G5 Adventures in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Chapters

Welcome to the North Pole/Meet the Donners
A Nose that Glows and Eyes that Shimmer
First Year at the North Pole/Misfit Doubts
Reindeer Game Runaways
First Night being Independant with Friends
Silver and Gold/Setting Sail
Welcome to the Island of Misfit Toys
Return to Christmastown/Holly Jolly Christmas
Saving Christmas for All/A Sinister Figure Arrives
Winter Wishday Preparations
Eight Months Later/Fight with the Bumble

Welcome to the North Pole/Meet the Donners

As always, the ponies had no idea where the Unity Quest would take them, but they trusted the magic items that were crafted so long ago...

...and that they would find their crystal in due time.

They zoomed through the portal to the unknown world that laid in wait for them, and when they came out and landed on the ground, Hitch yelped in surprise, not expecting their landing to be so... icy. “Cold cold cold cold cold!!!”

Zipp was finally able to stand up and look around, gasping out of shock. The frozen land that they landed in, the Cossack-cold winds, the mountainous terrain with trees in the background... it seemed rather familiar to her. “Guys... I-I think this is the North Pole!”

“The North Pole? As in the tippy top of the Earth? That North Pole?” Misty shivered. “That’s why it's so cold!”

“Everypony, bundle up!” Sunny said, handing them their hats and scarves. “I’m not sure how long we'll be here, so we need to find somewhere warm to rest and find out where in this place our Unity Quest is.”

“Good idea,” Pipp said, adjusting her hat. “The sooner we find that quest, the sooner we'll be at home and be warm!”

So, the ponies began to walk and fly around the area, really not all that sure about where they were supposed to be. But the more they walked, the more... wondrous the forest around them seemed to become.

The trees seemed to be covered in lights, beads, ornaments and star decorations on top... a lot like the Wishday tree they had back home. “Wow... a whole forest full of Wishday trees!” Sunny smiled in wonder. “They’re all so beautiful!”

“And totally Wishentine chic!” Pipp said, taking selfies in front of a few trees. “Whoever lives here totally has great Wishentine spirit!”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, my dear,” said a kind male voice, “but these aren't Wishday trees. These are Christmas trees.”

The ponies turned to see a talking, moving snowman trudging through the snow to get to them, wearing a mustache, a green vest with white sleeves, a matching hat and carrying an umbrella. “Oh, we're sorry about that, sir,” Sunny spoke, although the group was in shock to see a talking snowman before them. “We’re from another world and don't know many of this world's traditions. I'm Sunny, and these are my friends. It's very nice to meet you, Mr... um...”

“Oh, excuse me! Call me Sam,” the snowman said politely, tipping his hat to them. “What's the matter? Haven't you ever seen a talking snowman before?”

“Um... no, we haven’t,” Misty shook her head. “We’ve definitely seen a lot,” Hitch said, trying to get over the shock, “but we've never seen this before. Oh, no offense or anything.”

The snowman chuckled before gesturing for the group to follow him. “Nice around here, isn't it?” he asked. “I call it Christmastown, better known as the North Pole.”

“Christmas? I think I remember Shaggy and Scooby mentioning that holiday,” Sunny said in recollection. “It sounds a lot like Winter Wishday in Equestria... even has the same trees.”

“Ah, yes... the Christmas Tree Forest,” Sam smiled and gestured around them. “Yep. This is where we grow them. Nice place to live around here, you know.”

Seals were playing on the path ahead with various wrapped packages, and this caused Izzy to coo with a smile on her face. “Look at those cutie-wootie seals!”

“If I'm right,” Zipp chuckled, “those are probably Christmas seals.”

As the seals continued to play and bark to one another, Sam turned back to the ponies. “Of course, the number one citizens up here are the Clauses; Santa and the Missus. They live right over there,” he said, gesturing to a nearby castle. “First castle on the left. Matter of fact, the only castle on the left.”

XXXXXXXX

Mrs. Claus sat before a rather skinny Santa, who was about to dine with his meal, with his wife beside him holding a red coat-- the famous red coat that we know him to be famous for. “Papa, you haven't touched a morsel!” she scolded. “I'll have to take this suit in! Eat!”

“I'm busy, Mama!” Santa protested. “It’s almost Christmas!”

“Whoever heard of a skinny Santa? Eat! Eat!”

XXXXXXXX

“So, you're saying that Santa has to eat so much to gain a certain amount of weight?” Zipp frowned. “Just so people will recognize him? Doesn’t that seem a little extreme?”

“Yeah,” Misty nodded. “What if he doesn’t eat enough?”

“Now, don't any of you worry your heads about Santa,” Sam told them, “because Mrs. Claus will have him plenty fattened up by Christmas Eve. It's always the same story.”

“Well, walking around with you and learning about Christmas and the North Pole-- er, Christmastown, has been great, Mr. Sam, but we really need a place to stay while we're here,” Misty said politely. “Do you have any recommendations?”

“I do believe that Mr. and Mrs. Donner have room in their cave for a few wayward travelers,” Sam said, pointing to a nearby cave in the cliff. “I’m sure that they’ll let you stay for as long as you need to.”

“Oh, great! Thank you, Sam. I hope we’ll see you around!” Sunny smiled before the ponies galloped off that way, with Sam waving the group farewell.

XXXXXXXX

After a moment of galloping through the ice-cold snow, the group finally arrived at the cave Sam told them about and peered inside.

Inside the cave were two adult reindeer. The one standing was obviously a buck, as evident by the antlers on his head. He also had light brown fur with white fur on his chest and muzzle, light tan fur inside his ears, black eyes and black hooves.

The other reindeer that was laying down on a bed of hay was a doe with beige fur with white fur on her chest and muzzle, black eyes with long eyelashes, pink eyelids and black hooves.

Both of the reindeer seemed to be talking to one another when Sunny first came into the cave, followed by her friends. “Oh, hello there, dears,” the doe said politely. “Can we help you?”

“We’re sorry to intrude,” Sunny told them politely, “but… are you Mr. and Mrs. Donner?”

“Yep-- we’re the Donners, all right. What’s your business here, kid?” Mr. Donner asked as he approached them. “Well, we’re sort of looking for a place to stay for a little while,” Hitch explained, “and Sam the snowman? He said that you might have some… extra room for us?”

“Why, yes, we do!” Mrs. Donner smiled. “What are your names, young ones?”

“Sunny Starscout, ma’am. And these are my friends,” Sunny said, gesturing to her friends. “Hitch Trailblazer, Pipp Petals, Izzy Moonbow, Misty Brightdawn and Zipp Storm.”

“Hi there.”

“Hellooooooo!!”

“Pleased to meet you.”

“Hi, new friends!”

“Hey.”

“Now, dear, are you sure we have time to tend to guests?” Mr. Donner asked his wife with a frown. “Sure, these kids seem plenty friendly, but… with your condition--”

“Donner, it’s not like I’m bedridden with sickness,” Mrs. Donner scolded. “I may be carrying, but I’m not completely helpless.”

“Carrying…?” Misty muttered to herself, wondering what that meant. Suddenly, it hit her, causing her to gasp. “Mrs. Donner… a-a-are you gonna have a baby?”

“Yes, dear. He should be along in a week or two,” Mrs. Donner smiled. “Mr. Donner and I couldn’t be more excited.”

“Well… maybe we could help each other out,” Zipp said. “If you let us stay here, we can help take care of you and your new little doe or buck when they arrive!”

“Yeah!” Pipp nodded. “We can clean, we can find food, we can livestream… well, the last one you probably don’t want done as much, but we can still do a lot!”

Mrs. Donner looked to her husband with a hopeful glance. “What do you think, dear?”

“Well… I guess it could work,” the soon-to-be father said in thought. “Just as long as we get Santa’s approval first.”

“Ho ho ho! No need to get that, Donner. Of course they can stay!”

The ponies turned around to see a bearded man come into the cave with a jolly smile, and somehow, Izzy gasped at recognizing him. “You’re Santa Claus! Sam just told us about you!”

“And I could hardly believe it when Equestrians showed up in Christmastown!” Santa laughed merrily. “Welcome, Sunny Starscout and friends!”

“Wait…” Zipp stopped him with shock. “How did you know our names? We’ve only been here about 30 minutes!”

“He’s Santa!” Sunny whispered back. “He knows everybody’s names, remember?”

“I hope you don’t mind us staying in Christmastown for a while, sir,” Misty said. “We’ve been sent here on a mission, and until we can find it and figure out how to solve it, we need somewhere to sleep.”

“Ho-ho, of course not, Misty,” Santa said, rubbing her neck. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you need. Well, I better get back. I just wanted to say hello to our guests before Mama stuffs more food on my plate. Let me know when the little fellow is born, Donner!”

And with a hearty laugh, Santa left the cave, leaving the group alone. “Well, I guess you kids better make yourselves comfortable,” Mr. Donner said. “There’s a couple side-caves to the left and right of us that you can rest in for now.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Donner,” Sunny smiled before turning to her friends. “I guess we better get settled, guys. We still have to find our mission before we can head home for Winter Wishday.”

XXXXXXXX

A fast white figure moved across the snowy landscape as fast as she could take herself, eventually running and leaping to the top of a tall, slippery hill… far away from anyone who could hurt her or her cub.

Who was this figure, you ask?

Her name was Nora, and she was a very special arctic fox who had eyes the same colors as the brilliant Aurora Borealis. She had recently given birth to a single cub, a female, when poachers had found her and chased her away from her den.

Now she needed someplace to hide her cub while she lured the poachers away for good.

Her green, blue and fuschia eyes glanced around until she caught onto a familiar sight… Christmastown. “Perfect,” Nora muttered. “Surely my cub will be safe there. I better get going though… the poachers are surely on my tail now.”

Picking her cub up in her mouth, Nora quickly slid down the hill and continued to run in the direction of Christmastown, hoping she wasn’t too late to bring her cub somewhere safe... and that she would be taken care of until the poachers were gone for good.

A Nose that Glows and Eyes that Shimmer

For the next week or so, the ponies made themselves comfortable in Christmastown (AKA, the North Pole), and made good friends with Mr. and Mrs. Donner while they helped the soon-to-be parents get ready for their little doe or buck getting ready to come in just a few days.

Izzy and Pipp helped to make the straw bed that Mrs. Donner had been resting on that much more comfortable, Misty helped Sunny make some foods to keep the parents' strengths up (as well as theirs) while Zipp and Hitch took shifts looking out for any dangers, at Donner's suggestion of course.

But that got them confused... what dangers would they have to look for in such a snowy, magical... Christmassy place?

This was something that the ponies would sure find out soon enough.

XXXXXXXX

One early morning, the ponies were sleeping peacefully on the hay beds that Pipp and Izzy made for all of them, when there came a pained scream that woke all of them up immediately. “GAH!! I'm up, I'm up!” Hitch yelped before yawning. “What was that?”

“Call me crazy,” Misty said worriedly, “but that sounds like Mrs. Donner! And she sounds like she's in pain!”

“Come on, guys!” cried Sunny, and they rushed into the next room to find Mrs. Donner groaning in pain, and Donner sitting right beside her, trying to soothe her discomfort. “That’s it, sweetheart. Just keep breathing!”

“Uh oh! It looks like Mrs. Donner is going into labor a week early!” Hitch cried out before he looked rather confident. “Don’t worry, ladies-- I got this!”

He marched forward to Mrs. Donner to see if he could help, and kneeled down to Mrs. Donner's level. “All right, Mrs. Donner, just keep breathing and you're... gonna be... passing out now...”

One look at the current situation, and Mrs. Donner's bulging stomach, was enough to drive Hitch into unconsciousness, causing Misty and Pipp to shriek in surprise. “Great, the only one who might know HOW to deliver a baby is out cold in the coldest place on earth!” Zipp groaned in panic. “Anypony else got any ideas?!”

Sunny took a deep breath to mentally prepare herself. She had never delivered a baby before in her life, but she had heard plenty of stories about her father helped her mother deliver her when she was only a tiny filly.

It might have been their one true chance.

She took off her saddlebag and handed it to Izzy. “Iz, there should be some washcloths in my saddlebag. Find them and get them out.”

“Uh...” Izzy looked a little surprised at how seriously Sunny was being. “S-Sure thing, Sunny!”

“Misty, there's a pond not too far away that we passed on our walk with Sam a few days ago,” Sunny turned toward the blue unicorn. “Use that bucket over there and go get some water, and then you and Izzy can use your magic to heat it up to the right temperature.”

“Sure, Sunny! Be back in a flash!” Misty grabbed the bucket and galloped out of the cave. “Pipp and Zipp, your job is really important,” Sunny stated. “I need the two of you to go find Santa and let him know what's going on.”

“We can do that! Let's go, sis!” Zipp urged as she and Pipp flew out. “Izzy and Donner, keep Mrs. Donner calm,” Sunny said. “I'm gonna try and get Hitch outside and awake so maybe he can help us with this.”

XXXXXXXX

“Come on, Pipp! Shake a wing feather!” Zipp said as she flew through the winds. “We gotta get to Santa's castle and let him know about Mrs. Donner's condition!”

Pipp tiredly panted as she heeved through the high snow levels. “I'm... I'm coming!” the pink pegasus huffed. “Phew, why do these freezing cold places have to have the most snow?!”

“You know, it would be a lot easier if you flew!”

“Oh... yeah, I hadn't thought about that yet...”

Pipp took to the air after her sister, and in no time, they reached Santa's castle, where Zipp pounded her hoof on the door. “Santa, it's Pipp and Zipp! We gotta take you to the Donners' cave, now!”

A woman with black hair and a purple dress opened the door, causing the pegasus sisters to immediately back up. “Oh, hello. I'm Mrs. Claus,” the woman introduced. “Is there something wrong, my dears? Is Mrs. Donner in trouble?”

“Well, I guess you could say that... in a way,” Pipp told her. “Get Santa as fast as you can-- Mrs. Donner is giving birth to her baby right now!”

XXXXXXXX

Misty, at the same time that Mrs. Claus was fetching Santa, had reached the lake and put the bucket into the water, filling it to the top line. “There-- that should be enough to get Mrs. Donner through these labor pains.”

But before she could leave, there came a sound that sounded like a creature running through the bushes. Unfortunately, when she turned, she didn't see anything. “Huh... that's strange. I thought that I heard something...”

Shrugging, she galloped off to get back to the others, unaware that Nora was hiding in the bushes with her small, whimpering cub. “Settle down, little one,” Nora whispered. “If we follow the unicorn, maybe she knows of a place I can bring you. Come on.”

XXXXXXXX

“Sunny, Sunny!” Misty cried as she entered the cave. “I got the water, and Pipp texted me that she, Zipp and Santa are on their way! How’s Mrs. Donner and Hitch?”

“Your friend is... well, still unconscious,” Mr. Donner shrugged as he watched Izzy fan the unconscious sheriff. “Sunny's keeping Mrs. Donner calm, but that baby is gonna come at any minute!”

“That's why I need everypony except Donner out of the cave until I know for sure that this will work!” Sunny said. “I've never delivered a baby myself, but someone here has to try while Hitch is in dream-land over there!”

Everyone looked a little concerned at this, but ultimately... they trusted Sunny, so Hitch was drug out of the cave by Izzy and Misty, and once they were out of the cave, Sunny turned back toward Mrs. Donner. “Okay, Mrs. Donner, I want you to do some breathing and then when I count to three, push!”

Mrs. Donner panted tiredly as she turned to look at Sunny, a tired smile on her face. “You know, Sunny... you may have never delivered a baby before, but without you and your friends-- ugh!!”

“We wouldn’t have the slightest idea of what to do,” Donner said in relief. “Thank you... and we wanna thank your friends too.”

“It's our pleasure,” Sunny smiled back, just before she turned to the panting reindeer doe. “All right, Mrs. Donner, on my count. One... two... three... and PUSH!!”

