Skyward stepped out of the portal, shaking herself and checking her satchel, which was near bursting at the seams. She nodded, seeing that her purchases had survived the journey, and she turned to face the portal…

“Skyward! Skyward!”

The Haylian mare turned at the sound of her name to see Applejack coming up to her, and cocked her head at her friend. The blond farmpony cantered up to her, and blinked, peering closely at her before scratching her head with one hoof.

“Uhh…what happened t’ ya armor, sugarcube?”

Skyward blinked, then laughed. “Oh, this? The Goron Ponies gave one this…this was mine ancestor’s Goron Armor. They were keeping this throughout the ages, and upgraded it for one since one is a unicorn…it wast a welcome boon indeed considering what one faced in the Crater Mines.”

Applejack blew out a breath, examining Skyward’s new armor. “Wow. Now, I ain’t no blacksmith but that…hooo-weee, that’s some quality work! Oh, crabapples; Ah almost forgot t’ tell ya; Shinin’ Armor an’ the Crystal Empire Army are gonna be here soon! He’s tryin’ t’ stall ‘em, but…”

Skyward cut loose with a string of rich curses in Haylian, glancing around frantically. “Din’s swollen teats; then we hath a big problem. Time is running out and one cannot close the portal until we deal with that,” she growled, pointing with one crimson clad hoof towards the Snaffle crates. Applejack followed her hoof’s direction and blinked. “So, they were doin’ it for gems all along?”

The bluesteel unicorn shook her head, bringing over a purple Snaffle in her magic and showing it to her. “These art not gems, Applejack; this, is mine world’s currency. Where ye of Equestria use Bits, we use Snaffles, and they mimic gems to only a degree. In mine world that what thou see there (she waved a hoof at the crates containing the money) would likely equal a fourth of the Hayrulean Royal Vault.”

The orange farmpony’s mouth fell open at the piles of Snaffles she could see inside the broken crate, and then at the others. “Holy horseapples—ye’re gonna need help gittin’ all that int’ th’ portal! Ah’m gonna go git th’ others—ya hang tight now!”

“Hurry, kin-sister, hurry!” Skyward shouted after the orange mare as Applejack took off like a shot back towards the others. Skyward glanced around before she looked at the crates…the ones filled with diamond quartz. An idea struck her, and she planted her hooves, focusing her horn as silver light surrounded it. She pried off the lid of one, checked the contents—this one was full of diamond quartz. She focused on the payload inside and levitated some of it, throwing it through the portal proper…

The clatter of hooves behind her told her that Applejack had brought the other mares in record time, Twilight speaking up as she approached her Haylian friend. “Skyward, Applejack said you needed help—uhhh…what are you doing?”

“One shalt explain Twilight, but right now, one needs all of thou to do the same! We must get those Snaffles gone before thine royal sibling and his army arrives!”

“Snaff-whuh…?” Twilight Sparkle asked with confusion, and Applejack pointed over to where the busted crate was.

“Here’s th’ short version, Twi. See all that spillin’ out o’ that crate? That there, it ain’t gems, that’s money from Skyward’s world, but th’ dumb dogs don’ know t’ tell th’ difference. If yer brother arrives with th’ others before we can get rid o’ it, there’s gonna be a heap o’ questions we can’t answer, plus yer brother’ll git int’ trouble fer hidin’ secrets even though it’s a direct order from th’ Princesses!”

“Then let’s get this party started, everypony!” Rainbow Dash shouted, and the other mares agreed with her.

Skyward and Twilight Sparkle focused on emptying some of the crates, throwing the quartz through the portal as Skyward directed. Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, using some empty gem baskets they had found in the chamber as well, were levitating/dumping Snaffles into the empty crates—there were three large crates to fill. Applejack and Pinkie Pie shoved the first crate by the portal, and went to help the other mares fill a second crate.

Skyward focused on the Snaffle crates that were not broken, levitating them over to the portal and shoving them through; Twilight Sparkle nudged her, getting the Haylian unicorn’s attention.

