//------------------------------// // Welcome to the North Pole/Meet the Donners // Story: G5 Adventures in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// As always, the ponies had no idea where the Unity Quest would take them, but they trusted the magic items that were crafted so long ago... ...and that they would find their crystal in due time. They zoomed through the portal to the unknown world that laid in wait for them, and when they came out and landed on the ground, Hitch yelped in surprise, not expecting their landing to be so... icy. “Cold cold cold cold cold!!!” Zipp was finally able to stand up and look around, gasping out of shock. The frozen land that they landed in, the Cossack-cold winds, the mountainous terrain with trees in the background... it seemed rather familiar to her. “Guys... I-I think this is the North Pole!” “The North Pole? As in the tippy top of the Earth? That North Pole?” Misty shivered. “That’s why it's so cold!” “Everypony, bundle up!” Sunny said, handing them their hats and scarves. “I’m not sure how long we'll be here, so we need to find somewhere warm to rest and find out where in this place our Unity Quest is.” “Good idea,” Pipp said, adjusting her hat. “The sooner we find that quest, the sooner we'll be at home and be warm!” So, the ponies began to walk and fly around the area, really not all that sure about where they were supposed to be. But the more they walked, the more... wondrous the forest around them seemed to become. The trees seemed to be covered in lights, beads, ornaments and star decorations on top... a lot like the Wishday tree they had back home. “Wow... a whole forest full of Wishday trees!” Sunny smiled in wonder. “They’re all so beautiful!” “And totally Wishentine chic!” Pipp said, taking selfies in front of a few trees. “Whoever lives here totally has great Wishentine spirit!” “I’m sorry to disappoint you, my dear,” said a kind male voice, “but these aren't Wishday trees. These are Christmas trees.” The ponies turned to see a talking, moving snowman trudging through the snow to get to them, wearing a mustache, a green vest with white sleeves, a matching hat and carrying an umbrella. “Oh, we're sorry about that, sir,” Sunny spoke, although the group was in shock to see a talking snowman before them. “We’re from another world and don't know many of this world's traditions. I'm Sunny, and these are my friends. It's very nice to meet you, Mr... um...” “Oh, excuse me! Call me Sam,” the snowman said politely, tipping his hat to them. “What's the matter? Haven't you ever seen a talking snowman before?” “Um... no, we haven’t,” Misty shook her head. “We’ve definitely seen a lot,” Hitch said, trying to get over the shock, “but we've never seen this before. Oh, no offense or anything.” The snowman chuckled before gesturing for the group to follow him. “Nice around here, isn't it?” he asked. “I call it Christmastown, better known as the North Pole.” “Christmas? I think I remember Shaggy and Scooby mentioning that holiday,” Sunny said in recollection. “It sounds a lot like Winter Wishday in Equestria... even has the same trees.” “Ah, yes... the Christmas Tree Forest,” Sam smiled and gestured around them. “Yep. This is where we grow them. Nice place to live around here, you know.” Seals were playing on the path ahead with various wrapped packages, and this caused Izzy to coo with a smile on her face. “Look at those cutie-wootie seals!” “If I'm right,” Zipp chuckled, “those are probably Christmas seals.” As the seals continued to play and bark to one another, Sam turned back to the ponies. “Of course, the number one citizens up here are the Clauses; Santa and the Missus. They live right over there,” he said, gesturing to a nearby castle. “First castle on the left. Matter of fact, the only castle on the left.” XXXXXXXX Mrs. Claus sat before a rather skinny Santa, who was about to dine with his meal, with his wife beside him holding a red coat-- the famous red coat that we know him to be famous for. “Papa, you haven't touched a morsel!” she scolded. “I'll have to take this suit in! Eat!” “I'm busy, Mama!” Santa protested. “It’s almost Christmas!” “Whoever heard of a skinny Santa? Eat! Eat!” XXXXXXXX “So, you're saying that Santa has to eat so much to gain a certain amount of weight?” Zipp frowned. “Just so people will recognize him? Doesn’t that seem a little extreme?” “Yeah,” Misty nodded. “What if he doesn’t eat enough?” “Now, don't any of you worry your heads about Santa,” Sam told them, “because Mrs. Claus will have him plenty fattened up by Christmas Eve. It's always the same story.” “Well, walking around with you and learning about Christmas and the North Pole-- er, Christmastown, has been great, Mr. Sam, but we really need a place to stay while we're here,” Misty said politely. “Do you have any recommendations?” “I do believe that Mr. and Mrs. Donner have room in their cave for a few wayward travelers,” Sam said, pointing to a nearby cave in the cliff. “I’m sure that they’ll let you stay for as long as you need to.” “Oh, great! Thank you, Sam. I hope we’ll see you around!” Sunny smiled before the