“All I Want This Hearth’s Warming…”
The Start Of The Season
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It was getting late now, and Celestia’s sun had set about an hour ago. Inside one of the many cozy houses in Ponyville, a brown coated unicorn stood gazing outside the window to his home, watching the soft snowfall. It was wintertime in Equestria, and this was the first snowfall of the season. The pegasi had said that the ponies could expect more and more snowstorms as the weeks go by, so that all the ponies could enjoy this season much more than last year’s, which in most opinions, was pretty lacking.
The unicorn took a small sip out of the steaming mug of hot chocolate he had resting in his magic’s grip. He had a soft, content smile on his face as he continued to watch the soft flakes of ice gently trail from the dark sky. He sighed to himself, taking another sip of the warm liquid,
“Ah… finally snowing. Now I don’t have to worry about ponies giving me strange looks when I walk through town with lights hanging off my back.”
The unicorn chuckled to himself letting his mind slip to a fond, albeit rather embarrassing memory of a group of foals laughing at him as he trotted happily through the streets with a large present bow on his head, and dangling bells around his neck.
“It was just preparation…” said the unicorn, trying to defend himself against those laughing foals.
“I was just getting the decorations early, so I could save some bits on them… Those things get too expensive once it gets closer to Hearth's Warming.”
While his mind was drifting further into his defence, he briefly lost focus on his magic, letting the small little mug, his favorite one at that, slip from his grasp and fall to the floor. Before he could react, he watched the mug fall in almost slow motion to the unforgiving floor below. He could have sworn he saw a small tear fall from the cup’s little face of a deer with a red nose, before smashing into pieces on the hardwood floor.
The unicorn sighed, turning to get a towel to clean up the mug he got from last years Hearth’s Warming. He collected the small pieces of the mug with a broom and began carrying them to their final resting place in the trash, before he heard his doorbell ring. He paused, looking towards the door with confusion. He set down the broom and pan, walking over to open the door, revealing two warmly wrapped ponies waiting on the other side. One being a grey-coated pegasus, and the other a pink and velvet earth pony.
“Hi Hidden! Told ya the first snow would be a good one!” said the warmly wrapped pegasus.
“And it only gets better from here! Next week’s gonna be almost twice as much, so we can finally go on that sledding trip!”
“Ah, Thunderlane, Cherry, nice of you to drop by. Oh, also, yes this is a pretty nice start to the season! Here, come on in, you two are making me cold standing out there.”
Hidden chuckled as he welcomed his friends into his much warmer home. Both ponies nodded in thanks, and removed their winter garments as they welcomed the warm air into their noses. They opened their eyes, taking in the full image of Hidden’s home. The glowing lights hanging from the walls, the multitude of poinsettias sitting on each table, and, of course, the large and beautifully decorated Hearth’s Warming Tree.
Cherry walked over to smell one of the bright red flowers, “Wow, you really went all out this year huh?”
“Yeah, I mean, I know you love Hearth’s Warming and all, but don’t you think this is a bit much?” Added Thunderlane.
“What? No no, this is perfect! I still need to finish decorating the fireplace, I’ve been too busy putting up the lights and wreaths on the outside to finish up in here. Speaking of which...”
With that, the brown unicorn giddily trotted over to a small box sitting beside the aforementioned fireplace, where he promptly lifted out a few red socks to hang on the mantlepiece. The two ponies simply stared at their friend, then chuckled at the fact that he actually had a bit of a wreath stuck in his tail.
“Hey uh, Hidden? You might want to get that off your tail there, somepony might get the wrong idea...” said Thunderlane, trying to stifle some of his laughter.
Hidden looked up from what he was doing and turned towards his tail, letting a small ‘eep’ escape his lips before removing his unexpected decoration.
Hidden floated the wreath onto a blank portion of wall, making sure that the small decoration fit in with the rest of the decor. After returning to the fireplace, with a little bit of red in his cheeks, he continued to hang up the stockings.
