Is to spend it with one you love
The True Meaning of Hearth's Warming
Jade Leaf loved Hearth’s Warming. He loved everything about it; the coming together of all ponies, the snow and the cold, but most of all, he loved what it meant to him. Hearth’s Warming was more than just a celebration of the founding of Equestria. To Jade, it was the day that he met the pony of his dreams. The pony that made him complete, one who had always overlooked his supposed disability. The pony that, Celestia willing, he would grow old with.
Freshly fallen snow crunched underhoof and lightly coated his jacket and hat as he made his way towards their house on the outskirts of Baltimare. Everywhere he looked there were signs of the holiday out in force. Decorated trees and festive messages covered every inch of available space. Many of them were simple well wishes from one family or another, though there were a couple dedicated to the six companions to whom the founding of modern Equestria was attributed. On one street corner though, he saw a couple of crazy ponies waving signs around and going on about how The Smooze was going to return and cover the world in his goo. Jade didn’t pay them any attention, as it was the same message every year, just with the names replaced. Last year it was that Tirek, the demon horse was planning to abduct foals from their beds and make them his monster slaves, this year it was The Smooze. Next year it would likely be Nightmare Moon, or had they done her already? Jade couldn’t remember if they had or not. It was more likely that they would run out of mythical demons before the world actually ended.
Shaking his head, Jade turned up his street and picked up his pace. He could only imagine just what was going to be in store for him. Nightengale would almost certainly have gone all out and prepared something sweet and sappy, but that was ok. Jade loved Nightengale for exactly that. He knew that his better half loved him just as much as he did, maybe even a little more.
And to think, he had nearly missed out on the most important day of his life, all because he hadn’t wanted to go to a party.
“Aww, come on. It’ll be fun, I promise.”
The words of one of his friends had still been ringing in his ears as Jade reluctantly made his way towards a house decorated garishly in full Hearth’s Warming attire. Barstow was a reasonably affluent area, if you didn’t count the frat houses that inherently followed the establishment of an institute of higher learning, and the ponies who inhabited it liked to show off when the season came around. He didn’t know the ponies who lived there beyond reputation, and that reputation was ‘flaming gay.’ Still, his friend, Ruby Quartz had said that they had free food and booze, and that there would be plenty of other ponies there that he could talk to.
Sunny Side and Honey Drop, the ponies who were hosting the party were well known around the area as being both courteous hosts, but also being a little on the oblivious side at times when it came to picking up on social hints. They firmly believed that everypony was secretly gay at heart. Jade had entertained a fantasy or two in his most private moments, but he still felt that mares were the ones for him.
The pair reached a door, or what looked like a door behind a massive wreath of holly and artificial snow frosting. Ruby gave the door a solid knock with her hoof before turning back to Jade. “Trust me, You’ll love it here. Sunny and Honey are lovely hosts, and who knows? Maybe you will meet somepony special.”
“Doubtful,” Jade muttered. His reputation with women wasn’t exactly sterling. It would be more accurate to say he had no reputation with the mares. He liked them, but they never seemed to click with him. He wasn’t smooth or witty, and whenever he approached one, they always seemed to find something else to go. Ruby was the exception, but she was not interested in him in that way; they both knew that Ruby preferred other mares.
The sounds of hooves on wood could be heard from the other side of the door. A second later, a bolt clicked into place and the door opened, revealing a pair of very soft baby blue eyes. Jade found himself looking at an immaculately groomed colt with a hideous holiday themed sweater and a small bow and bell tied around his horn. Jade could hear the chords of what sounded like seasonal music playing from somewhere further inside. The colt smiled warmly when he recognized his guests.
“Ruby! You made it,” the colt said, pulling Ruby in close as the pair exchanged a series of air kisses. “Sunny Side and I weren’t sure if you were coming or not.” He paused for a moment when he saw Jade standing a little bit back. As many ponies did, his eyes travelled up to Jade’s forehead, and the short stump of a horn he had there. Unlike other ponies though, he didn’t gawk at it. “And who might you be?”
“Oh, this is Jade Leaf. He’s a friend. He didn’t have anything to do tonight, so I figured I would bring him along. Is that alright?”
