time it was a member of Celestia’s guard, and specifically, his face was the cushion she’d perched on. As she had ground her minge into his pale snout, her attention had been on the clasped member in her sleeve of magic, which rubbed it nice and steadily to the tempo of his dancing tongue. The appearance of the message removed his pike from her engrossment and she unfurled the letter to read it out for the benefit of both of them.

“Dear Cadence,

Progress is going so well on our mission! We’ve gotten eleven signatures now and are currently on the Manehatten Flyer, steaming our way through Ponyville to get to Manehatten and Fillydelphia to pick up a few more. We’ve decided that we can even make Green and Solid with some forward planning.

Some of these comments are actually making me tear up. I knew Celestia influenced us all, but I guess I was so worked up about how she saw me, that I forgot to consider how she saw everypony else.

Like this, for example. A mare called Belle wrote, ‘Princess Celestia gave me the courage to know that being me is the best thing I can be.’ Another mare called Piper added, ‘she showed me my creativity is more impressive than I think. I’ll not forget that.’ Then, a stallion called Servus wrote, “thank you, Princess Celestia, for the advice that love remains no matter what the distance,’ and another called Crazed wrote, ‘I’ve discovered my worth and seen how much I matter to the ponies around me, thanks to the Princess.’

So far, all the ponies we’ve spoken to have said they’re coming to the pageant. Moondancer had an idea and it’s a brilliant one; we can present the signed class photo to Princess Celestia at the pageant! She’ll get the recognition she deserves, to show we don’t take her for granted. There’s no way she’d miss the Hearth’s Warming pageant, she never does.

I only hope she likes this. She will, won’t she?

All my love and the blessings above,

~Twilight”

“Mmmf mmm mMMf!” offered the stallion under her, his response vibrating through her love tunnel.

“Mff- Y-Yes, I s-see your point, General Inabiaf, but-AH!” She whinnied with a start as the rod in her mystic grasp gave a sudden jolt, seeming to bulge with an egg-shaped lump traveling at a significant speed, up from his wiggling sack. When it reached the summit, the whole membrum virile gave the impression of sucking in a breath, before expelling thick serum across her naked fur, his legs, and bed, having enough force to knock the report out of the air with a missile of cum. Cadence could only close her eyes when it looked like his fountain was coming for them and wait for the release to subside.

“Oh, you meant ‘suck’, not ‘book’, how hilarious,” she dripped, staring ahead at the wall with a dark frown.

“Summy,” grunted the stallion apologetically under her ass and kept licking. She sighed, leaning into his lap to lick clean what remained of her spoiled lunch and looked out of her balcony window. The snow had stopped, for now, but four of her snowpony warriors remained loyal to her cause. They would not fall or falter before their time...

~~

On the third day, Cadence’s mouth was already occupied when the next communication appeared in front of her, so she levitated it up to the owner of the shaft she was sucking. It took a few moments for him to understand why she was smacking at his nose with a rolled up papyrus until he realized what her intention was. He took it quickly and unwrapped it, glancing down at her with pants.

“I-I have to say, Princess, in terms of-aah- roleplay, this one is a tad bit peculi-OW!” His hooves scrambled at her ears and tried to tug her away, to stop her teeth from sinking into the end of his turgid branch, “you bit me!” Cadance growled and slipped her head off of the length, licking her lips with annoyance.

“Read the letter, Chancellor Neighsay, or this head will COME to a head without any CUMMING from you! Got it?” The Chancellor nodded with a terrified gulp but his mighty pen never lowered for a second, despite him wincing as she engulfed it into her maw to suck on it thoughtfully. Her eyes waited for him to read out the note to his class of one. With the shudders and moans of a stallion who protested too much and relished being put down a peg by his superior, he spluttered through her next reply from Twilight.

“Dear Cadence,

We’ve just checked into our hotel in Fillydelphia, we’ve got one more signature to get tonight before we fall into bed, and that is Minuette’s. That leaves Solid and Green to get tomorrow, then we’ll be on our way home. It’s tight, but Moondancer has already written ahead and arranged the ponies to meet us on the stations, so we just have to hop off and on again.

Here’s a couple more of the messages Celestia’s received. Coal writes, ‘I now recognize my own integrity and trust that I am more honest than ponies perceive me to be, thanks to Celestia’s words.’ A mare called Highland said, ‘I finally looked past my limitations and saw my potential with Celestia’s help,’ and another stallion, Blaze, had this to say; ‘the princess showed me that love would come to me when I let myself accept it.’ Spike thinks that this latest one from a pony called Dreamer is important, ‘Celestia saved my life, She really did. Without her, I wouldn’t be here.’

I’m looking forward to cuddles with Flurry Heart when I finally come home. Oh, and Spike’s stopped calling me Regina! At last!

All my love and the blessings above,

~Twilight”

“Th-There! I read it! Are you happy now, Your Highn-OW!” She slipped her mouth off of his meter ruler with her teeth marks etched above his medial ring and huffed at him, grabbing his cock and beating it in one leg with an idle glance out of the window.

“You were a bad choice,” she informed him, but he naturally did not seem to care about the negative feedback. He was content so long as his hardness was given a shortcut to the happy ending he had not done anything to deserve. Neighsay was a wildcard decision this time around, and one she regretted. He had the length that she had tried to ride, but he didn’t have a clue what to do with it. He would have had better luck in stimulating her with a wet fish.

She watched the three staunch fighters she had remaining on her room’s veranda. She’d make a better choice tomorrow, she knew exactly who she’d invite to stay for the day...

