Important note: This is not the end of the overall story! Just this one. Please read the author's note at the end for more details.

Another big thank you to Cimar Turalis of WildeHopps for once again agreeing to go over this.

Lastly, if you're familiar with Aaron Shepard's Christmas Truce reading, then this chapter is similar but with some changes.

Sometime later...

In a home, an elderly female black jaguar sat in a rocking chair, drinking tea. Her eyes wandered over to the pictures above the fireplace. She sighed while looking at the photos of her and another jaguar whose appearance was different in each of them. In the most recent one, the other jaguar wore a military uniform and carrying equipment. She focused at that particular photo. A knock at the door disrupted her thoughts. The jaguar set the tea cup down to answer the door. There, her eyes widened at the sight of a gazelle and four tigers.

"Hello there," The gazelle spoke.

"You're...Gazelle!" The jaguar whispered.

The singer giggled. "Yes, I am. May we come in?"

The jaguar slowly nodded.

"Thank you."

The five entered the home.

"You can sit in the living room." The jaguar offered. "There's some tea if you want some."

"Thank you very much," Gazelle said.

The group settled in the living room, and the singers treated themselves to a cup of tea first.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you here?" The jaguar asked. "I thought you were supposed to be on a tour."

Gazelle calmly set the cup down and placed her hooves on her legs. "Yes, but not anymore."

Hearing that saddened the jaguar. She wondered how this could have happened to Gazelle. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, but I have one question." The singer looked into the jaguar's eyes. "Are you the mother of Renato Manchas?"

She nodded until a thought hit her. "Wait, is this about…"

The singer noticed the tears forming in her eyes from assuming worse. "No, no, this is not about that! In fact, your son is alive and well from when I last met him."

That calmed the mother down for a moment. "Oh, okay. Then what is this about then?"

"I have a message to deliver from him. I would like you to hear it."

Manchas' mother took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay."

Gazelle and her tigers approached the next home on their journey. The singer knocked on the door, and they waited for an answer. A few moments later, the door opened, revealing a sheep. To the group's surprise, they recognized the sheep standing before them as one of the soldiers from the Christmas truce. The sheep was also surprised at the visitors. Neither spoke for several moments, too stunned to say anything.

"What are you doing here?" Gazelle finally asked.

The sheep also recovered and answered dejectedly, "I, along with the rest of our unit, have been sent home over what happened on Christmas."

This did not surprise the group of singers.

"So have we, " Gazelle responded.

The sheep understood. "Are you here to deliver my letter?"

The singer nodded. "Yes, I'm also hoping I could read it in front of your family."

The sheep smiled back. "I would love it if you did. Come in and I'll introduce you to them."

The group entered the home as the sheep called for his family.

"Honey? Could you and the children come here? There's a surprise for us at the door!"

They heard the sound of hooves approaching until a sheep and two lambs appeared in the room with them.

"What is it, dear? What's this…surprise?"

The wife and children's eyes widened at seeing celebrities in their home.

"Hello," Gazelle introduced.

"Wow!" One of the lambs exclaimed in excitement.

"It's Gazelle!" The other lamb cried.

Both lambs ran forward, and Gazelle gave them a big hug before introducing them to her tigers. Thankfully, their response was positive.

Two tigers picked up the lambs who squealed in delight as they played with them, swinging them around to the glee of the younger mammals.

The singer giggled and approached the wife who was still in shock at their visit. "I know this is surprising for you and your family, but there is a reason for this visit. If you and your family will meet in the living room, I will explain."

The wife slowly nodded, remaining silent.

"Thank you." The singer acknowledged.

Inside the separate homes, Gazelle and her tigers sat across from the family members. The singer brought out and opened the letter addressed to the place. She took a deep breath and began reading.

Christmas Day, 1914

Predator: Dear Mother,

Prey: My dear wife,

It is late, and I am tired as I write this. The day has been long with little action.

The fighting has lessened as of late with the weather being partly responsible.

Snow fell for the first time earlier this month and covered the entire battlefield.

But that did little to improve the atmosphere in the trenches.

With clear skies being more frequent, the moon shines brightly in the night, making it difficult for the wolves. To prevent a howling, they were ordered down in the bunker, leaving us short-handed and double the duties. But that means their load is also doubled during the day so I can't complain.

The only relief the snow brought was the frozen ground, temporarily preventing any more cases of trench foot. Even then, those with hooves including myself must still clean our feet to prevent foot rot, much like everyone else. I pity those who only have fur on their feet.

News of remaining on the front-lines for Christmas still brings heartache to all of us.

I only wish I could be there with you and my children right now in our home.

