Winter had arrived in Equestria and all was quiet. Most ponies stayed inside keeping warm near fireplaces or sipping warm drinks. This wasn't an exception at an orphanage on the edge of the town of Ponyville. It had been founded only a couple of years after the coronation of Princess Twilight by Fluttershy and the orphanage was going through its first winter. Many of the caretakers there were happy as it was Hearth's Warming Eve and they would be able to show the fillies, colts, and foals what their favorite holiday was like. All of the children were excited, except for one. A sky blue pegasus with a short orange mane that was slicked back was separate from the others. Ever since he had arrived at the orphanage, he had been distant from the others. Something that none of the caretakers or even Fluttershy were able to figure out why.
The pegasus colt looked out at the snow as it fell, he wanted nothing more than to run outside and play in it. The caretakers wouldn't allow it though, something about it being too dangerous considering none of them had anything to protect them against the cold, but he didn't care. He rushed towards the door and before any of them could stop him, he left the orphanage. He was free, able to do what he wanted. He flapped his wings and started to fly in the snow. The feeling of the snow flurries against his wings and his face was a sensation that he had always enjoyed during the winters. He continued to fly around, oblivious to another pegasus who was slowly creeping up behind him.
Two brown hooves wrapped around him and he was carried back down into the orphanage. "Sunrise, you know better than to go outside like that. We don't have any cold weather clothes for anyone here yet, I'm sorry," she said in a regretful tone.
"Let me go! I want to go back out there!" was the colt's defiant response.
The caretaker shook her head and sighed. This particular pegasus hadn't been defiant like this before. He was usually very sweet and kind, just reclusive. But ever since it started snowing, he seemed restless, as if he didn't want to stay there. The caretaker walked the colt over to the activity table. The orphans were going to do a little bit of painting of their favorite winter scenes. These were going to go up around the orphanage. The other orphans were readily painting, but Sunrise didn't start. He climbed down from his chair and walked to the window, placing a hoof on it.
"Sunrise Standing, what's bothering you?" asked Fluttershy as she walked in.
"He's out there somewhere, he has to be..." the colt said as he tried to fight back tears.
"Who?" the yellow pegasus asked, concerned and curious as to what the young colt was talking about.
"My dad. When all the other ponies came back, when they were saved... he never did..." he said, tears rolling down his face.
Fluttershy walked over and wrapped a wing around the younger pegasus. He buried himself into her and started crying. "It's... just not fair. I've watched other colts get adopted into new families, but why can't I have one!?" he sobbed.
The pink maned pony gently hugged the orange maned pony, "Shh, I know that it can be difficult to be alone during this time of year. But you're not alone and you do have a family, we're all your family. I want you to know that I think of each and every one of you as if you were my family, because I don't want any of you to be alone or hurt anymore. It's very much the same way with animals," she said gently.
The colt seemed to calm down a little, he sniffled as the doors opened and a white unicorn walked into the orphanage. "Fluttershy, darling. I had no idea that you were taking care of so many little ponies. I was able to finish their cold weather clothing like you asked me to," the unicorn said.
"Thank you, Rarity," the yellow pegasus replied.
Sunrise walked over to the unicorn and sat down expectantly. He wanted to go outside, he wanted to find some cloud to stay in and try to find his father. It had been five years since they had seen each other, surely he was out there, somewhere. Rarity placed some boots and a scarf around him and he smiled, "Thank you, Miss Rarity," he said politely.
"You're quite welcome," she replied with a smile.
He went back outside and flew up onto a cloud. From here, he would have a better vantage point. As he sat on the cloud, trying to find a white pegasus, the other children left the orphanage under the careful eye of Fluttershy to play in the snow. As he watched a group of fillies build a snowpony, his tears welled up in his eyes.
"Why aren't ya playing down there with the others, kiddo?" a raspy voice asked.
The colt stood up, he recognized that voice as belonging to one of the Wonderbolts and not just one of the Wonderbolts, but the most famous pegasus in all of Equestria. He turned to face the only pony he looked up to more than his father, Rainbow Dash. "I never felt like one of them. And they never really feel like they want to accept me. I've lived my life alone for as long as I can remember, nopony ever wanted a street urchin like me," he said sadly.
The cyan pegasus landed on the cloud next to him, "You don't know that for sure. Maybe those fillies and colts down there want to be your friend. You just need to talk to them. I heard from Fluttershy that you always shy away from couples who come here looking to adopt. Why is that?" she asked.
"My father is still out there somewhere! He's got to be! He's just lost somewhere and can't find his way back!" the colt snapped defensively.
A look of realization made its way to Rainbow Dash's face, it was obvious who this colt was. "Your father... he was Cloud Runner, wasn't he?" she asked, her voice pained.
"Yes! He'll come back!" Sunrise said confidently.
There was silence between the two, the cyan pegasus turned around so that she wouldn't face the colt. "Your father isn't coming back. He was a brave defender of Cloudsdale who had fought the changelings to the bitter end. He tried to protect me, but his wings were injured and he was knocked off the clouds. We found him, but we hadn't ever found you. Until today. Like those kids down there, you're an orphan too," she said, pained to give the news to a child.
