Happy New Years, Everypony!
Snow poured down all across Equestria. From Ponyville to Manehattan, from Canterlot to Las Pegasus, from The Crystal Empire to so many more. Despite all that, everypony and every creature celebrated their own Hearth’s Warming Eve, getting plenty of presents and gifts, sharing laughs, and plenty of love, with their families.
Though, despite all that, there was one celebration, in particular, that a certain princess could never forget, and that was a New Year’s party. It was her first time holding a party or gathering, of any kind, but she had confidence that it’d be marvelous.
This princess was none other than Flurry Heart, who, a year and a half prior, had given birth to a beautiful alicorn daughter. It took a while to decide on naming the little filly, but Amor came up with Hazelheart, as her mane shared Amor’s hazel-colored hair, and the infamous blue streak from Flurry’s mane. They both loved the name, and cherished it…
For roughly a year’s time…
While it felt great, joining the ‘mom’ club, it also felt draining. As more new recruits were brought into the Crystal Empire, that meant less time that Amor had to stay home and spend time with his family, which meant, Flurry was left to supervise, care for, and love Hazelheart… all on her own…
The only times that Flurry would get a break was when she entrusted Hazel in the care of Sunburst, who was more than happy to take care of Flurry’s little filly. Often times, when picking up Hazel, Sunburst would joke about how Hazel was just like her mother at that age: Sporadic, powerful, and most of all, adorable. The same was said for Twilight, but Twilight had a more hands-on experience with Hazel, which definitely came in handy, and left less things knocked over, disturbed, or destroyed.
On a more pleasant note, Flurry was more excited for the New Year’s party she and Amor had planned. While mostly everypony had shown up to the New Year’s party, held by her Auntie Twilight, in Canterlot, some ponies weren’t able to make it, whether they were busy, or simply just too exhausted from all the partying they did during Hearth’s Warming. Flurry had invited the following ponies and creatures: Lyra Heartstrings, Bon-Bon, Autumn Blaze, Vapor Trail, and Suri Polomare. Flurry had heard all the reasons as to why they missed the big celebration…
As much as Lyra and Saccharo wanted Bon-Bon to attend the New Year’s Eve party, Bon-Bon’s candy business was booming, and while that was good news, it meant they’d miss out on Twilight’s party, but they did have each other in the end, and that was more important than anything else.
Autumn and Cadere slept through New Years Eve entirely… well, Autumn did. While Cadere woke up for it, Autumn had dragged Cadere back to bed, so… guess there was no ignoring her there, and besides, their child, a boy kirin that they named Winter, seemed keen on sleeping in, too, so… Cadere had to just accept that his family was the way it was.
Aqua cheered on his mare, Vapor, during the New Year’s countdown, as they both kept each other confident, being in charge of the display during the celebration over Canterlot, and had little time for festivities, or rather, any time at all to get a drink in, as by the time the performance was over, the two of them were ready to head home and sleep together.
Finally, Diamond and Suri had spent all New Year’s Eve stitching together clothing and festive outfits for the new year, to celebrate its passing, and instead, had a New Year’s of their own, which, according to Diamond, involved… lots of drinks and scandalous actions…
As Amor got things ready, Flurry nursed Hazel, feeding her on the sofa. From the bags under Flurry’s eyes, it was clear that she was kept up, and those same bags were under Amor’s eyes, but, they cherished any moment when Hazel wasn’t crying…
“Amooooor… is everything ready?” Flurry whined, being so tired and exhausted
“Flurry, dear, you don’t sound so hot…” Amor said, having finished the last of the decorations, as he tended to his tiresome wife. It brought tears to him, seeing her like this, but she gave a soft smile to him
“Don’t worry too much about me, Amor, I’m a strong mare, and you’re a strong man. A little filly isn’t gonna wear us down, alright?” Flurry reassured, as the two of them shared a hug and a kiss, “I’m just happy we got everything set up for tonight”
“Me too. It’s almost that time, too. We’re supposed to start things once the Sun sets, right?” Amor asked, making sure they knew what time to properly start.
