Author's Note: The original idea for this story came from Retro Mania, who gave me the idea to do this story, and helped me plan out what was going to happen.

Chapter 1

"Hey Twilight, the girls and I are heading to Sugarcube for some snacks, you coming?" Starlight called from the library entrance. Just behind her, the five other bearers of the Elements waited for their studious researcher of a friend. Twilight looked up from the four books resting open on a desk before her, smiling when she saw her friends, deciding that the books she was sifting through could wait.

"Yeah. Just give me a moment to get ready. Spike!" The purple alicorn shouted into the depths of her shiny gem-layered castle. At her call, the tiny purple dragon came rushing in from behind the waiting group, standing at attention before his master.

"Yes, Twilight?"

"I need you to clean this place up." He glanced around, piles of books lay around in various locations, heaps of notes scattered round the room, shelves were stripped of their glorious books. He groaned loudly before his attention returned to Twilight.

"But, this place is a mess!" He started to protest, but was cut off.

"I would, but I'm sure my Number 1 assistant is far more capable of cleaning this in no time." She offered her best puppy eyes, hoping to convince him to cover her mess while she spent time outside. "I'm sure Rarity would be extremely thankful to you if she was able to spend time with her friends."

At the mention of his crush, he cast his glance over to where the white mare herself stood just behind Starlight, having heard her name. He saw her at the door, and his eyes morphed into hearts, beating out and reaching for what he could only dream of. If it meant he would gain graces in her eyes, he was willing to cross the world. "Well, when you put it like that. I guess it has been a while since I reorganized the library. You can count on me!"

Twilight rushed forward and wrapped Spike in a hug, before gently planting him back on the ground. He finished his salute, and he was just able to blink before the group of ponies before him were gone. He chuckled to himself before turning to the stacks and stacks of books he would spend the better part of an hour moving.

Starlight and Twilight left the library room in the castle, followed by Rainbow Dash hovering above them, Rarity and Applejack walking at a sedate pace, Fluttershy shuffling like her normal self, and Pinkie. . . Well, Pinkie just being Pinkie. It exasperated the group to no end whenever Pinkie got into one of her 'moods' where everything became a party, but they loved her nonetheless.

Pinkie led the group outside the castle, positively beaming at a chance to celebrate for any reason, and the reason for this trip to Sugarcube: it was just a wonderful winter day. The snow was fresh, powdery, and delightfully fun to play in, and on the walk through town, she was constantly rolling in it. After all, Hearth's Warming was coming up very soon, and that was a super special occasion. It only happened once a year, so she had to make sure it was the best Hearth's Warming Party ever!

She made that opinion known to the world by shouting it across the land, inhaling so deeply she sucked up air in a vortex. Then that air was returned to the air in the form of a voice so loud, it shouldn't have been able to come from a pony, earth pony or not. Starlight and Twilight shared a playful look, sharing the feeling of the overbearing, mysterious, energetic being known as Pinkamena Diane Pie.

Just where does she get all this energy? Is she solar-powered? Maybe she converts all those sugary treats into pure energy? Twilight couldn't help but wonder, as that pink earth pony was always an enigma to all that was science.

"Say Twilight?" Said purple princess turned her attention to who was addressing her, directing at the other earth pony in their group; Applejack. "What were ya doin' all holed up the castle? Surely there can't be much more left for you to study, the Princess Celestia ain't got anythin' left to teach ya."

Twilight smiled at the mention of her old mentor, whom she still sent letters to regarding her troubles and discoveries in friendship. Old habits die hard.

"Oh, I was just doing some light reading, as I wanted to refresh my memory on the oldest traditions in Equestria. Hearth's Warming is coming up, as Pinkie oh so energetically said, and I wanted some historical information about the event that led to it becoming officially a holiday. I want this to be a Hearth's Warming that will be remembered, and I have a plan for the gifts I want to get you all to mark the celebration." She explained, the group not breaking stride as they headed towards the bakery that resembled delectable treats, somehow still standing and not being mistaken by the young foals in Ponyville. Rainbow Dash and Applejack shared a look that they had shared on more than one occasion regarding their friend's choice in knowledge over everything.

It was something that they had come to expect from the resident walking library, she always wanted to know everything. They resumed the pace, encouraging the now snow-covered Pinkie to shake off her literal winter cloak before entering the facility of childish dreams come true.

