The Only Chapter (Unedited)
The front door to the School of Friendship swung open, releasing a burst of cold air into the toasty, fire-warmed lobby. The flame flickered and threatened to go out, but remained strong as the two entering creatures shut the door behind them.
The two intruders did their best to shake off their snow covered bodies as they huddled together for increased warmth. Gallus, the smaller blue griffon, basically clung to his larger earth pony boyfriend as he shivered intensely, the only wintertime coverings on him being a short, scraggly scarf that he wrapped tightly around his neck.
Sandbar, dressed more appropriately with a thick floor-length scarf and dark grey beanie, wrapped a hoof around his boyfriend to draw him closer. As uncomfortable with public affection as he was, he understood he had to make some adjustments to comfort his freezing carbirb.
The two had just gotten back from a fairly nice breakfast and, despite the hot and lovingly prepared meal they had just eaten, its warmth was absolutely snuffed out by the record cold they were still recovering from.
Still with a frosty bird clinging to him, Sandbar gestured to the large fireplace off to the side of the lobby. “Here, let’s go warm up a bit.” He said softly, nuzzling Gallus for continued warm sharing.
In response, Gallus rolled his eyes. “We’d st-still be warm if we didn’t go out for breakfast.” He grumbled gently, blaming Sandbar for the weather he had obviously caused.
Even still, he didn’t complain as they walked in tandem towards the warmth.
The fireplace was already well populated, a group of four ponies were already seated on the provided couch, leaving the remaining few gathered around to curl up on the ground either solo or with a loved one to snuggle with.
Even with the small group crowded around the fireplace, Sandbar managed to find a smallish spot a little away from the fire, though it was small enough that the two boys would have to huddle together if they both wanted to stay warm.
As they both settled down to sit, both realized that neither really minded the closeness.
Both boys sighed lovingly as they leaned against each other and embraced the warmth. Sandbar leaned down to nuzzle Gallus’ headfeathers, to which the griffon just grinned and wiggled deeper into his boyfriend’s embrace.
“Better?” Sandbar asked simply as he wrapped his hoof tighter around his cold bird.
“Muuuuuch better.” Gallus said as he immediately went to work in warming up his claws, which were doing their best to not cramp up from the cold.
As the two continued to settle, both found that every time the front door opened to let anyone in, for even the smallest moment, the flickering fire bred seeds of chill among all the creatures just trying to stay warm. The unicorns in the crowd quickly got to work trying to maintain the fire, but it was of little help.
Gallus was the first to feel the effects of the cold, curling to maintain warmth as he scratched his claw under his tiny, itchy little scarf.
Sandbar, both sturdier and gifted with more heat retention due to excessive fluff and coverage, could feel it as well, but certainly not as much as the griffon who was yet again shivering against him. He looked down at Gallus, slightly concerned, then nuzzled yet again. “Still cold, huh?” He asked.
Gallus nodded in response as he wiggled closer to Sandbar, grumbling as he did so. Saying nothing, he instead ripped the scarf he was wearing from his neck and attempted to place it on in a more warming way.
‘Rip’ seemed to be more literal than he wanted, as the old garment tore as he did so, joining multiple other small blemishes in the material. This one, however, built off of a few former tears to form a much larger one that stretched a quarter of the way down. It threatened to turn the one thin scarf into two very thin scarves were he to fiddle with it any further, so he just frustratedly, though also gingerly, returned it from whence it came.
Seeing this, Sandbar shot an even more concerned look as he thought deeply for a moment. With a very uncharacteristic frown, he nuzzled Gallus one last time and smooched his forehead tenderly. “Hey, I know this sucks, but I need to run back to the room to grab something.”
With an overly dramatic sigh and a lot of grumbling, Gallus gently wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s neck. “Nooooooo, stay with me,” he whined, “I’ll be cold if you go.” As he continued to complain, he tried his hardest to prevent his boyfriend from absconding with his cherished Horsy Warmth.
As his frown gave way to a small, loving smirk, Sandbar gave a very dramatic sigh as he pulled away from Gallus briefly. It wasn’t hard to break the hold he held as, while he wasn’t trying very hard to hold him down in the first place, the griffon couldn’t do much against true earth pony strength.