“Yep. Here’s hoping our guests arrive before then, so that we can properly start things o-” she said, as she heard the doorbell ring, “Speak of the devil. Amor, be a dear and answer the door?”
“Of course, dear” Amor said, answering the door to two mares, their children, and a human, “Ah, Lyra, Bon-Bon, Saccharo, glad you could all make it! Please, come in!” Amor said, stepping aside as the two mares, and Saccharo, stepped in.
“Remember, Sweetie and Max, don’t roughhouse, okay?” Bon-Bon said, to a cream-colored filly, and a turquoise-colored foal, as they both nodded their heads.
“Yes mommy, we understand, right Max?” Sweetie elbowed Max, seemingly teasing him. Sweetie and Max had… a rough time getting along. Sweetie took more after Lyra, being very hyper and pushy, sometimes, even teasing on occasion. Max, on the other hand, was more timid and calm than his rowdy sister, taking more after Bon-Bon.
“Yeah yeah… just don’t mess with me, and we’ll be good.” Max said, as he kept his distance from his sister, who just giggled innocently, as Saccharo knelt down and grabbed both their ears, as Max winced, “Ack, dad! Easy on the ears!”
Sweetie winced as well, and her other ear folded, “Owie… daddy, why?! What did I do?!”
“Look, I know you two have a sibling rivalry, alright, but we’re guests here tonight, so any misbehaving will not be tolerated, understood?” Saccharo made clear, to the filly and colt, as both nodded their heads rapidly, and Saccharo smiled, “Good, now, go ahead and just chill out, and don’t touch anything unless you’re allowed, alright?”
“Yes dad” they said in unison, before running off into the living room with their tails between their legs.
Amor chuckled, smiling a little, “Is what you said true? Are they troublemakers?”
Bon-Bon groaned a little, “Ugh, the worst. It’s mostly Sweetie teasing or messing with her big brother, which riles Max, and next thing you know, Sweetie’s messing with Max, using her magic, tripping him up, upsetting him, and we never hear the end of it. Lyra seems to have more trouble keeping them together, if anything, right honey?”
Lyra giggled sheepishly, and rubbed the back of her head softly, “Yeah… it’s taxing, mostly cause I’m watching them. I, often times, catch Sweetie tugging on Max when Max is studying, or doing homework, and purposely irritating him.”
“Well, kids will be kids, at least. Trust me, they’ll grow out of it eventually, I have faith they will” Saccharo said, as his two wives kissed his cheeks, and sighed
“Well, with introductions out of the way, help yourselves to some punch, or water, we’ve got both” Amor said, as the two mares and their human husband passed by him, and he smiled, seeing Flurry come out of a room down the hall, looking at bit exhausted, “Flurry, everything alright?”
Flurry sighed as she walked to her husband, and melted into him, “Finally I got her to go down. You know, my mom’s probably laughing right now, knowing I’m feeling her pain, and my aunt is, too. I don’t mind it, but… It’s kinda cute seeing my stubbornness be carried on through our little filly”
“Your aunt stressed that way too much. If I remember correctly, you sporadically flew around everywhere, teleporting every which way” Amor teased, as Flurry’s cheeks puffed up
“That’s mean! Hazel does it too, y’know? Takes me hours to catch her… and even after that, she’s a pain to put down” Flurry argued, as Amor and her embraced
“Twilight and Mom easily said the same about you when you were Hazel’s age, dear” Amor combatted, and Flurry went silent, and teared up. Amor saw this, and instantly felt guilty, “Awwww, look, I’m sorry, honey. Look, I was just making a point”
Flurry sniffled and sighed, “No, it’s fine. I’m just… going through it, sweetie, it just gets rough. Guess that’s what I get for joining the ‘Mom’ club, huh?”
