A Villain Gets A Second Chance

Just before lunchtime, Spike swings by with a small stack of books from Princess Celestia and says, "You are very lucky that your leg broke right at the finish line and not in the middle of the race because you managed to win first, isn't that awesome!?" He then sighs and says, "Though it's a shame that you won't be out in time for Hearth's Warming."

You look at him and ask, "Hearth's Warming? What's that?"

The young dragon looks at you with surprise as he asks, "You don't know about Hearth's Warming!? Why it is the greatest time of year, there are all kinds of decorations to put up and gifts you can exchange with friends! It is a time when we celebrate the founding of Equestria by the three pony tribes, each town puts on a pageant of their own depicting the story of how it was founded. The largest pageant of them all is the one held in Canterlot every twenty-fourth of December!"

You then chuckle and say, "Interesting, are you forgetting anything, Spike?"

Spike thinks about it for a moment before gasping and saying, "Holy Moley! I need to get Twilight more paper and ink!" then takes off through the door calling behind him, "Thank you for reminding me!"

When Nurse Redheart brings you mashed potatoes covered in gravy with stuffing on the side and an omelet along with a glass of apple juice, saying, "It's lunchtime, Blistering Blizzard, once you finish eating, we will need to renew the splint under the cast to ensure the bone heals right. Now remember, we are not in any hurry, so take your time eating. With both of your hooves sprained, I will be helping you eat so that your hooves heal properly."

You sigh in embarrassment at not being able to feed yourself and swallow your pride, saying, "Thank you, it is strange how one can get so used to using magic with your horn to do so much, that you forget how the others have to get by without it."

She then chuckles and begins to feed you the potatoes and gravy first, getting a fair amount of mashed potato and gravy on the spoon before raising the spoon to your mouth, saying, "That is true, but it's something we all get used to after we're born."

After you finish your meal, a unicorn doctor comes in and adds more magic to the splint then departs, when Twilight shows up a half-hour later with her saddlebags and says, "Afternoon, Twilight. Are you ready to continue where we left off, or do you want me to tell you more about Azeroth?"

Twilight closes the door while thinking and then says, "Hmm, I think that it would be good to get more information about your world before continuing your story because there are things that I still don't understand."

With a chuckle, you then nod your head and say, "Very well, hope you don't mind it taking another week to get through what I know."

A week passes by as you finally get through your knowledge of the world of Azeroth, having taken a little extra time to tell due to how much there is to tell and the somewhat regular visits from the others. Spike has been stopping by more regularly as well, telling you more about Equestria that you didn't know.

When Twilight stops by again, you see her wearing a scarf and a pair of earmuffs and say, "I see that it is nearly ready to start snowing any day now."

She giggles and closes the door behind her, saying, "Yeah, though the snow should already be here, the weather pegasi must have fallen behind this year."

You chuckle and then say, "I think that Princess Celestia could plan things a bit better."

Twilight then smiles saying, "Well, I'm sure that she's doing the best she can with how busy she is with her daily duties to her subjects."

You then sigh and say, "She should just ask someone to straighten things out for her." With a shake of your head, you clear your voice and say, "Now where did we leave off?"

She pulls out a paper and says, "Well, we were going to get back to your story, and you last left off with the place where you first encountered skeletons." A shiver makes its way through her body as she thinks of the image of a human skeleton walking around.

With a sad look, you gaze at Twilight and say, "The story is going to get even worse from here on, so let me know when you need to stop. It is important that you hear my story in small bits from now on so that you can adjust to the knowledge and horrifying images you will no doubt conjure up while thinking of them."

Twilight then readies her quill and takes a calming breath, saying, "Okay, I'm ready."

You then continue your tale, saying, "After we found the blessed waters, we all drank from it to be healed and continued our way from village to village, but came across a granary a fair distance from the fountain. Jaina commented about how the land around it appeared to be dying, so I asked if the grain itself could be plagued. When I asked that, she told me that she hoped not because the emptied crates near the granary bore the regional seal of Andorhal, which was the distribution center for a great number of areas, and if the grain could spread the plague, there would be no knowing how many villages could be affected. As we continued along the road, we came to a town called Brill. That is where Jaina and I first encountered a group led by someone who I assumed to be some wizard when she suspected he was actually a necromancer and that he and the others with him could have been responsible for the plague. When they fled, a large group of undead came toward us accompanied by a massive, hulking creature." Sighing, you say, "You better brace yourself to hear this grotesque and nightmare-inducing description, Twilight."

