Lead Us Not

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Chapter 1

Sunny Starscout let out a sigh, sliding slowly onto the hard patio chair. The breath was tranquil, but exasperation and exhaustion had slipped in to taint the exhalation on its way out. She looked out from the Cliffside Cafe and followed the ocean all the way to where it met the sun-drenched horizon, and smiled despite her sleepiness.

It was a much larger world out there now, and already she was considering what new adventures she might have with her friends on the mission of preaching friendship. It was exciting to think about, her and her friends finding all the other creatures of old that her father had taught her about, but as she considered it she felt the weight of one more task settle onto her withers. She sunk a bit further into the chair and opted to rest her head in her hooves on the patio table.

There was a clink, and Sunny opened her eyes to see Sugar Moonlight setting a small cup of herbal tea down in front of her. Her shimmering mascara reflected the setting sun, and Sunny lifted her head up with a smile and started to reach for her saddlebag.

“Oh, no need, it’s on the house, Ambassador!” Sugar said with a wink, her words as bright as her lipstick. “And I know you’re going to argue, so just know that this stuff is like, supes cheap. The boss said you’re good for free tea whenever, but you gotta pay for the rest.”

“I still feel a little awkward taking it…” Sunny mumbled, cradling the warm cup in her hooves. The rich floral scent tickled her nose and seemed to drive away the worst of the heaviness in her legs.

“Trust me, he says we’ll earn way more just from ponies knowing you stop by here every now and then. ‘The Ambassador of Friendship? Drinking tea at the Cliffside Cafe? Well now we gotta check it out!’” she mimed, giving Sunny a playful punch. “Maybe tell the ponies in the other cities about us when you stop by there. Then there’s no need for guilt.”

Sunny laughed and then picked up her tea and drank heartily. True to its aromatic promise, the hot liquid seemed to carry a reserve of strength to her as it rushed to her stomach.

“Ah, thanks Sugar. This is delightful. I didn’t know you worked here too. Aren’t you a model and a regular office worker at CanterLogic?”

“I keep myself busy. Not as busy as you, though. Life’s gotta be different from spending all your time going through your dad’s research in that lighthouse, eh?” She sat down opposite Sunny, staring at her intently with her head held up by her hooves, her sparkly eyes wide and wet.

It was hard for Sunny not to laugh. Sugar Moonlight was like all the other ponies of Maretime Bay. Two months ago they had all ignored Sunny’s ramblings of friendship and denounced her idea of peace. But now that Sunny had reunited the tribes and brought magic back to the land, she was a hero, and everypony wanted to know everything that was going on in her life.

Princess Twilight would have said that part of Friendship is forgiveness, Sunny thought, setting her cup down and nodding.

“Absolutely! While that was a ton of work all by itself, this Ambassador thing has me going non-stop. We’ve got all these projects lined up, organizing new treaties and trade agreements. That’s not to mention fixing all the stuff at home for each of our tribes. Rewriting our education curriculums, managing ponies resistant to change, adapting to life with magic after centuries without it… I’m in the middle of all of it and I’m starting to wear out a little bit. The travelling between the three cities alone every week has really been starting to wear me down.”

“Can’t you fly there pretty quickly?” Sugar said, edging close to an unasked question that had hung in the air between them since she first arrived with the tea.

Sunny looked back at her unadorned body and shrugged. “Quickly, yes. Easily, not so much. I have to focus for that magic to come back to me, and I’ve still got a lot to learn about flying so it isn’t a confusing drain. It’s easier to walk, and I love the countryside anyways.”

“Fair enough, I suppose.” Sugar rested her hooves onto the table while Sunny’s eyelids started to droop. “Oop. I should probably let you get home,” she added after watching a large yawn.

“‘Home’,” Sunny mumbled, glancing around her shoulder at the peak across the bay. There a massive pile of rubble lay, all her memories and belongings and her father’s research smashed together from when they knocked down the rest of the destroyed building. “Yeah.”

“Er,” Sugar said, cringing. “Sorry. But like, you know—”

“Yeah. It’s fine. I should get going. Thank you for the tea,” Sunny said, placing a bit on the table and sliding it towards Sugar.

With the sun now set, the penthouse suite the local Mareiott had set aside for Sunny to live in until the lighthouse was rebuilt was pitch black. She fumbled for the switch, its location not quite set into memory, and grunted when the sharp fluorescent bulb sparked to life. It was a larger room, thankfully, with a kitchenette suite and a full bathroom. She tossed her saddle bag to the side and pulled out her mane ties before flopping hard onto the stiff mattress.

Her limbs dropped to her sides, exhaustion wrapping around her like tendrils snaking up from beneath the bed. She had done plenty today; lots of research from what she had salvaged from the abandoned Bridlewood library, and hours of deliberation for the treaties of what each tribe felt they should be responsible for or where their territory would ultimately lay. Underneath the fatigue, though, there was excitement, a plan in her head she could not wait to propose to the others.

Amongst the research, there was a journal she had found on an ancient tradition that had stopped many moons before the separation of the tribes. It was called a ‘Summer Sun Celebration’, and fell on the morning of the summer solstice. It felt serendipitous to her that she should read of such a thing with a month left before the occasion, and with newfound resolve she had spent the rest of her afternoon devouring every source she could find that mentioned it. Tomorrow, after she slept, she would suggest the idea to the town leaders, Hitch and Phyllis; but for now, with shaky legs and tired brain, she closed her eyes and fell asleep on top of the covers.

Not a moment after her eyelids had touched closed did she feel a sudden shifting, a gasping rush of cold air buffeting her body while her legs rolled disorientingly. Her eyes snapped open to find herself standing tall in the middle of… nothing.

She turned around slowly, trying to focus on something, anything, her tired mind more confused as to where she was than how she had got there. Everything was pitch black—darker than that, even, as if she were submerged in an endless universe so far removed from everything it was as if light itself had never graced its halls. Even her hoofsteps, which connected with something solid, made no noise. Only the pressure against her frogs gave her any indication that she was not plummeting down in an airless void.

And then there was something. Not a sound nor a light, but a feeling, a presence, that unshakeable sensation of being watched. No, more than that. Of being seen. Of being observed by some hidden predator stalking in the night. Sunny spun around, feeling the sensation crawl along her back and lift the fur on her legs. Still there was no noise, but the prickling touch of observation increased, pushing against her, sharp and staticy, like thumb tacks into her skin.

She could tell now where it was coming from, and pinpointed the source directly. It was growing from a sense of being watched to a sense of being accused. Dislike filled the air and with it a stench of hatred arose, and her heart began to race. Something here hated her. It hated her, and so strongly she could taste it. It wasn’t just annoyance or frustration, but viscous, palpable hatred.

Tired and confused, yes, but curious more, Sunny frowned only slightly as she called forth the magic granted to her by the crystals. She felt the dripping hatred be pushed away as a rush of light and warmth and love flowed from her heart and rushed around her like a ribbon in the wind, and a moment later she was glowing with ethereal wings and horn, ready for whatever challenger there was hiding away in the dark. As prepared now as she could be, she lowered her head slightly to aim the horn at the perceived source of malice and brought light to its tip, sending a beam into the void like a flashlight before her.

And there was something there—somepony. Could it have been called a pony? She was unsure. About a hundred feet away a four-legged creature sat, its dusty purple legs gangly and awkwardly splayed out. The spidery things bent at odd angles back into a similarly coloured body, a gross skeletal thing that seemed three and a half times as tall as a pony. There was a horn there, though it curved back from the skull like a sabre, the point shining in the light of Sunny’s magic. Around the horn a two-toned mane of indigo and pink flowed down, curtaining the rest of the body and falling to the ‘floor’ of the void in bunches. It was greasy and flat, as if it had never once known the comfort of shampoo.

“H-Hello?” Sunny offered, stepping once towards the creature before fear froze her.

Slowly, the head rose up. Eyes that were not there, the sockets filled with raw, glowing hatred, lifted to match Sunny’s, and the malice and disgust she had felt before seemed to resonate in her horn so powerfully she thought it might explode. Sunny gasped sharply, flinching in pain for a moment, and when her blink had finished, she found her breath taken from her.

The monster was immediately before her, the long, gaunt face—clear now it must have belonged to some equine creature ages ago—inches away from her own. Those glowing eyes stared down at her, its razor sharp horn aimed at her menacingly while a light pink aura spun around it in sparks and sputters. While Sunny shook, the leathery skin of the creature’s face split to reveal a row of shattered and jagged teeth.

“That magic,” the thing hissed, “was not yours to give.”

Chapter 2

Sunny woke up screaming, her coat drenched in sweat, her heart racing. She noticed almost immediately that her wings and horn were active, flared to life around her while she flailed and tossed about the covers. She blinked and a flash of two glowing eyes briefly snapped in her vision, earning a second shriek and fumble before she collapsed to the floor with a heavy thud.

“Miss? Room services, are you alright miss?” came a voice through the door.

“I… I think…” Sunny said, starting to remember where she was. Already the void and the creature had slipped away from her memory, and she grasped at the horrifying white spots that had appeared in her vision for that split second. The more the hotel room came into focus, the further away the eyes went, and by the time Sunny caught her breath she could scarcely remember why she had woken up in a panic in the first place.

“Miss?” The voice stated, knocking with some urgency.

“I’m—I’m fine!” Sunny shouted back. “I’m fine. A bad dream, I think. Sorry for the disturbance.”

“Very well then,” said the attendant, and a second later she could hear hoofsteps continuing down the hall.

Sunny untangled herself slowly, marvelling only half-heartedly that the alicorn magic surrounding her had not yet faded despite her lack of focus. She wished she could remember the nightmare, and it frustrated her with how quickly it had slipped away. There was… it was dark, she felt, but there was light? And… was there another pony? How could something so terrifying as to wake her up in panic be forgotten so quickly? She shook her head in a vain attempt to realign her thoughts and only found that there was even less to remember. With the last vestiges of it gone, she sighed, glanced at her alarm clock, and groaned.

It was six in the morning. She had slept a solid eight hours, but felt as if she hadn’t even closed her eyes for a minute of them. Her legs still felt heavy, invigorated as they were by the shimmering magic that caressed her body. Having fully woken up, she found the wings and horn fading away, and smiled weakly with the thought that at least that seemed to be working the way it had already shown to do.

She frowned, sitting on the edge of her bed, staring at her pillow. Why had she reacted so violently? She racked her brain, desperately trying to bring anything to mind about whatever traumatized her, and then gave one last sigh of frustration in defeat. Whatever it was, she figured, it couldn’t have been that bad. She was just being emotional, that’s all.

