Sup guys?
This one's a request from Seryyth: "Basically, I had the idea of Jack on the Naughty List... but I can't think of anything yet to explain why he's at the top of the list every year." To which I reply, with pranks of course XD
One more request to go.
Disclaimer: IDOROTG
Not So Nice
...
North sighed heavily as he perused the Naughty List. Christmas was just around the corner and there was still so much to be done. He really didn't have time to be worrying about this, too. But there they were, nine little letters glaring up at him in black ink.
"Is something wrong?" Tooth asked from her seat beside the fire.
She and the other Guardians had been doing their best to help with the Christmas rush whenever they had free time. Bunny wouldn't be able to start Easter preparations for another month or two, so he was the most regular visitor, while Tooth and Sandy ducked in whenever they got a free moment. Jack, on the other hand, hadn't been seen much, although this was nothing unusual; it was the middle of winter, after all.
But apparently work wasn't the only thing he'd been up to.
"Jack is on Naught List," North gestured to the long piece of parchment in his hand.
"Again?" Bunny frowned. "I thought you 'wiped clean the slate'."
"I did. He's managed to get back on."
"Why does that not surprise me?"
"What are you going to do?" Tooth asked, putting down her mug of hot chocolate.
"I don't know," North frowned. "Maybe he can redeem himself?"
...
...
There were a number of things Jack Frost had done over his 300 year existence that he regretted. His record on the Naughty List was not one of them. How many people could say they'd been on that list 300 years in a row?
North had 'wiped clean the slate' when they'd been trying to convince him to become a Guardian, so now he had to work extra hard to ensure his record wasn't tarnished. He had a reputation to upkeep.
That was why he was currently sneaking around the Warren. Winter would be fine on its own for a little while and Bunny was busy at the Pole (so was Tooth, and Sandy would be there soon, so he didn't have to worry about feeling guilty for not helping). He had it all to himself.
It was easy enough to cover the Warren in a blanket of snow, decorating all the trees and little shrubs with fairy lights and baubles.
The egg-golem-things – he honestly wasn't 100% sure what they were – were watching him closely, but had yet to switch to their angry faces. Bunny had probably told them that he wasn't a threat. Jack grinned to himself, untangling a string of lights.
"You guys wanna join in?" he asked them, not really expecting a response.
He wasn't sure what to think when they stepped closer and didn't so much as try to get away when he started throwing tinsel around them like scarves. Santa hats to top it off and his work was done.
Jack drifted up into the air to get a bird's eye view of his handiwork and a few shots with his camera. Not bad, if he did say so himself. It looked like he'd torn it straight out of North's Workshop. Bunny would be thrilled.
What was next on the list?
...
...
The elves weren't helping. That's what Jack kept telling himself when he rounded them all up into an unused wing of the workshop. North wouldn't mind if they'd suddenly disappeared. Notice? Yes. Become suspicious? Definitely. Care? Not so much.
They were being strangely obedient, though he wasn't sure if it was something he should be worried about or not. But he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"Alright you guys," he addressed the mass of elves standing to attention. "We have just under a week to carry out Operation Get-Jack-Back-On-The-Naughty-List, starting with coming up with a better name for said operation."
An elf near the middle stuck up a hand and waved around crazily. Jack ignored it and paced in front of his troops.
"Are we all clear on what we need to do?"
Countless bells jingled as the elves nodded.
"Then let's get started."
...
...
Jack decided he'd better accompany the elves carrying out Operation Pinky-fy. The last thing he needed was for them all to get captured. They were going into the figurative mouth of the beast.
No one was home when they snuck in – something that had been pre-arranged – and they got to work as fast as possible. The elves proved themselves to be pretty good artists as they spray painted murals of happy ponies doing things ponies shouldn't be capable of doing over the rock walls. Elf Group B spread out rolls of turf to create a lovely grassy floor where Jack began creating pony-shaped ice sculptures.
By the time they were done, Pitch's creepy lair-cave-hide out was a little girl's dream. Jack took a few photos and ushered the elves out before the Boogieman returned.
...
...
They regrouped where they'd started and the leaders of each operation handed over their cameras.
"Excellent work, guys," Jack praised, flicking through the shots. Ceres' vegetable garden coated in a layer of summer flowers, the batteries taken out of all of Father Time's modern clocks and the others hidden and set to go off every half hour, the Leprechaun's gold replaced with chocolate money (which Jack would replace later once Pat had calmed down a little), and the planting of countless fairy-floss trees in the Tooth Palace.
There were, of course, a large number of people he refused to target for a number of reasons. The biggest of which was that he didn't have a death wish. There were also some, like North, that were far too busy and pranking them would only cause them more problems than they needed. There were others again, like Jack-O, who wouldn't be around to see his handiwork for so long it would lose its purpose.
That, coupled with the rest of his work over the last week, was probably enough for one year. He contemplated heading to the Globe Room where the others were working and help out, but figured it would be best to lay low for a while.
"And remember," Jack told the elves as he perched on an open window sill. "If you blab, I'll turn you into an ice sculpture."
...
...
Bunny and Tooth had wanted to help Jack get off the Naughty List. Keyword: had. But after visiting their respective homes, that want was gone.
They were less than pleased when Jack finally decided to show his face back at the Pole.
"It's no wonder you're on the Naughty List, Frostbite," Bunny snapped before Jack could say so much as a hello.
"Really, Jack, you were so close this time," Tooth added.
"I know!" Jack agreed. "Far too close. I'll have to work harder if I want to make sure it doesn't happen again."
The two Guardians just stared at him.
"You mean… you want to be on the Naughty List?" Tooth asked incredulously.
"Yeah," Jack replied like it was the most obvious thing ever. "I'm not about to break a 300 year record because I became a Guardian. Besides, it's not like there would have been any reward if I was actually on the Nice List. Speaking of which…" he trailed off as he caught sight of North. "Hey, North, you owe me 300 pieces of coal."
North looked momentarily flabbergasted. "What could you possibly want 300 pieces of coal for?"
"It's a good power source," Jack shrugged.
"If you burn it. With fire," North said pointedly.
"…Good point."
The Globe Room door burst open as Phil hurried in, speaking in a rush. North's expression became unreadable as he listened and finally turned to Jack.
"He says there is angry mob looking for you."
"Aaaand that's my cue to leave," Jack jumped out the nearest window, calling back, "See you guys later!"
Guest Review Responses:
SaiyanPrincess: I liked your idea, so I used it :3 Thank you for the inspiration!
Samolicious: Glad you liked it XD