//------------------------------//
// Yes Rarity, There is a Santa Claus by HudsonHawk 
// Story: The Equestrian's Guide to Humanity 
// by HudsonHawk 
//------------------------------//

	"Not a home invasion? This rotund gentleman in a red suit breaks into your home and leaves presents under a tree."
"I wouldn't exactly say 'breaks in.' He comes down your chimney. It's not like he breaks a window or something like that."
"That's still unlawful entry."
The conversation had gone like this for the past twenty minutes. Jimmy tried to explain the concept of Santa Claus to Rarity, and she had decided to try and poke holes in the legend. He couldn't blame her: the whole reason she was here was to gather information on humanity's behaviors and customs for ponykind, but couldn't she just leave old Kris Kringle alone? Or at the very least, wait for when he's not struggling to get the lights on?
It was Christmas Eve, about a month since Rarity had popped up in Jimmy's life, the morning after Carrie had broken his heart. She had listened to him spill his heart out, and she had taken him into her arms and comforted him. She had shown that she was just as beautiful on the inside as she was outside. He would always be in her debt.
Here they were, the oddest of flatmates, decorating a Christmas tree with ornaments bought from the nearby Goodwill. Jimmy would have had it set up earlier, but the Christmas rush had hit their workplace, the hobby shop Curious Goods, as well, and the pair had been pulling a lot of overtime. 
Thankfully, the Gleesons closed the store Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and invited the pair over for Christmas dinner. Now, the pair finally had a chance to discuss Christmas and put up the tree. They got presents, Rarity had gathered that from the massive amounts of gift-wrapping she had done, but she wanted to know more. It was twenty minutes ago that the pair had set up the plastic tree in Jimmy's- well, their apartment. As Rarity started to get the ornaments out of the Goodwill bag, Jimmy had opened the box of extra Christmas lights that the Gleesons gave him for the tree, and his face fell flat. It's not that he was ungrateful, but he would have liked the lights to not have been tangled in knots normally seen only in a Boy Scout handbook.
"I can immediately tell THIS will be delightful." Jimmy said in the driest deadpan he could muster.
As Jimmy set to work on the Herculean task of untangling the Christmas lights, Rarity had asked what Christmas was all about.
"Well, there's two reasons why we celebrate it." Jimmy said. "There's the religious reason, and then there's the mainstream reason. Which do you want to start with?"
"Well, both would be beneficial, darling... what the hay, let's start with the religious view." Rarity had responded, hanging up several glass ornaments via telekinesis. 
"Well, the religious... I can't speak for all religions. I was raised Christian, so that would be all I'd be able to tell you."
"That's no problem, darling. Please, go on."
"Well... according to the bible,  there was a woman named Mary and her husband, Joseph. One day, Mary learned from the angel Gabriel that she would conceive and bear a child named- SONOFABITCH!"
Jimmy had tugged at one cord. He had smiled as the cord started to give, and then stopped. He would have sworn that the lights were doing this deliberately, as if trolling him. If he wanted to keep going, he'd have to work around ten different strands to get it free.
"That's a really odd name."
"Sorry, the lights are still giving me trouble. Actually, his name was Jesus. The only problem is Mary was a virgin, and it's impossible to concieve a child if you haven't... well..."
"Ridden her sidesaddle?" Rarity asked. Jimmy had to set down the lights while he got over the fit of laughter.
"Yes. Well, Gabriel told her that she would recieve the Holy Spirit and that "nothing will be impossible with God." Some, like me, would argue that statement's a load of crap, but that's something for another day." 
Another dead end with the lights and a grunt of frustration ensued. This time, Jimmy briefly considered just cutting them up with a scissors out of sheer spite. However, he had soon calmed down enough to try again.
"Nine months later, Mary's just about ready to give birth, so she and Joseph travelled from Nazareth to Joe's family home in Bethlehem to register in some census, and no, I don't know why it's so important. Mary gave birth to Jesus, and since all the inns were filled, they put the newborn in a manger. So, every December 25th, they celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, our lord and savior."
