A Heart Warming Eve Carol

by Lighting Ace

The Ghost Of Heart Warming Present (Grammarly Check)

After drinking some hot chocolate to calm their nerves the mane six gather around near the kitchen to try and think of a plan.

"So…ghosts are real then. Don't get me wrong this is nothing we can't kick their flanks if needed to be but still never imagine we actually would be facing an actual ghost from a children's book" Dash mentions trying to lighten the mood after some uncomfortable silence.

"I'm not sure if we should even stop them Dash" Applejack argues "I mean sure they are way different than the story we all read but at the end of the day I think they are trying to help" She sighs and stare at her mug "And geez talk about heavy, I always thought that guy was just spoiled and bratty, never imagine he had suffered so much"

"I can't help but feel partially at fault here" Twilight sat down dejectedly "I mean this is Moondancer all over again if I have only not been so focused on my books…"

"...I will stop you right there Twilight dear" Rarity stops her with a glare "True his past was sad but you didn't do anything wrong. The only pony to blame for him turning into such a brute is himself and no pony else"

"Well…Princess Celestia could have tried to spend a bit more time with him" Applejack mentions in sorrow "I mean he was vulnerable, after his mom and I know for experience that at that moment is when you needed your family the most if she truly just focus on her job well…after been betray like he did I wouldn't blame him as much"

"Yeah, I'm not much for revenge but that Epona mare seems to me that she kind of brought it on herself and he gave her the money back…right?"

The mares all looked at one another and realized something was missing "Ah, has anyone seen Fluttershy and Pinkie?" They start to look around after finding their respective mugs on the floor and the mares in question are nowhere to be seen, in time to hear a bell tower ring again in the distance.

Moments Earlier

The knocking on the door awoke the prince followed by the faint scent of cocoa as he slowly rose from he slowly rose to his bed in confusion “Blueblood?” The faint voice of Fluttershy tells him everything he needs to know as he grumbles and lays down once more. “Can we come in?”

“Go away”

“Come on Bluey!” Pinkie suddenly appears under his sheet startling him as he jumps out of the bed and sits on the ground while Fluttershy walks inside “We brought you milk and cookies. Who could say no to that”

She offer a tray with the treats as he eyed her suspiciously before looking at them “That is chocolate milk”

“Is that a yes then?”

Fluttershy lightly pushes Pinkie away and her heart sank once she sees his bloodshot eyes, which tells her how he has been crying as he tries to glare at the two.

“How many times do I have to tell you to just leave me alone?”

“No,” She tells with finality

“What?” He looks confused as she approaches and grabs one of the cups and sits on the bed.

“You need a friend more than ever, and after what we saw I can’t simply stay idle knowing a pony suffers as you do. No matter how mean you are. So if Discord can change his ways I have complete faith that you can too and if you don’t have any friends then I will be yours, and that is final. So no I’m not going anywhere”

“Yeah, no pony should spend Heart Warming alone and grumpy in the dark” Pinkie brings him into a hug “That is just sad, please at very least let us help you spook those ghosts as you asked us in the first place” She gives him pleading eyes making him sigh in defeat.

“You two are as stubborn as a…” He takes a sniff at the cookies and eyed them carefully before taking one “Fine…but only because these are good” He starts to nibble at them “Where did you buy them?”

“I made them silly!” Pinkie quickly replied “Would you like to know how? We can cook them together if you wish”

He just remain silent as he eyed her warily before looking away “I will think about it”

"I will take that as a yes~"

Fluttershy from her part starts to smile when she notices a small smile forming on the corner of his mouth until they all hear the second bell ringing and lookup.

“Here we go again” Blueblood sigh and they await the arrival as everything is deadly silent until Pinkie starts to hear some laughter “There you go Bluey, just laugh it off” Pinkie cheers at him.

“That…isn’t me” The group eyes wide when they hear laughing coming from a door on the far corner where they see light from the other side. “Enter Blueblood!” Someone call for him from the other side of the door

“Oh, is that your closet Bluey?” Pinkie asked as they slowly made their way toward the door.