That wasn’t entirely true. Jade did have plans, though they mostly involved him and his close companion, Mr. Buck Daniels getting to know each other better.
The colt nodded once and extended a hoof out to Jade, smiling genuinely. “Perfectly. Sunny always said the more the merrier, and nopony should be alone on Hearth’s Warming. I’m Honey Drop, and welcome to our home. Please come in and make yourself comfortable.”
Honey Drop stood aside and motioned for the pair of them to come inside. Jade walked in, taking off his coat and brushing a little snow from the shoulders before hanging it up on the coat rack. He still had his shirt on; the pale blue thread brought out the color in his eyes, or so he had been told by ponies that actually cared about that sort of thing.
“The party’s just down the hall. Follow the music,” Honey Drop said, closing the door after them. Instantly, Jade felt the hall warm up as the heating kicked in. Following Ruby, he made his way down the hall towards the sounds of merriment and the occasional clink of glass.
The hall opened up into a large entertaining area. A dozen or so ponies, and one gryphon were all milling around, chatting or drinking. Jade spotted an assortment of what looked like vintage wines and imported cheeses set up on a side table, along with a few bottles of harder liquors that were more to his taste. Hearth’s Warming carols blared out of a speaker set mounted on the opposite wall.
At the sight of their arrival, a pale coated unicorn peeled off from his conversation with the gryphon and sauntered over to them. He was wearing a tartan beret, with a matching scarf, and had a wine glass and a slice of cheese and crackers in his magic. He looked absolutely ecstatic to see them, or Ruby at least.
Honey Drop walked in behind Jade and stood next to the unicorn. “Dear, this is Jade Leaf, a friend of Ruby. Jade, this is my better half, Sunny Side.”
Jade extended a hoof, and was met by a momentary stare at his horn before Sunny shook his head and shook his hoof in return. “Pleasure to meet you, Jade. Any friend of Ruby’s is a friend to us. Feel free to help yourself to the food or drink. The Muscato is particularly good this year.” Sunny shifted his wine glass and took a quick, dainty sip of the white wine. “We also have an aged Brie that is simply divine.”
Ruby moved off to chat with some of the other guests, signaling out a pair of earth ponies seated in a corner and leaving Jade at the mercy of their hosts. They both looked somewhat expectantly at him, leaving Jade to wonder what it was that they wanted from him. It took him a moment to realize that they were waiting for him to say if he wanted a drink.
“Oh, I’ll, uhh, I’ll have a glass of the Muscato,” he said. “Please,” he added a moment later, nearly forgetting his manners.
Mother would kill me if I didn’t thank my hosts properly.
“Here you are, then,” Sunny Side said, pouring out a glass with his magic and passing it over. Jade took the glass in a hoof and gave it a tentative sip. Wine wasn’t his favorite thing, but he drank it on occasion. It was quite sweet and a little try for his taste, but he nodded appreciatively anyway. Maybe once the pair moved on to greeting other guests, he could switch it out for some of the harder drinks further back on the table.
“We’ve known Ruby for a long time, but I don’t think she’s ever mentioned you,” Honey Drop began, picking up a slice of the brie. “How did the two of you meet?”
“Friend of a friend at first,” Jade replied. “I had hoped that we might become something more than that, but, well…”
"You didn’t know she wasn’t into stallions,” Sunny Side finished for him.
“Something like that, yea,” Jade said, taking another sip of his wine.
“She doesn’t know what she’s missing. Best day of my life was when I got into stallions,” Sunny said. He nuzzled the side of Honey Drop’s neck, rubbing right up against his fur. “This stallion in particular. The day he agreed to go out with me, I swear I could have grown wings and replaced Princess Cadance as the God of Love.”
Honey Drop reciprocated the nuzzling for a moment, letting his muzzle rest on Sunny’s forehead. “And what about now? Any special somepony for you to call yours? Marefriend, coltfriend, interspecies? You won’t find any judgment here.”
Jade shook his head. “No, I don’t have anypony.”
“Aww,” Sunny Side said, putting a hoof on Jade’s shoulder. “That’s so sad, being alone on Hearth’s Warming. Do you need a hug?” He moved in to hug Jade, but Honey Drop stopped him.