She tries to keep her body from trembling at hearing of grain carrying a magical plague that kills the land and nods, saying, "I-I'm ready." while forcing a smile onto her face.

Knowing she is trying to remain calm, you then continue, saying, "The massive creature was sewn together from different corpses, was at least ten feet tall, gray-skinned, bipedal with one left arm attached to the shoulder wielding a five-foot long cleaver, and a right arm attached to the other wielding a hook on a very long chain, with a third arm wielding a slightly shorter cleaver. It had a massive belly that was rotted away, and you could clearly see its innards hanging out of the large hole. Despite its large size and rotted-away gut, it could run fairly well. We kept moving through and destroyed the warehouse with the tainted grain inside it, then set fire to it for good measure before moving on down the road to Andorhal." You then pause, saying, "Need a moment to catch up, Twilight?"

Briefly looking up from the paper, she shakes her head, saying, "Nope, please continue."

You then take a breath and say, "We encountered a few undead encampments and destroyed them before moving on to Andorhal. When we got there...there were fires everywhere and encountered the necromancer again. He introduced himself as Kel'Thuzad, he warned us to leave things well enough alone and that our curiosity will be the death of us. I asked him if he was responsible for the plague and the Cult of the Damned, to which he claimed responsibility for ordering the Cult to distribute the plagued grain, but did not take sole credit for it all. When Jaina asked him what he meant, he told us that he served the dreadlord named Malganis and that he commanded the scourge which would cleanse the land to create an eternal paradise of darkness. I asked him what the scourge was supposed to cleanse, he said it was supposed to be the living and that his plan was already in motion. He then told me to seek him out in Stratholme if I needed further proof, and then he took off and left a few undead to fight us. To our disappointment, we discovered the granaries were already emptied and destroyed, then burned them before chasing him down. As we slew the undead along the way, he stopped running which I then confronted him. Just before he died, he called me a naive fool and said that his death meant little in the end, but the scourging began." You look over at Twilight to see her shaking while writing away and say, "Let me know when you are ready for the next bit."

Twilight struggles to keep her frightened shaking under control as she nods, saying, "O-Okay, j-just a moment." A few moments pass as she looks up, still trembling from what she has heard, nodding, she says, "Okay, continue."

As you sigh and look outside to see the sun hanging lower in the sky, you say, "After killing Kel'Thuzad, Jaina and I made our way to Hearthglen. When we arrived the next morning, we saw several soldiers in the village preparing for an attack..." You then continue to tell her each detail of the following portion.

She writes the details down furiously until a quill breaks, forcing her to switch to another and resume where she left off, hearing you start speaking after a little bit, "After the battle was finished, Uther was surprised I held it together as long as I did and started to say something about if he hadn't shown up when he did. I interrupted him as my pride got to me and told him I did the best I could, but if I had a legion of knights at my back, I would've had no problems with the undead. He then tried to set me straight by telling me that it wasn't the time to choke on pride, that what we faced there at Hearthglen was only the beginning, and that their ranks were bolstered each time one of our soldiers fell. Wanting revenge, I then suggested we should strike at their leader and said that I would go to Stratholme myself to slay Mal'Ganis if I had to. Uther then tried to appease my anger by telling me to take it easy, that no matter how brave I was, I had no hope of defeating the one who controlled the dead by myself. Refusing to listen, I then told him to feel free to tag along because I was going with or without him."

Letting out a sigh, you then say, "That will have to be all for a little while because the next part is painful for me, and you need to recover from those feelings of fear you are currently feeling." You see her trembling more violently and say, "You should go drop off those papers, if it helps you feel safer, I guess you could stay by my side like Fluttershy does. You have nothing to fear from the plague that my people have suffered, for if it did exist here, it would have been noticed by now."

Twilight tries to get her trembling under control, but can't as her mind runs rampant over the horrific images going through it and instinctively asks, "How can one tell if the grain is infected with the plague?"

You look at her and say, "There will be a lot of vile insects drawn to it and the ground around it will die around wherever it sits, which is the only way to know due to it being odorless and colorless." You see her look around at the floor under her, looking for threats, and shout, "SPARKLEBUTT!"

