Dad and I have a little game we play. He'll ask me how I am, and I'll say "I'm Peachy!". Which is funny, since my name is Peach Fuzz. I had to explain that to some of my classmates and they didn't think it was funny, but Dad and I do.
So since we play that game all the time, I know something's wrong when he asks today. His voice is sad, and I remember when he's sounded like that before. So I tell him "I'm Peachy!," and then I hug him as hard as I can.
Dad wraps himself around me, hugging back. "Thanks, Peach." That's all he needs to say, because I know. He gets like this sometimes when he thinks about Mom. Hearth's Warming is tomorrow, so I guess it isn't a surprise he's thinking of her today.
Later after dinner, Dad says he's going next door to visit with Aunties Lyra and Bon Bon. (They're not really my aunts, but they're close enough and Apple Bloom says that her mom said that family is in how you care for somepony, not in their birth.) I would love to go with him, but I know I can't.
I have to find Dad a gift.
Not that I waited until the last minute, I promise! I have a nice new bathrobe in a box for him, since he said his old one was getting worn. But that doesn't feel like enough anymore.
Dad's always been there when I needed him. Without Mom, he's the one that helps me with my homework and makes dinner and takes care of me when I'm sick. And we do all sorts of fun things together! So I can't let him be sad on Hearth's Warming. Not because of Mom. I need something extra special to cheer him up again.
So when he goes out, so do I. There isn't a lot of time (since I gotta be home before dark) and there's only one pony in Ponyville who can help me that fast.
Sugarcube Corner is super busy, but that's no surprise. Everypony is picking up treats for tomorrow, and even the ones that aren't still want yummy stuff like hot cocoa. Even though I'm here because of other stuff I still wait in line because it's all really good! (Also because I'm a good filly and cutting in lines is bad.)
"Hi Missus Cake! Can I please have a cocoa and a windigo cookie and I need to talk to Miss Pinkie please!"
Missus Cake doesn't get a chance to answer before Miss Pinkie pops up from behind her. "Hi Peach!" (Missus Cake lets out a little surprised scream every time that happens and it's always funny.) Miss Pinkie already has my cocoa and cookie in her hooves and before I know it we're sitting at a table. It's right next to one of the windows, and everything's really pretty outside. The snow is fluffy and fresh - it isn't heavy enough for snowballs, but otherwise it's great for playing in. And there's a really neat frost on the windows, like you always see in picture books.
Miss Pinkie's smile is a hint that she already knows why I'm here but she wants me to ask anyway.
"Dad's been sad," I explain. "Because he's been thinking about Mom again. And I don't want him to be sad for Hearth's Warming, so I wanna get him an extra special present to make things even better for him. Can you help me, Miss Pinkie?"
Her smile gets even bigger. "Anything to help my favorite joyprentice!" We both laugh a little. I'm not really her apprentice at anything, but Miss Pinkie likes to say that to ponies who help her make other ponies smile. (And why wouldn't I want do that?)
I don't know where she gets the folder from, but Miss Pinkie has one on the table with Dad's cutie mark on it somewhere between when I pick my mug up to sip the cocoa and when I put it down. "So let's see... your Dad likes pineapple upside-down cake, his favorite color is forest green and what he loves most in all of Equestria is.... Peach Fuzz!"
"Miss Pinkie!" I laugh, squirming away from her tickling hoof. "Be serious!"
"Never!" she loudly declares. Then she makes herself a liar. "Peach, I know it seems strange but there's nothing wrong with your Dad missing your Mom. It makes him sad, but it isn't a bad kind of sad. And you should never, ever ever think that it's your fault or something you have to fix."
I know that Miss Pinkie's trying to help me. This is an adult thing that they say I'm not ready to understand yet. I can tell it's something wise, even if I don't get it. But that doesn't change my mind. "I know it isn't my fault. But I want to fix it! He's my Dad. He shouldn't be sad on Hearth's Warming, even if it's for a good reason. He deserves better than that."
Miss Pinkie's hooves cover mine, giving them a squeeze. "That makes me so proud to hear, Peach. You really are a special little filly." Her smile is huge and infectious. It always is. "What you're trying to do isn't take away his sadness. That would be wrong, because he's got a kind of sad that's important. What you want to do is remind him of the things that make him happy! And you can't buy that at a store - that comes from the heart." She puts her hoof against my chest, and I might not understand what she said before, but I understand what she means now.
Miss Pinkie was also a little wrong, because I did still go to a store. Princess Twilight's book talked about how she got a present for her student, Miss Starlight. It was a mirror covered in pictures, so that every morning when she woke up the first thing she would see was her surrounded by her friends. If I gave Dad one of those, he'd have a reminder of the things that made him happy every morning!
So I spent almost all my saved allowance to buy the mirror. Mister Davenport was even nice enough to help me find a better one than I picked out at first! He said it was the same price as the one I wanted to get and it was way bigger! It's a good thing he helped me, because I didn't see the sale tag like all the other things had.
