The fire popped and crackled as the wind moaned distantly over the chimney, trying to probe its' icy fingers into the warm interior, a small flurry of snow melting away as it fell into the hot air below. A constant murmur of voices competed with the fire for attention, the air thick with the scent of beer mingling with the merrily burning wood on the fire.
It wasn't a particularly busy day at the tavern in Ponyville, but there were still several small groups of ponies and other creatures sat at the tables or in comfortable booths, with only a couple of patrons sat at the bar.
In one of the booths opposite the fire a cerise unicorn mare with a wavy creamy yellow mane sat opposite a dark grey gryphoness.
“Fish sticks,” the unicorn wrinkled her nose. “Seriously?”
Griselda held Luster Dawn's gaze as she pushed the plate of gently steaming breaded fish across the table for emphasis.
“This is one of the most popular traditions in Griffonstone, everygriff does it.”
Luster tentatively levitated one in front of her face, gave it a sniff and almost reflexively recoiled, “You've got to be playing a prank.”
Griselda's piercing yellow eyes made unblinking contact with Luster's, the gryphoness' expression narrowing as she folded her arms.
“We've been having fish sticks on Hearths' Warming Eve since Griffonstone started being rebuilt. It was a way to share something good without any big expectations from anycreature. Rumour has it that Gallus himself came up with the idea while he was studying at the school right here in Ponyville. I don't believe you've never heard of it.”
The unicorn turned a little sheepish at the accusation.
“Well, I did spend most of my time studying under Twilight learning magic,” she offered, rubbing her neck with a hoof for emphasis. “I guess I should've paid more attention in Cultural Studies.”
Griselda's face softened a little.
“Well, I guess you can always start now,” the gryphoness said, reaching over to take a piece of food for herself.
She cocked her head at the unicorn still nervously looking at the small piece of breaded fish held out at hoof's length in her telekinesis as if it was going to try and bite her at any second.
“Aren't you going to eat that? I thought ponies ate fish all the time.” Griselda asked, before quickly downing her fish stick with two swift bites.
“It's more of a pegasus thing, really,” Luster explained. “They normally need more protein than other ponies to keep up with their flying. I guess gryphons would too.”
Griselda tilted her head slightly, the gryphon equivalent of cocking an eyebrow.
“Oh, of course,” Luster flushed a little, embarrassed. “If you were a pony, not a gryphon that needs to eat meat anyway. I've never, uh, actually eaten any meat before, including fish.”
Griselda smirked, taking another piece of fish from the plate.
“Well, it's the perfect opportunity to try it,” she said. “Part of a cherished cultural rite? I'm sure Princess Twilight would be thrilled to see that sort of thing in her report.”
Luster Dawn couldn't help glaring at the smug gryphon, who simply leaned back and folded her arms after finishing off her second morsel.
“Darn it, you can really annoy me sometimes, you know that?” the young unicorn mare said, exasperated, before levitating her fish stick over and taking a tentative bite.
“Well, you make it too easy to get under your skin sometimes,” Griselda replied. “So, whatd'ya think?”
The buttery fish practically melted in the unicorn's mouth. She swallowed and answered the gryphoness eyeing her across the table.
“Huh. It's really not half bad as I thought it would be.”
Griselda smirked at Luster before taking another stick.
“Told you it wasn't anything to get grossed out over!”
“Oh hush, you,” Luster chided, before taking another bite of her fish, before a thoughtful look came over her face. “You said Gallus came up with this tradition, right?”
Griselda nodded.
“Hmm, that might make for an interesting report,” Luster mused. “Any chance he's spending Hearthswarming in Ponyville this year?”
Griselda snorted, “Even on holiday you don't switch off, do you? Anyway, no, Gallus is going to be at Mount Aris with Professor Silverstream for the Three Days of Freedom festival. From what I can tell that's what they usually do.”
“Aww, that's a shame,” Luster wistfully looked at the ceiling for a moment, imagining her lost report. “Hang on a sec, isn't there a big celebration in Griffonstone? How come you're not there.”
Griselda shrugged concomitantly, “The Blue Moon Festival isn't a huge deal, really. Even with Gilda building the community back up, there's still not much to it aside from eating fish sticks. After hearing about all the pony traditions last year, I kinda wanted to experience it for myself. That's why I asked to spend Hearth's Warming with you this year.”
“Well, I'll be sure to show you all the traditional activities ponies do at Hearth's Warming! It'll be great!” Luster exclaimed, putting on a determined face.
“Besides, Ponyville has something that Griffonstone doesn't; the atmosphere around town gets really cosy this time of year.”
At that precise moment, a glass shattered at the bar. Luster could see without having to move but Griselda craned her flexible avian neck to look behind her at the commotion. A cloaked stallion had knocked a glass off of the counter, its' contents now a foaming, beery puddle spreading rapidly on the floor.
