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

Things had taken a dire turn for the worst.

On the way back from the Island of Misfit Toys, the Mane 6 and their friends crashed into an iceberg, with the Tooth-Mobile becoming a shipwreck and leaving our heroes stranded on an unidentified island in the middle of the ocean.

Not to mention, the storm by that point was still raging, so Sunny decided the best thing to do was figure out where they were before figuring out how to get their North Pole pals back to Christmastown.

But what they didn't know was that there were going to be some serious plot developments on this island... and you're about to figure out first-hand what they are.

XXXXXXXX

The wind and rain pressed up against our brave and valiant heroes as they tried to make it through the storm, with Rudolph’s nose and Winter Wind and the unicorns’ horns lighting their way so they could see another couple of feet in front of them.

Eventually, they reached a sign sticking out of the snow, and Rudolph used his nose to light it up, causing Winter Wind to read it. “Welcome to Castaway Cove…”

“No trespassing…” Rudolph began to read the next line, but the next word caught all of them offguard, causing them to look at each other. “...darling?”

“Okay… whoever wrote that must be really fancy,” Borealis said in surprise, “or really… something.”

“HALT!!” cried a sudden voice. “Who goes there?!”

The ponies and their friends quickly turned, fear entering their hearts as they tried to see who called out to them from the stormy darkness. That’s when they saw a walking, talking gingerbread cookie in a soldier uniform, about Borealis’ size, approaching them, a small sword within his reach. “Oh… it’s just a cookie man,” Izzy said in relief. “I was actually kinda worried it would be something dangerous.”

“You’re not toys!” the cookie soldier barked, pointing his sword directly at Borealis, frightening her. “Begone, trespassers!”

“Okay, so we’re not toys, I get that,” Zipp said, wanting to defuse the situation. “The truth is… we didn’t come here by choice.”

“Yeah,” Rudolph nodded, agreeing with the white pegasus princess and pointing his hoof in the direction of the beach they had come from. “We’ve been shipwrecked.”

Once the guard looked back at the beach and saw they were right, Hermey took the opportunity to speak up on their behalf. “We just need someplace warm and dry.”

“Oh… very well,” the cookie guard finally relented. “Follow me.”

That's when the group began to follow the cookie guard toward the entrance to an icy cave, much to Zipp's suspicion. Why would the guard be taking them into an ice cave?

But when they entered the cave, they saw an icy staircase leading to a gondola down below, and the gondola was floating patiently on an underground river, hidden deep beneath the island.

Needless to say, Winter Wind was enchanted. “Wow… an underground river! Where do you think it leads?”

“I guess we’re about to find out,” Misty said as they all got into the boat, with the cookie guard pushing them off. They sailed through the caverns for a few minutes, with Pipp taking pictures of everything there was to see, until they reached a stopping point, causing all of them to jump out of the boat and approach a door, with the cookie guard giving a "shave and a haircut" kind of knock, allowing the door to open and let them inside.

But as they walked through the hall, the Mane 6 noticed something quite strange, and Zipp was the first to figure it out. “Guys… this may just be me,” she whispered so the guard couldn't hear, “but this looks like we’re in some sort of castle!”

“That doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Sunny shook her head. “Why would someone live in a castle all alone in the middle of nowhere?”

“And what’s with all those cookies?” Borealis asked, trying her best to put on her brave face, despite the tension in the air. “They’re acting kinda… strange.”

As they walked on, trying to figure out what was going on, a cookie in a doctor's uniform comes rushing out of a room on one side to another, causing the group to become even more confused.

They go down another hall, where another gingerbread man saluted his colleague, letting them through another set of doors to what seemed like the throne room, with a big throne/bed at the end of it, surrounded by fancy curtains.

As our heroes marveled at the sight, the cookie guard finally spoke up. “Queen Camilla will decide your fate!”

This caused the Mane 6 and their friends to immediately become frightened. “Fate?!”

Suddenly, royal trumpets began to sound, causing Izzy to whimper and hunker down alongside Winter Wind, both of them fearful for their lives. “Her majesty,” the cookie guard then announced, “the glamorous and famous Queen Camilla!”