XXXXXXXX

Hitch groaned and woke at the sound of screaming from inside the cave, looking up to see Izzy and Misty looking down at him. “What took you so long, Mr. Big Shot?” Misty asked with a chuckle. “Sunny is with Mr. and Mrs. Donner, really pulling off this baby delivery thing.”

“Oh, that's good...” Hitch said, smiling and closing his eyes until he realized what Misty just said. “Wait... what did you just say?!”

“SHH! Listen!” Izzy whispered, and all three ponies lifted to hear something... but heard nothing at all. “It's... super duper quiet for some reason.”

“What do you think it means?”

“Do you think the baby's okay?”

Just then, Sunny emerged from the cave, looking tired, but very proud of herself as she put on her saddlebag. “...Mr. and Mrs. Donner had a baby boy!”

Izzy squealed excitedly and hugged Sunny around the neck. “You did it, Sunny! You did it!”

“Come on!” Misty said excitedly, trotting in place. “I wanna see my first ever baby reindeer!”

The four ponies quietly entered the cave, and when they got inside good enough, they found a young baby reindeer drinking from his mother's milk, causing them to coo. “He's so precious!” Misty said, causing Sunny to nod. “He is... and my dad would be so proud that I tried to do something that I had no idea how to do.”

“Have you picked out a name yet?” Hitch asked softly. “We sure have,” Donner nodded. “We'll... we'll call him Rudolph.”

“Rudolph is a lovely name,” Mrs. Donner said lovingly. “Rudolph.”

Hearing his name for the first time, the baby reindeer lifted his head, with his big red nose, and gazed up at his parents. “Hey hey!” Donner commented. “He knows his name already!”

Suddenly, before the eyes of his parents, the little deer's nose began to glow a bright red, causing the ponies to gasp in surprise. “Papa,” he addressed his parents. “Mama.”

Izzy could hardly believe it when she first saw the remarkable display... it was amazing! “He's... he's got a shiny nose!”

“Sh-Sh-Shiny? I'd even say it glows!” Donner exclaimed as Rudolph's nose glowed three more times in a row. After looking at her son for another moment, Mrs. Donner actually liked her son's glowing feature... it made him unique. “Well, we'll simply have to overlook it.”

However, her husband looked at Rudolph with a disapproving gaze. “How can you overlook that? His beak blinks like a blinking beacon!”

“Uh... what?” Hitch blinked, not understanding a word of what Donner just said. “I think his glowing nose is kinda cute!” Misty said as she kneeled down to the little deer. “Hi there, little fella!”

“Aww, he's so cute!” Izzy cooed, just before a familiar, jolly laugh echoed through the cave, revealing Santa, Pipp and Zipp, the pegasus sisters panting tiredly from trudging through the wind and snow. “Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. Well, Donner, where's the new member of the family?” he asked, approaching the family patriarch. “After all, if he's going to be on my team someday, he'd better get to know me. Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.”

“Did you two fly all this way with Santa?” Hitch asked the sisters. “We took turns carrying him on the ground and in the air,” Zipp said, “but... somehow, we still ended up just as exhausted!”

“But... it was all worth it to see that little cutie pie,” Pipp smiled over at the baby reindeer, who looked up at Santa as he approached. “Well, hi there!” Santa said, patting Rudolph on the head. “Aren't you the sturdy little fellow? Ho, ho, ho, ho.”

“Santa?” Rudolph spikeup, causing Zipp to chuckle. “And he's smart, too!”

Suddenly, Rudolph's nose lit up bright red again, causing Pipp and Zipp to gasp and caused Santa's eyes to widen. “Great bouncing icebergs!”

“Now I'm sure it'll stop when he grows up, Santa,” Donner spoke reassuringly. “Well,” Santa spoke, “let's hope so if he wants to make the sleigh team someday.”

“Who's to say that he can't have a glowing nose and fly the sleigh?” Sunny asked. “I mean, if he's anything like his papa, he'll have natural, sleigh-pulling instincts.”

“Sometimes it doesn't work that way, Sunny. I'm afraid we can't just have both,” Santa frowned before turning to look at Rudolph. “You see, little fellow, every year I shine up my jingle bells for eight lucky reindeer.”

And so, to explain things a little better to the baby reindeer, Santa decided to sing a little song.

Jingle, jingle, jingle
You will hear my sleigh bells ring
I am old Kris Kringle
I'm the king of jing-a-ling

Santa then grabbed a harness of sleigh bells, placing it around Donner, and little Rudolph watched his papa fly to the cave ceiling in wonder.

Jingle, jingle reindeer
Through the frosty air they'll go
They are not just plain deer
They're the fastest deer I know
Ho ho!

Rudolph tried to take his first steps, but fell flat onto the floor, only for Sunny to help pick him up as the song continued.

You must believe that on Christmas Eve
I won't pass you by
I'll dash away in my magic sleigh
Flying through the sky

Misty lifted Donner's harness for little Rudolph to slip through, letting the bells jingle as his nose gleamed once again.

Jingle, jingle, jingle
You will hear my sleigh bells ring
I am old Kris Kringle
I'm the king of jing-a-ling

I am old Kris Kringle
I'm the king of jing-a-ling

Ho ho!

And by the time that the song was done, Santa tipped his hat to the ponies and reindeer family before taking his leave, with Rudolph watching him go. “Bye-bye.”

“You never know what the future may hold, Donner. Who knows?” Zipp said, rubbing Rudolph on the head with her hoof. “Maybe Rudolph's special gifts will help him become an amazing sleigh puller.”

“No, Santa's right... he'll never make the sleigh team,” Donner said before he seemed to get an idea. “Wait a minute! I've got it! We'll hide Rudolph's nose.”

This seemed to surprise the ponies and Mrs. Donner all together. “Hide it?”

“Yeah! Come here, boy.”

Rudolph went over to his father as Donner pawed the ground with his hoof, getting a little dirt on it. “You'll be a normal little buck just like everybody else, right? A chip off the old antlers.”

Donner put the clump of dirt he gathered up onto Rudolph's nose, making it look like a standard reindeer nose. Unfortunately, Rudolph didn't seem to enjoy the dirt being on his nose as much as his father did, but Donner merely brushed the thought aside. “Now, now. You'll get used to it. Put it there, son.”

Rudolph cuddled against his father, making the ponies coo in delight. “Awww...”

Mrs. Donner kissed Rudolph on his nose, much to accidentally pull off the dirt and causing his red nose to shine. After Rudolph cuddled with his parents some more, Misty stepped forward. “You think Rudolph is ready to go outside and play in the snow?”

“We'll keep an eye on him the entire time,” Zipp promised. “All right then,” Mrs. Donner smiled. “Just be careful out there!”

The ponies guided little Rudolph out into the outdoors as a gentle snowfall came down from the sky, and Rudolph leapt up and down giggling as he rolled and jumped around like a foal in a bouncy house. But after a moment... he stopped, his eyes focusing on something beside the entrance to the cave.

While the others were too busy having fun to really notice, Sunny tiled her head at what Rudolph was looking at. “What is it, little guy?”

She trotted over to where Rudolph was and gasped at what he saw... a little arctic fox cub, whimpering and shivering in the snow, her multi-colored eyes slowly beginning to open. Sunny picked it up into her hooves and looked around, not seeing a mother fox anywhere in sight. “What do you think, Rudolph? You think your parents will let this little cutie stay with us until her family comes looking for her?”

“Uh-huh,” Rudolph nodded softly, looking at the white fur ball in Sunny's hooves before and the earth pony mare moved back toward the cave to show the little one to Rudolph's parents.

XXXXXXXX

“Hey, there she is!”

“After her! Come on, idiots!”

“Don't let that fox get away!”

Nora panted heavily as she darted to get away from the poachers, since her baby was going to be in the safe hooves of the reindeer family she saw earlier.

Now all she had to do was save herself, or else there wouldn't be any Aurora Borealis arctic foxes left!

Upon seeing the ocean ahead, she leapt onto a nearby ice piece and pushed it out to sea, causing the poachers to screech to a halt and yell at her to come back.

But the current swept the poor fox and her ice piece away from land, and this left the poor mother fox to be worried, causing her to sigh. “I'll be back soon, my little Borealis. Protect those you love, and I'll be back for you soon.”

And just like that, she floated beyond the North Pole's boundaries, leaving her cub and the only world she had ever known behind for... well, who knows how long.

First Year at the North Pole/Misfit Doubts

Sunny and Rudolph brought the white fox cub inside the warm cave for Rudolph's parents to see her, and when she looked up at the tall figures over her, the multi-colored eyes of the fox shown fear and worry about what these strangers might do to her. “It’s okay, little cutie,” Sunny smiled gently. “We’re not going to hurt you.”

The cub seemed to be less tense after that, stepping away from the group and sniffing around the cave. “It’s very remarkable, Donner dear,” said Mrs. Donner, looking at the fox as she sniffed around the cave. “A fox with three different colors mixed into her eyes... truly amazing!”

“Huh... now what can we do about that?” Donner wondered. “No dirt is gonna cover those eyes.”

“Donner, I don't see why you would have to cover Rudolph's nose with dirt-- he's perfect the way he is,” Sunny spoke up. “Despite his unique nose, he's perfectly healthy, and happy, by the look he's giving right now.”

Truth be told, Rudolph was playing with the fox cub on the other side of the cave, both of them smiling and giggling and having a great time. “It’s... just a shame that no one else will get to see Rudolph's unique gift,” Sunny frowned. “I think it's amazing.”

“Well, others might not see it the way you do, Miss Starscout,” Donner told her sternly. “And, I for one, am not going to have a son that's going to be the laughing stock of Christmastown!”

“Donner! Control your temper!” Mrs. Donner scolded. “Sunny's just trying to help you see what good Rudolph's nose might be.”

“...don't you think I know that?”

And just like that, Donner walked out of the cave to get some air, passing Sunny's friends on the way out, causing them to become worried.

Sunny turned toward Mrs. Donner with a guilty look. “I'm sorry, Mrs. Donner. I-I just wanted to help him see--”

“I know what you're trying to say, dear. It's just... my Donner can be so set in his ways, and his ego coming from his lead reindeer role doesn’t help much either.”

“Well... yeah, but...”

“Sunny?” Izzy and Pipp stuck their heads into the cave after seeing Donner walk off. “Is everything okay?” the pink pegasus asked her friend. “Donner just stormed out, looking kind of upset.”

“...he'll be fine, guys,” Sunny said, half-lying to her friends. “Everything is gonna be just fine.”

Rudolph, somehow sensing Sunny’s sadness, walked over to her and rubbed up against her leg, making her smile. “Thanks, Rudolph… somehow you knew exactly what I needed. So… what do you think, Mrs. Donner? You think we have room for a sweet little fox until we can find her family?”

“I certainly don’t see why not,” Mrs. Donner spoke. “But she’s going to need a name and a collar. Certainly, the elves can help with the collar, so why don’t you pick out the name?”

“Really? Okay!” Sunny smiled in delight before humming in thought. “Let’s see…”

Sunny began to notice some characteristics about the fox that might decide the name. Her eyes, for one thing, were stunning, and she was very playful. Suddenly, the perfect idea for a name hit her dead on. “How about... Borealis? Bori for short. Because her eyes sorta remind me of the Northern Lights.”

Borealis yipped excitedly, her furry white tail wagging, and this caused Mrs. Donner to chuckle. “I think she likes that name.”

“And I think she and Rudolph really like each other too,” Sunny noticed how Borealis and Rudolph were snuggling with each other. “All right then, Rudolph-- looks like Borealis is gonna stay with us for a little while! Let's call the others inside to meet her, and then we can get to showing you around Christmastown and whatever else your parents need you both to learn.”

XXXXXXXX

Needless to say, the others absolutely fell in love with Borealis, and were willing to help the parents take care of her and Rudolph, figuring it would be as easy as taking care of a foal or filly.

But, they had no idea of how wrong they were.

One morning, after learning that Donner had taken Rudolph and Borealis out into the Christmas Tree Forest, the ponies decided to go check on them, only to find that Donner was teaching the young reindeer how to spar with his tiny nubs of antlers. “Hey there, cutie Rudy!” Izzy cooed. “What are you all doing out here?”

“Just teaching my little buck here how to defend himself,” Donner explained. “In case he and the fox were to ever need it.”

Zipp didn’t like how Donner kept calling Borealis the fox, but decided to discard the thought when another thought entered her mind. “Wait... why would Rudolph need to learn how to defend himself? Seems like you would always be protected up here.”

Suddenly, a loud roaring sound was heard, caught Donner and the ponies' ears. Rudolph and Borealis instantly got close to Donner when they heard this, and Donner urged everyone behind a large snowbank as the earh shook with giant footsteps.

Who is this giant, you may be wondering? Well, this beast is none other than... the Abominable Snow Monster of the North. He's mean, he's nasty, and he hates everything to do with Christmas.

That's why all the reindeer and elves and forest creatures knew to stay away from him, if at all possible.

After the snow monster disappeared into the trees, Donner knew it was safe for the ponies, he and his son and Borealis to come out of hiding, and Borealis began to roll around in the monster's footprint, not having a care in the world, despite the scare a few moments earlier.

Zipp took a breath to try and calm herself down. “Well, I guess that thing answered my question. Do you want some help looking out for anymore dangers? We have been known to fight a time or two.”

“You guys can do the fighting and whatnot,” Pipp told her sister. “Izzy, Misty and I are gonna go see what we can do about a collar for Borealis and see if we can help those elves in Santa's workshop. Come on, girls!”

“Bye, guys!” Misty waved before she and Izzy ran off after Pipp. That’s when Zipp turned to Rudolph in a ready stance. “Okay, Rudolph. Sunny, Hitch and I are gonna help your dad train you to keep yourself out of harms way. First things first, sparing-- which it seems your dad already taught you. But, the real object of fighting for ponies is using our legs. First up, some basic kicks and leaps.”

XXXXXXXX

Izzy, Misty and Pipp finally made it to Santa's workshop, and Mrs. Claus gladly let them inside to show them around. “Oh-ho, wow!” Izzy beamed in delight. “There's unicycling at every turn!”

“Will we get to meet some actual elves, Mrs. Claus?” Misty asked excitedly. “Oh, yes!” Mrs. Claus smiled. “I actually want to introduce you to the head of the toy-building operation.”

Walking their way was a short, no-nonsense elf dressed in green before stopping only a foot or two away. “You wanted to see me, Mrs. Claus?”

“Yes, Boss Elf. These are some Equestrians that are spending quite a bit of time here in Christmastown, and they wanted to see what you elves do here.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Boss Elf, sir,” Misty said politely. “I'm Misty, and this is Pipp and Izzy.”

“Nice to meet all of you,” Boss Elf told them. “Come on, we'll show you the main operation.”

The three ponies immediately followed the Boss Elf to the biggest room in the workshop, where a long line of elves were hard at work, making toys. “Oh, wow... really Christmas chic!” Pipp said, taking some pictures. “Look at all the building and hammering and painting and... wait. That elf at the end seems a little out of it, don't you think?”

Boss Elf looked at where Pipp was pointing, and true to her word, an elf at the end was taking his time painting a toy wagon, causing him to growl in frustration. “Excuse me for a few minutes, ladies. I need to make sure Hermey knows his place.”

Without another word, the Boss Elf stormed over to the elf on the end with hands on his hips. “HERMEY!!” he yelled, honestly surprising the elf, now known as Hermey, and the ponies all at once. “Aren't you finished painting that yet?!”

Hermey shook her head as work on the line diminished to a stand still, causing everyone to look down at him. “There's a pileup a mile wide behind you,” Boss Elf told him sternly. “What's eatin' you, bboys?

Hermey's only response was a shrug-- a rather unhappy shrug, to make matters worse. “Not happy in my work, I guess.”

