‘Twas a couple of days before Christmas, as the small town of Canterlot City was covered with blankets of snow; and every house, building, and streets were decorated with Christmas lights, wreaths, ribbons, and other Christmas decorations.

The citizens of Canterlot were out sightseeing the decorations, or doing some Christmas shopping, or out enjoying the snow.

Yes; everyone in Canterlot loved and embraced the spirit of Christmas.

But a young lady, named Ember Dragonheart; daughter of the city’s most powerful crime lord… did not.

To all those who were not aware, or to some that noticed, or to a few that knew; Ember had a strong hate for the holidays.

Though the question of why she hates Christmas is uncertain. Maybe Santa Claus didn’t bring her presents when she was a kid, or perhaps she slipped on ice, or perhaps she hates the cold.

Either way, all the students at Canterlot High or some people in town knew… Ember wasn’t a fan of Christmas.

Every year, when Christmas comes to Canterlot, Ember is always hostile and distant towards… Well, everyone. And she doesn’t hesitate to show her aggression when she tears down Christmas decorations and even scares away Christmas carolers. Heck, she even scares children around the holidays; though she’s not hostile towards children; but her glaring eyes just let the young ones know that; she’s not someone to get close to.

So yeah, whenever Christmas comes by; Ember is known to all as “Ms. Grinch/Scrooge” of Canterlot High. And two years ago, she was worse than before. And nobody knew what triggered it.

So far the town pretty much expected that Ember would continue to hate Christmas until the time of her death comes.

However, nowadays, Ember’s aggressive and heartless behavior suddenly began to wash away; as if something, or someone, was changing her in some way. She was almost starting to turn into a new person.

But of course; her dislike towards Christmas still remains. Now she just “tolerates” the festive holiday. But she just does not enjoy it.

Will this be the year where the young lady would finally embrace the spirit of Christmas into her heart?

Well… let us take a look and see for ourselves.

Location: upper town of Canterlot City; 2 Days before Christmas.

The streets of the upper part of Canterlot City were almost the equivalent of a “Winter Wonderland”. Covered in a blanket of show, and most of the buildings and lamp posts decorated with Christmas lights and streamers. A few cars driving down the road and people walking along the sidewalks simply greeted each other as they passed by each other.

Many people were entering shops and stores for Christmas shopping or getting a cup of hot cocoa from the Sugar Cafe.

The area was filled with positive energy and spirit.

However, that soon changed as Ember is seen walking along the sidewalks, dressed in her winter wear. But compared to the other people walking on the sidewalks as her, she didn’t have the same jolly or merry expression on her face. She had a cold, irritated look in her eyes; despite her calmness.

As people passed by her; they would often clear out of her way or step to the side, and would even avoid eye-contact with her. The reason why was that her cold expression gave off negative vibes, telling anyone to: “get out of her way”.

She continued to walk forward until she arrived at her destination: Sugar Cafe. Without any subtlety or in a calm manner, Ember slams the door of the restaurant open, making everyone in the establishment jump and turn towards her direction as she walks in.

Ember heads over to the counter desk of the diner, fully aware of all the eyes that are on her. She didn’t need to see the people that were all sitting down at their tables to know that, for she could see that the co-owner of the establishment, Mrs.Cake, was staring right at her with an anxious expression on her face.

And as soon as Ember approached the counter, she could see the woman clearly trying to put on a calm and professional face for her customer; but failed miserably, as Ember could see a drop of sweat fall down from her forehead.

“W-Welcome back to the Sugar Cafe again Ms. Ember. Will it be the usual today?” Mrs.Cake asked.

Ember stood silent in front of the counter, staring at Mrs.Cake with her cold facial expression, which made the married woman a little more anxious. And after a moment of silence, Ember then finally spoke with her choice.

“Yeah… The usual.” She replied.

Mrs.Cake nodded her head in response. “O-Ok then, dear. I’ll get right on it.” She said as she gets to work on making Ember’s preferred latte.

With her order underway, Ember walks over to a nearby table and sits down as she waits for her beverage. And anytime she would look over to another table, the people that sat there would often look away or pay no attention to her; mostly, out of fear.

Which did not bother her in any way, cause she wasn’t in the mood for anyone to walk up to her and interact with her. Especially if they’re someone she has bad blood with or someone that’s a caroler; honestly, she would straight up attack them.

“Hey, Ember!”

Well… All except one. A familiar geeky voice spoke to her as she turned her head and she saw Thorax standing in front of her, wearing his winter-wear and covered with specks of snow.

"Thorax! Finally a familiar face. What brings you here?" Ember asked.

"O-Oh nothing. J-Just stopping b-by for a hot ch-chocolate to warm me up.” He said with a shudder in his voice; which added proof that he was in fact cold. “It’s… c-c-cold out there.”

Ember smiles and rolls her eyes at the geek, as she just can’t get enough of his adorkable personality. She then pats her hand on the table, signaling Thorax to sit down with her.

The young geek obliged and he then sat down at the table, and once he sat down, he did not expect Ember reaching her hand up to him and caressing his cheek. Thorax’s face immediately lit up like a red Christmas light, as he was overwhelmed with so many emotions at once.

But soon those emotions were replaced with one sensation: warmth. He soon realized that his whole body was no longer shivering cold, and now was warming up.

"Odd… for some reason, I… d-don't feel cold anymore. Did… Did you do this, Ember?" Thorax asked, blushing.

Ember smiles at him as she removes her hand from his cheek. “Another part of being a secret badass dragon warrior. My body heat serves as my own personal heater.” She bragged.

Ember certainly swore she could see stars in Thorax’s eyes as his expression switched from flustered to amazement.

“Whoa! That’s so cool!” He commented. "At this point, I wouldn't even be surprised if your skin was fireproof. So, what kind of plans do you have for Christmas, Ember?" he asked.

“Uh… W-Well… I-I…” Ember didn’t know what to say. She had intentions or plans on what to do for Christmas; mostly because she didn’t want anything to do with the holiday. And she had no problem with saying how much she disliked the holiday. But when it came to Thorax, she couldn’t bring herself to say it in front of his face.

Fortunately, Lady Luck took pity on her and gave her a way out.

“One latte for Ember Dragonheart.” Mrs.Cake announced as she placed Ember’s latte on the counter.

Ember got up from her seat and walked over to the counter to grab her latte, but not before she let out a sigh of relief. Once she grabbed her latte, she then walked back to her table.

"And can I get a hot chocolate, please?" Thorax asked.

“Sure thing, dear.” Mrs. Cake replied, and she swore she could hear an animalistic growl coming from Ember after she had said that. But she shook it off and got to work on making the hot cocoa for Thorax.

Once Ember sat down in her chair, she took a sip of her latte as her cold facial expression returned slowly.

Thorax soon noticed Ember’s behavior which made him both concerned, frightened, and also curious. But he tread lightly, as he doesn’t know how she would react.

“Uh… Ember? Are you feeling alright?” He asked.

The tsundere gal soon gazed up at the geek, seemingly looking like she was calming down a little, which sort of helped ease Thorax’s anxiety.

However, the peace ended real quick as soon as the restaurant's music player was turned on and started playing a random song from a Christmas playlist.

The song only played for only 20 seconds, but it was just enough to cause Ember’s angression to skyrocket to critical levels.

Soon the tsundere gal got up from her seat and stomped towards the music player. leaving cracks in the floor.

"Uh… E-E-Ember, wh-wh-what are you--" Before Thorax could finish his question, Ember slammed her fist on the music player. But not just once… she pounds it again… and again… and again. Before anyone knew it, the music player was nothing more than a giant heap of scrap metal.

Everyone, including Thorax, all stare at Ember with shocked and fearful expressions on their faces. Ember, on the other hand, stood still and was breathing heavily as she was full of pent-up anger, even though she had just dished out some of it on the music player.

She then turns around and she stares directly at the people in the restaurant with those cold, piercing, predatorial eyes that also seem to stare into people's souls. It made one of the customers yelp in fear and book it for the exit.