~~

Lunchtime came and went without a reply from Twilight on the fourth day. Cadence waited as long as possible and held herself back from the afternoon courts, but she could not escape her duties waiting for Twilight Sparkle’s latest news. She returned to her throne and spent her day overseeing the arguments and debates of the ponies that came in. No matter how interesting the cases, from ponies who wanted the final decision on the colors for the Summer Sun Celebration, to an update on a mission to take the first ponies into space (other than Luna’s extended stay in the moon), Princess Cadence remained distracted. She watched the clock tick by and contemplated over and over writing a message to check if her little sister-in-law was not in any danger.

The last trial came and went, followed by a school visit of foals who were a little disappointed Celestia wasn’t there to greet them. Thankfully, Cadence had learned a lot from her little Princess Flurry and was able to keep them entertained by dressing them as little guards, princes, and princesses, and ensured they all left having learned something too.

As the last student waved to her and headed through the big gold doors, she fell into her gilded chair with a relieved sigh. She flicked off her slippers and rubbed her aching hooves with a sigh. Relaxing, she glanced aside to the stallion who stepped out from around her chair. She hadn’t been surprised by his appearance.

“You did fantastically to survive your day, my Lady. Still no response from our young Princess?” He enquired, taking a very humble bow.

“Thank you, Fancy Pants, I’m afraid I’ve heard nothing from Twilight at this time. I must admit, I’m a little anxious…”

“Do not fear, Your Highness,” he assured her, stepping forward, “I’m certain she will be in touch shortly.” She let him climb to the foot of her seat and bend again, but this time he took one of her stretched hind hooves and began to do something remarkable. He started to caress, knead and massage them. Cadence did not resist for one iota and pushed the rubbed limb into his hold, smiling from ear to ear.

“Ohh~ do not stop,” she sang, her eyelids dipping in the leisure of a pony finally understanding what she needed after a hard day. Even her husband lacked in this particular sector.

“Indeed, do not stop, on my account,” said an amused voice.

Princess Cadence sat up in a hurried reaction to the unanticipated pony. Fancy had his snout punted by the recoiling hoof and fell, sliding down the ramp on his back. He came to a halt between two alabaster pillars, dressed with auric jewelry. The rose quartz eyes of Princess Celestia blinked at him and her mane seemed to swirl a lot slower in her confusion.

“Good eve, Sir. Pants. I trust you are not hurt?” She asked gently, a slight lack of energy in her voice. Cadence’s ear prickled as she heard it, but she said nothing.

“Not at all, Your Highness.” He rolled rapidly, crouched in respect and backed out of the way so that the Princesses could see eye to eye without distraction. Celestia observed him for one last moment then approached Cadence.

“Good evening, Cadence. I hope you’ve not been too worn out by my duties. After tomorrow night, I will be returning to them and will allow you to take your deserved break for the holiday season. Thank you so much for managing my rule in my absence.” It seemed the daytime ruler was prepared to leave her response at that and started to turn to go nonchalantly, but her niece stepped down after her promptly.

“Auntie ‘Tia, wait,” she stopped gingerly when her aunt did stop and glance back at her. “Are you okay? You’ve been-”

“I’ve needed time to myself to resolve several matters, which your aunt Luna has been gracious enough to aid me with. Do not worry, your old Aunt Celestia will be back to her usual sunny self in no time at all,” and she gave a smile. A weary, lonely smile. An expression Cadence, as the Princess of infatuation, understood straight away. She chose not to admit it.

“Will you be back for the pageant tomorrow night? Flurry Heart will be there, it will be her first Hearth’s Warming show. She’d love to see her great auntie there.” The blush pink mare picked her words carefully as she tried to ensure Twilight’s plans went without a hitch on her end. There was a tense trice as her Aunt gave it some thought.

“I would not dare deny Flurry Heart a cuddle from her Aunt Celestia,” she promised with a warmer nod. “I shall see you then, Cadence.” She carried on walking and her temporary substitute watched her part ways for the night. When the last wisp of the marshmallow rainbow tail disappeared through the main doors, Cadence grabbed a quill and paper and drafted a speedy communique to Twilight.

“Dear Twilight, Moondancer and Spike,

I’m writing this as I have not had any returning message from you today.

How is your task going? Do you have all of your signatures yet? Are you on your way home?

I have just seen Celestia and I believe I have a better understanding of what is upsetting her now. Your ideas will help, but we need to speak as soon as possible when you return. I can confirm she will be at the pageant, I just hope you make it in time.

Looking forward to seeing you soon,

All my love,

~Cadence”

She sealed the rolled mail with a kiss, then whisked it on its way with a blast of magic. Watching it depart gave her a small buzz of elation, her moment of espionage acting as a secret agent for her husband’s sister proved rather exciting. She glanced across the room to Fancy, glad he had not deserted her and waved him back while climbing onto her hooves with a groan.

“Come, Sir. Pants. I’d like to get a nice shower and follow it up with a specially nice massage. Do you do back rubs as well?”

~~

The Romantic Princess did get many backrubs that night. Fancy Pants stroked her neck, her navel, and her thighs first. His tongue spoke a private tale to her plot, bringing her to an exciting climax without once touching her groin. Lastly, he carried her gentlecoltly into the bathroom and ran her a shower at her perfect temperature. He lathered her delicately with soap, washed away all the bubbles. Then with one small request from her, he pressed her up against the tiled wall and pushed his near-perfect cock into her drizzling folds.

The last two snow ponies on the outdoor box ignored the noises of the important mare being gloriously screwed and taken to limits that could shatter any other Equestrian girl. They watched the flakes slip from the night sky once more, and they kept the fornicating goddess safe with the knowledge that she would not be alone. Although they had lost a number each night, they were stronger than ever.

As the mists of steam and cries of celebration floated from the ensuite into the bedroom, a jade fireball brought the final mailshot of the night. It landed on the bed and broke open on its own, the fastening wax having been attached in haste. It rolled out, revealing the response to Cadence’s message which the Princess would find when she stumbled out in her after-sex rapture.

