The colt turned over in his bed, the sheets and blanket wrapped tightly around him as he tried to get to sleep. The creaking of the wooden house and the howl of wind outside set his nerves on edge, and through the window he spied the twitching of the claw-like branch of the three outside his window.
He sat up to get a better look outside, the pale glow of moonlight the only thing illuminating his otherwise pitch-black room. Outside the house, the yard was covered with freshly fallen snow that seemed to glow under the moon’s light, but went a bluish gray color as dark clouds intermittently covered the pale orb.
Beyond the yard were the deep woods surrounding his family’s farm. The trees, bare and skeletal, went on for miles, and he shuddered as he peered out into the deep shadows.
On cold, windy nights like these, when the world was quiet and dark, his imagination started to play tricks on him. The tree scratching on the roof or side of the house became the claws of a hungry monster seeking entry. The creak of the house became the oncoming hoofsteps of some intruder. And the howl of the wind was the cry of either a wild beast or some pony unfortunate enough to encounter one.
He gulped as he got up from his bed and went to the window, placing his forehooves on the sill. He stared out into the darkness, watching the trees for any sign of movement. Logically, he knew it was fine, that his imagination was just getting the better of him, and that he should quit trying to scare himself and go back to bed, but for some reason he always had to look.
It’s fine, he told himself. It’s fine. There’s nothing out there. I should just go back to bed. Tomorrow’s Hearth’s Warming, after all. I should be excited and think of all the presents I’ll get… I was pretty good this year, after all.
I mean, sure, I did get in trouble for pulling Whistling Dixie’s pigtails… and I did eat those cookies and blame my sister… and sure, maybe I stole Grandma’s purse so I could buy that candy I wanted, but it wasn’t that much! I’ve done lots of good things too… like… um…
The colt bit his lip as he tried to remember anything particularly good that he’d done this year. He sighed when nothing came to mind, his breath fogging up the frigid glass pane.
Okay, fine, I haven’t been that good. But there are worse foals than me out there, and I’ve never heard of anypony actually getting coal in their stocking or something like that. And nobody but Grandma has ever heard of that stupid monster she’s always going on about. The… what was it called?
He tried to remember as he idly wiped the fog from the window with his foreleg.
Then he froze. In the deep shadows of the woods at the edge of his family’s yard he’d seen something. Just for a split second he could have sworn that something had moved.
He blinked and then narrowed his eyes. Had it really been there? He could have sworn that it had… some hulking shadow that swiftly moved among the shadows in the gaps between the trees.
He swallowed. It could be a wolf or even a bear, he supposed. He turned his head and called “Mom? Dad?” over his shoulder. Then he turned back.
Hoofprints. Hoofprints in the snow leading from the woods toward the house.
But they only went part way through the snow before abruptly stopping, leaving the snow unbroken. And then he noticed that the branch of the try nearby was bouncing up and down in the same way it did when a bird landed on it or took off from it.
Could something have run out of the woods and… and jumped to the tree? That’s nearly fifty feet! No way could any wolf or bear—
He froze again. Between the creaking of the house, he thought he heard more noises. Were his parents coming now that he’d called them? But those sounds seemed to come not from the hall… but from the roof.
He shivered, his eyes going wide.
“Mom! Dad!” he called again. There was no reply, so he backed into the center of the room. A cloud passed in front of the moon again and the shadows all around him deepened.
What’s out there? he wondered. Those hoofprints… they weren’t from a pony… they were cloven! But they were huge… way too big for a goat or anything like that!
He nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard a knock on the door.
“Son?” came his mother’s voice. “Sweetie, it’s late… what’s the matter?”
With a heavy sigh of relief he ran to the door. “Mom! Mom! I saw something outside!” he turned the doorknob and threw wide the door. “I think it—”
Red eyes. Red eyes that glowed in the darkness stared down at him.
A scream rose in his throat as the thing standing there snatched him up. The next thing he knew, he saw a huge bag open up like a cavernous maw. In the dim light he saw the terrified faces of more foals before he was shoved inside with them and the mouth was drawn tight, leaving him in absolute darkness.
Bon Bon awoke with a start.
She couldn’t imagine why she’d suddenly had a nightmare about one of the old stories she’d heard as a filly. She supposed that it was because it was nearly Hearth’s Warming, which was when that ridiculous legend took place.
Ridiculous… what sort of idiot would make up something so horrifying at Hearth’s Warming of all times?