“Don’t worry, you’ll find somepony in time,” Honey Drop said. He lifted a hoof to indicate the crowd. “Not everypony here is exclusively into the same gender, and a couple would be more than willing to have a little bit of fun if you just want a roll in the hay.”
“Thanks, gays…Uh, I mean guys!” Jade blurted out, mentally facehoofing at his faux pas.
Honey Drop and Sunny Side both chuckled a little as if they hadn’t heard that one a hundred times before. “Well, enjoy the party, Jade. Have fun and don’t hesitate to introduce yourself around. Everypony here would love to meet you.”
With that, Sunny Side and Honey Drop walked off to start talking with some of the other guests, leaving Jade Leaf alone with the drinks table. Putting his wine glass down, Jade picked up a more familiar plastic cup and reached forward to grab one of the harder drinks.
Twenty minutes later, Jade had a fairly smooth buzz going. Several slugs of whisky and a belt of rum now called his stomach home. He didn’t think he was drunk, but the gryphon he was talking to–Vincent, as he had found out when he asked–was starting to look a little blurred around the edges. He was tempted to send another rum down there to assess the situation, and maybe even a second one incase the first required moral support or may not have fully grasped the importance of his orders. He was about to excuse himself and head back over to the drinks table when he heard the front door open and close in rapid succession.
Idly turning his head to check out the new arrival, Jade had to perform a double take to make sure that his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him.
The stone cold prettiest pony he had ever seen had just sauntered into the party. A light layer of snow still covered his wings, and with a shake, he brushed it off, the motion causing his mane to shake around and frame his chiseled face and jawline.
Something started throbbing in Jade’s chest as he looked at the pony. He was gorgeous, with a dark grey coat and glowing amber eyes. Muscles that looked like they had been sculpted onto his body framed an image of a tornado on his flank. Jade tried to look away, but he couldn’t. There was something magical drawing his gaze to this new stallion. He didn’t know what it was, but he knew that he wanted him; wanted to make him his.
“Night, good to see you!” Honey Drop called out from the other side of the room.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” the pony replied in a deep bass voice. Just listening to it sent Jade into shivers. He could listen to that voice all day long.
Vincent walked up beside Jade and put a claw onto his shoulder. “Hey, you alright there, Jade? You look like you just had someone walk on your grave.”
“Who…Who is that?” Jade stuttered, not taking his eyes off of the pony Honey Drop had called Night.”
“Oh, that’s Nightengale. Nice guy, decent flyer. He and Sunny Side go way back.
“Nightengale, huh?” Jade said absently, still staring at Nightengale.
“Oh, man!” Vincent said, looking from Jade to Nightengale and back again, “You’re crushing on him, aren’t you? Can’t blame you; he is a handsome piece of stallion. Not my type, but still, nice.”
“I-I don’t know,” Jade admitted, finally looking down at the floor. “I mean, I’m not gay, but something about him just…”
“Relax, kid,” Vincent said, “Just about everyone goes through a bi-curious phase at some point. It’s perfectly natural . Maybe you just found yours. You want me to introduce you?”
“NO!” Jade said, maybe just a little too quickly. A couple of ponies around them looked up to see if anything was wrong. “No,” he said again, calmer this time, “I mean, what would I say? ‘Hi, my name is Jade Leaf, I think I might me falling in love with you.’”
Vincent chuckled, “Ha. I’ve heard worse pick-up lines. Alright then, how about I send him your way later on.”
Jade looked back to Nightengale. The stallion was accepting a drink from Sunny Side while several other ponies crowded around him, each one clearly vying for his attention.
There’s no way he would be interested in me. What am I? Just some random unicorn who doesn’t know magic, and he’s the reason caveponies drew on walls.
The drinks bar seemed to be calling his name, and Jade hurried over to join in, hoping that maybe he could find some comfort at the bottom of his glass.
He had a new double rum ready to go when he heard a light cough from behind him. Jade turned and froze when he saw Nightengale standing right before him, an empty wine glass clutched in one hoof. He was even more beautiful up close. Jade could make out the fur on his chest, and the small flecks of brilliant white mixed in with the grey that gave him an almost mottled look. His heart started hammering in his chest, while his brain locked up.
