The Only Chapter
It was six-thirty in the morning when she woke up. She slowly got out of bed and turned on the light, rubbing the sleep from her yellow eyes as she reached for the black frames of her glasses sitting on top of her dresser.
A smile spread across her pale orchid-gray muzzle as the world went from blurry to clear. She opened her dresser and picked out her outfit for the day. Satisfied, she put on her chosen articles of clothing and looked in the mirror.
Her black cowl neck sweater fell just below her knees, partially covering the bright red leggings she wore. She took a hair tie off the vanity and pulled her hair back into a bun.
Looking closer at her reflection, she frowned. The white streak in her hair looked whiter than ever. She didn’t know if it was due to stress or the beginning of the aging process, but she had accepted it as a part of her life.
Puzzling Insanity grabbed her phone, opened the bedroom door, turned out the light and entered the hallway. A shiver ran up her back as she peered into the darkness of the hallway. Thinking quickly, she turned her phone’s flashlight on and carefully made her way into the trailer’s kitchen area.
A soft high-pitched meow made her ears perk up, and her smile returned. As she reached the kitchen, a sandy-blonde tabby cat rubbed up against the mare’s hooves, stopping her in her tracks. She laughed and gave the cat a good scratch between his ears before picking him up and carrying him to his food dish.
“Stop squirming, Corpsegrinder,” she said. “It’s only a few steps.”
Corpsegrinder continued to squirm in his favorite pony’s arms until she stopped in front of the coral pink bowl sitting on the floor and gently set him down. He let out a soft trilling noise and sniffed the food in front of him, leaving the fanged mare to continue her morning.
Puzzling spent the next few hours cooking a small Hearth’s Warming dinner, complete with a plant-based roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, mixed greens, apple pie, dinner rolls and gingerbread ponies. When she had arranged everything the way she wanted, she pulled up the blinds and looked out the trio of windows.
The sun hung in the bright blue expanse above, illuminating the world in its warm glow. Everything was covered in a thin layer of pristine white snow, making her wonder if her guests would make it.
She put a pair of black booties on her hooves and hung a sprig of mistletoe above the door frame. Just as she started setting gifts by the entertainment center, she heard a knock at the door. Puzzling unlocked the door and opened it, revealing Xander and their wife, Lunar Heart. The zebra had a large gift in their arms.
“You made it!” she squealed, taking the gift inside. “Come in; hurry, before the cat gets out.”
Lunar Heart and Xander entered the trailer, the unicorn looking up and nudging her striped spouse. “Uh, Xander, honey? Look up at the door frame.”
Xander looked up and blushed at the sight of the mistletoe. Looking back down at their wife, they gave her a kiss on the lips.
Puzzling Insanity set the present next to the others and looked up at her partner with the cutest pleading expression she could muster.
“Don’t worry, baby girl,” the zebra said. “I didn’t forget about you.” With that, they leaned down and kissed the shorter mare, causing her to blush profusely.
Both mares hugged Xander, smiling and enjoying the moment. Xander cleared their throat and asked, “Uh, where do I put my coat?”
Puzzling released the zebra and pointed to the loveseat. “Just don’t let the cat play with it.”
Corpsegrinder, now aware of the strangers in his territory, slowly approached them and began to sniff at them curiously, letting out a soft chirrup as he looked up at the unicorn.
Lunar Heart looked down at the tabby and smiled, giving him a gentle scratch behind the ears.
As the ponies and zebra showered the cat with affection, the front door opened, revealing another familiar face.
“Mom!” Puzzling squealed, hugging the middle-aged mare tightly.
Heart Guardian returned the hug as a lopsided smile stretched across her mauve muzzle. “You look great, sweetie,” she said as she released her daughter.
Xander and Lunar Heart smiled and waved.
“You must be Puzzling’s friends,” Heart Guardian said.
The zebra nodded. “I’m Xander, her partner,” they said, “and this is my wife, Lunar Heart.”
“Nice to meet you,” the unicorn said.
Heart Guardian nodded. “Nice to meet you too.” She looked over at the food on the kitchen table. “Puzzling, did you make all that by yourself?”
Puzzling Insanity nodded and said, “Plates and silverware are on top of the microwave. Help yourselves.”
Everycreature helped themselves to the food and found a place in the living room to sit down and enjoy it.
As they ate, Corpsegrinder made his rounds, sniffing at everycreature’s plates before settling on his favorite pony’s plate and taking a tasting bite of a piece of roast before she could stop him. Her mother burst out laughing at the sight.
“Mom!” Puzzling whined.
“It’s fine, sweetie,” Heart Guardian said through her laughter. “He’s just a cat.”
The fanged mare’s expression softened as she looked down at the tabby. “Just a cat,” she repeated, shooing him away gently and popping a forkful of greens into her mouth.
Eventually, everycreature had their fill. Xander asked, “So, we can just throw the plates away, right?”
“Yeah,” Puzzling said. “That’s the best part about styrofoam plates.”
The zebra laughed and kissed their marefriend on the forehead before throwing their plate in the trash and heading back into the living room for the gift exchange.
Puzzling handed the others their gifts and smiled, sitting on the floor next to the cat.
Heart Guardian was the first to open hers, and she smiled as best she could. “Aw, sweetie, this is so nice,” she said, holding up an insulated cup with a cow on it.
Lunar Heart opened her gift next and gasped, “How did you know I liked this series?” She hugged a copy of the video game Equestrian Hearts.
Xander was the last to open their present. Tears pricked at their eyes when they held up a plush pony that looked an awful lot like Puzzling.
“I, uh, had it custom made,” Puzzling Insanity said nervously.
“It’s almost as beautiful as you,” the zebra said, wiping their eyes on their sweater.
Puzzling blushed profusely at the compliment and quickly opened the larger of her two gifts.
“It’s from both of us,” Lunar Heart said.
The fanged mare squealed and hugged a plush zebra that looked like Xander. “How did you two-”
“Great minds think alike, I suppose,” Xander said.
Puzzling Insanity set the doll aside and opened the other present, her smile growing bigger as she looked at a box containing an air fryer. “Aw, Mom, you didn’t have to,” she said.
“Well, this way, you don’t have to worry about using the oven all the time,” Heart Guardian said, smiling.
“Thank you all,” Puzzling said, getting up and hugging all three of her guests. “Happy Hearth’s Warming.”
“Happy Hearth’s Warming, baby girl,” Xander said, kissing her forehead again.
The rest of the day was spent in happiness and love. Puzzling Insanity's first time hosting had been a huge success for her.