"Ember! What did you do that for?" Thorax asked, in shock just as much as he was scared. But she doesn't respond. Her body just keeps moving up and down as she breathes heavily. "Uh…E-E-Ember, are you alright?"

She still doesn't respond. It's almost like she's in a trance glaring into space. Thorax makes a risky move by slowly… and steadily… approaching the draconic, troubled young lady. Everyone whispered at him to stop and back away, but Thorax, despite being scared, didn't back away. He had to reach her somehow so he could find out what's troubling her.

He quickly reaches her within range and puts a hand on her shoulder. "E-Ember, talk to me. Why are you act--" before anything, without her realizing it, she grips onto his jacket collar and growls viciously as she shoves him across the restaurant with tremendous force, knocking him against one of the tables on the other side. The was so great, Thorax hit his head and was knocked out cold.

But before he was knocked out, he let out a pained yelp upon impact which was strong enough to snap Ember back into reality. After calming down, she looked around and saw all the fearful stares she got from the people in the restaurant. But then, as her eyes locked on the unconscious, friendly geek laying across from where she stood, she gasped in horror and ran towards him.

"THORAX!" Ember screamed.

She knelt down next to him as she held onto him while also seeing his head bleeding a bit from the blunt of the impact that she caused.

"Oh no. Oh no, no, Thorax. What have I done?" she asked, devastated as she held him in her arms, tears beginning to form in them. "Thorax… I'm… s-so sorry. Please, forgive me!" she whispered, choked up and hugged her unconscious friend in her arms.

Unaware, due to her immense guilt and sorrow, some of the people within the restaurant, one of them being Mrs.Cake, quickly called an ambulance.

But the only thing that was on Ember’s mind, and the only thing that tormented her, was that she had badly hurt her only friend.

Meanwhile, at the Victory Squad Tower.

Israel was in the kitchen taking out some freshly baked gingerbread cookies, giving them a good whiff, loving the sweet smell. "Ahh, now these are some darn good gingerbread cookies." he said, placing the hot tray on the stove to cool them off.

"What are you even gonna do with all those gingerbread cookies? You've practically made 3 whole batches worth and I doubt anyone's gonna eat those when they get here tomorrow." Heat pointed out.

"Don't you remember, Heat? He's donating those cookies to the Buttercup Orphanage fundraiser, along with a few presents." Eternal pointed out.

"Uh-- oh, now I remember. So, when do we leave to deliver the cookies and presents?" Heat asked, interested in going.

"20 more minutes. We just gotta wait for the cookies to cool off. Have you guys wrapped up the gifts we bought yesterday?" Israel asked.

"Yeah, I have it right now," Eternal showed his present, which was wrapped in red and blue diagonal-striped wrapping paper.

"Here's mine," Heat showed his present, which he wrapped in sky blue wrapping paper with candy canes on it. His was shaped to hold at least 2 or 3 DVD cases.

"Great. Then, I'll go grab my present." Israel said as he ran for his room. The time it took him to head into his room and come back out with a present in hand was less than 10 seconds flat.

"This'll be the best Christmas yet!" Eternal said.

"Yeah!" the other two agreed.

Meanwhile, at the Kunoichi Hideout.

While the Victory trio were getting ready for the holiday fundraiser, the girls were also doing their part for the holidays.

Applejack had baked up a few of her family's delicious apple pies, along with an entire roasted turkey with chestnut stuffing.

Pinkie Pie brought along some yummy candies and treats and sodas. Rarity had brought along some new Christmas ensembles for the special, joyful holiday to show off and to have her friends wear for the occasion.

Rainbow Dash brought with her a couple of presents she bought last minute. One was for one of her friends, the other was a donation to the orphanage.

Fluttershy had brought along a few of her animal friends and some Christmas story books to read to the little kids at the orphanage.

As for Twilight and Sunset, aside from a few gifts to each of their friends and donating a couple to the orphanage, they also planned to perform for the kids to bring them more Christmas cheer.

"This is going to be the very, very, VERY best Christmas EVER!!!" Pinkie exclaimed cheerfully.

"Oh, I know, darlings. Last year was pretty fun, but there's nothing more satisfying than spreading love and joy to others." Rarity chimed in.

"You said it, Rares. Ah’ recon them there kids'll be thinkin' o' this night fer years to come." Applejack added.

"Everyone deserves a Merry Christmas, even those precious little orphaned kids." Fluttershy commented, snuggling her animal friends.

"Just wait until they hear our sweet tunes. Their Christmas is gonna rock!" Rainbow added.

"Just remember, Dash. It's for the kids, so keep that ego of yours under lock and key.” Sunset informs her friend.

"Lemme guess, she let it go to her head one time and it almost brought disaster to the group?" Twilight asked.

“Uh… Yeah… Let's go with that.” Sunset replied, while remembering the semi-finals incident at the CHS Musical Showcase years back.

"O…okay then," Twilight replied, uncertain of what to think of that.

“Say, I wonder how Inferno is doing right now with his family?” Pinkie asked with curiosity. And that question even had the rest of the girls curious as well.

Meanwhile, at the Blaze Mansion.

At the Blaze’s residence, the Blaze family, plus Derpy and Dinky, and Aurora, were all getting ready for the holidays as well.

Derpy and Dinky were upstairs, doing who knows what. Likely, getting dressed for the fundraiser.

Silver and Inferno were in the living room, wrapping up presents for the fundraiser at the Buttercup Orphanage. And as he looks up to see how much progress they had made, only to find Inferno, somehow, wrapped up in Christmas wrapping paper, ribbons, and tape.

Silver stared at his brother with a dumbfounded expression. “Wha- How?! How the heck did you mess that up in two seconds?!” He asked.

Inferno stares at Silver with a straight-face. “I told you… present wrapping is NOT my forte!” he stated.

As the two brothers were discussing the situation they just got into, meanwhile, Aurora was helping Bristle Wing carrying the finished Christmas presents and food donations out to a moving truck that was parked outside the mansion. The reason why she helped out was that she knew that this task was hard for even one person. And another specific reason was that she noticed that Bristle was moving slower than usual; though she took him as being exhausted from all festivities and such, so it gave her a reason to pull her weight around.

As for the married couple of the house, Magnus and Fleur were seen coming down the stairs, all dressed up nicely. Magnus was dressed up in a bright red tux, a white button-up shirt underneath, and a black bowtie. Reasons as to why he was dressing up in a suit; well, it's because he’s the host and the manager of the fundraiser at the Buttercup Orphanage.

Fleur, on the other hand, was wearing a beautiful red holiday dress with beautiful snowflakes at the bottom of her long skirt.

Soon everyone noticed the married couple entering the room and were in awe of how they were dressed.

“Getting ready for the big event, pops?” Silver said.

Magnus chuckles lightly at his eldest son’s comment. “Well, I have to dress my best. After all, I have a lot of responsibilities tonight.” he answered.

“And mom, you’re looking beautiful as always.” Inferno commented on his mother’s dress.

"Oh, why thank you, dear. It's never easy trying to look my best for such a beautiful holiday. I always did love Christmas." Fleur said.

“Hey, don’t sell yourself out, mom. You look great.” Inferno added. Right before he turned towards Silver and whispered: “Looks like our chances of keeping away the ‘stray dogs’ at the event just hit rock bottom.”

Silver nods his head in agreement. With their mother dressed like that, it's gonna draw in any hungry perv or one of her crazy fans for several blocks. And soon Silver whispered in reply, saying: “Don’t worry, I'll call Dark for backup.”

"Yoo-hoo, we're all done getting dressed," Derpy said as she and her daughter came into the living room. Derpy was all dressed up in a beautiful white, silky dress. Upon closer inspection, you'd think she was an angel sent from heaven.

And right next to her, little Dinky was all dressed up in her cozy, yet adorable Santa dress, minus the fake beard.

