You're Never Too Old To Have Fun
“You sure you don’t need any help?” said Luster Dawn.
She watched her mentor make the final adjustments to the throne room’s decorations, her horn growing majestically.
“I’m sure,” said Twilight.
“B-but, it’s just my first Hearth’s Warming as your student, you know, and I really wanted to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.”
“Luster, you can’t have missed anything. I didn’t even give you anything to do!”
“That’s what worries me.”
Twilight turned. “Is it? It sounds like you have something on your mind.”
“Oh…it’s nothing” said Luster, looking suddenly awkward.
Twilight paused. “What are your plans for tonight?”
Luster sighed. “I don’t have any.”
“What!” said Spike, coming in through the side door. “It’s Hearth’s Warming Eve. You’ve gotta have something planned!”
“No.”
“Why not?” asked Twilight.
“Well, my parents don’t get back from Philedelphia till tomorrow.”
“Weren’t they coming in tonight?”
“They were. But I told them I’d be busy…with…you.”
A moment passed.
“I guess I assumed there’d be a lot of work to do.” muttered Luster, rubbing the back of her head with one hoof.
Twilight smiled. “Actually, there is a lot to do. Though I wouldn’t call it ‘work’. Would you care to join us?”
“Join you? For what?”
Spike suddenly pulled her in for a hug. “We’re going home!”
The chariot pulled them swiftly through the crisp winter air as Ponyville beckoned from far below.
Luster looked back at Canterlot. “I still don’t get it. Don’t you have royal duties back at the palace?”
“She’s the boss,” said Spike, “so she makes the rules!”
“I think what Spike means to say is there’s more to being princess than state dinners and legislation.”
“Like what?”
“INCOMING!” said a high-pitched voice from one side.
The three of them looked to one side to see a snowball the size of a boulder sailing right at them. Twilight shot it with a wild blast of magic and it burst into pieces midair, leaving all three of them covered in snow.
“Like Pinkie Pie, for instance.”
Twilight spread her wings and dove off the side of the chariot while Luster scrubbed snow out of her eyes.
Somewhere off to the side, Pinkie squealed with delight. “She’s coming for revenge!”
Spike jumped off the other side just before the chariot touched down. “Wait for me!”
The chariot finally landed in the center of town, and Luster looked up to see Twilight Sparkle, The Princess of Friendship and the Sole Ruler of Equestria, swoop through the air while gathering and throwing dozens of snowballs with her magic.
Not exactly the stuff of state dinners, she thought.
“Luster!” yelped Pinkie as she appeared seemingly from nowhere, grabbing Luster’s shoulders from behind. “Your mentor’s gone mad with power! Run!”
Luster followed her through random alleyways as snowballs rained from above.
“Cheese!” yelled Pinkie, and suddenly there was a great thump overhead and the snowballs stopped.
“Thanks, honey!!” yelled Pinkie as she stopped in her tracks.
A distant voice shouted back “No problem!”
Suddenly much calmer, Pinkie threw a foreleg around Luster’s shoulders. “I tell ya, Luster, if you ever get married, make sure you marry a guy who knows how to hit a Princess with a snowball catapult. There’s nothing like it in the world.”
“Uh…”
“Oh! Or girl! You can marry a girl, too. By the way, Happy Hearth’s Warming! How’s it going?” she said, pulling Luster into a tight hug.
A raspy voice came from above. “Luster? What are you doing here?”
Luster looked up. “Oh, hi Dash. I guess this is a…friendship lesson?”
“Cool!” Dash looked out at the horizon. “Do you think you got her, Pinkie? Usually by now she’d be-”
With a sudden crack and a flash of light, Twilight appeared behind her, holding the biggest snowball yet in her magical grasp. She smiled as the shadow of the snowball covered them all.
“Dash!” yelped Pinkie, “Look behind you! It’s-”
“SOUP’S ON, EVERYPONY!”
They all turned to see Applejack ringing a musical triangle in front of Twilight’s old castle.
“Aww” said Twilight, Dash and Pinkie. Twilight let the giant snowball drop harmlessly to the ground.
Pinkie jumped up. “Well that was fun. Time for lunch!” She dashed off.
Dash playfully punched Twilight’s foreleg. “I would’ve dodged it, you know.”
“I guess we’ll never know.” said Twilight.
“It was over too soon!”
“Tell your wife to cook slower next time.”
“Yeah, yeah…”
“Oh, Luster!” said Twilight, suddenly remembering. “Sorry if the snowball fight was a bit intense. I forgot to mention it’s one of our traditions.”
“Oh, um…that’s alright.” said Luster, managing a smile. “I guess I have a lot to learn.”
“Would you like to eat lunch together?”
“Sure.”
A few moments later they were seated in the dining room at Twilight’s old castle. Hearth’s Warming decorations covered the walls, and a warm fire burned in the fireplace.
Pinkie tossed presents into the air as Applejack served the food.
Fluttershy joined them and sat next to Luster. “Oh my, “ she said, “did you get caught up in one of their snowball fights?”
Luster gazed at the snow caked into her mane and tail. “You could say that.”
“Not to worry, darling” said Rarity from behind. “I can fix that in a jiffy.”
She began combing Luster’s mane. “Do you have family in town?”
“Ah…I’ll be seeing them tomorrow.”
“Well I’m sure you’re welcome to stay here.”
“Come to think of it, I didn’t actually bring a gift-”
“YES YOU DID!” squealed Pinkie Pie, placing a wrapped box in Luster’s hooves.
“What is this?”
“I stash extra gifts all over Equestria! In case there’s a gift-related emergency.” Pinkie beamed.
“More to the point,” said Twilight, “your presence here is enough of a gift by itself.”
Smiles and murmurs of agreement filled the room.
“But I…” Luster struggled to find the words, “you don’t…know me at all. Why was I even invited?”
Twilight rose and put a wing around her pupil. “I might have said the same thing when I first came to Ponyville.” She looked around at the others. “Remember?”
Pinkie jumped in. “I remember! I saw you were new and I was like- “ she made a giant gasping noise, “and I went to plan you a welcome party right away!”
“I was happy to meet ‘ya,” said Applejack, “even before I knew you were gonna help us all with Nightmare Moon.”
“I crashed into you, which is way worse than getting hit by a snowball” said Rainbow Dash, “but I dunno, I guess I just knew you were a pretty fun pony right from the start.”
“Of course you ruined her mane, “ said Rarity, “it’s lucky I was there to help!”
“And I was happy to talk to Spike” said Fluttershy.
Spike sighed with a smile. “I used to be a lot cuter back then.”
They all laughed a little.
Luster paused. “I guess…I guess I’m still not sure how it happens, really. How ponies make friends without expecting to, without even trying. All these years later you’re still together. How?”
“It’s a bit hard to explain” said Twilight. Then she smiled. “That’s one of the reasons why they call it magic. It’s not something you can do with checklists and schedules. It has to come from the heart.”
“And…you think I can learn to do that? To be like you?”
Twilight smiled. “You’re already learning. Happy Hearth’s Warming, Luster.”
“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Twilight.”
The eight companions, friends and partners, royal and common, gathered around the table as the fires of friendship burned.
