Snow crunched beneath Midnight Lancer's hooves as he trotted his way down the streets of Manehattan, the many stalls and corner stores packed with ponies trying to buy their last minute gifts this year. Garland, lights and the very distinct scent of cocoa dominated the avenues of the city that never sleeps, alongside an unmistakable feeling of cheer.
Yep, Hearth's Warming was near.
Normally the holiday wasn't a big deal for the stallion, who was rather used to skipping it and focusing on his work. It's not that Midnight was a downer or anything, but it's hard to enjoy a holiday centered around the ponies that make your life great when, well, there just aren't any.
This year was different, however.
Turning a corner onto a less busy boulevard, the stallion's eyes fell upon a small red corner store with various baked goods lining the window displays. His stomach rumbled as he made his way over, a noticeable bounce in his step before moving inside.
"Hey there Lancer!" chirped a cream colored mare as she spotted the familiar face enter, covered in a thin layer of snowfall. The sight of the powdered pegasus brought a smile to her muzzle.
"Evening Summer! I'm here to pick up my order, is everything ready to go?" replied the stallion, shaking the smattering of snowfall off his black coat and cyan mane, those wings ruffling with satisfaction once he was clean.
An enthusiastic nod met Midnight as the mare leaned against the counter, her pink mane falling over part of her face, "Yeppers! I got it all in the back, let me grab it and I'll get you set up!" Without a chance for him to react, the mare turned and trotted into the back of the store.
"Thank you!" called Midnight as he trotted up to the counter and scanned the wall behind it. There were plenty of decorations and cards lining the wall, seemingly written for the holiday. Midnight tilted his head as he tried to get a better look, though Summer popped back out with a small pink bag before he could.
"Alrighty!" said Summer as she carefully placed the bag onto the counter nearby. "One set of cream buns, some freshly baked pretzels and of course..." trailed off the mare, ducking below the counter before popping back up with a heart shaped cookie, "Your favorite! One lovebug for our favorite customer!"
The sight of that silly little cookie immediately brought a colt-like grin to Midnight's muzzle, his blue eyes shining brightly. "Oh you're the best, Summer! Thank you!"
"It's the least I could do, Middy! You've eaten so many of our pretzels we could probably fund a second bakery with them alone! Eheheheh~" Summer giggled while she rang up the order.
"H-hey!" shot back the stallion, his muzzle flushing slightly, "I don't buy them that often!"
"Uh-huh.. suuuure. Do we need to pull up your records again?" chided Summer. "Besides, thanks to you and everypony else, mom and dad will probably get to retire next year. I'll finally be able to take over the bakery!"
Midnight perked up at that, happily taking advantage of the change in subject, "Really? I figured they had at least a few more years before they wanted to pack up and leave. Think you're ready?"
"I've been ready since the day I was born, dude! Nopony better than me in the whole city to run this place, and I wouldn't have it any other way!" beamed the mare, a signature 'cha-ching' sounding from the cash register.
Midnight smirked a bit at her mistake, pointing to the register with his hoof. "Really now? Last time I checked, you're supposed to close out the register after I pay. Heheheh."
Summer rolled her eyes before pushing the bag forth. "I know that, dummy. It was on purpose."
"Huh? Why?" replied Midnight, his muzzle scrunching in confusion.
"Because I felt nice, obviously," chuckled Summer, nudging the bag, "and because I know what this is for!"
Midnight immediately flushed once more, his muzzle lighting up brighter than Summer's mane. "I-I uh.. wait.. but.. you can't.. you do?.. what?.."
"Come on, lovercolt~," Summer grinned evilly. "You and I both know who it's for, and you and I both know it's not gonna sink us to let you have this one on the house. Think of it as a Hearth's Warming present from me!"
The stallion stood there stupefied, unable to form a proper response to the mare. "Summer.. I.. but.."
"Stop throwing your butts at me, Middy!" concluded Summer, forcing the bag into his hooves now. "If you really wanna pay me back, you can tell me all the juicy details next time you stop by!"
Midnight smiled through his blush, finally deciding to grab the bag somewhat haphazardly. "You're the best, thank you so much! I-I'll pay you back on new years, I promise!"
Beaming bright as a star, the stallion bid his friend farewell and quickly made his way home to prepare. Excitement radiated from him in waves, the spring in his step only growing the closer he was to home.
A sigh escaped Midnight as he surveyed the apartment in front of him. He may have picked up the goods for tonight, but there was still much to do before everything was truly ready.
To start, his bathroom. One of the highest trafficked areas of his apartment alongside the couch, it had seen no shortage of use and accompanying grime. It wasn't disgusting by any means, but it certainly wasn't pretty with soap scum lining the tub and the sink needing a cleaning.