She felt a foreleg drape over her and a nuzzle on her cheek, and a soft voice whispered in her ear, “Good morning, Bon Bon…”
She let out a sigh, letting her apprehension fade. “Good morning, Lyra,” she replied closing her eyes contentedly.
As Lyra moved in closer, she suddenly sat up.
“Eugh, Bon Bon, you’re all sweaty!” she exclaimed. “Were you running a marathon in your sleep or something?”
Bon Bon made a face. “No, I just… had a bad dream,” she said.
Lyra’s expression softened. “Oh. I’m sorry,” she said. “Do you want to talk about—”
Bon Bon shook her head. “No, no, I’m fine. It was just some stupid dream.”
Lyra smiled, using her magic to lift the covers and slide out of her side of the bed. “Well, tell you what,” she said, trotting over to Bon Bon’s side. “Why don’t you go shower up while I make breakfast.” Then she leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, by the way.”
Bon Bon smiled. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, Lyra,” she replied. “All right, I’ll be down in a bit.”
It was the morning before Hearth’s Warming. All around Ponyville, the houses were lit up and bright, the roofs were caked with thick, white snow, and everypony was done up in their best coats and scarves. Here and there, vendors sold hot cocoa or various holiday treats (Bon Bon herself supplied some of her best candies to several of them, in fact), and nearly every door was adorned with a wreath of pine. Families and friends carrying stacks of brightly-wrapped presents carried them house to house or loaded them onto carts to take the train to visit far-off relatives. The massive castle of the former Princess of Friendship which overlooked the town was beautifully decorated with glowing magical crystal by Starlight Glimmer as she prepared to host her first town-wide Hearth’s Warming party alongside her new vice headmare and guidance counselor, Sunburst and Trixie Lulamoon.
The whole town was abuzz with the excitement of the holiday season, and, here and there, one could hear the songs of carolers braving the cold as their songs echoed throughout the streets.
Inside Lyra and Bon Bon’s house, however, it was warm and cozy. A fire crackled in the fireplace as Bon Bon brought out a tray with two mugs of hot cocoa. One mug was a pale yellow with a handle colored in a helix pattern of blue and pink, while the other was mint green with a wispy white handle.
“Custom-made personalized cocoa mugs: check!” she said to herself as she took a seat on the couch. “Lyra?” she called. “Cocoa’s ready!”
“I’ll be right there!” Lyra called back. “Just hold on! ...Oh, and did you put—”
“Two marshmallows in your cocoa instead of just one? Yes, of course I did!”
She heard her laugh. “You know me so well!”
“You know me so well!”
Bon Bon smiled as she blew on her cocoa to cool it before taking a sip. She looked down at the coffee table in front of the couch. Between the two cocoa mugs was a partially-assembled jigsaw puzzle that, once completed, would form the image of the ponies from the First Hearth’s Warming legend. Chancellor Puddinghead was complete on one side; Commander Hurricane was as well on the other side.
And just beyond the puzzle was a small framed picture of herself and Lyra in their wedding veils.
It’s our first Hearth’s Warming together, Bon Bon marveled to herself. She grinned, mentally amending that it was their first Hearth’s Warming together as a married couple, not merely “best friends” (though they certainly were that).
She felt a bit self-conscious about how something as simple as a ceremony and a couple of nice (if somewhat admittedly cheap) rings could change things. Ponies were used to seeing them together most of the time anyway, but since they’d gotten married the two had been more openly affectionate with one another. At one time, she’d have been annoyed with such displays, and yet Lyra’s giddy nuzzles and hugs and public cheek smooches were hard to resist reciprocating.
Just the same, she hoped that things would calm down a bit after their first year together. It was a little embarrassing, even if she did enjoy the attention.
“Ohhhh, darn it!” Lyra exclaimed. “Where are they?!”
Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. “Lyra? Do you need help with something?”
“No, it’s just… I was looking for something but… oh, where did I put them?!”
Bon Bon started to get up, heaving a sigh. “Look, I’ll help you search if it’s that important—”
“No!” Lyra cried suddenly. “I just… oh, for Celestia’s sake, never mind! I’ll just look for them later, I guess.”
Lyra trotted down the stairs carrying a box with her magic, the golden glow of her magical aura levitating the box over to the floor. She removed the lid and lifted out two knit dolls with button eyes.
“Oh, of course, our Hearth’s Warming dolls!” Bon Bon exclaimed as Lyra put them up on the mantle.
The dolls, which looked exactly like the pair of them, slumped against each other for support. Just for good measure, Lyra posed them so that their plushy little forelegs were draped across each other’s shoulders.
