Finally made a holiday story on time.
Author's Note
This story is a little rushed, but at least I managed to make a holiday story on time!
~Yay!
Finally made a holiday story on time.
‘Twas the night before Christmas and all was silent. Only the snowflakes stirred, and almost everypony was asleep. Fillies and colts slept soundly like kittens, and parents slept by the fireplace or in bed in each other’s embrace. Everypony else were resting well too, except for a few who had chosen to revel and party.
They were, however, no concern to Celestia. She had been doing this job for quite a long time, and she always had ways to give back to everypony in the land. With a red cap and coat on and a magical bag of presents on her back, Celestia took flight from her balcony to set off for her duty. Why does she do this? She was a princess of a great land. Many would question her motives, but luckily they didn’t for she was never caught.
Stockings were filled to the brim, cookies and milk on plates out in the open were taken, and colorfully wrapped presents were laden as Celestia visited each house. Not even Mr. Wary, a wealthy pony with high-end security, had caught her, and he certainly would not discover the identity of Santa this year for Celestia had already left him a box with a blue scarf next to his bed and left without a sound. Blue was his favorite color. Invisibility magic was always handy, and Celestia always knew when to hide in the shadows, although it was ironic that a goddess of the Sun could blend so well in the dark.
Before ten minutes could pass, Canterlot had received its fill of gifts and Celestia moved on to the next town on her list. Trottingham, Vanhoover, Manehatten, Cloudsdale, and etc. were all struck off her list one by one as she finished her work in them swift and steady. From villages to cities, no pony has escaped her generosity. Celestia had been on this route each and every year, and there was a great distance between each place. One may think that she would tire from this eventually, but Celestia was always happy to oblige. However on this night, she may not be able to make her deadline.
Ponyville was the last town on her list. It was the perfect place to make her last stop before returning back to the castle. Out of all the towns, it was the closest to Canterlot, and was by far the most charming with its rustic appearance. There were a lot of exceptionally good ponies there this year, and it would make Celestia feel empty if she had skipped them. Star Swirled the Bearded, despite not knowing how to make friends, would have scolded her if he had known. The thought of the old codger’s white beard waving wilding in the air in frustration left the Alicorn in giggles as she flew closer to Ponyville.
The slight distraction was enough to throw Celestia off as a wild wind punched her off course. She blinked her surprise. According to the weather reports she received from Ponyville, there weren’t supposed to be any tough winds tonight around the area, and this one was certainly more than strong. Another gale had ambushed her while she was slightly lost in that thought, sweeping her like dust. Like the sea, the winds tossed and turned her around like she was ragdoll, and eventually she lost grip of the bag. She looked down to see it lost in the dark thickness of a forest beneath her. She looked around and saw a ruined castle not too far off. She slapped a hoof over her forehead.
“Of course. The Everfree Forest,” she grumbled.
Wasting no time, she dove into the forest, her eyes set upon her goal. The trees seemed to bow away as Celestia went through the leaves, and the ground shook slightly at her rough landing. The bag was fortunately did not fly very far as it was a couple meters near her, just barely hugged by the shadows.
“Ah. There you are,” Celestia softly said as she walked towards it. Suddenly, as if in response, the bag was whisked away by an invisible force. Celestia was stunned by this sudden turn of events, but the surprise didn’t deter her any longer. “Hey! Where do you think you’re going?”
Celestia ran through the forest with grace, threading through the trees like a doe that had made her home here. The bag was always within sight under the pale moonlight, but it didn’t seem to get any closer to her. Soon the bag stopped in the middle of a wide clearing, just plopping itself in a lazy fashion against a gnarled stump. Celestia moved closer to retrieve the goods, but soon an ugly creature appeared on the stump as if he was smeared into existence. It was a warty goblin wearing a dark green, tattered elf costume. It had red berries where golden bells would usually be.
“Who may you be?” Celestia asked politely, although cautiously. Goblins had always been tricky beings.
The goblin sneered. “My name is not important, prissy pony, but your gifts are. They shall make beautiful gifts to the king.”
“And who may be your king?”
“Why, the king of the Everfree of course!”
Celestia narrowed her eyes. “I’m afraid I will need to take those presents back.”
“Oh, but why not? Aren’t you supposed to be a kindest of all the prissy ponies?”
“I’m afraid that title was already taken by a yellow friend of my former student,” Celestia said, roughly pawing at the ground, “although I will still be pleasant to you if you will cooperate.”
“Why would you not let me take these presents to the king, prissy pony?” The goblin took a present out of the bag. “These will certainly please him. Wouldn’t you want him to be happy?”
“If he was anypony else other than himself, then yes, but this king of yours is certainly not friend of mine. I get the feeling you know that as much as I do.”
“Pity. These presents will still be taken to the king though.”
Celestia wasted no time with her magic, making a grab for the bag. However the goblin quickly disappeared in a puff of smoke, appearing towards her right. He mocked her by sticking out his tongue. Celestia replied back with another grab at the bag, but every time she did, he responded by teleporting. Creatures of the Everfree were very difficult to handle as their magic were different from natural magic.
“Having fun yet?” he taunted.
“Of course not.” Celestia attempted to use vines to tie down the goblin, but he only leapt out the way.
“Hehehehe! Your aim is bad, prissy pony!” Celestia grumbled as she watched him fly through the air. However his victory was short lived as a blue glow surrounded him. “W- what the?”
“Need help, sister?”
Celestia turned around to see Luna walking towards her. Her horn was lit aglow in blue. “Luna? What are you doing here?”
Luna softly smiled. “Well I was certainly curious of the tales of Christmas, including the one of Santa. Ever since last year, I’ve wondered where you disappeared to on that night. Guess I solved that mystery.” Luna’s smiled grew a sly curve to as she turned her attention towards the goblin. “Now about you… ”
“Please don’t hurt me! I’ll give the presents back! I swear!”
“Swear on the River Styx? Swear that you’ll never do this again?”
“Luna!” Celestia softly scolded her.
“I swear! I swear!”
“Good,” Luna said, releasing the goblin but not the bag. “Scurry on now.”
The goblin was more than happy to do so, kicking up a cloud of smoke as he disappeared in a flash once more. Luna stowed the present the goblin had pulled out back into the bag, and slung it over her back.
Celestia slightly tilted her head to the side. “Luna?”
Her younger sister smiled at her. “What? Just thought that since you’re a little behind schedule, I would help you pass these presents out. Don’t want you losing any more sleep than you are tonight.”
Soon the presents were passed around in Ponyville. Not a single house was left behind. Even the zebra in the forest had a present. Soon midnight had struck to clock, but not before the royal sisters arrived back into the castle. The two stirred up some warm cocoa milk and wrapped themselves in a large blanket next to the fireplace in Celestia’s room. The elder sister nuzzled her sister softly.
“Thank you, Lulu.”
“You’re welcome, my dear sister. I’m just glad I could share this night with you.”
