Holiday Hijinksby Bahamut0ChaptersChapter 2: Deck the HallsChapter 3: The Night BeforeChapter 4: ExplanationsChapter 5: Frozen Face-OffEpilogueChapter 1: The Most Wonderful Time of the YearChapter 2: Deck the HallsBurst and the others had left for home to tell their families about the party that was being thrown and that they had all been invited. Their families agreed and soon began preparations for the party. The days went by, and the night of the party Burst, his friends, and their families arrived at Pegasus's mansion. Gold and Pegasus opened the door to greet them. "Hey everyone!", Gold greeted. "So glad you could all make it!", Pegasus said with a smile. "And to you young duelists, your families aren't the only ones present." Burst and the others were confused as to what he meant, but they found their answer the second they walked into the mansion. "Blue Eyes!", Burst cheered as he rushed forward to hug Blue Eyes wearing a santa hat. "It's nice to see you!" Burst then noticed that Azure Eyes, Blue Eyes Spirit, Blue Eyes Alternative, Chaos MAX, Neo Blue Eyes Ultimate and Blue Eyes Absolute were all present! "And you brought your other forms too?" Blue Eyes chuckled. "No Burst. This is my family. Azure Eyes and Blue Eyes Spirit are my mother and father respectively. Neo Ultimate is my little brother, Alternative and Absolute are also my brothers, and Chaos MAX is my sister. Grandpa Shining and Grandma Deep Eyes couldn't make it. But we all decided to celebrate with you! Plus..." Blue Eyes pulled out a present wrapped in paper flooded with Blue Eyes White Dragons. "We also got you a pretty sweet present! That, and my baby brother always wanted to meet you." A little Blue Eyes stepped out from the mass of his family and smiled at Burst. Burst was grinning ear to ear. Inferno and Rarity were chatting with Red Eyes and Gem-Knights Master Diamond. "Glad you could make it Red!", Inferno said with a smile. "Well we weren't able to celebrate Christmas with you before with the sealed portals. But now we can! Also, Chick really missed Sweetie Belle." "Sweetie!", Red Eyes Black Chick cheered as she flew into Sweeite's arms. "I missed playing with you!" Chick then affectionately nuzzled her. Sweetie Belle giggled. "Nice to see you too Chick. Let's see what the girls and the CMCB are up to!" The two of them left while Inferno and Rarity continued their conversation with their monster partners. "It's always lovely to see you Diamond.", Rarity said with a small curtsey. "A pleasure to be in your company as well my lady. It seems your celebrations of the holidays in this world are as lively as ours! I regret to inform you that I cannot stay long. My fellow Gem-Knights are engaging in a snowball war with the Fierce Knights and Black Luster Soldiers! The winner earns the title of snowball warriors supreme!" Master Diamond entered a portal to return to the monster world while Rarity struck-up a conversation with Red Eyes and his family. "So Red Eyes? Who makes up your family?" "My mother is Red Eyes Darkness Dragon, and my dad is Red Eyes Darkness Metal dragon. Red Eyes Black Chick is my baby sister, Red Eyes Wyvern is my brother, and Black Flare and Retro are my cousins. Archfiend Black Skull and Meteor Black Comet are my older brothers. So that's my flock for you!" "How do you get your scales in such lovely condition?" Red Eyes Darkness giggled. "Two words. Lava baths. One of the advantages of our house having a lava pool in addition to a swimming pool. The heat from the lava completely sterilizes our scales. Adding a nice shine to them in the process." She then shot a look at REDMD. "Of course my dear husband outshines all of us.", she said with a smirk. REDMD nuzzled her. "And I thought I was the one who sweet-talked you." "Ooookay. We're leaving before this gets too mushy.", Archfiend Black Skull said as he and Meteor Black Comet grabbed Red Eyes. Inferno then noticed Blue Eyes was hitting it off with Solaria and Nyx. "Heh. Burst and Blue Eyes. The two ladies men of our group. Well we might as well see what our parents are up to." Burst joined them and was surprised to see his dad freaking out over meeting Inferno's parents. 'He's going total fanboy!', Burst thought as he got closer. "It's such an honor to meet you! I'm a big fan!", Burst's dad nearly screamed. Burst's mom put a hand on his shoulder. "Now Aether. Shouldn't you try to contain yourself? Inferno's parents are retired from the rock star life. Even though we DID have our first kiss to one of their songs.", Lumina said with a smile. "That's so sweet!", Cynder said with a smile. "Always nice to meet a fan.", Ash said with a chuckle. "And it looks like our kids are the best of friends. They've even established themselves as heroes!" "They've certainly all come a long way!", Pegasus added. "And I suppose we should be thankful they haven't let it go to their heads. Heaven knows Kaiba would be bragging about it for eternity!" "Come on Dad. We don't need the whole world to know what we've done...", Gold paused as he and Sunset locked eyes. "Just the ones that we love." Sunset smiled as she pulled him close. "C'mere." Sunset then kissed Gold longer than any time previous. "Hope you liked your present!", she said with a wink. Gold just blushed! Meanwhile the CMC and CMCB were hanging out with Dark Rebellion, and Clear Wing. "Hey, where's Starving Venom and Pinkie?", Scootaloo asked. "They're probably scoping out the food.", Shining Spoon said with a shrug. "I just hope Mr. Pegasus had extra on hand." "He'll need it with Starving Venom AND Pinkie's appetites combined!", Bright Star added. "He cleaned out my house's fridge in single day!" "Well he DOES have the word 'starving' in his name!", Applebloom said with a giggle. Sweetie was playing with Red Eyes Black Chick and the baby Blue Eyes, and was too busy to notice that Fluttershy was right behind her with a big grin on her face. "I'm going to get something to drink. You two want anything?", she asked. "Juice is fine.", little Blue Eyes said as he and Red Eyes Black Chick played. They both froze when they saw Fluttershy. "Uh...can we help you?" "SOOO CUUUUTTTEEE!", Fluttershy screamed as she scooped the two of them up into a hug! "Oh I could just cuddle with you two for hours!" "I think we just found a new babysitter.", Red Eyes Black Chick said flatly as she and Little Blue Eyes rode out Fluttershy's hug. Meanwhile, Celestia had walked up to Burst. "Hey Burst? What's hanging over your head?" "Looks like there's two thing hanging over us.", Moon said with a smile. Burst looked up and saw two pieces of mistletoe above his head. Celestia and Moon holding them up with their magic. "Aren't I supposed to be the one to try that old trick?", Burst asked with a smile. "Then again, it's not like I'm gonna turn down this chance." Burst kissed Celestia and Moon. "Just wait until you see the presents we got you!", Moon said. Pinkie and Starving Venom were taking in all the sweets left out for the party. "So you curious what the author's up to?", Pinkie asked. "Oh! Maybe we can ask him next chapter!", Starving Venom said as he bit a large chunk off a gingerbread house. "I can't wait to see what he's got in store!" Chapter 3: The Night Before"You know, I don't think I've ever had this much fun before!", Steel said as he chatted with his friends. "First time we're all under one roof besides school." "I think your dad is trying to beat mine in arm wrestling.", Rainbow Dash said as she pointed to her dad and Steel's. "So who do you think's gonna win?" Both of their dads then fell to the floor from the sheer force of one push! "...I'd call this a tie." Meanwhile, Burst, Inferno and Gold were watching their dads fail epically at karaoke. "I am SO putting this on YouTube.", Inferno said with a smirk as he recorded the whole scene unfolding. "At least it's a memorable performance?", Burst said while trying to stifle his laughter. "We certainly won't be forgetting it any time soon.", Gold added. "Man. I don't think I've seen dad have so much fun before. I can't say I've had this much fun being around my friends either." "Yeah. This is pretty nice.", Burst said. "Hm. I wonder what time it is?" Burst got out his phone and looked at the time. "Wow. It's eleven o'clock already. Time really does go by fast when you're having fun. I think all of us should each head home." Burst was about to tell the others when he felt a surge of energy flow through everything! "What the?!" Burst then looked all around him. His friends were just fine, but their families were frozen still! In fact, it looked like everything else but them was frozen in time! "What the heck happened?" "I've got a bad feeling about this...", Inferno said as their friends gathered. Inferno then looked at the time on his phone. "Huh? Why isn't time moving forward? It's just stuck at this exact time!" "Same