“Well hey there,” Nightengale said, “Don’t recall ever seeing you around before. You here with somepony?”
“I-I, No,” Jade managed to stutter.
“That’s too bad. I’m not here with anypony either. I’m Nightengale, though most ponies just call me Night.”
Jade took the proffered hoof, hoping that Nightengale didn’t notice his shaking. To be so close to this prize winning face; Jade didn’t know if he was going to run screaming or soil himself first.
“You’re Jade, right? Sunny Side mentioned you. Said I might like you. You want to get a drink?”
“Su-Sure,” Jade quickly nodded his assent.
“Great!” Nightengale said, flashing Jade a beaming smile. A smile full of perfectly white teeth, Jade noticed.
Nightengale filled up his glass with some extra wine and led Jade over to an unoccupied couch along one of the walls. Along the way, Jade saw Vincent looking at him, and the gryphon gave him a claws up motion. Jade swallowed hard, wondering about what was going to happen. What was he meant to say? I think I’m falling in love with you, as he had mentioned earlier. What if Nightengale laughed at him? Called him a faggot? Teased him for being the only unicorn in town who couldn’t do magic.
“You alright, Jade? You look like you are going to fall over,” Nightengale’s voice came from the choice. Jade blinked a couple of times and realized that he was just standing there, looking off into space. Nightengale motioned for him to take a seat.
“Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself?” Nightengale said, relaxing into the couch and taking a gulp of his wine. “What do you do?”
“I’m nothing special,” Jade said, absently rubbing a hoof along the side of his horn; something he did when he was distracted or nervous. “I’m a gardener. I work in a nursery on the other side of town.”
“A unicorn gardener? Can’t say I’ve heard of that before. Are you any good?” Nightengale asked.
Jade shifted slightly, showing off his rump. “It’s what my cutie mark is telling me,” he said, pointing to the picture of blooming rose plastered there. He could still remember the day he got it, when he managed to make a rose flower all by himself.
“Tell me how you got it,” Nightengale said. “I bet that’s an interesting story.”
“You really want to know?”
Nightengale nodded.
“When I was still just a foal, I had a serious accident. I don’t remember much, but my parents said I fell out of a tree. The doctors told me I had snapped my horn clean off. It was only because I hadn’t begun to use magic yet that the shock didn’t kill me.” Jade stopped and rubbed his horn again, tracing the blunted tip.
Nightengale gave him a sympathetic wince before motioning to continue.
“My family are all earth ponies; nopony knows just quite where the unicorn genes came from. I never had much use for magic, even before the accident. They didn’t know how to teach me, and I didn’t really want to learn As such, I just never worked out how to cast spells properly, but I learned something better. One day, I saw one of mother’s roses wilting, and when I touched it I felt something. I could feel the flower, feel what was making it sick, and then I don’t know what happened. I felt something pass from me to the flower and it was suddenly as healthy as ever. My magic spilled out on its own and made it better. I’ve been told that unicorn magic only happens when it is ready and for a reason, and I guess that was mine.”
Lost in retelling his story, Jade didn’t notice that Nightengale had shifted a little closer.
“After that, I don’t know exactly, but I could feel the earth under my hooves. Flowers, plants, vegetables, I could make them all grow healthy and strong. Somehow, my magic adapted to work like earth pony magic, and my rose bloomed shortly after.”
Jade looked around and spotted a vase of flowers on an end table. Several petals were wilted. Reaching over, he touched a hoof to the flowers. Nightengale gasped as Jade’s hoof glowed faintly. The glow covered the flowers for a moment, and when it vanished, the entire vase looked like it had just been freshly picked an hour ago.
“That’s…amazing,” Nightengale whispered. He had never seen anything like that before.
“It’s nothing. Wilting is easy. Bringing a flower back from when it is totally shrivelled, now that is hard,” Jade said, waving a hoof dismissively. All of a sudden, it didn’t seem so hard to talk to Nightengale. He was just starting to relax when a voice burst out from his side.
“Surprise!!!” the voice called out. Both Jade and Nightengale turned to see Sunny Side levitating a camera in their direction. The camera flashed, blinding the pair for a few moment. When they could see again, Sunny was already moving away, looking to ambush another group of ponies.
