Do They Know It's Christmas Time At All?
I awoke to the soft rays of the morning sun. As much as my mind wanted me to laze around for at least another half-hour, I knew that there were things to tend to. First off, it was December 24th. Christmas Eve. Or as it was better known around here, Hearth's Warming Eve.
More specifically, my morning breakfast with my best friends at the Café Hay. It had become routine at this point to meet up with my friends here in Ponyville as soon as I was able to do so. To be honest, I never expected to gain the amount of support I got when I first moved here.
Oh, right! I should probably introduce myself. My name's Christian. I'm a 14-years-old boy and a current resident of this little town called Ponyville. This world is called Equestria and it's pretty peaceful overall. One small catch, though. I'm in a pony's body. I know, it's really strange, but I will admit there's lots of joy to be had flying around the skies as a pegasus.
Now, I know what you're thinking. "How in the world did you end up here in Equestria?" Well, I'll tell you.
The explanation is that after this strange event involving a summoning ritual of some kind for these ponies locked away in a place called Limbo for a thousand years and it turns out that they weren't the only ones summoned. It may have taken several months, but there was apparently an aftereffect in the form of a inter-dimensional rift took place. I was flung into this world in the middle of the night right outside the outskirts of town.
After I woke up, I freaked out for a good ten minutes straight before causing enough of a ruckus to alert not only the entire town, including a princess! She brought me into her castle and introduced herself as Twilight Sparkle. It took some convincing, but eventually Twilight did a spell that identified who I really was and confirmed everything I just told you. She then told everypony in town about my predicament and they were surprisingly super supportive in getting me accustomed to my new life. I got a house, made some really cool friends, and even learned how to fly! The rest is history.
This is the best I can skim over everything, so I hope that clears things up for the most part. But, for now, let's move forward with the story.
I snatched my glasses off a nearby night stand and made a sloppily leap out of the covers. I'm sure I could fix my bed later. With the bed sheets still on the floor, I trotted right towards my door, but not before grabbing a light purple scarf and wrapping it loosely around my neck.
I pushed open my door and stepped through, exposing myself to the snow-covered town full of ponies doing their last minute shopping. I'd like to say that they were full of Christmas cheer, but I truthfully can't, and we'll get into that soon. Closing the door behind me, I was already on my way for my morning meal.
The trip was about two minutes, but I did eventually reach my destination. It was pretty easy to spot my friends inside the place. Even so, they made sure that I could see them.
"Hey! We're over here!" a light mint coated unicorn called out from her seat, drawling forth everypony's attention in the restaurant. They shot confused looks in my direction, trying to see what all the fuss was about. I may be human on the inside, but I don't exactly look like one. "Can you see us yet? WE. ARE. OVER. HERE!!!"
I gave a light chuckle at the sound of Lyra's shout. She's a real nice pony, don't get me wrong, but I do admit that her enthusiasm is a bit over-the-top at times. The same goes for my other friend, but we'll get to her really soon.
I trotted over to my group of friends and sat down in front of them while the other ponies in the room went back to minding their own business.
"It's good to see you, too, Lyra." I sheepishly replied before turning my attention over to the others.
To the left of Lyra was a cream colored mare with a blue and pink curly mane. "Once more, I will offer a muzzle, Christian." Bon Bon playfully joked.
"Come on, you know you love it." To Lyra's right was a white unicorn possessing an electric blue stripped mane and a pair of awesome purple shades. She cracked a wide smile and laughed. There wasn't any reason. She just did.
That look. I had seen it so many times before. "Let me guess, you dared her to do this, didn't you?" I smugly asked, putting two and two together.
Vinyl Scratch, better known as DJ PON-3, nodded enthusiastically. "Hey, it was a fair trade. I'm gonna give her twenty-five bits for it." Now, remember when I said that she was my other enthusiastic friend? Yeah, that's her. In fact, she's the first friend I made here in Equestria. Once more, a story for another time.
