A Villain Gets A Second Chance

After raising the moon and lowering the sun from the balcony attached to the private relaxation quarters, Celestia and Luna head inside to see what she received for Hearth's Warming. As Luna carefully moves the box closer, she carefully pulls the nails from the lid and sets them with the others. Using her magic to cut the ribbon like her sister did, she lifts the lid and sets it aside by the other lid. She then looks inside the box to see it full of straw and lifts the booklet sitting on top of the straw from the crate, seeing a rough illustration of ornaments on a string above another illustration that looks like a sun.

Celestia looks at the box as her sister begins to read her letter aloud, "Greetings, Your Majesty, the gifts inside this box are quite delicate indeed, as they are made from a custom formula I came up with for crystal. The ornaments hanging on the silver wire and string have a gem fragment inside each of them that has been enchanted to store magic and glow, all you need to do is fill the gems and pull the magic out when you want to get them to stop glowing. I had a little help from Rarity with getting their predecessor, a crystal icicle, just right, and rewarded her with the ones I made. The first failed attempt resulted in glass icicles, which I donated to the hospital. Twilight and Spike had a small part in the creation of these, Spike gathered the materials I asked him to go find and I had Twilight hold the silver wire up. After we made the decorations, I came up with the idea of making a tree to last a long time. When finished altering the tree and used my magic to make the branches re-attachable, Twilight and I nearly forgot about needing to make a string for the decorations, correction...lights to hang on. So we had to reassemble the tree for Twilight to gauge how much string we needed, which she acquired from Rarity. We then put the finishing touches on the string and hung it...ow...Twilight put the finishing touches on it, then had me wrap the lights around the tree as she charged the gems. There are extra lights in the box if one should break, if you should need replacements, all you have to do is ask me to make more. Just so you know, Twilight spoke with the doctor and managed to get him to let me come home with Twilight...ow...to stay at her place during the holiday. Spike made us supper as we were working on the tree, but accidentally gave us Spiked Apple Cider instead of Spiced Apple Cider which resulted in us sleeping together. WILL YOU STOP LEAVING OUT IMPORTANT DETAILS, WE GOT DRUNK AND SLEPT NEXT TO EACH OTHER! NOTHING ELSE HAPPENED EXCEPT FOR US MAKING OUT UNCONSCIOUSLY WHEN WE WERE AFFECTED BY THE ALCOHOL! When Twilight woke up the next morning with a massive hangover, I convinced her to go back to sleep with an affectionate kiss. We both woke up close to noon to the smell of Spike making us a hearty breakfast and wobbled our way to the table together, using each other to walk properly. By the way, I'm whispering this part to the quill I cast a come-to-life spell on, so it writes whatever it hears. Now let's return to the story, after we enjoyed breakfast, I made a concoction to cure our hangovers. When I drank mine and advised Twilight to drink hers quickly without smelling it first, I was near Spike and turned around. I then took a couple of steps away and shifted my tail aside, and gassed him. He then started laughing but then tried to speak and passed out from the smell. However, what is truly funny is what happened after Twilight drank hers down-DON'T YOU DARE TELL THE PRINCESS THAT I TRIED TO BE QUIET WHICH RESULTED IN MAKING A SOUND SO HIGH-PITCHED IT SHATTERED GLASS! Don't worry...I won't. Happy Hearth's Warming Princess Luna and Celestia from Arthas and Twilight!"

Luna hears her sister fall off the couch laughing and smirks saying, "It certainly seems that things are getting cozier between those two."

She slowly gets her laughing under control and returns to the couch saying with a chuckle, "They most certainly are, sister. Shall we begin decorating our tree?"

The younger sister nods and starts moving the straw aside, finding a silver string with delicate crystal lights on it in the shape of Snowflakes, her sister's cutie mark with a smiling face on either side, and her own cutie mark bearing a half-face with closed eyes as if sleeping. As she continues to pull the string of lights out of the box slowly, she says, "These are so lovely, aren't they Cece?"

Celestia looks at the detail in each crystal light, saying, "They are quite exquisite, Arthas was quite generous to use up so much magic to create these. It must not have been easy, I am sure that he must have had to use most of what he had stored in Spellmourne." She then watches her sister pull the whole string out and lay it carefully on the floor, then search around in the box to find the other decoration. When Luna finds it and pulls it out, both sisters gasp at what they see as Celestia says, "Wow, that is astonishing. He created a snowflake with a sun and moon above a group of ponies."

