Chapters Author's Note
And so our month of Christmas themed shorts begin.
Snow Day!
A few months had passed since the start of the new school year. By now, everyone had daily routines down on lockdown, but were now adjusting themselves to the colder temperatures. As time went on and summer weather left, the fall came and it began to grow cold. And with it already turned December 1st, it was already turning more cold...
In the penthouse belonging to the Dazzlings, the girls were all still fast asleep. The morning light however creeped into the bedroom of one of the Dazzlings, slowly hitting them. Sonata's eyes were still sleepy, even rubbing them she was still tired. She looked out the window and saw some light from the outside. But even more caught her eye; little specs falling with grace, like white fluffy snowflakes... wait a minute. They were snowflakes!
Jumping out of bed, she pulled the curtains opened and gasped.
"Squeeeeeeee!!!! Yes! It's finally December! It's snowing! Whoo-hoo!!!!" Sonata squeaked.
She jumped out of her bed and rushed downstairs to the balcony, just hanging off near their living room. There indeed were tons of flurries hailing down. Already snow was beginning to blanket the town, like a winter wonderland.
"Yes yes yes yes yes!" Sonata squeed. "Oooh!"
Immediately she ran back upstairs and opened up Adagio's bedroom.
"Hey Dagi! It's snowing!"
"Sonata, get out," Adagio groaned into the pillow.
"Okay!" Sonata slammed the door shut. But then she went straight for Aria's room. "Hey Ari! It's snowing today!"
"Sonata. GET OUT OF MY ROOM RIGHT NOW!!!" Aria yelled just before Sonata zipped out, avoiding a boot that was tossed at her bedroom door.
"Geez, Ari, what's got you so grumpy?" Sonata pouted.
"It's Saturday! Now let me sleep in! "
And the door slammed shut with a loud thud.
Sonata pouted. "Party pooper." But she didn't let her grumpy sister put her spirits down. She ran back into her room and opened up her closet. Reaching into the back (and pushing past some older clothes) she found her winter gear; everything she needed. Earmuffs, mittens, coat, pants, boots, everything!
After getting all dressed up, Sonata rushed downstairs and grabbed her spare key before closing the door behind her. She made it down via elevator and ran out into the parking lot where the rest of the cars were mounted. Plenty of snow was about, and enough for what she wanted to do. Thankfully, she hadn't seen anyone walking to the lot to grab their cars and drive out to go anywhere. Outside of the occasional man or woman who brushed the snow off the windshields.
She pushed some piles of snow together, slowly starting to form giant balls. She pushed one into a mounted position, held in place. Then rolling some more, she collected enough to sit on top of that one. And with one roll, she set one more ball of snow on top. Now she just needed to complete it!
Wiping her hand down at the ground where some decorative pebbles used to be, carefully digging and grabbing some black rocks, she set them onto the middle ball to form the belly. And with a few more, she set some onto place to help create a pair of eyes, a nose, and a smile on the snowman. All she needed now was some sticks. And with some careful grabbing from a nearby tree, she found two twigs long enough to form arms for the snowman.
Happy with her handiwork, she turned her head to see some friendly faces come walking down to where she was. Trixie, Octavia, Vinyl, Lyra, Bon Bon, and Amethyst all together in winter gear. Snowpants, gloves, hats, some earmuffs.
"Hey, Sonata!" Lyra waved.
"Hey girls!" Sonata smiled, cheering back.
"So you're enjoying the snow day too?" Bon Bon grinned.
"Yep!"
"Sweet! Hey, wanna build a snowfort?"
"Sure!"
Just like that, they got straight to work. Vinyl and Sonata pushed up some bits of snow off to a clearing away from the cars, and began to set up a wall. Lyra, using her newfound teleportation powers (which she had long since mastered since the Friendship Games) came back with more and more snow to help create walls for the fort. Bon Bon even provided some help by creating more snow to stack on top.
With a team effort, the four girls were standing in front of their finished wall, proud of their handiwork.
"So what should we work on next?" Bon Bon asked.
"Maybe we could--" Sonata didn't finish. A snowball pelted her face, stopping her from talking. "Hey!"
Another one hit her face, and Sonata was slowly getting agitated. And it wasn't just her, Lyra and Bon Bon got hit with snowballs too.
"Hey!"
"Come on, mates! We've already set up barricades in this lot. Lets have ourselves a snowball fight," Octavia grinned. "Losers have to make hot cocoa for everyone. Fair shake?"
"Octavia, come on, you know I'm not one for having a snowball--" Vinyl began. She got hit in the face with a snowball. Standing frozen in place, she wiped the snow off her face and her eyes slowly narrowed as she glared at her friend. "Oh. It. Is. On."
"Then lets battle! For Queen and the delicious sensation of hot chocolate!"
Trixie and Amethyst rose up and threw snowballs at the other side, standing with Octavia. But their foes didn't stay down for long; Lyra and Bon Bon came up and threw some snow shots back at them, nearly hitting them.
"Hey, real quick question! What are the rules on powers?" Amethyst shouted.
"I say they're allowed, but minimally!" Vinyl called, throwing another snowball.
Sonata's team all huddled behind the snow barrier, huddled together.
"We're not gonna win this without a plan," Lyra shivered.
"You're right. What do we do, Sonata?" Bon Bon asked, eyes squinting from the snowball hail-fire above her head.
"Girls." Sonata said with a stern face. She wiped her finger down on the snow, tracing two lines on her face as if it were military paint. "We're going to war."
"Oh this is going to be fun," Lyra grinned before pulling up her mask.
"Vinyl, collect some snowballs! We need arsenals, fast!" Sonata said like a drill seargent.
"Yes ma'am!" Vinyl saluted, immediately going to work.
"Lyra, you got any weapons on you to block some snow?"
"Yes ma'am!" Lyra nodded.
"See if you can draw their fire! We're going to launch a surprise attack!"
"Hai !"
"Yes, hello," Sonata said, forgetting what Lyra had replied with.
Lyra jumped out from the barricade (before adjusting her scarf mask). She whipped out some nunchuks (somehow lodged somewhere in that coat) and she started flailing them around and slashed at the snowballs that came in her direction. But once they were grabbing the attention...
"Make it rain!" Sonata shrieked.
Like catapults, several snowballs were thrown into the air and came raining down on Octavia's team, nearly covering them from head to toe. And it was that exact moment that someone new came to join the fight; struggling to fit her feet in the last boot, she nearly tripped on the ground. And that person was none other than Aria; finally prepared to join the snowy weather.
The middle siren ducked as a snowball came to her direction. "Whoa, hey!" Aria yelled over-top the fight. "What's going on?"
"Aria, we're going to war!"
Aria leaned her head back as she watched a snowball pelt against the wall. Looking back at the field she grinned. This was her type of game. "Oh I want in on that! Let me give you a hand, Octi!"
Aria ran through the open field, dodging the storm coming to join Octavia and her team. She threw her back against the barricade of a wall, right alongside next to Amethyst.
"So girls, what are the rules?"
"We can throw snowballs, but no ice balls, powers are accepted on minimal scale, and if someone gets seriously injured, the game will come to a halt," Amethyst explained.
"Good to know. What's the score, what are we hoping to win from this?"
"Losers owe the winners hot cocoa," Octavia grinned.
"I-I think I c-c-could use that..." Trixie shivered.
The three turned their heads, Trixie was lying on the ground, arm arched up, while another hand held her stomach like she had been shot by a gun.
"S-S-So... cold..."
"We're not going down yet, mate," Octavia smiled. "Now let's kick it up!"
Aria and Sonata both popped up from their respective sides and threw snowballs towards the other opposing team. Both of their teeth were grit, their eyes narrowed, and faces were screaming with determination and that struggle to win. The battle waged on, and neither side was coming close to losing. No one was about to give up just yet.
But one more person came to join them, the final friend in the bunch; Adagio Dazzle. Awake, ready, and confused. "Okay, what is--" Adagio didn't finish her sentence, for right then and there, a snowball came and commit suicide against her face, pelting her.
Everyone gasped, even Sonata. Now she knew something bad was going to happen. Adagio stood still, almost a little too long. She wiped the snow off her face, and glared with an evil grin.
"Oh you want a real snowball battle? Then let's battle."
"Duck and cover!" Sonata cried as she jumped into a nearby snow bank, face first while covering her head.
Adagio collected some snowballs and threw them like a catapult, launching them high into the air like grenades. Several of their friends ducked for cover from the snowball storm, but a few of them were taken out very quickly.
"I fought in World War I and II. None of you have anything on me," Adagio taunted, throwing more and more. And like target beams, they were being shot down very fast, very soon. Octavia got pelted and dropped, Aria got taken out too. And she had one target remaining; Amethyst. "Lets finish this!"
She threw the ball, and it seemed like all time slowed down. Amethyst was too busy focusing on the others she didn't even see the ball coming. Until she slowly turned and saw it coming, and she braced for impact. That is until someone ran out of hiding, and jumped in front of her, taking the shot. It was Trixie.
Her body slammed against the snow, like a bag of potatoes dropping onto hard concrete. She fell onto her back, and her arms flopped. Amethyst dropped to her knees, crying up to the heavens. Why oh why, did she have to fall!? No. She wasn't going to stand down. She sacrificed herself for her, and she was going to win this. And she knew just how.
She quickly scooped up some snow, gathering enough. She tossed it into the air, and clapped her hands as hard as she could. The result created a soundwave which blew the snow at everyone, hitting all of her opponents on the other side. Adagio, Vinyl, Lyra, Bon Bon, all got hit and they all fell to the ground.
"VICTORY!!!!" Amethyst cried to the heavens.
Trixie giggled. "Okay, I think we can stop now. You won."
Adagio's team wiped the snow away from their faces.
"Yes, indeed. Congradulations Amethyst, you won," Adagio chuckled. "I think it's safe to say we're all done with the snowball fight, everyone?"
Aria and Octavia got up with pouty lips.
"Aww. And we were just getting started," Octavia complained.
"Come on, it's freezing out here. Besides, you girls didn't come all the way to the Jigsaw Plaza for a snowball fight, now did you?"
"Well... no. Actually, to be quite honest, we came out here to hang out, if that's alright," Octavia said, clearing her face.
"Fine by me," Aria shrugged.
"Of course. Now how about we all step inside to warm up with some nice hot cocoa?"
Everyone was enthusiastic now.
"Alright. Sonata, the fight's over, you can come out now," Adagio said, staring at her exposed legs sticking out of the snowbank. "Sonata, you okay? ... Sonata?" Adagio was now growing concerned.
"... Oh no," Aria's eyes widened.
Sometime later
Sonata was covered up in a bathrobe, and several blankets, and was blowing her nose into some tissues by her side. Her face and her cheeks were now red, but she was getting plenty of warmth now.
"Hey. Here," Adagio offered.
Sonata sniffled, but smiled. "Thank you."
She accepted the hot soup and sipped on some, enjoying the hot liquid running down. And set down on the little stand next to her was a cup of nice boiled hot cocoa with mini marshmallows, put together by Vinyl and Adagio.
"Maybe next time, don't go jumping into snowbanks with your head exposed?" Adagio asked.
"Agreed," Sonata sniffled.
"Hey, cheer up, you'll get better soon," Octavia smiled, sitting on the couch with Vinyl and Lyra with some hot cocoa.
"You'll be healthy again soon, I promise," Adagio said.
Sonata's only response was another adorable sneeze.
Author's Note
More holiday floof!
The Secret Santa
Vinyl panted as she ran up the escalators and into the food court. She had just gotten to the place after a precarious run across the street from the lot she parked in. Weather was changing so much that now the roads and sidewalks were getting covered in snow and ice.
But regardless she made it; and in the food court of the mall was the rest of her friends, waiting patiently for her. "Sorry I'm late, hit a little traffic. Also nearly killed myself just trying to walk across the sidewalk, the ice on the ground kinda makes it hard to run," Vinyl said, gripping onto the table.
"It's alright, mate. Just have a seat," Octavia gestured.
"Okay, now that we're all here, now I can explain," Bon Bon smiled. "So I had an idea the other day. I know all of us get stressed around this time of the year about what gifts to get each other, so I was talking with Applejack the other day, and she gave me an idea. This could save us time on shopping, and we can still give each other gifts," Bon Bon said.
"Yeah? What's that?" Lyra asked.
"She suggested something along the line of... say a Secret Santa. All of us will put our names into a hat, we each pull a name out; and then whoever we get, that's the person we get a gift for. What do you guys think?"
Everyone let her idea sink in for a moment or two, and a few shared a few shrugs and nods.
"Well... it would help us save time on shopping," Sonata shrugged.
