//-------------------------------------------------------// Another holidays -by Momoi Taro- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Ho ho ho... is that a thing here? //-------------------------------------------------------// Ho ho ho... is that a thing here? "I'm about to check out. Sure you can handle the rest of the aisles by yourself, Early?" questioned Morning Shift. "Yep, just a few more boxes to move and it's done..." came Early Eye's answer, "Go on and make that mare happy, stallion!". Morning Shift smiled with gratitude and waved him goodbye in his haste. Early Eye sneaked a quick smile as well before his more determined look returned. He was on his own with some business to attend to... but while he sorts those products out, let's catch us up to speed, shall we? Early Eye, or Andy as he was known back on Earth, has been tossed into Equestria partially against his will. While he had no involvement or say in being placed here, he also didn't have anything to complain about. Equestria wasn't that different from Earth. It shared political structures previously seen in Earth's history books, similar traditions, holidays and, surprisingly enough, even the language. It sounded like English but it was called "common", which was odd for Early Eye at first, although he wasn't too keen on digging for unnecessary answers and rabbit holes. What did pique his now unending curiosity, was just how different the creatures inhabiting this place were from humans. No, it did not have to do with them being ponies. Instead, it was their borderline indominable hospitality and need for everything that's good to triumph over what's evil (while it would be nice to mean in metaphor only, countless records of chaos gods, bug-like mimics and magical centaurs keen on causing distress say otherwise). In other words, Early Eye now lived besides beings that not only tolerate him but even went as far as to try and befriend him. Something as simple and cheesy as cheering Morning Shift on as the stallion went to meet his Hearth's Warming's soulmate was new to Early. He would've never done something like that back home without diving into heavy sarcasm. This place was changing him and for the better too. Oh! That's right, Hearth's Warming is upon us. This celebration was made in order to honor the time that Equestria was founded and works basically like Christmas, only that this alternative version felt magical and everypony around Early was genuinely excited about it. No longer did Andy have to deal with annoying Christmas jingles, false discounted items and cheaply made decorations scattered around his town square! It was now just Early Eye, actually holiday discounts, wonderful hoof-crafted decorations and a holly jolly winter atmosphere! Though the carols still annoyed him to Tartarus and back. Would you look at that! Our little catching-up took us just enough time for Early Eye to finish the closing shift, marking the beginning of his holiday break. With a scarf around his neck to avoid any unpleasant winds and cold, he marched down Manehattan's snow-covered streets and towards this evening's last express. The aforementioned streets were positively beaming with ornaments, ponies giving each other heart-felt season greetings and goodbyes, as well as joyful foals rolling up snow for their snowponies (Yes, he had called them "snowmen" by accident before, and yes, it did earn him a weird stare from Morning Shift). A cheerful song played over the station's speakers, filling the cold air with some much-needed warmth. Early Eye didn't really need it, his years back when he was a human were much harsher, something a little Equestrian winter wouldn't do justice. He boarded the first available cabin and took a seat to match the green color of his eyes. He looked through the car's window, plenty of ponies just warming the benches with their rumps, hot chocolates in hoof or enveloped by their magic. "Excuse me dear, can I join ya?" Early whipped his head around, coming muzzle to muzzle with an elderly looking mare. His eyes did a quick check of the cabin, seeing plenty of spaces she could've and would've used if they were still back on Earth... but they weren't. With a quick nod and a faint smile, he moved his own rump to meet the mare's needs. "Thank ya kindly, sonny!" the pony said and climbed onto the newly emptied space. With the use of her magic, the saddlebags she carried were lifted and placed onto the baggage space above their seat. The mare sighed with relief, renewing eye contact with Early just moments later. "It's hard to get my daughter's younglings any sensible present these days, hoho!", she laughed to herself, the happy expression taking away her age, "I remember back when all they wanted were my sweets and some colorful picture books...", she added, remembering the previous holidays. Early Eye wanted to roll his eyes, she sounded exactly like all these other grannies from his neighborhood. Before he could politely agree in an attempt to get her off of his mane, he saw something. There was a small hint of nostalgia deeply imbedded in the granny's eyes. A sense of age that took away the magic that used to fill his youthful celebrations back when his own grandma was still with him. Screw it, it's Hearth's Warming after all, he thought. "I'm sure they love you all the same, Miss..." He began, realizing the lack of proper introductions. The mare looked at him, surprise washing away the nostalgic lens, "I-It's Caramel Goods, sweetie... And... You think so?", she questioned his words. "They may have their own unique interests now, but I'm sure they'll never grow tired of you" Early explained further, "Just be there for them, a staple of your Chri- uhh, Hearth's Warming tradition" he