But that is not the main reason why I am up late writing to you.

For what I am going to tell you will sound like a fairy tale. Only it is not.

I would have never believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes.

If only you and my children were there to see it with me.

We had lined up all along the trench to eat our hot meals.

Grateful for the supplies delivered earlier this month.

Christmas trees were placed before us as we ate and drank. The trees and the decorations were delivered yesterday separately from headquarters and most of us spent the day decorating them. I would take that over sentry duty any day.

Another unit sent us a set of instruments after hearing of our extended stay on the front-lines for Christmas. Only four of us knew how to use them, having worked as musicians before the war. But that didn't dampen the mood.

It was a wonderful feeling to see all of us gathered around, including our Lieutenant. He had just finished sending in the report for tonight before joining us.

Our Lieutenant was hit the hardest by the news, so we decided to play music to lift her spirits. Thankfully, she was able to come, and the musicians prepped the instruments.

As we talked into the night, the sound of music coming from the prey's side made us pause. We sat in silence and listened to the singing that immediately followed. While the song was unfamiliar to us, one phrase that was repeated brought a smile to our faces. "I'm dreaming of home. I feel so alone, I'm dreaming home." It would seem the prey are also stuck on the front-lines for Christmas. Their music and singing was magnificent to hear. When the song ended, Wolford asked if we could share our sentiments with the prey. After discussing it with our Lieutenant, the idea was put to action.

The music brought life to us! After singing, the musicians continued to play various tunes as we shared drinks and laughs. Then, something caught the attention of our second-in-command who immediately called the Lieutenant to investigate. Naturally, the rest of us followed. What we saw ahead amazed us. All along the predators' side in full view were Christmas trees. Then we heard a voice from their trench. "O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree…" I would have never imagined such a voice belonging to a predator! He must have been in opera before the war. We all listened in awe to singing.

We watched and listened Wolford sing his heart out. Clearly, he has a gift for that. Then something happened that caught us off guard. We heard music coming from the prey's side again, but this time it was the same as Wolford's! A few seconds later, the wolf sang along. To our shock, he moved to the edge of the trench and slowly raised himself in view of the prey while still facing us. We became afraid for his safety yet remained captivated by the performance. Finally, our Lieutenant ordered him down into the trench and pushed forward to do so. Then to our surprise, we hear applause coming from the prey!

I didn't care if it was a predator singing! That was the most magnificent music I have ever heard! The wolf bowed to our encore, and it became silent again. The red deer musician then made a bold move. He climbed out of the trench and began playing O Come All Ye Faithful. The deer stopped, and we waited for the wolf's response. Then, it happened. "O Come All Ye Faithful…" The wolf had joined along! Encouraged by the action, the other musicians joined the red deer as they accompanied the wolf. The wolf also made a bold move. He raised a Christmas tree and entered No Mammal's Land while singing!

We watched Wolford leave the trench and approach the prey's side as they continued to play along with him. Not even our Lieutenant knew what would to do, so we did the only thing we could: watch and wait. Wolford finally stopped in the middle of No Mammal's Land and placed the Christmas tree down on the hay bale just as the carol ended.

"Good evening, everyone!" The wolf greeted. He didn't have to wait long for a response. The red deer acknowledged him and complimented on his performance which the rest of us agreed. A fox then appeared from their trench and joined the wolf. It was clear that they wish to speak to us, but we were uncertain of the outcome. Finally, our Lieutenant and second-in-command joined the two predators.

We waited anxiously as they spoke with each other.

A few minutes later, only the sheep and the wolf returned, leaving the bunny and the fox alone.

Wolford stood before as with a smile on his face.

Bellwether stood in front of us with an anxious look.

We agreed that there will no shooting for the remainder of the night and all of tomorrow.

To mark the occasion, their Lieutenant has requested a toast.

It was truly unbelievable! The news was shocking yet there was an air of excitement among us!

We watched them toast, and the predators treated to another showing with their lights.

Minutes later, we were all gathered in the middle of No Mammal's Land, shaking hands and carrying out conversations.

And to think we were trying to kill them just hours ago! Here we are talking as friends and performing gift exchanges!

A group of prey offered me a drink which I gladly accepted. I must say they know how to make a drink because it was very strong for even them.

To our surprise, the predators ate vegetables as part their diet. Some even were outright vegetarians! We were quickly reminded that some predators were omnivores. I felt ashamed of myself for not knowing that.

One thing ran through my mind as we talked into the night. These were not barbarians that we frequently read about.

These predators were not the savages the newspapers made them out to be. These were mammals who have families, homes, and love for their land.

In short, mammals just like us.

