‘Christmas it is…’
December 24th, 2013, 7:30am…
I laid on the bench, the heavy weight bar above me. I took in a deep breath as I pushed upwards, defeating gravity and the heavy 230lb weight bar.
My muscles burned in report of my action but I pushed past the pain. I grumbled to myself, trying to push away all my old memories. Finally, my arms locked to full extension and I slowly set the weight bar back on the resting posts.
“New record,” I muttered to myself as I rubbed my biceps attentively. Standing up, blood rushed to my head and made me wobble a little. Looking to the mirror, I brought both my arms up and flexed, admiring my new look. I gave a smirk to myself before attempting some stretches.
A faint aroma caught my senses and I sniffed the air. It smelt like… gingerbread? I shook off the smell but it continued to plague me. I looked to the side to see smoke fuming under the space between the door and the floor.
Eyes wide with fear, I rushed upstairs, praying that the house wasn’t on fire. Bursting through the door, I spotted both Twilight and Spike, waving some oven mitts about to try and blow away the grey smoke.
Twilight noticed me and smiled brightly. “Well at least now I know how to make you come out of that hole of yours,” she teased, but I was not amused.
“I thought the house was burning. Just wanted to make sure you guys were okay,” I said. Now having seen that everything was okay, I turned to return to my previous exercise.
“Oh wait! Evan!” Twilight called and I stopped in my tracks. ‘What in Celestia’s name did she need me for?’ I thought before turning around with a nod.
“Since you’re up here, maybe you wouldn’t mind helping Spike and I cook some cookies,” she offered but I shook my head, baking cookies wasn’t my thing. “Oh come on, it’s that time of year. Please?” she pleaded and I tilted my head.
“What time of year?” I asked and she rolled her eyes.
“Hearth’s Warming, silly!” she laughed and I groaned. “Oh don’t be like that. It’s one of the most wonderful times of the year,” she explained with great enthusiasm.
“Ugh… and there’s like… a Santa Claus that gives out presents, right?” I asked, rather unamused by the fact that Equestria had its own Christmas.
“Kind of. In Equestria we just refer to her as Hearth. She was the mare that kind of started the idea of giving gifts on Hearth’s Warming. You see, she-” Twilight began but I cut her off.
“I’m good. On earth we had a holiday like this, except it would’ve been tomorrow,” I told them but she nodded.
“Oh well, it will be tomorrow. Today is just Hearth’s Warming Eve. Spike and I were making cookies and a gingerbread house,” she explained with excitement in her tone. Let out a sigh and just rolled my eyes. Things here never ceased to amaze me.
I turned to leave again but spotted a Christmas tree, or I guess it would be Hearth’s Warming tree… and there were presents under the tree. For whatever reason, Spike and Twilight had both gotten me a gift. ‘Oh no …’ I thought before placing the palm of my right hand over my face.
“Oh for the love of God…” I muttered. “Yeah, okay… let’s make some cookies,” I mumbled. Twilight’s squeal of happiness made me shiver a little, not because her squeal was weird but because… well, she was squealing that I agreed to make cookies.
“This is so great! I can’t believe we get to finally do something together!” she exclaimed before pulling me into the kitchen. There was a bunch of cooking ingredients along with utensils, cooking books, and other things needed to make Christmas… err, Hearth’s Warming cookies.
“So Evan, what were you planning to do for Hearth’s Warming?” Twilight asked and I shrugged.
“I dunno. It kind of snuck up on me,” I stated and Spike spoke up.
“Is that why you haven’t gotten us any presents yet?” he asked, making me feel even worse. Twilight gave him a scornful nudge before hissing at him.
“Spike! Sssh!” she hissed at him and he shrugged.
“Sorry! It just kind of slipped,” he apologized quickly but the comment still plagued my mind. He had a point, even if he hadn’t meant to make one. I needed to get them each a present, but I had no money to do so.
Twilight spoke up and interrupted my thoughts. “Well, if you wouldn’t mind… maybe you’d like to spend Hearth’s Warming with us?” she asked and I let my eyes go wide as I gave a half assed shrug.
“Well… seeing as how we live in the same house, why not?” I replied.
“Well, that’s not exactly what I meant. We can have breakfast together, open presents, cherish each other’s company… if you wouldn’t mind,” she offered hopefully and I simply nodded. She grabbed me and hugged me tightly, getting cookie dough onto my shirt.
“Thank you Evan! This means the world to me,” she cooed in happiness and I simply let out an exhale.
“What are sons for?” I asked rhetorically. We continued to make cookies for another two or three hours before finally deciding that we had enough. Twilight went to wash up and I looked over to Spike.
“I uhh… gotta go out for a while. If Twilight asks, I’m just… uhm… yeah,” I stammered and Spike nodded. I paced down to my room and walked back and forth across the floor while I dressed myself for the cold winter weather.
Though it wasn’t much, my camouflage battle jacket and cargo pants did a half decent job of keeping me warm. “What the buck am I going to do?” I asked myself before slipping on my boots and preparing to leave.
As I made for the door, Spike stopped me, a medium sized bag of cookies in hand. “Here,” he offered but I shook my head.
“Thanks but no thanks kid. I’m not really hungry,” I told him but still he persisted.
