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The Warmth from a New Hearth [Private, DerpRavener]


RedCedar

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Red Cedar smiled and took a step back to admire his handiwork. In the dead of a Stalliongrad winter, it was always nice this time of year to bring something full of life into the house, and this year was no exception. One of the benefits of working at harvesting and reforesting trees was that his company always kept a stand of trees in the greenhouses especially for the purpose of using as Hearth's Warming trees, and he had always taken advantage of being able to get a nice, live, fresh tree, still growing in its pot of soil, for the season, brightening up the whole room and filling it with a delightful scent before he would find a good place to plant it in the Spring. He wondered what Naj would think of it when she returned home.

 

As he wondered, he started snickering to himself. She'd probably think he'd finally gone off the deep end, in all honesty. She knew well about his love of forests and trees, but he'd never before gone so far as to bring a tree - a whole, live, ceiling-tall tree - into the house. Still, 'tis the season and Hearth's Warming Eve was approaching. He wasn't sure how much Naj had learned about the holiday while she was hiding in plain sight in Ponyville, but already decorations were going up around the city and there would be no denying that the big day was on its way.

 

This year, even Red had made an extra effort. Although Hearth's Warming Eve was his favourite holiday, he didn't usually do much decorating of his own house - except, of course, for the tree. Often he'd be spending it with his family anyway, so putting out  much more than the basics didn't seem to really be necessary. This time it was different. This was Naj's first as a citizen of Equestria and here at their home, so he'd made an extra effort. There was a wreath on the door, branches of holly on the mantle, and an early Hearth's Warming gift waiting for her.

 

Smiling still, he trotted up the stairs to retrieve the tree decorations, so they could decorate it together.

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Naj sighed as she walked the now familiar streets back toward home.  Technically it was Red's house, but the distinction was rapidly diminishing.  That wasn't what the changeling was thinking about however, at the moment she was reflecting on her day and just how dull it was.  The parcel service hadn't needed her help at all, which hadn't left her with much.  She spent some time wandering around the city and talking to ponies, and while she was never opposed to those activities she'd been hoping for something more today.  

 

Naj didn't pause going up the familiar steps at the front of the house, but she did pause at the top of them.  Tilting her head, she stared at the plant circle on the door.  Naj slowly reached a hoof toward the door, contemplating the object in front of her.  She didn't really know what it was.  The rational part of her doubted it was a sign of trouble, both because she'd seen a few of them around town and she doubted anyone who wanted to hurt them would start by decorating the house, even if she didn't know why it was placed there.  Due to some relatively recent experiences though, she felt a little uneasy all the same.

 

Of course, that wasn't any reason for Naj to linger at the door.  She pushed it open, and took a few steps inside.  “Red?”  She called out from the entryway, as it seemed the sanest way to confirm that everything was normal, or at least relatively so, for a changeling and an earth pony.  “You home?”

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“Red? You home?”

 

Red's ears perked up from his rummaging as he heard Naj arrive home, and smiled. Perfect timing, really. Calling from his bedroom closet, he said "I'm up here, Naj. Be right down!" before placing the boxes he had retrieved onto his back and carefully carrying them down the stairs to greet her with a nuzzle. "I'm glad you're here," he said, perhaps redundantly, but especially given that he was excited to show her his handiwork, even if she might not yet understand it. "I've got something to show you in the living room."

 

Still carrying the boxes on his back, he trotted into the living room that was now dominated in one corner by the tree and its pot, and pointed it out with his hoof proudly. "What do you think?" he asked, eagerly anticipating her thoughts.

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Naj breathed an almost-imperceptible sigh of relief when she heard Red's voice.  It didn't really get her any closer to knowing what was going on, but at least whatever it was shouldn't be harmful.  Safely at home, and reasonably confident that home was safe, Naj dropped her disguise when she heard her coltfriend start to come down the stairs.  The stallion himself appeared just moments later, and gave the now-undisguised changeling a quick nuzzle. Naj moved to wrap him in a hug, but noticed the carried box at the last moment and decided to return the nuzzle instead.

 

"I've got something to show you in the living room."

