The Polar Express Remastered

by The Blue EM2

Believe

The individual who had just spoken was a tall, jolly, and dareisay rather rotund man with a massive white beard, a moustache so finely done that no cold or hail would disrupt it, instead breaking upon it, and a pair of small, black, round rimmed spectacles before his eyes. He was dressed from head to toe in red and white, with heavy snow boots and winter gloves on, as well as a red hat to protect him from the cold.

In the prescence of such a man, I stammered and stumbled over my words. He smiled. "Relax," he said. "You have had a tough journey and quite the testing night. But what is it that you believe in?"

I took a deep breath and spoke again. "You." I handed him the bell.

Santa studied it closely, and then handed it to an elf. "See to it that this is reattached to the reigns," he said. Then he walked over to the assembled crowd of children to speak to them, myself included. He started with Cozy Glow. "You'd best be careful where you walk in future, should you end up in another scrape like this!" he said. "Take this as a learning experience to build on."

Cozy simply nodded, the prescence of the big man himself enough to render her speechless.

He then addressed Smoulder. "Your selflessness in the face of danger marks you out as a great friend. Somebody was potentially in danger, and you not only didn't think twice about going to save them, you gave supplies to those who needed them. You are a very brave spirit indeed, but you must be careful to not let that spill over into arrogance."

"Yes sir," Smoulder replied. "I will."

Next, he addressed both Silverstream and Sandbar. "Both of you," he said, "have demonstrated exceptional leadership and courage in the face of adversity and danger. These are noble qualities to have. Hone them, develop them, for I that both of you are capable of greatness."

Both kids nodded in response.

He then stepped over to Gallus. "Hardship is never easy to endure," he said, "and I think it goes without saying that you were dealt an especially poor hand in life. But you must always keep the light of hope burning, for it is only with hope that you can move forward to a brighter tomorrow."

"Things often seem pretty hopeless for me, sir," Gallus replied. "But I'll try my hardest to always hold it in my heart."

"Wise words," Santa replied, and finally came to me. "Faith is the strongest thing any person can have. In the face of the unknown and that which cannot be truly perceived, having faith is not only a comfort to the soul, but can give the strength to overcome the toughest obstacle. I know you have struggled with self doubt in the past, but believing is something you have demonstrated tonight." He extended his hand to me. "Come with me."

I followed him, and he lead me to his sleigh, which had now been hooked up to the reindeer (Rudolph was conspicous by his absence). Once we were seated, he turned to me. "Ocellus," he asked. "What would you like for Christmas?"

Having been asked by the Man with the Bag himself, I knew that I could have anything I wanted. But I knew it had to be something that proved what I'd been through, to myself if nobody else. I whispered my answer.

Santa nodded, and indicated to an elf, who removed a bell from the harness and handed it to Santa. He then raised it aloft. "THE FIRST GIFT OF CHRISTMAS!"

Suddenly, the clock began to chime. "Alas, we must be away!" Santa said suddenly, as I exited the sleigh. "So many homes to visit, and all in one night!" He called to the reindeer and they took to the sky, flying and looping around in the sky.

“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen! To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall! Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”

With those last words, they teleported away in a blast of purple light, and a band began playing 'Santa Claus is coming to town', fronted by none other than Paul McCartney. I guess playing at the North Pole is a pretty big gig.

Eventually, though, it was time for us to return home. I put the bell into my pocket and we walked back over to the train. Pharynx stood next to the door, and had his clipper in hand. "Tickets, please," he said.

Cozy was first, and produced another ticket from nowhere out of her pocket (or pocket dimension). She read the words that Pharynx punched into it. "Lean? I don't get it."

Pharynx indicated to her thumb. She got the hint and moved it. "Ohh. Learn. My mistake!" She climbed aboard.

Sandbar and Silverstream both followed, Pharynx punching their tickets one after the other. "Lead?" Silverstream asked. "I know I live in a place that used to be known for metalworking, but seriously?"

"I think it says 'lead', as in leading others," Sandbar replied. "Up we go!"

Gallus was next. "It says-"

"No, no!" Pharynx said, "I don't need to know what it says." Gallus them climbed aboard. Several kids in front got their tickets stamped, and at last I was next. I'm not an impatient person, but standing around in the cold isn't much fun.

Pharynx got to work, carving a word out of the ticket with the ticket punching machine. I was still stunned at how skilled he was with that tool of pretty blunt force, designed to punch holes in card and pasteboard. I read the word punched into mine.

BELIEVE.

Of course! The letters that had been punched into my ticket at the start of the journey were the first and last letters of the lesson I needed to learn! "Thank you," I said, and climbed aboard.

"Remember," Pharynx smiled, "seeing is believing."

I took my seat, when I saw Terramar walk over. "Sorry for being such a jerk earlier," he said.

"It's OK," I replied. "You were worried about your sister. I know I'd react a similar way if Mandible was in danger."

"Who?" Sandbar asked.

"He's my little brother."

"Can we see the bell?" Smoulder asked.

I reached into my pocket.

Nothing was there.

"Oh no!" I said. "I dropped the bell! I must've put it in my torn pocket!"

