"So, it has come to this." I said with an air of great importance.

"Indeed, the final gambit, the last stand, what will you do?" My opponent asked of me. I paused in thought, before carefully making the move I was certain would assure me victory.

"Queen's knight to C3."

"King's bishop to C3. Checkmate." He replied with no hesitation.

"..... damn. I never was any good at this." For the past two hours or so, while we waited for Celestia do finish her morning duties on Hearth's Warming Eve, Prince Blueblood and I played chess with a very ornate set of pieces, of polished marble and finest ebony. I lost every game.

"I suppose more... brutish? things are your style..."

"Nothing wrong with that." I quipped.

"I suppose not. It should be about time."

As if on cue, Celestia and Luna came through the door to the lounge, threw off all their regalia save the crown-tiara-things they wear, and slumped down on a couch each.

"I thought that would never end." Celestia groaned.

"At least I was there to help expedite the process sister." Luna replied to her sister's bellyaching.

"Yes, now it's time to enjoy ourselves."

So, we all took a station at the GIANT ASS KITCHEN in the lounge as we prepared to cook whatever our hearts desired. Prince Blueblood appeared to be working on a souffle, wearing a stylized chef's hat, while Celestia worked on cookies and Luna, tarts.

"Hmm....."

"Trouble, Griffin?" The elder sister asked.

"Just trying to remember how to do this, two bowls, cold tray... ah! there we go! Now I remember!" She raised an eyebrow and looked at me curiously from her own station before going back to work.

First I took two bowls, one large and one small. I filled the large one about a quarter full of water, then set it to simmer on the stove, placing the smaller one within it. I then placed chocolate wafers in the smaller bowl to melt. (the two bowl method prevents the chocolate from burning by distributing the heat evenly). Then I put several metal trays in the fridge so they'd be chilled by the time I was finished. Next, I took a number of tangerines and peeled them, then split them with my claws, separating them into their slices. And then.... I brought out the whipped cream.

"Now, I'm making this up as I go here a bit, I hope it turns out." I sprayed the whipped cream in the middle of the slices, then put them back together in the original shape of the fruit, but with the cream holding them together. Then, taking a whisk, I drizzled melted chocolate on the nearly frozen tray in a crisscross pattern. It cooled immediately, hardening, so I used a spatula to scrape it from the tray, then wrapped the cream filled tangerine in it's own little chocolate net. I set it to the side, and it immediately fell apart.

"Blast... the whipped cream doesn't hold.... oh! Honey!" So, I made the next one in the same manner, except I covered it in honey before wrapping it in the net. This one stayed together much better. The sticky honey also made the chocolate weave stay in place, right up tight against the fruit. So, I set it on a tray and began making several more, about two dozen, before I put them all in the fridge to cool. I worked quickly, with my knife like claws letting me split each fruit with ease.

That's when I noticed something I hadn't before, I was so busy working furiously, I hadn't seen the way the others were acting. They weren't rushing to finish, frantic about getting it just right. They were taking their time, making a mess, and overall, having fun with it. Luna was so covered in flour she looked like a mini Celestia, who was the one responsible for her being in that state. While the elder laughed, the younger pointed at the smoking oven behind her, cookies forgotten in their play, and the sun mare's attempts to save the poor baked goods brought both Luna and Blueblood to raucous laughter, the sound of which, comically, caused the latter's souffle to deflate.

"Hey, Blueblood, try this." He forgave my not using his title, taking the spoon in his magic and placing it in his mouth, only to spit out a mass of reddish brown powder and scrape at his tongue. "You just failed the cinnamon challenge, and in record time too." He tried to protest, but his mouth was still far too dried out from all the cinnamon, sending more clouds of vapor into the air while the rest of us laughed.

With our goods stored away for consumption later that night, then sat down in the dining room for dinner, which, as I was told previously, was to be served by someone known as 'Law'. I was about to make a comment asking about his brother 'Order', when into the dining room stepped a dragon, a bit taller than I was, wearing a reddish brown (burgundy? I'm no artist, much less of one now that I don't have hands, and I don't pay attention to colour names) suit. He began moving around the table, taking our orders, while a very distinct feeling came over me.