Naj followed Red into the living room, eager to get an explanation.  None was forthcoming it seemed, though, as it seemed like Red would rather have her guess.  Well, strictly speaking he just asked her opinion, but she didn't see how should could have one without at least guessing what was going.

Naj stared at the new addition to the room, a large, potted tree, and considered for a moment.  “Well,” she said after a moment, “it is a nice tree.”  She shrugged.  “You're bringing your work home with you?”  She knew how much Red liked plants, so all the better, though she wasn't sure why he chose to announce it like this.

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Red smiled. At least she thought it was a nice tree, which was good. Still, if she wasn't quite sure why it was here in the living room in the first place that gave him a pretty good indication of just how much she knew about this time of year. He trotted to the table and lifted the boxes off his back, setting them down next to a brightly coloured bag that was already on the table. "Well, you could say that. I mean, I did get this one from work, but not just because it looks nice as it is." he said, before sitting down on the couch.

 

"Tell me something," he asked, "while you were living in Ponyville, did you ever have a chance to celebrate Hearth's Warming Eve?" He figured that was the best way to start explaining the concept, by finding out what she already knew.

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Naj stared at nothing, and pursed her lips as she considered the question, attempting to remember what it was Red was talking about.  “Hearthswarming,” she muttered to herself, “Hearthswarming...”  She tilted her head a little, and scratched it with a hoof.  “I vaguely remember somepony talking about...Oh!”  Finally finding a relevant memory, she suddenly looked back at Red.  “Was that the thing they put on that play about?”

 

Now she remembered, or at least remembered something.  Details were still fuzzy, as it didn't seem all that relevant at the time.  “Isn't that a holiday about a bunch of different types of ponies coming together?  I never really got involved in that, it didn't really seem relevant to me and I never...had anyone...to celebrate...with...” Naj trailed off, as she realized what this must have sounded like.  Red already worried about her enough, so she tried to elaborate a little.  “It was okay though!  I was worried about other things at the time, so...”  She frowned.  “That, didn't really sound a whole lot better, did it?”

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Red smiled as Naj tried to explain her previous position on the holiday in a way that didn't sound like it wasn't entirely dreary. Certainly he knew that time in her life was hard, even though he understood why, but he much preferred to focus on the future, where she didn't have to worry about how to merely survive. "It's okay, but yes, that's the holiday," he said. "Remember how I told you the three types of ponies once didn't get along very well? Well, that changed when the leaders of the three kingdoms and their lieutenants tried to find a new homeland untouched by all the snow from the Windigoes. Except they all ended up in the same place, started fighting again, and attracted the Windigoes. Only after the three Lieutenants became friends and kept each other warm through the night did their leaders also see how making peace would be a benefit. Once they did, the new land they had all found together became Equestria. And every year we celebrate the night that brought all ponies together as friends and founded the land we live in together."

 

Leaning over to nuzzle her again, he continued, "I've always loved this holiday. It's my absolute favourite. But now, I think it's even more important to me now that you're here to share it with." Certainly, the importance of being able to include a changeling in a celebration of peace and friendship between ponies was not lost on Red, on this of all years.

 

"Now, as for the tree," he said, figuring it was time to explain why it was here, "That's one of the traditions of celebrating Hearth's Warming Eve. You bring in a tree and decorate it for the holiday," he said, nodding to the boxes on the table. "A lot of ponies use a cut tree, but I always take advantage of where I work and get a live one. Then after Hearth's Warming I take the decorations off and leave it inside until Spring, then go plant it somewhere." he said with a smile, as though knowing that such a thing was probably entirely predictable to anyone who knew him at all well. "Want to help?"

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Naj nodded solemnly, remaining silent as she listened intently to Red's description of the holiday.  It explained a few things, most of them being the behaviour of ponies she remembered at this time of year.  She'd also caught snippets of the play itself as she'd walked by the building, though she hadn't stuck around to watch.  Though, the memories were a bit fuzzy, Naj wasn't embellishing when she'd said there were other things on her mind at that time.

Having a holiday like this did seem perfectly in character for Equestria, although whether this particular holiday was a cause or a result of their particular approach to life Naj couldn't say.  Either way, it would likely prove a novel experience for the changeling, with her limited experience of this sort of celebration.

