”Anon, catch.”
“Gaah!” You throw your hands up to shield yourself from the falling ornament, catching it was a mere afterthought, but that was enough to keep it from crashing to the ground. You hold the delicate orb close to your chest and look up with indignation at the snickering blue menace hovering over you.
Decorating the town Hearthswarming tree seemingly doubled as bombing practice for Rainbow Dash, “What was the purpose of that?”
She bobs effortlessly on wings that ruffle the branches through an invisible kiss of rushing air, ”Oh don’t be such a drag! I wanted to see if you could catch it, and you did, so what’s the big deal?”
”The big deal is we’re already working with an odd number of ornaments thanks to carelessness, Rainbow. You need to be handling things more carefully!” Twilight snags your attention, ”Do you have any idea how hard it is to give the arrangement any real symmetry with an odd number of decorations?”
You and Dash share a glance.
”Not to mention balancing the color and size differences...that’s three levels of pattern analysis needed to make this tree fit for Ponyville’s Hearthswarming Eve party!” The outburst silences nearby voices.
”So...if we break another then we’re back to an even number right?” A smile grew on your face to match the mischievousness dripping from the pegasus’ voice.
”Um, well an even number would simplify—”
—crash!
You clutch your empty hands, feigning surprise, “Ooops.”
”Bawhahahahaha! Nice one Anon!”
”Stop! Breaking! The ornaments!” Twilight explodes. The stress of deciding to take the reins of an event this large must be driving her insane.
A chilling breeze makes you flinch. Dash is suddenly next to you, ”Aw cut Anon a break it was my idea, and besides, you should be happy you get to be all OCD again!”
The young princess sighs and facehoofs before turning away in defeat, ”Just finish before the evening festival without breaking anything else...please.” She grumbles and moves on to oversee another aspect of the celebration preparations.
”Heheheh! Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.” The breeze whips your hair as Dash hovers beside you.
“I know right? I don’t blame her, though, we have been giving her a hard time.”
”Nah. If she really cared about the decorations she’d teleport them into place with some fancy spell.” Her hind hooves experimentally touch your shoulders and you respond by grabbing them, then pulling her rump into your neck. You grow a decent bit heavier as her wings fold and her forehooves cross themselves on the top of your head—a proper piggyback position. You hand up the last ornament for her to hang.
“I think she’s just jealous of our awesome decorating skills.” Dash hooks the silver ball around a branch and you shuffle back to look at your work. Never before in your life had you seen an arrangement of decorations this uneven and unsightly.
”Close enough for government work!”
“That’s actually a pretty appropriate use of that phrase.”
”I told ya I pay attention to all your human sayings!” She stirrup-kicks your chest a bit as if she needed to get your attention. It was superfluous. Your attention was entirely at her disposal, already captivated by the incredible furred warmth of her thighs wrapped around your neck and ears.
”Hey, what’s that?”
She wasn’t asking you. You follow her voice to a pearl unicorn who was delicately levitating her own finishing touch into the lower branches of the holiday tree. ”This dear is mistletoe. It’s the perfect finishing touch to get everypony into the romantic holiday spirit!” Rarity finishes tying the strand of a red-berried vine to the overhanging branch.
A prismatic tail flicks across your back, ”Mistle-what? I thought only Anon had toes?”
Again, she wasn’t asking you. Your hands sit firmly on your ear warmers as you wait for the mare to explain what you’re too lazy to interject and tell her, ”It’s called Mistletoe. It’s a special type of seasonal plant that's only found deep in the Everfree.”
You stand there in silence, little more than a glorified chair for your friend as the mares talk, “How the hay is that romantic? Poison joke grows only in the Everfree too and that stuff’s nasty!”
Rarity lets out a sigh, “It’s a little more nuanced than that, darling. The tradition of mistletoe's steeped in lore, magic, and tales of old. It's fallen out of vogue as of late and I'd like to bring it back! I really don’t have the time to spare to fill you in on all the details, however...” Her eyes fixate on you as she leans away from the conversation, “Anon?”
“Huh?” Your thumbs were in the middle of playing with the little snow lumps stuck to the longer fur in Dash’s hocks.
“Am I safe to assume you’re familiar with this Hearthswarming tradition?”
“Uh, yeah. Sure.”
“Perfect! You can tell Rainbow all about it then! I’m unfortunately needed elsewhere…I’ll look for you two at the celebration tonight!” Rarity gracefully escapes the conversation, leaving you with the burden of the cyan weight’s standing question.
You look up at her. She’s looking down at you, expecting a prompt briefing on the missing details, “You seriously don’t know what mistletoe is?”
”Do I look like I grew up with Hearthswarming trees? I’ve lived in Cloudsdale most my life.”
You didn’t think of that, “Alright fair enough. See that branch that she tied to the other branch?”
”Uhuh.”
“That’s the mistletoe.”
”Well yeah, I’ve figured out that much.”
“Ok, do you want me to explain it to you, or are you just gonna—“
”—Alright I’ll listen!”
