Snow was falling, the sound of happy and merry Ponies moving outside in the snowy weather provided a pleasant, and relaxing background noise to the calm air around Ponyville.

All around the country town there were decorations and lights in all colors. All ponies were enjoying themselves, wearing a smile on their face, and carrying a song in their hearts. A group of ponies were singing those songs in the town square, entertaining passing ponies during their shopping and daily routines.

As dawn shines on us every morn,
The fire of friendship is reborn,
And all the friendships we have made,
We cherish in every way.

Loyalty binds us and makes us strong,
Honesty shows that we belong,
And kindness shared will unite us through each day.
The fire of friendship lives in our hearts,
As long as it burns, we cannot drift apart,
Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few,
Laughter and singing will see us through,
Will see us through.

We are a circle of pony friends,
A circle of friends we'll be to the very end.
Though the winter brings all its cold and storm,
The glow in our hearts keeps us warm.
The friends we know called our family,
Will always see us through.

Loyalty binds us and makes us strong,
Honesty shows that we belong,
And kindness shared will unite us through each day.
The fire of friendship lives in our hearts,
As long as it burns, we cannot drift apart,
Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few,
Laughter and singing will see us through,
Will see us through.

We are a circle of pony friends
A circle of friends we'll be to the very end

Foals were running around, playing in the soft white snow, and more than a few times did a snowball fly through the air. It was a time of get togethers, a time of love and sharing, the time of warm fireplaces and lots of snuggles, it was the time of Hearth's Warming.

It was a tradition made to celebrate the founding of Equestria, the first real get together of all three tribes. Many traditions came hereafter, such as the sharing of gifts, certain foods, songs, dances, plays, and so on. It really was a time to be happy and share with your friends and family, and if you were lucky, your special somepony.

Each year it was like the very spirit of the season grasped every pony in the land, from foals to the elderly, to the bad to the good, everypony could feel the warmth this time brought with it.

As the snow was falling, and the ponies shopping, Sugarcube Corner stood amongst the many buildings looking like a giant castle of wonder and confectionery. It was decorated all over, lights, figures, small and big colorful wreaths. Inside this decorated shop of sugar, sat Twilight along with her friends. They were all enjoying some cookies and mugs of warm cocoa. This should have been a normal gathering, a time when they could chat and laugh, but this day their discussion had taken on a more serious turn.

Before arriving, Twilight had bumped into the three fillies known as the cutie mark crusaders. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, had been running with all haste to the post office. On their way they had bumped into Twilight, dropping their letters.

The letters themselves looked fine enough, there was the return addresses, but then she noticed they said:

Santa Claus,
Santa's workshop,
Everfree Forrest.

At the time she had not understood, she'd even asked the three fillies about it. They had told her about Nicholas, a human who lived in the Everfree forest, making toys for little fillies and colts every year. Twilight decided this was just a local legend, a simple fabrication meant to entertain foals, but when she later told her five friends about it, they had laughed.

All of them seemed to find it amusing, and then told her they had all met this Nicholas, that he was very real indeed and not just some legend. All five of them had stories to share, but it was Applejack who had the most interesting tale to tell, she had known him the longest after all.

It was this story she and her friends were now listening to. Applejack went over the time she met him, the boy who would become a famous toy maker, how he was there for her when her parents passed away, how she was there when he went out for the first time, everything.

There were stories she did not tell them obviously, she just went over how they met and how their friendship grew. It was clearly a very personal story, and it was spoken with such warmth even Twilight could feel the deep connection Applejack had with this Nicholas.

"And that is how it all began.." Applejack finished, seeming satisfied her tale had ended.

Twilight looked around the table, it seemed the rest of her friends already knew the tale, except for her. Looking to Applejack again she raised an eyebrow. "So this Nicholas, he's been making toys for years now, giving them out each year?"

Applejack nodded. "Eeyup. It is his way of giving back. Ya see, when he was just a newborn, he was found by a pair of ponies that took him in and raised him as their own. It happened on Hearth's Warming Eve many years ago, and so that has become his birthday, and the day he thanks all of the ponies that accepted him."

All her friends nodded, and Twilight found herself smiling a little. It all sounded very wonderful, and it was truly a sign of great friendship. She did wonder however how she had never heard about him? A human, and the only one of his kind, it should at the very least have come to her attention at the palace. Though maybe that was why this Nicholas preferred to live alone in the woods?

"Alright, I think I understand a bit better, but what about the rest of you? You said you have known him for years as well."

They all nodded in response, and it was Rarity who first replied. "That's correct darling. I think it is fair to say I was the first, after Applejack of course, to meet our dear Nicholas." The others nodded, and Rarity had a hint of satisfaction in her eyes, clearly she was quite proud of that fact, but not in a nasty way. "You see, I met him shortly after I moved to Ponyville, not surprising since we went to school together. You see, I helped him with his sewing!"

Fluttershy spoke up next. "I met him when I moved into my cottage.. He was very helpful and kind, making a lot of the small beds for my animals, and helped me set everything up.."

"As for me." Rainbow continued. "He helped me after one of my awesome stunts went slightly wrong." She said, her eyes flicking from side to side.

Applejack snorted. "She crashed into the ground, and Nicholas carried her to the hospital."

"Hey!" Rainbow protested. "He also came to visit me, every day.. Until I got better, even gave me some flying goggles as a get well soon present."

Twilight turned her head, looking at the last member of their group. "And what about you, Pinkie?"

Pinkie smiled. "Nicki loves cookies!" She just answered. "He came by often to get some, and we became friends!" That was pretty much it, maybe even also the most normal of the stories, well, sort of.

"Anyway Twilight, if you still want to, I can take you to him right now." Applejack said, her demeanor calm as this was no small matter, and Twilight could see this. There was trust between Applejack and Nicholas, and her taking her friends to a place that was secret between them was a big deal.

She looked at the others, who seemed more excited than Twilight. Maybe because Nicholas was their friend and they wanted to visit him. For Twilight though, she had no idea what to expect yet. She had gotten a good impression from Applejack, but she had never met a human before. As for Celestia, she would have to write to her and ask for an explanation.

"And I mean it." Applejack said more firmly, gaining every pony's attention. "If I take you, you must all promise not to tell anypony where he lives, or take them there." Looks were exchanged, and after a few seconds they all turned to Applejack and nodded. The farm pony let out a sigh. "Alright then."

The group got up, and left Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie was bouncing around, seeming excited for this little trip of theirs. The others were excited too, but were more calm about it.

Twilight didn't know what would happen, she had never seen a human before, and she was very much interested in learning more. Though, if he was found here as an infant, how much could he tell her? Who was this Nicholas really? How did he get here? So many questions, questions he himself must have.

One thing at the time though, first she needed to meet him, and with the group of friends turning towards the Everfree forest, she knew this was going to be interesting.

Author's Note

Phew, a whole year, huh? XD

Sorry for the delay everybody. As you know, I had a family emergency, and then I decided to just finish off a special for one of my other stories, just to like remind people none of my stories are dead unless it says canceled.

Otherwise, calm your teats, nothing is dead unless it says so.