“No, no, no, no. NO!” shouted Zipp as she tried to find a present in one of Zephyr Height’s many shops. “Agggh! Why is this so hard? Who said Wishentine shopping was easy?!!”

The pegasus princess was having the most difficult time of her life. This year, for Wishentine, Sunny had decided to come up with the idea of doing a secret gift giver for everyone in their group. So they had written their cutie marks and pulled out a random one to know who their special gift would be; the heir to the Zephyr Heights throne had managed to get Izzy as her pony to gift. Unique was the best way to describe Izzy regarding Zipp. The unicorn was very creative as she often had tons of ideas running through her mind regarding her ‘Unicycling’ projects. Then there was the weird side of her, which was that she often just rambled some crazy stuff, and no pony had a clue of what she meant. In short, the princess was in a rather interesting dilemma.

“What do you get a unicorn who basically can just create whatever she wants?” asked the mare to herself before she flew out of the current shop she was in and entered another one.

The pegasus princess had gone through about twenty shops as she tried to find a suitable gift for her unicorn friend. While it may have been easy just to grab something normal and give it to Izzy, Zipp didn’t want her gift to be seen as something she didn’t take seriously or put little to no effort into. It wouldn’t be a good example if she were going to be the future queen of Zephyr Heights. Throughout her shopping crusade, she had come up with at least ideas on what to get Izzy before she returned to the Brighthouse in Maritime Bay.

Upon entering, the princess saw the place being decorated. Sunny had brought some decorations from a box she had pulled out from the basement when she saw her friend arrive.

“Hey, Zipp. Can you lend me a hoof?”

“Sure thing, Sunny.”

The pegasus grabbed the decorations from her friend as she began to hang them where she was instructed. In no time, the last wreath was hung above the entrance to the Brighthouse as the entire room was lit up with lavish colors and imagery. The pegasus princess landed beside the earth pony as they took a moment to admire their work and were satisfied with how it all turned out.

“It looks amazing. Thanks, Zipp. We make a pretty good team.”

“Right back at you, Sunny.”

The two mares shared a hoofbump as the doors opened, and in walked Hitch, who was pulling something on a sleigh.

“Hey, girls. Wow, love what you’ve done with the place.”

“Thanks, Hitch. What do you got there?” asked Sunny to her best friend.

“A tree. Izzy said it would be nice to have a tree that we could decorate. So she helped me to pick one out.” stated the sheriff as he pulled the sleigh in to show it off to the mares.

The tree stood in the middle of the room, and all three ponies looked at it. The sheriff then brought out a machine, and Zipp looked at him with a questioning look.

“What’s that thing, sheriff?”

“Oh, this. This is a flocking machine. Once we flock the tree, then we can put the decorations up.”

“Y-You… you have to what it?” remarked the princess with a raised eye.

“Flock it,” answered Sunny as she backed up her best friend’s statement.

“I… I don’t understand,” answered Zipp.

“This machine sprays fake snow all over the tree. Izzy recommended it,” stated Hitch.

“And that’s called flocking?”

“Sure is.”

“Uh-huh.”

Zipp just nodded as she decided to let the two best friends at it. Sunny grabbed the hose as Hitch turned the machine on. It hummed as the mare looked at the hose, trying to figure out how to make it work.

“Uh, Hitch. How do I make it flock?” asked Sunny, looking down the barrel of the tube and not seeing any white stuff coming out.

“Just press the red button right on top--”

The mare pushed the button as the sheriff instructed, but she didn’t expect it to react so quickly. Fake sloppy snow sprayed Hitch in the face as he was pushed back a bit from the force before Sunny gasped and pushed the button again to cease fire. The mare dropped the hose and rushed toward her best friend, as did Zipp as Hitch stood in a pile of white.

“Sorry, Hitch.”

“You okay, sheriff?”

The mares began to use their hooves to wipe away some stuff where Hitch’s head was as they eventually revealed his face. The stallion wasn’t too pleased as he felt some stuff enter his mouth, leaving a bad taste.