“Thank you.” You readjust her weight on your shoulders. Thank goodness she liked piggyback rides, your ears and cheeks were loving this, “So the tradition is, when you and someone else stand under the mistletoe, you have to kiss.”
”Wait really? What happens if you don’t?”
“Then...I don’t know, I guess everyone boos you for being a wuss.”
”So any ponies who stand under there have to kiss?”
“That’s the idea.”
”So, if we stood under there right now we’d have to kiss?”
You blush a little, “Heh, I'm not a pony but we can try it and find out.” You start walking in that direction and Dash grows tense.
”Wait hold on! No-no-no-no!” She flaps her wings, trying to fly away, but you hold onto her hind legs so she can't.
You stop before she pulls you over, “Hey, take it easy! I’m kidding!” She stops flapping but remains tense.
”Quit messing around, Anon!” She mutters in a quiet tone.
You look up to see her flushed red and looking around to make sure nopony saw, “That’s what you get for dropping the ornament on me earlier.”
At hearing this, her legs go limp in your grasp, “Yeah well I guess we’re even.” You stand idly and watch the rest of the ponies scurrying about wrapping things up before the big celebration. They are way too comfortable in this sort of weather.
”We could go help out some more.” Dash painfully admits.
“Yeah, or…”
You look to your left and get a mouthful of salty thigh fur. You also spot Sugarcube corner.
Fffbrt!
You blow a raspberry into her leg to dislodge her coat, “Hot cocoa?”
”Heheheheh!” She wiggles and kicks at the ticklish sensation, “Yeah, hot cocoa.” She blows into your hair in a silly attempt at retribution before taking off; this time you don’t resist. In your next breath, the air is colder and harsher. You begin to regret not protesting to keep your ear warmers, ”Are you coming, Anon?” She asks, looking back to you mid hover.
You study her eyes for a moment, combing your hair back with your half-numb fingers. You don’t know how or why, but when you were with this rainbow pegasus you knew you had a place in this crazy world of magic and monsters. The way she made you a part of her life left no doubt in your mind that you belong, “It was my idea, of course I’m coming.” You catch up the few paces. Her wings pass behind your shoulders, thoughtfully sparing you the cold breeze as they slice through the air twice for each step you took.
”Pfft! Are you kidding? Ponies invented hot chocolate! It was our idea way before it was yours.” She boasts.
“I’m not too sure about that, we might have to ask princess grumpypants if that’s true or not.”
”Heheh...” She falls silent until you glance over at her. She wanted you to see her smug smirk, “That one didn’t work so well because ponies don’t wear pants.”
“Thanks, Dash, I’m glad you like my jokes.” You sigh.
She pats your hair condescendingly, “Anytime champ!” Snow crunches underfoot, ”But yeah, we totally invented it right after all the tribes united. I remember hearing about it in history class when I was a filly.”
“Really? That’s pretty interesting. Human’s invented hot chocolate too, but I’m not sure how long ago that was.”
”Wait, you invented hot cocoa too? Is anything else the same back where you’re from?”
That question makes you pause for thought. You open the door to Sugarcube Corner and feel immediate relief at the rush of warm bakery air. Dash trots to the front of the non-existent line, looking back over her shoulder expectantly, “Well, we decorate trees pretty much the same way, we wrap gifts and sing carols, and we build snowmen. It’s a bit easier than making snowponies.”
”What about mistletoe?”
“Yeah, we have that too. It’s almost treated like a game of sorts. It’s usually hidden in a doorway somewhere and when you notice it and have to kiss whoever you’re with, or the only single mom in the room, if you’re on a Hallmark set.”
She furrows her brow.
”Can I help you two?” Ms. Cake trots around from the kitchen.
“Yeah, can we get two cups of hot cocoa, with milk not water please…oh, and a marshmallow for her.”
Ms. Cake winks at you and smiles at Dash, “Two cups coming right up!” She disappears again leaving room for Dash’s burning question.
”Why do you do it li-ike that?” A voice crack gets your attention.
“Do what? The mistletoe thing?”
”Yeah? Why would you just kiss anypony you’re under it with? Wouldn't you wanna do it with the one you like?”
This is an odd string of questions. “I mean, I’ve never done it. Heck, I’ve only seen it once at a Christmas party before...that’s what we call Hearthswarming.” She seems to lighten up a bit at the explanation despite it not answering her question. Her consternation turns to a teasing smirk.
”What, you get stage fright or something?”
Ms. Cake returns with two steaming cups, you thank her and hand over some bits, “Like you did earlier? Yeah, a bit.” You shoot a grin right back at her.
Her ears fold and she breaks eye contact, ”That was...different.”
“Oh?” You quirk a brow at her but she doesn’t elaborate. You carry the cocos to a booth by the window overlooking the bustling town square, then hand Dash her cup, “Different? What do you mean?”
She takes a sip and winces at the heat, ”You caught me by surprise is all, and there were ponies everywhere watching us.”
Your heartbeat races for a moment; a sip from your own cup helps you pace yourself, “Implying you would’ve done something different if we were alone?”
