Long ago in times of old, there were the Jedi, the peacekeepers of the galaxy.

The Jedi were renowned across the galaxy, but over time people began to see them as odd, and not in a good way.

As it turned out, the Jedi had a lot of rules they had to follow. If you were a Jedi, you had to follow these rules:

1. No attachments of any kind, meaning no marriages, no families, and no romantic relationships whatsoever.

2. You were not allowed any material possessions other than the essentials and your lightsaber

3. Jedi did not celebrate birthdays aside from their coming of age, and no holidays either.

Sadly, winter holidays such as Life Day were included in that list... until one day when Jedi Master Qui-Gon Cratchit fell in love with a fellow Jedi named Tahl. The two were so in love that they decided to leave the Jedi Order in order to get married. But they were only the start of it. Pretty soon, there were other Jedi who'd seen how happy the people were with families of their own, love interests, and being able to celebrate special days with them and remember never to take what they had for granted.

Thus, the Grand Jedi Master, Yoda, declared the rules to be changed, and thus began a new era of the Jedi. However, not all Jedi were happy with these changes. One of them was Besalisk Jedi Master Pong Krell. He became so angry with the changes in the Order, he attempted to spread his beliefs to others. And only one listened to him. A human Jedi Master named Mace Scrooge.

Krell taught Mace to take from the younglings, ignore emotional needs of any Jedi and tell them to ignore them, and to discourage against any kind of attachment.

Mace took those lessons to heart, and sadly those lessons hardened his heart, and Krell's was much worse. Things got so bad, Krell turned to the dark side and tried to take power over the Jedi Order himself. But he could not defeat all the Jedi together, and he became the cause of his own demise.

Yoda felt saddened that one of their own was lost in such a manner. Nevertheless, he continued to lead the Jedi with his wise and kind ways. Sadly, although his species lived for centuries, even Yoda's body was only a temporary vessel, as he'd grown gravely ill. And the role of Jedi Grand Master was left to Mace Scrooge.

Everyone thought Master Yoda had been out of his mind, but in his last will, he wrote,

To face change, he must learn,

Lead the Jedi, he will, and in doing so learn

Everyone was so sad when they'd lost Yoda. He was like a very wise grandfatherly figure to many and watched many Jedi growing up over the years. Mace was one of them. According to Yoda before he died, Mace was a spirited young boy who at one point loved the idea of celebrating Life Day. Many refused to believe it, though.

Things in the Temple did change. Now, the Jedi started setting money aside for improving the temple's facilities, as well as buying special presents for the younglings for Life Day. However, the Jedi did not earn nearly enough to support themselves or their families. As Grand Master, Scrooge also made all the decisions of what was done with their credits, and very little payment did the Jedi receive.

Many Jedi disliked this attitude of their new Grand Master's, and many Jedi began to leave the Order because of it, and they found other careers.

But it wasn't just in the Temple that Mace was perceived in a not so pleasant light.

It was one night before Life Day. Life Day Eve.

Master Scrooge was walking through town as folks were happily wishing each other a Happy Life Day. Folks young and old, rich and poor, all gathered with their family and friends, excited for the holidays. It was a time for sharing and caring.

"Credit for the poor, good sir?" said a poor man Mace happened to pass by.

But, the Jedi Grand Master ignored him and walked away, not sharing a cent with him.

"What is it with folks and celebrating such a useless day?" Mace wondered out loud. "Killing a tree to decorate, buying useless items for gifts, singing songs and covering the house with lights?"

Mace just didn't see the appeal behind Life Day. He thought it was a big waste of time and resources. People said peace in the galaxy was what Life Day was all about, but people getting presents and decorations suggested otherwise to Mace. And while it was true that some paid a little too much attention to material objects as gifts, that was no reason to have a sour attitude towards the holiday.

Mace sighed as he approached the Temple and came across a beautiful memorial shrine built for the late Master Yoda.

"Master Yoda. Dead seven years today. A good man, he was." Mace said, then he thought of Krell. "But Krell, he understood the old code truly and could have helped bring the order to a better state had he not turned to the dark side."

Mace walked into one of the classrooms and spotted a small group of Jedi younglings laughing and having fun. But they froze when they saw Mace enter the room.

"Oh! Master Scrooge." said a human male. "What a pleasant surprise."

The man forced a smile as he felt intimidated by the Jedi Master. This particular man was a Jedi Knight named Anakin Cratchit, one of few grown up Jedi to remain in the Order, as he'd been struggling to find work.

"Cratchit, what are you doing in here?" Mace asked.

"Oh, we were just... going over some lessons." Anakin said.

"It sounded like you were all playing around in here."

"It was a strategy game!"

Mace, however, didn't look like he believed the man.

"It's time you take working as a Jedi more seriously, Anakin Cratchit." Mace said. "Walk with me."

"Speaking of work, Master Scrooge..." said Anakin. "It's Life Day tomorrow, so I was wondering if I could, maybe... have tomorrow off?"

"You want to spend tomorrow off instead of meditation class?"

"Yes, of course. To be with my family."

Mace thought about it, then he sighed and reluctantly said, "Alright, but I'll have to dock your pay by one full day. And you should be grateful you've gotten a good raise since you were promoted to Knight status."

"And I do appreciate that very much Master Scrooge. Thank you."

