The Greatest Ultimate Mix-Up Story (April Fools Special Part 1)by Admiral ProducerChaptersChapter 1: Hitch’s Really Long And Stupid Diary EntryChapter 2: Izzy Time Travels And Becomes A GodChapter 3: Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey ForeshadowingChapter 4: A Pointless and Unoriginal Sequel TeaseChapter 1: Hitch’s Really Long And Stupid Diary EntryDear Diary, My name is Hitch. This is my first entry. Sunny suggested that I keep a diary. I don’t know why. She doesn’t have one, and I don’t know how to write these. But, I’ll try for her sake. So…about me. I’m the sheriff of Maretime Bay and Sunny’s best friend, in fact…I’m her only friend. Sunny…she’s always so optimistic that she can change things here in Maretime Bay, make everypony get along, and prove a point to our system, which is inherently Earth Pony-centric. Sprout joined our friend group in fifth grade. He’s the son of the CEO of Canterlogic Phyllis Cloverleaf. He’s my deputy now, but he didn’t start out that way, of course. It was great to have someone balance out Sunny’s antics, but I always found him a little too arrogant. Especially considering the way he talked to Sunny sometimes during our games. What does she know that all of us in Maretime Bay don’t? We’ve been taught all our lives that Unicorns and Pegasi were evil and bloodthirsty. It was not just Canterlogic. Sometimes it would be hijacking television broadcasts during Hearth’s Warming Eve to share her impassioned message. Or ripping down movie posters or billboards that showed in her words “incorrect stereotypes” of the other ponies. Or breaking into a kindergarten class every Monday to give a speech to the fillies and colts. Tomorrow is the annual presentation of Canterlogic. Sunny will try to sneak in again, but Sprout and I will be ready once more to foil her plans. And should it come to it…I’ll make the call, even if it ends our friendship for the rest of eternity. So, I guess I should start at the beginning, huh? The leader of Bridlewood, Alphabittle, then decreed that words like ‘wing, magic, feather, and mayonnaise’ would be banned as they were associated with the old days, and that they had to move forward as a society. Whenever a pony said any any of those words, a special ritual would have to be done to cleanse themselves of jinx and bad luck. Everyone blamed my parents. After all, they were the ones who had me: the troubled filly, the walking bad luck, the source of all their problems. Of course, I was just a foal back then, too young to understand why everyone hated me so much. As I grew older, I assumed they were depressed because of their magic disappearing. And so, I vowed to be the source of all of their joy. I would bring happiness to Bridlewood. I would be the optimist in the face of all this hardship. Izzy paused her story when she saw the shocked look on Sunny’s face upon seeing the letter that she wrote with her father all those years ago actually reach someone. Initially, Izzy didn’t understand why Sunny was so mesmerized by it as she once was, but then the pieces fell into place. Tears came to her eyes as she realized it, “It…it was you…” Sunny nodded slowly as she took the letter, smiling wistfully, “I made it with my Dad. We promised each other that we would prove that all ponies were meant to be friends. We’ll do our part…” She hugged the letter close, “…hoof to heart.” It was there that a switch seemed to come on in everypony’s heads as they each faced Sunny, each offering their condolences for her father’s death. Even Pipp Petals, who had long resented the rest of the ponies for getting her exiled from her home, joined in. Mom instructed me to keep the letter safe, for if Dad were to discover it, then anger and unbridled rage would certainly ensue. I tucked the letter in my mane, which is where I’ve kept it for all these years. Izzy shook her head. “We’re going to keep a low profile. I’ll have to get you guys to blend in. And…hopefully nopony notices me.” “We’re with you until the very end.” Sunny promised her, “No matter what. If I have to defend you from your idiot father, I will. I’ll do my part.” “Why?” Izzy asked, knowing full well the answer she was going to get, but she wanted to make sure her friends were up for this. “Because that is what friends do.” Sunny replied firmly. Hitch smiled. “Hey, I want to do my part too. What have we got to lose, hm?” Everypony cheered at the sight of him joining them. “I have to admit. A Unicorn forest sounds pretty magical.” Fortunately, Zipp managed to stop her right on time, “Pipp, please. Can we just have a serious discussion about this? You’ve been avoiding it whenever I try and bring it up. Does it really not bother you at all anymore?” Pipp sighed. “Zipp, why are you bringing this up now? Did something happen?” “The fact that I ruined your life and just brushed it under the rug happened!” Zipp shouted, letting all the emotion come out. “I should’ve been more careful. I shouldn’t’ve just left you hanging there in the spotlight for everypony to see! What kind of sister does that make me?!” Pipp nodded slowly, “I see where you’re coming from. To be honest…I did feel hurt when I confronted you and you just laughed it off like it was nothing. But in the end, I think it was a good wake up call. For both of us, but more specifically me…” “Really?” Zipp asked her. Pipp smiled through gathering tears. “No, you aren’t. What made you remember that incident?” “And I love you the most out of everyone too,” Zipp replied, wiping her own tears away, “Let’s start over, sis. Let’s work together to build a brighter future for everypony in Equestria. And if you want to talk about something, go ahead and do so. I know I will. We’ll always be there for each other no matter what, I promise.” “And I promise to always listen to you from now on if you think there’s a problem,” Pipp promised her, “You’re the investigator in this town.” With that, a new promise was made. It was promise of empathy, a promise of solidarity, but most importantly of all… It seemed like only yesterday that she was the most wanted pony in all of Maretime Bay for her reckless antics. But after bringing the magic back and proving that all ponies could be friends, Sunny was not only a friend to everyone in the town, she was their hero. She and her friends had accomplished feats that the townsponies could only dream of accomplishing and for that, they were eternally grateful. As she sped by the townsponies, she saw her good friend Windy way high in the sky, practicing her flight with great effort. “How’s it goin,’ Windy?” Sunny called up to the pink pegasus mare. Managing to stabilize herself before she could fall, Windy saw Sunny and waved back, “Doing good! Unfortunately, it looks like I still have a lot to learn about flying!” “You’ll get there, Windy! I promise!” Sunny called back. With that, she continued her trek all the way down town, back to the Crystal Brighthouse where she saw Zipp and Pipp talking with one another. Zipp smiled, but that smile quickly faded when all of a sudden, there came the sound of fillies screaming in the distance. She faced Sunny. “We’ll talk later, Sunny. Gotta fly!” Wings unfolding, she rocketed off towards the sound of the screams, leaving a trail of smoke behind her. Sunny sighed. She was hoping to help Zipp get over some of her insecurities about her place in Maretime Bay today. Who knew how many life-saving errands the white pegasus would be on the whole day? “Don’t worry about Zipp,” Pipp assured her. “She’s basically the town lifeguard. It’s practically her job to save fillies falling out of the sky, magic glitch-induced or no.” “Yeah, but I was hoping to find Zipp something to do,” Sunny said, “She told me before that she didn’t think she belonged here, but that’s not true! I’m trying to talk Phyllis into hiring her.” Pipp rolled her eyes. “You really think Zipp’s going to be cool with making anti-pegasus tech?” “I-“ Sunny had to admit that Pipp had a point. Even though Maretime Bay was a pony melting pot by this point, old habits died hard and Phyllis was still trying to profit off of her inventions which no one except the old grandpas bought anymore. Before she could finish, a very disoriented Zipp tumbled down the stairs and landed flat on her face, moaning. Pipp chuckled. “That’s what you get for being the town lifeguard. Now get up, sis. We’re talking about you.” Zipp dusted herself off as she stood up. “What’d I do this time, Sunny?” “You told me the day before Maretime Bay Day began that you felt like you didn’t belong here,” Sunny told her, “Is that true?” Zipp nodded slowly. “While I’m pretty happy being the town investigator, I still…feel like I get in everypony else’s way sometimes. What about when there’s no phenomenon to keep track of? The Crystals haven’t glitched since Maretime Bay Day ended.” “Izzy overheard you talking about the Wonderbolts in your sleep,” Hitch mentioned. “You’d get them to hire me?” Zipp asked her, “I don’t know. Would they trust you after how many times you broke in to give your friendship speeches? And besides, I don’t know the first thing about how to train a class, or that extensively about the Wonderbolts. I just stumbled upon some history books in the library and became obsessed. I don’t want to teach them the wrong things.” “Then we’ll research together,” said Sunny with a hint of pride. “I think we can turn that little school club into the next best flight team in all of Equestria!