Which begs the question, "Why are we lead to believe otherwise?"

As if the night wasn't full of any more surprises, a female's voice was heard and we were shocked to see who it was.

There in our presence was Gazelle, the star from Zootopia! We heard of her tour, but I would never imagine her coming here.

The singer was brought to tears when hearing about our ceasefire and then offered to perform for us! What an opportunity!

I know how much the children wanted to see her perform, so I promise to get her autograph and pictures for you before she leaves.

No words could properly describe the feeling of being there live to hear Gazelle sing. Now I understand why Clawhauser calls her the Angel with Horns.

No offense to the wolf but no comparison could be made with Gazelle. I tried my best to not shed a tear, but I felt more comfortable doing so after seeing others do the same.

We then returned to our trenches with the promise of meeting again tomorrow. To the delight of Clawhauser, Gazelle decided to sleep with us for the night.

Even though Gazelle is staying with the predators tonight, the singer did promise to leave through our trench since she did come through ours first.

I only wish she could stay for all of Christmas tomorrow.

How great would that be?

And so Mother,

And so my love,

Was there ever a Christmas Eve such as this before?

And to see that it is possible to befriend enemies?

However you read it; it does not change the fact that we are soldiers fighting in a war. For we cannot simply shirk our duties.

The predators want to drive ours deeper into our homeland as much as we want to drives theirs out. But I can't help but wonder if they want peace as much as we do.

Despite the unofficial ceasefire to celebrate Christmas, it was understood among us that we must return to fighting one another soon after.

But in that time of respite, it was not fraternization between predators and prey but a festivity between mammals who longed for peace.

With all my love,

Forever yours,

Renato

Elias

Silence occupied the living room when Gazelle finished reading the letters.

The singer looked up to see the smile on the sheep's face, his wife in tears, and the children in awe.

Gazelle laid the sheep's letter on the table and reached into her bag again. She took out the photos taken with her camera from that day. The singer got up and stood in front of the sheep's family to show the pictures.

"These are the pictures I took of your husband on Christmas Day. I even signed my signature on every one of them."

The wife and children took the photos and looked through them. The wife saw her husband's happiness and was surprised to see him be friendly with the enemy, especially the natural ones.

The lambs were excited to see the photos and the autographs.

"Wow! Thank you, Gazelle!" The other lamb said.

The singer smiled. "You're welcome."

"Is that you, Papa?" One of the lambs asked while showing one of the pictures.

The sheep smiled. "Yes, my children. That is me."

His wife quickly hugged her husband as the tears flowed.

Seeing this, the lambs quickly put the photos down to hug their mother.

"Mama?" One of them asked.

"Are you all right?" The other asked.

"Yes, dears. Mama is just happy for your Papa."

Her husband finally returned the hug to comfort his wife. Gazelle and her tigers joyfully watched the family share their love together.

After hearing her son's letter, the mother trembled with her eyes closed and paws over her mouth. She didn't notice Gazelle had gotten up until hearing footsteps and looking up to see the singer standing before her. The mother saw Gazelle holding photos in her paws.

"I know how much you miss your son, and I can promise you that he misses you as well. He understands how devastated you feel for not being home for Christmas," The singer brought forward the photos. "Your son asked me to deliver his letter, and I promised to give these photos of him to you as well."

Manchas' mother held the photos in her paws and looked at all of them. Seeing her son happy and enjoying himself along with his friends on Christmas brought a smile to her face, and the tears threatened to overflow. "Oh my sweet boy!"

Within moments, she broke down crying and tightly clutched the photos to her chest, as if they were the last links to her son. Feeling sorrowful, Gazelle closed the space between them and embraced the jaguar in a hug for comfort.

Gazelle heard these words from the women as they wept. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

The singer nodded with delight and spent a little more time with their families, speaking to them of their experience on Christmas Day and playing with the children, before moving on to the next one.

Gazelle and her tigers would do this for the remainder of the war with their last and final stop being her home in Zootopia. Even if the soldiers had sent home more letters before her arrival, Gazelle was determined to inform the families of what transpired on Christmas Day 1914. The reactions were all the same, and it brought the singer great satisfaction. Despite no longer helping the soldiers on the front-lines, Gazelle provided greater help to their families by giving them comfort and in some cases, closure. That alone was enough to make her punishment and effort worthwhile.

Mid-January 1915,

Judy Hopps sat at a table in the dining car of the train riding for Bunnyburrow. On the table lay a cup of herbal tea, a pen, and her open journal. The past few days have taken a physical and emotional toll on the bunny. Since receiving her discharge, Judy had been busy preparing for her departure and reluctantly preparing for the arrival of their replacement. Finally on a break, she savored every moment of the respite. After another sip of the tea, Judy finally picked up her pen and began writing in the journal.

