The Little Pony Legend: A Kingdom of Friendship

by MaggiesHeartLove

Heart's Warming Tale

*(~)*

Romans 14:5-6~

"One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks."

*(~)*

A Heart's Warming Tale

The sun peeked over the horizon as the purely white snow fell gracefully above the city and holiday music filled the air. Winter had arrived once more and all of Republic City was bursting with the Holiday spirit! For the very first time in history, they were celebrating the long cherished tradition of Equestria: Heart's Warming!

The holiday where they not only celebrated the founding of the magical land of their pony brothers and sisters, but also a special time where family and friends gather together in remembrance of their bonds and friendships. It was truly a magical time of the year, and this year would be extra special on account of it would be Team Avatar's very first Heart's Warming Eve all together as a family.

But many would ask, just how was Team Avatar going to have all of their friends and family, both pony and human included, together in one place? Thankfully, the Sato heiress has it all figured out.

Naga panted once the group made their stop and the four humans dismounted the beast. Korra petted the polar-bear dog's head and gave her a yummy treat for a job well done.

"This is it!" Asami outstretched her arms, showcasing the breathtaking building before them. It was a large white colored mansion decorated with pale green roof sets and glass crystal windows, surrounded by a large fence.

"I haven't been here in so long." said Asami as she opened the large steel gates, allowing her friends to walk in.

"How many extra houses do you have, exactly?" Mako asked, still rather amazed by the size and structure of the house itself.

"Just two, the one on Amber Islands and this one. Let's just say, my parents were hoping for a really big family." the heiress laughed as she opened the door, and Mako shuddered in disgust.

"Well, thanks for that image." he said sarcastically before entering the household with Korra and Bolin close behind. The inside of the mansion was even more beautiful than they imagined. And surprisingly, well taken cared or.

"After my dad got thrown in prison, I had some of our more loyal employers help me out with restoring this place. I figured it would come in handy at some point."

Korra spread open her wings and her eyes sparkled at the sight. There was long plights of stairs that led to two separate hallways with various rooms, a roof balcony at the very top and a glamourous kitchen and dinning hallway as well as an extravagant ball room Hiroshi and his wife had in hopes of celebrating special occasions. This was big enough to have all of their families.

"Asami, this is perfect! This is going to be the best Heart's Warning ever!" the princess squealed with delight as she did several arial flips in mid air, "I'm so excited!"

Bolin taped his chin in thought, "Yep, somebody call the doctor, 'cause this girl's got the Holiday Fever!"

"Well, can you blame me? It's the city's very first Heart's Warming Eve in history! It's a pretty big deal."

"And this mansion is big enough for everybody." said Asami as she started counting the names of the families with her fingers, "Us, the alicorns, Tonraq and Senna, Cadance and Shinning Armor, The Apples, The Beifongs, Tenzin's family, Mako's and Bolin's family, the Crusaders--Wow, I know more people now than I did when I first meet you three."

"But this place isn't ready just yet." Mako said, "We still got to decorate it for the Heart's Warming Ever dinner party tonight." he placed his fingers into his mouth and whistled, calling out for Naga to walk in and unloaded the bag of decorations from her saddle. "If we split up into four we should--"

Mako stopped talking once his girlfriend took the load off of his hands, literally, and started zipping and flying around the mansion at top speed, leaving an assortment of decorations, presents, silverware, ornaments and candle sticks in her wake. The walls were now decorated with holly, tinsel and a few mistletoes here and there, along with lovely pony decorations and ones representing the four nations. Lights hung around the staircase stilts and holly adorned the side of the stairs. The tables were all set with their white cloths, candles, holly ornaments, plates and dandy cane cups. Finally a beautiful pine tree stood at the centerpiece, with a Raava-shaped ornament at the top.

Mako, Bolin and Asami only watched with their eyes and mouths open until Korra finally landed, placing her hands on her hips, admiring her work. The Avatar had done an outstanding job with the decorations. And in only two minutes flat. Her flying lessons from Rainbow Dash payed off all right.

"Or, we could just let Korra do it." Mako said with a smile. Sometimes, it didn't hurt to allow his girlfriend to take charge every now and again.

(~)

Latter that day, everybody was getting ready for the party. Tenzin and his family arrived early to help with the food, as did P'Li who helped organize the dinner tables with the forks, spoons and napkins. Twilight neatly placed the trays of delicious looking pastries, covered in white snow frosting and adorned with cherries and strawberries. Everyone had brought in an assortment of foods both from the human world and Equestria. It would no doubt be a multicultural feast.

Spike, the airbender children and the spirit trio organized the piles of presents. Because most of them lived in the city getting a gift was quite the challenge. So, everybody made the agreement to buy at least one or two gifts individually, each one meaningful and from the heart, as was the true spirit of Heart's Warming. As they placed the boxes one over the other, Spike couldn't help but be curious and shake a few of them to see what was inside.

"Spike, enough." Jinora said, softly snatching the box from the little dragon's claws. "You'll get your present latter."

The dragon pouted in annoyance but complied and stopped trying to inspect the presents. Fluttershy assisted Pema and Applejack in the kitchen in preparing the finishing touches on the meals, and organized the ones they had brought. The whole group was caught off guard at the sound of rumbling from the fireplace, which was not yet lit. Something rumbled and shook from inside, it sounded like someone was trying to come down the chimney, but who in their right mind would do such a silly and unusual thing? Why, none other than a certain young pony of pink.

"Happy Hearth's Warming Eve!" Pinkie Pie smiled once she popped herself from the chimney, her body covered in sooth. Nobody looked at her with odd glares this time, they should have expected this time of year to make her as happy and excitable as ever. Who could blame her?

"I'm so excited for tonight!" she said after standing up and shaking the sooth off of her anthro body, "I can't believe it's our first Heart's Harming Eve together!"

"Neither can I, darling." Rarity said, already wearing her party cloths three hours before the actual event. She wore a simple light blue gown with a long flowing skirt, adorned with white tear-drop pearls, her shoulders were bare with a transparent lace wrapped around them and wore long black gloves, her hair was styled into a loose bun hairdo, adorned with a pair of chopsticks.

"I'm so excited I couldn't even wait to get dressed!" the unicorn spun around, showing off her gown. "Didn't want to go for anything too flashy. Especially with the gown I made Korra for tonight!"

Pinkie Pie's eyes sparkled at the decorations, "Wow! This place looks amazing! All nice and cosy!"

"You couldn't have come at a better time, Pinkie Pie." Twilight said as she levitated two plush dolls of her and Spike, "We're about to hang our Hearth's Warming dolls."

"Why do you guys hang up dolls, anyway?" Kai asked with his mouth full.

"Kai, are you eating the mooncakes?" Korra asked sternly, her hands on her hips.

Kai's eyes darted back and forth, "Nooooo…." he said right before chewing again, the sound of crunching was heard from within his jaw. Korra only shook her head, chucking as she approached him.

"Kai…"

"But they're for the party guests, and I'm one of them."

Korra squatted down, placing her hands on her knees, "True, but it's not polite to eat until the others arrive. Are we clear?"

Kai lowered his shoulders in defeat, "Yes, Princess." he said in disappointment and Korra walked off to continue her work. Kai tried to snatch at least one more mooncake behind her back.

"I can still see you!" the Avatar voiced out, making the boy hid his hand behind his back and zip away, leaving the pastry alone. For now.

Asami, who was placing red flowers into vase asked, "But seriously, why do you put dolls of yourselves up?"

"It's an old tradition." Twilight explained, "After the first Heart's Warming, the three tribes made dolls of themselves and placed them together for the younger generation to always remember their newfound unity."

"It's a reminder to always carry the spirit of Heart's Warming all the years to come." said Korra as she took out one doll that looked like herself and hugged it, "Plus, they're supper cute!"

"Speaking of cute dolls, where are the guys?" Asami asked, "Didn't they say they'd help?"

"Flash said they had some last minute business to attend to." said Twilight with an amused smile, "Knowing them they're probably racing against the clock to make sure their gifts are perfect." she giggled and Korra playfully punched her arm.

"Come on, you know it's sweet."

"Yeah, besides I think we've got enough help here as it is. Not to mention enough guests to start an army." the alicorn stated as she adjusted the portraits and vases and trays, "I mean, every one of our families under one roof?"

"I know, it's so excitin'!" said Applejack, wiping her hands on her apron, "It'll be mighty nice to have the entire family all together again. The last gatherin' we all had was at the Grand Galloping Gala."

"I can't wait to see Cadance and Shinning Armor!" Twilight said with glee, "I still can't get over the fact they're having a baby!"

"Don't forget the other great news!" Korra said, right before flying up, "Kuvira's coming! We've barely had time to just hang out and talk."

"No kidding." said Pinkie Pie, "Every time you see each other there's some Earth Kingdom problem she needs help solving."

"I know. But tonight will be different. No diplomatic meetings, no crime issues, just two friends having fun."

"And with my family it'll be even more fun!" Pinkie exclaimed with a gleeful smile…until she noticed the surprise looks on her friends' faces. "Uh…yay?"

"Pinkie, what did you say about your family?" Applejack asked.

"Well, since pretty much everyone's family will be here I thought I could invite mine."

"Now that you mention it, we've never met your family." said Korra.

"Exactly! I love them but they're not really all that, "in the know" about my supper exciting and adventurous lifestyle so I really wanted them to meet my new family. If that's okay."

"Well, it's kind of short notice."

"Don't worry, I told them three weeks in advance! They should be here by tonight. Plus, it'll be a chance for Applejack's family to meet my family! Apples and Pies together again for the first time! Maybe. Unless we're related! Which maybe we're not. I think I just confused myself."

Twilight smiled, "I think it's sweet that your families are spending the holiday together."

"Indeed. Besides, it's not like we won't have enough space for them." said Rarity.

"And the holidays are all about being together." said Asami.

Applejack couldn't agree more, "She's right. Friends or family, this here's about togetherness."

"So, it's okay if they come?" Pinkie asked the princess Avatar.

"You already invited them." Korra replied with a smile and received a great big hug from the pony.

"You're the best foster human sister a pony could ask for!"

(~)

Meanwhile, back in the city, Mako was gazing into his reflection in the mirror. He struggled with finding the right form to style his hair for the dinner tonight. Korra's parents would be arriving so he needed to look his best. He was on good terms with Tonraq but he always saw the stern glares the mane gave him whenever he was with his only daughter. Besides, he needed to get this guy's full pledge approval if he was going to one day be part of their family. Yes, as silly as it was, Mako already knew in his heart that there would be no other woman for him but Korra. Of course, he wasn't buying any rings yet, now was not the best time for either of them, but that didn't mean it wouldn't happen one day. That we was certain of. And this was the first holiday celebration with the family, so he really needed to look and be at his best.

He ruffled his hair for what appeared to be the fiftieth time already. His hair was spikier than usual and he groaned, "No. Too rebel-bad-boy." he said to himself and ruffled his raven locks again, this time getting a much more sleek which made him look a bit older, but also far too stiff.

"Too stiff." he ruffled it again, this time getting a flat. "Urgh! Too fifteen!" he tried to fix it again when a knock on the door was heard.

"Mako, are you done yet?" Flash's voice called out, "You've been in there for an hour! Come on, Rarity spends less time on her hair than you."

"Give me another second!" the firebender responded through the closed door, "I gotta get this right." the door opened and Flash walked in, making Mako narrow his eyes, "Why did I teach you how to pick a lock?"

"Here, let me help." Flash took some hair gel and started working on his friend's hair. "You're way too jittery to do this right."