“I’m fine. Can one of you get me a flock bag?” asked Hitch.

After cleaning up Hitch and the mess, the trio successfully flocked their tree, which looked like it had snow. They all began decorating the tree some more, and Zipp added the finishing touches by placing it at the top. The two mares were now in the kitchen, where Sunny made some treats after their hard work.

“So… Sunny. How’s your gift-giving going?” asked Zipp.

“I had the perfect idea to give to Hitch. I will make him one of the dishes we enjoyed with my dad when we were little. He’s going to be excited when he sees it.”

“You have it easy. You’ve known Hitch your whole life; there’s no doubt you would know what gift to give him. I’m having difficulty coming up with something to give to Izzy.”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something, Zipp.”

“I went to many stores in Zephyr Heights but couldn’t find anything she might enjoy. At first, I thought of getting her some new tools, but she could get them any day. Plus, I don’t want her to think I didn’t care or put enough thought into her gift. But what do you get someone who’s not… ‘normal,’ I guess.” stated Zipp.

“Happy Wishentine, every pony!” exclaimed Izzy as she appeared and went down the stairs to her friends, throwing some glitter into the air.

“Uh, Izzy. It’s still a ways off,” explained Zipp.

“Hey, I know, Zipperdoodle. I was just practicing. Hey, do you guys want to know to see the present I got for Pipp? Huh, huh, huh!” said the unicorn as she bounced in excitement.

“Um, sure, Izzy. What’d you get?” asked Sunny.

The unicorn’s horn glowed as a colorful bag appeared before them. Hitch had returned after putting the flocking machine away, and he, too, was intrigued to see what the unicorn had gotten their popstar princess. Izzy pulled out what appeared to be a box with a clear cover, and inside was a pair of scissors.

“A box?” said Sunny.

“Uh-huh,” nodded Izzy.

“With… scissors inside?” added Hitch.

“Yeah, cool, right. They’re special scissors,” said the unicorn, obviously not picking up on the weird looks her friends were giving her.

“Hold on a sec. Let me see that,” stated Hitch as she took the box from Hitch and looked at it herself.

The pegasus examined the gift Izzy would give her sister as if it were an important clue to a serious mystery or case. The princess then gasped as she realized what she was holding.

“No way!” exclaimed Zipp. “Izzy.. is this…”

“Uh-huh,” confirmed the unicorn as if she knew what the pegasus princess was talking about.

“How did you manage to score this?” asked Zipp.

“Oh, I know somepony who knows somepony, who knows somepony…”

“Um, what exactly are you talking about?” asked Sunny as she and Hitch were left in the dark.

“Do you know what these are?” asked Zipp.

“Just ordinary scissors to me,” said Hitch.

“These are from a movie!” exclaimed the pegasus.

“What movie were they used in?” asked Sunny.

“The Scissoring,” answered Izzy with a smile.

“The what?” repeated the stallion.

“The Scissoring. It’s a movie about a mare who returns from the dead and uses a pair of scissors on her best friends. Pipp loves that movie!” stated Zipp, as her sister was a die-hard fan of the scary, slasher horror film. “She even dressed up as the killer for Nightmare Night once.”

“The first pony to get murdered in the film was the sheriff,” said Izzy with a nonchant nod.

“WHAT?!!” yelled Hitch as he suddenly feared for his life upon hearing that.

“Okay, okay. We get the picture. Izzy, can you put those away, please?” asked Sunny, as she didn’t want an accident to occur.

“I still can’t believe you managed to find that, Iz.”

“It’s one of my many gifts,” stated the unicorn as she began to trot away.

Hitch was breathing a sigh of relief as he was going to have to sleep with one eye open tonight and avoid any scissors that might try to stab him. Sunny returned to cooking as Zipp rested her elbow on the table and placed her chin on her hoof.

“What’d you get, Hitch?” asked the princess.

