The Great Gift Giver (Zap Apple, Ambrosia, Applejack)

[SteelEagle]

 

Applejack took a deep breath and allowed the cold air to roll down her. It was invigorating and the way her nerves shot up in response proved to her that this was a mighty fine season. And a mighty fine season shared with a family that went far beyond the concept of being merely mighty fine at anything only solidified her love of the season. The kids had been put to bed not too long ago. She had read them a Hearths Warming Eve tale, one of her favorites! It was about the-

 

"Greaaaat Gift Giver of the Grove," Applejack had said, her voice calm and serene as the nightly snow. "The biggest reindeer of all, big and strong as a pony!" She leaned down, "an' don't tell Big Mac, but H have it on good authority that tha Great Gift Gover is twice as strong!" She went back to her normal posture with a smile. "A kindly sort, he is the one who delivers gifts that the other Gift Givers come up with," she started as she assumed her normal sing-songy voice she used for bedtime stories, "they say he travels Equestria lookin' for special colts and special fillies to give gifts to, using his magic and having fun the whole way. Adult ponies can't see him- he's too smart for us!" She said with an exaggerated eye roll.

"Every once in a while, a little pony- like you two- are able to catch him in the act and touch his bell. An' when they do? He grants them a wish!" She said before her eyes narrowed. "Now, don't be thinking you can go out and get his bell all easy like. He is fast, clever, mischievous but never dangerous. Some say he can grow a horn and use magic, others that he can sprout wings and fly away!"
"Well, I don't know about all that. All I do know is that he only visits the very best little fillies and colts...I dunno, think you two are ready for him? How good have you two been?" She asked playfully before she saw the clock strike the right hour. "Alright you two. Get your behinds ta sleep. You have a long day of gift openin' in front of you!" She said as she gave each one of them the precise amount of kisses and nuzzles they deserved, which was a lot.

 

- and it had been a lot of fun to introduce them to it. She had been doing that a lot lately, telling them about all sorts of folk tales and myths. Story time at the Apples was rarely boring! Sadly, she knew that this time was brief. She didn't want to be one of those mares who regretted not taking advantage of the playfulness of youth and had made sure to fill the holiday with good cheer and fun. Tomorrow after presents she was gonna take the family out and about and really press home the season. Tonight, though? Tonight she would rest. She would have to get up early to arrange the gifts just right. With Rainbow in the house for the holidays that would be hard to do but...well, a mare had to do what a mare had to do. She got up and tossed the rest of her cocoa into the fire, extinguishing it and allowing the weather outside to rise and fall of it's own accord. The living room was soon bathed in various whites and blues of the outside world as she slowly made her way to her room.

After a short talk with Rainbow Dash, she blew out her lamp and the Apple family home was silent except for the sound of softly blowing wind.

A few hours later, the weather had calmed down entirely and the world was at ease. Nary a peep was made across the house. Peace and quiet until a loud thump, directly over the kids' room, followed by the slow and methodical march of four hooves across the roof...

[Blueblood]

Ambrosia had, tonight, enjoyed storytime as much as she usually did, which was a lot!  Orange-mama was the best storyteller, and even though her memories of her earliest years were fuzzy, little Amby knew this was the time of year she went all-out for her foals.

Just one problem, though.  What was all this nonsense about 'whether' or 'if' she had been a good little filly?  She was the best little filly, mama said that herself!  Silly Applejack!

 

With the excitement that every little foal feels before the big holidays of their lives, Amby was sure she would never fall asleep... even though it took no more than five minutes.  It was a light sleep, though, so when the thumps came from the roof above her and Zap's room, she bolted awake, eyes wide with excitement.  "Zappers, Zappers!"  She called out in the loudest way one possibly can while still whispering.  "He's here, the gift giver's here!"

[SteelEagle]

The hoofsteps were heavy on the ceiling for just a few moments longer until it reached the very top of the barn, where the weather vane was and the attic that it sat atop of. Then a brief, loud stound as something entered it, and then silence as it moved deeper into the house...

