//------------------------------//
// A Dazzling Christmas (Part 1) 
// Story: The Siren Song: Razzle Dazzle 
// by Shadowmane PX-41 
//------------------------------//


December 24th 2020
9:58 AM






It was that time of year again for the Human World. The date was December the 24th; Christmas Eve. At this time, people would be frantically swarming the shops, trying to get some last-minute shopping in before nightfall.

Usually, the Christmas season is a time for joy. When snowflakes would fall, children would play, and everyone would be getting some time off of their jobs to spend Christmas with their families. But for one girl in one particular house, Christmas wasn't as fun this year...





Sunset Shimmer's house was all decorated, in celebration of the holiday spirit. The roof was all covered in snow and had very special decorations lacing the walls. There were illuminated snowflakes, snowmen, and even some lights which animated Santa, flying his sleigh across the sky.

The windows were all misted up and icy on the outside, but rather warm and lovely on the inside. They had icicles draped on the outside, so as to make it seem more wintery for the season. The inside of the house was a wonderful sight indeed...

Inside, Sunset and The Dazzlings were all sitting down at a table, making paper chains and writing Christmas cards to everyone celebrating the holidays. The four of them looked quite happy as they went on with their little activities and would always shoot each other a smile now and again.

They looked like their worries had long since vanished away since the Second Life Song had been sung. It truly seemed like The Dazzlings had been given a much better life, now that they were experiencing all these wonderful things with Sunset and Twilight. With all that in mind, Adagio, Aria and Sonata seemed like their old lives and all their sins were merely a fabrication of what they were now, and what they were about to become.

"So, Mommy," Adagio started once she'd finished adding another link to the rather long paper chain that she, Aria and Sonata had all been working on. "How fun do you find Christmas?"

"Oh, me? Well, I think that Christmas is one of the most wonderful holidays I've ever had the pleasure of celebrating," she started, looking at all the festive decorations in the living room. "Whenever I look at all those decorations in the living room, I get a great feeling of beauty off of it. When I see a smile, it means that this is a time for fun and festivities with friends. So, I guess you could say that I enjoy Christmas as much as you do, Adagio."

"Aww..." the three girls all said together, putting their hands together and grasping on tight to them. They could hear it in Sunset's tone of voice; she loved the holidays and was looking forward to whatever might happen in the future.

Whilst the four girls added another link to their paper chains, Twilight was sitting in the living room, slumped on the couch with a little bit of a frown on her face. She was all alone this Christmas. Her Equestria friends had been taken away from her, and now she had no-one to spend the holidays with back at home.

As she reminisced on all the times her friends had spent Hearth's Warming together, she shed a tear. All those memories of her friends arguing every year, only to turn it all around when things seemed at their bleakest. Every time she looked back on it all, it was becoming more and more painful to know that that tradition wouldn't be happening this year with her pony friends. Eventually, she ended up crying once again, her cries of sorrow muffled up by her hands which she'd planted onto her face.

Eventually, her crying was stopped by a familiar face. Sunset Shimmer was right there with her, once she'd revealed her sad eyes once again. She let Sunset hold onto one of her hands with no resistance whatsoever. It gave her some light relief, but still made her feel sad on the inside.

"Twilight? What's the matter?" Sunset asked, trying to make her friend seem a little more at ease with the heartbreak she'd suffered. She knew full well that her Equestria friends were long gone and that Twilight was all alone, so she wanted to help her out in any way possible. "Christmas is a time for happiness and excitement, not sorrow and regret."

"I'm sorry, Sunset," Twilight began, a little tear forming in her eyes once the two of them made eye contact once again. "I've just been a little scarred since the accident back on Lyrica..."

"Now that I have no friends to spend the holidays with, I feel like there's no hope for me to feel any joy whatsoever..." Twilight said, in a more tearful voice than she'd ever used before in her life. It was as if she was half-crying and half-talking. "What use is the holidays if they'll only bring up heartbreak about your lost friends?!"

"Twilight..." Sunset could see Twilight's distress returning once she'd finished talking. She remembered that Equestria had Hearth's Warming in place of Christmas in the Human World. With that running through her head, Sunset then thought that Twilight spent every one of her Hearth's Warmings with her friends. And now that The Blasters had her friends, Sunset could see now why Twilight was so distraught and tearful.

"It's alright, Sunset..." Twilight said, a look of defeat showing on her face. She could see now that she had no reason to be happy, so she tried to get Sunset to stop trying to cheer her up. "You just have Christmas with The Dazzlings. I just want you to have a good time this year. Don't worry about me in the slightest, I'll be fine..."