"Merry Christmas!" Dinky called out, tilting her head with a big, adorable smile.

"Awwww, Dinky dear, you look so adorable!" Fleur exclaimed, going over and hugging the cute little muffin. Dinky hugged Fleur back while Inferno nearly had a heart attack, being struck by so much cuteness.

Silver walks up to Derpy, holding her in his arms and smiling as he looks into her eyes. “And you look astonishing tonight, Derpy.” He commented.

"Thank you. And it feels so nice and comfy," Derpy replies as she twirls around, giggling and then coming to a stop. "And I'm looking forward to donating my homemade muffins to those precious little children."

"By the way, mommy, what's auntie Aurora gonna wear?" Dinky asked.

"I don't know, but we'll find out when she comes down," Derpy replied.

“Well, well, I guess we’re twinsies, little Dinky.” Aurora’s voice spoke out.

Soon everyone turns and they see Aurora (in her human disguise) wearing her own santa dress, only Aurora looks like her ‘milkshakes’ could bring all the boys to the yard. Silver's jaw felt like it fell through the floor from how hot his mate looked in her Santa dress.

"Auntie Aurora!!! You look so pretty!" Dinky exclaimed, going over to hug her. Aurora caught Dinky in her arms and hugged her up close, giggling at her preciousness.

"Thank you, Dinky. And you look so cute in your dress, too." Aurora said, nuzzling the little Dinky Claus nose to nose.

Dinky giggled. "That tickles." she said. Aurora then put her down and then turned her attention to everyone.

"So, when do we head out?" Aurora asked.

“Just in a few minutes, We have to make sure everythings all prepped and ready.” Magnus said in response, just as Bristle walked in on the family and the 3 guests.

“Master Blaze, the presents and the food donations had been successfully placed on the transport and it's on its way to the fundraiser as we speak.” Bristle informs Magnus.

“Ah! Alright then, I guess we could leave right now.” Magnus suggested. “Bristle, bring the limo up front.” He asked the family butler.

“Yes, sir, right away.” Bristle responds right before he heads out the front door.

As they were all waiting for Bristle to bring the limo, Dinky looks up to her mother and asks a very important question.

“Mommy? Do you think Santa will be there?” The little girl asked with such innocence.

"Who knows, maybe. If he is, I have no doubt he'll be happy to see you. Because you've been such a good girl this year," Derpy said enthusiastically, lightly cupping Dinky's cheeks.

Dinky smiled with such enthusiasm as she was so hopeful to meet Santa Claus.

Meanwhile, at Canterlot City Park.

After the ambulance had arrived and took Thorax to the hospital, Ember did not stick around the Sugar Cafe and just ran away to drown in her guilt and sorrow.

Ember ran for a long while until she had to stop due to her exhaustion and the cold. She observed her surroundings and realized she was somewhere in the Canterlot City Park.

The park looks to be empty and dark, covered in a blanket of snow, with only the lampposts in the park providing light. With no one around to see or hear her, Ember collapses onto her knees, onto the white snow, and she lets out a loud scream of misery and heartache.

Tears ran down her cheeks as she continued to scream and cry, hugging herself as she let out all the emotions and stress that she held in her for two years.

Now she no longer hates the holidays or anything or anyone at the moment.

The only person that she hated above everything else… was herself.

Has Ember sat on her knees, crying for several minutes, in an empty park; she was unaware that her cries draw the attention of someone she never expected.

"What's the matter?" an older man's voice asked. Ember stopped her crying and gazed at whoever it was that called to her. Behind her, she sees a familiar face she used to enjoy seeing when she was little.

But of course she had outgrown and lost her belief in him long ago.

Ember quickly wipes away her tears and puts on her ‘tough gal’ personality. “What the heck do you want? Shouldn’t you be at some mall or standing around collecting charity money, old man?” she asked in a harsh tone.

"I would, but I couldn't help but follow the sound of someone crying for help. So tell me, what's gotten you so down on such a beautiful early evening?" the jolly red giant asked. "Family troubles, financial issues, or perhaps… friendship problems?"

Ember sniffed, wiping away her tears. "Why are you so interested in my problems?" Ember asked, turning away.

"Why? Because no one deserves to experience such misery. Especially at the most wonderful time of the year. So tell me… what's happened that made you so sad?" asked the King of the North Pole.

Ember sighed, seeing how there's no way out. “Fine.” she replied.

Saint Nick smiled to hear her answer. “Good. Then perhaps we can sit down and hear about it.” He said, before he pointed his gloved hand towards something.

Ember turns towards what he was pointing at, and to her surprise, she sees a well-furnished cedar-planked park bench, with a lamppost next to it; about 4 feet in front of them. The reason she was surprised was that she did not see that there when she had arrived at the park. Where did that come from?

"Something wrong?" Kris Kringle asked.

"U-Uh, no, nothing." Ember replied.

With that, the two walked over and sat down on the bench. The Big Man in Red waited patiently and politely for Ember to find the strength to say what’s on her mind. While the young lady took a deep breath and then soon she found the words to say.

“... T-Today… I-I landed my best friend in the hospital.” Ember said, with the tone of her voice, heavy with guilt.

"Your friend? Oh dear. How did this happen and… did your friend do anything that could've provoked you to do so?" Santa asked.

“No. He didn’t do anything wrong. All I did was that I… I lost my… I got so angry. I couldn’t control it and I demolished a music player to vent out my aggression. But there was so much rage in me that I just froze,” Soon tears formed in Ember’s eyes once again. “H-He was just trying to make sure I was okay… And what did I do in return… I hurt him. I hurt him so bad that he had to be carried in an ambulance! HE WAS MY ONLY FRIEND! AND I HURT HIM! ALL BECAUSE I COULDN’T STAND CHRISTMAS!!!” Ember screamed with such emotions and anguish.

"I see. And this friend of yours, I take it he's a nice boy." he guessed.

Ember sniffed while wiping away her tears before she answered. “Y-Yeah.”

Then the big red jolly asked another question. “When you said you couldn’t stand Christmas, what did you mean by that, exactly? Do you not enjoy Christmas as everyone else?” he asked.

Ember looked down to the ground while also shaking her head. “No, I don’t.”

“May I ask… Why?” Santa asked.

Ember was hesitant to say, but this was something that she had kept inside her for a long time. With as much strength as she could muster, she said.

“I… Don’t always hate Christmas. When I was a little girl, just like everyone, I was so happy around the holidays. Always helping out decorating the tree, building a snowman, singing Christmas carols lyric by lyric, always writing letters to… well, you. But of course, no one loved the holiday more than… m-my mother…” Ember said those last two words with hesitation and grief in her voice.

"O-Oh… I see. So, what was your mother like? Was she as kind and gentle as any other mother in the world?" he asked.

Ember chuckled lightly while tears ran down her cheek. “She was. She really was. To tell you the truth… My mother was like the living embodiment of the Christmas Spirit. And it can’t be helped when her favorite holiday also happens to be… her birthday.” Ember said.

“Oh, so your mother was born on the day of Christmas. It must’ve been very special to her.” Saint Nick proclaimed.

“It really was. Every year, my mom always celebrated Christmas, and embraced the spirit of the holiday with all her heart.” Ember chuckled in the middle of her explanation, as a fond memory returned to her in a flash. “Hehe… When she married my dad, and as soon as he found out, he would always make Christmas special for her. When I was 4, he and mom dressed as you and Mrs.Claus on the day of Christmas.” Ember couldn’t help but giggle at that memory

"It sounds to me like you had the most perfect family anyone could ask for. So… what happened to your mother?" the toy maker asked.

Soon Ember’s chuckles died as soon as the memories of the rest of her life came flowing back, memories that weren’t as pleasant.

