Daring Do and the Dance - From Conception to Featured in 12 hours. · 4:56am Dec 8th, 2013
11:00 PM CST, December 7, 2013 Sniff. I'm so proud. 
Thank you all. Now I need to top this with 'Yes, Twilight Sparkle, There Is a Santa Hooves' and 'Escort Flight' both of which need to be done and proofread by Christmas.
(Gdocs links for the very early drafts and outlines of Santa Hooves and Escort here. Less than 18 days left, better get cracking.)
(Excerpt from Escort Mission)
“We’re just about at the rendezvous point,” called out Dandelion from his position just off his left wing. “Just circle until our escort gets here. According to the guards who did this last year, they’re almost always late.”
“Last year?” asked Pumpernickel as the two Nocturne swung into a long leisurely circle above the puffy snow clouds below. The brilliance of the setting sun reflected off the back of his sunglasses with every circle, and he was not truly comfortable until the blazing disc had descended beneath the horizon and Luna’s silvery sphere had risen. It was one of the greatest feelings in the world to experience the newborn stars as he tucked his unneeded glasses away, luxuriating in the simple pleasures of flight in an empty sky. They circled for an hour or more before the two guards caught a glimpse of a far-away light, a slow blink of red and green navigation lights on an airborne wagon of some sort. As it drew closer, Pumpernickel could pick out the four griffon escorts by the golden glint of their minimalistic armor and the green glow of the night-vision spells on their helmets. It took a few minutes to soak in, but as they flew to intercept, he finally had to ask his fellow officer, “Dandy, are those Imperial Guards? I thought they only guarded Emperor Ripping Claw himself.”
“They’ve got a rotation, just like us. Now you’ve got protocol duty, so don’t screw this one up. Go ahead, I’ll be right beside you.”
It took a long gentle curve for the two Nocturne to draw near the escorted wagon, but as they completed their turn and closed the range, Pumpernickel was so shocked he nearly quit flapping. The griffon guards were not the cause of his distress, even though they rose up from their paralleling position to form the neatest line-abreast formation above the escorting wagon he had ever seen. No, it was the wagon itself.
There were lumpy bags strapped to the wagon with great abandon, tied on by what seemed to be miles of rope in a massive pile that threatened to topple the whole thing the moment it touched ground on the sled runners that had been strapped on where the wheels should have been. A sense of age seemed to permeate the whole wooden contraption, not showing a speck of decay and rot, but of careful maintenance and paint with silver lettering across both sides and the musical jingle of small bells in the icy slipstream. It was far too large and overloaded for a single pegasus to pull, and as the two Nocturne pulled up alongside, Pumpernickel almost quit flapping in shock for the second time.
It was being pulled by a reindeer.
And not just an ordinary reindeer, but the biggest and fattest reindeer he had ever seen in his life, wearing a furry red and white coat that was tipped with small icicles, and kept from flapping in the wind by a thick black belt. Ponies all over Equestria would dress up in that outfit every Hearth’s Warming season to ring bells for charitable contributions, and to sit in stores to listen to what little colts and fillies wanted for their presents. But instead of the fake antlers on the department store ponies, this reindeer had a huge rack of real horns, glowing a faint silver in the moonlight as he galloped along, pulling the overloaded sled behind him without the slightest sign of wings.
“Santa Hooves?” blurted out Pumpernickel.
“The one and only,” said Dandelion thorough the biggest grin as he looked over at his stunned companion. “What, did you think we were escorting the Tooth Flutterpony?”
1584226 Stalker! (Oh, wait. It's Pinkie Pie) Thank you!
1584230 DeftFunk made mine for me, because I'm absolutely horrible at even cut and paste. (the above screen shot is just a cut, and I nearly chopped off a finger doing it) I'm sure if you ask nicely, he'll make one for you too.