//------------------------------// // You Better Not Cry // Story: Three More Things! // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Jade shook her head ruefully as she helped hang ornaments on Uncle's Christmas tree...the tree in the back lot that - despite being an apple tree - never lost its leaves and had plenty of branches low enough to both hang ornaments and climb while not getting in the way of harvesting the apples it produced. Jade had questioned the tree when she'd first come out to hang ornaments and lights, but Sweetie Belle had just informed her, 'It's hers,' while pointing at Apple Bloom, and that had been enough of an explanation for the girl. After Audrey, an apple tree that apparently liked being dressed up for the holidays was not that hard to wrap her head around. It was the easy thing to accept about how the holiday was going. "So...Santa is...real?" she finally asked again. "Eeyup!" Apple Bloom confirmed. "We've met him. He's real nice." "How is that even possible?" Jade demanded in confusion. "What he does, I mean? Delivering all those presents in a single night without being seen or leaving evidence?" "Every cell of his body is hyper-saturated with Good Chi," Sweetie Belle explained. "So tightly focused that he's practically a Good Chi Black Hole, guided by his gentle nature. Pretty sure as long as it's part of his job, the laws of magic around him are whatever the hay he wants them to be." "I'm sorry, but that's kind of out there," Jade countered. "You might as well tell me he's Sun Wukong!" "Uh...he did make Cumulo for me," Scootaloo pointed out, nudging her cloud out to where Jade could see from where she was hanging ornaments in the upper branches. "...okay, I have no counter to that," Jade allowed. "Still, it's a little hard to swallow." "Really?" Hsi Wu asked with a raised eyebrow as he leapt down to Jade's level, using his human form to keep wings from getting caught on the branches. "After everything you've been through, Santa Claus is where you draw the line of incredulity?" "Well I know it's not logical!" Jade snapped out. "It's just...after being told for most of my life that the crazy things only I saw weren't real, while being told in the same breath sometimes that Santa wasn't going to bring me any gifts because of them..." She shrugged her shoulders. "And then finding out the crazy things were real..." Hsi tilted his head in confusion as Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all piled around Jade in a group hug. "Umm...am I missing something?" he asked in confusion. "Jade's magic has always been strong enough to pierce the Veil in what she sees," Sweetie Belle explained. "But in the world before magic was normal, that got her written off as crazy or a troublemaker with an overactive imagination, instead of noticed as magically gifted." Hsi winced sympathetically. "Yikes..." At that point in the discussion, Uncle stepped out of the shop. "How goes the decoration?" he asked happily. He sighed warmly as he took in the tree in its winter glory. "It always looks so much prettier than any other tree..." "So everyone's ready for the holiday?" Scootaloo asked eagerly as she set the star at the tree's crown. "Indeed," Uncle confirmed. "Jackie and Viper are setting up decorations in the shop. Tohru, his girls, and Mrs. T are in the kitchen baking. El Toro and Captain Black are decorating the outside of the shop. All is as it should be." Smiling, he turned to go inside...only to pause, turning to the fillies. "Oh, one more thing. There is an elf in the shop asking for you three." Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo turned to each other in shock. "An elf?" they said together. "This is starting to sound like the beginning of a Christmas special," Jade murmured softly. "Even with the one kid needing convincing about the 'spirit of the holiday' with me questioning Santa." "And what does that make me?" Hsi Wu asked curiously. "The angsty teen with a bad rep but a heart of gold who gets to show his true colors as they save Christmas and rediscover child-like wonder?" Jade teased playfully. "Whatever you say, Mistress," Hsi Wu teased back. "I'm not your Mistress!" Jade snapped back. "Well, technically since I'm your familiar-" "Can I go back to being your girlfriend?" "Oh, so now you're saying-" "And you're not my boyfriend either!" Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo burst into giggles. "Isn't it adorable how they flirt?" Sweetie Belle observed playfully. "Elf?" Jade growled out irritably as Hsi struggled to hide his grin. "Oh, right!" Scootaloo declared as she led the dash inside. By the time they'd made it inside, everyone else had gathered as well, staring at the elf in confusion. He stood no taller than Jade, dressed in green with red and white striped stocking, and stood with a very business like air about him. He seemed less like a jolly symbol of holiday cheer and more like a Secret Service Agent. "Can we...help you?" Tohru finally asked in confusion. "And why did you give us all earplugs?" Captain Black added. "You'll see soon enough," the elf replied as he handed earplugs to Jade and Hsi Wu. He then pulled out an ID. "Names Elvin, head of security...north pole." "Magnetic or True?" Jade asked curiously. "Magical," Elvin replied instantly. "And it's you three I need to talk to," he continued, turning to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Nearly 13 and still in the True Selfless file, and firmly on the Nice list even separate from that..." He glanced towards Apple Bloom. "Though some of your pet's behavior is questionable..." "Rhino?" Apple Bloom asked in surprise, glancing towards where the little rodent was happily rolling around in his Christmas decorated ball. "Audrey III," Elvin corrected. "You really should keep him on a shorter leash, but that's a different matter. I need your help. The Big Red One has been abducted." This statement was greeted by gasps all around the shop. "What?" Hsi Wu managed to say first. "Who would be crazy enough to try and tackle Santa on his own ground, and how much backup did they bring?" "We have reason to believe your group knows the perp," Elvin continued, reaching into his vest. "Creative services crafted this likeness." He pulled out a doll of a very familiar dark wizard. "Daolong Wong..." Hsi growled with venomous hatred. "So that's it. Santa enters this world as the sun touches the horizon Greenwich Mean Time, but his power doesn't catalyze until sunset GMT. In that period he's vulnerable, and Daolong Wong has spells for draining chi. He intends to steal Santa's chi during the time he can't defend himself!" "We managed to secure the cottage with an elf magic barrier," Elvin spoke up, "but the perp made off with the cottage and the area around it. We are unable to get a bead on him without the Big Man's help." "I can cast a locator spell," Uncle spoke up. "But will require personal item belonging to Santa Claus." "All his gear is up at the pole," Elvin explained. "Including an empty sleigh and toys that won't be getting delivered tonight if we don't act quickly." "Then act!" Hsi Wu snapped out. Immediately, Elvin held out his hands, glowing blue white as the group was whipped up in a brief snow storm. When it passed, the group found themselves unmistakably in Santa's workshop. As realization struck them, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo's eyes all widened. Every elf in the shop quickly put in earplugs. Uncle, Mrs. T, Jackie, Viper, Tohru, Sofia, Lucia, Ysabelle, Jade, and Hsi Wu quickly followed suit. Captain Black raised his eyebrow at this odd reaction. "What-" he began, only for his own eyes to widen as he saw the three fillies gasp. He reached for his own pair, but moved just too slow. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS SAVE CHRISTMAS, YAY!" "Ow my ears!" Captain Black moaned as he rolled on the floor.