His kitchen was a bit better, with there only being some dishes in the sink along with an admittedly overused microwave which desperately needed a scrub down. Part of him really wished he bothered to learn how to cook more, since his apartment had a perfectly good oven on standby.
The living room was in decent condition, but the floor was covered in dust and hoofmarks from countless days spent pacing while he worked. That would absolutely need a mopping before she arrived..
And finally, the bedroom.
Ironically, the bedroom was the cleanest part of Midnight's apartment. The princess sized bed was barren, but it's sheets were pretty clean along with the comforter and pillows, and the floor was mostly untouched.
Despite requiring the least amount of work, Midnight frowned at the thought of working on that room.
"Meooooww.."
Midnight was snapped out of his thoughts by the familiar sound of his small calico cat, Patches. "Oh.. hey baby, what's up?"
Patches merely chirped, rubbing against his forehooves before walking towards the end of the hallway connecting his bedroom to the rest of the apartment. Turning around, she looked at him expectantly.
"Ugh.. Really?.. Why not the kitchen or something?" groaned Midnight towards his friend.
Patches said nothing, simply staring at him with those adorable little eyes with a hint of annoyance.
The stallion began to feel himself falter under his pet's gaze. Patches always liked to sleep there, and if she was staying the night it would have to be prepared. "Mmhh.. I hate when you're right."
A satisfied purr began to rumble from Patches as she walked on into the bedroom. Midnight followed her in, his eyes scanning the work ahead of him.
The bed sat against the back wall of the room, messy and disorganized. A small television sat at one end of the room atop a pair of cardboard boxes, the lower box, ironically, filled with a pair of end tables that Midnight had never bothered to assemble. On the far end of the room laid his closet, full of dusty boxes and forgotten memories.
For a moment he hesitated, a tinge of pain coursing through him. The room, despite being relatively normal, was a constant reminder of the empty, lonely nature of his existence. He had friends, of course, but the sheer lack of anypony to hold, to love, dug at him bit by bit for many years. It had finally culminated in him giving up on sleeping in bed, instead choosing to essentially live on his couch when not working.
Today, though, he was gonna change that.
With a deep breath, Midnight took the first step forward, grabbing a sheet and flinging it off his bed with determination.
After what felt like hours, Midnight had finally done it. So much scrubbing, sweeping, organizing and more had finally amounted to his magnum opus. No longer would this stallion live in a home defined by laziness and squalor! Today was a new day!
A day where he finally cleaned his apartment.
Still, Midnight was more than happy to relish in the small victories, he needed them right now.
It wouldn't be a moment too soon, either, as the stallion barely had a moment to breathe before a loud knock at his door startled him out of his triumph.
Scrambling to the door, Midnight straightened his mane as best he could and dusted off his chest from the remnants of his cleaning spree. His hoof reached for the door, pausing for a moment to let him take a deep breath.
Finally, he faced what it was all building up to.
A cute little pegasus mare stood in his doorway. "Hi there, Midnight! Been a little bit, huh?"
Midnight paused for a moment to let the image of her sink in. Her soft, fluffy coat was a mixture of ashen grey and white, thicker than normal thanks to her work up north. Her chest in particular looked incredibly soft to the touch.
Sitting atop her head was a medium length, curly blue mane with sparkling fragments dotting it. They gave her mane a special kind of shine that really made itself known in softer lighting.
Finally, her eyes. Seas of blue that reflected the beauty of the skies themselves, begging him to get lost evermore in their never-ending wonder.
She was as beautiful as the day he first met her.
"H-hi, Starlit.. It's.. been a bit, yeah.." said Midnight, doing his best to suppress his growing blush.
Starlit giggled a bit at his reaction, smiling warmly. "Mhm! I brought some snacks for the movie, too! May I come in?"
"Of course!" replied Midnight, realizing his date was waiting to be let in. Stepping aside, he let the mare enter without trouble. "Just set your stuff on the table there, and watch out for Patches. She likes to get tangled up in hooves."
As if on cue, Patches let loose a happy little meow as she walked out of his bedroom to greet the newcomer.
"Awwwe! She's adorable!" cooed Starlit as she immediately threw her things onto the table and made haste for the feline. Scooping her up in her hooves, the mare began enthusiastically petting and nuzzling Patches. The cat made no protest, smugly relaxing into her warm embrace.
Midnight took the opportunity to close the door and make his way over towards the bag he had brought home. "Hey, I wanted to get you something special for today, since it's Hearth's Warming and all, and I think I remember you saying these were really good.."
"Yeah?" said Starlit as she set down Patches, turning back towards Midnight. "What did you get?"
"These." replied the stallion as he laid forth several cream buns, still fresh and looking utterly delicious. "You mentioned missing them when out at the way station, yeah?"
