Twilight Velvet frowned and her horn lit up a pale lavender. The golden star on top of the tree nudged a miniscule measurement to the left and she smiled. “There we are; perfect!”

“Ah yes, the annual OCD placing of the tree topper.” Behind her, reading a paper on the sofa, Night Light smiled and shook his head. “One of our most time-honored traditions, along with the OCD light checking and the OCD ornament placing.”

Velvet glared at him and gave a small sniff. “It is not obsessive-compulsive; it’s safe and practical. A shorted-out light could cause a fire, and if the tree’s decorations aren’t properly balanced, it could topple over.” Night Light’s smile grew wider and Velvet let out a huff. “Don’t you laugh at me! It happened to Scarlet Ribbon last year! Remember?”

“Her tree fell over because her foal was chasing the cat, and when it ran up the tree, Indigo Petals tried to follow it.”

“Yes, and if she had aligned the ornaments properly, the balance might have been better and that wouldn’t have happened.”

“If you say so, dear.”

Velvet rolled her eyes and looked back at the tree. She stepped back and looked it up and down. A wash of silver tinsel and white lights illuminated a sea of ornaments, most colored in various shades of silver and blue. “I admit, it’s quite lovely this year. Not one ornament out of place and every light blinking in perfect rhythm.”

Night Light set his paper down beside him and stood, walking beside her. “You were so busy with all the shopping, I had to take matters into my own hooves. I remembered to use those diagrams and formulas you wrote for me to make sure I place everything right.”

Letting out a grunt, Velvet rolled her eyes. “I never wrote any formulas and diagrams for how to decorate the tree. Honestly, I don’t know where you—” She turned to face him as she spoke and was cut off by a quick kiss on her lips. Velvet blushed and looked away. “Yes, anyway, the point is, you did a nice job.”

Night Light chuckled. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, dear.”

Velvet smiled and wrapped her hooves around his neck. “Happy Hearth’s Warming.”

“Has Shining Armor responded to the invitation?” Night Light asked, looking at the gifts under the tree.

Velvet pulled back and nodded. “Yes. He’s spending the season with Cadance.”

Night Light nodded. “Well, can’t fault the kid for that. Those two are inseparable. I wager it won’t be long before they come prancing through that door announcing the engagement.”

Crossing over the room to a cabinet next to the sofa, Velvet pulled open a drawer. “Funny you should mention that.” She withdrew a letter and passed it to her husband.

Night Light opened the envelope and took out the letter. He read it over for a moment and then whooped loudly. “Haha, that’s my boy! That’s gonna be one heck of a gift Cadance gets this year!”

“I’m surprised he’s lasted this long,” Velvet said. “Those two have been sweet on each other since they were in high school.”

“Hey, he’s captain of the guard now, he can afford it. Not that money would have been a concern, marrying a Princess and all, but it’s a matter of pride.” Night Light folded the letter back up. “What about Twilight?”

“No word.” Velvet took the letter and set it back in the drawer. “But we still might see her yet. Princess Celestia has asked her and her friends to put on the annual Hearth’s Warming Pageant in Canterlot this year.”

“Wonderful, when is she coming?”

“The pageant is in two days, but the Princess said they’ll be coming a bit early to help set things up. It seems a bit short notice to me, but I understand Twilight was busy in Ponyville.”

Night Light nodded. “If anyone can pull it off in just two days, our little Twily can. She was always the smart one in the family.” He winked. “Takes after Mom.”

“Oh, hush.” Velvet gently punched him on the front hoof. “Even if they’re not coming, there are still decorations to be put out. I know you love setting up the founder’s scene so the boxes are already by the window sill.”

Night Light chuckled. “Seeing as I’ve already done the tree and that’s usually your job, let’s split the labor, hm?”

“Of course.”

Night Light approached the window where a wooden box had been placed against the wall. Velvet looked in the drawer at the envelope containing Shining Armor’s letter and her gaze fell on the pile of scrolls next to it.

