The next day, at the School of Friendship, it was almost time to close for winter break and they were decorating the room for the holidays. “Not everycreature celebrate same way, you know,” Yona said. “Yeah. Dragons don't do pony holidays,” Smolder said.
“Sure we do! I love Hearth's Warming Eve! It's all about friends and presents and family and... presents!” Spike said. “It's also about putting aside differences to come together, like the Earth ponies, Pegasi, and unicorns did on the first holiday,” Twilight said. “Oh! Is that why you put their Fire of Friendship on top of the tree? To help us remember their unity?” Ocellus asked. “And 'cause it looks cool,” Rainbow Dash said. “This is my favorite day of the year!” Silverstream giggled. “Not that I don't like the other ones. Tuesdays are great!”
“Yona like any day that is start of winter break,” she said. “Two whole weeks without classes. How will Ocellus survive?” Gallus asked, while Ocellus laughed nervously. “I think you'll all enjoy the time off to be home with your families. To celebrate your own traditions,” Twilight said, until she started addressing everycreature in the room. “Attention, everycreature! School is officially out! Happy holidays, and we'll see you after the break!” The students made excited chatter as they all left. “And for those of you traveling outside Equestria...”
“Yeah, shouldn't you guys be getting ready to go? If you miss that train, it's a really long walk,” Rainbow Dash said. “Go pack up, and we'll take you to the station,” Twilight said, as the Young Six were chatting excitedly while walking to their dormitories.
Twilight then saw Thomas wrapping his gifts for the Young Six before they would leave for the holidays, and then smiled warmly at him realizing he cared for them, so she walked over to him and placed her hoof onto his shoulder blade.
“Thomas? Do you want me and Auntie Starlight to take you home?” she asked. Thomas nodded.
“Okay, when you’re done, put on your winter clothes, and I’ll help you deliver your gifts before we leave. Sound good?” she asked, as she received a nod from her nephew, until he hugged her left hoof, receiving a kiss on the forehead and a quick hug back, and then Thomas continued wrapping his gifts until Twilight met up with her friends.
“I’m so excited for this Hearth’s Warming Eve!” Rainbow Dash said, as she zoomed out of the room in excitement. “So am I!” Spike replied.
“At least it’ll be another one to remember by,” Starlight said.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Sunset said.
Spike suddenly started rattling a gift from the tree. “It's that new bowtie I wanted, isn't it?”
Twilight giggled, “You'll have to wait and see.”
“I'm waiting! But in the meantime, I'm shaking!” Spike excitedly said.
“In case you two are wondering, Spike and I would usually open one or two gifts early before Hearth’s Warming Day,” Twilight explained to Starlight and Sunset, as they understood what she meant.
“GUYS!” Rainbow’s voice came back, and from the look on her face, it looked very panicking. “Guys! You need to see this! It’s like really, really bad!”
As they followed Rainbow Dash, they gasped at the horror in their eyes: a massive snowstorm with a few inches of fog.
“Wha... What happened?!” Spike asked.
“Everything's ruined – that's what's happened!” Rainbow Dash replied.
“Auntie Twilight? W-What’s going on?” Thomas asked, nervously shaking.
“Thomas!” Twilight said, before she walked over to him, bringing him over for a hug and blanketed him with her wing to keep him warm from the cold. “It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s just a snowstorm outside. Did it scare you?”
“A little,” Thomas replied, nuzzling with his aunt’s purple fur.
“We’re gonna have to bring up the bad news with the other students, because they’re not going to like what they’re going to hear,” Sunset said.
Starlight levitated Thomas onto her back, and then the four mares with Spike on Twilight’s back walked over to the students’ quarters, and as they entered, the students looked at their teachers and headmare covered in snow and ice.
“What's happening?” Silverstream asked, but then gasped. “Another decorating party?!”
“Not exactly,” Starlight replied.
“Has anycreature else came in here?” Twilight asked.
“Well, yeah. All of us did. To pack? Like you told us to?” Smolder replied.
“Did you notice any slight temperature change in any of your rooms?” Twilight asked.
“Uh-uh,” Silverstream and Smolder said in unison.
The door to Gallus’ room opened, “What's up?”
