Dylan and Applebloom stood by the front door, looking out at the beautiful snow that covered the land and the trees. It was cold, as expected, making Dylan want nothing more than to be in front of the fireplace.

"Looks like winter is here!" Applebloom exclaimed. "You know what that means!"

"What?" Dylan asked.

"Hearth's Warming of course!" Applebloom answered happily.

Dylan looked at Applebloom with a puzzled look on his face. "What's Hearth's Warming?"

Applebloom's jaw dropped. "First you don't know what a cutie mark is, and now this?!" She grabbed Dylan by the foreleg and dragged him upstairs into the attic where dusty old boxes sat. As Dylan sat down, Applebloom rummaged through the boxes until she finally found it. She pulled out a wreath and a smaller box filled with ornaments.

"You mean Christmas?" Dylan asked as he looked over the shiny red and green bulbs.

"Christmas? No! Hearth's Warming!" Applebloom corrected. "It's where ponies get together to celebrate the day the three pony tribes, the pegasi, earth ponies, and unicorns came together and drove away the windigos! What is Christmas, if ya don't mind me askin'?"

"Wow," Dylan said, more confused than ever. "Christmas is different. On Christmas, a jolly man in red clothing named Santa Claus would travel all over the world delivering presents to good boys and girls in a single night. Families would exchange gifts with each other, too."

Applebloom had a wide grin on her face. "We exchange gifts on Hearth's Warming, too!"

Dylan smiled back. He'd never heard of Hearth's Warming until today and yet he was as excited as Applebloom. "What else do y'all do?"

"Well, I dunno about other ponies, but ever since our visit with the Pie family, we've been taking turns visiting each other every Hearth's Warming celebration! It started off a little shaky at first, but it's all ok now!"

"The Pie family?" Dylan questioned.

"Oh! That's right!" realized Applebloom. "You've never met Pinkie and her family yet, have you?"

"Nu uh," said Dylan, shaking his head.

"Uh oh," Applebloom muttered. "You'd better watch out then, cuz when Pinkie meets someone new, things get a little crazy. Don't worry. I'll help ya out, though."

"Umm... thanks?" Dylan looked at the box of decorations. It all looked like Christmas to him. He tried wrapping his head around the idea that this pony civilization had a holiday exactly like Christmas, minus the jolly fat man known as Santa.

Later that week

Dylan trotted through the snow-covered market street, looking at all the stands and the buildings. Ever since he had found out about the foreign holiday, he had wanted to get gifts for his family with his chore money. All the shops had been advertising Hearth's Warming with strings of colorful lights wrapped around fir trees, just like Christmas in Dylan's world.

"Get yer traditional Hearth's Warming bells here!" one seller cried out.

"Hot rolls! Hot rolls! Can't celebrate Hearth's Warming without hot rolls!" another store owner yelled.

"Wreaths! We have wreaths! All shapes and sizes! Hey, kid! You like square reefs? We got 'em!" one of them said toward Dylan.

Dylan ignored the sellers and their advertisements, looking through the glass windows to determine which store had the more interesting items. There had to be something here, he thought. Window after window, he would look, with nothing of interest until one object caught his eye.

He walked into the store of interest, where an old gray pony stood at the counter, combing his mustache with a comb. "Heya there, sport. What can I do for ya this fine winter day?"

Dylan pointed in the direction of the object: Four brown cowboy boots with silver spurs, and they seemed to be Applejack's size.

"Nice choice. Would you like them wrapped?" the old pony asked.

Dylan nodded and looked around the shop as the boots were put into a box and wrapped up in green wrapping paper. On the shelves were antique toys for foals, and one of them got his attention. It was a doll in a pony's likeness, with a red bow in its hair, just like Applebloom. He felt compelled to get it, and so he did.

He trotted over to the counter and placed the doll on the smooth wooden surface. "Could you wrap this up, too?"

"Sure thing!" the old pony replied. He took the doll and placed it into a small box, and then began wrapping it up in blue wrapping paper. "Would you like a bag to carry these in?"

"Yes, please," Dylan responded.

Soon after making his payment, Dylan exited the store, the handle of the bag in his mouth.

"What's that you got there, Dylan? A gift for mama? How thoughtful!"

Dylan shook his head, trying to clear his mind of days gone by, and then resumed trotting. It was rare for him to think of home nowaday. He had grown so used to his new family that he didn't think about the past.

"Hey, Dylan! Fancy meetin' you here!" a familiar voice greeted from behind.

Dylan turned around to see Amber, making him drop both his jaw and the bag. "A-A-Amber! N-Nice to s-s-see you here!"

"Whatcha got there? Oh! Are those gifts for your family? How thoughtful!"

"How thoughtful!"

