Back on Gaia, we had an annual celebration on the shortest day of winter. The solstice was a day to remember the lifestream; remind ourselves of those we've lost, and take comfort in the fact that, just as the warmth of summer always came back around again, our spirits and theirs would come around again in due time as the lifestream fed back into new births, both human and otherwise. It was a bit sobering to think about the fact that I was on another world altogether, one which, as far as I could determine, had no equivalent of Gaia's lifestream. What would that mean for my spirit if I should die before getting home? I didn't really want to think about it.

I was helped in that endeavor by thoughts of the ponies' own winter celebration. Hearths Warming Eve was a celebration of the unification of the ponies in times long passed. Before the commemorated events, the pony tribes were apparently separate and each only looking after their own interests, bickering frequently between them. During the winter, a tribe of windigos came upon them, feeding on their strife and using it to fuel their chilling magic. The deepened winter lead to a food shortage for all three tribes, further exacerbating their strife, and feeding the windigos more. But then the leaders of the three tribes made peace with one another, banding together and creating something called the 'fires of friendship' that allowed them to defeat the windigos and drive back the cold.

It was hard to be certain what the 'fires of friendship' really were. But what was certain was that there was a windigo intent on attending Ponyville's Hearths Warming Eve party this year, and the hostess was determined to make that happen. At least it gave me more immediate things to worry about than the long term ramifications of my mortality.

The party was held in the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. This far into the winter, the barn saw relatively little use, and it was one of the largest buildings in town, so it served well enough as a venue. As I arrived, I could see Pinkie's handiwork on fine display. The decorations were quite distinctive, with some serving well to remind me of the stories Twilight had shared with me, while others simple raised new curiosities. The spread of foods brought new curiosities as well, and I took the time to sample several treats we didn't have back home. But not until after visiting the mound of presents to set down the gifts I had brought for my friends.

Looking around I noticed Fluttershy trying to get my attention from near the firepit that stood before the barn. I hoped she hadn't been trying for long, as I strolled over to greet her. "What's going on over here?" I inquired.

The firepit was ringed with a number of little cloth pony dolls. The distinctive colors and little embroidered flank marks made it reasonably easy to identify the individuals. The most distinctive one of all was in Fluttershy's hooves as she offered it up to me. "Here, Cloud. I made this for you," the mare said quietly. "It's tradition to place dolls of ourselves around the fire to remind us of the warmth of friendship shared on the night of unification."

I smiled and thanked her before looking over the other dolls. The element bearers' dolls were clustered together, and I went to place mine among them when I paused. Seeing Rainbow Dash's doll made me remember our own strained relationship. I had told her tonight would be the end of her probation, that I would consider dating her again only after tonight had passed. I wondered how much attention she would pay to the simple matter of where I place my doll in relation to hers. If I were missing her badly and eager to get back together, I would place my figure by her side, a bit apart from the others, maybe even with the doll's hand on her doll's mane. If I were feeling particularly annoyed or angry with her still, I would place it on the far side of our friends from her. As it was, I placed it in front of our group, with the five of them arrayed in a semicircle before me, equidistant from mine. As I met Fluttershy's eyes once again, she gave a faint smile and a quiet nod. I think she understood, even if I wasn't sure whether Rainbow would even notice.

My sharp eyes caught a bit of white cloth poking out from a snowbank a short distance away, and I moved to investigate. It was another pony doll, this one a slightly bluish off-white, with a thick flowing tail in place of hind hooves, and no cutie mark. "Oh, hay, I see you found it," Diamond Dust said as she came to my side. "Crash said a windigo shouldn't be anywhere near the fire, and tossed it out here. I actually agree, as the snow sounds a lot more comfortable to me, but I'd like it to at least be somewhere visible."

I gave a grunt of annoyance and brought the doll back to the others, placing it next to Pinkie Pie's, on the opposite end of the semicircle from Rainbow Dash's. "You're with us now, even if that means you need to endure a bit of warmth."

"Sure, sure, Master Strife," Diamond concurred. "Oh, Pinkie says it's about time for the flag raising."

"Ponies of Ponyville!" a powerful voice boomed out, silencing all conversation and instantly focusing all eyes on the pair of alicorns descending by the flagpole. Once she had all of our attention, Nightmare, I mean Princess Luna continued. "Rejoice! For your rulers have come to celebrate our unification with you!"

A pony coughed nervously, as they traded looks, seeming unsure how to respond.

"If somepony would please do the honors of raising it, we have brought a newly woven flag from the seamstresses in Canterlot to mark the occasion," Princess Celestia offered, as her magic carried forth the folded cloth.

A quick glance revealed Rarity's disappointed sigh before a raised hoof demanded my attention. "Oh, oh, can I do it? Please?!"

Celestia let her surprise show through for only a moment, while Luna grinned happily. "Please do, Diamond Dust," the lunar diarch encouraged.

