T'was the week before Stump Day, and all throughout Mewni,
People were getting gifts for others, of sizes both large and puny.
In Dragonfly Castle, the new-crowned King Storm,
Was keeping all his friends' bodies and hearts warm.
Among visions of sugarplums, their minds held one fear—
What presents would they get each other this year?

"Cocoa?"  Marcia looked up from the little Stump Day skit the small children were putting on for their older relatives to see Storm holding out a mug of steaming hot chocolate towards her and smiling in that way that made her heart sing with glee.  She took the cup from him, feeling a tingle where her fingers brushed against his.  "Thanks."

It had been nearly five years now since they had met that fateful day on Earth.  Back then, she was still the Safe Kid of Echo Creek, and he was still a reckless, out-of-control prince who loved nothing more than beating monsters to a pulp. They had changed and matured since then.  She was now a full-fledged knight of Mewni, ready to take any risk in battle, and he was the beloved King that had brought together monsters and Mewmans in peace and harmony.

He had been crowned almost a year ago, not too long after his eighteenth birthday.  Since then, he had been working nonstop, sometimes with the help of Eclipse and Globgore, to integrate monsters further and further into society.  He had made great progress in such short time.  Now monsters could had access to honest work and better housing.  Not everyone was happy with the changes, but that was inevitable.  There would always be racist people who preferred the old ways.

After three years of knight training, Storm had surprised Marcia on her nineteenth birthday by knighting her.  Rivera approved, having kept a close eye on the Earth girl's progress over the years and agreed that she was ready.  Marcia could not stop smiling as she knelt before her best friend and achieved the dream she had been chasing after since she had arrived to take permanent residence on Mewni.

She beamed at him as she tucked a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear.  Storm saw a twinkle in her eyes, and a warm feeling blossomed in his torso.  A while ago, he and Tammy had broken up on a mutual agreement.  They had not been fighting much, but it felt as if they were trying to bring back something that was never there in the first place.  Tammy was constantly trying to prove herself "worthy" of his attention.  It was clear that they had been too fast in restarting their relationship, and at least needed a break from it to think things over.

Ever since, Storm had been spending every free moment with Marcia, watching movies, sparring against each other, riding warnicorns, or just hanging out together.  All throughout it, he had been starting to realize how much he missed her constant company, and began to notice how she had matured physically over the years, with the soft curves of her body, the allure of her smile, the sparkle of her beautiful light brown eyes.  He could get lost in them for hours.

"Storm?"  He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of her fingers snapping in front of his eyes.  "Are you okay?", she asked, concerned.  "You spaced out for a minute there."  He shook his head, smiling at her.  "I'm fine."  They looked out at all their other friends, enjoying themselves and the skit by the little ones.

Pony Head was here, of course, making loud, obnoxious comments on the performance.  Thankfully, the children knew how to drown out his criticism.  Tammy was here, too, for even though she was no longer Storm's girlfriend, she was still his and Marcia's friend.  Also here was Kelly, having finally shook his ex after so many years; Jonah, prompting Marcia to lock up her valuables; and StormFan13, who in his admiration for (or perhaps it was obsession of) Storm that he, too, moved to Mewni and opened a store selling merchandise revolving around his idol and the rest of the royal family.

Joining the gang more recently was Jackson Lee Thomas, an old friend from Earth and Marcia's ex-boyfriend.  After dating for a few months, he had broken up with her after he saw that she would be happier living on Mewni than remaining on Earth with him.  For years, he wanted nothing to do with Mewni, turning down invitations from Jonah and the others, just wanting to forget about Mewni and Storm altogether, and how they took Marcia away from him.

He had been jealous of Storm, with his magic wand and his constant escapades.  Jackson wanted to hate him for luring Marcia away with their adventures and excitement, but he couldn't.  He knew deep down, Storm hadn't meant to do such.  Marcia's heart had made a choice, a choice that she could not undo.  Jackson thought maybe if he cut both of them out of his life, if he acted as if they had never existed, perhaps the pain would fade away in time.

