//------------------------------// // Welcome Back to the North Pole/Allura Enters the Scene // Story: G5 Adventures in Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// On a cold, dark June night, a cold wind blew through the air and a swirling rainbow portal opened up in the midst of a Christmas tree forest. You can probably guess where our heroes ended up, but let’s get back to the story so you can see for yourself. Sunny, Misty, Hitch (with Sparky on his back), Izzy, Pipp and Zipp emerged from the portal, where they were revealed to be crystal versions of themselves... a version of themselves that they've only seen in one other particular place. Once realizing where they were, Sunny gasped in awe. “We’re back at the North Pole! Where Rudolph and Borealis live!” “But, it’s nowhere near Christmas!” Zipp pointed out as the ponies admired their crystal forms once again. “Why would we come back here at such a random time?” “I don’t know,” Misty said in thought. “But maybe if we head to Santa’s castle, maybe he or Rudolph or Bori can give us an explanation.” “Well then, what are we waiting for?” Pipp asked. “And when we get there, I can give Santa my Christmas list for next year!” The others gave her a scolding look, causing her to sigh reluctantly. “Okay, okay, fine… I’ll keep it under wraps for now,” Pipp said as they got to walking. “Geez, I was only kidding.” XXXXXXXX The long walk to Santa's castle seemed longer than the ponies remembered it, but it gave them more time to explain to Sparky all about their adventures here last winter. “So, we ventured with Rudolph and Bori through these very woods,” said Hitch to his dragon son, “when they thought it would be best to run away from their problems.” “But in the end,” said Izzy, “they realized what makes you different also makes you Izzy-tastic! Or… well, unique, if you wanna put it another way.” “Speaking of unique, I see something that you can only find here at the North Pole!” Sunny smiled, pointing at something at the bottom of the hill. “Look!” The ponies glanced down the hill and immediately gasped at what Sunny was pointing to. “Santa’s castle!” Zipp smiled. “We made it!” “Oooh, it is going to be SO pony-tastic to see Rudolph and Borealis again!” Pipp said as they ran/flew down the hill toward the castle. “How much do you think has changed since we left?” “What, are you kidding?” Izzy asked with a scoff. “There’s nothing that could change around here in Christmastown! Absolutely--”  “You’re back you’re back!!” said a young female voice, belonging to a fast-moving white blur heading toward them. “You’re back you’re back you’re back you’re back, YOU’RE BACK!!!!” The white blur tackled Sunny to the ground, causing both of them to roll a good ways before stopping. When Sunny’s vision finally cleared, staring down at her was a small fox cub with eyes that matched the colors of the Northern Lights-- beautiful shades of green, fuchsia and blue. “Borealis?” Sunny asked. “Is that you?” “You act surprised,” Borealis giggled. “Are you really that surprised?” “No, not really,” Zipp said as she helped Sunny up. “Man, you’ve really grown, Bori! How’s the North Pole life treating you?” “It’s been snow-tastic!” Borealis told her friends. “And the most AMAZING thing happened after you left! The--” “Bori!” panted another familar voice, but this one was definitely a male. “Bori, where are you?” “Yeah!” agreed another male voice. “Don’t run so fast!” “We can barely keep up with you!” added another female voice. “Oh, I almost forgot!” Borealis realized. “We’re over here, Rudolph! I found them!” At that moment, another set of familiar faces appeared, tiredly trotting down the path to meet up with them, and seeing them made the ponies gasp as they ran to greet their friends.  “Rudolph!” “Violet Frost!” “Comet!” “Oh my pony, it’s so good to see you guys!” “We missed you so much!” As everyone hugged and rejoiced to see one another again, Violet chuckled and looked at Sunny. “Wow, this is a surprise! What are you all doing here?” “We’re here for another Unity Quest,” said Sunny as they all seperated from hugging, “but the real question is, what are you and Comet doing here? I thought you were in Starlight Ridge!” “We were,” Comet said, “but after you guys left after the big New Year’s party at Father Time’s castle, we discovered that the aurora flares were lighting up an undiscovered bridge that led here to the North Pole!” “So, along with us,” said Violet, “the other auroricorns have been dividing our time between Starlight Ridge and here so we can make friends with all the North Pole animals and the elves getting ready for the big Halfway-to-Christmas gala/Crystal Ball we’re planning tonight!” “Come on! We’ll explain to you more along the way,” Rudolph told them, “but first… we have to get you guys decked out and ready to celebrate!” XXXXXXXX As