“Pinkie! Would you hurry up and finish stuffing the turkey?” Applejack growled, balancing a large tray of apple and banana cream pies on top of her back. Without waiting for a response, she started her way to the dining hall. With the entire castle staff home for the holidays, she was left in charge of the desserts, leaving Pinkie Pie with the turkey.

Pinkie Pie grunted as she finished stuffing an apple into the chicken’s open mouth. The stores were fresh out of turkey, but Ponyville provided a decent substitute. Pinkie smiled and admired her handiwork. The chicken was adequately fed and ready for the oven.

Slipping on the mitts, and making a mental note to pair likes the ones the castle kitchens supplies which were really hot for oven mitts, she stuffed the whimpering chicken into the oven...

“Pinkie Pie! What are you doing?” Rainbow Dash slammed the kitchen door open and stormed toward the oven, her eyes narrowed and her wings pulsing. “Let her go!”

“What? I was just baking a turkey,” Pinkie Pie whimpered as she lifted the chicken from the oven and placed it on the counter with her mittened hooves. “Or, well, Ponyville was out of turkey so I had to settle for chicken when I was on the way so I went to find the best chicken in Ponyville and I found—”

“Yeah, whatever,” Rainbow Dash muttered through her teeth as she lifted a traumatized Scootaloo by the scruff of her neck. “Next time, you’re baking cupcakes.”

Rainbow Dash froze and cocked her head, Scootaloo still hanging limp in her teeth. Wait a minute, we don’t even eat meat…

“Hey Rainbow Dash, guess what?” Pinkie Pie zipped to Rainbow’s side in a blink of an eye. “Twilight’s about to open the cider!”

“...” Rainbow Dash disappeared in a rainbow blur, leaving nothing but a dust cloud resembling her behind.

“Phew,” Pinkie Pie sighed, now alone the kitchen, slumping to the ground as sweat beaded off her forehead. She rested her head against the counter and prayed to her lucky stars. “That was a close call! Next time I better ask Rainbow to join me in my cultist worship!” She traced a symbol on her chest and whispered, “Hail Hydra!”

Rainbow Dash, still carrying Scootaloo like her own, dashed through the dark castle halls, weaving between suits of armor and resisting the urge to hit full speed with a foal in tow. She zoomed past Applejack in a blur, upsetting the platter’s balance and nearly spilling the high stack of pies onto the dungeon floor. Rainbow Dash hardly noticed and kept going her merry way, leaving Applejack to her graceful balancing dance.

Banking to avoid a fallen suit of armor, Rainbow Dash’s feathers detected a slight draft from the end of the hall. Seeing nothing but wall fifty paces ahead, Rainbow tapped the armor’s helmet and accelerated. With perfect timing, the false wall rotated on an axis, allowing Rainbow Dash to squeeze up through the shortcut and into the throne room.

Flapping her wings and hovering overhead, Rainbow Dash dipped her head to reunite Scootaloo with her grounded friends. Rainbow drifted ahead, providing assistance to Fluttershy and the two unicorns lifting a royal banner. With a fourth helper, the throne room’s last decoration was simple to hang up.

The four stepped back and admired the restored banner, courtesy of Rarity. The Castle of the Two Sisters was nearly completely restored, just in time for the celebration of—

“You know, what are we even celebrating anyway?” Rainbow Dash said as she planted her four hooves on the floor, trotting toward Twilight. “It’s not even Hearth’s Warming Eve. It’s just really, really cold.”

“But darling!” Rarity stepped to Rainbow’s side and wrapped a foreleg around her shoulders, waving the other before their eyes and toward the banner. “Think about it! The two princesses themselves have invited us, and us alone, to a get-together to celebrate a long-forgotten holiday! No bumbling guards, no dastardly princes, and no evil tyrant out to destroy everything we hold dear!”

“Yeah, I guess that’s cool—”

Rarity pressed her cheek against Rainbow, eliciting a tiny squeak. “Imagine: nothing separates us from the winter’s chilled talons of ice save for the castle walls, a simple enchanted fire, and cuddling with the princesses! Oh my gosh, I can’t wait to sleep in Princess Celestia’s mane! Legend tells that it feels likes a cloud, and tucks in twice as warm!”

The room fell silent as three pairs of eyes fell upon Rarity.

Rainbow Dash stepped away and scratched her mane, chuckling with the slightest hesitation. “Er… Rarity, is there something we should know?” she probed, trying to discretely shove her outstretched wings back to her side. Rarity scratched her chin and considered the question, but merely answered with a shake of her head.