“WHAT?!”

“I just don't like to make toys.”

Izzy honestly couldn't believe such a statement, but if it didn't make Hermey happy, there was no point in trying to force it. “Oh, well, if that's all.... what?!” Boss Elf shrieked. “You don't like to make toys?!”

“No...”

That's when the Boss Elf turned to look down the line. “Hermey doesn't like to make toys!” he said, causing the other elves to whisper down the line.

“Hermey doesn't like to make toys!”

“Oh, shame on you!” all the elves shouted, but before the ponies could intervene, the Boss Elf spoke up again. “Mind telling me what you do want to do?”

“Well, sir,” Hermey admitted, “someday, I'd like to be a... a dentist!”

“A DENTIST?!”

The other elves laughed at such a claim as Hermey excitedly brought out a book of dentistry and laid it on the table. “Well, we need one up here. I've been studying. It's fascinating. You've no idea. Molars and bicuspids and incisors.”

“Now, listen, you. You're an elf, and elves make toys!” Boss Elf shoved the unpainted toy wagon in front of him. “Now, get to work!”

Suddenly, a whistle blew right near Misty, causing her to shriek and fall onto Izzy in surprise. “10 minute break!” Boss Elf said, letting all the elves leave... all except for Hermey. “Not for you! Finish the job, or you're fired!”

All of other elves left the workshop, leaving Hermey in tears as he continued to worm.

That's when Izzy just couldn’t stand seeing him so sad... it was too much for her to bare.

The lavender unicorn approached Hermey, picked up a paintbrush and began to paint a toy train. “It looked like you needed some help in such a short time span.”

“Oh, that's all right,” Hermey reassured them. “You don't have to go to all the trouble. I suppose I did this to myself.”

“But, I don't think the head elf should discard your dreams as nothing and force you to make toys,” Misty shook her head. “It doesn’t really seem right.”

“So, why don't we paint these toys for now and get them ready to be wrapped,” Pipp offered, “and you can keep reading that dentist book of yours.”

“Wow, that's very generous of you all! Thank you very much,” Hermey smiled. “I'm Hermey, by the way.”

“I'm Izzy-- Izzy Moonbow,” Izzy introduced. “And that's Pipp Petals and Misty Brightdawn.”

“Hello!”

“Nice to meet you!”

After a little while of talking and getting to know one another... Hermey began to sing his frustrations of what he was going through.

Why am I such a misfit?
I am not just a nitwit
You can't fire me, I quit!
Since I don't fit in

The ponies seemed to feel bad for their new friends, but they weren't sure what to say, so they just kept on working.

After a while, the toys were done, and as the girls prepared to head out before the other elves got back, Hermey handed them a small box. “Here, I want you to have these. They're special necklaces that elves give to their friends, but... I think you deserve them more. There's even some for any friends you may have too.”

“Really?” Misty asked as she took the box. “Wow... thank you so much! We'll come back and visit you soon!”

And so, waving goodbye, the three ponies left the workshop to head back to their home away from home.

XXXXXXXX

The next few months went by quicker than anypony would have expected, and Rudolph and Borealis were growing up quickly, becoming closer to each other and to their pony friends by the day.

The elves even crafted a very special collar for Borealis, so everyone would know who she was-- there was a white fringe around the red collar, and attached to the collar was a shimmering snow globe with a golden heart charm stuck inside... something Borealis treasured more than anything in the world.

However, much to Donner's dismay, Rudolph's nose seemed to get brighter and brighter, and Borealis' eyes continued to shine like the Northern Lights.

Both of them seemed to feel like outcasts since Borealis was being raised by reindeer and since she and Rudolph seemed like they were the only ones they knew of with these gifts... but they didn't see them as gifts.

Donner was determined to at least hide Rudolph's nose from the world, so one day, he took a dirt-made cover for Rudolph's nose onto his hoof and lifted it up for his son to test out. “All right, son. Try it on.”

“I don't wanna,” Rudolph protested as his nose continued to glow. “Daddy, I don't like it.”

“You'll like it and wear it!”

“But-- but, Daddy!” Rudolph argued as his father put on the cover. “It’s not very comfortable on him, sir,” Borealis said uncomfortably. “Maybe we can try something else?”

“There are more important things than comfort, fox; self-respect,” Donner said sternly. “Santa can't object to you now.”

Borealis and Rudolph decided to take a walk outside, unaware that the ponies were outside in the snow, listening to everything that Donner had said. When he thought they were alone, Rudolph took the cover off his nose and softly began to sing.

Why am I such a misfit?
I am not just a nitwit
Just because my nose glows...

Why don't I fit in?

Borealis snuggled up against Rudolph's cheek, trying to softly smile. “Don’t worry about it too much, Rudolph. Donner... I think he just wants to protect you from being hurt. As for me... I don't know what to think.”

“You know... I know first hoof how it feels to be different than everypony else,” Sunny said as she and the other ponies approached. “I was the only one out of an entire town of earth ponies to believe that pegasi and unicorns could be friends after my dad passed away. I know exactly how you feel.”

“So... after you brought magic back to your world... did ponies start treating you differently?” Rudolph asked. “I mean... since you were an alicorn part of the time?”

“...sometimes they treated me better when I was an alicorn, sometimes they treated me the same,” Sunny said hesitantly. “But we think you're both amazing, no matter what anypony else thinks.”

“...even with a glowing nose? And a fox with colorful rainbow eyes being raised by reindeer?” Borealis asked, causing Zipp to tickle her slightly. “Even with those differences, we still think you guys are amazing.”

“And I bet that soon,” said Misty, “other people will see the same thing we see.”

Borealis sighed and looked up at the snowflakes falling from up above. “I sure hope that you guys are right...”

Reindeer Game Runaways

A few more months slowly passed until it was April, when the Reindeer Games would be taking place-- a special place where young reindeer could play and show off their skills, hoping to be on Santa's sleigh team when they were older.

Rudolph was really nervous for this day, and Borealis was nervous for him-- what if her best friend and brother's secret was exposed, and he became a laughing stock? And what if others found out that she was an orphan being raised by reindeer?

They almost agreed that they weren't going to go on any circumstances, but Donner seemed so persistent about pleasing Santa that they couldn’t get a word in edge-wise. So... they just decided to go and please Donner, despite their overshot nerves.

XXXXXXXX

“Are you sure that you guys will be close to us during the reindeer games?” Borealis asked Sunny and the other ponies as they all hung out in the ponies' sidecave. “You know... just in case something goes wrong?”

“Of course we will-- neither of you have to worry,” Sunny reassured them. “We’ll be right there on the sidelines in case something happens, but more importantly, cheering you on.”

“And while you're off making new friends and having a great time,” Pipp said, holding the guitar that she got for Christmas a few months ago, “I'm going to be busy writing a new song for the holiday party!”

“Pipp, this is spring-- Christmas isn’t for another couple of months now!” Zipp tried to point out. “You can never get too much practice in, Zipp,” Pipp told her sister. “Especially if you want your performance to be perfection...!!”

“Rudolph! Borealis!” Mrs. Donner called from outside the cave. “It's time to go! We don't want to be late!”

“Coming, Mama!” Rudolph called back. “You two go on ahead,” said Hitch, “and we'll be right behind you.”

Rudolph and Borealis nodded and galloped out of the cave, just as Izzy got a new idea. “Hey, we haven’t worn the necklaces that Hermey gave us yet!” she realized, getting the box out of hiding. “And the reindeer games would be a great place to show them off!”

“Sure, Izzy. It was really nice of him to give us those,” Sunny said, “and it would be a shame for us to not wear them.”

Izzy nodded and opened the box, revealing deep blue necklaces with different charms and a locket with a ruby red heart, handing them out to the ponies that she felt that would best suit their personalities:

Sunny would get the heart locket, Pipp would get the necklace with the music note charm, Izzy would get the necklace with the diamond charm, Zipp would get the necklace with the lightning bolt charm, Hitch would get the necklace with the shield charm, and finally, Misty would get the necklace with the butterfly charm.

But as they settled the necklaces around their necks, the ponies felt a strange sensation and looked down to see that their bodies were gaining a whole new look!

Their hooves were painted icy blue or a cool purple color, along with sparkly blue and purple glitter on their legs, and blue and purple on their horns, manes and tails. “Oh-ho, whoa!” Zipp said as they admired their new looks. “I can barely feel the cold anymore! These necklaces have cast some sort of amazing winter magic on us!”

“These looks are so beautiful!” Misty said, admiring her new tints of blue in her mane and tail. “We really look like members of Christmas town with these!”

“Well, what are we waiting for, ponies?!” Izzy asked excitedly. “Rudolph, Borealis and their family are waiting for us!”

“She's right!” Pipp cried. “Reindeer Games, here we come!”

XXXXXXXX

Needless to say, the Donner family and Borealis were stunned to see the ponies new winter looks, but proclaimed that they looked amazing, prompting the ponies to thank their new friends before heading off to the field near Santa’s castle, where the reindeer games would take place.

Finally, they arrived to the site of the reindeer games, and Santa would be arriving soon to look over the new fawns born last spring.

Upon seeing all the young reindeer having fun in the field, Borealis' fears instantly melted away. “Wow... there are so many fawns to play with, Rudolph! We could have a lot of new friends after today, and with your nose cover, maybe we really won't have anything to worry about!”

While Borealis' fears seemed to be diminishing, Rudolph's nerves seemed to be growing more and more by the minute, and the ponies knew he needed a little encouragement. “Rudolph, you guys are gonna have a great time out there,” Misty said. “You’re gonna get to make a lot of new friends, and they'll like you for you... not because of your nose. I mean... Bori doesn’t seem to be bothered by the colors of her eyes, so why shluld your glowing nose bother you?”

“Your friends are right. Now, don't worry about your nose, son,” Donner told him encouragingly. “Just get out there and do your stuff. Remember, you're my little buck.”

Donner pushed the little deer and his fox friend forward, and when they looked toward Sunny, she smiled. “You guys have fun-- we'll be cheering you on every step of the way!”

Slowly, Rudolph and Borealis nodded and walked toward the other fawns, encountering another buck about Rudolph's age, with a tuft of blonde hair on his head. “Hi,” he greeted in a friendly manner. “My name’s Fireball. What are yours?”

“Rudolph. And this is Bori-- short for Borealis,” Rudolph introduced shyly. “Wow, a fox who's best friends with a reindeer. Don't see that every day,” Fireball commented, not noticing how Rudolph talked differently cause of the cover on his nose and the colors of Borealis' eyes. “Come on-- you can be my buddies.”

“Are you gonna be in the reindeer games too, Fireball?” Borealis asked. “Sure am. Makes antlers grow,” Fireball responded as they walked. “Besides, it's a great way to show off in front of the does. Come on!”

Borealis and Rudolph laughed and ran after their new friend, all while the ponies watched from the sidelines. “Aww, look at that!” Izzy said sweetly. “Looks like they made a new friend already! Maybe we'll get to go home soon since Rudolph is doing so well.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions about our mission, Iz,” Zipp told her. “The slightest twist may change things either for better or for worse. We just gotta be on our guard, just in case it's for the worst.”

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, the elves were bustling with activity-- Christmas was over, but they still kept busy with lessons in elf improvement... and that included performing a new elf song for Santa himself, directed by none other than Boss Elf. “All out for elf practice!”

The elves formed a line for the choir and for the band while Santa and Mrs. Claus sat on their thrones, the former checking his pocket watch, as if he was in some sort of hurry. “Let's get this over with. I have to look over the new deer.”

“Okay, Santa,” Boss Elf nodded before turning back to his fellow elves. “Let's try out the new elf song I wrote. And remember, it's for Santa. And a-one... and a-two... and a-three...”

And as soon as the count off ended, the elves began to sing a very merry tune.

Elves: Ho ho ho, ho ho ho
We are Santa's elves!

We are Santa's elves
Filling Santa's shelves
With a toy for each girl and boy
Oh, we are Santa's elves!

Elf 1: We work hard all day

Fat Elf: But our work is play

Elves: Dolls we try out
See if they cry out
We are Santa's elves!

We've a special job each year

Tall Elf: We don't like to brag

Elves: Christmas Eve we always fill Santa's bag

Santa knows who's good
Do the things you should
And we bet you, he won't forget you
We are Santa's elves!

Boss Elf happened to turn his head at the bridge of the song, looking to see that Mrs. Claus was happily enjoying the tune, but Santa seemed to find it rather annoying.

But that was okay-- one more verse ought to change his mind.

Elves: We've a special job each year

Tall Elf: We don't like to brag

Elves: Christmas Eve we always fill Santa's bag

Santa knows who's good
Do the things you should
And we bet you, he won't forget you
We are Santa's elves!

Ho ho ho, ho ho ho
We are Santa's elves!

HO HO!

Mrs. Claus happily clapped as the elves finished the song, but Santa merely hummed as a reaction. “Hmm. Well, it needs work. I have to go.”

And just like that, Santa took his leave, just before Mrs. Claus approached Boss Elf. “What does Papa know? It's beautiful. You keep it just the way it was. Papa? Papa!”

Mrs. Claus quickly followed her husband out the door, just before Boss Elf turned to the choir and band, clearly frustrated Santa did not react the way he had hoped. “That sounded terrible! The tenor section was weak!”

“Wasn't our fault, boss,” said one of the elves. “Hermey never showed up.”

“WHAT?!”

That angered Boss Elf beyond comparison-- when he found Hermey, he was going to make sure he never missed another elf practice again... count on it.

XXXXXXXX

Where was Hermey, you might be wondering? Well, he was in the toy building room, working on the teeth on one of the many dolls the elves had been working on, thinking this was a good way to still practice his dentistry, but make toys like an elf was supposed to do. “Now this won't hurt a bit.”

Hermey gently began to tap on the doll's teeth, but as he did, Boss Elf stormed in, more angry than ever, which worried Hermey. “Why weren't you at elf practice?!”

“Just fixing these dolls' teeth,” Hermey responded nervously. “Just fixing-- now listen!” Boss Elf threatened the misfit elf. “We have dolls that cry, talk, walk, blink, and run a temperature. We don't need any chewing dolls!”

Hermey looked down at the floor at his employer scolding him, feeling very out of place. “I just thought I found a way to... to fit in.”

“You'll never fit in!” Boss Elf growled before storming back toward the door. “You come to practice and Learn how to wiggle your ears... and chuckle warmly and go 'hee hee' and 'ho ho' and important stuff like that. A dentist! Good grief!”

And just like that, he slammed the doors and left Hermey alone. That's when Hermey seemed to make the most reinforced decision he had ever made in his entire life... other than to follow his passion and become a dentist, that is. “No. I just can't. It's like he said: I'll never fit in.”

Swiftly grabbing his dentistry book, he walked over to the window and opened it, using it as an escape method to run away from all these cruel words and thoughts of doing something he didn’t want to do. “I guess I'm on my own now...” Hermey muttered to himself before setting out to make a life of his own.

XXXXXXXX

“No no no no! UGH!!” Pipp groaned in frustration, still strumming with her guitar. “That still doesn’t sound like the right pitch!”

“Having trouble with your new song, Pipp?” Hitch asked. “Ugh, yes!” Pipp said in exasperation. “I’ve tried practically every pitch for the lyrics I wrote, but none of them really sound right!”

“Hey, maybe watching Rudolph and Borealis play with Fireball will give you some inspiration!” Izzy said, pointing to the three of them. “They sure look like they’re having fun!”

Truth be told, Izzy was right-- Borealis and Rudolph were happy to be playing with Fireball, the first fawn who approached them, and they were having such a great time when Fireball noticed they were being watched. “Hey, look!” he said, looking behind them. “Does!”