With an admirable show of decorum, the windigo took the flag depicting the two alicorns and reverently affixed it to the flagpole, before slowly raising it to the top of the pole. When it began to hang limply she called on a small bit of her winter magic to summon a slight zephyr, just enough to set it flapping triumphantly, lined up perfectly to show it off to the gathered ponies. Celestia shifted her weight a bit at the display, masking her emotions while her sister grinned still. The rest of the ponies present saluted the flag reverently before cheering. Diamond quickly flew back among them, chatting animatedly with a few as she followed the crowd in.

"I can't believe the Princesses picked her of all ponies to raise the flag!" Rainbow groused as she hovered over toward me. "She's not even a pony!"

"She volunteered," I stated. "If you wanted to do it, you should have volunteered."

"Well sure, bring logic into it," she complained.

"I would have volunteered," Twilight volunteered as she trotted up to my other side. "But she beat me to it, and I didn't really want to deprive her of the opportunity. This is a historic event! The first time a windigo has actually participated in a Hearths Warming Eve celebration! And she even raised the flag! It's an honor just to be able to take notes on the event," she gushed, even as a scroll floating near her filled with writing.

"I was worried she might try to sabotage the whole thing, but so far she seems to be on her best behavior, perhaps better than I've ever seen from her," I commented. I glanced at Rainbow, biting back a comment on her behavior.

"Oh, I've shared a lot of notes with her the last few weeks to prepare her for the occasion, from things specific to the holiday, to general party etiquette and polite behavior in public settings in general. As unfamiliar as she was with all of those topics, she's certainly proven to be a quick study," Twilight beamed. "And this will be my chance to show my own teacher how much I've learned from her about how to be a good teacher!" Her happiness faltered shortly after she said that, a growing sense of nervousness creeping over her.

"I'm sure you did a great job teaching her," I reassured. "If she messes it up at this point I'm sure it will be on purpose. But it appears she's decided to apply your lessons wholeheartedly."

"She's just trying to lull us into a false sense of security," Rainbow assured us.

"We'll see. You each have the opportunity tonight to prove yourselves for good or for ill," I told her. She cringed a bit at the reminder and settled onto her hooves, walking the rest of the way to the tables.

With such a large gathering, I would have expected a buffet or something of the like, but as we took our seats we found ourselves served by hoof. Diamond Dust hand carried each pony's meal to them. A handful of them were clearly specifically tailored for individuals. Granny Smith's lacked some of the harder elements that would be troublesome for her teeth, with other foods piled on to compensate. The princesses received larger portions than the rest, befitting not only their station but their larger bodies. My own meal included a filet of fish, and lacked anything resembling hay or hay products. Twilight's was immaculately laid out, with no two food items touching.

Rainbow growled, looking after Diamond Dust's retreating form as her meal was delivered. I looked over to see why, but it wasn't immediately apparent. It looked like it had been carefully arranged my a master chef. It was as carefully arranged as Twilight's, but with different foods touching in an artfully arranged fashion, topped with a bit of garnish the other's lacked. It looked fine to me. Better than fine, it looked like the best plate on the table, generally speaking. "Here, trade," Dash insisted, swapping her plate with Fluttershy's. The other pegasus shrugged and dug in, giving a little 'mmm' at the taste of it.

When all of the food had been deployed, Diamond took a spot at the foot of the table and began tapping a butter knife to a glass. "I'd like to offer a toast, if I may."

"Here we go," Rainbow said.

"You may," Princess Celestia allowed. "Let's all hear what our gracious hostess has to say on this fine occasion."

With all eyes on her, Diamond Dust began her speech. "Today marks a celebration. Not only of the foundation of your fine, beautiful, friendfilled country. But also of a remarkable triumph! Over a thousand years ago, on this day, your people faced starvation, and either extinction or perhaps enslavement by my own people. But rather than succumb to adversity, your ancestors rose to the occasion, banded together, and with the strength of your friendship turned the tables. With the fires of friendship you thawed the snows, and not only survived the winter but triumphantly drove my own people to starvation and extinction. I am humbled and honored to be able to join you, the victorious conquerors at your table and celebrate your triumph with you, even though I am one of the vanquished myself. Thank you." She banged on the glass a few more times, smiling at the gathered ponies before setting it down.

Nopony else was smiling. I glanced around the room, observing the stunned silence. I suspected Diamond had been sarcastic in much of what she said, but nothing in her inflection backed up that thought. She sounded sincere and genuine, and as the silence dragged on, she seemed to actually be losing her smile, eyes darting from pony to pony as she tried to judge what she had done wrong.

"Hear, hear!" Princess Luna declared. "To defeating our enemies with friendship, and then inviting them home to dinner!" A few other ponies laughed nervously at this, while one of them hit the floor with a thud, apparently feinting.