The pegasus keeps her magenta eyes fixed on her steamy vessel, but her ears let you read her like an open book, ”Well, maybe! It’s not like I’m not scared of a dumb little branch tied to a tree.” She looks out the window avoiding eye contact with your reflection. You have to look at her directly to detect her faint blush, “I mean, if I had to do it, I’d rather do it with you.”
You feel hopeful for some reason, and you weren’t sure why, “You really mean that?” She looks down after meeting your eyes. Neither of you expected this to take such a heartfelt turn.
”Y-Yeah. I mean, obviously we’re awesome friends and like each other and stuff. It’d be easier to just kiss and get all the sappiness outta the way so we don’t have to have any lame, mushy conversations…a-and stuff.”
“Like now?” You smirk. The mare snorts and fights her own shy smile tugging up at the corners of her wetted lips. It was fascinating to watch her when she didn’t know what to do, ”I suppose you’re right. I never thought of it that way before.” You look back to the muffled din of ponies on the other side of the glass and feel grateful that the shop was miraculously empty at this hour.
Her eyes dart back to your face the moment you stop looking at her, “Heh, of course I’m right.”
Only your pegasus partner could sound both timid and cocky at the same time. Now it was your turn to blush, “I know I sort of did it as a joke, but...if I had to kiss a mare you’d be my first pick too.”
Dash snorts, a smile splits her face.
“What? Like you said earlier I wouldn’t want it to be with some random stranger! I mean, chances are I’d happen to get caught under it next to some stallion or something.”
“Pffft! Oh, you’re not into that?”
“No, I’m not!”
“Heheheheh…” She chuckles, hiding her smile behind careful sips.
“I don’t know.” You pause and take a breath, “I just feel like I can be myself around you. Like you’re the only one that wouldn’t judge me for being different.” Dash sets her cup down and gives you her undivided attention. You decide to continue, “No matter how nice other ponies are I always end up thinking about how I’m the odd one out when I’m around them, but when I hang out with you I forget about all that. I'm...home.” You weren’t sure why you chose now to spill your guts, but long overdue catharsis overshadows any embarrassment you would have felt in the admission. Silence falls and you stare at the swirling mixture of chocolaty comfort in your hands. Outside, fillies had snowball fights and couples were posing for pictures under the festive tree. Eventually, Dash breaks the silence with a snort.
“Heh! See, if we’d smooched you wouldn’t have had to say all that sappy stuff.” You look up to see her face a mirthful mixture of appreciation, blush, and smile. It was a breathtaking combination.
You weren't sure it worked that way, but you were starting to wonder what would happen if you gave it a shot, “Yeah...” The doorbell chimes as the first group of customers walk in and steal away your privacy.
“Hey.” Her hoof moves to your fingers to touch you as much as get your attention, “Wanna go see if we can, uh...find some mistletoe somewhere else?” Her scratchy voice was hopeful. It complimented the spark of excitement in her eyes, but you struggle with believing she’s serious.
“Like, us find some…right now?”
Her ears tap her nape again, but her blush can’t get any worse, “Yeah. Don’t tell me you’re chicken all the sudden.”
She was serious. Your ears heat up, “Sure!” You finish your cup of cocoa. You can’t believe this is actually happening, and so quickly too. A minute ago you were almost entirely unaware of the latent need to kiss your best friend. Something about the way she talked and looked at you made it so surreal and exciting at the same time. It wasn’t any different from how she normally acted around you, but agreeing to go look for an excuse to put your lips together made it feel significant. You’re still friends, right?
”Alright, you lead the way since you know what to look for!” She quips, her excitement demonstrated confidence you wish you could muster for yourself.
You nod and stand up, “Sure. I uh…” You had no idea where to find more mistletoe, and there was no way she’d go for the one in the middle of the busy town square, “...Let’s try Rarity’s boutique since she’s the one that hung it up.”
Dash cracks a grin, ”Yeah! Good thinking, she’s definitely the frilly romantic type to put it everywhere.”
You both leave the bakery, thanking Ms. Cake as you do. Cold air bites you once more and you pop your jacket collar. You didn’t try to hide your building enthusiasm, and Dash didn’t mention it. It didn’t take long for her to stifle her residual embarrassment and embody her old chipper attitude. Whatever justification she was using to make this make sense seemed to be working, “Sheesh dude don’t look so nervous!” She punches your leg, “It’s only me.”
“Ow! I know but I can’t just stop being nervous about it…” You admit under your breath, still a bit too flustered to look your friend in the eye.
She smirks, keeping pace with you, “We could kiss on the cheek if you’re that scared of mare cooties.”
“What? No! I wanna…I’m not scared.” You shove your hands in your pockets and keep your eyes down.
You can see her toothy grin out of the corner of your eye, “Good cuz pony muzzles are great for kissing so you’d be missing out.” You look over at her. They certainly looked kissable enough, “A-at least that’s what everypony says.”
You quirk your brow, “You don’t know? But you’re a pony?”
“Well yeah, but how could I know what it’d be like to kiss myself?”
“Uh, by kissing another pony.”
