It's Hearth's Warming Eve. The ponies of Ponyville had gotten themselves and the town all festive. The weather ponies had made a gentle snow fall that, over a period of time, had lightly covered all of the ground in a white blanket.
Although, it might have been a light snow fall, the air and wind were still chilling. Whenever somepony were to speak, their breath had become a little fog. Goosebumps can be seen when a pony were to step outside, into the cold Hearth's Warming breeze.
Aside from the cold weather, their were still plenty of activities going around. The children were building snowponies, going sledding, and having snowball fights. While, every filly and colt were out playing, the teenagers and adults were inside, having their own little get-togethers.
One place in particular was in Princess Twilight's castle, where she and her closest friends were having a little holiday party, celebrating Hearth's Warming.
The party took place in the main hall of the castle, where the mane six's and Spike's thrones were beheld. The inside was all decked out for the special occasion. There was a beautiful tree right smack in the center of the hall, about fifteen feet away from where "Ponies of the Round Table" would sit.
The tree was beautifully decorated with one special ornament that had been brought from each and every pony whom had attended, not to mention ornaments from a certain dragon and draconequus.
There was an apple-shaped ornament, brought in by Applejack, which happened to be so shiny, you felt tempted to take one itsy-bitsy bite out of the piece of delicate glass. A few branches above was a little butterfly ornament, a little golden apple-shaped one laid right to it. Oh, there were just so many.
It was also overlayed with gorgeous silver and gold tensil. Just enough to go around the whole tree but not so much that the tensil cover the ornaments so severly. The tree also had a layer of lights as well. Each miniature lightbulb a different color than the one before. All the colors of the rainbow in a distinct pattern.
To top it all off, was a magnificent silver star that stood up at the very top of the tree. No tree can ever be complete without a star. Underneath were presents for each and every guest that had arrived so far.
The sound of a knock coming from the front door rang through the castle as the Princess's dear friends been putting some more ornaments on the center piece of the whole party. The purple alicorn flew over quickly to the door to see a little orange pegasus with purple mane and tail standing on her doorstep.
She had a sled full of little presents; each little gift of hers wrapped in a specific wrapping paper so she would who to give which one to whom. The Princess gave her a soft, welcoming smile.
"Well, hello there, Scootaloo. Happy Hearth's Warming."
"Happy Hearth's Warming to you, Twilight!" the little filly smiled, looking quite excited.
Twilight giggled at the Cutie Mark Crusader's expression. "Come on in, Scootaloo."
"Thanks, Twilight," the little pegasus pony responded.
The purple alicorn stepped aside, giving enough room for Scootaloo and her sled to get through the door. A light purple aura surrounded the door, shutting it closed. Twilight soon joined the little filly, they walked in silence for a few moments, the sound of their hooves stepping on the ground and the scratching against the floor from the sled only being heard.
"Where's your scooter, Scootaloo?"
"Well, Twilight," she began, "you can't exactly get far on wheels in the snow," Scootaloo pointed out.
The Princess gave a light chuckle. "I guess you're right."
The two ponies made it to the mane hall, where Scootaloo was first greeted by her two best friends.
"Scootaloo!"
"Sweetie Belle! Apple Bloom!"
The three members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders joined together in a group hug. Princess Twilight smiled at the fillies, happy at sight she just witnessed. A little pegasus pony at her very first holiday party only to be greeted by her two closest friends as soon as she arrived. She became more cheerful at the thought.
"Well, Scootaloo, why don't you go enjoy yourself while I go and put your presents underneath the tree?"
"Alright, Twilight."
The alicorn smiled once again, as a light purple aura surrounded her horn, as well as Scootaloo's gifts. They levitated along her side as she trotted her way toward the tree.
"Come on, Scootaloo! You want to help me and Rarity finish the quilt we're making for Hearth's Warming?" the little unicorn filly asked her.
The little orange pegasus looked over Sweetie Belle's shoulder to see a white unicorn pony with a curled purple mane and tail sitting on her own thrown with a table in front of her. She was wearing a light pink scarf and sewing on another piece of fabric onto what looked like some sort of blanket with different design pieces on the patches.
"Um... no thanks. Designing and sewing aren't really my thing..."
The unicorn filly with the light purple and pink mane and tail gained a disappointing expression on her face before answering. "Oh, all right. Well... if y-you change your mind, don't be afraid to ask."