He's right there.

Doesn't matter.

It's just a little bit, he won't even miss it.

Not the point.

It would be easy.

He's a dragon, and both princesses are right there. Also, still not the point.

"Um... may I take your order?" I was snapped out of my inner struggle with my own thoughts by a very soft and gentle voice, male, but smooth, like a saxophone. At the same time, it told me of hidden, inner strength, much like Fluttershy, yet reluctance to let it out, and a lack of self confidence except in the most extreme situations.

"May I take your order?"

"Oh, right, uh...... what do we have here?" I don't even have a clue what they keep in stock.

"May I suggest the whitefish?"

"Let's go with that."

"Battered or baked?"

"Baked, batter would just ruin it. Makes it fall apart." I thought I caught a smile at that. Maybe he's got the mind of a food critic?

"Lemon juice?"

"Mango or orange please. Not as sour, won't overpower the fish." I definitely saw a smile at that.

"Salad?"

"Caesar."

"Drink?"

Your blood.

"*cough* Just water is fine, thank you." My voice caught in my throat. Good thing I didn't have lips anymore. If I did, I'd be biting the lower one so hard I'd have drawn blood. Instead, I kept my beak clamped shut, and was frantically rapping my claws on the table. Eventually, he left, and I let out a great breath I didn't know I was holding, before taking another gasp of air. The others must have realized I was shaking, if the looks of concern on their faces were any indication.

"Griffin, are you quite alright?" Celestia asked.

"Just... peachy."

"Griffin....." She replied sternly. Honesty

"Ok, so, maybe I'm going through withdraw and I just had my fix dangled in front of me. I'll be fine. I'll just take deep breaths, and not look at him. Also, he's a human, isn't he?" I asked.

"What makes you say that?" Luna questioned.

"The way he walked was like a human, like the way Ember walked, with purpose instead of sluggish. Also, he wore clothes. The clothes were human style as well. Namely, pants." I replied sharply.

"Astute observations..." The prince remarked.

"Let's just enjoy our dinner."

And enjoy we did. Law came back to deliver our food, I thanked him meekly, trying my best to ignore the presence of what I craved being so close to me. I succeeded, showing a surprising amount of self control. We all dug in to our own meals, and we were stuffed by the time we finished. The chariot arrived to take Blueblood down to the hall for the Hearth's Warming Eve play, but the rest of us, being of the wing, simply flew ourselves there. We took our seats in a booth up near the top, since we all had good eyesight and could see from anywhere, as the show began.

The show itself was nothing special. Some actors went and had fun with it, though 'Chancellor Puddinhead' was a bit of a klutz, she did resort to eating her own hat to emphasize the starvation point, which brought peals of laughter. All in all, it was fun, but again, it wasn't anything brilliant. Well, that is, until the end.

When the time came for the giant, glowy, magic heart thingy, well, something happened. It started off small, of course it would, the unicorn casting the spell was no Twilight Sparkle, but soon, it began to balloon out of control. Everyone was singing, and the heart just kept blowing up, bigger and bigger, until it was no longer just on the stage. The mare in charge let go of the spell, but it kept growing, all on it's own.

"Uh.... Celestia?"

"Griffin, hush. There's no need for alarm. You're about to witness something not seen in over a thousand years."

As the spell overtook the ponies, they started to shimmer and shine, almost as though they were made of sparkling gems. Eventually, the spell reached us, and while both the Princesses looked more radiant than ever, when it passed me, I could see no change. However, I could feel one. It's as though all my nerves were set on fire, so much so that I couldn't move, or even voice my pain. Celestia looked at me with a smile, but then worry, and finally, a hint of fear, before she scooped me up in her magic and dragged me outside, as far from the auditorium as she could. She brought me to the landing strip, which was once again covered in snow.

