.
Now shall we sing songs of harmony within this realm! And with true love and brotherhood, each other we all whelm! This day, apart, warm hearths and hearts, all other doth efface! For friendship and rectitude to all and kindness and grace! Warm hearths to all and kindness and grace!
As soon as she was awake, Alula opened her eyes and looked to the right. The blanket was still spread over her, but the spot next to her was empty. Scootaloo was gone. Instead of lamenting, Alula shot up, kicked her blanket away and hovered out of bed swiftly. She had a plan to follow.
At the Critter Snow Festival, Alula trotted over the snowy field swiftly. A turquoise filly with a light brown mane slowly staggered into her direction. The green ear muffs she was wearing did nothing to hide that she seemed to freeze. She was small in size, barely reaching up to Alula's head. The filly stretched out a trembling hoof just as Alula had reached her.
Alula stopped. She reached behind her head and lifted a scarf and a hat made of wool from her back. The filly waiting with clattering teeth, Alula wrapped the scarf around her neck. She removed the filly's ear muffs, put the hat on her head and the ear muffs back over it. Then she turned away and continued on her path.
The filly looked after Alula, her still clattering teeth making it impossible for her to speak, but there was a surprised smile on her lips.
From the distance, Alula could hear the strained and exasperated voices of her friends. She carried a small tray and hurried to reach them now.
“But it's not good to treat yourself like this, Train Tracks!” Peach Fuzz' voice was clad in worry.
“What do you know?” Train Tracks shouted back at her, perhaps lashing out a bit too much. “I always worked myself–”
“Hey, hey, hey!” Alula moved in between them. “Why are you two fighting on a day like this? Here, take some cocoa!” She lifted a cup of cocoa from her tray and gave it to Train Tracks, then the second one to Peach Fuzz. Both accepted.
“Thanks, Alula.” The hot steam and the smell of the milk calmed Train Tracks down.
“Wow, how nice of you, Alula!” Peach Fuzz chimed. “Thank you!” She removed the lid and happily took a sip.
“You want some pastry too?” Alula asked, moving the tray enticingly, a grin on her lips.
Peach Fuzz reached for one and bit into it. Train Tracks grabbed one, as well.
Together, the trio of foals moved to a bench near the fire. On the way, Alula put a hoof around Train Tracks' shoulders. “So, I was thinking about all those fights you're having lately. You never seem to talk about them enough, so how about we sit down and try to find a solution for that?”
Not far away from the fire, a stage had been set up. On it stood a massive yak, holding a yovidaphone and playing a gentle, heartwarming tune on it. Alula trotted up the stairs and approached the yak.
“Hi,” she said. “The music you're playing sounds really beautiful.”
The yak stopped playing. “Thank you, nice filly.” A smile played around his lips. “Yak musician doing his best to entertain pony crowd for festival.”
“You do a great job! Hey, I was wondering, could you teach me how to play like this? I'm really interested in yovidaphone music, it's the best music ever!” Alula continued to crawl.
“Awwww, pony filly cute with fascination for yak instrument! Yak teach you!” he said without hesitation. He went to the back of the stage and picked up a second yovidaphone.
~ * ~
Alula went out into the corridor before her bedroom, showered and her mane neatly brushed. A smile was gracing her lips. She left her room just early enough for her mom to come up the stairs.
The mare smiled at her daughter. “Good Morning, Alula! Are you ready for the Critter Snow Festival today?” She was brimming with morning cheer.
Alula barely let her time to finish her sentence. “Good Morning, mom!” She wrapped her into a hug and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I'm more than ready!”
The mare chuckled in delight. “Are you going there with your friends?”
“Yeah! Peach Fuzz and Train Tracks will join me and I can't wait to meet them!” She giggled.
In cheerful togetherness, Alula and her mom went down the stairs for breakfast.
The yovidaphone clasped tightly between her hooves, Alula blew into it and did her best to produce the beautiful tunes it was known for. The yak stood at her side, listening and occasionally cringing at the mismatched tones that permeated Alula's playing.
