>The winter wind punched up against the window of Starlight’s apartment in an absolutely vicious howl, causing the glass to buck and creak as thick flakes of snow splattered against the panes
>Starlight glanced up from her text on dialectical materialism, grimacing
>Across the street, at the apartment building facing hers, twinkling red and green lights sparkled with holiday cheer, surrounded by pristine snow and bands of vibrant green holly
>Starlight hated it
>She hated the rampant materialism of the holiday, the appropriation of rich pagan tradition, the wealth inequality it represented…
>Blah blah, she was a total scrooge; there’s only so much that needs to be explained
>Regardless, she thought Hearthswarming was a total waste of time and money, not to mention a burden on the human spirit
>So she was quite content to sit alone in her room and read about how the human soul could be reduced to nothing more than electrical fluctuation
>That is, until the door to her apartment was literally kicked open, allowed a gust of freezing wind to rush over Starlight’s shoulders
>”Starlight!  Starlight, Starlight!”
>Trixie bustled in, dressed in a thick winter coat 
>Her face and hands were read from the cold, but her eyes shone with excitement
“What is it, Trixie?”
>Starlight glared at her girlfriend, as if chiding her for daring to interrupt her communist jerk-off session
>”It’s snowing!”
“I can see that.  If this isn’t something important, than I should really get back to my—“
>Trixie didn’t give Starlight a chance to respond
>”You know what that means!” she said, grabbing Starlight up out of her chair and spinning her around in a circle.  “We’re going sledding!  Trixie has already reserved slopes for us at Canterlot Death Gorge!”
“Canterlot Death Gorge?  Are you insane?  Is… is that even a real place?”
>”Of course it is!  It’s only the most extreme sledding locale in all of the city!  It’s the kind of place that only *masters of the sport* can hope to conquer.”
>Trixie spoke the last few words with quite a flourish, flicking her wrist and puffing out her chest
“Yes, well, I’m sure they’ll be very impressed.  Go get Twilight or someone to go with you.”
>”But Starlight…”
>Trixie placed her girlfriend down, pouting
>”We need to go together!  It’s a special day, after all.”
“No, it’s a corporate fabrication that co-opts people’s goodwill and funnels it into rampant capitalism in order to line their pockets with the money of families who just want to buy they kid the toy they really want when in actuality…”
>Trixie shook her head
>”Starlight, you’re doing that thing again.”
“What thing?”
>”The thing where you talk forever and it makes less sense the longer you go on.  C’mon!  Trixie even brought a sled for you!”
>Trixie grabbed ahold of Starlight’s hand, trying to drag the curmudgeonly communist out the door
“Trixie!” Starlight whined.  “I told you, I have a lot of work to do!”
>”You always have a lot of work!  That’s why Trixie’s here!  To make you do things that are actually fun!”
“Dialectical materialism is fun!”
>”You said the same thing about watching Neon Genesis Evangelion.  Trixie has no trust in your definition of fun!”
>Starlight tried to run back towards her books, but Trixie simply picked her up and headed for the door
>For such a small girl, Trixie definitely was stronger than she looked
>On the way out, she grabbed Starlight’s jacket, draping it over her
>”Just trust Trixie!  She’s gonna make sure today is extra good, just for her special little Starry!”
“I told you to stop calling me that…” Starlight grumbled

>Snowflakes fluttered and whorled around the two girls as they stepped out of the car, facing the rock-and-tree spotted hill before them
>Canterlot Death Gorge stretched nearly two hundred feet, averaging to around a 60-degree angle of slope and littered with splinters of broken sleds and chunks of what looked suspiciously like human skull
>Starlight gulped
“Did you have to pick the single most dangerous place in the entire city?”
>”Of course!  Trixie’s hardcore!”
“Well, I’m hardcore too.  But I’m not that kind of hardcore.”
>Starlight plunked down on bench wrought from smashed toboggans and crossed her legs
“If you wanna get yourself killed, be my guest.  I’ve still got reading to do.”
>Trixie visibly deflated a little, but she quickly perked up
>”Don’t worry, Starry.  Trixie understands!”
“I severely doubt that you do.”
>”Sure she does.  You just want to sit here so you can watch Trixie!”
>Starlight rolled her eyes
“You got me.  That’s exactly it.”
>”Well, Trixie is happy to oblige!  She’ll have you know she’s quite a proficient stunt sledder.”
