//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: Merry Christmas, Happy Hearths Warming // Story: Initial D: First Equestria Stage // by SixShooterOutlaw //------------------------------// It was a cold morning, the first snow had just fallen so everypony knew winter was just around the corner. Everypony was excited, for the wintertime holidays were coming up fast. Garland was wrapped around the light posts, brightly colored lights were on the rooftops of buildings and some ponies were preparing the town center for the giant tree. Ponies were laughing and singing both Hearths Warming and Christmas Carols, showing just how happy they were about the upcoming Holidays, well most everypony. There were a group of ponies that were feeling a little melancholy, sure they loved the Holidays, but they were missing their families and their home. The ponies were taking a walk through Ponyville admiring the sights when one of them spoke up. "Hey guys, do you think it's Christmas-time back home?" Itsuki asked his friends. "I don't know" Takumi answered "I'm not sure how time works here". "Do you think we'll ever get home?" Kenji asked. "I'm not sure, but I think we should make the most of it" Iketani suggested "This maybe our new home". The group continued down the road, they were headed back to Twilight's castle after their walk. They arrived at the castle's doors, opened them and went inside. They took off their hats and scarves and set them on the coat rack, then moved into the living area to relax. They currently had the castle to themselves because Twilight and her friends were in Canterlot to do a Holiday play and go shopping. "You know I hadn't really thought about it until now." Kenji said "About going home, I mean". "Same here" Itsuki added. "I guess we got so caught up with our new friends and our training. I think we just didn't think about it" Takumi said to them "I wonder if we'll be able to see them again, if we do go home". Looks of sadness went around the room as they thought about that statement, they wanted to go back home but they didn't want to lose the friends they made here. So, they felt like they wanted, and didn't want to return home. "I'd miss everyone here" Kenji said "Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy, AJ and Rarity". I"d miss them too" Iketani added "I'd miss Scootaloo as well, I don't even want to think about how she would take it" he mused sadly. "I know, that little filly has grown quite attached to you" Takumi replied. "And me to her." Iketani told him "She's like a little sister to me" he then shook his head "I don't want to think about this kind of stuff right now, I don't care if this is my first Christmas here or my only, I want to make it special!". Murmurs of agreement spread around the room, sad faces were replaced with happy and excited ones as they started to plan what to do to make this a special Christmas for them and their friends. Several hours later, their friends returned home with festive looking bags in tow, they put the bags in a different room and joined their four friends in the living area. "So, how'd the play go?" Takumi asked. "It was awesome" Rainbow answered. "Is it a Christmas play?" Itsuki asked. "No, it's about the founding of Equestria and the start of Hearths Warming" Twilight explained. "That sounds cool" Kenji replied. "What's Hearths Warming anyway?" asked Itsuki. "Well, we could explain it to you or you could always come to the play." Applejack suggested. "That would be awesome." replied Iketani. "Sounds like fun" Kenji added. "I know, you can go with the girls." Rarity suggested "They always attend the play as our guests." "The Crusaders would love that." Rainbow said. "Especially a certain filly." "I can't wait to tell her." Iketani said. "She's going to be so excited." Pinkie added. "Well, we'd better hit the hay" Twilight said. "Goodnight guys, see you in the morning." "Goodnight" They replied in unison. "See ya tomorrow" they said to the other five mares as they headed to their respective homes. "This sounds like the perfect start to our special Christmas." Iketani said "This is going to be great!" Itsuki replied. The next morning the guys decided to finish their plans for Christmas. "What can we do to make the Holidays special?" Takumi asked "Well, Twilight and the girls want to teach us about their Holiday. Maybe we can show them some of our traditions?"Iketani suggested. "That sounds like a great idea, Iketani!" Itsuki exclaimed. "I can show them my mad karaoke skills!" "Yeah, sounds like a blast." Kenji deadpanned. "Maybe we could show them some of our less, shall we say, 'unique' traditions" Iketani added. "Awwwwwww, but I want to sing." Itsuki replied, pouting. "Okay, fine, we can have a karaoke machine, on one condition." Takumi said. "Anything." Itsuki said, perking up. "We limit the number of songs one pony can sing in a row." Takumi explained "Awwwww, man." Itsuki replied "Fine, but I get first dibs!" The trio winced internally but agreed. "So we have a plan to show them some of our traditions?" Iketani