Tired, moody, and up to our manes with worry, we had arrived back at the brighthouse in the middle of the night after trotting non-stop though the dense forest that blanketed the slope of the Zephyr Range all the way to our shared home. Our flight magic had only returned by the time we could glimpse Maretime Bay in the distance, peeking shyly over the looming stretch of the Horseshoe Bay.

Needless to say that our legs were practically jelly by the time we dragged our sorry hides into town. We had crossed it in silence, far from being in the mood of answering the concerned population’s inquiries about the glitches in magic. Together, we made a collective effort up the hill where the brighthouse stood and, not wasting a moment, slipped our way into bed without any shame or decorum.

Hitch decided to crash on the living room couch, already snoring placidly before any of us could offer a spot in our shared abodes. I’m sure Alex wouldn’t have minded if Hitch had elected to use his bed either, but the poor sheriff was so pooped I don’t think he really cared where he crashed his tired body. Izzy, Pipp, Sunny and myself just stumbled drukendly onto our beds, all of us pretty much dozing off immediately with half-meant groans as our goodnight wishes.

Morning came far too quickly, and as the early-morning sun beamed its light through the brighthouse’s windows to assault my eyelids, I groggily got up and shuffled my wings against the clinging sheets. Everypony else was sleeping. They needed their rest, so I decided not to bother them and lazily trotted my way down from the shared bedroom, barely able to get my tired mind to motion my legs without getting them in a tangle.

“Uuuuugh, this almost makes me miss my royal etiquette lessons…”

You can imagine how exhausted we were if you heard me saying that.

Hitch was still slumbering when I caught him in the living room, his soft snores mixing with the doggy breathing of Cloudpuff, who was snuggling up against the sheriff’s tummy.

‘Awww, he looks adorable.’

I don’t know where that came from. I coined it to my exhaustion. With a silent chuckle, I left the earth pony to his R&R and made my way to the kitchen to fix myself some breakfast. A bowl of cereal and a piece of fruit would keep me fueled for the moment. I had to admit, homemade breakfasts like this were far better than the high cuisine slop the royal chefs would prepare for us every day, as much as my sister would disagree with that assertion.

The sound of hoofs on the marble floor brought me out of my silent munching. It was the rest of the girls, looking as drained as I’m sure I was, sharing a chorus of contagious yawns and wearing serious cases of bedmane between them, especially Izzy. I could barely discern her muzzle and lavender eyes amongst all that tangled hair.

“Mmmmmg… morning, Zipp…” A drowsy Sunny greeted me with a tired smile.

I wished good morning to all my friends and continued with my breakfast, the rest beginning to prepare theirs. I slowed down my eating and waited for them to join me, seemed the polite thing to do. Also, having breakfast with my best friends and family after a very long and tiring adventure caused a warm feeling to fill my chest, a sense of homely tranquility I had only experienced as a filly with my mom and sister. It was something I always wanted to do, away from royal business and false smiles and boring conversations and yada yada yada...

Although there wasn’t much conversation happening between us either. Understandable, since we were all going on autopilot over our breakfast while waiting for our brains to boot up. The ruckus of clattering dishes and silverware managed to wake up Hitch, who trotted his way into the kitchen to join us with Cloudpuff still slumbering, riding his back in his sleepy mutterings. Offering his good mornings, he searched for an empty cup and began fixing himself some coffee.

We continued eating our breakfast without sharing much, with Pipp unable to resist the need to fuss over Izzy’s mane, trying to bring some semblance of order back to it. Once we were done and the dishes were cleaned, we decided to move to the living room and begin planning our next move.

With our affairs in the kitchen over, and all of us now feeling more awake, we sat on the big couch, or at least my friends did. I couldn’t help but nervously trot back and forth in front of them, my nerves riding me on edge.

Sunny was the first to speak, putting voice to our main problem. “How are we going to stop Discord in time if we don’t have any clue where he could be?”

“I could ask my Pippsqueaks if they’ve seen him.” Pipp offered, shaking her phone in emphasis. “I got eyes virtually anywhere.”

My sister’s proposition was risky. “We don’t want to panic everypony, Pipp. There’s got to be a better way.”

“… Did you manage to contact Alex, Pipp?” Our sole unicorn asked with a hint of worry.

Pipp had bad news to offer, however. “Sorry, Izzy, either his phone died or he’s out of signal. I only got back the voice mailbox, which is still mine, by the way, I need to remind him he needs to change it.”

My unicorn friend's ears dropped in disappointment. Since our separation in Canterlot, we had received no news of him. Almost days had passed, and in the eyes of our friends, I could see the growing concern for his well being.

“He asked us to trust him, and that's what we're going to do.” Ever-hopeful Sunny laid it plain and simple. “I'm sure he's already on his way back to us. For now, we should focus on finding the Pegasus Crystal, any other ideas?” Sunny addressed the group, receiving negative answers from us.

A spark of inspiration, however, shone over Izzy’s horn. “Weeeell, Discord’s sparkle was totally glitterific, like a super shiny rainbow, even if he ended up being a meane.”

I released a pensive hum at Izzy's comment. "....You might be into something Izzy, maybe we can try to..."

An unwelcome buzz from under my wing interrupted me. Somepony was calling me. I extracted my phone from my wing holster and looked at the screen. The radiant face of my mom offering her best smile dominated the outer screen of my phone.

‘Ugh, I don’t want to deal with this right now.’

I flipped my phone open, automatically answering the call. “Mom?”

*Zipp, sweetheart, where are you? It’s time for me to leave.*

“Leave?”

*For the first Unity Summit. The leaders from the other towns have asked for an emergency meeting regarding the raising problems with magic. I need you to come back to Zephyr Heights and take over while I’m gone. Also, you should bring Cloudpuff with you, he has missed several of his royal treatments while he’s been with you. I’m sure he’s itching for a good paw massage.*

I couldn’t believe what my mom was asking of me, at this moment of all times. “Ugh, Mom! We have bigger things to worry about!”

