The old stallion looked about his bedchamber, knowing full well that the second of the spirits was due to appear. Though sceptical at first, there was no longer any doubt in Scrounger's mind that these apparitions were real, and so to was their quest to aid him, however much he might protest their entering his home. Through the darkness and the silence of the night, Scrounger could hear the ticking of his nearby clock, and he counted every second. Eventually, the bells tolled two, as did the great clock of the city far away from his apartment block. The hour was here, though the spirit, at least for now, was not. That all changed though as, once Scrounger sighed a little, a bright light could be seen. But this was not here in his room, as the first Ghost had been, but rather from the adjacent main chamber of his apartment.

Slowly, Scrounger got out of bed again and began to make his way towards the source of the slight, albeit very nervously. He peeked around the frame of the door, and his eyes widened as he saw what lay beyond it. In stark contrast to how his apartment usually looked, it was now looking more festive than even the most ardent of Hearth's Warming celebrations. Tinsel and balloons and streamers of every colour of the rainbow were here, in addition to many lights and candles, giving a warm and festive atmosphere to the place. But most of all, Scrounger's eyes beheld both a magnificent feast and piles upon piles of Hearth's Warming presents, all strewn about the room. It was a sight, that much was certain, and even Scrounger's old and hardened heart couldn't help but lift somewhat at witnessing it.

However, this frame of mind was suddenly interrupted by the sudden arrival of what even a bitter stallion like Scrounger could recognise as laughter. It was high-pitched and most definitely female, and it caused him to turn his head towards the corner of the room. There, sitting atop a pile of presents, was a bright pink earth pony mare. Her mane was a darker shade of pink and extremely bouncy in appearance. She wore a dark green robe with a reef of flowers around her mane. And in one hoof she held a golden horn, atop which was a bright flame. She was laughing happily as she looked at Scrounger tentatively enter the room, leading to the stallion taking a few nervous steps forward. As he approached her, the mare spoke up.

"Hiya!"

Needless to say, this was not the kind of greeting that Scrounger was expecting to hear from some spirit. But he nevertheless tried to return the greeting.

"Um...hello? I assume you are the second of the spirits sent to help me?"

The mare nodded.

"You betcha! I'm the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Present! Bet you've never seen the likes of me before, have you?"

Scrounger shook his head, certain that he'd remember seeing a mare of this kind in the past if such an encounter had ever happened. The pink mare regarded this in a brief moment of silence before smiling widely again.

"How about my older sisters? I've had over eighteen hundred of them ya know?"

Scrounger raised an eyebrow at that.

"Eighteen hundred sisters?"

The Ghost tapped her chin with her hoof before shrugging her shoulders.

"Well...technically I only had three, but eighteen hundred sounds like so much more fun! Imagine all the Birthdays I'd get to plan!"

Scrounger, understandably, was rather taken aback by how relaxed and jovial this spirit was being, given the serious nature of the visit, and what it was supposed to achieve. Even so, he dared not call her out on her behaviour, and instead decided to get right to the point of the matter.

"Spirit, if it's all the same to you, I would rather we get on with our business."

The pink mare looked a little disappointed by that, but nevertheless nodded in agreement. With one motion, she hopped off the pile of presents and landed safely on three of her hooves, with the fourth still holding onto the horn. Scrounger looked at her as she turned her head towards the item in her hoof and inhaled deeply, shortly before letting out a massive gust of breath at the flame on top of it. Scrounger backed away slightly as this caused the flame to burst forth, spreading all over and engulfing both the room and everything in it, including himself. He cowered at this, but soon realised that the flame had no heat, and did not hurt in the slightest. Slowly, he looked up and, to his surprise, found that the room around him was changing, almost as if it were disintegrating in fact.

