A Hearth's Warming Carol

by Punch Line

Rating: everyone
Tags: Comedy, Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 12091

Somebody had to make the parody. It was just a matter of time.

On the day before Hearth's Warming, Twilight Sparkle finds herself unable to grasp the reason behind everypony's suspicious happiness on this holiday. Majorly based on Dicken's work (as you may have already noticed), with some slightly comedic twists.

Published 2012-12-24 16:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-12-29 12:49:22 UTC

1. It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Twas the night before Hearth’s Warming, when all through the Library,
Not a creature was stirring – save for a unicorn’s continuous worry.
For she knew not what exactly Hearth’s Warming was –
And she knew not how to explain it to the Princess.

Her endless pacing, I’m afraid,
Was enough to keep even this dragon a little agitated.
For all over the Library –

“Spike, will you cut that out? I’m trying to concentrate here!”

Oh alri –

“I mean… alright, fine.”

“Thank you.”

The evening before Equestria’s annual Hearth’s Warming celebration was a restless one for Twilight Sparkle: magician extraordinaire, student of Princess Celestia, and totally clueless about the true nature of Hearth’s Warming.

“I just don’t know how it happens!” Twilight Sparkle, truly frustrated about things, gave out an almighty sigh. “Every year, it happens without fail – every pony, no matter how big their problems are, just seem to suddenly cheer up every Hearth’s Warming!”

Spike, her ever-dutiful, now-extremely-frazzled assistant, shrugged. “So you’ve been saying for the past week, Twi… Maybe this doesn’t really need a scientific explanation…?”

“But Spike, everything has to be explained by science!” Twilight exclaimed, causing Spike to shake his head.

“Twilight, not everything has to be explained by science. Sometimes, they just… happen, you know? Maybe you should just let things be.” Then, he added as an afterthought: “Or maybe you should just let me go to sleep already.”

“But there has to be at least something scientific about it! I mean, it just isn’t possible how everypony just up and forgets they ever have any problems whenever the holiday comes around! I mean, how is nopony not happy every Hearth’s Warming?”

“Don’t you want anypony to be happy on Hearth’s Warming?”

“… You think it’s something in the snow? A lot of unknown elements can be found in snow, you know.”

“Geez, Twilight, were you this depraved as a filly?”

She frowned.

Spike gulped audibly, instantly realizing his mistake. Still, he soldiered on. “The point is, you should just let this all go and forget about it. No point trying to complicate something that’s already there.”

Even before he’d finished his sentence, Twilight’s eyes had already began to… sparkle. “That’s it! Spike!”

“What’s it?”

“Forgetfulness!” she exclaimed, clearly pleased with her discovery. “Maybe there’s something in the Hearth’s Warming atmosphere that causes ponies to forget their problems! Or maybe it’s in the snow! Ohh, don’t you even get me started on the snow!”

“Look, Twilight,” said Spike, after shaking his head again for probably the hundredth time. “It’s Hearth’s Warming! Shouldn’t you be out having fun instead of doing so much work?”

“But I haven’t written to the Princess in weeks! I haven’t been writing, because I’ve been so busy with all this work for the celebrations, so I haven’t been able to look into this Hearth’s Warming Happiness Phenomenon, which I know I should have looked into, but I haven’t, because I was so busy, and I – ”

“Exactly, Twilight, which is why you should give it a rest,” Spike butted into her rant and swung an arm over her shoulders. “I don’t know about you, but you should probably give both of us a rest as well.”

She looked over at him and frowned again.

“I… I mean, if you want to rest, that is…”

Twilight glanced out her window, saw how high up the moon was, and sighed. “It’s fine, Spike. You can go ahead and rest.”

He almost leapt up at her announcement. Almost. “But what about you? You look like you need the rest too.”

“Oh, don’t mind me,” she shook her head and smiled at him. “I’ll be thinking of what to tell the Princess about Hearth’s Warming. If I’m right about the whole forgetfulness and amnesia-inducing atmosphere this season brings to make ponies forget all about their sadness… then maybe I’ll end up saving Equestria! Again!”

Spike’s head almost fell off from his shoulders. “Amnesia-inducing what now?”

Twilight paused and began to consider the possibility that she might have gone waaay off tangent with that last statement. “Never mind, Spike. Just go to sleep. I’ll be along soon.”

“Oh, alright then. If you say so.” Spike tried his best to not look happy at her announcement.

“Oh, and Spike?” Twilight called as he was on his way to his room. He turned around to face her, expecting to hear another Hearth’s Warming-related rant.

“Thanks.”

The surprise melted away from his face, but Spike wasn’t disappointed. “No problem… But for what?”

Twilight gave him a… sparkling smile. “For staying up with me tonight.”

“Oh, that,” he chuckled. “Sure, Twi, no problem. Just make sure you go to bed this time. Wouldn’t want your zero-sanity episode repeating itself.”

Twilight had to give a laugh at that one. “I promise. Good night, Spike.”

“Good night, Twilight.”

And with that, he disappeared into the bedroom, undoubtedly ready for a full night’s sleep.

Twilight sighed. She was sure the both of them would be extremely busy for tomorrow’s Hearth’s Warming celebrations, especially since they were the event organizers. Not only that, her friends and most likely the entire Ponyville would be expecting so much from her this year, no thanks to Rainbow Dash’s constant bragging of this year’s Hearth’s Warming to be. The. Best. Hearth’s Warming. Ever.

Twilight remembered that event fondly.

… /// …

“All right!” Rainbow Dash loudly proclaimed to the assembly of gathered ponies. “Now that we’re done with the Winter Wrap-Up, it’s time to rock, roll, and celebrate!”

“Ooh! A party! I love parties!” Pinkie Pie hopped up and down. “Especially Hearth’s Warming parties! Those are always the best! With Santa Horse and his team of flying reindeer! Reindeer! Aren’t you excited? Ooh, I’m excited, so excited, I feel like I could - !”

Applejack, who now had her forehoof stuck in Pinkie’s mouth, gave an unsteady grin to the cyan Pegasus and nodded.

“This year, Twilight and Spike - ”

“Amb ufh!” Pinkie exclaimed, Applejack’s hoof still stuck in her mouth.

“And us,” Rainbow continued, unaffected by the interruption. “We’ve all prepared something grand for everypony and we promise you that this’ll be a year you’ll never forget!”

Pinkie Pie made a loud noise of glee and began to jump up and down again, while Applejack was struggling to retrieve her hoof from the bouncing pony's mouth.

“This year’s Hearth’s Warming is going to be,” Rainbow now did an aerial loop-de-loop for emphasis. “The. Best. Hearth’s Warming. Ever!”

Back on the ground, Fluttershy clapped her hooves appreciatively at the display. “Oh, Rainbow, that was a beautiful speech. I’m sure everypony will be glad to hear it.”

“Well, they should be!” Rainbow Dash made an expert landing in front of the other pegasus. “After all, I am the great and purely awesome Rainbow – ”

“Dash, darling,” Rarity began, waving a hoof. “Maybe you’re forgetting that you weren’t the only pony hard at work this year?”

She motioned a hoof over to Twilight, who had been sitting quietly beside her throughout the entire exchange.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, Twilight.”

Twilight Sparkle just laughed and shook her head. “That’s no problem, Rainbow. After all, everypony here worked as hard as I did.”

“That’s right!” Pinkie Pie bounced over to them, now having freed herself from Applejack’s hoof. “Teamwork, plain and simple! All in the spirit of Hearth’s Warming!”

“There’s that phrase again,” Twilight frowned, her eyebrows beginning to meet. “’All in the spirit of Hearth’s Warming.’ I don’t get it, is Hearth’s Warming a pony with a spirit? I know of Equestria’s history with the warring clans all coming together during winter, but what I don’t understand is… what is it in this time of peace and love that makes everypony – and I do mean everypony – stop, drop all their problems, and just celebrate?”

“Now what in tarnation was that all about?!” Applejack waved her hoof in front of Pinkie’s face, not having heard majority of Twilight’s rant.

“Is there something in the cold winds that just makes everypony so happy this time of the year? Even if it is tradition and even if history says so, I still don’t understand why ponies still find the energy to just be happy every Hearth’s Warming. Equestria was attacked two times now and everypony’s still… happy!”

