//------------------------------//
// Last Minute Gifts 
// Story: I FORGOT TO GET TWILIGHT A GIFT! 
// by FallBlau 
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	Starlight Glimmer didn’t have a care in the world that lazy, Sunday morning. There was nothing to do and nothing to worry about. She could take her time.

The community-organizer turned student-of-friendship smiled as she stretched lazily on her bed, Celestia’s rays of sunshine warming her coat.

Starlight went over how she would spend this lovely day in her mind.

A breakfast of tea and toast downstairs…go out for a walk…read a book.

Yes, it was the easy life on Sunday. No chores, no lessons, and no stressing.

Starlight breathed contently as she flipped on the radio, the harmonious sounds of violins lilting through the air. She always liked classical; she was a snob like that.

She whisked her hooves back and forth, imagining she were in a waltz. Beside her danced other well-dressed ponies, twirling fancifully around her as she held her partner -  Twilight - the two of them gracefully prancing across the marble floor.

She lead the Princess along, dancing briskly, until the music began to fade slowly. The music died, ending as they gave each other a courteous bow. The audience clapped as Twilight leaned in and then...

“GOOD MORNING PONYVILLE!”

Starlight felt herself jilted awake from her fanciful daydream as the grating voice of the narrator echoed from the radio.

“That was Waltz #3 in D Minor by everyone’s favorite composer Melody Strings. It is now the top of the hour and this is your host, Vinyl Scratch, coming up for you we have a Flute Concerto…”

Starlight let the excited, if not slightly obnoxious, voice fade in the background, burying her head in her pillow, reflecting on her dream.

That was strange…dancing with a Princess? And Twilight? Of all ponies? 

Starlight had never given much thought to her mentor or thought of her that way. It was true when she had come to her town that the fact that she was a Princess caught her eye, but anything more? 

Preposterous…

Starlight thought that, her cheeks still a faded red, leaning on the pillow as the radio host’s voice echoed in the background: 

“Hey all you ponies, are you ready for the Holiday season? Still looking for a gift that special somepony? Then come on down to Overstock’s Over-Stock Emporium. Get a pair of new skis for that outdoor enthusiast for only 120 bits. Got a game lover in your family? No problem. The Overstock Emporium is selling games for over 50% this holiday season.”

Starlight’s eyes shot open.

“No way!” she said, bolting up in her bed.

“Yes way!” the radio answered. “And with prices these good, these items are going fast. Don’t miss our last-minute Hearth’s Warming Eve sale. There’s no better time. So come on down to Overstock’s Over-Stock Emporium…”

The ad faded into legal disclaimers as Starlight reclined back on her pillow and closed her eyes.

“50% off that is a good deal…” she said, lulling back into a daze as she gripped the covers.

Wait…last minute… Heart’s Warming Sale…

Starlight felt her stomach twist into a knot as she sprang up in horror.

“I DIDN’T GET A GIFT FOR TWILIGHT!”

~

Spike found himself in the middle of a grassy field. Overlaid on his scaly skin was a glistening suit of armor and sword grasped firmly in his claw. Before him, perched on the mountain, a terrifying abomination – a Cyclops – lay perched upon the summit, a mare in distress clutched in his hairy hand.

“Save me, Spikey-Wikey, save me!” cried the unicorn dress-maker, donned in a flowing purple dress and barbette. 

“I’m coming, Rarity!” 

The gallant dragon raced forth, shield before him. The mighty behemoth swung his spiked club, missing him by inches. Spike stormed up the mountainside, nimbly dodging its blows as the cyclops sought in earnest to pulverize him.

 With a quick jump, he raced up the Cyclops’ arm, delivering a solid punch to the monster’s chin, which sent him reeling. The monster fell on his back with a mighty thud, causing the earth to tremble all around.

Spike approached his other hand to find Rarity waiting.

“Spike!” she said, looking awestruck at his heroic presence.

“Milady,” he replied, taking her in his muscular arms and careening off the Cyclops to the earth below.

The dressmaker held him close.“Spike, you saved me!”

“Think nothing of it,” Spike said. “It’s all in a day’s work.”

“You’re so brave! Spike…” she said, leaning close to him. “There’s something I’ve always wanted to tell you.”

“Yes, Rarity?”

“I…I…SPIKE WATCH OUT BEHIND YOU!”

“Huh?”

Spike only caught a glance as the Cyclops’s spiked club descended on him from above.

“Ah!!!”

Spike was violently jerked awake from his sleep.

