A Ponyville Hearth's Warming

Fluttershy looked out her window again and found that Jack had disappeared. She pulled on her snow boots and galloped out the door. After a few minutes of running, she finally reached the Castle of Friendship. The castle was abuzz with activity, with dozens of ponies attending to decorations, carting in food and arranging clouds. A big banner hung from the castle's crystal star, reading: 'Welcome Princess Celestia!' in colorful letters.

"Um excuse me?" Fluttershy asked a nearby pegasus. He turned from his decorating and looked at her. "Do you know where I can find Twilight-"

A pegasus carrying a large box of lights landed nearby. "Hey I got the next batch of lights. We gotta get this done chop chop!"

The pony Fluttershy was talking to turned his head to the pegasus and nodded. "Yeah we gotta get this perfect or Princess Celestia won't be happy. Man there's just so much to do! I wish we could just take a few minutes to relax. Ah well lets go." He flew off with his partner to continue adorning the castle with lights.

"Oh um okay you're busy. No problem..." Fluttershy mumbled as she slunk away. She asked several other ponies but was either ignored or blown off. In desperation, she even tried to be more assertive, but everypony was simply too busy with their tasks to care. Eventually Fluttershy gave up and decided to search the castle herself. The inside of the castle was even busier than the outside, with the central floor being so crowded that Fluttershy could barely see anything. At the center of the mass, Fluttershy heard a familiar voice issuing instructions.

"Cakes go over there! We need two decoration teams over in Ballroom A!" Twilight yelled over the noise, pointing her hooves frantically. Fluttershy flew over the crowd and landed next to Twilight. "Streamers and balloons in hallway 8! Where the hay is Pinkie... she should be back by now! Oh hi Fluttershy!" Twilight finally noticed Fluttershy standing next to her.

"Oh um hi Twilight Happy Hearth's-"

"Starlight!" Twilight called across the room to her student. Starlight looked up from the silverware she was organizing. "Can you take over for a few minutes?"

"Sure Twilight!" Starlight yelled back.

Twilight pulled Fluttershy's hoof and flew up into the air. "Ugh I've been organizing this thing all day. We have to get everything perfect so that Princess Celestia is happy when she arrives. She's probably used to much bigger celebrations in Canterlot, so I've arranged our party to be similar. It's alot of work but it'll be worth it."

"Um if you say so Twilight. There's something I wanted to-"

"Actually now that we have a few minutes, there's something really important I wanted to show you!" Twilight flew down a hallway and beckoned Fluttershy to follow.

Fluttershy struggled to keep up with her friend, desperately trying not to lose her in the massive castle. "Um Twilight there's actually something really important I need to-"

"Phew." Twilight panted. "We gotta make this quick, but here it is!" Fluttershy saw that they had reached a small door that said, "Roof Access Point". Twilight pushed it open and flew up a small tunnel. Fluttershy followed, and found that they were indeed on the roof of the castle. To her right, she caught the glint of the giant crystal star in the afternoon light. But that was not the most interesting feature. In front of her was a  fiery purple heart about as big as two ponies. She hadn't seen it before because the banner had blocked it, but now it glowed fiercely, filling her with warmth.

"Is that-" Fluttershy asked.

"The Fire of Friendship." Twilight answered. "Every year it burns throughout Hearth's Warming over the place with the most love and friendship. Most ponies can't see it, but this year I used my magic to make it visible. It's normally supposed to be much bigger. I've been checking on it throughout the day, but it hasn't gotten any larger. In fact... it actually looks a little smaller than last time."

"Gee I wonder why." Fluttershy sighed, thinking about all the times she'd been ignored.

"Me too! We've been working to make this Hearth's Warming Eve party perfect, but the heart doesn't grow! Maybe once Princess Celestia arrives and we start the party it'll become bigger. Maybe everything is hinging on this party being the biggest, best, most perfect Hearth's Warming party ever!" Twilight had gone into full freak out mode and was breathing heavily.

"Um yeah, so Twilight there's this winter spirit who wants to ruin- "

RIIIINNNNGGGG! Fluttershy jumped three feet in the air. "Oh sorry Fluttershy, that's my task timer! It rings whenever it's time for me to start the next task on my checklist for this party." Twilight levitated out a small white timer from under her wing, and began to wind the hand again.

Fluttershy felt a cold wind that chilled her to the bone. Jack Frost materialized in the air, translucent in form. He chuckled impishly. "And the fun begins!" He pointed a hoof at the timer, and magic began to flow into it. Twilight didn't seem to notice, and instead finished winding the little timer and tucked it back under her wing.

"Well sorry Fluttershy gotta go... lots more left to do! See you at the party!"

"Twilight wait something's wrong with your timer!" By the time Fluttershy finished her sentence Twilight had already flown back down into the fray of ponies below.

"Oh... shoot!" Fluttershy sighed. She decided that Twilight was just too busy to listen right now... but maybe her other unicorn friend could help her catch the spirit. Fluttershy flew back down the roof access tunnel, and set off through the castle in search of Rarity.