It’s funny how just a little snow can have such an effect on a town. You wouldn’t think that a little frozen water falling from the sky could cause ponies to break out in Hearth’s Warming cheer, but it truly does. And what’s not to love? Tiny flakes floating down to the ground swirl behind fillies as they head home to bed. And all the fillies in Equestria (plus one excitable pink mare) count down the days until that wonderful pony flies over the lands, giving presents to all the good little mares and colts.
It was five days before the annual Ponyville Hearth’s Warming Eve pageant, and preparations were underway. Sets were being built, backdrops painted, and the main actors were rehearsing their lines in the town library. Not that they really needed to memorize them. After all, they’ve performed that play before.
The aforementioned actors consisted of six ponies and one rather enthusiastic baby dragon, which paced back and forth in front of the ponies, playing his role of narrator. “Instead of beautiful, it was blizzardy. Instead of wonderful, it was wintry! Instead of spectacular, it was snow-tacular! Instead of–“
He was promptly cut off by a purple alicorn. “Ah, Spike? Don’t you think that you could shorten that line a bit?”
“But Twilight, it’s for effect! You know…drama?” He said the last word with a flourish, hoping that his friend and mentor would understand. But the next response came from the white unicorn.
“Now darling, it is good to be dramatic, but I do agree with Twilight.” Rarity noted. “Maybe it is an eensy, teensy, tiny little bit too long.” Spike’s face flushed at the sound of the unicorn’s voice, and he decided that he would, for Rarity, make the line a tad shorter.
“Well, I think we’ve got this all down.” Called the pegasus with the rainbow mane. “I don’t know about all of you, but I think I need to stretch my wings after being in here for so long.”
Twilight sighed. “Rainbow Dash, we’ve only been here for twenty minutes! And rehearsal is critical to get this right.”
“Dash is right, Twilight.” Drawled the farm pony. “Rehearsin’ is good and all, but I need to get back to the farm to help Big Mac secure everythin’ for winter. I wish you weather ponies would say somethin’ before you turned Ponyville into a snowbank.” Rainbow Dash ignored the glare that Applejack was sending her way.
After agreeing to meet back at Twilight’s the following day, the five guests turned to leave. Well…four of them at least. The fifth, a pink pony with an even pinker mane, jumped up and started shouting. “Wait! I almost forgot to tell you something! Wow. How embarrassing would that be? Anyway, you’re all invited to my super fantastic, super festive Hearth’s Warming party I’m throwing tomorrow!”
“Tomorrow? How long have you been planning this, Pinkie?” Asked Rainbow Dash.
The party pony shrugged. “Oh, about five minutes. I’d better invite some more ponies! It’ll be great! There will be cake, and presents, and balloons, and punch…” The others looked at each other. They had learned that it was best not to question a Pinkie Pie party.
After watching Pinkie leave to invite the mailmare to her party, the remaining ponies gradually went their separate ways.
***
It was early the next morning when Pinkie’s holiday party started. She and her friends had agreed that they would continue with their rehearsal once the party had drawn to a close. That being said, nopony knew exactly how long the party would go. Knowing Pinkie Pie, it was going to be quite the Hearth’s Warming event.
Twilight Sparkle approached the door to Sugarcube Corner and knocked. She hoped that her red and white snowpony sweater would be festive enough, but her attire was no match to what Pinkie Pie was wearing when she answered the door. Until that moment, Twilight didn't think that you could even put that many bells on anything.
Pinkie greeted the alicorn with a loud “Hiya, Twilight!” and promptly pulled her inside of the bakery. Twilight was sure that at least half of Ponyville was present, whether they were dancing, playing party games, or socializing. Spotting her friends, the mare trotted to where they were sitting.
“Howdy, Twilight!” Applejack said. “Ain’t this just the best party Pinkie’s had in a while?”
Rarity cut in. “Why, these decorations are simply sublime!” She exclaimed, gesturing at the white streamers and Hearth’s Warming balloons. “Simple, but effective. That sweater of Pinkie’s, though…” She added with a grimace.
“Well, at least now she can’t sneak up on us!” Rainbow Dash joked.
“Who can’s sneak up on you?” Asked Pinkie, suddenly appearing behind Fluttershy. The yellow Pegasus gave a small ‘eep!’ before falling off of her chair. “Oops! Sorry, Flutters!” Pinkie apologized to the now dazed mare who was sitting back down in her seat. “So anyway…what do you think Minty is going to bring you for Hearth’s Warming?”
