One Winter's Day

by Wolfie 03

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Applejack, Original Character, Rarity
Length: 7353

The Apple Family, with it's newest generations of members, join together for a joyous Hearth's Warming Eve. (HAS BEEN UPDATED AND EDITED FOR A BETTER STORY PLEASURE)

(EDITED FOR A BETTER STORY PLEASURE)

Taking place 14 years after A 'Not So Simple' Simple Life, Applejack and Rarity finish the last of their Hearth's Warming preparations, just in time for more of the Apple Family to join them for the evening.

A short little one-shot of slice of life and fluff, that's sweet and to the point. Set in a world where Applejack and Rarity has been married for 13 years and they've taken over the care of Sweet Apple Acres. Big Mac has gone to start his own farm while Granny Smith enjoys a wild retirement.

Reviewed by Gwg.

Made for and luckily in time for the winter holidays. Happy holidays guys! Thanks for sticking with me for so long. Here's to many more!

Want to see the deviantart picture of this? Click HERE!

EDIT: Please remember, if you don't like the story, please leave a comment as to why. Then maybe I could improve it or offer a reason why I did whatever. Also, if you notice any grammatical issues, please let me know. Just in case.

Published 2016-11-25 02:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-11-25 02:10:01 UTC

Hearth's Warming Eve

EDIT: This has been heavily changed. Hopefully, everyone finds it better. Enjoy this much larger, encompassing story about the holidays.

Sunlight shone brightly off the fresh layer of snow, sending the sharp beams into the large red farmhouse. Purple velvet curtains helped keep the master bedroom semi-dark. Resting peacefully in the center were two mares, one orange and the other a pale gray, hooves enwrapping their partner. Their manes were sprawled over the pillows, intermixing the blonde and purple strands.

There was a crisp stillness to the winter air. Something that was shattered by a high pitched shout. The married couple on the bed jerked at the sound before going still, trying to identify what was going on. A lower toned response answered, gruff and short. The resting earth pony’s brow twitched. The unicorn laying against her smirked, inching closer and nuzzling the muscled chest. Another shout, closer to the mares’ bedroom, along with two sets of hooves moving rapidly, signaled approaching visitors.

“Dang nab fuzzy wild little… ruffians!” Applejack’s soft exclamation forced a hearty chuckle from her wife. When the farmer shifted however, Rarity pouted cutely and pulled the mare closer.

“Nuuuooooo….!” The unicorn smirked when her plea worked for a brief second “They are old enough to deal with it themselves surely… Stay in bed with me…?”

The blonde sighed through her nose but didn’t move away. She moved back into place, grasping her wife close once again, while the tailor smiled with satisfaction.

Just as they relaxed, both sets of ears twitched to the door as it creaked open. Bright green eyes peeked, puppy dog big, around the pale-red door frame. The filly’s short purple bangs hung just over her forehead in smooth waves. Joining the pastel pink earth pony was a blocky orange snout with apologetic deep blue orbs. The unicorn’s spiky red mane shifted as he looked between the resting mares and the filly just in front of him.

“Ah told you! They’re still asleep!” Red Quartz scolded in a whisper, glaring at the now sheepish younger filly. “You can’t come with me!”

Both mares exhaled as one, tension leaving as they understood the conflict. Limbs loose, the fashion designer shuffled even closer to her lover, silently signaling her non-involvement. Applejack situated her muzzle to the top of the unicorn’s head to speak clearly as she kept her eyes closed.

“An’ just where are ya thinkin’ yer goin’?”

The siblings in the doorway froze, eyes wide.

“Me and Jelly and Jolly were going to have a snowball fight…” The lad inched forward, opening the door further with his lanky shoulders.

His sister, hunched close to the ground, edged out from around the colt’s hooves. “And I want to go!” Delprim Apple exclaimed with a half-whine reminiscent of her unicorn mother.

A pale-gray ear twitched of the incorrect grammar. Rarity mouthed the proper wording against the orange fur. Applejack silently laughed at the feeling before complying. “It’s ‘Jelly, Jolly and Ah’’, and ya can go if ya take yer sister.”

The two children let out a whoop of excitement and annoyance respectively. Rarity murmured once more, forming another name. Applejack rolled her eyes with a bemused grin.

“And make sure y’all include Ava too!”

Two shouts agreed as the children raced downstairs. The two mares listened to the front door open when the tailor sat up in bed, hooves propped up around the other’s barrel, as she shouted to the excited young ponies.

“You two had better be wearing your winter clothes!”

The parents waited, noting the several long seconds of silence, before they heard their children yell once more as they left. “We are!”

Once the door slammed shut the earth pony reached up and rubbed the barely extended pale-gray stomach. “Don’t think Ah’ve heard ya shout so much while carryin’ a foal….” Applejack with a half-smirk.