"And probably relieve ourselves of some stress," Trixie nodded. "I'm in."
"Me too."
"Count me in."
"Alright, all in favor of a Secret Santa, say Aye."
Everyone clamored, "Aye."
"And against?"
Nothing.
"Alright! Lyra, can you?"
The ninja smiled and she teleported out of the food court. A few seconds later, she manifested back with some pencils and paper. Soon they were passed around and everyone's names were slipped onto some pieces of paper. Lyra then vanished from everyone's eyes, and came back again with a spare hat.
"Just need to borrow this real quick," Lyra said.
"Wait, is that AJ's--"
"Names in the hat!" Adagio said quickly, throwing her name down.
Everyone put their names in a hat. Swishing the papers around, everyone began to pull out a single name.
"Got it."
"Okay."
"Lets do this."
"So we're all good?" Lyra asked.
Everyone gave confirming nods.
"Alright. So... what time do you guys wanna meet up?"
"How about this, we come back tomorrow, same time. 24 hours should be enough, right?"
Everyone gave some shrugs, and soon they began to move their seperate directions. Well, Lyra teleported away to return the hat back to it's owner. The only one left in the food court was just Vinyl Scratch. And when they were away, Vinyl screamed up to the heavens. "I CAN'T DO THIS!!!"
But just then she saw Amethyst running in her peripheral direction.
"Oh, Amy! Thank goodness, listen, do you--"
Amethyst just dashed by Vinyl in a flash. "Don't have Octavia, sorry!"
"Ohhh..." Vinyl moaned. "I wish I had gotten Octavia, I would have known to have gotten her something. Well, hopefully she's having better luck than me. She's always confident.
Meanwhile
"This is impossible!" Octavia screamed, planting her face first into the pillow on her couch.
"What's impossible?" Octavia's mother asked with a raised brow.
"Ugh. My friends and I chose to do a Secret Santa to save time and cash on finding gifts for each other. Except I landed someone who I don't know what to shop for," Octavia said, scrunching at her eyes. "I really wish I had gotten one of my closer mates."
"You mean like Amethyst or Vinyl?"
"Yes." Octavia's eyes shrunk when she realized what she said and she jolted straight up. "Don't get me wrong, Mum. I love all my friends, I do. But it's... I don't know. Suddenly it feels like I don't even know them anymore."
Octavia's mom gave her a smile. "Sweetheart, I know it's difficult now. But you'll find something eventually. You just need to find something that you know will speak to your friend, something from the heart. I know it's hard, but I'm sure you can find something."
And Octavia's only response was to grab a pillow and shove it on her own face.
"There has to something I can get her, but what? Definitely not a set of knives though..." Vinyl paced back and forth. "No, no! I can do this! I know I can. Lets see... what does Bon Bon love? Baking, of course. Cooking, that too. Friends and family, animated films, Maretopia dolls, hmm..."
The violinist paced back and forth, in deep thought. She hadn't left the mall, and it was nearing lunch time.
"There must be something. Unless I can bake her something truly special?" Vinyl lit up, and then went dim. "No, can't bake. Don't need to start a fire again."
She kept pacing around she didn't even notice she was grabbing the attention of the woman behind the counter in one of the stores.
"Excuse me, Vinyl?"
She turned her head and saw who it was. An older woman behind the counter in her 40s, with gray skin and black hair. Dressed in a short sleeved shirt and apron with a graphic of a whisk in a bowl. In other words; it was Bon Bon's mother.
"Oh, Miss Mixup, sorry," Vinyl blushed.
"Come on over here, what's got you so conflicted," the woman said, adjusting some of the pastries in the oven.
"Well, I'm dealing with a bit of a gift giving problem. My friends and I are doing a Secret Santa deal, but I can't seem to find the perfect gift for your daughter. Nothing is coming to me," Vinyl vented. "And I thought I knew her, I do, but... it's like I can't find anything special."
Miss Mixup set some dough in the oven and then closed the door. "I think I understand, and here's the problem, young lady. You're pressuring yourself too hard. If you keep this attitude and believe you're not going to find something for her, then you never will. My daughter loves you like all of her friends; I'm sure she will love whatever you find her."
"I know, but... I just need to find something to show her how much I care about her, something that speaks to her. Something that can surprise her, but at the same time--what are you eating?"
The woman finished what she was chewing and swallowed. "It's a KoKo Kringle. You want a piece?"
"Sure. What's in it?"
"It's just delicious mlik chocolate. Bon Bon loved these when she was a little girl, but sadly they don't make these in Canterlot anymore. They moved their factories to another part of this state."
Vinyl perked up. And she jolted from where she was sitting. "Do you know their location?"
Mixup was a bit hesitant. "They just moved somewhere close to Chicoltgo. Hold on, I know the address..."
The next day, everyone was gathered over at Vinyl's house for the gift giving. Everyone was mostly planning on just a regular sleepover, with some video games included, but it was marked as the perfect spot to open up their holiday gifts to one another.
After everyone had their dinner, everyone gathered around Vinyl's family room, kicking back and relaxing in some of the chairs, couch, and some soft spots on the floor.
"Alright, so we're all here, we're all ready to exchange?" Adagio asked. Everyone nodded. "Excellent! So who shall go first?"
"Um... I could start," Vinyl asked, hesitantly.
"Perfect!"
"O-Okay, well... This is for Bon Bon," Vinyl said, giving the present to Bon Bon.
"Ooooh, now I'm intrigued," Bon Bon said, intrigued. She eyed the milky yellow coloring paper, wrapped up in a neat little blue bow, with some pictures of Christmas cookies surrounding the paper. Bon Bon tore through the wrapping paper and gasped. She cupped her mouth, and her eyes were watering; not out of sadness, but of joy.
"No... way... No way..."
Vinyl was nervous, a little fearful. Bon Bon then puled out one of the candy bars with a joyful face. Unwrapping one of the wrappers, she took a bite of the bar and her face was filled with so much joy, it was adorable .
"KoKo Kringle... this was my favorite candy when I was a little girl! I didn't think they made these anymore, they stopped selling these here in Canterlot! H-How did you find these?" Bon Bon asked, ecstatically.
"Well, I did some looking... apparently they moved their factory operations off Canterlot, just moved them into another city. Took me a while to find them, but I did, so... d-do you like it?"
Bon Bon just answered with a big hug to her friend, so full of joy and happiness. Vinyl softly smiled and hugged her back.
"Thank you," the baker whispered.
"Merry Christmas, Bon Bon."
Bon Bon pulled from the hug and she pulled off a piece of the candy bar, offering a piece to Vinyl.
"Now, the person I got a gift for was Aria," Bon Bon said, passing her gift to Aria.
"Sweet!" Aria snatched her gift like a child. She reached into the bag, pulling out the paper. And unfolding it, she finally saw the contents. A faded red sash and some beads that looked like it belonged to a pirate. Bon Bon had the biggest grin on her face, and Aria's smile grew even wider. "Yeeeesss! Awesome!" Aria grinned.
"You like it?"
"Yeah, this is awesome. How did you know?"
"Well, I thought about some of those pirate stories you were telling about and how much fun you had being a swashbuckler, and even though I couldn't get a sword, I thought maybe something like that could still keep some memories in the past back," Bon Bon blushed.
"Bon Bon, this is awesome," Aria grinned as she tied the sash around her head, underneath her hair, letting the two strands of cloth hang out the back. A soft gold bead was left exposed over the sash as she finished tying it together. "Now my inner pirate's back."
Adagio rolled her eyes, chuckling. "Just don't go hunting for booty, okay?"
"I don't need to. Besides, there's already one I've got to myself," Aria gave a naughty wink. "Now lemme see..." Aria pulled out her gift box. "I've got something for Trixie."
Adagio couldn't help but pout.
"Problem, Adagio?"
"... I wish I could have gotten my girl something sweet," she frowned.
"Aww, don't worry Dagi," Trixie hugged her. "It's okay. Besides, there's still a few days until Christmas. I could get you something special if you wait." She gave a wink, making Adagio giggle.
"Anyways! Lovebirds, if I may?" Aria stopped. "Trixie, here you go."
Trixie's gift was wrapped up in dark purple and green, wrapped with a pink bow and a tag that said 'To Trixie'. Trixie set the box down on the table and tore through the wrapping paper as if it was already Christmas Day. And she too was excited.
"Oh my gosh!" Trixie squeaked. She pulled out a set of sparking looking clothes from inside the box. Long purple socks that reached high to her thighs, blue heels, a sparkling blue jacket with gold general pads, and a top hat with a feather sticking out. "It's..."
"A little something for you to wear when you get back out into performing magic. Something to help you get some more confidence."
"Oh, Aria, thank you!" Trixie squeed, hugging her friend.
"Okay, okay, it's not that big of a deal..." Aria blushed.
Trixie giggled. "Okay, Octavia, this is for you."
Trixie passed her gift to Octavia who, just like the others, was ecstatic to open her gift up. This one all held in black and light purple, with some pictures of treble-clefs. And when she did, the girls swore the punk squeed.
"The Deluxe Edition of the Greatest Rock and Roll hits, I love it!" Octavia squeaked.
Trixie blushed. "Aww, it's no big deal--" And Octavia attacked Trixie in a hug.
"Awww..." Everyone went.
Trixie couldn't help but hug Octavia back, happily sighing in relief. "I'm glad you love it, Octavia."
"Oh, Lyra! You're next!" Octavia announced. "Luv, I wasn't sure about this, but... I do hope you'll like it."
Lyra smiled and she tore the wrapping paper apart, and she gasped. "No... no way! You got Raizuobusonbura ?"
Everyone blinked. "What?"
"She got me Rise of Sombra!" Lyra exclaimed, showing the game case.
"Ohhhh..."
"I wasn't sure if I should get this game, I didn't know if someone would get it for me or not but... yay ," Lyra squeaked. "Thank you so much!"
"Aww, shucks," Octavia blushed.
Lyra giggled. "Okay, Sonata! Your gift!"
"Yay!"
Lyra passed Sonata the colorful mint green box to Sonata. She ripped off the bow and pulled the lid off the top, and she gasped with a squee. She reached in and pulled out a white teddy bear with a cute little red bow.
"Oh my goodness... he's so adorable!" Sonata smiled as she hugged the bear. "Thank you, Lyra, I love it!"
Lyra smiled. "I knew you would, I just knew it."
"Hehe. Oh, that reminds me, Amy, here's yours!" Sonata giggled, giving Amethyst her gift. Amethyst tore through the wrapping paper, and she smiled with a big grin on her face when she saw it. A neon blue and pink cassette tape, with a sticker marked at the top.
"Ultimate Retro Mix from 83 to 88?" Amethyst grinned.
"I remembered some of your favorite songs were from those times!" Sonata giggled. "I had a lot of fun in those times too. Though I wondered if I should have given Jone Jet a call..." She looked at the rest of the girls who were giving her awkward expressions. "What?"
Shrugging it off, Amethyst went to the second to last gift; wrapped up in turquoise wrapping paper with geometric patterns in yellow, pink, and blue. She pulled the top off and smiled.
"Aww, Amy..." Pulling it off, she could see some purple fingerless gloves made out of leather like the type for bikers, some spiked bracelets, and a headband with a cute red bow on top.
"You like it?"
"I love it, Amy, it's adorable," Adagio squeaked. "Thank you."
Amethyst smiled and let out a little squee.
"And that leaves Vinyl as the last one. Vinyl, I believe this is something you've been looking for, for a long time," Adagio smiled, giving her the present.
Vinyl ripped the paper off, and when she finally got the full look she gasped. One of her hands cupped her mouth, she began to tremble all over. "The sheet music for Equestrian Serenity? I..." Vinyl was shaking up so much that she had to slowly set herself down. "I had been trying to find this music ever since I attended middle school."
Adagio smiled. "I know. I thought maybe you would be happy knowing you could--"
And Vinyl stopped her from talking by nearly tacking her in a hug. Adagio's arms raised up, she let Vinyl's arms wrap around her stomach and to her back, hugging her ever more. Vinyl softly laid her head against her chest, a soft tear of joy leaking from her eye.
"Thank you."
Adagio smiled. And she just wrapped her arms around Vinyl and a tender hugging embrace. And she rubbed her back, while everyone around just smiled happily.
"Merry Christmas Vinyl."
And silence filled the house.
"... Um. You can let go of me now."
"In five minutes."
A 'Perfect' Christmas Date
Author's Note
Triagio fluff. Because I love Triagio fluff.
Enjoy!
A 'Perfect' Christmas Date
It was another December evening. The cold winds continued to blow, and people were still making their preparations for Christmas in a few weeks. Everyone at this time of night was already hope, just hoping to stay warm during the cold evenings and enjoy the festivities as much as they could.
