Rolling clouds to the East drew my eye upwards towards the skies. It was a very pleasant shade of blue, and the air had this hint of cool freshness I never experienced back where I came from. The gentle sunlight beamed through the windows and onto my seat, warm, but not too bright.

Snowflakes trickled down from the sky as I glanced out of the train windows. As far as my eyes could see, the ground was carpeted with a thin layer of snow. Certain trees drooped, snow stacked atop their branches. Each house and building that I’ve passed all had bright lights strung around them, the jubilant laughter and singing on the streets ringing through the frosted windows.

I’d known that Equestria was a very pleasant place to live in, but I hadn’t seen anything like this before. But.. I guess I could say the same for the ponies living here. It was about 3 months ago that I arrived in Equestria- suddenly to say the least. Many of the locals are still not yet accustomed to my strange appearance and features, which is understandable.

The fillies in front of me seemed to be quite distraught in particular, glancing up in front of me every so often, grimacing whenever their eyes met mine. All I could offer were sheepish greetings. Besides those few, everypony around me had anticipation written all over their faces. Some were squirming with joy, whilst others chatted on without a care, happiness glimmering in their eyes.

I knew I also had something I was looking forward to. It was today that I was going to formally meet Maud Pie’s family, and hopefully partake in whatever celebrations and events they had planned for this Hearth’s Warming. I fiddled a little bit with my fingers, thinking about how everything came to this point. Pinkie Pie grinned at me, her eyes twinkling with excitement. Let me explain what led to this point:

***** ***** *****

It was just a couple moons ago that I had just settled into Ponyville, near the outskirts of town. Winter had finally come, and with that arrived an abundance of snow. The snowfall was quite heavy, so I took the opportunity to simply do whatever I wished with it. I have no clue how long I spent fooling around doing nothing outside, after 7 attempted snow ponies later, a calm voice in front of me shook me out of it.

“This year’s accumulation of packed ice crystals seems more powdery than last year. It’s quite nice. Boulder, what do you think?” An oddly monotone voice sounded.

I turned my head a little to see a mare with a light gray coat and a purple mane beside me, she had one of those thousand-yard stares and she seemed to be entirely unaware of my existence. There is a hole in the snow in front of her, from where I assumed she dropped her “Boulder”. For a minute, I stood there and watched as she stared at the snow, unmoving. Unblinking, even, it was a little off-putting to see. She then reached into the hole and pulled out a tiny pebble, dropping it about 1 foot to the right.

“What about here? Is it better?”

By this point, I became quite confused by her antics, so I broke the awkward silence.

“Uh.. What are you doing with that pebble?”

She ever-so-slightly lifted her head, her eyes looking at mine, or rather, through mine.

“Boulder is my pet rock, he likes to play in the snow sometimes,” she said, blinking for the first time in over 2 minutes of staring straight at the blinding snow.

“Oh, right. Well, my name is Anon, nice to meet you! Although, I’m not sure what you’d be doing out here, besides letting your pet rock... Play,” I extend my hand towards her with an awkward smile, drawing my body closer to the ground.

“I am here to collect and do some research on certain extrusive igneous rocks around the area. I collected these along the way,” she lifted her hoof off of the ground and tapped on my hand, letting the small glassy flakes fall onto my palm. “Also, I’m Maud Pie. You may have seen my sister around," I retracted my hand, inspecting what just landed on its surface.

“Huh. That’s certainly something. What are these exactly?” I ran my finger through the small black flecks, they had a strange glassy texture to them.

“Igneous rock formed by rapid cooling lava that is rich in silica. I have many at home,” somehow, her rock is now magically seated on her back. This mare is a strange case... I’d never met someone such as her. Whilst other ponies are characterized by their personalities or attributes, it feels as if she’s completely devoid in that manner. I was curious to know more about this mare, and although I wanted to carry on talking to her, I felt it would be best to reschedule when the both of us weren’t so.. Preoccupied.

“Well thank you! That’s uh, very nice of you,” I scratched my head with my other arm. “I suppose I should ask, is it possible that I can meet you again sometime soon? Sounds like you’re already busy with something, and I don’t want to continue to interrupt.”