Rudolph, Comet, Borealis and Violet led the group to the back part of Santa's castle, they entered a changing room with three auroricorn mares holding some accessories and makeup supplies. Not long after, the auroricorns were putting the finishing touches on their crystal gala looks, complete with fancy attire, makeup... and yes, plenty of sparkles. Pipp then flew into the middle of her friends while holding her phone. “Say ‘Auroricorns’!” she said with a squeal as she and her friends took a group picture to remember the occasion. “Mm-mm-MMM!” Violet hummed to them while giving a smile. “You ponies look fabulous! But we've gotta hurry. The Halfway-to-Christmas Gala/Crystal Ball has already started!” “A combined gala and a ball?” Pipp asked in excitement. “Um, first auroricorn-styled makeup, fashion makeovers, and now a party?! AHH!!! Could this night get any better?!” Zipp groaned as she adjusted the neck collar she was wearing. “I sure hope so.” “Come on, Zipp! This is the first we’ve seen you in literally forever and you don’t wanna dress all fancy?!” Borealis asked while spinning in her sparkly tutu. “Besides, I’m gonna be singing while the auroricorns use their magic to create special effects! You can’t, on any circumstances, miss that.” “Ehhhhh, okay, you’re right,” Zipp relented with a smile. “I really don’t wanna miss that.” “Come on, ponies! Let's have some fun!” Violet announced with a smile, causing Borealis, Pipp and Izzy to run/fly ahead, giggling and chatting to themselves. But as they walked, Sunny got to thinking. If Allura was going to come back at any time from anywhere, they needed Rudolph, Borealis and the rest of the auroricorns to know... even if the situation did sound a little bit scary. But... there would always be time for telling their friends a little later on. Right now, they had some catching up to do... and they did need to have a bit of fun before Borealis' performance. XXXXXXXX Once the group arrived in the main ballroom, four auroricorns were using their magic and playing crystal instruments as a quartet while many ponies and elves, including Izzy and Misty, happily danced. Hitch and Sparky, on the other hand, were wide-eyed at the buffet table that was set up as Hitch ate a piece of pie and had some warm cider. “Oh, yeah!” That's when Hitch noticed Sparky who was eating a ton of apples in a matter of seconds. Hitch decided to let it go, however-- Sparky needed to have fun too. At the same time, an auroricorn mare was holding up a star before she, a few other auroricorns, Rudolph, Borealis, Sunny, Pipp and Zipp passed it to each other, with Zipp catching the star last. Suddenly, as Zipp held the star in her hoof, the star began glowing. Zipp tossed it up, but then it turned into a crown as it landed on Zipp’s head, much to her surprise. “Awww, Zipp!” Pipp said with tears of joy in her eyes while Zipp gave a deadpan expression. “It's exactly how I always imagined it!” “Heh heh heh! Looks good on you, Zipp!” Rudolph giggled. “Or may I say, your majesty?” “Rudolph, cut it out!” Zipp said playfully, nudging him, causing the both of them to laugh. “Queen Zipp in the house! Whoop-whoop-whooooop!” Izzy cheered before turning to the earth pony mare next to her. “Oh, Sunny. Having fun?” “I really am-- and I’m really happy to see our friends again,” Sunny said before frowning, “but… I really do feel like we need to tell them about Allura sooner or later. I mean… just so they can expect it.” “Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho!” chuckled a cheerful and easy recognizable voice. “Sunny Starscout and friends! What a pleasant surprise!” “Santa!” the ponies smiled and turned to him. “It’s so good to see you again,” smiled Sunny. “When Borealis, Rudolph and our auroricorn friends told us about the party, we had to come. I hope that’s okay.” “Of course it is! You’re always welcome here, no matter what the season,” Santa told the ponies. “And speaking of the party… Borealis? I think it’s almost time for your performance.” “Oh, candy canes! You’re right!” Borealis realized. “Sorry, ponies! Gotta run!” And just like that, Borealis was gone. “Is it just me,” Pipp spoke up, “or is she a lot faster than she used to be?” “She’s been practicing her skills a lot since you left, in case you ever came back and we could go on another adventure together,” Rudolph explained. “And since then, she’s gotten stronger, faster and a lot smarter-- she even got the guts to try the flyers’ obstacle course!” “Oh-ho, really?” Zipp asked in surprise. “How did she do?” “She actually did a lot better than we all thought,” Rudolph said before giggling a bit. “She still has a little trouble climbing up tall hills, though.” “Excuse me, everypony! Can I have your attention, please?” Violet Frost called from the stage, prompting everyone to gather around. “First of all, on behalf of