Deciding not to bother with a nap, she double checked that her research notes were still in order, and then slipped down to the hotel lobby as softly as she could manage. Once there she picked up a fresh cup of coffee from the cafeteria and sat on one of the luxurious couches, rehearsing her pitch in her head while letting the burning liquid wake up her mind. Despite the unsatisfactory sleep, her excitement as she contemplated the Celebration infused her, and by the time her cup was empty and the sun had risen, she felt just as prepared to start the day as she normally would have.

Outside was warm and bright, another gorgeous spring day in Maretime Bay, and the splash of salt water tickling her nose was the last of what she needed to feel extra refreshed. She reached CanterLogic with a bounce in her step, and Toots and Sweets responded to her cheery greeting with their own, welcoming her inside.

Hitch and Phyllis were in the lobby, in the middle of some good natured argument about Earth Pony cultural traditions, and they both lit up in smiles as Sunny walked up to them.

“Ah, Sunny! Welcome back,” Phyllis said, writing something down and handing it off to Hitch. “Thank you again for all your help with those new regulations last week. I had no idea that so many things were just… what was the term, Hitch?”

“Systematically oppressive.”

“Right, yes, that! Against Pegasi in this town. Like ‘No pony may cast a shadow on another pony.’ How long has that been in our ordinance?” She shook her head. “There’s still a lot I need to reframe in my mind, but I promise I’ll get there. Thank you again.”

“You’re welcome! With time, and more activities held together, I’m sure everypony will come around and learn to trust each other. Just us leadership groups being friends will inspire the others to love and compassion. In fact, that’s why I’m here again today.”

“Oh?”

“I found some information on a festival celebrated annually in Ancient Equestria when I was last in Bridlewood. It’s called the “Summer Sun Celebration”, and it’s celebrated on the morning of the summer solstice. Ponies from all over the land would gather for it.”

“Ponies came from everywhere to watch the sun rise?” Hitch asked, scratching his head. “What, were they concerned it wouldn’t come up or something?”

“There’s some history attached to it, but everything I could find was just compilations of tatters of older compilations. Something about two sisters fighting was the only thing I could find that was consistent.”

“I mean, I suppose we could add a new festival to our list, but I hardly see what’s important about this one.”

“Just wait, Phyllis, she’s not done. Aren’t you, Sunny?”

Sunny laughed and bumped Hitch with her head. “You know me too well. I couldn’t find much concrete information on it—one source said they were watching the sisters raise the sun together, which is clearly just a fairy tale—but it’s very definitely a celebration of friendship triumphing over evil, and a bringing together of loved ones. Plus, you’re supposed to stay up all night to watch the sun rise, so it would be a really special sort of event filled with fun games and parties.”

Phyllis started nodding, picking up pace the more she thought of it. “I can’t think of a more fitting celebration then. On the solstice you say? That’s about a month away. What do you think, Hitch, should we start the preparations?”

“I’m down for it! Hey, if it’s about reunification, should we do something with the crystals?”

Sunny smiled. “I was thinking, when we invite the other tribes, we can suggest they bring their crystals down as well. Maybe when the sun comes up we can hold them together, symbolically.”

Phyllis sparked up, bouncing in excitement. “Oh, we could display them in something like that dias that was in the lighthouse! Or we could even use it. Did you happen to see what happened to it?”

Sunny shook her head, her shoulders drooping at the thought of her home. “It’s somewhere in the rubble pile. They pushed it all together when they knocked the rest of the house down.”

“I’m sure we can build something new in the gazebo,” Hitch offered, hurrying the conversation along. “Something better looking than the lockup drawer in the sheriff’s office, anyways,” he laughed.

“It sounds decided to me then,” Phyllis said, pulling out a notebook. “Hitch and I will start planning some festivities based around the idea, finding what we need for supplies. I know you just returned from a trip, dear, but would you mind approaching the other tribes? See if you can’t get their input on what they would like as parts of the celebration, and then we can cobble together something new.”

Sunny smiled, more to herself than the other two. “Yeah, I already figured I’d have to, anyways. I’m a little exhausted, I didn’t sleep too well last night, but one last trip before a nice fun break won’t be an issue.”

“Alright!” Hitch exclaimed, holding his hoof up for a bump.

Sunny returned it, affixed her saddlebag, and nodded. “Alright, I should be off then! I should be back in about ten days at most. Oh, and, Hitch?”

“M’yes, Sunny?”

“Try not to start a war while I’m gone.”

He laughed, shaking his head as Sunny turned away.

The first day’s journey had been almost entirely uneventful, save for the pair of Pegasi Sunny had spotted soaring together far away over one of the many flowery plains of Equestria. She had stopped and watched them fly for almost half an hour, marvelling at the display of athletic and aesthetic skill. For only a couple months of practice, the two circled each other as if they had danced together for a lifetime, and the joy and love that was evident even from as far away as she was brought warmth to her heart.

The sun had long since set by the time she reached the outcropping where she had camped with her friends. There was a stillness in the air about her that brought her a little bit of comfort. It was still quite warm, and the heat from the rock above was more than enough to keep her comfortable without a fire for the night. Sunny sat down, rubbing her tired legs while marvelling at the clear sky.

The world itself seemed paused, the only sounds she could hear coming from her own movements. She pulled an apple out of her bag and started to eat, musing about the strange feeling of time standing still that had come about from a cloudless, windless night. There didn’t even seem to be crickets chirping, and she chewed slowly while wondering about it.

She shrugged, far too tired to devote any more time to the thought. With as quiet as it was, she knew she was safe, and so she bundled a mass of grass together and rested her head onto it, slipping quickly into sleep.

Only again she wasn’t sleeping, simply blinked away to that same void. Immediately that wash of anger and loathing overcame her, and she wasted no time in summoning her magic, the warm tendrils fighting back against the cold hatred as wings and horn flared to life.

There was no need to spin around or shine her light as she could already see the two bright white spots of the creature’s eyes, still a hundred feet away. As she watched and held her ground, the memories of the night before flooded back into her brain, and the glow from the creature’s eyes grew and illuminated the rest of the monster’s face.

With a clear view now and being better emotionally prepared, Sunny focused on the grimacing face, trying to identify who or what it was and what it wanted with her. They stared at each other, locked in a contest, until finally Sunny blinked, and the face was gone.

“I lost everything,” she heard from behind her, and she whipped around to find the creature standing tall behind her, pinning her down with a sneer. “And so should everyone else,” the creature snapped, and Sunny stumbled backwards shrieking as its deadly horn burst to life with magic.

Her scream carried with her into the waking world and she found herself pressed against the rock face, her back so damp with sweat that an imprint of her form had been left in the dust behind her. Nothing else had followed, though, simply the fear, simply the terror, no memories except for two glowing eyes, a dark purple mane, and that horn, that dreaded…

No, no no, Sunny thought to herself, pounding her ears, trying to keep the thoughts from leaking out of them. “No!” she shouted aloud, desperately clawing at the image to keep it affixed in her memory as it too faded from her eyes.

And then it was gone, everything, no memory remaining of the nightmare whatsoever, only the dread and the racing heart that pounded so hard in her throat she felt she might throw it up.

There was no hotel attendant now to comfort her, though. Only the stars in the sky were there to keep her company, and graciously she noted the crickets had started chirping again—or had they always been, and she just couldn’t hear them? She couldn’t remember that either.

With the moon still high above her, she whimpered once before cutting it off with a shake of her head. She had trotted head high into Zephyr Heights with a Unicorn when both of them were banned and reviled. She had argued against her townsfolks for decades despite their anger and ignorance. She had even challenged Alphabittle without any apprehension. A couple bad nights were not going to knock down Sunny Starscout, no way, no how.

With renewed courage she gathered the few bits of firewood left over from the last night she had camped here, sparked the tinder with a scrape of her hoof, and blew gently until she soon had a soothing, crackling fire. Satisfied with the extra warmth to chase away the strange coldness in her chest, she nestled down again against the stone and closed her eyes.

But sleep would not come.

On the second morning of her trip to Bridlewood Sunny finally entered the forest, her hooves dragging slightly in the dust. She hadn’t slept well the night before either, having been woken yet again by a nightmare she could not remember, managing to get only a couple hours of rest before the rising sun had hit her eyelids and forbidden her from further sleep.

The ‘Keep Out!’ signs had not yet been taken down, and Sunny managed a light chuckle about this. They had all been so busy that some of the basic tasks still hadn’t been taken care of. Ignoring the signs now as she had every time she had been to Bridlewood, she continued on, plodding towards the gnarled elder tree that formed Izzy’s cottage.

She waited about ten minutes after knocking at Izzy’s home before departing for Bridlewood itself, figuring she would find her at the Crystal Tea Room. She would have gone sooner, but had leaned against the door and dozed off for a moment while waiting. Thankful that Izzy was not at home to witness that light embarrassment, Sunny nodded and set off down the path.

Besides, she thought to herself, the sight of the crystals dotting the route bringing her a sense of comfort and excitement, I could use a nice strong tea anyways.

The Crystal Tea Room was just as she remembered it. Unicorns—much more lively and expressive now, save for the one beatnik in the corner who’s monotone poems continued as they always did—filled the tea-house. At the counter, Sunny spotted Izzy and Alphabittle deep in the middle of some conversation, Izzy’s exaggerated movements a foil to Alphabittle’s unchanging, serious expression.

“...just saying,” Izzy suggested, giving the stallion a poke with her elbow, “that technically, nopony has ever lost as many games as I have against you, and so that’s gotta count as some sorta record, and it’s one you can’t ever beat.”

“By that logic, Izzy,” Alphabittle sighed, finally breaking his unimpressed stare, “I have lost every game I’ve ever played against myself, as well as winning it. You have won two games exactly against me. So I still win by that definition.”

“Those two don’t count! You were just insulting me!”

“I may have said ‘I bet you’ll keep talking even after I’ve said leave me alone’ in the desperate hope you’d somehow fail that too, but it was still a challenge.”

“Haha, yeah,” Izzy said, stirring her tea with a drowsy smile. “It was pretty fun to break my losing streak.”

“Well, you’re welcome. You still lost this bet, though.”

“What if I—SUNNY!” Izzy shouted, leaping from her stool to hug Sunny as tight as she could. “Oh, oh, Sunny! You’re just in time! Alphabittle and I were just discussing how I have records he can’t beat.”

“We weren’t. You were. I was telling you you were wrong.” He smiled politely, pouring a second cup of tea. “Welcome back, Sunny. I didn’t expect you to be here so soon. You just left a week ago.” He looked up from the cup and then paused, setting the teapot down gently before staring harder at the Earth Pony. “Are you… are you alright, Sunny?”

Izzy broke her hug and examined Sunny herself before taking a step back in shock.

