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 Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 2:31 pm
What do Julie's ponies do for the holidays? Let's find out!
Prima Rosa
Cirro Strata
Fritzwallace
Eabha
Jack
Marina
Hipo
Aith
Pacha
Ofelia
Pyxis
Wink
Ruby
Takutai
LV
Koa
Sneffels
Splendida
Helio Strata
Leucosia
Prince
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Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 2:40 pm
But this year was different. She didn't know how it had come to pass, where it had come from or if someone had left it on purpose or dropped it accidentally - but it had come to her, regardless of method or intentionality.
Prima Rosa was pretty sure she was looking at, of all things, a cactus. She had only heard stories of the desert climes where such plants were common, but based on how it stung her when she hoof brushed past it unwittingly, there were only so many plants it could be. After accidentally stumbling into it, she had carefully observed it for a few days, before eventually setting about moving it closer to the cave she called her home. She knew cacti were supposed to favor warm weather, not the bitter cold that clung to her mountain for most of the year, so she took it inside, made something resembling a pot for it, roots and all, and watched it carefully. She let it have the sun when it was out, and tucked it back near herself and the fire she built during the nighttime hours, to keep it warm.
It did not take her long to fall in love with the sturdy, stubborn little plant. The first time it sprouted tiny, hesitant pink buds, Prima Rosa almost cried.
It was not only living, surviving - it was thriving. Because of her. The pride and protectiveness Prima felt was unreal, unlike anything else she'd ever experienced. Was this why people had foals?
By the end of winter, the cactus had outgrown not one but two hastily-made pots, and only seemed to do better and better the warmer it became. As it got bigger, Prima began to clip it, trim it, keep it neat - and was surprised to find that those clippings sprouted cacti themselves! So this, she decided, would be her Yuletide gift to any she called a friend; a symbol of the endurance it took to survive in a world that was often cold, cruel, and altogether dark. It reminded her - there was always room for growth, for beauty, and for caring, no matter how grim it seemed - and no matter how spikey the prospect appeared in the beginning, it could be overcome and made well, if you just had the determination to see it through.
((WC: 476))
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Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 3:02 pm
Gifts also made Cirro Strata very happy. Not just receiving them, although of course she would never turn down a present, but more than that - giving them. She tried to keep her children from being too materialistic, but sometimes, a little bit of materialism couldn't hurt too badly.
But the best gifts, Cirro knew, were ones that mattered. Ones that came from the heart. That was why she had made the gifts for both her children this year; painstakingly, and in secret, which when combined, had made it incredibly difficult to get anything done whatsoever.
All the same, she'd found the time somehow, and now was the moment she looked forward to best - the exchange.
"Helio! Selene! It's time!" Cirro called to her children, smiling to herself as she heard the patter of young, excited hooves making their way toward her. "Have you been good this year?" Cirro asked when they arrived, hiding a smile at the look of abject panic that crossed Helio's face. They would get their gifts regardless, but... well, part of the fun was the suspense, wasn't it? She had to make them work for it a little bit...
((WC: 259))
Helio's broad, winning smile faded immediately. They were supposed to be good? Good? All year long? That was crazy! Every time he'd gotten in trouble over the past year immediately flashed through his mind, making him cringe. His ears flattened against his skull and he sulked his head downwards, ashamed. He couldn't believe his mom had told him he'd get a present and now he wasn't going to get a present because he hadn't been good.
...Maybe there was a way to work something out. His mom wasn't unreasonable... and he could've sworn he saw her trying not to smile. And it wasn't like she didn't know he'd gotten in trouble more times than he could count - she was the one who'd been the one to scold him or punish him! Helio narrowed his eyes slightly and lifted his head a bit.
"Um... can you define good? 'Cause I totally haven't been evil or anything! I've been.... I think I've been... mostly good! More good than not good! More days where I didn't get in trouble than I did... I think... probably...." Was that actually true? His brow knit in consternation as he considered.
"But... if I get a present now," he said, perking up slightly. "I promise I'll be way better next year! Way, way better! Hardly any trouble at all!" Was she buying this? He couldn't tell.
