With magic now restored and the three races united again, Sunny Starscout was finally able to prove that all three races were once united and could now focus on digging deeper into Equestria's past with the help of her new friends. Their research would start in Zephyr Heights royal archives where most of the cities history was stored and what they found was astonishing.
The city was once called Canterlot a thousand years ago and was home to the unicorns but was later abandoned after they lost their magic and at one time the city was a travel destination for all when ponies came to see an aerial group known as The Wonderbolts who went on record as the most talented fliers in all Equestria. This discovery made Zipp ecstatic as she became engrossed in their records of daring stunts and acrobatic displays while her sister Pipp recorded everything.
"Check it out Pipsqueaks. My sister Zipp just made one of the most amazing discoveries of all!" Pipp smiled as her sister moved over to let her record what was written in the old texts.
"So a super long time ago, these were the best fliers in Equestria, The Wonderbolts! Care to tell us about it Zipp?"
Zipp quickly cleared her throat and smiled to the camera as she began to share her discovery with the whole city.
"Okay so about a thousand years ago, this city was not only a hotspot tourist destination but it was also home to a group of elite acrobatic fliers who did amazing stunts ALL across Equestria." Zipp said as she showed the viewers the page she was reading.
"This book holds the names of the most talented members of the group. Soarin, Fleetfoot and their captain Spitfire." Zipp paused as the camera focused in on the group when Pipp noticed one more pegasus in the picture.
"Hold up sis, who's the fourth one?"
"I'm getting to that Pipp. While the Wonderbolts were the elite fliers of Equestria, this pegasus was the greatest and the fastest and her name was Rainbow Dash!" Zipp smirked to the camera as she flipped the page to show the viewers a picture of Rainbow Dash in her wonderbolts uniform.
"She was not only the fastest in all Equestria, she was also able to do the impossible." Zipp flipped to another page that stunned even her sister.
"Is that?"
"The Sonic Rainboom. That's right pipsqueaks, it's not just an old ponies tale and now that magic is back, I plan to do what she did and become the next best flier."
"Ohhh look out Equestria! Zipp is on the scene and she is gonna take the world by storm!" Zipp said as she turned the camera back to herself.
"That's all for today's broadcast pipsqueaks! Tune in next week. Pip Pip hooray!"
With a satisfied smile, Pipp cut the feed and put away her phone as she began to squeal with excitement.
"This is so great! Ever since we started helping Sunny uncover Equestria's past, my fanbase has exploded!"
"Happy for ya sis. Now can we get back to work?" Zipp asked as she smirked and rolled her eyes at her sister who was watching her views go up.
"I never knew history could be so much fun!"
While Zipp and Pipp continued their research into the wonderbolts, Sunny, Izzy and Hitch were at the opposite end of the archives and found piles of dusty tomes and scrolls covered in cobwebs.
"I'm surprised none of these have disintegrated." Sunny said before she accidentally blew some dust in Hitches face.
"Blech! (Cough!) i'm surprised how dusty it is down here! Doesn't the castle have a janitor?"
"Well Queen haven did say this part of the archives was restricted." Izzy replied while using her magic to juggle some scrolls around.
"Careful Izzy, those are historic records." Sunny said as her friend stacked them neatly on the table when one scroll accidentally unrolled in front of Sunny.
"Oops! Sorry Sunny!" Izzy apologized as she coughed up some dust.
"No problem Izz, just..." Sunny paused as she looked at the scroll and gasped before carefully holding it up with her hooves.
"You guys look at this!" She called out to her friends as Zipp and Pipp rushed over.
"What is it? What did you find?"
Sunny placed down the ancient parchment to show her friends it was some kind of recruitment list and at the top of it was an odd acronym that spelled E.U.P.
"E.U.P? What's that mean?" Hitch asked as he looked at some of the names that seemed to be faded.
"The Earth Pony, Unicorn, Pegasus Guard!" Sunny smiled with excitement as she explained to her friends.
"My dad told me that a long time ago, the first ruler of Equestria was protected by an elite group of soldiers formed from all three races and this scroll is a record of their recruits!"
