Izzy Moonbow: Beyond The Multiverse of Randomness

The Crystal Brighthouse was completely unrecognizable. Gone were the shining white walls and stained glass windows depicting the unity of the ponies. Gone was the community garden that Sunny had dreamed of building all her life. Gone was the lighthouse-esque structure that once housed the Unity Crystals. In the place of all that was a large military complex complete with tents, army barracks, training fields, and a single warehouse, presumably used to store weapons. The Brighthouse itself had been completely renovated and now resembled more of a headquarters. It was gray and drab, and had been converted into a multistory building. There was nothing left of the old design, nothing left of the beautiful home it used to be. It was all gone.

Izzy was heartbroken upon seeing this. She had imagined that some things would not be the same in this new timeline, but completely changing the Brighthouse was a step too far for her. It represented hope and optimism for the future. It was supposed to cement the ideas of dreams becoming reality, that the world could be better, and that anypony was welcome to stay and work to make a difference. She knew how much this building had meant to Sunny. They had all built and decorated it together from the remains of the old lighthouse. It had taken months, but the effort had been a symbol of their friendship. Now all of that had been completely eradicated due to the war, and she could not be more saddened to witness it.

Maretime Bay itself had not changed much. Despite some posters hanging on the walls advertising ponies to join the Regime, it had all seemed pretty normal, exactly the way she remembered it. But the Brighthouse could not run more contrary to that sentiment. It had been completely changed. As frustrated as she was to see this, she couldn’t fault Hitch for doing so. Their home was never the epitome of blending in. In fact, Sunny had designed it so that it would be the exact opposite of that. It was meant to be a beacon of unity that stood out from the crowd, and had therefore been made with the most flashy design to get ponies’ attention. Izzy understood why Hitch had to change the Brighthouse’s design to be more fortified and “wartime.” But that didn’t mean she had to like it.

Everything about this felt wrong.

Comet turned around to look at her. “Welcome home, Izzy. We call this place Headquarters. Used to be called the Crystal Brighthouse, but ever since…” He paused for a moment, trying to find the correct way to say Sunny’s name. “…she left, calling it that hasn’t felt right to us. We turned it into a military camp meant to house hundreds of ponies if needed. We’re still constantly expanding the more recruits we get.”

“Sunny would’ve hated this if she was here…” Izzy muttered under her breath bitterly.

“Precision of language, please.” Posey corrected, overhearing her from the front. “Nopony is allowed to say her name anymore. It’s…too painful for Hitch.”

“Oh, I could not be more precise,” Izzy shot back angrily. “I don’t know what happened to Sunny, whether she died or what, but the least you ponies could do is say her name to remember her by! Or kept this place the same! This isn’t right! This isn’t…” She fought back the sudden rush of tears.

“She didn’t die.”

Izzy looked up from the ground upon hearing Hitch say this. He had hardly spoken the whole way home, so when he did, it was only because he had something important to say. It was a cause for everypony to pay attention. “What…? Then why-“

“That is none of your concern,” he answered sharply, staring her in the eyes with an expression that made her want to curl up into a ball and hide. If looks could kill, this one would be it. “Now if you know what’s good for you, you’ll quit talking about her while you’re ahead.” He then turned around. “Forward.”

Izzy sighed. “Yes, sir…” She wished that she could talk to him and figure out why he was so gated around the topic of Sunny. What had happened between them? Why did he refuse to talk about her? She had so much that she wanted to ask him about, but she was afraid to at the same time. Knowing this version of Hitch, she had to watch what she said. Anything could set him off.

They continued on the beaten path into the main encampment. Hitch opened the gates to let them in using a combination that she couldn’t see. Once they were inside, she could see the mood relax amongst the other ponies, particularly the survivors. They had obviously been through a lot just as she had, and she could see the tense aura start to change. They started talking amongst themselves in hushed whispers. Posey and Pipp began doing the same as well, congratulating each other on how amazing each of them had been during the attack. They had been silent the whole trip, and now they had begun to loosen up a bit. Posey had mentioned earlier that the mission wasn’t over until everyone was safe and sound. Knowing that they had made it alive, it was definitely a massive burden off their shoulders.

It was then that Izzy could see a clearer view of the camp. It was massive, double the size of what the community garden used to be, and that was saying something. Ponies began to come out of the tents in droves to greet them and celebrate their arrival. She could see them start to gather en masse. It wasn’t just soldiers in uniform. There were actual civilians. She could see a mare walking by with her little filly right next to her. The child had a dark pink coat and a purple mane and tail, as well as a sea turtle for a cutie mark. She was happily skipping alongside her mother, an apricot mare with a brown mane and tail. On the other end, a stallion was practicing his sword fighting with his marefriend. They were doing flips and acrobatics during it, playfully trying to outdo the other in terms of skill level.

