Scootaloo shivered, looking out over the white blanket that had coated Ponyville. Her tiny orange body was a single dab, a touch of life on the drab scenery which consumed the often picturesque buildings of the quaint little town.
Not that she’d have much to say, were the artist to give her a mouthpiece.
Today, Scootaloo would be alone. As she’d always been on this day, and, perhaps, how she would prefer it to remain.
Apple Bloom. Where would she be all day? She would be at the Apple Family Reunion. Of course there would be one; Hearth’s Warming was the best excuse to surround a pony with their family. The Apple family didn’t need an excuse to meet up, but if there was one, you could be certain they would take it. Besides, even if Scootaloo was made an honorary Apple, Apple Bloom’s family here had traveled to Manehattan for the Reunion this year, leaving a random chance spotting of Scootaloo and spur of the moment invitation in Ponyville impossible.
What of Sweetie Belle? Why, she and Rarity would be watching a Hearth’s Warming play with their parents in Canterlot. Sweetie had been babbling something about an opera, much to Rarity’s discomfort; Scootaloo was wondering what they would end up agreeing to watch together. Those two had never quite seen eye to eye in artistic appreciation.
Rainbow Dash? She’d gone home to Cloudsdale. Living so far away from her parents, she had to see them at least once a year. Hearth’s Warming, of course, made the most sense.
Scootaloo had had the opportunity to say yes. Rainbow Dash asked if she had any plans for Hearth’s Warming, that there was always room for two at her folks’ place. Of course, Scootaloo declined, insisting that her family wanted her home for their own Hearth’s Warming.
Pinkie Pie was too busy organizing a trip back to the rock farm. Twilight and Spike had gone home to Canterlot. Fluttershy was planning on spending the whole day nice and cozy with all her animal friends inside her cottage. She ticked off the ponies she knew, even if they were vague acquaintances. Rumble had gone with Thunderlane to Cloudsdale. Dinky was visiting some of the bigger cities with her mother. Featherweight was spending a quiet evening with his family, “reflecting on the past and the future,” as he put it. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon—no, she didn’t even want to know what they would be doing. Not even poor, lonely Scootaloo was that desperate for attention. She rolled her eyes at even the most marginal consideration of dealing with those two more than was entirely necessary.
Whatever circumstances she considered, everypony was always busy. Who else would be alone on Hearth’s Warming? Nopony. The world outside was devoid of the vibrancy of life that she could feel suffusing the dappled lights of the buildings, shining as welcoming beacons from the ponies who hadn’t left. She knew she wouldn’t have the heart to approach a single one, though. She didn’t want to burden anypony with her awkwardly forcing herself into their closest and most meaningful moments.
Did she regret not asking for the dozenth time? Did she reflect on her past Hearth’s Warmings, wishing for laughter, for hot food, for belonging? Of course she did. Her body ached with the craving to be somewhere that wasn’t all alone.
She was all alone.
A sigh gusted out of her, a tiny puff of fog, the first glimpse of a frustrated filly losing hope.
She hoped for a pony to stumble across her, a kind Samaritan on their Hearth’s Warming jog, a stickler for never missing a day of his tight exercise schedule, seeing a cold, lonely filly and asking, “Hey, why are you out in the cold?”
She replied, “I don’t have anywhere to go.”
He thought for a moment, then told her, “Well, why not come back to my house with me? We haven’t eaten yet. Maybe a spare present or two lying around. Our foals would love a playmate while we cook, anyway.”
Scootaloo shook her head. “I couldn’t. I don’t want to impose.”
The jogger chuckled. “Oh, it’s really no problem. We love company!”
Scootaloo smiled happily. “All right.” She started putting her frozen hooves in front of her, eager to get in out of the cold and spend Hearth’s Warming with a family for the first time in her life.
Yet, that conversation never happened. Well, half of it didn’t. There was no kind Samaritan jogger come to save her. There was only the harsh, biting cold, the deep snow that had risen up to her underbelly, and the echoes of her own delusional voice being stifled by the endless drawl of winter.
