Christmas is approaching at CHS, but the mood has been soured by a mysterious MyStable user spreading secrets. Can the students of CHS figure out who the culprit is before the school descends into pandemonium? It may not be who they think...
Fairly obviously based on the EQG Holiday special that kicked up such a fuss 4 years ago. Takes place during the events of Railway Adventure so you may want to read that first. Click the link above.
It was Christmastime in Canterlot. The snow was everywhere, the sun shone above, and everywhere the sense of merriment and happiness abided. Carols echoed through the streets, and decorations hung from practically every building in town. Canterlot High School looked particularly festive at that time of year, great quantities of snow and ice hanging from rafters and ceilings. The only problem was the snow accumulating on the overhead power lines; this was not good for the streetcars, as it caused them to spark badly.
One winter morning, Sunset Shimmer and Applejack stepped in through the great front door of the school, and walked to their lockers.
“Ah love winter,” said Applejack, as she wrestled with her locker combination. “Hot cocoa, the smell o’ new snow, buildin’ a fire in the fireplace-”
“Where else do you build a fire?” Sunset asked.
Applejack laughed, as the door to her locker swung open. “But mah favourite part is just bein’ home for the holidays with all mah family.”
“All your family?” Sunset enquired. “There’s rather a lot of them, isn’t there?”
“Ah got a lot of cousins,” Applejack admitted. “But isn’t it just the best?”
Sunset shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t been home for Hearth’s Warming in a long time.”
“Hearth’s Warming?” Now it was Applejack’s turn to ask a question.
“Sorta like Christmas and Independence Day rolled into one.”
“How’s that work?”
“Well,” Sunset began, “Everyp-everybody gets together with their family during the winter. Even before I came here, I wasn’t very close to my family. And my first years here...well, I wasn’t close to anyone.”
She paused. “Well, I can’t blame anyone for not wanting to hang out with me. I did sabotage friendships and manipulate people, after all.”
Applejack looked stunned. “You’ve been alone durin’ the holidays? For all that time?”
Sunset nodded. “Yep. And why is everybody suddenly so scared of calling it Christmas?”
Applejack had a deep look of shock on her face. “That’s awful!” she said.
“Yep,” Sunset replied emotionlessly. Her face then erupted into a smile, and she hugged Applejack. “But hey, don’t worry about me! I’ve got you guys now!”
Sunset headed off down the hall, calling, “I’ll see you later, AJ!”
Applejack barely acknowledged. “Yeah...later, Sunset,” she said sadly.
Applejack pulled out her phone, and started typing on MyStable; Hey girls! Friendship emergency! Secret Meeting in the Library after school! DON’T TELL SUNSET!
Several sets of phones beeped at once, the message having got to its intended recipients.
At the end of the school day, Pinkie Pie was typing furiously on a keyboard, answering a number of earlier posts.
“Oh, Pinkie?!” called the familiar voice of Miss Cheerilee. “I hope you’re not using a school computer to go on MyStable!”
Pinkie laughed. “Of course not, Miss Cheerilee!”
Cheerilee didn’t pay too much attention, as a familiar face suddenly appeared, that of Scootaloo, already wrapped up in a warm coat. “Hi mom!” she called.
“You’re here early, darling,” Cheerilee smiled, rubbing her daughter’s hair. Whilst school regulations prohibited her from touching most students, the school board allowed for some exceptions-showing affection towards biological children being one of them.
“Mr Cranky Doodle let us out early,” Scootaloo grinned. “I got an A on the test, by the way.”
Cheerilee hugged Scootaloo tightly, and picked her up. “Well done! I really am proud of you.” Scootaloo struggled with math due to her autism, but worked hard nonetheless. However, she did find the circumstances a little embarrassing.
“Mom!” she hissed. “Not in front of other students!”
Luckily, with perfect timing, the rest of the Main 5 arrived, distracting from the moment. “Hey girls!” shouted Pinkie. “Over here!”
“So, what’s the emergency AJ?” asked Rainbow Dash. “What's up with Sunset?”
“Well,” the farmer replied, “Ah think she gets pretty lonely durin’ the holidays, an’ Ah think we can help her with that!”
“We should hold parties at everybody’s house, culminatin’ with everybody comin’ over to Sweet Apple Acres!”
“Yeah!” Rainbow said.
“That’s a lovely idea,” said Rarity.
“Oh, I’d love to,” added Fluttershy.
“You know,” said Rainbow, “I don’t think I’ve ever really met your family.”
“Well,” began Fluttershy, “they’re-”
Pinkie loudly interrupted. “Ooh ooh ooh ooooooh! ME FIRST! Parties are my life!”
“Sounds good Pinkie,” Applejack finished.
“I'll tell Sunset!” Pinkie was ahead of the game.
Rainbow raised her hand. “Isn’t there a slight problem with that? I thought you were doin’ stuff with Apple Bloom,” she said to Applejack. But Applejack was nowhere to be seen. She and the other girls had pulled a vanishing act.
“Great,” she groaned.
“Rainbow?” a voice asked behind her. She turned around to see Scootaloo looking at her. “Is it possible if me and my friends could attend?”
Rainbow knelt down. “I’ll ask Applejack. If you’re worried about Wednesday, don’t worry; I will come over and see you. However, Pinkie’s pretty well equipped in terms of multiplayer games, so if all else fails you could always join us over the internet.”
“Thanks,” Scootaloo smiled. She turned to go, as her mother was beckoning her to leave. However, Cheerilee walked over to Rainbow.
“Rainbow, I want to thank you for all you've done,” she smiled. “Scootaloo really looks up to you, and you’ve helped to make her so happy.”
“It’s no problem Cheerilee,” Rainbow smiled. “Scoots is effectively a sister to me.”
“I wish to invite you over for Christmas Day,” Cheerilee said. “You’re effectively family. And William will be back as well.” William was Cheerilee’s husband, and by logical extension Scootaloo’s dad. He was currently away in Germany with the air force, but was trying to transfer to Canterlot Air Base.
Meanwhile, Pinkie materialised in front of Sunset, making a strange noise.
Before anybody knew what had happened, they were in Pinkie Pie’s house. “Welcome to Party Central!” she shouted.
Briefly pushing Pinkie’s capability to defy any laws of physics to the back of her mind, Sunset exclaimed “Wow, Pinkie! You went all out!”
“Nothing but the best for my gal pals!”
“Dibs on the games!” Rainbow called. She had asked Applejack if Scootaloo and co could attend, but the answer had been no. It was time to go to the backup plan. “Who wants to take me on in World of Tanks?”
Fluttershy looked alarmed. “Uh’m I don’t think-”
“It’s relaxing!”
“Thank you, but-”
“You can have a tank with a bunny in the commander’s hatch!”
Fluttershy’s face became bitterly serious. “I will destroy all my enemies,” she said grimly.
Rainbow nodded. So far, so good. She flicked her headset on and activated the chat. “You there, squirt?” she asked.
“Ready to receive orders,” came a familiar raspy voice over the radio.
“How's she in the game?” Fluttershy asked.
“Seeing as Scoots can’t be here in person, I figured she should at least be allowed to play digitally. And World of Tanks is the only game I own that she’s allowed to play as well.” Fluttershy looked over. “Yeah, her mom’s really strict about that.”
As the evening went on, Sunset looked around. “Not too different to last time, before the Battle of the Bands. Just hanging out!”
Meanwhile, the tank fight had got extremely intense. Scootaloo had charged her tank in front of Rainbow’s to save her, and Fluttershy had scored an impressive 4 kills in a row. Rainbow called a break, and so it was.
Suddenly, the doorbell went. “I got it!” Pinkie called.
Maud stood there. “Hello Pinkie,” she said flatly, which was how she said everything. “The 16 pizzas you ordered have arrived.”
“Oh Maud, you’re the best sister ever!”
“They’re dripping grease on my shoes,” Maud deadpanned.
Rarity looked over. “Why on Earth did you order 16 pizzas?”
Rainbow frowned. “Assuming each pizza to be 6 slices, that’s 96 pieces. I can typically eat 4 at the most, so assuming we each eat 4, that’s 24. That leaves us with 72 pieces. That’s wasteful!”
Pinkie grinned. “It isn’t because I can freeze those and we can eat them at the other parties!”
Applejack sighed. “Pinkie, you are so random.”
Later still, AJ was having nail polish applied. “Now, don’t touch anything until they dry, Applejack.”
“Ah just don’t know how y’all can use this stuff all the time.”
Rainbow was having her hair combed by Fluttershy. “Hold still, Rainbow.”
Sunset smiled. “Thanks for inviting me along. It’s so good to have friends.”
Rainbow jumped up, having teleported to the other side of the room. “Hey, I feel the same! I don’t know what I’d be like without you girls!”
“Same here!” Applejack added. “It means a lot to me. Havin’ friends to support me makes-”
“Gosh darn it! That’s mah phone!” Applejack jumped up. “That’s mah phone! Can someone get it for me?”
Sunset passed the phone to Applejack, who set it to speaker. “Whoever this is, you just ruined a real heartwarmin’ moment.”
“Hey big sis!” came the distinctive tones of Apple Bloom down the phone. "Granny just wanted me ta call and make sure you’re doin’ alright. Ma an’ Pa are out.”
“Course Ah’m alright!” Applejack snorted. “Ah’m with all my friends, so tell Granny Smith ta quit her worryin’!”
“Yeah,” Sunset said. “AJ’s fine. She’s wearing nail polish!”
“All right, all right, Ah’m just the messenger.” There was a pause. "Have a good night...piggly wiggly”. With that, the call ended.
Applejack groaned. “She must be irritated that Ah called off tonight’s plans.”
“Did she just call you Piggly Wiggly?” Sunset asked.
