"P-Please don't!" a feminine voice cried. It was familiar to Dylan. His mother had burnt the food again. A slap could clearly be heard from the kitchen.

"I work hard all day long and what do I come home to?!" His father's voice sounded angry. Another slap could be heard.

"I-I'm sorry! I'll get it right next time! Wait! Please do--" his mother's pleas were cut off by the shattering sound of glass hitting a hard surface. Dylan felt cowardly, hiding in his room. The last time he had tried to help his mother he was beaten with the butt of his father's rifle.

"You're not goin' anywhere! Get back up! I said 'get back up!'" Pa was always so angry. A loud crashing noise echoed, and then silence fell upon the house. After several minutes, footsteps could be heard, getting louder and louder. Pa was walking towards Dylan's room. The door opened and...

"Get the shovel, boy... I have a job for you."

-----------------------------------------------------------

Dylan sat in the truck next to his pa, shivering. The A/C in the vehicle had never worked, but that wasn't why Dylan was shaking. "P-Pa... You killed her."

"Sh-Shut up!" his father cried. "I didn't m-mean to... She led me to sin. She led me to sin!"

"S-Sin?" Dylan asked, worried for the answer.

"My pa always told me she was a sin," he answered, more to himself than to Dylan. "You sinned, boy. You sinned. Sinner. You're gonna burn, David. G-Gonna burn..." Dylan remembered back to when his mother had told him of the family rivalries, but he didn't know much about them. All he knew was that the two families were against each other.

The heavy rain pounded on the truck, threatening to leak through the roof. Dylan felt uneasy and sick, knowing his mother was in the truck bed. His pa had wrapped her up in a blanket and had stowed her back there. "P-Please... we need to call the police," Dylan whispered.

The truck swerved, and the older male cursed under his breath. "Y-You ain't gonna tell anyone, ya hear, boy?!"

Dylan stayed silent, listening to the rumble of both the truck and the rain. They had been driving deeper and deeper into the local forest. Dylan never felt right about the forest in the past, and he certainly didn't feel right about it now. A different kind of chill ran through his body.

After what seemed to be forever, the truck stopped, and they were right in the center of the forest. All around him, Dylan could see nothing but trees. "Get the shovel, boy," his father demanded, and Dylan opened the door, letting the chilly air and rain touch his skin. He then carefully made his way to the truck bed without slipping in the mud. He took one glance at the blanket and immediately closed his eyes, tears welling up in his eyes.

Looking to his pa standing by the truck bed, he cried out, "I can't do it!"

"D-Damn it, boy! I can't do this alone!" the angry father shouted back. He grabbed the blanket and hoisted it over his shoulder. "C'mon! Get to diggin'!" He then proceeded to whisper something to the blanket. Dylan couldn't tell what he was saying to it. Dylan shook his head and drove the shovel head into the ground, starting the long dig.

Two hours passed, and the hole was ready. Dylan's father gently laid the blanket down into the hole, and Dylan sniffled, his tears impossible to see with all the downpour. He let out a sob and fell to his knees. "It was one thing to dig... P-Please don't make me bury her!"

Lightning suddenly struck, and the father's face was briefly revealed. He looked much like an older version of Dylan, with the same sandy blonde hair. "Goddamnit, boy... I won't carry this sin alone!" He grabbed another shovel and started to pour the dirt into the hole bit by bit. "Do it now!" he screamed, and Dylan forced himself to start the long process of burying his own mother. He let out long sobs the entire time, the mournful cries becoming even louder than the drumming rain.

Dylan awoke with tears streaming down his face, his pillow soaked from them. Moonlight shone through his window, just barely illuminating the room. "L-Luna?" Dylan called out softly, shivering from both the cold and fear. "If... if you're out there, could you please help me sleep? I don't want nightmares..." There was no response, and Dylan let out a sigh of disappointment. He shook his head before heaving and sobbing for a solid minute.

The next morning...

Dylan sat quietly at the table, looking at his applesauce and steamed celery stalks. Applejack, sitting across from him, voiced her concern. "Dylan? Are ya doin' alright?"

Dylan looked up from his plate and gave a small fake smile. "Yeah. I'm okay."

Applejack thought for a bit. Dylan seemed upset, but she didn't know why. She hadn't seem someone this upset since Pinkie Pie's birthday incident. Birthday? "Hey, um... Dylan?"

"Hm?" Dylan looked up to Applejack.

"When exactly is your birthday?" Applejack asked.

Dylan put a hoof to his chin. "My birthday?"

Applejack nodded and waited for Dylan's answer.

"I believe it was on the day I came here," he answered, looking to her with a straight face.

"What?!" Applejack shook her head. "That ain't gonna fly here!"

"What do you mean?" Dylan asked, still blank faced.