 

"I've always loved this holiday. It's my absolute favourite. But now, I think it's even more important to me now that you're here to share it with."

Naj might ask him for details sometime in the future, but she did understand the added significance of her being there.  It was a holiday about coming together after all, even to her limited understanding.  She didn't really have the words to respond, so instead with the boxes safely deposited on the floor, Naj returned the nuzzle with an enthusiastic hug.  Sometimes just nuzzling wasn't enough.

 

Truth be told, while it sounded positive, Naj really only knew trees as a source of cover or a decoration.  While certainly anything would do better when it didn't have parts lopped off, she couldn't say how it would change the end result.  It still sounded like the better option of the two, even to her, and she could appreciate that even if she didn't really understand it.  She nodded.  “Sounds efficient.”

 

Red asked if she wanted to help decorate the tree, which caused Naj to blink.  Decorate?  Why did it need...It took the changeling only a moment to guess it had something to do with the holiday, even if she couldn't guess what.  Once she realized this, Naj's tone shifted from confusion to happiness.  “Sure I'll help!  Though...why do you-” she was still getting used to the idea of participating in the holiday, “...we decorate a tree, for ponies coming together?”

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Red smiled, eagerly returning Naj's hug, letting it linger a moment. He felt truly lucky to be sharing a Hearth's Warming Eve with her, and this was just the start of it, but it could wait for a moment of shared closeness.

 

“Sure I'll help!  Though...why do you...we decorate a tree, for ponies coming together?”

 

Red set the smallest of the boxes he had brought down from his room aside, next to the bright blue bag on the table. With his hooves he carefully opened up the others, revealing an assortment of shiny ornaments, glass icicles, small wooden pony figures, metallic stars and, in another box, a string of brightly coloured lights. As he left them open for her to look over he said, "Well, things like the tree and the wreath on the door and the holly above the fireplace are all green plants, the kind that stay green all winter. They symbolize the return of life after the banishing of what could have been an eternal winter. I'm not sure who decided to start decorating them - started somewhere in Germaney, I think. Still, it makes everything look that much prettier."

 

He started by taking the coil of lights in his mouth and unstringing them in a spiral around the tree, then took one of the shiny gold balls by its hanger in his teeth, trotting over to the tree and carefully suspending it from a branch, showing Naj how it was done. "There. Just like that. Just hang them on the tree, wherever you think one would look good," he said.

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The sudden understanding was evident in Naj's expression.  She voiced her thought aloud.  "That...makes a lot of sense, actually."  Or at least, most of it did.  The decorating aspect of it seemed a little odd to Naj, but that was easy enough to write off as just an Equestrian quirk.  There had to be something to make the tree special after all, there were a lot of trees in and around the city even when there wasn't a holiday.

 

Though, having some knowledge of reasoning behind it didn't make Naj feel any more equipped to participate.  When Red invited her to join in the decorating, her reply was uncertain.  “Er, yeah!  I can do that...”  She didn't really have a sense of what looked good.

Still, it wasn't like it was an exam or anything.  Following Red's lead, she poked her head into the box, to get a look at what she would be working with.  What she saw was a random assortment of shapes and colours.  Deciding to start simple, she grabbed one of the round and shiny ones in her telekinesis, and after a moment's consideration placed it in the centre and slightly at the side of the tree from where she was looking.  

 

Naj looked at Red for a moment, saying nothing but watching his reaction to see how she'd done.  On receiving nothing negative, she'd poke her head back into the box and pull out another ornament.

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Red peered over at Naj's first hung ornament, and smiled. "There's really no right or wrong way to do this, so long as you cover most of the tree." he said, just to reassure her, before going back for more ornaments himself. "Though, since you can levitate them, it'll be a lot easier for you to get them around the top of the tree."

 

As the branches became more and more colorful with ornaments, he paused, turning to her. "There's also lots and lots of music played at Hearth's Warming, too. Special songs just about the holiday and this time of year, and getting to be with friends and family." As music was an interest of hers, Red thought she'd be interested in finding some specifically dedicated to certain times of year, and this holiday coming up in particular, right now anyway. With that, he went back to decorating the tree, until all the ornaments were on it, the boxes emptied, save the smallest one, still closed on the table.