“If that’s what you call that disaster at my 21st birthday, then…”
>”Disaster?  That was pure art!  But it’s never gonna top *this*!”
>Trixie whipped out one of those plastic saucer sleds, holding it above her head
>”Trixie will be just like a Beyblade!”
“Down to the part where you crash into everything, I’m sure.”
>”Ha!  Trixie will never crash!  Watch in awe at her precision!”
>Without another word, Trixie threw the sled onto the ground and jumped on top of it, careening down the Death Gorge
>The saucer accelerated quickly as it hurtled across the smooth, fresh snow, and Trixie quickly converted into a spinning blur
>Starlight watched her for about a minute, then returned her attention to her book, which she had smuggled along in the pocket of her coat
>On days like this, she wondered why she even put up with such a childish girl
>She loved Trixie, sure, but Starlight really wished that…
>Well, she wasn’t quite sure what she wished
>”Starlight, watch Trixie!”
>Starlight glanced up from her book just long enough to watch Trixie ramp off an icy slope of rock
>She hung in the air for a moment, still spinning from some residual momentum, and then crashed back to earth, the saucer skipping like a stone over the last few feet of the slope
>When she hit the soft snow at the Gorge’s bottom, Trixie rolled out of her sled, dizzy
>”That was so cool!  You saw Trixie, right?” Trixie yelled up to Starlight
>Starlight sighed, and nodded
>She continued reading about the truly heinous struggles of the working class as Trixie tromped back up the hill
>Little flakes of snow were sticking in her silvery-blue hair, and her cheeks were rosy with exhertion
>”Did you see Trixie hit that ramp?  Did you see when she totally dabbed in midair?”
“Mhm,” Starlight said
>She didn’t see Trixie’s face fall, as she was too focused on her book
>Trixie sighed, then ran back to the car
>”Trixie almost forgot!  Look what she brought!”
>From the trunk, Trixie procured a plastic cooler, inside of which were stored a thermos and a set of mugs, one powder blue and one a light purple
>”Hot chocolate!  Trixie made it herself!”
“Pouring the powder into hot water doesn’t count as—“
>Trixie placed a finger over Starlight’s mouth, shushing her
>”Yes.  Yes it does.  Now drink up!”
>She poured Starlight a mug full of the steaming liquid and held it out with a grin on her face
>Starlight sighed
“Thank you, Trixie.”
>Trixie flopped down next to Starlight on the shoddy bench, her own mug clamped between mittened hands
>”So?”
“So?”
>”Having fun?”
>Starlight shrugged
>”Well…”
>Trixie glanced around, looking a bit desperate
>”We, um… oh!  Look what Trixie brought!”
>Trixie hadn’t even gotten to take a sip of her hot chocolate, but she jumped up, running back to the car and popping the trunk open again
>From inside it, she pulled out a giant two-person toboggan and held it proudly out to Starlight
>”We can ride together!  Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“I don’t think I’m really feeling it, Trixie.”
>”Oh.”
>Trixie couldn’t hide her disappointment this time
>”Why not?”
“I kinda just want to read.”
>”Oh.  Trixie sees.  Why didn’t you just tell me that earlier?”
“Because you’re overbearing, okay?  You never give me a chance to say anything.”
>”That’s just because Trixie loves talking to you so much!  And she gets really excited when she’s around you, and she has so much to say, and…”
>Trixie dropped the toboggan and took a seat next to Starlight
>”Trixie is sorry.  She just really wanted to have a special Hearthswarming with you.”
“It’s fine.”
>”Do you want Trixie to take you home now?”
>Starlight shrugged
”You can sled a little more, if you want.”
>“Thanks, Starlight.  Will you… will you promise you’ll watch Trixie?  Just once?”
“Sure.”
>Trixie smiled, and planted a warm kiss on Starlight’s cheek
>”Trixie’s gonna hit that ramp, now!  Watch her, okay?”
“Mhm.”
>Starlight closed her book, sitting patiently as Trixie set up the saucer
>It wasn’t until Trixie had already started down the hill that Starlight realized what “ramp” her girlfriend had been pointing to
>You’d be hard pressed to call it a ramp at all; it was just a frozen graveyard of smashed sleds, all of them piled together in a rough slope
>And Trixie hurtled straight towards it
>Starlight jumped to her feet, her book falling into the snow
“Trixie!” she called.  “Wait!  Stop!”
