IceStorm

~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice Storm was bubbling with happiness as she watched the bouncy mare in front of her. She was full of energy and it always made her happy to see ponies like that. They were the kind of ponies that all of Equestria would need through even the darkest times. Equestria will always have it's heros, and ponies that take their places on the front lines to make sure that the ponies back home can have holidays just like this one. Ponies like flux were vital in making sure that the morale of everypony stayed high. Sure, Equestria was in a time of peace right now, so morale was high to begin with. When she talked about joining her for it Ice nodded. "Absolutely! It would be my pleasure to show you the sights and sounds of Las Pegasus and just let you have fun. Bits will be of no issue, so anything you wanna do I can make sure it happens. Shows, games, pools, attractions, and other activites are all available in Las Pegasus, and fortunately for you, it will all be at the low, low price of free," she said with a smile. "I'll even arrange for your transportation out to Las Pegasus whenever you're ready to use your vacation. That said, I'm about to join some of my other friends in the main palace. Care to join us? I can cover a donation for you if you need one," she added with a smile. she just wanted to make sure this pony had a good time tonight.

~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice Storm smiled back to tiger and nodded when she heard the mare said that she herself preferred mares and didn't blame her. She added that there were some good looking stallions out there, but mares tend to be her first choice as well. "Yeah, there are plenty of stallions that look halfway decent, but most of the ones that I've ever dealt with have been... well, one of them was two-timing me without either myself or the other mare he was with knowing about it, but we've forgiven each other since. my other exposure to working with them had been Sombra, The Red Jarl, and Blueblood, Blue being the best among them without question. Though I still prefer belle than blood though. After all, there are a lot less consequences to a couple of mares having some fun than otherwise. At least until horns get involved. then anything's a toss up," Ice replied watching as Tiger turned around. She had no qualms making her intentions known, even if she was covered at the moment. At the mention of the gift, she smiled once more. "I love chocolate, and strawberries are my absolute favorite! They are hard to find in season right now though," she smiled before smirking at the final offer. "Well then, after the party, depending on what my girls are up to, I might have to take you up on that offer. Maybe we can get the whole group together. Now that would be a wild night," Ice smiled returning a wink of her own.

~~~Aloe Blossom~~~ Aloe returned the hug with a smile that was just as warm as the one that Rose had given her. She couldn't help but giggle a bit when she talked about the tropics still being balmy while the rest of the world is frozen over. "I can see that. I also think it would be hilarious to see snow on palm trees. Though I'm pretty sure snow would kill a palm tree, thinking about it. They aren't exactly built for cold climates," she smiled, holding Rose even closer when she heard her say our family. Our bent a word that she's almost never used before. She told her that Aloe had changed her, can and in a good way. Aloe gave Rose a soft but loving kiss. "Our family is the absolute best family, and I'm glad you feel that way. I always liked to believe what I was doing was helping others by helping them relax, but helping you become a better pony, well want that hard. You were already an amazing pony or we wouldn't have gotten this far as it is," she said playfully licking Rose's nose. "Not to mention, you've kinda changed my to, in a good way. Cause with you specifically, there is no our. You're all mine," Aloe said, licking her nose again.

~~~Aloe Blossom~~~ "Actually evergreens are quite popular around here. And there are actually multiple types of them. Technically bot Pines and Furs are evergreens. It's almost more like a category of trees than an actual tree itself now that I think about it. But yes, they actually get their name because they stay green throughout every season, even winter. It's the reason most ponies use them. And yes, the Flame of Friendship. Many ponies often wonder how it came to be, and how just a little bit of empathy sparked something so large. I have no doubt that the Windegoes existed and that they could still be a thing, but honestly, I don't think a single act of friendship would have sent them packing. But, I'm just a mud pony alchemist. What do I know?" Aloe said shrugging her shoulders. "But the most important part about this... admittedly over commercialized holiday, is family and unity. Being together with you and our little ones, even the ones to be, is more important than anything else, and making sure that you all are happy as well, that's what the holiday is truly about." Aloe smiled.

~~~Aloe Blossom~~~ After living in Ponyville for almost all of her adult life, Aloe had seen many creatures come and go from her spa, as well as many creatures come and go from the town. It was kind of a given anymore since one of the most important schools in Equestria could only be found here. The School of Friendship. It was open to dragons, changlings, one of which she had started a family with. She wasn't here for the School of Friendship, and she wasn't honestly sure what drew Rose to her that day, other than her needing a specialized spa treatment. After that things blossomed into something that she wouldn't have imagined. That was certainly a surprise, but not unwelcomed, since Lotus had been busy with things as of late. Today though, or tonight rather, she was tasked with something different. She was tasked with being the secret princess of a local dragon. A dragon that... she hadn't really ever interacted with. In fact, the only dragon she had ever interacted with was Spike. She had heard that Ember had come into the spa a few times, but she had always been away on the days that she was there. She knew next to nothing about them, and when she asked Spike what she should get him and what he would like, he gave the kind of generic answer that she was kind of expecting. Gems. So, that was what she had. She had ordered a basket of assorted gems from Rarity and she was happy to exchange free spa visits as payment. The basket had a little bit of every gem in it, so she hoped that a majority of them would be what the dragon liked. Right now, all she had was a name and a vague description to go by.