"I just want to make a good impression on Korra's parents tonight."

"Relax, it's not like you're going to ask Korra to marry you." Flash's eyes widened, realizing what he just said, "Are you--?"

"No!"

"Oh, thank goodness!" Flash said in relief before continuing to work on Mako's hair, "Because if you were Tonraq would kill you. Plus, I don't think marriage is a good idea right now."

"I know, but I want him to be absolutely certain that I'm never going to leave Korra. She's the only one for me and I'm the only one for her and, when the time is right, I want us to be together forever."

"Wow, listen to you getting all romantic." Flash said once he was done fixing his friend's hair, "There, much better."

Mako looked at his reflection in the mirror, surprised to see that it was the exact same hairstyle he wore all the time. "I look the same."

"Exactly. If it's enough for Korra then its enough for her dad too."

The firebender smiled in gratitude, "Thanks, Flash."

"No problem. Now get out, you're not the only one who lives here."

(~)

At long last, the party was only an hour away. One by one, the guests arrived. Tenzin and his family and several airbenders had arrived, more of them had gone to visit their families for the holidays. Lin had arrived and greeted her sister Su with a hug. She patted her three nephews on the back and Opal rushed to greet her mother.

Korra and the rest of the team were already in their party cloths. Applejack wore a sleeveless orange dress with a above the knee skirt and a pair of country books. She wore bangles around her wrists and her hair was styled into two separate braids and wore a much more festive version of her country hat with apples and swirled patterns.

Fluttershy wore a simple green party dress with a white lace neckline and white and green ruffles on her skirt, along with a pair of flats. Pinkie Pie wore a strapless strong pink dress with a red-pink corset and ruffled pink skirt with golden outlines and a large yellow bot with dark pink leggings and a pair of pink matching books, with her hair styled to the side with candy-looking hair accessories. Rainbow Dash wore a light purple/cerulean gown with a silver corset adorned with a blue lightning bolt broach and matching earrings.

Twilight wore something depart from her traditional blue or purple colors, and instead choose a golden orange gown that depicted the image of flames that reflected against the lights of the chandelier. She wore golden bands around her arms and the top of the dress was styled into a sweetheart neckline and transparent long sleeves. The dress also had streaks of purple to adorn the flames and her hair was styled to the side, held by an elaborate looking broach of asian-design.

Korra's was more winter themed, she wore a blue dress with snow patterns around the sides and a snowflake broach with fur lining around her shoulders and long transparent sleeves that danced as she moved, the sleeves had fur lining at the end of them and her sparkly blue dress only reached the tip of the floor and was open in the front, exposing her long dark blue pants and snowflake themed boots. Her hair was styled to the side in a long elegant braid adorned with snowflakes.

The princess smiled as more and more guests entered the mansion. The Beifongs, Shinning Armor and Cadance, and finally the three alicorn rulers, who greeted her with a tight embrace. Heart's Warming was a especially important day for them, it was the catalyst that started the adventures for her father and the many to come that would eventually lead to the union of two different worlds.

"I'm so happy you guys could make it."

"Thank you for inviting us, Korra." Leilani smiled kindly like she always did. "And thank you so much for arranging this lovely get together. It truly embodies the meaning of Heart's Warming."

"Luna!" Su called out and waved to greet the moon princess.

"Suyin! It's wonderful to see you!" Luna dashed ahead to greet her old friend and the rest of her family.

"Celestia!" the sun princess turned her head to see P'Li calling her name. The princess went off to greet her and Leilani heard another voice calling for her as well.

"Leilani, over here!" Pema waved, she was happily chatting with Mako and Bolin's grandmother Yin and Granny Smith. The alicorn politely excused herself and walked towards her friends. Korra couldn't erase the smile from her face as her fellow alicorn princess stood beside her, equally joyful.

"The party's going great, Korra!" said Twilight as she linked their arms together.

Pinkie Pie appeared before them, beaming as well, "And it'll be even better once my family gets here! Picture the most fun-tacular thing you can think of. Now multiply that times infinity! Whoo, it's gonna be great!"

Applejack was right behind Pinkie Pie, and she too was as excited as her friend. "It sure is excitin'! Related or not, it's gonna be a hoot havin' our families together under one roof!"

Twilight and Korra giggled until they spotted a familiar little dragon looking up at them, "Hey, Twilight, can we open the presents now?" he asked.

Applejack arched an eyebrow, "But tonight is Hearth's Warming Eve. Everybody knows you don't open presents 'till tomorrow."

"When Spike and I spent our first Hearth's Warming Eve together, he couldn't wait all night to open his presents! Ever since then, we've always opened them the night before!"

"It's kinda like our tradition!"

Applejack chuckled, "That's not how our family does it, and I reckon it can't be how Pinkie's does it." her eyes darted to the pink pony, "Is it?"

"No sire!" Pinkie replied happily.

Korra squatted down to the little dragon, "Even so, thanks to Spike's tradition, at midnight we're all opening one present. Besides, I highly doubt the kids will be patient enough to wait ti'll tomorrow morning."

"And neither will you, right?" Twilight said with an amused smirk and crossed arms, making the Avatar blush.

Applejack still didn't think it was wise to open presents until the day they are meant to be open, but then again Korra was always one on board with trying new things. "To each their own, I suppose."

The main doors opened and a married couple entered, carrying a wrapped up present box. The couple was of water tribe descendant and the woman bared a strong resemblance to Korra.

"Happy Heart's Warming Eve, my little princess!"

"Mom! Dad!" Korra rushed to hug her parents, laughing together happily. "I'm so happy you're here!"

"We wouldn't miss it." said Senna before kissing her daughter's forehead. "We brought you something." she handed her daughter the gift.

"Thanks you guys. Spike, could you put this with the others, please?" Korra handed the dragon the box and he saluted in response. "And don't try to see what's inside." she warned, making the dragon pout in annoyance. At least his patience would pay off latter on.

Mako gulped and stretched the collar of his tuxedo once he saw Korra's father. Flash noticed this and nudged his arm. "So, are you gonna tell him now or what?"

"No, no not now. When the time is right. After dinner, he's always in a good mood after a good meal."

"Good luck." Flash patted his back and Mako walked over to the father of his girlfriend.

"Good evening, sir." Mako said with a bow.

The older man laughed humorously, "Mako, enough with the formalities!" to the younger man's surprise, the Water Tribe Chief wrapped his arm around his neck and ruffled his hair. Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as he thought after all. Tonraq released Mako, "But that's not the only surprise we brought you, sweetie."

"Dad, you didn't have to get me anything else." Korra insisted.

"Really? Not even...this?" Tonraq and Senna stepped back to reveal two familiar faces that made Korra's face lit up.

"Teo! Erika!" the princess squealed with delight to see her childhood friend and her new friends once again. "I missed you!"

"We missed you too, Koko." Teo said with a wink, using her old childhood nickname.

"You look amazing!" Erika said, marveling at the dress Korra was wearing, "Then again, what to expect from a princess."

The two girls giggled and Mako greeted Teo with a hug. "Good to see you again, Mako."

"Likewise, Teo. So how has life been treating you? Still working on those dance moves?"

"You know it. And thanks to an anonymous help group I've been learning to control my urges. I haven't stolen anything in two months."

"That's fantastic!" Mako smiled proudly at the news…then placed his hands into his pocket and extended his hand to Teo, waiting for him to return something. Teo blushed and handed him back his wallet.

"That wasn't technically an urge, more for humor."

"Well, welcome to the party."

Tonraq and Senna received a lovely welcome by the spirit trio, who nuzzled their little faces against their 'grandparents'. Korra giggled, "You remember Ali, Mika and San, right?"

"How can I forget my own grandkids?" Tonraq said before swiping the happy spirits into a hug. The little creatures loved Tonraq to bits, he was their favorite grandfather. Technically, their only grandfather.

(~)

Applejack and Pinkie Pie ate several of the snacks from the buffet table, which was loaded with an assortment of delicious goods with fresh veggies and fruits. Beside them, Kai, Meelo and Apple Bloom ate the sweets.

"Slow down, ya'll! Save some for the guests."

"Sorry, Applejack." said Apple Bloom with her mouth full and covered in frosting. "But have you tried these mooncakes? The blue is blueberry!" she leaned in and whispered into Meelo's ear, "And don't tell Granny I saw, but her trunk is full of presents!"

"Now hang on, sugarcube." Applejack arched an eyebrow and gave her sister a stern look, "You know Hearth's Warmin' ain't just about candy and presents, right?"

Apple Bloom wiped her mouth and rolled her eyes, "Uh-oh, that's your boring sisterly lecture voice."

"'Fraid so!"

Kai gulped and he and Meelo whistled before zipping away and Applejack took three candy-canes each with a cookie pony on the top with gumdrop eyes. They each depicted an earth pony, pegasus and unicorn. She began re-telling the history of the holiday through the treats.

"A long time ago, the Earth Ponies, Pegasus Ponies, and Unicorn Ponies weren't friends."

Pinkie Pie played with the unicorn cookie, "I don't like you!" she said in a high-pitched voice, making the unicorn gain up on the pegasus cookie.

Applejack spoke in a funny voice to play he pegasus cookie, "I don't like you either!" she said, reenacting the events of the past. Her voice reverted back to normal and she continued the tale, "But then, the icy chill of the Windigoes almost iced up everythin', so the ponies decided to work together, and their friendship drove them magicky critters away."

"Beat it, Windigoes!" Pinkie said in her high-pitched voice, playing the pegasus pony.

"Triumphant, they raised a new flag to celebrate all three tribes, and Equestria was born." Applejack waved a cookie flag of Equestria, only to find part of it was bitten off. "Uh. What happened to the flag?"

Pinkie Pie looked away, chewing, with her mouth full, "I don't know…" she said before swallowing the bits that remained and licked her face.

"Is that why we celebrate with a flag raisin' tomorrow?" Apple Bloom asked.

Applejack nodded, "Mm-hm! And tonight, we'll have the traditional Hearth's Warmin' Eve dinner, to remember the shared values of our ancestors."

"My family does that too!" said Pinkie Pie.

"Then we'll hang our Hearth's Warmin' dolls over the fireplace, to remind us of the warmth shared on that fateful night."

"That's what our family does too!"

"And tomorrow, we open presents!"

"Uh, not tonight, remember?"

"Oh, yeah."

"But my family usually opens presents tomorrow too!"

"Sounds like the Apples and the Pies do everything the same way!" said Apple Bloom, becoming even more excited to meet Pinkie's family.

"Of course! We might be related!" Applejack and Pinkie Pie both answered, simultaneously. The two looked at one another in surprise. "Hey, I was gonna say that!" they said once again simultaneously, "Stop sayin' what I'm sayin'! You stop it first!"

The two friends simply laughed and linked arms at the silliness. They had a feeling tonight was going to be a fun night.

(~)

Asami smiled as she handed the guests some apple slices on a tray. She wore a gown consisted of a black sweetheart bodice with off the shoulder dark green sleeves and had greenish-gold trims and a black satin-laced necklace with a bronco pendant. The lower half was an olive drab pleated skirt with sashes and dark green pleats and a pair of black high heel shoes. She allowed Fluttershy to take an apple slice and prepared to eat it.

"Please, don't eat me." the apple slice said in a familiar voice.

"Ah!!" Fluttershy screamed and dropped the apple slice, which then grew in size, revealing itself to be Discord, wearing a top hat and tuxedo.

"Happy Heart's Warming Eve!"

