It was the eve of Hearth’s Warming Day, and high spirits were abound in Ponyville as the sun slowly began to inch its way closer to the horizon, causing long shadows to be cast along the snow-covered ground. The town was alive with activity as ponies bustled to-and-fro, doing their last minute shopping before the marketplace closed down. Overhead, the weather team was hard at work, getting ready for the snowstorm we were supposed to have tonight.

Despite the organized chaos and mass of milling equine, everyone appeared to be in a good mood. With the streets and buildings decked to the limit with all manner of holiday decoration, it was probably nigh impossible for anyone to be grouchy.

Pinkie Pie really outdid herself this year.

I watched the whirl of activity that was the marketplace from in front of the library, having just finished shoveling off the front walk. Leaning heavily on my shovel, I couldn’t help but laugh softly to myself—my breathing fogging up in front of me—at the fevered display. Ponies were practically scrambling over each other to find that last minute gift for their loved ones, looking very much like an overturned ant hill.

The Crusaders raced by, heading off on some adventure or another. As she passed by, Sweetie Belle waved to me, a large smile on her face. When I returned the gesture, she began to giggle, her cheeks taking on a red hue, before she darted off behind her friends.

As I continued to observe, Rainbow flew by overhead, hauling along a couple of large clouds. One of them, already fit to bursting, was beginning to sprinkle snow, and I watched as large flakes floated down, only to alit upon my clean path. Shaking my head, I made a mental note to hit Rainbow with a snowball the next time I saw her.

I was just about to turn and head back into the library for the evening when I caught sight of a pony rounding the corner of the street. They were carrying several large packages upon their back, and appeared to be struggling under their weight. However, the pony pushed doggedly on, clearly determined to reach their destination.

They trudged along and appeared to be doing well enough until they reached the library. I had salted the walk leading up to the front door, but hadn’t touched the main street. A thin layer of black ice had formed, and as the pony struggled along, their hoof hit the slippery spot. Their hoof slipped out from underneath them and they yelped loudly, struggling to regain their balance. After several tense seconds they managed to recover, but, unfortunately, the sudden jarring movement caused the packages to sway back and forth, and the top few suddenly tilted, falling off of the pony’s back.

Dropping my shovel, I darted forward, catching the packages before they hit the ground. Sensing that something had happened to their burden, the pony poked their head out from beneath the pile of boxes and glanced around. I immediately recognized her, and I couldn’t help but huff softly, a small smile touching my lips.

As she glanced up at me and saw the boxes in my arms, the mare breathed a sigh of relief before giving me a grateful smile. “Oh, thank you so much for the save.”

“It was no problem, Ditzy,” I said, returning the smile. Shifting the boxes around in my arms to better hold them, I asked, “Is this a bit much for you to be carrying? It looks heavy.”

“Oh, it is,” Ditzy said with a nod, her blonde mane falling in front of her eyes. Wrinkling up her nose, she snorted loudly, blowing the hair back out of her field of vision. “Much too heavy for me to fly with, so I have to walk home. I’ve had a couple of close calls, though, but luckily you were here to stop this one.”

She leaned towards me, presenting me with the top of the tower of packages.

“If you would be so kind, can you put those back up there? I want to get back home and wrap these before Dinky returns,” she said. The tower wobbled slightly, and Ditzy squawked as it threatened to tip over again. Flaring her wings, she managed to stabilize it just in time.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she then present me with the tower again, an expectant look on her face.

I frowned, eyeing the packages with some skepticism.

“Ditzy, I can’t let you carry all of these home by yourself,” I said, shaking my head. “You’ll end up dropping half of these before you get there.” At my words, her smile faded and her ears splayed against her head.

Moving forward, I grabbed a couple of more boxes off of her back and transferred them to my own stack.

“Here,” I said with a smile. “Let me help you.”

Chewing on her bottom lip, Ditzy glanced back and forth between me and the library, an uncertain look on her face.

“I don’t know,” she said softly. “I don’t want to intrude on your evening…”

“Nonsense,” I scoffed, adjusting the packages into a more comfortable position. “Twilight won’t mind if I step out for a couple of minutes to help you out.”

Ditzy gave the library one last look before sighing and giving me a weak smile. “If you say so.” Using her wings to adjust the pile of boxes on her back, she started off down the road again, heading for home.