Squinting her eyes, Alula held the knife closely to the ice sculpture in front of her. She let it move over it carefully, taking care of the last details before the sculpture of her snuggling up to Train Tracks was finished. That Peach Fuzz and Train Tracks were watching her was something she only noticed as Peach Fuzz called her name.
“Alula!” the filly shouted.
“Hey, Peach Fuzz! Hi, Train Tracks!” Alula looked away from the sculpture and greeted them. “How does it look? You like it?”
“Great!” Train Tracks shouted in response.
Peach Fuzz was about to say the same, but when she took a closer look, she noticed that the filly snuggling up to Train Tracks was not her.
“Since when can Alula make ice sculptures?” Train Tracks wondered in awe. He turned at Peach Fuzz, but the filly had left his side. He looked behind him. “Hey, Peachy, wait! What's wrong?” Train Tracks hurried after her.
Alula looked after them, then at her sculpture. She whistled. “Looks like I'm really a pony of habit,” she said.
~ * ~
Beautiful harmonies sounded across the crowd in front of the stage. They listened in awe at Alula's yovidaphone playing. The yak at her side smiled.
“Cute pony filly playing fantastic. Ponies and yak love it. Alula really playing yovidaphone for the first time?”
Alula interrupted her playing and put the instrument away from her lips. She needed a moment to catch her breath. “Yeah, but, uh, there is a yak in my bloodline really, really far back,” she lied.
~ * ~
Alula trotted swiftly, her back feeling a little lighter now. Behind her, the filly she had helped was still smiling while simultaneously clattering with her teeth. Alula slowed down her trot as she heard her name getting called.
“Alula?!”
Alula looked to the right at the approaching hoofsteps. Scootaloo dashed closer, wings buzzing in excitement.
“Alula!” she shouted again. “I knew it's you! Wow, it's been a really long time!” The filly waved friendly.
“Scootaloo!” Alula shouted back, welcoming. She wrapped her hooves around the other pegasus filly and squeezed her friendly.
“I missed you the past year and I'm so sorry that I never talked to you again!” she said as they had released their embrace, wearing an apologetic expression.
“Awww, it's fine.” Scootaloo smiled at her. “I'm just glad I met you today. Hey, how about we–”
“Hey, would you like to spend Hearth's Warming Eve with me and my mom this year? I heard that all of your other friends and Rainbow Dash are already celebrating with other ponies,” she interrupted the orange pegasus.
Scootaloo's mouth gaped open. “Wow..... That's exactly what I wanted to say just now! Did you learn how to read other ponies' minds this past year?” She punched her playfully.
Alula giggled. “So, what do you say?”
“Of course I'll come!” Scootaloo buzzed her wings in excitement. “Thank you so much for inviting me, Alula!” She fell around Alula's neck for a hug and nuzzled her cheek in gratitude.
It was late at night as Alula trotted homewards. The Critter Snow Festival had been a blast, more than she thought possible, and Train Tracks and Peach Fuzz were already at home.
“Lucky for them,” she mumbled and pulled the hood of her anorak stronger into her face. Her breath was completely white and looked like it would freeze to a solid bubble of ice in front of her mouth.
Alula crossed by the narrow space between two houses, as she suddenly noticed a movement to her right. A tiny figure staggered out from the dark and into the moonlight. Immediately, Alula recognized the freezing filly. She was still wearing the scarf and the hat she had given to her. Despite the additional attire, though, the filly still felt cold. Her teeth clattered as usual while she came closer to Alula, but her skin looked blue under the short, turquoise mane now.
Alula stopped, went a few steps back and approached the little filly. She lifted the filly's head and checked her face. She looked at it in worry. “Come!” she said, putting a hoof around her. “Let's get to my house where it's warm!” She dragged the filly with her. “Still remember me?” she asked, smiling.
The filly formed a weak smile with her lips and nodded. She tried to speak, but it was too cold, her teeth didn't want to stop their clattering and she felt not strong enough for a conversation.