Only recently did he realize that trying to erase their memory from his life would only make the pain grow.  He had to confront his heartbreak, look them in the eye and prove to himself that he was strong enough to to face them.  That was why he was here, spending the holidays on the very dimension that had "stolen" his girlfriend, surrounded by her friends.

Marcia gently blew on her hot cocoa to cool it down. Storm watched her with a dopey smile. "So,", she said, looking back at him, springing him back to the real world. "How is your Stump Day shopping going?" Storm sighed. "Not so good. Its my first holiday as King, and I already have a ton to do besides that. I have to cut the ribbon on the giant display in the town center, attend, like, twenty Stump Day recitals and shows, not to mention make sure all the orphans get a gift this year. I don't know if I'll have time to do all my shopping."

"I hear you.", said Marcia, taking a sip of her cocoa. "Not only am I busy, but I'm also short on money. Stump day gifts are expensive, especially with a starting knight's pay. I'm not sure if I can afford gifts for everyone this year." "Hey." Storm and Marcia jumped, almost spilling their hot chocolate on themselves and each other. "Jonah! Dude, don't sneak up on us like that!"

Jonah rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Look, I think I got the answer to your problem, dude. We'll have a Secret Santa Gift Exchange." The rest of the group gathered together. "What's a Secret Santa?", asked Tammy. "Its a thing we do on Earth for parties and stuff.", Jackson explained. "You put your friends's names on slips of paper, and draw them from a hat or something. Then you get a gift for the person whose name you drew."

"This way, you can save time and money.", said Jonah. "And if you want, you can get the person you drew something really cool. But you have to keep it secret until you give the gift." Storm grinned from ear to ear. "I love it! Everyone in the group who's in favor, say aye!" Six voice repeated the word. Then there was a "nay!" Storm looked at Ponyhead. "Dude? You don't wanna do it?"

"Hm, let's see...do I wanna get six presents from a group of six, or just one measly package for the whole holiday?", Ponyhead questioned sarcastically. "Well, too bad.", said Storm. "You're outvoted." He turned to Jonah. "Since it was your idea, you can get the names together and let people draw." Jonah nodded, hoping that no one recognized the mischievous twinkle in his eye.
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Later, while Storm went out to attend to a matter of the kingdom, and Marcia went to fetch a blanket from her bedroom, Jonah got to work. The others watched as he took off his beanie hat and grabbed paper and a pen. Ripping the paper up into slips, he wrote down six with different names—Tammy, Ponyhead, Jackson, Kelly, Stormfan13, and of course, Jonah—and placed them in his hat.

Ponyhead frowned as he looked over Jonah's shoulder. "Dude, you forgot Storm and Marcia." Jonah smirked in a way that made the gang realize he had a trick or two up his sleeve. "No, I didn't." He reached into his jacket and produced a matching beanie. Ripping up eight more paper slips, he jotted down Marcia's name on each one of them, dropping them into the beanie hat.

"Dude, those all say Marcia." Jonah nodded, wearing a grin of pride, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. "I know." Just then, as if on cue, Storm returned to the room. Jumping to his feet, Jonah walked over to his magical friend with the fixed hat. "Hey, bro-bro! You get the first draw on Secret Santa!" Looks of realization crossed the others' faces as Storm drew one of many slips that had the same name.

Jonah grinned from ear to ear as he watched for Storm's reaction. "So, who did you get?" "It has to be a secret." "Oh, right. Well, good luck, dude." He strode back to the group with a satisfied grin. "Niiiiiice.", Kelly said. "Can we draw now?" "Not yet.", said Jonah, dumping the contents of the spare beanie when he was certain Storm wasn't watching.

He then tore up eight more slips and wrote the same name on all of them, this time Storm's. When a certain Earth girl returned with her blanket, Jonah went up to her, the rest of the gang watching, and greeted her with a smile. "Diaz! Your turn to pick Secret Santa!" Marcia drew from the hat and unfolded her slip to see who she had selected. "So who'd you get?" "Nice try. You're not tricking me."

Jonah returned to the group feeling proud. "No fair! I wanted to get Storm!", Stormfan13 complained. "It'll be fine!", Jonah assured him, holding out the beanie with all their names. "Now draw. And remember, no trading with anyone else. You have to get a gift for the person you pick and that's final."