She stared at me for a few seconds before giving her answer.

“Sure. I’ll be with my family at our rock farm on Hearth’s Warming. You can come with Pinkie Pie, she’d be glad to have some visitors.” She turned around after that and walked in an indeterminate direction, stopping now and then to poke at the ground with her hooves, examining pebbles and whatever she found noteworthy underneath the snow. After wandering back to Ponyville’s town square, I’d make a pit stop at Sugarcube Corner to try to drum up a conversation with Pinkie Pie.

“Welcome to Sugarcube Corner where you can get all the tastiest treats in all of Ponyville! How may I help you?” Pinkie said, grinning cartoonishly with eyes so wide they might just pop. Although I haven’t been to her store all that much, she seems to be a well-known mare around town. Hard to believe that this is the sister of that mare I met just a few moments ago.

“Hey Pinkie, Hearth Warming’s coming up, and Maud Pie gave me the green light to visit your family’s home soon. And she said that I could come along with you, so… Are ya game?” I asked with caution, after all, it wasn’t until today that Maud’s existence was apparent to me.

“I’m… TOTALLY GAME!” She pulled out a cannon from under the register and rained confetti on me, I spat out a few pieces that found their way into my mouth. “Oohhh this is going to be the best Hearth’s Warming ever! I get to visit Maud and my family and do all sorts of cool things with a new friend! I can’t wait to do the rock carvings this year!” She jumped up and down like a spring, that grin never leaving her face throughout our interaction. She was the polar opposite of her sister.

“Great! Is there anything I need to bring on the trip or..?”

“No worries! We’ve got everything sorted out already! All you need to bring is you and yourself and we’re good to go.”

“Okay, wait... I don’t need to bring a present or anything?”

“You do! Well, you could if you wanted to, but we don’t really get presents most years anyway, ‘cause they’re all hidden! I guess it’s just my family’s thing.” She shrugged. This prospect confused me, certain family traditions will be different, but I wouldn’t expect that to include hiding their presents. Regardless, if I wanted to make a good first impression with Maud, I sure would prefer to have something directly at hand.

“Hm.. gotcha, it’s settled then!”

“Okie-dokie-lokie, just meet me at the train station in 3 days at noon, I’ll be waiting!” Once again, her voice rang into the air with that sing-songy cadence. It made me happy that she was so excited to go with someone who was practically a stranger.

***** ***** *****

I knew that Maud Pie had a certain attitude towards rocks, that is for certain, so why not go rock-hunting near Ponyville Lake? When I arrived at the lake, it was a mostly empty site beside the handful of wild animals that called it home. Strewn around the edges of the lake were numerous pebbles and stones of all shapes and sizes. Taking a glance at all of the different rocks and stones, I found myself stuck at an impasse. I hardly know what I’m even looking at, or for!

Sure.. There were round and smooth pebbles, flat and rough shale-like rocks, medium-sized boulders near the shoreline, and everything in between. But.. beyond its shape, size, and to a degree, texture, I couldn’t come up with anything that I felt would stand out to Maud. However, sunset would come soon, and soon the most basic of my senses would be diminished in the dark, making the task even less feasible.

Eventually, nightfall came. The stars in the sky are highlighted over backgrounds of dark blue and purple, it was a mesmerizing sight this time of year. For a second, I’d entirely forgotten about my little quest to find the perfect rock for Maud. To my surprise, it looks like the rock would be the one to find me. Besides one of the boulders, a slight ember emanated from the ground. It was a luminescent yellow, similar to that of a candle glow. My eyes were drawn to it like a moth to a candle and my legs soon followed in its wake.

Shifting the boulder a little bit, I could see the rock in its entirety. Glowing speckles were dotted throughout its surface, the sight was magnetic. Not thinking any further, I quickly pocketed the rock in my pocket and darted off, running towards my home with my now-acquired gift. Not before grabbing a handful of random pebbles and making off with those too.

