In the land of Equestria, as the last months of the year herald the arrival of winter, everypony starts preparing for the chilly days to come. Earth ponies, who specialize in all sorts of agricultural activities, gather up their harvest as to avoid hunger during the cold season. They preserve their food in jars, urns, boxes and bottles; they prepare their fields for the next year with special seeds and magic tarps; and they start checking their tools and structures for any weaknesses.
Pegasi, who specialize in controlling the weather, start planning its fluctuations for the months to come. Uncontrolled weather is not welcome amongst ponies, and an untamed winter would cause problems for the nation, thus requiring the help of these winged ponies. They draw up charts, prepare cloud patterns, make calculations depending on various wind strengths, and give all the information needed to every town in the realm.
Unicorns, who have the ability to tap into the flow of magic that runs through the whole planet, have...a special set of tasks. But before we go any further into this final category, we must go back to the early days of the pony folk, to days where their civilization was not as advanced and united.
We must go back to the very first Hearth's Warming Eve.
Everypony knows of those dark and less civilized times. The three tribes were divided by their powers: only pegasi could control the weather, and they - along with earth ponies - didn't have the power to move the sun and the moon, unlike unicorns. But, as powerful as they may be, unicorns and pegasi weren't the best at growing food. That's where Earth ponies came in. This separation of powers caused both a vicious circle made of dependency and superiority, along with distrust and hatred. Said negative emotions caused the Windigos - spirits which live off nefarious energy - to unleash a long and harsh blizzard which made the three tribes fight amongst themselves, therefore making the spirits stronger, and so on and so forth.
It was only thanks to the magic of friendship that these demons were defeated, and that the three tribes united to form one nation - which they live in to this day - named Equestria. Through equality and unity, the country blossomed and became an exemplary society. This is common knowledge in this country, and the tale is told from generation to generation. In this day and age, the three tribes help each other out: earth ponies give some food to unicorns and pegasi to help them if need be; pegasi work on controlling the weather to please everypony; and unicorns make use of their magic to help the fields stay strong, help preserve food, and maintain the weather in tandem with the pegasi if their help is sought out.
But although this is the most important part of the season, there is another story which has captured the hearts and minds of every pony in Equestria. I am, of course, talking about Santa Colt. The tale of the mysterious character follows the events which occurred after the unison of the three tribes, which I will describe immediately.
After the mass exodus that followed the tribe leaders' discovery, settlements were formed and relations improved - slowly but surely - between the three tribes. The relations improved, but the settlements remained divided in their populations. Earth ponies stayed amongst each other, and so did the other two tribes, but the three of them were on good terms. And then they met the donkeys.
The first meeting was not an incident, far from it. One early morning, outside an earth pony settlement, a group of donkeys came to the edges of the town, set up a small camp, and waited until the first ponies came out. As the first earth ponies came out of their homes, they noticed these new creatures with astonishment. Who were these equines? Why did they look like ponies? Were they going to cause trouble? Nopony knew.
After much cautiousness and observation the three tribes came together, chose representatives, and sent them out to meet these newcomers. The representatives were named Smart Cookie, Clover the Clever, and Private Pansy. All three of these different ponies went to the camp, and simply stood there before speaking up. They started with a simple greeting.
"Hello? Is anybody there?"
Shortly after, two donkeys came out with saddle-bags and walked up to them. One of them appeared to be a male, and the other a female. They looked at these ponies for a few seconds, and then the male smiled.
"Greetings, newcomers. My name is Dominic. Would you like to sit down and have a talk with us? We have food and refreshments if you'd like."
The three ponies stood there, befuddled. How direct, but how nice they were! After a few seconds of hushed discussions, they accepted the generous offer. The donkeys opened their bags to reveal a blanket, some bottles of water and fruit juice, some grilled hay, lettuce, and peanuts. They set the whole thing up, sat the ponies down, and served them before serving themselves. Then, they started to chat.
When the representatives came back to their people, they were delighted. These donkey folk were charming! During their talk, they shared some information about their respective cultures, their customs and traditions, and their histories. Apparently, the donkeys had come from a far-off land, where the climate was harsh and the landscape rough. They had moved to this land decades ago, and had established themselves quite well all over the country. They had explained that this kind of treatment was common in their culture, and that they were ready to welcome ponies with open forelegs. By the end of the day, the ponies were already planning on establishing relations with the donkeys.
Now you have to realize that the ponies had an opportunity to reject the donkeys, or even place them into servitude, as these creatures were less skilled and physically gifted as they were. A lesser species might have done that, but the ponies of Equestria had learned from their past mistakes and decided to unite with these new equines. Never again would a petty excuse as physical differences stand in the way of everyone's betterment.
