Christmas Eve in the Cave
The white puffs of snow falling from the wintery sky were undoubtedly giving off some major holiday vibes, but the kingdom was far from being in the spirit of the season. The statue of Mickey and Walt stood in a circle of lights, appearing so festive to an out-of-town observer that one could almost assume nothing was wrong. They would be completely mistaken, however, and every resident of the kingdom knew it. This holiday season wasn’t turning out to be like those of years gone by, with unanimous feelings of joy and merriness. The Christmas decorations around Main Street almost seemed to be a mockery, serving as a sort of negative trickery to make everyone think everything was alright, even though reality said otherwise.
What had begun as a kindhearted gesture led the entirety of MyVMK into a state of worldly emergency. Three of its inhabitants were in extreme danger, and everyone had quickly transitioned into full-on panic mode. [Name Removed] had gotten what she thought was a pretty amazing idea for the gift she wanted to give everyone—those diamonds Injun Joe’s cave were much too pretty to waste. The cave had never been considered a dangerous place. A bit creepy at times, maybe—but never posing a legitimate threat. Regardless, she still didn’t quite feel like going it alone, unknowingly putting both [Name Removed] and [Name Removed] in danger as well.
The trek to the cave began innocently enough, with all three eagerly soaking up the warmth and sunshine in Big Thunder Mountain en route to their destination. It was a nice change from the frigid air and snowflakes filling up all of Main Street, and escaping holiday craziness for a little while was a nice bonus. The Emporium had been packed with people trying to get their last minute gifts bought, and it was impossible to go anywhere without being at least a bit overwhelmed, really.
“Guys, I really am sorry. So, so sorry. This wasn’t worth getting a measly couple of really cool Christmas gifts.” [Name Removed]’s voice cut through the silent tension.
“You know,” [Name Removed] began, “It’s kinda funny that we’re stuck in a stinking mining cave, and yet the reason we can’t get out has nothing to do with, like, mining stuff.” She laughed for a split second, then stopped… most likely realizing how serious the whole situation actually was.
It was true—no mining dangers here. Something much more magical was the culprit, something that could only happen in this kingdom. The dragon had escaped from its dwelling realm in Fantasyland, in search of the mysterious purple potion that pooled up in Injun Joe’s cave. The motivation to obtain this odd substance clearly motivated the creature to become incredibly strong when it needed to be; strong enough to break the heavy chains that were put in place to contain the dragon by the one who possessed the keys to the kingdom so many years ago.
“Well, surely somebody will notice our absence,” [Name Removed] said, her voice full of poorly disguised fear, “And I did tell a few people about my plan.” The dragon had just entered the cave when the three friends arrived, made an incredibly crazy sound that only a dragon could be capable of making, and blocked every possible way out of the cave with walls of fire before flying away.
“The worst thing,” [Name Removed] said, “Is that everyone else is probably in danger as well. No dragon just gets some kind of weird, purple liquid and flies away to mind its own business.”
They sat in silence, the air teeming with fear and tension. This was definitely not your typical, ideal Christmas Eve. The walls of fire hummed, echoing throughout the cave.
“Do you hear that?” [Name Removed] jumped up, moving quickly to one of the walls. “I heard footsteps!”
“It’s probably just in your head, [Name Removed]. Wishful thinking, you know.”
“No, guys, I’m not even joking. Get over here!” She motioned for the two girls to join her, hope lighting up her features.
“[Name Removed]!” The shout came from behind the wall, causing a loud echo.
LadyMagic ran to the wall, trying to peek through the orange flames. It was [Name Removed], she was almost sure of it.
“[Name Removed]?”
“Hey, get away from the wall for a second!” The three girls distanced themselves from the fire wall, watching as [Name Removed] turned into a hurricane of water and destroyed the fire. It wasn’t just him, either—a huge group of their friends stood right behind him.
“[Name Removed] and [Name Removed] spotted the dragon flying above Splash Mountain, and it had this purple stuff all over its mouth. [Name Removed] said that you mentioned going to Injun Joe’s cave, so everyone basically freaked out. It was just one major panic storm everywhere, honestly. “ [Name Removed]’s words tumbled out, his relief extremely obvious.
“So, what happened with the dragon? Is everyone else alright?” [Name Removed] asked, her eyebrows scrunched up in concern.
“[Name Removed] and [Name Removed] coaxed it down from the sky with some magic,” [Name Removed] said, “They were ready with the chain and led it back where it belongs.”
“Thank goodness,” [Name Removed] said, breathing a sigh of relief, “And [Name Removed]! Thank you for remembering what I told you!”
“We couldn’t just have Christmas without you guys, are you kidding?” [Name Removed] laughed, giving the three girls a hug.
“Yeah, we obviously had to do something,” [Name Removed] shrugged, his face matching the pink-purple glow of the jewels.
“Ohhh, you guys! Happy Holidays!” [Name Removed] clapped her hands in delight, everyone else laughing at her extreme and random excitement.
“Let’s get back to Main Street,” [Name Removed] said, “I can’t believe we’re actually going to make it to the holiday party—definitely wasn’t expecting that.”
The group of players eagerly left the cave, heading to the huge holiday party that would be starting soon. It had been the most eventful Christmas Eve for the kingdom thus far, and some amount of normalcy was much needed to balance it all out.