“S'fine,” the stallion slurred, swaying slightly as he moved from looking at the mess on the floor back to the middle aged mare behind the bar. “Jus' get me another.”
“No, I think you've had quite enough already, mister,” was the terse reply from the purple mare, who was already reaching for a mop and a pan to start clearing the mess.
“Wow, that dude's smashed. Getting the drinks in really early today. I know the pub doesn't stay open as long today but still a while yet!” Griselda crowed, swivelling back to Luster.
“Aww c'mon, jus' one more?” the stallion pleaded. “I'ss Hearth's Warming!”
“No,” the bar-mare was quite firm. “That's it for you today.”
Luster watched the exchange with growing concern. She had noticed the stranger sitting there since they'd arrived, but paid him little notice. While it wasn't unusual for ponies to wear cloaks this time of year, Luster did think it was odd that this one hadn't pulled down his cowl even after warming up.
The cloaked stallion clearly didn't like the proprietor's response.
“Do you know who I am?” he shouted, rising to his hooves. “I am a king and you will get me another-!”
His speech turned into an undignified squeal as halfway through pulling himself to his full height he slipped on the puddle of beer and tumbled to the floor, his head smacking the stool and pulling down his hood as he fell.
Luster hadn't seen anypony like this unicorn before. His coat was an ashen colour but his black mane seemed to constantly move like smoke. His eyes and horn were almost alien. The horn curved sharply as it rose from his forehead, changing gradually from his coat colour to a sharp, unnatural red. His eyes were the same colour and his pupils were slitted, almost reptilian. Luster suspected that on a normal day she would've been intimidated or even frightened by the stallion. There was something she recognised too, but couldn't put her hoof on it.
But lying there with spilled beer slowly soaking into his clothes and fur, eyes unfocused distant, Luster couldn't help a wave of pity rise in her breast. This was not shared by the owner of the pub, however.
“Alright mister! I don't care who you are!” the mare shouted as she stormed around the counter. “You can take yourself out now or I'll toss you out for the guards!”
The pony on the floor recoiled as if struck, raising his forehooves across his face. Luster had risen to her hooves and strode over to the scene in a flash, Griselda groaning as she realised what was going on but reacting too late to stop her friend.
“It's all right, Berry,” Luster said, nodding to the angry purple earth pony. “We'll get him home for you.”
Berry punch snorted, “Friend of yours?”
“No, never seen him before, but we were just about to head out anyway,” Luster replied, gesturing back to her table where only a solitary fish stick remained on the plate. “I'll make sure he doesn't cause you any more trouble.”
Berry nodded, “Thanks, last thing I need on Hearths' Warming is for someone to start causing chaos.”
Griselda rolled her eyes at the exchange and sighed, before quickly wolfing down the last piece of breaded fishy goodness and sprang out from the booth, making her way over to the coat stand to retrieve her scarf and Luster's woolly hat. Meanwhile, Luster was busy hauling the unicorn stallion to his hooves with her magic.
“All right, let's get you home, mister,” she said as she turned him to the door and urged him on. He stumbled and swayed, but made it out of the door at least. Luster levitated her hat from Griselda and fit it on snugly before stepping out into the cold, the gryphon following behind.
It was perfect Hearthswarming weather; cold and snowing with big fluffy flakes. The unicorn stallion slipped on the slush in the street, nearly falling. Luster and Griselda moved hold up a side each and stop the inebriated pony from falling again.
“So, where are you staying?” Griselda asked. “Haven't seen you around before so guessing you're visiting a friend for Hearthswarming, right?”
“No, don' have any friends,” the stallion slurred. “Jus' leave me out here.”
Luster shot Griselda a worried look.
“Not in this weather we're not. We'll take you back to my place to warm up and hopefully sober up. My name's Luster Dawn, what's yours?”
The drunken pony mumbled something indistinct.
“Well, doesn't matter right now I guess,” Luster said. “Let's get going.”
“All right,” Griselda replied, rolling her eyes. “Should still be able to have a mostly traditional Hearthswarming still.”
Luster dawn struggled to keep the stallion's half deadweight upright, while the bigger and more powerful gryphon on the other side had little trouble, even if she grabbed as his cloak to haul him none too gently when he stumbled and looked like he was going to fall.
As the group slowly made their way through the streets, Griselda couldn't help but notice how quiet everything was. Even though it was still early afternoon, the usually bustling roads of Ponyville were relatively empty, most ponies already in with family or friends for Hearthswarming Eve. Even where there was activity, it was muted, as if the softly falling snow was acting as a damper to any noise. While the gryphoness was no stranger to snow, the kind she experienced in Griffonstone was nothing like this. Much more sharp and usually driven, making visibility extremely limited and any kind of movement difficult. It was while she was distracted like this that she didn't notice their inebriated charge move in the corner of her vision.