~~~Water Wing~~~Morning Dew~~~ This was the moment that just about ever set of parents in Equestria had been waiting for almost their entire lives. Their first grandchild! Hearth's Warming miracles were always recounted during the tradition of how somepony's lives had taken a momentous turn for the better, and right now that miracle was in a room that they weren't alowed into at the moment. The two pegasus parents were sitting out in the waiting room with their soon-to-be in laws. They were thankful that they two families got along so well, and why wouldn't they!? They had been neighbors since forever when they were in Cloudsdale! It was literally as Scarlet had said. They both had gone hundreds of miles away, just to fall in love with the colt/filly next door. She couldn't help but giggle a bit when she heard Scarlett say that she hoped Sky didn't take too much of what Windy might say to heart in the heat of the moment. "You and me both! I am pretty sure that the doctors in the hospital at Cloudsdale are happy that Windy was my only one cause I'm pretty sure I gave a few of them some really stern kicks... I hope Windy doesn't take after me too much like that," Morning said. "It didn't help that Windy was a feisty one right from the get go. Something that it seems her little one has too if what she says is anything to go by," Water Wing added before the actual screaming started. He was a bit surprised that the first scream wasn't Windy's. "Welp, looks like she does take after you dear, but I think she missed the doctor," Water chucked before he started hearing the screams and cries of his daughter. Being a stallion himself, he really had no comprehension of what she was going through right now. The only thing they could do was wait.

~~~Aloe Blossom~~~ Aloe smiled as she walked through the doors of the Palace of Friendship. This was her first Hearth's Warming with Rose and Albedo, and she was going to make it the best Hearth's Warming ever for them. Especially since this was Albedo's first ever Hearth's Warming and she was pretty sure that this was Rose's Hearth's Warming with an actual family. She did just have to teach the mare about it herself after all. She found herself waiting behind a couple of other ponies to get in, but that was okay. This way her and her family would all be able to enter the palace together. It also let her get out her donation. She overheard some of the donations being giving already and it... made herself feel a bit inadequet about her own. There was no way she could match some of the ones that had been given. She was but a humble spa owner. She wasn't trying to take anything away from the others, they were quite generous, but her couple thousand bits to the school seems a bit meaningless now. Still, she liked to think that every bit would help. ~~~Nira~~~ This festival was unique, but at the same time, it reminded Nira of home. Specifically, The Cherry Blossom festival. That was Neighpon's big family festival that had all of the same meanings behind it as Hearth's Warming, minus the tales of the three tribes. She'd heard a lot about it from Commander Storm, and Commander Shadowfire during their travels back to Equestria. This was actually her first time here, that she could remember, and she found herself in awe of the sights. For not having the amount of magitech that Neighpon had, Equestria was quite Extravagent. Las Pegasus was a place that she could get lost in. Actually, scratch that, she did get lost in it the second day that she was there. She eventually ended up having to stop for directions about ten times before she finally relented and took the thing that they called a taxi back to the hotel where STAR was located. Of course, it didn't help that she had forgotten the name of the hotel and casino and was just calling it "The STAR Place" which had gotten a few looks. She was confused by that. She could have sworn that the Commander said that the branch was known. So that meant that ponies should... Nira's eyes went wide mid thought as she realized something. IT would be just like in Neighpon, they know different agencies exist, but knowing they exist, and knowing where they are at are two different things, and were usually done by design. She just hoped that she hadn't made too much of a mess of things. As it was though, here in Ponyville, she had come with Ice and the rest of the ponies that she had met with in Neighpon, some of them a bit closer than others. Ponyville had a special meaning to a majority of them. Each of them had told a story to her about why, and if this was important to them, and was part of their tradition, then she should make a conscious effort to learn about it herself. When she heard that a donation was required though, she did falter a bit. At least at first until Ice let her borrow some bits from the casino for a donation. That way she wasn't empty-hoofed. She wasn't entirely sure what was major issues here though, so she decided to listen and give a donation to a charity that had already been named. That seemed like the proper thing to do for somepony that didn't know the area. That being said... there was one other teensy little problem that Nira had... She was so caught up in the decorations and the like, that she had lost the entourage that she was with and she was now standing in the center of Ponyville looking around. Many ponies were already inside for the evening so that made it hard to ask directions, but she did notice several heading toward a giant castle that looked to be made out of crystal. She presumed that's where she needed to be and started following the others until she found herself waiting at the door to get in.

~~~Aloe Blossom~~~ Aloe was happy that Rose seemed to understand that it was a seasonal tradition. Of course traditions can change over the years, but cocoa was not one of those things that Aloe wanted to change. She loved the sugary, sweet, chocolaty flavor of that drink. She wished she could actually have it more times than just at Hearth's Warming. Though thinking about, it, there was no reason why she couldn't. She was an adult now after all, if she wanted cocoa in the summer, then she could have it! That wasn't the point right now though. Right now she was teaching her new family about Hearth's Warming! She was surprised when she heard Rose say that they used to drink Cognac. She was caught a bit off guard as she wasn't expecting festivities from changelings in that time period. "I have to admit that I wasn't expecting that, but at the same time I'm not. There are so many out there that ponies paint in a negative light that I'm pretty sure that it's ourselves that's the problem for most." When she asked what else there was to it, she smiled. "Well, there's the stories and the carols behind it, but as far as the festive parts, ponies will generally find an evergreen or a pine tree and will bring it inside to decorate it. For ponies like us, that's two fold, we can harvest the needles and use them to make aromatics and a very, very mild pain reliever. But then yes, Ponies will buy gifts for the ponies that they care most about in their lives. Sometimes this will include more than just their families, but important friends that they have as well. The gifts don't always have to be useful or something that they would use all the time, but it should be something that is symbolic to them. Gifts from this time are gifts from the heart, and those are the ones that are worth the most. Though many ponies will go for the obvious. Like many of my friends are likely to give me herbs or things for the spa because they only know me as a spa pony. At least they stopped bringing me herbs though. At one point I had enough willow to open an aspirin stall it felt like. There was no way I could get through it all, and a lot of it spoiled," she stated.