"Discord!" the pegasus pony smiled, "I didn't think you'd make it."

"Well, I need to make an entrance didn't I? I would have gotten here sooner but I had to pick up a few hitchhikers." Discord snapped his fingers and a tall boot-like box like the one magicians used appeared. He opened the lid and out came Varrick.

"Surprise!" he said, acting as flamboyant as ever, outstretching his hands with a present in hand. "I brought gifts!"

"Varrick!" Apple Bloom and Applejack ran up to greet their honorary member of the Apple family.

"There's my extend Apple family!"

"We're so happy you could make it." said Applejack, "Where's Zhu Li?"

Discord gasped, "Oops! I almost forgot." he removed his hat and, literally, pulled the woman out of his hand before placing her on the floor. She remained unfazed and professional as always.

"You might want to consider cleaning up that place, it's terribly disorganized." Zhu Li adjusted her glasses.

"Well, I am the master of chaos, after all."

"Doesn't mean you can't have a good filing system now and again."

Asami placed one hand on her hip and looked up sternly at the chaos spirit. "Discord, I know you like to be the life of the party, but could you please keep the surprises to a minimum just for one night?"

"I promise." Discord said while crossing his heart with his paw and raising his chicken claw up in an oath. "Call it my Heart's Warming gift to you." he offered her his hand for her to shake…which was then removed and Asami arched an eyebrow at him.

"Starting now."

(~)

Bolin took in a deep breath, "Ahh, I love the smell of Heart's Warming Eve. The holly, the tinsel, the candy, the friends and family, the Eska, the music--wait, what?!" just as he had feared, he spotted his ex-girlfriend looking dirtily at him from across the room. He quickly flinched and recoiled in terror. "Oh, it's NightMare Night again."

The icy cold princess approached him, "Greetings old boyfriend." she said, speaking in her typical monotone voice, "I bring you tidings and great joy." she outreached her hands and gave him a present. Her gestures indicated this was new territory for her. Bolin blinked and took the gift without saying a word, almost too scared to even make an effort to leave if she were to lash out at him.

"It's for Korra. From me and Desna."

"Oooookay."

"I am attempting to be more 'jolly' and festive on this night that appears to be of great sentimental and somewhat corporate importance to you all. Also, because Korra asked us personally to come I believe it best as her family to make the effort to be more uplifting and…nice."

"Okay. Good luck with that." Bolin said, forcing a polite smile.

"Hey, Eska, Desna." Asami greeted them, and Bolin quickly held her close.

"You remember Asami, right? My supper awesome and supper strong girlfriend?"

Eska's eyes darted from him to the Sato heiress, who smiled just as nervously as he did. "If you wish to replace me with another woman, I suggest you pick someone who is far more intimidating." with that she left, leaving Asami to angrily glare at Bolin.

"What did you ever see in her?"

"I don't know, I was stupid."

(~)

A new guest arrived at the party, a stunning tall pale skinned woman with long raven hair, curled to perfection with metallic-like accessories; earrings that dangled gracefully against her neck as she moved and a silvery necklace adorned around her neck. She wore a long sleeveless dress with a medium cape around her shoulders, connected by a silver chain. Beside her was a man around her age, tanned skin with spectacles and a short beard. The woman looked around the room searching for a familiar face until she finally spotted her. The princess smiled and ran up to greet greet her.

"Kuvira!"

"Korra!"

The two wrapped their arms around one another, happy to be together once more, and not for anything serious going around the Earth Kingdom this time. Korra smiled once they ended the hug, her hands still on the older woman's shoulders.

"I'm so happy you made it! I was afraid you weren't gonna show."

"And miss all of this? Of course not."

Korra spotted the young man beside her and she blinked in surprise, "Bataar Jr., is that you?"

"Actually, I go by Bataar, your Highness." he said with a bow.

"I'm glad you're here too, your family's right over there if you want to go and say hello."

For a brief moment, a wave of nervousness flashed before Baatar Jr.'s eyes. It went by so fast Korra didn't even have time to notice. Kuvira nodded her head, gesturing him to do so. Her eyes silently telling him everything would be alright. He complied and approached his family. Korra stood by her old friend, happy to have her here.

"You look incredible, by the way." Korra said, taking a step back to admire her friend's gown.

"What about you?" Kuvira gestured to her friend's gown, "Let me guess, a Rarity original?"

"Do I ever wear anything but?" the Avatar and the metalbender giggled with joy.

"So, this is what a Heart's Warming Party looks like, doesn't it?" Kuvira said, admiring the festive decor. It was unlike anything she had ever seen, and it most certainly was a beautiful sight. Her eyes darted back to Suyin and her family, who were speaking with the eldest member of their family. She hoped everything was going alright.

"I see you also invited Suyin and her family." said the metalbender, her voice carrying a hint of disappointment.

"Is something wrong?" Korra asked.

"No, not at all. It's just, ever since me and Baatar went off to help the Earth Kingdom Su hasn't exactly been so happy about it. Remember when she refused to help the Earth Queen after the Red Lotus?"

"I know, but it wasn't her calling. Besides, she's your mentor I know how protective they can be. But she's told me she is proud of what you've been doing recently."

This caught Kuvira by surprise, "Really?"

"Yeah. See for yourself."

Kuvira was surprised by this news. Even after the bittersweet departure they had from several months ago, Suyin may have finally started to come around. Maybe this evening wouldn't be so bad after all. The metalbender smiled before taking a whiff of something.

"What is that amazing smell?"

The two girls inhaled the sweet aroma and smiled at one another. "Chocolate!" the two giggled like happy schoolgirls. This was what Heart's Warming was truly all about.

(~)

After a few more minutes, the party ball kept on rolling. The Apple Family taught the younger airbender children how to make their own Heart's Warming dolls of their own to hang above the fireplace. Applejack looked up at the clock on the wall, seeing it was only seven thirty five.

"When is your family suppose to get here, Pinkie Pie?" she asked.

"They should be here any minute." Pinkie's ears suddenly started to flop five times each and her hair suddenly began to twitch and her body suddenly jumped up spontaneously. She gasped with joy, "They're here!"

"How did you know?"

"When my ears flop five times, my tail twitches and my whole buddy spontaneously bursts up with no apparent reason it's a sign that my whole family is here! Come on, we have to meet them by the door!" Pinkie Pie, being the cartoonish pony she was, zipped all around the room, grabbing each one of the Apple family, the Mane Six and Team Avatar and shoved them all towards the entrance so they could greet her family.

"Okay, that happened." Asami said once she and the others were now standing outside with her dress, which didn't have any covering and rubbed her shoulders. "Anybody got a jacket?"

"Pinkie Pie, what's going on?" Twilight asked, "Cadance and I were discussing possible baby names."

"Sorry, but my family's about to get here. I'm so happy, I need to make up a new word for how happy I am! What about... 'rooftastic'!"

Applejack arched an eyebrow, "'Rooftastic'?"

"As in, I'm gonna stand on the roof, and yell to everybody how rooftastic this is!" the anthro pony shouted from the roof for all to hear. He voice echoed across the mountainside.

"How rooftastic this is…How rooftastic this is…How rooftastic this is…"

The echoing was so loud it even reached all the way out to the cell where Zaheer was meditating. He looked around to see if there was some kind of ghost or something. He shook his head and got back to meditating.

"I wonder how Pinkie's family's like." Bolin said, thinking out loud. "Are they as fun and spirited as Pinkie, or are they more like Maud." he said while mimicking Maud Pie's emotionless face, making Asami giggle.

Applejack rubbed her arm nervously, looking down at the snow against her feet, "What if our families don't like each other?"

Pinkie Pie lowered down from the roof, softening her fall with her airbending. "We are friends, Applejack, and after tonight, our families are gonna be friends too. Do you know what that means?" Pinkie started counting with her fingers, "Number of Apples times number of Pies is twenty four, minus my three existing friendships plus one for Maud and you makes five from twenty four is…" she inhaled deep breath before saying, "nineteen new friendships!"

To the shock of her friends, more than only two hands appeared all around the screen, confusing them all. No matter how many years go by, Pinkie Pie never stopped surprising them.

"Hey, I think I see somebody." Flash squinted his eyes to see the figure approaching them. It appeared to be a woman, dressed in a long gray colored outfit with bluish gray skin and a pair of pony ears on her head. Her hair was a gray blue violet as was the straight tail sticking out from her back and her eyes were light turquoise. Her expression showed no real emotion, but even so Pinkie Pie was extremely happy to see her.

"Maud!" the pink anthro pony rushed to hug her sister, who hugged her in return, regardless of her emotionless expression never changing. Not even once.

"I'm so excited to see you, Pinkie Pie." Maud said, speaking in her usual deadpan voice, "And you, everyone. I hope you boys had fun sledding yesterday."

Mako and Bolin shook their heads in disbelief, "How'd you know that?" Mako asked in surprise.

"Isn't it obvious?" Maud raised both of their hands, spotting very small little pieces os rocks, "There are specks of extrusive and racite on your hands. It's a mountain rock."

"Oh, she's good." Bolin said.

"Yeah." Mako agreed, "We could use a sharp eye like yours on the force."

"That's sweet, but I'm afraid my expertise is more on rocks." Maud replied. Still sounding deadpan, but the boys already knew this was just how she was, it didn't mean she was being harsh.

"It's really great to see you again, Maud." Twilight said, with the others nodding in agreement. She took her boyfriend by the arm and introduced him. "I don't believe you've met Flash Sentry."

"Nice to meet you." he said, shaking her hand, "Pinkie Pie mentioned you've been traveling the Earth Kingdom for your independent study."

"I've been exploring all sorts of new and rare species of rocks. The Earth Kingdom is full of them."

"I can't wait to hear all about it!" Pinkie said with a wide smile.

"If you thought quartz was hard on the most-hardness scale, wait 'til I tell you about corundum."

"I missed you so much!"

Then, more and more figures appeared from the distance. The group consisted of four anthro ponies. The two tallest ones were dressed in some very interesting clothing. The male anthro pony wore a gray hat with a white button plaided shirt with a gray sleeveless vest and dark pants with dark shoes and wore a tie. His skin was moderate amber while his eyes were bright amber in color. His hair was light gray with lighter gray streaks on his tail and sideburns. On the right side of his vest was the image of a pickax.

The female next to him had a light combat, bluish gray skin with pony ears and tail and grayish opal hair was pulled back into a perfect bun and had the most beautiful aquamarine eyes. Her dress was simple and long with sleeves that reached her wrists and was colored a grayish blue with a white apron around her waist and a dark collar around her neck with a bleu pendant. She wore a pair of slender pentacles connected by a golden chain and carried a bot in her hands and on her cheek was the cutie mark of three diamond shaped stones.

These were Pinkie Pie's parents.

Beside them were two more anthro female ponies. The taller one was a bluish gray colored pony with gray hair and tail, the left side was styled into a bob cut while the right side was short, spiky and sticking out on ends. Her eyes were light apple green and her cutie mark on her cheek depicted a limb with two white stones. Unlike Maud, her expression was bitter and annoyed. She wore a gray country shirt with a folded collar, rolled up sleeves and a dark shirt underneath with gray pants and brown knee high hiking boots.

The second was more timid and slightly shorter in stature. Her eyes were a beautiful gray violet with turquoises gray colored skin and dark cyan gray mane and tail with greenish gray streaks. Her hair was styled to the left side, with a large part covering her left eye. She wore a dress similar to Maud's only her's was dark green gray with long sleeves and wore long black stockings with a pair of simple flat shoes. Her cutie mark was three purple stone marbles. These were Pinkie's sisters.