“I haven’t been sleeping well,” Sunny said in response to Izzy’s horrified look. “Probably from all this travelling. Lots of stress figuring out terms and deciding things for the tribes in their place. Like the Farmstead Act I was last here for, figuring out taxes on imports and exports for food. I dunno anything about growing food! And all of a sudden we have heaps of it, our farmers unable to keep up with the number of apples growing from their trees!” She shook her head wearily, still smiling. “It makes me happy we’re all working together to figure it out, though,” she said, grabbing the tea and drinking deeply.

“Sunny… your sparkle… It’s really dark,” Izzy said, her voice hesitant, her ears drooping. “I haven’t seen anything like that from anypony before. What’s wrong?"

“Nightmares,” Sunny said, staring into her tea. “Only I can’t remember what. They’re gone as soon as I wake up.” She looked back up at the two, smiling brightly. “But I’ll be okay. I’m here on official business for fun!”

At this Izzy beamed, her ears snapping back up. “Serious fun business? Well I’m down for that! Come on, spill the beans!”

“That’s your job,” Sunny said, laughing. “We’re reviving an old festival I learned of called the Summer Sun Celebration down in Maretime Bay! It’ll be on the solstice and everypony is invited. It’s supposed to celebrate triumph over evil and bringing together loved ones.” She sipped the last of her tea and pushed the cup gently towards Alphabittle, asking for more with a polite glance. “CanterLogic is building a display piece for the crystals, too, and I’m thinking when the sun rises we can all bring them together in a symbolic way.”

Alphabittle nodded, stroking his chin while refilling Sunny’s cup. “There’s been a lot of energy around here lately. Lots of ponies who haven’t had a chance to get to Maretime Bay or meet a Pegasus yet are eager to do both. I think it’s a great idea, Sunny. What do you need from us?”

“Plan some activities that celebrate what it means to be a Unicorn, but that other races can participate in. Demonstrations of unique abilities would be good, too.”

“Ooh,” Izzy said, bouncing in her seat. “I know! A bunch of us have been practicing telekinesis with my ribbon supplies. We could make a dance out of it, with streamers!”

“That sounds lovely,” Sunny said, cradling her tea in her hooves.

“So when should we head out?” Alphabittle asked.

“Well, I still need to get the go-ahead from Queen Haven. I can’t imagine her disagreeing, but we’re still all learning about one another, so I can’t agree for her on my own quite yet,” Sunny laughed. “Why don’t you two make preparations here, and I’ll head to Zephyr Heights and get that sorted? I’ll stop by on my way home and let you know for sure.” She smiled, picked her teacup up, and drained it again.

Izzy nodded happily but reached a hoof out and rubbed Sunny’s back. “Are you sure you don’t want to head home? I can go ask Queen Haven for you. You really look beat up, Sunny.”

Sunny leaned over and hugged Izzy again. “I’m sure. When we’re all back together in Maretime Bay we can make arrangements for taking turns doing the message runs. Eventually we’ll have a postal system set up, or even get service for those Zephyr phones out here so we can make calls instead. But one last trip won’t kill me, Izzy.” Sunny grinned at her to prove her point. “I’m an Earth Pony. We’re made to be strong. I’ll be fine.”

“If you say so…”

“So, you gonna be heading out now?” Alphabittle asked, and Sunny immediately picked up on the hesitancy in his voice.

“No, I’ll spend the night,” she said reassuringly. “Do you… have any tea for sleep?”

Sunny fidgeted on the makeshift cot Izzy had thrown together for her and frowned at the ceiling. On the other side of the room her unicorn friend was snoring gently. Her soft inhalations were almost meditative, but all the same Sunny had yet to fall asleep.

The tea Alphabittle had given her had indeed made her drowsy, and the days of exhaustion had stacked on top of that. Despite this, she was unable to close her eyes. Every time she did, she would see two pinpoints of white light appear, and her heart would skip, jolting her back awake.

She rolled over, frustrated. Why was she afraid of falling asleep? How bad could the nightmares be if she couldn’t remember them, anyways? She rolled her eyes at herself.

C’mon, Sunny. Get over it. It’s not even real, anyways.

Her eyes landed again on Izzy’s sleeping body, and her cheeks warmed with a blush.

And you’re not alone, either. You’ll be fine.

Reassured by this realization, she closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

And then her eyes opened, once again in the void, once again staring directly at the two glowing eyes a hundred feet away. The memories of the nights prior came flooding back to her, but instead of calling forth her magic she dropped listlessly to her haunches, glaring back at the eyes.

“Let me sleep,” she said to the thing, doing her best to keep a steady voice despite the quickening of her heartbeats. “I don’t know what you want with me, but let me sleep. I can’t do anything here to help you.” She took a deep breath, preparing for the inevitable jumpscare, and let herself blink.

When her eyes opened she saw the monster had not moved. It was still there, still staring, still beating down on her with that pulsating, suffocating hatred. Instead, a third source of light had appeared, issuing from the creature’s mouth. Sunny watched the line split along its jaw, tearing back all the way to its cheeks, back to its ears, a glasgow grin of sharp and shattered teeth, mocking her with its snarl.

It was there and then it wasn’t, the monster gone, replaced now with noises. Shrieks. Screams of terror and of pain. She could hear bones break and flesh tear, sounds she had never heard once in her waking life but somehow recognized unquestionably. She could hear an inequine howl, a gutteral rage built of pain and anger, so unimaginably removed from any creature she knew of though hauntingly familiar still.

And she could hear voices. A rush of voices, mares and stallions and foals, assaulting her all at once and from every direction. She was falling through the void now, plummeting through disorganized thoughts, trying to piece together a coherent message from the din.

Quick! The altar, get the crystals before she—

In honour of unity and love, I bestow these artifacts upon your races—

No, Harmony, no, spare us, please Princess, n—

Not you too, Pinkie. Don’t leave me, Pinkie, not like the rest, not like all the others, I can’t—

They must be split. Beyond everything, we must not let them come toget—

And then there were the eyes, and the grin, and the pink sparkles wrapping around a crescent horn.

Surrounding it all was a laugh, a fillyish giggle, unending, echoing from everywhere, overcoming all the other words and shouts and splinters and squelches, growing louder, louder still, until Sunny’s ears ached and her skull felt like it would explode, and she pounded her hooves against her head, crying, begging for it to stop.

“Sunny! Sunny, wake up, wake up, wake up!”

At Izzy’s voice Sunny snapped to reality, her eyes locking onto Izzy’s as the unicorn shook her violently in her cot.

“Oh! Oh stars, you’re awake. You’re awake, you’re awake,” she exhaled, collapsing next to the bed.

“What—ow!” Sunny cut off, a migraine blossoming to life behind her temples as she lifted up in bed. “What happened? Why…” She furrowed her brows, thinking. Another nightmare? But she couldn’t remember even having one this time. It certainly felt like she had dreamt. Yet again her coat was slick with sweat, so much so that the canvas she lay in was practically dripping. In fact, it was dripping. She looked down and cringed back from the puddle between her legs, her ears dropping in a shame she hadn’t felt since she was just a little filly. “Oh, I… Oh gosh, Izzy, I’m so… That’s so embarrassing, I’m sorry, I’ll wash this for you, I… Izzy?”

Her friend was still hanging on the side of the cot, still clinging to Sunny’s foreleg, panting hard in relief. “That doesn’t matter. You’re okay. I’m so glad you’re okay.” She stood up on shaking legs and hugged Sunny awkwardly. “Okay, let’s get you up and cleaned off. It’s okay, shush, whatever it was, it must have been terrible.”

“Was I screaming again?” Sunny asked, trying to crawl out of the cot without making more of a mess.

Izzy froze, her face locked in a grimace. “No,” she said slowly, looking her friend over. “No, Sunny. You were flailing, and your eyes were open, you looked terrified, like you were fighting something off, but you…”

“What?”

“You were giggling.”

Chapter 3

Sunny crawled up the mountain to Zephyr Heights, thankful for the spring chill that hadn’t yet been chased away by the coming summer heat. It was early morning, almost six, and though she would need to wait a while to meet with Queen Haven once she arrived, Sunny had decided not to waste any more time fighting for an ounce of fitful rest after waking up yet again after only a couple hours of sleep.

It had taken two more nights to reach the mountain from Bridlewood, her pace slowed by her ragged fatigue. Despite Izzy’s insistence that Sunny stay behind and recover, she knew that the sooner she organized the celebration and got home, the better it would be. One of the unicorns at the Crystal Tea Room had suggested to Sunny that she was suffering from some extreme form of homesickness, brought on by the travelling and loss of her family home. Once back in Maretime Bay, she would leave the planning to her friends and get some rest, probably with as many of the salvaged comforts of the lighthouse she could find. Until then, though, she had a festival to arrange.

Even though the sun had just barely begun to cut away the clouds about the city, Sunny could already see shadows and figures dancing about in the mist. There was a quiet echo from the morning news on the massive television, seasoned with the subdued laughter of children playing and flying together. She took a deep breath, letting the icy air invigorate her from the inside out, and then stepped forward into the city proper.

Almost nopony used the walkways any more, and she couldn’t blame them. Sunny contemplated calling forth her magic and just flying to the castle, but the thought of focusing on both sustaining the power and managing her wings felt even more exhausting than just walking there herself. It wasn’t far, anyways, and the elevator ride gave just as beautiful a view of the city as she could get from anywhere else in the air.

“Halt! State your name and business!” Thunder ordered as she approached through the fog.

“Sunny Starscout, on a Friendship mission,” she replied, stifling a yawn.

“Ah! Good to see you again, your uh… Eminence? Exalted one?” He turned to Zoom, who was already rolling her eyes. “What honorific do we use for an ambassador, again?”

“Your Excellency,” Zoom said, tilting her head in a bow. “You are here at an early hour. The Queen will not be available for quite some time.” She squinted, eyeing Sunny’s appearance warily. “Perhaps for the best. Rough journey?”

“It’s been something,” Sunny said, noticing the guards’ hesitant glances to each other. “Is it that obvious?”

Thunder stepped aside, indicating the polished gleam of the elevator door for Sunny to inspect herself in. After two steps forward Sunny froze, mouth agape.

Her coat was matted in spots, stained in others. Her mane, while still tied up, was greasier than she had ever seen it, the ends split and frayed. What shocked her most were her bloodshot eyes, so constricted and red it was as if she had kept them open for a week straight.

Something about seeing the state of her body shook her. Her legs began to tremble while her eyes stung, the sudden realization bringing a wash of overdue pain. When she started to hyperventilate, Zoom and Thunder raced forward and caught her, then carried her slowly towards the elevator.

“Hey, hey, take it easy kid, we got you,” Thunder spoke soothingly, patting her back.