“Yeah, she did,” Applejack replied. “Ah was hopin’ Ah wouldn’t have ta tell this story again, but when Ah was little Ah used to follow Granny Smith around when she was doin’ chores. Ah ‘specially loved it when she fed the pigs. So, one day, Ah snuck into the pigpen and started playin’ with the pigs! Granny Smith said Ah stayed in there for hours! Course, that was before we switched over to bein’ an apple orchard. The old pigshed is now where we keep the petrol locos.” Applejack paused, before continuing. “So, she started callin’ me ‘piggly wiggly’, and it sorta stuck as a family nickname. Apple Bloom likes ta use it when she thinks Ah’m getting' too big for ma britches.” She paused. “Well, that’s family for ya. Gotta take the good with the bad!”
Suddenly realising nobody else was awake, she said to Sunset, “Maybe we should go ta sleep.”
“Yeah,” Sunset answered.
A little later, Sunset wrote something in her journal, but precisely what has been lost to time.
It was now the next morning. Thoroughly exhausted after last night’s proceedings, the 6 friends stepped in through the front door of Canterlot High School. Pinkie yawned loudly, as if to hammer the point home.
“Ya sleepy, Pinkie?” asked Applejack.
“Never!” Pinkie retorted. “Parties give me my energy, parties are my...my...” she fumbled, hunting for the right word. “My something important!”
Suddenly, a voice called out in the crowd; “Piggly-wiggly!”
And then, everything happened at once.
A crowd materialised in the foyer, Applejack wheeling around in the direction of the voice. “What the, did somebody just say-?” was all she managed to get out, before a blur of yellow and red appeared from nowhere and spouted a stream of incomprehensible gibberish into her ear.
“Repeat that, would ya?” Applejack asked.
Once she had stopped panting, Apple Bloom repeated with “Sis! Sis! Ya gotta see this!” Before the older girl could protest, a smartphone was shoved in her face.
“Move it back a little, Ah can’t read it that close!”
Once the phone had been moved, Applejack saw what was on the screen in front of her. Her face shifted from surprise to confusion to anger as she read the MyStable post; “Did ya guys know when AJ was little she loved playin’ with her pigs?” she stopped. “Well, they weren’t mah pigs, but anyways.” She resumed the post. “Oh-Em-Gee? She sat in the mud fer hours! Her whole family calls her ‘piggly wiggly’ because she loves them so much! What a Pig!?”
She scanned down the post, and saw it had already been liked by 69 people, including, to her horror, Diamond Tiara! “When the flahing fuck did this go up?” she demanded.
“It were posted a few hours ago!” Apple Bloom replied.
Sunset peered over herself. “Who’s this Anon-a-Miss?” she asked.
“Her profile was created the same time as the posts,” Apple Bloom continued. “No clue who she is. She posted on your page, mah page, all ya guys pages-the whole school probably knows by now!”
Something about Apple Bloom’s behaviour felt off to Applejack. As if to accentuate the bizarreness of the situation, a multitude of people started shouting “Piggly Wiggly,” as well as making snorting noises.
She sighed. “Well, this ain’t gonna bother me. Ah can handle a little teasin’.”
“Fine,” Rainbow added, “but what about this ‘Anon-a-Miss?’ How did she know about your nickname?”
“And why would she-” Fluttershy started.
“Assuming genders, are we?” Sunset butted in
“And why would they post it online?” Fluttershy continued. “That’s just cruel!”
Maybe the Crusaders could help with this one.” Rainbow finished.
Applejack’s sense of unease grew. Could the Crusaders be snarled up in this?
Luckily, the bell went, distracting her train of thought. “Ah guess the questions are gonna have’ta wait till after school,” she concluded.
Sunset stepped over. “Let us know if we can help AJ,” she said.
“Sure thing, Sunset,” Applejack replied gloomily.
Most of the girls headed off in one direction, whilst the two Apple siblings headed in another. After a tense silence, Bloom spoke up. “So, this...Anon-a-Miss person,” she began.
“What about them?” Applejack snapped.
“Well, the only person who knew about your nickname was us an’yer friends,” Apple Bloom started.
“Exactly,” Applejack cut in. “Phone.”
Apple Bloom looked confused. “Sorry?” she asked.
“Phone,” Applejack repeated. “As ya pointed out, mah friends know that nickname. Given none of us turned our phones on or used a computer yesterday, that rules them out. Big Mac was out all evenin’ yesterday, and Granny Smith can barely use Microsoft Word, let alone the internet.” She paused. “As much as Ah don’t want ta believe it, we are left with only one suspect. You.”
Bloom looked frightened. “What would Ah get outta somethin’ like this?” she asked, with a quiver in her voice.
“Revenge, for me cancellin’ our evenin’ yesterday?” Applejack suggested. “Phone!”
“Right, Ah’ll hand it over,” Bloom replied, taking it out of her pocket and handing it over.
“Well that weren't so hard, were it?” Applejack told her. She tapped on Apple Bloom’s name to see which other accounts were linked to her name. Only one came up. The one she was currently on. “No accounts comin’ up, but it could be on a backup mail.”
“Why not send a message to Anon-a-Miss?” Apple Bloom suggested.
“Like what? ‘Hi, are ya Apple Bloom?”
“If Ah can have it back, Ah’ll prove to ya Ah’m not Anon-a-Miss.”
Applejack reluctantly handed the phone back, and navigated to the Anon-a-Miss account. Apple Bloom started typing, and sure enough the message appeared; Real funny comment you got there!
A few moments later, a response came back; Glad you enjoyed it!
Apple Bloom looked up. “Ah can’t be logged into 2 accounts at once, so if Ah was logged in as mahself when Ah sent the message, how could Ah have replied?”
Applejack sighed. “You’re off the list of suspects Bloom,” she said. “For now. But if it turns out you’re the one pullin’ this shit, you better pray to the Lord Almighty for forgiveness, cause you sure as hell won’t get none from me.”
Bloom nodded nervously, and walked away, bumping into Pipsqueak on the way. “What was that about?” he asked.
“Narrowly avoided a spankin’,” Bloom replied. “She thought Ah were Anon-a-Miss.”
“How could she?!” Pip exclaimed. “That post was horrible! You’d never write anything like that!”
Bloom nodded, and set off in the direction of class.
That evening, Applejack boarded the streetcar with Rarity. “Nice to be able to ride with ya,” she said.
“No problem dear, I’m so glad you were able to come.” Rarity gave her a smile.
“Yeah,” AJ sighed. “It’s been tough. It’ll be good to relax!”
“Are people still making fun of you?” Rarity asked.
“Oohh yeah,” Applejack replied. “Ah get oinked at in every class.” She snorted. “Well, phooey to them! Ah don’t care about a bunch of names, let’s just get our party on!”
“Sounds good to me!” Rarity exclaimed. The bell suddenly went for Songco Drive. “How convenient!” she exclaimed. “The journey lasted just long enough for us to give some expositionary dialogue!”
“Say what?” asked Applejack. But it didn’t matter, as she was through the door before anybody knew what had happened.
They stepped in to find Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy already there, in the bedroom. “Hello girls!” Rarity greeted.
“Hey!” Rainbow returned the greeting, whilst looking over Sweetie Belle’s shoulder to see what she was doing on her laptop.
“We were just chatting with Sweetie Belle,” said Fluttershy. “She was just telling us what she and her friends have been up to with the railroad they’re restoring. They repaired an engine all by themselves!”
“Don't we all know it,” Rarity groaned. “She gets it from her father.”
“Can I just say her Train Simulator custom routes are amazing?” Rainbow added. “I’ve already subscribed to 2 of them on Steam Workshop!”
“Yes, well,” Rarity answered, almost irritably, “I’m sure you’ve been lovely Sweetie, but isn’t it almost your bedtime?”
“What? Hey, no it’s not!” Sweetie Belle replied, as she was marched to the door.
“Come along, little sister!” Rarity intoned, in the patronising voice usually reserved for talking to small dogs or children. “It’s time for your big sister and her friends to spend time together!”
Sweetie Belle groaned. “Aw, come on! I can be cool too!”
Suddenly a voice floated up the stairs. “Are ya there, me hearties?” shouted a voice. And suddenly, there appeared a pirate, with a bird, and a very familiar outfit.
“Rottenbeard?” chorused the girls.
The boy removed his eye patch. “No, it is Captain Mash, here to sail the seven seas in search of gold!”
Another person appeared. “Treasure sounds good,” she said.
Applejack rolled her eyes. “Cozy Glow,” she groaned.
“Do you have a particular problem with her?” Fluttershy asked.
“Off to my room!” Sweetie Belle replied.
“Yar har!” Button called. He raced off in that direction, with Cozy in tow.
Rainbow spoke up. “Rarity, I don’t think that was really neccesary,” she said.
“Well, we want to do things we want to do, don’t we?” asked Rarity.
“You could have politely asked her to go, rather than shoving her out of the room!”
Pinkie broke the tension of the moment. “Alright, who’s ready for ghost stories? I got some creepy tales lined up!”
Sunset laughed. “You know Pinkie, if you just want to hear weird stories about beings in another world, I’ll consult my journal.”
“Please tell Twilight everything!” said Rarity. “In the meantime, let’s party!”
“STAGE DIVE!” cried Pinkie, leaping off her drumkit and smashing into a vent. “I guess that works better when there’s a stage," she admitted.
Fluttershy laughed. “I think that’s the 6th door you’ve broken by dancing Pinkie.”
“Nope!” Sunset answered. “Twelfth!” She then peered a little closer. “Rarity, what are all these clothes?”
“This is just my closet of shame,” Rarity sighed. “It’s where I put the outfits I make or buy that turn out horrible.” She picked up a particularly hideous shawl. “I clean everything out and donate it to a charity drive occasionally. I probably should do so again.”