As they approached, Pinkie Pie ran up to gee them, "Come on, everybody! Meet my super-mega-wonderful family!"

She happily escorted her parents, who didn't appear to be all that amused by the scenery of the place. They arched their eyebrows at the path that led to the mansion, which was decorated with bright glowing crystals that Team Avatar had placed for when the guests arrived. They had never seen such lovely stones before.

Team Avatar and the Apple Family weren't all that surprised to see that Pinkie's family wasn't at all what they would expect, having had a similar experience with Maud beforehand. But, by the looks of it, it almost seemed as if they weren't happy to be here. Then again, maybe that was just their way of showing enthusiasm like Maud.

Pinkie Pie tried to hug her sister with gray hair, but she only walked on by, not even acknowledging her existence. She should have expected her to be bitter about the whole thing. She smiled at the youngest sister, who barely made a step forward. Pinkie had to drag her by the arm so she would move, frightening the poor child. Once both parties were facing one another, Pinkie Pie was bursting with joy at seeing everyone together."

"Everybody, meet everybody!"

Pinkie's parents approached Korra ad bowed before her in respect. The father spoke first and removed his hat in a gentleman fashion, "Surely thy name is not but Princess Avatar Korra. I am called Igneous Rock Pie, son of Thelmspar Granite Pie."

"Thou shalt know me as Cloudy Quartz." said his wife.

"May Providence favor thee well, and to thou comfort, your humble homestead bring."

Korra was…not expecting this kind of introduction from Pinkie's parents, but she didn't want to be rude. After all, any family of Pinkie's is family to her as well.

"It's very nice to meet you both as well." she said politely with a bow, which was a gesture that wasn't very common to them. "We're all very excited to have you here with us."

Cloudy Quartz bowed her head as she offered the princess the pot she was carrying. "Though most gracious hostess we thank with this humble offering from our family's Heart's Warming dinner traditions for thy table."

"Aww, that's so generous. Thank you." Korra kindly took the pot, which was actually much heavier than she expected but wasn't an issue for her at all, but that didn't mean she still couldn't feel the weight of the thing. "I'm sure it's delicious."

Granny Smith approached the two, "Y'all gabbin' with words real funny-like. Wh, wh, what'd you say them names were? Iggy? And I'm just gonna call you 'Big Momma Q'!"

Igneous and Cloudy shared the same awkward expressions. They knew these other friends of their daughter would have traditions different from their own, but that still didn't stop them from finding them odd.

Rainbow approached one of Pinkie's sisters to introduce herself, "Hi, I'm Rainbow Dash. And you are--?" the pegasus pony reeled back when the earth pony gained up on her with her deadly gaze.

"Gaze into the eyes of Limestone Pie. Ma and Pa Pie own the rock farm back home, but I keep it running. Cross me and-"

Pinkie Pie quickly came in between the two, "Aye aye, Captain Grumpy! No-one's gonna mess with your precious mine. We're not even in the farm right now."

"Thanks to you." Limestone said bitterly, "Now I had to leave the neighbor to watch Holder's Boulder!"

"Holder-who-what-now?" Rainbow asked.

"Holder's Boulder!" Limestone took a photo from her pocket and shoved the image in Rainbow's face. "Because of my sister now I can't watch over it for Heart's Warming!"

"Oh, come on! One night without the bolder won't kill anybody. It's not like it's going anywhere." said Pinkie, rolling her eyes at her sister.

Limestone was always a very…abrasive pony compared to Pinkie and Maud. She was a traditionalist and would not take likely to anybody who disrespected their traditions or didn't respect her authority. Out of the rest of her family she was the most hesitant to come, especially due to her possessiveness of the boulder. Pinkie Pie knew her sister well and she knew she wasn't going to let this go so easily. So, she sighed and took the photo from her sister and showed it to everybody.

"Everybody, this is Holder's Boulder, it's been in my family for six generations and even thought it's not here please show respect. There, you happy now?" Pinkie asked Limestone, who only crossed her arms and turned her head away bitterly. At least it was better than nothing.

Fluttershy approached the fourth Pie sister, who quivered once she saw the taller and more beautiful pegasus pony. "And you must be-"

Pinkie Pie swooped in and hugged the younger sister, "This is Marble Pie, my baby sister who's only a year younger than me but she'll always be a baby to me, isn't that right?" she pinched her little sister's cheek, making her blush in embarrassment. She really didn't like being the center of attention. Or, being looked upon, or even being acknowledge, period.

"She's so excited to meet everybody! Oh, and she wishes you all happy Hearth's Warming!" when Marble didn't say anything, Pinkie gently nudged her elbow and the child hooded.

"Mm-hm." she replied with a nod and shy smile.

Applejack approached Fluttershy and whispered, "Guess Pinkie Pie always did the talkin' for her."

Fluttershy took the younger sister by the hand. "I think you and I are going to get along just fine."

Korra politely led the Pie family inside, "Please, come in. Everyone's been waiting to meet you."

The whole family walked inside and once they laid eyes on the party they were astonished. But they couldn't decide if they were a good astonished or a bad astonished. Unlike back in the farm, these folks really went all out. Stockings, holly, candles and an assortment of sweets lined up on the tables with fancy party food and presents underneath the tree. This was most certainly more festive than what they normally did back at the rock farm, but Pinkie Pie really wanted them to be a part of her circle of friends, whom she loved like a second family. But even before the two worlds converged, they didn't always approve of their daughter leaving the family tradition. It was hard enough that Maud wanted to travel in order to fully fulfill her passion for rocks, but Pinkie Pie was always more adventurous and outgoing rather than being content with their simple lifestyle. As strange and unfamiliar these costumes were, the Pies still put on brave faces for their child. Besides, her friends were already so nice and welcoming how could they be rude?

Korra handed Bolin the pot, "Bolin, could you take this to the kitchen?"

"Oh, sure." the earthbender took the metal object and immediately felt heavy due to its weight. The wind was literally knocked out of him as he squatted in order to lift up the pot. "Wow! Now I know where Pinkie Pie gets her strength from." he said while grunting and holding the stew and took it to the kitchen.

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes." Korra explained, "In the mean time, make yourselves at home. Help yourselves to anything you like and I hope you enjoy your stay."

Igneous and Cloudy bowed in respect before walking deeper into the mansion to see what other wonders and surprises awaited them. Granny Smith accompanied them so they could get acquainted while Fluttershy happily chatted with Marble, even though she hardly said a word. Applejack smiled at Pinkie's way.

"So far, so good, cousin!"

"Hee-hee!"

(~)

"Hey, hey, everybody! DJ Discord, in the house!" the draquonicus spun his records and dropped some wicked beats, getting the entire room up on their feet. Luna and Celestia happily took their mother by the arms and dragged her to the dance floor.

"Girls no, I don't think this is my speed."

"Please, mother?" Luna begged, giving her mother her signature puppy dog eyes. How could Leilani say 'no' to that? She hesitantly complied and watched her daughters dance. Unlike their mother, they were a bit more up to date with the latest dance moves. She examined their movements and tried to copy them, only to look like a climbs oaf and she face palmed herself.

"I told you I was bad."

Celestia shook her head while smiling, "No, you're just stiff is all. Relax and follow the beat."

Leilani did as her oldest daughter instructed and eased her body. She breathed in and out calmly and allowed herself to be carried by the music. Step by step she danced, tapping her foot to the beat and swaying her hips like her two daughters. She was already getting the hang of it. The party guests watched as the alicorn queen danced and they all cheered her on. Feeling more confident, Leilani's movement went faster and she and her two princesses were dancing like they had been rehearsing the routine for a long time. The guests cheered and clapped, watching the three dance. This motivated them to dance as well, each finding a parter, be it friend, family member of date, they joined in the fun. Leilani couldn't contain her joy at being surrounded by so many of her friends and family.

She knew White and Wan would have loved this, but seeing the younger Avatar dance with her friends and boyfriends reassured her of that fact. The night might have only just begun but it was already turning out a wonderful Heart's Warming Eve.

(~)

While they danced, Apple Bloom, Applejack and Granny Smith helped P'Li and Pema in the kitchen preparing the meals for their soon to be dinner. Apple Bloom removed the plastic wrap around the sweet rolls and she inhaled their sweet aroma.

"Oh, I can't wait to taste these fresh sweet rolls! They're my favorite part of Hearth's Warmin' Eve dinner."

"I'm more of a six-layer bean dip filly myself!" said Granny Smith while preparing said dip.

"I love that too!" Apple Bloom looked at the pot that the Pie family had brought with them, "I wonder what Pinkie's family brought." she wondered out loud.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's delicious." said Applejack.

"Haidy-ho-ho-ho!" Pinkie Pie's head popped out from behind the entrance and she and Maud entered. "Are you excited for dinner time, because guess who is! Spoiler alert: It's me!"

"We came to help you guys get everything ready." Maud said in her deadpan voice.

"Thanks." said P'Li as she prepared to take the lid off of the metal pot their mother had brought. Once she took the lid off she was…rather surprised. "Are those…rocks?"

"It's rock soup." Maud said as she took the pot and placed it on the heater and turned on the fire. "It's our family's delicacy."

P'Li didn't want to say anything that would offend the pony or her family but…really, rocks? Who eats rocks with their soup? Then again, they did grow up in a rock farm and growing up P'Li did have to eat stranger things herself when she was homeless and before she became that commander's personal weapon.

"Oh, well…I'm sure it's delicious." she said politely, exchanging the same uncertain expression as Pema behind her.

Applejack looked at the boiling green liquid in the pot while Pinkie began stirring it with a ladle and poring it into a bowl, followed by another and placing them all in a tray. "So, ya'll eat rock soup for Heart's Warmin' Eve?"

"Yep! Since we don't have much to go by at the farm we make the most out of what we have. Rocks!" Pinkie Pie smiled with glee as she proceeded to pour the soup into the bowls.

"That's all you eat?" Applejack asked, astonished and rather heartbroken to heart that. Of course, she knew what it was like not to have much but even she and her family didn't go off hungry with rocks. How did Pinkie manage to eat that she had no idea? "But what about hot rolls, and malt cider, and double-baked pot pie? You've never had any of that?" Applejack asked.

"Potato, po-tah-to. Double baked pot pie, rock soup! Dinner is dinner, am I right or am I right?"

Applejack looked around at all the food they had and the food Pinkie's family brought. The soup seemed very out of place compared to the rest of the food.

"Don't worry, we'll leave out the rocks for everybody else." said Pinkie Pie, "I know not everybody has the jaw for them."

"Yeah…okay." Applejack bit her bottom lip and scratched the back of her head. What would this mean for their planned dinner? Would others like the meal? Or would Pinkie's family be humiliated by what they had brought?

"And after dinner, my family will teach you Apples how we make our Heart's Warming dolls!" said Pinkie PIe after she placed the last bowl onto the tray.

Applejack smiled, "Now that's somethin' I know all about!"

(~)

Once it was time for dinner, Leilani stood in the center of the room, bowing her head with her hands close to her heart with everyone following her example as she said their prayers.

"On this most holiest of nights, we are grateful for all who are gathered her tonight in love, happiness, compassion and friendship. We give thanks to the food we are about to share and thanks to those who have taken time to prepare this meal for all of us to enjoy. Let us also give thanks for those who could not be with us here on this night, but always know their spirits are always alive in our hearts. Amen."

"Amen." everyone replied in unison, making the queen feel all the more at peace.

