The Fate of the Magic

by Harrison Sparrow

Rating: teen
Tags: Death, Sad, Opaline, Drama, Alternate Universe, Misty, My Little Pony: A New Generation, Romance, Sunny Starscout, Original Character, Mane 5
Length: 41944

Sunny falls in love with a handsome pegasus, whilst Opaline prepares to plot her biggest attack in Equestria yet!

One month has passed since Misty abandoned Opaline and ponies made unity with the dragons again, and Izzy and Pipp are planning to host the next upcoming music festival - Glastonpony - where variety is always welcome! Whilst the Mane 6 are promoting the event, Sunny, whose alicorn powers are continuing to grow, comes across and falls in love with a handsome pegasus named Zack Thunderlane, and they surprisingly discover that they have a lot in common.

However, Opaline is bloodthirsty for revenge, and with the power of the dragon stone in her hoofs, she begins to plot her biggest attack yet on becoming the most powerful and dangerous alicorn in all of Equestria. But will the Mane 6 stop her for good before it's too late?

WARNING: Features death in two scenes, so do be warned about that!

Published 2023-11-13 17:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2023-11-13 17:50:01 UTC

1. Festival Organizing

Author's Note

Quick note: this is my first story in a while, and I know there's always gonna be terrible writing and all. But see, I sometimes make stories just for fun, and this is clearly one of them. This story was in development ever since the conclusion of the fourth chapter of 'Make Your Mark'. Some aspects from chapters five and six are included, though.

1. Festival Organizing

One month has passed since Sunny Starscout and her friends crossed paths with the villainous Opaline Arcana and stopped her from killing Sparky. But that didn't excuse the fact that she has fully ignited the Dragon Stone after using Misty Brightdawn to do all the work for her. But now the Mane 5 know everything, and Misty, in the end, decided to have real friendship in her heart and leave Opaline behind for good... and so became the new Mane 6! Also, breezies and even more dragons have appeared all across Equestria for the first time in centuries! And although both ponies and dragons had some challenges recently, they still got along really well.

One day, at the dark and gloomy castle, Opaline, all alone, enters Misty's former room where she used to live before the Mane 5 showed up that day. She looks around and picks up an old drawing of herself that Misty did when she was a filly.

"*sigh* You used to think of me as your mother, didn't you, Misty?" She thought with a kind voice, but she then turns angry. "But now you turned your back on me since Sunny Starscout and her pathetic pony friends came and took that little dragon from my grasp." She lights up her horn... "I know what I need to do now that I don't need you anymore." ... and ignites the drawing into nothingness with her fire power.

She then enters her workplace where the Dragon Stone is all lit up after absorbing Sparky's dragon fire into it. "Now, with the power of the Dragon Stone in the palm of my hoof, and with more dragons throughout the land, I shall finally take back what's mine, after all these moons!" She then looks out the window with a menacing grin. "You haven't seen the last of me, Sunny Starscout. Once I deal with you and your little friends once and for all, Equestria and all of its magic WILL BE MINE!!!" She lets out a loud, evil cackle, as lightning strikes over the castle.

It's another bright and beautiful morning at Maretime Bay, and Sunny is working at her smoothie stand, as she's made three chocolate flavored smoothie's for the Pippsqueaks.

"Here you go, three chocolate smoothies for Princess Pipp's biggest fans!" Sunny said.

The Pippsqueaks take the smoothies and began to drink them. They then squealed with happiness as they loved the taste of them.

"Super delicious!" Glory said.

"This is the best smoothie ever!" Peach Fizz said.

"Chocolate is my favorite!" Seashell said.

Sunny felt proud of their reaction. "Oh, I'm so happy you three liked it."

"Liked it? We LOVED it!!!" The Pippsqueaks said altogether.

"You should make these every day!" Glory said.

Sunny giggled. "Only if I have a lotta ingredients, that is. Have a nice day, girls."

"Thank you, Sunny Starscout!" The Pippsqueaks said, as they walk off.

Hitch approaches Sunny with Sparky by his side, and he seems impressed with how she served them. "Well well well... Chocolate flavored smoothes, huh? Gotta say, Sunny, I'm impressed."

"Thanks, Hitch." Sunny replied politely.

"And jealous!" Hitch then stated.

"Wait, what?!" Sunny said in shock.

Hitch then giggled. "Nah, I'm just kidding."

Sunny sighed of relief. "You got me there. But for a second, I thought you were gonna arrest me because I didn't make you one."

"No, it's fine. You know I always have a good laugh whenever I feel like it."

"*scoff* Not everytime, sheriff."

"Can I have a strawberry smoothie, please, Sunny?" Sparky asked.

"Sure can, Sparky, but would you like to share it with Hitch? I think that would be very kind if you did."

"I'm good, thank you." Hitch said. "It's all for you, buddy."

"Oh, cool!"

"Okay, one strawberry smoothie coming right up!" Sunny said, as she begins working on it. "You know, Hitch... have you ever thought about doing something different other than being a sheriff every day?"

"Um... I'm not sure." Hitch replied. "Why you asking?"

Sunny turns on the machine as it starts mixing the fruits. "*sigh* Well, sometimes there's a part of me that says: 'Doing a lotta different things in Equestria is really good for your portfolio.', or: 'Being a pony who can do anything so well is a great strength to have.'" She then pours the mixed fruit into the cup. "I mean, is it really that hard to imagine something like that?"

"I don't know, but hey, you always do a good job as a smoothie operator, you know that?"

"Of course I do. Serving everypony is really kind, but doing it everyday seems... I don't know what to say, maybe... meh?"

"Okay, then... why not take part in next year's Jinxie Games? I know I would've won if it weren't for those stupid rules." He said annoyingly.

"That would be really hard to do, but, I do like a challenge, alright."

"Like when you defeated Opaline!" Sparky brought up with a smile.

Sunny felt uncomfortable for a second after hearing that. "Yeah, right. Probably best not to talk about her again, though..."

Hitch agreed. "Yeah, we don't want her taking you away from us again now, wouldn't we, little buddy?"

"If she comes back, we'll deal with her together, right?"

"Okay, okay!" Sunny said nervously. "Anyway, here's your smoothie!"

"Oh yeah! Thank you, Sunny!" Sparky takes the smoothie and starts drinking it.

"You know, I'm really glad that he can talk now. He's done so well." Hitch said.

"I couldn't agree more." Sunny said. "And now that we have other dragons living in harmony with us again, I'm sure he's gonna make a lotta friends." She looks at Sparky with a warm smile.

"Yeah... absolutely." Hitch said, but then became a tad concerned about it.

At Mane Melody, Pipp Petals is giving Ruby Jubilee's mane a unique makeover. Ruby has cucumber lids on her eyes, as Pipp is making it a surprise.

"Almost done, Ruby." Pipp said. "You are not gonna believe what I'm about to show you."

"*sigh* You know, Pipp, for a fan of mine, you really are inspirational and all." Ruby said. "But, lemme ask you, is it weird that all of these dragons are living with us for the first time in centuries?"

"Don't know about you, but it seems more magical than ever in my book." Pipp replied, as she finishes doing Ruby's mane. "And... finished!"

Ruby removes the lids from her eyes, looks in the mirror and is amazed with her new style. "*chuckle* Wow, Pipp, you have done it again!"

"What can I say? It's fabulous!"

"I love it, Pipp, thank you so much." She gets off the chair. "So, about this new festival you and Izzy have in mind, what's it gonna be about?"

"I have no idea, but all will be revealed as soon as we get in finalized, I promise. But I was also wondering if you might be interested?"

"As long as it'll be iconic and magical as Bridlewoodstock, I'm in."

"Oh, Ruby, that's great!" Pipp said excitingly, as they do a hoof bump. "Do you have any new songs that you might like to perform?"

"I oughta work on that. You do your part, and I do mine. It's what pop stars do, after all."

"So sweet, and I'll let you know when we start doing all the marketing."

"Thanks for the heads-up. See ya later!" Ruby walks out of the store.

"Later, Ruby! And feel free to grab a smoothie from Sunny's stand, they all taste like summer!"

From the back, Izzy swoops in with some written plans for the festival. "What's up, Pipp? Oh, tell me, did Ruby Jubilee love your exquisite work?"

"Oh, totally, Izzy, and don't leave out a couple dragons."

Izzy was confused by that. "Wait, you stylized a couple dragons? Most of them don't have hair, you know that?"

"Oh well, at least I gave their claws a sweet makeover! After all, fearsome and fabulous are such a perfect combo."

"Ooh, perfection! Anyway, got any time to read this? It's about our next festival!" She holds up the papers.

Pipp gasps with happiness. "Oh my Celestia, Izzy, please lemme see those!" She takes a look through them one by one, and her mouth opened wider and wider. "Oh my gosh, I can't wait to tell the others, they're gonna love this!"

At the Crystal Brighthouse, Izzy and Pipp are showing Sunny, Hitch, Zipp, Misty and Sparky their ideas, but not all of them had the same expression.

"You gotta be kidding me, another music festival already?!" Zipp complained. "Bridlewoodstock happened only a few months ago!"

"Now hold on, Zipp, this could be exciting." Sunny interjected. "I do like all these plans you two have in mind."

"I don't know, I... I never been to a music festival before." Misty said. "It feels kinda new to me."

"What, Opaline didn't tell you about Bridlewoodstock?" Hitch said. "That's another crime in my book!"

"Yeah, she never told me about anything." Misty said sadly.

"Don't worry, Misty, this will be your first taste of experiencing a festival yourself." Sunny said, holding her hoof.

"And even better, you're experiencing it together with us!" Izzy said happily, as she hugged her tightly.

Misty chuckled slightly, yet still nervously. "Okay, I guess it's settled then!"

Pipp clears her throat to get Izzy back by her side. "Anyway, we also want to reveal that the name of our next festival is gonna be none other than..." She and Izzy shred off the paper covering the title, and it's called...

"GLASTONPONY!!" They shouted in joy.

"Where variety is always welcome!" Izzy added as the slogan.

But the others were put in a complete shock. They don't know if they even like it or not...

"So...?" Izzy said, hopeful for a good response from them. "Do you ponies like it?"

"Wow!" Sparky said.

"That... actually sounds... not bad!" Zipp said positively, and then turned questionable. "Not quite as good as Bridlewoodstock, though, but still."

"I'm a little skeptical on the name, but I think what really matters is if it'll become a tremendous success." Sunny replied.

"Not gonna lie, girls, the plans look great, and the name looks... decent. But other than that, I have no doubt everypony in Equestria will have a great time." Hitch replied.

"*sigh* I KNEW you'd like it!" Pipp said. "But what about you, Misty?"

"Uh, that sounds exciting! I can't wait!!"

"Awesome!" Izzy said. "Now, we just need to start on doing the costumes, main stage, decorating, sound systems, food and drinks, and also the marketing, just like we did last time."

"But most importantly, we can't leave out the most talented singers and bands from all over the world!" Pipp added.

"Ah great, here we go again." Zipp said miserably.

"How about we bring back Ruby Jubilee, Electric Blue and The Dreamlands?" Sunny asked.

"Well, Ruby wants it to be as iconic and magical as Bridlewoodstock, so that's a promise we have to fulfil." Pipp replied.

"And bring in some dragon artists?!" Sparky said.

"Whoa!" Izzy said in surprise. "Okay, that's a lot, but I guess that could work as well."

"Like Tongues of Fire, the pop-punk band!" Sparky recommended. "I'd love that!!"

"Yeah, Sparky's been following them for a while now." Hitch said. "They do look good."

"I'm sure everypony won't mind them being a part of it, only if they don't cause any disasters." Pipp said.

"Why not you be part of the lineup, Pipp?" Sunny asked. "Just like you were last time."

"Ah, good question, Sunny." Pipp replied, but then turns doubtful. "But I'm gonna need to think of a new song..."

"Like you asked Ruby Jubilee to do the same?" Izzy asked.

Pipp groans in frustration. "Maybe. But it's not like we don't suffer with writer's block or something."

Misty came up with an idea. "Oh, how about a song that's about, uh... unity of all kinds?"

"What, Misty?"