“ “My Dad wrote a book on the Wonderbolts?!” exclaimed Sunny in shock, “How did I not know? He read me all of his books before…well, you know…” “Yeah, we get it,” Zipp replied, “Honestly, I haven’t seen this one around here before either. Maybe it was part of Hitch’s new shipment. He spends online like crazy on Ponyzon every Wednesday.” Sunny growled. “That better may not be my money he’s taking out.” “Well, he did tell me not to let you know about-“ Izzy began. “WHAT?!” Sunny blushed in embarrassment. “Well…I understand that I wasn’t…the best pony to talk to. But at least it all turned out alright in the end, right?” “I’d say so,” Ms. Daisy replied, “And you’re lucky it did. The only reason that none of the staff are out for your blood after the madness you caused to our classes is because you hold the key to Equestria’s future. The other teachers are scared that one wrong move and you’ll take away their magic forever by separating those Crystals.” “Oooooooooonn a hopefully related note,” said Hitch awkwardly, “Zipp starts on Monday?” I agree with that,” Zipp replied, “I guess we could just hang out here until it’s time. Do I need to register, ma’am?” “Already done that for you,” Ms. Daisy told her, “My class could use a well-disciplined example like you. They’re excellent students, just…not so much respectful ones.” “Well in the meantime, I’ll just put the hay in the apple and eat the candle…” Hitch murmured before collapsing onto the ground, snoring. Sunny was trying her best to wake him up. The three ponies somehow managed to drag Hitch into the nurse’s room in the front office and lay him down onto the small bed, letting him sleep the day away. Zipp cleared her throat. “Flyers!!” All of the other students snapped to attention, all of them pointing at a pale yellow filly with a light blue mane and tail and green eyes in the middle of them. “She started it!!” Ms. Daisy facehoofed. Sunny took a deep breath. “We only have a limited time until morning. Sunshine, I need you to grab Rainbow Tails and the rest of your classmates.” Sunshine saluted her. “Aye aye, captain!” “And…what are we going to do?” Pipp asked. “Pipp, go find Zipp,” Sunny instructed her, “Izzy, Hitch, you go assist Sunshine in the gathering of the students. I’m going to clean up the field completely. I intend to teach a class!” “Oh dear.” Pipp remarked. “Zipp,” Ms. Daisy told her, “You have shown that you are ready to lead the next generation of Wonderbolts as you wanted. For that, I’d like to give you this,” She held out a Maretime Bay Elementary School badge, which Zipp accepted. “Welcome to our staff, Captain Zipp.” “Thank you, ma’am.” Zipp thanked her respectfully. As soon as she was gone, Zipp leapt up in the air, shouting and dancing with unbridled joy. “You think we should calm her down?” Hitch asked. “Let Zipp have her moment, Hitch,” Sunny advised him. “She’s more than earned this moment to be happy.” Sincerely, Hitch Chapter 2: Izzy Time Travels And Becomes A GodIzzy Moonbow awoke in a pitch black void, fluttering her eyes open, strong winds blowing all around her. Her hooves felt like jelly as she had been laying on them for a long time. She was no longer in her bed at the Crystal Brighthouse, that much she was certain. She looked around in every which way to see where she was. As far as her eyes could see, there was nothing in sight for miles. Nonetheless, she stood up as her excitement for adventure triumphed over any rational thought. She looked out into the darkness again, watching carefully for anything that could move. Nothing did. “Hi, mysterious black abyss, my name is Izzy!! Izzy Moonbow!” Izzy called out. “It’s nice to meet you! You know, I’ve never talked to an empty void before, so this is my first time!” “Oh yes,” the voice answered back, “You may call me Discord, the Lord of Chaos! I am running a little experiment. You have been brought from your own time period to my realm to make some new friends. They’re waiting inside my house.” “You read my mind!” Izzy gasped. “Tell me, what am I thinking right now?!” “Something dumb. Ah, there we go! You’ll have to excuse Gryffin’s daily routine. Have fun now, Izzy. We shall meet again in four hours!” “Hi, new friends!” Izzy greeted them. “My name is Izzy!” They all turned to look at her. Instantly, they got out of their seats, grabbed any tools they could find as weapons, and aimed them all at her. “Stand back, intruder!” declared the Kirin, “I, Autumn Blaze, defender of the Peaks of Peril, shall defend all who are with me from you!” “Ah, just the mischievous draconequus who we released from stone, who befriended Fluttershy, and is now our best friend!” the pink pony explained. She faced Izzy. “Hiya there, Izzy Moonbow! I’m Pinkie Pie and I planned this interrogation just for you! Are you excited? I’m so excited, I’ve never been so excited, well, except for all the adventures we went on where I was like-“ She gasped, “But I mean really, who could top that?!” “Right, is that the riddle?” “No,” Gabby replied, “The riddle is this.” She inhaled for dramatic effect and stated the riddle: “109876543322+ 1233445566677789990- 4(098765543234567776655579) to the power of 2 divided by the square root of 10000000000000000070001x equals y.” “27,001!” Izzy answered. She honestly had no idea, but she assumed that was the correct answer. She just hoped she wasn’t about to be spliced in half. “CORRECT!!!” Pinkie Pie announced. “CONGRATULATIONS!! YOU WIN ONE BILLION BITS!!!!” “Wait, that was actually the answer?” Izzy couldn’t believe it. She was a genius at Math after all! All those negative things her teachers told her at school, all the F grades she got on her tests, balderdash! If she could answer that, she could answer anything. She vowed to quiz Sunny on that riddle when she got back. “I’ll tell Discord to send it over when we are done,” Pinkie Pie said, ”Now with that out of the way, LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!!!” When all was said and done, they sat on the floating couch together and talked about their lives before meeting each other. “My friends don’t understand the value of stairs,” Silverstream piped up, “But I tell them that only a true believer would understand. Gallus was all like ‘WHAT?! What are you trying to say?! Are we not true believers?!’ And I was like ‘Nope! But you can certainly learn!’ So I give them free classes in ‘Silverstreamism’ every Sunday!” “And I’m pretty sure the writer of this fanfiction just made that up for the sake of this story and you’ll never mention them again afterwards, buuuuuuut-“ Pinkie Pie said and ripped open a patch of air into another black void. “Hey you! Author! Will you bring Skystar’s new friends back in the next story featuring her?!” “I’ll think about it!” I responded. “Now go away!” “Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie Pie closed the rip in reality. “Well that clears it up! What about you, Gabby?” Izzy was flabbergasted at what she had just seen. No one could tear the very fabric of reality and talk to an author, right? And on that note, did that mean she wasn’t even real?! She knew that she would be having an existential crisis later on. “Wow that is deeeeeep,” Skystar commented, “But yeah, be yourself, Silver. At least I am with my mom 100% of the time…regardless…if she likes it…But you get the point! I like being unabashedly optimistic as it helps me deal with so many things. Don’t ever lose that part of yourself, Silverstream. I’ll be sure to tell you as much via letters.” “Before I tell you the information you seek,” Izzy stated, a mischievous smile on her face. “You must first answer the billion dollar RIDDLE!!!!!” “The billion dollar what now?” Sunny now looked completely confused. “I’ll do anything to get a definitive answer from you, Izzy. Throw it at me!” Hitch challenged her. “If you insist,” Izzy said, “The riddle iiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssssss: 109876543322+ 1233445566677789990- 4(098765543234567776655579) to the power of 2 divided by the square root of 10000000000000000070001x equals y.” “Excuse me, what?” Sunny asked. “I’m sorry, professor, I don’t know.” “Um…7?” Hitch guessed. “INCORRECT!!!! YOU LOSE!!!!” Izzy announced. “Now I will tell you the story in as many tangents as I feel like! We’re gonna be here all morning!!!” “Oh no…” Hitch moaned. “Uh, do I get another try?” Sunny inquired in a worried tone. “Nope!” “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” And that was the story of how Izzy Moonbow discovered her true purpose in life with a dream. Or…was it a dream? You see, you will never know. For I, Discord, the Master of Chaos and Disharmony, have actually been narrating this story to you the entire time and I have kept the true answer hidden for a very good reason. For if you all knew the truth… Where would the fun in that be? ——————————————————————————————————————————————— “…And so, may the ever loving grace of Chaos bless this poor unfortunate soul as she leaves behind this mortal coil and goes to meet her makers!! Today, this creature shall be sacrificed and the multiverse shall be spared the turmoils of destruction!!” “SACRIFICE!!!!! SACRIFICE!!!!! SACRIFICE!!!!! SACRIFICE!!!!! SACRIFICE!!!!! SACRIFICE!!!” “Today, we say goodbye to Autumn Blaze as my dear friend Monkey has a nice premature dinner! SAY GOODBYE, PUNK!!