*Bigger than my darling daughter learning how to act like the QUEEN she will be one day, and my darling Cloudpuff getting his royal treatment? I HIGHLY doubt it, my dear. I’ll see you soon, toodles!*

She hung up before I could put in any protest, leaving me blinking owlishly like an idiot. With a dejected groan, I returned the phone back to its holster. My friends, needing only to hear half the conversation to make out what was going on, gave me sympathetic looks from their seated positions.

“So much for investigating. My mom is putting me on royal duties until she returns. Ugh, I want to help you ponies sleuth this out, not sit still on the sidelines in the palace and pander to a spoiled pooch!”

Thank hoofness Cloudpuff was still passed out, else I would’ve gotten a nasty nip for my efforts. Sunny rose from her seat and gave me a sympathetic nuzzle. “That’s okay, Zipp. You can look for leads in Zephyr Height while we hold down the fort here. We can start asking around Maretime Bay while you’re gone.”

“… I really don’t want to, Sunny…”

“I know…” She placed her hoof on my back and gently rubbed it. “But it’s your mom who’s asking. We all have responsibilities, Zipp, you included.”

I knew she was right. That mare had a knack of being right, it was annoying at times. With my most theatrical sigh, I yielded. “Yeah, Sunny, I know.” I looked around and found Cloudpuff lazily snoring in front of the window, allowing the sun's morning rays to warm him up.

“Come on Cloudpuff, it’s time to return home for your precious ‘paw massages.’ It’s not like we’re at risk of losing magic forever, or anything…”

With a whine of protest and a deaf ear to my sarcasm, I grabbed the winged dog and secured him between my forelegs. I said my goodbyes to my friends and wished them good luck with the hunt. We all would need it.

No further ceremonies needed, I zoomed out of the brighthouse and set course for my home.

‘Ugggh, sometimes I wish I was the younger sister. Maybe then I’d have it easier that way…’

‘You know? I think I should start doing like Twilight recommended and make checklists for absolutely everything. It’s starting to get a bit too much to keep track of everything on my mind.’

I wasn't gonna spend the night shivering at the Map Room. I believed I deserved the closest thing to actual accommodations a ruined castle can offer. After recovering my sword and discovering the claw mark on the map, another mystery to note down for the future, I decided to return to my old room and promptly break my brain trying to make sense of it, without success of course.

Again, not wanting to wander the forest during nighttime and stumble face-first with a nasty creature, I was forced to spend another night inside the abandoned castle. This time, the temperature dropped considerably during the night, forcing me to use smelly, old clothes and blankets to stay warm. It wasn’t a pleasant experience.

Muscles tired of shaking and increasingly feeling a coldness growing inside me, I was woken from my ruinous sleep by the morning sun force-feeding its bothersome rays on my face. I felt like crap, having eaten nothing the previous day, and it looked like I wasn’t going to get much to munch on that day either if I wanted to return as soon as possible to Maretime Bay. Some berries on the road if I was lucky.

Perhaps there were more things worth checking amongst the ruins, but at that moment, I felt like I had done enough for the time being. The ruins weren’t going anywhere, so if I ever needed to return, they were only a couple of days' travel away. That’s the reasoning I tried to convince myself with, but the truth was that I couldn't bare to continue seeing them, the place I once called home a sorry mess of crumbled buildings and damp, semi-buried landmarks which once stood out as the beacon of friendship in all of Equestria.

I didn't want to remember it like this.

On my way out of the castle, I pointedly ignored Ponyville’s leftovers while continuing trying to make sense of recent events and bring some order to my stormy thoughts. There were many questions left unanswered, but I had to focus on the current issue.

‘Pegasus Crystal first, Alex. There’ll be plenty of time to melt your brain working over things later.’

I stepped into the grassy fields around the castle and turned around to give it one last look. The morning shine reflected all over its structure, creating a wonderful myriad of colors whose magnificence not even time could erase. If I ever got strong enough, unlikely, but a man can dream; I wanted to use my magic and try to rebuild it, even if only for its historical importance. It would be a shame to allow the earth to eventually reclaim it, but that’s what happens with everything, I guessed. Eventually, you end up back where you came from, and are forgotten by those who remain.

‘I’m not going to allow that. There’s so much history, so much knowledge, and so many ponies worth remembering.’

With a piercing pain in my heart, I forced myself to turn around and began heading back into the surrounding woods, taking a moment to orient myself towards the east following the course of the river.I checked one last time that I was carrying everything I needed. My bag had gained considerable weight with everything I was carrying, and that added to the weight of the sword really made a difference in my endurance.

‘Come on Alex, just another day of arduous trekking and you’ll be back home. I want to show the gang what I’ve found. I’m sure Sunny will be ecstatic with my findings… I’ll have to speak to them about the vision… heh, they were the chosen ones after all. I need to trust my gut feeling more.’

“Excuse me, sir. Have you seen anything weird happen lately? Or somecreature that looked something like this?”

For the hundredth time, I asked a resident pegasus for any leads regarding Discord’s location, and for the hundredth time, I was answered with an apologetic shake of their heads.

“Sorry Princess, I haven’t seen anything like that around here. Is everything alright?”

I sighed, feeling my flawless strategy cutting no ice. “Yeah, don’t worry about it, just an investigation I’m currently conducting. Thanks for the help.”

I wished the orange-furred stallion a good morning and continued my prowling on the streets, tucking the rough drawing of Discord under my wing and heading for another target to question. After arriving at the palace, I found my mom still finishing getting ready for the summit. After a warm greeting to her daughter, she proceeded to list aaaall the necessities Cloudpuff needed and that I had to take care of, a diatribe that lasted no less than thirty minutes.

Thirty. Minutes. That dog has it good, the motherbucker.

Of course, I had neither the desire nor the time to take care of all that nonsense, so after a quick bit of improvisation, I’d managed to escape after leaving him with his favorite toy and asking the palace workers to keep an eye on him while I was out.

