Author's Note

Hey guys.

By now I'm pretty sure most of you are aware of the fate of G5.

I'm not very excited about it ending so abruptly. I was hoping that it would cover more lore and expand into more episodes/seasons. But I can definitely say that I am proud to have been a big fan of the series and how it connected to G4. Without it, I wouldn't have made this story, which I hope will be one of my best by the (inevitable) time that it ends.

Anyway, I'll be continuing to make more chapters. Hopefully I'll be able to have a better handle on releasing them much earlier, preferably between a month to three months for each chapter. I know that waiting too long for the next chapter can be a killjoy, so I'll definitely be more active on this site.

Hope you guys have a great 2025!

Chapter 19 (Pt. 1)

The full moon in the sky allowed you to examine the shadowy outline of the royal castle, as well as the other major buildings that made up the former capital of Equestria. Back in the present during the night hours at the School of Friendship, you would at times look up at your hometown upon Mount Canterlot --- shining throughout the darkness like a lighthouse. However, there were no dots of light scattered around the derelict metropolis like in the past. In fact, the dead city served as a reminder to you that the Equestria you had grown up in was long gone by now.

Near the end of the caravan's journey for today, the mountain that Canterlot resided upon came into view miles away. Despite it being your obvious destination, you were slightly stunned by its presence, as if you never really expected to see it at all. Once the city was in your sights, though, you found yourself sneaking peaks at the place very often. Even during dinner, in which by then a portion of the caravan had settled down at a clearing for the night, your captivation made you pause several times during your meal. You only really focused on finishing your food once you were asked more than once by your traveling companions if everything was alright.

But that was a little over a while ago. After swallowing your last cold chunk, you excused yourself from the group's campfire --- telling everyone that you just needed an hour or so to yourself before you came back to retire for the night. Leaving the five ponies and baby dragon, you walked amongst the other wagons, carts, tents, and campfires of the clearing, until you found a nice log that had fallen on its side. The log wasn't that far from the camp, and it provided a good view of the Canterlot, so you sat on it to gaze up at home.

For nearly half an hour, you stayed where you were with your head tilted up, listening to the faint assemblage of campers behind you and the whispers of forest critters in front of you. You were fixated on your home, but you could not declare to yourself that you were pleased to see it. The shadowy sight itself was not ugly to look at by any means, but seeing it made you feel awkward and troubled. It was as if an invisible siren was going off in your subconsciousness as your eyes remained glued to the city --- warning you of danger nearby.

But what could be so cumbersome about returning to the place where you were born and raised?

"Is everything okay?"

You jolted up in your seat due to the voice, which rang much clearer in your ear than the chatter of the other campers far away. You turned around to see Sunny behind you, standing by herself with a small smile. Seeing that it was her, your body began to relax.

"I'm fine," you answered calmly.

The delivery of your response seemed to be enough to please the mare, who kept on beaming at you.

"Do you want to come back to the tent for seconds?" she asked. "I don't know if what you got was enough, so I wanted to check up on you and see if you were still hungry."

"Um... I should be good for now. Even if you guys are done with the cooking, I can always munch down on some of those crackers before I go to sleep."

The mare chuckled lightly. "I'll take your word for it."

With a little grin of gratitude, you nodded at Sunny before turning around to resume your gazing. However, you were less than ten seconds back into your inactive activity before it registered to your sixth sense that there was still a presence close to you. Twisting your torso once more, you saw that Sunny stood in the exact same spot she was at when she first announced herself --- albeit this time her face held an uncertain, embarrassed expression as she stared at the ground to the side. Once she realized that you were staring at her, she brought her timid teal eyes up to you, along with a meek smile.

"Do you mind if I sit next to you?" she asked with red-handed guilt in her voice. The nervousness displayed by the mare was enough to make you sigh in disappointment.

I should have known she came here for something else.

Despite your lack of amusement at the situation presented to you, you felt that using a sledgehammer on such a small inconvenient nail of a problem would only make things worse --- causing eventual regrets down the road that would plague your mind.

"I don't mind," you said to her before turning back to face Canterlot.

You were not exactly welcoming in your tone, but you did your best to not sound harsh or cold either. Your lukewarm response seemed to work, though, once you heard hoofsteps approaching from your right side, followed by the crunching of tree bark.

"I'm sorry about that thing on the road today," Sunny stated to you.