Team Avatar and the airbenders, including P'Li, worked together in offering the meals to the guests. An assortment of food lined up a neatly organized table for all to choose. Families and friends gathered around the tables once they had chosen their respected meals and delighted in the taste. Equestrians tried new human cuisine and were astonished at how good it tasted. Humans found the Equestrian food delightful and a breath of fresh air.

Applejack and her Apple Family stood beside the Pie family, who offered the guests their home made soup. Thankfully, without the rocks many didn't mind the substance and it actually tasted good. She was so relieved folks were enjoying their food, but a part of her was still sad that this was all Pinkie's family ate back home. They didn't even try the Apple Family's home made pies and sweet rolls, they didn't even want to. Those poor Pies didn't know what they were missing out on, this all seemed so foreign to them. She made herself a promise that by the end of the night the Pies would see just what a traditional Heart's Warming Eve party was all about.

(~)

While that little situation was happening, Mako sat with Korra's family, while Flash Sentry sat with Twilight's in a second table nearby. The firebender's eyes darted to the other tables, seeing Teo and Erika happily chatting with Discord who was engaging them in one of his many stories. Kuvira and Suyin were chatting, apparently placing any bad blood they had behind them for one night, and he spotted Asami getting along swimmingly with his and Bolin's grandmother Yin. She was so naturally charming it was easy for Yin to love her. Mika, Ali and San sat beside them, sipping some of the Pie's rock soup, minus the rock.

Mako was awoken from his private thoughts when Tonraq spoke up, "So, Mako."

"Yes, sir?"

"I told you, call me Tonraq."

"Right, sorry…Tonraq." he said hesitantly at the older man. Korra couldn't help but find his nervousness adorable.

"Korra tells me you had the honor of visiting Griffonstone with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash."

"Oh, well yeah. The map summoned us and at first we thought we had to find some long lost golden idol in order to restore the griffon's pride and honor. But, as it turned out, what they really needed was a new treasure. One that's worth more than gold." Mako immediately blushed once he realized how corny he sounded. "Sorry, I rambled."

"No, son, not at all. Tell me, what was the treasure the griffons needed?" Tonraq asked, intrigued by this tale.

Mako hesitated in answering, as true as it was, even out loud it sounded rather corny. "Friendship. It was friendship.You should have seen they way they were before. They didn't care about anything else but bits and gold. Actually, it was Pinkie Pie who helped me figure it out."

Tonraq smiled with pride, "Honest and humble, I like that. If this whole cop thing doesn't work out you'd make a fine teacher, my friend."

Mako couldn't help but smile at his kind words. He began to question why he was so nervous in the first place. It was clear that Tonraq thought very highly of him, so who hard could talking to him latter on be so hard?

(~)

Applejack looked down at the green soup before her, hesitant to try it. "What's wrong, Applejack?" Pinkie asked.

"Oh, nothin'. I'm just being a rusty fiddle is all." she took the spoon and began sipping the soup. Unlike some folks, the taste really didn't do her justice. The Pies were able to eat actual rocks with their soup, and even managed to chew on a few, but Applejack…this was definitely not her kind of meal. None the less, she gulped down the liquid and exasperated once it was over.

Pinkie Pie sipped her bowl clean and asked her parents for seconds. "More rock, please!"

(~)

Latter, Pinkie Pie and her family unloaded a white sack filled with rocks in front of the Apple Family. The Pies had taken the Apples outside for the rocks wouldn't ruin the floor of the mansion. The two families were on the balcony upstairs, showcasing the Apples how they make their own Heart's Warming dolls. Since the other ponies taught other friends how to make their own dolls, the Pies decided to teach their supposed distant relatives how to make theirs their way.

After Harmonic Convergence, the Pies all gained one matching element: Earthbending. In contrast to their daughter, who was the only airbender.

With a simple twist of the wrist, Igneous and Cloudy Quartz created stone figures of their pony selves out of the stones they had taken in a matter of minutes. Pinkie Pie instead used a pickax to make one. Once she was done, she held it up high with pride.

"Who wants a Hearth's Warming doll?"

Applejack looked down at her normal stone in confusion, as did the rest of her family. "Are you sayin' that rock is a Hearth's Warmin' doll?"

"Don't be silly, silly! Our dolls are these little pieces! Isn't that right, Marble Pie?"

Marble Pie blushed and flinched just as she was about to carve her own doll from her rock. "Mm-hm." she nodded and closed her fist before twisting her palm and opening her hand to create the figure of her pony self.

Apple Bloom studied her own rock, she had never made a figure out of stone before, "Our dolls are... rocks?" she asked, wondering how she was going to make a figurine with this. Applejack mimicked what the Pies did to create their dolls, but instead only crumbled her stone to bits in her hand. "Uh… y'all don't have traditional crochet dolls, passed down in your family?"

"Aww, you're just a frown factory 'cause you got a weird rock." Pinkie said, showing the frowning faced rock Applejack had accidentally created.

Applejack sighed in disappointment. This really wasn't the Heart's Warming Eve party she had in mind. The Pies weren't even doing the same things the others were doing. Everybody else was able to sink in well with Heart's Warming traditions, but why couldn't they? How hard was it to enjoy a traditional Heart's Warming party?

(~)

Back inside, Spike's eyes scanned the area, making sure nobody else was around to see him sneaking a peek at the presents. His claw was only in arms reach for his gift until…

"Don't even think about it!" Korra's stern motherly tone caused the little dragon to pout and back away.

"How does she do that?" he asked to himself.

"Because I can see you." the Avatar said while standing right behind him, crossing her arms and arching an eyebrow.

"Come on! Just one peek?"

"Then it won't be fair to the other kids."

"Please? Pretty please with a cheery on top?" the little dragon gave her his famous big puppy dog eyes.

"Oh, is that Rarity under the mistletoe?"

"Latter!" Spike zipped away at top speed, leaving both the presents and a very satisfied Avatar. Mission accomplished.

She suddenly felt a change in the air when Applejack walked up to her, holding what appeared to be some kind of frowning rock. "Hey, A.J. What you got there?"

"A…Heart's Warmin' doll. This is how Pinkie's family does it." she handed Korra the stone and the Avatar cringed at the sight.

"Oh, it's…cute."

"I know you don't really mean it."

"I know, I'm just trying to be nice."

"I appreciate it but there's no denyin' it."

"Okay, so the Pies make their dolls with rocks, it's not so bad."

"It's not just the rocks, did you know there was rock in their soup too?"

"Well, that explains the after taste."

"I'm serious, Korra! Pinkie's family has never had a real Heart's Warming. They even said somethin' about a flag findin' mission."

Korra arched an eyebrow, "A flag finding what now?"

"Instead of havin' the youngest member of the family to rise the flagpole on Heart's Wamin' Day, they have this race where they search the farm for some kind of obsidian stone and whoever finds it raises the flag."

"That actually sounds like fun."

"But it's not how it's suppose to be done. They don't even have a flag pole, instead it's that bolder thing!"

"Holder's Bolder." Korra corrected.

"It's all just so... complicated, and... rock-based."

"So they celebrate the holidays a little bit differently, so what?."

"What if I told you Pinkie Pie is gettin' a few party guests to actually do the 'search for the stone' thing to see who raises the flag tomorrow?! We all agreed the kids were gonna do it!"

Korra crossed her arms and sighed calmly, "A.J., I know you're a traditionalist and all, but I think you're being a bit too hard on the Pies. Pinkie Pie just wants to share her traditions with her friends, there's nothing wrong with that."

Applejack sighed, her ears lowering as she leaned against the wall, hugging herself. "I just don't want them to feel out of place. I know they have their traditions, and we have ours, but I just want them to see how much better theirs could be."

"Better? Applejack--" before Korra could continue, Pinkie Pie appeared and wrapped her arm around Applejack's arm, while dragging her away.

"Applejack, come on! We've already got volunteers for the Flag Finding mission!"

The country pony was forcibly dragged away by the excitable pony, leaving the Avatar to silently hope Applejack will come to her senses. Maybe playing this game won't be so bad.

(~)

At the back of the mansion, where there stood an old playground, decorated beautifully just for the party and for the kids to play on as their own private winter wonderland. Pinkie Pie stood before her family, the Apple family, and the airbender children, as well as Spike, Ali, Mika and San, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, in order to play the searching game. At least the kids were involved so maybe the youngest would be able to rise the flag the next day after all. But, it would be sad if only one of them rises the flag and the others don't. Applejack hoped that would not be the case.

Pinkie Pie began pairing up the teams, "Limestone Pie, you're the judge! Big Mac, Marble Pie, you're team one!" Pinkie forcibly shoved Big Mac and Marble close to each other.

While it went unnoticed by many upon first glance, Big Mac did find the shy silent pony undeniably adorable. She was a pony of very few words just like him and often had difficulty expressing her emotions as it seems. Even if he didn't completely know at first, Marble found the anthro stallion incredibly handsome and charming. She liked how strong and calm he was. She couldn't help but blush once he stood before her, thankfully her mane covered half of her face so hopefully he didn't notice. Big Mac was blushing as well, which somewhat blended against his red colored skin.

Next, Pinkie Pie paired up the youngest apple with her older sister. "Crusaders and Maud, you're team two!" she quickly zipped towards the older generation of both families and paired them up as well, "Ma, Pa, you're gonna be with Granny Smith. Don't think of it as team old, think of it as team three!

She popped from behind the airbenders, "Kai, Jinora, Ikki and Meelo, you're team Air! Or team four, since there's four of you! Spike, you, Ali, Mika and San are Team Scales! Or team five! And I'm with Applejack of course, since we might be cousins!" Pinkie cleared her throat before explaining the scenario to the others, "As everybody knows, when the three tribes united to form Equestria, the first flag was sewn by Nimble Thimble. It's tradition to raise a flag on Hearth's Warming to celebrate that famous day. But who gets to put the flag on Holder's Boulder?"

"You mean on the flagpole?" Applejack reminded.

"Oh right, not in the farm this time."

"Thanks to you!" Limestone said sarcastically and bitterly.

Pinkie only rolled her eyes, "Sheesh." she said before reverting back to her enthusiastic self, "And who's the lucky one who gets to put the flag on the highest point?"

"Traditionally, it's the youngest-" Applejack began, but was interrupted when Pinkie Pie shouted quickly.

"On your marks get set, go!"

The teams split up to search for the stone, which was hidden somewhere around the house, since inside they didn't want to disturb the others guests or get in their way. The mansion was surrounded by a small forest with multiple rocks around the grounds, so the children and groups searched around to find the obsidian stone. Applejack and Pinkie searched the left side of the house, looking for the stone.

"I still don't understand." Applejack said.

"Earlier today, Limestone Pie hid an obsidian stone. Whoever finds it gets to raise the flag! I already told you, remember?"

"It's not that, it's just…this is all so…different."

"Well, how else would we do it?"

"I don't know... I sure hope everypony else is havin' a better time."

(~)

On the right side of the house, Marble and Big Mac searched for the stone. Needless to say their conversations were…well, not very informative. All Marble said was "Mm-hm." and all Big Mac said was "Eeyup." It didn't take long for them to realize that they were both ponies of very few words, and that those were their usual catchphrases that nobody else would understand but their siblings.

"Mm-hm."

"Eeeeeeeeeyup."

Many would believe that these two were just too shy to even have a conversations. However, to them this was actually the most engaging talk they had ever had with somepony. Marble liked that Big Mac could show so much emotion into just one word. Not to many ponies could do that in her opinion. She could tell if he was having fun or bored just by listening to his "Eeyups", and likewise Big Mac could tell a lot from Marble by her "Mm-hms". They didn't need words to say how they felt, because they didn't need them.