“Well, in case you didn’t know or realize, but my father is this city’s biggest crime lord. So for the rest of my life, I grew up around violence and death. And with that environment, Christmas became a forgotten memory. We didn’t celebrate it as much as we did when I was little. Dad was always busy, and I felt robbed of a childhood just by living the life I am in. Soon my Christmas spirit… drained away. I became rageful… I grew bitter… around the holidays. The only thing that kept me above water was my mother. Even with all of that, she still did not let Christmas leave her heart. And because of that, I still had some semblance of hope that Christmas could come back to our family.” Soon Ember’s tears flooded like a waterfall as her whole body tensed and shaken. “But then… That was all taken from me. Two years ago… my mother… had passed. And because of that, my hopes, my dreams, my Christmas spirit… died with her. In my heart, my mom was the spirit of Christmas incarnate. But when she died… I felt that Christmas… was now meaningless… pointless… hollow. And for these past two years, I despise this time of year… because all it is… is an empty shell… a painful reminder that I have to endure this miserable holiday!… without my mother in it.” It was at that moment, Ember finally broke down and cried.

Seeing the poor child crying, the man in red softly pulled the young lady in for a warm, comforting hug. Ember did not protest or struggle, as she accepted the embrace as she felt so vulnerable and broken.

"Oh, I'm sorry for your loss. I understand the pain you're feeling. It's never easy having to deal with the loss of loved ones. Especially ones so pure and caring. And it's perfectly normal to grieve over her passing. But you know… your mother's not truly gone for good. You see, in life, she was as pure as the Christmas snow that blankets the city. Every day, she lived her life the way she always wanted to and you can bet your boots she'd want you to do the same. But in order to do that, you must eventually let go of the past and allow yourself to be set free. Otherwise, if you hold onto your grief, it'll be as if all of the good years will have been forgotten. And your mother would want you to be happy. You still have a father who loves you, even if he's not exactly the most liked person in the city. And you have a friend who believes in you, when no one else would.” Santa proclaimed.

Ember sniffed and looked up at the elderly man with confusion and loss.

“B-But I don’t know how?” She said with teary eyes.

The old man in red gave a warm smile as he wiped away the young lady’s tears.

“Christmas is not only the time of giving and joy; it is also a time of forgiveness, love, remembrance, and a time to believe that there is good in everything. And to believe that those we think are gone, are never truly gone. After all…” Then the old man in the red coat got up from the bench and turned to face Ember, who remained sitting on the bench. “... You once believed in me, Ember Dragonheart. Perhaps you should believe in me again. And believe… that your mother’s spirit will always be with you. But first, why not visit your friend, Thorax? He's bound to have recovered by now” he said.

"I suppose. Thanks for the talk. I--" Ember said, but as she stood up, Ember then realized. "Wait… how did you know my name was…" but when she turned around, he was gone… along with the bench they sat in, gone with the snow in the wind. And just ever-so-slightly she could hear his voice.

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" St. Nick's voice echoed.

She looked up to the sky and to her astonishment, she could see a silhouette of a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer, flying across the night sky.

And the final words she could hear before the sleigh and the reindeer disappeared was: “Merry Christmas To All, And To All A Goodnight.” And with that, Santa Claus had disappeared, never to be seen again until the night of Christmas Eve.

Ember couldn’t believe it. The person that she had been talking to, was….

“S-Santa?” She said with a gasp. Before tears once again formed in her eyes, but these were not tears of sadness. No, they were in fact, tears of joy. "So he is real. Thanks, Santa."

Knowing what to do next, Ember channeled her Dragon chi and sprouted her dragon wings out of her back and she immediately took off into the air. And once she was in the air, she made a beeline straight towards the hospital.

For there is someone she needed to apologize to.

Meanwhile, at the Canterlot City Hospital.

After having recovered from being knocked unconscious and treated for his head injury, Thorax was gently escorted by Nurse Redheart as they exited the front entrance of the hospital.

“I swear, this is the 2nd time we have you here. If this continues, we might as well arrange you a room for a weekend.” Redheart commented.

"Heh… sorry about that." Thorax chuckled nervously. 'Still… I've never seen her that angry before in my life.' he thought to himself.

“Look, just try to avoid getting injured, ok? And follow these simple steps, though we’ll skip one, cause you don’t even have a learner’s permit. So… Step 2: Rest quietly for the day/or night; Step 3: use ice packs over any swollen or painful areas; Step 4: take simple painkillers to reduce any headaches that you’ll be having; and finally, Step 5: Have someone stay with you for the next 24 hours, just in case to further avoid you getting injured again. Alright now that we have that out of the way, goodnight.” After stating the instructions to the young man, Redheart leaves him outside by the hospital entrance as she enters back into the building.

"Well… guess I'd better head on home," Thorax sighed as he started to leave. "Gee. Ember sure was pretty mad. I just hope she's not in too much trouble after what happened." he said to himself, halfway out of the parking lot.

Little does he know, a familiar winged figure arrives at the hospital out of sight, reverting back to her human form. She carefully sneaks up towards the friendly geek from behind and taps him lightly on the shoulder.

Thorax felt it and turned around. There she stood, his old classmate and best friend, Ember. "Hey, you're back! Are… you still mad?" he asked, concerned for her.

Ember did not reply and instead, she pulled Thorax into her arms and she held him in a tight hug as Thorax could hear her sniffling and crying.

“I’m so, so sorry, Thorax.” She said with a sad tone. “I’m so sorry for hurting you again.”

Thorax felt surprised at first, but quickly smiled and then tenderly wrapped his arms around her, patting her on the back. "It's alright, Ember. I've already forgiven you." he replied softly. This only made her cry even more. His kind, soft nature touched her heart in many ways she hadn't felt in such a long time.

"Thank you… And… I'm sorry," Ember replied, all choked up. "I swear… I’ll never, ever, try to harm you ever again. I promise." she vowed as her body shook from her quiet sobs.

Thorax simply shushed her and kept hugging her. "There, there. Just let it all out." he whispered while she continued to let out her bottled up emotions. It was a very rare experience for Thorax to see Ember in such a vulnerable state. He could only imagine how much it must've hurt her for so long.

Unbeknownst to the two, there was a black SUV parked outside the hospital parking lot. Soon the driver seat window lowered to reveal the driver as Scarface. And then the window of the back seat, behind the driver’s seat, lowered to reveal Dragon Lord Torch as he was watching the whole thing happening.

What reason would the city’s crime boss be here? Well, it was for the same reason as any father would have.

= A few hours ago =

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOST MY DAUGHTER!?!?!” Torch shouted at two of his men that were supposedly tasked to keep a 24/7 eye on his daughter when she was out in the city. However, today they reported back that they had lost sight of her around the cafe area.

"W-We tried to find her, sir. But there was an incident that took place at the cafe. Next thing you know, large crowds and an ambulance were blocking our view and before we knew it, she was just gone, boss!" one of his men explained.

Torch growled at the two with anger and the fires of Hell burning in his eyes. “Anything else you wish to report?!” he demanded.

The two soldiers looked towards each other before they turned to face Torch while shaking their heads.

“N-No, s-sir.” One of them said, shaking with fear.

“THEN GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!!!” Torch roared with a booming tone of aggression.

"Y-Y-YES SIR!" they saluted before booking it outta there.

Torch is now left with his thoughts as he tries to piece together the information he was given. First, his daughter goes into a cafe; next, an incident happens; then later, an ambulance shows up… And at that moment, a massive red alert screamed at the back of Torch’s mind.

"SCARFACE!!!" Torch yelled out. "GET IN HERE!"

Right away, the one called Scarface arrived. Scarface then does a little sign language to communicate. “You called me, boss,” he signed.

"Grab the keys to the S.U.V, we're going to the hospital right the fuck now!"

Scarface bows his head in response as he leaves the room to get the car. Torch then goes over to the coat rack to grab his hat and coat before heading out the door.

Scarface had got the car up front and Torch rushed over and got in the back seat, not even bothering to have one of his men open the door for him. And once he was inside, the SUV drove off, heading straight towards the hospital.

