Hope for the Holidays Part 9

“Run in terror, you weak, pathetic fools. You cannot hide from the wrath that is Lavan: King of the Underworld.”

Those words came from the being of stone and magma known as Lavan. He threw balls of lava and rock right at New Ponyville. Buildings crumbled at impact. Streets were smashed. Ponies were running for their lives at the sight of the King of the Underworld and his attacks.

But as Kimg Lavan laughed at the expense of the citizens of New Ponyville, he felt a powerful stream of water hit his side, turning into steam on impact. Unimpressed, Lavan turned to his right to see a few ponies spray him down with a hose.

“Is that suppose to weaken me?” Lavan chortled as he swung his arm back. “DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!”

With a powerful swing of his arm, Lavan threw a ball of molten rock right at the ponies. Seeing the ball of lava chucked at them, the ponies threw the giant hose down and ran for it. The molten ball hit the hose in a powerful explosion. Moments later, the hose burned up whole the nozzle head melted down.

“Ponies have gotten complacent since Megan and her cronies sealed me away,” King Lavan laughed. “Now I will show them what happens when you let peace dominate your mind.”

Lavan stomped the lip of the volcano, causing it to split open. Emerging were a number of smaller molten creatures that made their way towards the town.

“GO MY CHILDREN!” Lavan commanded. “GO AND TURN THIS TOWN INTO A MOLTEN SLUDGE!”

Deep within New Ponyville, ponies ran for their lives at the sight of King Lavan, whose monstrous laugh filled the air with dread. But as the ponies made a run for it, Yukon Cornelius, Hermey and Minty peeked their heads from behind a building at an alleyway, staring down at the mighty titan of stone and magma.

“What in the name of molars and incisors is that?” Hermey asked.

“I never thought I’d live to see this day,” Yukon explained. “But that is Lavan: King of the Underworld. Old Man Winter told me about how he helped Gusty the Great, Megan Williams and Scorpan the Wise bring down and seal away that abomination. But for some reason, his seal broke off, and now he’s back.”

“Lavan of the Underworld?” Hermey said. “I don’t like him one bit. Even the Head Elf was not as bad as him”

“You shouldn’t,” Yukon Cornelius said. “In fact, I wouldn't even sick the bumble on him. If only we had Old Man Winter and the Staff of Sacanas, we would have a fighting shot against that brute.”

“By any chance, did the Winter Warlock confront this…..Lavan?” Minty asked.

“He did,” Yukon said as he, Minty and Hermey pulled their heads behind the building. “And for a good reason: Lavan is a terrible being with one goal in sight: to capture and enslave every living being to power his kingdom of stone and despair, so that his throne stands as the highest in the world.”

“In other words, he's just a bully that's full of himself,” Hermey said.

“Exactly,” Yukon said.

But when Minty looked down the street, her mane spiked for a moment and her eyes widened in fear. She turned to Yukon before tapping him on his jacket, getting his attention.

“Mr Cornelius,” Minty said. “I think we have a bigger problem.”

As Minty pointed down the street, Yukon and Hermey gasped in horror. An army of small creatures made their way down, leaving burnt marks in the pavement.

“Oh dear,” Hermey said. “What do we do now?”

“We'll have to hide for our own sake,” Yukon sighed. “But only until Santa Claus can summon Old Man Winter.”

Hermey and Minty nodded as they and Yukon Cornelius hid further behind the building, watching as the small lava creatures made their way down the street.

“We're in big trouble,” Minty said. “I hope Santa Claus will be able to save us.”

“He will, Minty,” Hermey said. “He will.”

Further down the street, ponies were running as fast as they could from the lava creatures, screaming loudly into the air. Some ran onto the buildings, only for these creatures to burn down or melt the doors. Some ran down the alleys where they followed the equines. But some, like Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Rarity, Moondancer, Sunburst, Danged Spell and Golden Lace, fought back.

“I don't believe it,” Danged Spell whined as he blasted one of the lava creatures with his magic. “First Suri Polomare ruined our Christmas Party, and now this Lavan decided to make things worse.”

“If anything, this is the worst Christmas we've all experienced,” Golden Lace said, blasting more of the lava monsters.

“Keep fighting back,” Twilight Sparkle said. “We just have to hope for reinforcements to arrive.”

“Easy for you to say,” Rarity said, charging up her horn and blasting a few more of the lava creatures. “For every one we obliterate, ten more emerge.”

But in an instant, Harry the Bear ran down the street and past the other ponies in a hurry, just as a few more lava creatures went after him in pursuit.

“Oh no,” Sunset said. “Fluttershy is not going to like that.”

“What can she do to help out?” Sunburst said, blasting a few more lava creatures. “She lacks the magic that we have.”

“I wouldn't bet on that, Sunburst,” Twilight Sparkle said as she pointed to the sky. “Look.”

