One snowy winter night in Equestria, the students at the School of Friendship are preparing to go home for winter break. Brony T. Pony, however, wasn’t doing anything to prepare for the journey back home. He was absolutely not looking forward to going home. In fact, he wasn’t looking forward to the holidays. All his life, the holidays made him miserable. As a child, he never had the chance to properly celebrate the holidays with his family as most of the day was having to hear his parents argue over what Brony would get (which would eventually lead to him not getting anything for Hearth’s Warming) or which yule log to tune to. When Brony was six, his mother had enough and she left her abusive husband, taking Brony with her. Since then, Brony despised the holidays and everything they stood for. The sight of the school’s decorations and everyone spreading joy made him furious. He thought that something had to be done.
He left his room and made his way to the storage closet. He opened the closet and found a jar of goo powder on the top shelf. He flew up, took the jar of goo powder, and flew to the common room where the tree was. Thoughts then swirled into the young pegasus’s head. Although he couldn’t stand the sight of the school’s Hearth’s Warming cheer, another voice in his head begged him to consider the consequences. If he were caught doing the deed, his time at the School of Friendship could come to an early end. However, Brony ignored this advice and went on with his plan. He flew to the top of the tree and emptied the jar into the Fire of Friendship. A few seconds later, purple goop flew across the room, covering everything in sight.
“Yikes! That was some really dirty work! But it’s done. Good riddance!” Brony thought to himself as he escaped through the window.
Right after Brony escaped, the school’s guidance counselor and principal, Trixie and Starlight Glimmer, both walked into the room to check on everything. However, they were both shocked at the state of the room.
“Oh no! This happened again? How? I thought Gallus was adopting to spending the holidays with Sandbar very well.” Starlight, a purplish-pink unicorn with a purple mane and tail with a turquoise highlight in her mane and tail, cried.
“Let’s not blame Gallus right away. He didn’t want this to be a repeat and has since learned his lesson.” Trixie, a blue unicorn with a light blue mane and tail, replied.
“I guess you’re right, Trixie. Best find the real culprit. And if it was Gallus again, he’s out of here. Forever.” Starlight replied as they went to the dorms to gather all the students.
When the students gathered in the common room, they each felt a mixture of sadness, shock, and anger.
“So not cool!” Sandbar, a green earth pony with a shaggy, bluish mane and tail, complained.
“Not again!” Ocellus, a blue changeling, added.
“Everycreature, Counselor Trixie and I brought you all in here because when we walked into the common room, the first thing we saw was goo powder all over the place. Again. We are disappointed and furious. We thought you would all know better than to have a repeat of this incident happen! Trixie and I will question all of you one-by-one and whoever was responsible for this mess will miss out on your holiday break. He or she will stay here over the entire two week period and will be completing extra friendship lessons, including a much-needed lesson on empathy.” Starlight said sternly.
“If none of us confesses, will we all have to stay over break?” Silverstream, a pink hippogriff with a blue mane and tail, asked.
“I’m afraid so. Now, while I take Yona in for questioning first, the rest of you will have to clean up. If you want to go home, this room needs to be spotless from top to bottom. Come on, Yona.” Starlight added.
Now with Yona, Trixie, and Starlight out of the room, the others started to point fingers (or talons or hooves or whatever) at each other.
“So?” Smolder, an orange dragon with purple spikes shaped to look like a mohawk, asked, looking at Gallus, a blue griffon with tan belly fur and yellow on the tips on his head feathers.
“What?” Gallus replied.
“Don’t play dumb with me, Bluey! I know you had something to do with this!”
“You’re wrong! I didn’t do it! Honest!”
“He’s right, Smolder. It wasn’t Gallus. He was with me the whole time, packing to go to my house” Sandbar added.
“Was Corn in the room?” Smolder asked.
“No, but I didn’t do it either. Peg and I were together, preparing to head back to Galloping Grove” Corn, a blue unicorn with a blue mane and tail and a red jacket, replied.
“And before you ask, it’s true. I saw him the whole time. And Ocellus too. Y’know, come to think of it, Smolder, you’re the only one who has their own dorm room, so…” Peg, a pink pegasus pony with blond hair, added.