You’re met with a blank stare. She actually hadn’t thought about that, “You’re telling me you haven’t kissed anyone before?”
“What? Why would I—n-not on the muzzle!”
You hold your hands up in surrender, “I was just asking!” Why was this a big deal all the sudden? You trot on in awkward silence for a bit; Dash’s prismatic mane bobs as she alternates between watching her hoofsteps and examining your expression for any signs of judgment. You feel like she’s on a hair-trigger so you do your best to look indifferent. You make it another ten yards before sniffling.
“I just don’t waste my time on dates and other useless stuff like that! Plus it’s kinda gross to begin with so why would I—”
“—Rainbow.” She stops. You typically don't call her by her first name, “I was just asking. Heck, I’m in the same boat you are.”
She calms down immediately, “Oh.” She swallows her defensiveness, and with courage, some pride as well, “So like, never with a mare, or never with a human…”
“Never with anyponyhuman ever.”
That earns a smile, “Cool. Heheh! Same.” Her hooves chop up the crunchy, light snow, her trot a bit lighter. Her attention was now split between you and the winter scenery. Ponyville's always pretty this season, reminding you of a cozy alpine village. The smell of the bakery and the wispy trails climbing out of every other chimney into the frigid cerulean sky filled you with the desire to quiet your mind and absorb the tranquil beauty.
“Do you think it’s gonna taste weird if I haven’t brushed my teeth?” Dear Celestia your nerves can’t take this, “I mean, I brushed this morning but—”
“—Let’s just focus on finding the darn thing, and we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it!” You take a big breath of cold air and fixate on the boutique a block ahead. Discovering that you were both first-timers gave her an unexpected boost of confidence, it seems.
You sigh. She’s staring at you, isn’t she? Long ago you’d learned your lesson about showing weakness in front of the mare; the predatory grin you could feel on your nape suggested you were about to pay for overreacting to her innocent question.
“Well if you don’t mind the taste I’d like to try licking our tongues together and like, acroth yorh teef ah into yorh throah...” Dash is completely lost in the teasing charade, her eyes crossed on her nose and her tongue stuck out to tangle with an imaginary partner…when she takes a handful of snow to the side of the face, “Oof! Hey, you can’t—hahahaha!” She drops into a playful stance when she sees you squared up.
It doesn’t take long for her to return fire, laughing and giggling as you chase her down the street. The exercise gives you an excuse for your red cheeks and the few snowball splatters that wet your clothes help you cool down. By the time you make it to the front door of Rarity’s place, you’ve forgotten about what caused the little skirmish to begin with.
A hoof bump seals your truce and you shake your collar free of snow and catch your breath. Dash shakes to clear herself off, but rabid pawing at her flicking ear gets your attention. She stumbles over to you, shaking her head in an attempt to dislodge an ear full of snow. This wasn’t the first time and it wouldn’t be the last. She calms once you take control of the situation and deliberately grasp her fuzzy ear. You have no idea how she’d discovered that your pinkie finger was perfect for this job. You carefully pick the frozen lumps free, then slide your finger back into her waxy canal and give it a practiced wag right where you knew it felt good. Her whole spine writhes and her wings puff out a bit, “Haaa-ah...”
“Hahaha!” Removing your finger, you give her ear a pat and wipe the stickiness off on your pants. You’re already at the front door by the time she recovers.
“W-what?”
“Nothing.” You knock.
“No, you laughed. What is it?”
“I was…I don’t know, you looked funny is all.” You can’t hide your grin so you stay facing Rarity’s door.
Hoofsteps stop behind you, “You were laughing at me.”
You knock again, “No! You just do a…” Don’t say cute, “…a funny little shake whenever I do that to you.” Silence is your response as you wait for Rarity to open up.
“We talked to her halfway across town five minutes ago dude.” Dash finally states.
“I’m an idiot.”
“What’s new.” She migrates to your side. You’re already on thin ice so you let it slide, “Just walk in, she won’t mind.”
“Are you sure—ngah!” You swat away a sneaky pinfeather that had found its way into your ear.
Dash doesn’t wait for a response and pushes past you with a triumphant grin. Ponies never seemed to lock their places up; perhaps they’d start after word of you two got around. You could see it now, two mugshots, yours next to Dash’s, both looking surprised. Headline: Wonderbolt and alien break into mare’s home to engage in indecent smooching and hoof holding
Cautious footsteps follow her as you rub your ear, “Hey Dash? Maybe we should look somewhere else.”
Her scratchy voice comes from somewhere out of sight, “Aww don’t be a wuss and help me out!” You take a glance up and down the empty street before stepping inside and quickly closing the door. Her shop smelled of perfume and candles. A rainbow mane peeks from around the corner, “You said it’s always above door frames right?”
“Yeah. I can’t think of anywhere else to put it.”
“Alright you go right I’ll go left, call out if you find something!” She skitters off.
It looks like you weren’t the only one looking forward to this. You start through the door on the right with some vigor in your step. Rarity’s house was also her shop, and that was open to the public right? You push past a door and find yourself in the kitchen. This is no longer a public domain. Her carousel-like abode meant that you were working in a circle, and Dash was practically sprinting the other way around. It was a realization that hits you after the cyan pony does.