“What are you talking about? This stuff is great!” Pinkie laughed. “It’s the perfect material for my outrageous selfies. CHEESE!”
They tried on a series of increasingly horrifying outfits. “These are pretty funky clothes Rarity,” Sunset remarked, though whether she genuinely thought it or was being polite was unclear.
“Yeah!” Rainbow called. “Check me out!” She then saw an ensemble next to her; a pair of slacks with a blue T-shirt. “Hey, do you think this would work well for Scootaloo?” she asked.
“What’s it with you and Scootaloo?” Applejack asked.
“She’s the closest thing I have to a sister, so I kinda want to look out for her,” Rainbow deadpanned. “And I think she needs some new clothes.”
“Well,” Rarity interjected, “she is free to try it on, I suppose. I originally made it for Sweetie Belle, but it didn’t suit her.”
Some more truly ridiculous selfies were taken, but everybody went to bed. Sunset pulled out her journal and started to write.
Dear Twilight,
Only my third slumber party with the girls, and I already feel so much closer to everyone! I haven’t felt so loved, so accepted, in... well...ever! I feel like I finally have a family again. Without all of you to help and support me, I’d be-
Well, you know what I’d be!
Anyway, I should get some sleep. But I wanted to let you all know, before I do, that I love you all.
Your friend,
Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset walked into the halls next morning with a grin on her face and optimism in her heart. This was shattered when she rounded a bend...
The atmosphere was so thick, you could have cut it with a knife. Sunset could feel the anger radiating off several of her friends. “Hey girls,” she started. “What’s...going on?”
“Sunset,” said Applejack, her eyes like daggers and one of her hands locked around Apple Bloom’s wrist in a grip of pure malice, “have ya lost yer phone recently?”
“No,” Sunset replied. “It’s right here. Why?”
“Then how do ya explain this?!” Applejack snarled, showing her a MyStable post. To Sunset’s complete lack of surprise, it was Anon-a-Miss. But what did surprise her was the contents of the post.
It had a caption reading OMG-whattabunchadoeks! Hahaha! And attached as images and video files, were the pictures and videos Sunset had taken last night!
“What?!” Sunset exclaimed. “How did they get hold of our pictures?”
“They’re not our pictures, Sunset,” Applejack continued. But then Apple Bloom piped up.
“It weren’t me,” she whimpered.
“Shut up!” Applejack yelled. “You don’t have any right to speak from where I’m standin’.” She looked back to Sunset. “They’re yours. All those pictures and videos were taken by you.”
“Wait, what?” Sunset stammered. “I’ve had my phone on me the whole time! How could she-!?”
“Yeah, how did she?” Applejack retorted. “How did those images end up there? How did she know about ma nickname?”
There was a deafening silence. Then finally somebody spoke. “It’s obvious Sunset,” Applejack continued. “Yer phone’s been hacked!”
Sunset swallowed. “Celestia help me,” she whispered.
“Furthermore,” Applejack continued, “Ah did a little research about how MyStable accounts work. Turns out ya can set automated replies to all accounts. And Ah noticed somethin’ odd about Anon-a-Miss. All of her responses up to this point have been precisely the same. It’s got an automated reply.” She then dragged Apple Bloom forward. “Blowin’ her argument yesterday outta the water!”
Sunset looked back at the post. “Apple Bloom doesn’t look the sort of person who’d know how to hack phones.”
“But that don’t explain mah nickname!” Applejack exploded. “Ah already ruled the rest of us out, Big Mac weren't in, Granny Smith ain’t even on MyStable...so it has to be Apple Bloom!”
“You absolutely sure nobody overheard it at some point?” Rainbow asked.
“Positive!” Applejack replied. She looked back at Apple Bloom, as if she were about to throttle her. “Ah think you have an apology to make!” She shoved her forward, right into Sunset’s face.
“It weren't me!” Apple Bloom protested.
“You’ve blown yer last chance,” Applejack growled. “Yer in fer the punishment of a lifetime when we get home.”
“Applejack, stop!” Sunset shouted. “Apple Bloom didn’t do this.”
“Do Ah have apple sauce in mah ears or somethin’?” AJ quizzed. “Because all the evidence points to this little shit!”
“Just like all the evidence pointed to me skipping your bake sale out of spite?” Rainbow asked. Applejack looked back in an expression of shock.
“I’m amazed you fell for this,” Sunset laughed. “Look closely at the post and the way it is set up. It’s meant to look like somebody doing a frame job to convince people I’m Anon-a-Miss. And Anon-a-Miss has Anon-a-Messed up!”
“What do you mean?” Fluttershy quizzed.
“It certainly has the look of a fake account,” Sunset explained. “The formatting is completely wrong, the characterisation is non-existent, and several of the posts clearly haven’t been proofread!” She paused. “This person is clearly doing it on purpose. It’s trying to make everybody think somebody is framing me, to throw us off of the scent!”
“That still don’t clear Apple Bloom though!” Applejack replied.
“I’m not finished yet,” Sunset continued. “Read the most recent post carefully. “Whattabunchadoeks.” She laughed. “I mean, what the fuck?!”
“Language!” Rarity harshly replied.
Sunset ignored her. “Firstly, Apple Bloom doesn’t type in the way she speaks. Just look at her account!” Applejack took a quick look, and saw this was true. “And, the obvious typo in the middle of the sentence. Whoever typed this is clearly not used to using a QWERTY keyboard. These are mistakes Apple Bloom simply wouldn’t make!”
Applejack sighed. “Sorry, Sunset,” she said.
“I’m not the one you should be apologising to,” Sunset replied.
Applejack knelt down. “Sis, do ya forgive me?” she asked.
Apple Bloom looked into her big sister’s eyes. “Yes,” she replied, and they embraced.
Rainbow spoke up. “I hate to interrupt the reunion, but we have a bigger issue to deal with. How did they get the data on Sunset’s phone?”
“There are two possibilities,” Pinkie suggested. “Either a remote kick, or plugging a phone in via a USB cable.”
“A-remote kick?” Fluttershy asked.
“In soccer, kicking somebody on the shin intentionally is called hacking!”
“Ugh, can we just stay on topic?” Rainbow snapped. “Who else was in the house yesterday?”
“Well,” said Rarity. “There were us, but we can rule ourselves out. Then there were Button Mash, Cozy Glow and... Sweetie Belle,” her face went completely pale.
“Where were they last?” Sunset asked.
“They should be in the cafeteria,” Rarity said. “They often go there before lessons start.”
“Please be gentle on them,” Fluttershy asked.
“Oh, don’t worry, I intend to be,” Rarity grimaced, as she headed off down the corridor. “Anon-a-Miss? I’LL DESTROY HER!”
The cafeteria was bustling, as it normally was in the morning. Sweetie Belle and Button Mash had just come in. Sweetie was checking the news on her phone, and swiped over to MyStable.
Sweetie Belle clicked on the comment section, and started responding to the Anon-a-Miss comment. That’s really mean! You do realise you’re hurting people, right? Her finger hovered over the button, ready to send.
Suddenly, her phone vanished from her hand, the piano stopped, a very surprised Button Mash was hurled into the chair next to her, and her cheek exploded in pain.
Sweetie Belle put her hand onto her face, and looked up...into the face of Rarity, who looked to be absolutely furious.
There was no way out. Rarity was glaring at Sweetie Belle with a look of intense disapproval. She glanced down at the phone and read out the message. “That’s really mean! You do realise you’re hurting people, right?” She glanced back. “Covering your tracks, are you?”
Sweetie Belle moved back in her chair as far as she could. “Rarity, I can explain-”
“You don’t need to explain, Anon-a-Miss!” Rarity shouted. All stopped, and everybody looked over.
Sweetie Belle simply looked at Button Mash, mouthing the words oh shit at him.
“And for that you’ll get a bar of soap in the mouth!” Rarity continued. “This is the only possible explanation.”
“How?” Button said. “You just storm in here, punch Sweetie Belle in the face, and then barrage her with questions without giving her a chance to answer?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise I was done speaking,” Rarity intoned. In a flash, she had donned a trenchcoat and broad-brimmed hat, which made it very hard to see her face.
“Let us see,” she began. “Consider the crime. A mysterious individual is posting secrets that are embarrassing students within this school. We have already ruled out two potential suspects; Sunset Shimmer, and Apple Bloom.”
“Apple Bloom?!” Sweetie Belle squeaked. “What reason would she have to do something like this?”
“Let us consider motive. You, Sweetie Belle, have a reason to want to make us look foolish. Only last night, you were not permitted to attend a party and seemed more than a little annoyed.”
“Not permitted?” Button interrupted. “Marched out of the door, more like.”
“No doubt,” Rarity continued, completely ignoring the interruption, “you wanted revenge. So, you set up that account to embarrass us.”
“But the account was set up the day before yesterday!” Sweetie Belle protested.
“That is irrelevant. So, you needed dirt in order to make us look stupid. And, being next door to us, you were aware of Sunset filming.”
Sweetie Belle had gone even more pale than she usually did. Rarity was dead-set convinced she was Anon-a-Miss.
“But you needed help. I would have noticed if you had come in; your odour is very distinctive. So, you got your minions to do it for you. Cozy Glow recovered the phone, whilst Button uploaded the pictures and made us all laughing stocks!”
“That’s ridiculous!” Cozy shouted. “After all I’ve done, would you think I’d throw my friends away for the sake of a stupid flame war?”
Suddenly the sound of sobbing started up. It came from Sweetie Belle. “Fine,” she sniffed. “I did it. I’m Anon-a-Miss.”
“What?” exclaimed Button.