~~~Wind Dancer~~~ This was a moment that Wind Dancer had been both looking forward to, and dreading the past couple months. Right before breakfast this morning, Wind Dancer felt her water break and that only meant one thing. Little Glimmer was on their way. Wind Dancer was very much looking forward to being a mother, and over the last couple of months she and Sky had gotten more than enough diapers, bottles, and other various foal items for a newborn. They were prepared in every possible facet. Well, except for one. Wind Dancer had heard from several friends that were mother's that while there was nothing more joyful than foal birth, there was also nothing more painful. And she could believe it. She felt Sky's hoof on hers and she smiled at his words. She was going to reply when she felt the first major contraction and winced as she felt the foal start to move. It was at that moment Sky found out just how tight get group could get.

~~~Sugar Moonlight~~~ Sugar was quite happy with the ponies that showed up! They all seemed to be in the spirit of the event. She heard Queen Haven tell her that she should get in contact with Pipp if she was interested in doing more modeling work. She was a bit surprised to hear that she too had modeled for a few lines herself, but wasn't surprised when she said that Pipp would be more her style for talking with about that. "Indeed! I actually got to meet her a couple months ago when she came for the boat outing with Sunny! That said, I hope that they are able to make it! I would love to see Pipp again and Zipp seems like a fun pony to meet too!" Sugar said, turning to Sunny who apologized for her unusual entrance and then came up to embrace her with a hug, confirming to Moonage and Allegro that they were in the right spots. She loved seeing Sunny excited again, and Sunny's excitement was contagious to herself. She was ecstatic to be saying the phrase happy hearth's warming again. "I know right? We may not know everything on how it was done in the olden days, but that may not be a bad thing! We can make our own traditions too! Though of everypony here, you are kind of the expert on everything Olden Pony. What are we supposed to do outside of gather and mingle?" Sugar asked before Allegro mentioned using her kitchen for the gift that he was providing. He said that the meal that he was giving was best served fresh so he wanted to prepare it here. The idea of a fire pit was nice as well. "Oh! I like the idea of a fire pit! It is a tad bit on the chilly side outside so a fire pit to help everypony stay warm while we're out here would be perfect! Plus maybe the smell of your delicious treat will attract more ponies to come by!" she said, grabbing some of the wood that she'd use for her own fire place and making a small pyramid of logs. She also looked around for some stones or something that she could use around the base to keep it from spreading. Much to her dismay she didn't see any. She gave a small smile as she heard Moonage compliment her home and say that she was happy that she got to come back and that Sugar was hosting the party. "Of course! I'm glad to see everypony again! Hey, I know this is probably a long shot, but neither you or Sunny happened to bring about ten large stones that I can put around the base of the fire did you?" She asked with a hopeful, but almost rhetoric look on her face. Of course they wouldn't have brought anything like that to a party. Who in their right minds would think to bring anything like that! She was mentally kicking herself for not realizing that the holiday was in winter and that they might need a fire to stay warm. She had made sure that all the preparations were right except for apparently the most important one. Now her guests were going to be uncomfortable and it was all her fault for not preparing properly...

~~~Ice Storm~~~ When Myth came to Ice Storm a month ago and told her that she wanted to make sure she could attend the Hearth's Warming Festival here in Ponyville, Ice Storm almost told her no. That would be to say that she didn't think that she would be going to Ponyville to celebrate the holiday without the rest of her family going with her! Ponyville had as much of a special place in Icy's heart as it did Myth's. It was her shop here that she... nope, wait that was her Canterlot Shop that she had the secret meeting in the basement when she first founded STAR. But Ponyville was where that shop really took off and got started, and it was where Icy and Raven had met Myth! and the three of them have been the best of families ever sense! She was also expecting Feather Blitz to be here soon. She was surprised just how much her herd grew over the last couple of years, but she certainly wasn't complaining. Plus, with the way magic was now, they didn't need a male in the group at all! A couple of quick spells and any one of the mares could be a fully functioning stallion for a few hours. Tonight though, Ice Storm was wearing her signature dress that she usually wore to events like this. Black Sequins glimmered in the light as she walked threw the doors of the Castle of Friendship. She was also seen carrying two large bags across her back, and her amulet secured snuggly around her neck, her spheres safely docked in it. She could already see a few familiar faces. Well, more than a few. She recognized every pony in the room. Twilight was unmistakable, so was Bluebelle, whom looked like they were actually Blueblood for this event. Ice supposed that she couldn't be a mare all the time, even if she thought she was even sexier like that. Tonight wasn't the night for that though. She had no doubt she'd be engaging in such activities later, but that would be with her own herd, one of which was already here. Actually after a bit of looking she saw that two of them were here. Both Myth and Feather had arrived! That made her quite happy! Now they just needed to wait for Raven. Ice knew that Myth had been saving bits all year to donate for the homeless, and being a pony herself that grew up homeless, she understood. In fact, she planned on matching Myth's donation. Then her eyes shifted to another familiar face. She was a bit surprised to see this one here, but was relieved to see that he hadn't been going down the path of darkness that she had suspected. It was Blizzard, the ice mage that she caught breaking into the library that one night. Ice still hadn't trusted him for a while after that, and who could blame her? A pony that avoided society, that... albeit at the time was a the same society that had done atrocious things to herself, and Myth, and Raven, and pretty much everypony that had signed up for STAR... You know, thinking back she could understand why he simply forsook society and gave them the proverbial middle feather. Well, if he had wings that was. Now looking at him, he seemed to be