January XX, 1915,

I have been honorably discharged from the army for what happened on Christmas Day. I should consider myself fortunate at the leniency, yet I feel no joy whatsoever. Neither do going home to my family and knowing that my unit and I avoided disaster. Only one thing is on my mind right now, and it brings me both joy and pain. That thing is a red fox by the name of Nicholas Wilde. Thinking of him brings me great pain because I have no idea what will happen to him. Him being a fox and hearing of their harsh treatment push me to assume the worse, but I refuse to accept that fate. Thinking of him also brings me great joy because the memories of him have comforted me through these difficult times. The love we felt and shared for each other was nothing I ever felt before. Despite being together for just hours, it felt like a lifetime's worth of love. Our eventual reunion will be my happiest day ever. I just need to make sure I'm running the stand when the war is over. I can't risk my family ruining the reunion so I must be cautious. Maybe I should keep this a secret from them. The newspapers are certain to have ingrained my home of how dangerous the predators are. Once this dreaded war is over and hopefully it will be soon, I will do everything I can to find him, and I will be prepared for both the best and worst case scenarios.

Judy looked up to see the sign welcoming visitors and returning residents to Bunnyburrow, noting how the population states that it is ever growing. She looked down at the red neckerchief wrapped around her neck. Judy calmly clutched the clothing with her paw and smiled. "Welcome home, Nick." She closed her journal, finished her tea, and got ready for the last leg of the journey home. With the station in sight, the train began to slow down as Judy met up with her escort.

The sounds of the train riding on the tracks and predators sleeping filled the last car. All but one predator was asleep. After checking that no one else was awake, Nick Wilde pulled out his journal from his coat and set it down on his knee. He then reached into his coat again, taking a few seconds longer to search. Nick finally pulled out the carrot pen that Judy gave him during their gift exchange. He opened the journal to the most recent blank page and began writing.

January XX, 1915,

I am not surprised at this outcome. We were fools to believe that no one would punish us for this. None of that matters now. At least my troops can be at peace that they no longer need to worry about shooting the prey they became friends with. Lionheart thinks my father would be ashamed of me if he saw my actions on Christmas Day. But he's wrong. My father may have been a soldier, but he knew when to show mercy. Just like I will when we invade Bunnyburrow. Judy will never forgive me if she discovered what I did to her home. I will make sure her family is safe once I find them, even if Judy never returns home. I owe her that. I am glad she told me of her produce stand or else it would have taken too much time to search for her home. Hearing of her family's reactions to foxes, I must be cautious in my approach. It is my hope that some of my troops will understand my intentions, but I must face the reality that I will alone in this. Only those I trust will know which is a good thing considering there will be few upon arrival. This war needs to end soon because I don't know how much longer I can bear the thought of Judy being on the front-lines. Who knows? Maybe Judy and her unit are being sent home if their superiors found out about the ceasefire. One can only hope as that is the best way for her to stay safe.

At the conclusion of the last sentence, Nick closed his journal and put it back in his coat. He gazed upon the carrot pen in his paw for a moment. Nick then smiled and kissed the pen. "Good night, Judy." He put the pen away before getting on all fours. Nick walked in small circles and then settled down on the floor, wrapping the tail around himself and lowering the cap over his forehead. Nick closed his eyes and within minutes, sleep overcame the train's last waking soldier as the train journeyed into the night.

This story is dedicated to the memories of the soldiers who fraternized in various places on the front on Christmas of 1914.

May this marvelous and unique event in history never be forgotten and be a shining example to all of coming together for peace.

That's the end for now, everyone! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this. The idea developed from reading Zootopia fics and listening to Christmas music. In short, thinking of how predators and prey came together at the watering hole for the founding of Zootopia and how the soldiers came together to celebrate Christmas was how the story formed and took off. Talk about luck huh?

I admit that I did not hear of the Christmas Truce until middle school, and that was because my band played a Christmas piece called Joyeux Noel. This made me search it up on YouTube where I found a video with that title, but it was a different song and about the movie. From there, I discovered the event and now listen to I'm Dreaming of Home every Christmas to commemorate the special event.

Now I have more for this timeline: two sequels during the remainder of the war and one during the Interwar years. (Shout out to CorThunder from Ao3 for suggesting the idea of life after the war and the comment about wolves howling and trench foot among the mammals). Plans for World War II is currently unknown. All I can say is that it will be months before the sequel is out with so much planning and researching needing to be done. Hopefully, I won't lose you until then. Thank you all for the support and I hope you enjoyed this story!