Sunburst looked up to see Fluttershy fly down towards the lava creatures chasing after Harry the Bear. Before the creatures could reach Harry, Fluttershy landed in front, separating the lava creatures from Harry before glaring at the molten meanies.

“Now you see here you spoiled sentient slags,” Fluttershy roared. “You should be ashamed of tormenting innocent creatures like that. I don't ever want to see your faces in this town again.”

Screaming in fear, the lava creatures turned tail and ran off in the opposite direction, all while Fluttershy stood victorious.

“Never mess with my animal friends,” Fluttershy said.

And with that, Harry picked up Fluttershy and hugged her close, all while the yellow pegasi mare giggled. Nearby, Sunburst shook his head with a devilish grin on his face.

“Of course she would do that,” Sunburst laughed. “That's the last time I underestimate Fluttetshy and her stare.”

“Told ya,” Sunset laughed.

“Note to self, quit underestimating my friends,” Sunburst chuckled as he blasted down a few more lava creatures.

Nearby, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Sprout Cloverleaf and Posey Bloom were backed against each other, grabbing water buckets and flinging them right at the molten creatures. With each hit, the creatures’ lava hardened and cooled down until they froze completely and came to a stop. But for each one that was quenched by the water, two to three more make their way to the four earth ponies.

“Dagnabit,” Applejack said, chucking more water at the molten creatures. “It was bad enough we had to clean the mess Suri made. Now we have to deal with these polecats.”

“I thought this was actually fun,” Pinkie Pie said as she loaded water into her party cannon and fired it at the molten creatures. “But they’re coming in really hot. And I don’t think I can keep up.”

“Just keep chucking water at them,” Sprout shouted. “And hope we get some pony to help out.”

But as Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Sprout and Posey kept throwing buckets of water at the molten creatures, water suddenly splashed down from above, drenching some of the creatures in water and hardening their lava into stone, freezing them in place. The four earth ponies looked up to see Rainbow Dash, Windy Whistles, Star Catcher and Queen Haven dump water all over the molten creatures. Applejack looked up at Rainbow Dash with a smile on her face.

“Guess danger always seems to come to you, Rainbow,” Applejack shouted. “Thanks for the assist.”

“I’d refrain from thanking me, right now,” Rainbow Dash said. “We still have a lot of these monstrosities to go.”

“You’re right on that,” Pinkie Pie shouted. “Because we have more on the way.”

The pegasi in the air looked down the street, where they saw more molten creatures make their way towards the earth ponies below them.

“This is more serious than I thought,” Queen Haven said, holding her empty bucket. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to put them out in time.”

“The only thing we can do is to hold them off until a miracle arrives,” Windy Whistles said with a nervous whistle. “And I don’t know where we could find one of those.”

But everyone paused the moment they heard the sound of sleigh bells and a familiar hearty chuckle. They looked up to see Santa Claus’ sleigh move through the night sky.

“Now Dasher, now Dancer, now Prancer and Vixen. On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner, on Blitzen, and especially you too, Rudolph.” Santa’s voice filled the air like a warm blanket on a cool night. Every pony began to cheer as the sleigh made its way downward into the city.

“It’s Santa Claus” Windy Whistles said, pointing at the sleigh. “But what’s he doing here?”

“Not just him, “ Queen Haven said, spotting some familiar faces. “Everyone is here.”

Queen Haven pointed upwards near the sleigh, where she saw Wanda Young flying in the air with her nanotech wings, all while she held Starlight Glimmer close. Flying by her were Spike the Dragon holding onto Abigail, Cozy Glow, Amadeus who held the Staff of Sacanas, Pipp Petals and Zipp Storm.

“Well wadda know,” Rainbow Dash said. “They’re back.”

“And not the only ones,” Posey shouted as she looked at the mountains. “We got more reinforcements.”

Running down the mountains towards New Ponyville were King Vorak, Queen Lillian, Prince Tirek, Sunny Starscout, Izzy Moonbow, Hitch Trailblazer with Sparky Sparkaroni on his back, Misty Brightdawn, and every centaur and Zephyr Heights pegasi. They all let out a cry in the air shouting “FOR NEW PONYVILLE! FOR NEW PONYVILLE!”

“Oh my gosh,” Queen Haven cried. “The missing pegasi from Zephyr Heights. They’re alive. And they have other reinforcements joining them.”

“Best of all, they’re coming to save us,” Rainbow Dash cheered. “We can send these hot heads packing. This is so awesome.”

As Santa’s sleigh landed within the vicinity of New Ponyville, Wanda and Spike landed on the ground before releasing Starlight and Abigail from their grip respectively. Pipp, Zipp, Cozy and Amadeus landed next to the sleigh as Santa got out with the nine reindeer unhooking themselves from their collars.

“Wanda,” Sunset shouted before she ran up to her sister. “You made it back.”