She jerks upright and looks at you with wide, fearful eyes, asking in a scared note, "Y-Y-Yes?"

Looking into her eyes, you then try to convince her, saying, "The only way for the plague to be here is if the legion had a presence here or the Cult of the Damned was here, and Celestia or Luna would have known of anything that malevolent being in your world."

Twilight then sighs in relief and relaxes, saying, "Thank you for telling me that, it makes me feel much better." Realizing what you called her, she narrows her eyes and blushes lightly, saying, "You better not call me that when anypony's around!"

You watch her gather her things and say, "My offer to you stands if you have trouble sleeping, come back when you feel ready to hear when things went from bad...to worse. However, it will take me a couple of weeks to gather up the courage to talk about it, though I think it would be wise to wait until after the holiday to continue where we left off."

She puts a few things into her saddlebags and then says, "Okay, I will make sure to come by and visit again until then, and do my best to get over the scary knowledge you just gave me."

As she heads for the door, you say, "I hope you have a good night's sleep, Twilight."

Twilight looks over her shoulder at you, saying, "I hope you do too, Arthas." then heads out the door thinking, 'When I get home, I'm going to scan all the food in the pantry for anything amiss. After that...I'll go check my friend's homes for anything wrong, once I do that...perhaps I'll check the rest of the town's food.'

After she leaves, you begin to recall what Spike told you two weeks ago and remember the coming season as you think, 'It would be rude of me to not have gifts for them this season...I wonder what I could get them, or perhaps I could even craft something.'

When Spike stops by one day later in the morning, he looks at you with a weary look, saying, "Twilight spent much of yesterday checking the food to ensure it was safe to eat, now she's going to each of her friends' places and checking theirs out. So how are you doing today?"

You sigh and shake your head at Twilight not listening to you and say, "Aside from really wanting out of here, I'm doing okay, though I do have a small task for you if you're willing to help me with it."

He smiles and hops from foot to foot eagerly, asking, "Okay, what do you want me to do, huh!? Huh!?"

You look at him and say, "Well, I would like to get started on some presents for my friends this season, so I would like to ask you to take a letter to Princess Celestia?"

Spike nods and hops up on a chair beside a table saying, "Alright, let me get ready." and pulls out a quill, paper, and inkwell from a small bag he carries on his shoulder then sets them out on a flat surface, saying, "Okay, I'm ready."

You smile and then say, "Don't write this but I want you to keep in mind that Princess Celestia will be annoyed with me and not you, okay?"

The young dragon nods and blinks, saying, "Okay, so what do you want me to write to Her Majesty?"

You take a breath, saying, "Dear Princess Flankstia, it is Blistering Blizzard here, and this is the first letter that I have ever written to you. I have heard from Spike about what holiday is coming up and I thought it would be rude not to get gifts for all my friends, therefore, I am humbly asking for some books regarding using spells to create and craft physical items as well as spell books about enchanting. I intend to have the staff here replace the cast so that I can return to my unicorn appearance and get a start on gifts for them. Your humble annoyance, Blistering Blizzard...and send that please."

Spike cocks his head and asks, "Are you sure it is okay for you to tease the princess like that?"

With a chuckle, you say, "If I was any other pony, most definitely not Spike. If you send that to her right away, I'll ensure you get a gift this year for Hearth's Warming too."

He smiles widely and jumps for joy, saying, "Alright!" then sends the letter to her in a puff of flame and excitedly hops from leg to leg, wondering what kind of present he will get.

The reply comes a half-hour later as you watch Spike unfold it and hear him read it aloud, saying, "To my royal humble annoyance, Blistering Blizzard, I have considered your request and was intrigued about what you might get me and my sister this year, so I shall send a few books to you through Spike. Some of these books are highly treasured and irreplaceable, so please treat them with utmost care and respect. Your greatly irritated friend, Princess CELESTIA."

Spike looks at you as you start chuckling and asks, "Well, you certainly annoyed her, so-" then suddenly belches out green flame.

You watch the flame roll out and coalesce into a large pile of at least 40 books that land at the foot of the bed with a dull thud and say, "Alright, now, could you go get a doctor and ask them to come here?"