'If anyone so much as harmed a hair on my daughter's head, I will look for the sons of bitches, nab them and make them suffer for as long as I live,' Torch thought, brimming with rage.

= Back to the present =

To Torch’s confusion and relief, his daughter didn’t look hurt or injured, with what Thorax is carrying, it looked like he was the one who was injured. Torch wasn't exactly sure what happened, but at least the worst hasn't happened to his daughter. And even moreso, he's glad that Thorax is giving her some comfort on this special evening.

He was glad Ember now has someone to give her hope and happiness.

“I wish you were here to see this, Sapphire.” Torch spoke softly.

Scarface, who was also seeing the wholesome display between Ember and Thorax, still had a tough expression on his face. But that didn’t stop the tear that fell down his cheek.

Moving back to Ember and Thorax, after having cried most of her tears and spilling her heart out, the tsundere girl eventually lets go of the young geek and wipes away the wetness in her eyes.

“I’m just… I’m just happy that you’re okay.” She spoke.

"Thanks, Ember." Thorax replied. "By the way, I was planning on paying a visit to the Buttercup Orphanage to give out a couple of present donations, wanna come?" he offered.

Ember thought to herself about that, while also reminiscing back to her conversation with Santa. So with much thinking, Ember responded with: "Eh, sure. It's Christmas.”

"Great! Come on, we'll go to my house to pick up the presents and then head on over there." Thorax said happily.

But before he took another step, Ember grabs onto his shoulder, in a gentle way so she won’t hurt him, stopping him in his tracks.

“Oh no. You just got out of the hospital. I’m not having you walk all the way.” Ember stated. “But lucky for us, we have an escort.” she said before she turned her head towards the direction on the edge of the hospital parking lot; where her father’s SUV was parked. Then with a deep breath, she called out, saying: “HEY! DAD! SCARFACE! GET THAT CAR OVER HERE NOW!”

On the outside of the hospital, Torch blinked in surprise. "How did she know I was here?" he asked quietly to himself. But instead of questioning it more, he tapped the back of Scarface's chair, signaling him to pull up.

Scarface obliges and then starts up the car and drives up into the hospital parking lot.

As the car was coming by, Thorax turns to Ember, with a big question on his mind.

“How did you know that your father was here?” he asked.

Ember turns to face with, with a big smirk on her face as she points towards her eyes as they shifted into her dragon eyes and then back to normal in a second.

“Dragon vision, dude. Dragon vision.” She said with confidence.

"Oh, right. I forgot, you have dragon powers now." Thorax chuckled.

Scarface then arrived and stopped a few inches away from the two. Ember took Thorax with her and they hopped into the S.U.V in the back seat with her dad. Ember explains to her father and Scarface of where they like to go, and her father agrees to the idea; since it sounded like a safer environment for the two.

"Mind telling me how you wound up in the hospital again?" Torch asked the young man.

"Uh… well… it's kinda a long story, sir.” Thorax replied, sheepishly. While Ember was also feeling sheepish, she also still has some small semblance of her guilt left in her.

“Well you can explain everything during the ride to the fundraiser.” Torch said.

The SUV then drives off towards Thorax’s residence, and then next stop, the Buttercup Orphanage.

A few minutes later; at the Buttercup Orphanage Fundraiser Event.

"...and that's how it all went down. So, really… I think when that song came out, it must've triggered a bad memory for Ember," Thorax finished explaining.

Ember remained quiet during the whole conversation, as she didn’t want to have the guilt coming back; which sorta failed.

"Ah yes, I can understand. Thanks again for telling me this and for forgiving Ember. She's been through a lot since… Well, I'll tell you another time. For now, go out there and spread a little Christmas joy." Torch encouraged.

"Thanks, sir." Thorax replied.

"Yeah, thanks dad." Ember added before getting off first, then Thorax. She closes the door and Torch has Scarface park him somewhere discreet, this way he can keep an eye on his daughter since his last two men failed.

Thorax and Ember looked up at the Orphanage, seeing how big it was. It almost looked like a massive day care center and it had its own church, too. The lights were on and inside the windows, they could see all the children running around and having fun.

"You ready?" Thorax asked.

"Yeah… let's do it." Ember assured.

With her newfound confidence, she follows Ember inside the front door and heads over to the main hall where a big table was set up with tons of presents. The kids all looked in their direction and shouted with glee that they were getting more gifts from people.

And as the two were sightseeing the whole thing; meanwhile, two certain groups are all doing their part in making the event go smoothly.

"Come and get 'em kids! Plenty of gingerbread cookies for everyone!" someone called out.

Soon many of the kids at the orphanage, as well as many of the kids of Canterlot City, all rushed over to where the gingerbread cookies were being handed out.

And operating the stand was none other than the goofball ladies-man, Israel Yabuki, and the two brothers; Heat Blitz and Eternal Flames.

"And be sure to stick around for the special performance we've all got in store just for you!" Heat exclaimed with a bright smile.

"Looks like things are going about smoothly. This was a pretty good idea," Eternal said.

Meanwhile, while the trio were handing out treats to the kids, Silver Scorpion and Inferno Blaze were unloading the wrapped presents and donated food off of the truck.

“Inferno! Be sure to grab the canned foods before we unload more presents.” Silver informs his brother.

“I know that! Who do you think I am, stupid?” Inferno responded while also carrying out a small crate of canned foods out of the back of the moving truck.

“Hey, you said it, not me.” Silver replied back as he set down a crate of more canned food next with the other donated food. Inferno sends a glare towards Silver’s direction.

“Why are you even here? Shouldn’t you be showing Derpy and Dinky around the place?” Inferno asked.

“Derpy said she wants some alone time with Dinky, and also to take her to see Santa. And besides, I’m not worried; Aurora is watching them.” Silver proclaimed.

“Are you sure that’s a good call? I mean having Aurora around Derpy… at a place full of children?” Inferno asked with bad thoughts in his head.

“I’ve already talked to Aurora before we left the house, she’s given me her word that she’ll be on her best behavior while we’re here.” Silver assures his brother.

"Okay, as long as she's given her word." Inferno said.

“Oh trust me, she has.” Silver proclaimed.

Meanwhile, over with Derpy, Dinky, and Aurora. As the young mother and daughter are walking around and passing out her homemade special muffins to the kids.

"Eat up, kids. I baked them all just for you. Plenty of muffins to go around!" Derpy exclaimed with her brightest smile.

"And a Merry Christmas!" Dinky shouted out in her cute Santa dress.

As for Aurora, well… The dragon goddess, disguised in her human form, was constantly snacking on two or ten of Derpy’s homemade muffins; trying her best to keep her ‘unique addiction’ under control. She wanted to quench it so badly, but she made a promise to Silver that she would be on her best behavior at this event.

"Wow… you are pwetty, miss," said a 4 year old child, tugging on Aurora's dress. "May I have a muffin, pwetty pwease?" she asked, reaching up with both of her little hands, her eyes sparkling like the night sky. How could anyone resist such a sweet, innocent face like that?

"Of course, here you go," Aurora replied, giving the child one of her muffins.

The child smiled happily as she took a bite out of the muffin. She jumps with joy at the delicious taste as she then hugs Aurora. “Thank you, miss.” she said before walking off with her muffin.

"You're welcome," Aurora chuckled. 'Oh, these children can be so precious at times. It warms my heart,' she thought. And then she feels someone else tugging on her dress behind her, and once she turns around, Aurora soon finds herself surrounded by a group of children, staring up at her. "Aww, why hello there. And how are all of you?"

“You are very pwetty, miss.” one of the kids commented, with the others nodding and saying the same thing.

"Awww, you're all just so kind and precious, thank you," Aurora replied. She gave each of the kids a gentle pat on their little heads, making most of them giggle happily. Aurora's heart melted from seeing so many adorable children gathering around her and complimenting her nonstop. ‘Oh, who knew human children are so adorable. Makes me wanna have little ones of my own.’ she thought to herself.

