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// Tea with Reindeer 
// Story: Tea with Reindeer 
// by James Pwyll 
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"SURPRISE!!!"

Aurora, looking up from the book she'd been reading, offered her new guest a smile.

"Oh, don't you worry, Pinkie. Alice already told us you'd be coming."

Pinkie snorted a little.

"Aw, phooey!"

The party-loving mare closed the door behind her, lest she let out all the lovely warm air that greeted her as she entered the home of the once-mythical Gift-Givers. The place was exactly like she'd remembered it, inviting, cozy and filled in every direction with gifts that had yet to be given. Pinkie brushed off some of the copious snow that had collected on her during her journey up here, before resuming her ever-present smile, trotting happily to Aurora.

"How ya doin', Aurora? Been making lots of gifts, I bet?"

Aurora chuckled, setting her book aside and getting out of her rocking chair.

"Oh, there's nothing better."

She walked over to Pinkie, giving her a good hug, though Pinkie was sure to keep her usual exuberance in check, lest she hug too tightly for the elderly reindeer. And it was at this moment when the second of the Gift-Givers, Bori, arrived, descending down from the upper levels of their home to greet the new arrival.

"Pinkie, always a pleasure. I trust your friends were happy with their little surprise?"

Pinkie clapped her hooves together happily, squealing with delight.

"Oh, they definitely did! I mean, I kinda didn't get why you gave that gift to me, but boy did it help things sort themselves out!"

"Good to hear!"

The new voice caused all three to look to the side, as Alice had just popped out from behind a particularly large pile of presents. The youngest of the reindeer smirked slightly as she approached the visiting mare.

"No matter who you are, what kind of person you're like or where you can be found, we'll always know the gift for you!"

Pinkie giggled.

"Gee, and I thought I was a pretty good gift-giver! You three are on a whole other level!"

Bori blushed slightly.

"Well, we do our best."

Pinkie nodded with expected enthusiasm, then looked over to Aurora, who was using her magic to levitate a tray of filled tea-cups to offer her.

"Would you like one?"

Pinkie's answer was another wide smile, and she accepted the cup closest to her. After a quick sip, she gave a long "mmmmmmmmm" to indicate her pleasure over it.

"On top of everything else, you also make great tea too?! Remind me to suggest Rarity comes over to a visit when I get back!"

Aurora took a sip of her own tea, then let out a contented sigh before replying to that.

"The secret is a special herb I grow in my garden. Won't find it anywhere else in the world."

Hearing that, Pinkie gasped, looking down to her unassuming tea with awe.

"Oooooooooooh! So it's like a super-duper rare and impossible-to-make tea?! Sweet!"

Bori giggled to her visitor's words.

"I must say, it's nice having you here. We've had so few visitors over the years, it was starting to get a little lonely."

Pinkie waved her off.

"Pffft! Please! You're the super-amazing Gift-Givers! You must have people lining up to meet you from here to Ponyville!"

Alice shook her head.

"Nah, not really. Most just think we're a myth, and those who do believe never want to come this far North to find us."

She gave a sly look to Pinkie.

"Besides, would you really want every gift anyone ever gives to be something they were told to give by the three of us?"

Pinkie opened her mouth to speak, only to halt before even a single word got out. She pondered and pondered and pondered, then got her smile back.

"Nope! Gifts should be given out of love! Not because somecreature else did your thinking for you!"

Then, her smile vanished, and she started looking immensely worried.

"Oh...oh no! Does this mean my gift didn't count as coming from love because I went to the three of you instead of thinking of one myself, thus undermining all the good stuff that came from me getting that present?!"

Aurora leaned over and whispered to Bori.

"Wow, she really gets a lot of words in, doesn't she?"

Still smiling, Bori whispered right back.

"She wouldn't be Pinkie Pie if she didn't."

Seeing the concerned state their guest was in, Bori reached forward, giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, and gaining her undivided attention by doing so.