"Earth ponies, unicorns, Pegasi and dragons living in harmony! I know you didn't do a song like that before, right?"

"Uh... no, I didn't! Misty, you gave me a fabulous idea!"

Misty giggles. "Yeah, that's what friends do."

But then, Izzy thought of something terrible. "*gasp* Wait!" She shouted, and her friends looked at her. "What if the Troggles come back?"

"Troggles?" Misty responded, not understanding. "What are those?"

"The ghoulish ghosts who come out at night, haunting the ponies who play loud music, trying to steal all their voices! And turning their experience from being happy... all the way to sad."

"I saw them before, and they were spooky." Sparky said.

"Izzy, we dealt with them at Bridlewoodstock, remember?" Sunny said. "There's no need to panic about them again."

"You're right, Sunny! Not only do we need lots of glitter, but we also need lots of rubies to keep them away from all of us! Just in case."

"Well, that's clever thinking, Izzy." Pipp agreed. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"But what about Opaline?" Misty brought up with worry. The others started to feel the same way. Ever since she left Opaline behind for good, she was still having bad thoughts about what the villainous alicorn will do next now that she has the power of the Dragon Stone.

"What about her?" Zipp asked.

"She could be plotting something big. Something... disastrous for everypony and everydragon."

"Misty..." Sunny tried to speak.

"I just don't want her putting all of us in danger again. Not after everything I did for her that was wrong. If only I never dragon-napped Sparky in the first place..."

"Misty, we all understand now." Sunny put her hoof on her neck. "All those years since Opaline found you, she made you believe that you were doing the right thing. We know she was using you against us, and we shouldn't have faulted you for that. You chose friendship, remember? So that's what matters to all of us."

"Yeah, you know I always trust my instincts, but we didn't know that you've been through a lot." Zipp said.

"And besides, you should be lucky that I didn't punish you the same way I punished Sprout the other day." Hitch said. "I cleared you of all those charges, remember?"

"If Opaline does come back for revenge, Misty, we will face her together. Hoof to heart." Sunny said with confidence, and Misty brought out a warm smile.

"Hoof to heart."

"Alright, everypony, the first job is promotion!" Izzy said, as she reveals her hoof-drawn posters.

"Uh, Izzy, is that the best you could do with those posters?" Zipp asked. "They look too bland."

"Aww, but they look good in some way, right?"

Sparky then thought of something. "I know what to do!" He breathes in hardly as he's about to brew some fire.

"SPARKY, NO!" Hitch shouted, begging for him to not do it, but Sparky breathed out his fire onto the posters, and has actually made the designs of them look more unique! Seeing the result, Hitch sighed of relief. Thank goodness they weren't burned! "On second thought, nice touch there!"

"Yup, I'm a natural."

"That's what I was gonna say." Izzy said. "Okay, one little question: who's gonna go where?"

"How about you and Misty do Bridlewood, Hitch, Zipp and Sparky will do Maretime Bay, and me and Pipp will take the Marestream to Zephyr Heights?" Sunny thought. "That way, it'll get everyone talking about it."

"You know I like the sound of that!" Izzy said in agreement. "And we'll need to get more ponies signed up to help us with the other jobs and all."

"Oh, thanks, Sunny!" Pipp said. "We will make a great team, you and I."

"Well, it looks like it's just me and you, sheriff buddy." Zipp said, nudging Hitch's body.

"Oh please, me working with my fellow detective? What more could I ask for?" Hitch said adorably.

"We got this together, guys! Ready?" Sunny said.

"Ready!"

The Mane 6 and Sparky hold out their hooves together and they set off to start the marketing of Glastonpony, and they'll be hoping it'll be a festival that no one will ever forget!

2. A Handsome Pegasus

At Maretime Bay, Hitch, Zipp and Sparky go around the town to pop up all of the posters on the news boards. Most of the residents seem interested, whereas some where... well, a little skeptical. Maybe they need to think about it a tad more.

One of them who WAS skeptical was Posey Bloom, as she wanted to remind Zipp about the recent festival they had done before.

"You do know that we had a festival a few months back, right, Princess Zipp?" Posey reminded.

"Yes we did, Posey, but this one? Glastonpony is where we bring out the best in ourselves." Zipp assured, and she brings out a list of ponies who agreed to help out. "Why don't you sign up and help us out? We can sure use your blooming flowers for the occasion."

"Ooh, NOW you're talking!" Posey accepted with a smile, as she signs up.

"Zipp, we're already on a roll!" Hitch said. "I told the Pippsqueaks that they'll be able to help out Pipp with the costumes."

"No problem, I'll spread the word." She said, as she went on her phone.

Hitch suddenly sees trouble and goes after the culprits. "Hey! That's a violation of-"

Zipp saw this as she giggled. "Never change, Hitch."

At Zephyr Heights, Pipp is helping Sunny pop up their pile of posters around the city. Pipp then gets the message sent from her sister, and she squeals with joy.

"Sunny! The Pippsqueaks have agreed to help me on the costume designs!"

"That's amazing, Pipp!" Sunny said. "Are Electric Blue on board?"

"They said they're gonna blow everypony away, so they couldn't resist on saying 'yes'!"

"This keeps getting better and better! But we're not done yet, just need to ask a couple more ponies around here."

"Oh! Don't ever leave out my mom, because if that ever happens, she could flip."

"She won't be, not even her royal guards. We need the best security we got. To the castle?"

"TO THE CASTLE!" Pipp agreed, as they both make a run for it.

However, on the way, whilst Sunny was getting through the big crowd of Pegasi... "Oh, sorry! Coming through!" ...she suddenly bangs into another pegasus, knocking them both to the ground.

Slowly but surely, Sunny gets back on her hooves whilst holding her nose, and sees the pegasus struggling to get up. The pegasus then looked up at Sunny with a slight blurry vision until it returns to normal.

"Are... are you an... angel?" He asked weirdly.

"Angel?!" Sunny reacted, and then laughed. "Are you okay?" She holds her hoof out, helping the pegasus get back up.

"*groan* Yeah, I'm fine. You got me good there." He stretches his legs out.

"I'm really sorry about that, I wasn't watching where I was going."

"No, it's good. I mean, I wasn't watching where I was going either, so... *chuckle* Yeah, I guess some ponies make mistakes sometimes, do they?"

"*giggle* 'Nuff said. Are you in a hurry or something?"

"Uh, not much. Just doing a tough job, as usual. What about you?"

"Maybe a little. I'm heading down to the Royal Palace to ask Queen Haven and her guards about a new festival my friends put in plan."

The pegasus felt surprised. "Wow, a festival?! What kind?"

Sunny looks down on the pegasus' hoof, which was standing on a dropped poster. "Um... that. What you're standing on right now."

The pegasus took his hoof off of it... "Oh, this?" ...picks it up and has a close look. "Glastonpony: Where Variety is Always Welcome. Sign-ups available. What is it about?"

"Pretty much magic, friendship, music and, uh... unity."

"Nice combo. Is anyone gonna perform? You probably can't have a giant festival without big artists, right?"

"So far, we got Electric Blue on board, and Ruby Jubilee's working on some new music, so that leaves us with the rest."

"Sounds like you're taking this real seriously. And you're planning to make a stage THAT big? I don't know, it'll probably take days to get it built."

"Well, it is a huge job, but as long as me and my friends stick together, we may have it done in a flash. You'll never know."

"*scoff* Then I suppose you better get on with it and not waste another second."

"Yeah, good call. Well, it was... nice meeting you, I think."

"Oh, you too, and um..." He said, as he picked up more dropped posters. "...don't leave these."

Sunny took them from him and nodded her head. "Thank you." She passed by and started to run off.

But then, the pegasus suddenly thought of something and turned his head. "I'm Zack, by the way!" He called out.

Sunny stopped after hearing this, as she never heard a handsome stallion call out their name to her before. She looks back at him, and after a couple more seconds, says... "I'm Sunny."

Zack took that in and smiled at her. "That's a nice name."

Sunny smiled back and felt a little blushed by that. Those were some kind words.

"SUNNY, LET'S GO!" Pipp desperately called out, not wanting to wait any longer.

"Sorry, Pipp, I'm coming!" Sunny said, as she backed out on staring at Zack and ran off.

"*sigh* What a girl..." Zack said softly. He probably never saw a girl that beautiful before. Who knows if this could mean the start of a loving relationship? Only time will tell!

In the throne room of the castle, Haven is relaxing on her chair with Cloudpuff and her guards by her side. Sunny and Pipp barge through the door, alerting them.

"HALT!" The guards shouted, as they defended the queen.

"Guards, stand down, for Celestia's sake, it's just Sunny with my little princess!" Haven said.

"Oh, uh... *clears throat* apologies, your highness." Thunder said, and he pointed to Zoom. "She started it."

Zoom felt shocked that he accused her. "What?! Get a grip, Thunder, if you please!" She said.

"Hey, you made me join in with you on the 'halt' thing!" Thunder said.

"Oh, did I?! You should've known!"

"Should've known what?! Not to say the word!? You're not even the boss of me here!"

Seeing that they're getting into an argument, Haven wasn't having it. "ENOUGH!" She shouted, and they stopped. "Both of you. I am your queen, and I will never tolerate disrespect like this ever again, understand?!"

Cloudpuff growled at them just to ensure.

"Understood." They said, and they allow Sunny and Pipp to move forward.

"Hi, Mom." Pipp said.

"Aw, hello, my little darling!" Haven said lovingly, as they have a warm embrace. "How is my favorite pop sensation?"

"Doing great, as always. But you're not gonna believe what I have planned!"

"Ooh! Tell me, is it a... royal get-together dinner party for tonight?"

"Uh, no." Pipp said a little disappointingly.

"No?! I thought you always loved having that sort of thing!"

"Of course I do! It's just that... it is something much bigger than that."

"Yeah, like a 'you won't believe your eyes' moment that you should never refuse to see." Sunny added.

"Well, I do like surprizes like that, surely." Haven admitted, and then looked at their bags. "But what have you two brought here?"

Cloudpuff jumped up on Pipp's bag and grabs a poster with his mouth.

"Hey, Cloudpuff, don't eat that!" Sunny said with worry.

"Sunny, please. What makes you think he would eat some of your finest work? You should always have faith in my little dog."

"Oh yeah, like Hitch has a lotta faith in his animal friends."

Haven grabbed the poster from her dog. "Well, what do we have here?" She looked at it and felt a little confused. "Glastonpony?"

"Yeah, another music festival, but only this time, it'll be the biggest one ever in the history books!" Pipp assured.

"I don't understand, the last festival in Bridlewood was only a few months back, and now you want to do another one? And what exactly is a Glastonpony?"

"*scoff* It's not a special type of pony, Your Majesty, it's exactly what Pipp said: another music festival!" Sunny corrected.

"Okay, so tell me; what makes this any different compared to Bridlewoodstock?"

"So, it's all about celebrating music, magic, friendship and unity together, which Bridlewoodstock mostly had." Pipp said.

"But the big difference here is that it's gonna have so much more: games, rides, a workout area, and for the first time in centuries - dragons!" Sunny said in a fearsome voice.

"Stunning!" Pipp said stylishly.

"Oh, good heavens!" Haven said in surprise. "And are there any ponies signed up for this?"

"Yes, there are." Pipp said. "We got Posey Bloom and Dahlia doing the decorating, and the Pippsqueaks for the costume designing..."

"And what about any artists?"

"At the moment, we have Electric Blue and Ruby Jubilee, and even better, they'll have new songs in store for us!" Sunny said happily.

"But what about you, Pipp?" Haven asked. "Should you be performing, too?"

"Honestly, Mom, you would never come on down if I wasn't gonna be a part of it."

"So is that a 'yes'?" Haven said hopefully.

"Absolutely! Oh, and I was also wondering if... you and Alphabittle would like to be the presenters of the festival?"

Haven gasps with delight. "Really?! With Alphy?!! Oh, if I had to do it on my own, I wouldn't really take interest. But now that you've mentioned him... I will be HONORED!!" She signs her name on the paper, accepting the role.

Zoom and Thunder, however, feel a little jealous.

"Hey! What about us?" Zoom asked. "What should we be doing?"

