Dinky's First Hearth's Warming
Dinky’s First Hearth’s Warming
Admiral Biscuit
For FanOfMostEverything
Derpy eagerly trotted down the snow-covered streets. Despite the fact she’d been on her hooves since before sunup, she still had a spring in her step. She had finished the most important day of her career as a mailmare—delivering every piece of Hearth's Warming mail—and tomorrow she'd have her first real celebration since leaving Las Pegasus.
Her empty mailbags bounced lightly against her barrel and brushed against the tips of her primaries; a slight annoyance, but not enough to dampen her spirits.
She stopped in front of a tidy house on the edge of Ponyville and knocked politely on the front door, then tapped a hoof impatiently on the welcome mat. She was about to raise her hoof for another knock when the door was swept open by a heavyset mare.
“Come right inside, Miss Hooves. Star is in the living room with Dinky.”
Pausing only long enough to stomp the snow off her legs, Derpy stepped gratefully into the warmth of the house, pulling the door shut behind her with a wingtip. Instantly, her nose was filled with the pleasant smells of woodsmoke and gingerbread.
“Would you like a cup of cocoa? It wouldn't take any time at all to warm it up.”
“That's real generous, Mrs. Amethyst, but I should get home. I still haven't gotten all the decorations up. It’s the busy time of year, you know.” As she spoke, she was already edging slightly towards the living room: she could hear Dinky's gleeful burbling, and the tiny bit of discomfort that pressed upon her heart whenever they were separated was set at ease.
“Of course. Do let me give you some gingerbread and a small fruitcake before you leave. I'll wrap it up right now.” Amethyst Intaglio walked into the kitchen to gather up the aforementioned treats. As soon as her tail had disappeared through the door, Derpy turned and looked in the living room.
Amethyst Star and Dinky were both seated on a large oval knotted rug in the center of the living room. A small stack of chipped hand-me-down alphabet blocks were scattered across the maroon fabric on the far side of the duo; closer in was a small cloth bag containing a few diapers and a bottle.
“Mommy!” Dinky dropped to all fours and took one step before she caught a hoof on the rug and tumbled, but she didn't let that dissuade her. In a moment, she was back on all four. Derpy crossed the distance between them and leaned down for a filly-sized hug.
“Time to go home, Muffin.” Derpy crouched in order to let Amethyst Star carefully lift Dinky into a mail pouch. Once the filly was secured, she put on Dinky's knit cap and wrapped a scarf around her neck, then stuck the cloth bag into Derpy's other mailbag.
“Thanks!” Derpy got back to her hooves, then leaned back down to give Amethyst Star a nuzzle on the cheek. “Have a happy Hearth's Warming!”
“You, too, Miss Hooves.” Amethyst reached around and touched a hoof to Dinky's nose. “It's your first one, isn't it?”
Derpy nodded; Dinky just make a happy gurgle.
“Say goodbye to Amethyst Star.”
Dinky lifted a forehoof and waved it. “Bye Spar!”
“Bye, Dinks!”
• • •
Derpy's house was chilly and dark, but it didn't take her too long to get the fire going again. While she was waiting for the house to begin warming, she stretched out on the couch and let Dinky nurse under a blanket, which kept them both cozy.
The combination of warmth and a full belly knocked Dinky down for the count, allowing Derpy to carefully extract herself from the couch and finish getting ready for Hearth’s Warming.
She didn't have much in the way of holiday decorations, but she made the most of what she did, stringing evergreen garlands and bright paper daisy-chains around the living room. A quick check confirmed that Dinky was still sound asleep on the couch, so Derpy went to the kitchen and started carrying Dinky's presents out and arranging them on a small end table. Next year, she was going to get a nice bright cloth to cover it with. Not only would it be more festive, but it would cover up all the scratches on the wood.
Her own presents went on the mantle. There were only two, and they’d both arrived by mail. It felt weird to be delivering her own mail; it was set aside at work and she took it home with herself at the end of the day. She wasn't sure if the packages counted as delivered when she put them in her mailbags, or if it wasn't until she took them out at home.
Finally, she brought the new Hearth's Warming dolls out. They were a little crude: she'd gotten them from a filly named Rarity who was bound and determined to be a seamstress one day. She would have liked to have her old one, but she hadn't thought to take it when she left home.