Now slightly separated from Gallus, though not far enough to stop radiating warmth to him, Sandbar began to quickly unwrap his more substantial scarf from around his neck. Before Gallus could even think to respond, he was interrupted by his boyfriend using this newly freed garment to dress him instead.
Gallus couldn’t exactly complain as he was warmed immediately by this scarf’s presence, sighing happily as the soft, thick fabric greeted his neck around his own itchy and uncomfortable scarf.
Now that his boyfriend was distracted, Sandbar was perfectly happy to stand up from his spot. But, of course, not before pressing his lips against the griffon’s forehead and ruffling his head feathers.
“There!” Sandbar said with a sly grin as he looked down at Gallus. “That’s hopefully enough for until I get back. Although…” He gave a small pause, tapping a hoof against his chin until he gave an even bigger grin.
“Hah, I’ve got it.” He said and, with a bit of a flourish, he removed his beanie and plopped it onto Gallus’ head. “There, that should keep you nice and warm for a little longer now. Aaaand you look super cute too!” Leaning down, Sandbar placed a loving kiss onto Gallus’ beak. “I’ll be quick, so don’t go anywhere. I love you, Gally~.”
Gallus grumbled in response, smiling widely as he couldn’t resist pressing back against Sandbar’s lips slightly.
Sandbar hesitated slightly before making his leave but still rushed off as swiftly as possible afterwards, as fast as his horsy legs could carry him.
Now alone in the group of ponies around him, Gallus sighed and laid his head down for a minute. As much as he wanted to whine about Sandbar leaving him, he couldn’t manage much of a complaint as his chin rested against the soft, plush scarf he now had wrapped around him.
And he gave a soft, loving smirk as he gently smelled the fabric and then gave a second, more investigatory sniff. Unsurprisingly, it gave off a very familiar scent.
To be more specific, it was a very Hearth’s Warming themed mixture of a peppermint-scented body wash and just a light dusting of pine cologne. It was a softer version of the Very Loud fragrance that his and Sandbar’s shared bathroom was coated in after one of his boyfriend’s daily thirty minute showers.
Not that Gallus minded one bit.
With more than a slight curiosity he removed the beanie he was rented as well, not caring how strange he looked as he tested the smell of that as well. Green apple, just like Sandbar’s mane and tail shampoo, and the mane that he’d spent every night for the past year with his beak buried into.
This combination of warmth and a lovingly familiar combination of scents forced Gallus into a soft yawn as he stretched out along the hard floor. Still more used to sleeping on floors than beds, he gave a small shrug and settled his head down yet again onto the scarf.
If Sandbar was going to be long, he figured, he might as well take a short nap to wait for whatever that pony had planned.
He held the beanie close to his chest, involuntarily letting out a soft and sweet trill, Gallus shut his eyes to let the comforting sensations consume him. Even the light, hushed chattering from the ponies around him, especially the group cuddling on the couch, wasn’t enough to deter him.
What was enough, however, was seemingly moments later when Gallus was jostled awake by a returning Sandbar. Raising his head, Gallus gave a few tired and unintelligible grumbles as he gave his boyfriend a bleary glare.
Sandbar offered up an awkward grin as he sidled up against Gallus yet again, chuckling softly as he remembered how cranky he could get after being awoken from even the shortest of naps. “Oops, sorry. I was trying not to wake you.” He said as he nuzzled up against Gallus’ cheek.
Despite the rude awakening, Gallus found himself yet again smiling due to his boyfriend’s antics, though rolling his eyes as he let out a small sigh. “I barely closed my eyes.” He croaked, then cleared his throat with a blush.
“It was, like, twenty minutes, dude.” Sandbar chuckled, maybe a bit louder than he intended as he garnered the attention of some of the ponies surrounding the two. “I, uh, know because it took me a while to grab what I needed.”
It was then that Gallus noticed that the scenery around him had changed a little bit, a few ponies that were there seemingly moments ago had left. And finally the couch had been freed by the group of ponies, though it left the griffon to wonder why no one had replaced them.
After noticing that, he noticed the more peculiar sight of Sandbar’s hoof hovering above the floor by a few inches. It took him a few more seconds to spot the box that he was very poorly hiding at his side.
With a raised eyebrow, Gallus leaned over. “Hey, what you got there?” He asked as he swiped to grab for it.