You shrugged. "It's fine. You already apologized for it. Not that you needed to, though. It wasn't really your fault that all those ponies wanted to see me."

"I know. But I had a feeling that it was all still a bit overwhelming for you. You did seem out of it during dinner, you know?"

You bit your bottom lip. "No. That whole crowd wasn't what was on my mind. I was just... focused on other stuff."

A few more seconds of silence passed before Sunny spoke up once more.

"So what do you know about Canterlot?"

You looked over at the orange mare --- your attention having been drawn away from your home. "Huh?"

Sunny smiled at you as she continued. "Well, obviously it's the capital of Old Equestria where Celestia, Luna, and Twilight ruled from, but the books I've read only reveal so much. I know you said that you've never been there before, but I hope you would know more about it than I do. Especially since you were around when it was still active and populated."

You returned back to the city, rummaging through your mind as to what to say to her.

"It was kind of like any other city. Very diverse, with different types of creatures living there and neighborhood designs, at least from what I saw in the newspapers and magazines. There was one portion of the city called Restaurant Row, which, if you can guess, had all sorts of restaurants to choose from --- too fancy for my folks to take us to. Art was a big thing, too, from what I heard. Gardens and museum galleries and all that could be found everywhere."

Shining with intrigue, Sunny leaned in closer to you. "What about events? Did anything special happen in Canterlot from time to time?"

You continued. "Yeah. I heard that the city could be very busy during the holidays. Haunted house parties and contests on Nightmare Night. Balloon floats during the Grateful Festival. Red and pink decorations for Hearts and Hooves Day. Basically any big day was a big deal in the city. But if I had to be honest, I think Canterlot was really popular for how many creatures came from all over for the Festival of the Two Sisters. That was the big one. Happens every summer solstice, I think."

"I think I've heard of that one. It used to be called the Summer Sun Celebration, due to Celestia banishing Nightmare Moon after the latter tried to bring in everlasting darkness to the land. But when Princess Twilight ascended to the throne, it was renamed as the Festival of the Two Sisters. I believe that some notes I read a while ago said the princess wanted to focus on the redemption of Luna instead of who she was as Nightmare Moon."

Surprised at that historical mention, so much so that halfway through your mouth opened slightly. "Wow. I didn't know you knew all of that."

"Of course. My dad was big on learning about Equestria's past, and I guess that passion just got passed down to me."

You found yourself amused enough to crack a small grin --- something that did not really bother you despite being taken aback. "Well, I guess it must have paid off. You're spot on about all those facts. I bet you could have done better than me at history class. Especially if..."

Without warning, you let out a chuckle.

It was not energetic enough to transition into tear-producing, robust laughter, but it was sincere and audible enough for Sunny to notice through a curious tilt of her head.

"What's so funny?" she asked sincerely.

Your chuckle, ever so short, faded away into nothingness, but your face failed to default back to its usual stoic expression.

"I was just about to say that you would probably do well at my elementary school's play about Nightmare Moon's return. Thinking about that reminded me about the traditional stuff I would do with my family and friends during the festival at my hometown."

Interest sparkled in the mare's eyes once more. "What kind of things did you all do?"

Seeing the curiosity on her face, you saw no need to withhold anything from her. With both forehooves on the log, you leaned backward as you went deep into your foalhood memory bank.

"Well... Like I said before, my elementary school would have a play at the beginning of each June about Nightmare Moon coming back and the Elements of Harmony being rediscovered. Fifth graders were chosen to be the cast of the play. I didn't get an important role when my class went on stage. I was just a background character. But, it was still fun --- watching the other kids act while the crowd cheered and laughed. My fri --- A classmate I knew, Maple, really sold the role of Fluttershy, even though she was an earth pony instead of a pegasus.

"But the play always happened before the actual festival. When the date actually came by, my neighborhood would throw a huge block party that lasted from the afternoon to midnight. Everything done there was centered on like sun and moon imagery or on the Elements. All the moms and grandmas would bring their best assortments of cakes and cupcakes and cookies and pies for everyone to enjoy. There would be art contests and heated trivia games about the lives of the Element bearers and the former princesses. A few... classmates from my school would come by to enjoy the party, and I guess I would spend some time with them when I felt like it."

As simple as your explanation was, Sunny's enthusiasm never seemed to diminish with every word that passed out of your mouth.