“That wasn’t so hard, eh?” Rarity replied. “Now delete the account.”
Sweetie Belle looked up. “Huh?”
“NOW!” Rarity roared, sending the younger girl reeling in fright.
Having had her phone thrown at her, Sweetie Belle flicked over to the login page. She typed in the username and hesitated with the password. “What’s the password?” she asked, trying to stall Rarity a bit longer.
“How long can it take to delete an account?” Rarity asked.
Sweetie Belle resorted to entering passwords at random. It rejected the first two, not entirely surprisingly, so she punched in a third. It, too, was rejected.
Suddenly, there was a loud beeping noise which indicated a MyStable update. “It’s Anon-a-Miss!” shouted Micro Chips.
Rarity looked at her phone. “You’ll have to do better than that to catch me, Sweetie Belle,” she read out. She looked down. “So, you’re not Anon-a-Miss, are you?”
“Ya think?” Sweetie Belle said angrily. “You think I find the idea of having my stuff confiscated and being grounded a fun idea? You think I want to find coal under the Christmas tree? Oh no, Rarity, Sweetie Belle clearly wants a visit from Krampus this year!” She dropped down, and curled up into a ball.
“Who’s Krampus?” asked Button. “Is he a relative of yours?”
Rarity stepped closer. “Sweetie Belle, I’m sorry.
“Go away. I don’t want to talk to you right now,” was the answer she got.
Rarity walked out of the cafeteria with a gaping hole in her heart, whilst Button did his best to comfort his best friend.
At break, Rarity met with the others.
“How’d it go?” asked Applejack.
“Badly,” Rarity replied. “I was convinced she was Anon-a-Miss, but I was wrong.”
“Was that what the update was all about?” Fluttershy asked. “The one about catching me?”
“Did seem a bit weird at the time,” Sunset commented.
“And now she hates me,” Rarity said sadly. She started to whimper, then burst into tears. “I’VE RUINED CHRISTMAS!”
Sunset looked over. “Is she normally this much of a drama queen?” she asked.
The telling nods were all she needed to know.
“Who are our other potential suspects?” Applejack said, trying to keep things on topic.
“We’ve ruled out Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle,” Sunset began, “but we’re only just getting going with regards to hunting down Anon-a-Miss. Everybody in school has a MyStable account, so we are no closer to a plausible suspect.”
“Who has a motive though?” Rainbow asked. “If they are trying to make us look stupid, they must really hate us.”
A loud beep interrupted her thoughts. Laughter down the corridor concerned her further. She flicked open MyStable and took a look. “Maybe I should get rid of this app,” she said. Her eyes widened in shock at the post.
The picture showed her biology paper, which she had messed up on through no fault of her own. The caption read Element of Loyalty? More like Element of Idiocy! Hahaha LOL! But the next sentence particularly disturbed her.
If you’re reading this, Rainbow Dash, this picture was taken by a member of the Junior Soccer Team. Ring a bell?
“No,” she whispered. “Don’t tell me she’s mixed up in all this.”
“Who?” Fluttershy asked.
“The post says that the picture was taken by a Junior Soccer Player. That’s a few people, but it means that one of our potential suspects is-”
Rainbow was suddenly interrupted by a sound.
A sound she had prayed she would never hear.
The sound of a scream.
In a voice she knew very well.
“Oh shit!” she cried, and raced off down the corridor in the direction of the noise.
“Rainbow! Where are you going?” called Sunset.
Rainbow did not reply, but instead cried out, “SCOOTALOO!”
Scootaloo had absolutely no idea how her day had gone so badly wrong.
It had started with her mom dropping her into school before heading to her office. Scootaloo had chatted with her friends, then headed off to lessons; English first (scary, as they looked at an old horror story, never Scootaloo’s favourite genre), then Science (boring), and finally music (hooray! This was partly due to the fact that Cheerilee, her mom, was the teacher). As part of it, they had gone to the school’s rehearsal space. They being herself, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom, alongside their boyfriends. Once there, they had practiced an arrangement of a song Rainbow Dash had written, which the Crusaders planned to perform at the Apple Christmas Party:
Then break had arrived. Scootaloo had packed up her guitar, and put it in the storage bin in the room, where it would be safe until the end of the day. She had then headed off to the cafeteria.
Or rather, had intended to.
No sooner had she left the room, then suddenly a pair of yellow hands had grabbed her hoodie and hurled her against a pair of lockers.
Just as she tried to get up, this person stomped over. It was Misty Fly, one of Rainbow’s fellow players in the school soccer team, and boy did she look angry.
“You’re not going anywhere, you piece of shit!” she snarled. “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do!” At which point, she grabbed Scootaloo’s wrist, and dragged her off down the hallway.
Scootaloo screamed for help as she was dragged off, desperately locking her feet into the ground to try and stop her assailant. It was no use.
“Shut it!” Misty snarled. “Nobody cares, and when Celestia learns of this, everybody here will want to reduce you to a bloody pulp!”
“Learns of what?” Scootaloo protested.
Misty dragged her through the door of the girl's WCs, and lobbed Scootaloo against the wall. Given how much lighter the 7th grader was, she flew through the air like a dart, which would have been pretty were it not for the crash afterwards.
Misty wheeled a chair and some other objects over to the door, jamming it. She then walked back. “No interruptions,” she smiled. “I can take my time.” She then grabbed the younger girl by the jacket and lifted her up. “So,” she asked. “Why did you do it?”
“Do what?”
Misty smashed Scootaloo against the back wall. The impact was very painful. “You know exactly what, Anon-a-Miss. Now then, tell me the truth, and I’ll let you go. Lie, and I’ll punish you. So, why did you do it?"
“I’m not Anon-a-Miss!” Scootaloo exclaimed.
Misty paused. She then brought her fist back and punched Scootaloo in the gut. “You filthy liar!” she roared. “It all points to you! You chose to wreck their lives for no reason! Why the fuck would you do that?” She then grabbed onto the back of Scootaloo’s head, gripped her hair, and pulled so hard some of it was torn out. Scootaloo yelled in agony.
“It still wasn’t me!” the girl gasped, through the pain.
Misty ran her hand over Scootaloo’s pockets, trying to find a phone. It was then her hand felt something. She pulled it out, aggressively.
It was a miniature of Thomas the Tank Engine.
Misty grinned. “You lie to me again, and I’ll break it.”
“I’m telling the truth!” Scootaloo protested again, hoping Misty would listen. It didn’t work. At all.
Misty put the model down, and punched the girl in the face. Hard enough to knock her down onto the floor. “Looks like I’ll need to work harder to get the truth out of you. I honestly wonder why your friends with Dash, you don’t deserve her loyalty.”
Suddenly, a muffled voice could be heard outside the door. “It’s blocked!” It was a voice Scootaloo knew very well.
With all her remaining strength, Scootaloo breathed in, and yelled, "RAINBOW DASH!”
Rainbow Dash sprinted down the corridor as fast as she could. The sound had come in the direction of the music department, and she skidded past the girl's WCs when she heard loud, angry voices. It was Misty Fly, one of her teammates.
Rainbow pushed the door. It was jammed by something. “It’s blocked!” she shouted.
Then what happened next confirmed her suspicions. She heard Scootaloo, screaming for her life, calling out her name.
Applejack had arrived by this time, as well as Sunset. “What’s happenin’?” Applejack asked.
“I need help!” Rainbow commanded. “AJ, help me break this door down. Sunset, get Vice-Principal Luna!”
Sunset sprinted off in the direction of the office. Rainbow and Applejack lined up in front of the door, backed up, and shoulder charged. The door didn’t open at first. They backed up and tried again.
In the next moment, everything seemed to happen in slow motion.
The door gave way, flying open as a chair and other objects went flying through the room. Rainbow turned right, and saw Misty readying to punch Scootaloo again.
She lunged, grabbed Misty, and spun her round, slamming her into the wash basins, and delivered a blow of incredible force. “Have you lost your fucking mind?” she shouted.
“It’s her, it’s the little bitch, she did it!” Misty retorted.
Rainbow’s face changed from red to violet. “You. Do. Not. Call. My. Little. Sister. A. Bitch!” she roared. “This is not acceptable behaviour for a Wonderbolt!” She paused. “Applejack! Take her to Principal Celestia. If she gives you any trouble, you know what to do.”
After Misty was removed, Rainbow went over to the younger girl. She looked a mess. There were bruises on her face, her breathing was ragged, like she’d been winded, and she was bleeding as well. “Squirt, can you hear me?” asked Rainbow.
Scootaloo nodded, and looked up into Rainbow’s eyes. “She thought I was-I was-Anon-a-Miss,” she gasped.
“She’ll get what’s coming to her,” Rainbow replied. “Take it easy now, I’m gonna take you to the nurse.” Helping her up, she put Scootaloo’s arm around her shoulder, and set off.
Nurse Redheard checked over Scootaloo, and looked at Rainbow. “Thanks for bringing her in,” she said. “The bruising should go away in a few days, and her injuries have clotted. Just what could have possessed Misty Fly to do something like this?”
Rainbow looked down. “Scoots, have you seen Anon-a-Miss's latest post?”
Scootaloo shook her head.
Rainbow unlocked her phone, and showed it to Scootaloo. The reaction from the younger girl was telling. A look of absolute horror.
“What’s wrong?” Rainbow asked.
Scootaloo stood up, tears in her eyes, and ran over to Rainbow, hugging her. “I’m so sorry! I’m so, so sorry!” she cried, bawling her eyes out into Rainbow’s jacket.
“That picture came from you?” Rainbow was concerned.
“They blackmailed me,” Scootaloo whimpered. “They said they had dirt on me, and would upload it if I didn’t do as they say! I’m such an idiot!”