Suddenly, she felt the stallion's cheek rub against hers. Caught off guard, the Griselda froze for a moment before recoiling and jumping away, ending up hovering a few feet away with steady beats of her broad, powerful wings, sending flurries of snow swirling away. The feathers on her head and neck puffed out in a threatening display.
“What the flying feather are you thinking!” She shouted.
“Wha'?” the stallion started tipping over without the gyphon's support, before Luster ignited her horn and held him upright with a grunt.
“What did you do?” she asked though gritted teeth.
Griselda pointed an accusatory talon at the stallion.
“He tried to rub cheeks with me!”
Luster Dawn facehoofed while the stallion only looked even more confused. Something of a feat in his current state.
“So?” he asked.
Luster Dawn groaned, “Gryphons rubbing their cheeks or beaks together is like two ponies kissing. It's not something you just do.”
The stallion cocked his head a little and seemed to process this for a minute, looking at the angry gryphoness in front of him. Then he slowly smiled, showing some teeth that seemed altogether too sharp to be on a normal pony.
“Well, you are a pretty birdie.”
Smack!
The stallion's head went reeling, taken completely by surprise from the speed and strength of the slap across the face Griselda had given him.
The gryphoness let out a low, avian growl before managing to find her voice, seething.
“You're lucky you're sloshed, or I'd be using the other side!” she spat, holding up her wickedly sharp talons for emphasis.
The drunk pony tried to use his magic on reflex, red lightning arcing up his unusual horn. As it reached the tip the energy briefly coalesced then dissipated with a faint pop, leaving the horn smoking.
“Oh that's new,” the unicorn stallion mumbled, eyes crossed briefly focusing on his horn before they rolled back into his head and he collapsed into the snow in a heap.
“Gris, that wasn't very nice!” Luster exclaimed. “You can't just hit ponies like that. Stars and Moon, I don't even go to the Friendship School and I know that!”
Griselda crossed her arms and settled back down on the ground on her hindlegs, her tail flicking in agitation.
“He was being a real creep though,” she huffed.
“He was,” Luster agreed, before sighing. “Still doesn't make it right though. Besides, now we have to carry him the rest of the way.
Luster knelt down next to the unconscious stallion to check on him. She let out a sudden gasp.
“His horn!” She exclaimed. “Do you see all those cracks in it?”
Griselda took a quick look before tossing up her hands in mock surrender.
“That wasn't me, I swear!”
“No, I don't doubt that it wasn't,” Luster murmured. “That must've hurt, trying to use magic like that. No wonder he passed out.”
“So, it hurt then?” Griselda asked.
“Yeah, probably like getting your beak pulled off.”
Griselda winced, “All right, let's get him inside.”
After awkwardly slinging the unconscious stallion over Griselda's back, the duo had managed to get to Luster's small house, remarkably without attracting too much attention from passers-by on the way.
They dropped the unicorn on the sofa in the lounge and Luster set a fire in the hearth, leaving out the large Hearthswarming log- that would be added later.
“So, what do we do with our “Guest” here?” Griselda asked.
“You know, I'm not actually sure,” Luster's brow was furrowed. “I guess I should probably try and wake him up, make sure he's not brain damaged or something.”
“If he wasn't already after drinking himself half to death,” Griselda muttered under her breath.
Luster shot the gryphoness a glare over her shoulder before crouching down next to the darker unicorn and prodding his shoulder gently with a hoof.
“Hey, can you hear me?” Luster said softly.
After a few moments, the stallion stirred and cracked open one terribly bloodshot eye.
“Ugh, did... did we win?”
“I don't think so,” Luster replied, clearly confused. “If you're talking about Griselda, I'm pretty sure you lost. Also she's right over there.”
The gryphon waved, although was fairly sure the stallion couldn't actually see her.
“Oh,” The dark coated unicorn groaned. “That always seems to happen. Why am I still here though?”
“I'm not following you,” Luster scrunched her muzzle. “We carried you in off of the street. What did you think was going to happen?”
“Lately I seem to get torn apart by rainbows then wake up somewhere before getting flayed apart again.”
“Whoa, hold on a second,” Luster clearly didn't believe the other unicorn, but something about his unusual appearance and this description had tripped her memory. “What's your name again?”
“Sombra.”
Luster's jaw dropped.
“The same Sombra who overthrew the Crystal Empire twice?”
Sombra groaned and covered his face with a hoof.
“This time I was hoping to just cut to the chase and get destroyed again. Hopefully for good this time. Would've gotten it done with sooner but Twilight Sparkle seems to be out of town.”
“Oh, Twilight Sparkle's been ruling Equestria from Canterlot since before I was born.”
“Of course she has,” Sombra moaned. “So now I need to get on a train. Great.”
