//------------------------------// // The Night Before Christmas // Story: Shattered Holidays // by FourShadow //------------------------------// Christmas Eve was here. By now, mostly everyone was taking a deserved holiday break; they were all comfy and cozy in their homes, families were visiting, and most of the presents had been wrapped up and tucked under the Christmas trees. A few people did end up having to do some last minute food shopping, or maybe last minute gift-wrapping, but it was still nice. But Trixie and friends, right now were on the run. They had gotten several phone calls from the post office, which was where they were racing to. Since the Dazzlings had been bouncing around between finding jobs to pay bills (since giving away treasures they've collected over the years was a huge no-no) and even though it was a bit rowdy, it helped pay the bills. However, thanks to the last minute shoppers and deliveries late at night... "Come on, come on..." Trixie said, trying to run as best as she could. "Did they say what the emergency was for?" Vinyl asked. "No clue, they just said to come down here as fast as possible!" "Then it has to be bad," Bon Bon said, shaking her head, keeping up the run. "Maybe they're just stressed out and need a friend," Lyra said with hope. They stopped in front of the post office, and walked inside, setting off the little bell near the door to alert the owners when someone was walking inside. They all shivered from being inside a warmer interior as opposed to outside in the harsh cold. "Girls, we're here!" Amethyst shouted. "Adagio? Aria? Sonata?" No response. The keytar player ringed the bell on the front desk, waiting for someone to come and answer. No reply. "Hello? Anyone here? Derpy, you here?" Amethyst called. Still nothing. Out of curiousity, she leapt over the front desk and walked over to the side. "Um, what's she doing..." The girls waited, hearing the sounds of clattering and things breaking and shattering behind the desk, further in the building. The only thing they could see was a cardboard box flying through the air at the front desk, along with some duct tape and a pen. Eventually the door next to the desk opened up, showing Amethyst with a disturbed face. "Never mind girls, I found them. Come on," Amethyst said, gesturing them to follow her. "Next time, give a warning before you're go leap over someone's desk, you might send a wrong message," Vinyl said, sternly. Regardless, they followed their friend to the backroom and walked into a large open room; tons of shelves and slots for mail and packages to be stored, only for the people they belong to to come and pick them up. And the only people in the backroom were Adagio, Aria, and Sonata. Scurrying and running around, going through giant sacks filled with envelopes and packages, trying to get them sorted. "Whoa, mates, what's going on?" Octavia asked. "You girls look stressed to the bone," Vinyl stated. "Maybe that's because WE ARE!?" Aria yelled. Seeing the girls flinching she sighed and continued to shuffle packages all around. "Sorry girls, we've been working all day trying to sort all of this last minute mail and gifts. The mail train came in late tonight and so we just got bombarded with the final haul. Looks like we're going to have to do this all night too." "And sorting them is taking forever!" Sonata whined. "I mean look at all of this!" She opened the door to the loading docks and revealed the giant pile of cardboard boxes and letters that were stacked like they were just thrown out of a dump truck. Bon Bon blinked. "That's a lot of mail." "I know!" Sonata whimpered, diving head first into the mountain of mail and packages. "But girls, come on, it's Christmas Eve, take a break! You can deliver this stuff on the 26th, can't you? Take Christmas Eve and Day off, you deserve it," Amethyst said. "I know, but... I thought I could get all of this done and ready for everyone, but it doesn't' seem we'll be getting this done and ready," Adagio fell flat on her face in another pile of mail, sending letters and packages jumping from the splash. "It would be easier if we were Santy Claus, but we're noooottttt..." Sonata whined, resting her head on a desk in defeat. Just then, Adagio's entire body flew back up into the air like a spring, bouncing back on her two feet. A lightbulb appeared over her head as well. "I have an idea," she squeaked with some excitement. "What, what is it?" Trixie asked. "It might be crazy." "Can't be as crazy as anything else we've done in this town," Octavia said. "It might be a bit silly." "I live for silliness!" Amethyst raised her hand. "And it might be a bit cartoony and cliche," Adagio finished. "Just tell us!" "My friends. We are going to deliver these last pieces of mail and presents tonight," Adagio addressed. "That doesn't sound crazy," Vinyl inquired. "Wait, when you say tonight, what do you mean?" Octavia asked, folding her arms. "We need to do it while everyone is deep asleep, in their homes, all comfy and cozy, and then... we hit the skies, comfy