Luna notices something different about it and pulls it closer, gasping as she says, "Look closer, Cece, we are in it too. I'm sitting in the crescent moon, looking down at the sleeping pegasus. You are standing inside the sun, looking down with a smile at the awake unicorn and earth pony."

She looks closer and sees it too, bringing a smile to her face as she sees another, darker symbolism there, thinking, 'I'm sure that he didn't mean to put it in there, though I wish that he could learn to forgive himself for it.' She then says, "He did a marvelous job at making this decoration, the stem at the bottom implies that this decoration goes on the top of the tree and the strings below are for securing it to the top."

The younger sister looks at her with a happy smile and says, "Let's make room somewhere for the tree and decorate it like we used to as fillies."

Celestia nods her head with a wide smile, saying, "I would be so happy to do that with you, sister, and remember the happy days we had together."

The two move the two boxes aside and then carefully move the lights and tree topper to a safe spot before moving the furniture around to clear a corner, deciding on having the couch in front of the fireplace with the tree to the left of it near the corner. They make sure to leave enough room so that they can get around the tree to hang the lights and other decorations later, then begin to move the lights into place around the tree. When they finish, the two sisters work together to fill the gems with as much mana as they can hold, then move on to charging each of the gems in the tree topper.

As Luna moves the topper into place, she watches her sister wrap each string around the tree three times before tying it together in a bow at the back. When she finishes, she tests to see if it is secure by moving it side to side and back and forth. Seeing that it doesn't slide hardly, she sighs with relief at knowing that it is secure, releasing her hold on it to let it stand there above the tree, saying with tears in her eyes, "This is going to be such a beautiful memory to us both, sister." She then cuddles against her sister's side, preparing to go on patrol saying, "I'm going to do my patrol in the dream realm from here for a few nights."

She looks at her younger sister and wraps a wing around her, chuckling before saying, "I will be by your side each night as well, but don't forget that you still need to tell me what happened between you and Arthas at the Gala."

The younger sister nods and chuckles saying, "Very well, I was on a patrol of the Dream Realm when a guard knocked on the door and notified me of having a pony wishing to speak to me about some matter..."

After hearing what happened, she looks at her younger sister aghast, saying, "I can't believe you got into the kiss and returned the chewed-up apple into his mouth with your tongue, and then stole the slice sticking out of his pocket."

Luna smirks and says, "He pulled a fast one on me, so I got back at him for stealing a kiss. Did you know that several mares in Canterlot and Ponyville are dreaming about him? He is the one that the mares are hot to trot over, and for good reason too. Fortunately, they have no clue how good of a kisser he is, and I have been coming up with an idea to get back at him for always messing with you so much."

Celestia cocks her head and asks, "Oh? What might this plan be, Lulu?"

The younger sister then smiles deviously and says, "For now, it involves a season that is coming up in a few months and a game, that is all I have so far."

She tries to put the clues together when her eyes go wide with a salacious smile following it, asking, "You're talking about...that time...aren't you? Tell me when you finish thinking up your plan so we can get ready to put it into motion."

Luna closes her eyes and prepares to enter the dream realm, saying, "I am, and most certainly will keep you informed, Cece. It really was thoughtful of Arthas to give these precious gifts to us, we will have to see if we can find our old ornaments." She then sighs and says, "Though I wish that he was a little more careful in designing the snowflake..."

Celestia says, "I know I moved them here somewhere after our fight, I will have to have the staff check the storage rooms." Then asks her curiously, "What do you mean by that, Lulu?"

A sad smile appears on her face as she keeps her eyes closed, saying, "I'm sure it wasn't a conscious thought when he was designing it, but if you look very closely at the crystal towards the outside, you can see numerous crosses in neat rows within the crystal's frosted design."

She sighs as well and nods, saying, "You mean the graves? I saw them when we were charging the numerous gem fragments, I wonder what he feels so guilty about that caused his subconscious to interfere with the design?"

Luna then says, "We will find out why after the new year starts, I am sure. At least we can learn a bit about where he came from in the papers at the bottom of my box. Now, I must begin my patrol Cece." and slips into the dream realm.

A few days pass as the sisters spend each night together in front of the fire and by the tree, having found their old ornaments and putting them on the tall tree. They spend time reading through the piles telling them about Azeroth, when they finally finish it as Celestia says in exasperation, "And here I thought that Equestrian politics were a headache...UGH!"

Luna then giggles and agrees with her sister saying, "I feel the same way, I never thought that a place could have such a complicated structure compared to ours."

