Three months later, it was the day before Hearth’s Warming Eve. Twilight flew through Ponyville with Spike, Storm, Midnight, and Eric (who had his winter clothes on) in tow. Spike was holding a super long to-do list and kept running with it until he felt a tug and fell back. He looked up in shock and noticed Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were wrapped in the list, with their boyfriends, along with five of Eric’s friends catching up to them. They quickly took them out of the list.

“Do we wanna know why you're wrapping up everypony in town?” Rainbow asked.

“Not wrapping paper, a to-do list,” Spike replied.

“A really long to-do list,” Eric added.

Twilight teleported from one stand to another as she quickly picked up some decorations, lights and scrolls, and said, “Two of these! Three of those! I'm gonna need ten of those! Just in case!”

She then teleported to another stand as the others looked concerned.

“Twilight, darling, are you all right?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, you’re acting crazier than usual,” Jasper added.

“Sure! Just-grabbing-a-few-things-do-I-need-this-no-that's-silly-I-need-eight!” Twilight replied.

She teleported once more, with Storm doing the same. Just then, Applejack and Pinkie Pie, along with Smokey, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo came along.

“Hey, y'all! What's everypony—? Ohhh. Traditional holiday meltdown?” Applejack asked.

“Uh-huh,” Pinkie said as the others agreed.

“Meltdown?” Spiracle asked.

“Every Hearth’s Warming, Twilight goes into panic mode and tries to figure out what to give our friends and families on the holidays. She often goes crazy with shopping and tries to ensure that we would have the best Hearth’s Warming ever,” Storm explained.

“She does this every time?” Nightshade asked.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Storm replied.

“We told mom that she didn’t need to do that, but you know how she gets. Once she sets her mind onto something, it’s hard to stop her,” Eric added.

Applejack calmly walked over to Twilight with a smile on her face, while her friend began to hyperventilate with many items hovering over her, with Storm and Eric behind her. As Twilight kept hyperventilating, Storm stood to her right side, with Applejack standing in front of her hyperventilating friend.

“Hey, Twilight. How's your day?” Applejack asked calmly.

“I got way behind grading midterms, and Cadance and Shining Armor are coming here with Flurry Heart for Hearth's Warming Eve, and I haven't started decorating, and I don't know what to get any of you, and—!” Twilight replied, panicking.

“Stop! Take a breath,” Applejack said as Twilight took a deep breath and held it in, with the farm mare finally saying, “Now let it out, sloooooooooooow…”

Twilight exhaled slowly, allowing her to calm down.

“Now, I think I have an idea that might help. What if we change up how we give gifts this year and do a Hearthswarmin' Helper?” Applejack said.

“What's a Hearthswarming Helper?” Fluttershy asked.

“Whenever the whole Apple family got together, there were just so many of us, it didn't make sense to buy everypony gifts,” Applejack replied, “So we'd put our names in a hat...”

“Ooh, a game of chance! Tell me more,” Pinkie interrupted as she leaned in, rubbing her hooves together with a sneaky look.

“...then we'd pull a name, but keep it a secret,” Applejack resumed.

“A dash of mystery. Good. Good,” Pinkie said as she she tapped her forehooves together. Applejack gave her a half smirk.

“Instead of buyin' everypony a present, you just get one for the pony you picked from the hat,” Applejack finished.

“Wait. So instead of lots of presents, I only buy one of you a present? What kind of game is this?!” Pinkie asked.

“Well, it would save time,” Rarity said.

“And you could get the pony you pick something really nice,” Spike added with a lovestruck sigh as he hovered, flapping his wings. Rarity just smiled at him with half lidded eyes.

“The less shopping, the better. In!” Rainbow said, clearing her throat.

“Will that help, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.

“I was stressed about shopping,” Twilight replied.

“Like always,” Storm pointed out.

“Applejack, can me and my friends do it to?” Eric asked.

“Of course, Eric,” Applejack replied. Everyone looked at Pinkie awaiting her answer.

She reluctantly agreed with a sigh, “Fine. I will only buy one present for my secret Hearthswarming Helper buddy,” she pouted, crossing her forelegs.

Applejack took her hat off and presented it to the others, “We just need to put everypony's name in this here hat,” she said.

Twilight tore up her to-do-list and wrote down her friends’ cutie marks on the back, along with Eric and his friends’ names. She cut each of them until they were a picture of their cutie marks and placed them inside Applejack’s hat. The farm mare shook her hat and shuffled up the papers.

“Y'all ready? No peekin',” Applejack said.