As Rudolph and Borealis looked behind them, three does were indeed watching them and giggling, and one of them, wearing a red and white polka-dotted bow, blinked sweetly at Rudolph-- something Pipp immediately took notice of. “Oooooh… ponies, look! One of those does is making an impression on our assignment!”

“Awww!” Misty cooed. “They’d be so cute together!”

“I didn’t know you loved love, Misty!” Izzy said, shooting her friend a playful look. “Well, I do!” Misty giggled. “I just never expected Rudolph to have a crush this early on.”

At the same time, Fireball noticed the doe making those cute faces at Rudolph and instantly smiled. “Hey, what did ya know? One of them likes ya. Ha ha!”

“Yeah, Fireball?” Rudolph said. “Do you really think so?”

“Go on, Rudolph!” Borealis whispered. “Smile back at her!”

“You sure, Bori? I-I don't wanna give her the wrong idea.”

“Come on, you’re my best friend! Would I ever steer you wrong? Besides... she already seems to like you, and you seem to like her!”

So, Rudolph built up his courage and blinked back at her, making Borealis’ tail wag. Unbeknownst to her or anyone else for that matter, sparkles seemed to come from her tail, just before a whistle blew off to their right. “Uh oh!” Fireball spoke. “Here comes the coach!”

“We better hurry, or we’ll miss the start of the games!” Borealis said as she walked forward a bit, and this gave Rudolph a chance to look back at the doe again before joining the other bucks and his fox friend. A tall buck with a whistle around his neck and a hat on his head approached the young deer, speaking in a serious tone. “All right. All right, yearlings. All right, now!”

At his call to attention, the yearlings and Borealis stopped their chatter. “That’s better,” the coach said. “My name is Comet. Even though I'm your instructor, I want to be your pal. Right? Right. My job is to make bucks out of you. So let's go.”

Comet blew his whistle, earning attention to the group once again. “All right. Our first game is called ‘Takeoff’,” he explained. “We all want to pull Santa's sleigh someday, don't we? So we must learn to fly. Now, who's first to try?”

“Me me me me!” all the fawns and Borealis (who knew she couldn’t fly but still wanted to make an attempt) seemed to shout all at once. “One at a time! One at a time!” Comet shouted before looking to one of the yearlings. “You. You're Dasher's little boy, aren't you? You go first.”

“Aww…” all the bucks seemed to pout. “Don’t worry, yearlings!” Sunny shouted from the sidelines. “You’ll all get your turn eventually!”

“Yeah! Just be patient!” Hitch shouted after her. Comet smiled at them for calming the yearlings before turning to Dasher’s young one. “All right now. The whole trick is getting up enough speed and jumping into the wind,” he explained. “You got it? Go ahead!”

Dasher’s boy took a running start for a good ways, and when he felt like he was fast enough, jumped into the air… and landed right on his face in the snow. While the other fawns chuckled and laughed at this, Sunny and her friends cheered him on.

“Whoo-hoo!”

“All right!”

“Good try there, little guy!”

“Yay!”

“Great job!”

“Very good!” Comet said, pleased. “For a first try. Next?”

Borealis kept looking back at the doe Rudolph seemed to like, and noticed that there was quite a long line for jumpers. So, she decided to help her friend take the first leap to talking to her. “He won’t get to you or Fireball for a while yet,” she whispered to Rudolph. “Now’s your chance to get acquainted with that doe!”

“You mean it? You want me to go talk to her? Won't you be lonely over here, all by yourself?”

“Go ahead, buddy. I’ll be right here waiting to hear all about it when you get back.”

The other ponies seemed to urge him to go talk to the doe too, and with a nervous giggle, Rudolph trotted over to her, keeping his head held low until the doe spoke in a soft tone. “Nice day.”

“...yup,” Rudolph got that one word to escape, that’s how nervous he was. “For takeoff practice, I mean,” the doe clarified, and Rudolph responded with that one word once again. “Yup.”

“How’s he doing over there, Pipp?” Zipp asked her sister, watching the two through her visor. “On the Pipp scale of one to ten,” Pipp hummed, “I’d give him… a 6 for effort.”

“A six? He actually went up and talked to her!” Hitch whispered. “That earns him a 10 in my book.”

“I bet you’ll be the best,” the doe told Rudolph, making him blush heavily. “Well… I don’t know.”

“Something wrong with your nose?” the doe asked Rudolph, and Rudolph froze, thinking she had seen his nose glow underneath the cover. “I-I mean… you talk kinda funny.”

Rudolph had to keep his secret, otherwise whatever feelings this doe had for him would be diminished just as quickly as they surfaced. “What's so funny about the way I talk?”

“Don’t get angry,” the doe said gently. “I don’t mind.”

“You don’t?”

The doe shook her head, deciding to finally introduce herself. “My name’s Clarice. Hi.”

“My name’s Rudolph,” the red-nosed reindeer in disguise greeted back. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“He’s doing it…” Sunny whispered in delight. “He’s making a doe friend!”

“WAY TO GO, RUD--” Izzy began to cheer before Sunny and Pipp covered her mouth, but it was enough to get Rudolph and Clarice to look at them. “Those are my pony friends over there, from Equestria,” Rudolph said before turning toward Borealis, who watched them from beside Fireball. “And that’s Borealis, my best fox friend.”

“Hi…” Borealis whispered a hello, causing Clarice to bow her head in greeting. That’s when Rudolph finally built up his nerve just enough to ask her an important question. “Hey, Clarice... after practice, would you-- would you--?”

“Rudolph!” Comet called. “You get back here! It's your turn, you know.”

“Gee, I got to go back,” Rudolph began to leave before turning back to Clarice with hopeful eyes. “Would you walk home with me?”

“Uh-huh… Rudolph,” Clarice said sweetly before leaning to whisper in Rudolph’s ear. “I think you’re cute.”

That seemed to trigger something in Rudolph’s heart that swelled him up with happiness. “I’m cute!” he repeated, leaping into the air and soaring a great distance. “I’m CUUUUUUTE!!!”

Finally, his descent put him right in front of Comet, who was wide-eyed with amazement at such a takeoff. “Magnificent!”

“I’m cute! I’m cute! She said I’m CUTE!!!” Rudolph shouted before taking to the skies, causing the spectators around him to gasp and ooh in delight. Even Santa was impressed! “Not bad!” he said. “Not bad at all!”

The ponies rushed to their little friends as he landed next to Fireball and Borealis, both of them majorly impressed. “Hey!” Fireball exclaimed. “You’re okay!”

“Rudolph, that was amazing!” Sunny told her friend. “Yeah!” Misty spoke with a nod. “You flew higher and farther than any other fawn! It’s like that doe supercharged something in you!”

“She said I'm cute!” Rudolph cheered. “Ha ha!”

As the ponies and Borealis cheered for their friend, Rudolph and Fireball engaged in some rough play, sparing with their antlers and kicking up their hooves.

That's when everything seemed to take a turn for the worst.

Rudolph's fake nose popped right off, revealing his bright glowing nose, causing Fireball to back up with wide, fearful eyes. “For cryin' out loud!”

“Fireball?” Rudolph questioned out of worry. “What's the matter?”

“G-G-Get away! G-Get away from me!” Fireball said, completely terrified. “Fireball, I know you're a little freaked out,” Borealis said comfortingly, tail wagging as her eyes began to glow brightly, “but if you give us a chance to explain, we can--”

Fireball screamed a second time and backed away again, this time even further. “She's casting some sort of freaky magic on me!”

“Now, now! What's this nonsense here, bucks? After all-- aah!!!” Comet screamed in surprise, causing the other young bucks to gasp before surrounding Rudolph and Borealis, practically shoving the ponies aside as they began to laugh at the two misfits. “Hey!” one buck began the teasing. “Look at the beak and peep-holes!”

“Hey, Fire Snout!”

“Rainbow Fox Witch!”

“Red schnoz!”

“Hey!” Borealis snapped. “Stop calling me and my brother/friend names!”

“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Borealis the Rainbow Freak Fox!”

“Adopted freak!”

As the bucks continued to laugh, Santa was in the middle of scolding Donner, who hung his head out of shame. “Donner, you should be ashamed of yourself. What a pity. He had a nice takeoff, too.”

“We have to find a way to stop this!” Zipp angrily demanded. “Can't the other adults do something?!”

Thankfully, Comet blew his whistle to draw the other yearlings back to him. “All right, all right now, yearlings. Back to practice!”

The other fawns rushed off, but as Borealis and Rudolph were about to join them, Comet stopped them in their tracks. “Oh no. Not you two,” he said firmly. “You better go home with your folks. From now on, gang, we won't let Rudolph and Borealis join in any reindeer games, right?”

“Right!”

Borealis and Rudolph looked betrayed and hurt by that point, tears running down their faces as they looked back at the laughing fawns and adult deer before running off toward the forest. “Rudolph! Borealis! Wait!” Sunny tried to stop them, but Clarice had already gone after them.

That's when Sunny had just about enough.

Her cutie mark lit up as she leapt into the air, changing into her alicorn form as she landed, silencing everyone with stunned gasps. “I can't believe-- no... me and my friends can't believe how immature and selfishly you all are acting!” she scolded harshly. “You all liked Rudolph and Borealis long before their secrets got out!”

“Yeah!” Zipp agreed. “We sat over there thinking that Rudolph and Borealis might make some friends today, but instead, they ran away because of how poorly they were being treated! You should all be ashamed of yourselves!”

“If I was the sheriff of Christmastown, I would make sure you were all punished!” Hitch agreed fiercely. “But since I'm not...”

“And since we're the only ones that Rudolph and Borealis can seem to trust,” Misty finished, “we're going to go make sure they're okay, and try to convince them to come home... not that you guys seem bothered by what you just did.”

With that, the ponies ran off in the direction that Rudolph and his little fox friend ran off in, as well as Clarice. Everyone stood muttering for a few minutes, but no one felt worse than Donner, because as much as he hated to admit it...

...the ponies were right.

By trying to change who Rudolph was... he was the first to tease his son and adopted fox daughter, sending them on the run and away from home.

First Night being Independant with Friends

Borealis sobbed hard as she and Rudolph ran through the Christmas Tree Forest, feeling the most embarrassed... no, the most humiliated... no, the most angry... no, feeling the greatest level of every emotion (except happy) that they had ever experienced.

For the first time, they actually thought they could make friends... be normal, even. But, that chance was ruined, and not only were they laughing stocks of the North Pole, but they also put their family to shame in the process.

All they could do now was leave Christmastown and never come back. “Rudolph!” called a sweet-sounding voice. “Borealis! Rudolph!”

Rudolph and Borealis stopped after hearing this voice, and when they turned, they saw Clarice standing not too far away from them, the ponies panting tiredly as they came up from behind her. “Oh... there you guys are!” Pipp said in relief. “We were so worried...”

“M-Make them go away, Rudolph...” Borealis whimpered tearfully, hugging up against Rudolph’s leg. “I-I don't wanna see anyone right now...”

The ponies became broken hearted at hearing how depressed Borealis sounded, cautiously stepping forward with Clarice as Rudolph looked at them. “Well... what do you all want?”

“Rudolph... are you kidding?” Sunny asked in a soft tone. “We had to come look for the two of you and make sure you were okay after hearing those reindeer berate and tease you like that-- no one, especially not our friends, deserve that.”

“Besides...” Clarice spoke up, “you promised you'd walk me home.”

Rudolph did remember that, and felt embarrassed that he let Clarice see his... non-conformity. “Aren't you going to laugh at my nose too?”

“Or the fact that somehow my tail can cast magic? Or that my eyes are three different colors?” Borealis added. “I think Rudolph's nose is a handsome nose,” Clarice spoke. “Much better than that silly false one you were wearing. And your eyes and magic are beautiful, Bori-- and so unique that any other fox would be jealous of you and your abilities.”

“Hey!” Pipp giggled. “That’s what we told them earlier! Strangest thing that sometimes what we tell them doesn't sink in until someone else says it.”

Rudolph continued to hang his head in shame. “It's terrible. We're so different than everybody else.”

“But that's what makes you guys so great!” Sunny said, gently lifting his muzzle up. “I think Clarice would agree that any doe... or anypony, for that matter would be lucky to have friends like you and Bori, Rudolph.”

Clarice nodded at this. “Sunny, I believe you took the words right out of my mouth.”

“Really?” Borealis asked hopefully, but then her ears pinned as she shook her head. “But we weren't very lucky today, were we?”

“I wish…” Rudolph began to say. “I… I wish… I…”

Then, before he could continue, the group heard Clarice singing in the most beautiful voice they’d ever heard… even Pipp was stunned at how beautiful it was.

There's always tomorrow
For dreams to come true
Believe in your dreams
Come what may

There's always tomorrow
With so much to do
And so little time
In a day

Then, even without Hitch telling them to, some more forest animals came to sit beside Clarice while she sang.

We all pretend the rainbow has an end
And you'll be there, my friend, someday

There's always tomorrow
For dreams to come true
Tomorrow is not far away

Animals: We all pretend the rainbow has an end
And you'll be there, my friend, someday

At the final couple of lines, Pipp decided to sing with Clarice, and then the rest of the ponies joined in.

Pipp and Clarice: There's always tomorrow
For dreams to come true

Ponies and Clarice: Tomorrow is not far awaaaaaaaay!!

As the song came to a close, Clarice and Rudolph snuggled with one another before they began to walk off, the ponies and Borealis walking behind them. “Hey… guys?” Borealis looked up at her friends. “Thanks… for everything.”

“No problem,” Izzy smiled. “And it may just be me, but it looks like things are going to look up from here!”

But she couldn’t be more wrong when a voice that Clarice recognized came closer. “Clarice!”

“Papa!” Clarice was surprised to see her father when he angrily approached. “You get back to your cave, this instant!”

“But, I--”

“This instant, young lady!”

“...yes, sir,” Clarice responded sadly, walking away from Rudolph and his friends. “There's one thing I want to make plain,” Clarice’s father said as they walked away. “No doe of mine is going to be seen with a… a red-nosed reindeer, a bewitched fox and a bunch of defiant, ungrateful mules!”

“MULES?!” Pipp shrieked as Clarice’s father led her away. “Oh, why I ought to--”

“Forget him, Pipp,” Zipp told her sister gently. “I think Rudolph and Borealis need us more right now.”

When Pipp looked back at the little reindeer and fox, they were sadly sitting down near one of the Christmas trees on a snowbank. “We’re sorry,” Rudolph apologized. “We didn’t mean to drag you into our problems.”

“It’s not your fault, Rudolph. It probably didn’t help that we told everypony off back there about how they treated you,” Misty said as they sat with the two young misfits. “Sunny even turned into her alicorn form right in front of them to defend you.”

“Really?” Rudolph asked in surprise. “Yeah, heh… not my proudest moment, telling entire crowd of Christmastown citizens, and your own parents, off,” Sunny chuckled nervously. “But… I guess we need to figure out what to do next.”

Suddenly, an elf popped out of the snowbank where they were sitting, causing Borealis and the ponies to shriek in surprise. “Oh,” said the elf, looking familiar to Izzy, Misty and Pipp. “Is this your snowbank?”

“No,” Rudolph shook his head. “Who are you?”

“Hermey!” Izzy cried, helping him out. “It’s so nice to see you again!”

“This is the Hermey you guys told us about?” Zipp asked. “He sure is!” Misty smiled. “One of the nicest elves we’ve ever met.”

“Well, actually, Misty,” Hermey corrected, “I am a dentist.”

Borealis looked beyond confused in that statement, and so did Rudolph. “A… dentist?” the little fox questioned. “Well, I want to be someday,” Hermey admitted with a shrug. “Right now, I’m just an elf. Who are your friends, Izzy?”

“That’s Sunny, Hitch, Pipp’s sister Zipp, and that’s Borealis and this is Rudolph!”