“You’re alright now, Sunny. You’re in Zephyr Heights. I don’t know what sort of disaster you ran into out there, but you’re at the height of the height of luxury now.”

“Heh, ‘height of the height’, cause we’re on a mountain, right?”

Zoom rolled her eyes and smacked Thunder with a wing while leading Sunny to the back of the elevator. “Don’t mind him. Listen, Sunny, you with me?”

“I’m sorry,” she panted, unable to lift her gaze from the floor. The world seemed to be rolling, the effect made worse by the sudden acceleration of the elevator. “I’ve never been so tired before. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, don’t be sorry kid! Heck, every one of us pushed ourselves too hard back in training.” Thunder chuckled at a memory, shaking his head lightly. “It happens. You get too gung ho about your cause, or want to be the best there ever was, or get the spooks that you can’t let your loved ones down, and just go over the top. Happens to each and every one of us.”

Zoom sat down with Sunny, rubbing her back. “I get it. This whole reunification thing, the constant travelling back and forth, wanting to do what’s right by each of us. It’s a noble cause, but you gotta take care of yourself, okay?”

Sunny nodded, a weak smile coming to her muzzle. “Thanks. You know, that’s the whole point of why I’m putting in the effort.”

“Which one? Caring about the cause? Being the best?”

“Making friends like you.”

The elevator door dinged and Zoom stood up, lifting Sunny to her hooves. “It’s far too early for a meal that sweet, kid. Head down to the guest quarters, let the patrol there know I told you to check in immediately.” She patted Sunny’s flank consolingly as she led her out of the elevator. “And uh, make sure to get a shower before you see the Queen. Noble cause or not, we can’t have you in the throne room looking like that.”

“Miss Starscout?”

Sunny snorted awake, lifting her head from the armrest of the chaise lounge she had apparently been napping on, and found a guard staring at her.

“Huhwhat. Uh? Oh!” Sunny mumbled, blinking sleep from her eyes. “Sorry, was I making a scene?”

The guard blinked slowly and tilted their head. “...No? You were sleeping. Rather soundly, in fact, not a noise or movement at all.” They shrugged, turning away from Sunny. “However, the Queen is now holding court. You may enter.”

“Wait!”

They paused.

“How long was I out?”

“About two hours, your Excellency.”

“Huh,” Sunny muttered while standing up and stretching. “It’s better than nothing, I guess.”

She wasted no time in double checking her saddle bag had not been tampered with, and quickly checked herself over for any obvious patches of grease she had missed with her shower. Satisfied, she nodded to herself and strode forward through the great golden gates.

Within, Queen Haven and Zipp were sitting regally on their thrones, looking all the world to Sunny as if they were practicing being statues. The posturing did not last long however as Zipp cracked open an eye when the gates swung shut, her face lighting up like a candle when she recognized her friend.

“Sunny!” she shouted, springing up into the air involuntarily. She did a quick loop-de-loop above the throne and dove towards her friend while Queen Haven chuckled softly at the display.

“Zipp!” Sunny said, catching the Pegasus in her hooves and swinging around with her momentum. They held the hug for a moment longer before Sunny let go, and Zipp backed up, already speaking.

“I was just thinking I should head down to Maretime Bay and say he… llo.” She leaned in a bit closer to Sunny, her jaw dropping. “Whoah, are you alright?”

Queen Haven stepped down from her throne and walked up to the two, concern already evident on her face as well. “Harmony, Sunny, you look like an—er,” she hesitated, biting her lower lip as Zipp looked sharply to her. “You look awful. No offense, of course, and I’m not speaking as a head of state or anything, but…” she trailed off again, waving her hooves ambivalently in Sunny’s direction.

“Is it really that obvious?” Sunny asked, sitting down defeatedly. “I thought that shower would clean me up well enough.”

“Sunny, I’ll be honest with you. Your eyes are practically bleeding and everything is sagging. It’s like you’ve aged ten years,” Zipp said, sitting down next to her. “Talk to me, girl, what’s happened? Who’s done this to you?”

Sunny sighed, shaking her head while leaning into Zipp. “Myself, I think. I can’t sleep. I haven’t for a week now. Maybe an hour or two a night at most, and a couple more I just got here.”

“Too much tea?” Queen Haven suggested, patting Sunny’s other shoulder awkwardly.

“I don’t think so. Nightmares—I think. I wake up screaming and scared, but I can’t remember why.”

“Oh, your sister used to get dreadful nightmares before her performances, remember, Zipp? I wonder if it’s something similar.”

“Too much work?” Sunny suggested, managing a weak grin. “I know. I know. I’ve pushed myself too hard for too long and didn’t listen when my friends suggested I should take a break. I’ve carried too much weight on my back about doing everything right.” She let out a long and exasperated breath that seemed to drag on forever. “But I’m here now, and I’ll need to go back. Nothing that can be done about it.”

“What on Equus has you so determined to make it here in the first place?” Queen Haven asked.

At this, Sunny brightened up, feeling a small rush of energy as she remembered her purpose. “The Summer Sun Celebration!”

“Is this another Earth Pony thing? I thought we had already exchanged the list of major holidays between us,” the Queen replied.

“I don’t think so, mom,” Zipp said, smiling at Sunny’s excitement. “Tell us all about it, Sunny. It looks like that will help.”

“Right! Okay, so, the Summer Sun Celebration is an event held on the summer solstice. The origins of the holiday have been completely lost to time, save for some fragments about a fairy tale of a pony who could raise the sun and her sister who tried to stop her.”

“I think I’ve heard that one before,” Zipp said, leaning into Sunny.

“Really? You’ll need to tell me what you know about it once I’m done.”

“Sure thing. Go on.”

“Ultimately the sisters supposedly reunited and worked out their differences. The festival marks reunification and triumph over evil. Maretime Bay would like to host the first one—first new one, that is—and all the tribes are invited.”

“A party? Heck yes! I am all for it. What do you say? Please mom?”

Queen Haven rolled her eyes, then flew back towards and landed on her throne.

“The Pegasi graciously accept your invitation. That’s about three weeks away. What do you need from us?”

“Cultural demonstrations, like, events or shows that are unique to your species, and any sort of festival games Pegasi enjoy or consider traditional that can be played by the other races as well. Oh, and the crystal.”

Crystal.

“What?” Sunny added, looking around.

“I’m sorry? What about what?” Queen Haven stared at Sunny, her head tilted.

“I—I’m sorry, there must have been an echo, or, I felt like… Like somepony just whispered in my ear.”

Zipp and Queen Haven both looked at each other, and then back to Sunny.

“The works, I think,” Queen Haven said, scrutinizing Sunny over her sunglasses. “Nothing left out.”

“And the comfiest room for the night,” Zipp added.

“Um, sorry, what are you two talking about?”

“You,” Zipp said, patting Sunny’s back and lifting her to her hooves, “are not going anywhere tonight, festival to plan or not.”

“Really, it’s fine, I was going to start heading home as soon as I was finished here so I could rest.”

“But you aren’t now. We shall have you pampered beyond belief,” the Queen announced, beaming at Sunny. “You are getting a full spa experience this afternoon, and we are going to get you a good night’s sleep. Everything will work out, trust us.” She started to dictate a message to a guard before pausing and looking back at Sunny. “Er, what was it you said about the crystal?”

Sunny smiled at the two of them, her thoughts drifting to the various luxuries she had seen about the city.

If their dungeons are like spas, I wonder what their spas contain?

“Right. The Pegasus crystal. CanterLogic is building a display for them, and when the sun rises on the solstice we’re going to bring them together in an act of symbolism.”

“Well, as a royal, I cannot deny the power of symbolism. We shall bring it as well. Let us prepare our desired events to add to your list, and then we shall come to Maretime Bay about a week before the solstice to set up. Is that acceptable?”

“Sounds good to me,” Sunny said, already excited about the plan coming together.

“But first,” Zipp said, laying a wing over Sunny’s back and beginning to lead her from the room, “you need to get some relaxation in.”

‘Relaxation’ is not nearly strong enough a word, Sunny thought to herself. The Pegasi had not yet perfected their skills with cloud crafting—having only had their abilities for a couple months—but all the same, Sunny felt as if she were laying on a cloud. The room was slightly cool, just enough so that the silken blankets and their heat were a welcome comfort, and she nestled down under the covers with a warm smile in her cheeks.

She had received another shower with even more expensive shampoos, had her mane and tail brushed, even had her coat brushed down as well. They had set her in a jacuzzi until the second before she would have become uncomfortably hot, and then laid her down on a table and given her a full ninety minute massage, the expert masseuses unlocking every single knot in every muscle of her body.

Feeling a touch sore after that, she had been brought to a second spa room and given a hooficure, a mud facial, and one final brush and rub down to remove all the oils and soreness from her coat, before finally being lead to a large dining hall where she had eaten like a queen along with Zipp and Pipp, laughing and joking and talking until Sunny completely forgot how bad she had felt.

No, Sunny decided, ‘relaxation’ was not even close to being right. She was far, far beyond being well and truly relaxed, and with the week of sleeplessness and work piled upon the completely soothing treatment, Sunny didn’t even have the energy to fear falling asleep. Her eyes slammed shut and the sights and sounds of the world flitted away, transporting her quickly to the lightless dreamscape.

Yet again there were two glowing eyes hovering nearby, glaring down at her, but somehow even here in this void realm Sunny felt her loose limbs and calm mind brought along with her, and she ignored them.

The glowing grin appeared next, and Sunny lay down instead, turning away from the face. She went to close her eyelids and found that they were already shut, and whatever visions she had seen were appearing within them. She grunted, doing her best to pretend there was nothing there.

The body of the monster then emerged, the purple mangy thing coming into view as pink magic flowed slowly from the curved horn. It was not as skeletal now as it had appeared before, with stringy muscle apparent beneath the gaunt coat. As Sunny watched begrudgingly, two great wings spread out from behind the monster, expanding slowly and twitchy as if cramped and exhausted.

And then Sunny was awake, not screaming, not crying, but not in her bed, not laying down. She was still in the guest quarters that had been provided to her, directly in the middle of the room, light and warmth around her. Sunny blinked once, confused. Had she dreamt? She hadn’t woken up in terror, but she had woken up.

Perhaps the treatment worked too well, she thought to herself. I got up out of bed before I even woke up. She chuckled and then glanced out the large frame windows, sneaking a peek through the gap in the curtains, and noticed then that it was pitch black outside.

A sharp glance to the clock in the room informed her that it was midnight, and then a second snap of her head to the doorway informed her that the light switch was off. Despite all this, the room was bright.