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Naj was happy to hear she wasn't doing anything incorrectly, although it sounded like as tasks went it was pretty open ended.  She realized that if anything, the trick was not to think about it too much.  With a little time, she was able to develop a rhythm of sorts, grabbing an ornament, examining the tree for a good place to put it, and then doing so.  Repeat.  At Red's suggestion she tried to focus on the more difficult to reach parts of the tree, but in the end her selections were basically random.  The top of the tree ended up looking a little bare, it seemed to her.

She reminded herself not to worry too much about it.

 

As they were nearing the end, with most of the ornaments on the tree already, Red mentioned a special sort of Hearthswarming music.  Naj's ear's perked up, with curiosity above all else.  “There's holiday music?  What's that sound like?” she asked, as she set her last few ornaments on the tree before turning to Red expectantly.  A little excitement crept into her voice, as she was encountering something new to learn about.  “Is it like ballads, where they describe the holiday or do they get their own genre?”  She was having a little trouble imagining just what 'holiday music' would entail.

Though Naj had noted the unopened box, it went largely unnoticed by her at the moment in the face of something more immediate.

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Red peered up at the top of the tree as Naj used her levitation to get some of the hard to reach places. If he thought there were too few ornaments near the top of the tree, he didn't express it. He probably would have simply explained that it was because there weren't that many strong branches to hang ornaments from near the top of a tree anyway.

 

Red smiled. He thought that his mention of music for the holiday would pique her interest, and he wasn't wrong. "It's usually considered a genre all on its own, simply because you only hear it around the holiday. Some songs are ballad like, about the First Hearth's Warming, but most of them are very cheerful and upbeat, and all about being with friends and family and having fun." he explained, then smiled. "And they almost all have jingle bells somewhere in the music, too. I've got plenty of records of Hearth's Warming carols and songs. We can play some of them tonight."

 

After the last ornaments were on, Red walked up to the tree and turned on the lights, letting the whole tree shine. Standing back beside Naj, he smiled. "I think it's beautiful." he said, "What do you think?"

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Red tried to explain the nature of Hearthswarming music, but it was clear to Naj that it wasn't something that could be explained in just a few sentences.  If nothing else, it sounded like there were a lot of different sorts of songs which ended up in that category, which would make describing it all at once a real challenge at the very least.

Her head tilted to the side at one of his descriptions.  “ 'Jingle bells'?”  She knew what bells were, but the specifics were a little odd.  That only made her all the more curious though, and given the rest of his description she'd want a listen anyways.  Naj smiled, and replied to the suggestion of listening to some.  “Sounds pleasant.  Yeah, let's do that.”

 

Once the tree was fully decorated, the pair stood back and admired their hooftiwork.  Red thought it looked nice.  Naj wasn't entirely sure what to think.  “It's...colourful,” she said, after a moment.  She note of the way the lights shined and reflected onto the wall behind the tree.  “It's a bit chaotic, but vibrant.”  She wasn't sure if she liked it or not.  It was a bit arbitrary for her tastes.  But after a minte looking at it she had to concede, “I guess it is kinda pretty.”  She'd probably have to get used to it a bit more.

 

After a few minutes, Naj was content with the tree, and looked back at Red.  “Alright, tree looks good.  What next?”

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“It's a bit chaotic, but vibrant.” Well, given the very orderly structure of a hive that Naj had been telling him about, something being a "bit chaotic" would stand out to her, Red supposed. Still, she eventually conceded that it did look pretty. Red gave her a snug with one hoof, noting for a moment the way the lights of the tree reflected slightly off her carapace.

“Alright, tree looks good. What next?”

Red waved Naj over to the couch and sat down, pulling the small, as yet unopened box towards him. "Take a look at this," he said, as he nudged the lid off with his nose. Inside the box was what appeared to be a small doll of a pony, wrapped and padded gently in tissue paper inside the box as though it was made for its own little bed to slumber in most of the year. As he lifted the doll out, it was quite clear it was meant to be something very specific. The coppery colour of the yarn in its crocheted body, the black mane and tail streaked with deep green, both seemed to match the colours of its owners coat. As he turned it to show Naj, he even revealed that the doll had a little embroidered cutie mark of its own, of three evergreen trees in the same positions as in Red's own.