You meet at the kitchen doorway. Her head knocks the air out of you and sends you sprawling onto the floor, “Ooof!”
“Aww!” Dash groans and rolls off of you, staring up at the ceiling.
You take a deep breath, “Any luck?” You wince.
“Nah…” She rubs her forehead and pops her neck, “I got to thinking, if she had more she woulda tied them to the tree. She’d wet her stockings at the thought of getting the whole town to makeout at once.”
She wasn’t wrong, “Well thank Celestia you figured that out before someone got hurt.”
You hear her pop another bone, "Heh...aheheheheh!” A tight-lipped smile is all you offer in acknowledgment of your joke, “Hahahaha!-Hmmhmm...nice one dude. Come on I’ve got an idea.” A warm furry muzzle nuzzles under your neck, tickling you and urging you to your feet. You groan and stand, combing Dash’s mane back into her characteristic style as she dusts her coat off. She waits for you to finish ‘preening’ her before setting off.
It was a bit odd but preening was precisely the word for it. The instinct pegasi had for bodily maintenance crossed species boundaries just fine if you knew how to touch them. Dash responded to your fingers raking through her fur or picking anywhere around her ears, face, and feathers. Most of the time she’d sit there quietly as if you hit a timeout button on the energetic mare. It was actually a bit uncanny if you weren’t expecting it. You'd felt a little embarrassed the first time accidentally putting her in that state, but the more you learned about her, the more comfortable you felt taking part in the semi-private practice.
“So where are we headed?” You ask the prismatic tail disappearing back into the atrium.
“To AJ’s farm! Their family’s all about tradition, they've gotta have some mistletoe.”
There’s a joke somewhere in there about southerners but you’re too dazed to catch it, “You know, we could just...do this without the mistletoe.”
She responds without looking back, “That’d be weird, Anon.”
You were a fool to have not known better, “Oh, right. Well, lead the way then Airpony Dash.”
She shoots you a sideways glance from the front door, “My rank, really? Who are you Spitfire now?”
“No, it’s cool that I’m spending Hearthswarming Eve with a genuine Wonderbolt. That's all.”
“Pfft! Oh please, you’ve known me forever! Besides, I’ve already agreed to kiss you, you don’t need to butter me up.”
“Haha! I’m serious! I started collecting posters you know; I could actually use a signed one come to think of it.” She rolls her eyes and you close the front door behind you. Trotting out into the snowy street, Dash glances at the mass of cheery ponies a few blocks away—their happiness a muffled din in the distance.
“Why do you want a poster of me when you can hang out with the real Airpony Dash anytime?"
You shrug and fall in step behind her. The sun was sitting low in the orange sky, the trip to AJ’s farm would take the rest of the daylight you had, “Oh you know, just gotta complete the collection.”
She fixes you with a sly smirk, “Well if you wanna get a good one you’ll have to go to Cloudsdale’s Wonderbolt museum. They sell the life-sized prints there.”
“You know, I might do that, but only if you promise to make the signature out to the best human in the world.”
She snorts and slows down to walk next to you, “Maybe. You are a pretty good human, I suppose.” She turns her smile away so you can’t see how amusing that was for her. Something she’d said cues your memory as you leave the outskirts of town and start the trek to the Apple Farm.
“Hey, you mentioned earlier that you didn’t have Hearthswarming trees in Cloudsdale?”
“Yeah.”
“How’d you celebrate it then?”
She looks up at you, walking a bit closer to keep the cold wind from driving you apart, “A lot of us would fly down to visit friends and family that weren’t pegasi if we had any.”
“Did you?”
“Nah my whole family are pegasi all the way back to the first tribes. My parents knew some unicorns and stuff from work, but they never went to any Hearthswarming parties or anything like that.” The snow grows a bit deeper as you leave town, “Before Hearthswarming was a thing we had a winter solstice celebration. It was sort of a big end-of-year party where all the pegasus tribes came together to hold a giant feast with sparring competitions and cider and stuff...heh, lots of cider actually.”
“Huh, so that’s where your cider cravings come from then.”
“Yep! It’s in my blood!” She quips.
“I’m not going to lie that sounds a lot more fun than decorating trees.”
“I know right!” She beams up at you. She stumbles in the snow, having stepped on a rock she couldn’t see. You thought about offering another piggyback ride but she takes flight before you get the chance, “Well anyways, after everypony stopped being jerks we kinda made Hearthswarming the new winter solstice.”
“So, you still keep all those old traditions?”
“Eh, not really. We replaced the sparring with races, and the feast has turned into a family dinner rather than a town-sized banquet. It was kind of like an act of good faith, trying to be more inclusive and all that.”
You smile to yourself at the thought of the pegasi of old conducting themselves like Vikings. No wonder Dash was such a handful, "Well if you ever have one too many ciders and decide to fight someone make sure you let me know so I can bring some popcorn and a chair."
"Pfft! Only if you promise to bet on me!"
