Chapters Standing Stones - Christmas
Hope paced back and forth restlessly, trying to forget what she had seen, when suddenly a spirit faded into sight as if from nowhere. Hope backpedaled in fear. Then, with a twinge of horror, she noticed something. This ghost looked like Winter.
"Is that you, Winter?" She asked.
"Nope, I just look like him because of how his past was...” The ghost paused, as if considering something. “ Well, we'll get to that soon." Said the ghost. "Now, take my hoof." Hope reluctantly held on to his hoof with dread. Soon, they appeared in the past, a snowy place. The Ghost led Hope to an ally.
"What are we doing here?" Hope asked, irritated at the abrupt chill. The ghost pointed his hoof deeper into the ally.
"See those two?" The Ghost asked. He was pointing at a colt and a dragon. Suddenly, Hope noticed something. The colt was Winter!
"Is... that Winter?" Hope asked. The Ghost nodded.
"My first Christmas without my parents..." Winter muttered dejectedly. Hope felt a stab of pity upon seeing Winter curled up next to this dragon, pathetic and cold. Hope felt like something needed to be done.
"Winter!" Hope yelled.
"They can neither see nor hear you... we are in the past through a special type of magic." The ghost mused, almost sounding remorseful.
"Winter, I know it's hard to be alone..." Glow said to him.
"I'm not alone... I got you by my side." Winter replied, a wry smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He seemed to be grateful for what he had. Hope was surprised, but she wasn't convinced.
"My time is up... soon you will see the Present Ghost." Said The Ghost of Christmas Past. Hope cried out in astonishment as the world warped away once more, only to be replaced by the odd comfort of the present.
Standing Stones - Christmas
Hope was slightly paranoid about what that the next ghost would look like. It was way too long before she got her answer. The curtains on the windows were blown away by the wind as the next ghost appeared. But something was off, this ghost looked like Pez!
"I like this one." Hope said. It was pretty obvious why.
"Ok, let's get down to business." said The Present Ghost.
Well, he sure doesn't act a lot like Pez...
"So, why do you look like Pez?" Hope asked the specter.
"I don't really know, I guess because it's someone in the present you really care about, I guess." The Present Ghost replied. Hope gave him a look of confusion.
"Don't ask me how this works!" The Present Ghost replied. "I'm just doing my job!"
"Well, let's get this over with."
"Good idea." Hope grabbed his hoof and they, once again, couldn't be seen or heard. They started headed to Pez's house. Everyone there seemed happy, but Pez seemed to have started a food fight.
"Pez! What did I tell yo- oh, yeah! He can't see or hear me..." Hope said.
"See that?" said The Present Ghost. "They're happy, they're enjoying Christmas and... they're all throwing food at each other."
"Is that normal on Christmas?" Hope asked.
"No, most ponies don't throw food." The Ghost replied. Hope started to seemed a bit convinced, but she still wasn't ready to give up yet.
"I don't get it." Hope said.
"To be fair, me neither." The present ghost started to vanish. "Well, my time is up, see you in the future!"
Standing Stones - Christmas
Chapter 1 - What's the point?
It was a wonderful day in Ponyville, it was Christmas Eve. Chestnuts were roasting, ponies were singing, bells were ringing, and snow was falling, but there was one filly who had yet to know the true meaning of Christmas. This filly's name is Hope.
"Oh come on Hope, don't you wanna play in the snow?" Pez whined, prancing around Hope with a beckoning smile.
"Pez, I love you very much, but I'm simply not going to do anything that celebrates Christmas or any other holiday!" Hope replied.
Pez gazed at Hope in shock."What do you mean!? Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year!"
"I SAID NO!" Hope yelled.
Pez’s eyes flinched, his eyes widening in confusion. "Fine... I'll just go..." Pez whispered disappointedly as he walked out the door. Hope just continued on what she was doing. She didn't seem to feel the least bit of guilt after yelling at Pez in that moment. Not long after, there was a knock on the door. When she answered, there was a yellow filly wearing a coat and a bow. It was Applebloom!
"Hi, wanna donate some money?" Applebloom asked with a happy smile.
"For what?" Hope asked, even though she already knew she would say no.
"For the homeless of course!" Applebloom replied.
"They can just go to a homeless shelter or something!" Hope dismissed in an annoyed tone.
"But, some would rather die than live in such a horrible place." Applebloom replied glumly.