She must have, though, because she laughed (he loved her laugh) and shook her head, but fondly, and pulled from somewhere his gift, wrapped in big green leaves from some eternally-green-and-living tree. He tore it open and couldn't help the gasp that escaped him.
It was a comb. But not just any comb - one made of bone. It was light and shimmered slightly in the light, and its teeth were straight and narrow, perfect for keeping his hair untangled. And it got tangled a lot.
"Thank you mama!!" Helio said, not even paying attention to whatever Selene's lame gift was as he crashed into his mother. "I love it, it's so COOL, what kind of bone is it where did you get it how did you make its teeth like that and--"
The questions persisted, joined by Selene when she finished unwrapping her shell-and-bone necklace, and Cirro could've lived in that moment of perfect joy forever.
((WC: 385))
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Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 7:49 pm
He was less used to being the subject of the celebrations; he was as surprised as anyone to discover that being in the spotlight kind of made him...uncomfortable? Sort of? He just wasn't quite sure what to - to do with it. He wasn't quite sure his lines, wasn't sure what to say or how to be.
But at least it wasn't a party-party. It was just him and Eabha, with Eabha fussing around trying to make their shared space more celebratory, in the spirit of the first real snow of the year. It wasn't anyone's birthday, Eabha just - liked to celebrate, and he liked that about her. He never turned down a party.
It was just that her energy seemed especially directed to making sure he had a good time. Like, it was both of them, but especially for him, and he was, to put it simply, mystified.
But mystified or not, Fritzwallace greatly enjoyed a party, so he trotted along behind Eabha obediently, lifting things and holding things that Eabha couldn't reach for height-related reasons (that she didn't want to talk about, but that she was grateful to have a full-sized stallion around for).
"What's all this for?" Fritz asked, around a garland he was holding in his teeth that Eabha was telling him where to twist and pull. "It's a just us party, right?"
((WC: 271))
Fritzwallace tried so hard to make everyone else happy all the time. Eabha loved him for that, but she also found it frustrating at times - she didn't think he did it intentionally, but he was so good at deflecting. What about Fritz? Who took care of him? Who made him happy?
So Eabha had decided that if nobody else would, the job had fallen to her. And she would do the dang thing, just how she did every other dang thing: extremely well and thoroughly.
There were decorations. There was a festive air. There was Fritzwallace, helping her decorate for his own dang party! He was supposed to be the guest of honor! Not part of the party planning committee!
"Just us," Eabha confirmed with a smile. "And we're done! Okay, so nowww... presents!" Eabha didn't catch the flash of panic across Fritz's face, and pretend not to hear the plaintive noise he made - no doubt worried about what he was supposed to have gotten her.
"Just take it," Eabha said, once she'd set the small container in front of him. It was wooden, and had a couple of small holes punched in the top, for - well, he'd see soon. "Open!"
Eabha watched as Frtiz cautiously opened the container, jumping slightly as the contents moved a bit.
"They're not poisonous! They're actually completely tame! And they glow," Eabha added. "Just like-- like your markings do sometimes," Eabha added. "They're yours now. If you want them."
Eabha watched as he carefully allowed one, then another, then another scorpion to crawl over him and nestle into his hair, his tail, or his hooves. He was very tense for a quiet couple of moments, but when they didn't immediately bite and kill him, he relaxed considerably.
"Do you like--"
((WC: 296))
"THIS ONE'S NAME IS STEWART. THIS ONE'S TIMOTHY. THIS ONE'S DESTRUCTO. AND THIS ONE'S NAME IS THURSDAY!"
(Yes. He liked them.)
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Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 8:24 pm
And he didn't mind. It was bordering on intoxicating; he didn't mind his new center of gravity being Candra, because Candra was perfect.
The problem was that she was perfect. What do you get - what do you do - for someone who's perfect? What gift is good enough?
The answer: nothing. Jack had no idea what physical thing would be good enough for Candra, so he bypassed it entirely, and instead found a warm blanket in a soft clearing, gathered sweet berries and tart leaves, and arranged them (loosely) in the shape of a heart. He managed to scrounge up some candles and lit them (carefully - always mindful of safety) and told one of the herdmembers to tell Candra to meet him here.
If there was nothing physically good enough to give her - he had no choice but to give her his time, of which he had nothing but enough of, and would always give her, whenever she needed it.