The door to Yona’s room opened, “Yona done packing!”
The door to Ocellus’ room opened, “Is something wrong?”
“Meet us in this building’s living room, and we’ll explain everything,” Twilight said.
The four mares explained that was happening outside while Silverstream held Thomas in her right talon arm, with him comfortably nuzzled against her chest fur to keep him warm during the snowstorm, as she carefully stroked him with her claws, and allowed him to hold her hand.
“Whoa... That is so not cool,” Sandbar said.
“I know! No one came out when the storm hit, and all of youare still here,” Spike said.
“But how could there be a massive snowstorm on Hearth’s Warming Eve?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“None of that matters right now. What matters is keeping Thomas and our students safe and keeping them warm until the storm ends,” Sunset said.
“If only they warned me about it before this whole situation happened, then it wouldn’t be a problem,” Rainbow Dash said, disappointingly crossing her forelegs.
“Well, I did get this. It’s a telegram from the weather factory up in Cloudsdale. There was a malfunction at the weather factory, but they’re having a hard time fixing the issue, but they’re working the best they can, they said,” Starlight said. “And Ponyville’s about approximately covered in less than 5 inches of snow, and most of its fogged up for anypony to see where they’re going, and most of the roads are solid ice.”
“Looks like you’re all gonna have to stay here until we hear from the weather factory if it’s safe before you all go home,” Twilight said.
The Young Six minus Thomas who was still in Silverstream’s arm then protested.
“Why do I have to stay?!” Smolder asked.
“Aw, but the holidays!” Sandbar said.
“I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do now. But you can have some time to yourselves until we hear from whatever happens, or until the snowstorm passes,” Twilight said.
“But what if the snowstorm never ends?” Silverstream sadly asked.
“Then...” Twilight sighed. “I guess there's no going home for the holidays for anycreature. You'll all have to stay over the break for some one-on-one friendship lessons.”
The Young Six then gasped.
“Plus, it would be best if you could give each other some company for the time being,” Twilight said.
“Can I stay here with them, Auntie Twilight?” Thomas asked.
“Yes, sweetheart. You wouldn’t want to be left all alone without your friends, now would you?” Twilight replied, stroking his head with her hoof, and then looked at the students. “We would also like you to look after him.” The Young Six nodded in agreement.
“Will Momma be okay?” Thomas asked.
“Don’t worry, honey. Fluttershy will be fine. But we’ll make sure to remind her that you’re safe and in good care,” Starlight said, as she left a tray full of cookies and a kettle along with a few mugs full of hot chocolate with marshmallows.
“Now, take good care of Thomas, keep each other safe and stay warm. You could even have a slumber party while you’re at it. Now, we’ll leave you to it, while we stay in touch with the weather factory,” Twilight said, as she and the other three mares and Spike left the Young Seven in the conference room.
The Young Seven then set up a few blankets and sleeping bags, except Thomas, who was sitting between Silverstream’s arms wrapped around him for a hug, and wrapped and bundled up in a warm blanket as well. As they enjoyed their cookies and hot chocolate, they tried their best to enjoy being together.
“Eh. I guess it’s best to hang out for the holidays rather than being alone,” Gallus said.
Silverstream then thought of an idea, “Hey, I know! We can make a game out of this! See if we can guess whenever the storm ends!”
“Woo-hoo! Yak win! Yak best at guessing!” Yona hollered.
Smolder then saw Thomas’s sad face, “I don’t think Thomas likes that idea so much. Especially a massive snowstorm on Hearth’s Warming Eve.”
“No, I’m fine, Smolder. I’m just worried about my Momma being alone with her animals in our house during the snowstorm,” Thomas then started getting some tears in his eyes, until he began to cry. “I d-don’t know h-how she’ll even survive throughout the s-s-snowstorm, or how she’ll make it out if there’s snow blocking the front door.”
Silverstream then brought the little boy over for another hug as he laid against her chest and nuzzled against her neck, “Shhhh shhhh… It’s okay, cutie. I’m sure she’ll be alright. But what matters is that you’re here with us, and that you’re safe.”
Thomas then smiled softly and laid against her fur closely, “Thank you…” He then took a sip of his cocoa.