“Would you rather have adopted a foal?” Amor joked, as Flurry scowled a little, “Whoa, it was only a joke, honey”
Flurry sighed, as she pinched her husband’s ear, “Still, you know very well I’d never trade our beautiful filly for a foal that’s not of our own love, blood, and DNA.”
“Yes dear” Amor responded, as she let go of his ear, and pecked his cheek softly.
“Good boy.” she said, going off to chat up Lyra and Bon-Bon
Amor sighed. He loved that mare to death, though that was nigh impossible, since they were both immortal, but the point still stood. Amor loved Flurry, and was grateful for the little filly that popped out of her, named Hazelheart, and always would love her.
The night went on, and another guest arrived, as it was Autumn, Cadere, and Winter. Autumn was dressed in a beautiful yellow dress, Cadere in a soft red tuxedo, and Winter in a beige dress shirt and blue jeans
“Autumn! Glad you and your family could make it!” Flurry said, hugging Autumn. The two had become well-acquainted since Flurry first visited the village. It had been sometime after Equestria was saved that Flurry had met Autumn, and her first impression was that Autumn was like a mix of Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. A mixture of Fluttershy’s gentleness, Pinkie Pie’s hyper-activeness, and Rainbow Dash’s… laziness, at least, according to Cadere.
“You too… uh…” Autumn said, clearly trying to remember
“Flurry Heart” Flurry answered, and Autumn sheepishly giggled, as she rubbed the back of her mane, embarrassed
“Right, Flurry! Good to see you, girl!” Autumn squeezed Flurry tightly, before letting go, “It really was a shame to miss out on the Princess’s party in Canterlot, but seriously, thank you so much for inviting our family! You’re the best!”
“Yeah, thanks for that” Flurry said, feeling flustered with this much attention, especially since it didn’t come from her husband. Flurry knelt down and eyed the snow-color-coated Kirin, hiding behind his mother, “Awwwww, who’s the shy little guy?”
“That’s my little boy, Winter. Go ahead, sweetie, say hi to the princess” Autumn encouraged, as the little kirin boy stepped out from behind, with a blonde mane. It was clear he got it from his father, and just… looked very shy
“H-Hi there…” Winter spoke softly, hiding his face and looking down slightly
“Hello to you, too, Winter. Nice to meet you. I’m Princess Flurry Heart. Pleased to meet you!” Flurry reached out, and ruffled his mane softly, making him shiver
“H-Hey! W-Watch the mane!” Winter fussed, flailing his arms cutely as Flurry giggled
Flurry chuckled as Cadere petted Winter and sighed, “Alright kiddo, remember what we taught you when you get upset?”
“Go somewhere private and vent my frustration?” Winter asked, as Cadere petted him softly
“Exactly. Alright, go play with the other kids.” Cadere said, sending Winter off as Winter sheepishly made his way over to Sweetie and Max, before shimming over to the couch, covering up, and curling up. Autumn cooed, while Cadere sighed.
“So adorable, isn’t he? Just our little sleepy boy~” Autumn said, giggling as she put an arm around her husband.
“You know very well he gets that from your side, Autie.” Cadere countered, as Autumn puffed her cheeks and huffed
“Oh hush, you love seeing it, too” Autumn argued, pinching her husband’s cheek, and making him blush
Eventually, 10:00 rolled around. Flurry was tending to Hazelheart, cause she needed a diaper change, so… that left Amor to keep watch on the rest of the guests. Surprisingly, it wasn’t all relaxed, but… it was close enough to peace.
There were times where Sweetie completely irked Max, which in turn scared off Winter, and it had to be broken up and ended by Cadere and Saccharo, who both handled it rather well.
