Collab Cage Mini-Monthly December -- Secret Santa Hooves

by The Collab Cage

Luna -- Gives To -- Cheerilee

Written by: Therizzen

She stared down at the card, at the name on it, the letters that made it up. Focused as she was, she scarcely caught the rustling sound that flitted by her ears. Looking up, she cocked her head.

“Must you really leave already?” He stopped at the balcony, his slender hoof touching the glass door. He turned to face her, his almond eyes lit by the dying fire, and offered her a small smile.

“Afraid so,” he replied. “There are more slips I have to deliver, and after that I need to head back up north to help finish with the cleanup. You know how it goes,” he said, shrugging his apology. “However, it has been wonderful sitting here and catching up with you, Luna.” He emphasized the statement by levitating a still steaming cup from off of the table, his antlers glowing, and he quirked his eyebrows as he took a sip. She smiled.

“It has. Perhaps you can visit again, on the off season?” He lifted a hoof to his chin, contemplating.

“Hmm, maybe. Though, we do much more than just make gifts every year, you know.”

She nodded. “I understand.” And with that, she glanced back down at the card, studying it. Seeing this, he made to step forward as he spoke up again.

“Erm... are you sure you don’t want me to tell you about her?” Luna tilted her head back up.

“Hmm? Oh, no, I’m fine. You’re not the only one who has their little secret methods,” she said, passing him a sly grin. Stepping towards him, she offered him her hoof and, as he shook it, said, “Have a fine holiday, Mr. Hooves.”

He laughed. “And you as well. But please, Luna, we’ve been over this. You know you can just call me Santa.” With a chipper grin, the reindeer opened the door and leapt off of the balcony, gliding through the air before, with a twitch of his horns, he vanished into flakes of snow, trailing and twirling away with the wind. His chuckle remained long after he was gone.

She sat there and watched the snow listlessly fall for a time, a small smile on her face as she unconsciously counted the tumbling crystals, the brisk wind blowing past her. What an odd one he was.

Luna walked back into her cozy room, shutting the door behind her as she sat by the fire, picking the card back up in her magic. Luna’s smile fell away as she scrutinized it, the cogs in her mind slowly chugging away.

Are you sure you don’t want me to tell you about her?

That hadn’t been necessary, for sadly she already knew what her mark wanted.

She had, after all, seen her dreams.

______________________

An intake of crisp air, the muffled crunch of a hoof compacting snow, the lonely whistle of the wind through barren trees. These were the sounds that followed her as she walked, and she knew them well. There had been another sound once upon a time, an old voice that she imagined would melt the snow and make balmy the breeze had it been given the chance.

That sound was gone now though, and it would not be back.

So she walked within the hushed forest and its frost gnarled branches, who seemed to claw down at her from above, yearning to scratch and grab at her rose tinted mane. She remembered a time when she was younger, how the trees had seemed to spring from the ground and leap into the sky, thrusting their leaves out to kiss the sunlight. She glanced at the bleak scene now, and oh how she missed those days.

The Road of Regret, she called it, the lonely snow dusted park path she ambled down. It had had a cheerier name once, but like the voice and the trees it had decayed and passed on, growing old and giving her only memories to keep. And as she mulled over the memories, some fresh and some stale, the regret set in, washing her away into a ravine she had crawled out of so long ago.

If only she had spent more time with the voice, his voice, under the trees and the leaves and the light speckled shade. If only she had laughed with him more, played with him more, and, as a little Cheerilee, sang so many more of his songs. If only she had had more time to say goodbye.

If only...

She stopped her thoughts as she stopped her hooves, the wind nipping at her eyes and drying the tears before they could fall. She gazed out at the open glade in front of her, the snow falling gently as it drifted from above. When she was younger, she remembered she had thought it looked like frosting and imagined that below the white was a cake so large that it must have been left for the birthday of a dragon who never showed. She also distinctly remembered the earthy taste of the grass and ground.

With a sniff and a small smile, she waded out into the frosting, imagining the large and colorful candles as she made her way to the little hill poking out in the center. When she arrived, her breath hitched, and she stood rooted to the spot.

Cheerilee looked at the lonely table, its chairs drawn in under it, hiding, the top buried under the flakes. Hoping with all her might that it was still there, still in one piece, she carefully brushed the snow away, and she sighed at the sight of what lied underneath.

It was still there, after all this time.

She ran her hoof along the game board, remembering each and every notch marring it. How many times they had sat there and played under the sun and the stars. How many times he had won, and how many times he had let her win.

She drew out one of the chairs and sat down, watching her breath crystalize and float away with the wind. How long ago that had been. The days they would spend together, the winters they would partake in, the gifts they would give each other on the holidays. Her friends had thought it odd that she lived with a pony so old, but she didn’t care. Couldn’t, honestly. The earliest memory she had was of clinging to his chest and crying, soaking his fur with her tears as two young, familiar, peaceful faces were lifted into the ground.