"Twilight..." Sunset said, seeing Twilight's state of complete disarray and sorrow. After seeing her sadness and hearing her cries of heartbreak, Sunset knew that she had to help Twilight feel better about the fact that she would be spending the holidays without her real friends.

"There, there..." Sunset said, eventually patting Twilight's back in an attempt to calm her down. She'd never seen Twilight in this much disarray, so she decided to make things right. She gently patted Twilight in a slow and gentle rhythm, seeing her friend let out all of her sorrow and tears in one sitting. "Let it all out..."

"Thanks, Sunset..." Twilight said, accepting Sunset's sympathy after she'd finished letting her tears out. She could see now that Sunset was just trying to help, and that she acted like someone who'd been dwelling in her most recent past for far too long.

"Don't think for one second that you're alone, Twilight," Sunset said, watching as The Dazzlings came over from the kitchen to help Sunset get her point across. "After all, we're here, and so are your friends in this world.

"We may seem far apart at times where we all have to be together, but when you really believe that you'll see each other again, then there's a good chance that you WILL see your Equestria friends again," Sunset said, telling Twilight a philosophical lesson for her to take in. "Sometimes, we all have to be in different places and isolated from each other. But when you truly believe that your friends will find you, then it seems like they'll always be a part of you, no matter what. Sure, it may seem far-fetched, but friendship is the one thing that will make you see that there's no real reason to be sad. And when we have the chance, we can make some new friends with our many travels..."

"Yeah... You're right..." Twilight said, starting to perk up a little. She could see that Sunset's words were clear as crystal, and pure as spring water. A friendship lesson like that was enough to make Twilight crack a little smile once again. "As long as I believe that I'll see my real friends again, then I know we'll see them again!"

"Good to hear that, Twilight," Sunset went as she went over to the nearby coat rack to get some special winter clothing. She saw The Dazzlings following her and putting on their own little coats and boots for the cold weather outside. "Because I think there are some girls back here who'd love to see you again..."

Twilight immediately shot up at that realization. She had Human World versions of her friends just dying to see her now. She remembered that they were exactly similar to the ones who'd been taken by The Blasters, apart from the fact that they were humans and not ponies. With all this running through her mind, it would seem to her like she never really lost her friends in the first place if she met them again.

Twilight could immediately see that Sunset was dressed in a rather nice black coat with a warm winter hat and scarf. She could see that Sunset was ready to brave the cold and see the Humane 5 again with her by her side.

Twilight got her individual coat and winter boots, and began to dress up for the cold weather ahead. She was dressed in a rather nice plum coat with a silver zip running down the middle of it. She also picked up a special purple and magenta winter hat and put it on the top of her head. When that was all done, she picked up a scarf that bore her hair colours, then wrapped it around her neck to keep her warm.

Once they were all dressed up for the cold weather ahead of them, The Dazzlings pulled out three wooden sledges from the nearby shoe cupboard. Once they were out, The Dazzlings pulled them by little ropes, making them slide along the floor without leaving a trace.

"Alright then, let's go and see them!" Twilight said as she and Sunset opened the door, revealing the cold world outside.

The world outside was covered in snow and frost. The sky was a clear shade of white, due to all the snow in the area. There was no area of the sky that wasn't covered up by the snowy clouds.  The roads were barren and covered with some special kind of salt. The snow near the clear roads was some kind of dark brown colour, as if to say that the snow was dirty. Sunset's car was also coated in the white stuff, but that didn't bother any of the girls.

"Hold on a sec, Twilight. I just gotta text Pinkie to let her know we're heading out." Sunset pulled out a phone and brought up a screen which showed her having a text chat with Pinkie Pie. When this came up, Sunset used her finger to type "Heading to the hills today to play with The Dazzlings. P.S: Twilight's back, and she's coming with us." before hitting another button to send it.

It only took a few seconds for Sunset to get a response from her text. Within the span of a few seconds, Pinkie Pie's response was "Okie dokie lokie, I'll get the rest of the girls. See ya there! :)"

"Alright, let's go, girls." Sunset said, leading the way as Twilight and The Dazzlings walked with her onto the street and down the roads that led towards the hills.





As the five girls walked through the snowy landscape, they could see a wonderful sight on their faces. Children were playing out in the snow, all dressed in cute little winter clothes to keep warm. Many of them were making snowmen and snow angels, the rest of them were having snowball fights and ducking between snowy walls to avoid being hit by the icy projectiles.

