A little while after Scratcher and Twitch got to moving toward the seashore, it was time for Santa and Mrs. Claus to get packing for their big trip down south.
Santa walked into the bedroom to see Mrs. Claus was packing an overly large suitcase, but chose not to say anything about it, since he knew how much this meant to her. “You really are looking forward to this trip, aren't you?”
“Papa,” Mrs. Claus sighed happily, “ I haven't had a summer vacation since… can’t remember when.”
“We work too hard, Mama,” Santa told his wife, sitting next to her on the suitcase. “Oh, I guess I'm not the easiest man in the world to live with, though.”
Mrs. Claus merely chuckled at this. “Well, only when it gets close to Christmas Eve.”
“Ah, we have had lots and lots of Christmas Eves, Mama.”
“They were good times, Papa.”
“And I still love you,” Santa said, “just as much as the first day I saw you.”
“Instead of talking,” Mrs. Claus recalled, “you gave me a lovely China doll.”
“Well,” Santa told her, “giving toys is my way of… saying hello. And showing my love.”
“I know that, Papa.”
Santa gave Mrs. Claus a soft peck on the cheek, causing Mrs. Claus to giggle, and both of them snuggled against each other warmly.
Yes, it seemed like Mrs. Claus and Santa Claus were the most beloved couple in the North Pole, and they always would be.
But suddenly, as they began to get comfortable, the cuckoo clock on the wall began to chime and say ‘Merry Christmas’ over and over, causing Mrs. Claus to realize what time it was. “11:00, Papa! The circus parade's at 12:00. Hurry, or we’ll miss it!”
But, as they got up off the suitcase, all the clothes flew out of it, causing both of them to chuckle and begin to pick up the clothes.
At that moment, an auroricorn mare stepped through the doors, who had a blue pelt, light blue eyes, a sparkly blue mane and tail, a crystal blue hooficure, an amethyst pendant on her necklace and a crystal cutie mark of some swirling snowflakes.
The mare cleared her throat as she came into the room and began to help them put the clothes back in the suitcase. “Oh, thank you, Snow Mist,” Mrs. Claus smiled. “Oh, it’s no problem,” Snow Mist smiled. “I actually came in here to tell you that the reindeer are ready to head down south, and the elves are just finishing packing the rest of the luggage.”
“Wonderful,” Santa smiled. “We’ll be there in just a moment.”
Snow Mist smiled longingly with a sigh. “I’ve always wanted to go down south where it's warmer. I mean, don’t get me wrong-- I love Starlight Ridge and I love visiting the North Pole,” she said, “but… I just imagine so many things out there to see. And the thing is… before Allura, we never had the chance to get out and explore other places.”
“Oh, that’s right…” Mrs. Claus recalled with a frown. “You poor dears were under her rule for so long, you don’t know what to do with yourselves.”
“Well… how would you like to come with us to the circus, my dear?” Santa asked. “If Mrs. Claus doesn’t mind, of course.”
“Oh, how could I say no?” Mrs. Claus said. “We would love the extra company, and we could use your glowing horn to help us if we get into trouble.”
“Really?!” Snow Mist said excitedly. “I would LOVE to!”
“Well, you better go pack, then,” Mrs. Claus said. “We leave for the seashore in just a few minutes.”
Snow Mist giggled excitedly and galloped out of the room, leaving Santa and Mrs. Claus to chuckle at her enthusiasm.
XXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, Allura grew angered at the sight of the auroricorns, HER former minions, siding with those in the North Pole. “I gave those pathetic ponies a purpose, and they BETRAY me for the enemy?!” she snarled. “If we weren’t already on a mission, I would hypnotize all of them once again!”
“Patience, Allura, patience,” Winterbolt told his new ally. “We’re close to exacting phase 2 of our plan-- and then, we will make sure both of our missions are fulfilled.”
Allura growled in pure anger, but nodded reluctantly-- Winterbolt was right.
Her time would come... and not one of those ponies or their friends would be able to escape.