I fell in step beside her, and we made our way down the street, heading away from the marketplace and towards the residential part of town.

As we walked, I glanced at the bubbly pegasus, cocking an eyebrow. “Doing some last minute shopping I see. Anything special?”

“As a matter of fact, yes,” Ditzy said, stepping carefully around another patch of ice. “Dinky has been a very good filly, and I happened to actually have some spare bits lying around this year, so I figured I would treat my little muffin to something special.” She motioned to the boxes in my hands with her head. “One of those is a special Daring Do playset. I know she’s a little old for it, but she absolutely loves the books, and the playset came with a free Daring Do doll. I hope she likes it…” she said, trailing off as her ears splayed to the side.

“Are you kidding me?” I asked, chuckling. “I’m sure she’ll love it. This is the filly that each time a new book comes out, she races to beat Rainbow to the library to read it. It’s nearly impossible to get her to leave at closing time because she’s so engrossed in the novel. Remember when I had to come knocking on your door at two in the morning to let you know that she was safe and sound?”

“She nearly gave me a heart attack,” Ditzy said, nodding her head, careful to not disturb the boxes. “Although, I can’t really stay mad at her for that. I am very happy that she enjoys reading.”

We continued to walk along, and soon Ditzy lead me down another road. Small houses, covered in festive lights and decorations, lined the street.

“I’m the very last house on the right,” she said, sounding a little winded. I paused to allow her to catch her breath, but she pushed along, determined to reach her destination.

When we finally reached her home, I noticed that the roof appeared to be sagging slightly. The chimney was missing several bricks, and the fence around the lawn needed a new coat of paint. Several of the shutters were run down, and one of the windows was cracked. It looked like the house had seen some years, but it also looked homely and well-loved.

Ditzy struggled slightly to get the gate to the fence open. Shifting the packages into one hand, I used the other to help her unlatch the gate.

“Thanks,” she grunted, her legs trembling slightly. She quickly moved up the steps of her porch, watching for ice, and pushed the front door open with her muzzle. As she crossed the threshold, she called back over her shoulder, “Just place them on the couch, please!”

I did as she asked, placing the packages onto the nearby couch, which looked worn and aged. Straightening up, I dusted off my hands before throwing her a quick salute.

“Anything else you require, ma’am?”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t ask you to do anything else,” she said, shaking her head as she unwrapped the scarf from around her neck. Throwing it over the back of a chair that was leaking stuffing, she moved towards the kitchen. “You’ve helped me enough already. If… if you’d like, I think I still have some holiday cookies around here somewhere…”

“That’s quite alright,” I said, holding up a hand. “You don’t need to do that.”

“I insist!” she chirped from the kitchen. She emerged with a plate of frosted cookies on her back, balanced between her wings. Offering the plate to me, she gave me a warm smile. “Go on, take one! A thank you for helping me with my packages.”

“Oh, if you insist,” I said with a smile, reaching out and picking up a cookie in the shape of a candy cane. Taking a quick bite, my eyes lit up as I chewed. “This is delicious!” I hummed with a mouthful of cookie.

“Thank you,” Ditzy said, her ears perking up. “I made them myself!”

“Well, you certainly know what you are doing,” I said, taking another bite. “You could give Pinkie a run for her bits.”

Ditzy’s cheeks darkened, and her wings fluttered by her sides. “I… uh, thank you,” she squeaked.

“Well,” I said, taking another bite of the homemade cookie, “I best be off. I’ll let you get to wrapping your presents.” Pushing open the door, I waved to Ditzy before heading off back towards the library.

“Happy holidays!” I called back over my shoulder.

“Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve,” Ditzy called from the doorway, waving a wing.

As I walked away, I made a mental note to dip into my large pile of bits. After all, it was the holidays, and I didn’t think Ditzy would mind getting a surprise gift from an anonymous party.

As I walked back towards the library, the clouds opened up and snow slowly began to drift towards the ground. Ponies were beginning to head home, their backs covered with packages, boxes, and bags. Several waved to me as I passed, and I returned the gesture, a smile on my face.

With the snow slowly starting to fall faster and faster, I decided to take a shortcut and slipped down a side alleyway, heading to the marketplace. It wasn’t as crowded as it had been, what with ponies having finished with their shopping. There was still a smattering of ponies here and there, closing up their stores and stalls. Sugarcube Corner was still open, and I could see the Cakes through the frosty windows. Mrs. Cake worked the register, taking the orders, while her husband passed out the food, making sure that customers got what they had paid for. Pinkie was no doubt in the back, hard at work cooking up a storm.