In another area, Phyllis Cloverleaf had become a drill instructor, working a group of initiates to the bone and forcing them to do twenty pushups or get no cupcakes. The poor young stallions gulped and proceeded to do as instructed. To her right, a trio of mares were practicing their archery, shooting at targets with precise accuracy and giving themselves enthusiastic hoofbumps every time they hit a bullseye. To the left of them was a herd of schoolponies walking alongside their instructor towards a larger tent to which Izzy could only assume was a makeshift school. On the opposite side of them were two teenage mares gossiping about stallions and their favorite movies. It was all magical, the exact opposite of the harsh and rigorous army camp she had been expecting. It seemed so…normal, like this was an ordinary day in town minus the weapons.

Comet noticed her mouth open and chuckled. “Even though times are pretty tough right now, we still try and make the lives of those who don’t sign up for the Divisions normal. Not everypony here is a soldier. The majority of those who join us start off as citizens. They can choose to sign up for our ranks at any time they like to help out the cause, and we’re certainly instilling that sense of loyalty into our young. But otherwise, we try to make the war fun for our fellow ponies. It’s hard to stay committed when it’s just doom and gloom all the time.”

“Over the past few months,” Posey added. “We’ve expanded our roster as more ponies want to help out the cause. Hitch is in the process of organizing the Fifteenth Division. We got a long waiting list, so I guess that was inevitable. But it’s so great to see others volunteer. They know the risks, but they want to see the Regime end as much as we do.”

“It’s all so…beautiful.” Izzy remarked, smiling. Her heart felt warm seeing all of this. For a moment, she forgot all about the horrors of the night prior and how she almost died. She felt a bit better knowing that the spirit of unity, the dream that she and her friends had fought for, lived on even in the darkest times.

“It definitely is,” Comet agreed. “I’ll show you how to play buckball later today if you’d like. I may not be super pro yet, but…I’m certainly getting there.”

Posey smirked. “Debatable. Come on, hot shot. Let’s show Izzy the inside. I think somepony wants to see her.”

Izzy’s ears perked up at that statement. Somepony wanted to see her? Who? She hoped it was Sunny. She had so many things to ask her. Or better yet…No. She pushed that thought aside. She couldn’t be alive, not even in this world. Misty was dead. The sooner she accepted and came to terms with that, the better. With a heavy sigh, she followed the other ponies to the building that used to be the Crystal Brighthouse.

The interior of Headquarters was even more expansive than the camp outside. The main living room had been transformed into a computer lab where ponies wearing special headsets worked tirelessly at their desks, typing away important data on their keyboards. To their right, the kitchen had been turned into a chemical and atomics lab. Two unicorn scientists were staring through a microscope at a sample of unobtanium metal, while three pegasi chemists mixed potions together to make a special potent fusion. A sizzling noise went off as ground up rocks were dropped into the substance.

“And this,” Posey announced, spreading her hooves out wide for theatrics. “is what Hitch likes to call his Research Station. This is where all our research and development gets done. We make our explosives in the lab over there and we import any crucial information onto our team, who processes them in the computer lab over here. Stuff like tracking, finding new settlements to set up temporary camp, types of weapons, so on and so forth. To work in the lab requires a pony with insane technical skill.”

“Count me out then.” Comet stated glumly. “I’m a novice.”

“Oh, so that’s why there’s only about 20 ponies sitting here,” Izzy noticed. “Not really a job that too many can work in, I guess.”

“Definitely not,” replied Posey. “You’d have to be the best of the best.” She turned towards Hitch. “Should each of us conduct interviews on the survivors one by one? Or do it in groups of five?”

Hitch looked up from his communication device. “Groups of five, I’d say. If we do it one by one, we’ll be here all week. And I’ll be doing most of the work anyway. It’s important you guys relax after what happened this morning. Anytime we can rest, we should. I’ll start taking them in come evening.”

Pipp scoffed derisively. “Rest. As if we can ever actually do that. I’m sorry, when was the last time we’ve gotten a proper break?! We’ve been on the run for days, and we’re only now coming home. Who’s to say it won’t happen again?!”

“We left Maretime Bay because we had to find Sprout,” Hitch reminded her. “We’ve done that. And we got Izzy back too. I’d definitely be wary, but take the time to relax if you can for the moment. You’ll need the strength. No point in stressing yourself out over nothing.”

The pegasus shook her head in an exasperated manner. “Over nothing. As if what happened to Zipp means anything to you.”

“That is not what I-“

“You didn’t have to say it.”

“Um…guys?” Izzy asked, cutting in as gently as she could. She was only now beginning to take notice of the tension between Hitch and Pipp, as well as the fact that Zipp was nowhere to be found. Where was she? Shouldn’t she have been outside training the recruits? She loved to be athletic after all. Yet she was gone, and that seemed to be a sore spot for the two of them. “I’m still here, you know.”

