//------------------------------//
// Future 
// Story: Ornament of Love 
// by TheothersideofSunny968 
//------------------------------//

The police officer looked at the scene with a heavy heart. This wasn't the worst thing he ever saw on a shift at Christmas time, but it was definitely up there with one of the saddest.

"Well, it looks like he went peacefully in his sleep" another officer stated as he finished looking over the body of an elderly man sitting in his arm chair. "Neighbors said they saw him pushing himself pretty hard to put up decorations yesterday. Probably was too much for the old timer."

"Did he have bay family? Next of kin?" The first officer asked, examining little, brightly colored pony figures the old man had on his lap. 6 of them. One unciorns, two with wings, two with nothing, and one with a horn and wings.

"No" the second officer answered as he looked at his lap top. "Looks like this poor guy lost his wife earlier this year. No friends, no family. If the neighbors didn't make a noise complaint last night, we might not have found him till spring."

The first officer remembered a call coming through about loud music coming from the place, and a commotion that could have rivaled a collage party. But there wasn't any sign that anyone else had been here all night. The television didn't even work. Maybe they got the wrong house? Not like it mattered. He now had a body to call in and lots of paper work to go through. 

"Hey, look at this…" a third officer called out to the other two, summoning them into the old guy's bed room. 

They weren't prepared for what they were about to see. 

The entire bedroom was covered from top to bottom with toys! Not just any toys, all with the same brand of 'My Little Pony' on them. All different things from giant plush toys to board games, from dog tags to umbrellas, from tiny inch figurines to a giant pony like doll like brushable mane that stood over three feet tall!

"Guess the guy liked ponies" the first officer stated, looking at them all, wondering what would happen to it all ith no next of kin.

"That's not all, this was on the fridge…" The third officer handed the first a living will that appeared notarized by the old guy's bank.

"… looks like he wanted it all to be donated to charity" the first cop spoke up.

"Hey, you guys remember that children's hospital that got robbed the other day?" The second officer was typing away at lightning speed on his computer.

"Yeah, my neice is there, why?" The first officer asked.

"Well… I'll deal with the paper work, but you guys have time enough to bag all this up and run this down there" the second officer smiled as he took pictures of everything in the room.

"You can't do that" the third officer protested. "I want to give those kids a Christmas miracle as much as the next guy, but there's a process to this. You could really get in trouble for-"

"Let's start bagging this up" the first officer told the third. "It's a little after 1 in the morning. If we hurry, we can get these bagged up and over to the hospital before the kids wake up."

The third wanted to protest further, but gave up, the Christmas spirit filling up inside him. This was the kind of good he always wanted to do. "We're gunna need some extra help moving this stuff. I'll call my cousin, he's got a truck we could use."

"Let's save christmas" the first officer said as she started carefully pulling toys off the walls, amazed that they stayed in as great of shape as they had. "This old guy must have really loved ponies."

When all was said and done, almost all of the toys loaded up in the cop cars and truck. The second officer stayed back to help when someone came by to collect the body. While waiting, hoticed one figure was clenched firmly in the old man's hand. He tried to unclench it, but the old guy must have died with it in his hand pretty firmly. It looked like a purple unicorn in a stalking. It was only then that the second officer took a good look a the old man's face. His face had frozen in a smile, and dry tears dried on his wrinkled cheeks.

The second officer smiled down at him and told him "You're about to make alot of kids very happy. Merry Christmas, old timer…"