“Who blackmailed you?”
“I don’t know,” Scootaloo replied. “They were all wearing hoods. I’m sorry, I panicked! I didn’t know what to do!”
“Nobody’s blaming you,” Rainbow said to her.
At that moment, Cheerilee arrived, with Celestia in tow. “Scootaloo, thank God you’re safe!” she exclaimed.
“Mom!” Scootaloo called, and ran into her mother’s arms.
Celestia spoke up. “This incident is disturbing to say the least. I have already dealt with Misty Fly. She’s being suspended for 6 months. She has also been stripped of her position in the Wonderbolts.”
“That doesn’t get us any closer to figuring out who is behind this, though,” Rainbow observed. “Scootaloo has some information-” suddenly, there were two more beeps, to indicate two sets of posts. Rainbow took a look at them, no longer surprised by how unpleasant this was all getting.
The first post was a picture of Misty attacking Scootaloo, with the caption; “What a monster; sports star attacks disabled girl.”
The second was more worrying. It was an image of Scootaloo and Rumble kissing, with the caption; “Guess she’s not as tough as we thought.”
Rainbow looked over. “That’s conclusive proof that Scootaloo is not Anon-a-Miss. She mentioned something about figures with hoods.”
“What?” Cheerilee asked.
“Yeah...about that,” Scootaloo said sheepishly. “I got blackmailed.”
Cheerilee looked even more worried. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.
“I didn’t know what to do!” Scootaloo replied. “They said they had dirt on me, and they threatened to kill you!” Her eyes stung with tears once again. “I couldn’t cope without you Mom, I love you!” she begged. “I’m in trouble now, aren’t I?”
Cheerilee smiled. “No, dear,” she replied. “You were clearly just in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Her face then grew serious. “But you need to tell me if something like this happens. How can we go about our lives if we just keep secrets from each other?”
Scootaloo sighed. “Sorry Mom,” she mumbled. They embraced once again.
Rainbow and Scootaloo walked down the corridor, encountering Applejack and the others along the way. “How’d it go?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“We have a new lead,” Rainbow said. “Meet you all at Sugarcube Corner. Bring Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle with you.”
A few minutes later, having escaped from the biting cold, the 5 friends, as well as the Crusaders, looked at the task at hand.
“We’ve ruled these three out,” Applejack observed. “Ah mean, they wouldn’t post mean stuff about themselves?”
“But that leaves most of the student faculty,” Rarity said.
“I did see some strange individuals with hoods earlier today, taking pictures of stuff,” Sweetie Belle chimed in.
“Ah also saw 3 people strugglin’ with the streetcar just outside school,” Apple Bloom added. “They didn’t seem ta understand how coins work!”
Sunset looked over. “Scootaloo, what was that lead you had?”
Scootaloo gulped. “3 people in hoods threatened me with blackmail unless I took a picture of Rainbow’s embarrasing science paper.” When she got shocked looks, she answered, “They threatened to kill Mo-Miss Cheerilee!”
Pinkie looked over. “Weren’t those wierdos in the canteen also in hoods?”
The cogs in Rainbow Dash’s head started turning. She had a good idea of what this was leading to. The hoods, the canteen-it was adding up.
Apple Bloom interrupted her train of thought. “Ah also heard one of them complainin’ about somethin’. Somethin’ red. Didn’t catch much of it.”
Rainbow looked over. “What did you say?” she asked.
“They were complainin’ about somethin’ red,” she repeated.
Rainbow rose to her feet. “I know who Anon-a-Miss is!” she cried.
Suddenly, a line of dialogue left them utterly stunned. “You’re the best roller ever, Rolley!” said Dizzy, on the screen.
Sweetie Belle looked worried. “How come Dizzy has exactly the same voice as me?”
“I don’t understand why you all know children’s TV programs so well,” Fluttershy said.
“Because they rock!” Rainbow Dash smiled. “OK, maybe not that one. But I know Rarity still watches Hel-”
“RAINBOW DASH!” Rarity screamed.
“Can we get back on topic?” Sweetie Belle interrupted. “We still have a meanie to catch!”
“Yeah!” Scootaloo added. “And save Christmas while we’re at it!”
Applejack nodded. “We sure coulda done without this durin’ the holidays,” she admitted.
“Again, Applejack?” asked Sunset. “Why are you so afraid to call it Christmas?”
“Anyway,” Rainbow interrupted, “I know who Anon-a-Miss is. It’s the Sirens!”
There was a sharp intake of breath. “Not the Sirens!” the Crusaders chorused. Apple Bloom looked around. “Who are the Sirens?”
“You don’t remember?” Sunset asked. “Battle of the Bands?” The 3 younger girls shook their heads.
“Short version,” Pinkie cut in. “They tried to take the school over with their evil magic and caused us to fall out with each other because of Dash playing an egotistical song and that powered them up and caused them to turn into dragons which we then stopped with Sunset’s help and restored everything to how it should have been!”
“Remember they were being mind-controlled?” Rainbow added. “They won’t remember anything of those few days. But, we can now take our suspicions to the Police!”
“But before that,” Applejack said, “We have a slumber party ta go to.”
Rainbow facepalmed. “Ugh, you guys have such weird priorities.”
“It’s your house this time, Dash,” Fluttershy added.
“On one condition,” Dash said.
“What is that?” enquired Sunset.
“That these three get to attend. We’ve been leaving them out for too long.”
The others did agree, thankfully. It was a splendid occasion, although squeezing all 9 of them into Rainbow’s bedroom proved to be quite a challenge. In the end, most of the girls slept on the floor.
Most of them had a good night’s sleep, but I’m sorry to say that one girl didn’t.
Scootaloo screamed in agony as Misty broke another bone in her body.
“So pathetic,” Misty laughed. “You call yourself a sports star? You wouldn’t last 10 seconds out there.”
“Just let me go!” Scootaloo begged.
“You gotta suffer for your sins,” Misty laughed, producing an extremely sharp knife and cutting Scootaloo’s arm. Blood flowed down it like there was no tomorrow.
“DASH! HELP ME!” Scootaloo screamed.
“She’s not helping you,” Misty laughed, pulling forward a body. It was Rainbow. She was dead. Scootaloo recoiled in fright.
“Now you’re gonna join her,” Misty Fly laughed, and lunged for Scootaloo.
Scootaloo woke up screaming in the middle of the night. It woke almost everybody else up as well.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle pulled themselves out of their sleeping bags and rushed over to her, putting their arms around her. “It’s OK Scoots, we’re here for ya,” Apple Bloom told her in a reassuring voice.
Rainbow dropped down next to her. “What happened, Squirt?” she asked.
“I... I had a nightmare,” Scootaloo replied. “Misty Fly had killed you, and was about to do the same to me!”
“That’s not gonna happen,” Dash replied. “Are ya gonna be OK, or would you rather come up here?”
“I’ll go up next to you,” Scootaloo replied. “If that’s OK with you guys,” she said to her friends.
“Sure is!” Apple Bloom replied.
“Whatever makes you happy,” said Sweetie Belle.
A few days passed. It didn’t take a psychiatrist to spot that the incident had affected Scootaloo badly. She was constantly checking over her shoulder, and jumping at every conceivable noise, seemingly in constant fear of getting jumped.
One evening, Rainbow was over at Scootaloo’s house, as was normal when there was a ring at the door. Cheerilee went to get it.
On the other side of the door, was a man with brown hair in a military haircut, dressed in a grey shirt with blue jeans and brown boots. He looked to be in his 30s. “Hey, Cheers,” he said. “It’s good to be home.”
“Will!” Cheerilee cried, and pulled him into an embrace. They stayed that way until Will said, “Can I come in? I want to see my little superstar.”
It didn’t take him long, as Scootaloo tore down the corridor. “Dad!” She barrelled into him, nearly knocking him over.
“Hey, easy champ!” he laughed. “Man, you’ve grown so much since I last saw you.”
Rainbow walked into the corridor. “Hi, Mr Collins,” she said casually.
“We’re on first name terms here, Rainbow,” Will replied calmly. “You’re practically family. And I did make it home in time for Christmas.” He looked down. “So, what’s been going on whilst I’ve been away at Ramstein?”
Scootaloo’s face fell.
A good half-hour later, Scootaloo finished her story. Will nodded politely. “Great,” he sighed. “I leave one shitstorm just to end up in another.”
Cheerilee looked over. “Rather blunt, but puts it perfectly.”
Rainbow groaned. “And we’re no closer to catching the bastards!”
Cheerilee was about to chastise Dash for swearing, when there was another knock at the door. She went up to get it.
At the door was a tall, imposing man, dressed in a smart suit and trenchcoat. He had a wide-brimmed hat and wore glasses that made it impossible to see what he looked like. Even more unnerving was the pistol he had holstered on his belt.
“Is this the Collins household?” he asked.
“Yes sir,” Cheerilee replied.
“Excellent,” he said. “I wish to speak with you.”
“By all means, come in,” Cheerilee finished, and stepped back.
The stranger took off his coat and hat (in less than 7 seconds flat), and stepped into the living room. Scootaloo, Will and Rainbow looked over in surprise at their visitor. “Would you like somewhere to sit, Sir?” Scootaloo asked.
“Thank you, miss-?”
“Scootaloo. Scootaloo Collins.”
The man nodded. “Ah yes, I’ve heard your name before. You’re the girl who was in that article they ran in the Canterlot Times about that steam engine.”
“Me and my friends, yes,” Scootaloo answered. She got up and sat in another chair.
Cheerilee came back in with a tray. On it was a teapot, 5 mugs, and a plate of biscuits. “Would you like some tea, Sir?” she asked.
“Thank you,” he replied.
“I could always put out some of that Lebkuchen a friend of mine in the Luftwaffe gave me,” Will suggested.