“Oh, Twilight, don’t you want anypony to be happy on Hearth’s Warming?” Rarity asked.

“Well, it’s not that…” Twilight began, but found that she was unable to finish her thought. “It’s just…”

“Hearth’s Warming magic!” Pinkie giggled.

Applejack stared back at her, not believing a word of it. “Ah don’t believe a word of it.”

“… Is it something in the snow?”

“But Twilight, it is Hearth’s Warming,” Rarity explained. “Maybe you should just let it be.”

“Because if it has something to do with snow, then I know just who to ask!” Twilight said, a… sparkle coming alive in her eyes. “Rainbow – where is she?”

Fluttershy pointed to the Library’s open window. “Oh, she went off flying all over Ponyville to spread the news about this year’s Hearth’s Warming.”

“The. Best. Hearth’s Warming. EVER!” Rainbow Dash’s voice was heard outside.

“An’ what’s all this hooey about flyin’ reindeer?!”

Pinkie Pie giggled, as she demonstrated the finer points of hopping on just her tail to Applejack.

“Hearth’s Warming magic, you silly filly!”

… /// …

Twilight jerked her head from the floor and shook it violently. She looked outside at the moon. It was getting late and she still had some work to do.

“Back to the lab again,” she picked herself up from where she’d fallen asleep on the floor and trotted over to her work table.

“Who?” Owlicious asked from her window sill.

“Not who, Owlicious, what,” Twilight corrected. “I’m going to get down to the business of Hearth’s Warming even if it knocks me out unconscious for days!”

Author's Note

Thought of the general idea on the fly after seeing "The Muppet Christmas Carol" (yes, that Muppet Christmas Carol). I'll try to make this as funny as possible - but of course, anyone's free to hit me up when I stop doing that.

So, how'd I do on my first shot?

2. Do You Hear What I Hear?

An hour later, Twilight was still hard at work figuring out the entire happiness business that overtook ponies every Hearth’s Warming. She wasn’t making any progress, however, her disarrayed mane and heavy eyes being testament to that.

She turned around wearily, about to pull out yet another book from her shelves, when suddenly, a bright pink ball of energy erupted in the middle of the Library, materializing into a proud white stallion.

“Who?” asked Owlicious, cocking his head at the sudden disturbance.

The white stallion reared up on his hind legs and gave an almighty neigh, his blue mane flowing freely about him. Twilight trotted up to him, clearly unimpressed with the whole display.

“Shining Armor?” she asked, eyebrow raised. “What are you doing here? It’s late!”

Shining Armor, looked down at her and grinned. “Twily!” he greeted, but remembered something important and shook his head. When he looked down at Twilight again, his mouth was set in a straight line, as though he had arrived to deliver an important announcement.

“Twilight Sparkle,” he began. “I have arrived here to deliver a most important announcement.”

“Important announcement?” Twilight dropped her skeptical appearance and immediately replaced it with an incredulous one. “What’s this all about, Shining Armor? Why are you being so formal? Does it have something to do with an ominous threat looming over Ponyville?”

“I… uh… Something like that,” he answered, stumbling over his words. “It has something to do with this year’s Hearth’s Warming and your reluctance to – ”

“I knew it!” The purple unicorn was now reaching excitement levels that went way off the charts. “If it has something to do with Hearth’s Warming and how ponies suddenly forget everything and just start celebrating, then it only proves I was right all along! Of course, I haven’t actually found any solid evidence to prove all that, but I do promise to put in the extra work for it, oh Shining Armor, you will be so proud of me when this is all over and – ”

“Wooah there, Twilight,” her brother said, taking a small step backwards in a tiny effort to dispel his sister’s excitement. “This doesn’t have anything to do with all those conspiracy theories you’ve just made up. In fact, you’re involved in this whole thing a lot more than you think.”

“But I don’t understand.” Twilight finally stopped leaping for joy once her brother had finished talking. “What have I got to do with this? And… what is all this anyway? I don’t even know what’s going on!”

Shining Armor shook his head fondly and smiled at her. “It’s about you and your reluctance to accept Hearth’s Warming as the happy holiday it is. I know what you’re trying to prove and why, but you just have to let it go. Hearth’s Warming is a day for happiness and celebration – there’s no need to prove anything.

“It just is.”

As soon as he finished his speech, Shining Armor raised his head and nodded to himself, obviously satisfied with the lesson he’d been able to impart with his younger sister. Just think of all the lessons she’d learn from this night and how she’d be able to carry all of them in her future endeavors ahead in life! He was already beginning to shed a tear just thinking of all the possibilities that were in store for his gifted little sister.

However, Twilight wasn’t having any of it. “But there has to be something that influences ponies to fall under that spell of happiness and celebration and love. Something scientific! It just isn’t possible to have everypony’s problem magically erased for just one day!”

Shining Armor sighed. Well, so much for that plan. Time for Plan B. “Twilight Sparkle,” he began again, raising himself to his full height. “I can’t believe you didn’t buy any of that! Because of your refusal to accept Hearth’s Warming as the holiday it truly is, tonight!”

He paused for dramatic flair.

“You will be visited by three Pony Spirits!” He paused again and was somewhat pleased to see that he had Twilight’s full and undivided attention. “Each of these Pony Spirits will be visiting you each time a new hour passes and they will be teaching you the lessons you need, so that you will finally learn to accept Hearth’s Warming as it truly is.”

Twilight exchanged a glance with Owlicious, looked back sheepishly at her big brother, and raised a hoof. “… Will I have to report back to the Princess about this?”

“Well, I suppose you do,” he answered, a bit unsure with his answer himself. “Now, are you prepared to face the spirits and learn all about the true spirit of Hearth’s Warming?”

She shrugged. “I still don’t understand any of this, but whatever, I guess.” Then, she added under her breath. “And it’s not like I have a choice in this or anything…”

“I heard that!” Shining Armor huffed. “But if you’re ready to face them anyway, then I guess my time here’s up. Farewell, then, Twilight Sparkle! Be vigilant, for they are about to visit you soon!”

And just like how he arrived, Shining Armor became surrounded by the same pink magical rays, and disappeared with a soft bang. Twilight was left staring at the empty space he once occupied, which was now filled with black soot from his dramatic entrance and exit.

“Well, that’s one more thing Spike’ll have to clean tomorrow.” She shook her head and turned to Owlicious. “You don’t think he’s actually serious, do you? I mean, Pony Spirits… who ever heard of that?”

“Who?”

“I’m still pretty sure that there’s something about Hearth’s Warming that makes ponies forgetful and if my big brother’s behavior is any indication, then maybe it’s much worse than I thought.”

Cleary, she had not learned a thing from Shining Armor’s speech. So, Twilight, still determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, went back to her work table, half-researching and half-waiting for the first of the three Pony Spirits to come along.

… /// …

A Brief History in the Time of Equestria is a fairly thick book written by a certain Stephen Hoofing, in which he details… well, a brief history in the time of Equestria. It was this book that Twilight drew from one of her shelves with much difficulty, as the book’s massive weight could still be felt, even with the use of magic. Hoping to find anything that might aid her in her studies, Twilight was clearly struggling to bring the book back to her work station.

This book was also the book that fell on Twilight’s left forehoof that night, as a result of a particularly loud explosion from behind her.

EXPLOSION!!!

“Gah!” Twilight yelled out, her copy of A Brief History in the Time of Equestria landing full-force on her left forehoof. “My leg! My book!”

“Heya, Twilight!”

The unicorn did an immediate about-face, instantly recognizing that perky voice.

“Pinkie Pie?!”

If the pink earth pony standing in front of her showed any signs of glee upon being recognized, she was clever enough to hide those emotions. Instead, she gave a jolly bounce and proclaimed loudly: “Nope! I’m the Pony Spirit of Hearth’s Warming Past! Oh, boy, was that a mouthful!”

“No, you’re Pinkie Pie.”

“Nope! I’m the Pony Spirit of Hearth’s Warming Past!”

“No you’re not. Pinkie Pie, I don’t know what you’re up to, but I want you to stop.”