“Are you seriously accusing me right now? Look, I may not be into the holiday spirit, but I would never risk myself getting into trouble! Now, let’s go back to solving this riddle. If Gallus was in Sandbar’s room and if Sandbar’s roommate was in Peg’s room and if Peg’s roommate was in Peg’s room, where was Gallus’s roommate?” Smolder replied.
Suddenly, all eyes were on Brony, a black pegasus pony with a green and black mane and tail.
“Alright, fine! Y’all caught me! I was the one who made the mess! And I’d do it again!” Brony chimed in, feeling angry.
“But…why?” Silverstream said sadly, on the verge of tears.
“Because, I absolutely despise the holidays! It’s supposed to be a time of joy, but to me, it’s a time of misery!” Brony replied.
“Well, that’s no reason to ruin everything for us.” Ocellus said sternly.
“Actually, it is. I’ve suffered all my life and now y’all are gonna suffer with me!” Brony replied.
“No, we’re not! We’re gonna go home and celebrate with our families while you sit by yourself, learning about empathy!” Sandbar retorted.
Suddenly, Starlight, Trixie, and Yona went back into the room.
“Who’s next?” Trixie asked.
“Actually, we know who did it. He just confessed.” Sandbar spoke up.
“Sandbar, if you tell her, you’re dead!” Brony shouted.
A very angry Starlight walked up to Brony. “Excuse me, Brony? Did you just threaten to kill Sandba…”
Suddenly, Starlight’s anger turned to shock. “Brony, d-did you do this?”
“I did. And I’d do it again.” Brony replied.
“Brony, I’m shocked. You’re a model student. You’re in the honors program with straight As. How could you stoop to this low? And on Hearth’s Warming. You do realize you tried to ruin your friends’ holiday plans, right?”
“I hate Hearth’s Warming. I hate everything it stands for.”
“I don’t know why you would say something like that, but that is no reason for what you did. I’m sorry, Brony, but you’re going to have to make amends and stay over break for extra friendship lessons. Your first assignment will be to write apology letters to everybody in this room. Your friends, Trixie, and I. Then, you will have to clean this entire mess by yourself. Then, it’s off to bed for you in your dorm.”
“Fine by me, but I’m not apologizing.”
“Um, Miss Starlight, is it okay if I stay with Brony? He could use a friend.” Gallus chimed in.
“Gallus, don’t be stupid! Brony doesn’t deserve our friendship since he didn’t show you friendship!” Sandbar retorted.
“Sandbar, as wrong as it was for Brony to do what he did, there must be a reason as to why he hates Hearth’s Warming. He told me everything about his past and that might contribute to tonight’s incident. I think it’s best if I stay with him and maybe get his side of the story.” Gallus replied.
“Gallus, are you sure? It’s gonna be for the entire two weeks. You won’t be able to leave and you’ll have to complete the extra friendship lessons with Brony.” Starlight asked, now feeling worried.
“Gallus, take it back right now! You are going to spend Hearth’s Warming with my family, and you are going to have fun!” Sandbar shouted.
“Sandbar.” Trixie said sternly as she looked at Sandbar.
“Listen, Starlight, I agree that it was wrong of me to spread goop all over the common room, but there was a motive behind what I did. I didn’t want to go home because I felt like an outcast in Griffonstone. I felt like I wasn’t wanted. I wanted to remain in a place where I feel safe. My friends understood that and agreed to stay over break with me.” Gallus replied.
“Gallus, that’s different. We decided to stay because you were in legitimate need of a safe haven and we were more than happy to provide that to you. Brony just wants us to feel miserable.” Ocellus added.
“I’m sure he’s just saying that out of anger. He didn’t mean it. All this talk about the holidays might have triggered some sort of stress disorder. Brony is also in need of a safe haven and I’m willing to make him feel better.” Gallus replied.
“Last chance, Gallus. Are you sure you want to stay?” Starlight asked the griffon.
“I’m sure, Miss Starlight.” Gallus replied.
“If that’s what you want, Gallus, so be it. You can start cleaning up now.” Starlight replied as Gallus started cleaning.
As Gallus was cleaning and Brony was writing apology letters under the watch of Starlight and Trixie, Gallus couldn’t help but feel bad for his friend. “Boy do I wish I knew what that poor kid had to go through.” he said.