"This is a Hearth's Warming Doll," he said, letting Naj take it herself and look it over. "As you can see, this little guy looks a lot like me. Every family has one of these for each member in the house, and sometimes for family members who live on their own, or aren't with us any more. I've heard of some families who have dozens of these. During Hearth's Warming, they sit on the mantle above the fire, to show that those ponies are all loved and cared for, even if they're not here right now." He smiled a bit, as he thought back to the row of dolls that used to sit on the hearth of his home when he was a colt. "My parents still have a doll of me from when I was little. I had this one made for me when I started living on my own here." He sat back a bit, watching her look it over, curious if she had any questions about them.

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Naj hadn't been thinking about it, but now that it was pointed out to her she was wondering about the box.  Whatever was inside obviously didn't go on the tree, since they were finished with that, or so it seemed.  That left...she didn't know actually.

 

She didn't have to wait long to find out.  Red opened the box, reached in and pulled out a little pony doll.  Naj blinked, finding it a weird development, until she took a closer look.  It was a miniature Red Cedar, complete with cutie mark!  “That's adorable!”  She said after a moment.  She snatched it from his hooves as he started to explain, and gave it a gentle squeeze.  The explanation made some sense, with regard to having something that could represent ponies who couldn't make it.  She wasn't sure why one would need dolls of ponies that were already in the room though.

Naj looked down at the doll in her hooves thoughtfully, as she gave it a squeeze.  If she was going to live with Red long term, and she had no intention of not doing so, she'd certainly participate in this holiday more in future.  She'd need a doll of her own.  “I wonder what my doll would look like?”  She voiced the thought aloud.  “Would I get one of natural form, or would it be better to get one of my not-disguise?”  One of her changeling self might be truest to the holiday, but she wasn't sure she could find anypony who'd be both willing and able to make it.  “Hmm, or we could get on of Spring Breeze.  That would split the difference between a doll of me and of a pony who isn't there.”  She wasn't sure how much it fit the idea of the holidays, but she felt it an interesting thought.

 

Naj grew quiet as she considered Red's reflections on holidays he's had in the past.  Red was clearly making an effort to introduce her to the traditions, and part of Naj was wondering if she was keeping in from his family, even as another part thought it would be silly to make an issue of it.  “Do you miss it?” she said after a moment, looking over at Red.  “Celebrating Hearthswarming with your family, I mean.” 

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Red couldn't help but smile as Naj gave his Hearth's Warming doll an enthusiastic cuddle. It never failed to make him very happy to watch her like this, enjoying things in the moment, more of a reflection of her true self, than being always worried. While she would always be a soldier, it was wonderful to see her in her happiest moments.

 

When Naj asked if he missed celebrating with his family, he shook his head. "I haven't had a chance to, really," he said. "I mean, the way I celebrate it has changed since I was a colt, but honestly, every Hearth's Warming since I moved out I'd go to my parents' home anyway, see everyone, exchange gifts, get stuffed with food. So, it's not like I've actually been missing out by living here." Looking back to Naj, though, something in the way she looked at him told him that that wasn't entirely what she meant. After a moment, he said softly, "If you're asking whether or not I will miss being there now that you're here, though, the answer is no. You've been my family for a while now, as far as I'm concerned."

 

Her question about getting a doll of her own, however, brought him back to the one remaining matter still on the table, literally. "Now, speaking of gifts," he said, "That's also a tradition, which is why the streets have been so busy in the middle of winter." Red knew Naj was still getting used to the cold, and he imagined she had thought it very odd indeed that so many ponies would be out and bustling so much at this time of year out of all. Reaching back to the table with a hoof, he picked up the bright blue gift bag on the table, stuffed with tissue paper, at least to see it from the top. "I got you one early, though," he said, hoofing it to her. "I hope you like it. Happy Hearth's Warming."

