There were few finer ways to honor the memory of Chancellor Puddinghead than by doing something you weren't supposed to do.

It was a small act of rebellion for Celestia and Luna today as the Hearth's Warming Day sun shined over them in the afternoon. They had set up a picnic at Sweet Apple Acres, perched underneath an apple tree in their winter scarves and hats with little snowflakes falling gently all around them as they looked out at the seemingly endless apple orchards up and down the hill.

They could have simply asked the Apples if they could set up here for their picnic. But that was no fun, was it?

A cold day like this demanded a warm drink, and the two sisters reasoned that Puddinghead, always adamant about celebrating a holiday the right way, would have wanted a seasonal drink. Eggnog, of course, was currently that seasonal drink in Equestria, but this was about tradition — and so the two sisters drank Posset, a milk beverage mixed with spiced wine that would have been more fitting for Puddinghead's time. This time, they did remember seats, so Celestia and Luna sat on two nice folding chairs as they enjoyed their holiday beverages.

"Did we have to use Pegasi Red again?" Luna whined. Despite this, she took a good sip of her beverage, and Celestia knew Luna enough to know that she was secretly enjoying her drink far more than she was letting on.

"Yes. I bought two bottles," Celestia teased. She took a sip of her own, floating the cup up to her lips, and she felt a wave of warmth across her body as she took it down. It was delicious, for her first try, and she was excited at the prospect of perfecting it for next year.

She looked out to those hills again — the red apples on the trees seemed to almost glow amid the snowy backdrop.

"Smart Cookie would have loved this place," Celestia mused. "No earth pony was connected to the soil like she was. She'd know exactly what makes these apples the best in the world."

"We'll have to have some drinks with her and the others next year," Luna said, turning to her. "Cookie, Clover, Pansy. There are so many stories to tell."

"Indeed there are," Celestia said. "I still remember when Twilight played Clover in a Hearth's Warming Paegent a while back. She wasn't half bad, you know. All of them embodied their roles well in some way, but my goodness... Pinkie Pie truly was Puddinghead. She looks just like him, too. I imagine they would have gotten along so well."

Luna let out a small chuckle. She brought her cup up to eye level and swirled it around, watching what remained of her Posset create a little vortex in her glass. Celestia looked at her with an eyebrow raised as Luna seemed to hypnotize herself with the action.

"You remember how he used to drink orange juice in our council meetings, way back when?" Luna asked. "He'd swirl it like a damned glass of wine. Put it in a goblet and everything. One time we went to brunch with all the girls when they visited Canterlot a few years ago, and Pinkie poured herself a glass of orange juice and did the exact same thing." Celestia's eyes widened, and she practically jumped as she replied.

"Yes! Oh, I was so mad at him whenever he did that," Celestia said, a grin of her own forming on her face. "He looked like a fool In front of so many important ambassadors and nobles and the other founders themselves." Luna stopped, bringing her glass back to her lips and taking another sip.

"He did," she replied. "But that was hardly the worst of it. Remember when he made his speech at our coronation upside-down? He said it gave him—"

"—A new perspective!" Celestia finished through laughter. "I was mortified!"

The two looked at each other. And like sisters often do, they both knew exactly what to do.

Quickly, they rose out of their chairs and repositioned themselves, putting their hooves up to the back of it and leaning over the front of them. Before long, the both of them were upside down, and Celestia and Luna couldn't help but note the beauty of the snow as it fell upward into their vision and the apple trees dangled above them like vines.

Celestia turned to look at Luna, and even with a flipped point of view, she remembered her that day — a silver crown on her head that seemed only just too big, her eyes wide as everypony arrived at the dias and sang their praises. They'd prepared endlessly before their coronation, but when the day finally came, Celestia had felt like her stomach had dropped out of her body when she'd woken up that moment. And the moment she saw Luna for the first time, she knew that she had felt just the same.

"...I was very nervous," Celestia finally said. "To be coronated. Of course I was. We were children." Luna was looking at her intently from her awkward angle, but Celestia hardly noticed.

"Every compliment or promise from everyone who spoke before us felt like a nail. We had been told for weeks and months and years that we were destined to be great, and then it was finally time to be great, and I felt like I had no idea what to do. How was I supposed to go up there, after what everyone had said about us? How was I supposed to be that pony?"

"And then Puddinghead came up to speak," Luna said, a grin infecting her visage. "And he did it upside down. Just like this."

"Chancellor Puddinghead," Celestia replied. "He was always very particular about his title. I feel as if we've been failing him today." Luna chuckled, and Celestia couldn't help but do it too. It felt like they were doing that a lot these past few days.

"I was, indeed, mortified. And then I laughed. And so did everypony else, and then suddenly, I wasn't so nervous anymore."

"He had a way of doing that," Luna replied. She didn't dare take a sip of her glass like this, but she knew it was almost empty. If that was not an indicator enough, she felt a certain airiness wash over her that only made her more sure it was time. Puddinghead would not have wanted them to waste too much time, she knew.

It was a challenge for both of them, and it should have been nigh impossible. They grabbed their glasses again with their magic and raised them up, but they had to keep in mind that they were upside down. Despite the odds, both of them managed to get it in front of their faces, and that infectious laughter won out yet again as they struggled to see the liquid in their glass fail to fall out when it looked like it should have.

And even as Celestia struggled, she slowly began twirling the glass again. Luna's eyes widened, clearly impressed by her sister's antics, and she started her attempt to do the same. It wasn't working as well as Celestia's — little droplets were already flying out of her goblet — but Puddinghead was no quitter, and she wouldn't be, either. She spoke, her voice moving up and down as she concentrated on the absurd task at hand.

"Chancellor, I... I think you're the one that held it all together, really," Luna started. "Plat and Hurricane could be... difficult. And sometimes, when it seemed like everything was falling apart, all it took was a joke or a prank to put it back together again. Things can seem hard, but sometimes... all it takes is a new perspective. Happy Hearth's Warming Day, Puddinghead."

And just as Luna's shaking glass was about to give way, they poured the rest out, letting the last remaining drops hit the snow. The Possett was almost the color of it, so it seemed to disappear once the last of it fell out, and immediately, the two sisters collapsed from their hanging positions, bellowing as they awkwardly slumped over.

The two didn't know how long they'd stood there, laughing. Even to this day, the mere thought of Puddinghead had the ability to do that.

After the two stood up (carefully) and brushed the snow and dirt from their fur, Celestia looked to Luna and nodded curtly. Puddinghead had been the last one to toast to, but there was still one more thing to do on a day like this. It was a tradition as old as the holiday itself, and it would complete the two's newer tradition wonderfully.

Quickly, Celestia used her magic to grab an object that had been propped up against their tree — a furled Equestrian flag attached to a poll. She brought it over to the two of them, hovering it right between them, and the flag unfurled with the slightest wind. The Equestrian flag was quite beautiful, Celestia thought — her and her sister, circling around their sun and moon. And without their old friends, it wouldn't have been possible.

A day or two from now, the Apple family would see this planted in their orchard and wonder how in the world it had gotten there. And Puddinghead would have appreciated that, too, Celestia knew.

"To Platinum, Hurricane and Puddinghead," Celestia declared. "And to this Hearth's Warming Season."

Luna walked over to her sister and wrapped a wing around her. And with a swift glow of her horn, Celestia stuck the flag into the snow.

Author's Note

Happy Holidays, everyone! I had some trouble wrangling this idea in a bit, so I hope you enjoy it.