Velvet pushed the tray of sugar cookies back in the oven. “Another few minutes,” she called behind her. She stood and turned to an early batch laid out next to a bowl of icing, but paused as a flash of golden light from the corner of her eye. She turned and saw a scroll in an aura of magic floating in the middle of the kitchen, before it dropped to the floor. “Wonderful. Night Light!”

“Hm?” Her husband called from the next room.

“The bi-monthly school report from the Princess.”

Night Light emerged from the doorway. “How’s our little filly doing?”

Velvet lifted the scroll and broke the royal seal, then unfurled it. Her eyes widened as she looked over the tables of grades and accompanying comments from instructors. She went to the bottom where Celestia’s personal notes were found. “Twilight is excelling in every subject. Illusion, Alchemy, Conjuration, Mysticism, Alteration, all record high marks for her grade. She may be one of the smartest unicorns we’ve ever hosted here.”

“That’s what I like to hear!” Night Light grinned.

Velvet kept reading. “Twilight’s thirst for knowledge is only matched by the ease with which she takes to new fields of study. We’re going to look at advancing her a grade if this trend continues, but we don’t want to put unnecessary pressure on her. She works very hard and we don’t want to give her more than she can handle, especially at her age.”

She reached the end of the comments. “The only concerning element of Twilight’s development is her asocial behavior. While she is quite polite and pleasant when working with other students on group projects, left to her own devices, Twilight prefers to read and study rather than socialize. Her dedication to her studies is admirable, but friendship is a very important part of a young filly’s development just as much as a good education. I see no need to directly intervene just yet, but I will be asking instructors to verbally encourage her to socialize more on her own time.”

Night Light sighed. “I hate to admit it, but I’m not that surprised. She always did prefer staying at home reading, and when she did play it was just with Shining Armor.”

“That’s hardly a bad thing. Those two were peas in a pod, they did everything together.”

“Yes they did. Now she’s at boarding school and he’s at boot camp. They may not see each other again for years so she can’t lean on him.” Night Light raised his eyes to the ceiling and thought. “Perhaps we should pay the school a visit and talk to her. She may be having trouble adjusting.”

“We will do no such thing.” Velvet held her hoof to his mouth and shook her head. “We promised ourselves when she applied that we would stay out of it unless she needed us. She has to learn to spread her wings and stand on her own two hooves.”

Night Light frowned. “Absolutely, but at her age?”

“Our little Twily is just a filly physically, but she’s very smart and mature for her age. She can handle this, and if not, I trust the Princess to call us in before she gets in over her head.”

“Well…” Night Light’s frown faded. “You’re right.”

“As usual.” Velvet gave him a smug smirk and rolled the scroll up. “Now, let me finish up this batch so I can move on to the icing. I want to include some for Twilight when we send up her Hearth’s Warming presents.”

“She’s not coming home?”

“Afraid not. Usually foals are released home for the holidays, but apparently Twilight is involved in some special project of the Princess’. She offered to let her come home but Twilight is adamant she wants to stay.”

Night Light chuckled. “I’d make a crack that she thinks the sun rises and sets on the Princess, but after how they met Ia—” He was cut off as an un-iced cookie was popped in his mouth.

Velvet turned back to the oven. “You can make bad jokes when I’m done taking these out. Now back up.” She opened the oven door and looked behind her in time to see Night Light leaving the kitchen, two more cookies floating behind him. “Hey!”

“No, no no no.” The aura over the figurine of Chancellor Puddinghead shifted from lavender to blue as Night Light took it from Velvet. “Chancellor Puddinghead goes on the right, in the back.” On the wooden scene of the cave on the window sill, Night Light moved the figure to its proper place and took a moment to turn it to face towards the figures of Commander Hurricane and Private Pansy standing on the other side of the scene. “There. Now, where is Smart Cookie? She has to be standing between them.”

Velvet held up the Smart Cookie figure from the box beside them. “And you say my tree decorating is OCD.”

“That’s hardly the same. This is about properly depicting the founding of our country! We have to do it accurately.”