Sunny was ecstatic as she unrolled the scroll further and saw the names of many ponies and what races they were from.
"This is amazing! It proves another one of my dads stories were true!"
"Congrats Sunny." Hitch smiled as he watched her carefully go through the names.
"Some of these look recent. Like they were written only a few decades ago."
"I think I can answer that." Zipp said while looking at the names.
"Yup. Some of these names are from one of the oldest families in Zephyr Heights and I happen to know where one of them lives."
After putting the records back and confirming the address of the pony in question, the group made their way to a small hut found beyond the cities borders where a barbecue had just been lit and the smell of spiced vegetables on the grill filled the air.
"Ohh that smells good!" Izzy said as she trotted up to the grill to see some carrots and foil wrapped potato's cooking when she heard somepony coming out the door.
"Uhh can I help you?" A voice called out when she turned around to see a grey coated pegasus with silver hair coming out with a fresh set of veggies to throw on the grill rack.
"Hi! Sorry to bother you sir. My name is Sunny Starscout and these are my friends Izzy, Hitch and-"
"Princesses Zipp and Pipp." The pegasus said as if he were expecting them when Zipp came up to him with a friendly smirk followed by a hug and hoof bump.
"How ya doing lance?"
"Whoa hold up? You know each other?" Hitch asked as Zipp made the introductions.
"Everypony meet Silver Lance. Used to be a member of my moms guard."
"Used to be?" Sunny asked.
"I quit after not being able to put up with the fake air show. Anypony hungry?" Lance asked as he placed the finished veggies on a platter.
"Thank you. So um Mister Lance-"
"Just Lance please." He said with a friendly smirk.
"Okay so Lance. We'd like to ask you a few questions." Sunny said as she took out her notebook.
"About what?" Lance asked as he started throwing more food on the grill.
"About the E.U.P"
The second Sunny said those words, Lance dropped everything and raised an eyebrow at Sunny who was starting to get worried.
"How did you know about that?" He asked as he stepped away from the grill and Sunny showed him the recruitment list they found at the archives.
"We found names of your family on this list and we figured you might be able to tell us about them."
Lance stared at the scroll for a few moments before a smile slowly crept onto his face.
"Follow me." He told Sunny while leaving the others to enjoy their meal.
"Hey farm boy! Mind the grill would ya?" He shouted to Hitch while taking Sunny inside his home.
"Farm boy?" Hitch said while tending to the grill.
As Sunny stepped into Lances hut, what she found astonished her. Around the room were sets of golden armor pieces made for Earth ponies, Unicorn and Pegasi and on each piece was the crest of a golden sun followed by tapestry's baring crests in the form of the sun, moon a star and a crystal heart and as Sunny stared in awe at the antiques, Lance leaned himself against the nearest wall and asked.
"What would you like to know?"
"Everything!" Sunny enthusiastically replied while looking at the various items and began a series of questions.
"How old is all this?"
"Well it's um-"
"Is the E.U.P part of a secret order that protects Equestria?"
"That's uh-"
"Do you have a set of rules like a manual or codex?"
"Yes!" Lance finally replied as he walked to a large trunk and began emptying its contents.
Izzy came into the room, munching on a carrot when she heard the commotion and saw Lance rummaging through the trunk.
"What did I miss?" She asked with one of her cheeks stuffed as Lance pulled out a bowl with a fish skeleton in it.
"So THAT'S what happened to fishy!"
Izzy and Sunny gasped at the sight while Lance placed his dead pet aside to pull out a ridiculously large book and slammed it on the table.
"Here it is. This manuscript contains all the rules and regulations for all members of the E.U.P to follow, it even stores the most heroic deeds they ever accomplished over the centuries."
"Oh wow! I'm surprised you managed to find a copy of this!" Sunny beamed with excitement.
"Copy? Heh heh. Girl, you are looking at the original hard cover." Lance said as her excitement heightened.
"As in the original text written by the ponies from a thousand moons ago?!"
"None other."
"This is so cool!!"
"I got a question." Izzy asked while looking at the unicorn helmet.