thing with all of our phones!", Sunset said as she looked at her phone. "Time's completely still!" "Anyone willing to bet that weird energy we felt is the cause of this?", Steel suggested. "Maybe we should call up Ace and the others. See if they're going through the same thing..." Burst dialed up Ace's number, and got a reply almost instantly. "Burst? You won't believe what happened! It's like time just-" "Froze solid. The same thing happened over here with us. Get your brothers, Venus, Fang, their girlfriends. Get. EVERYONE. We've got to find out just what happened. And find out how to fix it before things get worse." Ace and the others showed up as quick as they could. "Good. Now that we're all here, let's go over what we know." "First of all, time's come to a complete stop.", Twilight said. "And in addition, everything around us seems to be stuck in their current position." "And there was some weird surge of energy that caused it.", Starlight added. "And for some reason, we're still able to move. Not that I'm complaining." "So that leaves the big question. What caused this and how do we fix it?", Sunset asked. Soon a portal opened up, and a voice came through. "I believe I can help give you the answers you need." Soon a figure wearing goggles and a red suit came through. Burst and the others were in awe! "I am called Nicholas.", the figure said as he pulled off his goggles. "But you all know me better as, Santa Claus." Chapter 4: ExplanationsBurst and the others were silent for almost a full minute before Burst broke the silence. "And you thought he didn't exist?", Burst said with a small smirk while looking at Sunset. "Actually, I'm pleasantly surprised.", Sunset replied. "So is there any chance you know just what happened? Why time's come to a stop?" Santa nodded and pulled out small snow globe and pressed a button on it. A massive display was brought up. "Have you ever wondered how I'm able to travel the whole world in one night? It's because I have a small amount of control over space and time. But this device..." Santa pulled up an image of a device that looked like a stop watch. "lets me greatly increase that power. The chrono-disruptor. It also lets me actually enjoy all those cookies and milk. But it was stolen a few days ago." "I called it!", Twilight cheered. "I knew it worked something like that!" "But why would someone want to freeze time like this? What do they stand to gain?", Starlight asked. "Making sure Christmas never comes.", Santa said gravely. "I've been doing this job for a long time now. And nothing fills my heart with joy more than seeing the happy faces of children all over the world on Christmas Morning. But with time frozen like this, so much more is at stake. One half of the world will be frozen, and the other would be in perpetual heat." "So how come we aren't frozen in place?", Sunset asked. "Ho ho ho! Ms. Shimmer. I thought you would've caught on to your connection with the elements by now. They shielded you from the affects of the time-wave. As for you Burst, you and the rest of your friends are protected by your bond with your monsters." "This is amazing! I knew you were real!", Burst said with a huge smile. "Can you still travel the world though?" "Sadly, my reindeer team was frozen into statues back at the North Pole. And even if we do manage to fix this mess, we won't be able to free them in time. Which is why I'm here. I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I borrowed your dragons for tonight?" "Santa, it would be my honor." Burst summoned Blue Eyes. "Count me in too!", Inferno said as he summoned Red Eyes. "Timaeus, Critias, Hermos!", Ace shouted as he summoned his three dragons. "Show us to the sleigh, and we'll take care of the flying!", Blue Eyes said with a thumbs-up. Santa smiled at their willingness to help. "It's no wonder you all wound up on the nice list every year." Moon nervously stepped forward. "Um, Mr. Claus? Which list am I on?" "Hmm. Nightmare Moon. You pulled quite the stunt when you tried to bring eternal night in Equestria. But you've changed yourself for the better, and now you have what you've always needed. Good friends, and a loving boyfriend." Moon beamed at hearing this. "You can expect a certain package under the tree tomorrow. Oh! And Celestia?" Celestia went over to the group. "Yes?" "Sorry it took so long to deliver on that perfect boyfriend present.", Santa said with a wink. "So how can we help fix things?", Burst asked. Santa reached into his coat pocket, and pulled out what looked like a tracking device. "This device can trace the signal of the chrono-disruptor. I'll still be able to deliver presents, but only to half the world. As long as the thief holds the chrono-disruptor, they hold the future of Christmas in their hands!" "So what does this jerk look like?", Rainbow Dash demanded. "I'll deck them good for trying to ruin Christmas for everyone!" "They look like this." Santa pulled up an image of the thief, and the whole group was shocked! It looked like Starlight, but it was composed of the malefic armor seen on the enslaved dragons! "Of all the people to wind up on my naughty list, she's the worst I've seen yet." "You can count on us! Just worry about delivering those gifts to the kids on your nice list!", Burst said with a confident smile. "Come on guys! Let's deck that imposter's halls!" Chapter 5: Frozen Face-OffStarlight was silent. She couldn't believe that the thing that was trying to ruin the holidays looked like her! Shadow noticed her nosedive in mood, and went to check on her. "Hey Star? Are you alright?" "Oh! I'm fine Shadow. Just...taking this all in." "You're worried about that thing that looks like you, aren't you?" Starlight was silent for a whole minute and pulled Shadow into a tight hug. "It just brings back those memories! What I did! How I tried to hurt you and your friends!" Starlight began to tear up, but Shadow held her close. "Starlight. You know that isn't you. There's no way it could be." "I know. But just what is it?" Burst came in and addressed the two of them. "We'll be finding out pretty soon. Twilight and Sunset have rigged up a sensor to detect powerful evil energy and magic. And they just coupled it to the tracker Santa gave us. You two ready?" Shadow gave him a thumbs-up and Starlight nodded slowly. "Alright guys. Let's rock the dragon!" The group gathered in the living room. "Sunset, Twi? Are you ready to try that teleport spell?" "We've got it ready and waiting. But you might wanna stick together. It's untested.", Sunset warned. "...Do it." The group braced themselves as Sunset got the spell ready, and they were all teleported to the location of the creature that looked like Starlight. And when they arrived, they were shocked to see a whole castle made of what looked like pure darkness! "Well...at least the place is easy to find." Burst kicked down the door and the group slowly entered. "Guys? I don't think we're alone..." From almost out of nowhere, monsters that were made of the same darkness materialized! "This thing really knows how to roll out the welcome mat!" Burst and Inferno then summoned their weapons! "Ace, Shadow, Ice! You guys have new drago arms! How about you open up your new toys!" Ace summoned a sword modeled after Timaeus, Shadow materialized a spear modeled after Dragluon, while Ice summoned a gigantic sword that was modeled after Red Dragon Archfiend! They charged at the monsters that surrounded them! Taking out many with powerful slashes and a hail of blaster fire! But they just kept coming! "Oh man! I don't know how much longer we can hold out!", Inferno said as he was surrounded by a horde of shadow monsters! Soon, the enemies that swarmed him were destroyed! Inferno looke around, and saw Rarity sheathing a sword that had gems along its blade. "Would you like some help with these ruffians darling?", she said with a cute smile. "I certainly would!" Inferno and Rarity were holding off their own wave while Burst and Moon were facing off against their own swarm of enemies! "I gotta say Moon, you're certainly no damsel in distress!" Burst said as he held off a wave of shadow monsters! Moon had just taken care of the wave that was coming at here with a blast of magic! "Is that a problem?", she said with a smirk. "You kidding? That's one of the things that makes me love you so much!", Burst said as he fired a shot at a monster that tried to take a swing at her! Moon then took down the next wave with a series of quick slashes! Celestia was calmly watching, and summoned a sword with her magic, and plunged it into the ground! Releasing a massive wave of light magic that destroyed all the monsters! Satisfied that they would no longer be of any trouble, she dispelled the sword and smiled pleasantly. "I believe that takes care of that minor nuisance." Burst's jaw dropped! "Remind me never to get