Inside Sugarcube Corner, several of Ponyville's inhabitants were already sitting around tables and stools enjoying their sugary treats. The girls grabbed a corner booth, one of exactly two in the bakery that could seat the seven of them, while Pinkie bounced off into the depths of the kitchen planning that which only she would know. Once their bouncing pink friend had left, Twilight turned to the others engaging in a conversation.

"Rarity, how goes the Boutiques in Canterlot and Manehattan?" She asked in sincere curiosity, inciting the white fashionista's ears to swivel forward at the mention of her fashion lines. "Last I heard, your most recent lines have been doing really well."

"Why, thank you darling. My latest lines are just doing absolutely marvelous, I have called them 'Bold in the Cold,' and 'Warm but Wonderful.' They are quite the hit this wonderful season." He happily replied, making extravagant gestures when she mentioned the titles of her line, nodding all the while. When she finished, the group was smiling for her, happy that a friend was being successful in something she adored.

"Well, you are a genius in making good clothes." Fluttershy's response came out as positively as she could sound, though it was still in her meek tone, but she was smiling anyway. The group nodded in agreement, inciting the ivory-cloaked unicorn to wave off the compliments in modesty.

"Please, girls. I simply have vision, it takes only the absolute best to truly make trends, I am but a simple fashion designer."

"Who happened to get the attention of every major fashion designer everywhere." Starlight added, offering her friend a smile to encourage her to take the compliments as they were. "You are a very talented designer, don't hold yourself back. You know you do great things, and these are just seasonal projects you were working on. Besides, from what I have heard, you have set many trends."

Rarity smiled at her in thanks, before the sudden appearance of their pink friend caused the group to flinch away from the table. One moment it was bare of anything, the next; sweets piled over the table, some splashing onto the mares seated. Of those to fall victim to Pinkie's spray of snacks, Twilight received the worst, completely engulfed by sugary treats, cakes and pie were all that could be seen of her.

"Pinkie!" The group heard the groan escape from the heap of baked goods. Said pink pony just giggled an apology, before her massive tongue again broke physics and stretched from across the table, wrapping around the cakes and pies, before sucking them all into her mouth, leaving a spotless Twilight sitting there; unsure about the most recent act of her friend. She looked over her body, then shuddered as she thought about it.

"Uh, Twilight darling? Would you mind going to the filly's room and washing up? I don't think that was entirely sanitary." Rarity asked, to which the other girls nodded vigorously. Twilight stared deadpan at Pinkie Pie, before nodding in agreement and working her way out of the booth. While she walked through the bakery, she heard Starlight chastising Pinkie lightly for engulfing them in foods. It was lighthearted, and she knew Pinkie didn't mean it, but it was still irritating her. She figured a moment to breath would be good, so she let it pass.

As soon as Twilight has disappeared from sight, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie burst out laughing, the obscenity of the situation unbearable for them. Soon, the rest of the group joined in, knowing Pinkie's antics would always be the highlights of their days, as the earth pony did have a talent for making others laugh. Starlight and Apple jack were the first to recover.

"Seriously though, I think maybe you should hold back on the sugar, Pinkie. That much can't be healthy, even for you." Starlight spoke with a slight amount of concern for her friend's wellbeing.

It was Applejack who came to defend her pinkie, sugar-devouring friend. "Now, now sugarcube. Pinkie here is a problem ain't no pony going to understand anytime soon. She could eat all the sugar in the world an' be as right as a summer breeze while you're buckin' apples."

Starlight stared at Applejack, a purely dumbfounded face detailing the exact confusion she was feeling then. Applejack's smile was just beginning to fade when Starlight caught on, understanding the intention behind the farmer's words. She looked over at the pink party pony happily chowing away the food before them all. She waited for a moment before using her magic to pull a cupcake over to her, looking it over before shrugging and taking a bite. The rest of the group followed suit shortly after, though after Pinkie had started, there was little food left.

However, by the time Twilight had returned from the restroom, cleaned up from the attack from Pinkie's tongue, there was still enough food for her to get something to eat.

When the food had been devoured by the girls, they sat in the booth, discussing various things in their lives, consisting mainly of Rarity talking about her fashion and Rainbow Dash bragging about her training with the Wonderbolts. The others would listen to the speaker, smiling and nodding all the while. Eventually, Pinkie got bored of the sitting and talking, as she was out of food, and suggested going outside and playing in the snow.