Rarity sputtered for a moment. “Wha- why I never!” She playfully turned up her nose as she lowered down onto the bed once more. “A lady never raises her voice. I was merely projecting to the other rooms.”

The couple laughed, moving into a tighter hug, when a happy gurgle from the far end of their room distracted them. Looking over, they found their third child, an oliver-yellow unicorn with two toned purple mane and tail, cooing gleefully to his mothers from his crib. Rarity sat up, making foal noises just as happily back, though she stayed in the bed. Applejack watched with a wide grin for another minute before getting up herself.

“Alright sugar, Ah’ve got to head out an’ make sure the road up is clear. Shouldn’t be too much, Ah got most of it yesterday.” The earth pony gave her wife a loving kiss. Standing up with a half stretch, she hopped down and gave the tiny colt a nose nuzzle. “Ya behave for yer mom, ya hear little Winter?”

Rarity watched with a sweet gaze as her partner trotted out. She stood up slowly as she went to check on her son. Levitating him out, she continued to make the same burbling noises back as they trotted downstairs. The living room was strewn with garland along the tops of the walls, ribbons decoratively placed and a medium sized pine tree with miniature candles placed among the branches. They caught the tail end of the orange furred farmer heading outside wearing her tall red boots and fuzzy purple scarf, but the pair didn’t call out to her and went for the kitchen instead. There, they found two sets of bowls in the sink from the older children that morning.

“Those two…” Rarity sighed as she checked the leftover crumbs and noted the sugary cereal remains.

She set them back into the sink and reached out magically to the cabinets near the fridge. Once she selected an appropriate meal for the colt, she began to pull out ingredients for herself and the other adult of the house. While the meal was underway, the older unicorn washed the dishes as they dirtied, trying to save time and effort for the holiday.

The olive-yellow lad squirmed along the ground, heading for the living room where more shiny things awaited a curious hoof. A light blue hue surrounded his small form and lifted him up into the air. The fashion designer floated the colt to his hoof-me-down high chair. He looked over his new domain, tapping both hooves against the dark-pink tray.

Rarity smiled at the happy foal and pulled over her chore list for the day. Unfolding the fifteen hoof long paper with bullet points detailing each item, she looked over her notes as she set the food on low while absent-mindedly trying to feed the baby.

“We have a lot to do today, don’t we?” The light-gray mare nodded to herself, barely glancing to the frying eggs and hay-bacon cooking or the spoon of mashed peas and celery. “Can’t have everypony coming to a completely messy house. And we’ve only put up half of the decorations!”

The older unicorn tsked to herself. It was the smell of eggs almost turning too overdone that distracted her from the self-made list. The little foal laughed at the funny face his mother made as she rushed to save the meal. Two seconds later, she found the sink was getting close to full and about to overflow with bubbly suds. The colt leaned back with a laugh at the high pitched half-shriek of distress.

The back door opened just after the noise, showing the snow covered apple farmer with a half-uncertain face. Spotting the source of the issue, Applejack released the nervousness in favor of amusement.

“Ya doin’ ok Rare?” The farmer shook off the snow from her boots and hat.

“Yes, just fine. Have you finished dear?” Rarity glanced over to find her mare’s hat covered in extra snow. “Hmm… I see we’ve managed to enter the ‘battlezone’ then.” With another flash of magic, she floated over a towel.

“Thanks love.” Applejack grabbed the cloth and began to clean off her stetson and fur. “Eeyup, Ah think Ah might need some backup if yer willin’.” She looked up with a wink.

The fashionista laughed as she wiped the dribble from the young colt’s chin. She shook her head with a disappointed smile. “Remember, we still have to finish this evening’s meal and I wanted to decorate the upstairs.”

The orange earth pony smirked with a shake of her head. “Sugarcube, ya don’t have to worry so much about it. The place looks plenty clean. Ya sure ya don’t want to come play outside?”

“No no, it’s fine.” Rarity waved a hoof as she levitated the adults’ meal to the table. She waved for the farmer to sit as she took her own place beside her. “We’ll be nice and warm in here as I get the last few things done.”

“Alright. Ah’ll be finishin’ up and check on the kids.”

“If you wish darlin’.” The tailor gave her a light-hearted grin, certain of what would truly happen if the earth pony stepped hoof outside.

It wasn’t long before the three ponies finished their meals. The older unicorn grabbed the plates and immediately washed them. Applejack gave the pale-gray cheek a smooch and piled on her winter gear once more. Scuffing the two-toned purple mane as she passed, the stronger mare opened the door, tilting her head down rapidly as five snowballs were shot her way.

“Ruffians…” Rarity muttered with a light-hearted grin. She checked that most of the snow landed on the brown stetson and not the floor. When her wife looked up to her, she smirked wider. “I suppose I must get the snow out somehow.”

