It was the night after Hearth's Warming, and the Sparkle household was buried in the downpour and flurry of the white, powdery snow. The day after Hearth's Warming was a big day for the family. It was the day where they took down all of the jolly snowmen, wreathes, and lights, and it was a day of relaxation after a long day of eating and present-opening. Instead, Twilight found it as a day-long reminder that the next Hearth's Warming was a year away. A whole three-hundred, sixty-five days away. A whole five-hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes away. She was already counting down the minutes until next year, when ponies started acting affable towards each other again.

Outside, there were ponies covered in fluffy jackets and scarves, going about their daily life, happy that the stressful season was finally winding down, but sad that they lost the levity associated with the upcoming holiday. Twilight Sparkle was one of those ponies. She lost a small part of her happiness every time they packed up another ornament.

She looked up towards her favorite decoration. It was a small, yarn pony with a wizard hat and a wand made of a cinnamon stick. The wizard displayed a smile that never failed to make Twilight giggle. She sighed as she reached up to grasp her favorite decoration, but as she stretched, she realized she was just a little too short in order to grab it. Her brother stepped up behind her and nuzzled her back, comforting her through the time which she hurts the most. He grabbed the ornament with his magic and dropped it in her hooves so she could say goodbye, until the next season. She let out a small whine and tears started forming in her eyes, realizing that the holiday really was over. Sooner or later, ponies would start to revert back to their normal habits, only caring about money and not about emotions. Holidays brought out the best in ponies, and after seeing everypony so jolly, Twilight dreaded going back to their normal ways.

Sensing her discomfort, Shining walked up to her and gave her a hug, bringing her close to his chest. Shining stroked her mane while she let out a few silent tears, patting her back and nuzzling her cheek as she cried.

“Why can't everypony act nice all the time? Why is it only on Hearth's Warming?”, whined Twilight.

Shining thought for a moment and carefully replied, “Hearth's Warming connects all ponies together, regardless of how bitter they are. That's why Hearth's Warming is such an important holiday. It reminds us of the good in ponies and keeps our hopes up, that one day, every day will be like Hearth's Warming. It is constantly in our mind, that reminder of a holiday dedicated to being nice and respectful to other ponies. The reminder makes us love each other, regardless of whether it's snowy or not. And that”, Shining lifted her chin up with his hoof, nuzzling into her neck, “is why Hearth's Warming is perfect.”

Shining kissed her on the cheek, and Twilight's mood seemed to improve, if only for a short moment. She loved her brother, and loved that he was always nice to everypony, even when he's out at guard practice. She admired this quality, and was destined to see the good in all ponies.

A thought struck Shining's mind, and once he thought of it, he knew how to make her happier. He let go of Twilight, and told her to follow him up to her room. Her tears had ceased, but still left patches of wet fur under her eyelids. She sniffled and walked upstairs behind her brother, wondering what he could be doing.

As they walked into her room, Shining asked for the ornament. Reluctantly, Twilight gave it to him, feeling immensely sad when it left her grasp. He walked over to the corner and propped up a small branch of the Hearth's Warming tree, and placed the ornament on the top. He also lit up his horn, permanently illuminating the tip of the wand with a small, purple light.

Shining softly spoke into her ear, “Let this light remind you that even when you're in your worst times, there is always still a flicker of hope that there is a faint radiance inside everypony, making sure that they're nice and spreading happiness to all of Equestria.”

Twilight teared up again, not in sadness, but in hope. She hoped that one day, she could be the pony that makes every mare and stallion realize that they all have the quality to want to make others happy. She made it her life goal to help ponies all around Equestria, making their days better, so that they might feel the shred of happiness that every Hearth's Warming is accompanied with. She looked to her brother with thankful eyes, and brought him in for a hug, one which she would remember for ages. This was not a hug of comforting or a hug to make ponies happy, this was an exchange of sibling affection, a hug of thanks for making her life have meaning.

She brought a pillow from her bed and dragged it alongside the ornament, which now emitted a soft, purple glow. She laid down and stared at the ornament, imitating the smile of the wizard. Her brother had turned off the lights and was now also gazing over at the light, seemingly entranced by the faint gleam. Twilight noticed her eyelids getting heavier, and heard a faint shuffling of fabric. Her brother laid down next to her, and shifted himself against Twilight's back, covering both of them with a blanket as they shared warm contact. As he wrapped his forelegs around her, she nuzzled against his fur, sending ripples of heat alongside both of their bodies. He kissed the base of her mane and rubbed her cheek with his, eliciting a sigh of appreciation from Twilight. They both gave one final glance at the wizard, before they both let their eyes rest.

“I love you, big brother.”

“I love you too, Twiley.”

And for a brief moment as they lost themselves to the grasp of sleep, the tip of the wand grew brighter, and kept the room at a constant, warm glow.

Author's Note

So, there's my second story!

I figured I would write something that hopefully tugged on your heartstrings a little bit, because I know I need to work on plot development and describing certain emotions.

Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this shorty, and like always, if you note any mistakes I made, point them out please!

Also, If you have any suggestions on word choice/plot dev/actual story contents, those are heavily appreciated so I can improve.

Thank you and have a wonderful end to 2013!