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A Hearth's Warming Wassailing

by Airstream

Chapter 1: The Bells We Hear

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A Hearth’s Warming Wassailing

A Christmas Story

By Airstream

Twilight Sparkle looked out of the tower window at the silent fields below, dark and quiet and blanketed with new-fallen snow. It was a pristine whiteness, covering all in a shroud of pure, beautiful white, unmarred by hooves save where the guards made their patrols along the walls. Even the courtyard below was filled with the same ivory color. As she looked closer, however, she realized that what she was seeing was not, in fact, the same color. The white shifted in tone and intensity, and the longer she watched, the more she felt that she understood the snow. There was the white of the snow lying flat on the ground freshly fallen, compared to the white lining the rooftops below, still unmarred by hooves but at the same time tinged with an ethereal blue, in a curious state between snow and ice. There was the snow lying on top of the trees, a darker color, not because of the branches beneath, but dark simply because that was the shade it had fallen in. The mare watched, absentmindedly touching the smoky crystal around her neck as snow began to fall once more, further blanketing the Everfree Forest as the sun set over the trees.

It was midwinter, nearly Hearth’s Warming Eve, and things were not well in the Regia. The fields were fallow, the stores low, and the planting couldn’t be done for months. Twilight’s followers faced empty bellies, no warm clothes, no medicine, and no end in sight. The only thing that could possibly save them was a supply train with goods gathered by her supporters in Equestria proper, loaded on boats in the swamps to the west and sent upriver. But there was no guarantee of its arrival in time to prevent some very serious illnesses and starvation among the Ever Free ponies. The mood in the castle reflected this, as well as out in the crudely built houses outside of its walls. Twilight had ordered the farmers to be brought into the Regia and housed inside to drive off the cold and to hopefully stave off any deaths from the weather. Crowded, hungry, sick, and cold, the ponies in the castle were bickering near constantly. Ponies were losing faith in her. Not only that, they were losing faith with one another, which was something they could not afford. Twilight thought of her Equestrian counterparts, how they were undoubtedly happy and well provided for under Celestia’s rule. What kind of leader could she call herself, if she could not do the same for those that trusted her?

She sighed, watching as the last rays of the sun slipped behind the sky and darkness fell across the land. Torches were lit on the walls, lantern oil being in short supply as well. Much of it had been stockpiled in her quarters, but she had removed it, giving it to the positions it was needed in, such as the library and main halls, where magelights could not be trusted to illuminate much space and torches were a hazard. Especially the library. Twilight shuddered at the thought of the thousands of years of knowledge contained in the walls of that tower going up in smoke. As such, the room she was in, supposedly the old chambers of Princess Luna herself, was lit only by the fire in the hearth, gasping for life as it guttered out due to lack of fuel, and a solitary candle, which she carried only so that she would not need to use her hornlight. She had not had anything to eat during the day, just like she hadn’t for the past three. This had affected her magic more than she cared to let on. It was her energy being applied after all, and she couldn’t rely on the crystal around her neck to keep her going for much longer. Yes, it provided her with energy, but it was no substitute for real food in her belly. She couldn’t help herself, though. Each meal had been turned away uneaten; her telling the servants that brought it to give it to the ponies who couldn’t sustain themselves like she could. She was slender when she had arrived at the Regia months ago, but now she was positively skinny, her ribs clearly visible, the product of a week’s worth of meals being eaten over the course of a month.

And a hard month it had been for her, too. Not long after the first snows, Tarantella had flown north with her fighters, to retrieve her family and bring them all back to the Regia, where they would be safe. She had wanted to leave sooner, but the patrols around the edge of the Ever Free had prevented her from going. As soon as they had slacked off, however, slowing because of the unusually harsh winter, she and her Condottieri were off into the blue, eager to see their families once again. Twilight was loath to see her go, but she had been in complete agreement with Tarantella, her family was a priority. Not that she stood much chance of stopping that Pegasus if she wanted to go, anyway. Tarantella wasn’t as…abrasive…as Rainbow Dash, but she could easily be just as headstrong given incentive. So it was that Twilight stood alone in her darkened chambers, watching the snow fall outside, weak, freezing, and despondent.