“So why do you want to get rainblasted?” Griselda chimed in, eyeing Sombra suspiciously from across the room. “Sounds pretty cowardly to me.”
Sombra propped himself up to glare at her.
“My horn is damaged and I don't have any magic any more,” he growled, his bloodshot eyes narrowed.
The gryphon wasn't impressed and puffed her chest feathers out.
“So what? You're suddenly an Earth Pony and we're supposed to believe you just want to give up?”
“I'm not just a unicorn!” Sombra was animated now. “I'm half Umbrum.”
“Shadow ponies!” Luster chipped in. “I've heard about those, I've only heard about them in legends though.”
“They were legends even when I was born,” Sombra continued. “I don't want to find them any more. They were rumoured to be vicious creatures, even compared to me. What it means though is that the energy given off by the Crystal Heart that spreads across Equestria slowly kills me when it's active, like now. When I was growing up I was often sickly and ill. When the Crystal Fairs took place it was agony. On Hearthswarming all of Equestria connects to it and the energy spreads more strongly everywhere, so without my magic to try and mitigate it all I have to look forwards to is a life of misery.”
“Hold on, you said magic would help things?” Luster Dawn was strangely excited.
“It's not normal magic though, I don't think you could help.”
“Well, it's worth a try, better than sitting around moping,” Luster offered.
Sombra sighed, “Well I guess it's second best to a meeting with Twilight.”
“Funnily enough I'm her personal student, so I guess that's literally true,” Luster Dawn was beaming now, imagining all the reports she could write for Princess Sparkle.
The cerise unicorn was about to say something when she felt a talon poke her in the shoulder.
“A word?” Griselda nodded to the hallway outside the lounge.
The two creatures left the room, the gryphon pulling the door shut deftly with a practised move of her tail.
“You're not seriously considering helping this guy?” Griselda hissed. “He tried to conquer Equestria, several times! We should be getting the guards!”
“Didn't you see his horn?” Luster whispered back. “It's fractured all the way though. Even if we can find something to stop the problems of his Umbrum side he's not going to be able to do magic.”
“But he's known for manipulating ponies' minds- how can you be sure he won't be able to influence you? We should get help while we can.”
“Well, with his horn the way it is now I don't think he could manage that. If he did before he would've already got to you before you laid him out. So he either can't do anything and getting the guards is a waste of their time, on Hearthswarming, or you're already under his control and can't get the guards anyway.”
At this point Luster was pretty smug. Griselda stared at her for a moment, the unicorn not backing down from the intense amber eyes boring into her. Then the gryphon broke.
“Fine,” she said, folding her arms and sitting back on her haunches, looming over Luster in the hallway. “We can hit the library and you can have your pet project.”
Luster squee'd and started prancing from hoof to hoof.
“But,” The gryphoness continued. “On two conditions. First, I'm going to keep an eye on our “Guest” the whole time and if I sense anything amiss I'm going straight to the guards. Feather them if they get annoyed.
“Second,” she still stared at Luster but her expression softened a little. “I really don't want to miss out on Hearthswarming that you said we'd do. I need you to promise me you won't forget. I know what you're like when you get started on something.”
“Aww!” Luster jumped up forwards and tackled the griffon in a hug, not worrying about the height difference and pressing her face into the thick, soft plumage on Griselda's breast. “You're the best!”
Griselda coughed awkwardly, patting the unicorn on the back before disengaging, glancing away and unable to make eye contact for the moment. The dark grey gryphon was still unused to how casually affectionate ponies were, even after living amongst them for a few years and studying at the school.
Griselda cleared her throat.
“So, we go and hit the books until the pageant is set to finish- I don't mind missing out on that, I know the history anyway. Then we head back here?”
“Sure!” Luster replied brightly, opening the door to the living room with her telekinesis. “Sounds like a plan!”
A short while later Luster was leading the others through the hallways of the School of Friendship. An aspirin and several glasses of water had cleared Sombra's head somewhat, so he was at least able to walk unaided, even if not in the best of straight lines where everything was still slowly spinning.
“You're lucky I'm the Chief Assistant Librarian here in Ponyville!” Luster Dawn exclaimed. “We can get access to all of the material here and in the public library in the castle.”
“Why are we in the school instead of the main library again?” Sombra asked, regarding the crystal inspired architecture warily, as if something might jump out from the shadows any minute.
“Because the school's library is stocked with at least one reference copy of all of the books on magic as the main library in addition to a large collection of more academic and experimental works,” Luster replied brightly. “Besides, it's also likely to be a lot quieter now the school's out for the holidays. The library is officially closed.”
Sombra hummed, “So you don't need the Head Librarian's permission, given it's shut now?”
“Nope!” Luster replied cheerily. “Students can still come into the library and check books out from the main catalogue at the self-service desk or sit and study. Also I am the head librarian, really.”
