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

Borealis and Negro were indeed happy that Nora was home at long last, but... there was more on their minds than just that or taking part in Clarice's flying lesson.

They were half-siblings... and they had no idea because Tynan, Borealis' father, had no idea how to tell the duo months prior.

Of course, Borealis and Negro weren't mad at each other-- they cared about one another way too much for that.

But they were mad at Tynan for not choosing to tell them much earlier.

Now, they had to figure out their entire relationship all over again... and that was something neither of them had planned to do.

Let's get back to the story and see how this works out, shall we?

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“I just can’t believe my dad wouldn’t tell me about this,” Negro sighed in frustration as he and Borealis slowed their sprint down to a walk. “We tell each other everything! And after Mom died… well…”

“Tell me about your birth mom,” Borealis said comfortingly. “It might help.”

Negro sighed, nodded and prepared himself for the story. “My mom… Sienna? She was the most amazing Shadow Fox ever. Warm… kind… brave. She never gave up on our people. But… she got sick after my first birthday. We were never sure what it was, but… she fought it for a long time until she just… couldn’t anymore.”

Borealis sighed, her ears pinning sadly against her head. “So your dad really is all you have left from your colony… I’m so sorry, Negro. It sounds awful.”

“It’s not your fault,” Negro reassured with a heavy sigh. “I just… wish we had known we were half-siblings earlier.”

Borealis nodded. “Me too. It would’ve made me feel a little better knowing I had some family nearby. I mean, Rudolph is my best friend and a brother to me first and foremost, but… I always wanted some foxy family nearby too.”

“We understand that, Bori.”

Negro and Borealis turned to see Rudolph and Clarice, shortly followed by the Mane 6, trotting over to them, and Borealis felt herself blush in embarrassment. “How much of that did you guys hear?”

“Pretty much all of it, but we wanted to let you two talk amongst yourselves for a while,” Pipp said. “You two feeling better?”

“...yeah. We’re still a little upset and hurt, but… we’ll talk to our parents later on,” Negro nodded. “See if we can… still be a family despite everything.”

“That’s really relieving to hear that,” Rudolph said, nuzzling Borealis before helping her onto his back. “Now, come on. We still have that flying lesson to get to.”

“Oh yeah!” Misty smiled. “If Clarice wants to earn her wings, we’re just the friends to help her do it!”

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The group moved further out into the forest to prevent any sort of distractions, and with the Mane 6 nearby for support, Rudolph and Clarice, with Negro and Borealis on their backs, were ready to begin. “Remember,” Rudolph said to Clarice, “just build up speed and…”

“Jump into the wind!” Clarice finished with excitement. “Ready, set, go!”

“Yee-haw!!” Negro howled as Clarice broke into a fast gallop, with Rudolph and Borealis right on their heels, causing the Mane 6 to cheer encouragingly while several forest animals, including seals, birds and squirrels, looked on.

As the two reindeer keep running and laughing with their fox friends, they came to a point where Rudolph took off into the air and so did Clarice...

...well, for a minute, anyway.

Right as the Mane 6 were cheering at their loudest, Clarice yelped and started falling, causing herself and Negro to crash into a small snow pile.

Borealis and Rudolph immediately grew concerned at this. “Uh-oh…”

“Negro! Clarice!” Sunny cried as the Mane 6 ran toward her to help her up. “Are you both okay?”

“Negro’s fine, thank goodness,” Clarice said, a bit frustrated with herself as Rudolph landed with Borealis, “but the sun was in my eyes!”

This led Rudolph to chuckle a little bit, even if he didn't mean to. “It’s not funny!” Clarice huffed before giggling a bit herself. “What do you say, Clarice?” Negro said encouragingly. “Wanna go again?”

Clarice smiled at this. “Now that I'm all warmed up, why not?”

Borealis and Negro chose to sit beside their pony pals for this one, and Rudolph and Clarice took off running and leapt into the air again. That is, until Clarice fell and tumbled down a snow pile before getting her head stuck in the snow. “Oooh…” Hitch groaned. “That’s gotta be cold…”

“Come on,” Zipp said. “We gotta get Clarice outta there!”

Rudolph, Borealis and Negro rushed over to help the Mane 6, and together, they were able to get Clarice out of the snow pile… only to topple into each other in the process.

Thank goodness, none of them were harmed…

…but Clarice’s confidence had taken a serious spiral due to all the mishaps. “Oh, who am I kidding? I'll never earn my wings.”

“Come on, Clarice. Have a little faith in yourself,” Misty said with a small smile. “I mean… none of us really knew how to use magic once it returned, but we got better with practice.”

