G5 Adventures in Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie

by ponydog127

Harvest and Hugs Day in Zephyr Heights

It was a few weeks after the Mane 6 and the Pippsqueaks returned from their Halloween/Nightmare Night adventure in Fernfield, where they had to help the Buddies and their kids, as well as some new friends, defeat the evil Warwick and the Howlloween Hound before they opened the portal to the netherworld and released the evil spirits from within it onto Fernfield.

Of course, they succeeded, and it left the Pippsqueaks with a newfound sense of confidence that they lacked before.

But since it was about 4 weeks since they had got back, the Mane 6 had another holiday to prepare for… Harvest and Hugs Day in Zephyr Heights, one of the biggest holidays of the year.

Sort of like the Equestrian version of Thanksgiving.

All of the Mane 6’s families got invited to a huge feast in Zephyr Heights, and they couldn’t be late for it.

However… the Mane 6 were unaware that this feast was going to lead to one of the biggest Unity Quests yet..

But, we’ll get to that later. Right now, we have to get back to the story.

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In the Zephyr Heights royal castle, the Mane 6 and their families were all mingling with each other before the feast began.

The feast itself was going to consist of all different Equestrian treats, such as carrot cake (Queen Haven's favorite, as some of you may remember), mashed potatos, stew, roasted carrots, pudding... all of the Harvest and Hugs Day classics.

Zipp and Pipp were obviously attending the festivities with their mom, Queen Haven. Misty was attending with her dad, Alphabittle, and her mother, Paradise Moonray, who were both chatting with the queen. And Hitch, Sparky, and Grandma Figgy were all enjoying the festivities together.

But... the only ones without family at the feast were Sunny and Izzy.

Izzy seemed to be taking it just fine, but Sunny... she really missed her parents being there. She had lost her father a few years ago, and she hadn't seen her mother since she was a tiny filly.

She didn't want to admit it in front of anyone, but... Harvest and Hugs Day felt almost... empty without them.

Sunny was sadly sitting on her own when Hitch walked up to her, feeling concerned about the wellbeing of his foalhood friend. “Sunny... is everything okay?” he asked. “You haven't been your usual sunny self the past few days... especially since we got here.”

“Well,” Sunny began uneasily, despite knowing that she could tell Hitch anything, “I guess I just... really miss my family. My mom disappeared when I was still really young, and now with my dad gone…it’s just hard to deal with, especially on Harvest and Hugs Day.”

“...yeah, I understand,” Hitch said understandingly as he sat down next to her. “I haven't seen my parents since I was a colt, and... well... Grandma Figgy is the only family I've ever known. And before Misty was reunited with Paradise and Alphabittle... even I hate to say it... Opaline was the only family she ever knew too. We all have our family flaws.”

Misty then walked over to join them, having overheard some of their conversation. “I also know how you feel Sunny-- before I was reunited with my parents and still living with Opaline, I felt like there was no love in Equestria for me,” she admitted. “But when I met you guys, for possibly the first time in my life I felt like I had ponies who loved me. And just remember that your friends are there for you in that same way.”

She then gave Sunny a hug, which made the earth pony smile a bit. “Thanks, guys. I guess that really does help,” Sunny said.

Izzy hummed a tune as she trotted over. “Oh, hey, ponies! Is everything okay over here?”

“I guess I was just... missing my parents a little,” Sunny said before wondering something. “Izzy... whatever happened to your parents? I don't really think you've ever mentioned them before.”

Suddenly, Izzy’s smile turned into a sad frown. “Nopony’s ever asked me about my family before.”

“It’s okay, Izzy!” Sunny replied comfortingly, putting a hoof on Izzy's shoulder. “We’re your friends, and you can tell us anything.”