Sombra narrowed his eyes.
“I thought you said you were the librarian's assistant just a second ago?”
Luster rubbed at her neck with a hoof.
“Yeah, it's because Princess Sparkle is still officially Ponyville's librarian. She didn't want to give it up after she became ruler of Equestria. But since she has much more important things to do it's mainly an honorary title at this point. I'm in charge of the day-to-day running of both the libraries and getting in new material. There's a small staff that help as well.”
“It's a bit anachronistic, but that seems how ponies are with a lot of things,” Griselda added. “Anyway, I'm going to head to my room real quick and grab an assignment. Didn't think I'd be doing that today.
With the the gryphon took to the wing and shot off out of sight.
“Well, let's find a spot and get started!” Luster declared.
After picking out a table next to a cosy fireplace the unicorn and half-umbrum worked their way through the magic section, an ever growing collection of books floating in their wake in Luster's aura. By the time they'd come back to the table there was a veritable mountain to work through.
“I think our best place to start is on treatises about the Empire and the Heart. Somepony's bound to have done research on the aura the Heart produces. If we find out what it is I might be able to make a spell to locally counteract it so it won't hurt you any more. I'll start with these here.”
“So, how am I supposed to help?” Sombra asked, looking at the formidable pile.
“Well, you could start on this one here and jot down anything interesting you find,” Luster said, floating over a book, some parchment and a pen.
“And how am I supposed to do that?” Sombra asked, motioning to his horn.
Luster shrugged, “With your mouth and hooves?”
“Ugh, that's undignified,” Sombra moaned.
Luster didn't bother looking from her book to reply.
“Well, Earth Ponies and Pegasi manage just fine and you'll have to learn soon anyway. If at least some part of you didn't want to try you'd still be lying on my sofa waiting for Princess Twilight to come and blast you.”
Sombra scowled and sullenly reached down to nose open the book with his mouth.
A few minutes later Sombra jumped from a loud thud as a heavy textbook landed on the table next to him. He looked around to see Griselda setting down her own work, having padded up to them silently. Luster hadn't as much as twitched.
“See, he hasn't tried to take over the world yet,” Luster said sardonically.
“Any progress?” the gryphoness asked.
“Only been five minutes. I know I'm good but I'm not that good. Give me a chance!” Luster retorted.
“This is a waste of time!” Sombra shouted, sweeping a book off the table only for Luster to catch it in her magic. “We're just going in circles!”
“Well, what did you expect?” Luster shot back, exasperated. “Experimental magic isn't easy. It's not like you can wave your horn and suddenly bring a whole new field of magic into being. It's not exactly like anyone's had this kind of problem before!”
“All right guys, simmer down,” Griselda interjected. She looked at the clock on the wall. “We've been here for hours now and the pageant ended a while back so why don't we call it a day and go back to our Hearthswarming traditions?”
“We can't just give up!” Luster cried. “The answer's in this room, I can feel it! Just need the spark of inspiration to figure it out.”
“That's very confident of you,” Sombra remarked.
“Just a bit more and we'll have a breakthrough, just got to keep going,” the unicorn mare insisted.
“Well, what about your promise earlier?” Griselda asked. “I hoped we'd spend Hearthswarming having fun and learning about pony traditions, not sat in a library studying.”
“We'll have time for all that later!” Luster was almost manic. “We're close to solving a unique challenge to magic. Imagine the benefits it could reap!”
“Okay...” Griselda seemed to shrink in on herself at her friend's dismissal, quietly looking back down to her own work and trying to get back to what she was doing. Less than five minutes later Luster and Sombra were so engrossed in their research once more that they didn't notice Griselda quietly pack her things and leave.
The gryphoness soon found herself soaring through the skies above Ponyville, the eerie atmosphere now even more pervasive with the light starting to fail. She found herself flying aimlessly, watching the occasional family out heading home or finding snowponies and forts, evidence of foals hard at play earlier in the day. The couldn't help but feel a growing jealousy in her breast as she passed house after house with warm glowing light that spilled from the windows. They seemed to promise everything she'd ever fantasized about Hearthswarming ever since she'd first learned about it. That sense of family, friendship, simple belonging and togetherness. While the Blue Moon festival in Griffonstone had some of that, it was still a relatively cold, impersonal affair. Something seen by a lot of gryphons as a nuisance to be observed rather than a celebration and time to forge and strengthen real, meaningful bonds. Griffonstone had slowly been improving over the years, but the sense of community was still almost an intangible thing, like the most delicate of soap bubbles that Griselda would be afraid of trying to catch in her claws lest it pop entirely.
