A Misty Hearth's Warming

The night was pierced as the light of a passing freight train shown out like a beacon. Its horn howled into the silence of the misty night like a ghost out on the haunt. The steam engine chugged along and its cars clacked and groaned behind it as it passed along one of the tracks outside of Ponyville.

The train’s horn bellowed out into the night again. Mark was still in bed resting when its sound reached his ears. He softly gasped awake and his eyes snapped open. His mind was in a fog, nearly as thick at the one outside. Then, as he heard the distant wail of the train, his thoughts began to gel. “Mistybelle.” He whispered. Turning to his side, he was delighted to see her glowing pale blue form, resting on his bed beside him.

The wisp pony was still, yet as Mark looked closely, he noticed she almost seemed to shiver. He furrowed his brow, because he had no idea how or why a spirit would be cold. Still, he didn’t want her to be cold. However, he wasn’t sure how to share his covers with her. Mark turned away from her and thought for a moment. Mistybelle looked so peaceful as she slumbered. He disliked the idea of disturbing her just to offer her some covers. Then, it hit him. Even under three layers of warmth, Mark still felt just a little cold. A smile curled onto his face as he very deftly turned back the sheet and blankets. He quietly crept to his closet and recovered his extra blanket. It was something he kept handy for cold nights when his regular covers weren’t enough.

Making his way back to bed, Mark carefully unfolded the blanket and spread it along the foot end. He tucked in the tail, then pulled the rest up and over Mistybelle. To his delight, it successfully covered her and didn’t pass through. He blinked for a moment, unsure as to how she could lay on his bed and also be covered under his blanket. Regardless, he was just happy to help. Mark crawled back into bed and covered up with his regular layers and then his share of the extra blanket, but he made sure Mistybelle had a more than a generous portion.

He faced her as he lied back down. His eyes came to rest on her ethereal form. She was quite lovely, even for a spirit, which was why he dared the impossible and reached his hand toward her. Mark’s hand drew nearer to her exposed shoulder. He closed his eyes as he expected to catch nothing more than air. Suddenly, his hand stopped, it had come in contact with something. Mark opened his eyes and saw his hand was resting on her shoulder. He slid his fingers along and to his amazement her ghostly fur actually had a texture and a feel to it. Very gently, he started petting her shoulder. Her fur was soft and almost fluffy; it reminded him of touching a very thin layer of cotton. It was soft and yielding, yet behind it there was something firm, almost like muscle but at the same time not like muscle.

Mistybelle stirred for a moment and even moaned softly in her sleep. Mark withdrew his hand quickly and discretely, slipping it back under his covers. Still, the more he was with her, the more intrigued he became. He couldn’t explain how a spirit like a wisp pony had a physical form that could be touched. After taking a cleansing breath, Mark just stared at her a little more, then seeing that it was still dark out, he closed his eyes and fell back to sleep.

* * * * * *

Mark grimaced as a stray beam of sunlight peered in from a break in the side of his curtain, which hadn’t been properly drawn. He pulled up the covers for a moment, then opened his eyes. “Daylight?” He muttered, then smacked his lips. Lowering the covers, he noticed he had turned over. Mark glanced over his shoulder and rubbed his eyes. “Mistybelle, you’re still here?”

She nodded, while she looked back at him. Her glow wasn’t nearly as prominent in the morning light, but it was definitely her. “Yes, I’m still here. Did you think I would leave so soon? We just met last night and if you don’t mind, I’d enjoy getting to know you a little better.”

“Yeah.” Mark sat up, but stayed under the covers, their warmth was still very welcoming. “But, don’t spirits have to leave during the day?”

She giggled at him. “You’ve got a lot to learn about spirits.”

“It would seem so. And if you are going to stay around, that’d be great.” Mark smiled, then stretched a bit.

Mistybelle nodded, then reached over a ghostly hoof and placed it on his covered leg. “You did this sometime in the night, didn’t you?” She held up a portion of the blanket that was still covering her.

“I did.” Mark nodded, and patted her foreleg. “You seemed to be shivering last night and I didn’t want to disturb you, so I got my spare blanket. I was still a bit on the cold side myself, so I figured one more layer wouldn’t hurt.”

Her smile grew and she patted his leg. “It was very thoughtful of you.”

“Well, I could have been a bad host, but…” He paused to make eye contact with her. “That would be a terrible way to repay you for keeping me company.” Mark sighed as he placed his arms on his lap. “It’s no wonder you were drawn here. I can’t lie…well, I could, but it wouldn’t do any good. I’m not the best liar, but anyway, I’ve been very lonely as of late. Until you came to visit, I didn’t realize just how lonely.”

Mistybelle smiled sweetly at him. “I think I know the feeling. Like I said last night. Most spirits keep to themselves or just like to sit and contemplate their existence.”