The grey mare with a well-kept black mane sat beside the DJ. Octavia shook her head in disapproval. "I tried to talk her out of it. I really did." she sighed.
Notice a pattern? Yeah. I thought so. Bon Bon and Octavia are our voices of reason. Vinyl and Lyra are the trouble makers. And me? I'm not exactly either. I fall within the middle of those two categories. While I do get a kick out of the unicorns and their shenanigans, I do know it will almost always come with an afterwards scolding from Bon Bon and Octavia.
Still, all of them are my friends and we will always look back on these kind of situations and laugh.
My friends and I trotted out of the restaurant, satisfied with our morning meals. Vinyl levitated our leftovers with her magic as we walked down the streets of Ponyville. It was then that my eyes caught sight of a young filly standing in front of a new store that had opened up. And it seemed the others had seen her, too. We stopped in our tracks and looked at the young girl. Her coat was dirty and her mane was littered with dust and particles of random substances. Beside her was a bucket and a cardboard sign that said, "Homeless and Hungry. Please Help."
This was not the first time I'd seen stuff like this. In fact, I've seen at least a dozen ponies with signs like these. I'll usually hand a few bits for ponies to buy food and blankets. Of course, there are those who think they're faking it for free stuff. My friends and I would beg to differ.
The filly trotted over to a high-class unicorn mare and stallion passing by and held up the sign. She had even given the adorable puppy eyes that would make anyone feel guilty not donating something. The unicorn mare rolled her eyes and sighed, continuing into the store. Undeterred, the young pony reached up and touched the dress the unicorn was wearing. To our disgust and utter horror, the unicorn gave a hard kick to the little filly, sending her back to the ground and into tears.
We had seen more than enough. In an instant, we had all made up our minds and approached the couple.
They took notice and decided to respond.
"Yes?" the lady said in an annoyed tone.
Vinyl was the first to step forward. "Hello, miss... Well, I guess your name doesn't really matter here, does it?"
"What are you trying to say to my wife, you filthy commoner?" The stallion demanded.
I stepped up as well. As much as I wanted to scream and punch them both right across the face, I tried Octavia's approach of handling situations like these. "My friend here is trying to scold you for the complete lack of kindness you have shown this poor, young maiden-" I stopped as the couple rolled their eyes at me and started to walk a away. That was where I stopped tolerating.
Much to Octavia and Bon Bon's dismay, I went to my preferred tactic of dealing with ponies like these. "Okay, no, I'm done trying to be professional about this. You two are the biggest jerks I've ever seen. I mean, really? How do you sleep at night knowing that you do things like this to ponies in need?!"
Keep their composure, the mare spoke again. "This only shows how much you know, young boy. We, as elites, can tell when filth, like her, are faking. She is clearly trying to take advantage of the residents."
"Trying to take advantage?!" Lyra practically screamed, causing me to jump back a bit. "Look at her! Does she look like she has ill intentions?"
"She just wants to survive this Hearts Warming Season and you stuck-up snobs had the power to help her do that. But, I guess that's too much work for a high class, prissy, selfish, snob like yourselves. Oh! And did I mention you're snobs!?" Vinyl added on, burning even more fuel for the fire.
Although many people would find that overkill, I honestly thought that wasn't even putting it lightly. That was just a light brush of insults. We could have surely done worse if we put our minds to it.
Almost all at once, the mare and stallion's faces contorted with anger while their minds filled with the fire of their rage. The mare then started to shout."'Stuck-up snob? Prissy? Selfish?’ How rude! You take that back right now you young hooligans."
"We don't have to take back any of that. I'm not taking back anything that's true! You two are total snobs! Right, Tavi?"
Octavia noticed that she was the one in question and flashed an uneasy look at us. "Vinyl, I am not quite sure what you want me to say here."
We then turned our attention to the annoying laughter of the two high-class ponies. "My, my. Do you really think that she will be the one to help you try to win this losing battle. I believe she would be on our side. You hail from Canterlot as well, correct?" Octavia gave a nervous nod.