“Luftwaffe?” asked the stranger.
Will felt he should give an explanation. “Captain William Collins, 86th Airlift Wing, 37th Squadron, US Air Force.”
“I see,” the stranger said.
“You wouldn’t mind explaining why you are here?” Cheerilee asked.
“Of course,” the stranger replied. “My name is Swift Order, I’m the Police Commissioner for Canterlot City Police Department.”
“Can I ask why you are visiting us?” Rainbow asked.
“It’s not to arrest any of you, if that’s what you're wondering,” Swift Order replied. “It’s connected to the Anon-a-Miss case.”
Nobody said a word.
“You may not be aware that the account is no longer bullying people. It’s started leaking personal information, and it’s efforts to imitate somebody else is turning this into a case of identity theft.”
“Is that where somebody uses somebody else’s identity to commit crime?” Scootaloo asked.
“That is correct. Identity theft is an extremely serious offence. I’m talking the 3 years in jail and $10,000 fine type of serious. I was told that one of you has a useful lead.”
Rainbow spoke up. “That was me. The three girls behind this are called Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk. They used to be students of CHS, but were thrown out after the Battle of the Bands.”
“Was that the great blast of light I saw one night?” Swift Order asked. “Thank you for that information. Truth is, we already suspected them. The FBI gave me some useful tips in that regard. However, we need to get them red-handed.”
“And how do you intend to do that?” Cheerilee asked.
“A sting operation. We get somebody to agree to meet them, to exchange information for them to post, and then once the targets are confirmed, we swoop in and arrest them.”
He paused. “I was going to ask Scootaloo here if she would want to be the contact.”
“Me, sir?” Scootaloo asked, sounding surprised.
“Yes. You have a personal vendetta against Anon-a-Miss, so I thought that you would fit the bill rather nicely. Besides, you are in the right age range to be giving them secrets, so it would work.”
“Can we be on scene?” Cheerilee asked.
“I’d want you and Will with the cop cars,” Swift Order finished. “Dash will be needed as well, to give us crucial information on the targets.”
“I’ll do it,” Scootaloo answered. “They threatened not only me, but my family. I’ll get them back for this.”
One night later, Scootaloo stood in the cold in the middle of a railyard. She had arranged the information handover for 9PM, and shivered in her coat as she saw 3 individuals approach her. None of them dropped their hoods, but that wasn’t necessary.
Swift Order was in the command vehicle, now clad in SWAT gear. He switched his radio to communicate with his units. “Stryker 1, you copy, over?” he asked.
“Stryker 1, Ready for orders, over,” came the reply.
“Ghost 1, visual check,”
“Roger that, sir,” came the reply from a Sniper set up on a building. “Suspects are approaching the area now. Awaiting clearance to engage.”
“Hold fire for now. Only engage if things get nasty.”
“Roger, sir. Out.”
The 3 suspects walked over to Scootaloo. “You have what we want?” the first asked.
“Yes,” Scootaloo replied. “All the secrets you could possibly need.”
“Excellent,” said another. “I knew she wouldn’t let us down.”
“Confirm voice frequency,” Swift Order told one of his subordinates.
“Roger sir, checking voiceprints now." The voice matches came up on screen. “Confirming Adagio Dazzle and Sonata Dusk.”
“Awaiting confirmation on 3rd.” Swift Order changed channels. “Activating hidden camera.”
Little did anybody realise, but Scootaloo had a hidden camera on her coat. It gave a clear visual of their faces, confirming the third person.
“Sir, we have positive confirmation on Aria Blaze.”
Swift Order switched his radio to all units. “Stryker 1, move in!” he ordered.
The Dazzlings suddenly became aware of a large vehicle approaching them. “You sold us out!” roared Adagio.
“You’ll pay for that!” shouted Sonata, drawing a gun and firing it.
“Oh God, NO!” Dash screamed.
The bullet missed. By a country mile.
By this point, Stryker 1 had unloaded its squad, and they held the Dazzlings at gunpoint. “Halt!” called the squad commander. “We have a warrant for your arrest. Stand down, or you will be fired upon.”
“Screw that!” Aria replied. “Show them what we got!”
The three of them started singing a strange tune. This causes strange energies to coalesce, which formed together into a form most terrifying.
A humongous dragon.
Scootaloo ran for her life as it scorched the ground with its flames.
“What the fuck is that?!” shouted Swift Order. “All assets, you are cleared to engage, blow that Bastard to Kingdom Come!”
Stryker 1 opened fire on the target, the explosive shells from its autocannon impacting the target with furious detonations. Several squads formed up, and opened fire, but it simply seemed to annoy the creature.
“Warbird, are you on standby?”
“Copy, coming in with JDAMs.”
“Switch to Armour-Piercing.”
Swift Order changed orders again. “Warpig, where the hell are you?”
“Ready to roll,” came the reply.
“Engage target, switch to High Explosive.”
“Roger that. Time to open the butchers.”
The Abrams opened fire, the noise of its main guns deafening. The shells impacted the creature, fire and flames filling the skies. The monster roared in pain, as its scales were blown open, revealing soft flesh underneath.
“Lazing target!” shouted the squad leader, setting up a large box with a laser emitter.
Up in the skies, Warbird clearly saw the target. “Co-pilot, can you clearly see a Dragon down there?” he asked.
“Yes sir, cocktails sure are some weird shit.”
“Target co-ordinates received, prepare to release Payload.”
“Locked. Fox 1 and 2. Firing.”
Both sets of missiles dropped from the undersides of the Warthog’s wings, falling briefly before their rocket motors engaged. The flew forward, and then dropped down, flying faster and faster until they slammed into the dragon’s exposed flesh with the force of a thunderbolt.
The dragon was blown apart by the explosions, bits of it raining down on the railyard along with huge droplets of blood and gore.
Scootaloo had since retreated to the safety of the command vehicle. “You’re OK!” cried Cheerilee, hugging her daughter.
“Yeah, but those bastards got away,” Will added.
“We’re tracking them on the mainline. They stole a diesel locomotive and are currently making their way down the line towards Crystal City.”
“We have nothing that can catch them!” Scootaloo cried. “There’s nothing fast enough!”
Rainbow had been oddly silent up to this point. “There is a way,” she said cryptically.
Swift Order turned to her. “I’m listening,” he said.
5550 lumbered out of the yard with all of the grace of a hippopotamus in a swamp. Switching onto the mainline, the light showed green, and the T1 started to pick up speed at last. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_YVAgsVu-A Rainbow Dash poked her head out of the window on the driver’s side. The snow whipped around the cab like an angry bee, and the winds howled as they build up speed. This was why she usually wore goggles whilst at the controls of a steam engine; just in case any errant debris were to come flying her way.
“You OK, squirt?” she asked. For on the footplate with her, was Scootaloo, acting as stoker. Luckily there wasn’t too much for her to do; she was needed as a backup should the automatic fireman fail.
“Do you normally go this fast?” Scootaloo asked her idol.
“This stretch is usually limited to 75mph, but control gave us clearance to run as fast as we like,” Rainbow Dash replied. “We need it, we’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”
A loud buzz indicated a message on the radio. “Who is this?” Scootaloo asked.
“Sweetie Belle here,” replied the voice.
“And Button Mash!” added another.
“Do you have something for us?” Rainbow enquired.
“Yes. The Sirens made off in an SD-70MAC diesel locomotive. That has a top speed of 70mph, and is approximately 10 miles ahead of you. You should pass it when you reach Halfway, assuming you maintain your current speed.”
“Thanks for that Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo replied.
“Maintain current speed, huh?” Rainbow smiled, a daredevil grin snaking across her face. “Well, let’s see if we can improve that.” With that, she wound back the reverser to 39%, and cracked open the regulator. The engine lurched forward as all eight driving wheels dug into the rails. Rainbow looked out of the cab to see all the wheels were running properly, steam pouring from the 4 sets of cylinders. Pulling her head back in, she checked the locomotive display tracking board. Everything was in the green; boiler pressure was reading at 300psi, there was no wheelslip, and the fire was in good order.
Glancing over, she saw Scootaloo holding onto a cab railing. “You OK?”
“It’s extremely bumpy!”
“These things can do incredible speeds, but can kick like a mule if you're not careful.”
As they approached halfway, now doing 100mph, they saw the other engine on the adjacent track. “Here we go,” Rainbow grunted, sticking her tongue out to help her concentrate. “Squirt, I need you to call the other engine’s position.”
“OK, about 1 mile ahead.”
“6 minutes,” Dash growled. “When we are next to the cab, we need to give them the order to stop.”
“Given they tried to kill me, I don’t think they’ll be in the mood for talking!”
“I don’t intend to let them talk,” Rainbow replied. “They nearly took my friends away. I won’t let it happen again.”
They, at long last, pulled up alongside the engine. Scootaloo poked her head out of her side of the cab. “STOP!” she shouted.
It was futile. The wind whipped her words away and sent them flying behind her.
Suddenly, a loud gunshot rocked the cab.
“What the-?”
“Shit, we’re under attack!” Rainbow yelled. “Scootaloo, get down!”
Scootaloo wasted no time in complying. More bullets rung out, most of them missing, but one smashed into the firebox and another the regulator control.
Warning lights immediately came up on the control panel, along with the following text;
Warning: automatic stocker damaged. Disabling until repairs can be made.
Warning: speed control unresponsive.
With that, the engine suddenly began to speed up.
“No, no, NO!” Dash screamed.
“What’s wrong?”
“The regulator’s damaged. That means I can’t control the flow of steam to the cylinders. The regulator is full open, so we’re gonna accelerate out of control!”
And they were. The needle had already passed 85, and was getting dangerously close to 90.