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!” “SACRIFICE!!!! SACRIFICE!!!! SACRIFICE!!!! SACRIFICE!!!!!!” “Excuse me, madam!” Pinkie Pie greeted cheerfully, “I’m Pinkie Pie and I’m from one of your shows! Can you please show me to the boss?” “Sure thing, Pinkie Pie…” No sooner did the words leave the receptionist’s mouth did she realize who she was talking to. Her head snapped up and she faced the pink pony with wide eyes. “PINKIE PIE?!!!” “Yes sirreee!” Pinkie Pie answered. “You see, we have an emergency in Discord’s realm and I gotta hop to the future and-“ THUNK!! The receptionist had fainted in her chair, which fell to the floor with all the files spreading out all over the place. Almost instantly, many employees rushed over in droves from the next room as fast as they could and checked her pulse. A man looked up in horror and saw Pinkie Pie, who was still standing there with a big bright smile on her face. “My name is Pinkie Pie,” Pinkie sang, “Hello! And I am here to say, ‘How ya doin?’ I’m gonna make you smile and I will brighten up your daaaaaay…It doesn’t matter-“ “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!” The man screamed and ran back into the other room, yelling for the manager to come and see the cartoon character come to life. To her credit, Pinkie really didn’t know what she had done wrong. “Shoppiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnng!!” Pipp Petals declared in a sing-song voice, earning herself a glare from her sister Zipp Storm. “What? I need to be the first one to buy the recent fashion trend! If I wear this, it’ll be a massive hit! 300k views in the first eight hours!” “Whoa!!” Hitch was shocked beyond belief. “Who are you, stranger? Haven’t seen you around in Maretime Bay before.” Instantly, Pinkie burst back to life without warning and started talking so fast that poor Hitch could not keep up. “HellothereHitchTrailblazerI’mPinkiePieandIneedtotalktoIzzyrightaway!” “Excuse me, what?” As if on cue, Izzy sprinted towards the door and gasped when she saw Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie Pie?!! How did you get here?! Have you come to see me?!! This is so exciting!!” Pinkie Pie nodded vigorously, practically bouncing up and down with a mix of impatience and excitement as she spoke,“YouneedtocomebackwithmeandanswerariddleforDiscordotherwisehewillsacrificeAutumnBlazetohispetmonkeytoappeasetheChaosGods!!” “Autumn Blaze is going to be sacrificed?!!” Izzy looked horrified. “We cannot let that happen! Bye, guys! I’m going back with Pinkie Pie, see ya!!” she told them hastily. Right as she said that, Pinkie Pie opened another portal back to Discord’s realm and both of them jumped through it before Hitch or the others could react. Zipp scratched her head in confusion. “Did…you get anything Pinkie Pie said?” Hitch shook his head. “Nope. All I know is…Izzy’s been kidnapped and I just stood here like a doofus. WHAT KIND OF SHERIFF AM I??????????!!!!!!!” “It’s time for a montage!” Pinkie Pie declared, “This calls for a READING PARTY!!!” With the flick of her hoof, a radio appeared out of thin air and planted itself on the table. Izzy put on her glasses. “Let’s do this!” “Oh yes! YES!!!” Skystar cheered, taking out Melvy and Melvin from out of nowhere to use as extra reading companions. “Aw man!” Silverstream said with exasperation, taking the paper from Gabby and throwing it aside. “We must try harder!” “And try harder we will!” Pinkie Pie agreed, “See? Now you’re getting in the spirit!! Now…TO THE NEXT CHAPTER, LADIES!!!!!” “Yes, ma’am!!” the others chimed in unison and turned the page simultaneously, ripping it off in the process. Skystar shrugged. “He’s probably got hundreds of copies.” But right as she was about to finally give up hope, she heard a familiar voice behind her, a voice that she recognized instantaneously. “Use your brain, Izzy! You can do it!” “Sunny?!” Izzy whipped around and sure enough, Sunny, Hitch, Zipp, and Pipp were all standing far into the distance next to Pinkie Pie. They were all calling out to her, encouraging her, just as she always did for them. “Trust us, Izzy! Think hard!!” Zipp called out. “Yeah!! You can answer one stinky ‘ol riddle!!” Hitch yelled. “We’re here for you, Izzy!! GO FOR IT!!” exclaimed Sunny. “Show that creature!!” Zipp shouted. “WE ARE WITH YOU, IZZY!!!” Pipp screamed. “YOU GOT THIS, IZZY!!!!” shrieked Pinkie Pie loudly, “YOU CAN DO IIIIIIIIIIT!!!!!!” “Now,” Izzy declared, “Listen up, Discord!!!! Allow me to remind you, the page in your book was blank because the Riddle was forbidden to be transcribed in any form!! A normal pony or creature would have their brains fried for just trying to decode it, BUT a pony who’s entire existence is devoted to the art of pure imagination and limitless creativity knows the art of chaos better than anypony! The answer to the Riddle is SCHOA which is Chaos mixed up!! My favorite of the made-up words.” The crowd erupted into applause as a large bell sounded on the ceiling, indicating that she had gotten the answer correct. Izzy had done it. She had solved the riddle. Discord gasped audibly. “This is…this is impossible!!!! Y-YOU C-CAN’T KNOW THE ANSWER, YOU’D HAVE TO BE A-“ “A Chaos God…” Autumn Blaze realized. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!” Discord screamed, “YOU WILL NOT TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME!!!!!!!” “INDEED SHE IS!!!!!!” She was interrupted by a loud booming voice. She looked up, but the voice wasn’t Discord’s. It was deeper and sounded more ancient. The sound reverberated across the arena like an earthquake. The ground shook beneath them as suddenly, a large portal opened right in the middle of the arena and three draconequui came flying out of it. They looked just like Discord, only they were much bigger in size and had a commanding presence to them. The leader carried a golden trident, signifying that he was their King. Discord’s mouth dropped open. “The Gods! They’re here!” DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSCCCCOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRD!!!!!!!!!!” King Ares demanded. “What is the meaning of this?!” “You’re in big trouble, young man!” Eris shouted, “You’re grounded for the rest of the year!!!” “We should probably charge him for attempted murder too.” Hades pointed out. Upon hearing this, Discord shrank down to a smaller size in terror. “Mommy…” No sooner had he said this did the three other draconequui pounce on him, hauling him up and dragging him into the air kicking and screaming like a two-year old back through the portal to the Kingdom of Chaos. The portal closed behind them, the dying screams of Discord the final thing Izzy and her two groups of friends ever heard before there was total silence. “And,” declared Pipp, grabbing out her phone, “We won’t be forgetting about this any time soon as I got the whole thing all on tape!” She went to her Photos and played the video recording. However, instead of playing the confrontation, a Rickroll was playing instead with the caption: Stole this from the humans. I’m sure they won’t mind. Gotcha! Love, Mommy “What? How? But?” Pipp was flabbergasted. “Whyyyyyyyyyy?” All of them laughed over this as the Sun slowly set behind the horizon and nighttime fell Maretime Bay. All was quiet and at peace. Or so it would seem. I mean who can really tell exactly what constitutes happily ever after, hm? Certainly I can’t. Isn’t that right? Author?! Chapter 3: Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Foreshadowing“So…” Twilight began awkwardly, “We gonna talk about what I did, or…” “You tried to,” Novo said. “but I wouldn’t hear it. If we’re being honest, I brought the situation on myself.” “Really?” “Mhm,” Novo assured her. “My foolish pride drove you away, drove her away. I hope she’s happy at the School right now. Any updates?” Twilight lay down as well. “I’m surprised to hear you say that, but…thank you. I guess it all worked out in the end, even if I lashed out at my friends, got captured by Tempest, got my magic stolen, battled for the Staff of Sacanas, and almost died several times, all things that could’ve been avoided with the Pearl. But it still all worked out just peachy!” Novo blinked. “What?” Skystar shook her head in confusion. “All this wish washy timey wimey stuff is confusing! Well, I understand this is serious, sooooooo…I’ll be back.” She had an opportunity to help Equestria now, to save the future from a potentially even worse threat than the Storm King. She had once tried to solve her problems by running. Now she knew that wasn’t the answer. This was where she had to make her stand. “It’s okay if you don’t want to, your majesty…” Misty said, sensing the conflict within her, “It was just a suggestion…” Izzy glared at her. “We came all this way, Misty.” After much pondering, Novo finally took a deep breath. “Like it or not, you ponies still are close allies of Hippogriffia and I would be doing a disservice to your future if I did not help. I will not run from my problems as I did years ago.” Izzy immediately perked up upon hearing this. “So you’ll actually help us?!” Novo nodded. “Yes, I will. I shall carry your message through our family for generations to come until the time comes for our successor to officially reveal it to the rest of the kingdom. It’s time we stand and fight together as we used to. It’s time we stand as allies, as friends, as neighbors. Whatever your future has become and wherever we are, there are ponies like you carrying on the legacy of your ancestors, which is enough to get us involved as well. Let your final stand be one of victory, not of defeat. And when you come here once more, years from now, you girls let our successor know that QUEEN NOVO AND PRINCESS SKYSTAR GIVE THEIR OFFICIAL APPROVAL TO FIGHT!!!!” As she began to lay down and fall asleep, a guard swam into the throne room faster than a rocket, seemingly with urgent