//------------------------------//
// Deck the Halls 
// Story: Sweetie Belle's Jinglin' 
// by MisterMuntjac 
//------------------------------//

	In the sub-dermal layers of her mind, Sweetie Belle could hear the warbling sounds of a familiar voice somewhere in the flurry landscape of her dream. The packed snow crunched beneath her hooves as the unicorn trudged through it's thickness, trying to find who ever was lost in the storm. It was beautiful, this strange land, with purple mountain caps barely visible in the distance, everything else obscured by an immaculate white blanket. The wind blew fiercely, great icy gusts blowing back her mane and stinging her cheeks. An iridescent green light erupted from her horn, and she swiveled her head around in every direction, looking for the source of the voice.
"Hello? Is anypony out there?"   The little filly called out. “Can you hear me?”
“Sweetie Belle? Oh, Sweetie Belle? It's time to wake up, darling!” Rarity sang sweetly in answer, “Today happens to be a very important day, you know.”
Though she could not see her sister, Rarity's voice intoned to Sweetie Belle with such clarity that there was no question as to who it was. She could feel herself stirring, and drawing closer to the waking world. Back in her room, the little unicorn with the pink and lavender mane rolled up even tighter into her blanket, and tried earnestly to stay asleep. But Rarity would have none of it; she nudged the dozing bundle that was her sister, and lit the tip of her horn, lightly shining the glowing blue light above Sweetie Belle's face.
“Mrmm...Rarity, lemme sleep.” she grumbled, squeezing her eyes shut even tighter.
“And allow my only sister to miss out on one of her favorite holidays of the year?! I should think not!” Rarity spouted, purposefully making herself sound over-dramatic, “Come now, Sweetie, you can't have possibly forgotten about today, no?”
The little filly shifted her head slightly, blinking her eyes a few times before closing them again. Rarity let out a protracted sigh, but before she could head downstairs to make breakfast for the two of them, Sweetie Belle's eyes shot open again. She leaped out of bed at once, her blanket briefly billowing out behind her like a cape, before speeding down to the living room with a hearty gallop. A nine foot tall pine tree adorned with multicolored lights, glittering baubles, and golden figurine ornaments stood proudly in the center of the living room, and a roaring fire burned brightly in the hearth, filling the whole room with a warm, loving glow. A violet hued, six-pointed star beamed from the very top of the tree, and just below it, beneath its great branches at the base of its stump, a pile of presents wrapped in red and gold paper, and tied up with green bows were waiting to be opened up.
“It's Hearts Warming Eve!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, “Look, we've got the presents for all of our friends right here. Since it's the season of friendship and sharing that comes but once a year, today we'll deliver our gifts to all of the ponies we love, then we'll go visit mom and dad, and then tonight, Santa Hooves will fly over all of Equestria with his reindeer helpers to deliver toys to all of the good little fillies and colts on the nice list, an' he'll stuff coal into the stockings of bad little foals, cause they were naughty and mean. Last, but not least, we'll wake up in the morning, open up our presents, sit by the fire, and sing carols to honor the brave ponies that first founded our country, who saved each other's lives by looking past the differences of their three tribes, and letting love and friendship into their hearts.” Sweetie Belle recited briskly, as if she had memorized several children's books.
Rarity processed her little sister's speech on the founding of Equestria entirely nonplussed before she finally responded.
“Er, that's exactly right darling!” she beamed. “Which is why we'll be heading out very soon, so fetch your scarf and boots. It's not just chilly outside, we've already gotten two inches of snow, and it's still coming down strong. We'll want to keep nice and warm, and be looking absolutely fabulous!”
Sweetie Belle rushed to the window as soon as Rarity had uttered the word snow, and what she saw did not disappoint. A constant stream of frost was coating all of Ponyville, and the blanket was only getting thicker by the minute.
“It's so pretty, even prettier than in my dream.” Sweetie Belle whispered breathlessly. She turned back around, grinning mischievously at her older sister.
“Hey, Rarity! Which one of those presents is mine?” she asked.
“You'll find out tomorrow, dear.” she chided gently. “I managed to get a little something for you, mother, father, and each of my friends. Did you get something for your friends?”
“I sure did, Applebloom and Scootaloo are gonna be so happy when we get to see them!” Sweetie Belle cheered.
“Oh, you are too thoughtful, Sweetie. I can't to wait to see what you got for me!” Rarity cooed, picking the little foal up over her head, twirling her around playfully.
Sweetie Belle's heart suddenly plummeted into her stomach at these words. She could not believe it, but the worst seemed to be undeniably true. She had forgotten to get her own sister a present for Hearts Warming Eve. Droplets of sweat formed on her face as her breathing quickened. Too many questions jumped into her mind at once. It baffled her, to think that she could have been so thoughtless, that she could have forgotten something so important, that she remembered to buy gifts for her friends over two weeks ago, but forget to get her own sister a Hearts Warming present.