The girls happily agreed, slowly climbing out of the booth and wrapping themselves in their scarves while preparing for the winter wonderland outside. Exiting the building, Rainbow Dash burst forth and dived into a heap of snow, followed by an enthusiastic Pinkie the rest of the group followed shortly after, enjoying the spirit of the season, knowing sooner than later, the holidays will be gone, followed by the snow. And then everything will return to dullness. They enjoyed what they had while they had it something that they had gone over more than once along their studious journeys.

Something Twilight really wished she was able to do was convince her friends that her studies could have been equally as fun. They never listened of course, but she always tried the same. This particular day, however, she felt like her studies just needed a bit of a break, and that the fresh air and time with her friends would be beneficial.

And so play outside she did, engaging in a snowball fight with Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie. The rest of the girls split into two teams, though Fluttershy didn't really participate, something they would have been surprised by if she had.

After a long and grueling duel between the two sides, it was declared a draw by the Princess of Friendship, neither side willing to yield, while neither could gain an advantage to force the other's submission. The draw was called when Fluttershy, who had been sitting off to one side, began to sneeze, sniffing with a red nose. The group decided that it would be best to spend the remaining day inside, where it was warm, and there was little chance of them catching anything. They went back to the castle.

Twilight took the opportunity to head to her laboratory to set up some of her studies for later, while Starlight went into the library to collect Spike, who should have been done by then.

The purple unicorn went through the doors, passing into the large library only a pony like Twilight could have desired. Inside, she was greeted to clean floors, spotless tables, and a sleeping Spike napping in a corner, blanket draped over him, and a comic book in his claws.

She smiled warmly, glad that Spike was taking the rest he undoubtedly deserved, and was just about to turn and silently leave, when a presence at her side distracted her. She rotated her head to see who was beside her, and smiled when she saw her old mentor sharing the blissful gaze on her number one assistant. She rested her gaze back on the sleeping baby dragon, who was mumbling in his slumber.

"He looks so peaceful when he sleeps like this, I just wish he didn't have to work so hard." Twilight whispered, turning with her former student to leave the room. The purple pair walked outside, to meet the gazes of the rest, who were wondering both about the lack of a certain purple dragon, and why both were smiling extravagantly. After Twilight cast a single glance back into the library, smile still plastered to her face, the rest put the pieces together, and the smiles spread across the remaining friends.

"Ah take it our little Spike is busy napping, and will be undisturbed?" Applejack asked lightheartedly, and some of them nodded in affirmation.

"Aw." Came collectively from the group, they were all sharing the same expression of happiness and joy. Fluttershy spoke up, ready to find a place to sit down and rest, sniffling the whole time. "I think we should let him get his rest, he sure does deserve it after all the hard work he does around here."

The group nodded in agreement, once again, and left the entrance to the library. They walked through the empty halls, decorated with simple paintings here and there, but for the most part bare of any other furnishings. The halls needed little decorations, though, as the shining gemstones that made up the walls were enough to look at for any sane pony or dragon. The seven girls found it difficult to bring up a topic to the others, so they just walked on in silence, hoofsteps ringing along the barren walls.

Eventually, they settled in the main chamber, sitting in various chairs or on the couches, all wrapped around the burning fireplace. A growing fire that Starlight had started using her magic, much to the approval of Twilight.

Rarity took a whole couch to herself, buried under a massive blanket that she had picked from the offered coverings Twilight so generously provided. And as such, Twilight found herself pressed tightly between both Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, each of which were taking advantage of the situation to press and poke their princess friend. Twilight's mood was slowly souring as the 'friends' on either side of her continued to giggle and prod her sides, Pinkie oblivious to her friend's growing irritation, while Rainbow Dash relished in it.

While the other four mares around the room were enjoying themselves, Twilight felt the pressure growing inside of her, begging to be released. Finally, Rainbow became aware of the irritation in Twilight, and backed off, flying to the other side of the room, giving the princess room to breathe and calm down. Chuckling as she apologized don her way over, which caught the attention of the other ponies. The first to react was Starlight, who tried to diffuse the situation before it went out of control, standing and walking over to her ex-mentor.

She put a gentle hoof on Twilight's shoulder, offering a calming smile at her red-faced friend. Twilight saw the concern in her eyes, then decided to take a deep breath, centering herself so she didn't lose control.

