Very Merry Hearth's Warming Day

   In the city of Canterlot, wide beams of light covered the land in a golden glow.  What birds nested on the mountain chirped gleefully, flittering through the air in search of food.  Outside, snow blanketed the ground, gathering in mounds along the streets and reflecting Her sun’s light.  All around, ponies slowly woke from their slumber, with mixed feeling about the rays passing through their windows.

   One such citizen, a gray earth pony, groaned as her peaceful sleep was so rudely disturbed by the beams shining on her face.  She rolled over, hoping to escape the harsh light.  It worked, but now she was far too awake to get back to sleep.  With an irritated sigh, Octavia shoved the covers off her body and tumbled off the bed.

   Landing with a thud, she groaned in displeasure.  Slowly, she rose to her hooves and stretched.  After a moment, several audible pops sounded out along her spine.

   Still grumpy, though now a bit less uncomfortable, Octavia walked over to her nightstand and picked up an object sitting there.  It was a pink bowtie, with a white band.  She considered going to the trouble of putting it on, but quickly remembered how tired she was and decided against it.

   After placing it back on the table, she yawned heartily.  Last night had held a long, tedious concert, which made her sleep in.  Good thing I don’t have anything scheduled today.

   Octavia walked over to her bedroom door, reached for the handle, and swung it open to reveal...

   ...light.  Octavia cringed backwards as brightness invaded her vision.  She rubbed her temple and sighed, walking forwards into the living room.  She got four steps before a hug crushed her ribcage.

   “Octy!” shouted a voice, uncomfortably close to her ear.  She winced again, before being spun around and plopped onto the couch.  After the world stopped spinning, she managed to make out the blurred shape of a white pony.  It was, of course, her roommate, the ever eccentric Vinyl Scratch.

   “Vinyl,” Octavia sighed, “could you please be a little quieter?  It’s early morning.”

   “No can do, Octy!” replied the unicorn.  “It’s Hearth’s Warming, the most magical time of the year!”

   “Well, can the magic wait until after I’ve had my coffee?”

   “Nope!”

______________________________________________________________________

   Octavia sat on the couch, a cup of coffee in her forehooves.  In front of her stood a smiling DJ and the most over-the-top Hearth’s Warming tree she’d seen in her entire life.

   The branches were overflowing with all types of light and decorations.  Ornaments filled the spaces that were available, and resting at the very tip was a large, glowing star.

   “Vinyl,” Octavia said, still shocked.  “This is quite...”

   “Awesome?”

   “It’s certainly interesting.”

   Vinyl pouted.  “C’mon, Octy.”

   “Okay, okay, you did a great job.  It’s something, alright.”

   “Yay!” Vinyl mock-cheered, dropping down next to her roommate.  Her horn glowed as she levitated a present over to them.  It was long and slender, and addressed to Octavia.  The cellist pricked her ears as Vinyl tore the paper off with her magic.  After a second, a white box floated in the air.  Vinyl gestured to it.  “Well, go on and open it!”

   Octavia smiled, and, setting down her coffee, grabbed the box out of the air.  She gripped the lid with her jaw, and lifted it off to reveal... “Oh, Vinyl, you shouldn’t have!”

   “But I totally did!”

   Situated neatly in the box was a cello bow.  The stick was made of blackened wood, and every part of it shined.  There was even a fresh rosin cake tucked into the corner.  Octavia grinned so hard her jaw ached.  “Celestia, Vinyl, this is amazing!  How much did this cost?”

   “Ah, who cares about cost?  I know you’ve been meaning to get one of those classy bow things, so I figured I’d buy you one as a present.”  Seeing Octavia’s smile, she chuckled.  “I guess you like it, then?”

   “Oh, I love it!” Octavia practically squee’d.  After taking a moment to catch her breath, she set the box down and turned to Vinyl.  “Well, I got you something as well.  Give me just a few seconds.”  With that, she stood and trotted back to her room.  After a moment, she returned with a circular box in her mouth.  Sitting back down on the couch, she hoofed it to her roommate and watched intently.  Curious, Vinyl levitated the top off and- “Omigosh omigosh omigosh!  Neighphex Twin!”

   Octavia smiled as Vinyl squealed, holding up the record and dropping her jaw.  “Well, I know how much you like your electronic music.”

   “Holy crap, I love Neighphex Twin!  This is awesome!” Vinyl giggled, before turning to her roommate and enveloping her in a tight hug.  “Thanks, Tavi!  You’re the best!”

   “Yes, yes, don’t have a heart attack, Vinyl.  You look like you’re going to explode.”

   After a minute, Vinyl calmed down, and the two of them sat on the couch in pleasant silence, before it was broken by Octavia.  “This is a fantastic way to start the day.”

   “You said it.”

   “Although, that tree is still ridiculously overdone.”

   Vinyl chuckled.  “Well, I figured I should do something extra big.  Two celebrations in one.”

   Octavia looked at her in confusion.  “‘Two celebrations’?  What do you mean?”

   “Well, last month marked a whole year of us bein’ roomies,” she said, bopping Octavia on the nose.  “And I wanted to do something special, but I figured that, with Hearth’s Warming coming up, why not just celebrate both at the same time?”

   She scooted a bit closer.  “And really, it’s more like three celebrations.  Because two months ago, we started, y’know...”

   Octavia flushed crimson.  “Well, that’s not quite official yet.”

   “Yeah, but that doesn’t matter too much, right?”

   Octavia smiled, and wiggled into her roommate’s side.  “No, I suppose it doesn’t,” she whispered, planting a kiss on Vinyl’s cheek.

   Now it was Vinyl’s turn to go red in the face.  “Heh, yeah!”  She wrapped a leg around her friend.  “And besides, it’s Hearth’s Warming!  Time for family, and friends.”

   Vinyl paused.  “Wait a second.”  She turned and stared at Octavia.  “I’ve never actually met your family.”

   The cellist visibly stiffened.  “W-well, I’ve never met yours, either.”

   “Yeah, but at least I’ve talked about them.  You’ve never even mentioned your siblings, and I don’t even know if you have siblings.”

   “Well, I...”

   “What’s wrong, Tavi?  Did something happen?”

   Octavia sighed.  “I’m not exactly comfortable talking about them.”

   “Why not?”

   Octavia took a deep breath, and sipped her coffee.  “Well, it’s kind of a long story.”

   “We’ve got plenty of time.”  Vinyl stroked her fillyfriend’s hair.

   Taking another breath, Octavia leaned into her DJ.  “Well, I did have a sister.  Two, actually.”  She hesitated for a second, before continuing.  “You actually might know one of them.  She loves to party, too...”