The Warrior From Azeroth

Pendragon was up bright and early sharpening the edge of Quel'Delar before polishing it until it reflected the sun, the paladin beamed with pride to have his old sword back and was thankful that his friends made it back from their mission alive even after their encounter with Nightmare Moon but what surprised him most is that Daring Do used his sword for her newest book "Daring Do and The Holy Sword" and even gave him the first copy ahead of its release. As he sheathed his sword, Applejack and her sister came into the barn with a mug of hot cider and a slice of warm apple pie while shouting.

"Happy Hearthswarming Eve!!"

The siblings quickly shut the doors as the wind began to pick up with a few snowflakes making it inside. Both were wearing winter outfits as they brought their friend his snack with happy smiles.

"Hey girls, what's the occassion?" He asked while taking a bite of the pie which left a surprised look on their faces.

"That's right! This'll be your first Hearthswarming Eve in Equestria."

"Hearthswarming Eve?"

"Yeah! It's the one time of year where we open presents and eat lots of treats and get to see all of our friends and family!" The little filly hopped up and down in excitement as her human friend smiled before taking a gulp of the cider. The taste was astonishing.

"I cannot get over how good this cider tastes, if I ever get home I'm bringing you guys back some thunderbrew ale from Ironforge!"

"Ironforge?" Applejack asked, having never heard of such a place. Pendragon began telling them of the great city of Ironforge; The Kingdom Beneath The Mountain and of its people the dwarves who were master craftsmen and miners and how they built their great city deep within the mountain itself. Applebloom of course was stunned by the tale.

"I'll never forget my first visit their." The human said with a smile that quickly turned upside down.

"Sounds like someone is a little homesick." Said Applejack with a little smirk as she placed a hoof on his shoulder.

"Yeah I guess I am. You'd love my homeland Applejack, the forests, the fields, the snowy mountains." Pendragon spoke in a nostalgic tone as he stared at his reflection in the cider before gulping it all down as Big Mac came into the barn wearing a thick scarf and some earmuffs.

"AJ, everyone's gathered at Twilights castle. All we need is the tree."

This was the first time Pendragon heard the red pony speak beyond just two words and almost got distracted from the coversation they were having.

"Caramel sprained his leg?!?"

"Eeyup."

"What's wrong?" He asked after hearing Applejack sound upset.

"One of our friends was suppose to get a tree for our Hearthswarming party but he got hurt." When Applejack said this her little sisters eyes began to swell up with tears.

"Does this mean we won't have a tree this year?"

Applebloom began to sob at the thought of not having a proper Hearthswarming as her bigh brother and sister tried to comfort her when.

"I can get it." The human said much to the surprise of the three ponies.

"Pendragon are you sure? The air is pretty chilly tonight" Applejack pointed out the strong wind just outside the barn.

"You call this cold? Try standing in the frozen wastes of Icecrown!" He scoffed while grabbing his cloak and axe making it very clear he wasnt going to take "No" for an answer. The farm mare simply shook her head with a smile and decided to join him while promising her little sister she'd be back with a tree in time for the party.

"Alright! Let's move em out!"

"Yes ma'am!"

The two headed off towards the forest while Big Mac took Applebloom to Twilights castle. As soon as they reached their destination the two friends found the tree that was being cut by Caramel and quickly got to work as they heard the wind howl, Applejack stood in the cold snow shivering even in her winter coat but noticed her friend was unphased even as a strong gust blew in from behind.

"TIMBEEER!!" He shouted as the tree came crashing down with a loud thud before being loaded onto a sleigh. Pendragon did the heavy lifting despite Applejacks protest and though it was gentlemanly of him the farm mare could not help but feel annoyed.

"I don't see why you need to do this sugarcube."

"Nonsense Applejack you and your family have done so much for me, besides a pretty mare like you shouldn't work so hard."

Applejacks cheeks flared red at the sudden compliment, he actually said she was pretty which was something she never heard before and for a moment she became lost in thought until a rock hidden by the snow caught her eye.

"WATCH OUT!!"

