Rally to the LOL horn! This is going to be the most radical (and only) Christmas special I've ever done! HAHA!
Sorry, felt a little insane there for a second, but that's normal. Ah yes, the Christmas spirit means having everything in the existence of everything to have some sort of Christmas remix these days. But I still hold to the original ideals of Christmas, and so I'm giving this to you. This is canon, so be on the lookout for anything plot twist-y.
By the way, I REWORTE CHAPTER 6 SO IF YOU'D CHECK THAT OUT, IT WOULD BE GREAT!
City Escape Modern Remix is epic! Listen to it!
"Do how with a snowboard?" Rainbow Dash, Earth and Ponyville's resident unprofessional stunt flier, asked Cobalt Spikes, Earth and Ponyville's resident unprofessional ground and air stuntsman.
"Grind with it." The two had chosen to visit a snow covered skate park turned snowboard rink in the winter they had landed themselves in this dimension in. "See that rail?" Cobalt gestured to a metal stair rail that just so happened to lead down into a skateboarding half-pipe. "This thing is designed to latch onto my back hooves, so I'll use it to slide down that and into the half-pipe, ride down one side of the pipe and jump out the other, doing a trick or something before landing on the other side."
"Did you really have to tie your wings down?" Rainbow asked worriedly, her dark pink eyes quivering in fear as she glanced at her friend's roped down wings.
He laughed at her expression. "Don't worry. It's all part of the risk." Secretly, he was touched by how much it seemed like she cared about him.
Even so, Rainbow was still worried. She quickly leaned in and gave him a tight hug. Seeing how he blushed and gave her a look that clearly said 'what?', she quickly explained. "For luck."
Cobalt grinned. "Are you sure it wasn't for anything else?"
"Shut up." She shoved him forward. "Don't kill yourself."
He used his momentum, rearing up and leaning forward. He jumped up onto the rail, precariously balancing on it and grinding down it. He took a deep breath as he leaped off that and into the half-pipe, snowboarding down one side and jumping on the other side. Unfortunately he mistimed his jump and gained a little too much momentum and started to fall on his face. Hard.
Rainbow noticed this and zoomed over to catch him before he fell. They rolled and ended up with her on top, pinning him to the ground and gazing down at him.
A nearby kid in snow attire snorted. "You're obviously in the Christmas spirit. All you need is some mistletoe."
Rainbow realized their suggestive position, and quickly flapped into the air. "What's a Christmas?"
ONE TITLE SEQUENCE LATER
"Oh, so it's like Hearth's Warming Eve?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow.
"Dunno what that is, but I guess if that's the equivalent where you come from then yeah." The kid responded with a nod.
"But what about the mistletoe?" Cobalt got up and dusted the snow off himself, removing the snowboard.
A quick whispered explanation to both of them left the pegasi walking away side by side with bright red blushes adorning their faces.
A BIT LATER
These took a while to fade, and were still faintly present as they headed through the front door of the Thorndyke's home. "Hey guys."
"Hi." Twilight greeted them. She nodded at their reddish cheeks. "You had fun again as usual, huh?" seeing how Rainbow Dash was about to burst out in protest, she winked. "Kidding."
"Since when do you kid?" Cobalt asked dubiously, this wasn't like the unicorn's normal character.
"Since the space-time paradox that rewrote all your lives. I'm not Twilight. I'm an invader from outer space." Twilight joked.
"Shut up already." Rainbow rolled her eyes and Twilight gave a childish raspberry, shocking the heck out of the three, including Twilight herself.
"What's going on here?" Cobalt inquired, his speech slow with caution.
"I'm starting to not act like myself." Twilight explained. "I've been feeling weird lately, warm inside, like I have endless energy… and I'm just really happy. I can't believe I'm asking you this… but do you have an explanation?" she gave them a pitiful look.
Cobalt and Rainbow exchanged a glance. "Uh, Twilight? Have there been any males in your life that you… um… like more than as a friend?" Rainbow raised this question, understanding what Twilight was feeling.
