It was just like any other day for Sprout. Up with the sun, a quick breakfast and then off to work with the construction crew on various jobs around Maretime Bay. That tomorrow would be Winter Wishday was of no concern to him, all that meant was that tomorrow he would have a day off from work. A day he would pass entirely by himself.
But that was tomorrow, not today. So for today, Sprout kept his focus on work, paying little attention to any attempts by his fellow employees to engage him in conversation. Especially since many of them were talking about their own plans for the holiday of Winter Wishday.
The red coated stallion was only interrupted in his thinking when his green eyes happened to look up. He soon saw the familiar face of Sunny Starscout all but staring at him. She had her smoothie cart strapped to her back, along with her roller skates. And she seemed to be even more cheerful than she had been at any point over the past few months.
Smiling brightly, Sunny cheerfully greeted Sprout. "Hey, Sprout. Just thought I'd stop by to wish you a happy Winter Wishday. I won't have time to do it tomorrow, I'm gonna be busy spending the holiday with Hitch, Izzy, Zipp and Pipp at the Crystal Brighthouse."
With a humph and a frown, Sprout just coldly retorted. "Bah, humbug."
Sunny flinched ever so slightly at the retort. "What? Winter Wishday a humbug?" A nervous giggle escaped her lips. "Oh, Sprout, I'm sure you don't mean that."
But the stallion just swished his tail. "Oh, I do. Happy Winter Wishday indeed," He gave off a weak and sarcastic laugh. "What's the big deal about it? It's just another day in the year."
"Do you even hear yourself, Sprout?" Sunny frowned as she stared at the stallion. "You used to love Winter Wishday. Don't you remember when you, Hitch and I were little? How we used to stay up late waiting for it?"
Sprout snorted. "That was then and this is now. Why do you care what I think? You and Hitch barely ever come by to see me anymore, you've got those... other friends of yours now."
The earth pony mare with a sunny orange coat only sweetly and sincerely replied. "Come on, Sprout. You're still my friend. I hate seeing any friend down, especially on a holiday."
All Sprout had to say in response was. "Whatever. You keep the spirit of Winter Wishday in your own way, and let me keep it in mine, Sunny."
"But... that's the thing, Sprout," Sunny pointed out. "You don't keep it."
"So? Let me leave it alone, then," The stallion told his fellow earth pony. "You're not the boss of me. If Hitch put you up to this, you can tell him that he should keep his nose out of my business. I don't work for him anymore. I'm just trying to make a living the only way I can now. You've got your life, I've got mine. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get back to work before my actual boss starts breathing down my neck about unscheduled work breaks."
Sunny sighed, reluctantly sensing and realizing that she wasn't going to get through to Sprout when he was in such a sour mood. "Well, all the same, happy Winter Wishday." She softly whispered to him. Then, strapping on her helmet, she took off with her smoothie cart trailing behind her.
Only once Sunny was out of sight did Sprout stop frowning. He unhappily sighed. "Why does she have to be this way? I destroy her house and yet she acts like it's no big deal. Why does she need me when she's got friends like those pegasi and that unicorn? Is that reason enough for her to be so happy even though she only just gets by as it is?" But realizing that it would do him little good to dwell on such matters, the earth pony stallion just made sure his hard hat was strapped tightly to his head. And then he went back to work.
Later that same day, after finishing her delivery rounds with her smoothie cart and taking advantage of a small break that had been afforded to her, Sunny opted to swing by the sheriff's office. Sure enough, Hitch was already there, waiting for her. And Sparky, the baby dragon he'd adopted, was resting on his back.
"Hi Hitch, hi Sparky." Sunny cheerfully greeted to the both of them.
"Nice to see you too, Sunny," Hitch smiled. "Ready for lunch? It's on me this time."
Sunny nodded, and followed after Hitch as he led her along through town. Yet as she did so, she found her thoughts drifting back to Sprout. Try as she might, she couldn't stop thinking about him and about his rather unhappy attitude.
Naturally, it wasn't long before Hitch picked up on what Sunny was feeling. "You're thinking about Sprout again, aren't you?" He asked in no uncertain terms.