Hearth's Warming Eve, in Ponyville

You hobble your way toward Sweet Apple Acres and see a line of ponies at the gates and see a sign by the fence reading, 'Sleigh rides three bits per pony, two bits for a couple, and one per foal. Please stand in line and wait your turn.' You then go around the line, hearing a few protests that the line starts back there, and say, "I'm not here for the sleigh ride just yet, only here to give a present to a friend."

Applejack returns from her turn pulling the sleigh, looking up to see you heading her way, and looks over to her brother, asking, "Big Mac, think ya can take over for a moment so ah can talk to my friend?"

Big Mac then nods and heads over, saying, "Eeyup." then takes her place and waits for the sleigh to fill up before taking off.

When you and Applejack stand by the house to talk, you look at her, saying, "Happy Hearth's Warming, Applejack. I just wanted to swing by to give you the Hearth's Warming gift I brought for you and the others can enjoy." You then reach inside your saddlebags and pull out a small, flat box a bit bigger than your hoof wrapped in striped red, yellow, and green paper with a small, golden bow saying, "Here you go, Applejack, I hope that it brings you all luck."

She takes the gift with a smile and sets it on her back, saying, "Come on inside, ah have one for ya too."

Following her toward the door, you tap the snow off your hooves and then head in saying, "I see you and Big Mac are busy with the sleigh rides and are busier than ever."

Applejack brings her present out from where she hid it and hands it to you, saying with a grin, "Yep, everypony loves our sleigh rides, perhaps you and Twilight might even like to take one together." then wiggles her eyebrows suggestively before changing the topic, saying, "I hope you enjoy the gift and have a happy Hearth's Warming too, Blizzard. You're always welcome at Sweet Apple Acres, so stop by anytime."

You then turn and follow her out of the house, suspecting that she is thinking that you and Twilight are a thing. You shake your head with a smile, saying, "Thank you for the gift, Applejack, I will be sure to remember that." then put the box wrapped in green paper covered in gold, red, and silver horseshoes topped with a pretty red bow inside your saddlebags, and head back into town to find Pinkie before she goes to her parent's farm.

As you knock on the door to Sugar Cube Corner, Pinkie opens the door and swiftly pulls you inside with a crushing hug. You tap her on the shoulder with your right leg, saying, "Hello Pinks, ease up on the strength if you would mind. I'm still wearing a cast you know?"

Pinkie Pie then grins and hops back, saying with a giggle, "Right! Silly me! You came by just in time for me to give you my present!"

You smirk as she vanishes behind a counter and pulls out a box barely small enough to fit inside your saddlebags, noticing that it is wrapped in Pink and white swirling stripes paper with candy canes and other sugary treat images on it and pull out your gift for her saying, "I know how you like sweets, so here is something that you can use for whatever you wish."

She squeals with delight and zips right over, puts his gift in his saddlebag, then quickly snatches the red and white striped candy box with a pink bow on top. In a flash she tears into the gift box to find three tubes of frosting with snowflakes drawn all over each one, then looks up at him, asking, "What flavor are these?"

With a chuckle, you say, "They have no flavor but it is edible. They are just empty tubes that Spike got from you that I filled with ice magic, which you can use to put a thin layer of frost on many different things, such as food, furniture, windows. The layer will also help to chill the food until it fades away after a half hou-" but are cut off by Pinkie Pie pressing her mouth to yours and shoving her tongue into your mouth.

Overjoyed at the present she got, her tongue delves to the back of your throat and wraps around your tongue while her hair wraps itself around your neck and pulls you further against her mouth.

Feeling yourself getting overpowered by her, you fight back for dominance and manage to drive her up against the wall, pinning her back to it while your tongue roams around the inside of her mouth. You pull your tongue back after finding traces of frosting tucked between her cheeks and pull it into your mouth, then start to chew it when you discover it isn't frosting at all.

Pinkie pulls away with a heated blush on her cheeks as her tail wraps itself around his back leg, saying, "Um...can I have my gum back, pretty please?" and bats her eyes at him prettily.

You chuckle and nod, saying, "So that's what this spicy flavor is, try to take it." then press your mouth back against hers and try to drive your tongue to the back of her throat when she moans into your mouth.

She battles him with her tongue as she fights her body's growing desire, finally succeeding in getting her cinnamon-flavored gum back and jerks back exclaiming triumphantly, "AHAH!" She then shows him the small ball of gum between her teeth for a moment before pulling it back into her mouth, saying breathlessly, "That sure was some kiss, if I was a normal mare, I would have fainted from it!"