"And when you're around them, you feel like you've got a bunch of ninjas inside of you hacking with katana swords to try to get out?" Cobalt added. Subsequently Rainbow facehooved.
"Well, now that you mention it…" Twilight recalled a few weeks ago when they were back in Equestria.
FLASHBACK SHAZAM!
"Shadow… Shadow…" Twilight repeated in a mutter as she scribbled what had happened that particular day in her diary. "Why can't I stop thinking about him? It's not like I even know him. Why should I feel concern for him, wherever he is?"
"Hey Twilight!" Spike jogged into her room.
"Hey Spike." Twilight murmured. "What's up?"
Spike shrugged. "I've gotta get my exercise somehow, right?" he began to run in place.
"Amusing, but I've got other problems." Twilight sighed. "I can't stop thinking about this Shadow guy from Cobalt's memory. Cobalt managed to give me enough memory to get a sketch." She held up a very detailed drawing of a dark, serious looking stallion with a mane quite like Cobalt's but with some of the strands of hair turned upwards instead of drooping, and with red highlights. "I sort of had to fill in the pony details, because Cobalt can't remember much except his face."
"Detailed." Spike gave a 'not bad' look.
Twilight snorted. "I've done better."
"And you're drawing all this… why?"
"I don't know." Twilight admitted. "It just makes me happy for some reason."
PRESENT
"So that's who it is." Rainbow realized. She glanced at Cobalt. "You can remember faces now?"
"Only one, and only because Twilight kinda pushed me on that one." He rubbed behind his head sheepishly. "I wish I could remember more."
"As for you." Rainbow poked Twilight, grinning hugely. "You've got a little sickness called in-love-itis."
"Whoa, wait." Twilight waved her forehooves back and forth in a 'hold everything' gesture. "Since when did Rainbow Dash get replaced by this pony who knows what I'm feeling?"
"Since it happened to… uh…" Rainbow began to sweat; realizing Cobalt was in the room and what she was about to say involved her crush on him. "Since the alien invasion!"
"Space-time paradox." Twilight automatically corrected.
"Whatever it is, I'd reserve all, um, feelings for Shadow until after we actually meet him." Cobalt advised. "For all we know he could be some sort of imposter who sends ponies to jail for crimes they didn't commit."
"What?" Rainbow asked.
He shrugged. "I don't judge you for your ideas."
This was just a little bit of relationship plot included for all you ShadTwi fans out there.
LATER
"Okay guys, I have an announcement." Chris… announced as soon as he'd gotten the ponies into a room together. "To celebrate the holiday season and you all being here for almost a month, we've decided to throw a Christmas party."
"What's Christmas?" Applejack, the orange applebucking earth pony, asked immediately.
ANOTHER EXPLANATION LATER
"That sounds amazing." Rarity commented.
"I did wonder what all those commercials were for." Fluttershy squeaked; Angel Bunny subsequently started using her hair like a rope swing.
"How can we help?" Twilight asked.
"WHOOHOO PARTY!" Pinkie bounced up and down.
LATER
The seven were getting ready for the party, and apparently Rarity had given the order for Cobalt to have to be in a separate room while the girls changed, though he didn't understand why since they didn't wear clothes anyway. But out of respect for their wishes, he decided to simply sit on the sofa and wait.
MEANWHILE, BACK IN CANTERLOT
Whoa, haven't been here in a while, have we?
"I humbly request thy permission to visit Cobalt Spikes, sister." The Princess of the Night said. "I mean, i-if that's okay with you."
Celestia gave her an exasperated look. "Luna, you don't have to get my blessing to travel. Just let me know you'll be gone for a while and I'll take over your duties until you return."
Yep, a fan favorite is back!
It's that easy? Luna thought, having expected a larger resistance. "Th-thank you, sister." She mentally readied herself. Okay. This spell requires chaos as well as harmony. She thought, gulping. I've never done this on purpose before, but Nightmare Moon, are you there?