Flaring her wings, Griselda landed on the apex of a roof, displacing a small sheet of snow to slide down into the road below. The gryphoness stared out at the ranks of snow capped roofs in front of her and the distant lights of the castle and school, almost invisible amongst the heavy snow. She pulled her scarf more tightly around herself as the snow started to settle on the outer layer of her feathers.
It wasn't cold she felt, but an aching loneliness. According to all the ponies and even most of the other creatures from far flung lands, this time of year was supposed to be the most magical, where creatures weren't supposed to feel isolated.
Maybe it's just me, she thought bitterly. Maybe it's a gryphon thing and we were always destined to be this way.
Her aimless feelings finally settled into a rising tide of frustration, especially as she looked at the school where her friend was still sat, ignoring all the promises she'd made. Not able to control it any longer, Griselda took a deep breath, looked skyward and let out a long, piecing call before flopping down on the top of the roof, spent.
“Hey, are you alright? You look pretty rough,” A voice caught Griselda's attention and she looked up to see a tawny pegasus stallion hovering just in front of her. The griffon immediately recognised him as Pound Cake, one of the twins who worked in Sugarcube Corner.
The stallion shivered, “Hey, I don't know about you, but it's freezing out here. Want to come into the bakery and warm up? I'm just cleaning up but I've got some Cocoa on the go and I'm sure you can help yourself to a leftover pastry or two if you'd like.”
If she was going to be a tough, no-nonsense gryphon, Griselda would say no immediately, but something was telling her to trust the stallion's open earnestly.
“That sounds really nice, actually,” Griselda said, picking herself up and shaking the snow from her feathers and coat, before spreading her wings and gliding down after the pegasus to a welcoming door down below.
Padding in after Pound Cake, the gryphoness found herself in the bakery's kitchen. The ovens were out but the residual heat from the day's work made the space cosy and warm, Griselda noticing life returning to limbs she didn't realise she'd lost sat out in the snow.
“Griselda, isn't it?” Pound asked, scooping a mugful of steaming dark liquid from an enormous pan on the stove before wiping the dripping side with a rag and offering the beverage to Griselda. The gryphoness took it gratefully.
“That's a lot of cocoa,” She ventured. “Especially since you're shut.”
Pound chuckled, “I'm going to spend the evening over at Noi's carrot farm with a group of friends. It's something of a tradition that I bring along cocoa for everyone.” He suddenly sent a conspiratorial wink Griselda's way. “Don't tell anypony, but it's Pinkie's secret recipe. I always like for somepony to test a new batch to make sure I've got it just right.”
Griselda gently blew on her drink before gingerly taking a sip. Her eyes lit up.
“Oh wow this is good!”
Pound beamed, “Glad you like it.” He got himself a cup and turned to face Griselda.
“If you don't mind my asking, what bought you to being sat on a rooftop alone on Hearthswarming Eve, crying your eyes out?”
“I wasn't crying!” Griselda protested, before bringing a wing around to brush under her eyes. Feathers came away wet and the gryphon couldn't be sure that it was melted snow.
“No, of course not,” Pound took a sip of his own drink. “But you sure looked pretty down. Any particular reason?”
“Feels like I'm back in Griffonstone again,” Griselda said after a pause.
“I've never been,” Pound Cake replied. “What's it like?”
The gryphoness sighed, then told Pound about why she'd gotten so worked up about Hearthswarming and the events of the day so far.
“...So now it's all ruined and I don't know what to do.” She finished.
“Hmm, I don't think so,” Pound said. “You know, there's still time to make the most of Hearthswarming Eve. I would offer you a place at the celebrations tonight if you wanted to join, but I feel like you've got your heart set on spending it with Luster Dawn, am I right?”
Griselda nodded.
“Well then,” Pound said, rubbing at his chin. “All I can share is a pearl of wisdom Pinkie once taught me. “If the pony won't go to the party, you'll just have to take the party to the pony.””
“Huh,” the gryphon murmured, hope flickering into her eyes. “Why didn't I think of that?”
“Tell you what, I've probably made far too much cocoa for this evening. I'll pour some off into travel cups for you to take with you, if you think it'll help?” Pound offered.
Griselda nodded enthusiastically and the stallion got to work loading a cardboard tray with half a dozen of the beverages, setting them on the counter. Just after he'd finished, Pound turned back towards Griselda and found his vision blacked out as his head was surrounded by dark plumage, the larger gryphoness having pulled him into a quick hug. Pulling herself away almost as quickly as she'd begun, Griselda took the tray and made her way to the kitchen door. She looked back over her shoulder just as she was about to leave.
“Thanks Pound,” she said appreciatively. “I really owe you one.”
“Uh, sure. Any time!” The now flustered pegasus replied. And with that, the gryphon darted out into the night, her dark feathers and fur blending into the gloom.
“Well, I noticed something positive there,” Sombra stated.
“Oh yes, what was it?” Luster said, hanging on his every word.
