Wishihoof was a holiday that was supposed to be full of joy, of happiness, of good cheer. It was said to be the one day of the year where the unicorns of Bridlewood could forget their otherwise chronic gloominess and be happy, if only for a little while.
Yet there was one pony for whom the holiday had lost all sense of wonder and enlightenment, leaving him with no reason to feel joy. That pony was none other than Alphabittle Blossomforth.
It was hard to believe and difficult to reflect back on what had changed for this stallion who more or less towered over everypony else in Bridlewood. Only a year ago, he felt that he couldn't have been happier if he tried. In contrast to most of his fellow unicorns, he had always gone about his day with a smile on his face and a spring in his step.
But all it had taken was one event to completely change the stallion's life, robbing him of that happiness he'd come to take for granted: It was the disappearance of his only daughter, Misty, herself just a blank flank filly.
It had been so sudden: One moment she'd been by his side, laughing and playing, and the next she had inexplicably run off and disappeared. And no amount of searching could reveal her hiding place. Alphabittle had stayed out all night long, searching through the dark and the cold of night, worried sick about Misty. Yet he not only failed to find her, he also failed to find even a clue as to her whereabouts. It was as if she'd vanished into thin air, whisked away by some unseen, unknown force and taken to hoofness only knows where.
As hours turned to days, days turned to weeks, and then weeks turned to months, the search for his missing daughter seemed to all but consume every waking minute of Alphabittle's life. It was all he'd ever talk about, to the point where even the most sympathetic of his fellow unicorns began to grow worried or seemed to resign themselves to what seemed obvious.
And just when it seemed things couldn't have gotten any worse, the one pony Alphabittle had to remind him of his missing daughter finally put her hoof down and signaled that she'd had enough. One night (the exact day had long since been lost to memory), she had confronted him about the ongoing search for Misty, and the two had gotten into a heated argument.
"This has gone on for long enough, Alphabittle!" His wife's words still echoed in his mind despite how long ago they'd been uttered. They still stung, still hurt. "It's time to face the facts: Our Misty is gone and she's never coming back!"
"No!" Alphabittle had stubbornly protested! "She's out there somewhere, I just know it! I won't rest until I find her and bring her back safe and sound! If I'd never taken my eyes off her, this never would've happened in the first place!"
Mrs. Alphabittle had only retorted. "Alphabittle, I know you blame yourself for Misty's disappearance, but this isn't right. This is destroying you! Can't you see that?! You need to let it go and move on! This isn't what Misty would want!"
At that Alphabittle had just growled and roared in defiance! "I don't care! If you won't help me, I'll just have to double my efforts on my own! One way or another, I will bring Misty back! I have to! She can't be gone forever! She can't be!"
And just like that, the argument had ended. Mrs. Alphabittle had turned her back to the pony she'd once exchanged vows with and promised to live with for the rest of her life. The last words she'd uttered were. "I'm sorry, Alphabittle. This isn't you. You're not yourself anymore."
Alphabittle had thought nothing of such talk at the time. He'd slept on the couch and somehow managed to fall into a fitful sleep. Yet upon waking up in the morning, he discovered a note left for him on the kitchen table. Picking it up made his heart sink. In no uncertain terms was written solely:
I release you, Alphabittle. Goodbye.
And next to the note was a small wooden box containing a necklace. Not just any necklace, but the one Alphabittle remembered giving his wife when they had married all those years ago.
The shock and heartbreak of his wife leaving him in addition to having lost his only daughter had a profound effect on the tall stallion. His once shimmering blue coat that he'd taken so much pride in faded to a dull shade of blue and then became completely grey. His dark blue locks turned a ghostly white, only loosely matching his new grey toned body. His eyes lost their luster and sparkle they'd had once before, becoming practically lifeless. It seemed a miracle that he hadn't dropped dead from grief.
So it was that Alphabittle found himself facing his first Wishifhoof alone in... well, he couldn't even remember when. Naturally, he was in no mood to take part in the holiday's festivities. What reason did he have to be happy? Life had given him no reason to be joyful.
It was with that mindset and the memories of his twin tragedies still lingering in his mind that Alphabittle got up on the day before Wishihoof and went about his daily routine with only the minimalist amount of effort and energy. If not for the fact that he held out hope that his daughter Misty might someday return or come back to him, he wasn't sure he'd even bother to stay in Bridlewood. He likely would've packed up and ran off somewhere. Anywhere would've been better than staying in the place that reminded him so much of what he'd lost.
Still, Wishihoof was Wishihoof, and the tall stallion felt that at the very least he should buy a gift. If Misty ever did come back, there would be missed Wishihoofs and birthdays that would have to be caught up on. If worse came to worse, he could always just donate it to some charity. It would seem like a waste to spend money on something just to throw it out or have it collect dust on a shelf.