LUNA. Her darker form's voice was like a jackknife to the skull. WHAT DOST THOU WANT? I CAN PROVIDE THEE ETERNAL RULE BY MAKING THOU JUST AND HONORABLE, ABLE TO CRUSH THY HATED FOES BEFORE THY HOOVES.
Shut up. Luna thought in a mumble. I tried that deal before and it didn't work out for all parties involved. I'm taking some of your chaos energy and you're going to let me.
BUT I HATH ALREADY STARTED TAKING OVER.
With a shock, Luna realized it was true, she could feel the corruption overtaking her mind. Black plumes of smoke floated from her.
"Better make this quick, then!" she shouted out loud. "Chaos Control!" and vanished in a flash of black light.
Wait, Luna can do Chaos Control? Didn't expect that, did you?
BACK IN DIMENSION X
Rainbow Dash felt good about how she looked. Secretly she'd requested Rarity's help to aid her looks on behalf of Cobalt, but in a way that nopony could notice unless they looked really hard. She'd made Rarity promise on the most solemn oaths that she'd never tell anypony.
A knock came on the door, and the six mares heard Cobalt say, "Yo guys, can I come in?"
"Not for a few minutes Cobalt!" Rarity replied in a singsong tone, like she was speaking to a foal. "We're not dressed."
"You don't wear clothes." Came his response.
Twilight, who was currently combing her mane, glanced at the others. "He's got a point. Besides, what's he going to see? He said it himself, we don't really wear clothes."
"It's on principle!" Rarity hissed.
"What principle?" Fluttershy asked in a whisper.
"Let the man come in, Ah look good." Applejack snorted.
Pinkie, for some odd reason, was silent; she'd taken the laundry chute down.
"Oh for Celestia's sake–" Rainbow Dash was impatient of all this bickering, and simply flew over and opened the door to see Cobalt leaning in the doorframe. "Uh, hi."
"Ditto." Rainbow responded dryly. "Why'd you need to come in?"
"I just wanted to make an announcement. Pinkie's creepy lawn gnomes have arrived and she needs help moving them." He pointed down the stairs with his wing. "Sometimes I think she needs a –whoa." He was cut short as he realized that Rainbow looked better than usual. Her mane was done like it was wet, but it was completely dry and natural looking instead of, as Rarity put it, 'like she'd just fallen into a river'. He also noticed that her eyes seemed prettier than normal, but he couldn't put a hoof on why.
Unbeknownst to him, Rarity had done subtle work on her with some eye makeup, the cosmetic unnoticeable, but the result sure looked great.
"What, cat got your tongue?" Rainbow teased.
Somewhere in an alternate dimension, Opalescence tensed, like someone, or something, had invoked his soul. Meanwhile a squirrel fell off a skyscraper.
"Come on man, just because I look a little better than usual for a party doesn't mean I'm not still me." She continued, and gave him a friendly noogie. "Besides, it's what you get for being friends with a bunch of fillies."
"I suppose so." Cobalt reflected on that a little. She was right, ever since he'd gotten his memory wiped, he hadn't made a single guy friend besides Spike. And I'm fine with that. He realized. None of the other colts in town are anywhere near as cool as my friends. Then he froze in his… thoughts. Do I even want my memory back? That was a question he'd never thought of before. What if all my friends are really my hated enemies? My unknown past hangs over me like a shadow, but what if that's better than the alternative?
Eventually (like five seconds later) he ceased thought on that topic, as it made his brain hurt.
Rainbow seemed concerned. "Are you okay? You seem… what's the word?"
"Thoughtful, pensive, brooding?" he listed a couple of synonymic adjectives, letting out a laugh. "I'm a walking thesaurus."
Pinkie's impatient shout came from downstairs. "Come on guys! Help me with my gnomes!"
"Y'all weren't kidding, were ya?" Applejack asked, tipping up her hat.
LATER
Well, the elf was on the shelf, the gnomes were sorted, the decorations were randomly strung up, and the party had started. Then guess who arrived?