As for Adagio Dazzle, she had to make this evening perfect. Her girlfriend was coming over for a romantic evening, and it had to be just right. Romantic ambience? Check. Food? In progress. Festive Christmas sweater? Double check. Everything seemed perfect, it had to have been. Everything, every last little thing.
"Okay, there has to be something I'm missing," Adagio said out loud. She tapped her heel on the floor, thinking. "But what?" She stopped for a second, until she snapped her fingers. "Curtains, of course." She walked over to the window of the penthouse balcony and opened up the curtains, allowing some views of the snow outside in the night come into view. "A little view of outside never hurt anyone. Hmm... ooh, music, of course."
She walked over to a small stand where an old radio was sitting and she adjusted the knobs, searching for the station. Some sound was coming through... for a few seconds and then the radio just dropped dead.
"No no no no no, come on!" Adagio snapped. She slapped the side of the radio, hoping it would just come back to life on it's own, but it didn't. No miracles were happening tonight. "Great. They told me not to fix this, I should have listened, why didn't I listen!?" She pulled at her hair.
And breaking her little train of thought was the sound of the doorbell ringing. Dang it, she wasn't ready! But she didn't like keeping her girlfriend outside for so long, or else she'd leave. She had to answer the door NOW.
"Coming!" She called.
She stopped in front of a mirror, quickly adjusting her hair and checking her makeup. Before walking to the door, she turned her head to take one gaze at her backside, smirking. Still had that sexy flair.
Adagio opened the door, and on the other side was, who else?
"Trixie!" Adagio squeed, picking up her girlfriend and swinging her around.
"Hey Dagi," Trixie smiled, nuzzling her. "How are you?"
"Doing very well, thank you. Oooh, I love the sweater," Adagio purred.
Indeed, Trixie was wearing a Christmas sweater. A nice dark blue one with white snowflakes and with a tree covered in snow in the middle.
"Thanks Dagi," Trixie smiled, giving her a quick kiss. "I hope you don't mind, I brought a sleeping bag to spend the night?"
"I don't mind at all, any night I can to snuggle with you is an automatic win," Adagio grinned.
Trixie sniffed the air and her eyes shrunk a little. "Is something burning?"
Now Adagio's pupils shrunk. "Oh no..." She ran back to the kitchen with a fearful face. "Not again..." Opening up the oven she was covered in smoke. "Oh no! They're ruined!" She quickly grabbed them and threw them onto the counter, clearly burnt by the fact they were nothing but completely black.
Adagio's hands scrunched at her face and she was starting to shake.
"I... No, I can fix this, I can salvage this!" Adagio said, putting her foot down. "I am not going to let this go down, I can--"
And just lifting a single spatula underneath to lift it... and then it was reduced to ash. Adagio's hand dropped the spatula and she yanked at her hair.
"Oh..."
"Hey, hey, hey! It's okay," Trixie said, waving her hands. "It's okay." She cupped Adagio's hands. "Let me call someone, okay?"
30 Minutes Later
Admittedly, pizza wasn't the most romantic of foods, but it didn't stop Adagio from keeping the mood nice and romantic. Red and green Christmas lights were in the air, with a few soft candles flickering. Adagio and Trixie were still able to eat together, sitting across from each other with romantic mood lighting.
"So... how's your pizza?" Trixie asked, hesitant.
Adagio couldn't stay mad at Trixie. "I'll admit. It's pretty good."
Trixie smiled back. "I'm glad."
"Thanks again for calling that pizza place. I didn't think there were any good places around here. Most of the joints I visited seemed relatively sub-standard," Adagio admitted, eating another bite of the pepperoni pizza.
"Oh that place I called is a really good joint. I visited that place several times, really good pizza," Trixie smiled. "Besides, waaaay better than the pizza over at Salty's Sea Palace."
"Hmm, maybe it's just me, but I cannot stand that place. Now don't get me wrong, I love kids, but the last few times I visited, the children were... less than well behaved," Adagio scowled.
"And how about the animatronic band?" Trixie asked with a bored expression.
"Don't get me started," Adagio shivered. "I know they're made with intent to entertain, but those animatronics do nothing but creep me out. Their uncanny movements and shaking bodies?"
Trixie nodded, cringing at the picture. "You and me both."
The two shared collective cringing, but they swung back to more pleasant topics once again.
"So... how's your family?" Adagio asked.
"They're doing good, thank you. Family from my mom's side are coming in from Manehattan to stay with us, so it's going to be a bit crazy," Trixie replied, taking another bite of her food.
"Well, it is the holidays, it's always crazy this time of year. No matter how much you try to make sure nothing gets out of hand," Adagio replied, sounding a bit down.
Trixie frowned. "Adagio, are you okay?"
Adagio froze. And she sighed, holding her head. "No. Trixie, do you mind if I be straight with you?"
"Of course, go ahead."
"I've been stressed out trying to set up the perfect romantic setting for when you came. I thought I was on top, but then the food got burnt and the music stopped working, I just... I can't stay on top of things. Trixie, I... I'm not perfect," Adagio said, sounding full of guilt and shame.
Trixie blinked. "Okay."
"Trixie, I have to be honest. I know I often have this rather flirtatious and confident flair but... I'm not. There are some days where I end up hating myself because I cannot keep myself on top of things. I may not show it, but when things go bad, I just... I just shut down. Remember when you girls found out about who we were really were?"
Trixie nodded.
"I... I didn't know what to do. I just shut down, and I couldn't find a way to swing back around. I was... lost. And if I can be honest, this wasn't the first time. I've had so many days and years where I just didn't know how to get back up, and... if I can't stay on top of things, then what kind of girl am I?"
Adagio's head turned from her girlfriend, afraid to look back. A small tear pushed out of her closed eye, but a soft hand pulled her head around, stroking her cheek. And looking back, she could see Trixie giving her a soft smile.
"Adagio? Listen to me. I know you want to be on top of everything and want to make sure nothing goes wrong, but... nothing ever happens the way it should. At least, most of the time. Every one of us has moments in life that don't go the way they should, and it's okay. These things are going to happen, and if there's people out there who think they never will; they're wrong. But that's the beautiful part of life; we do eventually learn these things, we understand where things go wrong. But to put pressure on yourself to be 100% perfect? No. Adagio; you're not perfect. You never will be perfect. And that's what I love about you; it's everything about you that I love, I don't care that you aren't able to keep up everything in full. And you know something else? I love you for you; not for who you pressure yourself to be."
Trixie stroked Adagio's cheek and she smiled, looking at her.
"When I came here tonight, I only wanted to just spend my night with you. That's all I wanted on every date, and every day that I'm with you. And that's enough to make me happy."
Adagio's frown slowly began to turn upside down into a smile, and she couldn't help but let one happy tear fall from her face.
"You really are the best girlfriend I can ask for," Adagio cooed.
Trixie got up from her chair and she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend, hugging her. Adagio reciprocated and sighed with content.
"Now what do you say to snuggling up on the couch and watching a Christmas movie?" Trixie asked, nuzzling her cheek.
"Oh I would very much love that," Adagio purred. "I'll go warm up some hot cocoa and some nice chocolate chip cookies."
Trixie found the movie and put it in the DVD player, and Adagio eventually came back around with a plate of chocolate chip cookies and some nice delicious hot chocolate with mini-marshmallows. When the movie began, Trixie opened up her arms for Adagio to snuggle up close. The siren laid herself on Trixie's warm body, and she let Trixie wrap her arms around her stomach, holding her close.
"I love you so much..." Trixie whispered into her ear, kissing her again. And just to add on, she kissed near Adagio's neck.
Adagio was the one to blush this time. "Oh, Trixie..." She stroked her cheek, and giggled when she saw Trixie lean into her hand. The way she did was just adorable.
"Oh will you two just make out already!? "
Trixie and Adagio froze. Adagio's eye twitched, and her teeth were grit.
"Aria. How long have you been here?"
"All night. I didn't come out until I smelled the burning food, and you freaking out like you were on fire. Why?" Aria snickered.
"Because I am going to give you ten seconds before I KILL YOU IN YOUR SLEEP!" Adagio leapt from the couch, chasing Aria up the stairs. Trixie just watched them run and she laughed a little. This was going to be interesting...
Bon Bon sniffed the air and sighed with pleasure. The sweet smell of delicious gingerbread, topped with the vanilla icing, sweet gumdrops, swirly candies, and little colored candies on top. A perfect gingerbread house, made with the accompaniment of a mini gingerbread family.
Near the finished artwork was some chocolate chip cookies covered in red and green sprinkles (tying in to the spirit of the holiday), some little bon bon candies which had finished being prepped, and some Christmas tree shaped cookies with green, white, and red icing on top.
"Pinkie. Status on the cupcakes!" Bon Bon shouted like a drill sergeant.
"Only 2 minutes remaining!" Pinkie saluted, playing along.
"Excellent. Sonata, how are the brownie mixtures coming?"
"Almost completed!"
"Great!" Bon Bon smiled, dropping the military act. For about two seconds. "Okay now! Bakers, stand up straight!"
Sonata and Pinkie stood straight, giving salutes as if they were being drilled at..
"Now listen up. We only have a limited amount of time given to get all of these sweets sold for the Homeless Awareness Charity drive at the mall. We gotta get there fast, and we need to get there to have enough time to sell everything!"
"Uh, how much time did you manage to reserve?"
"Three to five, why?"
"Because it's almost three o'clock!" Pinkie panicked. "Give me that timer, woman!"
"What!? Scrap! Okay, everyone, get these sweets wrapped up, we gotta go, now!"
Pinkie Pie in a few seconds got everything out of the oven, all placed into plastic trays and containers for them to be distributed, and got all of them thrown in the car.
"Done!"
Bon Bon and Sonata barely got up and yet Pinkie had all of this done in a few minutes.
"Well... okay then. Let's get going, we gotta race, fast! Snow gear, now!"
Everyone dashed to the front door and quickly put on some coats, gloves, some hats, earmuffs, everything. Now they just had to hit the road. Pinkie grabbed the keys and threw herself into the driver seat. Bon Bon took the shotgun, and Sonata moved to the backseat, making sure the sweets were strapped.
The car's engine began to purr with life, and Pinkie put her foot on the pedal, pulling the car out of Bon Bon's home. The crew had hit the road, and they had to get to the mall fast.
"Okay, we gotta move fast, now I know we--"
And Pinkie slammed on the brakes. In front of them was a giant traffic pile up, as emphasized by the sounds of angry drivers honking and yelling.
"Seriously!?" Bon Bon threw her hands up.
"I'm sure it won't take long."
It took half an hour for the traffic to clear.
"Oh finally!" Bon Bon said, feeling exasperated. "Floor it, Pinkie."
"You got it!"
"Wait, maybe we should--"
And Pinkie's car began to race on the road, grinding against the snow and ice.
"Slow down!"
To say it was hard to drive on a road covered in ice was a huge understatement. It was a challenge. Just trying to keep the car straight and not ram into anyone was a challenge all on it's own. Luckily no one had gotten hit in the time it took to try and figure out how to drive on the ice.
"Why. Why. Why. Why. WHY!?" Bon Bon ranted. "Of all the times of the year we have to get icy roads, it's this one."
"It is winter after all!" Pinkie said, unfazed by her anger.
Sonata just clung to the walls of the car like a spider, quaking in fear. "Are we going to die!?"
"When we get off the ice, speed it up! We've only got a short amount of time to set up and sell these sweets, and I want to get this done, now!"
The car kept sliding across the ice but eventually they were able to slowly slide their way into a parking spot.
"Alright, now come on, move, move, move!" Bon Bon ushered as she and Pinkie got out of the car.
Sonata was still shaking. "I think I'll walk home..."
"Sonata, come on!"
The girls all grabbed the containers and trays, but now they had a new problem. Ice... on the sidewalks.
"Seriously? Does no one salt sidewalks anymore!?" Bon Bon screamed.
"Come on Bonnie! We can just skate our way through!" Pinkie squeaked, skating like a figure skater. Somehow she was able to hold a few trays up with just her hair and a single arm as she danced and spun around. Bon Bon and Sonata were just slowly shimmying their feet, trying their hardest not to fall flat on their faces.
Just a few more steps and they'd be out of the clear.
"Whew, finally! Sonata, come on! The faster we get over there, the faster we raise money for the charity drive!"
"It's already past four! We've barely got any time anymore!"
"Not with that attitude, come on!"
Sonata still followed, albeit afraid more than ever.
The girls finally made it to the mall, but the minute the walked through the doors--
"Aw come on!" Pinkie screamed.
