“Whoa there lover boy,” the Stetson wearing pony said with a holler as she spotted the little dragon running towards her, mistletoe firmly clutched in his claw. Applejack backed away, but she soon breathed a sigh of relief to see her friend’s faithful assistant dart past her. After she wiped the sweat from her forehead, the mare replied “Whew, for a second I thought I was getting a smooch there. I wouldn’t have paid it no mind though, heh heh. Let me guess Spike, it’s all for Rarity?
“You got it!” The dragon said in a cheery voice. “I’ve made everything perfect for… ‘her.’”
“I hate to burst your bubble there Romeo, but haven’t ya’ thought she might not make it? It is getting a tad on the late side for a pony who adores her admirations,” the cowpony said as she closed the door behind her. While she wiped her hooves on the mat near the front door, closing the door promptly behind her, Applejack looked at her studious friend and said, “Twi, you did send out the invitation and all?”
“You think Spike would miss a chance for his spot under the mistletoe?” The unicorn said with a quick quip, witnessing her faithful assistant dart passed Applejack once more. Spike looked at each archway and surreptitiously placed mistletoe wherever he could, causing the mares to giggle at each other in a quiet voice. “I’m sure his ‘fair maiden’ will soon be here.”
Twilight and Applejack entered into the central area of the library from the front entrance, and then joined Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy in the back. The three ponies sat close to the fireplace with a near perfect tree, picked out by Twilight after three days of analyzing the Hearth’s Warming Eve stock at the local tree market, situated close to a frost covered window.
“Oooo, I consider myself the premier pony party purveyor extraordinaire, but you really out did yourself with the decorations, Spike.” Pinkie Pie said. She sat on the cream colored, silky smooth oval rug near the fireplace, her eyes looking for a few seconds at each decoration in the room before she glanced at the next one. The pony sipped on her cider, turned to her hardworking farm friend, and said, “This is some premo stuff AJ. I thought you sold out of your—“
“Hey! You holding out on me… us, I mean us?” The athletic pony dashed towards Applejack, squinting at her Apple tending friend.
“Nope, this can’t be the same stock. The flavor rolls off the tongue, excites the taste buds, and leaves a sweet, ‘decadent’ aftertaste, as Rarity would put it. ” Pinkie Pie said. The premier party pony’s eyes fixated on the fire’s reflection in her mug before she turned to her athletic friend, taking a slow sip.
“If you’d let me explain here, Rainbow. This is from our family’s ‘secret’ and rather ‘private’ stock we created just this year. I thought I might as well share it with my whole family, if you catch my drift.” The hardworking mare said, finishing with a sly wink to her friends. “Ya’ll were quite the much needed help to our family this year. That whole event with Flim and Flam was a nuisance to say the least. Though those two were more annoyin’ than a mosquito trapped in your ear, that incident did teach us a valuable lesson about diversity. A good bit of thinking on Twi’s part and a bit of tinkering, thanks to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, helped to get us a nice stock for Hearths Warming Eve. I mean land sakes, our profits near tripled with our Honest Apple’s Holiday Reserve. Of course, keeping a ‘special private’ stock for ourselves doesn’t hurt profits none.”
The skyblue mare smirked at her Stetson wearing friend, getting another mug of cider from the keg that was placed gingerly near the fireplace, yet not too close. Rainbow Dash gulped down the first half from her mug, and then proceeded to nurse the rest. A knock came to the front door before the mares could continue their conversation.
“Spike, you should take a rest and let me get the door. I’m amazed you haven’t stopped preparing for our party since you got up this morning at six.” Twilight said, being interrupted before she could continue.
“Twilight, I want everything to be perfect for ‘my lady.’” Spike ran towards the central area of the library. The faithful assistant clutched onto a locket that contained a picture of Rarity in a stunning pose, a picture he clipped from a recent news editorial in Seamstress Monthly.
“Rarity isn’t coming? Is she not feeling well? Should we bring the party to her?” Fluttershy chimed in with a concerned look after she remembered what Applejack said as the cowpony entered the library. “I hope she isn’t sick. Is opal ok?”
