A light snow was falling in the town of Vanhoover as the townsfolk were hurriedly bustling about. Hearth’s Warming was a mere two days away and some were still rushing to prepare for the holiday season.
Meanwhile, at the city’s train station, the ponies of Barrier’s manor were waiting for a train to arrive.
Swift took a deep breath of the chilly air as she glanced up at a clock on the wall.
“It should be in shortly.” Hatty’s words snapped Swift’s concentration and drew her eyes to the pegasus.
“Buhsuds,” Winter Gem’s speech was muffled from the thick parka that was snuggly wrapped around her entire body. “Ahm zre dad erryfin wuh ee juh fine.”
“I… Thank you?” Swift tilted her head as she tried to decipher what her compatriot had said. It was then that a thought crossed her mind. “Oh! Before I go to Tall Tale, I just recalled that Blockbuster said you have a number of movies that are overdue.” The unicorn mare’s horn flared as she pulled a note from her jacket.
“Uhnu!” Swift was rather surprised that despite only Gem’s snout being exposed to the elements, it had managed to turn a bright red. “Swf, fur da rub uh Faus, dunt reeh duh rizd auh lowh!”
Poor dear, Swift thought to herself as she unfolded the paper. She must be much colder than I thought for her to be this red.
“The movies you need to return are Wild, Wild ‘Cest, Backdoor Ruts 9, Buttmare V. Superschlong: Dawn of Just Ass, Pielander II: The Dickening, Donkey Dong Country Returns, Ejacula’s Guest, Plan 69 from Outer Space, Monster Humper, Hooking Mama, The Humpa Bunch, Mighty Morphin’ Rump Rangers, Dildo’s Bizarre Adventure and A Plug’s Life.”
When Swift looked up from the note, she saw that Hatty’s coat was now as red as Gem’s while Forge was rolling upon the concrete floor, laughing. Verdant and Barrier were biting their lips while Fleet was chuckling from behind the wing she had in front of her face. Wind Whistler was merely giving the parka wearing mare a glare of annoyance.
“Seriously, how much porn do you two go through?” Windy asked while Gem’s face was locked onto Swift.
“Fuff uou, Swf.” Gem’s mumbling couldn’t go any further as the sound of a train whistle echoed throughout the station.
Looking to the source of the sound, Swift saw a train with fancy looking white and blue cars pulling into the station.
“Attention passengers,” a stallion’s voice rang out from the station's speakers. “The four-fifteen train bound for Tall Tale has just arrived. All those bound for Tall Tale, please prepare for boarding.”
“Well, it seems this is where we part ways, my friends,” Swift said before giving each of her housemates a quick hug. “Farewell, my friends. I’ll miss you while I’m with Minty.”
“We’ll miss you too, Swift,” Barrier stated as she finished hugging him.
“Also, I slipped your presents into your bag so you can have more to enjoy with her,” Verdant spoke up. “I hope you’ll like what I put into your sock.”
“I’m certain I will,” Swift replied as she flared her horn to pick up her bag. “Goodbye my friends! Have a Happy Hearth’s Warming!”
A cacophony of farewells and goodbyes came from the household as Swift darted onto the train. Only a few minutes later, the train started to pull away.
Once the train had pulled too far away to be seen from the platform, the gathering of ponies started to trickle out of the station.
“Say guys,” Verdant piped up, drawing the attention of the cobalt unicorn walking alongside him. “The community center’s having a party for Hearth’s Warming Eve. I was wondering if you’d like to come with me. ”
“Hmm… I think I will,” Forge replied with a slight smile. “Will I be able to bring Snow?”
“Of course,” the shamrock stallion answered as he faced Hatty and Gem. “How about you two?”
A groaning came from Gem as she struggled to adjust the tight hood of her parka, finally succeeding in freeing her mouth. “We’re gonna have to pass. Hatty and I will be at a party that my cousins will be having and we won’t be heading back until late.”
“No problem.” Verdant nodded before looking over to the four remaining housemates. “How about the rest of you?”
“I think I’ll pass on that,” Barrier flatly answered. “I don’t really know that many ponies and I think I’d rather just stay at home.”
Fleet and Daring both replied similarly while Windy pulled down on Barrier’s foreleg. “Can we do some stuff at home, Uncle? Maybe watch some movies, play some games and bake some holiday treats?”