“Alright girls, we’re almost ready!” Twilight said as she inspected her levitating checklist, making sure to check it twice. “Let’s see… ready decorations, check. Prepare food, check. Fangirl over princesses,” –Twilight glared at the non-fangirling pegasi– “check, but with room for improvement. Anyway, now all we have to do is set up the tree. Hey Rarity, how’s the fire?”

“Just fine, darling!” Rarity called as she lowered her horn, stoking the makeshift fireplace set up just between the two thrones’ staircases. The flames flare up, barely catching a lock of Rarity’s fabulous mane. With a giggle and a puff of air, the tiny flame was quickly put out.

The four, finally free from an afternoon of setting up their castle away from the castle, took their positions in front of the fireplace and lay on their sides. Fluttershy rested her head on Rainbow’s belly and closed her eyes; Twilight tried mirroring her on Rarity, but bumped horns with her and shifted away with flushed cheeks.

From the kitchen there arose just enough of a clatter to turn the heads of the three conscious mares, for the fourth was asleep and snoring—albeit as soft as a kitten. Applejack entered the throne room of the ancient castle, sweating as the focus on balance took its mental toll. Seeing her in turmoil to preserve their beloved pies, none of Applejack’s friends made any effort to provide assistance or carry any of the burden.

Grumbling about “buckin’ ingrates,” Applejack trotted ever so carefully to the group, nearly stumbling on a forgotten rock with nopony offering a hoof yet again, and laid the platter next to Rarity. Rainbow Dash tried to stretch a foreleg forward to nab an Apple pie, only for Applejack to stomp on it with slightly more gusto than she intended.

“I wonder when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will get here,” Twilight said as she turned her head to and fro as she looked up to the windows, searching for the tell-tale wing flaps of the majestic ponies.

Applejack sighed, rolling her shoulders to ease the stress out of them. She rested her neck against Rarity’s tush—much to Rarity’s chagrin—and tipped her hat. “I dunno, but dem pies aren’t going anywhere but colder. I don’t think Princess Celestia is—”

“And Princess Luna,” Twilight said with a blank stare, chilling Applejack’s bones as she stared into the magenta abyss.

“Er, yes, and Princess Luna. Both princesses, of who rule this land. They, er, won’t miss a couple pies goin’ missing or nothing. Right, girls?”

“Yeah!”

Each of the girls, except for Rainbow Dash—nursing her hoof—and the napping Fluttershy, nabbed an entire pie for themselves and dug in. Twilight ate bite after bite, Applejack shoved her face in and ate like a madmare, and Rarity nibbled a crumb before declaring her daily calorie limit as her stomach rumbled.

“Ya know, I have a feelin’ we’re missin’ somethin,’” Applejack said with her mouth full of Apple pie, splattering bits of red and bread onto Rarity’s body.

“Perhaps, but it’s certainly not me!” Rarity growled as her horn glowed to rid herself of Apple waste on her waist.

Twilight rubbed her chin as hoofsteps reverberated through the castle halls. A pink shadow entered through the door as Twilight’s mind whirred, trying to solve the puzzle of Applejack’s musing. Something was missing from their friendly gathering with the princesses, something important.

“I have a feeling it’s someone close to us,” Twilight muttered to herself, though the entire group heard her.

“Nowhere near as awesome as us, but almost as cool!”

“Not the brightest bulb, but he certainly is the toughest critter I’ve seen!”

“May not have any in the barn, but I’d recognize a reptile anywhere.”

“Oh yeah, it’s—”

“GUMMY!” Pinkie Pie shouted as confetti exploded out of her party cannon, tossing and catching Gummy repeatedly as she fell onto her back. Once she settled down, she joined the group by the fire. She giggled and hugged her pet alligator close, cuddling with him as she purred. “Oh Gummy, I love you so much! I would never forget you, being so close to my heart!”

Twilight’s eyes widened as it dawned on her, what was missing from their holiday get-together with the princesses. “Oh no, we forgot—”

“The princesses!” Rarity and Twilight screamed together as two alicorn princesses descended from high above, landing before the sextet gathering by the warm fire. Princess Celestia wore a pink knitted sweater courtesy of Ponyville’s number one—and only—fashionista; Princess Luna was wearing a black t-shirt with I am the night! in white letters.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight cried as she stood up to hug her mentor. She drew her head from the recesses of Princess Celestia’s fur and turned to Luna. “Princess Luna!”