While Autumn was chatting up Lyra about humans, a little bit of their conversation could be heard, and it was a bit… interesting…
“You know, when I first saw my human’s… you-know-what, it was exactly how I pictured it as well.” Lyra said, sighing dreamily
“Really? You say that as if you knew it’d be impressive.” Autumn said, giggling softly
“Well, it wasn’t really that, Autumn, but rather, it was because of my… fascination with humans…” Lyra said sheepishly, before Bon-Bon plopped down between the two
“You mean your obsession with them?” Bon-Bon joked, as Lyra’s face turned beet red
“B-Bonnie! Seriously?!” Lyra asked, covering her face as it boiled red…
“What? It’s the truth, isn’t it? You were practically obsessed with them” Bon-Bon said, making it plenty obvious, as Lyra couldn’t handle it, and got up
“D-Darn it, Bonnie! I’ll get you at some point!” Lyra said, as she huffed and confided in Saccharo, burying her face in his chest as an audible chuckle came from him, as him and Bon-Bon both smiled. Autumn tapped Bon-Bon’s shoulder, clearly wanting to know more.
“How obsessed was she, Bon-Bon?” Autumn asked curiously, “I’ll admit, there’s a few things I still have yet to understand about my husband’s race, but, I’ve never seen anycreature, or anypony, so knowledgeable about humans.”
“Only other person in Equestria to have as much knowledge on humans as Lyra is probably Princess Twilight, and she was, to my knowledge, the first pony to ever encounter a human, so she’s had several years to study humans and their many different functions.” Bon-Bon explained.
“I just find it interesting that the knowledge of humans has spread to several different inches of Equestria. Ponyville, Canterlot, Crystal Empire, Griffonstone, Seaquestria, Manehattan… humans have brought a bigger population to Equestria as a whole, giving birth to babies of all races, from Earth Ponies, to Unicorns, to Alicorns, to Dragon Hatchlings, Griffon Hatchlings, to Hippogriffs, and many more” Autumn said, puzzled by it all as she exhaled, “Though, they’re all blessings at the end of the day, right?”
Bon-Bon looked over to Sweetie and Max, expecting them to be fighting, but… to her surprise, they were curled up, Max holding Sweetie, as the two snored peacefully. It was a rare sight, but, it seems the two had gotten tuckered out from all the playing they had done, and Bon-Bon sighed and giggled.
“Heh, you can say that again, but remember, it may get heated when your little boy has a littler brother or sister, cause then, hoo boy, you’ll have two troublemakers, like mine, or maybe not. Just saying, Autumn, parenting gets harder with the more kids you have” Bon-Bon warned jokingly.
“Well, good thing I’ve got a friend like you who can share their experience, right?” Autumn said, looking at Bon-Bon expectantly, and Bon-Bon blushed a little
“Y-Yeah… didn’t think we were friends, but yeah, for sure. Thank you, Autumn, for that” Bon-Bon said, brushing her own mane sheepishly, as Autumn hugged her tightly
“Hey, it’s what friends are for, right?” Autumn asked, before laughing a little, and Bon-Bon joined her
“Of course, yeah” Bon-Bon said, her cheeks growing hotter as Lyra glared their way, “O-Okay Autumn, uh, you can let me go now, my wife’s getting jealous…”
“Hm?” Autumn looked over, and saw a scowling Lyra, and got the message, blushing nervously, “O-Oh yeah, sorry about that…” she pulled away, and separated, “No, but seriously Bon-Bon, we need to hang out more, and same goes for Lyra, too! I feel as though I could get a lot of experience from the two of you, especially on humans!” she said, seeing Lyra squeal in joy, knowing she had someone to share her love for humans with.
The night went on, as Autumn went to get some more punch, and Bon-Bon smiled as she looked over at Sweetie and Max, sleeping together peacefully, They’re a handful, but a blessing. My little sugar cookies~
A knock was heard at the door, and Amor got up to answer it. When he answered it, it was Vapor Trail, with her husband Aqua, and the two looked beautiful together. Amor chuckled, as he welcomed the two, “Well well well, impressive seeing Water Vapor here, of all places. Where’s the little one?”
