Happy Hearth's Crisis (Or Not)
"Please, open the store, just for a minute! I just need one thing!"
"Sorry, no can do. Not a minute later, and not a minute sooner. That's when I close. Come back in a couple days."
Slowly backing away from the porch, Twilight watched as the stallion running Ponyville's only toy store closed his door and telekinetically flipped his sign from "Hello! We're Open" to "Sorry, We're Closed". She stared at the door for minute after minute, tears welling up in her eyes that weren't helped by the gusts of wind that blew through every so often.
Every single Hearth's Warming thing on my checklist...it's all ended in disaster. Complete and utter disaster!
She turned and began the walk of shame back to the library, her head hanging low.
The tree Nyx and I picked out was too small...and was the only one left on the lot.
Her eyes caught sight of a tall and bushy tree sitting in the cozy-looking living room of a house across the street.
The lights I managed to buy ended up shorting out when I set them up.
Her eyes caught sight of a house that was beautifully decorated with lights.
And I didn't even get to buy Nyx a Hearth's Warming present this year because I was so busy with catching up on reading and reports to Celestia and...
Her eyes caught sight of a passing mare-and-filly duo, the mare giving the filly a box that she gratefully tore open to reveal a cozy-looking scarf.
Twilight grit her teeth and angrily kicked the snow with her hoof, letting out a scream of frustration that, aside from the passing duo who took some notice, seemed to ring out in the empty dark of the night. She just couldn't understand why nothing was going her way for the holidays, why she had to wait until last-minute to get everything done, why she didn't just ask her family to spend another Hearth's Warming with them...
The last one was the thing that bugged her the most. She had wanted to ask, but she'd gotten the idea to have a low-key sort of year, something with just her, Nyx, and Spike. Instead, the plan was to have a secondary Hearth's Warming with the rest of the family, so Nyx could get double the fun.
With slip-up after slip-up, though, she was almost scared to even act on the idea.
She arrived at the front stoop of the library. Opening the door with her magic and stepping inside, the first thing she saw was the tiny tree that was only about as tall as Shining Armor. The second thing she saw was Nyx sitting at the table, trying to craft something out of paper.
"I'm back."
"Hi, Mom!" Nyx greeted with a wave. "Welcome back!"
"Thanks." Twilight set her saddlebags down and went towards the table, eyeing Nyx's activity. "What are you doing?"
"The ornaments for the tree were making it droop when we hung them up, so Spike and I are making smaller ones that'll fit!" Nyx moved her craft over to Twilight. It was a paper pony. "I wanted to put a bow on this one so it'll look like Apple Bloom, but it's so hard!"
As much as Twilight found the paper pony to be charming, it didn't distract her from the inevitable task she had to perform. "That's nice. But Nyx...can we have a quick talk?"
"Hm? About what?"
Twilight hesitated for a moment. Something deep inside of her told her having Spike by her side would make things easier, but he was nowhere to be found at the moment. "I...um...you see, I went to Bear Hugs' toy store to get a present for you, but he closed before I could even get inside. And..." She gestured to the walls of the room. "There are no lights up either, and the tree..." Biting her lip, she pointed her hoof towards the tree. "Nyx, all I wanted was to give you a good holiday. But Hearth's Warmings aren't always flawless, and I'm..." Her eyes closed. "I'm really sorry."
No answer, at least for a few moments. Twilight tensed up, bracing herself for her daughter's pleas and her chewing-out and...goodness, who knew what she would do? Maybe she would run away from home and go to some other pony's house for the holidays, one that had an actual tree and lights and loads of presents. And then the next day, she would run back home and disown Twilight and then go back to that other pony's home and decide to live there and then-
"That's okay."
Twilight's eyes snapped open. She stared at Nyx in disbelief. "What?"
"When I was queen, it did feel fun to have everything I ever wanted given to me. Everything went right. If I wanted a Hearth's Warming celebration, the Children of Nightmare would throw one for me!" Nyx looked away. "But I sacrificed that freedom for the sake of Ponyville and the rest of Equestria. I freed the Children of Nightmare, and I couldn't have what I wanted anymore." She placed a gentle hoof on Twilight's chest. "You don't have to give me a big Hearth's Warming, Mom. As long as I'm with you and Spike, I'll still have fun."
A shimmer formed in Twilight's eyes. She barely noticed Nyx using her hoof to wipe away falling tears. "Even...even though the present..."
"Yeah, even the present. Besides, Rarity says that homemade stuff is just as good as stuff you buy!"
The comment of just how easygoing her daughter had gotten stuck in Twilight's throat, clinging to its walls like a gel. She let her eyes move to the unfinished paper pony, then to the other paper ponies that were littering the table. Her sense of smell caught the wondrous sensation of freshly-baked cookies, and she slowly got up to head for the kitchen. Inside was Spike, wearing mitts designed for his clawed hands and staring at the interior of the oven with intent. Though it was hard to make out, it looked like a pan was in there.
"...Spike?"
"Aah!" The baby dragon jumped, toppling to the floor upon hearing Twilight's voice. "Oh, Twilight, you're back. How was sho-" As he took in her expression, he blinked and slowly rose to his feet. "Guess it didn't go well, huh?"