“That was…” Jade started.
“Strange,” Nightengale finished for him. They both looked at each other for a moment before laughing.
Jade lost track of what they talked about as the evening dragged on, but he didn’t care. Nightengale was a joy to listen to; even stories about moving a cloud around seemed like epic tales when they came from his mouth. With each passing anecdote, Jade felt Nightengale get a little bit closer to him, inching along the couch until he was nearly pressed up against his green coat.
A burst of laughter from the other side of the room caught their attention, and both ponies looked over to see Honey Drop and Sunny Side getting a bit overly affectionate. While not a full makeout session yet, Sunny Side was being very public as he gently bit and nuzzled Honey Drop’s ear. Honey Drop was clearly enjoying the attention as he wasn’t resisting in any way. Everypony was watching as the two stallions expressed their love for each other.
Somepony in the crowd shouted out, “Hey, get a room you two,” followed by a fresh round of laughter and cheers from the drunker of the onlookers.
Sunny broke away from Honey’s ear just long enough to give the crowd a quick smile. “We’re in a room. This is our house. Every room is our room.” With that he returned to showering Honey Drop with kisses and affection.
Jade watched them; they just looked so cute together. Part of him wished that he could be that happy with another pony.
A sudden brush against his leg caught his attention, and Jade looked down to see Nightengale’s hoof tracing along his side, brushing up towards his flank. Jade’s fur tingled where Nightengale touched him, and he shivered as his hoof crossed over his rose.
When he looked up, Jade saw Nightengale smiling down at him before the pegasus leaned forward, bringing his lips closer to Jade’s.
“But, I’m not ga-,“ Jade started, before he was cut off by Nightengale’s hoof pressing against his lips.
“SSSShhhhh, You don’t need to pretend anymore. I saw the way you looked at me when I walked in. I know you want this.”
Their lips met, just a momentary peck. Jade froze up as he felt another stallion touch him. Fear and doubt crossed his eyes.
When he didn’t meet any resistance, Nightengale came in again, pressing a little harder this time. A hoof snaked behind Jade’s head and gently pulled them closer.
Jade melted into this kiss, meeting Nightengale’s lips with increasing passion. Inside, he felt his worry and fear vanish as he accepted the realization that he was in love with another stallion.
I’m gay, he thought to himself, but this time there wasn’t any confusion. Only acceptance. He knew who he was now.
They broke the kiss, both stallions panting slightly. Nightengale ran a hoof along Jade’s mane, brushing it out of his eyes. “You want to come back to my place?” he asked.
Jade nodded once, not sure if he could speak.
Nightengale got up and pulled Jade to his hooves and the pair of them made for the door. As they passed their hosts, Jade saw they had moved on from making out. Right now they were just wrapped up in each other’s hooves, resting their heads on each other’s necks. This time, Jade had no issue imagining himself in their position.
Nightengale got the door, and Jade picked up his coat and trotted out into his new embraced life.
Jade pulled himself out of his memories as he turned down the lane to his home. That night had been magical, and he had no regrets about anything that had happened since. He could see his house halfway down the street, with its little fence all covered up in tinsel. Through an open front window he could make out a crackling fire, and he surged forward, eager to get out of the cold and into the hooves of his love. Nightengale always knew just how to warm him up, no matter how cold it got.
Quickly, he pulled the door open and stepped inside, shaking off the snow from his hooves so that it wouldn’t track inside. Shucking off his coat and scarf, he headed over towards the fire.
“Night, I’m home,” he called out, settling down onto the couch nearest the fireplace.
When he didn’t hear anything back, he began to wonder if Nightengale might still have been out with the weather team. It wouldn’t have been the first time that they had needed to pull in extra hooves to finish off preparations. Weather for the Hearth’s Warming play had to be just perfect, and Baltimare liked to think that it could put on a show just as nice as Canterlot’s own.
Without warning and pair of wings surrounded his eyes, covering him in a tight hug as a set of hooves crossed around his neck.
“Guess who” came the familiar voice. Jade had never gotten tired of hearing it.
“The sweetest pony to ever fly through the skies?” Jade said, wrapping his own hooves around Nightengale’s.
“Close, but I think you can do better than that.”