A gentle chime from the clock on her wall let her know that the hour was approaching six o’clock. She seized the candle in a shaky telekinetic grip, carrying it through her chambers into the study where she spent most of her time nowadays, reading on the history of the castle. Normally she would be putting this information to use helping the ponies living here, but until supplies arrived or spring came, there was simply nothing Twilight Sparkle could do to alleviate the situation. Arriving in the admittedly cozier room, she set the candle down gently on an old wooden desk, a venerable old thing cracked and worn with age. She pulled a high-backed chair up to the desk, positioning it in such a way that her back would be to the door, in an effort to discourage those who would undoubtedly be trying to feed her. Pulling open a book on castle storerooms, she began to leaf through the pages, hoping that she had overlooked something, some small cache of supplies that would grant them a brief reprieve from hunger, or buy them a few days until the supplies arrived. Her heart sank as she found herself reading and re-reading the same pages she had read a thousand times, with similar results. The castle, while large, was only so big. All available sources of food had been used, and there were no stores left. Twilight sighed, rubbing at her eyes with one hoof.

Foraging had proved fruitless in a depressingly literal sense. A grove of apple trees had been discovered a short distance away from the castle but the trees were also bare, even the wormiest and most rotten of apples having been gathered by the resourceful creatures of the forest. Twilight idly wondered what it would be like if ponies could consume meat like Gryphons or Minotaurs. Surely their situation would be a little better? She toyed with the idea of developing a set of fangs, allowing her to eat meat, but quickly set it aside, realizing that her biology would never accept such a drastic change, not to mention that she found the idea of eating something that had once been alive disturbing.

She heard the creak of a door opening behind her. Sighing, she slumped in her chair.

“If you’re here to try and feed me, you can take the tray away now. I’ve already told you, I’m fine. I don’t need to eat, so give it all to somepony who does.”

The voice that came from behind her was at the same time amused, saddened, and very familiar. “So, what Spike and Golden Radiance have been telling me is true. You truly are not eating, and you’ve locked yourself in your tower. I’m surprised, and a bit disappointed, Cara Mia.”

Twilight’s head whipped around, heart racing in her chest at the sound of that voice. “Tarantella? Is that you?”

The Pegasus mare stood in the doorway, saddlebags slung over her back, still in her flying leathers. The light from the flame of Twilight Sparkle’s candle illuminated very little, but what Twilight could see told her that this was indeed Tarantella Allegretta, the Condottiero of the Pegasus mercenaries who called themselves the Gale Dancers, one of Twilight’s greatest allies, and her lover of these past several months. Her mane, the same grey color as the rest of her trim, aerodynamic body, was tousled from the wind and cold, and was badly in need of a cut, although she had apparently chopped off about half of her tail, letting it grow in raggedly over time. She was damp, approaching soaking, and she shivered a bit in the chill of the room, the fire now nothing more than dying embers, hardly fit for any warmth or light. Despite her rugged appearance, however, the Pegasus’s face was warm and open, both strong and loving in equal measure, her features finely formed. Twilight would even have gone so far as to call them beautiful. She walked across the room, standing beside the haggard mare, and drawing her into a chilly hug.

“Of course it’s me, dear idiot. We just arrived not ten minutes ago, and no sooner do I land than Spike and Golden Radiance approach me and tell me that you have become a hermit. And you are not eating? Had I known you would attempt to starve yourself in such a way, I would never have left, or I would have taken you with me. Your behavior I can understand in part, especially if you have been working on something. But you have not been, I can see. You sit in the dark with but a single candle to illuminate an architectural document, and you look as if you have not slept in days. What I want to know is why?”
Her voice brooked no argument , stern and quiet , and while her face remained open and loving, Twilight sensed that she was, in fact, very angry at her. She chose her next words carefully.