dressed in robes in the same colors of the Twilight Guard. She smiled before turning back to Myth, giving both her and Feather a hug before speaking to Twilight. "Good evening Twilight, Blueblood! Good to see you two again! You too Blizzard. I'm quite pleased to know that I can't be right about everything. I'm glad you were able to turn over a new leaf!" she told him, looking back to Twilight. "I also see you two have met at least a couple parts of my own family. Myth," she said jestering a hoof, "And Feather Blitz," She added, her hoof following suit. "Raven and Nira should be here soon as well. I have my donation that will also be going to the homeless. It matches the donation that Myth gave. I also have a donation that I have brought from Wind Dancer. She was planning on bringing it herself, but she had to give her apologies. She is expecting soon and the day before we were to leave to get here, she started having labor pains so she's currently in the LPMC. I think she's about to have the best Hearth's Warming out of all of us. Well, she and her fiance that is. This is a check for a million bits and she wants it to go to the Ponyville Hospital. She also sent me with this note..." Ice said, clearing her throat. " To Princess Twilight Sparkle, I would like to personally thank you for inviting myself and Sky Sailing to Ponyville for last years Hearth's Warming Celebration and allowing us to put on out performance. That performance meant the world to the both of us, as it was our first performance outside of Las Pegasus together, and it was the performance that we both had altered without the other noticing to where we were proposing to each other in the finale! You and the ponies of Ponyville have given me so many fun, lasting memories that I will never forget. It saddens me that I will not be able to attend the festival this year like I had hoped, but by the time this letter gets to you, I will likely be bringing a new life into this world. That is why I have sent my donation of one million bits with Miss Ice Storm here to the Ponyville Hospital. Because the real, true magic of joy and hope only happens at one and I know more often than not they are underfunded. I want this donation to pay for all of the medical expenses of every single filly and colt that is currently at the hospital, and any that have been treated within the last year and any treated with the next few months. Even if this donation wouldn't be enough to cover that expense, I would ask that the Ponyville hospital bill me instead of the families of the little ones in care. They have enough to worry about right now making sure their little bundle of joy gets well enough to come home, without having to worry how they are going to pay for it. I can't begin to thank you enough for everything that you and everypony around you has done for Equestria, and I can only hope that my contributions what little they can be, help the families that it needs to. Sky Sailing had a bit he wanted to add as well, so here is him. Hello Princess, This IS Sky Sailing. I wanted to write along with Windy to say that I am also grateful for your invitation. Ponyvilled was one of those places where I come and if feels like all my family and friends got together to have a good time. And I'm an only child, so that was a little weird! But good weird. I sent along a donation as well to pay for instruments of little musicians in the making. I wouldn't have gotten where I am today if I hadn't gotten a keyboard as a colt to play around with and on, so I wanted to give others the opporunity to do so as well. With lots of love from your favorite Las Pegasus Duo, Windy & Sky " With a breath Ice Storm finished reading the letter and handed the donations to the princess. "It warms my heart to know that there are still gems in Equestria like these two. I wish more of nobility would be more like them and less like... well themselves, but I'm working on that," she smiled. "That being said, how have you been Blue? How have things with IMAGINE been?"

~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice Storm gave a soft smile when she heard the mare's excitement. She seemed to be every bit as bubbly as her research had suggested, which meant that the gift that she was going to give her was going to be absolutely perfect for her. She also couldn't help but laugh as the mare seemed to instantly catch on that she was her secret princess. "My name is Ice Storm, and I would love to be your friend! I guess that means I'll be giving you two gifts tonight!" she said with a smile. She pulled out the envelope and handed it to the violet colored mare. "I did a bit of research and I found that you were a pony that loved to play games! So, with that in mind! I'm giving you an all expenses paid vacation at my hotel and resort in Las Pegasus! Your food and room will be comped and you'll receive two thousand bits for playing the machines inside the casino. If you lose it, no harm no foul, but you get to keep everything you win! And that doesn't even count all the shows and everything else there is to do in LP!" Ice Storm said with a smile.

~~~Wind Dancer~~~ Hearth's Warming. It used to be a holiday that meant, well... not very much to her. Her family was in Cloudsdale and she couldn't get to them easily before. After this past year though, especially what last Hearth's Warming meant... Hearth's Warming was now the most important holiday for her. Normally she'd spend this holiday at the Las Pegasus Medical Center reading or playing with the fillies and colts that had ended up having less fortunate years and could't be home for the holiday. She knew that feeling. Today though, was the one-year anniversary for when she and Sky had proposed to each other, and coincidentally, once year to the day that her foal was placed inside her. In fact, that was why she herself was in the Las Pegasus Medical Center this her. She'd seen her fair share of hospitals, and being a patient in one was never fun, but this time... this time it was. She wasn't there to get a wing fixed. She was there to bring a new life into this world. A new life that she and her soon-to-be husband would raise together. Because of this, and being who she was, the mail pony would have brought the package to her room rather than leaving it at her penthouse. She smiled as she looked it over, and smiled to Sky as she pulled the envelope open and started reading the message that was written for the both of them to hear. The letter brought warmth to her heart, knowing that they had touched more than just the ponies that had showed up that night! Of course there would have been ponies watching from their homes! IT was a cold night after all so watching the show from the warmth of their rooms cuddled in blankets just made sense. After she read the letter, she would undo the ribbon and open the box.