The Mane 7, Spike, and the kids closed their eyes and went over to AJ’s hat, allowing them to pick the cutie marks and names from the hat. Once they received them, they all opened their eyes to see who they’ve picked.

“So excited! Aah! Too excited! I don't wanna give anything away!” Pinkie said. She zipped along and took her paper with her as she exclaimed, “Wheee!!”

“When will the gift exchange occur?” Rarity asked.

“How about Twilight's castle tomorrow night, Hearth's Warming Eve?” Rainbow suggested.

“That's perfect! Pinkie and I can spend the evenin' with y'all and the next mornin' with our families!” Applejack replied.

“And thanks to all of you, we should be ready to celebrate by then!” Twilight said, on behalf of herself, Storm, Eric, and Midnight.

“Now you and Dad won’t be so stressed out now, Mom,” Eric replied.

“Oh, this is so exciting!” Fluttershy said.

Once everyone else went their separate ways, Spike rushed into the direction Applejack was heading.

“Uh... Um, Applejack, is it against the rules to trade names? Like if I had a better idea for somepony special? I mean specific?” Spike asked.

“If you can figure out who has the pony you want and they're okay with tradin', I guess it's fine,” Applejack replied.

“Great! So, uh, who do you—?” Spike tried to ask.

“I don't have Rarity,” Applejack replied with a deadpan expression, then with a smile on her face.

“What?! That's not who I—!” Spike denied.

“Uh-huh,” Applejack said.

At the Castle of Friendship, Twilight was busy flying around, hanging up the decorations with her magic. Storm helped out on the floor while carrying Midnight. As Twilight flew by to hang the next decorations near the door, Spike suddenly came in and frantically looked around.

“Heeeey, Twilight and Storm! Whatcha planning to get your secret ponies?” Spike nervously asked.

“Not sure. We’re getting the castle ready for the family first. Then we’ll shop,” Twilight replied as she and Storm kept decorating.

“Eric and his friends are already in town shopping for their Hearth’s Warming Helpers,” Storm added.

Spike then flew over to Twilight and asked, “Maybe something sparkly? Fashionable?”

“No! Those aren't really the kind of things my pony likes,” Twilight replied, taking out more lights.

“Mine neither,” Storm added.

“Oh,” Spike said in a disappointed tone, “Welp, gotta go! Wish me luck!”

“With shopping?” Twilight asked in confusion.

“Well, yeah! If everypony's only getting one gift, we have a ton of responsibility to make sure it's extra-special good,” Spike replied.

Once Spike left, Twilight suddenly looked nervous at the picture of Pinkie’s cutie mark.

“I didn't think of it that way. The present I get for Pinkie Pie should make or break her holiday,” Twilight said, “I can't just go shopping and hope to find something nice. This needs forethought, planning, research! I'll decoarate later. Knowing Pinkie, she probably already has a perfect idea what to get her pony.”

“Don’t worry, Twily. I’ll finish decorating and then shop for my secret pony while you figure out what to get for Pinkie,” Storm replied.

Meanwhile, the CMCs, Zuni, Marina, and Holly were looking around all the stores to find out what to get for their secret recipients.

“I know for sure that Eric likes reading books, so I think we should check out the book shop,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Good thinkin’, Sweetie Belle. Nightshade likes reading too, we can find a book he might want as well,” Apple Bloom replied.

“Maybe we can try finding a joke book for Slapstick,” Scootaloo added.

“Pincer is always wanting to broaden his horizons and finding one single book for him might be tricky, since he might want more than one,” Holly pointed out.

It was then that the book shop manager came up to them and asked, “Need help finding any books, girls?”

“We were wondering if you have any joke books in stock,” Zuni said.

“Along with any comic books,” Holly added.

“Let’s see what we have,” the shopkeeper replied as the girls followed him.

Elsewhere in town, Spike was walking down the street when he suddenly saw Pinkie running by.

“Pinkie!” The dragon shouted.

“I don't have Rarity!” Pinkie said as she sped by.

This made Spike spin and fall onto his back, along with his hat falling off. He put his hat back on until Rarity and Jasper stood near him.

“Oh! How's your shopping going, Spike?” Rarity asked with a chuckle.

“Uh, fine!” Spike replied, standing up straight and blushing in embarrassment.

“Which pony did you get?” Rarity whispered.

“I can't... remember?” Spike replied sheepishly.

“I've got Applejack, darling. She's going to adore her present,” Rarity said, “There's a brilliant designer in Manehattan, Fedora Felt, who makes the most marvelous hats. I asked for a new take on western chic that would be the envy of every farm pony in Equestria.”

“That's a great gift, Rarity. I hope I can find something for my pony as special as you are,” Spike replied, “Uh, she is! U-Uh, bye!”