news. “Your majesty,” the guard spoke. “Our scouts are detecting an unidentified flying aircraft in the sky. It’s headed right towards us. What should we do?” Skygrace stood up. “Send out all of our military and army personnel to meet them.” “Pardon, my grace?” “You heard what I said.” “But why? They carry no weapons.” “That’s just it,” Skygrace said fearfully, “This is the prophecy my mother warned me about. It’s coming true. Send out all army personnel. It’s those ponies…they’re here.” “It’s time we make our stand together!” Izzy declared. “Today is a privilege to call our own, a story that will be told for a thousand years!! Let our final stand be recorded to the histories!! And let it be shown THAT WE CHOSE TO DIE AS COMRADES IN BATTLE RATHER THAN AS SLAVES TO TYRANNY!!!!!” The hippogriff soldiers all cheered in unison, applauding in one massive standing ovation, and Skygrace gave a small bow of respect to the two ponies before turning towards her army. “You heard them!! MOVE OUT!! I shall follow you all!!” The hippogriffs all shouted battle cries and took to the skies, their powerful wings beating against the storm that threatened their lives. The soldiers didn’t care about death, however. Their lives were made on the field of battle. Their legacies would be one of victory and comradeship, not defeat and cowardice. Lightning struck the ground and thunder sounded across the sky as Izzy and Misty got back into the Marestream, which took off into the sky. It was the symbol of harmony, the symbol of friendship, the triumph of light against darkness, and the beacon that signaled the fulfillment of the ages-old prophecy. Finally, Skygrace took flight after her soldiers, but not before whispering one last prayer into the heavens as her future became one of uncertainty. “This is for you, Mother…” The scene shifted once more and Misty found herself in a throne room painted in gray and blue. Stained glass windows detailing heroic deeds adorned the walls. At the end of the walkway was none other than Princess Twilight Sparkle speaking into the Unity Crystals. “If you're seeing this,” Twilight spoke gravely, “Magic is now more powerful than it's ever been,and Earth pony magic has been activated for the first time in the history of Equestria. Magic is alive. Always changing, growing stronger. There are evil forces out there who will want to exploit it. Once, a pony tried to steal all the magic in Equestria for herself. She tried to drive the ponies apart and almost succeeded. Equestria was in danger and I did all that I could to protect it from her evil schemes by summoning all of my magical strength to achieve placing the magic in the crystals and the Magic of Friendship was protected for generations. But the spell is broken. You are exposed to the world once again. You must watch out for Opaline before she regains her lost power and attacks Equestria again. Please do not fear, my little ponies. I’m with you.” Star held up his wife’s chin. “I know one thing. Wherever we go, this family is our fortress. She will be okay, Moon. She’ll grow up big and strong. She will…she will save Equestria and make us all proud. It won’t matter if she doesn’t know us. She’ll carry us within her wherever she goes. She’ll carry you inside her. We have to run.” “FACE IT, MISTY!!!” Opaline yelled, “You can’t get other ponies to accept me anymore than you can get them to accept you!!” She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. “I know my place, my destiny, unlike you. I was meant to rule everything. Twilight may have not been able to teach me friendship, but she did teach me power!!!! And I must look towards the future and claim it. She couldn’t be proud of me in life…” She smiled. “But perhaps in death…” “What were you doing?” “Drawing up battle plans,” Hitch replied, “That’s in fact the fifth draft I’ve created last night. Perhaps you could help me, I mean, you know the place better than I do.” “Oh great…” Misty’s heart sank to the bottom of the ocean at the thought of returning to Opaline’s castle. The idea terrified her and the prospect of facing her former mistress scared her even further. If she was able to reform her though… Yet her ominous vision of his death still plagued her mind. Why did she dream about that of all things? What was the secret distress signal that Izzy had sent out to that underwater kingdom? Was it about Opaline? Was Sparky even still alive?! And what even were the Umbrum, those shadow creatures that Opaline was summoning?! Nothing made sense. “So…” Izzy said, blushing momentarily from embarrassment. “Do you know where Sunny and Hitch are at?” “They’re probably in the town square.” Misty replied. “Sunny is giving another one of her speeches to the town.” “Huh,” Izzy looked puzzled. “I must’ve been in my room longer than expected.” She shrugged. “Oh well! You and I can hang ‘till they get back. Wanna hear about the time I stopped an evil draconequus from sacrificing one of my multiverse friends to the Chaos Gods?” Misty laughed. “Sure.” ——————————————————————————————————————————————— Meanwhile, Misty and Izzy were in their bedroom, talking and laughing together. By now, their friendship had fully been mended with the former promising to be honest about everything from now on. Izzy was telling Misty about the time she first met her friends in Discord’s dimension. “Wait wait wait,” Misty interrupted her, “So one of your friends likes stairs. And plumbing. And another one of them likes to collect seashells.” Izzy nodded enthusiastically. “Silverstream’s obsessed with stairs and she knows all about how to fix anything water related! She told me how one time in the School of Friendship, one of the toilets in the students’ dormitories broke down and she was able to fix it in just 5 minutes! Also, Skystar has two seashells as her best friends.” “Sounds…kinda mundane, no offense.” “Maybe it is,” Izzy shrugged, “But who am I to judge someone else’s passion? She finds such enjoyment in it that none of us ever question a thing. And she’s not the only one with quirks like me. I’ll tell you about the time Autumn Blaze put on an entire play for her village!” “No no, it’s alright,” Skystar assured her, “I’m happy to see you. I assume Pinkie Pie sent you through one of her fourth wall portals. I can tell something’s wrong though. What is it? You know you can tell me.” Izzy sighed deeply, staring at her friend directly in the eyes. “I assume you haven’t heard. We have a crisis back in Maretime Bay. I’ve already warned the others.” “Discord?” Izzy shook her head. “No. Not Discord. It’s somepony far worse. I need to see your mother now. But first…Skystar, we should talk.” Chapter 4: A Pointless and Unoriginal Sequel Tease“Alright! Alright!!” Applejack declared, banging her hooves on the ground as hard as she could in order to get her friends’ attention. “I hereby call this final meetin’ of the Council of Friendship to order!!” Judging by the orange pony’s exasperated look on this particular day, there was not much progress made on the matter. The Mane Five met in a circle as they always did, but it was clear that they were not prepared to be called so suddenly. Rainbow Dash was still in her Wonderbolt uniform, Fluttershy could barely stay awake, and Rarity sported a ripped dress that she would not normally wear to any meeting. The only pony who seemed normal enough was Pinkie Pie, who was still her eager and excitable self, despite motherly duties taking up most of her time and energy. “So what’s the progress, Applejack?” Rainbow inquired. “I hope you’ve gotten somewhere. I haven’t seen her visit Ponyville in ages. You told me she was coming to the Wonderbolts show yesterday and I had them prepare for absolutely nothing!! Let me tell you, Firestorm was absolutely pissed.” Rarity huffed. “You think you have problems, darling?! Who is she to tell me that I need to pay for ALL of my boutiques all of a sudden!! I don’t know what’s gotten into Twilight, but this needs to stop this INSTANT!!” “And I suddenly have to pay taxes for Little Cheese’s very existence?” Pinkie Pie asked. “I’m pretty sure it’s part of the new bill, but Mayor Fern already said she was gonna pay insurance.” She cocked her head in confusion. “I didn’t know existence was a crime.” Applejack groaned. “Look. I did my best to talk to her, but she can get very nippy when prodded!! Today, I ended up goin’ a little too far. Girls…” She gulped. “We’ve been dissolved.” “Wait WHAT?!!” Rainbow Dash demanded, enraged. Fluttershy fainted. Rarity’s mouth dropped open in absolute horror as the reality of the news dawned on her. She had been fired. “Dissolved into a million pieces?” Pinkie asked. “That can’t be true, I’m still whole.” “On the contrary…” Rainbow Dash was seething. “You weren’t harsh enough. Do you understand how PAINFUL taxes can be?! I already got laid with like a thousand bills for cadet uniforms. What’s next?! Taxes for actually being a Wonderbolt?!” “I say we start a revolution!!!” Rarity shouted. “NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!!!!!!!!” Inkwell paused, turning back towards them with a look of unease. “Would you…rather test the students formally like you did before? I’d hate for you all to see the state of the auditorium after the rather…chaotic school dance last night.” “Oh it’s no problem, darling!” Rarity answered. “Believe me, you haven’t seen anything yet. We’ve dealt with so much worse at the School of Friendship during that time we were helping Yona fit in.” “Aw yeah!” Rainbow Dash added. “The whole ballroom was wrecked! A little mess won’t phase us in the slightest!” Inkwell smiled. “Well if you insist…I’ll take you five to the office, so I can make the announcement. Come come!! This is so exciting!!”