“Skyward, are you sure you want to throw some of this in there? What about Ganondorf?”

But Skyward just grinned at her. “The Goron Ponies art on the other side; they will eat what we throw through, so hath no fear of this getting into enemy hooves!”

“Wait wait wait wait wait! They eat this stuff? You mean they eat ROCKS?” Pinkie Pie asked from where she was helping to fill a second crate, and Skyward nodded. “They eat nothing else, Pinkie! They really like this type of stone! And it wilt be a boon to them because that red-maned son of a hydra almost obliterated their food sources,” came the reply.

Three, four, five crates floated through the portal—as a sixth was being filled, a thought struck the Haylian mare and she turned to Twilight Sparkle.

“Twilight, dost thou hath a quill and parchment on thee?”

Twilight produced the items in question from her saddlebags: Skyward thanked the lavender unicorn mare before she began writing rapidly in Haylian on the parchment. She rolled it up and used a sticking spell to place it on the last crate before she, Twilight Sparkle, and Rarity levitated it through the portal….

“Whoa! Hurry it up y’all, they’re a-comin’!” Applejack hollered from the cavern’s pathway that led to the outside. Skyward swiftly yanked out the Harp of Ages—the chords of the Sonata of Sealing echoed in the cavern as the portal began to slowly close, the vortex of energy vanishing just as the seven mares heard the falling hoofsteps of many, many ponies coming down the tunnel…

******************************************

Boss Daruna blinked when a smatter of stone rained over his head, and looked up to see showers of diamond quartz arcing through the portal, drizzling over his feasting people, and grinned—the Heroine of Time was a generous soul indeed! He also saw that seven large crates, one by one, were also coming through the portal—he noticed the last one had a note pinned to it. He glanced around to make sure nopony was looking before he picked it off and unrolled it to read it:

“Boss Daruna:

One hopes thou and thine wilt enjoy thine feast for some time to come. But in these crates, one begs thee to find a secure place to hide them. These crates contain a fortune in Snaffles—likely from the Hayrulean Royal Treasury, and the Evil One wast using them to ‘pay’ his minions.

May the Goddesses bless thou all.”

There was no signature, but even as the portal began to shrink and close, Daruna nodded to himself and glanced at the crates, throwing the note into a brazier close by. He watched as it crinkled up and turned to ash, and he prodded the coals to make sure the note was destroyed before he turned and hollered over his stony shoulder.

“Tuck! Roll! Aruk! Get yer crags over here, boys! Move these crates to Din’s Vault, on th’ double!”

************************************
As Shining Armor directed his guards to destroy the rest of the diamond quartz, Cadence coming over to the seven mares and one dragon, who bowed at her approach. The Princess of Love shook her head at them gently before she glanced around and leaned in.

"I take it everything went well?"

Twilight Sparkle nodded at Cadence. "Skyward was able to close the portal before BBBFF showed up with backup. But what are you doing here, Cadence?"

The ruler of the Crystal Empire shook back her purple, pink and golden mane and clicked a gold hoof-cup covered hoof against the floor. "Since it is clear they are massing for war and have been gathering supplies for weapons, Twilight: I as ruler of the Crystal Empire need to pass judgment--we will not suffer their presence any further."

"Will th' Princesses be comin' with reinforcements?" Applejack wanted to know, and Cadence shook her head as Shining Armor came up beside her. "Shiny and I discussed this earlier--unless things get severely out of hoof we shouldn't need any aid from Canterlot..."

"Captain Armor! Captain Armor, sir!"

A harried looking earth pony soldier ran up, all but prostrating himself at his liege lord's hooves. Shining Armor nodded at him, a unicorn soldier coming over to support the panting stallion.

"At ease, Razor Crag; what are you doing all the way out here?"

The tan coated and white maned Earth Pony's sides heaved as he coughed, then looked at his leader. "The damn Diamond Dogs attacked while you were gone, sir...we fought them off, but...but they..."

"What? They what, soldier, spit it out, stallion!"