The newcomers looked up with surprise to see a figure that looked like a hippopotamus with glamorous clothing and small, butterfly/fairy-like wings flying into the room, landing on her throne-bed with surprising grace. “Hello, darlings.”

Our heroes looked at one another, their feelings mixing together like different fruit in Sunny’s smoothies. The queen seemed nice enough… maybe she would go easy on them, since they didn’t mean to wash up here.

Misty found her voice first, and spoke up with a small, nervous smile. “H-Hi.”

“Hello there,” Hermey greeted with a smile, but Queen Camilla immediately frowned. “Enough banter!!” she shouted, frightening the group with her angry expression. “Why you trespass on Castaway Cove? Hmm?”

“Well,” Rudolph began to explain, “w-we were shipwrecked, and…”

“Lies, lies, lies!” the queen shouted, cutting Rudolph off. “Just because Camilla is beautiful, don't mean she's one sandwich short of picnic, darling. You've come to steal Camilla's fabulous toys! Confess!”

“Us?” Hermey and Pipp asked in surprise, much to Sunny’s confusion. “But, your majesty, why would we…?”

“SILENCE!!! Before I mount you and your friends over that mantel lickety-split!” the queen silenced the earth pony mare before she turned to more cookie guards that were in the room with them. “Guards, throw them in the dungeon for three hundred years!”

The group let out startled yelps at this, and the cookie guards began to surround them, much to their confusion and terror. Borealis knew there might not be a lot of time to find a way to escape, so she pointed at Hermey with her paw, hoping some last-minute info might help their case. “But… he’s a dentist!”

Winter Wind nodded at this, pointing at Rudolph in the same way. “A-And he's a beloved holiday icon!”

However, the guards didn’t seem phased by this information. “Get ‘em, boys!”

“Oh boy…” Hitch looked quite nervous. “What do we do now, Sunny?!”

“The only thing I can think of!” Sunny said with ferocity in her voice. “Fight back as best you can and protect our friends! Go go GO!!”

And so, the Mane 6 charged into action, just as two of the cookies jumped onto Rudolph, trying to hold him down while Borealis kicked at another guard, frightened out of her mind.

The Mane 6, alongside Winter Wind, used their flying, levitation and plant magic to get the cookies away from them, and they even kicked a few backwards when they got too close.

As for Hermey, he was slowly beginning to get surrounded by the guards... that is, until he pulled out a toothbrush as a weapon, causing a few of the guards to back up. “Watch it, boys!” one of the guards warned. “He’s got a toothbrush!”

“And I know how to use it, too!” Hermey said as he swung the toothbrush around, trying to keep the cookies at bay.

Unfortunately, as hard as he tried, Rudolph couldn’t get the cookies clinging to him to let go, causing him to rear up on his hind legs. “Let go!”

Rudolph’s nose began to shine brightly due to his agitation growing, much to the surprise of all the guards present. “Look!” one of them shouted. “He has a very shiny nose!”

Queen Camilla's eyes widened, realizing who Rudolph was after a moment with a startled gasp. “It's Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer! Oi yoi yoi yoi yoi yoi!”

“Not to mention, our pony pals are the guardians of Equestria!” Borealis snarled dangerously. “So back off!”

The guards all backed away at the fox's orders and left the red-nosed reindeer and all his friends alone as Queen Camilla picked Rudolph up off the ground, her happy demeanor returning. “Rudy, darling. You're looking pretty fabulous,” she said, kissing Rudolph before giving him a bone crushing hug. “Ow…” Rudolph groaned. “Ohh…”

Thankfully, Queen Camilla did let Rudolph go after a moment. “Sorry for all that rough stuff against you and your sweet little friends, darling,” she apologized. “We thought you were the Toy Taker.”

“Us? The Toy Taker?” Sunny looked confused. “Who’s that?”

“Somebody we thought was just a rumor spreading around the North Pole,” Winter Wind explained, although she was still confused. “But… why would…?”

“Let's not dwell on the past, auroricorn. It's not retrospective,” Queen Camilla dismissed before smiling once again. “ It's not retrospective. Welcome to my famous castle, darlings; as toys get old or broken, and would otherwise be cast away, Queen Camilla brings them to Castaway Cove for rest, relaxation and rejuvenation. Come, darling, I give you a five-penny tour, yes?”