A light clicked off in one of the buildings, then another. Those ponies in that house were going to sleep. Hearth’s Warming wasn’t far off anymore.
The Moon’s slow arc over the sky reflected its silvery light into Scootaloo’s eyes, returning the steely gaze she was giving it.
She hated Hearth’s Warming.
She may as well go to sleep. She’d be wandering the streets tomorrow, as hopeless and lonely then as she was now. She just wanted the holiday to be over so she could see her friends again, to remember what it was like to belong.
Bitter. That was the only word that would come to mind right now.
The door creaked open on an abandoned shack. Scootaloo had been living there Celestia knows how long. She’d managed to skirt discovery another year. It was a better present than what she’d consistently had several Hearth’s Warmings ago. Soggy boxes and empty trash cans weren’t an ideal place to come into the loneliest day of the year from.
As she departed from the tiny building that hid her meager possessions, her hooves plunged into the deep snow. Crunch. Crunch. Her front left hoof disappeared into the thick sheet of whiteness, then her back right hoof. Crunch. Crunch. Then came her front right hoof, followed by her back left hoof. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. She slowly, ponderously struck out towards the heart of Ponyville. A dirty scarf hung from her neck, its sallow fabric swinging to and fro in front of her. A winter cap stretched over her mane and ears, the tiny pom pom on the top soggy and matted. She had no winter boots, nor shoes to speak of; she hadn’t had the great fortune to find such articles of clothing in her scrounging lately.
Perhaps she deserved this cold, freezing day. If she’d asked a pony for the opportunity to spend her Hearth’s Warming with them, she was almost certain they would say yes. Yet, her humility—actually, her pride—stayed her voice and strangled her plight. She didn’t want to burden other ponies with her presence. She didn’t belong with anypony to begin with.
Crunch. Crunch. Scootaloo’s hooves continued plodding through the snow, bringing her to the first several buildings of the town proper. She did not expect to see anypony today; if she did, she would simply tell them she’d come out for a bit of fresh air, the heady smells and roaring hearth in her home having overwhelmed her. They would nod and continue on their bizarre errand that would take them out of their home on such a day.
Was she too brave? Too cowardly? No, neither of those. She was indecisive. She just couldn’t bring herself to admit how much she wanted to feel, just once in her life, that she belonged somewhere. Not that ponies felt sorry for her. Not that ponies felt obligated to be nice and invite her. No, she wanted to feel like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
She stopped briefly, her little puffs of breath coming out, slow, unhurried. The foals would be waking up around now, tearing apart the wrapping on their presents to find the secrets hidden inside.
There were four presents for her. The first was an oblong box wrapped with smiling filly faces. She looked at it curiously, then put her hooves to the paper and tore it away, revealing a scooter tune-up kit. She hugged her mother, thanking her for being so awesome, then put it aside.
Her next present was shockingly square and quite large, wrapped with marching snowponies. She pulled the decorations off to reveal another box, this one depicting a pony who had eaten sour candy and another pony who had eaten sweet candy. It was a mini-confectionary, something that would let her make her own tasty treats to share with her friends. She hugged her father, telling him he was very thoughtful to get her something she’d been wanting so badly, then set this gift aside as well.
Her third gift was a small box, wrapped with simple brown paper. She opened it to reveal a small music box. On the top of it was a hoof-painted picture of herself and her friends performing at the talent show. She opened it and inside were three miniature figurines of the same hoof-painted ponies, rotating in a circle as a simple tune of “We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders” pinged away on its tiny pegs. She hugged Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, telling Sweetie to thank Rarity for her help in making the box as well.