on your bad side." Celestia giggled. "Oh Burst. That's not possible. I could never stay mad at you." Celestia said as she hugged him. "Hate to break up the love-fest, but I think the big-bad's noticed us!", Rainbow said as she pointed to the creature that looked like Starlight! It even had her voice when it spoke. "Well, well. Looks like I have uninvited guests in my home. I believe this is what you're looking for?", it said with a smirk as it brought out the chrono-disruptor with its magic. "Who or what are you?!", Shadow demanded. "Call me...Darklight. And I'm the one who will finally destroy all of you!" Darklight then summoned a duel disk! "So who'll be the first to fall by my hands?" "I'll duel you!", Starlight said as she activated her own duel disk! "You've threatened my friends, and while wearing my face! I won't let you hurt any of them! You're not me!" A low chuckle escaped Darklight as she removed her mask. Starlight was horrified at the sight! It was like chunks of malefic armor had merged with her face! Twisting her appearance! "Oh, but I am you Starlight! I'm the part that desired the dark strength you've given up! And once I beat you, maybe I'll do a number on your loving boyfriend! You can't escape me!" "Then it's a good thing I'm sick of running!" Starlight: 8000 Darklight: 8000 "Since this is my dwelling, I'll take the first move!", Darklight said. "I play Trade-In to discard a level eight monster and draw two new cards! Now I can normal summon Galaxy Knight since the monster in my graveyard was a galaxy monster! Now I can target the Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon in my graveyard and special summon it! Now I overlay the two of them to summon Galaxy Eyes Full Armor Photon Dragon! Now I'll use him as xyz material for another xyz monster!" "What?! Two xyz summons in a row?!", Starlight gasped! Darklight sneered. "Rise on up! Dragon of the stars that carries the fury of a black hole! All that stands in our way will be decimated! Number 95! Galaxy Eyes Dark Matter Dragon!" A fearsome dragon that looked like it was made of a darkness appeared on the field. It's very presence sent a chill down Starlight's spine! "Now that he's been summoned, I can send three dragons with different names from my deck to the graveyard! Now you have to banish three monsters from your deck!" Starlight frowned as she sent three of her monsters to the graveyard. "I end my turn." "My move then! I draw!", Starlight said as she drew a card. 'Darn! I cant get any decent monsters our except Photon Satellite! Well this is better than nothing!' "I summon a monster in defense mode and set a card face-down! I end my turn!" Darklight sneered. "You're a fool if you think that can save you...you're wrong! I play Shield Crush to destroy your defense mode monster! Attack her directly Dark Matter! Dark Matter Stream of Oblivion!" "Aaagh!" Starlight cried out as pain ripped through her from the force of Dark Matter's attack! "I believe you're suffered long enough, so I'll end my turn. But don't worry. The pain is far from over! Oh how wonderful this is! First I reveal myself and wreck the most wonderful time of the year! Now I've frozen all of time! And the best part is, you'll be sure it was all your fault!" Starlight managed to get up, but was shocked to see half her body frozen! "Do you like it? I've raised the stakes for our little duel! If you lose, you'll be frozen with the look of terror and regret on your face for all time!" Starlight: 4000 Darklight: 8000 Starlight was panicking on the inside! She had already lost half her life points in one attack! 'I messed up big this time! Everyone...I'm so sorry!', Starlight thought to herself. Then, a voice went off in her head, and Galaxy Eyes Photon appeared before her! 'It's not over yet Starlight! Just when things seem the darkest, that's when the light shines through the most! Your friends aren't giving up on you! Even now they're cheering you on! And now the time has come to truly use the power of our bond! Are you with me?' Starlight nodded. In a flash of light, Starlight was transformed! She had wings like Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon, and stars seemed to swirl in the irises of her eyes! "I'm not going down that easy! I draw! Perfect! I play Photon Lead to special summon Galaxy Eyes Cloudragon! Now I tribute him to special summon Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon from my hand! Now I play Galaxy Expedition! Since I have a level five or higher galaxy or photon monster, I can special summon another level five or higher galaxy monster from my deck! I special summon Galaxy Knight! Now I overlay my two monsters! I xyz summon Number 62! Galaxy Eyes Prime Photon Dragon!" Soon, a rainbow-colored flash went off on top of in Starlight's hand! "But I'm not done yet! I play Rank-Up-Magic-Harmony's Force! I'll use Photon Prime and his overlays as the materials for a new galaxy dragon! I xyz summon, Number C62: Galaxy Eyes Aether Dragon!" Soon, a dragon made of pure light descended from the sky! Unlike the other Galaxy Eyes Dragons, this one was wearing no armor! "She's unaffected by card effects! And to top it all off, her base attack is 3500! Now for her best effect! By using one overlay unit, I can target and banish one monster you control and gain it's attack points! And I can attack you directly! And if it was an xyz monster, Aether can do as many attacks as that monster had overlay units! Let's end this Aether! Aether Photon Stream!" A beam of pure light shot out from Aether's mouth and struck Darklight directly! "And now for the final attack!" "NOOO!", Darklight screamed as she braced herself for the final attack! Dropping her life points to zero. Soon, she began to crack! "It's not over! If I go down..I'M TAKING ALL OF YOU WITH ME!" The group braced themselves as Darklight exploded in a wave of dark energy! But the end did not come! Galaxy Eyes Aether Dragon had absorbed the attack and neutralized it! "I believe you'll all be needing a ride home?", she asked as she let down her wing. Burst and the others got on and flew back to Gold and Pegasus's mansion at light speed! "Hey everyone! What did we miss?", Burst asked as he and his friends met up with their families. "Well, there's a letter addressed for you and your friends.", Aether Stream said. "The one who dropped it off said it was very important." Burst took the letter, and read it. "Dear Burst. You and your friends have saved the world, and perfectly balanced it with a social life and love interests. I can't thank you and your friends enough for your help this night. So as thanks, you can all expect to find very important presents under your trees tomorrow morning! Sincerely, SC." Burst smiled. "I think I know who sent it. But for now, we've all had a long night and a great party. I say we all head home and get some rest. Because tomorrow, we've got one heck of a morning!" Burst and his friends smiled as they hugged their respective significant others and headed for home. As he got home, Moon seemed quite happy in particular. "I take it you're excited for tomorrow?" "I just can't wait to see what Santa got me!", Moon said with a smile. "And I also can't wait for Celestia and I to give your our presents tomorrow too." Moon then kissed Burst. "Any hints?" "Nope!" EpilogueIt was Christmas Morning, and Moon decided to wake Burst up. In the best way possible. She leaned in and kissed Burst. "Merry Christmas Burst.", she said sweetly a Burst opened his eyes. "Thanks for the wake-up call.", Burst said with a smile. "Now let's get to the best part!" Burst threw off the covers and he and Moon rushed downstairs. Both of them saw Burst's parents waiting for them. "Looks like Santa paid us a visit last night.", Lumina said. 