Izzy Moonbow: Beyond The Multiverse of Randomness

Zephyr Heights was under attack.

There had been no prior warning, no time to prepare. It had all happened so fast. The pegasi ran as fast as they could to escape the onslaught of fire that was raining down upon them in a futile attempt to get to safety. The sky was a stormy grey, clouds of titanic mass blocking out the light of the sun and casting a large shadow upon the city, blanketing everything underneath its domain. The prestigious and beautiful buildings that had once been home to storied history now lay in ruins. The roofs had been completely incinerated, with what remained of them billowing smoke that polluted the air above it. The walls were cracked and smoldered with flames. They resembled nothing of the paradise that had been advertised in pictures and flyers.

It wasn’t meant to be this way. Today was meant to be a very special day for everypony in the land. There was supposed to be joy and laughter. Infectious optimism was meant to be parading the streets, rather than fear and terror. It was thought to be a time of celebration, for it was on this day that Sunny Starscout, the heroine of Equestria and the last Alicorn, was set to be crowned the first ruling Princess in centuries. The preparations had been well underway. The leaders of Bridlewood and Maretime Bay, as well as creatures from lands far beyond had gathered to mark the passing of the old era, and the return to a golden age of unity and harmony. But right as the main ceremony had begun to commence, the guards had flown in to report the sound of roaring and destruction occurring in the outermost regions of the city.

The sole cause of all this mayhem? A bugbear of gargantuan size, the largest ever seen of the species in recorded history, breathing fire down upon the populace. It was unheard of. Bugbears had not been seen in a thousand years. A mix of insect and animal, the bugbear was a magical creature, fused together eons ago by the forces of darkness. They once reigned supreme before they had been returned to Tartarus by the guardians of old. Yet here was one now, somehow bypassing the protection spell around Equestria and seeking nothing but to cause the complete annihilation of ponykind. The monster sported black, beady eyes that held no warmth, no mercy. The insect wings on its back stretched for what appeared to be miles. Its body was a mix of black and white, and two skinny antennas protruded from the back of its head. A stinger was at the other side of its abdomen, large and dangerous. This was no ordinary rampaging animal. This was a demon summoned from the deepest depths of the underworld. And it could not be stopped.

The bugbear moved at a fast, alarming rate as it continued to breathe fire and crush everything in its path. When it roared, the sound could be heard from miles away. Ponies feared the bugbear. There was a reason why agencies had been set up in the days of Twilight Sparkle to hunt them down to extinction. When one invaded, it was seen as a bad omen, a sign of horrible things to come. Once they had been put away, seemingly for good, they achieved near mythical status. But some cultures still believed in its existence. They believed that these creatures would one day return, once magic returned to the realm.

They were right.

The pegasus guards flew at the beast, uselessly trying to stab and smack its hide. The bugbear roared and incinerated them instantly with its breath, swatting away what remained of their armor with its huge paw. Commanding the armed forces of the kingdom was none other than the ruling monarch of Zephyr Heights, Queen Haven. She was dressed in full battle armor that covered her entire body. Her expression was one of pure fury as she commanded her legions to fight as they would in war. She barked orders as if it came naturally to her, the soldiers at her command responding instantly and risking their lives to take the enemy down. She was their protector, their leader, and their queen. The guards trusted her with every fiber of their beings. They joined the ranks to serve her, and most importantly, their kingdom. They would not leave it undefended.

The soldiers fell. The fire destroyed them before they even got close to its mouth. Ashes rained down to the ground as a cruel reminder of their fruitless sacrifices. A lone mare, a member of Haven’s personal security, struck the beast right where its spine was. The bugbear wailed in agony and struck her right in the heart with its protracting claws, growling as it did so. The mare fell to the ground lifelessly. The effects had been instantaneous. She had suffered a quick and relatively painless death.