"Yes... thank you, Diamond Dust, for your... most unique take on this holiday," Princess Celestia managed to get out.

With Diamond's smile fully restored, the ponies and I slowly got back into the act of eating, subdued conversation slowly limping back into being minutes later.

As the ponies and I finished eating dinner, Diamond paused in her drifting among the guests to give a rather hasty goodbye, before she faded back into the ether. Pinkie Pie reappeared in her wake, drawing in a deep breath and shouting "time for presents!" This apparently meant in part as a diversion, as the mare herself rushed to grab her own plate from the kitchen, mounded high with every manner of food that was on offer, including a number of desserts we hadn't been offered yet.

Ponies started tearing at the pile of presents in a disorganized mob, checking labels before just discarding gifts that weren't for them, until Twilight stepped in and gathered the discarded gifts back up, reading off each label and calling out the recipient's name. She didn't read aloud the names of the gift givers, but I could recognize our names well enough to see the Elements were disproportionately represented. It was only fitting; we were well funded, so it was only right we should give a bit more generously. Rarity might have been overdoing it: she seemed to be the only one even among our number who had given away more gifts than the aptly named Filthy Rich. I suppose she had a reputation to maintain, or perhaps earn, as the Element of Generosity. Or perhaps she was feeling guilty, still, for the incident with the dragon.

The princesses were quite generous in their own right, but with the coffers of the nation at their disposal, I expected that was easy to do. Luna offered me a new sword. It had a blade that widened farther from the handle, giving it a balance that took some getting used to but gave it a powerful striking weight if I could get it up to speed against my target. Runic markings on the blade apparently served to enhance the four materia slots embedded in it; something that surprised me coming from the ponies.

"We saw it in one of your dreams," Luna explained. "When we commissioned it made by our royal blacksmith, our royal enchanter said the markings inspired him with just the right augmentation. It should serve you well."

"I don't recall seeing it in my dreams," I noted as I gave it a few careful test swings. It reminded me a bit of an axe the way the weight was focused, but I was strong enough to use it, still. And four slots was a nice addition.

"It was in one of those treasure chests you walked right past without opening," Luna mentioned. "We admit to having grown curious and opening it."

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow, wondering how any of that could possibly have made sense. Then I remembered Pinkie Pie had been in one of my dreams and thrown a birthday party, and decided dreams logic was best left unquestioned. "Thank you, Princess, the gift is most welcome."

My own gifts to the princesses were somewhat less practical, but just as well received. I got them each a bottle of bath oils, made by Zecora from plants within the Everfree. While they were admittedly inexpensive, all told, I knew they were difficult to acquire outside of the small supply the zebra provided the spa.

"Here, Cloud, open mine!" Rainbow Dash insisted, shoving an unlabeled box into my hands.

"Alright, but you should open mine to you, as well," I said, before asking Twilight to pass it to her.

The speedy pegasus had my gift to her open, wrapping paper shredded and discarded, before I could get the tab out of the unwrapped box she had given me. "A piece of metal junk in green glass?" she asked, sounding confused and disappointed, until she picked it up in one hoof. As the knowledge locked within the materia flowed into her mind, the newfound understanding changed her expression instantly. "Oh! I love it! I love it, I love it, I love it!" Light flared as she called on the magic within to cast a Haste spell on herself before tackling me with enough speed and force to drive me into the wall half way across the room, winding me and keeping me from catching my breath with a sudden, fierce, passionate kiss.

Somewhere in the move the box in my hands had fallen open, and I'd managed to snag hold of the contents. My fingers gripped something round and rubbery, but I couldn't see it with the multicolor mane blocking my view, and I was much too distracted to worry about what it was just yet. Several other ponies were gasping at us, and one or two mares were giggling. But I pushed their reactions to the back of my mind for the moment while I met those lips once again.

It had been a few weeks since I'd had any more sensual contact with anyone than just the occasional tease from Diamond Dust in my dreams. I'd gotten fairly good, at last, at suppressing that side of myself and focusing on what I needed to do. But the fresh, passionate contact opened the flood gates and made me more than a little light headed. Mild oxygen deprivation only served to heighten that effect. So I was a little giddy when we finally parted and I got a chance to see what it was she had given me.

Not giddy enough.

There in my hand, for all of the other Elements, the townsfolk of Ponyville, and even the Princesses to see was a rubber phallus, sized and shaped like a typical pony stallion, and attached to a pair of leather panties, with a second head extending inward for the wearer's pleasure. A few of the ponies, including Fluttershy, had outright fainted at the sight of it. Luna and Rarity were giggling uncontrollably. Applejack's expression was unreadable, as her hat was pulled down low over her eyes. Princess Celestia watched wordlessly, her eyes seeming to judge me but keep that judgement to herself. Most of the other ponies simply stared with gaping mouths.

