//------------------------------// // Suffering with the Consequences // Story: G5 Adventures in Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// The Mane 6 could hardly believe what had just occurred... Rudolph had been tricked into stealing the money from the box office wagon, and was tricked into giving the money to Sam Spangles. Now, the show was in his hands, and Rudolph's nose had been extinguished forever. The worst part was... the ponies didn't know of any way to help. On the other hoof, Borealis had just learned from Winterbolt that her entire species had been finished off by poachers... and Borealis was sure that her mother was one of them. Her worse fears had been realized... she really WAS all alone. But, they had no idea that things were going to take an even darker turn when everyone found out the so-called truth. XXXXXXXX “Only one more!” Crystal said, holding her children as Comet, Violet Frost and Sparky stood nearby. “Where’s Frosty?” “Hey!” Lily shouted as she approached. “What’s going on here?” “Miss Loraine?” Rudolph spoke up as he and Borealis sorrowfully approached. “I… I stole that money.” And you can probably guess all the stunned reactions that everyone gave off. “What?!” “No way!” “That can’t be true!” “Uncle Rudolph?” “I don’t believe it.” Frosty, believing he could clear Rudolph’s name, stepped forward. “No, he-- he... I mean, I can explain.” “No, Frosty!” Borealis cried. “Don’t!” With that taken care of, and their friends silent, Rudolph turned back to Lily with a sorrowful look. “I stole the money, ma'am, and I gave it to Sam Spangles.” “Spangles?! That means he takes over the show!” Lily shouted before glancing down at Rudolph, ashamed. “Rudolph, what got into you?” “...I can't explain.” Lily sighed and walked away, but before the others could try and say anything, the final firework lit up the sky. “100!” Crystal cried out. “Oh, Frosty…” “Relax, Crystal,” Frosty reassured the family. “We aren't going to melt. See?” “Huh?” Violet looked at the family and realized that Frosty was right. “Wow, you’re right!” “Mommy, we’re saved!” “Oh, Daddy, we’re not gonna melt!” As the group watched the celebration with the rest of the family, they couldn’t help but notice that Rudolph and Borealis looked miserable… and that made Frosty and Snowfall worry too. But just then, Rudolph tried to brighten up as he turned to the snow family. “Congratulations,” he said. “Now you don't have to worry.” Unfortunately, Crystal nudged the twins away, causing the ponies to gasp. “I’m sorry, Rudolph,” she said with a serious frown, “but I don't want the twins associating with a dishonest reindeer.” Sunny could feel the hearts of the twins, Snowfall and Frosty breaking at this. “Aww… Uncle Rudolph…” Milly whimpered. “Why’d you do it?” Chilly sniffled as Crystal led him, his sister and Sparky away. “No, wait!” Frosty tried to stop them. “You don't understand!” “Frosty, everyone?” Rudolph said seriously. “You guys must never tell anyone that I didn’t do it.” “But… but Rudolph--” Zipp tried to protest. “Never!” Rudolph suddenly snapped, catching the ponies offguard-- Rudolph had NEVER snapped before, not in their long friendship. But then, Rudolph realized what he did, and his ears pinned regretfully. “What’s more important?” he then asked. “A silly old red nose or the lives of my best friend and his family?” “Oh, Rudolph… what can we say to that speech?” Hitch asked. “Yeah… you’re willing to sacrifice everything to keep Frosty and his family safe,” Snowfall nodded in agreement, just as Frosty moved forward. “You sure are a friend.” But as Frosty shook Rudolph’s hoof, he noticed something off that worried him. “Hey… that funny little mark on your hoof.” “Rudolph… he’s right!” Misty gasped as she saw it too. “The star inside the snowflake! It’s gone!” Tears formed in Rudolph’s eyes at this, to which he blinked away, much to the others' concern. “Yes… I know.” Suddenly, the sound of sniffling filled the air, and everyone looked to see Borealis trying to keep her own tears contained. “I’m so… so sorry…” she whispered. “This is all my fault…” “Bori, there’s no way that this is either of your fault,” Violet told her friends. “You guys had no idea that Scratcher would lead Rudolph into a trap.” “But… it IS my fault that my mom is dead…” That seemed to stop everyone in their tracks, their blood turning cold. “Bori… what are you talking about?” Rudolph asked. “I’m sure your mom is--” “Winterbolt told me that poachers went after my whole species!” Borealis blurt out, tears rolling down her face. “If my mom hadn't protected me, she would have been safe!” “Bori… if she hadn’t had have you,” Snowfall tried to reassure her friend, “I wouldn’t have an amazing friend.” “...Rudolph, we need to go tell everyone that your act is canceled,” Borealis shrugged the gesture off before walking away, leaving Rudolph to regretfully follow. “I-I need to have time on my own too,” sighed Snowfall, unfolding her wings and flying off, leaving the rest of the group alone. “Guys…” Comet looked at the ponies. “What just happened?” “...I wish we could tell you, Comet,” sighed Sunny with a regretful look, “but… even if we could… you wouldn’t believe it.” “But for right now,” said Zipp, “everypony from Equestria needs to meet me in our trailer… we need to talk about this