“You might get hungry.” I rolled my eyes, took the bag, and pocketed them with my thanks. He smiled brightly but my returned smile wasn’t as enthusiastic.
“Goddamn Christmas. It can’t just be about remembering Jesus or something, nooo! It has to also be about presents and stuff.” I scowled to myself as a chilly breeze blew past me. Buck it was cold, and if that wasn’t enough, it was windy too.
I made my way to the back of my truck and retrieved dear ‘ol Applebloom, an SKS rifle that I had cherished from my old world. I also grabbed a few stripper clips of ammunition, and a belted saddlebags. Strapping on the saddlebags, I placed the ammunition into the right side bags but not before loading ten fresh rounds into my rifle. I looped my belt through my hip sheath and strapped in my bowie knife, just for safe measures.
“Maybe in the summer we’ll go riding Cadence,” I told my truck. I went to go on my way, and then noticed the bag of cookies in my coat pocket. I removed them and looked to the sugar cookies with a blunt expression. The cookies mostly resembled stars and trees. With a sigh, I placed them into the left saddlebag, seeing as how it was more comfortable that way.
The temperature probably reached a chill of -20 degrees Celsius, making me want to cut my trip short. I refused to give up though, knowing I would feel even worse come Hearth’s Warming if I hadn’t gotten Spike and Twilight a present.
With my rifle strapped across my back, I began pondering the thought of how exactly I was supposed to get a present for each of them anyway. I had absolutely no money and wasn’t the stealing type.
Younger fillies and colts played in the streets, throwing snowballs at each other and building snow forts. I spotted a few snowmen… or I guess in this world they would be snowmares or something like that.
In my thought, I wasn’t paying attention to my path and accidentally knocked over a young colt playing in the snow. “Shoot… sorry kiddo, I wasn’t looking,” I apologized, helping the colt to his hooves. He brushed himself off and began to turn to me, already accepting my apology.
“It’s okay. My mom tells me not to play in the road anywa…” He trailed off as his eyes went wide. His jaw slacked open and he looked up to me, lower jaw shaking in fear. He let out a scream and rushed off, leaving me alone by myself. I dipped my head in pity, why did others fear me so? It wasn’t like I was trying to be scary.
I continued along, sometimes catching a glance at store windows, other times having ponies steal petrified glances at me. God, I felt like such a loner.
I continued around town and eventually found myself in the middle of town, looking to the massive Hearth’s Warming tree which was nearly done in its decoration. “Funny… the Christmas trees of this world are decorated the same way,” I snickered to myself for a moment before continuing on.
I turned around and began walking to the opposite side of town. Everywhere I walked, there were ponies enjoying themselves… or maybe they were enjoying the company of others… lucky buggers.
I soon found myself on the outskirts of town. The wind picked up and began blowing snow into my face. Bringing my right arm up to shield my face, I turned around to make my way back into town, but the snow was so fierce that I could barely see three feet in front of me.
Heck, the snow was so bad that I couldn’t even see my goddamn feet. ‘Well this just makes my day wonderful… ‘cause it’s the most wonderful time… of the year,’ I thought sarcastically.
My exposed hands began to feel nippy while my fingertips themselves became numb. My feet felt terribly cold inside my steel toed boots, the steel toes themselves doing nothing helpful except conducting the cold.
My face quickly became uncomfortably freezing and my nose began to run. “Try to get gifts for my family members: die of pneumonia,” I muttered, still holding my right arm across my face to try and shield my eyes from the gusty snow.
I continued back towards town, constantly muttering curses to myself, before something caught my foot and I tripped. I cursed to myself as snow stuck to my face. I looked up from the deep snow and snickered.
“Ben… BEN!” I groaned jokingly, then wiped off my snow covered face and stood up. If I stayed out here any longer, I’d probably end up like Skywalker on Hoth. I went to look for my footprints to see which way I had come from, but saw that they had been completely erased in the snowfall.
“Aww crap…” I whispered. Things were starting to look grim now. I had no sense of direction with the snow the way it was and with the temperature so low, my cargo pants and light battle jacket did nearly nothing to protect me from the elements.
“At least I still have my rifle,” I assured myself. Though what little good having a rifle did me in a snowstorm, it still made me feel better just having it. I began to walk in one direction. Theoretically, if I travel far enough in one direction I should either hit Ponyville or the Everfree, or even just a tree to hide from the immediate wind would suffice until the storm died down.
As I continued along, my enthusiasm quickly died. I was no longer thinking about getting presents for Spike and Twilight, but rather thinking completely about how to survive.
“Bucking cold… bucking snow… bucking Equestria… God I hate this place,” I whispered to myself, just before the wind started blowing even harder. “BUCK YOU!” I roared, but my voice was quickly drowned out by the whistling winds.
My face started to burn in freezing pain and I just had to stop and use both my arms to cover my face. I slid my arms across each other and into the opposite sleeves to keep my bare hands relatively protected.
Without warning, a powerful gust of wind blew me down and onto my back. I quickly unsheathed my arms to try and get back up but a ghostly figure appeared as the snow was cleared from around them.
“Who the buck are you? Jack Frost?!” I snarled angrily.
“Child, your body is filled with so much hate right now. Relax and-” he began but I quickly cut him short.
