Questions #143 and Beyond

by ArDee

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Izzy Moonbow, Romance, Drama, Sunny Starscout, My Little Pony: A New Generation, Sex
Length: 8823

Sunny and Co.'s quest to reunite the pony races may have ended in success, but if anything, her journey filled her notebook with even more questions to ask Izzy. Some far more important than others, hurriedly written down and circled repeatedly.

The fragmented Equestrian nation has begun a hesitant trot towards reconstruction and reformation, but a long road of recovery and re-acclimation is in store for the once-segregated communities of Maretime Bay, Bridlewood, and Zephyr Heights. Friendships formed and harmony restored, but with many of Sunny's one hundred and forty-two questions still left unanswered, particularly those about why Equestria devolved to such a state, it's tough to figure out where to begin.

Maybe it'd be best for her to start with some of those newer and more personal questions...ones she'd hastily written down during their crew's quest to save ponykind from its long period of separation. The unicorn capable of answering them is close at hoof...she need only ask her.

Readings!
Full Story (Mystery Pony Fiction) | Chapter 1 (STTP Studio) | Chapter 2 (STTP Studio)

Published 2021-09-29 01:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2021-10-12 23:30:13 UTC

#143 - What is this feeling?

Author's Note

Eeyup. I am HOPELESSLY in love with G5's character designs, and especially with this ship. It's just...so...cute! All the scenes they have together in the movie seem tailor-made to be shipping fuel, from that wonderful 80s-esque song they have together early on to all the little up-close-and-personal moments they have throughout the rest of the movie. I'm gonna go ahead and say it - these two have more potent chemistry than I've ever seen between two characters in the MLP franchise before!

I'm hopelessly addicted to every single piece of IzzyScout shipping that I see, to the point where I couldn't take it anymore and just started writing about them myself - G5 is so new that I've only watched the movie twice, so I'm not sure how well I'm capturing their personalities, but I hope you all enjoy what I've done so far! I am definitely gonna be writing more! ^^

Going for much more of a wholesome lean for the beginning, this time - the lewd stuff will come later. Not sure when - writing fluff with lewd undertones is a lot of fun~

~RD

143 - What is this feeling?

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Sunny Starscout was...conflicted.

As incredible as it was to have her efforts at reunifying the pony races vindicated in far more spectacular a fashion than she ever could've anticipated, it brought with it catastrophic structural damage to her beloved home — Maretime Bay's iconic lighthouse, and the place that contained all of her father's work with magical antiquities from...from before she'd lost him forever. From when she was still a bright-eyed, staunchly optimistic filly with zero qualms about voicing her "radical" opinions about unicorns and pegasi.

...Admittedly, that was a trait she'd never let go of even as she grew to young adulthood, and as Sunny sat thoughtfully on a grassy slope overlooking the lighthouse's reconstruction efforts, she reflected on how singularly crucial her stubbornness had turned out to be for the future of ponykind.

Sunny was jarred from her introspective moodiness by the feeling of a hoof hesitantly tapping her back, the telltale rattling of a gemstone bracelet giving away its identity without her needing to give it a second thought.

"Sunny! Gosh, I was calling your name for ages, filly! Y'know, you really shouldn't spend too much time in your own head. It's not healthy!" Izzy Moonbow chastened, her chipper demeanor never faltering for a moment as she plonked herself down right in front of Sunny, obstructing the heartwrenching view of her damaged domicile with a happy-go-lucky smile.

Her face began to feel hot, as fuzzy tingles of indescribable, heart-fluttering energy rippled through her from their point of contact. 'There it is again! But why...?`

Shaking it off as best she could as she attempted to compose herself, Sunny opened her mouth to reply — and found that, when she stared into her best friend's bewitching amethyst eyes, words simply wouldn't leave her lips.

Izzy's eyebrow crept higher the longer her friend stayed "spaced out" and silent. "Uhh...is there somethin' on my face? What's with the look? Ooh, is this another staring contest?!" Izzy squealed excitedly and abruptly fell silent as she returned Sunny's stare with intense concentration, bottom lip jutting out goofily in the process.

"W-wha...?" Sunny said breathlessly as her brain finally rebooted, shaking her head in a vain attempt to clear up whatever was fogging her thoughts.

"Ha-haaa! I win this time!" Izzy exclaimed, pumping a hoof in victory. "So that means you gotta start answering me! What's got your mind going all wacky, huh?"

"Well...I've got some more questions I wanted to ask you. New ones, I mean. Ones that came to me while we were, y'know, saving the future of Equestria." she quickly pulled it out of her satchel and unbuttoned the cover, nearly fumbling it in the process. With shaky hooves, she hurriedly flipped towards the end of her list of questions. "Th-they're not anything about history or tradition, though. These questions are about...you."

"Ooh, like what? Didja wanna know my favorite flavor of ice cream? Well, rainbow sherbet is preeetty goo-" Her motormouth was abruptly halted as Sunny's hoof was held up to her lips.

"Izz...w-why do I get this feeling...of butterflies in my stomach whenever I look at you?" Sunny said breathlessly, the effort of that monumental question feeling like a herculean weight had just been lifted off her shoulders.

Whatever Izzy might've been about to say left her mouth with a fading whimper, her eyes widening in surprise as a rosy blush lit up her cheeks. "S-Sunny?"

The kindling embers in Sunny's heart began to crackle with newfound life as a feeling of self-assured confidence filled her chest, borne of countless pro-friendship protests around her closed-minded hometown. Staunchly, with her brow furrowing further and further, she continued reading down her list, allowing the emotional furor of the moment to fuel her interrogation-cum-confession. "Why can't I stop thinking about you? Why does everywhere you touch me leave a tingle? Is all of this part of your crazy unicorn powers?" With a long inhale, Sunny finally paused in her questioning, her breaths coming in staccato gasps.