Both Pinkie and Sonata were so shocked they didn't notice they accidentally let the door slam in Bon Bon's face. The entire mall at least as far as what they saw, was crowded with hoards of people. Thousands of them, going from store to store, food courts, everywhere!
"The one thing I'm always afraid of around Christmas. Malls..." Sonata shivered. "I still remember the Black Fridays of 67 and 86."
Bon Bon's head was in flames, but she didn't plan on stopping. "Come on!"
The trio fought, pushed, and shoved their way through the crowds, resulting in them getting trampled by a few customers along the way. But at last, they made it to the second floor where the charity drive was being held.
"Finally, we made it! Alright here's the plan, we've only got," Bon Bon checked the time. "Half an hour, okay, it's fine. We can still get all of these sold in time. We can--," and at that moment she turned around, "--are you kidding me right now." Bon Bon froze.
"Wait, what's happening?" Pinkie asked.
Pinkie and Sonata poked their heads out, and their eyes were wide. There was a massive line of people near the charity booths. But it was longer than ever, longer than it should have been. But why? They hadn't even set up shop! Was someone else already there with baked goods?
Well upon further look, right there they could see Amethyst Star, sitting behind one of the booths sorting the money in the charity box, and keeping a constant look out on the time. Simultaneously she was sipping out of a milkshake and watching two people in particular; one was a random kid, and the other was CHS's newest addition; Countess Coloratura, AKA Rara.
Rara and the child, whoever he was, looked like they were having a pretty nice conversation. Some nice smiles, some chuckles here and there. But why?
"Oh, Rara! Time's almost up!" Amethyst called.
"Oh, well, uh, thank you anyway," the boy said. "But before I leave, can you sign my album?"
"Of course, I'd be happy to," Rara smiled.
The boy handed her the album and Rara pulled out a marker, and making sure it was visibly there and permanent, she wrote the fan's name, and finished with 'from Rara'.
"Thank you," he smiled, before walked away.
"Merry Christmas, Betamax!" She waved.
Bon Bon's head burst into flames yet again. "We're going to be here all day."
More time passed, it felt like they were barely moving. Bon Bon just wanted to get up front to set up her booth, but thanks to the constant crowds and the people in line, they were going to call her out and claim she was cutting in line despite the fact she volunteered for the job. So she had no choice but to just stay with the rest of the people; frustrated, tired, she was close to just giving up and wanting to go home.
As if God had finally heard her, the line finally moved a little faster, and she finally showed up; even though she was one of the last few people within the line. And she was greeted with a nice, warm, friendly smile from a dear friend.
"Oh, Bon Bon, hi!" Amethyst smiled.
"Hey Amy. Sorry we're late."
"Hey, it's okay, no worry. I get it, the malls are hectic this time of the year, and well, the icy roads, I completely understand," she said with sympathy.
"Soooo... what's all this?"
Amethyst giggled. "Well, since Rara's really famous and a lot of people in this town really love her, I talked with her about opening up a booth here for the Homelessness Awareness program. For 10$ for five minutes, you can meet Countess Coloratura! Talk, sing, dance, however you choose!" She said dramatically as if she was an announcer from the 30s/40s.
"That's... that's actually pretty smart. Well, uh, you just keep going. And now that we've finally got here, we can help you out and--"
"Alright folks, time to close up booths for today," the manager announced. "But come back tomorrow, Santa's gonna be comin' to town!"
Bon Bon's eye twitched. "... What."
The crowds groaned at the announcement, having spent all that time just standing there, waiting.
"Don't worry, you folks can come back tomorrow."
Bon Bon's shoulders slumped, and her fiery head slowly was put out, thanks to Pinkie grabbing a rag and swatting at the flames. How they got there, she didn't understand.
"So how much did we make?" Rara asked, leaning over on the desk.
"Okay, in the few hours we were here, we made... 4... 5... Holy-- Over $500!" Amethyst said in shock.
"Wait, what? Five hundred?" Sonata scrammed over and looked at their amount. "Five... how!?"
"I think it's pretty obvious," Amethyst winked at Rara.
"It is obvious! People would rather sing or dance than have a delicious cookie," Sonata pouted.
"But singing and dancing's fun!" Pinkie squeed.
"... No. That's not what I'm saying," Amethyst shook her head.
"Well, what?"
Amethyst nudged her head over at Rara yet again. Sonata still didn't get it.
"Rara's a famous singer."
"I... Ohhhhhh..." Sonata said, finally catching on. "Celebrity endorsement!"
"Mmmhmm. And since Rara has so many fans here in Canterlot, and since I told her if she came we would be making tons of cash for charity... well I think I made my point," Amethyst smirked.
"Yeah," Rara blushed.
But the amount of brain cells and glass shattering in Bon Bon's head was enough for them to look back at the poor baker. She had been filled with so much anger that afternoon that she just grew tired and more disappointed in how late they were.
"I... just wanted to get one cookie sold," Bon Bon frowned. Her lips quivered and she slumped in the chair. "Just... one..."
Amethyst and Rara frowned. The two shared a glance, but Rara was the one who stepped up.
"Can I have a cookie?"
Bon Bon's ears twitched from the sound and she looked up at Rara who stood there with an innocent smile.
"I'm sorry?"
"I'd like to buy a cookie. Please."
Bon Bon softly smiled. "Five dollars for a container, which would you like?"
"Gingerbread men please."
Rara instantly paid Bon Bon and she slipped the cash into the metal box meant to hold the charity donations. Opening up the container, she took a bite of a cookie, and her eyes lit up when she finished a single bite.
"Oh my gosh... this is amazing, this is the best cookie I've ever tasted! You made these?"
Bon Bon nodded but didn't reply.
"This... this is amazing. Next chance I get on social media, I am going to let people know my favorite kind of cookie," she smiled with a little boop on her nose, making her giggle.
Amethyst smiled, and then a light bulb flickered over her head. "You know, there is another charity drive happening tomorrow at the homeless shelter. Maybe we can sell them together?" Amethyst asked.
Bon Bon slowly smiled. "I'd like that."
"Me too!"
"Count me in."
"... Can we bring Rara with us?"
Christmas At The Sparkles
One of the most special things about Christmastime was the idea of families getting together, celebrating together for being together for so many years. And this year was no exception for Twilight Sparkle and her family; although this time it was much more happier and joyful now that Twilight had changed for the better. Ever since she had made friends with the former bullies known as the Rainbooms, she began turning herself around in a whole new way. She was much more brighter, cheerful, happy, and back to the ecstatic girl she once was before.
And to celebrate Christmas, Twilight and her family set up a Christmas tree in the family room, with the inclusion of Cadence of course. Stockings all hung from the fireplace, decorations were all around the house, and even busted out some old Christmas themed clothes that were hanging in the back of their closets. And as if Twilight hadn't shown she changed enough already, she suggested inviting the Rainbooms and their families over for a Christmas get-together, which they were completely on board with.
And attending the party at the Sparkle household were all of the Rainbooms; Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. All of their parents were invited including but not limited to; Granny Smith, Windy Whistles and Bow, the Pie family (all three of Pinkie's sisters included), and many others. Even the CMC, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were here as well, but they were having more fun in their own cluster while their older sisters talked with the rest of their friends.
Currently, the Rainbooms were all cuddled up in the massive family living room in their own little Christmas attire, keeping warm. And all the while, the CMC were sitting close together, watching one of the classic Christmas specials that was airing on TV.
And soon Twilight came around with some early refreshments of hot cocoa for her friends.
"Hot cocoa, anyone?"
"Ooh, count me in," Pinkie squeaked.
"I want in on that," Applejack added.
Soon all of them got their own individual cups and were sipping them, sighing in relief at the delicious hot flavor.
"Thanks for inviting us all here, Twilght!" Pinkie Pie smiled.
"We're really happy you invited us all over, darling," Rarity cooed.
Twilight squeaked with a smile as she sat with the rest of them.
"Sooo... anyone know what they're getting this year?" Fluttershy asked, looking for a topic of conversation.
"I don't know, I mean I already made my wish-list, but after how awful we were the past few months... I dunno, I don't see our good sides being looked at," Applejack shook her head.
"But you all turned yourselves around in October," Twilight stated.
"I know, but... I don't know. Sometimes I wonder if that was even enough to spin ourselves around," Applejack said. "I wish I could have undone every nasty thing we've done, but..."
"Time travel's not a possibility?" Rarity asked, raising a brow.
"I wouldn't say it's not, but it's not something you should really mess with. Even the tiniest of changes can have a huge affect on your current present which can become the future," Twilight explained.
"So, we went back in time to try and stop us from becoming friends with Sunset Shimmer, it would still have dire effects on the future?"
"Maybe," Twilight said, nodding. "Honestly, if that happened, well... I don't think I'd meet any of you, I don't think any of us would be here celebrating Christmas together."
The Rainbooms hadn't given that idea a thought. Most of the few weeks that followed Sunset Shimmer's defeat were filled with dread and desire to go back and make sure that what they did never happened; but none of them realized that because it happened, that they were able to help turn Twilight around, help someone who needed it.
"I guess none of that had really considered that," Fluttershy said softly.
"Well, it shouldn't matter anymore now, right? Look at us, we've turned a new leaf! We're nicer now, we've made new friends, and we saved everyone at CHS at the Friendship Games!" Pinkie squeaked, yanking Twilight and Fluttershy close for hugs. The two were a little shocked, but they slowly reciprocated back with happy hugs. "And now that Sunset Shimmer's gone, we don't have to worry about her now!"
"I wouldn't say another word on that. Talkin' about that more and more is probably just gonna jinx it," Applejack said, shivering at the thought.
Everyone shared a collective shiver at the idea.
"Oooh, I just remembered! Only a few more days until Santa Claus makes his journey and delivers!" Pinkie Pie squeed in excitement.
"You believe in Santa Claus?" Applejack asked after taking another cocoa sip.
"Yep!"
"I... uh," Applejack stopped herself. "I don't mean to offend but, isn't he just a legendary figure?"
"Come on, Applejack! How else could he have delivered all those presents in one night?"
"Uhhh..."
"Answer's magic!" Pinkie said quickly.
"I don't know darling, I'm not sure about that. It's not whether the character is real, it's the spirit of Christmas that matters," Rarity said, setting the cup down to adjust the strands that were hanging in front of her head.
"Honestly, after everything we've seen and witnessed... I'm just gonna say, yeah, he's real," Rainbow said, shrugging her shoulders. "Heck, if you tell me aliens are real, I'd believe you. I mean three of our friends are immortal seaponies who can sing to hypnotize people, Sunset's a pony from another world and turned into a raging she-demon, and we also saw a giant dragon come out into the games field."
Scootaloo poke her head up from where she was sitting with a raised brow. "We really missed a lot, haven't we?"
"More than you know it, squirt."
"Hey, girls. Dinner's ready!" Shining called.
"Oooh, food time," Pinkie vanished in a cloud of smoke.
"Sweet."
"Finally!"
"About time!"
The dining room was crowded with the families all slowly sliding into the chairs. Most of the adults parked themselves at one end, and the teenagers sat the the other end. Thankfully there was enough space for them all to gather together. And plenty of food to go around; some turkey, spaghetti, lasagna, salads, they had everything!
With everyone finally getting their own food,Twilight stood up and clinked the glass cup, silencing everyone. All eyes turned to her and she cleared her throat.
"Before we dig in, I'd like to say a few words, if that's okay?"
No one objected, and her parents gave the okay.
"Okay. So... a lot of you may not know this, but I wasn't the most social person in school, and I was always seen as a weirdo to my classmates. But the reason that I wanted to invite you all here is well... it's because of my friends," Twilight smiled. She looked at the Rainbooms who looked back at her, smiling graciously with pride. "Because of them, they helped spin me around and see that things are not always so bleak. I am proud to call them my friends. And I am also proud of how they spun themselves after the bad days following Sunset Shimmer's defeat."
Rarity and Applejack exchanged glances with each other, smiling some more. And they looked back at Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash who were all equal with them.
"And I also want to thank my mom, my dad, my brother, Cadence--"
A soft bark came from the floor near where she was sitting, and the girl giggled. "--And Spike too, for supporting me even when I didn't deserve it. You're the best family I could ask for, and I hope I can make you all proud."
Night Light and Twilight Velvet smile and their hands intertwined with each other, and Night Light gave his wife a soft peck on her cheek in between.
"Which is why I want to raise a toast. To friendship... and family."
Everyone raised a glass and their voices boomed, "To family!"
Author's Note
Yeah I'll admit, I don't got much for this one. It's just gonna be a shortie.
Ooooh, reminds me. We've got a week til we hit Christmas!