~~~Ice Storm~~~ This party was going to be a long night, that was for sure, but she was quite happy to be here. Sure she could have stayed in Las Pegasus with her family, but... Ponyville still had special meaning to her. It was technically where she had first met both Raven and Myth, which both were now firmly a part of her herd. The only thing missing was a legal marriage to bind them for eternity. She was supposed to be meeting them soon for the main ceremony, but she had a couple things that she had to take care of first. Mainly, her secret princess stuff. She was still looking for a violet colored pony before she heard a whistle from behind her. She turned around when she heard a mare clearing her throat, and saw a pony that she knew! Well, not really, but kinda. Tiger was one of Bluey's guards, and she'd been with Bluebelle enough to know them. Though one thing that she knew was that Tiger was usually a stallion, so seeing them as a mare was... surprising at first, but not unwelcome. When she heard her say that Bluey certainly didn't exaggerate about her looks, she smiled and resisted the urge to get too flirty. They were in public after all. "Indeed I am! You must be Tiger! I've seen you around a few times when I've come to visit Bluebelle, but this is the first time I've seen you as a mare. I must say, the look is quite becoming of you!" she smiled extending a hoof to shake.

~~~Ice Storm~~~ This Secret Princess thing that Ice Storm had signed up for was sure to be interesting. She had signed up for it in a chance to meet some new ponies, and it would be nice top take a break from things with STAR for the holidays and just relax. It was even more important for her because they had just gotten back from an extended mission not long ago in Neighpon, and while everything was quite the sight to see over there, she was happy to be home back in Equestria. She was hoping to be a little bit more prep work before the event after she had gotten her quarry. It was a changling by the name of Flux. She had met several changlings before, and had even been granted an audiance with Queen Chrysalis before she apparently went psycho. After a bit of digging she found that Flux might have been part of the original invading force, but at this point, so were most of the reformed changlings. That didn't mean anything anymore and from what she could find on her now, she was quite happy with a bubbly personality. She seemed to love playing and enjoying her time around other ponies. She also knew that she tended more towards her pony form rather than her natural form, and she started looking though the crowd for her. She was looking for a violet colored unicorn and smiled when she spotted her. She made her way though the crowd before tapping the pony on the shoulder with a beaming smile. "Hi! Are you the pony named Flux?" she asked

~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice Storm started to make herself a bit more comfortable and started to take off the armor for the evening. Surely once the illusions were in place she wouldn't need to worry about being in full garb. She smiled and started helping Raven set up the tents, starting with the one that would hold herself, Myth, and Raven. Among the rest of the crew they were the only ones that knew of her little issue that she had, and she would prefer it kept that way. She would hum one of the tunes that she heard repeatedly in LP. It would have been a phrase from Beethooven's Fifth. She's heard it plenty of times with her casino, and mire importantly, her penthouse being right next to where Wind Dancer performed every Sunday. It was quite a spectical to watch. Every opening was the same, with Flight of the Pegasus. She understood why it had to be like that though. Her routine always started with the Volcano that the Mareage had. IT was kind of their gimmick. Well Icy had a gimmick now too, or would have as soon as it was completed. She couldn't wait to see the progress on the new golf course she was building. She wasn't very good at the game herself, or at least she didn't think. She'd never tried to play, but she'd seen the game played and it looked fun, and the land around her casino became available so she bought it and started the process for it. She stomped her hoof on the last stake and then looked up to Raven with a smile as the tent remained stable. "Well, now that we got that set up, how about we..." Ice started before she felt something off in the air. She couldn't place what it was, but this wasn't part of the illusion magic. She wasn't the only one that sensed it either. the okami picked up on it as well, stating that something was here, looking in the direction of Luna. She could feel the hair standing on the back of her neck. She levitated her armor back over to her and teleported it onto her before she let the Opalus Spheres detach from the amulet, the four icy gems orbiting around her. When she heard Myth say that Luna was under attack, she didn't doubt her for a second and in a brought flash, the commander was gone and standing a a few meters behind the princess. The spheres were orbiting at a distance and a rate that made them difficult to see, and there was a radius of ice along the ground as she walked that matched the radius of her spheres. Anypony looking at her from a distance would see Ice as a white unicorn right now with a faint glow as compared to her usual icy blue self. When she got there, she couldn't see anything, but she could see Luna scowling and looking into the air. There was also a strong scent of something in the air, but she couldn't place what it was. She looked around for a few more moments before realizing that Luna had probably already taken care of the threat. She moved up to the former princess. "Are you alright?" she asked, still searching in case there was something that she didn't see at first. "Status report. What did you see, and what direction did it come from? What kind of defenses do we need to prepare?" Ice asked while she waited for the others to get there. They weren't but a short distance from the base camp so it shouldn't be too long. In hindsight it probably would have been better to teleport a few others with her, but that would have been pushing her limits a bit more that she would have liked, especially if she was going to need to fight immediately afterwards. As it was for now, she was prepared for just about anything. ~~~Niradaña~~~ Nira had been taking inventory and looking over everything that the others had brought in for her. This gave her a base idea of what she could do with what supplies that they had. Thankfully, unless they were some pretty serious wounds, she had plenty to make sure they were sanitized and her magic would take care of the rest. She could probably at least make sure that a couple large wounds were stable if needed before taking them back to the ship for full medical attention. "Yes, I think everything that we have here will work just fine," she said to herself looking up as she heard a bit of a commotion in the camp. She saw that suddenly everypony was on edge, and given where they were, and the situation that they were in, this put Nira on edge as well. It was about then that she heard the lightest blue unicorn say that The Princess, or rather, Luna, as she was retired now... was under attack. How could this be? Surely no pony or creature would be so brazen to attack an alicorn of all ponies. Even if Luna was retired she had more power in her right front hoof than most ponies had in their entire existence. Or at least so she thought. She saw a bright flash where the commander had been and saw a pile of snow left in her wake. She had to rub her eyes for a second from the flash. That definitely wasn't a stealthy version of teleport that was for sure. Teleport also didn't usually leave anything behind. Something she made a note to ask the commander about when their friends weren't in danger. Nira took off immedately towards the hill. "Anata wa baka! Bakkuappu ya hīrā nashide sakini hashitte imasu... Anata wa jibun jishin o korosu tsumoridesu!" Nira said, defaulting native language... (Translation, You fool! running ahead without backup or a healer... You're going to get yourself killed!")

