"Once the spell is cast, all of Elemental will be better off, and they'll have me to thank for it!" Xuĕ said.
"Wait a minute. Xuĕ doesn't like Christmas so he decides to cast a spell to get rid of it altogether? That seems a little extreme." Long (Wish Dragon form) said.
"Says the guy who was a greedy former Emperor who once cared about no else nor his family but gold and power..." Aggie said muttering taking a sip of the hot chocolate she had.
"I think what Aggie is trying to say is that everypony has their reasons for doing things. Even Xuĕ. And if I could continue the story, we might just find out what they are." NightStar said so that her friend's choice of words wouldn't hurt his feelings.
"Proceed." Nikita said.
"Xuĕ was all set to cast her spell that would erase Hearth's Warming Eve for all time..." NightStar said as she keeped on narrating the story.
"...when a voice from the hearth caught his attention." She continued.
"You sure you wanna go through with this?" A female country accent called out to the sorcerer.
That got Xuĕ a bit surprised. "Huh?! Who's there?!" He said looking around.
The pot then suddenly bubbled as a female figure came out of it. She was transparent. Like a ghost. She was wearing some western themed clothes and cowgirl hat.
"The Spirit of Christmas Past, that's who. And you and me have got to have us a little chat." The Spirit of Christmas Past/Jessie said.
"A spirit?!" Xuĕ then frowned. "I didn't cast any spirit summoning spell. What are you doing here?"
"You don't think a spell like that would get by without some powerful forces noticin'? You've got our attention, Xuĕ Juéshì, and we've got some pretty strong opinions on this spell of yours." She explained as passing through the man, which made his body shivered with coldness.
"We?" He asked confused.
"They'll be along in a bit. For now, it's just you and me. Let's get a move on. We got a ton to see and barely any time to see it." She used her ghost magic to put the top hat on him.
The man scoffs. "I'm not going anywhere. I've got a spell to cast, and I don't need a history lesson about Christmas."
"We aren't goin' to the past to learn about the holiday. We're goin' to learn about you." The ghost said as she used her ghostly lasso to grab on the man as they went outside flying.
Xuĕ, who had no time to react yelped as was carried in the said holding on tight to the rope after noticing how high he was.
Ghost of Christmas Past/Jessie: As a young thing, life sure is somethin'
You go makin' choices large and small
Always growin' like a seedlin'
And playin' is like dreamin'
And before you know it, big and tall
They both traveled to time through a time void. They traveled to what appeared to be a small village. Which appeared to be familiar for Xuĕ as his looked was a mix of surprise and confusion.
And every little bitty choice you make
Sends you down a path to who you are today
So let's take a little trip down memory lane
And see just what the past has to say
They watched as a group of children where running excitedly. A young boy was passing along gifts to them. Which turned out to be a young Xuĕ Juéshì.
"Aw, look how cute you were. Looks like you're not too upset it's Christmas Eve either." The Spirit compliments as the sorcerer's expression changed feeling nostalgic by the sudden memory. He looked at it with saddness as he saw how he was once joyful for the holiday.
The seeds of the past
They grow pretty fast
Just look at who you were back then
The seeds, as they grow
Look what they can show
Reveal the truth time and again
The scene changes to Xuĕ's old classroom. Where he was about to decorate it for Christmas.
"Just what do you think you're doing, Juéshì?" An Asian man asked as he walked in who wasn't looking to happy. He was a sorcerer.
"Decorating the classroom for Christmas Eve, Sensei!" The young Xuĕ replied.
"You said you wanted to learn to be a powerful sorcerer, did you not?" The Sensei/Emperor Belos said as he used his magic to hold one of the ordiments.
"I do!" The boy said.
"And what is the way that one becomes a powerful sorcerer?" Sensei said in gruff manner. Which made the boy feeling uneasy.
The boy clears his throat as he recites the phrase. "Work hard, learn, and use your skills to better Elemental."
The adult Xuĕ smiled sheepishly as the Spirit looked at him.
"And how do these help you to learn magic?" Sensei asked.
"I want to be strong enough to stop Snow Spirits and help others!" The boy added.
"That's just a story we tell little children. Real magic takes time to learn." Sensei scoffs as he breaks the ordiment. Which the boy looks saddness.
"It's your choice. Spend your time learning to become a powerful unicorn or play with your toys and make nothing of yourself." Sensei walks away.