The final package was lumpy and misshapen, covered in wrapping paper emblazoned with balloons and “Happy Birthday” texts. She giggled at the thought that a pony would use birthday wrapping paper for a Hearth’s Warming gift. She tore it open to reveal a hoof-stitched sweater within. She looked at the back, a solid sky blue with cuffs, collar, and fringe all decorated with rainbow stripes. She turned it around, looking at the logo on the front. Scootaloo was standing next to Rainbow Dash, a simple smile adorning her face, while Rainbow Dash looked proudly down at Scootaloo. Above the two ponies, the words “#1 Sister” hung crookedly. Scootaloo tearfully hugged Rainbow Dash, who apologized for the imperfections that Fluttershy couldn’t help her fix.
Crunch. Crunch. Scootaloo’s mind snapped back to reality. She’d been crying, a few holes in the snow below her face where her tears had burrowed in.
She wasn’t walking. Another pony was.
She hurriedly lifted a hoof to her face, scrubbing her tears away and putting on the most convincing smile she could manage.
Materializing out of the snow, Scootaloo could make out a flowing mane of several colors. She said the first name that came to her mind. “Princess Celestia?”
Sure enough, the Princess herself approached Scootaloo, unhurried and unsurprised. “Ah, I was wondering if I would find somepony out and about today.” Her smile belied the warmth she felt inside, her joy infectious. “And how are you on this Hearth’s Warming day, young filly? Are you enjoying the festivities?”
“I, uh...” Scootaloo sputtered. “It’s great! I’ve been caroling with my family all day—we have this great record of some fun songs, and some food is cooking right now. I just came to get some fresh air. It’s really stuffy in there, with the fire going and all.” She smiled faux-sheepishly, her heart screaming at her to tell the Princess she was all alone, but her mind committed to her plan of action.
“Oh? That sounds wonderful. Would you mind if I joined you and your family for the next round of carols?”
“Oh, that’s, um... well, you see...” Scootaloo’s mind grasped for a solution, one that would get her out of this situation. “Well, my parents, they don’t really like other ponies around for Hearth’s Warming, they think of it as a ‘family’ occasion. They don’t like having visitors around much.”
Celestia’s face became very serious. “Oh, no Hearth’s Warming spirit for them? No desire to show hospitality for their fellow pony?”
Scootaloo was taken aback. “Well, no, not like that! They just like spending time with family, that’s all.”
Celestia giggled. “I was only joking, young filly. I would, however, like to greet them and wish them a happy Hearth’s Warming. You won’t begrudge your Princess that, would you?”
“Oh, no, never! I mean, it’s a little ways away, though... if you had somewhere else to be—”
“I don’t.”
“Oh. Well, if you really wanna meet them.” Scootaloo began retracing her steps through the snow a short distance before realizing where she would be bringing Princess Celestia to. She suddenly changed direction, heading at a different tack into town. Celestia’s gaze lingered on the hoof tracks leading back out of town before following Scootaloo.
“What is your name, young filly?”
“It’s Scootaloo, my Princess.”
“Celestia is fine.” She stood tall above the snow, Scootaloo’s small belly making a small trough between her hoof tracks, while Celestia’s long steps easily traversed the landscape. “So, Scootaloo, I take it you appreciate the Hearth’s Warming festitivites?”
“Oh, of course!” Scootaloo’s face lit up with a vibrancy she didn’t feel. “I mean, all of the great food, the presents, the family... it’s all great.” She looked up at one of the darkened houses, her mind scrambling for an excuse to lose Princess Celestia. “Oh, look, it looks like my family’s gone! They must have gone over to my neighbor’s house. They invited us over to play some games, you know. It’s not a very big house, either... I don’t know if they would be able to have another pony in their home, or... you know, sitting at the table.” She put on her biggest smile, attempting to convince Celestia to turn away. “You know how it is.”
Celestia shook her head. “Yes, I understand. I’d much like to meet these neighbors of yours, though. They seem very kind-hearted, inviting you and your family to their Hearth’s Warming. I’d at least like to leave them with good wishes.”
“Oh, yeah, sure... heheh.” Scootaloo looked a little uneasy, her façade fracturing just slightly. “Yeah, I’ll take you there, then.” She continued trekking through the snow, the calm, smiling Princess Celestia tailing behind her.