“Buck off with your stupid ‘Relax and look on the bright side’ junk! I don’t need it!” I roared but his face simply remained straight, not even deterring for a moment.
“Child, if you wish to find sanction, you must relax and look into your soul.” Just as he said that, his body turn into a blinding patch of gusty snow that blew into my face, blinding me and sending my body into unconsciousness.
* * *
Earth, December 25th, 2012…
I quickly shuffled the pan, flipping the scrambled eggs about while at the same time monitoring the frying bacon. I shifted gears and quickly poured some eggnog into a glass for my brother.
I turned off both burners and scooped some eggs and bacon strips onto the plate just as the toaster oven dinged. I quickly opened the small oven door and removed the hot pieces of toast with my bare hands and buttering them up with a butter knife.
My uncle, Justin, scooped some fried potatoes out of his frying pan and we quickly made up a few plates for my brother, my grandma, my uncle, and myself.
The four of us sat down and enjoyed a rather brief Christmas breakfast. My brother was fastest to finish and quickly sat up, washed his plate and utensils then was nearly bouncing on his heels in excitement.
“Can we open presents now?!” he asked in absolute excitement. I had no real idea of why he was so thrilled; he knew exactly what I had gotten him, or at least the present I had gotten him that he wanted. I rolled my eyes with a nod and he zoomed to the living room with an unnatural speed.
My stepdad arrived just as my brother grabbed his first present and shook it, trying to gauge what it was. My uncle, stepdad and I all sat down in the living room as my grampa took his seat nearby. My grandmother sat in the kitchen with some tea, just mingling peacefully.
I had no real interest in my presents but rather the presents I had gotten my brother. Most were just simple things like BBs for his pea shooter or CO2 cartridges. Of the gifts I got him, there was one that I wanted to see his face for, because it was the gift he kept bugging me to get him.
I watched him intently as he opened present after present but he’d constantly stop and ask if I wanted to open mine yet, but I’d constantly reply with: “I will in a second.”
After another few presents, he finally got to the one I wanted to see him open. It wasn’t large by any means, and was rectangular and thin, much like a DVD case. His eyes went wide and he quickly ripped the wrapping off then squealed.
“OH MY GOD!” he screamed as he held Red Dead Redemption. Though it was released in 2010, I had never bothered getting a PS3 until 2011, and still had never bothered getting many games.
A smile crept across my lips as he opened the other present that I had also gotten him. He ripped that open with haste as well and continued to squeal in delight. It was a box of five hundred and twenty five .22 Long Rifle rounds.
Though I was only 17 at the time and laws restricted people from acquiring ammunition until the age of 18, I had my ways.
I just shook my head and looked to my brother as he started opening more presents, these were from my uncle Justin and were relatively the same as mine: Video games and ammunition.
* * *
December 24th, 2013…
I awoke abruptly with my face painfully stinging. “ARGGG!” I yelled in pain as I quickly placed my icy hands to my face. Things were bad… really bad. I stood up and wobbled a little as I got my balance.
“Easy now. Man instinct says town is… that way!” I announced and pointed in a random direction before heading that way. I had no idea where I was headed but I needed to find shelter and fast.
“Stupid Hearth’s Warming… I hate holidays,” I muttered. I thought about what I had just said then turned back on it. “I guess I don’t really hate the holidays… just this junky, miserable day,” I whispered.
Wind continued to whistle past my burning cheeks as I tried painfully to cover my exposed face with my arms, but it was futile.
“Is that why you haven’t gotten us any presents yet?” asked a very familiar voice from behind. I turned to see a faint image of Spike through the snow.
“Spike…” I groaned and tried to pace towards him as deliria started to set in.
I tripped and fell but managed to keep my head above the snowy ground. “Uhm… hi,” he introduced himself to another image that looked big, tall and… it was me… kind of. The other figure was me.
The ghostly version of me simply didn’t reply and continued to work out. “Spi-i-i-ike… SPIKE!” I tried to call through the wind but my voice was lost. As I crawled through the snow, my eyelashes became frosted, making it hard to keep my eyes open.
“Evan, I love you,” called another distinct and familiar voice. I looked to see Twilight standing before me.
“Mom… Mom, I love you too,” I replied, but she must not have heard me. Her eyes began to tear up.
“I love you so much, don’t you understand?” she asked and I nodded. Standing to my feet and stumbling over, I tried to hug her, but her body disappeared into the storm.
“Mom… MOM I LOVE YOU!” I screamed to her but another gust of wind knocked me down. “SCREW YOU, STUPID SNOW!” I roared but an unbelievably powerful gust of wind tossed me across the ground.
Snow burned into my flesh as blood started to seep out of my cracked skin. “ARRGGG… I HATE YOU!” I roared at the snow, completely furious at the elements of nature.
I stood up and let out a fierce roar that managed to crack through the storm. Suddenly a path of the storm in front of me stopped and a massive… uhm… it was a horse of regular size, but it was comprised entirely of snow.
Its eyes flashed a fiery blue, sending shivers down my already freezing body. I clenched my hands and grimaced painfully. It leaned its head back and spewed an icy gust of breath forwards.
A vapor trail expelled from its mouth and skewed towards me before I could properly move. I turned my body to the left and I felt something painful burn my face, causing me to scream in agonizing pain while falling to the ground.