“I got this nice double-gem necklace for Misty,” said the stallion as he presented the accessory to the pegasus. “It’s made from several healing crystals and is said to bring good luck and fortune to those that need it. Figured she might enjoy something to help calm her worries occasionally.”

“Even you got a great gift. I got nothing to give to Izzy,” stated the mare as she face-planted onto the table. “I’m gonna be the worst friend ever.”

“Hey, cheer up, Zipp. I’m sure you’re bound to get a great gift for Izzy. If it helps, I got this from the Breezie Night Market. Maybe they might have something.” suggested the sheriff as Sunny placed a teacup full of cocoa before him.

“It’s worth a shot,” said the pegasus princess as her friend gave her her cup of cocoa before sipping the delicious hot liquid.

The following day, Zipp had made a trip to Bridlewood. The pegasus princess entered Bridlewood’s magical Wishing Tree, hoping Hitch’s advice would help her. The Night Market held some unique stuff compared to any shops she visited. She often found stuff she might enjoy but remembered she was shopping for Izzy and not herself. However, the shopping was a bust as the pegasus mare found nothing that caught her eye.

“Agh! No good!” said Zipp as she set a small vial back on the shelf. “At this rate, I won’t find a good gift for Izzy. Maybe I should’ve just gone with the cotton candy machine I saw in Zephyr Heights. I mean, every pony likes cotton candy, right?”

As the princess walked about, some nearby Breezies spotted and flew toward her. The mare took notice of the flying mythical creature as they began to speak in their language.

“Huh? Are you asking me what’s wrong?”

The Breezies responded with some sounds.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. Hold on,” said the princess as she pulled out her phone. She recalled how they could understand these creatures without Hitch’s help as she began to fiddle with her device. “Alright, speak into the mic.”

The Breezie spoke into the magical device as it translated for the mare.

“We ask, why the long face?”

“See, I’m trying to find a gift for my friend. This year, we decided to do secret gift-givers, but I haven’t found anything she might like,” explained the pegasus. “I’m gonna be such a terrible friend if I don’t get her anything. You think she’ll mind if I buy her a cotton candy machine?”

The Breezie that spoke looked at its friends as they silently huddled up and conversed. Zipp looked at the group as she tried to make out any words they might’ve been saying. Once the group finished their silent discussion, the leader approached the princess and spoke on her phone.

“If it’s a gift you’re looking for, we’d gladly help.”

“Really?” exclaimed the pegasus as she perked up upon hearing that.

“Follow me.”

The Breezie then began leading the princess toward a market section. They arrived at a stand as the creature approached a cabin and opened it. It began to look through the contents inside before it found what it was looking for and pulled out what appeared to be some amulet, along with a note. It flew toward the pegasus as it handed the pony the item and parchment.

“What’s this?” asked Zipp as she looked at the thing. “It’s nice, but I don’t know if Izzy will want something pretty. This seems more like my sister’s speed.”

The Breezie shook its head before pointing at the piece of paper. Zipp looked at the paper as she read the writing.

“This amulet will allow you to discover what you are looking for. The spirit within will help guide your consciousness to what it desires. Place in water.”

Zipp looked at the amulet before looking at Breezie, who gave it to her as she had doubts. But at this point, she was willing to give it a shot.

“If you say so,” remarked the pegasus princess.

The Breezie led the pony to an upper level, where there was a cauldron of water station in a part of the tree. Zipp approached the cauldron as she looked at it before pulling out the amulet. The mare took a deep breath before she placed the item in the water. The water began to swirl a second after the magical artifact was submerged. It also began to change color and seemed to form some dark portal as she looked at it.

“Now what?” said the pegasus as she had no idea what to do next. “Um, hello. I, uh… I don’t know what to do, but the Breezies believe you can help me.”

“Who seeks my guidance?” called a voice from within the water.

“Whoa! Okay, that was unexpected!” said the pegasus as she stepped back from hearing the sudden voice.