Within moments, the power of the Spirit had changed their location. No longer were she and Scrounger in his apartment, but in what was unmistakeably the main street of Manehattan. More than that though, the time must have changed along with the location, as the sun had long since risen and was lighting up the whole city, made all the brighter by the whiteness of the snow everywhere. Scrounger looked around and saw mares, stallions and foals all walking about and speaking happily to one another, a clear sign of a happy holiday. To his surprise, the Ghost approached him and firmly slapped a hoof onto his shoulder, all while smiling widely at him.

"Look around you! Everywhere you see, ponies are being happy, enjoying this special day. And why wouldn't they? This is a day to be happy. To be kind and caring towards others. You see it in the face of every colt and filly. In the smell of the air. It's...it's..."

The mare's face lit up as if an idea had popped into her head, leading to an even bigger grin on her face, which for some reason made Scrounger very nervous. Before he could say anything, the mare leapt away from him and onto a nearby box, where she inhaled deeply before, to Scrounger's surprise and chagrin, she started to sing.

"It's in the singing of a street-corner choir! It's going home and getting warm by the fire! It's true wherever you find love, it feels li-UMPH!"

Before she could finish that line, Scrounger had moved as fast as he could to clamp a hoof down over her mouth, all while glaring angrily at her.

"NO!!! We are not doing that!"

The spirit wrestled away from his grasp and looked at him with a frown.

"Well fine, Mr mean-mean-meanypants! We'll just stick to this the old fashioned way then."

Scrounger nodded at that, already having had his fill of this mare's bubbly personality. So he silently watched as she once again blew into the flame on her horn, which then surrounded him yet again, transforming the scene around him. When the flames subsided, he found himself in a modest but comfortable living room, which had many holiday party-goers, earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi alike. But what drew Scrounger's eye most of all was the one leading the group. With a big smile on his face, it was none other than Prancer, Scrounger's Nephew. The old stallion looked upon the younger as the latter raised a glass to those who had come to his home on this holiday, all of whom were laughing at something, though what, Scrounger could not say. From what the stallion could guess he'd just stumbled into the middle of a conversation, which Prancer was in the middle of continuing.

"...and that was how we left things."

The other guests looked at each other with some incredulity until an older stallion spoke up.

"Hearth's Warming Eve a humbug? He actually said that?"

Scrounger’s' ears pricked up at that, recognising immediately that they must have been talking about him. Immediately a feeling of discomfort gripped him as he began to turn and walk away from this, not wanting to see any more. But he was stopped from doing so by his pink mare escort, who glared at him before pointing a hoof back at the party-goers, prompting him to face them once again, albeit with an unhappy look on his face. So he carried on listening as Prancer addressed the other stallion.

"I'm afraid so. He's never been one for this day, or any other to be perfectly honest."

A nearby earth pony mare, which Scrounger guessed to be Prancer's wife, spoke up after hearing that.

"Such an unpleasant stallion. I don't understand how you can keep going back to him, Prancer. He just turns you away, every time."

Scrounger's nephew nodded at that before speaking to her.

"I understand, my dear. And truly, I wish he would open up to me more. Bu if he doesn't...well...that's his choice."

Another pang of guilt took Scrounger as he considered that. He recalled what he'd said to the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Past. How he'd always pushed his nephew away because of the lost sister he'd reminded him of. It was something he regretted, though he did not wish to openly admit that to that spirit beside him. But still, here was the fruits of his actions in keeping him away. Prancer's friends joking about him behind his back. Had this been any other day, he'd have shrugged off such words. But tonight, after everything else he'd seen and heard, they struck deep. Still, he was here for a reason, and so kept on listening as Prancer carried on speaking.

"Still, he's family all the same, even if he doesn't show it. And while he would not wish to join us, he's nevertheless given us a few laughs. So, here's to Scrounger!"

He lifted a glass once more, as did all of his guests, all of whom let out a mumble of "hear hear" in agreement to Prancer's words. Scrounger watched carefully as his nephew and his friends all began enjoying each other's company soon afterwards, though this was interrupted yet again by the sudden appearance of yet another bout of flames from the Ghost’s horn. Surrounded by the magical fire, it was not long before Scrounger looked upon his new surroundings. It was another home he did not recognise, though this one was far smaller and less clean than Prancer's abode. The windows were somewhat grimy and the whole place felt cramped. Scroungers' attention was drawn to a nearby fireplace, atop which was a bubbling pot of some sort, which led to an earth pony mare rushing in from the next room to see to it.