"They took three fillies: Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are their names; they captured them as prisoners and intend to use them as ransom, sir! Try as we might none of us could get near them: those bucking mutts burrowed into the ground faster than a dragon with the silicone shits!"

Rarity's scream of grief, mingled with Applejack's cry of anger and Rainbow Dash spitting curses filled the air; Twilight Sparkle gasped, one hoof to her mouth in shock--Fluttershy swayed on her hooves, looking terrified, and Pinkie's eyes were wider than dinner plates, her mouth literally falling open to hit the rocky floor of the cavern. Skyward’s eyes went instantly to slits; the Haylian unicorn turned and began walking right out of the cavern, a deadly look in her eyes.

The lavender unicorn spotted Skyward making for the cavern's mouth. “Skyward! Where are you going?”

“Where else, Twilight…to rescue Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo before anything happens to those three precious fillies.”

The scowl on the Haylian mare’s face was terrifying enough to frighten a hydra as she brought out her sword and tested its edge, then began sharpening it, the sound of the whetstone she was using echoing in the cave's mouth. “Those Goddesses-damned mutts hath gone too far this time,” she snarled.

“Skyward, are you planning on going in alone?” Cadence asked, and the bluesteel unicorn turned to look at the Princess of Love and shook her head. “Nay, not this time—one will need aid to distract most of the dogs so one can get inside, and one would be a damn foal to try and stop mine friends from coming with me. Ye do not mess with one’s kith and kin…to do so is a death sentence.”

Shining Armor grimly nodded at the Haylian unicorn. “We’ll have the army keep most of them busy while you and the others go in and get the girls. This is the last straw—they have gone too far this time. They will be exiled out of the Empire after this.”

“And what art thine orders if they resist?”

The cold look in the Prince of the Crystal Empire’s eyes was all the answer Skyward needed. She saluted him, tested the edge of her sword once again, before she turned and ran out of the first cave, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash rushed after her in a flying spectrum of color.

“Let’s just hope they can get to the girls in time,” Cadence murmured worriedly, and Shining Armor put a foreleg around his wife’s shoulders briefly before the two rulers began running after the group of furious mares plus one smoke breathing baby dragon.

“So do I. Come on; we have to rally the troops and launch an emergency assault on the Diamond Dogs main caverns.”

*******************************

The rising sound of rumbling thunder should’ve warned the Diamond Dogs that trouble was on its way, but this far out in the Crystal Empire, one could’ve mistaken it for snow thunder, or perhaps an avalanche happened close by.

But the noise only grew louder, because this avalanche consisted of the wrath of seven enraged mares and one fire breathing purple and emerald baby dragon; Shining Armor not far behind with a battalion of pegasi, unicorn and earth pony Crystal Empire soldiers, which began turning off to the left to attack the main caverns, as more Diamond Dogs began pouring out of the confines of their caves, going in that direction. The Diamond Dogs remaining didn't look too concerned until they spotted the group of infuriated mares at the forefront and a torrent of emerald flame arcing in their direction from the perch on Twilight Sparkle's back.

The flames engulfed the first few dogs, who ran away yelping and howling, rolling around to put out the hot flames Spike was spewing from his mouth. Skyward teleported forward about thirty five feet from the others: with an enraged roar, the bluesteel unicorn lit her horn—white lightning erupted from the tip, arcing into the sky before exploding in all directions. The Diamond Dogs within range were flash fried on the spot, fur igniting, blood boiling, smoke rising into the air, some of them jerking around like puppets on cut strings. Two even exploded from the massive amount of magical voltage arcing through their systems, a rain of burned fur and flesh falling from the sky, a terrible smell filling the air—the smell of death and war.