Chapter 1: Hitch’s Really Long And Stupid Diary EntryDear Diary, My name is Hitch. This is my first entry. Sunny suggested that I keep a diary. I don’t know why. She doesn’t have one, and I don’t know how to write these. But, I’ll try for her sake. So…about me. I’m the sheriff of Maretime Bay and Sunny’s best friend, in fact…I’m her only friend. Sunny…she’s always so optimistic that she can change things here in Maretime Bay, make everypony get along, and prove a point to our system, which is inherently Earth Pony-centric. Sprout joined our friend group in fifth grade. He’s the son of the CEO of Canterlogic Phyllis Cloverleaf. He’s my deputy now, but he didn’t start out that way, of course. It was great to have someone balance out Sunny’s antics, but I always found him a little too arrogant. Especially considering the way he talked to Sunny sometimes during our games. What does she know that all of us in Maretime Bay don’t? We’ve been taught all our lives that Unicorns and Pegasi were evil and bloodthirsty. It was not just Canterlogic. Sometimes it would be hijacking television broadcasts during Hearth’s Warming Eve to share her impassioned message. Or ripping down movie posters or billboards that showed in her words “incorrect stereotypes” of the other ponies. Or breaking into a kindergarten class every Monday to give a speech to the fillies and colts. Tomorrow is the annual presentation of Canterlogic. Sunny will try to sneak in again, but Sprout and I will be ready once more to foil her plans. And should it come to it…I’ll make the call, even if it ends our friendship for the rest of eternity. So, I guess I should start at the beginning, huh? The leader of Bridlewood, Alphabittle, then decreed that words like ‘wing, magic, feather, and mayonnaise’ would be banned as they were associated with the old days, and that they had to move forward as a society. Whenever a pony said any any of those words, a special ritual would have to be done to cleanse themselves of jinx and bad luck. Everyone blamed my parents. After all, they were the ones who had me: the troubled filly, the walking bad luck, the source of all their problems. Of course, I was just a foal back then, too young to understand why everyone hated me so much. As I grew older, I assumed they were depressed because of their magic disappearing. And so, I vowed to be the source of all of their joy. I would bring happiness to Bridlewood. I would be the optimist in the face of all this hardship. Izzy paused her story when she saw the shocked look on Sunny’s face upon seeing the letter that she wrote with her father all those years ago actually reach someone. Initially, Izzy didn’t understand why Sunny was so mesmerized by it as she once was, but then the pieces fell into place. Tears came to her eyes as she realized it, “It…it was you…” Sunny nodded slowly as she took the letter, smiling wistfully, “I made it with my Dad. We promised each other that we would prove that all ponies were meant to be friends. We’ll do our part…” She hugged the letter close, “…hoof to heart.” It was there that a switch seemed to come on in everypony’s heads as they each faced Sunny, each offering their condolences for her father’s death. Even Pipp Petals, who had long resented the rest of the ponies for getting her exiled from her home, joined in. Mom instructed me to keep the letter safe, for if Dad were to discover it, then anger and unbridled rage would certainly ensue. I tucked the letter in my mane, which is where I’ve kept it for all these years. Izzy shook her head. “We’re going to keep a low profile. I’ll have to get you guys to blend in. And…hopefully nopony notices me.” “We’re with you until the very end.” Sunny promised her, “No matter what. If I have to defend you from your idiot father, I will. I’ll do my part.” “Why?” Izzy asked, knowing full well the answer she was going to get, but she wanted to make sure her friends were up for this. “Because that is what friends do.” Sunny replied firmly. Hitch smiled. “Hey, I want to do my part too. What have we got to lose, hm?” Everypony cheered at the sight of him joining them. “I have to admit. A Unicorn forest sounds pretty magical.” Fortunately, Zipp managed to stop her right on time, “Pipp, please. Can we just have a serious discussion about this? You’ve been avoiding it whenever I try and bring it up. Does it really not bother you at all anymore?” Pipp sighed. “Zipp, why are you bringing this up now? Did something happen?” “The fact that I ruined your life and just brushed it under the rug happened!” Zipp shouted, letting all the emotion come out. “I should’ve been more careful. I shouldn’t’ve just left you hanging there in the spotlight for everypony to see! What kind of sister does that make me?!” Pipp nodded slowly, “I see where you’re coming from. To be honest…I did feel hurt when I confronted you and you just laughed it off like it was nothing. But in the end, I think it was a good wake up call. For both of us, but more specifically me…” “Really?” Zipp asked her. Pipp smiled through gathering tears. “No, you aren’t. What made you remember that incident?” “And I love you the most out of everyone too,” Zipp replied, wiping her own tears away, “Let’s start over, sis. Let’s work together to build a brighter future for everypony in Equestria. And if you want to talk about something, go ahead and do so. I know I will. We’ll always be there for each other no matter what, I promise.” “And I promise to always listen to you from now on if you think there’s a problem,” Pipp promised her, “You’re the investigator in this town.” With that, a new promise was made. It was promise of empathy, a promise of solidarity, but most importantly of all… It seemed like only yesterday that she was the most wanted pony in all of Maretime Bay for her reckless antics. But after bringing the magic back and proving that all ponies could be friends, Sunny was not only a friend to everyone in the town, she was their hero. She and her friends had accomplished feats that the townsponies could only dream of accomplishing and for that, they were eternally grateful. As she sped by the townsponies, she saw her good friend Windy way high in the sky, practicing her flight with great effort. “How’s it goin,’ Windy?” Sunny called up to the pink pegasus mare. Managing to stabilize herself before she could fall, Windy saw Sunny and waved back, “Doing good! Unfortunately, it looks like I still have a lot to learn about flying!” “You’ll get there, Windy! I promise!” Sunny called back. With that, she continued her trek all the way down town, back to the Crystal Brighthouse where she saw Zipp and Pipp talking with one another. Zipp smiled, but that smile quickly faded when all of a sudden, there came the sound of fillies screaming in the distance. She faced Sunny. “We’ll talk later, Sunny. Gotta fly!” Wings unfolding, she rocketed off towards the sound of the screams, leaving a trail of smoke behind her. Sunny sighed. She was hoping to help Zipp get over some of her insecurities about her place in Maretime Bay today. Who knew how many life-saving errands the white pegasus would be on the whole day? “Don’t worry about Zipp,” Pipp assured her. “She’s basically the town lifeguard. It’s practically her job to save fillies falling out of the sky, magic glitch-induced or no.” “Yeah, but I was hoping to find Zipp something to do,” Sunny said, “She told me before that she didn’t think she belonged here, but that’s not true! I’m trying to talk Phyllis into hiring her.” Pipp rolled her eyes. “You really think Zipp’s going to be cool with making anti-pegasus tech?” “I-“ Sunny had to admit that Pipp had a point. Even though Maretime Bay was a pony melting pot by this point, old habits died hard and Phyllis was still trying to profit off of her inventions which no one except the old grandpas bought anymore. Before she could finish, a very disoriented Zipp tumbled down the stairs and landed flat on her face, moaning. Pipp chuckled. “That’s what you get for being the town lifeguard. Now get up, sis. We’re talking about you.” Zipp dusted herself off as she stood up. “What’d I do this time, Sunny?” “You told me the day before Maretime Bay Day began that you felt like you didn’t belong here,” Sunny told her, “Is that true?” Zipp nodded slowly. “While I’m pretty happy being the town investigator, I still…feel like I get in everypony else’s way sometimes. What about when there’s no phenomenon to keep track of? The Crystals haven’t glitched since Maretime Bay Day ended.” “Izzy overheard you talking about the Wonderbolts in your sleep,” Hitch mentioned. “You’d get them to hire me?” Zipp asked her, “I don’t know. Would they trust you after how many times you broke in to give your friendship speeches? And besides, I don’t know the first thing about how to train a class, or that extensively about the Wonderbolts. I just stumbled upon some history books in the library and became obsessed. I don’t want to teach them the wrong things.” “Then we’ll research together,” said Sunny with a hint of pride. “I think we can turn that little school club into the next best flight team in all of Equestria!