“No can do, Twilight Sparkle! Or else my name isn’t Pony Spirit of Hearth’s Warming Past! Please don’t make me say that again.”

“No way you’re not.”

“Yes too!”

“No too!”

“Yes too!”

“No too!”

“Yes too times infinity plus one – and you know you can’t top that!”

Twilight sighed in defeat. Despite her wide range of knowledge on numbers and facts, even she knew that infinity plus one was just a number that could not be beat. Of course, she could always belt out the infinite value of pi, but seeing as it was Pinkie Pie, Twilight suspected that her friend would end up eating it anyway, even before she was finished reciting.

“Ugh. Fine, then, O Pony Spirit of Hearth’s Warming Past.” She paused. “Whoa, that is a mouthful.”

Pinkie Pie giggled. “See, what’d I tell you? Anyway, it’s time to get down to business! As you’ve already heard from Jacob Marley – ”

“Who?”

“Oh, I meant your big brother, silly me!” The earth pony scratched her head apologetically. “As you’ve already heard from your big brother, I’m the first of three Pony Spirits to visit you tonight. Apparently, somepony told your Auntie Pony Spirit here that you weren’t a firm believer of the joy Hearth’s Warming gives.”

“Well, of course you knew that already,” Twilight said. “After all, you were there when I told the other girls that I uh…” She trailed off upon seeing Pinkie’s stern frown. “I mean… you weren’t there when I told the other girls that, because you most definitely are not Pinkie Pie. There, happy?”

“Uh-huh!” Pinkie Pie nodded. “Well now, since we’ve got all that straightened out, allow me to do my job! Get ready, Twilight!”

“Get ready for what, are we going somewh – ”

EXPLOSION!!!

… /// …

EXPLOSION!!!

Twilight groaned from the ground and coughed out a little bit of dust. Then, she shook her head and began to look around tentatively. The two ponies were now in the middle of a room, which could have easily been a place for a family to live in. The air around them was warm, thanks to a nearby fireplace, which provided a satisfying respite from the cold winter outside. Somewhere in the room’s back corner stood a small pine tree, adorned with homemade decorations, the brightest one being the glittering yellow star atop it. The smell of apple-flavored cookies also wafted in gently, providing a most pleasant aroma to the two.

Little by little, realization was dawning on Twilight’s features, as she slowly recognized her surroundings. Despite the familiarity she felt with the place, however, she remained unsure of herself and still felt the need to ask her companion:

“Pinkie… how did you do that?”

“Oh, that teleportation thingy?” The other pony asked from beside her, letting the name change slide. “Hearth’s Warming Magic!”

Twilight, already half-anticipating that answer, only groaned and picked herself up. “Pinkie, why are we here?”

“So you do know where we are!”

“Well, of course I do,” the unicorn replied, giving a little smile. “Why, this is my fillyhood home! And look, here come my parents now!”

As soon as she said this, the door opened, revealing a dark blue stallion and his partner, a light gray mare, both of whom were indeed Twilight Sparkle’s parents.

“Shining Armor! Twilight!” the mother called, while the father shut the door gently, chuckling a bit as the sound of tumbling hooves came from upstairs. A tiny ball of white and purple rolled rapidly down the stairs and came to a grinding halt in front of the smiling mare.

“Mommy!” little Shining Armor called, leaping up to wrap his mother in a bear hug.

“Daddy!” little Twilight Sparkle greeted, near-tackling her father.

“Daddy!” grown-up Twilight Sparkle exclaimed, launching herself towards her father, eager not to miss out on any of the family bonding fun.

But instead of landing on her father’s steady figure, the purple unicorn landed face-first into the wall that was directly behind him. She shook the yellow canaries away from her head and glared enviously at her filly-self, who was now being ruffled affectionately by their father.

“Silly filly!” Pinkie Pie bounced toward the disgruntled pony. “They can’t see or hear us, even if we can! Remember, this is all just a flashback sequence, so all you have to do is sit back and enjoy!”

“… I knew that.” Twilight huffed, crossing her arms and blushing violently.

“So, my little ponies… were you both good fillies this year?” Twilight’s father asked his children, both of whom were staring up excitedly at him.

“Yep!”

“Of course, daddy!”

“Well, then.” He shared a meaningful, loving glance with his wife. “Your mother and I know that, so we decided to get you some presents!”

“Yay, presents!” Shining Armor was on his hooves now. Beside him, Twilight was also up on her hooves, her tail wagging in excitement.

“Oh, Twilight, you were so cute as a filly!” Pinkie Pie gushed, while Twilight remained silent, transfixed by the scene.

In front of them, the siblings had already received their gifts, and were now shredding the wrappers apart. Their parents stood nearby, watching their children with nothing but love and affection in their eyes. A few seconds later, the two fillies were grinning down at the new toys they received for Hearth’s Warming.

“Oh, wow! A real Battleclouds gameboard!” Shining Armor said, stars dancing in his eyes. “Thanks, mom!”

“A study buddy for Mr. Smartypants!” Twilight Sparkle said, holding a bespectacled bear plushie and squeezing it tightly. “Thanks, dad!”

Their parents smiled warmly in return, bracing themselves for the hugs that were soon to follow – which they did.

Meanwhile, beside Pinkie Pie, the grown-up Twilight let out a little sniffle at the memory, then shook her head immediately afterward.

“Pinkie, why are you showing me this?” she asked. “You do know that I lost that Smartypants study buddy a few weeks after today, don’t you?”

The pink earth pony only shook her head and smiled ambiguously. “You’ll see, Twilight. Come on, there’s something else I want to show you!” She trotted over to the family’s dining table, snatched an apple-flavored cookie, and began munching on it happily.

Twilight stared back at her companion, shock and disbelief clearly on her features. “Okay, the memory flashback sequence, I can forgive, but how did you – ”

EXPLOSION!!!

… /// …

EXPLOSION!!!

“… And so, today, on Hearth’s Warming, I want you to have this.”

Twilight coughed again, shook her head, and looked around, surprise setting once again on her features as she found herself in Princess Celestia’s Royal Palace in Canterlot.

“Pinkie!”

“Ssh! We’re just getting to the good part!”

After being hissed into silence, the purple unicorn gave a little “humph” and turned to look back at the scene. Somehow, she wasn’t at all surprised to see her filly-self again, this time in front of Princess Celestia. Beside filly-Twilight was a tiny baby dragon, who was undoubtedly Spike.

Little Twilight bowed low in thanks. “Oh, but Princess, I don’t think I really deserve that.”

“No need to be so formal with me, my student,” the Princess admonished gently. “I want you to have this, not only because you have been doing so well in your studies, but also because I think you may find it useful for Spike.”

Upon hearing his name, Spike, who was unable to walk or talk yet, let out a little burst of green flame. This caused filly-Twilight to giggle. “He hasn’t learned to make fire yet, Princess.”

“He will, in time,” Princess Celestia answered. “Now, take this book and I hope it will prove useful to you and Spike.”

Little Twilight received her gift and examined the cover. “‘A Collection of Equestrian Fairy Tales.’ Princess, I’m not sure how Spike will be able to read this.”

Princess Celestia laughed softly. “He won’t be doing any reading – you will, dear Twilight. I know for a fact that it works for letting little ones go to sleep. After all, it worked for you.”

Both versions of Twilights blushed, the first one deeply touched by her surrogate mother, the other one still feeling touched years after the incident.

“I won’t let you down, Princess!”

“I’m sure you won’t,” she said and looked over at Spike kindly. “Isn’t that right, Spike?”

Instantly, however, the Princess recoiled on reflex, as the baby dragon let out a huge burp, engulfing little Twilight – and her new book – in bright, green flames. After seeing that her student was, otherwise unharmed, Princess Celestia began to laugh affectionately at the pair.

“Well, what do you know,” little Twilight remarked, coughing out a cloud of soot. “He does know how to make fire.”

Beside her, Spike gave an innocent smile, a page of the now-ruined book floating atop his head. Twilight noticed this and panicked, once she saw that the Princess’ gift had been burnt to a crisp. “Oh my gosh, Princess! Your gift! Oh my gosh, I’m so, so sorry.”