"Griffin, you must be in a lot of pain right now, but listen closely, you HAVE to let off the excess magic. Cast a spell, any spell! Burn as much as you can, as fast as you can." Burn? I struggled to find my voice, but when I eventually did, and it was barely a whisper.

"Condense Ventus."

I watched as Griffin crouched low to the ground, his eyes alight with magic overload, and heard tiny, incomprehensible mutters leave him as a great gust of air whooshed inwards, as if to put out the fire burning it's way inside. He brought his wings forward, stretching them to their limits as the air pooled in a ball between them, bringing the errant snowflakes that found themselves caught in the breeze to their doom.

"Yes, keep it up, you'll be just fine."

More whispering, and a raging blaze appeared on the ground of the airstrip, melting the snow that had accumulated there and pushing away the frost. It circled him completely, and I took to the sky in order to see him through the blaze. He remained there, crouched in a ring of fire, before the raging inferno itself was drawn into the endless void that was the ball in front of him. At the center of it all was a gleaming shard, crisper than a perfect gem, that shined like my sun itself.

"RAMEX!"

With a shock wave that could only have been a sonic boom, a great pillar of fire rose from where Griffin stood, passing within mere inches of me, though, being the mistress of the sun, I fear no flame, that gleaming shard could have been dangerous. I looked up above and saw it fly, like a star, trying to regain the sky it fell from, before it exploded and lit up the night in brilliant light. Many ponies below covered their eyes from the sudden brightness, before braving a look. When they did, they 'oohd' and 'aahd', believing it to be some manner of firework show, before it petered out and vanished entirely.

Looking down below, I saw Griffin laying on the runway, on a sheet of ice, panting in a desperate attempt to catch his breath. I circled down to meet him, and to ensure his safety.

"Ho Ho Ho-ly Shit." I slowly got to my paws and claws, breathing heavily, still coming down from the adrenaline high. "I actually fucking did it." I noticed Princess Celestia coming down. "Uh...... hi." She looked at me dumbfounded.

"Hi? HI!?!? After... whatever that was, all you have to say is HI?!?!"

"Um.... sorry?" I tried, wincing.

"Whatever for? That was a BRILLIANT display of magical prowess. Condensing the air into a solid form, super heating it, then launching it like a projectile. Quite clever."

"Um.... thank you?" Princess Celestia just complimented me. Now I'm blushing. My feathers have red tinges anyways. It's not like she'll know. "It's just something I've been working on for a couple months, but I never had enough magic to pull off. Which leads me to ask, just what in the name of..... you.... was that?"

"Well.... I suppose it's time for me to explain some things. Come inside, I'll tell you back in the lounge."

"Hmm... sweet from the honey, and tangy, but not too sour, from the tangerine, fluffy from the whipped cream, and smooth from the melted chocolate. A little on the sugary side, but fits in a pony's mouth perfectly. Let the chocolate melt on your tongue, then bite down for nice surprise... How did you come up with this?" Celestia inquired.

"Eh, just something I pulled out of my..." Ass. That phrase might not be the most appropriate for food items...."Hat. I really had no idea if it would work or not. Then again, this is Equestria, and things just have a way of turning out around here."

"But where did you learn to do that?" Luna asked.

"Well, I was planning to live on my own, which meant I needed to know how to cook. Which meant I read cookbooks. I borrowed some things from one recipe, added things from another, and bingo, you've got.... these."

"You haven't thought of a name for them yet?" Blueblood inquired.

"It was just a spur of the moment thing! Tang balls? Too unrefined. Creme du tang? Too refined."

"Well, they are a tad sweet for my taste but...." Blueblood began. "If Auntie enjoys them, then I'm sure others will as well."

"Alright, back to the topic at hand. Why was it that when the big glowing heart thing came out, I felt like I was burning alive?" I rerouted the conversation back to the explanation I felt that I was owed.

"Very well. You know the story of Hearth's Warming Eve? You should, if you payed attention during the play instead of sleeping." She shot a glare at Blueblood, who shrugged. "The warmth of friendship melted the ice of hatred. That, was the normal bit."