Princess Celestia chuckled as she felt the tell-tale tug on her ethereal. Rarity lay, camouflaged, on her back to play with it. Twilight, thankfully, was too preoccupied with showering Luna with affection to notice. Hee hee, our little secret—Ouch, watch the scalp!

Once the other four had their greetings exchanged, the two princesses took their places and lay down; Princess Celestia took her place beside Twilight, Princess Luna beside Applejack to score extra pies. One princess had her priorities straight.

“So, Princess Celestia, however did you manage to take leave of Canterlot for an entire weekend?” Twilight said as her hooves fidgeted, vaguely wondering why she sounded like an expositional device. Of course, her mentor interrupted her before her existential thoughts continued.

Princess Celestia chuckled and said, “Well, first of all… every servant and staff is off on holiday! At least, most of them. As for dodging the guard, well… I called in a favor.”

Her thoughts briefly turned to the blackmail favor she coerced out of a particular changeling queen after discovering her midnight raid on the castle’s… fridge.

Mmm… banana cream pie… Princess Celestia resisted the urge to drool over Twilight, mostly in fear of how well she would take it. She shook her head and snapped out of her stupor.

“Well, it looks like our gathering is complete!” Princess Celestia chuckled and lifted a wing, covering Twilight as the other four whipped out their blankets and snuggled in. “Perhaps now I shall share the tale I called the gathering for, a tale nearly lost to history that my dear sister has saved from oblivion.”

“Sister…” Luna whispered, tapping the ground with her wingtip to grab Celestia’s attention.

“You see, this is a story about a greedy little pony named E—”

“SISTER!” Luna flared out her wings, startling the group. Celestia shook her head and laid her gaze on Luna,  who was scanning the chamber with her gaze. Luna did another once-over to confirm her suspicions before returning her eyes to Celestia’s.

“What is it, dear sister?” Princess Celestia cocked her head as Twilight looked up from her rested position. The four exchanged glances, but nopony said a word.

Luna scratched her chin. “Where is Sir Spike?”

Meanwhile, at the library…

“Cowboys. That makes three of a kind,” Spike muttered as he leaned forward to rake in the winnings. The four losers groaned as he counted his bits, ensuring the pot was enough to satisfy even a gambling hippy. He glanced out the window, only to see a solid white wall of snow courtesy the blistering blizzard. Five players and high-stakes poker was the only thing separating everyone from a boring holiday.

“I say, Sir Spike, your shark playstyle is quite unsettling,” Discord said with a shudder. Why anypony would play Equus Hold ‘Em with him was the question of the hour, but Spike could care less at the moment. The draconequus consider cheating on multiple occasions, but the power of Spike’s skills and his visor was too much for his chaotic magic.

Angel, being a rabbit and therefore speechless, had nothing to say and settled with pounding the table with a fist. He chewed on his carrot like a cigar as he wore his visor with gambler’s pride.

Apple Bloom, being the only foal of the group, growled but held her tongue. Her participation was morally questionable at best, but as long as she kept the bits rolling in, her sister wouldn’t complain.

The ghost of Sombra sighed as he fiddled with his shrinking pile of bits, wondering how in Equestria Spike managed to rake in a monster pile with such speed.

“Looks like I have just enough for an entire month’s worth of comics,” Spike said as he flipped the last bit with his thumb back onto the pile. Gloating was bad sportsmanship, but it certainly ate away at Discord’s—who need practice with his poker face—confidence.

“Hey, Spike?” Apple Bloom said as she bit into an orange, something her sister would absolutely ground her for if ever caught. “Not that Ah mind or nothin’, but who’s the dead guy?”

“Oh, some dead tyrant that died,” Spike shrugged as he bit into a bit to ensure it was genuine. “Oh, and he’s here to warn me about my future or something.”

“Oh yeah!” Sombra slammed the table with his hoof, which went completely through instead of slamming because he’s a ghost on the ethereal plane and therefore should be incapable of interacting with physical objects. “Yeah, there was something… Oh yeah! Strike of midnight, get three ghosts about being an ass and stuff. Holiday spirit, all that jazz. Okay, can we play another round?”

Apple Bloom blinked and shook her head. The four returned to their poker game, having nothing to do with the blizzard blocking any exit from the library. Except for Discord, of course, but it wasn’t like he was going to do them any favors with his shrinking pile of bits.

Then a single book fell from its shelf.