The snarling and barking increased—the seven mares closed ranks, horns igniting, wings fluffing, hooves pawing the ground. Twilight reared backwards and fired off a magenta blast that slammed into another Diamond Dog…Rarity’s horn burned with a pale azure aura, only she was picking them up and throwing them aside into the ground, onto rock edges…

Rainbow Dash shot down, scooping one of them up to drop them right into another cluster of Diamond Dogs. Fluttershy giving a group of dogs the most frightening Stare she could muster, which sent them running off, tails between their legs. Pinkie Pie’s cannon kept squeak-booming, confetti flying through the air as Diamond Dogs recoiled from the noise and the blasts spewing sticky cake icing all over them…

Applejack’s powerful legs drove vicious blows into any unlucky Diamond Dog that was dumb enough to try to get close, and Spike spewed blast after blast of dragonfire, keeping them off of their flanks. The orange Earth Pony mare had seen two armored dogs vanish into a particular tunnel, and yelled to Skyward, gesturing to it. The Haylian mare shield-bashed another dog trying to jump on her and bolted for the tunnel entrance just as more Diamond Dogs boiled out of the ground below the mares, Twilight igniting her horn to levitate them out of reach as Spike blasted dragonfire onto the attackers below.

Applejack turned her head to look at Skyward, who had stopped at the entrance to the prison tunnel, ready to jump in if they needed help. The orange Earth Pony mare swiped at the air with one hoof at her.

“Skyward, keep goin’! We’ll hold ‘em here! Go git ‘em!”

Skyward nodded sharply at Applejack and she took off down the tunnel, keeping her senses primed. A Diamond Dog came around the corner, having heard the hoofbeats…and Skyward slammed into him with a clanking WHUD. They rolled on the floor, fighting for dominance—the Diamond Dog was trying to bite her, yanking at her mane—Skyward snarled in pain and lashed out with a harsh kick with her hind legs, throwing him clean off of her. She got up and ran over to him to where he lay prone; before he could get up, she reared up and slammed her hooves down hard, pinning him to the earth.

“Where art they,” she hissed down at the terrified Diamond Dog under her hooves.

“What? Don’t know…don’t know what shiny pony means…”

But Skyward was in no mood for nonsense and she roared in his face like an angry dragon: if she could spit fire, she would have been at that point. “THOU KNOWEST BUCKING WELL WHO ONE SPEAKS OF, YE WRETCHED MANGY GUTTER MONGREL! WHERE ART THE THREE FILLIES THOU FOALNAPPED?!”

Since she was muzzle to snout with the Diamond Dog, he tried to bite her, but Skyward blocked his strike and sliced off his head in one swift movement. The head rolled across the floor, the body slumping down like a ragdoll, spewing blood everywhere as the furious Haylian pony turned to glare murderously at the rest of the dogs; a few had come into the chamber while she had been fighting with the first one.

“Answer me or more of thou wilt suffer the same fate!” Skyward shouted, slamming one armored hoof onto the ground with a powerful crack, and the dogs cowered, whining and shivering. Seeing they were too scared to even speak, Skyward hauled one up and aimed her sword at his chest. “Thou. Thou shalt bring us to them. And if thou tries anything…”

She lit her horn and blasted a small boulder to molten shards…the scent of hot urine filled the air as the frightened Diamond Dog led her to the area where they were keeping the fillies.

Apple Bloom was the first to see Skyward from their rock spire cage as the angry unicorn mare stormed into the room with her prisoner—the guards brought up their spears, but the Diamond Dog shook his head frantically.

“Shiny ponies angry, this one very very angry! Let little ponies go now, let go let go now!”

Skyward jabbed him with the tip of her sword, royal blue eyes burning with barely restrained rage. The guards scrambled to release the fillies—the three of them ran out of their cage to Skyward and huddled around her legs.

“Skyward!”

“Oh, are we glad to see you…”

“Where’s the others?”

Skyward looked compassionately down at them; but her rage hadn’t cooled by any means. They were dirty and tired---their hooves were bruised and covered with small cuts. And she was certain they hadn’t been fed. She wanted to nuzzle them in comfort, but with so many enemies close by, she knew she could offer little comfort now.

“One shalt take thee to them, mine little ones. Come, let us go home. Lead us out, ye foul beast—and no tricks,” Skyward hissed, shoving the Diamond Dog sharply.

