Vignette finished setting up the fireplace at the Apple Family Barn, making sure to catch some of its heat before checking up on everybody else.
"Okay, the fireplace's done. How are you guys doing?"
"I already called my friends and they're all goin' t' collaborate," Applejack said as she walked down the stairs. "Pinkie Pie's gonna send us some sweets, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight are gonna try to spread the word, Rarity will make everybody some dresses for the event, and Sunset's gonna verify that magic doesn't leak and ruin the festivities."
"Sunset better do her part well," Vignette quipped. "And also, really? Rarity's gonna make some dresses for a simple dinner?"
"You know how Rarity is, she likes to look amazing for everything," Applejack rolled her eyes and chuckled. "And if she gets to do the same for her friends, even better!"
"But including dresses for you, Sunset, and Rainbow Dab?"
"I can rock a dress once in a while, and Sunset doesn't mind so long as she's with her friends," Applejack hummed. "Rainbow Dash, though, might be harder to convince."
As Applejack hummed some more, Vignette scanned her surroundings and asked, "Say, where's Apple Bloom? I thought she was with you?"
The girl giggled as she slid down the staircase handle, jumping off and landing on Vignette's shoulders.
"Perfect landing!"
"Apple Bloom, be more careful!" Applejack chided. "You could've pushed Vignette to the ground with that speed!"
"Oh, right," Apple Bloom looked at Vignette and frowned. "Sorry, Vignette."
"It's okay," Vignette grabbed the girl and put her on the ground. "What are you planning to do for this year's Heart's Warming Eve?"
"I'm gonna help Grandma Smith bake some pies for everyone!" Apple Bloom chirped. "You're gonna help us, right?!"
"Of course, Apple Bloom," Vignette ruffled Apple Bloom's hair. "But first, I wanna take the atmosphere in. How about you go check up on Grandma Smith for now?"
"Yay!"
With that said, Apple Bloom ran off to the kitchen, while Vignette chuckled and walked to the window, resting her elbows there and her cheeks on her palms as she looked at the snow falling outside with a little, tranquil smile.
"You're very happy, aren't you, Vignette?" Applejack asked as she approached the woman.
"Yeah. I mean, I know I'm not acting like it, but I honestly adore Heart Warming's Eve," Vignette clasped her hands together. "It was pretty much one of the few times when my family would act like... well, a family. Dad would help cook, Flim and Flam would act less annoying than usual, it was great."
"That does sound pretty good," Applejack nodded "And what would your mother do?"
"Be absent."
Applejack winced. "Oh... s-sorry."
"No, it's okay," Vignette glanced at Applejack and her smile gained a hint of sadness. "I accepted she wouldn't return a long time ago."
Vignette turned back to the window, her smile slowly giving way to a serene frown.
"Vignette-"
"Welp, I made myself sad now," Vignette sighed and leaned back, forcing a smile as she added, "I'm gonna go see Big Mac, see if he can cheer me up. I hope you don't mind."
"Nonono, it's fine," Applejack sighed. "I think you two look quite cute together, anyway."
Vignette shot a confused eyebrow at Applejack, but shrugged it off. "Do you know where is he, anyway?"
"I remember him sayin' somethin' 'bout going outside t' get some decorations for the tree," Applejack remarked, scratching her chin in thought. "Said he insisted, even though, in my opinion, the tree's fine as it is."
Vignette and Applejack and looked back at the tree in the living room, sitting on its lonesome while Apple Bloom tried to sneak a peek at one of the gifts.
"Apple Bloom!" Granny Smith exclaimed from the kitchen. "How many times do ah gotta tell ya not t' open ta gifts before ta guests arrive?!"
Apple Bloom got on all fours and ran away, giggling all the while.
"On second thought, however, he might have a point," Applejack remarked before patting Vignette's back. "Go ahead and meet him, he shouldn't be far away."
Vignette nodded and quickly got ready to go outside... which translated to her putting an Orange scarf and keeping her average attire intact. And so, she edged towards the door...
"Hold on, Vignette!"
She stopped and turned around, seeing Granny Smith walking up to her with a raised eyebrow.
"Are ya really plannin' t' go outside with nothin' but a scarf?"
Vignette grabbed her scarf and looked at it. "What's wrong with the scarf?"
"Nothin', but it alone can't help ya deal with ta cold," Granny Smith smiled. "Luckily, ah prepared somethin' for everyone!"
Granny Smith took out something from her back, and Vignette's eyes widened in disbelief.
"O.M.G."
Vignette walked around the snow-covered streets of the city, currently wearing a red sweater with apple images decorating it.
"At least it's warm and comfy," Vignette sighed. "Now, Applejack said Big Mac was buying lights, but where could he go to get them?"
Vignette hummed some more as she began checking out the streets. As she walked, she heard children giggling while running around, having an utter blast as they either checked the decorations, saw the windows of the stores that caught their interest, or engaged in snowball fights.
