> Best Hearth's Warming Eve > by Juu50x > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Best Hearth's Warming Eve > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Best Hearth's Warming Eve It was a windy and snowy beginning of the night of Hearth's Warming Eve around Ponyville. Nopony dared brave the raging snowstorm save one. That one's filly stood, hands pressed against the glass of her bedroom window. “Please mom...” she whispered, dressed up in muffin-print pajamas. “...come home.” It had been many hours since her mother had decided to volunteer to send “a couple” more deliveries across Ponyville. At that time, the storm hadn't looked like the raging torrent it looked like now. That Derpy still hadn’t returned spoke to her determination. That bravery, to charge into the oncoming storm and not retreat to safety when conditions worsened, was one of the reasons why little Dinky looked up to her mother. She had the perseverance to go on, even with her many screw ups and other accidents. But tonight worried Dinky. Her mom had been away much longer than originally planned, and the storm kept getting worse. After what felt like an eternity, Dinky then saw a figure dressed in heavy, thick clothing flying through the storm. Dinky couldn't help but smile widely. “MOMMY'S BACK!” she screamed, running quickly to the kitchen. “Dinky? What are you yelling at?”Amethyst, her adopted sister, asked from the second floor. “I said Mommy's back, Sparkler!” the little unicorn called again, singing with happiness. She grabbed some coco from the refrigerator, putting it on the stove to heat it up. “Are you sure?” the older unicorn asked, sounding excited. She leapt down the stairs two at a time before her hooves hit the floor. Her tone soon filled with worry. “It could be another weather pegasi trying to ease the storm a bit.” “Na-aaah!” Dinky countered, still going through the fridge. “Can you get the stove?” Sparkler sighed at this, but still did what her younger sister said. Truth to be told, she was ready to believe that their mom had come back from her long work day. As soon as the stove was alight, the two unicorns heard a familiar bang coming from the door. “Yeap. That's mom,” Sparkler said with a smile, nervous excitement evident in her tone. “I TOLD YOU!” Dinky replied, running madly to the door. Dinky had just slightly turned the knot when the door swung itself open from the gale. The living room floor was covered in snow in an instant. A familiar figure flew inside moments later, hitting the floor hard and quivering. “HELP ME OUT HERE SIS!” Dinky called Sparkler, who quickly came to her sister’s side. Their combined magic managed to turn back the storm and shut the door. They then ran to the figure that was laying on the floor, moaning and shivering with chattering teeth. “Dinky,” Sparkler said. “Hm!” Dinky replied, understanding the unspoken request immediately. She ran upstairs while Sparkler remained behind. “Mom, I have to take your clothes off so we can get you new and warmer ones.” she instructed slowly, making sure that the other mare had heard her. Derpy nodded slowly and Amethyst set about her task. After one long and cold clothing change later, Derpy Hooves found herself sitting with her daughters around their Hearth's Warming Eve tree, wrapped in a couple thick quilts and surrounded by presents Wrapping paper littered the floor, demonstrating just how many had already been opened. All three of them loved their presents. Dinky received quite a lot of sweets, which was obvious given her predilection for sugary delights, none moreso than those from the kitchen of one Pinkie Pie. The same could be said about Derpy and Sparkler, who also received their fair share of Sugarcube Corner’s tastiest morsels. “It's from Aunty Dash!” Dinky squealed in delight, pulling her final present into her lap. Very quickly, Dinky ripped the paper from the package and threw it onto the floor. “Now Dinky, remember when we talked about wasting paper like that?” Derpy upbraided Dinky playfully. “Sorry mommy.” Dinky grinned, to which Derpy just chuckled and ruffled Dinky's mane. Dinky then let out a small squeal of delight when opening her present. “Pair of wings!” she exclaimed. Derpy was rather surprised of the present Rainbow had decided to give to Dinky. The wings were a near-exact replica of pegasi filly's wings, which could allow the wearer to hover just slightly above the ground. It was rather hot stuff for non-pegasi fillies and colts, but rather expensive. “But this is Dashie was talking about,” Derpy giggled. “And what did Twilight give to you?” she asked Amethyst, who just showed her a purple book that read: “All You Need To Know About Unicorn Magic That You Probably Didn't Know About #1”. And then Sparkler opened up the first page which read: “Happy Hearth's Warming Eve Amethyst Star, Twilight Sparkle.” “That's so sweet,” Derpy said, giving Sparkler a small hug. It was so good to see both of her daughters so happy with her. Everytime they had a moment like this, she, they made sure that they had the most fun of any family in the whole of Equestria. As such, she would try her best to make sure that her daughters got what they deserved. She then turned to look at her own small pile of presents. And few of them stood out bit more than others. She had received a new pair of very specific of contact lenses and a few lovely muffin shaped chocolates from Time Turner. Also, Rainbow Dash had given Derpy a few advance tickets for the next Wonderbolt show. Then there was the really lovely grey colored sweater from Rarity that had her, complete with her daughters’ Cutie Marks stitched on. Derpy was so lost into her thoughts that she failed to notice the looks her daughters were giving each other. “Go!” Dinky whispered to Sparkler, who nodded. “Hey, Mom!” Dinky called, breaking Derpy from her thoughts. “Yes?” “Would you close your eyes?” Dinky asked innocently. Derpy smirked. “Why?” she asked, raising her eyebrow. “It's a surprise!” was the only clue Dinky gave. “OK. What kind of surprise?” Derpy asked interested while closing her eyes. “It's something...” Dinky thought for a moment. “...very special.” she finally said. Derpy then heard the hoof steps of Sparkler. “Something that we asked to be a part of,” the elder daughter said proudly. Derpy's ear twitched from the excitement she was feeling, and wanting to open her eyes, but didn't want to spoil the surprise her daughters had for her. “Open up your eyes.” Sparkler then said. “And no peeky!” Dinky quickly added. Derpy smiled widely. Derpy felt as Sparkler put something on her hands. And that something, felt like a portrait. A very large portrait. “Can I open them now?” she asked. “Mmmhm.” Derpy opened her eyes, and gasped what she saw. In her hands was a large painted portrait with both the Sun and Crescent Moon on the background. What got Derpy's attention was her Cutie Mark placed in the center and the other Cutie Marks that orbited it. And she recognized each one of them. Like the purple star surrounded by six smaller white ones, the three diamonds or the sand hourglass. And then on farther right of the corner was yellow drawing of a filly with a cape on it. And finally, the text that was written above the Cutie Mark. And it read: “To the Best (and coolest) Mail Mare in Ponyville!” Derpy let out a small shaking gasp when she saw all of this. Her vision soon became a blur; her eyes felt moist. “Mommy?” Dinky asked little concerned. “Do you like it?” “Like it?” Derpy asked, raising her head. Looking at Dinky and then Sparkler. “I LOVE it!” she then grabbed both of her daughters into one tight hug. “Happy Hearth's Warming, my little muffins.” Derpy said, sniffing while trying to hold her tears back. She failed, but it didn’t matter. She was home with her family, and that was all that mattered. “Happy Hearth's Warming, Mom.” both unicorns said, burying their heads in their mother’s shoulders.