Midnight Vigil
It was on one of Pinkie Pie’s diplomatic visits to Yakyakistan that something very unexpected happened, which honestly there wasn’t much Pinkie didn’t expect to happen so that in itself was a surprise. She had been visiting Prince Rutherford to discuss opening a trade route through the Crystal Empire to Canterlot and of course for the two longtime friends to catch up. They had finished their opening discussion of trade and had decided to take a stroll around Prince Rutherford’s favored trail on the outskirts of the village, and as the pair ambled down the path something out of place had caught Pinkie’s attention. A small, spotted, brown, oval shape had been cast aside in the snow and Pinkie was positive that it had been her lucky day! This little object must certainly be one of Yakyakistan’s famed chocolate eggs and they were both expensive and hard to come by so finding one had to be a sign that her mission here would be a success and this was her reward!

However as Pinkie approached and reached to pick up this sweet bit of snow candy, she was surprised that the bit of candy let out a small, pathetic whimper. Upon closer inspection, she realized that her chocolate treat was actually a tiny reindeer calf that had weakly attached itself to the warmth her hoof had provided. She frowned, who could abandon such a cute little thing to the frozen snows. Pinkie turned to her companion, puffing her mane out of her face and asked, "Ruffy, is there any way we can save him?". 



Rutherford leaned down close to the calf nestled into Pinkie's chest and grunted: "Possibly Pink Pony but reindeer not as strong as yak so reindeer might not survive, take reindeer to Yvette". Pinkie nodded the yak healer might be able to help him but the poor thing was so cold in her arms that she wasn't sure if they had found him in time. Both Pinkie and Prince Rutherford turned back the way they came and made a mad dash for the village and into the hut that Yvette tended to the sick in and explained the situation to the nurse. She frowned, nodding her acceptance of the task, and took the calf and began to work on him. Prince Rutherford seemed satisfied and called for Pinkie to join him in retiring for the night. Pinkie turned to follow but she couldn't help but stop and look back at the working nurse. 



She sighed and turned back to an expectant Rutherford, "I'll have to decline Ruffy; I just can't leave him". Rutherford snorted understanding how soft Pinkie was and responded "Be careful Pink Pony, tiny reindeer might not make it" and with that bit of advice, Rutherford left Pinkie to be with Yvette and the calf. Pinkie stayed close to the door of the hut, not wanting to get in the way of Yvette's work. It seemed to take hours for Yvette's bustling to come to an end, and then she approached Pinkie relaying her verdict "Yvette do all she can, small reindeer weak, not strong like yak calf. If reindeer live through night, he should survive". Pinkie glanced towards the calf nearly swallowed by the hay of the Yak's beds and braved a question she wasn't sure she wanted the answer to, "What will happen to him if he does survive". 



Yvette seemed to consider the possibility for a moment before answering "Reindeer would go to home for orphans in one of outer villages". Pinkie nodded solemnly before telling Yvette she would watch the calf, the nurse could go get rest and Pinkie would get her if his condition changed. Yvette gratefully took the offer and retreated to her sleeping hut. Pinkie moved the Yak end table closer to the little calf's bedside to be used as a stool and produced her blanket and pillow gently rearranging the soft objects around the slightly warmer calf and in return, he gave a soft cry as he curled closer into the new softness. Pinkie settled onto her makeshift seat and promised to the tiny calf that she wouldn't leave his side until the morning light poured into the window and door if only he would return the favor by lasting that long. 


The pink mare unconsciously started humming a soft lullaby, one that her own mother used to sing when the Pie sisters were tiny foals. As her watch continued she actually sung the words to the tiny calf hoping the words would soothe his mind and keep him anchored to life, 

“Lullaby and good night

In the sky stars are bright
May the moons silvery beams

Bring you sweet dreams

Close your eyes now and rest

May these hours be blessed

Til the sky’s bright with dawn

When you wake with a yawn”

The song faded back to hums as Pinkie sighed, her heart in turmoil, as she watched this tiny little bit of snow candy struggle for his life. She wished Skystar was able to take this trip with her, but she was currently all the way on the other side of Equestria taking Prom to visit her grandmother and she had no means to contact her wife. She didn't want to leave this calf to an orphanage, likely to remain in the system for far too long. Pinkie knew from the moment he clutched her hoof seeking for warmth that she had fallen in love; Pinkie didn't like to be angry at anything but she burned inside for whoever left the tiny calf to die. And as she sat vigil by the reindeer's beside she weighed what she wanted and how she believed Skystar would respond. Pinkie never liked making decisions this big without Sky's input but it would take time she didn't have for that conversation to take place. Pinkie was coming to terms with bringing the calf home, the consequences of which she would willingly take, when she realized that the small bits of light pouring into the hut were brightening and as she glanced back down to the source of her debate, she looked into blue eyes that so closely resembled not only her own but Skystar's as well. 



Pinkie's eyes filled with tears of joy as she watched the tiny calf shuffled about, still too young and too weak to fully move but he once again curled himself into her hoof and that sealed her decision in stone. Snow Candy was coming home with her. Yvette and Prince Rutherford entered the hut not long after and both were pleasantly surprised to find the reindeer calf had survived. Prince Rutherford approached as Yvette began to prepare the calf a meal. "I'm going to adopt him" Pinkie declared lovingly as she watched Rutherford examine Snow Candy. Rutherford met Pinkie's eyes and chuckled, "Reindeer has heart of yak, Pink Pony has made good choice in son". Pinkie couldn't imagine a higher praise from her yak friend as she accepted the food Yvette had prepared for the calf. 



"About those trade routes" Pinkie began, now finally able to think of the reason she had actually come for, but before she could get into the talks once again Prince Rutherford interrupted, "No need, Rutherford agrees to first deal to celebrate strong life". Pinkie giggled replying "I always knew you were a big softie Ruffy". Rutherford scoffed at the insinuation but didn't deny it and the soft smile on his face only further confirmed it. Snow Candy would always be an honorary yak to him. It wasn't long after that they drew up the paperwork for the new trade routes and while the two friends would have liked to spend more time together, Pinkie set on her long journey back to Ponyville with her new little bundle in tow. 

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Oh gosh, I didn’t expect this to be so long or take as much time to write but I just couldn’t get the story or the art out of my brain! This picture was definitely not going to be so detailed but it was quite fun to draw even with the mistakes that are there. I’m just so attached now to Pinkie’s children, so much so it actually made me do story are rather than just references, talk about an exercise in matching style. I based the yak hut from the ones shown in the show, which most seem very similar and pretty basic, and I think proportion wise Pinkie and Snow fit in pretty well. The lighting is pretty minimal but that’s okay I figured there wouldn’t be much in this kind of setting anyways. Maybe one day I’ll design Yvette since she isn’t based on any of the yaks we’ve seen so far. I probably should’ve put a few more background items in but, oh well.

Really I do have to thank [Kalimoo-Art](https://www.deviantart.com/kalimoo-art) for not only designing such a wonderful character but for giving him such an inspiring back story and nudging me into writing story bits. ❤️ 

Edit: Kali suggested Pinkie singing a lullaby so I searched around a bit and this one felt particularly appropriate for the situation and is quite sweet! It’s called Brahms Lullaby and here is a link if you want to get a feel for how it sounds: _Lullaby