It had taken quite some time to get her friends untangled from their bonds, but it was finally done. Applejack looked them over, an amused expression on her face. "You know, that happened to me when I met them for the first time too."

Rainbow glared at her friend, seeing how amused she was annoyed her. "You could have warned us!" How could Rainbow Dash let herself get captured by a bunch of small furry creatures? Well, to be fair, there were a lot of them, and they worked fast.

Speaking of elves, Mina was giving them a good scolding, everyone of them. Twilight was watching with fascination, having already forgotten the fact she was captured and tied up just moments ago. She moved closer to Applejack, and spoke in a low voice, as if afraid of being overheard by somepony. "What is she saying?"

"She's tellin' them who you are, that you're with me, and are mine and Nicholas's friends." The elves all looked ashamed at what they had done, like children that were being scolded by their mother. Applejack chuckled. "They are not bad, they're just very protective of Nicholas and their home."

Twilight nodded understandingly, still surprised and fascinated enough to not be upset by the little kidnapping. "How did he meet them?"

"That's a story for another time." Applejack then looked towards her friends. "How y'all feelin'?"

Rarity was brushing herself off, making sure nothing glittery or sticky was still in her coat. Taking in a deep breath, she turned to Applejack and gave her a reassuring smile. "A little shaken, but otherwise I'm quite alright, dear."

"I can't believe I lost to a bunch of small furry elf things.." Rainbow grumbled, still seeming displeased with the whole affair, but other than a wounded pride, Applejack didn't think she would hold a grudge.

Fluttershy seemed a little jumpy, but still also very interested in the small creatures. They likely reminded her of Angel, so she was used to bad behavior. "I'm okay, I just hope we didn't scare them too much.."

Pinkie on the other hoof was quite alright, finding the whole scenario funny. She didn't answer, instead she was too busy looking around the place, asking about everything she saw to no one in particular. Applejack decided to gather her friends again, trying to get some control of the situation.

"Alright girls, I think that is enough trouble for one day." She chuckled, and as her friends trotted closer she gestured to Mina, who had just finished with her scolding. "This here is Mina. She the head elf and Nicholas's number one assistant."

The elf inclined her head. "Beannachtaí, capaillíní."

"Hihi, just like Spike! Heya Mina!" Pinkie greeted cheerfully.

The others followed suit, greeting the little elf in their own way. Rarity being polite as always, Rainbow upbeat and cool, Fluttershy shy, but sweet, and Twilight being slightly confused, but polite. When everypony had introduced themselves, Applejack finally got to the heart of the matter.

"Sorry for makin’ a fuss, I know y'all pretty busy, but I wanted to introduce my friends to Nicholas. Where is he?" Truth be told, Applejack was surprised she had not seen him yet. Normally he would be in his workshop, or at least close by. He should have come out as soon as he heard the commotion, yet hadn't.

Mina suddenly frowned, seeming uncomfortable, sad even. The other elves also had looks of concern, some of them whispered to each other. Mina then looked at Applejack, an apologetic look in her eyes. "Níl Santa Claus anseo, tá sé ag gníomhú aisteach le déanaí."

Applejack frowned. "What do you mean, actin' weird? And if he's not here, then where did he go?" Her friends exchanged glances, although they could not understand what Mina was saying, they did all understand something was wrong, and it was clear it worried Applejack.

Mina did her best to explain what was going on, but even she seemed to have been shut out by Nicholas as of late. "Níl a fhios againn cad atá cearr, níor theastaigh uaidh labhairt faoi. Is minic a théann sé amach ag siúl sa choill, leis féin." Applejack could see it hurt her, she was his number one assistant after all. She sighed, looking down at the floor. "B'fhéidir go ndearna mé rud éigin mícheart?"

Seeing the desperation on Mina, and hearing how she worried it might be her fault. No, Applejack would not have it. "Don't you worry yourself, I know more than anypony how much he needs you. Whatever is goin' on, I know it is not your fault."

Mina looked up. "Dáiríre?"

"Yes, really. He needs you, sugarcube." Mina seemed to perk up a bit, smiling at her old friend. The others, who were not part of this conversation, and could not understand a single word Mina said, did see Applejack had cheered the little elf up.

Then suddenly, before any elf or pony could say or do anything else, the large double doors opened at the very end of the workshop. Everyone looked over, and there they spotted a tall creature, standing on two legs, no fur except for on his head, and a little on his face. He wore a red tunic and overcoat, brown trousers and black boots, and a red cap. In his belt hung a small satchel, and on the other side there was a short axe.

