Hope for the Holidays Part 6

“You better watch out.

You better not cry.

You better not pout, I’m telling you why.

Santa Claus is coming to town.”

In a bathroom at a small house, Sprout Cloverleaf was taking a shower in his own tub, singing a jolly Christmas song. Steam poured from the shower head as if it relaxed the young stallion as his mane soaked in the droplets of water.

Sprout reached down and picked up a container of shampoo. He held the tip towards his left hoof and squeezed the bottle. But nothing came out of it.

“Oh shoot,” Sprout said, holding the empty bottle in his right hoof. “I forgot to get a new bottle from the bath closet.”

Sprout turned the handles of his bathtub to the right, shutting the faucet of his shower off. He quickly grabbed a towel and wiped himself before stepping out.

“I might as well go fetch a replacement bottle,” Sprout said as he trotted his way to the door.

Sprout opened the door and made his way out of the bathroom. He walked down the hall before entering his bedroom. Inside was a neatly-decorated place. The bed had some fine sheets on top, the dresser was clean and dust free, and there were photos of Sprout with various other ponies, alongside the three Princesses, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Yukon Cornelius, Dr Hermey and Santa and Mrs Claus.

At the far end were two closets. One was long and had two doors. The other was a single door closet.

“There we go,” Sprout said, pointing to the smaller closet. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

Sprout walked up to the smaller closet with a smile on his face and placed his right hoof on the door knob.

“Hello fresh bottle of shampoo,” Sprout Cloverleaf sang.

But when Sprout opened the door to the smaller closet, his face went white and his eyes shrunk down in horror.

“MY SHAMPOO! MY BODY WASH!” Sprout yelled. “THEY’RE GONE!”

Thrusting his hooves into the air, Sprout let out a gigantic scream that shook the land around New Ponyville, all while every building stood perfectly still. But outside, Suri Polomare, Ace and Blue Monsoon made off with a bag full of shampoo and body wash bottles.

“So why’d we need the shampoo and body wash, boss?” Ace asked.

“It’s all part of my plan along with the flowers we took from Posey Bloom,” Suri Polomare laughed. “Not to mention some of the pies and cakes we took while Pinkie Pie was away.”

“Oooh, I love pie,” Blue Monsoon said, licking his lips.

“THE PIES AREN’T FOR EATING!” Suri shouted before she bonked Blue Monsoon on the head. “They’re a part of our prank meant for those moronic guests of honor.”

“Well that’s a waste of food,” Ace said.

“It’s not a waste,” Suri laughed. “We’re just putting it to good use.”

As Suri Polomare laughed out loud with Ace and Blue Monsoon by her side, Starlight Glimmer and Posey Bloom were quick to spot the trio making their way to a nearby house.

“That’s them,” Posey Bloom said, pointing to the trio. “Those are the morons who swiped my poinsettias.”

“Suri Polomare,” Starlight sighed. “Not once did you learn your lesson at all. Not even when you were exiled from this town. Someone has to teach you the harshest lesson of all time.”

Scraping her hoof on the ground, Starlight Glimmer and Posey Bloom made their way towards the house where Suri and her stooges made their way in.

“Hey, that reminds me,” Posey said. “What happened to your sock bag?”

“I had to leave it at Rarity’s boutique after what happened to you,” Starlight said. “This comes first.”

“Oh, right,” Posey said in an awkward tone. “I was there with you.”

Without wasting a second, Starlight Glimmer and Posey Bloom made their way inside the house, which was dark and gloomy inside.

“What is this place?” Posey Bloom asked, sticking her hoof in front of her face. “I can’t see anything in front of me.”

“I don’t know,” Starlight Glimmer said. “I thought we knew all about every building in New Ponyville. But now, I’m having second thoughts.”

“So have I,” Posey Bloom said. “It feels as if we were lured into a trap.”

Suddenly, the lights turned on as Starlight and Posey turned their attention to the back. Emerging from behind a spotlight was Suri Polomare, who clapped at the duo.

“Well well well,” Suri Polomare laughed. “I’d thought we would lure a princess into our trap. But you two will have to suffice.”