Alula did her best to keep the younger filly moving, but it became harder by the minute. It was like she became slowly frozen at the spot. As Alula could see the lit up windows of her home in the distance, the filly suddenly stopped moving and broke down. Alula stopped and tried to drag her back on her her hooves, but it was to no avail. The filly kept lying there, shivering.
While touching her body, Alula noticed that it suddenly felt much colder than before.
“Oh, no..... Oh, no, no, NO!” She ripped her anorak from her body as fast as she could and placed it on the filly, followed by her own scarf. As the filly did not cooperate in getting clad into the thick anorak, Alula turned her on her back. She twitched and moved away a bit as she saw the filly's stomach.
The color of her skin had turned from pink to a combination of blue and red. Her stomach was swollen and covered in blisters.
Alula bit her lip. Hastily, she grabbed a hoof of the filly and tried to squeeze it into one of the anorak's legs. Under her, the breath of the young filly had become shallow, then it stopped all of a sudden. Alula looked into her face and began to slap her cheeks.
“Hey, don't fall asleep! We just need to get you inside where it's warm and everything will be fine, but please don't fall asleep now!”
It was of no use. As much as Alula pretended she could still change the outcome, she had to admit that it was over. The eyes of the filly had stopped moving and stared up from her cold, frozen face. Judging, so it felt to Alula.
Resignated, Alula stopped her efforts and sat back, only a few inches away from the filly. She started crying over the young filly's fate and her own failure. The stream of tears freezing in her face, Alula looked up at the moon. She erupted into sobs while staring at the celestial body.
~ * ~
Alula was in a hurry. She could already spot the turquoise filly with the brown mane staggering into her direction, immediately after she set hoof on the grounds of the Critter Snow Festival. Not wasting any time, she ran up to the filly and grabbed her face.
“Hey, do you feel? You're alright?” There were tears in the corner of Alula's eyes as she checked up on the filly.
“I-I-I feel cold,” the filly stammered. “I-I can't find my parents.”
Alula sighed relieved. “I'll take care of this! But let's go and warm you up first!” She put a protective hoof around the shoulders of the little filly and dragged her along. It earned her a smile.
Only a few minutes later, Alula and the filly sat inside one of the warm and cozy rooms of Clover Café. The filly slurped away at a bowl of hot soup. As she had emptied it, Alula put it away and replaced it with her own, which was still full.
The filly gave her a cute smile and continued to slurp eagerly.
As the second bowl was empty, as well, the filly leaned back in her chair and rubbed over her now warm stomach. “That's so much better!” she chirped in a high-pitched voice. She looked healthy now, only her nose was a little red.
A waiter came and put two cups of steaming-hot peppermint tea in front of the filly and Alula. Without even stirring it, the filly grabbed the tea and poured it down her throat. She burped a little when she put the empty cup down. Grinning sheepishly at Alula, she blushed.
Alula laughed. “Do you feel better now?”
“Um-hm!” The head of the smaller filly bobbed up and down. She hugged Alula tightly, resthing her head on her chest. “Now I only need to find my parents!” she said. Then she retreated again.
“Don't worry, we're going to find them!” Alula ruffled the filly's mane. “How's your name?”
“I'm Ginger Green! But my friends call me 'Ginger'!” After the warm treatment, her voice sounded strong and energetic now.
“Hi, Ginger!” Alula caught up on greeting her. “My name is Alula.” She gave her a friendly smile and leaned in a little. “So, what happened to you?”
The question resulted in a swarm of words that bubbled out of the filly. “I live in Canterlot and I arrived with mommy and daddy in the train this morning. We wanted to see the critters, but after we arrived, mommy and daddy were suddenly gone and I couldn't find them between all the ponies anymore! I searched and searched, but then it got so cold and mommy and daddy had my winter jacket with them. I wanted to warm up at the fire before searching more, but then I saw you and I decided to ask you for help!” Ginger had to catch her breath as she finally stopped talking. Her cheeks were red now.