Seeing this, Queen Haven cursed. She turned towards the remainder of her squad and rallied them with the sheer power of her voice alone. “DO NOT FEAR THIS BEAST!! DO WHATEVER YOU MUST TO CLOSE ITS MOUTH!! WE MUST NOT LET IT DECIMATE THE PALACE!!”

The soldiers were galvanized into action. A squad of about 50 stallions took off and flew at top speed in the direction of the bugbear. As it rained fire upon them, they split off from the middle, forming five separate battalions of ten and shouted battle cries. The bugbear did not even have time to turn before two of the separate groups merged and collectively stabbed their spears at its throat. The blades pierced the flesh and found their targets. Once again, the monster howled and fought with all its might, desperately trying to fling the pegasi off.

At that moment, one brave soldier flew up and grabbed ahold of the bugbear’s mouth, slamming it shut. He yelped and struggled to hold on as the monster shook its head violently. He could see the fury in its eyes. This creature wanted to kill him. It was out for blood.

“I can’t hold it for much longer!!” he screamed as loud as he could, hoping his comrades from far away would hear. “Lightning Strike, the rope!”

“Coming, Storm!!” a voice close by answered back. In that moment, about five more pegasi guards flew to his rescue with a lasso in their hooves. The bugbear fought wildly as they came near and Storm could feel his grip on its jaw loosening. He could barely hold on and was inches away from falling off.

Lightning deployed the lasso, swinging it as hard as he could before throwing it with a loud yell. Just as the bugbear was about to finally force its own mouth open, the rope slammed it shut once more. The five pegasi pulled hard, holding it in place. It was not a permanent solution, but it would have to do in the meantime. There was nothing else to do but wait for the emergency squad to grab more rope to bring the beast to its knees. At least it had been slowed for now.

Or so they thought.

By sheer rage, the bugbear burned through the lasso and opened its mouth once more. Storm slipped and began to fall just as a rain of fire was unleashed directly at him. He never felt the impact of the ground beneath him.

The five other pegasi were similarly dispatched as the bugbear moved further into the already decimated city. It was an unstoppable force of nature. Nothing could hold it back. Its enormous wings carried its body as it hovered above the carnage it was causing beneath it. It didn’t care. It had no equal. It was far too powerful to be killed.

In a display of power, the bugbear roared as loud as it could and made a beeline directly towards Queen Haven, who cried out as it did so. Still, she stood in front of the entrance to the palace, refusing to abandon her subjects for her own safety. She stared defiantly into the eyes of the beast, protecting the remaining two guards who stood behind her. The message was clear. If she was going to die, she would take this demon down with her.

The bugbear reared its head and shot a torrent of orange fire at her. Haven shielded her eyes as this happened and braced for the worst as the temperature suddenly heated up to unbearable degrees. Her whole body felt like it was being fried in the oven and she screamed at the top of her lungs. It as if she was being boiled alive. She couldn’t take it anymore. She was inching closer to death the longer the fire boiled her alive. Her life flashed before her eyes, and she squeezed them shut as she accepted the inevitable outcome.

That was when she heard the rapid beating of wings and the sound of several ponies heading her way. There was a brief flash of magic and the entire city was blinded for about a second. Opening her eyes once the dust settled, Haven looked out in front of her and saw that she was encased in a large orange protective shield. And none other than Sunny Starscout, the lone Alicorn and future Princess, was projecting it around them. Her pupils had become solid white, and her purple mane with rainbow streaks shot up like a torrent of fire. She grunted and yelled as the bugbear fought against her, the aura around her horn becoming stronger the more she asserted her dominance.

She had improved on her magic due to lessons from the Dragon Lord Spike, and now had full control over her alicorn transformations. She stood there bravely, blocking the fire with all the strength she could muster. She was an island of order amidst a sea of chaos, keeping the monster at bay. It would only a moment of reprieve, but hopefully it would be enough.

“Sunny!” Haven exclaimed, still in shock. “You saved me!!”

