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

Borealis' wish had finally come true-- she finally found her mother, Nora, and there was a joyful, tearful reunion between the pair.

Nora had been searching for a way to get back to her baby girl, and now that Borealis had found her, she was finally happier than she had been since her colony was wiped out, not long after Borealis was born.

That night, after Queen Camilla gave them permission to stay, Borealis and all her friends from Christmastown and from Equestria told Nora all about the adventures they had gone on together-- saving Christmas for the first time, going to the Archipelago of Last Years, meeting the auroricorns, saving Starlight Ridge from Allura, finding the Baby New Year, performing in the Circus by the Sea, defeating Allura again and defeating Winterbolt... practically everything Borealis could think of to tell her mother about that happened over the last year.

But while she listened to her daughter's stories, as well as the stories of her friends, Nora tried to piece together how she could tell her own story to her little girl and her friends.

They deserved to know the truth, after all.

But that would have to wait, because Borealis announced that in the morning, once the Tooth-Mobile was finally repaired, they were taking Nora home for the biggest welcome home celebration in North Pole history...

...and Nora couldn't be more thrilled.

XXXXXXXX

“Borealis?” said a soft female voice, trying to stir Borealis from her slumber. “Borealis, wake up. I have a surprise for you.”

Borealis' eyes slowly fluttered open as she yawned, seeing her mother in front of her, and this caused her to smile. “Oh… good morning, Mom. For a second there, I thought I dreamed all that stuff that happened last night.”

“Oh, it’s real. Believe me,” Nora said with a soft chuckle. “I have something I’ve wanted to give you for a long time, and now that we’re together… I can.”

Borealis sat up at this, intrigued. “Really? What is it?”

Nora flicked her tail and brought over a stunning tiara, made from magical ice that she had created so it would never melt. “I have my own crown hidden back in Christmastown,” Nora explained, “but I thought it would be wonderful if you had your own crown as well.”

“Oh, Mom…” Borealis was completely flabbergasted by the tiara’s beauty. “It’s beautiful! Thank you!”

Nora placed the tiara on her daughter’s head, causing Borealis to giggle and prance around with it, and this caused Nora to giggle as well. “Now, come along, dear. We have to wake the others up-- no doubt Queen Camilla’s staff has fixed the Tooth-Mobile by now.”

“Oh yeah!” Borealis smiled. “Christmastown, here we come!”

XXXXXXXX

The others were woken up almost immediately after that, and after a hearty breakfast, Rudolph promised Queen Camilla to tell Santa all about Castaway Cove when they got back home.

And by the time the sun began to rise over Castaway Cove, Queen Camilla's staff repaired the Tooth-Mobile better than new.

But after exchanging goodbyes with Queen Camilla and her staff and getting back in the Tooth-Mobile with Queen Nora as a special guest, Rudolph had his mind set on how a new, less shiny nose might change his life for the better.

However, there would be more time to think on that later. Right now, they had a queen to get home... and this queen had a wild story to tell.

XXXXXXXX

“Are you comfortable enough, your majesty?” Sunny asked as she made a soft bed for Nora in the back of the Tooth-Mobile, so the ponies, Rudolph and Borealis could keep her company in the back while Winter Wind and Hermey kept an eye on things up front. “We can get some more pillows if you need them.”

“Oh, thank you, Sunny, but this is perfect,” Nora smiled. “I’m happy with pretty much anything right now.”

“So… what can you tell us about your life, your highness?” Zipp asked as she took out her FlyPad. “I mean, we all saw how Bori’s life turned out, but we don’t know ANYTHING about you.”

“Oh, Zipp, please… just call me Nora,” the Northern Lights fox queen smiled. “Now, as for my life… I was born in early April to my mother Orelia, and I had lots of friends within the colony. My mother was wise, charming, sweet-natured… the perfect ruler that I wanted to be like someday. When I was only a few weeks old, my mother actually took part in the battle against an evil ice king named…”

“Winterbolt,” Rudolph shuddered. “Yeah, we know a lot about him.”

“Oh… yeah…” Borealis nodded slowly. “That’s one mission I’d like to forget. But… what about your dad?”

