Baby, it's cold outside...
As the wind howled viciously and snow pattered against the rattling windows, Octavia was having a bit of trouble.
“Blasted fireplace!” Octavia squawked, pulling the blankets around her tighter. “I swear, you work like a charm when Vinyl tries to throw a match at you, why not me?”
Octavia continued to attempt setting the fire by pushing the kindling closer together and surrounding it with a log house orientation of logs. Grabbing the matchbox once more after throwing a burnt out match into the pile of shavings, Octavia growled and flicked the match. Bursting to life, it’s soft light warmed the very edges of her hoof, a reminder that successfully lighting the fire would warm all of her. This time, she carefully moved the match from herself to the kindling.
“Come on, come on…” Octavia whispered, sucking in her lips. “Please, I just want to be warm!”
She let the match hover over the kindling instead of pushing it inside. Watching a single spark jump from the match to the kindling, the match began to die. “No no no no no!” Octavia begged, until she realised that more than just a spark had been transferred. Opening her mouth with a wide smile, she stopped and closed it, wide-eyed. A few wood shavings had successfully caught a flame and were now smoldering. She crossed her hooves and gently place the burnt match into the pile.
The flickers of fire furiously began to spread across the kindling before the whole pile was blazing and already radiating some very welcome heat. Seeing this, Octavia gasped and smiled, grabbing some of the twigs and broken branches she had always seen Vinyl set aside and fed it to the fire, letting it grow gradually.
She then began to watch as second by second, the fire that had started with smoldering matches started looking more and more like a good old traditional fire. Smiling at her accomplishment, she eagerly grabbed the metal pot filled with she had prepared from the counter and set it beside the fire. “There,” Octavia grinned, “Now I can make myself some nice hot chocolate!’
Pulling up a nice comfy chair to sit beside the fireplace, she relished it’s warmth. “Ah, a completely successful accomplishment.” Smirking, she put her hooves up to her face and shouted out to the rest of the house. “Hey Vinyl! Guess what! I made a fire without you! Ha! Hahaha…”
Octavia began to realise and remember that Vinyl wasn’t going to be with her this Hearth’s Warming. Her smile quickly fell from triumphant and happy to a lonelier and sadder one. Slumping into her chair, she grabbed a stocking cap from the mantel and plopped it onto her head. Octavia then sighed and began to stare into the fireplace, a gentle frown settling on her features.
Hugging the blankets closer and feeling the warmth of the fire now sufficient enough to warm her entire being, she began to feel drowsy. Staring into the fire, she blinked a few times and sighed before her eyes drooped closed and she hummed some lyrics to herself.
“Hearth’s Warming Eve is here once again, oh what a sight, look at the light… all for tonight… Hearth’s Warming Eve is here… once… again…”
A furious knocking jolted Octavia awake, startling her inside her cocoon of blankets. Quickly realising her folly when she began to fall to one side with no way to stop it, she sighed heavily.
“Lovely.”
She bonked straight onto her head, squeaking in pain before the rest of her fell to the ground. Groaning, she pulled one hoof free and rubbed her head. Turning in the direction of the door, she winced. “Y-yes! I’m- I’m coming in just a second! Sorry!”
Struggling to worm her way out of her blankets, she finally succeeded and quickly got to four hooves. Racing to the door, she threw it open only to almost be blown off her feet by the intensity of the wind. She shrieked as the door slammed open and she somehow found herself bracing against it.
“H-H-Hey Oct-t-t-tavia!” A pegasus mare shouted, her entire being frosted to oblivion. “G-g-got t-t-this p-pack-ck-age from V-Vinyl th-that I’m s-s-supposed to g-give to y-you!”
“Dear Celestia, Derpy!” Octavia shouted back, “You shouldn’t be working in such perilous conditions, especially when it looks like there’s a blizzard about! What do you even think you’re doing?!”
“I have t-t-t-to, Octavia,” Derpy cried, holding her toque down. “A-and besides, it’ll help me p-p-pay for Dinky’s pres-s-sent this y-y-year.”
Octavia felt a flash of rage at Derpy’s employers. Who were they to let Derpy keep working in this kind of weather, even if she insisted? Oh, the thought boiled Octavia’s blood and she gritted her teeth. “Derpy, you can’t keep functioning properly if you’re frozen solid, and if you can’t work properly, how will you get that present?”