Now satisfied that the house was decorated, she banked the fire and climbed back up on the couch, wrapping a wing protectively around Dinky.
• • •
Derpy was awake with the sun. For a second, she was disoriented, then as soon as her eyes lit upon the dolls hanging from the mantle and the evergreen garlands, a giddiness overcame her. It was Hearth’s Warming day! There were presents to be opened, and the little filly that still lived in her head wanted to charge right over to the mantle and tear into those two brown-wrapped presents.
She lifted her wing just enough to see that Dinky's eyes were still closed, tugged the blanket back up, and set her head back on the arm of the couch. She could wait a little longer to open her presents.
Deep down, she knew this was going to be the best Hearth's Warming ever. So what if she couldn't go home? She had the best gift anypony could ever ask for tucked safely under her wing, and she had all day to play with Dinky.
As if her name had been spoken aloud, Dinky shifted around and poked her head out of the blankets, blinking the sleep out of her golden eyes. Her gaze landed upon the small stack of presents with their bright wrappings, and she shrank back, pushing against Derpy's barrel.
“It's okay, Muffin. Those are Hearth's Warming gifts for you. Santa Hooves brought them. Do you know who Santa Hooves is?”
“Hoofs?” Dinky looked at her curiously.
“He's a magical reindeer,” Derpy began, speaking softly. “Or maybe a caribou. Dazzle says they're the same thing. Every Hearth's Warming Eve, he flies all over Equestria, leaving presents for all the good little fillies and colts.
“He comes down the chimney, that's how he gets in. And then he leaves presents behind and quick as a flash, he's back up the chimney and gone again.” She giggled, realizing she was repeating Berry Pinch's explanation of Santa Hooves almost verbatim. “He's got holly and evergreen boughs and bright ribbons and little bells all braided around his antlers.”
She reached down and poked Dinky’s horn lightly. “Antlers are like your horn, except that reindeer have two.”
“Hoofs.”
“He has hooves, too, but they’re not like ours. He has two toes on each.”
“Bye, hoofs.” Dinky ducked under Derpy’s wing.
“That’s so he can grip on roofs. If he didn’t have them, he’d have to knock at the front door and deliver presents like a mailpony—like Mommy does.”
Dinky wiggled her nose back out from under her feathery nest. Derpy picked her up and set her on the floor, waiting for her curiosity to get the better of her.
With occasional retreats and glances back to make sure Mommy was close, Dinky finally made it over to the table and stuck her muzzle up over the edge, taking in the bright paper wrappings. She cautiously reached up a hoof and poked the box, jerking back as it crinkled under her touch. Her horn reflexively lit, then flickered out again.
Derpy helped her, taking the package off the table and setting it on the floor in front of her. “Go ahead and open it up,” she suggested, tearing the wrapper slightly to help.
Dinky bit down on the edge of the paper and pulled her head back, tearing off a long strip. Eventually, with the assistance of her forehooves and a little bit of help from Derpy, she managed to get most of the paper off, revealing the box underneath.
Derpy opened the box to reveal a quartet of winter boots, which she arranged in front of Dinky. “Those are from grandpa,” she said, as she reached for another box.
When she turned with a new package, she discovered that Dinky was gnawing on the top of one of them. “Yuck.”
“They aren't for eating, Muffin. Why don't you open this one?”
• • •
It took the whole morning for Dinky to finish unwrapping her presents. When she was finally done, she was surrounded by a new set of winter clothes, a plush unicorn, a red rubber ball, two picture books, and a shiny new set of alphabet blocks.
Her attention kept switching from one new toy to another: she stacked a few of the blocks then nosed through her winter clothes, coming up with a saddle blanket draped across her face, which Derpy finally had to help her out of. Even the wrapping paper made a good toy for a while: once she’d gotten tired of batting it around, she arranged it into a pile and jumped on it, laughing gleefully at the crinkling noise it made.
All too soon, her motions begin to get erratic, and she started stumbling over her hooves. She sat down on her rump and yawned, then got back up and staggered into the empty cardboard box her boots had been in, unicorn stuffy in tow.