Sunny could hear Izzy's horn alight with its newly unlocked sorcerous power as that ethereal purple shimmer lit up in her periphery, but before she could ask any further embarrassing and confusing questions - Izzy's telekinesis pushed Sunny's chin upwards and away from the pages of her notebook.

Her heart thumped heavily in her chest as Izzy's knowing, half-lidded gaze filled her vision, and she could feel the insistent force of telekinesis around the back of her head - preventing her from pulling away as Izzy's face moved swiftly towards hers.

In that singular, magical moment, as sunset gave way to twilight in the sky above them, their muzzles met.

A collective shudder rolled through them the moment that they made contact, Izzy's telekinesis fading away to nothing as Sunny dropped her notebook to the grass and gripped Izzy's barrel in her forehooves. All of the questions she'd had, all of the confusing and unfamiliar feelings that had been welling within her from the moment they'd first locked eyes in that hectic encounter in Maretime Bay, resolved themselves in an instant.

She could feel Izzy's broad tongue licking against her lips, the older and more experienced mare begging for an entrance - which Sunny wholeheartedly allowed, a muffled giggle passing through her whenever the other mare's tongue tickled a sensitive spot in her maw. With a martial prowess that heavily subverted her childlike, hyperactive demeanor, the unicorn's deft muscle quested through and conquered every square inch of her interior, sending Sunny's head spinning as her eagerness to reciprocate led her completely out of her depth.

"Whoa." The husky, awed voice of their pale pegasus friend cut through their rapturous union in an instant, the two mares blushing furiously as they hurriedly disentangled and tried in vain to make it look like they hadn't just been snogging at sunset like some kind of stereotypical romance novella. Zipp landed hesitantly upon the grass as she carefully considered her next statement, shuffling her wings restlessly as she folded them against her sides. "I...was gonna ask how you two were doing, but I guess now I don't need to. Heh."

"Z-zipp! Please don't tell anypony else about this! Reintegrating the races is one thing, but I don't think everypony would be ready for something like this just yet!" Sunny exclaimed, glancing around hurriedly for any other potential witnesses.

"Whoa, whoa, whoooa. Slow your roll, there, pony girl! My lips are sealed as long as yours are." Sunny and Izzy shared a meaningful glance at each other's spit-slickened lips as they gave Zipp sheepish smiles, getting a good-natured laugh out of the pegasine princess. "Aw, you know what I mean. Jeeze, keep it in your saddlebags, you two."

"That was soooo adorable, wasn't it guys? Aren't Izzy and Sunny just the cutest couple?" Pipp purred sweetly into her front-facing camera, although a quick glance at the appalled expressions on the other three ponies' faces caused her sweet smile to falter. Returning her focus back to her camera as her wings fluttered anxiously, Pipp hurriedly closed her livestream with her signature catchphrase and grinned sheepishly at the other ponies as she quickly stowed her phone beneath her downy wing.

"Pipp, what the hay are you thinking?!" Zipp shouted furiously, getting right up in her sister's face as her wings flared out at her sides. "Do you have any idea of what less understanding ponies are gonna think about what you just streamed to the entirety of ZH?! Do you honestly even think about what you're doing half the time?"

"I-I-I..." Mouth hanging open in horrified realization as she beheld the hurt looks on Izzy and Sunny's faces, Pipp couldn't find any words to excuse her behavior. With tears quickly welling in her eyes, she at least made an attempt. "I'm so sorry...I was just so happy for the two of you that I...ohh, I've ruined everythiiing~!" Her tears ran in trails down her cheeks as she turned tail and ran, unable to bear the potentially disastrous consequences of her actions.

Zipp's angered expression broke into an exasperated sigh as her ears flopped downward. "I'm really sorry, you two. I'm gonna try to see if I can't help my sister fix this mess. You two just...talk things out, alright? Try not to let what other ponies think ruin this for you, yeah?" Without another word, she was off like her namesake, chasing after her distraught and impulsive sister.

Sunny and Izzy were left in painfully awkward silence in the wake of the pegasine princesses' sudden intrusion into their moment. Izzy, taking the initiative, was the first to open her mouth. "Sooo...you wanna...talk things out some more?" she purred, wiggling her eyebrows as she gave Sunny that half-lidded come-hither stare that she already knew drove the other mare wild.

Rolling her eyes and scoffing, Sunny pulled her new marefriend close once more. "You are incorrigible, Izz. But...yeah. I'd like that very much."

All those thoughts of the uncertainty and strife that Pipp had just thrust upon them left her mind as their lips met once more, the two of them flopping belly-to-belly onto the grass as their hooves journeyed across each other's manes and bodies.

Whatever the future would bring, the two of them wouldn't go down without a fight — after all, when had Sunny Starscout ever been one to play by the rules?

#147 - What happens now?

Giggling with mischievous excitement, Sunny and Izzy — having realized their compromising position out in the middle of the field - disentangled themselves from one another as they hurriedly cantered towards the lighthouse's front door. Despite the grave structural damage that much of it had received from Sprout's ridiculous machine, notably the complete loss of the spire, the ground floor had largely endured. Or at the very least, the side of it containing her bedroom had...which was good enough for the both of them, at least for tonight.

Moving swiftly past the accumulated Canterlogic construction equipment that surrounded her home in preparation for its reconstruction, the two mares darted beneath the buckled front canopy and through the front door. As it swung shut heavily behind her, Sunny reflexively turned to the space next to the door and straightened out the little picture frame containing her most cherished photograph. As hastily taped-together as it now was, it had been swiftly returned to its dutiful pride of place near her front door when cleanup operations began earlier that day.