But Princess Celestia only shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, Twilight, we can always get a new copy anytime. Besides, I think Spike is enjoying it anyway.”

The two looked over at Spike, who was gurgling happily and clumsily grasping the book’s torn page. Although it contained a lengthy paragraph of words he couldn’t read just yet, there was a colorful picture of a knight pony and his princess pony touching foreheads, both of them clearly in love. While he couldn’t understand any of it, this seemed to please the baby dragon immensely, much to Twilight’s relief.

“You know something, Twilight?” Pinkie said from beside her. “Spike was really cute as a baby before too.”

She could only nod proudly, as images of Spike growing up flooded her mind. “He was, Pinkie. He was.” Then, she frowned again and turned to address the other pony. “But I don’t understand. Both of the flashbacks you showed me – they both involve me and my gifts getting wrecked. What’s the point of all this?”

“Don’t be so silly, Twilight!” the earth pony said. “The point was that these are some of your happier memories from fillyhood and more than the gifts you received, it was the – ”

“I knew it!” the unicorn said. “I knew there had to be some scientific connection between the happiness and Hearth’s Warming! It’s in the presents, isn’t it?”

“But Twilight, you don’t understand, the real moral of the story is – ”

“… Which makes so much sense, because a pony receiving something for the holidays increases that pony’s likelihood for happiness, which can only mean…”

Pinkie Pie shrugged. “Oh, well, guess I’ll just have to let the next Pony Spirit take over for me.”

“… Can be totally linked to amnesia-inducing effects, which the Princess has to know immediately – ”

EXPLOSION!!!

… /// …

EXPLOSION!!!

“… Therefore proving me right that there is a scientific explanation for all this!” Twilight finished and found that she was right back at the Library, with a questioning Owlicious, who was still perched on the window sill. “Pinkie?”

“Who?”

She was about to answer her pet owl, when she saw one of the apple-flavored cookies Pinkie had nabbed in one of her flashbacks. Twilight, grateful for the kind gesture, picked it up and began munching on it. It still tasted as good as she remembered.

After finishing the cookie, she headed over to her work desk with a renewed vigor to restart her research, when a loud voice shocked her out of her system:

“The next Pony Spirit’s coming soon, so you’d better watch out!”

“PINKIE PIE!”

Author's Note

I'm calling everypony here by their real names, for convenience's sake. You have no idea how tiring it is to type and retype Pony Spirit of Hearth's Warming Past/Present/Future. Heh.

3. Deck the Halls

Twilight took a momentary pause from her readings, looked up to her ceiling, and briefly closed her eyes, so that they might rest. The night was still quite young and Luna’s moon was still high up in the sky, which meant that Pinkie Pie’s visit earlier hadn’t taken that long a time.

Still, after spending tons of minutes reading, sketching graphs, and reading some more, the unicorn was beginning to feel the effects of fatigue. And what did she have to show for her long night? Still not a thing, unfortunately. While she had that short spark of knowledge at first, she found that finding a correlation between exchanged gifts and ponies’ happiness was still something that needed more research. The gifts were hard proof that guaranteed instant smiles on ponies’ faces, but was that the only thing that mattered on Hearth’s Warming?

More than the gifts exchanged, Twilight supposed that there might be other elements that could contribute to these ponies’ happiness every holiday season. After all, receiving material gifts were surely not enough to dispel any problems a pony might have been facing then! Not only that, but it was mighty cold too every Hearth’s Warming – was exchanging gifts honestly enough to ward off the cold winds and the snow?

She brought her head down to re-focus on the parchments lay before her, shook it, and willed herself to regain concentration. It was no matter, she thought – the important thing was that she at least had a working hypothesis. This was admittedly good progress compared to earlier this evening, as she could now begin working on it.

Speaking of beginnings, however…

Her stomach rumbled.

“Who?” Owlicious, still awake, inquired about the commotion.

Twilight blushed. Did it really have to rumble that loud? “It’s nothing, Owlicious.” She grinned uneasily. “Just a little hungry, that’s all.”

But before she could explain the importance of foregoing important activities for science’s sake to her pet, a fragrant smell slowly made its presence felt. It smelled vaguely of…

“Apples?”

And just then, the door to her Library was kicked open, revealing none other than…

“Applejack?!”

Standing in the doorway.

“Well, howdy thar, Twilight!” the orange pony greeted, tipping her hat a little. “Ah’m sure you mighta heard from the previous spirit, but allow me ta introduce mahself anyway: Ah’m the Pony Spirit of Hearth’s Warmin’ Present!”

Twilight’s initial surprise melted away into a deadpan expression. “That again?” She frowned. “Seriously, Applejack, what’s come onto you and Pinkie Pie? Why are you masquerading as Pony Spirits?”

“Ain’t nopony masqueradin’ as Pony Spirits,” Applejack said, pushing a wheelbarrow into the Library. “Tha’s ‘cause we are Pony Spirits. And Ah’m the – ”

“The Pony Spirit of Hearth’s Warming Present,” Twilight grumbled. “Yes, I heard.”

Her stomach rumbled again, causing Applejack to chuckle warmly. “Now, Ah know you’ve been mighty hungry since the previous Pony Spirit came knockin’ in.” She shut the door gently and nudged her wheelbarrow inside. “’S why Ah brought ya some treats – apple-flavored, o’course – so y’all can eat a bit ‘fore we move on to tha next phase.”

Catching an apple pie the Pony Spirit had flung, Twilight gave her companion a questioning look before eating. “Next phase?” She munched on the apple pie. “What next phase?”

“Why, tha next phase o’ yer re-education in the holiday season, o’course! Didn’t the other Pony Spirit talk t’ya ‘bout this?”

“Oh, she did.” Twilight nodded. “And thanks to her, I’ve figured out that the gifts ponies exchange every Hearth’s Warming contribute to their level of happiness.”

Applejack frowned. “Tha gifts contributin’ to their happiness ratio?” She shook her head. “Now that bit o’ news doesn’t sit so well wi’ mah ears. Ah know that don’t make much sense and Ah thought the other Pony Spirit already talked t’ya ‘bout that.”

Twilight gave her a blank stare.

Applejack brought a hoof to her face. “That darned Pony Spirit. Thar she goes again, dumpin’ the lessons’n me. Why am I the only Pony Spirit who does all the hard work around here?”

Twilight smiled, hoping to reduce the Pony Spirit’s irritation.

“Well if tha’s th’case, then we got no time t’lose!” Applejack adjusted her hat. “Y’ready, Twi?”

“Ready?” the unicorn asked, finishing off her pie. “Ready for what?”

“Like Ah said, yer re-education in the holiday season.” The orange pony grinned. “Ain’t no time like tha Present, like Ah always say!”

“Wait, what are you – ”

“Hold on t’yerself now, Twi. We’re gonna depart fer some Present business right 'bout… now.” Applejack reared. “Yee-ha!”

Twilight shut her eyes tightly and braced for impact, feeling a certain warmth surround her from all sides. A few seconds later, she felt the air around her change and she even picked up a few scents far, far different from the murky smell of her Library. No doubt about it, she was most definitely –

… /// …

Outside.

She opened her eyes.

Yup, nothing else but the Great Outdoors.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Applejack announced grandly from beside her. “Welcome ta Ponyville!”

The unicorn looked around and noticed that the Pony Spirit was right – this was Ponyville. But it wasn’t dark out here. In fact, the sun was high up in the sky and ponies were up and about, despite the slightly chilled winds. Twilight knew she had to ask how all this was happening, but first things first…

“Applejack, how did you do that?”

The other pony shrugged and grinned. “Hearth’s Warmin’ Magic.”

Twilight’s eyes widened and a grudging hint of acceptance began to make itself at home in them. “Okay, now I know you’re a Pony Spirit. The real Applejack wouldn’t even believe in Hearth’s Warming Magic.” She sighed. “Poor girl wouldn’t even believe in it, even if she’s so immersed in magic everyday, she wouldn’t know it even if it bit her in the – ”

“S’CUSE ME.” Cranky Doodle, who had been passing by at the time, brayed loudly at another passing pony, shocking Twilight into silence.