finished. Caramel Goods blinked, closing her mouth, which formed a sincere smile before a quick chuckle escaped her lips. "Oh my, what small yet useful words you carry, young stallion" she praised his advice, "I'm sure your special somepony can't get enough of your wisdom!" Early Eye wanted to cringe from the unintentional blow the mare had just dealt to his self-esteem. Instead, he gave her a faint chuckle and shook his head. "Oh! Please forgive me, I just assumed somepony as sweet as you would for sure have a partner", Caramel apologized, the smile dropping just a notch. "No, no, it's fine Ms. Caramel! I don't mind...", he looked at her, giving her a reassuring nod, "And thank you for the compliments". "Please, it was my pleasure! I'm sure you'll find that special mare soon enough", she tried her best to fix her previous poor choice of compliments. The whistle blew loudly from the outside, forcefully grabbing their attention. The elderly mare's eyes widened a bit before a somber smile made its way onto her muzzle. "Well I'll be bucked, my stop it is!", she stated and hopped off the seat, her saddlebags flying to her side, "Thank you, deary. May you have a wonderful Hearth's Warming Eve!". "Many thanks and likewise, Ms. Caramel!" he waved the mare goodbye, watching her leave with a newly lit hope adorning her features. Leaning back against his now fully private seat, Early took a moment to recollect his thoughts. He did it. It was the first holiday season in, what he counted to be, 5 years that he met someone and wished them a sincere Merry Christmas... Maybe it wasn't exactly that phrase but the point stood strong. Early Eye felt good, he felt like this holiday had some sort of purpose again. The train shook at the whistle's announcement, taking off towards the next station on the list. It was now just Early Eye, the sound of the rails from the outside and the warm feeling nesting within his chest, all headed for Ponyville. It really was a wonderful time of the year. Ponyville was fully decked out in decorations. From adorable hoof-crafted tinsels that hanged from rooftops, balconies and surrounding trees, through beautiful and well-thought-out color composition of the many lights holding the little town in a blinding chokehold, ending on ice sculptures representing not only many of the holiday-related legends and myths but also the most recent events that made Ponyville such a buzz in the tabloids. To top it all off, there was the Castle of Friendship, shinning its crystal-like lights onto the town and doubling as an enormous Hearth's Warming pinetree. It was jolly, merry and most importantly- "Oh, come ON!" -out of Early Eye's control. Early rubbed the back of his head where the cluster of cheap holiday lights had just smacked him. It was the 7th time those sons of bucking apples had fallen off of that applebucking roof! Yes, he was counting, you can be sure of that one. "Get it together, you faced worse manual tasks during the summer grilling season back home..." he reassured himself, taking a deep breath and beginning to climb the steep ladder once again, "You can do it...". One hoof, second hoof, grab the lights, take a break. That was the plan. Funnily enough, in all his time in Equestira he never had to use a ladder before. When there was something that needed stocking at OnHoof (his retail store), it was usually Morning Shift's job to do so, since he was a unicorn. His house, despite how simple it was in its construction, never suffered any major damages that would require the use of a ladder to reach. This was his first time trying to operate this seemingly simple contraption with his hooves... and luck would have it that it had to happen with literal meters of snow weighing down on Ponyville's streets. Through repetitive steps, he finally reached the flat part of his roof, managing to stand up properly and pull up the rest of the lights, leaving behind deep snake-like markings in the snow. Truth be told, he didn't actually know why he decided to decorate his house, since all he ever did when he was on Earth was put up a crappy inflatable snowman on his balcony and hang a wreath on his front door. This time there was just this little bit of holiday magic in his heart that pushed him just a tiny itsy bitsy step forward. Oh, what he would give to just quit... But his mama didn't raise no quitter! Early wrapped the chain of decorative trinkets around his chest, slowly but surely putting them down on the hooks as he went. He never had to use those before, but since his roof was rather oddly shaped, he had no other way around it (he did just wake up in this house, he had no hoof in designing it... probably for the better honestly). "Just... one... more...!" he groaned as he neared the final hook, "Aaaaaaaand... DONE!". Taking a step back, he admired his hoofwork. There they were, his 10 bits Hearth's Warming lights to brighten up the night. Who would've guessed something so small could bring not only a feeling of self-fulfillment but also add a new layer of beauty to his wooden cabin he called his home. A tear appeared at the corner of his eye, the lights began growing distant, the wind rushed by him, his smile never leaving his face as he accepted his fate and entered the snow's cold embraces. Yeah, taking a step back to admire his masterpiece while standing on the roof wasn't the brightest idea. "And PLEASE be careful next time, do I make myself clear?" Nurse Cotton questioned with a stern expression. "Crystal..." came Early's croaked reply as he dragged his stiff behinds through the Ponyville clinic's doors. With his back now wrapped in bandages to keep it warm while the cream worked its magic, Early Eye had to carefully choose his path. The kind pegasus that brought him