Collection of Hearth's Warming Eve Tales

Mistletoe sat at her desk staring out the window of her boarding school; all of the other fillies and colts were going home. She was an orphan and she sadly tied a ribbon to the foliage of her name-sake. She was a party animal and there was an equalivent of her in Equestria it would be Pinkie Pie. Like the last five years, Mistletoe had just the boarding school staff/orphanage staff for her company over the holidays and it was usually two older mares who wished that some pony would adopt her.

As I sat with the Mistletoe, I remembered how her parents had dropped her off one Hearth's Warming Even six years ago with her asleep and with a note promising they'd be back. She's now fourteen and wondering where her parents were. I and the staff had received a letter two years ago with a note saying that her father had been murdered. In a news article a few months later a mare had been found dead in an alley with evidence of being violated before death. I left Mistletoe in her bed and gently tucked her in and went to talk to my fellow director, an earth pony named Goldheart.

"Goldheart, I need to ask you a question of some urgency."

"What is it, Arctic Breeze? Is Mistletoe asking about the birds and bees?"

"No, she isn't, but it does concern her though. As you know it's been six years to the time of year her parents left her here. I heard her two nights ago and she was talking to her locket and was asking why they left her. As you know we have the intel of her parent's demise, should we tell her now or wait till she is of age that her parents instructed us to tell her?"

"As a pony who was once in her hooves, what does your gutt say?"

"It tells me that we should divulge a small amount of information, as you well know, she saw the article and the image in the obituary and almost recognized her mother had I not spilled the coffee that morning. As touching in telling about her father, I fear she may snap. I'll phone Twilight Sparkle and see if she has any advice...I may phone the castle and ask for advice from Luna or Celestia."

As the two mares talked, upstairs Mistletoe was talking to the image of her parents in her locker. "Why mom...why dad did you leave me here? Was it something I had done? I tried to be a good filly...I wish I knew why you hadn't come back like that note you left with me had promised you would." After a few moments, she screeched, "I did my best my damn it!" and hurled the heirloom against a far wall. As the sound of glass shattering and the sound of brass separating she ran to where the locket had landed. It wasn't salvageable, she wept as the last memory she had, lay in pieces and the only photo she had, had a gash through it. The orphanage directors were running up the stairs and soon we're by her side trying to comfort her, upon seeing the locket they knew they could count on a particular unicorn to repair the locket to its original state.

Meanwhile

"So Treehugger....you have a distant niece in Las Pegasus?" A green earth pony with a red mane nodded.

"Like totally, I send her a gift every year."

"Well, you ought to bring her here instead of leaving her where she's at."

"I do what I can Discount."

"Discord, Treehugger for the love of Celestia quit being so foalish! Damn it, I can't have peace with you two!" At that moment Fluttershy walked in and told Zephyr Breeze to hurry to his day job. Treehugger explained to Fluttershy about her niece, while Discord sat quietly.

Back at the Orphanage the Next Day

Mistletoe had gotten permission to go into town, and as she walked about she noticed a young couple by a shop window. This couple seemed sad, when Mistletoe reached them she saw they were looking into a toy store. "Dear, why was fate so cruel to take our child from us? He was our only chance, the chance of having a family. I wish we could adopt but all the legal fees make it impossible." Mistletoe kept walking when she heard her name being called out. Pausing she turned her head and saw two classmates trotting over.

"Whatcha doing away from the orphanage?"

"I had gotten permission to walk in the city. What's it to you anyway? You've never cared before."

"It's that......we've been needing to tell you that we wanted to apologize but have the nerve to do so...here goes, I'm sorry for the way I've treated you, I was being heartless; can you forgive me? I would understand if you didn't." Mistletoe squeaked as she lunged forward and tackle the colt.

"Of course I forgive you Eightball!" The other classmate scoffed and walked off. Eight Ball was stunned that his twin sister Cueball backed out of wanting to apologize. The pair trotted along until Mistletoe paused and used her magic to form eight snowballs and called out to her friend, as Eightball stopped and turned around he saw the projectiles and didn't have time to move.

A few hours had past and as Mistletoe began her lonely walk back to the orphanage she heard Eightball call after her, "You gonna be okay going back alone? There is a for-casted blizzard tonight, of course, no thanks to Rainbow Dash letting Derpy be in charge for a night."

