“No, Twilight put that down! Rainbow Dash get down from there!” Ivy was being run ragged. It’s only been a few weeks since the foals showed up, and now they were comfortable with their surroundings. Now most new parents would be happy about that, but a parent of unicorns and pegasi? Not happy at all.

Twilight was lifting everything she could get her magic on, including the other ponies. Rainbow Dash was flitting about like a hummingbird, and worst of all Rarity would not quit pulling on the others’ manes and tails.

As of right now, Twilight had a candle held dangerously close to the roof and Rainbow Dash was perched on one of the roof beams. Now being a reindeer, Ivy could do nothing to get the pegasus down. But she could resolve the unicorn problem. A simple tap on their horn was enough to make the little magic-users lose their unpracticed grip.

So with her hoof she gave the purple unicorn’s horn a tap, the tap made the glow stop and the candle to clatter to the ground, effectively blowing it out. That was one problem dealt with…now she had to get Rainbow Dash down somehow.

That little pegasus was quite stubborn, she didn’t like to do what she was told to do. Ivy had tried everything in the book to get Dash to stay on the ground, but the troublemaker wouldn’t fall for anything.

“I’m home!” Her father trotted in the house, cloth bags hanging from his antlers. As soon as he entered the home Rainbow Dash flew down and landed on his back, hugging him and babbling incoherently. “Is that right? Well isn’t that just interesting.” Of course he was fantastic with the foals, they all just seemed to love him…then again, he was experienced.

“How come she comes down for you? She never does that for me.” Ivy plopped down on her rump, thoroughly annoyed that her dad seemed to be able to get the foals attention more than she could.

“It’s because I don’t yell at them, Ivy. Little ones don’t respond to anger, they actively shut it out.” The old buck sat down, lowered the bags to the floor, then grabbed Rainbow off of his back. “Isn’t that right my little snowbird?” The colorful foal responded by hugging his face.

“How do you not get frustrated with them, though? I mean Twilight’s always messing with stuff, Rarity’s always pulling on the other’s hair, and Applejack won’t quit tackling Pinkie. It’s chaos!” To punctuate her statement, she threw her hooves up in the air wildly. “The only one who isn’t a problem is Fluttershy, and she won’t let go of my bear…” Ivy’s hooves crossed her body with a huff.

“Now now, Ivy. We must pass down what we have to our young ones, possessions hold memories that cannot be told. It is one of the greatest mysteries in our world: Joy, hatred, laughter, and anger can all be passed down with the simplest of objects. Just look how happy little Fluttershy is with your bear, it reminds me of you when you were young.” Indeed the little yellow pegasus was cuddling the bear tightly, looking a lot like Ivy when she was younger.

“Alright, alright. I get it, dad. Pay it forward.” A little tug on her hoof caused Ivy to look down. At her hooves Rarity was looking up at her with little white hooves outstretched, signaling she wanted to be picked up. Ivy picked the unicorn up and cradled her close.

Rarity was an odd little filly, when she first appeared her mane was perfectly styled as if someone had spent a long time getting the purple coiffure just right. Ivy had realized when she had to give the foals a bath, that Rarity did not like her mane any other way. Just letting it be natural made her whine and cry, so Ivy had to learn to replicate her original manestyle. Easier said than done, even now it was a cheap imitation.

“Hello Rarity, how are you today?” Ivy nuzzled the white filly, which she immediately regretted. Rarity’s horn glowed a pale blue and Ivy felt the little tuft of hair on her head get tugged. “Ow! Rarity, don’t do that. That hurts Rarity.” Ivy rubbed her head and spoke slowly. “Ow.” She had to learn not to pull on stuff, it was starting to get annoying.

“You know, when I was in town I ran into Klaus.” Ivy immediately rolled her eyes, Klaus Fir was her father’s oldest friend and the town old fool. That old stag was always going on about how the Equestrians had it out for the reindeer, that the only reason it snowed all the time here was to kill them. “I told him that we had six new additions to our little family, he said he and Maple would be happy to watch them sometime.”

“No, Dad. I know you and Klaus go way back, but you know how he is about ponies. I don’t want him accusing my foals of doing him wrong.” Ivy’s grip seemed to tighten around Rarity without her knowing it. “He’s not watching them.”

The smile on her father’s face was perplexing to say the least. It was that smile he gave her when he caught her lying or admitting something, it was that fatherly smile. She didn’t like it.

“Oh, your foals? How interesting, I was under the impression you found them irritating.” Well that explains it. Ivy thought it was high time to backpedal.

“Well…I mean, they are irritating…but in a cute way. Like a puppy who won’t quit licking your face, irritating.” The young doe was met with a raised eyebrow from her father. “And they are sorta mine, they need a mom…”

“And a grandfather. Every little one needs a grandfather to spoil them rotten, don’t they Rainy?” Rainbow Dash responded by blowing a raspberry happily. “She agrees. Now I know you said no to Klaus, but what about Snowy Daze? She had an ad up in the town paper saying she’s looking to foalsit.”