And so it was the three tribes had integrated their equine cousins within their lives. The donkeys did not mind becoming part of the ponies' culture, as their adaptation skills and nomadic nature allowed to give and receive some customs and traditions. But one problem remained: donkeys lived amongst pony towns and their own villages, but the ponies stuck to their respective tribes. The donkeys agreed that they should let ponies handle their relationships, and only intervene if ponies asked them to. They lived amongst the ponies for some time, then the first Equestrian Winter came.
If there was one common custom between ponies and donkeys, it was the exchange of gifts during special occasions. Winter was not an especially joyous occasion for anyone, but the ponies had decided to try and help each other out for once and strengthen their bonds through common labour. And, as the year came to a close, something special happened.
Some ponies say that a donkey had seen the divisions that still existed between the ponies, and decided to take matters in their own hooves to fill the gap that stood between the three tribes. Donkeys teach their children that one pony - some say an earth pony, many say a pegasus, and most say a unicorn - took it upon themselves to bring everypony together once and for all. Ponies and donkeys alike say that a third party had decided to act in a selfless and generous way for the betterment of everyone.
Either way, the story is mostly the same. On that night, throughout every settlement of ponies and donkeys alike, a creature went from home to home to give gifts and food to the equines. The morning after, these people found these goods accompanied by an identical note. The Royal Canterlot Museum has framed one of these, and a message stands as an example to every pony.
To my fellow Equestrians,
I stand somewhere near you, both as a friend and an outsider, and watch the progress you have made. Your people have gone through different hardships to reach this beautiful land, and when given the choice to fight for supremacy over the land you both decided to come together, whereas weaker-minded species would have chosen to fight. For this, I applaud you.
However, even with this progress, your people remain divided. To ponies, I ask that you learn to live amongst yourselves, and stop this notion of tribes. You are all ponies, and you all need each other whether you have horns, wings, or neither. To donkeys, I acknowledge your fears that ponies might create divisions between yourselves, and that you have quickly accepted these ponies in order to cope with the guilt of leaving you cousins back home. I promise that I shall look out for them.
I am not superior to you in any way, but I do consider myself an arbiter. And as such, I say: no more. No more division, no more guilty consciousness. On this day, I leave you gifts so that you may learn that there are very few things out there than can rival the power of friendship and unity, and that you may have a common day dedicated to such wonderful virtues. You have a choice to be stronger than you already are, and I can only hope you will once again make the right decision. I will not judge you for choosing the alternative, but I will not approve either.
On this day, I leave you an opportunity to share and care for another, whoever you may be and wherever you may hail from.
Your watchful friend,
The Saviour from the Cold
After reading this letter, the ponies asked for an explanation from the donkeys. It was revealed that the donkeys had left their home country because the conditions were too harsh to live with - which was a story ponies already knew - but their cousins, the zebras, had decided to stay in order to try and improve their land. The donkeys were somewhat ashamed because they left their land and neighbours to save themselves at a time when both needed their help. The zebras didn't stop the donkeys from leaving, as it was not in their nature to stop their friends from being free, but it was clear to the donkeys that they were disappointed. From then on, ponies decided to try and help the zebras as soon as they could.
From that event, earth ponies and pegasi and unicorns decided to come together on that day and exchange gifts, in honour of the one who had decided to act so selflessly in order to help them be happy. The message behind the note is still being studied, but nothing solid has emerged. The name "The Saviour from the Cold" - even though it seemed arrogant - was passed throughout the settlements, and eventually went through several changes. It became "Saint Hooves", which illustrated the stranger's stealthiness, and "Sent a Cold" by those who thought the writer had been wrong to pour salt on the wounds of the donkeys, and finally some people called this character "Santa Colt" or "Santa Hooves".
You may ask yourself why this event was not more important than Hearth's Warming Eve. That's because the next year, The Saviour from the Cold did not return; but pegasi, unicorns, earth ponies and donkeys came together nonetheless to share gifts and help one another, and the relations improved faster from then on, leading to several mixed settlements like Ponyville or Buckington. Eventually times changed, leading to mules and the tradition evolving into something new.
Or devolving, as some might say.
This aspect comes into play in a time where the faith of children in Santa Colt is dwindling away and where the spirits of older ponies are soured by real life, who end up believing that the day of sharing and caring has become dedicated to buying several overpriced goods. But on one peculiar Hearth's Warming, in the town of Ponyville, one pony will make sure that Santa Colt will be coming to town.