and cozy ourselves, with all the gifts, and deliver them house to house before Christmas morning." Everyone blinked. It was so quiet, the only thing they could hear was the ticking on the clock. "I beg your pardon?" Vinyl raised a brow. "Sooo... your plan is for us to go around town as if we're Santa Claus... eses?" "And deliver the rest of the mail and packages?" "Yes. Look, I know it's a big job, but someone has to do it. And we promised to get all of this delivered before Christmas Day. We really need help, pleasssseeee???" Adagio begged. "I don't know, won't that mean breaking and entering into people's homes?" Trixie asked, rubbing her feet on the ground and holding her hands behind her back. "Maybe so, but it's just going in, and out. We're delivering mail, that's it. And lets not forget, you girls have powers," Aria winked. "Octavia's metal could pick locks, Trixie's illusions could make it seem as if we're not doing anything at all... and lets not forget, Lyra can teleport and Vinyl's electricity could hack into any security system and disable them if we need to get by." "Okay, now this is starting to sound like we're planning a heist," Vinyl deadpanned. "Funny enough, we pulled those off," Sonata grinned, innocently. "Surprised we managed to get away with only 6 gold bricks though, I thought we would have gotten more..." Their friends were expressionless. "... I have so many questions about that sentence," Vinyl began, "--I'm not going to ask them because I am afraid of the answers." "Girls, come on, please? I know it's a lot, but we really need help. And if you don't want to, that's fine. But we can use as much help as we can," Adagio begged. The six friends looked at each other, exchanging glances. Their thoughts were, mixed to say the least. On one hand, they wanted to help, but on the other hand this meant getting up in the middle of the night for a job that they weren't sure they had the energy for. "Well... if it means helping you girls get this job done, I'd be happy to help," Trixie nodded. "Plus, it's Christmas Eve. You girls shouldn't be working this hard on today, you should be enjoying the day off," Lyra chipred. "I'd be happy to help!" Sonata squeaked with excitement. "Yay." "What about you Amy, you in?" Aria asked. "Are you kidding? You're asking me to basically play Santa Claus for tonight," Amethyst said. "That sounds awesome!" "Mate, I love you. But this? You're asking us to do a job, that will require us to work all night. There's no way we'll be able to sort all of this mail in one night," Octavia exclaimed, looking at the pile. "We stopped Sunset Shimmer, didn't we? And you girls have magic, don't you?" "I don't know..." Vinyl said, feeling unsure. "This sounds like a big job just for all nine of us..." "You are NOT having me come down here in the middle of the night, especially on Christmas Eve!" 12:30 AM, December 25th Trixie nearly fell asleep until she heard her phone buzz and vibrate on her bed. Wearily, she turned herself over and picked it up. She had written a reminder for herself to come and help out Adagio and her friends for that night. Her eyes sleepily read, and she flopped her body onto the ground with a thud. "Oww...." Trixie moaned. Pulling herself up, she bumped into her nightstand, where her plastic cup was. She always kept water near her for when she needed it. And she needed it; now. She opened up her windows, immediately shivering at the coldness of the outside. And turning herself around and holding the cup, she moved her arm as forward as she could and splashed her face, sending water straight out the window. That made her shiver some more and rub at her eyes. Now she was completely awake. She closed the windows and immediately started to get dressed. She grabbed long pants, sweaters, whatever she would need for this Christmas operation. Slowly, she stepped into the hallway, trying to tip-toe her way down. She hated the floorboards, they always creaked whenever she walked. Eventually she made her way downstairs, managing to avoid making more noise. But just to be on the safe side, she snapped her fingers, creating an illusion with the little bit of light that was coming into the house. If was not much, but enough to keep her hidden if anyone was still up at this hour. She grabbed her winter clothes and a set of keys to get herself back in. Slowly and quietly, she locked the door behind her, sighing in relief. Looking around outside, she could see the Christmas atmosphere was still filling the air. Snow had covered everything from the streets, the lawns, the sidewalks, the cars and all else. The only lights she had were the streetlamps, which showed even more snow falling down. "Okay Adagio. Lets see if you're out there. I hope." All over town, the rest of the girls slowly began to get up one by one to head outside and prepare for the job. While it was still a challenge to slip out of their homes in the middle of the night, the girls kept as quiet as mice. Lyra just simply bounced around with her teleportation powers into