Previously on A Cloaked Heart…

After a hot and heavy session of intense lovemaking, Zecora and I were sitting in my bedroom's private bathtub, looking through the domed ceiling up at the stars above, which shone down brightly in their brilliance. The water in the tub rippled as the two of us breathed softly, causing the reflection of the stars to shimmer. Zecora turned around slowly, straddling me and looking up at me with her deep blue eyes. I could see starlight reflected in them, and my heart skipped a beat. Poetry suddenly sprang from my mouth as the heartcall magic hadn't felt since that time with Pinkie at the Gala overwhelmed me:

"Eyes as blue as the deepest sea,
"She is the only one for me.
"A love beyond all time and space,
"No other mare could take her place."

Zecora looked at me and in the soft glow of the Milky Way's band, she continued:

"Wings as warm as the summer sun,
"He is to me the only one.
"Protector, lover, dearest friend,
"Let this love of mine never end."

Then, simultaneously, the two of us said:

"My love is bound in time eternal,
"And by the harmony in which I dwell,
"A bond so pure, loving and true…
"I have the deepest of love for you."

My heart swelled with joy, pride, pure unadulterated happiness, and love. A love that I knew would never die, even if one of us did. I leaned in, and she leaned back. Our lips locked, and as the stars above were our witnesses, we were as one.

And now, the continuation…

"Stamp on the ground! Jump, jump, jump, jump! Moving all around! Tep tep da dow! Stamp on the ground! Jump, jump, jump, jump! Moving all around! We're jumping all around!"

I sang along to and danced to ItaloBrothers' Stamp on the Ground, which was playing in the background, as I cooked up breakfast the next morning with the widest grin on my face. Outside, the sun was shining on the outside of my house, illuminating my Earth house in the backyard where my kitchen window faced. I was wearing a pair of sweatpants and hoodie that Rarity had made for me, along with my favorite Santa hat. I was so glad I had pretty much mastered the basic telekinesis spell, since I was using it to mix pancake batter and pour it into a nearby griddle.

The beat dropped and I giggled like an idiot, jumping all around just as the song said while at the same time keeping an eye on breakfast. Last night's heavy lovemaking session really helped calm me down.

Oh, who am I kidding? I fucked her brains out! I thought proudly, remembering Zecora's fucked stupid smile and grinning in satisfaction that I was able to bring such pleasure to my lover. Sure, there was still the worry I had about the council, but with the newfound confidence I received last night, I felt like I could take on the world.

I was in such a good mood that I wasn't the least bit surprised when Pinkie Pie popped out of one of the cupboards I opened to grab the plates. "Here you go, Jethy!" she said, handing me the aforementioned dishes.

I took them without missing a beat, placed them on a nearby counter, then pulled her out of the cupboard, jumping and dancing around with wild and reckless abandon. Pinkie giggled and joined me immediately, standing on her back legs and dancing remarkably like a human would. She bobbed her head to the beat, and her poofy mane bounced around as she danced with me. It didn't take her long to catch the lyrics of the repetitive and fun song, and soon we were both dancing and cooking together.

When the song finally finished, Pinkie collapsed onto her haunches, giggling like a schoolgirl. I readjusted my Santa hat and went back to cooking, but not before going to my Christmas music playlist and hitting shuffle. The playlist jumped right to The Time-Life Treasury Of Christmas. Pinkie began sawing her head to the intro of Bing Crosby's White Christmas. "What's this song?" she asked curiously.

"White Christmas. It's a song for the human Christmas holiday," I explained as I sang along to Bing's amazing voice.

Once Pinkie heard the song's lyrics once more, even she began to sing. And boy, could she sing well, especially for such a slow-paced tune. If I could describe her singing voice, it had to be angelic. She had perfect pitch and her higher voice allowed her to reach a higher selection of notes than me. Even so, when she tried to hit the low notes of the song, it still sounded amazing. When the playlist skipped to Dulcimer Christmas's rendition of Jingle Bells, she walked up, stood on her hind legs and began bopping at the pom-pom on my Santa hat. "What's this hat for?" she asked.