The whole right side of my jacket and pants had been frosted but it had saved my skin. However, the right side of my bare face had not been spared. Ice frosted my skin, killing my nerves and nearly rendering my right eye useless.
I screamed loudly as my right hand immediately grasped my face, but it didn’t feel like skin anymore. It felt more like I was touching crispy ice. Gasping as I stood to my feet, the ghostly horse beast sucked in for another breath.
My right hand snuck behind my back and unslung my SKS rifle while my left hand was already moving to my right side. Just as I lined up the rifle, my left hand racked back the receiver block and let it slam shut, chambering a round.
Just before the beast could manage another breath, I blasted off all ten shots in the magazine. Smoking brass was tossed about as the rifle ejected shell after shell, spitting shot after shot into the beast with deadly intentions. The muzzle flash was horrendous and frightening, but was quickly swallowed into the snow storm. The chatter of my Russian rifle echoed in the storm, a symbol of its might.
Snow puffed where the bullets struck and the beast shrieked before disappearing. I fell to my knees, cringing in sheer pain as my nerves reacted to my frozen face. I’d probably need amputation or something.
In an instant, my right hand darted into my saddlebags and retrieved another loaded stripper clip. I stuffed the rounds into the internal magazine before racking the receiver. I left the gun loaded, seeing as how a loaded gun would be the least of my worries.
I began pacing through the snow, rifle in hand, but only managed a few steps before the creature returned, blasting me to the ground with a gust of wind. Frost crisped onto the chest of my jacket but didn't manage to penetrate enough to damage my skin tissue. I landed on my back and noticed the beast preparing another breath to finish me off.
I rolled to the side and could feel the icy breath spew onto the spot that I had been just moments before. I finished my roll and laid flat on my back. “Eat metal,” I whispered out a pun before jerking on the trigger. The gun chattered and rattled aggressively in my arms as the rifle chewed through the magazine’s capacity.
Puffs of snow erupted from the beast’s body as bullets riddled it, but the creature quickly disappeared in a burst of snow. Without hesitation, I reached into my saddlebags and retrieved another load of ammo.
In a flash I had the gun loaded and ready. Just before I could get up, it appeared straight above me, already ready to spray its icy breath down upon me. Without using the sights of the rifle, I simply tilted the rifle up and chattered off several shots.
Its face ruptured into puffs of snow but one lucky shot glanced its left shinning eye. The beast shrieked as the eye cracked and then shattered apart. It swung its head around in pain before turning to me. A smoke of snow emulated from its busted eye socket before a loud shriek of pain echoed in the air and its body dispersed into the storm.
I pulled the receiver partly way back and saw the orange military shell casing still locked onto the receiver. I let it slam shut. “If you bleed… I can kill you,” I whispered in a thick Austrian accent.
I readied myself, knowing exactly what to do, but I wasn’t quite expecting for what came. A figure appeared in front of me and I went to shoot, only to be stopped when I realized it was Twilight.
“Mom! What the hay are you…” I began but was cut off as she blew out a gust of wind that knocked me to the ground, slipping the rifle out of my frozen hands. I gasped in pain, grasping the backs of my hands which were cold and icy, but not completely frozen.
Before I could do anything, the giant horse snow thing lept on me, holding me down. “Do you hate?” asked a deathly voice. Its head lowered down and the steam vapors from its nostrils crisped frost onto the unfrozen side of my face. I winced as my nostrils cripsed with tiny icicles.
I tried to move but the beast must’ve weighed a ton. “Say that you hate… we feed off it,” the creature stated, but I still grimaced as I tried to move, remaining silent. “SAY IT!” It’s voice echoed in the storm and the sheer force of the scream blew away the snow from underneath us, creating a crater in the snow.
I squirmed underneath it but all I could move was my arms and legs, not my body. “Say that you HATE!” it screeched and a thought came to mind. I put on a straight face while my right hand clenched.
“Freeze in hell,” I told it in a thick Arnie accent. My left hand skewed across my waist and removed the massive bowie knife from its sheath before darting it up towards the creature’s face.
I cocked my elbow then drove the blade tip right into its remaining good eye. The blade tip cracked the eye, almost as if I had struck a layer of ice. The beast screeched in horror and my right arm snuck out from the hold it had me in.
The palm of my right hand slammed the knife handle’s base, driving the knife into the final eye and shattering it like a glass orb. The monster bellowed and fell back, thrashing on the ground as electric bolts of energy began shooting out from its deteriorating body.
As the beast finally perished, I muttered out a cheesy pun. “No more reindeer games for you,” I spoke with a perfect Arnie voice that made me snicker a little after the serious pun.
I stood up and retrieved my rifle but nearly fell over as my injuries started to take effect. “Damn… what a terrible Christmas… Hearth’s Warming Eve,” I whispered. I kept my rifle in hand as I stood up and began to wobble in a single direction.
I kept a serious face on as I tumbled around, constantly muttering things to myself in an Arnie voice to try and keep my morale up. As I stumbled along, I came across a mare in a green, puffy jacket.
I only held my rifle with my right hand but got ready to draw it on a second's notice if I had to. “Who the hay are you?” I asked and her attention immediately shifted to me. She was fairly young, maybe late twenties at most. Her fur was white along with her mane and tail. The only way I could tell where her mane started and fur ended, was the sparkling gleam of her mane and tail.
