Rarity walked upstairs. It had all felt so real. The manikin’s voice. The sound of chains. The way it had told Rarity that three spirits would visit her. And apparently they each represented the past, present and future. She laughed to herself. Rarity had no idea she had such an outstanding imagination.
As she was strolling up the flight of stairs, she was met with yet another strange sound. It was laughter. A high-pitched giggle. Had Sweetie Belle returned home without her noticing it? Rarity ran to the second floor, but what she saw made her want to go back downstairs. Lying on her divan, a crystal white pegasus pony was cackling loudly with a book in its hooves. Once Rarity saw what book it was holding, she used her magic to rip it out of the stranger’s possession. “Who are you? Do you realize you are intruding a private property?”
The pony kept laughing. Its silver mane was long and curly. The coat was nearly the same shade as Rarity’s, although noticeably brighter. “You look so cute as a baby.”
Rarity snarled. She looked at the photo album, which floated in the air before her, and saw herself sitting in a cradle while wearing a diaper. Her head was bald expect a small tuft of purple hair which grew on her scalp like a discolored piece of weed. Then she tucked the book back underneath the divan where it came. “How did you break in?”
“I didn’t.” The pony flapped its wings and hovering in the air just above Rarity. “Didn’t the manikin bring you up to speed? I’m the spirit of Heart’s Warming Eve’s past. I’m here to help you remember some of the things you have forgotten.”
“Well, I don’t need your help. What I really need is some sleep.”
“Oh, come on. It’ll be fun. You can sleep later.”
Rarity sighed. “For your information I’ve been working all day. And as a result I’m seeing walking manikins and pegasi claiming to be spirits. Which is why I have to sleep. Now.” She threw herself on the divan and shut her eyes tightly, trying to block out the world around her. Hopefully the white pegasus would disappear eventually, just like the living manikin had gone back to normal.
“You are all about work and sleep, aren’t you? When was the last time you reflected over things? Over your life? Over your past?”
“I do that all the time,” Rarity said with her eyes closed.
“Your past is fading away from you, Rarity. In time you will have forgotten it completely.”
“That’s what the photo album is for.”
“You mean this thing?” Rarity felt a breeze in her face, and she opened her eyes at once. The pegasus grabbed the album from beneath the divan. “You haven’t been looking at them that often, it seems. The pictures are all very dusty.”
“That’s because they are old.” For the second time tonight Rarity jumped off from the divan after being abruptly disturbed. She breathed like an angry bull while staring at the pegasus who was flying in circles around the room. The photo album rested on its stomach, and the pony wetted a hoof before turning a page. “Give that back. It’s private.”
“You’ll have to catch me first.” The white pony disappeared down the stairways like a gust of snowy wind. Its invading giggle could still be heard. Rarity snarled and galloped after the sound of laughter in hot pursuit.
Downstairs Rarity heard the doorbell ring. She dreaded the noise so much that she fired a blue spell which caused the bell to break off the wall before falling to the ground along with a crumbled pile of dust. Rarity stormed out of the Boutique. Once she was outside, she was hit in the face by a fierce gust of wind. The weather had worsened. A violent snowstorm was currently ruling over Ponyville, and both the storm and the night greatly limited Rarity’s view. She used her magic to light up the area around her, though it only proved to be minor effective. She could not see the pegasus. Even if was flying just two feet from her face she probably wouldn’t have noticed. Its coat was white like the snow, so it was pointless to look for it. Rarity listened for a giggle in the distant, but she could only hear the sound of the whooshing stream of air, which flew right past her ears.
“Oh? I didn’t think you would come.”
It was the pegasus' voice. Rarity was sure. “What have you done to my album?” She turned around on the spot without knowing where to look.
“You’ll get it later. First I have to show you something.”
Rarity felt something wrap around her front legs. Before she could react she was pulled upwards by force. The ground disappeared beneath her hooves. She looked down and saw the Carousel Boutique grow smaller and smaller. She screamed.
“Relax. It’s all part of the process.”
Even though it wasn’t the smartest thing to do, Rarity twisted her body in order to escape the pegasus’s grip. “Let me go, you ruffian!” The pony, who was holding on to Rarity, continued laughing cheerfully.
Rarity shut her eyes closely. She was stiff of the coolness of the storm and of fright. But after only a few seconds she felt snow-covered ground under her hooves once again. Rarity opened her eyes carefully and saw the pegasus land right next to her. She was shaking of cold and grinded her teeth.
“If I catch a cold, it’s because of you,” she snapped. “And I don’t have time to catch a cold.”