“Good luck shopping, Spike!” Jasper called out as the dragon went on his way.

It wasn’t long before he found Fluttershy looking through a window at a necklace.

“Hey, Fluttershy! Thinking of getting that for your Hearthswarming Helper?” Spike asked.

“Mm-hmm. She loves shiny things,” Fluttershy replied.

“I wish I knew what my secret pony wanted. She's so hard to shop for,” Spike said, overreacting.

“Oh, no. Maybe I could help. Unless you don't want to—” Fluttershy offered.

“Rainbow Dash,” Spike said, showing her his secret pony.

“Oh! I was just talking to Rainbow Dash about these—” Fluttershy tried to say before being cut off.

“Great idea! We should trade ponies!” Spike said.

He instantly traded it with her and got Rarity’s cutie mark.

“Wait. Trade?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, Applejack said it's not against the rules. And you know what Rainbow Dash likes, so it's perfect,” Spike replied, then looked at Rarity’s cutie mark and let out a fake gasp, “Rarity?! What a surprise! Thanks!”

It was then that Applejack, Eric, Nightshade, Slapstick, and Pincer came up to Fluttershy.

“There you are! We need your help,” Applejack said.

“Do you want to trade names, too?” Fluttershy asked as she showed Rainbow’s cutie mark.

“What? No. I just need help figurin' out what to get Spike,” Applejack replied as she gently pushed Fluttershy’s hoof away.

“Phew!” Fluttershy said, sighing in relief.

“Hey, Applejack? Fluttershy? Can we help you out?” Eric asked.

“Of course,” Applejack replied.

“Can you also please help us with our shopping?” Nightshade asked.

“Happy to help,” Fluttershy said.

Soon enough, Fluttershy, Applejack, along with Eric and four of his friends decided to go to Rainbow Falls for the Hearth’s Warming Craft Fair. Once there, they went down the pathway seeing various stands that sell just about everything somepony or someone could ever want.

“This is amazing. I’ve never been to Rainbow Falls before,” Eric remarked.

“I come to the Rainbow Falls Hearth's Warming Craft Fair every year. They have perfect presents for anypony,” Fluttershy said.

“Hopefully, anydragon, too,” Applejack replied, then asked, “Wanna split up? Meet back here in an hour?”

“Sure,” Fluttershy said.

Applejack, Nightshade, and Pincer went off to shop for Spike. Fluttershy, Eric, and Slapstick went to the nearest stand, which sold Daring Do books. She, Eric, and Slapstick thought that this is what Rainbow Dash would want. She was about to buy it until a voice spoke up.

“Oh, no! There's only a few left!” somepony said.

“Why don’t you go buy that Daring Do book for Rainbow Dash while Slapstick and I go check out what’s going on,” Eric suggested.

“Ok,” Fluttershy replied as she bought the book.

Soon enough, more ponies began to arrive, which gained their interest when they saw the one pony go on. In one of the stands, was none other than Svengallop in disguise. Alongside Coloratura’s former manager was a light bluish gray minotaur with a winter jacket and a ridiculous-looking upper class wig, whose name was Well-to-Do, a former construction company owner.

Eric squinted his eyes as he took out his wand and said, “Revelio.”

Once the disguise was removed, Eric immediately recognized Svengallop from Countess Coloratura’s visit to Ponyville three and a half years ago.

“Svengallop? What are you doing here?” Eric asked suspiciously.

“If it isn’t Princess Twilight’s little brat. After Coloratura fired me no thanks to Applejack, I was looking for work until I became a director at a theater in Manehattan working on plays,” Svengallop explained, “Unfortunately, the theater manager fired me and tried to have me arrested for mistreating the cast and crew of all the plays I did, stealing funds from the theater, and here I am now with my new business partner, Well-to-Do.”

“So what’s your story, Well-to-Do? What are you doing here?” Slapstick asked.

“No thanks to Princess Twilight and her friends, including Applejack, my construction company got shut down for violating municipal and environmental development permits, fraud, coercion, blackmail, and bribery,” Well-to-Do explained, “They tried to have me arrested for those things, and here I am helping Svengallop sell cheap-looking dolls at high prices in ‘short supply’ when we actually have a lot.”

“I knew we recognized you both from the wanted posters and now you’re false advertising!” Eric called them out, then turned to his friend, “Let’s finish our shopping, then go get Applejack and Fluttershy.”

“We’ll deal with you later,” Slapstick said.