Sandbar chuckled warmly as he pulled it away, hiding it closer to his side and pulling away to protect it. “Not yet! Can I at least get my stuff back? I’m freezing over here.” As a display, he very dramatically began to rub his hooves together and blow against them, using the last of the warmth in him to soothe their ache.
Feeling that, despite the absolute lack of dressage, Sandbar was still radiating more warmth than him, Gallus rolled his eyes. “Heh, good luck with that.” He placed a claw against the scarf around his neck. “You shoulda known when you gave it to me. If it smells like you, there’s no way I’m giving it back.”
Sandbar sighed and leaned against Gallus, leaving his box unguarded as he wrapped a hoof around him. “Yeah, I’m surprised my socks and hoodies survived for this long.”
“Well, I mean…” Gallus started, but left the sentence alone as he bared his talons and gave his free wing a gentle flap.
In response, Sandbar nudged his boyfriend’s hindpaw with his own hindleg. “Aw, come on. You’d look cute.” He grinned lovingly as he looked down at the blue griffon.
With a large blush, Gallus gave a soft huff and refused to respond to that comment.
Seeing an opening, Sandbar reached to his side with a hoof. “Anyway it’s gonna be a little awkward if you don’t, uh, ‘disrobe’, ‘cause,” he paused to pull the box from his side, offering it over to Gallus with a massive grin, “I, uh, got something for you.”
What Sandbar offered over was a box much taller than it was wide, wrapped poorly enough in vaguely holiday themed wrapping paper that Gallus could clearly see the plain cardboard box inside. Obviously he had wrapped it himself.
“I, uh...” Gallus started, but was more confused than anything. It was close to Hearth’s Warming, but he had always assumed that ponies only gave gifts on that specific day, like the Blue Moon Festival. He looked up to Sandbar with a questioning glance, silently asking if Sandbar was sure.
Sandbar gestured towards Gallus with a hoof, eagerly grinning. “C’mon, open it!”
While there was a little bit more hesitation, Gallus managed to put aside the strangeness of this and absolutely tear into the packaging. The cardboard box wasn’t taped in the slightest, so Gallus had no problem opening it up and fishing out what lay within.
The first thing he noticed was how soft this gift was, making even the posh scarf he was renting from Sandbar feel like sandpaper in comparison. Immediately intrigued, Gallus rushed a bit to see what it was.
What he pulled out was a scarf. A bright red scarf that was absurdly long, reminding Gallus of the one timekeeper he saw running about Ponyville from time to time, and warmed his claws pleasantly as he held it.
“It’s, uh, enchanted.” Sandbar explained as he saw his boyfriend’s face shift to further confusion. “Rarity did me a solid and cut the cost for it, but it was still pretty, uh, a lot.” He sighed and, being reminded by the absurd emptiness in his bag of bits, laid his head on the floor for a moment. Then he popped back up, his dramatics over, and nudged Gallus. “So come on, try it on.”
Gallus didn’t need to be told twice.
As nice as Sandbar’s scarf was, he delicately removed it and tossed it onto its owner without much of a care. He was much less careful with the scarf that lay under it, tearing it off of his neck quite literally as he rushed to remove it.
He wasn’t concerned by that in the slightest.
Upon donning the lovely gift, Gallus grumbled with absolute delight as he was finally blessed with a comfortable amount of warm, even with his warm boyfriend leaning up against him. “Dear Grover, this is amazing! I love it. I love… you.” He hesitated on the last word, most of the sentence forcing itself out out in his excitement and leaving him to finish the job for the first time.
“Hey, that’s…” Sandbar began, but trailed off moments later.
The sentiment was clear between the two of them, however, as Gallus leaned up to brush his beak against Sandbar’s cheek, a blush very clear on his own.
“I love you too, Gally~” Sandbar said as he returned the favor in kind, pressing his lips against his birdy boyfriend’s beak and pulling him closer with a hoof around him. “Happy Hearth’s Warming.”
“Merry Bl-” Gallus started before shaking his head, correcting himself with a small grin to his boyfriend. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, Sandy.”
As they yet again rested, enjoying the warmth of the fire before them and the quiet company of the loved one beside them, Gallus felt another nap coming on.