“Heh. You’re so sappy,” Bon Bon said, rolling her eyes.
“Shh, they look cute,” Lyra said. “Now, let’s get to the cocoa and puzzle-solving!”
Bon Bon nodded as she moved over to make room for Lyra. “Okay, if we can just find the right piece to go here… hey, wait a minute…”
Lyra looked at her as she took a sip of cocoa. “What is it?”
Bon Bon stroked her chin. “You said you were looking for something but couldn’t find it… but then you came down with our Hearth’s Warming dolls.”
Lyra nodded. “And?” she asked innocently.
Too innocently.
“Then these aren’t what you were looking for,” Bon Bon said, narrowing her eyes. “What exactly were you looking for, then?”
Lyra blushed. “Oh! W-w-well, I… um…”
Bon Bon crossed her forelegs. “Yeeeesssss?”
Lyra refused to meet her eyes as she assumed the strange, upright posture she normally took when sitting. “Look, it’s… it’s not important.”
“Lyra.”
“Just forget about it.”
“Lyra.”
“Hey, did you add something to this cocoa? It’s really good!” she said, taking a quick sip and burning her tongue.
“Lyyyyyyyyraaaaaaa!” Bon Bon groaned.
“Okay, okay, jeez, you know I hate it when you do that!” she exclaimed. “The truth is that I got us something special, but for some reason I can’t remember where I put it! I’m sure I’ll remember later, but I don’t want to tell you now and ruin the surprise!”
Bon Bon pursed her lips. “It’s not expensive?”
Lyra shook her head.
“It’s not… embarrassing?”
“Nope!” Lyra replied.
“It’s not… it’s not human related, is it?” Bon Bon asked cautiously.
Lyra scowled. “No. No, it is not,” she said. “Not that there’s anything wrong with my hobby, for the record.”
Bon Bon sighed. “Okay, okay, fine, I’ll drop it for now,” she said. Then, softening, she gestured toward the puzzle. “So… any ideas which two pieces go together?”
Lyra relaxed and looked over the pieces. “Well,” she said, levitating two pieces and fitting them together, “if we put these two here…”
“...Just a few more pieces,” Bon Bon said, grinning triumphantly.
“Ha! No puzzle can beat us!” Lyra declared, mockingly holding up a hoof as she looked to the heavens (or at least the ceiling). “Oh, by the way, what do you think we should bring to the big Hearth’s Warming party?”
Bon Bon froze. “Oh… the party?” she asked slowly.
Lyra nodded. “Yeah, you know,” she said as she examined another puzzle piece. “The big one at Twilight’s old castle? I mean, I know she won’t be there because she’s hosting events in Canterlot and most of her friends will be joining her for her first year as reigning Princess, but Starlight’s actually pretty nice! And besides, a lot of our other friends here in Ponyville will be there too! Doctor Whooves, Octavia, Derpy… oh, and I hear Berry Punch is bringing her special eggnog…”
Lyra turned to wink knowingly at Bon Bon only to see that she was looking away.
“Bon Bon? Is something wrong?”
“No, no, not exactly,” Bon Bon said. “I just… well, I was thinking we could… um… maybe, kind of…”
“‘Um, maybe, kind of…’ what, exactly?” Lyra asked, raising an eyebrow.
“S… skip the party?” Bon Bon asked quietly.
“WHAAAAAAAAAT?!” Lyra shrieked. “B-but… but it’s one of the biggest parties of the year!”
“That’s kind of relative considering Pinkie Pie lives here,” Bon Bon remarked.
“But it’s our first time going together as a married couple!”
“Yes, and, well, I thought maybe we could just enjoy our time alone together!” Bon Bon said. She offered Lyra a weak smile. “Come on, that could be fun too!”
“Sure, but this would be like the third party we’ve skipped because you wanted to stay in!” Lyra cried. “And that was fine… well, actually,” she chuckled, blushing slightly, “it was more than fine…”
“Heh. Heck yeah it was,” Bon Bon added.
Lyra shook her head, remembering the point she was making. “But those were minor events. This is Hearth’s Warming! It’s only once a year! And almost everypony in town is going! Cranky Doodle and Matilda are going! Seriously… Cranky. Doodle! He almost never goes out! Why the hay would we stay in?!”
“Look, I just… y-you know I still prefer small gatherings,” Bon Bon stammered. “And what’s more, you get extra affectionate when you have too much hard cider or, in this case, eggnog.”
“Affectionate?” Lyra asked.