'You have no idea Mom.', Burst thought as he opened up the present Santa had left him. Burst couldn't believe his eyes. "Wow. This thing looks like an actual lightsaber! It's a pretty cool replica." Burst then pressed the ignition button, and a blue blade sprung forth! "Okay, not a prop. Even better! Now I've got a new weapon to add to my arsenal." Moon opened her own present, and gasped! Inside was a sort of communicator device. Moon activated it, and an image of Luna showed up! "Hello Nightmare.", Luna said with a smile. "It's nice to see you. Pretty neat thing of Santa to give us a way to keep in touch." Moon smiled. "Happy Hearthswarming Mom." "Merry Christmas Moony. I trust Burst is taking good care of you and Celestia?" Moon turned to Burst. "I couldn't be happier." "I think you could be...", Burst said as he pulled out the present he had wrapped for Moon. Moon opened it, and found a necklace with the scale of a Blue Eyes White Dragon with the moon engraved onto it. "Burst...it's beautiful." Moon smiled at him. "You know, I think you're gonna love what I got you!" Moon handed Burst his present, and his jaw dropped when he opened it! "I know he's your favorite transformer, so I figured I should get it for you." Burst was holding the classics series Optimus Prime. "Moon." "Yes?" "You gave me one of the best presents yet." Soon, there was a knock on the door. Burst opened it, and found Celestia dressed up in a cute Santa outfit. "Merry Christmas Burst!", she said with a smile. "You came all this way just to get my present to me?" "Is that bad?" "No. You just ruined my plan to go over to your place and get your present to you. But all that really matters is that you're here." Burst kissed Celestia. "Merry Christmas Celly." "You're so sweet." The two of them went inside and Burst opened the present Celestia gave him. "I heard you liked this anime a lot. So I had Rarity help make this for you." Burst was holding a replica of Goku's gi from Dragon Ball Z. "This. Is. AWESOME!" Burst put on the gi as quickly as he could. "Ka..me....ha...me....ha! Here's your present." Celestia opened the small box Burst gave her, and there was a necklace identical to Moon's excepted there was a sun engraved on the Blue Eyes scale. "I'll always wear this.", Celestia said as she put it on. "You know, you really never grow up Burst." "Is that bad?" "Quite the opposite.", Moon said as she and Celestia brought their arms around him. "That's what we love best about you." "I wonder if the others are having as good a Christmas as we are?", Burst thought out loud. At Rarity's place, Inferno and his family had just arrived. "Inferno, darling! So nice you and your family could join us!", Rarity greeted. "Wouldn't miss this for the world! By the way, that's a nice mirror you've got there! If I didn't know any better, I'd say the lens is made of diamond." "It is. A certain gift from you-know-who.", Rarity said with a wink. "So what did you get from him?" Inferno smiled as he whipped out his own lightsaber and ignited it! The blade was a brilliant scarlet. "I'd say that the color matched your fiery spirit nicely." "And your mirror reflects your beauty. By the way, here's my gift to you." Inferno pulled our a small box and gave it to Rarity. She opened the box and found a set of fabric. "It's a bunch of different fabric from the monster world. Maybe you'll get inspired for a new line." "It's wonderful darling. I do hope you enjoy the gift I made for you." Inferno and his family followed Rarity inside and she brought Inferno a box. "I made it with you in mind." Inferno opened the box, and found a red jacket with Red Eyes Black Dragon on the back. "This is awesome Rarity! This'll let everyone know that Red Eyes and I are partners!" "I'm glad you enjoy your present darling." "Yeah. But you're the greatest gift I've got.", Inferno said as he pulled her into a hug. Rarity just blushed as she returned the hug. Meanwhile Ace, Venus, and Fang were hanging out with their girlfriends after spending the morning with their families. "You know, each of us got you girls a present.", Ace said as he, Venus, and Fang pulled out a box for Sonata, Adagio, and Aria respectively. "We hope you like them." Each of the Dazzlings opened the boxes and found necklaces with music notes on them. "It kinda shows how you're the music in our lives.", Fang said with a grin. "So do ya like them?" Aria smiled and scratched Fang's ears. "They're perfect. In fact, we each got something for you three too." The Dazzlings then pulled out three boxes. Fang opened up his and found a hoodie with Destiny End Dragoon on it. Venus had a new shirt with a flower on the front and Black Rose Dragon on the back, and Ace had a shirt with DMG the Dragon Knight on it. "We had these made with you three in mind.", Adagio said with a smile. "They're amazing.", Venus said with a smile. "And now I think I've found a new go-to outfit." Adagio smiled and kissed Venus. "I think she's got the right idea.", Ace said with a smile as he and Venus shared a kiss with Sonata and Aria respectively. Sunset and Gold were enjoying a morning together. "This is pretty romantic. Sharing Christmas Morning with my boyfriend.", Sunset said as she held Gold tight as they were about to open presents. "Here's a little something from me to you." Sunset brought out a small box and handed it to Gold. Gold opened it and found a crystal with a phoenix on it. "To show how you always rise to the occasion." Gold smiled. "I got something for you too." Gold handed Sunset a small box. Sunset opened it and found a locket that looked like the cutie mark she had as a pony. Inside was a picture of her and Gold. Sunset smiled. "Thanks Gold." Sunset and Gold shared a kiss while Pegasus snapped a picture. "Dad!" "I'm sorry. This is just too sweet not to take a picture of!" Gold sighed and smiled. Meanwhile, Shadow and Ice were on the phone. Each of them talking to their respective girlfriends. "Hey Indigo! Did you get the present I sent you?", Ice asked. "I did.", Indigo Zap answered. "It's pretty cute. An indigo lightning bolt. And I hope you enjoy that custom jacket I had Rarity make you." "I sure do. Suits my flaming attitude! And I'm glad you like it. For a second I thought you'd think it was lame." While Ice was talking to Indigo, Shadow was talking to Starlight. "Merry Christmas Star.", Shadow said. "So what did you think of the present I got you?" "The hair pin you got me is pretty cute. Kinda fits the space theme Galaxy Eyes has.", Starlight said with a smile. "Hope you like the shirt I made with my newfound magic." Shadow looked at the tank top that had Dragluon and a thunder bolt on it. "Best present I ever got.", Shadow said with a smile. Steel was on the phone with Rainbow as they talked about the presents they got each other. "Gotta say Dash. I love the jacket that you had modeled after BLS-Super Soldier. It really fits me.", Steel said over the phone. "It's not as awesome as the sweet Rainbow Dragon skirt you got me! I'm never changing it for the rest of my life!" "Uh, you might wanna rethink that Dash..", Steel said with a nervous smile. The duelists then turned their attention to the presents their monster partners, and opened them up. They couldn't contain their joy from what they got! Duel disks modeled after their monster partners! Only a few words escaped their mouths at that moment. "BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!" Author's Note I hope you all enjoyed the story! Merry Christmas everyone! Chapter 1: The Most Wonderful Time of the YearBurst was humming to himself. School was pretty much over, and he had passed all of his finals. There was just one order of business to take care of. Burst got out a piece of paper and started writing. Inferno took notice of what he was doing, and went to see what was up. "Hey Burst. What're you writing?" Burst smiled as he answered. "My letter to Santa." Inferno was silent for a second before he smiled and pulled out an envelope from his jacket pocket. "Same here! What's on your list?" "Not telling! I'm gonna get it mailed today. I love this time of year. A little break from school and we get to spend time with the people we love." Burst gave out a fond sigh. "And now I get to celebrate with my dad again." Inferno gave a fond smile at his own memories. "Yeah. Nothing else like this feeling is there?" Gold was walking with Sunset and stopped by to chat with them. "Hey you two! What're you up to?", Gold asked. "Getting our letters to Santa ready. I just finished mine.", Burst replied. "Aren't you two a little old for that?", Sunset asked. "Sunset, you and Gold come from a world of talking ponies and magic. We can summon our real monster friends from trading cards. And you think it's weird the two of us still write letters to a guy in a red suit that delivers presents to the whole world in a single night? I thought you'd have more room for believing in things that supposedly don't exist.", Inferno said with a chuckle. "After all don't we all defy logic just in the slightest sense?" Sunset gave them a small smile. "I suppose you're right. But how does he cover the whole world in one night?" "I can answer that!", Twilight nearly shouted. "I've done many calculations and ran many formulas. And I've come to one conclusion!" "And that would be?", Gold asked. "He must have a device to manipulate space-time and freeze it on order to deliver presents all over the world in a single night! That's also how he's able to enjoy all those cookies and milk." Twilight had a proud smile as she explained her theory. "Dang. She has a better theory than us.", Burst said with an impressed smile. "So is there any other reason you stopped by to chat Gold?" "Actually, there is! Dad's letting me throw a huge Christmas party at our house, and wanted me to invite all of my friends and their families! So are you interested?" Burst and Inferno were grinning ear-to-ear. "Did you even have to ask?", the two of them said in unison. Gold chuckled at their excitement. "I'll take that as a yes."