Well Snowy Daze was just an innocent doe straight out of school. She was a tad ditzy, but she was sweet and kindhearted. She might just work…but Ivy would have to talk to her first.

“Well I’ll have to talk to her about foalsitting six pony foals. Not many reindeer would be up for that task, I don’t think…” Ivy let Rarity down once the little diva started to fuss, she promptly crawled over to applejack and started babbling. “I barely am…”

“Well great, because while I was in town I had Douglas fix up our sled. He gave it these little railings so we can cart them around.” Ivy was still a little iffy about taking the foals outside. Reindeer were born in the cold, used to it. But Ponies were used to more temperate climates, not two feet of snow year round. “And don’t worry, Timber gave me some of her extra scarves to wrap them up in. I think one is long enough to keep this little one’s wings tucked to her sides.” His hoof poked the blue foal’s stomach, which made the pony giggle and grab his much larger hoof with all four of hers.

“Well…alright. Let’s get them bundled up, then.”

Twenty minutes later the foals were bundled up in their oversized scarves. Each one was the traditional red and green stripes that most scarves had, like Ivy’s own. Most of the fillies loved the soft scarves and were chewing on the ends of them, Rainbow Dash and Rarity did not. Rainbow was tugging at the scarf, which was loosely around her neck, and securely around her barrel which kept her wings secured. Rarity was simply crying at the scarf and trying to push it away from her like it was a rabid timberwolf.

“The sled’s just outside. One you’re hooked up I’ll bring them out.” Ivy nodded, she trusted her father could handle the foals for a minute or two while she was hooking up the sled.

The young doe stepped out of the warmth of her cabin and into the blistering cold of the Frozen North. It was a beautiful day by the standards of it always being winter, it wasn’t snowing, there was no wind, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. A beautiful day, it may have even been a little bit warmer than usual.

The sled that her father had been talking about was standing upright to the right of the door. She set it down flat and got the reigns that were hung up on a nail right by it. The reigns had silver bells on them that jingled at even the smallest movement, they were used to signal your position in the event of white-out conditions.

The bright red reigns attached to the sled via pegs, then she wore it as a harness. Most other hooved species found harnesses like it to be degrading or embarrassing because they found a muzzle being harnessed to be…well, Ivy didn’t actually know. She just knew that most species looked down on reindeers for using them. The offered superior control of whatever you were pulling, so they were alright in her book.

“Alright Dad, I’m all hooked up!” Within a few seconds her father came out with Pinkie and Applejack on his back. Those two were the heaviest of the six, she could only theorize that it was because they were earth ponies. He placed them at the back of the sled, basic sled logic; heavy stuff in back to keep it from fishtailing.

Next the unicorns, he put them in the middle. Finally the pegasi, who were the lightest of the six. Her father had said something about them having hollow bones like birds so they could fly, he put them in the very front.

“Alright. Now you all be careful.” As Ivy trotted off, her father waved goodbye. She turned to wave back and saw the little foals waving back to him and giggling, that alone brought a smile to her face.

The walk to town was not a long one, but it wasn’t a short jog either. Her father had built their cabin far enough away from town that they wouldn’t be bothered by noise. The walk was familiar to Ivy, she went into town almost every other day to fetch supplies or firewood.

The town didn’t have a name, most reindeer towns didn’t. They had some names that only the locals called it, this one was often called ‘Mountain Shadow’ after the location of it at the base of one of the many mountains in the region.

It was small, maybe ten to twenty building sporadically placed around a central meeting hall. There were no roads, only hoof madepaths through the snow that needed to be remade after every snowfall. If Ivy’s memory served her correctly, Snowy lived right next to the Fir’s. All of the houses looked alike, so this was going to be trial and error if she was wrong.

Before she could approach the house she thought was Snowy’s, she became painfully aware of numerous eyes on her and her cargo. As she turned her head to look around, she saw various reindeer staring at the foals in her sled. All reindeer were uniform brown with tan or white spots on their backs and stomachs, so six technicolor ponies stood out quite a bit.

It was almost painful to be gazed at like some sort of side show oddity. Sure ponies were a very rare sight here, but did they warrant such a heightened interest? Ivy didn’t think so, but then again she had been around them for a few weeks.

Ivy shook the feeling off and knocked on the heavy wooden door a few times, she was hoping that Snowy would answer. While Ivy liked Mr. & Mrs. Daze, the less interaction she had with curious reindeers the better. Luckily, the door opened and a young doe with bright grey eyes and a smile plastered permanently to her face.

“Oh, hi Ivy!” Her voice was chipper and clueless, just like Ivy remembered it. “What are you-Ohmygosh!” Snowy’s eyes went wide as she saw behind her friend. “Are those ponies?!” In an instant Snowy was right beside the sled, her eyes sparkling. “They’re so colorful and adorable! Look at this one, she has a little horn! Oooh you have to tell me where I can get one! Oh is that why you’re here? Are you giving them away? Please say yes!” Ivy was struggling to keep up with every word that came out of Snowy’s mouth, it was like a nonstop stream of nonsense.