As she made the introductions, Rudolph’s nose lit up, causing the reindeer to swiftly become embarrassed again. “Say,” said Hermey, “that’s quite the nose you’ve got there.”

“Yeah,” Rudolph shrugged. “It’s always done that.”

“Just like my eyes have always been so colorful,” Borealis said, “and now, my tail does magic. Everyone laughed at us and called us all sorts of hurtful names today…”

“Oh… that sounds harsh,” Hermey frowned sympathetically. “No wonder you and your friends decided to run away like this. Well, I ran away too-- away from the other elves. But I don't need anybody. I'm... I'm independent.”

“Yeah? Me too!” Rudolph said, feeling a little better about himself. “Borealis and I are… w-whatever you said. Independent.”

Two Christmas ornaments fell behind them, causing them to jump back in surprise. But luckily, this caused Hermey to get what seemed like a good idea. “Hey, what do you say we all be independent together, huh?”

“Independent together?” Zipp blinked. “That sounds like an oxymoron to me.”

“But… it kinda sounds like a fair deal,” Borealis shrugged. “So… we could be independant together, and you wouldn’t mind my new powers?”

“And, you wouldn’t mind my… red nose?” Rudolph asked as his nose lit up again. Luckily, Hermey shook his head to both of those statements. “Not if you don't mind me being a dentist.”

“It’s a deal!” Rudolph said as all three of them shook hands. “Wait a second, guys,” Sunny said, approaching. “I’m glad you three are becoming friends, but is running away really the right way to go?”

“Why would you ask, Sunny? We’re all misfits around here,” Borealis said, “and us misfits gotta stick together! And that includes you all too!”

“Well, yes,” Misty said with an unsure look. “I-I guess you could say that, but what about--”

But before the other ponies could resume their protests, Borealis, Rudolph and Hermey began to sing a cheerful tune.

Rudolph, Borealis and Hermey: We're a couple of misfits
We're a couple of misfits
What's the matter with misfits?
That's where we fit in

We’re not daffy and dilly
Don’t go around willy-nilly
Seems to us kind of silly
That we don’t fit in

We may be different from the rest
Who decides the test
Of what is really best?

We're a couple of misfits
We're a couple of misfits
What's the matter with misfits?
That's where we fit in

Rudolph: Why am I such a misfit?
I am not just a nitwit!
I'm a dear of a reindeer
Why don't I fit in?

Borealis: Why am I such a misfit?
I am not just a nitwit!
There’s no fox like a snow fox
Why don’t I fit in?

Hermey: Why am I such a misfit?
I am not just a nitwit!
They can't fire me, I QUIT!
Seems I don't fit in

Borealis, Hermey and Rudolph: We may be different from the rest
Who decides the test
Of what is really best?

We're a couple of misfits
We're a couple of misfits
What's the matter with misfits?
That's where we fit in!

By the time the song ended, Borealis and Rudolph looked toward their Equestrian friends expectantly. “So what do you say, guys?” Borealis asked. “Wanna join us in our trip to become… independent?”

Sunny looked toward her friends with a worried glance. “We should go with them.”

“What?!” Zipp cried. “Sunny, that’s a bad idea! We have to convince them that running away isn’t the solution!”

“I know,” Sunny nodded, “but if we go with them, we can keep them out of trouble! Like running into the snow monster!”

“Oh right…” Hitch muttered. “I forgot about that.”

Slowly, the other ponies seemed to agree, and Sunny turned back toward their North Pole friends with a smile. “We’re in.”

XXXXXXXX

So, immediately after their pony friends agreed to travel with them, they set off into the unknown areas of the arctic. Unfortunately, none of them knew about what they were letting themselves in for. The world looked a lot more complicated and dangerous than it seemed when they were snug and warm at home.

And they would surely find out first-hoof later on that night.

XXXXXXXX

“So, Hermey? A dentist instead of being an elf, huh?” Zipp asked as they trudged through the snow as it got darker. “What made you go into that career choice?”

“Simple. Take a look,” Hermey handed her his dentistry book. “I learned through day and night with my trusty book about dentistry.his book is what had me changed to make a perfect living by becoming a dentist, to check everyone's teeth to see if they're healthy. That's the only way to be an elf that no other elves can do outside just making toys. But… the head elf wouldn’t bother to give me a chance.”

“I’m sorry, Hermey,” Sunny frowned. “That sounds horrible. My father and I, at one point, were the only ones to believe that pegasi and unicorns could be friends with the earth ponies again, and that made me feel alone too, especially after he passed away.”

“I’m sorry, Sunny,” Hermey apologized. “He sounds like a noble stallion.”

“He was,” Hitch smiled. “Nicest guy I’ve ever known.”

“I bet he’s really proud of all of you, defeating that evil fire alicorn like you did, and you’re on your way to reforming Misty’s mom,” said Borealis. “I know you guys can do it… I know you-- OH!!”

Suddenly, a harsh wind began to blow, along with a harsh snowfall. It was lucky that the ponies’ new winter looks were keeping them warm, but it was hard to trudge through the ice and snow with this wind blowing. And lucky for them, not only did they have Rudolph’s glowing nose, but they also had Izzy and Misty’s glowing horns to light their way.

But, that relief wouldn’t last long, for as they were trying to find their way through the snow, a loud roar echoed from the top of the mountains, causing them to freeze and look around in terror. “The abominable!” Hermey realized. “He must see your nose and horns!”

“Quick! Douse the light!” Zipp said, covering Izzy’s horn while Pipp covered Misty’s horn. They looked above the mountains to see the head and arms of the abominable stretching over, and seeing them caused Sunny to look around for a way out… that is, until she saw a cave just their size in the mountain nearby. “Quick! Over there! The abominable won’t be able to get us from inside that cave!”

She galloped ahead of her friends, leading them to the cave and made sure everyone got inside. Then, they made sure to keep very quiet as the abominable snow monster stomped past the cave, waited… looked around for a few moments… before giving up and moving on.

Zipp sighed as she watched the snow monster trudge past. “Looks like we’re safe in here for now. But I think we need to stay in here until morning, just to make sure he doesn’t see us wandering around with Rudolph’s nose glowing like a searchlight. Oh, uh… sorry, Rudolph. That didn’t sound the way I meant for it to.”

“It’s okay, Zipp. You just wanna make sure we’re all safe,” Rudolph said before yawning. “I am actually too tired to keep moving tonight. We can keep going tomorrow.”

“Hey, Zipp, what about we sing a song to get everyone sleepy?” Pipp said, getting out her guitar. “Like our Portrait Day song!”

“Well, we haven’t done that once since last Portrait Day,” said Zipp with a shrug, “so… why not?”

Pipp squealed and got out her guitar as everyone laid close together, and then, once they were settled, Zipp and Pipp began to sing, the latter strumming her guitar softly.

Zipp: Be still, don't move
It's easy to smile with you by my side
Don't blink

Pipp: Don't blink

Zipp: Big smile

Pipp: Big smile

Both: Just being with you, my heart opens wi-i-i-i-i-i-i-ide

There for you through thick and thin

Zipp: We're not the same

Pipp: But we know we've been

Zipp: Find yourselves on different pages
Different notes

Both: Mean bigger stages

As it all comes clear to me
You're my best friend, my family
I wanna capture this moment
As we hit our stride

Zipp: With you by my...

Both: You by my si-i-i-i-i-i-ide
My-y-y-y-y-y-y
Si-i-i-i-i-i-ide

It's Portrait Day, I want you by my side

And seconds after the song was over, snoring was heard, and it was revealed that everyone fell asleep to the sisters' song. “Wow, Mom was right,” Zipp commented. “A soft song can lure anyone to sleep in the blink of an eye.”

“I guess so. We better get some sleep,” said Pipp. “Big day tomorrow, you know.”

Silver and Gold/Setting Sail

After Pipp and Zipp sang their song, the group fell asleep and waited out the harsh night, snow and wind in order for them to continue on the next morning. But, during the night, Misty and Borealis seemed to have similar dreams… about their mothers.

In Misty’s dream, she dreamt that she and her mother (who she had managed to finally reform) and her father were attacked by Opaline’s spirit, which was pulled into Paradise’s body and Paradise became twice as evil as before, not to mention she became an alicorn.

In Borealis’ dream, she kept hearing her mother’s voice calling out to her, but no matter where she went, she couldn’t find the source of the voice. When she finally came to the ocean, she floated out on an iceberg, which began to get sucked down into a whirlpool, causing Borealis to scream in fright.

And as their dreams reached the most terrifying parts, Misty and Borealis woke up, fearfully panting. Heating someone else wake at the same time as her, Misty looked to see the little fox awake and looking startled. “Oh... sorry, Bori. Did I wake you up?”

“No, I woke up on my own. I just... had this freaky dream about my mom calling to me,” Borealis shook her head. “Did you have a dream too?”

“Yeah. It was about me and my family, and the spirit of the evil alicorn showed up and attacked us.”

“Yikes...” Borealis gulped nervously. “That sounds really spooky.”

“Hey... do you remember anything about your mom, per chance?” Misty asked gently. “Something that could help us find her?”

“...nothing really specific. Just... I know she has the same eyes as me,” Borealis tried to recall. “She had to. As far as I know, I'm the only fox like this in the known universe. If I could find her... maybe I wouldn’t be so alone.”

Misty frowned at this and scooted closer to the fox cub. “Bori... you're not alone. You have me and Rudolph and Sunny... and it may not feel like it now... but you have Rudolph’s parents too.”

“...you mean the parents who are raising a freak fox?”

Misty looked down at the fox with a stern expression. “Bori, you're not a freak. You're unique in every aspect. If you want, maybe me and my friends can help you figure out how to control those new powers of yours.”

“Really?” Borealis asked. “You guys would do that for me?”

“Why would we not?” Misty asked with a chuckle. “You and Rudolph are family to us, no matter where we are or what happens next.”

Borealis sighed, feeling lucky to have such wonderful friends in her corner. But as she was about to thank Misty, a yawn escaped from her throat. “We better get you back to bed,” Misty told her in a motherly tone. “After all... we go back to facing the cold, cruel world tomorrow.”

“Yeah... I guess you're right,” Borealis nodded tiredly. “Night, Misty.”

“Good night, Borealis. Sweet dreams.”

XXXXXXXX

By the sun rose the next morning, the snow was still falling, but the wind wasn't blowing half as hard as before. The group was honestly very lucky to have survived that first night, but they knew that if this weather kept up, they wouldn’t be able to survive for much longer.

As they walked around for what seemed like a long time, a voice came out of nowhere, surprising the group. “Mush! MUSH!!”

“What's that?!” Borealis yelped. “I don’t know, but we better hide!” Hermey said, looking around for a hiding place until he saw a large snowbank. “Everyone, in here!”

The ponies, Rudolph and Borealis dove into the snowbank, unfortunately, their legs were still hanging out as the voice, along with dogs barking, seemed to get even closer. “Mush! Don't you understand North Pole talk? Mush!”

Soon, the source of the voice approached the snowbank-- a tall, muscular prospector with a team of sled dogs, who was passing through when he saw the groups' behinds sticking out. “What's this?”

The dogs barked as the prospector pulled Rudolph and Hermey out of the snowbank, and Borealis and the ponies managed to wiggle themselves free, rolling into Rudolph and Hermey as the prospector glanced down at them. “Hey, you get frostbit that way.”

“Blech, snow tastes kinda bad…” Hitch said, wiping some off his face. “Thanks for pulling us out of there.”

“W-Who are you?” Borealis asked, a little nervous of the man’s stature. “Who am I? The name's Yukon Cornelius, the greatest prospector in the North!” the man introduced himself. “This is my land, and it's rich with gold. GOLD!!!”

The force of Yukon's shout caused the ground beneath the group to tremble, causing many to shriek in surprise. “Gold and silver.. silver and gold! Wahoo!”

Yukon Cornelius threw his pickaxe up in the air until it land on a patch of snow, before he picked it up and licked it, unfortunately frowning on concern. “Nothing.”

Something about the thoughts of silver and gold seemed to spark something in Pipp's mind, causing her to gasp and bring out her guitar. “I just struck inspirational gold! Listen to this, guys!”

After strumming a bit to get in tune, Pipp closed her eyes and began to sing and strum a soft tune...

...not knowing that Sam the Snowman was singing the same tune while playing his banjo and watching woodland creatures decorate the Christmas Tree Forest.

Pipp: Silver and gold
Silver and gold
Everyone wishes for silver and gold

Sam: How do you measure its worth?
Just by the pleasure it gives here on Earth

Silver and gold
Silver and gold

Pipp and Sam: Means so much more when I see
Silver and gold decorations
On every Christmas tree

As Pipp continued to strum her guitar in that chilly valley, Sam turned to the animals gathered around them, having decorated the tree and were watching it shine under the sunlight. “What's a Christmas tree without tinsel and pretty silver and gold decorations? You can't really call it a Christmas tree, now can you?” he asked the woodland creatures. “And think of all the fun and joy that would be lost on Christmas morning if all the young folks didn't get to see that sparkling, happy tree.”

With this being said, and in two different places, Pipp and Sam began to sing and play in unison.

Sam and Pipp: Silver and gold
Silver and gold
Means so much more when I see...

Silver and gold decorations
On every Christmas... tree...

XXXXXXXX

After Pipp finished her song, the ponies and Borealis applauded for her as she put her guitar away. “Pipp, that was beautiful!” Borealis smiled. “Really fits the Christmas mood.”

Pipp giggled with a light blush on her cheeks. “Thanks, Bori.”

“Oh, well. Now I'm off to get lots of things like supplies,” Yukon shrugged. “Cornmeal, gunpowder, ham hocks, guitar strings. I'll give you a lift. Hop aboard, mateys.”

As Borealis hopped on the sled, Yukon picked Rudolph and Hermey up and set them down beside her. “Uh... you don't have to pick us up, Mr. Yukon,” said Misty. “We’re fine walking and flying for now.”

“Suit yourself, missy,” Yukon shrugged before turning to his dogsled team and cracking his whip repeatedly to get them to move. “Now, Mush! Mush! MUSH!!”

But no matter how much Yukon tried, his dog sled team would not move one single inch. Hitch listened to the dogs barking, and after a moment, hummed and turned back to Yukon. “They say they’re tired of you always whipping them and asking them to mush without saying please,” he translated. “So… they want you to pull the sled and show them how it’s done.”

“Seriously?” Borealis asked. “You can understand them?”

“Hitch can understand all sorts of animals,” Sunny said. “Except our baby dragon back home.”

Yukon really didn’t want to do all the heavy lifting himself, but he really didn’t have any other choice, so he took the ropes and began watching. “Like this. Watch.”

As soon as the sled began to get moving, the dogs hopped on the sled with Hermey, Rudolph and Borealis, while the ponies trotted behind. But... things wouldn't remain this peaceful for long.

Only a few minutes after they got to moving again, the abominable snowman suddenly appeared from the mountains and let out a deafening roar that made the group freeze in their tracks. “Gadzooks!” Yukon cried out. “The Bumble Snow Monster of the North strikes again. Look!”

“It’s my nose!” Rudolph groaned at his nose glowing again. “It keeps giving us away!”

The monster was quickly approaching the group, and the ponies stood ready to defend their friends. “Stay calm, guys!” Sunny shouted. “We’ll buy you some time!”

“No need for fighting there, Miss Sunny,” Yukon dismissed. “We'll outwit the fiend with our superior intelligence.”

“How?” Borealis asked. “Have Rudolph douse the nose… and run like crazy!” Yukon grabbed the ropes again. “Come on!”

Misty and Izzy shot a beam at the monster to disorient it before joining their friends on the run through the mountains, and after he got over the blinding light, the monster immediately gave chase, all the way to the icy beach. “We’re trapped!” Zipp cried. “And unless you can fly, there’s no other way out!”

“It’s my nose again!” Rudolph blamed himself. “It’s ruined us!”