Chapter 2: Deck the HallsBurst and the others had left for home to tell their families about the party that was being thrown and that they had all been invited. Their families agreed and soon began preparations for the party. The days went by, and the night of the party Burst, his friends, and their families arrived at Pegasus's mansion. Gold and Pegasus opened the door to greet them. "Hey everyone!", Gold greeted. "So glad you could all make it!", Pegasus said with a smile. "And to you young duelists, your families aren't the only ones present." Burst and the others were confused as to what he meant, but they found their answer the second they walked into the mansion. "Blue Eyes!", Burst cheered as he rushed forward to hug Blue Eyes wearing a santa hat. "It's nice to see you!" Burst then noticed that Azure Eyes, Blue Eyes Spirit, Blue Eyes Alternative, Chaos MAX, Neo Blue Eyes Ultimate and Blue Eyes Absolute were all present! "And you brought your other forms too?" Blue Eyes chuckled. "No Burst. This is my family. Azure Eyes and Blue Eyes Spirit are my mother and father respectively. Neo Ultimate is my little brother, Alternative and Absolute are also my brothers, and Chaos MAX is my sister. Grandpa Shining and Grandma Deep Eyes couldn't make it. But we all decided to celebrate with you! Plus..." Blue Eyes pulled out a present wrapped in paper flooded with Blue Eyes White Dragons. "We also got you a pretty sweet present! That, and my baby brother always wanted to meet you." A little Blue Eyes stepped out from the mass of his family and smiled at Burst. Burst was grinning ear to ear. Inferno and Rarity were chatting with Red Eyes and Gem-Knights Master Diamond. "Glad you could make it Red!", Inferno said with a smile. "Well we weren't able to celebrate Christmas with you before with the sealed portals. But now we can! Also, Chick really missed Sweetie Belle." "Sweetie!", Red Eyes Black Chick cheered as she flew into Sweeite's arms. "I missed playing with you!" Chick then affectionately nuzzled her. Sweetie Belle giggled. "Nice to see you too Chick. Let's see what the girls and the CMCB are up to!" The two of them left while Inferno and Rarity continued their conversation with their monster partners. "It's always lovely to see you Diamond.", Rarity said with a small curtsey. "A pleasure to be in your company as well my lady. It seems your celebrations of the holidays in this world are as lively as ours! I regret to inform you that I cannot stay long. My fellow Gem-Knights are engaging in a snowball war with the Fierce Knights and Black Luster Soldiers! The winner earns the title of snowball warriors supreme!" Master Diamond entered a portal to return to the monster world while Rarity struck-up a conversation with Red Eyes and his family. "So Red Eyes? Who makes up your family?" "My mother is Red Eyes Darkness Dragon, and my dad is Red Eyes Darkness Metal dragon. Red Eyes Black Chick is my baby sister, Red Eyes Wyvern is my brother, and Black Flare and Retro are my cousins. Archfiend Black Skull and Meteor Black Comet are my older brothers. So that's my flock for you!" "How do you get your scales in such lovely condition?" Red Eyes Darkness giggled. "Two words. Lava baths. One of the advantages of our house having a lava pool in addition to a swimming pool. The heat from the lava completely sterilizes our scales. Adding a nice shine to them in the process." She then shot a look at REDMD. "Of course my dear husband outshines all of us.", she said with a smirk. REDMD nuzzled her. "And I thought I was the one who sweet-talked you." "Ooookay. We're leaving before this gets too mushy.", Archfiend Black Skull said as he and Meteor Black Comet grabbed Red Eyes. Inferno then noticed Blue Eyes was hitting it off with Solaria and Nyx. "Heh. Burst and Blue Eyes. The two ladies men of our group. Well we might as well see what our parents are up to." Burst joined them and was surprised to see his dad freaking out over meeting Inferno's parents. 'He's going total fanboy!', Burst thought as he got closer. "It's such an honor to meet you! I'm a big fan!", Burst's dad nearly screamed. Burst's mom put a hand on his shoulder. "Now Aether. Shouldn't you try to contain yourself? Inferno's parents are retired from the rock star life. Even though we DID have our first kiss to one of their songs.", Lumina said with a smile. "That's so sweet!", Cynder said with a smile. "Always nice to meet a fan.", Ash said with a chuckle. "And it looks like our kids are the best of friends. They've even established themselves as heroes!" "They've certainly all come a long way!", Pegasus added. "And I suppose we should be thankful they haven't let it go to their heads. Heaven knows Kaiba would be bragging about it for eternity!" "Come on Dad. We don't need the whole world to know what we've done...", Gold paused as he and Sunset locked eyes. "Just the ones that we love." Sunset smiled as she pulled him close. "C'mere." Sunset then kissed Gold longer than any time previous. "Hope you liked your present!", she said with a wink. Gold just blushed! Meanwhile the CMC and CMCB were hanging out with Dark Rebellion, and Clear Wing. "Hey, where's Starving Venom and Pinkie?", Scootaloo asked. "They're probably scoping out the food.", Shining Spoon said with a shrug. "I just hope Mr. Pegasus had extra on hand." "He'll need it with Starving Venom AND Pinkie's appetites combined!", Bright Star added. "He cleaned out my house's fridge in single day!" "Well he DOES have the word 'starving' in his name!", Applebloom said with a giggle. Sweetie was playing with Red Eyes Black Chick and the baby Blue Eyes, and was too busy to notice that Fluttershy was right behind her with a big grin on her face. "I'm going to get something to drink. You two want anything?", she asked. "Juice is fine.", little Blue Eyes said as he and Red Eyes Black Chick played. They both froze when they saw Fluttershy. "Uh...can we help you?" "SOOO CUUUUTTTEEE!", Fluttershy screamed as she scooped the two of them up into a hug! "Oh I could just cuddle with you two for hours!" "I think we just found a new babysitter.", Red Eyes Black Chick said flatly as she and Little Blue Eyes rode out Fluttershy's hug. Meanwhile, Celestia had walked up to Burst. "Hey Burst? What's hanging over your head?" "Looks like there's two thing hanging over us.", Moon said with a smile. Burst looked up and saw two pieces of mistletoe above his head. Celestia and Moon holding them up with their magic. "Aren't I supposed to be the one to try that old trick?", Burst asked with a smile. "Then again, it's not like I'm gonna turn down this chance." Burst kissed Celestia and Moon. "Just wait until you see the presents we got you!", Moon said. Pinkie and Starving Venom were taking in all the sweets left out for the party. "So you curious what the author's up to?", Pinkie asked. "Oh! Maybe we can ask him next chapter!", Starving Venom said as he bit a large chunk off a gingerbread house. "I can't wait to see what he's got in store!"
Chapter 3: The Night Before"You know, I don't think I've ever had this much fun before!", Steel said as he chatted with his friends. "First time we're all under one roof besides school." "I think your dad is trying to beat mine in arm wrestling.", Rainbow Dash said as she pointed to her dad and Steel's. "So who do you think's gonna win?" Both of their dads then fell to the floor from the sheer force of one push! "...I'd call this a tie." Meanwhile, Burst, Inferno and Gold were watching their dads fail epically at karaoke. "I am SO putting this on YouTube.", Inferno said with a smirk as he recorded the whole scene unfolding. "At least it's a memorable performance?", Burst said while trying to stifle his laughter. "We certainly won't be forgetting it any time soon.", Gold added. "Man. I don't think I've seen dad have so much fun before. I can't say I've had this much fun being around my friends either." "Yeah. This is pretty nice.", Burst said. "Hm. I wonder what time it is?" Burst got out his phone and looked at the time. "Wow. It's eleven o'clock already. Time really does go by fast when you're having fun. I think all of us should each head home." Burst was about to tell the others when he felt a surge of energy flow through everything! "What the?!" Burst then looked all around him. His friends were just fine, but their families were frozen still! In fact, it looked like everything else but them was frozen in time! "What the heck happened?" "I've got a bad feeling about this...", Inferno said as their friends gathered. Inferno then looked at the time on his phone. "Huh? Why isn't time moving forward? It's just stuck at this exact time!" "Same thing with all of our phones!", Sunset said as she looked at her phone. "Time's completely