Dylan cleared his mind again before replying. "Y-Yes, they are! I um... I thought my sisters would like them..."

"That's so sweet of you!" Amber exclaimed. "I'm doin' the same thing for my siblings, too!"

Dylan leaned against an 8ft tall candy cane that had been set up on the side of the road. His legs felt wobbly, and he needed something to hold onto just in case. "Y-You have siblings?"

"Yup! Rockin' Ruby and Thundercog! They're radically different from me, but they're family all the same!" Amber seemed to be getting closer for some reason.

"D-Different? H-How?" asked, Dylan, wary of Amber's approach.

"Oh, Ruby's a musician, and Thundercog is handy with them machine doohickeys," Amber explained. She was soon right in front of Dylan, her face just mere inches from his. "I noticed what you were doin'," she whispered.

"Wh-What was I-I-I doin'?" Dylan asked, starting to sweat.

Amber pointed a hoof upward. Something was hanging from the candy cane that made Dylan's blood run cold.

"You were tryin' to lure me under that mistletoe, weren't ya?" Amber accused. "Well, lucky for you, I'm traditional."

Dylan tried to protest, but was caught off guard as Amber pressed her lips against his. It felt like forever, but in reality, it was only a few seconds. Dylan stared off into empty space, frozen the moment she kissed him.

Amber waved a hoof in front of Dylan's face. "Hello? Dylan? Y'all ok?" There was no answer, which made Amber giggle to herself. "I should probably get goin'. My parents are probably wonderin' why I'm not home yet. I'll see ya later!"

Long after Amber left, Dylan was still frozen, confusing ponies that passed by.

One Week Later

Dylan sat at the table with his hoof under his chin, trying to come up with something that would impress his older brother, Big Macintosh. It was easy to find a gift for Granny, seeing as how she recently complained about needing slippers, but Big Mac was a mystery to Dylan, with those limited responses. He could never quite get Big Mac to say anything more than a yes or no. He also needed to figure out what Big Mac liked without asking him. Asking would give him away.

He had spent a whole week spying on Big Mac, trying to figure out what made him tick. So far though, he could only figure out that Big Mac was a workaholic, and that he did everything very well. There was no tool he didn't have, nothing he needed. It was frustrating and gave Dylan nothing but a headache.

"Hi, Dylan!" Applejack greeted as she entered the room. "I'm home from the market! Whatcha doin?"

"Howdy, Applejack. I'm just trying to figure out what to get Big Mac for Hearth's Warming." Dylan looked outside the window to see Big Mac with a hammer in his mouth, fixing the fences. He seemed to do everything so easily. Dylan couldn't hold objects very easily with his own mouth. Carrying bags was one thing, but using a hammer was something else entirely.

"You should get him the same thing I do every year, Hearth's Warming Cider!" Applejack suggested.

"Cider?" Dylan questioned. "Don't we already make cider?"

"This cider is different!" Applejack stated. "Hearth's Warming Cider is Granny Smith's special recipe. She'll only make it on Hearth's Warming with me and Big Mac."

"What about Applebloom?" asked Dylan.

"She's not quite old enough yet. You see, Hearth's Warming Cider is a one-time thing with a one-time ingredient that's not exactly family friendly." Applejack had a grin on her face as she told Dylan this.

"You don't mean..." Dylan asked.

"That's right! Horseshoe Bay pineapple juice! Too sweet for foals. Poor things can't handle the stuff." Applejack answered.

"Wait... what?" Dylan was even more confused. "What about alcohol?"

"Whoever heard of puttin' medicine in cider, or in any drink for that matter? That's pretty darn silly if ya ask me!" Applejack patted Dylan on the back, laughing.

Dylan was beyond confused now. They don't put alcohol in their drinks?

"So wait... What's this pineapple juice you're talkin' about? Why can't foals drink it?" Dylan wanted to know more about this sweet juice.

"You're never heard of it?" Applejack had a bewildered look on her face. "That's pretty strange."

"Where I come from, people use alcohol in their drinks. Especially my pa... It made him violent," Dylan said quietly toward the end of his sentence.

"That's horrible! Alcohol is medicine here and nothin' else," Applejack wrapped a foreleg around Dylan. "I'll tell ya more about it. See, here in Equestria, we got a special little drink called Horseshoe Bay pineapple juice. It's said to be so sweet, it'll make ya tell the truth! It makes ya too happy to keep secrets!"

"It's a truth serum?" Dylan asked.

"Well, we only sell it in bars and on special holidays like Hearth's Warming." Applejack ruffled up Dylan's hair as she spoke. "Best part is, it don't make ya violent. Just happy! And Big Mac loves the stuff!"

"And I'm allowed to help make it for him?" Dylan asked.

"I think yer old enough to help!" confirmed Applejack. "Maybe if yer good, I'll let ya have a small sip! Just don't tell Granny!"

