Image (c) Din77
The Albino (c) HayleyWolf
Editing (c) Tweedbug
Permission From Tweedbug.
Okay, before we start, I just want you to know none of this corresponds to the character's stories and that I chose these characters to make the perfect cast. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
As the Albino stood atop the ledge overlooking his herd, he bitterly thought of what today was. Sure, it was Christmas Eve, but wasn't this also the day that his long time buisness partner, The Black, died? The moody stallion was interrupted from his sulking by the clip clop of another stallion. In a rage he galloped over to the golden stallion Spirit. "What are you doing here?!" he demanded. "Just passing through to get to the cimarron," Spirit replied. "I don't believe you," the Albino snarled. "Lighten up Albino, its Christmas Eve," "Christmas? Bah humbug!" Spirit galloped off back to his homeland, and the Albino back to his. Once again, he was visited by intruders. He turned around "Oh no, its my son-in-law," he groaned as the bay stallion Aspen trotted up to him. "Merry christmas Uncle!" he exclaimed. "What right have you to be merry? You're poor enough," the Albino answered thinking how he and his mate, the Albino's daughter had joined the cimarron herd. "What right have you to be so dismal? You're rich enough," "You know exactly why, dear son-in-law, Christmas is just time to waste, and just leaves a horse poorer with each coming year," "Oh no Uncle! Christmas is a time for happiness and love. So I say to you once more, Merry Christmas!" "Bah Humbug!" the Albino snorted. "Every fool who goes around with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips should be boiled in his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart!" Aspen, not knowing what pudding was, exclaimed "But Uncle, be reasonable, Penny and I would love to have you over for Christmas dinner this year," "Good day, Aspen," said the Albino. "Merry Christmas Uncle!" "Good Day Aspen!" "And a happy New Year!" the stallion called as he galloped off into the snow flurries. "Bah! Who does he think he is? He becomes the mate to MY daughter and now he calls me 'uncle'? Those cavalry horses are all the same!" he muttered. Just then a mare and stallion trotted up to him with big smiles on their faces. Ashanti and Dakotah! "Albino, we are here to ask if a few orphan foals could join your herd-" "No," "But-" "No!" "Sir," said Dakotah. "Its-" "I know what day it is! My partner has been dead seven years tonight! Now leave me be!" the Albino shouted before turning away. "How could you?!" Ashanti yelled after him.
The Albino slept very close to his herd, inside a small area surronded by snowdrifts. He would not usually sleep here, but today he was feeling extra mean. As he was closing his eyes, he heard the rattling of chains! "AAAALLLLLLBBBBIIIIIIIINNNNNNOOOO!" A voice moaned. "AAALLLLBBBBIIIINNNOOOOO!" The Albino shot up, terrified. Just then a stallion emerged...jumping through the drifts! He was as black as the night, and wore a harness and heavy chains with a halter around his head. "Who are you?" the Albino demanded. "Ask me who I was," he replied. "Fine, who were you then," "In life I was your old partner, the Black," "Why are you wearing that harness?" "These heavy chains I forged in life, link by link, row by row. And now I am doomed to walk the earth forever, seeing the suffering I could have stopped!" "But Black, you were a good horse of buisness," "Buisness! Helping others instead of myself, that was my business!" the Black yelled. "Can you offer me no comfort black?" " None at all. However, you have a chance at avoiding my fate. You will be visited by three ghosts. Expect the first tonight when the wolf howls at the moon," "My time is short, Albino. I must leave, good luck," With that, the ghost disappeared. "Bah!" said the Albino. It was probably just a dream...right?