The earth pony mare with a sunny orange coat firmly nodded, and a frustrated sigh escaped her lips. "I just can't help it, Hitch. Even if he doesn't think so, I still consider him a friend. I know he and I didn't really see eye to eye on a lot of things, but he doesn't have to push me away just because I made some new friends. He actually called Winter Wishday a humbug. A humbug! Can you believe it?!"
Hitch sighed back. "That's just the way he is, it would seem. I'm not sure if it's jealousy or just his way of coping with everything. I'm just glad he didn't run away like I thought he was gonna do after I fired him. A shame, really. I think he'd take a real shine to Sparky," As he spoke, the baby dragon on his back giggled and then coughed a bit. "See? Sparky agrees."
Sunny couldn't help but be concerned about as Sparky she asked in a nervous tone of voice. "Is Sparky okay? He's been coughing a lot lately."
"It's probably just a cold. I'm sure he'll get it over before long," Hitch reassured his childhood friend. "I did take him to the doctors, but nopony knows anything about dragons so there's not much they can do for him. With enough rest and medicine, he'll get better."
"If only there was a way to treat Sprout's unhappiness," Sunny remarked as she and Hitch rounded a bend, and noticed two familiar looking pegasus ponies approaching Sprout. "Look, he's at it again."
Sure enough, Sprout had a pronounced frown on his face as the two pegasi wearing gold plated armor approached him. "Oh, it's you guys," He humphed as he barely bothered to maintain eye contact. "What do you want from me? You're not here to arrest me, are you? You forget, this is Maretime Bay, not Zephyr Heights. Your queen has no authority here."
"What reason could we possibly have to arrest you?" The sea green coated pegasus stallion greeted with what sounded like a laugh. "I'm Thunder Flap," He then gestured a hoof to the dark blue coated pegasus mare standing next to him. "And this is my partner, Zoom Zephyrwing. We've come to Maretime Bay with her majesty's blessing."
Sprout didn't bother to even pretend to be interested. "Oh, how lovely." He remarked in an un-enthusiastic tone of voice.
Zoom and Thunder appeared to be completely unconcerned about Sprout's attitude. Zoom then spoke up. "As for what we're doing here, it's simple: Thunder and I are collecting for charity. You know, to give to the poor. We were hoping you might be willing to make a donation," She pulled out a clipboard and a pencil, then proceeded to ask. "So, how about it? What shall we put you down for?"
After a second of silence Sprout plainly and bluntly answered. "Nothing."
Thunder and Zoom exchanged confused blinks before Zoom laughed, slapping a wing against her side. "Oh, I get it. You wish to remain anonymous."
"No, I wish to be left alone!" Sprout bitterly snapped with a hiss! "What is it with you pegasi?! Are you all this dense?! I said nothing, meaning I don't wanna give you anything! Leave me alone, go bother somepony else!"
"But... don't you want to make a contribution? Even just a small one?" Thunder questioned in a surprised tone of voice. "After all, this is a giving time of year."
Sprout only shook his head from side to side. "So? Why are you wasting your time with me? Let other ponies waste their time trying to help the poor. There's too many poor folks in the world as it is. And if some of them should happen to die, so be it. It'll decrease the surplus population, won't it?"
Zoom and Thunder's mouths dropped wide open in collective shock! They could hardly believe such words of indifference could be uttered from anypony! But they nevertheless departed without saying another word to Sprout, apparently writing him off as a lost cause.
Unknown to Sprout, Sunny had seen and heard everything. And she was anything but pleased. Her eyes had narrowed and a pronounced frown now hung on her face. "Why does Sprout have to be that way?" She asked Hitch.
"Well, what can we do about it?" Hitch pondered. "I don't think he's in much of a mood to listen to us."
"Well, somehow, someway, we'll have to get through to him," Sunny firmly vowed. "If this keeps up, he could become just like he was when he made himself emperor of Maretime Bay. I'll bet more than anything his dislike of Winter Wishday isn't just because of what's going on in his life right now. If only there were a way to make him confront that dislike head on, to get him to see that whatever he associates with the holiday, it doesn't have to let it ruin it for him."