all the auroricorns of Starlight Ridge, I just want to thank everypony for making us feel at home-- the North Pole really is an amazing place, and I really think that we’re going to be great friends for years to come. Now, without further ado, here is resident fox Borealis with a special song she wrote!” Everyone cheered as Borealis took Violet Frost’s place on the stage, and the small fox cleared her throat. “This song I wrote is called ‘This Christmas Wish’, and I would officially like to dedicate it to my mom, Nora… wherever she is… and our friends from Equestria! Welcome back, ponies. Now… hit it!” The auroricorns with her on the stage began to play the song as rehearsed, while a few more auroricorns off to the side control the lights as Borealis began to sing. Borealis: Ooooh… I keep searching the skies every night To find my place, where I long to be The stars show the way with their shimmering light Have I finally found my destiny? No more wondering and waiting on signs I’ve been given a reason to shine With that, Borealis used her tail to create shimmering colors that passed through the lights, creating an amazing light display as the song continued. Borealis: Can you feel it, the magic? Do you see how fantastic it’s shining through? It’s a dream come true And it glimmers and shimmers and we know We’ll remember the whole year through This Christmas wish we share… with you… Borealis saw her Equestrian friends looking on with proud smiles, and that's when her song took an octave change. Borealis: And the stars shines in wonder This glow that we're under makes time stand still And it feels unreal In a world filled with joy, it's for each girl and boy It's a gift so true This Christmas wish we share with you... It's the Christmas wish we share with you By the end of the song, the lights returned to normal, causing everyone to cheer and applaud for the song and the wonder brought along with it. Borealis giggled and bowed before hopping off the stage and returning to her friends. “So… what do you think of my song?” “It was amazing, Bori!” Pipp said, hugging the fox. “I see you really WERE paying attention during my music lessons!” “Hey, what can I say?” Borealis asked with a giggle. “I had some great role models.” Sunny decided that this would be the best opportunity to break the news about Allura to their friends, and cleared her throat. “So, Rudolph? You guys remember that snow leopard we had to tangle with the last time we were together, right?” “Yeah, Allura-- the same one who wanted to eat me and Borealis for lunch,” Rudolph shuddered. “Why do you ask?” “Yeah,” Borealis nodded. “We totally stopped her.” “...maybe not totally,” Hitch winced as he spoke. “Allura somehow escaped Starlight Ridge, and… now she’s out there somewhere, looking for star pieces that will allow her to travel between realms whenever she wants.” “You mean… she could come to the North Pole, for instance?” Borealis asked, ears folding nervously. “To hurt the auroricorns? To hurt us?!” “Yes, but don’t worry,” Zipp reassured. “We’re gonna do all we can to find the star pieces first and make sure Allura doesn’t hurt anypony.” “We trust you completely,” said Rudolph, “but you’ll need help breaking the news to the others… which is where me and Bori come in. You guys break the news to the auroricorns, and we’ll tell Santa and the other elves. We can never be too careful.” “Good idea,” Sunny said before looking outside with a sigh. “I just hope Allura is nowhere close…” XXXXXXXX However, Sunny’s fears of Allura were about to get worse… because Allura and Twitch were watching the entire party from a cover of trees nearby, and needless to say, Allura wasn’t happy to see them. “Twitch, this mission to find the next star shard just got more difficult,” she said with a growl. “With those ponies nearby, along with that red-nosed reject and that fox, we’ll never be able to openly search for it!” Twitch growled at this before asking a question, causing Allura to touch the star shard that hung around her neck with her paw. “No, it hasn’t glowed any brighter since we arrived at the North Pole,” Allura told him. “But it’s here… I can feel it for certain.” Suddenly, she yawned deeply, as if she was trying to fight off sleep. “We must find a place to rest for now-- the search for the star shard can begin tomorrow at sunrise.” Twitch immediately disliked the idea of sleeping out in the middle of nowhere, so Allura looked around for a cave that they could sleep in and keep a close eye on the castle. However, what she saw instead was something different. A tall, icy mountain range that didn't look far from there, making her hum in thought. “That looks like a worthy place of sleep. Come along, Twitch.” Twitch sighed and hopped on Allura’s back before she flew off toward those mountains… unaware of the potential ally they would find.