her closet, and out with her winter gear, and then teleported right outside her front door which was within range. And just like that, she was on the run. Bon Bon had some more difficulty trying to slip through, but she made it out. Thankfully she did not make a single peep just simply trying to walk out the backdoor, and no security to trip. Amethyst and Vinyl climbed out their top windows with varying degrees of success, managing to slip by their parents. And as for Octavia? Well she took more work trying to get out. She threw her phone at the wall and fell onto the floor with a thud, face first. It still took some work to fully wake up. "Whhhhyyyyy???" Octavia moaned into the floor. Across town, Adagio and her sisters stood by the mail room, waiting patiently. Sonata leaned against a pole, dressed in winter gear and holding a cup of hot chocolate, enjoying the flavor and mini marshmallows. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Snow blanketed the streets, and the only bit of light they had was the street lamps who showed the snow falling. Just down the streets, they could see someone running towards them. It was Trixie, struggling to keep up and make it there without being caught. Luckily for her, the only one who had seen her was her dear friends. "Ahhh... I... I made it!" Trixie cheered, raising her hands up before putting them down on her knees. "Oh boy... I need a gym membership... New Year's resolution, go to the gym!" "Glad you made it, sweetie. Thanks for coming out in the middle of the night to help us." Two more of their friends showed up as well, holding onto their arms even though they were wearing winter coats. Octavia and Vinyl yawned and shivered in the cold. "I hope your plan works, mate," Octavia shivered, holding onto her arms. "Where is everyone else?" A flash of light hit their eyes, and soon Lyra Heartstrings, Bon Bon, Vinyl, and Amethyst all appeared. "Are we on time?" "Excellent, you're all on time." "Good. And since I know this job's going to be a bit tough with our current state..." Lyra smiled. She teleported out of sight in another flash. Within two minutes, she came back with assortment of drinks and snacks. "I got some sugary snacks to boost up our energy for tonight." "Great. And if that's not enough, we also made up some more snacks, plenty of drinks and food to keep you all awake for this job. Now follow us," Adagio tilted her head, leading them around the post office towards the back. Their feet tromped through the snow, leaving several footprints behind as they walked. Around the back, they stood in front of the garage loading doors where the mail would be dropped off. "So, how exactly do you propose we get all of the mail delivered?" Vinyl asked, still shaking. "Easy! With a sleigh!" Sonata pressed the button, making the garage door lift up. Inside the garage was a few sacks of mail, but they were all held snug within several brown sacks in a back of a beautiful red sleigh. Shimmering in red and gold, it looked like it had just been finished being polished. "Whooa..." Lyra said in awe. "That's amazing..." "Don't we need reindeer you pull that sleigh?" Aria threw several pieces of leather out, tossing them out into the open. Each one of them jingled, thanks to the little silver bells attached to them. "Oh you girls already have your reindeer," Adagio winked. "And they are... where?" Adagio's hand rubbed at her temple with an annoyed groan. "They're not anywhere, it's us!" She said, gesturing to herself and her sisters. “You?” “Yes!” Sonata chirped happily. Aria smirked a little as she added, “Yeah, sorry but the zookeeper wouldn’t us let borrow any of the reindeer.” “How are-“ Vinyl began, before stopping herself. She, and the other five girls, remembered now that the three sisters before them were, in fact, Sirens from another world – and that their natural form was more than capable of hauling a sleigh, even one laden with packages. Lyra couldn’t stop herself from giggling, at the sudden thought of what that would look like; three massive Equestrian Sirens flying through the air, pulling that sleigh behind them! “Okay!” the minty-haired girl said, “I’m in.” “What?” Bon-Bon gaped at her, “Lyra!” “C’mon Bonnie, when else are we gonna get a chance like this! Soaring through the skies, playing Santa, delivering presents… it’s gonna be great!” “Assuming we don’t freeze up there,” Vinyl said to herself, rubbing her hands together – even wearing gloves, she could still feel the midnight cold. Octavia gave her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, although the rocker girl looked quite dubious herself. “You sure about all of this?” Octavia asked, “I just dunno, girls, we’ve done some real crazy things before, but I’m not sure if we can really pull off something like this before morning…” “Hey, we’re here right now…” Amethyst countered, puffing out a breath, “What is it you Brits say, ‘in for a penny, in for a pound’?” "No one actually says that,” Octavia muttered. “What do you think, Trixie?” Bon-Bon looked at the magician