Author's Note
One more romantic holiday fluff. With some enjoyable wholesomeness. :3
But just wait; we got one more holiday short.
Christmas With Family
Aria Blaze stepped out of the taxi cab, with the only items at her hand being her handbag, and the cellphone she recently purchased. Trying to learn these advanced technologies was still a bit of a struggle, but she was slowly learning. Granted she preferred to just use landlines or talk to someone face to face, but she was willing to change. Well, willing to change for her new boyfriend; Flash Sentry.
She walked up to the front steps of his house which was out in the suburbs. It looked relatively nice, it seemed big enough and homey enough as well. At least, she hoped it'd be homey. Tonight she was planning on making a step, at the very least, try to do something nice for her boyfriend. Flash wanted to introduce her to his parents, and while she was hesitant, she wanted to make him happy, so she agreed. And since it was Christmastime, she decided to wear something festive as well!
She ringed the doorbell on the front of the house, and stood in silence, waiting patiently. Soon enough the door opened, and on the other side was Flash with a holiday themed short-sleeved shirt; in red and green.
"Aria, hey! Glad you made it."
Aria smiled. "It's no problem."
The guitarist smiled. "Ooh, nice sweater."
Indeed it was. For the day, she chose to wear a sleeveless sweater in green and white, with graphics of Christmas trees all around.
Aria couldn't help but blush a bit. "Thanks. Adagio kinda thought I should wear this."
"You look really nice," Flash said.
"Hey Flash, is that her?"
"Yeah, it's her," Flash called back.
"That your dad?" Aria asked.
"Yep."
An older man came to the door with a gentle smile. This was Steadfast, Aria assumed it was Flash's father.
"Um, hi," Aria began.
"Dad, this is my girlfriend, Aria."
"Nice to meet you, young lady," Steadfast greeted, shaking her hand. "Please, come in."
Aria walked inside and looked around; the house certainly looked cozy enough. Sand orange tiling on the floor, some tan decor, and overall nice design. She swore it looked like the interior of a house somewhere in California. Additionally, there were a few family pictures hung on the walls, a few cases with some glass displays (a select few showing some actual awards). And before making a turn into the left down a hall, she stopped to look at a few photos hung on the walls.
One was showing a picture of an adult male and adult female in a hospital environment, with a baby wrapped up in a blanket, both smiling with pride and joy. Aria had to admit, that was kind of cute. And in another photo, there was a picture of a six-year-old Flash, hiked sitting on his dad's shoulders while the two were walking down a street on what looked like a 4th of July celebration, with fireworks off in the distance.
"I see you're eying the younger photos of Flash when he was just a kid," Steadfast said.
Aria finally heard his voice. "Hmm? Oh, yeah, I am. Sorry, just wanted to see."
"Hey, it's no problem."
"Oh come on, can we just skip over that?"
"Flash, come on... when you bring a new girl over, it's the parent's job to embarrass the boyfriend," he teased.
Aria snickered a bit. "Flash, come on, you look, what's the word... oh yeah. You look adorable."
Flash blushed harshly with a soft glare. "Aria..."
She giggled. "I'm not lying, seriously, you look cute. I mean have you seen me, I was an ugly baby...", she looked for a second, making sure Steadfast was out of hearing range and whispered, "okay, not a baby, I was a fry, small correction, Equestrian, you know."
"Well, if you don't mind, can we just... can we just... okay," Flash said, giving up on speaking and just yanked Aria by the wrist, taking her into the next room.
The two walked into the living room. The living room itself was connected over to the dining room, as well as the kitchen, split into three separate rooms with the kitchen and living room being close by. Whoever worked in the kitchen would get a clear view of the TV, and still be able to cook at the same time. It looked like a perfect setup of a house interior!
"Whoa... dang, you got a nice place. I swear it's nicer than the penthouse," Aria said, looking around. "Are you guys wealthy or something?"
"That would be his mother's handiwork. She earns a lot of money in her current position, and well, adding onto the money I've been saving a lot of, and doing some jobs on the side, we both chipped in and bought this place. Thought it was perfect enough to raise our kids."
Aria was still in awe. "Seriously, it's nice."
And over on the couch, she could see a cute little girl, curled up with a teddy bear. She couldn't believe she almost missed her.
"Oh. Hi. Sorry, I didn't see you there."
"That's my little sister. She's pretty quiet," Flash said, patting her shoulder.
Aria was about to speak up, but for right now, she thought maybe keeping quiet would be best for now. She had to make good first impressions.
"So Flash, how did you two become a couple?"
"Oh, well... it's a little complicated," Flash shrugged his head side to side.
All the while they talked, Steadfast was stirring some food in a steaming pot. The smell made Aria's mouth water with hunger, it smelled so good right now.
"Long story short, this guy here found me when I was feeling down, and invited me out to bowling with him and his friends. And after beating an uncomfortable match against the jerk who stood me up that night, Flash and I chatted up each other some more, went on a few dates, and, well... here we are," Aria said. "Well, long story short."
Steadfast nodded. "I see..."
"Oh, where's Mom?" Flash asked.
"She just finished her shift, she should be on her way home," Steadfast replied. "Oh, can you give me a hand?"
"Um, sure, yeah," Flash said.
"You want me to help?" Aria asked.
"No, it's okay."
"Oh. Well... alright, I'll just uhh... I'm just gonna sit here, chill out," Aria said, trying to find the right words. And she just parked herself on the couch, on the left side. Her head was still in view from Flash and Steadfast, since the entire place was so close together.
While Flash helped out in the kitchen, Aria turned her head over to the little girl cuddled up with a teddy bear, watching the Christmas movie with her.
"So... what's your name?"
The little girl slowly looked back at Aria, still looking a bit shy. But she gave a quiet reply.
"Starry."
Aria tilted her head. "I'm sorry?"
"S-Starry. My name is Starry."
Aria smiled. "Nice to meet you kid." Starry just slowly nodded. "Cute teddy bear."
"T-Thanks." The kid was still a bit shy, but eventually she worked up the courage to talk some more. "Do you... do you have stuffed animals?"
Aria thought for a second, and shrugged her head a bit, nodding. "I do. I've got a stuffed animal of a husky dog I sit near my nightstand. But if you ask my younger sister, she's got the biggest collection of stuffed animals, I swear."
"Do you have a name for the husky?" She asked.
"I... can't say that I do. Why? Does, uh... does your teddy bear have a name?"
She looked down at the stuffed bear's face, and hugged it. "Jeff."
"Ahh..." Aria said, unsure of how to respond. But after another moment of silence, she found something else to say. "You been a good girl this year?"
Starry looked back at the older girl and slowly nodded.
"That's good," Aria said, looking back at the television. "That's good."
"... Is Santa Claus real?" she asked.
Aria blinked and looked back. "I'm sorry?"
"Is Santa real?"
Aria admittedly wasn't sure how to answer that. She was just a little kid after all, and if she said one wrong thing... well she'd probably be booted out of the house in an instant. But after a few seconds, she did conjure up something in her brain and softly smiled.
"You bet he is."
"Really?"
"Mmmhmm. Why do you ask?"
The girl squeezed her teddy bear some more, looking to the side with some sadness. "Some of the big kids at school says he's not real. They said mean things..."
"Like what?"
The kid whimpered. "They said he died in an accident."
Aria scoffed. "Kid, hey, now that's not true. I'm sure some of his journeys around the world can get bumpy, but I know he's not dead."
"Why?"
Aria turned herself around on the couch cushion to give her undivided attention.
"Because I believe in Santa Claus. Always have, ever since I was a little girl."
The girl perked up. "Really?"
"Mmmhmm. In fact, I remember this one Christmas, I had fallen asleep, I swore I saw a glimpse of Santa while I was just about to fall asleep. Made his delivery that night."
"Did he?"
"Mmmhmm," Aria smiled. "And I bet maybe you might get a look at him too."
Some uncomfortable silence followed, neither one knew how to continue the conversation.
"... Do you like my brother?"
"Hmm? Well, yeah, of course. Why?"
Starry was still a bit nervous. "The last girl Flash dated was mean."
Aria blanked, but it eventually clicked in her head. "Oh you mean... Sunset? Sunset Shimmer? Fiery hair, black jacket, sounds like a b--... twitch?"
Starry nodded. "She was mean to me. I just wanted to say hi. And she tried to hurt Jeff." She moved her hand a bit, showing some of the hand-done stitches on one of the teddy bear's arms.
Aria's lips lowered, seeing her a little sad. "Kid, I'm really sorry. Believe me, I don't like her either."
"She's a big meanie..."
"You can say that again," Aria said, laying back against the couch some more. But when she looked back to the girl, she could sense some fear from her face, as well her tone. "But... that doesn't mean I'm going to be like her. I don't want to, I really love Flash. He's a great guy."
"Sometimes we don't get along," she said, sadly. "I know I can annoy him sometimes, but I don't mean to. I just want to have someone to talk to. And I want him to be happy."
That made Aria smile even more. "You're a good kid, Starry. You know that?"
She slowly nodded. "You're not gonna hurt my brother like Sunset, are you?"
Aria shook her head. "Kid, the last thing I want to do is hurt him. I just want to make him happy. He's the best boyfriend I've ever had."
And little Starry for the first time, smiled at one of Flash's partners. Flash and Steadfast could see/hear everything from where they were standing; and the two of them smiled.
"Flash, I think you might have found the one..." Steadfast said quietly.
"Dad..."
Steadfast chuckled, stirring up the food some more.
Just then, they heard the front door's locks become unlock, and then open.
"Hon, I'm home!"
"Mommy's home!" Starry instantly jumped from the couch in a complete 180. One minute she was shy as a wallflower, and here she was running eagerly with joy like Pinkie Pie.
An adult woman, Aria rightfully assumed being the mother, walked into the open room and was greeted with a big hug from her daughter. The woman went by the name of Magenta Marshal, who removed her coat. "Oh sweetheart, hey," she softly said, smiling and picking her up with a hug. "Oh, I missed you so much..." She rubbed her back, and Starry softly hugged her, overjoyed.
"Hey Mom," Flash said, giving her a brief hug.
"Hey kiddo," she smiled.
Magenta set her daughter back down and walked into the kitchen, receiving a hug and peck on the cheek from her husband.
"Hey hon," he said, holding her close. "How was your day?"
"Fine. Just long as per usual. Apparently the evidence provided was enough to put the accused in jail... and he tackled the judge," she said, shaking her head. "Not the weirdest thing that happened in that courtroom."
"That sounds awesome, I wish I could have seen that," Aria chuckled.
Flash's mother turned, looking at the new girl who was in the house. Her eyes looked at her pigtails, her light and warm Christmas sweater, her dark heeled boots, dark jeans, and the soft dark eyeliner that was lightly visible near her eyes.
"Well, hello. I take it you are Flash's new girlfriend?"
"Yeah, she is. Mom, this is Aria, Aria, this is my mom."
Aria opened up her hand, to properly greet her. Flash's mom was a little unsure, but she eventually shook hands with her.
"Nice to meet you, Aria."
"Nice to meet you too," Aria replied. "Sooo... are you a lawyer?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I just... I don't know, I think I might have seen you before," Aria said, rubbing her chin. "Wait, were you in the courthouse near the end of September?"
"I usually am, I work there. Why?"
Aria paused for a moment. "You were there for the Sunset Shimmer case, weren't you?"
Magenta stopped for a second, her eyes moving around to think. Her face lit up, remembering, "Oh yes, I was. I remember that brat," she said, clearly disdainful at the memory.
"You and me both," Aria nodded.
"Dinner's ready!"
"Ooh, sweet!"
Soon everyone grabbed a plate and parked themselves at the family table. Cups were filled with personal choices of drinks, and soon everyone grabbed a plateful of food. Everyone pulled themselves at their seats, and dug in.
"Thanks again for cooking, hon," Magenta said.
"Hey, anything for my working wife," Steadfast smiled, kissing her again.
Aria took a bite of the spaghetti, and her face lit up. "Oh my gosh, this is good. You cooked this?"
Steadfast nodded.
"That's great, Mr Sentry. Seriously, this is awesome," Aria smiled, taking another bite. As she did, she turned her head back, hearing a song play over the little radio. It softly played jukebox tunes on a local station which the family always tuned to, mostly to fill silence in the room.
"Oh I know this song," Aria smiled, admittedly bobbing her head to the beat.
"Oh do you? I didn't think a girl of your type liked oldies," Steadfast observed.
"Eh, you can thank my older sister for that. She's a big fan of older music; swing, jazz, blues, jukebox classics, those kinds," Aria explained. "Listened to them all the time back in..." she stopped herself. She didn't stop to think that maybe Flash's family knew she was, well, immortal. Trying to explain the time-line would make things complicated.