“And, you know, besides all the extra excitement, the way you hang onto me can sometimes get a bit… you know…” She cleared her throat and quietly added “...embarrassing.”
Lyra blinked. She lowered her head. “Oh.” She got up from the couch. “I see…”
Bon Bon swallowed. “Lyra—”
“No, no, I get it,” she said, picking up her cocoa mug, refusing to meet her eyes. “I mean, we’re newlyweds, so most ponies understand if I’m a little affectionate, but sure, if you’re embarrassed…”
“Lyra.”
“...sure, sure, we’ll just spend another night at home and settle into our life of no social interaction before we take on the role of being the most dull ponies in Equestria!”
“Lyyyyyyyyraaaaaaa!”
“And cut that out!” Lyra shouted, whirling around on her. “You can’t just get your way every single time you do that!”
Bon Bon sighed. “Okay, okay, fine,” she said. “Look, you know because of all that time I spent as a… you know…”
“Secret agent,” Lyra said bluntly.
“Shhh!” Bon Bon hissed. “But yes, that. The point is, I prefer to blend into a crowd if I have to be in one at all. Thanks to you, I’ve opened up a bit… but the way you act makes me feel like everypony’s staring at us!”
“Oh please, nopony cares!” Lyra groaned, rolling her eyes.
“I do!” Bon Bon shouted.
Lyra gave a start, but then lowered her gaze, her ears drooping. “Oh. Okay,” she muttered.
Bon Bon felt a pang of guilt seeing Lyra’s reaction. She grit her teeth and shut her eyes. Finally she heaved a long sigh.
“You know what… never mind,” she said. She looked back at Lyra and smiled. “If it means that much to you - and if you promise to show a little restraint - then fine, I’ll go to the party.”
Lyra perked up immediately. “You will! And we can bake something to bring for it!”
“I… oh, sure, why not?”
“Yay!” Lyra exclaimed, kicking her forelegs gleefully before pouncing on Bon Bon. “Oh, thank you thank you thank you!” she cried, eagerly planting kisses all over her cheek.
“Ahhh, Lyra, stop!” Bon Bon shouted. “For pony’s sake, this is what I’m talking about!”
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
“Carolers!” a decidedly gruff voice called.
The voices began to sing:
“Ponies' voices fill the night
Hearth's Warming Eve is here once again
Happy hearts so full and bright
Hearth's Warming Eve is here once again…”
Lyra and Bon Bon exchanged a look.
“That’s the worst…” Bon Bon began.
“...most monotone singing you’ve ever heard?” Lyra finished. “Yeah… if they want some cookies or cider, they’re more likely to get a rotten tomato with that kind of singing.”
“Well, lucky for them, we’re out of tomatoes,” Bon Bon said with a smirk. “Oh well, let’s indulge them.”
They went to the door and opened it. Then they all froze.
The three ponies standing there were all in green, elvish costumes with conical hats, but they were also all wearing black shades and matching black ties. And even with the silly costumes, they recognized them immediately.
“Wait… Agent Furlong?!” Bon Bon cried to the tall unicorn at the center of the trio.
“Ha-ha-ha,” Furlong laughed mechanically. “Who is this ‘Agent Furlong’ you’re talking about? We are just three perfectly nondescript carolers hoping to be invited in for some… some…”
One of the other ponies whispered in his ear. He nodded.
“...Snickerdoodles. May-we-please-come-in, strangers??”
Bon Bon nodded and invited the trio in.
“Oh my gosh, Agent Furlong, Bravo, Foxtrot!” Lyra exclaimed. “How nice, you came to visit for Hearth’s Warming! Oh, Agent Furlong, did you get that Hearth’s Warming card we sent you?”
Furlong raised a bushy eyebrow. “Yes, Agent Heartstrings, I did,” he growled. “But I would remind you that such interpersonal communications are frowned on in S.M.I.LE.”
“You sent him a card?” Bon Bon asked incredulously.
“Well, sure!” Lyra replied. “You signed it!”
“You just told me it was to a friend! You never said who it was!”
“Oh come on, it was the least we could do after he sent us that nice card for our wedding!” Lyra said, waving a hoof dismissively.
Foxtrot and Brave gave Furlong a sideways glance.
“You sent them a card, Chief?” Foxtrot asked.
“That’s classified,” he said, refusing to meet his eyes.
“Wait, when did he send us a card?” Bon Bon asked.