It wasn’t long before Eric and Slapstick met up with Nightshade and Pincer at a jewelry stand. Eric picked out a ruby and emerald necklace with a rose shaped pendant. Nightshade picked out a necklace with an apple shaped ruby pendant. Slapstick picked out a lightning bolt bling necklace and Pincer picked out a diamond daisy necklace. The four bought the necklaces and went to find Applejack and Fluttershy.

An hour later, Applejack stood near Fluttershy and wanted her opinion on what to give Spike.

“I've narrowed down my choices for Spike to fire-dancing sticks, or a Power Ponies comic. Unenchanted, I think,” Applejack said.

“Maybe the Power Ponies comic would be best, just so Spike doesn’t accidentally set anything on fire with those sticks,” Fluttershy replied.

“Applejack, Svengallop is here with Well-to-Do selling cheap ugly Hearth’s Warming dolls,” Eric said.

“We recognized them from the wanted posters,” Slapstick added, “They say Holly the Hearth’s Warming Doll is the must-have gift of the season and it’s in short supply.”

They noticed various ponies with more of those ugly dolls everywhere they went.

“‘Short supply’, huh? Somethin' about this seems fishy,” Applejack replied.

“I agree, and we need to inform the sheriff about those two,” Nightshade said.

Eric led Applejack and Fluttershy to the tent where the ponies were trying to buy more of those ugly dolls. The two mares went up to the stand, then Applejack cleared her throat to get their attention.

“Oh. You,” Svengallop said.

“What are y'all doin' with these dolls and that ridiculous getup?” Applejack asked.

“Trying to make decent profits,” Svengallop replied.

“We got money to make and that’s what Hearth’s Warming is all about,” Well-to-Do added smugly.

“That’s not what Hearth’s Warming is about! It’s about unity and about giving!” Eric shouted, pointing his wand, “Revelio!”

Both Well-to-Do and Svengallop lost their disguises as everypony quickly recognized the two fugitives.

“Just wait until we get the sheriff over here, ‘cause you’re busted!” Eric said.

“Boo! You stink!” various ponies yelled as they pelted Well-to-Do and Svengallop with the ugly dolls they bought.

It was then that Nightshade, Slapstick, and Pincer brought the sheriff and deputy over to the stand.

“Svengallop and Well-to-Do, I am Sheriff Tracker and you’re both under arrest for coercion, blackmail, fraud, bribery, embezzlement, violating municipal and environmental development permits, and now false advertising,” the sheriff said.

“I’m Deputy Kup Finder and you have the right to remain silent as anything you say can and will be used against you in court of law,” the deputy added, “You and your friends led us right to these crooks, Prince Eric. Thank you.”

The two lawponies took Well-to-Do and Svengallop away to jail. They also gave back everypony’s bits as Eric and his friends, along with Applejack and Fluttershy boarded the train back to Ponyville.

“It seems our shoppin’ went off without much difficulty and we helped bust two old rivals of ours,” Applejack said.

“It’s already Hearth’s Warming Eve and we’re finally finished shopping,” Fluttershy added.

Later on, not too far away from the Castle of Friendship, Rainbow Dash, Forest Thunder, and Discord just came out of the forest after catching the winterchilla. They reached the top of the hill as the two ponies were ready to celebrate at the castle.

“Goodbye. Enjoy your exclusive pony-only holiday gathering. I'll just be home, spending quality time with... myself,” Discord said tearfully as a duplicate of himself appeared.

Discord walked off with his duplicate. Rainbow and Forest felt really bad for him as they looked at the winterchilla. She took another look at the creature. After some thinking, Rainbow made up her mind.

“Uh... Forest and I wouldn't have this little fella without you, so... if you wanna join, Fluttershy would love having you. And I wouldn't totally hate it,” Rainbow said.

Discord was so happy that he went over and gave Rainbow and Forest a big hug. He was now wearing a green winter hat and what looked to be a white robe.

“Great! Awesome!” Discord exclaimed.

He suddenly shifted towards the sun, pointing at it and said, “In that case— Oh, look! Sunset! It's officially Hearth's Warming Eve!”

The sun began setting behind the castle, which Rainbow and Forest thought was beautiful, as the stars were now shining.

All of a sudden, the winterchilla groaned a bit as if he wasn’t feeling good. It then jumped off of Rainbow’s hooves away from them as it grunted.

“What is it doing?” Rainbow asked worriedly.

The winterchilla then growled loudly. Its pupils began to shrink, it sprouted new sharp teeth, gained six arms and grew into a big, scary beast.

“Oh. Uh, did I forget to mention that the winterchilla transforms into a winterzilla when the sun sets?” Discord asked rhetorically as he slapped his forehead.

Rainbow and Forest had worried looks on their faces as the now winterzilla let out a roar.