Sometimes, actions really do speak louder than words.

(~)

Granny Smith, Cloudy Quartz and Igneous Rock searched the front of the house for the stone. The elderly country pony began a conversation with the two, finding them to be actually be quite charming. "So, how'd you meet your diddy feller?" she asked Cloudy.

"We were chosen by the Pairing Stone, and betrothed within a fortnight."

"The choosing stone decreed 'thou shalt love one another', and lo, it was so." Igneous explained, while his wife nodded in agreement. This story truly fascinated Granny.

"Hooee, I gots to look into this oldfangled choosin' stone thing. You reckon it knows any apple fire-red hunks?"

Cloudy giggled while her husband blushed bashfully, "Indeed so." these country ponies may have such strange costumes, but they were indeed fun to talk to.

(~)

The Crusaders and Maud searched the farther back of the house with more stones around the area. The three really didn't know how to really starts a conversation with Maud, she didn't seem like the kind of pony who likes talking. Yet, they couldn't be rude. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo gestured to Apple Bloom to start a conversation since they could possibly be related after all. The earhbender pony shyly scratched the back of her head before asking, "What does the rock look like?" Apple Bloom asked.

"It looks like something that formed when volcanic lava cooled quickly." Maud replied in her deadpan voice while inspecting several rocks around her.

"Oh."

"Have you ever wished you could turn into a rock?"

"I had a dream once I was an apple."

"I once dreamed I was a ball." said Scootaloo.

"I was a snowflake." said Sweetie Belle.

Maud stood up from squatting down looking at the rocks and turned around to face the three ponies. Regardless of her serious and emotionless exterior, her tone was an odd mixture of deadpan and kind. "We have a lot in common when it comes to thinking about turning into things." she said.

Even though she didn't communicate or expressed her emotions like every other pony, that didn't mean she wasn't nice. Her compliment made the Crusaders blush and started to feel more comfortable with the earth pony with a very unique personality.

(~)

Applejack was just about ready to give up on this search when she spotted the aribenders approach her, along with Spike and the spirit trio. "Did ya'll find it?"

Ikki shook her head, "No. All we found was this picture of a rock." the younger airbender revealed the piece of paper with the drawing of a dark colored rock and upon witnessing it, Pinkie Pie gasped in awe.

"You found it! You found it!" she smiled and hugged the confused child, while Applejack was beyond baffled by this revelation.

"A picture? I've been lookin' for a real stone, Pinkie Pie!" said the country pony.

Pinkie released Ikki and arched an eyebrow at her friend, as if she had just said the strangest thing she had ever heard. "Um, that would be weird." she shook it off before reverting back to her happy self, "Do you know what this means? You guys get to raise the flag tomorrow!"

"Yeah!" the children cheered, they already knew they would rise the flag but it was still a lot of fun to do.

"That was fun!" said Meelo as he and the others ran inside to share their experience with the grownups. Applejack had to admit, they sure seemed happy, but it was a shame this couldn't be exactly how Pinkie's family did it, which only made her wonder if them having their old fashioned traditions here would make them feel out of place, they most certainly didn't seem to do the same things everyone else was doing, they barely even touched the treats set out for everyone, and they mostly spent the night chatting with either each other or the Apples. They didn't interact with everybody else.

"So, what now?" she asked the pink pony.

"Well, normally at this point it's time to hide the presents."

Applejack shook her head in disbelief, "Y'all hide your presents?"

"Of course! What's more fun than getting a present? Finding a present! Although, most years, nopony finds one."

"So nopony gets presents?" Applejack could not believe what depressing news she was hearing.

"Eh, not usually." Pinkie said with a shrug, acting as if it wasn't that big of a deal, which shocked Applejack even more.

"So lemme get all this straight." she began counting with her fingers while mentioning each of the Pie's so called traditions, "You're only allowed to eat rock soup for dinner, then the pony who finds this rock gets to raise the flag, but not really 'cause you don't got no flagpole, and to top it off, you don't even get presents?"

For a moment, Pinkie's enthusiasm came to a halt as she began putting Applejack's words into perspective. "Well, it doesn't sound very fun when you say it that way." she said. In reality, it was true. Compared to how this entire party was set up, her family's normal traditions seemed almost…half-done. Still, she loved sharing those traditions with her family every year, but maybe there could be another way for them to celebrate it, even if it was just once.

"Not to mention I haven't seen your folks barely interact with anybody else."

"Well, they're just not used to all of this. My family is every traditional, you wouldn't believe how many pretty pleases with a cherry on top I had to do to get them to come tonight."

"Wait…they didn't want to come in the first place?"

Realizing she had let the cat out of the bag, Pinkie Pie blushed and fiddled with her hair, her ears lowering down in sadness. "Well…I…you see…I just really wanted our families to get along."

"Well, how 'bout you picture this: Both our families, openin' presents, raisin' the flag…?"

"Picturing it... Loving it…!"

"We've been doin' everythin' your way, what'ya say we could mix it up a bit?"

(~)

Back inside the party, Limestone leaned against the wall, looking down at the picture of Holder's Bolder in her hand. How she wished she was back on the farm instead of here. She missed her family's traditional rock soup, with all rock, the traditional searching for the stone, and hiding presents, only now they had to actually open presents the night before Heart's Warming Day because it was some silly dragon's idea. Why did Pinkie Pie have to make friends with these weirdos? This was not her Heart's Warming Eve, and it certain wasn't her family's. They didn't even want to participate in this, but Pinkie Pie was just too persistent. It was no wonder the Pies barely associated with anybody else, she refused to speak to anybody. Pinkie tried to make things better by bringing the rock soup and introducing a mediocre knockoff of their search for the stone, but it just wasn't the same. And worse, it felt like these people were trying to teach her and her family something that just wasn't theirs. It wasn't fair at all, and her family complied.

At least, that's what she thought. To her hour and shock she saw her own parents associating not only with Granny Smith but an elderly woman with a red scarf around her neck, Maud was talking with the Crusaders, and making them laugh, and Marble was making goo-goo eyes at Applejack's big brother. She could not believe this, how was any of this suppose to be a good thing?

All eyes fell upon the top of the staircase where Korra stood, "Alright everybody, it's only thirty minutes till midnight, but due to a certain somebody who's patience just couldn't wait any longer--" her eyes darted to a certain little dragon who hid behind her dress while blushing and smiling, flashing his pearly white teeth. "--and since I know some of you probably can't wait either, I know I can't, what'ya say we open our presents now!"

The room bursted with loud cheers and applauds, much more so than even Korra would have expected to see. Apparently it wasn't just children who couldn't wait to open their gifts. However, the only ones who weren't cheering were the Pies. Applejack took notice of this and decided to take matters into her own hands.

It didn't take long for everyone to each pick one of their gifts in order to hand them to the one person they got them for. First was Jinora, who gave Ikki her present. The young girl tore the colorful paper like there was no tomorrow and gasped in awe at the gift. It was a Princess Celestia plush toy, since she was one of her favorite alicorn princesses. She enthusiastically hugged her sister and offered her her gift. Jinora opened it and smiled sweetly. Her little sister had gotten her a hand woven headband with one of her favorite flowers as a decoration, a Lilly. It was so thoughtful and simple, just the way she liked it.

One by one, friends and family gave and received unique and special gifts. Bolin gave Asami hers and she nearly breasted with tears of joy. Bolin, sweet lovable and goofy Bolin, made her clay figures of the two of them holding hands with a heart behind them, and at the bottom the words "Me and my girl, forever" was engraved. It wasn't exactly a work of art, especially with their eyes only two black dots, but still it was the most thoughtful and romantic gift she could have received. And it didn't cost him a dime, he made it all himself.

Asami's gift made him tear up as well. She had melted metal to make him his own medallion that read "My hero" on the center. This was her way of saying he was always a winner in her eyes. Bolin hugged and kissed her with so much love it brought him to tears.

Teo and Erika exchanged gifts as well. Teo got her a pair of dancing shoes and, interestingly enough, Erika got him a pair of shoes as well. After all, dancing was what brought them together.

Tu shyly gave Opal her gift, which was a lovely crystal lotus flower and she gave him some weight for him to work out. Both were simple, but they indicated how well they have come to know one another.

P'Li was given a beautiful silk dress from the airbenders, Discord was given a weird lamp that looked like him from Fluttershy and he got her a fun playground for her animal friends. Rainbow Dash gave Scootaloo a brand new scooter and Rarity gave Sweetie Belle her own microphone to sing with.

Flash gave Twilight what he knew she would love…a book. He knew her all too well. And she gave him something he would keep forever: an expandable sword!

Mako looked down at his gift for Korra. He had no question if it was good enough because he thought long and hard on what to give her. It would be hard because Korra was someone who never asked for much, and being a magical alicorn princess she could already have so much if she wanted, but she wasn't anywhere near materialistic. Tonraq and Senna gave her a brand new parka and she graciously hugged them in return.

Applejack noticed the Pies weren't participating in the gift giving, no doubt a sad side effect from never getting a gift on Heart's Warming. But she was determined to change that. Since Granny brought more presents for everyone, Applejack knew the Pies wouldn't go gift-less this year.

"Hey, ya'll. What'd ya standin' around here for? We've got gifts for everyone."

"Not interested." Limestone replied bitterly.

"Thou is correct, Limestone Pie." said Igneous Rock, "We will politely wait until thee morrow to present gift seeking."

"Well this year, we all get presents, without having to find them." Applejack was not about to let these Pies miss out on Heart's Warming, so she took Ma and Pa by the hands and led them to the rest of the group. She opened up the chest Granny had brought and gave both of the parents a gift.

"Go ahead, open em!"

The couple looked at one another skeptically. This wasn't how they normally did things, but maybe it wouldn't hurt. Igneous was given a wrapped up shovel with a red bow tie and Cloudy was given a wooden jewelry box. These were very extravagant gifts, ones they were not used to.

"Now Igneous can work on the farm with ease and Cloudy you now have a lovely box to keep your jewelry in."

"I do not have such material possessions." she said, her eyes slightly narrowing, as if taking the gift itself as an insult to her simple ways.

"And our family have cultivated the rocks for generations with our bear hooves, never with the use of nonessential tools."

Applejack was taken a back by this. She was only trying to be nice and make them feel special. This wasn't going as well as she hoped so she tried to make the most of it. "Well then, Marble Pie come here. I'm sure we've got a present for you too."

The youngest Pie was hesitant to approach the pony, so Applejack walked up and have her a box for her to open. She carefully unwrapped the colorful paper and opened the box, seeing it was a Heart's Warming sweater with snowflake prints.

"Aww, don't it look adorable?" Applejack commented, which made Marble Pie blush and sit back down, hiding her face with her mane. A.J. thought she would be a bit more, well thankful for the gift. It wasn't perfect or expensive but it was a nice thought. She just didn't understand.

"Uh…how about…Maud, I'm sure you'll like somethin' from in here….hopefully." she said, whispering the last word to herself. She rummaged through the luggage and pulled out a pair of hiking boots. "Oh, hey, how about these?"

Maud took the boots and studied them, though given her deadpan expression she carried twenty four seven it was hard to tell what her initial reaction would be.

"These would be perfect for hiking on the mountains of the Earth Kingdom for my rock studies. Plus, they're in my favorite color. Thanks, Applejack."