"Ah, it's called a Santa hat," I said as I put some more pancakes on the griddle. "Since you're here, could you grab the maple syrup and butter and set them on the table, please?"

"Oki Dokie Lokie!" she said, rushing to the fridge and grabbing the small plate of butter. Rushing to the dining room, she set it down, then came back in and went right to the cupboard where I'd placed some Sweet Apple Acre's maple syrup. I had been surprised when Applejack mentioned they made some using a small patch of farmland specifically for the syrup during the right season, so I'd stocked up on plenty of it since, at the time, I had no access to Earth.

Pinkie came back and stood on her hind legs, bopping the hat again with a giggle. "What's a Santa?" she asked.

"Santa's not a what. It's a who," I chuckled. "Santa Claus, also called Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Kris Kringle along with a bunch of other names, is a big figure in the Christmas holiday. He's evolved to be a mythical figure who travels all around the world, giving presents to good little girls and boys on Christmas Eve. He travels by sleigh with twelve flying reindeer across the world every night."

Pinkie's eyes bulged in excitement. "Whoa! Those must be some fast reindeer! The flying reindeer here aren't nearly as fast!"

"Hold up, you have flying reindeer here?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yep!"

"I am not surprised…" I said. "But anyway, it'd take a while to explain how this tradition came into being. Suffice to say, Santa's became a big part of Christmas."

"What is Christmas?" Zecora asked as she walked in. I turned and saw her still wobbling a bit unsteadily, a wide smile and blush on her face as she joined us.

"It's a human holiday that's a lot like your Hearth's Warming," I said. "It even happens on the same day." I smiled back, leaning down and giving my marefriend a kiss. "Good morning, dearest. Did you sleep well?"

She grinned and whispered, "I dreamed of you all night long."

It was my turn to blush. "Heh, I can't wait to hear it. You remember Pinkie Pie, don't you?"

Pinkie waved happily at the Zebra. "Hey Zec!"

Zecora raised an eyebrow at the new nickname, but said nothing about it as she nodded politely at the pink party Pony. "Greetings to you too, Pinkie Pie. What are you doing here on this glorious day?"

Pinkie gasped, as if she just realized something. "Ah! I forgot! Here!" she pulled out a pink envelop with my name scribbled on it and handed it to me, then handed one with Zecora's name on it to the Zebra as well. "Party tonight at Sugarcube Corner! See you later, Jethy!" She jumped up, gave me a big kiss, then bounced out of the dining room, humming White Christmas.

I looked down at my marefriend, who looked back up at me with an equal look of confusion. Together, the two of us opened the envelopes. I held mine away from my face, and sure enough, an explosion of confetti sprang from the envelope the moment I opened it. "How that mare does that is still beyond me," I muttered as I pulled out a white piece of paper.

Hey there, Jethy-Wethy!

You're invited to a Thank You For Saving Equestria and Congrats on Your Recovery, Jethro party at Sugarcube Corner starting promptly at three in the afternoon! Bring some cool music from Earth! See you there!

Your bestest (and sexy) friend,

Pinkie Pie

Beside me, I heard a yelp as Zecora's own invite exploded, but this went right into her face and covered her in confetti. I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing as she tried to brush her mane clear of the multicolored pieces of paper. She gave me a glare, and I knew better than to ignore it, so I made my way over to her and helped her brush the confetti out of her mane. That didn't mean I still wasn't laughing. "Haah…haah…I'm surprised you didn't expect that," I chuckled as I got the last of the confetti out of her mane.

"Pinkie Pie is an enigma even beyond me," she admitted with a small smile as she shook herself. More confetti came out of hidden places in her mane and tail.

"She's like a chaotic little ball of cotton candy wrapped in frosting and smiles," I said.

Zecora giggled. "That is an explanation that both makes sense for her and doesn't make sense for anything else."