still!" "Anyone willing to bet that weird energy we felt is the cause of this?", Steel suggested. "Maybe we should call up Ace and the others. See if they're going through the same thing..." Burst dialed up Ace's number, and got a reply almost instantly. "Burst? You won't believe what happened! It's like time just-" "Froze solid. The same thing happened over here with us. Get your brothers, Venus, Fang, their girlfriends. Get. EVERYONE. We've got to find out just what happened. And find out how to fix it before things get worse." Ace and the others showed up as quick as they could. "Good. Now that we're all here, let's go over what we know." "First of all, time's come to a complete stop.", Twilight said. "And in addition, everything around us seems to be stuck in their current position." "And there was some weird surge of energy that caused it.", Starlight added. "And for some reason, we're still able to move. Not that I'm complaining." "So that leaves the big question. What caused this and how do we fix it?", Sunset asked. Soon a portal opened up, and a voice came through. "I believe I can help give you the answers you need." Soon a figure wearing goggles and a red suit came through. Burst and the others were in awe! "I am called Nicholas.", the figure said as he pulled off his goggles. "But you all know me better as, Santa Claus."
Chapter 4: ExplanationsBurst and the others were silent for almost a full minute before Burst broke the silence. "And you thought he didn't exist?", Burst said with a small smirk while looking at Sunset. "Actually, I'm pleasantly surprised.", Sunset replied. "So is there any chance you know just what happened? Why time's come to a stop?" Santa nodded and pulled out small snow globe and pressed a button on it. A massive display was brought up. "Have you ever wondered how I'm able to travel the whole world in one night? It's because I have a small amount of control over space and time. But this device..." Santa pulled up an image of a device that looked like a stop watch. "lets me greatly increase that power. The chrono-disruptor. It also lets me actually enjoy all those cookies and milk. But it was stolen a few days ago." "I called it!", Twilight cheered. "I knew it worked something like that!" "But why would someone want to freeze time like this? What do they stand to gain?", Starlight asked. "Making sure Christmas never comes.", Santa said gravely. "I've been doing this job for a long time now. And nothing fills my heart with joy more than seeing the happy faces of children all over the world on Christmas Morning. But with time frozen like this, so much more is at stake. One half of the world will be frozen, and the other would be in perpetual heat." "So how come we aren't frozen in place?", Sunset asked. "Ho ho ho! Ms. Shimmer. I thought you would've caught on to your connection with the elements by now. They shielded you from the affects of the time-wave. As for you Burst, you and the rest of your friends are protected by your bond with your monsters." "This is amazing! I knew you were real!", Burst said with a huge smile. "Can you still travel the world though?" "Sadly, my reindeer team was frozen into statues back at the North Pole. And even if we do manage to fix this mess, we won't be able to free them in time. Which is why I'm here. I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I borrowed your dragons for tonight?" "Santa, it would be my honor." Burst summoned Blue Eyes. "Count me in too!", Inferno said as he summoned Red Eyes. "Timaeus, Critias, Hermos!", Ace shouted as he summoned his three dragons. "Show us to the sleigh, and we'll take care of the flying!", Blue Eyes said with a thumbs-up. Santa smiled at their willingness to help. "It's no wonder you all wound up on the nice list every year." Moon nervously stepped forward. "Um, Mr. Claus? Which list am I on?" "Hmm. Nightmare Moon. You pulled quite the stunt when you tried to bring eternal night in Equestria. But you've changed yourself for the better, and now you have what you've always needed. Good friends, and a loving boyfriend." Moon beamed at hearing this. "You can expect a certain package under the tree tomorrow. Oh! And Celestia?" Celestia went over to the group. "Yes?" "Sorry it took so long to deliver on that perfect boyfriend present.", Santa said with a wink. "So how can we help fix things?", Burst asked. Santa reached into his coat pocket, and pulled out what looked like a tracking device. "This device can trace the signal of the chrono-disruptor. I'll still be able to deliver presents, but only to half the world. As long as the thief holds the chrono-disruptor, they hold the future of Christmas in their hands!" "So what does this jerk look like?", Rainbow Dash demanded. "I'll deck them good for trying to ruin Christmas for everyone!" "They look like this." Santa pulled up an image of the thief, and the whole group was shocked! It looked like Starlight, but it was composed of the malefic armor seen on the enslaved dragons! "Of all the people to wind up on my naughty list, she's the worst I've seen yet." "You can count on us! Just worry about delivering those gifts to the kids on your nice list!", Burst said with a confident smile. "Come on guys! Let's deck that imposter's halls!"
Chapter 5: Frozen Face-OffStarlight was silent. She couldn't believe that the thing that was trying to ruin the holidays looked like her! Shadow noticed her nosedive in mood, and went to check on her. "Hey Star? Are you alright?" "Oh! I'm fine Shadow. Just...taking this all in." "You're worried about that thing that looks like you, aren't you?" Starlight was silent for a whole minute and pulled Shadow into a tight hug. "It just brings back those memories! What I did! How I tried to hurt you and your friends!" Starlight began to tear up, but Shadow held her close. "Starlight. You know that isn't you. There's no way it could be." "I know. But just what is it?" Burst came in and addressed the two of them. "We'll be finding out pretty soon. Twilight and Sunset have rigged up a sensor to detect powerful evil energy and magic. And they just coupled it to the tracker Santa gave us. You two ready?" Shadow gave him a thumbs-up and Starlight nodded slowly. "Alright guys. Let's rock the dragon!" The group gathered in the living room. "Sunset, Twi? Are you ready to try that teleport spell?" "We've got it ready and waiting. But you might wanna stick together. It's untested.", Sunset warned. "...Do it." The group braced themselves as Sunset got the spell ready, and they were all teleported to the location of the creature that looked like Starlight. And when they arrived, they were shocked to see a whole castle made of what looked like pure darkness! "Well...at least the place is easy to find." Burst kicked down the door and the group slowly entered. "Guys? I don't think we're alone..." From almost out of nowhere, monsters that were made of the same darkness materialized! "This thing really knows how to roll out the welcome mat!" Burst and Inferno then summoned their weapons! "Ace, Shadow, Ice! You guys have new drago arms! How about you open up your new toys!" Ace summoned a sword modeled after Timaeus, Shadow materialized a spear modeled after Dragluon, while Ice summoned a gigantic sword that was modeled after Red Dragon Archfiend! They charged at the monsters that surrounded them! Taking out many with powerful slashes and a hail of blaster fire! But they just kept coming! "Oh man! I don't know how much longer we can hold out!", Inferno said as he was surrounded by a horde of shadow monsters! Soon, the enemies that swarmed him were destroyed! Inferno looke around, and saw Rarity sheathing a sword that had gems along its blade. "Would you like some help with these ruffians darling?", she said with a cute smile. "I certainly would!" Inferno and Rarity were holding off their own wave while Burst and Moon were facing off against their own swarm of enemies! "I gotta say Moon, you're certainly no damsel in distress!" Burst said as he held off a wave of shadow monsters! Moon had just taken care of the wave that was coming at here with a blast of magic! "Is that a problem?", she said with a smirk. "You kidding? That's one of the things that makes me love you so much!", Burst said as he fired a shot at a monster that tried to take a swing at her! Moon then took down the next wave with a series of quick slashes! Celestia was calmly watching, and summoned a sword with her magic, and plunged it into the ground! Releasing a massive wave of light magic that destroyed all the monsters! Satisfied that they would no longer be of any trouble, she dispelled the sword and smiled pleasantly. "I believe that takes care of that minor nuisance." Burst's jaw dropped! "Remind me never to get on your bad side." Celestia giggled. "Oh Burst. That's not possible. I could never stay mad at