Dylan twisted and turned in his bed. Ever since Hearth's Warming, the voices in his head were becoming more prominent. He would open his eyes to see the doll of his mother on the cabinet by the window, staring back at him, seeming to peer into his very soul. He turned his back to the doll and just looked at the wall. "What's wrong with me..."

"You miss me, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Dylan replied to the disembodied voice. He recognized it so well, for it belonged to his mother.

You know I'll always be with you, don't you?"

"I know... But I miss you so much," said Dylan. "Why couldn't you have taken us away from pa? We could've just gone anywhere!"

"I had always held hope in the chance that your father might change."

"He'll never change! What made you think he would change?!" Dylan wanted to know so badly.

"Because something good came from him."

"What the hell came from him that was so good?!" He shouted at nothing, tears blurring his vision.

It took a few seconds for his mother to answer. "It was you, Dylan..."

Dylan stared at the wall for a bit before turning back to face the doll. "I'm going crazy..."

The Next Morning

The Apple family were all inside, sitting by the fireplace, sheltering from the snowstorm outside. Although Hearth's Warming was over, the harsh winter was not. All the doors were frozen shut, and the snow was so high, it blocked the windows, the glass cracking under the pressure.

"This isn't the first time we've been snowed in," Applejack assured, wrapping both forelegs around Dylan and Applebloom who sat beside her. "Seems like yesterday I was a filly, and ma and pa were shut in here with us. You were the littlest foal I'd ever seen, Applebloom!"

Applebloom smiled. She loved listening to stories about her parents. "What were they like, Applejack?"

"Well," Applejack started, "They were kind and honest, and they were very hardworkin'. There was nopony like 'em!"

"I wish I could've met them," Dylan commented. He nuzzled up into Applejack, trying to keep warm. The fire crackled and popped as it ate away at the wood like a hungry monster, the flames licking all over.

"Good thing I got more wood before the storm," said Applejack. "Looks like y'all will have to sleep down here though. Yer rooms upstairs are freezin'."

Applebloom's mouth turned upwards into a big grin. "It'll be just like a sleepover! Dylan can sleep next to me!"

Dylan rubbed his hooves together, trying to get warm. "That sounds great! We can swap stories!"

"Human stories? That'll be excitin'!" Applejack commented. She was a little curious to hear more about Dylan's world. "And I can tell ya about the legendary Rockhoof and his shovel!"

"Rockhoof?" Dylan asked.

"Yeah! But I'll save ya the story for tonight." Applejack replied. "For now, who wants some hot cider?"

Both Dylan and Applebloom raised their hooves eagerly. Something warm for such a cold day sounded good to them. After receiving their cider, the Apple family talked for hours on end, with one of those hours dedicated to Granny Smith's life, about how she help found Ponyville, and her feud with the Pear family. He wanted to ask more about the parents of his siblings, but it didn't seem like the right time.

Later at night

"And so, Belle kissed the beast, and the beast became a handsome prince! The entire town remembered everything, and all the talking objects became human again! But more importantly, Belle and the prince lived happily ever after. The end!"

Applebloom clapped her hooves in approval. "That was amazin' Dylan!"

Next to Applebloom, Big Mac was shedding tears. "It w-was so beautiful!" This surprised Dylan. He could never get Big Mac to say anything other than a yes or a no before.

Applejack giggled at Big Mac's behavior. "Alright, everyone. Let's get to sleep. I reckon the storm should be over by tomorrow, and then we'll have to shovel some snow in order to get out."

"Awwwwww! I wanted to hear more human stories!" complained Applebloom.

"And you probably will," Applejack comforted. "Just not tonight."

Everypony rolled their sleeping bags out by the fireplace and got nestled in. Dylan set out his glass doll right next to him, making Applebloom curious.

"Whatcha doin with yer doll?" Applebloom asked.

"Well," Dylan replied, "Ever since Hearth's Warming, I've been doing this. It makes me feel like my mama is watching over me."

"Aww... I think that's sweet, Dylan," said Applebloom.

"Um... I don't want to be rude, but..." Dylan paused before deciding to ask the question. "What happened to yer parents?"

Applebloom looked at the snow covering the window. "They got caught in a snowstorm, just like tonight. We never found them..."

"I'm so sorry," Dylan whispered. He felt awful for asking, especially on a stormy night.

"It's not yer fault. Ya couldn't have known," Applebloom assured. "I still like to think they're alive though. I haven't given up yet."

Dylan smiled. Applebloom seemed to be a strong filly, and Dylan admired that.