Meanwhile, with Magnus and Fleur, who are greeting guests at the fundraiser, a few sponsors, the mayor of Canterlot City, Ivory Scroll, or Mayor Mare as she’s called by a few, and even the owner of the orphanage.

"It's such a joy to see you after so long. I actually thought the worst had happened to you two, but I'm glad I was wrong," the mayor said to the married couple.

"While we did hit a major… bump on the road, we had a little help and bounced back better than ever. And now that we're here, we have one of many special gifts for these children and this establishment itself." Magnus said.

"It's our way of showing this city how thankful we are for all the support and encouragement they've given us, even when we were thought to be lost." Fleur added.

"You really did have us scared when you disappeared for 5 years, but it's good you're finally back home where you belong." the orphanage owner commented.

“Why, thank you. We hope our donations are up to your standards and hopefully keep the orphanage running.” Magnus responded.

As Fleur was about to say a few words, before she heard the sound of a camera right behind her. She turns around quickly and recognizes a familiar face that still haunts her to this day.

"You!" Fleur exclaimed.

"Something wrong, dear?" Magnus asked, then turned to see who she's looking at. Soon a scowl formed on his face. “YOU!” he growled.

Standing in front of them was none other than the crazed fan that broke into their house and harassed Fleur years ago. The couple could never have forgotten his face, and also the leg bracer/or stabilizer that was on his leg.

Seeing that he was caught and spotted, the man tried to act innocent and played casually.

“Uh, hehe… hey.” He said.

Magnus took one step towards the man with a fiery glare in his eyes. “I warned you that if I ever see you again, I’ll…” He threatens the stranger.

"Hold on, dear. I have something better in mind for him. After all, it wouldn't look good if we started a fight in the middle of the most joyful holiday… especially with children present." Fleur whispered to him.

Magnus growled in frustration, wanting to mop the floor with this attempted rapist, but his wife does have a point. And so, he backed off and took a deep breath. "What'd you have in mind for him, honey?" he asked.

"Trust me." Fleur winked before kissing him on the cheek. She approaches the man, which took him by surprise. "Would you kindly follow me somewhere for a bit?"

"Uh… excuse me?" the creep asked, confused.

Confused and slightly eager, the creep follows behind Fleur somewhere at the back of the orphanage. There, the outside was empty, no sign of any children whatsoever.

"Now then… I believe it's time I showed you something. A little surprise, as you put it." Fleur said, turning to the creep with an "innocent" smile.

"A… surprise? What might that be?" the creep asked.

"Trust me. For now, I'd like for you to close your eyes. Wouldn't wanna spoil the surprise, now would we?" Fleur pointed out.

'I'm not sure what she's planning, but if she's got a surprise for me, how can I resist?' the creep asked in excitement in his head. He shuts his eyes tightly, smiling like an idiot.

With his eyes closed tightly, Fleur then signaled her very special guest to come over and stand next to her. And he does so in a bit of a hurry before stopping right next to Fleur.

"Alrighty then. When I count to 3, I would like you to open your eyes and say hello to a very special guest this evening." Fleur instructed.

'Oh, my body is ready!' he thought.

"1… 2… 3!" she counted, which he opened his eyes. "Stalker creep, please give a warm welcome to… Rudolph, the Red-nosed…" she pauses, gesturing to him to look down. His whole face turns pale when he sees a… “Crocodile."

By her feet was Lancelot, all dressed up as Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer; with the antler headband and a red nose on top of his snout. And he was also wearing a small christmas sweater, fitting for his size, just to keep him warm in the cold. And the 6-foot reptile stare at the creep like a gunslinger would stare at another gunslinger in a western standoff.

The stalker slowly backed away in fear, hoping not to agitate the large croc; however, Fleur had a different plan.

“Oh, Lancelot, you remember this man, don’t you?” the bombshell model asked her precious pet. Lancelot responded with a deep, bellowing growl; which sounded like he does remember the creep, and was very angry to see him again after he bit at his leg. “Hmph, I thought so. Why don’t you go and say hi?” She said with a malicious tone of voice.

With his mother’s command, Lancelot growls at the stalker while also charging at him. Not wanting to have his other leg bitten, the creep turns around and runs, or limps, due to his already crippled leg, as fast as he could. Lancelot chased the stalker all the way up to the front of the orphanage and then halted in place as the creep ran/or limped far away from the area until he was out of sight.

Fleur ran up to Lancelot, giggling happily. "Oh, you've made mommy so happy. I don't think we'll see him for a long time now, my sweet Lancelot." she said. Fleur kneeled down and gave her croc a big hug and a peck on his head. "Thank you for coming to mommy's rescue. That earns you twice the meat you’ll get to eat for supper tonight."

Lancelot let out a soft growl, clearly sounded like he was happy to make his mother happy.

Meanwhile, back at the event, Ember and Thorax were entertaining themselves with some snacks at the snack stands, and also chatting with some of the kids. And surprisingly to Ember, the children actually liked her, despite meeting her for only a few minutes. And for once, Ember was doing her best not to scare them and she was being more sociable than she normally would be. Guess her talk with Kris Kringle himself, made her a new person.

Thorax was happy to see Ember warming up to people more. It's still hard to believe she used to be this tough, rebel girl who was so close to flunking high school and now she's become a new Ember. Her heart has now opened up more, she got her diploma and best of all, she even has Thorax to keep her company at times.

'I'm so happy for you… Ember,' Thorax thought.

As he was watching Ember socializing with the children, Thorax was unintentionally bumped into by someone. He turned around to see who it was, and standing before him was Silver Scorpion.

And as soon as Silver made eye contact with the geek, the ex-convict then said. “Oh, it's you again. Been a while since we came across each other’s paths.”

"Uh… y-yeah, small world, huh?" Thorax asked.

Silver chuckled while also patting on Thorax’s shoulder. “Hey, I know I can be pretty intimidating. But lighten up, it's Christmas time. We’re all equals here.” he said.

“Yeah, you're right. So… what are you and your family planning this Christmas?" Thorax asked.

"Well… I don’t know; hopefully some family togetherness.” Silver responded. ‘If my brother feels up to it.’ he thought to himself. “But to let you know, my parents are the ones who were a part of setting up this fundraiser.”

“Really? Well that was nice of them.” Thorax commented.

“Hey, thanks, I’ll let them know you said that. Also, there’s gonna be a grand finale at the end of this fundraiser. A musical entertainment that would liven up this event.” Silver mentions.

“Whoa, that’s cool. When is it gonna start?” Thorax asked.

When asked that, Silver looks over to the stage in front of the orphanage, which had a microphone set up front and center, a big, red curtain in the way back and all sorts of Christmas lights decorating it. But the one thing he didn’t see was a certain band that was performing tonight.

Then the young ronin checked his watch to see what the time was, and he saw that the girls should have gotten here a few minutes ago.

“Well, they should’ve been here by now.” Silver stated.

Silver looks up from his watch to look towards the stage again, only for his attention to be drawn towards Heat Blitz, who was walking by with a new batch of gingerbread cookies for the children.

“Hey! Heat!” Silver called out to the young man.

Heat heard him and turned around to look towards his direction.

“Do you know where the girls are? They’re not here.” Silver asked.

"No, but they told me they'd be here soon. And yet it's already been 15 minutes. I'll go ahead and call Twilight" Heat said, getting out his phone.

“Well, when you reach them, tell them to get themselves over here pronto! Cause we got a lot of guests and attendees, plus an orphanage of children, waiting for entertainment!” Silver shouted.

"Will do." Heat said, dialing his girlfriend's number. He puts his phone up to his ear, waiting for her to pick up. Sure enough, she answers on the 2nd ring. "Yo, Twi, where are you? It's almost time for you girls to perform! We've got loads of guests and orphan kids to entertain. I'm not sure how long we can keep them fed on our own."

"I'm sorry, Heat. But with this cold weather, it's affected our RV’s engine and it's gonna take some time before we can warm it up. We'll try to get there as soon as possible." Twilight replied on the other line.