And that left me here, in the middle of the lower commercial district, stopping passersby to ask them if they had seen anything that might be related to the draconequus or his whereabouts.

‘How do you find a rogue draconequus with no leads without alarming the population?’

I felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere, the two or so hours I had been into it landing no clues in my empty repertoire. Equestria is huge, and it would be stupid for him to hide in the middle of a densely populated city like this one, with thousands of cameras potentially spotting him on every corner. Did he even know what a camera is? Did they have those back then?

On the other hoof, it’s not like I could do anything more than this if I wanted to keep the alarm bells from ringing, at least until my mom returned.

I kept my canter down the main road, boringly playing eenie meenie miney moe to choose my next victim. My vision suddenly darted when I caught sight of a weird-looking tail in the corner of my eye. A very familiar-looking tail just disspearing through an alley on the other side of the street.

“AHA!! You! Stop right there!”

I sped through the mass of nearby ponies and gave chase to what I thought was an over-confident draconequus sunning his sorry hide for me to find, only to stumble with a green-furred pegasus wearing a strange… dragon costume, I think? And looking at me like I had caught her doing something illegal, which I wasn't completely sure if it was indeed the case or not, if I’m being honest.

“Uh, Princess?”

“Horsefeathers! Of course he’s not here.” I stomped angrily on the ground, only scaring the poor pegasus in front of me further.

‘Well, I shouldn’t waste this chance, at least.’

I parked my frustration focused my attention on the pony in the alley. “Have you seen anything… extra-weird lately?”

The mare shook her head with deer-in-the-spotlight eyes.

“Okay, thanks… what’s with the costume, anyway?” I couldn't help but wonder.

“Oh, um…” The mare seemed a bit embarrassed by my question. “I was just on my way to roleplay some O&O with my friends, and costumes help me to get into character…”

Twice I blinked, I decided to leave it there. “Uuuh, okay? Have fun, I guess.” I shot to the skies once again in a futile attempt to get a glimpse of a clue that would point me in the right direction.

“Come on, weird chaos magic, where are you…”

Things popping in and out of existence should be easy to spot, right? Well, I spent the rest of the day asking ponies all around the city, and not a single one of them knew anything about a weird creature or random magic happening and making a mess of things. A few of them did ask me about the weird glitches they had been experiencing when flying. My mom had at least had the foresight to issue a no-fly-zone decree to avoid ponies suddenly losing their flight and falling down the mountain.

I tried to reassure them that we were already investigating the issue and it wouldn’t be long before it was solved. All that was left was to hurry and keep my word.

After a few, exhausting laps around the city, I decided to rest for a bit and grab something to eat, stretching my aching wings as I landed. I chose one of my favorite restaurants. Your local, simple junk food place which my sister always had the snout to label as ‘unhealthy’ and ‘flank-enlarging,’ but I preferred it over the high cuisine meals served in the castle.

I swear, sometimes I felt like I had to use a magnifying glass to find the food under all that pointless decoration. That’s the actual reason I’m so good with the magnifying glass, believe it or not.

I was munching leisurely on a loaded carrot dog with as much dipping and sauces as I could fit when I heard two familiar voices calling to me from around the table.

“Hey there, Princess! Long time no see. Is everything fine? You look really bummed.”

It was Zoom Zephyrwing, and her partner Thunder Flap nervously waving behind her. They were both wearing their royal guard armor and were carrying retractable spears under their wings, all standard guard equipment. They weren't even that pointy.

“Hey there, guys… everything’s fine, it’s just… it’s been a long day.” I replied, with a tired wave.

“Ouch, that sounds harsh. We saw you zooming around the town a couple of times. You looked like you were in a hurry or something.” The guardmare replied in sympathy.

I gave the pair an accusatory glare. “Did Mom ask you to follow me, because I swear, I’ll…”

“Oh no no, nothing like that.” Zoom waved her forelegs and wings in a flurry of limbs. “We just saw you during our rounds and found it a little strange, that’s all.”

“We’re worried about you, Princess. With the magic glitching and all it’s been rough for us in the city, we just wanted to check on you” Thunder spoke with a concerned tone.

“Thanks, guys. I’m actually working on the glitching magic problem. I didn’t have any luck today, so I’ll continue tomorrow until Mom returns. After that, I’m heading back to Maretime Bay. My friends really need my help there.”

“Well,” Zoom gave me a sympathetic pat on my back, “If you need OUR help, Princess, all you have to do is ask.” She offered with a wink.

“I will, just… keep an eye open for any sort of weird magic or strange creatures showing up. If you see anything similar to this drawing, come find me immediately.” I showed them Discord’s drawing, the guards tilting their heads in confusion at the sight of it.

“Uuuum, sure thing Princess, we’ll keep both eyes open.” Thunder spoke after a few moments of looking at the drawing, committing it to memory.

The pair returned to their duties with a parting wave after a bit of catching up. I knew I could trust those two fetlockheads. A few minutes later, I had finished my late lunch and decided to do one last lap around the city before calling it a day. I could use some of that royal treatment myself, perks of being a princess, go cry somewhere else.

No luck came to brighten my day, not a single sight of weird magic or strange creatures prowling around the city. I asked my mom’s guards to keep an eye open during their rounds, just in case.

With my wings burning from exhaustion, I dropped in my room’s balcony, ready to call it a day. There was some stuff I still had to deal with before punching out. Without any enthusiasm, I filled out some paperwork my mom asked me to take care of before leaving and, feeling too drained to have dinner or head down the spa, I simply grabbed an apple and trotted to my room, my hooves scraping against the marble floor.

One of the castle’s chefs rushed towards me, a plate of dog food on her hooves. She reminded me that I had to give Cloudpuff his dinner, else the queen would be ‘displeased’.