"Sure."
Sweetie Belle gave her a sly smile before running off to her sister. Scootaloo felt kind of bad for rejecting her offer but she knew that she wasn't a big fan of designing things.
"How 'bout ya come an' help Applejack an' me bake some'a the holiday treats?"
Scootaloo thought about it. That sounded a lot more fun than sewing. However, was never really that great when it came to cooking or baking. Every time she would try to make something edible, it ended in disaster. She didn't want to risk ruining the very first holiday get-together that she was invited to.
"That sounds like a great idea Apple Bloom... but you know how I am when it comes to baking... or cooking..." she said regretibly.
"Oh, alright... Well, ya know where ta find me, then!"
The pale yellow filly with a mane and tail as red as a Red Delicious apple then skipped off toward the kitchen where her big sister was.
Scootaloo walked further inside the main hall where everypony else was. The place was certainly festive. The walls were painted green, red and gold; Hearth's Warming colors. There were some holiday games going on. Ponies were singing carols, Scootaloo was absolutely amazed.
No doubt about it that it was Pinkie Pie who did the party and festivities.
However, as she began to look around, she couldn't help but notice that everypony was with somepony. Sweetie Belle was with Rarity, Apple Bloom was with Applejack, Twilight was with Spike, Fluttershy was with Discord, Pinkie Pie with Maud, and so-on.
She was starting to feel left out even though she had only been here for a few minutes. She realized that she had no pony to spend some time with. Everypony else was doing their own thing with somepony else. She didn't want to be the bad egg.
The one third of the CMC decided to sit down in the corner and think. Scootaloo laid her chin on her knees, hugging them. She looked at everypony in the room and thought about the others that were in their own houses spending time with their families...
Family...
That moment, she realized something: Everypony was spending time with somepony from their family. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Pinkie Pie were spending time with their sisters. Spike was spending time with Twilight, whom he looked to as a mother-figure. Fluttershy was spending time with Discord.... although Scootaloo wasn't sure what those two were? Did they seem like they were family? As in a brother-sister type deal? Really close friends? Maybe something more... she hadn't a clue.
However, at least Fluttershy had somepony to be with during this time of year. She looked around once again... and sighed.
"Why is it that it's this time of year specifically that I feel alone the most?"
Scootaloo sat in the corner sulking for what felt like an eternity. In reality she had been in that one corner for a good half hour.
Twilight was the one to notice Scootaloo's behavior. The Princess had been watching her every few minutes to see how she was doing. The little pegasus was still in the same exact spot, in the exact position.
I wonder what's wrong with Scootaloo... she thought to herself. Is she not enjoying the party? Maybe I should go and talk to her...
The alicorn spread her wings and lifted herself off the ground, flying a little above everypony else. She was making her way to the sulking filly when a knock came from the front door. Twilight looked at Scootaloo one more time before making her way to the front door.
The knob began twisting and turning as Twilight's magic had surround it, opening to reveal none other than Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash was about five feet above the ground, flapping her wings. She wore a Santa hat on her head and was also carrying a medium size velvet red bag that seemed to be full of presents.
"Sup, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash greeted her. "Happy Hearth's Warming Eve!"
Twilight laughed. "Happy Hearth's Warming Eve, Rainbow."
"Sorry, I took so long. I was trying to find some awesome gifts to bring for the party." The cyan-colored pegasus came inside the door, still flapping her wings.
"Aaanndddd you waited until Hearth's Warming Eve to get everpony a gift?" Twilight asked, a suspicious manner in her voice.
"Hey, don't judge."
Princess Twilight rolled her eyes at her friend before closing the door behind her. Twilight walked while Rainbow Dash kept on flapping her wings. They were halfway to the main hall when Twilight spoke.
"Hey, Rainbow Dash?"
"Yeah, Twilight?"
"Mind if I ask you for a favor?"
"Sure, anything, Twilight. What's going on?"
Twilight took a deep breath. "Well, it's about Scootaloo..." she trailed off.
"What about Scootaloo?" the rainbow maned pegasus asked, a curious tone in her voice.
"...I'm not sure if Scootaloo's enjoying herself at the party..."
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, obviously confused. "Why would she not enjoy the party? An awesome party on Hearth's Warming Eve is the best way to enjoy yourself."
"Well, that may be, Rainbow. However, Scootaloo's been sitting in the corner, sulking, for as of now... a good forty-five minutes," Twilight explained to her friend.