"That was what we thought." the prissy mare replied with confidence. "With that statement being true, it only proves that she is willing to support her fellow ponies. If anything, this makes us very similar. Surely, she has put a pathetic beggar in their place."
At those words, a spark ignited inside of the cellist. "Don't you DARE try to compare me to yourselves, you stuck up, highbrow jerks!" She continued to seethe through clenched teeth. "I may have an air of elegance, but most of the ponies in Canterlot wouldn't know the first thing about kindness, respect, and common decency! So, you know what? Go wherever it was that you were so intent on reaching. I could care less now that we're here to give this young filly some support that both of you were too ignorant to provide."
All of our jaws dropped to the ground, all for different reasons. Me and my friends had never seen Octavia act this passionately, let alone this fiercely about anything. She just didn't seem like the type to start going into a blind rage like this at the drop of a hat. The two ponies from Canterlot had most likely never been insulted by this high caliber. But, frankly. It's good for them to know what that's like.
Regaining her composure, Octavia spoke in a tone much calmer than before."Your services are no longer required."
And with that, the couple left in stunned silence.
I trotted up to Octavia and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to me and gave an uneasy cough. " I… I do apologize for that, it was quite unbefitting of me."
"No! What are you talking about? That was awesome!" I exclaimed.
In truth, that had scared me out of my wits, but I wanted to make her feel better about what she had done.
"I'm not sure if I would have done it like you did, but I am really happy to see you come out of that shell and talk some sense into those two." Bon Bon said. The others nodded in agreement.
It was then that we turned our attention back to the young filly who was cowering in fear. I guess we had gone a bit overboard.
I stepped forward and gave the warmest smile I could muster. "Don't worry, kid. We're not gonna hurt you. We just want to help." I said in a soft and gentle manner.
The filly seemed reluctant to trust us. I then grabbed the bag full of our leftovers from Vinyl and continued to smile. "If it makes you feel any better, we have some food for you." I handed it over to her as she looked at the contents inside. There were two pancakes, some butter, and hay fries. It wasn't much, but to her, it might as well have been a grand feast.
Without warning, she leapt forward and hugged me. She felt cold. Much colder than anypony should have to be at Christmas time. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cried. The others approached as we left the embrace.
"Can we get your name, dear?" Bon Bon asked.
The filly nodded. "Crystal Night."
"I'm Bon Bon, and these are my friends. Lyra, Octavia, Vinyl, and Christian."
Crystal smiled. "It's rare that I ever receive kindness like this. In fact, it's the only kindness I've received this Hearth's Warming Season."
"Don't worry." said Lyra. "I'm sure you'll find even more ponies to help you really soon."
It was then that an idea crossed my mind. It was risky and if done wrong, would be the biggest embarrassment of the year. But it would be worth it to see Crystal Night so happy. "That's right, Lyra. 'Cause we're gonna get this whole town aware of ponies in need." My friends looked at me with uncertainty and confusion.
"And, how do we do that, exactly?" Vinyl Scratch asked.
"How about we put on a performance this December 24th? Both for Crystal, and for everyone else out there who needs help." We all pondered the idea for a bit. A performance to raise awareness for the homeless sounded like a great idea, at least, it sounded great in my mind. I was more than relieved to find out that my friends thought highly of the idea as well.
"Now you're speaking my language!" Vinyl exclaimed.
Octavia nodded. "It sounds like a grand idea."
"Totally!" Lyra added.
Bon Bon closed her eyes and nodded. "That should work really well. Music usually gets messages across. I
We turned back to Crystal Rose. Tiny sparkles danced in her eyes as she her smile grew wider and wider with each passing moment. I smiled as we started to go over the grand plan. If this went right, we could both talk some sense into ponies like the couple from Canterlot and make the homeless... well, not homeless.