asked "If we're all in agreement, we should get ready to tell the Crusaders about our Hearths Warming plans.". A little while later, the four found the three little fillies, it sounded like they were singing carols. Once they caught sight of their friends they ran over to greet them. "Hey guys, what are you doing here?" Scootaloo asked. "We came here to ask what your plans are for Hearth's Warming" Iketani answered. "Eh, nothing special" Scootaloo told him "We usually go to the play in Canterlot and do some stuff here" she then looked kind of sad "I wish you guys could join us, that would be awesome!". The four guys exchanged small smiles and glances, then Iketani spoke up once again. "Well, the thing is" Iketani began "Twilight gave us some tickets to it". The Crusaders perked up. "Really?" Scootaloo asked excitedly. "Yeah" Iketani replied "So Scootaloo, I have a little question to ask". "What?" Scootaloo responded. "Would you be my date for the play?" Iketani asked her. "Yeah!" Scootaloo replied happily, then she caught herself "yeah, that sounds cool" she added calmly. Iketani chuckled and smiled at her then he gave her the ticket "I can't wait to see the play with you" he told her. Scootaloo smiled back "I can't wait either" she then hugged him, which he returned. "Well me and my friends have some stuff to do, see you guys later!" she said as she ran away with her friends. "I think you made her day" Kenji told Iketani. "You think so?" Iketani asked. His friends nodded in reply. "I also think she may have a bit of a crush on you" Kenji added. "No, I don't think she does" Iketani responded. "Have you seen the way she acts around you?" Itsuki nearly shouted. "I have to agree" Takumi said to him "it sure seems that way". Across town, Scootaloo and her friends were playing in the park, making snow angels and throwing snowballs back and forth. They were taking a little breather when Apple Bloom spoke up. "Hey Scoots, you seem very excited for the play this year, does it have to do with Iketani giving you that ticket?" she asked. "What do you mean?" Scootaloo said to her friend. "Oh come on Scootaloo, you have been talking about it since he gave it to you" Sweetie Belle added. "Well, he's a great friend and it's fun to hang out with your friends" Scootaloo answered. "Yeah, that and you have a little crush on him" Apple Bloom replied. Scootaloo turned to her friend "I-I do not!". "Yeah you do" Sweetie said with a little smile. "No I don't!" Scootaloo repeated. "You have a crush on him" Apple Bloom teased "just admit it". "I-I do not have a crush on him!" Scootaloo responded, blushing furiously. "You may be saying no. but your blushing says otherwise" Apple Bloom smirked. Scootaloo turned away from her friends, cheeks burning, then she sighed "Promise me you won't tell him or anypony else?". "Of course" her friends answered. "I may have a slight crush on him" Scootaloo told them turning back around "it's been since he saved me in the Everfree Forest" she shuddered at the memory "but I don't think he knows, so please don't tell him or anyone else" Scootaloo said, eyes pleading. "We won't" Apple Bloom promised. Scootaloo hugged her friends "You guys are the best!" she said happily. Apple Bloom leaned in and whispered to Sweetie Belle "We wouldn't have to tell him or anypony nothin', the way she acts around him makes it obvious". The morning of the play, the ponies met up at the train station. "I'm so excited to see the play with you guys!" Scootaloo exclaimed, nearly jumping up and down. "I'm actually a little excited myself" Iketani agreed. "The train should be here any minute" Twilight told them "Then it's just a quick ride to Canterlot and it will be time for the play". "So you don't have much longer to wait" Rainbow added. Just then, the train pulled into the station and they were on their way. After the play ended, everypony was exiting the theater, including a large group that was headed to the castle to spend the night. "That was awesome!" Itsuki said excitedly. "So, you enjoyed it, huh?" Rainbow asked him. "Yeah" Itsuki nodded. "Glad you did" Rainbow smiled "Of course. me being in it, made it at least twenty percent cooler". "Well there Miss Modesty" Applejack replied "I'm glad you think so much of everypony else". "You guys did great too" Rainbow said with a wave of her hoof "But I was the star as with tradition" she added smiling smugly. Applejack just rolled her eyes, then was hit in the face with a snowball. "If you want to play it that way" Applejack said then she built a snowball and hurled it towards Rainbow, who she hit in the side. Rainbow retaliated by throwing one back, which hit Applejack in the shoulder, Applejack made another ball and threw it, only this time Rainbow nimbly dodged it and it hit Iketani instead. Not missing a moment, Iketani used his magic to make a snowball, he threw it towards Applejack but missed and hit Twilight. Twilight then formed three snowballs and threw them at each of them. Signaling the beginning of war. The next few moments went by like a blur, snowballs