"In what?" Flash's mom asked.
Aria, however, was able to correct herself. "Back in the outskirts in uh... Las Pegasus, Nevada."
"Wait, when you say outskirts, what do you mean?"
"Well, uh..." Aria was now stuck. "Well, it's not really, um... long story short, for a period of time we had to live in a dump out in a poor town to save money."
"But you got out of there, hence why you're here now, right?" Magenta asked again, looking at her suspiciously.
"Yeah," Aria nodded. "We earned some money, we got out, and bounced from town to town until we found a home here in Canterlot."
"I see..." she said, intrigued, taking another bite of her food. "So, do you have any family? Any siblings?"
"Just me and my sisters. I'm the middle one, unfortunately," Aria rolled her eyes.
"Any parents?"
Aria stopped chewing her food, setting her fork down. Gulping down her food, she shook her head, sadly.
"I don't have any. I was just... left at an orphanage. I don't know my mom, I don't know my dad, I don't even know if I even had any. I was just dumped on a doorstep because no one wanted me," she hissed. "And the orphanage was no better. I swear it was like 1984 in there..." She took another bite, but still remained calm. "The only people who cared about me were my roommates; Adagio, and Sonata. And even though it took some time, all three of us became sisters. We looked out for each other, took care of each other. And when we had our chance, we ran, and didn't look back. We bounced around from place to place, looking for a home. And, well... we found one here; in Canterlot."
Steadfast smiled at her. "That's nice. That's really nice."
Aria and Flash looked at each other, grinning. So far, so good, parents seemed to approve.
"Soooo... Flash told me you met his ex, Sunset Shimmer once, correct?"
Aria froze. Only her eyes moved as they darted all over the place, looking at Flash, and back to his parents. Slowly, she finished the food in her mouth and wiped her mouth with the napkin.
"I did. She was... the worst ," Aria deadpanned.
"She bully you too?"
"Yep," Aria said, still sounding deadpan. "Believe me, if I was allowed to kick her a-ah-butt, I would. You have no idea how much I would have loved to get my hands on that little... mmm! But I'm classier than that."
"You and me both," Flash's mother said.
"You too?"
"Are you kidding me? I've heard all the stories from Flash, his friends, his friends' parents, almost everyone at CHS about her. She made everyone's lives miserable, and I'm happy she's no longer in school."
"Hopefully she stays locked up, but I swear Adagio jinxed it," Aria complained.
"Anyways..." Flash interrupted. "Mom, Aria's into music just like I am."
"Oh are you?"
Aria nodded, taking a sip of her drink.
"How, exactly? You play any musical instruments, or..."
"I'm a singer. But I did play some guitar once before. Of course, last time I used it I ended up slamming it against a dude's head..."
Magenta and Steadfast stared at her awkwardly. Aria's eyes moved back up and she shrunk.
"Oh. Well, he uh... I found out he was cheating on me, and well, I wasn't thinking, and so... I swung a guitar at the back of his head. That wasn't enough to hurt him, but I smashed the guitar into pieces though," Aria blushed. "... I should stop talking now."
"Hey don't beat yourself up. You would not believe the dumb stuff I did when I was a teenager," Steadfast said, pointing at her with with an guilty but snickering grin.
"Can't be as bad as I did," Aria failed to suppress a grin.
"How about tackling a guy before he got into the restaurant to meet the girl he asked on a date because the girl he asked out was a girl you loved and didn't want seeing him?"
"Did that a year ago," Aria said nonchalantly before taking another sip.
"... Well how about this; the person you dated was a wild person and invited you on doing some wild things, like..." he stopped himself, trying to recall the memory. "Like going in a joyride in her parents' hotrod."
"Did that twice, one was because I'm bored, the other was purely for revenge," Aria blushed. She looked at Magenta and Steadfast awkwardly. "... I didn't say I made the best decisions."
"Hey, we all make dumb decisions," Steadfast said, warmly. "Every one of us has done something we're not proud of, and any human who says they've never made a dumb choice or move is a liar."
"No argument here," Flash said, nodding.
Magenta was a little bit lost. On one hand, she was happy Aria wasn't doing anything wildly inappropriate and getting along with her husband and her kids, at least, to what she saw. But on the other hand, she just felt something off about her. Maybe it was Aria's voice, maybe it was how she spoke, or maybe it was the little hints of punk on her body despite wearing something full of life and color.
Dinner passed comfortably enough. Aria answered a few more questions, and also talked with Flash about music, bands that they liked. Or well, what they could talk about with Flash’s little sister at the table, anyway.
After everyone had eaten their fill, Steadfast and Magenta took the dishes out into the kitchen to wash up. Since her husband had cooked dinner, Magenta did most of the cleanup afterward. As she stood at the sink and rinsed off plates to go into the dishwasher, Mrs. Sentry and Steadfast got to talking.
“So?”
“What is it?” Magenta asked.
“What do you think about Aria?” Steadfast asked, in a low voice, so as not to be overheard by the teenagers, who’d gone back to the living room. Magenta was silent for a moment, as she searched for an answer.
“She seems all right.”
Steadfast noted her tone. “Seems?”
Mrs. Sentry shrugged, focusing on a stubborn bit of leftover sauce that needed to be washed out. “I don’t know… she’s miles better than Sunset ever was, but there’s something about her… I think there’s something she’s not telling us.”
“Lawyer’s instinct?”
Magenta gave her husband a flat stare. “Very funny.”
“Sorry…” Steadfast apologized, giving her an apologetic squeeze on the shoulder. “Look, I know that Flash hasn’t made the best choices before with girls. But Aria… I think she really does care about him. I overheard her talking to Starry. She said that Flash is the best boyfriend she’s ever had, and that the last thing she wants to do is hurt him, and I believe she meant every word of it.”
Magenta paused in scrubbing down another dish, as she took this one. She remembered Sunset Shimmer, and the utter disaster that was the only time she had come to the house; her attitude, the rudeness she had to her husband and her daughter, and just her overall in general. Then she remembered Aria at dinner; how she had lit up at trying Steadfast’s cooking, how she’d managed to avoid swearing in front of Starry… the girl looked like a punk, and had confessed to breaking a guitar over someone’s head, but she knew well enough when to behave properly.
She sighed, as she began to load the rinsed dishes into the washer for full proper cleaning. “I just worry about Flash, you know that,” she said.
“I know you do,” Steadfast answered, and he gave her a quick kiss. “But I think that this time he’s finally found someone special.”
“We’ll see,” Magenta responded, though it was without heat, as she finished closing the dishwasher and turning it on.
“Now let’s go see how they’re all doing. It’s quiet out there—”
The Sentry parents paused on their way out from the kitchen, as they took in the sight before them. For Flash, Aria and Starry were all seated on the sofa – Flash at the far left, Aria in the middle, and Starry on the right. Aria was leaning slightly against Flash, one arm comfortably draped around him. Aria stiffened in surprise, as Starry suddenly, tentatively, moved closer to lean up against her. Then, after a moment, she relaxed and let the little girl snuggle up.
Steadfast put a hand to his mouth to suppress the loud “d’aww!” that would have come out otherwise. Magenta for her part just found herself smiling. Maybe there really was nothing to worry about. Maybe her son finally had found the right girl. And just in time for Christmas too. Perhaps there was such a thing as miracles after all.
The Night Before Christmas
Author's Note
I'm sorry it's been long overdue since this got done, but I finally got it done now. It's completed. Thanks again to Scholarly-Cimmerian for help.
So to everyone, thank you for reading, and a very belated, Merry Christmas and a happy new year.
The Night Before Christmas
Christmas Eve was here. By now, mostly everyone was taking a deserved holiday break; they were all comfy and cozy in their homes, families were visiting, and most of the presents had been wrapped up and tucked under the Christmas trees. A few people did end up having to do some last minute food shopping, or maybe last minute gift-wrapping, but it was still nice.
But Trixie and friends, right now were on the run. They had gotten several phone calls from the post office, which was where they were racing to. Since the Dazzlings had been bouncing around between finding jobs to pay bills (since giving away treasures they've collected over the years was a huge no-no) and even though it was a bit rowdy, it helped pay the bills. However, thanks to the last minute shoppers and deliveries late at night...
"Come on, come on..." Trixie said, trying to run as best as she could.
"Did they say what the emergency was for?" Vinyl asked.
"No clue, they just said to come down here as fast as possible!"
"Then it has to be bad," Bon Bon said, shaking her head, keeping up the run.
"Maybe they're just stressed out and need a friend," Lyra said with hope.
They stopped in front of the post office, and walked inside, setting off the little bell near the door to alert the owners when someone was walking inside. They all shivered from being inside a warmer interior as opposed to outside in the harsh cold.
"Girls, we're here!" Amethyst shouted. "Adagio? Aria? Sonata?"
No response. The keytar player ringed the bell on the front desk, waiting for someone to come and answer. No reply.
"Hello? Anyone here? Derpy, you here?" Amethyst called.
Still nothing. Out of curiousity, she leapt over the front desk and walked over to the side.
"Um, what's she doing..."
The girls waited, hearing the sounds of clattering and things breaking and shattering behind the desk, further in the building. The only thing they could see was a cardboard box flying through the air at the front desk, along with some duct tape and a pen. Eventually the door next to the desk opened up, showing Amethyst with a disturbed face.
"Never mind girls, I found them. Come on," Amethyst said, gesturing them to follow her.
"Next time, give a warning before you're go leap over someone's desk, you might send a wrong message," Vinyl said, sternly.
Regardless, they followed their friend to the backroom and walked into a large open room; tons of shelves and slots for mail and packages to be stored, only for the people they belong to to come and pick them up. And the only people in the backroom were Adagio, Aria, and Sonata. Scurrying and running around, going through giant sacks filled with envelopes and packages, trying to get them sorted.
"Whoa, mates, what's going on?" Octavia asked.
"You girls look stressed to the bone," Vinyl stated.
"Maybe that's because WE ARE!?" Aria yelled. Seeing the girls flinching she sighed and continued to shuffle packages all around. "Sorry girls, we've been working all day trying to sort all of this last minute mail and gifts. The mail train came in late tonight and so we just got bombarded with the final haul. Looks like we're going to have to do this all night too."
"And sorting them is taking forever!" Sonata whined. "I mean look at all of this!" She opened the door to the loading docks and revealed the giant pile of cardboard boxes and letters that were stacked like they were just thrown out of a dump truck.
Bon Bon blinked. "That's a lot of mail."
"I know!" Sonata whimpered, diving head first into the mountain of mail and packages.
"But girls, come on, it's Christmas Eve, take a break! You can deliver this stuff on the 26th, can't you? Take Christmas Eve and Day off, you deserve it," Amethyst said.
"I know, but... I thought I could get all of this done and ready for everyone, but it doesn't' seem we'll be getting this done and ready," Adagio fell flat on her face in another pile of mail, sending letters and packages jumping from the splash.
"It would be easier if we were Santy Claus, but we're noooottttt..." Sonata whined, resting her head on a desk in defeat.
Just then, Adagio's entire body flew back up into the air like a spring, bouncing back on her two feet. A lightbulb appeared over her head as well. "I have an idea," she squeaked with some excitement.
"What, what is it?" Trixie asked.
"It might be crazy."
"Can't be as crazy as anything else we've done in this town," Octavia said.
"It might be a bit silly."
"I live for silliness!" Amethyst raised her hand.
"And it might be a bit cartoony and cliche," Adagio finished.
"Just tell us!"
"My friends. We are going to deliver these last pieces of mail and presents tonight ," Adagio addressed.
"That doesn't sound crazy," Vinyl inquired.
"Wait, when you say tonight, what do you mean?" Octavia asked, folding her arms.
"We need to do it while everyone is deep asleep, in their homes, all comfy and cozy, and then... we hit the skies, comfy and cozy ourselves, with all the gifts, and deliver them house to house before Christmas morning."
Everyone blinked. It was so quiet, the only thing they could hear was the ticking on the clock.
"I beg your pardon?" Vinyl raised a brow.
"Sooo... your plan is for us to go around town as if we're Santa Claus... eses?"
"And deliver the rest of the mail and packages?"
"Yes. Look, I know it's a big job, but someone has to do it. And we promised to get all of this delivered before Christmas Day. We really need help, pleasssseeee???" Adagio begged.
"I don't know, won't that mean breaking and entering into people's homes?" Trixie asked, rubbing her feet on the ground and holding her hands behind her back.