When Spike returns with the doctor, you ask him if he could remove the cast so you can shift back into a unicorn. It takes some conversing, but you manage to convince him to remove it to let you shift so you can craft items for your friends without leaving the bed.

Once the cast is replaced, the doctor looks at you while shaking his head, saying, "That is the most unique thing I have ever seen, your body looked as if it became slightly skinnier and sprouted a horn." He then asks, "How did that feel for you when it happened?"

You chuckle and say, "Well, it feels like growing a new body part, the sensation of things growing throughout your body is like ants crawling under your skin. It feels just the same as it happens in reverse, believe me. Thank you for agreeing to my odd request."

The doctor nods his head, saying, "It isn't every day that a patient asks for the cast to be removed so they can change their body from being an Earth Pony to being a Unicorn, can you change gender also?"

Shaking your head, saying, "No, that I am not able to do, and I wouldn't do it if I could, it would just seem wrong and unnatural if I were to do that."

Understanding he nods saying, "I was only curious if you could do that as well, out of professional medical curiosity. With your cast out of the way, I shall let you return to recuperating, good day Blistering Blizzard." He then turns and heads out of the room.

You turn to Spike and then say, "I appreciate you coming by to chat Spike, perhaps you should get going back to help Twilight or Rarity? One of them might need your help, and I have quite a bit of studying to catch up on."

Spike nods with a smile on his face, saying excitedly as he hurries out the door, "I can't wait to see what I'll get! I hope that it is something fun and full of wonder!"

With a chuckle, you pull the first book over and begin to read it while studying the spells within it, thinking, 'If I'm going to get these all read and committed to my memory in time, I need to stay awake all night.'

It takes you a couple of weeks to get through the last book in the stack that Celestia sent you when you start to think up ideas for gifts to get the others, with the hardest being Twilight. You begin to make a list of what you will need for the first few gifts as you hear a cart being pushed toward the door and see a cart full of decorations pushed by a nurse, then hear a thump against the window. You turn to look and see that it was just a snowball hitting the window and see a young filly's face pop up apologizing for the stray snowball, putting a soft smile on your face while nodding your head to her before pulling the curtain closed slowly.

Spike makes his way through the corridor as he watches the hospital staff put up decorations for Hearth's Warming, eventually arriving at your room and knocking on the door, saying, "You awake Blistering Blizzard?"

Pulling the list back out, you say, "Great timing Spike, how have things been going over at Twilight's?"

He then says, "Great, Twilight finally stopped checking every pony's food supply yesterday. What's up?"

You look at him and say, "Well, I am almost finished with a list of things I will need for the gifts I plan to give for Hearth's Warming."

Spike smiles and nods, saying, "Okay, hand me the list and I will find everything you need."

A smile crosses your face as you say, "That is good to hear, I'll just write down a few small notes for each item to be clear about what I am looking for...and done." then hand it over to him saying, "Here you go, if anyone asks, tell them that I need them for the holiday."

The young dragon then nods, saying, "Okay, no problem." and looks over the list, then looks up, saying, "I'll find everything you need no problem!" He then hurries out the door to start the scavenger hunt.

After he leaves, you pull out another paper and close the door before writing, 'Greetings, Your Royal Majesty, I am writing this letter to you to request your aid in procuring an item that is fun and full of adventure for Spike. Cost is of no concern as I will reimburse you for the expense, please be sure to send the gift and a note of the cost via courier rather than through Spike. Awaiting your reply, Blistering Blizzard.'

When Spike returns a couple of hours later with everything on the list, he says, "Sorry it took me so long, I found it all within an hour but I had to help Twilight and Rarity with putting their decorations up."

You then grin and say, "It's alright Spike, now just set the small box up on the tray beside me so I can start working on it later. I have a letter for you to send to Celestia for me, when she responds I need you to hand the letter to me due to it being of a sensitive nature." then hand the scroll to him in your magic.

The young dragon takes the letter from your magic and sends it off with a puff of flame, saying, "Alright, is there anything that I can help you with?"

With a shake of your head, you say, "Nope, perhaps you could lend the staff here a hand in putting their decorations up, just make sure to bring her reply here before returning to helping them, alright?"

Spike then nods his head saying, "Sure thing."