 

It had indeed been difficult to find a craftspony that could make a Hearth's Warming doll in the form of an undisguised changeling. Given the entire meaning of the holiday, however, it just didn't seem right in his mind to have Naj's doll made in any other shape. He hoped that when she unwrapped it, she found it as lovable as he did, as much as she had found his own doll adorable.

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Red answered her question directly at first, explaining how he'd generally seen his family at Hearthswarming even after moving out.  Naj was in some ways glad to hear it, but that hadn't been what her concern was with the question.  Fortunately, Red seemed to pick up on this, and after a moment looking into her eyes he hit upon Naj's concern.   The earth pony explained that since Naj had arrived, he'd considered the two of them family.

Naj wasn't really sure how to respond to that remaining quiet for moment.  She was still in the mindset that family was what you thought to protect.  And that was true here as well, but it left her ill equipped to reply in a way that felt appropriate.  “...thanks,” she mumbled after a moment, smiling in Red's direction.  Was she blushing a little?

 

Setting the mini-Red aside, Naj took the box from Red's hooves and just held it for a moment, hesitant.  She wasn't entirely sure how to react.  “I didn't get you anything...”  A part of her thought she should just pass it back.  But rejecting a gift could be just as bad.  Ahh well, she could probably be forgiven this once.

Not having any idea what was in the bag, she took care with removing the covering to avoid damaging anything it contained.  She looked inside...

She gasped and her eyes widened, as she slowly pulled the doll out of bag.  She held it delicately, almost worried that too much force might unravel the object in her hooves.  She was holding a tiny fabric changeling, with slightly simplified and exaggerated features.  A close inspection even showed an added seam running up the inside of a leg, approximating Naj's most distinctive physical feature.

“It's amazing,” Naj said, after a while of just staring at the doll in her hooves.  She suddenly whirled and threw Red into a hug, shifting the doll to her telekinesis.  “Thank you.”  She spoke softly.  Her grip eased a little, but she didn't yet let go as she asked, “How did you get somepony to make one?”  It can't have been easy.

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If Red thought Naj's response wasn't what was to be expected after accepting her into his family, he certainly didn't show it, still smiling as he gazed into her eyes. He also didn't seem to pick up on any shift in her appearance, although, truth be told, he was still quite unable to pick up on any truly subtle shifts in her that might have indicated something as nuanced as a blush. It might have been the lights reflecting off her still.

 

He did pick up on her hesitation to accept the gift, however, looking at her curiously until she said,  “I didn't get you anything...”  He shook his head a little. "Well, like I said, this is an early gift. There's still time, but this was something I needed to get you before Hearth's Warming Eve." he explained.

 

The look on her face as she held the doll, however, made the effort all worth while. He couldn't help but smile widely as she looked over the lovable effigy of herself in her hooves, complete with the thread of white up the inside of one leg. He'd gone to great lengths to ensure that was there, to make Naj's doll as unique as the changeling it was meant to represent. As she wrapped her hooves around him tightly, he did the same, keeping her close.

 

“How did you get somepony to make one?”  she asked.

 

Red took a deep breath. "I looked around at a lot of craft fairs and gift shops trying to find somepony who could do it. A lot said they couldn't..." and quite a few said they wouldn't even if they could, but Red didn't mention them. "Finally, I found one who tried making Hearth's Warming dolls for any being that wanted one. She'd made several for griffins, and even a minotaur before. She took it on." He gazed up at the doll again, held in Naj's magic. "I think she did a great job, too!"

 

Cuddling Naj a long moment longer, he asked, "Should we put these two up on the mantle together?"

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Finally releasing Red from her hug, Naj helt 'herself' on her back as she listened to her coltfriend's explanation of what lengths he went to.  It didn't make for much of a story, but that in itself was something of a positive sign.  It didn't take any special favours or pleading: all Red was perseverence, and he found a pony willing to make any Hearthswarming doll one might need.  It meant that either Stalliongrad was a more tolerant city, or maybe the Equestrian attitude toward changelings was finally starting to mellow out a little.  Naj thought it was the former, but either way it meant good things both for her and for any other potential changelings that might want to follow in her hoofsteps.