I gave her the most tired expression I could master, the mare returning a sympathetic smile at my sorry state. With a long sigh, I grabbed the plate and thanked her.

“This is impossible, Cloudpuff. We just got our magic back. I don’t want to lose it all over again!” I complained to my pet dog, knowing well I'd receive no answer from him, but at least I could vent to somepony who wouldn't give me the standard ‘yes, Princess’ and little else.

Once back in my room, I glanced towards Cloudpuff’s bed, a lump under the sheets indicating to me that perhaps he was already asleep.

“I guess it doesn’t matter to you.” I left the plate with his dinner near the bed, hoping the smell would rouse him up. “You’ll always be spoiled, magic or not.”

With the last chore of the day done, I could finally get some much-needed rest. With a muzzle-splitting yawn, I half-heartedly wished Cloudpuff good night and flew straight to bed. Barely a second after getting under the blankets I was out like a light.

“FINALLY!! For Faust’s sake, I fucking hate fieldwork.”

After running nonstop for the better part of the day, I finally caught sight of the shimmering brighthouse at the top of the bay, the bustling town of Maretime Bay resting placidly under it, with its residents toiling around while enjoying a wonderful summer afternoon, taking a swim on the beach or just laying around having a drink with their friends. It seemed they had completely forgotten about recent events when, you know, magic started glitching and many ponies almost got injured.

At least it was better than mass panicking, I’d take it.

I finished running down the rest of the hill and entered the town proper, the nearby ponies welcoming me back, a few of them asking where I had been these past days. Warned by their concern but urgency biting my ankles, I wasn't feeling like stopping and retelling the whole story, I simply told them I had unexpected business out of town and that we were already working on fixing the magic glitching.

“Are you sure everything is under control? It's been a real bummer not being able to fly these past few days. I don’t trust my magic to hold while in the air, so I try to remain grounded for the time being, but now my wings are really itching for some exercise.” The pegasus mare trotting besides me whined, casting a sad glance at her tucked wings.

“We’re trying as hard as we can, Windy. Rest assured we will get to the bottom of this. If you want to stretch your wings for a bit go ahead, just stay low to the ground or do it above the sea, it will do you good and help you relax a little bit.” I reassured the light pink furred pegasus with a gentle scratch behind her ears.

She quickly melted at my touch. “Mmmmmkay. I’ll fly a few flaps around the coast. Thanks, Alex, it’s a relief to know you guys are taking charge.”

“You’re very welcome, Windy. How’s the fear of daisies going? Any progress?”

“Oh, hehe…” She blushed in embarrassment. “It’s going better. The other day I had a daffodil and daisy sandwich, and I didn’t freak out… much.”

I chuckled at her answer. It was an uncommon fear for a pony to have. I was happy she had been making progress. “Come on, you go and stretch your wings for a bit before it gets darker. Magic’s working right now.” I encouraged her, charging and feeling a bit of magic from my gauntlets to check if the magic was indeed working.

With a thankful nod, she stretched her wings and flew up in the air, making a few loops around the plaza before heading to the beach, a bright smile adorning her features. I couldn't help a pang of envy.

‘One day I’m going to figure out how to do that. I need to try it, at least once.’

Leaving the happy pegasus behind, I continued walking through the main plaza, located halfway through the main street on the second level of the town. I started humming a little song from home, looking left and right and making sure everything was in order, relieved to see nopony seemed injured and how there wasn’t any kind of damage to the town either.

Just as I was about to leave the plaza and begin my path uphill, the smell of cooking, greasy junk food assaulted my nostrils. I cracked my neck as I looked to my right, the glorious sight of what was undoubtedly Hayburger’s great-great-great-great-grandson filled my view. Oddly enough, it shared the same name.

‘Fuck yeah. Not even the world ending can beat the Hayburger.’

My mind emptying of any further plans, I quickly crossed the road, nudging passerby aside with little care, and pushed the double doors open, a bit too aggressively if the startled squeaks from the customers were any clue. I couldn’t have cared less.

I walked towards the counter and gave the poor cashier what I’m sure was a perturbingly hungry look.

“You!” I pointed at the now trembling earth pony.

The uniformed stallion returned a decidedly hesitant “M-me?”

“Yes, you!” I affirmed, “What’s your name?”

“I-I’m Fritter B-Bomb, sir.”

“Listen to me very carefully, Fritter. I’ve been wandering through forests, running through abandoned ruins, and have been dealing with a mad demigod for the last few days, with only a handful of berries as sustenance. It’s been a tiresome, traumatic, and draining experience. I need the greasiest, most life-shortening, cardiac-arresting hayburger you can cook up in the next five minutes, understood?!”

The stallion answered with a nervous nod and a girlish squeak. With a parting thank you, I left a handful of bits on the counter and moved towards the other side to wait for my order. It wasn’t my intention to scare him or anything like that, but I swear, at that precise moment, I was willing to kill for a burger, which I made sure to convey with my predatory gaze when the same guy hoofed me my desired prize.

Without any trace of decorum, I began devouring my meal as I made my way out of the establishment, the customers once again looking at me with perturbed expressions at my way of tearing apart the burger. A few of them had shied away a bit nervous at the sight of my canines during some of my outside lunch breaks to my dismay, but I could understand the looks I was receiving now. It didn’t get me to stop, though, it was just too good.

Discarding the paper wrapper in a nearby trash can, I resumed my way up the town towards the brighthouse, enjoying the salty seaside breeze I had begun to cherish during my short time here. A concerned frown made its way up my face at the sight of my new home, more precisely the absence of the Prisbeam rainbow on its top. I still wasn’t sure what its true purpose was, as it seemed magic could still somewhat function without it. As far as I knew, it was just a manifestation of the magic flowing once again through the land, or perhaps another thing. That kind of magic never worked on a straight line, let me tell you.

On the last trek up the hill, I stumbled with the resting form of my friend Sunny, who seemed to be taking a recovering nap under the shade of a nearby tree facing the cliffside. Knowing she would be thrilled to see me back, I carefully made my way to her, not wanting to disturb her in case she was indeed sleeping and not simply resting her eyes.