“So, it can be very lonely.”

“Yes, Mark, it can be very lonely.” She sighed.

“Well, I’d better go use the can and then get dressed. I doubt spirits eat, but you could keep me company during breakfast. And I have some Hearth’s Warming gifts to wrap.”

“Okay, that all sounds like fun.”

“Just one more question?”

“What’s that?” She looked his way.

“This?” He placed a hand on her hoof and gently petted her fur. “I thought spirits, like ghosts didn’t have a solid physical form.”

She moved her hoof so it was now resting on his hand. “Yes, well. I may be a wisp pony, but even I don’t know all of my abilities yet. Part of contemplating our existence allows us to explore new ways to interact with the mortal world.”

Mark watched as she ran her hoof softly along his hand. “So, however unlikely, there is a chance you can interact with me then? But can you still pass through things?”

“It may be more at will now. To be honest, I’m not sure. This is the longest I’ve been in any one place in the mortal world.” Mistybelle gave him a thoughtful look.

He shook his head. “Well, I guess that’s not too important. Come on. Let’s get this day going. You said you only have so long to be in my world, right?”

“That’s right.”

Mark rose to his feet and put on his slippers. “Okay, I’ll be right back.” He walked out the room and made his way to the bathroom. He turned to close the door, but was met with a surprise.

Mistybelle was there in the doorway. “Why are you in this room, it’s not the kitchen?”

He stood there for a moment. Gee, I guess spirits don’t have to go to the bathroom and pee first thing in the morning. Wait, she touched my mind, she should understand this. Oh, but maybe a little explanation is needed? Mark smiled. “This is the bathroom. Here, ponies and humans like me…err let’s just say mortals clean themselves. And like right now, we have to expel bodily waste every so often. Did you discover any of this when you touched my mind last night?”

Mistybelle blinked for a moment. She turned her eyes to the ceiling and then her mouth fell open. “Oh…bathroom. And in the morning you have to…oh my. Forgive the intrusion.” She backed away.

Mark just smiled. “It’s all right. No harm done. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be out in a few.” She nodded as he closed the door.

Once Mark finished in the bathroom and got dressed, he led Mistybelle out to his kitchen. He had a Fluffernutter, commonly known as a peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich and some milk.

Mistybelle followed Mark as he walked into the living room. “Is that all you eat for breakfast?”

“Well, just on days I’m eating light. I’ll probably go out later. I still have to work today, but I have plenty of time for the presents. Oh.” Mark turned to Mistybelle. “Will you be okay staying at my place while I’m at work?”

“Where do you work? Wait, I think I saw that.” She smiled and nodded. “You work for Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

“That’s right. I help around the castle, doing a variety of tasks. While she has an awesome assistant, Spike can tend to have his claws full and has his own duties to tend to.”

“Ah.” Her face lit up. “So you help pick up the slack…is that how you mortals would say it?”

Mark chuckled. “You got it. Okay, now where is that thing of wrapping paper?”

Mistybelle looked at him curiously. “Wrapping paper?”

“It’s something we use to cover gifts to keep them a surprise and make them pretty. And there it is.” Mark swayed happily as he saw his container full or rolls of wrapping paper stashed in the one corner. He slid it over to the sofa and cleared off his coffee table. The tree was still lit, which just added its festiveness to his task, not to mention its piney aroma. He had the gifts sitting on and around the table and Mistybelle watched on intently as she sat beside him on the couch.

“So who are all of these…presents, for?”

He turned to Mistybelle. “Well, I have a variety of friends, both casual and very close ones. These are just tokens to show that I care and are a way I can enjoy sharing in the Hearth’s Warming traditions.”

She tilted her head and smiled. “That’s so thoughtful. And yet, with such friends, you are still lonely?”

Mark put a piece of tape on one of the presents, then looked her way. “Well, I get to hang out with them a lot. But, there are different types of loneliness. The kind I have comes from lacking a companion, maybe I should go as far to say…a lover.”

“A lover?” Mistybelle placed a hoof to her chin. “Hmm, I may be wrong and this is just from what I know in general, but that’s a companion that you’d share a deeply intimate and…” Her eyes slanted. “Sexual bond? Do I understand that correctly?”

“Well.” Mark paused. He never would have expected to have such a conversation with a spirit or more specifically a wisp pony. Mark looked at her. “Yes, you do understand it.”

“Ah, I see. So that’s what burdens you then?” She wasn’t being entirely truthful, part of her understanding came from peaking at Mark’s dreams, but she wasn’t quite sure how to mention that to him, just yet.

“Burdens? I guess that would be one way of putting it.” He chuckled as he secured the other end of a package and then added a bow.

Mistybelle looked his way and sat there in thought, while Mark continued wrapping the gifts. He asked if she waned to help wrap any, but she held up a hoof and politely declined.