The rest of the day passed uneventfully for Sprout, who continued to more or less ignore the holiday spirit that everypony else in Maretime Bay was becoming swept up in. And when work was finished for the day, he trotted back home. He passed the evening showering, eating and then occupying himself with whatever he felt like doing.
Yet just as Sprout was getting ready to call it a night and go to bed, he was most surprised to hear a knock on his bedroom door. "It's open, come in." He called without looking to it.
Into the room trotted Sprout's mother, Phyllis. And when Sprout turned to look at her, he could see that something was greatly troubling her. She had that same look in her eyes that she'd had upon seeing Sunny become an alicorn (even if Sunny had reverted back to being an earth pony not long afterward). "Sprout?" She gently called while adjusting her glasses.
"What is it, Mommy?" Sprout inquired of his female parent. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Sugarcube, what have I always told you?" Phyllis briefly lectured. "There's no such thing as ghosts," She then cleared her throat. "Listen, I'm worried about you. And so are Sunny and Hitch. I know things have been... difficult," She seemed to struggle to get the words out. "A lot has changed in these past few months. Even I struggled to accept that I was wrong about the pegasi and the unicorns."
The red coated earth pony stallion just snorted and rolled his eyes. "I don't need a lecture, Mommy. I know the unicorns and the pegasi just want to be friends now, that's what everypony keeps saying. But why do they always have to come here to Maretime Bay? Can't they just stay where they've always stayed? You never hear of anypony from Maretime Bay going to Zephyr Heights or Bridlewood," Under his breath he muttered. "Except for Sunny and Hitch of course."
Phyllis let out a deep sigh. "Sprout, you know you still have friends. You don't have to shut other ponies out, especially at this time of year."
"Whatever, just let me be." Sprout replied with indifference.
Phyllis sighed anew. "I was hoping you would listen to me. Sprout. I heard about what you said to those pegasi who were collecting money for charity. You didn't have to be so cruel. Charity is a good thing, it's nice to give back to the community," Then she cleared her throat. "But I guess if you won't listen to me, you'll just have to answer to some very special guests."
At that, Sprout turned around and blinked. "What do you mean by that?"
Phyllis only cryptically replied. "Tonight, you will be visited by three spirits. Hear what they have to say, because otherwise there is little hope for you to avoid the dark path you're heading down."
Sprout threw back his head and laughed. "Oh yeah, that's a good one, Mommy. Visited by spirits," And he decided to humor her. "So, what? I can't just meet them all at once and be done with it?"
Phyllis shook her head from side to side. "That's not how it works, Sprout. And I tell you only what they told me: Expect the first spirit tonight when the bell tolls one. Expect the second to call when the clock chimes two, and the third will come at the stroke of three." And then she left the room, leaving Sprout alone.
Despite what he'd just heard, Sprout had little reason to think any of it was sincere. "Sunny and Hitch must've put Mommy up to this," He thought to himself as he soon afterward climbed into his bed, turning out all the lights in his bedroom. "Ghosts? Spirits? Whatever they are, they don't exist!" Thoroughly convinced of such a belief, he shut his eyes and soon drifted off to sleep.
But Sprout's sleep was to be suddenly and abruptly disturbed when, just like his mother had told him, the tolling of bells in the distance signaled the arrival of one o'clock. And at that same moment, a bright and blinding light suddenly flooded the entire room.
Groaning, Sprout opened his eyes and sat up in his bed to try to locate the source of the sudden illumination. When he did so, his wandering green eyes fell upon a most unexpected sight that made him gasp!
Standing beside the bed of Sprout was what appeared to be a pegasus pony. A somewhat small in stature one at that. She was bathed in that blinding, bright light that gave her entire body a white glow. Atop her head was what appeared to be a small halo. In one hoof she held a holly, and in the other she held what looked like a long nightcap.
It took the stallion but a moment to realize who this mysterious pony likely was. "Are you one of those spirits my mommy told me was coming to visit me tonight?" He asked the pegasus (who looked strangely familiar, somehow, as if he'd seen her before somewhere).