were flying everywhere and ponies were falling down. Once the group got back to Twilight's castle, they had hot chocolate and cookies to finish off the night. A few days later, it was the day before Christmas Eve and the guys were planning their Christmas Eve get-together. "So, what do you want to do?" Kenji asked. "Well, I already rented a karaoke machine" Itsuki told him "My plan is set". "Remind me to get some ear plugs for everypony" Iketani replied smirking, earning a death glare from Itsuki. "Don't forget some party favors" Takumi added. "We will also need refreshments" Kenji replied. "I think Pinkie and Applejack can handle that" Itsuki chimed in. "Perfect" Iketani said happily "So, Itsuki, you ask Pinkie and AJ to handle refreshments, Takumi you go get the party favors, Kenji you go and see if Rarity can help with the decorations and I'm going to see if I can put together some party games". "Sounds like a plan" Takumi said as they nodded in agreement. "Then it's settled, we meet back here when we're done" Iketani told them. So they went their separate ways to complete their assignments. Itsuki headed to Sweet Apple Acres to talk to Applejack, he walked up to the door and knocked. Applejack answered and asked "What brings you out here?". "Well, as you know me and the guys are planning a Christmas Eve party" He said. "And I was wondering if you and Pinke could help with the refreshments." Pinke suddenly appeared out of nowhere above their heads "Absotly-lootly" Then she disappeared again. "Where did she come from?" Itsuki asked. "She's Pinkie Pie, who knows?" Applejack replied. "We've learned not to ask those 'how', 'why' and 'where' questions." "Gotcha." "So, what kind of refreshments are we talking about?" "Well, some Christmas-y treats, like a Yule log, and maybe some cider?" "Sounds good, maybe we can make some candy canes and ribbon candy" "That would be awesome, thanks so much AJ!" he said and the turned to leave "Yer welcome!" Applejack shouted after him. Takumi was in town looking for party favors, so he went to the local party store. "I don't know why they put me in charge of finding the party favors" Takumi said to himself "I have no idea what to get". As if on cue, Pinkie Pie appeared. "Hi, Takumi" Pinkie greeted "what brings you here?". "Well, I'm trying to find so stuff for a party" Takumi explained. "Lucky for you, you have the party pony of Ponyville to help you" Pinkie told him. "That would be a big help". "Okie doki" Pinkie said "what kind of stuff are you looking for?". "Noisemakers and..other things you need at a party". "Wow, you reeally don't know what you're doing, do you?". "Yeah". "Well, I'm glad I popped in when I did" Pinkie said to him "I'll help you out". The two ponies walked through the store, getting all the stuff needed for the party. "Thanks Pinkie" Takumi told her as the left the store "If you did come by when you did I still be standing there". "That's what friends do" Pinkie said "Now, I have somewhere else to be, see you later" she hopped off. "I really wonder how she does that" Takumi thought as he headed back to the castle. Meanwhile, Kenji had just arrived at Carousel Boutique, he went up and entered the building. "Hey Rarity? Are you there?" Kenji asked. "Just a moment" Rarity called, then she came down the stairs "Oh, hello Kenji, what brings you here?". "I have a favor to ask" Kenji told her "me and the guys are throwing a party Christmas Eve and were wondering if you could help with the decorations". "I would love too!" Rarity replied "I love making decor almost as much as designing outfits!". "Great!" Kenji said happily "Do you need any help?". "Help is always appreciated" Rarity said with a smile "do you think you could get some red and green fabric from over there" she asked pointing towards the self where she kept her fabrics. "Sure thing" Kenji said as he went and got the fabrics. The two ponies then worked on the decorations for a while. Back at the castle, Iketani was going through some books when Twilight walked in. "Hey Iketani" Twilight said "What are you doing?". "I'm trying to get some games for the party tomorrow" he answered "I wanted to see if you had any traditional games but I can't find anything". "Well, I have a closet full of games down the hallway if you want to take a look" Twilight told him "Oooh, I can finally have that out this year!" she said happily. "What can you finally have out and why does it make me nervous?". "You'll see". Iketani blinked then shook his head "I'll just go check on those games" Iketani said then both of them left the room. When they came back, Iketani had some board games and Twilight had something in a small box. "What's in the box?". Twilight opened the box and revealed its contents "Mistletoe!" she said happily holding it up "I have always wanted to have it at a Christmas party but never got the chance". "Uhh Twi, do you know what that's for?" Iketani said blushing slightly. "Of course" Twilight answered "I doubt any ponies are going to find themselves under it". "We shall see" Iketani replied. Later