The Next Morning

Dylan pulled on the snowplow, getting the snow off the dirt path that led to his home. Applejack was right. The storm had passed, and they were shoveling show just like she said. Dylan felt that he could always trust Applejack. She was honest, kind, and you could always trust her when things looked bad.

Several hours passed, with Dylan still plowing snow out of the way, and he was getting tired. He was just about to finish when he heard a voice from behind him.

"Howdy, Dylan!" It was Amber

"H-Hi, Amber!" Dylan greeted. He turned to face her and saw two older ponies behind her. "Oh! H-Hello!"

One of them, a sunflower yellow unicorn with green eyes and with her blonde hair in a bun, smiled and waved a hoof. "Hello, Dylan. I've heard alot about you from my daughter here!"

"D-Daughter?" It took him a moment to realize that these two ponies were Amber's parents. "O-Oh! Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Honey Pop," the yellow unicorn introduced, "and this here is my husband, Blueberry Orchard!" She motioned towards a larger pony with a blue coat of fur, blue eyes and a black mane.

"Nice to m-meet you!" Dylan extended his foreleg out, receiving a big hoofshake from Blueberry Orchard.

"Nice to meetcha, Dylan!" Orchard greeted.

Dylan looked at both parents, confused. "What brings ya here?"

"Well," Honey Pop explained, "We were told that Applejack lets customers pre-order cider before it comes out."

"Oh! Then you'll wanna go directly to the barn! She's inside fixing some tools," Dylan directed.

"Thanks!" replied Honey Pop, and the parents were on their way, but not Amber. She had decided to stay behind.

Dylan noticed this, and it made him nervous. What could she want, he wondered. He tried his best to ignore her, pulling on his snowplow. She trotted alongside him though, and it made him even more nervous until...

"Whatcha doin?" Amber asked, causing Dylan to blush brightly red. He turned to her and smiled nervously.

"J-Just plowin' the snow outta the w-way! That's all!" He replied, and turned back to pulling.

"Don'tcha ever have snow days?" she asked, tilting her head.

"I dunno... Winter doesn't seem like a season for fun," he answered, still pulling.

"Are you serious? You just experienced Hearth's Warming!" she reminded. Dylan thought about it for a moment and nodded.

"I guess yer right," he admitted. "But other than that, what good is a snow day? Ya always gotta clean up the snow, and the crops don't grow during winter."

"But haven't ya seen yer sister Applebloom playin' in the snow?" Amber asked, pointing to a happy little Applebloom who had piled up her section of the snow into several snowponies. Dylan took a moment to look at the work he'd done, and he realized he was already finished.

"I was sorta taught by my pa that snow was good for nothin'..." Dylan realized that his backwards way of thinking was because of his father, who had always put him down no matter what. "Ya know what? Yer right!"

"Of course I'm right! Snow days are meant to be enjoyed! Now whaddya wanna do first?!" Amber asked encouragingly.

"I...I... I'mma grab this here snow I plowed, and I'mma make a snowpony!" Dylan exclaimed.

"That's the spirit!" Amber cried out.

Dylan stared at his abomination. Even with help from Amber with the legs, Dylan's snowpony looked like its head was too big for its body. He was amazed that it even stayed on.

"It's not that bad, right?" He turned to Amber for moral support. She smiled nervously and nodded.

"It's okay for your first try to be a little botched," she reassured. "I'm sure you'll get the next one right!"

"What else do you do on snow days?" Dylan asked. He was suddenly met with a snowball to the face. He wiped the snow off to see Amber galloping away and laughing.

"Oh!" Dylan scooped up some snow with his hoof and compressed it into a ball before aiming and throwing it at Amber. It struck her from behind and she fell face-first into the snow, making Dylan freeze. "Oh no!"

He hurried over to Amber and looked down at her. "A-Are you ok?!"

Without any hesitation, Amber moved at near lightning pace, throwing a flurry of snowballs at Dylan, who went down easily. "Oof!"

"I win!" Amber shouted. She helped Dylan up and led him inside.

"W-We should do that some more!" Dylan commented, making Amber giggle.

"We should, but I should get going. My parents are probably done right about now," she replied.

"Alright. But I'll win next time!" Dylan promised.

After Amber left, Dylan looked outside through the window from inside his room. He felt like he could get used to the idea of having fun on snow days. In fact, it might even be his favorite kind of day now.

Author's Note

Thought I'd get the introduction to Amber's parents out of the way. Sorry if it feels rushed. I wanted to get Dylan's next chapter ready.