"You're...what are you making?"
"Well, Nyx came up with the idea of making cookies. I wanted to get some from Pinkie Pie, but Nyx insisted we make some from scratch. So we went to Sugarcube Corner and got all the ingredients to make our own." Spike pointed to a pink piping bag infused with the familiar cutie mark of a peppy pink pony, sitting on the table behind him. "When these are done, we're gonna frost 'em."
Twilight let herself become adjusted to the sights over the next minute. Her eyes became fixated on the oven, ignoring Spike as he began moving around the kitchen and performing cleanup. She hadn't even planned on making cookies this year, she had been so busy -- nor did she ever consider ordering some from Sugarcube Corner. Sure, maybe Nyx was fine with no presents, but if Twilight told her she hadn't even made any cookies...
She furiously shook her head and straightened her posture. No. Don't go into another spiral. We have cookies. Nyx is making ornaments for the tree. We can still salvage this Hearth's Warming!
The oven dinged. Spike dropped his wet washcloth and zipped to the oven in a blur, grabbing his mitt and opening the door to reveal freshly-baked cookies. As he took them out and placed them on the table, Twilight approached the table and eyed them hungrily. They were in all sorts of different shapes, from simple things like stars and hearts to outlines of her and her friends' cutie marks. Seeing a few that looked like Nyx's own mark made her smile.
"Nyx?" she called. "The cookies are ready!"
One of the most joyful things any parent could experience during the holidays was the pattering of tiny hooves across the floor, along with the sound of excited laughter. Twilight got that same feeling filling up her chest when she heard Nyx gallop through the kitchen door, a world-splitting grin on her face.
While Spike continued to clean up, Twilight and Nyx enjoyed some bonding time in frosting the cookies, using Pinkie's piping bag and several more personalized ones (five for the others, plus one for Nyx and another for Spike, and three for the other Crusaders at Nyx's request) to decorate them.
"Mom!" Nyx giggled, using her tongue to clean off some yellow-and-red frosting that had stuck to her mom's nose. "The frosting's supposed to go on the cookies!" She smacked her tongue a little. "Tastes good, though."
Twilight set her white piping bag down and grabbed a napkin from the counter, wiping the rest of the frosting off. "Doesn't it? I feel like Pinkie might've improved on her recipe this year."
"Yeah, I can taste it."
Save for Spike washing dishes, the room fell silent. Twilight avoided eye contact with Nyx as a frown began to form on her face. "I wish I had been able to make these cookies with you."
"We're frosting them together. That kinda counts, right?" Nyx grabbed an orange piping bag marked with a wing and got to work on the next cookie as she spoke. "Stop beating yourself up, Mom. Last year's Hearth's Warming was supposed to be fun, a-and things were going well! But then those stupid reporters showed up, and Uncle Shining thought I was still mean..." Twilight saw Nyx stick her tongue out for a moment. "But everything went okay in the end. I had an awesome time!"
Twilight reached a hoof out to rustle Nyx's hair, but pulled it back once she saw the focus shining in the filly's eyes. "I'm glad." She gave a wistful sigh. "As long as you're happy, Nyx."
"Course I am! But I'll be even happier once I get these cookies in my tummy." Nyx side-eyed her. "Can you help me, please?"
Twilight blinked a few times, as though she suddenly remembered what she had been doing. "Oh! Yes, of course. I'm sorry." She picked up the white piping bag again, picked out a lone cookie, and began frosting it, slowly moving the bag in circles. "After we're done with this, why don't you go pick out a holiday story for tonight?"
Nyx gasped, losing her grip on the bag and squirting some frosting on the pan. "Can we read Santa Hooves Comes to Town again? Please please pleeeeeease?"
Twilight couldn't hold back her laughter. "All right, all right. But are you sure you don't want another story? I only have the holiday stories out for so long."
"Nope!"
In all honesty, Twilight was a little tired of reading the same book she had read to Nyx for the past few years. But it was Hearth's Warming, and she couldn't resist saying "no" to her daughter over the holidays. She could bargain with Nyx to read a different holiday story next year. After the way this year's holiday preparations went, she wasn't ready for another thing to go awry.
"Okay. Santa Hooves Comes to Town it is. But first, we're going to relax and eat our cookies while we finish decorating our little tree."
Suddenly, Nyx began picking up speed. With a wide grin on her face, she picked up the bag and began frosting another cookie, leaving the one whose design she had messed up behind. All Twilight could do was finish up her cookie and move on to the next one while watching in awe, though Nyx's excitement was infectious and she soon found herself making the decorations rush jobs. Not that it mattered to either of them, of course -- the cookies were edible all the same.
The rest of the night was rather eventful. While Spike did cleanup, Twilight and Nyx ate cookies and made ornaments together for the mini tree, plus some extra ones to hang around the library for some festive cheer. They paused to open the door to some Ponyville carolers and sing along to their merry tune, then went right back to it.