"I hope you're right about this. I'll see you when you get here," Heat replied before hanging up. "Their RV might have gotten frostbitten in this cold weather. That's why they're running late." he explained to Silver.

“Oh, you gotta be kidding me? Well, this can’t get any worse.” Silver said to himself.

But then he hears the sound of a microphone and then the voice of his father on the mic.

“Good evening, can I have your attention, please.” Magnus’s voice spoke over the microphone.

Silver groans in disbelief of his own bad luck. “Oh, you gotta be fucking kidding me?” he cursed himself, while slapping himself in the face.

"You just had to jinx it, didn't you?" Heat asked, deadpanned.

“Shut up,” Silver responded.

Everyone at the fundraiser; the guest, the Victory trio, Derpy and Dinky, Aurora, Thorax and Ember, Inferno and Bristle, Torch and Scarface, and the children of the orphanage, all turned their attention towards the hosts of the evening; Magnus Blaze, along with his wife Fleur De Lis, as he gives his announcement.

“Personally, on behalf of the Buttercup Orphanage, we like to personally thank you all for coming out tonight and giving your donations and gifts for the young children at this orphanage. And I wish you all a Merry Christmas.” Magnus spoke, which earned applause and cheering from the people in the crowd. “And for this special occasion, we have a group of special guests who would like to perform for all of us tonight and to spread a little Christmas cheer. Please welcome… the Rainbooms.”

All the guests and children cheered… at first, but when the spotlight shined on the empty stage, they slowly stopped.

"Hey, where are the Rainbooms?" one girl asked.

"Did they not make it?" one boy asked.

Questions began flying all over the place, everyone wanted to know where their special guests were and some of the kids almost felt like tearing up.

Both Magnus and Fleur were confused as to why didn’t the girls show up, they were left speechless and disbelieved until they saw their oldest son, Silver, get onto the stage and approach them.

“Son, what is going on?!” Magnus silently asked his son, while covering the microphone, so his voice wouldn’t be amplified.

“Where are those girls? They were supposed to be performing for this fundraiser?” Fleur asked as well.

“Heat called them, they said that their RV’s engine was frozen and stalled. They’re running a bit late.” Silver silently informs them.

In the crowd, Dinky looked up to her mother, Derpy, and the cute little muffin had a confused and sad expression on her face.

“Mommy, why are the colorful crew not here yet?" Dinky asked, while feeling a little down.

Derpy was unsure what to tell her daughter. She knew that there must be a good reason why the girls were running late. But her daughter is so young, she might not understand it.

"Well… I don't know, but I'm sure they'll get here soon. They wouldn't miss this for the world. Don't worry," Derpy assured, despite her uncertainty.

While everyone was literally trying to wrap their heads around this situation, Ember watched the whole event unravel before her eyes. And what caught her attention more were the sadden expressions on the children of the orphanage as well as the children that came to the fundraiser with their parents. Seeing them reminded her of her own childhood, and how she lost her Christmas spirit. And that was something that she didn’t want to befall on these kids.

As she looked towards the stage and then back towards the children, with determination in her eyes , Ember knew what she needed to do. She just hopes that she still has it in her.

In a quick flash, Ember rushed through the crowd as she made her way towards the stage, but soon she was forced to go around and through the back of the orphanage. And soon she went through back, she was about to head towards the stage, when something caught her eye.

A silver present with a golden bow, along with a card attached to it. Ember picked it up and read what it said.

To my dearest Ember, I've watched you grow from the day you were born and have always been proud of how strong and beautiful you've become. But, I've also seen how cruel life can be, so if you ever get back into the spirit, I want you to have this. Think of it as a type of bond we all share now and forever.

Yours forever, your mother, Sapphire.

P.S Tell your father he needs to go straight one of these days.

Before Ember knew it, she felt her tears running down her face, and a smile slowly formed on her face. She placed her hand on her mouth as she cried; not with sadness, but of joy.

For this was a gift from her mother. A gift from her spirit.

But not wanting to waste anymore time, Ember quickly wipes away her tears, while also calming herself down. The tomboy looks at the present for a few seconds before she rips off the wrappings and opens the box up. And once she saw what was inside it, Ember’s smile grew wider.

“Thank you… Mom.” She silently said to herself.

Meanwhile, back at the fundraiser, It's not long before the entire orphanage was beginning to grow restless, ready to start a riot at any time. But then… as if a Christmas miracle had finally made itself known…

"Listen up, hey!" Ember called out from atop the stage, with her winter clothing replaced with a festive Santa Claus outfit. The entire crowd stopped and all turned their attention towards the draconic tomboy; it even drew her father’s attention.

Seeing Ember on stage, Thorax looked towards his side, to where Ember originally stood beside him, and then he looked back at her on stage. He was surprised and amazed of how fast she must’ve been to move from two places.

Aurora looked towards her secret pupil with intrigue, curious of what she was planning on doing.

Torch was the most curious and shocked to see his daughter go onto stage and having all that attention and eyes on her, and wondered what she was doing.

"As of right now, the Rainbooms haven't made it to the orphanage yet. But nevertheless, the show will go on. So in their place, I will perform for you all. But… keep in mind, it's been a long time since I've done this, so… I hope you're not too disappointed. With that being said… I hope you enjoy this holiday melody." Ember said.

The tomboy then cleared her throat and suddenly, the lights dimmed and she began to sing her lovely Christmas melody.

Everyone in the audience was blown away by how beautiful she sang. The kids' eyes lit up brighter than any Christmas lights or the brightest star on any Christmas tree, or even any star in the entire universe. Their smiles got wider the more Ember sang her number.

Despite having started, it was at this point that the Rainbooms finally arrived and parked their RV in an open spot on the curb. The girls all rushed inside the orphanage with their instruments, but before they could barge in… they stopped and slowly entered, so as not to disturb what was going on.

When they peeked over to the stage, the girls gasped silently at who was singing on stage.

“Is that?...” Sunset was about to say, but was rendered speechless.

"She sounds so… so beautiful," Rarity whispered.

Yes, even Thorax was blown away at how beautiful Ember sounded. Little did he know, his heart melted and skipped a beat. He didn't know it, but he was slowly falling in love with this talented, beautiful woman.

Torch listened with pride and joy. Hearing his own daughter's voice through music brought back so many memories of his peaceful past. It was as if he could hear his own wife's musical voice through Ember. He couldn't be more proud of how grown up his daughter has become. Even he couldn't stop the tears from flowing out of his eyes.

Even Scarface couldn’t hold back the tears.

Aurora didn’t bother to wipe away her tears as she smiled and embraced the sweet sounds of her pupil’s voice and the emotion behind it.

And during her performance, Ember shed tears from her eyes as she poured all her emotions into the lyrics, singer bolder than she ever did before, as she felt her mother’s spirit and the spirit of Christmas enter back into her heart.

The Blaze family were in awe and shocked at how beautiful Ember’s voice sounded. Silver and Inferno were speechless and didn’t know what to say. But listening to the song filled them with such Christmas joy. Magnus and Fleur can’t help but feel overwhelmed with emotions as Fleur held her husband’s hand and laid her head on her shoulder as the two smiled. Bristle Wing pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe away the tears in his eyes, he too found the young woman’s voice so breathtaking.

As for the Victory Squad, Eternal watched with disbelief. He didn't even think that she had such a voice to sing with, but now he had a whole new respect for her. Heat was entranced by her melodic symphony and found himself swaying to the beat of the music, lost in her musical wonders and found himself at peace. Israel smiled upon her beautiful singing. From one singer to another, it truly moved him to tears and hoped to one day hear her sing like this again.

And last, but never least, Derpy and Dinky were moved by Ember's talented voice. Derpy was somewhat spooked by how scary and forceful Ember can be, but seeing her on that stage and bringing joy to so many people and children has brought her some comfort and joy. Dinky watched from riding on her mommy's shoulders, waving one hand in the air to the beat of the music and having the brightest, cutest smile on her face. In a way, Dinky thought Ember's singing was like magic.