~~~Aloe Blossom~~~ Aloe hummed while she was eating her lunch today with Rose. Today it was a fresh garden salad with romaine lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, raisins, maredarin oranges, and an assortment of nuts with a raspberry vinegrette. Simple, but tasty. She munched on all of the crunchy vegetables whole she thought about the questions that Rose had been asking and helping teach her about the spa and the work that they do here. She was certain that she was going to turn the shade of her sister if she had to explain the principles of mud again. She began to wonder if Rose kept asking about it because she knew it pushed her buttons. She looked up though when she heard Rose ask about what aloe thought about them getting a pet before she saw a flash and felt her ears go floppy. "Oh! I think a pet would be a wonderful idea! The only concern I have is how we would take care of it. Pets take a lot of work and care. It's like a full time spa client, except we pay to take care of it and not the other way around. What kind of pet were you thinking?" Aloe asked, plopping a tomato in her mouth.

~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice listened, and listened well when Discord spoke of Hou. He told her to get out. Now. The tone of which he had said it was one that she hadn't heard from him before. IT almost sounded like... fear. He told her that he possessed something extremely powerful that he had never seen before himself, and told her that he of all ponies couldn't risk getting to close to it. This unsettled Icy. What could Hou have that was that powerful? Just what exactly was all stolen from the vault. If this is as dangerous as everypony is making this out to be, then why weren't there more ponies doing anything about it. "I'm sorry Discord, but my only dealing with Hou Shuren, is to stop her. I would be more than happy to let the Princesses handle it, but the problem is, that they aren't. And the longer then sit idly and do nothing, the more powerful Hou becomes and the more of a threat she becomes to the ponies of Equestria. The ponies that I swore an oath to protect, just like the princesses... and it appears that of them I'm the only one that's actually taking my oath seriously. And if the reason the princesses aren't doing anything is because they can't, then I happen to know some pretty powerful ponies on the other side of the world now." "Aaand I might just have an ace in the hole. The ponies in Neighpon specialize in life magic. Which means they might be able to counter the magic that Hou uses to sustain herself. If that's the case, one of two things will happen. She'll live out the rest of her days an pass naturally, or thousands of years of aging will instantly catch up with her and she'll turn to dust in an instant. We just need to figure out how Hou consumes the souls of others..." She said before sighing a bit. She knew that she was in way over her head with this one, but it was as she said. She felt like she was the only one doing anything about it. When Discord mentioned the golf course that she mentioned, she smiled and nodded to him. "Of course I'll let you know when it's finished! And actually, that sounds like a good idea. Here! Let me go over the designs I already have with you. There's a lot of water on the course and several shots are over it. There are plenty of ways that we can Discord up a golf tournament. We can call it the Lord of Chaos Invitational. Where the pin randomly moves between shots, There are roaming waterspouts in the water hazards, and that swinging palm trees are singing swing music!" Ice started with a smile.

~~~Wind Dancer~~~ Wind Dancer was watching in earnest to the jousting in front of her, and she herself didn't really noticed that Cloudy was airborne maybe a bit further than she should be for an event like this. Or rather, at least for the location that they were in. The patrons behind them couldn't see, and Wind Dancer found it especially important that everypony get a chance to see everything. Being a performer herself, that was kind of rooted into her. She didn't like it when ponies couldn't see her. If they couldn't see her then she couldn't make them happy! And making them happy was the number one reason why she did everything that she did. Thankfully the ponies behind them didn't seem to be too upset once she sat down, but there was still plenty of excitement to be had when both the lances splintered off of the shields. They sent splinters into the crowd and Wind had to raise a wing to block some from hitting her face. "Wow! What a shot!" Windy yelled as they watched them get two more lances and immediately break them as well. This continued a bit longer before finally Marcus caught Pike off guard by aiming lower than he had been and when he went to block the balled point of it bent and flung him out to the wall and slumped against it. "And the winner of the first match by the score of 2-0 is Marcus! Let's hear a round of applause for both contestants!" The announcer said. The crowd erupted and Pike was escorted over to a medical tent. Something that Windy was very thankful herself to see. Something as extreme as this needed medical staff on scene, as accidents could very easily happen. They looked to take safety very seriously which automatically brought the sport several pegs up on her like column. "Man that was exciting! I have no idea how this is scored, but the knockout was pretty obvious!" Wind said to Cloudy. "We should probably find a rulebook or something so we actually know what we are watching and what's considered good or bad," Wind smiled. Honestly, she didn't care how it was scored. She was having fun watching it, and the scoring part of it was the job of the ponies in the ring. She was getting kind of thirsty though. Something to go with all the candy they bought would be nice.