Before Starlight and Posey could turn around, Ace and Blue Monsoon ran up behind the duo and closed the doors behind them before shutting the windows nearby, quick as a flash. Starlight and Posey’s legs shook as the light from outside disappeared, leaving only the spotlight shined on them.

“Starlight,” Posey said, nervously. “I’m gonna wish I never followed those buffoons into this building.”

“Oh you can say that again,” Suri Polomare laughed. “And when the night is over, the biggest Christmas Party in New Ponyville will come crashing down.”

Suri Polomare let out a cackling laugh as Starlight Glimmer and Posey Bloom held each other in fear.

But on the outskirts of New Ponyville within the mountains, Wanda Young flew as fast as she could down the path, flying with her wings. Next to her flew Amadeus Highstaff, Cozy Glow and Spike the Dragon, who carried Sparky in his arms once more. Amadeus took a good look at Wanda’s wings, surprised not just by their form, but also the texture.

“That is like anything I have ever seen,” Amadeus said, observing Wanda’s wings. “How were you able to put them together?”

“Nanomachines, son,” Wanda explained. “Only I updated the tech so that it can do more than form the dress, gloves, socks and shoes I wear.”

“All of that is from these….nanomachines?” Amadeus said. “I don’t know what they are. But they sound neat.”

“That’s not the half of it,” Wanda laughed.

Overhearing Wanda’s words, Cozy Glow turned to Spike.

“Just what are nanomachines?” Cozy Glow asked.

“Oh that’s a long story,” Spike said. “I’ll explain once the party’s over.”

As Sparky Sparkaroni cheered while Spike held onto him, the purple dragon flew alongside Cozy Glow, gliding towards the town of New Ponyville. Wanda and Amadeus flew alongside the dragons and the filly, soaking in the afternoon sunlight. But behind the group, Tirek and Sunny Starscout leaped from cliff to cliff, making their way down the path.

“You’re going to love the ponies of New Ponyville,” Sunny said. “In fact, they could help change your diet from carnivore to herbivore.”

“Oh I do eat plants as a side dish for the meat,” Tirek said. “But you’ll have a hard time convincing me to give up eating meat.”

“Challenge accepted,” Sunny laughed as she landed in front of a tree.

As Sunny leaped off the cliff, Tirek followed from behind and fell downward towards the next cliff, spotting Sunny falling alongside him. It didn’t take long for the duo to land their hooves on the snow before taking another leap forward, making their way down the mountain and towards New Ponyville.

As Sunny fell once more, she landed her four hooves on top of a tree. Sunny looked in front to see the sun begin to set in the west.

“Looks like we better hurry,” Sunny said as Tirek fell past her. “Evening’s just around the corner.”

Sunny Starscout leaped off the tree and down the mountain once more, bypassing Tirek before landing on the snow. The moment Tirek landed next to her, the duo leaped once more and fell down towards the next cliff. They kept leaping off the next cliff as they made their way downward, all while Wanda, Amadeus, Cozy Glow and Spike flew downward, with the purple dragon holding an excited Sparky Sparkaroni close to him.

At the bottom of the mountain, Tirek and Sunny landed their hooves on the snow. Eyeing the town of New Ponyville in front of them, Tirek and Sunny wasted no time running as fast as possible towards the settlement.

“This must be where Cozy Glow met you all,” Tirek said. “What a fascinating place.”

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Sunny said.

“It’s not like Centauria,” Tirek said. “But it’s got its unique charm.”

“That, I’ll take as a complement,” Sunny responded.

Tirek laughed out loud as he and Sunny made their way towards New Ponyville.

Deep within the vicinity of New Ponyville, Tirek Highstaff and Sunny Starscout made their way through the gates and down through the town itself, while Wanda, Cozy Glow, Amadeus and Spike glided from up above, with the latter carrying Sparky Sparkaroni. As soon as Tirek and Sunny came to a stop, the rest of the group floated downwards and landed next to the duo, with Spike placing Sparky down on the street.

“Here we are,” Sunny Starscout said. “New Ponyville. What do you think?”