"Yeah, if you're certainty about going to this festival thingy, Your Highness, then..." Thunder tried to say.

"Then I'd like you two to make sure everypony is on their best behaviour when the day arrives." Haven announces.

"So you're saying you want us to still be on guard duty while we're there?" Zoom said. "What about Sheriff Hitch? That's kinda his job, right?"

"At least we can still enjoy the experience together." Thunder said.

"Of course you will!" Sunny said, as she holds up the paper for them. "We'll need the best security we can get. The more, the merrier."

"I like your thinking, Starscout." Zoom smiled.

"I've never felt so happy in my life!" Thunder squealed.

As the guards sign their names, Pipp drags Sunny away, as she feels something is wrong.

"Uh, Sunny? Do we even know if Alphabittle is gonna be doing this?" She whispered.

"Why?"

"I may have lied to Mom!" She feared.

"But, have Izzy and Misty sorted that out yet?"

Author's Note

Zack Thunderlane: Sunny's love interest who is an azure blue pegasus with thin brown hair. His cutie mark is two yellow thunder bolts.

3. Unicorn Dance-Off

Earlier, down at Bridlewood, where Izzy and Misty are promoting the festival, they enter the Crystal Tea Room in hoping of getting Alphabittle to sign up as a presenter with Haven.

"Whoa!" Misty said, looking around the place. "I never been here before, Izzy, what's it like?"

"The Crystal Tea Room? It's where ponies come to drink, hang out and talk all things magic."

"So you came here many times even before magic came back?"

"Absolutely! Although everypony wasn't happy back then because they were always moody and bored. Except me and Alphabittle, though!"

"Who's Alphabittle?"

"The owner of this place. Plus, he's really good at playing games."

Izzy points over to Alphabittle, who is watching a dragon trying to match all the colors on the Rubik's Cube until the time runs out.

"Alright, time's up! Hand it over, Flamber." Alphabittle demanded, as the dragon rolled his eyes. He receives the cube and immediately matches all the colors in the right spots. Misty felt surprised by this.

"What?! How'd you do that so fast!? That's not even fair!" Flamber said in shock.

"*scoff* Fair? I've spent years of practice. Maybe one day, you'll do the same." He takes Flamber's souvenir - an orange crystal - and places it on the shelf.

"Maybe I will, and next time, I'm coming back for that souvenir of mine!"

"Good luck with that." Alphabittle chuckled, as Flamber walked away in shame.

"Wow! He IS good!" Misty said.

"You see? He almost beat Sunny in a dancing game before."

Misty's eyes widen. "What, he challenged Sunny and lost?! How?"

"Ah, Sunny had a little help from Pipp, if you don't mind. That was just for one of the Unity Crystals." She and Misty walk up to Alphabittle. "And helloooo, Alphabittle!!"

"Well, look who showed up, the always creative Izzy Moonbow!"

"You bet'cha! So how ya doing today?"

"Oh you shoulda seen the look on Flamber's face. He got such a kick outta that challenge he failed!" He laughed.

Izzy felt uncomfortable. "Mmm, that's a little harsh, don't you think?"

"Yeah, maybe it was. Anyway, what can I get you? A little round of the finest tea in Bridlewood?"

"Actually, I demand you challenge a special friend of mine to a dance-off!" She shoved Misty in front of Alphabittle, who both start staring at each other.

Misty felt a little shy, whereas Alphabittle was a little stunned. He may have saw a little glimpse of Misty back at the Manesquerade Ball party, but he never expected to see her face-to-face.

Izzy didn't understand what he was doing. "Uh... Alphabittle? Hellooo?" She waved her hoof at his face, and then he and Misty snap out of their staring, chuckling.

"So, er... what's your name, blue girl?"

"Um, Misty Brightdawn. You must be Alphabittle, right?"

"Yeah, that's me. Do I even know you from somewhere?"

"Uh, no, I don't think we ever met before." She shakes hooves with him.

"Well, it sure seems like Izzy knows you really well. So she says you wanna challenge me to a dance-off, huh?"

"I... yeah, I guess so..." Misty said, although she wasn't sure about it.

"Well, that depends on the prize you pick. If it's special, then a dance-off is guaranteed."

But Izzy thought of something else. "Um, how about we do something a little different?"

"Ah, something different, you say? And what is that?"

"We like to offer you a top-tier position that you should really consider."

"And that is...?"

"Drum roll, please." She said to Misty, who does that on the table with her hooves. "A presenter role alongside Queen Haven for the upcoming GLASTONPONY FESTIVAL!!" She shouted, as she shows him the Glastonpony poster and sign-up paper.

Everyone around them, including Flamber, stopped talking as they were all surprised by the announcement, and they all look at Izzy and Misty.

"Where variety is always welcome!" Misty said shyly. "As they say..."

"Hmm. So you two are offering me a job as a presenter, alongside Queen Haven, for another music festival? That's what this is about?"

"Well, we know you two have some sorta loving relationship going on, so we thought it would be sweet if you two present it together!"

Alphabittle thought about it and was interested. "That does sound sweet, alright. Yeah, I could join... but under one condition."

"You want a dance-off!!" Izzy said with a wicked attitude.

"You got that right. So how about we make a deal? If Misty Brightdawn wins, I'll sign up." Misty smiles. "But if I win, she'll have to do the dishes with me."

Misty felt disgusted after looking at the dirty dishes far back, but she still remains hopeful. "But you'll still sign up, right?"

"Only one way to find out. BRING FORTH THE ULTIMATE CHALLENGE 2.0!!!" He called out, as the lights shine on the improved dancing game, which has been upgraded into a more modern machine!

"Oooh, you've done quite the upgrade, Alphabittle!" Izzy said, admiring it.

"Thanks for the compliment." Alphabittle said, as he went to the machine.

"I don't know about this, Izzy..." Misty said in discomfort, as she took a few steps.

"Oh come on, Misty-Twisty, it'll just be like what did at the party that night in Zephyr Heights."

"Are you sure?"

"I would never tell anything that isn't true to my friends. Besides, you're a great dancer!"

Just as she was saying that, everyone else in the building wanted Misty to join in.

"You're not scared of a little dancing, are ya?"

"Come on, show him what ya got!"

Misty turned to Alphabittle for a couple seconds, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Alright, I can do this." She then went onto the machine with Alphabittle on the other side.

"Here's how this works: you need to stomp on the correct arrows at the right time, and whoever fills their bar up to the top first wins. Pretty straight up, huh?"

"Okay, here goes nothing..." Misty said, as she was starting to feel the pressure.

"Remember, Misty. Feel the rhythm." Izzy whispered.

"Feel the rhythm?"

"And focus. You got this!" She then stepped away.

Misty thinks back to the dance she had that night, and now she knows what to do as the music starts playing, and she regains confidence. "Yeah, feel the rhythm to the music!"

"One pony wins, one pony fails. Who will prevail?" Onyx spoke in the mic.

"Get ready to dance!" The machine said. "3... 2... 1... GO!!!"

Misty and Alphabittle begin dancing to the beat of the music. Misty has a little bit of a shaky start as Alphabittle takes an early lead. But she immediately regains her groove and starts catching up, leaving everyone really impressed by her performance!

"Wow, would you look at that!"

"Kid's got some moves, all right!"

"GO, MISTY, GO!!" Izzy shouted.

Giving it her overall best, Misty overtakes Alphabittle's score, who was put into a huge shock, and by the time her bar is completely full, she wins the dance-off! Everyone cheered as she froze for a couple seconds, feeling a tad speechless.

"I won... I WON!!"

"FREE CHEERS FOR MISTY BRIGHTDAWN!!!" Izzy yelled.

"Unbelievable!" Alphabittle said. "When did you learn to dance like that!?"

"Well, you could say it was with my friends. They taught me many things, right, Izzy?"

"Yes indeed, so... Alphabittle, does that mean we've got you signed up for Glastonpony? Does it?!"

"Alright, alright, alright. Since you beat me fair and square... I'm in." Izzy and Misty squeal as he signs his name on the list. "But one more question: who's gonna do the dishes?"

"Ah, just leave that to me. Unicycling time!" Izzy said, as she went to go and clean them.

Flamber steps forward with a few friends. "Hey. So you and your friend are planning this music festival thing, right?"

"That's what we're doing, yeah. Are you...?"

"The guy who lost his crystal. Name's Flamber, lead singer of Tongues of Fire. And these are my guys: Stoner, the guitarist, Reaper, the bass player, and Doomer, the drummer."

"'Sup?" Stoner said.

Misty felt surprised. "*gasp* The pop-punk band?! Hey, Sparky has been following you guys! He would love to have you perform."

Izzy came back, having heard this. "Oooh, please tell us you guys wanna sign up too!"

"Well, me and the boys do wanna put on a good show, so it sounds like something we shouldn't pass up." Reaper said.

"Yeah, just let us sign up and we'll be on our way!" Doomer said.

"On our way to do what exactly?" Stoner asked.

"WIN THIS THING!"

"Oh no-no-no, this isn't a competition between anypony or anydragon. It's just about giving all of Equestria a feel-good time, like the rest of the performers will be doing." Izzy stated, as Doomer sighed.

"Yeah, sorry, no prizes." Misty said. "And if you're gonna do this, please don't cause any mayhem."

"Are you serious? Causing mayhem isn't what we do around here. We're all about rocking on!" Flamber said, throwing a rock sign with his hand in the air, as his friends cheered a little. "Besides, it's in our DNA."

"Okay, then it's settled! Welcome aboard, Tongues of Fire!" Izzy said with a smile, as she gave them the paper.

"Man, you're NOT gonna regret this." Reaper said, as he and the others sign their names.

"We oughta have a good time, boys!" Stoner said.

"YEAH!!" Dommer shouted. "This is gonna rock!!"

"We'll catch you little ponies later." Flamber said. "And by the time we're done setting things up, everyone will be ROCKING THEIR SOCKS OFF!" He and the others leave the building.

"See ya, rock n' rollers!" Izzy said, as she turned to Misty. "Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Misty's phone suddenly rang... "Oh, it's Pipp!" ...and she answers it, brining it on video call. "Hi, Pipp, how are you and Sunny doing?"

"MISTY! Big problem!" Pipp exclaimed, as she started to get into a panic. "Well, not really, but that depends on how you and Izzy are doing!"

"Is everything okay?"

"We just got Mom, her guards, Electric Blue and Ruby Jubilee to sign up, but I don't have any update on Alphabittle! We need our second presenter ASAP! Has he done the same?! PLEASE TELL ME HE'S DONE THE SAME!!"

"Pipp, calm down! I'm sure they're doing everything they can." Sunny said.

"Hi, Sunny!" Izzy said whilst waving.

"Hey, Izzy, so has Alphabittle joined the clan?"

"Oh yes, he did!" Izzy nodded, as Pipp sighed of relief. "But we had a little bit of a roadblock, so it wasn't that simple, really."

"I beat him in a dancing game!" Misty said.

Sunny raised her eyebrows. "You did what?! How many tries?"

"Just once! He said he'd join if I won, but also said I would do dirty work if I lost."

"Wow, I did not expect that. I took him on before, but it took me three tries to win last time."

"And not just that, but we also met Tongues of Fire, and they're gonna bring a performance that nopony has ever seen!"

"Oh, that's great! You gotta tell Sparky, he will not believe his ears."

"Any word on Hitch and Zipp?" Izzy asked.

"They got Posey Bloom, Dahlia, the Pippsqueaks, Jazz Hooves and Rocky Riff on board, so decorating, makeup and costume designing are a go!"

"But what about the Dreamlands?"

Hitch and Zipp then join in on the call, updating them on how they're getting on.

"Update, ponies - Dreamlands have officially signed up and are joining the roster!" Zipp said.

"And Sprout and Phyllis have agreed to work on the main festival stage." Hitch added. "With a few additional helpers, that is."

"Great job, everypony!" Sunny said. "Oh, and what should we be doing food and drink wise?"

"Uh, you can bring your smoothie cart, Sunny. I know that'll make everyone happy." Izzy suggested.

"Yeah, and I'll make sure to call Grandma Figgy so she can sort out the rest with us." Hitch added.

"Okay, so that just leaves us with where we should have the festival taking place... Any ideas?"

