A Hearth's Warming Carol

by Punch Line

2. Do You Hear What I Hear?

An hour later, Twilight was still hard at work figuring out the entire happiness business that overtook ponies every Hearth’s Warming. She wasn’t making any progress, however, her disarrayed mane and heavy eyes being testament to that.

She turned around wearily, about to pull out yet another book from her shelves, when suddenly, a bright pink ball of energy erupted in the middle of the Library, materializing into a proud white stallion.

“Who?” asked Owlicious, cocking his head at the sudden disturbance.

The white stallion reared up on his hind legs and gave an almighty neigh, his blue mane flowing freely about him. Twilight trotted up to him, clearly unimpressed with the whole display.

“Shining Armor?” she asked, eyebrow raised. “What are you doing here? It’s late!”

Shining Armor, looked down at her and grinned. “Twily!” he greeted, but remembered something important and shook his head. When he looked down at Twilight again, his mouth was set in a straight line, as though he had arrived to deliver an important announcement.

“Twilight Sparkle,” he began. “I have arrived here to deliver a most important announcement.”

“Important announcement?” Twilight dropped her skeptical appearance and immediately replaced it with an incredulous one. “What’s this all about, Shining Armor? Why are you being so formal? Does it have something to do with an ominous threat looming over Ponyville?”

“I… uh… Something like that,” he answered, stumbling over his words. “It has something to do with this year’s Hearth’s Warming and your reluctance to – ”

“I knew it!” The purple unicorn was now reaching excitement levels that went way off the charts. “If it has something to do with Hearth’s Warming and how ponies suddenly forget everything and just start celebrating, then it only proves I was right all along! Of course, I haven’t actually found any solid evidence to prove all that, but I do promise to put in the extra work for it, oh Shining Armor, you will be so proud of me when this is all over and – ”

“Wooah there, Twilight,” her brother said, taking a small step backwards in a tiny effort to dispel his sister’s excitement. “This doesn’t have anything to do with all those conspiracy theories you’ve just made up. In fact, you’re involved in this whole thing a lot more than you think.”

“But I don’t understand.” Twilight finally stopped leaping for joy once her brother had finished talking. “What have I got to do with this? And… what is all this anyway? I don’t even know what’s going on!”

Shining Armor shook his head fondly and smiled at her. “It’s about you and your reluctance to accept Hearth’s Warming as the happy holiday it is. I know what you’re trying to prove and why, but you just have to let it go. Hearth’s Warming is a day for happiness and celebration – there’s no need to prove anything.

“It just is.”

As soon as he finished his speech, Shining Armor raised his head and nodded to himself, obviously satisfied with the lesson he’d been able to impart with his younger sister. Just think of all the lessons she’d learn from this night and how she’d be able to carry all of them in her future endeavors ahead in life! He was already beginning to shed a tear just thinking of all the possibilities that were in store for his gifted little sister.

However, Twilight wasn’t having any of it. “But there has to be something that influences ponies to fall under that spell of happiness and celebration and love. Something scientific! It just isn’t possible to have everypony’s problem magically erased for just one day!”

Shining Armor sighed. Well, so much for that plan. Time for Plan B. “Twilight Sparkle,” he began again, raising himself to his full height. “I can’t believe you didn’t buy any of that! Because of your refusal to accept Hearth’s Warming as the holiday it truly is, tonight!”

He paused for dramatic flair.

“You will be visited by three Pony Spirits!” He paused again and was somewhat pleased to see that he had Twilight’s full and undivided attention. “Each of these Pony Spirits will be visiting you each time a new hour passes and they will be teaching you the lessons you need, so that you will finally learn to accept Hearth’s Warming as it truly is.”

Twilight exchanged a glance with Owlicious, looked back sheepishly at her big brother, and raised a hoof. “… Will I have to report back to the Princess about this?”

“Well, I suppose you do,” he answered, a bit unsure with his answer himself. “Now, are you prepared to face the spirits and learn all about the true spirit of Hearth’s Warming?”

She shrugged. “I still don’t understand any of this, but whatever, I guess.” Then, she added under her breath. “And it’s not like I have a choice in this or anything…”

“I heard that!” Shining Armor huffed. “But if you’re ready to face them anyway, then I guess my time here’s up. Farewell, then, Twilight Sparkle! Be vigilant, for they are about to visit you soon!”

