It started out as any ordinary day in Ponyville, with the exception of the fact that it was getting close to Hearth’s Warming Eve. Fillies and colts were galloping around from store to store, pointing out to their parents which toys they wanted from Santa Hooves, (You are now free to facedesk at how I didn’t even try to pull that pun off.) the white snow blanketed the town as well as most of Equestria, ponies were all bundled up in their jackets and scarves, and there wasn’t a single creature across the land who wasn’t caught up in the Hearth’s Warming spirit.
Princess Twilight Sparkle, on the other hoof, wasn’t that caught up in the holiday spirit. She was busy reading as per usual.
“Hmm...” Twilight thought out loud as she read with great intensity and concentration. “That’s pretty interesting indeed.”
Unbeknownst to Twilight, however, there was a fairly small blue creature flying (more like falling, actually) towards Twilight’s library, leaving a rainbow streak behind it as it descended at an increasing speed.
“INCOMING!!!!!” was all Twilight heard before Rainbow Dash crashed through one of the windows of the library, landing hard into a pile of books and papers, causing them to go flying all over the place.
Twilight herself had happened to be sitting right next to the very pile that Rainbow had crashed into. Though while Twilight had several books hit her, she didn’t even look up from the book she was reading. “Hey Rainbow Dash,” was all Twilight said as she continued reading.
“Come on, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said as she got up and shook herself off. “Have I really crashed through your window so many times that you don’t even look up when I crash?”
“Pretty much, yeah,” Twilight said as she used her magic to puck up the glass scattered around the floor and put the pieces back in the window, a spell she could cast by what could be compared to as muscle memory at this point in Rainbow Dash’s training. “Are you sure you and Applejack can’t relocate that catapult? It’s been there for three years and it’s failed every time.”
“Don’t worry, Twi,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’ll get that move down eventually.” Rainbow Dash had a hint of self-doubt in that last sentence, so she tried to cover it up by changing the subject. “So... whatcha reading?”
“Something very fascinating, actually,” Twilight said. “You remember a few months ago when I chased Sunset Shimmer into that portal to recover my crown and it sent me to an alternate universe?”
“Uh... yes?” Rainbow Dash said as more of a question than an actual reply. She actually didn’t know much about what Twilight was talking about, given the fact that she and the others spent the three days Twilight spent in that world waiting for her.
Of course Twilight knew this, but she kept talking anyway. “Anyway, I was just reading up on all I could find about alternate universes. There’s this one book here by a guy by the name of Doctor Colt Smith about Hearth’s Warming and how it’s celebrated by different cultures on different worlds in different universes.”
“But why would you want to read a book like that?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Because...” Twilight started. Before she continued, however, she found herself at a loss for a legitimate reason. “I’m a princess. Don’t question my royal authority.”
Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes at Twilight’s excuse, but decided just to go along with the “authority” Twilight claimed she had. “Alright,” Rainbow Dash finally said. “So, anything particularly noteworthy?”
“I’m glad you asked, actually,” Twilight said.
”Buck,” Rainbow Dash thought to herself. ”When am I going to learn not to ask her that?”
“You know about Santa Hooves, right?” Twilight continued.
“You mean that fat alicorn who Princess Luna tried to impersonate a couple years ago?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Twilight shuddered at the thought of that memory, especially the part where Luna confused her role for that of the Easter Pony and started trying to lay eggs. “I still haven’t gotten around to complaining to Princess Celestia for giving her sister that much cider that year,” Twilight said. “The description I was going for was actually ‘that jolly alicorn who leaves presents for foals on Hearth’s Warming Eve.’”
“Oh,” Rainbow Dash said. “So pretty much that old mare’s tale that parents tell their foals so they behave, right?”
Giving a slight frustrated huff, Twilight replied, “Yes, him.” Twilight then pucked her book back up and showed it to Rainbow Dash. “Look here. It says that in every world out there, Hearth’s Warming, also referred to in most other worlds as ‘Christmas’, the underlying cause for the celebration is to mark the midpoint of winter. It’s a way of saying ‘congratulations, we’re halfway out of the dark.’”
Rainbow Dash had almost fallen asleep by the time Twilight finished, but quickly shook herself awake when she realized Twilight was done reading. “Oh, yeah,” the drowsy pegasus said. “Interesting.”
Twilight glared at Rainbow for a moment before returning to reading out loud. “Anyway, the book also talks about how on every world, there’s a jolly magical being by the name of Santa Claus who delivers gifts to all the children of the world in a single night. And that’s in every single world.”
“Really?” Rainbow Dash asked. “But how does he do it? If it’s in another world, I’m going to assume he doesn’t have these babies.” Rainbow Dash took a moment to flash her wings with pride.
“Actually, he has a very special method by which he gets around,” Twilight replied. “He flies through the sky using a magical sleigh pulled by eight magical creatures called reindeer, and he keeps the gifts for the children in a magical bag that acts like a bottomless pit.”
Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes at this. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure a guy like that doesn’t exist,” she said.
“What are you talking about?” Twilight asked in surprise.
“There’s no way a couple of glorified deer who fly using magic could get around the world in a single night,” Rainbow Dash replied. “And even still, a gift bag that goes on forever? That doesn’t even exist here in Equestria.”
Twilight just sighed and looked down at her book. “I only wish there was some way for me to take you to one of these worlds to prove you wrong,” Twilight said. Just then, the two ponies began feeling a strange wind blowing.
“Twilight, did you open a window or something?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I didn’t,” Twilight replied. “And Spike’s in Canterlot on royal business, so he couldn’t have opened the window.” Twilight looked around to find that all the windows were shut. “Wait a second... This can only mean one thing.”
Right as Twilight said this, she and Rainbow Dash noticed what looked like a large blue box fading in and out of existence towards the back of the library, making a whooshing noise that followed suit. Once the box became solid, the door on its side opened and a brown stallion stepped out.
“Did I hear somepony say they wanted to prove somepony else wrong?” the stallion asked.