Sparky thought of something. "Oh! I know where we could have it!" He said, raising his hand.

The Mane 6 and Sparky all met up in the middle of a big open field, where there was nothing but green grass around them.

Zipp wasn't sure if it was a good spot. "Uh... I don't mind Sparky's decision, but don't you ponies think this place is kinda boring and lifeless?" She asked.

Pipp groaned, as she was happy with where they are. "Zipp, what makes you think it's boring and lifeless? This is PERFECT! And look, we even have some hills at the back where everypony can see the performers!"

"Ooooh! If you don't mind, I'm gonna go roll down them right now!" Izzy said, as she ran off with Misty behind her.

"*giggle* Wait for me, Izzy!"

"Yeah, I agree with Pipp here, this definitely feels like a good area to set up everything." Sunny said. "So you made the perfect choice, Sparky."

"Thank you, Sunny. It's the least I can do."

"Since when did you become so clever lately?" Hitch said, as he rubbed his head.

Pipp brought out some paper and started drawing up the layout of the festival. "Okay, so this is how I like it to be. The hills are at the back, so it's ideal to have the main stage out front." Izzy and Misty rolled down the hills laughing behind her. "And because there will be a massive crowd here, we'll need lots of speakers to have a good balance."

"Ooh, maybe not too much, Pipp. We don't want anypony getting their ears hurt." Zipp complained. "Not even ours."

"Then how about a select few around the place?" Hitch suggested. "And when they're all set, we'll do a sound check for safety."

"Exactly how I planned, Hitch!" Pipp said. "I never thought you cared about ponies' health and well-being, too."

"Well, you know I can't leave out my friends', either." He then turns to Sunny. "So, how are you feeling about this? Excited?"

Sunny smiled... "More than that, Hitch." ...and looks out over the field. "I'm starting to think this is the beginning of something great."

Later at night, Zack returns to his house after another long, hard day at work. As he pops into his bed, he looks at a portrait of him as a filly with his Mom. He picks it up and decides to have a moment.

"Hi, Mom. Just wanted to tell you something uh... surprising, if that's okay. But it's a really good surprise, I promise. So, I... I was working at the city today, you know, like I did yesterday and the day before that and so on, and then I... I met a girl. An earth pony, to be exact. Her name is Sunny, and she looks really nice. She was also promoting a huge music festival that sounds quite interesting, and it's called Glastonpony. I never heard of that name before. Hmm, what should I do? Take a day off? I think I should go to Maretime Bay tomorrow and have a visit, and maybe see her again? Yeah, I think I can do that. I know I'm not a coward. *chuckle* Doing my best to make you proud. I love you forever." He kisses the portrait and puts it back on the desk. "Goodnight." He then turns off the lamp and falls asleep.

Zack may have probably thought about Sunny ever since he met her earlier. He also may have never went to Maretime Bay before, so maybe tomorrow could very well be his chance!

Meanwhile, at the Brighthouse, where all the girls are asleep, Sunny is hearing some weird noises in her head, and her rainbow mane got more colorful in the process, with green and orange now appearing. She starts mumbling, constantly moving her head left and right and struggling to get it out. She suddenly wakes up in a fright, breathing heavily as the noises stop. Luckily for her, she didn't disturb any of her friends, as they were in a deep sleep. She puts her hoof on her head, thinking on how it happened, but she just couldn't do it any further and lays back down on her bed, letting out a big sigh.

Author's Note

Flamber: A red dragon who is the lead singer of Tongues of Fire.

Stoner: A green dragon who's the guitarist.

Reaper: A yellow dragon who plays bass.

Doomer: A blue dragon who plays the drums.

5. Making Progress/New Powers

After Sunny and Zack had their long conversation, they went down to the festival site with the other girls, who are ready to begin construction.

"So what have you girls got planned?" Zack asked. "You all have a part, right?"

"Well, I drew the blueprints for the main stage, so that's what most of us should be focusing on today." Pipp replied.

"Big job. But what about the rest?"

"No need to worry about it, buddy, we got it all covered." Zipp assured.

As they walked over the hill, they stopped to realize that the main stage has already made big progress!

"That's one way to start the structuring." Izzy said.

But Pipp groaned with worry. "But is it matching the blueprints?! Somepony may have left something!" She then flew down to the site.

"Hey, I'm sure it's not that bad, Pipp!" Misty called out. "Right?"

Hitch has been telling everyone earlier on how the main stage should look like, and he thinks it's going according to plan.

"Alright, just add a couple more of those here and we should be about done on the structuring. We're doing a good job!"

"Hitch! What is going on here!? Why have you started without us!?"

"Oh, morning, Pipp. Just thought we'd make a jump start."

"But what about the blueprints we written down? It has to be perfect!"

"Hey, take it easy. Me and Sparky kept it in our trains of remembrance, so there's no need to overreact."

"Exactly as you planned it, Pipp." Sparky said.

"*sigh* I do hope you're right, guys. We can't let this be a disaster. *gasp* Oh no, and now I have to tell the Pippsqueaks about the costumes!" She brings out her phone and starts texting her fans. "Sunny, get your smoothie slot ready ASAP! Zipp, start working on the sound system! And Izzy and Misty, start the glittering and glamoring right now!"

"Right on it, Pipp!" The unicorns said.

"What?! Pipp, you know I can't do the sound stuff on my own!" Zipp called.

"Then don't just stand there, find somepony who will help out!!" Pipp said, as she flew away.

"Says the one who's in charge of the festival!!" Zipp shouted back in frustration, and Izzy sneaked by her side.

"Actually, Zipperoonie, it's our festival." She corrected. "Me and Pipp's."

"*sigh* No need to tell me that, Izzy. Let's just get to work."

As Zack watches them, he turns to Sunny, not knowing that she makes smoothies.

"Just hearing from Pipp about you doing a smoothie slot... do you make smoothies?"

"Oh yes, I didn't tell you that. Only the best ones for anyone's taste. They're kind of my addiction."

"Are they? I guess that's your daily job."

"Mostly. What about you? What's your job?"

"Ah, it's kind of big one, going back-and-forth every weekday, but... I work at a drinking factory."

"Ooh, drinks. You have a favorite flavor in mind?"

"Blueberry. It makes me wanna relax, close my eyes and have big dreams. I'll save one for you, if you're interested."

"Aw, thanks. But I'll have one of my smoothies later on. We're gonna be spending most of the day here anyways. Got costumes to make, lighting to sort out, sound systems to test... It's like you said, big job."

"Is there anything I can help with?"

"Uh, sorry, the roles have been taken, so..."

"At least I can look around, right?"

"Sure you can. I'm not gonna stop you."

Zack turned to have a look at the stage. "I gotta say, this stage is coming along nicely. Maybe with a touch of magic, I guess we can make things quicker than expected."

"Well, I told you, we can do anything as long as we're together. That's the power of friendship after all."

They then watched Izzy applying rubies onto the boards at the bottom of the stage. "Wow. I'll admit, that Izzy girl is really enjoying this right now."

"I love Izzy. She's actually the first-ever non-earth pony friend I've ever made."

"Really? That's too bad, because I never really made my first non-pegasus friend yet. But really, I... *sigh* I actually don't have any pony friends." He said sadly.

Sunny took that in and frowned. "...You don't?" Zack shakes his head in response. "Well, on that extremely sad note... seeing that you know so much about me already, even though we first met like 24 hours ago... you can be friends with us, if you want." Zack looked at her and slowly regained his smile. But suddenly, the noises in her head came back again, as she lowered her head and put her hoof on it, groaning with pain.

"Whoa!" Zack went to check on her. "Whoa, Sunny, are you okay?"

"I don't know, I..." Sunny continued groaning, struggling to get it to stop.

In front of them, the structuring of the main stage from the right was about to collapse with ponies near it, as they look up, fearing the worse that was about to happen!

"EVERYPONY RUN!!!" Dahlia yelled, as everyone gets clear from the collapsing structure just in time. A massive ruble was made as the dust cleared.

"Okay, don't worry, everyone, this is just a temporary setback. It's all part of the job!" Phyllis chuckled nervously. "Let's try again and get everything right this time."

The noises in Sunny's head stopped again as Zack helped her get back up, and Izzy, Misty and Zipp ran up to her with worry.

"Sunny!" Izzy exclaimed.

"Are you alright?" Zipp said.

"What happened?" Misty asked.

"I'm fine now." Sunny replied, breathing heavily. "I'm okay."

"What was that?" Zack asked.

"I... I have no idea, it... it must've happened when the structuring was about to fall apart, and ponies were in danger." She guessed.

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"The noises in my head! They came back!"

"Just when the main stage was collapsing?" Misty thought.

"YES! No! *scoff* I don't know!"

Zack doesn't know where she is coming from. "I'm sorry, what is she on about again?"

"She's been coming down with these high, squeaky noises in her head ever since it happened last night." Zipp answered.

"Last night? Why didn't any of you tell me about this?"

"Uh, because it was none of your business." Izzy answered.

"Okay, but maybe it is now, so does she need a hospital? It looked serious!"

"No! I don't need to go to the hospital, Zack. But there has to be an explanation on why this is really happening to me..." Sunny wondered.

Zipp then thought of something. "Maybe, it could be that your magic is becoming more stronger than ever before, Sunny. Maybe you got yourself a new power!"

"Wh- what? A new power?"

"I've been studying a lot about magic, you know. Let's head back to the Brighthouse and talk about it there."

Sunny stopped her as she raised her hoof. "No, Zipp, we have work to do here, remember? We now have a giant mess to clean, and FYI, Pipp's gonna explode!"

"But on the bright side, at least the rubies are still intact." Izzy said, as she looked at them on the walls, until they collapse and fall down. "Bright side's gone."

"*sigh* Don't worry, Sunny, we'll take it from here." Misty said. "Just go back and recover."

"Well, it's time for more uni-cycling. And I LOVE uni-cycling!"

"You keep saying that, do you, Izzy?" Misty said, as the unicorns went off to clear the rubble.

"Zack, I'm... I'm sorry, I-" Sunny tried to say, feeling guilty.

"Hey, hey..." Zack said softly, as he brought her head up. "It's okay. Get some rest and I'll see you later, alright?"

"Let's go, Sunny." Zipp said, as she and Sunny leave the site and head back home.

As Zack watched on, he turns to see Sprout having an argument with his mother.

"I told you, Mommy, this wasn't my fault! Do I really have to repeat myself!?"

"Now, you listen to me, Sprout." Phyllis said, as Zack widens his eyes after hearing that name. "I know you didn't tighten that screw hard enough, so will you please just admit that you've made a mistake?"

"But I thought- *growl* So you thought I made a mistake on that one part?!"

"Sprout...?" Zack said suspiciously, as he remembered what Sunny said about him destroying her lighthouse.

"You signed your name on that paper, so you should be helping me, right?" Sprout argued.

"*scoff* You can't always rely on other ponies to do all the work for you! You have to do some of it yourself!"

"You!" Zack shouted, walking up to Sprout in anger. "You're Sprout, aren't you?"

"Ah great, and who are you supposed to be, Mr. Stranger?"

Zack felt insulted by that. "Mr. Stranger?! Sunny told me about you! You're the pony who destroyed her lighthouse that day!"

"Really? This again? I thought we moved on from that."

"Well, you should've been thrown in jail! Because last time I checked, nopony should ever do something reckless like that!"

"Reckless?! Like, making my Sproutacus Maximus? That was my finest invention ever!"

"Oh yeah?! More like a dangerous invention to me!"

Hitch, who saw them argue, jumped in and stopped them. "Hey-hey-hey! Both of you stop! Now what's going on here?"

"This blue pegasus was trying to terrorize me, Sheriff Hitch!"

"Terrorize?!! I was just asking why you destroyed Sunny's lighthouse! And how you betrayed her!!"

"OKAY!" Hitch shouted, not wanting to hear anymore of it. "Okay. Listen, there's no need to go through about what happened that night any further. That's all in the past now." Hitch said, and he turned to Sprout with a touch of anger. "And we have talked about this before, Sprout."

"But, I-"

"Alright, that's enough, sugarcube. Back to work, now." Phyllis demanded, and Sprout sighed with annoyance, walking away.