And just like how he arrived, Shining Armor became surrounded by the same pink magical rays, and disappeared with a soft bang. Twilight was left staring at the empty space he once occupied, which was now filled with black soot from his dramatic entrance and exit.

“Well, that’s one more thing Spike’ll have to clean tomorrow.” She shook her head and turned to Owlicious. “You don’t think he’s actually serious, do you? I mean, Pony Spirits… who ever heard of that?”

“Who?”

“I’m still pretty sure that there’s something about Hearth’s Warming that makes ponies forgetful and if my big brother’s behavior is any indication, then maybe it’s much worse than I thought.”

Cleary, she had not learned a thing from Shining Armor’s speech. So, Twilight, still determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, went back to her work table, half-researching and half-waiting for the first of the three Pony Spirits to come along.

… /// …

A Brief History in the Time of Equestria is a fairly thick book written by a certain Stephen Hoofing, in which he details… well, a brief history in the time of Equestria. It was this book that Twilight drew from one of her shelves with much difficulty, as the book’s massive weight could still be felt, even with the use of magic. Hoping to find anything that might aid her in her studies, Twilight was clearly struggling to bring the book back to her work station.

This book was also the book that fell on Twilight’s left forehoof that night, as a result of a particularly loud explosion from behind her.

EXPLOSION!!!

“Gah!” Twilight yelled out, her copy of A Brief History in the Time of Equestria landing full-force on her left forehoof. “My leg! My book!”

“Heya, Twilight!”

The unicorn did an immediate about-face, instantly recognizing that perky voice.

“Pinkie Pie?!”

If the pink earth pony standing in front of her showed any signs of glee upon being recognized, she was clever enough to hide those emotions. Instead, she gave a jolly bounce and proclaimed loudly: “Nope! I’m the Pony Spirit of Hearth’s Warming Past! Oh, boy, was that a mouthful!”

“No, you’re Pinkie Pie.”

“Nope! I’m the Pony Spirit of Hearth’s Warming Past!”

“No you’re not. Pinkie Pie, I don’t know what you’re up to, but I want you to stop.”

“No can do, Twilight Sparkle! Or else my name isn’t Pony Spirit of Hearth’s Warming Past! Please don’t make me say that again.”

“No way you’re not.”

“Yes too!”

“No too!”

“Yes too!”

“No too!”

“Yes too times infinity plus one – and you know you can’t top that!”

Twilight sighed in defeat. Despite her wide range of knowledge on numbers and facts, even she knew that infinity plus one was just a number that could not be beat. Of course, she could always belt out the infinite value of pi, but seeing as it was Pinkie Pie, Twilight suspected that her friend would end up eating it anyway, even before she was finished reciting.

“Ugh. Fine, then, O Pony Spirit of Hearth’s Warming Past.” She paused. “Whoa, that is a mouthful.”

Pinkie Pie giggled. “See, what’d I tell you? Anyway, it’s time to get down to business! As you’ve already heard from Jacob Marley – ”

“Who?”

“Oh, I meant your big brother, silly me!” The earth pony scratched her head apologetically. “As you’ve already heard from your big brother, I’m the first of three Pony Spirits to visit you tonight. Apparently, somepony told your Auntie Pony Spirit here that you weren’t a firm believer of the joy Hearth’s Warming gives.”

“Well, of course you knew that already,” Twilight said. “After all, you were there when I told the other girls that I uh…” She trailed off upon seeing Pinkie’s stern frown. “I mean… you weren’t there when I told the other girls that, because you most definitely are not Pinkie Pie. There, happy?”

“Uh-huh!” Pinkie Pie nodded. “Well now, since we’ve got all that straightened out, allow me to do my job! Get ready, Twilight!”

“Get ready for what, are we going somewh – ”

EXPLOSION!!!

… /// …

EXPLOSION!!!

Twilight groaned from the ground and coughed out a little bit of dust. Then, she shook her head and began to look around tentatively. The two ponies were now in the middle of a room, which could have easily been a place for a family to live in. The air around them was warm, thanks to a nearby fireplace, which provided a satisfying respite from the cold winter outside. Somewhere in the room’s back corner stood a small pine tree, adorned with homemade decorations, the brightest one being the glittering yellow star atop it. The smell of apple-flavored cookies also wafted in gently, providing a most pleasant aroma to the two.