“But, only if you want to,” Misty added, not wanting to make Izzy feel pressured to talk about it. Izzy sighed and looked at her friends before sitting down. “Well... I had a mom and a dad when I was a little filly. Even though we had no magic in Bridlewood... we were happy just being with each other. But then... one day... my mom got sick. I did everything I could to make her better, but... she got worse and worse until she passed away. My dad... he was pretty sad after that. Nothing made him happy anymore. One day... he left me at Elder Flower's house and told me I would be staying with her for a little while and for me to be good. I... I never saw him after that.”

After hearing this story, Sunny, Misty, and Hitch felt sorry for their unicorn friend. “I’m so sorry that happened to you, Izzy,” Sunny said, nuzzling her as a sign of comfort. “Yeah... I had no idea that you went through all that,” Hitch frowned. “But... you seem so positive and upbeat,” Misty pointed out before deciding to ask Izzy something. “How do you handle the memories of all that and still be so... happy all at once?”

“It can be hard sometimes.” Izzy responded with a slight shrug. “But when I met all of you, I felt like I had a new little family, and that made me feel really good!”

“Aww, Izzy... we feel the same way about you!” Sunny said as she hugged the lavender unicorn. “Group hug!” Izzy yelled as Misty and Hitch joined the embrace. And then, not even a second later, she spotted Zipp and Pipp standing off to the side, glancing at the embrace before Izzy decided to make the group hug that much better. “Hey, Pipp! Zipp! You girls gotta get in on this!”

“Oh, group hug selfies?! Absolutely!” Pipp excitedly flew over, and Zipp flew over to join in the hug as well... even though she was a bit less than thrilled about the selfie part of the deal. The hug lasted for a few more moments before Alphabittle cleared his throat from not too far away. “Kids? Uh... I don't wanna ruin the moment here, but it's almost time for the feast to start.”

“It is? Yay!” Izzy said excitedly, jumping out of the hug. “Come on, ponies! Let’s get ready to FEAST!”

“Yeah, we should probably get to our seats either way,” Zipp told her sister before they flew to sit right near their mother. “Izzy, you and Sunny are more than welcome to sit with me, Alphabittle and Misty, if you'd like,” Paradise smiled kindly. “Aw, thanks, Paradise!” Sunny said to Misty's mother with a smile. “You don’t know how much Izzy and I appreciate that.”

The group moved to the table with Queen Haven sitting at the head, ready to give the opening speech to her daughters, her friends and their loved ones. “Welcome, everypony, to our Harvest and Hugs Day feast!” The queen began. “We are so happy to have all of you here to celebrate this special holiday in the halls of the Zephyr Heights palace!”

Everyone else applauded and cheered at this claim, and Queen Haven continued her speech with a smile. “A lot has happened within the last few years. Magic returning, pony kinds reunited in friendship, love forming thanks to those friendships... even the homecoming of Paradise Moonray, as well as our children becoming not only becoming heroes of Equestria, but heroes of other worlds as well. This is a time to celebrate our accomplishments and be together for a special dinner, so please... everypony, dig in. There's plenty to go around.”

And so, the Mane 6 and their loved ones began to enjoy the feast. The food they had sampled so far was absolutely amazing, and they were telling their loved ones all about what quests they had gone on recently, hearing their amazed reactions of their newfound friendships and their battles.

But during one of the stories, Grandma Figgy noticed her grandson's cutie mark glowing, as well as his friends' cutie marks as well. “Hitchie, kids! Your cutie marks are glowing again!”

“That means we’re being summoned,” Zipp sighed as their cutie mark magic opened a portal not too far away. “We’ll be back in a little while, though-- maybe a few minutes at most.”

“Granny, can you look out for Sparky while we’re gone?” Hitch asked. “After the most previous mission we went on, I don’t wanna take any chances.”

“You can count on me, Hitchie!” Grandma Figgy said as she picked up Sparky, and Hitch gave his dragon son a little nuzzle before stepping away. “We'll be back as soon as we can, we promise!” Pipp said as she hugged Queen Haven. “Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!” Misty bid her parents farewell before she and the Mane 6 jumped into the portal to start their next adventure off right.

Comments

[Elroy777]

Sunny really missed her family and I haven't seen Izzy's family...