Hitch then turned back at Zack. "Was that really necessary?"

"Apologies, sir. You must be Sheriff Hitch, right? Zack Thunderlane. I didn't know you had a badge."

"Hitch Trailblazer to you." They firmly shake hooves. "I'm sorry he accused you of something like that, he... he can be dramatic."

"Nah, it's fine. Sunny told me about what he did, so I just wanted to know why."

"Did she? Believe me, buddy, everypony saw that disaster before, even myself."

"You were there? Why didn't you arrest him?"

"I fired him. Sprout was my deputy before magic came back, but during all that time, he was so jealous that I earned the position as sheriff, and he didn't. So now, I have Zipp as my replacement, and man, is she one heck of a partner?"

Zack, judging with the look on Hitch's face, thinks he has a crush on her. "You two seem to be really close to one another, huh?"

Hitch blushed a little. "What?! No! No, we're not. Or, not really, she's... well, you can just say that she's a really good friend. The best in the business."

"You sure about that? I'm sensing a little hint otherwise." Zack thought with a smirk on his face.

Grandma Figgy giggled as she stepped in. "And I would certainly feel the same way as you do, young man."

"Grandma Figgy, are you serious right now?!" Hitch said in frustration.

"Oh c'mon, Hitchy boy, it's obvious! No need to stop yourself from telling somepony you trust about how you really feel about Zipp. They'd be happy for you!" Hitch sighed with hesitation. "And who is he, I may ask?"

"Yeah, this is uh... Zack. Sunny's new friend."

"Well, I'll be, it's nice to see you, Mr. Zack."

"You too, uh, Miss Piggy?"

"Excuse me?!!" Hitch said in shock and disgust.

Grandma Figgy laughed by that and corrected him. "It's Figgy."

"Yeah, I know, I heard you, just... lightening the mood. *giggle*" Sparky flew in beside him, taking him by surprise. "Oh, and who are you, little green buddy?"

"You must be Zack, huh? My name's Sparky, a.k.a. the coolest dragon in all of Equestria!"

"Are you!? Wow, for a guy your size, you somehow look the part."

"Go easy on him, okay? He's my son." Hitch said in defence.

"Your what?"

Sparky looked at Hitch with a hurt expression, and with nothing to say, he flew off.

"Sparky! Hey, where are you going?!" Hitch called out, but Sparky just ignored him. "What was that all about?"

"Maybe he didn't like what you just said?" Zack thought.

"*scoff* Something's not right here, I've been taking care of him for so long. I know he's been changing a lot, but I didn't think he would react like that."

Figgy put her hoof over his neck. "Don't worry, he may be off to my house, so I'll go keep an eye on him. You just get back to doing your duties." She said, as she walked away.

"Sheriff Hitch! A little help over here, please?" Posey called out. "I need some ideas of where to put my flowers, so I don't make any conflict with Dahlia's."

"Yeah, I'm coming, Posey!" Hitch answered, as he turned away. "Nice meeting you, Zack. And stay outta trouble, understand?"

"I understand, Hitch. I understand... ...Sparky's his son? How's that possible?" He questioned himself.

Back at the Brighthouse, Sunny was in her bed whilst Zipp was showing her some research on figuring out how her alicorn powers are continuously growing.

"Alright, so here's what I was able to dig up on. Ever since the day we brought magic back to Equestria, and you got your alicorn ability, it turns out that, overtime, it's been growing, and you're starting to earn more powers."

"Wait, is that suppose to be a good thing?"

"Well, judging by the sounds you got in your head, and what you thought caused it to happen, it seems pretty obvious to me."

"*groan* But I don't want these sounds in my head forever, Zipp! Can't you or anypony else try and help me make it go away for good?"

"Sorry, Sun. I don't think we can treat something like that. Except tinnitus, like Hitch thought."

"There must be something we could do!"

"Okay, let's rewind to last night. When you first started experiencing them, what did it really feel like?"

"PAINFUL! How else can I describe it?!" Sunny said in a grump.

"But you still seemed okay, even after it happened. And despite that grumpy look on your face, everything seems normal and positive to me. So be honest, do you still feel okay as of right now?"

"I... Well, yes, I do. I don't feel sick or anything, so I'm not sure why I'm even in bed."

"Alright, we're getting somewhere! Now onto the next topic: when it occurred a second time, back at the site earlier, you mentioned that it only happened because those ponies were in danger of being crushed by the falling stage, right? Well, you got lucky that no one was hurt. But is it true that you saw that?"

"Well... when it did kick in, Zipp, it... it gave me a vision."

"A vision?! HA! That means you saw something, I knew it! I never doubt my instincts!"

"Okay, okay, I get it! So yeah, I had a vision of the main stage that was about to fall on those ponies, but... I don't know, shouldn't I have stopped it from falling?"

"Who knows? Maybe, add that with your alicorn powers, and you can stop anything bad from happening and save everypony! You could actually become a SUPERHERO!"

"A superhero?! You might be thinking a little too much there..." Sunny said unsurely.

"Oh, come on, you don't know what being a superhero feels like? I have one that I love so much. Oh, and why don't we treat Opaline Arcana as a supervillain!? It might be intense, but seeing as how your first outing panned out, I know you would win in a rematch."

Sunny raised her hoof, as she didn't want to hear anymore about the evil alicorn. "Zipp, can we please not bring Opaline into this? I don't wanna end up worrying about her too much. And besides, a superhero's a comic book thing."

"Alright, alright. I got a little too excited there. Now, what about last night? Did you see anything bad at that point?"

"Uh, no. I... If I remember it, it was all over the place, like... it was showing me certain spots of Bridlewood, Maretime Bay, Zephyr Heights, and... well, possibly everywhere around Equestria. It was weird, but I didn't think it would do that."

"Maybe it was trying to help you get to grips with it?"

"I can't be sure, Zipp." Sunny said, as she got out of her bed. "But, if your theory is right, then... maybe my life has just gotten more difficult than ever before. I don't know if I can handle it."

Seeing her friend being so worried and doubtful, Zipp comforted her. "Hey, it's okay. You'll figure it out. I know you will." Sunny smiled at her slowly, but then... the sounds kick in yet again, as she puts her hoof on her head. "*gasp* It's come back again?!"

"Yes, somehow! It's-"

"No-no-no, don't complain, focus! What do you see? What's happening!?"

Sunny took a few breathes and started to embrace the sounds, focusing on her vision as it was showing that a filly is stranded at sea, and a huge wave is approaching. "Somepony's in trouble! They're stranded out at sea and a big wave is coming!" She then ran towards the window.

"Where?!"

"HERE! At the beach!" Sunny opens the window wide open and sees the endangered filly out at sea, screaming for help. Sunny closed her eyes and activates her alicorn powers. "I can do this." Without hesitation, she jumped out and flew away to the rescue.

Zipp started to feel excited again and decides to follow her to the scene. "I gotta see this!" But then, she quickly turned back to close the window. "Safety first."

Sunny and Zipp zoomed down to the beach, where the filly's parents are in a huge scare. The clouds have gotten dark, and the winds have increased in speed, forcing the waves to become dangerous, and the lifeguard is too nervous to go save him.

"SOMEPONY PLEASE SAVE OUR SON!!" The parents yelled.

"Ponies, don't worry! We're here to help!" Sunny said. "Do you know where he is?"

"He's all the way out there! And the wave's gonna drown him!" The mother panicked.

"I can't take on those waters, Starscout. It's too dangerous for me to go in." The lifeguard said. "It's too dangerous for everyone!"

Zipp used her goggles to try and find the endangered filly, but due to the waves of the water, has no luck. "Sea's too rough. Sunny, get to higher ground! I'll use my drone!"

"Got it!"

As soon as Sunny went up into the sky, Zipp unleashes her drone to search for the filly. And after several seconds, Zipp has found him, but time is running out!

"Sunny, I found him! Wave's closing in fast!"

"I see him too! Wish me luck!" Sunny responded, as she flew down to the ocean.

"HURRY!!"

Embracing the dangers, Sunny weaved around the rising waters left and right in heroic fashion. She gasped as she sees the filly getting caught in the wave.

"HELP! HELP MEEEE!!!"

"HANG ON, I'M COMING!!"

It was now or never for Sunny, as she used her powers to dash forward as fast as lightning! She finally reached the filly and grabbed him tightly in her arms, but the wave was starting to fall down on them!. They closed their eyes as Sunny starts unleashing a huge power... and they exploded right out of the wave and into the air, alive and unscathed! Everyone from the beach saw what happened and cheered for Sunny, as she looked down on them and descended to the ground with a warm smile. She was a hero.

"You saved me...!" The filly said, as he hugged Sunny with tears in his eyes.

"You're okay." Sunny said warmly, hugging him back.

"MY BABY!" The filly's mother said with relief, as she and the father ran up and gathered to cuddle him.

"You saved our son! How can we ever repay you?" The father asked.

"Maybe a tearful and heartwarming 'thank you', I suppose?"

"What you did out there was very brave, Starscout." The lifeguard said. "I'll be closing the beach for everyone's safety until the storm passes."

"Thank you, sir. Happy to help." Sunny replied, as she deactivated her alicorn ability and sighed of relief.

"SUNNY!!" Zipp shouted, as she ran up and hugged her with joy. "I can't believe it, THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!!!"

"Yeah, it was!" Sunny agreed with a grin on her face, but then turned slightly mad. "But incredibly INSANE! I risked my life out there! I could've drowned myself!!"

"Except you didn't! Seriously, when I saw you flying like that and blasting outta the water like a rocket ship, that felt exactly like one of my favorite scenes from a comic book!! You ARE a superhero!!!"

"That again? Still sounds quite far-fetched to me, but... maybe you're right. Maybe this new thing isn't so bad after all."

"See, I knew you'd figure it out!"

"But I don't want it to go all haywire or something, so should everypony learn to be more careful from now on? Including us?"

"How are we supposed to know that? These things happen, and it's okay. It's how we learn from them that counts."

"*sigh* Yeah, you have a point. I know what I did back there was... well, if you'd like, daring and amazing... but I still don't know if my life has gotten more harder because of this."

"Sunny, you saved a filly's life because of that new power of yours. And I know you saved us before, ordering everyone to help out and stopping the troggles, but really, I've never seen you pull off anything like that. It was really heroic. I understand it'll take time, but... you'll get used to it, I promise."

Sunny brings her smile back and nuzzles her. "Thanks, Zipp. I couldn't have done it without you."

"What can I say except 'you're welcome'? Oh, and just wait till we tell the others about this. I bet they won't even believe a single word." Then, her phone rang as she brought it out from her wing... "Ah, perfect timing." ...and answered it. "Hey, Lil' Pippster. So, how's the costumes going? Good?"

"Oh yes, Big Zippster, very sensational, thank you very much. I mean, you can't even imagine how starstruck I am with my Pippsqueaks and their surprising design skills. Just look at this!" She shows her the new costumes.

"Wow! They look pretty good."

"I know! And to also add to the conversation, how is the festival stage going?"

"Ah, I'm glad you asked, because it's going great! Very great, to be precise."

"Oh really? Was that how you saw it? Well, I just received word... that THESE PHOTOS SHOW OTHERWISE!!" She shouted, as she displays the photos of the rubble of the stage on the phone.

Zipp was put in a shock, not knowing what to say. "Uh-oh..."

"WHAT has happened out there, Zephyrina Storm!?! Did someone make a slip-up?! Have they forgotten to tighten a screw on one of those pipes?!! I told you and EVERYPONY at the site that this stage MUST BE PERFECT! AND NOW, IT'S ALREADY RUINED!!!"

"Okay, okay, chillax! You got me. But it was an accident, alright? So I promise you, it won't happen again."

"Won't happen again? Won't happen again?!" She repeated. "You call THAT a promise worth keeping? You better not break it, sis, or I swear, YOU are OUTTA THE JOB!"

"Outta the job?! You think you're the boss of me even though you're the youngest one in the family?! Gimme a break!"

"I told you, it's MY festival!"

"And Izzy's!" Zipp reminded. "Don't leave her out. And besides, the sound systems that you've assigned me up for? They're working optimally. So can you at least be happy with that?"