She had a horn so I guess that made her a unicorn. “Oh don’t mind me, for I am but a weary traveler,” she stated.
“Yeah right! You’re too finely dressed and groomed to be ‘just a weary traveler,’” I told her and she smiled with a slight blush.
“Well I appreciate your compliment, but my clothes are just old rags that I have patched together myself. And my mane and tail are only tended to by nature,” she informed me. I wasn’t about to let my guard down, but I had this hunch that she wasn’t about to try and kill me.
“Okay… Weary traveler, what the hay are you doing here?” I asked and she shrugged.
“Merely passing through. The weather is beautiful today,” she replied and I scoffed.
“Pfft, yeah, and I’m the queen of England,” I said sarcastically.
“Who?” she asked curiously and that’s when I remembered that ponies didn’t know who that was.
“Never mind,” I told her and she nodded. I grimaced as my face burned in pain and didn’t notice her turning to leave.
“Well, it was nice meeting you, Never Mind-” she began but I interrupted her.
“My name isn’t Never Mind. I was just saying never mind. My name is Burdick. Evan Burdick, but yah can call me Burdy if yah fancy,” I informed her, returning to my natural voice and discarding my Arnie accent.
“Oh, well Burdy, as I was saying, it was nice meeting you, but I must be going. I am very hungry and am in need of food…” she trailed off and looked to me with wandering eyes. “The last pony I came across would not share his meal. If you have anything and would be so kind, I would be most appreciative,” she asked hopefully but I simply sighed.
“I’m sorry. I don’t have anything,” I replied and she sighed before nodding and turning to leave.
“It is okay, I understand,” she stated and began trotting to leave. I cursed myself for not having brought provisions. Not for myself, but if I had brought food then I could’ve…
“WAIT!” I yelled, but she kept trotting away, not even slowing a little. I started to run forwards, stumbling and nearly losing my balance due to my burning injuries, but I quickly caught up with her.
“WAIT!” I yelled, grabbing her by the shoulder and spinning her around. Her eyes went wide in shock but I didn't return a facial expression. My frozen face hurt too much as it was. “Here, take these!” I offered, pulling out the cookies that I had forgotten about and handing them to her.
“I thought you said you had nothing to share?” she asked and I fumbled around for an answer.
“Well I thought I didn’t have anything, but a friend of mine gave me these just before I left, so I forgot that I had them. Please take them, you probably need them more than I do,” I offered.
“Maybe not. Your body is very cold,” she replied but I simply snickered.
“Yeah but…” I winced in pain then continued, “Sugar cookies don’t heal severe frostbite,” I snickered.
“That isn’t all that funny,” she said in a serious tone, but I shrugged.
“I can’t fix what has already been done, so I might as well make some kind of crude joke of it,” I laughed but she shook her head.
“Thank you for the cookies, perhaps we could share them?” she offered but I shook my head in return.
“Nah, you have them all. You said you were hungry after all,” I told her. She smiled brightly and the storm seemed to settle, though now I came to the realization that I was in an open snowy field that was near a forest and there was no sign of civilization to be seen.
“Perhaps we should find shelter before the storm returns,” she offered and I didn’t complain as we quickly paced over to a nearby cluster of trees. I set my rifle against a tree then flumped down against the trunk and crossed my arms. Now that the wind was gone, I could see my breath. The back of my hands stung while my face... it was just a painful kind of numb.
“You know… you’ll probably be the last one to see me alive. Do me a favour and tell my mother that I love her. Her name is Twilight and she lives in-” I began but she cut me off rather quickly.
“Your mother is Twilight? As in, Princess Twilight Sparkle?” she asked and I nodded, another breath of air escaping my lips. “I didn’t know she had a son,” she said but I shook my head.
“I’m not blood related, but she’s my mom of sorts. Just tell her that I love her,” I replied and she nodded. My breathing had slowed significantly and it hurt a little to breath.
“What were you doing out here anyway?” she asked and I chuckled.
“I was trying to find her and Spike, my friend, some presents. I was flat broke so I didn’t know what to do, then I got caught in this storm. Guess my plan backfired…” I trailed off and started hacking violently. Calming my breathing, I let my lungs take deep and heavy breaths, though now my breathing was raspy.
“So you came out looking to get gifts for others?” she asked and I nodded. Looking down to the cookies I had given her, and then back to me, she smiled. “You are truly generous, and that is a good trait,” she offered me comfort in my dark times, but I simply muttered another crude joke.
“A trait that is likely to kill me,” I laughed and she gave me a cross face. “Okay…” I hacked up another cough before getting settled. “Thank you for the compliment. And if you wouldn’t mind going to Ponyville to tell Twilight-" I began to hack again before looking to her with serious eyes. "Thank you,” I thanked her and she smiled.
I leaned my head back, letting my eyes close and the darkness and cold swallow me. Things, despite the pain and freezing cold, were starting to get nicer. I knew it was bad to fall asleep in the cold, but right now it was the most comforting thing to do.
Before I could do anything, the snap of a branch awoke me. I looked to see the white mare piling some branches. “What are you doing?” I asked tiredly.