His eyes scanned the workshop, and quickly spotted the large gathering of elves, and a group of ponies he was very familiar with. Applejack smiled at first, but when she got a good look at her friend, she noticed the change Mina had spoken about. He looked tired, exhausted, you could see it in his eyes. That sparkling warmth he always had about him seemed like just a shadow now.

Just as he was about to say something, Pinkie was in front of him, giving him a big hug. "Nicki!" It took Nicholas by surprise, but after a moment, he grinned and hugged her back. "Oh my gosh you look terrible!" Pinkie exclaimed, starting to examine him from top to bottom. "You look so tired, have you eaten too many cookies? Too much sugar can keep you up at night! But that just means you can play more, just play responsibly!"

Finally Nicholas grabbed Pinkie and put her under his arm to keep her steady. "It is good to see you too, Pinkie." He had a big smile on his face, and seemed to light up a bit. Striding over to the others, he put Pinkie down and looked to the rest. "Well, this certainly is a surprise."

"Darling, how are you? You look dreadful," exclaimed Rarity. "Do you get enough sleep?"

Mina jumped up and down, waving at Nicholas to get his attention. When she did get it, she pointed to Twilight and the rest of the girls. "Thug Santa, Applejack cairde chun an áit ina gcónaíonn tú a fheiceáil!"

Nicholas nodded, running his fingers over the brown stubble on his chin. "Well, we better tell the kitchen then. Will you see to it, Mina?"

The elf girl stood tall and saluted. "Ar an bpointe boise, a Santa!" She turned to her fellow elves, clapped her tiny hands and shooed them back to work before she herself hurried away.

"Hm, always a hard worker." Nicholas chuckled, then returning his attention to his friends. "Its good to see you all." He got down on one knee, and all the ponies, except for Twilight, joined in a tight group hug. "I missed you."

"Then you should come visit more often, big guy!" Rainbow laughed, parting from the hug.

Rarity nodded, and like Rainbow Dash, parted from the hug. "Indeed, you should never neglect your friends."

"We just want to make sure you're okay.." Added Fluttershy.

Pinkie and Applejack were the last ones to part from the hug, as Applejack had a far closer relationship with him, and Pinkie just loved hugs. "Sorry for comin' out of the blue like that, but I wanted to introduce you to our new friend, the one I've been talkin' about." Applejack explained, gesturing to Twilight, who stood a bit awkwardly alone and staring at the human.

"It is good to meet such a close friend to Applejack. I'm Twilight Sparkle." She greeted, trying her best to remain calm and not bombard him with the thousands of questions she had for him.

Nicholas simply smiled. "I know you very well, Applejack and the others have often talked about you." He grinned, standing up to his full height again. "Celestia too, she is very proud of you."

Twilight tilted her head, a puzzled look in her eyes. "You know princess Celestia." It made sense that Nicholas knew about the princess, and the princess about him, but she had no idea they were talking.

Nicholas simply nodded. "Yes, we write to each other at times, and sometimes she joins me for some tea. Luna too, when she has the time." He gestured to the door he had come from. "Please, let's talk over some hot coco and some snacks."

"Yaaaay, snacks!" Pinkie cheered, following Nicholas as he started walking away.

Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Pinkie, all of them could see Nicholas was tired. Normally he would have been more cheerful, be much more outgoing. Now, he seemed to have lost that glow. Had he been overworking? No, Mina would have told Applejack, she knew she would. So what had him acting so strange?

The elves had gone back to work, and the girls followed him down a corridor. Applejack had been here before more than once, the rest of the girls, they were seeing all of this for the first time. The corridor was long, and every few meters there was either a door or another corridor. Along the way they passed other elves, either working, carrying something, or simply passing by. No matter what they did, they always looked at them as Nicholas passed them with his friends.

"Just how big is this place?" Rainbow asked, almost afraid she would get lost if she stopped following the group.

With a coy smile, Nicholas replied simply. "Big enough."

They turned a corner, and came to a thick wooden door, painted red, gold and silver. Nicholas turned the handle and walked though, closely followed by the six ponies. They were led inside a small cozy home, it was taller than most pony homes, which made sense since Nicholas was taller.

The room was painted in a calm green color, something that didn't irritate the eyes. There were red carpets spread out here and there on the wooden floor, and to the right side of the room was a large stone fireplace. The fire was crackling, warming up the place nicely.

