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...”
Very Merry Hearth's Warming Day
In a small field, full of dull dirt, overhung by a gloomy sky, a small filly stood. Her coat was a light gray, while her straight, orderly mane was a few shades darker. At the moment, she was pushing a rock with her nose, rolling it towards the North field.
The fields were full of rocks. Big rocks, little rocks, round rocks, rocks that weighed a ton, rocks, rocks, rocks. The little filly didn’t understand what the point of it was. She she’d asked her father, he’d told her, “Inkavinia, you’ll understand when you’re older.” Inkie didn’t think that was quite fair. Just because she was the youngest didn’t mean she should be kept in the dark.
She’d never said such a thing, though. Father didn’t like it when they spoke out of line. Just for asking that question, she’d gotten a spanking. Father was very strict about everything.
Nopony ever smiled at the farm. There was nothing to smile about. Not during work, not during supper, not during schooling. Just frowning. Or, in Inkie’s case, a flat line. She figured that, if she didn’t smile, she didn’t have to frown, either.
Inkie finally saw the faint line that marked the border of the fields. Sighing, she rolled the rock over the line, and raised her head to stretch. However, she was greeted with an unexpected sight.
A few metres to the left, she saw another filly. This filly had a rock too, but what stood about her was, well, her. Sharply contrasting with her surroundings, her coat and mane were pink. A dull pink, of course, but the color was rare enough on the rock farm for it to be special.
Just then, the filly noticed her, and raised her head. Her eyes were a dull blue, but still contained the tiniest hint of a smile. “Hi, Inkie.”
Inkie smiled back, on the inside. “Hi, Pinkie.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
“Woah, woah, wait a second!”
Octavia looked up as Vinyl recoiled in surprise. The stunned unicorn shook her head. “Your sister is Pinkie Pie?!”
“I told you you’d know her.”
“How could I not? She’s the Element of Laughter! One of the most widely known ponies in Equestria!”
“Well, obviously.”
Vinyl shook her head again, taking a deep breath. “So, let me get this straight. You used to be a rock farmer.”
“Yep.”
“Your sister is Pinkie Pie.”
“You already said that.”
“It’s a big deal, okay? And your real name is... Inkavinia?”
“That’s mostly correct.”
Vinyl rubbed her temples. “Then why is your name Octavia?”
“It’s complicated.”
“How...” Vinyl suddenly stopped. “Wait a second.” She looked at her roommate. “Wait a second!” She clapped her hooves together. “I’ve got it!”
“‘Got it’? Got what?”
Vinyl put her hooves again Octavia’s cheeks and stared into her eyes. “We can go and see your sister for Hearth’s Warming!”
Octavia blanched. “W-what?”
Vinyl dropped her face and threw her hooves up. “It’s perfect! We can go on the train to Ponyville and surprise her, and you guys can catch up.”
“I-I’m not quite sure that’s the best idea, Vinyl.”
“Of course it is! When was the last time you saw her?”
“The Grand Galloping Gala.”
“Did you actually talk to her?”
“Well, no.”
“Then it doesn’t count. C’mon Octy!” Vinyl pleaded.
“Well...” Octavia trailed off. Vinyl stared at her, and pouted. Mentally, Octavia facehooved. Ugh, she’s doing the puppy dog thing.
Meanwhile, Vinyl had moved into phase two. She lowered her head, and looked up at Octavia. Her bottom lip stuck out, and quivered ever so slightly.
Now Octavia actually facehooved. “Vinyl-”
“Pwease, Octy?”
“That’s not fair, you know I can’t fight that!”
“Pwetty pwease?”
“I refuse to-”
“Pweease?” Vinyl’s had had lifted slightly, and her magenta eyes were wide open, shimmering with unshed tears.
Octavia gave in. “Oh, fine! We’ll go!”
Instantly, Vinyl leaped up and cheered, before grabbing Octavia’s wrist and dashing to the door. “Now let’s go!”
“But what about my bowtie?”
“No time!”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
A bowtie, a grumpy Vinyl, and twenty minutes later, they stood on the train platform with their tickets. Octavia stuck her tongue out while she straightened the accessory on her neck.
“Ah, don’t be so smug. I had to go back and get my glasses,” Vinyl grumbled, not really angry.
“Whatever you say, Vinyl.”
“Yeah, yeah. Oh look, the train’s here!” Sure enough a whistle signaled the locomotive’s arrival. It pulled into the station with a squeal, and opened its doors as soon as it stopped.
The conductor leaned out of an opening and shouted, “All aboard!” Quickly, everypony began swarming towards the doors, the two musicians included.
After being swept in on the wave of passengers, Vinyl and Octavia walked towards the rear of the train. They found an empty compartment near the back of their car, and got settle in. A few minutes later, the train started off once again.
It took a minute for Vinyl to distinguish Octavia’s shaking from the train’s rumble. She lifted her opaque glasses, and nudged the shivering pony. “Octy,” she whispered. “You okay?”
Octavia shook her head, and scooted closer. “N-no. I’m nervous.”
“What’s wrong?”
Octavia took a deep breath, and leaned into the DJ’s side. “I haven’t talked with my sister since we were fillies. It’s obvious that she’s changed.
“You see, when I saw her at the Gala, I couldn’t have talked to her if I’d tried. By the time everything ended, I couldn’t find her anywhere. She seems so happy and bouncy now. But that isn’t what makes me scared of meeting her.”
“What is?”
“Well, something happened back at the rock farm. Pinkie wasn’t always so cheery. Really, she was gloomier than I was.”
“Really? I wouldn’t have expected that.”
“Yes, yes. Things were different back then. I think Pinkie was probably the least happy pony out of all of us. But then, one morning, something changed.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we woke up, and Pinkie wasn’t in the house...”