“But it’s not fair! love Hearth's Warming Eve! And I do not want to miss going home for it,” Ocellus said.
Sandbar was somehow not impressed, “Huh. I didn't even know changelings celebrated Hearth's Warming.”
Ocellus then explained, “Oh, yes! It's our favorite holiday! Well, since Headmare Twilight shared it with us last year. She gave our hive very clear instructions.”
Suddenly, a flashback began to reveal Ocellus and her family celebrating Hearth’s Warming Eve.
Ocellus cleared her throat, and began reading, “‘Welcome to the traditions and fun of Hearth's Warming! Here's a guide to help you enjoy this celebration of pony history. Families start the holidays by putting the tree up!’”
They put up a fake tree without any decorations on it.
Ocellus continued reading “‘Thirsty? Dive into some holiday punch!’”
They jumped into a swimming pool full of punch, then laughed.
“‘Just before bed, everypony exchanges gifts.’ “It doesn't say how long we keep doing this.”
They passed gifts like a game of hot potato repeatedly without stopping.
“‘And to finish celebrating, you can build a fire, light it up, and sing carols.’”
They built a cardboard fire and began singing.
Carols, carols, carols, carols, caroooools.
“You might have misunderstood things just a little,” Sandbar said.
“Eh. We may not have done everything exactly the way you do,” Ocellus said. “But we made our own traditions! And I can't wait to do it all again this year!”
“Ugh! Yona tired of waiting! Yaks always home for holidays!” Yona said.
“How do you celebrate Hearth's Warming in Yakyakistan, Yona?” Sandbar asked, as Thomas wanted to hear.
Yona then explained, “Yaks do not. Our holiday much better. Is called Snilldar Fest. Night before, yaks gather things to smash and put them in big pile. Then in morning, we smash them! In afternoon, we smash them again! In evening—”
“So it's just about smashing stuff, like all your other holidays,” Gallus sarcastically said.
Yona replied, “No! How griffon get that idea? This holiday about so much more. Last year, for example. Most perfect Snilldar ever.”
She then proceeded to explain her holiday tradition, “Whole family – grandpa, grandma yak, Yona's brother, sister, mother, father yak – all go to woods singing yak song.”
Yak song! Yak song! Not very long! Sing again!
Yak song! Yak song! Not very long! Sing again!
Yak song! Yak song! Not very long! Sing again!
“Calves in family pick out perfect smashing log. Then yaks smash it!”
The yaks in Yona’s family smashed the log.
“Then yak family build perfect snow fort... and smash it!”
They smashed the igloo.
“Then we hang perfect things on perfect moss pile and—”
“You smash it,” all but Yona said.
Yona scoffed, “What you think yaks are, barbarians? Moss pile is for special family rituals. Last year, ritual for Yona.”
She then continued, “All yak family gather around Yona and braid Yona hair for first time.”
“So, to recap... Your holiday is about smashing things and family.”
“Two most perfect things ever put together. Happy Snilldar Fest!” she said, yelling and grunting, while stomping on the ground.
“Happy Snilldar to you too, Yona! It's so cool to learn new traditions from new friends!” Silverstream said, as she stroked Thomas’s head with her claws.
“Hey, Smolder, I’ve been wondering. Is it true that dragons don’t usually have winter themed holidays?” Thomas asked.
“Meh,” Smolder replied with a so-so hand gesture.
Ocellus gasped, “That's so sad! You must do something in the winter for fun.”
“Well, we do have the Feast of Fire. Everydragon gets together and tells stories. The best one wins a pile of gemstones,” Smolder replied.
“Ooh, what story won last year?,” Yona asked.
“It was called "A Dream Come True",” Smolder replied.
“Come on, now you've gotta tell it! Even this little cutie wants to hear!” Silverstream said, as Thomas giggled.
“Ugh, fine. Once upon a time, there was this sad little dragon,” Smolder said, starting the story.
There was a thunderclap, until it revealed a small dragon with pink scales and a yellow wing membrane, horns and underbelly.
“Her name was Scales. She lived alone in the wilderness with nothing to eat.”
Scales’ stomach suddenly growled as she got more hungrier.