Unknown to you, a hungry pair of eyes observe you from around the corner as the owner of the shop bites her lip, thinking, 'Wow, what a kiss! I shall get what I want this coming season...'

When you back away and let Pinkie back to the ground, her mane uncoils from your neck as she trots around you and stops next to you.

Pinkie looks over her shoulder at him and says, "I hope you have a very enjoyable and tasty Hearth's Warming!" She then trots away from him but is stopped in her tracks as her tail catches on something and looks back, with a giggle, she says, "No silly tail, we can't take him with us to our parent's home." When her tail tightens its grip around his tail, she sighs saying, "Well because he has other places to go today, besides, we haven't gotten to know each other too well yet!"

You look at her tail as it seemingly goes limp and falls towards the floor as if sighing and shake your head at the weirdness of it, saying, "Happy Hearth's Warming to you too, Pinkie. I hope that you like your gift."

She smiles and says, "I absopositutely loved it!" then starts to trot towards the door as she picks up the gift she got and puts it into her mane. Trotting for the door, she then says, "See you in a week or two! OH! Make sure to tell Twilight that the wrapping, box, and bow containing your presents are also edible!" With a skip in her step and seeing stars in her eyes still, she hums a happy tune as she exits the shop.

As you see her flat tail's end fluff back up, then lift up and touch the top part, it reminds you of how a girl would blow you a kiss and ask yourself, 'Wait...did her tail...just...blow me a kiss goodbye?' Shaking your head, you tell yourself, 'No, don't even chase that thought down the rabbit hole like Twilight did. I have presents to give to the rest of the girls, I'm going to give Rainbow hers next, then Rarity followed by Fluttershy, and last but not least, Twilight and then Spike.'

When you head back outside, you look up to the sky and call out, "Rainbow, you around?"

Rainbow flies down from the cloud she was lounging on and hovers in front of you asking, "Yeah, what's up?"

You look at the pegasus, saying, "Oh not much, I have a Hearth's Warming present for you."

She lands on the ground and cocks her head curiously and asks, "What is it, is it awesome?"

Pulling the tall blue box with a bow matching her mane and tail colors, you shrug your shoulders and say, "I am not sure what you would consider awesome, so you will just have to find out whenever it is you open the presents you get for Hearth's Warming."

Rainbow grabs it with her wings when it is moved in front of her and says, "I normally open presents on the twenty-fourth after watching the Canterlot play retelling the story of the founding of Equestria." She then rubs the back of her head with her hoof and says, I actually have a present to give you too. I'll take this back to my house and go get it real quick." and tucks the gift into her bag under her wing before taking off for her home like a shot.

You watch her race off and chuckle, when she returns with a box in her hooves roughly the same size and wrapped in blue paper with a white bow stuck to the top of it and say jokingly, "Welcome back Dash, enjoy the scenery on your way here?"

She blows a raspberry at him and holds out his present, saying, "Pfff, no!"

Taking the gift from her, you chuckle and say, "Happy Hearth's Warming, speed demon."

Rainbow then snickers and says, "Happy Hearth's Warming to you too, Blizzard. If it isn't awesome, I'm going to pelt you in the head with a snowball!"

You watch her fly off and say, "If you do that, I'm going to hit you right back!" then make your way over to Rarity's boutique to give her the present you made.

After arriving at Rarity's shop and home, you knock on the door to hear Rarity's voice say, "Coming!"

When Rarity gets to the door, she opens it and smiles at seeing her friend at the door saying, "Come in, darling, come in!"

You enter her home when she steps aside, saying, "Hello Lady Rarity, I stopped by to give you your Hearth's Warming present."

She looks at you with a happy smile, saying, "Oh how thoughtful of you! I also have one for you, let me go get it for you."

Rarity then turns and heads to a closet hidden behind a curtain and pulls out a box covered in silver and white diamond-patterned paper with a sparkling magenta bow, then closes the door and heads over to you saying, "Happy Hearth's Warming, darling, I hope you enjoy what I crocheted for you."

You set her present on the ground gently and smile, saying, "Why thank you so much for your generosity, it is much appreciated. I hope you like mine just as much as I am sure to like yours."

She stops in front of you and lets you take her present from her magic, then picks hers up saying, "I can't wait to open it tonight when Sweetie Belle and I exchange presents."