“Oh, he didn’t sign it, but I knew it was him from the plain white card with the simple black text and the fact that the note said ‘Sorry I couldn’t make it to Fillyville for your wedding. Signed, A friend.’ No other friend of ours keeps getting Ponyville’s name wrong like that.”
Furlong heaved a sigh. “Agents, we need to change the subject,” he said gruffly.
“Like maybe addressing why exactly you’re here?” Bon Bon asked, narrowing her eyes.
“Exactly, Agent Drops,” Furlong said. “Do you kids remember when we sent you both to Appleoosa to search for changelings?”
“I sure do!” Lyra exclaimed. “Bon, er, Agent Sweetie Drops—” she ‘surreptitiously’ winked at Bon Bon (who immediately smacked her own forehead with her hoof) “—convinced you to let me join SMILE, a.k.a. the Secret Monster Intelligence League of Equestria, rather than having my memory magically erased after she revealed that she used to be a secret agent.”
“Correct, Agent Heartstrings,” Furlong said with a brief nod. “And, as compensation for her cooperation and in recognition of your fine work in Appleoosa, we allowed you both to remain in Fillyville with the understanding that we may call on you both at some point in the future.”
Foxtrot held up his communicator watch. “Come in, Blue 13, this is Red 11: the Exposition Train has left the station. Repeat, the Exposition Train has left the station. Over.”
“Copy that, Red 11,” said a voice over the watch. “The lampshade has been hung. Over.”
“Riiiight,” Bon Bon said, “so, again… why are you here, Chief?”
Furlong lowered his shades to look Bon Bon right in the eye. “Agent Drops, we’ve received word of sightings of… the Krampus.”
Bon Bon’s eyes went wide. She felt her knees buckle. “Th-the what?!”
“Ooh, I’ve never heard of that!” Lyra exclaimed, zipping over to her side. “What’s a Clampus?”
“It’s Krampus, Agent Heartstrings,” Furlong said. “Foxtrot, the dossier.”
Foxtrot removed a manila folder from inside his silly elf costume and gave it to Lyra. Inside was a brief sheet with several sketches of some tall, hairy monster with horns and goat-like cloven hooves. It carried a bundle of sticks and a sack that appeared to be filled to the brim with terrified fillies and colts.
Lyra’s grin grew even broader. “Oh wow, that looks scary, doesn’t it Bon Bon?” She shoved the picture into Bon Bon’s face. “See? See how scary it looks?”
Bon Bon whimpered.
“I know, right!” Lyra said. Then, seeing the stern look from Furlong, she cleared her throat and forced herself to stop smiling. “Ahem. So, Chief, what’s the deal with our perp? Gimme the skinny, lay it on me, give us the lowdown.”
Furlong rolled his eyes. “Agent Drops, would you care to enlighten your partner? You seem to be familiar with the creature.”
Bon Bon swallowed. “Oh… w-well, not really, Chief,” she said. “I just heard a few stories as a filly. Probably an exaggeration, right?”
“Honestly, we don’t have much more to go on,” Furlong said. “There’s more detail in the dossier, but I’ll give you the gist of it:
“Agents, the Krampus was supposedly a tall, goat-like bipedal creature with brown hair and burning red eyes. It was something like a dark reflection of Santa Hooves.”
Lyra giggled. “Santa Hooves? That’s a bit foalish, don’t you think?”
“DON’T TALK SMACK ABOUT SANTA HOOVES, AGENT HEARTSTRINGS!” Furlong bellowed, silencing her instantly.
As all the ponies present stared at him, he blushed and adjusted his tie under his elf costume.
“As I was saying,” he went on once he’d composed himself, “the Krampus supposedly went around on Hearth’s Warming Eve, just like Santa Hooves. Only instead of rewarding good fillies and colts with treats and toys, he would find naughty foals and hit them with a bundle of sticks or scoop them up and shove them in a large sack he carried on his back to take them away, though nopony is exactly sure what happens to them after that. Incidental information tells us he can ‘smell’ your misdeeds and, just by looking at you, can tell exactly what you’ve done.
“In all honesty, if we could replicate the creature’s abilities, he’d be a great interrogator,” he added.
“Ugh,” Lyra said. “Who just goes around whipping other ponies’ children? Or putting them in a bag and abducting them? Even if it’s just a story, why even tell foals something this scary? It’s the kind of thing that might traumatize a kid into adulthood!”
“Yeah, tell me about it!” Bon Bon said, her eyes still wide as she began sweating.