“No Snowy…I’m not giving them away.” Ivy rubbed her forehead, trying to get rid of the headache that was creeping up on her. “Someone put them on our doorstep a couple of weeks ago, I took them in.” Before Ivy could continue her train of thought, Snowy tackled her into a ground.

“You’re a mommy?! Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve thrown you a baby shower! Well…a post-baby shower…is there such a thing? I hope so, because I want to have one! Anyways, that is so sweet of you!” Snowy’s face was pressed right up against Ivy’s, creating a very uncomfortable feeling….for Ivy at least.

“Yeah. Well, I was wondering if you could watch them tomorrow. I really have to get back to work, and my dad can’t take care of them all by himself. I can pay you, I promise.” Reindeer used bits, just like ponies. It was a worldwide currency because it was just pure gold, the value determined only by size. Ivy often traded the lumber she moved for money in town, everyone needed a warm fire around here.

“Really?” Once again, her bright gray eyes sparkled with untold joy. “You’d let me watch them? Of course I’ll watch them! But I won’t charge much, I just want the happiness of watching theses little cuties!” Well that was a load off of Ivy’s mind…

--

A pair of eyes, one eye blue and the other riddled cataracts, watched the two does talk to one another out of an old warped window. The stag to whom the eyes belonged grimaced at the six little figures in the sled that were trying to get to the snow. They were little balls of evil.

“Klaus! The fire’s dying again!” His wife, Maple, called from the main room. Unlike most families, his had a multiple room home. He was one of the first reindeer to settle here, he had the most timber to work with, his home deserved to be the biggest in town.

“Dagnabit, Maple! Leave me alone, woman! I’m doin’ something…” His yellowed teeth showed themselves behind his curled lips. Sometimes his wife could get on his nerves.

He turned back to the window to keep an eye on the equines on the sled. His hoof went to his one broken antler, he often rubbed the rough, broken antler when he was angry or nervous. For now, he was the former. How could Kringle bring ponies into their town? How could he bring these chaos-bringers here? If it had been Klaus, he would have let the wolves have the little ponies. After all, the only good pony was a dead pony.

--

“Princess, it’s been three weeks. We have to give up, they’re gone.” Princess Celestia’s most trusted advisor, Check List, was trying to talk sense into the monarch. Scant weeks ago six foals had gone missing simultaneously from all over Equestria. Crime, being so rare in Equestria, had caused a national panic that had been difficult to calm down. It was Equestrian standard to search for lost foals for eighteen days. That mark had passed already, so why was the Princess so adamantly pursuing this?

“They are not gone. I know they are somewhere…” Princess Celestia was not sure where she was headed now. The maze of corridors in the palace could lead anywhere the hooves decided to go, but most often these days she found her hooves taking her to the rooms of the victims of this horrible tragedies.

Six separate families, each one with a foal missing, were staying in the royal apartments usually reserved for diplomats and the Princess herself. Celestia had looked into each family, their lineage, their lives, possible enemies. None of them connected to each other, the only vague connection was that Twilight Velvet had once had a brief fling with Southern Belle in their youths. But that was a case of college experimentation, not anything malicious, and no enemies came from it.

She had considered everything, Griffon slavers, Lunar cultists, Saddle Arabian radicals. None of their usual behavior matched these foalnappings…it was all just so confusing. The worst part was that as soon as she saw pictures of the foals, she felt their was something important about them. She felt that their lives were somehow meaningful to Equestria’s well-being.

“Your Majesty, we must give up. You have the royal guard scouring all of Equestria for them, you’re running them ragged.” Check List pleaded with the pony princess. She may not have to listen to reason, but she would not deny the well-being of her subjects just for some search.

“Very well, I will give up.” Check List sighed as the Princess stopped in her tracks. “But only if you can tell him his little sister is gone forever, that you decided she wasn’t important enough to save.” He followed the Princess’ hoof, it was pointing at a young colt, no more than five years old. He didn’t even have his cutie mark yet. His coat was a pearl white, while his mane and tail were a brilliant cobalt blue. He was the older brother of one of the foals that had gone missing, Twilight Sparkle. His name was Shining Armor.

“Fine.” Check List knew this was not going to end well, but if they didn’t bring their troops home things could end much worse. His dark hooves clattered against the tile floor as he advanced towards the boy, as he approached the little colt looked up at him with hopeful blue eyes.

“Hi mister, did you find Twily yet?” The young unicorn looked down and kicked a hoof. “Mommy hasn’t stopped crying since she went missing…” Check List braced himself, this was going to hurt the little one more than it was going to hurt him.

“No we haven’t…” Shining Armor’s head picked back up, tears welling in his eyes. As soon as Check List saw that sad face, he realized that he just couldn’t do it…he couldn’t let the hope leave. “But the royal guards will keep looking, I promise.”

“I hope so. I’ll become a royal guard one day so I can help get Twily back!” Somehow…Check List didn’t doubt that.