Of course, there was also the matter of Nyx wishing to stay up all night, which Twilight permitted. But the reality of her still being a filly kicked in, and she didn't last past 10 before she started swaying on her hooves. So it was off to bed for both of them (and Spike, when he ended up meeting the same fate).
With Nyx softly snoring in the bed across from Twilight's and Twilight unable to sleep, the unicorn turned to look at the sky outside. The moon was big and bright, and snow was gently falling to make tomorrow a white Hearth's Warming. She had a wonderful time, but still felt like something was missing.
A present. I know Nyx said she didn't need one, but...every good filly and colt deserves at least one present for Hearth's Warming. And if I can't get one from the toy store, then...
Then...
Her ears picked up on the sound of quiet rustling from downstairs. To anypony else, this would signal that a robbery was occurring, but to Twilight, it was the presence of a friend and a miracle. She threw the covers off of her, got out of bed, and quietly made her way down the stairs, balancing a small orb of light on the tip of her horn to help her see.
A figure dressed in red and white was placing presents underneath the small tree. With its curly and poofy mane and tail, it was instantly recognizable to Twilight. It stopped when it sensed her, turning its head to look at her, blue orbs of innocence and happiness being illuminated by the beams of moonlight streaming in through the windows.
"Pinkie."
"Shhh! I was never here! Never! Here!" Pinkie slunk backwards towards a large chest that sat near the basement door, using her tail to open its top so she could make her way inside. "Happy Hearth's Warming!"
Before Twilight could return the well wishes, Pinkie was gone amidst the stored items inside, closing the lid on her descent. Twilight, for her part, questioned nothing, mainly because it was Pinkie being Pinkie but also because she was too tired to do anything other than sleep. She took one quick look at the presents, then went back upstairs and climbed back into bed, her eyes closing as only one thought remained in her head.
Nyx is gonna be so excited when she wakes up tomorrow! And it's all thanks to Pinkie.
"Wow! A puzzle!"
"A thousand-piece one, too. Perfect for you and I to work on together!"
"Cool! Are there any more?"
Twilight shook her head. "Nope, that's it." She ruffled Nyx's mane. "But the Hearth's Warming festivities aren't over yet. There's still lots of holiday fun to be had in Ponyville."
Nyx jumped up, dropping the puzzle she was holding. "Really?!"
"Yep," Spike answered, taking a sip of coffee from his spot at the table. "Caroling, present exchanges, and there's the Light Fight contest later on." He perked up in realization. "Hey, Twilight, why don't you take Nyx to see how other ponies celebrate Hearth's Warming? This is her first one in Ponyville, isn't it?"
Twilight nodded. "That's not a bad idea, Spike."
Nyx's front hooves began tapping on the floor, the pupils of her eyes widening. "Oh, can we go now? Please please please?"
"Of course. Go put on your jacket, scarf, boo-"
Twilight didn't even get to finish her sentence before Nyx started to book it up the stairs. She blinked a few times before she pulled herself back together, levitating the presents onto the table and sorting them neatly.
"Well, you did it, Twilight. You saved Hearth's Warming."
"By a hair." Twilight sighed. "It's a good thing everything worked out in the end. I wanted to give Nyx a proper Hearth's Warming, seeing as how the last one went so disastrously."
"About that." Spike pointed a claw at the presents. "If the toy store was closed, where'd you get the presents from?"
"Pinkie."
"Pinkie...ohh. Right. I forgot." Spike looked around. "She didn't, uh...bring any gems, did she?"
Putting on a sly smile, Twilight pulled a gem out from the pile, wrapped in a neat little gift box. As soon as it was within Spike's reach, he made a mad grab for the box, tearing it open and quickly consuming the gem inside. Twilight knew it was good as soon as she saw his pupils widen, even more so than Nyx's.
"Okay, Mom, I'm ready!" Nyx made her way down the stairs. "Can we go now?"
Twilight turned and eventually moved past her on her own way up the stairs. "Not yet. I need to get my winter gear on."
After a few minutes, both mom and daughter were ready for a day out on the town. And as soon as mom opened the door, daughter was treated to the wondrous sights of ponies walking with their families, exchanging presents, or simply just chatting away. There was nary an upset soul to be found.
Nyx ran forward a little ways, then turned around, leaving a small trail of hoofprints in the snow. "So where're we going first?"
With a sense of purpose, Twilight began trotting, looking in the direction of a familiar establishment. Her smile grew wider as she saw her daughter anxiously waiting to get going. "Well, Nyx...let's just say there's somepony I really need to thank."
Author's Note
Et voila: my first Jinglemas story! This one has the added benefit of me having to get some pre-reading done before writing, which means I turned a mistake I had made into something that works out. Which, funny enough, is actually what the story's about. (Coincidentally, though. I had more ideas before I found Winter Bells and decided to give that a read.)
This is only the second time I've used anyone's OC in a story, so I'm hoping I at least hit the nail on the head partially when it came to Nyx. Seriously, if you haven't read Past Sins, go read it. It's an incredible (and hugely popular!) piece of work.
Happy Jinglemas, everyone! Whether you celebrate it or not, whether your holidays went in the gutter or went perfectly right, relax and enjoy yourselves.