Her gaze faltered as it wandered to the cracked walls of her kitchen, a grisly scar in her childhood home serving as a testament to the results of Sprout's foolhardy power-mongering. Much like Sunny herself, though, her home was earth-pony strong — it would take more than a mama's colt, wannabe dictator-pony to completely ruin her day, or her house. That the entire place had stood up as well as it had was nothing short of a miracle, but that was a topic for a time where she didn't have her drop-dead gorgeous unicorn marefriend (she could still scarcely believe it, a unicorn!) leaning adoringly against her as they strode side-by-side through the doorway to Sunny's bedroom.

The moment that the orange mare passed through that wooden portal, it was as if a switch had been flipped — she hastily removed the bands holding her mane in place and flung the constraining articles onto her vanity with the barest hint of care, tossing her mane like a wannabe rockstar to free it of its constrained shapes. Her saddlebag was discarded onto the back of her chair as she trotted over to the shelf that still proudly displayed the night light her father had made for her. Though she'd felt it a bit too childish to use the wonderful little construction in recent years, now she displayed it much more prominently, considering it had ended up being instrumental in the reactivation of Equestria's magic — or at the very least, the gem that was installed on top of it had been.

The very same Earth Diamond now rested there once more, although it had gained inclusions of a spectacular rainbow shimmer ever since its "reactivation." It may have seemed odd to continue using such a powerful and significant artifact for something so improper — but Sunny had been its steward for most of her life, whether she was aware of it or not, and for now, it had fulfilled its primary purpose in bringing back the magic of Equestria.

The lock to her room clicked shut behind her, drawing her attention back to Izzy as the unicorn cheerfully surveyed her cozy room with unabashed enthusiasm. Sunny realized that Izzy may well have been the first pony she'd let into her most private place since the loss of her father — but as scary as the prospect of such vulnerability was, she could think of no other pony she'd allow so readily into her space.

"So...what do you think of my room? Cozy, right?" Sunny asked eagerly, taking the smile on the other unicorn's face as a good sign.

"It's sooo lovely! Ooh, but not as lovely as that wild mane you've got going on. You should wear your mane down more often, it looks toootally cute~!" Izzy teased, giggling as she beheld the embarrassed flush that the little earth mare took on in response to her shameless flattery.

"Aww, Izz..." Sunny replied bashfully, batting her hoof in the other mare's direction. With Izzy watching curiously from behind her, she sat down and took the night light in both hooves to crank over its winder. That familiar, twinkling lullaby echoed through her room as the device lit up and started to rotate in her hooves.

With the diamond's new inclusions, the night light's usual projections gained a brilliant rainbow hue — a startling contrast that caused even Sunny herself to gasp in amazement. Izzy was similarly blown away by the radiant specter of colors that projected themselves all over Sunny's wall and ceiling, though she couldn't have known how it had looked originally with its muted incandescent hue.

As Sunny put the night light back onto the shelf and turned to face Izzy once again, the two of them exchanged a warm smile before Izzy abruptly glomped her onto the bed, giggling mischievously as Sunny gave a brief yelp of surprise — which trailed off into a gasping moan as Izzy nuzzled against her, nibbling teeth and lathering tongue marking a lascivious trail up her body as the unicorn grazed upon her enraptured "prey." A heavy, warm fullness settled in Sunny's gut as her eyes lidded, once-dormant parts of her beginning to stir into life underneath Izzy's loving ministrations.

As Sunny stared at the enchanting light show, only half-aware of her surroundings thanks to her marefriend's relentless affections, a flashback slammed into her like a speeding streetcar.

"Can we send it?"
"Oh, I think it's our duty!"

An early arts-and-crafts project of her foalhood...the tiny little drawing of the three pony races living in harmony that she'd made for that fateful lantern-letter, so long ago that it felt like another life entirely. That unassuming, hopeful little drawing had ended up changing everything — had she never met Izzy, Equestria might never have been saved.

Memories of her fillyhood whirled past her in a storm of emotions, each of them jabbing into her like pins and needles as a bittersweet nostalgia filled her. Izzy must've felt the way that Sunny had stiffened underneath her, because her ministrations stopped as she abruptly pulled back, concern filling her visage as she moved to lay alongside her friend, embracing one of Sunny's hooves with her own.

"We'll do our part."
"Hoof to heart. Goodnight, Daddy."
"Goodnight, my little pony."

Jarred out of her flashback by a chaste kiss on the cheek, the beginnings of tears and the stinging ache in her chest from that well-worn, familiar sorrow quickly ebbed away in the comforting embrace of the gorgeous, sweet-smelling, wonderfully funny unicorn that that very same note had brought right to her doorstep, countless moons after she'd thought it lost to the winds. In a way, Sunny supposed, Izzy had been the greatest gift her dad had ever given her.

"Hey, you've been awfully quiet since we came in. Are you...feeling alright? Oh, I'm not moving too fast for you, am I? 'Cause if I am, we can toootally slow it d-" Izzy's anxious rambling was stopped by Sunny's raised hoof against her lips, the earth pony smiling beatifically at her marefriend as she giggled happily.

"Oh, Izz...no, that's not why. I'm just, so...so happy. If somepony told me two weeks ago that I'd be here with you, a unicorn, on my bed, after we'd just reunified Equestria, I'd have looked at them like they were totally nuts. I still can't even really believe it." Sunny said calmly as she caressed Izzy's cheek with a hoof.

"Aww...t'be honest, I'm havin' trouble believin' this isn't just a dream, myself..." Izzy replied warmly. Their eyes slid closed as their muzzles met once more, a simple kiss on the lips to reaffirm their shared emotion.

After a few moments of them simply enjoying each other's presence in comfortable silence, Sunny asked another question she remembered from her list - one that, until recently, she didn't think she'd ever get to. Number one hundred and forty-seven. "So what happens? Now that we're...together, I mean?"