They made an entire circuit around the town, Celestia following Scootaloo as she plodded down the roads of Ponyville. Suddenly, Scootaloo halted in front of another darkened house. “Oh, look at that, it looks like my neighbors are out too! I bet they went with my family and they’re having a big party a little outside of town. We do the same thing every year.” She let out a fake laugh. “Silly me, I forgot that we do it every single year.”
“Oh? I’ve never heard of a celebration like that before.” Celestia’s steadfast response came just as quickly as Scootaloo’s excuse. “I would quite like to see it and speak with the ponies celebrating it.”
“Really?” Scootaloo was shocked that Celestia hadn’t gotten the picture yet. They’d circled all the way around Ponyville, stopped at two obviously empty homes, and now Princess Celestia wanted to follow Scootaloo outside of town for a Hearth’s Warming celebration? Scootaloo couldn’t even believe her own ridiculous story. This was the Princess of Equestria, for pony’s sake! “Well, it’s pretty far out. We’ll have to walk for a little while.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Well... all right. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, though.” Scootaloo tried to put caution into her voice that she didn’t really feel. She began retracing her first hoofsteps, the ones that led up to the abandoned shack she sometimes slept in.
As they left Ponyville proper and continued past the remote buildings leading to Scootaloo’s shack, Scootaloo’s heart began beating faster. She started to feel light-headed, her numb limbs suddenly warming with an unnatural heat. Either she was going crazy from the cold, or she was going crazy at the thought of leading the Princess of Equestria to her most important secret. She was guessing it was the latter.
All too quickly, she was standing in front of the door to her abode. She said, “All right. This is where the party is.”
“Oh?” Celestia made a show of looking at the dingy building. “Seems like a wonderful place for a Hearth’s Warming party. I can feel the happiness emanating from out here.”
“Uh-huh...” Scootaloo sounded uncertain. “Are you sure you wanna meet them? I mean, they could be bad ponies or something. I don’t want you to ruin your Hearth’s Warming by meeting them.”
“I think I’d quite like the company, actually.”
“All... all right...” came Scootaloo’s fearful reply. She was about to be found out and she knew it. She’d been lying to the Princess the whole time, and the Princess was about to find out. She’d be in huge trouble, she was certain of it.
Scootaloo raised a shaky hoof and pushed the door open.
Inside, there was nothing.
Well, to Scootaloo, it wasn’t nothing. Over in the back left corner there was a torn blanket and some discarded fabric that served as her bed. In the opposite corner was a rickety table that held a few pieces of food that hadn’t molded, indicating they’d been scrounged up recently. On the opposite side of the door, a window let in a watery light that had managed to pierce the snow, illuminating Scootaloo’s home in all its glory.
“Welcome to the, uh... party,” Scootaloo said in defeat.
“Hmm.” Princess Celestia walked in. “Do you mind if I join you in your festivities, Scootaloo’s parents?” A twinkle in her eye escaped her, belying her knowledge of the situation. “I would quite like to see how you celebrate Hearth’s Warming in your home.”
“Princess, there’s nopony else. It’s just me.” The tears came again, spattering against the dirt floor of the shack. “That’s my Hearth’s Warming dinner, over there on the table. That’s my nice comfy bed. All of my friends and family are in my head. I don’t have anypony.”
Celestia only smiled in reply. “Well, you have me, don’t you? I want to join you in your Hearth’s Warming celebration, then, Scootaloo.”
Celestia’s insistence was getting to be somewhat grating. “Don’t you get it? There is no celebration, there is no happy occasion. There is nothing here! I have some food I pulled out of garbage cans and picked up off the road when a pony dropped it. I have a few pieces of clothing I got from the boutique’s trash. I am living in a shack that nopony uses and nopony thinks about because I’m alone. That’s all there is.” She wiped her tears away with another hoof. “I’m all alone, Princess. I always have been on Hearth’s Warming.”
Celestia’s voice was a strained quiet, very serious. “Until I saw you today, I thought I would spend my Hearth’s Warming alone as well.”