A final glance towards a tall mirror answered her question and filled her with a dozen more. She was wrapped in Alicorn magic, her horn pulsating slowly while her wings spread out wide. And while she had been standing, she had been holding something, completely unaware of its weight in her hoof.

Sunny looked down to confirm what was in her grasp, staring at the Pegasus crystal as it shimmered and glowed dimly compared to her own light. The magical radiance seemed off, though if it was or wasn’t she couldn’t tell. She had only seen it up close long enough after restoring its magic to hand it back to Queen Haven when her friends first left Maretime Bay and promised to meet up again soon. Still tired, still confused, Sunny brought the crystal closer to inspect it, and gasped.

In a flash a dozen scenes ran through her mind, each image present only a fraction of a second yet burned onto her retina still. Visions of Pegasi being cut down by a ray of magic. The grotesque and mangled faces of Pegasi, bloodied by a dozen hoofprints. And finally, piles and piles of charred wings, their feathers long turned to ash by raging magical fires.

Sunny shouted, flinging the crystal onto her bed and falling backwards as she scrambled to the door, desperate to get as far away from it as she could. How had she gotten it? Why had it shown her that? She shivered, staring in the direction of the accursed thing, her mind racing. Every time she tried to push the images away they came back to her, stuck in her brain like worms in an apple, and she started to sob.

Several minutes later she caught her breath, breathing as deeply and as slowly as she could, her legs tucked into her chest and her tail wrapped around her, curling up as small as she could be and wishing she could be smaller.

“A-at least I remembered something,” she muttered to herself, following it with another sob. “I gotta… I gotta go get Zipp. Something’s wrong with me. Something’s wrong.” She stood up feebly, steadied her shaking hoof with another few deep breaths, and then reached towards the doorknob.

NO!

The voice froze her hoof. It was immediately apparent that it was not hers, and Sunny already knew there was nopony else in her room. She didn’t recognize the voice, though it was painfully familiar, as if she had just recently heard it. Whatever it was, it didn’t want her to go find Zipp.

Which means that’s exactly what I’m going to do, Sunny thought, bursting through the doorway with a newfound determination.

She raced along the hallways, replacing the memories of the visions with a muttered mantra of “Find Zipp, find Zipp, find Zipp,” until she rounded a corner and approached a large golden door protected by two guards.

“Halt,” one hissed, stepping forward. “The Princess is sleeping, be quiet!”

“I need to speak to Zipp,” Sunny gasped, sliding to a stop. “Right now. I need to. She’ll understand. It’s an emergency. Please, please!”

The second guard turned immediately into Zipp’s room, and Sunny let out a blast of air in relief. While she waited, the first guard stared at her suspiciously, but said nothing.

“Sunny? Your magic—what’s going on?”

At the sight of Zipp, Sunny's eyes went wide in gratitude, and the meager amount of composure she had built up before leaving her room immediately drained away.

“Zipp! I’m—something’s wrong with me, I don’t know what’s going on, I, I think I was sleepwalking? There were these eyes, and, I woke up, and my magic was around me and I wasn’t even thinking about it, and I looked down and I was holding the crystal—”

“Whoah, okay, hold on—”

“—and then I looked down and the crystal flashed and I saw—oh stars, Zipp, I saw, I saw, there was so much death, the blood—the fire! I couldn’t get away from it, I threw it onto my bed, the images, Zipp, I, I don’t know what’s going on!”

Zipp raced forward, hugging Sunny while she babbled. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re awake. I’m here now. It’s okay. You’re okay.”

“I’m okay,” Sunny repeated, focusing on how her hooves felt around Zipp’s body. She was here, holding her, being held by her. She was not asleep, not dreaming. As Zipp gave her one last squeeze, Sunny exhaled shakily, feeling the tension start to fade.

I’m awake. Zipp’s here. I’m safe.

“You had the crystal?”

“Mhm,” Sunny nodded, her eyes welling up. “I don’t know how I got it, if I did anything… I know your mom keeps it with her, still.”

“Shh, shh, it’s alright.” Zipp turned to one of the guards who had been watching the affair, and they saluted at the attention. “Go to my mom’s room. Make sure she’s okay. Then check Sunny’s room for the crystal, and bring it back here.” She looked back at Sunny as the guard trotted off. “Okay. You’re gonna spend the rest of the night in my room, okay?”

“Okay.”

“And I’m going to hold the crystal when we go back to Maretime Bay together, okay?”

“Oka—together?”

“I’m gonna go with you tomorrow. We’re gonna get you home and safe, okay Sunny?”

Home, Sunny thought, visions of the lighthouse popping into her mind, and she dashed them away with a frown. “Okay. I’d like that. Thank you Zipp.”

They sat together on the floor in silence, Zipp holding Sunny gently while she sniffed and wiped the slow flow of tears from her eyes. Eventually, the guard came back, crystal in hoof and a smile on his face.

“Her Excellency can rest easy,” he said, handing the crystal to Zipp. “The Queen sleeps soundly. In fact, her guards state nopony has even walked by her room this evening.” He eyed the turquoise stone in Zipp’s hooves suspiciously. “I suggest you spend some time training with the Unicorns, Miss Starscout. Accidentally using magic in your sleep is clearly dangerous.”

“I think you can tell her that when she wakes up,” Zipp said, indicating Sunny’s lolling head on her shoulder.

Chapter 4

Gather.

Sunny opened her eyes to find the noon sun beating down on her. Her back ached, the muscles stiff as if she had been laying in one position for days.

“Good morning,” Zipp laughed, munching on an apple. She rolled one towards Sunny, where it stopped against her belly.

“Doesn’t look morning to me,” Sunny said, stretching and grabbing the fruit. “Did I scream?”

“Nope.”

“Giggling? Stand up and levitate and spin my head around backwards?”

“Maybe the issue is you watch too many horror movies. Nope. So far as I’ve been awake, you’ve been sleeping soundly. So much so I let you sleep in a bit. We should be in Bridlewood by supper, anyways.”

Sunny shrugged. She didn’t feel very refreshed, but that might have been a combination of a good sleep on rugged terrain. She didn’t feel any worse, either.

What she did feel was hope. Hope that maybe after the incident in Zephyr Heights, her nightmares had run their course. Hope that her dreamless sleep last night was truly dreamless. And hope that she would soon be home in Maretime Bay, where she could take a break from being the saviour of Equestria and rest easy for a time.

That hope carried her tired hooves forward, and sure enough by the time the sun was setting Zipp and Sunny were knocking on the door to Izzy’s cottage, eagerly awaiting their friend.

The door swung open and Izzy launched out, embracing the two of them in a bear hug while she spoke rapidly.

“You’re back! I’m so glad to see you made the trip safely and you’re looking a little better and you brought Zipp! Hi, Zipp!”

“Hi, Izzy!”

“Hello to you too,” Sunny laughed, following Izzy as she released them and led them inside.

“I was so worried for you. It was all I could think about. And the more I thought about it, the more I knew what I was gonna do to help.”

“And what’s that?” Sunny asked, settling down near Izzy’s tea table.

“I’m going to come back with you to Maretime Bay, early.”

“I had the same thought,” Zipp said with a smile. “She had a rough time in Zephyr Heights,” she added, glancing at Sunny.

“And here, too,” Izzy replied, looking warily at Sunny as well.

“Right. Yeah. Sorry,” Sunny mumbled, looking away as her shoulders dropped.

“It’s okay! It’s not—we’re not judging you, Sunny! We’re just concerned. We want our friends to be healthy and safe. We’re here to help.”

“Thanks, Izzy. I really do appreciate it. And yeah, once we get back, I’m just going to… spend some time inside, chill out, maybe read a bit.”

“Awesome. You’ll be fixed right up in no time. Oh!” she shouted, perking up and rummaging around in her mane. “I got our crystal from Alphabittle, so I can bring that with us too,” she added, sliding the gem across the table to Sunny.

It flashed as Sunny’s eyes locked onto it, the miasma of blue magic clearing away like fog in the sun, and within it came a new rush of horror. Bodies collapsed in front of her, disfigured as jagged crystals grew rapidly out of them, blood flooding out of their mouths as they gargled in pain. A city atop a mountain much like Zephyr Heights billowed black smoke as towers fell down over fleeing ponies. A pile of unicorn horns, none with owners, each fractured and sparking, burned beneath an eclipse that oozed fire.

She shrieked, kicking the tea table over as she flailed backwards. Zipp immediately flew around and caught Sunny as she fell, lowering her to the floor and holding her steady.

“No! Stop, get them away! Stop, stop, stop!” Sunny screeched, clawing at her eyes and flailing in Zipp’s legs. “No! I don’t want to see this anymore! Stop, please!”

“Izzy, can you… do you know what’s happening?” Zipp asked, pulling Sunny up into her lap and cradling her in her hooves.

Izzy stood frozen next to the toppled table, her eyes wide with shock and distress. “I… I don’t know, she just… her sparkle was dark like the last time I saw her, but when she touched the crystal it went… weird.”

“Shh, shh, it’s okay Sunny, it’s okay, we’re here, I’ve got you,” Zipp crooned to Sunny, who had ceased flailing and instead only sobbed, tears running down her face as she clung tightly to Zipp. “Weird how?” she asked Izzy.

“Like, boom! Like it exploded! It’s back to dark now, I don’t know, I didn’t mean to, I never would have if I’d known that—”

“Izzy, it’s okay. It’s not your fault.”

“But it is! I shouldn’t have been careless, I, oh gosh, Sunny, I’m so sorry…”

Sunny’s sobs slowed, replaced over time with infrequent gasps and wet sniffs as she cleared her eyes and nose. “It-it’s fine, Izzy. I didn’t kn-know either. It’s not your fault.”

Izzy pursed her lips and gave a small nod, sitting down next to Zipp and rubbing Sunny’s leg. “I still feel awful about it.”

“I forgive you,” Sunny rasped, returning the touch and smiling with bloodshot eyes at her friend.

“How about some tea, Izzy?” Zipp suggested, gently rocking Sunny.

Izzy nodded eagerly and jumped back up, trotting off to her kitchen with her head held low. Several minutes later she returned with a pot and cups, uprighted the table, and set the set down gently. She walked around and offered a hoof up to the two ponies on the floor, helping them up and to their seats.

“I’ll… I’ll carry the crystal back, don’t worry,” she offered, sliding a cup under Sunny’s downcast eyes. “Alphabittle will get the rest of the Unicorn part figured out and be there next week. I’m so, so sorry again, Sunny,” Izzy muttered, gingerly stroking Sunny’s mane.

“It’s not your fault,” Sunny said again, unconvincingly but honest all the same. “Something’s wrong with me. With me.”

“You’ll be okay, promise,” Zipp said, sipping the tea.