“Steamy’s a handful, so I asked Rainbow to watch her tonight” Vapor answered, “A pleasure to meet you, Amor, and thank you for inviting us”
“Of course” Amor said, allowing the two to step aside. Vapor went over to Bon-Bon and shook hands with her.
The two mares smiled at each other, as Vapor spoke the first word, “I’ve heard of your shop from a few ponies in Cloudsdale, and even sampled some of your chocolate through my husband. Your sweets are impressive, Bon-Bon”
“Thank you, Vapor, you should visit sometime. We’ve got more than just chocolate, as we also do pastries, and Saccharo’s got an extensive knowledge of all things sweets, heh” Bon-Bon commented.
“I’ll make it a note to do just that. How are the kids?” Vapor asked, stretching her wings a little bit
“They’ve been better, but… I try to cherish the good moments. C’mon, let’s grab a seat” Bon-Bon offered, as the two sat on the couch, “So, how’s Steamy?”
“Taxing, if anything. You know, I don’t regret giving birth to my little Pegasus girl, but… some days it’s hard to stop her from crashing, crash landing, and… well, just crashing. She’s a rowdy flyer, and honestly, it’s clear she gets that from me. Currently working on training her to fly, as she has a while before she can enroll in the academy, due to her age.” Vapor said, sighing, “Though, I always thank Aqua for Steamy. It’s always been a joy being a mother, knowing that, one day, she’ll be my successor, of sorts, hehe.” Vapor said, smiling like a proud mother.
“That’s what I keep trying to teach Sweetie. One day, I want her to take over the candy shop, but, with how immature she is now, it’s harder to get through her little, stubborn skull. Kids can be a headache and a half” Bon-Bon said, sighing.
The two mares giggled, as they downed their glasses of punch. As they continued, Max came over to Bon-Bon, tugging on her dress softly, “Mom, Sweetie’s bothering me…”
“Bothering you how, Max?” Bon-Bon asked, listening to her son attentively
“She keeps throwing things at me with her magic, and then denying it was her!” Max said, clinging to his mom tightly, as Bon-Bon hugged him softly and sighed.
“Sweetie Drop Jr., get your flank over here now…” Bon-Bon said, as Sweetie walked over, and looked up at her mom
“Yes mommy? What is it?” Sweetie asked, playing ‘innocent’ to what may have happened
“I don’t care how you’re annoying and bothering Max, but I need you to stop it.” Bon-Bon said to Sweetie, as Sweetie still kept that innocent smile
“Okay mo-” she tried to say, before being cut off
“Cut it, Sweetie. I’m not joking, if you cause any more trouble, then when we get home, your flank’s going over my knee and your flank will be as red as my cherry red lollipops. Understood?” Bon-Bon said, as Sweetie’s face drained of color, and she whimpered
“O-Okay m-m…” Sweetie almost finished as Bon-Bon stomped her hoof, and Sweetie yelped, “Ack, I-I mean y-yes ma’am!”
Bon-Bon’s face softened as she petted Sweetie softly, “Alright, good girl. Now, hug your brother and say you’re sorry”
Sweetie sheepishly approached her brother, and hugged him softly. Max, hesitant at first, wasn’t sure if it was genuine, but he gave his little sister a hug regardless. Bon-Bon awed at the display, as the two siblings pulled away, and separated, going off and doing their own thing.
Vapor was in shock, and slackjawed too, “Wow, Bon-Bon, didn’t think you could be tough like that”
“Well, that’s what we call ‘tough love’, Vapor. Sometimes kids can be downright nasty to each other, and the situation needs to be defused. Course, I’m the only one who effectively solves things between Sweetie and Max. No slander against my sweethearts, Lyra and Saccharo, but they let our kids off too easy, to where it happens again.” Bon-Bon explained, yawning as she stretched a little
“Maybe I should try that with Steamy?” Vapor asked curiously
“Take it slow, though, Vape. You don’t want her to build a hatred for you, so… speak gently with her when she gives you a hard time, but also, assert your dominance.” Bon-Bon explained, as Vapor nodded with certainty
“Got it, yeah. Thanks, Bon-Bon!” Vapor said, hugging Bon-Bon softly, and making Bon-Bon blush.
