The snow crunched beneath his hooves, soaking into his coat. More of the white precipitation fell from the evening sky, melting onto his hat and vest.

Phillip hated the snow, cursed it with every frosty breath he took. The first time he'd seen snow was in his freshpony year in college. To this day, he didn't understand the point of the cold, wet, white blanket. It blocked sidewalks, covered patches of ice, blinded travelers with it's stinging winds and sharp glare, and forced ponies out of their warm homes to shovel off roofs and pathways.

PAFF!

The only thing that it seemed to be good for was forming projectile weapons to hurl at unsuspecting ponies' heads. He stopped for a moment, then turned and glared at his attacker with a look that was as chilly as the snow dripping down the back of his head.

"Sorry, mister!" Apple Bloom apologized with a smile, ducking beneath another volley of snowballs from Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. The trio of fillies laughed as they cavorted amongst their makeshift forts, continuing to attack one another with snowballs. Shaking his head to clear the snow off him, Phillip continued on his way down the main street of Ponyville.

As he passed Drury Lane, he had to stop to allow an excited Dinky Do to cross the street in front of him. The little filly bounded across the street and into the embrace of her mother, who nuzzled her happily before taking her by the hoof and guiding her into their home. Time Turner, wearing his trademark scarf around his neck and body, greeted his wife at their door with a kiss and brought his two mares inside. Pausing, Phillip watched through the lit window as the three ponies gathered around the brightly lit and decorated tree in the sitting room, chattering and laughing, even when Ditzy tripped and dropped a tray of cocoa cups and cookies. The muffled sound drifting through the window incited a stab of...something in Phillip's chest. With a sigh, he turned and walked on.

Continuing on his way back home, Phillip then passed Sweet Street, where the lilting sound of lyre music piercing the chill air made him pause. Lyra, Bon Bon and Tootsie Flute were sitting in front of Bonbon's Bon Bon's, singing carols to the tune of Lyra's lyre, handing out roasted chestnuts and hot chocolate to passerby. The girls' voices reached Phillip's ears:

"I'll be home for Hearth's Warming
You can count on me.
Please have snow, and mistletoe,
and presents under the tree.

Hearth's Warming will find you
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Hearth's Warming
If only in my dreams..."

Catching Phillip's eye, Lyra smiled and waved at him. He waved back, but continued walking down the street. He wanted nothing more than to go back to B Boulevard and set himself down in front of the fire with a book, a shot glass of cider, and his favorite sax record.

But why did his hooves suddenly feel heavier, the snow seeming to bite harder into his skin as if reluctant to let him go? He sighed heavily, his breath frosting in front of his face, and forced himself to keep walking, to not think about the stabbing feelings of envy and desire in his chest...to not think about Hearth's Warming when he was a colt, putting up lights on the house, attending the Hearth's Warming Eve barbie with the band down on the beach, and falling asleep in his father's lap while he read to him the tale of the first Hearth's Warming...

Damn snow. It made his eyes water. Phillip wiped furiously at his face, with the result that he bumped into somepony walking out of the games and craft store. His victim staggered back from the impact, then chuckled softly. "Normally it's Twilight that does that."

"Flash?" Phillip looked up to see Flash grinning at him, a pair of wrapped gifts tucked beneath his wings and a green scarf around his neck.

"Hey, Phil," Flash greeted him, noting the remains of the snowball on the back of Phillip's head. "Enjoying the snow?"

"Can't say that I am," Phil scowled. "Those for Twilight and Spike?"

"Yeah," Flash said, looking at his gifts with a proud smile. He turned back to Phil, then paused looking closer at the wet tracks beneath Phillip's slightly red eyes. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Phillip grunted, moving past Flash and walking away.

Flash watched him walk away, noting his slow, heavy step and the bunching of his shoulders. "Hey!" he called after him, causing him to pause. "You doing anything for Hearth's Warming?"

Phillip stopped. It took a second for him to answer. "No."

"So why don't you come over and spend it with us?" Flash asked. "I'm sure Twilight and Spike wouldn't mind having you visit."

"I don't make good company," Phillip muttered.

"A friend always makes good company," Flash said, walking up and touching Phillip's shoulder. "Look, at least think about it, all right?"

Phillip looked at him with a sideways glance for a long moment, then said, "I will." Flash smiled and patted him on the shoulder, then flapped off towards his own home. Phillip watched Flash fly away until he disappeared over the distant houses, then continued walking towards B Boulevard while the sun lowered past the horizon.

Hearth's Warming morning three days later brought a fresh batch of snowfall and a bright, clear sky, the snow sparkling as brightly and beautifully as the crystal walls of the Rainbow Castle. Flash Sentry flapped down to the large crystal doors and knocked upon the stone. The doors opened wide and Twilight greeted him with a radiant smile. "Hello, Flash," she said, welcoming him inside. "Happy Hearth's Warming!"

