Raindeer Shipping

by Matthais Unidostres

Chapter One: The Arrival

Author's Note:

I'm sorry, but before we start, we've gotta watch two quick videos. This is for all you readers who are not Ice Age fans. You kinda have to know the Mythos of the Ice Age Cannon to fully appreciate this story. It's just two quick videos. You probably have already watched them, I'll bet. Okay? Okay good. Let's do this.

ROLL FILM!

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Wasn't that fun? Okay then. Now that you fully understand the background, we can get on with the story. Good? Alrigthy then. From the top!

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Chapter One: The Arrival

The group of three human scientists stepped back from their new masterpiece. The touchscreen shone brightly on the chrome spherical device. Time, date, galactic sector, quantum mechanical dimension, and various other settings were listed on the screen.

“At last,” one scientist said in adoration and elation, “It is complete! The Time and Space Transportation Device!”

“A huge advancement on our previous prototype,” another scientist said as he lifted his glasses to look at the device, “I’m sure our poor lost colleague and unwitting test subject would be proud if he were still with us.”

“I’m sure this advanced model will be much safer,” the third scientist said, “And in a matter of moments, we will we be able to see other worlds as well as other times.”

CLANG!

The scientists turned in surprise to see a ratty saber-toothed squirrel pushing out a grate and squeezing out of a ventilation shaft.

“What on Earth is that?!” the glasses wearing scientist shouted.

Scratt spotted the device on the lab table, and jumped at it with a piercing squeak. He jabbed at the screen wildly.

“NO!” the three scientists all yelled, but it was too late.

FLASH!

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Up at the North Pole, a brown reindeer with impressive antlers and a trio of small horn on his forehead stepped up to a frozen pond and looked down at his reflection. He smirked cockily at the reflected image, and hopped and turned so that his profile was reflected on the ice. He struck his “Air-Prancer” pose, nose up and two hooves off the ground.

“Sleek, streamlined, and ready,” Prancer said confidently as he looked himself over with a smile. He walked across the snow, lifting his hooves high, like how his spirit was high at that moment.

“I got seven Christmases under my belt,” he said to himself, “And seven is my lucky number.”

Then, in a flurry of rainbow colored sparkles, Prancer took to the air and flew over the wondrous land that was the North Pole.

Back on the ground, Comet was watching from a cluster of trees. He zoomed quickly a few yards away to where the bigger, darker Blitzen lay chewing on some moss.

“Hey, Blitzen. Prancer’s trying to do ‘you-know-what’ again!” Comet exclaimed.

Blitzen just rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders with disinterest.

Comet turned and said, “Eh, I’ll go let the rest of the family know anyway.” Then he took off.

Meanwhile, Prancer was quickly gaining altitude.

“Eight reindeer . . . on a mission. . .” Prancer said in an epic movie voice as he ascended, “Pulling a sleigh . . . traveling the entire world. . .in one night.” He narrowed his eyes to slits and said, “For seven years, they’ve been performing this duty. . .they’ve trained. . .hard. . . built up strength. . .And now. . .”

Prancer slowed up as he twirled in midair, going straight up, his eyes closed and his front hooves spread wide.

“. . .One of those reindeer, is going to use that power. . .”

Prancer opened his eyes.

“To break the sound barrier!” he shouted as he began to fall straight down. He flipped so that he was pointed in the direction he was falling, and he stuck his legs out behind him along the sides of his body. He stretched out his neck as focused all his will into flying as fast as he could.

“Time to zing and do this thing!” Prancer quipped as a burst of rainbow sparkles burst out behind him as he shot down at top speed. Wind whipped against his face as he cut down through the air. The small short beard beneath his chin was pressed flat under his head as Prancer clenched his teeth against the forces he was pushing against.

Prancer focused as hard as he could. “Come on come on come on come on come on come-.”

FLASH!

Something appeared right in Prancer’s path. A pair of voices screamed loud right before the collision.

CRASH!

WHUMP!

Prancer was conscious enough to feel himself land into the soft snow, hard. He found himself breathing heavily, in an attempt to replace the air that got knocked out of him during the crash. He lay on his back on the snow for a while, simply looking up into the sky. Still lying down, he then turned to his left, only to stare right into the eyes of large rodent.

“AHHH!” Prancer shouted as he snapped up and flew up and away from the creature.

Scratt replied with a scream of his own, but his eyes darted around until they spotted one of the items he had been carrying. He ran over to the acorn and hugged it, but then his eyes fell upon the smashed metal device. He screamed and ran off as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

Prancer blinked his eyes as Scratt disappeared into the distance. “Whoa. So there really is someone stranger than that sloth and his friends. Who knew?” he remarked with a surprised expression. He then brought his attention to the smashed metal object that the rodent had fled from.

“So. . .wait, did he use this thing to fly in my way?” Prancer asked himself as he slowly extended a hoof to poke the cracked and dented sphere.

ZAP!

“Ow!” Prancer exclaimed, shying away from the object. He frowned at it, turned his backside to it, and kicked off into the air. He sent snow mingled with his own magic multicolored dust onto the cracked device. The magic seemed to be attracted to the cracks, and quickly seeped into the broken device.