Finally, Ember’s song was coming to an end, and as she closed her eyes, with a final humming, Ember ended her song as opens her eyes to look towards the crowd in front of her.

Everyone was in shock and awe by how amazing her performance was. Eventually, the entire establishment erupted into a round of applause, cheering for this talented young lady. The kids cheered and screamed in happiness.

Seeing that everyone enjoyed her performance, Ember smiled and waved to the crowd, while also feeling a bit sheepish and flustered from the praise she’s getting. Hey, in her defense, she was a horrible person back then, so she got used to not being the most enjoyed person.

"Young lady, that was an astounding performance! You've got quite a talent for when it comes to music, what's your name?" the orphanage owner asked.

“It's Ember. Ember Dragonheart.” the tomboy replied.

"Ember, huh? Then let me be the first to say thank you… for putting on such a heart-warming performance for all the children and our esteemed guests." the owner replied. Everyone in the crowd applauded and cheered loudly in gratitude towards the tomboy.

Ember was shocked by this, she didn’t know whether these people knew of her father and what he did when she had revealed her name; and yet, they all showed that they were thankful for what she did. And of course, as she saw the smiles on the faces of the orphans, it made Ember smile too.

"Yay! Hooray for Ember!" Dinky shouted out running towards the tomboy. The tiny muffin princess quickly latched onto her leg and hugged her, giggling happily while everyone responded with "aww."

Ember blushed as she felt sheepish and felt warmth in her heart as she looked down at the small girl hugging her. While in the crowd, Derpy was feeling a little nervous for her daughter, for she didn’t know what Ember would do next.

As Ember was stunned by her hugging, Dinky looked up at the lady with a bright smile and innocent eyes as she said. “Thank you, Ms. Santa.”

After hearing Dinky call her that and looking at her with such happiness and innocence, Ember soon bore a warm smile on her face as she reached down and lifted the little girl off of her feet.

"You're welcome, kiddo," Ember replied. She then pulled in the happy little muffin princess in for a warm snuggle. Dinky giggled happily while everyone kept going "aww" at how sweet the moment was.

After their tender moment, Ember booped little Dinky Claus on the nose and gave her back to her mommy. Dinky gave one last wave goodbye and Ember waved back in kind.

Amongst the crowd, Ember could see her father staring at her, clapping and bearing a big smile on his face. Honestly, it was the first time she’s seen her father smile like that. And from his posture, she could tell that he was proud of her.

Ember flashed a small grin and then stepped off the stage just in time for the Rainbooms to show up and take the stage.

What she didn't expect after that was this… "Ember, we can't thank you enough for spreading happiness to all these people when we got stuck on the way here. And hearing you sing like that, I can already tell you've got a bright future ahead of you. I know we had our differences in the past, but I hope that in due time, we're all willing to put the past behind us and become great friends one day. So, from us, the Rainbooms, to you, our former CHS classmate, we hope you have a Merry Christmas and more to come." Sunset said over the mic.

Ember stopped in her tracks, blinking in surprise. In the past, there were times when she got into a few… disagreements with the Rainbooms, even before they became a band. And there were a couple of scuffles she had with one egotistical member, and that one time she got into a fight with a guy who was with them. But now, all that hatred she had for them was nothing more than a dying, flickering light.

Maybe perhaps it's time for her to put it all behind her. Though, it's not instantaneous, she might as well take things slow and try to build a better relationship with the girls. After all, Santa did say that Christmas was a time of forgiveness. And as a response, she turned to look over her shoulder.

"Yeah… Merry Christmas to you, too. All of you," Ember replied. At last, for once in her life, things were finally going in her favor the right way.

As she walked through the crowd, she came across Aurora, who gave her a bright smile before bowing in respect and gratitude. Ember bowed in return before she continued on through the crowd.

And eventually, Ember met up with Thorax. And she almost giggled when she saw the bright smile on his face and the stars in his eyes.

“I see that you enjoyed the show.” Ember commented.

"Enjoyed it? Ember, you were incredible! Where did you learn how to sing like that? I was so blown away!" Thorax praised.

"Well… My mom and I would always sing along with a bunch of Christmas songs when I was a kid. And other times I would sing for my mom when she’s having her off-days.” Ember replied.

“I bet your mother would truly be proud of you.” Thorax complimented.

"Yeah, something tells me she's proud of me right now," Ember said.

The two stood silent with each other, before Ember’s eyes wandered upwards and she noticed something hanging above them.

“Huh? What’s this?” She asked, pointing upwards.

Thorax looked up and blushed at what he saw. A little plant tangling from the ceiling he knew all too much about.

"Uh… t-t-that's a… m…mistletoe." Thorax stuttered shyly. "Basically, if… two people stand underneath it… they… well… kiss."

Ember's face heated up in embarrassment. And she felt an avalanche of emotions in her mind as she looked up at the mistletoe and then back at Thorax. For the first time, Ember was a nervous wreck.

"Uh… l-l-listen. If… If you don't want to, that's okay. It's not something that you have to do, just something to g-get into the holiday spirit." Thorax said.

Ember could see that even Thorax is being a nervous wreck about it. She then looks back up at the mistletoe, and when she does, she can hear a pestering voice, almost sounding like her own voice, at the back of her mind, egging her on.

“Do it. Do it~ You know you really want to. Besides, like he said, it's just something to get into the Christmas spirit.” Her inner voice spoke to her.

While she was slightly nervous about it, her inner voice did give a pretty solid claim. It's a Christmas tradition; it's not like they're doing it like they’re a couple or anything.

Plus, it would be fun to see his reaction.

And so Ember shrugged her shoulders and said: “Eh, what the heck. It's Christmas.” Which caught Thorax off guard.

“Uh, Wha?!” He said in shock.

And with that, Ember took advantage of his defenses being dropped as she placed both her hands on his cheeks and then she placed her lips onto his, and she gave him a long kiss.

Thorax widened his eyes in shock and his face turned bright red. But then, as if all the care in the world left him, Thorax closed his eyes and kissed Ember back.

Everyone else saw this and were astonished by the two. Aurora chuckled heartily, Silver and Inferno were dumbfounded, the Rainbooms were mixed between giggling and shocked, Derpy covered Dinky’s eyes, much to the little girl's dismay. Even the Victory Squad was surprised by how close those two had become. But for the goofball of the members, he thought they were a match made in heaven.

As for Torch, well… let's just say this is one time when he wears that "Daddy approves" smile. Even though a smaller part of him, which was the “Overprotective Daddy” mode, was scratching at the cage he had locked in the back of his head.

Soon Ember lets go of Thorax and releases her lips from his as she stares at him with a teasing expression on her face.

“So… how’d you like your early Christmas gift?” She teased.

"It was… it was… m-m-m-magical," Thorax stuttered before collapsing on the ground after that heavenly sensation. Ember chuckled at how adorable this little dork can be.

From outside, as the snow continues to fall gracefully and the orphanage all lit up with Christmas cheer, a single glowing silhouette watches from above. She resembled a much older version of Ember and had a bright smile on her face.

"I'm so proud of you, honey. Merry Christmas. And to you too, my future son-in-law," said the spirit of Sapphire. And with that, her spirit disappeared into thin air; soon to return next Christmas.

And for everyone else, Christmas day soon came, and everyone received their gifts under the tree and in their stockings.

But for Ember, she had already received the greatest gift of all. To once again, believe in the spirit of Christmas, has she and her mother have so long ago.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Author's Note

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!! Sorry for the hiatus I have been on recently. But I hope this makes up for it. Me and my buddy, Israel Yabuki, have worked really hard on this Christmas Special. And we managed to finish it before Christmas Eve. HOORAY!!!

This Christmas special was inspired by the Gacha I had previously made for this year. See for yourselves.

Have a wonderful day, and Merry Christmas to all.