Meanwhile, in Canterlot

Celestia is enjoying a rare day when she has nothing to do and is walking around the city, greeting the ponies that pause to greet and wave to her as she arrives at a shop that sells games. She heads inside to look around at what they have and looks at some card games before passing them by when she comes across some board games.

The shopkeeper comes out of the back room and is surprised to see Princess Celestia, of all ponies, in his shop and bows to her, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty. What brings you to my humble shop?"

She looks at him and smiles saying, "Please rise, I am here on an errand for an annoying friend of mine. Fortunately, we were both thinking of getting a gift for a mutual friend of ours. When he mentioned that our friend was wishing for something fun and full of adventure, I thought of getting him some kind of game. What do you recommend for a young, curious dragon?"

The portly shopkeeper straightens out and says, "Well, Your Majesty, if he is wishing for adventure and fun, there is a game that just came out. It is a turn-based fantasy game."

Princess Celestia listens to him tell her more about it, making her smile as she finds the perfect game for him, saying, "That sounds like just what he is looking for, I would like to purchase it."

As he takes the game over to the counter, he says, "Okay, Your Majesty, that will be 50 bits please."

She pulls the bits out and counts the amount, then sets the bits on the counter, saying, "Thank you so much."

The shopkeeper smiles and says, "No thank you, Your Majesty. Would you like me to wrap it for you or put it in a bag?"

Celestia thinks for a moment, saying, "I shall wrap it myself, but thank you for offering. A bag would be nice, and I do appreciate your thoughtfulness. I hope you have a wonderful Hearth's Warming this year."

He pulls out a tall bag and sets the game down into it, then sets it on the counter, saying, "Here you go, Your Majesty. I hope you have a happy Hearth's Warming as well."

She takes the bag with a smile and leaves the shop, feeling elated at finding something she knows Spike will enjoy, thinking, 'I'm glad that he mentioned what Spike was looking for, as I might have gotten him something else.'

When she returns to the castle, she puts the bag in her room and writes a reply before sending it off, asking herself out loud, "Now what kind of paper do I want to use and what bow..."

Back inside the Ponyville Hospital

You unroll the scroll as Spike goes back to helping the staff decorate, reading the letter to yourself silently, 'Greetings to you as well, Arthas, it is fortuitous that you caught me on a rare day when I was not busy and was thinking of getting some gifts for friends. I shall have this gift wrapped and brought to you when I am finished, make sure that you sign your name ABOVE mine as I had to acquire it for you. It is kind of you to offer to reimburse me for the expense, however, it is not necessary as I was already planning on a gift for Spike. I look forward to what kind of gift you shall be getting my sister and me for Hearth's Warming.'

As you smile briefly with one gift out of the way, you then make your way to the next one, saying, "One down, eight more to go." With gifts to get started on, you then pull one of the cleaned-out, empty frosting tubes out of the box and begin experimenting on trying to fill it with frost.

Time passes by as you try a few experiments first, managing to get all of the other gifts made except for two and hide them in the cabinet in the corner. When Rarity stands near the bed, you ask, "Since you are a mare with quite a discerning eye, perhaps you might lend your knowledge?"

Rarity bats her eyes at him, cocking her head curiously, and asks, "What would you ask from moi?"

You then say, "I'm trying to craft something just right with a spell, so would you tell me what you think of the quality and style?"

She then asks, "Alright, what do you need my judgment on?" and takes out her glasses to see really small details, then puts them on her face.

As you look at her wearing glasses, you then pull out a small box of icicle decorations you have been messing with and ask, "Those are the result of the first time I was casting a new spell I learned. I have a different idea in mind, but I was wondering what you thought of these before I discarded them."

Rarity looks down with wide, curious eyes at the box filled with icicles that twist and taper down to a rounded point and pulls one out, then looks it over with a great deal of scrutiny for a minute or two. When she finishes, she sets it aside and then says, "These are quite interesting, they are good quality glass and the design is eye-catching."

With a relaxed face, you ask, "So do you think they would be palace-worthy?"

She looks at you curiously and asks, "You mean, would they be worthy of decorating Canterlot Castle?"

You nod and say, "Yes."

Rarity smiles and shakes her head gently, saying, "Oh heavens no, darling. If they were to hang in Canterlot Castle, they would need to be made of crystal."