Once she regained her composure, she approached the cauldron and looked into it. The dark portal began to create something as the spirit within revealed a face. The revealed figure appeared to be a zebra, as Zipp admired their mohawk.

“So, you’re the spirit within the amulet?” asked Zipp.

“Correct. You may call me Zecora. Now… what troubles you, young pony?” asked the zebra.

“Well, I’m trying to find a good gift for my friend. But I’m having trouble finding the perfect gift.”

“Ah, I see. Tell me, what is your friend like?” asked the spirit.

“Well, Izzy’s… she’s uh, well… she’s… unique, I guess is mildly putting it. She’s very creative, though a tad bit slow at things. That’s not to say she’s stupid because she’s not stupid, but she’s stupid. But she’s not stupid, but she could be stupid… you know.” Zipp nervously smiled as she felt she had gotten her point across.

“I… see,” said the zebra, not fully grasping what was being relayed to her.

“I mean, she’s smart in her own way, though she might suffer a bit from short-term memory loss. She’s my friend, and I want to get her something good. The only problem is I haven’t found anything that screams Izzy. I’ve got some ideas floating in my head on what I could get her, but I’m not sure if it’ll convey the message that I care for her and admire that she’s my friend.”

“So… you face the dilemma of wanting your friend to know how much you truly care about her. And you’re afraid your gift will reflect how much appreciation you have for her. Is that correct?” asked Zecora.

“Yeah, pretty much. So… can you help me?” asked Zipp.

“Even miracles take work, but… let me ask you this, Ms. Zephyrina?”

“H-How do you know my name?” asked the mare as she hadn’t introduced herself to the spirit.

“Believe me, I know. More importantly, let me ask you this. This group of friends… how long have you known each other?”

“A fair amount, I guess. We came together when we restored magic to Equestria and reunited ponykind.”

“And during your times with each other, have you felt that you would stand by each other and support one another in any given situation?”

“Of course. That’s what friends are for. We’ve always had each other’s backs, even during the most ridiculous situations.” stated Zipp.

“And if these friends of yours truly love and support you, then would it matter what you get them?” asked Zecora.

“Of course, it matters. If I buy something she doesn’t like, that says a lot about me as a character. That’s why if I get something that shows my worth as a friend, she’ll see I take our friendship seriously. That’s why I’m so concerned with this.”

“It sounds to me like you’re not thinking about your friend but so much as being caught up in how commercial you make this holiday to be.”

“Huh?” said Zipp as she turned around and trotted toward the cauldron. “What did you say?”

“Well, from how you depict the holiday, it seems that the idea of consumerism has rotted away the true meaning of what the holidays should be about. That ponies are being pressured to conform to societal expectations around the idea of a ‘perfect’ holiday. The holidays are a time for everyone to come together. To spend time with loved ones. To remember and enjoy one’s company. Gifts are great, but they’re material possessions at best. The love you share between ones… that’s a gift worth giving. And it’s a gift that can never be replaced or bought.”

Zipp took a moment to absorb Zecora's words as the pegasus began to recall some of the times of Wishentime that she spent with her mother and sister.

“Tell me, Zipp. Were there times when your family didn’t spend so much on gifts to give one another?” asked Zecora.

“Y-Yeah… there was this one time that my mother had decided to make hoofmade ornaments as gifts for each other. We would spend hours upon hours just making them and enjoying ourselves even though we didn’t get each other anything.” said the princess, as she could hear the sounds of laughter from her childhood echo in her mind. “There was another time when we made cookies and had a blast making them. The chefs were upset we trashed the kitchen, and the cookies came out all burnt, but we didn’t care. We were so happy to have spent time with our mom making them that it didn’t matter if they turned out wrong. We were just fine that we had each other.”

As Zipp kept rambling on and listing the many times she spent Wishentine with her family where they didn’t get gifts for each other, Zecora’s smile grew. The pegasus slowly started to see what the zebra spirit was getting at, and an idea ran through her mind.

“Well?” said the zebra.