“Y-you, you w-want to know what I got for you?” she squeaked, feeling her heart jump back up into her throat.
“Oh, good heavens, no! Not now, I want to be surprised when I open it up, of course.” Rarity stated matter-of-factly, setting Sweetie down gently. She proceeded to the hall closet, procuring for them two saddlebags, two pairs of earmuffs, and two scarves.
“So, are you ready to deliver those presents with me?”
“Yeah, about that. Oh, gosh, I'm sorry, Rarity, but I just remembered that me and the gals were totally planning on going crusading today. I nearly forgot all about it.” Sweetie Belle explained sheepishly.
“Oh, did you now?” Rarity drawled, raising a single very skeptical eyebrow. “You mean to tell me, that on your favorite holiday of the year, you forgot that you were meeting up with your two very best friends in the whole world, and now that we are just getting ready to go and exchange gifts with our friends, you suddenly have to go elsewhere?”
“Yep, that sounds about right! WellgoodbyeRarityI'llseeyalater!” Sweetie Belle uttered in one quick breath as she dashed out the door.
“Wait, Sweetie Belle! Come back.” Rarity cried. But the little filly was already long gone, her gleaming white coat almost serving to camouflage her in the snow.


* * * *


Sweetie Belle cantered into the downtown market as fast as her little hooves could carry her. Her heart weighed heavy when she took note of how many of the shops were closed for the holidays. It was almost certainly too late to find a gift now, but with any luck, Quills and Sofas would still be open for business. They sold all manner of office supplies, furniture, fabrics, and sewing materials. If there was any place where she could still find a gift for Rarity, it would definitely be there. Upon entering the store, she trotted purposefully toward the fabrics section, pausing only to greet the manager, Mr. Davenport. As she passed the first few rows of patterned quilts, she was surprised to see somepony, or rather, some dragon with purple scales and prominent green spikes walking down the aisle of needles and threads. Sweetie Belle sped up her gait.
“Spike! Hey, Spike, hold up a second.” she called to him.
The diminutive dragon spun around, his slit-like pupils contracting as his eyes widened. When he recognized the pony who had called him, however, he relaxed, smiling wide enough to reveal almost all of his sharp, glittering teeth.
“Sweetie Belle? Um, what's up?” he asked innocently enough.
“What's up? Well, I'm just doing a bit of last minute shopping, I guess.” she replied.
“Really? Oh, cool, so am I.” said he.
“Yeah? Twilight send you down here with a huge checklist again?” she grinned companionably,
“Actually, I'm here getting somepony a present at the last second.” Spike admitted, blushing slightly.
“Ohmygosh, so am I!” Sweetie Belle squealed.
“Really? Wow, small world. So, who are you shopping for?” he asked.
“Well, get this; I remembered to get something for each of my friends and my parents, but I somehow completely forgot about Rarity. My own sister! Can you believe that?”
“Surprisingly, I can believe it. Because, you see, I'm a-actually here f-for R-rarity, too.” he sputtered, the blush in his cheeks growing brighter.
“Oooooh, Myyyyyyyyy,” she trilled, “That sounds sooooooo romantic!”
“Hey, cut that out!” he protested, his cheeks now burning in anger.
“Hehehe! What are you getting her anyway?” she asked between giggles.
“Honestly?” he questioned out loud, his anger having abated as quickly as it flared up, “I really have no idea, I just thought I'd come in here and...and-” Spike froze in his place, having reached the end of the aisle to look at the last item for sale. 
Sitting upon a solitary pedestal, lying atop a tiny greek column, was a wooden spool of golden thread, tipped by a shining silver needle. The column itself had several paper advertisements for the spool of thread attached to it, all of them claiming that the thread was enchanted, and would allow the user to effortlessly create just about any kind of clothing they could possibly imagine.
“And I thought I'd see if I could find something like this.” Spike finished simply, stretching up to reach his prize.
“Oh, well that makes sense. And you're right, Rarity would love something like this.” Sweetie Belle cheered. “Thank you soooo much, Spike!”
“Um, thank you for what?” he asked, true bewilderment etched upon his features,
“For helping me find a gift for my sister, of course. You really are the best!” she declared,
“Oh, don't go thanking me just yet.” the dragon stated grimly, “This gift may be for Rarity, but I'm not getting it for you to give to her, this present is going to be for her, from me.”
“What?!” Sweetie Belle squeaked, her voice cracking on a high note. “You can't, why would you do that?” she despaired, looking absolutely crestfallen.
Spike winced at the sudden high pitched assault on his ears. 
“Hey, don't get bent outta shape. Besides, I saw it first, so I've got every right to be the one to give it to her.” he reasoned.
“What the heck, Spike?” Sweetie Belle huffed, snorting and stomping her hoof. “I thought that being a gentlemen was a big part of your dumb Dragon Code, or something!”
“The Dragon Code is not dumb, it's a part of who I am!” he objected defensively. “Besides, the needs of my ladies come before the needs of anypony else.”