"That's Pinkie for you," a familiar Pegasus said from behind us. Turning, I saw Scarlet walking in, confetti in her own gray fur and crimson mane and tail. She shook herself and confetti went everywhere.

"Careful there," I said as I grabbed a broom from the nearby pantry and began carefully sweeping the confetti up. "Let's not get confetti in the pancakes."

Scarlet's eyes widened. "That's what I was smelling!" she said as she hovered over to the griddle. "Hey, I can watch these while you sweep," she said as she landed and grabbed a stool to stand on so she could better reach with her prehensile wings.

I nodded. "Thanks, Scarlet."

Scarlet smiled, then sniffed the air. A wide grin formed on her face. "I smell sex and sweat," she said saucily. "You two are insatiable." Zecora and I both looked at each other and blushed. Scarlet laughed. "I fucking knew it! Damn, Jethro! You even made her walk funny!" She snickered as she flipped one finished pancake off onto the platter. "I've gotta get me some of that," she muttered in a teasing tone.

"Oh my God…how horny are you?!" I shouted in exasperation as I grabbed the dust pan and knelt down to sweep the confetti into it.

"Love, weren't there more pancakes before?" Zecora asked as I stood back up.

I looked over at the platter. Sure enough, the platter was short a few pancakes. I frowned, and shook my fist at the air. "Curse you, Pinkie Piiiie!"

The early December afternoon was cloudy, and I inhaled the smell of fires burning in the fireplaces around town. It must have gotten below freezing the night before because there were some puddles from the storm still frozen on the side of the roads. I walking through town, Zecora by my side. She was wearing a striped black and white scarf and gray beanie along with some black hoof shoes with white fur to keep her warm. I was wearing my boots now, along with some warm jeans, a jacket, a pair of bright red gloves with white fur trim and my Santa hat. It was just past noon, and the training session I'd had with Gemini and Mica had been, once more, brutal. Fortunately for me, Mica told me, when Gemini wasn't looking, that I'd drastically improved recently. According to him, Gemini might not have said anything, but even she was impressed.

At one point, I asked Gemini if what I was learning from her would be useful in aerial type combat. She stated, in no uncertain terms, that combat training of any kind was useful, and that all I needed to do was mind my surroundings. Right before she tripped me over a root and pronounced me dead.

Despite it being still early in the season, I saw a couple of houses with Hearth's Warming decorations already out, like wreaths and garlands around the door frames. I even saw a decorated tree in a window.

I smiled at the sight. Any homesickness I might have felt normally was still being held at bay by the events of the previous night with my love Zecora. I knew I'd have to face them at some point, and I was no fool. I'd have to talk to someone about it before it reached a boiling point. But for the time being, I was enjoying some quality time with my marefriend.

Who suddenly stopped me, then turned and said, "My love, could you go on without me? I need to visit Twilight, you see. I'll come along soon."

I nodded. "Sure thing, sweetie. I'll be at Sugarcube Corner getting some things set up." Leaning down, I gave her a kiss, one which lingered longer than normal.

"Awww! That's so cuuute!" a familiar filly said from behind me.

The both of us turned, and I saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders, all bundled up with hoof shoes, scarves and snowcaps on. Sweetie Belle was smiling widely at us, Apple Bloom was smirking, and Scootaloo…well, she was smiling a bit as well, but I could still see she was still hurting. "Hello there, Crusaders," I said. "Where are you off to?"

"Sugarcube Corner!" Apple Bloom said. "Gotta get to the party before all the punch is gone!"

I chuckled a bit, then turned to Zecora. "See you later, dear."

"You too." She turned, and gave my legs a subtle bump with her flank before walking towards the library, swaying them seductively at me.

Looking back at the Crusaders, I said, "I'm heading there too. Wanna walk together?"

"Sure!" Sweetie Belle said.

