PyraohXBlaze - 'Rainbow Dawn'? Sounds like a pretty cool name actually

xel101 - Hmm... It could be both, it could be neither, she could be becoming something else entirely, or maybe she just caught some weird Everfree bug... I'll never tell ;)

shadows being - Perhaps

Killerbeast1998 - At least everything turned out ok in the end. Her rhyming actually isn't that hard for me. Technically, she's been aware (at least to some extent) since her creation; that's how she was able to search for a Bearer

Guest - Lol. It's been forever since I've played Kingdom Hearts

centaurus2 - What is that?

DragonLovingBrony - Lol isn't she just awesome? A certain little filly and her dad...

ShadowfireAngel - Shh! Don't jinx it!

theflammablefiredragon - You'll just have to read on and see for yourself ;)

Nostalgia Cop - Lol good thing I keep stockpiles of 'interested' colored crayons ;) As for your OC... I'm not sure I really have room for any, save one that I'm already doing, (and that's only because he fills a role that I needed filled) but perhaps...

DarkwolfLord -'Decisions, decisions' indeed

PBJFanFiction - Ah... the little moments of peace... And not much development yet

Kyguy - Is that good or bad?

KillerWoW - Perhaps ;) Thanks, but I've already got plenty of ideas of my own in mind :D

coldshadow 92 - Well, you're about to get more :D

DragonLord RyuKizoku - But is it mere coincidence, or is there more to it...?

Ponified Bacon Boss - Lol all true, save Twilight and Zecora; that zebra needs to be in the story more!

Mikalzilla - Perhaps

Turnupgrain - Didn't he?

A/N - Howdy everypony! So... I got into watching some let's plays of Until Dawn over the weekend... it's an awesome game to be sure, but it definitely gives you a new perspective on the Hearth's Warming legend. Anyway, not much new going on here, so on with the story! As always, don't forget to follow/favorite, review, and most importantly; enjoy!

It took some convincing, but I finally managed to get Luna to agree to allow us to put Falathiel's plan into motion. The sentient sword wasted no time in floating herself over to the desk where the book still rested, beckoning me over to her with a mental tug. I did as she bade and walked over to the desk, taking a seat in the comfortable chair.

She lay herself gently across the open book and instructed me to lay my hands across her sheath, and I obeyed, my skin tingling in anticipation of the unknown. I could feel Luna watching from across the room, obviously wanting to give us a wide berth in case we needed the space.

I felt Falathiel's blade humming lightly inside her sheath, and the air was filled with the sound of a woman humming a sweet tune. I could tell she was mentally preparing herself, going over what needed to be done and steeling herself for what was to come. I had to admit, I was worried for her too; none of us had any idea what would happen to her after she completed this spell and became inert.

I couldn't stop myself from feeling bad for allowing her to go through with this, but at the same time, I understood that her consciousness was far more ancient than even Celestia and Luna, and maybe even their parents, so if anyone knew what they were doing, it was her. I snapped back to reality as the humming abruptly stopped, and looked down to regard Falathiel. "I'm ready to begin, Bearer. After this point, I can't tell you what will happen, but I do hope that all goes well, and that the spell restores your sight."

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. "Thanks Falathiel… you don't have to do this you know."

I felt a mental nod from her. "I know. But, you are my Bearer, and there is little that I wouldn't do to ensure your happiness. Now, let's begin." She fell silent after that.

Nothing happened for a long moment, and I was beginning to wonder if something was wrong when all of a sudden, she started vibrating. It was soft at first, but it grew steadily until it felt like my entire body was vibrating along with her. I suddenly felt a truly disturbing sensation; it felt as though something was being pulled out of me, but it wasn't something substantial, more like some unseen force was trying to pull my soul out of my body.

I started to panic, and nearly pulled my hands free from the vibrating sheath, but the thought suddenly came to my mind that this must be what it felt like when an outside source was drawing on another's magic. I forced myself to calm down and endure the sensation, watching Falathiel for any sign of change.

Soon enough, I saw her begin to glow through her sheath, and I recognized the aura immediately; it was my aura. I began to feel weak, like I never had before, and I wanted to tell her to stop, but I knew that there was no turning back now, and so I kept quiet.