“Yes, because if Smart Cookie is standing in the wrong spot, the entire integrity of the scene is ruined.”

Night Light positioned the Smart Cookie figure, rolling his eyes as he did. “I made no such claim, you’re just—” He turned back to his wife and saw her giving him a warm smile. “What?”

Velvet giggled. “You’re so cute when you’re angry.”

“I am not angry, I am…” Night Light scrunched his nose. “I am… perturbed.”

Velvet raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been reading the thesaurus Twilight bought us again.”

“Well, I have trouble sleeping sometimes and I figured it would help.”

“Does it?”

“No.”

Velvet giggled again. “At least it makes you sound more sophisticated.”

Night Light held up his nose. “I always sound sophisticated. Now, please procure me more refreshments of baked goods and spiced eggnog, lest my appetite become insatiable.”

Velvet’s giggling grew into a full laugh, and she raised her hoof to her forehead in salute. “Right away, sir!” She turned and headed into the kitchen. A tray of iced sugar cookies in the shape of ponies and Hearth’s Warming decorations sat in the center of the table. Velvet got a plate and cup down from the cupboard and moved four cookies onto the plate, then set the plate down on the table and turned to the fridge, the cup floating beside her. She stopped and looked at the picture held up on the top.

Velvet stepped back and looked over the fireplace. Four saddlebags hung along its length, names embroidered along the straps in white thread: Twilight, Shining, Velvet, Night. “There, perfectly spaced out.”

Night Light looked over from where he was unboxing the ornaments next to the bare tree and grinned. “Ah yes, the OCD hanging of the saddle bags. One of our family’s most time-honored traditions.”

Narrowing her eyes, Velvet snapped her attention back to the bags. “Well, it’s good to know my attention to detail is so highly valued.”

Night Light tilted his head. “I was just joking, you don’t need…” he trailed off as Velvet looked back at the saddle bags and her expression softened. He stood and crossed the room to her. “What is it?”

Velvet’s eyes looked back and forth. “I’m thinking next year I’ll leave these in storage. I mean it’s just damaging the fireplace, nailing them in every year. And…” she shrugged. “It’s not like we really need to put them up. Shining Armor and Twilight are both living out on their own so anything we get them to put in the bags just goes in the mail with everything else.”

“And what if they come to visit us?”

“Shining is spending Hearth’s Warming up north with his friends, but he said he’ll try to come to visit us the day after.”

Night Light nodded. “And Twilight?”

“She’s still getting settled in at Ponyville. She has enough to concern herself with without having to make time to come see us or making accommodations for us to see her.”

“That’s true…” Night Light smiled and put a hoof over his wife’s neck. “Our little foals are growing up.”

“Yes, they are…” Velvet gave him an annoyed look. “I dislike it. Make them stop.”

“I’ll send them letters tomorrow telling them to stop growing up, Mom disapproves.”

“Good. If they know what’s good for them, they’ll listen.” Velvet smiled and hugged her husband back. “You always know how to cheer me up.”

“Of course, that’s my job. If I can’t make you laugh, what am I good for around here?”

“You picked out a good tree.”

Night Light looked at the bare tree and nodded. “Yes I did, and got a good deal on it, too. I’ve one more box of decorations to bring up, then it’s all yours.”

“Before you do, I just remembered.” Velvet looked at the table at the end of the sofa and picked up a scroll from it. “The Princess passed along another one of those ‘friendship reports’ she has Twilight fill out now.”

“Oh? What’s our little filly up to in Ponyville?”

“A parasprite infestation.”

Night Light’s jaw dropped. “Parasprites?”

“Yes, apparently they came from the Everfree Forest. Fortunately, one of her friends knew how to deal with them and ran – er, played – them out of town.”

“I knew moving to Ponyville was too dangerous!” Night Light shook his head. “That forest is just a few hooves from her doorstep and who knows what manner of monsters are lurking in there. First the ursa minor and now parasprites. What’s next, a cockatrice? I’m not going to have my daughter get petrified by some upstart chicken.”