At the Castle of Friendship, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie, along with Eric and all of his friends walked up the stairs. Rarity and Pinkie were the only ones to have a somewhat disappointed look on their faces as they reached the top step.

“How did everypony's shopping go?” Fluttershy asked the others.

“Well...” Rarity tried to say before trailing off.

“Uh...” Pinkie tried to say, not knowing how to respond.

“Good enough,” Applejack said.

“Got what we were looking for,” Eric added on behalf of Nightshade, Slapstick, and Pincer.

“Same here,” Zuni replied.

Fluttershy went up and knocked on the door.

“Coming!” Spike shouted.

Once Spike opened the door, he was completely covered in glitter. When he saw them, he yelped in surprise and waved at them while chuckling nervously. Everyone else was a little surprised to see all that glitter on him.

“Did you get attacked by a party?” Pinkie asked.

“I fell asleep. On somepony's present,” Spike replied as he looked at himself and crossed his arms.

Spike took a speck of glitter off his nose and sent it away. As he looked away feeling nervous and awkward, everyone else gave him odd looks.

“Run!” Twilight yelled from inside the castle as everyone gasped in surprise.

Everyone else quickly entered the room and stared ahead of what was going on as they were confused by what all the commotion was about.

“The pudding is coming!” Twilight shouted.

Twilight, Storm, Shining Armor, and Cadance, each holding Flurry Heart and Midnight, ran around the corner as a massive wave of pudding came down the hall. This made the others look surprised. Just as everyone regrouped at the castle entrance…

“Run! The winterzilla is coming!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she, Forest, and Discord flew quickly towards the castle.

As they came in, the winterzilla burst through the door, tearing the entrance apart as it roared, with everyone staring in shock. As part of the rubble fell, Twilight immediately cast a spell to shield themselves. As the rubble stopped falling, the winterzilla roared at them, making Twilight’s shield disappear. They looked at both sides, as they were being cornered by a large fuzzy beast and a whole sea of pudding, with some of them gasping.

Everyone expected Hearth’s Warming to go smoothly, but now it’s nearly a disaster. Since both the Winterzilla and the pudding were slowly closing in on them, they were all in a predicament.

“What is that?!” Rainbow shouted as everyone turned to look at the approaching pudding.

“Magic pudding! What is that?!” Twilight asked as she turned to the furry monster.

“A winterchilla!” Rainbow replied as everyone turned to look at the roaring furry monster.

“They turn into winterzillas after dark!” Twilight said with a slap of her forehead.

“You brought that thing here?!” Eric yelled as he and everyone else have Rainbow the stink eye.

“Does everypony know this except me?!” Rainbow asked.

They all quickly ducked when the Winterzilla swung its claw at them. However, the beast somehow has its eyes on Spike for some reason and let out a grin. It leaned closer to Spike as it was focused on him. Spike yelped and quickly hid behind Twilight, while she looked at Spike and noticed that he was glittering and realized the Winterzilla liked glittering objects, causing her to gasp as she had an idea.

“You like the sparkly?” Twilight asked the beast as she lifted Spike up in her magic. This got the winterzilla’s attention and she said, “Just follow it this way!”

Twilight levitated Spike around, causing the Winterzilla to follow the scared dragon. The Winterzilla followed Spike as Twilight levitated him over, trying to lead it outside.

“Is this honestly the best plan we can come up with?!“ Spike asked as Twilight led the Winterzilla outside.

“It is for now, Spike!” Storm shouted from below.

Rainbow just looked at Discord, who was sitting on a chair eating popcorn.

“Can't you do something?!” Rainbow asked.

“I did,” Discord replied as she glared at him. He instantly turned himself into a bow and attached itself to the Winterzilla’s ear and said, “This is Fluttershy's gift.”

“What?!” Rainbow shouted.

The pudding tendril came from out of nowhere and grabbed Rarity’s hind leg, catching her by surprise. She grunted while trying to pull away, but it was quite stubborn.

“A little help, please!” Rarity shouted.

“I've got this!” Shining Armor said, preparing his horn for a magic attack.

Cadance interrupted them as she gave Flurry to him, “Which one of us can fly, darling?” she asked rhetorically.

Cadance instantly flew up and fired her magic from her horn straight towards the tendrils, freeing Rarity. She flew her to safety while dodging the tendrils and landed safely on the balcony.

“Your mom sure is something,” Shining said to his daughter.

He ran with Flurry Heart with his magic and jumped in the air, then held onto Flurry as he grabbed the tapestry and swung himself. Shining jumped forward and used his magic to destroy one of the pudding’s tendrils, allowing him to arrive safely next to his wife.

