//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: A Heartwarming Eve. 
// by Dsanders17 
//------------------------------//


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"We're almost there Pink! Just a few more steps!" A brownish stallion exclaimed with excitement to the pink mare walking carefully right beside him.

"I'm really excited to see the surprise Orion, but you've been having me keep my eyes closed this whole time. I just don't want to slip and fall. Plus, this trail we've been going on seems dangerously steep." The mare responded feeling a little unease.

"Don't worry Pink Mist, I won't let you fall. I promise." Orion said giving a warmhearted smile as he put a comforting hoof around her. "And trust me, the surprise you are about to see is totally worth it."

"Well, I do trust you Skies." Pink Mist replied warmly, referring to him by his last name as she returned a smile with her eyes still closed shut.

The pink mare was feeling a lot safer and more comfortable with Orion's hoof on her shoulder. He was like her guide, her guardian, and she didn't have much to fear with him in her presence. Pink Mist trusted him more than anything, and deep down inside, she knew that nothing would ever get in the way of that. Unluckily, her peaceful thoughts were then abruptly cut short, when her next blind step was one on a solid patch of ice. She suddenly almost slipped and let out a quick scream as she immediately latched on to Orion as if by muscle reflex.

"Woah! Pink! It's alright! I'm here! I got you!" The stallion tried reassuring her, a little caught off-guard and overwhelmed by the surprisingly strong grip of her hoofs. "Y-you're starting to suffocate me." Orion remarked half-jokingly and with some strain.

"Oh um, sorry... I was just testing out my strength on you! He-he." The mare awkwardly replied and giggled as she loosened her grip, before giving Orion Skies a little nuzzle.

"Well you're definitely strong." The stallion responded giving a little warm laugh. "Anyways, you can open your eyes now. We're finally here."

"Really!? Yay! I've been waiting for your surprise all day! Like, you have no idea!" Pink Mist exclaimed with utmost excitement as she opened her brilliant emerald eyes. She turned to face Orion with a great expression of eagerness and happiness. "So, where are we exactly? Is this my surprise?"

"Your surprise is not here on the mountain top Misty-pie, it's way out there." Orion explained as he turned and pointed his hoof at the beautiful scenery ahead of them. "Just look!"

Pink Mist was utterly awestruck by the full majestic beauty that was right before her eyes. The entire panoramic view from the summit the mountain comprised of; all of Equestria and beyond. Looking straight ahead, she could see Cloudsdale closer than ever before. Towards the earth below she could see all of Ponyville, the entire range of the snow-covered Everfree forest, and even caught a little glimpse of Appleloosa in the far horizon. All the places she'd already traveled to, wanted to travel to, and beyond were right there below.

"What do you think?" Orion asked, noticing that his fillyfriend was mesmerized by the glorious scenery in front of her.

The pink mare turned to face the stallion, smiling wider than ever before as subtle tears began forming in her happy eyes. "I-I don't know what to say. It all looks so b-beautiful! To be able to see the world below like this... it's ...sublime." She then pulled Orion into a great hug before giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you."

Orion equally returned the heartfelt hug. "At the end of every adventure, is an amazing reward. This marvelous view of Equestria and Luna's wondrous night-sky is our reward for making it all the way up here, and I am thankful to be sharing this reward with you."

Pink Mist gently pulled herself out of the hug and her eyes met with Orion's. "Oh Orion. This is definitely an awesome reward and I'm proud to share it with you too!"

"I just can't believe we've been together for over three months!" Orion Skies responded enthusiastically "And along with that, Hearth's Warming Eve is... well it's tomorrow!"

"Our first Hearth's Warming Eve together! Yay!" The pink mare yelled with great excitement, pulling Orion back into a tight hug.

"Now now. Don't get yourself too excited. Nah, I'm just kidding, get as excited as you want!" The stallion replied happily, gently nuzzling against her mane.

Orion Skies and Pink Mist spent the next couple of hours sitting and resting on the mountaintop, gazing endlessly at all the scenery, pointing out the constellations in the night sky, and various little towns below. They snuggled closely to keep each other warm through the blistering cold. They talked on and on about the beauty of winter, the appreciation that they shared for Princess Luna, and a little bit about their hopeful future.