“Dear Cadence,

Today’s been a difficult day. Celestia sent me a message, Cadence. She has said she cannot do Hearth’s Warming Eve with me and Spike anymore, she does not feel it would be appropriate. Have I really upset her that much? Will this idea even work anymore? I’m not so sure...

We got our last signature from Solid and that’s all that’s keeping me hopeful now. It says, ‘Princess Celestia brought me to a place where friends were never scarce and my mind was never bored. She not only saw my potential, she saw my flaws and helped me see that they were, in fact, my strengths. I just didn’t know it.’ I hope Celestia sees my mistakes in the same light.

As for Green, they merely wrote, ‘I’m thankful you’ll never, ever desert us, Celestia.’ She wouldn’t, would she, Cadence?

We’re on our way home now. We’re going to meet you at the pageant, as that is where we plan to reveal our surprise to Princess Celestia. It’s going to be very close, we’ll have to gallop off of the train and straight to the auditorium. I hope we’re not delayed or stopped completely…

… And even if we get there in time, I really, really hope I’ve not ruined things too much already.

All my love and the blessings above, see you very soon,

~Twilight”

~~

Ecstatic gurglings came from the youngest Alicorn in known existence, for Flurry Heart was having a fantastic day. She’d been on the choo-choo, had a lot of snuggles with a very fun pink pony and her other friends, managed to decorate a whole room with mashed peas and was now lovingly nomming on big white auntie’s nose while trying to keep Whammy sat nice and still on her wavey colorfully mane. However, the best bit of all was getting back into the warm cuddles of her mommy. That did not mean she didn’t enjoy snuggling down with her daddy, but nothing beat mommy’s hugs.

However, mommy Cadence was still a little concerned. She’d heard nothing from Twilight today, and while she had greeted her family and even Twilight’s friends from Ponyville on the station, she had not found a train with her sister-in-law on it. Eventually, she could no longer hold off their journey to the auditorium where the pageant was being held, a night before Hearth’s Warming Eve on this occasion, as they had agreed to meet Princesses Celestia and Luna in the royal box before the show started.

With Princess Celestia distracted by the fuzzy, talcum scented foal clinging to her snout, Cadence quickly brought her husband up to speed on the current events. She’d already told the story once to Fluttershy, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity, so this time was a breeze. She explained to Shining that Twilight had read Celestia’s journal without meaning to, and the Head Princess had been livid when she found out. In recompense, Twilight was out trying to get a gift for Celestia from as many ponies as she could.

“...She’d hoped she’d get here in time for this, but I guess the task was too big, even for her.” She explained sedately, glancing to the main doors with her ears lowered. Shining tugged his wife gently so her head rested under his chin and gave a weary sigh, sniffing from a slight cold he’d managed to accumulate from his past few days with Flurry in the Crystal Kingdom.

“Don’t count Twilly out just yet, Cadence. If I know one thing about my sister, it’s that she never gives up. That’s coming from the brother she remembered had played a prank on her in third grade and got him back for it, just before he left for boot camp years later.” He chuckled at the memory and shook it out of his head as Flurry was finally encouraged to release the nostrils she kept a prisoner. Celestia hugged her once more to her breast then let her hover back over to her mommy and daddy, just in time for two kisses on both cheeks!

“She’s as sweet as the day we first met her,” cooed Celestia in genuine happiness, smiling to her niece and nephew-in-law. Her expression dipped in her next breath, however, as she looked to the two empty seats beside them. “Has anypony heard from Twilight and Spike?” The couple shared a quick look and Cadence approached the subject tenderly.

“Aunt Celestia, Twilight was-“

“Fillies and Gentlecolts!” The announcer from backstage boomed over her attempt to start an explanation, “welcome to this year’s Hearth’s Warming pageant!” The crowd of ponies below whooped and cheered as their heads turned to the lit burgundy curtains, hundreds of faces gleaming with excitement for the show. For Cadence and Shining, the call meant something else, as it was the voice of a young dragon they knew exceptionally well. They both said the same thing at the same time with the same amount of delight.

“That’s Spike!”

Celestia pulled an altogether different face as she also recognized the voice of Spike, wondering what her ears were doing hearing it call from the stage when he had not been assigned a role in this year’s production. Her answer was about to come.

“The story of Hearth’s Warming will begin shortly, but before you can sit back and enjoy the show, I’d like to introduce onto stage Princess Twilight Sparkle!”

The white ears perked between Celestia’s calm streak falls, as she watched Twilight Sparkle enter from stage right. A friendly ripple of applause greeted her and Pinkie Pie’s cheers dominated it. However, after reaching the main center of the playing area she gave her stretched out mulberry wings a light wave at the tips to settle everypony down.

“ARNY TWILLY!” squealed Flurry excitedly and tried to flap her wings to get to her auntie, but fortunately Cadence had enough of a careful hold on her to keep her from getting away. ‘Tia looked from this, to the lone pony on stage and leaned forward apprehensively to hear what she had to say.

“Hi there, Fillies and Gentlecolts! Are you all excited to see the show? Are you?” She paused for the loud neighs of eagerness from the cordial audience. “That’s great! I won’t take up too much of your time, I first want to thank this year’s director of the pageant, Mr. Skeeter. He has been generous enough to give me five minutes to address you all with something important.”

Celestia bristled, her eyes zipping from Cadence to Luna, approaching her sister first, “did you know anything about this?”

“Of course not,” whispered the night Princess, adding smugly, “although, if I did, Twilight clearly wanted to keep whatever it was a surprise and I would not have betrayed her wishes.”

“But what if it’s-” The spectral mare turning paler started to say, but for once it was Luna’s turn to silence her.

“Then we’ll deal with it. Have some faith in your old student, Celestia. She has never let you down before.”