“Wow, that sounds really horrible! I'm glad I could find you before–” In the last moment, she bit on her tongue. “– before you got a cold!” She ruffled Ginger's mane again, to distract her from the interruption in her sentence.
Ginger closed her eyes and giggled.
“Let's go to the townhall!” Alula got up and placed a couple of bits on the table.
“To the townhall?” Ginger cocked her little head.
“Yep! I'm sure the mayor will find your parents in no time!”
Ginger Green skipped down from her chair. “YAAAAAAAAAAAY!” the little filly shouted as she ran towards the exit.
A couple of minutes later, Alula and Ginger entered the townhall. Mayor Mare was sorting a few documents into a drawer as the two fillies approached her. She already wanted to ask what she can do for them, as her eyes fell on Ginger and widened.
“Hello!” she said to them. She leaned down to the younger filly. “Are you Ginger Green, by chance?”
Ginger nodded. “Have mommy and daddy talked to you?” Her eyes were glowing with anticipation.
“They did,” the mayor answered the eager question. “They were here just an hour ago and reported that you went missing. They left to search for you again, but I told them to come back later in case you should find your way here.”
Ginger opened her mouth and a hearty laugh of relief came out of it.
Mayor Mare turned at Alula. “And you found her? Alula, right?”
“Yes. She was wandering around alone at the Critter Snow Festival and she was freezing. I bought her soup and tea at Clover Café and then I brought her here.”
“That was really kind of you, Alula.” She smiled, before her face grew darker. “And necessary. According to the pegasi, the thermometer is going to drop 20° below freezing-point tonight! I don't want to imagine what would happen if she were still outside then.”
Alula breathed in strongly, knowing all too well what would happen then. Or, happened. But she quickly reminded herself that everything was fine now and calmed down again.
Mayor Mare looked back at Ginger Green. “Just wait here until your parents are back. I'm sure they will come to pick you up very soon.”
“Can I stay, too?” Alula asked.
“Of course, Alula! It's nothing that I would deny our great hero!”
Alula blushed. “That's no big deal,” she said.
Mayor Mare only chuckled, then she pointed at a bench nearby. “Just get comfortable over there. If you want, I can let you bring hot tea. I'm sure our little guest here can still need it.”
Ginger Green smiled widely, her red nose sticking out to the mayor. Then she ran up to the bench and sat down with Alula.
The two fillies had to wait less than half an hour, then the doors of the townhall got opened and in trotted a brown mare and a green stallion.
Ginger put down her almost empty cup of tea and jumped up from her seat. “Mommy! Daddy!” she squealed and galloped to her parents.
Alula watched with a smile how the parents lowered down and embraced their daughter in a tight group hug.
~ * ~
“So, that's the it?” Alula put down her mug of cocoa after having just taken a sip. “You think that Peach Fuzz can't really deal with her problems and that her constant optimism is a sign of weakness and not strength?”
“Yeah!” Train Tracks said. “That's not how it works! If you want to stay strong even when you feel bad over something, you need to be harsh and keep pushing yourself!” He rubbed his head, as he felt a slight pain there now.
Peach Fuzz put a hoof on his shoulder, worried.
“And sometimes.....” he trailed off, not sure how to put it. “Sometimes I think that you are just weak, Peach Fuzz, and not as strong as you always let me think!”
Alula tapped her chin, then she addressed Train Tracks with another question. “And what if that were really true? If Peach Fuzz were weaker than you, would you break up and leave her then?”
“No!” Train Tracks' head shot up. “I wouldn't leave her alone, but.....” He grinded his teeth. “But..... But that's what makes us special. Me and her, we both stay strong even in hard times and when I met her, that's what I admired about her. We're so similar and that's why our bond is so strong. But if I was somehow wrong about that and Peach Fuzz isn't even as strong as I thought she is..... then that's gone.” He lifted his cup and gulped down a large amount of cocoa.
“So you are afraid that Peach Fuzz and you are too different. Right?” Alula deducted.
“Yeah.....” Train Tracks admitted, putting his mug down.