“Yeah!” Izzy smiled. “All you gotta do is keep trying!”

The group had started walking by that point, and even with the Mane 6’s encouragement, Clarice sighed and looked toward Rudolph, embarrassed and flustered all at once. “And I wanted to impress you so badly.”

Rudolph looked at her in surprise. “Impress me?”

Clarice nodded in response to this claim. “I'm so… ordinary, and you're so famous.”

“Well,” Rudolph said, bringing up the conversation he had back with Queen Camilla up again, “I won't be so famous after I get my nose fixed, then I'll be normal like everyone else.”

Negro looked surprised that Rudolph would actually consider this. “But, Rudolph…”

“And I'll finally fit in,” Rudolph continued, “and… and… and we can be happy, and…”

However, Clarice interrupted him by flashing him a gentle smile. “I’m sure the ponies, Bori and Negro can agree with me when I say this, Rudolph. We love your nose… and everything about you.”

Rudolph looked at them in surprise. “You all do?”

“Mmm-hmm,” Borealis and Negro nodded. “Besides, if it weren’t for that nose, we probably wouldn’t have met,” Hitch agreed. “And had all these amazing adventures together.”

“Yeah! We never would have defeated Allura or Winterbolt, or saved Christmas or… anything like that,” Borealis agreed. “Absolutely,” Clarice nodded before facing Rudolph again. “That nose is unique, just like you.”

Rudolph began to blush as he cleared his throat to speak again. “And… and… well, you know how I feel, don't you?”

Clarice looked over at him. “Do I?”

“I mean… everyone in Christmastown knows,” Rudolph said awkwardly as the group started walking off again. “It’s so… obvious.”

The tree critters watching from nearby smirked as they knew was going to happen next. The male squirrel knelt down in front of the female, who batted her eyelashes and then kissed the male, making him blush and fall backward, and this caused the two birds to chirp in laughter at this.

Pipp looked at Rudolph with a sly smirk. “Well, maybe it would mean more to Clarice if you… told her again anyway?”

Rudolph brushed his hoof into the snow hesitantly while his nose beamed, knowing that Pipp was probably right. “Well, uh…”

He looked around to make sure the group wasn’t being watched, before he whispered something into Clarice's ear, making her gasp in delight. “Really?”

The Mane 6, Borealis and Negro nodded alongside Rudolph, knowing good and well what he had probably told her. “He loves me! He loves me!” Clarice shouted in joy as Rudolph stuck his head into a snowbank and as she ran off in joy. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer loves me!”

Then, the most amazing thing happened-- Clarice leapt into the air and started flying all on her own!

This amazed the Mane 6 while Borealis and Negro tried to get Rudolph out of the snowbank so he could see for himself. And needless to say, he was amazed and proud all at once. “Clarice!” he shouted. “You’re flying!”

“You did it, Clarice! You did it!” Negro barked happily as he and the others reunited with her. “Aw, gee…”

But the moment was short lived when Comet, followed by Nora and Tynan, approached them, all out of breath. “There you guys are!” the spectacled auroricorn panted tiredly. “We’ve been looking for you everywhere! You guys need to get back to the castle, quick!”

Borealis looked concerned at this. “Is something wrong, Comet?”

“Wrong? There’s definitely something wrong!” Comet emphasized. “Santa’s warehouse was robbed!”

The Mane 6 and their friends gasped in horror at this. “Comet, take the ponies, Rudolph and Clarice back to the castle for the briefing,” Nora told Comet. “We’ll take the kids and meet with you there.”

“Right,” Comet nodded before his group ran off. Negro sighed irritably as he faced his father. “I’m still kinda mad at you, you know.”

“I know that… and I’m so sorry I kept this from both of you,” Tynan said. “When I heard there was a Northern Lights fox princess living at the North Pole, I realized it had to be either Borealis or her mother, but when I found it was Borealis and Nora had become queen and disappeared… well… I wasn’t sure what to do. I was worried Borealis wouldn’t accept me as her father… or you as her brother.”

Borealis’ gazed softened. “Tynan… of course I would accept you. I have a reindeer who’s like my older brother, for aurora’s sake. Family is built by love, not blood. And… knowing I have family is the Christmas present I’ve always wanted.”

Nora smiled at her daughter as she and Tynan, along with Negro, nuzzled, happy that her daughter was able to find forgiveness. “I’m so glad you all made up. And I hope we can keep building that trust through the time we’ll spend together.”

“Of course we will. But we gotta get back to the castle, pronto!” Borealis said before the fox family headed off. “And if Santa’s warehouse really was robbed, I have a funny feeling I know who did it!”