"Do you still celebrate this... "Christian" version?"
"No. There was some unpleasantness with my old church and my family, and then that was compounded by the fact that the church had covered up a lot of wrongdoing in their ranks, and we just stopped. I was never very religious, so it wasn't a total loss. FINALLY!"
Jimmy had found one cord that seemed to be different from the rest. He tugged at it, and the rest of the strands came free. He didn't know how that worked, he didn't know why it worked, all that mattered was that the demon lights were now ready to go on the tree. Jimmy had proudly held up the untangled lights. "YES! THE LIGHTS HAVE BEEN VANQUISHED! BOW DOWN BEFORE YOUR NEW MASTER, DEMON LIGHTS!!!" He had shouted in a deliberately hammy manner. Rarity laughed adorably.
"So, what's this mainstream version?" Rarity had asked, putting the last ornament up and opening a package of tinsel.
"Well, this version is about a man named Kris Kringle, or Santa Claus. He's this jolly fat man who lives up at the North Pole-" Jimmy started as he started to wrap the lights around the tree.
"Isn't it abominably cold up there, darling?"
"Yeah, but stay with me. He lives at the North Pole, with his wife Mrs. Claus, and his helper elves."
"Why elves?"
"They work cheap? I don't know. Anyway..."
"I thought you said elves didn't exist in this world."
"Did I keep interrupting you when you told me about Hearth's Warming Eve?"
"Sorry. Please go on."
"OK. They make toys for all the children of the world, and on Christmas Eve, Santa throws on his red suit, loads the toys into his sleigh, gets his magical reindeer together, and goes around the world to deliver toys to the good children, and coal to the bad."
"And you believe in this over the religious version?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah." Jimmy replied in sincerity.
"Okay, darling, I have a few questions." Rarity asked as she draped tinsel on the tree.
"Shoot." Jimmy said. 
"FIrst, how can he visit all those houses in one night?"
Jimmy thought for a minute. "Well, when I was a kid, I heard a lot of theories about that. My personal favorite was that time stops when he sets out, and only starts again after every house has been delivered to."
"Be realistic, darling."
"A unicorn with telekinetic powers who looks human is telling me to be realistic? Never thought I'd say that."
"Even where I come from that story would be hard to swallow."
"Well..."
"Even then, there's the ethics of the whole thing. Isn't this a home invasion?"	
"No, no..." It was then that Jimmy facepalmed in frustration, realizing that maybe stringing the lights up first would have been a good idea before hanging the ornaments when said ornaments started to impede his progress.



"OK, I'll give you that."
"So, going by all of the above, I believe that this Santa fellow doesn't exist."
"Rares, it's a legend. I choose to believe it because it's fun. It makes me feel like a kid again for a month. Besides, I believe that Santa exists in, if not all, most of us. Besides, I thought you'd like the story of Santa."
"Why, darling?"
"Because Santa is basically Earth's Element of Generosity. I thought the real Element of Generosity would appreciate it."
"Well... what do you mean by him existing in most of us?"
"There was a newspaper editorial published in 1897. I keep a copy of it in a frame and I hang it up every year. In fact... hang on."
Jimmy ran to his bedroom and rummaged through his closet until he found it. He brought it out for Rarity to see.
"There was a little girl named Virginia O'Hanlon. Her friends told her once that there was no Santa Claus, so she asked her father if it was true. He told her to write to their newspaper, the New York Sun. He assured her that if it was in the Sun, it's true. So she wrote to them. A man named Francis Church got the letter. He had been a correspondent during the Civil War, and let's be honest, that was a time where hope and faith were at an all-time low. I guess he figured that there should be some hope, and he especially didn't want to let that little girl down. He sat down and wrote what some would call the greatest editorial ever written, and it's one of the most reprinted in the English language. Would you like me to read it?"
Rarity nodded. "Yes, of course."
