Chapter 1: Hearth's Warming Desperation
Snowfall Frost sighed as she turned the key to her house and stepped inside.
It had been another long day. The past few years, the month of December had been filled to the brim with busy days. Volunteering at the soup kitchen, giving out toys at the toy drive, and wrapping presents for all of her friends. Anything she could do to raise the Hearth's Warming spirit.
The month had always been a hard one for Snowfall. She used to denounce Hearth's Warming with all of her heart. It held much pain for her and reminded her of her past. The ponies running around screaming and laughing while she was trying to work didn't help lift her spirits either.
Usually, she would have just locked herself up in her house and refused to come out until the new moon. But two years ago, she had the experience of a lifetime. Three spirits had visited her and had used their magic to show her things. Painful Memories from the past, events from the present, and even, the most horrible vision of the future.
The spirit's words echoed through her head almost every day around this time of year. "I see a cold wind blowing through."
She could almost hear them. As if they were standing right next to her. The memories made her shiver more than the icy wind that was blowing through the door which was still open.
She turned around and slammed it shut. She hung her hat on the hat stand she kept near the door and rushed over to the fireplace. She struck a match and started the fire and began warming her hooves over it.
She had never told anypony about the encounter with the spirits. She figured that even if she had, nopony would believe a story that crazy. She had kept it to herself. To other ponies, it seemed that she had a change of heart overnight as a Hearth's Warming miracle.
Only Snowfall knew the truth.
If it were up to her, she would still ignore most of the festivities. But something the Spirit of Hearth's Warming Future had said to her was still resonating in her mind.
"If I ever detect another pony in your town refusing Hearth's Warming, I will hold you personally responsible. On the first minute of Hearth's Warming's Eve, you will be dragged to a world of excruciating torture. At the end of the last hour, the other pony shall fall victim to this curse as well. "
Snowfall shivered, despite the flames right in front of her. Since that night, she had made sure that Hearth's Warming spirit was as high as it could possibly be. She looked over to her calendar. "December 22nd," She said to herself. Three more days until she was assured another year of safety.
She didn't know if the Spirit of Hearth's Warming Future's warning was a bluff or if it was a true curse. But she wasn't willing to take that chance.
Tomorrow was going to be a day off. She would go to the market and she would come home. That was it. Snowfall sighed, finally warm. She extinguished the fire and walked towards her bedroom.
She had eaten dinner before she had left so she decided to just head to bed for the night. She walked into her room and took off her overcoat. While most ponies enjoyed sleeping in pajamas around this time of year, she enjoyed sleeping with nothing on.
She walked over and laid in her bed. She set her glasses on her nightstand and closed her eyes.
* * *
Sleep didn't come easy that night for Snowfall Frost.
She knew she shouldn't have been thinking about the ghostly warnings from two years ago. They always made her unable to sleep. She usually pushed the thoughts from her mind. Tonight, they lingered in her head as she stared up at the dark ceiling.
After a few hours, she finally managed to reach sleep. Though, she would be lying if she said her dreams brought her peace that night. She felt the shivers she had felt when the Spirit of Past had walked through her and the haunting face of the Spirit of Future.
Snowfall didn't know this, but she began shaking in her sleep.
* * *
"Late start today, Snowfall?"
Lemon Hearts smiled at Snowfall, who was still a little out of it. "Yeah. I just didn't get to sleep until late last night."
Lemon smiled and levitated Snowfalls bags over to her. "Well, with what you have in this bag, you may be able to whip up quite the energy potion."
Snowfall chuckled a little and waved a hoof. "No more potions for me, thanks." She laughed and grabbed the bags in her magic aura. Suddenly, her heart stopped as she heard a yell from the other side of the marketplace.
"I don't care about your stupid holiday membership plans! Just give me my damn groceries and let me go home!" Snowfall looked over as a Cream colored unicorn with a bright yellow mane, slammed her hoof down on the cashier's desk and snatched the groceries away from her.
She tossed money on the counter and ran off towards, what Snowfall assumed was her home. She turned back to Leamon Hearts. "What was that all about?"
Lemon waved a hoof. "Eh. Just ignore her. My sister always gets like this around Hearth's Warming. She doesn't even want us to decorate the house. She hates the entire holiday. Kind of like you used to." Lemon chuckled a little. "Who knows, she might have the same overnight miracle you did. Good thing she's not visiting for long. She can be so difficult to deal with."
The sound of broken glass rang out as Snowfall's bags clattered to the ground.
Snowfall found her legs getting weak as she fell to the ground alongside her bags. Voices began ringing out in her head. Lemon Hearts runs around the counter, concerned as she kneels next to Snowfall.
Snowfall began shaking. Not from the snow, now digging its way into her warm coat, but from the voices ringing out in her head. She begins speaking softly. She doesn't realize that she is speaking out loud, but her voice is heard by the gathering crowd.