“She has never known this before,” Celestia dreaded and looked down to the Princess who could break the confidence of her loyal subjects with a single word.

“Ponies, I’ve discovered something about Princess Celestia that you need to hear,” Twilight advised, trembling lightly with a dip in her mettle. She rose her head to the mare in the box above and the rest of the house joined her, all eyes blinking softly at their beloved leader before returning to the Princess of Friendship. She cleared her throat, trying to avoid the horrified eyes of her teacher.

“I’ve done some research and I just wanted to say… well, I wanted you to know that… I felt you should know that…” Twilight was out of her comfort zone. Usually, she had thousands of notes prepared for a group like this and this time she hadn’t written a single one. This had to come from the heart, she had told herself then. She reminded herself of that fact again and straightened up. “Ponies, you should all know that Princess Celestia is… great. I’ve done some research and my conclusions are that Princess Celestia is great. No, more than great,” the purple horse took a breath. Now she was getting to the words from her heart.

“Princess Celestia is your friend. She’s your mother, your father, your sister and brother, your foals and fillies, and your family. She’s your Princess, but she’s so much more than that, because she’s been here for all of us at some point or another. And, Princess Celestia, I can prove it.” She looked at the royal box once more. Celestia’s horror was gone, replaced with surprise. Twilight shut her eyes and prayed to that Princess that this worked.

“If you have ever asked for Princess Celestia for anything in your minds; be it help, guidance, hope, love, courage, anything. If you’ve believed your thoughts might find her and that she would help you, stick up your hoof. Stick them up right now!”

Behind the shade of her eyelids, Twilight heard movement. For a few seconds, she dared not open them until something fist-shaped socked her in the side. She looked down to see Spike smiling at her on stage, his left claws in the air. Moondancer stood beside him, a leg in the air too. Behind her, the cast of the show ready in their costumes, all with a hoof held high. As somepony brought up the house lights, there was an apparent show of unity.

Celestia also looked around at the show of support all around her, ears tipping back again as she glanced to her family around her. Cadence, and Shining, and her sister Luna held up a limb with loving expressions, even Flurry Heart had a hoof wiggling in the air (although the cheeky giggle suggested she was just following the crowd). If one or two legs hadn’t been raised, it wasn’t visible now. A pony in the gathering clopped, then two, and then more were doing it. From levitated legs to stomping hooves, the hall broke into a tremendous ovation for the Princess of the sun as a small, humble smile broached her lips.

Twilight waited for the show of appreciation to quieten down before she gathered up her cracking voice.

“Because of this, I wanted to present to you a small token of our gratitude, I wanted to present this,” Twilight winked to Spike, who hurried quickly to the wings and pulled a rope. At first, it seemed like a new curtain was dropping down, but it soon became clear that was not the case.

“This is the class of 2010. I’ve been and visited every pony on this photo in the last few days, and everypony has signed it for you with a personal message, Princess Celestia.” As the screen unrolled, it revealed an enlarged class photo, with a very familiar face in the center and a very well recognized head teacher and Princess on one side. Across the surface by each foal and teacher in the photo were black scribbles, unmistakable hoof writing. Twilight was not done there. With a flash of her horn, the words came to life and floated off of the glossy page with the voices of the ponies who wrote them echoing through the theater.

“...She showed me my creativity is more impressive than I think. I’ll not forget that...”

“...I believe in myself now, I never did without Princess Celestia…”

“...Celestia saved my life. She really did. Without her, I wouldn’t be here…”

“...I now recognize my own integrity and trust that I am more honest than ponies perceive me to be, thanks to Celestia’s words…”

“...I wouldn’t have seen that I’m actually stronger than I used to feel without you, Princess. Thank you...”

“...Thank you for understanding us, giving up everything for us and loving us, Princess Celestia. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight let a feather of peace drift through the room as her words and the words of all the other ponies returned to the canvas, everything going silent. No thought of the distance between them, she looked up into the shining pink eyes and ignored her blocked nose, the small tear cupped under the bag of her eye and the croak in her voice.

“...Happy Hearth’s Warming, Princess Celestia.”

The stillness was so powerful that when the white monarch rose from her chair, everypony heard it. She said nothing, Twilight fearing she would leave and never be seen again. The pleas for her to stay, to abolish her for her foolishness and not discard her ponies were rising in her throat but before they could come, Celestia’s horn flicked with life and she was by the lilac mare with a snap of magic. Forelegs and wings curled in around the surprised and nearly fainting pony. Droplets of happy rain fell on the hugged filly as the mass erupted with jubilation once more.

“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Twilight Sparkle,” she sniffled emotionally, hiding it for a moment for all but her with a wing and then emerging with a smile sunnier than her brightest day. She took a bow to the adoring Equestrians and straightened up, clearing her throat.

“I’d like to thank Twilight and all who put together this… Beautiful gift,” she admired it once more before returning to the gathering. “We shall not hold up this show any longer, please allow me, my sister and my family,” she gave the student Princess one more healthy grin, “a very happy Hearth’s Warming and all the best for the coming year. Enjoy your evening.”

The praise lifted the roof once more. Ponies hurried to carefully take down Celestia’s gift and store it away safely, while the Princess turned to Twilight, Spike and Moondancer.

“You will be joining us, won’t you? I believe Flurry Heart is very eager for a cuddle,” she asked hopefully. Twilight glanced to her other friends who gave a pair of cheery nods and then beamed, her head agreeing fiercely.

“We wouldn’t miss it for the world!”

~~

Once the play had ended, the windigos had been warded back and the three tribes of ponies had been united with the power of friendship, hot drinks and sugary snacks helped keep spirits high. A lot more ponies seemed to want to add their own words to the gift, so it was hung up on the wall with several markers available. The cast and crew came out to join everypony else and the Princesses ensured that each of them got congratulations for another successful pageant.