Seeing her like this reminded me of the first time I saw her, when I broke into her house and gave her the scare of her life. In retrospect, it was kind of a foolish plan, but I really wanted to be done with it as fast as I could without making a fuss. The spell matrix was still codified in my gem, but after two failed attempts, I knew better than to try again… with that same approach, anyway.

I silently lowered myself, sitting cross-legged next to her left side. She was laying on her stomach, back legs stretched and forelegs holding her head, her gentle breathing telling me she was indeed asleep. I drank in her placid features. I had known it the first time I saw her, and once again I was reminded of it. She was beautiful, very beautiful. It had taken me some time after my arrival in Equestria to actually start regarding the ponies as something more than cute and fluffy, even if nowadays I still think they all are, to some degree. It was that fact that made me value their personalities over their gross appearance, the true insides of a pony more than their façades. In that regard, she was a true ray of sunshine, the kind of pony we desperately needed during the fall.

I couldn’t help myself and began petting her orange fur, going up from her generous flank to her withers and down again, making her subconsciously shudder in bliss, a cute smile appearing on her muzzle. I continued gently rubbing her fur, her presence soothing my confused mind, and allowed myself to just relax and peer down at the gentle waves that rolled over the sea.

“OOOFF!!!”

Oh ho, now that was a tumble! I struggled to hold my laugh at the sight of my friend falling on his face after failing to grasp the fake wall in front of us.

“Hehe, perspective! From pony’s height, it looks like a solid wall, but for a critter like Cloudpuff, it's as clear as day.”

Yeah, easy in retrospective, not so much after getting the tumble.

After finding out Cloudpuff had disappeared during the night when I woke up (that pooch’s gonna be the end of me, I swear) I called on Hitch to help me find him before my mom returned. It seemed the smartest move to make after my short panic attack, his sharp mind and knack for critters made him the obvious choice. A rushed phone call and a pegasus-drawn carriage trip later, he arrived in Zephyr Heights to help me with the search, initiating a full day of traveling all over the city and visiting numerous establishments, only to be pointed at a remote cave near the city limits, courtesy of Hitch’s loving critters.

Who knew my little Pomeranian knew so many ponies. That dog had a secret life he hadn't told us about.

“Yeah, I definitely knew that.” The sheriff muttered undignified after regaining his step, rubbing his throbbing head with his hoof. “So, where is…”

“Hitch, look.”

My interruption came at the sight of a gorgeous underground waterfall that fed into a nearby stream. And near said stream, laid Cloudpuff, peacefully resting over a blanket and with two cucumber slices over his eyes. It’d be a breathtaking sight hadn't it been for the abused image of my dog having a single-pony outing on such a remote location.

“Cloupuff!” I rushed towards the Pomeranian, my call waking him up. “What are you doing here? How long have you known about this place?”

I was completely speechless. Not once had I heard about or seen this cave during my numerous trips around Zephyr Peaks.

At the sight of me, Cloudpuff released an undignified ‘hmph’ and turned to look the other way. I slowly made my way to his side and sat on my hindquarters beside him. I knew what the issue with him was.

“I’m sorry I didn’t take very good care of you, Cloudpuff. I promise I’ll do better next time… Mom will be home soon and she’s going to be worried if we aren't there. Come with us, please?”

After a few seconds, the smile returned to his tiny muzzle, and with a happy bark, he launched himself into my open hooves, finally allowing me to release the accumulated nerves with a relieved sigh.

‘Now it’s back home to deal with mom, and then back to Maretime Bay. There’s much work to be done.’

The sun had begun setting behind the Zephyr Range when I felt her starting to stir up. It seemed my ear scratches were too good to miss. She gave a big yawn and, a few stretches later, she raised her head, sleepily looking for the origin of the nice feeling on her head.

It took her a few seconds to recognize me, her aqua-green eyes doubling in size the moment her brain woke up enough to understand what was in front of her.

“…. ALEX!!”

“SUNNY!”

As if a pair of springs had grown over her hind legs, Sunny jumped up and pounced on my outstretched arms, both of us falling back to the ground in a fit of giggles. She didn't waste a second and began nuzzling me vigorously as she hugged me with all her legs, her tail wagging in excitement against my legs.

“Hahaha! O-Okay Sunny, I’m okay! Sto-op, it ticklehahaha!”

She ignored me and continued with her affectionate assault. I didn't expect her to miss me so much, but I wasn't going to protest either.

After a few more vigorous nuzzles, she pulled back and gave me a look full of both relief and concern.

“You’re okay! Oh, thank hoofness you’re okay!”

“Well of course I’m okay Sunny. I told you everything was going to be fine.” I reassured her with a few scratches under her chin.

“I-It’s just… it’s been a couple of days and, and you weren’t answering your phone and the timberwolves andDiscordontheloosewehadbeguntothink…”

“Sunny.” I stopped her ranting with my hand gently grasping her muzzle, brushing a thumb over the peach-fuzz lining it. “I’m okay, I promise. Everything went fine, no big scares or any danger these last few days…”

‘For the most part, that is.’ I inwardly winced.

“... The only thing I can assure you of is that I’m completely exhausted, more mentally than physically. I had half a mind to join you when I found you napping here, but then I would have spent the whole night awake, so…”

I tried to stand up, but she blocked my movement, pinning me down with her forelegs and snuggling up my chest. She had another idea in mind. “Then we can stay here and rest as much as you need. Izzy and Pipp are inside doing something, and Hitch had to leave this morning to help Zipp with an emergency back in Zephyr Heights. We can stay here for as long as you need and then we’ll join our friends for dinner, okay?”

She asked ‘okay?’ as if she had any mind of getting off anytime soon. Rejoicing in her closeness, I placed my hand on her head and slowly pet her mane up and down. “Thank you, Tangerine, I desperately need it.”