“Don’t blame yourself, Rudolph!” cried Borealis. “Maybe I can try something!”

“Bori, wait!” Sunny tried to halt her. “It’s too dangerous!”

Not wanting to not do something, Borealis ignored her cries, immediately hopped off the sled and stood in preparation as the monster got closer. “Hey, monster! Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?!”

With that, Borealis slammed her tail on the ice and sent magic right at the monster, causing him to stumble back in surprise. “I held him off a little longer,” she told the others, “but we still gotta think of a way out of here!”

“No need to worry about that. The bumble has one weakness, and I know it,” Yukon said, and with his pickaxe, he cut some of the ice they were standing on in half to make a small iceberg, and cast the group off to the sea, like a raft. “Do it yourself icebergs!” Misty cried. “Brilliant, Yukon! Izzy, grab a shovel and let’s paddle!”

Izzy grabbed one of Yukon’s shovels in her mouth and began to paddle alongside Misty to get further away from the snow monster, but the bumble was quickly approaching the beach, making the group get worried until Yukon pointed something out to them. “Observe: the bumble's one weakness.”

Hesitantly, the monster took one step into the water, to see if he could catch up Rudolph and gang. But of coarse, as he did, the big monster then sinks beneath the water. “The bumble sinks!” Yukon cheered. “HA HA!!”

As the monster climbed back to land, he turned with angry roar and glared at the Equestrians and their friends as they sailed away for their safety. “Yukon Cornelius scores again! Whoopee!” Yukon happily tossed his pickaxe into the air until it landed on the ice, to which he picked it up and licked it again. “Nothing.”

“Phew… that was way too close,” Hitch shuddered. “We really have to be more mindful of that monster going forward.”

“Sure, Hitch. What I did back there was brave,” Borealis said, “but stupid. VERY stupid.”

Sunny rubbed the little fox down in comfort as Rudolph turned to look up at Yukon. “Uh, mister? Where are we going?”

“You're all going to stay with me and we'll all be rich... with the biggest silver strike this side of Hudson Bay. SILVER!!!”

Of course, this got Hermey confused. “I thought you wanted gold.”

“I changed my mind!”

The ponies, Rudolph, Borealis and Hermey glanced at one another in confusion, shrugging before deciding to go with it. One thing was for sure, our heroes were really on their way...

...but the only problem was that not one of them knew where they were going.

Welcome to the Island of Misfit Toys

Back in Christmastown, not many things had changed in the lives of building toys and getting ready for the big night of Christmas Eve…

…but a lot of things had changed with the Donner family, specifically Donner himself.

You can bet he was really worried about Rudolph and how he made Rudolph feel all this time. He realized that the ponies were right… he was the first to tease Rudolph and make him feel insecure about his nose, instead of appreciating that he was healthy and happy otherwise, and he never really accepted Borealis into the family, ever since she was found that day by his precious little buck and his friends

And it took Rudolph, Borealis and all their friends running away to help him realize that.

After a long while of considering his options, Donner looked outside the cave with a heavy sigh. “I’m going out there to find them. I have to make up for how I’ve acted.”

“Oh, Donner,” Mrs. Donner pleaded, “let me go with you. Those are our kids out there.”

“No!” Donner said as he began to leave. “This is man’s work.”

Of course, this left Mrs. Donner in tears as her husband walked out into the unknown to find their son. But no sooner than when he did leave the cave, Clarice showed up, looking to Rudolph’s downtrodden mother. “Mrs. Donner, has Rudolph come home yet?”

“No, I’m afraid not, dear,” Mrs. Donner shook her head. “Donner has gone out to look for him… but I’m not sure how long that will take. I’m planning on going out there and following him.”

“May I go with you? Rudolph and Borealis never deserved that treatment, and the ponies should have brought both of them home by now.”

“It could be dangerous, Clarice.”

“I know…” Clarice sighed. “But I want to help.”

Mrs. Donner sighed reluctantly, eventually smiling warmly. “In that case… I’d love to bring you along. Come on, let’s follow Donner before he goes off too far.”

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, the group had floated for miles and miles on that little boat of ice through an icy cold fog. And along that way, Borealis and Zipp were going over what they found out about her new powers. “Okay,” said Zipp. “When you wag your tail in a certain way, you can use magic blasts and levitation magic just like a unicorn.”

“And my eyes glow whenever my powers are in control,” Borealis pointed out. “Do you think my mom could have these same powers?”

“Maybe. If we find her, maybe she can teach you a few things.”

“Yeah…” Borealis said with a smile. “I sure hope so.”

“HELLOOOOOOOOOO!!!” Yukon shouted into the fog, only for silence to be his answer. “Fog's as thick as peanut butter.”

“You mean pea soup,” Hermey corrected. “Hmm, I don’t know,” Sunny frowned. “I think this is as thick as my dad’s elderberry gumbo.”

“You eat what you like and I'll eat what I like,” Yukon told them before a sudden shift caused them to scream and tumble off the ice boat, right onto a new stretch of land that appeared out of the fog. “LAAAAAAAAND HOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

Hitch groaned, shaking the snow off his back and shooting Yukon an annoyed look. “No kidding, Cornelius.”

Misty looked at their surroundings with wide eyes, not recognizing the beautiful and mysterious landscape that they had come across. “W-Where are we?”

The others got a good look around the area, and noticed a castle seemingly made from ice at the top of the mountain peak... a truly amazing sight. But before anything could be said, Zipp gasped and pointed to the sky. “Guys! Look at that up there!”

Much to their shock and amazement, there was a winged lion with a crown on his head flying toward the castle above. Everyone gasped and murmured in awe and amazement, and as Hermey walked backwards, he bumped into a large purple box, causing a little man suddenly appear out from it, who turned out to be a jack-in-the-box, and Izzy caught Hermey, who fell back in surprise. “Halt!” said the jack-in-the-box firmly. “Who goes there?!”

“Us, of course,” Yukon said. “Oh, well, that's okay,” the jack-in-the-box said before realizing what he just said. “Okay? Who, may I ask, are you?”

“We’re the Unity Squad, Borealis, Rudolph and Hermey and Yukon Cornelius, Mr. Jack-in-the-Box,” Sunny said politely. “Who are you?”

“I'm the official sentry of the Island of Misfit Toys.”

“Island of Misfit Toys?” Misty asked. “So that explains why there’s a talking toy in front of us. No offense.”

“But wait a sec-- a jack-in-the-box as a sentry?” Hitch asked in confusion. “Yes,” the jack-in-the-box nodded. “My name is…”

“Don’t tell me-- Jack!” Rudolph assumed. But when he guessed wrong, the jack-in-the-box broke down in tears. “No, Charlie!” he blubbered. “ That's why I'm a misfit toy. My name is all wrong. No child wants to play with a Charlie-in-the-box, so I had to come here.”

Izzy patted his shoulder reassuringly. “Oh, there there, Mr. Charlie-in-the-Box, sir,” she said comfortingly. “Nopony is perfect. I would have totally played with you so you didn’t have to come here.”

“But… just one question,” Zipp said, glancing around. “W-Where is here?”

Then, to answer the pegasus princess, the toys began to come to life, emerge from their boxes, and sing, to top it all off.

Toys: We're on the Island of Misfit Toys
Here we don't want to stay
We want to travel with Santa Claus
In his magic sleigh!

Clown Toy: A pack full of toys
Means a sack full of joys
For millions of girls and for millions of boys

Toys: When Christmas Day is here
The most wonderful day of the year

A jack-in-the-box waits for children to shout

Dolly: (spoken) Wake up!
Don't you know it's time to come out?

Toys: When Christmas Day is here...
The most wonderful day of the year

Toys galore, scattered on the floor
There's no room for more
And it's all because of Santa Claus

Scooter: A scooter for Jimmy

Dolly: A dolly for Sue

Toys: The kind that will even say...

Dolly: (spoken) How do you do?

Toys: When Christmas Day is here
The most wonderful day of the year

As the group looked around in sheer amazment, some of the toys began to share what made them misfits to begin with, starting with a polka-dotted elephant that Misty found really cute. “How would you like to be a spotted elephant?”

“Or a choo-choo with square wheels on your caboose?” a toy train asked, showing off those particular wheels. “Or a water pistol that shoots jelly?” asked the water pistol, shooting some jelly onto Pipp’s face, causing Izzy to wipe it off and eat it. Then, all three toys shouted, “WE’RE ALL MISFITS!!”

Then, some more toys began to tell their misfit stories.

“How would you like to be a bird that doesn't fly? I swim!”

“Or a cowboy who rides an ostrich?”

“Or a boat that can't stay afloat?”

“WE’RE ALL MISFITS!!”

Toys: If we're on the Island of Unwanted Toys
We'll miss all the fun with the girls and the boys
When Christmas Day is here...
the most wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful day of the year!

As the song came to a close, Rudolph seemed to get a great idea for a new place that they could call home... at least, temporarily. “Hey, we're all misfits, too.”

“Yeah!” Borealis nodded in delight. “Maybe we could stay here for a while!”

“Well,” Charlie told the group, “you’d have to get permission from King Moonracer.”

“King Moonracer?” asked Sunny. “Who’s he?”

“He rules here,” Charlie pointed toward the ice castle in the distance. “Every night, he searches the entire earth. When he finds a misfit toy, one that no girl or boy loves, he brings it to live here to live on this island 'till someone wants it. He's holding court in his castle right now.”

“Then we’ll head there and see what he says,” Borealis said, running to the path to the castle. “Come on, guys!”

XXXXXXXX

By the time the group reached the castle, they were tired and exhausted from climbing up the icy peaks, eventually stopping before the castle doors to take a rest. “Man, I know we have wings,” Pipp gestured to her and her sister, “but that flight was more exhausting than CLIMBING up the mountain!”

“Um… hello?”

The group looked over to see a pony-like creature with bug-like blue eyes, a pink coat with horns on her head, a light blue mane and tail and bug-like wings, cautiously approaching them. “A-Are you here to see King Moonracer?”

“Yes, we are,” Sunny said back before gasping. “Wow… we’ve never met anypony like you before! You have the mane and tail and body like a pony, but the wings and eyes of…”

“A changeling?” the mysterious hybrid interrupted. “Yeah, I get that a lot. My name is Frenala.”

“Are you a misfit toy too?” Izzy asked. “Well… you could say I’m a misfit for certain,” Frenala admitted. “My mother was a changeling and my father was a unicorn. I didn’t feel like I fit in, so I explored the world and came here. Now, the king is training me so I can be his royal consort someday.”

“Wow… that’s pawsome!” Borealis smiled. “We’re misfits too, and we wanna see the king as soon as possible!”

“Of course!” Frenala giggled. “Follow me.”

The group quickly followed her inside the castle as a royal fanfare played, and Frenala led the group to King Moonracer’s throne room. “Your highness,” Frenala greeted, “I found these new friends outside the castle, and they wanted to see you right away.”

“Thank you, Frenala. Come closer, young ones,” King Moonracer said, and the group bowed as they approached. “What do you desire?”

“Well, we're a couple of misfits from Christmastown and Equestria,” Rudolph explained politely, “and now we'd like to live here.”

Unfortunately, King Moonracer sadly shook his head to this request. “No, that would not be possible. This island is for toys alone.”

“Awww, really?” Zipp asked in disappointment. “How do you like that?” Yukon scoffed. “Even among misfits, you're misfits.”

“Yukon!” Sunny scolded. “I’m sorry about that, sire. I guess we were all hoping we could stay… well, at least for a little while.”

“Unlike playthings, a living creature cannot hide himself on an island,” King Moonracer told them. “But, perhaps, being misfits yourselves, you might help the toys here.”

“Help them?” Misty asked curiously. “Yes,” King Moonracer nodded. “When someday you return to Christmastown, would you tell Santa about our homeless toys? I'm sure he could find little boys and girls who would be happy with them. A toy is never truly happy until it is loved by a child.”

Borealis thought about that… and it seemed as if it was a fair trade, even though they weren’t sure how long they were going to be away from home. “When and if we ever get back, we'll tell Santa, sir.”

“Good. You are free to spend the night,” King Moonracer clapped his front paws, bringing an elephant footman forward. “Frenala? Footman? Show our friends to their chambers.”

“Of course,” said Frenala, and the group bowed before beginning to follow. Suddenly, King Moonracer’s voice called out to the ponies, one in particular. “Sunny Starscout? May I speak to you and your friends for a moment?”

Sunny and her friends stopped and turned back to the king, a little confused. “Sire? How did you know my name?” asked Sunny. “I saw you on the island’s shore, and I did some searching about you and your Unity Quests over the past year,” King Moonracer spoke. “I’ve known about the Equestrians for many years. In fact… one of them, namely Princess Twilight Sparkle, actually saved my life.”

“She did?!” Misty asked in amazement. “Wow…”

“Wait,” Zipp spoke up. “Does that mean you know about--”

“Opaline Arcana and Paradise Moonray? Yes, I do. And I do know that Paradise’s plan is almost complete… and she doesn’t know it yet, but she needs your help.”

“Oh no… poor Mom!” Misty said with worry. “Do you know where she is?”

“Unfortunately not,” King Moonracer frowned. “Somehow she has prevented other magic beings from tracking her. But… I do know that she will make herself known soon. Trust that you can save her, ponies. You may be her last hope of rediscovering her own happiness.”

Sunny sighed and nodded. “We’ll keep trying to help her, King Moonracer. Thank you for telling us. But, we have to get back to our friends now.”

“Of course.”

XXXXXXXX

Later that night, the ponies joined their misfit friends in their one-room chambers, discussing their plans for the next morning. “Well, it’s all settled,” said Hermey. “We leave tomorrow together.”

“But the Abominable will see my nose and get us all,” Rudolph argued. “Borealis and I have got to go alone.”

“Rudolph, it’s way too dangerous for you or Borealis to go out there alone,” Sunny argued. “Besides the snow monster, who knows what else is waiting out there?”

“She’s right,” Yukon agreed. “It’s all for all… I mean all for… agh! Let’s get some shuteye.”

“Good idea,” Pipp yawned. “I am totally beat.”

“But…”

“It’s all settled.”

Without another word, Hermey switched out the light, and most of the ponies, Hermey and Yukon fell asleep instantly. However, Rudolph, Sunny, Borealis and Misty were those that were not sleepy one bit. “Guys, this is too dangerous for anypony to follow me and Rudolph out into that world,” Borealis whispered. “We can’t endanger you anymore.”

“But if you guys are leaving, we’re going too,” Sunny said. “We’re your friends… and we wanna help.”

“We could always get the others and leave on our own,” Misty shrugged. “But… we’d have to let Hermey and Cornelius know.”

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Sunny asked Rudolph and Borealis, who nodded firmly without hesitation. “...all right then. Let’s get the other ponies awake and have them meet us outside.”

XXXXXXXX

Although they were unsure of Rudolph and Borealis’ need to leave before they dragged Hermey and Yukon and even the ponies into more trouble, the ponies wanted to make sure their friends were safe, so they ventured onto the little ice boat and out into the open ocean. “Goodbye, Cornelius,” Zipp waved silently. “I hope you find lots of tinsel. Or… whatever it is you were searching for.”

“Goodbye, Hermey,” Izzy whispered. “We’re gonna miss you so much.”

“Whatever a dentist is,” Rudolph agreed with silent, sad eyes, “I hope, someday, that you're the greatest.”

The roar of the abominable snowman was heard over the mountaintops, but somehow, the ponies weren’t afraid of the monster this time.

Somehow, someway… they were going to get their friends through this.

Author's Note

This is the changeling I decided to use for this chapter:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/501377371012590243/

Return to Christmastown/Holly Jolly Christmas

Yukon Cornelius had given his life to protect his friends from the abominable snow monster, and would be remembered fondly… but now, the ponies had another part of their mission to accomplish; getting their new friends back to Christmastown, in the midst of the biggest blizzard they had ever been in.