The pegasus waved a hoof in front of her. “We have all the time in the world.”
“Look what you did to my mane!” Rarity grabbed a lock of hair in her hoof and stared at it with terror. The mane was full of snowflakes and completely ruffled by the wind.
“Now we look alike.” The pegasus shook its head, swirling its frizzy hair.
“Where are we?” Wherever the pegasus had chosen to transport Rarity to, it was someplace where the storm wasn’t. The wind was silent. The only sign of winter was the powder-like snow underneath her hooves. The white unicorn and pegasus were standing before a light brown house with black timberwork. A lantern above the only door colored the snow a warm yellow color.
“In the past.”
Rarity snorted. “Yeah, right!” She looked around. It was hard to see much in the dark night. Were they still in Ponyville? The pegasus couldn’t possibly have flown to a different town in the short time they had been in the air.
“Don’t you remember this house?” The pegasus pointed at the building. Rarity squinted. She had a slight recollection about the place, but she couldn’t say for sure. There was a stone stepladder to the front door. A Heart’s Warming’s decoration hung on the wooden door. A braided ring of green pine branches with a red bow on the top. She remembered having seen the decoration somewhere before, but that didn’t prove that she knew the house. A lot of ponies had that sort of decoration. After a while she shook her head. “Really? It’s from the photo album that you seem to be so interested in.”
The pegasus stroll to the left. She rounded the corner of the house, and Rarity followed. At this side of the house there was a window behind which a gleaming yellow color originated. The pegasus walked to the window and looked into the house. Rarity sighed. “Breaking into other people’s houses and peeking through strangers’ windows … is that a typical Heart’s Warming Eve for you?”
“I’d watch this if I were you.” The pegasus pressed its face against the glass, glaring into the house. She was not being very discreet. It would only be a matter of time before one of the residents noticed her.
“What is it?”
“It’s you.”
“What?” Rarity joined the pegasus at the window. She only planned on looking into the house for a second, but once she saw what was behind the window, she was glaring as intensely as the pegasus.
It was true. Rarity was sitting on the floor before a flaming fireplace. The thick red carpet she was resting on looked cozy. She sipped on a teacup, though she was holding it with her hooves and not by magic. This Rarity was a lot younger than the real one. She was roughly the same age as Sweetie Belle, but there was no doubt that it really was her. Rarity could always recognize herself. But how could that be possible?
Rarity pulled herself away from the window. “Have we really been travelling back in time?”
The white pegasus nodded. “I told you. I’m the spirit of Heart’s Warming Eve’s past.”
“What does that mean?” Rarity looked into the eyes of the pony next to her. “I mean, why are you here? Why did you bring me back in time?”
“Only you can answer that question for sure.” The spirit continued to watch the younger Rarity. “This was your last Heart’s Warming Eve as an only child.”
Rarity scanned the room. She could not locate Sweetie Belle anywhere. But she did see her parents. They were entering the room through a door in the left end. Her mother looked at the window, and Rarity ducked swiftly.
The spirit giggled again. “They can’t see us, silly. Don’t worry.”
Rarity peeped through the window once again. Her younger self smiled at the sight of her parents who joined her at the fireplace. She stretched her body and leaned against her father who lay down beside her. She rested on his white coat and slowly closed her eyes. Her mother was levitating a book before her. She sat in a chair and began to read the story of the very first Heart’s Warming Eve in a gentle, warm voice. “I don’t have a cutie mark,” Rarity noticed. “This was before I realized what I wanted to do with my life.”
The pegasus nodded. “You look so joyful. So innocent. It’s almost like looking at one of the pictures in the photo album.”
Rarity concurred. “I suppose it’s sort of charming in an old fashion kind of way.”
“I think that Sweetie Belle would like this kind of Rarity. A Rarity who isn’t obsessed with her work and just takes a moment to relax.”
“What do you mean? I relax all the time.”
“That wasn’t my point. I am saying that it’s rare that Sweetie Belle gets to see this side of you.”
“And what side is that?”
The pegasus shrugged. “The side that shows that you appreciate being with the one that you care about. That you enjoy spending time with your sister without it involving some sort of schedule or a plan.”
“What are you talking about? I do plenty of things like that with Sweetie Belle.”
“You do,” the spirit admitted. “But only because you have to. Not because you enjoy it. Just look at yourself.” The Rarity behind the window was lying flat on her stomach while directing her ears towards her mother. Her father had wrapped a large hoof around her. “Don’t you remember the feeling of security? Of just letting go of all your troubles and live in the moment.”