“You helped me without asking for anything in return. You came out here to get a gift for a mother and a friend. I will help you in your time of need as a gift for your generosity,” she informed me and I nodded, my eyes droopy and tired.
“Thank you…” I whispered, trailing off from exhaustion. With a pile of branches made, she lowered her horn and a white blast, that almost looked like a gust of snow, hit the branches and ignited them into a burning flame.
“Come closer and be warm,” she offered. I shuffled forwards and extended my shaky hands forwards, trying to get warm. My new friend, or whatever I should address her as, nibbled on the cookies I had given her.
“Do you wish to have any?” she asked but I shook my head.
“Thanks but no thanks. I’m not very hungry,” I replied, my body shaking as my nerves tried to determine whether I was supposed to be hot from the close proximity of the fire, or freezing cold from the frost that still plagued my face and back of my hands.
“I am curious. Why does your voice change from time to time?” she asked and I snickered.
“Before this… before I ended up here, in Equestria, I lived in a different place. When I was young… about six, I watched a movie. It was called ‘The Terminator’ and it had this actor. His name was: Arnold Schwarzenegger. I remember when I first saw his face on the cover I thought ‘who is this weird guy?’ But I quickly fell in love with his acting and I’ve always wanted to be kind of like him. That’s why I sometimes talk like him,” I informed her and she nodded.
“So you have learned to imitate his vocal patterns? Interesting.” She smiled and continued nibbling her cookies contently. “Thank you, these cookies are delicious.” I simply nodded and continued to try and warm myself.
After several minutes, the mare trotted over and flopped down beside me, nestling close to me. “Your heart is strong and loving, and your soul is pure. Always let your heart guide you and keep your loved ones close,” she told me and I nodded.
“Uhm… thanks,” I thanked her for her compliment. She continued to nestle against me for what seemed like hours, the both off us comforting in each other’s company. Every so often she'd lean her head against my shoulder and doze off slightly before waking abruptly.
After waking from a slight nap for the thirteen of fourteenth time, she looked to me with a genuine smile. “I must be going, but know that the fire will keep you warm and that the storm shall not return. You can sleep if you wish,” she offered and suddenly a set of angel-like wings sprang from her sides, snow sparkling into the air around her.
“You’re… an alicorn?!” I gasped in shock and she nodded.
“Most would immediately help an alicorn, thinking that an alicorn is royalty and that in turn they would be rewarded with riches. I travel the world as if a simple traveler and most ponies treat me as such. However there are some that are generous enough to help a stranger in need, even if they have little to give, like you,” she told me.
“It was nothing, really,” I replied tiredly. She smiled and nodded.
“You may act tough, and pretend to be stone cold, but have faith in your true loving nature. Others will accept you for who you really are,” she offered me some advice before turning around to take off. I briefly noticed that her cutie mark thing was a white star, the kind of star that belongs on top of a Christmas tree. She cocked her legs then shot off, taking flight and shooting off into the sky.
I suddenly realized that I had never gotten her name and cursed myself for not asking more about her. I snapped my fingers and muttered a curse before lying down on the dry ground.
I watched the flame flicker brightly in the night. “Damn… Hearth’s Warming is tomorrow…” I muttered silently and continued to watch the warm flickering fire. As time dragged on, my eyes slowly began to shut for longer periods until finally I could no longer keep them open.
The warmth of the fire enveloped my entire body, keeping me warm against the harsh winter cold. Even though the ground was hard, it was rather comfortable and there was nothing I could do to keep myself from dozing off several times.
However, just before I could completely fall asleep, the crackle of the fire would awaken me. Eventually my exhaustion completely took over and I didn’t even remember falling asleep…
* * *
My mind remained subtle and peaceful while a voice above me squealed in delight. “It’s Hearth’s Warming! It’s Hearth’s Warming! Come on Twilight, get up!” squealed a young voice.
My eyes shot wide as I gasped. A pool of saliva had formed in my mouth and caused me to gag. Gasping loudly, I quickly shot my hands for my face. Feeling soft skin and sideburns, I let out a deep exhale that was more of a relieved sigh.
My eyes quickly darted to my black watch and I snatched it off the nightstand. The watch arms were busted, as they were since the day I had bought it, but the digital readout was always bang on.
It read that it was… 7:58am, 25th of December, 2013. But if that was a dream then… what happened to yesterday?
I scratched my head and figured the day had probably slipped my mind and that I had probably just done a lot of upper body workouts yesterday.
“WOAH! Twilight look! Hearth was here!” Spike’s voice squealed loud enough that it sounded as if he was right beside me.
I rolled over and stayed underneath the warm blankets and that’s when I noticed it. I was wearing my battle jacket. I never wore my battle jacket to bed… heck, I barely wore anything to bed but my boxers and now I was sleeping in full dress.
Without dwelling on the subject, I stood up and sat out of bed. My rifle, knife, and saddlebags were nowhere to be seen, probably in the back of my truck where they belonged, so that meant that I had simply had a weird dream.
Remembering that it was Christmas… Hearth’s Warming, I decided maybe I’d go upstairs. I didn’t want to be the black sheep that gave a bad feeling to Hearth’s Warming day.