“ARNIE ‘TIA!”

Twilight was lucky to have Flurry Heart’s eyes as she cantered around the room talking to every pony she could, or else she might have missed Celestia attempting to slip out of the theatre with as little fuss as possible. Before she could be stopped, the little foal flapped up after her eldest Aunt and snagged her around the back of the neck, half in the hall and half out into the snow. The Princess nickered in surprise then nuzzled the foal before looking to her caretaker who hurried over.

“A certain little pony appears to be as eagle-eyed as her aunt,” she responded with some amusement, stepping back in to hug Flurry in the warmth and share her mirth with her young prodigy. Little Heart was snuggled up and happily crooning to her in no time at all.

“Celestia?” Twilight softly murmured, shivering at the chill coming through the door, “were you going to leave without saying goodbye?” The Princess parted her lips slightly and breathed in gently, yet she released it in a sigh rather than an explanation. She gave Twilight a fond sort of look and stroked the back of Flurry’s head, wriggling her wings.

“I apologize for lying to you about the legitimacy of the journal and for my harsh tone the other night, Twilight. You must understand, those were different days. I was younger and not as cautious as I am these days, nor as… wise?” She asked as though she was asking herself and it was herself who corrected her choice of words, “clear-headed.” She clicked her tongue and stretched out her spare leg, inviting Twilight into her bright clean fur along with her niece. Soon plum and cream furs happily mingled and a few content whiffles came from both mares.

“I understand why you were upset, Princess Celestia,” Twilight spoke up when she felt she could, “and I’m sorry I read the book and the letter. I only did it because I was concerned.” Her violet eyes glanced up to the sad pink tunnels belonging to her benefactor.

“You thought I might someday become Daybreaker as Luna once became Nightmare Moon?” She asked tenderly, before touching her nose on Flurry’s angel soft mane. The silkiness and sweet foal scent of it eased some of the troubles on her mind. The smart horse beneath her flickered her eyes away in shame.

“I did at first,” she replied honestly, then quickly protested with a twist of her head back to the Princess, “but only at first. In fact, it was the letter from Sombra that swayed my mind! The way you-” she paused and gulped, something that did not pass Celestia’s notice. Her brow quirked despite her cheeks hazing softly.

“...The way you loved him,” Twilight managed to say, “and even the way he loved you all those years ago, told me that it must have taken a lot to break up with each other. Even when he turned into a tyrannical monster.” She sensibly went quiet after that.

Celestia let everything her star pupil had told her slowly drip into her dark thoughts, and color them with a spectrum of light she had not seen in the old problems before. She rolled her hoof along the head of the foal against her breast, examining her. Flurry gave a wide and squeaky yawn that made her smile, so much so that it earned a noise of relief from Twilight too. The mare extended her leg to her good friend and brushed her cheek considerately.

“For both of us, ponies came first. We just saw different sides of the same interest. I nearly followed his path and it was Luna who braved the darkness to bring me back. Since then, I have never let a pony take me down that route. It is as your gift shows,” she trotted around to look over at it and the ponies gathered around it, “I have put the needs of others above my own. That is the way it should be.”

“Is it?” Twilight asked softly, then turned scarlet as she realized the implications of proposing such a question. However, Celestia merely smiled at her and glided a very sleepy, yet objecting foal back into the embrace of her cool violaceous auntie.

“I must take my leave,” she explained gently, slipping in a small nuzzle to both young and youngest ponies cheeks, “happy Hearth’s Warming once again, my kind and faithful student.” She created and wrapped a scarf around her neck, turning to the doors for the guard waiting dutifully in the snow for her. In a flash, Twilight was at her heels once more, although she did not stop her from leaving entirely.

“Wait, Celestia.” The white princess turned her head around once more, looking back affectionately.

“Yes, Twilight?”

“Well, I was just wondering… Will we still be able to meet up on Hearth’s Warming Eve tomorrow night? Spike was really looking forward to it.” Celestia considered it as the poor crystalline flakes confused her fur for their kindred essences only to melt into the energy of her beautiful body. She shook her head gently, releasing a small dusting.

“I’m sorry, Twilight. Maybe in a few night’s time. The discovering of my old journal has still given me a lot to think about. I hope you can forgive me.” She gave a sad but gracious gaze, bid her goodnight, and trotted out into the safety of her guard’s escort. Sparkle gave a soft farewell of her own, gladdened that she’d fixed some bridges with Celestia, but disappointed that their date the next evening was still crossed out in the calendar. Something didn’t feel right about all of this. Something still felt incomplete tonight, as though she’d taken a shortcut to fix a friendship problem and missed the point of the matter in the first place. The difficulty came in working out what that was.

“Twilight Sparkle, are you free?” Luna’s voice nearly had the mare leaping out of her skin, muscle, and bones in shock. She spun around to greet the night mare with a wheeze in her voice.

“H-Hello, Luna! Can I help you?” The teal eyes drifted to the baby-pink and teal eyed foal snoozing under Twilight’s chin, then smirked blithely.

“Ah, you have little Flurry. It appears she has drifted into my realm as well,” she showed Twilight a snoozing Spike on her own back, nestled between her wings and they shared a small giggle at the precious little cherubs. “The dreamland is too magical to resist it seems.”

“It sure is,” agreed Twilight, “I guess we should take this one to her Mommy and Daddy, then I should get Spike home to bed.”

“Indeed, although it is a pity,” Luna mused as they started to seek out Cadence and Shining, “I had something I wanted to discuss with you and the sooner, the better.”

“Oh?” the friendship scholar stopped as she looked about the room, although her mind wandered elsewhere. Could she be wanting to talk about Celestia? “If I can find Moondancer, I could ask her to take Spike home for the night? Then I’d be free to spend another hour or so with you. Maybe not much longer, I’m really beat after several days traveling.”