"Cold wind. Blowing through."
Lemon taps her hoof against Snowfall. "Snowfall? Snowfall Frost? Can you hear me? Are you okay?"
"Days neither fun nor free."
Lemon tilts her head in confusion. "Snowfall! What are you talking about? What's going on?"
"Future. Caused by you."
Snowfall begins shaking as her voice trembles. She continues her thoughts out loud as Lemon begins barking orders at the onlookers to find emergency help. "Snowfall. Stay with us. We're going to find help."
"Path not meant to be."
"Snowfall! What the hell are you saying?!"
Snowfall suddenly jumps up and tackles Lemon to the ground. "Quickly! Where can I find your sister!"
Lemon's eyes fill with fear as she says, "Down the alley! Turn right on the next street. Four doors down on your left! You can't miss it! Please! Let me go!"
Snowfall jumps up and begins running in the direction Lemon had stated. "Thanks!" She called back.
She ran down the alley and skidded to her left hooves to turn right. She scanned the houses on her left side until she found the fourth one. She darted across the busy street, narrowly dodging the many ponies bringing along wagons, drawing shouts of anger from them.
She ignored their anger and instead focused on the blue house in front of her. Unlike all of the other houses on this street, there was no wreath, no lights, and no tree in the window. Snowfall knew she was in the right place. She almost fell as she scrambled up the front porch and banged a hoof on the door frantically.
The same pony who had been yelling at the market answered the door looking very confused. "Um. Can I... Help you?"
Snowfall nodded quickly. "You need to celebrate Hearth's Warming! Please!"
The mare tilted her head. "Do you need to come inside? I think you've been out in the cold too long."
Snowfall could feel herself slipping away a little. The overwhelming emotion of realizing her life might end in the middle of the night tonight had caused her to become a little frantic. "On the first minute of Hearth's Warming Eve." The sentence continued to play in her head over and over again. She slowly nodded.
As they walked inside the house, the mare said, "So, I don't think I really know you. What's your name?"
"S-Snowfall Frost."
The mare smiled. "Nice to meet you! My name's Buttercream!"
Snowfall was confused. This friendly mare couldn't have been the one at the market. She seemed so cheerful now. "S-So, about Hearth's Warming?"
Buttercream snorted a little. "No."
Snowfall jumped up a little. "No! Please just hear me out! It's really important!"
Buttercream groaned and gestured to her table. "Fine. Let's sit down."
* * *
Snowfall told Buttercream the whole story. About the spell she had tried to cast. About the spirits, Past, Present, and Future. And, most importantly, about the curse. By the time she had finished, she realized she had been crying ever since she had reached the part about Future.
Once she had finished, she said, "So, that's why I need you to celebrate Hearth's Warming."
Buttercream said nothing for a minute. Then, she suddenly burst out laughing. Snowfall was confused. This hardly seemed like a laughing matter. When Buttercream could finally manage to speak, she said, "That was a good story! I gotta hand it to you! I don't know who hired you to come try to scare me like that, but it was really good."
Snowfall's heart dropped. She had thought that maybe her story had gotten through to Buttercream, but instead she was right back where she had started. "Please! Buttercream! I'm not joking! That was a true story!"
"If that's true, then why don't you call upon your 'spirits' right now!" Buttercream lifted her hooves and put air quotes around the word "Spirits."
Snowfall sighed. "Please! Tonight at midnight will be the first hour of Hearth's Warming Eve! If not for yourself, then can you do it for me?"
"I hardly know you! Why would I change my entire lifestyle just to appease some weird pony that walked in off the street?" Buttercream stood up and said, "I think we're done here."
She walked over to the door and opened it, letting a cold wind enter the house. Snowfall stood up defeated and walked towards the door. "Just please consider it, okay?"
Buttercream shook her head and slammed the door the second Snowfall was outside. Now she definitely seems like the mare I met at the market, Snowfall thought to herself. The only comfort Snowfall could possibly find was the chance that The Spirit of Future had been bluffing. Maybe the curse wasn't ever real. Maybe it was just to scare her into spreading holiday cheer.
There was only one idea left in Snowfall's head. She began to dash home as fast as possible. She reached her doorstep in less than ten minutes. The cold was nipping at her skin but she grabbed the freezing cold door handle and pushed her way into her house.
When she had entered, she struck a match and lit a fire. Though, this time, it wasn't to warm her hooves on. She ran to her attic and grabbed the heavy cauldron from the corner in her magical aura. She brought it downstairs and hung it over the fire.
This was the only chance Snowfall had to get through to the spirits. She began throwing ingredients into the cauldron. She was concocting a spell she had thought she would never make again. Finally, as she threw in the last ingredient, a green glow emitted from the cauldron and a familiar pony walked out.