When I got home, I tried to fashion a little box or pouch to place the rocks into. I didn’t have much experience with these sorts of things, but I managed to create something that I felt was acceptable. A small gray box with a little ribbon on top, the color of her mane. The other pebbles were arranged in a thin layer near the bottom of the box, and the glowing stone was planted in the middle. With that, I was confident that I was ready for my trip to Maud’s family home this weekend.

***** ***** *****

Looking at my alarm clock when I woke up, I almost leapt into the air. Taking the gift box with me, I dashed out of the door and onto the street, almost forgetting to close it. I sprinted as fast as I could, haphazardly avoiding confused pedestrians and arriving at the train station in the nick of time. Pinkie bounced in place as I panted, making my way onto the platform with both hands on my knees.

“Hey Pinkie, I’m here-”

Without a second’s break, she tackled me and placed both of her hooves around me.

“ANON! I’m so glad you could make it! The train just came so you better get on quick!” She dragged me onto the train as the conductor made his last call, only then could I stop to catch my breath.

“Phew Pinkie.. I’m winded from all that movement..” I coughed heartily after speaking, stumbling my way to the nearest seat.

“There there, you’ll be fine.. So tell me! Have you ever done a Hearth’s Warming before? I assume you don’t celebrate it where you came from,” she inquired, taking the seat in front of me.

“Well, from where I come from, we have a Christmas, it’s very similar to what you have here. But besides that, I’ve never celebrated a Hearth’s Warming, I’ve only been here for a couple months or so,” I answered, my eyes trailing towards the ceiling.

“Ooh! I’m sure you’ll love your first Hearth’s Warming! See if it’s better than that Christmas you’ve got over there.” She giggled, confident with her assumption. “And also I made some rock candy for you, here you go!” She chucked a ring of rock-shaped candies at me, landing it around my wrist. She gave me another one of those cartoonish grins, this time accompanied by an even more cartoonish sound.

“Oh, thanks Pinkie,” I took the chain off of my wrist and bit one of the green-colored rocks. I heard a crack and recoiled from the pain, but I still swallowed it. “Ow.”

Pinkie Pie put both of her hooves up to her mouth and gasped. “Oh no! I forgot that my rock candy can be a bit.. Hard to chew, heh.”

“It’s all good, I should’ve known better myself before biting so hard,” I said, clenching my jaw, my teeth still ringing from the pain.

Pinkie Pie frowned, a bit skeptical of me. “Hmm.. Okay then! By the way, we’ll arrive at the rock farm in just a few more teensy-tiny minutes. My family will be waiting! Look!” She pointed outside of the window, the skies in the distance were of a grayer color, and over the horizon, I could make out a few buildings, all covered in bright lights.

“Is that the rock farm?”

“Absotutely-lutely! This is where you’ll be spending your first ever Hearth’s Warming Eve!” She said, hooves pressed against the window.

As the train approached our destination, I noticed something peculiar about the place. Dozens of crystals stuck out of the ground, glowing vibrant hues of light pink. The snow-swept appearance made the place feel extremely cozy. Next to the barn-like structure was a massive boulder, about 3 stories tall. It seemed like the most prominent landmark of the farm so far, besides the crystals.

“That’s Holder’s Boulder! I’ll tell you all about it after I get you introduced to my family, besides Maud.” The train came to a halting stop soon after, and Pinkie dragged me out of my seat and we were soon outside in the winter cold.

“Wow, Pinkie, your family’s rock farm is really beautiful,”

“I know right?! Alright, let’s walk, we’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.” I walked next to her towards the family home. It was nerve-racking, I had never seen her family before, and if Maud and Pinkie already vary so much in their personalities, what would be in store for me?

Before long, we were standing right in front of the door, Pinkie gave me a wink and opened the door. Two older-looking ponies were the first to walk outside, their expressions stoic. These ponies seemed to be the parents. Upon seeing me, their eyes widened a bit, but it wasn’t anything substantial.

“Mom and Dad! This is Anon! He’s going to be our guest for the next few moons,” Hearing that, the ponies made a few steps forward, the older stallion in question removing his hat and extending his hoof.