Just then, a loud blast sounded on the left-hand side of the engine. The whole body of the engine rocked and tipped, causing Dash to go flying out of the cab and to her apparent doom.
Scootaloo ran over to the driver's side. “DASH!” she cried out, desperately looking for any signs of the older girl.
Rainbow was there-she was just hanging on to a guard rail on the side of the cab. “Get back to the other side and tip us over!” she instructed.
Scootaloo ran back over, and jumped at the highest point. With a lurch, the engine came back over onto all wheels. Dash slammed into the side of the cab.
“Oww,” was all she had to say, before climbing in and checking speed. “What’s their position?” she asked. “They’re gaining on us!”
“How is that even possible!”
It was then that Scootaloo heard that strange music she had heard in the railyard. The other engine gained a sudden boost of speed and rocketed past them, rapidly vanishing into the distance.
Rainbow groaned. “They must be using their amulets to supercharge the engine!”
“What’s goin’ on?” asked another voice over the radio.
“Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo cried. “It’s great to hear from you. What have ya got?”
“That loco you’re chasin’ just got a massive boost’aspeed.It’sdoin’ a least a’hundred from what Ah can see here. But that don’t make a lick of sense!”
“The Sirens have supercharged it with some sort of energy,” Scootaloo replied.
“Well, you’d better getta move on, or else yergonna be left behind,” answered Apple Bloom.
Dash sighed. “Time to push this thing harder.” A siren suddenly went off, showing a new message. Fire levels low. Please correct.
“I’d forgotten about that,” she said. “I’ll fire, Scoot, you drive.”
“Me?!” the younger girl said in surprise.
“You don’t have the strength to keep that fire up, but I do.” Dash sat Scootaloo in the driver’s seat.
“That’s the throttle, and that’s the reverser,” she explained. “They control speed. That one there’s the brake.”
Scootaloo looked at the speedometer. “How far ahead are they now?”
“About 6 miles.”
The speedometer currently read 90. Scootaloo looked over. “How fast should I take her?”
“As fast as you see fit,” Rainbow Dash replied.
“Time to see if the legends were true,” Scootaloo said grimly. She wound back the reverser further, causing speed to build up once again. They were pushing 115 in no time.
Dash lugged some more coal into the firebox. She then looked at the speedometer. “We’re gonna beat the record!” she shouted.
And on it went. The needle briefly stopped at 126, as if some force was preventing them from going any faster. But then, the display updated; 127 miles an hour!
Scootaloo whooped. “We’re driving the world’s fastest steam loco!” she yelled in excitement.
“That diesel engine’s coming up on our left!” Dash shouted. “Bring us alongside!”
With a look of intense concentration, Scootaloo applied the brakes and wound the reverser forward to slow them down.
Dash looked over at the other train. There was no going back. Gauging the speed, she stepped forward, and prepared to board.
Suddenly, a chopper appeared, and shone a light on the diesel. “This is the CCPD!” came a voice from its loudspeaker. “You are to stop immediately or we will open fire!”
No response.
A blast of bullets racked the rails, and caused the engine to rock. Rainbow lost her footing, and fell...only for a hand to grab her and stop her from falling.
Rainbow looked back and saw Scootaloo holding on for dear life. The younger girl grunted, and pulled Rainbow back into the cab.
“You saved me!” Rainbow exclaimed. But then she stopped. Something was off.
An orange glow suddenly manifested around the younger girl, similar to the aura that surrounded Dash whenever she played her instrument.
“Er, Dash?” Scootaloo asked. “What’s happening?”
Dash grinned. “You’re gonna love the next part.”
Scootaloo’s hair suddenly gained an extension, flowing down to partway down her back. Her human ears vanished, only to be replaced by a pair of pony ones. But the next change was by far the most dramatic. A pair of orange wings sprouted from her back, and folded back next to her arms.
The younger girl looked over herself. “Check me out!” she exclaimed.
“I know, I had the same reaction too,” Rainbow smiled, before suddenly noticing her own aura was surrounding her. “Here we go!”
Rainbow’s hair also gained an extension, but this one was even longer, going down to her feet. She also gained a pair of human ears, but her wings were much larger than Scootaloo’s, and she also folded them in to reduce space.
“Shall we do this?” asked Rainbow.
“You bet!” Scootaloo replied.
The two girls took to the skies, jumping out of the cab and flying up alongside the engine’s cab. The Sirens looked over in surprise.
“What?” Adagio exclaimed. “How on Earth are they still alive?”
Rainbow laughed. “You picked the wrong day to piss off the Element of Loyalty. You’re probably expecting me to give you a big speech, but you will never-”
“Can we hurry it up a bit?” Scootaloo asked.
“In short, eat this!” Rainbow and Scootaloo flew together, and a great orb of energy suddenly appeared in-between them. A blast of rainbow coloured light shot out of it and struck the diesel’s cab, not only slowing it down, but draining the occupants of their power too!
So surprised were the Dazzlings that they didn’t notice their train careering off the mainline and smashing into a derailment siding.
Rainbow and Scootaloo returned to their engines cab, and saw they were doing 140mph! “The legend is true,” Rainbow said.
“Hate to burst your bubble,” Scootaloo asked, “but how on Earth are we gonna stop?”
Rainbow smiled. “Apply the brakes.” Scootaloo threw them to the full-service position. There was a groan as the brake blocks complied, but they were barely slowing down.
Rainbow then brought her hands together, and fired a blast of the energy into the locomotive. The engine lurched again, but the speed started dropping rapidly.
Before long, they had stopped safely. The two girls embraced. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISsmTKhYz4Y “This is the craziest Christmas ever,” Scootaloo grinned. The two burst out laughing.
“I know kid,” Rainbow laughed. “But I think you’ll have some explaining to do.”
It was that moment that their wings and ears vanished, leaving them looking like human beings again.
“Aw man,” Scootaloo groaned. “I was just getting used to that.”
“It may come back,” Rainbow smiled. “But I think it’s safe to say our bond is stronger than ever.”
“Sure thing,” Scootaloo replied, “but it’s never in doubt that you’re the best sister ever!”
Meanwhile, the SD-70 had crashed into a pair of buffers and was now a comprehensive wreck. Adagio Dazzle, Sonata Dusk and Aria Blaze all staggered out of the cab-to see Swift Order and his men waiting for them.
“Adagio Dazzle, Sonata Dusk, and Aria Blaze,” he said. “You are under arrest.”
Rarity sat at her desk, posting an update on MyStable. Two days to go! She wrote. It’s a wonderful time, don’t you think?
A whistle behind her briefly distracted her thoughts. Ever since her father had decided to run a live steam miniature railway through the house, whistles and clickety-clacks were common sounds, especially when it was rush hour and there were huge numbers of passenger and freight trains moving. Hondo and Sweetie Belle had worked out an entire timetable, which they operated every now and then.
The last few days had caused her to reflect on something. In spite of the fact that her sister and her friends had nothing to do with this awful mess, she really had neglected her in favour of her friends. And although having friends was important, blood was ultimately thicker than water.
She got up out of her chair, and called over. “Sweetie Belle! Time to head down to the streetcar stop!”
“OK Rarity!” she called. “Dad, I’ll be back later.”
“Have fun dear!” Hondo replied. “Just don’t make a mess of the Apple’s carpets!”
Presently, the streetcar arrived, sparks showering from the wires as always. Both girls boarded, showed their passes and sat down.
Rarity noticed that her sister looked glum. “Whatever is the matter, Sweetie Belle?” she asked.
Sweetie Belle sighed. “I’m sorry for throwing a tantrum over not being allowed to your slumber party,” she said sadly. “I guess I just need to mature a bit.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Rarity replied. “I shouldn’t have been leaving you out. Although my friends are important, I need to balance them and my own family members better.”
The younger girl nodded. “I know. But the whole Anon-a-Miss scandal has put a really sour tone over the whole holiday.”
“That is true, yes,” Rarity said. “However, you don’t need to worry about that any longer. The culprits are in jail, the account has been taken down-”
“And the stuff they leaked is still up there,” Sweetie Belle said miserably. “I still haven’t got over the teasing I got when they revealed I was dating Button Mash.”
Suddenly, Button stepped on, the streetcar having stopped. “Hi Sweetie Belle!” he called excitedly. He sat down next to her. “How have things been?”
“Fine thanks,” Sweetie Belle answered, but her voice didn’t suggest it was.
“She’s still a little upset over Anon-a-Miss. And yes, although the information is up there, what matters is that we can now move on. And if people don’t like the fact that you and Button are dating, that’s not your problem.”
“Isn’t it?” Button asked.
“’Don’t worry about what other people think, as they will just think it anyway’”. Rarity answered. The streetcar came to an abrupt halt as they had reached the end of the line. “I must say, these streetcar journeys are most convenient for expositionary dialogue.”
“Sorry, what?” Button asked.
“Just breaking the 4th wall, darling.”
“Come on!” Sweetie Belle cried. “We have a party to get to!”
Sweet Apple Acres looked most festive. Holly and Ivy was hanging from the porch, a wreath was on the door, lights shone, and Christmas carols could be heard wherever you walked.
Apple Bloom threw open the door. “In here!” she called. The two siblings, and Button Mash, stepped in through the door.
“Howdy!” called Bright Mac.
“A Merry Christmas to you!” Rarity replied.
“Nice you could make it, you two,” said Pipsqueak.
“I wouldn’t miss this for anything!” Button added.
Presently, they went into the living room, where not only 3 entire generations of the Apple family were present, but their friends as well. Rainbow Dash was sharing stories with Applejack, Scootaloo was with Rumble, next to the fire, and Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were merrily singing songs. The 2 younger kids went over to join them.
“Hi Scoots!” called Sweetie Belle.