Looking at the box, you purse your lips together as you ask, "Are any in there that are crystal?"

She looks at the box and hums thoughtfully, saying, "I am not sure, let's find out." She then starts pulling them out one by one, making one pile for the glass ones and reserving a spot for the crystal ones.

You watch her go through all the icicles you made and chuckle at seeing just one large pile of short and long glass icicles, saying, "I think that one big pile means that they are all glass, correct?"

Rarity then nods her head saying, "Mhm, that they are. It might be a little more complicated for you to make crystal icicles due to high-quality crystal having a percentage of lead in it."

Cocking your head at hearing this bit of news, you then say, "Huh, I didn't know that fancy crystal contained a heavy metal like lead, which is quite surprising at how it is not good for one's health."

She then chuckles lightly, saying, "Oh don't worry darling, because there are other options such as barium, zinc, or even potassium oxide."

You then smirk and nod, saying, "Hmm...alright then, let's see if I can figure out how to make a high-class quality icicle." Closing your eyes to focus, you then concentrate on the spell you were using and find it much harder this time due to mixing another metal with the formula in your head. You hold the formula in your head and decide to switch from using zinc to a more common metal, picking silver instead.

Rarity watches with wide eyes as a twinkling drop appears in the air as Blistering Blizzard concentrates on the spell, observing how it begins to grow longer with a slight rippling effect as if two small trickles are hitting opposite sides of two angles and going through a hole. When the icicle is finished, she watches a small loop form at the top and blinks in disbelief saying, "Wow, now that is truly amazing, let's see if this is crystal."

You breathe hard for a few moments and hand her the newly made 6" icicle, asking, "So, what is the verdict?"

She taps her hoof against it lightly, liking the sound she hears. She then holds it in the light and turns it around, catching a bright sparkle in her eye that leaves a purple spot in her vision for a few moments. Having her decision made, she sets it down gently in a separate pile and looks at you with a neutral face, suddenly smiling widely as she says, "It's absolutely perfect to hang in Canterlot Castle!"

With a sigh, you smile and say, "That is great to hear, could you put the glass ones into the box? As a thank-you gift, why don't you just have a seat for a moment and close your eyes while I make it?"

Rarity smiles and lifts the pile of glass icicles off the bed and sets them all into the box, setting the shorter ones to one side. Picking up the new crystal one and setting it on the bed where the previous pile was, she then climbs up into the chair and closes her eyes.

As you close your eyes, you concentrate on channeling the spell again with the same formula as before. Taking your time, you make one crystal icicle after another of the same length, making 14 more before making ones that are 4 1/2 inches long.

She begins to slowly doze off when she hears you say her name and opens her eyes to see the bed empty and asks, "So what is the gift you wanted to give me, could it be a kiss for moi?"

You chuckle and keep the finished icicle set out of view, saying, "Perhaps next year, Lady Rarity, but I thought that since I can finally make nice enough decorations you might like to have these icicles you assisted me in making."

Rarity's eyes go wide as saucers at seeing icicles of three different lengths and that there are several of each one, making her almost prance in her chair as she looks up to him, asking, "Are you sure that you want me to have such nice icicles?"

Nodding your head, you say, "Yes I am sure, those loops at the top of the icicles are where the string goes through so you can hang it on a tree, dangle it just past an edge, or wherever you'd like." then set them on the bed saying, "If any break, just let me know and I can easily replace it."

She barely stops herself from squealing with delight and gets down off the chair, stopping beside the bed, saying, "Why thank you very much for this extraordinary gift, I shall treasure them for many years." then climbs partway onto the bed and kisses his cheek before pulling out a piece of red satin ribbon and bundling them together.

You look down at the others in the box and say, "Before you go, could you put the others in the hall and let the staff know that they can have them?"

Rarity nods and picks up the box and sets it outside against the wall beside the door, saying to a passing nurse, "Excuse me, but my friend wants the hospital to have the glass icicles he was making earlier with his magic."

The unicorn nurse heads over to the box and pulls one of the icicles out and gasps saying, "Oh they are so lovely, is he sure that he wants us to have these?"

She nods, saying, "He is because these are the results of the first time he was using a new spell he learned, and has another project in mind for the spell."