Speaking in a posh, polished tone of voice, the pegasus proudly replied. "Indeed I am: I'm the Spirit of Winter Wishday Past."
"Like, long past?" Sprout questioned.
The spirit giggled and retorted. "No, your past, Sprout. Particularly how it relates to Winter Wishday."
The earth pony with a bright red coat only humphed and turned his back to the spirit. "Thanks, but I'm not interested in whatever it is you want to show me. I know my past pretty well, I have no desire to see it again. Besides, I don't take orders from those shorter than me."
The Spirit of Winter Wishday Past seemed to take offense to such a remark as she snorted. "Hey, I'm not short! We all thought you'd pay more attention to somepony more on your level! Trust me, there are much bigger spirits that you've yet to meet. Besides, if we measured ponies by the size of their hearts, you'd be much, much smaller than I am! Now come on, this is non-negotiable. You will rise and trot with me." And she gestured a hoof to a nearby bedroom window.
"Are you out of your mind, spirit?!" Sprout exclaimed in equal parts anger and fear! "You want me to follow you out of the window?! I'm not like you, I can't fly! I'll fall and hurt myself!"
But the spirit only fluttered towards Sprout, extending one of her hooves towards him as she sweetly and calmly reassured him. "Do not be afraid, Sprout. You will not fall. Bear but a touch of my hoof here, and you will be upheld in more than this. You will fly like I do."
Hesitantly, Sprout obeyed. And as soon as his hoof touched the spirit's he found himself suddenly feeling lighter than air. He rose up to the ceiling of his bedroom, almost as if there were no gravity at all. Was this what it felt like to fly?
Well, there was very little time to dwell upon on it as Sprout suddenly felt himself being whisked along by the Spirit of Winter Wishday Past. They flew out of the window and into the cold, night air. Surprisingly, Sprout didn't feel cold. In fact, he felt nothing at all even though he was not dressed in the slightest for the chill.
In the blink of an eye, everything seemed to change. Sprout found himself at the far end of Maretime Bay, looking out towards the outskirts that led to the unknown. And his eyes became drawn to what looked like an old cabin, one that he had not seen in years.
"Do you know this place?" The Spirit of Winter Wishday Past asked Sprout.
"I... I think I do! But I can't believe it!" Sprout exclaimed as a tear suddenly came into his left eye. "This... this is where I..."
"-Yes," The Spirit of Winter Wishday Past smiled. "This is the old schoolhouse that you, Hitch and Sunny attended when you were little ponies," Then she gestured a hoof to a small, red coated earth pony colt who was giggling and laughing as he ran past, completely unaware of the two grown ponies in his midst. "Now tell me, do you recognize that child?"
Sprout slowly nodded. "That's... me! But, how come he didn't see me just now?"
The spirit simply softly whispered. "These are but shadows of the things that have been, Sprout. They can neither see nor hear us, even though we can see them," Then she smiled. "Oh, but just look at how happy you were back then. You don't seem at all upset that it's the day before Winter Wishday. But haven't you come to regard the holiday as a waste?"
The present Sprout stepped back in disbelief. "No! It can't be! Winter Wishday was always such a joyful time of year. So happy, and cheerful, and..."
The spirit only shook her head from side to side. "Not quite. Not all is so happy and cheerful. Come, let us go inside. There you will see that your past self is the only one left at this schoolhouse: Abandoned by his father and neglected by his friends."
"W-well, I was always closer to Mommy anyway," Sprout nervously insisted. "Please, spirit, we don't need to go inside! We don't need to see anything else! I... I know what comes next!" Yet no amount of pleading could prevent him from being brought inside the old schoolhouse in all its dusty, drafty, dimly lit glory. Just like the spirit had said, his past self was all alone inside the schoolhouse. His colt self staring out a window, gazing into the distance and waiting for somepony.
Suddenly, who should appear in the colt's gaze but his mommy: Phyllis? But was it his imagination, or did she seem to be on the brink of tears? Suspecting nothing, the little earth pony ran outside and ran right up to his female parent, embracing her in a hug. "Mommy! Oh, I'm so glad you came! Can we go home now and get ready for Winter Wishday?! I've been extra good this year!"