However, unbeknownst to the pink mare, Orion had quite a lot on his mind; his biggest concern was on Hearth's Warming Eve. It was only just a morning away and he was still clueless as to what kind of gift he should give her. That fact alone made him feel horrible and greatly distressed, but of course, he didn't show it. He just wanted to temporarily put aside all his worries, and cherish the romantic moment he was having with her now. Though, there was one question that he thought wouldn't hurt to ask her.

"Hey, mind if I ask you something?"

"No, of course not. I don't mind at all." Pink Mist answered, giving him yet another one of her trademark cute smiles.

"What was your greatest Hearth's Warming Eve memory?" Orion asked, showing keen interest.

Pink Mist looked at him with a rather gloom expression suddenly forming on her face. "Oh... well to be honest, I've... never really had the chance to celebrate the holiday.''

Orion was greatly surprised by the unexpected response. His optimistic and ecstatic mood took a complete 180. He was beginning to feel quite regretful and terrible for bringing the touchy subject up in the first place.

"Oh... I-I'm really sorry about that. I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have even asked..." Orion trailed off sadly.

Nicely done Orion Skies, you've ruined what would've been a beautiful unforgettable night. Orion thought sarcastically.

"No, Orion! You have nothing to be sorry about! It's okay." Pink Mist replied trying to reassure him. "It's just... it's just the past. It doesn't mean anything now. I mean I would've loved to celebrate Hearth's Warming Eve with my parents when I was younger...but that just never happened...I never even had a gift given to me before...I have no idea why. That was just the way things were for me. Only me..." She continued before trailing off herself..

"I can tell that it still seems to upset you." Orion replied with great sympathy.

"Well of course it does!" The pink mare suddenly and impetuously snapped at him. "You have no idea what it's like! Do you know what I've had to go throu-" Pink Mist immediately cut herself short as she realized that her emotions were getting the better of her.

Though being the typically kind, bubbly, and cheerful mare she was, she did have her fiery moments on rare distressful occasions. What really surprised her, though, was how she was blowing her steam off on Orion Skies, when his only "crime" was asking what he thought was a harmless question.

"W-what am I doing?" She asked herself before Orion pulled her into a comforting hug as she began to break down into tears.

"I'm sorry... I don't know what just came over me. I'm not usually like this. It's just the past. I-I just never really had a real Hearth's Warming Eve before. I barely even know what the holiday is like..." She managed to explain through her sobbing.

"It's alright Misty-pie. I forgive you. You didn't mean it. I'm here." Orion softly said to her in a soothing tone of voice as he gently patted and stroked her back. "Look we're both just really tired and drained from a long day."

"Y-you're right Orion. I'm hardly ever like this so it must be the lack of sleep." Pink Mist replied as she lifted up her head to face Orion, gazing deeply into his greenish eyes. "You know, I really like how we share the same eye color. When will these similarities ever end?" She remarked with a little giggle, giving a small smile as her mood was returned back to normal.

"Yeah we definitely need some rest now." Orion responded half-jokingly.

"So do we have to go all the way back to our home? That's like 20 miles away from here, not to mention, down this steep mountain! I don't know if I even have any more energy left in me to go another mile." The pink mare explained with a worried look on her face.

Orion Skies gave a little chuckle. "I hardly have any energy left in me too Misty-pie, however, we didn't hike all the way up here just to get stranded and freeze to death on the summit. I never embark on these adventures unprepared and I probably should've told you earlier about the second surprise I have in store for you." He explained giving a reassuring wink to the pink pony.

"Really? Wow. Where is it?" Pink Mist asked, beaming with excitement.

"Follow me." Orion said as he began trotting down a nearby trail. Pink Mist quickly followed, and to her relief, this trail was a lot less steep than the one they took to ascend the mountain. The trail, which led them through a thick pine forest, had a few tricky twists and turns. But with Orion not making her close her eyes this time, she was feeling much more adventurous and far less worried. As Pink Mist decided to pick up the speed and trot faster, so did Orion, and the next thing they knew, a mini-race ensued.

"Oh you're on!" The speeding stallion yelled enthusiastically.