“Well, we believe it’s more than just a story, Heartstrings,” Furlong said. “The Krampus seems to have disappeared a few centuries ago so our overall records are spotty at best, but we’ve received additional information from the Royal Guard, the Night Guard, and Celestia herself. From what we can gather, the Krampus is powerful, fast, and surprisingly stealthy. We’ve even got reports of resistance to magic. Whatever the case, though, given the sightings we’ve seen, we believe the Krampus could be making a comeback. The modern world has no tolerance for the Krampus’s breed of “discipline,” so it’s for this reason, Agents, that we want you two to be on the lookout for him. If you see him, report the sighting immediately and try to locate his hideout. If possible or absolutely necessary, you are to capture the creature so he can be brought to SMILE HQ and contained.”
Bon Bon blanched. “You want us to catch the Krampus?!” she cried.
“I did say ‘if possible or necessary,’” Furlong said, “but yes.”
“Sounds exciting!” Lyra exclaimed, putting her foreleg over Bon Bon’s shoulders.
Bon Bon bit her lip, thinking quickly. “W-well, I mean, normally we would,” she said, pulling Lyra in close. “However, as you can tell, we’re now a married couple eager to spend our first Hearth’s Warming together and we made plans, so it’s, uh, not… not a good time!”
Furlong, Foxtrot, and Bravo all exchanged a look. Furlong heaved a sigh.
“Oh, well, if it’s like that, Agent Sweetie Drops, then I guess it can’t be helped…”
Bon Bon brightened. Whoa, she thought, did that actually work?
“I guess we’ll just tell the Krampus that he’ll have to come back another time when it’s more convenient for us to capture him,” Furlong said, rolling his eyes. “It’s a Hearth’s Warming-themed monster, Agent Drops! This is literally the only time when we’re likely to see it for the whole year!”
Bon Bon visibly sagged. “Oh, horse apples.”
“Well, it’s a shame we’ll miss the Hearth’s Warming party,” Lyra sighed. “But then again, hunting a holiday-themed monster with my best friend and life partner sounds exciting too!”
At this, Foxtrot raised an eyebrow. “Chief,” he said, “might I suggest that Agents Drops and Heartstrings go to this Hearth’s Warming party anyway? It would help them blend in and potentially monitor the situation at the same time.”
Furlong nodded. “Good thinking, Agent Foxtrot,” he grunted. “All right, Agent Drops, looks like you kids are going to the party after all. If you’re lucky, the Krampus won’t even show up.”
“You think?” Bon Bon asked hopefully.
“Given this town’s reputation for attracting all kinds of monsters and mischief… I wouldn’t place any bets.”
“Sweet!” Lyra exclaimed. “A party and monster-hunting! This is going to be the most exciting Hearth’s Warming ever!”
Bon Bon grit her teeth.
“Try to take this seriously, Heartstrings,” Furlong admonished. “Keep your eyes and ears clear, and stay off the eggnog and mulled cider. You are not to let the Krampus slip through your hooves. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have to continue our mission.”
“Gotcha, Chief,” Bravo said, raising his watch communicator. “Blue 13, this is Red 12. Operation Figgy Pudding is a go. The coal is in the stocking. Over.”
“We read you, Red 12. Proceed to next location for Operation Fruitcake. Over and out.”
“Well, good luck, you kids,” Furlong said, offering a brief salute as he and the other ‘carolers’ exited the house and went down the street singing the worst version of “Little Drummer Colt” either of them had ever heard.
Lyra was practically dancing on her hooves. “O.M.Goodness, Bon Bon, this is going to be so great!”
“Yeah… great,” Bon Bon grumbled.
Lyra finally took notice of her unease. “Bon Bon? Is something wrong?”
“No, no, of course not,” Bon Bon said, rolling her eyes. “It’s just that instead of the quiet night at home with my wife that I wanted, I’ve got both socialization and monster-hunting on my schedule, and I’m honestly not sure which is worse!”
Lyra’s ears drooped. “Oh,” she said. “Sorry, Bon Bon, I just—”
“It doesn’t matter,” Bon Bon said. She offered Lyra a weak smile, adding, “Since we’ve got no choice, I guess we should make the best of things. And hey, we have a while before it gets dark and we have to be ‘on duty’ anyway.”
Lyra perked up. “You’re right!”
“So we can just spend time together—”
“—Getting ready to take that Krampus down!” Lyra exclaimed. “Ooh, ooh, let’s get out some of your old spy stuff!”
With that, she ran upstairs, leaving Bon Bon alone in the living room.
She groaned. “Ugh… just when I think I’m out, they pull me back in…”