“You got a deal.” The conversation and walking had kept you warm for now, but it was a battle destined to fail in the end. Luckily, Applejack's farm comes into view.
“I swear if she doesn’t have any mistletoe hanging around I’m going to demolish her barn again.”
The biting wind chills you to the core, “I’ll help you.”
She chuckles, “You check the barn and I’ll go see if she’s got any hanging on the front door.”
The barn was a dry hole, as you expected. You didn’t have much hope for the house either, and you weren’t keen on breaking and entering a second time. You are both getting cold and walking was getting old. The sun is touching the horizon and a barn is no place to be come nightfall. The things this mare gets you into.
You turn around and get startled by the sudden appearance of a disgruntled Dash standing in front of the open barn door, “Grab a sledgehammer.”
“Huh?” You sniffle and wipe your nose.
“They don’t have any, we’re breaking the barn.”
“Did you try— “
”—Granny Smith’s home with Applebloom, she said they don’t have any.”
That must’ve been an odd conversation, “Look, why don’t we head back into town and stop by the tree—”
”—But there’s! —“
“—I’m sure everypony’s going to be inside by the time we get back, and it’ll be dark anyway.” She grumbles and tries to relax. This wasn’t the first misadventure you’d been on together, but it would be your last if you didn’t warm up soon, “It’s only going to get colder so we should probably get going.” You walk past her and pause when she doesn’t immediately follow.
You sigh, “Do you want to knock over that stack of hay?”
She nods as if waiting for your permission, “Alright.” Your word was a trigger and the blue pony was a coiled spring that exploded towards a bale in the corner. You shield your face until you feel the tickle of raining hay stop. Peeking out, you spot a straw stained pony standing triumphantly in AJ’s demolished hay pile with a wicked smile on her face, “You good now?” You ask.
She hop-stomps the mess before shaking herself clean, “Yeah, much better. Let’s go!” She trots past you, carefully retracing the footprints you both made coming out here. All you know is you don’t want to be the next thing that gets in her way. She had a one-track mind when it came to getting what she wanted. She was also feeling the cold for once in her privileged pegasus life.
The urgency of the dropping temperature and numbing limbs helps you quickly cover ground. The air starts to feel sharper on your lungs with the last rays of sunlight dipping below the horizon. You catch up to the driven mare who chose to trudge through the snow instead of surrender and take flight, “We’re gonna have perfect timing, everypony should be at Pinkie’s party by now.”
“Yeah, I think we’re about the only ones crazy enough to still be running around in the snow.”
She beams up at you, sniffing at her runny nose, “Heh, you’re the only one that can hang with me.”
“Barely.”
“Nah you do alright.”
“Yeah, until we race.”
“Did you say you wanna race?”
You sniffle, “Huh?”
“Ok! Onetwothree go!” Her four toned legs kick up snow as she tears down the path back into town, and she wasn’t waiting up.
“Aw…” You take a deep breath and set off after her.
Dash keeps up her pace until she hits Mane Street, and even then she only slows to a trot. You’re not too far behind her, but you take some time to catch your breath. She bristles with excitement, “Hurry up we’re so close!”
“I’m right behind you!” You wave.
The streets were more or less empty, only the odd couple sharing a scarf roamed the window-lit streets. The Hearthswarming tree was lit with magic, but all the festive townsponies had retired to one of many indoor parties. Only the latecomers or the insane were still roving the streets at this frigid hour. You sniffle and groan. Running around town with her all day had taken its toll. Until now you’d all but forgotten the purpose of your journey. Your eyes settle on the mare who’d already made it to the tree.
You were supposed to kiss your pegasus friend…
You were going to kiss your pegasus friend…
Right square on her pegasus mouth.
Heat returns to your cheeks and ears. What would it taste like? Will her fur get in the way? Was she serious about that tongue thing? If only you’d had these thoughts earlier you wouldn’t have had to suffer so much cold. You find yourself combing your hair and wiping your nose as you follow her to the base of the tree. You don’t have to look that presentable for this right? It was only Dash; you were best friends she wouldn’t care. Then again it was your first kiss, and she was your best friend. Why wouldn’t you put on your best for her?
The closer you get, the more you realize something’s wrong, “Dash?”
She looks back, and it suddenly strikes you that you’ve never truly seen disappointment in her eyes until now, “It’s gone…” Her voice cracks. You get closer and discover that the only branch of mistletoe you’d seen in the whole of Equestria was in fact, missing, “Somepony took it.” She rubs her welling eyes with a hoof, stuttering, “W-Why would they take it?”
You’d wandered around until you were cold, hungry, and tired, so you weren’t surprised that emotions were high, but you didn’t expect your rock of a friend to be this heartbroken, “Hey there, it’s alright.” You kneel down and hook an arm around her back, “We’ll find some more. We can come back tomorrow, I promise.” You do your best to reassure her.
“But it's Hearthswarming Eve and I...I wanted to!...” The festive night lights sparkle off her watery eyes.