"I guess that depends on what you want to happen, Sunny. I could think of a few things myself~" Izzy purred, her forehoof tracing ticklish circles onto Sunny's underside that had her giggling and writhing even as she blushed and retreated into herself a bit, her self-consciousness about her lack of experience catching up with her. Wrapping Sunny tighter in a comforting embrace, she continued, "Buuut I'm not gonna do that kinda stuff with you until you're darn good and ready to do it, alright?"

"...Thanks, Izzy. You're wonderful, you know that?" Sunny replied warmly, maintaining eye contact with Izzy as the unicorn's adventurous hoof stilled itself by curving around her barrel.

"Oh, I try..." she boasted casually, although it took only a moment for her to burst out giggling afterward — a giggle-fit which Sunny happily joined in on, the two of them nuzzling firmly into each other as their tails, both hanging off the edge of Sunny's bed, entwined.

As that familiar, twinkling lullaby continued to echo from the music box inside Sunny's night light, the two mares found themselves drifting off to a peaceful slumber together, under Sunny's roof beneath the cool night sky of a newly transformed Equestria.

Author's Note

I'm not crying, you're crying! :raritycry:

I'm so in love with this ship aaaaah it's practically a core plot point to the entire setup of G5

#1 - Did you mean what you said?

Sunny's front door jerked open as she cautiously poked her head out, giving a cursory scan of her surroundings before looking back at her marefriend inside.

"Coast's clear, Izz. Let's move." The earth mare instructed coolly, holding the door open for her marefriend as the two of them made a quick exit. Trying to appear as casual as possible, the duo cantered calmly side-by-side down the road.

Sunny blushed scarlet as she self-consciously adjusted the strap of her shoulder bag in an attempt to hide the reddened hickey that would've otherwise been plainly visible beneath her coat. As she had rather quickly learned once the two of them had a quiet moment to themselves, Izzy's enthusiasm really did extend to everything. Everything.

Flashing the shorter pony next to her an impish smile, Izzy reached into her mane and took out her phone (a gift from Pipp, who'd also helped each of them set up social accounts to stay connected to one another) to contact Pipp and Zipp. Her casual demeanor evaporated in an instant, however, as she beheld the lock screen full of notifications she'd received since she last checked it.

"U-umm, Sunny? You maaay wanna look at this. Right now. Like, right-now right now!" Izzy said quickly, the urgency in her voice vividly apparent. Sunny shot her an inquisitive look as the two of them stopped walking. She squinted curiously at the screen of Izzy's phone when the unicorn presented it to her, and her own eyes widened in astonishment as they darted across the screen. A bevy of news article notifications and Flutter mentions whizzed past her eyes as Izzy scrolled through them with her magic, but a beaming smile quickly grew on her face as she read through the commentary.

That wonderful little kiss they'd shared in plain sight had unintentionally kicked the beehive of public opinion...but she'd never expected this sort of positive response so quickly and easily. She was heartened to see that the vast majority of ponies praised the progressiveness of their union and how well the two ponies seemed to match each other - observations which Sunny was both flustered and vindicated by.

Tears of pride and appreciation for her fellow ponies welled in Sunny's eyes as she wrapped Izzy in a tight hug, nuzzling against the fluffiness of her chest. "See what I mean? You were worried over nothin', silly filly." Izzy chastened softly as they rocked side to side in their shared embrace. "You gave the unicorns and pegasi their magic back, for pony's sake. That's something they thought they'd never get back." The two of them stood up as Izzy stowed her phone in her mane, and their stroll continued.

"That's not a gift that either of those groups is gonna take lightly, not by a long shot. As for the earth ponies - they know unicorns and pegasi aren't horrible monsters after they saw how crazy Sprout was in contrast. All of those years they spent cowering in fear of the other races...I'm gonna guess that they're realizing it was all just a great big misunderstanding that went on for waaay too long." Izzy said reassuringly.

Sunny kept quiet as she ruminated on her marefriend's perspective, and admitted to herself (with no small amount of embarrassment) that the older mare was probably right - she'd been getting wound up over silly little issues as much as the irrationally skittish earth-pony townsfolk used to, pre-reunification. "Heh...I think you hit the nail on the head, there, Izz. Thanks for being you." Sunny said softly, flashing that winning smile of hers that Izzy cherished seeing.

"Don't mention it, Sunny-bun. Now, let's put all this grumpy stuff behind us and get things sorted out with Zipp and Pipp, yeah? I get the feeling those two could use some cheering up!" Izzy prompted exuberantly.

"To Zephyr Heights!" Sunny whooped, and the two of them set off for the grandiose golden city in a gallop of hooves. It reminded each of them of their first journey to Zephyr Heights as a duo...that impulsive, fateful trip where the embers of their friendship, and mutual attraction towards one another, had blossomed like wildfire.

As Sunny and Izzy crossed through the gates of the radiant pegasus city, their eyes widened as they gazed up at one of the many digital screens that dotted the city's skyline. Pipp's video of them played on a loop in the background as the ZBS broadcasters had some kind of discussion over it, not that it was very intelligible beneath the excited chatter of the surrounding passersby, both on the ground and in the air, that were starting to notice the two of them...

"It's Sunny and Izzy!" Somepony shouted, and that was all it took to catalyze the crowd into a frenzy of fan-pony fervor.

"Can I have your autographs?" One pegasus asked from above, proferring a plushie...of the two of them hugging?

"Thank you for saving Equestria!"

"When is the wedding?!"

Sunny's head began to spin as the chatter and questions overwhelmed her; even Izzy was beginning to look uncomfortable at the size of the crowd around them, and here was a pony who usually relished being the center of attention!

Thankfully, the Royal Guard arrived to save the day -- a whole group of them pushed through the crowd, surrounding the two cowering ponies as they ordered the ravenous fans to back off. "Sorry about the commotion, you two. With Princess Pipp having been offline for nearly a day, it looks like these ponies are a little too eager to find somepony else to go crazy over." A familiar blue guardsmare addressed them formally, gazing around in disapproval at the throng of ponies that surrounded them. "Congratulations, by the way. You two are really cute together." she added casually, smiling slightly as she winked at the two of them.