“Well, I couldn't feel the Heart any more,” Sombra started, to be cut off by a squeal from the eager unicorn. He cleared his throat loudly and continued. “But I also couldn't feel my legs, or anything else for that matter. Couldn't see or hear anything either except a faint whispering which I'm sure isn't anything to worry about.”
“Oh,” Luster's enthusiasm was dampened. “What if we invert the polarity of the neutron flux?”
Sombra groaned and rolled his eyes.
“Then you have a textbook disintegration spell.”
“Well, back to the drawing board again, I guess,” Luster sighed, sitting down heavily on her haunches. “This is getting to be a lot more complex than I'd hoped.”
Sombra chuckled, “Well I did tell you this would be a wasted effort.”
“Still worth pursuing every avenue though, that was closer than the last attempt at least,” Luster replied, walking sluggishly back to the table from the space they'd used for their latest test. Her ears swivelled at the sound of the library doors opening and she looked over to see Griselda make her way into the library, awkwardly balancing a big canvas bag between her wings and carrying a tray of hot drinks between one of her sets of claws.
Luster hurried over and took the drink tray with her magic, freeing the gryphon to move more easily.
“What's all this?” Luster asked, peering at the bulging bag on Griselda's back.
“All the Hearthswarming stuff from your place I thought we'd need,” the gryphoness replied, swinging the sack off of her back and putting it down with a thud.
Luster clapped a hoof to her mouth, “Oh my gosh!” She exclaimed. “I completely forgot, I'm sorry!”
“Eh, it's cool,” Griselda shrugged. “Better late than never, right?”
“I guess there's still enough time for a half decent Hearthswarming Eve,” Luster said. “Luckily they've decorated the library for it along with the rest of the school.”
“OK, so where to we begin?” Griselda asked, looking down slightly at the smaller unicorn.
Luster smiled up at the gryphoness then turned to walk back over to the table and their fire.
“Sombra, I think we'll have a bit of a break here. I did promise Griselda that I'd show her what Hearthswarming was all about,” Luster explained. “You might learn something too, you wouldn't have ever seen the modern traditions.”
Sombra scowled, “No, I've never celebrated a Hearthswarming. Why should I take part in something that's going to slowly kill me anyway?”
Luster shrugged, “Well if you've never taken part you never know, you might even enjoy it. If you can't avoid the consequences of everypony else celebrating you might as well try to enjoy yourself as well.”
Griselda squared up to the shadowy pony.
“Luster's spent the best part of her day trying to help you. The least you can do is spend a couple of hours taking part in this pony celebration.”
Sombra rolled his eyes.
“Fine,” he muttered. “Let's do this “Hearthswarming Eve” thing.”
“Well, this evening's pretty simple really,” Luster said. “For small families normally they put the dolls up on the mantelpiece, sing carols and spend time together.”
“What “dolls” are you talking about?” Sombra asked, puzzled.
Luster levitated a pair of stuffed figures from the sack, one a cerise unicorn and the other a grey and black gryphon, setting them perched on the wreath laying across the mantle.
“I bought the spare cloth from where we made mine yesterday. I figure our colours are close enough,” Griselda said, pointing a claw at Sombra.
“Ooh that's really nice!” Luster clopped her hooves together, floating out the sewing box that had been stashed away in the sack. “It might be a little rough around the edges, but I can quickly make one up for you too then, Sombra!”
“From what Luster told me,” Griselda explained. “The dolls represent a family, or close friends celebrating together. Sort of like an abstract, re-arrangeable portrait. Sometimes you hang socks underneath each of them and put small presents inside for each other.”
“That's not the strangest thing I've ever heard of,” Sombra admitted, watching as Luster weaved scraps of fabric, scissors, needles and thread around in her aura, all the pieces coming to form a simple grey unicorn with a black mane and tail. It then got perched with the others.
Sombra felt strange, looking at his crude facsimile sat with the others, like he belonged there. His reverie was interrupted by a still steaming cup of cocoa hovering in front of his face. The stallion concentrated for a second, frowned then remembered his lack of magic and reached up to take it in a hoof. He was surprised at how good it was.
The others had broken out some peppermint sticks and were enjoying the sweet treats with their drinks. Griselda wasn't focusing too much on those and put hers aside fairly quickly to instead pull out some blankets to spread on the stone floor near the fireplace and finally retrieved a single large log from the bottom of the sack.
“The log here really represents the core of what Hearthswarming is about, where the pony tribes were freezing with the Windigoes pressing in and they'd almost run out of fuel for their fire. The log is supposed to be able to burn or ember for most of the night,” Luster explained to Sombra. “Some families put a lot of importance on the log and carefully select them. Sometimes they're even treated with chemicals or spells to burn different colours. But honestly the really important bit is just to have a nice cosy fire everypony can gather around away from the cold.”