Pipp sighed in relief. “That sounds great, to be quite honest.”

It was at that moment that Queen Camilla decided that the best way to introduce the group to her own personal kingdom was to sing while doing so. “Oh, darling, bring your tired toys, your poor toys, your toys yearning to breathe free!”

Queen Camilla: Hey boys, bring me your dollies
Hey boys, bring them to me
Hey boys, it'll be jolly
I can fix them with my TSC

The Mane 6 and their friends gave glances at one another before seeing Camilla slide behind her curtained throne and came back out in a medical uniform-like fashion.

Queen Camilla: Hey boys bring me your patients
Dr. C is in the house
I got the cure for what ails you
Be you moose or be you mouse

Because everything is beautiful! (Beautiful)
The whole world fabulously beautiful! (Beautiful)
Everything and everyone is beautiful! (Beautiful)
They're beautiful, I make them beautiful

“Ooh, I like this queen’s style!” Pipp said with a giggle as she and her friends continued to follow the queen on their tour, including a room that looked like a little salon.

Queen Camilla: A little plastic here, a little stuffing here
Some absolutely genuine faux-blonde hair
Some powder on the nose, a new pair of pants
And I will ratify your dance, come on

Next on the tour was the medical wing of the castle, where two gingerbread cookie doctors were tending to their patients.

Queen Camilla: Hey toys, if you get busted
Come here, I'll make it right
My glue, it can be trusted
Makes you stick around all night

A little varnish here, a little garnish there
A little clip clip clip to coif your hair
A little dab of paint, applied with loving care
I'll repair your saviore faire

If there's a boo-boo on your choo-choo train
We'll make the woo-woo-woo-woo-whistle again
We can fix it all we do it everyday
So run on toys, just let the band play

Go!

Borealis howled as she skated around on a fox-sized skateboard while the ponies all used roller skates, Rudolph used a normal-sized skateboard, Hermey used a scooter and Queen Camilla used her own pair of skates, and they all skated around the hall a few times, causing the ponies and Borealis to laugh, having a great time despite the circumstances.

Queen Camilla: Oh everything is beautiful! (Beautiful)
So beautiful, I make them beautiful! (Beautiful)

Hey boys, this is the party
Get your groove on, 1, 2, 3!
I'm just a medical smarty
I'll make you beautiful like meeeeeeee!

I'll make you beautiful just like me, yes!

And with that, the song was over, and the group found themselves back in Queen Camilla's throne room. “My,” said Hermey, impressed with the castle and its operations. “You run a very fine establishment, your majesty.”

“It’s more than just fine,” Misty said with a smile. “It’s beautiful!”

“The only problem is,” said Queen Camilla as she fanned herself, “what to do with all these toys after Camilla makes them so beautiful and fabulous.”

The queen then used her magic to dip a bubble wand into a small jar of bubbles next to her, and she began blowing bubbles out of it. This statement gave Rudolph a great idea, causing him to grin. “Maybe Santa can find them homes,” he pondered, “just like he does for King Moonracer and Frenala!”

“That’s an amazing idea, Rudolph!” Sunny smiled. “The load would be a little bigger, but I’m sure Santa would deliver the toys to kids who would love them!”

This seemed to immediately brighten Queen Camilla’s spirits. “If you do this for me, I do something for you. What is your fondest desire, darlings?”

“Well, um” Hermey said, motioning Rudolph slightly, “he wants a normal nose.”

“And he,” Pipp said, nudging Hermey teasingly, “wants a date with the Tooth Fairy.”

“Nose job, Camilla can do,” the queen told Rudolph, even surprising Borealis. “You mean… you can give him a normal nose?”

“Come on, you gotta be joking!” Izzy said with a laugh. “You think I’m joking, sugarplum?” Queen Camilla booped her nose. “Nobody knows noses like Queen Camilla.”

With the push of a button on her remote, Queen Camilla turned on a screen, which everyone turned their attention to, and the screen showed a picture of Rudolph with his red nose. “Before…”

Then, she pushed the button again, switching it to a picture of Rudolph with a normal black nose. “After,” she said, causing Borealis and the ponies to gasp. “Fabulous,” said Queen Camilla, “no?”