Later that night, when Brony and Gallus were asleep in their shared dorm room, Gallus suddenly had a dream where he was in a white void of nothingness. Feeling confused, he paced around, wondering what was going on.
“Hello?” he called out, his voice echoing into the void.
“Hellooooooooooooo?” he called out again.
Suddenly, he noticed his voice was echoing and decided to have a little fun. He let out a yodel, which echoed throughout the void. Soon, he burst into song, singing a song from one of those old musicals Brony’s mom was in.
“Bravo, Gallus!” Gallus heard a voice.
“Thank you, thank you!” he replied as he took a bow.
“But you know why you and I are here, correct?” asked a tall, dark blue alicorn princess with black splotches on her chest and the sides of her flank. Her mane and tail were a lighter shade of blue and twinkly and were flowing like they were flowing in wind.
“Hmm, which one are you?” Gallus asked the princess.
“My name is Princess L-“ Luna began before being interrupted by Gallus.
“Wait, don’t tell me. It’s…Lola!”
“Luna.”
“Oh right, I knew that.”
“Now, back to why we’re here. You and I both know you want to know the reasoning behind your friend’s hatred for the holidays.”
Gallus’s smile faded as he was reminded of what happened tonight. “Oh yeah. That.”
“And he sabotaged the tree. Just like you did two years ago.”
“He did. And everyone was mad at him for it. I know there was a reason why he did it, like there was a reason why I did it. I just wish I knew why he did it and I wish that everyone could put themselves in his shoes…eh, horseshoes, that is…and be more understanding of his situation. I’ve seen where he lived, met his mom, heard all about his story. I feel so sorry for that poor thing. Ca-can you…bring…my friends here? So I can show them?”
“Gallus, think about it! I can’t just send a bunch of people into your dream without consent!”
“Please, Luna! I’m begging you! They must know! I can’t have my friend circle crumble because of one pony’s actions!”
“Oh, fine!” Luna said as she teleported the others into Gallus’s dream.
“Woah! Where am I?” Sandbar remarked.
“And what is this weird, white room?” Silverstream asked.
“And what are Gallus and Luna doing here?” Peg added.
“Thanks for coming, everycreature. I know you have many questions in your head in regard to why you’re here and what’s going on. Well, allow me to explain.” Gallus explained.
“If this is about Brony, don’t bother. I’m already thinking about what to say in my break-up speech to him.” Ocellus remarked.
“That’s just it! You all need to understand why Brony’s the way he is!” Gallus replied.
“Because he’s a bully that shows no empathy at all?” Sandbar replied.
“No! He isn’t a bully and he’s very empathetic. He’s just…upset.” Gallus retorted.
“Upset that he got caught?” Smolder remarked.
“No! Stop it! He told me everything about his past, and that might have inspired him to sabotage the tree. I’ll show you what I mean.” Gallus explained.
“Yona no have time for silly games. Yona want to go home right now!” Yona, a brown yak, shouted.
“And why are you talking about Brony’s life? You’re not him and he’s not here!” Sandbar added.
“Good point. Luna, can you send him here please?” Gallus requested as Luna teleported Brony into the dream.
“What’s going on here? And what are y’all doing here? Shouldn’t y’all be at home?” Brony asked.
“Yes! However, Gallus is trying to put on this whole show about how you hate the holidays and why you should get kudos for it!” Smolder replied.
Still feeling confused, Brony looked to Gallus and Luna for clearer explanation.
“Brony, I know there’s a reason why you did what you did.” Gallus said.
“There is. I told you. I don’t like celebrating the holidays. To me, the holidays was just any other day. My parents would be arguing, and after they divorced, my mom and I would be too poor to celebrate. I envied my peers for their holiday cheer and gifts and being able to celebrate with their families. I never had any of that. We never had a tree or presents or a feast. We couldn’t afford to go to my grandma’s house. Heck, we didn’t even have any transportation, period!” Brony explained.
“Then, why couldn’t she just go to your place?” Sandbar asked.
“She didn’t want to. She went there once but never returned. My mom asked her why, and she said that our apartment was nothing more than a rat-infested dumpster and the city itself is a dump with too much crime happening.” Brony continued.