Grandma had passed on two years earlier, and so, as she cried, he wrapped one hoof around her, shielding her from the world, never wanting to let go, his own face stained and wet.

From then on, he had her, and she had him, and they made the best of it.

And now she was alone.

She sat on the cold metal chair in silence as the tears fell, letting the emotions run their course. Cheerilee had accepted his death long ago, had carried on with her life, but with the winter winds came the memories and, with them, the pain.

Her ears perked up suddenly, though, as she heard soft wing beats disturbing the air above her. The pony attached to the wings lightly touched down onto the snow nearby, and Cheerilee only wiped her eyes as she tilted her head.

“Princess Luna? What are you doing here?” Probably not the correct way to greet a princess, yes, but Luna had visited her dreams more than once. Many of them right after the... well, the death. Luna simply smiled down at her.

“I am here, Miss Cheerilee, to give you what you want for Hearth’s Warming.” She slid out the other chair and sat down, drawing out the slip of paper with her magic and setting it on the table next to the board. “Company.”

Cheerilee looked at the slip of paper, saw her name on it, and then thought back to the one she had received no more than three mornings ago. She sniffled a bit and put on a small smile as she looked up at the princess. “You’re not very good at the ‘secret’ part, you know that?”

Luna scoffed. “I think this situation can do without it, do you not agree?” With a flick of magic, two steaming cups appeared, and she levitated one over to Cheerilee. “I think this will help to keep the chill at bay.”

“Thank you,” she mumbled as she brought the drink to her mouth, letting the warm, chocolate liquid placate her. Luna waited until she was done, studying her.

“Now, why is it you are all the way out here, on a festive holiday no less?” she asked, gesturing out to the snow covered clearing around them. As the silence answered her, her eyes grew soft. “Are you thinking about him?” The somber teacher nodded in affirmation.

“Yeah,” she said, her voice small, eyes starring years into the past. “I don’t think I’ll ever get over it completely, Luna.”

“We never truly let go of those we love,” she said nodding her head.

“I know, its just... every winter, I get this feeling, like he’s going to come back one of these days, and I remember everything we used to do and think of what we might get to do again.” Her voice curled wistfully into the air, and her eyes swam back to the present. She sighed. “But, it passes. It always does.” For a moment, the coo of the wind was all they heard, as if nature itself sat and mourned for a time. Luna leaned forward and rested a wing tip on her shoulder.

“Then I will wait with you until it passes,” she said. Cheerilee looked up at her, and she smiled. With a nod, Luna looked around. “Do you wish to go somewhere else? It is getting colder.” Cheerilee turned her head, glancing at the frosting and the trees, and the game board and table, and finally at the chair he used to sit in.

“No...” she said. “No, I think I’d like to stay here.” Luna merely nodded again, giving her another smile, its shine warm and radiant.

“Then we shall sit amongst the snow.” With another small fleck of magic, she conjured two blankets, wrapping one around Cheerilee - who mumbled a thank you - and one for herself. Then, she raised the game pieces. “Would you rather be red or black?”

“Red,” she said, grinning.

And so they sat there, amongst the falling frosting and tumbling snow, playing an innocent game of checkers to while the time away. When one game would finish, they would start a new one, both sporting smiles and not caring for the world. They talked and conversed, and Cheerilee listened to the new voice. She remembered the old trees and the happy times, and she even sang one or two of his old songs.

As they were setting up another game, a new cup of steaming liquid in her hooves, Cheerilee spoke up.

“Hey, uh, Luna?”

“...Yes?”

“Happy Hearth's Warming.”

Comments

[Calligraphy]

* buzzes * Error, error. You've got the 'u' and the 'e' switched in 'Fleur de Lis'.
* adds to read later list *
* continues to laze around like lump *

[Lapison]

Awww, this one was so sweet! Best gift EVER.

[Therizzen]

1929018 Hey, thanks for the compliment!

Sadly, it's not as entertaining as yours, but I'm glad it made an impact

[Lapison]

1929789 Pssh, I already found like 5 errors in mine that I'm bashing my head about. Really, you'd think I'd be able to proofread...

[Peregrine Caged]

1933456
Heh, considering I also edited these. Did I really do that badly? Good lord, me. PM me the errors you found, if you will.

[Lapison]

1933581 There's only one really big one; I apparently forgot that I had specified Luna as the receiver and there's an "(or he?)" just kinda blatantly sitting in there. But otherwise, it's mostly stuff I would have done differently, after looking it over. It'd require a revamp though, and it's fine the way it is.

[Lapison]

1934060 Bah, it's hard to hate that when a) we all had that thought before we shared our own with PC (or at least I did), and b) it's something new that most of us would balk at doing ourselves.

[Themaskedferret]

*Wipes a tear away* damn feels.

[Therizzen]

1937135 Yay, emotion!

Glad you liked it :3

[TypewriterError]

Short and very sweet. Nice job

[Themaskedferret]

2367898 *Grins and whistles innocently* I swear I'm not hiding in your bushes....

[CanterlotGuardian]

2367991
I wouldn't mind if you were...