"Thanks, Applejack." Dylan smiled and hugged his big sister. He was ready to celebrate.

Hearth's Warming Eve

It was 12:30pm. Dylan stood outside in the snow by the farm. He wanted to see the visitors as they arrived. It didn't matter if his hooves were freezing, it was worth it to see more family, even if there was a chance they weren't really related to the Apples. He had begun to wonder what they were like. Were they like the Apple family, hardworking and honest? Dylan could hardly wait.

He was soon joined by Applejack, who was covered up in a red and green striped scarf. "Howdy there, Dylan!" she greeted, smiling cheerfully. "You sure look awfully excited!"

"I am!" Dylan replied. "Are they farmers, too? What do they sell?"

"Um... Are ya sure ya wanna know?" Applejack looked nervous.

"Yeah?" Dylan wanted to know more than ever now.

Before Applejack could say anything, she was interrupted by a piercing voice coming from off in the distance.

"APPLEJAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!"

Before Dylan could see who it was, he felt a strong force push him backwards into the snow. He opened his eyes to see two blue eyes staring back at him. It was a pink pony with a poofy dark pink mane, and she had three balloons as her cutie mark.

"Hi there! You must be Dylan! I'm Pinkie Pie! How are you?! Are you excited?! I'm so excited! I can't believe I'm finally meeting my new cousin! I'm can't wait to throw you a party on your birthday! When is your birthday?! What's your favorite flavor of cupcake?!" her speech accelerated faster and faster as she spoke.

"Pinkie!" Applejack scolded. "C'mon, now! Yer scarin' him!"

"More startled than scared..." Dylan whispered as Pinkie got off of him.

"Sorry! I'm just so excited to meet my new cousin!" Pinkie replied happily. She had more energy than anypony Dylan had ever seen.

Before long, the rest of Pinkie's family had arrived. There was her parents, Igneous Rock Pie and Cloudy Quartz, who seemed very set in their ways, and there was Limestone Pie, Marble Pie and Maud Pie, the three sister of Pinkie Pie. Of all the Pie sisters, Maud Pie was one of the more... interesting.

"So," Dylan started. Both he and Maud were sitting in front of the fireplace inside the Apple family living room. "You have a um... a pet rock."

"Yes," Maud monotoned. "His name is Boulder, and he's my best friend."

"Um... That's great," said Dylan. He was somewhat concerned for Maud's mental health.

"I know what you're thinking. Why does a girl like me have such a fascination with rocks?"

Dylan looked down shamefully, feeling a bit guilty. "Yeah... I don't really understand. I mean... I used to collect strange looking rocks when I was younger, but I've never really talked to them."

"It all started when I was three years old," Maud started...

Four Hours Later

"...And that's how Boulder and I became best friends," Maud finished.

Dylan's face was drenched in tears, and he was sniffling, trying to keep his emotions in. "Th-That was beautiful! I never thought it was anything like that! I'm so sorry I questioned you..."

Maud, with the same blank look on her face, nodded. "It's ok. Most ponies don't know what it was like for me."

"Alright, y'all! Time to hang our Hearth's Warming Dolls!" Applejack announced.

Both the Apples and the Pies gathered around the fireplace, each member holding a doll in their own image. Although the Apples had their dolls made from traditional yarn, the Pies had theirs made from Rocks.

"Hey, Applejack? Why do we have to hang them over the fireplace?" Dylan asked curiously.

"To represent the warmth the three ponies shared on the first Hearth's Warming," replied Applejack, smiling and wrapping a foreleg around Dylan.

They all hung their dolls over the fireplace, and eventually went to bed.

Hearth's Warming

"Dylan! Wake up! It's Hearth's Warming!"

"Dylan! Wake up! It's Christmas!"

Dylan opened his eyes to see an excited Applebloom jumping on his bed, and he could hear voices coming from downstairs. He got out of bed and slumped over to the door tiredly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Hurry, Dylan!" urged Applebloom, galloping downstairs.

Dylan trotted downstairs and walked into the living room to see nopony there. That's odd, he thought.

"Dylan, c'mon! What are you doing in here?" Applebloom shouted questioningly as she ran out the door.

"Outside?" Dylan was confused, but still went outside to see everypony gathered around a flagpole.

"Dylan! There ya are!" Applejack said excitedly. "Where ya been? It's time to exchange gifts!"

Dylan joined the others and looked at all the presents collected around the flagpole. He didn't quite understand their tradition of opening gifts around a flagpole, but he didn't want to question.

"Your turn, Applebloom!" Applejack said happily. "Dylan got it for ya!"

Applebloom opened up the present, shreds of the wrapping paper falling to the ground. "Dylan, I love it!"

"Dylan! I love it!"