Two ponies curled up together.
“May I hear a story, Cadie?” a purple filly asks.
“Of course, Twily!” the pink mare told her. Twily giggled and snuggled closer to Cadence. “What do you want to hear?”
“The story of Santa Hooves!” Twily said promptly.
“Santa Hooves? Well, you know he’s coming tonight.” Twily giggled.
“I do!”
“And you know he sneaks down the chimney, while his magical reindeer wait on the roof,” Cadence continued.
“What are reindeer?” Twily asked.
“They’re animals that are very much like us, but they live with Santa Hooves up north,” Cadie explained.
“Cool!”
“Tonight, Santa will sneak down the chimney, to see all the good fillies and colts, and give them presents!”
“Will I get that book I’ve been wanting?” Twily asked, eyes wide. Cadence laughed.
“Maybe.”
“I hope he comes!” Twily cried.
“I’m sure he will!” Cadence pretended to glare at Twily. “Why, have you not been good this year?” She started tickling Twily.
“I have! I have!” Twi giggled.
“Good. So Santa will give you a candy cane, a miniature version of the North Pole! It’s very yummy.” Twily’s belly rumbled.
“Just thinking about it makes me hungry!” Twily complained. They both giggled.
“One day, Santa Hooves was busy helping his Flutterpony friends make toys for all the foals of the world,” Cadence began the story.
“And books, right?” Twily asked.
Cadence laughed. “Yes, Twily. And books.”
“Good!” she cried, relieved.
“The Flutterponies were working so hard that year! Santa Hooves watched them make the toys, wrap them, and add them to a pile so Santa could sign them. Everything was going really well!” Cadence told her.
“Then what happened?” Twily asked, knowing something would go wrong. That’s what usually happened in stories.
“The floor started cracking! All the toys fell through the cracks! ‘What do we do?’ Santa Hooves moaned. ‘Hearth’s Warming is only a week away!’ Everypony started panicking.”
“Then, a brave little Flutterpony flew through the hole to find the gifts! She swooped down and saw a giant empire! The Crystal Empire! It wasn’t a hole in the floor, it was a portal!” Twily piped in. She remembered reading about the Empire in one of her favorite books. Cadence flinched, but Twily didn’t notice.
“Yes,” Cadence finally said. “It was a portal. The brave little Flutterpony raced up through the portal to tell Santa Hooves.”
“Santa nodded and sent a Flutterpony team to gather the gifts before anypony found them, or worse, they didn’t have enough time to get ready for Hearth’s Warming!” Twilight added. “Of course, the brave Flutterpony who found the portal was leading the team. Her name was Snow Crystal.”
“Snow Crystal led the team through the portal. They ate their Changeling Crystals, which would help them camouflage and blend in the crowd for two hours. After that, if they didn’t change back using the other crystals, they were stuck in that form,” Cadence continued.
“Snow Crystal looked into her Guide to the Crystal Empire book, and decided to start on Amethyst Avenue. The team searched and searched, but only found two presents before lunchtime!” Twilight cried.
“They finally had to stop and rest. Meanwhile, a pink mare and a purple foal had found one of the boxes.”
“Us!” Twily squealed, rolling over. She started jumping on the bed.
“Stop jumping on the bed, Twi. Yes, us. The pink mare picked up the box. ‘What’s that?’ the filly asked. ‘I don’t know,’ the mare responded. Twily ripped it from Cadence’s grasp and opened it,” Cadence said.
“Twily gasped. ‘It’s the book I’ve been wanting!’ she cried. ‘This will help me on my entrance exam to the Princess’ school!’ she squealed. ‘Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes-”
Cadence smiled. “‘Wow Twilight! Congratulations!’ Cadence told her.”
“Twily grinned. Neither of them could stop smiling. ‘This is the best week-before-Hearth’s Warming EVER!” she said excitedly,” Twilight continued the story.
“Meanwhile, the Flutterponies were looking everywhere,” Cadence exclaimed. "They were soooooooo worried! ‘Hearth’s Warming will be ruined!’ Snow cried. ‘There’s only one present left to find, but it’s for somepony who really needs it!’”
“Twilight and Cadence saw this. Twily sheepishly brought the gift over. ‘Is this what you were looking for?’ she asked. Snow Crystal’s eyes lit up. ‘You found it!’ she cried. Twily looked ready to cry. She’d been really hoping to get the book, but she knew they needed it more than she did. She handed it to them. ‘Here it is,’ she said, handing it over to Snow.” Twilight started bouncing again.
“Stop bouncing, Twi,” Cadence said again. “Snow looked at her checklist. ‘Is your name Twilight Sparkle?’ she asked. ‘Yes,’ Twily said a bit shyly. Snow Crystal handed the box back to her. ‘Then this is yours.’ Twily looked like she wanted to give Snow Crystal a BIG hug. ‘Thank you!’ she cried. Snow smiled. ‘You’re welcome.’ She and the other Flutterponies waved goodbye, and flew back up through the portal. Twily and Cadie watched.
“‘Happy Hearth’s Warming,’ Twily whispered,” Twilight said as she sat down.
“Once they were back up, Snow took the second crystal. She told Santa Hooves everything. Santa smiled when he heard what Twily had done. ‘That’s the Hearth’s Warming spirit,’ he cried. When Hearth’s Warming came, Twily found a note on her note. It was only two words, but it meant so much. Thank you.” Cadence concluded the story.
Twilight clapped. “Yay!!! That was a good story!” she cried.
Cadence smiled down at her. “You know, that was a very nice thing you did,” she told her.
“What? I didn’t do anything,” Twily said, puzzled.
“Not in real life, but you let your story self give back what you wanted most,” Cadence explained. “That takes true heart, love, friendship, and kindness.”
“Friendship?” Twily asked. “You and Shining are my only friends!”
Cadence laughed and shook her head. “Good night, Twily.” She kissed her forehead, tucked her in, and turned out the light. As soon as Cadence was gone, Twily moved the milk and cookies closer to her bed, and wrote down a note. Thank you. She sat there, wide awake, until she finally drifted off to sleep, Smarty Pants in her arms. Outside, the sweet sound of jingle bells could be heard. Ring, ring, ring. Jingle, jingle, jingle. Santa smiled as he crept into Twilight’s room. No, thank you. As he crunched on the cookies, he thought he saw the hint of a smile on her face.
He did.