Sunny briefly glanced back at her. Sweat was heading down her forehead, but yet she smiled back with determination. She nodded. “I came as quick as I could! And I’m not alone!!”

As if on cue, the remainder of Sunny’s calvary came to the rescue, charging towards the bugbear and shouting their own battle cries. It was her friends; Izzy Moonbow, Zipp Storm, her sister Pipp Petals, and Hitch Trailblazer. The heroes of Equestria had arrived to save the day!

The bugbear roared with pure rage as the tide of the battle turned. Zipp and Pipp flew together in unison, creating a wide circular arc around the beast. It turned its head every which way, trying its best to breathe fire in their direction and knock them out of the sky. However, they were too fast, and the futile attempts only succeeded in getting one of the bugbear’s own claws singed with fire.

The bugbear yelped in pain, letting loose a bellowing cry that could be heard for miles. At that moment, Izzy conjured a lasso using her magic and threw it at the monster’s legs. The rope hit its target and wrapped around them, binding them deadly accuracy so that the bugbear could not strike with them. She muttered a magical incantation in Old Ponish to seal the ropes, the color of her aura changing from purple to red for but a split second. Her eyes briefly flashed a solid green. Runes flashed on parts of the lasso for a moment as the spell took effect.

Meanwhile, Hitch was helping the remaining citizens get to safety. He helped one mare carry her newborn foal before separating the other pegasi into two lines of twenty. They stampeded in single files towards the emergency shelter nearby, shrieking. Before long, they had escaped relatively unharmed with only minor injuries from some colliding into each other.

Hitch wiped sweat from his brow. “All in a day’s work!” He was exhausted from the trip over, but he knew he could not rest now. There was still much more work to do. The bugbear had to be defeated no matter what. He ran over to where Izzy was. The unicorn was still holding the spell, but she was getting tired. He could see it in her eyes. The spell was sapping her life force with every passing second. She was close to death.

“Break off the spell!” he ordered. “Sunny and I will handle this creature.”

Izzy obliged instantly, her magic fizzling, and she collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. “I did good, didn’t I…?” she murmured with a dreamy smile on her face before she was out cold.

Hitch cursed. He had to get Izzy away from the destruction before the bugbear realized what was happening. Without hesitation, he hoisted her on his back and ran away from the line of fire as quick as his hooves could muster. Buildings and houses were collapsing all around him as he did so. He jumped over a falling tree and ducked under a flaming pillar as he took her to a secluded part of the city where she would not be harmed. His heart was pounding hard in his chest and he could hear every beat. Yet he was determined to not let her come to any harm.

He continued running as the chaos continued all around him. A sheriff had to be resilient. They had to be strong and confident, setting an example for those around them. A sheriff defended. And a sheriff protected. He would not let her down. They were almost there. He would make sure she was safe before worrying about himself.

Once they were safe, he set her on the ground. They were in the secret garden of the castle, which only the Royals had access to. He doubted that he was allowed here, but in times of crisis, the rules had to be set aside. That was a hard lesson for him to learn. It was the only place that had not been touched by all of the destruction.

Izzy fluttered her eyes open. “Huh…what happened…? Hitch…?”

“Shhhhh…” Hitch whispered softly. “You need to regain your strength. This isn’t over yet. We’ll take care of this. Just rest for now. You’re safe.”

“But I wanna help!” she protested, a pleading look on her face. “I didn’t overexert myself all that much, did I?”

“Yes you did,” he stated sternly. “If I didn’t stop you, you would’ve died from that spell. Now lay down and get some rest.”

“I-“

Before she could protest further, he was off again and back in the fight.

Back in the city, Sunny had ceased the protection spell and was now engaged in combat with the bugbear, which was breathing fire in her direction. She flew away to dodge it, swooping down as a blast came down, headed right for her tail. She stopped once she was far enough away, hovering right next to her intended target and mentally prepping herself to be ready. She had been going at this for a solid twenty minutes and she was feeling the effects of the battle already.

