"I don't mean to sound rude, but I thought you two were too busy to come here?" I asked a few minutes later as I handed them both a glass of eggnog and gave them both a slice of the Christmas cake.

"We managed to get away from the Hearth's Warming party early," Celestia said as she lifted the beverage and eyed it with curiosity.

"Indeed," Luna added. "As festive as Canterlot Palace is during this holiday season, we both wished to escape the nobility and see our friends." She lifted the glass to her lips and took a test sip. Her eyes widened as she swished the eggnog around in her mouth, swallowed, then took a bigger swig. "My, this beverage is quite sweet and delectable! What did you call it again, Jethro?"

"Eggnog," I said. "It's a traditional Christmas drink on Earth, and I'm thinking that it could become a holiday themed drink here."

Celestia, who had taken a sip during my explanation, now practically gulped down the entire glass and set it down in seconds. "This is quite a delicious drink. May I have the recipe to give to my cooking staff?"

"Of course! I'll get you the recipe by the end of the night," I said. "Actually, I'm really glad you're both here. Now I won't have to send your presents in the mail."

The two Princesses looked a bit surprised by this, and Celestia said, "You got us both presents?"

"Hey, 'tis the season after all," I said. "And like I keep saying, what's the use of having all this money if I can't use it to make my friends happy?"

The princesses both smiled warmly at me as I got up and walked over to the tree. "Such a gentlecolt," Celestia said.

"Nah, I'm just a banker who knows the value of a buck," I said as I knelt to look for their presents.

"What is a young deer worth, dear knight?" Luna asked.

I snorted. "Sorry, the word buck on Earth has also come to mean a dollar, a unit of American currency." I found the four packages I'd gotten for the princess and lifted them up, carrying them over to the table and setting them down on the coffee table. As the Ponies in the room gathered around to look at the festively wrapped presents, I presented each of them with the boxes. They were a bit smaller than most, but I had managed to pick out what I thought would be perfect gifts for them both. "Merry Christmas, you two." Pulling out my phone, I turned on the camera function and began recording. "I hope you don't mind if I record this for future generations."

The two Alicorns looked at me, then at each other, then down at the presents. To my amusement, Luna quickly grabbed hers and began tearing into them like a child eager to see what Santa brought her. Her lovely deep blue eyes were full of excitement as she pulled out both gifts. Celestia simply lifted her presents up and began gently unwrapping it, undoing the paper meticulously with her magic.

Luna was the first to actually finish opening her presents. One was a human cookbook titled Cheese: Sumptuous Cheese Recipes for All Occasions with a picture of many different cheeses on the cover. I had been informed a couple times by Celestia that, just like she had a weakness for cake, Luna had a weakness for salty meals, especially cheese. She couldn't get enough of the stuff. Along with the book I had included an extra large block of Tillamook extra sharp cheddar cheese, one of my all time favorites. However, Luna's eyes were locked on the small toy version of her that sat on the table in front of her.

Celestia was staring at a similar toy that she had opened. Beside said toy, there was another cookbook called A World of Cake: 150 Recipes for Sweet Traditions from Cultures Near and Far and a small single person Christmas cake decorated with red and green Hershey-ets, a staple candy of my own childhood. The two princesses were staring at the toys in awe, picking them up with their magic and staring at them. Slowly, they both removed the packaging and set it aside, looking closer at their respective toys.

Celestia turned the toy around in her magic, gently reaching out to touch at the toy's cutie mark. She nearly jumped when the plastic wings lit up with a golden glow and a voice from the toy said "I am Princess Celestia." Curious, Celestia touched the cutie mark again. "I love to make new friends." "I'm a princess. Are you a princess too?" "You're beautiful." "Hahaha! Flying is so much fun!" "I love when you comb my hair." "Oh, my hair looks beautiful!" "You're my best friend." "My wings are so pretty." "I will light the way." "Spectacular!" "Let's fly to the castle!"

"Does mine talk too?" Luna wondered, touching her cutie mark.

To her delight, the toy's wings lit up a dark blue and a voice said "I am Princess Luna."

"How delightful!" Luna said as she poked the cutie mark again, listening to everything her doll said.

"Let's look at the moon together!" "From this moment forth, our friendship will last forever!" "Did you know that the sun is a star?" "Even if you love the night, it's good to get some rest." "Hahaha, I love flying at night!" "The moon isn't made of cheese sadly." "Do you love the night as much as I do?" "My crown looks so pretty in the moonlight!"

"Where did you get these?" Celestia asked as she put her toy down and looked over at me.

I smiled. "Yesterday, I went to Earth and went Christmas shopping at one of the malls there. I'm just glad Jackie was willing to drive me around. I went to the local Toys "R" Us, Barnes & Noble and a few other stores for these gifts. She even helped me carry the packages through the portal multiple times."