“An hour will be sufficient,” Luna advised with a charming grin, before locking her head to a particular direction, “I spy Shining Armor there. Let’s swap foal for dragon and I shall meet you at the main doors when you have met up with your friend.” She made the exchange with Twilight, gliding away to deliver the curled up filly to her father.

Twilight trotted about the room several circuits before she located Moondancer, and it didn’t take much persuading for her reddish-maned travel buddy to agree to take the little scalie away to bed. All she requested in return was that Twilight filled her in on whatever details were not confidential when she got back. The Princess agreed, gave her friend a strong cling and a thank you for everything she’d done to help her get this far, before galloping away to wrap up and join Luna into the wintery seize of the night.

~~

The clinking of glasses and hum of conversation kept the soul of ‘Moxie’s Bar’ busy. The little drinking hole that Luna had brought her youthful friend to was a peculiar and interesting place, certainly not the expected establishment for a Princess, let alone two. Twilight’s head whirled around to look at the neon lighting, the one-armed bandits, the chrome and veneer decor, so much so that she nearly missed seeing a bat stallion trotting towards them on the other side of the bar, glancing at them with a grin far too friendly for a bartender. Luna merely gave him an untroubled wave and placed their order.

“Two Lemon Dusters, please,” she turned to the Ponyville Princess sat by her side on a stool and grinned cheerfully, “you have to try this cocktail, Twilight Sparkle. After my first, I was hooked. They only do them in this bar, which is lucky for me.” Twilight tried to respond but found herself too fascinated by the thestral currently tossing their drinks together into a tumbler, then launching it around like he was juggling a hoofball.

“There’s my girl!” A mare whose first noticeable feature was the pirate’s eyepatch on her face did draw both Princesses attentions away from the stallion dancing with their drinks. This pony had a shapely maroon figure with salt and pepper tousled mane, bangs over her bad eye and a good aventurine eye gazing back at her. The bookworm did find herself admiring this mare who she mistook for an attractive barfly until Luna spoke again.

“Moxie!” They cradled each other with adoring and affectionate whinnies, then shared a loving kiss that unnaturally surprised Twilight. Realizing this, Luna made her introductions. “Moxie, this is Princess Twilight Sparkle, Celestia’s prodigy. Twilight, this is Moxie, my wife.”

“Wife?!” Yelped and spluttered Twilight, nearly falling from her chair, “w-when was the wedding? How did I miss it? Was I busy?” Luna blushed and shook her head, giggling tenderly.

“My apologies for the confusion, Twilight. It is what we call each other, as we are engaged, yet not quite married.” Luna rested her cheek on the cheek of the brownish red pony she was in love with and smiled with an adoring warmth that their friend couldn’t only see, but feel resonating from them. Once the embarrassment of misunderstanding Luna had passed, she was able to smile at the happy couple and greet Moxie properly.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, would you like to join us? It would be great to get to know the mare who caught Luna’s heart.”

“Actually, Twilight Sparkle, I need to have this word with you in private. Not that I do not trust my love, but-,” she looked ruefully to Moxie without a full explanation, and yet the one-eyed darling gave a small accepting nod. After telling her to, “whistle me over when you’re done, hon,” she watched the Princesses levitate their drinks and carry them to a booth where they could expect a little more privacy. Luna sat back, her wings spread to cover the backrest. Twilight tried a sip of the Lemon Duster cocktail Luna had bought for her and a note of satisfaction came from the liquid sweetness with an alcoholic bite that washed over her tongue.

“This is delicious,” she exclaimed once she’d swallowed, going in for another gulp. Luna quickly stopped her, chortling gently.

“Do not forget it is alcohol, young Sparkle. We do not want you too tipsy to hear what we have to say.”

“Oh, right!” Twilight sat the glass down and crossed her forelegs on the table, leaning in to hear what the mare of the moon had brought her to the quaint but enjoyable dwelling for. “You said you had something to tell me?”

“I do,” despite her advice to her subordinate, Luna cleared half of her libation in one swift swoop and settled it on the table too. “Twilight, I am so sorry for what happened these past few days. It was I who left the journal in the old tower library, but it had been so long ago that I completely forgot I had done it until Celestia informed me that you were temporarily returning to reside there for the holidays.” The mare across the booth from her listened with a furrowed forehead. She drank again, licked her lips, then carefully approached the subject without horror or anger in her tone.

“Why? I don’t understand how Celestia’s journal got into your hooves or why you felt the need to hide it from her.” Her tone came over as regretful as she came to know that this whole matter could have been avoided if Celestia’s sister had not made a rash decision. Princess Luna took down the rest of her Duster and ordered another from their seating. With a sigh, Twilight inhaled the rest of hers and waved as well, “make that two more Lemon Dusters over here, please.”

“Twilight, the alcohol,” Luna prudently reminded her.

“I’m not minding my intake if- hic!” She quickly covered her mouth, “excuse me- if you are not minding yours.” However, Twilight was a lightweight when it came to a tipple and her eyes were already swimming.

“Very well, if you wish to keep up with me then I shall answer your questions while you can still remember them.” Luna moved their depleted glasses away with petroleum blue emissions and shifted forward to contemplate Twilight’s gaze, her brow dropping ingloriously. Her wings tucked back in, strikingly smaller than they had seemed earlier.