During most of the conversation, Peach Fuzz had been listening silently while Train Tracks' was venting his concerns. Now she wrapped both hooves around him and pulled him close at her.
“Train Tracks..... We aren't so different. I know I have a different approach to a problem, but it works out just as fine.”
“Approach, how? You mean ignoring your problems all the time?” he huffed.
Peach Fuzz shook her head. “No. Being optimistic and cheerful doesn't mean to ignore a problem. It just means that I'm not focusing on it all the time and that I have hopes that everything will get better again. That's what giving me strength, Train Tracks.”
The face of the colt softened somewhat. “Okay,” he said. “But why do you always complain about my way of dealing with a problem then? This really makes you sound like you don't even care about solving a problem that bothers you.”
Peach Fuzz shook her head again. “I'm not complaining. I just don't want that you get hurt by being too hard to yourself, Train Tracks.”
“But it's not hurting me! That's just how I do it!” he flared up a little again.
Alula intervened. “Let's stay calm, okay?”
Train Tracks huffed and looked away.
“From what you told me,” Alula continued “it looks like both of you need to change something. Train Tracks”– she turned at the colt –“you need to allow Peach Fuzz to be worried about you. That's how a relationship works, she just cares about you.”
Train Tracks looked up.
“And you, Peach Fuzz”– she turned at her now –“ you need to go a little more easy on Train Tracks with your worries. He said that's his way of doing things and that it works for him. That's something you need to respect, just like he respects your way. Just give him some freedom, but offer him to always listen if he needs you to talk about something.”
Peach Fuzz looked up, too, now. Her face showed a pondering expression now, just like Train Tracks' face did.
“Can you agree on this together?” Alula looked over them.
“I don't want to fight.....” Peach Fuzz spoke, sadly. “I agree.”
“It's not like I want to fight with you,” Train Tracks clarified. “It's just.....” He sighed. “Okay, I agree.”
For a moment, Peach Fuzz and Train Tracks looked at each other. Smiles built on their faces only slowly, but eventually they fell into each other's hooves for a tight embrace.
“Now, that's a paradise!” Alula said and sipped at her cocoa in satisfaction. Then she put down the mug at her side and got up. “Sorry, guys, but now I need to go. There's some other stuff I have to take care of.” She waved her friends goodbye and left.
The two other foals turned around and saw her galloping away. “Hey, wait!” Peach Fuzz shouted. “What other stuff? I thought we're spending the Critter Snow Festival together!”
But Alula did not hear her anymore.
Alula moved down a street of Ponyville in a fast trot. She looked at the clocktower and her eyes shrunk. Her tempo increased and she galloped up to a house. From the distance, she could already see a stallion being busy with doing a late effort to hang some Hearth's Warming decoration on his house. A second later, the stallion tripped on the ladder. In a rush, Alula pulled a mattress out from behind a tree and placed it under the ladder, just in time for the stallion to land softly. Alula wiped some sweat off her face.
Cursing, the stallion got up and climbed back up the ladder with a grim look in his eyes.
“And you never thank me,” Alula frowned and huffed. “I'll see you tomorrow, you can thank me then. Maybe.”
Above Ponyville's roofs, Derpy was flying on her mail route. She was approaching another house, as she suddenly heard something ripping. Shocked, she watched how all the mail she was carrying fell out of a large hole in her mailbag.
“Oh, no, all the Hearth's Warming cards!” She looked at the letters and cards that rained down now, readying herself to try and catch them before they'd land on the snow and get wet. But before she could do so, a yellow blur zipped at them and snatched them away. It flew upwards and stopped in front of her.
“Oh, thank you so much, Alula! If you hadn't caught them, so many greeting cards wouldn't have arrived, it would be terrible!” Derpy's mouth was one, broad smile.
“No need to thank me,” Alula dismissed. “I was flying by anyway, it's nothing. And now, let me fix that bag!” She hoofed Derpy the letters, then pulled out a needle and thread and began stitching the hole together.
Five minutes later, Derpy was back on her route. She waved at Alula and the filly waved back, sighing in content.