“We did,” Wanda said as Sunset leaped onto the human girl and gave her a hug. “And we’re going to save this town from King Lavan.”

“So you know what we’re up against,” Sunset said. “That’s great. Because we could use a whole ton of help right now.”

“Far more than that, Princess Sunset,” Santa Claus said as the centaur, pegasi and the rest of the ponies made their way into town.

As Santa approached Wanda and Sunset, King Vorak led his team through town, sidestepping around the molten creatures. As soon as the group approached Wanda and Sunset, they came to a complete stop, much to the surprise of Sunset.

“You….you must be King Vorak,” Sunset Shimmer said as she and Twilight approached the centaur king before bowing before him.

“I am he, Princess Sunset Shimmer” King Vorak said. “And it is an honor to meet you and Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

“No, the honor’s mine,” Sunset said. “But right now, we should dispense with the pleasantries and dispatch these magma minions.”

“Agreed,” King Vorak said before turning to Tirek, Amadeus and Cozy Glow. “Are you three ready?”

“I’m ready, daddy,” Cozy Glow said.

“So am I, father,” Amadeus nodded.

“Count me in,” Tirek said before turning to Twilight. “This is personal.”

“I’m also glad you’re back, Tirek,” Twilight Sparkle said. “Especially after what Suri did to you.”

“I may have been greatly disappointed by that party being crashed,” Tirek said. “But the return of my father was more than enough to encourage me to help you all. Besides, King Lavan is going to pay for what he tried to do to my people.”

“And there is one person who can help bring down Lavan,” Santa Claus explained, holding a snowball in his right hand. “One of the many who assisted Megan, Gusty and Scorpan against that fiend long ago: Old Man Winter.”

Santa Claus directed his eyes above before he tossed the snowball into the air, which exploded and scattered into the winds. Moments later, a powerful gust gathered the scattered snow into a whirlwind, twirling faster and faster until it exploded. From the explosion, the being formerly known as the Winter Warlock appeared out of nowhere and floated down onto the ground.

“Wow,” Sunny Starscout said. “That’s Old Man Winter.”

“It is,” Twilight Sparkle said.

Old Man Winter turned his attention to Santa Claus before he said “Kris Kringle. I know why you summoned me. Lavan is back.”

“You are correct, old friend,” Santa Claus said, turning his attention to the molten creatures that make their way to the group. “And we could use your help in dealing with him once and for all.”

“I shall do so,” Old Man Winter said, holding his hands in the air. “Fortunately, his minions are easy to deal with.”

As Old Man Winter’s hands glowed brightly, a powerful pulse of magic emitted from them, flying right towards the molten creatures pursuing the other ponies. In a flash, the creatures froze in place, their red hue turning a cold light blue. The ponies came to a stop and noticed the cold situation that the molten creatures were in.

“Wow,” Sunny said. “What did you do to them?”

“I Froze their cores solid,” Old Man Winter said. “They won’t be able to regenerate from that. Like I said, an easy task, compared to our confrontation with King Lavan. In fact, in your state, you would succumb to his molten aura should you even get close to him. Luckily, I have a means of protecting you from the heat.”

Directing his eyes to everyone around him, Old Man Winter held his right hand in the air. Cold air formed around his palm, forming into an ice crystal. Old Man Winter slammed it on the ground, forming an icy cold aura that enveloped everyone in the vicinity.

“What…what is this?” Cozy Glow asked.

“With this aura, you will be able to approach King Lavan without being affected by the heat around him,” Old Man Winter said before turning to Amadeus. “While the strongest deal with Lavan, you must channel the power of the Staff of Sacanas and use it to seal him away again.”

“I will do what I can, Mr Winter,” Amadeus said with a bow.

“Just call me Winter,” Old Man Winter said. “Now enough explanations. We take the fight to King Lavan.”

Gathered together in harmony, the entire group made their way towards the entrance of the town, passing by every cold molten minion along the way. But as they made their way up, Suri Polomare, Ace and Blue Monsoon peeked their heads out from behind a building, watching the group from afar.

“Did you see that?” Ace said. “They’re going to fight this Lavan character.”

“Good,” Suri Polomare said. “While they’re gone, we’re going to make a clean getaway.”

“I’m with you on that,” Blue Monsoon said. “Better to run for our lives than risk a suicide mission.”

Turning away from the crowd of ponies, reindeer, humans and centaurs, Suri, Ace and Monsoon ran down the alleyway, but not before catching the eyes of Twilight Sparkle, who turned to Posey and Sprout.

“I have a job for you both,” Twilight Sparkle said. “Could you deal with three certain troublemakers while we take care of Lavan?”

“Consider it done,” Posey Bloom nodded.

“If by troublemakers you mean Suri and her stooges, I’m game,” Sprout smirked.

Twilight Sparkle nodded to the earth pony duo before they chased after Suri, Ace and Monsoon.