The colt looked down at the cloud that he was standing on, some part of him knew this, but he didn't want to believe it. He had kept himself in denial for so long that now that he knew the truth, he was truly and honestly alone. He didn't know what to do or where to go from here. He had nothing to keep looking forward to, no family of his own to replace the one he had lost. His tears started to flow like rivers down his face. His vision blurred as he cried.
The sky blue pegasus flew to the ground, nearly crashing into it as he did. He was unsteady and about ready to scream. His heart ached with an intensity that he couldn't possibly imagine. He felt empty inside. He started to blindly wander in a direction, unable to see anything. He didn't get far as he ran into another pony. "Hey now, ya should turn round before ya wander too far from the orphanage, little one," a heavy rural accent said.
"Eeyup!" said a very deep voice.
Sunrise found himself lifted off the ground and placed onto a cart that was heading back towards the orphanage. He hid his face under his wings as best he could. He didn't want the others to see him like this. "Why ya hidin yerself? Ya ain't got any reason ta be nervous," the mare said to him.
He didn't answer, but soft sobbing was the answer she needed. "Big Mac, Ah am gonna need some time ta talk ta this one if ya don't mind," she said again.
The cart came to a stop and he was lifted off it, placed on the ground. "Now, it's alright. Ah ain't gonna hurt ya or nothin, just tell me what's wrong," the orange farmpony said to him.
"My parents are gone," he said as he looked away.
Sunrise suddenly felt himself within the earth pony's embrace, she was surprisingly strong. "Ah lost mah parents too. Ah was raised by mah granny, but I suppose ya ain't got one of those, do ya? Oh, befer I forget, mah name is Applejack," she said to him.
"Sunrise Standing. At least, that's what I've been told my name is. I don't have any family. Even if I did, they're in Cloudsdale and haven't made any attempt to try to find me," the colt said as he wiped his tears.
The hug grew tighter, it was as if the farm pony understood his pain and wanted to help him through it. "None of us can adopt ya, but Ah know Fluttershy looks at all of ya as if y'all were her own kids," she stated.
This was the second time he had been told this, he didn't quite believe it, but he had nowhere else to turn. As he removed his head from Applejack's arms, he looked around to see the other orphans had surrounded them. They all looked concerned, as if they knew and understood the pain he was going through. "Look, Sunrise. These are yer friends and yer family. They understand exactly what yer goin through, cause they went through it themselves," the farmpony said as if she was reading his mind.
She let go of him to continue her shipment to the orphanage and one of the orphans, the oldest filly walked up to him. "You've always kept to yourself, you've always avoided us and we've always wondered what's wrong. We want to help you, Sunrise, we want to be there for you. As a family, because we know what it's like to not have one," she stated.
The colt walked past the group and back into the orphanage. He walked over to the fire that was going in order to keep the place warm. He looked into the flames, just mesmerized by their flickering and movement. For a moment, his pain wasn't as strong. "Rainbow Dash told me that you just realized that you lost your family," a voice behind him said.
"Princess, you've finally chosen to look my way," was Sunrise's frustrated response.
"I'm sorry. I know there isn't any excuse for me taking so long to tell you about what had happened or finding you a safe place to live, I hope you can forgive me," the Princess of Equestria said regretfully.
He wanted to be mad at her, he wanted to blame her for all of his problems. He wanted to hate her. But, he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't. He turned to face the alicorn. "You're the Princess of Friendship... tell me what I have now!" he demanded.
Twilight ignored the rudeness and spread a wing, "All of the other orphans here care about you, Sunrise. You just need to open yourself up and realize you have a family. This is your first Hearth's Warming celebration. You're not all alone, you have Fluttershy and all of the others here for you. And I can assure you that Fluttershy's friends, except probably Discord, care about all of the orphans here. We're all doing our part to help you all have a wonderful Hearth's Warming," she said calmly.
Sunrise sighed and walked over to Fluttershy who was helping make punch, "Miss Fluttershy?" he said to get her attention.
She stopped what she was doing and smiled at him, "Yes, Sunrise?"
He hugged her, "Is there something that I can do to help with the Hearth's Warming celebration?" he asked.
She was taken aback by this, the colt that had kept his distance from everyone else had now started to want to help out around the orphanage. "Um, perhaps you should go out and play with the other children. Let us grown ups handle all the work," she said.
He nodded a little sadly, but nonetheless walked back outside where the other orphans were waiting. A snowball fight had started and snowballs were flying every which way. One snowball hit him in the face and broke apart. It was frigid and almost felt like it burned. The filly that threw it ran out, "I'm so sorry, Sunrise. I didn't mean to hit you! Are you okay?" she said panicked.