“ “My Dad wrote a book on the Wonderbolts?!” exclaimed Sunny in shock, “How did I not know? He read me all of his books before…well, you know…” “Yeah, we get it,” Zipp replied, “Honestly, I haven’t seen this one around here before either. Maybe it was part of Hitch’s new shipment. He spends online like crazy on Ponyzon every Wednesday.” Sunny growled. “That better may not be my money he’s taking out.” “Well, he did tell me not to let you know about-“ Izzy began. “WHAT?!” Sunny blushed in embarrassment. “Well…I understand that I wasn’t…the best pony to talk to. But at least it all turned out alright in the end, right?” “I’d say so,” Ms. Daisy replied, “And you’re lucky it did. The only reason that none of the staff are out for your blood after the madness you caused to our classes is because you hold the key to Equestria’s future. The other teachers are scared that one wrong move and you’ll take away their magic forever by separating those Crystals.” “Oooooooooonn a hopefully related note,” said Hitch awkwardly, “Zipp starts on Monday?” I agree with that,” Zipp replied, “I guess we could just hang out here until it’s time. Do I need to register, ma’am?” “Already done that for you,” Ms. Daisy told her, “My class could use a well-disciplined example like you. They’re excellent students, just…not so much respectful ones.” “Well in the meantime, I’ll just put the hay in the apple and eat the candle…” Hitch murmured before collapsing onto the ground, snoring. Sunny was trying her best to wake him up. The three ponies somehow managed to drag Hitch into the nurse’s room in the front office and lay him down onto the small bed, letting him sleep the day away. Zipp cleared her throat. “Flyers!!” All of the other students snapped to attention, all of them pointing at a pale yellow filly with a light blue mane and tail and green eyes in the middle of them. “She started it!!” Ms. Daisy facehoofed. Sunny took a deep breath. “We only have a limited time until morning. Sunshine, I need you to grab Rainbow Tails and the rest of your classmates.” Sunshine saluted her. “Aye aye, captain!” “And…what are we going to do?” Pipp asked. “Pipp, go find Zipp,” Sunny instructed her, “Izzy, Hitch, you go assist Sunshine in the gathering of the students. I’m going to clean up the field completely. I intend to teach a class!” “Oh dear.” Pipp remarked. “Zipp,” Ms. Daisy told her, “You have shown that you are ready to lead the next generation of Wonderbolts as you wanted. For that, I’d like to give you this,” She held out a Maretime Bay Elementary School badge, which Zipp accepted. “Welcome to our staff, Captain Zipp.” “Thank you, ma’am.” Zipp thanked her respectfully. As soon as she was gone, Zipp leapt up in the air, shouting and dancing with unbridled joy. “You think we should calm her down?” Hitch asked. “Let Zipp have her moment, Hitch,” Sunny advised him. “She’s more than earned this moment to be happy.” Sincerely, Hitch
Chapter 2: Izzy Time Travels And Becomes A GodIzzy Moonbow awoke in a pitch black void, fluttering her eyes open, strong winds blowing all around her. Her hooves felt like jelly as she had been laying on them for a long time. She was no longer in her bed at the Crystal Brighthouse, that much she was certain. She looked around in every which way to see where she was. As far as her eyes could see, there was nothing in sight for miles. Nonetheless, she stood up as her excitement for adventure triumphed over any rational thought. She looked out into the darkness again, watching carefully for anything that could move. Nothing did. “Hi, mysterious black abyss, my name is Izzy!! Izzy Moonbow!” Izzy called out. “It’s nice to meet you! You know, I’ve never talked to an empty void before, so this is my first time!” “Oh yes,” the voice answered back, “You may call me Discord, the Lord of Chaos! I am running a little experiment. You have been brought from your own time period to my realm to make some new friends. They’re waiting inside my house.” “You read my mind!” Izzy gasped. “Tell me, what am I thinking right now?!” “Something dumb. Ah, there we go! You’ll have to excuse Gryffin’s daily routine. Have fun now, Izzy. We shall meet again in four hours!” “Hi, new friends!” Izzy greeted them. “My name is Izzy!” They all turned to look at her. Instantly, they got out of their seats, grabbed any tools they could find as weapons, and aimed them all at her. “Stand back, intruder!” declared the Kirin, “I, Autumn Blaze, defender of the Peaks of Peril, shall defend all who are with me from you!” “Ah, just the mischievous draconequus who we released from stone, who befriended Fluttershy, and is now our best friend!” the pink pony explained. She faced Izzy. “Hiya there, Izzy Moonbow! I’m Pinkie Pie and I planned this interrogation just for you! Are you excited? I’m so excited, I’ve never been so excited, well, except for all the adventures we went on where I was like-“ She gasped, “But I mean really, who could top that?!” “Right, is that the riddle?” “No,” Gabby replied, “The riddle is this.” She inhaled for dramatic effect and stated the riddle: “109876543322+ 1233445566677789990- 4(098765543234567776655579) to the power of 2 divided by the square root of 10000000000000000070001x equals y.” “27,001!” Izzy answered. She honestly had no idea, but she assumed that was the correct answer. She just hoped she wasn’t about to be spliced in half. “CORRECT!!!” Pinkie Pie announced. “CONGRATULATIONS!! YOU WIN ONE BILLION BITS!!!!” “Wait, that was actually the answer?” Izzy couldn’t believe it. She was a genius at Math after all! All those negative things her teachers told her at school, all the F grades she got on her tests, balderdash! If she could answer that, she could answer anything. She vowed to quiz Sunny on that riddle when she got back. “I’ll tell Discord to send it over when we are done,” Pinkie Pie said, ”Now with that out of the way, LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!!!” When all was said and done, they sat on the floating couch together and talked about their lives before meeting each other. “My friends don’t understand the value of stairs,” Silverstream piped up, “But I tell them that only a true believer would understand. Gallus was all like ‘WHAT?! What are you trying to say?! Are we not true believers?!’ And I was like ‘Nope! But you can certainly learn!’ So I give them free classes in ‘Silverstreamism’ every Sunday!” “And I’m pretty sure the writer of this fanfiction just made that up for the sake of this story and you’ll never mention them again afterwards, buuuuuuut-“ Pinkie Pie said and ripped open a patch of air into another black void. “Hey you! Author! Will you bring Skystar’s new friends back in the next story featuring her?!” “I’ll think about it!” I responded. “Now go away!” “Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie Pie closed the rip in reality. “Well that clears it up! What about you, Gabby?” Izzy was flabbergasted at what she had just seen. No one could tear the very fabric of reality and talk to an author, right? And on that note, did that mean she wasn’t even real?! She knew that she would be having an existential crisis later on. “Wow that is deeeeeep,” Skystar commented, “But yeah, be yourself, Silver. At least I am with my mom 100% of the time…regardless…if she likes it…But you get the point! I like being unabashedly optimistic as it helps me deal with so many things. Don’t ever lose that part of yourself, Silverstream. I’ll be sure to tell you as much via letters.” “Before I tell you the information you seek,” Izzy stated, a mischievous smile on her face. “You must first answer the billion dollar RIDDLE!!!!!” “The billion dollar what now?” Sunny now looked completely confused. “I’ll do anything to get a definitive answer from you, Izzy. Throw it at me!” Hitch challenged her. “If you insist,” Izzy said, “The riddle iiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssssss: 109876543322+ 1233445566677789990- 4(098765543234567776655579) to the power of 2 divided by the square root of 10000000000000000070001x equals y.” “Excuse me, what?” Sunny asked. “I’m sorry, professor, I don’t know.” “Um…7?” Hitch guessed. “INCORRECT!!!! YOU LOSE!!!!” Izzy announced. “Now I will tell you the story in as many tangents as I feel like! We’re gonna be here all morning!!!” “Oh no…” Hitch moaned. “Uh, do I get another try?” Sunny inquired in a worried tone. “Nope!” “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” And that was the story of how Izzy Moonbow discovered her true purpose in life with a dream. Or…was it a dream? You see, you will never know. For I, Discord, the Master of Chaos and Disharmony, have actually been narrating this story to you the entire time and I have kept the true answer hidden for a very good reason. For if you all knew the truth… Where would the fun in that be? ——————————————————————————————————————————————— “…And so, may the ever loving grace of Chaos bless this poor unfortunate soul as she leaves behind this mortal coil and goes to meet her makers!! Today, this creature shall be sacrificed and the multiverse shall be spared the turmoils of destruction!!” “SACRIFICE!!!!! SACRIFICE!!!!! SACRIFICE!!!!! SACRIFICE!!!!! SACRIFICE!!!!! SACRIFICE!!!” “Today, we say goodbye to Autumn Blaze as my dear friend Monkey has a nice premature dinner! SAY GOODBYE, PUNK!!