"We'll escort you to the castle. Queen Haven has been expecting the both of you." The green guardstallion, yet another familiar pony, instructed them cordially; the wave of ponies parted before them as a path was cleared straight to the castle entrance.

As Izzy knocked hesitantly on the door to Pipp's room, it took a moment of shuffling and muted sounds of conversation before Zipp - rather than the expected younger sister - answered the knock.

The tail-end of a thorough crying session was evident in the sniffling sounds that echoed from the room behind Zipp, a heart-rending sound that made all three mares wince and the two guards at either side of the door shuffle uncomfortably.

"Sunny, Izzy! Glad you're here! Listen, Sunny, you and her really need to talk. I still haven't gotten her to calm down." Zipp said, grimacing as Pipp whimpered loudly behind her. "I was way too hard on her before. She really was just trying to help, in her own way...still not sure how I'm gonna make it up to her, but I will."

"Get in there and fix that filly's heart, Sunny. She sounds like she could really seriously use some cheering up." Izzy said softly, beckoning Sunny into the room as she started chatting up Zipp. "Sooo...aside from the obvious, how've you been, Zippy-flippy?"

"...Okay, first of all, save the pet names for your marefriend. Seriously." Zipp deadpanned, a faint blush lighting her cheeks as she avoided eye contact with the two door guards, one of whom was visibly struggling not to burst out laughing. "Other than that, well..."

"Sunny...I want to explain. Why I did what I did, I mean. When you're...a pony like me. Young royalty who's got thousands of eyes on her every waking moment, who starts to see everything as a photo op or a new thing to post to her followers...staying in touch with reality can be difficult. Yeah, I spend way too much time on my phone, I get it. I could blame my mom for being really distant towards me, but I wasn't really making much effort to connect with her or Zipp to begin with. The ponies who follow my every moment...they've validated me and encouraged me more than Mom or Zipp ever have. I think Zipp got jealous of it, but I don't think she knew that I was just trying to be more like her all along. Cooler, more laid back, more popular. Instead of being frumpy, short, chubby-" she cut herself off with a choked sound, leading Sunny to raise a hoof to her mouth in deep concern.

"Pipp, you are not frumpy or chubby. You're funny, pretty-" Sunny interjected reassuringly, though Pipp cut her off.

"I know, Sunny, I know. Zipp is helping me get over those feelings and fix both our relationship and whatever's left of my self-worth. And...to you and to Izzy, I am so, so sorr-" Pipp began to plead, but cut herself off as Sunny raised a hoof for silence.

"Pipp, have you checked the media since you uploaded that video?" Wincing at the pained expression that crossed Pipp's face when she mentioned the media, Sunny continued awkwardly. "Well, ponies loved it, Pipp! Zipp may have been pretty harsh on you, but I get the feeling that she was only trying to protect her family and friends. Thankfully, I left a lot more of an impression on ponies than I thought, so everypony that I've seen talking about it has been amazingly positive. We got mobbed with admirers on our way to the castle! Can you believe that?!"

"R-really? So...I did help, after all?" Pipp asked hopefully, her sadness quickly evolving into excitement as the realization hit her...although it was short-lived. "That doesn't make what I did right, though. I totally invaded your and Izzy's privacy, and even if both of you forgive me for it, it's definitely not okay. I'm gonna be a lot more careful with what I post from now on." she said softly, setting her phone down for a moment as she focused her attention solely on Sunny. Leaping out of bed and onto her hooves with a flourish of her wings, she gripped Sunny in a hug as the two of them smiled for her phone camera. "Thanks for coming by to give me a kick in the flanks, Sunny. You're a fantastic friend." The plump little mare made eye contact as their smiles grew. After a moment, she pulled away, muttering to herself as she tapped through her phone, "The Pippsqueaks must be so confused with me being offline for so long..."

"Glad to have you back to your old self, Pipp. See you around." she replied cheerfully, waving goodbye as she quietly closed the door behind her.

Turning around to address Izzy and Zipp, she was blindsided as the sprightly unicorn tackle-hugged her. "Woah!" she yelped, nearly buckling to the floor under the assault; only her earth-pony resilience kept her from being bowled over completely.

"You handled that perfectly, Sunny." Izzy said sweetly.

Zipp merely offered a hoof-bump of congrats; one which Sunny happily reciprocated. "Totally. Thanks for getting her out of that headspace, Sun. I wish I were close enough with her that you didn't have to come over and help, but...you know how she is once she gets on her phone. And with our differing opinions on the whole "faking flight" thing, well..." The pale pegasus admitted, annoyance clear in her voice as she trailed off thoughtfully.

"She's got a good heart, Zipp. Even if might seem like she shares it with her fans a lot more than with her family," Sunny replied, placing a hoof on Zipp's shoulder. "She loves you, even if she has trouble expressing it sometimes." At that, she glanced meaningfully over to Izzy, whose eyes widened as a blush crept across her face.

"...You're a good pony, Sunny. Fair winds and safe travels," Zipp replied, smiling ear-to-ear as she glanced down Sunny's chest, giving her cause to raise an eyebrow. "By the way, you've...got a little something, there."

Wordlessly, Sunny grumbled and blushed as she adjusted the strap of her bag, doing her best to hide that blatantly obvious "love mark" from view. "Thanks, Zipp."

"Heh. No problem."

Their journey back to Maretime Bay passed without incident, although the sun was already beginning to set in the distance. The construction ponies around Sunny's lighthouse were finishing up for the day, and the pair of them were ecstatic to note the scaffolding and beginnings of new brickwork that had been put up around the broken edge of the former spire. Unicorn magic had seamlessly sealed up the cracks in the kitchen and other first-floor areas. Slowly but surely, her beloved home was being returned to its former glory.