“Now, while tha’ may be right,” Applejack said, some annoyance crossing her features. “Ah do seem t’recall that y’ain’t exactly a believer in this Hearth’s Warmin’ Magic either.”

“That’s not totally true – well at least, maybe some of it – but you have to understand why I insist on conducting a study like this.” Twilight threw a worried glance at the cranky donkey, who was still slowly making his way to wherever he was going.

“Ah do an’ so do th’other Pony Spirits – which is why we’re here an’ rearin’ up to teach ya not t’look so deeply into these matters.” The earth pony gave Twilight a bemused look. “An’ don’t ya worry ‘bout him none, sugarcube. Nopony can see or hear us here.”

“Yeah, that’s what Pinkie said,” Twilight replied, then started following Applejack, who had began moving away. “But where are we going? What did you want to show me?”

“This here’s Ponyville a couple’a hours earlier’n… well, earlier.” The orange pony shrugged and grinned apologetically at her mistake. “What we’re seein’ an’ hearin’ now, Twi, ‘s Ponyville on Hearth’s Warmin’ Eve, just right after the Winter Wrap-Up.”

They continued to trot down Ponyville, where Twilight noticed several ponies exchanging gifts on the street and most others still doing some last-minute shopping. Whatever the case, everypony was still wearing a happy smile on their faces, regardless of whether they had gifts or not.

“Kinda throws yer gift-givin’ theory outta th’loop, huh?” Applejack said, cutting into the curious unicorn’s thoughts. “Y’see, sugarcube, not every pony needs a gift on Hearth’s Warmin’ jus’ t’feel happy. Y’notice not a lotta ‘em haven’t received their gifts yet, right?”

“Yes… and they’re still as happy as ever!” Twilight said, confusion clear on her features. “So what influences them, then? Surely you can’t have anypony feeling suddenly happy and light without some kind of external variable…”

“Ain’t nothin’ to explain.” The earth pony came to a halt in front of a treehouse. “An' don’t look now, but Ah think we’re ‘bout t’see some real special things right ‘bout now.”

“Cutie Mark Crusaders, Gift Wrapping Experts YAY!”

“Got all th’ gifts?”

“Check!”

“Got all th’ wrapper?”

“Check!”

“Got all th’ glue, scissors, an’ other assorted extra materials?”

“Check, check, aaand check!”

“All right! Now let’s buckle down an’ start wrappin’ these presents!”

“Geez, I hope everypony’ll be okay with what we got ‘em this year. We didn’t really have that much funds anyway…”

“Chin up, Scootaloo! Ah’m sure they’ll love whatever we’re givin’ ‘em! After all, it’s th’ thought that counts!”

“Applebloom’s right. Like what my big sister Rarity says, it doesn’t really matter how a pony’s all dressed up – it’s the pony herself that counts! … Although she said it does help mightily if that pony’s all dressed up nice-like.”

“But we ain’t givin’ anypony any dresses this year!”

“Yeah, I don’t get it!”

“… Yeah, me neither. Let’s start wrapping them up anyway!”

“Ah sure do hope we get our cutie marks fer fancy gift wrappin’. Ah mean, we got Sweetie Belle here ta help us out an' everythin'!”

“What’s Sweetie Belle got to do with any of this?”

“Well that’s ‘cause I’m the sister of Ponyville’s best designer ever, duh!”

“Oh. Well, in any case, we gotta start wrapping them up, so we’ll be able to get these to their owners faster!”

“Ah agree! Come on, girls, one more boost o’ morale before we get to wrappin’ ‘em up!”

“Cutie Mark Crusaders, Gift Wrapping Experts YAY!”

Back outside the Crusaders’ treehouse, the two older ponies continued to observe the fillies wrapping up their gifts. All appeared to be in order for the three young ponies, but true to Cutie Mark Crusader fashion, something just had to go wrong at some point.

After they had finished wrapping them up, the Crusaders realized that they’d forgotten to label the gifts, thus not knowing which gift was supposed to go to which pony. It was with collective sighs, complaints, and overreacting (Sweetie Belle) that the three set about unwrapping all their hard work in order to set things right.

“So ya see, Twilight?” Applejack said, once the pair was on their way to their next stop. “Ev’n if those three didn’t have any presents o’their own - an' even if they did end up botchin' the whole operation - they still were mighty darned happy an’ content just wrappin’ up the ones they were gonna give.”

“But I thought you said that ponies didn’t need presents to be happy?”

“Ah know Ah said that, but Ah’m surprised ya didn’t notice how the Crusaders were more’n glad to do all that with their friends. None o’ those li’l ponies did any o’ the wrappin’ themselves. Doesn’t that tell ya anything about the season?”

“Well, I think I’m at least starting to get it…”

The orange earth pony chuckled. “Glad t’hear it. But here’s somethin’ else Ah think y’oughta see.”

Again, the two ponies came to a halt in front of a very familiar boutique and it was here that Twilight had to repress the urge to greet the ponies they’d “bumped” into.

“Fluttershy, dear, I really am sorry I had to drag you in at a time like this,” Rarity apologized, as she stepped out of her boutique. “And on Hearth’s Warming Eve too! I’m sure you must have some important engagement I’ve pulled you away from and for that, I really must apologize!”

Her pink-maned, yellow-coated pegasus friend stepped out of the boutique to join her. “Oh, it was really nothing at all, Rarity. After all, I am the only other pony in our group who knows how to sew. And besides, I’m always happy to help.”

“You really are too kind, darling.” Rarity beamed. “And I have to tell you, this afternoon has been a most marvelous one – not only did I benefit from your help, I enjoyed your company immensely as well.”

“Thank you for inviting me over, Rarity.”

“Really, Fluttershy, I should be thanking you. You’ve been nothing but an absolute dear today,” the white unicorn said. “And those last-minute hoof-sewn banners are fantastic!”

“You praise me too much,” Fluttershy said, slightly shrinking behind her mane from all the praise. “Oh, but I do hope everything goes smoothly for tomorrow.”

Rarity gave her friend an easy smile. “If Pinkie Pie is handling the preparations for tomorrow, my dear, then I’m absolutely positive everything will go on without a hitch. Why, if anypony can handle our friend Twilight’s surprise Hearth’s Warming celebratory party, then – ”

“YOU PROMISED TO KEEP THAT A PINKIE SECRET ‘TILL TOMORROW!” Pinkie Pie suddenly leaped out of the nearby bushes, causing Fluttershy to let out a squeal before diving behind Rarity. The unicorn maintained her composure, however, firmly standing her ground and staring at Ponyville's party specialist right in the eye. From the looks of it, nopony would have guessed that she, too, had suffered a mild heart attack from Pinkie's vicious ambush.

“Really, Pinkie Pie, did you have to jump out so suddenly like that?” Rarity admonished her hyperactive friend. “Why, just take a look at what you did to poor Fluttershy!”

Behind her, Fluttershy was still quivering, but peeked out from her spot to look at Pinkie Pie. “O-oh, it’s no t-trouble at all, Rarity. I was just a little s-startled, that’s all.”

“TWILIGHT’S PARTY WAS TO BE KEPT A PINKIE SECRET UNTIL TOMORROW, BUT NOPONY’S KEEPING THEIR MUZZLES SHUT ABOUT IT AND – ”

But before Pinkie Pie could finish her accusations, a bright light hastily enveloped both Twilight and Applejack, bringing them back to –

… /// …

The present.

“Applejack, what was that all about?” Twilight asked, not surprised to find herself back in the Library again. “Why did you show me Rarity and Fluttershy? Was that the real Pinkie Pie or was that the other Pony Spirit? And what’s all this about a party?”

“Oh, that!” Applejack gave the unicorn an unsteady grin. “’T’was nothin’, don’t ya worry yer head none. Jus’ a li’l slip-up in mah magic, tha’s all.”

“But Applejack, I have so many questions about what you just showed me, I – ”

“The point was, it ain’t the gifts that get ponies t’be happy ev'ry time the holidays swing by. Don’t ya get it, Twi? ‘T’was the company o' other ponies an’ the feelin’ o' love instead o’ the gifts they got!”