Applejack perked up at the comment. She scooped up some of the white powder while a blue magical aurora gathered the rest of it. “Fire ‘em straight ahead love.”

The unicorn nodded and shot the projectiles in a straight line forward at the same time as the blonde. There was an explosion of laughter along with several sounds of pelting snowballs. The farmer tipped her hat in thanks to her wife and trotted outside.

Rarity wiped the rest of the mess from the child’s muzzle and put away feeding time supplies. She lifted the lad up from his chair and nuzzled his face as he reached both hooves to his mom.

“Come along my little Gem, let’s start getting ready for a ‘proper Apple Family’ holiday.” The pale-gray mare trotted up the stairs to the upper levels of the house. Once there, she set the baby gate and let loose her son while she began to clean up each of the rooms.

With a tight scrunch of her face, the unicorn started with the young filly’s room. She opened the doorway and found what -in her mind- was a large mess of clothes, makeup and scrolls of cutie mark possibilities. The adult gingerly stepped inside and began to sort out and put away all the loose items. The makeup went into the vanity drawer, clothes to the closet that already had a large quantity inside, and the papers went to a special box designated for ideas.

Rarity poked her head out of the room, eyes squinted. “Winter Gem?”

A responding gurgle came from the bedroom the tailor shared with her wife. Eyes snapping open, she rushed to the room, flinging the door wider than the lad had when he entered. She found the small colt trotting along the wall while his magic encased him, allowing the action.

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!” The fashionista rushed to pull her son off the wall with a soft touch of magic. Her mane frizzed slightly as she moved.

The baby unicorn, noticing the shrill sound, looked up and laughed at the look on his mother’s face. He tried to run forward, away from the mare, but couldn’t outrun the beam of magic. The mare magically pulled over cleaning supplies from the bathroom without looking and wiped up along the wall, removing the tiny hoofprints.

Once that task was done and the lad in her magical grip, Rarity looked and found a mess even in the master bedroom. The tailor flinched at the disorganization on the hoof-me-down furniture that had been in the Apple family for generations. With a quick spell, she sorted and cleaned the shared room, pausing when she came to the closet and large stash of brown stetsons.

“Why don’t you play with a lovely hat like your momma’s?” Rarity floated over one of the hats and placed it teasingly over the colt’s head. His tiny horn helped him keep the object up from his eyes. Together, they trotted out of the room and continued to the next one that needed to be cleaned.

The room held a generic bed and furniture, untouched for months. Pleased with the lack of clutter, the fashion designer wiped the surfaces with a rag to clean the dust. She glanced over to her son who giggled in the hallway, hat in his mouth, as he watched his mother.

“Yes, we still have to clean this room too. Even if your Great-Granny Smith wanted to move to the Ponyville Retirement Village, we should still keep the room clean and ready for anypony who wants to stay.” The pale-gray unicorn nodded sharply with a soft smile.

The grownup trotted on to the oldest colt’s room. Inside, she found that Red Quartz had most of the things clean in a crinkled way. She reached out with her horn alight but paused, her wife’s voice echoing in her mind.

‘Ya gotta let ‘em clean their own things and NOT goin’ back behind them to clean’…

If you say so darlin’... I… I’ll leave Red Quartz’s room alone… Rarity turned about and left the colt’s room, heading for the other spare room that was slowly being prepped for Winter Gem’s transition from crib in his moms’ room to his own bedroom. Peeking inside, she found the furniture still where they left it and the boxes of the lad’s things still cleanly packed away. The toy box had been raided, it’s contents spewed along the floor.

“Oooo Winter…” The parent sighed, casting her gaze about the room. “Let’s see what we could play with while your mother starts on decorating…”

Leaving the colt playing with his toys in the hallway, she pulled down the ladder for the attic with a flash of magic. After years of organizing the old farmhouse, she was able to quickly grab the few boxes of remaining decorations. There were only a few strands of garland, lights and colored candles. Nestled between the soft protection were several hoof painted orbs. With a warm grin, Rarity pulled out a wooden decoration and hoofed it over to the colt. She then moved on to string up the few remaining decorations in the hallway. After she placed the lines of green, she paused, passing a critical eye over it, grimacing at the uneven lines.

“This won’t do at all… We must be careful with our remaining supplies.”

The colt flung both hooves into the air with a happy laugh, clapping at his mother using more magic to arrange the wall fixing.

-AWD-

Applejack ducked a few more stray snowballs as she made her way back to the main road where the snowplow waited. The road still had a light layer of snow but not enough to cause an issue or delay. The piles on either side were taller than the actual accumulation, setting it two hooves higher than the earth pony. The perfect place for a pre-existing fort.