"Sounds like somethin' ah'd do," Applejack said with a wry smile.

"You and her are more alike than you think," I said, reaching down and running my hand through her mane gently. She reacted by arching her head up into my hand, closing her eyes and relaxing immediately. "I hope she and her family and friends are having as good a time there as we are here."

"Is it our turn to open presents now? Huh? Huh?!" Pinkie asked, suddenly in my face and practically touching noses with me.

"Okay, okay hold on a moment and let me get them," I chuckled as I began lifting the gifts up from beneath the tree. I floated them over to where I stood, looked at the name on it, then floated the gifts over to their respective recipients. "Don't open them yet," I said as I floated Fluttershy's second gift over to her, "I want to see your reactions."

"Hurry hurry hurry!" Pinkie said, the pink mare practically bursting with excitement. "I can hardly wait!"

"Patience is a virtue, darling," Rarity scolded her friend as she looked in curiosity at the gifts I'd given her.

"Time is presents!" Pinkie retorted.

"I'm almost done, so hold your horses Ponks," I said as I found the last of the presents and placed them down. However, I held up my hand to stop the Ponies from starting. "Hold on, I need to get one thing before you start." I quickly retreated to the kitchen, grabbed a large glass bowl of red and green Hershey-ets that I'd hidden. Beside it, there was another bowl of various Christmas candies that I'd gotten in the WinCo Foods bulk section in Pendragon. Carrying both of them out, I placed them on the coffee table. "You can't have Christmas without candy."

The three fillies and Spike stared in awe at the massive bowls of sweets, and I could practically see them drooling over the candies. Pinkie quickly joined in, and the other Ponies also began looking at the candy with curiosity and excitement. As I sat back down in my chair and retrieved my camera again, Zecora walked up and sat in my lap, snuggling against me. "That is quite a lot of sweets, my dearest. How are we going to eat them all?"

"Simple: by giving a portion of them to each of our guests before they go home," I said as I gestured to the Ponies in the room.

The three fillies and Spike all looked excited at the prospect. "We can?" Scootaloo asked excitedly.

"Why not? It's the holiday season," I replied with a smile. "But don't eat too much at once or you'll get sick," I cautioned.

"That's mighty kind of yah tah offer this candy," Applejack said, "but are yah sure?"

"Of course I am," I said. "Think I could eat all of this before it went bad? Eenope, share the wealth, I say!"

"Well, as long as yer sure," the orange mare said before turning to Apple Bloom. "Just don't go eatin' too much at one time or like Jethro said, yah'll get sick."

"Thanks sis!" Apple Bloom said as she walked over to look at the candies.

Holding out my camera, I looked at the other Ponies in the room, then gestured to them. "Okay, I'm ready. Go nuts."

The next half a minute was mess of flying paper and ribbons as some of the Ponies tore into their gifts. Pinkie being the first, of course. I wasn't surprised to see Twilight and Rainbow Dash both eagerly opening her presents as well, the former being quick but neat at the same time while Rainbow Dash could rival Pinkie in terms of speed and messiness. Fluttershy and Rarity were slower and a bit more precise. Applejack was slower than Pinkie, but she wasn't as neat.

I zoomed out and took in their reactions as they opened their gifts. This was what they were.

Pinkie Pie was the first to open her presents. Her eyes almost bugged out of her skull when she saw what I had gotten her. Her smile was infectious as she picked up and looked over the multiple board games I'd gotten for her, which consisted of Chutes and Ladders, Candyland, Clue and Monopoly. Her eyes went wider when she saw the second gift I'd gotten her, which was a Pinkie Pie toy. She looked between the presents, and I could only assume that she was unsure what she wanted to play with first.

For Rarity, I'd gotten her some of the finest fabric from Earth with the help of Trisha, who Jackie had called the day prior. She'd suggested Rayon Challis fabric for loose fitting clothes and Cotton Lycra Jersey for form fitting garments. I'd gotten three of each. For the former, I bought rose pattern, plain white which could be dyed, and a blue and white striped one which closely matched her color scheme. For the latter, I found a rose red fabric along with a lovely floral pattern and a plain white that could be dyed. I could already see her mind working on what she could do with these fabrics with a wide grin before she turned to her second and third gift. I'd gotten her one of the latest and best sewing machines from Earth on Trisha's recommendation as well: a Janome Memory Craft 6600. It was a bit more computerized than anything Rarity was used to, but it came with a note that said that I would help her figure out how to use it. Along with that and plenty of different colored threads, her third gift was a small toy version of herself, which she set aside to further admire the other gifts. I wasn't surprised when Sweetie Belle picked up the box with the toy of her sister to look at it curiously.