"Pssh," the still flying pegsus scoffed, "yeah, right. I'm sure you're overreacting Twi."
The Princess of Friendship stopped in her tracks and pointed with her hoof. The pegasus followed to where her hoof was pointing, only to see that she was right. There... in the corner was Scootaloo sitting in the corner, sulking, just like she said.
"I was going to go and ask her what was wrong but... I think it would be best if you go and talk to her."
The rainbow maned pegasus looked at the little CMC member and thought for a moment. She looked at Twilight, not quite sure if she should.
"I know she'll talk to you, Rainbow," she assured her, laying a hoof on her shoulder.
The pegasus nodded, giving the bag to Twilight so she could put the gifts under the tree. She began to fly foward, gently though, she didn't want cause a horrible accident if she were to fly full speed ahead.
Scootaloo had her head in between her knees, looking downward. Her fore hooves overlapping one another as they laid on her knees. She noticed the base of her little area turned a little bit of a shade darker than before and felt the presence of somepony in front of her.
The little filly lifted her head, only to see none other than her idol: Rainbow Dash.
"What's up, kid?"
"Oh, hi Rainbow Dash," she replied. Usually she would really enthusiastic when the best flyer in Ponyville came to talk to her, but right now... she wasn't in the mood.
"What's the matter, Scoots? Why aren't you enjoying the party like everypony else?" Rainbow asked curiously, tilting her head to the side.
"What makes you think I'm not having a good time?"
"Twilight's told me that you've in this same exact spot of almost an hour. Come on, now, what's bothering you?"
The little orange pegasus looked up at her idol. Rainbow did say that she could tell her anything in the past. She supposed that this would be one of those times. Scootaloo closed her eyes and let out a deep breath before turning over to face Rainbow Dash.
"You really want to know?" she asked her.
The cyan-colored pegasus walked over to her, and took a seat to her left. The end of her Santa hat hitting her in the face lightly. "I'm all ears."
Scootaloo took this moment to think about how she was going to tell her how she was feeling. She wasn't sure whether to just blurt it out or what... She decided to do her best to keep calm and began to talk.
"It's just that every year on Hearth's Warming, I seem to spend it alone. I never had the chance to actually give out gifts. I haven't had the experience of spending the holidays with anypony. This is my very first holiday party, I get to spend time with some of my closest friends and yet.... I still..." she hesitated, not sure if she finish, "feel... alone."
Rainbow Dash had a puzzled expression on her face. "What are you talking about Scootaloo? How can you feel alone?" she asked her, a little bit louder than expected.
"Look around, Rainbow Dash! Everypony is with somepony," she replied, rather frustrated. She pointed her hoof, in which the older pegasus followed. "Sweetie Belle is with Rarity, Apple Bloom is with Applejack, Spike is with Twilight and yada, yada, yada!"
It took a moment for the older pegasus to understand what the CMC member was getting at. She felt lonely because everypony at the party is spending time with a member from their family. Scootaloo was feeling left out because... well...
"Oh, I get it," she said.
Scootaloo looked over at her idol with a raised eyebrow. "You do?"
"You feel lonely on this time of year because everypony else is spending time with their family. Listen, Scootaloo, I know where you're coming from."
"Really?"
"Well, yeah. Since I moved here to Ponyville, I don't get to see my family a lot, especially during this time of year. So, sometimes I do feel a little bit alone when everypony I know is spending the holidays with their family."
Scootaloo was taken aback from what Rainbow Dash had just told her. "You? Feel lonely?"
"Well, yeah. I don't have any siblings and my parents are always far too busy to see me during the holidays to spend some time together."
The filly gave her a sly smile. Rainbow Dash then put her left around the little pegasus, bringing her closer.
"Listen here, Scootaloo, this year you are not alone," she took her Santa hat off with her hoof and placed it on her head. "As of this year and every year after, we will be each other's family. No more feeling lonely over the holidays, alright?"
The orange pegasus's eyes began to water with tears of joy. She attacked Rainbow Dash with a hug, which she gladly returned.
"Thank you, Rainbow Dash."
The two pegasi released from the hug and looked around the main hall. Seeing everypony doing something with their family. The blue pegasus picked up Scootaloo and placed her on her back, about to join in with everyone else.
"This Hearth's Warming," Rainbow Dash began, "nopony is alone."