"What's the matter Skies? Afraid of losing to a... mare!?" Pink Mist yelled back wearing a determined and mischievous grin.

The playful race continued on for another five minutes, before they finally came to a stop at the end of the trail which was at the front of a large wooden cabin. Pink Mist victoriously won the race, arriving at the trail's end a few seconds before Orion.

"Not bad. We'll have a rematch when we're fully awake though. And then we'll see who's the real champion here. Just wait." Orion winked at the winning mare.

"I'll be waiting. But I already know who's gonna win." The pink mare winked back.

"By who, we are obviously referring to me, of course."

"I wasn't referring to you. I was totally saying me." Pink Mist retorted, giving a little smirk.

"No need to get cocky now." Orion Skies laughed. "Anyways, what do you think of the second surprise?"

Pink Mist turned her attention to the large log cabin her colt-friend was referring to and gazed at it with a great feeling of awe. The entire cabin was 20 feet in width, and stood at least 15 feet above the ground. On the roof, a sturdy brick chimney was protruding out from its thin blanket of snow. At the front of the cabin was a smooth oaken door with one large window built-in to the right side of it.

"You like it?" Orion asked giving an eager smile. "I built it several months ago last time I hiked up here. Took a few weeks and many epic failures, but now looking back in retrospect, I'd say all the hard work was well worth it."

"I didn't know that you have a hoof at wood-crafting!" The pink mare said in amazement.

"I don't." The stallion laughed. "You have no idea how difficult it was for me to get it like this. But this mountain is such a beautiful and great location for a little home, that I just had to build some kind of residence here." He explained as he walked up to the cabin and opened the door before looking at her. "Come inside, it's a bit warmer in here."

As Pink Mist followed Orion to the inside of the cabin, she was further impressed by how the interior looked. It was simple but nicely arranged. Towards the center back wall was an unlit fireplace holding nothing but a pile of old ash. Nearby was a large red and rectangular carpet with an embedded aesthetic pattern. It was covered in some dust but other than that, it was in perfect condition.

"I still can't believe you put this all together Orion. It looks lovely. But we'll need some logs and a fire for the fireplace to stay warm here for the rest of the night."

"Oh yeah! Be right back!" Orion exclaimed. Before Pink Mist could say another word, the stallion took off. He galloped out the door and quickly made his way to the back of the cabin. He stopped as to his utter delight, there laid a large pile of unused pine-logs. He managed to pick up one big log with his mouth as he quickly ran back to the front before reentering the cabin.

"I kneew I haugh a pilee offf logs somware." Orion managed to say, muffled by the log in his mouth.

"You're not a dog, silly filly." The pink mare laughed as she walked over to him. "Here, let me get that for you." She happily offered as she carefully took the log out of his mouth before tossing it into the hearth of the fireplace.

"Might want to get a few more logs though. Just in case."

"Alright, I'll make sure to be quick. The sooner we can get the fire set, the sooner we can finally get some rest." Orion smiled before taking off once again. Orion was beginning to feel more exhausted than ever before. He was quite thankful that those were his last small trips for the rest of the night.

After taking two more quick trips and retrieving a few more logs for the fireplace, it was finally set and ready for a fire.

"Now we just need something to light it up." Pink Mist noted.

"Way ahead of you!" Orion Skies replied as he walked over to the nearby carpet, cleaning all the little dust off of it. He lifted it up to reveal a little stack of matches hidden underneath. He took one as he then gently lowered the rug back into place and made his way to the hearth of the fireplace. He quickly rubbed it against the mantle and ignited it before immediately throwing it into the pile of logs.

A fire slowly but surely kindled and the whole exterior of the cabin now had a bright light. It was a beautiful sight and the two ponies were glad to know that finally, they had a warm shelter to stay at.

Orion laid himself down comfortably on the carpet and Pink Mist immediately followed suit. She rested herself closely next to Orion and embraced him in a heartwarming hug as she slowly closed her eyes. They exchanged a little nuzzle before Orion gently kissed her on the forehead.

"Good night Misty Pie, I love you."

"I love you too Sky-Sky."

And in the comfort of each other's deep embrace, along with the warmth coming from the nearby fireplace, they slept peacefully through the night.


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