“I think renting some movies would be a fine idea, Wind Whistler. Maybe play a game or two.” Barrier smiled down at her before giving her mane a light tussle. “As for baking, I think—”
“I could probably help with that,” a mare’s voice drew the household’s eyes to the side, where they saw Fruity Punch and Sweet Honey walking towards them.
Punch was sporting a thick white jacket that contrasted her electric pink pants. Upon each of her hooves was a long fuzzy pink boot with white trim. Upon her head was a matching touque.
Meanwhile, Sweet Honey was merely wearing a deep red scarf with her wings outstretched to carry a collection of shopping bags.
“That’s quite the generous offer, Punch,” Barrier stated as the two mares approached. “Still, I wouldn’t want you to keep you away from your family on Hearth’s Warming Eve.”
Punch bit her lip, rubbing one foreleg with another. “Yeah… About that…”
“Sadly, we can’t really visit family,” Honey said as she stepped ahead of her sister. “Mom and the rest of the family are really busy with stuff back home, so they had to turn down a lot of visiting family this year.”
“I figured it’d be kinda lonely just having Honey with me for the holidays, so I was thinking maybe I could spend some time with some friends of ours,” Punch then said. “Besides, I want to try cooking some desserts and Honey wouldn’t try mine.”
“Because I want to be able to fit into my postal uniform by the time New Year’s Eve comes by,” Honey said as she gave her sister a gentle jab with a foreleg.
“Well, I think that sounds reasonable.” Fleet’s words brought a smile to the pink unicorn’s face. “What do you say, Barrier? Yearling?”
Barrier hummed as he considered the sisters’ offer. “Well, that does sound fairly nice and gives me an excuse not to cook… Alright, sure.”
“Thanks, you guys!” Punch cheerfully said as she pulled Barrier into a tight hug. “This’ll be great! I’ll be baking up a storm and we can all kick back, watch some fun movies and play games together.”
“Speaking of movies,” Daring said as she adjusted her glasses before looking towards Hatty and Gem. She then pulled a bag of bits out from under her schall. “How about you go rent the movies while returning your late rentals.”
Gem’s coat turned scarlet once more as she grabbed the bag of bits, muttering what Barrier assumed was a series of mild curses.
“Rest assured, everypony,” Punch said with a grin that threatened to split her face. “I’m gonna do everything I can to make this the best Hearth’s Warming ever!”
***
The community center was absolutely bustling as the party was underway. The room normally reserved for athletic training had all the sports and training equipment put away and replaced with rows of tables. One row was stocked with snacks while another row was stacked with dozens of gift boxes.
“This is quite the grand assortment,” Forge muttered to himself as he and Snow looked over the large collection of decoratively wrapped boxes.
“You should have been here the other day when they were wrapping the toys and stuff for charity,” Snow said as he laid a wing on Forge’s back. “I swear, there was at least three times the amount of gifts there.”
“Well, that’s good to hear.” Forge turned to address his mate. “I’m sure those ponies will have a ha—”
The distracted unicorn’s words were interrupted when he bumped into a pegasus stallion who was placing a box on the table.
“Oh, my apologies, sir,” Forge hastily said as he used his magic to gently dust the pegasus off and smooth out his feathers.
“Eh, no problem there… Hey, Forge!” the pegasus joyfully said before suddenly pulling Forge into a hug. It took a moment, but the surprised unicorn soon recognized the smiling stallion.
“Oh, a pleasure to see you, Stormy Sea,” Forge replied as he returned the smile. “How is your wife doing?”
“I’m doing fine, save for the whole ‘feeling sick in the mornings’ thing,” Jaylin’s voice rang out, drawing Forge’s eye to a nearby snack table where he saw her approaching while enjoying a gingerbread cookie. “How are you doing, Baby Daddy?”
“Oh, I’m guessing you’re that couple Forge donated to,” Snow said as he moved ahead, holding out a foreleg. “Nice to meet you. I’m Forge’s boyfriend, Snow Sweeper.”
“Nice to meetcha, Snow,” Jaylin said through a mouthful of cookie before swallowing and grabbing Snow’s hoof. “Jaylin Blauhäher. You’ve already met my husband.”
“Yes, I have,” Snow replied as he gave a warm smile.
“So, Jaylin,” Forge started with a hint of nervousness in his tone. “How’s the… pregnancy going?
The blue jay-like griffin chuckled before patting her belly. “Just fine so far, Forge. I’m barely pregnant and aside from the morning sickness, I’d say everything’s going smoothly.”