Falathiel continued drawing magic from me, and I grew even weaker. Panic started tickling at the back of my mind, and it got harder and harder to resist the urge to tear my hands away from her sheath. I shifted my aurasight back to Luna, and I quickly noticed that it was acting rather sluggishly, and almost seemed to resist me as I tried to shift it.

No sooner had I managed to turn it to the mare, hoping for some modicum of moral support from her, than everything went dark; I suddenly found myself too weak to even maintain my aurasight spell, and panic truly began to set in as I thought of the consequences of her draining too much magic.

I finally willed myself to pull my hands away from her, but before I could, a jolt of pain raced up my arms and slammed into my head, the force of the magical surge sending me flying backwards with enough force to throw aside the chair I had been sitting in and fling me back towards the bed. I heard Luna cry out, but she sounded far away, and I couldn't make out what she was saying.

There was a sharp pain in my spine as the lower half of my back impacted the mattress, leaving my upper torso to wrench backwards painfully. I slumped to the floor with a groan and vaguely felt a pair of hooves wrap around me, cradling my barely conscious form as I lay there.

"Blake! My love, please speak to me!" I let out a pained groan and Luna helped me into a sitting position. I could tell from the throbbing ache and stabbing pains that my back would be giving me problems for a few days at least. I rubbed my head and tried to spark up my aurasight, but I couldn't even get a flicker of sensation from the spell that had been the closest thing that I had had to actual sight for some time.

"Wh… what happened…? How long was I out?"

"Not long, perhaps a minute. Are you alright? I don't recall that infernal blade mentioning anything about you being blasted across the room!"

"I think I'm ok. Don't be so hard on Falathiel though, she risked a lot trying that for me… though it looks like it didn't work."

"How can you know that? You have yet to open your eyes."

I wanted to say something to her, but I realized that she was correct; I had somehow gone that entire time without realizing that my eyes were still closed. "Hmm… I guess I didn't realize." I took a deep breath and slowly cracked my eyelids open, steeling myself for the disappointment of failure.

I slammed them closed again almost immediately when I was assaulted by a bright flash of light. "Gah! Could you do something about that light? It… hurts… my eyes…"

"Wh-what did you say…?"

I tried opening my eyes again, and this time managed to open them slightly further. The light stung them, but I forced myself to press onwards. Soon enough, I began to see blurred shapes and muted colors. I felt tears welling up in my eyes as I saw a blurred, dark blue shape right in front of my face. A single tear slipped freely from each eye when that shape started focusing, sharpening up and morphing into the beautiful face of my dear Princess.

"Blake… is something wrong? Did it not- Mmph!" I cut her off as my head rushed forward, locking our lips together in a passionate kiss.

I pulled back from the kiss just enough to wrap her in a tight hug. "It worked! Luna, I can see again!"

She sat there for a moment, too stunned to move, before wrapping her hooves around me and giving me an even tighter hug. "That is the most wonderful of news! Come, we must tell everypony!"

Luna stood up, and I tried to follow her, but it quickly became apparent that I was still too weak to do much besides sit there. "Heh. Looks like I used up what little strength I had left…" Luna smiled and sat back down next to me, eyes filled with tender love; the feeling of being able to look into those beautiful eyes again was indescribable.

"That is alright my love. If you want, I can bring the others here, and we can give them the good news together."

I nodded with a smile. "That sounds good to me Lulu."

She stood up again and kissed me briefly before turning to the door. "I will return soon, do not go anywhere while I am away." I was about to comment, but I caught the wink she gave me.

I sat there for some time before deciding to try to make my way over to Falathiel; she had sacrificed so much to give me my sight back, and I had repaid her by nearly forgetting about her. It took some time and a lot of effort, but I managed to make my way back over to the desk and haul myself up into the chair. I ran my hands over her sheath, hoping vainly that my touch might be enough to revive her, if only long enough to thank her for what she'd done.

I sighed when I didn't even feel a stirring in my mind from her own consciousness, and I realized just how quickly I'd grown used to her presence, and how strange it felt to be alone in my own head again.