Lunar Enterprises showed up in their truck with soft glow lights for when it got darker out. (Fooled you, didn't I!)
Pinkie hooked up the DJ station and started spinning some beats, and though others tried the job, she remained the champion. "How do you know what to do with this stuff?" Cobalt asked after he'd lost one of the epic DJ duels.
"No idea!" Pinkie grinned at him.
"I surrender, you're the ultimate party goddess." He sighed.
"Don't worry! I'm sure you're the goddess of something!"
"That scares me, Pinkie."
ELIHWNAEM
"Just walk up to him and tell him how ya feel, sugarcube." Applejack advised her spectra colored friend. "The worst he'll do is say he doesn't like ya back."
"That's what I'm afraid of…" Rainbow whimpered, cowering in a corner with her ears folded down and her body curled into the tiniest ball she could manage. She didn't like having to be consoled like this, she much preferred to do things on her own, but for some reason she just couldn't bring herself to actually confess her feelings. The idea made her nauseous from anxiety. Even though she had practiced a million times and rethought what she'd planned to say about a million more, she'd still had to throw up once with nervousness. It felt like she was trying to breathe through a plastic bag.
Yet this was the perfect time to do this. It was Christmas, a season that was filled with cheer, happiness, and according to a few of the specials she'd seen, romance.
"Try and sweet talk him." Applejack suggested. "If ya can't bring yourself round to just say it up front, butter him up a little and then drop the bomb."
"Thanks for the advice, Applejack, but I think I'll just do this my way." Rainbow said shakily.
"Go get 'em!"
MEANWHILE WITH COBALT
Cobalt felt a gust of wind blast past behind him, and turned to see a familiar filly facing him. "I wonder who that could be?"
Rainbow swallowed hard and tried to act natural, doing what she assumed she would naturally do, give an eye roll and a shove. "Shut up, Spikes."
"Since when does anypony call me that?"
"Since now." She said dryly. "I've got something I want to tell you, and it might, um, shock you a little." She chose her words carefully, speaking hesitantly, but all of a sudden a wave of panic washed over her and she blurted out, "One moment!" and flew away at top speed.
Cobalt raised an eyebrow and took a few steps backward; not realizing what was hung in the open doorway he'd stepped into. Neither did Fluttershy, as she casually approached him.
"Hi Cobalt." She said.
"Oh, hey." He said, nodding to her. "What's up?"
"Um, nothing–" she looked up and cringed, her pupils shrinking. "Oh dear."
"What?" he demanded, confused at her sudden change in attitude. She covered her mouth and pointed to the ceiling above him, utter terror in her eyes. He realized what it must be, and looked up at the ceiling, dread touching his spine like a cold knife. A green fern with red berries was hanging from the doorframe.
Crap.
"Umm, Fluttershy, we don't have to do this thing if you don't want to." He tried to give her, and himself, and opt out.
"Cobalt, we can't ignore custom." She whispered. "Let's just get it done."
He started to protest, but she halted whatever he was going to say but pulling him in for a kiss. Cobalt was surprised; she was actually a very good kisser, especially for a filly who had never had a coltfriend. But as he thought about it, he felt nothing in his heart while this happened. Nothing at all.
But a certain female pegasus that had just walked into the room did. Heartbreak. Tears welled up in Rainbow Dash's eyes as she felt her heart crack. She'd never thought she could feel this kind of sorrow, not even when Cobalt had been gone for a whole week with no sign of returning had it cut this deep, but what surfaced most of all was an utter hatred for Fluttershy. It was irrational, she knew that, they'd been best friends since they'd met in Cloudsdale, but at the moment she wished she could strangle the timid pegasus.
A flash of black light appeared next to her, and Princess Luna appeared out of nowhere. She looked at the scene before her, and wasn't the slightest bit sad. On the super long portal trip there she'd come to terms with her affections, but realized that she wasn't allowed to have them, and for all honesty thought it best that she didn't have them, since her immortality would eventually cause her to see whomever she loved dying in front of her while she remained young. She did however notice the young pegasus softly crying beside her.