“Greetings, thy can call me Igneous Rock Pie. I assume thou doth not cometh from here..”

“And thy can call me Cloudy Quartz.. We hope comfort finds thee in this homestead during the coming moons of festivities,” They look at me once more and nod with an almost solemn countenance. In the corner of my eye, Pinkie Pie is dragging out a rather shy mare from the household.

“Er.. Thanks, Mr. Igneous Rock and Mrs. Cloudy Quartz. I sure hope I will!” They moved to the side, revealing the four mares in front of me. Pinkie Pie steps up, introducing the rest of her sisters.

“Okay, Anon! This is Limestone Pie. Limestone Pie, this is Anon! Say hi!” The mare scowled at me with a ferocious look, mumbling what I can only assume to be a frustrated “Hi..” I’m not sure if she was trying to be intimidating or what, but she continued to scowl at me thereafter. Suddenly, something lit up in her eyes and she charged towards me, stopping just a few inches away from ramming into me.

“Oh, and don’t even think about crossing me, I’m the one that keeps this farm here running, and I won’t hesitate to knock your lights out if you touch Holder’s B-” She was stopped by Pinkie Pie, who placed a hoof over her mouth. A trail of what I assume to be threats followed, thankfully none of it came through clearly.

“Uhh.. alright then. Anon, don’t touch Holder’s Boulder, it makes Limestone Pie pre-tty angry. And Anon, this is Marble Pie! She’s a shy one for sure, is that right?” Pinkie Pie has her hooves wrapped around Marble Pie, who is trying her best to squirm away from her tight grasp.

“..Mmhm!..” A bright flush appeared on her face, and much like her very grumpy sister, she also looked elsewhere. This leaves Maud, whose eyes have already burned through me. Pinkie Pie gave me a sheepish smile, it was clear that her family isn’t of the talkative sort, but that’s fine by me.

“Okay everypony! Gather around! Today is Hearth’s Warming Eve, and that means Hearth’s Warming Dinner! Come inside!” Everybody turned around and walked back inside the house with me following behind.

“Maud, you’ll be staying with Anon upstairs, the house is a little bit more cluttered this time around, heh.. Also, it’ll give you more time to chit-chat! Ever since Anon moved to town, I haven’t seen him socialize with anypony much,”

Okay Pinkie, didn’t need to tell her that.

“Uh.. haha, yeah, that sounds good. Thanks, Pinkie," I chuckle awkwardly, trying to act normal.

“Sure. I’ll be upstairs. See you Anon,” Maud briefly made eye contact with me before shuffling upstairs, Boulder on hoof. I wonder what that pony even thinks about. Besides rocks. After looking around the house a bit, I decided to go upstairs and see the sleeping arrangements. There were two bunk beds, one on each side of the room. Maud laid on the bottom bunk on the left, looking very intently at her Boulder. Naturally, I went to the bottom bunk on the right, placing my gift box under the heavy blanket.

There was a whole load of nothing going on in the house. But, I still found some enjoyment out of watching Maud so fixated on her pet rock. It was like a stare-ception. But, I guess everyone can detect when they’re being stared at because her pupils were now fixed on me just after a few seconds. She turned her head slightly to the side to make it less awkward for her eyes.

“Hey Anon,” She said, her voice reminding me of a tremolo.

“What’s up?” I already got caught, so might as well play it cool. She exhaled and began to speak again, now looking back at her Boulder.

“Have you ever wished that one day.. You’d become a rock? Just.. sitting there, in the ground, totally unmoving?” It was a question too sudden, and it caught me off-guard. I found myself swallowing the lump in my throat whilst thinking about my response. She continued to look at me, but this time, her gaze seemed less intense than it once was. “Covered by layers of sediments.. Weathering the elements..” Her voice trailed off into nothingness near the end, returning the room to its original silence.

“Oh, hm.. I suppose not. Although it would be an interesting experience for sure. I assume you think about that quite often?” I hadn’t quite expected for Maud to start a conversation with me, much less about this topic.