“Y-Yeah, sure…” Bon-Bon said, as the two mares pulled away and talked about other things.
As the night went on, it was a mystery as to whether or not Suri and Diamond would show up. It had been mentioned that they’d have a busy night, but… it wasn’t gonna be overly busy. The night still went on, as everypony was still enjoying themselves, but… it was clear that it’d be very late before Suri and Diamond would show up.
Flurry Heart paced back and forth and sighed, taking a seat in a chair as she watched the clock, “I’m thinking that they won’t show up, dear.”
Amor sighed as he put his arms around his wife, and said, “Don’t give up hope yet, Flurry. Believe me, Suri’s changed a lot from what I’ve heard, so it’s not like she’d throw away her invitation, you know?”
Flurry sighed a bit, and nodded softly, “You’re right, Amor. Am I paranoid?”
“A little, but, it is a b-” Amor said as he heard a knock at the door, “Speak of the devil”
Amor walked over to the door, and opened it, and there were the last guests of the night: Suri and Diamond. Both were dressed elegantly, with Suri being dressed in a beautiful black shoulder dress, and Diamond in a white tux. Amor smiled and shaked Suri’s hand softly, “Welcome, you two. Glad you could both join us.”
“The pleasure’s all ours, Mr. Amor. I take it Flurry enjoyed her wedding dress?” Suri asked, as Amor chuckled
“Yep. That husband of yours sure has some talent. You’re lucky to have him, Ms. Polomare.” Amor commented, as Diamond smiled, and nodded.
“Put plenty of love into that dress, so I’m glad the wife liked it. Also, pleasure to meet the lucky lady herself” Diamond said, walking over to Flurry and shaking her hand, “Congratulations, as well”
“Thank you! Everything about that dress was an absolute masterpiece! How’s business been in Manehattan?” Flurry asked Diamond, as he chuckled a little
“It’s had rough days, and then good days. It’s basically random and unexpected, but, we take our miracles to heart, right Suri?” Diamond said, looking at Suri as her heart melted, and she giggled.
“Yes, we do. Our son’s already taken an interest in designing clothing, and we named him Collar.” Suri said, smiling like a proud mother would.
“Well, that’s amazing. We’re happy for you, truly.” Amor said, as he stepped aside, welcoming the two inside, “How come the little guy couldn’t make it?”
“We had put him to bed already, and he knows better than to get out of bed during the night” Diamond explained, as Amor nodded softly
“Well-behaved kids are the best kids” Amor said, as they all chuckled
Eventually, after a while, kids were all asleep in a guest room, and the adults were alone. All the men hung out in a circle, and all the mares did the same.
The husbands all were talking about their experiences with their wives, and what it was like…
“Fellas, I tell you, you forget anything that Flurry has planned, and she’ll hold a grudge” Amor said, as the rest of them all chuckled
“Really? I find that hard to believe that a princess of love could hold a grudge” Saccharo commented, and the others nodded in confusion
“Oh, she can. One time, I forgot about a picnic that she had planned, and while she didn’t blow up about it when she found out, it wasn’t until I showed up to the firing range that I understood just how upset she was” Amor explained, as every one of them gasped sharply
“Did she at least miss you on purpose, or…?” Cadere asked, as Amor shook his head softly
“Heck no. She didn’t even give me a chance to breathe between shots, due to how accurate her aim was. Think the only thing she asked me was, ‘Have you learned your lesson, babe?’. I haven’t missed anything with her since then.” Amor finished
“But you can’t admit you don’t admire the ferocity, right?” Saccharo chimed in
“Always, yeah. Having a wife who’s got a tough shell, but a sweet and gooey center is something to treasure, fellas.” Amor smiled and nodded.