“Izzy?” Sunny spoke to the floor, still staring at her cup.

“Yeah?”

“Do you have anything stronger than tea?”

“What use is friendship? Look where it got us. Decimated.”

...

“I think we should reach out to the Unicorns. They oughta be able to charge these things, right? Like when the crown stopped glowing, we slowly stopped being able to fly.”

“The old Queens have always said the same thing. We are forbidden from speaking to the other races.”

“But—”

“Whatever it is they did, it must have been bad. Think about it. That old nursery rhyme, you know the one.”

“‘Ring of friendly ponies, one for every tribe. Bring the love together and the old witch comes alive. Pull us all apart and we’ll see the shining day, trust in one another and your loved ones go away.’ Sounds like nonsense to me.”

“Yeah, but like, it says if we come together, ponies will die. Clearly inspired by something.”

“If you say so.”

…

Lighthouse.

“Sunny? You with us?”

Sunny snorted and gasped, blinking dry, stinging eyes rapidly until she realized where she was. She was walking along the trail through the prairies, Zipp and Izzy on either side of her. The rolling hills of flowers she could see were similar to what she last recognized, but different enough for her to realize what had happened.

“Was I… sleepwalking?”

“I think so. We were all quiet for a bit and then Izzy and I got chatting for a few minutes.”

“I noticed you didn’t say anything when I mentioned my favourite smoothie and knew something was up.”

“I don’t remember sleeping.”

Zipp slowed and then stopped, rubbing her mouth with a wing. “This might sound stupid, but I have a suggestion.”

“What are you thinking?”

“Normally we’d have one more night and then reach Maretime Bay by mid morning. I think we should keep walking through the night.” She held a wing up as Izzy opened her mouth. “I don’t think Sunny’s been sleeping as soundly as we think she is, anyways. We might be all a little more exhausted for it, but she’ll be home and surrounded by friends and neighbours—and, you know, a doctor—that much sooner.”

“I’d say it’s your decision, Sunny,” Izzy said, smiling. “I’m good to do either.”

Crystals.

“...Let’s go through the night,” Sunny decided, her words slow and unsure. “I think you’re right, Zipp. The sooner I see somepony about whatever’s going on, the better.”

“Ooh, I know,” Izzy said, her eyes large and bright. “Let’s sing our favourite songs to get through the night! I’ll start. It’s the one I sang to all of us when you first came to my house.” She cleared her throat and winked at Sunny, who returned the gesture with a smile.

“I heard Earth Ponies were the pony ladder’s bottom rung…”

Maretime Bay rose up over the hill, and Sunny found herself breaking into a canter. The moon was high in the sky, illuminating the streets and buildings where the lights had all been turned off. On the edge of town her temporary home, the Mareiott, stood waiting for her, the flood of light pouring out its doors beckoning her in.

Beyond the doors lay the bed she had slowly become accustomed to sleeping in. It wouldn’t be nearly as comfortable as the one in Zephyr Heights, but the thought of it being her own felt a thousand times more cozy than anything the Pegasi could invent. She found herself practically tearing up with happiness as they approached the building.

“Izzy and I are going to book the room next to yours,” Zipp said to Sunny as they walked through the doors. “We’ll give you a spare key in case you need to see us.”

“We want you to know we’ll be there for you, but I felt it might help if you had as much ‘normal’ as possible!”

“Which is difficult when sleeping in a room with Izzy,” Zipp laughed.

“Hey! I’m not weird, I’m just… exaggerated.”

“How strangely succinct,” Zipp muttered.

“But anyways, yeah. We’ll be right next door, okay Sunny?” Izzy asked, patting Sunny’s back.

“I really can’t thank you two enough. Oh, I’m so happy to be home, and I am so looking forward to my bed.”

Crystals.

“I’d say so. Your eyes just went funny. Alright, off to bed with you, Sunny.”

“Goodnight!”

“Night!”

With parting words given, Sunny ambled up the stairs to her room as fast as her tired legs could bring her. She slipped her card into the door and leaned against it, falling into the room as it swung open. She lay on the floor for a moment, laughing softly to herself, her glee at having made it back infusing her with a strange euphoria. She was home! Well, as home as she could be, at the moment—

Lighthouse!

Still apparently suffering from craziness, she thought, grimacing at the intrusive voice. Of course I miss the lighthouse. It was my actual home. She considered this for a moment, still laying silently on the floor. I think that unicorn at the Tea Room is probably the closest. It’s the homesickness, the trauma of losing my house and most of my belongings.

She blinked to herself on the floor. It felt so obvious now. She was probably having nightmares about watching her house collapse while she was still in it, probably not remembering them due to some weird mental block from the event.

It clicked in her brain, and a wash of relief came over her as she stood up from the floor. Nothing was broken with her, she was just still dealing with a major change in her life! The nagging fear that had been growing in her brain that she was malfunctioning, infested by nightmares or cursed by some spiteful spirit, flitted away under the clear reasoning that she was simply suffering from a traumatic event.

“The doctor, first thing tomorrow. But for now, bed,” she said to herself, crawling underneath the covers.

As she waited for sleep to kick in, she started a quick mental inventory in her head for the coming weeks. She would still help out with the Celebration, in a more limited capacity. She wasn’t a therapist but working on things you’re passionate about couldn’t be anything but beneficial, right? The delegations would be arriving soon, and with them they could organize the full event. Decorations would depend on the research she had done, and so her help would be needed, but only in a consultative capacity.

The plan for the weeks ahead settled in her brain, Sunny smiled, feeling herself finally drift off to sleep without some sudden jump or shift.

When her eyelids finally fluttered open, she found she was not laying in bed, nor was she in the endless void. About her, hundreds of ponies stood gathered around at the base of a massive castle set into a mountain. It looked like Zephyr Heights, but wasn’t exactly the same: the mountain seemed fuller, taller, and the city itself seemed to hang off the side instead of resting on top.

The ponies, she noticed, were of all different races. They were cheering, some stomping their hooves, some clapping. Unicorns sent off sparks of magic while Pegasi looped in the air. All around her was the air of exuberance and joy, of delight, of love.

With the dream the flood of memories of prior nightmares had come rushing back, but the happiness that flowed around her suffocated her fears, tamping them down until they were just a mild annoyance. Here on this mountain side, amongst hundreds of friends, she felt safe—excited, even.

There came a hush over the crowd, and the Unicorns and Earth Ponies ceased their sparking and stomping. Even the Pegasi settled, hovering quietly in the air a few feet above the others. Sunny watched as all their heads craned high, looking far up to an open balcony that jutted out from the castle, their eyes focused on a distant purple figure that she could just barely make out.

“Citizens of Equestria!” a voice boomed from the stand, and Sunny froze, mouth agape. It was the monster’s voice, but higher pitched, more energetic. Its speech—a mare’s, Sunny recognized—seemed to be coming from only feet away, and with a sense of awe she realized it had been magically enhanced.

“We gather on this day to celebrate,” she continued, pacing about the railing, “what we have made, all of us, together!”

The crowd roared, cheering even louder than they had before, until a solitary hoof raised into the sky from the figure, quieting them all.

“Some of you children may only know this day as a celebration,” she said, and most of the crowd hung their heads low in some show of respect. “And may they continue to do so forever. For the others, I thank you for your wishes. This day, ten years ago, marked the first death of a Guardian of Harmony.”

Sunny stepped back, shocked. Was this Twilight Sparkle speaking now? But she shared the voice with the monster from her dreams. Could the creature have been a mimic? Some sick mockery of the Princess and all her ideals?

The speaker continued, choking slightly as she resumed her speech. “I ask you now as I asked you then to celebrate their life and ideals, not mourn their passing. They should live on, remembered for what they achieved with all of us.” She paused for a moment, moving her hoof by her face—wiping tears, perhaps, Sunny thought—before standing tall and speaking again. “Since that day, we have lost two others, and this day has been marked to celebrate all of the Guardians and what they stood for.”

There was applause now, but quiet, muted noise only. Nopony cheered, only clopping their hooves to the ground in respect.

“This being the tenth anniversary, it is an auspicious day. As it approached, I have spent many days thinking on the passage of time and what we have left, and I have made a decision. Ponies of Equestria, I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, have a gift for you all.”

And above her, six brilliantly coloured stones rose into the air, circling slowly around the speaker. Sunny blinked in awe, almost blinded by their radiance, feeling even her own heart throb with their revolutions as if being pushed and pulled by a magic far stronger than any in the world. As she watched, the six stones separated themselves into three groups of two. After a hushed pause of shock from the audience, the stones flashed even brighter and then each pair smashed into each other, letting out an ear-splittingly loud crash.

Sunny flinched away from the sound, feeling dust and feathers blow by her face. When it settled she looked back up, and found there were now three stones above the figure.

No, not stones.

Crystals.

They were the crystals, she realized.

“To the Earth Ponies of Equestria, I grant you this crystal, symbolizing Laughter and Honesty. To the Pegasi of Equestria, I grant you this crystal, symbolizing Loyalty and Kindness. To the Unicorns of Equestria, I grant you this crystal, symbolizing Generosity and Magic.”

The three stones flew apart then, floating gently down in front of three new figures who had been standing behind Princess Twilight, apparently one of each tribe.

Gather.

“The Elements of Harmony belong now to you, the three races of our nation, not to the heroes of old. May they grant you security and safety in unity. Thank you.”

As the Princess bowed and started to step backwards, Sunny felt the world slowly pull away from her. Ponies around her faded into dust and then into darkness. The castle above dimmed, painted red by a sunset she could not see. She looked around, watching the dream fracture to pieces, and then closed her eyes, hoping to wake up once from a nice dream.

And as her eyes closed she found herself once again in the void, staring up at the grotesque caricature of Twilight Sparkle as it stood tall overtop her, staring down with those hateful, white-hot eyes.

“Lighthouse,” it ordered, and with a flash of its horn, Sunny was awake.

“Sleep well last night?”

“Oh, better than ever, Izzy!”

“So no nightmares?”

Sunny paused for a moment. She seemed to have slept well, having woken up feeling the slightest bit more refreshed, but she had been once again wrapped in her magic, her wings bent strangely underneath her back.

No.

“Nope!” she said, a headache blossoming. “I think I’m going to stay in and try to rest up as much as possible before the Celebration, though. I want to be in full form for the event!”

“Sure thing! If we need anything, we’ll just come knocking, okay?

“Of course,” Sunny said, hugging Izzy hard before turning around and stepping back into her dark hotel room.

…

Scores of Pegasi fall, their wings smoking and riddled with magic blasts. Of those on the ground, they are forced to crawl, to drag their bellies along jagged rocks at the base of the mountain. In the distance, a massive collection of clouds with strange buildings atop glows red and black, pillars of marble or cloud plummeting to the ground far below.