“Huh?” Scootaloo looked back at Princess Celestia in confusion.
“It is a custom for Luna and myself to spend Hearth’s Warming away from each other. We spend so much time in the castle, taking care of royal duties, having to deal with each other, about ready to tear our manes out... the only day we can escape such things is a day which all ponies spend together. Every year, she and I each pick several towns, agreeing that we will not go to the same towns, and we travel. We go from place to place, enjoying the quiet, the emptiness of winter. We are so often caught up in royal duties, we forget what it is like to be alone.
“Luna has not returned to us for all that long, but it is a custom we still hold to this day. There is no telling what tomorrow brings, but today, on Hearth’s Warming, she and I are always alone.” Her gaze met Scootaloo’s. “That is, until I found a pony as lonely as I was. She is a pony I want to spend my Hearth’s Warming with. Now, how about that meal?”
“Well... all right.” Scootaloo led Celestia over to the table, where they both stood next to it. “I don’t have any chairs or anything, so we’ll have to eat standing up. Is that okay?”
“Of course,” came the Princess’s flippant answer.
Scootaloo picked up the first course of the feast: a piece of stale bread. She broke it in half, placing her half down on the table before her and setting the Princess’s half in front of her. “Delicious oven-baked bread, fresh and still hot, almost too hot to eat.”
She picked up her bread, and Celestia followed suit. She stuffed it in her mouth, and Celestia did the same. She smiled as the taste hit her tongue, and Celestia mirrored Scootaloo’s delighted expression.
“Next comes the freshly picked oranges—but first, we should probably get some punch. Made from freshly squeezed lemons and strawberries.” Scootaloo picked up a nondescript jug and poured some plain water out of it and into her mouth. If she focused enough, she could make out the dirt particles flowing—no, she didn’t want to think about that just now.
After she finished drinking, she set the jug back down on the table and pushed it over to Princess Celestia, who likewise picked up the jug and poured some of the dirty water into her mouth. After finishing, she wiped her mouth with a hoof. “Delicious. I can taste the blend very well. Those oranges look even better, though.” She was eyeing some pieces of orange rind.
Scootaloo obliged, setting one of the two pieces in front of the Princess and the other before her. They both picked their rind up, noisily sucking, attempting to drain some small drop of juice out of it for a short period of time. If she closed her eyes and imagined hard enough, Scootaloo could actually taste the orange that had once been held within the peel.
The oranges having been thoroughly demolished, Scootaloo announced, “And now, the third and final course: Grapes straight off the vine.” She revealed a single grape, healthy and plump. She couldn’t believe her luck when she found it behind the Hay Burger, just lying on the street as if a pony didn’t care that she’d been eating so sloppily as to drop it.
Scootaloo looked up at the Princess, then back down at the grape. She rolled it in front of the Princess, then pretended to grab a grape of her own. Princess Celestia picked up the real grape and put it inside her mouth, chewing thoughtfully.
Scootaloo shoved her dirty, numb hoof against her mouth, feeling the grit from the ground beneath her as it collided with her tongue. She winced from the bitterness of it. Just as suddenly, the bitterness turned to sweetness from a grape of her own. She smiled in happiness, the sensation spreading through her body. She removed her hoof from her mouth, looking at Princess Celestia and nodding appreciatively. “Thank you for sharing this Hearth’s Warming meal with me.”
Celestia nodded. “I thank you for sharing your Hearth’s Warming meal with me as well.” She tapped her hoof in thoughtfulness. “I believe I have seen you somewhere, young Scootaloo. Perhaps you know a student of mine?”
Scootaloo nodded. “Twilight Sparkle. She lives here in Ponyville.”
“Ah yes, that’s right. You are friends with Rarity and Applejack’s younger sisters. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, was it?”
Scootaloo nodded vigorously. “You’ve heard of us?”