“No, there wasn’t even a door there before” He confesses and he tentatively opens the door immediately blinding the group from the light as it lightly pulls them in toward a ballroom full of the festivities decoration, toys, and musical instruments playing jingles and songs of the festivities, with walls seemly made of light lighting the room even more at the beat of the song, and in one corner brimming with presents and a giant abundance of foods and treats of all kind with a giant bulky red earth pony with a green thick robe a wreck crown with fruits on and a big brown beard, mane and tail while holding a torch that seems to be the source of light which upon close inspection they discover that it was, in reality, a horn of abundance emanating light from its base, sitting on top of the pile laughing his head off until he spots the tree.

“Come, my friends, come join and know me better” The stallion called them to come closer, lighting the mood as they slowly made their way toward him shielding their eyes.

“I’m the ghost of Heart Warming Present” He announced in between fits of laughter “Tell me, young prince, do you still hold resentment towards the likes of me and my siblings?”

“I…I’m sorry, I don’t follow, or recall ever meeting any other ghosts before” He confesses not wanting to anger the giant pony in front of him

“Never? Have you not walked forth in the past with all of my siblings, they have told me stories of you as the youngest of the family, stories of how you both enjoyed this day in earnest until you turn your back on them for so long”

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to or even recall, do you have, many siblings?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. It depends on how many you define as many” he cracked another joke “Is more than two thousand, consider ‘many’?”

“More than two…!? Y-Yes” He tells in shock

“Two thousand and twenty-two to be precise…and still counting,” He tells without any sarcasm leaving the ponies in the room cold as he laughs again.

“Wow and I thought Applejack had a big family” Pinkie whistle in surprise

“And yet there is plenty of food for everyone on the table to have their fill, with enough to go around including you, should you wish to join,” he says, offering him a silver plate with all sorts of treats that Pinkie was about to take a bite until Fluttershy stopped her.

“Ah s-spirit I just noticed, you have a sheet but not a sword, why is that?” Blueblood points out once his eyes adjust to the light and as to realize it himself the spirit grabs the garment and peek at the hole in it

“So it seems” He let it go and shrug “Peace on the world, and goodwill toward all”

At the mention of that Blueblood can’t fill a pang of guilt as the words of the past still echo in his mind, the declaration on how disappointed his mother would be, hurting him the most as he looks down in shame.

“Spirit please let just… let us just move on with this, show us what you came for”

“So eager are you to start the festivities?” He questioned before laughing with force “So am I! Come to my friends, touch my robe” He grabs and raises the golden belt on it which extends in golden glitter until it is at arms reach from everyone.

The prince hesitated before looking at his companions “You don’t need to follow if you want. This…is my problem”

Rather than answer Fluttershy simply grab the belt “I told you we are not going anywhere”

“We are here for you” Pinkie nods and grabs the robe too

“Such kindness and positivity, are you gonna deny them again young prince?” the spirit questions with a raised eyebrow as he shakes his head and smiles a little silently thank them and grab the robe.

The moment he does, golden glitter exudes from it and reduces the pile of the feast until the spirit was sitting next to them as he rises while laughing. Taking his horn of abundance closer he blows on it and golden dust is spread all over the room disintegrating the decoration and erasing the floor beneath the too, scaring the prince and pegasus who hug each other and hold into the spirit for dear life as Pinkie look at this with fascination

“Cool”

To their horror they see the floor beneath his room as if they were looking at a transparent window as the spirit and Pinkie keep laughing, shaking everything he began to stir the room using his horn and move the entire place around like a chariot until they were outside the castle.

“Weee, this is amazing! Hey Spirit, can I have a turn next?” Pinkie look at him with fascination as he laugh and shake his head “Maybe when all things are well and done Pinkie, but as for now, we are on a mission” He smiled as they see the snow all around him and relaxing a bit the prince smile looking at children playing a snow fight with intrigued.

“Quite the view”

“Indeed, many can claim to see things from the clouds as your friend can attest” The spirit points at Fluttershy “But few are the ones granted a view of the fruits of goodwill and kindness throw out the land” The Spirit continues and brings them both to a tour not only around Canterlot but throw out the world seeing Cloundale, Ponyville, Appaloosa and more. Seeing ponies enjoying the festivities in various ways and gathering to share gifts or enjoy a delicious meal.