“I don’t know,” Tirek said. “The place looks nice from up close. But…where is everyone?”

“You have a point there,” Wanda said. “I didn’t ask them to hide away for no apparent reason.”

“But, almost all ponies were friendly to me,” Cozy Glow said, frantically. “Where are they? Where did they go?”

Immediately, Amadeus picked up Cozy Glow and held her close. The filly screamed loudly as she swung her arms and legs in a frantic motion.

“Cozy, it’s okay,” Amadeus said. “I know you wanted us to be happy. But I don’t think they were the friendly kind that you thought they were.”

“We are,” Sunny said. “I just want to know where they are right now.”

But everyone came to a pause the moment they heard a crowd shout “SURPRISE!” The group turned to their left to see nearly every pony of New Ponyville, along with Yukon Cornelius and Dr Hermey, cheer them on.

“A…surprise?” Amadeus said as Cozy Glow stared at the group.

Looking around, they saw Rainbow Dash, Thistle Whistle, Star Catcher, Pipp, Zipp, Queen Haven, Fluttershy, and other pegasi hang tinsel, wreaths and other decorations on top buildings and light posts. Pinkie Pie, Minty, Applejack, Hitch Trailblazer, and other earth ponies brought out tons of food like cakes, candies, and even a vegetable bar out. Unicorns like Izzy Moonbow, Rarity, Moondancer, Sunburst, Danged Spell, Golden Lace and others brought out lights to string atop the town, lighting up like stars in the sky. Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess Sunset Shimmer and Abigail Albright approached the rest of the group.

“You know you could have told me about this,” Wanda said.

“And ruin the surprise?” Twilight laughed. “Oh no no no. Where’s the fun in that, Wanda?”

As Sunset let out a pleasant chuckle, Wanda looked at both alicorns with a glare at them.

“Really funny, you two,” Wanda said, sarcastically. “Really funny.”

Sunset contained her own laughter as she walked up to Tirek, observing the size of the centaur.

“Never thought I would meet a centaur in person,” Sunset said. “What is your name?”

“I AM TIREK HIGHSTAFF!” Tirek shouted, shaking the mountains and the trees. “PRINCE OF CENTAURIA!”

As the trees stopped shaking, Tirek let out a sigh before turning to the ponies of New Ponyville.

“Or I used to be,” Tirek said. “Until Centauria was taken by a massive earthquake.”

“And we were made aware of what happened, Prince Tirek,” Princess Sunset. “As one of the three princesses of New Ponyville, I hereby welcome you, your brother and your sister to New Ponyville.”

As the ponies clapped for Tirek, the centaur looked around and his eyes began to loosen. A warm smile formed on his face, as he slowly put his left hand on his left cheek.

In his mind’s eye, every pony that he saw in front of him had transformed into a centaur. They all cheered his name, shouting loudly into the air. Tirek turned to his right to see King Vorak and Queen Lillian approach the centaur with a warm smile on their faces.

“My son,” King Vorak said. “Your people miss you. We all miss you.”

“We’re glad that you came home,” Queen Lillian said. “Now we can be a family again.”

As Tirek smiled at his own illusion, he heard someone familiar call out his name.

“Tirek?” Amadeus said. “Tirek, you okay?”

“Oh, sorry,” Tirek said as he snapped out of his stupor. “Just something that caught in my head.”

“Are you sure?” Amadeus said. “You know I’m concerned about you, brother.”

“It’s alright,” Tirek said. “After all, these ponies remind me of my own people.”

As Tirek walked up to the other ponies, Amadeus and Cozy Glow stared at their older brother.

“He misses mommy and daddy, huh?” Cozy Glow asked.

“He does,” Amadeus said. “And in a way, so do I. After all, when you’re so connected to your own parents, and fate takes them away from you, you’ll realize just how much you truly miss them.”

As Tirek approached the ponies and bowed to them, Sunset, Twilight and Queen Haven looked up at the centaur.

“Now that you’re a guest of honor, I would like to show you the food we have prepared for our feast tonight,” Twilight Sparkle said.

“And sorry, but we don’t have meat,” Sunset laughed.