Pausing for a brief second, Mrs. Cake raised her head and glanced out of the front window. Just by accident, our gazes met. Her eyes widened before she tentatively gave me a weak smile. I just inclined my head slightly, keeping my face expressionless. With that, she returned her attention to the register, and I continued on my way.

Snow crunching underfoot, I made my way across the marketplace, heading towards the library on the other side. As I neared the frozen fountain, a smile slowly spread across my face as I spotted a couple of familiar faces.

“And what are you four hoodlums up to?” I asked as I walked up to the group of ponies.

“Hoodlums?” Avera asked with faux shock. “How could you say such things? We are good, respectable members of society!” Beside her, Ebony and Primrose nodded in agreement, both sitting on the edge of the fountain’s pool. They were decked out in their winter gear; Ebony with a pair of earmuffs, and Primrose with her scarf wrapped firmly around her muzzle. Avera was bare as usually, the cold weather not bothering her. Vinyl was sitting with them, a blue scarf wrapped loosely around her head.

“Mmmhmmm, right,” I said, giving her a bemused look. Pointing at a wooden barrel sitting next to Ebony on the fountain’s edge, I asked, “What’s in the barrel?”

“Special homemade eggnog,” Ebony chirped with a smile. “We’ve been selling it by the mugload. We’ve been through a dozen barrels today alone. Made a good sum of bits. This is our last one,” she said, patting the barrel beside her. Her smile grew as she looked up at me. “Want some?”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Vinyl said, adjusting her signature shades as Ebony poured a mug of eggnog. “When she said it was special homemade eggnog, she meant special homemade eggnog. I would advise against drinking it.”

“What does it do?” I asked, accepting the mug. Glancing into the cup, I eyed the creamy liquid carefully. It looked like and smelled like regular eggnog.

“It’s enchanted to make you hug the stuffings out of the next pony you see,” Ebony said with a large smile. “You know, to increase holiday spirit!”

Looking down into the mug, I stared at the eggnog for a few seconds before shrugging. “Meh, I’ve had worse.” Putting the mug to my lips, I threw back my head and chugged.

“Wait a minute, did I say hug?” Ebony hummed as I drank. “I’m sorry, that’s wrong. What I meant to say was kiss. Until your lips are raw.”

I froze, my body stiffening, as I finished the last of the eggnog within the mug. Lowering the mug, I continued to stare up at the clouds far above, blinking as snow continued to fall. I could hear Avera and Ebony snickering in front of me, as well as Primrose’s soft chuckles.

Vinyl just sighed loudly. “I told you not to drink it.”

“So,” I began slowly, keeping my gaze upwards, “the next pony I look at I’m going to kiss violently?”

“Yup,” Ebony said, and I could hear the smugness in her voice. “Don’t worry, though. It’s just one pony, and just this once. It isn’t like the love poison.

“I see,” I grunted, chewing on the inside of my cheek. “Well, in that case…” Lowering my head, I stared straight at Vinyl.

“...you bastard,” she huffed—her voice monotone—as I felt my cheeks slowly beginning to grow warm.

Pushing the front door open, I slipped into the library, closing it quickly behind me. The snow was really coming down now, and my shoulders and head was now covered in the frozen stuff. Giving myself a good shake, I tried to clear myself off.

“Twilight, I’m back!” I called out as I took off my coat and hung it up on the coat rack. “I helped Ditzy carry a couple of heavy packages back to her place.” Behind me, I heard the sound of wings fluttering softly and a muffled giggle.

“The gang was up to mischief again as well,” I continued, removing my soaked boots. “You are going to hear some stories later, and most of them miiight be true.” Finally managing to kick off my boots, I straightened up and cracked my back, groaning happily.

Turning around, I rubbed my right shoulder, wincing as the muscle twinged. “Also, I’m going to need… to…”

I trailed off, my eyes widening in shock, my cheeks heated up suddenly at what I saw.

Twilight was behind me, standing there with her back to me. She had her chest lowered to the floor, her flank raised high into the air. A red ribbon was tied around the base of her tail, as was a piece of mistletoe. She was giving me a sultry look over her shoulder, swishing her tail back and forth in an alluring manner. Every few seconds, something very private was exposed.