"Why do you have all this stuff? Shouldn't it be in like a museum?"
"That's the problem." Lance replied while letting Sunny have a look at the manuscript.
"About five hundred years ago; after the last princess of Equestria's reign ended. The ponies began to fight amongst themselves again. What started the division, nopony knows but after our races grew apart the leaders of each race at the time decided to get rid of any evidence that the E.U.P ever existed and destroyed all records. All but that manuscript."
"So why do you have it?" Sunny asked.
"Because it's my family's legacy." Lance said, surprising them both.
"My ancestor was Captain Silver Wing of the Pegasus division of the E.U.P. When it came time for me to inherit all these relics, I vowed to make sure nothing happened to them. It was my family's dream to restore the guard and bring back the days of old but...." he paused to let out a sigh as his ears drooped.
"When I was a colt, my grandfather was banished from Zephyr heights for refusing to hand any of these over to the royal family. He knew they would just lock this all away or destroy them, so he came here to live in solitude but I made sure to see him every day before he passed and when it came time for Queen Haven to rule I just went with the flow but..."
"That's when you left the guard." Sunny said as he nodded.
"I couldn't stand it any more. The fake flying, the smiles, the lies."
"I feel ya." Said Zipp as she appeared at the door with Hitch holding a plate of grilled vegetables.
"Seconds anyone?" Hitch asked as he set the platter down to look at the armor.
"Whoa. I gotta admit this is pretty neat."
"Listen, Lance. You may not know it but magic is back now and we have all been working like crazy to reunite all of Equestria." Zipp said before pitching an idea to her friends.
"Guys. Since we brought back magic, what if we brought back the E.U.P?"
"Wait you mean like restore the order or something like that?"
"Something Exactly like that. As far as we know, only Zephyr Heights has any form of military and no offense farm boy but your Canterlogic Tech isn't really up to snuff now that we can use magic and fly."
"Why does everypony keep calling me that?" Hitch asked in confusion.
"Ohh this'll be a great for next weeks broadcast!" Pipp squealed in excitement.
"So Lance, whaddya say?" Zipp offered a hoofshake with a smirk that Lance happily returned.
"How do we start?"
End.
Author's Note
First fic for G5. Let me know what you think in the comments below and if I should continue.
Word spread like wildfire about how Sunny and her friends were going to help Silver Lance rebuild the E.U.P thanks to Pipps latest broadcast and within hours, Lances hut had recruits all lined up and eager to join the new guard regiment from earth ponies for Maretime Bay to unicorns from Bridlewood and everywhere in between.
"Okay everypony, line up and wait your turn! No shoving or pushing please." Hitch said with authority as he gave his signature grin that made some of the mares swoon while Sunny just rolled her eyes.
"You are such a showoff."
"Jealous much Sunny?" Hitch joked as he was given a playful shove.
"So where's Lance? isn't he supposed to be in charge of this event?"
The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves as Lance stepped out of his cabin in full royal guard armor and had a serious glare that made some of the ponies nervous, even a few pegasi were starting to break sweat as he walked passed them with that stone cold stare.
"So you lot want to join the E.U.P huh?" Lance asked but was met with silence before stomping his hoof hard on the ground.
"I ASKED YOU A QUESTION ROOKIES!!"
"YES SIR!!" The ponies shouted in unison while Sunny and her friends stood in shock.
"Whoa. Nice pipes." Izzy said as he paced back and forth in front of the recruits.
"Yeah um, he was in charge of training the new recruits when he was in the guard." Zipp whispered while her sister began recording.
"Listen up newbies, If you wish to become a member of the E.U.P you need three things: Strength, Determination and above all Cooperation. In this training course, you will learn to work with partners from the other races so it does not matter of you are Earth Pony, Unicorn or Pegasi! Here we work and act as one! DO YOU GET ME?!?"
"YES SIR!!"
"Whoa, talk about loud!" Pipp whispered to the camera as the recruits followed Lance to a forest clearing where a large corral had been built.
"This is a simple exercise rookies. In groups of three, you will all attack me. I will be playing the part of a criminal who needs to be captured. So who's up first?"