Aqua whistled softly, “With my wife, it’s a bit of the opposite. She’s timid on the outside, but is tough on the inside. It just takes a lot of motivation to get her to toughen up.” Aqua finished as he looked at Saccharo, “So, Sacch, tell us, what’s it like having two mares wrapped around your finger?”
“Well, it’s not all it’s chalked up to be, ‘migos. Sure, it’s nice in the bedroom, but… outside of it, it’s problematic, at best. Some days I’m helping Bonnie do overtime work in our shop, or I’m at home being a housekeeper with Lyra. Kids are easier, if anything, as all it takes is helping out Max with his homework, getting on Sweetie about not doing hers, and so and so. I’m a busy husband, if anything, but, I wouldn’t give any of my family up for the world” Saccharo said, like a proud father, and flashed a smile, as he looked back at Aqua, “Tell us what it’s like for you, Aqua. Overheard how you’ve got quite the stubborn flier in your home. That true?”
Aqua sighed as he nodded, “Yeah, it is. Steamy’s a rowdy flier, if anything. Me and Vapor always have a laugh when we see her cheer after a successful landing, and even when she safely crashes, but… when things are broken, we really sit her down and have to teach her how to do it better. Her mom works harder in teaching her how to fly, while I teach her more in how to properly land.”
“Yikes. Must be a lot of bits, cleaning up a lot of the broken things” Diamond commented
“Heh, Winter has had much of the same problems. When he was younger, his Nirik form was absolutely nasty. So many broken lamps, beds, and much more. Autumn was more or less amazed that Winter had such a powerful Nirik form.” Cadere explained.
“Wouldn’t you be, too? I’d think that’d give a lot of defense” Amor spoke, as he questioned it
“Not when there’s no ‘danger’ to be concerned about, there is, though, you make a good point.” Cadere responded, as he sighed
“Hoping to get Hazel some training once she’s old enough, though, it’s also unlikely, due to how protective Flurry is of her. She’s hoping to train her at home.” Amor said, shaking his head softly
“Well, we can all agree, our wives have changed our lives forever, right?” Saccharo said, raising his glass of wine, to the rest of the men, “Cheers?”
“Cheers!” they all said in unison, and gave a hearty laugh, “And to a happy new year!”
The mares, on the other hand, talked of their motherly experiences. Unlike their husbands, who were sober, a few of the mares were intoxicated and giggly, except for Bon-Bon, who wasn’t feelin’ it. Lyra was all giggly and flirty on Bon-Bon’s lap, while the other mares shared their experiences, after sobering up a bit.
“A-Alright, now that we… hehe, have had our fun, girls, why don’t we share our experiences that we’ve had with our husbands, eh?” Flurry asked
“Right, yeah. Why don’t you kick us off, princess?” Autumn asked Flurry, as Flurry nodded
“If you insist. Well, initially, when I met my husband, Amor, we were more or less just… combat partners.” Flurry explained, “I never viewed him as… y’know, a mate, but… something about his kindness and forgiveness was to die for”, Flurry went on, giggling a little, “Though, he tends to be a bit of an idiot at times, but the best part is, he’s my idiot. My lovable, tough idiot.”
All the mares aww’d at that, and smiled. They all took sips of their wine, before Flurry spoke again, “Alright, let’s see… Bon-Bon, Ly-Ly, tell us. What’s it like sharing a husband, especially a human one”
“Well, I’d love to explain it, but… Lyra can probably explain what it was like, right honey?” Bon-Bon said, holding Lyra’s hand as Lyra nodded.