XXXXXXXX
At the same time, Snow Mist was carrying her suitcase on her back while walking out to the front of the castle, and behind her were some of her friends:
Needless to say, all of Snow Mist's friends were super excited that Santa and Mrs. Claus had invited her along and wanted to spend some more time with her before she left. “We’re so excited that you’re getting to go down south, Snow Mist!” Winter Wind exclaimed excitedly as Snow Mist tossed her bag in the sleigh. “You gotta tell us anything when you get back.”
“We’re sure gonna miss you, though,” Frostbite admitted. “Aww… I’m gonna miss all of you, too,” Snow Mist smiled at her friends. “But, I’ll be with Violet Frost and Comet, not to mention all our other friends-- I think I’ll be fine.”
Snow Mist climbed into the back of the sleigh just as the Kringle Elves helped Mrs. Claus and Santa inside. “Thank you, auroricorns and little Kringles!” Santa bid them farewell. “We’ll be back late tonight!”
“Don’t wait up!” Mrs. Claus said just as Santa flicked the reins, and the reindeer flew up and into the sky. “Away! Away!” Santa called. “And away all!”
“Bye, everypony!” Snow Mist waved to her friends below. “We’ll be back soon! I promise!”
But… what the auroricorn, Santa and Mrs. Claus didn’t know was that they were heading into a large heap of trouble.
XXXXXXXX
“They’ve left the castle as we speak, Winterbolt,” Allura said as she flew into the cavern where the snow dragons rested. “If there was a time to begin, it would be now.”
Winterbolt nodded before turning to the snow dragons and chanting an incantation. “Use fog to blind and snow to bury,” he commanded the dragons. “Wind to tear the heart that's merry. Ice and gale and sleet, and hail... Santa must, in his mission, fail!”
When the incantation was completed, the dragons roared and send clouds of snow, ice and wind out from their mouths and out of the mountains, causing Winterbolt and Allura to cackle madly.
No one was going to be able to stop them now!
XXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, up in the skies, Santa and Mrs. Claus, with Snow Mist in the back of the sleigh with the luggage, noticed the chance in temperature, thanks to the snow dragons' magic, causing Mrs. Claus to shiver. “Ooh, that's an angry wind for this time of year.”
“Y-Yeah,” Snow Mist shivered. “I’m used to the cold, but I don’t like the vibes that wind is giving me.”
Suddenly, Mrs. Claus saw something ahead that made her grab Santa’s arm in panic. “Papa! Look!”
When Santa and Snow Mist looked ahead, they gasped at what they saw-- some sort of winter cyclone was forming, and they were headed straight for it! “What is that?!” Snow Mist shrieked over the howling winds. “We’ve got to get back!” Santa desperately pulled on the reins to turn the reindeer around. “Back! Dasher! Dancer! Comet!”
“It’s too late, Santa!” Snow Mist shrieked. “It’s got us!”
“Hold on, girls!” Santa cried as he tried to navigate the reindeer through the storm, but it was nearly impossible for them to see. “Oh, if only Rudolph were here!”
XXXXXXXX
Borealis shivered from the float she, Rudolph, Snowfall and Frosty and his family shared, as if a terrible feeling was trying to warn her about something. “Hey, Bori, you okay?” Violet Frost asked from where she and Comet stood in front of the float with the Mane 6. “You look a little freaked out.”
“I’m not sure what I felt,” Borealis said. “Maybe it was because this is my first parade as a princess? I mean… this is still a lot to take in at once.”
“Don’t worry… everything’s gonna be fine,” Snowfall reassured her bestie. “You got all of us, remember? We got your back.”
“...thanks, Snowy,” Borealis smiled before climbing onto Rudolph’s back. “I guess the parade is about to start, so we better get prepared.”
XXXXXXXX
Back in the skies, Santa had steered the sleigh into the eye of the winter storm, where it wasn’t as windy, and turned to Mrs. Claus and Snow Mist. “Well, we're safe here in the storm's eye, girls,” he said, “but I'm afraid it's only for a little while.”
“Santa…?” Snow Mist couldn’t help but sound worried. “Do you think we’ll ever get out?”
