A Very Merry Manos Christmas

>you are Anon
>or rather, newly elected Mayor Anon
>you can't say you were surprised by the local elections, but that didn't stop you from acting the part
>as you leave your house (yeah, you guess you decided to move out of Lyra's place at some point), you are surprised when a snowflake hits you in the face
"Huh, I guess it is that time of year."
>as you look across the town square, you see that the ground is already covered by a fine layer of the little flakes
>you crush hundreds of the little things with every step you take towards the town hall
>your new place of business
>on the way, you are greeted by a group of brownshirts
>"Good morning, Mayor Anon!"
>you tip your top hat to them (you're a mayor, of course you have a top hat)
>>"Say, Mayor Anon, Hearthswarming is coming up, do you have any big plans in mind for the town?"
>you grin at the group
"The biggest of plans, my little ponies."

HEARTHSWARMING EVE

>you are still Anon
>well, you certainly didn't lie to the brownshirts
>the whole of Ponyville is aglow with lights and decorations
>trees and flags are omnipresent throughout the town
>flags showing loyalty to the sisters
>....and to you
>though to be honest, you could care less about politics right now
>tonight is a time for celebration
>a celebration of unity against the seemingly impossible
>something you fear might become necessary for these ponies once more in the near future

>KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
>you look up from your book, 'Hearthswarming for Dummies'
>your guests are here!
>you stand from your lounge chair which faces your fireplace, which is of course lit with a roaring fire
>in the corner of your sitting room is, of course, your Christm- err, Hearthswarming tree, sparkling with the finest ornaments
>you walk to your door and open it
>standing outside are your four best friends
>Copper, Lyra, Bonbon, and Little League
>each holds a gift in their hooves
>all except for Little League
>no, she has dropped hers so that she could jump up at you
>she wraps her hooves around your neck in a warm hug and greets you in a way that only a filly would
>"HAPPY HEARTHSWARMING ANON!"
>you chuckle and hug the filly back
>the sight causes Copper and Bonbon to laugh
>Lyra just looks left out
"Happy Hearthswarming, my friends. Please, do come inside."
>you set League back on the ground
>she grabs her gift and follows you inside along with the others
>you close the door behind the group and extend your arm towards the various chairs in your sitting room
"Please make yourselves at home while I grab some refreshments."

>you walk into your kitchen and begin filling five glasses with homemade eggnog
>you're guessing that ponies never tried making it, as you couldn't find any at the stores in Ponyville
>that didn't bother you much though
>when you were a kid, you would make eggnog with your mother on Christmas Eve, so you didn't have much difficulty making it yourself now
>your mother....
>you hope that your family is doing fine without you during Christmas...
>you sigh at the thought
>"Is something wrong, Anon?"
>you turn from the glasses to find Little League standing in the doorway, watching you
>you eye the filly considering your options on a response
>you reach behind you and grab the tray with the drinks
"Come on out with me, League; there's a story I'd like to tell you all
>the filly smiles and begins to follow behind you
>"I love stories!"
>you begin to each of your guests a glass
"This is something my people would drink around this time of year."
>Lyra eagerly takes her glass
>>"Oooooh! A human drink!"
>you chuckle at her enthusiasm and seat yourself back in your chair
>League instead opts to seat herself upon your carpeted floor, near your tree
>you smile
>the children here are no different from the ones on earth
>you take a sip of your eggnog before starting
"Alright, storytime."

>League and Lyra lean forward as you begin
>Copper and Bonbon simply pay close attention to your words
"Where I come from, we do not celebrate Hearthswarming, obviously."
>Copper chuckles
>"I wouldn't expect humans to celebrate a pony holiday."
>you nod
"Indeed. However, we have a holiday at this time of year which is very similar in how it's celebrated."
>Lyra gets all excited at the prospect of hearing about a human holiday
>>"OOH! What's it called?"
>you look over at the sparkling tree in the corner of the room and smile
"We call it Christmas. It's a celebration of the birth of a great man."
>Copper leans in
>"A great man like you, Anon?"
>you turn your gaze from the tree to the stallion
>you consider his question before shaking your head
"No, Copper. This was no ordinary man. He was the son of our God who sacrificed his own life for us."
>Bonbon looks saddened
>>>"He died?"
>you look at the mare and smile
"This is what makes him more than a man; on the third day after his death, he came back to life and rejoined his father."
>League's mouth drops open
>>>>"He came BACK?" How?!"
>you look at the small filly
>you don't want to build up too much wonder around a religion other than your own...
"Because he had faith in his followers, even after one of them betrayed him, resulting in his death. Faith, League; this is what makes people, AND ponies great."

"But enough talk of my world. You all have gifts to open."
>you point to the four gifts underneath your tree
>League scoots over to the gifts and begins tossing them to their respective recipients
>Bonbon smiles at you
>"Oh Anon, you didn't need to get us anything."
>you wave your hand dismissively
"Nonsense. We are all friends, and friends give each other gifts. Besides,"
>you point to the box sitting next to her chair
"Can you imagine how awkward it would be if I accepted your gifts without having any to give back?"
>the mare shrugs her shoulders
>"You're our mayor, you deserve gifts."
"And you are my friends and dedicated followers. You deserve just as much praise as I."
>Lyra stands from her chair and gathers the gifts from herself, Bonbon, League and Copper
>she walks over to you and sets them all down at your foot
>>"I think that Anon should open his gifts first."
>you roll your eyes, amused
"Very well, anything to please my Hand of Faith."
>you grab the first present
"To: Anon, From: Bonbon."
>you look up at the mare before tearing off the wrapping paper
>you look back down at the now opened gift
>it's a custom-made Heartswarming tree ornament
>at a first glance, it appears to be simply your flag printed on a glass ball
>but as you look closer, you notice something that warms your heart
>each finger on 'your' hand depicts the face of each pony present tonight
>Lyra, Bonbon, League, Copper, and your face within the thumb
>you stand from your chair and place the ornament upon your tree
"Thank you Bonbon. Now I'll have you all with me every Hearthswarming, even if you're not here personally."