As the two of them retired to Sunny's bedroom for the evening, Izzy had a question of her own for the earth pony who had asked her so many already.

"Hey, Sunny..." Izzy began, causing Sunny to make eye contact with her in the vanity mirror as she took off her hairbands and brushed her mane out. "About what you said...earlier today, when we were visiting Zipp and Pipp. You...love me. Did you really mean that?" Izzy asked hesitantly, the beginnings of a lovestruck smile forming on her face.

Swiveling on her seat to talk to Izzy face-to-face, Sunny responded whole-heartedly, "Of course I love you, Izz. I'm just sorry it took me so long to say it for real." she said firmly, as she took a seat on the edge of her bed and beckoned her unicorn marefriend over, "And there's something else. I...I think I'm ready, Izzy."

"Oh, you are, are you~?" Izzy purred, her demeanor changing in an instant as she moved in close, their proximity causing them to share their heavy, increasingly warm breaths. "Well then...let me show you what a unicorn is really capable of..." she growled huskily, pushing Sunny back onto the bed as she took a dominant position above her, Sunny left prone and belly-up beneath Izzy as the unicorn kissed, licked, and nibbled her way down the smaller mare's underside.

The tingle of electricity that raced down her spine as Izzy attended to her nearly made her head spin. "O-oh buck~" she groaned softly, that unfamiliar feeling building in her belly with every touch and tease. "Is this what they meant when they said unicorns have tongues like tasers? Mmph~!" A sudden moan left her throat as she felt a shudder roll through her, her flesh warming and tingling with every passing moment. It was an unfamiliar sensation, to be sure, but Sunny could already tell she'd be getting addicted to it.

Pulling off of Sunny with a soft gasp, Izzy chuckled softly, "Let's keep going and find out, filly..."

Author's Note

Finally gettin' to the good stuff next chapter, no more messing around. 👀
Look forward to it~!

(P.S. the M-rated chapter of this story is now in a separate fic to allow this fic to have a more visible T rating. Look for it in the Sequels sidebar of this fic!)

~RD 🦈

#149 - Do you still have that drawing?

Sunlight shone starkly through the window of Sunny's bedroom; the newfound radiance of color that had swept across Equestria had even made the sun itself seem brighter and kinder. The sharp tweeting of songbirds outside her window sent Sunny's ear aflutter as the land of dreams left her behind, and as her sleep-crusted eyes slowly slid open, an ocean of brilliant cerulean and pale purple greeted her.

She recoiled as her fogged mind took a moment to process why another pony was in her bed alongside her, although it quickly gave way to a contented smile as she hugged Izzy closer against her side, the wonderful series of events from last night rushing back to her in an instant.

Sunny inhaled, long and unhurried, taking in the soothing mix of crisp morning air and the vibrant candyfloss-and-lavender scent of her bedmate as she did so. A mild commotion outside alerted her that work on repairing her home had already commenced, typical for those diligent construction ponies who always awoke not at dawn's first light, but before it.

"Mmmph..." The unicorn next to her moaned sleepily, the gradually building noise outside beginning to rouse her from her slumber.

As Izzy's eyes began to open and the two of them made eye contact, Sunny planted a soft kiss upon her cheek, drawing a soft smile from her.

"Hey there, Frizzy Moonbow~" Sunny giggled as she ran a hoof through Izzy's wavy sapphire mane. A night of bed rest hadn't done it any favors. Quite the opposite, really! Those long, wavy locks had lost any sense of restraint literally overnight, sticking out every-which-way in a complete mess of mussed mane. It looked like a strange blue beast had attached itself to Izzy's head while she slept, a thought which made Sunny burst out laughing so suddenly that she even snorted.

"Mmh. G'mornin'...yaaawn...Snorty Starscout." Izzy rebutted with a trademark playfulness, although marred by drowsiness as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "If this is what waking up next to somepony is like...I could soooo get used to this..." she moaned, pecking Sunny on the lips as she ran a hoof through the earth mare's equally bedraggled mane in return.

After a shared giggle, Sunny shuffled restlessly beneath the purple hoof stretched across her back. "Alright, Izz...mnnnf...as much as I could spend all morning laying here with you, we've both got stuff to do today..."

"Aww, but I don't waaannnaaa..." Izzy bemoaned, grumbling to herself as she intentionally went limp, making it as tough as possible for Sunny to get out of her embrace. Unfortunately for Izzy, earth ponies were remarkably strong, especially now that they'd had their magic returned to them - so rolling the larger unicorn off of her proved to be little trouble. "Unf! H-hey!" she yelped in surprise from the unceremonious treatment, hoof trawling against the warm spot Sunny had left in the bed with her absence.

"Places to be, Izz! Chop chop!" Sunny exclaimed, punctuating herself with a series of hoofclops against the hardwood floor.

"Fiiiine~" Izzy grumbled, clambering out of bed and onto her hooves as her horn lit, remaking the bed in mere moments. Her eyes flashed with mischief as she approached Sunny, a devious smirk widening across her lips.

"Say...your shower wouldn't happen to be big enough for two, would it~?" Izzy purred mischievously with a blep for emphasis, flicking Sunny's face with the tip of her tail as she walked past her. Considering how the very suggestion caused Sunny's eye to twitch as a riotous blush lit her face, it took several seconds for the poor girl to even muster a response.

"I-izzy?! W-wha...what happened to not doing that kinda stuff with me until I'm ready?" Sunny replied, thoroughly flustered at Izzy's scandalous...and yet ever-so-tempting...suggestion.

"I never said anything about not teasing you relentlessly about iiit~" Izzy singsonged over her shoulder as she walked down the hallway towards the bathroom.