“Storms are strange things, dear,” Santa said, but immediately saw that it only made Snow Mist a bit more worried. “Uh, I mean…”
“Are you frightened?” Mrs. Claus asked. “About what may happen?”
Santa seemed a bit more confident about his next answer. “No, my dear. Not at all. Even with this storm.”
Then, Snow Mist heard the most beautiful love song she had ever heard, making her smile thoughtfully as she saw Santa and Mrs. Claus' love story in the back of her mind.
Santa: I see rainbows
When I look at you
And the rain goes as the sun comes through
All things wonderful are what you are
You shine brighter than the brightest star
I see roses blooming in the snow
Roses growing everywhere you go
I see rainbows when I look at you
Rain or shine I'll be part of your life...
Snow Mist was cooing by the time the song was over-- and it was no secret to any auroricorn that she was a hopeless romantic. After she snuggled her beloved husband, Mrs. Claus gave everyone a blanket to keep themselves warm. “Papa, we've gotten out of worse situations than this,” Mrs. Claus said. “I say the best thing to do would be to get down from these stormy skies and continue on the ground.”
“All right, Mama, we'll try it,” Santa nodded. “The both of you, hang on.”
He flicked the reins and guided the reindeer toward the ground, all while Snow Mist couldn’t help but wonder... how were they going to save Frosty and his family from melting if they couldn’t get out of this storm?
XXXXXXXX
At the same time, the circus parade had begun, and while Milton and Cocoa served ice cream and while everyone else in the circus waved or did part of their acts on the small float, Lily Loraine sat on the back of a tall giraffe and began singing.
Lily: Don't let the parade pass you by
Live living it up til you die
Always be hep
And keep in step
With the times a changing
Change your life when it needs rearranging
You got to believe in your gut
You'll never get caught in a rut
Don't be afraid
You've got it made
If you don't let the parade
Don't let the parade pass you by
Borealis and Snowfall couldn’t help but giggle as they waved to their new adoring fans on the side of the street as the song took a brief break. But before they knew it, the song restarted once again.
Lily: With the times a changing
Change your life when it needs rearranging
You got to believe in your gut
You'll never get caught in a rut
Don't be afraid
You've got it made
If you don't let the parade
Don't let the parade pass you by, don't lie!
Don't let the parade
Pass you byyyyyyyy!!!
The crowd cheered by the time that the song ended, and while the crowd cheered, Frosty scanned the skies once more to see if he could see Santa’s sleigh. “Smile, Frosty,” Crystal told her husband. “Lily says that in show business you gotta keep smiling.”
“But I'm kind of worried that Santa won't be here on time,” Frosty voiced his concerns, only for Milly to turn and comfort him. “Daddy, the show must go on.”
“That's what Aunt Lily says,” Chilly added, and Frosty decided to trust this for now. “Okay, but I got a feeling tonight there's gonna be a real wet act-- and it won't be the seals.”
While they were trotting in front of the float with their friends on it, Zipp whispered to Sunny out of concern. “I have a bad feeling about all this-- Santa's never missed a parade before, and we haven't seen hide nor wing of that stranger from earlier. I mean, Why would he give us those amulets and tell Borealis she's a long lost princess before disappearing?”
“You’re right about that,” Sunny said, “but I'm still not sure what exactly to believe. There are so many conflicting thoughts right now, and it's our job to help our circus friends right now.”
“Sunny's right,” Misty agreed from in front of them. “We’ll keep an eye on things, though, and step in when things get too suspicious.”
XXXXXXXX
At the same time, Scratcher had been watching the parade until Twitch hopped up to him and squeaked. “You found him? Perfect! Show me the way and then let me do the talking.”
Twitch nodded and hopped off, leading Scratcher to a sinister-looking man in the nearby alley. And once he had done his job, Twitch stepped out of the way to let Scratcher through. “Are you Sam Spangles? The circus man?”
The man glared at the reindeer coldly. “How can I be a circus man without a circus?”
“Don't you worry about that,” Scratcher said with a wicked smirk. “I think my friend and I might have an interesting proposition.”