"Well, maybe they should." Hope said sternly. Applebloom gave her a disappointed look as she walked awaty. It was so strange. One might wonder why Hope is so heartless during this time. Maybe she just doesn't see a point.
--------- A few hours later ----------
Night started to fall, so Hope decided this would be the time to get some dinner. She went into the kitchen to get some food. When she walked in, she was surprised by what she saw. It was a colt who looked frighteningly similar to Record Note. He seemed to be some kind of ghost in chains.
"Hello, Hope." He said.
"W-who are you!? Is this a joke?" Hope stammered in sudden fear.
"Hope, you will be visited by three spirits... The ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future." He told Hope in a ghostly voice.
"G-get out of my house!" She demanded.
"You can't run from this..." The ghost said as it disappeared. Hope knew she was in for it now.
Standing Stones - Christmas
Hope suddenly appeared in some area so dark, she couldn't see her own hoof in front of her face. She was really nervous about this one. She had no clue what was happening anymore. Before she could ponder the thought any further, she felt a cold gust of wind rushing past her that disappeared as quickly as it had came.
"Future Ghost, you are the one I fear most, who are you?" Hope said in fear.
A pony in a black cloak appeared and pointed. "What?" Hope asked in confusion. The Ghost pointed again, leaning its head in closer. "What!?" Hope asked in a confused tone.
"FOR GODS SAKE JUST LOOK BEHIND YOU!" The apparition bellowed hopelessly. He let down his hood, as the illusion of a mute nature was shattered. This one looked remarkably like Dark.
"Ok, you didn't have to yell." Hope said as she looked behind her, noticing a grave stone. "Who's that taking the dirt nap?" She asked, returning her gaze to the Dark wannabe.
"That's the dragon... Glow." He said.
"But that's the past!" Hope replied.
"Yes, but Winter goes there, year after year, to pay his respects to Glow." Said The Ghost. "The grave over there is yours, Hope."
"How did I die?!" Hope asked.
"Your stone lost power at that time... your hatred towards Christmas will spread to losing focus on everyone you love... Friendship is what makes these stones work." Said The Ghost. At that moment, Hope wasn't afraid of the death, she was afraid to lose everyone she cared about only then did she see what was truly important.
"Y-you're right... but how will they forgive me now!?" Hope said while she was in tears.
"They'll forgive you... I should know." the chrononautic creep replied.
Next thing Hope knew, she suddenly appeared in the present, jerking out of bed, vaguely aware of a cold sweat. She knew what she had to do.
Standing Stones - Christmas
Aware of what needed to be done, Hope headed to Pez's house where the Christmas party was taking place, a small two story house pretty close to the town hall in Ponyville. She knocked on the door. After about 30 seconds, Pez answered the door to see who it was.
"Hope!" Pez said excitedly. "I thought you didn't want to come."
"I know, and I'm sorry." Hope said quietly to Pez.
"It's fine, I'm just happy to see you!" Pez said as he hugged Hope. Unsure of what to do, Hope returned the hug. They walked into the house and as The Ghost of Christmas Present showed her, ponies were throwing food at each other. A filly, who she knew was named Loki, picked up a piece of cake and threw it at another filly, only for it to strike Hope in the face.
"DOUBLE POINTS!" Loki shouted excitedly. Hope was a bit confused about what just happened.
"Hey! Careful, she isn't used to getting hit by cake!" Pez hollered at the foals.
"1v1 me. Club Penguin." Loki promptly replied.
"Guys! It's fine!" Hope interrupted. After Pez and Hope got the kids to calm down enough for them to sit still for 30 seconds, they opened presents. Hope's present was a muffin, Pez's present was a sword and armor, Dark got a turtle, and Loki got even more cake.
After they opened their presents, they went outside to play in the snow. Everypony was doing their own thing-Hope relaxing with a cup of hot cocoa, Pez making snow angels, Dark building a snow-stallion- Loki decided to throw a snowball at Pez from a tree. Before anypony else knew it, everyone started throwing snowballs at each other. At one point, Hope was hit in the face by a cupcake. She looked over to see Loki throwing cakes at everypony.
"Ok then..." Hope said in a confused tone. So, there isn't much more to the story than that. Hope learned a valuable lesson, that day. The moral of this story is... Loki will throw cake at you every year on Christmas Eve.