“You're not so bad yourself,” Cadance said with a giggle, blushing and fanning herself.

Shining smiled with pride but it was short lived as they looked at the castle entrance, as Twilight was still having trouble trying to lure the Winterzilla away using Spike. However, the beast slipped and ended up falling off of the stairs. The creature groaned for a bit, only for it to be attracted to the decorations.

The beast went over to the decorations and started eating one of them, with Twilight flying close by with Spike as she said, “No-no-no! Not that sparkly! This one!”

However, the monster was no longer interested, causing it to flick Spike away, making him crash against the wall, with Twilight still holding Spike.

“I'm okay if he doesn't want to chase me anymore!” Spike replied.

“How are we gonna get rid of this thing?” Applejack asked.

“Oh, for Scorpan’s sake,” Discord exclaimed in frustration.

“Hello?!” Discord asked rhetorically as he teleported in front of them and turned into multiple pointing signs, “If only one of you had a way with animals?!”

They saw that he was pointing at Fluttershy, much to her fright.

“Oh my,” Fluttershy said, covering her mouth.

Soon enough, Fluttershy managed to calm down the winterzilla. The others smiled as well, for the beast had been calmed down. Just then, the pudding tendril poked on Pinkie’s back, gaining her attention as she yelped, with the pudding slapping her away. Just before the tendril could swat Twilight, she fired her magic at the tendril.

Twilight kept blasting the pudding, with Storm and Eric helping her out. Rainbow, Forest, Spiracle, and Spike carried Applejack, Jasper, and Smokey to the balcony to rejoin Cadance and the others. Discord teleported himself, Midnight, and Eric’s friends to them.

“Uh, maybe leave the baking to me next time,” Pinkie said as she giggled. She sat in a floaty that resembled Princess Celestia, then tasted the pudding with a spoon and said, “Actually, it's pretty good.”

Twilight came from behind and shot her magic at the tendril that tried to get Pinkie.

“Chancellor Puddinghead's recipe,” Twilight replied, as she flew over with Eric on her back.

“Now, that's an impressive dessert!” Pinkie remarked.

“It's your Hearth's Warming present!” Twilight said.

“Really? That's so thoughtful,” Pinkie replied.

“It took a lot of research, but I…” Twilight said as a pudding tendril slowly approached her and Eric.

Luckily, Shining Armor blasted it before it could touch them, “Maybe focus on the task at hoof, Twily?” he suggested.

The Winterzilla whimpered, slowly backing away from the pudding that crept towards it. Fluttershy quickly flew on top of its head.

“Right. The recipe needed to be exact. I think Flurry Heart and Midnight added something while Storm and I weren’t looking, but I have no idea what to add to adjust it,” Twilight said, “A teaspoon of nutmeg, three sugarplums, extra—”

“Gingerbread? Four more candy canes?” Pinkie guessed.

“How do you know the recipe?” Twilight asked.

Suddenly, Pinkie had a flashback of her time at Gift Giver’s Grove.

“I don't get it,” Pinkie said.

“You will,” the reindeer called Alice replied.

She snapped back to the present and looked at the gift the three reindeer gave her.

“Happy Hearth's Warming, Twilight and Storm! I'm your Hearth’s Warming Helper!” Pinkie said.

Pinkie jumped right into the pudding, causing everyone in the room to gasp at the sight. When all of a sudden, the said ingredients that they mentioned popped out of the pudding, making them shimmer and glow and affecting the ocean of pudding.

Once the glow died down, the pudding had been restored the way it should be. Twilight looked around, searching for any signs of Pinkie. She instantly popped out with smiles on her face. Twilight and Storm instantly lifted them up using their magic and hugged them with smiles on their faces.

The Winterzilla peeked and saw that everything was back to normal and grunted happily, with Fluttershy giggling. Everyone on the balcony cheered for them, as they were happy that the incident was over.

“Uh, a bit reindeer ex machina, but...” Discord said, half disappointed and holding a checklist. Just then, two of his thumbs appeared like rockets, “…two thumbs way up! Whoo!“

The thumbs flew in the air and exploded like fireworks, lighting up the entire room. Twilight carried Storm and Midnight up to the balcony where the others were.

“Flurry and Midnight did add some things, Twily. I saw it,” Storm said.

“So it’s their fault that this pudding became a magical mess!” Eric replied angrily.

Eric turned to his little brother and cousin with anger in his eyes.

“Flurry Heart! Midnight! What were you two thinking messing with that pudding?! You turned it into a magical mess! It’s all…your…fault!” Eric yelled.