"*scoff* It's gonna take a lot more than optimal sound systems to make such an iconic festival. And... where are you? Are you back at Maretime Bay?! You should be working at the site!"

"Yeah, I know, I know, but I had to go back, because Sunny had another one of these head noisy things again. She told us about it this morning, remember?"

"Uh, yeah. And why?"

"Well, I was doing some digging, and we've finally understand how it happens. Whenever there's something bad going down, the sounds will kick in and it'll give Sunny a vision about what's happening. It kicked in again when you left, and she said she saw the stage that was about to collapse with those ponies in danger, and-"

"*gasp* PONIES IN DANGER?!?!" Pipp snapped. "You know I can't afford anypony getting hurt before the big day, Zipp! NOT ONE BIT!"

"No, they're fine! They're fine. So yeah, after it happened, we went back home to discuss the sounds there, and then they kicked in a third time. Only then, a filly was stranded at sea and a big wave was gonna drag him in! But Sunny saw what was gonna happen, so we swooped in, worked together, and saved the day!"

Pipp felt stunned by what she heard. "What?! Sunny, is that true?"

Sunny took over the phone. "Yes, Pipp. It is. I know I've just started experiencing it last night, but Zipp told me it'll take time for me to get used to it. And now that I thought hard about it... maybe I might."

"*sigh* And here, I thought you were coming down with something worrying. But... you saved a filly from drowning? That is amazing, Sunny! Well, you could've done something to stop the stage from falling earlier, but this? I'm literally speechless..."

Zipp puts her hoof over Sunny with a cool look. "I'm telling ya, she's a superhero now."

"Not really..." Sunny said unsurely.

And then, Izzy joined in on the call, having eavesdropped everything. "What?! Is it true that you're a superhero, Sunny? Like an ACTUAL SUPERHERO?!"

"Izzy, no! I'm... *groan* Why do I have to keep talking about this every single time? I'm not a superhero, it's just a comic book thing!"

"Wait, have you been hearing on what we were talking about?!" Zipp thought.

"It sounded exciting, so you know, just thought I join in, seeing that I love exciting things. *giggle* Anyway, I just wanna let you girls know that me and Misty have fully unicycled and completed the ruby boards! Ta-da!" She shows them the newly designed boards, taking them by surprise. "Yeah, before the wreck, we didn't actually like how they looked, so we thought about doing some fine improvements and making them exactly to our high standards. Thoughts?"

"Wow. I'll admit, Izzy, that's not bad at all. I like it!" Sunny said. "What do you think, Pipp?"

"Love it!"

"And me? Couldn't agree more." Zipp agreed. "But what about Misty? Where is she?"

"Oh, Alphabittle came down a couple minutes ago, and Misty's gone down to Bridlewood with him. But don't worry, it's nothing to fear about, I'm sure."

"O...kay, but what was her reaction to the boards, Izzy?" Pipp asked, reminding her.

"100% extremely positive! And seeing that we all love it, I'd say we are even!"

"Uh, all except two, you mean? We can't leave out Hitch and Sparky, right?" Sunny said.

Speaking of Hitch, he also joined in on the call, but with a worried look. "It's terrible!" He said.

"WHAT?!" The girls shouted in shock.

"No, no! Not the boards, they're good. I meant Sparky, who Sunny just mentioned!"

"What about Sparky, Hitch? Is everything alright?" Zipp asked.

6. Dragon-Dad Problems/Shocking Reveal

Hitch and the girls met back up at the Brighthouse to discuss what went down with him and Sparky at the site.

"You did what?!" Zipp asked in shock.

"*groan* It wasn't my fault!" Hitch argued. "I didn't think Sparky would just fly away like that after I told Zack to go easy on him."

"But Zack's a nice guy." Sunny stated. "He would never threaten anyone."

"And you also said to him that Sparky's your son?" Zipp said.

"Of course I did!!" Hitch shouted. "What was I suppose to do, not say those things at all!?"

"Hitch, calm down!" Sunny interjected. "I'm sure he's okay with Grandma Figgy, but we've talked about this before; everyone changes and start to understand more when they grow up. And we all know that, do we?"

"Yeah, me and Zipp had problems growing up, even when we lost our father, but we ended up bonding together in the end. It's not a big deal, really."

"Ah, a big deal? Well, even though Sparky has been changing and that he can now talk, he's still a baby dragon, and I still care about him, okay?! So I can't have him risking his life out there and potentially getting himself into danger! Do you even know how l look right now?!" He sighs and lowers his head in disappointment.

"Oh, Hitchypoo, we understand how you feel, but there's no need to be scared." Izzy said, remaining positive. "Hopefully, with Sunny's new power, we'll make sure nothing ever happens to him. And besides, we don't just care about Sparky, we care about everypony, even ourselves."

"I know, but... I guess being a dragon-dad has become much more challenging than I ever thought."

"But you also know that we're here for you, Hitch." Zipp said in comfort, holding his hoof with a smile. "Whenever you need us."

Hitch began to smile at her back, but then, Misty came back from her time with Alphabittle, walking through the door with a sad look on her face.

"Whoa, what's wrong, Misty?" Sunny asked with worry. "Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, Sunny, I... *sniff* I just can't. Not right now." She ran upstairs with tears pouring from her eyes.

"What? Misty!" She tried to go after her, but Zipp stops her.

"Don't. I think she needs some time alone."

"But something must've happened to her. Shouldn't we..."

They then turn to see Grandma Figgy arriving with Sparky by her side, who's not in a good mood.

"Sparky!" Hitch said, sighing in relief as he walked up to him and tried to give him a cuddle. "Thank goodness you're alright."

"Don't touch me!" The little dragon snapped, leaving Hitch and the others stunned, and then turned to Figgy with a little smile. "Thanks for the hot cocoa, Grandma." He then walked into the Brighthouse.

"You're very welcome, Sparky." Figgy replied, before facing Hitch with a sigh. "I'm sorry about that, he's still feeling upset."

"I think I know why. I'll see what I can do from here. Thank you for taking care of him."

"Anything for my grandson. If nothing changes here, Hitch, then you will let me know, will you?"

"Always." He and Figgy embraced. "I'll see you later." As soon as Figgy left, Hitch closes the door and turns to face Sparky with anger. "Right, I need answers from you, Sparky Sparkeroni!"

"About what!? How you embarrassed me in front of Zack back there?! I can't believe you did that!!"

"Well, I can't believe you just flew away from me! So why did you do it!?"

"BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU SAID! Why don't you trust me when anypony goes near me or when I go near them all the time?! You told me that I can make as many friends as I want!"

"*sigh* I know that, Sparky, but that doesn't change the fact that I still care about you and your safety. Do you have any idea what will happen if someone nasty took you away from us again? Just like last time, when that monster Opaline Arcana tried to drain all of your magic and make you fall?! You could've been killed back then!"

As the two continue to argue, the girls just watch on with concern.

"Zipp, shouldn't we do something about this?" Pipp asked.

"I wouldn't get involved if I were you."

"So what are you gonna do now? Ground me?!" Sparky asked, desperate for Hitch to answer.

"Yes, I can do that right here and now if I have to! Because no matter what I do, you're always pushing yourself to extremes, and you're not even ready for that!"

"YOU CAN'T CONTROL MY LIFE!!" Sparky suddenly shouted. "YOU'RE NOT EVEN A REAL DAD!!"

Having had enough, Hitch then shouted at him back. "I AM YOUR DAD, SPARKY!! I CAN CONTROL YOUR LIFE, SO I DECIDE AND SAY WHAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU!!"

Sparky felt scared by that, and the girls were left in a sad shock. Because of Hitch's shouting, Sparky ran upstairs sobbing.

"Sparky? Sparky!" He tried to follow him, but Sunny, feeling disgusted, stopped him.

"HITCH, STOP! You've done enough!"

Hitch then realized what he'd done, as he faced Pipp, Izzy and Zipp with guilt. He tried to say something, but just couldn't do so, as he sighed and turned away.

"Hitch..." Zipp said softly, as she watched the saddened stallion in despair, who then walked out of the Brighthouse.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Izzy asked with worry.

Zipp thought of something and sighed. "I'll go with him. The rest of you check on Sparky and Misty, alright? We have enough problems as it is."

"Sure, Zipp. Something's really not right here..." Sunny said with concern, as she, Pipp and Izzy went to the balcony, whilst Zipp headed down to the station.

Misty was cradling Sparky in her hooves whilst on her bed, as they were both trying to fight back their own tears.

"I'm really sorry he yelled at you like that, Sparky."

"Why can't I try and look after myself? *sniff* He never trusts me..."

"I don't know, maybe it's because you're... a little too young? Or it could be because of Opaline..." Sparky looked up to her with a little scare. "I know I shouldn't have sent you to her, and I'm never gonna do that again. I may have told you before, but I thought it was the only way of getting my cutie mark. I always wanted one, but... I should've known earlier that they're meant to be earned."

"I don't blame you, Misty." Sparky said, and Misty looked down on him with a little smile. "Your mark is beautiful."

"Hey, you two." Sunny said, walking up to them with Izzy and Pipp by her side. "How are you feeling?"

"I... I heard what happened downstairs. Sparky needed me, so I just didn't know what else to do."

"Well, it's nice that you're trying to make him feel better." Izzy said. "He's been going through a lot recently, just like you had."

"Yeah... I see that."

"We know it's not easy being young and all, but that doesn't mean we should change who we are, right?" Pipp said.

"Of course." Izzy agreed. "We love being who we are, and that's what matters."

"But we also need to know what happened between you and Alphabittle, Misty, and we wanna know why." Sunny said.

But Misty still didn't want any of it. "Sunny, I told you..."

"Don't shut us out. We've given you some time alone, so now you should tell us. We made a promise; no more secrets, no more lies. Remember?"

After a few seconds, Misty exhaled deeply and nodded her head. "We did... and you deserve to know everything." She got off her bed and sat down on the floor with her friends around her.

"You can tell us. We're here for you." Sunny said warmly.

"Okay... So, Alphabittle took me down to his house, and he thought we wanted to know more about each other."

"But, Misty, that's a nice thing to do." Pipp said with a smile. "Why'd you get upset with that?"

"No, Pipp, I... Look, the reason I got upset was because... he said he knew me and my parents years ago..."

Around an hour ago, back at Bridlewood, Misty followed Alphabittle into his house and had a look around. She saw a huge line of souvenirs stored on one shelf, including an old clock, a bracelet, a wool hat, and many more.

"Whoa. No wonder you have a lot of everypony's favorite souvenirs." Misty said. "You must've had a long winning streak, huh?"

"That's right, but... that's not the reason why I brought you here, Misty." Alphabittle said, becoming a little sad. "It's much more than that. It's about you."

Misty turned to face him in question. "Me? What do you mean?"

"Now, you may not understand, but I have something I want to show you." He said with a cautious voice, as he opened up his old locker whilst Misty walked up to him, trying to find out what it is. Alphabittle turned to her and reveals a portrait of Misty's parents.

Misty took the portrait from him and looked at it closely, but she doesn't know who they really are. "What is this?" She asked softly.

"Your parents." Alphabittle answered, and Misty looked up to him, raising her eyebrows. "Well, they were. See, I knew them a long time ago. Even before you were born."

"H-how did you...?"

In a flashback, the unicorns were all running from a villainous monster, screaming for their lives.

"The night after your birth, though... there was a malicious attack, and we didn't know what to do, except run." Alphabittle stated with sadness. "I saw what happened to them..."

Misty's parents saw what was happening from inside their house, and they decided to take foal Misty with them and sneak out, in hopes that they would get away without being spotted. But they turn to see the monster fast approaching, and they all got in a panic and started to run. But in a few seconds, Misty's mother tripped and got her hoof stuck in a twig. Her father turned in fear and tried to reach her, but it was too late, as the monster closed in on her.

"RUN!!!!!" Misty's mother screamed, as her father had no other option but to run away in tears, leaving her as the monster attacks and kills her.