[Hippo]

 

Zap Apple had been jostled by the thumping, but for good measure, his little sister was there to softly screech his name. However, instead of being annoyed at the interruption of sleep, he too acknowledged the sounds he was hearing, and they were not normal. Before, Zap had rolled his eyes a little at the story his mom was telling him and Amby before they went to bed. He lied if he said he didn't believe in many old pony tales, but the way his mom had been telling the story told him it was more about entertainment than it was about real pony legend. But now that the clopping on the roof above his bedroom had traveled around, he wasn't so sure about what he didn't believe.

 

Zap just starred at Ambrosia, not knowing what to say. Was she scared? Does he say something to excite her more, or say something to calm her down? In times like this, Zap knew he would portray the confidence of a big brother who would always have the authority and discernment to make the more mature reasoning during times of momentary stress like these. "Oh my gosh! Is it true!?" He whispered loudly, throwing his blanket off and hovering around the room listening for sound clues coming from the planks the barn was built out of. He softly flew out of the room and into the upstairs hallway continuing to follow the sound, until the noises stopped. Zap looked around frantically and then at Ambrosia, as if she had any answers.

[Blueblood]

Thankfully, Zap didn't take too long to wake up, and Amby was cheered to see he was treating this situation with the gravity it deserved.  "Of course its true, mama said so, and now he's on the roof!"  Well, by the sounds of it, in the attic now.  Whatever!  Her little legs couldn't move near as fast as her big brother's wings, but she was giving it a go as she followed him into the hallway, listening all the time for hoofsteps.  "Is he coming in?  Can you reach the attic ladder?"

[SteelEagle]

There was a pregnant pause before the sound of the ladder...that never dropped. Instead, the next sound seemed closer. It was definitely inside. It seemed to travel from the attic quickly, lightly, to the first floor. The sound of a door creaking somewhere in the house...the first floor kitchen! Then the sounds seemed to move into the living room. Meanwhile, the door to Applejack and Rainbow's room was slightly open, the sound of light snoring wafting out

[Hippo]

 

 

Zappy was about to dare to pull on the attic ladder, but was halted by the sounds coming from down the stairs. How it traveled from top to bottom in an instant, Zap did not know, but it spooked him almost as much as it excited him. "He's in the kitchen..." Zap whispered loudly as the steps seemed to walk themselves into the living room. He looked at Ambrosia to see what kind of move she would want to make. Zap secretly hoped that she didn't suggest that he just go downstairs. What if it was not the Gift Giver? What if it was the Pony of Shadows or the scary bipedal goat who scares ponies who misbehave? "What's he doing?"

[Blueblood]

Ambrosia was practically vibrating with excitement, but found herself tripped up by her silly older brother being silly.  Really, he was asking what The Great Gift Giver was doing downstairs?  "Duh, giving gifts!  Come on, let's go see!  Maybe get the bell!"  It was clear she would have to lead the way; the giver was going directly from the roof to the kitchen, and Zap was up here asking where to go?  No, they had to go down quickly, and already little Amby's legs were doing their best to quietly convey her down the stairs...

[SteelEagle]

By now the sound was entirely in the living room, and was being joined now by the small snaps of magic, and the rustling of wind...

[Hippo]

 

Zap was too proud to admit that he was a little scared that an unknown something was plodding through the barnhouse. It wasn't like he completely believed the stories, and so unlike Amby, was a little off guard with what was actually happening. At the same time, if worst came to worst, Zap would never be able to live having let his baby sister fall into some trap laid by an intruder, so he hover just in front of her as she fled down the stairs like a quiet mouse.

 

Once down the stairs, Zap edged closer to the walkway to the living room and tip-hoofing out of line of sight of the room itself. The magically twinkling and rushing of wind seemed kind of strange, but he was not about to abort the mission. Slowly, he crept by the walkway and carefully leaned in his head to take a peak at what all evidence pointed to was the Great Gift Giver.

[SteelEagle]

The two little ponies made their way down, slowly and maybe quietly, the sounds in the living room growing more contained and softer even as they approached. Bit by bit the living room would reveal itself until, in time, they would see...

 

HIM.
The Great Gift Giver, in the flesh! His red and white robes flowed over a stout but not unusually large body, his antlers seemingly dancing with lights. He swept his legs to and from slowly and as he did, the magical sparkles and snaps would return as gifts seemingly manifested from nowhere. In mid-motion, he stopped, as if trying to sense if somepony was nearby...