ponies galloped off that way, with Sam waving the group farewell. XXXXXXXX After a moment of galloping through the ice-cold snow, the group finally arrived at the cave Sam told them about and peered inside. Inside the cave were two adult reindeer. The one standing was obviously a buck, as evident by the antlers on his head. He also had light brown fur with white fur on his chest and muzzle, light tan fur inside his ears, black eyes and black hooves. The other reindeer that was laying down on a bed of hay was a doe with beige fur with white fur on her chest and muzzle, black eyes with long eyelashes, pink eyelids and black hooves. Both of the reindeer seemed to be talking to one another when Sunny first came into the cave, followed by her friends. “Oh, hello there, dears,” the doe said politely. “Can we help you?” “We’re sorry to intrude,” Sunny told them politely, “but… are you Mr. and Mrs. Donner?” “Yep-- we’re the Donners, all right. What’s your business here, kid?” Mr. Donner asked as he approached them. “Well, we’re sort of looking for a place to stay for a little while,” Hitch explained, “and Sam the snowman? He said that you might have some… extra room for us?” “Why, yes, we do!” Mrs. Donner smiled. “What are your names, young ones?” “Sunny Starscout, ma’am. And these are my friends,” Sunny said, gesturing to her friends. “Hitch Trailblazer, Pipp Petals, Izzy Moonbow, Misty Brightdawn and Zipp Storm.” “Hi there.” “Hellooooooo!!” “Pleased to meet you.” “Hi, new friends!” “Hey.” “Now, dear, are you sure we have time to tend to guests?” Mr. Donner asked his wife with a frown. “Sure, these kids seem plenty friendly, but… with your condition--”  “Donner, it’s not like I’m bedridden with sickness,” Mrs. Donner scolded. “I may be carrying, but I’m not completely helpless.” “Carrying…?” Misty muttered to herself, wondering what that meant. Suddenly, it hit her, causing her to gasp. “Mrs. Donner… a-a-are you gonna have a baby?” “Yes, dear. He should be along in a week or two,” Mrs. Donner smiled. “Mr. Donner and I couldn’t be more excited.” “Well… maybe we could help each other out,” Zipp said. “If you let us stay here, we can help take care of you and your new little doe or buck when they arrive!” “Yeah!” Pipp nodded. “We can clean, we can find food, we can livestream… well, the last one you probably don’t want done as much, but we can still do a lot!” Mrs. Donner looked to her husband with a hopeful glance. “What do you think, dear?” “Well… I guess it could work,” the soon-to-be father said in thought. “Just as long as we get Santa’s approval first.” “Ho ho ho! No need to get that, Donner. Of course they can stay!” The ponies turned around to see a bearded man come into the cave with a jolly smile, and somehow, Izzy gasped at recognizing him. “You’re Santa Claus! Sam just told us about you!” “And I could hardly believe it when Equestrians showed up in Christmastown!” Santa laughed merrily. “Welcome, Sunny Starscout and friends!” “Wait…” Zipp stopped him with shock. “How did you know our names? We’ve only been here about 30 minutes!” “He’s Santa!” Sunny whispered back. “He knows everybody’s names, remember?” “I hope you don’t mind us staying in Christmastown for a while, sir,” Misty said. “We’ve been sent here on a mission, and until we can find it and figure out how to solve it, we need somewhere to sleep.” “Ho-ho, of course not, Misty,” Santa said, rubbing her neck. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you need. Well, I better get back. I just wanted to say hello to our guests before Mama stuffs more food on my plate. Let me know when the little fellow is born, Donner!” And with a hearty laugh, Santa left the cave, leaving the group alone. “Well, I guess you kids better make yourselves comfortable,” Mr. Donner said. “There’s a couple side-caves to the left and right of us that you can rest in for now.” “Thank you so much, Mr. Donner,” Sunny smiled before turning to her friends. “I guess we better get settled, guys. We still have to find our mission before we can head home for Winter Wishday.” XXXXXXXX A fast white figure moved across the snowy landscape as fast as she could take herself, eventually running and leaping to the top of a tall, slippery hill… far away from anyone who could hurt her or her cub.  Who was this figure, you ask? Her name was Nora, and she was a very special arctic fox who had eyes the same colors as the brilliant Aurora Borealis. She had recently given birth to a single cub, a female, when poachers had found her and chased her away from her den. Now she needed someplace to hide her cub while she lured the poachers away for good.  Her green, blue and fuschia eyes glanced around until she caught onto a familiar sight… Christmastown. “Perfect,” Nora muttered. “Surely my cub will be safe there. I better get going though… the poachers are surely on my tail now.” Picking her cub up in her mouth, Nora quickly slid down the hill and continued to run in the direction of Christmastown, hoping she wasn’t too late to bring her cub somewhere safe... and that she would be taken care of until the poachers were gone for good.