"Maybe so, but it's just going in, and out. We're delivering mail, that's it. And lets not forget, you girls have powers," Aria winked. "Octavia's metal could pick locks, Trixie's illusions could make it seem as if we're not doing anything at all... and lets not forget, Lyra can teleport and Vinyl's electricity could hack into any security system and disable them if we need to get by."
"Okay, now this is starting to sound like we're planning a heist," Vinyl deadpanned.
"Funny enough, we pulled those off," Sonata grinned, innocently. "Surprised we managed to get away with only 6 gold bricks though, I thought we would have gotten more..."
Their friends were expressionless.
"... I have so many questions about that sentence," Vinyl began, "--I'm not going to ask them because I am afraid of the answers."
"Girls, come on, please? I know it's a lot, but we really need help. And if you don't want to, that's fine. But we can use as much help as we can," Adagio begged.
The six friends looked at each other, exchanging glances. Their thoughts were, mixed to say the least. On one hand, they wanted to help, but on the other hand this meant getting up in the middle of the night for a job that they weren't sure they had the energy for.
"Well... if it means helping you girls get this job done, I'd be happy to help," Trixie nodded.
"Plus, it's Christmas Eve. You girls shouldn't be working this hard on today, you should be enjoying the day off," Lyra chipred. "I'd be happy to help!"
Sonata squeaked with excitement. "Yay."
"What about you Amy, you in?" Aria asked.
"Are you kidding? You're asking me to basically play Santa Claus for tonight," Amethyst said. "That sounds awesome!"
"Mate, I love you. But this? You're asking us to do a job, that will require us to work all night. There's no way we'll be able to sort all of this mail in one night," Octavia exclaimed, looking at the pile.
"We stopped Sunset Shimmer, didn't we? And you girls have magic, don't you?"
"I don't know..." Vinyl said, feeling unsure.
"This sounds like a big job just for all nine of us..."
"You are NOT having me come down here in the middle of the night, especially on Christmas Eve!"
12:30 AM, December 25th
Trixie nearly fell asleep until she heard her phone buzz and vibrate on her bed. Wearily, she turned herself over and picked it up. She had written a reminder for herself to come and help out Adagio and her friends for that night. Her eyes sleepily read, and she flopped her body onto the ground with a thud.
"Oww...." Trixie moaned. Pulling herself up, she bumped into her nightstand, where her plastic cup was. She always kept water near her for when she needed it. And she needed it; now. She opened up her windows, immediately shivering at the coldness of the outside. And turning herself around and holding the cup, she moved her arm as forward as she could and splashed her face, sending water straight out the window. That made her shiver some more and rub at her eyes. Now she was completely awake.
She closed the windows and immediately started to get dressed. She grabbed long pants, sweaters, whatever she would need for this Christmas operation. Slowly, she stepped into the hallway, trying to tip-toe her way down. She hated the floorboards, they always creaked whenever she walked. Eventually she made her way downstairs, managing to avoid making more noise. But just to be on the safe side, she snapped her fingers, creating an illusion with the little bit of light that was coming into the house. If was not much, but enough to keep her hidden if anyone was still up at this hour.
She grabbed her winter clothes and a set of keys to get herself back in. Slowly and quietly, she locked the door behind her, sighing in relief. Looking around outside, she could see the Christmas atmosphere was still filling the air. Snow had covered everything from the streets, the lawns, the sidewalks, the cars and all else. The only lights she had were the streetlamps, which showed even more snow falling down.
"Okay Adagio. Lets see if you're out there. I hope."
All over town, the rest of the girls slowly began to get up one by one to head outside and prepare for the job. While it was still a challenge to slip out of their homes in the middle of the night, the girls kept as quiet as mice. Lyra just simply bounced around with her teleportation powers into her closet, and out with her winter gear, and then teleported right outside her front door which was within range. And just like that, she was on the run.
Bon Bon had some more difficulty trying to slip through, but she made it out. Thankfully she did not make a single peep just simply trying to walk out the backdoor, and no security to trip. Amethyst and Vinyl climbed out their top windows with varying degrees of success, managing to slip by their parents. And as for Octavia? Well she took more work trying to get out. She threw her phone at the wall and fell onto the floor with a thud, face first. It still took some work to fully wake up.
"Whhhhyyyyy???" Octavia moaned into the floor.
Across town, Adagio and her sisters stood by the mail room, waiting patiently. Sonata leaned against a pole, dressed in winter gear and holding a cup of hot chocolate, enjoying the flavor and mini marshmallows. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Snow blanketed the streets, and the only bit of light they had was the street lamps who showed the snow falling. Just down the streets, they could see someone running towards them. It was Trixie, struggling to keep up and make it there without being caught. Luckily for her, the only one who had seen her was her dear friends.
"Ahhh... I... I made it!" Trixie cheered, raising her hands up before putting them down on her knees. "Oh boy... I need a gym membership... New Year's resolution, go to the gym!"
"Glad you made it, sweetie. Thanks for coming out in the middle of the night to help us."
Two more of their friends showed up as well, holding onto their arms even though they were wearing winter coats. Octavia and Vinyl yawned and shivered in the cold.
"I hope your plan works, mate," Octavia shivered, holding onto her arms. "Where is everyone else?"
A flash of light hit their eyes, and soon Lyra Heartstrings, Bon Bon, Vinyl, and Amethyst all appeared.
"Are we on time?"
"Excellent, you're all on time."
"Good. And since I know this job's going to be a bit tough with our current state..." Lyra smiled. She teleported out of sight in another flash. Within two minutes, she came back with assortment of drinks and snacks. "I got some sugary snacks to boost up our energy for tonight."
"Great. And if that's not enough, we also made up some more snacks, plenty of drinks and food to keep you all awake for this job. Now follow us," Adagio tilted her head, leading them around the post office towards the back. Their feet tromped through the snow, leaving several footprints behind as they walked. Around the back, they stood in front of the garage loading doors where the mail would be dropped off.
"So, how exactly do you propose we get all of the mail delivered?" Vinyl asked, still shaking.
"Easy! With a sleigh!"
Sonata pressed the button, making the garage door lift up. Inside the garage was a few sacks of mail, but they were all held snug within several brown sacks in a back of a beautiful red sleigh. Shimmering in red and gold, it looked like it had just been finished being polished.
"Whooa..." Lyra said in awe. "That's amazing..."
"Don't we need reindeer you pull that sleigh?"
Aria threw several pieces of leather out, tossing them out into the open. Each one of them jingled, thanks to the little silver bells attached to them.
"Oh you girls already have your reindeer," Adagio winked.
"And they are... where?"
Adagio's hand rubbed at her temple with an annoyed groan. "They're not anywhere, it's us !" She said, gesturing to herself and her sisters.
“You? ”
“Yes!” Sonata chirped happily.
Aria smirked a little as she added, “Yeah, sorry but the zookeeper wouldn’t us let borrow any of the reindeer.”
“How are-“ Vinyl began, before stopping herself. She, and the other five girls, remembered now that the three sisters before them were, in fact, Sirens from another world – and that their natural form was more than capable of hauling a sleigh, even one laden with packages.
Lyra couldn’t stop herself from giggling, at the sudden thought of what that would look like; three massive Equestrian Sirens flying through the air, pulling that sleigh behind them! “Okay!” the minty-haired girl said, “I’m in.”
“What?” Bon-Bon gaped at her, “Lyra!”
“C’mon Bonnie, when else are we gonna get a chance like this! Soaring through the skies, playing Santa, delivering presents… it’s gonna be great!”
“Assuming we don’t freeze up there,” Vinyl said to herself, rubbing her hands together – even wearing gloves, she could still feel the midnight cold. Octavia gave her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, although the rocker girl looked quite dubious herself.
“You sure about all of this?” Octavia asked, “I just dunno, girls, we’ve done some real crazy things before, but I’m not sure if we can really pull off something like this before morning…”
“Hey, we’re here right now…” Amethyst countered, puffing out a breath, “What is it you Brits say, ‘in for a penny, in for a pound’?”
"No one actually says that ,” Octavia muttered.
“What do you think, Trixie?” Bon-Bon looked at the magician curiously. “Do you think we can do this?”
Trixie had been quiet, she had been thinking quite hard as she had heard Adagio’s plan, and her friends’ reactions to it – their doubts, their approvals. Finally, she spoke up.
“I don’t know… but I do know that it is Christmas. And that there are presents that still need to be delivered. And… I think that if we can do anything to help out, then we should . If a friend needs help, you help them.”
Lyra and Sonata beamed. Amethyst clapped. Aria nodded with a proud smile, and Adagio nearly lit up with relief. Octavia still looked cautious, but as she rubbed her arms thoughtfully, she finally said, “Ahh, alright then. If you lot are in, then I’m in too – just to make sure that it all works out.”
Bon-Bon agreed with her. So did Vinyl.
“Wonderful!” Adagio declared, “Thank you so much, girls! This really means a lot to us.” Her sisters chimed in--
“For realsies!”
“Yeah, seriously – I owe you girls.”
"Alright girls. I know we can get this job done, and we can get it done tonight. Given our team, and given the fact you girls have more than adjusted to your powers, I believe we should be able to get all these gifts delivered as fast as we can. We do have a lot of mail to deliver. And if you don't want to do this, that's fine. I don't want you girls to do something you don't want to."
"Mate," Octavia interrupted. "I drank down two cans of Sup, I ate three candy bars, some cookies, and a fresh baked donut that Bon Bon made before I came here. I am awake as a night owl, I'm not leaving til this job's done."
Everyone all clamored at once.
"Alright, alright, I understand," Adagio said, interrupting. "Ladies, lets suit up! Aria, Sonata; Transform!"
The three of them raced outside and stood in silence. Focusing all energy onto transforming, all the while their gems glowed. Auras were glowing all around the three Dazzlings, and a flash of light hit everyone's eyes. The silence was replaced by the moving and stomping of hooves on the ground.
Thirty minutes passed, and everyone had gotten prepared. Trixie and her friends were all dressed; somehow Adagio had gotten an order for red and white suits for all of them which still managed to keep them warm and cozy in the snow. And the mail was all collected in the sacks in the back of the sleigh.
The Dazzlings were all in their siren forms, with some reigns holding them together and additional lights to provide aid in the night. Now the girls had to saddle up and get going.
"Outfits?" Trixie asked.
"Check!"
"Comfortable form of transportation?"
"Check!" Lyra nodded.
"Snacks to keep us awake during the night shift?"
"Check!" Bon Bon said.
"List of all the locations the gifts and mail need to be delivered to?"
"Make that double!" Amethyst nodded.
"Anything else we're missing?"
"Nope!"
"We're good!"
"Lets light 'em up, ladies!" Octavia hollered.
Adagio's front hooves slammed into the ground, and she started to pull. Aria started to pull right behind her, and Sonata pulled as well. All three Sirens were now pulling the sleigh from the ground, and the girls held on tight.
"Trixie have you ever driven a sleigh before?"
Trixie blinked and her face drooped. "Um... no."
Five Minutes Later
The three Sirens were groaning and grumbling, trying to pull themselves out of the piles of snow they crashed into. The rest of the girls struggled to pull themselves up, and they were looking hurt. Somehow the crash flung Trixie into a tree where she was hanging like a lost kite.
"How about I drive the sleigh?" Bon Bon asked. "I did dog sledding in Vanhoover once, I can try and lead them."
Sonata raised her head up and tilted it to the side, looking at her confused.
"Don't worry, Sonata. I can give this a shot!"
After everyone recovered from the crush, Bon Bon held onto the reins tightly, and soon the Dazzlings were moving once again. And like magic, the three of them swooped up, and the sleigh came with them, and everyone came straight up to the skies.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Vinyl yelped, clinging to the handlebars. "I feel like I'm back on one of those flume rides!"
"Hang on luv," Octavia said, grabbing Vinyl's palm out of fear. "It's alright, we'll be fine."
Bon Bon still gripped the reigns carefully as she could.
"Alright, first house on the block! Lets begin!"
"Oooh, it's my house!" Amethyst grinned. "I got this."
"Oh, here's your mail," Vinyl said, handing her the small sack of mail.
"Great. I'll make this quick as I can."
Amethyst jumped out of sleigh, landing on top of the roof. Carefully, she tip-toed across the roof and towards the chimmey. Luckily for her it was wide enough for her to just shimmy her way down. Carefully climbing up, she slowly slid her way down with the bag right behind her.
The mullet haired girl poked her head out, looking in all directions. No sign of anyone, or anything. And hopefully not, no one in their right mind should be up at this time. But she did see one thing; her father, Bronze Weld, having fallen asleep. With the sack carried down with her, she quietly crept out from the fireplace and over to the tree. Thank goodness, the entire floor she was standing on was shag and not made of plywood or concrete tiles.