"You know what I mean! We're gonna celebrate your birthday properly, and today!" she said, walking out of the room. "I'm headed to Sugarcube Corner. I'll be back later!"

Applebloom, who had been sitting next to him, voiced her concern. "Was that day really your birthday? I can't imagine a broken leg on one of mine! That'd be the worst birthday ever!"

"Well, it wasn't that bad," Dylan clarified. "I met you guys."

Applebloom smiled at Dylan's statement. "Yeah, but you didn't have any cake! No presents, either!"

"That sounds nice, I guess," Dylan said, rubbing his chin. "I haven't had a cake for almost two years since my mom... you know..."

"No cake for two years?!" Applebloom stared at him with wide eyes. "No cutie marks, no Hearth's Warming, and you haven't had cake in two years?! You've had an awful life!"

Dylan chuckled nervously and looked to Big Mac, who had been stuffing his face full of oatmeal. Dylan and Big Mac had gained a pretty good relationship in the past year. There wasn't really a lot of talking, but they could still somehow reach understandings.

"Do you have anything to add?" Dylan asked him.

Big Mac looked up to Dylan and swallowed his oatmeal before answering, "Nope." He then proceeded to shove his face back into the bowl.

Dylan's head began to fill with thoughts of his previous birthdays. His mother used to make a cake from scratch for him every year. She had always said it was a family recipe. "I guess I wouldn't mind having some again..."

Applebloom's mouth spread into a grin. "We can make one together!"

Dylan's ears perked up. Him and Applebloom making a cake? He immediately thought back to when they were mixing potions. The sound of an explosion rang in his mind. He shook his head and gave her a fake smile. "Maybe we should let the adults make it?"

"Hm..." Applebloom scratched the back of her head. "Then what can we do together that's special?"

"We could just go outside and spend more time together," Dylan suggested.

"We do that every day, though," Applebloom countered. "Oh! What if we went around inviting everypony?

"I don't really know many ponies," Dylan said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Applebloom's eyes widened. "What if they weren't all ponies?" she asked, smiling as a new idea hatched in her head.

"Excuse me?" Dylan raised a brow in confusion.

"Well, they're kinda like you. Not like humans, but like, fairly new to Ponyville! They pretty much arrived in ponyville about a year before you did! C'mon!" Applebloom grabbed Dylan by the tail and pulled him outside with her, leaving Big Mac alone with his oatmeal.

It wasn't long before they arrived at a majestic looking building. In fact, it looked more like a castle than a building, with its cascading waterfalls and royal purple exterior. The pathway to the building was a bridge, built across a serene pond. Ponies of all colors were walking to and fro across the campus.

"What is all this?" Dylan asked as he and Applebloom walked through the large entrance. The inside was just as colorful as the exterior, with purples and blues adorning the massive hallways.

"It's Twilight's school! It's not an ordinary school, either!" Applebloom answered. "It's a school of friendship!"

Dylan looked onward, seeing all the different ponies talking and laughing with each other. They certainly seemed to be friendly. "A school of friendship seems pretty odd. Why not a regular school?"

"Because not everypony knows how to be friends," Applebloom explained. "Sometimes ponies need a push in the right direction!"

"Um... I'm not here to learn friendship, right?" Dylan questioned, hoping the answer was no. He didn't really like to socialize with many strangers. Even at his old school, he would sit in the back of the class or at the lunch table at the far end of the cafeteria.

"Nope! Like I said earlier, I'm gonna introduce you to some of the students!" Applebloom looked around the corner at the end of the hallway, and her face lit up in excitement. "There they are!" Dylan turned to look and see a rather odd group, and they certainly stuck out amongst the crowd.

At the end of the next hallway were six creatures, each one a different species, all talking with each other. There was a pony, a griffon, a yak, a hippogriff, a changeling, and a dragon.

The griffon, covered in blue feathers, seemed to be leading the conversation. "So I told her she there was no way she could pull it off." His eyes skimmed over his companions before falling on Applebloom. "Hey, it's Applejack's uhhh..."

"Her sister," Applebloom finished for the griffon.

"Right. You're that filly who tried to enroll in the school last year," he added.

"Well, I don't need the school anymore," said Applebloom with a hint of pride.

"Yeah, um... So what's up?" he asked, starting to lose interest.

Applebloom pushed Dylan forward with a nudge of her head. "This is Dylan! He's having his birthday today!"

The hippogriff squealed in excitement. "Ooh! A birthday?! Are you inviting us?! You're inviting us, aren't you?!"

"But we don't really know him," the changeling chimed in. "Are you sure you'd want to invite us? Wouldn't relatives or friends be a better option?"

"Well, I thought it would be pretty cool if the most recent heroes of Equestria were to come." said Applebloom with a grin.

"Yona want cake!" Said the yak, who was apparently named Yona.