“Mistletoe~!” she said in a sing-songy voice, wiggling her hips, causing them to jiggle in a very, very arousing manner.

I just stood there, blinking owlishly in disbelief. My head was cocked to the side, my lips pursed slightly as I took in the sight before me. I could feel myself slowly getting flustered. I didn’t move, I didn’t speak. I just stood there and stared.

After a few moments of silence, when nothing happened, Twilight’s smile faded slightly and her ears folded against her head. Her tail stopped swishing, hanging limply to the side.

“I, uh… I thought it would be funny,” she said lamely, her head drooping slightly as she stood back up. “You see, because it’s mistletoe… and you have to kiss… never mind.” She lowered her gaze, staring at the floor. “I’m.. I’m sorry. I’ll just go take it off—YEEEEEEEEK!”

Twilight shrieked loudly as she darted away, her tail tucked firmly between her legs.

“YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO KISS IT!” she squawked indignantly, her wings flared wide and a large blush on her face.

“Mmmm,” I said, licking my lips with a smile. “Pepperminty.”

The fire roared merrily in the fireplace, filling the room with a pleasant warmth and the sound of crackling flames. All the lights around the library had been turned off, the only illumination coming from the fire. Outside, the weather had long since evolved into a small blizzard, large snowflakes practically blowing sideways.

Sitting cozily beneath a large, wool blanket, Twilight and I snuggled up against one another on the couch, enjoying each others company. We each had a mug of eggnog, one of many that we had been working on over the course of the evening. The sound of muffled laughter came from the closed basement door, just barely audible over the sounds of the fire.

Resting her head against my shoulder, Twilight stared into the fire, humming happily to herself as she watched the dancing flames. From beneath the blanket, I stroked one of her wings gently, playing with her large, primary feathers.

“This is nice,” she said suddenly, her voice soft. “I like this. I could easily get addicted to this.” Lifting her mug to her lips, she sipped her eggnog.

“It certainly beats last year,” I said, giving one of her feathers a gentle tug. A shiver ran through her body, and she moaned softly.

“I’ll give you all night to stop that,” she said, rubbing her cheek absentmindedly against my shoulder.

“You’re right, though,” I said as I tugged on her feathers again. “This is nice. Just you, me, the fire, and a couple of knuckleheads below.” At my words, a loud ‘thunk’ came from the basement, followed by the sound of explosive laughter. “Too bad your parents couldn’t join us this year. I like listening to your mother’s stories.”

“They decided to visit the Crystal Empire this year,” Twilight said, taking another sip of her eggnog. “They wanted to see Cadance and Shining again, as well as spend some time with their grandfoals. Last I heard, they were spending an extra week there, just to give Shining and Cadance a brief break from the foals. A special gift.”

“I bet they’d appreciate that,” I said with a chuckle. “Infants can be tiresome, especially twins.”

“Yeah,” Twilight sighed, staring deep into the flames. Suddenly, she perked up and turned her head, her muzzle practically touching my nose.

“You know,” she said slowly, her cheeks flushing and her eyes becoming hooded. “Foals don’t sound so bad, now that I think about it.”

Pausing with my mug halfway to my lips, I gave her an incredulous look. “What?”

“And they are certainly fun to make,” she continued, giving my nose a slow lick.

“How much eggnog have you had?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“We could do it right now, if you’d like,” she said, ignoring me. “Right here, in front of the fire. It might get a little hot, but that’s okay. We can always cool off in the shower later.”

“You do realize that I put eight ounces of alcohol in that liter of eggnog, right?” I asked, staring at my own mug. “You didn’t chug it, did you?”

“Come on, it’ll be fun~!” Twilight sang happily, laying her head on my shoulder, and staring up at me. “Just picture me like a book. Set me on the ground and spread my pages wiiiiiiide open.”

“I think you’ve had enough of that,” I said, pulling her mug from her magical grasp and placing it on the table beside the couch, alongside my own.

“Come ‘ere!” Twilight growled suddenly. She pounced, quickly wrapping her legs around my neck and pulling me into a deep, passionate, somewhat slobbery, kiss. Keeping our lips locked together, she giggled drunkenly before pulling me off of the couch and onto the floor, her wings stiff by her sides.

Author's Notes:

Merry Christmas!!! From all of us here at MadMax Industries©