Starlit's eyes widened much like Midnight's had earlier, and she wasted no time in claiming her prize. Flapping her wings for added effect, she bounced over towards the table and snatched one up. In the blink of an eye, it was gone from sight.
"Oh Midnight, you're awesome! I've been waiting for this forever now!" cooed Starlit as she chewed, her smile giving the stallion more than enough payment for his work.
"P-please, it was nothing.. " blushed Midnight, looking away. "S-so, you wanna start that movie?"
"Mhm! Sure! You get the popcorn started and I'll get out the candy!" chirped back the mare, still utterly destroying her cream buns.
While most people would choose some cheesy rom-com or classic holiday flick to watch on a date, Midnight had ended up going with the utterly nonsensical comedy 'Spacemares.' Taking place in a goofy parody of the far future, a rouge group of mares try to dominate the stars through trickery, shenanigans, and worst of all, tomfoolery.
Though, much to his benefit, Starlit looked to be enjoying it quite a lot. At least, the frequent fits of snorting laughter seemed to indicate that she was having fun. The popcorn had long since been defeated, and most of the candy was now resting comfortably in their stomachs as the movie reached it's end.
It wasn't necessarily a cakewalk for Midnight though, despite how much the pair were enjoying themselves. With his couch only really being built for one fully grown pony, the two ended up nice and close in order to fit. She laid against his chest, with her head nuzzled just beneath his own. Her body heat warmed his heart much hotter than he had expected, and the faint scent of peaches wafted from her mane.
The feelings he felt were difficult for Midnight to process. A strange cocktail of contentment and anticipation welled within him, along with a healthy dosage of doubt for what was to come. They had been going on dates and talking for a few months now, but tonight he was finally going to take the leap. His heart shuddered with the worry of rejection, of being relegated back to the status quo he had known for so long already.
"Hey.. Starlit?.." began Midnight, his heart beginning to increase in pace, the credits slowly climbing the screen in the background.
"Yeah?" replied Starlit, content to stay put in her comfy little slice of heaven. "What's up?"
Midnight took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "This is nice, isn't it?"
"It really is, I had a lot of fun tonight." said Starlit, smiling.
"Yeah, me too." agreed Midnight, his grip on her hoof tightening. "I.. don't want it to end.."
"Midnight?.." Starlit cocked her head slightly at the increased grip, turning to look up at him.
Shuffling around a bit to get a better look at her and allowing Starlit a better one on him, Midnight continued. "I don't want this to end, Starlit. Ever since the day I met you, I've wanted more. Your smile dominates my mind, your soft touch stays even when you're off in the Crystal Empire working, your laugh fills my mind whenever I think of a joke I know you'll love.
"Tonight, I think, proved to me that I want to.. well.. I want to make us.. more. I want you to be a part of my life from now on, one I can wake up next to, one I can see every day and have dinner with. Somepony I can hold tight.. just like now.."
His grip tightened slightly once more, though this time it was subtly met with Starlit's own, her eyes locked onto his as tears began to well.
"Starlit Beacon, I want you to be the mare that brightens my day. I want you to be the beacon in my night sky, always guiding me home. I want you to be my special somepony, now and forever."
Midnight took a deep breath, his heart thundering in his chest harder than ever before. He was putting everything he had into this confession of love, every fear he held roared alongside the unmistakable inferno that was his love for the mare in front of him.
Finally, he took the leap. "Starlit Beacon. I love you, more than anything. Will you.. will you please stay here with me..?"
Starlit sat quietly, holding the stallion's trembling hoof in her own. The tears that had begun to well were now quietly falling down her soft muzzle, dripping onto the blankets wrapping the two.
"Midnight Lancer.. you idiot.." replied Starlit, wiping her eyes with her wing as best she could. "As if I didn't already make up my mind."
Before he could muster a reply, she leaned forwards and kissed his muzzle, her lips meeting his with a fiery passion not yet seen. Midnight's wings shot out in surprise, but the stallion quickly relaxed and pulled her in to return the kiss.
Her lips, much like every other part of her, were softer than clouds and warmer than a cozy summer's day. Midnight felt a tinge of loneliness as they broke the kiss, tears welling in his own eyes. "Y-you'll stay..?"
Starlit smiled before nuzzling into his neck. "Yes, I'll stay. For somepony like you, I'd be dumb not to."
With those words, the fears and worries that gnawed at Midnight Lancer had begun to lessen, her love washing them away like a great tidal wave over his heart. He leaned in once more, crying softly. "Starlit.. I love you.. I love you so much, my little beacon.."
"I love you too, Midnight Lancer." said Starlit, hugging back ever so tightly.
Patches observed the pair of pegasi as they fawned over each other, her eyes showing the faintest hint of pride.