Having ran so far away, Misty's father ran out of breath and stopped at a huge tree near the outskirts of Bridlewood. He thought he escaped, but it wasn't to be, as the monster was coming back at him, having followed his hoofsteps. Fearing that his time has come to an abrupt and heartbreaking end, he gently lays Misty on the ground. "Goodbye, Misty..." He said, as he kissed her forehead and left her behind, leaving her wailing. But it wasn't long before the monster attacked and killed him too, as Alphabittle caught up and watched in horror.

"The moment I saw them die, the monster was tall and... it had big wings." Alphabittle added. "I tried to retrieve you myself, but I was too late."

Having heard Misty's wailing, the monster walked up to her and picked her up, taking her away as a little piece of paper dropped from her blanket. Alphabittle ran up to it and picked it up, revealing that it was her exact name that her parents decided to call her. The saddened stallion broke down to the ground and sobbed in tears, having failed to save her in time.

Misty, after hearing everything, got into a heartbreaking panic, as she dropped the portrait, which its glass shattered, and just couldn't believe what Alphabittle said. "No... No, no-no-no, please tell me that's not true. Please tell me it isn't true!"

Alphabittle raised his hoof and tried to comfort her. "Misty, I'm sorry, I-"

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!" Misty snapped away in anger, stunning him, as she began crying. "So you brought me down here... just so you would get the chance to tell me that the life I had was built on lies? That Opaline... killed my parents?! And... and you just watched them die?!!"

"I didn't have a choice! I didn't wanna suffer the same fate as they did! From the moment I saw you at the Manesquerade Ball that night, Misty, it all came back to me, everything! I remembered your parents, and more importantly, I remembered you!"

Misty started yelling at him. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME!! I COULD'VE HAD A FAMILY, I COULD'VE HAD A HAPPY LIFE, AND I WOULDN'T HAVE GONE DOWN THAT DARK PATH WITH OPALINE IF IT WERE FOR YOU!! BUT WHAT DID YOU DO?! YOU DID NOTHING!!"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!! I TRIED TO SAVE YOU!!" Alphabittle yelled back, stunning Misty, but then immediately snapped out of it. But when that reminded Misty when Opaline raged at her that day, she continued crying and got even more angry. Realizing what he just did, Alphabittle tried to apologize. "Misty-"

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!" Misty yelled at the top of her lungs, as she stormed out of the house and ran away sobbing.

"MISTY!" Alphabittle called out, but Misty just completely ignored him, leaving him upset as he lowered his head in shame.

Sunny, Izzy, Pipp and Sparky took in all of what Misty said real seriously, and they were all shocked with sorrow.

"Is... is that true?" Izzy asked, and Misty broke down and cried.

Sunny began tearing up. "Oh, Misty, we're so sorry!" She and Izzy hugged her tightly.

"Opaline killed your parents?! Why would she do that to you!?" Pipp asked.

"I don't know, I... *sniff* I just... She kept that from me... lied to me this whole time... I'm sorry..." Misty weeped.

"No... Misty, what happened to your family, it wasn't your fault. You were just a foal, and... the way we see it now, you were never lost, you were taken. You only ran away because your past came back to you."

"Well, what was I suppose to do instead?" Misty asked. "Move on and just accept that it happened, end of story? I know I shouldn't have yelled at Alphabittle earlier, but I just couldn't bare to hear any more of it."

"But, Misty, he knew your parents a long time ago, and he tried to save you, so he was telling the truth." Izzy said. "I'm sure he didn't mean to make you cry." Something then came up, and she began to think of it. "And maybe, because he also knew you, too..."

"*gasp* He could be your uncle!" Pipp said with a big smile.

Misty raised her head in a tick. "My uncle?!" She said in surprise.

"YES! That's amazing, you should be really happy with that! Right, Sunny?"

"I agree, and... I think it's right if you owe him an apology." Sunny advised, and Misty turned her head slightly in deep sorrow. "Misty, we understand that it's hard to process everything that was said to you earlier, but you're not alone. You know we're here when you need us with you."

"I'm grateful, Sunny. But I should've known what it's like to have a father figure in my life... or a family."

"We're your family now." Izzy said with a smile. "As long as you're happy with that."

"And hey, if you never had a family, or more importantly, us, then you wouldn't be who you are right now." Pipp said.

"That's right." Sunny agreed. "And we're very happy to have you here with us."

Misty smiled back at her, and then turned normal again. "You know, Opaline once told me that, without her, I wouldn't have any friends or family, and that made me think she would be my mother. But now I know that was all a lie." She wiped her tears, and showed a touch of anger on her face. "I hate her so much..."

"We all do." Sparky said, holding her hoof.

"And I promise you, when the time comes, we will stop her once and for all." Sunny said firmly, yet positively. "Together."

"Together." Misty nodded.

"We love you, Misty." Pipp said lovingly. "Always and forever."

"*sniff* I love you all, too..." Misty said tearfully, as she and the others gathered for a heartwarming hug. "Thank you for having me..."

Back at the Sheriff Stallion, Hitch and Zipp have been having a heated discussion about the sheriff's problems with Sparky.

"I just don't get it, Zipp!" Hitch said, pacing around the room. "First, I embarrassed him in front of Sunny's new friend, and now, I yelled at him right in the face and got punished for it?! *scoff* Yes, maybe it's because I went too hard on him and didn't even apologize! I can't win, can I?!"

"Well, I've never seen you treat anyone like that! It's just that Sparky's changed a lot! I mean, we of all ponies and dragons get that, but there's no need for you to take it so seriously."

"No, Zipp. No, no and no! I take it very seriously. I'm the sheriff, for Equestria's sake, and what's my job here? To maintain everyone's safety and well-being, including Sparky's!"

"And as your detective partner, Hitch, I get that. And like Izzy said, we all care about everyone as much as you do, but there will obviously come a point where they'll be able to take care of themselves. It took me a few years to embrace it, so... why don't you see that?"

"Zipp, I do see that, but... *sigh* Look, I've spent such a long time doing this huge job of mine. But ever since I found Sparky's egg down on the beach that day, I started to find a new light. A new path, to say the least. And when he hatched, it was the most touching moment I have ever had in my life. I was trying so hard to be a good dragon-dad and sheriff at the same time, but now, months have past, and... somehow it's gotten more complicated." He walked over to his desk and sat on his chair in depression. "Maybe I should give up on doing both, and just focus on the one thing that's important the most."

"What, you're gonna give up being a dragon-dad?"

"No... being the sheriff."

"What...?" Zipp said softly, having not seen that coming.

"Maybe I need to let that go and have somepony else take my place..."

"No!" Zipp disagreed, as she went up to him and brought his head up. "No, don't you even think about that. You are hoofs down the greatest and most skilful sheriff in all of Maretime Bay, Hitch, and nopony would be ever safe without you. It's what you wanted your whole life! Me and the girls wouldn't want you to let that go, not even your grandma. And if there's no sheriff, there will be no detective either. Like it or not, we have to be here for everypony, it's what we do, hoof to heart."

"I know, but what about Sparky? Do I have to let him go and leave him on the Isle of Scaly? Do I have to stop being a dragon-dad for my own good? Who's gonna take care of him if I'm not? You?"

"Well, that's hard to predict from my point of view, but... how about Misty?" Hitch became shocked by that option. "You know she likes animals the same way as you do."

"Misty? *scoff* Misty?! You'd really expect me to believe that? How can she look after Sparky? She dragon-napped him, Zipp!"

"That was under Opaline's control!" Zipp reminded.

"But what if, suddenly, Misty takes him away and sends him to her again!? You know what happened last time when she betrayed us, right? And we could've lost Sparky as well!"

"I understand, but that's never gonna happen! She left Opaline behind and she's now on our side, remember? We broke her out of that darkness, and brought her into the light, with us." Hitch sighed as he may have forgotten about Misty's redemption. "I know it's hard for ponies to make a tough choice. But, whatever you decide, sheriff or dragon-dad... I'm with you."

"I appreciate that, but I... Yeah, I just need more time to think, see how things go from now on. But in the meantime... I'm lucky to have you, Zipp."

Zipp smiled warmly. "Me too. And I love you, Hitch."

The stallion felt touched by that, and smiled back at her. "I love you, too."

As the two leaned in to kiss, Zipp's phone suddenly pinged as she had a look and saw a text by Pipp, saying 'Opaline killed Misty's parents and filly-napped her' with an angry emoji next to it.

"*gasp* Oh no..." She said softly.

"What is it?"

"It's Misty... Her parents... Opaline killed them and took her away."

Hitch felt stunned as he took a couple steps back. "Why...?"

From outside, a glowing dark purple rat was spying on them through the window. This allowed Opaline to see what they were doing from her lair, and hear what they were talking about.

"You found out, didn't you? I had a feeling that would happen. But just wait till you see what I have in store, little ponies, when I finally break out of here and come for you... and your cutie marks!" She giggles evilly.

7. Sunny and Zack's Date

Two days later, the Glastonpony festival site is almost complete. It was another sunny morning, and Sunny and her friends are getting ready to set off and do the finishing touches. Sparky and Misty were still isolating from Hitch and Alphabittle ever since those moments, but hopefully they'll recover and come around.

But whilst they were getting their tools, the Brighthouse's doorbell rang. Sunny went up to the door and opened it, and was surprised to see that it was none other than Zack Thunderlane.

"Morning, Sunny. How ya doing?"

"Oh, morning, Zack." She giggles weirdly. "I'm doing okay, but we've been having a bit of trouble with Sparky and Misty recently."

"Really? What happened, are they okay?"

"Sparky's been going through a lotta issues with his 'dragon-dad', and Misty... well, she had a moment with Alphabittle. So they're both spending some time together for now."

"Okay then. As long as they're alright, that's all I need to hear."

"But, what are you doing here? I didn't expect you to come around this minute."

"Ah, you didn't? Do I always look like a surprise to you?" He said in a stylishly voice.

"*giggle* Maybe you do. So, what can I do for you?"

"Well, it's kinda hard to explain, but uh... See, ever since I left you to recover from your... weird, crazy head thingy a couple days back, I... I took the time to think of something that, maybe you and I can do, together. You know, like... hang out for the day, and maybe even know a little more about each other?"

From behind, Izzy was peeking from the couch and gasped with a big smile, hoping for something exciting to happen.

Sunny felt puzzled. "Hold on. So you're asking if... you want us to go out... on a date?"

"Yes, I am." Zack nodded, and Sunny was surprised. "But only if you want to, okay? I'm not persuading you or anything, I know that'd be rude and all. So, if you have something else planned for today, then yeah, that's fine. I totally understand."

Whilst Sunny was thinking about it, Izzy's smily grin widened. She was hoping for her best friend to say 'yes', but then...

"Well, Zack... I will say 'thank you' for the offer, but I have to finish setting up the festival, so... maybe another time?" Sunny suggested.

And with that, Izzy's face turned to shock and disappointment.

"Okay." Zack replied, as he felt a bit down. "I guess that's way more important than anything else, right?"

"Yeah... For now."

"Well, see you later then."

"Bye, Zack."

Zack turned away and walked off in a bit of shame, as Sunny closed the door behind him. But then, Izzy grabbed her in frustration.

"Sunny! Why not!?"

Sunny broke out from her friend's grasp with a shock. "Wait, you've been hearing all of that, Izzy?!"

"Darn right I did, maximum sneaky style! I mean, Zack Thunderlane, the most handsome Pegasus in all of Equestria, just offered you the chance to go out with him on a date, and yet, you turned it down just like that?!"

"Well, I had to, alright? Glastonpony's nearly complete, and we have to finish it." Izzy looked at her in disgust. "What, why are we doing another staring contest?"

"Your dad would be really disappointed in you right now." Izzy said in a low voice.

"Hey, don't bring him into this!" Sunny said madly.

"No, I mean it!"

"Izzy...!" Sunny growls in hesitation. "Look, you don't understand. I've never even been on a date before! What if I screw up and it all goes wrong!?"

"Of course it won't!"

"But how do you know that? *scoff* I just... didn't expect this to come down on me right here and now."

"So you're saying it's all new to you?"

"*sigh* Yes, it is. What else is there to say about it?"

"Then, you listen to me, Starry Sunny." She then held her friend's hoofs. "Ever since you met Zack that day, me and the others were starting to believe that you two would be great for one another."