~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice Storm was thankful that Discord chose to forgive her. She knew how troublesome it could be when somepony got on Discord's bad side. Nothing is worse than making the god of chaos angry with you. That's like walking up to an ice cliff, bucking it as hard as you could and then getting mad when chunks of ice fell off and hit you, or worse. AS it was though, she listened as he questioned her thought about his inability to keep a secret before he almost started talking about a secret. She couldn't help but raise an Eyebrow at that. The one thing that he said that he did want to clear up though, was that there was nopony as old as he was. "Perfect! I was hoping that you were going to say that. I would have asked for help a lot sooner, but again I wasn't even in the country for the past few months. The pony in question is named Hou Shuren. According to King Sombra, Twilight, and Princess Luna, she's come into some rather powerful artifacts that she stole from the Canterlot Vaults. I was wondering what information you could tell me about her. So far the only thing we have are rumors that she's immortal and that she fuels her immortality by consuming the souls of other ponies. Though after our most recent expedition, I fear there might be some truths about those based on some of the things that we found," Ice Storm mentioned before pulling out a notebook and a quill as she waited for Discord's response. "Also," she said looing at the giant hook. "Where in Equestria did you find that? that's kinda neat looking. I can definitely see you going after bad ponies with it," she smiled.

~~~Ice Storm~~~ After a few moments of contemplation, Ice Storm heard a voice from the corner of her office. A very familiar voice that she hadn't heard from in a bit, which was more her fault than anything. She turned to see the draconiquis approaching her. He told her that while he might be new to this whole friendship thing, but he was pretty sure you were supposed to tell your friends when you started a secret military organization and become one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria. He then tossed a book at a shelf of breakables before the book vanished. She recognized it as the friendship journal and part of the curriculum at the school of friendship. She also became aware of the raw, half-eaten fish sandwich. A sign that she took as Discord's way of saying that something fishy was going on here. Ice Storm sighed. "I am sorry, Discord. I wasn't ignoring anyone. I promise. I mean, I haven't even been in Equestria for a few months now. Before that I was dealing with a pair of corrupted nobles that we found out were dealing with eldritch magic, which I let Twilight take care of at that point. Weird tentacle things, no thanks I know how things like that end. The reason I never told you about STAR was the same reason I never publicly told anyone about Star. At least not until recently. It was supposed to be a black ops program designed to eliminate threats to Equestria before they got here so we didn't have another Tempest come knocking down our door. In order for that to work efficiently, Equestria needed plausible deniability. The only way to achieve that was to keep as many princesses and literal gods out of the loop as possible. I could only tell one, and no offense... But between you and Luna, she's better at keeping a secret. Or so I thought..." Ice started. "I planned everything so carefully. I did extensive research on how to cover trails and sever connections that could be made to something larger going on. I never ordered from the same place twice in a row, made sure all the shipments came in at different ports and from different cities. But ponies still figured it out. I'm still not entirely sure how Twilight found out, but after she did, she supported the idea, and now we're an official branch of the Equestrian Military. Which means I can't operate exactly how I wanted to anymore. But I'm also doing a lot of good with it to. Jobs, inclusion... Which is ironic given the conversation... And draining the corrupt nobility from well, nobility. At least that way what happened to me can't happen again. Not telling you was wrong, but believe me when I say I definitely wasn't avoiding you. Shoot, I could even use your help on this one. She could be a major threat and is probably the only other pony alive as old as you and the sisters." She stated.

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings.... That's the only thing that Ice Storm had been able to since she's been back in Las Pegasus. She supposed that shouldn't have been too much of a surprise though. While it might have been for official Equestrian Business and homeland Security, she was still gone for the better part of a couple months. She wasn't surprised tofind out that many of the ponies that were friends and acquaintances that weren't already a part of STAR. Of course she couldn't go into full details with them, and then there were her financial advisors that had to sit down with her and go over all of the transactions that had happened within the last month that would be considered major expenses. She was pleased to see that the new PPGA golf course was taking shape and was well under way around the casino. With any luck it should be ready by spring. She couldn't wait. While she wasn't much of a golfer herself, she'd always been interested in the sport. Still though, she was happy to have finally made her way back to her office so that she could relax for a bit. Between everything that she had going on right now, it was a lot to handle. She slumped at her desk for a few moments before opening a cabinet in the back and pulling out a paper cone, a bottle of water, and strawberry syrup and quickly made herself a strawberry snow cone that she started to munch on. Nothing like a snow cone for her to let her worries go, at least for a few moments. It was then that she managed to spot something in the room. Something that she hadn't seen yet. "A spruce tree? I mean I like it, but the desk isn't really the place for that..." she said before noticing a card on it. "I noticed that your desk could use some sprucing up..." she started reading aloud, giggling a bit at the pun on the card. It was a spruce sapling... sprucing up... it made her giggle. Still, the card was left anonymous. She put a page into her hostess. "Hey Snow Star, did you receive anything for me in the past week? Something like a tree?" "Nope! No pony's been in your office except you ma'am," She got in reply. "Huh, that's weird. Thanks!" she said looking over the card. Who would randomly teleport her a tree? She wondered if this was Myth's doing, or maybe Raven as a way of telling her she needs to decorate better... Na, Raven would just come out and say it was ugly if she didn't like it. She took another bite of her snow cone as she wondered where this tree came from.