"I'll be fine see ya again!" Mistletoe replied cheerfully. As the shadows grew longer and the temperatures dropped, the wind picked up and Mistletoe froze in terror as she was now walking blind. Luckily she had decided to count paces as the wind had picked up. Her last count was 35 paces from the last doorway she had seen. Mistletoe did a one hundred eighty-degree turn and began counting out loud. She hit the 35 pace mark and found the doorway of the home she had passed. Before long a shadow loomed over her and she squeaked as she realized she was cornered. She was old enough to know about the type of stallions who enjoyed being with young ponies. She felt lifted by a strong foreleg and wrapped in a pair of wings when the door was pushed open. Blinking in the warm candlelight and firelight from the hearth she heard humming.

"Dear I'm home! I have a guest with me!" A mare trotted from the kitchen and saw Mistletoe.

"She is the young mare we saw earlier, bring her by the fire...come on Pipsqueak."

Mistletoe looked at the young couple, the mare was pink with a light purple mane with a white accenting streak. The mare gently removed the wet garments and hung them by the fire and returned to preparing dinner.

"May I help you, ma'am?"

"If you wish to do so, wash your hooves." As they pair cooked, Mistletoe was being very careful as she moved about.

"How did you and your husband meet?"

"We had gone to school together back in Ponyville and even ran for school president as rivals then. I almost lost my best friend then."

In the study

Pipsqueak felt like he had seen the filly's mother at one point, his wife had that look in her eye that gleamed when a face was familiar. Digging through files of old stories they had written together, he found a 2-year-old article about a mare and another about a stallion. Looking at the pictures side by side he saw Mistletoe was in the middle as their child. During the meal, Mistletoe sensed that the couple knew something about her and were keeping it quiet.

"So what you two do for jobs?"

"We're reporters, I do the fashion and gossip while my husband does all of the serious articles. We've both have done this now for ten years." Mistletoe had to ask a nagging question that became evident now as she realized that Pip may have come across her parents.

"Pip, sir did you ever meet my parents?" Pipsqueak looked away, he feared this question would come one day since he had taken over the crime section of the paper.

"I....did an article on them both......I'm so sorry you had to hear it from me and two later.....I had covered reports of their being found...deceased." Mistletoe looked at the young stallion and she felt like crying, but the stallion looked like he needed cheering up.

"Sir, I'm glad you wrote their obituaries, those were well written. I believe fate brought us together for a reason.

The week of Hearth's Warming Even.

Mistletoe caught Treehugger dropping them off the gift as usual. "So, Treehugger it's been you! I did some digging and as an aunt, you kinda suck at it."

Treehugger smelled like marijuana and Mistletoe turned her head to see Diamond Tiara & Pip walking from the orphanage/boarding school. Curious she went to talk to Goldheart and Arctic Breeze. Treehugger turned to leave. Once inside, Mistletoe noticed adoption documents on the desk Goldheart used. She had figured she got passed up again as she became acutely aware that another creature had stayed behind. Mistletoe knew she shouldn't be selfish but she wished it was her, but the other creature; if Mistletoe recalled her name right was Rosebud.

Mistletoe and Rosebud sat side by side with Goldheart and Arctic Breeze sitting in front of them. "Girls there has been an inquiry about you two. Not to get your hopes up, but there is a request pending for your adoption. Mistletoe has met the couple already, Rosebud you've heard of Diamond Tiara and Pipsqueak. Anyways Diamond Tiara is going to try to speed up the process by talking to Princess Twilight Sparkle."

The girls were ecstatic to say the very least. Rosebud had been at the institution for most of her life. Her parents then had to bring her there when their debts got too high and their health was declining, and they wanted to make sure their child was safe.

Hearth's Warming Eve

Mistletoe awoke to sunlight filtering through the window and Rosebud beside her in another bed, "I had a weird dream that we got adopted by the same couple last night." Rosebud could be heard mumbling.

"I don't think that it was a dream Rosebud, we're someplace else." The two looked around the nicely furnished room just the door swung open. In walked Pip and Diamond Tiara with trays of warm food.

"Morning you two, we brought you breakfast. No worries though this isn't a dream. The princesses sped up the process and we were able to bring you home." After they talked, Diamond Tiara gave Mistletoe a gift. Opening the small box she found her old locket fully restored and the picture was also restored. Rosebud also received a gift, a locket with a photo that she had lost years prior.

As the family began to arrive, Mistletoe and Rosebud couldn't believe the amazing gift they received.