“No, hey...come here.” You wrap her in a hug, desperate to bring some measure of joy back into your precious pegasus. She was such a tough cookie all the time you could almost forget she could feel hurt. At that moment you realize you’d move mountains to take that hurt away.
She sniffles and tucks her head into your shoulder, relishing the warmth of your touch. For once she doesn’t care about appearances, she’s just glad to have your shoulder to lean on, “S-sorry for wasting your time today. I wanted to have fun together b-but—"
“—Dash look at me.” You turn her chin up towards your smiling face, “Any time I get to spend with you is never wasted.” You let your words soak in for a minute; hot breaths pass quietly from her nostrils to yours but neither of you dared pull away from the relief of the warmth, “Besides, we did have fun, remember?” You wipe a tear from her eye, holding her close so she knows you’re keeping her vulnerable moment private.
She struggles to meet your gaze, “We decorated the town tree and solved Twilight’s odd number of ornaments.” The seed of a smirk gets planted on her face, “We had some hot cocoa and I got yours with milk and a marshmallow because I know how you always make fun of my crappy homemade blend.” She snorts, your warm memories cutting through the chill to rekindle her spirits, “Then, we had a snowball fight and broke into a house; I got an awesome pegasus history lesson and watched you demolish a hay bale that weighed more than a minotaur.”
“Heheh…I was kinda frustrated h-huh?” You rub her withers and hold her tighter.
“And most importantly, we were together.” You tickle her chest tuft, eliciting a scratchy, broken giggle from her that made you never want to let her go, “So don’t you dare feel sorry for that. I wouldn’t have traded this day for a million bits.”
She sniffles one last time and meets your eyes with a candid blush, “Me too, Anon.”
Your eyes stay locked, smiling at each other as you share warm breath. Her steamy air thaws your face and brings feeling back to your nose. A fresh snowflake lands on her muzzle tip, only to melt into her fur. You realize you can smell her, the same smell from this morning when you had her on your shoulders; a sort of spicy ozone tickles your senses—distinct from all that’s around you. Distinctly warm and inviting. Distinctly Dash.
It dawns on you how rare of a moment this is, and how it amounts to a perfect opportunity. Your lips part and you pass a breath through open mouths an inch apart.
“Mommy look! My snow pony’s still here!”
“I see that sweetie.”
You both turn to see a bundled-up mare with her colt wandering closer to the tree, watching him play. Turning back to Dash, it’s a bit harder to hold her gaze, “Heh.” Her breath still warms you, “I-it wouldn’t have counted anyway...without the dumb mistletoe.” She kicks some snow with her frosty hooves.
“Dash.” You reach down and grip her foreleg, drawing it up with both hands and squeezing it to warm it up for her, “Just promise me we’ll make up for it next year.”
She nods, then nuzzles into your cheek, letting you nuzzle back, “I promise, Anon.”
You pull back and look at her, your face still tingling from her air and hot touch. It was right there, all you had to do was lean forward to satisfy your aching heart. She’d be grateful too, but the moment had passed, and she deserved more than a sloppy excuse. Whatever you did with this mare, you wanted to do it right the first time because deep down you both seemed to know that you wouldn’t ever be doing these things with anyone else. As silly as it was, the little tradition had given you a reason to poke around and turn some stones that revealed feelings about each other you already knew you had but were too afraid to admit to yourselves.
You wanted to kiss, sure, but the kiss was only a part of it. You wanted to be close to each other, to know one another, to love. It was so much more than one simple act of affection, and in that light, it looked silly to make any move in your life that wasn’t absolutely perfect and worthy of the mare that inspired it. Your first kiss was going to be something special, and you don’t mind savoring that.
She breaks her stare after a while and looks up, “Sheesh, that snow’s coming down pretty hard.”
You watch the flakes dance about her face, “Do you want to head inside and check out the party?”
“Nah, I’m beat. I could use a fireplace to thaw out these hooves though.”
You release the one you’re holding and ruffle her mane, “Come on, I’ve got coco, a fireplace, and Daring Do...plus a bunch of extra blankets so you can crash for the night.” You look for her approval. Her expression lighting up says it all.
“Sounds like a perfect plan to me!”
“Plus, you won’t have to go anywhere to get my present when you wake up tomorrow.” You tease as if the deal needed any sweetening.
She trots after you, a bit stiff from being still for so long, “You got me a present?”
“Yep! My incredible sense of humor.” She punches your leg.
You arrive at your front door with a limp. Pausing, you fish for keys before remembering you stopped locking your door like everypony else. Both of you jam the entrance in your desperation to escape the cold. Saying nothing of it, Dash beelines for the fireplace; she knew your house better than you did considering how much time she spent hanging out. The rush of warmth makes you sigh in relief and you close the portal to the cold, dark world with a silent vow never to step out in it again.
You hear the clack clack of flint and striker and orange flickers of light start dancing around the room, ”Oh thank Celestia!” Dash groans as she turns her butt to the fire and lifts a hind hoof towards the heat.
When you turn around to hang up your jacket, something catches your eye. A stylish cursive hoofwritten note dangling in front of your face on a string:
Happy Hearthswarming!