"Oh blast it!" she said in an annoyed tone.

Scrounger raised an eyebrow before turning to the spirit, who was humming to herself before being interrupted by the old stallion.

"Spirit...is this place of some importance?"

A look of confusion passed the spirit's face before it soon morphed into one of understanding.

"Oh yeah! I forgot, you've never been here before, have you? Well, this is the home of your clerk, Bob!"

Surprise came to Scrounger's face as he regarded that, before he turned and began looking around. This was where Bob lived? Granted he'd never taken the time to learn much about his clerk's personal life, but he'd always assumed that he lived somewhere better than this at least. Still, his attention was then drawn to the front door, where sure enough, Bob himself soon entered, shaking his fur of any snow before closing the door behind him. After a moment or two, he smiled as he looked upon the mare by the fireplace.

"Ah! Good evening, love! I trust you're well?"

The mare turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

"I suppose, though it'd be nice if I had a few extra hooves helping me out with dinner every once in a while."

Bob looked somewhat nervous at that before offering a smile to his wife.

"Well...it was Pip. He didn't want to leave the park too soon."

It was here that Bob stood aside, revealing both to his wife and to Scrounger that he was not alone. There was a tiny colt just behind him, white in his fur and bearing a brown spot on one eye. Scrounger assumed that this must be Pip, Bob's son that he occasionally heard about. The mare, seeing the young and adorable-looking colt beside her husband, looked at the latter in an annoyed fashion.

"Bobbing F Apples, are you trying to get me to be less angry at you by having our son be more adorable than usual?"

The stallion shrugged his shoulders, making it clear that this was exactly what he'd been planning. The mare let out a sigh before starting to chuckle, as too did both Bob and Pip. The three all huddled together in a warm and hearth-melting way, something even Scrounger wasn't totally immune to at this point. However, the moment was spoiled somewhat as the young colt began to let out quite a painful-sounding cough. Scrounger stepped forward, looking somewhat concerned, though not anywhere near as much as the colt's mother, who dropped to her knees and watched Pip closely.

"Oh honey! I'm sorry, we got you too excited there, didn't we?"

The colt continued to cough a great deal before forcing a smile for his mother's sake.

"It's okay, Mama. I'll be fine."

Another cough came, though this one was thankfully much briefer than the first. Both parents looked at each other with concerned expressions, before the Mother softly urged her son to get himself ready for dinner, which he dutifully did. Both parents looked on as he slowly made his way past the form of Scrounger and up the stairs. With the child gone, Scrounger watched as his parents began to speak to each other, albeit in hushed tones.

"So…how was he today?" the mare asked.

Bob looked at the ground a little.

"I want to say he's getting stronger. But..."

He didn't finish those words, but then, he didn't have to. Scrounger knew well the hidden meaning behind them, as indeed did anypony with sense. More guilt passed through his heart as he regarded what was going on around him. The dishevelled house Bob and his family lived in. The poor health of his son. The meagre wage Scrounger gave the stallion was barely able to pay even for this, and still Bob went on with a smile on his face every day he came to work. It was a thought that practically sent a knife through Scrounger, reflected in the painful expression his face then twisted into. The sound of hoofsteps coming down the stairs caused all there to turn, as Pip was now making his way back to his parents, with a big smile upon his face, just like his Father always wore. One with his Mother and Father, Pip looked up at them expectantly.

"Will there be a cake this year, Papa?"

Bob smiled and patted his son's head upon hearing that.

"Of course, little guy. Wouldn't be Hearth's Warming Eve without a cake now would it?"

The little colt practically jumped at that before his Mother chimed in.

"Indeed. It'll be the three of us today. Like it should be. And Faust bless this day for that."