Her eyes scanned the various addresses and names on the packages, and smiled as she saw the ones marked from her family. She slid them under the tree, and every bit of boxes that belonged to them. Just one more remaining and she'd be out.
The last package was down, and she was ready to leave. But she had one more thing to do. Looking back, she saw her father sleeping peacefully on the couch, exhausted from trying to get the last bit of presents he had hidden from her under the tree. Smiling, she grabbed the fuzzy blanket from the top and draped it over her parent, trying to make sure he stayed comfy and cozy. She gave a kiss on his cheek before standing up.
"Merry Christmas, Dad."
She snuck back to the fireplace and waited. Lyra, using her teleportation powers, popped her head out of the wall along with her arms.
"Amy, I can pull you through the wall just fine. Come on," Lyra whispered.
Amethyst nodded before tip-toeing to her. With a hand clutched, Amethyst was yanked right through the wall as if it wasn't even there, with the sack of mail right with her. And in an instant, both Lyra and Amethyst were back outside of the house with the snow still falling.
"Next house?"
"Next house, let's go!"
Lyra and Amethyst leaped over the fence, and stood outside of another home. Lyra grabbed the sack and set it down on the ground.
"Alright, here's what I'm gonna do. I'm going to teleport inside the house with some of the mail, and when I come back out, you hand me some more, okay?"
"Got it," Amethyst nodded.
Lyra vanished in a second, and then reappeared five seconds later.
"Next!" She passed the last pieces to her, and she vanished again. And then reappeared in front of her once again. "Alright, I'm done! Let's go on to the next house!"
Vinyl held the reigns for the time being, helping direct the Dazzlings for their next location. While the rest of the crew stayed huddled together, Trixie was busy looking out at the city streets, watching the snow continue to fall. And even though it was quiet, she sang quietly to herself, enjoying the peace.
Amethyst and Octavia turned their heads as they listened to their friend’s singing. Despite the chill from being so high up in the air, they found themselves smiling, just hearing Trixie’s voice in the quiet of the night.
The sleigh and the Sirens pulling it traveled all over town, and in surprisingly short order the girls managed to settle into a routine: Lyra would use her teleportation powers to bring one or two of the others down to the ground, where they need to go to deliver a package; Vinyl and Octavia often working together to use their powers to slip inside a house (carefully undoing locks or switching off systems), place the needed packages, and then Lyra would teleport them back out. During those occasions Bon-Bon would work the reins, making sure to keep everything under control.
Sometimes Amethyst and Bon-Bon would spell Octavia and Vinyl in delivering the packages. Trixie tagged along, and managed to come in handy during one very close call when they slipped into one house and were almost found by Rarity’s dad (who was slipping downstairs to sneak some Christmas cookies). Fortunately a well-timed illusion by Trixie was able to cover them up, and what could have been a disaster was instead, as Bon-Bon put it, “a heckuva wakeup call!”
Despite the close call, the girls found themselves having fun. It was honestly thrilling, going from place to place, seeing the town from such a unique view, and delivering various gifts and packages to various houses. It was so beautiful, seeing Canterlot from above, the snow sparkling in the glow of streetlights. The streets were so peaceful and quiet, it really seemed like something from a storybook! And so it went, from house to house, across town, and the night soon flew by for the six girls and the three Sirens driving the sleigh. Bit by bit, they were closing in on the end of their task!
"One more set of packages, who are they addressed to?" Bon Bon asked.
Lyra dug into the bag and pulled them out, reading the address. "Okay, 1130, Sugar Street... downtown... its at Pinkie Pie's house, should be the last place." She jumped out of the sleigh with the mail and teleported straight inside the house. And then came back out again in a flash. "Done!"
"That's all of them."
"Great job girls," Adagio softly smiled, standing back in her human body with her two sisters.
Everyone quietly cheered, raising fists up in the air.
"I cannot thank you enough for all of you helping us deliver these gifts. Because of you girls, everyone in Canterlot is going to get the rest of their Christmas gifts and letters from their families and friends, and... girls?"
The six friends were all fast asleep. Now all of 'em snoring and curled up in the comforts of the sleigh, exhausted from the trip.
"Um... should we wake them up?" Sonata asked.
Adagio shook her head, smiling.
"Come on. Let's get them home."
The Apple family was like every other family; they were sweet, kind, had their own traditions and values. But a thing that most people knew about them was they were early birds; they got up super early in the morning most of the time, and that was to handle chores on the apple farm. And just like with chores, they got up early again, only for Christmas.
The family was gathered round, tearing through the gifts, playing some lively Christmas cartoons on the TV, happy all the while. And some sweets were on the table set out for Santa Claus which clearly had been eaten. But also on that table was a letter. A letter addressed to Applejack.
Applejack reached over and picked up the letter. Opening it up, she started reading to herself.
Dear Applejack,
I am writing this to you because I wanted to tell you how proud I am of how far you've come. I know this year hasn't been so great for you or your friends, but I am proud that you were able to turn yourself around and become a better person. I understand how hard it was for you to forgive yourself, given how you had acted in the past. But I have seen your efforts to become better in the past few months; helping your friends and fellow classmates at CHS; especially your actions to help that girl at the Friendship Games.
And for that, I hope you have a Merry Christmas, and you continue to stay good as the years go on. Thank you for keeping the Christmas spirit alive.
Santa Claus
Applejack had finally put the letter down. She read it a few times, making sure she wasn't crazy. But when she did, she was quiet as she soaked it all in. Whoever gave her this, if this even was from Santa Claus, knew of what she had been doing these past few months. And thinking back at the time when she turned herself around, made her smile the brightest smile she ever had.
And as she looked at her family in the living room; Big Macintosh who came home from college to be with his family, Granny Smith who had still kept this family together, and Apple Bloom. Sweet little Apple Bloom who was healthy as a horse was all gathered together for the holidays like she had wanted.
"Applejack, come on, Big Mac's got a gift for ya!" Apple Bloom said.
"Eeyup," Big Mac replied, happily.
Applejack tuned back to her family, and continued to join them in opening up gifts.
And it wasn't just Applejack who got the letter...
Across town, Rainbow Dash had finished reading the same letter, and all that was left on her face was a soft smile as she sat with her mom and dad, opening up Christmas gifts together. And without saying another word, she just got up and gave them both a warm hug, making them both smile and hugged her back.
"Merry Christmas Mom, Dad."
"Oh Dash... Merry Christmas, kiddo," Windy smiled, holding her daughter close.
Pinkie Pie finished reading the letter as well, huddled with all of her sisters and her mom and dad around the living room, opening up presents. With a smile, she set the letter down and gave her always emotionless sounding sister Maud a hug. And even though she rarely showed emotion (at least to people, Pinkie could always tell how she was feeling) she smiled contently, and gave her sister a hug too.
"Hey, how about a little sugar for Lime, huh?" Limestone said gruffly.
Pinkie just yanked her into the hug as well, and in a rare moment, Limestone broke her gruff and bitter mold and smiled as warm as ever.
Fluttershy finished reading hers and she too set the letter down. Santa Claus himself was happy with her. She had always believed when she was a little girl, but it was real. Maybe? She didn't know, but she was content with believing it. And without warning, she embraced her younger brother in a hug, throwing him off guard.
"Fluttershy?"
"Thank you for being the best brother I can ask for."
Zephyr was surprised, but at the same time... he was just happy, pure and simple. Fluttershy was thanking him, something he never really heard so often. But he could feel this was going to be the start of something sweet.
Rarity had just finished her letter too, sitting happily with Sweetie Belle and her parents around the Christmas tree, opening gifts. For a moment, she pushed a loose strand of her mohawk back in place, keeping it together.
"You know, I know your hair was shaved... maybe it'll grow back next year," Sweetie Belle said with some hope.
Rarity smiled at her sister. "Actually Sweetie Belle... I'm okay my hair being in this punk style. I got this hair because my new friends wanted to help me when I needed it, and I want to keep it like this. So every day it reminds me that I am turning a new leaf and of the friends I've made."
Her little sister grinned, flashing her little pearls.
"Oh, actually..." Rarity reached over and grabbed a box. "I got you this, I wasn't sure if you wanted it or not, but... Merry Christmas."
Sweetie Belle tore through the wrapping paper and gasped in shock. "No, way... You got me Daring Do for PoniStation!? How did you know?"
"I remember you talking about how you wanted it for Christmas, and even though it was sold out, I called in a few favors from some dear friends of mine--"
Sweetie Belle just stopped her in between and gave her a hug. Rarity, happy that her sister was happy, held her closer and embraced her with so much joy that her parents snapped a quick photo.
"Merry Christmas, Sweetie Belle."
Twilight Sparkle had gotten a similar letter as well. And even though she was about to question the logistics of Santa Claus writing to her, she decided not to. It was Christmas, it was the time for Christmas Magic to be aflutter in the air. And as she sat with her mom and dad, Shining Armor, her puppy Spike, and even Cadence, she just kept chatting away with her family, opening presents without so much worry, angst, or negative emotions like before. And looking down on her phone, she smiled as she looked at her wallpaper; a picture of her and the Sonic Rainbooms, happy together at an ice cream shop, enjoying the sweet cold sensations of ice cream.
"Merry Christmas girls."
Sonata slowly yawned and rubbed at her eyes, pulling herself out of bed. Her bare feet slipped into the little bunny slippers she had sitting by her bed. She yawned some more, reaching for her shirt and pulling it over her head; no sense getting cold. Smacking her lips, she scrunched at her eyes while trying to wake up. But then reality hit her like an atom bomb. It was December 25th. It was here, it was finally here!
"It's Christmas Day!" Sonata jumped into the air. "Yes yes yes yes yes yes!!!" Running out the door, she burst through Aria's door, yanking her out of bed with a thud. "Come on, it's Christmas!"
"Okay, okay, I'm coming," Aria for once, chuckled. She couldn't deny the fact she was just as excited; she did love Christmas just as much as her sisters. The middle sibling waited as Sonata barged into Adagio's room and yanked her out of bed.
"Ow!"
"Come on, come on, it's Christmas Day! We can open our presents now!"
"But I wanna sleep in..." Adagio whined.
"Come on, please! It's Christmas!"
"I've been waiting all year for this Adagio, come on, let's open our presents!"
"Alright, alright, I'm coming..." Adagio said, dragging herself across the floor like she had her legs cut off.
"You can do better than that!" Sonata yanked Adagio and pulled her across the floor straight down the hallway, despite her protests.
"Sonata, wait!"
And she went tumbling down the stairs like a barrel until she landed on the ground with a faceplant. Groaning, she yanked herself up and dusted herself off. "You could have let me get my robe first. Or some pants."
"Found your robe," Aria yelled, throwing her bathrobe on top of her.
"Thank you," she deadpanned. She pulled it off her head and covered herself. She walked over to the kitchen and turned on the coffee maker, she needed her joe and she needed it NOW. Looking back over at the living area, she did have a soft smile. The Christmas gifts were all neatly wrapped and set like they should; and surprisingly there was more. Weird, she didn't recall there being more.
She walked over to the living room, wondering who could have left those gifts. She noticed on the coffee table there was a empty cup which had been filled with milk, and a single cookie left on the plate. But wait, what was this? There was a small scroll on the table, wrapped up in a red and gold bow.
"Someone left us a note..." Adagio said, bending over to pick it up. She unfolded it, letting the contents of the letter be exposed to the air. Aria and Sonata gathered around and looked over her shoulders, looking at it with her.
Dear Adagio, Aria, and Sonata,
I know you've always believed in the spirit of Christmas, and for that, I thank you. It's because of people like you three, as well as the young children all around the world that keep the true meaning of Christmas alive. I saw the work you and your friends did last night while I was getting ready to deliver to your town. To see you all succeed in getting all of that mail and gifts to everyone even when you wanted to go home is truly admirable.
And I know of the hardships you three have been dealing with over the years. But I'm here to say, things will and do get better. And seeing you three stand up for your new school, making new friends and family, even after everything you've been through is some of the toughest things I've seen in all my years of delivering gifts around the globe.
I hope you three will continue to stay good, and stay together. Always watch out for each other. And to show my appreciation, I left a little extra gifts for you three as a way to say thank you.
Signed,
Santa Claus.
And looking down at their set up Christmas tree, they found some additional Christmas gifts wrapped up and set up under the tree for them. The sounds of jingle bells filled their ears when they looked back at the note. And as they looked back outside, Adagio's smile grew even bigger than ever. She wrapped her sisters together in a hug, smiling happily.
She looked to the outside, facing something, or someone. And she gave a smile.
"Merry Christmas everyone. And have a happy new year."