However, while Borealis and the ponies were unsure of what to say, Rudolph seemed amazed by the image. “Oh, it's the nose I've always dreamed of.”

“Of course it is, darling,” Queen Camilla said. “Say that word, and it's yours, lickety-split.”

And without hesitation, Rudolph gave the queen his answer. “Yes!”

Borealis looked stunned at this. “What?!”

However, Queen Camilla already turned and clapped her hands, calling some medical gingerbread figures, pushing a table in the throne room. “Take caribou to operating room number two.”

However, just like Borealis, the others had their concerns about this. “You realize a nose job is permanent,” said Hermey, “and your nose won’t ever glow again.”

“I've waited my entire life for this chance, Hermey,” Rudolph insisted. “While that is true, Lady Boreal gave you that nose for a reason, and it’s saved our lives more than once,” Zipp said. “I mean… if there’s another foggy Christmas Eve?”

“Santa can't afford headlights, darling?” Queen Camilla asked with a shrug, causing Zipp to sigh under her breath. “But… Rudolph…” Borealis nuzzled Rudolph lovingly. “I love your nose… and all of us do too.”

“And besides,” Winter Wind said, “what if Clarice doesn’t like your nose job?”

That was something Rudolph hadn’t considered. He knew that making a decision this big would take more than a few seconds to think over. Maybe even a few days.

He had to run it by his loved ones first, and get their opinions…

…especially Clarice’s and Borealis’. They meant more to him than anything else in the world.

So, after a moment, Rudolph looked over at Queen Camilla. “Maybe I need some time to think it over.”

Queen Camilla seemed to understand, smiling gently with a nod. “Take all the time you want, sugarplum.”

Borealis sighed in relief that Rudolph was going to think all of this over. But as she did so, Queen Camilla looked down at her curiously. “Darling, your eyes… were they always those fabulous colors?”

“Uh… yes, actually,” Borealis said. “You see, I’m a rare magical fox called a Northern Lights fox. I’m the princess, and my mom… is and/or was the queen. I… haven’t been able to find my mom for a long time, so… it’s up to me to take on the royal duties.”

“Borealis thought a strange aurora that my friend Polar Faith got a picture of the other night might be a clue to finding Queen Nora,” Winter Wind explained, “but when we checked at the Island of Misfit Toys, there wasn’t any sign of the aurora coming from there.”

“So,” Borealis sighed sadly, “I’m back to square one.”

Hermey patted the fox’s head reassuringly at this, and after a moment, Queen Camilla’s eyes lit up when she thought of something. “You know, foxy, I actually found a beautiful fox with your same eye color washed up on the shores of Castaway Cove just a few months ago, with an injured leg. Poor darling barely made it out of a wolf attack. Her name was Nora too.”

Borealis felt herself freeze at this. “Y-You’re sure?”

Queen Camilla smiled and nodded to this, causing Borealis to become excited and nervous all at once. “Rudolph, that could be my mom! W-We have to go check!”

“Queen Camilla, lead the way,” Rudolph instructed with a smile, and off the group went down a separate hallway, in order to figure out if this was truly the moment Borealis had been waiting her entire life for.

XXXXXXXX

In a small room at the end of a very long hallway, a glowing green, blue and purple light illuminated the room through a small lamp, powered by the Northern Lights.

And I bet we can all guess who's tail, painted with the colors of the Northern Lights themselves, made the lamp shine with that same light.

Nora, Borealis’ long-lost mother!

Like Queen Camilla said, she had washed up on the shores of Castaway Cove, following a wolf attack, and had been staying here in order to let her leg heal. But all she could think about during all this time that she was away from the North Pole was getting back to her precious Borealis.

She wasn’t going to give up until she got better and found her way back home… her daughter and her own kingdom needed her.

Suddenly, as she worked on something under the dim light of the aurora-powered lamp, there was a knock at the door, and Queen Camilla poked her head in. “Hello there, Nora darling.”

“Oh… good evening, Queen Camilla,” Nora smiled tiredly. “I hope I didn’t wake anyone with the light of my lamp.”

“No no, darling, not at all,” Queen Camilla dismissed. “I actually have a big surprise for you.”

Nora sat up at this, her face showing confusion and curiosity. What kind of surprise was this?