“I can’t take food when other ponies in the castle need it far more than I do. I’m drawing energy from the crystal to keep myself going, and there’s enough in here to keep me going until the shipment arrives. I’m fine, really.”

Tarantella jabbed her in the ribs. “I can see your bones, Twilight Sparkle. You haven’t been eating, and whether or not you realize it, you are starving yourself to death. This is unacceptable behavior, and we will be putting a stop to it.”

Twilight’s temper rose. “I said I’m fine! I’m going to be just fine, unlike the families we’ve brought into the castle so they don’t freeze to death! If they don’t get fed, they really will starve, much faster than I am right now.”

“Those families are looking to you for guidance, Twilight.” Tarantella retorted. “And right now, when they look to you, they see their leader looking tired, and scrawny, and not at all confident in herself. And believe me when I say that they will starve for leadership before they starve for food, as bad as it is.”

“You’ve no idea how bad it truly is! We have enough food to last us a week, Tara. One week, and that’s it. We are going to be out of food on Hearth’s Warming Day. Unlike you, you've been able to live off of the land outside of the Forest, while I’ve had to balance rationing for well over five thousand ponies! Nearly by myself! They’re expecting miracles, Tara, and I can’t deliver them. So don’t tell me I’m acting as a poor leader, because I've been through Tartarus and back while you’ve been gone.” Twilight said, stomping one hoof.

Now Tarantella was angry. “I’ve not had the opportunity for a meal, cold or hot, in close to two days. My family is currently in mourning over their dead, for the first time in months, because they have not heard a word from us since we rescued you from Canterlot. We have been hiding from patrols, fighting off those who pursue us, and avoiding towns by miles while flying through unfamiliar skies. I myself am weary and wounded. I have not slept since we began flying yesterday. None of us have. And still I remain as leader to those that follow me, and I do not pretend that I am fine when I am about to collapse from exhaustion! When I am rested, I act it. When I have eaten, I lead more effectively. You are no longer Twilight Sparkle, Altro Ala Mia. You are a leader, and if ponies see you acting this way they shall lose faith in you. They already have.”

Twilight was silent. Tarantella ventured another question. “Is it really that bad?”

“The shipment was supposed to arrive two weeks ago, and it would have been cutting it close, even then. We’ve exhausted every store in the castle, and foraging has gotten us nothing. Most are at half rations already, and at the end of the week we will be out of food entirely. I think it wouldn’t be so bad if ponies had something to do. As it is, all we can do is sit, and wait, and think about how miserable we are.”

Tarantella nodded understandingly. “And you blame yourself for this?”

“Of course I do. You said it yourself, they look up to me. I’m supposed to provide for them, and I’m failing at that miserably. I’m not a very good leader. In fact, I’m a terrible one.”

Tarantella drew her into a tight embrace, planting a kiss on her forehead, right below her horn. “You are a new leader. Very new, in fact. I was raised for several years to lead those under me, and when I first took the mantle of Condottiero, I was unable to command effectively at all. I despaired of ever becoming a leader as my father was, strong and wise. But I learned, and became strong. The wisdom will come later, I think. I hope. The same will be with you. But for now, you must look to yourself before looking to those you command.”

Twilight thought about that for a moment. “I suppose you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right. Come, put the book away and stoke your fire. We shall eat together, and tomorrow I will walk with you. We shall see what can be done to alleviate your problem.”

Twilight raised one eyebrow. “When you say ‘stoke the fire’, you mean in the fireplace, right?”

Tarantella gave her a cheeky grin. “Well, I am very cold, and rather wet. Place logs in the one, and I’ll change out of my armor and we can see about the other. Food can come after.”

Two hours passed after that, the mares eating their fill, both for the first time in a long time. And after that, they fell asleep in front of a roaring fire, still caught in one another’s arms.

Next Chapter: Snow and Hospitality Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 22 Minutes
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