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!” “SACRIFICE!!!! SACRIFICE!!!! SACRIFICE!!!! SACRIFICE!!!!!!” “Excuse me, madam!” Pinkie Pie greeted cheerfully, “I’m Pinkie Pie and I’m from one of your shows! Can you please show me to the boss?” “Sure thing, Pinkie Pie…” No sooner did the words leave the receptionist’s mouth did she realize who she was talking to. Her head snapped up and she faced the pink pony with wide eyes. “PINKIE PIE?!!!” “Yes sirreee!” Pinkie Pie answered. “You see, we have an emergency in Discord’s realm and I gotta hop to the future and-“ THUNK!! The receptionist had fainted in her chair, which fell to the floor with all the files spreading out all over the place. Almost instantly, many employees rushed over in droves from the next room as fast as they could and checked her pulse. A man looked up in horror and saw Pinkie Pie, who was still standing there with a big bright smile on her face. “My name is Pinkie Pie,” Pinkie sang, “Hello! And I am here to say, ‘How ya doin?’ I’m gonna make you smile and I will brighten up your daaaaaay…It doesn’t matter-“ “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!” The man screamed and ran back into the other room, yelling for the manager to come and see the cartoon character come to life. To her credit, Pinkie really didn’t know what she had done wrong. “Shoppiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnng!!” Pipp Petals declared in a sing-song voice, earning herself a glare from her sister Zipp Storm. “What? I need to be the first one to buy the recent fashion trend! If I wear this, it’ll be a massive hit! 300k views in the first eight hours!” “Whoa!!” Hitch was shocked beyond belief. “Who are you, stranger? Haven’t seen you around in Maretime Bay before.” Instantly, Pinkie burst back to life without warning and started talking so fast that poor Hitch could not keep up. “HellothereHitchTrailblazerI’mPinkiePieandIneedtotalktoIzzyrightaway!” “Excuse me, what?” As if on cue, Izzy sprinted towards the door and gasped when she saw Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie Pie?!! How did you get here?! Have you come to see me?!! This is so exciting!!” Pinkie Pie nodded vigorously, practically bouncing up and down with a mix of impatience and excitement as she spoke,“YouneedtocomebackwithmeandanswerariddleforDiscordotherwisehewillsacrificeAutumnBlazetohispetmonkeytoappeasetheChaosGods!!” “Autumn Blaze is going to be sacrificed?!!” Izzy looked horrified. “We cannot let that happen! Bye, guys! I’m going back with Pinkie Pie, see ya!!” she told them hastily. Right as she said that, Pinkie Pie opened another portal back to Discord’s realm and both of them jumped through it before Hitch or the others could react. Zipp scratched her head in confusion. “Did…you get anything Pinkie Pie said?” Hitch shook his head. “Nope. All I know is…Izzy’s been kidnapped and I just stood here like a doofus. WHAT KIND OF SHERIFF AM I??????????!!!!!!!” “It’s time for a montage!” Pinkie Pie declared, “This calls for a READING PARTY!!!” With the flick of her hoof, a radio appeared out of thin air and planted itself on the table. Izzy put on her glasses. “Let’s do this!” “Oh yes! YES!!!” Skystar cheered, taking out Melvy and Melvin from out of nowhere to use as extra reading companions. “Aw man!” Silverstream said with exasperation, taking the paper from Gabby and throwing it aside. “We must try harder!” “And try harder we will!” Pinkie Pie agreed, “See? Now you’re getting in the spirit!! Now…TO THE NEXT CHAPTER, LADIES!!!!!” “Yes, ma’am!!” the others chimed in unison and turned the page simultaneously, ripping it off in the process. Skystar shrugged. “He’s probably got hundreds of copies.” But right as she was about to finally give up hope, she heard a familiar voice behind her, a voice that she recognized instantaneously. “Use your brain, Izzy! You can do it!” “Sunny?!” Izzy whipped around and sure enough, Sunny, Hitch, Zipp, and Pipp were all standing far into the distance next to Pinkie Pie. They were all calling out to her, encouraging her, just as she always did for them. “Trust us, Izzy! Think hard!!” Zipp called out. “Yeah!! You can answer one stinky ‘ol riddle!!” Hitch yelled. “We’re here for you, Izzy!! GO FOR IT!!” exclaimed Sunny. “Show that creature!!” Zipp shouted. “WE ARE WITH YOU, IZZY!!!” Pipp screamed. “YOU GOT THIS, IZZY!!!!” shrieked Pinkie Pie loudly, “YOU CAN DO IIIIIIIIIIT!!!!!!” “Now,” Izzy declared, “Listen up, Discord!!!! Allow me to remind you, the page in your book was blank because the Riddle was forbidden to be transcribed in any form!! A normal pony or creature would have their brains fried for just trying to decode it, BUT a pony who’s entire existence is devoted to the art of pure imagination and limitless creativity knows the art of chaos better than anypony! The answer to the Riddle is SCHOA which is Chaos mixed up!! My favorite of the made-up words.” The crowd erupted into applause as a large bell sounded on the ceiling, indicating that she had gotten the answer correct. Izzy had done it. She had solved the riddle. Discord gasped audibly. “This is…this is impossible!!!! Y-YOU C-CAN’T KNOW THE ANSWER, YOU’D HAVE TO BE A-“ “A Chaos God…” Autumn Blaze realized. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!” Discord screamed, “YOU WILL NOT TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME!!!!!!!” “INDEED SHE IS!!!!!!” She was interrupted by a loud booming voice. She looked up, but the voice wasn’t Discord’s. It was deeper and sounded more ancient. The sound reverberated across the arena like an earthquake. The ground shook beneath them as suddenly, a large portal opened right in the middle of the arena and three draconequui came flying out of it. They looked just like Discord, only they were much bigger in size and had a commanding presence to them. The leader carried a golden trident, signifying that he was their King. Discord’s mouth dropped open. “The Gods! They’re here!” DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSCCCCOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRD!!!!!!!!!!” King Ares demanded. “What is the meaning of this?!” “You’re in big trouble, young man!” Eris shouted, “You’re grounded for the rest of the year!!!” “We should probably charge him for attempted murder too.” Hades pointed out. Upon hearing this, Discord shrank down to a smaller size in terror. “Mommy…” No sooner had he said this did the three other draconequui pounce on him, hauling him up and dragging him into the air kicking and screaming like a two-year old back through the portal to the Kingdom of Chaos. The portal closed behind them, the dying screams of Discord the final thing Izzy and her two groups of friends ever heard before there was total silence. “And,” declared Pipp, grabbing out her phone, “We won’t be forgetting about this any time soon as I got the whole thing all on tape!” She went to her Photos and played the video recording. However, instead of playing the confrontation, a Rickroll was playing instead with the caption: Stole this from the humans. I’m sure they won’t mind. Gotcha! Love, Mommy “What? How? But?” Pipp was flabbergasted. “Whyyyyyyyyyy?” All of them laughed over this as the Sun slowly set behind the horizon and nighttime fell Maretime Bay. All was quiet and at peace. Or so it would seem. I mean who can really tell exactly what constitutes happily ever after, hm? Certainly I can’t. Isn’t that right? Author?!
Chapter 3: Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Foreshadowing“So…” Twilight began awkwardly, “We gonna talk about what I did, or…” “You tried to,” Novo said. “but I wouldn’t hear it. If we’re being honest, I brought the situation on myself.” “Really?” “Mhm,” Novo assured her. “My foolish pride drove you away, drove her away. I hope she’s happy at the School right now. Any updates?” Twilight lay down as well. “I’m surprised to hear you say that, but…thank you. I guess it all worked out in the end, even if I lashed out at my friends, got captured by Tempest, got my magic stolen, battled for the Staff of Sacanas, and almost died several times, all things that could’ve been avoided with the Pearl. But it still all worked out just peachy!” Novo blinked. “What?” Skystar shook her head in confusion. “All this wish washy timey wimey stuff is confusing! Well, I understand this is serious, sooooooo…I’ll be back.” She had an opportunity to help Equestria now, to save the future from a potentially even worse threat than the Storm King. She had once tried to solve her problems by running. Now she knew that wasn’t the answer. This was where she had to make her stand. “It’s okay if you don’t want to, your majesty…” Misty said, sensing the conflict within her, “It was just a suggestion…” Izzy glared at her. “We came all this way, Misty.” After much pondering, Novo finally took a deep breath. “Like it or not, you ponies still are close allies of Hippogriffia and I would be doing a disservice to your future if I did not help. I will not run from my problems as I did years ago.” Izzy immediately perked up upon hearing this. “So you’ll actually help us?!” Novo nodded. “Yes, I will. I shall carry your message through our family for generations to come until the time comes for our successor to officially reveal it to the rest of the kingdom. It’s time we stand and fight together as we used to. It’s time we stand as allies, as friends, as neighbors. Whatever your future has become and wherever we are, there are ponies like you carrying on the legacy of your ancestors, which is enough to get us involved as well. Let your final stand be one of victory, not of defeat. And when you come here once more, years from now, you girls let our successor know that QUEEN NOVO AND PRINCESS SKYSTAR GIVE THEIR OFFICIAL APPROVAL TO FIGHT!!!!” As she began to lay down and fall asleep, a guard swam into the throne room faster than a rocket, seemingly with urgent news. “Your majesty,” the guard spoke. “Our scouts are detecting an unidentified flying aircraft in the sky. It’s headed right towards us. What should we do?” Skygrace