and our next steps.” XXXXXXXX Sam Spangles, Winterbolt, Twitch and Scratcher cheered happily at the success of their mission, and eventually, Winterbolt gestured for Scratcher and Twitch to get on the sleigh with him. “Come-- you’re the number one reindeer of the north now.” “You bet!” Scratcher boarded the sleigh as Winterbolt cracked his whip. “Away! Away!” And slowly, but surely, the sleigh lifted off and flew off out of sight. “So long!” Sam Spangles turned toward three clowns walking out in the open. “Okay, creeps, there's gonna be some changes around here.” “Y-Y-You don't own the show yet!” stammered one of the clowns. “Wanna bet?” Sam spat back. “Who's gonna pay to see… Rudolph the Unlit Reindeer, with a very nothin’ nose? Ha ha ha ha ha ha! I can't wait till tomorrow night!” XXXXXXXX At the same time, Rudolph and Borealis had just got done explaining why they could no longer do their act, causing the crowd to boo at the top of their lungs. “I’m sorry,” Rudolph apologized as Borealis tried to prevent herself from crying, “but I can still do my jumps.” However, the crowd still booed the deer and fox duo, resulting in the two of them to continue shedding tears and sadly leave the tent as the crowd began to chant. “We want our money back! We want our money back! We want our money back!” As Rudolph and Borealis came outside, Milton, Dazzle and Cocoa were trying their best to console Laine when they saw their friends, with Cocoa being the first to speak up. “Bori? Rudolph?” “How can you even speak to him after what he did to my mother?” Laine huffed  and turned away. “But there must be some explanation-- Rudolph wouldn’t just go stealing cash wily-nily” Dazzle pointed out before turning to their friends. “We’re all friends here… you can tell us, guys.” But, Rudolph sadly shook his head. “There’s nothing to tell. I stole the money and gave it to Sam Spangles.” “And now…” sniffled Borealis, “I’m the last of my kind… all because I was born.” “But, guys…” Milton tried to say, but Rudolph sighed, interrupting him. “Just… just leave us be, Milton.” “You heard him. Let’s go, you three,” Laine urged the three, and Cocoa and Dazzle reluctantly followed Laine away. “Goodbye, Rudolph,” Milton sighed. “Goodbye… for good.” That's when Milton left with Laine and their two pony pals, and Borealis and Rudolph sadly walked to their trailer, singing a sorrowful song while doing so. Borealis: No bed of roses That's how life seems to be Rudolph: No bed of roses No easy way for me Then, Rudolph looked at the mirror and saw a happier image of himself with his nose glowing... almost as if his power was never taken away. But then, the happy image disappeared, leaving Rudolph's sorrowful reflection. Rudolph: You were my star glow But now you're gone That's when all the newspaper clippings of him saving Christmas and the pictures all his friends and family fell to the floor one by one, landing at their feet and paws. Rudolph: You took the roses But left each thorn Borealis: Go on without us But if you change your mind One thing about us... We won't be hard to find Rudolph dabbed his nose into a little dish of red glitter, trying to make it look bright again, but it was not the same. Rudolph: If there's a glow again I know that life can be A bed of roses For you and me... As Rudolph continued to shed tears of sadness all while trying to be there for Borealis, the ponies watched from outside the window, feeling horrible for their friends... but they weren't all that sure of what to do. “Oh, this is going to ruin everyone’s image of Rudolph!” Pipp frowned. “He’s back to being a misfit like before!” “Come on, guys, cheer up a little,” Sunny tried to lift her friends’ spirits. “Remember... we never cared about what anyone else thought of our friends’ differences before they became the heroes they are. Besides, despite his light being gone, I still care about Rudolph just like Borealis does.” “Yeah, you’re right about that,” Zipp agreed, “but… we have to try and convince them that there’s still hope. Even if we haven’t seen it for ourselves yet.” Suddenly, the trailer door opened, and Borealis and Rudolph stepped out of it. “Come on, Rudolph,” Borealis sighed. “We may as well disappear, so we won’t cause anyone else anymore trouble.” But, before they could get too far, the ponies galloped toward their friends and walked beside them. “Hey, guys,” Misty tried to smile. “Mind if we join you?” “What are you all doing here?” Rudolph asked. “What about Sparky?” “Crystal and the twins are taking care of him for a little while,” Hitch said. “We wanted to check on you two.” “But… if you get seen with us--” Rudolph began to say, but Pipp interrupted him. “So what if other people start to think bad of us just because we hang out with you guys? We know who our real friends are… and you guys are our real friends to the end.” “So, wherever you’re going,” Izzy said, “we’re going with you.” Borealis and Rudolph couldn't help but smile at this kindness, and Rudolph eventually nodded. “Thanks, guys… I think we would really like that.” “Come on, then,” Zipp said. “There’s a trail on the other side of these tents that we can walk down.” And so, with heavy hearts and brains racing, the eight friends trudged off... unaware that a chance for them to fix everything was just around the corner.