“My father was never in the picture. He left my mother a week before I was born, but… I don’t miss him. My mother was all the family I needed,” Nora smiled. “Now, back to the story. I had plenty of fox friends that were my own species back in our colony, but there was one fox pup from another colony I became fast friends with-- a Shadow Fox named Tynan.”

“Hey, we know Tynan! And his son, Negro!” Misty smiled. “They’re actually living in Christmastown!”

“We can reintroduce you guys when we get back!” Sunny smiled. “It’ll be the perfect reunion-- the king of the Shadow Foxes and the queen of the Northern Lights foxes reunite!”

Nora seemed to pause at this nervously, and Borealis picked up on this. “Mom? Is there… something wrong?”

“Well… that’s where the rest of the story comes in,” Nora sighed. “You see… Tynan and I were very close growing up, but as we grew into teenagers and adults, we began to see each other… differently.”

“Ohhhh… I get it!” Pipp said, pulling out her phone. “You two were becoming a couple!”

“Quite frankly, yes,” Nora chuckled. “We spent the next two years of our lives dating, and a week before I was scheduled to become queen… I found out I was pregnant with Borealis.”

“Really?” Hitch asked. “That’s so sweet!”

“But… wait a minute,” Winter Wind spoke up from the front. “If you and Tynan were that close for all that time, and then you were pregnant with Borealis… doesn’t that mean…?”

Borealis tried to think of what Winter Wind was trying to say when it hit her like a mountain of bricks. “...Tynan… is my father?!”

The Mane 6 looked wide eyed at this, and looked to Nora to confirm it, and slowly, she nodded. “Yes… he is. After my mother found out I had conceived a child with a Shadow Fox, she was enraged, and banished Tynan from the colony shortly after I told Tynan he was going to be a father. A few months later, Borealis was born, and then… a week after that…”

Rudolph felt his ears pin at this. “...the poachers showed up and wiped every fox except you and Borealis out.”

“Yes… and that’s when I left Borealis with you all to ensure her safety while I led the poachers away. And that took… much longer than I ever expected,” Nora took a deep breath. “So… I believe that’s everything. Do you… have any questions for me, darling?”

“...just one,” Borealis said, a touch of bitterness in her voice. “Why did Tynan not tell me he was my father even after months of living at the North Pole? And what about Negro? Does he know too? Is he really my half-brother? Why did the poachers attack our colony and wipe them out forever?!”

“Uh… Bori? That’s a little more than one question,” Izzy whispered innocently, only to get a glare from Hitch and Zipp. “...sorry.”

“Borealis, your feelings are very understandable right now,” Nora told her daughter gently. “I promise, everything is going to work out in the end. We’ll figure out everything about Tynan and Negro’s knowledge of this when we get back to Christmastown. Okay?”

“...okay,” Borealis took a deep breath and nodded. “Thanks, Mom.”

While Borealis, her mother and Rudolph tried to comfort one another, Sunny turned to her friends with a mix of confusion, concern and relief all at once. “Believe me, guys… I’m so happy that Borealis is back with her mother, and I’m glad Nora told us all this, but then again… this is a lot for Borealis to take in at once.”

“And with the potential possibility that Rudolph will have his nose changed for good,” said Misty, “it’s a lot for anyone in this situation to take in.”

“What can we do to help them?” Hitch asked, leading Zipp to sigh. “For right now… I’m not sure. We can help Borealis and Rudolph take their minds of everything by organizing that welcome home party for Nora, but as for the rest of it… we’ll have to figure out how much Tynan and Negro really know about… everything.”

“Pipp, text Violet Frost and have everyone meet us at the ballroom once we get back to Christmastown,” Hermey said from the driver's seat. “Those decorations and food we had left over from the Snow Ball will really come in handy.”

“Already on it, Hermey!” Pipp saluted with a cheerful smile as she got to work typing. “Operation ‘Welcome Home, Nora’ is officially a go!”

But along with the idea of her mother's welcome home celebration... Borealis wondered how these secrets that her mother revealed would change her life from this moment on.

For better... or worse.