that day, the four guys met up and put the supplies away for Christmas Eve, "Looks like we have everything we need" Iketani told them "This is gonna be great!". "I'm so excited!" Itsuki exclaimed. "Me too" Kenji added. "I'm actually pretty excited myself" Takumi replied. "We better get some sleep so we can get up early and set the party up" Iketani said. "Sounds like a plan" Kenji responded. Then the four of them headed to their rooms for the night. It was Christmas Eve, the guys had gotten up early and began to set up the party. Kenji was putting up the banners, Takumi was setting out the party favors and Itsuki had finished setting the refreshment table up and was bringing out the karaoke machine. Iketani was setting up the game table and Twilight put up the sprig of mistletoe, at the sight of which the boys ran and Twilight rolled her eyes. After the guys came out of the hiding places, their friends began to arrive. "Merry Christmas Eve, everypony" Twilight greeted as the last of her friends came inside "Refreshments are over there" she pointed at the table with various snacks and cider "and there is the game table" she pointed to the table stacked with board games "and if anypony feels like dancing, feel free to do so over there" she pointed towards the area they dedicated to dancing. "And if anypony feels like singing, there's a karaoke machine over there" Itsuki added. "Oooh, that like sounds fun!" Pinkie replied. "Well, I don't feel like singing, I think I'm gonna do some dancing" Rainbow told them. That started a short period of dancing among the ponies. Then they started, Pinkie and Itsuki decided to use the karaoke machine and sang a holiday duet for everypony. Not that anypony had a say in the matter. After they had finally stopped after a ten song marathon session, Twilight decided to give it a go, then the Crusaders and even Rainbow Dash. A little later, everypony was around the refreshment table chatting away. Twilight went to the other side of the table to refill her cider glass when she bumped into somepony. "Oops, sorry Iketani" Twilight told him. "It's fine, Twi" Iketani replied. "Uh-oh, looks like somepony's under the mistletoe" Rainbow teased, smirking. Twilight and Iketani looked up then at each other, blushing. "Umm, did you know that hanging mistletoe dates back to the pre-Celestia and Luna era?" Twilight rambled "It's for good luck and-" Twilight was cut off when Iketani kissed her cheek, turning her history lesson into incoherent gibberish and making her blush madly. Everypony in the room smiled and chuckled at Twilight's reaction, which earned them a glare from her. The party went on for a while longer until everypony started to feel tired and they realized it had gotten late. Everyone was staying at the Castle so they could spend Christmas Morning together. The ponies were heading into their rooms for the night, Scootaloo was walking to her door when she felt somepony tap her shoulder, she turned and saw Iketani standing behind her with a smile. "Hi, Iketani" Scootaloo said "What's up?". "Just wanted to say good-night" Iketani replied "and do this" he used his magic to bring over the sprig of mistletoe to him. This made Scootaloo blush a little. "Looks like someponys under the mistletoe" Twilight said with a smile. Scootaloo's blush brightened as Iketani leaned down and kissed her cheek, which gained aww's from everypony watching. "Good-night, Scootaloo" Iketani said to her. "G-good-night, Iketani" Scootaloo responded then she did a slow walk to her room. "Good-night, Everypony" Twilight called out and everypony headed into their rooms for the night. The next morning, everypony came out of their rooms, headed to the kitchen and had a wonderful breakfast. After that, everyone went to the living room and exchanged little gifts they got or made for each other. Twilight walked over to the tree and pulled out four rectangular shaped gifts and gave them to the guys. "Come on" Twilight urged "open them up". They ripped off the wrapping paper, tossed it aside and opened up the box. Each of them held a book. They lifted the covers and found out the books were photo albums with pictures of their time in Equestria. "Wow" Iketani said at a near loss for words "This is great, thank you". "We thought you would like to have a way to keep your memories from here" Twilight told him. They began flipping through the book, looking at the different pictures. There were some that were taking not long after they arrived in Equestria, when they spent the weekend with the Crusaders, Nightmare Night and Hearth's Warming as well. There were even some pictures from the day Kenji helped Rarity out, which caused him to blush. "Rarity!" Kenji said sounding very embarrassed "Why did you put those in there?!". "I just had to!" Rarity answered "You look so stunning in that suit, not putting them in there would have been simply a crime I could not commit". The other ponies in the room snickered and laughed until they were silenced with a glare from Kenji. And with that, the ponies had a wonderful Christmas.