“Spike, get up quick!”

“Who, what, where, why, how!? Spike blurted, trying to gain his bearing.

“Spike, Hearth’s Warming is tomorrow!” Starlight cried, shaking him.

“Huh?” Spike asked, rubbing his eyes.

“I haven’t got a present for Twilight!”

Spike’s eyes went wide. “You didn’t get her a present!?”  

“I know, I know! What am I going to do?” Starlight asked nervously. She had wanted to get her mentor a gift, something special, to show Twilight how much she had appreciated her generosity. Not only had she freed her from her vengeance-seeking ways, she had taken her into her home, she had taken her on a personal student of friendship. Getting her a present would be the least she could do to show her gratitude.

While Starlight panicked, Spike wracked his foggy mind, trying to find a solution.

“We could get her a…book? I mean, I’ve already gotten her the new fountain pens she’s wanted…”

“Of course! A book! Why didn’t I think of that? Twilight is always reading books. But what book to get her…”

“Well, she has been mentioning that limited edition of the Ponynomicon-”

“Yes! Then that is what we will get her! Quick! To the Piggy Banks!”

The porcelain banks shattered, spewing their coins in all directions on the floor as Starlight and Spike tried to tally up their totals.

“Thirty three bits…that’s not a lot, but, how expensive could it be?”

~

“150 bits!”

Starlight and Spike stood outside Books-A-Gazillion in the Canterlot Mall, gazing inside at the object they desired. It was a stout, leather-bound book with gold trim around the seams and inlaid page with a neatly folded price tag by the brass book-holder that held it.

“You sure I can’t get her something cheaper?” Starlight asked.

“Pretty sure, Twilight has been wanting this all year.”

Starlight sighed. This was her first real Hearth’s Warming with Twilight; she really wanted to show her how much she appreciated her efforts to teach her friendship. 

“Alright then, but how are we going to raise it before the day’s out?”

At that moment, an ornately costumed pony with a fake beard trotted by, levitating a cup of coffee. All at once, without warning, he snagged his beard under his hoof, causing him to trip and tumble down an up-escalator, tumbling indefinitely until the horrified operator turned off the escalator, sending him careening into a trash receptacle. 

A burly pony with a goatee and shades emerged from a nearby office as paramedic pegasi carried the hapless pony off.   

“Good grief!” he exclaimed. “There goes our Starswirl! That was the fifth one this week! Now who will entertain the fillies and colt?”

Spike eyed Starlight.

“Oh no, no, no, no,” Starlight began. “I’m not doing that. I don’t care how much they’re paying, I absolutely, positively…”

~

Starlight sat on a candy-cane throne, surrounded by gingerbread homes. She was clad in a tall, pointed wizard’s hat and cloak, with the same fake, snowy beard.

“…hate you.”

“Oh cheer up,” Spike said, now donned in green and red motley. “It’s not that bad. Although, these tights are running a little high…”

“Listen up, both of you,” the same burly pony from before said. “I need you two to be professional – smile! These fillies and colts have waited all year to tell Starswirl what they want for Hearth’s Warming, so I want you make them really feel that holiday spirit. Remember, you get paid by the amount of ponies you see, so really sell it.”

“You can count on us!” Spike exclaimed enthusiastically.

“Good. Look alive, here comes some now.”

A crowd of foals started to gather around the entrance of the lines, attended by their parents, eagerly waiting to get a glimpse at ‘Starswirl’.

“Good luck you two.”The burly pony departed, leaving Starlight and Spike.

“You ready for this?” Spike asked.

“As I’ll ever be.”

The foals approached one by one, their eyes filled with hope and expectation; many star struck by the famed Starswirl the Bearded. 

“Why hello there,” Starlight said with her usual charm. “What is your name little colt?”

“My name’s Button Mash,” the little colt answered.

“Well, Button Mash, tell Starswirl what you want for Hearth’s Warming.”

“Well…” 

The little colt produced a list and began reciting them off as fast as he could.

“I want a SuperDeluxe Spazatron 9000, a cordless extension to my HayStation, a new Gliding Gigantic Gyrocopter, a-”

“Button!” a cross voice called. A mare – presumably the colt’s mother – stepped up. “I’m so sorry. He gets excited when he gets to tell about his list, even though I told him Starswirl will only be getting one gift off that list.”

“But Mom!” the little colt droned. “I’ve been really good this year! I’m sure Starswirl will bring me everything on the list.”

Starlight smiled and decided to use her conflict-resolution skills.