Back at the Critter Snow Festival, a loud shriek sounded into Alula's ears. Close to the fire, a stallion with a camera and a jacket saying “Canterlot Chronicles” stood. He was about to fall face-first into the burning wood, but Alula zipped at his side and pushed him away from the fire. He yelped as he landed on the ground, but was otherwise unharmed.
“Try to find a safer spot before taking a picture, okay?” Alula adviced him, then flew away.
The reporter looked after her in a mixture of shock and surprise.
Later at night, the Critter Snow Festival was in full swing. The gifting ceremony for the animals, the highlight of the festival, had just happened, but the party continued. Loud dance music was coming from the speakers, motivating ponies to shake their tails to it, and in front of the stage, other ponies listened to a yovidaphone concert.
Peach Fuzz and Train Tracks had just arrived in front of the stage. They gasped in surprise as they saw who one of the players on the stage was. Next to the yak, they could see Alula, rivaling the yak with her performance.
Not far away from them, Scootaloo stood. She listened to the concert with just as much awe.
As it was over, Alula and the yak bowed down to the audience. It gave them a massive applause that only died down slowly.
Her yak teacher smiled at Alula. “Alula making yak proud,” he said. “Best yovidaphone student yak ever had.” He shed a tear, then turned at the audience. “Give another applause to best yak student Alula!” his voice roared over the ponies at the stage.
The ponies followed the call. Clapping their hooves together and stomping on the ground, they gave Alula standing ovations.
Smiling, Alula went down the stairs and left the stage. Peach Fuzz and Train Tracks trotted up to her.
“Welcome to the party!” Alula said, exchanging hoofbumps with them.
Their faces looked overwhelmed. “I didn't know you can play a yovidaphone!” Train Tracks said, marvelled.
“I'm a filly of many talents!” Alula smirked.
On the stage, the yak started playing again, a more upbeat composition this time. Alula, Peach Fuzz and Train Tracks joined the other ponies in dancing to the beat.
“It's Alula!” a voice suddenly called her name, coming from a pony who was dancing past them and Alula turned around.
Derpy stood there, with Dinky at her side. “Thank you again for me helping this morning!” Derpy expressed her gratitude.
“It's nothing, really.” Alula smiled modestly.
“I've never seen a pony who is faster with a needle than her. Even Rarity would be jealous!” Derpy told Peach Fuzz and Train Tracks.
“What's that about?” Peach Fuzz asked, sounding confused and impressed at the same time.
“I have really no idea,” Alula said. “She probably confused me with somepony else.” A smirk on her face revealed the lie.
“There you are!” somepony else suddenly shouted. The reporter from earlier galloped up to her. He gave Alula a crushing hug. “I could never thank you! Without you, my face would be a crisp now!”
“Might have been. You were way too close to that fire.” Alula presented him with a smile.
“I owe you one!” The stallion nudged her, then turned at Peach Fuzz and Train Tracks. “You two have the best friend ever, hold on to her!” Then he disappeared in the crowd again.
“What did you do today?” Train Tracks asked.
“Oh, just the same as always.” Alula shrugged her shoulders.
“Excuse me, Alula?” yet another voice suddenly spoke up. It came from a mare with brown coat. “I want to thank you for helping my daughter today.” Ginger Green and her dad showed up at her side.
Ginger took it into her hooves to thank Alula herself again. The little filly booped her nose. “You are the best, Alula! I wish you would be my big sister!”
The warm gesture let Alula's heart melt. “I would like that, too. And, hey, here's something for you.” Alula reached into the pocket of her anorak and pulled out something. She hoofed it to the filly. “Happy Hearth's Warming Eve, Ginger!”
Ginger Green looked at the slip of paper in her hooves. Her eyes grew wide as she had deciphered the text printed on it. “A ticket for Coloratura's next concert!” The young filly jumped up an down in excitement. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She jumped at Alula and hugged her tightly. Alula squeezed her. Then Ginger Green jumped at her parents in the same way. “Look, look, a Coloratura ticket!” she said in her high-pitched voice, over and over again.