Derpy focused her eyes on Octavia, which, for a wall-eyed mare, was unsettling, but good all the same. Octavia pointed at Derpy and stomped her hoof down. “You will come in here, sit by the fireplace until you are warm, and stay with me until the blizzard passes! No exceptions!”
For a second, some more snow billowed and wind danced viciously before Derpy closed her eyes and nodded. Nodding herself, Octavia, grabbed Derpy by the hoof and pulled her into the house. Fighting against the gale force winds, she marched up to her door and used all her might to force it shut.
Breathing heavily from the strenuous effort, Octavia slumped against the door before the tassel on her cap fell onto her face. Going cross-eyed and blowing it out of her face, she sighed and trotted up to Derpy. “Come on then, Derpy. Let’s get you beside the, the…” Octavia paused for a second before her mind shut down and rebooted.
“Oh no, oh no no!” Octavia cried, racing to the fireplace. “The fire! I fell asleep, and- and, ahh!” Pointing to the fireplace, the fire had all but gone out, nothing but embers and ashes. “I’m so sorry, I thought it was still going! I must’ve- I must’ve fallen asleep for far longer than I previously thought! Eep!’
Derpy shivered and shook some of the snow off of her, unfurling her wings and giving them a good flap to shake off water and snow. “It’s r-really alright, Octavia, being inside your house is already warm enough as is.”
“No, no, this won’t do,” Octavia tutted, rushing up to her kettle. “Is the water still hot though?” she whispered before grabbing the handle and hissing. “Ouch! Yes, yes it should be… alright Derpy, sit tight while I make you some hot chocolate! At least you’ll keep warm that way!”
Octavia grabbed her blanket and used it as a deterrent between the hot handle of the metal kettle and her hoof. Rushing into the kitchen, Octavia pulled two mugs from the cupboards and the hot chocolate powder, all the the while muttering to herself and berating herself for letting the fire die. Shaking her head and stirring the hot chocolate, she grabbed a tray and balanced it on her back with the two mugs on it.
Walking back into the living room, Octavia sighed once more. “I’m sorry Derpy, but the hot chocolate is prepared now and… huh?”
Octavia blinked as she saw Derpy sitting in front of a raging fire wrapped in half of the blankets Octavia herself had been using. Her gaze switched from the fire to the smiling Derpy and back again, before settling on the mare. Derpy saw Octavia and smiled before she saw the look on Octavia’s face.
“Oh, is the hot chocolate ready?” Derpy asked, “And, uh, sorry for using some of your blankets. They were already warm so I figured…”
“No no, that’s fine,” Octavia said, bringing the tray onto the ground between them and sitting down herself. “I’m just, uh… surprised, is all. Did you make the fire?”
Derpy blinked. “Uh, do you like it? I used almost half of your logs just getting it to this size, but-if-I-used-too-much-I’m-sorry-”
“No, Derpy, stop!” Octavia says, putting a reassuring hoof around her. “I swear, you’re too kind for your own heart, and with how everypony treats you too. This is perfect, Derpy, and I honestly couldn’t care less about the logs. I can just buy some more from Burnt Oak or ask some from Applejack later. I just… how did you do this? I’m curious.”
Derpy blushed at the comments before looking into the fire. “Well, I travel a lot, you know? Being a mailpony and all. I guess I just picked up on it, making a fire away from home when camping. Though the first time I tried I did start a forest fire. That wasn’t fun.”
Octavia made an about face, impressed. “Wow, Derpy, your resourcefulness is hidden behind your, er- clumsiness. But that does remind me… how is Dinky doing? Is someone taking care of her while you’re out and about?”
Derpy nodded, smiling. “Oh yeah, my good friend Time Turner is watching her for me, though his lab does have quite a few things that I’m worried he might let her touch.”
Octavia nodded. “I suppose your motherly instincts never leave you, even when you know they’re in trusted hooves. I understand a little, I guess, as Vinyl is quite like a big child, too much energy for her own good and always in need of some sort of attention. I do worry for her too, as any good friend should, but I don’t think I could ever compete with true motherhood until I experience it for myself.”
“Well, it’s really nice, you know?” Derpy said, sipping into her hot chocolate. “Dinky has always been a sweet little filly. Even as a little foal, she was always quiet and gentle. I would do anything for her, and if it meant working more hours, well, that’s what I was doing.”