When Twilight looked at all the wonderful sights to see, it made her happy inside. She knew that from looking at all this wonderful snow that beauty could be in any shape or colour. She watched as all the kids got rosy red cheeks from playing in the snow and watched their smiles remain visible as it happened. It truly was a wonderful sight for Twilight to see, especially after all that had happened back in Equestria and Lyrica.

Sunset and The Dazzlings could also see the wonders that laced the streets. All the streets were cold and covered in snow, there were Christmas displays in whatever shops they could find, and there were even other houses that had been decorated in lights for the night ahead of them. All these sights brought smiles to their faces. It showed them that there were other people who were into the Christmas spirit and were ready to have a wonderful time together.

"Does this always happen at this time of year?" Twilight asked Sunset once they'd had their fair share of winter wonders. Twilight wanted to make sure that these things were common around Christmas time, the same way they were common in Equestria with Hearth's Warming.

"Yeah, it does..." Sunset said, reaching down and picking up a clump of snow. As she brought it up to her face, she could see all the wonderful white flakes that now lay dormant in her hand. "It's beautiful, don't you think?"

"Yeah... It is..." Twilight said, remembering the good memories of Hearth's Warming back in Equestria. She could envision all the little fillies and colts playing happily, making snowponies and licking eight-foot candy canes. She would remember all the winter treats Pinkie and the Cake family baked around this time of year, and even the winter dresses and hats Rarity would be making at this time. All these memories were quite wonderful to recall on, they reminded Twilight that there were some good times to remember, besides all the suffering The Blasters had dealt to her.





Eventually, the five girls made it to the outskirts of town, where the hills nearby had been covered in snow. They could see that it was the perfect condition for sledging down the hills together. They could also see that a few other people were here with their friends, sliding down the hills without a care in the world. And among them were some very familiar faces.

Twilight immediately beamed when she could see her friends waiting for her at the top of the hill. She remembered that rainbow hair, dark purple curl of hair, blonde strip of western hair and those pink hairstyles anywhere. They were Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy; her Human World friends.

"There they are!" Twilight said as she immediately ran over to the bottom of the hill and waved her greeting to her friends. She hadn't seen such a wonderful sight in ages. Her Human World friends were actually here, in the flesh. "Hi, girls!"

"Hi, Twilight!" they all called back, watching Twilight finish waving and start to scale the hill. It truly was a wonderful thing for them all to see, Twilight climbing up to meet all after so much time had passed since she left.

After seeing Twilight climbing up the hill, Adagio, Aria and Sonata began to follow after her. They ran up the hill with their sledges in tow, smiles showing on their faces as they saw Twilight re-uniting with her Human World friends. When gravity started to play against them, The Dazzlings found it harder and harder to climb the hill. Luckily, Sunset was there to give them a helping hand.

Once Twilight and Sunset made it to the top of the hill, they were both pulled into a rather large group hug. Their friends were all excited to see them, and gave them one of the best holiday greetings that could have been given. Their hug gave Twilight and Sunset a sense of happiness, as they knew that their friends would be there to help them out at the bleakest of times.

"Good ta have ya back, Twilight!" Applejack said, shaking Twilight's hand once the little hug had dispersed to give them all some room.

"It's nice to be back, Applejack." Twilight said, showing a little smile once Applejack had finished shaking her hand. It always warmed Twilight's heart to see her friends smiling, as if there was nothing to worry about.

"You're just in time too, girls. I bought this simply divine sledge from the Japonese store that you all just have to see..." Rarity said, smiling as she took out a little rectangular strip of metal and pushed a buton on top of it. Once she pressed it, Rarity dropped it to her side, seeing the thing rapidly change into rather advanced sledge with a metal design and bars to hold onto as she rode. "Tada! It truly is amazing how advanced this world is becoming, what with all the technological breakthroughs we've been having recently..."

"Yeah! I mean I've heard that by the year 2025, we're gonna be having special computerized cars that don't require you to use pedals," Pinkie said, randomly beginning to list off a number of futuristic possibilities. "Then by 2028, we might finally find the solution to global warming. Then a year after that, we might get a special Age-Regression device, so that people can fulfil their fantasies of being a child again. Then the year after after that, we might be getting a special E-delivery company, which just zaps your post from there to your room! There really is a lot to look forward to, huh?"

"Yeah, I see where you're coming from, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash said, getting in some of her own words into the conversation. "Some time in the new year, I'm gonna have a chance to apply for The Wonderbolts' All Stars!"