Jimmy looked at the copy and read.
"Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished."
Rarity could see Jimmy tearing up as he continued to read.
"Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You may tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood."
Rarity waited a few moments. "You really believe that?"
"Yes, I do. Santa's not a physical entity. He exists in everyone. You see him when you see someone do some good. Someone buys a hungry man a meal? There he is. You see someone help out someone out of the kindness of their heart? There he is. Anywhere a beacon of light and hope exists, there he is. There's nothing I believe in more strongly than that. Every time I think my fellow man has sunk to a new low, I think of that. It helps me realize that not all of us are that bad, and that as a species we're capable of so much more."
Rarity thought for a moment. "Can you make me a copy of that article, darling? I may need it for the guide entry on Christmas. The princesses would love it."
"Sure, Rares."
"If I made you upset... about Santa..."
"Nah. A lot of people seem more concerned about debunking him rather than going by his examples."
They exchanged smiles.



After a few minutes of silence, Jimmy was able to get the lights working.
"All right, Rares, here we go!" Jimmy said as he flicked the switch on the light string. The lights came on in a dazzling array of colors, reflecting off the tinsel and the ornaments to create a truly magnificent show of light.
"Now, THAT'S a tree!" Jimmy said as he admired their handiwork. "It wouldn't look half as good without your help."
"Not bad for my first time, huh?" Rarity asked.
"Not bad at all." Jimmy replied. He looked at the clock. 12:02 A.M.
"Well, it's after midnight. Better set out the gifts."
"Gifts?"
"Yeah! We got ones from Mr. and Mrs. G... Matt... Beth... my parents and sister sent me mine... and I got you something."
Rarity smiled her beautiful smile. "You got me something?"
"Of course!" Jimmy said. "You're my friend. Why wouldn't I remember you on Christmas?"
"I got you something, too." Rarity said. She rushed off to get it as Jimmy headed to his room. He opened the closet and took down a large gift-wrapped box, which he brought to the living room as Rarity returned with a small, rectangular object wrapped in festive wrapping paper.
"For you." Jimmy said as he passed her the box. Rarity tore into the paper and opened the box.
"Oh, Celestia." Rarity said in shock. She pulled out three books: "The Sewing Book: An Encyclopedic Resource of Step-by-Step Techniques," "The Singer Complete Photo Guide to Sewing," and "One-Yard Wonders: 101 Sewing Fabric Projects."
"That's not all." Jimmy said. 
Rarity reached in and pulled out a large electric Singer sewing machine. Her jaw seemed to have unhinged by the look of it.
"THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" Rarity shouted as she hugged Jimmy, kissing him on the cheek.
"Not a problem." Jimmy replied. "You said you missed it, so I got you the machine and the books so you can give human clothes a try."
"I love it." She replied. "Open yours! I know it might be nothing compared to this..."
"Bullshit. I'm happy you thought of me." Jimmy unwrapped the package. "No way... NO WAY!"
Inside the wrapping were three Blu-Rays, ones that Jimmy had been trying desperately to find with no luck: "Deadly Eyes," "Monkey Shines," and the double feature of "Tales from the Crypt" and "The Vault of Horror." 
"Nothing compared to mine? Rares, I've been looking all over for these!" Jimmy yelled in delight, hugging Rarity and spinning her around as he did so. "Thank you!"
"I remembered how frustrated you got trying to find them, so I gave Matt the money and he got them off the Internet." Rarity said. "Maybe we can watch them sometime? I'm intrigued by horror movies after that screening we went to of that 3D 'Friday the 13th' movie."
"Of course, of course." Jimmy and Rarity had grins a mile wide. "Sometimes, Rares, you take my breath away!"
"Merry Christmas, Jimmy." Rarity said to her friend.
"Merry Christmas, Rares." Jimmy replied.
The two shared one more hug as they stared out the window at the falling snow, the street below lined with lights and decorations. Rarity's first Christmas was a smashing success.