The others sighed. Pinkie asked them this every year. Minty was an old mare’s tale about a pony that brings gifts to all the good colts and fillies of Equestria. Most ponies outgrew the stories, but definitely not Pinkie Pie. She had never stopped believing for a moment.
“Ah…I don’t know, Pinkie. I haven’t really thought about it…” Rainbow Dash said evasively. The others produced answers of the same nature.
“Well you sillies should write a list! How else will Minty know what to bring you? I’ve got my list right here!” Pinkie’s bells jingled merrily as she pulled an enormous scroll out of a pocket on her sweater that was clearly too small to hold such a large scroll. “Let’s see…I want more balloons, a new bed for Gummy, some cookies, another party cannon, streamers…did I mention balloons?”
“What are we talking about?” Spike asked, returning from a rather exciting game of pin the tail on the pony.
Pinkie smiled. “I’m telling them what I want Minty to bring me for Hearth’s Warming!”
Spike snickered. “Minty? Isn’t she a story for babies?” The five mares fell quiet as their friend’s smile disappeared.
“Of course Minty’s real! Who else would bring me presents from her workshop?”
“Mr. and Mrs. Cake, maybe? Spike asked.
Pinkie looked skeptical. “Are you saying that the Cakes are elves? Spike, that’s just silly! I can imagine them as wereponies, but not elves!”
The dragon facepalmed. “They’re not elves!” Twilight made a move to shush Spike, but it was too late. “The Cakes buy you presents and make them look like they’re from Minty! Don’t you get it?”
Pinkie Pie was shocked. Slowly standing up, she wandered over to where Mrs. Cake was watching the twins. Pinkie Pie’s question to her was inaudible, yet Twilight was sure she knew what it was. Seconds later, Mrs. Cake’s face fell as she nodded. And Pinkie Pie, her mane now flat, plodded slowly to her room and didn’t come out for the rest of the party.
***
“Why would you say that, Spike?” Rainbow Dash said angrily as the group (minus Pinkie Pie) sat in the library. None of them really felt like rehearsing, not after the events of the party. After trying hard to get Pinkie to leave her room, Fluttershy suggested that they all just head to the library and let the party pony get her bearings.
“I didn’t think that it was that important!” Spike insisted. “Pinkie gets obsessed with a lot of stuff!”
“That doesn’t mean that you have to ruin it for her.” Applejack remarked. Spike looked around, desperate for somepony to be on his side. But to no avail.
The ponies left for their homes dejectedly, yet sure that Pinkie Pie would come around. Three days passed, and the pink pony was still holed up in her room. The others once again found themselves in Twilight’s library, talking about their friend.
“I went to the bakery to talk to her, but she yelled at me to go away. So rude!” Rarity scoffed.
“Now Rarity,” Fluttershy said softly. “Pinkie is having a very tough time. I’m sure she just wants some peace and quiet.”
“For three days?” Rainbow Dash quipped. “I think she’s had a bit too MUCH peace and quiet if you ask me.”
“Girls! We need to focus!” Twilight snapped. “We can’t practice the pageant without Pinkie Pie, so we need to find some way to talk to her!”
“Is there anythin’ that could make her believe again? Applejack asked. “You know…get that Hearth’s Warming spirit back into her?”
“And how are we supposed to do that?” Rainbow Dash asked.
After a long period of silence, Rarity shot up. “I have an idea!” She sang. “It’s bold…it’s daring…and it has fabulous costumes!”
***
Less than an hour later, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy found themselves at the Carousel Boutique, hooked to a wheelbarrow, with fake antlers atop their heads. “What’s the point of this, again?” Asked the blue Pegasus.
“Why darling, you’re the reindeer of course!” Rarity said while fastening bright red bows around their necks, much to Rainbow’s discontent. “You’re going to fly to Pinkie’s house and drop off Minty…played by Twilight, of course.”
“Um…Rarity? Why do we have to pull a wheelbarrow?” Squeaked Fluttershy.
“It was the best that Applejack could find. I’m afraid that I don’t have time to decorate it the way I’d want, but it’s getting late already! Twilight? Twilight, are you ready?”
“I’m coming, Rarity!” called Twilight as she dashed out the door of the boutique, wearing red saddlebags filled with presents. “Why can’t I just teleport inside the Carousel Boutique? It’d be a lot faster than having these two fly me.”