Octavia shook her head. “Derpy, I love your determination, but you must understand. There are certain times doing a good thing is not the right thing. Though your intentions were honourable, working in such terrible weather for your daughter would only end in you being sick and sluggish, or even worse, hospitalised. How would you be able to take care of Dinky then?”
For a while, Derpy remained silent, her ears flicking with each crackle and pop from the fire. “I… never really thought of it like that. I just thought it was such a good idea, telling Dinky ‘Just a few more days’... I’m sorry Octavia.”
“Don’t say it to me, Derpy,” Octavia whispered, “Say it to yourself. Don’t push yourself so hard. For me. At the very least, for your daughter.”
Sipping her chocolate, Derpy pulled the blankets closer and nodded. “Okay, Octavia. Thanks. Thanks so much.”
“Anytime, Derpy. Seriously.” Octavia sipped her own chocolate and threw the rest of the blankets on the floor onto herself, scooting closer to Derpy. “Is it alright if I sit beside you?”
“Is it alright if I enjoy your company?” Derpy replied, smiling, and Octavia giggled.
“Oh, Derpy, how I’ve missed your company,” Octavia murmured. “I can’t remember the last time I had a good chat with you.”
“It’s only been like…” Derpy started before taking a second to think. “Huh, it has been a while.”
“Your a sweet mare, you know that?” Octavia said, “Don’t let anypony else’s mockery of you bother you alright?”
“Does getting a pizza thrown at you count?” Derpy asked. “I mean, Pinkie Pie threw pizza at me one time while I was taking a walk in the park. I mean, I was angry for a second, but hey, it was free pizza.”
“Pinkie did what!?” Octavia said, scandalised. “How could she? She’s the happiest party pony around and she would do that to you of all ponies?!”
Derpy widened her eyes and shook her head. “No, Octavia, really, it’s completely fine! It was free pizza! You can’t complain about free pizza! And it looked like she was trying to distract two other ponies by being dressed as a pizza too. Besides that, Dinky was so happy to have some pizza after school.”
Octavia frowned. “But- but-”
“Free. Pizza. Dinky. Happy.”
Octavia sighed. “Alright. I concede. But that still wasn’t very nice of Pinkie.”
“I guess.” Derpy shrugged and leaned against Octavia. Leaning back, Octavia and Derpy supported each other as they both stared into the fire.
“Looks like we were both going to be alone tonight, eh?” Octavia said. “Me beside a fireplace, you freezing outside.”
“Well, I’m glad you forced me to come in. It’s really hearth warming.”
For a second, there was silence.
“Hehehe,” Octavia giggled, “Hehe! Hahahaha!”
“Hehehe,” Derpy giggled too, “It was a stupid joke, I’m sorry, ehehehe.”
“N-no!” Octavia cried, falling over, “It was positively horrendous! Ahahaha!”
“Okay, yeah it was bad,” Derpy laughed, “Hehehe, stop laughing! You’re making me spill my hot chocolate!”
“Then put it down!” Octavia smiled before grabbing the cup, putting it aside and tickling Derpy. “You need to loosen up!”
“NO! Stop!” Derpy shouted before laughing uncontrollably. “I can’t! Stooop!” Pushing Octavia over, Derpy grinned evilly and began to tickle her.
“You’re the one who needs to loosen up, miss I-Won’t-Let-Anypony-Hurt-Derpy!”
“Ah! AHAHA! NO! HAHAHAHA!” Octavia guffawed, battling Derpy’s attacks with both wings and hooves. “Stop! Okay! Ahaha! I will! I will! You win!”
Derpy retreated and they both continued to giggle, both covered in a complete mess of blankets and both with a warm feeling in their hearts. Calming down, they both sighed and Octavia readjusted her stocking cap, dragging the couch closer to the fireplace and jumping onto it. Patting the cushion beside her, Derpy joined her and Octavia shared one large blanket with her as they snuggled together.
“Really though,” Derpy said, “Thanks for inviting me in. I really don’t know where I would be right now if I were still delivering mail.
“Hush now,” Octavia whispered, “Just enjoy the warmth.”
Nodding, they both smiled, enjoying the fireplace and the pleasant company. As the wind blazed and snow whistled outside and the clouds covered the night sky, the warmth of the fireplace combatted it all. Thus, as Octavia and Derpy fell asleep, the the fireplace crackled, and the familiar warmth of friends side by side held the cold at bay.
Fin.