A lone Pegasi scrambles backwards, his back oozing from deep gouges where wing joints should have been, his hoof raised in a feeble defense, gibbering to the shadow-casting figure above him.

“No, Harmony, no, spare us, please Princess, no! No, ple-AAAAAAUUUUGGHH—”

…

“I can’t quite make out your notes here, Sunny. What were the colours used for the celebration? This is like, the worst hoofwriting I’ve ever seen. Writing this bad should be illegal. It might be, even.”

Sunny smiled, her cheeks lifting the bags under her eyes. “No getting out of fines for poor writing just because you’re my friend, right?”

Hitch laughed. “That would be nepotism, and is definitely illegal. So what does this say?”

Sunny craned her neck over, reading from the letter she had written to all the delegations. “Well, there was some mention of whites and golds, which kind of makes sense with the sun, you know?”

“Yeah. So white and gold?”

“But there was also purple and black, specifically talked about in one of the oldest journals. The one with the fairy tale.”

“So purple and gold?”

Pink and purple.

“Why don’t we do pink and purple?” Sunny asked, swaying slightly on the spot.

“Huh? How come?”

“Izzy, Phyllis, and Queen Haven all have some shade of them in their coats. It seems like the most neutral colour we could choose,” Sunny lied, looking off in the distance.

“Sunny? You okay? You’re drifting off there. You’re not having any more nightmares, right? At least you’re sleeping tons… right?”

“Nope! No nightmares. I am sleeping. I just have a lot of it to catch up on, I guess.”

“Alright. Well, I’ll leave you to it, then.”

“See you Hitch! It sounds like you’re doing great so far, I can’t wait to see it when it’s all done.”

She hugged him tightly, patted him on his shoulders, and gave him a bright smile in farewell. After watching him all the way to the stairs, she turned back around, facing her bed with a drowsy yearning.

…

A massive Alicorn sits within a hospital room, her frame hunched over and bent awkwardly to avoid the dozens of machines and tubes and wires that spread across the room like spiderwebs. Her head is down, nestled in tightly to the neck of an elderly, pink Earth Pony.

“Not you too, Pinkie. Don’t leave me, Pinkie, not like the rest, not like all the others, I can’t… I can’t handle this any more. It hurts too much.”

“Come on, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie says, raising a febrile hoof and stroking the elegantly long mane on her chest. “You’re the Princess of Friendship. You will always have friends. You can always make new friends.”

Twilight sobs quietly into the mare for several minutes before finally speaking, her words disjointed between choked breaths.

“To watch them die as well? I can only do two things, Pinkie. I can stop caring entirely so it doesn’t ever hurt again, in which case why bother, or I can care and suffer a thousand grievings before my own time.”

“You always overthink things,” Pinkie says, her hoof dropping heavily to her chest despite a shaky attempt to keep it up. “You can live a happy life for us. Be honest for Applejack. Be loyal for Rainbow Dash. You get it, right?” She coughs hard, and Twilight levitates a tissue to her mouth and dabbles away the spit that had gathered. “Go be happy and have fun, for me.”

“How can there be fun without you?”

There is silence.

“Pinkie Pie?”

There is silence.

“P… Pinkie Pie?”

There is silence.

…

“So we fashioned these lift things out, kinda like those old balloon carriages in the transit station under the castle, right?” Zipp said, fluttering around Sunny excitedly.

“Right!” Sunny said, sipping a smoothie. They were sitting out on a bench overlooking the ocean. Zipp had suggested that Sunny try and get some sunlight before the event, and while Sunny believed Zipp truly cared and meant it, she suspected Zipp really wanted to be able to fly unrestrained while they visited.

“And we’re gonna do Pegasus flights around the bay with them! So Earth Ponies and Unicorns can see things from our perspective. Get it? Huh? Our perspective? Come on, up high!” Zipp said, descending so Sunny could clap her hoof. As she did, Zipp rolled around, laughing. “Heh, up high, like…”

“You’ve been spending too much time around Izzy,” Sunny laughed, slumping back against the warm bench. Walking outside had felt like an incredible chore, even though Sunny’s mind seemed clearer than it had been since her troubles sleeping first started. The bags under her eyes had gone somewhat, but her legs were thinner, her coat duller.

Zipp’s probably right, Sunny thought, finishing her smoothie with a rude slurping noise. I should really start getting out of bed and getting some exercise. I’m wasting away in there.

“Maybe, but that’s only because I’m not spending enough time around you. I’m really glad you came out today,” Zipp said, landing on the bench and wrapping her foreleg around Sunny. “I’m sorry you haven’t been doing well. Hitch and Izzy tell me you think your nightmares are all done, though. Awesome news, right? You just needed yourself some piece of home.”

Lighthouse.

“Yeah! I’m pretty much just building my energy back up. Tell you what,” Sunny said, returning Zipp’s hug. “I think it’s going to be all I can do to walk back to my hotel today, but why don’t you get me tomorrow and we’ll walk a bit further?”

“Sunny, tomorrow’s the Summer Sun Celebration!”

“It’s technically not until the day after. It’ll all start tomorrow night.”

“Yeah. So don’t you want to be as rested as you can be?”

“Worst case scenario, Phyllis said CanterLogic had some neat wheelchair thing they could lug me around in. I’ll be there, don’t worry.”

“Sounds good to me then. I’ll knock on your door tomorrow morning sometime, okay? But let’s get you home and back to recovering for now.”

…

The lighthouse of Maretime bay stands tall, the great white beam circling around, illuminating the ocean for miles away.

“She’s coming!” a stallion screams, racing up the hill towards the tower. “She’s coming now! Do you see the clouds?”

In the distance, over the crashing black waves, massive clouds of purple and red billow and grow out of nowhere, as if a volcano were rushing along the sea. Cracks of thunder rumble menacingly in the air, echoing flashes of purely pink lightning.

“Are you sure this will work?”

“They’re the Elements of Harmony! Or, well, they were… If these don’t stop her, we’re all doomed.”

“Up the stairs now, hurry!”

“We can’t all fly, you know!”

“We can argue about it later, I can see her now!”

“Here it is, quick! The altar, get the crystals before she destroys this thing!”

“Mine’s in!”

“Mine too!”

A demonic screech fills the air, shattering the glass of the lighthouse windows. Shrapnel flies into the three ponies, knocking the Pegasus to the floor. The sky outside is now pitch black, the indigo clouds completely enveloping the tower. Between the pink flashes of lightning and circling lamplight, a dark and jagged shadow of an Alicorn with glowing white eyes can be seen, never in one place, rapidly flickering around the tower.

“Hurry!”

“Almost… There!”

The Pegasus drops their crystal into the center platform of the lighthouse, and the three watch in desperate, breathless silence as the lamplight spins slowly around.

“There must be no love!” the black demon shrieks, settling in place now outside the lighthouse, blasts of wind from its wingbeats flinging more broken glass at the ponies. “No more friends! No more companions! All shall hurt as I d—Aaaiiieeee!”

The lighthouse light illuminates the demon, washing it with rainbow coloured light. As it howls in pain, the three ponies watch as her form fades away into the light, the rainbow flowing into the lamp and down into the three unified crystals.

As the last vestiges of the demon’s shape sucks away into the crystals, the world fades to black, an endless universe so far removed from everything it is as if light itself has never graced its halls.

…

Gather. Crystals. Lighthouse.

Chapter 5

“Izzy! Zipp!” Sunny hollered, pounding on the door. Her heart was racing a thousand miles a minute, her voice frantic and high pitched. The hectic smashing continued, the din dwarfed only by her shouts. “Open up, open up, open up!”

The door swung open sharply, Zipp and Izzy immediately filling its frame and reaching out to Sunny.

“What’s wrong? What is it?”

Sunny recoiled from their grasp, her body practically vibrating. Sweat flung off of her as she bounced in place, her mane sticking slick to her forehead. “I figured it out! I figured it all out! The nightmares! What’s happened to me! And! I know how to fix it!”

“Sunny, calm down, you—have you still been having nightmares?” Izzy asked, her ears dropping.

“Yes! But it’s okay! I figured it out! You need to—”

“Whoah whoah whoah, slow down. Why didn’t you tell us?” Zipp asked, hurt. “Don’t you trust us?”

“More than anything! I couldn’t, but now I can, I know now, I figured it out, I’ll explain when we’re there.”

“Wh—there where? What are you going on about?”

“Sunny, why don’t you come in, we’ll get some tea, talk this out together,” Izzy offered, stepping back and waving a hoof into their room. “I get you’d be excited to cure what’s wrong, but you’ve got too much energy right now, even for me.”

“No! There’s no time! Get your crystals and meet me at the Lighthouse! Hitch! And Hitch! Go get Hitch and your crystals and meet me there! I’ll explain everything, I promise!”

“Wait—”

Sunny did not hang back to hear Zipp’s concern, instead bucking into the air and prancing frantically down the hallway. In an instant she was down the stairs, out of sight of her pursuing friends.

Sunny Starscout lay on her belly atop the pile of rubble that used to be her home, flinging chunks of concrete and drywall haphazardly behind her. Above her the stars hung, set deep in the abyss of night around her. There was hardly any moonlight, her figure illuminated only by the faint glow from Izzy’s horn as she trotted up the hill.

“We’re... we’re here, Sunny,” Izzy said, catching her breath. Zipp and Hitch followed up shortly afterwards, the sheriff’s mane mussy and his eyes tired.

“She was just as energetic when she woke us,” Zipp whispered to Hitch, who grimaced as he sidestepped a wayward chunk of metal from Sunny’s frantic clearing.

“Okay, Sunny,” Hitch announced, slowly stepping forward. “Zipp tells me that you’re not doing too well, a little worked up about something. You know you can talk to me, right?”

“Crystals,” Sunny said, pounding away at some large mass that blocked her process. “You brought the crystals, right?”

Izzy stepped forward, her hornlight revealing Sunny’s cracked and bleeding hooves. Sunny slammed them down again and shattered the mass, hefting it out of the pile and to her side almost effortlessly. Hitch winced back from the splinters and rocks that stuck out of Sunny’s fetlocks, though they didn’t seem to impede her process whatsoever.

“We did, but you need to let us know what’s going on, okay?” He stepped forward once more, ducking as another stone sailed over his head. “You gotta slow down a little, tell us what’s wrong.”

“My magic! It wasn’t… it wasn’t mine!”

“Gonna need more than that,” he said, placing a hoof on the base of the rubble.

“The alicorn magic! It wasn’t mine to have! It was HERS.”

“‘Her’…? Who is she, Sunny?”