“You stop that.” Velvet rolled up the scroll and gently slapped Night Light on the horn. “Twilight is a smart pony, she knows better than to go traipsing about that forest without company at the very least. And if she does, she’s the Element of Magic now. I’m certain she can handle whatever trouble might spring up from it.”

“I hope so.” Night Light glanced at the saddle bags hanging up. “Even if she can’t make it out this year, I’m going to send a letter to her reminding her about next year. She always comes up with excuses why she doesn’t visit.”

“She does not,” Velvet defended. “She’s living on her own now, and she’s the Princess’s personal student. She takes her studies very seriously. If she says she doesn’t have time to come see us then I believe her.”

Night Light grumbled under his breath. “I still wouldn’t mind seeing my daughter more often than once or twice a year. Have we even seen her since graduation?”

“No, last year she had just moved into her own home and in the months between the two, it was house hunting.”

“See? Excuses.”

Velvet rolled her eyes. “We’ll send her a letter asking her to visit.”

“That’s what I said!”

Velvet smiled at the picture of Twilight and her friends in Ponyville posing in a field. Celestia has passed the picture along to her after Twilight took it shortly after moving into Golden Oak at Ponyville. Velvet pulled the fridge open and pulled a jug of eggnog out and filled up the cup. She set the jug back on the shelf, closed the fridge, and picked up the tray of cookies to carry into the living room.

Night Light levitated a windigo figure made from carved glass with a brass pole emerging from the bottom and set it into a slot on the back of the scene so it was flying over the six pony leaders below. Two other windigos had been set in place in other slots already. “There.” Night Light stepped back and looked over the scene. He reached out to nudge one figure wearing a burlap cloak. “This chipped mane on Clover the Clever still bugs me. We need to get a new one.”

“No we don’t. It gives her personality.”

“Hm, maybe. Still, it always draws my eye and I can’t help but notice it anew every year.” Night Light’s horn lit up blue and he lifted the last item from the wooden box, shrouded in bubble wrap. A violet heart of blown glass emerged and he set it into a slot in the middle of the scene. He focused a bit more magic into his horn and the latent spells in the ornamentation activated. The heart lit up in a bright glow, bathing the other figures in light.

Velvet stepped up behind Night Light and set the snacks she was carrying next to the scene. “It looks lovely.”

Night Light nodded. “I saw a set of windigo figures with an accompanying heart in the stores a couple of days ago. They have mirage spells anchored to them. The Fire of Friendship’s light grows brighter and dimmer on its own and the windigos fade away and then come back as it does. It’s a bit pricey, but I’m thinking of picking it up for next year.”

Velvet regarded the scene and tilted her head. “Maybe. But I like the simple set-up myself.”

“Me too. I’m just thinking.” Night Light picked up a cookie and bit into it. His eyebrows raised and his hoof wiped at his mouth. “Even better than last year.”

“You say that every year.”

“Because it’s true every year.”

Velvet rolled her eyes and leaned into him. Night Light patted her on the back and turned around to survey the decorated room. The tree was sparkling bright with strings of lights and tinsels and rows of silver and blue ornaments. Hoof-wrapped gifts lay on the skirt wrapped in ribbon and tagged with the names of family and friends. A fire roared on the hearth, a magically protected purple heart of glass hanging in front of it.

Night Light looked at the fireplace, specifically at the mantle over it. “Still think you should have hung all four this year.”

Velvet followed his gaze to the two saddle bags embroidered with their names. “I just didn’t see much of a point of going through the trouble.”

“They’re all packed in the same box, what trouble is there?” Night Light looked down at her.

Velvet shrugged. “I don’t know…”

Night Light looked behind him and picked up his tray of cookies and mug of eggnog. “Well, if I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s not to question your quirks.” He set them on the table in front of the sofa and approached a bookshelf on the far wall. “So, what shall this year’s read be?”

Velvet looked at the shelf. “We haven’t read The Lone Pegasi together in years.”

