T'was the night before Hearth's Warming Eve, and all throughout Ponyville, Starlight Glimmer may be mildly stressed out. I mean, it's not like she forgot "oh yeah, I care about this holiday now" and didn't do her gift shopping until the last minute, giving her only a few hours to find six inspired, heartfelt, thought-out gifts for her closest friends.
Fortunately, she has Trixie to help her!
...Yeah she's doomed.
Despite the stars, this is not a shipfic.
Written for Moosetasm as a part of Jinglemas 2020.
Chapters (1)
This is nice story! Wanna see more about Glimmy!
Trixie's insight into the card shop is so funny because it's true.
This was a fun little slice-o-life Drakey. Thanks for it.
I love what you did with their dynamic. This story is a perfect example of exactly why I love these two characters interacting together.
Thank you very much for this.
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Very happy you enjoyed it.
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I remember a store near my apartment when I was teenager, they dealt with Yugioh cards and once to get a bit of cash for something I sold them a few, 5 cards for 10 bucks. I read the Beckett collector magazines and looked them up when I got home, naturally most were worth like, 10 bucks or so. And the next time I went in the store I saw a couple of my cards in the display marked at $15.
I understand they have to make a profit on their deals and I think even half-price what a card is actually worth is a good trade for the seller, and they can expect to get more for particularly valuable cards where people would be willing to pay more, but yeah, sometimes they're just gouging.
This is a good holiday story.
This was a solid character dynamic between the two. Starlight's overworking about getting presents for the others that don't feel surface-level or cheap is workable, Trixie's disinterest in hiding her apathy towards it all, but nonetheless hesitating not for a moment in helping Starlight out is both funny and sweet. And it captures that rush to buy Christmas presents in the nick of time so perfectly too.
Not a lot else to say, despite nearly breaching the 6K mark. Characterisation was reliable, it moves at a quick clip and thus packs a lot in without feeling rushed (though there were occasions where the scene descriptions felt slightly sparse - a pinch more window dressing may have helped). And while the whole story struck a good balance between comedic asides and sweet-but-not-sappy sentiment, the ending in particular nailed this, what with Starlight grabbing a random present, Trixie bluntly calling her out on it, letting her know it was okay, and then admitting she didn't get anything either just as they split to go inside.
What can I say, DrakeyC? You remain quite the skilled scribe when it comes to Pony words. If I've never said it before, let it be said here - you're written a fair share of one-shots over the years, and I've liked quite a lot of them, and found several to be really top notch. This isn't that good, but it's sturdy nonetheless, and I feel is the rare Jinglemas story that can stand on its own, and be worth reading, even once the contest is long past us. That's no small praise!
And yes, I was deeply amused by the section in the card shop, just because seeing you write about the trading card game market, even if it's more of a "baseball card collecting" area then a game one actually plays, and make it all feel right and funny, was so good.
it's a very common misconception.
What about Spike?
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...uh... he's off visiting Ember. Yeah...
Awwww. Loved this! Great characterization. Loved the ending. Have a fave!
Lol, now this is a Hearth's Warming tale for sure.
This is great characterization for a reasonably-competent but still obnoxious Trixie.
It really gives a good justification for Starlight to enjoy her company.
An oddball ghost happened across your fic and read it. Have a review!