"Let's get out and look for it!" Silverstream called. "Come on!"

Just then, the engine's whistle sounded and we were on our way. It broke my heart to lose the bell, but at least we all exchanged contact details on the way home. I had made new friends, and didn't want to lose that. I left the train at Altoona Station and made my way back home, not hearing the conductor call "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" after me.

I must've nodded off pretty quickly after getting home, as the next thing I remember was Mandible in my face. "Celly! Wake up!" he shouted.

"Aggh!" I cried, jolting awake. "How many times have I told you not to do that?"

"I know, but Santa's been!" he yelled again. "Come on! It's-"

"Mandible, I know it's exciting, but please, let your sister get up in peace," dad said.

Mandible exited the room and went downstairs. I switched my phone on to see if I had any new texts.

Six texts were sitting in my inbox, from Silverstream (not hugely surprising), but the rest were from Cozy Glow, Sandbar, Smoulder, Yona, and Gallus! The last of them seemed especially excited, as his wish for a family had come true. He'd been adopted by a couple from Altoona, and would soon be living on the other side of town.

Fired up with positivity, I hopped out of bed, accidentally caught my coat- and tore the pocket.

Wasn't that torn last night?

I got dressed after a quick shower, and headed downstairs. There was a fair bit there; apparently both mom and dad had gotten bonuses from their places of work and used some of it to get us some surprise presents (they didn't say where the rest went, but it probably went into savings). We had sorted through many of the items when Mandible suddenly spotted a white and green box under the tree. "What's that?" he asked. "There's one we haven't opened!"

I reached in and pulled it out, opening the box after undoing the ribbon. I lifted the contents up.

It was the bell I had dropped. With it came a note.

Found this on the seat of my sleigh. Best get that hole in your coat pocket fixed.

Mr C.

I gribbed the bell by the ribbon and rang it. Those same beautiful peels as last night rang out, causing me and my brother's faces to break out in smiles.

Dad walked in to see the bell. "Interesting," he said.

I rang the bell. "Doesn't it make the most beautiful sound?" I asked.

Dad looked confused. "I can't hear anything," he said. "It must be broken. Come on, Mandible! We need to get ready!"

After they exited (morning service was in an hour or two), Mom entered, and sat down next to me. Her eyes widened when she saw the bell. "Was that in a white and green box under the tree?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied, not sure where this was going.

Mom got up again. "Excuse me a moment," she said, as she went back upstairs. A few moments later, she returned with a bell, identical in design and also in a white and green box. "You've been to the North Pole, haven't you?" she asked.

I nodded, and told her the whole story. "You've been as well?" I asked.

"I was a little younger than you are now, but yes, I did go when I was a little girl. As you can probably guess, I asked for a bell, and here it is. Still in full working order."

"I bet your friends were impressed!" I said.

Mom nodded, but her facial expression changed to be slightly saddened. "For years, my friends and I could hear the bell, but as the years went by it gradually went silent for them. Even my sister found, one Christmas morning, that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Although I am older now, the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe."

Author's Note:

Ocellus' mother having been to the North Pole was inspired by the ending of Peter Pan, where it is revealed that Wendy Darling's mother also went with Peter to Neverland.

Well, here we are. Christmas Day at last. I originally adapted this tale a few years ago, but I came back to it more recently and found I wasn't entirely happy with it. To which end I decided to adapt it again, partially to try and shine some light into what is a very dark world at the moment.

I wish you all, given all the chaos going on in the world, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Comments

[Melody Song]

Aww! So beautiful! Great job! Merry Christmas, happy holidays!

[SuperSonicHeroes]

Merry Christmas to all!

[JimmyHook19]

What are the odds? :3 The day that this remastered story finished coincided with the same day that I watched The Polar Express on. X3

[Yoshifan30]

Oh wow that was pretty cool and sweet too so Ocellus finally meet Santa Claus and was that he even meet the other young six but Ocellus was the first one to be picked to choose the gift of the first Christmas and she even wanted the Silverbell to remember everything that she went to but little she doesn't know she left her Bell on Santa sleigh she was pretty upset that she lost it but then morning came and Christmas was here and with all the miracle happen she gotten the Bell back from Santa Claus but it looks like she was not the only one who went to the North Pole apparently her mother was there when she was a kid ( and yeah I did like how you use the Peter Pan 2 return to Neverland to your story ) she even chose the Bell as well and she still can hear the bell ringing this was a pretty good Christmas crossover story keep up the good work Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

[ChazMLPFIM]

Merry Christmas.

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

This was a beautiful chapter and that ending was so touching to my heart!

[BezierBallad]

This was a nice little story. Good work, BlueEM2

[The Blue EM2]

10596904

10596909

10596945

10596978

"It's a Merry Christmas from me-"

"-And a Happy new Year from Him."

-Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker.

[The Blue EM2]

10596932
Well, ending the story on Christmas Day was the logical thing to do.

[The Blue EM2]

10597149
Thanks.

[The Blue EM2]

10596982
Thanks, mate. I hope I spread some cheer at this dark time of year.

[Godslittleprincess]

That ending was beautiful.