“But one night, as she sat alone in a storm, she heard something. It was the Dragon Lord! Scales was scared, but the Dragon Lord told her not to be afraid, that he was taking her to the Dragon Lands for a great feast.”
Scales saw several dragons munching on gemstones as they arrived.
“Scales sat with the Dragon Lord's family and friends and had the biggest, best dinner of gemstones she'd ever eaten! Then, while the dragons were telling stories, Scales thought it would be so easy to seize power from this feeble and sensitive Dragon Lord. She saw her chance... and took it!”
Suddenly, flames started bursting everywhere in her path.
“She claimed the Bloodstone Scepter and took over the Dragon Lands!”
Scales suddenly made an evil laughter.
“And forced the Dragon Lord to live out in the cold, just as she used to!”
Thomas suddenly felt nervous hearing such a festive story, until Silverstream calmed him down by stroking him with her claws.
“That's a horrible story!” Ocellus said.
“Maybe to you. But dragons like hearing about weak, kind creatures getting defeated,” Smolder said.
Sandbar looked outside the window and saw the snowstorm still going on, “Looks like the storm’s still getting worse. It’s a good thing that we’re still here, and not outside, or experiencing it at home.”
“You already live in Ponyville. Staying here over break is no big deal,” Smolder said.
“School of Friendship good place for pony to have pony holiday,” Yona said.
“But I'd still rather spend it with my family at home,” Sandbar said. “Oh! That reminds me! I have the best holiday story ever! It's called... ‘The Day My Hearth's Warming Doll Almost Fell into the Fire!’”
They were all in awe, as they listened to Sandbar’s story.
“Just before we went to bed, my mom, my dad, and my sister all put our Hearth's Warming Dolls up on the mantel, just like we do every year. But this year, I put my doll too close to the edge, and it fell!”
Sandbar saw his doll falling in slow motion, “Noooooo!”
Ocellus gasped, “And?!”
“My doll hit the floor. But it could have gone in the fire!” Sandbar said.
“That's a great story. And you told it really well,” Smolder sarcastically commented.
“Yeah. It was a Hearth's Warming miracle,” Sandbar said.
“Silverstream, do the hippogriffs back at your home celebrate too?” Thomas asked.
“I’m glad you asked, Thomas! Back at Mount Aris and Seaquestria, we usually have a special tradition called the Three Days of Freedom Celebration!” Silverstream replied.
“How long does that last?” Gallus sarcastically asked.
Silverstream then began her tale, “It used to be only one day, but now to commemorate our escape from the Storm King, we're adding two more days of awesome! See?”
“There's a book?” Gallus asked.
Silverstream nodded, “Mm-hmm! Queen Novo had these made for the Mount Aris board of tourism to explain it all to guests!”
“Can you tell us?” Thomas asked.
Of course I can,” Silverstream replied. “We'll spend the first night in Seaquestria, thanking the ocean for protecting us from the Storm King. Sea-dancing, whale-singing, shell-stringing... Lots of "ing"'s.”
“The second day will be on Mount Aris, with sky-dancing and a wind song in the Harmonizing Heights to celebrate the Storm King's defeat. Then the third day, everycreature will party together, on land and sea! Grandparents and parents and sisters, uncles, brothers, acquaintances, neighbors, and cousins. And at the end of the night, Queen Novo is gonna give out presents!”
“Wait. Hold on. "Cousins"? What are those?” Gallus asked.
“Your aunts and uncles' children,” Ocellus replied. “You know, part of your family. Heh. Oh. You're teasing us again, right?”
“That's not what the holidays are about! No matter what you call them or how you celebrate! D-Do you know how lucky you all are? With your stories about sharing and-and kindness and getting together with everycreature that you care about?” Gallus asked.
It suddenly but almost hurt Thomas’s feelings, but he felt much better since he still had Silverstream to comfort him.
“But griffons do that too, don't they?” Ocellus asked.
“Some holiday about a moon?” Smolder asked.
Gallus sighed, “Blue Moon Festival. The one time of year when griffons are nice to each other. Well, as nice as we can be.”
“What’s it about?” Thomas asked.
Gallus then explained the tradition to his friends, “Families get together to eat and then complain about the food and give each other presents they don't like and mostly just try not to yell at each other.”