"Just like the Rainbow Dash from my world!" Twilight said, beginning to tell Rainbow Dash of her pony's hopes and dreams. "The Rainbow Dash back in Equestria always wanted to join The Wonderbolts back there, but never quite made it in on regular terms. So I'm so glad that you're getting your chance to join this world's Wonderbolts, Rainbow Dash!"

"Umm... May I ask a question, Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked, raising a hand to grab her attention before she continued. "What exactly are The Wonderbolts' All-Stars again?"

"Well, Fluttershy, they're only the bestest, most competitive, and most successful team of sporting champions in the whole of Amareica!" Rainbow Dash explained. "Whenever you look at sporting events, there's always a Wonderbolt in there somewhere. They've got champions for everything; Soccer, Tennis, Basketball, Golf, and even a Cricket champion in there somewhere!"

"They sound rather successful, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight said, feeling rather curious to know more about Rainbow Dash's dreams of becoming one of them. "So, when do you think they'll let you have your chance?"

"I'm hoping that it's sometime in April, when the skies are clear and the grass is green," Rainbow Dash said, envisioning the day she'd be trying out already. "Sometime in that month, the head honchos of The Wonderbolts' All-Stars; Spitfire, Fleetfoot and that dreamboat Soarin' are gonna come down and test me in the middle of a big soccer game! It's gonna be so awesome!"

"Well, good luck for that day, Rainbow Dash!" Sunset said, showing some enthusiasm for Rainbow Dash. She could already see so much potential in Rainbow Dash after all that had happened back in CHS and was now looking forward to seeing what she could deliver to the leaders of the group. "I hope you get in and go on to becoming one of the best sporting legends this world has ever seen!"

"Thanks for that, Sunset," Rainbow Dash said, putting a hand on her shoulder as a sign of support. She knew that Sunset's words all meant well for her, so she was happy to return the favour to her. "I hope The Dazzlings grow up well too..."

"Thanks, Auntie Dashie!" the three of them said back, immediately picking up on what Rainbow Dash had just said to them. Over the many years that they'd been cared for by Sunset Shimmer, The Dazzlings showed true affection for the Humane 5 and Twilight. They saw them purely as friends, nothing more, nothing less.

"You're welcome, kids." Rainbow Dash said, tussling their hair once more. As she ran her hands through their multi-coloured hair, she truly saw that The Dazzlings had changed since they had been defeated at their own game. With this new change, she could truly see hope for little Adagio, Aria and Sonata. It warmed her heart to see some former enemies turning into new friends, with such a simple feat as being a good friend to their mother; Sunset Shimmer.

Once the girls had finished talking, Adagio put her sledge on the top of the hill and sat down on it. It might have looked uncomfortable to sit on, but it was actually a rather sleek sledge; one that didn't have your bottom poking out of the gaps in the wood. When Adagio was on comfortably, she grasped onto the ropes and eagerly waited for someone to join her on the sledge.

Once they saw Adagio sitting down, Aria and Sonata got on behind her. They held onto each other's backs, so they would have something to hold on to once the sledge got moving.

Once they were tightly holding onto the ropes and their backs, The Dazzlings were pushed down the hill by Sunset. They could feel their velocity already starting to pick up as they rushed through the frigid winds, riding down the white hill with looks of excitement on their faces.

"Well, they look like they're having fun," Rainbow Dash said, picking up her own sledge. It had special flame decals on the side and her Cutie Mark emblazoned onto the back. Then she got an idea as she put her sledge on the edge of the hill. "Race ya to the bottom girls!"

The girls all immediately got their sledges, except for Twilight, who rode with Sunset. Once they were all on, they lined up and readied themselves for the ride of their lives. Fluttershy was pleasantly sitting on her sledge whilst Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were on their stomachs, ready to get competitive. Meanwhile, Rarity and Applejack looked at their opponents curiously and wondered whether or not their sledges would be able to win the race.

"On your marks... Get set..." Rainbow Dash said, getting the others to put their glove-covered hands on the snow. They were all ready to shoot down the hill with such speed. Once they saw The Dazzlings land at the bottom and stepped aside to watch their mother and aunties slide down, that's when Rainbow Dash began the race. "GO!"

The seven girls immediately pushed the snow they sat on, getting their sledges to rocket down the hill. Twilight held onto Sunset for dear life as she went down, whereas Pinkie and Rainbow Dash were shooting boastful smiles. Meanwhile, Fluttershy was trailing far behind (as expected) whilst Rarity and Applejack forced their best smiles whilst riding at this speed. In the end, it was going to be a pretty close race...