Hearth’s Warming Eve. Even though I've only lived to see seven of them, I know that it's the best evening of the year. I remember the first time I saw that tree with all the presents.
I didn't understand why they put the presents under the tree instead of giving them to us, but I didn't think it was a bad thing, it was just weird. After all, we would still be getting presents!
~*~
My brother galloped over to the tree, eager to open his presents, but my dad quickly held him back with his wing.
“But dad! We always open the gifts in the evening!”
“Yes, but we just moved to Equestria, and over here they open them in the morning,” my dad said.
“It’s not fair!” my brother stormed out of the room.
“Dad", I started “why do we open the presents in the morning? Bro told me we open them in the morning.”
“Back in our homeland it's normal for ponies to open the gifts in the evening, but over here its normal to open them in the morning.”
“That’s weird! They’re celebrating Hearth’s Warming wrong!”
“Actually, it was the ponies of Equestria who invented Hearth’s Warming. So we’re the ones who were celebrating it wrong.”
~*~
That is the first memory I have of Hearth’s Warming. Even though it’s not one of the traditions from my homeland, I still love it with all of my heart. I love everything about the holiday. I love being away from the school, I love being with my parents and my brother, I love the food we’re getting, I love the presents we get. I love everything about Heart’s Warming.
But Hearth’s Warming was yesterday. The evening is over and the dawn has come. Which means there’s only six days left until New Years Eve. It also means there’s only thirteen days until I have to start school again. But it also means something else.
We’re getting presents.
This is the part of the holiday I've been looking forward to the most. For months I’ve been doing my best to be a good colt, and quietly telling my family what I want. I know I shouldn't tell them all the time, that’s why I only told them one time everyday for the past two months. If I tell them too many times they will be annoyed.
But I also made sure that I knew what I wanted. I didn't want some fancy hat that I would lose interest in after a few days, like my brother did. I didn’t wish for a good harvest, because that’s what everypony wished for, so I didn’t bother to put it on the list. What I wanted was a little pet dog.
I wanted a small brown dog. It would be best if it was a collie. I’d seen one of the apple-farmers near the outskirts of the town play with her collie, and the moment I saw the smile on her face I knew that I wanted a dog like hers.
Later that day I went to the library to find out what kind of dog it was.
~*~
“Do you have any books around here?” I asked.
“Of course we do, this is a library!” A purple alicorn answered me.
“Can I borrow one?”
“Yes you can, what are you looking for? Is it something you’re having trouble with in school? Is it a scientific subject you just got interested in? Chemistry? Physics? Astronomy?”
“Dogs!”
She looked a bit weird when I said dogs, but she didn't seem to think it was a bad thing that I liked dogs.
“Of course, I have a book about dogs for you right here.” She levitated a book on dogs over to me.
“Thank you!”
~*~
Now I know everything there is to know about collies. It took me a while to find the chapter about collies in the book, but it was worth it. I know how they walk, how they eat, and how they do something called ‘mating’, whatever it is.
I had to make sure that my parents knew what I was talking about when I said to them I wanted a collie, so I made sure to tell them everything I knew about collies every time I mentioned my wishes. So they had to know what collies are, because I told them one time every day for the last two months.
“So now they must give me a collie! How can they not give me a collie? I made sure they knew! I told them every day. Could they have forgotten it? Perhaps I should have told them two times a day.” I thought to myself.
“Wake up, foals! It’s time for breakfast!” mom yelled to my brother and I.
“PRESENTS!” My brother and I yelled at the same time.
We immediately got out of bed and rushed to the door, but got stuck in the doorway because my brother is so fat.
“Move out of the way, I want my collie!” I yelled to my brother.
“No way, I want my wonderbolt hat!” My brother yelled.
We were pushing each other for about two minutes until mom arrived and lifted us up with her unicorn-magic.
“Take it easy boys, you both have plenty of time to get your presents, there’s no need to be violent.” She put us back down on the floor as she finished speaking.
As soon as I felt the floor under my hooves I ran downstairs, and over to the tree. I knew we weren’t supposed to open the presents until later, but I couldn’t wait! What difference does one open present make?
I tried to find my present, but it wasn’t there. I ran around the tree several times, but I couldn’t find it. After I had run around the tree for the twelfth time, I crashed into my mom.
“Take it easy, son -“ Mom lifted me up with her magic so that I could see her three faces “- you will get your presents after the breakfast.”
I don’t remember much about the breakfast because I was too excited about getting my present. I remember jumping up and down in my seat, but other than that, it was all a big blur.
Dad was the first to break the silence after the breakfast.
“Boys come over here, it’s time to show you your presents,” he pointed over to the area in front of him.
“Can I get my wonderbolt hat?” My brother asked.
“Can I get my collie?” I asked.
“Close your eyes and you will see,” dad told us.
I closed my eyes, eagerly awaiting my little pet collie. I knew I was going to love it! It was going to be so fun and exciting.
“No peeking!” mom said.
I hadn't peeked so I was angry that they accused me of cheating. After a couple of seconds I realized that it must have been my brother who peeked. Of course he did, he doesn't know how to follow the rules.
I could hear dad walking towards my brother, and I could hear mom walking towards me. They both stopped right in front of us, and placed something on the ground right in front of us.
“My collie!”
“Alright, boys, you can open your eyes no…”
“MY HAT!” Brother yelled.
I had unconsciously moved my head towards my brother because he yelled, so when I opened my eyes I didn't see my present. All I saw was my brother trying to fit his head inside a small wonderbolt hat that had Soarin on the top of it.
"Hold up, don't pull too hard at the fabric with your hooves, otherwise the hat will break!" dad said.
“It’s OK, you can look at your present now,” mom told me.
I slowly moved my head towards what was right in front of me. Before I could even see everything that was there I could see it was a cage.
“Why is my collie in a cage?” I thought.
I moved my head towards the cage completely so I could see the collie completely. But when I could see all of it I knew that this was not a collie. It was an animal yes, but not a collie.
“MOM! WHY DID YOU GIVE ME A TURTLE?!”