“Sometimes. But not all the time. I just find it fitting to think about it whenever I’m bored, like right now. Boulder agrees,” Her eyes narrowed a bit and she set Boulder down on the bed, slightly below her neck. “We don’t get guests here very often, it’s mainly just the family,”

“Yeah, I can see that. But, I’d expected Pinkie to bring more ponies around?” Maud Pie shook her head.

“No, she doesn’t,” nonchalantly answered Maud, I guess that’s one of her special attributes. “So.. what’s it like being you?”

“What do you mean?” I responded. I wasn't sure where she was trying to go with this.

“Pinkie told me that one of her friends called you a ‘Human’. And you’re very different from ponies,” She scanned me up and down briefly.

“..I don’t quite know how to answer that. Yes, it’s very physically different being a human but, my experiences are pretty similar to you now that I’m in Equestria. Not that it was significantly different when I wasn’t,” I say, recalling the startling similarities between Equestria's society and Earth.

“Right,” she pulled her blanket closer towards her, making sure to not fully cover Boulder up. It was quite endearing seeing how she paid such close attention to what would otherwise be an inanimate object. “I’m taking a nap,” Her hooves reached out and over her blanket, and her eyes closed shut.

Her head now leaned towards my direction, every breath becoming shallower than the last. It seemed that she was already fast asleep. I felt a bit tired myself, letting out a long yawn and turning my body to face hers. Her body rose and fell rhythmically with gentle exhales, and just for a moment, she was about the most adorable mare I’d seen in all of Ponyville. My eyes became more weighted as I watched her, and before I knew it, I also drifted off.

***** ***** *****

“WAKE UP SLEEPYHEAD!!! It’s time for Hearth’s Warming Eve Dinner!! Are you excited? Because I ammm!” I jolted awake at the sudden noise, only to find Pinkie’s head already disappearing from view as she bounced excitedly down the staircase. I looked to the side, expecting a now-waking-up Maud, but she was gone as fast as the wind. I did some impromptu stretching and also went downstairs.

“Everypony! It’s time to dig in!” Pinkie Pie was the first one to eat, gulping down ladle after ladle of soup with scary speed.

Dinner consisted of a thin broth with big hunks of rock in it, appropriately dubbed the “Rock Soup”. The broth tasted like a vegetable stock that was heavily watered down. As for the rocks, I thought that they were just some sort of traditional garnish that wasn’t meant to be eaten. But Igneous Rock Pie proved me wrong when he bit the rock in half and swallowed it whole. I wonder if all the ponies here have some sort of weirdly strong teeth.

“How am I supposed to eat these rocks? I don’t think my teeth are strong enough for that,” I held the rock up from the soup, knocking on it to reaffirm my assessments that this was in fact, an ordinary rock. Maud chimed in with some much-needed advice.

“You do it like this,” She held the rock up to her mouth and bit the rock in a way that caused it to crumble into a dozen pieces. I’ll never forget the chewing sound that came after, it sounded like someone was crushing up boulders with a bulldozer.

“My teeth are hurting a bit right now so I think I’ll just save these for later, heh.” I wasn’t going to eat another rock today, my teeth had already been through enough pain. But, for what the soup lacks in taste and uh, texture, it has the perfect amount of warmth. All in all, not too shabby. At this point, everypony had finished their soup, and all turned their gazes toward me.

“Looks like everypony is finished here! Who’s ready to carve out their Hearth’s Warming dolls? Yay!!” A collective “Mhm.” is heard. Taking the lead as always, Pinkie led everypony out of the house down a creek with a wide grin. Pickaxes were handed out to everypony to start the carving process, and it began swimmingly. Each pony took position near a tree stump with their rocks and began to chip away the pieces, revealing the rough silhouettes of each other.

I tried my hand at it but resorted to using the pick in a weird position as my hands couldn’t get a proper grip on the tool. After spending a good chunk of time trying to make this doll resemble the tiniest bit of Maud, all I could get to was a misshapen lump. But I wasn’t going to waste a valiant effort like that, so I still showed my unfortunate creation to Maud regardless.

“Maud, I tried to carve you. Does this look familiar?” She examined the carving before producing her own.