I lifted her from the book and set her on the top tier of the desk, a monumental task in my weakened state, and looked down at the book. The pages were filled with writing, and I couldn't help but wonder how the thing could be demonstrably written in English, yet Luna, who knew English, couldn't read it.

I didn't have long to contemplate what kind of spell was on the book, or even why it was there in the first place if non-humans couldn't cast the spells within, before I heard the clopping of hooves coming up the hallway. I looked over to the door and saw Luna enter, followed closely by Twilight, Applejack, Dinky, Derpy, and Scootaloo.

"What's up Sugarcube? Luna says ya got something ya wanna tell us. Did y'all find another way ta get yer sight back in one o' them books?"

I smirked at the irony. "You could say that…"

Twilight took a step towards me. "Well, what is it? Do we have to go on another adventure into some dangerous land or something?"

I shook my head. "Nope. In fact, we don't have to go anywhere; the spell book had the spell we needed all along."

Twilight tilted her head. "Then why didn't… wait, why did you say 'had the spell we needed' in past tense like that… unless…" Her eyes went wide and her ears shot straight up. "You already cast it, didn't you?!"

My smirk grew into a full-on grin. "Well… technically, Falathiel's the one who cast it, but, yeah…"

Everyone in the room, save Luna, perked right up at that and started shooting off questions so fast I couldn't make one out from the next. Before I had time to tell everyone to calm down, a pair of tiny bodies shot out of the small crowd and latched themselves onto my chest. "Yay! Daddy can see again!"

I hugged the fillies tight. "That's right Dinky, and I hope nothing like this ever happens again… I missed being able to see all of you girls so much…" I squeezed the fillies tightly and they hugged me back, just as tightly.

Scootaloo grinned up at me. "But now you can see again, so everything's gonna be ok!"

I smiled back down at her and ruffled her mane. "Hey Blake?" I looked over at Twilight, who had moved closer and was studying Falathiel as she rested on top of the desk. "I thought you said that Spring Leaf told you that only humans could cast the spells in that book… so how did your sword manage to do it?"

I shrugged. "I don't really know, Twi. Supposedly, she somehow piggybacked off of my magic and used that to cast the spell. But the strain was too much for her, so now she's gone dormant to recover. I can't even feel her presence in my mind right now." No one said anything for some time after that.

"She's gonna be ok though, isn't she?" Dinky's sudden outburst startled us all.

I patted her lightly on the head. "I really hope so Dinky, I really hope so." I sighed and set the fillies down on the floor. "Now, I'm starving. What say we all pop downstairs and I make us some lunch?" The suggestion was greeted by a combination of growling tummies and cheering fillies. I started to stand, but my legs buckled under me and I toppled to my knees. "Or… maybe we could order in…"

Everyone in the room was around me in an instant, all asking if I was alright. After assuring them that I was, I convinced them to head downstairs, and I followed with help from Luna and Applejack.

Once we were all seated in the living room, Applejack and Twilight offered to head into town to pick us up something to eat, and we all realized that we hadn't decided where we wanted to eat.

Eventually, Luna decided the matter for us. "I believe I would like to have a meal from that local 'fast food' restaurant… I believe it is called the 'Hay Burger'."

Applejack tilted her head. "Why would y'all want ta eat there Luna, ain't ya used ta that fancy food y'all get at tha palace?"

Luna nodded. "That is exactly why dear Applejack; the food that is prepared for my sister and I is virtually unequalled in all of Equestria, and that level of perfection leaves one wanting for variety after some time."

I shrugged and looked down to the two fillies, who had jumped back into my lap practically as soon as I'd sat down. "Sounds good to me; feels like it's been ages since I've had a good burger." A pair of cheers rang out from the

Luna smirked at me. "Remember, these will not be the same as the sandwiches you are used to on Earth."

I shrugged again. "As long as it's close, that's good enough for me."

Twilight looked first to Derpy, then to Applejack. "Looks like it's settled then. Let me grab a quill and paper, and I'll write down everypony's orders.

