There's something comforting in the warmth of hot chocolate. The feeling of warm liquid sliding down your throat, almost burning, and spreading the tingling heat to the tips of your ears and down to the end of your tail. There's a familiarity to the whipped cream which melts into a thin film over the top, that leaves you in a holiday cheer, even if Hearth's Warming Eve has come and gone. It feels a little bit like love, with a bit less emotional attachment.
Rainbow huddled under a plush throw in Sugarcube corner, reading the latest Daring Doo novel. Pinkie had dragged her back into the kitchen, and so she was sitting by the warm oven while Pinkie whipped up another batch of muffins for the wall-eyed Pegasus at the counter.
“Feeling warmer yet, Dashie?” Pinkie asked, turning to her shivering friend.
“Okay, okay,” Rainbow admitted, glancing up from her book. “Maybe we shouldn't have stayed out quite so long.”
Pinkie let out a giggle as she popped the next batch of cranberry-oat muffins into the oven. “Can you feel your nose yet?”
Rainbow reached up to feel her snout. “Almost,” she said, grimacing. “How do you manage to stay so warm?”
“Duh, I'm always bouncing. It's like shivering, but better.” Pinkie reached over to check the poppy seeds she had draining. “Almost done. Then we can go find our friends and go see our snowmare!”
Dash smiled. Despite her spontaneity, you could always count on a friend like Pinkie. She'd never let you down.
The bell rang over the front door, indicating the arrival of a new customer. Pinkie turned around. “Oh, hey Rarity! Care to sample a muffin?” Pinkie asked, holding one up in front of the unicorn's face.
“No thanks, dear,” Rarity replied somewhat frostily. “I'm on a diet, remember?”
“Okie Dokie, suit yourself!” Pinkie popped the entire muffin into her mouth and downed it without chewing. “Mmm, yummy!”
“Well, speaking of suits actually, I have to ask you for that hat you, um, borrowed back. I don't have enough fabric to complete another one on such short notice.”
“Oh, okay!” Pinkie seemed to miss the subtext. “Why didn't you say so!”
Rarity took a step back. “Well, um, you never really gave me a chance to say anything.”
“That's silly,” Pinkie said with a giggle. “I didn't even know I had Chanseys to give! If I find one I'll let you know, but they're really rare.”
“What?” Rarity's eyebrows were furrowed in confusion.
Pinkie took the poppy seeds off of the stove. “Well, as soon as we round up the rest of our friends, we can go see the snowmare that Dashie and I made.”
“I'm not quite sure how that's relevant,” Rairty pressed.
Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Are you loco in the coco? After we go to see the snowmare, then we can take the hat, and then you can get your hat back and finish Prince Charming's suit.”
“Well, yes... wait, how did you know I'm repairing this suit for Prince Charming?”
“Duh.” Pinkie rolled her eyes. “His name's on the hat.”
“Ah.”
Pinkie took another pan of muffins out of the oven. “All righty! This should be the last of them, so let's go find our friends.”
* * *
“Is it that much farther, Pinkie?” Twilight asked, shivering slightly. “I need to finish composing a letter to Princess Celestia explaining why I couldn't finish casting this spell today.” She finished with a glare at the bouncing pony in front of her.
“This is ruining my hoofacure,” Rarity complained. “But at least it's a nice occasion to try out these boots and this scarf.”
“I don't know...” Dash looked around. “Pinkie, do you remember where we built the snowmare?”
“Of course! It was exactly... right... here,” she said, jumping on the spot.
“Um... Pinkie?” Applejack looked at her friend. “There's, well... nothing there.”
Pinkie sat down in thought. “But I was sure we built it right here.”
“Um, what are these?” asked Fluttershy quietly, pointing at the ground.
“There's really nothing here.” Twilight was becoming slightly irritated.
Fluttershy tapped Rainbow on the shoulder. “I've never seen these tracks before!”
“Yeah, maybe I should fly up and see if I can spot it,” Rainbow suggested.
“These aren't any animal tracks I've ever seen,” Fluttershy said softly.
“Hey!” said Spike from Twilight's back. “What are those strange tracks?”
The six ponies all looked at the blocky tracks leading away from the scene. “Maybe somepony destroyed it?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow.
“That seems a little harsh, A.J.” said Dash from above their heads. “I don't see anything around here either.”
Twilight glanced over the scene again. “Plus if it was destroyed, there would probably be some sort of wreckage here, but the snow's nearly untouched.” She paused for a moment. “Wait, Pinkie, you said that my spell hit your hat?”
“Yup! It was super-duper awesome!”
“I wonder...” Twilight mused. “That spell was supposed to be an object animation spell. If it hit the hat, and Pinkie then placed the hat on the snowmare's head...”
“Ooh, look, season five spoilers!” Pinkie interjected.
“... then the snowmare could have become sentient.”
“Sentawhatnow?” Applejack asked, her head tilted to the side.
“Basically, the snowmare could be alive,” Spike translated.
Twilight grimaced. “Essentially, yes. We've got to track her down before she scares anypony.”
Rarity looked up from the ice that she had been checking her reflection in. “What, dear?”
“Well, if ponies just saw a snowmare walking down the street, they might start to panic.”
“Right...” Rarity looked around. “So, ah, when do I get my hat back?”
* * *
“The prints go in here,” Fluttershy told them, pointing at one of the old unused barns at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres.
“All right everypony, here's the plan,” said Twilight, gathering her friends together. “This snowmare has essentially just been born, so she's probably got a bit of sensory overload right now, and she's probably kind of scared. We should take it slow and remember to be quiet and reserved in our... where's Pinkie?'
At the moment, Pinkie's voice issued from inside the barn.
“Hey, there you are, snowmare! Well, hang on... you need a name. I'm going to call you Frosty. Frosty the Snowmare! And we are going to be the bestest of friends. I'm Pinkie Pie!” The five winced as they heard Pinkie begin to sing:
I'm a pony, you're a snowmare,
But we can still be friends!
Sing random songs, bounce up and down
Until the bitter end!
Oh, Frosty come and dance with me,
We'll have the grandest time!
And when you finally have to go
I'll have to say 'Goodbye!'
Twilight facehoofed. “So much for 'slow and quiet.'”
Pinkie stuck her head out of the barn. A snowy head poked out behind her. “Hey everypony! This is Frosty. She's a bit quiet, but she's really nice. Everyone say 'hi.'”
The five mares stared in disbelief. “How on earth are you already best friends?” Twilight asked, gaping, as Frosty began to nuzzle Pinkie's shoulder.
“Duh... I met somepony new, I introduced myself, I sang a random song out of nowhere, and then we became instant best friends. That's how these kind of things work.”
“Ah... all right then,” Twilight said, raising an eyebrow. “I'll take your word for it.”
“Oh Twilight,” Pinkie tousled her friend's mane. “You really need to get out more. Anyway, me and Frosty need to get back to town. We need to show her Ponyville, and she needs to meet all of my other bestest friends.” Pinkie grabbed the snowmare by the hoof and hopped off.
“Does she ever make sense?” Twilight asked Applejack.
“Pinkie?” Applejack gave a bemused smile. “Nope. Never.”