The country pony sighed. At least one of them liked the gifts. Pinkie Pie knew her folks weren't liking the presents, she knew Applejack meant well but these gifts just weren't suited well with her parents and their ways. Personally, she thought they were lovely, but her parents did not see them that way.

"I don't understand." Applejack said. "You don't like the gifts at all?"

"No!" Pinkie intervened, looking nervous, "They're great, uh, right everypony?"

"Pinkamena Diane Pie! Truly thou cannot favor this madness!" Igneous Rock shouted, tossing the shovel aside, starling everyone and putting the gift giving to a screeching halt. Team Avatar didn't like where this was going.

Pinkie Pie felt like she was caught between a rock and a hard place. Her parents weren't happy, Marble wasn't speaking (as always) and Limestone definitely appeared to be on Ma and Pa's side of things.

"Well, I wanna be one big family!"

"But what about what we usually do?!" Limestone said, gaining up on her younger sister, "We always do Heart's Warming Eve our way, but you just had to drag us all the way out here, and for what? To be outcasts at your fancy modern human party?"

"I, um, well…"

"We couldn't even do the flag finding mission like we normally do, and we had to leave the rock out of our rock soup just so your two legged friends can be happy, and worst of all we had to spent tonight away from the farm! Are our traditions not enough for you anymore now that you're part of some hero team?!"

"I…I don't know!" the poor pony began to tear up, "Don't make me choose!"

Applejack felt terrible. Instead of making things better she made them worse. "I didn't mean to cause a fuss... Why don't we just see if we can find a gift for you, Limestone?"

"The only present I want is to go home!" she exclaimed, her angry tone caused Pema to hold her children close while Tenzin tried to make peace.

"Please, if we take a moment to--"

"Stay out of this, old timer!"

"Hey, you have no right to call him that!" Applejack exclaimed, becoming annoyed with the pony's bad temper, who was now unleashing all of her pent up rage she had been keeping inside the whole night.

"Well, you have no right to force your way into our family!"

Her response only made Applejack angrier. "If you didn't want to come maybe you should have just stayed with your oversized boulder!"

The Pie's gasped in horror at the words that came out of Applejack's mouth, and she quickly realized what she had said. This only infuriated Limestone that she clenched her fist and aimed for an attack. Korra and the others immediately reacted and reached out to stope Limestone as she aimed her fist at Applejack's face. She quickly maneuvered the punch but in doing so the picture Limestone kept of Holder's Boulder in the pocket of her shirt, flew off due to her rapid movement and the paper flew out. Applejack completely dodged the attack by doing a summersault and landing behind Limestone. The angry pony realized what had happened and painfully witnessed as the photograph flew off and landed…

Right in the fireplace.

"Nooooooooooooooo!" Time seemed to move slowly as Limestone had to watch the picture of her family's most prized possession burn in flames. She got down on her knees, her eyes shaken by the sight and she couldn't even mouth a single sentence. Everyone in the room only stood still, watching as the poor heartbroken pony witnessed the last bit of the image disappear in burning ash.

Applejack had never felt more awful in her life. If she had not agitated Limestone to begin with this never would have happened. "I…I'm so sorry. I didn't mean--" she looked back at Pinkie's family, who looked at her in shame, minus Pinkie Pie who looked at her with worry. She looked all around the room and seeing everyone's shocked expressions did the reality dawn upon her.

She had not made Heart's Warming better…she made it worse. She couldn't even face them. With her eyes closed shut her body started to glow and she morphed into her pony form before galloping out of the room.

Pinkie Pie spoke in hopes of easing the tension, "Please, this was all a misunderstanding! I know Applejack, and she'd never do anything bad to anypony!"

Limestone finally spoke up, "Look around, Pinkie Pie! None of us wanted to come in the first place and now I don't have anything of Holder's Boulder for Heart's Warming. This is all her fault and yours!"

As tears welled up in Pinkie's eyes her body began to glow and she morphed into her pony form before galloping out of the room as well. Korra attempted to go after them both, but was stopped by Granny Smith.

"Let me talk to them." she said, "I may be old but I still got plenty to say." Korra complied and allowed the elderly pony to speak with the two sad ponies, leaving Team Avatar and the others with the Pie family. While Granny went to deal with Pinkie and Applejack, they had a few things to say to the Pies as well.

(~)

On the balcony of the mansion, a grief-stricken Applejack hid her face in her hooves, allowing the soft snow to gently fall all around her as she cried. How could she had been so stupid? All she wanted was to make the Pies feel welcome, but all she did was make them feel different. How could she go back inside after that? She ruined everything, there was no denying it.

"I really cracked the corn this time."

"I really popped the piñata this time." another voice was heard, sniffing and crying from above Applejack. She looked up and saw a family figure up on the roof of the house.

"Pinkie Pie?"

Pinkie yelped when she heard her friend. Peeking down she saw the orange pony, crying just like her, "What are you doing here?" she asked as she used her airbending to lower herself downwards.

"What are you doin' here?"

"I came here to think!" the two said simultaneously, "You did? So did I!" regardless of the situation, the two best friends couldn't help but laugh at their simultaneous responses.

Applejack lowered her ears as a sign or regret, "I'm too ashamed to go back there. Your family, my family, everyone, they all must think I'm such a nincompoop."

"Aw, no-one thinks that! Pushy, aggressive, mean…" Pinkie quickly stopped once noticing Applejack's annoyed expression, "Oh, I'm not helping. Sorry."

"I'm sorry I tried to forced my traditions over yours. I don't want you to have to choose between the family you were born into and friends who love you like one. I really hoped we could be one big happy family. I guess not."

"Don't say that! If anything, I'm to blame too. I should have told you all the truth before, but I really thought if I still did some of my family's traditions they wouldn't feel so out of place. You're right, you guys are my family too, that's why I wanted mine to be a part of yours and everybody else's."

The two girls were startled when another voice was heard from the entrance. The elderly pony leaned against the doorframe. "You want to know why Holder's Boulder's so danged important?" Granny smith asked. She exhaled her breath against the glow window and started making drawings on the window with her finger. "Well, now their great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather, Holder Cobblestone, he found that boulder in a dragon's nest, older than time itself! He built the family farm around it, even though it was just an ordinary rock. It always brought him good luck."

"How did you know that story?" Pinkie asked, "I never told you about it."

"Yer Ma and Pa told me and Yin the story. They're nice fellers once you get to know 'em."

Applejack's body glowed bright and she changed into her anthro form, her eyes were open wide now. "Aw, crickets! That is important! Pinkie, I'm sorry. I got so caught up in the things your family was doin', I never asked why they did it!"

Pinkie Pie morphed into her anthro form as well. "You know, I always knew Holder's Boulder was important, but I guess I forgot to really appreciate it sometimes."

"Guess we both had the wrong mentality, didn't we?"

"Guess we did."

"Thanks, Granny. You came just in the nick of time." suddenly, Applejack jumped back in shock when a strange looking gift landed in front of her.

"Hey, my Heart's Warming gift!" Pinkie exclaimed with joy, "I hid it up here for you to find it, Applejack."

The country pony giggled, "Only you would hide a present on a roof." she read the card tied to a string and tears once again rolled down from her eyes. But these were tears of joy. "To Applejack, from Pinkie Pie. Cousins forever."

Pinkie Pie's eyes teared up as well and the two embraced in a warm hug. It didn't matter if they were related or not, they would always be family, because that was what Heart's Warming Eve was truly all about.

"You're family really does have some great traditions, Pinkie Pie."

"So do you, Applejack. Happy Heart's Warming."

"You too."

(~)

Companied by Granny, the two ponies headed back to the party, and once arriving all eyes were on them. Pinkie noticed that most of the presents have yet to be open.

"You guys didn't open the rest of your presents?" she mentioned.

"We didn't want to without you guys." Jinora said.

Lin approached the show, her green eyes filled with sympathy. "You kids doing okay?"

"We're fine, Lin." Applejack said before stepping before the Pie family and she hung her head in shame, "I'm really sorry. I wasn't tryin' to disrespect ya'll. I was so focused on us bein' one big happy family, I thought we needed the same traditions right away. What I should've done was learn about yours, and teach you about ours, and over time, we'd make new traditions together. I'm sorry, y'all."

"In truth, our clan owes thou and apology as well." Igneous said while removing his hat, "We feared we would not feel welcome in thou homestead, but we now see we have been fearful of change."

Cloudy nodded with a smile, "But thou have embraced us and our ways with open arms."

Korra smiled at the Pie's, "Just because we do things differently doesn't make your traditions are any less important, nor does it mean you have to give them up. It really doesn't matter how we celebrate Heart's Warming. On a farm, in a mansion, heck even while camping in the woods, the important thing is that we celebrate it together as a family, because that's what it's really all about."

Maud Pie stepped forward and stood beside the princess and addressed to her parents, "Pinkie Pie only wanted to share her new calling with all of us. She may not be as passionate about rocks as the rest of us, but she's still our Pinkie Pie. The Pinkie we love."

To everyone's astonishment, Maud smiled as Pinkie hugged her older sister tightly.

All eyes fell on Limestone, who had her arms crossed the entire time. Out of everyone, she have yet to say anything or apologize for her behavior. After a moment of silence, she sighed and looked upon Applejack with eyes of regret. "I'm…sorry for trying to punch you earlier."

"And I'm sorry for ruinin' your photo."

"Eh, it's just a picture anyways. The Bolder may be important but not enough for me to go all FireLord Ozai on you."

Applejack blinked in surprise, "You know about Ozai?"

"Well, duh! I may be a rock farmer but I still like doing other things in my spare time, like read history." for the first time all night, Limestone smiled a genuine smile, while half of Team Avatar giggled lightly at Limestone's humor. "Well, don't just stand there! We got presents to open!"

The room burst into cheers and applauds, happy to know that the worst was behind them and so the gift giving proceeded. Mako remembered he had yet to give Korra her gift. He tapped on her shoulder and presented her with a white rectangle shaped box with a red bow on top. Twilight and Pinkie Pie peeked from behind her shoulder to see what it was.

"What did you get? What did you get?" Pinkie asked excitedly and Korra opened the gift. The Avatar's eyes widened in awe and she nearly caught her own breath. She gently took the gift out from the box and marveled at its beauty.

"It's a…twig?" Twilight asked, confused by the gift and why Korra liked it so much.

Asami, Bolin and Flash peeked out from behind Mako and were also skeptical on his choice of gifts. Why did he give her a twig? Well, the twig also had a red thick string of fabric wrapped around it in a neatly decorated fashion with a carving of the water tribe and fire nation symbol onto the side.

"Mako…it's beautiful." Korra said, her eyes tearing up.

"I don't get it." Asami voiced out.

Mako lightly chuckled as he began explaining the gift to her, "It's a twig from the tree Korra and I slept underneath the night Bolin was kidnapped by the Equalists. It was also the first time I realized Korra and I have something special."

Hearing this made Twilight, Pinkie and Asami swoon. "Awwwwwww!"

"Then what's the string for?" Flash asked.

"It's from one of mom's old folk tales." Mako explained.

"The Red String of Fate." Korra finished for him.

"Right. It's suppose to connect those who are destined to meet one another, regardless of time, or place or circumstances."

"It may stretch and tangle…"

"…But never break."

Hearing all of this, and the way both Korra and Mako finished the story of the string, the others just started to cry. Asami and Bolin cried on each other's shoulders while Flash blew his nose on a tissue. "That's so romantic!"

Korra then noticed something about the string, "Wait, this fabric…it's from your dad's scarf. You gave it to your grandmother."

"It's alright, dear." Yin said, appearing behind the two, "It was my gift to him and you."

