The December wind grew cold over Ponyville, but no pony cared as it was almost time for another Hearth's Warming celebration. Festive decorations were being strung up all over the place, and the party pony herself, Pinkie Pie, was ready and raring to help spruce up every pony's homes for the holidays. The Pie family didn't have the most "traditional" way of celebrating Hearth's Warming, but that didn't stop her from wanting to help other ponies with their holiday customs.
The Apple family weren't too hard to please; they're all about tradition, so a large tree, some holly wreathes, and a cosy fire were all that they desired. An easy job in Pinkie's book.
Rarity and Sweetie Belle weren't much different; they also celebrated rather traditionally. Rarity is a stickler for perfection however, so it proved a little more difficult than expected. Their decorations had to be aligned in a specific way; the tree had to be covered in only the finest of trinkets; and the flagpole's ornamental lights had to twinkle in just the right way to please Rarity.
Rainbow Dash's celebrations usually took place in Cloudsdale with her parents, but she always liked to deck-out her own home with some decor before heading off for the holidays. She was pretty easy to please, but everything always had to be "awesome" and "cool". Rainbow's definitions of "awesome" and "cool" differed slightly to Pinkie's, so it was always hard to think up ways to decorate the cloud house. Pinkie eventually decided on an illuminated tree that changed colour every few seconds; lots of garlands to hang around Rainbow's posters and pictures; and a nice space in the corner to pile up all of the presents for the big day.
Twilight's castle was always the biggest problem for Pinkie. Twilight insisted on abiding by her schedules and lists, as usual, so it made it rather difficult for Pinkie to get creative. All of her Hearth's Warming books and stories had to be arranged appropriately in the library before anything else; the presents had to be coordinated either by size, colour, shape, recipient, or interior; and the tree's decorations had to be placed ever so specifically that the whole endeavor started to feel like a chore to Pinkie.
As Pinkie finally finished up at Twilight's, she sprung across town to Fluttershy's little cottage. Fluttershy was always the easiest pony to please, maybe too easy some of the time. Hearth's Warming was the only holiday that Fluttershy truly loved; Nightmare Night was far too scary for her, and she didn't have a special somepony to spend Hearts and Hooves Day with.
Again, Fluttershy was very traditional in her Hearth's Warming celebrations; she loved reading tales by the fire, drinking hot cocoa, hanging up garlands, giving out presents etc.
Pinkie knew that Fluttershy would want something nice and understated for her cottage; nothing too brash, nothing too cool, and nothing too specific. The only thing that Fluttershy didn't agree with was having a tree inside of her home. She hated the idea of cutting down a defenseless tree to decorate it indoors, so she always liked to spruce up her garden with baubles and lights instead.
Pinkie arrived at Fluttershy's with everything she needed, and she was thrilled to finally be beside somepony who wouldn't be too demanding.
"Happy Hearth's Warming Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve!" Pinkie shouted as she flung the cottage door open.
Fluttershy jumped as Pinkie burst through the door; she hovered in the air for a moment before realising danger was not afoot.
"Oh, Pinkie Pie, you startled me" said Fluttershy timidly.
"No need to fear, your Hearth's Warming decorator is here!" melodically responded Pinkie.
Fluttershy had already begun hanging up her bits of garland and other decorations, but Pinkie came even more prepared.
"Sooooo, I know you don't like having a tree inside the cottage so I brought you lots and lots of fun things to hang up outdoors so your garden can look like a little winter wonderland for all of your animal friends!" said Pinkie rapidly.
Fluttershy blushed at Pinkie's kind gesture; she thought it was sweet of Pinkie to remember her hatred for indoor trees, and a wintry garden display sounded so lovely.
"Oh, that sounds just wonderful, Pinkie Pie. Angel Bunny and the other critters would love to see some festive decorations in their homes too" Fluttershy replied.
"Awesome! I brought lots of super cool things like lights, garlands, holly, glitter, balls, stars, and some cute little stuffed animals for you to put on your fireplace" said Pinkie enthusiastically as she threw all her items towards Fluttershy.
"Oh, and I also brought you my extra special Hearth's Warming party canon! I didn't wanna use it in anypony else's home, so I thought I'd let you be the first pony to see it in action!" Pinkie added.
Pinkie then lugged a large red and white party canon into Fluttershy's cottage, the likes of which no pony had ever seen before.
Pinkie's regular party canons usually let off mounds of confetti, balloons etc into a room to complete the party's aesthetic, so Fluttershy wondered what must've been in the Hearth's Warming canon.
"That's sweet of you, Pinkie. W-what exactly does it do!" Fluttershy asked.
"I'm glad you asked" Pinkie replied whilst clearing her throat.
"My regular party canons are filled with cake, balloons, confetti, and lots of other super cool party things, but my Hearth's Warming canon is extra special. It's filled with wreaths, garlands, snow, and mixtures of red, white and green confetti! And when I set the canon off, your cottage will be instantly transformed into a cosy, wintry wonderland where you can enjoy Hearth's Warming for as long as you want!"
Fluttershy was taken aback slightly by Pinkie's beautiful gesture; she stayed silent for a moment to process Pinkie's sentence.
"T-that's such a lovely idea, Pinkie Pie. But are you sure you want me to be the first pony to see the Hearth's Warming canon?" Fluttershy said gingerly.
"Well duh! Of course I want you to be the first to see it! I pretty much designed it with you and your home in mind anyhow" Pinkie quickly reacted.
"Huh. I hadn't thought about that before now. Did I really design my Hearth's Warming canon to match Fluttershy's usual decorations? I mean, I didn't even put a tree in there. Fluttershy hates festive trees inside her cottage! Gosh, I also added all of her favourite things like wreaths, snow, and twinkly lights! I even added a little cedar wood smell to the mix, didn't I? I know that Fluttershy loves being around the cedar wood trees in the winter, and I know it's one of her favourite scents. Huh, I guess she was just on my mind for some reason while I was making the canon... Anywho, I'm here now and I'm ready to start decorating with my - Oh, she looks super cute with her mane pinned back like that".
"Pinkie... Pinkie... Pinkie Pie!" Fluttershy almost shouted.
Pinkie finally shook herself back to reality where she found Fluttershy standing right in front of her. She had garlands draped over her mane, tinsel in her tail, and sprinkles of glitter on her mussel.
"Are you ready to start decorating? asked Fluttershy.
Pinkie took a moment to readjust herself before responding with a peppy "uh huh! Let's get to it!"