Laughing to herself despite her embarrassment, Sunny slowly shook her head as she strode past the bathroom towards the kitchen. The hiss of the showerhead from behind the door, combined with Izzy's silly, nonsensical singing, confirmed the unicorn's entry into her shower.

"Walkin' through the crowd, givin' my brand new looks a spin~ I'm gonna fit right in~"

Sunny had to stop herself from bopping along to the imaginary beat that she felt in her head as her marefriend's gorgeous voice echoed through the walls; the compulsion to sing that familiar tune from their adventure together was so strong that she couldn't help but hum along, wiggling her flank as she rifled through her fridge and pantry for breakfast ingredients.

By the time Izzy had finished showering, Sunny was lost in her own little world, those ear-wormy lyrics cycling in her head as she prepared a simple meal of fried eggs and carrots.

"Oh, this is how a unicorn struts~ This is how a unicorn shakes her—" Sunny sang, so lost in her own world that she never heard Izzy's magic shimmer behind her, coiling up the towel she'd previously had draped across her back before she released its pent-up energy right across the earth pony's vulnerable flanks.

Thwap! "Butt!" Izzy cheerfully exclaimed, her sneak attack having precisely the intended effect.

"What?!" Sunny yelped, unintentionally rhyming with her marefriend as the sudden shock caused her forehoof to twitch, accidentally executing a perfect flip of the eggs she was frying. "I-Izzy! These could've ended up on the floor! Or on my face!" she shouted, glancing pointedly at the frying pan she was holding in her hoof. Not that she could stay mad at Izzy for anything longer than a second — that mare was weapons-grade cute, and she full well knew it.

And, well...it wasn't like she hadn't enjoyed having her flank struck by Izzy like that...

'Holy smokes, what is this mare doing to me? How the heck is a mare who seems so innocent on the surface such a bucking tease seventy percent of the time?' Sunny thought, now thoroughly flustered. She'd best stop that train of thought before it completely sidetracked her from the serious topic she wanted to talk with the unicorn about once breakfast was prepared.

"Mmh, well, they didn't, did they? If anything, I'd say I helped! That was an awesome flip, Sunny-bun~" Izzy replied with her trademark bubbly innocence, though Sunny could hear the telltale purr in her voice that meant she knew exactly what she was doing. Gods above, what an intoxicating dichotomy of a mare this unicorn was...

Putting aside for the moment how much Izzy's pet name for her made her heart do flip-flops, the best Sunny could manage was a half-hearted chastisement as Izzy took a seat at the nearby table, her damp towel flung casually across the backrest of the seat next to her. "Y-yeah, well...warn me next time, alright?"

Izzy's eyebrow quirked. "Buuut...that kind of defeats the point of it being a suuurpriiiise..." she said slowly, wiggling her forehoof in a circle as if to ask, 'What the heck are you thinking?'

Sunny sighed in defeat as she rolled her eyes, portioning out the piping-hot meal she'd made onto two separate plates as she chose to drop the subject. "Here you go, Izz. Enjoy!" she cheerfully stated, setting a plate of food in front of her marefriend before going back to grab her own.

After a few precious minutes of companionable silence as the two ate breakfast together, Sunny paused in her chewing as her brow knit thoughtfully, candidly expressing the troubling thought that had been buzzing in the back of her mind since last night. "Y'know, about what Pipp did yesterday...how do you think ponies are gonna react to that stream clip?"

"Aww, d'you really think so many ponies would get that worked up over one video? I mean, I know it was hot, so I don't think I'd want any young fillies or colts watching it, buuut..." Izzy trailed off as Sunny giggled into her hoof.

"Heh! That's not really what I meant, Izz. I'm really worried that it might undo all that we've done to reunify Equestria so far. Bringing Equestria together again is one thing, but a relationship like ours being revealed so quickly after that...? A lot of ponies probably got their magic back without knowing anything about what part the other races played in it, so they probably won't be as understanding...and now that they've got the power to do some real damage, I don't know what to think."

"You mean silly ol' meanies like Sprout? C'mon, he barely did anything! Queen Haven and Alphabittle didn't even want to fight him when he showed up right in front of 'em with that crazy machine of his!" Izzy replied with cheerful, blind optimism. Sunny wordlessly gestured to the severe structural damage on the other side of her house. "Right, and destroyed half of your house!" The unicorn added tactlessly, causing Sunny to briefly facehoof before mustering a rebuttal.

"That's exactly my point, though. If one hare-brained, big-headed young pony like Sprout could accomplish so much herd-mentality aggression and wanton property damage in such a short time, what's to stop someone more crafty from coming along and taking advantage of ponies' confusion about their magic coming back, and using that influence to do something really awful?" Sunny bemoaned, propping her head up with a hoof as she absentmindedly took bites of her breakfast.

"Is the two of us sitting here discussing how much we need to worry about it really gonna accomplish anything? Please don't work yourself up into a frenzy by worryin' about could-bes and might-happens! That's the magic of the future — nopony knows what's gonna happen, right?"

Sunny's expression softened as she tiredly exhaled, smiling softly at her marefriend from across the table. "Heh...thanks, Izz. I guess now that I accomplished what I set out to do, I'm just worried about losing it all over again. I never want Equestria to go back to that isolationist insanity."

"Neither do I...but we've got this! I'm lookin' out for you, remember?" Izzy replied with a wink before levitating the last bits of her meal into her maw.

"When you're off track, I've got your back~" Sunny answered in a singsong tone as she brought their dishes over to the sink and laid them in the basin. "I guess I was the one who got off-track there, huh? Sorry I doubted myself...sorry I doubted us." she added sweetly as Izzy got up from her seat and hugged her tightly.

"Aww, it's all good! Everypony doubts themselves sometimes, it's just a matter of how ya deal with it." The unicorn replied, her carefree attitude quickly infecting Sunny's dour mood as the earth mare smiled more and more.