“Well… okay…” Twilight brought a hoof to her chin. “But love exists all year round! What makes the love on Hearth’s Warming so special? Why, if we had that kind of love before, during, and after the holidays, Equestria would be a much better place!”

“Why can’t ya jus’ let the holidays be and not think so much about it?” the earth pony answered her. “Ain’t nothin’ complicated ‘bout it, but yer still tryin’ t’come up with an explanation for it. Sugarcube, Ah can’t help but think you’ve got it all wrong.

“Ah know yer smart, but this here’s just somethin’ that can’t be explained by anythin’. Y’just have to relax an’ go along with it.”

“Well, if you say so,” the unicorn said, still a bit unconvinced about the whole thing. After all, there just had to be some sort of science behind the whole thing!

“But Applejack, tell me something,” Twilight continued. “What exactly was that about a party?”

The orange pony laughed uneasily. “That? Heh. Don’t worry ‘bout it! ‘T’ain’t nothin’, believe me!” She scrunched up her face and tried to stare at some imaginary spot on the ceiling.

“I know when you’re lying, Applejack, and trust me, that face you’re making is – ”

“Well, woulja look at the time!” Applejack yelled, a bit too loudly for both ponies’ tastes. “Guess it’s right ‘bout time fer the next Pony Spirit t’come in an’ visit ya! Which means Ah have t’be goin’ now!”

“But Applejack – ”

“Right now!” she yelled again and made for the Library door. “Happy Hearth’s Warmin’, Twilight! Have an apple fritter, on th’house!”

And out she ran, leaving behind two apple fritters for the purple unicorn. A few moments later, even the huge wheelbarrow she’d dragged in earlier had vanished into thin air, leaving Twilight alone with Owlicious and the two fritters. It wasn’t long before the wind blew and kindly shut the door for her.

So, with nothing left to do but wait for the next Pony Spirit to arrive (for what other choice did Twilight have now than believe?), the unicorn simply sat down and did just that, munching away at one of the apple fritters the Pony Spirit of Hearth’s Warming Present had left behind as a… well, present.

Author's Note

Ah do declare Ah had a darned good time typin' out AJ's dialogue. Next chapter's comin' along any minute now, don't y'all worry yer pretty heads none.

4. Silent Night

Although she was quite sure that the Library door had been shut earlier, Twilight was certain now that the room’s temperature had noticeably dropped a few degrees. Even the nearby fireplace’s flames had died somewhat, indicating cause for the gradual cold. It was strange; although the windows were tightly shut and although the outside weather didn’t indicate anything more than a starry night, Twilight could still feel the coldness in her bones.

With the apple fritters long gone, the unicorn braced herself for whatever else was supposed to come, as she was sure her night wasn’t over yet. She was right, for just as she thought that, the flames in the fireplace died completely, leaving her with just her lit candlestick for light.

“Who?” Owlicious asked again, wanting to know who had caused the sudden darkness. Not that he was complaining, though. He seemed to like the dark just fine.

Twilight had to repress a shudder. Somehow, her pet’s questions sounded creepier in the dark.

A violent gust of wind then passed by and threatened to blow her candle out. But the light on that candlestick stood its ground, stayed fast, and continued to keep the candle alight.

After seeing that all was well with her candlestick, the unicorn breathed a sigh of relief, then turned her attention back to her fireplace, dreading to see what else the night would bring her.

As soon as her eyes landed on her fireplace, it immediately sparked back to life, the flames illuminating the room once again. But before she could relax and dismiss it as the wind’s fault, Twilight held her breath, as she noticed a figure standing in the middle of the room.

The figure’s four hooves were an immediate clue to its Pony Spirit status and Twilight already knew the answer, though she did not know how.

“The Pony Spirit of Hearth’s Warming Yet to Come,” she breathed, not knowing just how long she'd held that breath in. However, the figure’s expression was not visible, as it was clad in a black, hooded robe from mane to tail, hiding any other future expression from the world.

“You’re here to tell me about Hearth’s Warming again, aren’t you?”

Still, the Pony Spirit refused to answer.

“Why won’t you answer me?”

The Pony Spirit only huffed and arched its back. Proud, blue wings slipped out from within the robe and began to beat the air, as though preparing to launch the pony from the ground. As it did so, the wind beneath its hooves lifted up the robe somewhat, thus revealing hooves and legs colored as bright as the blue sky.

“Wait… Rainbow Dash?!” Twilight asked, upon seeing the coat. “Rainbow Dash, is that you? What are you doing? Is this like Pinkie Pie and Applejack earlier?”

The robed pegasus continued to beat the air in a faster rhythm, sending the temperature down a few more degrees.

“Rainbow Dash!”

Slowly, snow began to build up in and around the room, giving the purple unicorn more than a slight shiver because of the cold. Strong gusts of wind were also beginning to make their presence felt. The pegasus pony continued to beat the air, seemingly unaffected by the change in temperature.

“Easy for you to do all that, you’ve got a robe and wings,” the unicorn muttered irritably, casting a spell about her that enabled her to keep warm. “But this still doesn’t explain one thing! Rainbow Dash, why won’t you talk to me?”

Finally, the Pony Spirit ceased to beat the air and stood rigidly still. It was still snowing, but the cold winds had stopped blowing. Twilight trotted up to her, so determined to get her answers, that she didn’t notice that she was once again, outside the Library.

“Look, I’ll even call you ‘Pony Spirit of Hearth’s Warming Yet to Come’ if you'll just say something!”

As a means of reply, the Pony Spirit raised a hoof and pointed to her right. Twilight’s gaze followed the outstretched hoof and the unicorn gasped when she saw that the pegasus had been pointing to a graveyard.

The Pony Spirit, still wearing her robe, launched herself into the air and flew towards the cemetery. Seeing the rainbow-streaked tail peek out from underneath the robe, Twilight followed her, now sure that this Pony Spirit had taken the form of her friend, Rainbow Dash.

The Pony Spirit soared over the graveyard’s gate and landed inside it, the purple unicorn following close behind. Up ahead, there were two gravediggers, wiping their brows and walking on their way out, their job done for the day.

“Well, I guess that does it,” said one, hoisting his shovel with his unicorn magic.

“I’m just looking forward to some nice Hearth’s Warming dinner, if you ask me,” replied the other, his moustache bobbing a bit as he walked along.

“But brother, you just gotta feel sorry for that poor pony we just put under the ground.”

“You got that right. Poor girl, now the only view she’ll have left of Hearth’s Warming is from six feet under!”

The two shared a merry laugh, contrasting the dreary mood that is normally felt at graveyards.

“Dear brother of mine, I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to get a mite hungry.”

“Why, you’re right there, brother. Though for the life of me, I just can't remember why didn't eat before the job.”

“Well then, let’s get to it, Flam. We got ourselves some stomachs to fill.”

“Right you are, Flim. A pretty nice change after filling in that hole.”

Again, the two broters shared another laugh as they continued on their way out of the dreary field.

“Rainbow… who was that pony they were talking about?”

But the Pony Spirit only remained still and quiet, as if expecting the answer to come to Twilight.

“You know, the one they said they’d just recently buried?” she elaborated, mistakenly interpreting Rainbow’s silence as misunderstanding.

Now, the Pony Spirit began to fidget, no longer caring if her rainbow-colored tail was already out in the open, waving about in uneasiness.

“Of course, I don’t mean the Brothers, I’m talking about the pony they just put under the ground.”

Now growing both irritated and agitated with Twilight’s utter cluelessness, the Pony Spirit began to gesture wildly at her companion, hoping that the answer would come quicker.

But it still wasn’t working. Twilight, thinking that the Pony Spirit wanted to play charades, decided to play along.

“Now, Rainbow, I don’t think you’re being fair. Don’t get all mad, just because I haven’t figured it out yet.”

Smoke was now coming out of the frustrated pegasus’ hood, her annoyance now reaching unspeakable levels.

“I really don’t know why you refuse to talk to me. And I thought we were friends.”

Upon seeing the unicorn pout, the Pony Spirit snorted irritably and shook her head, inserting a hoof inside her hood in a frustrated facehoof.

“You’re doing this to yourself, you know. Why don’t you make this easier on yourself and just talk to me?”