It came to no surprise that most of the recruits were unwilling to work with any pony outside their own race but like any good leader, Sunny stepped up and volunteered along with Hitch and Zipp.
"Ooh check it Pipsqueaks! My friends and my sister are gonna go hoof to hoof against a former guard! By the way, he's single and likes sweets."
"PIPP!! You swore to keep that a secret!!" Lance blushed as some of the recruits giggled.
"Okay so how does this work?" Hitch asked while doing a few stretches while some of the mares in the crowd took pictures.
"Simple. You three must try and pin me down within five minutes and if you win then congrats, you'll go on record as the first team to do it on the first try."
"Any rules?" Zipp asked while giving her wings some practice flaps.
"Magic is allowed so long as it's not lethal along with any form of force required such as tackling or submission but no dirty fighting unless under extreme circumstance. Anything else?"
"What happens if we can't pin you in five minutes?" Sunny asked as she felt a bit nervous.
"Then you fail. Simple as that. Izzy, you ready with that hourglass?"
"Ready!" Izzy cheered while standing next to a small hourglass.
"On my mark...BEGIN!!"
Hitch was the first to try and pin down Lance as he charged in but missed when the pegasus took off like a shot into the air, Zipp saw this chance and flew straight at him but her attack was also evaded as Lance flipped backwards before landing in front of Sunny who froze up the second he was in her sights.
"Boo."
"I GOT HIM!" Hitch said as he charged again, unaware Zipp was closing in from above
"Rookies." Lance smirked as he rolled out of the way and the two friends slammed into Sunny just as the sand in the timer ran out.
"Time's up!" Izzy shouted as the three groaned in pain.
"How did I beat you?"
"Uhh you're too fast?" Hitch replied in the form of a question.
"You have more experience than us?" Sunny replied in the same manner.
"It's because we didn't work together." Zipp answered correctly as Lance pointed his hoof at her and nodded.
"The key to being a good squad is to work in sync with one another. Each squad must function like a machine with all it's parts working together to make it work." He lectured as Izzy prepared to start the timer.
"On my mark!"
"Psst. Sunny, you know any spells to freeze this guy?" Zipp asked while keeping an eye on Lance who was doing some stretches.
"Um one but I didn't really have time to practice."
"Can it at least hold him for a few seconds?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Good. Hitch, you're with me."
"Roger that." Hitch said with a confident smirk.
"GO!!"
This time, when the trio attacked they were more in sync and Lance was starting to get a run for his money as Hitch and Zipp coordinated with each others moves to keep him on his hooves while Sunny focused her magic.
"They've adapted, good." Lance thought to himself while dodging Hitch and Zipp who were doing well to keep him away from Sunny.
"Not bad farm boy, You'd make a decent captain."
"Why do you keep calling me that?" Hitch asked as be became annoyed with his nickname.
"Well Earth Ponies are known to be great farmers. It's why the other races think you used to have tiny brains since most ponies thought farmers only knew how to grow plants." Lance replied before using his wings to make a dust cloud that blinded them.
"cough! cough! okay, now I get it but why are pegasai depicted as brutes?" Hitch asked just as Lance used his wings to disperse the cloud.
"Simple because we pegasai are proud-WARRIORS!!"
POW!!
Hitch was sent tumbling across the dirt as the other recruits and Sunny gasped while lance smirked as he turned to Zipp.
"Next?"
"Why you!!"
Zipp was furious after witnessing how one of her friends was just beaten to the ground and engaged lance in an aerial battle making it very difficult for Sunny to get a fix on him as they dashed around the sky with the clock still ticking.
"One minute left!" Izzy shouted over the excited cries of the crowd, making Sunny's horn start to flicker as it became harder to concentrate.
"Sunny! Stay focused!" Zipp shouted just before Lance began pushing her towards the edge of the arena.
"I'd be more worried about yourself!" Lance shouted as he charged towards Zipp but missed his target.
"NOW!!"
Before he knew what hit him, Lance was blinded by a flash of light and felt his whole body freeze up as he tried to escape but was slowly frozen in place when the last of the sand ran out.
