G5 Adventures in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys

Five star shards had been collected, as of the Mane 6’s last Unity Quest adventure.

Their most previous mission led them, Sandy Cheeks, Volcano Spark, Tropic Dancer and SpongeBob Squarepants to Sandy’s home state of Texas to rescue Bikini Bottom from the hands of a villainous CEO and Allura, who wanted the ultimate revenge on the Mane 6.

But… when Volcano stood up for Sandy when Allura attacked her, Allura didn’t put up much of a fight after that.

Instead, she surrendered one of the star shards she had collected willingly.

This caught the Mane 6 offguard, unsure of what to believe.

But either way, when they finally got their friends back to Bikini Bottom, they were met with more good news-- Sandy finally got the privilege to adopt Volcano into the Cheeks family as her younger brother!

Needless to say... Volcano was overjoyed.

And once the mission was over, the Mane 6 returned to their Harvest and Hugs Day feast with their family, and Sunny felt a lot better about not having her parents there, after hearing Volcano and Izzy's personal stories.

But with Winter Wishday just around the corner, the Mane 6 felt the need to celebrate how close they were to success. And what better way to do that with their families?

Suddenly, an idea hit Pipp like a freight train-- they could bring their families to Zephyr Heights for a holiday slumber party!

That way, they could still do all of their unique holiday traditions and fill them all in on the progress of getting the star shards before Allura could.

But then... after a long while of waiting...

...the day before Winter Wishday finally arrived.

XXXXXXXX

“I appreciate you young ones giving me a ride to Zephyr Heights,” Grandma Figgy told the Mane 6 and Sparky as they all flew to Zephyr Heights in the Marestream. “I couldn’t miss spending the holidays with my Hitchie, and going to the big city for the holiday is going to be ever so exciting!”

“We’re so glad you were able to come, Grandma Figgy!” Sunny smiled. “Hitch wouldn’t stop talking about how you guys were gonna do your cookie cottage creation tradition when we got there.”

“Hey, what can I say?” Hitch said with a blush. “It’s one of my favorite parts!”

“Misty, are you sure your parents didn’t want us to pick them up from Bridlewood?” Zipp asked from the front seat. “There’s a lot of snow on the ground.”

“Yeah, but Mom said she and Dad hadn’t been on a winter’s walk together in moons,” Misty added, “so they would just take the long way around.”

“Well, Mom is really excited for us ALL to be in Zephyr Heights this year,” Pipp said as she gazed out the window. “Maybe we can read one of those famous holiday stories you keep talking about, Sunny!”

“Yeah, maybe!” Sunny said to the pink pegasus with a smile before gasping, realizing where they were at long last. “And speaking of holidays… we’re here!”

The Marestream landed right in front of the Zephyr Heights palace as a gentle snowfall began to coat the ground a soft white. The Mane 6, Sparky and Grandma Figgy, wearing their winter best, stepped out of it, and not a few seconds later, they would see some familiar faces.

Paradise Moonray, Alphabittle Blossomforth and Queen Haven, along with Cloudpuff, opened the doors to see them, and Paradise couldn’t be more excited to see her little girl. “Misty! You all made it!”

“Hi, Mom,” Misty said, hugging her mother. “Hi, Dad. Warm Wishihoof.”

“Warm Wishihoof to you too, Tea,” Alphabittle noogied her head. “Your mom and I just had a wonderful winter’s walk to get here.”

“In fact,” said Queen Haven, “they got here only a few minutes before all of you did. I have a special treat for us all to start the festivities with. Sunny, have you heard of the classic holiday story, A Hearth’s Warming Tail?”

Sunny gasped deeply. “Yes! My dad used to read me that story all the time when I was a filly! Hearth’s Warming was a winter holiday celebrated in the older era of Equestria, and my dad always wanted ponies to hear it again.”

“Well, I’ve been orchestrating a secret production of the tale just for tonight,” Queen Haven said with a wide, glowing smile, “and we’re going to go to the Zephyr Heights Theater in order to see a live production scheduled just for us!”

This caused the Mane 6 to cheer in excitement, overjoyed that Sunny’s favorite holiday story was going to be told in front of their very eyes.

