This holiday had started out simply enough. Twilight, curious to see what humans celebrated at this time of year, had decided to spend Hearth’s Warming Eve going back and forth between Equestria and Canterlot High. Such a concept may have sounded risky, but after copious amounts of research, she found out that the flow of magic throughout the multiverse always remained stable during Hearth’s Warming Eve due to the fact that both worlds, and all the other worlds out there, worked so hard to spread love and unison in their communities, creating positive energy that kept everything in balance no matter what. So after preparing herself and Spike by writing out schedules and gathering supplies, they got ready to have the best Hearth’s Warming Eve ever.
Everything had gone great at first. She and Spike made it to every scheduled event on time. In both worlds, they played games in the snow with Rainbow Dash, went on sleigh rides with Applejack, did Yuletide Cheer volunteer work with Fluttershy, admired the local decorations with Rarity, and indulged in holiday goodies with Pinkie Pie.
However, there were two things in the human world that didn’t happen in Equestria. The first one was innocent, if confusing. Sunset Shimmer, while helping Twilight and Spike get from place to place in a timely manner, explained that humans celebrated a holiday called Christmas, rather than Hearth’s Warming Eve. They were certainly similar, but Christmas had a different origin story that (in Twilight’s eyes at least) made infinitely less sense. No type of magic could make a virgin have a baby, and what kind of a nutjob would give a newborn baby frankincense and myrrh, anyway? It was all very crazy, but she was sure it made more sense to those who had grown up hearing the story, so she kept her mouth shut about it.
The second thing that happened differently did so in a bad way. In fact, it was the reason she was stuck in the human world right now, unable to get back to her pony friends. She had been minding her own business, trying to find a sprig of mistletoe growing on a tree somewhere so that she could pluck it off and hopefully catch Flash off guard with a special mistletoe kiss. Her wanderings had somehow brought her to Flash’s house, where he’d caught her climbing a tree in his front yard, trying to find that elusive parasitic plant. Thinking quickly, Twilight told him that she hadn’t noticed this tree was on someone’s property because she had been so busy (which was true), and that she had been curious to find out more about human holidays, so she had come to the human world (which was also true), and that she had climbed this tree hoping to catch a glimpse of the so-called Star of Bethlehem once the sun went down (which wasn’t true, but it was all she could think of). Flash had taken it rather well, even inviting Twilight inside so that he could tell her about another holiday, known as Hanukkah. It involved lighting different numbers of candles to mark each of the eight different nights, eating potato pancakes, and playing a special game with a top and chocolate coins. Flash had been explaining the rules of said game when a blizzard had hit. One glance out the window, and Twilight knew it would be foolish of her to make a run for it to the portal. Because of this, she had no choice but to spend the night at Flash’s house, which he readily agreed to.
Right now, Twilight was sitting on the couch in Flash’s living room, with Spike fast asleep at her feet. It was a nice place, both elegant and humble. In the corner of the room was a Friendship Tree (or Christmas Tree, as everyone here seemed to call it), decorated festively and topped with a glittering star. A fire was crackling in the fireplace in front of her, its warmth filling the room. On the mantle above the fireplace was a Hanukkah candle holder (or menorah, as Flash had called it), with nine candles flickering brightly on it. Flash’s family apparently celebrated both Christmas and Hanukkah, but that made no sense to Twilight. She’d heard of a similar holiday to Hanukkah back in Equestria, but as far as she knew, it was only celebrated in the Middle Eastern camel city of Jerhoovselum. The thought of anypony in Equestria celebrating it in addition to, or even instead of, Hearth’s Warming Eve was just plain weird.
Twilight was turning one of those special tops in her hands. On each of the four sides, there was a Hebrew letter painted in golden paint. According to Flash, the letters stood for “A great miracle happened there”, in reference to the origin story of Hanukkah. She thought about the story as he’d told it to her. The part about the Maccabees standing up to the Roman Empire made perfect sense to her. The part about the one night’s worth of oil managing to burn for eight nights, not so much.
Twilight sighed. She wished she was back in Equestria. The holidays over there made more sense, and there was only one of them at any given time. She stared longingly at the Friendship Tree and began singing a simple carol to herself to ease her troubled mind.
Oh Friendship Tree
Oh Friendship Tree
How lovely are your branches
Oh Friendship Tree
Oh Friendship Tree
How lovely are your branches
You’re fresh and warm throughout the year
Just like the friendship we hold dear
Oh Friendship Tree
Oh Friendship Tree
How lovely are your branches
She had just finished singing when she heard a familiar voice mumble, “Beautiful.” She turned around to see that Flash Sentry had just walked into the room. He had removed his jacket, revealing an interesting-looking scar on his upper-right arm. His eyes were bright and sparkly and his smile was warm and sincere. Still, Twilight couldn’t help but blush, embarrassed that she’d been caught singing such a childish song.
Desperate for a way to distract herself from the embarrassment, she said, “I’ll take it you’re done with those calls you had to make.”