She and Apple Bloom trotted off a little way ahead of me, but Scootaloo remained by my side as we walked. I could tell she was trying her best to hide her emotions, but being so young only gave you so much experience. My heart reached out to her, and I used my magic to lift her up, then spread my wings and formed a little cradle in front of me where I set her. She gasped a bit at being picked up, but relaxed as she lay in my wings. "How are you doing, Scoots?" I asked after a little bit of walking.

She sighed shrugged a bit. "I'm…alright, I guess," she said.

"You been hanging out with your friends?" I asked.

"Yeah…"

I looked down at her worriedly. "You sure?"

She nodded and sniffed a bit. "I'll be fine."

I smiled down at her, stroking her mane tenderly. "That's good. Just don't be afraid to talk to anyone if you need to."

She smiled a bit, then snuggled up closer. "Thanks…" she whispered.

"Scootaloo? You okay?" Apple Bloom asked as she and Sweetie Belle rejoined us.

Scootaloo, who was still snuggling up close to me in my wing hug, wiped her eyes. "Yeah," she said after clearing her throat and waving her hoof so the others could see her, "I'm fine."

I grinned, then lifted the other two fillies up in my magic. "It's warmer in here," I said as I placed them on either side of Scootaloo and wrapped them tighter in my wings. "See?"

"Wow, yer right!" Apple Bloom.

"It's so soft," Sweetie Belle said.

I grinned, then an idea came to me. I pulled out my phone and opened up my music. "Listen to this, you three," I said.

"What is it?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"A song some humans wrote about the Cutie Mark Crusaders," I said as I played Crusader (Are We There Yet) by Black Gryph0n & Baasik. I sang along with it as I cast the same spell that amplified the music from my phone. The Crusaders listened with wide eyes as the song played. Even Scootaloo was shocked to hear a song about her and her friends.

A few nearby Ponies heard the song and followed me, listening to the song as I let it play around me. The cute fillies in my wings began bobbing their heads to the beat, and I even saw Scootaloo's own sorrow fading a bit. When the song finished, Scootaloo gave me a grin. "Okay…that was pretty awesome."

"Are ya kiddin'? That was amazin'!" Apple Bloom said happily.

"Somepony else writing a song about us? That's just…I don't know the words!" Sweetie Belle said with excitement. "It makes me wanna go searching for my cutie mark more!"

I laughed. "That's not the message of the song, but I'm glad to see you all with the drive to find your destiny. I can't wait to see it come in real life."

Apple Bloom's eyes widened more. "You know what our cutie marks are gonna be?!"

I nodded. "I know a possibility."

"Tell us! Tell us!" Sweetie Belle begged, bouncing in my wings. Even Scootaloo looked curious now.

I shook my head. "That would take away from the magic of finding it out yourselves," I said. When their faces fell a bit, I added, "Listen, you three, if I told you what your cutie marks were in the show, it would be as special as you learning it on your own. But…I can tell you this: you're on the right track. And you'll figure out your special calling. I promise." I stroked their manes gently just as I entered Sugarcube Corner.

"Jethy! You're here early!" Pinkie said happily, bounding over to me in that typical Pinkie Pie style. When she saw the Crusaders lying in my wings, she went, "Awww! That looks comfy!"

"They think so." I gently placed the Crusaders down. "Go get some punch." As they left, I turned to Pinkie. "That's alright for them to do, right?"

"Yep! Well, I've gotta go! Party planning isn't over yet!" And with that, she bounded away towards the stairs.

I looked around and chuckled at all that she'd done so far. The room was decked out more than it normally was as was expected for a Pinkie Pie shindig. A pink banner on the wall read Thanks for Saving Equestria and Glad You're Feeling Better, Jethro! in balloon shaped words of every color. She'd used crayons to color in confetti onto the banner itself. I could smell the fruit punch nearby, and the table was filled with all sorts of goodies, like a massive cake, a chocolate fountain, all sorts of various other baked goods, and one alabaster Alicorn drooling over the massive cake. Snickering to myself, I pulled out my handkerchief, slowly tip-toed up, and reached out to dab at her mouth. "A princess should never drool, Celestia," I snickered.