As Tirek looked at the two princesses with confusion on his face, Cozy Glow flew up to her older brother.

“I asked if they had meat, and they said no,” Cozy Glow said.

“Fair enough,” Tirek said.

As the crowds cheer the three individuals from Centauria, everyone made their way downtown with Wanda, Sunny, Spike and Sparky following from behind. But despite the cheer and joy in the air, Wanda looked uneasy, catching Amadeus’ attention.

“You alright?” Amadeus asked. “I haven’t seen you this worried at all.”

“Something’s not right,” Wanda said. “I don’t see Starlight Glimmer anywhere.”

“Starlight Glimmer?” Amadeus asked.

“She’s a close friend of mine,” Wanda explained. “A bit on the naive side, but she’s a true friend. One thing I want to know is why she isn’t here to help celebrate this party. And the same goes for Sprout Cloverleaf and Posey Bloom.”

“Other pony friends?” Amadeus asked.

“Posey’s the kind of pony who enjoys growing flowers, and rages when some pony, especially Izzy, ruins them,” Sunny Starscout said. “Though this isn’t like her to disappear like this.”

“And we all know about Sprout’s obsession with baths and showers,” Spike said. “I would highly expect him to come out and join in on the fun, smelling like either a pine tree, a flower, or cinnamon.”

“You’re right on that,” Wanda said. “Maybe I should go and look for them.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Spike said. “I’ll go and look for them.”

“Spike, you don’t have to do this,” Wanda said.

But Spike said nothing as he ran off in one direction, leaving everyone else behind.

“He’s going to miss out on the party,” Wanda said.

“It’s okay,” Sunny said. “Spike’s known for pushing himself to the limit. He’ll get to the bottom of this.”

As Spike took off from the group, Abigail was quick to notice the dragon's departure.

“Spike needs my help,” Abigail thought to herself. “And I think I know why.”

But in another part of town, on top of the roofs, Suri Polomare looked down at the citizens marching down the streets, and took notice of Tirek. Behind them were Ace and Blue Monsoon, who looked like they were preparing something sinister.

“What an interesting looking centaur,” Suri Polomare said. “This must be the guest they were talking about.”

“Hey boss,” Ace said, turning his head to Suri. “We have the cannons ready for the big surprise.”

“Well it’s about time,” Suri said. “This I have to see.”

Suri Polomare turned her head to see a number of party cannons loaded with what’s left of the poinsettia flowers, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, pies, cakes, cookies, candies, ice cream, socks, and broken presents. Nearby, Starlight Glimmer and Posey Bloom were tied up together with their mouths gagged by duct tape.

“It seems you two can do something right, every once in a while,” Suri said. “And I’m satisfied by how fast it was.”

“It was a piece of cake,” Blue Monsoon said. “Though I wish we could at least taste some of the cake.”

“The cake is not for eating, you moron,” Suri said, glaring at Blue Monsoon. “They’re to give them the Christmas they will never forget. Ever.”

Suri turned her attention to Starlight and Posey, who looked up at the mare with a scared look on their faces, and muffled voices.

“Whine all you want, you simpleton snowflakes,” Suri Polomare laughed. “Because when this is over, this will be the Christmas they will never forget in their entire lives.”

Suri Polomare laughed out loud as Starlight and Posey stared at her with their eyes shrunk down and their ears flopped down in fear, all while Suri turned her attention to the street below.

“Let them whine when this is over,” Suri said. “When the night is done, they will NEVER CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS AGAIN!”

But as Suri Polomare stopped her gloating, her eyes were quick to spot Spike the Dragon running down the street. Behind the little dragon, Abigail Albright chased after him. With a smile on her face, Suri turned to Ace and Blue Monsoon.

“I see a pair of pests wandering around in the streets,” Suri laughed. “Go take care of them.”

“With pleasure,” Ace and Blue Monsoon said before they took a ladder down from the side of the building.

To Be Continued

Author's Note

I always love the idea of things that go from bad to worse, and I will guarantee that the next part will take this up in spades. And speaking of which, I already have the next part ready for tomorrow. I will try to upload it here ASAP. Keep your eyes peeled.