Pacing up the stairs, I entered the living quarters and Twilight looked over to me with a wide smile. “Good morning Evan! Happy Hearth’s Warming,” she told me and I smiled. It sounded weird to be said like that, but to them it was probably normal.
I gave her a nod and looked to Spike. “So, Santa get you anything good?” I asked and he raised an eyebrow.
“Who?” he asked curiously and I stumbled for the words.
“Uhm… you know… the one who gets you presents?” I asked and he nodded.
“Yeah! Hearth got me like… four presents this year!” he exclaimed.
“Spike,” Twilight began in a parenting voice, “breakfast first,” she ordered and Spike moseyed into the kitchen with a frown. Before I could follow suit, Twilight stood to her hindlegs, grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled my head down before whispering into my ear.
“How did you afford all of that?” she asked and I raised my eyebrows in curiosity.
“I didn’t get that stuff,” I replied and she rolled her eyes.
“Of course you did. I didn’t get it and I know Spike didn’t get it. It wasn’t there last night and you weren’t home yet… speaking of which, never do that again. I was so scared that you were hurt! If you’re going to stay out late to pull off a surprise, just tell me,” she ordered and I was lost.
“Uhh… can I just… use the washroom before breakfast?” I asked then quickly rushed into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. My face looked absolutely normal. My facial hair looked unchanged and nothing looked to have suffered frostbite like in my dream but… if I didn’t come home until late… I don’t even remember coming home.
Without another thought, I went into the kitchen and sat down. Breakfast was already made and was eggs with fried potatoes and toast. I ate, but not too much, still pondering the thoughts that plagued my mind.
With breakfast done, Spike was already edging for the presents while Twilight and I slowly made our way into the living room. “Okay Spike, you can open yours now,” she stated and Spike immediately grabbed a present and ripped it open.
I could tell it was a faked smile as he looked to Twilight. “Thanks Twilight. I really like Dragon’s Might,” he thanked her for the book she had gotten him. He began to open several other presents from her, mostly just socks and pajamas, all of which he was only subtly happy with.
He took out a larger present and opened it. “WOAH! NO WAY!” Spike gasped and held a box that contained… well, I wasn’t sure yet because Spike was ripping it open. Twilight leaned over and again whispered into my ear.
“How did you afford that?” Twilight asked and I shrugged.
“I don’t even know what it is,” I stated but was soon answered as a remote control carriage that zoomed around in the living room. Twilight looked to me with a shocked look and Spike lept on me with a tight hug.
“Thanks, this is so cool!” he squealed and I just gave a confused smile. He gasped then hopped off. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to jump on you,” the young dragon apologized.
“It’s okay kid. I think for one day of the year I can handle it,” I laughed whole heartedly. Spike continued to open presents before he handed me two, one from him and one from Twilight.
His gift was rather large with a little envelope. I opened the envelope and saw a picture that was rather terribly drawn but the intent was crushing to my stone heart. There was a picture of Spike and I, weightlifting together. A deep breath of air escaped my lips, draining my lungs of oxygen as I gave a silent gasp.
I gently set the picture aside. As rock hard as I liked to be, this was just one of those things that could probably make me cry, given the right moment. I opened the present to be surprised by a radio.
“So you can listen to music when you pump iron,” Spike informed me. A smile crept across my face as I patted his head with my hand.
“Thanks kid, it means a lot,” I told him, still smiling. I looked to the present from Twilight. There was no envelope or note, just a tab that read ‘To: Evan, Love: Twilight’. I opened it up to find a rather large hardcover book.
The cover had some bulky, muscle-y goat-like man-thing with horns. The title read ‘Iron Will’s, iron will’ with the lower statement reading ‘Proper workout techniques and fast muscle building!’
A smirk crossed my lips. “Thanks Twi. How’d you know?” I chuckled. It wouldn’t have been the first thing on my wish list but, since it was from her, it meant a lot. She just shrugged with a smile before Spike handed her a present.
“Here Twi, this one’s from Evan,” Spike offered. Her horn lit up and she began to unravel the well wrapped gift. Hell, I wasn’t even good at wrapping gifts. Under the wrapping was a cardboard box which she opened, and then gasped in shock.
“Oh my Celestia… Evan!” she gasped and I was still confused.
“What?” I asked and she looked to me with shock.
“What do you mean: what? You know full well what!” she gasped and held forth a crystal pegasus that had her angel wings splayed wide and an angel halo above her head. “It’s beautiful, I love it.” She held it, admiring the beauty.
I will admit, the thing looked cool and all, because it was like a disco ball and shined in all different directions, giving it a real godly look, but in all truth it wasn’t a huge deal to gasp about and be in shock.
“Where’d you get this?” she asked and I shrugged.
“Ah dunno,” I replied honestly but Twilight gave me a frown. Truthfully, I had no idea how it got there. I looked to the radio and smiled. This was probably the one time of the year I could let myself be mushy and not hate myself for it.
“Spike, see if my radio works,” I offered, trying to quickly change the subject. He nodded and quickly plugged it in before fidgeting with the controls. A note dropped from the inside of my coat. Somehow I hadn’t noticed it before.
Twilight didn't notice as I reached down and picked it up. There were red cursive letters that read ‘Evan’. I opened the letter and read it in my mind.