“Is that long enough to get us through the season?”

“We can stretch it out.”

“All right.” Night Light took down the book and looked at his wife. “Behind the OCD stuff, the books are one traditional quirk of yours I can get behind.”

Velvet scoffed. “It is not OCD, it’s—”

Four sharp thuds filled the room.

The two turned to the door.

Night Light glanced at the clock. “It’s a bit late for callers. Were we expecting anyone?”

“Not that I recall.” Velvet approached the front door and pulled it open. Her eyes went wide as she stood in the doorway, stunned.

Twilight smiled sheepishly and waved. “Hi, Mom.”

Beside her, wrapped up in a red and green scarf, Spike followed suit. “Hi Mrs. Twilight.”

Behind Velvet, Night Light leaned to see who was at the door. “Twilight?”

“Hey, Dad.” Twilight turned her attention back to Velvet, who was still staring. “Um, I think I broke Mom.”

Velvet shook her head and smiled widely. “Of course not! I’m just surprised to see you. You haven’t been home for Hearth’s Warming in years.”

Twilight looked sheepish and turned away. “I know. But I’m in Canterlot for the pageant and yeah, it has been a while. I thought I might come by for a visit.” She looked back at Velvet. “Unless now’s not a good time?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Velvet laughed and stepped back. “You’re always welcome in your own home, Twilight.”

“Are you sure? We can come back tomorrow if you’re busy.”

“I’m never too busy to make time for my little girl.” Velvet gestured her head in. “Come on, the snow isn’t getting any warmer!”

“You’re telling me,” Spike grumbled as he came in. Twilight followed him, closing the door behind her.

Velvet took Spike’s scarf in her magic to unravel it and shake off the snow. “Hello again, Spike. How’s my daughter’s faithful assistant doing?”

“Top-shape as ever, Mrs. Twilight.” Spike puffed out his chest.

Velvet saw Night Light step up beside her. Night Light bowed his head “Welcome home, sweetie.”

Twilight’ grinned and hugged him. “Hey, Dad.”

Night Light patted her on the back. “Come on by the fire. It’s cold by that door and the cookies and eggnog aren’t going to come to you.”

“I love Mom’s cookies!” Twilight quickly skipped over to the able and bit into one of the sugar cookies laden on the plate. Next to her, Spike grabbed his own and sat down, biting into it. Twilight looked up at the fireplace, frowned, and swallowed. “Where’s my saddle bag? It isn’t hanging up.” She looked at Velvet.

Velvet winked at her. “I was waiting in case you came to visit. I figure you’re old enough to take care of it yourself.”

Twilight gasped and stepped back. “B-But, you always hang the saddle bags yourself! You measure out the precise placement for them to make sure they’re evenly spaced. It’s tradition!”

Trotting up close, Velvet put a hoof over Twilight’s neck. “Maybe we can start a new tradition. I trust you to do it just fine.” She leaned in and narrowed her eyes. “What’s the positioning?”

“Four and a half inches between each nail, measuring from the outer radiuses along a line parallel to the top of the mantle,” Twilight recited.

“That’s my girl. Go get it, it’s in the box in the corner.”

Twilight clapped her hooves and ran across the room to dig through the box. Velvet and Night Light watched as she rifled through it and then lifted the saddle bag with her name on the strap, along with a box of nails. “Got it!” She rushed over to the fireplace and withdrew a single nail from the box. Twilight carefully lined up the punched hole in the bag’s strap in its proper position on the mantle, where years of previous hangings had already prepared a hole for it. The nail floated up and inserted in its proper place, and Twilight’s magic faded to let the saddle bag hang free.

Twilight grinned and looked back. “How’s it look, Mom?”

Velvet stepped up to her. “It’s perfect.”

Twilight beamed happily and hugged her.

“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Mom.”

Velvet hugged back and gave a discrete sniff.

“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Twilight.”

Author's Notes:

If you read through this and thought at least once "yeah, that's how my family is" then I consider this story a success.

A belated Happy Hearth's Warming to all.