XXXXXXXX

It took them about the entire day with the blizzard and everything, but when they finally arrived, there was a whole crowd of elves and reindeer and even Santa himself waiting for them. “Papa!” Clarice cried, rushing to her father for a loving nuzzle. “I thought I would never see you again.”

“Oh, I was so worried about you, my little doe… well, not so little anymore,” Clarice's father said with a chuckle before turning to Zipp and Hitch, standing close by, his expression turning remorseful. “Thank you all for helping save my daughter. I was wrong about you all being defiant, ungrateful mules… you’re far from that. I hope you can accept my apologies.”

“No need for apologies, sir. I have a son of my own, and I know you were just trying to protect Clarice all that long ago,” Hitch smiled. “As far as I’m concerned, we’re good.”

At the same time, Santa had been hugging Rudolph with Borealis on his back, realizing that he too had been wrong about misfits after hearing their tale. “Rudolph, I promise, as soon as this storm lets up, I'll find homes for all those misfit toys.”

“Thank you, sir,” Borealis smiled. “We know you’ll try.”

“And I want to apologize to you and your friends as well, Sunny,” Santa told Sunny and Misty. “You were trying to defend your friends and we completely turned our backs on you.”

“We forgive you all, Santa,” Sunny smiled, brushing the situation off. “Now that everyone understands that misfits have a place, I think everything will work out just fine.”

At the same time, Izzy and Pipp had told Boss Elf how Hermey used his dentist skills to save their lives, and after a moment of smizing (smiling with your eyes) in a pleading manner, he finally relented. “All right,” he told Hermey with a heavy sigh. “You can open up a dentist office. Next week, after Christmas.”

“Come here. Open your mouth,” said Hermey, and as the boss did as he asked, Pipp caught a glimpse as to what was in his mouth. “Oh dear!” she gagged in disgust. “I'll set up an appointment for you a week from Tuesday,” said Hermey. “4:30, sharp.”

At the same time, Rudolph was talking with Clarice, Borealis and his father, who too was very remorseful. “And I'm sorry, too, Rudolph, for the way I acted. And to you, Borealis. I know I never treated you as a member of the family… but I’d like to change that now. To me, you’ll always be my daughter, even if your biological mother is found.”

Borealis smiled with a sigh. “Thank you… that’s what I always wanted. A family to call my own.”

Suddenly, there came a loud banging on the castle doors. “Open up!” cried a voice. “It isn't a fit night out for man nor beast!”

“Wait… that’s impossible!” Zipp cried, recognizing the voice. “Could it be?”

“Let’s see!” Pipp said as she and her sister heaved open the doors. And to their amazement, there stood Yukon Cornelius… his team… and the abominable snow monster! “Here’s the man, and here’s the beast!”

Everyone became fearful quickly, and they began to back away from the monster they had always been taught to fear. “Now calm down, calm down!” Yukon reassured them. “I reformed this bumble. He wants a job. Looky what he can do.”

The spectators watched as the monster effortlessly placed a star on the top of the tree, causing them to gasp in awe. And he doesn't even need a step-ladder.”

“But… but… you went over the side of the cliff!” Rudolph said in confusion, but Yukon only smiled at this. “Didn't I ever tell you about bumbles? Bumbles bounce!”

Everybody laughed at this, and when the laughing died down, Zipp and Sunny quickly approached. “Well, Yukon. We're so glad you’re alive,” Zipp said. “And now that you’re here with some extra hands and paws, we can get this Christmas prep started!”

XXXXXXXX

Zipp was right-- as good as everyone felt, this was no time for long-term celebrating, because the next day was Christmas Eve; the biggest day of the year, and they needed every elf, reindeer, fox and pony to help out.

Some worked on wrapping toys, some worked on getting the reindeer ready and some worked on decorating the workshop and loading the sleigh with the presents.

Meanwhile, in the castle dining hall, Santa sat at the table while Mrs. Claus stood next to him, trying to get him to eat something before his flight. “Papa, eat.”

“How can I eat?” Santa asked irritably. “That silly elf song is driving me crazy!”

“You're going to disappoint the children. They expect a fat Santa.”

Just then, a weather elf handed Santa a copy of the latest weather report, and Santa glanced over it with a sad look. “Well, this is it,” he told Mrs. Claus. “The storm won't subside by tonight. We'll… we'll have to cancel Christmas.”

“Papa? Are you sure?”

“Everything's grounded! Oh, the poor kids. They've been so good this year, too. But I couldn't chance it. I'll have to tell everybody that it's all off this year.”

XXXXXXXX

Borealis and the ponies were having the time of their lives helping prepare things for Christmas… that is, until Santa entered the room, looking quite worried. “Quiet! Quiet! Please, everybody quiet! Quiet!” he said, quieting the music and discussion in the room. “I've got some bad news, folks.”

Flabbergasted beyond compare, everyone gathered around Santa to hear the worst possible news. “Christmas is going to be canceled.”

This caused everyone to gasp in horror, not sure of what to think. “That can’t be true!” said Sunny. “Christmas has to go on, even with a little bit of snow!”

“There’s nothing I can do, Sunny,” Santa responded. “This weather…”

All of a sudden, Rudolph’ nose glowed brightly, causing many to shield their eyes from the light. “Rudolph, Rudolph, please! Could you tone it down a bit? I mean, that nose of yours. I--”

Suddenly… an idea hit him as to how Christmas might be able to go on. “That nose! That beautiful, wonderful nose!”

“Huh?!” Rudolph and Borealis questioned in surprise. “Rudolph, Christmas is not off,” Santa said with a joyous smile, “and you're going to lead my team!”

“I am?”

“Yes, sir! You and that wonderful nose of yours.”

“H-His nose, sir?” Borealis asked out of confusion. “Ho ho ho! From what I see now, that'll cut through the murkiest storm they can dish up,” Santa said. “What I'm trying to say is... Rudolph, with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight?”

Rudolph stood tall and proud, and so did Borealis on his back. “It would be an honor, sir!”

Everyone cheered at the declaration, and Donner turned to his wife proudly. “I knew that nose would be useful someday. I knew it all along!”

“Rudolph, you’re gonna be amazing!” Pipp said. “I just wish we could go with you and help with our cutie mark powers.”

“Actually… you can!” Hermey said. “Those pendants you’re wearing were crafted by elves a long time ago, and they will allow you wingless ponies to harness the same North Pole magic that the reindeer use to fly the sleigh!”

“Really?! Amazing! I've always wanted to fly like a pegasus” Misty said excitedly. “Well, what are we waiting for, guys? We have a lot of work to do!”

Everyone rushed off to help finisht he preparations, and a song began to play, led by Pipp Petals and Sam the Snowman, who was watching the preparations from outside.

All: Have a holly jolly Christmas

Sam: It's the best time of the year
I don't know if there'll be snow
But have a cup of cheer

All: Have a holly jolly Christmas

Pipp: Have a holly jolly Christmas
And when you walk down the street
Say "hello" to friends you know
And everyone you meet

Oh ho the mistletoe
Hung where you can see

Sam: Somebody waits for you
Kiss her once for me

All: Have a holly jolly Christmas

Sam and Pipp: And in case you didn't hear

All: Oh by golly have a holly jolly Christmas
This year

Soon, the ponies and Rudolph were harnessed into place, Borealis in her special spot on Rudolph's back... but that didn't stop the celebrations from proceeding.

Ponies: Holly jolly
Holly jolly
Oh...

All: Have a holly jolly Christmas

Sam and Pipp: And in case you didn't hear

All: Oh by golly have a holly jolly Christmas
This year...!

By the time that the song was finished, everything had been completed, causing the elves and ponies to cheer-- it looked as if Christmas was going to be okay after all!

Saving Christmas for All/A Sinister Figure Arrives

Everything seemed to be going right-- the sleigh was loaded, and the ponies were going to help pull the sleigh (thanks to their magic pendants and cutie mark magic) and Rudolph was going to lead the way with his glowing nose, Borealis sitting on top of his back.

All that was left for Mrs. Claus to do was to make sure Santa was plump enough and help him get into his suit. “Ho ho ho ho ho!” Santa laughed merrily. “Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho!”

“Eat now, ho ho ho later,” Mrs. Claus said as she proceeded to feed him more soup. “Let me check. Turn.”

“Oh, Mama…”

“Now, shake when you laugh.”

Santa did as he asked, laughing heartily from the Christmas joy in his heart. “Ho, ho, ho, ho. Ho, ho, ho, ho! Ho, ho, ho, ho!”

“Now, that’s my Santa,” Mrs. Claus smiled proudly. “Oh, thanks, Mama,” Santa smiled back. “My coat.”

Two of the elves quickly sported Santa with his trademark red coat, his hat and gives him his sack before he turned to the lead reindeer and the ponies behind him. “Ready, Rudolph?”

“Ready, Santa!” Rudolph shouted back from the front. “And us Equestrians are ready too!” Sunny said from where she and Hitch were harnessed behind Pipp and Zipp and in front of Izzy and Misty. “Well, let’s be on our way,” Santa said as he hopped into the sleigh. “Okay, Rudolph!” Borealis told her best friend. “Full power!”

Rudolph’s nose began to glow at its brightest level yet, and two elves heaved open the doors to the stormy night before them. “First stop,” Santa announced, “the Island of Misfit Toys!”

Santa flicked the reins, giving the reindeer and the ponies the command to move toward the doors and pick up enough speed to take off. “Up… up… up and AWAY!!!”

As everyone followed the sleigh outside, the reindeer and ponies suddenly took to the sky without a moment of hesitation… as if it was natural. Even the flightless ponies were stunned at how easily they were able to do this. “I can’t believe it!” Sunny cried. “We’re flying and pulling Santa’s sleigh!”

“WHOOOO-HOOO!!!” Izzy cried. “I’M THE QUEEN OF THE WORLD!!!”

Down on the ground, Clarice and Rudolph’s parents watched as the sleigh soared out of sight. “He’ll be a hero after this!” Clarice said proudly. “They all will!”

“Yes,” Mrs. Donner nodded. “Heroes!”

“That’s my buck!” Donner smiled proudly.

“Now, you see how it's done?” Yukon asked his dogs. “WAHOOO!!!”

Once again, he threw his pickaxe into the air and watched it land on the ground again, taking a lick of it to discover something completely different than what he expected. “Peppermint! What I've been searching for all my life! I've struck it rich! I've got me a peppermint mine! WAHOO!!!”

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, on the Island of Misfit Toys, Frenala and three of the misfit toys (namely Charlie-in-the-box, the doll and the spotted elephant) were resting by the fire before the night ahead. “Well, it's Christmas Eve, but…” Charlie trailed off, leading the spotted elephant to sigh. “Looks like we're forgotten again.”

“But Sunny and Rudolph promised we’d go this time,” the doll pointed out. “I know you guys are really hoping to get out of here, I know you are,” Frenala said. “But… the back of my mind is telling me that maybe this storm was too much for them.”

Little did the four of them know it, but there was a bright light in the sky, followed by jingle bells that seemed to get louder the closer the light got. “Might... Might just as well go to bed and start dreaming about next year,” Charlie said, hiding in his box as the doll began to tearfully sob. “I haven't any dreams left to dream. We'll never get off this island… never!”

“Wait a minute…” Frenala’s ears began to pick up a sound, sort of like bells. “What’s that?”

“Is it… is it?” the spotted elephant was first to look to the sky, and seeing who it was made Charlie jump literally for joy. “ It sure is! It's Santa and the ponies! And look! Rudolph is leading the way!”

“You can see his nose from here!” Frenala said as she galloped ahead. Every toy gathered around as the group made their landing, and Sunny turned to Frenala with a smile. “We told you that we’d be back. And we’d like for you to come with us, Frenala, and see which toys might belong where.”

“Really?!” Frenala asked in delight. “I’d be honored!”

“Well, let’s be on our way,” Santa said as Frenala hopped into the sleigh with him, and all the toys piled into the sack. “Ready, Rudolph?”

“Ready, Santa!”

“Okay, Rudolph!” Sunny said before all the ponies shouted together, “FULL POWER!!”

Rudolph’s nose lit up brightly before the ponies and reindeer galloped ahead, slowly taking to the sky once again. “Up… up… up and away!”

Sam waved to the ponies as they waved back before beginning to sing a song for all to hear as the reindeer, ponies and sleigh flew above the clouds to deliver the misfit toys to their homes.

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
Had a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows

All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names
They'd never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games

Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Santa came to say
"Rudolph, with your nose so bright,
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"

Then how the reindeer loved him
As they shouted out with glee,
"Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
You'll go down in history!"

[Instrumental bridge]

"Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
You'll go down in history!"

“Merry Christmas!” Santa shouted to the world below the clouds. “MEEEEERRY CHRISTMAS!!!”

And so, the ponies helped the reindeer fly the sleigh out of sight, and when they would get back to the North Pole, the portal would open, they would find the crystal, head home and all would be well…

…or would it?

XXXXXXXX

Paradise Moonray got on an ice floe that carried her all the way to the very edge of the North Pole, eventually getting off and holding up the map she had taken from London a few months ago. “Now according to the map, the Amulet of Spiritalia is due north of her, in an icy cave on the shores. Soon… Mother will be back, and we will reign supreme over not just Equestria… but every world we come across.

Winter Wishday Preparations

Another two months slowly drug by, and not one Unity Quest since the Mane 6 went into the Halloween world with Shaggy and Scooby to prevent a horrible fate.

But surprisingly... the ponies were okay with not being sent on a quest right away. After all, they still had a bunch more holidays to look forward to, not just Nightmare Night.

And one holiday that most ponies looked forward to most of all... was Winter Wishday, Wishihoof and Wishentine-- all essentially the same day, but celebrated in different ways by the different pony kinds.

Since Misty was serving Opaline during her first winter holidays, and since she was sick during last year's festivities, she never got to celebrate like the other ponies did...

...but now, the others were hoping to change that, and make these winter holidays the best winter holiday that Misty would ever have!

XXXXXXXX

By the time Misty woke up the day on Winter Wishday, she felt a different feeling in the air. Not of danger… but of hope.

Hope that she would be able to bring her mother to light, and have the best winter holiday ever.

She just… wasn’t sure to start.

That's when it hit her-- she had been so excited to get started, she had completely forgot to get her friends presents! So, she decided to sneak out while her friends were still sleeping and go get them some last minute gifts.

Misty got the perfect gifts for her friends, ones that she thought they would love:

A mane-brush for Pipp, to make her mane extra shiny with each stroke
A potholder weaving kit for Izzy
A container of badge polish for Hitch
A stuffed animal for Sparky
A hoofprints kit for Zipp (since Cloudpuff ruined her last one)
A brand new cookbook, never seen before, for Sunny

By the time Misty had already collected the gifts for her friends, it was about noon, so she decided to head back to the Brighthouse and help with the decorations, since her friends had to be up by then.

But as she headed back to the Brighthouse, some soft music filled the air.

The nights are getting longer (Longer)
And there's a chill in the air
And you feel a bit of magic
Ooh, everywhere

Misty looked through the window to see music coming from the nearby stereo as the ponies were doing different holiday activities; Sunny was with Zipp in the kitchen, baking cookies, Hitch was playing with Sparky in the living room and Pipp and Izzy were decorating the Wishday tree.

It's a special time that we all hold dear (Dear)
So come on, everypony, time to spread the cheer (Yeah!)
There's dancin' and there's prancin' 'round the Wishing Tree
And a little bit of sparkle for you and me

No, I just can't wait 'til it's Wishentine's Day

It's the twinkle in the eye of every Pegasi (Pegasi)
And the feeling when you listen to the bells outside
The glisten of the snowflakes falling in your mane
Yeah, come on, everypony, don't you feel the same?