But Phyllis just sniffled, pausing to pull out a handkerchief and blow her nose. And now it was possible to see red rings around her eyes, meaning that she had been crying. "Oh, Sprout," She managed to croak out. "Oh how I wish it didn't have to be this way, especially not today."
"Why? What's wrong, Mommy?" The young Sprout asked.
Phyllis eventually managed to explain. "It's your father, Sprout. Your daddy. He's... he's..."
"No! He can't be!" The young Sprout firmly insisted! "He can't be like Sunny's daddy!"
"He's not dead!" Phyllis managed to retort. "But he's not going to be around anymore! He made it official! We're going to divorce, he's leaving me, forever!"
Those words pierced right through the little colt's body, straight to his heart. Now he too was in tears, sobbing and weeping openly as he buried himself into his mother's chest. "Why, Mommy?" He asked in-between sniffles. "Why would he leave us?"
Phyllis struggled not to choke. "He... he says he doesn't want to live in fear. He says I'm being too paranoid. But I can't help it if I want everypony to be protected from the pegasi and the unicorns. To be scared is to be prepared," And sobbing anew she added. "Oh, sugarcube. I promise I'll do everything I can to hold onto you! You're all I have left! I can't lose you like I'll lose your father!"
The present Sprout had watched the whole thing unfold, and just like his past self he was full of tears. But these tears were not merely tears of sadness. These were tears of resentfulness, bitterness. Harshly glaring, he turned his gaze to the Spirit of Winter Wishday Past and bitterly snapped! "Spirit, why must you torture me like this?! Haven't I suffered enough for one lifetime?!"
"Hey, I told you these are the shadows of things that have been," The spirit retorted with what sounded like indifference. "You created these memories, not me. Don't blame me. The past is what it is, it can't be changed," Then she seemed to take on a somewhat more sympathetic tone as she added. "I know what it feels like to lose somepony close to you. As your friend Sunny will attest, losing a parent at an early age, be it through death or divorce, can profoundly affect who we become."
The present Sprout then bellowed as he stomped his hooves down! "Get away from me, spirit! Don't show me any more! I don't wish to see another painful memory from my past!" He proceeded to snatch up the cap she'd been holding and furiously proclaimed! "You'll haunt me no longer!"
"Wait?! What are you doing?!" The spirit demanded, before Sprout threw the cap over her head! "No! Stop!" She pleaded, but it was too late! Another blinding glow enveloped the entire area!
When the glow had faded a moment later, Sprout found himself back in his bedroom as if nothing had happened. He snorted. "Must've been a bad dream. That's all it was." He muttered to himself, and prepared to climb back into his bed and go back to sleep.
Just then, however, a clock struck the hour. It chimed twice, signaling two o'clock. And as the chimes faded away, there came the sound of booming hoofsteps from downstairs!
After only a few seconds, however, the booming stopped. Sprout's bedroom door suddenly flung open as a light not unlike the light from a warm fire could be seen on the other side. And a playful voice could be heard calling out. "Come on in, Sprout. Don't be afraid. Come in, come in and get to know me better."
Hesitantly, the stallion obeyed even though he wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep. He had to see what this "intruder" wanted with him first. So, summoning what courage he could muster up on short notice, the earth pony hesitantly exited his bedroom.
To Sprout's great surprise, he saw a tree decorated with lights and bulbs, presents piled up underneath said tree, and a small fire crackling away in the fireplace. Then, looking up, he saw a truly massive unicorn mare with a long, flowing beard underneath her chin. Her light pink coat and light blue mane and tail made her look strangely familiar to Sprout. He could've sworn he'd seen this unicorn before somewhere.
The giant, bearded unicorn looked down, holding a torch in one of her hooves while clad in a brilliant green and red robe. "Oh, there you are," She giggled. "I am the Spirit of Winter Wishday Present! Look upon me! You have never seen the likes of me before!"
"Really?" Sprout asked as he stepped back a bit, trying not to show how intimidated he was by this giant unicorn in his presence.