"Wow," the mare said with fulfilled satisfaction. "I'm already planning on asking Queen Haven to bring the festival to Canterlot when the summer solstice comes around. Heck --- I'm pretty sure that if I can play my cards right, I can get her to hold a Hearth's Warming celebration in the city once winter is here by this year! Think about it! The first united Hearth's Warming between ponies in generations!"

"Queen Haven. That's the ruler of the pegasi, right?"

The orange pony gleefully nodded. "Yep. She's the queen of Zephyr Heights, and Zipp's and Pipp's mom."

"Well, having the pegasi would be important for Hearth's Warming. It wouldn't be a winter holiday without snow, so we definitely need them and their magic."

"The snow here is natural. It has been for some time ever since magic disappeared."

Your eyes widen in realization. "Oh. Right. I forgot about that. But, since magic is back, do you know if the pegasi have a reign on how the weather works now?"

"A little bit. I know that pegasi are able to interact with clouds to make them snow and rain, but I don't know if they're going to bring winter to the whole of Equestria. We still have natural rain storms and all, so it's likely that winter will come without any outside help."

"What about the cloud cities like Cloudsdale and Las Pegasus?" you asked. "It would be useful to have their factories to collect surface water in case of droughts. Are they still around?"

Sunny shook her head. "Nope. It's been centuries since ponies left those places. And since there would be nopony there to provide maintenance, it's possible that they either dissolved or drifted away from Equestria."

You looked back at the old city on the mountain. "Well... That's sad to know."

"True. But what's important is that Equestria gets a chance to start all over again. Even if things are missing or won't be the same again, it doesn't mean there's nothing to be grateful for."

You cracked another smile. "Well, that's definitely a good attitude to have."

Something bumped up against your left hindleg, startling you in the process. Looking down, you saw a familiar green baby dragon hugging the lower half of your appendage with his small arms and cheek, all while emitting a low reverberating coo. Once again, your body returned to a state of calmness once you realized that it wasn't a small wild animal that had crept up on you.

"Um, Sunny?" you said while turning to the mare. "I got a little somebody here that you might want to check on."

Bringing her attention towards you, Sunny let out a gasp. "Sparky! How did you get here?"

Getting off the log, Sunny walked over to you and grabbed her tiny companion with both forehooves. Holding Sparky against her chest with one foreleg, she looked back at you with an abashed and apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that. Hitch must be really busy with something for him to let Sparky out of his sight." She looked over at the baby dragon. "You can't just be running off like that."

You grinned. "It's fine. I guess for some reason he likes being glued to me. When you all came by Izzy's house, I woke up to him on my chest with a big grin on his face. I couldn't understand him, but he seemed really happy to see me with all of his baby talk."

Sunny smiled gleefully. "It's nice to know that Sparky took a liking to you straight away. Anyway, I better get him back to the tent. I just hope that Hitch hasn't freaked out yet. Thanks for talking with me. It's nice seeing you open up."

You frowned. "Open up?"

"You know: open up. Overall we haven't really known each other for more than a week, but this is probably the first time that I've seen you all relaxed and smiling. You've always been polite and considerate, but you've never really seemed happy or in a mood to start a conversation."

You shifted awkwardly on the log. "Well, I was just sent to the future after escaping a monster attack in the present. I think that would make anyone a bit down for a few days."

Like you, Sunny dropped her smile and put on a face of concern. "Don't get me wrong. I'm pretty sure that all you went through was definitely on your mind. But..." The mare stalled with her next words. "If you don't mind me saying, I could see that something else was bothering you. Something even before that monster attack in your time. The only reason I didn't say anything was because I didn't want to make you uncomfortable. But it was easy to see that something made it hard for you to lower your guard around me and the others."

Realizing what she meant, you stared down at the ground, the guilt evident on your face.

"It's fine," you assured her genuinely. "I'd... rather not get into it, but some stuff at home kind of makes it hard to... open up. Guess I just don't want to repeat certain things again. And I guess as little interactions as possible make things easier for me. I promise it's a me-problem."

"No, no, no," Sunny said hastily. "I didn't mean to make it seem like you're still like that. I wanted to focus on how you've improved since we last met. You'd talked about your own life with me instead of just historical stuff, and you laughed. I don't think I've ever heard you laugh before. Whatever happened, I'm just glad that you can feel comfortable expressing yourself."