Alphabittle smiled a bit. “Well, what are we waiting for, kids? Zephyr Heights Theater, here we come!”

XXXXXXXX

The show was a complete success, just like Sunny and her friends hoped it would be.

The songs… the heartfelt message… everything was spot on.

But the surprises weren’t going to stop there.

Queen Haven told them they were all going to be staying in the royal guest suite of the Zephyr Heights palace, where they were going to get a great view of the first-annual Zephyr Heights Wishentine Parade before the big Carousel Concert the next night.

But as the sun began to set beyond the hills of Equestria, Sunny and her friends gathered around while everyone else was getting ready for snacks and a movie. “Guys, I know our families are trying to make this time really special for us, and I appreciate it,” Zipp said, glancing over at their families every once in a while, “but… we need to fill them in on this Allura situation.”

“Good point,” Hitch nodded, holding Sparky in his hooves. “With us having five shards and Allura still having one… she’s still dangerous.”

“But… not as dangerous as before,” Misty pointed out. “Remember how she gave up one of the star shards to Volcano after he defended Sandy?”

“...you have a point, Misty,” Sunny said, nodding a bit after considering this piece of information. “She didn’t seem as hostile then.”

“But still, it would be good to fill Mom in on the situation,” Pipp agreed with her older sister, “just in case.”

So… gathering everything they knew so far, they nodded at each other and stood in front of the fireplace to face their families.

Alphabittle was first to notice the seriousness on his daughter's face, as well as her friends' faces, and this got him worried immediately. “Tea? Is everything okay?”

“Well… things are definitely in our favor right now, and we’re glad to be here with all of you,” Misty said, taking a deep breath to calm herself, “but… there’s a lot of things you need to know about the Allura situation.”

This seemed to snap all of the adults to attention, urging their kids to continue. “Well, as of now,” said Sunny, pulling the shards out of her saddlebag, “we have five shards of the star that Allura needs to travel to other distant worlds.”

“But, the one we have left to get is the one she hasn’t been so willing to give up,” Zipp frowned. “She’s tried to kill us multiple times so she could get to the shards first.”

Queen Haven gasped in alarm. “Oh, my hoofness! Are you children alright?”

“We’re fine now, your majesty. Somehow, we’ve managed to get out of all our interactions with her without much of a scratch,” Hitch said. “Even though we’ve been scared out of our minds a few times.”

“Do you have any idea where she is now?” Paradise asked. “Maybe you could try and find her on your next mission and get the shard back.”

“It’s not gonna be easy, Mom,” Misty frowned. “Especially when she finds new allies wherever she goes.”

“Yeah,” Izzy said with a shudder. “Usually some really creepy bad guys.”

“And to think, this time last year, we MET Allura and Twitch for the first time in Starlight Ridge,” Pipp frowned. “Can you imagine her controlling the auroricorns just to find that ONE star?”

“I wouldn’t put anything past that cat,” Alphabittle growled. “As many times as she tried to hurt you.”

“Is there anything we can do to help, dearies?” Grandma Figgy asked. “Well, we still need some ponies to help look after Sparky when we go on the more dangerous and risky missions,” Zipp said, petting the baby dragon's head. “But other than that, just... be as careful as you can be. Allura isn't some-leopard to mess with.”

“Uh, guys? Speaking of the missions,” Izzy said, pointing to her flank, “but... look!”

The Mane 6 looked down at their cutie marks to discover they were glowing rather brightly, and this conjured a portal right in front of their eyes, causing Hitch to heavily sigh. “They always seem to take us away just when the fun happens...”

“But we can't leave whoever needs help out in the open,” Sunny reminded her foalhood friend. “We gotta get going before the portal closes.”

“Leave Sparky here with us,” Queen Haven instructed her daughters and their friends. “We can look after him while you're out saving the world.”

Hitch sighed and sat the baby dragon on Grandma Figgy's back. “Good call, Queen Haven. I promise, we'll be back as soon as we can, and hopefully, back with a piece of the star too.”

“All right, ponies... let's go!” Sunny said to her friends, and they all charged into the portal, leaving their families to wave goodbye just before the portal closed.

And they couldn't help but wonder...

...where would that portal take the young Equestrian heroes this time?