For Fluttershy, I got her not only a toy of her, but a few books that went into great detail about animals back on Earth, both extinct and non extinct ones. I'd learned from one of our tea sessions together that while she did find it sad that some animal species on both Earth and Equestria had gone extinct, she knew that it was just the way of life. Not only had I gotten her those books, but I'd gotten her the entire boxed set of one of her favorite Earth manga that I could find: Ouran High School Host Club. She gave me a teary eyed but smiling look as she mouthed a "Thank you" before peeling the plastic off of the manga and opening the first volume to read it.

For Rainbow Dash, I'd gotten her one of the latest RC remote control airplanes and an RC remote control car. Not only that, but I'd gotten her some Martinelli's Sparkling Cider glass bottles for her to try. I knew the cider addiction was a problem for her, but I was curious to see how she compared the taste. She was constantly whispering "So awesome! So awesome!" as she looked at those new toys along with the small toy version of her that matched the one I'd gotten for Scootaloo.

For Applejack, I'd gotten her a rather funny gag gift because I was feeling cheeky while I was at WinCo. I'd gotten her a family sized bag of Applejacks cereal, which she'd given me a narrowed expression. However, when she saw a human cookbook that I'd gotten her titled The Apple Orchard Cookbook along with a banjo and an Applejack toy, her eyes brightened and she began looking over the book eagerly. I had written a small note on the book that warned that some of the recipes did have meat in them, but I'd learned that Applejack didn't particularly care about my carnivorous tendencies. In her own words, "Yah gotta eat what yah gotta eat, sugarcube."

Lastly, for Twilight Sparkle, there was only one thing that I could get for her, and that was even more books. However, since I knew that she wanted so much more than a few volumes, I had gotten her not just a toy of herself, but a state of the art gaming personal computer along with ten of the latest Kindles with the highest capacity of space that I could find. I was beaming when I saw Twilight's brain practically shut down at the sight of the Alienware Area-51 ALX with two curved monitors, a backlit gaming keyboard and one of the best gaming mouses on the market. With the PC and the Kindles came a note from me, promising to teach her how to download books from the staticnet and install them onto the aforementioned Kindles.

Of course, she wasn't the only one excited about the PC. Spike was staring at the computer with eagerness. Looking up at me, he asked, "Can…can that thing play Skyrim?"

I grinned. "Yes it can, Spike. But you should always ask for permission from Twilight to use it, got it?"

Spike nodded in understanding. "Yes, Dad," he said before turning and looking over the pictures on the box with Twilight.

I chuckled. "Boys are the same everywhere. They always want more power." I looked up at Zecora and Scarlet. "Don't you want to open your gifts?"

Zecora leaned down and kissed my cheek. "All we want for Hearth's Warming-"

"-is you," Scarlet finished as she kissed my other cheek.

I smiled at them, but not wanting them to miss out, floated over their presents to them. "Still, Merry Christmas, you two." Both of my mares smiled gratefully as they both began opening their gifts.

I'd almost gotten Zecora a human book on potions, but instead got said book for myself so I could try them first and see if, in a world of magic, they would work. It was sitting currently in my Earth home waiting to be tried. Instead, I'd gotten her an Astronomy Technologies AT8IN 8-inch f/4 imaging Newtonian telescope along with all of the appropriate equipment necessary to take astrophotography images in the night sky. She was completely flabbergasted by this and thanked me profusely. I apologized that I couldn't find a Zecora toy, but she shook her head and told me that the present I'd gotten her was more than enough.

For Scarlet, I'd gotten her two five hundred dollar Visa gift cards which she could use on herself back on Earth, along with one of the very first drones to hit the market, the Parrot . Ever since she'd seen my own personal drone, she'd been really fascinated by it and had wanted one of her own. Unfortunately, since back on the other Earth the drone market was just beginning all I could buy was one of the very first drones that came out along with all the accoutrements. I cautioned her that she would probably have to be in her Anthro form to use it properly, but she pointed to her wings and spread them, manipulating them like fingers.

I watched everyone admiring their gifts in their own way, and a sense of euphoria washed over me. I always loved seeing people's reactions to the gifts I got. Giving, at least to me, was incredibly rewarding. I thought back to my past Christmases and other celebratory occasions on Earth where I'd either made or purchased a gift for someone I cared about. I smiled as I remembered getting my Trixie a dress that she'd been eyeing in a shop window during the few months leading up to one of her birthdays. The wide eyed look of happiness on her face when she opened my gift on her birthday and the subsequent lovemaking session that evening after the party told me all I needed to know about how she felt about it.

I also remembered the smile on Dad's face after Mom and I both pitched in and got him a brand new tactical watch after the one he'd used for twenty years finally died. It was one which had analog and digital time on it and was gold plated like his old one had been.

"Jethro? Something wrong?"

I came back to the present only to see a concerned Fluttershy who was standing on her hind legs, her forelegs on my thighs and looking at me with concern. I smiled and shook my head. "Just remembering a bit of the past," I replied as I reached over and scratched her behind the ears.

