Today's the 25th of December, which is also called Hearth's Warming Day. It's apparently something called a holiday, and it happens every year. We've been in Canterlot for four days, and will be here for ten more so we can celebrate something called New Year's eve. After that, we'll be taking the train home on January 1st, a Sunday. The 1st of every month is on a Sunday. I don't know who chose to make the calendar with 35 days every month, but it's boring that way.
Last night, we saw a play about Hearth's Warming. I fell asleep during it, so I don't remember much of it. I just remember something about three tribes and extreme cold. I also remember the big cookie I was given before the play. It was peanut butter and it was delicious. Skyla had three of them.
Mom said that there are things called 'presents' back at the castle for Skyla and me. Presents are apparently things given on special occasions, like certain holidays, birthdays, or other times. You also don't know what they are until they're opened. It sounds like something fun.
The presents we're getting tonight apparently aren't at the castle. They're with some ponies mom calls my grandparents. She says that they're dad's parents, along with aunt Twilight's.
On the way there, we stopped at the place with the delicious hot chocolate and got some. It was really just dad and I who went in. Mom and Skyla went a different way earlier. While we were waiting for eight hot chocolates, I got some small powdered donuts. I could fit a whole one in my mouth, and they were delicious. I finished the last one just as dad got the hot chocolates in some trays that looked like they were made of paper. He held them with his magic as he leaned down next to me and whispered "don't tell Skyla about the powdered donuts. Don't tell mom either. Can you do that?"
I whispered back "I can do that."
After we nodded in agreement, dad stood back up and we made our way out. There was hardly anypony outside, and the snow was falling at a nice pace. Enough was coming down to be interesting to look at, though it probably would be nicer to do that from inside.
I followed dad as he walked down a road lined with houses that were smaller than ours, though not by much. Every house had glowing things on the outside, and they looked really cool. He turned to walk to one that had fewer lights on it than the others and knocked on the door. After a few moments, a blue unicorn stallion opened the door.
"Dad!" my dad said before turning to me. "Inova, this your grandpa Night Light. Say hi."
"Hi, grandpa Night" I said.
"Hello, Inova" grandpa Night said. "Come on in, both of you."
We went inside, where it was indeed warmer. The inside wasn't as open or big as home, but it still felt nice. To the right, I saw a tree covered in lots of colors of things, some of which changed colors. Under the tree was a bunch of boxes, each one covered in patterns and tied with a ribbon. There were fewer colors of ribbons than there were box patterns.
Also to the right was mom, Skyla, aunt Sparkle, a dark white unicorn mare, and a purple and green thing. It stood on two legs, had a tail unlike any pony's tail, and was almost as tall as aunt Sparkle. Whatever it was, everypony seemed to get along with it.
"Is that Skyla's sister I see?" The dark white mare said. "And her father too? Is Inova a little troublemaker? Is that why you came later?" Her tone was never really serious, but it kind of sounded like she was.
"No, that's not why we're late" dad said. "Inova and I stopped at Pony Joe's and got some hot chocolate fore everyone." Dad began giving everyone a hot chocolate, including the purple and green thing. Skyla was on hers really quickly.
The hot chocolate, just as before, was really good. I drank mine at the table in front of the couch. The purple and green thing came over near me and spoke. "Hey, mind if I join you?" The voice was kind of like dad's, but also different, so I think it's a he.
I didn't say anything, but I did scoot over a bit for him. Even when he was sitting down, he was bigger than me. "I'm Spike" he said. "I'm a dragon, Twilight's top assistant, and something like a son or brother to her. I'm not sure how it works." As he spoke, i saw his pointed teeth and leaned away. He caught on to that fast. "I'm not going to hurt you, Inova. Yes, I have pointed claws and teeth, but I'm friendly. See?" I watched his arm come over my head and felt his claws on the top of my head. He then started scratching me between my ears and it felt really good.
I had no reason to fear him now. Yes, he's a dragon. Yes, he's got pointed claws and teeth. He might even be able to breathe fire. But he can scratch me between the ears and it feels really nice.
After a bit of scratching, I got back to my hot chocolate. The dark white mare sat down next to me opposite Spike. "Hey, Inova. I'm your grandma Velvet Sparkle."
"Grandma Velvet?" I said.
"That's right. It seems you and Spike are getting along quite well."
"I gave her an ear scratching" Spike said. "She seems to like it. See?" I was once again scratched between my ears and I found myself leaning into the scratching. After it ended, I went back to my hot chocolate. I had to finish it myself before Skyla got to it. Spike and grandma Velvet had their own hot chocolates and were talking about things. As I drank, I kept leaning back to get more of the delicious liquid to come out. I eventually fell onto my back and let go of the cup. Fortunately, it was empty, so the floor didn't get to try any of it. I saw it get picked up in dad's magic and get put somewhere.