"Well, I don't think we have anything better to do," said the orange dragon.

"So, Dylan," The green pony started as he walked up to Dylan, "How old are you gonna be?"

"Um... Sixteen," Dylan answered.

"Cool! By the way, I'm Sandbar," the green pony introduced. He then motioned to each creature. "This is Yona the yak, Gallus the griffon, Silverstream the hippogriff, Ocellus the changeling, and Smolder the dragon."

Dylan gave a smile to the group. "Nice to meet y'all. Um... Would you like to join me for my birthday?"

Sandbar gave a smile back and nodded. "Sure! We won't be around for long though. Later today we all have to go home for the holidays next month."

"Well, now we've got these guys coming. Who else?" Dylan turned to Applebloom.

"Next we gotta invite my friends, and then I'm gonna send out letters to the entire Apple family!" Applebloom exclaimed. Dylan gave her a skeptical look.

"The entire Apple family? Didn't you say they normally only get together on special occassions like reunions?" Dylan shook his head. "I doubt they'd want to join us for a birthday party, especially not for someone who's not related."

"Don't be so silly, Dylan!" Applebloom said, grinning with optimism. "I bet they'll all swing by to celebrate!"

Dylan looked to Sandbar, who gave a shrug.

Dylan laid in his bed, looking up at the bare ceiling. Without anything to decorate his room, it all looked dull and lifeless. He didn't mind, though. He was a simple child, and simplicity was his thing. Of course, it always did make him feel out of place in the world of colorful ponies. He just felt so boring compared to everyone else sometimes. Applebloom was a special individual with so much personality. Dylan smiled at the thought of her enthusiasm.

"Dylan," Applejack called from from the other side of the bedroom door, "Come downstairs. We're ready for you!" Dylan took a deep breath and let it all out as he got up from bed. When Applejack got home, she had brought over the one peppy pink pony who knew absolutely everything there was to know about parties: Pinkie Pie. Dylan had tried to protest, but to no avail. She had already gotten supplies together in a heartbeat.

"I'm coming," Dylan called as he reached for the door handle. When he opened it, a loud, rhythmic thumping could be heard, and lights could be seen flashing at the bottom of the stairs. Dylan slowly made his way down and soon found himself bathed in strobing lights as he entered the living room.

"Happy birthday, Dylan!" everyone shouted over the music. In the living room were the Apples, Twilight, Pinkie, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the six students from the school, and five more unknown ponies.

"For he's a jolly good pony! For he's a jolly good pony! For he's a jolly good pony! His birthday is today!" Pinkie danced around, playing an accordian, a big smile on her face.

Balloons and streamers decorated the room with their wide variety of colors. In the corner of said room was a table with a massive cake. It just barely fit, threatening to fall off the wooden support. It was a white icing cake, lined with extra pink icing decoration that read "Happy Birthday" on the top. Sitting atop the cake where number-shaped candles, clearly showing a sixteen. Dylan was breathless at the sight.

"Th-Thank you," Dylan barely managed to choke out. His body was shaking slightly from the sight of everything. The Apples had always tried to make his experience in Equestria amazing, and this was no different.

Three of the four unknown ponies approached him, each one holding a wrapped present. The blue pegasus spoke up first as she set her gift down. "So, you're the colt I've heard so much about! Happy birthday! I bet it's an honor, having a real wonderbolt here, especially the famous Rainbow Dash!" Dylan gulped and remembered the convention where Applejack mentioned the blue pegasus. This must've been the one who downed cider like nobody's business.

The white unicorn rolled her eyes and smiled. "You must be Dylan. Applejack told me all about you. My name is Rarity, and I run the Carousel Boutique in Ponyville. Here you go, darling! I didn't know what size you were, so I had Twilight help me out. It has a spell that should make it fit you." She set the gift down in front of Dylan with her magic.

Behind Rarity was another pegasus, this one yellow in color. She set down her present in front of Dylan and spoke softly. So softly, that Dylan had to strain just to hear her over the music. "Happy birthday, Dylan. I hope you like your present. I-I'm Fluttershy, and I hang out with Applejack quite often. She told me a lot about you. I'm s-sorry you had to go through all that."

"It's okay," Dylan replied. "Th-Thank you for the present," he stammered. Fluttershy was just so cute, and Dylan couldn't help but blush.

Granny Smith walked up to Dylan as the three mares went off in Applejack's direction. Next to her was the fourth unknown pony, a light amber yellow earth pony with chartreuse green eyes and a gray mane. She looked just as old as Granny Smith. "Hello, dear," Granny greeted. "I wanted to introduce you to my cousin. This is Goldie Delicious."

The yellow mare extended a hoof to Dylan, who shook it in greeting. "Hello there, dearie. Dylan, she said? I haven't heard a name like that in a long time. Not since..." Shaking her head, she spoke again. "It's very nice to meet you."