Prancer came to a quick mid-air stop as a strange sound made his ears twitch. He turned around to see the device shaking violently, glowing with magical light. A smashed screen on its front came to life and displayed strange symbols and images. As the chrome ball shook, more cracks formed on it, released beams of intense white light.

Prancer smiled sheepishly. “Uhh. . . I should probably. . .get going. . .like. . .now. . .” Prancer let out a nervous chuckle, and then whirled around and went to zoom off just as the device suddenly exploded. Then Prancer found himself held back by a mighty force. He chanced a quick backward glance to see that his rear hooves where being pulled in towards the point of the small explosion, which was now a glowing bluish-green vortex. Prancer screamed again as he flailed his front legs in an attempt to break free, but was soon quickly sucked into the vortex, which then popped out of existence just as he entered it.

---

“Whoa, whoa, whoa- oh boy!” Prancer shouted as he tumbled and spun through a strange tunnel. Everything was glowing blue and he couldn’t tell up from down. He could barely control his direction. “Help! Help! HELP!” he cried out as he kicked his legs frantically in an attempt to take back control of his own flight. Then, a bright white light appeared in front of him, and he was quickly pulled into it and out what appeared to be an exit. The vortex closed behind him as he was dumped head first into a huge snow bank.

Prancer pulled his head out of the snow and shook the white powder off of his antlers. “Well, I’m alive,” he said as he looked around the unfamiliar landscape, “But I don’t think I’m in the North Pole anymore.” Prancer tapped the tip of his right hoof to his chin. “Okay, I just need to get my bearings,” he said to himself. He jumped into the air and flew high above the area.

To one side of him, there was a thick dense forest. To the other, there was something that really surprised him. It appeared to be a village, similar to the kinds the humans would live in. However, the structures that made up this village weren’t tents, longhouses, and huts made of skins, wood, grass, and mud. These structures were well made, slightly taller and bigger, and much more colorful.

“No way, Jose. . .” Prancer said in wide eyed disbelief. He then focused his eyes to study the nearby town closer, only to reel back in surprise. “What the. . ?” he began as took another looked. He had expected to see some super advanced humans walking around, but what he saw nearly floored him.

Tons of small multicolored horses.

“I gotta. . .” Prancer began, but he didn’t finish. He simply flew off to the town as fast as he could.

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Applebloom and Sweetie Belle slid across the street with brushed strapped to their hooves. They skidded to a halt in front of Scootaloo, sending dusts and bits of litter into a large dust pan the orange Pegasus was holding.

“And done!” Scootaloo cheered as she dumped the contents of the dust pan into a nearby waste basket.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders all took an expentant look at their flanks, and frowned.

“Awww. And Ah was so sure we’d get Street Cleaning Cutie Marks,” Applebloom said disappointedly.

“Hey there! You, uh, kids over there!” a voice called out.

The three fillies turned to see Prancer standing next to them, showing of his impressive set of antlers.

“Cool! A reindeer!” Scootaloo said excitedly.

Prancer nodded, “Yeah, I know. Now I . . .wait. . .you’re a horse with wings!”

Scootaloo blinked in confusion, and gave Prancer an annoyed look, “Well, yeah. I’m a Pegasus.”

“Pega . . .wha-?” Prancer asked with one eyebrow raised.

Sweetie Belle got closer to the reindeer and asked, “Um. . . are you okay. . .sir?”

Prancer stared at Sweetie Belle’s horn and said, “Whoa. And you got a horn on your forehead! Right in the middle, little fiddle!” Prancer gave her small white horn a light tap.

Sweetie Belle stuck her nose up and tossed her mane. “That’s because I’m a unicorn. And you have three horns in your forehead too, you know!”

Prancer rolled his eyes up towards the top of his head. “Oh,” he said. Then he smiled awkwardly and gave the fillies an innocent look. “I forgot about that.”

The fillies and reindeer looked at each other awkwardly for a moment. Eventually, Applebloom broke the silence.

“Are you lost or something?” she asked.

Prancer pursed his lips, and then smacked them and said, “Uhhhhh. . .yeah. I am kinda lost. Could you tell me where I am?”

“Ponyville!” the Crusaders chorused.

Prancer nodded, “Okay, okay, Ponyville. Um. . .where is Ponyville in the world?”

“Uh. . .in Equestria?” Sweetie Belle suggested.

“Uh. . .gesundheit?” Prancer said with a desperate smile.

“. . . . . .”

“Maybe you should talk to Princess Twilight,” Scootaloo suggested.

Prancer’s eyes lit up. “Whoa! A Princess? That’s cool! Where can I find her?”

The fillies all gave him a deadpan stare, and then pointed their hooves to the right. Prancer looked in that direction and blinked.

“Oh yeah. . .” he said with a look of embarrassment on his face, “Big, shinny, crystal, castle, palace, tree. . .okay. . .see ya later! Maybe!”

Then, to the fillies’ shock, Prancer jumped into the air and flew off like lightning towards the castle, leaving a trail of rainbow sparkles behind him.

After a moment of staring after Prancer with their mouths hanging open, Applebloom turned to her friends and said, “Did you girls see that?!”

Scootaloo nodded furiously, “Yeah! A reindeer can fly, but I can’t?! That is so unfair!”