Finally giving up, the Pony Spirit made another frustrated noise and pointed wildly to a nearby tombstone.

“… You want me to look at that nearby tombstone, don’t you?”

The Pony Spirit nodded so violently, Twilight was afraid her hood would fall back and reveal the disgruntled mare covered in it. But the hood stayed fast and the unicorn trotted slowly towards the tombstone, the Pony Spirit still making annoyed sounds behind her.

“Rainbow Dash, the tombstone’s covered in snow.”

The hooded mare stamped her hooves and struck the air in a harsh, horizontal fashion. She repeated this striking motion for some time, until Twilight raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll go wipe it off. Sheesh.”

So, she began wiping the snow off the tombstone’s face, then recoiled in horror upon seeing what was inscribed on it. Her initial horror then melted away and gave way to a questioning stare. Twilight alternated between staring at the tombstone and looking back at the Pony Spirit.

The hooded mare gave an irritated snort, as if asking the unicorn what the problem was now.

“… I don't get it.”

And it was at this point that the Pony Spirit could take it no longer.

“GAH!” she exclaimed, throwing the hood off her head. It was indeed Rainbow Dash. “What the HAY is wrong with you, Twilight! Egghead like you, I’d expect you to figure out everything on the fly, but NOOO, turns out you need my help for every little thing and – ”

“But Rainbow Dash, I really can’t read what it says.”

“… What?”

“Over there, on the tombstone. Take a look.”

So, she did.

And this is what the tombstone read:

Toran Parildamaq

“Oh, right.” Rainbow fumbled, now feeling immensely stupid for her outburst. “Wrong tombstone. Heh. Sorry, Twi.”

Now noticeably calmed down, the pegasus turned around and tried to remember which tombstone was which. After squinting her eyes, Rainbow finally settled on one far-off slab of stone, her face breaking into a wide, self-satisfied smirk.

“There it is!” she said, flying over to it. Twilight followed close behind.

“Allow me,” Rainbow grinned at the unicorn and wiped off the snow herself, as a way of apologizing for yelling so harshly. “Ah, there we go! Here’s your tombstone!”

It was true. Now, the tombstone read:

Twilight Sparkle

And this time, there was no denying it. Now, Twilight recoiled in horror, the expression no longer melting away to change into some new one.

“B-but I don’t understand,” the unicorn stammered. “What does this mean? Why am I on that tombstone?!”

“Well… that’s just ‘cause it was annoying to see you not getting into the holiday spirit like everypony else, so I thought of some lesson that’d stick.” The cyan pegasus puffed up her chest and struck a pose. “Pretty cool, huh? Don’t know what the other Pony Spirits are gonna think about that, but I’m pretty sure they’ll freak!”

However, Twilight wasn’t paying any attention. Her current expression was still stuck on horrified and it looked like it wouldn’t be changing soon.

“But I don’t understand!” she said, turning to grasp Rainbow Dash’s robe. “I didn’t do anything wrong! Why do I have to get buried here if I didn’t do anything wrong?!”

Rainbow, now seeing the full-blown effects of her prank, began to feel a little bit of remorse. “W-woah there, Twilight. I didn’t say you did anything wrong, just that you really needed to loosen up some more. Heh.”

“How is this supposed to help me loosen up?!”

The pegasus decided then that it wasn’t just a little bit of remorse she felt – it was a large chunk of remorse that now resided in her heart. Seeing Twilight fall into hysterics like this was definitely not cool and Rainbow knew she had to end things as soon as possible. After all, even Pony Spirits had hearts and she wasn’t about to send Twilight home with nightmares if she could help it.

“Okay, listen up, Twilight.”

Thankfully, the unicorn had quieted down, looking up through huge, teary-eyes to listen to whatever the pegasus was about to say.

“Yeesh.” Rainbow took a half-step back, upon seeing the watery mess that was now Twilight Sparkle’s eyes. “Look, Twi, about this whole Hearth’s Warming business… You really should’ve listened to what the other Pony Spirits have been saying.”

Twilight gave a little sniffle.

“I mean, there really is no scientific explanation to why everypony feels so happy or why ponies forget their problems at this time of the year. It just happens, you know? It’s not even in the gifts either – what’s important every Hearth’s Warming is the company and knowing that no matter what happens, you’re never really alone.”

Rainbow then stuck out her tongue afterwards, as if to rid herself of whatever sappiness that came out of her mouth. Twilight, in the meantime, sniffled again, recomposed herself, and got up to her full height.

"So... I did nothing wrong?"

"Not a thing!"

"And I'm not going to... going to die?"

"Nope! Pony Spirit's honor!"

“And... there's nothing wrong with the snow?"

"What?" But after catching the still-tearful look Twilight had in her eyes, the pegasus regained composure and poise. “I mean - Ha! Even if there was, I’d take care of it anyway. Ain’t no cooler Pony Spirit than the Pony Spirit of Hearth’s Warming Yet to Come!”

Satisfied with this, Twilight gave a nod. “I think I’ve learned enough for tonight. You can take me back now, Rainbow.”

“I really hope you did, Twilight!” Rainbow said with a wink, the snow beginning to build up around them.

Twilight had to shut her eyes against the oncoming onslaught of snow and wind, as she felt the familiar energy all around her again. This time, however, the cold had diminished somewhat and instead of the biting temperatures she'd felt earlier, Twilight found that the temperatures this time were much kinder - even comforting. Meanwhile, she could still hear Rainbow talking to her in an apologetic tone.

“And forget about the whole graveyard thing! That was just some stupid prank I came up with to make sure you really loosened up this Hearth’s Warming!” Soon, the purple pony felt a bit of warmth breathe some life all around her. "You gotta admit though, that was the coolest prank ever!"

"The best one in the history of Pony Spirits, I'm willing to bet," the unicorn said, but as she opened her eyes, she found herself back home at the Library, Celestia’s sun shining radiantly outside to signal the beginning of Hearth’s Warming Day.

Author's Note

The wrong tombstone reads "Twilight Sparkle" in Azerbaijani. Thank you, Google Translate!

5. Joy to the World

“Twilight.”

A grunt, obviously meant to convey some sort of protest.

“Twilight.”

“Mmh… Fay’mre ‘inuts….”

“TWILIGHT!”

“GAH!”

The unicorn leapt up from her study table and whirled around to find Spike standing beside her, arms crossed and feet tapping the floor impatiently.

“Oh. Hi, Spike. Morning!” she greeted the small dragon cheerily.

He only rolled his eyes at this. “Yeesh. I know I told you to get some sleep last night, but I didn’t mean for you to do it at your work table like that!” The slightly-irritated look in his eyes gave way to concern. “Having you flat-out asleep there instead of on a bed’s really not an ideal way to celebrate Hearth’s Warming, you know.”

She opened her mouth to form a reply, but the realization had struck home. “Wait.” She turned to Spike, a crazy look dancing in her eyes. The baby dragon backed away slowly, in case she did something rash. “Hearth’s Warming? Today?”

“Uh… yes?”

“Thank goodness for that!” The purple unicorn leapt up into the air again and began bouncing as soon as she landed on her hooves.

“Uh… Twilight?”

“Deck the horse with boughs of holly, fa la la la la, la la la la…”

“Are you okay?”

“Why, of course I am, Spike!” she said, grabbing his face and smooshing it between her hooves. “It’s Hearth’s Warming Day, aren’t you just glad?”

“Well, yeah,” he said, retrieving his face and re-smooshed it back to the way it was before. “But I didn't expect you among all ponies to be so excited about it.”

“But why wouldn’t I be excited?” she said, now beginning to prance about the room. “After all, I organized today’s festivities and if everypony’s excited about today, then why wouldn’t I be?”

“See, that’s the thing,” he began. “The festivities you’ve planned out for today are going to start anytime soon now and – ”

“Oh my gosh! The festivities! You’re absolutely right, Spike!” Twilight said and levitated him over to her back. “Let’s go!”

And with that, she rushed out the door with Spike riding on her, but not before the baby dragon swiped the unicorn’s trusty checklist off her work desk.

The door slammed shut and everything in the Library was at ease again. Owlicious flew down to the table from his perch and cocked his head at the door.