After the huge order had been taken down, Twilight and Applejack trotted out of the house. "Welp, I guess we just get to wait around here for an hour or so till that order gets filled…"

Derpy's stomach growled. "Do you really think it'll take that long?"

I looked her straight in the eye, a sensation I still relished. "Derpy… there were almost thirty sandwiches on that order…"

She pawed the floor in embarrassment. "Heh heh… what can I say? I'm really hungry…"

I smirked and looked over to Luna, who had much the same expression as she did; the three of us had ordered the vast majority of those sandwiches between us. "Don't worry about it Derpy, you're not the only one who's hungry." As if to accentuate my point, my own stomach let out a loud growl, and the fillies in my lap giggled as it jostled them around.

Scootaloo giggled and poked at my empty stomach. "Sounds like there should've been a few more sandwiches Papa…"

I gave her a fake glare. "Are you calling your Papa fat?!"

She squealed as I scooped her up and tousled her mane with one hand and tickled her ribs with the other. "Noo! Haha! I-I'm sorry Papa! Hahaha!" I loosened my grip just enough to let her wiggle her way free and watched as she dashed over and hid behind Luna, who promptly stepped aside.

"Oh no, you shall find no asylum from me young one." Luna may have sounded stern, but there was no hiding the grin on her face.

Scoots let out a cute little 'meep!' when she realized she was exposed, and took off for Derpy, diving under the mare and cowering beneath her. Derpy looked down at her through her own front legs. "What's up? Or is it down? Oh dear, I'm all confused now…" Derpy lifted her head back up, eyes spinning around in her head, and wobbled around a bit, exposing Scootaloo once again as her hooves skittered around in an effort to keep her upright.

Scootaloo looked around for another place to hide, but it was too late; Dinky came to my rescue, tackling Scootaloo to the ground and wrestling around with her. "You think you can just pick on Daddy like that?! Well, I'll show you!" Dinky wasted no time in sticking a hoof in her mouth, coating it with saliva and sticking it in the poor, struggling Scootaoo's ear before she had a chance to get away.

I couldn't hold back the laughter as my adopted daughter started wriggling around helplessly as she was given a huge wet willy as vengeance for calling me fat, and I laughed even harder at the strange, half-growl, half-gurgle she let out when the wet hoof that had been popped into her ear began to wiggle around.

Dinky pulled her hoof out of the orange-furred ear and stepped away, while Scootaloo flopped down on the floor, limbs spread out wide and tongue lolled out, doing her best not to move. I smirked and looked over to Luna. "H-uh… I'd have thought it would take more than a wet willy to do Scootaloo in… Oh well, guess we should bury her out back…"

Luna caught onto the gag almost instantly. "I suppose you are right; I will go get the shovel." She turned and started heading in the direction of the back door.

Scootaloo sprang back to her hooves in an instant. "Nooo! I'm still alive! Don't bury me Papa!"

My grin grew even wider. "Better hurry Lulu, looks like she's become a zombie!"

Luna poked her head through the doorway of the hall that led to, among other places, the back door. "I suppose we had best bury her extra deep then."

Scootaloo started running around in circles in the middle of the living room. "Nooo! I don't wanna be buried alive!"

I chuckled. "But Scootaloo… you can't be buried alive; you're a zombie now, remember?"

Scootaloo stopped running around and crouched down in a defensive stance. "I am not a zombie, and I'll prove it!" Before she could say another word, her little stomach let out a huge growl, and Derpy, Luna and I all burst out laughing.

"See? You're already hungering for brains!"

The defiant little filly stuck her tongue out at me. "You're mean Papa! That growl says I'm hungry for hay burgers, not brains!"

"What's all this about bein' hungry fer brains now?"

I looked over and saw Applejack and Twilight trotting through the front door, each of them carrying a pair of cheap, burlap saddle bags, each laden with glorious, greasy food.

"Papa's trying to bury me in the back yard!"

I chuckled as she ran over to the safety of the returning mares. "Well, technically, Luna's the one who's gonna bury her, seeing as how I'm still not very strong yet."

Twilight gave me a quizzical look and opened her mouth to say something, but she was cut off. "Do not try to place the blame on me! I was merely trying to help!"