Pip looked up at his mother and smiled.

"Faust bless us, everypony!"

There was a hushed chuckle by both parents as they heard those words, before they moved in and nuzzled each other affectionately. But all the while, Scrounger could not take his eyes off little Pip, his expression going softer with every passing moment. Though he had not spoken to her since he arrived here, he felt the need to address his spirit companion.

"Ghost of Hearth's Warming Present. Please...tell me that colt will live."

He did not turn to face her, but he heard her voice as she spoke. Though to his surprise, it was not in the upbeat and bubbly way he'd come to expect her, but a deeper and more serious tone.

"I work in the present, not the future. But I do know this. If these events remain unaltered...the child will die."

Scrounger was aghast upon hearing that, and so he spun around to look upon the spirit, hoping beyond hope that this was merely some jest on her part. But when he looked upon her, his eyes widened with shock. It was the same mare, but gone was the happy and joyful look on her face. It was replaced instead by one of uttermost seriousness. In addition, her mane had lost it's bounciness and had become straight, falling down and practically dragging along the floor now. Even her colouring was darker than it had been. As she looked at Scrounger, her eyes narrowed somewhat as she regarded the words she'd spoken to him.

"But what of it? If he's going to die then he'd better do it, and decrease the surplus population...right, Scrounger?"

Horror gripped the old stallion as he began to back away from the angry-looking mare, ashamed and terrified at hearing his old and bitter words thrown back at him like this. But when he turned, he saw that the scene had changed yet again. The tiny house was gone, as indeed was Bob and his family. Instead, he looked out upon a bleak and desolate field, the cold wind blowing fiercely, and the sky overhead covered with grey and depressing clouds. He looked back at the Ghost, and found himself surprised once more as he saw that her face had become withered, and her mane gaining more and more grey. As he regarded her, he spoke.

"Do...do you grow old, spirit?"

The mare chuckled, albeit in a dry manner.

"Unlike the others, my time in this world is very brief. It ends...upon the stroke of twelve."

The old stallion looked somewhat confused at that, but soon found his attention drawn to a building that was not there moments ago. A single clock tower, whose face was showing that the midnight hour was fast approaching. In mere moments, the first bell had begun to ring, echoing across the vast and empty landscape. Scrounger turned to look upon the mare, and it was here that something else began to catch his notice. Something was moving about within her robe, though he was made quite uncomfortable by looking at it.

"Spirit...is there something else you need to show me?"

The mare said nothing, but nodded gravely, before dropping her horn to the ground, causing it to land with a massive "thud", even upon the soft grass below. After this, the mare reached around and began lifting up her robe, causing Scrounger to recoil backwards as he saw what dwelled within. It was a pair of foals, one male pegasus and one female unicorn, bearing a brown and orange mane respectively. They were both filthy and looking very unhappy, clinging to the spirit's back legs in fear and desperation. Scrounger looked upon them, not quite understanding what he saw seeing, and so looked up at the still-ageing mare, all while the bells kept on ringing.

"Are those children yours, Spirit?"

The pink mare shook her head before replying.

"They are the children of ponykind. The colt is ignorance, and the filly is want. Beware them both, but especially the colt. For it is through following him that pony's such as yourself...seal their fate."

Scrounger found it hard to breathe at this point, as the sheer weight of what was going on around him began to really sink in. The bells of the nearby tower kept on ringing, and with each passing bell-toll, Scrounger found, to his utter shock, that the spirit, as well as the foals, began to fade away. Another bell, and then another, and another. The spirit was almost gone now, but before she left completely, she gave Scrounger one final, piercing look. A look that the old stallion knew he'd remember for the rest of his life, for good or ill. Eleven bells now, and then finally twelve. As promised, the spirit and the foals were gone now. Scrounger was left alone once more, though this time, he had not been returned to his bed chamber. Instead, he remained in this desolate field, with no guide and nothing to aid him.

Nothing, that is, except the knowledge that only one final spirit remained.