 

"Should we put these two up on the mantle together?"

Naj was holding 'herself' against her chest as she listened.  She looked down at the doll, somewhat reluctantly agreeing with the suggestion.  “Yeah...” she said, before suddenly straightening up.  “Yes,” she nodded, largely to herself.  “We should.”   As much as she liked the dolls, there was a holiday celebration to go with.  At the very least, Naj would want her first pass at it to be a proper experience of the holiday.  She couldn't bring herself to change how Hearthswarming was celebrated.  “Mind if I do the honours?”

 

Once the dolls were safely deposited on the mantle, Naj couldn't help look back at them.  Turning back to Red she asked, or at least tried to ask.  It took a few attempts to find the words.  “Could I...I mean, would it be alright if I kept those two,” she pointed at the dolls on the mantlepiece with a hoof, “once the holiday was over?  It wouldn't be against the spirit of the holiday, would it?”  She paused.  “What usually happens to the dolls once Hearthswarming is over?”

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Red watched as Naj carefully put the two dolls up onto the mantelpiece together, smiling. After she had, he could think of only one slight change to make. He reached up with a hoof and gently put the hooves of the two dolls together, so that they would be holding each others' through the holiday.

 

Red raised an eyebrow at Naj's request, though. It seemed she had been quite a bit more taken with the dolls than he had first thought. Since Hearth's Warming dolls certainly did double duty as toys sometimes, especially with younger foals, they were usually made quite well, to last a lifetime or more. He certainly couldn't see the harm in it. "Well, usually they go into storage with the tree ornaments until next year," he explained, "But if you want to hold onto them until then instead, I have no problem with that." He nuzzled her gently afterwards. "You really like those two, don't you?" he said.

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For the most part Red seemed to approve of Naj's placement of the dolls.  He just had one minor change in mind, which he promptly demonstrated by stepping up to the mantle and nudging the dolls' hooves together.

Naj just stared at the dolls on the shelf.  The image made her very happy, but she wasn't really sure how to respond.  She'd never really dealt with this sort of emotion before, at least in these quantities, and it left her ill equipped to react.

 

It took a moment after Red's statements for Naj to snap out of her reverie and start considering what he said.  By the sound of things it was highly irregular for the dolls to be present during any time but Hearthswarming, although Red wasn't too opposed to the idea.  Naj figured an explanation was still in order nonetheless.

"You really like those two, don't you?"

Naj nodded in confirmation.  He'd basically guessed the answer, though it oversimplified her feelings on the matter.  She looked back at the dolls.  “I've never seen dolls like these before.  So that's part of it, but...”  She rubbed the back of her head with a hoof.  “I was also hoping to keep them as a memento of you.  Something to remind me if I'm travelling, or feeling down.  Anytime I might need the reminder, really.”  She paused, before adding her other thought.  “I'm also thinking that next year, I'd like to try celebrating with the rest of your family.  And if I want to do that, it might be a good idea to get another, slightly different doll made anyways.”

 

Naj fell silent again, regarding the dolls for a moment longer.  Then she grabbed Red Cedar and gently pulled him onto the couch, snuggling against him.  In this perfect moment, she was completely content.  Naj though she could sit here like this for a week, and never be happier.   As far as she could tell, this is what Hearthswarming was really about, and if not she wasn't sure she'd want to be corrected.

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Red nodded as he listened to Naj explain why she wanted to keep the dolls handy. He could certainly understand wanting a memento of a loved one while being apart from them. Normally this would mean a photograph, but, he had to admit, the dolls did have the advantage of being more cuddleable than a picture.

 

He was a little relieved, truth be told, when Naj said she would like to have tried celebrating with his family next year. At least she was willing to try and bridge the gulf between herself and his less-than-thrilled sister. When she suggested getting a new doll for that, anyway, he nodded. "All right. I'll introduce you to the pony who made yours. I'm sure she can make you another as your usual disguise, or as Spring Breeze, or any you'd like." he said.

 

It didn't take a lot of coercing for Red to join Naj on the couch beside her. Curling his hooves around her, turning his muzzle to kiss her head, he really couldn't think of a better Hearth's Warming before in his life.

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