//------------------------------// // The Story of Winterbolt // Story: G5 Adventures in Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// Whether you choose to believe it or not, Rudolph's nose began to go out that faithful June day, and it all started because of something that started years and years ago, long before even Santa came to the North Pole. You see, all that time ago, in the times before Santa, all this territory was ruled over by a powerful king by the name of... Winterbolt. And this terrible tyrant's powers came from a scepter of solid ice, matching his icy cold heart. Many were scared of this tyrant and the power he had, and any of the good creatures of the north who dared defy his wickedness were destroyed, frozen by Winterbolt's wicked snow dragons or driven away from their northland homes, making Winterbolt that much stronger. Winterbolt's tyranny seemed like it would last for ages, making him cackle into the wind before he began to retreat into his icy cave. But then, one day, a great source of light filled the sky, causing Winterbolt to groan in pain. For you see, this source of light brought forth a being who was more than his match-- Lady Boreal, the Queen of the Northern Lights, who took on human form on this very day in order to defy Winterbolt and defend the oppressed and innocent. “King Winterbolt!” Lady Boreal shouted from above. “For years, I have seen your malevolent cruelty, and now I take human form to command thee… stop this tyranny at once! You've caused enough pain and unhappiness.” However, Winterbolt remained unfazed. “You don't frighten me,” he said, pointing his scepter up at Lady Boreal. “Be gone!” But, as he fired an icy beam of light right at Lady Boreal, she deflected it with a shield made from the Northern Lights, shocking Winterbolt altogether. “You had your chance, cruel monarch of the north,” Lady Boreal warned, “and now, I must silence you.” Winterbolt raised an eyebrow at this. “Forever?” “Alas… nothing is forever,” Lady Boreal shook her head. “But you will fall into a deep, deep sleep and so you shall remain so long as my magic burns brightly.” At this, Lady Boreal shot a beam of light directly at Winterbolt, but the force of this magic was enough to blast Winterbolt back into his cave and causing him to get increasingly sleepy by the passing second. “Too… powerful for me!” he groaned. “Your force… overwhelms me!” As he staggered back, he dropped his scepter in between two rocks, and within just a few minutes, Winterbolt had fallen into a profound sleep of many, many winters. And eventually Winterbolt and all his evil… were forgotten. XXXXXXXX Over the years that Winterbolt slept, eventually, the good and gentle creatures returned to the north-- first came all the animals, including reindeer, rabbits, foxes and birds, and then, a while later, came some more of the little ones-- the Kringle Elves. And some believe that it was Lady Boreal's good graces that led a young Santa Claus, his wife and more of their family to these lands now known as Christmastown. “The perfect place for me to build my toy factory,” Santa had declared, “and carry out my life's mission far away from all who would stop me.” And within these next few years, the castle and workshop were built, and Santa began to carry out his mission just as he said he would. But unfortunately, Lady Boreal's monumental efforts had drained her of most of her magic... and all of her strength, making her realize that her days in human form were numbered. “Alas… nothing is forever,” Lady Boreal said to herself. “But in Santa, the northlands have a kind and true leader and I may rest with ease.” And so, Lady Boreal once again became the enchanted glow of the Northern Lights... unaware of what that might do to her spell that imprisoned Winterbolt. XXXXXXXX You see, when Lady Boreal once again became the glow of the Northern Lights, her spell over Winterbolt broke, and he broke free of the ice that formed around him after all these years of slumbering. “I am awake!” Winterbolt declared victoriously. “I live again! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!” That's when Winterbolt rose up and began walking into his throne room, sitting down at his throne and before a table with a large snowball on top of it. “I can't wait to see what's been going on while I've been resting.” You see, this snowball was not just any snowball-- it acted as a crystal ball so Winterbolt could look out onto his domain, and what he saw unsettled him… Santa in his castle, chuckling warmly as he oversaw the production of that year’s toys. “Who is this, my magic eye of snow shows? He looks to be a king,” Winterbolt said. “But there can be no king of the north save me!” That’s when Winterbolt rose from his throne and walked into the next room. “I must rid my northlands of this ho-ho-hoing creature, and his flock of Christmas interlopers… but how?” he asked as he approached a large wall of ice. “Tell me, O Genie of the Ice Scepter!” Suddenly, a glow emitted from the icy wall, and from that glow formed a face, with icicles