"Pinkie, you needn't worry about what you did. You sought us out, three beings that so many others had dismissed as legend, travelled all the way to the ends of the world, simply to give a meaningful gift to a close friend."

Another pat.

"If that doesn't sound like something done out of love, I don't know what does."

Pinkie blinked a couple of times, then softened, smiling in a way that was less excitable and simply more happy.

"That...really makes me feel better."

Bori shrugged.

"Well, making people feel good is kind of our job after all."

Pinkie giggled.

"Well, you're pretty good at it, I'd say!"

They all shared a laugh, and when it was over, Alice looked to Pinkie, clearing her throat so as to get her to look at her.

"I know I'm not supposed to reveal everything that happens in a person's future, but you might wanna avoid the path you arrived here on when you go back. There are a couple of polar bears that are gonna be walking that way after you leave and they're kinda irritable right now."

Pinkie's eyes widened, then she took on a more serious look and gave a brief salute.

"Yes, Ma'am!"

Then, she looked thoughtful, looking to Alice with renewed interest.

"Say...I thought you could only see future things when it came to gifts?"

Alice shrugged to that.

"Gifts? Sure. But things are never straightforward when it comes to looking through time."

Pinkie looked amused by that.

"I know what you mean. You should have seen the state Twilight was in when she looked through time a few years back!"

Aurora gave a hearty chortle to that.

"I did see it. That was quite an ordeal, I must say."

Pinkie looked to her with some confusion, then understanding came to her shortly afterwards.

"Oh! Right! Twilight was able to do it through a potion which was gifted to her by Zecora! I get it!"

Aurora winked to her.

"I didn't believe it when Alice told us it would happen, but when it passed the present and became a part of the past, lo and behold, I saw it clear as day!"

Pinkie was wide-eyed to this, clearly intrigued by all of their incredible sight. But then her curiosity got the better of her, and she looked back to Alice. She began to open her mouth, no doubt ready to ask some important question about the future. But Alice, just like the first time Pinkie had visited, already knew it, and so answered pre-emptively.

"You want to know how things are gonna turn out with your friends? With Twilight taking on her role as ruler of Equestria and all the rest of it?"

Pinkie, realising she'd probably asked a serious question, didn't laugh or bounce or any of her usual antics. Instead, she just sat there with her tea and gave a single nod. All eyes, even those of her fellow reindeer, were on Alice right now, and after she sighed, she closed her eyes, frowning slightly. Silence fell over the entire room, and after almost a minute of waiting, Pinkie's patience was rewarded when her horned young friend opened her eyes again. Her expression, for lack of a better word, was completely neutral. Not happy, not sad, it was simply there.

"...There are many things I can't see. But I do see ordeal. I see change. I see ponies being met with things they'd never expected. I see..."

Again, she closed her eyes, and again she sighed.

"I'm sorry...I can't say any more than that."

Disappointed, Alice looked away.

"I'm sorry I can't say more, but there are some things that I just can't witness."

But Pinkie, contrary to how even a future-seer like Alice might have expected, was not unhappy. She wasn't even disappointed like she was. Instead, she smiled, walking forward and embracing her in a big hug.

"Don't worry, Alice. You don't need to apologise. You tried your best, and that's all a friend can ask for."

Though being taken aback wasn't something she was used to, Alice nevertheless appreciated this unexpected moment, returning the hug. Aurora and Bori smiled to each other, and as they watched the other two part from one another, they listened well as Pinkie spoke once more.

"Now, since I'd be a pretty poor guest if I didn't offer you a gift..."

With lightning-fast movements, she reached into her bouncy mane and pulled out, of all things, a silver tray covered in tiny cakes.

"Ta-da!" she declared proudly.

The reindeer all smiled to her, graciously accepting the confectionaries and taking hearty bites out of them. The sounds they made gave a pretty clear indication that they were enjoying them, but as Pinkie had her moment of joy from this, she raised an eyebrow to Alice.

"...You totally knew already that I was gonna give those, didn't you?"

Alice shrugged.

"Hey, what can I say...it's a gift."