The sky blue pegasus smirked and scooped up some snow in a hoof and mushed it in her face. The two ponies had a brief second of silence before they started laughing. The snowballs stopped for a moment as none of the other orphans could believe the sound they had heard. Sunrise was laughing and not just any laugh, but a genuine happy laugh. He quickly rushed behind cover and scooped up some snow, rolling it into the shape of a ball. He threw the snowball at an older unicorn, who didn't notice it from still being dazed at his laughter.
The snowball hit the target without any issue, this however reignited the snowball fight. Sunrise tried to dodge and throw snowballs, but he wasn't as experienced as the older kids. He got hit several times, and missed most of his throws. Eventually, he stopped hiding behind cover and instead ran out onto the open battlefield. He knew he was getting hit more by doing this, but he didn't care, he had a better shot at hitting the others with his own snowballs. Not only that, he was having a lot more fun.
The fact that he was a pegasus gave him a natural advantage out in the open compared to his earth pony or unicorn opponents. He was faster. As the snowballs hit him, he started to learn where they were coming from and how to dodge them. Snowballs thrown from earth ponies or unicorns started hitting him less, but snowballs thrown from pegasi found their mark just as easily as before.
After a while, the snowballs stopped flying and Applejack called out to the orphans, "It's all done, y'all can come inside now!"
The orphans walked into the orphanage and were greeted with a wonderful feast with punch and gifts under the tree. Near the gifts was a smiling pink earth pony. Food, drink, gifts. This was the best time in the young Sunrise's life. As he was served his dinner and his traditional Hearth's Warming punch, he smiled a little. Everyone was right about him, all he had to do was open himself up to the others and he'd get along with them and have fun. He'd no longer be alone.
"Thank you... all of you for providing this for all of us," he said to the adults.
"Oh, you're welcome, dear," came Rarity's reply.
"And... thank you all for being here for me," he said to all the other orphans.
"So long as we have each other, we're never truly alone," replied the eldest orphan.
14 Years Later
Sunrise had never been adopted out of the orphanage, but he didn't mind. He treated the staff there as if they were his own family. The orphans that stayed alongside him had become brothers and sisters to him. The ones that could, moved out and got jobs in Ponyville, but he stayed with the orphanage, choosing to work for it. Hearth's Warming had come again and now the twenty year old stallion was helping to make the holiday fun for the new group of orphans as the Council of Friendship had done for him.
He noticed a young pegasus separated from the group of orphans, this one had always been a bit distant from the others. This didn't go unnoticed by the sky blue pegasus, but he had chosen to not press the issue until now. He walked over to the filly and sat down, "Why aren't you with the others? You could be having fun," he said.
"I don't feel like I belong here! What if my parents are still out there?" she replied.
This resonated with him and he chuckled a little bit which annoyed the young filly, "What's so funny!?" she snapped at him.
"Nothing, I'm just getting nostalgic is all. I used to be like you when I was your age, until my first Hearth's Warming. Princess Twilight and her friends helped me realize that I needed to finally open myself up. I gave it a shot and before I knew it, I had a family I could count on. All of the other orphans care about you, and everyone in the staff cares about you too, myself included. We're all a big family. You just have to allow yourself to believe that," he said.
The filly looked out the window, "Did you parents ever return for you?" she asked.
Sunrise Standing shook his head, "Truthfully, I lost my parents when I was really young. But family isn't just who you share a lineage with, it's the people you grow up alongside and are raised by. A true familial bond is unbreakable," he said with confidence.
"So do you think my parents will come for me?" the pegasus filly asked.
The sky blue stallion shrugged, "It's possible. Some children thought to be orphans turned out to have parents or family who came to take them back into their families. But that shouldn't stop you from trying to have another family here," he stated.
The filly nodded and smiled, "Thank you, Mister Sunrise," she said.
Sunrise watched as she walked over to the other orphans and they all walked outside to have a snowball fight. He smiled a little as he felt pride in helping someone that was in the position he was in have a great Hearth's Warming. He walked back to his room and continued wrapping the gifts. He had earlier that year spoken to the Princess who helped make a fundraiser for the orphanage that was a smashing success and he was able to get better gifts for Hearth's Warming than they were ever able to in the past.
As he wrapped the final gift, Fluttershy walked into his room. "You've grown up so much, Sunrise. You're kind and gentle and thoughtful," she said.
"It's all thanks to you and your friends, Mom. If it wasn't for all of you, who knows what I've have turned out to be. I just hope that I can give these young orphans a better Hearth's Warming than the ones I ever got," he said calmly.
The pink maned pegasus looked mildly upset about it, but he hugged her tightly, "You and your friends did your best and we had truly wonderful celebrations. I would never be ungrateful for what you all did for us. I'm just seeking to improve on it is all," he stated.
She smiled softly, "You're a good boy, Sunrise and thank you for helping out here," she said to him.
The two let go of each other and she started to walk out of the room. "Thanks for taking me in when I had nowhere else to go, Mom," Sunrise said.
A nod and a smile was the only response from the yellow pegasus, leaving the sky blue pegasus alone in the room to continue wrapping the gifts. This was going to be the greatest Hearth's Warming the orphanage had ever seen, and he was proud to have been able to play a part in it.