Hitch glanced at her briefly. “Sorry. Personal stuff.” He then turned his head back over to Pipp. “You know I cared about her. I-I just wish I could make her loss easier for you. I’m trying my hardest here.”

“Well try harder.” Pipp spat. “I’m going to check on the archers.” She pushed past him and walked outside the building, into the huge encampment in front of her. Posey, Windy, and Comet followed close behind. Before long, they were gone from sight and lost within the crowd of other ponies.

Hitch hung his head low. “She won’t see reason. I can’t keep avoiding the issue.”

Izzy cautiously walked over to him and put a shaking hoof on his shoulder. She was scared to do so, knowing his temperament, but her innate instincts to comfort anypony in need took over. He flinched, but accepted the gesture. “I’m sorry. I know you’re trying.”

Hitch looked back at her. “You were always the voice of reason between the two of us. I’m glad to have you back, Izzy. Even if you may not fully remember everything.”

“I remember,” Izzy insisted. “It’s just, what I remember is…” She hesitated for a brief moment. “Different. There’s no war, no nothing…Sunn-she was here, and…we saved the day. We were heroes. Equestria was free. Nothing about this world makes any sense, and…I don’t know how to explain it.”

The sheriff smiled, but it was a sad smile. “Whatever drugs the soldiers put you under to imagine that timeline…I’d like to live in it. Sounds so much better than what we have now.”

“It is,” replied Izzy, smiling back. “It’s amazing.” She knew she couldn’t tell Hitch that the world she was describing wasn’t imaginary, but she also knew that he would never believe her if she did. This timeline was all he had ever known, and the idea that they weren’t under constant threat would have sounded too foreign to him. So she had to play along with the hallucinations idea, at least until she got him to let his guard down a bit more.

Hitch gently pried her hoof off of him and picked his head back up. “I have to see to the survivors outside. Why don’t you go upstairs, Izzy? I think somepony wants to see you. She’s been worried sick all morning.”

Somepony wants to see you. There it was again. Who was this pony? She needed to find out. Without saying another word, she nodded obediently and headed up the ramp to where the bedroom was supposed to be. Fortunately for her, it was exactly how she remembered it. It was the only thing that hadn’t changed in this new world.

The beds were arranged in the exact way they used to be, complete with her little portion of Bridlewood and all. The personal flourishes that each of her friends used to decorate their areas were still intact as well. It reminded her of the simpler times just a day ago. She had at one point felt uncomfortable living in the Brighthouse so far from home, but now she couldn’t be more grateful to see a part of it still the way she remembered.

She crept into her room and smelled her bedsheets. The aroma was nice, as if they had just been taken out of the dryer. The pillows were placed in the exact orientation she liked, the mask she used to sleep with was on top of the covers, and most importantly of all, there was Seńor Butterscotch. Her makeshift stallion companion was still in pristine condition and lying right next to the spot where she would normally sleep. It was like the bed had been made especially for her to prepare for her arrival home.

But who could have thought to do such a thing for her?

She got her answer, as she then noticed the unicorn mare staring despondently out the main window. Even though her back was turned, she still looked instantly familiar. She was hard to miss. The unicorn was blue with a stringy red and purple mane and tail. The Afro hair was a dead giveaway. There were only a few ponies in Equestria who looked like that. She had a butterfly cutie mark that sported the same colors. Her cheeks were dotted with freckles. There was no mistaking who this was. Izzy’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be?

She could feel a thousand different feelings welling up from inside of her all at once, from denial to skepticism, to overwhelming joy. She didn’t want to believe it. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. It was impossible. She couldn’t be alive. She had given her life in battle. Izzy had seen it with her own eyes. She had taken the knife and done the deed upon this mare’s instruction. Yet here she was. It was almost too good to be true. She wanted to cry. But she couldn’t be sure yet.

Taking a step forward, Izzy approached the unicorn as carefully as she could so as to not startle her. “M-M-Misty? I-i-i-is t-that y-you?” she stammered, struggling to hold back tears.

That was when the unicorn slowly turned around, and Izzy was overcome with emotion all at once. Those beautiful green eyes. There was no mistaking them. It was Misty Brightdawn, her sister and best friend. She was alive, staring at her in shock and disbelief.

“Izzy…?” Misty asked softly, her tone barely a whisper.

Tears gathered up at the corners of Izzy’s eyes as she stared into the face of the pony who meant the universe to her. She had once been killed in an act of heroic sacrifice, yet was now standing before her once again like nothing happened. It was like everything she had dreamed of coming true, the cosmos granting her greatest wish. Misty was okay. She was here, living, breathing, existing. The same unique complexion. The same timid, but filled with hidden courage sparkle she had come to read from her. The same type of resolution when it mattered most. The same love for her friends whom she saw as her true family. It was all here. It was real.