“Wait, ladies?” asked Sweetie Belle, confused, “As in, more than one?”
“Yup. There's Twilight, who I live with and basically work for, as you know. Applejack, who saved my life; though I no longer owe her a life-debt, she is still able to make any request of me that she desires. And, of course, Rarity, the object of my affections, the apple of my eye, the most wonderful, beautiful, gorgeous, pony in all of-”
“Spike, seriously. I'm like, right here.” Sweetie Belle grimaced, clearly unamused.
“Er, right. Sorry, my bad.” he grinned sheepishly.
“Oh, don't worry, Spikey-Wikey.” said she.
“Hey!” he objected, “Only Rarity calls me-”
“You can swoon over my sister all you want, right after you GIVE ME THAT PRESENT!” Sweetie Belle bellowed, charging directly at the hapless dragon. Since she was only a unicorn foal, her horn was relatively harmless and still very small and blunt. Nevertheless, her charge knocked the wind out of Spike, launching him into the column and forcing him to drop the spool, which began to roll away on it's own accord. The little pedestal swiveled precariously on its base for several seconds before toppling over the shelf of spools. The shelf next to it likewise fell over, beginning a domino chain effect that began to demolish the entire store. As Quills and Sofas dissolved into chaos, Sweetie Belle and Spike pursued the runaway sewing device as it rolled out into the snow, it's pace never slowing for a moment. They neared ever closer to the object of their desire, shoving, kicking, biting, and bucking to lay hoof or claw on the enchanted thread.
“It's mine!” Sweetie exclaimed as she dived onto the spool.
“No, it's mine.” Spike growled, leaping onto her back and sending the two of them into a tumbling heap.
“Good heavens, darlings!” a familiar voice cried out. “Sweetie Belle? Spike? What in the name of Equestria are the two of you doing?”
The two children looked up to see Rarity towering over them, then looked around at each other, noticing with some alarm that the golden thread was no where to be seen.
“Oh my, what have you got there?” Rarity inquired.
Sweetie Belle and Spike looked down to where she was staring to find that both of them were holding onto the enchanted spool, hoof in hand. Sweetie Belle looked up at her sister, tears welling up in her eyes. Rarity had seen them fighting over a present that they never even got to wrap in a box, or pay for. Their Hearts Warming Eve had been ruined, and it was all her fault. She had never felt so ashamed. Tears spilled down her face as she finally raised her head to look up at her sister.
“Rarity...I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-”
“I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle. Rarity. This is my fault.” Spike mumbled, hanging his head.
“What?!” Rarity and Sweetie Belle cried, both mares equally stunned and confused.
“Rarity, Sweetie Belle and I both came to Quills and Sofas today to get you a Hearts Warming present, because we were careless enough to wait until the last minute.” Spike explained solemnly.
“After we met up, we found what we thought would be the perfect gift for you. But I decided I wanted to give it to you myself, instead of saying that it was from the both of us.”
“Hold on, Spike!” Sweetie Belle cried. “You don't have to do this, I was being selfish, too! This is as much my fault as it was yours. We could have given Rarity a perfect Hearts Warming Eve, but we both chose to fight over her favor.” she finished sadly. She heard an audible sniff, and was surprised to see Spike trying to hold back his own floodgates.
“But, if I hadn't goaded you, or teased you, then none of this would have happened!”
“Alright, that's enough from both of you!” Rarity shouted, causing the two of them to jump. She then surprised the pair by embracing both of them tightly.
“I'm touched by what you both tried to do for me, and it sounds like you each learned a very valuable lesson today, but please,” She held them even closer, nuzzling the two of them. “I can't stand to see those closest to me fighting, it just breaks my heart. Why don't we all go home and rest by the fire? We'll spend the rest of Hearts Warming Eve the way it was meant to be spent. Together, as a family.”
Exhausted from their quarrel, the two nodded wearily as Rarity started towards her home, with Sweetie and Spike in tow. The little filly and the young dragon exchanged several glances before they spoke.
“I really am sorry, Sweetie Belle. I didn't mean for all of that to happen. I hope we never fight this badly again.” Spike murmured
“It's okay, Spike.” Sweetie Belle whispered sweetly. “And for what it's worth, I'm really sorry about today, too.”
“If you don't mind, I still have a gift for you today that just might make up for how senselessly I treated you.” Spike continued.
“Aw, Spike!” Sweetie preened. After a moment of silence, she turned and noticed that Spike was looking at her rather expectantly.
“Um, Spike? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Huh?” asked Spike, shaken out of his reverie. “Oh, it's nothing! I was just wondering what you got me for Hearts Warming Day, that's all.”
Sweetie Belle's heart might have stopped at that very moment. Her left eye twitched erratically. Ice-water filled her veins, and in less than a second, she had fainted.
“Um, Sweetie Bell?” Spike looked down at her with growing concern. “Are you alright?”