“Oh my Celestia, it was like… my number one fantasy come true! Believe me, before Saccharo came into our lives, I mostly just went by observation and notes, but then… when we met him, I put all my time and effort into researching Saccharo’s race. I could do a lot more than observe. I documented things like a human’s diet, eating habits, core strength, blood type, and anatomy. I even put out a book about it called Humans, what are they?. Sales are impressive, too, as it was even given a five star review by Moondancer in Canterlot, and she even asked if some copies be available for checkout at the library, and I said ‘yes’. She’s honestly a very kind pony. You could say that I’ve gained a bit of a following as well, as several ponies have come to me with their copies to get them signed by me. It makes me giddy, knowing ponies have bought my book” Lyra said, smiling as she beamed
“As for our experience with Saccharo, well… hearing Lyra so reluctant to house a hairless ape on the first day we met him, it felt strange, but… he showed he cared the moment when he helped clean up my candy shop. I think, that day, the shop hadn’t been cleaner. Overall, me and Lyra love Saccharo, and were glad to have met him and have him in our lives, 100%” Bon-Bon finished, as her and Lyra hugged one another, and kissed each other’s cheeks softly.
“Honestly, that’s such a Lyra thing, to just take in a brand new human without thinking. To be fair, I did the same.” Flurry admitted, as everypony giggled, “Moving on, uh… Autumn, what was it like, you and Cadere?”
“Aw gee, well.. Memory’s a bit fuzzy, but I’ll try” Autumn said, as she took a deep breath, and spoke, “Well, when he washed ashore, I thought nothing of him, really. Sure, a Kirin coming across a Human is pretty interesting on its own, but… when he told me that he’d be my friend, despite how weird or off-putting I was, he was more than just a friend. He’s brave, vigilant, and keeps me on my hooves. One of the biggest highlights of our relationship was when he took me to Neighagra Falls. He takes me back there every anniversary with Winter.”
All the ponies Aww’d at that, and Vapor cleared her throat, “I’ll go next. Meeting Aqua, it felt… interesting. Having met a human with wings as white as a pegasus’s wings was a beauty. His wingspan is almost as impressive as other humans I’ve seen with wings. It also felt amazing having somepony to relate to. When I first met him, he did not know how to fly at all, which reminded me of how I began. Through that, we bonded and tied the knot, and of course, that later led to this…” Vapor said, holding up her left hand, and showing a ring with her cutie mark on it.
“He truly sounds like a good guy, Vapor. How’s he with Steamy?” Flurry asked
“He’s gentle with her, and he’s often the one who stops her from crashing, catching her like a buckball player” Vapor explained, sighing happily, “There’s nopony else I’d want for a husband than Aqua.”
“That’s how I feel about Diamond. I’ll be honest, when I first employed him, I simply viewed him as the ‘Hairless Ape’ stereotype, and never thought anything more of him, though… he slowly inched his way to my heart” Suri said, smiling as she sighed
“So ladies, can we all agree that our husbands have brought us all blessings, and changed our lives for the better?” Flurry asked, as they all nodded in agreement, “Heh, and with that, shall we do a Cheer, ladies?” she asked, raising her glass of wine to the other mares, as they all nodded in unison
Their glasses all clinked, as they shouted, “Cheers!”, and giggled with joy aplomb
11:55
As the clock neared closer to the new year, Amor and Flurry watched Sweetie Jr. and Max horse around, a sheepish Winter keeping to himself, and of course, the many mares and men interacting with one another
“The time nears, dear” Flurry said to Amor, who nodded
“Right” Amor said, taking a glass and a spoon, tapping the spoon against the glass softly, “Attention everypony, it’s about that time. Let’s all gather together for the group photo”
Everybody gathered, children in front of their mothers, with the fathers behind the mothers, as Flurry had gotten Hazelheart, who had been sleeping peacefully, and Flurry scooted next to her husband, after setting the camera to go off.
“Alright… Happy New Year!” Everybody said in unison, as the photo was captured. Amor came up to the camera and smiled at the photo
“Looks good, everyone! Thank you all, and Happy New Year!” Amor said, as everyone smiled with joy and nodded.
The party would go on for a little longer, and it was clear that, truly, everybody and everypony had an amazing night, and would get some much-valued sleep