Applejack looked back and forth between us. "Why tha hay would y'all want ta bury Scootaloo in the first place?"

I smirked as Luna walked back over to me. "Long story short? We were playing a game; she decided to play dead, and we played along." My stomach let out a rather obnoxious growl, causing everyone else to giggle, at least until their own stomachs began to growl. "Now, if you don't mind, it sounds like we're all ready to eat."

I tried to stand up to make my way to the kitchen, and I found that while I was indeed stronger than I had been, I was still too weak to take more than a step or two without toppling over. Since Applejack was already loaded down with sandwiches, not that it really mattered with her strength, Luna offered to help me over to the dining table.

Once everyone else was seated, Twilight took out the piece of paper she had written our orders on and began passing out the various sandwiches and sides to everyone. Once everyone had at least one burger in front of them, I grabbed one of my own and unwrapped it, wasting no time in digging into the greasy treat.

I noticed almost immediately that the burger was literally made out of hay, but that was quickly forgotten as I realized that with the seasonings on it, as well as the way it was cooked, it actually tasted like a real hamburger made with real meat.

I glanced up and saw that Twilight had finished passing out the meals and everyone had started eating. Scootaloo had started with her onion shoes while everyone else seemed to be munching on their own burgers. Luna was levitating her own sandwich in her magic, and was busily munching away on it while Applejack, Derpy and Dinky had all taken up a burger in their hooves. Twilight on the other hand, had taken to literally diving face-first into her meal, busily chomping away at her food while it sat on the table in front of her.

It didn't take me long to realize that I wasn't the only one staring at the apparently ravenous bookworm. She was almost completely through her second sandwich when her ears perked up and she stopped eating mid-bite. Twilight looked up at us with a sheepish expression, which was made oddly adorable by the splotches of ketchup across her cheeks. "Hee hee… I guess I was hungrier than I thought…" She wiped her cheeks with a napkin, and slowed herself down, taking to eating like a normal unicorn.

The rest of us resumed eating as well, and Luna and I soon found ourselves in a sort of impromptu eating contest, each trying to eat their meal faster than the other. I'd felt confident that I would win in the beginning, since Luna had at least half again as many sandwiches as I did, but I soon discovered that with her voracious appetite came an ability to down food like I'd never seen before, and we were soon neck and neck.

I finally threw in the towel, feeling myself starting to get over-full with three sandwiches still resting in front of me. I leaned back in my chair and let out a loud belch, quickly excusing myself. Applejack just chuckled at the outburst, though I couldn't tell if she thought the act itself was what was funny, or if she thought she could do better. "Man… It feels like I haven't eaten in ages… I needed that too."

"Heh heh. Ah hear ya Sugarcube; Ah love campin' and all, but a mare needs something more than hikin' vittles once in awhile, 'specially after all that nonsense."

I caught Luna eyeing my remaining sandwiches out of the corner of my eye. "Are you going to finish your meal my dearest?" I snickered and slid the remaining hay burgers over in front of her. She grinned at me. "Thank you. I shall enjoy these immensely."

While I waited for the others to finish their meals, I decided to test my magic out. Even though I had only just finished eating, the meal was already making me feel stronger. I called the magic forth and felt a smile form when I saw it envelope one of the many wrappers strewn about the table in front of me. It took some effort to lift the lightweight piece of paper, but I wasn't disappointed; at least I could still use my magic at all after Falathiel had cast that spell and given me my eyesight back.

All of our heads suddenly turned towards the doorway when we heard somepony knocking. I groaned at the disturbance, simply wanting to enjoy this time with my family and finally relax.

I got to my feet, motioning to Twilight to stay where she was as she too stood to answer the door, and made my way shakily over. I looked through the fogged glass window to the side and saw a familiar splotch of pink standing on the other side. I unlatched the door and swung it open to reveal our not one, but two visitors. "Why hello Blake! It's been far too long!" I was elated to see Cadance standing on my front porch.

I was not, however, glad to see her husband standing there as well, even If he did have a decidedly downtrodden look on his face.