>the rest of the gifts were pretty standard
>a signed baseball from League
>a new part hat from Copper
>however, Lyra's gift is WEIRD
"Uhhhh, Lyra? What is this?"
>the mint colored mare simply smiles
>"It's a photo album, silly!"
>you nod slowly
"Yeah, full of photos of me walking around Ponyville when I first showed up.."
>you look up at her
"How did you get these photos?"
>her smile doesn't falter
>"Oh, you know, the standard means. I was following you around using the bushes in the town as cover. Every few seconds, I'd poke my camera out and snap a photo."
>you laugh
"So you've given me a photo album filled with photos only of myself, which you took without my knowing?"
>Lyra nods
"That is so......you. Thank you Lyra."
>you set the album down and clap your hands together
"Alright, now it's time for you to open my gifts."
>you gesture to Lyra
"You were my first friend here, you should go first."

>the mare wastes no time in ripping the paper off of her gift
>she takes a few moments to simply stare at her gift
>"It's a picture... of us."
>the picture is from the first day you met Lyra
>it depicts that (admittedly awkward) moment when she asked you to pet her mane
"I'm hoping that you know that I will always be grateful to my first friend in Equestria."
>Lyra looks like she's about to start tearing up
>"And I hope that you'll always know that I'm grateful that you're my first human friend."
>you chuckle and look over to Bonbon
"If I recall, Lyra just couldn't resist introducing you to me, so you can go next."
>Bonbon smirks and opens her gift
>you watch her face as she lifts up the book
>"'101 Hard to Beat Sweets'. Awesome!"
>you hold your hand out, signalling her to wait
"BUT, I've added in a few more recipes from my own world."
>she flips to the last few pages of the book, which definitely look out of place
>"Ger-mane Chocolate Cake? But we already have chocolate cake."
>you snicker at her pronunciation
"German Chocolate Cake. My species is similar to yours in that we have different races, so to say. The Germans are one of these races, and they made a delicious variety of chocolate cake."
>Bonbon nods in understanding
>"Your species is so fascinating, I can see why Lyra has been obsessed for so many years."
>>"HEY! I was not obsessed!"

>you smirk at the back-and-forth between the two mares
"Alright Copper, you're up next."
>the stallion takes a few seconds to inspect the wrapping paper on his gift before ripping it off
>"A.. coin?"
>you lean forward in your chair
"Take a closer look."
>Copper suddenly gasps
>"It has my face on it!"
>you nod
"Where I come from, it is customary to put the faces of very important people on our currency. You've done more than enough to warrant the creation of a commemorative coin, Copper."
>Copper looks up at you
>"This isn't actual currency... is it?"
>you shake your head
"Sadly no, a lowly mayor can't exactly make changes to the currency system."
>Copper gives you a big smile
>"Thank you so much Anon, I will cherish this for the rest of my life."
>you turn your attention to Little League
"Alright kiddo, have at it."
>the little filly squees as she frantically begins to rip the paper from her gift
>she throws open the top of the box and gasps
>slowly, she pulls out an all-too-familiar brown cap and shirt
>>"A BROWNSHIRT UNIFORM!"
>the filly hugs the shirt and hat against herself before she looks over at you
>she puts down the articles of clothing and once more jumps at you, wrapping her hooves around your neck
>>"Thank you so much Anon!"
>you smile as you wrap your arms around the small filly
>man, you could get used to this whole Hearthswarming thing if it's like this every year
>the image of League hugging you must be adorable, because you can hear 'awww's from Lyra and Bonbon
>you laugh as you pull the filly off of you
"I'm sure you'll grow into that uniform very nicely, League."
>League beams, while Copper chuckles from the other end of the room
>"Yes, I'm sure she will..."

A FEW HOURS LATER

>you hold your front door open for your guests as they begin to depart
>you bid each farewell as they walk passed you
"Alright, now you make sure to try baking some of those new recipes in that book Bonbon."
>the mare smiles and nods as she walks out into the cold
"Copper, keep up the good work. You've exceeded all of my expectations lately."
>Copper nods
>"Thank you Anon."
>ahh, now for your Hand of Faith
"Lyra, you have yourself a wonderful Hearthswarming mass tomorrow."
>she doesn't seem to notice what you said, she instead does a little throat-cough and looks to the space above your head
>it is only now that you notice that her horn is glowing
>you look above your head
>and there, floating midair...
>mistletoe...
>you look back at the mare, only to be greeted by her already puckered lips and closed eyes
>oh wow
>you cock a brow and smirk
>you lean down and use your hand to push away her mane from her forehead
>you place a light peck on her forehead
>>"Huh? Oh come on!"
>the mint mare pouts
"Happy Hearthswarming, Lyra."
>she huffs before walking passed you towards her house
>and now, your favorite little filly
>you get down on one knee as League walks up to you, putting you both at roughly the same height
>you look at the box she holds in one hoof
>you gently open said box and retrieve the brown hat from inside
>you place the hat atop the filly's head
"Happy Hearthswarming, League."
>in a manner all too familiar now, League wraps her hooves around your neck
>you return the hug
>>>"Happy Hearthswarming, Anon."

And a Happy Hearthswarming / Christmas to you all. Thanks for reading.