“Best of luck to both of you,” Twilight said

It didn’t take long for the group of ponies, reindeer, humans and centaurs to make their way out of the town and to approach the volcano where King Lavan stood on top. Seeing the battalion from on top, Lavan leaped from his perch atop the volcano and landed right in front of the group.

“So this must be the resistance group that’s sent to banish me back to where I came,” King Lavan said before he noticed Old Man Winter among the group. “And you brought in one of Megan William’s lackeys.”

“I existed long before I met Megan Williams, Lavan,” Old Man Winter said. “And she understood the very elements of harmony that vanquished foes like you, Grogar and Serpentor to name a few.”

“Well she’s gone, and so are the ponies who represented those elements,” Lavan laughed. “What do you all have? Nothing, but slave fodder.”

“Slave fodder?” Queen Lillian said as she and Vorak began to tense up. “You have the audacity to lock us all up in your little prison, Lavan. And you expect us to be slaves?”

“You know what, you’re right,” Lavan said. “I don’t expect your billy goat race to be slaves. I expect you to be my dinner for my insatiable appetite.”

Both King Vorak and Queen Lillian’s faces turned a bright red as they slowly shift their eyes towards a stern Tirek.

“Son,” Vorak and Lillian said. “Take him out.”

“I was hoping you would say that,” Tirek said, cracking his knuckles.

“You?” Lavan laughed. “Take me out? What a joke of an idea. You couldn’t even harm my molten visage with your pathetic excuse for a…”

But before Lavan could finish, Tirek ran right up to the King of the Underworld, and punched him right on the side of the face. Though his knuckle slightly burned on the surface of Lavan’s cheek, the force of the punch was enough to send Lavan tumbling back before he landed on his bottom.

“Shut up,” Tirek snarled.

Lavan looked down at the drops of lava that fell onto his hand before looking up at the centaur prince. Immediately, King Vorak, Queen Lillian, Cozy Glow and the other centaur gathered around Tirek while Amadeus stood behind them, holding the Staff of Sacanas.

“You drew first lava,” Lavan laughed, staring at Tirek. “I’m impressed by the son of Vorak and descendant of the first king Tirac. But I’m afraid you just made a fatal mistake, o mighty prince.”

As Tirek braced himself with his family by his side, Lavan held up a ball of pure lava in his right hand. He held his hand out before the ball flew off towards the giant centaur, who stood there without flinching.

“Do not mess with my son.” King Vorak said before moving out in front of Tirek.

Before the ball of lava hit either centaur, King Vorak swung his right hand back before backhanding the ball of lava, knocking it aside. Though the back of his hand was darkened due to touching the ball of lava, he stood there undeterred, much to Lavan’s amusement.

“Like father, like son,” Lavan laughed as pillars of lava formed on the palms of his hands. “You amuse me. But now, I’m afraid your time has…ran out.”

Lavan thrust his hands into the ground. Around the group, the earth began to shake violently. Before anyone could make a move, a pillar of stone pushed up from under the group, sending them flying into the air and out of control. Everyone screamed in unison as they tried to regain themselves. Even the flyers had a problem trying to regain their composure.

“Oh how their screams encourage me to go even deeper,” Lavan said. “And it’s a good thing Old Man Winter cast that protection spell on those pathetic mortals, because it will allow me to do THIS!”

Lavan held his hands out towards the helpless group before two streams of lava shot out towards them. Not a single pony, human, reindeer or centaur could do anything as the lava hit them, knocking them down to the earth and pinning them to the ground. Though steam poured from the lava due to the aura of cold, everyone screamed in agony.

“Feeling the heat, I see,” Lavan laughed. “Face it. You’re all in hot water.”

“Then I think it’s time for you to CHILL!” Old Man Winter said, successfully pulling his hands out from his molten binding.

With a wave of his hands, Old Man Winter glowed a bright blue, passing his aura to everyone else. King Lavan fired more pillars of pure lava, covering the entire group in a gigantic sphere of molten rock.

“Let’s see you break out of that, if you can,” Lavan said.

But in an instant, the molten rock hardened and cooled to the touch before exploding. Lavan stood there, unphased as ponies, reindeer, humans and centaur emerged slightly unscathed.

“You think your tricks can scare us?” Old Man Winter shouted. “As long as my magic is strong, you won’t be able to hurt my friends.”

“Challenge accepted,” Lavan said.

Lavan slammed his fists onto the ground, causing the earth in front of the group of heroes to shake violently. A wave of lava emerged from the earth before towering over everyone.

“Spirits of Winter,” Old Man Winter shouted. “Come to the aid of my friends.”

As Tirek, Vorak and the Centaurs ran towards the lava, Old Man Winter fired a blast of cold magic right at them. Their aura of cold grew brighter as they approached the wave of lava. With a swift throw of their punch, they cool the lava and shatter it into pieces.