"Sorry girls. It has just been a really long week, and I have been really stressed about your gifts." She breathed out in relief, glad to have gotten that out of her system.

"Oh, darling. You really shouldn't worry about the gifts, you should know that no matter what, we will love them, because you are our friend, and friends care for one another." Rarity offered, though she remained seated exactly where she was, draped across the couch while taking shelter underneath the thick blanket. "We understand that you put a lot of effort into making us happy, even if it isn't necessary."

"Especially when it ain't necessary." Applejack interjected, prompting a smile to crack Twilight's face open, always enjoying the little things that Applejack and Rarity bickered over. She was grateful that they were trying to help her out, and so she thanked them for their effort and they all went over to her and embraced her in a group hug.

"It is the season to be happy, and how can I be angry at you girls. You are all amazing." Twilight said from within the group, causing the hug to tighten. When the group separated and returned to their seats, Twilight started to head out to go to the kitchen. She stopped at the door and turned to the questioning glances of her friends, flashing a smile and nodding in the direction of the kitchen. "So, who wants cocoa?"

All the girls spoke at the same time, a jumbled mixture of their voices all giving the same affirmative answer, very enthusiastically. Twilight happily nodded at their shared response, leaving them to their own devices to prepare their drinks. As soon as she had left the room, Rainbow Dash broke the mood with her honest question: "Are we absolutely sure we want Twilight making our food? I know she's gotten better, but I mean, she is still Twilight, and we all know she has Spike cook for a reason."

That incited them all to share laughter, though Rainbow still had a slightly confused but concerned look on her face. Eventually they left the comment alone, and awaited their purple princess's return.

When the princess returned, they all thanked her for the cocoa, though Rainbow Dash was hesitant about drinking it. The blue pegasus stared at her drink, silently doubted the legitimacy of the chocolate drink, and she sniffed at it cautiously. Rarity and Applejack watched their flying friend's reaction to the drink Twilight had made, doing their best to hide their own giggling to the rainbow-maned pegasus' obvious doubt. After the rest of the group had begun to drink the pleasant beverage, Rainbow Dash finally submitted, carefully taking a small sip from her cup. Finding that it had cooled, but wasn't terrible, she elected to finish it in a large gulp.

When she lowered the cup from her lips, she was met by the gazes of multiple of her friends, who were each wearing a smug expression that she could only grin sheepishly to.

"What, it wasn't that bad." She shrugged, catching the attention of Twilight, who's curious gaze went between a sheepish Rainbow Dash, and the smug-looking Applejack, Rarity and Starlight. Rainbow Dash chuckled to herself and turned to address her purple princess friend, still grinning like mad. "Like I said, Twilight, you have been getting better in the kitchen. And while you aren't exactly a Spike kind of cook, you can hold your own with these smaller things."

Said friend's ears flattened as she stared with an equally flat gaze at the egotistical pegasus, she let out a breath, then closed her eyes and counted to ten. When she opened her eyes, she gave out a smile to the onlooking ponies, trying to reassure them that everything was going to be alright. "Well, thank you Rainbow Dash, and I will make sure to repay this kindness with some more of my smaller cooking. Since you have made it abundantly clear that you just love my cooking skills."

All the girls visibly flinched hearing the barbed comments, passing around mildly confused and equally worried looks between each other.

"Now if you will excuse, I just remembered that I have something that I must attend to right away." The princess made a hasty excuse before teleporting out of the room, leaving the baffled group to wonder just what was wrong with their friend this time. Once she had gone, they all turned to one another and began discussing what it was.

"Okay, so I know that she is usually a bit cranky sometimes, and she does have a habit of berating us, but just what in the hay was that?!" Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up, putting her cup down so she could focus her attention on the others who were just as confused as she was. She looked between the others, hoping one of them could offer an explanation, but none offered anything in response to her query. Eventually, amid the silence, it was the shyest of the group that dared to break the cloud of tension in the room.

"Do you think that maybe we should try to talk with her?" The quiet question went nearly unheard as she asked it into her mane, and it was only through Starlight being right next to her that the question was heard at all. The purple unicorn turned to look at Fluttershy, questions written all over her features. Fluttershy hid behind her mane for a moment when all the rest of the girls turned their attention to her as well, but reappeared when they all were waiting patiently.