“Twilight, not long after you reformed me from the fury of Nightmare Moon, Celestia and I briefly fell out. I was still struggling to come to terms with a world that had moved ahead a whole millennium without me and I was struggling to adjust. My sister tried to help me but I was too headstrong to listen to her and we exchanged words harsher than we meant to throw. It was not as Equestria-shattering as my mistakes one-thousand years prior, but it still hurt to hear my sister still struggling to trust me. Not that I could blame her.” Luna stopped to thank the stallion from the bar flap over on leathery wings with their new drinks. Twilight watched the thestral bow in mid-air with the empty tray perfectly balanced in his hoof, and nearly prayed for it to drop just to cause a distraction. However, his self-control was too good and he was flying back to his station without a single mistake. After a sip of their spirits in unison, the Princess kept going.

“That night I caught her looking over the precious book of her memories of Sombra and I felt stung with jealousy,” she sighed seethingly, a sign that the resentment had not entirely evaporated over time. “How could my sister still forgive and love a monster like him, when she expected her own sister to turn into a villain the moment we disagree on something? It was painful to think about, to say the least. That is why I took it from her side as she slept that night and hid it away in your old library in the tower.” They paused again at that and took a couple more sips of their drinks.

Twilight had questions, but she was sure Luna hadn’t finished explaining her story. So, she watched over the rim of her cocktail glass while around them, revelers enjoyed their evening with jokes, chatter, and songs. One curly-maned mare even clambered onto her table to dance. Some might say it did not end well when she slipped on a wet patch and fell from it, but she would have challenged that as she landed on an attractive young stallion. They looked at one another, laughed and hurried to get each other another drink.

“The next day,” Luna continued, regaining Twilight’s attention from the two brand new lovebirds, “Celestia apologized to me for her outburst and explained that she was still getting used to me being in her life once more. She held me and in her warm cradle, I felt ashamed that I had let my anger and spite get the better of me and yet, I could not tell her where I had hidden her book.”

“Why?” Twilight said directly when Luna appeared to be trying to end the story there. It surprised the Princess who suspended her beverage at her lips and gazed at her. She lowered the glass slowly.

“Why?” She repeated, licking the citrus sugar off of her lips, “I recall I once had to help you clean up a mess in Ponyville created when Rarity read a book of dark power?” Twilight could only nod mutely, wondering what that had to do with this. “If I remember correctly, the longer she held onto the spell without being told it was a bad thing, the more erratic her actions became until Spike had to be honest to her to stop it. Celestia’s journal may not have been cursed with any enchantment but the matter was still the same, the longer she held onto the memories of herself and Sombra, the more lost she seemed.”

“Didn’t Celestia search for the notes and the letter, Luna?” There as a small note of dissatisfaction in Twilight’s voice, as though she still did not believe this was a good enough reason for the blue sister to have kept such a prized possession from the Daylight Bringer. Luna confirmed with a motion of her head.

“She did but no matter where she searched, she did not find it. Worst of all,” Luna closed her eyes and sucked the air through perfectly glistening teeth, “she never blamed me. She asked me if I knew yet never once called me out on my lies when I told her I did not. It was only this week, years later, that I chose to tell her where I had hidden it and that was only because I was worried your friends might find and read the journal. I am glad it was you who reached the book first.”

“Glad?” Twilight allowed a chink in her armor to release some of her frustration, “I thought Celestia was disowning me when she found out I’d read it all and that does not even cover the humiliation of her finding out that I’d masturbated to the letter!” She stopped herself too late to admit the horrible truth in front of the Day Princess’ sister. She looked to the drink against her hoof, as though it was at fault, then whinnied in further shame.

“I warned you the drink was strong,” advised Luna, finishing hers. “I am also sorry I put you through all of that. I made mistakes and I will make more in my long life to come. Celestia forgave me almost instantly and I am not certain I deserved that, but I only hope you can forgive me as well.” The Element of Magic gave it a long think and two more swigs to clean out her glass before she decided her verdict.

“I forgive you, Luna,” she slid off the side of one chair and joined her on the other with a hug for the pillow-cool princess, nuzzling her wing feathers. The cuddle was returned with gusto. “We all make mistakes in anger and depression. It’s learning from them that makes the difference.”

“You are very wise for one so small, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna chuckling, squeezing her Princess companion before whistling shrilly to her ‘wife,’ with a sparkling grin, “You may come back over now, dearest. And bring more Lemon Dusters with you!” Before Moxie could reach them, the Lady of the Moon saucily whisper to Twilight, “let us make a few more mistakes before this night is out, hmm?”

Thus it came to be that Princess Twilight Sparkle got royally sloshed throughout the next hour or two of that evening, with her drinking party buying her all kinds of wild and colorful scrumptious cocktails great and small for her to try. She took on challenges, she sipped coolers bigger than her head, and soon was having a tough time standing or flying right. She would never know how or where it came from, but in the midst of this disorder, she had an idea. A fantastic, incredible, awe-inspiring idea. One that could not wait.

Before anypony could see her or stop her she had grabbed somepony else’s scarf, hat, and coat and was swooping lopsidedly out of the door towards the castle. The bell jingled as the door closed and kept the cold night at bay from the rest of the gleeful boozers.

Moxie broke a kiss with Luna and peeped out from beneath her in the same booth they’d been in all eventide, looking around her bar with a confused squint.

“Hey, wh-where’d your friend go?”

~~

The halls that took the little purple alicorn to Cadence and Shining’s quarters were longer than she had ever remembered them to be. Not only that, she’d never recalled the statues and suits of armor wanting to leap out into her way before! It was really very rude indeed! She snorted angrily at a white marble bust that she hurt her poor snout on and glared at them, pointing accusingly.

“More o-of that insolence and I’ll-I’ll have you… lick my …. hooves!” She laughed at the absurdity of the suggestion and shrugged when the static statue did not laugh back, prompting her to move on. She tried to keep to the gold pattern on the red as blood carpet she was following.

“Ah ha, seeeee~ I can follow this line! I drunk-hic! Cannot possibly be!” This created a bunch of pleased nickers as she did not stumble off or falter, neglecting to notice that the yellow stitching went back and forth regularly as the theme of the royal train dictated. She was so engrossed in it, she almost missed a couple of ponies trying to hide in an alcove just across from Cadence’s room.