"Well, duh!" The spirit giggled in that playful, childish tone of hers. "And neither have you ever seen any of my elder sisters, even though scores of them have come before me. I actually don't remember off the top of my head how many I have," She then unfurled her robe, offering a part of it to Sprout. "Come on, touch my robe. There's so much I want to show you."
But Sprout was (understandably) quite hesitant to do as he had been told. He had no idea what to expect, no idea of where this considerably large spirit would lead him.
The Spirit of Winter Wishday Present just laughed as she encouraged. "Oh come on now, Mr. Grumpy Face. This is not a multiple choice thing. I haven't got all day, and I'll bet you don't either."
Swallowing his fear, Sprout gulped and slowly reached out a hoof to touch the exposed part of the robe. Just like with the Spirit of Winter Wishday Past, doing so led to him feeling weightless. Instead of flying through the air, however, he found himself be spun around as if the entire room were spinning with him.
Then, suddenly, Sprout and the spirit were both in Maretime Bay proper. More specifically, they were looking at a location that Sprout knew all too well. "Hey, that's the sheriff's office!" He exclaimed with his eyes all aglow! "And that's Hitch with, with... that baby dragon of his. Sparky, I think he calls him."
Hitch was unaware that he was being watched. He was too busy chasing after Sparky, the baby dragon having Hitch's sheriff's badge wedged into his mouth. "Come on, Sparky. Give it back!" Hitch playfully demanded. "You know my badge is not for chewing. I need that for my job."
Sparky giggled, seeming to delight in making Hitch chase him all around the office. He only stopped running when he started to cough, and coughed a fair bit before finally stopping. In the process, he spat out the badge, which was picked up by Hitch.
Hitch quickly retrieved a rag to wipe off the drool, then set his badge down on his desk while scooping up Sparky with his hooves. "Okay, Sparky, that's enough excitement for one day," He said in a fatherly tone of voice. "Now's the time for all good baby dragons to take their nap." And he pulled out a well worn baby blanket a baby blue in color. It had a few singe marks on it, but that didn't seem to bother either pony or dragon.
Soon, Hitch had set Sparky down and put a pacifier in the little dragon's mouth, watching as Sparky's little chest bobbed up and down with every breath he took. Smiling, the off-duty sheriff draped the blanket carefully over the baby dragon, then patted Sparky softly on the forehead. Then and only then did he allow himself to breathe easier.
Sprout could easily see through the window the concern reflected in Hitch's moderate orange eyes as he tended to Sparky. Nervously and hesitantly, Sprout turned to face the Spirit of Winter Wishday Present as he asked. "Spirit... what's... going to happen to Sparky? Will he... will he be alright? Please, tell me he'll be okay! I need to know!"
But the spirit only replied in a factual and ominous tone of voice. "I see a vacant seat in the poor office corner, and a blanket without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the present, the child will die."
"NO!" Sprout all but shouted at the top of his lungs as he began to tear up! "Not Sparky! Not him! Please, spirit, he can't die! He mustn't die! He's just a baby!"
The spirit, however, replied. "What then? If he is going to die, so be it. And decrease the surplus population. There's too many poor folk in the world as it is, or so I've heard."
"What?!" Sprout gasped, before realizing what was happening! "You... use my own words against me, spirit."
The Spirit of Winter Wishday Present pointed out. "Well, that's what you thought, isn't it?"
"Was what I thought, but now I know!" Sprout protested. "Please, tell me what I have to do to save him!" Yet as he made this plea, he watched as the bearded unicorn disappeared before his very eyes. And in doing so, a thick blanket of fog covered everything, making it impossible to see.
Sprout was not alone for long, however, when suddenly he noticed what looked like a long shadow standing over him. He turned around fast, and saw himself gazing up at a figure completely shrouded in a long, black cloak. It almost looked like the figure was trying to hide themself, or certain parts of themself.
By now, the stallion had gotten to the sudden appearance of others. And with his trained ears picking up the sound of the clock striking three, he looked at the cloaked, shadowy figure and asked of them. "So, I guess you're the Spirit of Winter Wishday Future, or Yet to Come, or whatever you call it?"