The mare's reassurance managed to lift your head up. You thought at first that you may have been a bit self-pitying with spilling out your inner struggles out of nowhere, even if you did not go into too much depth. But something about Sunny's words encouraged you to look the mare in her eyes --- all while that similar feeling of goodness from last night spread through the surface of your chest.

"Thanks. I appreciate that."

Returning your gratefulness with a smile and a nod, Sunny left your side of the log with Sparky and began to head back to the center of camp. You watched the mare and her dragon companion leave for a little bit longer than you needed to, before returning your eyes back to your home on the mountain.

Though you resumed your gazing, you noticed that there was a slight difference in how you were doing so now from when you started. Before, your body was more fixed and huddled up, with your forelegs resting on your hindlegs, but now you were leaning back on the log with a forehoof planted on each side of the piece of wood to support your weight and relax your shoulders. And while at the start you were staring up at Canterlot with a grim face, your expression was now full of curiosity and devoid of any tenseness.

Seeing the city now made you wonder what would be different about everything there. You knew that renovations were occurring after it had been vacant for many moons, but a part of you hoped that the environment would not be too dynamic from what it was like before you left for Ponyville. It would be nice to have some familiarity to encounter tomorrow, especially given what the city was now...

.....

Something was wrong.

It came rather quickly, but an unpleasant feeling went down your spine.

It was as if you had just kicked a rock into a nest of hornets --- knowing the dread that would transpire next.

Then it happened.

Your entire nervous system exploded --- not out of pain, but due to pure shock and adrenaline.

It was as if your whole body was dropped into an ice-cold, stinging bathtub, and you were completely at the mercy of a large invisible hand that kept you submerged in the dead water.

The intense stimulus was unbearable and consuming, and yet intoxicating enough to keep you awake as well. Time seemed to be moving so slowly, blurring your overall vision, and at the same time, you felt nauseous just from your heightened senses taking in everything around you. An itch spread throughout your muscles that made you want to bolt off the log, but a non-existent heavy coat weighed you down from doing so.

Throughout this whole contradictory experience in your head, one thing was clear to you:

Something real was coming.

Real and dangerous.

In a frenzied state, you snapped your neck back and forth in search of this threat. Withstanding the pure physical whiplash you put yourself through, you looked to your left and right, to the merry camp behind you and the still treeline before you, and even up at Canterlot underneath the night sky.

But just before you could give up to confusion, a sound caught your ears.

It came from in front of you --- way within the darkest depths beyond the treeline. Like a whisper in a long corridor, the noise was faint at first, but soon enough it picked up at a higher volume. It seemed like some type of chattering that you could not confidently discern. Given the season of autumn was around, a hopeful part of you --- bordering on wishful denial --- assumed that the rustling of leaves was what was getting to you.

But soon the sound became much clearer to you. It proved you wrong.

You heard the beating of wings, along with high-pitched, aggressive shrieks.

You did not waste a single second.

In a half-second moment, you swung your hindlegs around the log and made an immediate dash towards the camp on all fours. How you failed to tumble on your face despite being in such a hurry was a mystery to you, but you had no desire to stop and think about anything else other than securing your safety. The paranoia swimming through your brain cells was enough to prevent you from stalling or stopping for anything.

And yet, when you saw an oblivious Sunny and Sparky taking their time back to the tent, you knew that you had to at least say something.

"SUNNY! RUN!"

Stopping in her tracks, the mare looked back at you, still holding the dragon against her chest. Her mouth dropped slightly as if to ask a question, but then you saw it open even further as Sunny let out a yell --- her eyes widened no doubt by the dread behind you. Whatever was terrifying enough to strike fear into the optimistic pony, you felt no need to turn around and find out for yourself.

As you hoped, Sunny did not wait for you to catch up to start running herself. Using her forehooves to place a perplexed Sparky upon her back, the mare galloped at full speed towards the camp.

"EVERYPONY! TAKE COVER!" she shouted. "THERE'RE BATS COMING!"

Picking up the pace, you were able to bring a few yards between you and Sunny. By now, the two of you with Sparky had entered the outer area of the camp, passing through a couple of tents as you followed the mare. You failed to halt your progress, but you could not stop your beating heart from simultaneously sinking as worried cries and shouts rang around you.

You were moving so fast, but throughout different sections of your vision you could catch scared ponies scrambling off their hooves to dart off somewhere else. The panicking chaos was overwhelming your senses, causing you to look all around you in anxious anticipation that someone or something would crash into you.