Almost.

As her blurry eyes did spy the two horses behind the still suit of gold armor, she squinted fiercely, trying to recognise them. The closer she got, the more she saw; the pink fur, the yellow and lilac mane, the gold slippers… Cadence! Twilight gasped softly at her first victory and focused on her second.

Silver armor, definitely a stallion, trying to climb over Princess Cadence? Had to be Shining Armor, but why was he….No, trying to lay on her back… NO, wait! They were~ oh gosh!

Ordinarily, Twilight would have blushed, squeaked and ran away faster at the sight of her brother mounting and doing some severe PT on his wife. Ordinarily, Twilight would not have said a word to either of them, now or long afterward. Ordinarily, Twilight would have been mortified. However, this was not ordinary Twilight. This was drunk and disorderly Twilight.

“Whoo! Shining!” She squealed, flapping into the alcove to cuddle the startled pair of ponies, “look at you! Making another Flurry Heart? I love you both so-GASSSSSSP!”

Drunk Twilight was temporarily in possession of Pinke’s suspension and awe as she watched the terrified stallion slowly turn his head. She looked him over, from the blast of orange coming through his tail to the ignition of golds and reds burning on his head under the helmet, held up by a solid bone horn. His blue eyes looked scared and bemused at her appearance and his sweat-drenched armor rattled as he shook, even with his cock still locked in Cadence’s slit.

“SUNBURST!” Twillight yelled furiously.

“Oh! Bu-buck, buck! Twilight! What-what? What are you doing here?” Cadence gasped, still quivering from the tensions of public sex and the stress of being caught with another pony by her sister in law. In a flash, Twilight pointed into Sunburst’s face and held out in disgust.

“You’re cheeeeating on my br-brother!”

“Twilight I-“ Sunburst was shaking harder than ever. Twilight was like a dog with a bone trying to bury it in someplace warm.

“You are b-banging my bestest foal sitter!” She cried out tremendously, loud enough to raise an alarm. Sunburst chose not to stick around and wait to get arrested getting caught ‘knotted up’ in a public place with a Princess.

He pulled out from Cadence unceremoniously with a wet slurp, the cascade of cum pouring from her nethers. The sister watched this in disgust as she realized this hadn’t been their only ride together. He dived off of the back he’d been mounting as Twilight made a clumsy grab for him, and was running away as the usually friendly princess slipped and struggled on the cum drenched floor.

“Twilight!” Cadence whimpered in protest, trying to stop the justice-seeking mare. But Twilight found her hooves in no time and was immediately giving chase. Sunburst galloped as quick as he could in the distance to get away. The armor he’d been roleplaying in was weighing him down, he couldn’t get it off without stopping and soon his hunter was catching up.

They weaved through the castle, up and down staircases, along corridors and through rooms, Twilight closing in on him. She made several magical swipes, none successful, to try and grab him. He was a slippery fellow to say he was not too athletic and always managed to dodge just in time. Nonetheless, his luck had to run out soon.

His body lurched, the first indicator to him that something was wrong. He needed a safe place to stop. He dived through the doors at the end of their last corridor and fell into a closed box room with bedroom furnishings but no other way out. He tried to close the door behind him but Twilight slammed through it with ease, her alcoholic soaked brain refusing to stop her from doing anything rash. She landed a meter away from him and readied her horn.

“Sunburst, how could you…?” She began, tears welling in her eyes and teeth bared. Sunburst staggered back from her, his hind impacting into a cabinet. He moaned and clutched his chest as he felt his body shift, swirling like it was made from angry bees.

“I didn’t, I-I…” his stomach gurgled. He looked at it, whimpered and nickered, “oh dear! Listen, Please! I’m-“

“You’re a no good ch-sheet!” Twilight slurred furiously, prodding him in the metal chest. His rumbles spread throughout his body

“Please, don’t! I’m-“ he tried again, patting his stomach, his body suddenly starting to fill the armor and look bloated...

“Oh no!” Bleated Twilight, her stewed eyes not seeing the odd changes, “I’m not letting you get away with it! I’m taking you straight to Shining-“ he whinnied, armor creaking as his mass increased, “-and his hooves are going to kick-“ groooowl~ “-your-“ ruummmble~! “Asssss~”

POP! Before her, the once panicking unicorn was suddenly gone. Immediately, he had burst with the full ordeal of a water balloon, spraying the room, the bed and Twilight not with gore, but with surprisingly frozen slurries of watery powder! The emptied armor fell into a melted frost stallion with a heavy racket, and then a dreadful calm returned to the quarters.

Twilight was stunned into shock as she stared at the flour mound that had once been Sunburst. She did not scream nor sob just patted the melting mess on the floor then brushed at her cheeks, looked from the hollow uniform to the evaporating spray on her hoof.

“Oh-k-kay, n-neigh…. w-wha-what?” She sat, covered her forehead with both legs and stared at the relinquished shell of the irradicated pony’s costume. An ache in her throat was gulped down and her cheeks puffed, finally finding a wastepaper basket to relieve her stomach. Half a minute and an empty tummy later, she composed herself and moaned.

“... I am n-never… never d-drinksing again!”

~~

Author's Note

Want to discuss the story? Follow me to get ‘Switched On,’ on Discord...

One of the pieces of music I was listening to while writing this was ‘The Love Theme,’ by Craig Armstrong from the 'Love Actually' score, have a listen...

Happy Hearth’s Warming, all.

Thank you to Syn and AA for their editing on this story.

If this is when you stop reading, goodbye and safe travels.

If you're still strapped in for the ride, see you in the next chapter.

All good things,
Duskhoof