As the pair nuzzled into each other, a thoughtful look crossed Sunny's face once again. "Izz...there was something else I wanted to tell you about. No, that I need to tell you about. It's...it's about..." she trailed off, ears flopping down as she glanced at the picture of her and her father. "About my dad."

"Oh!" Izzy brightened, pulling back to stare at Sunny with an excited grin...one that quickly died down to an understanding frown once she realized the aura of depression that had become palpable around her marefriend. "...Oh. Oh, Sunny..." Izzy said softly as she held Sunny's frowny face up with her forehoof. "Your sparkle feels sooo dim right now. We don't have to talk about this unless you really want to."

Moving out of Izzy's grip, Sunny ambled over to her couch and flopped onto it heavily, motioning the other mare over with a beckoning wave of her forehoof. As Izzy took a seat on the couch facing her, the two of them locked eyes once more. "Hey, Izz...do you still have that drawing? I...I think I'd like to see it again."

Izzy nodded softly as her horn shimmered with power, that faded yet familiar piece of paper levitating out of the unicorn's mane and depositing itself into Sunny's hoof.

"His name...was Argyle Starshine." Sunny began softly as she stared intently at the note, examining its every detail - the clumsy, misspelled crayon hoof-writing, the cute little ponies she'd drawn as a filly, and the clear signs of folding wear along the creases in the center.

"He taught me everything I know about how much better Equestria used to be. All the artifacts he's collected, those knickknacks sitting in the study...he was trying to find some tangible, undeniable proof that the three races all used to live together as friends. But it was all so long ago...any written word from that time is long gone. Every artifact he showed off was written off as something he'd made up to try and convince ponies of his 'radical' ideas. One day, he went out searching for more answers. And...he...he didn't come back." Sunny's eyes began to brim with tears as her jaw trembled.

Izzy gasped as she held a hoof up to her mouth, though she didn't comment besides that.

"Ever since then...I resolved myself to finish what he'd started. I owed it to him, to myself, and to the ponies of Equestria. And, well..." she trailed off with a chuckle as she smiled at Izzy, despite the tears welling in her eyes.

"I-I did my p-part." Sunny croaked out, sorrow nearly overwhelming her ability to speak.

"Hoof to heart. I'm never leavin' your side, not for anything else in Equestria. You can count on that." Izzy said firmly, the steel of conviction in her voice proving to be a jarring and meaningful contrast to her usual cheery demeanor.

"I know you never would, Izz...I've never doubted you for a moment. I just...I miss him so much. So much. I...I know he'd be proud of what we've accomplished, but...I just wish he were here to see how beautiful Equestria is with its magic restored. The wonderful friends I've made...the incredible stories of our adventures that I desperately want to tell him...th-that moment when the three gems lit...u-urk-" A strangled sob left her throat as she collapsed into Izzy's hooves, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I-if it makes you feel any better," Izzy said softly, after allowing Sunny a moment of catharsis, "I never really knew my parents. Alphabittle...he's told me about how they used to be, about how nice they were whenever they'd come in for drinks together...about how one day, they just...stopped coming, and that right after that, I showed up on his front step. I-in a little woven basket, with a cursive note tied to the handle, wrapped in a starry blanket. One of the cutest little fillies he'd ever seen, he always told me."

"O-oh, I-Izzy!" Sunny wailed, wrapping the other mare tightly in an abrupt hug, "I had no idea!"

"You've got nothing to apologize for, Sunny-bun...I've never told that to anypony else, except you. I don't...I don't want 'em to look at me differently, y'know? They're better off knowing "Izzy the silly fun unicorn" than they are "Izzy the orphan" o-or "Izzy the accident." It's simpler that way. B-better for everypony. I don't have to think about my past, and nopony else has to dwell on it, either. Growing up without my parents doesn't make me any less of a pony, and saving Equestria without your dad doesn't make you any less of a hero!" Izzy exclaimed, throwing a hoof around Sunny's crest as she pulled her into a soft, reassuring kiss. "Thanks for telling me about your dad, Sunny. It means a lot to me that you'd trust me with somethin' like that."

"Speak for yourself, Izz...what you told me was way bigger. I mean, really, wow." Sunny replied incredulously, eyes wide.

"Hey, I don't want you treatin' me differently for knowin' that, now, you hear?" Izzy said as she aggressively booped Sunny right on the end of her snoot, causing that cute orange muzzle of hers to wiggle ticklishly as she yelped in surprise. "We're one-for-one on sharing tragic backstories now, and as much as I love parties, I really don't like pity ones. Both our sparkles are way brighter now that we've gotten that stuff off our chests, so let's try to keep 'em that way, alrighty?"

"...That really smarts, y'know..." Sunny grumbled to herself as she rubbed her own nose, her previous worries completely forgotten after such an unexpected move.

"Aww, d'you want me to kiss it better~?" Izzy purred, wiggling her eyebrows impishly at the other mare as she inched her face closer to Sunny's.

"Umm, well, we really should get going on those err-mmh..." Her attempts at deflecting were for naught as the unicorn took her own initiative, capturing Sunny's lips with her own.

As the two ponies continued from where they'd left off last night on the grass, the earth pony, pegasi, and unicorn craftsmen outside continued their work on repairing the lighthouse - completely unaware of the interracial snogfest happening right under their noses.

The errands could wait a bit longer, Sunny supposed.

Author's Note

I've gone ahead and changed the [Comedy] tag to [Drama] after...well, all of that.

Even as sorrowful as this chapter ended up being, there's a mix of cute, wholesome, and a teensy bit of lewd in there along with the tearjerker moments, so I hope that makes up for it :3

Please don't forget to like if ya liked, dislike if ya didn't (but please tell me why so I can improve), and leave a comment! Comments give me life. (But not in, like, a creepy "word vampire" way or anything. How would that even...? Ah, whatever.)

Swim fast, eat ass!
~RD 🦈