The figure didn't answer with words, but gave a confirming nod.
With a gulp, Sprout willingly confessed. "Spirit, it's only fair that you should know that I'm afraid of you. I fear you far more than I've feared the other spirits who've visited me tonight. But," He bowed to the tall figure and brought his hooves together in a pleading motion. "I won't try to run from you. Like the others, I know you're here to teach me a lesson. So, lead me wherever you want. But... tell me one thing: Is this future a future that will indeed happen, or only a future that may happen and may yet be changed?"
Rather than reply, the cloaked figure gestured a hoof to the sheriff's office window.
A sickening sense of dread formed in the stallion's stomach. Yet he couldn't bring himself to avert his gaze, he had to satisfy his curiosity even if he feared what he would see.
Sure enough, Sprout's worst fears were realized when he looked in through the office window and saw Hitch tenderly holding onto the blanket that he had used only recently to cover Sparky's body. But he wasn't alone, that white coated pegasus whose name escaped him at the moment was standing alongside Hitch.
With tears in his eyes, Hitch cradled the blanket and wept openly and loudly. "It isn't fair, Zipp," He whimpered. "Sparky was so young. Why did he have to die? Why couldn't I save him?" Then he paused and blew his nose as loud as a trumpet's blast.
"Zipp", for her part, just stood there with a hoof wrapped around Hitch's shoulders. "There was nothing any of us could've done. We should be happy that Sparky was a part of our lives, even if it was only for a little while," She tried to comfort and console him. "You still have Sunny and the rest of our friends."
Hitch just sniffled and continued to cry. "Sparky! Oh, how I wish you were still here!" And he willingly admitted. "I can still see him: Still hear the pitter patter of his little feet. Everything reminds me of him. Oh, Zipp, how am I ever going to go on living without him?!" Then he buried his head into Zipp's chest, his cries and sniffles becoming muffled in the process.
Sprout was certain he had seen more than enough. Despite not really knowing Sparky all that well, seeing how grieved Hitch was at the little dragon's passing spoke volumes about much the little one's life had meant to Hitch. And chances were that Hitch was not the only one grieving such a loss.
So it was that Sprout practically threw himself at the spirit, grasping the edge of the cloak and pleading desperately with it! "That's enough, spirit! I don't wish to see any more! I see now! I understand! I couldn't see what the holiday could mean to others before, but I do now! Please, I can change! I will change! I will live in the past, the present and the future! Please, tell me that this horrible future will not come to pass! Tell me that Sparky may yet live!"
Suddenly, the earth pony stallion felt the cloak start to give way! As it did he heard a gasp that sounded almost like Sunny's voice! Briefly, he thought he glimpsed at transparent but golden wings and a horn, before his entire world went dark!
When Sprout came to, he found himself lying on the floor in front of his bed, almost as if he'd stumbled out of it in his sleep. Had the whole thing just been a really bad dream? But then, why had it felt so real? Then again, why had the spirits looked so familiar to him? The more he thought about it, the more confused he was.
Yet, upon thinking to himself for a moment, Sprout decided that he couldn't take the chance that it had been only a dream. "For Sparky's sake if nothing else, I must believe that what I saw was a warning," He thought to himself. "I must change, like I promised the spirit!" And he already knew what he was going to do upon waking up the next day. There were lots of ponies to whom he owed an apology. He would have to make amends all over again.
And indeed, the very next day, when the sun came up and its rays poked their way into Sprout's bedroom, he woke with a start! The stallion immediately threw off the covers of his bed, rose and headed out the door!
Phyllis was most surprised to see her son so active, especially considering what day it was. "Sugarcube? Is everything alright?"
Sprout stopped briefly to look at his mother, and gave her a big hug. "Oh, it's more than alright, Mommy. Let's just say I've had a change of heart. I see now that I was wrong to shut Winter Wishday out of my heart just because of what happened to me in the past," He smiled. "Those spirits worked wonders. They did it all in one night. Oh, what am I saying? Of course they can do that! They're spirits, they can do as they please!"