As the parent worked to even out the last bits of road, the five foals were building bases on either side of the road. The Sparkle-Pie siblings were on one side while the Apple Siblings were on the other. Applejack dodged with practiced ease as she worked. She noticed with amusement that the battle followed her down the road. Every so often she would return fire, trusting her instincts to help her aim. Both sides were fair game to the grownup.

Once the orange mare reached the main gate, she nodded with a grin. The road had already been cleared from the town itself, and now connected to the newly cleared roads of Sweet Apple Acres. Moving carefully, she turned back around and went to return the plow to the shed. There, she found two large mounds of snow across from each other near the door, with no sight of anypony around.

“What in the hay…?” Applejack paused suspicious. She glanced between the two ‘forts’ with tight scrutiny. She slowly walked into the shed, put away the equipment, and inched back out.

The door shutting was the signal. In seconds, both sets of siblings jumped up and threw wildly at the older mare. The orange pony feigned grave injury, falling to the ground with a loud shout and left hoof flinging to her forehead. In the split second she touched the ground, she scooped a large hoofful of snow and returned fire.

She gathered as much as she could and leaped over the right side fort, dumping her supplies over her two children who squealed in surprise. The apple farmer moved into the newly opened space and used the cover to stage her retaliation. From the other fort, she heard her oldest son shout out gleefully.

“Everypony against my mom!”

“I thought that’s what we were doing already?” A swirl of spiky pale-blue mane stuck up from the snow fort, parted by a slim horn. The pastel-gray Jolly Roger turned to face his earth pony twin who’s bright mulberry mane kept a poofy state similar to one of his mom’s. Jelly Bean turned to face the other lad, his tan muzzle a similar mask of confusion that morphed into a mischievous grin.

“Maaaybeee because we’re facing Red Quartz instead now!”

The two boys began to hurl the cold balls of snow to the orange colt. He shouted with lighthearted dismay and raced away from the fort, ducking behind a nearby tree. From behind the twin colts, two little fillies popped up with their own mischievous smiles. Delprim was standing side by side with a pastel-purple girl with dark navy mane; both took aim and attacked the colts while their backs were turned.

“Aaaahhh! Delprim! Avaaaaa!” The two colts yelled in tandem, shifting their focus from their friend to the girls.

Applejack peered cautiously over the edge of her defenses and smiled. While the children had split their focus, she had steadily built up a stockpile of ammo. Quickly, she sent each pony a few snowballs to the face, causing each to reel back in surprise.

Everypony laughed as the war continued for most of the afternoon. It stopped only when the snow had melted through their coats and brought a chill to their bodies. Applejack tackle hugged the young ponies. She released the Sparkle-Pie siblings, though she kept Red and Delprim under each limb.

“Do y’all want to come inside and have a little somethin’ before headin’ out?”

The twins shook their heads as Jolly levitated their exhausted sister onto his back. “Our moms are baking loads of cookies and cupcakes for the holiday.”

Jelly smiled widely as he hopped in place. “Yeah! And Spike is staying even though it’s winter time.”

“That’s nice to hear. Give Twilight and Pinkie Pie greetings from us.” Applejack waved to the leaving trio. The action freed her own children, which they took the opportunity to step back.

“That was really fun!” Delprim Apple bounced around her mom with a large smile.

“Yeah, thanks for playing mom.” Red Quartz grinned as he nudged the sturdier pony’s shoulder.

Applejack scuffed up the red spikes. “Ain’t no problem, it’s always best tah have family time.”

Delprim’s smile shrank a little as she looked towards the farmhouse. “I wish mother could have played too…”

Two sets of orange ears flipped backwards. The older pony began to shepherd them towards the house as her gaze grew thoughtful.

“Yer right. Would have been nice if yer other mom could play and relax fer today.” The adult smiled gently to each of her children. “An’ Ah think Ah know just the story to tell y’all inside to help get the fusspot away from cleanin’ and decoratin’ the house.”

The younger ponies perked up and trotted along faster, anxious to get a cool story and maybe a chance for their other parent to join in the holiday play time.

-AWD-

The inside of the farmhouse smelled of baked goods and spices. The ponies entering paused on the wide carpet space where they shook off the excess snow and wetness. Delprim Apple glanced around along with her brother; both noticing the slight change to the wall decor and frowning in bewilderment.

“Momma… Did Mother change the garland…?” The filly asked as she took off her hat and scarf.

Applejack took a critical look at the decorations the entire family had did in the beginning of the season. With a single brow raised, she snorted in amusement. “Eeyup. Guess so.” She reached out, giving each a loving nuzzle. “Don’t ya worry none, Ah’ll get yer mom down here and we’ll have a fun little story that’ll hopefully help some.”