I sat back up and poked Spike. It felt like he didn't have fur, but something tougher. I then poked grandma Velvet. She was like mom and dad, having fur and being squishy. She also felt warmer than Spike did. I continued poking both of them for a while before wandering off to find and play with Skyla. I saw aunt Sparkle following me, but I didn't pay attention. She watched over Skyla and I as we played and explored the house.
"It's time to open presents, everyone!" mom called out. Aunt Sparkle put a wing on each of our backs and guided us back towards the living room. The boxes had been put into different stacks, and it looked like they were sorted by ribbon color.
Grandma Velvet seated me at one of the piles. "These are your presents, Inova. You have orange fur, so you get the presents with the orange ribbons."
I looked at the pile of presents. It was almost as big as me. I looked at it carefully before pulling out one of the smaller presents with my forehooves. After some careful inspection, I figured out that the outside was just paper and I started dragging a hoof along a surface, attempting to tear it open. Unfortunately, that didn't work.
I heard paper tearing nearby and looked in that direction. Skyla was using her horn to tear the paper. I looked at my horn before trying the same trick Skyla had figured out. To my satisfaction, I heard tearing paper. I looked at the result of my first attempt and saw the rip, through which I could see something colorful. I put a hoof on each side of the tear and pulled each side apart. Grandma Velvet helped me with the ribbon, which I couldn't tear or bite apart.
Inside was a box with pictures and words all over it. I didn't know what it was.
"What is this, Velvet?" mom asked. She didn't know what it was either.
"That-" grandma Velvet said "-is a modular wagon. You said Inova likes to play with the wagons instead of the ponies, so we got some that she can build. Who knows, she might come up with something else."
I liked how that sounded. I also saw more presents, and I set to work opening them. I got markers, some music toys, and even a train. I didn't look at what everypony else got, since I was focused on my presents.
After I had opened all of my presents, I went back to the modular wagon. Mom helped me open it and get the toy out. There were lots of pieces there, with various pegs and holes. I quickly set to work putting the pieces together in various ways, making different kinds of wagons.
As I built my wagons, Skyla played with her dolls. Grandma and Grandpa also brought us more of them. I even got a modular pony set, and the parts in that were able to connect with the wagons. I found myself building even more weird things as I put parts together.
Eventually, I had to leave the toys, as supper time came about. Skyla brought one of hers with her to the table, but mom floated it back to the rest of her dolls. Skyla whined a bit before mom told her to calm down, as we were about to eat. Skyla quickly quieted down at that. The table itself was oddly empty.
“Everypony, I made my famous casserole tonight” grandma Velvet said. “A double batch, at that.” The only ponies who didn’t cheer at that were grandma, as she was the one talking, and me, since I didn’t know what she was talking about. “I’ll have everyone’s helpings out in a moment.”
While grandma Velvet was getting the casserole, grandpa Night Light and Aunt Sparkle started talking about things with mom and dad. I didn't listen to what they were saying.
Eventually, I caught a whiff of something. It smelled really good. Skyla smelled it too, and it looked like she wanted to go right to the source, but mom kept her from going anywhere with her magic. The source of the smell came into sight soon enough, as grandma came back with eight plates in her magic. She put a plate in front of everyone before sitting down with her own plate. Skyla was struggling against mom's magic to get to the food.
"Wow, Cadence" Spike said. "I thought you were just exaggerating when you said Skyla was an enthusiastic eater."
"We have to keep what leftovers we have in high places" mom said. "Once she masters telekinesis, I doubt leftovers will even exist at our house."
"Really? And I thought the Apples had appetites" Spike turned to grandma. "Can we start eating now?"
"After Skyla calms down" grandma said. "She may be cute, she may be one of my grandfillies, but she has to control herself a bit before she eats." Her horn glowed and Skyla was put into a sitting position. "Otherwise, everyone else will get her food." Skyla's ears shot up straight at that. As mom and grandma released their magic, Skyla stayed still. "And if Skyla eats slowly, she will get to eat dessert first."
For the first time that I could recall, Skyla wasn't eating something that was right in front of her. I was amazed. Mom and dad were amazed too.
After a minute, grandma spoke again. "Everyone, eat up."
I leaned down and took a bite of my food. It was DELICIOUS. Everyone else seemed to agree with that, as I figured from the lack of conversation.
Aside from the delicious casserole, the rest of supper was uneventful. After dessert, I returned to my wagon building, which I continued at until I fell asleep.