Looking around, you see all the icicles hanging from ledges on the ceilings and say, "Those icicles look great, Lady Rarity, especially the small glowing light string a little above them."

Rarity beams a cheerful smile as her pride gets a boost, saying, "Sweetie Belle put up the small hooks for them to hang from as well as the white garland lights above them."

You lean forward and kiss her cheek, saying, "I shall see you some other time, Lady Rarity."

A light blush colors her cheeks as she beams saying, "Til we meet again, monsieur."

With one more place to go, you head outside and make your way to Fluttershy's cottage. When you arrive there, Angel answers the door in Fluttershy's place, tapping his foot in irritation and say, "I know I haven't been by much, but mind if I come in?"

Angel then grunts in annoyance and hops away from the door, then heads to his bed to get a nap.

You enter Fluttershy's home and close the door behind you, calling out, "Fluttershy, it's Blistering Blizzard, and I've come to see how you are doing. Are you okay?"

Hearing the familiar voice draws her out from underneath her bed and flies downstairs, then wraps her front legs around your neck and heads over to the couch with her lips smushed over yours in a needy kiss.

When you hear Fluttershy sob and lie on top of your belly, softly shifting forward and back, you put your right hoof over her neck and hold her against you and deepen the kiss for a little bit before parting to ask, "You really must have missed me being around to cuddle you."

Fluttershy nods and says, "I did, I missed you even more since I overheard you talking in your sleep at the hospital a little over a week ago. Even in my sleep, I have to wake myself up when I start to dream about what your final words were before you died. I-I can't stand not feeling alone anymore without you here, and it may be wrong to want this...but I would like to feel you with me if only for just one time." Seeing you starting to turn away, she uses her hooves to turn your head back to her and continues, "I know you don't want to be in a relationship, but I need somepony to help me through this because it is tearing me apart inside keeping this to myself."

You see the pain in her eyes clear as the sun in the sky as she continues grinding against you slowly, moving your right hoof to her cheek and wipe away a tear threatening to spill down her kind, soft face and sigh saying, "I hear you loud and clear, Fluttershy, but sharing your first time with me just wouldn't solve anything. It would only hurt you more in the end, I do understand now that you need help getting over this. So when you go to sleep tonight, go ahead and let Luna know you need help and talk to her about what is affecting you. I would say go to Twilight, but you can't because she doesn't know anything about my regrets or what I did when I had no soul and was evil, you know far more than her in that regard. Luna is the best one I can recommend to help you deal with what little you know. So lay your head on me and let your tears flow, I shall hold you until you fall asleep. I do have a gift for you though, but my saddlebags are on the floor where you grabbed me."

She buries her head into his neck and lets herself wail out her feelings, speaking incoherently as she tries to apologize for being so weak.

Caressing the back of her head with your right hoof, you shush her and say, "Nopony could have handled what you know any better, Flutters, there's no need to apologize for having a heart of gold like you do. That is what makes you special because you care so much about others, don't let anything change who you are deep down."

It takes a half-hour for Fluttershy to cry herself to sleep as she lies on top of you, sleeping soundly for the first time in several weeks. Picking her up carefully with your magic, you crawl off of the couch and land on the floor on your left side. Hissing in pain at your leg being jostled, you look around to see and frowning brown bear looking you in the eye and say, "I'm sorry for hurting her Harry, but I really wish I didn't talk in my sleep. I am not the right person to help her through her pain because I am still struggling to come to grips with my dark past, can you stay with her until I can get word to Luna that she needs help dealing?"

Harry nods gruffly and smiles very slightly at the stallion who hurt Fluttershy and clearly cares for her as a friend, then heads over by the couch and lies down with his head on the couch next to Fluttershy.

You make your way to a table, then pull out Fluttershy's gift and set it on it. Taking out some gifts you got for the small assortment of animals still here with Fluttershy, you set them on the table for her to hand out later. With nothing else to do, you make your way to the door when you feel something thump your right leg rapidly, looking down to see that it is Angel Bunny who is pointing at something. Looking up in the direction, you see a couple birds carrying a small box toward you and look down at Angel asking gently, "Is that her Hearth's Warming gift for me?"

Angel crosses his arms and nods his head up and down twice while thumping his foot on the floor as his way of saying, 'Yes it is, so take it before I thump you on the head.'

With a soft chuckle, you take the box with your magic, saying softly, "Thank you all for making sure to give this to me." then put it into your saddlebags before heading out the door.