In the middle of the night, the Albino was awoken by the peircing howl of the wolf. A soft glow of light was coming from the snowdrifts. Curiously, he walked over to see that a golden palomino with holly in her hair and a golden blanket was the source of the light. She reminded him of Spirit's daughter Sitka. "I am Sitka, the ghost of Christmas Past, come with me ," The filly lepted into the air. "I can't fly!" the Albino said. "But you will with my touch," she said as she landed. The filly nuzzled him. Soon they were soaring through the air.The snow became deepened and the forests grew younger. As they landed, they came across a band of horses. "Do you recognize this place?" the ghost asked. "Of course! This is my father's herd!" The Albino saw some of his old friends, turned foals, playing around in the snow. He smiled. It had been a long time since he had seen any of them. "One foal stays behind," said the ghost. The Albino nodded gravely. The two walked through the woods and came across a stallion and a young foal. The foal was as white as snow and who the Albino recognized as himself. "What have I told you son?!" the stallion yelled. "Other horses are our enemies," "I'm sorry father," the little foal cried. "She seemed nice-" "As your punishment, we're starting you're training right now," And with that, the stallion shoved him into the water of a river nearby. " Your father was very hard on you. Sort of like the way you treat your son, huh?" "Aiden? Of course not! My training of him is easy compared to my father's!" "We have another Christmas to see," The little foal soon became a yearling. The same stallion was with him. "Get out of here! You don't belong here anymore!" The stallion shouted before chasing the colt off. "My father was going to make me the leader of the herd...but when his lead mare had a colt, he drove me out," " From then on, you never let anyone put you down again. Instead, you put others down so you could feel powerful; becoming the horse you hated most. There is one last Christmas I must show you before I leave. Come," In a frosty plain, the Albino saw himself again, he had a spark of cruelty in his eyes, treating the mares with no respect. "You see Albino, you were cruel to your mates and didn't give them the love they needed, so you lost their love forever," The Spirit said. The Albino snorted. "Sitka, I can no longer bear to see these memories, take me home," "Remember Albino, you made these memories yourself..."
Before the Albino knew it, he was face to face with a huge gray Percheron who had a wreath around his head and a green robe. "Who are you?" the Albino asked. "I am Dumbledore, the ghost of Christmas present, come along," The two raced across the prairie like lightning, stopping dead in front of a lonley mare. She had no name or mane for that matter, and was skinny and scrawney. She was crying "Everyone is having a wonderful Christmas except for me!" Just then, two palominos appeared. "C'mon Kacey, she's over here," "Okay Sitka, I'm coming," "Sitka!" the Albino exclaimed. The two raced over to No Name and after a breif exchange of words, the three galloped off, No Name with a big smile on her face. "Ah, what a good mare Sitka is, always letting others into her herd," said the Spirit. The stallions followed them to the herd. There, Freedom, the youngest son of Spirit, was being helped by his brother Eclipse, his sister Morning Arrow and his father. He was limping. "He never told me his son was sick," "You never gave him the chance!" But throughout the celebration, Freedom didn't seem to notice his limp and continued having a merry time. At one point, The Albino saw a happy and heartfelt reunion between Temperance and her brother Trigger, before Temperance's mate Bandit came to join them. Dumbledore and the Albino returned to his herd where the Albino saw Allie, Aiden, and Shiloh talking. "I think your father's right, Christmas is a humbug! What is there to be merry about in a world of selfish, cruel human beings?" "You have a point," said Aiden. Shiloh said nothing but bowed her head, she understood. "Alright, off to bed, you two!" said Allie."Now do you you understand? Your cruelty has now poisened others, but even the weak and sick can still enjoy Christmas!" "What will happen to Freedom?" "If these shadows remain unchanged, the foal will die," And with that the ghost was gone, replaced by a black horse.
Some the things this ghost horse showed him are too horrible to write down, but there are parts that I can right down. He had heard three horses talking "I hear the Albino's gone," "Who cares, the world's better off without him, it's poor Freedom I'm sad about," The next thing he heard and saw were a silent procession paying their final respects to Freedom. He saw Rain hysetrically weeping and Spirit and Cheryl trying to comfort her. He saw a dead horse a white a snow with no one to care about him, no one to love him... "I understand now Spirit! I can change!" the Albino cried. "It's too late Albino!" Strider yelled. "You time just ran out!!" "NOOOOOOOO!" screamed the Albino as he tumbled into the grave he dug himself.
The Albino opened his eyes. Nothing had changed, it was Christmas morning! He whinned for joy, waking the whole herd up. "Come everyone! We must go to the Cimarron!" From then on, the Albino was good to his promise and better. He apologized to Penny and Aspen and brought the whole herd with him to Christmas dinner. He took several of the orphan foals into his herd and helped Freedom recover from his sickness. Such a great change occured in his heart that a moral was passed down through all generations; its never to late to change!
The End