for teeth, and icy, glowing eyes. The Genie of the Ice Scepter was tasked to obey whoever held the scepter of ice, and that also meant to give the holder advice on where to proceed. Winterbolt often used the genie to gain more and more control of the North Pole, and this time was no different. After being activated for the first time in many years, the genie finally spoke. “His power,” the genie spoke, “comes from the love he receives from children all over the world.” “Is he as powerful as me?” Winterbolt asked. “At the moment, far more powerful,” the genie answered. “Then I shall make the world's children love me instead of him,” Winterbolt declared. “Tell me, how does he please these children?” “Each Christmas Eve,” the genie explained to his master, “he sets forth in his sleigh and leaves every child a toy before dawn.” Winterbolt merely cackled at this remark. “Is that all? Genie, tell me how I might stop him from going forth.” “Next Christmas Eve,” said the genie, opening his mouth to allow self-made images of the events he described to form, “have the snow dragons create a storm of ice and fog… the likes of which the north has never seen. Santa will become hopelessly lost… and the toys will never be delivered.” “Bravo, excellent!” Winterbolt congratulated. “Then I shall set forth with my own supply of toys in my own sleigh. Ha ha ha ha… why, I could be greater than Santa! I'd give the little brats twice as many toys and they would love me more. They'd become lazy and dependent on me and I would rule them all! And when they grew up why, the whole world would be my own personal snowball! HA HA HA HA HA HA!!” XXXXXXXX Lady Boreal saw everything from her place in the sky, dreadfully worried about what might come next. “How little Winterbolt knows of the ways of Santa and children,” she sighed. “There's more than just giving toys. There is kindness and the loving warmth of a family on Christmas morn. These things cannot die… I will not let them!” Then, Lady Boreal let out a tired sigh. “But I am so old… and weak. Ice and fog on Christmas Eve to hinder Santa's sleigh? And even with the Northern Light foxes scattered sparsely all over the land, I believe that I am on my own.” That’s when Lady Boreal seemed to get an idea. “I must leave him something… but it must be small, I fear, to guide him on his way.” And as she looked down on the earth, she knew just what to leave Santa when that time came. XXXXXXXX “Ohhhhh… did she have the baby yet?!” Pipp asked from outside the Donner family’s cave. “I can’t see anything out here!” It had only been a few days since the Mane 6 arrived for their first Unity Quest at the North Pole, and Mrs. Donner was currently in labor with her first fawn. Thankfully, Sunny was with Mrs. Donner while Donner was out training with the rest of Santa’s sleigh team, and the rest of the Mane 6 (except for Misty, who was tasked with getting some water from the nearby pond) were outside waiting on progress. “Nothing yet, sis,” Zipp said as she fanned Hitch’s face (since he was unconscious from hearing the news). “I’m more focused on getting Hitch back with us first! Man, what is taking Misty so long?!” XXXXXXXX Misty, at the same time that Mrs. Claus was fetching Santa, had reached the lake and put the bucket into the water, filling it to the top line. “There-- that should be enough to get Mrs. Donner through these labor pains.” But before she could leave, there came a sound that sounded like a creature running through the bushes. Unfortunately, when she turned, she didn't see anything. “Huh... that's strange. I thought that I heard something...” Shrugging, she galloped off to get back to the others, unaware that a Northern Lights fox, by the name of Nora, was hiding in the bushes with her small, whimpering cub. “Settle down, little one,” Nora whispered. “If we follow the unicorn, maybe she knows of a place I can bring you. Come on.” XXXXXXXX Misty returned with the water in a matter of minutes, much to her friends' relief-- the labor pains were getting worse and worse by the minute. Hitch groaned and woke at the sound of screaming from inside the cave, looking up to see Izzy and Misty looking down at him. “What took you so long, Mr. Big Shot?” Misty asked with a chuckle. “Sunny is with Mrs. Donner, really pulling off this baby delivery thing.” “Oh, that's good...” Hitch said, smiling and closing his eyes until he realized what Misty just said. “Wait... what did you just say?!” “SHH! Listen!” Izzy whispered, and all three ponies lifted to hear something... but heard nothing at all. “It's... super-duper quiet for some reason.” “What do you think it means?” “Do you think the baby's okay?” Just then, Sunny emerged from the cave, looking tired, but very proud of herself as she put on her saddlebag. “...Mrs. Donner had a baby boy!” Izzy squealed excitedly and hugged Sunny around the neck. “You did it, Sunny! You did it!” “Come on!” Misty said excitedly, trotting in place. “I wanna see my first ever baby reindeer!” The four ponies quietly entered the cave, and when they got inside good enough, they