As soon as quiet snoring began to come from the box, Derpy took out the shredded wrapping paper and returned with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk. One of the greatest benefits of her job was that nearly everypony on her route had given her Hearth's Warming Gifts: mostly baked goods, but she'd also gotten a few jars of preserves, fresh produce, and even a bouquet of hothouse flowers from Daisy, Lily, and Rose. They’d sat on the kitchen table for a week, then she’d eaten them.
Derpy got her presents down from the mantle and set them on the table in front of her. She tore into Dazzle's gift first, her eyes widening in surprise as she saw the title: Daring Do and the Llanowar Wastes. The title page was signed “To Ditzy, the best sister ever.”
She set it on the table and regarded it thoughtfully, then opened the package from her father.
Under the flaps on the box, a card with a woodcut of a snowpony sat on top of a crumpled mess of red tissue paper. She opened the card and focused on the sloppy mouthwriting. As she read, she could hear her father’s voice in her head.
Dearest Ditzy,
I guess I don’t have to tell you how special it is to celebrate Hearth’s Warming with your daughter. I wish I could be there, but you’re going to have to settle for me arriving a week late.
I trust she’s already got the boots I sent. If she’s anything like you were as a filly, she probably tried to eat one already.
—Papa
She set the card on top of the Daring Do book and pulled the top layer of tissue paper off her gift. A flash of grey caught her eye, and her hopes soared as she pulled more of the wrapping away. A minute later, she was holding her old Hearth’s Warming doll in her hooves, hugging it tightly to her.
• • •
Derpy sat on the couch and ate cookies, watching the flames dancing in the hearth until her focus went distant and she started to think of Hearth's Warmings past.
She was almost asleep when a gentle knock sounded at her front door. She snapped her head up, suddenly noticing that the fire had burned down very low. Now who could that be?
After a quick check to make sure Dinky was still secure in her cardboard box, Derpy opened the front door. Cherry Berry was standing there, a big grin on her face. “Hey, Ditz, Happy Hearth's Warming.”
“Only Papa and Dazzle still call me that.”
“I’m in good company, then.” Cherry leaned in and nuzzled Derpy’s cheek. “Do you want to come over to my house for a Hearth’s Warming dinner? Everypony’s there.”
“I’d rather spend the time with Dinky,” Derpy said honestly.
“Bring her with you! She’ll have fun playing with Noi and Pinchy.”
Derpy considered that, then nodded. Hearth’s Warming was about spending time with family and friends. Everypony knew that.
It didn’t take much time to bundle Dinky up, and then the two of them set out to Cherry’s house. Dinky kept her head outside the saddlebag, her eyes trying to track the snow as it fell. She jerked back as a flake fell on her nose, then went cross-eyed watching it as it melted.
Before too long, they were at Cherry Berry’s house. A pair of snowponies flanked the front walkway; one of them had a carrot stuck in its forehead.
“Pinch would’ve felt left out if we didn’t have a unicorn,” Cherry commented. “Berry stole that from Goldie’s soup supplies.”
“Does she know?”
“Not yet.” Cherry shrugged. “Well, she probably knows it’s missing, but she doesn’t know where it went.”
“I like it.” Derpy turned her head. “Look, Dinky, it’s a snow-unicorn.”
“Hi snowcorn!”
“Next winter, we’ll make our own,” Derpy promised. “And a snow pegasus, too.”
“We can do that later, if you want,” Cherry said as she wiped her hooves off on her mat. “Might as well have all three tribes represented.”
“I haven’t built a snowpony in years.”
“Than you ought to get back in practice.”
“I heard that some of the northern pegasi fly down and build snowponies after the first snow. Lightning Bolt told me.”
“They do. It’s kind of a game to see where they built them. Usually, they’re in somepony’s fallow field, but one year they built a bunch on roofs downtown.” Cherry held the door open for Derpy. “Noi and Pinch are in the living room; Berry’s watching them. She’ll probably welcome your company. I’ve got to get to the kitchen and help Goldie finish up dinner.”
Berry was sitting on the couch, watching over a temporary playpen that had been constructed out of empty wine crates. Pinch was inside, constructing a block tower; as Derpy watched, Pinch moved back and Noi came over and pushed the tower until it fell over, then started giggling.