“Well, at least you get to be with your family,” Silverstream said, while keeping Thomas warm in her arms.
“No... because I don't have a family,” Gallus said.
Thomas accidentally spit out some of his cocoa and nearly choked on it, “WHAT?!”
He then saw it landed on Yona, “Hehe, Sorry, Yona.”
“It okay. Yak forgive you,” Yona said.
“What about Grampa Gruff?” Sandbar asked.
“That's just his name. He's not anygriff's actual grandpa. I felt like I never had a place in Griffonstone,” Gallus sadly said. “Then I came here and, well, met all of you.”
Gallus suddenly felt Thomas giving him a hug, until he felt a little better.
“Guess you realized what I meant, huh?” Gallus asked, receiving a nod from Thomas.
“But in my world, our holiday is sorta similar, except it has a different origin, and other traditional activities,” Thomas said. “In my world, we call it Christmas.”
“You have a holiday in your world?” Smolder asked.
“What’s it like?” Ocellus asked.
“It’s sorta like this. Kinda like here, we do exchanging gifts, except we open them after exchanging them for the person it’s for, decorating our Christmas trees, attending church mostly in the morning or evening, telling Christmas stories and singing Christmas carols, sharing meals with family and friends and, of course, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive to give presents for the girls and boys who’ve been nice, but he gives coal to the naughty kids. But its origin was kinda different,” Thomas explained.
“What do you mean?” Sandbar asked.
“The first Christmas had a different meaning to the actual holiday, except it’s meant to be something special for everyone,” Thomas said, and then began to tell the story of the first Christmas.
“It all started hundreds and thousands of years ago, in the town of Nazareth, where a young woman named Mary was praying in her home, when the angel Gabriel appeared to her.
He said: “Fear not, Mary, for God has favored you. You will bear a son and call him Jesus. He will great, and His Kingdom will never end.”
That night, Gabriel also visited Mary’s husband, Joseph who was a carpenter.
Gabriel told Joseph the news, and asked that he would take care of Mary and the unborn baby Jesus.
While Mary’s stomach swelled with child later on, a Roman emperor, Herod ordered that people must return to their home town to pay their taxes.
Joseph set off to Bethlehem, the town of his birth, accompanied by a heavily pregnant Mary, who rode a simple donkey.
Days passed, until they arrived.
To their surprise, the streets were crowded with people.
All of the inns were full – “No room at the inn,” they were told.
Mary was exhausted.
A kindly innkeeper took pity on the couple, and offered them his stable, where they could spend the night, and be kept warm by the many animals.
Mary and Joseph prepared the stable. They filled a manger with straw and spare blankets, fearing the birth of the child.
During the night, Jesus was born.
Outside of Bethlehem, on a sloping hill, sat a group of shepherds.
They talked quietly, as they guarded their sleeping sheep.
When singing filled their ears, they were startled, especially when the angel Gabriel appeared.
The shepherds were frightened and cowered in fear.
“Fear not,” Gabriel said, “for I bring you tidings of great joy. In Bethlehem, in the stable of an inn, Jesus, Our Savior, has been born.”
The shepherds were thrilled.
As the angel disappeared, a star shone brightly in the sky.
Excitedly, the shepherds woke their sheep, and herded them towards the town.
They followed the star until they arrived at the inn, where the baby Jesus slept soundly in the manger.
They knelt in wonder and humility.
At the same time, far to the East, three wise men were traveling. They saw a star that shone brighter than the rest.
They agreed that it was a special star, and they set off to follow it.
For many days they traveled, until they arrived in Bethlehem.
The three wise men were eventually led to the stable where Mary, Joseph and the shepherds were gathered around the sleeping baby Jesus.
They knelt in worship, and presented him with gifts from about their persons.
These gifts were gold, frankincense and myrrh.
News traveled fast, and many were overjoyed by the birth of their savior, Jesus Christ.
And for many years, people in my world today remember that joyous moment, because without that moment, Christmas wouldn’t have happened.”
“That’s a very special moment, especially for your traditional experience of the holidays,” Ocellus said.
“But I never celebrated Christmas ever since my Mommy died, and when I went to live with my Daddy,” Thomas said. “I never got any presents from him.”