Pendragon tripped and rolled down a hill before coming to a stop on something cold and hard, his head felt dizzy from the constant tumbling and he found the ground a little slippery with Applejacks voice being drowned out by the wind.

"I can't hear you!" He shouted as he took one step forward before hearing a groaning sound followed by a few cracking noises it was then he realized what he was standing on; A frozen lake.

"OH CRAP!!" The ice gave way under his weight and the next thing he knew Pendragon was being sucked into the cold icy water. Applejack panicked for a second and quickly grabbed the rope holding the tree while her friend did his best to stay afloat.

"A-APPLEJACK!!" Pendragon cried out before going under again as his muscles began to stiffen from the intense cold.

"Hang on partner!!" Applejack began winding up her lasso as she took aim but the wind and snow made it hard to see clearly so out of shear instinct the farm mare hurled the rope towards the hole in the ice.

"Grab the rope!!" She shouted as Pendragon gave one last push out of the water to grab the lasso. Once Applejack felt him tug on the rope she began pulling with all her strength but the weight of her friend and the snow beneath her made it difficult to move.

"Need some help farm girl?" A raspy voice called out from behind when Rainbow Dash arrived on the scene followed by Fluttershy and Twilight.

"Alright girls! PULL!!" Twilight shouted while using her magic to help pull their friend out of the water but Pendragon didn't speak nor move making them worried. Fluttershy quickly rushed to his side to see what was wrong while making sure he was still alive.

"He's not breathing!!" The yellow pegasus was panicking when Applejack ran over and told the others to keep back.

"Applejack what are you-OH MY!!" Twilight was cut off as she watched her friend press her muzzle against his lips while blowing air into his lungs before pressing down on his chest with both hooves.

"Come on sugarcube!" She said after the first three pushes yet nothing happened. The others watched fearing the worst then after a few more presses to his chest Pendragon finally spewed out the cold water that filled his lungs while gasping for as much air as he could get.

"That's it, let it all out!" Applejack began patting his back to help expel the remaining fluids before he curled up shivering as he regained conciousness to see his friends standing around with relieved smiles.

"Th-th-thanks girls!" He said while trying to smile as the girls gathered around him for a group hug.

Later

The friends returned to Twilights castle where the preparations for tonights party were finishing up and all were surprised to see the human dripping from head to toe with a case of the sniffles.

"What happened?" Asked Pinkie who came hopping up to meet her friends.

"I decided to go for a little swim." Pendragon joked while recieving a nudge from Rainbow who took him to the fireplace.

"Swimming in winter? Are you loco in the coco?!? You'll catch a cold!"

"You don't sa-ah...ah...AHCHOO!!"

"See?"

The ponies laughed before returning to the festivities while Rainbow seated her friend in front of the fire to warm up and handed him a cup of hot Coacoa with marshmallows and as the human began to feel a little bit better he decided to take a look around the castle while mingling with some of the party guests.

"Pendragon." Twilight called out to him with her friends standing behind her.

"Can you come with us? There's something we'd like to show you."

"Of course."

The girls lead him down the hall, towards a single door with a large red ribbon wrapped on its handles and a small tag that read.

"To: Pendragon
From: Your friends

"Well what're you waiting for? Open it!" Rainbow said impatiently with a smile and after a quick tug Pendragon slowly opened the doors to find a room decorated with his personal belongings. His armor and weapons decorated the walls along with a map of Azeroth followed by his old ships banner and on a shelf were books from his homeland as well, the human was no less than stunned by what he found.

"Do you like it?" Fluttershy asked as he continued to stare.

"It's...Amazing!! How did?"

"We've actually been working on this for some time. Can't have ya sleeping in the barn forever." Applejack said when out of nowhere the human pulled all of them in for a group hug as a single tear fell from his eye.

"Thanks girls...you're the best."

"AWWW~!" The friends couldn't help but return the hug before heading back to the party as Twilight said to him.

"Happy Hearthswarming Pendragon."

"Happy Hearthswarming Twilight."

End.