“Yup,” Flash answered. “Sunset’s writing to your pony friends about this as we speak. My mom’s still in the hospital, my grandma had to work late at the police station, and my little sister is at a friend’s slumber party. They’re all fine, but they’re kind of bummed out that none of them can make it back home in the storm. Oh, and they all three said that they’re perfectly fine with me sharing the holidays with a girl as long as things don’t get out of hand, so to speak.”
“Okay,” Twilight said. She then felt the couch bounce a little, and turned her head to see that Flash had sat down next to her. She blushed, trying not to think about the awkwardness of the situation, and instead said, “So, the holidays are a really big deal here, aren’t they?”
“One of the biggest,” Flash told her with a fond smile. “Why, does it overwhelm you at all? I could take down the menorah if that would help.”
“No, no, that’s fine,” Twilight said quickly, not wanting to compromise Flash’s traditions just because they confused her. “It’s just, everything here is similar, yet somehow different, from how things are done in Equestria, and I’m having trouble wrapping my head around it.”
“Okay,” Flash replied, “how’s it done in Equestria?” Twilight then told him about Hearth’s Warming Eve and all of the various traditions that were involved. Most of all, she told him about the origin story, how it was based on actual events in Equestrian history, and she even let slip how nonsensical the Christmas and Hanukkah stories were to her.
From the look on Flash’s face, Twilight wondered if maybe saying that last part was a mistake. After all, from what she knew, humans tended to take these kinds of things very seriously. Then he smiled, leaned back against the couch, and said, “You know, those stories never really made a whole lot of sense to me either.”
“Really?” Twilight asked, mostly out of relief that he hadn’t been offended. She knew that topics like these could be troublesome.
“Oh yeah,” Flash answered. “I never thought it was possible for a day’s worth of oil to burn for eight days straight, and what would a baby do with gold, anyway?”
“I know!” Twilight said before she could stop herself. Then the two of them started laughing, and Twilight could have sworn that she felt holiday cheer blossom all around them.
When the laughter quieted down Flash spoke again. “I don’t think the stories of Christmas and Hanukkah are all that accurate,” he said, “but I know that this time of year is all about miracles in general.” As he spoke, he rubbed the scar on his arm. Twilight wondered how it had gotten there, but decided it was best not to pry, especially not on tonight of all nights. Before she could think about it anymore, Flash added, “It’s a time when families come together and put aside their differences. It’s a time when friends can gather around and be unconditionally nice to one another despite anything bad that might have happened earlier that year. Basically, it’s a time when love and tolerance reign supreme and there’s peace on Earth and goodwill towards all.” His eyes glinted a bit as he asked, “Sounds a lot like Hearth’s Warming Eve, doesn’t it?”
Twilight thought for a moment. She turned her attention back to the top in her hand. She took another look at the letters; Nun, Gimmel, Hay, and Shin, as Flash had told her. She thought about the phrase “A Great Miracle Happened There” and realized that it could be applied to any of the three holidays the two of them had just discussed. Obviously it was meant for the story of Hanukkah, but Christmas was centered around a perceived miracle as well. As for Hearth’s Warming Eve, the fact that the three pony tribes of old had come together to found Equestria was certainly a miracle if she’d ever heard of one. And all three holidays continued to focus on the miracle that was Love and Tolerance. “You know what?” she finally responded. “I think you’re right. All three holidays are about spreading love and cheer, and they all do their jobs pretty well.”
Flash grinned, obviously pleased that he had made Twilight happy. She blushed at this and turned away, the situation becoming awkward once again. She saw the fire start to shrink in size and suddenly became aware of how chilly it was. Normally this wasn’t a problem, but that was because she had fur. Here, though, she lacked such a luxury. She set down the top and rubbed her arms. “It’s getting kind of chilly in here,” she remarked. Once those words left her mouth, Flash didn’t even hesitate: he wrapped his arms around Twilight and pulled her closer to him. His touch was gentle – a vast difference from when he’d practically glomped her right after the Battle of the Bands – but it still surprised her. The only thing she could think of to say was, “Wha?”
All was silent for a minute. Then Flash said, “Ah, well...I was getting kind of cold, too.” Twilight glanced up and saw that he looked as flustered as she felt. Oddly, that simple fact made this situation a little less awkward. She snuggled into him, and he held her a little tighter. She felt her chest grow warm, as if a tiny Fire of Friendship had ignited in her heart. Perhaps it had, and it was keeping them both safe from the windigos that were probably causing the storm outside.
After another moment of silence, Twilight said, “Merry Christmas Eve, Flash. And Happy Hanukkah, too.”
“Merry Christmas, Twilight,” Flash told her, gently nuzzling her hair. “ And Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve.” Twilight felt her cheeks grow just the tiniest bit red, but she didn’t care. This moment was perfect, and tomorrow the blizzard would be over, allowing her to return to Equestria and make her holiday feel even more perfect. With that thought in her mind, she drifted off to sleep, content that there was, at least for tonight, peace on Earth and goodwill towards all.
Author's Note
This is just a simple little short story to get me started here on Fimfiction. Also, I would have included Kwanza, but I had know idea how, mostly because I don't know a darn thing about it. :(
Happy Holidays, my fellow bronies, no matter what you happen to celebrate. And may many wonderful miracles come your way before year's end. :)