curiously. “Do you think we can do this?” Trixie had been quiet, she had been thinking quite hard as she had heard Adagio’s plan, and her friends’ reactions to it – their doubts, their approvals. Finally, she spoke up. “I don’t know… but I do know that it is Christmas. And that there are presents that still need to be delivered. And… I think that if we can do anything to help out, then we should. If a friend needs help, you help them.” Lyra and Sonata beamed. Amethyst clapped. Aria nodded with a proud smile, and Adagio nearly lit up with relief. Octavia still looked cautious, but as she rubbed her arms thoughtfully, she finally said, “Ahh, alright then. If you lot are in, then I’m in too – just to make sure that it all works out.” Bon-Bon agreed with her. So did Vinyl. “Wonderful!” Adagio declared, “Thank you so much, girls! This really means a lot to us.” Her sisters chimed in-- “For realsies!” “Yeah, seriously – I owe you girls.” "Alright girls. I know we can get this job done, and we can get it done tonight. Given our team, and given the fact you girls have more than adjusted to your powers, I believe we should be able to get all these gifts delivered as fast as we can. We do have a lot of mail to deliver. And if you don't want to do this, that's fine. I don't want you girls to do something you don't want to." "Mate," Octavia interrupted. "I drank down two cans of Sup, I ate three candy bars, some cookies, and a fresh baked donut that Bon Bon made before I came here. I am awake as a night owl, I'm not leaving til this job's done." Everyone all clamored at once. "Alright, alright, I understand," Adagio said, interrupting. "Ladies, lets suit up! Aria, Sonata; Transform!" The three of them raced outside and stood in silence. Focusing all energy onto transforming, all the while their gems glowed. Auras were glowing all around the three Dazzlings, and a flash of light hit everyone's eyes. The silence was replaced by the moving and stomping of hooves on the ground. Thirty minutes passed, and everyone had gotten prepared. Trixie and her friends were all dressed; somehow Adagio had gotten an order for red and white suits for all of them which still managed to keep them warm and cozy in the snow. And the mail was all collected in the sacks in the back of the sleigh. The Dazzlings were all in their siren forms, with some reigns holding them together and additional lights to provide aid in the night. Now the girls had to saddle up and get going. "Outfits?" Trixie asked. "Check!" "Comfortable form of transportation?" "Check!" Lyra nodded. "Snacks to keep us awake during the night shift?" "Check!" Bon Bon said. "List of all the locations the gifts and mail need to be delivered to?" "Make that double!" Amethyst nodded. "Anything else we're missing?" "Nope!" "We're good!" "Lets light 'em up, ladies!" Octavia hollered. Adagio's front hooves slammed into the ground, and she started to pull. Aria started to pull right behind her, and Sonata pulled as well. All three Sirens were now pulling the sleigh from the ground, and the girls held on tight. "Trixie have you ever driven a sleigh before?" Trixie blinked and her face drooped. "Um... no." Five Minutes Later The three Sirens were groaning and grumbling, trying to pull themselves out of the piles of snow they crashed into. The rest of the girls struggled to pull themselves up, and they were looking hurt. Somehow the crash flung Trixie into a tree where she was hanging like a lost kite. "How about I drive the sleigh?" Bon Bon asked. "I did dog sledding in Vanhoover once, I can try and lead them." Sonata raised her head up and tilted it to the side, looking at her confused. "Don't worry, Sonata. I can give this a shot!" After everyone recovered from the crush, Bon Bon held onto the reins tightly, and soon the Dazzlings were moving once again. And like magic, the three of them swooped up, and the sleigh came with them, and everyone came straight up to the skies. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Vinyl yelped, clinging to the handlebars. "I feel like I'm back on one of those flume rides!" "Hang on luv," Octavia said, grabbing Vinyl's palm out of fear. "It's alright, we'll be fine." Bon Bon still gripped the reigns carefully as she could. "Alright, first house on the block! Lets begin!" "Oooh, it's my house!" Amethyst grinned. "I got this." "Oh, here's your mail," Vinyl said, handing her the small sack of mail. "Great. I'll make this quick as I can." Amethyst jumped out of sleigh, landing on top of the roof. Carefully, she tip-toed across the roof and towards the chimmey. Luckily for her it was wide enough for her to just shimmy her way down. Carefully climbing up, she slowly slid her way down with the bag right behind her. The mullet haired girl poked her head out, looking in all directions. No sign of anyone, or anything. And hopefully not, no one in their right mind should be up at this time. But she did see one thing; her father, Bronze Weld, having fallen asleep. With the sack carried down with her, she quietly crept out