Flurry and Midnight burst into tears and began to cry.

“Eric, please calm down and be nice to your brother and cousin,” Twilight told him, “They didn’t know any better.”

“I believe you need to apologize to them,” Cadance added.

Hearing his brother and cousin cry, Eric thought back to the times Mr. Horvath yelled at him and made him whimper and cry. This made him calm down as he didn’t want to be like his old tormentor and then approached the two foals. He tried to hug them out of comfort, but they whimpered in fear and cast force fields.

“Sorry I yelled at you, Midnight and Flurry. I was just so mad that you two messed with the pudding Mom and Dad made and turned it into a mess,” Eric said, “Do you forgive me?”

Flurry and Midnight disabled the force fields and just hugged Eric in response.

It wasn’t long before everyone had settled in the living room. Twilight came in, carrying more pudding in their bowls. Everyone was sitting near the fireplace, talking as their issues were behind them and enjoyed their Hearth’s Warming pudding.

“Sorry for failing as a Hearthswarming Helper, Pinkie,” Twilight said, giving her some pudding.

“What?! With no pudding disaster, my gift with the exact ingredients wouldn't have made any sense. This way, it was perfect!” Pinkie replied, then began eating her pudding.

“Twily, here’s my gift to you. A stress relief potion and the formula for it, from me and Zecora,” Storm said, presenting the gift for his wife, “Happy Hearth’s Warming.”

“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Storm,” Twilight replied to her husband.

As Twilight and Storm shared a kiss under the mistletoe, Eric and his friends had their own gift exchange. Holly gave Pincer a comic book, and he presented her the diamond daisy necklace he bought at Rainbow Falls.

“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Holly,” Pincer said, putting the necklace on her.

“Thanks, Pincer. I love it,” Holly replied as she kissed him.

Zuni and Marina gave each other history books about Jamareca and Mt. Aris. Scootaloo gave Slapstick a joke book she bought, while he presented her with the lightning bolt bling he bought.

“I wanted to get you a necklace that best fit your style, Scootaloo,” Slapstick said as he put the bling on her, “Happy Hearth’s Warming.”

“Thanks, Slapstick,” Scootaloo replied.

“Thanks for the joke book, Scoots,” Slapstick said, as they shared a kiss.

Apple Bloom gave Nightshade the latest Shadow Spade book, while the kirin colt presented her the ruby apple necklace he bought.

“Here’s my gift for you, Apple Bloom,” Nightshade said as he put the necklace on her.

“Thank ya, Nightshade. Happy Hearth’s Warmin’,” Apple Bloom replied.

“Thank you as well for the Shadow Spade book, Apple Bloom,” Nightshade said as they shared a kiss.

“Here’s your gift, Eric. Happy Hearth’s Warming,” Sweetie Belle said as she gave him a book she bought.

Eric took a look at it and replied, “‘Magical Relics of the Known World’, now we’re able to know what powerful relic Glacio could be after next. Thanks, Sweetie Belle.”

“I also have your gift. I wanted it to be pretty like you are,” Eric said, presenting the ruby and emerald rose necklace he bought.

“Thanks, Eric. I love it,” Sweetie Belle replied as she put it on.

The two of them looked up at the mistletoe and shared a kiss.

“At least Twilight and the others have something to show for their efforts. I ordered you a fabulous farm hat, Applejack. Alas, it decided it belonged to somepony else,” Rarity said with a sigh.

“Pops said sometimes the hat chooses the pony when he gave me this,” Applejack replied, removing her hat and looking at it with a smile, “Hopefully my gift inspired whoever's wearin' it to be the best farmer ever.”

“Uhhh, ooh... Something like that,” Rarity remarked.

“By the way, Spike. Here’s your Power Ponies comic,” Applejack said as she gave Spike his gift.

“Thanks, Applejack. Happy Hearth’s Warming,” Spike replied.

Fluttershy then gave Rainbow Dash the Daring Do book she bought.

“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said.

“Thanks, Fluttershy. Happy Hearth’s Warming,” Rainbow replied, “Sorry about the winterzilla.”

“Oh, he's a big sweetheart. And he ended up being really helpful,” Fluttershy said with a giggle.

It was then that the Winterzilla came in with his own bowl of pudding and began to purr like a cat as he ate it.

“It was actually kind of nice to be the pony who saved the day for once,” Fluttershy continued.

“Oh, really? You mean a giant beast that only Fluttershy could tame, making her the hero of Hearth's Warming Eve, was a great gift?” Discord asked as Rainbow just sat and ate her pudding.