Before she could think of leaving, however, the bugbear opened its mouth and let loose another blast of fire. In a flash, she threw up the magic shield to deflect it back before dissipating it like it had never even been there. She let loose a burst of magic and engaged the next stream of fire. The two blasts collided and were now fighting for control. The ground shook and the sky was illuminated with brilliant light.

The bugbear bellowed and strained as it attempted to get the upper hoof. Sunny screamed and yelled in response. She increased the spell in a show of defiance, the beam now pushing back against the fire and breaking the impasse they had once been at. Ponies watched in anticipation from where they were as the two powers dueled for the safety of the realm.

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash and she was sent falling to the ground, her alicorn powers dissipating in an instant. Her form could still only be maintained for so long and it needed time to recharge. She was still young, and while she had full control over her powers, the effects were not permanent. She had not yet mastered how to let her form linger for longer than a certain amount of time, something that Spike had promised to teach her when she got older.

For now, she had to fight on land, where she was at a huge disadvantage.

She barely landed on her hooves, avoiding a painful collision. She looked around frantically for anything to use just as Hitch arrived back in the battlefield. Zipp landed on the ground as well, with Pipp following close behind her. They all seemed tired from flying, and she couldn’t blame them. The battle was taking a toll on all of them.

“We’ll have to fight on the ground,” she told them. “None of us are in any position to fly right now.”

“You got that right,” Zipp replied, panting heavily. “I don’t think we can do this for much longer, Sunny. This thing is unbeatable. We can’t kill it!”

“Believe me, I tried,” Pipp added helpfully, holding up the remains of her phone, which was now charred to a crisp and inoperable. “I tried to throw my phone at it and well…that happened.”

“So how do we take this guy down?” Hitch asked. “There’s no way we can hold it forever.”

Sunny shook her head. “No, we can’t hold it forever.” Her eyes scanned the remains of the city before suddenly landing on two regular discarded lassos that lay on the ground next to a flaming building, smoldering. “But we can take it down.”

“How?” Zipp inquired desperately.

“Using those ropes,” Sunny explained. “We can’t kill the bugbear. But if we could wrap the lassos around its body and pull hard enough, we can bring it down to the ground and incapacitate it long enough for Queen Haven’s emergency fleet to arrive and drag it back to whatever zoo it broke out of.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Hitch agreed, but his eyes still remained uncertain. “But how do we know if the lassos are strong enough?”

“Only one way to find out.” Sunny answered quickly. “On the count of three, you all scatter and grab them.” She smirked. “I’ll distract him the only way I can.”

“Got it.”

“One…” she started to count.

It was then that the bugbear seemed to realize that there were no more distractions in its way. It looked down to the ground and saw five little ponies at its feet. The beast growled and prepared to rain death and carnage down upon all of them.

“Um, Sunny?” Pipp asked nervously. “Now would be a good time to act.”

“Two…”

The mouth began to open and fire bubbled to the surface from within the bugbear’s core. It was now or never.

“HE’S GONNA BLOW!!” Zipp shouted.

“THREE!!!!”

The ponies scattered in different directions just as a massive blast of fire erupted from the bugbear and singed the ground where they had been standing. Zipp grabbed the tip of first lasso in her mouth and Pipp held the other end. They leapt out of the way and narrowly avoided another blast from the enraged monster.

Sunny roared in a challenge and ran in circles all around it as it desperately tried to land a hit on her. Every time it did so though, it missed. First it singed its own toes, then the fur on its legs, and then the ground. The bugbear wailed and tried to swipe at Sunny, who took a few steps to the right, barely managing to avoid the impact. She ducked under another swipe and kicked the beast right in the sensitive area as hard as she could.