A pleased gurgle came from above the three ponies’ heads. As one, they looked to the ceiling. Standing upside down was Winter Gem Apple, his mane and tail pulled towards the ground by gravity. The oldest mare stiffened as her eyes dilated. The foal’s siblings were torn between laughing and fright. Applejack took a deep breath, putting the hoof that had held back her beating heart to the ground and looked to the oldest child.

“Red Quartz, get yer brother down. Ah’ll get yer crazy mom.”

The orange colt nodded and carefully activated his magic, tugging his brother down. The pastel-pink earth pony helped to distract the lad as the three siblings stayed downstairs. Meanwhile, the adult mare went up the stairs determinedly, face blank. There, the apple farmer wasn’t surprised to find the tailor standing on a stepstool with her horn lit up as she adjusted the candles she had placed. Rarity was focused solely on her task, eyes squinted as she compared it to its neighbors. Applejack exhaled through her nose and walked up to stand beside her wife.

“Rarity. What are ya doing?” The apple farmer spoke flatly, amusement and annoyance waging in her voice.

The sudden extra presence, along with its proximity, startled the working unicorn. She flared in place and tipped off towards the ground with a shout. The farmer was ready however, and reached out, grabbing and saving the pale-gray mare.

Applejack swung the mare in her hooves around so that she leaned over the bent backwards unicorn who stared up with wide eyes. “Howdy love. Are ya awake now?”

“Applejack, darlin’! You gave me a fright!” Rarity held a hoof to her chest as she tried to settle her rapid heartbeat. “Whatever are you doing?”

“Oh? Ah gave you a ‘fright’? Sorry love. Didn’t mean to.” The orange mare gave her wife a soft kiss, letting it linger before pulling back a few inches. “Jus’ like how little Winter didn’t mean tah give ME a fright by walkin’ on the ceiling while his mommy was upstairs, going too far with the decoratin’ even though his OTHER mommy said not to.”

The deadpan and flat voice, along with the message, shocked into breaking from her stupor of passion.

“...WHAT?!”

The stronger mare helped the slimmer pony upright. Rarity blinked dazedly, checking the hallway and winced when she noticed how much was put up and the angle of the light streaming inside. Applejack tugged on the light-gray hoof as she headed back downstairs.

“Mother! Mom!” The older siblings exclaimed when they saw their parents enter the living room. The three young ponies were sitting near the fireplace as it was catching alight. Winter Gem was firmly in the middle of his older siblings.

“Hello dears! How was your day outside?” Rarity stepped up to each of the children and gave them a warm hug. When she reached the small colt, she lifted him into the air with a half-hearted glare. “And I hear you have been trotting along the ceiling when you should not be.”

“Yeah! And Red had to get him down because me and mom couldn’t reach him!” The filly bounced excitedly around the pale-gray unicorn. “And we had a great snowball fight with Ava Nebula and Jelly Bean and Jolly Roger and it was great!”

The orange mare smirked and covered her laughter with a hoof, watching the other parent from the corner of her eye. The fashionista took a deep breath and closed her eyes briefly.

“That sounds lovely my dear. Please remember though, it’s ‘mom and I’, and ‘Ava Nebula, Jelly Bean, and Jolly Roger.” Opening her sights once more, Rarity gave her daughter a large smile to take the bite out of her words. Delprim smiled back just as wide.

“Eeyup. We got a bit cold though, an’ thought we could all sit down by the fire to warm up.” Applejack stepped up to stand beside the unicorn, prepared to take action. “Ah had a fun little story Ah wanted everypony to hear.”

“Oh, that sounds nice my love, but I simply must get started on the cooking. I only have a few hours before the rest of the family arrives for the evening.” Rarity tried to break it gently to the children who slouched slightly at her explanation. She went to move towards the kitchen but was stopped as an orange hoof gripped her purple tail firmly.

“Eenope. Ah think ya really should listen to this one.” The farm mare grinned to the other adult, though her bright green eyes were stern. The tailor plopped down beside her wife, stunned at the force in the emerald orbs.

Applejack’s grin turned softer. Turning to the group of children, she leaned closer. “Did ya know, back when Ah was younger ‘n Apple Bloom was Red’s age, Ah forgot that yer supposed to spend time with yer family for the holiday?”

“What?” The two older children gasped, while the youngest made soft coos at the silly faces his earth pony mom made to him. The other parent merely raised a single brow, bemused.

“Eeyup! We were workin’ overboard to get the jams, jellies, preserves an’ baked goods out the door for the town to enjoy while we used our harvest as best we could.” The orange mare paused, turning to look at the unicorn. “Could ya get Granny’s childhood scrapbook and the one from about fifteen years ago?”

Rarity rolled her eyes but did as requested. With a bright flash, the two books floated in the air, drifting down slowly to the waiting orange hooves. The older earth mare smiled gratefully and opened her Granny’s first. She searched through the pages until she found one where her grandmother found suspicious activity near the farm. She turned the book to face the rest of the family, pointing to the picture.