“No, but this should look familiar to you,” She took a few whacks with her pickaxe and made a crude stickman-like depiction but with an extremely wide midriff. Of course, there was no way that anypony could be well-versed in human anatomy, so I gave her the benefit of the doubt.

“Hey, I think you made the carving a little too wide, let me help you,” I leaned down with my pickaxe, but before I could chip off those curves of shame, she placed her hoof on my hand and shook her head.

“It’s accurate, see?” Her hooves jabbed at the doll, her words filled to the brim with absolute certainty. The other sisters giggled at the display, especially Pinkie.

“Hm.. if you say so..” I took the doll and examined it, a tinge of sadness weighted down on my lips. But before I could pocket it and accept defeat, I heard a slight exhale from Maud. And for some reason, it felt like she found something humorous this time.

“Just kidding,” She said, this time, her lips were curved just a tiny bit upward, enough for me to notice the difference. She pressed her hoof against me quickly before going back to fix the proportions of the doll, akin to that of shoulder nudges I used to get. I gave her a dry chuckle, not entertaining her joke.

“Very funny, Maud.”

“I know,” She retorted, her expression now returned to its stoic nature just a few moments ago. I can’t be certain whether she was being sarcastic or not, but I guess I’ll never know. Limestone was the last one to finish, working away at a boulder the size of me. And, being the biggest creature in this whole line-up, I got the privilege to carry it in all of its glorious weight. I’m no work-horse but that sure took a lot out of me, especially because I had to trek up that long winding path again.

“Now for our last event before we hide the presents! You will be split into teams and compete to see who gets to raise the flag first on Holder’s Boulder! Limestone will be our referee, Maud, you’ll go with Anon, I’ll go with Marble, and Mom and Dad will stay together! Is everypony ready?”

Another collective agreement from the group.

“Okay, ready, set, go!” Confetti rained down from above, and everypony set off in their own direction. Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz went towards the rock fields, Marble and Pinkie stayed near our starting location, and Maud headed for the mines. Moving at what could only be called a very leisurely pace, she marched towards the mines and I followed next to her, wondering how somepony could possibly move with such sluggishness. Nonetheless, I found it charming in its way.

“So.. what are we looking for exactly?” I scratched my head. I knew that we were supposed to be looking for a flag, but Pinkie Pie didn’t do a very good job of explaining what it was supposed to be. Maud answered, chucking a couple crystals and rocks off of the ground.

“It’s igneous rock formed from rapid-cooling lava. The same type of rock I gave you a few moons ago,” She answered, still digging through the heaps of rocks that lay before her. Taking the opportunity of being in an isolated place, I walked over to Maud and poked her on her shoulder. At least she won’t burst out loud laughing at me if I were to say something ridiculous. I hope not.

“Hey Maud? I’ve got something I want to tell you,” I was about to say something very dumb, but what could possibly happen?

“What is it?” She replied, eyes still focused on the ground.

I kneeled a little bit and spoke in a lower voice, in case anypony managed to hear me from outside of the cave.

“I just wanted you to know that I think you’re adorable. I love your voice, your hair, your eyes, just everything about you is so so perfect!” I sighed, face-palming. “I.. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t tell you things like that, we’ve barely met,” Maud Pie is silent, her facial expression never changing throughout the whole ordeal. But the pause she gave me was at least some indication that something was processing what I just said in her head.

Her hooves shifted a little, and she took a breath that was deeper than usual. She placed her hoof on my arm for a brief moment before putting it back down.

“Thanks, Anon,” This time, her words struck me as something that was particularly heartfelt and sincere.

Also, I might be crazy, but for a second I swear I could see her pupils dilating. Even if it was just a teeny tiny bit.

I struggled to find that flag that she mentioned until a crumpled piece of paper fell from the ceiling and landed square on my head. Opening it revealed a charcoal picture of a hunk of Obsidian.

Creative.

I ran over to Maud, showing her the flag that I found.