Speaking of snowball fights, one snowball actually hit Vignette, stopping her on her tracks.
"Sorry, miss!"
Vignette wiped off the snow and turned around, flinching when she saw a group of kids beaming shocked looks at her.
"It's... okay?"
"You're the woman who stopped that giant shadow monster from destroying everything!" one of the kids cheerfully remarked, the rest of the group either nodding or smiling as a result.
"I'm the what now?"
Suddenly, the kids ran up to Vignette and grabbed her leg.
"H-Huh?!"
"Our parents saw the news!"
"Could you give me your autograph?!"
"Gimme one too!"
"Enup."
The group turned around, and to Vignette's relief, Big Mac was the one who said that, carrying a box of small Hearg Warming's Eve lights as he walked to Vignette's side.
"I'm sorry, kids, but Vignette's not giving any autographs right now," he said, winking at Vignette as he added. "She's got a busy schedule today."
"Aw, lame!" one of the kids whined. "I really wanted her autograph!"
"Bye, hero lady!"
The kids waved goodbye, and a confused Vignette returned the wave, watching them leave as Big Mac spoke:
"That was a close one. Are you okay?"
"They... recognized me..." Vignette remarked, tilting her head. "And they were... happy?"
Big Mac raised an eyebrow. "Is that odd?"
"I never once thought people would look at me after the Pony of Shadows incident and act like it was a big deal," Vignette scratched her head. "Applejack told me that Sunset and her friends deal with magical adventures every once in a while. I thought people were used to it."
"Eyup, they're used to Sunset and her friends being the ones to deal with the magical monsters," Big Mac ruffled Vignette's hair. "They're not so used to someone else being the one to take them down."
"Okay, alright, I.G.I.," Vignette sighed, grabbing Big Mac's hand but not necessarily removing it. "You got the lights, so let's go home."
Hearing that, Big Mac removed his hand and asked, "Vignette, did you ever go outside during a Heart Warming's Eve?"
Vignette shook her head. "I spent most of my time indoors."
"It's settled then."
Big Mac grabbed Vignette's hand, startling her and causing her to blush.
"B-Big Mac?!"
"I don't know if you noticed, but we Apples are outdoors people," Big Mac replied. "If you're going to stay with us, you need to get used to being outdoors, too."
"B-But, there's still a lot to do before Sunset and her friends arrive!"
"Is there really?"
Vignette frowned and shook her head. This prompted Big Mac to release her and turn to her.
"Vignette, let me ask you something: do you wanna go back to the barn and spend this evening indoors, or would you like to see how different the streets look on this time of the year?"
Vignette twiddled her fingers and began looking around, trying to come up with an answer. Eventually, she sighed and answered, with a notable blush:
"I'd like to see the streets..."
Big Mac smiled, and offered his hand again. This time Vignette accepted, and walked alongside him, staying close to Big Mac while looking out for any other children who could potentially recognize her.
They first went to a store selling festive stuff, with the dolls in particular catching Vignette's interest.
She leaned closer to the window, and flashed a little smile as she inspected the doll.
"Aw, that one looks like Apple Bloom."
And then Big Mac went to her side. "Eeyup, the resemblance is quite something."
"Yeah..."
And then Vignette realized what was happening and backed away, blushing as she did.
"L-Let's keep looking around."
Vignette took the lead this time, Big Mac following her around with a little smile. They quickly inspected the stores, from toy stores, to bakeries, to music stores, whatever they could find, they gave it a quick look.
Speaking of music stores, however, it was when Big Mac and Vignette went to a music store that Vignette noticed the time.
"It's already seven PM?! Applejack and the others must be wondering where we are!" Vignette exclaimed. "Big Mac, we really should get going."
Big Mac shrugged. "It's tradition to stay up late in Heart Warming's Eve, 7 PM's nothing."
"Big Mac, you have been grabbing that box of HEW lights since we started this little trip. It's been fun, I'll admit-"
"And I'm glad you do so."
"But we have to go back to the Barn right now," Vignette turned to the counter girl. "Wouldn't you agree, music store counter girl?"
She kept bopping her head to her music.
"See? She agrees with me!"
"I think she's just hearing music."
"Whatever the case, w-we gotta go," Vignette grabbed Big Mac's hand. "Now."
"Fine."
Vignette eyed Big Mac and dragged him with her, tightly gripping his hand as they began walking back to the barn. As they walked, Vignette only briefly glanced at the decorations of the street, trying to stay focused on the path back home.
"Say, Big Mac? I noticed you were a lot more talkative today than usual," Vignette faced Big Mac and raised an eyebrow. "Is there a reason for that?"
"If I had been my usual quiet self, things would've been a lot more awkward."
"And that would've been awkwardness overkill, okay, I get it."