Her little pout at my choice of pet name quickly brightened into a warm smile as she snuggled deeper into my chest, my deep breathing slowly rising and lowering her body, her warm fur and gentle breathing casting a relaxing blanket over my whole being. The therapeutic effect of cuddling a pony, proven by yours truly.

After what felt like an eternity, I could finally get some much-deserved rest.

We stayed like that until the sun kissed the mountain tops goodbye, leaving behind a darkening firmament slowly becoming seeded with a myriad of stars. Running my fingers through her velvety fur non-stop, I felt a bit playful and, from time to time, tickled her nose with my finger, eliciting a cute giggle from her followed by her scratching her itchy snout on my shirt.

I debated with myself if I should tell her what I saw in the castle. I hadn’t made any more progress making sense of Harmony’s words on my way from Ponyville. I would have preferred to have the whole picture clear before making any assumptions, but considering who I saw in that vision, she of all ponies deserved to know.

“Hey, Sunny.” I patted her on the back to get her attention.

“Mmmm?” She moaned sleepy, sounded like she was about to pass out.

“I managed to visit Ponyville’s ruins as well as Twilight’s old castle.”

My words dusted the cobwebs in her drowsy mind, and the mare quickly roused herself to give me her full attention. Now completely awake, Sunny raised her head to regard me with surprise. “Really?! It’s still standing?!”

‘If only…’

She had some bad news coming. “Not really. I walked around the town proper and… well, there’s barely anything left. I recognized a few of the buildings I used to frequently visit but… you know.”

She understood what I meant and gave me a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry you had to see it like that, Alex.”

“Thank you, Sunny. I was kinda expecting it, as much as I wished it wasn’t.” I thanked her with a few more scratches behind her ear.

“And what about Twilight’s castle?” She pushed on, tilting her head at my touch.

“Weeell…” I had little to offer in that regard, but I decided to humor her. “The bottom part has collapsed, which caused the main structure to tilt on its left side. The star-shaped ornament on its top had ended up as a bunch of broken shards on the ground next to the structure. It’s a real shame, too. Back in its heyday, it truly was a sight to behold. But still, I managed to get inside and I even found my old room. I also retrieved a few things of mine I had stored there.” I pointed with my head to my bag which I had left a few steps behind me.

She craned her neck to see where I was pointing. “Is that a sword?” She was quick to notice, pointing with her hoof at the glistening piece of metal half-buried into the soil.

“My old, trusty training sword. I found it in my room, although I don’t remember leaving it there. It got me out of a few tight spots in the past, so I thought it would be a shame to leave it there to rot. As much as I hate weapons and violence in general, I can’t deny that it might be useful in the future. It’s the perfect excuse to resume my training, at least.” I offered with a tiny shrug.

“Wow…” She looked amazed at the sight of it, which earned an amused chuckle out of me.

“I also found some other cool things I’m sure you guys will like.”

“Like what?” She asked with a curious tilt of her head.

“Like my old laptop, full of Earth’s greatest music, books, movies, TV series, and a bunch of boring scientific work from my time there and in Equestria, as well as a few well-preserved books from Twilight’s private library.”

Oh ho, I hit the jackpot with that one. She was left completely speechless, smoke almost visually coming out of her ears as her brain tried to process what I had just told her.

“…..WHAT?!!” She yelled while pressing her muzzle against my nose, her eyes drilling holes into my own.

“Exactly.” I answered with a coy smile. I always enjoyed these kinds of reactions from ponies, they were always so expressive.

A huge smile appeared on her face. With barely constrained joy, she proceeded to assault me once again with vigorous nuzzles while constantly repeating ‘thank you thank you thank YOUUUU!’.

“Heh, you’re very welcome, Tangerine. Just tone it down a bit, or else our friends are going to run out thinking we’re being attacked or something.” I playfully scolded her.

She ceased her adorable assault with an embarrassed blush. I calmed her with a few gentle rubs on her chest fluff and, after promising I’d show her all the treasure with the rest of the gang, she returned to rest her head against my chest, the jitters now back under control.

We continued laying for a couple more minutes until her voice broke the peaceful silence. “Hey, Alex… um, are you feeling alright?”

Caught off guard by her question, I raised my head to find her giving me a concerned look with her beautiful eyes, which now held a hint of sadness.

“What do you mean? I told you, I’m fine.”

“It’s just…” She hesitantly began, nervously rubbing her hooves over my chest, “A lot has happened in such a short time and… none of us has had a chance to stop and just think until recently. I was just wondering if you were feeling alright. After seeing Canterlot, and now Ponyville… they were your home for many years. I can’t even begin to imagine how you must be feeling after seeing them like that.”

I released a tired breath, not wanting to think about it too much, else I ended up falling in an all-to-well-known pit. “I don’t know what to tell you, Sunny. Sad? Disappointed? Angry? I mean… I knew what I was getting myself into when I entered stasis, and I was expecting something similar to what I saw, even if it meant the end of the Equestria I knew… but, it’s one thing to expect it and it’s another thing entirely to see it with your own eyes.”

Sunny shifted to rest her head higher up my chest, looking at me forlornly, pressing herself against me harder. I welcomed her comforting closeness, moving my arms to secure the mare behind her rump. She waited patiently for me to collect my thoughts and continue. “I spent many nights awake thinking about the future of Equestria, what it might turn into if the conflicts escalated out of control. I didn’t want to believe it. I refused to believe it would end up destroying the civilization I had grown to love.” I returned a hand to her scalp, petting her mane more to calm down my own nerves than hers. “I-It pained me so much, to see them hate each other, blame one another for the stupidest of reasons, always jumping at any chance to start the heat, friendship and families torn apart… For the most part, I felt completely helpless, my friends and I just stood there, unable to help anymore.”

