The Secrete of Santa Hooves
:By Fyrelyghts
It was the day before Hearth's Warming, and everypony in Miss Cheerilee's class was bubbling with excitement about the coming Holiday.
"I asked Santa for a new sled this year" Snips exclaimed "Since Snails here broke my last one."
"I did not break it" Snails yelled angrily "It's not my fault that dumb rock got in our way!"
"Well Ahm asking for ah jump rope this year" said Applebloom.
"I asked for a new pair of goggles, like the one Rainbow Dash has" said Scootaloo with dreamy eyes, imagining herself flying with her hero above the clouds.
"What about you Sweetie Belle?" Applebloom asked "Did you ask Santa for something?"
Sweetie Belle looked at her two friends with questioning eyes. "Santa Hooves?" she replied "You don't both seriously still believe in that little foals tale do you?"
The entire class turned to stare at her, Scootaloo almost falling off of her chair in surprise.
"What do ya mean by ah silly foals tale?" asked Applebloom. "Of course he exists, my Granny Smith told me herself and she never lies to me."
Sweetie Belle made an exasperating noise in her throat. "It's all made up Applebloom, just something the adults tell us to make us behave all year"
"No he isn't" exclaimed Scootaloo "even Rainbow Dash believes in him and she refuses to believe in foal's tales."
"Oh really?" Sweetie Belle replied, a slight smirk on her face "Tell me, who here has actually seen Santa Hooves in person delivering their presents?"
She looked around the room, but as she expected nopony raised their hooves.
"That's what I thought" she said triumphantly.
Just then the bell rang and the entire class left in a hurry to start their Holiday vacation, the crusaders made their way over to Sugarcube Corner arguing all the way there.
"Ahm telling ya he exist" exclaimed Applebloom angrily, opening the door for her friends.
"And I'm telling you he is made up" replied Sweetie Belle just as angry, coming in after her.
"Hey girls" Twilight Sparkle greeted them from the counter with her friends "what are you three arguing about?"
"Sweetie Belle here thinks Santa Hooves is ah fake" Said Applebloom pointing dejectedly at her disbelieving unicorn friend.
"These two still believe in that old foals tale" exclaimed Sweetie Belle glaring at them.
Twilight and her friends laughed "well of course he exists" she said matter of factly.
Sweetie Belle nearly dropped her drink she had just grabbed in surprise "Wait you believe in him too?" she said in complete shock. "But Twilight you of all ponies should know it's all made up, I mean where is the evidence?"
Twilight shook her head "Look Sweetie" she replied "something's you just have to except without evidence even if they seem unrealistic. Like Pinkies Pinkie sense" she pointed at Pinkie to illustrate her point just as the pink party pony jumped out of the way of the two Cake twins barreling past her.
"But that still doesn't make any sense" replied the confused filly.
"Sweetie Belle not everything has to make sense to be real" replied Rarity sitting next to her little sister.
"Believe it or not I once doubted his existence too" added Twilight seriously "but then one night I decided to stay up and find out for myself. Sure enough as I was sitting on the stairs I saw Santa coming down the chimney to fill up our stockings, I have never doubted him since.
"But did you talk to him? Asked Sweetie Belle "you know to make sure he really was Santa Clause and not just, oh I don't know, your father dressed in a red coat and hat?"
"Well no, i was a bit too nervous to speak up" replied Twilight " but I know my father was and is not that tall so it can't have been him."
Sweetie Belle thought about it for a while. "Well maybe I shall just do the same thing and see for myself," she replied.
Rarity shook her head "Well If you must, but if I wake up and find out you destroyed my house again. I will take away all of your presents, and your allowance for a year to pay for the damage." She threatened.
Much later that night Sweetie Belle found herself waiting by the stairs drinking Hot Cocoa to keep herself awake. "This is going to be a long night" she thought "but I have to know for sure". She kept glancing between the window in the living room and the chimney waiting for any signs of the elusive Santa Hooves. As she waited she began to grow more exhausted by the minute. "Boy am I tired" she thought "Maybe I should close my eyes for just a few moments…" she dropped her mug of coffee as she quickly succumbed to her exhaustion.
BANG! A loud noise woke Sweetie Belle from her slumber, as she quickly jumped to her hooves in shock. "I DID'NT DO IT" she exclaimed in shock. Quickly recovering she looked around the room to see that nopony was there "I wonder what that was?" she thought. She cautiously began making her way downstairs nearly tripping over her spilled Cocoa mug.
"Great Rarity is going to kill me" she cursed under her breath as she looked at the stain on the stairs.
Just then she heard another noise from the roof of the house "There it is again" she said wondering why Rarity was not coming down to investigate. The noise continued but started moving down the roof and eventually the chimney. Sweetie Belle ran and hid behind the sofa as a figure appeared out of the fireplace and into the living room. It was a tall pony with a huge red coat and hat, and his face has cover in a beard and what Sweetie thought was concealing magic.
"Darn these new fireplaces" The figure said in a weird but familiar voice that sounded odd for an old stallion "How does sister go through with this every year?"
Sweetie Belle crept quietly closer and closer until she noticed the familiar figures tail flowing out of the coat. "Princess Luna?" she cried out in surprise.