“How about you leave the list with me and I will bring you as many gifts as I can?” she asked.

The little colt’s face lit up.

“Oh boy! You promise?”

“I promise.”

“Yay~!” 

That was when Spike approached with the tripod camera.

“Say cheese!”

The blinding light from the camera’s flash stunned Starlight as the colt and mother trotted away happily.

“Well, that’s one down…”

The foals passed in quick succession. While Starlight played the role of Starswirl, Spike played up his usual theatrics, exciting the crowd, and drumming up business.

The requests were usually straightforward, either a new doll or some other brand-name toy, but there were some exceptions, such as the filly who asked for a pet rock – her previous one had passed away and they had buried it in the back yard.

Towards the mall’s quitting time, the manager came back around.

“Amazing work you two!” he commended them. “We sold more photos than we have in the last two weeks! Here, I’m giving you two a bonus,” he said, tossing them a bag of bits. “Happy Hearth’s Warming.”

Starlight and Spike eagerly counted them.

“120 bits!” they exclaimed together.

“With the thirty from before, that’s just enough to buy Twilight’s book!”

“We did it Starlight!”

Starlight felt relieved. She hadn’t actually thought she could pull this off, but they had, and now all was left was to buy the book. But just as they were wrapping up their earnings, they heard hoofsteps approaching. Near the front of the line, a tiny, frail-looking unicorn wobbled down the pathway towards them.

“Is it too late to see Starswirl?” he asked meekly.

“Well actually we were just…”

Starlight elbowed Spike in the gut.

“I mean, yeah sure come on up.”

The unicorn made his way up to the front of the line sat on Starlight’s knee.

“What’s your name?” Starlight asked.

“Falling Leaves,” he replied.

“Alright Falling Leaves, what do you want for Hearth’s Warming?”

“I want…”

The little unicorn’s voice seemed to trail off into something indiscernible.

“I’m sorry,” Starlight said, “Could you say that one more time?”

“I just want…I want…”

Again his voice died in an inaudible whisper. 

“One more time, I can’t…”

“Food.”

Starlight thought her ears betrayed her.

“Did you say…food?”

“Yes,” the little unicorn replied. “I’m tired of tummy hurting…”

Starlight shook her head in shock.

“Don’t your parents have any food?” Starlight asked him.

“No, their  tummies hurt too…”

Starlight looked up to see a worn-looking mare with a frazzled mane approaching. 

“Is this your son, ma’am?” Starlight asked.

“Yes,” she said, taking her son by hoof. “Did you tell Starswirl what you wanted?”

“Yes mommy.”

“Wait…” Starlight said as they were about to leave. “Ma’am, your son asked for food – is everything okay?”

The mother gave a defeated look to the ground and sighed.

“No, I’m ashamed to say. His father had an accident two months ago and has been out of work. I’ve been working and struggling to pay his medical bills and the rent on the house…it’s been tough. I’m rarely at home, but between taking care of my husband, I just don’t have enough…I went without first, because I knew I was more resilient, so I could feed my son…now there’s nothing left….”

Starlight could feel her heart breaking. When she looked down at the little unicorn, she could see the ribs stretching on his emaciated body.

Tears started to form in Starlight eyes.

“I’m so sorry…”

“It’s okay,” the mother replied. “We’ll find a way to get by…thank you.”

As the two of them trotted away, Starlight stood there, unable to move.

“Starlight, are you okay?”

“Spike…we got to help that family…”

“What?”

“You heard her Spike; they’ve got nothing…nothing at all…”

“But what about Twilight’s gift?”

Starlight looked down regretfully at the bag of bits. They had worked so hard for them, to buy Twilight’s gift.  But as Starlight weighed the heavy coins in her hoof, she made up her mind.

“Something tells me,” Starlight said. “There are some things more important than books.”

Starlight raced after them, catching the mother and son just as they were about to leave the mall.

“Ma’am, I know we just met, but I just can’t stand the thought that anypony should go hungry, especially on Hearth’s Warming Eve. So here,” she levitated the bag of bits into her hoof. “Please, take this. It’s the least we could do.”

The mother looked at her in amazement.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “You would give all this to a complete stranger?”

“I know what it’s like to go without,” Starlight said. “Sometimes I just wished there was somepony to help me out, you know? Take it.”

 “This…this is the kindest thing that anypony has ever done for me. Thank you…”

“Please, don’t think anything of it. It’s the least I could do.”