“…I’m so sorry Alex…”

“Thank you, Sunny.” I said wholeheartedly, sighing heavily. The afternoon was too tranquil and peaceful to be marred with dark clouds. Patting her rump, I ushered the mare to get a move on. “Come on, let’s get inside with the others and wait for Hitch and Zipp to return. There’s something important I need to tell you regarding my visit, and you can take a look over the books I brought back, how does that sound?”

With an enthusiastic waggle of her tail, she raised and stood aside to allow me to do so too. After dusting myself off, I returned to grab my bag and sword and walked alongside Sunny towards the brighthouse.

Successfully breaking through the deteriorating atmosphere, we entered into the main hall, the voices of Izzy and Pipp resounding lively from the living room. It seemed they were playing some kind of card game from what little I could make out of their playful bantering. I followed Sunny through the main hall, the mare reaching the living room first and cheerfully greeting her friends.

“Hey there Sunny girl, enjoy the nap? Colt, I really could use one myself. If only I wasn’t so energetic all the ti…”

Izzy’s greeting screeched to a halt at the sight of me crossing the threshold into the cozy living room.

“... ALEX!!”

I braced myself and opened my arms. “Come here, you silly filly!”

Like a bullet, Izzy jumped from her seat and sailed into my waiting embrace, nuzzling my face enthusiastically as Sunny had done previously, throwing me into another giggle fit.

“O-okay Izzyhehehhe, Sto-o-op! I’m gonna piss myslehehehelf!”

Thankfully she relented after a few more seconds, pulling away to give me the brightest smile I’ve ever seen from her. “You’re okay!!”

“Duh, I highly doubt a few old ruins are enough to stop the mighty space monkey, don’t you think?”

She answered with a relieved laugh, the stress steaming out of her at my loving caressing of her mane.

Pipp was quick to follow suit in her welcoming. “It’s SO good to see you’re alright, Alex. We were worried sick after seeing you weren’t answering your phone! Didn’t you get my calls?”

I grabbed Pipp with my free arm and pulled her into a side hug, nuzzling my nose into her main, a tiny pout scrunching her features.

“Sorry, Pipp, my phone died soon after I reached Ponyville. Perhaps if a certain pegasus hadn’t spent so much battery life taking pictures this wouldn’t have happened, hmm?” I quirked an eyebrow inquisitively at the mare, Pipp returning a sheepish smile and a muttered ‘sorry’.

I gave her a reassuring rub and started moving towards the couch. Our clingy unicorn had no desire to release me from her embrace, so I grabbed her and carried her like a puppy, a hearty chuckle coming from my friends at the particular sight of the mare, who was enjoying the short trip more than she’d ever admit.

I lowered my rear into the comfy couch, its pony-friendly height forcing me to stretch my legs further into the floor. I placed Izzy on my side, with Sunny taking the other and Pipp sitting beside her. all peering inquisitively at me. With a parting scratch between her ears, I released Izzy from my embrace and took a deep breath, taking in the now-familiar scent of my new home and allowing it to ebb the stress away from my tired bones.

I could have just stayed slumped like that for the rest of the afternoon, and the following day if my lazy ass could have it. Just lazing around with my new friends and hitting the summer, but the adorable expectant looks of the surrounding ponies told me they’d settle down for nothing short of some answers.

With an amused shake of my head, I reached down and showed the girls my old sword, causing Izzy to rise from her seat and place her forelegs on my lap for better support, taking every detail of the blunt weapon in with sparkling orbs. The ‘click’ sounds coming from Pipp’s phone told me she was taking numerous photos, looking as amazed as Izzy.

“My old training sword, which unfortunately has seen a few battles, as much as I wished it hadn’t. Even if I don’t feel very comfortable using it, I think I’m going to catch up with my training, just in case magic goes awry again. But that’s not the most interesting thing I brought from my trip.”

Resting the sword against the foot of the couch, I grabbed my bag and pulled out the small pile of books inside. Sunny didn’t waste a moment to pry them out of my hands and excitedly began to look over all of them.

“Careful, Sunny. They’re very, VERY old. These are from Twilight’s personal library back at her castle, and they were the only ones I could salvage that were still in readable condition.”

My soft warning only got her even more excited, but thankfully she understood and treated them with the utmost care, as if they were going to turn into dust any moment.

With our history geek friend distracted, I signaled Izzy and Pipp to get closer, and pulled out my old laptop, which thankfully had managed to remain intact during the trip back to the town.

“Is that…”

“It is Pipp, my old laptop from my college days. The great-great-great-great-grandfather of your phone, I believe.” I tapped its carbon-black top proudly. “This is full of books, movies, and scientific works from my home world, as well as a bunch of Earth’s music you catch me humming sometimes, Izzy.”

“There’s human music inside?!!” The pegasus was beyond ecstatic. “You must ABSOLUTELY let me listen to it!! Ooooh my pony, I can feel the inspiration coming already!”

“Heheh, slow down Pipp, I need to charge it first. Let’s see if your power grid is compatible with it. I mean, it should be, as it was based on my specifications in the first place…”

I got up from the couch and approached one of the wall outlets, leaving Izzy to curiously check over more of my stuff. Crossing my fingers and sending a silent prayer to the goddess of outlets, I connected my charger to my laptop and waited for the red light to appear. After a few tense seconds, I released the breath I had been holding as the small light appeared, signaling the laptop was successfully charging.

I left it to charge for the moment and returned to the girls, and at once noticed Izzy unceremoniously rummaging through my bag. After a few seconds, she’d removed my computer’s external mouse, and started unraveling the cable it was wrapped in. As Izzy got familiar with another wonder from Earth, I sat in front of an absorbed Sunny who had begun looking over the copy of History of Equestria.

“Everything alright, Sunny? Can you read the words fine?”

She lowered the book and looked at me with her two sparkling, dark pools of wonder. “This is amazing! There’s so much knowledge we’ve lost through the ages written here, all the things we could relearn…”

“Well, I’m happy to hear that. Perhaps we should first find somepony who can work on restoring them, or at least transcribe them. With your computers, we can digitize their contents so they’ll never get lost again.”