you." Celestia said as she hugged him. "Hate to break up the love-fest, but I think the big-bad's noticed us!", Rainbow said as she pointed to the creature that looked like Starlight! It even had her voice when it spoke. "Well, well. Looks like I have uninvited guests in my home. I believe this is what you're looking for?", it said with a smirk as it brought out the chrono-disruptor with its magic. "Who or what are you?!", Shadow demanded. "Call me...Darklight. And I'm the one who will finally destroy all of you!" Darklight then summoned a duel disk! "So who'll be the first to fall by my hands?" "I'll duel you!", Starlight said as she activated her own duel disk! "You've threatened my friends, and while wearing my face! I won't let you hurt any of them! You're not me!" A low chuckle escaped Darklight as she removed her mask. Starlight was horrified at the sight! It was like chunks of malefic armor had merged with her face! Twisting her appearance! "Oh, but I am you Starlight! I'm the part that desired the dark strength you've given up! And once I beat you, maybe I'll do a number on your loving boyfriend! You can't escape me!" "Then it's a good thing I'm sick of running!" Starlight: 8000 Darklight: 8000 "Since this is my dwelling, I'll take the first move!", Darklight said. "I play Trade-In to discard a level eight monster and draw two new cards! Now I can normal summon Galaxy Knight since the monster in my graveyard was a galaxy monster! Now I can target the Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon in my graveyard and special summon it! Now I overlay the two of them to summon Galaxy Eyes Full Armor Photon Dragon! Now I'll use him as xyz material for another xyz monster!" "What?! Two xyz summons in a row?!", Starlight gasped! Darklight sneered. "Rise on up! Dragon of the stars that carries the fury of a black hole! All that stands in our way will be decimated! Number 95! Galaxy Eyes Dark Matter Dragon!" A fearsome dragon that looked like it was made of a darkness appeared on the field. It's very presence sent a chill down Starlight's spine! "Now that he's been summoned, I can send three dragons with different names from my deck to the graveyard! Now you have to banish three monsters from your deck!" Starlight frowned as she sent three of her monsters to the graveyard. "I end my turn." "My move then! I draw!", Starlight said as she drew a card. 'Darn! I cant get any decent monsters our except Photon Satellite! Well this is better than nothing!' "I summon a monster in defense mode and set a card face-down! I end my turn!" Darklight sneered. "You're a fool if you think that can save you...you're wrong! I play Shield Crush to destroy your defense mode monster! Attack her directly Dark Matter! Dark Matter Stream of Oblivion!" "Aaagh!" Starlight cried out as pain ripped through her from the force of Dark Matter's attack! "I believe you're suffered long enough, so I'll end my turn. But don't worry. The pain is far from over! Oh how wonderful this is! First I reveal myself and wreck the most wonderful time of the year! Now I've frozen all of time! And the best part is, you'll be sure it was all your fault!" Starlight managed to get up, but was shocked to see half her body frozen! "Do you like it? I've raised the stakes for our little duel! If you lose, you'll be frozen with the look of terror and regret on your face for all time!" Starlight: 4000 Darklight: 8000 Starlight was panicking on the inside! She had already lost half her life points in one attack! 'I messed up big this time! Everyone...I'm so sorry!', Starlight thought to herself. Then, a voice went off in her head, and Galaxy Eyes Photon appeared before her! 'It's not over yet Starlight! Just when things seem the darkest, that's when the light shines through the most! Your friends aren't giving up on you! Even now they're cheering you on! And now the time has come to truly use the power of our bond! Are you with me?' Starlight nodded. In a flash of light, Starlight was transformed! She had wings like Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon, and stars seemed to swirl in the irises of her eyes! "I'm not going down that easy! I draw! Perfect! I play Photon Lead to special summon Galaxy Eyes Cloudragon! Now I tribute him to special summon Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon from my hand! Now I play Galaxy Expedition! Since I have a level five or higher galaxy or photon monster, I can special summon another level five or higher galaxy monster from my deck! I special summon Galaxy Knight! Now I overlay my two monsters! I xyz summon Number 62! Galaxy Eyes Prime Photon Dragon!" Soon, a rainbow-colored flash went off on top of in Starlight's hand! "But I'm not done yet! I play Rank-Up-Magic-Harmony's Force! I'll use Photon Prime and his overlays as the materials for a new galaxy dragon! I xyz summon, Number C62: Galaxy Eyes Aether Dragon!" Soon, a dragon made of pure light descended from the sky! Unlike the other Galaxy Eyes Dragons, this one was wearing no armor! "She's unaffected by card effects! And to top it all off, her base attack is 3500! Now for her best effect! By using one overlay unit, I can target and banish one monster you control and gain it's attack points! And I can attack you directly! And if it was an xyz monster, Aether can do as many attacks as that monster had overlay units! Let's end this Aether! Aether Photon Stream!" A beam of pure light shot out from Aether's mouth and struck Darklight directly! "And now for the final attack!" "NOOO!", Darklight screamed as she braced herself for the final attack! Dropping her life points to zero. Soon, she began to crack! "It's not over! If I go down..I'M TAKING ALL OF YOU WITH ME!" The group braced themselves as Darklight exploded in a wave of dark energy! But the end did not come! Galaxy Eyes Aether Dragon had absorbed the attack and neutralized it! "I believe you'll all be needing a ride home?", she asked as she let down her wing. Burst and the others got on and flew back to Gold and Pegasus's mansion at light speed! "Hey everyone! What did we miss?", Burst asked as he and his friends met up with their families. "Well, there's a letter addressed for you and your friends.", Aether Stream said. "The one who dropped it off said it was very important." Burst took the letter, and read it. "Dear Burst. You and your friends have saved the world, and perfectly balanced it with a social life and love interests. I can't thank you and your friends enough for your help this night. So as thanks, you can all expect to find very important presents under your trees tomorrow morning! Sincerely, SC." Burst smiled. "I think I know who sent it. But for now, we've all had a long night and a great party. I say we all head home and get some rest. Because tomorrow, we've got one heck of a morning!" Burst and his friends smiled as they hugged their respective significant others and headed for home. As he got home, Moon seemed quite happy in particular. "I take it you're excited for tomorrow?" "I just can't wait to see what Santa got me!", Moon said with a smile. "And I also can't wait for Celestia and I to give your our presents tomorrow too." Moon then kissed Burst. "Any hints?" "Nope!"
EpilogueIt was Christmas Morning, and Moon decided to wake Burst up. In the best way possible. She leaned in and kissed Burst. "Merry Christmas Burst.", she said sweetly a Burst opened his eyes. "Thanks for the wake-up call.", Burst said with a smile. "Now let's get to the best part!" Burst threw off the covers and he and Moon rushed downstairs. Both of them saw Burst's parents waiting for them. "Looks like Santa paid us a visit last night.", Lumina said. 