The nurse smiles and then pokes her head into the door, saying, "That is so thoughtful of you, sir! I will let the others know and find out where we can hang these, thank you very much!"

You look out the door and watch her pick up the box, saying to her, "You're welcome." When Rarity enters the room again, she wraps her icicles up in a chunk of cloth.

Rarity then looks at him and smiles, saying, "I'm glad that your front pasterns are no longer strained, though it really is a pity that you won't be out of the hospital until mid-January."

As you look up at her, you nod, saying, "So am I and it is, but at least I can close the window to block my view of the snow outside, which keeps my pesky memories from popping up so frequently and souring my mood. Who knows, maybe I might be able to enjoy this coming holiday. Thank you for stopping by, Lady Rarity."

She then picks up her precious gift, saying, "You are welcome, darling, and I greatly appreciate the lovely gift you've given me." then makes her way out of the room after kissing him on the cheek again.

When she leaves, you then wonder how you are going to accomplish making your next gift when you hear Twilight's voice in the hall as she talks to Rarity for a bit before walking into your room and grin at her, saying, "Just the mare that could assist me with my project, how are you doing Twilight?"

Twilight looks at him with a smile, saying, "I am good, I hear that you are thinking of making decorations for the Princess' Castle in Canterlot."

Rolling your eyes at how mare's talk about everything, you nip the potential for her to spill the beans to Celestia by saying, "Before I tell you what I need help with, I need you to Pinkie Promise me that you will keep the secret to yourself until after the 26th of December."

She groans and says, "Ugh, fine..." then begins the motions, saying unenthusiastically, "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." She then sets her hoof back down and looks at you with an annoyed, unimpressed expression on her face, saying, "Happy now?"

With a chuckle, you nod and say while closing the door behind her, "I am, what I need your assistance with is to hold up a small wire that has tiny gem pieces stuck to one end and a loop on the other, so that I can use a spell to try to encase it."

Twilight cocks her head curiously and asks, "Okay, what are you trying to encase it in?"

You smirk and pick up one piece from a small box beside the bed with a small, rounded piece of amber at the end, saying, "You will have to wait and find out after I finish the spell."

She huffs and takes hold of the piece of wire in her magic, watching him as he closes his eyes and concentrates on channeling a spell. When she notices a drop of water in the air around the middle of the wire, it mesmerizes her as she realizes that it isn't water at all when it grows wider and flattens out. As she observes lines forming in it, the shape refines into a shape she realizes is the sun and gasps in surprise when it is finished and begins to glow, saying, "Amazing! Just how did you get it to glow, and what spell was that?"

Thinking whether or not you should tell her, you shrug your shoulders and say, "It doesn't really have a name as I modified one that was used to create glass. Give it a gentle tap and look closer, it should be made out of a much higher-quality crystal using a formula I came up with. As for how it glows, I just channeled some of my magic into it. Could you check it to see how long it will keep its glow?"

Twilight's mind switches to scientific mode as she nods and lays the finished sun on the bed to scan it. She examines it thoroughly, using her magic, eyes, and hooves to scan or look over every inch of the glowing decoration. When she finishes looking it over, she then turns to him with shock on her face, saying, "It's a very, high-end crystal since it contains thirty percent silver with the detailed design you put into it, I confidently believe that the glow will last for at least two days before needing to be recharged. What really sets it over the top is the glittering, frosted appearance you gave it, if you wished to sell it you could get anywhere from fifty to seventy-five bits."

With a smile, you then say, "Good, can you tell me if there is a private room in the castle that has a fireplace and what measurement the lowest point is from the roof or supports?"

She nods her head, saying, "Yes there is, they have a personal living room that the princess and I used to spend Hearth's Warming together, I believe the lowest point from the ceiling is twelve feet... wait, no, it's fifteen feet."

You nod and pick up the box on the floor saying, "Alright, then let us keep going and make the rest.

Twilight smiles and says, "Okay, how many are you planning to make?"

With a grin, you pull another wire with a loop on one end and a light blue diamond on the other, then hand it to her, saying, "Just a hundred of three different types of decoration, then after that, you'll need to do some figuring of how long the string will need to be for a twelve-foot tree."

She blinks in disbelief for a few moments before her eye begins to twitch, saying, "Let's just get through making the decorations first, okay? Then we will move on to the next task."