The bugbear screamed and yelped, making a beeline directly for her as she ran for dear life. She leapt off the ground and spun in the air once before kicking it again. The bugbear recoiled, snarling at her. She took that moment to escape and rejoin the others just as Hitch returned with the second lasso. He swung it in a wide arc before hurling it at the monster. It found its target and wrapped around the main body. Hitch pulled as hard as he could and Sunny joined him just as Zipp and Pipp deployed theirs.

Before long, they had the monster in their grasp. But it would not last forever. They had to pull with all their might and take it down like their lives depended on it. Sunny yanked on the rope once again and turned her head towards Hitch. He looked back at her and they shared a brief silent exchange for a solid minute. It was as if this was their last stand, and they wanted to cherish the moment for as long as they could. That was when Hitch gave the signal towards the others, a loud whistling sound and the final pull commenced.

Time seemed to slow down to a halt and the world came to a standstill. The forces of nature stopped for this moment as if fate itself awaited its own judgement. Sunny and her friends stood in a half circle around the bugbear and pulled as hard as they could. They got in a defensive position and took several steps back as they sought to bring this demon to its knees. The bugbear resisted, doing its best to make this effort difficult for them. Sunny gritted her teeth and tightened her grip around the lasso as Hitch pulled his end. The adrenaline coursed through their veins and their bones felt like they were about to break from the strain. Yet they still did it, for they had come so far together already. They faced worse enemies than a simple magical creature like this before, and they would win this fight. They would save this city if it was the last thing they did.

From the side, Zipp yanked as hard as she could, pouring all her strength into it. Pipp jumped to her side and they tugged on their ends. The bugbear struggled and swiped at them blindly. The two of them ducked and continued to pull. With a grunt, Zipp leapt back with the rope still in her mouth, her teeth tightening around it. She gripped another part with one of her hooves as tightly as she could muster. She was not afraid either. She and Pipp were princesses. And princesses had no fear. It was a tradition going back generations of bloodlines that the Royal Family did not run from a fight. The concept was unheard of. Zephyr Heights was their home, and they were responsible for setting an example to their subjects, protecting them from harm. Here they were doing just that, defending their kingdom with all of their might. They would not let it fall. Never.

The bugbear thrashed and screamed as it began losing control of its own body. It began to collapse in their direction, the hulking mass careening towards the ground. Sunny stepped back a few more inches, followed by Hitch and the pegasus sisters. They continued to pull as they did so, feeling the pressure begin to dissipate. The monster still thrashed, yet it was no match for the combined effort of five ponies who would sooner die for their home than surrender.

The citizens watched in awe as the display went on. They could not believe their eyes. It was like a miracle gifted straight from the heavens. These ponies, made of different species and backgrounds, were working together against this common threat once again. They were truly heroes, and they were risking it all to protect them.

Finally, the bugbear’s strength gave out. It had spent too much time resisting and there was no more energy left. The strain of the rope on its body had knocked the wind completely out. The fight was officially over. The air itself seemed to let out a soft sigh of relief as the bugbear, terror of the kingdom, and invader of the common peace, lost consciousness fell towards the world below in a final grand gesture. Its massive shadow blocked out the Sun for a second before it hit the ground on its stomach with a loud thud. The streets shook from the impact and what was left of the city shuddered from the sheer force of it. The day had been saved. There was no more fear, no more destruction. No more death.

The bugbear had been defeated.

Sunny and her friends released the rope and collapsed to the ground with exhaustion. They didn’t even hear the citizens emerge from the shelter and cheer their names. They didn’t feel themselves being hoisted on their backs and paraded around the ruins of the city. The effort had been too much, and now…all they could do was rest.

The celebrations were short and sweet, enough time for the ponies to recover. Everything afterwards seemed like a blur. In no time at all, the remainder of Queen Haven’s private force had incapacitated the bugbear with tranquilizers. Spike then arrived with twelve other dragons to collect the unconscious animal and take it back to the Dragon Lands. He claimed that it was for “research purposes,” but Sunny had a sneaking suspicion that it was for a different reason, mainly a fear-based one, due to what they had found out.