“Who?”

… /// …

The day’s Hearth’s Warming celebrations had come to an official close and the activities lined up for the holiday were all as fun as Rainbow Dash had promised the Ponyville residents. Even Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had dropped by to take part in the celebrations and both had praised Twilight and her friends for pulling off another successful event.

Now, the sun was beginning to set and everypony had long gone home tired, but extremely happy with how their Hearth’s Warming Day had went. The six bearers of the Elements of Harmony, however, had other plans. Gathering in the Library, they, along with Spike and with the exception of Twilight, sat down and listened to what the unicorn had to say.

And so, Twilight set about telling them all about the grand adventure she had last night, complete from the first Pony Spirit to the last. Of course, she left out the bit about the surprise party, since nopony had mentioned it yet.

“Gosh,” Applejack said, tipping her hat. “Well now, Twi, that there was one darn fine adventure ya jus’ had.”

“Yeah,” Spike agreed. “And just when I thought you weren’t getting any shut-eye last night too.”

“Are you kidding?” Pinkie Pie said, bouncing in her seat. “That was super cool! Especially that Pony Spirit of Hearth's Warming Past… I think we’d be super-duper-badooper best, best, best buddies if she was real!”

Fluttershy smiled and gave Twilight a gentle nudge. “Oh, but Twilight, I do hope you’ve learned something from all this. Even if it was all just a dream.” Then, she paused. “A very, very lovely dream at that.”

“As a matter of fact, I have!” Twilight nodded her head, stood up, and prepared to impart her wisdom with her friends. But before she could get a word in, Rainbow Dash was right there to beat her to the punch.

“And that lesson was to never mess with the Dash, or else face death!” The pegasus strutted proudly, then launched herself up in the air, continuing to strike various poses without the aid of gravity.

Back on the ground, Twilight, Spike, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were applauding and cheering their friend on. Applejack only rolled her eyes at the display.

“Rainbow, Ah do believe Twi was in the middle o’ sayin’ somethin’. Why not let her finish and – ”

“… Well not really die, but you still gotta admit, that was the most awesome story anypony’s told of me, ever!”

“But RD, that wasn’t you in the story, you realize.”

“Ah, shut up, AJ. Let a pony dream, why won’t you.”

“Oh, do behave, you two. And how rude to interrupt Twilight just as she was going to start speaking,” Rarity interjected, before the two ponies could engage in another one of their usual arguments.

At the sound of her name, Twilight snapped back to attention after admiring Rainbow Dash’s aerial display. “What?” She turned towards Rarity, who prodded her into continuing. “Oh, right. Anyway, girls, I’ve learned a very important lesson last night.”

She cleared her throat and at her signal, all the ponies and the baby dragon in the room shut up, sat down, and listened. Pinkie Pie had to be stared down by Applejack and Rarity after asking if Twilight was going to start singing a song. Rainbow Dash started snickering, while Fluttershy and Spike tried to get her to quiet down as well.

“When everypony’s out there, having fun and just being with each other, I learned that not only is it tiring to find a reason why – I learned that it was frustrating too. Not just for me, but for other ponies too. See, the only thing they want to do is to have fun, yet here I am, trying to dissect everything, trying to find a reason for everything, when in fact…

“In fact… Sometimes, there just might not be a reason for the season at all.

“Even my earlier guesses of having gifts as causes for happiness were disproved, since what really matters right now is the company you’re sharing the holidays with. And thanks to the Pony Spirits in my dream, I’ve learned to be thankful for everything and everypony who’s made my past year so special. I mean, even if the last Pony Spirit was such a mean bully at first…”

Here, Rainbow Dash made a face.

“The important thing is that I’ve learned my lesson. And thanks to that, I’ve quit trying to research on the Hearth’s Warming phenomenon and just let it be. The Pony Spirits were right: instead of finding out where all the love and joy is coming from, I should just sit down and let them come anyway.

“Girls, Hearth’s Warming really is the most wonderful time of the year.”

As she closed her speech, her friends gave a cheer, agreeing immensely with the lesson she had learned. Pinkie Pie engulfed Twilight in a noogie with an enthusiastic “C’mere, you!”, while Fluttershy and Applejack tried to pry the pink pony off a now-choking Twilight.

“Booooring!” Rainbow Dash sneered with a carefree smile, showing that she wasn’t serious about that remark at all. “Now that that sappy stuff’s done with, let’s start opening the presents!”

“Yay, present time!” Pinkie Pie cheered and in her joy, ended up chucking a gift at Rainbow’s face. “Nothing like the present time to open up the presents!” She continued to bounce around merrily, ignoring the pegasus, who’d fallen face-first on the floor. Meanwhile, Fluttershy now diverted her attention to her fallen friend, who sat up with a groan and a now-growing lump on her head. Once Rainbow Dash regained her senses, she made to lunge at Pinkie Pie in revenge – and she was almost successful too, if not for Applejack’s resistance.

“Rainbow Dash, Ah said no! Pinkie Pie didn’t mean it an’ ya sure know it!”

“Lemme at her, lemme at her!”

“Rainbow Dash, please! You just took a bad fall, please try to calm yourself!”

“Hey, Dashie, I think I found a present with your name on it!”

Twilight only stood and shook her head, watching her friends tease each other good-naturedly. Beside her, Rarity sighed and rolled her eyes at their antics, now fully convinced that she was the only unicorn who acted her age in this group. Then, she turned to her friend and gave a smile.

“But you know, dear, that rousing speech you just gave? It would make a marvelous letter to the Princess.”

Twilight’s eyes… well, sparkled at the idea, but before she could agree with her friend, Spike came running up to her, a wide grin on his face.

“Yup, which is why I’ve written everything down, all ready for the Princess to read!” He waved the rolled parchment proudly, earning a wide smile from Twilight.

She extended a hoof and drew him close. “Oh, whatever would I do without you, Spike?”

“Well, aren’t you being just a dear this Hearth’s Warming!” Rarity complimented, causing the baby dragon’s face to flare up rather violently.

Twilight cleared her throat, snapping him back to attention and erasing the hearts from his eyes. “Wha? Oh, right!” Then, Spike drew himself up to his full height (which wasn’t very much), took a deep breath, and engulfed the parchment in his green flame, sending it off to the Princess in record time.

The four ponies who had been arguing earlier were now in a good mood again, with Rainbow Dash eating the cake Pinkie Pie had given her as a peace offering. Applejack was laughing at some joke Fluttershy had made, while Rarity was still complimenting Spike, much to the baby dragon’s delight. All appeared to go well, however, until Twilight couldn’t help but say what had been on her mind all this time.

“So, Pinkie… what’s the word on that surprise celebratory party you planned for me?”

Suddenly, all conversations grinded to a screeching halt and from Spike’s panicked expression, it looked like he was in on the plan as well. Smoke was now coming out of Pinkie Pie’s ears and she stretched her neck to look at everypony – and every dragon – in the room, except for Twilight.

“ALL RIGHT, WHO WAS IT?” she demanded. “WHO TOLD TWILIGHT AND RUINED THE SURPRISE? WHO RUINED THEIR PINKIE PROMISE TO NEVER TALK ABOUT THE PINKIE SECRET UNTIL I SAID SO?!”

… /// …

And so it was that Twilight Sparkle learned the real reason behind the season,
After which, she educated her pony friends and her baby dragon.
She became a much better pony because of it,
Learning that a pony’s happiness was not based on her gift.
And it was thanks to this lesson that she was now able to say with all her might,
“Happy Hearth’s Warming – ”

“Who?” Owlicious cut in, wanting to know who Spike was talking to this time.

Twilight was in her bedroom, finally enjoying a good night's sleep after her friends had left to spend the rest of Hearth's Warming with their families. Owlicious was on the windowsill this time, cocking his head at the baby dragon, still waiting for an answer.

Spike only shrugged, gave a grin, and winked at the owl.

“Happy Hearth’s Warming to all, and to all a good night!”

- END -

Author's Note

And that's a wrap! Too cheesy for my own good, but it looks pretty good - if you try not to flinch at all the sap. Heh. While I may have finished this a few days too late, I'm hoping you had an awesome Christmas this year.