Then some distress, words so careless
Standin' there, you don't know what to do
Feelin' helpless, you can't make it hurt less
So you go and change your point of view
Young Xuĕ looked away feeling weak for what his Sensei just said. He then changed his opinions on Christmas thinking that his Sensei was right. That it was just a waste of time to become a powerful sorcerer.
And in that moment, though you didn't know it
Your defenses set up walls you built to last
Leading to the man you've become today
And the spell you're about to cast
It all comes from your past
Xuĕ/Long Zhu: The seeds of the past
We grow up so fast
Some hurts never go away
Ghost of Christmas Past/Jessie: The seeds, as they grow
This we can't let go
All tied to this one holiday
The adult Xuĕ looked at his younger self with saddness remembering the last Christmas he celebrated.
After everything fades into black as the sorcerer was sent back to the present. He opened his eyes and sees that he's back home. He looked around to see that the ghost was no longer there. "Spirit? What am I supposed to—"
He looked around to see a giant gift. Suddenly, a bunch of confetti came out of it along with a shadowy figure. "Xuĕ Juéshì! It is I, the Spirit of Christmas Presents!" The Spirit of Christmas Presents/Queen Poppy said with glee. She hoped out of the box and stood infront of the man.
"Um, don't you mean "Present", like the time?" He asked.
"No! Toys, Christmas doll... Here, want a cupcake?" She gave him the said items.
The man rolled his eyes before throwing them in a small trash. "Fine, "Presents". All of the pointless things people waste their time on."
"Oh, Juéshì, it's not what the gift is that matters, it's what the gift means!" The Spirit said pulling the items out of the trash.
"It doesn't mean anything. It's just stuff!" He pointed out.
"Exactly!" The Spirit procceds to explain the meaning of the gifts. "Sometimes a cupcake means "I love you!" Or a toy means "Hi, how're you doing?" Sometimes a book means "Your mane looks amazing!" And sometimes a scarf means... Well, a scarfusuallymeans you look cold. That one's easy."
"I don't understand anything you're saying." He said in a deepanded.
The Spirit put a hand under her chin. "Mhm, maybe this will help you!" She then started to push him out of his house as she started to sing. Showing his the joyful atmosphere of the holiday.
Ghost of Christmas Presents/Queen Poppy: Take a look at everything around you
All the smells that surely will astound you
Open up your heart, it will surround you
In the magic of Christmas Eve
The little things that make it better
Little children spreading cheer
Give a toy, a hug, a sweater
Memories that last all year
The present's always filled with presents
Large, medium, and small
Sometimes the most important things
Aren't very big at all
She then does a tap-dancing solo with a boy whom she made some tap-dancing shoes appeared.
Then they both arrived at Mallory's house where the said Christmas party was held.
What a party, there's so much to see here
Can't believe you didn't want to be here
You'd have had a blast, I guarantee here
This is the spirit of Christmas Eve
Xuĕ sees through the window his assistant hang out with her friends Penelope/Pepa Madrigal and Dolly/Dolores Madrigal who are both sorcerers. The three women hugged together.
Cider's flowing, this is living
Come on and feel the beat
Life is better when you're giving
Each time you do it feels so sweet
The present's always filled with presents
Xuĕ steped inside to see. His expression changed into a more heart changing one.
So come on, open your eyes
Spend time with people just like you
And watch your spirits rise
The Spirit slides down a mountain of presents as they where passed out to everyone.
The present's always filled with presents
Take a look around
The reason for the holiday
Is quite easily found
Yes, the reason for the holiday
Is quite easily found
And the reason is to be with your friends!
Back in reality NightStar was singing along to the song. Mimicing Poppy's voice. "And the reason is to be with your friends!" Then she sees Long snickered a bit. "What?"
"You know you're doing your Poppy voice, right?" He pointed out.
"I was not!" She blushed with embrassement as she hides her face with the book.
Both Aggie and Nikita where laughing at the ordeal.
"So, what happens next?" The Wish Dragon asked curiously.
"Well, the party was—" But NightStar was cut off from continuing.
"Wait! Can we take a quick break? I need to refill my cocoa." Aggie said showing her cup.
The Wolf Princess rolled her eyes and agrees. "Fine. But hurry up! We're almost to the best part!" She added called Aggie who was running down the hallway.
Songs: Seeds of the Past is from MLP, I changed the lyrics bit
Pinkie's Presents is from MLP, I changed the lyrics as well. So make this song as Poppy's Presents.
Just one more chapter to go!