~~~Wind Dancer~~~ The display on the sign as they were walking by for the EWF was very bright and bombastic. It looked like the very definition of a smoke and mirrors, but at the same time she did find herself intrigued about it. Sky pointed it out to her, and normally she might have suggested something else, but after a recentish encounter going to a jousting tournament with Cloudy when she was showing her the city a few months ago, she found herself rather enjoying such events. Naturally she wasn't want for seeing a pony get hurt by any means, but entertainment was just that. She was certain that just like at the jousting matches up in the cloud district, this would be heavily regulated and precautions taken to make sure that everything is safe. Well as safe as actual fighting can be. "I haven't been to an EWF match before, but I have been to one of the Jousting Tournaments up in the Cloud District. I went with a pony that literally bumped into me after we did that show at Icy's a few months ago. I would have invited you to come with us, but I knew that you were working with a client that Golden had gotten for you after the show, so I didn't want to interrupt that," Wind stated. "That said, I found the jousting enjoyable, and while the thought of two ponies hurting each other doesn't interest me in the slightest, a regulated wrestling match meant for entertainment might be something that I can get behind. Plus, if we don't like it, we can always go see another show. It's not like the strip is lacking for them," she smiled.

~~~Aloe Blossom~~~ Aloe nodded when she heard Rose's assessment of the drink and everything that chocolate was actually good for. She also seemed surprised that it was sweet. "For most ponies anymore it usually is, but there are darker chocolates that have more of the bitter flavor of it's original. It also has a lot more cocoa. This particular concoction is made using about thirty percent cocoa, dried milk, sugar, and at least in my recipe, the tiniest hint of ginger. The significance of it, well it's always kinda been a family tradition of mine. I remember always racing home in the winter time when I was a filly because I wanted to beat my sister to the first cup. Being the first one in line made it more likely that I could get seconds! Plus it's a really good drink to sit around and tell stories while drinking it, and everypony has a Hearth's Warming story of some kind. Also because it tastes good and is one of my favorite parts of this time of year," she said taking a very careful sip as to not burn her tongue.

~~~IceStorm~~~ Normally, Ice Storm would have had ponies that would have been on her payroll to set up such a camp that Luna was mentioning. Right now, however, they were on a covert operation and a mass of creatures moving in unison would be easy for any scouts of Hou to spot and report back that somepony was here. The numbers that they had were large enough for that to be a problem already, and she still couldn't be certain that these Okami weren't scouts of hers. Myth seemed to trust them though, so that was enough for her at the moment. If they were an agent of the enemy, having them close to them where Ice could keep an eye on them would be better than letting them scout ahead and possibly reveal sensitive information. Luna told her that she was going to find a good spot to raise the moon from. Ice wanted to speak up, but she still had a job to do, just the fact that it would be at a higher point of elevation could end up being a beacon to them. With Myth's illusions though, making it look like there was nothing around that shouldn't be an issue though. None of it would really. Ice Storm nodded to Luna before looking back to Myth. "Right then, Myth, I'll need you to start on the process of making the illusions for covering up the area. Anything that will lessen the strain both on you and the influx of magic in the area the better. Less of a chance that something can go wrong. Nira, Find out what provisions you need, and make a secondary and tertiary list for each. We don't know what's here and we'll have limited supplies. Feather, make sure nothing happens to those two," she said turning to Raven whom was already setting up her tent. No doubt she was getting other things set up for them as well. She blushed a bit at that realization before shaking her head and looking back to everyone in her stoic manner. She looked back to the two Okami. "That in mind, once we finish getting everything set up, I would also like to know more about how everything works here in Neighpon. The more that we know how the magic works here, the better we can preserve it, and more importantly, the easier it will be to tell the difference between the natural magic of the land, and magic that's been tainted by the sorceress," she said with a smile before her attention would turn to where Luna was as she prepared to raise the moon. ~~~Niradana~~~ Nira would nod at the instructions that Ice Storm had given. It was a logical course of action to make sure that they had what the healer needed in order to heal. "Most of the healing that I do is magical healing, but it does have limitations. I can't heal bone or nerve damage, or anything that I can't see very well. As far as herbs and the like go, as long as we have the basics, willow, ginger, honey, garlic, mint, and yarrow, I can make any natural remedy. If we can find some from this magically infused forest, then they might have some more potent effects, allowing me to naturally treat more potent injuries. What we have at the camp though will serve well enough though," she saidsmiling back at Myth and Feather, nodding to her previous statement of talking about things later. Something that she could help set up now. "That said, I think the three of us will be quite fine sharing at tent ourselves if it will help keep our hoofprint in the forest to a minimum," Nira added. She couldn't help but feel a bit excited herself at the prospect of watching one of the Equestrian Royalty raise the moon. Something like that was never seen over here before, so this would be a first for everypony present that was born on this side of the world.