“That’s when yer Great-Granny Smith told me about… The Sass Squash!”

The children gasped before frowning in confusion.

Red Quartz shook his head with a tight grin. “Yeah right mom. You’re just making it up.” He folded his limbs with a smirk.

“Yeah?” Applejack smirked back, just as confident. “And what do ya think of this?” She flipped over several pages and beamed as she revealed the elder with the mythical creature.

Much more serious gasps rang through the living room, including from the oldest unicorn. Now the storyteller had everypony’s immediate focus. Chuckling to herself, the blonde continued her tale, pulling up the slightly newer scrapbook and turning to the pages when she and her siblings tried to find the Sass Squash.

“Ah thought that’d get yer notice. Well, when we first noticed the Sass Squash, Ah was bein’ more stubborn than a cat avoidin’ a bath.” Applejack scratched the back of her head with a bashful smile. “Ah tried to let my brother, sister and Granny Smith relax at home on account of how Ah wanted to help mah family with everythin’ Ah could.”

“Hmm… I’m so surprised.” Rarity teased, sticking her tongue out for a second. “I never would have thought you’d try to do everything on your own.” She winked at the children who giggled as well.

“Ha ha.” The farmer pecked her wife’s muzzle. “Well, the Sass Squash jus’ LOVES our apples. Ya may not have noticed, but we’ve always gotten fresh squash ‘round this time. Ah bet he brings his whole family to take from our harvest.”

“What?! Those thieves!” Red sat up straighter, indignant. “Did they ASK for them?!?”

“No way! They trade for them!” Delprim stared with wide eyes to her brother before looking to her moms. “Right?! I bet we could visit them and ask!”

Even Winter Gem caught on to the excitement in the air. He bounced in place, lighting up his horn with magic. Rarity pulled back in caution and activated her own abilities, on guard for anything her son would try. She looked to the mare next to her, anxious.

“I don’t know… There’s still most of the cooking to do…”

“Sure thin’ kids! That sounds like a great idea. And yer mom here is gonna help ya.” Applejack noticed the wild glint to the tailor’s eyes and leaned over, lowering her voice. “Don’t ya worry Rare, Ah’ll start all the cooking that needs the oven an’ join y’all outside.”

Rarity scrunched her muzzle, uncertain. But when she looked to her children, she found three sets of excited hopeful gazes waiting. Slumping slightly in place, she caved, grinning to the children.

“Alright, alright. Get your warm clothes, we’re going to see if we can find any Sass Squashes.” The unicorn checked with her partner. “What about Winter Gem?”

“Go ahead an’ take him outside. Get him playin’ with the others.” The earth pony waved for the lot of them to head out while she started for the kitchen.

The fashionista gave her lover a sweet kiss on the cheek and moved to bundle up herself and the young colt. Meanwhile, the apple farmer scooped up and scanned the letters they had gotten that day as she went for the fridge. Multitasking as only a mom and earth pony could, she read some of the highlights.

The first two pieces were from the Ponyville Retirement Village, a letter and a news article. The mare glanced over the various pictures they posted on the newspaper showing Granny Smith taking the lead in most of the adventurous events the Village hosted. Smirking, Applejack looked at the envelope and found it was from her grandmother. She checked that there wasn’t any important or time sensitive things in the rest of the mail and opened the family one. As the farmer read, she could easily ‘hear’ Granny Smith speaking through the letter.

[Howdy y’all! While Ah’ll be visiting ya soon, Ah wanted tah make sure ya had all the holiday prep ready as a bee in a beehive. So here’s another one o’ them lists yer’ll need since both Rarity and Cheerilee are expectin’, an’ Big Mac finally got his farm all built.

Yer’ll need to bake an apple pie before any of the rest of the meal to go in one o’ them baskets for the Sass Squash an’ HIS family.

Then yer’ll need to keep some of the preserves for Big Mac and Cheerilee to take with them and to feed Rarity with. It has all them natural vitamins that expectin’ foals need.

And after all that, we’ll need to have plenty leftovers for all the growin’ great-grandponies…]

Applejack chuckled and shook her head, moving to get the pies ready while setting up the other parts of the meal. She continued to look over her granny’s postage, laughing at the reminders that weren’t needed but appreciated all the same. She glanced to the clock, judging how long it would be before she was free to play with the rest of her family.

“Ah’m comin’ soon y’all, don’t ya worry none…”

-AWD-

Outside, in the shed that seemed to hold all the coolest objects, the rest of the family searched for the best way to trap the mythical creature. Every time the children reached for a potentially dangerous object, the parent mentally winced, left eye twitching. One of her wife’s common phrases rang through her mind as she tried to stop herself from commenting.