The lord of chaos suddenly placed Fluttershy on a stone pedestal that rose until Fluttershy was at his height, with a gold medal and red feather boa around her neck, along with a #1 trophy in her hoof.

“Imagine that,” Discord finished as confetti fell down.

“You mean you tricked me into putting my friend in danger on purpose so you—?!” Rainbow tried to ask.

Discord cut her off as he put his clawed finger on her lips and turned her to Fluttershy as he pointed at her. She saw Fluttershy giggling and cuddling the Winterzilla as he purred.

“Let's just say it was from both of us,” Rainbow said as Discord shook her hoof.

“I guess the Hearth’s Warming Helper was a success,” Applejack remarked.

“True. It’s a shame my grandparents didn’t come over today,” Eric said.

“We’ll see them in the morning, sweetheart,” Twilight replied.

“There's one gift left, but I messed up, too,” Spike said, looking down sadly.

As the dragon stood up, the Winterzilla handed him his own hand crafted guitar and Spike accepted it.

“Your present's only kind of finished, Rarity, but I guess it's better than nothing,” Spike continued, then played his guitar as he sang his song.

Rarity was touched by the song Spike was playing. The dragon then finished his song as he stood near Rarity.

“Oh, Spike. A song is a lovely present,” Rarity said.

“I wanted to get you the best gift ever. I just couldn't figure out what it was,” Spike replied.

Within a split second, Rarity kissed Spike by the cheek, he couldn’t help but blush at the kiss he received. Jasper just chuckled at this.

“Ooh, ooh! The Gift Givers told me that! Oh, what was it? The best gift is more precious than gold, but it cannot be sold. When it breaks, it's not ended, for quickly it's mended. It can never be bought yet is easily sought,” Pinkie recalled.

Twilight giggled, then Pinkie asked, “What's so funny?”

“It's a riddle, and the answer is "friendship"!” Twilight replied.

It was then that she and Storm stood up and took a few steps forward with Eric and Midnight in tow as she sang.

Twilight, Storm, and Eric, holding Midnight walked towards the fireplace, as the Winterzilla nuzzled against Fluttershy. Rainbow looked at it surprised, then shared a hug with Forest Thunder. Rarity and Applejack hugged one another, with Jasper and Smokey hugging them too.

As Twilight, Storm, Eric, and Midnight stood in front of the fireplace, with the dolls of the Mane 7 above it, she held her husband and sons close by, until they looked at their friends.

Twilight flew up above the others, as she levitated Storm between them as she hugged him. She flew above Flurry as the filly clapped her hooves, enjoying the song as she flew over and gave Pinkie another bowl of pudding, which she accepted.

As they enjoyed the song, Fluttershy handed Discord a present, much to his surprise. He accepted the gift with a smile and opened it, revealing to be his own teapot with its own cozy. Sure enough, Fluttershy hugged Discord with a smile, with Spiracle following suit, which Discord truly enjoyed and returned their hug in return. Soon enough, everyone began to sing together.

As they sang, everyone elsewhere was enjoying their holidays. Over in Sire’s Hollow, Starlight, Sunburst, Trixie, and Flash Sentry were enjoying cups of cocoa, while Firelight, Stellar Flare, and Stygian were mingling. The Pie and Apple Families were having a great time. Limestone, Marble, Mudbriar, and Maud, were carving on their respective rocks. Big Macintosh and Sugar Belle were enjoying the snowfall as Igneous Pie and Cloudy Quartz were having a conversation with Grand Pear and Granny Smith.

In Canterlot, Princess Luna stood alone on the balcony in the cold, until she felt a warm blanket being wrapped around in a blanket by her sister Celestia. Accompanying alongside them was their husband, Lord Emerald to which she smiled gratefully.

At Sweet Acorn Orchard, Pistachio opened a gift from his parents. He was surprised and pulled out a hat similar to his with acorns on it, which he laughed with his parents laughing as well.

The yaks were enjoying their festival by smashing things, while from the jail in Rainbow Falls, Well-to-Do and Svengallop were sulking as their business was ruined. Back at Ponyville town hall, the townsponies returned home for the holidays with their families, while the changelings were also celebrating their own unique version of Hearth’s Warming.

The Mane 7, Jasper, Smokey, Forest, Spiracle, along with Eric and his friends then gathered together, finishing their song as the Winterzilla hugged them all.

From outside, Alice looked on as she said, “And so it worked out, and a lesson was learned, there's no need to obsess.”

She floated right next to Aurora and Bori as they too had smiles on their faces as Alice continued, “Gift giving is simple, as long as you recall.”

As they flew away back home up north, Alice finished, “Friendship and Family is the best gift of all.”

Happy early holidays, everyone!