It had been a few weeks since the Mane 6, Alphabittle and Queen Haven returned from their last Unity Quest in the Himalayas with Mystery Incorporated, Vincent Van Ghoul and some more new friends in order to stop an evil demon from opening the Chest of Demons and releasing the 13 ghosts within.
Vincent Van Ghoul's loyal assistant and apprentice, a flying leopard named Kova, gave them the necklace that was once worn by her brother and a scroll, depicting some more things that the Mane 6 should know about the flying leopard species...
...including the evil Allura herself.
According to Kova, Allura and her brother once led over their colony with hatred and cruelty until they were banished to seperate realms. And now, Allura was after a star that could not only release her brother from his otherworldly prison, but it could also open portals to other realms and time periods.
But then again... Allura was defeated back in Starlight Ridge... right?
She wouldn't bother them anymore... would she?
That is what we will soon find out, right before our heroes will be sent on their next extraordinary adventure.
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“Come on, come on... there has to be more information on winged snow leopards in these old books!”
Zipp had been in the Maretime Bay library for the past few days, trying to find any other information about Allura’s species other than in the scroll that she was given...
...and so far? Nothing.
She was about to give up and put her books back on the shelf when a voice stopped her.
“You wanted to find some information too, huh?”
Zipp turned and saw Sunny coming over to her with a smile. “Oh... hey, Sunny. Yeah, I appreciated the information that Kova was able to give, but... I wanted to see if there was any info on the Equestrian side of things too.”
“I understand why too,” Sunny said as she sat next to her friend. “I personally don't want another run in with Allura... she came so close to brainwashing you and taking over Starlight Ridge for good last time.”
“Yeah... I agree,” Zipp nodded. “And if we ever did run into her again, we wouldn’t have the magic snow to snap everypony out of the brainwashing... so, that would be a 11 on the 10 scale of badness.”
Sunny sighed and got a book from the stack. “Maybe we should get back to searching... just in case there's something we missed.”
Zipp nodded at this. “Good idea... better to be safe than sorry.”
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“...and then, your dad managed to win be the last bunnicorn stuffy at the Bridlewood Fair, throwing out his shoulder in the process,” Paradise said with a laugh as she and Misty had their weekly lunch date. “Oh my... the good times that I had with your father were some of the best in my life, and now I get to know my baby girl all over again.”
“I'm really glad we started doing this, Mom,” Misty smiled. “Pipp and Zipp said that maybe we could all go for a mother-daughter picnic next week too-- just the five of us.”
“Aww, Misty, that sounds wonderful!” Paradise beamed. “That would be a great way for us to spend time with our friends and each other!”
Then, Paradise sighed and rubbed her shoulder with an uneasy expression. “Especially after... all those years I missed.”
“Mom, stop. I told you that me and Dad don't blame you for anything-- Opaline manipulated you, just like she manipulated me,” Misty said comfortingly. “That’s something we have in common, and it connects us in a way that nopony else could ever imagine. And I love you and Dad more than anything.”
Paradise sighed and hugged her daughter warmly. “I love you too, my little butterfly...”
Misty leaned into the warm embrace before suddenly wanting to ask a question. “Mom? Do you ever remember Opaline mentioning winged leopards like Ciela and Kova being in Equestria during the old eras of Equestria? Or of any magical stars other than the Wishing Star?”
“Well... not that I've ever heard. Most of her rants were about her defeat and wishing that magic would return,” Paradise hummed in thought. “If there were any leopards like that, they probably would have shown themselves to pony kind about now. Why do you ask?”
“It's just... Zipp and Sunny have been really curious on learning more about them,” Misty explained. “Just in case that Allura were to show herself again in one of our Unity Quests.”
“Oh, good thinking,” Paradise nodded. “I may be able to find something about the subject in the Bridlewood archives, and if I do, I'll let you know immediately.”
Misty smiled at this. “Thanks, Mom. Hey, I have an idea for what we can do next.”
“Oh? What's that?”
“...feel like getting a matching spa treatment?”
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“So,” said Sunny after a long while of searching through books, “what DID it say on that scroll Kova gave you?”
“Basically of how winged leopards descended from the mortal world, and there were a lot of different colonies of them before Allura took over and forced all of them under her and her brothers’ rule,” Zipp explained. “They each have a distinct power, and it says here that Allura and her brother were obsessed with possessing a star that could open portals to other realms.”
“That must be the star that Allura had been forcing the auroricorns to search for!” Sunny realized. “Does it say which star?”
“No,” Zipp shook her head. “It doesn’t point to any star in particular.”
“Well… I just thought of something,” said Sunny. “If we were to find that star before Allura, maybe we could prevent her from ever attacking again.”
“That would be great,” Zipp shrugged, “but where would we even start looking? It’s not like the star’s gonna fall from space or anything.”
“Well…”
Suddenly, Sunny and Zipp's cutie marks began to glow brightly, prompting Zipp to chuckle a bit excitedly. “Looks like we’re gonna go on a Unity Quest! Maybe this will provide us with the answers we’ve been looking for!”
“We better stop by Hitch’s office and Mane Melody,” Sunny said as she got up. “I overheard Izzy say she was gonna get her mane trimmed, and Misty said she might take her mom there.”
“And I’ll go to Hitch’s office,” said Zipp, “and get Hitch and Sparky. We’ll meet you at the Brighthouse?”
“Sounds good!”
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“And…” Pipp said quietly as she finished up with Izzy’s mane trimming, “that… should… do it! There!”
“Ooh! Thanks, Pipperdoodle!” Izzy said as she got up. “Now my mane doesn’t feel like a huge weight on my head!”
“You look amazing, Izzy,” smiled Paradise as Jazz worked on her wave-themed hooficure. “And I love the design you created for me, Jazz.”
“Aww, thanks!” Jazz smiled. “I love the butterfly theme you gave Misty, too. You two are gonna be the hottest mother-daughter duo in town!”
Paradise and Misty laughed at this before Misty, Pipp and Izzy felt a glow coming from their cutie marks. “Ooh, yay!” Izzy cheered. “Unity Quest time!”
Misty sighed and got down from her chair. “Don’t worry, Mom. We should be back soon, and then we can finish our mother-daughter day like we planned.”
“Of course, honey,” Paradise smiled. “Jazz and I will finish here and I’ll wait for you in front of the movie theater to watch the one you’ve been wanting to see.”
“The Wizard of Hooves!” Misty cheered. “Yes!”
“Girls! Unity Quest time!” Sunny said as she poked her head through the door. “Zipp went to get Hitch, and once Hitch finds a dragon-sitter for Sparky, we’re gonna meet them at the Brighthouse!”
“You got it, Sunny!” Pipp smiled as she flew up and spiraled around for a few moments. “Unity Crystals, heeeeeeere weeeeee coooooooommmmeee, YEAH!!!”
Misty chuckled at this. “Leave it to Pipp to leave in style!”
That’s when the mares all sped off toward the Brighthouse and meet their friends for their next adventure.