After a great deal of wandering around Bridlewood with no particular destination in mind, Alphabittle eventually found something that he felt was good enough to consider purchasing. He didn't even bother to look it over, he just took the first thing that caught his attention and went to stand in line at the shop to buy it.
He waited, and waited, and waited some more. The line seemed to be moving extra slowly for some reason. It didn't seem to occur to the stallion with locks of white that others might be in the same situation as him, waiting until the last minute to buy a gift for Wishihoof.
At last, however, the line began to shrink, and Alphabittle found himself moving closer and closer to the check-out counter. The gift he wanted to buy was still held firmly within his hooves. Soon, he would purchase it and walk away, ready to be done with Wishihoof. There was only one pony in front of him now. Yet when he saw who it was, he had to blink and rub his eyes. At first glance, the pony standing in front of him reminded him an awful lot of his daughter Misty. The big difference was that this child was perhaps a bit on the scrawnier side if he squinted just right, and her coat was a grayish-pink. Otherwise, he could've been mistaken for assuming this child was Misty herself.
The filly in front of Alphabittle didn't seem to notice him standing behind her, or the look he seemed to giving her. She was instead holding up in her little hooves a plain looking pair of shoes. There wasn't anything fancy about them, they were shoes that you could've probably found in almost any store in Bridlewood. Yet the filly had chosen this particular pair for some reason. And now she was placing them on the counter whilst also trying to get the pony behind said counter to notice her.
"Hey, excuse me, sir." The child spoke up in a raspy, high pitched voice. A closer look revealed that her mane and tail seemed a bit dishelved, as if they'd gone days or even weeks without a proper brushing. But she seemed not the least bit concerned for her frazzled appearance.
The sales clerk pony only now seemed to notice the slightly frazzled filly in front of him. "Yes, little filly. What do you want?" He inquired of her, not appearing to recognize what she was holding in her hooves.
The filly, undeterred by the sales clerk's apparent lack of awareness, just gently placed the ordinary looking shoes on the counter and said in the sweetest voice possible. "I'd like to buy these shoes, please."
"Oh," The sales clerk pony blinked as he looked at the shoes and then at the child. "Aren't these shoes a little too big for you, little missy?"
The filly just replied. "Oh, they're not for me, they're for my mom. They're just her size. I'm sure of it, even if she doesn't normally wear shoes. But I know I've seen her looking at shoes just like these before. They'd be the perfect Wishihoof gift for her!"
"I see." The sales clerk pony nodded as he picked up the shoes and examined the price tag on them.
The filly with a grayish-pink coat, meanwhile, just tossed what seemed like an extremely large amount of bits for a child to have onto the counter. "This should be enough to pay for them, right? I've been saving up my allowance money for months: I haven't bought ice cream or candy or anything. You don't know how hard it was to do that," She then whimpered and seemed to be on the verge. "You see, Mom's been pretty sick, and she's been that way for a really long time. I don't know what it is exactly, but all the grown-ups say it's bad, like really really bad."
"Oh!" The sales clerk briefly exclaimed, pausing momentarily as he set the shoes down. "I'm... sorry to hear that, kid. Really, I am."
The child nodded back. "That's why I wanna buy these shoes. Because I know they'll make my mom really happy. And, Dad says this may be her last Wishihoof. Apparently, she's going to go away somewhere soon, somewhere where I won't be able to see her," She whimpered. "So, if she's really not going to get better and she's going to go to... wherever ponies go when they get as sick as her and don't get better... then I want her to look beautiful, if only for a little bit. So please, can I buy them? I've got enough money for them, I'm sure."
The sales clerk pony was silent as he just counted the bits by hoof one at a time, adding up the total in his head and comparing it to the number shown on the price tag. The whole process seemed to tick by in agonizing slowness. He even re-checked the bits and the price tag, as if fearing he made a mistake or miscounted somehow. At last, however, he broke his spell of silence and seemed to be trying not to look guilty as he said to the filly. "I'm... sorry, kid... but this isn't enough. You'll need at least fifty more bits if you want to buy the shoes."
At that the frazzled filly seemed to jump back, almost as if in shock! "W-what?!" She exclaimed as her eyes went wide! "But... but... that can't be! I... I've been saving up my money for so long! Please, mister, I just wanna buy those shoes! Can't you give me a discount or something?!"
The sales clerk could only shake his head. "I wish I could, kid. But I can't. Not even for a good cause like yours. I don't set the prices, but I have to charge the price shown or I'll lose my job."
The filly desperately pleaded! "Please! Just let me have the shoes! I'll... I'll pay you back somehow, I promise! I'll sell everything I have! Maybe I could even work for you or something! Just please, please let me buy the shoes!" Try as she might, she could not stop the tears welling up inside her!