Versa watches you intently from her dimension as the stress on your soul grows due to what has been happening to your friend without you even knowing about it, preparing to try to fight to stabilize your soul and keep it from shattering completely.

As you walk away from Fluttershy's cottage, you look up to see the sun near the horizon. Turning left after the bridge, you walk along the outskirts of Ponyville while your guilt rises up and slowly tries to overwhelm you. You fight back against the guilt, but find yourself losing ground as the sound of Fluttershy's wailing cries echo in your ears and the sight of the tears streaming down her face.

Versa watches another crack appear in your soul from her dimension and quickly uses her magic to try to stabilize it from damaging the undamaged half of your soul, saying exasperatedly, "You are really testing my patience now, you know that, you stubborn fool!?!"

Credits for this video belong to the one who made it, I am just borrowing a wordless instrumental version to write my own lyrics

It takes a few moments of walking that does nothing to help ease your guilt before you start to hear music play as a blizzard slowly starts and find yourself singing once more, saying, "The snow blows wild in the world tonight, not a pony in my sight. A stranger to friendship, but it seems they want to be. My past is haunting me each time I close my eyes, couldn't keep it closed...even in my sleep. Can't let them know, they should not see, how bad my past is from all they could think. Ignore, be cold. They should not know, they are too weak. Let me go, let me go! You can't handle my past horrors. Let me go, let me go!"

As you head into town, the blizzard gets worse as you continue, "Walk away, then close that door! Don't need friends for what I have to do, yet I will move on. This world doesn't compare to what I've known. I really should get moving, they might realize my plan. I won't let my past burden them, won't tell them what I've done. I must learn what my limits are, to be as fierce like I once was. No spell, no law, can stop me now. I'm a new me, let me go, let me go! I'm moving on and you should too. Let me go, let me go! I can't bear to see you cry, my place is on the outside. They can make more friends. My special talent lies under this very earth, I have no ambition for raising undead whatever. Bad deeds could make me the villain once again, there's no turning back, leave the past behind me. Let me go, let me go! Your friendship can't save me at all, let me go, let me go! The golden prince is gone, all that's left are tattered remains. So just let me go, you could never rescue me anyway."

Versa watches closely as the fractured half of your soul slowly begins to darken, causing her to wonder, 'Now what's happening with this idiot's soul?!'

Finding yourself at Twilight's home, you knock on the door when Twilight answers it and ushers you in out of the cold blizzard, brushing the snow out of your mane, tail, and coat, saying to her, "You don't need to worry about me catching a cold, Twilight. I've lived in places that make this feel like summer."

Not wanting to hear it, she huffs and says, "You don't need to act so tough around me, you can get sick just as easily as we can this time of year. Now come over here and have a cup of cocoa before it stops steaming."

You follow her to the table where Spike has poured you a cup, saying, "Thank you, Spike." Grabbing a piece of paper, you then bring over a quill and inkwell and start writing a letter to Luna.

Spike smiles and says, "No problem dude."

After drinking your cup down, you finish the letter and fold it in two places before writing Luna's name on the front, you then have Spike send it to Celestia. The three of you then sit by the tree which has presents underneath it as you say to them, "Pinkie told me to inform you that the box, ribbon, and paper around the gifts she gave you both are edible."

Spike then chuckles along with Twilight and says, "We know already, she told us earlier when she gave them to us."

You then chuckle saying, "Okay then, how about Twilight goes first, then you, Spike, and I'll hand my presents out last. When they are handed out, we will open them together." When they both agree to the idea happily, you watch as Twilight goes first and hands Spike the present she got for him, then hands one to you as well. When Spike's turn comes up, he hands a small box to you and a present to Twilight. As it is your turn, you pull out one present and hand it to Spike first, saying, "Happy Hearth's Warming Spike, hope you like it." With one last present to go, you hand the last one to Twilight, saying, "Happy Hearth's Warming Twilight, I hope you like it."

With the last present handed out, Twilight and Spike smile, saying, "Happy Hearth's Warming!" and then unwrap their presents

As you unwrap your first one, you hear Spike say, "Wow, the next copy of Daring Doo!? Thanks, Twilight!"

When you hold the monocle in your magic and look it over, you chuckle at it, saying, "Thank you, Spike, now I have something to make me look like a noble."

Twilight gets one of hers unwrapped and turns to Spike saying, "The Theory of Magic Relativity, thank you, Spike. I haven't read this before."

