Apple Bloom practically barrel-rolled into her room, bursting in with the speed of the entire Wonderbolts team and almost breaking her door and a lamp in the process.
She instantly began to tear through her drawers and shelves, desperately in search of something. It was not long before the room was a total mess, and her older sister Applejack peeked in and almost toppled over in surprise.
“Apple Bloom! What in Equestria are you doing?!” Applejack stared, her shocked eyes darting around the disaster of a room.
“I can't find it! Applejack, help me find it!” Apple Bloom wailed as she threw herself across the room to the nightstand next to her bed. She then threw open the drawer and began to dig anxiously.
“What can't you find?” Applejack said as she walked into the room, inspecting the mess. Surely anything Apple Bloom had to find wasn't tearing-a-room-apart necessary.
“My Hearth's Warming present for Babs Seed! I can't find it ANYWHERE! I left it in my closet, but it's not there anymore!”
“Apple Bloom! Don't y'all remember Big Mac took all the presents and put em in the barn attic?” Applejack scolded with a scowl. “Now clean this here mess up before we go to pick up Babs and her family, would you?”
Apple Bloom thought for a moment, then remembered Big Mac taking her present. “Oh! Gosh, aren't I silly?” she said with a smile as she trotted out the door.
“Wait! Clean this up right now Apple Bloom...” Applejack sighed. She was gone. When Apple Bloom had something on her mind, there was no stopping her.
It was Hearth's warming Eve now. Babs and her family had come by train and spent the winter break with them. They were all in the living room, sharing stories and making jokes.
Babs and Apple were on the couch, their hips touching softly. They listened to the drone of Babs's mother, Mrs. Orange, talk about a quilt her and a neighbor had a dispute over.
Apple Bloom put her head in her hoof and watched the snowflakes fall gently past her window in the cold winter night. She was just beginning to doze off when Babs jabbed her side suddenly.
She snorted awake and dazedly looked at her friend who motioned her towards the kitchen with a mischievous grin on her face. Apple Bloom smiled too and leaped from the couch landing on four hooves.
She was preparing to trot out of the room when she noticed the room had gone mostly quiet. The soft drone of the radio played in the background. Everypony's eyes were on her.
“Uh, sorry, I think we forgot Winona outside,” Apple Bloom awkwardly pointed towards the kitchen.
Applejack had eyed her suspiciously when she stood, but now she looked surprised. “Oh! Darn it, I did forget. Thank you for lettin' her in Apple Bloom.” she said with a smile.
Apple Bloom nodded furiously and raced through the double doors into the kitchen.
She waited until she heard Babs excuse herself to the bathroom and trot through.
They grinned and hoof-bumped before trotting alongside each other through the hall.
“Want to go to your room? I have this new video game we could... ”
Apple tuned her out for the moment.
Once they reached the back of the house, Apple Bloom quickly opened the door to let Winona inside.
Instantly, snow starting to flurry inside the house with freezing winds, making the two shudder.
The dog ran inside instantly, sliding on her rump and shaking vigorously.
Apple Bloom gave her a sympathetic smile and scratched the back of her ears, to which Winona complied happily and fell to her back to let Apple rub her belly. After a minute of scratching her dog, Apple winked to Winona. “Don't tell on us, alright?” she said with a smile.
Winona barked and ran off. She wasn't sure how much of that Winona got, but she didn't really care. She had already shifted her attention to the big red barn she could see through the snow.
“Y-you wanna close the door there, cos?” Babs said shakily with a small grin, kneeling slightly where she stood as she tried to warm up.
“Before that, I wanna show you somethin',” Apple Bloom said as she pushed a scarf over her head and onto her neck, pulling the end to tighten it. “Put on somethin' warm!”
Babs also took a scarf off the rack and tightened it around her face as the two trekked out into the storm.
They ran across the landscape as quickly as their hooves could take them through the thick snow until they reached the barn. Apple Bloom pushed it open and allowed Babs for entrance, then closed the door quickly behind them. They were instantly shrouded in darkness.
It was still very cold in here, but the walls shielded them from the blizzard outside. Apple Bloom began to feel around for the light switch, bumping into Babs and farm tools as she did so.
When she finally found the long string dangling in front of her, she tugged it firmly and the barn became shrouded in light.
“So what do you have to show me in here, cos?” Babs asked curiously as she tugged the scarf down to cover her neck.
“I know we open presents tomorrow morning,” Apple said as she began to jump for the ladder hanging above them that lead into the barn attic. “but I wanted to see your reaction before anypony else.” she coughed a bit as dust filled her nostrils upon pulling the ladder down. It landed with a loud 'clank' and allowed for the two to climb up.
She pulled herself onto the flooring above that served as a storage space. The floor was covered in hay and there were various dusty boxes sitting around. There was a cleaner space amidst the hay with a small box in the middle.
Apple ran over and picked up the colorfully wrapped box, presenting it to Babs.
“Wowzers! You got me a gift?” Babs asked with glee, her eyes glittering at the present.
“Well of course I did Babsy! You're my favorite cousin and my best friend after all!” Apple Bloom said as if the answer was obvious.
Babs grinned at her and tore the wrapping paper off the box. When she opened it, there were two necklaces sitting right next to each other. It was an apple cut in two on two different chains with the letters “PFF” etched across the two.
“P-F-F?” Babs asked curiously as she lifted the necklaces.
“Pony Friends Forever!” Apple Bloom yelled as she threw herself onto the mare across from her.
Babs gasped as the two fell over and they just laughed and enjoyed each others presence.
“Thank you so much Apple Bloom, I love your gift.” she said as she pulled out the right half of the necklace and slipped it onto her neck. She took the other half and slipped it over Apple Bloom's head too, and they laughed and smiled at each other.
When they looked at each other, Babs felt a strange twinge inside of her gut. She brushed it off instantly.
They played together for a while, something they had not done since they were fillies. They had completely forgotten about the family waiting for them as they drifted into sleep in each others arms.