Rarity huffed. “It’s not very hard to let go of your troubles in that age. Fillies don’t have any worries. They don’t have bills to pay or any real work to do.”
“So you do miss it!” The pegasus smiled at her expectantly.
“Miss is a strong word.” The Rarity who was lying before the fireplace raised her head. She peeked towards the right end of the room where a large pine tree was standing. Its dark green branches took up a lot of space. They were decorated with balls in red, blue and yellow colors. A star on the top shined in a glowingly golden color. But it was bottom of the tree that Rarity was most interested in. A large package with purple wrapping could be seen underneath a protective branch.
“I notice you didn’t have a tree in your house back in Ponyville,” the pegasus said.
“I haven’t had the time to find one. Besides, I have never understood the purpose of planting a tree in the middle of the living room. It looks so untidy and out of place. Not of mention all those pile needles you have to clean up afterwards …”
“The younger version of yourself seems to disagree.” The Rarity on the other side of the window looked towards the tree again. Her face lit up in a smile before she repositioned her head on her father’s fur, still smiling. “You are rather interested in that purple package.”
Suddenly Rarity laughed. “I know what this is about.” She turned around and walked away from the window. “Look, I realize what you’re up to, spirit. You want me to come to some sort of revelation. You want to teach me a lesson about the importance of Heart’s Warming Eve, hoping that I will change my mind and begin to celebrate it this year. Well, guess what. It’s not going to work. Don’t get me wrong. I do appreciate the gesture, but I’m afraid that I’m immune to that sort of thing. I’m a big pony. Skipping Heart’s Warming Eve was my own decision, and I stand by it.”
The pegasus shrugged. “I’m just here to show you your past.”
“And that’s rather kind of you. But I’m sorry to say that it has been in vain. Now, would you be so kind as to transport me back to Ponyville and my own time?”
“We’re not done here.” The spirit returned to the window. “That package means a lot to you. Look how happy it makes you.”
“Your mind games are not going to work on me, dear.” Rarity smiled confidently. “If you plan on making me feel guilty you have come to the wrong pony. You can’t expect me to suddenly change my decision just by showing me myself sitting before a fireplace. I have been thinking long and hard about skipping Heart’s Warming Eve and carefully evaluated the implications. It was a rational choice, and very difficult for me to make. Don’t you think it hurts me to have done it? Do you think I want to work on a holiday?”
The spirit nodded. “It’s not always about you, Rarity. Your sister deserves the kind of joy that the Rarity in this house is experiencing right now.”
“Sweetie Belle can survive skipping Heart’s Warming Eve one year, don’t you think? That would only make the next one even more special. Besides, my sister could have chosen to spend the holiday at my parents’ house, but she didn’t. That’s not my fault.” The pegasus didn’t answer. She didn’t even smile like she used to but just stared into the glow created by the fireplace. Rarity rolled her eyes. “It can still be a pleasant holiday for Sweetie Belle. I have bought her a present for tomorrow, of course. And I’m sure she is going to like it the same way I have enjoyed the package underneath that pine tree in there.”
“The gift itself is not important.” The spirit turned it gloomy eyes towards Rarity. “It’s the excitement that you’ve enjoyed more than the present itself. That’s the whole reason of wrapping it in. If you knew what it was, you wouldn’t be wondering.”
Rarity snorted. “And are you saying that Sweetie Belle cannot be wondering what I have bought her?”
“It’s hard to wonder when your mind is full of worry.”
The unicorn stepped a few feet back and looked at the pegasus with a perplexed expression. “Sweetie Belle has nothing to worry about. I told you that earlier. She is a filly. Fillies have no real worries like us adult ponies.”
“Whatever. Let’s just go back now.”
“Thank you.”
The pegasus trotted towards Rarity with a low-hanging head. Her cheerfulness from earlier had been vanished like a candlelight in a storm. She observed the unicorn before her with a frowning face before saying, “Do you recall what was in that purple package?”
Rarity nodded. “It was my first ever sowing machine. Without which I would never have discovered my true purpose in life.”
The spirit flapped its wind. It grabbed Rarity underneath her front legs and lifted her upwards. In a few seconds the pegasus and unicorn were high in the chilly evening air. Rarity had to close her eyes because of the wind in the face. She only opened them again when she was standing save and sound on the firm ground. Her face was stiff, and her hair was a tangled mess. She trembled in the cold breeze, turned around and found herself standing before the Carousel Boutique once again. The white pegasus was nowhere to be seen, which Rarity was rather grateful for.