>But Trixie either couldn’t hear her, or couldn’t do anything to stop her
>The saucer ramped off the pile of frozen sleds and Trixie went flying, unable to hold onto the plastic disk
>She fell through the air with a yelp, arms flailing, and landed amidst the rocks and ice in a crumpled heap
“No!”
>Starlight sprinted down the hill, her boots slipping on loose snow and frozen dirt
“Trixie!  Trixie, are you okay?”
>Starlight reached her girlfriend’s unconscious form and dropped to her knees, cradling Trixie in her arms
>She was out cold, and blood leaked from a star-shaped wound on her temple
“No… no, no… Trixie, come on, say something.”
>Trixie didn’t respond
>Starlight hugged Trixie against her chest, making a rough cold-compress out of snow and holding it to the girl’s temple
>The snow quickly grew pink as it mingled with Trixie’s blood, and Starlight whipped out her phone, dialing a frantic 9-1-1
>As sirens grew in the distance, she didn’t move from Trixie’s side
>Starlight held the unconscious girl against her chest, keeping the compress in place and whispering reassurances into Trixie’s ear

>The ER’s waiting room was surprisingly festive, with strands of holly and blinking lights that seemed wholly incongruous with the hospital’s sterile, gray walls
>Starlight sat by herself, her head in her hands, feeling positively sick with worry
>Outside, the sky had grown dark, and the wind was dying down into a low, mournful howl
>Starlight raised her head when she heard the doors open, and she saw a tired looking nurse lurch in
>The woman looked to be only a few years older than Starlight herself, with pink hair tied back in a bun and dark circles under her eyes
>Immediately, Starlight barraged the woman with questions
“Is she gonna be okay?  She’s not hurt, right?  I mean, I know she’s hurt, but it’s not… it’s not *bad* right?”
>The nurse sighed
>”Your friend—“
“Girlfriend,” Starlight insisted.  “She’s my girlfriend, and I love her, and… please, ma’am, I just need to know she’s gonna be okay.”
>A tired smile crossed the nurse’s face
>”She’ll be fine, as far as we can tell.  She should be out of here by tomorrow morning.”
>Relief washed over Starlight, as warm and refreshing as a heated blanket
“Oh my god…”
>She ran her hands through her hair, her face splitting into a smile
“Thank you.  Thank you so much.”
>The nurse took a seat next to Starlight, crossing her legs and resting her head against the wall
>”But she’s going to need a few days in bed,” she continued.  And don’t be surprised if she’s a bit… well, out of it.”
>Starlight gave a quivering laugh
“Hah.  Don’t worry, I don’t think I’ll notice much of a difference.”
>That got a wry grin out of the nurse
>”She’s a lucky girl, to have someone like you.”
“Lucky?”
>Starlight shook her head
“I let her down.  She wanted us to have a special Hearthswarming together, and I didn’t appreciate that.  I even resented her for it, a bit.  I was terrible.”
>The nurse shrugged
>”We all have those days.  The human brain isn’t designed to fully appreciate the things we love.  It’d get exhausting.”
“Maybe.  But… when she got hurt, I couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d do if she didn’t get better.  If… if I lost her.  It was so scary.  I seriously don’t know what I’d do without that girl.”
>”Hmm.  Guess I was wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
>The nurse nudged Starlight’s shoulder
>”She’s not the lucky one.  You are.”
>Starlight smiled, and she could feel tears running down her cheeks
“I know.”

>When they finally let her in to visit Trixie, Starlight practically sprinted down the halls
>Inside her room, Trixie sat in a hospital bed looking dazed and exhausted
>The hospital staff must have removed her winter coat and hoodie, because the girl was dressed only in sweatpants and her favorite Akira t-shirt
>Her head was wrapped in bandages, with a thick patch of gauze on her left temple
>When she saw Starlight, Trixie’s face broke out into a weary smile
>”Hey, Starry.  Trixie is really happy to see— oof!”
>Starlight threw herself into Trixie’s bed, wrapping her girlfriend in her arms and smothering Trixie’s face with kisses
“Trixie!  [Several kisses occur].  Oh my god, you’re okay!  [Several more] I was so worried [One or two here], you have no idea…”
>Starlight slumped over, squeezing Trixie protectively against her chest and running her hands through the girl’s hair
>”Wow…” Trixie whistled.  “Trixie doesn’t remember the last time you were this happy to see her.”