“Congratulations, you get to hang the flag this year,” She stood up and trotted methodically out of the cave, mumbling something to Boulder and setting it on her back. I caught up with her in mere seconds, and soon surpassed her. Limestone stood near Holder’s Boulder, sounding the alarm once she saw the slightest glimpse of my obsidian flag.

“Everypony! We have a winner. Anon, you will be this year’s flag planter,” She scowled at me, unsatisfied with the results of the competition.

“Yay!! Anon found the flag everypony! Where did you find it?!” Pinkie asked, her wide grin almost touching your face.

“Uh.. I didn’t really find it. It just sorta dropped from the ceiling onto my head, does that count?” I showed her the paper, it’s filled with crinkles and folds from when it was presumably crumpled up and stuffed into somewhere hard to find.

“Now that you put it that way.. I guess not, but you were still the first one to bring it here so you get to plant the flag on the Boulder! Eee!” She hopped up and down and pointed her hoof towards the top of the Boulder, Limestone looked on with a mix of anger and concern for her prized boulder.

I took the piece of paper in my hand and jumped as far up as I could, slapping it atop the boulder. It wasn’t an impressive sight, but it was still something. Light applause came in the form of hoof-stomping from the family, Pinkie’s being the loudest. Before long, a Pinkie in her nightgown wished us a good night, marking the end of the long day.

I slid into the bunk bed, stretching with a loud yawn. Maud looked in my direction and blinked. The only thing keeping this room illuminated is the candlelight placed between the two bunk beds, creating a small sphere of warm orange light. I pulled out the gift I’d planned for Maud from under the blanket and clutched it in my hand, searching for the right moment.

“Anon,” A soft voice rang out from the other side of the room, it soothed my ears.

“Yes, Maud?” I craned my neck to the side, the gift box sitting on my chest.

“You can sleep next to me tonight,” That string of words caused my brain to go haywire, and I found myself panicked in response, almost dropping the gift box on the ground.

“W-Woah woah, you don’t mean..?” My cheeks flared up, never did I ever imagine this comment from her.

“I mean that you can sleep next to me. On the same bed,” I stood up and took a few steps toward her bed, stopping every other second to see if I was taking the hint correctly or not. After 10 seconds of staggering movements, I sat down on the bottom bunk, gift on lap. She tucked herself closer to the wall, blanket drawn over her. I do the same, making sure to keep at least some distance and not just outright snuggle up to her.

“I hope this isn’t too close for comfort.. You can always tell me if something is wrong,”

“I like the warmth, it’s nice.” She moved in a little closer, resting her head on my shoulder. Her mane flowed freely onto the bed, strands and locks of her hair now apart. Her eyes were now a little more narrowed, a *very* faint but noticeable blush on her cheek.

“Hey.. before we sleep, I had one last thing I wanted to give you,” She nodded as I set the gift box on her hoof and prompted her to open it. An aura of light escaped the lid as she lifted it off of the box, it had the same yellow glow as when I found it on that moon. She took the stone out of the box and placed it on her hoof, studying its colors and shape.

“This sample of fluorescent sodalite-bearing syenite is breathtaking. Thank you Anon,” Her mouth hung slightly agape, her eyes studying the rock with intense curiosity. It was the first time that you’d see her so entranced in something, unlike the random moments in which she was very focused on something, it felt that there was magic in her eyes.

And when they met mine, it felt like magic too. She placed the stone down in between our pillows, allowing it to glow out of the crack. She buried her snout in my neck, nuzzling me with her soft fur. Bringing my hand against the back of her head, I guided her silky smooth strands of hair in between my fingers, pulling her even closer to my body. The tingling sensation of the moment made my hair want to stand up.

“Night, Anon,” Maud said, her eyes already closed.

“Night..” I whispered into her ear, preparing to go to sleep myself. Her impeccable warmth and cuddliness made it an easy task.

I never thought since the first day of arriving in Equestria that I’d be snuggling a mare as she slept, yet.. I’ve got one in my arms right now.

Today was a good day.

Author's Note

Hello everypony!

This is my first ever MLP Fanfic (Or fanfic for that matter)! Thanks for viewing, all comments and critiques are appreciated.