“So, what brings you guys here this fine evening?” Hidden asked.
The two ponies looked towards each other, sharing a confused look.
“Don’t you remember? You sent us some invitations. For a night over?” Thunderlane emphasised by waving a hoof.
“You said, and I quote; Dear friends, On the evening of the first snowfall you are invited to attend a get together at my house! Please don’t worry about bringing presents, this is just a get together. Don’t forget! Happy Hearth’s Warming, Hidden Power.”
Thunderlane seemed to beam with pride at remembering the invitation, only resulting in a confused look from Hidden. Cherry walked up to the stallion, patting his shoulder.
“Yeah, you invited us to celebrate the start of the season, remember?”
Hidden thought for a moment, before realization hit him. He dropped the last nail and stocking and ran into the kitchen, where a few pans and containers could be heard being shuffled and moved about. A couple seconds later, Hidden walked out with a small tray and pitcher. The tray had three decorative mugs sitting on it, as well as a small plate of little carrot cakes. He smiled awkwardly to his friends, prompting a chuckle from them both, before setting the tray and pitcher down on the central coffee table. He offered them both the couch, which they accepted.
Hidden proceeded to pour some of the pitcher’s contents into each of the mugs, giving off a rather strong scent of eggnog, and fixed a small plate with two cakes sitting on each of them. He passed out the food items, and took a ginger sip of the the eggnog, smiling warmly to his friends.
“So… How’s it going?” Hidden asked, letting a small laugh slip from his mouth.
Thunderlane and Cherry both laughed as well, responding together with a ‘not bad.’ This was how their normal conversations started, almost like a little ritual. The common ‘how’s it going?’, and ‘how’ve things been?’. The trio continued to catch each other up on their day to day lives, talking about all the interesting and not-so-interesting things that have happened in the past couple of days.
“... And I had to let the guy walk out with a half painted picture of a flower. The stallion just wouldn’t let me finish it, even though I told him it would only take a few more minutes.”
“Well, the nerve of some ponies can be quite… Ill-tempered. Even in the season of celebrating friendship and kindness.” Cherry responded to Hidden’s little tangent.
“Well, some ponies just need to be more patient in my opinion.” added Thunderlane.
Hidden nodded in agreement, taking another sip from his mug. He then stopped, seeming pained. He almost doubled over, putting a hoof to his gut. His friends looked at him strangely.
“Oof, uh, hehe, if you’ll excuse me, I need to use the little colts room.”
With that statement, Hidden ran upstairs towards the bathroom. As he passed by one of the small bookshelves, he brushed past one of the books sticking out slightly. The book was knocked off the shelf and fell to the floor, landing with a dull thud.
“Uh, Hidden you knocked down some books!” Cherry called out.
But the sentence trailed off on her lips as she heard the door upstairs slam shut, and as her eyes traveled down towards the small book. Cherry stood, with the intention of returning the book to its rightful place on the shelf, before she saw the title. She paused, a strong sense of curiosity taking hold of her. She was tempted to open the book and take a peek inside, before the sound of the toilet flushing drug her back. She hastily put the book back into its place, being sure to push it a bit further back to ensure it did not fall again, and returned to her seat on the couch. This getting a strange look from Thunderlane, to which she mouthed ‘It was nothing’.
Hidden came walking back down the stairs. Thunderlane chuckled at his friend, getting a look from the other stallion. Once Hidden had found his seat beside Thunderlane, the pegasus put on a fake expression of distress, as well as an extremely exaggerated accent.
“Oh thank Celestia I thought you fell in! This truly is the season of miracles!”
Thunderlane exclaimed this while play fainting over the side of the couch, holding a hoof to his head. This made Hidden blush, and took Cherry’s eyes off of the book and to her stallion friends.
“Oh lay off Thunderlane, stop tormenting him.” Cherry said in a joking tone.