If anything, your worries worked against you, for you did not know who or what, but you felt a mighty weight hit the front of your chest as soon as your eyes were off in the other direction. With nearly all the wind knocked out of you, you fell on your side to the ground, the bitter taste of dirt and grass entering your mouth as soon as you landed. You spat out the residue from your mouth and began to get up on your hooves, when a sharp, unpleasant feeling suddenly appeared from your side, very close to your belly.

Once you felt the pain dig into the skin underneath your fur, you instinctively turned over on your back. Bringing your chin up against your chest, you gasped as you saw what was on your side.

There were two of them. They appeared like large, scaly purple caterpillars or worms, each about the size of a cat or small dog. You saw a pair of flaps on both of them that looked like membraneous wings. But the most haunting feature was their face. You could confidently say that you have never seen such a creature before, but their beady-eyed expressions seemed to be a mix of both a pig and a bat.

Both monsters wriggled around your torso, snarling in a buzzing manner that reminded you of the call of an insect drone. You were so immersed by their bizarre nature that you had forgotten the discomfort that you felt originally. A further inspection of the monsters revealed that their teeth were latched to your skin. With no hesitation, you swatted the unknown animals with a single forehoof.

The initial blows seemed to just irritate the beasts at first, but a few more landings on their rubbery snouts succeeded in ceasing their biting. Letting go, they rose in the air, flapping their wings ferociously to keep their bottom half from making them fall to the ground. Their hisses were enough to make you realize that you needed to get up quickly.

On your hooves once more, you galloped towards the center of camp. By now, Sunny and Sparky were nowhere to be seen amongst the ever-mobile crowd of yelling ponies. You just hoped that the two were able to make it to safety with your group.

Throughout your adrenline-induced trip, you caught glimpses of scenes that did not catch your attention beforehand. The bat-like creatures were numerous, with groups of half a dozen each terrorizing the camp in their own ways. Several swarms went through ponies' tents, tearing up the fabric and bringing the whole foundation down. Equipment and materials such as chairs and coolers were knocked down and thrown about in a team effort. And though you did not see it that often, there were ponies being chased or bitten by the creatures like you had been not so long ago.

Despite the nerve-wracking sights, you pushed through, until you eventually reached the tent of your own group. To your relief, you could see Sunny, Hitch, and Sparky near the chair circle around the fire, while Zipp herself was floating in the air.

"Guys!" you called out.

All four creatures noticed you despite all the chaos, with Sunny being the first to speak up.

"[Y/N]! What happened to you? I was so worried!"

You stopped in front of the mare, taking a few seconds to draw in some air. "I got attacked by those creatures, but I'm alright."

"I'm so sorry, [Y/N]! I didn't mean to leave you behind! I swear!"

"It's fine. A lot was going on, so I don't blame you."

You heard Hitch yell. "COME ON NOW, YOU GUYS! YOU FLYING FELLAS SHOULD BE ABLE TO HEAR ME! CAN YOU PLEASE STOP CAUSING SUCH A RUCKUS?"

"I don't think that talking is going to get them to stop, sheriff!" Zipp retorted, looking around the camp.

"I just don't understand!" the sheriff cried out in frustration. "Why can't I communicate with them? They're animals, for Pete's sake! This isn't like with the critters this morning!"

Sparky, beginning to whimper, hugged Hitch's foreleg and buried his face in his caretaker's fur.

"Where's Izzy and Pipp?" you shouted throughout the chaos.

"Izzy said she wanted to take a walk in the woods before the bats came!" Zipp answered. "Something about connecting with a new wilderness! And Pipp just zoomed off as soon as these things got here! I can't find her---"

Despite all the chattering of the creatures, and all the shouting of the campers, your ears instantly picked up on a particular shrill that seemed to ring from the heavens above. Zipp and the other ponies seemed to notice it, too, as they all brought their heads up in abruptness. Doing so as well, you saw a pink and purple blur dash circle above the campfire. Eventually, it slowed down to reveal a shrieking Pipp, and attached to her posterior was a biting bat creature that was hanging on for dear life.

"ZIPP! ZIPP! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! PLEASE!"

The elder pegasus floated higher up to reach her sister, but any time she attempted to reach out Pipp would move out of her grasp --- wailing and flailing about her forelegs while screaming.

"Pipp! You needed to stay still!" Zipp insisted.