from the fireplace and over to the tree. Thank goodness, the entire floor she was standing on was shag and not made of plywood or concrete tiles. Her eyes scanned the various addresses and names on the packages, and smiled as she saw the ones marked from her family. She slid them under the tree, and every bit of boxes that belonged to them. Just one more remaining and she'd be out. The last package was down, and she was ready to leave. But she had one more thing to do. Looking back, she saw her father sleeping peacefully on the couch, exhausted from trying to get the last bit of presents he had hidden from her under the tree. Smiling, she grabbed the fuzzy blanket from the top and draped it over her parent, trying to make sure he stayed comfy and cozy. She gave a kiss on his cheek before standing up. "Merry Christmas, Dad." She snuck back to the fireplace and waited. Lyra, using her teleportation powers, popped her head out of the wall along with her arms. "Amy, I can pull you through the wall just fine. Come on," Lyra whispered. Amethyst nodded before tip-toeing to her. With a hand clutched, Amethyst was yanked right through the wall as if it wasn't even there, with the sack of mail right with her. And in an instant, both Lyra and Amethyst were back outside of the house with the snow still falling. "Next house?" "Next house, let's go!" Lyra and Amethyst leaped over the fence, and stood outside of another home. Lyra grabbed the sack and set it down on the ground. "Alright, here's what I'm gonna do. I'm going to teleport inside the house with some of the mail, and when I come back out, you hand me some more, okay?" "Got it," Amethyst nodded. Lyra vanished in a second, and then reappeared five seconds later. "Next!" She passed the last pieces to her, and she vanished again. And then reappeared in front of her once again. "Alright, I'm done! Let's go on to the next house!" Vinyl held the reigns for the time being, helping direct the Dazzlings for their next location. While the rest of the crew stayed huddled together, Trixie was busy looking out at the city streets, watching the snow continue to fall. And even though it was quiet, she sang quietly to herself, enjoying the peace. Amethyst and Octavia turned their heads as they listened to their friend’s singing. Despite the chill from being so high up in the air, they found themselves smiling, just hearing Trixie’s voice in the quiet of the night. The sleigh and the Sirens pulling it traveled all over town, and in surprisingly short order the girls managed to settle into a routine: Lyra would use her teleportation powers to bring one or two of the others down to the ground, where they need to go to deliver a package; Vinyl and Octavia often working together to use their powers to slip inside a house (carefully undoing locks or switching off systems), place the needed packages, and then Lyra would teleport them back out. During those occasions Bon-Bon would work the reins, making sure to keep everything under control. Sometimes Amethyst and Bon-Bon would spell Octavia and Vinyl in delivering the packages. Trixie tagged along, and managed to come in handy during one very close call when they slipped into one house and were almost found by Rarity’s dad (who was slipping downstairs to sneak some Christmas cookies). Fortunately a well-timed illusion by Trixie was able to cover them up, and what could have been a disaster was instead, as Bon-Bon put it, “a heckuva wakeup call!” Despite the close call, the girls found themselves having fun. It was honestly thrilling, going from place to place, seeing the town from such a unique view, and delivering various gifts and packages to various houses. It was so beautiful, seeing Canterlot from above, the snow sparkling in the glow of streetlights. The streets were so peaceful and quiet, it really seemed like something from a storybook! And so it went, from house to house, across town, and the night soon flew by for the six girls and the three Sirens driving the sleigh. Bit by bit, they were closing in on the end of their task! "One more set of packages, who are they addressed to?" Bon Bon asked. Lyra dug into the bag and pulled them out, reading the address. "Okay, 1130, Sugar Street... downtown... its at Pinkie Pie's house, should be the last place." She jumped out of the sleigh with the mail and teleported straight inside the house. And then came back out again in a flash. "Done!" "That's all of them." "Great job girls," Adagio softly smiled, standing back in her human body with her two sisters. Everyone quietly cheered, raising fists up in the air. "I cannot thank you enough for all of you helping us deliver these gifts. Because of you girls, everyone in Canterlot is going to get the rest of their Christmas gifts and letters from their families and friends, and... girls?" The six friends were all fast asleep. Now all of 'em snoring and curled up in the comforts of the sleigh, exhausted from the trip. "Um... should we wake them up?" Sonata asked. Adagio shook her head, smiling. "Come on. Let's