“Well, I’m just glad to have you guys here, because I honestly wanted to spend the holidays together with each other rather than being alone,” Gallus said.
Sandbar then looked at the clock, “Wow, it’s late already. Guess we better get some sleep. We’ll probably be home for the holidays whenever the snowstorm ends or not.”
Later on, the Young Six were asleep, except for Thomas, who was quietly writing a letter to his Auntie Twilight about Gallus, and then about his bag of gifts and a small favor from her, until he started getting sleepy, but he couldn’t find anywhere to sleep, before he suddenly saw Silverstream sleeping in her sleeping bag on the sofa.
Without waking her up, he carefully climbed up to the sofa, and crawled into her sleeping bag, wrapped himself in his blanket, held his Snuggle teddy bear, and then laid next to Silverstream and nuzzled his face with her fur to stay warm.
Silverstream suddenly looked down towards the little boy comfortably sleeping beside her, leaving a smile on her beak, so she wrapped one of her arms around him and then placed one of her arms around him and then laid her head back down as Thomas was now held against her soft and warm fur chest and his head laid towards her neck.
The next morning, the Young Seven were still asleep, with Thomas still asleep in Silverstream’s sleeping bag and held against her chest and neck. He already felt completely comfortable and safely warm thanks to her fur since hippogriffs have very soft fur.
Thomas suddenly woke up, and after he rubbed his eyes, a very amazing sight caught his eyes: his gifts for the Young Six were spread out around the tree, and the stockings he got for them were hung up by the fireplace as well.
The Young Six suddenly woke up as well, and looked at the presents as well.
“Whoa!” Smolder said.
“Would you look at that!” Sandbar said.
“Presents!” Ocellus said.
“But who’re they from?” Gallus asked.
“They’re from Thomas!” Smolder said. “How did you manage this?”
“I asked Auntie Celestia if I could have a few bits so that I could get you guys some gifts before you would head to your homes for the holidays so that you could have something to open while you’re there celebrating with your families,” Thomas explained.
“Hey! There’s like quite a few for you, Gallus!” Ocellus said.
“But I don’t know-” Gallus was suddenly cut off by Twilight’s voice.
“It’s okay, Gallus. We already know.”
The four mares came into the room.
“It looks like the snowstorm passed,” Starlight said.
“Thanks for helping me with my gifts, Auntie Twilight,” Thomas said.
“You’re welcome,” Twilight said. “I'm proud that you did something very special for your friends, sweetheart, and I'm also glad to see you've been paying attention in Professor Applejack's honesty classes, Gallus. But it’s going to be a while to defrost the railways, so you're all still going to have to stay over break for extra friendship lessons, unless if anyone of you would still prefer to be home for the holidays?”
“I'll stay,” Silverstream said.
“Me, too!” Ocellus said.
“Yona stay also!” she said.
“I'm staying!” Sandbar said.
Everyone else looked at Smolder. “What? All right. I guess pony holidays can't be that bad,” Smolder said.
“Now you can finally know what it's like to spend Hearth's Warming with friends who care about you,” Sandbar said to Gallus, which made the young griffon happy.
Rainbow Dash then whispered to Twilight, “Looks like they don't really need any extra lessons.”
Thomas then carefully tugged on Twilight’s wing and as she leaned her head down, he whispered into her ear for another favor, then she looked at the students again, “Since you all obviously know that Hearth's Warming is about coming together, I'd be honored if all of you would join my friends as guests at our holiday table and for dinner.”
The Young Six started cheering after hearing their invitation.
“Now go ahead and enjoy your presents, and we’ll be back this afternoon to come get you,” Twilight said, as the mares left the room, allowing their students and nephew to enjoy opening their gifts.
“Hey, this reminds me of another story! "The Time I Almost Spilled Grape Juice on the White Couch"!” Sandbar said.
“Does it have a depressing ending?” Smolder asked.
“I'm not sure pony stories work that way,” Ocellus said.
“Gallus want Yona braid feathers?” Yona asked.
“Uhhh... pass,” Gallus replied.
“Hearth's Warming Eve is here once again!” Silverstream shouted, as the Young Seven continued opening their presents.