One Hearth Warming Eve...
One Hearth Warming Eve...
The Story of Saint Pinkolas
It was midnight on Hearth Warming Eve, and a small group of ponies were out camping under the stars. The leader of the group, Rainbow Dash, had gone out to get some more firewood, leaving Pinkie Pie to look after the group of three fillies, who were all restless.
“I can’t believe I thought this would be a good idea! It’s freezing out here, so much for Hearth ‘Warming’ Eve!” Scootaloo whined.
“Yeah, how do you stay warm at times like this, Pinkie Pie?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“All I need to do is remember my ancestor Saint Pinkolas, just thinking about what she did makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!”
“Saint Pinkolas? Who the hay is that?” Applebloom interjected.
At this Pinkie’s smile became a huge grin, and the light in her eyes shone more brightly than ever.
“She’s only the most awesome member of my family EVER! She was the kindest, most generous pony you’ll ever meet, and she became a legend in her own lifetime!”
The Crusaders sat, transfixed by the pink pony. Pinkie Pie was well known for being a great storyteller, and this one seemed like it would be a great way to pass the cold night with.
It all started long ago, in a poor village...
Peachy Pie wasn’t very rich, but her peach farm made more money than anyone else in the village, and while the townsponies could have been jealous, they weren’t. Peachy Pie was always helping others, and would gladly give away half her stock to the poor every year.
Unfortunately, the town had a bad apple, a big bully of a mayor called Stone Cold. He taxed the ponies for every bit they had, and drove out anyone who dared stand up to him with his cowardly “Collectors”, a group of mean Pegusi who would make it rain on a ponie’s house until they either paid up or moved away!
But Peachy had a big heart, so big that she refused to hate anyone, even Stone Cold! And so it was for a long time that the villagers loved Peachy and hated Stone Cold. Until one faithful Winter...
One day, Peachy was carefully preserving what little remained of her crop when she heard a knocking at her door. She was surprised to see that almost everyone in the town had shown up!
They told her that that Stone Cold had put a tax on smiling. Can you girls believe it? SMILING! Peachy knew immediately that Stone Cold had done it on purpose to upset her, because he hated how the townsponies loved her and not him, and because nobody in the village smiled half as much as Peachy.
But Peachy was crafty! She told the townsponies to laugh instead, and soon the town was filled with the sound of laughter! When Stone Cold found out he was SO MAD, but he knew he had to have the last laugh, so he plotted his next move.
The next day, the townsponies came again to her door and told her that Stone Cold had made another tax, a laughing tax! Paying to laugh, I can’t even imagine! But anyway, Peachy told them to sing instead, and that day she decided to pay a visit to Stone Cold’s house himself before things got even worse.
“Stone Cold, you’ve taken our smiles, and our laughter, but you’ll never take our happiness away, and you’ll never feel any yourself as long as you keep trying to put a price on everything!”
Stone Cold was shocked at this. No pony had ever seen Peachy say a bad word about anyone before, and here she was standing up for the whole town.
“...I see. Alright Peachy, from now on I won’t allow myself to put a price on anything.”
Peachy left, not quite sure that he would listen but pleased that she had finally told him what she thought of his greedy ways.
The next day, Stone Cold held a meeting in the town square. Everypony assumed it would be to remove all those mean taxes, but he had something else in mind.
“Friends, I have done a disservice to you all. My taxes were deeply unfair, so I’ve decided that from now on, smiles and laughter will be free!”
The townsponies erupted in cheering, but Stone Cold wasn’t finished.
“I’ve also decided that, from now on, no one may sell any goods in this town. I hearby decree that the act of asking money for goods and services is banned. I'd like to thank Peachy Pie for inspiring this idea with her selfless ways.”
Suddenly all eyes turned to Peachy. She was stunned. For the first time ever, ponies were looking at her with anger in their eyes. What had she done?
She walked home slowly, defeated. In trying to make things better, she had only made them so much worse.
What would she do? Nobody would want her peaches now, and with no economy everypony would have to move away. Stone Cold was so bitter that he’d sooner destroy his own town than let Peachy win.
That night, she cried for the first time in her life. It was like the opposite of laughing to her, and she never wanted to do it again.
Pinkie saw the faces of the crusaders and smiled weakly.
“Wait, that’s it? That’s all she did?” Applebloom said crossly.
“No way silly! I just want to take a break just as things start to get dramatic, and besides, Rainbow Dash will be back any minute! Let’s make s’mores!”
The crusaders were even more restless now than before, and it was clear that they weren’t going to go to sleep until they had heard the full tale.
“Ok, so where was I? Anyway...”
The next few days were awful for Peachy. She got nasty looks from everypony, and nobody, not one pony in the whole village, would talk to her. She had almost given up when a little filly walked up to her.
“What’s the matter Peachy?”
“I can’t sell my stock anymore, and neither can anypony else! We’ve got taxes to pay but no way to pay them! We’re all gonna... we’re all gonna...”
“Peachy, you still have your stock though, why don’t you give it away?”
It was then that Peachy had a wonderful idea! She would dress up in her pajamas and secretly give everypony in the village some of her food! She still had more than enough, and maybe it would cheer everyone up a little!
That night, she went into action. Carefully sliding down the chimney, she snuck into everyone’s houses and left them a jar of peach jam! She even left Stone Cold a jar!
The following morning the town was in an uproar, news spread fast of a mysterious character leaving ponies jars of peach preserve, and though everypony had guessed who it was already, they kept their suspicions quiet so Stone Cold wouldn’t catch on.
Outraged, Stone Cold would stand in the centre of the village, night after night, waiting to catch this pony out, but Peachy was too sly to ever be seen.
A month later, Peachy no longer had enough food for herself and everypony else, and was starting to look thin. She had only enough jam left for one more night, but she knew she had to give it to the townsponies she loved so much. She had become a beacon of hope for them, after all.
That was a particularly bitter night, and as she walked home the cold air and her hunger finally caught up with her. She gently lay her head in the snow and drifted off...
As for Stone Cold, he was wandering the village, half crazy and half frozen himself, still desperate to find out whoever was responsible for ruining his plans. When he saw Peachy in the snow however, his heart ached with something he had never felt before.
Carrying her body to the centre of the village, he stayed with her til the morning, and when the villagers saw her laying there, the whole world seemed to turn silent.
“Peachy, I am so sorry. You were a better friend to everyone here than I ever was.” Stone Cold turned to the villagers, and saw their sad faces. Realizing at last all the pain he had caused, he tearfully wandered into the Everfree Forest, and was never seen or heard from again.
As for Peachy, once Celestia had learned of her kindness she decreed that she become known as Saint Pinkolas, as kind and generous a soul as you’ll ever meet.
“That’s... so...sad!” Applebloom cried.
“Yeah, I thought it was gonna have a happy ending! What gives, Pinkie Pie?” Scootaloo said.
“Well, even though she died, her spirit lived on in all the lives she had touched, and her generosity helped save the village! She even made Stone Cold a little less, well, cold!
So don’t you see, girls? It IS a happy ending!”
The crusaders were still sniffling as the dawn’s first gentle rays of light shone down upon them. Suddenly Rainbow Dash appeared, carrying a huge number of sticks and twigs.
“Oh hey Pinkie, I guess I got a bit carried away trying to find some firewood. Oh well, at least we’ll have plenty for next time!”
“Yeah, I guess we will.” Pinkie smiled.