Mace brought Anakin to the library where they gathered various books to continue on with new studies on the Force, when they were suddenly greeted by another Jedi.

"Happy Life Day, everyone." said another human older than Anakin but younger than Mace.

"And a Happy Life Day to you too, Obi-Wan." smiled Anakin.

"Ugh. Humbug." Mace said, getting to his studying on the star charts.

"A very happy one it will be, won't it?" Obi-Wan said, hugging his friend.

Anakin laughed as he felt himself being licked.

"Happy Life Day to you too, Peppermint."

That was when Mace finally looked away from his star charts and glared at the others in the room.

"What's so happy about it?" growled Mace. "Life Day is nothing more than another day to meditate, to learn the ways of the Force, for Jedi to grow as they did before. Not forming attachments the way you two and some others did."

Obi-Wan glared slightly at Mace.

He said, "Shame on you, Master Scrooge! Those of us who left are actually very happy with our new lives. And I say Happy Life Day."

"What are you doing here, anyway?" asked Mace.

"Well, I know we haven't spoken much since I got married, but Satine and I were hoping you would join us and our family for Life Day dinner."

Mace seemed to smile and said, "I suppose you're going to have a wonderful feast, huh?"

"Of course."

"And sing carols and have pecan pie for dessert."

"You bet!" Peppermint said, licking her mouth. "So, will you come?"

"Do you have hay for brains?" Mace said. "Now, both of you, out! You're wasting valuable time and getting horse fur all over the place."

"Well, I never." Peppermint said, walking away. "Hmph! Happy Life Day, anyway."

"Happy Life Day." Obi-Wan said, leaving with Peppermint in disappointment.

"And a bah humbug to you too!" Mace said, walking away.

Anakin couldn't believe Mace's attitude.

"You know, you didn't have to be so harsh." Anakin said. "If you'd give Life Day half a chance, you'd see how magical it can be. My little Gabriella has gotten really good at mastering magic of her own."

"And you allow her to practice sorcery at home?" Mace said, sounding like he was in disapproval.

"Under supervision of course." Anakin said.

"You know, I can't help worrying you're not a good influence on the children. They've become wild, loud, and wanting toys like ordinary kids on this useless holiday."

"They're children. They should get to have a nice time out of the year. And this year, we've managed to raise enough money to get them all the presents they've worked so hard to earn."

"Well, they're in for a great disappointment this year, aren't they?"

Anakin was shocked to hear that.

"What are you talking about?"

Mace decided that the money they saved for toys for the kids should go into other things, like building another meditation room, getting stronger materials for lightsabers, and fuel for ships. But they already had the money for those things. The gift money was set aside to give the younglings gifts not only as part of Life Day's traditions, but to show them that hard work and good behavior got rewarded.

"They don't need to waste their time with such things."

"But the children-"

"I don't want to hear it, Cratchit! The younglings won't have time to play, anyway." Mace said. "Starting the day after Life Day, break periods between classes will be shortened, and work hours will be longer."

"But my kids were supposed to get special gifts this year too! What am I supposed to tell-"

"Let them know you have a choice after Life Day. Either devote your time to the Jedi, or your so-called family."

Anakin couldn't believe what he was hearing! As if it wasn't bad enough that the kids weren't getting their presents, but now he was making Anakin choose between his family and the Jedi?

"You know what?" said Anakin. "I don't need to wait until after Life Day. Because I quit!"

Anakin angrily threw his lightsaber against the wall, breaking it in pieces.

"Happy Life Day to you, Scrooge. I hope you're proud of yourself! If it were up to you, no one would have Life Day at all!"

And Anakin left Mace alone.

Mace sighed.

"Great. We just lost another one. All because of Life Day." He said.

And then, that was when Mace came upon an idea. He thought about Anakin's words and how if it were up to that scrooge Mace, there would be no Life Day at all.

He decided to look into some books of sorcery Anakin had left behind, and with some thorough research, he found a spell that could erase a day. Mace began to wonder... could it really be accomplished? A world without Life Day? He was a Jedi, not a wizard. But, there was nothing in the rules of the spell that said it had to be cast by a magical creature. He only needed the right ingredients for a potion to help cast the spell.

Mace:

Happy Life Day
They say in the street
Happy Life Day
They think they're so sweet

Words said so often that they lack any meaning
Why should I join in when I could be intervening?
Everybody loves this cursed holiday
But would they be better off with it out of the way?

Mace looked again into the book and made his decision.

Well
Okay

Say goodbye to the holiday
With some magic, I'll erase it
The greatest gift that I give today
And everybody will have to face it

Mace looked outside and saw people celebrating the holiday, children playing, people singing, bells ringing, presents being wrapped by the second.

No more little games for you to play
After you say goodbye to the holiday

Goodbye to Life Day, you had a good run

Goodbye to Life Day, it's over, you're done

Mace imagined the Jedi going back to the way they were before Life Day became part of their lives.

Finally set free from your forced celebrations
No need to reply to your trite invitations
Calendars shorted by a single day
Is my power up to the test?
Time to see, I can't delay

Say goodbye to the holiday
Prepare the spell, no hesitation
All memory shall fade away
See the galaxy's new transformation

No more shall any pony say
Happy Life Day

After today
After today

Featured song: "Say Goodbye to the Holiday" from My Little Pony FIM