Applejack yawned.
It was late, and outside the snow was falling ever so gently. That, combined with a warm fireplace, and a comfy couch, meant it was the ideal place for a good long nap. but She wouldn't, not right now at least. Soon enough she would be in her own bed, cuddling up to her husband.
Husband, Applejack looked up from the paper she had been reading twice now. Her green eyes landed on the Alicorn stallion laying next to her, his ice blue eyes going over the names on part of the long list he had brought up with him after his work.
She smiled gently, watching as he went over each name, checking each name twice before he put a mark next to each name with his quill. Both the list and quill were floating in the air, a faint blue aura around them. Nicholas's magic. It still amazed Applejack how quickly Nicholas had gotten used to using magic, and his new body.
Despite the change, whenever she looked at him, Applejack could still see the little boy she had known as a filly, and later when he became a man.
So much has happened over the years. Thinking back to her first meeting with Nicholas, she went over the events of the life they had shared. Them meeting on the first day of school. Nicholas carving a wooden pony with her as a model. The birth of his younger brother, and her younger sister.
The loss of her parents, and her leaving for Manehatten. She got her cutie mark, and Nicholas met Mina and the other elves in the Everfree. Then of course there was the first night Nicholas ever went on to deliver presents to all the foals of Ponyville.
Even to this day, Applejack still had to admire what Nicholas did then. He had wanted to give back to all the ponies he saw as his family. Haven grew up knowing he was different, it had bothered Nicholas more than he had let show. But it also fueled his gratitude to all the ponies of Ponyville who had accepted him.
That simple gesture became a yearly tradition, and that tradition had led to his first workshop, and later to all of this. Now he was something more, serving the whole world, spreading good cheer, and the spirit of Hearth's Warming. It made Applejack proud that she got to share that with him, to stand by his side.
But to her, he was still the human boy she knew. That jolly loyal friend who liked to make toys, and eat lots of cookies. Glancing to the table beside Nicholas, she spotted a cup of hot cocoa, and a plate with cookies.
She couldn't help it, she giggled a little.
Nicholas looked at her, smiling. "What?"
"Oh nuthin." Applejack said, hiding her giggle behind a hoof. "I just thought about how adorable you look."
Nicholad chuckled, leaning in and gently pressed his nose against hers. "Silly mare," said Nicholas. "But that's why I love you."
Applejack raised a teasing eyebrow. "That's the only reason? Nicholas Claus, I expect you to at least also love me for my cooking as well."
Nicholas let out a small laugh, and nodded, waving a hoof defensively. "You're right, you're right. That too." He leaned in and kissed her again. "And so much more." He added, making Applejack blush.
"That's better." She said mock sternly. With a small tired yawn, she looked down at the pile of letters she had read, and then back at the massive sack still full of them. "You're getting even more than last year."
"And the year before that." Nicholas chuckled, levitating the list and quill to the side. "Perhaps we should turn in for the night. You probably need some rest too." He said, looking not in her eyes but further down.
Applejack turned her head, looking at her side, seeing the still small growth of her stomach. She smiled, running her hoof over it a few times. "Only a few more months." She said in almost a whisper. "I still can't believe it, we're going to be parents."
Nicholas chuckled, leaning in and nuzzled her. "I can hardly wait."
Applejack looked at him and grinned. "Oh I know, don't think I haven't noticed you making all kinds of new toys. If ya keep going like this, we'll run out of rooms!" She laughed, and Nicholas did too, although blushing a bit as he did so.
"I'm sorry, I'm just excited."
"I know that, sugarcube." She said in a more gentle tone. "I'm excited too." She looked back down at her barrel, smiling as he kept gently rubbing it. "We have been through so much. I sometimes wonder what my life would be like if you hadn't come knocking."
Nicholas placed a hoof on hers. "I know my life would have been less without you. Without my family, or Ponyville."
She smiled, and gave a nod. "I think mine would have been less too." She said, scooting a bit closer so she could lean against Nicholas. "All the times Twilight and my friends needed me. I'm glad I was there for them and my family. But I always looked forward to coming home to you."
True enough, the adventures she had with Twilight and the others had certainly been eventful. Nicholas hadn't been around for it, he had been busy enough getting himself established here. Applejack however, she had lived here, but also in Ponyville, she had friends and responsibilities she could not, and would not ignore. Nicholas understood that.
But now life seems to have calmed down. Things had changed. All of Applejack's friends were living their own lives now, like Applejack, their responsibilities had grown. They still visited of course, and saw each other whenever they had time for it. If they could not, they would send frequent letters, so they never felt far apart.
It was like that for Nicholas and his family too. They would often visit, and often send letters. Nicholas liked to pop in for a visit now and again, and so while they lived far apart, they never really felt distant.
He was brought out of his thoughts as Applejack started to chuckle, and he looked at her with a smirk. "What now?"
"Remember the first night when you introduced yourself to the princesses?" Applejack asked, and Nicholas could not help but chuckle too at the memory.
"Yeah, it isn't something I'll forget any time soon." His chuckle became more of a laughter as the events replayed in his mind. "Remember Twilight's reaction when I finally met her?"
Applejack laughed, leaning a bit more against him for support. "Twilight's jaw almost hit the ground!"
They both laughed heartily as the memories of the last ten years came back to them.