"Spirits?" Phyllis blinked in confusion and disbelief. "What spirits?"
"Don't you remember, Mommy?" Sprout questioned his female parent. "You told me before I went to bed last night. You said I would be visited by three spirits."
But the blank expression upon Phyllis' face conveyed confusion, as if she had no idea what her son was talking about. "I never told you anything like that, Sprout. You know I've always said there's no such thing as ghosts or spirits. How many times did I repeat myself when you were growing up?"
"But... but... it couldn't have been a dream!" Sprout protested. "It was real! I saw it! I felt it!"
"Well, dream or not," Phyllis smiled. "I quite like your change in attitude. I hope it'll stick around. And I know Sunny and Hitch will be glad to see it too."
Sprout nodded. "Uh-huh. But I really need to be going! I need to make them see it with their own eyes! Plus, I owe someponies an apology!" He then rushed to grab a sack of bits, and soon he was on his way out the front door.
A short time later, Sprout had dashed all the way across town to the Crystal Brighthouse. But he didn't stop even to catch his breath as he raced up to the front doors and rapped a hoof against them.
Sunny appeared at the front a moment later, nearly gasping in surprise when she saw Sprout standing before her! "Sprout?!" She spoke in a tone barely above a whisper.
Sprout smiled, throwing himself around Sunny and hugging her tightly. "Happy Winter Wishday, Sunny. I hope you don't mind, I just wanted to stop by to drop off some gifts for you and for all your friends. Oh, and I got something for Sparky too," Then he asked. "Uh, he's still here, right?"
Sunny nodded. "Of course he is, he's not going anywhere, Sprout."
The red coated stallion took that as a much needed sign that the future he had seen would not happen. "Oh, good!" And he then let Sunny lead him into the Crystal Brighthouse's interior. It was truly a beautiful sight to behold, especially since it was all decked out for the holiday.
Everypony else was just as surprised as Sunny had been to see Sprout. But for some strange reason, Zipp seemed to have an almost knowing smirk upon her face, as if she knew more than she would be willing to say outright.
Hitch, however, was happy to receive Sprout's gift for Sparky. In fact, he was most overjoyed at it! It was a brand new blanket just like the well worn and singed one that Sparky currently had. "Hey, look at that, Sparky," Hitch said with a smile. "Uncle Sprout got you a new blankie. Isn't that lovely?"
Sparky just babbled and cooed as he grabbed the blanket, and then nuzzled against one of Sprout's legs. Everypony (Sprout included) let out an "Aw" at the adorable scene. And it only got even more adorable when Sprout picked up the little dragon and booped his nose. "I think I could get used to being your Uncle Sprout," He told Sparky. "I'll make sure you grow up big and strong."
"Well well," Zipp commented with that smirk on her face. "This is a welcome change of heart for you, Sprout. Sure doesn't take much to get you to change your mind about things, does it?"
"Well, when you've been visited by spirits the way I have," Sprout pointed out. "It's kind of hard not to change. Although," He put a hoof to his chin. "For some strange reason, the spirits looked a lot like you guys."
Sunny was quick to shoot down the idea. "You must've been imagining things, Sprout. You projected our faces onto the spirits. It couldn't have been us, we've been at the Crystal Brighthouse since last night. Ask anypony, they'll tell you."
"But it wasn't a dream! It couldn't have been just a dream!" Sprout thought to himself. But those would be thoughts for another time and place. For now, he was intent to just enjoy this very merry Winter Wishday with his friends. And he would see to it that Sparky would live.
Author's Note
I know they established in the special that they call it "Wishentine's Day", but there's a reason why I tagged this AU. I got the idea for this before the special came out, and I figured it probably would be hard to tie into the canonical special "Winter Wishday". Plus, in the canonical special, we saw Sprout looking pretty happy during the holiday.
I wanted to intentionally leave it open to interpretation whether or not Pipp, Izzy and Sunny actually were the spirits and staged the whole thing, or if it was just Sprout's projections. After all, the inspiration itself doesn't for sure rule out the possibility of it all being a dream.