'You have no idea Mom.', Burst thought as he opened up the present Santa had left him. Burst couldn't believe his eyes. "Wow. This thing looks like an actual lightsaber! It's a pretty cool replica." Burst then pressed the ignition button, and a blue blade sprung forth! "Okay, not a prop. Even better! Now I've got a new weapon to add to my arsenal." Moon opened her own present, and gasped! Inside was a sort of communicator device. Moon activated it, and an image of Luna showed up! "Hello Nightmare.", Luna said with a smile. "It's nice to see you. Pretty neat thing of Santa to give us a way to keep in touch." Moon smiled. "Happy Hearthswarming Mom." "Merry Christmas Moony. I trust Burst is taking good care of you and Celestia?" Moon turned to Burst. "I couldn't be happier." "I think you could be...", Burst said as he pulled out the present he had wrapped for Moon. Moon opened it, and found a necklace with the scale of a Blue Eyes White Dragon with the moon engraved onto it. "Burst...it's beautiful." Moon smiled at him. "You know, I think you're gonna love what I got you!" Moon handed Burst his present, and his jaw dropped when he opened it! "I know he's your favorite transformer, so I figured I should get it for you." Burst was holding the classics series Optimus Prime. "Moon." "Yes?" "You gave me one of the best presents yet." Soon, there was a knock on the door. Burst opened it, and found Celestia dressed up in a cute Santa outfit. "Merry Christmas Burst!", she said with a smile. "You came all this way just to get my present to me?" "Is that bad?" "No. You just ruined my plan to go over to your place and get your present to you. But all that really matters is that you're here." Burst kissed Celestia. "Merry Christmas Celly." "You're so sweet." The two of them went inside and Burst opened the present Celestia gave him. "I heard you liked this anime a lot. So I had Rarity help make this for you." Burst was holding a replica of Goku's gi from Dragon Ball Z. "This. Is. AWESOME!" Burst put on the gi as quickly as he could. "Ka..me....ha...me....ha! Here's your present." Celestia opened the small box Burst gave her, and there was a necklace identical to Moon's excepted there was a sun engraved on the Blue Eyes scale. "I'll always wear this.", Celestia said as she put it on. "You know, you really never grow up Burst." "Is that bad?" "Quite the opposite.", Moon said as she and Celestia brought their arms around him. "That's what we love best about you." "I wonder if the others are having as good a Christmas as we are?", Burst thought out loud. At Rarity's place, Inferno and his family had just arrived. "Inferno, darling! So nice you and your family could join us!", Rarity greeted. "Wouldn't miss this for the world! By the way, that's a nice mirror you've got there! If I didn't know any better, I'd say the lens is made of diamond." "It is. A certain gift from you-know-who.", Rarity said with a wink. "So what did you get from him?" Inferno smiled as he whipped out his own lightsaber and ignited it! The blade was a brilliant scarlet. "I'd say that the color matched your fiery spirit nicely." "And your mirror reflects your beauty. By the way, here's my gift to you." Inferno pulled our a small box and gave it to Rarity. She opened the box and found a set of fabric. "It's a bunch of different fabric from the monster world. Maybe you'll get inspired for a new line." "It's wonderful darling. I do hope you enjoy the gift I made for you." Inferno and his family followed Rarity inside and she brought Inferno a box. "I made it with you in mind." Inferno opened the box, and found a red jacket with Red Eyes Black Dragon on the back. "This is awesome Rarity! This'll let everyone know that Red Eyes and I are partners!" "I'm glad you enjoy your present darling." "Yeah. But you're the greatest gift I've got.", Inferno said as he pulled her into a hug. Rarity just blushed as she returned the hug. Meanwhile Ace, Venus, and Fang were hanging out with their girlfriends after spending the morning with their families. "You know, each of us got you girls a present.", Ace said as he, Venus, and Fang pulled out a box for Sonata, Adagio, and Aria respectively. "We hope you like them." Each of the Dazzlings opened the boxes and found necklaces with music notes on them. "It kinda shows how you're the music in our lives.", Fang said with a grin. "So do ya like them?" Aria smiled and scratched Fang's ears. "They're perfect. In fact, we each got something for you three too." The Dazzlings then pulled out three boxes. Fang opened up his and found a hoodie with Destiny End Dragoon on it. Venus had a new shirt with a flower on the front and Black Rose Dragon on the back, and Ace had a shirt with DMG the Dragon Knight on it. "We had these made with you three in mind.", Adagio said with a smile. "They're amazing.", Venus said with a smile. "And now I think I've found a new go-to outfit." Adagio smiled and kissed Venus. "I think she's got the right idea.", Ace said with a smile as he and Venus shared a kiss with Sonata and Aria respectively. Sunset and Gold were enjoying a morning together. "This is pretty romantic. Sharing Christmas Morning with my boyfriend.", Sunset said as she held Gold tight as they were about to open presents. "Here's a little something from me to you." Sunset brought out a small box and handed it to Gold. Gold opened it and found a crystal with a phoenix on it. "To show how you always rise to the occasion." Gold smiled. "I got something for you too." Gold handed Sunset a small box. Sunset opened it and found a locket that looked like the cutie mark she had as a pony. Inside was a picture of her and Gold. Sunset smiled. "Thanks Gold." Sunset and Gold shared a kiss while Pegasus snapped a picture. "Dad!" "I'm sorry. This is just too sweet not to take a picture of!" Gold sighed and smiled. Meanwhile, Shadow and Ice were on the phone. Each of them talking to their respective girlfriends. "Hey Indigo! Did you get the present I sent you?", Ice asked. "I did.", Indigo Zap answered. "It's pretty cute. An indigo lightning bolt. And I hope you enjoy that custom jacket I had Rarity make you." "I sure do. Suits my flaming attitude! And I'm glad you like it. For a second I thought you'd think it was lame." While Ice was talking to Indigo, Shadow was talking to Starlight. "Merry Christmas Star.", Shadow said. "So what did you think of the present I got you?" "The hair pin you got me is pretty cute. Kinda fits the space theme Galaxy Eyes has.", Starlight said with a smile. "Hope you like the shirt I made with my newfound magic." Shadow looked at the tank top that had Dragluon and a thunder bolt on it. "Best present I ever got.", Shadow said with a smile. Steel was on the phone with Rainbow as they talked about the presents they got each other. "Gotta say Dash. I love the jacket that you had modeled after BLS-Super Soldier. It really fits me.", Steel said over the phone. "It's not as awesome as the sweet Rainbow Dragon skirt you got me! I'm never changing it for the rest of my life!" "Uh, you might wanna rethink that Dash..", Steel said with a nervous smile. The duelists then turned their attention to the presents their monster partners, and opened them up. They couldn't contain their joy from what they got! Duel disks modeled after their monster partners! Only a few words escaped their mouths at that moment. "BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!" Author's Note I hope you all enjoyed the story! Merry Christmas everyone!
Chapter 1: The Most Wonderful Time of the YearBurst was humming to himself. School was pretty much over, and he had passed all of his finals. There was just one order of business to take care of. Burst got out a piece of paper and started writing. Inferno took notice of what he was doing, and went to see what was up. "Hey Burst. What're you writing?" Burst smiled as he answered. "My letter to Santa." Inferno was silent for a second before he smiled and pulled out an envelope from his jacket pocket. "Same here! What's on your list?" "Not telling! I'm gonna get it mailed today. I love this time of year. A little break from school and we get to spend time with the people we love." Burst gave out a fond sigh. "And now I get to celebrate with my dad again." Inferno gave a fond smile at his own memories. "Yeah. Nothing else like this feeling is there?" Gold was walking with Sunset and stopped by to chat with them. "Hey you two! What're you up to?", Gold asked. "Getting our letters to Santa ready. I just finished mine.", Burst replied. "Aren't you two a little old for that?", Sunset asked. "Sunset, you and Gold come from a world of talking ponies and magic. We can summon our real monster friends from trading cards. And you think it's weird the two of us still write letters to a guy in a red suit that delivers presents to the whole world in a single night? I thought you'd have more room for believing in things that supposedly don't exist.", Inferno said with a chuckle. "After all don't we all defy logic just in the slightest sense?" Sunset gave them a small smile. "I suppose you're right. But how does he cover the whole world in one night?" "I can answer that!", Twilight nearly shouted. "I've done many calculations and ran many formulas. And I've come to one conclusion!" "And that would be?", Gold asked. "He must have a device to manipulate space-time and freeze it on order to deliver presents all over the world in a single night! That's also how he's able to enjoy all those cookies and milk." Twilight had a proud smile as she explained her theory. "Dang. She has a better theory than us.", Burst said with an impressed smile. "So is there any other reason you stopped by to chat Gold?" "Actually, there is! Dad's letting me throw a huge Christmas party at our house, and wanted me to invite all of my friends and their families! So are you interested?" Burst and Inferno were grinning ear-to-ear. "Did you even have to ask?", the two of them said in unison. Gold chuckled at their excitement. "I'll take that as a yes."