“Ha… yeah.”
>Starlight gave a watery laugh as she realized that fresh tears were spilling down her face
“Trixie, I’m so sorry,” she choked out
>Starlight tried to wipe her face on the back of her sleeve, but Trixie took ahold of her hand
>”What for?”
“For today.  And for… for never really showing you how much you mean to me.” Starlight said.  “At least, not often enough.”
>She gripped Trixie’s hand
“I promise, I’m going to make it up to you.  Even if you’re stuck in here for Hearthswarming… I’m going to make it work.  Somehow I’m going to make this the best holiday you’ve ever—“
>Trixie started to laugh, interrupting Starlight
“What’s so funny?”
>”It just amazes Trixie.  You’re so smart, Starlight.  But you still don’t get Hearthswarming!”
“I… I guess you’re right.  I really don’t.”
>Starlight resisted the urge to go into an hour-long postmodernist rant on how attaching joy to gifts disfigures the human soul
>”Trixie was a little sad that you didn’t like the trip she planned.  But Heartshwarming is about being together with the people you love!  And even if you don’t always appreciate Trixie… Trixie still appreciates you!  Just being around you makes this the best holiday Trixie could ask for!”
“Y-you… bluh…”
>The tears that had merely trickled down Starlight’s face now flowed in a stream
>She buried her face in Trixie’s shoulder, blubbering
“You’re amazing, T-Trixie,” she managed to eek out between sobs
>”Don’t worry, Trixie knows,” Trixie said as she gave Starlight a few gentle pats on the back
>Starlight straightened up, using the hem of her shirt to wipe tears from her face
“You deserve a better Hearthswarming than I can give you.”
>”Ha!  Trixie isn’t going to argue with you on that.  She deserves only the best, after all!  However, if you *really* want to impress Trixie…”

>Ten minutes later, Starlight was walking up from the hospital’s food court, her arms laden with iced cinnamon rolls, ham sandwiches (with the good kind of ham), tiny dishes of fruit, cups of eggnog, and everything else she could fit onto two trays
>There’d been a small Hearthswarming party in the hospital, it looked like, and it had generated plenty of leftovers
>Trixie was more than impressed with the spread
>The two girls sat together on Trixie’s bed, both of them wolfing down the food at an alarming rate
>Starlight hadn’t realized how hungry she’d gotten while in the waiting room; now that she thought about it, it had probably been nearly seven or eight hours since either of them ate
>While neither girl spoke much, they cuddled together beneath the thin hospital sheets, and neither cared that they were probably breaking about a dozen hospital regulations
>Outside, Canterlot had long since grown dark
>However, the freshly fallen snow cast a pale glow up towards the sky, giving the city a silvery, luminous look
>As Trixie had discovered earlier, the only TV in the room was busted
>So Starlight held Trixie in her lap, squeezing the other girl tightly as if she subconsciously spooked by the prospect of ever losing her again, and the two stared out the window, watching the last few flakes of snow drift lazily downwards and the occasional car mozy through the snow covering the freeway
>”You know what, Starlight?”
“What’s that?”
>Starlight could feel her eyelids growing heavy, and she wondered how angry the nurses would be if she spent the night in Trixie’s bed
>”Trixie will admit, this isn’t the best Heartshwarming she’s ever had.”
“Hah.  Don’t worry, I can understand why.”
>Trixie chuckled
>She twisted herself around, draping her arms around Starlight’s neck
>”But you’re definitely the best person Trixie has ever spent it with.”
>Trixie brought her mouth to Starlight’s in a long, slow kiss, and the two girls embraced
>Starlight clung tightly to Trixie, burying her face in the girl’s hair and inhaling deeply, as if to breathe her in
>The shock of nearly losing her had hurt
>Sitting here, wrapped in the warmth of the girl’s arms, Starlight realized she couldn’t even begin to envision what she would do without Trixie
>More than just a gift, that girl was a straight-up blessing, the kind of intertwining love that no amount of postmodernist deconstruction could ever truly understand
>And so Starlight hugged her bandaged, battered, bleary-looking girlfriend even as Trixe continued to scarf down snacks, finding herself unable to see Trixie as anything other than the most wonderful gift possible

The End