get them home." The Apple family was like every other family; they were sweet, kind, had their own traditions and values. But a thing that most people knew about them was they were early birds; they got up super early in the morning most of the time, and that was to handle chores on the apple farm. And just like with chores, they got up early again, only for Christmas. The family was gathered round, tearing through the gifts, playing some lively Christmas cartoons on the TV, happy all the while. And some sweets were on the table set out for Santa Claus which clearly had been eaten. But also on that table was a letter. A letter addressed to Applejack. Applejack reached over and picked up the letter. Opening it up, she started reading to herself. Dear Applejack, I am writing this to you because I wanted to tell you how proud I am of how far you've come. I know this year hasn't been so great for you or your friends, but I am proud that you were able to turn yourself around and become a better person. I understand how hard it was for you to forgive yourself, given how you had acted in the past. But I have seen your efforts to become better in the past few months; helping your friends and fellow classmates at CHS; especially your actions to help that girl at the Friendship Games. And for that, I hope you have a Merry Christmas, and you continue to stay good as the years go on. Thank you for keeping the Christmas spirit alive. Santa Claus Applejack had finally put the letter down. She read it a few times, making sure she wasn't crazy. But when she did, she was quiet as she soaked it all in. Whoever gave her this, if this even was from Santa Claus, knew of what she had been doing these past few months. And thinking back at the time when she turned herself around, made her smile the brightest smile she ever had. And as she looked at her family in the living room; Big Macintosh who came home from college to be with his family, Granny Smith who had still kept this family together, and Apple Bloom. Sweet little Apple Bloom who was healthy as a horse was all gathered together for the holidays like she had wanted. "Applejack, come on, Big Mac's got a gift for ya!" Apple Bloom said. "Eeyup," Big Mac replied, happily. Applejack tuned back to her family, and continued to join them in opening up gifts. And it wasn't just Applejack who got the letter... Across town, Rainbow Dash had finished reading the same letter, and all that was left on her face was a soft smile as she sat with her mom and dad, opening up Christmas gifts together. And without saying another word, she just got up and gave them both a warm hug, making them both smile and hugged her back. "Merry Christmas Mom, Dad." "Oh Dash... Merry Christmas, kiddo," Windy smiled, holding her daughter close. Pinkie Pie finished reading the letter as well, huddled with all of her sisters and her mom and dad around the living room, opening up presents. With a smile, she set the letter down and gave her always emotionless sounding sister Maud a hug. And even though she rarely showed emotion (at least to people, Pinkie could always tell how she was feeling) she smiled contently, and gave her sister a hug too. "Hey, how about a little sugar for Lime, huh?" Limestone said gruffly. Pinkie just yanked her into the hug as well, and in a rare moment, Limestone broke her gruff and bitter mold and smiled as warm as ever. Fluttershy finished reading hers and she too set the letter down. Santa Claus himself was happy with her. She had always believed when she was a little girl, but it was real. Maybe? She didn't know, but she was content with believing it. And without warning, she embraced her younger brother in a hug, throwing him off guard. "Fluttershy?" "Thank you for being the best brother I can ask for." Zephyr was surprised, but at the same time... he was just happy, pure and simple. Fluttershy was thanking him, something he never really heard so often. But he could feel this was going to be the start of something sweet. Rarity had just finished her letter too, sitting happily with Sweetie Belle and her parents around the Christmas tree, opening gifts. For a moment, she pushed a loose strand of her mohawk back in place, keeping it together. "You know, I know your hair was shaved... maybe it'll grow back next year," Sweetie Belle said with some hope. Rarity smiled at her sister. "Actually Sweetie Belle... I'm okay my hair being in this punk style. I got this hair because my new friends wanted to help me when I needed it, and I want to keep it like this. So every day it reminds me that I am turning a new leaf and of the friends I've made." Her little sister grinned, flashing her little pearls. "Oh, actually..." Rarity reached over and grabbed a box. "I got you this, I wasn't sure if you wanted it or not, but... Merry Christmas." Sweetie Belle tore through the wrapping paper and gasped in shock. "No, way... You got me Daring Do for PoniStation!? How did you know?" "I remember you talking about how you wanted it for Christmas, and even though it was sold