Once they were outside, a sobbing Rarity rushed over to scoop up Sweetie Belle, while a relieved Rainbow Dash all but divebombed Scootaloo, and a tearful Applejack gathered Apple Bloom into her forelegs. Skyward smiled at the sight; after all the blood and pain and tears, this is what made it worthwhile.

But her smile faded when she heard canine noises of distress behind her, and she turned around to see the Diamond Dogs attempting to slink away—trying to avoid the judgment of the Crystal Empire, whom they had invaded and violated time and time again.

But no more.

A vicious glare settled into her eyes as Skyward unsheathed her sword and charged at the groups of Diamond Dogs with a bestial roar; the dogs, faced with a pony that had conquered so many of them, broke ranks and fled, howling and yelping as they bolted. Some of them tripped and fell over themselves, only to scrabble to their paws and run on all fours. Skyward continued to give chase, shouting and blasting bolts of silver light at their flanks to herd them towards the general direction of the border.

“LEAVE THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE AND NEVER RETURN! IF ANY OF THOU DARES TO SHOW THINE MUZZLES HERE AGAIN, REST ASSURED IT WILT BE THINE LAST!” Skyward bellowed after the escaping dogs, shooting a few more bolts after the running mongrels, stinging two of them in the rump. She slammed her hoof against the rock before she glanced at her blood-stained sword and sighed. Conjuring a water spell, she cleaned it off, dried it, then flipped and sheathed the blade with a ‘click’ before she turned…

And blinked at the three openmouthed fillies and the stunned Mane 6, who were staring at her with huge eyes.

“…What?”

Scootaloo summed it up for all of them in one sentence. “That was…epic,” the little magenta maned pegasus whispered.

Skyward broke out laughing and shook her head at them wryly as Shining Armor cantered up with a couple of pegasi guards at his back. “Okay, everypony. Let’s wrap this up and get back to the palace—tonight’s Hearth Warming Eve, and I want everypony back in time to celebrate with their families.”

Murmurs of agreement were exchanged—a large group of guards split off to make sure the Diamond Dogs had left the Crystal Empire proper, while the rest of them began the journey towards the lights of the city in the distance, as Celestia lowered her sun to prepare for Hearth’s Warming Eve proper. Tiny flakes of snow began to fall from the skies, laughter and singing echoing from the Crystal Imperial City, beckoning the weary ponies home.

****************

Four hours later when they returned, the living room area was aglow with lights, banners and ribbons adorning every pillar, hanging from every ledge, garlands of pine and holly draped tastefully in sweeping bunches. A huge table laden with cakes and treats, pitchers of cider, wine and milk, platters of cheese and bread, and delectable looking dishes was close by, and a huge Hearth’s Warming tree was waiting to be decorated, presents under the tree, waiting to be unwrapped the next day. The large fireplace was filled with crystal pine logs, the flames snapping and crackling merrily.

Twilight nudged her Haylian friend while the others wandered towards the tree. “I know you didn’t have time to get anypony anything, Skyward…did you want to go out shopping before the stores close for the night?”

Skyward glanced at the others before she leaned in to whisper to the other unicorn, who leaned in to hear what she had to say. “Actually…I do have gifts as well for all of thou…I had time to do a little shopping at home before I returned.”

Twilight’s eyes widened, first in shock, then in glee. “R-really? Are they from…?”

Skyward nodded, and the lavender unicorn squealed, clapping her hooves in delight. “Ohhh this is going to be great! Wait—was it safe to…”

“Aye, it was safe. One made sure of that—there are also gifts for the little ones as well, if that is all right?”

“No way! You got presents for us too?”

The two mares started and turned their heads to see Scootaloo behind them, magenta eyes wide and holding a walnut brownie in one hoof, a wide, hopeful grin on her face.

Skyward turned and playfully gave Scootaloo a nudge, making the little pegasus foal giggle. “One did indeed bring gifts for all three of thou; if thou wants them?”