[Blueblood]

Ambrosia was a brave little filly, nopony of her parentage could fail to be.  And what's more, her excitement was fueling her every step, bringing her downstairs in good time to see... The Great Gift Giver!

 

He was everything orange-mama said he was!  Be-robed, be-antlered, be-sparkling in the flesh!  She couldn't help but gasp quietly at the sight, and found herself rooted on the spot.  Not out of fear, but awe, an instinctual sense that she was in the presence of something wondrous, that she would feel shame in sacrilege.  Not that she was old enough to put it all to herself like that...

[Hippo]

 

It was all too real for Zap. Any other intruder into the home would scare him into screaming for his Mothers' attention, but considering it was a large reindeer from the story he was told only a few hours ago, the intruder was more like a visitor invited by Applejack herself. He just stood still and stared at him, mesmerized and stunned at the sheer impact the kind of magic he seemed to be wielding. Even the pause from the creature did not move Zap. He remained in awe with his mouth agape.

[SteelEagle]

The Great Gift Giver seemed frozen in place. Two bells could be seen, one hanging on each side of his flank and his tall, puffy tail. They sparkled different colors- white, green, red, blue- and were hypnotically mesmerizing. His first movement was to reverse the waving of his leg, and the gifts started to vanish. Then he half-turned to face the little ponies. He was smiling warm and playfully, and that same energy seemed to immediately pulse across the room. He then shifted himself to more broadly face them, his eyes sparkling with playfulness as the bells on his sides rang out in a teasing manner. After a small pause, the front door flew open and the Great Gift Giver pronked his way out of the building.

[Blueblood]

Ambrosia was only stunned for a moment, looking at him in awe.  But after a mere second, she realized two things.  The gifts were disappearing, and the Giver was getting away!  Those two facts had to be related!  If she and Zappers didn't catch up and ring those bells, there'd be no Hearthswarming Presents!  That would be a Disaster, the WORST.  POSSIBLE.  THING.

 

"WAAAIIIITT!"  Little Amby would cry out, scrambling from the foot of the stairs, and making a beeline towards the present-bearing pronker, little legs barely keeping from tripping over themselves as she both ran and reached for the green bell, closest to the ground...

[SteelEagle]

The Great Gift Giver pronked his way ahead of the filly and her brother, ever out of reach but never enough to dissuade the chase. As she reached for the green bell he seemed to pronk higher than ever, his bushy tail bouncing along with him as he seemed to give out a giggle, the suddenness and height of the pronk getting the bell currently out of danger. His eyes did gleam green briefly and the bell flashed warmly! Then with one pronk, two pronks, and three pronks he powered out of sight, shooting off and making a hard turn in the orchard. Behind him was a flash of purple light and four colored trails heading deeper inside- white, green, red, blue

[Hippo]

 

Ambrosia got the jump on him before Zap could react. He was stunned into the reality of this magical creature doing the things he was doing. He had this urge to wake up Mom and Mom, it would be the first time he would have ever tried to wake them up for something he was doing past bedtime. Instead of asking for parental help, he quickly decided to join his sister in the chase. She was a selfish little monster sometimes, but her urgency was well-placed. Presents on Hearth's Warming had to happen! He flew outside and after the reindeer, unable to keep up with his leaps and bounds.

 

After a few elusive moves, he vanished, leaving colored trails in his wake. Zap landed from his flight and caught his breath. "Where did he go? Which path should we choose?"

[Blueblood]

"Ah... aH.... AH... Orchard!"  Little Amby was putting every breath she could into running, and could barely spare any for her big brother, who was finally getting with the program.  Truth be told, she wasn't far from crying now, being up so late and running so hard wasn't usually good for a filly; but some things were more important than beauty sleep.  Her eyes were on the prize, the trail of green light marking the path the bell she sought had taken, making a line straight to the dormant grove of Galas.  She powered on through the cold and snow, panting, sniffing, but determined.

[SteelEagle]

The small ponies followed the green path. As they did so, the other colored paths started to vanish until it was only them and the path. In a short amount of time they would find themselves running what felt like down a hill, a gentle slope into a beautiful clearing in the trees. In the clearing was a huge pile of gifts, wrapped up and mysterious each, with warm cocoa and cookies on a tree stump to the side. As they entered the clearing they would feel warmer with a relaxing aura. In front of the gifts was a card addressed to both of them:
"Zap Apple and Ambrosia Apple, you are both very good little ponies...and very fast, to boot! But to have a hope of catching me, you have to find the greatest gift of all to share with your sibling. You can only open one gift...so trust your heart!"