“Why, it’s for the effect! It is imperative that we convince Pinkie that Minty visited her house.” And as the sun began to set, Twilight flew into the wheelbarrow and the three ponies were off into the darkening sky.
The wheelbarrow shifted awkwardly as Twilight tried to maintain her balance. “Could you two slow down a bit?” Asked Twilight as a present fell out of her saddlebag.
“Relax, Twilight! We’re almost there!” Assured Rainbow Dash.
“Are we?” Asked Fluttershy. “It’s so dark, I can hardly see where we are!”
With the rainbow maned pony’s guidance, the pegasi were able to land on the roof of Sugarcube Corner with a thump…albeit a bigger thump than they had intended.
***
Pinkie Pie was fast asleep when the curious thump woke her. “Was that from the roof?” She asked Gummy, who merely blinked. And from the roof came the sound of hoofsteps, followed by a flash of light that appeared to come from downstairs. “Somepony teleported inside! Could it be…no…Minty’s not real. Is she?” Gummy blinked again before biting down on her tail. “You’re right, Gummy! We should investigate!”
And with the alligator still attached to her tail, Pinkie Pie opened the door to her room and tiptoed down the dark hall. Peeking around the corner, she spotted the faint outline of a pony laying out presents. “Minty!? You are real!” She squealed, startling the Hearth's Warming pony. “But…it’s days before Hearth’s Warming . Why are you here now?”
Twilight facehoofed. Why didn’t she think of that? They were all so ready to go along with Rarity’s plan that she had neglected to realize that it wasn’t even Hearth’s Warming! Putting on her best imitation of Minty, she replied “Well…you see…you’re such a good pony, Pinkie, that I thought I’d give you your presents early!”
Pinkie grinned. Minty knew her name! She couldn’t believe that this pony knew her name! But then the pony stepped into a patch of light, exposing a purple hoof. “Purple?” Pinkie thought. “Isn’t Minty supposed to be green?” She flicked on the light, exposing a pony she didn’t expect to see. “TWILIGHT? What are you doing here?”
Twilight sighed. She had been caught red-hoofed. “Pinkie…we were all worried about you. We thought that if you believed in Minty again, you’d get back to how you were.”
Pinkie smiled softly. “I’m super sorry I’ve been so down lately. And I appreciate the effort, but now I know that Minty is just a story.” The two ponies then hugged, before Pinkie looked at Twilight in shock. “The pageant! I haven’t rehearsed! Did you get somepony else?”
Twilight was stunned. The pageant was tomorrow morning! Everypony was so caught up in trying to comfort Pinkie that nopony had rehearsed! What were they going to do? “C’mon, Pinkie. We have a pageant to rehearse for!”
***
The next morning, Ponyville put on what would soon be known as the worst Hearth’s Warming Eve pageant in town history. Nopony remembered their lines, so they simply had to make it up as they went along, which led to many corrections, mistakes, and awkward silence. Luckily, Pinkie Pie was able to light up the stage as Chancellor Puddinghead, getting good laughs from everypony in the crowd and leading the way with her enthusiasm.
After the pageant, the six friends helped clean up the stage. They laughed about all that had gone wrong, such as Spike starting his narration with the introduction from Twilight’s quill cleaning handbook, or when Fluttershy crashed into Rainbow Dash in midflight, causing them both to fall into a cardboard tree. “Ah have to say, Twilight, you were right.” Applejack said.
“About what?” Twilight inquired.
“We really did need to practice, whether we’ve done this before or not.”
“Well either way, I’m super duper glad I’m not still cooped up in my room like a grumpypants!” Pinkie smiled “Minty or no Minty, Hearth’s Warming is a time to spend with your best friends. And I couldn’t have better friends than you!”
Before they could get back to work, three fillies ran up to greet them. “Rainbow Dash! You were awesome!” Cheered Scootaloo.
“Nuh uh! Applejack was best!” Apple Bloom called out. The two then began to debate over which mare was the best.
While they were arguing, Sweetie Belle walked up to Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie Pie? Diamond Tiara said that Minty isn’t real. She isn’t right, is she? I mean, you believe more than anypony!”
Pinkie Pie beamed as she hugged the filly. “Somepony may tell you something, but it’s your choice if you’re going to accept it or not.”
She turned to her friends and beamed even wider as she continued “But any choice is the best as long as you have your friends.”
Author's Note
Anybody remember Minty from g3? Yeah, I was trying to base her off that.
I originally wrote this for a contest on mlpforums, and decided to post it here. Comments? Critiques? All appreciated!