“That’s horrible!” Ocellus cried.
“Still doesn’t explain why you hate the holidays.” Smolder added.
“Okay, well, let’s go back to ten years ago. The last Christmas with both my parents.” Brony said as the blank scenery switched to outside an average suburban house in Las Pegasus on a snowy morning.
“By then, I lost all interest in Hearth’s Warming as I never got any presents, and my parents would argue and argue and argue like any other day. However, something changed. I woke up that morning and found one resent under the tree…for me! I was so happy, I ran to the tree and quickly opened my present. I couldn’t believe my eyes! It was that train set I always wanted!” Brony explained as the events unfolded from inside the house.
“Well, pony happy. What wrong?” Yona remarked.
“Keep watching. What happens next takes a very bad turn.” Brony replied.
While Brony was feeling ecstatic over finally getting a toy for Hearth’s Warming, his parents walked into the room. His mother was happy for him, while his father was furious.
“Are you enjoyin’ the toy, sweetie?” his mother asked.
“I’m so glad I got a toy! I can’t wait to start playing with it!” Young Brony replied.
“You got our son a gift?” Brony’s father screeched.
“He really wanted a gift, and I did what a good parent would do and bought him the train set.” his mother replied.
“That is not what a good parent would do! Now, he’s gonna be spoiled rotten, just like you! I’m gonna put an end to this once and for all!” his father retorted as he approached Brony.
“Hey there, Brony! Nice train set you got there!” Brony’s dad complemented.
“I know! I can’t wait to open it up and play with it. Can you help me set it up?” Young Brony replied.
“Sure! Just hand me the box so I can read the instructions.” his father replied as his son gave him the box.
Suddenly, his father threw the train set into the fireplace, much to the shock of those watching outside.
“Nooooooooooooooo! My train set!” Young Brony cried as he burst into tears.
“Darren! How could you do this to your own son! He never even had a chance to play with it!” Brony’s mother shouted.
“I told you! That train set was gonna make him spoiled!” his father retorted.
“That’s it! I’ve had enough!” his mother shouted as she approached her weeping son to comfort him.
“I’m sorry, honey. I know how sad you are, but don’t worry. We’re gonna get away from this…this…” Her voice rose in anger. “…monster that calls himself a father! My son and I are leavin’ and will be checkin’ into the Equestrian Extended Stay Hotel until we find a permanent place safe from you! And I’ll buy him a new train set on the way there! Come on, Brony!” she said as she and Young Brony left the house.
“Not cool! Totally not cool!” Sandbar commented.
“Yeah! That was a really cool looking train set!” Gallus added.
“So, after you and your mom left, your life got better, right?” Silverstream asked.
“Weeeeeeeelllllll…” Brony began, causing Silverstream to frown.
“It got worse?” she cried.
“Yes…I mean, no…I mean… you’ll see, okay? Let’s fast-forward to that next year.” Brony began as the scenery started to change once again. Now, they’re looking through the window of Brony’s mother’s old apartment, which was far from luxurious and looked like it was about to fall apart any second. The wallpaper was peeling from the walls, the walls themselves had holes in them, the ceiling was leaking, and the door looked like it was broken into.
“This was where you guys lived? No wonder why you’re so miserable, Brony.” Smolder commented.
“The question you should be asking is how are we floating?” Sandbar added, noticing that he and the others are floating.
“Yona no like this! Yona scared! Yona wanna get on ground!” Yona panicked.
“No need to worry, everycreature. I have cast a spell that allows us to float up so we can see what is happening inside the apartment. Brony, would you like to continue?” Luna assured.
“Thank you, Princess. Now, ever since we moved into this apartment, we began celebrating a holiday called Christmas. It’s like Hearth’s Warming, but a fat, bearded guy dressed in red pajamas rides a reindeer-powered sleigh all over the world in one night and breaks into your house by coming in through the chimney and leaves you presents…or at least that’s what they tell you. Personally, I’ve never seen this man in person but he’s everywhere! Movies, TV adverts, parades…” Brony continued.
“Sooooooooo, if this guy’s so popular, what’s his name?” Gallus asked.
“His name’s Santa Claus. I’m sure you’ve heard about him.” Brony replied.