"Rainbow Dash, what is–"
"Just leave me alone!" Rainbow shouted through her tears, now beginning to spill onto the floor and drip down her face. She turned tail and ran up the stairs, not even bothering to realize that she was being disrespectful to one of the princesses of Equestria.
Cobalt heard this and broke away from Fluttershy, whipping around to glimpse the tip of Rainbow's tail vanishing upstairs. "Oh shit."
"Language!" Fluttershy hissed, but she too was still in the shock of what she'd just done. She would never deliberately hurt a friend.
"Dash–" Cobalt began to chase after Rainbow, but was held back by Applejack, who shook her head sadly. "Let her let it out. Ah know how fillies think, after all, Ah am one. Talkin' to her right now won't do neither of y'all no good. She's gonna have to calm down before she'll be able to talk rationally."
Cobalt somewhat understood that, looking down and nodding with consent.
LATER
Nopony, or human for that matter, ever really got settled after that, but the rest of the party continued with its usual cheer, after Luna was introduced and given a briefing on the recent events.
After all the actual events, and when everyone started milling around with nothing to do, Cobalt decided it had been long enough and headed up the stairs. When he got into the ponies' shared room (yeah, all seven of them in one room), he was saddened to see Rainbow miserably crying into her bed's pillow, curled up into the fetal position.
"I wish I'd never been born." He heard her whimper. "I can't believe I was so stupid." A bit of sarcastic resentment touched her voice when she said that.
"Dash…" Cobalt began.
"What?" she sat up, her eyes red, but her voice as cold and polite as possible. "Is there something wrong?"
"Yes, of course there is. You're miserable." He said, worried.
"What are you talking about? I'm fine." Her voice cracked on the last word.
"No, you're not." He asserted.
"Please leave me alone. I don't want to talk." Rainbow's tone gave away that she was about one second away from completely flipping.
"Dash, please…" Cobalt tried.
"GET OUT!" Rainbow screamed, suddenly speeding up and punching him across the face in pure anger. A second later she covered her mouth, appalled at what she'd just done. "Cobalt, I'm so sorry…"
But his eyes had already hardened. "Sorry, Cobalt's not here right now." He said coldly and exited the room.
Rainbow could barely breathe. "He was just trying to be nice." She realized. "What have I done…?"
BACK DOWNSTAIRS
Cobalt walked stiffly past where the other five ponies, an alicorn, Chris, and Chuck were playing a board game.
"Your meeting with Rainbow didn't go as well as you'd hoped?" Rarity asked, seeing the red mark on his face where he'd been hit.
"Shut up." He growled, going to the kitchen and getting one of the alcoholic drinks Chuck kept in the refrigerator. He knew he was underage by human standards, but he didn't care as he popped off the cap and took a long drink, hoping it would keep his mind off what had happened. A few sips later and the apparently alcohol intolerant young pegasus was passed out on the kitchen floor, terrible nightmares overwhelming him.
So, the holiday didn't go exactly as planned for our heroes, did it? Oh, what? You thought I was going to make everything work out perfectly in the Christmas special?
Ha ha, NO.
Just a bit of advice to other young writers (like maybe sixteen and younger), if you're having trouble getting into the emotions your characters are feeling, listen to songs that reflect those emotions. I was listening to The Chosen One from Shadow the Hedgehog when I wrote the last part, and you have no idea how easy that made it.
Also, READ THIS PLEASE! Just to remind you, I HAVE REDONE CHAPTER SIX! IF YOU HAVE NOT READ IT YET, PLEASE GO AND DO SO!
And finally, READ THIS TOO! If you have any immediate questions about this or the original All the Elements for Disaster story, please feel free to ask it in a review. I will answer it in the next chapter.
So anyway, this is a direct lead-in to CHAOS Part 1, my Sonic Adventure adaptation. Stick with this until next week for a resolution (LOL, only maybe) to all these character problems.
Peace!