Griselda carefully fed the log into the fire, pushing it into place with a poker. Then the gryphoness turned her attention to the blankets, arranging them a comfortable distance from the fire.
“Thought it might be more comfortable to lay down,” Griselda said with a shrug. She pulled off her scarf and draped it over the back of a chair, before she quickly roused, fluffing out all of her feathers and settling them all back into place.
Luster settled in on one of the blankets, putting her cocoa in easy reach on the floor. Griselda joined her shortly, laying down watching the fire.
“Come on, you might as well get comfortable too,” Luster said to Sombra, motioning the other blanket nearby. The former king shook his head, amused by the whole situation before cantering over and sitting down as well.
“So, what now?” he asked.
“Traditionally, we sing carols, it's said that singing caused the Fire of Friendship to burn more brightly and defeat the Windigos. But really it's about spending time together and valuing each other's company now,” Luster said, making herself more comfortable on the blanket.
“I don't know any pony carols by heart,” Griselda murmured. “I wouldn't mind trying one though.”
The gryphon raised her voice so Sombra could hear more clearly, “What about you, fancy giving it a try?”
Sombra grunted, “I don't really see the point, but I guess it won't hurt too much to try, if it'll make you two happy.”
“See, that's getting into the spirit already!” Luster exclaimed. “We'll start with the most traditional one, the Heart Carol. Tell you what, I'll sing a line at a time and you guys follow after. It'll be a bit awkward but it might work. Ready?”
Sombra and Griselda nodded, so Luster began.
“The Fire of Friendship lives in our hearts...”
Once they'd finished, the atmosphere in the room seemed lighter somehow. Griselda looked over to Sombra.
“See, that wasn't so bad. You didn't even burst into flames!” she crowed.
“Ha ha. Very funny. But no, it was... nice. I wouldn't be opposed to continuing,” the stallion replied.
“How about we switch it up a bit this time?” Griselda ventured, “let's try “Row, row, row your boat”, a real campfire classic!”
Sombra snorted, “Even I know that one, it's been around forever!”
The three creatures continued singing and talking amongst themselves long into the night, even as the fire in the hearth burned low and reduced to glowing embers. At some point the warmth and the hour made Luster nod off, with Griselda following shortly after.
Sombra remained awake, the tug from the Heart not giving him any respite. He couldn't help but smile at the pair that had shown him such companionship though. As the fire slowly died, the temperature had started to drop in the cavernous library and in their slumber the unicorn and gryphon had ended up pressed together for warmth. A chill breeze swept through the room, making Luster shiver. Griselda stirred, lazily cracking open an eye and noticed Luster at her side. The gryphoness considered this for a moment, before carefully shifting and extending her wing to cover the slumbering unicorn and place her more comfortably against Griselda's body. The gryphon then tucked her head back under her opposite wing and fell asleep herself.
A short while later, Sombra noticed a soft glow reflecting in the polished wood of the mantelpiece. Looking about, he couldn't find a source but thought he saw something coming from behind some nearby bookshelves. The stallion pulled himself to his feet and moved off to investigate.
The light appeared to move away from him, always just being around the next corner. Sombra doggedly followed it into the depths of gloomy library. Eventually it stopped, the stallion running into a bright glowing light, forcing him to shield his eyes. As his eyes adjusted to the sudden change, Sombra could resolve a shape becoming clearer at the centre of the illumination. His heart sank when he realised what he was looking at.
“Princess Twilight,” he said with a nod of his head. “Before we begin, I have something I need to ask you. After I found myself revived today, I was thrown out of a pub. The two creatures with me here took pity on me. Luster Dawn even tried to help me with the drawbacks of being half-umbrum. All I ask is that you show mercy on them. They don't grasp the scope of what they were doing by helping me, the reality of my crimes. The weight of my sins is mine alone to bear.”
The glowing alicorn smiled.
“That is very noble of you. I will see to it that no harm comes to befall your friends.”
Sombra took a deep breath, “Well, Princess Twilight. I'm ready.”
“I am not Twilight Sparkle,” the alicorn said simply.
“What?” Sombra declared. “Then who are you, what are you?”
“We have met before, in a sense,” the glowing apparition said. “I am the Tree of Harmony. You tried to destroy me once before, not long ago from your perspective.”
“Then, you know what I have done,” Sombra tried to keep his voice level, but his bravado was starting to fail him. “You know what I deserve.”
“Indeed,” the ghost agreed. “That is what you will receive now. Prepare yourself.”
Sombra screwed his eyes shut as the being started glowing even more brightly, then covered his eyes with a foreleg as the light became even more blinding still. Reaching its' peak, the magical vortex in front of him reached out and speared through his body.
Sombra couldn't help but scream as he felt the now familiar magic tear him apart inside and out.