“Nope. Can’t say I have.” Gallus replied.
The others shook their heads, also never heard of Santa until now.
“Anyways, this was our first Christmas together in this cruddy apartment. Notice how there’s no tree. In fact, there are hardly any decorations at all. Well, my mother and I were extremely poor ever since we left my dad. We were forced to live in a poverty-stricken part of town that was extremely high in crime. We barely had enough money to get food or do anything. We never had transportation, so we had to walk everywhere we go, and most of the places we go to are very far away, like an hour’s walking distance. Anyways, now that we were in poverty, the holidays really started to suck. Observe” Brony explained as the others looked through the window.
“Hey, mom! Where are the decorations?” Young Brony asked his mother.
“Brony, we talked about this already. We can’t afford to buy decorations or a tree.” his mother replied.
“Well, can’t we go to the forest, chop down a tree, and take it home?”
“It’s not easy. First of all, we don’t have the tools to chop down a tree. Second, it’s illegal to chop down trees without a permit. Third, it would be too big to fit into our apartment.”
“Bu…but that’s not fair! All my friends have really cool decorations!”
“Well, sounds like your friends are the lucky ones. They’re not the ones who have to live in a crappy part of town because their fathers couldn’t give a rat’s ass about the well-being of their offspring!”
“Well, is grandma at least coming over, like she would every year?”
“I’m afraid not, honey. I just spoke to her over the phone. It sounded like she had no interest in coming over. I wouldn’t say I blame her. Just look at this place. It’s a mess!”
“Well, let’s clean it!”
“It isn’t easy. The only way this apartment’s gonna be clean is if we tear it down.”
“Well, do I at least get something for Christmas this year?”
“Sorry, honey”
Young Brony was not in a good mood. He thought that everything was going to be better after he and his mother escaped the harshness of his father. But now, everything was worse than before.
“It’s…not…FAAAAAAAIR!” Young Brony screamed as he ran into his room, crying.
Now starting to feel bad for Brony, his friends frowned as they saw these events unfold.
“Now I’m starting to see what Gallus was talking about.” Ocellus remarked.
“Brony so sad. Yona sad for Brony.” Yona added.
“First no train set, then no Sandy Cats? This is too sad!” Silverstream cried as she went to hug Brony.
“It’s Santa Claus, Silverstream. Santa Claus.” Brony replied.
“Well, is there something else you need to show us?” Gallus asked.
“Actually, there is. Fast forward to three years later.” Brony began.
The scenery began to change once again. They are now at a city park that is covered in snow. In the center of a park lies a choir riser and numerous chairs in front of the riser.
Silverstream was ecstatic when she saw the riser. “Oh my gosh! Staaaaaaaaaaaairs!”
Brony walked up to Silverstream, who was idolizing the riser. “Those aren’t stairs, Silverstream. This here’s a riser. This is what choir members stand on when performin’, which leads me to this next scene. When I was ten, my mom had me signed up for the community choir because of my love for singin’. Whenever I was stressed or scared, I’d sing to myself to calm myself down.”
“Is that what’s happening here?” Silverstream asked.
“Sure is. In fact, I should be comin’ out any minute now.” Brony replied as he and Silverstream went to sit with the others in the audience.
As soon as everyone was seated, a man walked up to the front of the riser. “Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to introduce the Windcrest Children’s Choir.”
After his introduction, the members of the children’s choir, Brony included, went onto the riser and began singing. Suddenly, they were stopped by the mayor, who was the man introducing the choir earlier.
“What is this…animal doing on the stage?” the mayor asked, pointing at Young Brony.
“Listen, oldster! This ‘animal’ is my best friend, Brony.” another choir member replied, defending Brony.
“Aw, isn’t this cute! Mr. Clean here’s defending his doggy!” the mayor joked.
“Shut up! He isn’t my ‘doggy’! He’s my friend and has been miserable for a long time! He doesn’t need this! Especially tonight!” the kid retorted.
“Does it look like I care, Anderson? I don’t! Director, I want this doggy out of your group! You’re also under arrest for violating the anti-diversity law!” the mayor retorted.
Brony’s friends were shocked.
“Anti-diversity law?” Ocellus remarked.