“Looks like Lavan’s not holding back,” Sunset Shimmer said, watching the Centaurs charge at Lavan. “We have to fight back and end him. But how?”

“Sunset Shimmer,” Old Man Winter said. “Your counterpart Twilight Sparkle, along with those you call friends, have ties to harmony itself. Channel that harmony into the Staff of Sacanas so that it can seal him away once more.”

“I am ready to do my part,” Amadeus said, holding the staff close to him.

“I will join mother and father in pushing back against Lavan,” Cozy Glow nodded.

“What about you, Wanda?” Sunset asked.

“Tirek, Vorak and the other centaur will need major help,” Wanda said as her finger was above her ring. “And fortunately, my nanotech will do just that.”

As soon as Wanda Young touched her ring, her dress, gloves, socks and shoes glowed brightly as they took a new shape. Furthermore, the light began to cover the top and back of Wanda’s head. The moment the light disappeared, her clothes were replaced with what appended to be an armor made of a sky blue metal.

“Wow,” Amadeus said, impressed by Wanda’s armor. “I didn’t know you had that kind of power.”

“Like I said,” Wanda said. “Nanomachines, son.”

“Then let us begin,” Sunset said, turning to Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight Sparkle turned to Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Sunny Starscout, Izzy Moonbow, Pipp Petals, Zipp Storm, Hitch Trailblazer and Misty Brightdawn before she said “You heard what Old Man Winter said. You have the power of harmony within you. Channel that power into Sunset and I so that we may power the Staff of Sacanas.”

“You got it, Twilight,” Misty said as the other nodded to her.

Immediately, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Sunny Starscout, Izzy Moonbow, Pipp Petals, Zipp Storm, Hitch Trailblazer and Misty Brightdawn gathered around Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer, directing their attention to the Staff of Sacanas that Amadeus held up.

“Wanda,” Sunny said. “Be careful out there.”

“I will,” Wanda said before she and Cozy Glow ran towards the centaurs who held their own against Lavan.

“Now, everyone,” Sunset Shimmer shouted. “Direct your magic to the two of us.”

As Queen Haven, Santa Claus, Minty, Yukon Cornelius, Hermey, Spike, Sparky Sparkaroni, Abigail and Starlight Glimmer watched from afar, the ponies surrounding Twilight and Sunset began to channel their magic from within. Immediately, they fired a blast of magic right at the two alicorns, powering them up.

“I hope the centaurs can keep Lavan at bay,” Sunset Shimmer said.

“I hope so, too,” Twilight said.

Up ahead, Wanda Young and Cozy Glow ran alongside the centaurs and nine reindeer as they charged King Lavan. Up ahead at the ocean, the Zephyr Heights ponies dunked buckets of water into the sea before pulling it back into the air.

“What’s the plan?” Wanda said.

“Hold him back as much as possible,” Prince Tirek explained. “Do not give him a single inch.”

“Why not shove him into the ocean?” Cozy Glow asked.

“It’s worth a shot,” Tirek said. “EVERYONE, DRENCH THAT BEAST INTO THE SEA!”

One by one, each centaur swung right at Lavan, hitting him in the face or chest area, pushing him back. Lavan was able to grab the arms of a few stragglers and toss them aside.

“Push me into the sea?” Lavan laughed. “This will be amusing.”

As Lavan blasted another centaur out of the way with a stream of lava, water splashed right on him from above, emitting more steam from his body. He looked up to see the Zephyr Heights pegasi dunk more water on him.

“Hey chickens,” Lavan said as he held his hands in the air. “The heat is on.”

The pegasi quickly moved out of the way as King Lavan fired a stream of lava upwards. One of them lost the grip of their bucket, causing it to call on Lavan, melting on impact and releasing the water on him.

“This is so amusing,” Lavan laughed. “I could go on all day.”

Suddenly, a stream of missiles fly right at the King of the Underworld, exploding on impact. When the dust cleared, Lavan was frozen solid. Everyone turned to the far corner where Wanda Young, decked out in her cybernetic armor, held her arm mounted missile launchers out.

“Alright everyone,” Wanda said. “Chill.”

But the ice surrounding Lavan cracked severely, forming ruptures around the cold surface. Within seconds, the ice shattered completely, freeing Lavan of his frozen prison.

“Do me a favor and let it go,” Lavan said.

Wanda quickly jumped out of the way as Lavan fired another stream of lava right where she stood. Wanda rolled before standing on her two legs and firing another missile from her wrist launcher at Lavan.

“Oh no you don’t,” Lavan said.

Lavan fired a ball of lava right at the missile. Upon impact, the missile exploded, freezing and hardening the lava ball. The frozen ball fell down and shattered into pieces.

“This meanie is giving us a hard time,” Rudolph said. “What can we do?”