XXXXXXXX

“Why do you think Pipp asked everyone to meet us in the ballroom?” Amethyst Flare asked Ocean Blizzard as the elves, reindeer, Santa, Mrs. Claus and all the auroricorns gathered in the ballroom of the castle. “Do you think there’s something wrong? What if they’ve spotted Allura again?”

“Hey, let’s not go jumping to conclusions just yet,” Violet Frost told the auroricorns as she came forward with Comet. “My mom used to say that jumping to conclusions leads to some crazy confusions, and trust me-- with these Toy Taker rumors spreading around, confusion is the last thing we need.”

“Besides,” said Tynan as he stood nearby with Negro, “Sunny and her friends would never let Allura or anyone else hurt us.”

“I guess so,” Ocean Blizzard nodded warily. “But still…”

Suddenly, the doors to the ballroom opened, and the Mane 6 were revealed to be standing at the door with excitement written all over their faces. “Attention, every-creature!” Sunny announced with a smile. “Please, welcome back the long-lost queen of the Northern Lights foxes… Queen Nora!”

Everyone applauded and cheered as they saw Nora, Rudolph, Hermey, Borealis and Winter Wind enter the room behind the Mane 6, seeing that it was indeed true… Nora had finally come home.

But while Negro howled at the top of his lungs for the queen’s return, Tynan paled in complete surprise, and a bit of worry.

What if Borealis knew?

How could he not tell her from the start that he was her father?

No matter… now that he and Nora were together again, they would let both their children know what was really going on.

Santa chuckled and approached Nora with a smile. “Nora… it’s so good to see you again.”

“I remember the last time we saw you was when you were a pup,” Mrs. Claus nodded. “My, you’ve grown into a beauty.”

“Thank you both so much,” Nora smiled. “It’s so wonderful to see you both again.”

Tynan cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Nora?”

“Tynan! I don’t believe it’s really you!” Nora beamed and nuzzled him, causing him to nuzzle back before Borealis noticed Negro next to him. “Is this your son Sunny and her friends were telling me about?”

“Yes… Nora, this is my son, Negro,” Tynan introduced. “He and Borealis have really gotten along since we’ve moved here.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, your majesty,” Negro bowed his head to her. “Borealis wouldn’t stop talking about how she wanted to find you.”

“Yeah… especially after what I know now,” Borealis said, taking a deep breath and approaching Tynan. “I want the truth, Tynan… nothing else. Is it true? Are you… really my father?”

The ballroom went stone silent at this… so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

Negro looked the most stunned at this. “W-What? Dad, is this true?”

“I… you told her?” Tynan whispered to Nora, who nodded. “She and her friends wanted to know about my life, and I couldn’t lie to her.”

“So… that means… she’s my sister?” Negro stammered as Clarice approached, his confusion turning to anger as he faced his father. “Dad, how could you not tell me this?!”

“Exactly what we wanna know,” Zipp said with a stern expression. “You guys have been at the North Pole for months now, and you never said a word to Borealis about this.”

“I-It’s a lot to explain, and I didn’t wanna get her hopes up about her mother potentially coming back,” Tynan stammered, his ears flattening. “Besides… I wasn’t sure if it was my place.”

“Your place?! You’re my father!” Borealis barked. “Of course it was your place to tell your own child!”

“Bori, I…” Tynan tried to speak. “I just…”

“You know what? Save it,” Borealis said bitterly. “I don’t wanna hear any explanations from you.”

“And neither do I. For now… I have to get to know my sister all over again,” Negro said with just as much bitterness. “Come on, Bori… let’s get out of here.”

“Kids!” Nora called out, but Borealis and Negro had already run out of the ballroom, leaving her to sigh. “Oh dear… somehow I knew this would happen…”

“Don’t worry, Queen Nora. Rudolph and I will talk to them,” Clarice promised. “We know them better than anyone.”

“We’ll be right behind you,” Sunny said to the two reindeer as they prepared to leave. “We don’t wanna overwhelm Negro and Bori, plus we wanna introduce Nora to a few friends of ours first.”

Rudolph and Clarice nodded at this before they galloped out of the ballroom, hoping to find the little foxes before they had gone too far.