Apple Bloom squealed, hopping into the air with excitement. “We sure as sugar do!”

Sweetie Belle ran over to give Skyward a hug, which was returned. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! Umm…do we get to open them now?”

Skyward laughed, giving the ivory unicorn filly a gentle nuzzle. “Of course thou can open them now, if that is all right with thine kinsfolk. Thou see, in Hayrule, we open our gifts on Midwinter Eve, not the next day. The next day is filled with feasting, tournaments and is a day meant for fun.”

Receiving eager nods from the other ponies, the bluesteel unicorn tugged her saddlebags over while the others gathered close by, curious as to what the Haylian mare had brought over from her homeland for them.

Skyward smiled as she pulled out the first three gifts and presented the three fillies with the small cloaks—each one was made of Dodongo leather, tanned and dyed three different colors. Apple Bloom’s was pale green with the embroidered apple on it, Sweetie Belle’s was light blue with the music note, and Scootaloo’s was a bright magenta with a burning flame on the back. They were soft, but waterproof and had hoods with leather straps that would lace them tight during rough weather on them. The three fillies all but tackled the Haylian mare, squealing their thanks, and Skyward laughed, giving them all a hug.

Skyward picked up the next item, and bowed, presenting Shining Armor with the gleaming new sword. The sword had little decoration, save for blue diamonds in the pommel and cross guard, but it was a very fine blade: clearly a mastercrafted item. The white unicorn stallion took hold of the blade and tested it, his eyes widening. “Wow—is this…from…?”

She nodded. “Forged in Goron City, but one thought thou might wish to adorn it with thine kingdom’s own symbol; that is why it is plain. Happy Hearth’s Warming, Your Imperial Highness—whoa!” She was yanked into a fierce hug, and she laughed, slapping him on the back before she turned back to her saddlebags.

Skyward floated one of the two jewelry boxes she had to Cadence, who opened it, and gasped at the Haylian Sunset necklace she saw inside—the golden filigree chain glinting in the light off the heart shaped jewel pendant. “This is beautiful! Oh, Skyward, thank you! Was this made by the Gorons too?”

“Aye—despite their bulk and incredible strength, they are masters of their metalcraft. And this one, is for thee, Rarity.”

Rarity took the box in her aura and opened it—and she squealed at the Blazing Heart necklace—it had been diamond cut, the chain was of the same make, but in choker form, and hugged Skyward tightly.

For Rainbow Dash, she gave her the book of legends and tales—they were about Haylian pegasi and some of the sky fighting techniques they possessed.

Twilight Sparkle received the map of Hayrule, much to her delight; Skyward knew the lavender mare would be grilling her on the locations of cities, towns and the like later.

Applejack received the new axe—also made in Goron City, and like Shining Armor’s new sword, the edge would never need sharpening. The funny thing was that the orange farmpony needed a new axe to cut wood in the first place!

Fluttershy got the bag of Haylian Wild Bird Feed—she hugged Skyward and thanked her profusely, saying the birds and squirrels would love it.

And when Pinkie Pie received the bag of Haylian Cane Sugar, laughter erupted in the room when the pink party pony began devouring one of the blocks of sugar right off the bat.

Skyward then approached Spike, and offered him a carved wooden box. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, Spike. One hopes ye shalt enjoy this, considering how much ye liked that sapphire one gave thee.”

Spike’s eyes lit up and he opened the lid—seeing the Goron Rubies piled inside, he pumped a fist and hugged the Haylian mare, before he grabbed one and stuffed it into his mouth. “I can’t WAIT to try these! Mmm *crunch munch gurble* mmm-mmm these rubies are *snarfle* GOOD! Little spicy, a little sweet, and wow! Awesome flavor!”