I dropped the sex toy and stormed off, wordless and blushing fiercely enough my cheeks felt like they had caught fire. My pulse was pounding in my ears, and I barely caught Rainbow saying something behind my back. I broke into a sprint, mako burning through my blood as I tore through the snow. I managed to make it to the treeline before a rainbow blur crossed my path, and I slammed headlong into the hovering pegasus, knocking her into the snow as I crashed to my knees.

"I said 'wait up'," Rainbow said. "What was that all about?"

"What was that all about?!" I repeated. "You gave me a sex toy in front of all of Ponyville, and the Princesses!"

"It wasn’t supposed to just pop out in front of everypony like that.”

"Then maybe you shouldn’t have given it to me in such a public event," I countered. "If you'd given it to me in private, after we actually started dating again, I'd probably be grateful. Heck, I'd probably have been willing to try it with you tonight if you could have just gone the length of the party without making an ass of yourself. But you not only manage to come off as worse than the goddamned spirit of conflict graciously hosting our dinner party, but embarrass me in front of every pony I've ever met while staking a claim you don't currently have a right to. And at this point... I think we’re done."

We looked at each other in silence, slowly cooling off in the snow, until Rainbow finally realized what I had just said. “Wait, so it’s over?! Just like that? Over one little present?!”

“Our relationship started as a dare, remember?” I pointed out. “It’s gone well past that… well past what it had any reason to be. We’ve had some fun, and… as embarrassing as this was, I really enjoyed being physically intimate with you-”

“You can just say ‘sex’. Unless you’re too embarrassed.”

I clenched my fist a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing. “You’re still one of the Element Bearers and I hope you’ll still be my friend. But we’re not dating anymore. We’re not a good match. And beyond that, you have some growing up to do before you’re ready for a marefriend, or whatever you ponies call boyfriends-”

“Coltfriend.”

“Right.” I closed my eyes and breathed a few more times to calm myself. “You can skip the next couple training sessions if you want. I know it might be hard to jump back in the swing of things after this. It’s one reason it’s not a good idea for commanding officers to date their subordinates, but I made that mistake and now we need to accept the consequences.We do still need you, Loyalty, when you’re ready.”

Her lip quivered a bit before she looked me in the eye with fierce determination and saluted. “I’ll be there this weekend, Magic.”

I returned the salute, then looked back at the barn, where the party was continuing without us. “I don’t think I can go back there…”

Rainbow looked on for a moment, before looking up at me. “Can I escort you home?” she asked sheepishly.

I hesitated, then shook my head. “No, Rainbow. I want to be alone now. It’s better for you if I have a chance to cool off.”

I only saw the heartbroken look on her face for an instant as I turned away, but it haunted my mind the whole walk home. Still, I knew this was right.

“Now, this really isn’t fair,” Diamond Dust said. “Hilarious as hell, but not fair.”

Her words made me realize I was in a dream, and further that the copy of her chasing me around the house wearing the strap-on dildo was just a figment of my imagination rather than an occupant. I dismissed the figment with a wave of my hand, before sighing and settling onto the dream version of my sofa. It was impossibly comfortable, but had the unfortunate tendency to sprout dozens of quills that distinctly resembled Fluttershy’s feathers whenever I sat on it.

“How did the rest of the party go after I left?” I inquired nervously.

“Well, you weren’t exiled or fired, so there’s that,” Diamond offered. “Though I think you’re at the top of the town’s gossip list for the time being.”

Luna emerged as Diamond spoke, adding her own thoughts. “I would like to apologize for laughing at your expense tonight. It was clear you didn’t mean to expose such a thing to everypony present, especially given the other contents of the box.”

“What other contents?” I asked. In my haste I had left the gift behind in its entirety.

Luna produced a dream copy of the box in question, the familiar unmarked structure. I opened it carefully, this time, and saw a card on top. Unfortunately, here in the dream, I couldn’t read it. Beneath was a gemstone in some kind of metal rig with a glass lens. It was sitting atop a piece of brown paper, hiding a now familiar shape beneath.

“That crystal is a recent invention Miss Sparkle was able to identify for me,” Luna explained. “It projects a stored series of images and sounds, a ‘movie’, recorded within. They are quite expensive, most commonly purchased by theatres to show to dozens of ponies at a time for a few bits each.”

“She never meant for everyone to see the, uh, other gift?” I questioned.

“I can’t speak for Miss Dash,” Luna said, “but I expect not.”

“Do you know what the card said?” I inquired.

“If I did, you would be able to read it here,” she replied. “I thought it rude to read your private correspondence. Nor do I know what movie was recorded on the projection crystal.”

I sighed. Had I been unjust to Rainbow? Perhaps, but that didn’t change the conclusion, did it? We were still wrong for each other, right?