Every moment, every sound
Every feeling, sing it loud
No, I, no, I, no, I, no, I
No, I just can't wait (No, I can't)
No, I just can't wait 'til it's Wishentine's Day

Yeah, yeah, yeah...

By the time the song was over, Misty pushed open the Brighthouse doors, the presents in her saddlebag. “Cheery Wishday, Sunny and Hitch!” she said. “Joyous Wishentine, Pipp and Zipp! And warm Wishihoof, Izzy!”

“Aww, Misty! You didn’t have to buy us gifts!” Sunny said as she and Izzy came forward to take the packages from her. “Here, let us help you.”

“I really wanted to, since the last couple Winter Wishdays kinda put a damper on all of us,” Misty said. “Besides… I’m really looking forward to our big holiday party tonight. Are all of our friends and family coming?”

“Grandma Figgy should be here around dusk,” Hitch said. “And with the Wishentine Carousel Concert being yesterday, we had plenty of time to invite Mom,” Zipp said. “And your dad is gonna come from Bridlewood.”

“Perfect!” Izzy smiled. “But we still have to get the Brighthouse ready!”

“Izzy’s right-- and I still have more cookies to bake!” Sunny realized. “Come on, ponies-- let’s get to work!”

And so, everypony managed to grab some decorations and got to work, even singing a song in the process.

Sunny: What a day, magic everywhere
Snowflakes in the air
I wanna share it with you

It's time to celebrate
To "Jingle All the Way"
Oh, there's so much we can do

Pipp: Reachin' for rainbows, spreadin' good cheer

Zipp: Cherish the moment, Winter Wishday is here

Pipp, Sunny and Zipp: Family and friends and good times with you
It's the best thing to do

Mane 6: Cause all I want to do
Is celebrate with you
Because I love you
From my heart to your hooves

We're makin' memories, everypony
The holidays are here
It's the sweetest time of the year

Sunny: So much fun, a holly jolly time
A joyful Wishentine
I wanna spend it with you

Hitch: Reachin' for rainbows

Misty: Spreadin' good cheer

Pipp: Cherish the moment, it's the best time of year

Zipp: Family and friends

Izzy: And all ponykinds

Mane 6: Let's have a good time

'Cause all I want to do
Is celebrate with you
Because I love you
From my heart to your hooves

We're makin' memories, everypony
The holidays are here
It's the sweetest time of the year

(Hoof to hoof, hoof to hoof)
The sweetest time of the year
(Hoof to hoof, hoof to hoof)
The sweetest time of the year

When the song was finally done, the Brighthouse was festively decorated to demonstrate all the pony holiday traditions coming together, the food was cooling on the countertops, and presents were under the tree. “There… it’s finally finished,” Zipp smiled, just as her eyes trailed to the top of the tree, noticing it to be bare. “Well, except the star.”

“Misty should put it on the tree this year!” Izzy said, levitating the six-pointed star decoration to Misty. “This was in the Moonbow family for six generations, all the way to my Auntie Buttons!”

“Wow, Izzy… it’s beautiful!” Misty said in admiration before taking a deep breath. “Okay… here goes nothing.”

She stepped onto a nearby stool and levitated the decoration in her magic, slowly moving it closer so she could place it on the tree… when she felt a tingling sensation coming from her rear.

And we all know what this means.

Misty and the other ponies looked at their cutie marks to see that they were glowing, causing Sunny to sigh. “That’s our cue, guys. Hitch, why don’t we let Sparky sleep down here while we’re gone?”

“Good idea,” said Hitch. “Since time stops, nopony will be able to get to him.”

“But… but what about the gifts?” Pipp asked. “I worked so hard on them!”

“We can each take one gift for one pony,” said Sunny, “and we can exchange them if there’s time.”

“Good plan, Sun,” Zipp winked. “All right, ponies, go get ready. Looks like we have a Unity Quest to go on-- holiday edition!”

Eight Months Later/Fight with the Bumble

By the time that Rudolph, Borealis and the ponies reached the mainland after a long time of traveling across the icy sea, it was a fight for surviving as best they could.

The abominable snow monster chased them a few times, but the ponies were able to ward him off and help their friends get away. In fact, some of the ponies, and even Rudolph and Borealis, gained valuable skills that shaped their character.

Pipp learned not to depend on her phone so much, and took her time experiencing the world and protecting her elder sister and friends.

Although they had to keep moving to avoid danger most of the time, Hitch learned to loosen up and have fun when the time came for it.

Zipp still had sharp detective skills, but she also learned to recognize when she was going too far and how to play good cop and bad cop when the time came for it.

Borealis became more confident in her magic skills and Rudolph helped Sunny out as becoming somewhat of a co-leader.

Once in a while, the group did stop to make a friend or two, like some friendly polar bear cubs. But the fun wouldn't usually last very long, since someone would see Rudolph's nose and laugh, sending the group on their way once again.

But during all that time, a strange and wonderful thing was happening.

Rudolph was growing into a handsome young buck, his buds of antlers sprouting into a small rack of them, and Borealis was growing into a beautiful young fox, just as her long-lost mother always envisioned her to be.

And growing up taught Rudolph and Borealis, in different ways, you can't run away from your troubles. And pretty soon, they reached the same conclusion.

XXXXXXXX

“Sunny, ponies? Borealis and I have talked a lot over the past couple days,” said Rudolph, “and... we think that it's time for us to go home.”

This comment from the misfit reindeer caused the ponies to turn to him and the white fox with a bit of surprise. “Rudolph... are you sure?” Sunny asked. “I mean, I think it's great that you guys wanna go home, but... are you guys sure that you're ready?”

“Running away hasn't really solved our problems, Sunny,” Borealis shook her head. “Rudolph and I finally realized that after all these months away from our friends and families... and spending time with you guys has taught us that too. Besides... I do kinda miss Christmastown now that the holidays are getting closer.”

“...we're proud of you guys for making that decision on your own terms,” Zipp told them with a smile. “We’re ready to go whenever you're ready.”

“Then what's stopping us now?” Rudolph asked. “Come on... let's head home.”

XXXXXXXX

At the speed they were galloping, it didn't take the ponies, Borealis ans Rudolph to return, but as soon as they arrived, the childhood bullies began to try and provoke Rudolph about his nose again. “You! I thought you were gone for good,” said one of the bucks. “Hey, look who's back: old Neon Nose and friends!”

The reindeer bursts with laughter, much to Rudolph and Borealis' irritation. But no matter how much they wanted to tell these reindeer off, they had more important matters to get to, so they went ahead and galloped off. “Good job controlling yourselves back there you two,” Hitch told the fox and reindeer duo. “Now come on-- I bet it'll be good for the two of you to see your home sweet... er, cave again.”

It only took a few minutes to reach the cave, and once they were there, Rudolph and Borealis burst inside, calling for their family.

“Ma? Pa!”

“We’re home!”

But surprisingly... the cave was empty, no trace of Donner or Mrs. Donner anywhere. “That’s so strange... where are they?” Misty looked around with confusion. “They couldn’t have moved caves on us... could they?”

“No-- Pa told me that he and Ma would never move from this cave,” Rudolph shook his head. “Something must have happened.”

“Yeah...” Borealis nodded with worry. “The question is what?”

“They’re gone, Rudolph.”

Everyone turned to see Santa entering the cave behind them, and even he looked worried. “They've been gone for months, out looking for you and your friends.”

“Clarice?” Rudolph asked, and to his worry, Santa nodded, his frown growing larger. “She's gone too and I'm very worried. Christmas Eve is only two days off, and without your father, I'll never be able to get my sleigh off the ground.”

“Gone...? Something must have happened to them, and we're gonna find out what,” Zipp said in a determined tone. “Right,” Borealis stated with a nod. “We’ll find them, sir. We'll find them all!”

XXXXXXXX

But, after they left the cave, suddenly... it hit.

The snowstorm to end all snowstorms that weren't caused by unicorns saying 'Frostyshivers', and only two days before Christmas Eve.

Rudolph knew (as he, Borealis and their pony friends struggled to trudge through the snow and wind) that he needed to find his parents and Clarice right away, and by following his gut feeling, there was only one place he knew to look.

The cave of the Abominable Snow Monster.

XXXXXXXX

According to the stories his mother and father always told him and Borealis before they ran away, the cave entrance was at the bottom of the tallest mountain in Christmastown, normally off-limits-- but no one would really mind if they went in just once.

Soon, they reached the cave, and Borealis gulped nervously upon seeing how huge the entrance was. “I know we gotta go in there, but that snow monster scares the Northern Lights outta me! I mean... do we even have a plan?!”

“We do now!” Sunny said. “Rudolph and I had been talking about it the entire way here! We’re going to distract the monster while you and Rudolph get your family and Clarice, and then we’re busting out of this place and back to Santa’s castle in time for the Christmas Eve launch!”

However, that one claim made Borealis panic even more than before. “That’s what you call a plan?! He could crush us with one stomp of his 10 yard long foot!”

“Hey, we at least have to give this a shot!” Pipp argued against the howling winds. “It’s either this or nothing!”

“All right then...” Sunny took a deep breath to calm herself. “Let’s do this!”

The group slowly moved over to the cave entrance to take a peek inside, and were shocked beyond measure to see his parents and Clarice had been captured by the monster. While Donner and Mrs. Donner remained fearful in their places, the monster held up Clarice and was ready to eat her, while Clarice, in panic, struggled trying to escape.

That was when the ponies made their move, Sunny turning into her alicorn form and all of them ready to take this monster down. “PUT HER DOWN!!!”

At their shout, the monster turned gazed at Equestrians to his surprise and dropped Clarice on the floor, leaving Zipp to catch her before she hit the ground. The fight between the ponies and the monster began as the abominable narrowly launches at him, but missed due to their quick movements, tumbling onto the floor and in a daze.

Hitch used his earth pony powers to grow vines that slowly began to bind the monster to the floor, and Pipp and Zipp kicked him in the face to disorient him.

Sunny charged toward the monster just as Rudolph and Borealis were close to reaching their family, and as the apricot alicorn attacked, the monster grabbed a rock from the ceiling, causing Rudolph to gasp and run toward her. “Sunny, watch out!!”

“Huh?!”

Rudolph shoved Sunny out of the way just as the rock came down, hitting Rudolph on the head and knocking him unconscious. “RUDOLPH!!” Borealis screamed. “NOOOOO!!”

As the monster laughed at his deception, this fueled Borealis' rage, causing her to run over to the monster and fired blast after blast from her tail to buy the ponies, Clarice and Rudolph’s family some time to Rudolph’s aid.

That only left them to wonder... what would happen to them now?

XXXXXXXX

As Borealis bought her friends some time to get Rudolph somewhere safe, they had no idea that after Rudolph, Borealis and the ponies left them, Hermey and Yukon Cornelius had tried to find their friends, taking them to Christmastown right before the storm hit.

Eventually, the sled dogs followed the scent that Rudolph's group were able to leave behind, and Hermey soon found the location of where their friends were. “Hey, look!”

They found themselves approaching Bumble's cave, but Yukon's dogs seemed like they were unable to stop. “Whoa! WHOAAAA!!!” Yukon yelled at the dogs. “Un-mush, will ya?!”

Finally, the dogs pressed their paws into the snow and halted, and Hermey and Yukon witnessed all the action from the cave entrance. “What do we do?” Hermey asked quietly. “We can't let that monster get ahold of them!”

“I’ve got an idea!” Yukon said before whispering his plan to Hermey. “Not bad,” Hermey commented as soon as he was done. “It might just work!”

XXXXXXXX

“Come on, Rudolph… you gotta wake up!” Sunny muttered tearfully as she tried to use her alicorn magic to awaken him. “You just have to!”

Sunny had been trying for the past 3 minutes to wake Rudolph, and Clarice was already in tears. “Why doesn't he get it over with?” she sobbed, and Sunny finally allowed her tears to fall on Rudolph, which caused him to stir. “Pa…? Ma…!” he muttered, opening his eyes after a moment. “Ponies! Clarice!”

“Rudolph, you’re okay!” Misty said out of relief as the ponies came to the aid of their friend. “Borealis has been buying us a little time, but I don’t know how much longer she can hold them off--”

Suddenly, there was a yelp, and Borealis landed over near them, causing Sunny to come help her up. “Monster… coming!” she panted. “We need… another plan!”

XXXXXXXX

Outside the cave, Hermey and Yukon were just about to put their plan into motion. “Are you sure we can get him out?” Hermey asked. “Never knew the bumble snow monster yet who'd turn down a pork dinner for deer meat,” Yukon spoke from his climbing perch. “Do your stuff!”

As Yukon began to climb up the side of the cave, Hermey began to softly make oinking noises like a big, but it was clear that wouldn’t echo enough and draw the monster out. “Put some heart in it! That bumble's hungry!”

Hermey began to oink louder at that point, catching the monster's attention as he went outside to investigate. Outside, Hermey ran away from the abominable as he came outside, just before Yukon got his queue by dropping down a big snowball to hit him. “WAHOO!!” Yukon cheered as the monster was knocked off his feet. “Terrible weather we've been having. Ha ha ha! Snow and ice!”

Using his pickaxe, he loosened a rock that dropped onto the monster’s head, knocking him out cold. “All right, dentist, you take it from here.”

Hermey nodded and got his tools ready-- time to tame this monster once and for all!

XXXXXXXX

“What happened?” Pipp asked, not able to get a good view of what had just occurred. “Where’s the monster? Is he gone?”

“He sure is!” Zipp smiled in relief. “And there’s Yukon Cornelius!”

“Ta-daaaaa!” Yukon announced as he came inside the cave. “In person!”

“We’re saved!” Clarice shouted. “Let’s get out of here!” Donner suggested as Rudolph’s nose began to glow. “I’ll light the way!”

But before they could make any movements, the monster had reblocked their path, roaring menacingly and causing Yukon to growl back at him. “Why, blast your hairy bumble hide.”

“Don't let this big blowhard scare you anymore,” Hermey said as he walked underneath the monster. “Just walk right past him.”

“Walk past him?!” Hitch cried. “What are you talking about?!”

“I see now… look! At his mouth!” Sunny pointed at the monster, and it turns out, Hermey had yanked out all the monster’s teeth, rendering the monster helpless. “Looks like we'll never have to worry about that bumble eating us anymore,” Misty said in relief before Yukon turned to the monster. “I tell you, you're Looking at a mighty humble bumble. BOO!!”

The monster tried to roar, but as it turns out, without his teeth, he looked a LOT less menacing. “He's nothing without his chompers! Let me at him. WAHOO!!!!”

“Yukon, wait!” Zipp cried out. “Be careful! He may not have his teeth, but he could crush you in an instant!”

Yukon and his dogs proceeded in pushing the monster outside the cave, who was now terrified, backed away from Yukon and his dogs until reaching the edge of the cliff. And then, much to the horror of the group, Yukon and his dogs launched themselves at the monster, sending them toppling over the cliff. “YUKON!!!”

Borealis, the ponies, Rudolph and Hermey ran toward the edge to check on them, but there was nothing that remained… no monster, no dogs… no Yukon. “He’s gone!” Rudolph cried sadly. “Oh, he’s gone!”

Borealis sobbed and hugged herself against Rudolph’s leg, tears flowing down her cheeks as the rest of the group hung their heads and sobbed at the loss of their friend, remaining this way for a moment until Pipp cleared her tears and looked at the group. “Come on, guys… Yukon wouldn’t want us mourning his death. Right now… we have to get everyone back to Christmastown in time for Christmas Eve… right?”

“...you’re right, Pipp,” Misty nodded sadly before turning to the others. “Come on, guys… let’s get outta here.”

As they turned and walked away, Sunny looked back sadly, as if wishing for some sort of sign of life from Yukon before following her friends to bring their new friends back home.