stood up. “Send out all of our military and army personnel to meet them.” “Pardon, my grace?” “You heard what I said.” “But why? They carry no weapons.” “That’s just it,” Skygrace said fearfully, “This is the prophecy my mother warned me about. It’s coming true. Send out all army personnel. It’s those ponies…they’re here.” “It’s time we make our stand together!” Izzy declared. “Today is a privilege to call our own, a story that will be told for a thousand years!! Let our final stand be recorded to the histories!! And let it be shown THAT WE CHOSE TO DIE AS COMRADES IN BATTLE RATHER THAN AS SLAVES TO TYRANNY!!!!!” The hippogriff soldiers all cheered in unison, applauding in one massive standing ovation, and Skygrace gave a small bow of respect to the two ponies before turning towards her army. “You heard them!! MOVE OUT!! I shall follow you all!!” The hippogriffs all shouted battle cries and took to the skies, their powerful wings beating against the storm that threatened their lives. The soldiers didn’t care about death, however. Their lives were made on the field of battle. Their legacies would be one of victory and comradeship, not defeat and cowardice. Lightning struck the ground and thunder sounded across the sky as Izzy and Misty got back into the Marestream, which took off into the sky. It was the symbol of harmony, the symbol of friendship, the triumph of light against darkness, and the beacon that signaled the fulfillment of the ages-old prophecy. Finally, Skygrace took flight after her soldiers, but not before whispering one last prayer into the heavens as her future became one of uncertainty. “This is for you, Mother…” The scene shifted once more and Misty found herself in a throne room painted in gray and blue. Stained glass windows detailing heroic deeds adorned the walls. At the end of the walkway was none other than Princess Twilight Sparkle speaking into the Unity Crystals. “If you're seeing this,” Twilight spoke gravely, “Magic is now more powerful than it's ever been,and Earth pony magic has been activated for the first time in the history of Equestria. Magic is alive. Always changing, growing stronger. There are evil forces out there who will want to exploit it. Once, a pony tried to steal all the magic in Equestria for herself. She tried to drive the ponies apart and almost succeeded. Equestria was in danger and I did all that I could to protect it from her evil schemes by summoning all of my magical strength to achieve placing the magic in the crystals and the Magic of Friendship was protected for generations. But the spell is broken. You are exposed to the world once again. You must watch out for Opaline before she regains her lost power and attacks Equestria again. Please do not fear, my little ponies. I’m with you.” Star held up his wife’s chin. “I know one thing. Wherever we go, this family is our fortress. She will be okay, Moon. She’ll grow up big and strong. She will…she will save Equestria and make us all proud. It won’t matter if she doesn’t know us. She’ll carry us within her wherever she goes. She’ll carry you inside her. We have to run.” “FACE IT, MISTY!!!” Opaline yelled, “You can’t get other ponies to accept me anymore than you can get them to accept you!!” She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. “I know my place, my destiny, unlike you. I was meant to rule everything. Twilight may have not been able to teach me friendship, but she did teach me power!!!! And I must look towards the future and claim it. She couldn’t be proud of me in life…” She smiled. “But perhaps in death…” “What were you doing?” “Drawing up battle plans,” Hitch replied, “That’s in fact the fifth draft I’ve created last night. Perhaps you could help me, I mean, you know the place better than I do.” “Oh great…” Misty’s heart sank to the bottom of the ocean at the thought of returning to Opaline’s castle. The idea terrified her and the prospect of facing her former mistress scared her even further. If she was able to reform her though… Yet her ominous vision of his death still plagued her mind. Why did she dream about that of all things? What was the secret distress signal that Izzy had sent out to that underwater kingdom? Was it about Opaline? Was Sparky even still alive?! And what even were the Umbrum, those shadow creatures that Opaline was summoning?! Nothing made sense. “So…” Izzy said, blushing momentarily from embarrassment. “Do you know where Sunny and Hitch are at?” “They’re probably in the town square.” Misty replied. “Sunny is giving another one of her speeches to the town.” “Huh,” Izzy looked puzzled. “I must’ve been in my room longer than expected.” She shrugged. “Oh well! You and I can hang ‘till they get back. Wanna hear about the time I stopped an evil draconequus from sacrificing one of my multiverse friends to the Chaos Gods?” Misty laughed. “Sure.” ——————————————————————————————————————————————— Meanwhile, Misty and Izzy were in their bedroom, talking and laughing together. By now, their friendship had fully been mended with the former promising to be honest about everything from now on. Izzy was telling Misty about the time she first met her friends in Discord’s dimension. “Wait wait wait,” Misty interrupted her, “So one of your friends likes stairs. And plumbing. And another one of them likes to collect seashells.” Izzy nodded enthusiastically. “Silverstream’s obsessed with stairs and she knows all about how to fix anything water related! She told me how one time in the School of Friendship, one of the toilets in the students’ dormitories broke down and she was able to fix it in just 5 minutes! Also, Skystar has two seashells as her best friends.” “Sounds…kinda mundane, no offense.” “Maybe it is,” Izzy shrugged, “But who am I to judge someone else’s passion? She finds such enjoyment in it that none of us ever question a thing. And she’s not the only one with quirks like me. I’ll tell you about the time Autumn Blaze put on an entire play for her village!” “No no, it’s alright,” Skystar assured her, “I’m happy to see you. I assume Pinkie Pie sent you through one of her fourth wall portals. I can tell something’s wrong though. What is it? You know you can tell me.” Izzy sighed deeply, staring at her friend directly in the eyes. “I assume you haven’t heard. We have a crisis back in Maretime Bay. I’ve already warned the others.” “Discord?” Izzy shook her head. “No. Not Discord. It’s somepony far worse. I need to see your mother now. But first…Skystar, we should talk.”
Chapter 4: A Pointless and Unoriginal Sequel Tease“Alright! Alright!!” Applejack declared, banging her hooves on the ground as hard as she could in order to get her friends’ attention. “I hereby call this final meetin’ of the Council of Friendship to order!!” Judging by the orange pony’s exasperated look on this particular day, there was not much progress made on the matter. The Mane Five met in a circle as they always did, but it was clear that they were not prepared to be called so suddenly. Rainbow Dash was still in her Wonderbolt uniform, Fluttershy could barely stay awake, and Rarity sported a ripped dress that she would not normally wear to any meeting. The only pony who seemed normal enough was Pinkie Pie, who was still her eager and excitable self, despite motherly duties taking up most of her time and energy. “So what’s the progress, Applejack?” Rainbow inquired. “I hope you’ve gotten somewhere. I haven’t seen her visit Ponyville in ages. You told me she was coming to the Wonderbolts show yesterday and I had them prepare for absolutely nothing!! Let me tell you, Firestorm was absolutely pissed.” Rarity huffed. “You think you have problems, darling?! Who is she to tell me that I need to pay for ALL of my boutiques all of a sudden!! I don’t know what’s gotten into Twilight, but this needs to stop this INSTANT!!” “And I suddenly have to pay taxes for Little Cheese’s very existence?” Pinkie Pie asked. “I’m pretty sure it’s part of the new bill, but Mayor Fern already said she was gonna pay insurance.” She cocked her head in confusion. “I didn’t know existence was a crime.” Applejack groaned. “Look. I did my best to talk to her, but she can get very nippy when prodded!! Today, I ended up goin’ a little too far. Girls…” She gulped. “We’ve been dissolved.” “Wait WHAT?!!” Rainbow Dash demanded, enraged. Fluttershy fainted. Rarity’s mouth dropped open in absolute horror as the reality of the news dawned on her. She had been fired. “Dissolved into a million pieces?” Pinkie asked. “That can’t be true, I’m still whole.” “On the contrary…” Rainbow Dash was seething. “You weren’t harsh enough. Do you understand how PAINFUL taxes can be?! I already got laid with like a thousand bills for cadet uniforms. What’s next?! Taxes for actually being a Wonderbolt?!” “I say we start a revolution!!!” Rarity shouted. “NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!!!!!!!!” Inkwell paused, turning back towards them with a look of unease. “Would you…rather test the students formally like you did before? I’d hate for you all to see the state of the auditorium after the rather…chaotic school dance last night.” “Oh it’s no problem, darling!” Rarity answered. “Believe me, you haven’t seen anything yet. We’ve dealt with so much worse at the School of Friendship during that time we were helping Yona fit in.” “Aw yeah!” Rainbow Dash added. “The whole ballroom was wrecked! A little mess won’t phase us in the slightest!” Inkwell smiled. “Well if you insist…I’ll take you five to the office, so I can make the announcement. Come come!! This is so exciting!!”