The gifts stood there, ready to be investigated. They all had a relatively uniform look, but had different color wrapping paper-white, red, blue. As soon as one of the two picked a gift, all the gifts wrapped in that color would vanish- meaning each of them would pick a different color! 

[Hippo]

 

Zap's experiences felt so strange. Part of him knew this couldn't be real. But there was no attention span to spare to explore the options that would lead him to a more logical conclusion. He fluttered down the path, skipping occasionally against the ground. When he came to the pile of gifts. Understanding the Gift Giver's ruleset, Zap made a careful but quick calculation as to which present he would chose. He hovered over it ready to pounce on it. "The biggest one! Right sis?"

[Blueblood]

By the end, Ambrosia was panting and stumbling, but she made it!  The Great Gift Giver had stopped for them!  There would be presents after all!

 

She was smiling to see Zap close behind her, but her eyes were mostly fixed with wide wonder on the figure who offered them the chase and conclusion.  But only one present?  Really?  After summoning a huge pile at the house, and then making it vanish?  Amby would have voiced protest, but some inner goody-horseshoes warned her that now would be the exact wrong time to be greedy.

Still, she could quite understand Zapper's point of view, of the bigger being the better one.  But looking up at the big box, she got a little worried.  "But... I can't reach the ribbon!  I wanna unwrap it with you, Zappers!"  Not to mention the fact that her big brother tore the ribbon with the paper two times out of three.  She always wanted to save it, because ribbons were nice!  Momma always liked to tie them around her frizzy hair.

[Hippo]

Zap started tugging on the ribbon and wound his body up for a large pull to unravel the bow on the box, but was stunned from doing so by the pitch perfect tone of his baby sister's voice. Zap's drone-like attitude took hold and he fell to a glide off the box's edge. "Fine." Zap wrapped his front legs around Ambrosia and flapped his wings double time. A slow but confident hover, he landed them both onto the top of the box. "Alright, ready sis? One. Two. Three!"

[Blueblood]

Ambrosia had never in the exact cliché phrase ever asked for "upsies", though the likely reaction from orange-momma were she ever to do so would likely have proven sufficient encouragement to do so at high frequency.  Not that Zap would be so easily touched, but at least he did indeed carry the little filly up on top of the box, where she quickly got a hold of the ribbon, ready to steadily pull and keep it intact.  "Three!"  She called out, joyfully smiling at her brother, as their simultaneous tug unraveled the knot, leaving only the paper to remove and reveal the gift within!

[SteelEagle]

The two together didn't have to try very hard to pull the knot apart and in the manner of a quick moment it fell apart. The box came apart in four easy pieces, the walls falling and the top falling towards the north. It would send the two little ponies tumbling down into the grass softly. When they perked back up, they would see the present- the singular present. Ambrosia would see the absolutely greatest horn ring of all time. Outrageously cute, super pretty, the most exciting fashion accessory a pony like her could ever ask for in all of her favorite colors. Zap Apple would see something different. It was a wing badge of the highest quality- directly from Cloudsdale, with his name engraved on it. He knew what that was: It was an official recruit badge for the Wonderbolts!
One gift for two ponies, however, could prove quite the problem!

[Blueblood]

Sent down by the falling walls, Ambrosia would find herself all tangled up in the ribbon!  Though her limbs were wrapped up like an eagerly but inexpertly bound gift, she was able to get upright, and see with shining eyes the ring.  It was everything the little pink princess prancing in the heard of every unicorn filly could possibly want!  "Ooohhh!"  She clapped her hooves giddily, before looking over to her brother.  "I got a ring, I got a horn ring!"  A quick look around at the shower of paper surrounding, however, failed to turn up anything else that looked like a present.  Uh-oh, if there was only one gift, and it wasn't a gift that Zappers would even want or use... He might be upset.  "You... see anything?"  She tried to look around to see if anything got covered by the debris, but only ended up tripping over the ribbon and hopelessly entangling herself even further!