"I was just wondering, you know? Maybe she has more on her plate that she could get off." She spoke a little more confidently now that they were listening to her idea, though it was still blanketed by her natural shyness. "If she wants to, of course."

"You know, I think that may be the best option we have here." Applejack offered up, and being the Element of Harmony, her word was taken as the best (and only) option they had. The girls slowly began nodding in agreement, though Rainbow Dash was rather hesitant towards the idea of talking to Twilight so early. Her opinion, which she voiced early into the voting, was that they should give their princess friend time to recover. They debated that, and decided that the sooner this was resolved, the better.

So the group gathered whatever they had brought with them, mostly consisting of coats and scarves and left the room, intending to scour the whole castle in search of Twilight. Clearing the first floor in a matter of moments, they took the stairs to search it for her, and when that didn't yield any princesses, they started going up the towers. Each tower they cleared, the searching became a bit more frantic, as they weren't entirely sure where they could look for Twilight. There were only so many places that she could hide in, and they were going through them rather quickly.

After the final tower was done and searched, they returned to the main hall, where the fire was still burning strong, and where a certain purple dragon was busy cleaning the room. The girls walked in and allowed Starlight to approach the young dragon.

"Spike, have you seen Twilight?" She asked once he had noticed that most of the group was standing there behind him. When he looked confused by her question, she thought to more explain the situation to him. "We may have upset her and we can't find her anywhere, so we were hoping you had seen her anytime very recently. Like in the last half-hour?"

Spike appeared thoughtful for a second, before he returned a sad shake of his head, turning to continue his work dusting the furniture, something they all thought was rather pointless under the circumstances.

"Sorry, girls. I haven't seen her since you all went out for your girls' day."

"Oh, well thanks anyway, Spike. Keep up the good work." Starlight said as she left with the rest of the group, wondering just where to go. She couldn't get far before they heard Spike calling for them to wait.

"Have you checked the basement?" His question surprised them, as Starlight was the true master of directions between them, having lived in the castle for some time now, and the group all looked at her for an answer. "If you've checked everywhere else, then she has to be in there."

"Oh, right! I forgot we even had one of those!" She said as she hurried off in a direction to go to the basement. She turned a corner and then almost immediately returned to the door, just as the other girls were about to follow her. She looked at Spike while chuckling at herself lightly. "Can you remind me where the basement is?"

Once Spike had provided directions for the group to get down to the basement, they had rushed through the door. Nearly tripping down the crystal stairs, they hurried down the bright stairs and into a surprisingly well-lit room that housed seemingly endless amounts of science equipment. They passed by the completely foreign objects and headed directly towards the sound of glass clinking together and mumbling. They weren't surprised to see Twilight standing at a table with a clipboard taking notes on the experiment she was working on.

No, what did surprise them was that they saw several rings on the table, seven to be exact, and each one was floating and glowing a different color. Each ring held a gemstone on it, very similar to the Elements, and glowed a color respectful to the gem on it.

"Twilight!" Starlight called out, walking into the opening that had been cleared between several of the tables and the working area the named princess was working in. "We've been looking all over for you!"

Twilight magically placed the clipboard onto the table, slowly turning to face her friends, eyes lingering on each in turn. TO them, it felt like she was scanning their very souls for something. As she scanned each one in a linear order starting from one side and slowly moving to the other, the group sat in highly uncomfortable silence. Eventually, as she looked at the last friend, her eyes rested back on Starlight, who was standing at the head of the group.

"I think I made a breakthrough." When she spoke those words, the group just fell into total and utter confusion, unsure of how to respond to the statement. Rainbow Dash and Rarity just stared at her like she had gone insane, while Starlight, Applejack, and Fluttershy exchange glances and shrugs. Pinkie did the only logical thing a pony like Pinkie could do, and walked right up to the rings, examined them for a moment then nodded. She cocked her head to one side, rubbed a hoof under her chin, then cocked her head to the other side. She stared intently at the seven rings for a long moment in silence, then hummed happily.

"I see what you mean!" She nodded in agreement with Twilight.

Starlight opened her mouth to reply, but Fluttershy put a hoof to her lips, shaking her head in the expression that spoke louder than words: 'It is Pinkie. Do Not Question it.' So the unicorn just shrugged and turned to her concerning friend, who was now conversing with Pinkie Pie about something to do with stars and trees and shiny things. She shook her head in exasperation, thinking all the while: Oh Pinkie, when will you ever make sense?