"You too, Twilight," he said. Noticing something moving above his head, he glanced up and saw a certain plant hanging over the pair, held in a lavender aura. "Is that mistletoe?"

"You should be a detective," Twilight giggled, leaning in. He obliged, giving her a long kiss on the lips, intoxicating himself on the scent of lavender in her mane and the taste of maple syrup from breakfast on her lips.

"Blech!" Spike cringed in protest from the top of the stairs. "Do you two ever give it a rest?"

Chuckling quietly, the two ponies separated and flew up to the sitting room, setting themselves down on the couch before the decorated hearth and the crackling fire therein. Lifting his wing, Flash pulled two wrapped gifts out of his saddlebag. "For you, Twilight," he said, handing the larger package to Twilight. "And for you, Spike," he added, handing the smaller one to Spike.

"Thanks, Flash!" Spike eagerly declared, ripping into the gift and flinging wrapping paper everywhere. When he finished unwrapping the gift, he gasped in astonishment. In his eager little claws was a set of Power Pony figurines, from the Masked Matterhorn to Fili-Second to Humdrum, all of them as detailed as if they'd leapt right off the pages of Spike's comic books. "Wow!" he gaped in amazement.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the figurines. "You didn't get those from a store with 'Enchanted' in it's name, did you?"

Flash chuckled. "Nah, just from the crafts store." He turned to Twilight. "Well, come on, open yours."

Using her magic, Twilight deftly and neatly peeled the wrapping paper back, lifted the top off the box and stared in rapture. Inside the box was a collection of carved diamond chess pieces in pale blue or bright ruby, decorated to look like famous wizards and conjurers of the ancient past. Starswirl the Bearded and Leonardo da Whinny were the bishops, Meadowbrook and Lillybud were the knights, and Princess Celestia and Luna were the king and queen respectively.

"I saw that in the craft store and immediately knew that you'd go for it," Flash said. "That'll give you something to do besides bury your nose in a book!" he added, giving Twilight a playful jab on the shoulder.

"Aw, Flash, thanks!" Twilight squeed happily, giving him a tight winghug. Her embrace warmed Flash's heart to the point where he forgot all about how much these gifts had cost.

Lighting up her horn, Twilight extracted two gifts hidden beneath the decorations on the hearth. "Spike and I both picked something out for you, too."

Trying to resist the urge to just rip the packaging off his gifts, Flash opened up Twilight's rectangular package first. To his complete non-surprise, his first present was a book, a collection of Agatha Canter mystery novellas.

"Have you ever read her work?" Twilight asked eagerly. "She's brilliant and witty, I think you'll like her."

"I'm sure I will," Flash said with a small smile, setting the book aside and reaching for Spike's gift, which was smaller and flatter, and opened it up. "Whoa, Spike!" Inside the box was a collection of tapes of his favorite band, Simple Plains. "Thanks, bud!"

"You're welcome," Spike said, looking proud at his gift being so well-received. "And there's something else in there, too!"

Curious, Flash lifted up the tapes to reveal the second gift underneath them: a plastic package labeled "Trojan."

"I asked Rainbow Dash for some ideas on what to get you two, and she suggested that I get her a pack of these," Spike explained. "I'm not sure what they are: she just said that she thought the two of you might need them..."

Spike trailed off, looking between the two ponies with confusion. Both Twilight and Flash were blushing deeply, Twilight's wings were spread open in a sign of agitation, and Flash had to cover his mouth with his hoof to stifle his giggling. "What?"

"It's a very...thoughtful gift, Spike," Twilight stammered, lowering her wings and making a mental note to have a very strict talk with Rainbow Dash. "How about we start up a game of chess?" she added, trying to change the subject.

"That sounds great," Flash snickered, struggling to regain control of himself. Getting up off the couch, Twilight flew up to her room and got her chessboard. When she got back to the sitting room, Spike and Flash had already taken the Power Pony figures and were playing with them, moving them across the table while making bizarre sound effects with their mouths. She shook her head at the sight, laughing quietly.

Just as she was setting the board up with her new pieces, there came a knocking at the castle doors. "Who's that?" Twilight queried, getting up off the couch.

"I'll get it," Flash interrupted, rising and rushing down to the doors. Opening them wide, he was pleasantly pleased to see Phillip Finder standing in front of him, a plain saddlebag attached to his side and dark shadows beneath his eyes. "Oh, hey! I didn't think that you were going to come!"

"I didn't either," Phillip replied, entering and stamping the snow off his hooves. "But I figured that since I had nothing better to do, I might as well come." He followed Flash up the stairs to the sitting room and paused at the threshold. "You sure I won't intrude?" he asked hesitantly.