Alphabittle found himself suddenly and inexplicably moved by the scene playing out in front of him, something he wouldn't have thought possible after how hardened he had become as a result of everything that had happened to him over the course of the previous year. Perhaps it was the way the child appeared, or the fact that she reminded him so much of Misty, or even just her stated reason behind her desperation.
Whatever it was, Alphabittle couldn't bring himself to look away. He didn't know this child at all, he didn't even know her name or what was going on with her mother. Yet deep down in his heart, he knew what he had to do. Without hesitation, operating almost on instinct, he stepped forward and plopped down all the bits he had on him. "Here," He told the sales clerk. "I believe this should be enough. Let the kid have her shoes, please."
The sales clerk pony, momentarily stunned by the sudden addition of extra bits, nevertheless complied. He tapped a button on the cash register to ring up the purchase, scooped all the bits off the counter and into a drawer, removed the sales tag from the shoes, and placed them into a box that he then gave to the filly. "Here you go, kid." He said to her as he hoofed the box with the shoes inside to her.
Almost like a switch had been flipped, the filly suddenly sprang up with an energy that didn't seem possible! She immediately grabbed the box and held it close, then turned her attention to the stallion behind her whose act of kindness and generosity had been so unexpected, yet so appreciated! "Oh thank you, mister! Thank you!" She all but hollered at the top of her lungs! "Mama's gonna look so great when she puts on these shoes! I know they're gonna make her smile! I'll never forget what you did for me!"
"It was nothing, kid. Now go on, take those shoes to your mother. Make her last Wishihoof special." Alphabittle encouraged with the first smile he could remember smiling in what felt like forever. Just like that, it felt like a ray of sunshine had come back into his life. For the first time since he couldn't remember when, he didn't feel so down and depressed.
The filly nodded and obeyed, though not without first leaping up and giving Alphabittle the biggest hug she could muster up! "I'll pay you back somehow, someway!" She vowed, and then ran off with her newly purchased shoes in tow. In the blink of an eye, she vanished, almost as if she'd never been there in the first place.
Alphabittle knew better. That child hadn't been a figment of his imagination, she had been real. And then and there, any urge or desire he might have had to purchase a gift for... whatever reason he'd been thinking of before had left him completely. Right now, he could only wonder and ponder. "Who was that kid?"
Little did the tall stallion suspect that he wouldn't have long to wait to find out.
The rest of the day passed in an uneventful blur for Alphabittle. Yet when he went to bed that night, he knew that he felt happy. And secretly, he hoped that whoever that child he'd encountered was, that she had been able to give those shoes to her very sick mother for what could very well be the last day of her life.
Next morning, Alphabittle slept late. It was Wishihoof, and unlike last year he had no reason (let alone desire) to wake up early. Yet he was eventually roused from sleep by what sounded to him like an urgent knock at his door. "Could it be?!" He thought to himself as he ultimately rose from his bed, wiped the sleep from his eyes, and hastily made his way to his front door to open it. Had his daughter come back at long last?
Opening the door, the grey coated stallion's hopes were dashed as he saw that it wasn't Misty waiting for him on the other side. Once he got over his initial disappointment, however, he was shocked and surprised to see the filly from yesterday standing there. And standing right next to her was a stallion that had the same two toned blue mane and tail color as the filly. It wasn't possible to see his cutie mark, his mane and tail were styled so long that they covered it completely and hung down to the ground. His eyes were a bright shade of golden yellow, and his coat was chestnut brown in color.
But this stallion didn't seem to be bothered by his really long mane and tail, and neither did he seem to care. He just cleared his throat and inquired of Alphabittle. "Excuse me, sir. Are you the stallion my daughter was telling me about yesterday? The one that helped her buy those shoes for my wife?"
Alphabittle seemed taken aback by the sudden inquiry. "Y-yes," He managed to stutter and force out. "Who... might you be? Do I know you?"
The stallion with a long mane and tail shook his head from side to side. "Oh no, I don't believe we've ever met," He bowed his head and said to Alphabittle. "My name is Brian Moonbow. And I see you've met my daughter: Isabelle. But call her Izzy: That's what my wife always called her, and what everypony calls her, really."
Hesitantly, Alphabittle held out his hoof to shake Brian's. "W-well... it's a pleasure to meet you, Brian. I'm Alphabittle. If you're here to thank me for helping Izzy yesterday, though, you didn't have to come all the way out here to do it. Like I told her yesterday: It was nothing, really. I just had to help her out. I couldn't possibly say no to her."
Brian just replied in a simple, somber tone of voice. "You don't understand, Alphabittle. You see: Last night, my beloved wife Glenn sadly passed away. It was very sudden, even though I knew she didn't have much time left to spend with us. But before she died, she was able to put on the shoes that you helped Izzy buy. And never in my entire life had I seen anypony look as happy as my darling Glenn did when she wore those shoes for Izzy."