“Thank you again,” her mom said. “Ginger Green really is lucky that she met you.” Then the little family left them.
Peach Fuzz and Train Tracks stopped dancing. “Okay, Alula, what's going on?” Train Tracks scrutinized her now.
“Nothing,” Alula said, simply. She shrugged her shoulders again, making an innocent face.
Peach Fuzz didn't buy it. “You're lying. Something is going on.”
Train Tracks nodded in agreement.
“It's a long story,” Alula finally gave in, somewhat. “I'll tell you later. But first, I want to show you something!”
She left the dancefloor in front of the stage and signaled her friends to come after her.
A little further away, a large structure stood, covered with a tarp. “Just stand here,” Alula instructed Train Tracks and Peach Fuzz. As they were ready, she grabbed the tarp and pulled it down from the structure.
A large ice sculpture got revealed to them. Peach Fuzz and Train Tracks could see themselves in the glistening eyes. Their ice counterparts stood there, hooves wrapped around each other and sharing a passionate kiss.
Peach Fuzz lifted a hoof to her mouth. Tears entered her eyes. “You made this for us, Alula?”
Train Tracks joined her side and wrapped a hoof around his fillyfriend.
“Just for you!” Alula confirmed. “You really deserve it, after all the trouble I put you through.”
“Trouble?” Train Tracks asked, clueless.
“I mean..... all the trouble I could have put you through. Almost.” She rubbed the back of her head.The response only deepend her friends' confusion.
“Anyway, there's another pony I need to talk to now.” In the distance she could see Scootaloo, dancing between the ponies all alone.
“See you around!” Alula waved at them, then made her way towards the other pegasus.
~ * ~
Now shall we sing songs of harmony within this realm! And with true love and brotherhood, each other we all whelm! This day, apart, warm hearths and hearts, all other doth efface! For friendship and rectitude to all and kindness and grace! Warm hearths to all and kindness and grace!
Drowsily, Alula opened her eyes. As she recognized the familiar song that entered her ears, she sighed. She had resigned to her fate by the time the singing had stopped.
“Finally!” a voice suddenly spoke. The next thing she knew was a pillow getting thrown onto her face. She heard a giggle.
Removing the pillow and turning to he right, Alula saw Scootaloo sitting next to her, grinning widely. “I can't believe you slept through half of the day, it's already afternoon! Your mom made a great breakfast and a great lunch and you missed out on both!”
Alula blinked, then she sat up. She stared at Scootaloo. “That's different.”
“Yep! Looks like Critter Snow Day is finally over for you!”
Alula nodded quietly, as memories of last night flooded her brain, including the conversation she and Scootaloo had before they fell asleep. Around them, the bed was still covered in wrappers from bon bons and chocolate bars, indicating that the party had not ended at the Critter Snow Festival.
Alula's emotions overwhelmed her and she pulled Scootaloo in for a hug. “That's real,” she said, feeling the body warmth of the other filly. Then something dawned on her and she retreated. “Hey, you made me think the day's still looping by singing that song!”
Scootaloo stuck out her tongue. “That's your punishment for saying you will spend Hearth's Warming Eve with me and then sleeping all the time!” A pillow got smacked into her face. “It just was a really long day, okay?” Alula defended herself.
The two fillies engaged in a pillow fight for several minutes. As both of them were worn out and tired from it, they fell into the bed at each other's side, still laughing.
“Today is tomorrow,” Alula spoke as the laughing had stopped. “It's finally over!” She laughed again, from pure joy and relief. Then her stomach grumbled.
Another round of laughter between the two fillies followed.
“Let's go down and grab something to eat!” Alula prompted. “It's time for something new!”
“You mean, you will eat something. I'm still pretty full!” Scootaloo countered.
“Then I'll better catch up with your meals! Besides, I still have a cutie mark to get!”
They exchanged grins, then got up from the bed. Filled with joy and anticipation over the upcoming Hearth's Warming celebration, they rushed out of the room and down the stairs, laughing all the way down.