Soon enough, it was time for Mark to head to work. He bid Mistybelle farewell and waved to her as he went out into the bitter cold. She remained in the living room for a while as she continued to ponder what they discussed since the previous night and everything she had learned since she came down from the sky. “What to do?” She wondered, then her face lit up. “I have an idea.” She chuckled as she went back to Mark’s room and started looking around. Mistybelle noticed his bed wasn’t properly made and looked at one of her ghostly hooves. She walked up to the bed and touched it. Her hoof didn’t go through, which then gave her another idea.

* * * * * *

The workday didn’t drag on too long for Mark and soon he found himself heading home. Even though it was still quite cold outside, it didn’t seem to phase him. He was too excited. Mark was looking forward to seeing Mistybelle again. The idea of having someone waiting at home for him was delightful, so much in fact that he was really feeling a combination of the Hearth’s Warming and Christmas spirits.

The human arrived at his home, which was only a few blocks from Ponyville town hall. Mark unlocked the front door and made his way in out of the cold. He closed the door and secured it. “Jolly old Saint Nicolas lean your ear this way. Don't you tell a single soul what I'm going to say...” Mark went from singing a timeless Christmas carol to humming the tune as he hung up his coat. He looked around the living room and didn’t see any sign of his guest. “Mistybelle…I’m back. Where are you?”

“Mark?” He heard her voice call from back the hallway to his room.

“Yeah.”

“I’m back here…in your room.”

Mark blinked for a moment, why was she in his room? He shrugged his shoulders; it was just a relief that Mistybelle was still there. Taking a deep breath, Mark resumed humming as he headed back the hall and entered his room. He discovered her lying on his bed, which had been neatly made. “What are you doing back here?” Mark gave her a puzzled look.

She looked up at him. “After you left, I was recalling last night and how much I enjoyed our meeting. Then, I started feeling lonely for you.”

His face softened. “So that’s why you came back here.”

Mistybelle patted a hoof on the book she was reading and gave Mark a sweet smile. “Yes, you didn’t feel as far away when I came here. It felt like it did last night. And these books you have, I gather they represent some of the things you like.”

“Yeah, that’s right. So, you really missed me?” He shared her smile.

She nodded. “Oh yes. Until I rested at your side last night, I don’t think I ever realized…how soothing it can be to have someone so close.”

“Wow, so it’s like you said, being a spirit can be lonely.” She just nodded solemnly. Mark looked at the bed again. “Gee, in my excitement this morning, I never made my bed. Did you do this?”

Mistybelle smiled and nodded. “Well, I wanted to see if I could still interact with things and as you can see, it worked out beautifully.”

“It sure did.” He walked over to the bed and closer to her. “Thank you, that was very sweet of you.”

“You are very welcome. It seemed a minor thing I could do to be of help. And I hope you don’t mind, I’ve been looking over the books on your shelf.” She waved a hoof at the large case filled with an assortment of books.

“Oh, no. But, what are you reading?” He looked at her with excited eyes.

“I read a few stories earlier. Then, I read a book about Hearth’s Warming and now one about something called ‘Christmas’. Is that a human holiday?” She gave him a fascinated look.

“Yes, and it’s actually similar to Hearth’s Warming in several ways. And in some ways it’s quite different too.” Mark stood there and just smiled as he stared at Mistybelle.

“I can see that. Oh, and this one story I read earlier was quite fascinating. A book called ‘A Christmas Carol’. I like that it’s about spirits helping a mortal.”

Mark chuckled. “Yeah, it was also known as a Christmas ghost story.”

“I can see that.” She smiled. “But enough of the books. How are you doing? Was work all right?” Mistybelle marked her spot and closed the book.

“Work was fine. I was a bit distracted though.” He chuckled.

“Oh, you were? How come?” She blinked.

“Would it be weird if I said it was because I was thinking about you, our meeting last night and how much I was looking forward to seeing you again?” Mark looked her way and had the sincerest expression on his face.

Mistybelle briefly closed her eyes, then smiled. “No, it wouldn’t. I know I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again too. Do you have any special plans for this evening?”

“Uh, I’m not sure yet.” Mark sat down on the bed. He couldn’t resist anymore, he had to try again. Carefully, he placed a hand on her back, and amazingly it didn’t go through. “Wow.” Mark gently petted her ghostly fur. “Forgive my forwardness, but I just had to try and see.”

Mistybelle’s cheeks turned a little red. “Oh, no it’s fine.” She turned and placed a hoof on his hand. “It’s nice that unlike last night, my hoof isn’t going through your hand. Though, I’m not entirely sure how. Maybe I could always do this.”

Mark moved his hand to clasp her hoof and ran his thumb along it. “Perhaps it’s like you said, it’s more of an ‘at will’ sort of thing. You said even you don’t know all of your abilities, right?”