“Okay. I’m just a bit… nervous. Never done anything like this before.” The faintest of blushes appeared on Forge’s face as he rubbed the back of his neck. It was then he was pulled into a hug by a once more chuckling Jaylin.
“Hey, relax there,” she said as she tightened her hug. “If anything happens, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Plus, you’re not the only one with first time parent jitters,” Stormy interjected as he joined at his wife’s side and patted Forge’s back with a wing. “Rest assured though, there’s no better place for someone to be than inside my dear Jaylin.”
A mischievous grin stretched across Snow’s muzzle. “You say from experience.”
Jaylin suddenly roared with laughter as she pulled away from Forge to slap her talons against the table. It took a long moment for her laughter to settle down. Stormy slapped a hoof against his forehead as his cheeks turned crimson.
“Oh, Forge, you’ve got a real keeper here,” Jaylin chortled as she wiped a tear from her eyes.
“I certainly do.” Forge smiled as he wrapped a foreleg around Snow’s. The movement made the snowy pegasus smile warmly before they gave each other a quick kiss on the lips. “I always liked stallions that could make me laugh.”
“Then how come you’re not with Hatty?” Snowy asked with a smirk.
“Laugh with their wit, not at their stupidity, dear,” Forge replied before the pair started to giggle.
Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Hatty sneezed and he didn’t know why.
***
In another part of the party, Verdant and Erica were enjoying the songs the partygoers were singing, even joining in on a few. The pair had a good laugh at the fun they were having as a pegasus mare with a snowy white coat that sharply stood out against her deep red and forest green mane stepped up to a small platform and picked up a microphone.
“Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve everypony.” The mare’s voice boomed throughout the room, drawing the eyes of all the party-goers. “My name is Frosty Night and I’m the organizer for this year’s festivities. I hope you’re all enjoying the little party we’re having.”
The snowy mare then raised a wing in front of her face to read off a little card held between her feathers.
“Before we start the Secret Gift Exchange, I have an announcement to make.” A tender smile came across her face as her eyes started to slightly water. “Thanks to the generous donations of everyone in Vanhoover, we have received record numbers of toys for underprivileged families, as well as record high numbers of bits and food donated to the local food bank.”
A tear streamed down Frosty’s face as she dropped her wing to face the applauding crowd. “It really warms the heart to see the people of Vanhoover are so willing to help those in need. Thank you all.”
The crowd erupted into applause and cheers once more as a large cow walked onto the stage beside Frosty, carrying a top hat in her mouth.
“Thank you, Bea.” Frosty smiled warmly to the black and white bovine “Now, it’s time we begin the Secret Gift Exchange. When I draw your name from the hat, you can go to the table to retrieve your present. First up, Alfredo.”
“WHAT?!”
After several minutes had passed, Frosty Night called Pixel Flash’s name and the violet coated mare began to search the table.
“Watch this,” Verdant whispered into Erica’s ear as Pix reached a large box covered in gray wrapping paper with red bows. “She’s gonna love this.”
Erica’s curiosity peaked as Pixel Flash let out a chuckle.
“Yeah, I know how this gag goes,” Pix said aloud as her horn began to glimmer in a light gray and tug on the ribbons. “I unwrap this thing and it’ll have a box in a box that keeps on going until I get to the real present.”
To the surprise of not only Pix, but the entire crowd, the wrapping paper fell away to reveal a cabinet for Super Marinara Sisters. A large collection of gasps rang out at the sight of the large gift.
“Wow, Pix,” High Gear said as she strolled up to Pix’s side. “That’s certainly a nice surprise, right? ...Pix?”
High Gear gave the stunned unicorn a gentle pat on the side, causing her to topple over like a statue.
“Did you get that for her?” Erica whispered in askance to Verdant as High Gear pulled Pix back onto her hooves.
“Yep,” Verdant replied with a cocky grin on his face.
“How the hay did you manage to keep that in the twenty bit spending limit?” Erica asked as Pixel Flash rushed up to the cabinet and started to hug it, wagging her tail like a puppy.
“I’m one heck of a negotiator,” Verdant casually replied. That’s it, Verdant. Keep smiling and pretend you didn’t forget the spending limit like an idiot.
“So Pix,” High Gear said after managing to pry her girlfriend off the cabinet. “How are we gonna get this home?”