But the important thing is I have the mirror now and I can get to work. I only have a little time left, after all.
The first picture I put on is Dad and I in our Daring Do costumes.
Daring Do is Dad's favorite series of books, and I love them too. They're actually how he helped teach me to read, and he was proud that I could spell Tenochtitlan correctly by the time I was four. Every time a new book comes out, we spent every night for a week reading it together.
Last year, Dad surprised me with tickets to the Daring Do convention in Manehatten! I was so excited, but preparing was almost as good as going. Dad and I both made Daring Do costumes to wear for it - it took us almost as much time as it did to read one of the books, but it was worth it! He made his costume to be from Daring Do: Riddle of the Sphinx, but I made mine like the one from Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone because that one's my favorite. (I say that I made but really both of us worked on both costumes. Dad's better at sewing but he always has trouble with buttons so I did those.)
Then when we went to the convention, it was amazing! There were ponies everywhere in all kinds of costumes and Daring Do stuff and awesome food! I'd never been to Manehatten before either, so after we finished at the convention Dad took me around to see the sights. It was nothing like Ponyville, and while all the tall buildings were cool I don't think I want to live there. There's just so many ponies and it's too crowded. But it was great to visit! Dad and I had such an amazing time.
I carefully glue that picture into place on the left side of the frame.
The next picture is one that I'm not sure about. Dad might not feel the same way about it that I do, but me being sick in bed is still one of my favorite memories of him.
When I started to get sick, Dad was so scared. I almost never get sick, so he didn't know what to do. I remember that he had started to pack a bag to go into the forest and find the strange potions lady that lives there to ask her for medicine. He looked so much better when Miss Cheerilee told him that the rest of my class had gotten the horsey hives. I had to go into the hospital with all of them, but that was okay. Dad knew I would be taken care of, and I would be okay because horsey hives aren't really dangerous.
Just itchy.
Really REALLY itchy.
After I came home, maybe I wasn't sick anymore but I was still tired. The doctor said I would need a few more days rest to be all better, but nopony else would catch it from me. And Dad was there to take care of me the whole time.
By the end I didn't want any more of his signature artichoke lentil stew, because I had it every meal for five days. But Dad stayed home with me and he made sure I was better.
He worries sometimes that he can't be around for everything in my life, but when I need him Dad has always been there. Like in this photo of me hugging him right after I got out of the hospital.
That picture goes in the upper-right corner.
I pull out another picture, this time of me in my cheerleading outfit.
I was too still young to make a cart for the Applewood Derby this year. Well, okay, maybe that's a little bit of a lie since Dinky made one. I don't really like doing stuff against other ponies, though, so I didn't want to make one.
But then Miss Cheerilee asked if any of us wanted to be cheerleaders for the racers and I almost jumped out of my chair to volunteer! So Miss Cheerilee and Perky Pep and me all got matching outfits and pompoms and while the race was going? We did our best to cheer everypony on! Even when they crashed and they had to stop the race and rebuild all the carts. But that just meant more racing to cheer!
And Dad was there. Even though I wasn't racing, he was there both times. I don't even think he likes watching racing either! But I knew he was there, so I cheered even louder because he was.
Afterwards, Dad and I went to Sugarcube Corner and got cupcakes. He told me that he was really proud that I sat out of the race so I could try and make my classmates happier instead. And that's when Miss Pinkie heard and called me her joyprentice for the first time!
I glue the picture of me in my cheerleading outfit and Dad into the bottom, near the left side.
The next picture is the oldest one. (Well, the second oldest. But the one of me being born has Mom in it and that would just remind Dad about being sad.) It's me and Dad together, holding up a pair of fish.
Dad said that Grandpa loved to go fishing. I never met Grandpa, but why wouldn't I believe Dad? I was still really young, and Dad tells me that's when Grandpa went away. He told me later that because I was so young he was worried that my first memory of Grandpa would be losing him, so Dad decided to do something about it.
He took me with him to Grandpa's favorite fishing hole near Whitetail Woods. I was barely able to hold the fishing rod, but Dad was patient and carefully showed me every part of doing it. After we set our hooks and threw them into the pond, we sat and talked. It seems like it was for hours. I wasn't good at talking yet so most of it was Dad telling stories about Grandpa.
Like how Grandpa met Grandma - she was a pegasus and part of the weather patrol. They met because he tried to argue with her not to move some rainclouds in because he was on a date, and she wouldn't stop because it was her job. They yelled at each other a lot, and Grandpa told her that if she was going to ruin his date that she owed him one to make up for it. They got married two years later.
Or about how Grandpa did the Running of the Leaves once but went off the path and got lost. Dad said he was so stubborn that he didn't realize he was going the wrong way until he ran into a Royal Guard detachment on patrol halfway up the Canterhorn.