“Nice to see you!” Scootaloo replied.
“Glad you could make it,” Rumble answered.
“So, what do y'all hope to get from St. Nick this year?” Apple Bloom asked.
“I’ve asked for some new carriages for my railroad,” Sweetie Belle replied.
“Ah hope for a replacement carburettor for one of our locos,” Apple Bloom answered. “It needs replacin’.”
“A loco driving and firing course,” Rumble replied.
“Some new games,” Button replied.
Scootaloo suddenly looked glum. “I’ll probably find coal at the bottom of the tree this year, after what I did.”
Pipsqueak put a hand on her shoulder. “Scootaloo, St. Nick will know you were not acting of your own free will. I think he’ll forgive you. Besides, it’s Krampus who brings the coal.”
“Who’s Krampus?” Button asked.
“You don’t wanna know,” Rumble said quickly.
“Listen up!” called Pear Butter. “It’s now time for the evenin’ meal! Take your seats, youngest first!”
The whole room took their places. Apple Mac stepped forward. “If ya’ll could bow yer heads in prayer please?” he asked.
The entire room closed their eyes, put their hands together, and prayed.
Mac started the grace. “Dear Lord,” he began, “Thank you for the gift of our friendships and our family, to see us through the cold hard months of winter, to bring us joy and happiness whenever it is needed. Thank you for the food which you have provided, and the sustenance we need for our daily lives. And finally, thank you, Lord, for life itself, and all its fruits and joys. Amen.”
“Amen,” everybody replied.
“Now then!” boomed the voice of Granny Smith. “It is family tradition for the newest member of our family to fill their plate first. That’s you, Apple Bloom.”
Bloom looked up. “I’m afraid it ain’t, Granny.”
“Sorry?” Granny Smith replied. “Have Ah miscounted again?”
“Ah’m the youngest member of the biological Apple Family, yes," Bloom continued. “But the newest member...is Sunset Shimmer, so she should start first.”
Sunset beamed in surprise. “Thank you, Apple Bloom,” she said.
“Well, ain’t that sweet!” Pear Butter exclaimed. “The true Christmas spirit!”
When the meal was concluded, they all camped out to the barn for the concert and dance.
There were fast songs, slow songs, some performances from the Rainbooms, and even a spirited rendition of Crocodile Rock by Button Mash and the Crusaders, who also performed a version of ‘Awesome as I Wanna Be’.
But the real surprise came at the end. “For our final number,” announced Bright Mac, “we have a special guest. Please welcome, Mr Neil Morrissey!”
Neil Morrissey stepped forward, dressed in workers overalls and a hard hat. The Crusaders formed up behind him as a backing band. “Well,” he said. “Good evening everybody!”
“Good evening!” everybody replied.
“It’s been a long time since I last performed to a crowd this size!” He smiled again. “Well, I last did this for Christmas 2000, and it went to No.1. So, nothing should go wrong!”
Rainbow Dash awoke on Christmas Day to the sound of a brass band playing in her ears. She looked outside and smiled. “Looks like the Salvation Army are out in force,” she said.
Getting showered and having breakfast, she greeted her parents.
“Merry Christmas Rainbow,” said her father, Bow Hothoof.
“Where’s Mom?” Rainbow asked.
“In the living room!” called Windy Whistles.
Rainbow stepped in and saw the room had many boxes in it. She hadn’t asked for much this Christmas, but what she saw made her happy.
After proceedings were done and presents opened, Rainbow Dash set off for Scootaloo’s house. The snow crunched under her feet as she walked along. The town was oddly silent. It was Christmas Day, after all. The streetcar was in bed, and no trains were running. All that could be heard was birds chirping, people walking down streets, and carols everywhere you went.
Rainbow knocked on the door to Scootaloo’s house. Cheerilee opened the door. “Dash!” she exclaimed. “You remembered my invitation!”
“Had to do some stuff with my parents first,” Rainbow replied. “Scoots ready?”
“You bet Dash!” a familiar voice called. “I did get coal, by the way.”
“Why are you happy then?” Rainbow asked. She was promptly led into the next room, and what she saw made her gasp.
It was a live steam model of a PRR T1, complete with working lights and sounds. It also had 2 coaches to go with it. “That’s amazing!” Rainbow cried.
“I know!” Scootaloo replied. “That's why getting the coal wasn't a downer. Wanna give her a drive?”
Sorry I haven’t been able to write to you for a few weeks. Things have been very hectic here at Canterlot High.
I believe I last wrote to you after that third Slumber Party. I’ll fill you in.
A mysterious MyStable user (our world’s equivalent of burping dragons) called ‘Anon-a-Miss' started spreading secrets of various students to try and drive me and my friends apart. They tried to make it look like somebody else trying to be me. Well, they failed at that hurdle, but they did leak some pretty private stuff.
We caught them in the end. The Sirens were behind it, as they were angry we had stopped them. So, they tried to get revenge and failed. Local law enforcement stopped them, but they wouldn’t have succeeded without our world’s Scootaloo. She really is a hero.
The Crusaders were not behind it as first thought. Seriously, who on earth thought they would do it? They would need to be utterly stupid to do something like that before the Apple Christmas Party. They got the apologies they deserved, and spent plenty of time with their families. We do have quite a broad definition of family here!
The Apple Christmas Party was brilliant. Such a happy occasion, spent in the company of those who love each other. Not to mention the barn dance at the end was amazing. Still can’t get that song about Bob out of my head!
In short, it was a very merry Christmas for everybody.
Except the Sirens and Misty Fly, of course. The Sirens got to spend their Christmas in prison, and the next 2 as well. I don’t think Swift Order plans to let them out anytime soon.
Misty Fly had the idiocy to attack Scootaloo. She got suspended for 6 months, removed from the Wonderbolts, and was grounded by her parents. Good riddance, I say.
There was one other point I intended to raise with you. According to Rainbow Dash, she and Scootaloo were able to Pony-Up without playing instruments. Given Scootaloo isn’t one of the elements, how is that even possible?
I imagine it will all become clear in time.
Gotta go, the New Year’s Fireworks are starting anytime soon. Let’s hope 2014 will be a better year!
CAST-IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE Ashleigh Ball-Applejack and Rainbow Dash Rebecca Shoichet-Sunset Shimmer Andrea Libman-Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy Nicole Oliver-Cheerilee and Principal Celestia Madeleine Peters-Scootaloo Tabitha St. Germain-Rarity and Granny Smith Maude Pie-Ingrid Nilson Michelle Creber-Apple Bloom James Kirk and Shannon Chan-Kent-Mysterious voices Graham Verchere-Pipsqueak Claire Corlett-Sweetie Belle and Dizzy Blake Swift-Button Mash Sunni Westbrook-Cozy Glow Kelly Sheridan-Misty Fly Colin Murdock-2015 Bob the Builder Brad Pit-Captain William Collins Stephen Lang-Swift Order Keith David-Stryker 1 Commander Gideon Emery-Ghost 1 Kazumi Evans-Adagio Dazzle Maryke Hendrikse-Sonata Dusk Diana Kaarina-Aria Blaze Sam Worthington-SWAT Team Commander Warbird Pilot-Troy Baker Warpig Commander-David Sobolov Warbird Co-Pilot-Angela Gots Peter New-Hondo Flanks Bill Newton-Bright Mac Vincent Tong-Rumble Felicia Day-Pear Butter Neil Morrissey as Himself Jason Deline-Bow Hoothoof Sarah Edmonson-Windy Whistles
Music:
‘Oh, come all Ye Faithful’ (Adeste Fideles), original lyricist unknown, music attributed to John Francis Wade, performed by A Cappella Hymns.
‘Bob the Builder opening titles’, music and lyrics by Paul K. Joyce, performed by Neil Morrissey.
‘Ding dong merrily on High’, lyrics by George Ratcliffe Woodward, music by Charles Wood, performed by London Contemporary Voices
‘Thunderbirds are Go,’ written by James Bourne and Tom Fletcher, performed by Busted.
‘Hark, the Herald Angels Sing’, Lyrics by Charles Wesley, music by Felix Mendolssohn.
‘Theme from Fireman Sam’, written by Ben Heneghan and Ian Lawson, performed by ARTV.
‘Carol of the Bells’, lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky, music by Mykola Leontovych.
‘Coventry Carol’, author and composer unknown.
‘Awesome as I Wanna Be’, music and lyrics by Daniel Ingram, arranged by PrinceWhateverer, performed by DreamChan.
‘Sussex Carol’, by Cecil Sharp and Ralph Vaughn Williams, performed by The Priests
‘Bob the Builder’ (2015), performer unknown.
‘Jingle Bells’, written and composed by James Pierpont.
‘Thomas’ Runaway Theme’, written by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell.
‘Runaway theme’, written by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell.
‘Deja Vu’ (from ‘Initial D’), performed by V.A
‘F-Zero GP Legend Closing Credits’, composed by Henji Hikita.
‘Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town’, by John Coots and Haven Gillespie, performed by Stefan Wyatt
‘Good King Wenceslas’, by John Mason Neale, performed by the US Army Chorus
‘Crocodile Rock’, by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, this performance from ‘Bob the Builder; a Christmas to Remember’; performed by Elton John, Neil Morrissey, Rob Rackstraw and Kate Harbour
‘Can we fix it? (Bob the Builder)’, written by Paul K. Joyce. Performed by the cast of Bob the Builder.
‘We Wish you a Merry Christmas’, author unknown (West Country), performed by the band of the Salvation Army.
Based on ‘EQG Holiday Special’, by Ted Anderson (IDW, 2014), and various Anon-a-Miss fanfics.
The author would like to thank the readers and commenters for making this story possible. We couldn’t have done it without you!