“Let me show him how it’s done, Rudolph,” Old Man Winter shouted. “EVERYONE, STAND ASIDE!”

The centaur and pegasi stood to the side as Old Man Winter fired a blast of cold right at Lavan. The King of the Underworld formed a barrier of lava, taking the cold blast on impact.

“You’ve become soft over the years, Winter Warlock,” King Lavan laughed. “You’ve allowed friendship with Kris Kringle and these little ponies to soften your heart even further since we last fought each other.”

“Words I’ve heard many times, Lavan,” Old Man Winter said as his cold blast intensified.

As Old Man Winter pushed King Lavan towards the ocean, King Vorak, Prince Tirek, Cozy Glow and Wanda Young ran up to the King of the Underworld. Tirek and Vorak delivered a powerful punch to the face of Lavan, followed by a kick by Cozy Glow. As Lavan stumbled backwards by the impact of Vorak, Tirek and Cozy Glow, Wanda fired off another batch of missiles towards Lavan. The molten beast could do nothing as the missiles hit him and exploded. Combined with the power of Old Man Winter’s ice beam, the explosion was enough to knock Lavan into the air before he fell right into the ocean with a powerful splash. Old Man Winter withdrew his ice beam as steam poured out from the sea.

“That did it,” Tirek shouted. “We got him into the ocean. He should be all washed up.”

“I don’t think that did it,” Old Man Winter said. “Look at the ocean.”

Everyone watched as the ocean began to bubble up violently, and more steam poured from its surface. In an instant, Lavan leaped out of the ocean before landing on the beach in front of them.

“You fools,” Lavan laughed. “The ocean is not cold enough to quench my fire. Your efforts are fruitless.”

“Maybe,” Wanda said as her arms and hands began to glow. “But we’re too stubborn to give up.”

Wanda’s left arm glowed brightly as the nanobots formed a shield around it. She held the shield up close before her right hand formed a sword from the same tech.

“Bring it on, lava boy,” Wanda said, holding her shield in front of her.

Lavan fired another stream of lava right at Wanda. But this time, Wanda held the shield up, blocking the lava and causing it to simply drop to the ground, burning the sand on it.

“Nanotech, huh?” Lavan said. “Interesting path for one who fights similar to Megan Williams.”

“I am not related to Megan Williams,” Wanda said. “But I still fight for the friendship of those who defend their home.”

“We’ll see about that,” Lavan laughed.

Wanda and Lavan charged at each other, the former holding her shield up with her sword by her side, and the latter holding a pair of churning lava pillars in each hand. The two clash at each other with their respective weapons, hitting as hard as possible without tiring. The crystal glowed brightly with the magic pouring in.

But behind the group of Centaur, Pegasi and Reindeer, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Sunny Starscout, Izzy Moonbow, Pipp Petals, Zipp Storm, Hitch Trailblazer and Misty Brightdawn directed their magic right into Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer, who channeled it into the Staff of Sacanas.

“I think that might be enough,” Twilight said. “Everyone release.”

But when the ponies halted the magic going into the staff, its crystal light faded away, leaving the staff powerless.

“I don’t get it,” Amadeus said. “I thought we had enough magic to stop Lavan.”

“No,” Sunny said. “We don’t. And I think we’re missing one pony to provide an equilibrium to the staff.”

“An equilibrium?” Twilight said. “What do you mean, Sunny?”

“We only have eleven ponies to channel our harmony magic into the both of you, so you can send it to the Staff of Sacanas,” Sunny Starscout said. “We need one more so that we can complete the charge.”

Twilight Sparkle paused for a moment before turning her attention to Starlight Glimmer, who sat next to Minty, Queen Haven, Santa Claus, Spike, Abby, Sparky, Yukon and Hermey.

“That’s what I forgot,” Twilight said, placing her hoof to her face. “I was off by one pony.”

“Don’t worry,” Misty said. “Sunny and I will get her in.”

Misty Brightdawn and Sunny Starscout walked away from the group before approaching Starlight Glimmer, who began to look nervous.

“Starlight,” Sunny Starscout said. “We need your help to channel our magic into Twilight and Sunset to power the Staff of Sacanas.”

“I…I don’t know if I can,” Starlight Glimmer said.

“You can, Starlight,” Misty said. “It’s going to take all of us to finally bring down Lavan, and we know you can help.”

“But…what if I screw up?” Starlight said. “What if the magic isn’t enough to seal that beast away?”

“It will seal him away,” Sunny said. “Trust us. We trust you as well.”

“But, what if I screw up?” Starlight asked.

“Wanda told me that you still have nightmares about accidentally sneezing down that tree last year,” Misty said. “Don’t worry about that. If anything, Suri Polomare and Lavan ruined Christmas far worse than you. Far far worse.”

“Far far worse?” Starlight asked.

“Yes,” Sunny said. “Trust us. We’ll have your back, one hundred percent.”