She jumped and turned back to me. "Oh my! Heh, sorry about that," she said, a small blush on her face.

"She's always had a weakness for cake," another familiar voice said from behind me.

"I know," I grinned, turning to see Luna standing behind me. "It's good to see you. Both of you. But what are you doing down here? Surely this party is a bit…common…compared to the ones you're used to, right?"

Celestia and Luna both chuckled at that before the former said, "What sort of Princesses would we be if we didn't attend a party honoring all that our knight has done?"

"Indeed," Luna added, moving closer to face me. "Jethro, you're worth waking up early for."

I chuckled and shook my heads. "All this attention…it's a bit overwhelming at times," I admitted.

"You deserve it, Jethy!" Pinkie said, popping out from nowhere and kissing my cheek before disappearing again.

"Damn, that mare has become seriously overly affectionate," I said, touching the spot where she kissed me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luna frowning slightly, but when I turned towards her, she had regained her neutral face. "May I ask how the dinner went with the Rich family?" she asked, possibly trying to change the subject.

I inhaled and sighed. "It…started out alright, but the end…"

Both princesses faces fell slightly. "I've heard stories about Mrs. Rich's abhorrant behavior in the past," Celestia said, "but I never thought she could treat anypony as cruelly as she's treated you."

"I tried my bed, I really did," I said. "I never yelled at her, never struck her except when she insulted my Zecora, and never belittled her. I even tried to include her in the conversation. But…in the end, her marriage to Mr. Rich might be over."

Celestia's eyes widened. "What happened, exactly?" she asked worriedly.

So I pulled them aside to a corner and told them the whole story. Celestia listened with sadness, while Luna grew more and more furious. When I finished with the story, I could see Luna trembling in rage. "Why that…pompous…stuck up…bitch," she practically growled. "You treat her better than she deserved, and she threw it back in your face! Why, I should-!"

She stopped the moment Celestia put a wing on her back. "No, Luna," she said, and I could hear sorrow in the Alicorn's voice. "She's brought this on herself." She turned to me and a sad smile formed on her face. "Most other Ponies would never have tolerated her as well as you did, my friend. I commend you for that." She put a hoof on my shoulder.

I put my hand over it gently and squeezed. "I'm just wondering if there was more I could have done," I said.

"There are Ponies so stuck in their beliefs that they'll either rationalize behavior that goes against their beliefs or just flat out deny it," Celestia sighed. "I do hope, for the sake of her little filly, that she does change, but it might never happen."

I nodded. "You're right. I did all I could."

Luna still looked pissed, but thanks to Celestia stroking her sister's back with her wings, she was beginning to calm down. "To think such crass behavior exists in the modern era," she growled angrily.

"Lulu, I'm just as angry," Celestia said, "but there's nothing we can do. She didn't break any laws."

"Isn't insulting a knight of the realm a serious offense?" Luna asked. "If not, it should be!"

"If you take away the people's right to speak, that's the first step towards a tyrannical dictatorship," I said. "Freedom of speech is an absolute right. She has the right to say what she wants to me and about me all she wants."

"But she is wrong about you!" Luna said with a hint of worry. "And if anypony else starts to believe her, you could be in great danger! I won't stand for it."

"You'll have to," Celestia said. "Lulu, you don't think I'm not angry? During that town meeting, there were times when I wanted to lash out at her, but Jethro is right. We can't do anything to her for talking ill of our knight."

"Let's…talk about some other subject," I said, trying to brighten the mood.

"Yes, that would be nice," Celestia said.

"What manner of hat do you wear," Luna asked. "I've seen many winter caps in Canterlot, but none such as this."

I smiled. "This? This is a Santa hat. Lots of humans wear this during the Christmas season." And I began to explain…

When I finished telling them about my favorite holiday, the room was filled with other Ponies, including the Bearers of Harmony, Scarlet, Spike and Zecora, who had all joined us at the same time. When Rarity asked me about the Santa hat, I had, once again, told them about Christmas, but in more detail than before. I was no expert, but I told of the religious origins, and then about some of the traditions involved in the evolving Christmas holiday, including yule logs, mistletoe, Santa Claus, Christmas trees, and traditional Christmas feasts.