“Did Starswirl give me my present, mommy?” the little colt asked.

“Yes, sweetie, he sure did,” the mother replied looking at them. “You do me so much kindness. I must know who you are.”

“My name is Starlight Glimmer – I am a student of friendship under Princess Twilight.” 

“Well thank you Starlight…this means more to me than you know.” 

The mother and son departed a new joy in their step, a new vigor in the way they held themselves. Outside, the crisp winter air blew hard against Starlight as fresh snow began to fall, but she didn’t feel a thing – she was quite warm – for her spirit burned more fiercely than the approaching winter tempest. 

“So what do we do for Twilight’s gift now?” Spike asked.

Behind them, the lights of the stores began to flicker and die as the mall reached its closing time.

Starlight sighed, her heart heavy.

“Well, we gave it a good try, at least,” she replied. “I suppose there are worse excuses for not getting a Hearth’s Warming gift…”

And with that, they trekked to the Canterlot station and took the first express back to Ponyville.

~

The next day – the Day of Hearth’s Warming Eve – everything was grand. Twilight’s friends had all come over, as well as many of the prominent townsfolk from Ponyville, to celebrate the holiday. There were games and caroling and all manner of festive revelry.

Towards the end of the day, as the crowd of ponies began to disperse and the celebration came to an end, Starlight, Twilight, and Spike all found themselves tidying up in the Castle’s foyer.

“Phew, what a party,” Twilight began, sweeping some confetti into a pan. “I don’t think I’ve seen Pinkie that wild since we celebrated Gummy’s Trotz Mitzvah.”

“Yeah,” Starlight joined. “It was a great party.”

That was when Twilight announced the moment that Starlight had feared all day:

“Yes,” Twilight continued. “But now it’s time for the best part – the presents!”

Starlight and Spike both shot each other nervous glances. 

“Yeah, Twi, about that…”

“Oh, no need to say anything,” Twilight replied giddily. “I’m sure whatever you got me will be perfect.”

 “Look, Twilight…”

Starlight looked at Twilight, feeling the same the knot returning as she contemplated what to do.

“I need you to, uh…close your eyes, and no peeking.”

Twilight eagerly closed them, a smile forming on her lips.

“What is it?” Twilight asked.

Don’t worry...Spike, go upstairs and get Twilight’s ‘present’.”

Starlight looked to Spike, who stared back at her with an anxious expression before heading up the stairs to retrieve the nonexistent present. 

Think, Starlight, think…

Starlight’s heartbeat quickened, though she wondered if it was due to her nervousness, or her proximity to Twilight. She didn’t want to let her mentor down. Twilight deserved something special for Hearth’s Warming, but it was something Starlight couldn’t give her. All she had was herself...herself…

A thousand thoughts raced through Starlight’s mind. With all the bravery that she could muster, she prepared to launch herself into the abyss.Perhaps arising from a sense of desperation, or longing, or maybe both, Starlight stepped forward, leaning in until her lips met with Twilight’s. There was no instant withdrawal as Starlight had anticipated, instead, it meet by a receptive relaxation as Twilight’s eyes gently opened.

The two of them held locked-lips together for what seemed like an eternity, before letting them depart, their eyes still fixed on each other.
“Twi…” Starlight began softly. “I’m sorry…I should have gotten you a better gift.”

Twilight didn’t answer at first. A long silence passed between them as Twilight stared at her, in what Starlight assumed to be a state of shock.

“Please, don’t be mad at me…” Starlight stated, trying to break the unnerving silence.

Twilight’s shock slowly began to soften as a smile formed on her lips.

“I’m not mad at you,” Twilight whispered back. “Actually, it’s probably the best you could have gotten me.”

“Really?” Starlight asked, taken a tad off-guard.

“Of course,” Twilight said, running her hoof down Starlight’s reddened cheek. “You mean a lot to me Starlight. I’ve seen where you started and how far you’ve come, and I couldn’t be prouder of you…”

Starlight could feel the tears welling again and Twilight pulled her into an embrace. 

At that moment, Spike returned from upstairs, not sure what to expect when he returned.

“What did I miss?” he asked curiously.

Twilight blushed. “Oh nothing Spike. Just Starlight and I reflecting on what’s truly important on Hearth’s Warming - each other.” 

They all embraced, holding each other close.  Starlight revelled in the spirit of kindness and love which she had so often been denied, and for so long at earnestly sought, and with joyous mind, she truly thought that this was indeed the best Hearth’s Warming Eve ever.