‘Let ‘em learn on their own. If they don’t try, they won’t know.’

I know darlin’, I know… But it’s so dangerous! Rarity whimpered softly. When the two children flicked their ears at the miniscule noise, she stopped, though the shivers moved to her hooves, causing her to shift from side to side while the tiny colt on her back giggled at the motion.

“What do you think mother?” Red turned about with a net in his mouth, muffling his words. “Is it too small?”

“Well, I’m not sure. He seemed kind of large compared to Granny.” The mare noticed her son droop at the statement. “But you know what?” She leaned closer to the two pre-teens. “I bet we can trap his legs with that. Then maybe we can catch him with even more things!”

Red and Delprim almost jumped up from their spots, large smiles in place.

“Ooh, ooh! And I could use this to catch his top half!” The filly held up a large crate with both hooves. Her face was ecstatic as she leaned back for balance.

Rarity beamed back, heart filling with love for her children. As she went to check on the colt riding her back, she found he had magically pulled over a rake. The grownup shook her head, stunned. She used her own magic to adjust his grip, adding a bit of her own magic to help keep it steady.

“Yes yes, I suppose you don’t want to be left out either.” The pale-gray unicorn rolled her eyes. She nodded to her other children to follow along as she collected rope, blankets and several wooden poles. “Come, let us go and ‘set up shop’.”

Together, the family moved back outside, chatting animatedly. Rarity listened to her children’s words and took their advice about where they would set up their trap. The adult levitated over a basket of the season’s harvest as a sort of bait.

Together, Red and Delprim went for a clearing close to their home and hopped about, eyeing the bushes nearby.

“Right here! Right here!” The filly half-shouted to the grownup.

“Yeah, this is perfect!” The oldest beamed, setting up a bound of snow to rest their bait on.

The unicorn smiled back, amused. Checking that the foal was still in place on her back, the fashionista began to set up the poles and ropes to help hold up the other parts of the trap. In minutes, they had set up the net/blanket/box/rake hybrid plan with the basket of apples in the center. They moved beyond, waiting just behind a snow pile. They all giggled as they waited, peeking out in a barely sneakily manner.

It was as they were all distracted that a snowball got each of them in the back. They jumped up, surprised. When they turned to find their attacker, they saw a well-known brown stetson atop flowing blonde mane.

“Applejaaaack!” Rarity whined, throwing her head back. The movement hid her horn and the magic she sent to grab her retaliation. When she looked back, she flung the projectile to her wife. It landed squarely against the mare.

The apple farmer laughed and began to rebuild her stock of ammo. The children, finding their parents turning playful, started to return the favor. It quickly escalated into a full snow war.

While the family fought, they drew further and further away from where the trap rested. The basket was exchanged for a single ripe squash by a large being that resembled a large squash with the top leafy greens covering his eyes. Even as his green-yellow body stood out from the surroundings, he moved fluidly from one bush to the opposing one, doing the switch along the way.

Several hours later, Applejack raced for cover near the trap, not realizing the trigger. In moments, it activated. The earth mare groaned playfully, reminded of her younger years and how well her own attempts had gone. The others had taken a few potshots at the helpless mare before trotting up the rest of the way.

“Well my dears, it seems we haven’t caught a ‘Sass Squash’ but rather an ‘Applejack’.” Rarity mused teasingly. “What do you say? Shall we get your mom down?”

Red Quartz and Delprim Apple pretended to ponder the suggestion. It was Winter Gem who spoke up. He cooed to his mom hanging mid-air, stretching out with both hooves and using a bit of magic to tug at the netting bottom.

The fashionista nuzzled the lad. “Yes, I think so too. Let’s get you down, my love.” Rarity helped guide the young colt’s magic to release the trapped mare.

Once down, Applejack gave the two of them an appreciative kiss. During that time, she quickly scooped up some of the white powder, shoving it onto the older children’s heads with a smirk.

“Ah noticed how ya didn't say nothin’! Ya goofs.” Applejack jerked her head to the squash sitting proudly in the middle of the clearing. “Sorry ya didn’t catch anythin’, but we’ve been out for a while, an’ Ah wouldn’t want a bunch of icicles showin’ off for family dinner.”

Hearing that warning, Rarity stiffened, glancing between the three young ponies and rapidly taking in their wet fur and tiny shivers. Having paused, she noticed her own slight chill, and held a hoof to her belly. She didn’t wait any longer and began to shepherd them back inside. The other grownup laughed, following along with a warm smile. Along the way, Applejack rubbed up along the fashion designer’s side.

“Ah’m sure a little cold is fine for the foal. Besides, we’re goin’ back in anyways.”