Big Mac paused. "Did you find my talkativeness annoying?"
"Not... really? I mean, your voice is really nice on the ears, but I'm more used to you being the quiet one of the family, you know?"
"You're not the only one, hehe. Hey, is that a shooting star?"
Vignette looked up, and to her surprise, there really was a shooting star in the sky.
She quickly released Big Mac, clasped her hands together and closed her eyes as she made her wish.
"Okay, I'm done," she said soon after. "Let's keep going."
"What did you wish for, Vignette?" Big Mac asked.
"A year without magic!" Vignette chirped proudly.
"I didn't know we could wish for impossible things," Big Mac remarked plainly.
Vignette pouted straight at Big Mac... then calmed down and asked, "Did you wish for anything?"
"I did," Big Mac walked ahead. "But I'm not planning to tell you."
"Wha-that's so unfair!" Vignette whined. "I told you my wish! It's only fair you tell me yours!"
"Perhaps, but I don't have to tell you about it now."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
Big Mac snickered as he and Vignette finally reached the barn and went inside...
"Vignette and Big Mac are under the mistletoe!"
And that was quite the greeting from Apple Bloom.
"Huh?!"
Vignette looked up, and seeing the mistletoe, she blushed and panicked, turning to Big Mac as he in turn faced Apple Bloom and Applejack.
"That's a little bit much, don't you think?"
Applejack laughed and scratched the back of her head. "Did your little date go well?"
"It went better than expected," Big Mac shrugged. "But Vignette made it clear she wasn't feeling comfortable with it."
"Wait a minute, what's going on here?" Vignette put her hands on her hips. "Was this all planned?!"
"When you began living here, Applejack made a comment about trying to have us bond during Heart Warming's Eve, said we'd make a cute couple, but I wrote it off as a joke," Big Mac explained. "Then I saw you at the streets wearing one of Granny Smith's sweaters, and I realized they were being serious."
Vignette eyed the Apple sisters and they shrugged with sheepish smiles.
"Okay, I did see Apple Bloom coming up with something like this," Vignette eyed Applejack. "But I didn't take you for the devious type, Applejack."
"I got a lot of tricks up my sleeve," Applejack adjusted her hat as she said so. "Anyway, did you have fun?"
Vignette paused for a moment, then looked elsewhere and blushed. "I did."
Apple Bloom squealed in joy while Applejack nodded with an approving smile.
With that done, Vignette sighed and walked past the duo.
"I'll be at the backyard if anybody needs me."
Big Mac was soon to follow. He left the box of lights next to the tree, and followed Vignette's trail, leaving his sisters to pick up the pace.
Vignette sat on a bench, looking at the starry sky with a melancholic look.
"Got room for one more?"
Vignette turned around, and flinched upon seeing Big Mac standing nearby.
"Big Mac... y-yeah. Go ahead."
"Thank you."
Big Mac sat down, and looked up at the sky alongside Vignette as he spoke:
"Don't feel bad about what happened, Vignette, they didn't mean any malice."
"I know they didn't, but I would've preferred if they were just honest with me from the start," Vignette rested her chin on her palm. "I mean, Applejack's the Element of Honesty, and yet she chose to keep this a secret from me!"
"Would things have been any less awkward for you if you knew you were going on a date with me?"
"... I see what you mean, but still."
Big Mac looked at Vignette, and smiled as he reached for his back.
"Hey, I brought something for you."
Vignette turned around just as Big Mac took out a pair of-
"CARAMEL APPLES!"
Vignette grabbed one of the apples with giddy joy and took a bite out of it while Big Mac watched with a smile.
He eventually looked back at the sky, taking a bite out of his own caramel apple as he witnessed the stars and the bright moon.
"The night sky's always nice to look at, ain't it?"
Vignette paused, and looked at the sky, then at Big Mac, who kept seeing the stars with a little smile.
Then, she looked at her half-eaten caramel apple, then back at Big Mac...
Without warning, she kissed his cheek.
Big Mac finally flinched, and turned to see Vignette smiling at him, her cheeks blushing slightly.
"Thanks for this, Big Mac."
She closed her eyes and beamed a smile.
"You cheered me up after all."
Big Mac returned the smile, and nodded, turning back to the night sky as he replied:
"Eeyup."
Mutually satisfied, Vignette and Big Mac remained there, watching the night sky together.
Author's Note
I like to believe both Big Mac and Vignette are adults, or if not, close enough in terms of age, whatever those are.
But anyway, here's a little early Christmas gift for everyone.
Yes, I know that in canon, the festivity's called Hearth's Warming Eve. But maybe, just maybe, this universe's version of that event is a tiny bit different.
I was pondering whether to make this into a longer story, but I decided to try focus on quality over quantity. Keyword being "try" XD
So, that's it from me today. Draxonos135, flying off, wishing you merry holidays.