"TIME!!" Izzy shouted when everypony saw that Sunny's spell had worked and gave a round of applause.
"It worked?" Sunny asked herself when she saw Lance trapped in a magic aura.
"It worked!! THIS IS SO COOL!!"
"Great job Sunny." Lance said through his clenched teeth while his eyes darted around, trying to look behind him.
"Now that you know how to use that spell, perhaps you can unfreeze me?"
"Oh right so um how do I..."
"Just take a deep breath and relax!" Izzy shouted from across the sparring ring.
Sunny did as instructed and took a deep breath to calm her nerves before deactivating her spell. For the rest of the day, many of the recruits tried to do what Sunny's group had done but with little to no success and as expected, most were sent home after failing the test with only a few passing but Lance had anticipated this since ponies had not done any fighting for the past thousand years.
"So? how many did we recruit?" Sunny asked with anticipation in her voice.
"Ten." Lance deadpanned while sipping some coffee.
"It's to be expected though, most of the recruits spent their time trying to one-up each other instead of working as a team."
"Yeah, guess we still got a few kinks to work out in getting the three tribes to get along again." Sunny said sheepishly while looking back at the old guard armor and the crests they bore.
"So Lance, can you tell us about these strange symbols?"
"Yeah. Like what do they represent?" Hitch asked after pouring himself a cup of joe.
"Those are the crests of the four great princesses of Equestria." Lance said with a nostalgic smile.
"For over three-thousand moons, they watched over our land and kept peace an harmony between the tribes." He explained while pointing out the crests.
"The first princess; Princess Celestia whose magic was powerful enough to raise the sun, the second princess, Princess Luna was her sister who raised the moon and watched over our dreams, the third princess was their niece Amore Candeza or Cadence as she liked to be called and finally perhaps the one who succeeded them all." He paused to look at a purple star on one of the breastplates.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle. Princess of Friendship and keeper of harmony."
"Just like my dads stories!" Sunny gasped when she grabbed her journal to show lance a page of the same star and several other symbols.
"My dad said these were the cutie marks of the guardians who helped Princess Twilight during her reign but we could never figure out their names! Please tell me YOU know them?" Sunny begged when Lance went to fetch the manuscript from his trunk again and scrolled through the pages to find the symbols.
"Here we are. Chapter 50, The Guardians of Harmony."
"Whoa!" Izzy said in astonishment as the group found themselves staring at a picture of ponies from different races standing together and smiling for a picture along with a little dragon.
"Is that them?"
"Yup. Applejack, The Element of Honesty, Rarity, The Element of Generosity, Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty, Fluttershy, Element of Kindness and Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter. In the center is Twilight Sparkle herself; The Element of Magic."
"Hold on." Pipp said when pointing at Twilights picture.
"I thought princesses were Alicorns like Sunny, why is she a unicorn?"
"She didn't just become a princess overnight. She and her friends had to face many trials together and battled their fair share of baddies." Sunny said while Lance gently closed the book.
"So...what happened to them?" Zipp asked as Lance tucked the manuscript back in the trunk.
"That is the saddest part actually." Lance sighed.
"The one thing no pony can beat is time. Eventually all of Princess Twilights friends passed away from old age and while it took some time, she too would pass on but not before leaving a parting gift for her subjects."
"You mean the crystals?" Sunny asked.
"Yup. It was her hope that those three crystals would serve as the new elements of harmony for all Equestria but then came the division. Races that were once united turned on each other, friends and neighbors were turned into bitter enemies and soon each tribe decided to keep one crystal for themselves."
"And no pony knows how it all started." Zipp added with an approving nod from her friend.
"Well enough history lesson. It's getting late and I gotta get these recruits outfitted for their armor tomorrow."
"Night Lance!" Izzy said with a friendly wave goodbye.
"Night guys, see you in the morning." Lance said as Sunny and her group left.
While turning in for the night, he found an old photo of him as a colt standing next to his grandfather who was still in the royal guard at the time and with a nostalgic smile, he looked at the photo and whispered.
"We did it grandpa...we did it."
End.