Hidden crossed his hooves and grunted in annoyance at his friend’s antics. Thunderlane took the hint and sat back up, patting the Unicorn on the back.
“Hey, come on, where’s your Hearth’s Warming Spirit Hidden? I thought you were supposed to be the king of the season?”
Hidden gave the pegasus a sidelong look, rolling his eyes and allowing a small smile to slip onto his lips.
“I am the king of the season. Look at my house! It’s more decorated than the Town Hall!” Hidden said proudly, before finally fixing the last stocking. Thunderlane got off of Hidden, before returning to his own cup of eggnog.
“Well, at least you didn’t fall in. But there’s always next time…”
As if on cue, the pegasus’s wings flinched, and he put on an embarrassed smile as he excused himself, again allowing laughter to fill the house. The antics continued through the night for the next hour, leading into some caroling, baking, and eventually settling down into the traditional telling of the Hearth’s Warming Tale, the story about all three pony races coming together to form equestria and celebrate friendship. Cherry and Thunderlane took turns telling the story, because Hidden, much to the surprise of the others, said that he was not too familiar with the tale.
“... And all through the night, the three ponies kept the Fire of Friendship alive, telling tales to one another, and singing songs, which of course became the same carols we sing today… The End.”
Both Thunderlane and Cherry finished the story together, much to the amusement of Hidden, who tiredly clapped his hooves at their excellent storytelling. The two ponies smiled and took a small bow, chuckling sleepily.
“Well, that was some story. Enjoyed hearing it again.” said Hidden, yawning in the process.
“Oh, well thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it Hidden,” said Cherry. “But, I’m still surprised that you don’t know the story. I thought you of all ponies would know the entire story by memory!”
“Yeah, kinda strange don’t you think?” Replied Thunderlane.
Hidden seemed to tense up a little at the sudden questioning, but then stretched his back, casually dismissing the ponies concerns. He stood up from his stretch and shrugged.
“Yeah, I guess, I was never really told the story much. I mean, I’ve looked it up and read on it, but I never got the chance to memorize it like you guys. Nothing strange about that.”
Hidden gave an earnest smile, which faded off into a large yawn. The yawn passed from him to the others, making them realize just how late it was.
“Well, It seems we have been up for a little too long. I guess it’s time to check in for the night.” said Hidden, trying to stifle another yawn.
“Yeah, I gotta get at least some sleep tonight, I’ve got that next batch of snow clouds to get ready for next week’s storm. Mind If I take the couch?” Thunderlane asked.
“No, I don’t mind, just be sure to put the pillow back on it in the morning. You want the guest bed Cherry?”
Cherry nodded, gladly accepting the offer from both stallions. Even though he didn’t say it, she knew that Thunderlane took the couch so she didn’t have to. She smiled warmly towards him, and he nodded in response. With the group in agreement, they milled about to their respective sleeping places after blowing out some candles and dimming the fire. Thunderlane took his place on the couch, wrapping a blanket around himself as Cherry and Hidden made their way upstairs.
Once there, the two shared a small ‘good night’ and entered their rooms. Once inside his room, Hidden made his bed and and turned down the light. He waited a few minutes, listening to the house, trying to tell if his guests were asleep. Hearing nothing but the sound of wind outside, the unicorn locked his door, and placed a small spell to ensure that he would not disturbed. after doing this, he paused, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. The sound of air rushing through the small room could be heard, and upon opening his eyes, he looked much different.
His short brown coat was replaced with a hard grey shell. His mane and tail, two toned burgundy and brown, was now a two tone grey. His horn became curved, and a small pair of greenish blue wings sprouted from his back. His golden eyes were now a catlike green, and he adorned a small pair of fangs. Letting out the breath of air, he smiled to himself. It was always a nice feeling returning to his regular form. It felt more natural, free.
Now that he was completely comfortable with his situation, he hopped into bed and wrapped himself in his blanket and sheets, humming contently, and letting his mind slip away to whatever dreams awaited him that night.
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