Starlight Glimmer nodded to Sunny Starscout and Misty Brightdawn before she got back up on her four hooves. Yukon Cornelius and Dr Hermey were the first to cheer on the twin tailed unicorn.

“That’s the spirit, Starlight,” Yukon Cornelius said. “Go get ‘em.”

Starlight Glimmer ran up to the rest of the group, standing alongside Pinkie Pie and Rarity, all while Sunny Starscout and Misty Brightdawn returned to their spots.

“Welcome to the team, Starlight,” Pinkie Pie said. “Let’s show that party crasher what we’re made of.”

“Show me what to do, Pinkie,” Starlight asked.

“Direct your magic to Twilight,” Pinkie Pie explained. “Think about the good times we all had together, and don’t hold back.”

Starlight Glimmer nodded as she fired her magic into Twilight Sparkle, with Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy following suit. Soon, Sunny Starscout, Izzy Moonbow, Pipp Petals, Zipp Storm, Hitch Trailblazer and Misty Brightdawn did the same thing to Sunset Shimmer. As soon as both alicorns were powered up, they fired their magic right into the crystal of the Staff of Sacanas.

“You can do it, Starlight,” Minty shouted. “I believe in you.”

The magic poured deeper and deeper in the staff’s crystal, brightening its color and shining its light around the vicinity. Amadeus looked up and his face began to glow.

“I think that might have done it,” Amadeus shouted.

The ponies withdrew their magic from the staff as they began to tire. But the light of the Staff of Sacanas glowed brightly.

“This is it,” Amadeus shouted. “I’m ready.”

As Amadeus turned to the beach, he saw Wanda Young, Tirek, Cozy Glow, Vorak, Lillian and the Winter Warlock push back at Lavan with the centaur, reindeer and pegasi helping out.

“I’ve toyed with you all long enough,” Lavan shouted, spotting the glow of the Staff of Sacanas. “It’s time to end your hopes and dreams once and for all.”

Lavan’s fists formed into spike balls as he was slowly being pushed towards the ocean again. Lavan swung them both right at Wanda, who quickly raised her shield. But the spike balls explode in Wanda’s face, shattering her shield and knocking her down along with Tirek, Cozy Glow, Vorak, Lillian, Old Man Winter, and the rest of the centaur, pegasi and reindeer. Wanda grabbed her left arm and winced in pain.

“Even the nanobots are not enough to resist that,” Wanda said.

As Old Man Winter got up, Lavan charged at Amadeus at high speed. Before the youngster had time to react, Lavan grabbed the staff and pulled it from his grip.

“THE STAFF!” Amadeus shouted.

“You all are nothing like Megan Williams or her lackeys,” Lavan said. “And to prove it, kiss the Staff of Sacanas, along with the hopes and dreams you carry, good-bye.”

Lavan thrusted his right hand onto the crystal of the staff and began to squeeze it tight, smothering the light of the crystal, much to everyone’s horror.

“NOOOOO!” Amadeus shouted. “WE LOST! THE STAFF IS GONE!”

“No, it’s not,” Sunset shouted. “LOOK AT THE STAFF!”

Suddenly, the light of the staff lit up once more, much to Lavan’s surprise. Smoke poured out from his hand, causing Lavan to scream in pain and drop the staff out of his hand.

“That staff,” Lavan said. “I cannot destroy it.”

“No,” Amadeus said as he walked up to the staff. “You can’t. And you never will.”

Amadeus signaled to Wanda Young, who got up on her two legs, still holding her arm. Old Man Winter placed his hand on Wanda’s arm, and in an instant, cooled it down. As soon as Old Man Winter released Wanda’s arm, she shook it a bit

“Thanks,” Wanda said. “I owe you.”

“You’re welcome,” Old Man Winter said. “Now aid Amadeus, and finish the fight.”

“Will do,” Wanda said.

Wanda ran towards Amadeus, forming a shield on her left arm once more with the nanotech. Lavan formed two new spiked balls and swung at Wanda, only for the human girl to dodge out of the way. Once she was clear of Lavan’s spiked punches, she ran up and stood by Amadeus.

“Amadeus,” Wanda said as her sword disappeared into her armor. “I’ve got your back. Let him have it.”

“I shall,” Amadeus said, directing his gaze to Lavan.

Lavan quickly fired two stream of lava right at Wanda and Amadeus. But Wanda’s right arm formed a second shield, where she blocked the lava from hitting her. Lavan withdrew the stream and stared right at the Staff of Sacanas.

“So you finally got your act together,” Lavan said. “You’ve figured out how to best me.”

“We did,” Amadeus said as he pointed the staff to Lavan. “And you’re going back to where you came, monster.”

With only a smile on his face, Lavan held his arms out and let out the biggest chuckle ever.