It took a few seconds for her to follow through, but Pipp ceased her movements, though you could hear her hyperventilating. Zipp took hold of the bat with both forehooves and pulled. There was a bit of a tug-of-war between the two, but the white pegasus came on top by ripping the bat off her sister's rear and throwing it in the air. Both pegasi came down to the ground, with you spotting a bit of a twinkle in Pipp's eyes as she sniffled.

"This is so not how camping is supposed to go!" she complained. "I mean, bug repellent for bugs? Sure. Don't go bother the bears in the woods? Got it. But how am I supposed to account for long, wormy... bat-things that come out of nowhere?"

"We gotta do something, guys!" Hitch insisted. "We can't just let them tear up the whole camp!"

"What can we do? There's too many of them!" Zipp argued. "If anything, we need to leave until they go away. Maybe we should all just make a break for the trees!"

"They came from the woods!" you mentioned. "If anything, there could be more of them there! I don't know if we should risk it!"

"I got it!" you heard Sunny shout. You turned to see the orange mare grinning. "It may be a bit of a gamble, but I think we can get the earth ponies to use their flora magic to trap these things. My alicorn form should be able to help, too."

"Flora magic? Alicorn form?" you said out loud. "Are those like---"

An orange glow shone right in your face, originating either behind or in front of Sunny. The sudden flash took you off guard and so you turned around and guarded your eyes with a forehoof. Out of concern for your traveling companion, you quickly took a risk and decided to see if Sunny was okay. Instead of a worrying scene, you were stunned by what you saw instead.

Sunny still stood where she was before, all well and unharmed, but there was something new about her. On both sides of her torso were large yet thin oval-shaped objects that glowed either yellow or light orange. The attachment of these strange devices seemed not to bother the mare, who held a confident and determined expression that made you curious about her next actions.

But before you could ask what was transpiring, it happened.

In one quick, fluid moment, Sunny lifted herself off the ground and began to float. Nothing could have prepared you for that, nor could you find the strength to close your jaw once it dawned on you that you were not dreaming. But whatever possible explanations or theories were running through your head as for how such a thing was possible were quickly shot down once you paid attention to the glowing objects on her sides. The long devices flapped up and down repeatedly, causing sparkles to illuminate the air around the mare as she went higher up.

"Are those... wings?" you said softly to yourself.

Sunny jerked her head back, in which a bright glow emanated from her forehead that seemed to resemble a horn. Soon the ground below your hooves begun to shake as patches of green light appeared to glow underneath the grass. Though you were not on one of those patches, your cheek was hit with a sprinkle of dirt when something green popped out from the ground.

You looked down to your side and saw a thick, huge vine littered with flowers growing out from the soil. Seeing it continue to grow, your eyes went up to follow its progress, where you were met with the sight of a few more enormous plants springing from the patches and reaching into the air. Like the one in front of you, many of them were just tendrils of vines with nothing special about them, but a few had what could only be described as the oval-shaped head of a Venus flytrap.

As soon as they matured to the point that they stopped growing, the plants sprung into action. Any bat creatures that were passing by your vicinity were instantly snatched up in the jaws of the flytraps or entangled in the lasso-like snare of a vine tendril and squeezed to a forceful halt. Though there were still specks of monsters flying about in the distance, for the most part it seemed that none of them were bothering your group anymore.

Amazed, you looked up at Sunny, who boasted a proud smile as she observed her work. The flying mare than looked down at Hitch.

"Hey. I hope you don't mind if I act as the sheriff again, but I need you to get the other earth ponies to use their magic to round up these bats. I'll be flying around to make things quicker."

Without any resistance or further persuasion, Hitch nodded in agreement. "I'll do just that, Sunny." Looking down at a scared Sparky, the stallion took a hold of him with both forehooves and turned over to Pipp, who took the baby dragon into her care. "Don't worry, little guy. I'll be back soon."

As soon as Hitch galloped away from the tent in one direction, Sunny with her glowing wings flew off the other way.

"So we just stay here, right?" asked a nervous Pipp.

"I think so," replied Zipp. "We just gotta hope that the earth ponies can round up as many of these things as possible."

"But what about Izzy? Shouldn't we try to find her?"

"We don't exactly know where she went. I'm sure once this all dies down, you and I can search through the woods to look for her. Right now, all we can do is hope that she's out of harm's way."