~Rarity
You follow the string up to the top of your front door frame, “Uh...Dash.”
She looks over at you, perking up as she takes notice of the fresh mistletoe tacked to the threshold, “I-Is that…”
You nod.
The very same mistletoe that’d been on the town tree. The one that’d gone missing. You hear her hoof touch the ground, her attention on you, her eyes were a mixture of surprise and excitement, “A-and we both went through the door at the same time, which means…”
“...We were under it…”
“…together.”
Your pegasus friend stares at you, her prismatic mane silhouetted by soft yellow flame, pensive and hopeful. It didn’t so much matter how it got there as what you were going to do about it.
Screw it; right moment or not your feelings weren’t going to wait. You barely have to think yes to get the doing going. Dash bolts across the room, standing up to place herself in your open arms. Your back bumps into the door and for the briefest moment you catch a snapshot of the sheer need in her eyes...before her lips come crashing down onto yours.
They’re cold, but not for long. The sound of her desperate breathing drowns out even the pounding of your hearts as your arms and forelegs fall around one another. The sheer shock and trepidation that came with passionately kissing your best friend yields to the pent-up affection you didn’t know you needed to express. At some point, all the questions you’d had earlier about what it would be like to kiss a pony get answered. Only you can’t remember what they were. All your mind can focus on is how wonderfully her short pointy muzzle mushes against your mouth, and how you can feel her smile.
Your lips thaw at the same rate as your mutual starvation of intimate touch. Now that you’d discovered an outlet for your emotions, neither of you would dare let go. Breathing through your nose becomes more difficult as you struggle to hold her close enough. To your amazement and joy, you feel her press against you with equal fervor—both reading your mind and appeasing her own innate desires for the same.
The fire flickers behind your closed eyes and her mane tickles your brow. And you stay there, trembling in awe, holding each other close as you rock back and forth, locked in a speechless battle to suck the taste of love from each other’s lips. Her mind felt like an open house and her thoughts seemed to make themselves at home in you with equal ease.
Perhaps the most exhilarating of it all was how she wanted exactly what you did. Between that shared motivation and your re-prioritization of the need to breathe, you stay locked together for an unreasonably long time. Long enough for Dash to be standing in a small puddle of snowmelt from your boots by the time she peels her lips off yours with a supremely satisfying smuah!
When you open your eyes, you find that you’re looking into the shimmering gateways of another mare. It wasn’t a Wonderbolt or an Element of Harmony; not a celebrity, and not even a friend. You were looking at your soulmate. Your other half that’d been stranded a whole other universe away. And now you’d found her, hiding inside this gorgeous rainbow pegasus with a scratchy voice and a runny nose.
She was even rosier than before, but she didn’t seem to care. Her messy mane pours through your fingers as you explore her face in this new light. She looks at you in wonder.
“I…” Your voice was barely strong enough to reach her. You couldn’t finish. All you could do was hold her face and stare into her magenta eyes, sharing her oh-so-sweet breath. Somehow, you know that she knows. And she was saying it right back at you, screaming it out loud with every rush of her breath and beat of her heart.
I love you too!
You turn and pin her to the door. Her hind legs rise up, pawing at your waistline until they finally find purchase and wrap around you to put her at a more comfortable height. Her muzzle darts forward to lick your lips, eagerly exploring the taste she’d only gotten hints of. You lick back, and she gives you one chance to get your fill before your lips meld and the union moves indoors.
You had a lot of making up to do.
The fire finally flickers out, pulling the curtains on your eventful Hearthswarming Eve. The room goes dark and Dash’s eyes lose their color but maintain their happy glimmer.
Your fingers comb through her mane as you stare back at the most important thing in your whole life. Your lips felt chapped from how long you were at it under the mistletoe. Her taste still sits comfortably on the back of your tongue. Nary a word was spoken after that heartfelt and refreshingly exuberant encounter. The rest of your evening had consisted of being wrapped up in each other on the couch. It was an odd change of pace, to say the least. You’d never seen the mile a minute mare sit so still yet seem so comfortable. Then again, you’d never done what you did before.
Even now she still thanked you, silently, with her nudges and her gaze. A whole lifetime’s worth of secrets and commitments were exchanged in the few silent hours you spent locked in each other’s eyes, touching, hugging, and meeting lips again.
Your thoughts drifted to the events of the day, and the festival which was surely over. A smile steals across your face when you imagine all the gossip that’d inevitably spread about you two missing the biggest event of the holiday. You trusted Rarity to keep your secret, for now at least. You certainly owe her one for the thoughtful coincidence of the not so coincidental romantic holiday spirit. And for breaking into her house to look for it in the first place. You take a slow breath, watching it tug at Dash’s mane. You might as well help AJ bale hay while you’re at it.
You sigh, your eyes drifting closed only after Dash’s finally flutter shut. Hot breath warms your neck— the first of many to kiss you tonight. Your lips curl into a grin. No matter what, you knew you wouldn’t have to face tomorrow’s challenges alone.
Or the day after that.
Or the day after that.
Or the day after that...