She agreed with my proposition with a vigorous nod, already listing a few ponies that might be able to help. Before we could discuss it further, I saw her ears twitch at the sound of the front door opening, the clopping of hooves signaling the return of our friends.

“Over here, guys!” Called Izzy from her spot. After returning the mouse to my bag, she had resumed her game of cards with Pipp.

Our friends entered the living room, rushing to welcome me back as soon as they saw me sitting in front of Sunny. A few hugs and reassuring words later, we were all back together, the perfect moment to blow their minds.

“Guys, I need your attention for a moment.”

The ponies stopped chatting about Zipp and Hitch’s small adventure and turned to look at me with coked heads.

“Okay, eeehh…” I winced, wetting my lips and searching for the words. “So, this is going to sound completely nuts, but please believe what I’m about to tell you, it’s crucial for our mission.”

The gravity of my words had completely caught their attention, concerned expressions spreading through my equine friends.

“So, after finding my stuff in Twilight’s castle, I started feeling a strange presence guiding me towards the Map Room where the Cutie Map is located.”

“The map that indicated Twilight and her friends where a friendship problem was arising?” Asked a well-read Sunny.

“The very same. It had remained dormant after the last mission it sent us to up to the time I left, but after reaching the room and touching it, it came back to life, and it showed me something incredible.”

The ponies almost fell out off the couch as they inched closer, giving me their full attention.

“… I saw your dad, Sunny. I saw a vision of Argyle standing where I was.”

The poor mare almost choked on her breath when she heard the name of her late father, a few tears building up on her quivering pearls.

“D-Dad?”

“Yes, at least, a younger version of him compared to the one in your pictures. It was a vision from the past, from when he somehow found the castle and the Cutie Map. Did he ever tell you anything about it?”

“N-no, I-I mean…” She took a second to regain her breath and clear her running snout, Izzy placing a reassuring hoof on her back. “He told me stories about some of his travels, b-but I was just a filly back then. Perhaps he mentioned it at some point, but I d-don’t remember, I was still too young when he…”

She didn't have to finish the sentence for me to understand what she was implying. I parked the matter for the moment, not wishing to hurt her further.

“I’m so sorry, Sunny.” I reached forward to grasp her hooves, giving them a comforting squeeze. She appreciated the gesture and returned a tiny smile, eclipsed by her falling tears.

“I saw him standing where I was, and just as I did, he touched the map with his hoof. In his case, it projected a series of cutie marks for him.” I looked closely at each of the ponies. “All of your cutie marks.”

The collection of expressions from the ponies ranged from completely amazed to substantially scared. I could understand it, it was a haunting revelation after all.

They knew nothing of Harmony and her game, after all.

“W-what?” Trembled Sunny.

“T-That’s impossible, h-how could it have known about us?”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Zipp.” Oh, I knew what it was all about, but the point of the game was for them to not know. “The map showed Argyle your cutie marks, and I saw them through that vision. But, there’s more. A few moments after the vision started, I heard a voice speaking in my head, asking me to guide you through an ‘incoming darkness.’”

“Who’s voice was it?” Butted in Hitch while rubbing his aching templates in an attempt to cope with what I had just told them.

I sighed. I had a lot of names for Harmony, but few were pretty. “An old spirit, born from the peace and prosperity between creatures of Equus. An ancient being, who has helped countless generations of ponies to fight against the darkness that would consume this world, who helped me and my friends in the past.”

The ponies stared at me, as confused as they had been since the beginning. It wasn’t a surprise learning they didn’t know who I was talking about.

“She calls herself Harmony. And she has chosen us to protect the future.”

Who would’ve guessed?

“Answer me, you stupid tree!! You can’t just do this to me and go silent! Why did you do it?! Do you have any idea of what this entails, what it means to me?!!”

I had spent the last hour screaming at the towering, crystalline treehouse that once was the Tree of Harmony, destroyed and rebuilt into the shimmering treehouse the young six had chosen to make their own. Since the battle, she had gone silent, her cryptic words running through my mind, denying me sleep and rest for much of the past week.

How could she have done this? Not once in the history of Equus had she gone that far. And for what?!

As much as the doctors and my friends would have opposed it, I couldn’t wait any longer laying still. I silently made my way out of the hospital, running the small road through the Everfree Forest to stand in front of the silent ‘goddess’ and demand answers.

“Answer me, Harmony!!! Why did you do it?!!................. ANSWER MEEEEE!!!!”

“Alex, that’s enough! Please!”

I quickly turned around, thinking for a moment she had answered me, but I couldn’t help but look disappointed at the sight of the young six standing behind me, Gallus at the lead and taking careful steps towards me.

“Come on, Alex, you should be resting. You’re in no shape to be wandering through here.”

Silverstream slowly flapped to where I stood, gently coaxing me to return with them back to Ponyville with her beak. “Please, Alex. We’re all worried about you, won’t you come with us?”

“You guys don’t understand. You really, really don’t understand…” I put on a meek fight.

“None of us understands what happened Alex.” Smolder added from my other side, securing me with her wing and making sure I didn’t trip over as I began to walk with them out of the forest. “But you’re here, and you’re safe. That’s all that matters to us.”

Their comforting words did nothing to soothe my confusion and fear. I didn’t have any strength to offer resistance, and shakily allowed them to guide me back to the hospital, the ooze-dripping patches over my wound burning for my futile efforts.

‘Why, Harmony? Of all creatures, why me?’

Author's Note

Another chapter for you, hope you enjoy it. I'm currently facing the final weeks of my college degree, meaning the last of the exams and the final proyect, so expect the flow of chapters to slow down considerably at least until summer propper. Then I have all the time in the world to catch up. Also, I'll take the chance and check over Chapter 4, see how the stories goes, and rewatch the prevous ones before delving into them.
Until next time then.