Before they left, the dragons had inspected the creature and found a single pawprint engraved on its left claw. Below the symbol was a magical inscription written in an ancient language, which roughly translated to: IF FOUND, PLEASE RETURN TO STARLIGHT RIDGE. SERVANT OF ALLURA.

The discovery that there was a whole separate society of ponies that had yet to be visited was both an intriguing and alarming one. On one hoof, it opened up a whole lot of opportunities and potential for making foreign allies. But on the other hoof, it meant that somepony from Starlight Ridge had masterminded the attack on Zephyr Heights. Or rather…some creature, perhaps this Allura figure that the inscription mentioned.

Once that possibility had been raised, Haven wasted no time in calling the coronation off pending further investigation. The national security risk was too great, and having a bigger crowd of ponies and other creatures posed further danger after this attack. Spike’s team intended to take the bugbear to Starlight Ridge to use as leverage against Allura and bring her into custody, but not before they tracked the location of the town back at their base.

While all this was going on, Izzy waited impatiently in the Royal Gardens. She had awoken from her sleep about an hour ago upon hearing all of the festivities happening from a distance, but she didn’t want to go where she wasn’t wanted. Not while the bugbear was still around anyway. She felt angry with Hitch for not trusting her to help out in any way. She hadn’t meant to overexert herself using that spell, but she thought she was doing the right thing. And he had casted her aside because of it.

This only added to her growing feeling of uselessness that had been gnawing at her ever since the final battle at the lair. She hadn’t been feeling like herself ever since Misty died that night. It was as if a part of her had perished alongside her. Of course, it had. After all, she was the one who had made that sacrifice. It was her who had stabbed that cursed spear into Misty’s heart upon the dying unicorn’s request. All she wanted was to redeem herself for failing her own sister. And yet she wasn’t allowed to help with a simple fight. Her friends seemed to see her as too weak and like the fifth wheel. It was like they didn’t trust her anymore.

She sighed heavily, feeling tears come to her eyes. She was grateful that Hitch had saved her life, of course. But she would have rather helped out in that battle, even if it meant her own death. At least then she would have been able to see Misty again, apologize for everything, and live the rest of her second life with her up in the heavens. She could have saved her. She would have saved her. She should have saved her. She could’ve used a spell or something. But her friends wouldn’t let her.

She could have-

“Izzy?”

Izzy spun around upon hearing the sound of Hitch’s voice. The yellow stallion walked into the gardens and closed the doors behind him. He had a relieved smile on his face upon seeing her still alive and well. She knew that she should be grateful for his concern, but she still felt oddly patronized by him. He could have let her help and actually prove herself useful, but he didn’t. And now she was expected to just let it go and pretend like everything was okay? That was what she normally did, sure. She was good at burying her emotions under a false sense of positivity. But for whatever reason, she couldn’t let it go this time.

She felt hurt. And it appeared like Hitch hadn’t even come to apologize, more so gloat in her face about how much better they were than her. That’s how it always was.

“Come to mock me?!” Izzy asked bitterly.

Hitch stopped in his tracks, surprised by her question. “No, I-“ Whatever he had been about to say, he didn’t say it. His face shifted to worry, indicating he understood what she was feeling. “I see. Izzy, please understand. I wasn’t singling you out. I-I just didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“You didn’t want me to get hurt?!” she snapped. “I could’ve helped! You guys have been treating me differently, and you know it!”

“Izzy-“

“No! I know I was tiring out, but I could have done something! I spent a whole week practicing my magic for a moment like this! But you never let me help anymore, do you?! Not ever since…” Izzy squeezed her eyes shut as tears began to leak out of them. “Not ever since she died.”

Hitch appeared to share her sadness. He nodded in solemn understanding. “Misty.”