“I think I know what to do. More importantly, I know what to get Izzy. You were right; I was so obsessed with finding the perfect gift that I forgot what the holidays should be about. To think I’m supposed to be a princess and future heir of Zephyr Heights. Some detective I am.” groaned the mare, feeling like an idiot for not seeing the obvious answer in front of her muzzle.

“Not everyone is perfect, nor are they expected to know everything. Part of being a princess is learning, and I’d say you’re well on your way to becoming a fine ruler, Zipp. No doubt you’ll be the leader ponies will to for guidance and wisdom.”

“You really think so?”

“I have full faith in you. A word of advice: It’s not about how much money you spend. It’s about how much love you give.”

Those words resonated with the pegasus as they cut deep. The water began to flash colors as the dark hole that had the zebra’s face began to fade. It was clear that their time had unfortunately come to an end.

“Well, it seems our time has come to an end. I do hope my wisdom was able to help you, Zipp. And I wish you and your friends a very merry Wishentine.”

“Thanks. For everything,” smiled the pegasus princess.

The dark portal then faded away, as did Zecora’s face. The water in the cauldron returned to normal as the mare was staring at her own reflection. The princess began to trot off as she recalled the final words said by the zebra spirit.

It’s not how much money you spend. It’s about how much love you give.

The ponies of Maritime Bay were in full swing for Wishentine. The town was decorated from top to bottom as many ponies had finished their last-minute shopping. Hitch had finished his patrol and was now locking up the station as he approached the Brighthouse with his baby dragon son on his back. The two wore some festive caps as they trotted along the path toward Sunny’s place.

Once everypony was gathered, the group of friends began to enjoy themselves. Games and music and some of Sunny’s tasty baking were played. Soon, it came time for the gift-giving exchange as every pony gathered around the tree.

“Time for the gift exchange!” Sunny said as everyone turned to the pony they were given and was handed some colorfully wrapped boxes.

“Some new essences. Thanks a bunch, Misty!” said Pipp.

“Oh, what a lovely necklace,” stated Misty as she received her gift from Hitch.

“These taste just like I remembered them,” responded the stallion as he took a bite of some of the tasty treats his best friend gave him.

“I love this portrait, Pipp!” remarked Sunny.

“Thanks for the sweet detective suitcase, Misty. I love all the cool gadgets inside,” stated the pegasus princess before she closed her gift and set it aside before grabbing a colorful wrapped box and presenting it to her friend. “Here you go, Izzy.”

“Thanks, Zipp! Oh, I wonder what it is,” said the unicorn as she shook the box to feel a slight jingle. The mare removed the top and used magic to pull out what was inside.

Inside the box was a small crystal clear ornament. However, it wasn’t just any ornament. The princess had decided to hoofcraft an ornament to give to Izzy, as on it was her cutie mark and her name spelled out and emblazed with bits of glitter.

“I know it may not be big, elaborate, or stunning. But I want you to know that I put a lot of heart into making this. I know you always like to create things, so I’d figured instead of buying you something, why don’t I try my hoof at making you something to show how much our friendship means to me.”

“Aw, thanks, Zipperdoodle. I love it!” said Izzy as she pulled her friend in for a hug, which she returned before breaking apart and bouncing toward the others to show off her new gift.

Sunny approached her friend as they watched Izzy enjoy her special gift before she hung it on the tree as it glistened.

“So… I guess you got the perfect gift for Izzy, huh?”

“It took a while. Plus, I had a little help from someone. They reminded me that the holidays aren’t about fancy gifts, bows, or money. As great as money is for buying presents, it can’t buy everything we need. Love. The love between friends and family. That’s something you can’t put a price on. After all, it’s not how much money you spend. It’s about how much love you give.”

“Words to live by. I’m proud of you, Zipp,” said Sunny as she smiled at her friend before they high-fived each other's hoofs.

Author's Note

Happy Holidays everyone. And I wish you all for a good, joyous new year to come.