A Hearth's Warming Eve to Remember

"Oh, hey, Silver!" Twilight’s usually cheery voice called after she’d opened the door. Outside, in the light snow, stood Silver Herald. He wore a blue wool sweater, shielding his silver coat from the cold weather.

“H-hey,” Silver replied. The frosty weather made his teeth chatter, making his words a little hard to understand.

Twilight stepped to the side, “Come on in!” she invited, “We’ve been waiting for you!”

Silver returned her welcome with a small smile and walked inside, instantly feeling the warmth of the indoors.

He looked in on Twilight’s often messy library, and what he saw surprised him a bit. Instead of the usual clutter, a large table with eight seats sat in the middle of the main room. The books were neatly put away in their shelves; a fire blazed in the fireplace. The whole place smelled of a delicious aroma. Silver barely had time to wonder what it was before we was greeted with a cheerful, and louder than usual, voice.

“Silver!” Fluttershy cheered, bounding toward him. She had planned to go in for a hug, but she hit it him with a force that made him topple backward onto the floor. Fluttershy soon followed, landing on top of him. Their noses just barely touched, representing a quick feeling of affection. As soon as she realized what was going on, Fluttershy flew up into the air and hovered over Silver. “O-oh my gosh...are-are you alright?” she questioned. Her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink. “I-I didn’t mean-”

“It’s fine,” Silver said, cutting her off before she could panic further. He quickly returned to all fours. “So...how are you on this,” he glanced out the window, remembering the blizzard outside, “er- beautiful day?” He half-smiled, reinforcing his sarcasm.

Fluttershy took the hint and giggled, “Yeah, it is kind of...wonderful?” She slowly returned to the ground.

At this moment, Silver noticed the color in Fluttershy’s cheeks. He decided to take advantage of the opportunity. “D-do you have a fever or something...?” he asked, pointing at his own cheeks to make the intentions of his question more clear.

Again, Fluttershy picked up on it. “No, no, that’s just...um...” she searched for words, but only ended up covering her face with her wings. “You-you noticed...”

“Well, yeah,” Silver replied, quickly adding, “But it’s-it’s not like I blame you or anything...” His voice sounded a little nervous, and his words were spaced out. He took a few steps forward and motioned for Fluttershy to follow him. “Come on, the other ponies must be waiting...”

Fluttershy took his advice and followed him to the large table that sat in the middle of the room. It was covered with a white tablecloth, and set with plates and silverware. Silver pulled one of the chairs out, letting Fluttershy sit down before him. She softly nodded her thanks. Silver turned to his left, expecting to see an empty seat in which he could take, but instead saw Pinkie Pie planted firmly in the chair.

Funny, nopony had been there a few moments ago.

Being the non-assertive pony that he was, Silver didn’t mind. He found a different seat across from Fluttershy and made himself comfortable. Looking around, he quickly realized that he was the last pony to arrive. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Twilight, and even Spike were positioned around the table, chatting up a storm while Spike finished preparing the food. It wasn’t long before he turned to face the table and announced, “Ready!”

Twilight and Rarity stood up to help Spike bring the meal over. With their horns glowing, they moved the food from the makeshift kitchen onto the plates of the hungry ponies. Silver looked down hungrily at what he had been served- a large berry salad (Nothing special, it was one of Silver’s most common meals), and for dessert- a sizeable slice of apple pie!

“Dig in!” Twilight called, officially starting the dinner. It was nothing extraordinary, just a nice, peaceful dinner among the eight friends. They talked fondly of the past, present events, and even their ideas of what Hearth’s Warming Eve would bring. While Silver was very much included in the conversation, he found it incredibly hard to say something directly to Fluttershy. Every time he tried, some other pony would overhear him and join in. Eventually, he gave up, allowing himself to make the most out of the night.

It was almost time for everypony to leave, which also meant that it was Silver’s last chance to talk to Fluttershy. The table had been removed from the main room, leaving nothing but a wide open space for the ponies to walk around in. Everyone continued their conversations, everyone except for Pinkie, of course, who was setting up a turntable. It was about to turn into a REAL party. Silver wandered around the house in his search for Fluttershy. He had little success until he noticed that one of the bookcases was positioned at an odd angle, leaving a space between it’s back and the wall. Upon closer inspection, Silver found that the bookcase was hiding a whole new room. He looked around, making sure nopony saw him. Slowly and carefully, Silver pushed back the bookcase and entered the corridor, shutting it firmly behind him. He turned around to inspect the mysterious room.

There was a small fireplace at the end of the room, which wasn’t so large in itself. It was large enough to fit a couch and a few chairs, which were positioned in front of the fire. Fluttershy sat on the sofa with her head down, quietly collecting her thoughts. Silver cleared his throat, causing Fluttershy to turn around. Upon seeing him, her eyes lit up with the intensity of the small flame that flickered behind her. “Silver!”

“Um-hey...” Silver said, trotting over to sit next to her. “Why are you-”

“Oh, Silver, this has been a great night and all, but...” Fluttershy’s words trailed off.

“But...?”

“But...I feel like I haven’t been spending time with you at all...” A single tear raced down her cheek. “I-I feel so bad...”

Silver put a comforting wing around her. “I-I feel the same way...but...but I’m here now.”

This made her grin, though it was obvious that she still wasn’t satisfied. Thinking quickly, Silver moved his wing and tickled her side. Fluttershy giggled, falling sideways into Silver’s outstretched hooves. He held her there, in a warm embrace, until Fluttershy finally spoke, “I-I guess I’m feeling better...”

“Good,” Silver smiled, letting his head rest on top of Fluttershy’s. The two ponies continued to sit there, warmed by both the fire and each other’s hearts. It wasn’t long before Silver could feel Fluttershy’s slow, even breaths, signaling that she was asleep. He looked down at her, seeing a giant smile on her face. Silver felt his stomach do a backflip; his success with Fluttershy gave him a feeling of both excitement and accomplishment.

Comforted by Fluttershy’s presence, Silver slowly felt himself being pulled into sleep’s hypnotizing grasp. In one final action, Silver lightly kissed the top of Fluttershy’s sleepy head, and he could’ve sworn that she moved even closer to him as a result. He blinked his eyes a few times, allowing exhaustion to overcome him. Slowly, surely, He joined her in the wonderful world of dreams.