“I would feel better about it if we were inside.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”

Together, the whole family went inside. They dropped off their wet things by the doorway, while the oldest unicorn lit the fireplace. The group hugged together, warming each other up and enjoying a moment of peace. After about ten minutes, feeling better and much warmer, Rarity went and began the preparations needed for the rest of the holiday meal.

Applejack, taking the moment of everypony else being distracted, took the now finished pie from the oven and trotted outside. Rarity smiled at the passing mare. The orange pony continued by, going to the clearing that was now bare of any trap supplies. The apple seller greeted silently to the other mythical creature who stepped out of the nearby bushes. Neither one said anything to the other, but didn’t need to.

The farmer set the pie on the mound of snow with a gentle pat. The Sass Squash grinned his thanks and took the treat. They didn’t need to say anything; instead, they went their separate ways, back to their own families.

It was as the sun was well past the halfway point in the sky that there came a solid knock on the front door. The three young ponies in the living room paused in their pursuit of other fun family photos to look up in excitement. The adults in turn smiled.

Rarity called out, projecting her voice pleasantly as she floated over a finished casserole to the counter. “Red Quartz dear, please get the door.”

“Yes mother!” The oldest colt stood up and did as asked.

On the other side stood two mares, one a much older pastel-green mare with white mane and the other was a younger mulberry mare with two toned pink mane. Cheerilee had a large belly, showing how long she had been pregnant. The two visitors beamed at the children in the main room.

“Well howdy young’un! What a mighty fine lad ya are, openin’ th’ door fer yer great-granny and aunt!” Granny Smith strode in, scuffing the short red spikes playfully. “An’ yer moms are as busy as bees in th’ kitchen, ain’t they?”

“Yep!” Delprim hopped up with a wide grin. She remained by her younger brother’s side near the fireplace. “And we tried to catch the Sass Squash earlier too!”

“Did ya now?” Granny winked to the girl.

By this point, the two mares popped out from the kitchen, giving their own greetings. Cheerilee had waddled over to the couch, followed closely by Big Mac who hovered protectively over his wife. All the adults took turns hugging one another, while Rarity and Applejack made sure Winter Gem hadn’t moved closer to the fire.

“Big Mac, Cheerilee, Granny! So nice to see y’all!” Applejack held her grandmother the longest.

“Thank you so much for coming. Were the roads any problem?” Rarity finished her own rounds and stood by her wife.

“Oh, it was no problem at all!” The expecting teacher waved off the worries. Sharing a glance with her husband, she continued. “Between Big Mac’s strength and a very nice work on clearing the ground, it was an easy trip.”

The pale-gray unicorn smiled gratefully to the earth mare by her side. Their ears twitched to where the eldest pony sat with the children.

“An’ did ya catch that there fella?”

“No… Momma snuck up and attacked us with snowballs.” Red scrunched his muzzle, eyes rolling teasingly at his mom’s behavior.

Granny Smith cackled. She threw back her head, slapping her back knee. “Tha’s mah Jackie! Ah bet yer gonna remember ‘bout that next time y’all head outside with snow on th’ ground.”

The two oldest children nodded sagely. The last child babbled, waving his hooves excitedly. The great-grandmother picked him up, booping his nose lovingly, while the rest of the family watched on beaming.

“But if mah little Applejack was brin’ tha’ old story up, even if it was about her learnin’ to remember her family, guess that means SOMEpony had tah learn a thin’ or two.” Wise old orange eyes found embarrassed sapphires.

“Eeyup. Ah figured it was a good time to remind everypony about how much we gotta be together, especially for the holidays.” Applejack leaned into the warmth by her side.

“Yes. Even if some of us aren’t here, there are still others who were able to visit.” Rarity leaned back into the apple farmer, voice drooping as she thought to those still not there. “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t appreciate what we do have.”

The blonde rolled her eyes and leaned into the pale-gray ear. “Ya know Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle wanted to come, but they have tah help others.”

“Yes dear, I know. Just as my own parents couldn’t visit since they are abroad at this time.” The tailor replied in a similarly low tone. Sapphire orbs met emeralds. “That doesn’t mean I love spending time with my family less.”

Applejack beamed and gave her life partner a loving kiss. Once that was taken care of, she looked back towards the cooling food. “Red, Delprim, can y’all set the table?”

“Yes mom.”

“Yes momma.”

The two children trotted off to prepare the table. The grownups, along with the very youngest, went in after them. The two wives went for the kitchen and started to pull out the food for the holiday meal. Seeing her partner take a deep breathe, hoof going to her mouth, Rarity rolled her eyes with a wide smile. Applejack half-shouted to the family.

“Sooouuup’s on!”

Author's Note

EDIT: This has been heavily changed. Hopefully, everyone finds it better.

Happy Holidays everypony!

Reviewed by Gwg and Shutup868. Thanks guys!

Thanks for reading, feel free to leave a comment, like or suggestion if you so wish.