"Anything good?" Twilight asked.

"Just times I've given gifts to those close to me," I admitted. "I love giving gifts, if you haven't already guessed."

"Not as much as we love getting them!" Rainbow Dash said with a grin before getting smacked upside the head by Applejack. "Ow! Do you feel a lump forming back there?" she asked, rubbing the back of her head.

"Don't think yer getting' out of the gift department, sugarcube," Applejack said as she stood and turned to Twilight. "Yah ready, Twi?"

Twilight nodded excitedly and lifted the fabric over to one wall. Placing it up, the door to the other dimensional library appeared and she opened it. As one, each Pony in the room walked into the library, even Celestia and Luna. As they did so, Twilight turned to me and said, "Close your eyes, Jethro."

"Oh? Well, alright," I said as I did so. I felt a pair of velvety hands covering my eyes. "Really, Zecora?"

"Really, dearest," she said as I felt a bunch of feathers covering my ears as well.

"What are you doing now?" I asked, my voice muffled a bit.

"You'll see," she said in a muffled tone.

I sighed and leaned back. Zecora wrapped her wings further around me and pulled me closer to her, burying my face in her ample bosom as she finally had her wings around my ears and eyes. She ran one hand through my hair and I heard her ask in Farasi, "Has this Hearth's Warming been pleasant for you, beloved?"

I smiled and nodded. "It's definitely been a nice reprieve from everything that's been happening to me lately."

"I am pleased to hear it, dearest." She reached down and licked the side of my face affectionately. "Has anything else been bothering you lately?"

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.

"I feel like something more troubles you other than what has been happening on the surface," she said. "Especially since I became this new form, something about you feels different. It's okay to tell me," she added in a reassuring tone.

I smiled and took her hand in mine, kissing it in the dark that her wings provided. "Well, aside from one of my more useful powers being unusually absent from me, nothing else is happening."

"What do you mean, dearest?" she asked.

I sighed and leaned back, leaning further into her bosom, her breasts covering my ears even more. "Well, remember that dreamwalking power I had?" I asked. "The same one that helped me repair the Castle of the Two Sisters?"

"I do," she replied.

"I'm a bit worried about not having as much access to it as I used to," I said. "I last used it to repair my naval vessel, but for a month or so now I'm having a harder time entering that state. In fact, I haven't entered it ever since I used it last to repair my vessel."

"And that bothers you?" she asked.

"Yes, because it's a really useful power," I replied. "I had plans on using it around the world. Maybe retrieve the Griffon's idol or erect a free wall around Ponyville to better protect it or something. But it's gotten harder to make anything. I'm worried I might be losing it."

"I understand," she said kindly, holding me closer. "When things have begun to settle down, please allow me to help you in determining what might have happened."

"I know better than to say no to you," I replied with a chuckle. "I will gladly accept help."

"We're almost ready!" Twilight shouted from the direction of the door.

"Ah still can't believe yah talked us into this," Applejack said. "It's a bit unusual tah be like this."

"Darling, don't be ridiculous!" Rarity replied. "There are so many possibilities when it comes to this. Twilight, do you think you can teach me how to do this too?"

"It's a pretty difficult spell, Rarity, but I can give you the instructions," Twilight said.

"I hope he'll like it," Fluttershy added hopefully.

"Wow! Look at this, Crusaders! My wings are big!" Scootaloo said.

I raised an eyebrow, suspicion settling in. It sounded like they'd done something to themselves to make a big surprise for me, and I could only guess as to what they'd done. "What did you guys do?" I asked.

"Something pretty awesome!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Oooh! I'm all squishy here!" Pinkie said, and I almost heard the sound of something springing back. "Boingy, boingy, boingy!"

"Not in front of the young foals, Miss Pie," Luna admonished.

"But it's so squishy!"

"Miss Pie, stop," Luna repeated more sternly.

"Ehehe, sorry…"

"How did I get roped into this, too?" Apple Bloom said.

"I don't know, girls, I kinda like it," Sweetie Belle said.

I heard hoofsteps coming out of the library and into the living room. Not only that, but I heard the unmistakable rustling of clothes. I heard Spike gasp and whisper "Wow…" as they walked out.

Listening to the pattern of the hoofsteps, I noted that they were either unusually slow, or they were walking on their hind legs. And that's when it hit me. I took a deep breath, the answer to my previous question now being obvious. "You guys didn't…"

"Show him, dear Zecora," Celestia said.

"Yes, your Highness," the Zebra said as she began to remove the wings around my eyes.

And I took in the now fully clothed Anthro Pony mares all looking at me, varying smiles on their faces. All I could say at that moment was, "Whoa..."

Merry Christmas Everyone/Everypony/Everycreature!