“Why did she do it, Hitch?!” Izzy asked him, her whole body shaking with pent-up emotions that were just begging to let out. “Why did she sacrifice herself for me…?”

“I don’t know,” Hitch replied. “And please understand. That’s been my problem over these past few months, why I’ve been so protective over you guys.” He stared her straight in the eyes. “Sunny thinks I’m being overbearing, but even she knows better not to press. We lost her, Iz. We lost her to that monster…after she’d been a part of our lives for so long. If I lost you too in that same sort of magical sacrifice…I don’t think my heart can take it. I’m barely keeping it together.”

Izzy choked back a sob as the memories came flooding back. It wasn’t fair. She could have saved Misty. Why had she been so helpless while her sister had been thrown around like a rag doll and nearly beaten to death? It was because of her incompetence that Misty had to call upon her ancestors to help her defeat Opaline, an act of selflessness that had costed the unicorn her life. She would never forgive herself for letting her die.

Hitch looked down in shame as if he was reading her thoughts. “We’re all blaming ourselves, Izzy. We all are. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of how rude I was to her while she was still alive. And she saved our flanks.” Tears brimmed at the corners of his eyes. “That is why you must stay safe. I almost didn’t agree to go on this mission at all, but…duty calls. And you gotta do what you gotta do to protect the innocent. But if you can avoid being reckless, you should. We all should. You nearly died with that spell. I could see it.”

Izzy sighed heavily. “You’re really being serious?”

Hitch nodded. “Please. For us. You were Sunny’s first real friend outside of me. Can you imagine how heartbroken she would be if you died too? She was depressed once and it drove her down the path of darkness. She barely managed to recover from it. I doubt she would ever recover this time if she saw you killed yourself with dark magic.”

She finally conceded the point, though her mind was still flooded with shame and regret. “Okay…I-I’ll try, Hitch. It’s just…I really want to prove myself useful…for her. She died for me. I feel like I have to make her sacrifice worth it, even if…” She trailed off.

“I know,” Hitch said. “Believe me, I know what you’re going through. Sometimes, you can do everything right and live your life the best way you can-“

“-but you can’t save everypony,” Izzy finished for him bitterly. “Not those that matter to you…”

Hitch had no reply to that. She didn’t have one either. There was nothing they could say. They were both thinking the same thing, feeling the same pain of loss. Even though they had tried to put on brave faces, Misty’s death was a constant shadow that hung over their lives. It was something that they would never recover from for as long as they lived.

That was when the doors behind them opened again. They turned around, relaxing once they noticed Sunny standing at the entrance. She had a cheerful smile on her face, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they had just been talking about something tragic.

“Come on, you two!” she exclaimed. “Queen Haven’s inviting us over for a huge Royal Dinner tonight! We’re gonna have a feast!!”

Hitch chuckled. “We’ll be right there, Sunny. Tell Haven we’ll meet her at the banquet hall in a few minutes, okay? I honestly had no idea that it’s dinnertime already. I’m starving!”

Sunny nodded and headed back inside the ornate golden hallway. Her hooves made clip clop sounds on the marble floor as she skipped along happily like a little filly. Before long, she was out of sight.

Hitch turned back to look at Izzy. “You ready to go? Maybe this will take your mind off things.”

Izzy said nothing as she walked past Hitch, who followed close behind her. She didn’t like how Sunny had just brushed off everything like it was nothing the way she always did. She knew her friend was grieving too, but she overcompensated for it way too much. It was like she didn’t even care. And that frustrated Izzy beyond belief.

She headed inside the palace not feeling hungry or full. She didn’t want to eat. All she wanted to do was go back home and sleep the pain away, so she could dream of Misty. It was something she did every night. She would dream of an alternate timeline where the blue unicorn was still alive and well, and they would do things together. They would go on adventures, discover the past, laugh together, and just enjoy life the way they were meant to.

And she desired nothing more than to make that dream a reality.