But I think the most important story that Dad told was about how Grandpa taught him how to fish, just like he was teaching me. Just sitting next to a quiet pond, talking and watching the day go by. I could tell from how Dad talked - it was one of his favorite memories of Grandpa.
We only caught the two fish that we took the picture with, but Dad was right. Hearing stories while learning to fish is the only memory I have about my Grandpa - and it's one of my favorites of Dad, too.
I stick that picture on the right side, near the corner. I'm almost done now, and that's good. I'm running out of time before Dad gets home and I still have to wrap it!
The last picture is the most important one, so it goes right up top in the center. Dad and I with a big bowl of ice cream.
I remember how excited I was to get my cutie mark. Not just because of the cutie mark and everything it means, but because it would make Diamond Tiara stop being mean. She got her cutie mark a few months before and she was a real flankhead about it. (I know that's a bad word but she was!) Everypony who didn't have theirs got made fun of as a blank, and she never seemed to get tired of telling us all how she had hers and that made her better than us.
So when I got mine, I thought she would stop. But she didn't. Diamond Tiara just laughed and said that it showed how much better she was than me because hers was pretty and regal and mine was a fruit. Which she said meant I was just a dirt farmer who works for better ponies like her family.
I admit that I cried. A lot.
But Dad wouldn't let me keep crying. When he found out that I was and I told him why, he picked me up and took me to get ice cream. We got the biggest bowl they had and shared it. Dad told me about how cutie marks aren't always literal - just because I had a peach on my flank didn't mean that I had to be a peach farmer. It could mean that I'm sweet like a peach, or that I was fuzzy like one. I could decide how I wanted to make my cutie mark part of my life.
So I thought about it while we ate the ice cream. And I decided that I did want to be like a peach. I was gonna be sweet on the outside - nice and helpful to everypony around me. But on the inside, I was gonna have have a hard center - to be strong and keep positive when everypony else felt bad.
Dad hugged me when I told him that, and he told me how proud of me he was.
So the day I got my cutie mark was great, and then it was terrible, and then it was the best. Because of Dad.
I leave the mirror and the pictures where they are so the glue can dry. And downstairs I can hear Dad coming home.
"Peach? I'm back."
I quickly close the door halfway to make sure he doesn't see in accidentally. "Okay Dad! Don't come upstairs yet please, I'm still wrapping!"
He pauses, but Dad seems to accept that. "When you get done, come downstairs alright? Auntie Bon Bon sent over some of her raspberry chocolates for you."
....I need to wrap the present faster.
The next morning is Hearth's Warming. Dad and I sit around our little tree and have breakfast together - he made delicious cinnamon buns and ginger eggnog. It isn't a lot, but we're going to go and spend most of the day in town celebrating with other ponies so Dad says not to fill up too much.
I give him the bathrobe first, and it puts a smile on his face. Dad gives me my present after that - he got me a new scarf and a camera! I told him I wanted one a few months ago, when my class was following Princess Twilight around. I guess now it's kind of funny too because of what I did with the pictures last night.
"Peach? What's that?"
Dad doesn't have any idea what's coming when I pull the other present out. "I made this for you, Dad. I could tell you were sad yesterday, so, um." I forgot to plan this part. "Miss Pinkie said that it wasn't about making you not sad, it was about reminding you of the things that made you happy. So I made this like Princess Twilight's! So every morning you'll see all my favorite memories of you and... and..."
I frown. Oh. I should have made one with his favorite memories of me, not my favorite memories of him. I did it backwards!
Then I hear the click of a camera. Dad's taking a picture of himself and the mirror. He can tell I'm confused as he takes the picture and puts it in the upper-left corner. "Now I've got another one for it, too. My favorite memory of my daughter trying so hard to make me smile." Dad reaches over and pulls me into a hug. "Thank you, Peach. It's wonderful."
I hug him back as hard as I can. "I'm glad. I really really wanted to make you happy for Hearth's Warming. So... are you feeling happy?"
He gives me another tight squeeze. "Yeah," he replies, "I'm peachy."
"Daaaaaad, that's my line!"
Author's Note
My Jinglemas assignment was from _Undefined_, asking:
If you want to flesh out a background character: In "A Flurry of Emotions," one of the foals with horsey hives is a filly with a pale green coat and light brown hair. The wiki calls her "Peach Fuzz," though that's an unofficial name and I don't care if that's what she goes by. I just like the positive attitude she exhibits in the photo at the beginning of the episode and during the scene at the end.
There was an alternate option presented, but come on. Look at this adorable little filly. What else could I do?
She isn't confirmed for having a family, but Peach does appear in Daring Doubt beside an adult stallion (apparently named Endeavour) in one scene and their body language/framing suggest a family relationship to me. Which is good enough for horsewords!
And a special thanks to Luna for giving me some proof-reading help to keep my tenses straight!