“It…quite beautiful actually, kind of familiar even” Clearing a tear the prince holds his chest

“Oh? Tell me, young prince, do any of these scenes remind you of something?”

“Yeah I think it does, I think that is how Heart Warming Eve used to feel, but kind of different. But I thought…no it impossible, it has been gone for so long now”

“Gone? Or just forgotten?” He questioned him with a raised eyebrow yanking the room with force making the prince trip and then look at the spirit “Listen to me Blueblood, sadness, and joy are a chain that needs one another to exist. From loss, we can celebrate what once was, as well as teach us what makes it rich and whole and what we can earn from them. To wallow in self-pity is to blindfold yourself. Light can’t be seen by those set on ignoring it. The joy of the heart is an ever-changing flame, that can warm the soul as long as you are willing to look for it. Remember that”

“...Yeah I will” Blueblood nods in shame looking down as Fluttershy helps him stand up.

The spirits continue their tour as they return to Canterlot reaching the bottom district reserved to the farms where he poured some of his gold to open the rooftop of a fairly big house.

“I imagine this place hold some kind of significance spirit”

“It the residence of the one that wrong you in the past”

“What?!” They all look at him like he just sprung a second head as he smirks and points down so they can see for themselves how Epona was busy preparing quite the feast with her fanciest of dress, helped by four of her children’s

“There that is the last one mom” The oldest call.

“Excellent, then we only need to wait”

“Oh please I can’t wait for everyone to come, this smell delicious” Another filly call smelling a soup as Epona push her back laughing at her antics, "Be patient Tiffa”

“Epona? What…what happened to her?” Blueblood questions in astonishment "She seems so…happy and kind? But that is impossible!"

“What is the matter, young prince?” The spirit points at the feast as more of the friends of Epona arrived as well as her husband, all of them, the previous ponies that tried to use him for their nefarious agenda in the past.

“Aren’t we deserving of a chance for redemption? Isn’t every pony right to atone for their misdeeds”

“But her…all of them, they were just vile snakes only looking for an easy bite,” He tells with boiled blood.

“And now their hearts have morphed into something brighter and beautiful” He turns to him in surprise “Indeed in the past, these ponies were responsible to turn your back on my siblings, but it was the scare you gave them, that force them to see the worth of their actions as well as the fruit of an honest humble labor”

“I can’t believe it, I never imagine they could truly changed”

“How could you know? As you burned every card they send your way, on the assumption they only wanted to try to hurt you once more. And yet they still tried” He points at a reserved empty chair with a plate ready to be used even if all the guests have arrived yet "An atone soul seaking for forgiveness for those they hurt the most, aren't they worth at the very least a chance to say their peace?"

“Every pony has the potential to change Blueblood” Fluttershy approach “If only you give them a chance, you would be surprised of what they can become”

“But if I lower my guard…”

“Indeed, it is always uncertain what might happen, how power can change someone for the worse as much as it can for the better, but that is why it calls hope” He grants him a big grin as he starts to notice how his hair was turning gray

“Life can't just be weighed down by the mistakes of our past. Doesn’t it?”

“No, I suppose it can't.” He looked down in disappointment at the group having fun, barely recognizing the ponies he once hated so much and feeling envious of how they obtained a much richer and happy life than he once had.

“How can this be possible, why? Why are they the ones that got their happy life, after what they did?”

“I believed there was a mare that could answer that much better, don't you think?” He raised an eyebrow before lifting his horn and spinning it around with force swallowing the group on a golden tornado until they appeared in Luna's room as Celestia was talking with her.

“Blueblood says he might come to the party this time”

Sighing Luna finishes putting on her regalia before looking at her sister “Sister why do you keep bringing that pony each holiday. Despite your claims, does it matter if he assists or not?”

“Luna he is our nephew”

“So you claim but ever since my return, at best he has been another staff member, and at worse a leech on the pretense to be blood-related”

“Luna!”

“I’m sorry Tia but it needs to be said, you claimed that he is part of our family but he has been anything but that. Just closing himself in his room, holding grudges against your pupil for the decision her ruler has made. Refusing to listen to reason, or anyone else other than his mirror for that matter”

“Remind me of a mare that I made the mistake to ignore until it was too late” Celestia confesses in shame making Luna pause.