“Ahem, I mean… well, it’s probably nothin’ to worry about shy. I passed by her house and saw the pony runnin’ around like a blindfolded chicken trying to find the feed trough.” Applejack said, letting out an audible cough to one side, “That pony is always overworking herself. It looked like some important work—“
“That you are right, dear Applejack. Thanks for keeping things secret for so long.” Rarity said. The hopeful fashionista trotted into the room with several boxes levitated in front of her, gently floating them towards the tree and placing them near its base. The unicorn lifted an elegant wine glass from a nearby shelf, placed it under the keg’s spout, and poured herself some liquid libation in one fluid motion. “I’m truly sorry for the late arrival. I made sure to have Applejack promise me she wouldn’t divulge what I was doing inside when I spotted her going past the boutique. As Pinkie would put it, I had to finish my ‘ultimate holiday extravaganza creations’ as it were. So, what have I missed?”
With Rarity’s arrival, time slowed to a crawl for the six mares as they enjoyed each other’s company. Spike brought his “enchanting diamond delights” to the guests with one of the treats specifically made for Rarity, being topped with a dyed rock candy to match her eyes.
“Spike, these are quite tasty. They are so moist and the rock candy is hard and soft at the same time. How did you make them?” Fluttershy said.
“I can do more than just clean up the library, Fluttershy. Twilight needs to be fed.” Spike said, but soon let out an audible gulp. The little dragon’s eyes widened after he saw the menacing stare from his friend. “heh heh, what I meant was I need to fix Twilight’s meals so she can keep her strength up. She can take care of herself, but fixing those meals frees up her time so she can study more.”
“Right, I need to make sure I’m ‘well fed’ and all. I’ll remember to pick up a bag of food for you at the store, Spike.” Twilight gave a coy grin before she levitated her mug to the keg for another bit of cider. “To be quite honest though, Spike will always be my #1 assistant. I make sure to keep Spike on his claws like Princess Celestia keeps me on my hooves with all the studying I have to do.”
With the eighth chime of the nearby grandfather clock, Rarity’s ears perked up. “Oo, how about we open presents? I could really use your feedback on my gifts to you all.”
“I’m sure whatever you made will be just fine. Your work is always the best.” Twilight said with a smile.
“O no, no, no, no, you don’t understand. I ‘really’ need feedback on these. What’s in those boxes will be a premier line of clothes, and I want my friends to be the first in all of Equestria to see and wear them.”
“Did I get anything?” Spike said. The little dragon’s quiet voice was overshadowed by the sound of the fresh wood on the nearby fireplace. He glanced over at the tree for a second time, his eyes confirming that he saw six presents that Rarity brought in. Spike backed away, slowly. He made his way towards the kitchen to clean the dishes before he entered Twilight’s room.
Each mare sat near their own treasure, the grandfather clock reading barely fifteen minutes past eight.
In Twilight’s room, Spike wiped away the layer of condensation on the window to see several ponies playing in the snow outside the tree house. The full moon illuminated the beautiful fresh fallen snow below.
“Darling, aren’t you going to join us?” Rarity said, her hoof steps soft and quiet as a feather gently landing on the snow outside the library. “I thought about giving you this tomorrow on Hearth’s Warming Day, but how about I give you your present a little early?”
A quick smooth greeted the dragon’s lips when he turned to greet the suave mare. The little dragon looked at Rarity. Her horn glowed with its usual aura, and, as his eyes glanced further upward, the faithful assistant saw his friend levitating mistletoe overhead.
“Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve, Spikey Wikey,” The suave unicorn gave a kind smile before giving one final kiss to the little dragon’s lips, her fresh light blue lipstick lit by the moon’s light that came through the window. “I hope you like your present.”
As Rarity prepared to depart, she soon found herself in a tight, yet gentle hug. In an almost inaudible voice, heard only by the two in that room, Spike said, “Thanks, it’s just what I wanted.”
With a quick hug back, the two joined rejoined the party with their friends.