over here in the first place wasn't kind enough to keep him company (couldn't blame the guy, Hearth's Warming is busy for everypony) so he had nothing else to do but to slowly trudge through the town. Under normal circumstances, the walk from the clinic to his home would take under 5 minutes if he decided to screw most of the roads and use the grassy fields as a shortcut. Now though, he had no other choice unless he wanted to earn another stern talk from Nurse Cotton and, oh golly, was that mare scary. While the walk was slow, it was far from unbearable, quite the opposite! With so much time on his hooves, Early took his sweet times admiring the work that went into making Ponyville a true winter-blessed star among all its surroundings. Just another wonder of Equestira, he thought to himself with the most childish of smiles. Despite how many times he had already compared this world to his own, there was just no point in not doing so, the contrast was like between Luna and Celestia's duties. Gone were the advertisements, the flickering streetlights, wet and floopy snow and even the electric-swing renditions of Christmas songs. The night sky was peacefully sleeping with stars as its covers, the many food stands were basically seducing his senses and the decorations. Oh, by Celestia's sunny rump, the decorations! If one were to compare this town with picture-perfect artistic depictions of Christmas, it would still trample it mercilessly! Early could feel something returning, something that he thought he lost long ago. He didn't have a name for it yet. Maybe it would come to him later but whatever it was, it was back and it felt wonderful. As his eyes wandered around the dazzling spectacle before them, the rest of his body bumped into something. Taking a very dangerous step backwards and barely avoiding crashing to the cold ground below him, Early uttered a quick apology, hoping that the other pony wasn't standing over a frozen puddle or something. Worst case scenario, he would have a crippled buddy to return home to, he thought despite his panic. Instead, what greeted him was a young mare. Her short and puffy hair was accompanied by a pair of ear-warmers, her neck tightly hugged by a scarf with a snowflake pattern sewn onto it and a very shocked expression to complete the upper part of her body. "What the- Oh my..." the mare cut herself off, notcing the state Early was in, "what happened to you?". "O-oh, what? That?" he pointed to his bandage, "Decorations gone wrong, that's all..." he waved his hoof dismissively, losing his footing almost immediately after. The earth pony was quick on her hooves, catching and lifting up Early's posture back to a more favourable postion, "Wow, clearly gone VERY wrong, huh?". "Ah... okay, yeah" he admitted, blushing slightly, "Anyways, thanks for the catch. You're a quick one". "Mhm, no issue!" the mare gave him proud smile, "So, what do you go by, mister handyhoof?" she inquired. "Early Eye... and you are...?" "Plum Blossom!" sounded her excited answer. Once again, the back of Early's mind was puzzled by just how friendly those ponies were. No yelling, no stupid questioning or telling him how he should walk. Just concern, offer of help and warm introductions. What a world, what a world... "Plum, are you coming or what?!" a shout came from further down the town's square. The mare looked in the general direction of the noise and waved her hoof high in the air "Coming, coming!". Both Plum Blossom and Early Eye looked at eachother, ready to part. Or so he thought. Plum on the other hoof, took a quick glance up above both of them, chuckling to herself. "Haha! Very clear, Early! Had me falling for that fake injury act, you naught stallion" she joked to his face. "The what?" came his geniunely puzzled expression. Plums explanation? A quick smooch to Early's muzzle. "Well, hope that "injury" of yours heals in no time!" she winked at him, trotting off towards her distance friends group. Early Eye stood near one of the stalls, his brain frozen like a popsicle. One blink, no response, second blink, still nothing, third blink, and he finally looked up, to where Plum was looking beforehoof. There, at the very edge of somepony's roof sat a lonely mistletoe. One... two... three... four... ding! His eyes widened as his mind finally connected all the necessary dots to draw a proper conclusion. It really happened. His first every kiss under that bucking mistletoe. The life around paid him no mind, he didn't need it to. For him, this was a very special moment. That one, always present but just out of reach, miracle of Christmas. All it took was waking up in a whole different world. He felt that thing again, that warmth and tingling wrecking sweet mayhan in his chest. Early Eye finally understood how much he missed this holiday. Not just the holiday itself, but the magic it carried with its traditions. He stood there, still stuck, frozen in a mix of amazement and wonder. It wasn't until moments later he found a need to sit down and process it all. He allowed his legs to give out, bringing his beaten-up rear to the frozen ground and gravel below. Tonight, the chilly air above Ponyville was filled with laughter, heart-felt wishes and one agonizing scream that singnaled a second visit to the town's clinic. Author's Note Not twists, just a simple, happy and a bit humorous story for this year's Christmas! :twilightsmile: https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/twilightsmile.png I decided to wrote something more light-hearted to remind myself what holidays should be like, fun. Once again, happy holiday, dear readers! :raritywink: https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/raritywink.png ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