"That's so interesting!" Twilight said as she put away her notebook. "A religious holiday becoming secular over a thousand years! And the origins!"

"Calm down there, you adorkable nerd," I grinned as I stroked her mane gently.

Twilight instantly relaxed. "Oooh…right there," she said softly. "That's niiice…"

"What is mistletoe?" Spike asked, not so subtly looking at Rarity.

"It's a plant that I've only ever found in the Everfree," Zecora explained. "I use them in some of my healing potions, but only a small amount since they can cause pain if too much is eaten. And relieving yourself after eating it isn't fun either."

"So…like going to Taco Bell," I snorted. Only Scarlet got that joke, and she snickered as the rest of the group just looked at me with confusion. I waved my hand. "Inside joke from Earth. I'll explain another time. But for now, Pinkie? You mentioned that you wanted me to bring music?" I held up my iPhone. "All my digital music and all the music of humanity is right here. What kind of music do you want?"

"Party music, obviously!"

I looked over at Scarlet, then grinned. "Andrew W.K.?"

She grinned back. "Andrew H.K."

I turned to Pinkie. "Pinkie, you got some microphones in that glorious pink mane of yours?"

"Nope! But I do have some nearby!" She bounded off towards one of the walls where she pulled out two microphones in their stands. She pulled it towards the front of the room, then bounded back. "Here you are!"

"Thanks, Pinks." I pulled out my phone, went to YouTube, typed in the name of the song I was thinking of, then showed it to Scarlet. "You know this one?"

She grinned wider. "By heart."

"Poifect. Let's rock their socks off." The two of us headed to the front of the room where we both grabbed the mics. "Good evening Ponyville!" I said into the microphone. My voice echoed through the room, amplified by the mic and whatever they lead to. The sounds of talking and laughing stopped and the Ponies in the room turned to me. "I know that part of this party is for my recovery, and I'm grateful that you all came, but let's look at the first part of the banner Pinkie made, shall we?" I pointed towards it, and was satisfied to see the crowd look up. "It reads 'Thanks For Saving Equestria', doesn't it? Well, why don't we all give a massive, and I mean massive, round of applause to the six mares who did the actual saving. Let's hear it for the Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy!"

And with that, the Ponies in the room went wild, stomping their hooves hard as the six mares near the center of the room all either blushed, waved proudly, or smiled gratefully at the other Ponies in the room. I smiled and as the applause finally died, continued, "I am proud to call those six the best of friends, and I'm also proud to call others of you my friends as well. But that's not the main reason I came up here. Scarlet and I are going to sing a party song from Earth!" That elicited more cheers from the audience as I set my phone down on a nearby table, then cast the amplification spell on it. Turning to Scarlet, I nodded, removed my Santa hat, tossed it aside then hit play on the video.

"When it's time to party, we will party hard!" a robotic voice 'sang' all around us, before drums began to beat and electric guitars riffed loudly, initially startling the Ponies around us. And instantly, Scarlet and I were thrashing our heads hard, just like two metalheads. Her crimson mane flew about as she and I began to rock out to Party Hard by Andrew W.K.

Soon, the Ponies on the dance floor began to dance around, especially Pinkie who thrashed her own head about. The other Mane Six did so as well, some harder than others. Even the Princesses were slightly bobbing their heads to the beat. Sometimes we sang to the crowd, and sometimes we turned to each other, rocking out harder than either of us had before.

When we finished, there was silence for a bit, the two of us standing there panting heavily from the exertion. After a few seconds, the crowd stamped their hooves on the ground in raucous applause. The two of us looked at each other, then laughed and waved. "Thank you, Ponyville! We'll be here forever!"

And that was when Scarlet decided to throw me a curve ball.

She kissed me.

Hard.