Sweat trickled down my forehead as ponies congregated in Twilight's castle. I was at least lucky enough to personally know Twilight and very grateful that she was so supportive. In fact, tonight would be the perfect time to do this. Every year, Twilight would invite all the residents of Ponyville to a party for Hearths Warming Eve. If there was any time in the world to spread a Christmas message, now would be the time.
"Hey, Christian." I attention turned from the large crowd down on the lower floor to Twilight and my friends. "Are you feeling alright?" the princess asked. I gave a light nod.
"Just the nerves getting to me. Can you blame me, thought? All of Ponyville is here!" If I had made even a single mistake, everypony would see it.
Twilight then stepped forward and placed a hoof on my shoulder. "I've felt that feeling many times before. Once you start, it becomes a lot easier to go on. It's especially easy if your with your friends." She motioned towards them as they flashed warm smiles in my direction. "You're very lucky to have ponies like them to support you." I closed my eyes and nodded. Twilight had a point. Vinyl, Octavia, Bon Bon, and Lyra were extremely supportive of whatever I did. Heck, they were supportive even before they really knew me as well as they do now.
There was no turning back now. "Alright. Let's get this show on the road." Twilight smiled and trotted over to the balcony as my friends and I went back down stairs.
The Princess of Friendship's voice boomed throughout the room. "Good evening, everypony! As you know, we are about a half-hour from Hearths Warming Day, and I am sure you are all very excited." As if on cue, the ponies in the room cheered with joy at the mention of tomorrow. "But that may not be the case for everyone. There are those who would love to have a roof over their heads, food to eat, or even a family in some cases. I believe that we all takes those things for granted."
The crowd went silent as they thought about the words Twilight had spoken. It did make sense for them to do so. They probably never even considered that ponies would be in such poor conditions, especially since Equestria was usually peaceful and without too many problems.
"To help us all understand what some of the ponies in Equestria go through, we have a special message from a group of individuals." With that, Twilight stepped back as we came in while ponies watched with anticipation.
I took a deep breath as the others nodded their heads slightly, presumably to tell me that there was nothing to worry about. Vinyl started the music from her speakers as the room went silent.
Insert "Do They Know It's Christmas?"
The ponies stood in silence as my friends and I watched for any sort of reaction. It was then that a small amalgamation of applause emitted from a few ponies. The applause grew and grew until the whole castle was cheering.
We gladly accepted it before ponies calmed down. It felt good, knowing that we had done something to benefit another, especially at this time of year.
I stepped forward with confidence and looked out at the crowd. "This song was dedicated to a young filly by the name of Crystal Rose. She's a young filly who's been living on the streets for a while and is in desperate need of food, shelter, and even a family. Many of us just think about what we're going to get this year or something selfish. Heck, I'm guilty of it myself. There are more ponies like Crystal our there and this Hearth's Warming, I want to give all of the struggling ponies out there a present from all of us."
My friends stepped forward and stood by my side. "With you're help, we can send supplies and provisions to benefit the Helping Hooves Foundation." Octavia started.
"With donations from the ponies here, we can send them out to give to ponies who need it." said Vinyl.
"We need blankets, food, anything that you can provide that is a necessity for life." Bon Bon added.
"It won't be easy, but together, we can all make a big difference in the lives of the less fortunate." Lyra finished.
The ponies cheered with joy. I'm not sure what it was, but whatever the case, they were all for the plan and I was relieved. Our in the crowd, I saw the young filly beam with joy while tears streamed freely from her eyes. This would all work out. I knew it deep down that soon, ponies around Equestria would be helped and quite possibly saved, and my friends and I were the reason.
You could even say that the ponies of Equestria will know it's Christmas.
Author's Note
I want to thank you all for an amazing year. It feels good knowing that there are people who enjoy my writing and want to see more. This story is actually the first holiday story I've ever fully completed. It's rushed, I know, but I did have fun writing it.
Tell your parents that you love them cause there are those who are less fortunate than you. Be happy for the things that you have. Love life because trust me when I say that things can get better. Merry Christmas/Happy Hearth's Warming and a Happy New Year!
