The 25 Days Of Hearth's Warming
Day 8: The Best Gift You Can Give Yourself Is To Give To Others
Sparkle Productions
Pinkie Pie always liked to help out others when she could. That's where the inspiration for this activity came from, helping out at the the Ponyville orphanage. She put on her saddle bags and headed out early into the bright and sunny day. Pinkie began the long journey to the outskirts of town where the orphanage was located.
Ponyville wasn't a huge town, but traveling to the outskirts on hoof was long and tiring. Despite that, nothing could stop Pinkie when she was determined to do something; especially when it involved making others smile.
With a bright cheery smile, she bounced on her way.
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Rainbow and Soarin were ready to help, just wasn't ready for the long trip there. They had a some toast and yogurt, as well as drinking plenty of water. Rainbow wasn't quite sure what to bring since the list never specified what kind of helping she would be doing. After awhile she decided to bring some Wonderbolt fan merchandise - the new figurines Spitfire had wanted her to test out before putting them out on the market - hoping they were fans.
While it was still morning, they headed out into the warm sun with the occasional cool breeze.
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Arriving, Pinkie saw three little foals playing outside. The snow was still thick in the outskirts of town. They all wore dull colored hats and scarfs with tiny holes scattered about. She felt a sense of pity for them, took a deep breath, and confidently bounced towards them.
They all looked at her with adorable innocent eyes, curious. Pinkie let out a "squee" noise at how adorable they were, "Hiya, little foals! I came here to visit you with a special surprise! Guess what it is!"
A yellow filly with a peach and mint colored mane approached her, "Are you going to adopt us?" She asked in a squeaky voice, no older than five.
That broke Pinkie's heart into a million little pieces, "No," she said sadly, "but I have something better."
"Oh," was all the filly said, "I'll never get adopted."
"No! Don't say that! You will, just not by me."
"Yeah, I guess," the yellow filly sounded unsure. "I'm Minty Crumble."
"I'm Pinkie! I bet your special talent has to do with baking! Maybe you can bake at Sugar Cube Corner sometime with me!"
"I know. You were here last year, you gave us these hats and scarfs."
"I remember you too!"
"Pinkie, you were here last year?" Rainbow slowed down, then began to hover in place.
Pinkie smiled, "Yeah, of course! I come here every year to help out!" Pinkie pointed at her, "Meet my friend, Minty Crumble!"
"H-Hi," she said nervously, "y-you're Rainbow Dash, right?" Rainbow nodded, "Pinkie tells us so much about you and your friends. That's so cool how you saved the world!"
"Yeah, that's us. The Elements Of Harmony."
Soarin arrived out of breath, "You have to *pant* stop leaving me *pant* behind."
"Now that you're here, let me show you my surprise! Close your eyes and don't open them until I say open!" Pinkie yelled, and everypony followed the instructions. A minute passed and a cacophony was heard. "Open your eyes!" Everypony looked about. A bouncy house was present, along with a balloon animal stand, and some more hats and scarfs.
"Pinkie, I also brought something," Rainbow said, amazed that all of that could fit in Pinkie's saddle bags.
"Save it until I rally everypony outside!" A moment later, all the orphans - about 30 colts and fillies of all ages - were out of the orphanage. "Now what is it!"
Dash rummaged in her saddle bags for a few seconds. She pulled out a collection of at least 50 figurines. "Spitfire wanted me to test out these prototypes. What do ya think?"
"I love it!"
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"That was fun," Rainbow said, after helping out all day. The setting sun guided their path back home.
"Yeah, it was," Soarin replied, glad Rainbow was flying at a leisurely pace.
"Pinkie, what make you start helping the orphans at the orphanage?" Dash asked.
"Granny Pie always told me to help whenever I could. After all, the best gift you can give yourself is to give to others," Pinkie brushed off the praise, that wasn't what mattered to her. What did was to be able to put s smile on those sweet orphans' faces.
"That...really does make sense," Soarin agreed.
"You really are one of the nicest ponies I know," Dash added.
"Aww, you're making me blush!" She joked. Pinkie was right, when they helped out they felt good inside and made other ponies feel good too. And that was better than any praise.