Ashley's Thanksgiving wish
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for Ashley, Peaches, Abby and Crystal. The Transformers belong to Hasbro and the song belongs to whoever owns it.
So many people had wondered just what were the Autobots and their allies thankful for this year. Ashley Martin had not been able to tell anyone as she wasn't allowed to speak to the news reporters. If she could tell them, the brunette haired human woman would have said "I'm thankful for my best friends Peaches and Sideways, my family, and so many other things and yet every year, I wish to give someone who doesn't have a lot to be thankful for food, clothes or something else that would help them".
That wasn't quite what was happening today but hopefully, the kids would be inspired to do the same thing.; Ashley and Peaches had been driven by Sideways to a local elementary school; the latter was going to speak about her life, leaving out the parts about the Autobots, and how she still had plenty to be thankful for even with what she had lost, then Ashley would tell her story and afterwards both would be singing "Share Your Goodwill", a song that Ashley had learned in elementary school. Peaches had already learned all the words but kept forgetting a few of them.
They arrived to find the kids sitting in the auditorium, waiting impatiently for them.
"Primus, I'm so nervous." Peaches muttered as the principal told the children to be quiet.
'Don't be, we'll do fine." Ashley whispered back.
The 2 heard themselves being introduced and both went out with big smiles on their faces. The Pretender began speaking a shortened version of her life story, with some details altered, and couldn't help but be emotional when she got to the part about her parents' deaths. She quickly recomposed herself and finished her story, to applause from students and teachers alike.
Ashley told her story. "Everybody gets a little nervous and a bit excited when they hear that they are getting a new baby brother or sister. It wasn't any different for me when I heard that but when my sister Tanya was born, my parents were told that she wasn't going to be able to walk, I was upset but my dad told me 'Why would you think like that? At least you have a little sister'. Time went by and I began to realize he was right. Today she is 11 years old, her birthday being in February, and I've found that Tanya in many ways is like every other sibling in that you can sometimes dislike them but at the end of the day, you still love them no matter what. I was and still am very thankful for her and for my parents for their hard work in taking care of both of us; we could be worse off, as is the case with a lot of people. I heard this song once and I am always reminded of those whose needs are not always met when I think of it. I hope you think of them as well after hearing Peaches and I sing it."
The 2 girls, one human and one robot in disguise, began singing. Once again, applause abounded throughout the auditorium. They took some time to answer a few questions and bid the kids good bye. Sideways was waiting for them when they came outside.
"So, how was it?" he asked as they both got into his vehicle mode and put their seatbelts on.
"Pretty good, what about today's meeting though?" Ashley wondered.
"Okay except for Charlotte Mearing being a glitch as always." Sideways replied, trying not to curse the traffic that they were getting into.
"I swear that woman is 10 times worse than Galloway!" Peaches agreed.
"Well, let's just get home and tell Optimus how everything went." Ashley sighed.
It was weird calling NEST base home but in a way, it was. As soon as they got there, the 2 girls got out of the ex-Decepticon who transformed back into his robot mode and walked in behind them. They heard quite a few people complaining about budget cuts that had to have been made to NEST and thus Ashley was not surprised when she saw Peaches go over to the karaoke machine.
"It could be worse; we could have no money at all!" the Pretender pointed out. "Think of the families who probably don't have as much as we do for once."
Peaches turned on the music and began singing the same song she had just been singing an hour ago, this time with no nervousness and no mistakes.
When you have a place to sleep at night, when you have good food to eat
When you have a coat to keep you warm and shoes upon your feet
Remember there are people not as fortunate as you
Remember they might need your help, you know what you can do
You can share your goodwill, oh share your goodwill
Keep in mind humankind and share your goodwill
It had caused everyone to stop and listen; the human girl could have sworn that Peaches was really related to Optimus Prime if she didn't know that that wasn't true with the way things were going now.
Ashley continued listening again as her best friend kept singing
When you have a school to teach you things, when you have the chance to learn
When you have a job, a livelihood, a way for you to live
Remember there are people not as fortunate as you
Remember they might need your help, you know what you can do
Peaches continued singing, as Crystal and Abby sat in Mirage's arms and clapped their hands and everyone else listened to the song. When she was finished, the Pretender transformed into her robot mode and walked over to the red Autobot to take her kids from him, then sat down on the sofa.
"That's an awesome song!" somebody said.
"Humans really can care for others?" Sunstreaker was a bit skeptical but still liked the song anyway.
"Peaches, I have to thank you for reminding us of the less fortunate." Optimus Prime said smiling. "We do have a lot to be thankful for this year and I am pretty sure that allowing you and Ashley to help a good cause during the rest of this holiday season would be wonderful."
Ashley couldn't help but feel a little surprised; her wish of being allowed off of base to help with a good cause was going to be fulfilled. "Thanks Optimus." She said. "I'm sure quite a few humans and Autobots would be willing to help us too."
Everyone started talking about what they wanted to do and the human woman started a list of what she was thankful for, putting friends and family members who care for others on the very top.
Author's note: Just a short thing I needed to get out of my head and happy Thanksgiving to all U.S. readers of my fanfiction.