Misty was alive.

“Misty!!” Izzy exclaimed, her voice breaking. Her whole body shook. She ran towards the unicorn and buried her face on her shoulder. Misty gasped upon seeing this, but didn’t say anything further. It was obvious she had been grieving as well. Tears cascaded down Izzy’s face. She let them fall, sobbing relentlessly. She wanted this moment for so long, to be able to embrace Misty and tell her things she never got to. She let all the feelings she had been bottling up inside of her out. She didn’t have to hide them anymore. For the first time in months, she was genuinely happy again.

“I’ve missed you so much!!” she sobbed, sniffling repeatedly. “I thought I lost you!”

“I thought I lost you too…” Misty replied in a choked voice. She was similarly crying and wiping her face while still trying to console Izzy. “I-I thought they killed you…I-I still m-made your b-bed, b-b-but I t-thought y-you w-would n-ne-never-“ She couldn’t finish her sentence through all the tears.

“I-it’s okay…” Izzy comforted her, speaking as firmly as she could muster. “I-I’m here now…a-and I-I’m never losing you again!”

“Deal…”

They held each other for a long time, soaking in the moment as if it was their last. Izzy didn’t ever want it to end. She had her Misty back after what seemed like an eternity. She vowed that she would never let her come to any harm, never let her risk her life like that again, no matter what the unicorn said in protest. From now on, whatever they did, they would do so together. They were a family again at long last. And that was all Izzy ever wanted her whole life.

“So what do you wanna do?”

Izzy bounced up and down like an excited filly as she walked right next to Misty. The two of them had been touring the entire encampment together for about an hour, and were now walking through the two rows of army tents. They had a lot of catching up to do, and Izzy knew this. She didn’t care if she had to walk around all day. She would never get tired of it. Not while Misty was by her side. With her back in her life, she could accomplish anything.

“Well, we do have a lot of options,” she quipped, grinning. “We could play buckball all by ourselves, we could shoot some arrows together, I could teach you how to play duck, duck, bunnicorn-“ She took a massive gasp for air in order to achieve the desired dramatic effect. “I never showed you how to play that game, did I?”

“No, you didn’t,” Misty replied. She smiled back at her, clearly enjoying the moment between them. “I’ve never actually played that game before. What is it?”

“It’s basically this game where you sit on the ground,” Izzy explained. “Somepony taps you on the head and says "DUCK!" It’s typically played by several ponies. Eventually, you get to a point where the pony counting says "BUNNICORN!!" and if they tap on your head, you gotta run in circles until it’s the next round.”

“Sounds complicated.” Misty remarked, frowning a bit.

“It’s really not,” Izzy assured her. “I’ll show you how it’s done if we can get enough ponies involved. I’m sure Hitch would LOVE to play that game. Very specific rule set. You can be the counter if you want. Or you could volunteer to be the bunnicorn first and we’ll base the initial game around that.”

Misty giggled. “I’ll have to think about it. For now though, I just want to enjoy the walk. I haven’t gotten out much since you got captured. I’ve been…too depressed to do anything…” Her face fell.

Izzy stopped and reached out a hoof to lift her chin up. “Hey, it’s okay. That’s not happening ever again, I promise. I may not remember exactly what happened, but I’ve definitely learned my lesson this time.”

Misty nodded slowly. “Thanks. I…needed to hear that.”

They stared at the beautiful afternoon sky above them. The Sun was shining through the clouds, casting its brilliant rays onto the ground below. It warmed their faces to the fullest extent. A soft wind blew through their manes, a sign from nature itself that everything was going to be okay. Izzy closed her eyes and let herself get immersed in the cool weather. In spite of everything she had been through the past morning, it didn’t matter. She finally had Misty back. She didn’t know how, but she didn’t care. She had been grieving for so long that even just being next to her now was pure euphoria.

In this moment, she forgot all about wanting to go home. She had initially wanted to, but once she had found out Misty was alive in this timeline, she didn’t care to go back. She could stay in this alternate world despite all its dangers forever if she had to. Home wasn’t where Misty was. She was with her now and possibly forever. And that was all that mattered to her.

“It’s so beautiful out here…” Misty mused, a single tear leaking down her face. “Just the Sun, the breeze, everything. And I get to experience it with you.”

“I know,” Izzy agreed. “I thought I’d never see you again…Now you’re back and I…I never want this to end.”

“Me neither.”

Together, they laughed over the sheer ridiculousness of the events that had transpired. They danced in the sunlight, chased each other across the fields, and walked side by side with one another while telling each other jokes. It was as if they had never been apart at all. The time they had spent apart seemed to evaporate into the ether. All was as it should be at long last. For a moment, ignorance was bliss. Life made sense again. And love could truly save the world.