Pipp sighed. "I guess you're right. I just don't know how I'm going to---"

A purple blur came in between the four of you, causing Pipp to scream and Zipp to bolt to the air, all while you huddled down on the ground with your eyes closed. With zero vision, you could hear Pipp's voice shout out.

"NO! GET OFF! DON'T YOU DARE--- NO! NO! SPARKY!"

A loud collection of high-pitched babbles rang out, and you felt compelled to open your eyes. You looked at a horrified Pipp, who no longer had the baby dragon in her grasp. With dread plastered on your face, you swung your head in the direction that the pink mare was looking towards. Though far away, heading towards the treeline was a bat creature with something green wrapped within its long body.

"SPARKY!" Zipp yelled. The older pegasus flew off after the monster and the dragon in a near-white flash, with her younger sister soon following suit. Getting off the ground, you raced after the princesses without a second thought. Whether you were afraid of being left behind at the tent or adamant on seeing the dragon out of danger you would never know. Maybe both motives compelled you to move. Either way, you could not stay behind.

You went past the tents as quickly as possible, being careful to avoid any ponies, bats, or newly sprung plants. By the time you reached the end of the camp, the bat with Sparky was no where to be seen, but you could make out a white dot and a pink pot entering into a certain part of the treeline. By the time you rushed into the forest, though, the lack of abundant moonlight made it impossible for you to see anything clearly in front of you.

You went on in a straight line, hoping that somehow the sisters did not take a turn that you could not account for. With each passing second of you being in the darkness, the less hopeful you were that you would be meeting anybody here. As if to trick reality and yourself, you picked up the pace with your legs, hoping that exerting your earth pony muscles would somehow make you on par with the power of a pegasus' beating wings.

But it was all useless fantasy.

Eventually, minutes later on you came to a slow walk, knowing that you would never keep up with the pegasi. With Sparky in danger, you did not feel any anger for the two mares for leaving you behind, if they even knew that you were behind them to begin with. But now you were in the middle of the woods at night, where more of those bat monsters could be, as well as any other dangerous animal who made their home here.

Stopping at last, you gazed into the darkness ahead, hoping that by some miracle the baby dragon in the care of the two princesses would pop right out. But the void denied you anything, remaining constant in its blankness, which seemed to be insulting you.

A sinking, cumbersome realization dawned on you at once: you had to go back to the camp. As much as you felt for Sparky, who no doubt must be scared out of his mind, there was nothing you could do to join in the chase with Zipp and Pipp. All you could do was hope that the sisters would be able to secure him and beat you back to the tent. If that was not the case though, then you would have to wait with Hitch and Sunny for whether or not their little companion would be making it back.

You did not yearn to see what the pair's faces would be like when you brought the news.

You turned around, trying to look past the trees to see if you could spot an opening that would lead you back. You knew that you did not take any excessive turns, but it was better for you to be safe than sorry. As you were searching for a good view, a twinkle shone in the left corner of your eye. At first, you assumed that it was a campfire by this distance, but soon the light came closer to the center of your vision.

It was a purple spark of some sort that was moving through the foliage of the forest. You could easily see it, yet it was faint enough for you to discern that the source must be afar to a degree. Taking a chance, you walked past and underneath the assembly of branches in front of you, being careful not to trip over any uprooted tree vines while doing so.

With little difficulty presented, you were able to push through the thicket and reach the beginning of a small cliff. Walking over to the end, you were met below with the sight of a large clearing that was divided horizontally by a small river. To the left was an ever-expanding land of sparsely placed trees, while to the far right was a collection of woods that made up the treeline outside the camp.

On the top half of the clearing --- or rather its portion north of the river --- was the beginning of another treeline. It was here that you discovered the source of the light. Several feet below you was a light blue unicorn with a purple-glowing horn, and beside them was an object encased in a similar magical aura. You could not make out what the object was from this distance, but you were able to catch a faint sound from down there. The sound of childlike gibberish.

"SPARKY! IS THAT YOU?"

The pony seemed to look up in your direction. Whether they spotted you was not clear, but they seemed spooked enough to begin bolting to the treeline, followed by the floating object. Your heart dropped as you saw the duo disappear into the trees.

"WAIT! COME BACK!"

Your plea was futile, as neither of them came back into view. Still, you made a rather quick judgment that the descent down to the clearing would not be a hard task to carry out. You just had to find a way there, and hope that you could cross the river somehow.