Spike gets his last gift open and gasps with delight at what he sees, saying, "WOAH, OGRES AND OUBLIETTES!? AWESOME! I've been waiting for a chance to get this, I can't wait to find somepony to play it with!"

You then look up from your gift from Twilight and say to Spike, "I never had the patience to play board games, so you will have to look elsewhere, Spike." Shifting your gaze to her, you lean over to her saying, "Thank you for the picture with every one of our friends in it, Twilight."

She looks at the beautiful glass star tree topper with frost patterns over the front of it, then holds it close to her chest, saying, "Thank you for the star, Blizzard." She then leans forward and kisses him on the lips for a few moments.

A bit later, you and Twilight cuddle with each other as Spike is nose-deep into reading the information about the new game he got when Twilight whispers, "Since Spike is most likely going to fall asleep down here with how into O&O he is...would you...want to spend the night in my bed?"

Knowing you heard her gulp nervously, you nuzzle her cheek and say, "I am truly flattered that you want to share something so special with me, but you should save yourself for your special someone."

Twilight's face flushes crimson as he misunderstands her intention and stammers a little, saying, "Uh-uhm...I-I didn't mean...that sort of thing. I only meant so that you don't suffer from nightmares and you can have a soft place to sleep, I don't mind sleeping on the floor sometimes but it does get uncomfortable after a while."

You then smile and chuckle, saying, "I know, I was only messing with you." which earns you a soft nudge in the ribs followed by her calling you a jerk. Sighing, you say, "You go on up and I'll be up when Spike gets to sleep."

She leans over and kisses your cheek, saying, "I look forward to sleeping in my bed after staying by your side after so many days in a row."

As you watch her get off the couch while brushing her tail against you lightly, she makes her way upstairs and closes the door behind her. Waiting for the right moment, you open the gifts the girls gave you for Hearth's Warming. You smirk at seeing what they have given you, a box of sugar cookies with a chocolate star on top from Fluttershy, a knitted scarf from Rarity, six red and white peppermint cupcakes from Pinkie, a cloud shaped like a pegasus from Rainbow, a jar of something called Zap Apple Jam from Applejack, a phoenix feather quill from Celestia, and an inkwell that never runs out of ink from Luna. Putting them all into your saddlebags, you eat the box, ribbon, and wrapping from Pinkie's gift before moving on to eating the cupcakes which leaves you with a full stomach. Cleaning up the pile of wrapping paper, you then turn to Spike and say, "I'm going to go for a small walk through town and enjoy the falling snow for a bit."

With his nose still buried in the book that came with Ogres and Oubliettes, he looks up briefly with a nod, saying, "Alright, bundle up because it is cold out there."

You then chuckle and say, "Don't worry, I have Rarity's scarf she gave me for Hearth's Warming if I need it. See you later, Spike."

After you head out the door, you close it softly behind you although the wind and snow are trying to blow the door shut when Chilly emerges from your body and dances around in the snow, asking her, "It has been a while since I last saw you, going to meet with your sister?"

Chilly then nods her head saying, "Mhm, but I'm going to spend a little time with my family. Now that I think about it, it is kind of funny how we celebrate Hearth's Warming in our own way."

Cocking your head curiously, you ask, "How do you celebrate Hearth's Warming?"

The windigo-pony giggles and says, "Well we call it Hearth's Freezing, and we dart through the towns at night and ice the roads over so that ponies slip and slide around. And we also enjoy making metal objects super cold so that the pony foolish enough to lick it gets their tongue stuck." She then floats up to his face and kisses him saying, "Well, I need to get going now, I'll be back sometime after Heart's and Hooves Day. See ya!" then zips off for her home in the Frozen North.

You shake your head, amused at the antics they get up to as you make your way out of town toward where you know Canterlot to be on the map. When you are outside of town, you look up and into the blizzard still howling around you but only see a tiny, light pink glow in the sky saying, "That must be the fire of friendship that Twilight told me about, which means I need to head in that direction to get to Canterlot."

Versa realizes what you are trying to do from her dimension and growls, saying, "Oh no you don't, you stubborn fool. I won't let you run away from what is good for you..."

In Canterlot, a couple hours later in Princess Celestia's dream

Princess Celestia tosses in her sleep as she dreams of being in a nasty blizzard somewhere in Equestria, looking around for any sign of where she is but is unable to see anything clearly. When there is a very brief lull in the raging blizzard, she catches a glimpse of somepony in the distance when it picks back up and starts fighting her way through the storm, trying to reach them. It takes her a little while as she tries unsuccessfully to use her magic to shield herself from the weather, but she does finally reach them and gasps at seeing you trudging through flank-deep snow. She opens her mouth and calls out, "What in Tartarus are you doing out here?!"