“How about the reason I get up in the morning?” Jade said
“Better, but I still think you are holding out on me,” came the reply.
Rather than give a third guess, Jade yanked down hard with his hooves, leaning forward to get some extra momentum. He felt a weight roll over his back and tumble down on to the carpet. Looking up, he saw Nightengale sprawled out on his back, wings extended out to break his fall. Seizing his chance, Jade got up off the couch and straddled Nightengale’s prone body. Bringing a hoof down to stroke the side of Nightengale’s face, he leaned close to whisper into his ear.
“How about this?” he asked before gently pressing his lips to Nightengale’s. It only lasted a moment, but Jade made sure he was soft and sweet.
“That’s the answer I was looking for,” Nightengale said, pulling Jade down alongside him. they lay there before the fire for a while, enjoying the crackling of the wood, and the warmth of their shared love.
After a few minutes, Nightengale got up rummaged around behind one of the potted plants.
“What are you doing?” Jade asked, slightly curious.
Nightengale gave Jade a slightly sheepish look, dropping his eyes to look at his hooves. Jade knew the look well; Nightengale had done something he said he wasn’t going to. “I know we said we weren’t going to do presents this year, but I got you something anyway.”
He passed a small rectangular package over to Jade, who took it and spun it around in his hooves. He didn’t have any idea as to what it could be. It was around the right size and shape to be a book, but it was far too light to be one. He gave Nightengale a questioning look.
“I was sent something a few weeks ago that I thought you would like. All I had done was to frame it and wrap it up.”
Jade tore into the wrapping paper, ripping great chunks of paper and tape away from the object. When he was finished, he was holding a framed photograph of the pair of them seated on a couch. He could see his own surprised face forever captured in the grain of the image.
“Is this…?” he started.
“The day we met. Sunny Side was going through his old things and found the negatives. He sent me a copy.”
Jade looked over the photo, remembering that night all the good times they had together since then. “Look at you, my Night in shining armor. This is going up on the wall right now,” he said, getting up and moving over to the wall. Nightengale got up with him, and together they hung the photo on a free hook behind the couch.
Jade couldn’t help but feel content as he leaned forward, Nightengale’s body pressed hard up against his as they fiddled with the hooks and string, feeling his warm downy belly fur rubbing against his back. Soon they had the picture of them hanging straight, and they both sat down onto the couch.
They stayed there for a while, just holding each other and looking into the crackling flames of the fire. Eventually, Jade felt the need to speak.
“You know, you got this really nice gift for me I didn’t get anything for you,” he started, feeling a little apologetic. He should have gotten Nightengale something, but he had been busy. Winter planting had taken longer than he had expected, but even still.
Nightengale put his hoof up to Jade’s lips, effectively cutting him off. “Shhh, it’s alright, love. The best present you could have possibly given me is just being here. Besides, I have another surprise for you. Close your eyes.”
Jade did what he was hold and closed his eyes just as the song on the radio changed to ‘All I want for Hearths Warming is You.’ He had to stifle a snort at the cheesy coincidence; it was as if the gods of radio themselves were listening to their conversation. He could hear Nightengale shift around a little on the couch, but he waited patiently as he had been asked.
After a few seconds he heard Nightengale stop. “Hey, look. Mistletoe!” Nightengale said, in a voice filled with mock surprise.
Jade opened his eyes and looked up to see that Nightengale was holding a sprig of mistletoe up with his hoof over their heads. He chuckled lightly at the weak joke. It was exactly the kind of thing that Nightengale would do. Still, he wasn’t one to break from tradition, even if they were forcing tradition to happen.
Jade leaned forwards and gently planted his lips against Nightengale’s. They both relaxed into it, hooves wrapping around the other pony and they embraced for what seemed like hours.
Eventually, Jade broke away and looked right into Nightengale’s eyes. He could see himself reflected in their bottomless amber pools.
“Happy Hearth's Warming, Night.”
Nightengale extended his wings and wrapped them around the pair, pulling them in even tighter than before and resting their foreheads together. Jade knew that he was content. Wrapped up in Nightengale’s wings, he felt that there was nothing he could possibly want that he didn’t already have.
“Happy Hearth's Warming, Jade.”