Celestia chuckled. “But of course. She writes about you from time to time. I can’t help but feel like you’re not as disadvantaged as you’re leading me to believe, though.” Her hoof rubbed against her chin. “You spend most of your time with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. You eat meals with them. Your Hearth’s Warming meal tonight is symbolic, is it not?”
Scootaloo nodded again, this time slowly, thoughtfully. “I didn’t have any friends before them, Princess. Things like these used to be my Hearth’s Warming meal. If I was lucky.” She sighed. “I have to remind myself that this is all temporary. My friends, my big sister... they’ll all leave me one day. Today, on Hearth’s Warming... I remind myself that they’ll all be gone sooner or later.”
Celestia nodded her head in understanding. “I know what it means to lose a friend, or even a loved one, Scootaloo; they’re not gone, though... are they?”
“No... I always imagine them here. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Rainbow Dash... my parents....” She rolled her eyes. “Ugh, I hate Hearth’s Warming. It always reminds me of the ponies who I can’t spend it with.”
“Is that why you don’t spend it with anypony?”
“Yeah... I guess it is. Part of it, at least.”
Celestia nodded. “Well, if you were wondering, I had a delightful time with you this Hearth’s Warming. I think you would brighten the day of anypony, whether they were your friend, or your big sister, or even a complete stranger. Your friends and family won’t be here forever; you should spend what time you can with them before they have to go.”
“Yeah... maybe I will spend next Hearth’s Warming with them. It beats eating stale bread and orange rinds.” Scootaloo smiled to herself. “Thank you for showing me what it’s like to share Hearth’s Warming with a friend, Princess.”
“Of course, Scootaloo.” Celestia returned Scootaloo’s smile, then glanced outside. “Oh, am I late? I think I am. Royal duty calls, young filly. The Sun won’t set itself, and Canterlot is still the better part of a night’s travel from Ponyville.” She bowed to Scootaloo, her knee touching the ground. “Till we meet again.”
Scootaloo likewise bowed. “Till we meet again, Princess.”
“Please, call me Celestia.”
“Celestia, then.” She watched the Princess walk out the door, then close it behind her.
Scootaloo was alone on Hearth’s Warming once more.
On this Hearth’s Warming, at least, she made one fond memory.
After her exhausting day of leading Princess Celestia on a wild goose chase around Ponyville and sharing a Hearth’s Warming dinner with her, Scootaloo was exhausted. She laid down on her assorted fabric scraps and snuggled up for a well-deserved sleep.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
She could hear hooves crunching outside the door of her shack.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The hooves receded into the distance, a silence pervading over Scootaloo’s world. She stirred, determined to find out what ponies were doing outside.
Opening the front door, she found an enormous pile of presents directly in front of her. A large tag on the front read, “To, Scootaloo. From, Ponyville + Princess Celestia.”
Tears sprang to her eyes as she saw the wonderful spectacle before her. Vibrant swatches of wrapping paper covered the snow in front of her. She couldn’t believe her eyes. The residents of the town knew, and they wanted her to know she wasn’t alone. Not anymore.
The colors started to... smear.
Scootaloo squinted her eyes, trying to make out the individual presents, but she couldn’t anymore. She closed her eyes, shaking her head to clear it.
When she opened her eyes, the presents were gone.
Strange. For a moment there, she could have sworn she’d been visited by Princess Celestia yesterday. That she had a big sister, and friends.
Scootaloo looked back into the dingy cabin that had shielded her for every Hearth’s Warming she could remember. Reality was a lot harder to swallow than the fantasy she’d created yesterday.
She looked back at the tracks she’d made in the snow yesterday, now mostly filled, but she could still see little pits where she’d been. Perhaps she’d imagined that journey, too. She saw only a single set of hooves departing and returning: her own. There had been no pony traveling with her.
Scootaloo sighed. Fantasy was always far nicer than reality, but... fantasy didn’t keep her alive.
She sojourned off into the early morning. Everypony would be sleeping in today. She had a veritable buffet of discarded food to scrape up.
Maybe she’d tell Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle about her wonderful Hearth’s Warming if she dreamed about them tonight.