“So this is how I go out,” Lavan laughed. “Beaten by those who walked the path of Megan Williams. Not bad for a ragtag bunch of misfits.”

Wanda held her shields out as Amadeus charged up the Staff of Sacanas. Once the light of the staff glowed brightly, Amadeus held the staff as tight as he could.

“BE GONE, LAVAN!” Amadeus shouted. “AND NEVER TORMENT ANY OF US, EVER AGAIN!”

A powerful beam of harmonic magic fired from the staff right at King Lavan, who stood there, laughing out loud.

“You’ve won for now,” Lavan laughed. “But we will meet again, I promise you that.”

And with that, Lavan let out one last laugh before he was hit by the magic of the staff, emitting a powerful explosion. When it all cleared away, Lavan was sealed inside a crystal prison, completely motionless.

Amadeus set the staff to his side and wiped the sweat from his brow. Wanda got up on her two legs and withdrew the shields back into her armor.

“It’s over,” Amadeus said. “We defeated Lavan. We won.”

“WE DID IT!” Wanda cheered.

As soon as Wanda and Amadeus jumped for joy, everyone around them cheered loudly, chanting “LAVAN IS TRAPPED! LAVAN IS TRAPPED! LAVAN IS TRAPPED!”

But next to the group that sat aside, Santa Claus watched with a smile on his face and a tear on his cheek. He wiped the tear from his eye before rubbing it with his thumb and finger.

“I’m proud of them,” Santa Claus said. “They saved their own people and brought justice to Lavan. They deserve something that makes the nice list look small in comparison.”

“That does remind us,” Hermey said. “Whatever happened to those three that ruined Tirek’s Christmas party?”

“I’m glad you asked,” Santa said. “For I believe they will face their just desserts for what they pulled.”

Meanwhile, northeast of town, Suri Polomare, Ace and Blue Monsoon ran as fast as they could away from town. Not once did the trio turn their heads.

“Good riddance to New Ponyville,” Suri Polomare said. “If we’re lucky, there won’t be any town left.”

“And not to mention the other kingdoms are gonna be so angry they let us get away,” Ace said.

“Yeah,” Blue Monsoon said. “I bet they’ll cut off trade with New Ponyville and cause them to go bankrupt.”

“Well let’s hurry as fast as possible,” Suri Polomare said. “Maybe we’ll make it to one of the towns that overturned our ban, and show them why no punishment will hold us back.”

“Well call this no punishment, then.” Suri, Ace and Monsoon came to a stop before they looked up the hill. There they saw a giant snowball, held up by Sprout Cloverleaf and Posey Bloom.

“Is that what I think it is?” Suri said.

“Oh it is,” Sprout laughed. “And this time, you’re really gonna get it.”

With a quick push from Sprout and Posey, the snowball rolled down the mountainside towards Suri, Ace and Monsoon. The trio quickly turned around and ran back towards the town.

“RUN AWAY!” Suri Polomare screamed. “DON’T LET IT BURY US IN AN AVALANCHE!”

“I’M TRYING, I’M TRYING!” Blue Monsoon shouted. “BUT THAT WINTER KATAMARI IS GONNA ROLL US OVER!”

But as the trio ran, they tripped over a vine that popped up out of nowhere, causing them to fall to the ground. Suri, Ace and Monsoon turned around to face the giant rolling snowball, watching helpless as it inched closer to them.

“NOOOOOOO!” Suri shouted. “NOT LIKE THIS!”

The snowball rolled over Suri Polomare, Ace and Blue Monsoon, picking them up from where they laid. The snowball rolled faster and faster before it hit a nearby boulder, smashing to pieces.

Sprout Cloverleaf and Posey Bloom ran up to the boulder that the snowball crashed into. There, they saw Suri, Ace and Monsoon, stuck headfirst into the snow unable to pull themselves out.

“How did you do that?” Sprout asked.

“Easy,” Posey said, holding her hoof up. “You forgot that we earth ponies can create plants from the earth with our magic.”

“Oh, right,” Sprout said, embarrassingly. “I forgot about that. Silly me.”

“I’ll forgive you,” Posey laughed. “But I can’t say the same to Suri and her stooges.”

“Wanna round them up and make them pay for the damages they did?” Sprout asked.

“Oh I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” Posey said with a devilish grin. “After the stunt they pulled, they were asking for it.”

To Be Concluded

Author's Note

Well I did it. I was able to get done with Part 9 of Hope for the Holidays.

How did I do with King Lavan? Did you think I fleshed him out well? Or should he have had more time in the limelight? And what did you think about what I'm about to do to Suri Polomare, Ace and Blue Monsoon? After all, I'm a big believer in karma, and I'm about to give them what they deserve.

As early as tomorrow, I will finish Hope for the Holidays. And I'm going to do what I can to make it as sweet as possible.

Edit: Good news: The final part to this fanfic is completed. Expect it on Christmas Day.