Little by little, realization was dawning on Twilight’s features, as she slowly recognized her surroundings. Despite the familiarity she felt with the place, however, she remained unsure of herself and still felt the need to ask her companion:

“Pinkie… how did you do that?”

“Oh, that teleportation thingy?” The other pony asked from beside her, letting the name change slide. “Hearth’s Warming Magic!”

Twilight, already half-anticipating that answer, only groaned and picked herself up. “Pinkie, why are we here?”

“So you do know where we are!”

“Well, of course I do,” the unicorn replied, giving a little smile. “Why, this is my fillyhood home! And look, here come my parents now!”

As soon as she said this, the door opened, revealing a dark blue stallion and his partner, a light gray mare, both of whom were indeed Twilight Sparkle’s parents.

“Shining Armor! Twilight!” the mother called, while the father shut the door gently, chuckling a bit as the sound of tumbling hooves came from upstairs. A tiny ball of white and purple rolled rapidly down the stairs and came to a grinding halt in front of the smiling mare.

“Mommy!” little Shining Armor called, leaping up to wrap his mother in a bear hug.

“Daddy!” little Twilight Sparkle greeted, near-tackling her father.

“Daddy!” grown-up Twilight Sparkle exclaimed, launching herself towards her father, eager not to miss out on any of the family bonding fun.

But instead of landing on her father’s steady figure, the purple unicorn landed face-first into the wall that was directly behind him. She shook the yellow canaries away from her head and glared enviously at her filly-self, who was now being ruffled affectionately by their father.

“Silly filly!” Pinkie Pie bounced toward the disgruntled pony. “They can’t see or hear us, even if we can! Remember, this is all just a flashback sequence, so all you have to do is sit back and enjoy!”

“… I knew that.” Twilight huffed, crossing her arms and blushing violently.

“So, my little ponies… were you both good fillies this year?” Twilight’s father asked his children, both of whom were staring up excitedly at him.

“Yep!”

“Of course, daddy!”

“Well, then.” He shared a meaningful, loving glance with his wife. “Your mother and I know that, so we decided to get you some presents!”

“Yay, presents!” Shining Armor was on his hooves now. Beside him, Twilight was also up on her hooves, her tail wagging in excitement.

“Oh, Twilight, you were so cute as a filly!” Pinkie Pie gushed, while Twilight remained silent, transfixed by the scene.

In front of them, the siblings had already received their gifts, and were now shredding the wrappers apart. Their parents stood nearby, watching their children with nothing but love and affection in their eyes. A few seconds later, the two fillies were grinning down at the new toys they received for Hearth’s Warming.

“Oh, wow! A real Battleclouds gameboard!” Shining Armor said, stars dancing in his eyes. “Thanks, mom!”

“A study buddy for Mr. Smartypants!” Twilight Sparkle said, holding a bespectacled bear plushie and squeezing it tightly. “Thanks, dad!”

Their parents smiled warmly in return, bracing themselves for the hugs that were soon to follow – which they did.

Meanwhile, beside Pinkie Pie, the grown-up Twilight let out a little sniffle at the memory, then shook her head immediately afterward.

“Pinkie, why are you showing me this?” she asked. “You do know that I lost that Smartypants study buddy a few weeks after today, don’t you?”

The pink earth pony only shook her head and smiled ambiguously. “You’ll see, Twilight. Come on, there’s something else I want to show you!” She trotted over to the family’s dining table, snatched an apple-flavored cookie, and began munching on it happily.

Twilight stared back at her companion, shock and disbelief clearly on her features. “Okay, the memory flashback sequence, I can forgive, but how did you – ”

EXPLOSION!!!

… /// …

EXPLOSION!!!

“… And so, today, on Hearth’s Warming, I want you to have this.”

Twilight coughed again, shook her head, and looked around, surprise setting once again on her features as she found herself in Princess Celestia’s Royal Palace in Canterlot.

“Pinkie!”

“Ssh! We’re just getting to the good part!”

After being hissed into silence, the purple unicorn gave a little “humph” and turned to look back at the scene. Somehow, she wasn’t at all surprised to see her filly-self again, this time in front of Princess Celestia. Beside filly-Twilight was a tiny baby dragon, who was undoubtedly Spike.