“That was a low blow sister”

“I’m only saying, despite our clashes he is still a good pony on the inside, and after what happened to you. I…I don’t want things to repeat, I still have hope we all can be a family”

She sighs and shakes her head “I will trust your judgment sister, but you have to understand, there is only so much you can do for stubborn ponies like him. If worse came to pass, then I’m afraid there will be an option”

Celestia remains quiet but with a single tear she nods understanding what she was implying, leaving the prince speechless

“It makes you think doesn’t it?” The spirit stood in front of him as everything went dark once more “You got another aunt, don't you? Someone you could have possibly connected so much as she needed help. Someone that would have easily placed all her attention on you. And now she only is wary of what you can be capable of becoming”

“I get it, I was bratty”

He huffed in annoyance “No Blueblood you are past bratty by this point young prince, this is just plain insensitive, stubborn, and grumpy”

Pinkie notices how his mane was now completely gray and he looks thinner now.

“Spirit, what is happening to you?!”

“My existence is brief Pinkie, I can only exist for a total of one day, and the time is almost over. It will end when the clock reaches midnight” He points at giant bell towers emerging from the fog and surrounding them like a clock as the sound of the time starts to grow stronger.

In the distance as they see nothing but fog underneath their feet and the cold night with a full moon on top of their heads.

“But before I depart there is one last warning I must issue. Tell me, young prince, can you hear them?”

The Spirit ask cryptically as silence start to invade the place, the prince could hear slow growling coming from the spirit and more specifically the base of his robe where he saw a small hoof sticking out.

“Y-Yeah what is that spirit?”

Rather than answer, he unrobes himself and shows the tree, two small, rachitic and dirty kids, one a colt and the other a filly growling at them and causing them to flinch and take a step back.

“Engrave them into your mind Blueblood, those are the imps nibbling at your ear” He used his horn to illuminate them better “The colt is Ignorance and the filly is Want. They are the voices that keep you close off from everyone, the demons on your shoulder that keep telling you to remain in misery, beware them both”

“S-Spirit please put them away I don’t want to see them anymore” The prince begged as he looked away in both fear and disgust feeling like he remembered their touch before.

With an emotionless face, he covers them once more “There, you don’t have to see them anymore. They are now invisible to the naked eye but don’t fool yourself, young prince, they are still there, ever-present, ever waiting” The bell towers then start to ring, and going clockwise one by one each of the twelve starts to crumble and fall after their fulfill their duty. As it happens the spirit body start to turn gray and turn to dust and sand

“My time is coming to its end, I must be going” With each ringing, the wind starts to pick up and he starts to resemble more a golem of sand. “And I’m afraid this is the end of the road for you two too” He raised his horn at the mares who also turn translucent

“What no! We are not going anywhere. Especially with the final ghost…” Fluttershy and Pinkie tried to plead but he had none of them and blast them with a torrent of sand that send them flying before they could do anything Fluttershy desperately tries to fight and reach out for the prince hoof as he remain stuck by the sand keeping him in place.

“I’m sorry but it's beyond my hooves now. For this…” He sends them away before looking at Blueblood “...you must march alone” The spirit keep laughing until his face turns to sand and the remaining of his body collapsed under his weight as the wind becomes stronger and carries all the sand that once was he away into the distance finally freeing him but now leaving him alone with one last black tower in front of him still announcing the time

The mares meanwhile were flung into the four winds until eventually, they spot the door throw which they enter and re-appear in Blueblood room just in time for Twilight to try to open the door resulting in them tackling the group and startle them before it was shut down tight once again.

“Fluttershy, Pinkie what just happened?” AJ is the first to recover as they stood up in alarm "Was that the ghost of the past? Is he the door, where is Blueblood?"

“In there" Fluttershy points at the door without skipping a beat "We just saw the ghost of the present come and go and…the final ghost!" Her eyes widen as she stares at Twilight in alarm "Twilight we need to go in there, the final ghost is in there with Blueblood. He is gonna a be at the mercy of the Windigoes!"

Comments

[SuperPinkBrony12]

So, what will The Ghost of Hearth's Warming Future have to show Blueblood other than perhaps his own grave?

[Lighting Ace]

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Jeje you would see…tomorrow