You then stop and turn around, not seeing her there but look in the direction of Ponyville, saying, "Goodbye girls." before looking forward and continuing.

She sees a light pink glow flash briefly into existence from the edge of her vision and looks up to see it appear again when she suddenly opens her eyes and sits up with a gasp, realizing that it wasn't a dream but a vision and hastily grabs her quill, inkwell, and a paper to write a hasty message to her student.

Back in Ponyville, at Twilight's library

Spike wakes up with a belch and rubs his eyes before looking around the room to see that you are gone, finding a scroll with a large, gray ring beside it lying in front of him. Picking up the scroll and ring, he sees it is from Celestia and runs up to Twilight's room so he can give them to her.

Feeling somepony shaking her, she wakes with a start and turns around asking, "Arthas, what's wrong?" when she realizes it is Spike carrying a letter and a magic nullifying ring from Princess Celestia and says, "What is this all about?" As she opens the letter and reads it, she gasps moments later and jumps out of bed, saying, "Bundle up Spike, we need to get the others!"

Putting on warm clothing, he asks, "What's going on?"

Twilight wraps her scarf around her neck tightly and puts her saddlebags on saying, "It's Arthas, he took off into the blizzard and Celestia needs us to find him."

When the two of them open the door, Spike jumps at seeing a snow pony standing right by the door saying, "It's an abominable snow monster!"

Pinkie laughs and shakes the snow off her body saying, "I'm not a monster, I'm a pony!"

Twilight heads outside and closes the door behind her and Spike, asking over the howling wind, "What are you doing back in Ponyville?!"

She then says, "I was about to go to sleep when I suddenly got a pinchy knee and raced back here as fast as I could to see what was wrong!"

The unicorn then looks at her saying, "It's Blizzard. We need to get the other girls together and I will tell you all the rest at the library, okay?"

Pinkie nods her head saying, "Okie dokie loki! I'll get Fluttershy and Applejack!"

Twilight then nods and says, "I will go get Rainbow and Rarity!"

Rainbow then lands next to Twilight, asking over the blizzard, "Get me for what?"

The unicorn then cries out in surprise, saying, "YAH! Rainbow, don't startle a pony like that!"

She then snickers and asks, "Sorry, so what's the deal?"

Twilight then says, "It's about Blizzard, but I will tell you all the rest when the others are at the library."

Rainbow then salutes saying, "Alright then, I'll go get Applejack and bring her here since the farm's out of town." then takes off to go get her friend.

When Applejack heads downstairs after hearing incessant banging on the door, she says to Applebloom and Big Mac, "Ah got it, ya get back to sleep." As she reaches the door, she pulls it open with a frown on her face to see Rainbow outside in a howling blizzard.

Rainbow hurries in and helps Applejack push the door closed, saying, "Blizzard's in trouble, we need to get to the library pronto."

Grabbing her hat off the hook, she puts a rope around her neck and dresses up in warm clothes, saying, "Alright, let's go see what is the matter."

After everyone gathers at the library, Twilight looks at her friends and says, "I'm glad that you all came so quickly, I received a letter from Princess Celestia that informed me that she had a vision of being lost in a bad snowstorm when she found Blistering Blizzard trudging through deep snow without warm clothing and saw him look back saying 'Goodbye girls.' He then kept walking away when she looked up at a light pink glow that briefly appeared in the sky, then she woke up so that is all we know. She has tasked us with finding him and slipping a magic null ring over his horn and bringing him back to find out why he is trying to leave us behind. Thankfully, I have an idea as to where he is heading because of that pink flash. I told him the tale of the founding of Equestria, which leads me to believe that he is heading to Canterlot for some reason."

Rarity looks at Twilight and asks, "You're thinking that flash is the fire of friendship, right darling?"

Fluttershy growls under her breath, saying, "Let's get going girls, when we find that stubborn stallion, let's all give him a piece of our minds!"

Hearing them all agree wholeheartedly, Applejack looks to Winona and says, "Glad ah brought ya along girl, time to track that stallion down!"

Winona barks happily and trots to the door, waiting to be let out to start tracking him down. When she is let out, she begins to sniff for his scent. Finding it moments later, she barks a couple of times and walks through the snow to the right with the others behind her.