While they sat around and admired their new gifts, devouring plates of cookies, cakes, pastries, platters of vegetables and fruit, fresh sourdough bread with plenty of butter and honey, mushroom steaks and mashed potatoes loaded with butter and cream and salt, chased with fizzing glasses of cider and berry wine; Skyward used her new flute to play Hayrulean festival songs from home; conjuring images of other ponies performing dances with them; showing them what life was like in her home. She even performed a sword dance, conjuring images of her Haylian comrades and her family…

Shatter Point…

Golden Marble…

Tempest Wing…

Mossy Boulder…

Blazing Dawn…

Bountiful Harvest…

Skyward’s sword twisted and flashed, the spectral ones held by the other translucent ponies doing the same, the blades twirling and being tossed back and forth expertly by the copies, ending in a simultaneous backflip with the swords held high, a roar of applause and cheering coming from the group. Later on that evening, when the snow was falling gently, they gathered near the large pile of wood that they had collected that had been placed outside the palace in one of the private gardens. They also had with them candles, which Cadence had lit earlier for them. Skyward glanced at the other ponies; Cadence nodded at her with a smile as she ‘held’ out an unlit torch in her magic.

“Go ahead, Skyward. Light the Brazier.”

Skyward took hold of the torch and approached, but stopped halfway there. She seemed to be thinking for a few moments before she turned and held out the unlit torch towards her friends. “Traditionally one would light this…but one thinks it would be better if we all did.”

The others smiled happily as they crowded around, their candles leaning forward to touch as one to the tip of the torch, Skyward’s horn glowing softly as the head flared to fiery life with a whoosh. The Haylian pony turned and threw the lit implement into the wood proper—with a snapping roar the bonfire flared to glorious golden life, flames roaring into the air, the smell of Equestrian pine sap flooding everyone’s nostrils.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle approached the flames and as one, threw their pieces of inscribed wood into the fire, which were slowly consumed. They stood to the side near Skyward as Rarity and Applejack approached and did the same, followed by Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, then Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle. Spike was next, then Shining Armor and Princess Cadence approached, also throwing their own wishes into the flames.

Skyward went last, holding her own piece. She glanced at it, before she threw it into the flames as well, and watched as the flames consumed the chunk rapidly.

“Hey, Rarity, what did you wish for?”

“A lady does not kiss and tell, Applejack. Besides, if we tell what we wished for, it will not come true, remember?”

Cadence lit her horn, the sky-blue glow activating a spell—golden bells adorned with holly and pine garland that had been hung about the snow-covered winter garden began ringing softly around the perimeter of the garden. Fairy lights in pastel hues flew into the air, dancing around the group of ponies breaking into song with the tempo of the bells; Twilight held up a small piece of parchment for Skyward so she could sing along with them, given this was a song she wouldn’t know.

“The fire of friendship lives in our hearts
As long as it burns we cannot drift apart
Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few…
Laughter and singing will see us through
Will see us through…”

“We are a circle of pony friends
A circle of friends
We’ll be to the very end…!”

Later on, while the others were settled near the roaring fireplace, drinking cider or cocoa, talking quietly, Skyward smiled as she gazed out at the snowy landscape. Silently, she raised her cup to the heavens, and drank from it, the hot cider sliding down her throat, warming her throat and belly.

(Happy Hearth’s Warming, Princess Zelda, Father, Brother, mine brothers and sisters in arms…one prays thou art all right. May the Goddesses bless thou all---keep thyselves safe, until we are reunited anew.)

Skyward rubbed at her eyes, but she turned to look briefly over her shoulder towards her friends when she heard giggling; Rarity had smacked Twilight with a pillow, and the lavender mare was retaliating with her own pillow, but nailed Applejack with it instead. The Haylian mare chuckled, then smiled up at the stars once more.

Something soft and fluffy smacked her in the flank—she jumped, dropping her empty cup and whirling around…

To see Pinkie Pie, Spike, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle and Rarity all holding pillows and watching her with big, concerned eyes…

But Skyward grinned as she picked up the pillow in her magic and playfully pawed the ground with one hoof—she ran after Applejack, who bolted from the Haylian mare, giggling madly as the bluesteel unicorn hurled the pillow back at her, laughing like a foal…

They weren’t her blood kin…

But they sure as dawn and dusk felt like family.