"She was super sparkly!" Izzy exclaimed! "I only wish you could've been there to see it, Mr. Alphabittle! It was so beautiful!"
Alphabittle could only respond by saying. "W-well, I'm glad she was able to know happiness in her final moments. And... I'm sorry for your loss, both of you." He then turned and prepared to close the door, convinced there was nothing more left to say.
Brian, however, quickly called out to his fellow stallion. "Wait, sir, there's something I need to ask of you! It's really important," When Alphabittle turned around and locked eyes with him, Brian adopted what seemed like the most heartbroken expression upon his face. "There's... no easy way for me to say this but... could you take Izzy in for me? It was everything I had just to care for my wife while she was fading away. Now that she's gone... I don't think I can provide for a child. Especially not one as... unique as my little Izzy. You seem to have a roof over your head, and she's already clearly taken a shine to you. I'd feel a lot better knowing that she has somepony like you to look after her and keep her safe."
"You must be mistaken," Alphabittle protested with a shake of his head. "I'm not good with kids. I just did what anypony would've done in my situation."
Brian refused to back down. "Sir, please. There's really nopony else I can turn to. It would mean the world to me if you took Izzy in. I've heard stories about what you used to be like before... well, you know. If there's anypony who can give Izzy a better life than I can, it's you."
The tall stallion with white locks wanted nothing more than to refuse. After what had happened with Misty, he wasn't about to ever allow himself to be anywhere near a child ever again. Who's to say it wouldn't end it just the same, with the child disappearing suddenly, never to return?
Yet when Alphabittle took one look at Izzy, something inside of him melted. Any resistance he might have had crumbled. Try as he might, the way the kid looked at him broke through his defenses and found a way into his heart. She wouldn't replace the hole in his heart that had formed after he lost Misty and his wife, but at least it would ensure that said hole wouldn't get any bigger (and hoofness knows it had gotten quite big already. At least, that's how it felt to him).
So Alphabittle said with the best smile he could muster up on such short notice. "Alright, if you really believe I'm what Izzy needs most, I suppose I'll trust your judgment, Brian. But if you ever change your mind, I'll be more than happy to give Izzy back to you."
"Thank you, Mr. Alphabittle," Brian smiled back as he shook Alphabittle's hoof quite firmly. Then he turned to his daughter and kneeled down to look her in the eyes. "Now Izzy," He said in the most serious tone of voice he possibly could. "I want you to be good for Alphabittle, okay? I'm sorry that I have to leave you like this. I wish more than anything I could give you that warm, welcoming home you knew before. It saddens me that it turned out to be a promise I couldn't keep."
Izzy just smiled, hugging her dad as if she suspected nothing. "It's okay, Dad. I'll be super duper extra good for Mr. Alphabittle, you'll see! I'll be the bestest, most perfectly behaved filly ever! I'll make you and Mom proud!"
Brian struggled to hold back the tears as he patted his daughter on the forehead (taking care to avoid her horn, of course). "I know you will, my little pony. I know you will. And no matter what may happen next, promise me that you'll never lose that sense of hope, that sparkle deep down inside that makes you you. Bridlewood may not be a very bright or happy place, but as long as it has ponies like you, I'm confident that someday things will get better." Then, after one last hug between father and daughter, he stood up and slowly trotted away.
Just like that, Alphabittle's life had completely changed once again. This time, however, it was a change for the better. He could feel it deep down inside, even if he might try to deny it: He had a reason to go on living, not just for himself but for another.
Author's Note
I chose to use bits because I don't believe G5 ever introduced any type of currency at any point during either Make Your Mark or Tell Your Tale. In fact, I don't believe we ever directly saw the characters go shopping for anything. So in the absence of evidence either way, I'm going to assume bits are still in use, at least in Bridlewood which would not have access to technology that might allow for instant payment like in Maretime Bay or Zephyr Heights.
Brian is a reference to former Hasbro employee Brian Goldner, the CEO of Hasbro when A New Generation was greenlighted and went into production, and also present for at least the early production stages of Make Your Mark before health issues forced him aside in 2020. And Glenn is a reference to Izzy's VA from that movie, Kimiko Glenn. Since we never got any sort of elaboration on a family for Izzy, and what little flashbacks we had suggested she was an orphan raised by Alphabittle, I had to improvise for a hypothetical family for her. But I also drew a little bit on inspiration from The Bell of Bridlewood by milesprower06 regarding Izzy's full name. The popular headcanon for Alphabittle seems to be that he's a widower, but I like the idea of him being divorced more.
Yes, I know this is probably a little bit cliche and corny, but honestly I think we all need something of a feel good story like this after the way 2024 has been in general.