Little Twilight bowed low in thanks. “Oh, but Princess, I don’t think I really deserve that.”

“No need to be so formal with me, my student,” the Princess admonished gently. “I want you to have this, not only because you have been doing so well in your studies, but also because I think you may find it useful for Spike.”

Upon hearing his name, Spike, who was unable to walk or talk yet, let out a little burst of green flame. This caused filly-Twilight to giggle. “He hasn’t learned to make fire yet, Princess.”

“He will, in time,” Princess Celestia answered. “Now, take this book and I hope it will prove useful to you and Spike.”

Little Twilight received her gift and examined the cover. “‘A Collection of Equestrian Fairy Tales.’ Princess, I’m not sure how Spike will be able to read this.”

Princess Celestia laughed softly. “He won’t be doing any reading – you will, dear Twilight. I know for a fact that it works for letting little ones go to sleep. After all, it worked for you.”

Both versions of Twilights blushed, the first one deeply touched by her surrogate mother, the other one still feeling touched years after the incident.

“I won’t let you down, Princess!”

“I’m sure you won’t,” she said and looked over at Spike kindly. “Isn’t that right, Spike?”

Instantly, however, the Princess recoiled on reflex, as the baby dragon let out a huge burp, engulfing little Twilight – and her new book – in bright, green flames. After seeing that her student was, otherwise unharmed, Princess Celestia began to laugh affectionately at the pair.

“Well, what do you know,” little Twilight remarked, coughing out a cloud of soot. “He does know how to make fire.”

Beside her, Spike gave an innocent smile, a page of the now-ruined book floating atop his head. Twilight noticed this and panicked, once she saw that the Princess’ gift had been burnt to a crisp. “Oh my gosh, Princess! Your gift! Oh my gosh, I’m so, so sorry.”

But Princess Celestia only shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, Twilight, we can always get a new copy anytime. Besides, I think Spike is enjoying it anyway.”

The two looked over at Spike, who was gurgling happily and clumsily grasping the book’s torn page. Although it contained a lengthy paragraph of words he couldn’t read just yet, there was a colorful picture of a knight pony and his princess pony touching foreheads, both of them clearly in love. While he couldn’t understand any of it, this seemed to please the baby dragon immensely, much to Twilight’s relief.

“You know something, Twilight?” Pinkie said from beside her. “Spike was really cute as a baby before too.”

She could only nod proudly, as images of Spike growing up flooded her mind. “He was, Pinkie. He was.” Then, she frowned again and turned to address the other pony. “But I don’t understand. Both of the flashbacks you showed me – they both involve me and my gifts getting wrecked. What’s the point of all this?”

“Don’t be so silly, Twilight!” the earth pony said. “The point was that these are some of your happier memories from fillyhood and more than the gifts you received, it was the – ”

“I knew it!” the unicorn said. “I knew there had to be some scientific connection between the happiness and Hearth’s Warming! It’s in the presents, isn’t it?”

“But Twilight, you don’t understand, the real moral of the story is – ”

“… Which makes so much sense, because a pony receiving something for the holidays increases that pony’s likelihood for happiness, which can only mean…”

Pinkie Pie shrugged. “Oh, well, guess I’ll just have to let the next Pony Spirit take over for me.”

“… Can be totally linked to amnesia-inducing effects, which the Princess has to know immediately – ”

EXPLOSION!!!

… /// …

EXPLOSION!!!

“… Therefore proving me right that there is a scientific explanation for all this!” Twilight finished and found that she was right back at the Library, with a questioning Owlicious, who was still perched on the window sill. “Pinkie?”

“Who?”

She was about to answer her pet owl, when she saw one of the apple-flavored cookies Pinkie had nabbed in one of her flashbacks. Twilight, grateful for the kind gesture, picked it up and began munching on it. It still tasted as good as she remembered.

After finishing the cookie, she headed over to her work desk with a renewed vigor to restart her research, when a loud voice shocked her out of her system:

“The next Pony Spirit’s coming soon, so you’d better watch out!”

“PINKIE PIE!”

Author's Note:

I'm calling everypony here by their real names, for convenience's sake. You have no idea how tiring it is to type and retype Pony Spirit of Hearth's Warming Past/Present/Future. Heh.

Comments

[Punch Line]

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Naw, I just put that in for laughs.