“HER! It’s HER magic! SHE’s upset with me, SHE wants it back! I need to give it back!”

“Come on, Sunny,” Hitch said, trying a more authoritative voice. “What are you talking about? Who is ‘she’? Work with me, come on now,” he said, climbing up a few more steps.

“Please, Hitch, the crystals, I need to get HER out, I need to get HER out! SHE’s in me, in the alicorn magic, this is the only way! You need to help me, just give me the crystals!”

“Alright, Sunny, that’s enough,” Hitch said softly, reaching her as she scrambled like a rabbit digging a den. “Something’s really wrong with you, and I think you should come with m—”

At Hitch’s touch upon her back, Sunny screeched, flailing around where she stood. She spun with a hooffull of rock and rebar in her grasp and smashed it into Hitch’s temple, following through so hard his body was flung to the side of the pile.

Zipp and Izzy screamed as Hitch’s body collapsed lifeless to the ground, his eye bulged out, blood and brain painting the grass pink. As they watched, Sunny stood up slowly, staring at Hitch with only the slightest hint of concern evident on her face.

She stepped down off the rubble slowly, her gaze not turning from the now-dull eyes that stared at her, locked in an eternal state of betrayal and shock. Reaching his body she paused, looking at him, her mouth agape.

“S-Sunny…” Zipp stammered, still holding her hooves to her mouth, “What have you done?”

Sunny ignored her, bending down and sticking a hoof into Hitch’s saddlebag instead. She pulled out the Earth Pony crystal, nodded happily at it once, and then turned and scrambled up the pile of rubble, continuing to clear.

“No!” Zipp and Izzy screeched, leaping into the air and diving onto Sunny. They smashed into her, pinning her to the jagged rock, each of them trying to wrap their legs around her body and hold her still.

“Get, get off! I have to do this! She’s going to torture me forever, I’ll never sleep again unless I give it back! Get off!” Sunny shrieked, elbowing the two of them as she struggled. Her blows landed hard but the two of them held their grasp.

“Sunny! Stop! Stop this!” Izzy shrieked. “Just stop and we can talk this out, I promise, but stop!”

“Izzy,” Zipp grunted, shifting as another knee cracked into her ribs. “Can you knock her out with magic? I think she’s sleepwalking through a nightmare or something! We’ve got to knock her out!”

“I—I dunno! Her sparkle is like an inferno right now! I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“Well try something!”

Sunny suddenly stopped struggling against them and turned her attention back to smashing and tossing the concrete aside, still jostling and swaying the two ponies on her back.

“This is it, this is the key, this is how to get HER out,” she muttered, throwing one more piece of rock backwards and cutting Izzy’s nose in the process. Before her the familiar base of the lighthouse lamp came into view, the intricate etching of the Pegasus crystal front and center. Sunny’s eyes widened and she gasped, redoubling her efforts at the trash and stone. “This is it! It’s not the key to magic and friendship! It’s the key to HER. It was to get HER, to trap HER, to stop HER, old symbols SHE gave them but they used it and SHE’s in it! Only I took HER magic! She wants it back, I need to give it back—oof!”

Zipp leapt off of Sunny and snapped into the air, slingshotting back with one hoof outstretched. She ratcheted Sunny in the face with her punch, grabbing on to her body as her momentum spun the two of them over and launched Izzy down the pile.

They came to a stop over the lamplight altar, Zipp holding Sunny’s forehooves down with her own, sitting on her legs, completely pinning her. There was a moment while the two struggled, Zipp swearing at her friend while Sunny snapped and frothed at the mouth, and then froze.

“...Hey? Are you back? You with us now?”

There was an eruption of magic from her core, as if Sunny had turned into her namesake for a fraction of an instant. Zipp shouted as she turned away from the blinding light, and then whipped her head back to face Sunny, gasping.

Orange magic enveloped her like fire, her wings colossal and fully extended, her horn curved slightly back and spiralled to a gleaming point. Sunny hollered in animalistic rage and thrust her head forward, driving the horn straight between Zipp’s ribs.

“I—Wh… whglurk?” Zipp tried to ask, blood cutting her off mid-word as it fountained out of her mouth and onto Sunny’s chest. Sunny pulled back quickly and thrust again, the point sliding through Zipp’s sternum as if it were paper, earning another hiccup of blood over her body. She retracted herself, reached up, and threw Zipp’s frozen body off of herself, it too tumbling down the rocks to the ground.

Sunny giggled in manic relief, rolling over and quickly standing to shaking knees, her laugh a voice that was not entirely hers. She stumbled and slid down the rocks hurriedly, reached Zipp’s body, and bent down to rummage through her saddlebag.

A bolt of lilac magic shot through the air, hitting Sunny and causing her to stumble. She froze for a moment, and then smiled, fishing the Pegasus crystal out of her friend’s bag and turning to face Izzy.

Izzy stepped back once, sobbing, screaming, and shot one more bolt from her horn. It splashed impotently into Sunny’s face, and the Alicorn took one slow step forward.

“Izzy,” Sunny said, taking another step and wrapping her friend in her magic, pulling her up off the ground. “Izzy, I just need to borrow your crystal, okay? Just give me the crystal, please, I need you to, Izzy.”

“No, no, this is wrong, no,” Izzy said, dropping her head and looking away from the blood-soaked pony, shaking where she floated.

“C’mon, please, Izzy? Friends share, right? I’ll give it back when I’m done, I promise. I really need it. Just give it to me. Give it to me!”

“You’re not Sunny, this is just, this is a nightmare, I’ve caught your nightmares, no, you can’t have it, no…”

Sunny took another step closer and slammed Izzy against the air as if it were a wall. Izzy’s legs snapped flat in line with her back, and Sunny forced her chin to raise, meeting her eyes.

“Please, please, please, bestie?”

And in her eyes, there was a flash, and Izzy screamed.

She screamed as she saw Princess Twilight Sparkle present the tribes with the combined Elements of Harmony.

She screamed as she saw the Princess’ last friend die in her hooves, watching the sparkle around the Alicorn constrict to blackness as it happened.

She screamed as she saw thousands die by the score of the unhinged princess, as survivors frantically gathered the separated symbols of unity, as the alicorn was eviscerated by rainbow light into nothing.

And then she closed her eyes and swallowed hard, her throat raspy and aching from the shrieking, and through whimpers whispered, “No.”

There was a crack, and the whimpering suddenly ended.

Sunny frowned, her head tilting as she observed the paralyzed Unicorn in front of her. She stuck her tongue out in thought and then nodded, determined.

There came another crack, and then another. One by one, Sunny’s magic forced Izzy’s body to move how it couldn’t, each bone individually snapping in turn while her body curled up smaller and smaller. Sunny furrowed her brows in effort, focusing as Izzy rapidly curled and twisted into a perfect sphere, floating in the air before her.

She paused and then breathed a sigh of relief. It was almost over. She just needed to get the last crystal, and now nopony was holding it back from her. She frowned, concentrating, and her horn shone a little brighter. Izzy’s body squelched and squealed, issuing a dozen groans and gurgles before the Unicorn crystal slowly pulled itself out of an indeterminable mass of purple flesh.

Sunny flicked it once in the air, flinging the gore and viscera off of it. She turned around towards the rubble pile before stopping mid stride, glancing back at the floating remains of her friend while she panted and caught her breath. She started to hum a tune, a catchy song that Izzy had sang for her when they first met, while ambling around until her back faced the cliffside.

“This is how an Alicorn hoops,” she sang, gently tossing her head back and lobbing the mass of Unicorn towards the rocks and waves below.

She sat down, taking a moment to breathe. Looking down she saw a shadow start to spread from her, and she glanced back to see the sun rising above the ocean, the sky clear and gorgeously yellow behind her.

Sunny basked in the sunlight for a moment and settled herself before standing up and stretching. She hopped lightly up the blood-spattered pile until she found the altar, and couldn’t help herself from giving a light laugh in relief. Soon she would be free of this endless nightmare, free to relax, free to sleep. She didn’t need Twilight’s magic. All she ever wanted was a friend who could fly, or a friend who could levitate things, never once wishing it for herself anyways.

She placed one crystal in, wondering to herself. How come her friends were so unwilling to help her? Clearly she was struggling. But it worked out, anyways. She had gathered the crystals and come to the lighthouse. She placed the second crystal in, dreaming of the wonderful slumber she was going to be able to have tonight, entirely dreamless for the first time in a month. Without hesitation, she set the last crystal in place, and then sighed happily.

And then she blinked, and she was sitting in the endless void, the only source of light before her coming from the altar and crystals. A sensation of cool quietness came over her, and for the first time in weeks, Sunny could finally think clearly.

Her jaw dropped slowly as she brought her hooves up, the legs shaking hard as she recognized the glint of blood all over her body. Visions of her friends dying, of her killing her friends, rushed into her brain and stuck there, replaying over and over.

She started to hyperventilate, started to cry, started to panic. What had she done? Why had she done it? She was just trying to get rid of the magic, right?

“Everything that can be done by magic may be undone,” the monster spoke, stepping from the darkness towards Sunny and the altar. She was a full Alicorn now, her coat lustrous and her mane flowy and ethereal. Sunny saw her once-skeletal body had completely filled out with flesh. Even the teeth that had been so shattered and broken were full now, evident in a malicious grin that bore down on her.

“What did you make me do?” Sunny whispered, returning her gaze to her blood-covered hooves.

“You took my magic,” Twilight Sparkle said, leaning down close to Sunny, her blazing white eyes burning a hole through her soul. “I figured I might as well share my pain with you, too.”

“I’m—I’m sorry! I would have given it back! I didn’t know!” Sunny sobbed, burying her face in her hooves. “I didn’t know…”

“I forgive you.”

“You… what?” Sunny said, lifting her head ever so slightly, cringing away from the demonic face before her. “But my friends…”

Twilight stood tall and threw her head back, laughing with a fillyish giggle that Sunny immediately recognized. She cut her laugh off suddenly, glaring down at the Earth Pony.

“Friends?” she asked, lifting a hoof and jabbing Sunny in the chest with it. “You have been an awful friend,” she said, grinning madly. “But don't feel too bad,” she said, moving the accosting hoof overtop the crystals. “I forgive you, because you got me out.”

And suddenly it all became clear to Sunny.

She had not gotten the Princess out of her mind.

Sunny shouted, diving forwards towards the altar, but Twilight erupted into laughter again, stomping down onto the glowing crystals. Sunny landed hard onto nothingness, the altar and Alicorn gone, leaving her there alone in the dark.

She lifted her hooves one last time, drawn by the sickly reek of blood, and found she could not see them.

There was no light source here, nor any magic she could call on to bring it. There was nothing she could see.

Nothing except her nightmares.