"Of course not! Come on," Flash reassured him, beckoning him in. "Hey, Twi, Spike, we have a guest."

"Phillip?" Twilight said in surprise. "We didn't think you were going to come! Happy Hearth's Warming!"

"You, too," Phil replied, shaking her hoof warmly. Reaching into his saddlebag, he extracted three sloppily-wrapped gifts. "Couldn't think of what to get you three, so I made these yesterday. Sorry 'bout the wrapping."

"That's all right," Twilight sighed, watching Spike eagerly opening his. "I don't think it's going to last too long."

Spike opened up the box, and his eager face turned into confusion. Reaching into the box, he pulled out a carved wooden slat attached to a long length of cord. "What's this?"

"Spin the end," Phil suggested.

Taking the cord in his hands, Spike began to spin the end with the wooden attachment. As he did so, a low, buzzing hum began to fill the air, coming from the strange instrument. His eyes widening at the sound, Spike began to spin the cord faster, causing the sound to become louder and deeper.

"It's called a bullroarer," Phil explained, watching Spike experiment with the strange sound by adjusting the length of the cord. "My people used them to communicate over long distance, and in certain rituals."

"Neat!" Spike grinned, slowing the spinning instrument to a stop. "Thanks!"

Twilight gave the instrument a long look, reflecting that there was going to be no peace in the castle for a while. Turning to her own gift, she opened up the present to reveal a brown woven bag with purple and pink stripes and several blue feathers woven into the interior and a long cord for wearing around the neck. The weaving was somewhat hasty, with the stripes randomly zig-zagging around the circumference

"It's not the best work in the world," Phil said, shifting slightly as though embarrassed. "I haven't made a dillybag in years, but with Rarity's help...yeah, it's not that great."

Twilight lifted the dillybag up and placed it around her neck, allowing it to rest comfortably on her back. "No, I like it. It'll be perfect for carrying some of my books! Thank you, Phillip."

Looking slightly relieved, Phillip then turned to Flash, a glimmer of anticipation in his eyes as he watched the younger stallion opening his present. Out of the wrapping paper and cardboard came a length of simple carved wood, which he had spent most of last night working on.

"A boomerang?" Flash asked, holding the gift up and examining it. "Is this one of yours?"

"No. I carved it myself, but it's yours." Phillip paused, watching Flash's face to try to gauge his reaction. "Among my people, it's traditional for parents to give their child a boomerang of their own when they come of age..." He stopped abruptly, his throat convulsing as though he was trying to swallow a rock, then looked down at the floor. "I mean, I just thought...if you like it..."

His nervous stammering was cut short when Flash stepped forward and hugged him around the neck. "I do like it," Flash smiled, pulling back to give Phillip a glowing look. "Thank you. Happy Hearth's Warming." Reaching into his saddlebag, he extracted one last gift, a small hoof-sized package. Taking it in his hoof, Phillip stared at it for a moment as if unsure what to do with it before tearing the wrapping off with his teeth to reveal a deck of playing cards, decorated with images of famous jazz musicians.

"I noticed that you didn't have any playing cards at your house," Flash said, his smile quivering a little as he watched Phillip's blank expression. "My mom and I used to love playing cards, and I liked played cards with the other Guards in the barracks." He paused, his face falling a little when Phillip did not react. "...Okay, I...I kind of ran out of ideas on Hearth's Warming Eve, but..."

Phillip smiled back and pressed his forehead against Flash's, cutting off his explanation. "Thank you. Happy Hearth's Warming, Flash." Turning to Twilight, he then noticed that she was looking at the two of them with a crestfallen expression. "What is it?"

"I just realized," Twilight confessed, looking ashamed as she glanced at Spike. "We didn't think you were going to come, so...we didn't get you anything."

"That's all right," Phil smiled. "I don't need anything." He looked at the chessboard with the crystal pieces on it. "How about a few rounds?"

"Sure!" Twilight eagerly settled herself down onto the couch before the game board, summoning a cushion for her opponent to sit upon. Her smile, however, was temporarily removed by a whooshing sound and the tinkling of china, "Not in the castle, Flash!"

"Sorry," Flash apologized, retrieving his boomerang from the shards of the vase that he'd just smashed. The four friends gathered around the game table. In the town, families everywhere gathered in their warm homes with their decorated hearths or rushed outside to frolic in the falling snow, which sparkled and shone beneath the love light. And nopony had to dream.

Author's Notes:

Of course I couldn't let the holiday season pass without doing something to mark the occasion. So have a sweet little heart-warming Hearth's Warming tale. I hope you enjoy!

Happy holidays, everypony, and a joyful new year!