Dylan, a little confused, chalked it up to Goldie having a bad memory. So far, all the ponies he had met had very unusual names, at least, that's what he knew. "It's very nice to meet you, Ma'am," he said with a sincere smile.

"Oh my! A colt with manners!" she exclaimed. "You've got a good head on your shoulders, sonny!"

"M-My ma taught me," Dylan mentioned. He looked in the corner of the room to see the student six looking at the cake. The hippogriff was especially excited, clapping her hands together.

"Um... I need to go see some friends, if that's okay," he said, putting on his kindest smile.

Goldie nodded and waved him away. "Go enjoy your birthday, sonnie. You only get so many!" she said with a grin.

Dylan took his leave and went to go join the group of students. "H-Hello!" he said, trying to look cool.

Gallus looked to him and smirked. "Hey. Nice party, I guess."

"Oh! My! Gosh! Look at the size of that cake!" Silverstream exclaimed excitedly. "I've never seen one so big!"

"Yona call dibs on first piece!" the yak shouted.

"It's Dylan's birthday. Let him have the first piece when it's time," Sandbar said to his heavily haired friend.

"Hey, Dylan," Smolder spoke up, "Who's that weird pony standing in the corner over there next to the record player?"

Dylan turned to see a pony who looked almost like him. He had the same sandy blonde mane, but his coat was an even lighter brown than Dylan's. "I dunno," Dylan replied. "I'm guessin' he's another Apple family member."

"The dude's been lookin' at ya funny while you were talkin' to that old mare," Gallus mentioned.

"I'm sure he was just lookin' around," Dylan said, trying to ignore the situation. He wanted to focus more on his birthday. Goldie was right, he would only get so many.

Suddenly, Pinkie blew into a horn, letting out a loud noise before she spoke. "Everypony, it's time to cut the cake!"

"Yona call first di--" the yak noticed the other five students looking at her judgingly. "Y-Yona mean... Yona call second dibs! No lower!"

The rest of the party went off without a hitch. Dylan had received many presents that day, including one from the party pony herself. When he opened it, confetti exploded from it and revealed a snowglobe with a tiny figure of Dylan inside. He was in his human form like before. Dylan thanked her and asked how she knew what he looked like before becoming a pony, but she simply told him "I have my secrets!"

One month later...

Dylan flopped into his temporary bed at the Pie family house. Both he and Applebloom were exhausted from having to push a massive boulder up a large hill. "Bah, humbug," Dylan muttered. "'Tradition,' she says."

"Well, it kinda only started a few years ago, but yeah, we do this every time we visit for Hearth's Warming! Applejack told us to think of it as earning our presents!"

"How did this whole tradition start?" Dylan asked, breathing heavily.

"Trust me, it's best not to ask," she answered.

"Well, at least it's over. You said tomorrow is Hearth's Warming?"

"Uh huh!" Applebloom nodded. "We open presents tomorrow!"

"Well, at least we have that to look forward to." Dylan looked at the snowglobe he had brought with him. Having it seemed to fill him with peace. He would often shake the globe softly and watch the flakes of fake snow float down.

"Hey, Dylan?" Applebloom caught his attention.

"Hm?"

"What's your world like?" she asked.

"Boring," Dylan answered simply. "Just boring. We don't have magic in my world. No potions, no cutie marks, no princesses. And it's not nearly as colorful as this place."

"Sounds awful," she commented. "I don't think I'd ever wanna go there."

"I don't blame ya." Dylan looked at Applebloom, who sat on a bed across from his. "In my world, unicorns and pegasi were only a myth. The only thing we had were basically earth ponies who couldn't talk. They're smart, but not as smart as you guys are."

Applebloom shivered. "Wait, so they're just regular animals?"

"Yeah. We use 'em to ride on," Dylan said without thinking.

"You're not gonna ride on me, are ya?!" Applebloom asked, a wide eyed expression on her face.

"N-No, not at all!" Dylan said, trying to make things better.

"Well, you'd better not! That's humiliating!" Applebloom exclaimed.

Silence filled the room for a few minutes. It wasn't exactly awkward. It was more peaceful than anything. The roof creaked a little from the weight of the snow. It was alright, though. It was sturdy.

"Hey, Dylan? Somethin's been bugging me," Applebloom spoke up, breaking the quiet.

"What?"

"Did you invite that stallion to your birthday?" she asked. "I asked Applejack if she invited him, but she said she didn't know him."

"I thought you invited him," Dylan said, a shiver running up his spine.

"Nu uh... He didn't talk to nopony. All he did was just stand by the record player."

Dylan gulped and shook his head. "Probably some weirdo..."

"Yeah," Applebloom agreed. "Probably...

Author's Note

Have a good Hearth's Warming, everypony!