Queen Camilla stepped away from the door enough to let a small, white figure with a red collar and a white fringe and a snow globe charm on it peek her head through, her eyes shining with green, fuschia and blue, all mixed into one.

Nora’s own green, fuschia and blue colored eyes widened as she saw the young fox in the doorway, hopeful and relieved all at once. “B-Borealis…?”

Borealis felt her breathing hitch. “Y-You know my name?”

“Of course… it’s what I named you when you were born,” Nora said, tears coming into her own eyes. “Oh… my precious little princes…”

Borealis couldn’t contain her own tears any longer. “Mom!!”

Nora and Borealis rushed to each other and nuzzled each other lovingly, both of them sobbing out of happiness. “It’s you!! It’s really you!!” Borealis sobbed. “I’ve looked for you for so long! I love you so much!”

“I love you too, my sweet girl…” Nora said, licking her daughter’s tears away. “I always have…”

The Mane 6, Queen Camilla, Rudolph, Winter Wind and Hermey watched this with smiles of their own, and Hitch even wiped a few tears out of his own eyes. “I promised myself I wasn’t gonna cry on the way here, but… I can’t help it!”

“Borealis finally found her mom…” Rudolph smiled. “I’m so relieved.”

After Borealis and her mother finally pulled apart, Borealis wiped her face with her paw before sighing. “Sorry about all those emotions at once, I… I’ve been trying to find you for so long, so I could bring you back home. Back to our kingdom.”

Nora looked at her daughter, rather confused. “How did you find out about our royal heritage, sweetheart?”

“...it’s a long story, but there are a lot of people I wanna introduce you to,” Borealis said before turning to her friends. “Mom, this is Rudolph, who’s my best friend in the world, our dentist friend Hermey, Winter Wind the auroricorn and the protectors of Equestria-- Sunny, Hitch, Zipp, Izzy, Pipp and Misty. Guys… this is my mom… Queen Nora.”

Nora smiled fondly at Rudolph and the Mane 6. “I remember all of you. I was watching outside the cave while you ponies interacted with Rudolph after he was born. That’s how I knew I could leave Borealis in your care.”

Then, her attention turned to Winter Wind. “And I remember you auroricorns very well-- you helped protect me with your magic when the poachers were seemingly on my tail. I could never find the words to express how thankful I was for your kindness.”

“Hey, it’s what friends do for each other,” Winter Wind smiled. “We’re just glad you and Borealis found each other again.”

“She’s one special little fox,” Hermey said, and this caused Nora to nod and look at her daughter fondly. “...yes. Yes, she is.”

While Nora, her daughter, Winter Wind, Rudolph and Hermey continued to talk amongst themselves, Queen Camilla turned to the Mane 6. “I'm so sorry that I never asked about your hearts’ desires before, darlings. Tell me, what can Queen Camilla do for you?”

“Well, we don’t really NEED anything, your majesty, but… we were wondering if you would do something for us,” Zipp said as she pulled out a picture of Allura and Twitch that she managed to take a few weeks ago. “Have you seen this snow leopard anywhere around here?”

“Creepy ice powers? Hypnotic purr?” Izzy tried to give a proper description. “Totally mean and nasty?”

Queen Camilla shook her head. “Can’t say I have, sugarplum.”

“Well… she has a star shard that we need to get back before she gains more power, otherwise our home of Equestria could be put at risk,” Sunny said. “If you could keep an eye out for her, and let us know as soon as you see something, it would mean a lot to us.”

“You have my word, Sunny darling,” Queen Camilla promised. “This hippo will keep her eyes open. And until your little toothy-mobile is fixed, you are all welcome to stay the night.”

“Thank you, your majesty. We all could use it,” Misty smiled. “Rudolph needs time to think about this whole nose job thing… and Borealis and Nora need some time to connect.”

“Yeah we do!” Borealis yipped excitedly. “Do you wanna hear about all the adventures we’ve gone on, Mom? Some of them you wouldn’t believe.”

Nora smiled fondly, nuzzling her daughter tenderly. “I would love nothing more, darling. Now, you and your friends start from the beginning, and I promise, I’ll tell you my story when I'm ready.”

But that left the Mane 6 to wonder... what kind of stories would Nora want to tell?

And how would those same stories change Borealis' life from that point onward?