out, I called in a few favors from some dear friends of mine--" Sweetie Belle just stopped her in between and gave her a hug. Rarity, happy that her sister was happy, held her closer and embraced her with so much joy that her parents snapped a quick photo. "Merry Christmas, Sweetie Belle." Twilight Sparkle had gotten a similar letter as well. And even though she was about to question the logistics of Santa Claus writing to her, she decided not to. It was Christmas, it was the time for Christmas Magic to be aflutter in the air. And as she sat with her mom and dad, Shining Armor, her puppy Spike, and even Cadence, she just kept chatting away with her family, opening presents without so much worry, angst, or negative emotions like before. And looking down on her phone, she smiled as she looked at her wallpaper; a picture of her and the Sonic Rainbooms, happy together at an ice cream shop, enjoying the sweet cold sensations of ice cream. "Merry Christmas girls." Sonata slowly yawned and rubbed at her eyes, pulling herself out of bed. Her bare feet slipped into the little bunny slippers she had sitting by her bed. She yawned some more, reaching for her shirt and pulling it over her head; no sense getting cold. Smacking her lips, she scrunched at her eyes while trying to wake up. But then reality hit her like an atom bomb. It was December 25th. It was here, it was finally here! "It's Christmas Day!" Sonata jumped into the air. "Yes yes yes yes yes yes!!!" Running out the door, she burst through Aria's door, yanking her out of bed with a thud. "Come on, it's Christmas!" "Okay, okay, I'm coming," Aria for once, chuckled. She couldn't deny the fact she was just as excited; she did love Christmas just as much as her sisters. The middle sibling waited as Sonata barged into Adagio's room and yanked her out of bed. "Ow!" "Come on, come on, it's Christmas Day! We can open our presents now!" "But I wanna sleep in..." Adagio whined. "Come on, please! It's Christmas!" "I've been waiting all year for this Adagio, come on, let's open our presents!" "Alright, alright, I'm coming..." Adagio said, dragging herself across the floor like she had her legs cut off. "You can do better than that!" Sonata yanked Adagio and pulled her across the floor straight down the hallway, despite her protests. "Sonata, wait!" And she went tumbling down the stairs like a barrel until she landed on the ground with a faceplant. Groaning, she yanked herself up and dusted herself off. "You could have let me get my robe first. Or some pants." "Found your robe," Aria yelled, throwing her bathrobe on top of her. "Thank you," she deadpanned. She pulled it off her head and covered herself. She walked over to the kitchen and turned on the coffee maker, she needed her joe and she needed it NOW. Looking back over at the living area, she did have a soft smile. The Christmas gifts were all neatly wrapped and set like they should; and surprisingly there was more. Weird, she didn't recall there being more. She walked over to the living room, wondering who could have left those gifts. She noticed on the coffee table there was a empty cup which had been filled with milk, and a single cookie left on the plate. But wait, what was this? There was a small scroll on the table, wrapped up in a red and gold bow. "Someone left us a note..." Adagio said, bending over to pick it up. She unfolded it, letting the contents of the letter be exposed to the air. Aria and Sonata gathered around and looked over her shoulders, looking at it with her. Dear Adagio, Aria, and Sonata, I know you've always believed in the spirit of Christmas, and for that, I thank you. It's because of people like you three, as well as the young children all around the world that keep the true meaning of Christmas alive. I saw the work you and your friends did last night while I was getting ready to deliver to your town. To see you all succeed in getting all of that mail and gifts to everyone even when you wanted to go home is truly admirable. And I know of the hardships you three have been dealing with over the years. But I'm here to say, things will and do get better. And seeing you three stand up for your new school, making new friends and family, even after everything you've been through is some of the toughest things I've seen in all my years of delivering gifts around the globe. I hope you three will continue to stay good, and stay together. Always watch out for each other. And to show my appreciation, I left a little extra gifts for you three as a way to say thank you. Signed, Santa Claus. And looking down at their set up Christmas tree, they found some additional Christmas gifts wrapped up and set up under the tree for them. The sounds of jingle bells filled their ears when they looked back at the note. And as they looked back outside, Adagio's smile grew even bigger than ever. She wrapped her sisters together in a hug, smiling happily. She looked to the outside, facing something, or someone. And she gave a smile. "Merry Christmas everyone. And have a happy new year."