She nodded. “That’s very true.”

Mark sat there, still holding her hoof and smiling. Despite the fact that she was a spirit, it didn’t make her seem any less real or present to him. In fact, he had the strongest urge to hug her right now, but was a little reluctant.

“Mark, is something wrong?” Her face became concerned.

He lightly nodded and patted her hoof. “Yes…well no, Mistybelle. Everything is fine. I just…” Mark paused and sighed softly.

“Yes?”

“I’d just really like to hug you, but, I’m not sure if it’ll work.” He looked at her, a strong longing in his brown eyes.

Mistybelle looked back with her pale green eyes, which still appeared to be glowing softly. “A hug?” She smiled. “A form of affection.” Mistybelle tilted her head. “We could give it try.”

“Yeah, we could.” Mark’s face filled with hope.

Mistybelle sat up and continued to smile at Mark. “I’ve never really hugged before, I may need you to help me if I’m doing this wrong.”

“No problem.” Mark shared her smile. “Just follow my lead.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

Mark carefully reached out his arms and hesitantly placed them around Mistybelle. At first he wasn’t sure this would work, but so far simple gestures had. As he drew her fully into a hug, his hands stopped along her pale back and didn’t pass through. “Ha, I think it’s working.”

Mistybelle looked at his arm placement and noticed his arms wrapped securely around her back. “Mmm, it is…and oh what a welcoming sensation.” She smiled grandly as she stretched out her ghostly forelegs and proceeded to place them around Mark’s back. To her delight, they stopped along him and allowed her to pull against him. “It worked.”

“Yeah.” Mark pulled back just a little, so he could gaze into her eyes, then he gave her a little squeeze. “Thank you, Mistybelle.”

“You’re very welcome. But, I should be thanking you.” She cast out a long soothing sigh. “I’ve never experienced such a sensation before. Mmm, it’s warm and comforting. Ahh.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” Mark kept his arms around her and shared her soothing sigh. “Is it weird to enjoy hugging a spirit?”

“No, why would it be?” Mistybelle pulled back a bit and looked at Mark. “This is so nice…um, do we have to stop?”

He shook his head, while they remained embraced. “Not if you don’t want to. I’m really enjoying this.” Mark adjusted his arms around her. “This is nice.”

Mistybelle tittered softly. “It really is…so warm and soothing. Mmm…”

As they continued to hug, Mark couldn’t help but noticed her swirling mane. It had been so long since he last knew the pleasure of caressing a pony’s mane. “Uh, Mistybelle?”

“Yes? Did you want to stop?” She asked softly.

“No, no…I was just wondering…may I touch your mane?” He swallowed thickly and let out a quiet breath.

“Oh, my mane?”

“Yeah.”

“Go ahead.”

Her voice, her reply, it alone was so soothing and calming. Mark reached out his left hand and swept it gently through her mane, which despite its ghostly appearance actually had a smooth and silky texture. “Oh, wow.” Mark continued caressing her mane.

Mistybelle sighed softly. “This feels equally relaxing…mmm, yet another delightful sensation.” She lightly rolled her head as his fingers continued dancing through her flowing tresses.

Mark spent a good two minutes touching her hair, then he stopped. He kept his right arm around her, while he moved back, so he could run the back of his hand along her cheek. “How about this?”

She smiled contently as he continued petting her cheek. Mistybelle shivered a little. “Also wonderful.”

He tilted his head and looked into her eyes again. “I didn’t realize how much I’ve been longing to do this.”

Mistybelle gave him a curious look. “To do what…touch a spirit?”

Mark shook his head. “No, caress a mare’s hair and cheek.”

“But, I’m not a mare.” Mistybelle blinked and gave him a confused expression. “I’m a wisp pony, a female wisp pony, but certainly not a mare.”

He placed his hand under her chin. “Oh, you’re a mare…I’m sure of it, even if only in spirit.”

Mistybelle blushed a little. “Aww, you’re sweet. But, we should stop.”

“Yeah.” Mark nodded. “I should make myself some dinner.”

Her face lit up. “Oh, right. In addition to rest, mortals require nourishment to survive.”

“That’s right. Did you want to keep reading…or would you like to keep me company as I prepare something to eat?”

She looked at the book and then back to Mark and smiled. “I’d like to stay with you.”

“Okay. Come on.” He finally removed his arms from around her and she released her hooves. Mark sat there for a moment an almost silly look on his face. He sighed softly, before he stood up. “Ready?”

Mistybelle nodded as she left the bed and stood beside him. “Yes. To the kitchen, right?”

“Yep.”

Mark and Mistybelle left his room and went into the kitchen. He wasn’t exactly sure what was to come of this, but Mark knew one thing, he was starting to feel a strong fondness for her, even if it was just a spark of affection.