"Now what in the hay do you think you're doing? I thought we've been over this. Ya can't just remove Hearth's Warming from existence."
"Past! I swear! I wasn't trying to do anything of the sort! I need to talk to Future now! Can you get her for me?"
Past hissed a little as she inhaled. "That's not such a good idea, Sugarcube. She's pretty pissed about something. She doesn't want any of us talking to her."
Snowfall stamped a hoof on the floor. "If you don't get Future for me right now, I will cast this spell, I swear to god!"
Past held up her hooves. "Now now, there's no need for that. I'll see what I can do." Past walked her way back into the cauldron. Suddenly, it began rocking. Almost as if there was a struggle going on inside it. Suddenly, the familiar dark figure of The Spirit of Hearth's Warming Future was tossed out of the cauldron.
She ran back to the cauldron and yelled into it, "Past! You fucking bitch! Let me go back!"
A small voice came from the cauldron. "Talk to her first!"
Future turned to face Snowfall and then looked back at the cauldron. "I have nothing to say to her."
Snowfall stepped forward. "Please Future! Tell me that the curse wasn't real! Please tell me there's a way."
Future faced her again. There was a dark, merciless look on her face. "I've already given you a way. Get Buttercream to celebrate Hearth's Warming before the end of the day. If you can't do that, then I'm afraid your fate is sealed."
"Why? Why can't you show her what you showed me? It clearly changed me for the better! Why can't you help her too!" Snowfall's voice was frantic at this point and she began crying.
"Well, if you must know, me and the other spirits were thinking of a way to seal away the windigos for good. There always seemed to be somepony who would ruin the Hearth's Warming spirit. This always caused small bits of wind to escape from the realm from which they came. When you attempted to end Hearth's Warming for good, it gave me a chance to cast the spell I needed. you see, if I eradicated the ponies who's heart wasn't in the right place, there would be no chance of windigos."
"But that isn't fair! You can't kill a pony because they won't celebrate a holiday!"
"I'm sorry. I've given you a chance. You've failed. This is the only way."
Snowfall hated what she was about to say. She hated herself for even thinking it. But it was her last chance at survival. "Why can't you just take Buttercream? My heart's in the right place! I've been helping spread Hearth's Warming cheer everywhere I go!"
"I had to give you more of a motive at first. I wasn't sure if you would really help. By the time I had tried to reverse the spell, it was too late. And for that, I am truly sorry. There is no way for me to change your fate unless you can change Buttercream's mind."
Snowfall fell to the ground, sobbing. "Please Spirit! Have mercy! Do something to save me!"
Future shook her head. "I'm sorry Snowfall. I wish you luck. You shall need it."
Snowfall yelled for the spirit as she disappeared back inside the cauldron. Snowfall ran over and pushed over the cauldron, spilling its contents onto the floor. She didn't care anymore. Tonight could be the last night of her life.
* * *
Snowfall Frost had attempted multiple times throughout the rest of the day to reach Buttercream. Each and every time, she had been turned away or yelled at. Eventually however, the day came to an end.
Snowfall had spent a couple hours now, sobbing on her bed. She looked over to the clock that she left on her bedside table. 11:58. Two more minutes.
She began running over the contents of her life. That just made her cry more. She heard the town bells ring out.
Twelve times.
She sat and waited. Nothing. Nothing came for her. She laid back on her bed, relieved. The spirit must have found a way to cancel the curse. Snowfall let out tears of happiness as she realized she would be able to see the next sunrise.
A crack sounded throughout the room.
Snowfall jumped up and looked around. She couldn't find out exactly where it had come from. She heard another crack and began looking at the ceiling. More cracks sounded as she felt her feet rumble. She looked down at the ground, terrified. A rift was growing in the ground with a dark orange glow emitting from it.
Snowfall jumped back from the rift as a black hand began to rise out of it. It grabbed her neck and began dragging her towards the rift. "Help! Somepony! HELP!" Snowfall screamed. But there was no answer. She felt her flesh begin to melt as it crossed through the rift. The pain was almost too much to bear. "Please!"
She reached a hoof up out of the ground. More hands reached out of the ground and picked up her hooves. With a swift motion, she had been pulled into the ground.
The rift began to seal itself up. Soon, there was no trace of Snowfall Frost.
* * *
Buttercream awoke with a start. A scream echoed through her head.
Probably a nightmare, She thought. she rolled over in her bed and fell back asleep.
What Buttercream didn't know at the time, was that she would soon see a true nightmare.
Author's Note
If you enjoyed this, leave a like! I'm trying to get this one on the featured page! Don't worry. I definitely plan to finish this story soon! And let me know what you thought in the comments :) Have a wonderful Hearth's Warming!