Dear Evan, or as you like to be called, Burdy,
I wish you the best regards on Hearth’s Warming day and hope you have a wonderful time with your family. You have one of the purest hearts I have ever known. Evan, when meeting a complete stranger, you offered her what little you had and asked for nothing in return. I hope that one day others will follow your generous ways. I apologize for leaving so abruptly and in the midst of everything I didn’t get to properly introduce myself, and I hope that one day we meet again.
Best wishes,
Hearth, xoxo
I folded up the letter and placed it back in the envelope before gently placing it into a coat pocket and removing my jacket. Musical tunes played in the air and reminded me of a song from back on my world, except this song was sung by a mare with something more like a harp or maybe a lyre.
‘Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful…'[
/i]
Twilight nudged me. “Evan, if you wouldn’t mind,” she offered and I looked to her, her hoof extended towards me.
“What?” I asked, wondering what she need.
“Hearth’s Warming is only once a year and I know you’re pretty solitary, but… if you wouldn’t mind, could you dance with me just this once?” she asked. I scratched around my neck and sighed.
“Alright Mom, but I’m not very good,” I replied, but she shrugged off my warning.
“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you.” She giggled playfully. Standing to her hindlegs, she balanced herself and used me as a sort of support. “Okay, take my hoof in your right hand,” she began, offering me her left hoof.
I followed her instructions, gently grasping her hoof in my hand. The music continued to play in the background while she instructed me on how to dance. “Now take your left and place it around the back of my waist.
I followed her instruction and placed my left around her back, about midsection. “A little lower,” she told me and I nodded, moving my hand a tad bit lower. “Mmm… a bit lower,” she said, and again I lowered my hand, now near the curve of her lower back.
“Lower still, by my hips,” she said. I gulped and followed the instruction. She nodded then placed her right foreleg over my arm and wrapped it around my back. “Now if this is correct, just follow my lead,” she informed me.
“Do you know what you’re doing?” I asked as we started.
“Kind of,” she replied. The answer was good enough I suppose. We slowly danced, sometimes losing our footing and stumbling about, but for the most part it was alright… all things considered. I wouldn’t admit to feeling this way about dancing, but I guess I wouldn’t mind doing it again, if for good reason.
Spike raced around with the new RC carriage that… had mystically appeared and stated that I had gotten it for him. Maybe that mare Hearth that I had met was actually like Santa Claus, or maybe it was all a big coincidence or… oh hell, thinking about it just made my head spin.
As song after song played, Twilight and I continued to dance. Eventually Twilight paused, looked up, and then looked back down to me. “Evan…” she whispered, trailing off.
“Yeah?” I asked and she didn’t tilt her head up, but motioned with her eyes for me to look up. I looked up to see some flower thingy dangling from a string. I looked back down to Twilight who was looking at me with her pretty purple eyes that seemed to gleam. “What?” I asked, dumbfounded, not sure what she wanted me to see.
Maybe it was the flower. “Do you want the flower? I can reach it if you want?” I asked but she shook her head.
“It’s mistletoe,” she informed me and I looked up to it with a raised eyebrow.
“Huh… so that’s what those look like. I’ve only seen crude pictures of them, but never saw them in real life…” I trailed off and examined it further. It had green leaves with little white ball thingies. It was truly interesting, seeing as how cartoons and stuff usually display them as a couple green leaves with some red cherry looking ball thingies.
“Do you know what mistletoe means?” she asked in a different, almost dreamy voice.
“Yeah, the…” I trailed off as I realized the two of us were standing under it. Looking back up to it and rubbing my chin, I murmured things to myself. “Indeed… well then… now that’s interesting… I see…” I finished rubbing my chin and looked back down.
Spike was off somewhere and I just sighed. “Evan…” she trailed off as she started leaning towards my face with hers. ‘Okay, one time of the year, I’ll kiss my mom on the lips,’ I thought to myself before leaning down to kiss her back.
Her eyes slowly started to close as our lips neared one another. I followed suit and my eyes gently shut closed. It was weird, I will admit. Kissing my mom on the lips was a bit awkward, but I guess I could live with it.
Our lips touched, but not just for a brief moment. She pressed her lips against mine with passion, my arms naturally curled around her back, holding her close to me as her forelegs did the same to me.
The feel of her wet lips against mine made me feel all mushy and warm inside. After several moments of our embrace, we parted our lips and she smiled with a blush. “I love you,” she whispered and my heart felt weird as she said it. That was probably one of the creepiest things you can say to your son after kissing them on the lips like that.
“I love you too Mom.” We continued to hold each other in a hug, but I snuck my hand up and pulled down the mistletoe. The last thing I needed was for one of her weird friends to come in and catch me under the mistletoe with them, or worse yet, get caught with Spike.
I stuffed the mistletoe in my pants pocket then continued my hug with my mom. She rested the side of her face against my chest as I breathed slowly. Her embrace made me feel warm... and loved.
Author's Note
So although it is based off the original chapter from Twilight's unfaithful student, for the holiday in which it is based, I decided to tone it down a little and put it out as a different release. There's obvious and significant differences from the original, such as: Burdy not swearing every second word, there aren't any of his crude jokes about dead trees, the character's actual mother is absent from the story, and overall the character isn't so brash and harsh. Anyway, Merry Christmas to yah'll