found a young baby reindeer drinking from his mother's milk, causing them to coo. “He's so precious!” Misty said, causing Sunny to nod. “He is... and my dad would be so proud that I tried to do something that I had no idea how to do.” The baby reindeer lifted his head up and looked at his mother, who gazed back at her son with tired eyes. “Have no fear, my little one. Soon your father will be home. Ahh… and I must rest for the moment. Sunny, will you and your friends check and see how close Donner is from here?” “Of course, Mrs. Donner. You just rest,” Sunny said as the ponies rushed out of the cave, “and we’ll take care of everything!” And after the ponies had left and Mrs. Donner had settled down to rest, the baby reindeer noticed a bright light emitting from the entrance of the cave, and from that light, Lady Boreal emerged. The baby reindeer tilted his head in confusion for a moment before giggling, happy to see someone new, but a little confused as to who she was and why she was here. “Little one… I have so little magic left to leave thee,” Lady Boreal said, kneeling next to the fawn. “Use it wisely and well.” As the queen extended her hand toward the fawn, the fawn laid his hoof on it, wondering what was going on. “On this small hoof, a magic mark I make-- the Christmas star cradled by a snowflake,” she said, tracing the mark on the fawn’s hoof. “And with this secret mark the magic of the northern lights lives in thee. How, you ask? Think good thoughts, and you will see.” The fawn closed his eyes and did as the woman said, but when he opened his eyes, he discovered his nose was brightly glowing, much to his surprise. “Will the magic last forever, you wonder? Nothing is forever, as I’ve often said,” Lady Boreal explained, rubbing the fawn’s head. “But this magic is strong and your nose will glow so long as you use it for good. If you are tempted, even once, to use it for an evil purpose, it will be extinguished forever. Do you understand?” “Uh-huh,” the fawn nodded. “And will you never use it for evil?” Lady Boreal asked again. The fawn was about to nod again, but realized this and immediately shook his head ‘no’. “Uh-uh.” Lady Boreal chuckled and stood up. “And now I leave you, little babe, to your new friends’ and your mother’s love. Use your secret magic well.” And just like that, she disappeared in a flash of light, and not even a few seconds later, the fawn’s mother woke up and looked around. “Oh! What was that? Was someone here?” The fawn nodded, but then shook his head, and then nodded it again, causing Mrs. Donner to chuckle. “Can't you make up your mind, my little one?” As she began to groom the fawn, the Mane 6 galloped back into the cave again, tired and out of breath. “It took us a while, Mrs. Donner,” Misty said tiredly, “but we made it.” “Yeah!” Izzy agreed. “Mr. Donner should be here with the rest of the team any second now!” “Hey!” said another voice belonging to Donner. “Where’s my boy?” Just as Izzy said, the sleigh team galloped right into the cave as the ponies stood to the side to let the proud father through. “Here, my darling,” Mrs. Donner said. “Flew 300 miles in only 15 leaps when I heard the news and…” Donner was about to proceed when he melted at the look of his newborn son. “Aww… will you just look at him? Ha ha. My little buck.” “Have you picked out a name yet?” Hitch asked softly. “We sure have,” Donner nodded. “We'll name him… Rudolph!” Suddenly, before the eyes of his parents, the rest of the sleigh team and the Mane 6, the little deer's nose began to glow a bright red, causing everyone to gasp in surprise.  And well… you know how the rest of the story goes from there. Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer Had a very shiny nose And if you ever saw it You would even say it glows All of the other reindeer Used to laugh and call him names They'd never let poor Rudolph Join in any reindeer games Then one foggy Christmas Eve Santa came to say "Rudolph, with your nose so bright, Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?" Then how the reindeer loved him As they shouted out with glee, "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer You'll go down in history!" XXXXXXXX A few weeks after the events of Rudolph, Borealis and the Mane 6 helping to save Christmas, Winterbolt looked into his eye of snow to check progress, and his eye of snow showed the sleigh sailing into the night as if nothing was in its path. “Oh, Eye of Snow, what’s this you show? Six ponies, a fox and a red-nosed reindeer?” Winterbolt questioned just before something seemed to make sense. “So that's how Santa defeated my snow dragons. Heh heh heh… it will be a different story next Christmas Eve. A red-nosed reindeer or a red-nosed reindeer’s mangy friends are no match for King Winterbolt!” His scepter sent an icy beam of light into the dark night sky, and our heroes didn't know it yet, but months in the future... they would FINALLY realize how much danger they were being put in. And now that Winterbolt's story is told... we must get back to the story of our faithful heroes.