Korra couldn't have asked for a more thoughtful gift. She placed a hand on Mako's cheek and kissed him full on the lips. "This is the best gift ever. I don't know how mine will ever top it."

"I'd love whatever you get me." he said honestly.

Korra chuckled nervously, "Then you're probably gonna need a moment after this." she nodded her head, gesturing to turn around and once he did his jaw dropped.

Rarity and Rainbow Dash rolled in his old police officer bike…which had been painted with a stunning bronze gold paint, but not too flashy or shinny, just right for him, and the side of the bike were designed to look similar to wings with an emblem of a police badge with a flame inside of it.

"That's…that's my old bike!" Mako said, stemming the words due to his amazement. "I thought the spirit vines destroyed it!"

"Funny thing, I found it tangled in the wilds one day and did a little work on it. Asami did help with the engineering stuff, though."

"Call that my gift to you!" Asami clapped her hand on Mako's shoulder, who was still in awe.

"I know how much you missed that bike." said Korra, "And I wanted to let you to feel one of a kind too."

Mako's shocked expression slowly shifted into a smile and he scooped up his girlfriend in one of their signature spinning hugs. "I love it!" he said before placing her down and kissing her full on the lips. "Happy Heart's Warming."

"Happy Heart's Warming."

"Happy Heart's Warming, Mommy!" a voice spoke out…making Korra and Mako quickly spun around to see Ali, Mika and San hovering before them.

Mako blinked, "Mika?…did you just…?"

"Daddy!" the little spirits with dragonfly wings all said in unions…with their mouths! The couple could not believe their ears.

"You can talk?!"

Jinora peeked out from behind them, "Technically speaking, younger spirits do have the capability to speak once they reach a certain age." she stated matter of factively.

Korra and Mako couldn't believe it, their little children could talk! They never imagined they could feel such happiness and pride all at once. This must be how being a parent feels like. The spirits hugged their parents, happily laughing along with them, as the rest of the gang embraced in the celebration.

But the surprises weren't done there. Luna and Celestia stood at the top of the staircase, clearing their throats to get everyone's attention. Luna spoke up first, "Forgive us for interrupting this memorable moment, but we both have a present to give to our mother, Queen Leilani."

Leilani smiled and wondered what it was her daughters wanted to give her that demanded everyone's attention.

"It's a song our father used to sing when we were fillies." Celestia said, "This song is in celebration of those who are no longer with us in body…but are with us in spirit."

Spike cracked his knuckles and started playing the piano. Korra and Twilight flew upwards and created a spotlight for the princesses while dimming the lights a bit, allowing the candles to light up the room in its enchanting glow. As the music played on, Celestia sang the first verse.

(When I look at you, by Miley Cyrus)

Celestia:

Everybody needs inspiration

Everybody needs a song

Luna:

A beautiful melody

When the nights are long

Celestia:

Cause there is no guarantee

That this life is easy

Once the two sang the chorus together, Leilani's heart swelled up with so much love and happiness. She had not heard this song in so many years, and hearing her beautiful grown up daughters singing it was truly the most wonderful gift she could ever receive.

Celestia and Luna:

Yeah, when my

World is falling apart

When there's no light to break up the dark

That's when I

I, I look at you

When the waves

Are flooding the shore and I can't

Find a way home anymore that's when I

I, I look at you

As the song carried on, friends and family gripped each other's hands. Even Discord shed a tear or two. Varrick was brawling like a baby, and Korra was gripping her heart, feeling the love that transcended from the words into her heart. She knew both White and Wan would be proud them both.

Luna:

When I look at you

I see forgiveness

I see the truth

Celestia:

You love me for who I am

Like he stars hold the moon

Luna:

Right there where they belong

And I know I'm not alone

The sisters kept on singing while Mako took out his guitar to aid a bit in the music next to Spike, and the princesses sang like they never sang before. Their voices were so strong and powerful and beautiful most of all.

Celestia and Luna:

Yeah, when my

World is falling apart

When there's no light to break up the dark

That's when I

I, I look at you

When the waves

Are flooding the shore and I can't

Find a way home anymore that's when I

I, I look at you

Luna:

You, appear, just like a dream to me

Just like kalendscope colors that cover me

Celestia and Luna:

All I need

Every breath that I breath

Don't you know?

You're beautiful!!!!

Yeah, Yeah!

When the waves

Are flooding the shore and I can't

Find a way home anymore that's when I

I, I look at you

I look at you

Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh, oh

You, appear, just like a dream to me

The lights lit up once more and the entire room bursted into applauds and Leilani hugged her daughters, while crying tears of joy. That was the best Heart's Warming gift ever. There was not a dry eye in the house, not even Spike could stop the tears. He got his own surprise when Twilight levitated his present onto his lap. The one he had been waiting for all night. Like the excitable little child that he is, he tore open the gift and his smile fell, only to regain it once he saw Twilight smiling at him.

"Just what I always wanted…a book…" he should have expected as much.

(~)

The next morning, Pinkie Pie bursted from the trees, zipping all around in her air scooter, shouting to all. "Hearth's Warming! Hearth's Warming! Hearth's Warming! Hearth's Warming! Hearth's Warming! Hearth's Warming!"

The next day, everyone was having a snow day near the mansion, where Korra stood in the center of a snow filled clearing. "Are you ready?!" her response was met with the cheers from her friends and family and she happily stomped her foot onto the snow, creating a vast skating rink for everybody. Ice sculpture decorated the area, and a crystal gazebo stood onto the center.

It didn't take long for the children and families to jump onto the ice and skate to their heart's content. Twilight and Asami led their boyfriends onto the rink, helping them not to slip and fall, while Pinkie Pie and Rarity gracefully skated across the ice. Mako laughed happily at the scene until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Tonraq.

"I want to ask you something, young man."

"Yes, Tonraq?"

"Answer me truthfully. Do you love my daughter?"

"More than anything." he replied honestly and with no hesitation or pretenses, just as Tonraq expected from him.

"And you would fight by her side, no matter what?"

"I have before and I'll do it again. I've got her back and I always will."

Tonraq smiled at the young man's response. "Then, if the time ever comes, I would be more than happy to welcome you into the family…son."

Mako could not believe what he was hearing. All this time he thought he had to prove himself to Tonraq, but just by being his honest and true himself he already did that. That was enough for the Southern Water Tribe chief, and Mako couldn't be happier. He instinctively hugged the man…but once he realized what he was doing he quickly reverted back and chuckled nervously…only to get a great big bear hug from the man.

"Okay, I fell the love now." the firebender said, getting the wind nearly knocked out of him.

(~)

"I'm really glad we got to know you better, Maud." Apple Bloom said to the oldest earth pony. "You're really sweet."

"Likewise, Apple Bloom." she took a rock from her pocket and showed it to the little filly, "You want to pet Boulder?"

"Sure!" the younger pony happily petted Maud's pet rock while Limestone walked by, offering them some sweet rolls, which Apple Bloom ate and shared with Boulder. Maud was so happy to have found a friend in the little pony.

(~)

On the bench, both Marble, who was wearing her new sweater, and Big Mac sat on the opposite side, too shy to scoot closer. Pinkie Pie came in between the two and wrapped her arms around them. "Marble Pie, you want to wish Big Mac a happy Hearth's Warming, don't you! And you too, right Big Mac?"

Marble Pie replied with a happy, "Mm-hm!" and Big Mac also replied with an equally happy, "Eeyup." Pinkie Pie jumped off, leaving the two ponies to enjoy each others company…while sitting a bit closer to one another.

(~)

Granny Smith sipped hot coco with Igneous and Cloudy, as she tried to use their traditional speak to say how much she had come to appreciate their friendship. "Eh, lemme see here, um, 'if thou ask-eth me, thou two art, eh, okay-eth in my book'."

The couple smiled at her kind efforts, they figured they should return the favor, and so Igneous attempted to use a country accent. "Yee-haw'." It maybe wasn't the best impression, but it was the thought that truly mattered.

(~)

Kuvira and Korra were happily chatting near the gazebo while watching everybody get along. "Thanks for inviting me, Korra."

"Of course. What are friends for?" the two gave a toast with there cups of hot chocolate when Suyin approached the two.

"Kuvira, can I talk to you for a minute?" the two girls looked at one another and Korra nodded, politely making her exit, allowing the two to speak. Su leaned against the gazebo alongside Kuvira. A wave of silence surrounded the two before Su spoke, "I know we didn't exactly leave on the best of tearooms last time, and I wanted to say that, maybe…I was wrong."

Kuvira couldn't believe her ears, "Does this mean you will help me and the Earth Queen in establishing a better Earth Kingdom?"

"No, I'm not saying that. I am saying, even if it wasn't my calling…I can see now that maybe it was yours."

Kuvira smiled, "I'm glad you finally understand."

"I'll still be praying you keep doing a good job."

"You won't regret it, Suyin." Kuvira said before the two clanged their coco cups together. However, little did these two know, that this would be the calm before the storm. Even the wisest of people can be led astray with the right kind of deception.

But for now, they would enjoy the good times they had…even if they would not last for long.

(~)

Applejack ripped the paper of her gift that she had found, and wasn't all too surprised to see it was a rock. Pinkie then whispered in her ear and Applejack nodded. Taking a stance, she used the same method the Pies used to create their Heart's Warming dolls and made a perfect statue of both the Pies and Apples together like one big family.

"Happy Hearth's Warming!"

"Happy Hearth's Warmin', Pinkie Pie."

(~)

Mako strum on his guitar while witnessing everyone celebrating their very first Heart's Warming Day together. His three spirit children hovered around him as he began singing in honor of this magical day.

(Give a little more, from Joseph King of Dreams)

Mako:

A single voice

Is joined by multitudes in song

With every verse

They're finding harmony that rise to Heaven

Sure and strong

Richer and richer the soil on which they thrive

And higher a hymn of what it means to be alive

You've got to give a little more than you take

You've got to leave a little more than what's here

You may be prideful of the strides you will make

But keep on thing clear

You're just a player in a much bigger plan

And still you have to give it all that you can

Because the meaning of Heart's Warming Day

You've got to give a little more than you take

His girlfriend appeared beside him, singing along to his song as they walked among their friends and family, who listened and smiled to the song.

Korra:

The season fly

A family stands where fear once stood

Our path unfolds

And unafraid we walk in service of a greater good

Korra and Mako:

Deeper and deeper the lessons we have known

Over and over the message we are surely being shown

At the chorus, everybody joined in this singing.

Everybody:

You've got to give a little more than you take

You've got to leave a little more than what's here

You may be prideful of the strides you will make

But keep on thing clear

You're just a player in a much bigger plan

And still you have to give it all that you can

Because the meaning of Heart's Warming Day

You've got to give a little more than you take!

(guitar solo)

Because the meaning of Heart's Warming Day

You've got to give a little more than you take

And as the snow fell upon the mountainside, and as the music filled the air, children, grownups, ponies, humans and spirits celebrated each in their own way a holiday that was not about the gifts, or the trees, or even the snow, but a reminder of what it truly means to be grateful for what we have. It was Republic City's very first Heart's Warming…

And it was one they would remember for years to come.

A familiar white butterfly, flew down, having been there the entire time silently enjoying the fun and witnessing the happiness of others, she flew around the spirit trio before flying off into the sunrise, off to help spread more good cheer to all. And so, as Ali, Mika and San observed;

"A Happy Heart's Warming to all! And to all a goodnight!"

*(~)*

Romans 14:5-6~

"One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks."

*(~)*