"Then.... what was the whole shiny ponies and me getting fried by magic bit?" I cocked my head to the side.

"Well, there is something I was hesitant to speak to you about, but, I suppose there's no more hiding it, and there's no more harm in telling you. Season 3."

"Huh?"

"You once told me that 'At the beginning of every season, a great enemy appears, that must be vanquished. Equestria faces a trial that the bearers of harmony must overcome.' Is that correct?"

"Yes.... So then, something happened?"

"The crystal empire, the homeland of Princess Cadence, was missing for a thousand years...."

"So, was this before or after Luna's banishment, and Discord turning to stone? And why is it that everything of importance happened 'a thousand years ago'?"

"Alright, so it was a couple hundred years off, we just say 'a thousand' because it's easier. If you want the exact date look it up, now let me finish my story!" Celestia glared. I sat and made a 'zipping the lip' motion. "King Sombra, a unicorn with evil in his heart, took over the crystal empire. He made the ponies living there into slaves, to mine crystals for him." My eyes narrowed at the mention of slaves. "The crystals there are special. If peace and love fill the land, this reflects all across the globe. If fear, misery, and hatred rule, so too does it spread. I trust you already know about Equestria's connection between magic and emotion?"

I nodded. "So then, what happened earlier, why all the ponies became shiny..."

"It seems my faithful student, and her friends, as well as Cadence and Shining Armor, have succeeded in their task. King Sombra has been defeated, the Crystal Empire restored, and with it, harmony. Now, this won't fix the world, but your friends may find that enemies are a little less... impossible... to reason with. Hearts of stone will crumble, bravery will replace fear, and a guilty conscience will find those who have none at all. As for you...." Celestia turned to look at her sister, motioning her to continue.

"During the Hearth's Warming ceremony, that is no illusion. It is a restatement of the bond of friendship we all share. It was, essentially, overcharged by the magic of the crystal empire being restored. In normal ponies, this fills them with magic, causing them to emit it at a high rate as well, giving them that shiny appearance, as well as accelerating healing, and a number of other passive benefits. As for you, with your 'diabetes'...."

"I couldn't get rid of it fast enough." Celestia nodded. "So, much like before, my magic levels got too high, and started burning me, like too much voltage running through a small wire. And as soon as I let it off, I felt good as new."

"While the Hearth's Warming ceremony caused that state temporarily, the Crystal Empire is like that at all times. I feared that should you learn of it, you would try to do something about it. This would cause more harm than good, as Sombra would feed on the misery you hold deep in your heart. It would be the same as if you were possessed by 'The Nightmare', but you would be unable to refuse. And, going there after the element bearers freed it..."

"I'd be in the same state as I was outside, having to constantly burn massive amounts of magic, just to stop myself from spontaneously combusting."

"Actually, you would have exploded. Twice."

"..." Alright, at this point, I'm struggling not to laugh. I can't tell whether or not she knows that's a meme, or if she's being serious. "So, pretty much, you didn't trust me enough not to bail and go running to the rescue?"

"... that does sound rather bad when you put it that way..." Luna tapped a hoof to her chin as she pondered.

"Wouldn't 'Griffin, don't go to the Crystal Empire because you'll explode, Twilight's got it handled.' have been more... I don't know, honest?"

"I didn't lie to you."

"Lie of omission. You kept me from knowing something I definitely SHOULD know, because you don't trust me."

"... yes." And then the princesses of Equestria hung their heads.

"Good, because knowing me, I would have flown off to save the day, and gotten blown into a million bits. Sometimes, honesty really is over rated. Heck, it's why I lie all the time. Easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission and all that. So, think I can continue to trust you to not trust me?" I turned my head slightly, and put the biggest grin on my face.

"..." Celestia said.

"..." Luna added.

"..." Blueblood replied.

"YOU TROLL!!!!"

Author's Notes:

Take it away Eduard Khil!