He could only hope that she would like it - that she would still, for some baffling reason, love him the way he loved her. If she did like it, he would do it every year - every month, every week, every night, if she wanted. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her.
((WC: 277))
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 2:56 pm
Being underwater, it did not snow. The seasons were still marked in some ways - the water was colder, for one thing. Marina didn't mind the change; it put some spring in her fins, woke her up a little. Made her extra-aware of her environment. Made her extra-aware of who was in her environment.
"You're a little punk," Marina called out to the pink and blue male; the one she recognized from the other day, the one who'd splashed her and the two land-dwellers. He seemed startled, but he didn't immediately flee, which prompted Marina to continue speaking. "I remember you. Are you always a little twerp, or was that special for me, for some reason?" It wasn't like they even knew each other - maybe it was random, or maybe she had pissed him off in some indirect way.
"What are you doing in this area anyway? Don't tell me you live around here." She eyed him thoughtfully, squinting through the current at him. He looked...
Well, he didn't look like much, in this light, except maybe vaguely despondent and out of sorts. He didn't quite look like he was skulking, per se, or else Marina would have been more suspicious. He just looked...
Sad.
Marina almost felt bad for greeting him so aggressively. Almost. And then she remembered that she'd gotten splashed, and her new friends had gotten splashed too, which kept her from feeling too guilty.
"What's wrong?" Marina asked, swimming a bit closer - but cautiously, just in case on the off-chance that this was somehow another prank. "Is everything okay?"
((WC: 269))
Taku wasn't sure what had brought him here exactly, but here he was, nevertheless, and worst of all, he'd been caught. He'd been caught skulking, if that's what he was doing - that's probably what the female would say he was doing. She'd probably try to fight him again.
Getting beat by a girl was so embarrassing. He never should have come here. He should have just swum away and pretended it had never happened, but nooooo.
"I'm fine," Takutai said, a bit defensively. "I'm totally fine. Are you fine? Because I'm fine," he added, really selling the whole 'being fine' concept, he thought. "I'm here, because, um... well, because I wanted to..."
Come on... Taku thought, taking a deep breath. "I wanted to apologize. I guess. For the other day. I was just - trying to be funny and it was funny to me but it wasn't funny to you guys. I guess. So. Sorry. Or whatever. Bye."
He started to turn away, but Marina called to him, making him pause. "What?"
Except Marina wasn't calling to him - how extra double embarrassing. This was worse than waving to someone who was waving to someone else. He followed her gaze and raised an eyebrow as another figure slowly came into view, such a dark blue that part of her almost blended into the ocean waves. The rest of her, bright yellow and red, did not - stood out like the brightest coral. Seemed counter-intuitive for camouflage, but what did he know. It was another female and judging by Marina's exclamation, a friend of hers.
Great, now there were two of them.
((WC: 268 ))
Splendida approached the home of her good friend Marina, and was surprised to find the mare with another Soquili - she wasn't usually alone, given that Caspian was always floating nearby, waiting to defend Marina against threats real or imagined - but she didn't often keep company with other horses, at least not while Splendida was around. Maybe she'd made more friends since the last time she'd seen her...?
"Who's this?" Splendida asked as she approached, looking curiously from Marina to the male. Marina murmured to her, and Splendida's eyebrows rose further. "You don't know his name?" Splendida blinked, frowned, and turned her attention on the male, who very much looked like he wanted to evaporate into a pillar of bubbles.
"I'm Splendida. Are you bothering Marina?" Splendida may be small, but she was fierce - if she needed to chase a scoundrel off, she would. "State your business. Or leave." Marina murmured to her again, and Splendida was starting to get annoyed at having come in after everything had already been established. "Oh. You were apologizing for..." Splendida paused, looked at Marina again, and then back to the male. "Being a punk? Do we forgive him?" At Marina's nod, Splendida rolled her eyes. "Well then why are you floating out here in the middle of nothing? Come in. It's freezing out here."
And so the three underwater ponies retreated into Marina's home, and eventually, Takutai unfroze, Marina warmed up, and most importantly of all, Splendida found a new person to pay her compliments.
((WC: 251))
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