The night princess whirled around in shock, her hat and concealment charm falling away in her surprise. "Goodness child do not scare us like that, shouldn't thou be in bed at this hour?" she asked.
Sweetie Belle just stared back at her in shock "Wait, your Santa Hooves? But how…what…when…" Sweetie Belle just continued to stare at the Princess not knowing what to say or what to make of this
Luna sighed and set down her sack, coming over to sit by the baffled filly. When Sweetie stopped her rambling she smiled down at her "Let me guess, you were expecting a fat old stallion with a beard right?" she said removing her fake beard.
"But I don't understand?" exclaimed Sweetie Belle. "If you're the one delivering presents then who is this Santa pony who is supposed to be delivering them?"
"Well it is actually sister and I who are doing it" said Luna " Since I've returned from my….hiatus on the moon we have been splitting the load between us to cover more ground, in a more efficient and time saving manner."
"So Santa Hooves really is fake then?" asked the confused filly.
"Well I wouldn't necessarily say that. "Replied Luna "Though I suppose an actual explanation would better suite thy curiosity." She quickly summoned some more Hot Cocoa from the kitchen with her magic and the two sat down on the couch. "Now let's see, how should I begin this"
"You remember the story of Hearth Warming and how Equstria began, am I correct?" She asked
Indeed she remembered very well, as her sister and friends had been asked to perform the annual play in remembrance of the even the previous Hearth's Warming eve. She nodded and Luna continued.
"Well by the end of that little version it would seem like the story was a happy ending, but sadly it was not" she said remorsefully remembering from her filly days. "Sister and I where all but yearlings at the time, while we all had learned to live together peacefully creating a brand new country from scratch is not an easy task, especially back in those days. Times were tough and there was hardly any money or food, or even medical supplies back then. All supplies had to be brought in from our ancestral lands, through the cold harsh and unforgiving mountains. Very few ponies could actually survive the journey, and those they did usually ended up with half of the supplies they brought due to the harsh conditions along the way."
"Many ponies where getting sick with what we now a days known as the common cold, which while it is no longer deadly due to modern day medicine, back then such was not the case. Many of the Mares, Stallions, and even young Fillies at the time died almost daily from the disease. While there were a few cures around the affected areas, the towns had become taken over by harsh rulers who mostly limited its use to only the most elite families of Equestria. As there was no official ruling body for all of Equestria at the time, there was nothing anypony could really do about it other than hope for a miracle."
"However there was a few more kind hearted privilege families who tried their best to help anypony in need that they could. One of these families has a son named Sir Nicholas, later called Saint Nick for short. His family had built a Hospital around one of the surrounding effected areas to tend to the poor and sick ponies that the other hospitals turned away. Around one Hearths Warming eve the hospital was full of young sick fillies no older then yourself. Nick wanted to do something for them to make their Hearth Warming special."
"He thought it would be nice to deliver them presents that night for them to wake up to the following morning. Problem was current laws prohibited Hospitals from remaining open after dark, so there was no way to just walk right in and put them under their tree. However Nick was a very clever pony, and he refused to let this stop him. So that very Hearth Warming eve, he took to the roof and slid down the chimney with the toys to put them under the tree."
"The next day the children all woke up to find presents under the tree, it was one of the happiest days they had in a long, long time. The children even took to the streets parading with their toys and having a grand ole time. Some of the other town's ponies even joined in on the fun, it was the best Hearth Warming anypony had ever had. After that Nick decided to continue this tradition but extend it to the entire town, and eventually all of Equestria. He even grew a beard and donned a specific red coat and hat that sister eventually made him for the occasion."
Luna sighed and then continued the story in a darker tone "However as time passed he began to grow old. Sister and I had been granted immortality by the Elements' of Harmony, but Nick was not so lucky. One night a few weeks prior to Hearth Warming eve he passed away in his sleep. Celestia and I had become close friends with him over the years, and his final wish was for us to continue what he had started. That following Hearth Warming we both took it upon ourselves to honor his wishing and began delivering the presents ourselves."
"At first everypony knew it was us, but as time went on rumors and stories began to grow of an old stallion with a grey beard that lives in the North Pole and traveled by sled to everyponies house to deliver them presents on Hearth's Warming eve. Sister and I thought it was a nice touching story and decided to keep it going, adding in our own little parts such as the flying reindeer, the name Santa Hooves, and elves that would make the toys as we went along."
Luna finished her Cocoa and smiled at Sweetie Belle "So you see Santa Hooves is very real in a sense. Nick believed that there was kindness and hope in everypony, and wished to share that belief with everypony by giving them all gifts and a renewed sense of hope every year. That is what my sister and I are continuing to do by upholding this tradition and delivering the toys in his memory every year, as we have since and will continue to do."
"So Santa Hooves is real in memory?" Sweetie asked.
"And in your heart as well" added Luna placing a hoof over Sweeties heart "So long as you remember him and what he stood for"
Sweetie nodded "I think I get it now"
"Good" said Luna looking at the clock "Now I think it is time for certain fillies to be in bed, or they may not get any presents this year" she added in a playful voice"
Sweetie Belle quickly got off of the sofa and started heading for her room, she quickly stopped and turned to thank Luna but the Princess was gone. "Thanks…Santa" she whispered under her breath as she headed to bed.
The End