“Can you even do that as an official?” Silverstream asked.
“I don’t know what that is, but what that mayor did was not cool!” Sandbar retorted.
“Yeah. Sounds like something Grampa Gruff would pull off.” Gallus remarked.
Meanwhile, Young Brony was crushed. Singing was his passion, something he enjoyed doing. Now, he’s no longer able to do what he loved just because of some stupid anti-diversity law. His eyes filled with tears as he made his way to the exit. As he walked, the kid who was defending him ran to catch up with him.
“Brony, where are you going?” the kid asked.
“Home.” Young Brony replied.
“Why?”
“I don’t belong here. That’s why.”
“Brony, you know that isn’t true. You can’t just quit singing because you’re different from everyone else. That shouldn’t even matter. You’re a talented singer and a great friend.”
“Thanks, Caillou. I think you’re great too. I just wish every other human thought the same thing. I hate it here! I wish my mom and I weren’t poor!”
“Same here, bro!”
Suddenly, Caillou’s family approached him.
“Caillou, how dare you defend a stray dog! That’s it! Let’s go home right now!” his dad said sternly as the family left the park.
“For your information, Boris, I’m a pony, not a dog!” Young Brony called out.
“Anyone else think Caillou’s the only one in this park that shows some form of decency?” Smolder commented.
“I’m sure we all do, Smolder.” Corn replied.
Suddenly, the scenery changed back to that white void from earlier.
“Now do y’all see why I did what I did?” Brony asked.
“Wow, Brony. Looks like you really do need our friendship. We’re sorry we were so mad at you.” Sandbar replied.
“No. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have messed with the tree. I- I can’t forgive myself for what I’ve done! I ruined your holidays just for my benefit! I’m a monster! Just like my father! Don’t even look at me!” Brony replied, tears now rolling down his face.
Sandbar approached his friend. “Brony, it’s okay. We’re not mad”
“Well, y’all should be! I’m mad at myself! I promised myself I wouldn’t be the same man my father was! Now, I broke my own promise! Now y’all can’t go back to your families and it’s all my fault!” Brony cried.
“No it isn’t. And you shouldn’t blame yourself. Brony, listen to me. Everything’s going to be okay. Just take a deep breath and count to three.”
Brony heeded Sandbar’s instructions and began to feel better.
“Now y’all know. This is the kind of stuff I had to go through. And it’s all that monster’s fault. I just wanna find him and ask him why. Why does he hate me so much? What did I do to deserve this pain and suffering? However, it wasn’t all bad. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here…here with all of you. I love you. Every single one of y’all holds a special place near and dear to my heart.” Brony said.
“We love you too, Brony!” his friends said as they huddled to give Brony a big hug.
Soon, they were teleported back to the dorm room.
“Mornin’ already? How long was that hug?” Brony asked.
“Long enough.” Sandbar responded.
“Again, I can’t apologize enough for tryin’ to ruin your holiday plans. It was very selfish of me and I should’ve thought twice.” Brony apologized, feeling ashamed of himself.
“You didn’t ruin our holiday plans, Brony. In fact, you made them better.” Gallus replied.
“Really? How?” Brony asked.
“By spending them together. As one big, happy family.” Starlight said as she walked into the room.
“Headmare Starlight! How much of that did you see?” Brony asked.
“The whole thing. I’m so proud of all of you for providing your friend with love and support for when he needed it most. You know what? None of you don’t really need extra friendship lessons. You can all go home now. See you in two weeks!” Starlight replied as everyone but Brony left the room.
“But, don’t I still need to stay over break for what I did?” Brony asked.
“Nope! Having seen you open up about your past in front of your friends, I’ve decided that you don’t need extra lessons.”
“Please, Starlight. You don’t need to do that. Anything’s better than going home.”
“I insist. I don’t want you to deal with any more stress. Say, Trixie and I are planning on spending the holidays together and we would love you to join us. That is, if you want to.”
“A-are you serious? Little old me?”
“Of course! You should be able to know what it’s like to celebrate Hearth’s Warming with those who care deeply about you.”
Brony’s eyes filled with tears. “I would love to join y’all! Thank you, Starlight!” he said as he and Starlight exchanged a hug.