Pictures hung from the walls, along with some decorations and toys he had made throughout the years. It had a small kitchen, a dining room, and a large living space, which was where they were right now. The windows were small, but provided a sort of charm to the home. There was a staircase leading up to his bedroom, and another door that presumably led to the outside.

"So this is how you live." Rarity hummed, walking around and took everything in. "It's very you, darling."

Nicholas chuckled, taking his axe from his belt and placed it on a hook near the front door, along with his red cap and coat. "I take that as a compliment."

Rarity nodded. "And so you should, dear."

Twilight trotted around, looking at some of the pictures, some of the toys, and the books he had laying around. The pictures were what you could expect from any pony, family pictures, pictures of friends and other such things. One picture in particular caught her attention, it was of Nicholas with a group of ponies she was sure she had seen before.

Nicholas seemed a little younger than he was now, not by much though. Being the tallest in the group he was kneeling down on one knee in the middle of the picture. On each side of him were two adult ponies, maybe the same age as Twilight's own parents. One was a mare, she was a light blue unicorn with a silver like mane and tail. The stallion on the other hoof was an earth pony, he was a light grey earth pony with a blonde mane and tail.

There was a third pony, a foal, maybe the same age as Apple Bloom, or somewhere around there. The foal was a light blue unicorn colt, grinning widely as he stood right next to Nicholas. They all stood close, and it took no great leap of logic to deduce this was his family. Well, his adoptive family anyway.

"Please, make yourself comfortable." Nicholas invited, putting another small log on the fireplace.

Pinkie did just that by jumping into the big red armchair that was clearly for Nicholas, but he didn't mind. The others trotted closer, finding the big red couch to be nice and comfortable. Nicholas took Pinkie, lifted her up, and sat down. Just like if she was a cat, he placed Pinkie on his lap. She curled up, smiling as his fingers found her ear and started to scratch it just the way she liked it.

Nicholas was used to it, and it always kept Pinkie calm and content. Twilight watched what he did to Pinkie's ear, and wondered what that was about, but seeing Pinkie's expression, it must feel quite good. Applejack made her way to another armchair and sat down, while Twilight joined the rest of their friends on the couch.

"How have you been, Nicholas?" Fluttershy asked, taking the lead, which was rare.

"Well.." Nicholas was a very honest person, like Applejack he valued honesty and so decided not to keep this from his friends. "I have been better, I'm not sleeping so well lately."

"It shows darling!" Rarity frowned, looking at her friends for some support. "We can all see it." The others nodded, and Rarity continued. "You mustn't overwork yourself."

Rainbow nodded in agreement. "Yeah, if you need help you know you can always ask."

Nicholas favored them with a thankful smile, but shook his head. "It is not the work." He glanced at Applejack, and he could see those green eyes of hers looking at him with great concern. She knew something was wrong, and she also knew it wasn't the work. He let out a deep sigh, not even sure how to explain it.

Applejack decided to help him out a little, making sure he knew she was there for him, along with their friends of course. "Sugarcube, whatever is going on we will help you. We might not understand it, but we will do our best." She sent him a warm smile, one that always warmed his heart and brightened his day. "Just like always."

Nicholas returned the smile, happy that he always could count on Applejack, not to mention the rest of their friends. He nodded to them, grateful. "Thank you, really." Pinkie sat up, and without a word she embraced him, her arms around his neck and pressing herself close, sharing her warmth with her friend, letting him know she was there.

"Don't be sad Nicki."

It sounded like a small plea, like if she was begging him not to be sad or feel bad. He placed his arms around the pink pony, stroking her mane as if comforting a foal. "With all of you guys as my friends, how can I be?"

Twilight watched the exchange between the girls and Nicholas. She could not help but feel a little bad, not because of anything she had done or others had done, but she could see the strong connection between them all, and she was a little sad she could not be part of that.

However, Nicholas seemed like a very kind being, considerate, honest, loyal, generous. Really, she could understand why ponies would bond with him with such ease. It was hard not to see him as a pony, he really embodied a lot of the qualities they all appreciated.

The hug ended, and Pinkie jumped down, making her way to the couch so Nicholas could gather his thoughts. Once he had, he took a deep breath, and began his tale. "It all started a few weeks before winter..."

Author's Note

Sorry that the chapters are short, I just feel they work okay this way.