“They’ve been doing that for almost an hour,” Berry Punch said. “I’m curious which of them will get tired of the game first.”
“I brought reinforcements for Noi.” Derpy crouched down and let Dinky climb out of her saddlebag. She cleared a path for the filly, who trotted into the play area and nuzzled Noi.
“That’s not fair, aunt Derpy.”
“You’re twice as old, so there ought to be twice as many of them,” Derpy said seriously.
“Oh.” Pinch set up a couple of blocks, looked back up at Derpy, then her mother. “Is that fair?”
Berry nodded. “Better watch your tower.”
While Pinch’s attention had been drawn away, both Dinky and Noi had approached the stack of blocks. Noi pushed it gently, rocking it. Dinky put her own hoof on the tower and pushed as well; when it tumbled over, the two younger fillies burst into a fit of giggles, while Pinch sighed and began gathering the fallen blocks.
“I made you a bottle of wine.” Berry pointed to a bottle on the table. “I make a special batch every year, just for my friends and family. You don’t have to open it; there’s another one to pass around with dinner.”
• • •
The two mothers talked on the couch until dinner was ready. The younger two fillies finally tired of their tower-knocking-over game and left Pinch alone long enough for her to construct a wobbly edifice out of all the blocks, although Derpy had set on the final blocks, since the top of the tower was too high for Pinch to reach.
It took a few minutes to move everypony to the dining room—nopony wanted to leave the youngest fillies unsupervised.
The table was laden down with a bounty of food. “It’s an earth pony tradition,” Cherry explained. “Make more for dinner than anypony could possibly eat.”
“Try a little bit of wine,” Berry offered. “You’ll like it; it’s honeysuckle. Like summertime in a bottle.”
“It is,” Golden Harvest agreed. “Berry, I think this is your best special batch yet.”
“Save your bottle for a miserable winter day,” Cherry advised. “That’s when it’s best to drink it.”
“I’m gonna be thinking of this dinner when I drink it,” Derpy said. “Where did you get the bread, Cherry?”
“It’s a secret family recipe.”
“My family, not yours,” Golden Harvest protested. “You got it from Sugarcube Corner. Carrot’s been making this for years.”
“Fine.” Cherry rolled her eyes. “But I made it. I just had Carrot mix the flour. I did all the rest.”
“I wish I knew how to make baked goods.”
Cherry and Golden Harvest exchanged a look. “Tell you what,” Cherry said. “If you really want to learn, me and Goldie can teach you.”
“I could too,” Berry offered.
“No, you can’t.”
“Remember when you tried to make a spinach casserole?”
“That only happened one time!”
“What about the chimney fire?”
“Not my fault.” Berry crossed her forelegs. “That could have happened to anypony.”
• • •
The party broke up after midnight. All three fillies were curled up together on the couch, fast asleep. DInky had briefly woken when she was loaded into Derpy’s saddlebags, but her head had quickly drooped and she’d fallen back asleep before the pegasus made it out the front door.
Derpy and Berry Punch walked together into town. Pinch made the first half of the journey on her own before she got tired; she finished the journey riding on Berry Punch’s back, her head nodding as she struggled to stay awake.
They got to Derpy's home first, and the two mares nuzzled each other before parting ways. Derpy carried Dinky into the bedroom and tucked her in before stripping off her saddlebags.
She was exhausted, but in a good way. She hadn’t ever felt so overwhelmed by happiness on Hearth’s Warming before. And it wasn’t over yet, not really. The decorations were still up, and would be for a while longer. Papa was coming on the train to visit next weekend, and of course she still had all the treats she’d been given on her mail route—those would last for quite some time yet.
Her thoughts turned to the Hearth’s Warming Pageant. All three tribes had come together and started anew. She hadn’t really appreciated that when she was a filly, but now she did. Perhaps she knew it better than some ponies; she’d had to trade the life she’d anticipated having for a new life on the ground.
It had been worth it. She climbed into bed and snuggled against Dinky. Tomorrow, she was going to sleep in again, and play with Dinky all day, undisturbed. And the first thing they’d do was build a snow-pegasus in Cherry Berry’s front yard.