"Oh c'mon, do you really believe that?"

"Yes, I do! You know, showing him the crystals and how they work, having a laugh or two... that was a nice start. But, what I'm really trying to say here, Sunny, is... don't turn it down. I know what it's like when ponies feel nervous about their first dates, and that's fine. But you disagreeing won't do you or Zack any good."

"But, Izzy, what about my job?"

"*blow raspberry* No need to worry about that, I'll take over for you."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely dooply! Anything for my best friend." Izzy said positively, and she hands her over a couple smoothies. "So, take these smoothies with you, be yourself, and just enjoy your quality time with him. It's all I can ask for."

Sunny wasn't so sure. "You really want me to do this, do you?"

"Well, I'm not giving you a choice, so..."

"So..."

"What's it gonna be, BFF?"

Sunny looked down at the smoothies she's carrying, and had to think really hard for a second. She then brought out a big exhale and decided.

Outside, Zack was walking along the path, heading back to his house. He did feel a tad down that Sunny refused to go out with him. But then...

"Zack!" Sunny called out behind him, as he stopped and turned to see her catching up. "Zack, wait!"

"Sunny?"

Sunny caught up to him, and began panting in short breaths. "Alright, you got me. I'm coming along."

"You sure? What made you change your mind?"

"Izzy. She said she would take over my job for today, just so I can go with you and not turn it down. She didn't give me a choice."

Zack giggles surprisingly. "Your best friend doing wonders, huh? I like the sound of that."

"Oh please, do you really know a lot about Izzy?"

"Well, she likes glitter and glamor of all things, as well as arts and crafts, and crystals, so yeah, I do. You jealous about that?"

"*snicker* No, I'm not jealous. Such a strong word."

Zack saw a glimpse of the smoothies Sunny brought in her bag. "Ah, I see you've brought some smoothies for the trip! Mind if I try one?"

"I was wondering you would say that." Sunny said, as she took a cup out of her bag and gave it to him. "Just remember not to have all of it straight away."

"Alright, I got ya." Zack said, as he then had a slurp of the smoothie, and found it quite tasty. "Mmm, orange? I like it."

"Thank you. So tell me, where are we going? Bridlewood?" She asked, whilst they were walking.

"No."

"Zephyr Heights?"

"Nope."

Sunny then stopped, feeling confused. "Well then, where are we going?"

"You like adventures, right?"

"Uh... yeah, I really do."

"Then you're gonna like what I have in store, just you wait." Zack winked.

"Okay, but... one more thing, this is my first time on a date, so whatever you do, don't make it a disaster, please."

"Hey, don't sweat it, this is my first time on a date, too. And no, it won't be a nightmare, I promise." He then shivered in fear. "Seriously, nightmares are the worst..."

"Yeah, I hate them too."

From the balcony of the Brighthouse, the rest of the girls saw Sunny and Zack walk off in the distance, and Izzy was looking out with some binoculars.

"Do you think it's working, Izzy?" Pipp asked.

"All according to plan." Izzy replied, as she and Pipp hoof bumped with a smile. Does it look like she set them up? No, not at all! She just wanted them to have a nice time together.

During their date, Sunny and Zack came across a huge field filled with hundreds of pretty flowers. Sunny bent down and had a smell on one of them; she thought it was beautiful as she let out a sigh, and a butterfly popped out and landed on her nose by surprise. As Sunny gave it a sweet smile, she then turned to see more butterflies coming out from the flowers. With her smile widening, she then ran though the field and twirled around them in joy. But for Zack... he also decided to have a smell on one of them, but he was shocked to see that there was a group of buzzy bees lying around. He startled as the bees seem to have got angry after being disturbed by him, and whilst Sunny sat down in peace with the butterflies around, Zack screamed as he ran away from the chasing bees in terror, and Sunny watched on in total laughter.

The two were then walking over a big hill, and Sunny, who was looking over it, thought of doing something fun. She took off her bag, laid onto the grass, and began rolling down like Izzy and Misty did on the other hill near the festival site. Seeing what she did, Zack giggled and wanted to do the same. He laid onto the grass and started rolling. He seemed to be liking it too, but he kept rolling and unknowingly went by Sunny. Zack got into a scare and began rolling faster and faster, losing control of himself and he crashes into a big bush. Sunny laughed out loud at this, as Zack felt so dizzy having rolled down at such fast speed.

After that, they encountered a group of rock pillars, like where Sunny originally got across on her first adventure with Izzy. Sunny showed Zack how she did it the previous time: jumping from one pillar to the next until she made it across. Zack, feeling unsure about doing the same, spread his wings open as he wanted to fly across instead, but Sunny doesn't want him to. Zack scoffed, reluctantly rolling his eyes and closing his wings. Taking a deep breath, Zack started leaping across the pillars one by one, nearly slipping on one of them, and he eventually made it across. Zack felt amazed, as he sighed in relief and started to move on, but Sunny stopped him as he was about to walk off a cliff. Having had her hoof on his chest, Zack felt a little touched and decided to hold it, looking at Sunny with a charming smile. But Sunny scoffed as she freed her hoof and pushed Zack's face, who giggled at the remark.

After working together to get a pineapple from a tree, Zack took Sunny down to a sparkling, glowing waterfall. Sunny gasped with a smile, as she slowly put her hoof in the falling water, feeling the splashes as she sighed in awe. Zack put his hoof in the water, joining in with her, but then, Sunny smirked as she threw some water onto Zack's face, putting him in shock. Zack started throwing some back at her, and they got into a hilarious water fight.

A little later, Sunny and Zack have been having fun as they were laughing with joy, walking through a lush green forest.

"Alright, Zack, I'll admit. That wasn't so bad."

"Are you kidding me? That was... well, crazy! I mean, you saw what happened to me, right? All those bees chasing me, throwing myself into a bush after rolling down the hill that fast?! I could've been stung, and... not feel my anything. I could've not feel my BODY!"

"Oh come on, it wasn't that disastrous. Look at you, you're okay!"

"Well, I am lucky to be alive, but..." He flapped his hoof to his head, feeling a little dehydrated. "It sure is hot out here, I'm breaking a sweat."

"Yeah, no wonder we have so much heat..." Sunny said, as she wiped her sweaty head. "Too bad our smoothies didn't last long. Isn't there any place around here where we could get something to drink? I think we're in the middle of nowhere."

Just as Zack was about to answer, they then arrived at his house. "Ah, glad you asked. Behold - the residence of Zack Thunderlane!" He said in a heroic voice, raising his hoof with a big smile.

Sunny felt confused, looking at Zack's house with a blank stare. "You mean this is your house?"

"Yup. And you can ignore the word 'residence', this is way too small to be residential."

"*giggle* You're full of weird, you know that?"

Zack opened the creaky door as they walked inside, and Sunny looked around, as she thought it looked really similar to her old lighthouse.

"This place... looks familiar." She said.

"Familiar? In what way?"

"It's... just like my old lighthouse, I think."

"Where you and your dad lived? Does it bring back some memories?"

"A lot, actually. Sure, you've got the wooden floors, the concrete walls, and some other old stuff, like this chair and all..."

"Classics never go outta style, as they say."

"And something tells me... you're not even from Zephyr Heights, are you?"

"*sigh* Well, I know most Pegasi live in the big city, but... my mom wanted to get away from all the buzz, so we decided to come down and live here instead. My job maybe all the way back there, but living here is really quiet, so I can relax and unwind from time to time."

"I see... Say, seeing that your job's making drinks, do you have any here?"

"Ah, right, got carried away for a second." Zack opened his fridge and grabbed a drink, throwing it to Sunny. "Catch!" Caught by surprise, Sunny quickly caught it in a flash. "Nice one!"

"Caught me by surprise." Sunny said, as she peeled off the lid and had a slurp. "Mmm, blueberry. This is kinda nice."

"Wow, at first, I like your smoothies, and second, you like my drinks. We're in the same boat."

Sunny went to have a look in his fridge, seeing it was mostly filled with blueberry drinks. "You seemed to have had blueberry's for so long, right? Seeing they're your favorite?"

"Yeah, but I'll be real here, they're all great. And of course, you have a lotta smoothies that are great as well, so..."

"We seem to do a good job on serving everypony."

"Uh, I don't serve drinks, but, yeah, you were pretty close."

"Oh... Well, on the bright side, you do make yourself a hard worker, so you should be proud of yourself."

"Just doing my part as always. So, uh, I'm gonna head in my room. Can I get you anything else before I-"

"No thank you. I'm just gonna sit back, relax and unwind a little before we move on to this 'other place' that you've mentioned earlier. But, I'll let you know."

"Okay. Well, make yourself at home." Zack said, as he walked off to his room.

Sunny smiled as she laid back on the sofa and brought out a big sigh. As she turned her head, she then saw something intriguing. She got off the sofa and went to have a closer look. It was the portrait of young Zack hugging with his mom, and Sunny picked it up with a slightly sad look on her face.

Whilst Zack was looking through his paperwork in his room, Sunny walked up to him and showed him the portrait.

"Zack?" Sunny said, as the stallion turned to her in shock. "Is this your mom?"

Getting upset, Zack immediately took the portrait out of Sunny's hoofs, leaving her stunned. And after looking at it for a few seconds, he sighed through his noise and lowered his head. "It is..."

Thinking she had hurt his feelings, Sunny tried to apologize. "Look, I'm sorry, I just wanted to know, that's all. I didn't mean to make you upset, I-"

"No, Sunny... No. It's alright. I didn't mean to scare you, either."

"You look so cute in that picture." Sunny said, smiling a bit. "You with your mom."

"You're right I do." Zack smiled back, but then turned sad again. "Her name was Cherry Cloudburst. But this was taken a long time ago. A couple years before... before she died."

Sunny raised her eyebrows. "What happened?" She asked softly.

Zack took a big breath, and told her the truth. "When I was... 10, my mom told me that she came down with a horrible sickness. She only said that... the day before she passed. So while I was out on that day, I tried to find something that could cure her... but there was just nothing, so I got so scared. But when I got back... she was unconscious... so I called for help. *sniff* The doctors did everything they could... but they were unable to save her..."

"Oh, Zack..."

"Ever since I lost her, and because I didn't have any friends, I... I felt abandoned... and alone... and I thought I was left in a world of darkness... So I tried to do everything, just to survive on my own..."

"I'm really sorry you had to grow up without her..."

"But Mom told me to never ever stop believing that magic would come back. And when that dream came, because of you, obviously, I... I felt... happy, for the first time in years. I was... me again. But at the same time, I was still sad that she would never get the chance to see me fly... or even me seeing her fly herself." He placed the portrait onto his desk, still staring at the photo. "I keep talking to her through this, just to feel like she's watching over me every day. Doesn't really change anything, though."

Sunny took all of that in, having feel so much sorrow for him. And then, she started to tell Zack about her darkest time. "My dad died the same way." She said, and Zack turned to her, raising his eyebrows.

"What?"

Sunny weakly nodded. "Argyle Starshine... and he too had a sickness... He'd been having it for a while, but I never knew he had it until the last minute..."

"He was keeping it from you?"

"That's what I thought. Or maybe he was trying to keep it from himself... because he didn't want me to worry. We did so many things together; telling stories, doing drawings, making unicorn cupcakes... He even cuddled me every time I got home. I was never the same after he was gone..."

"I'm sorry..." Zack said, as he gently touched Sunny's cheek.

Just as she was talking, her voice began to get more emotional. "He meant so much to me... *sniff* I just really wish he was still here to see everypony united for the first time in centuries... and to see all the dragons and breezies... and ultimately, to see me with such amazing friends."

"You could've told me all that before. At the Brighthouse."

"Well... I just thought now... would be the right time to tell you. And believe me, I know what it's like to lose someone you love so much. Someone who... gives you courage, strength and hope... to be the pony you always wanted to be." Zack understood what she said, and she brings out her old photo of her hugging her father, showing it to him, who smiled lovingly.

"Look at you..." Zack said softly, and he compared it to the other photo. "I bet you look even more cuter than me."

"Dad made me who I am now. And I'm sure your mom made you who you are." Sunny said, as they look at each other with a verge of tears. "We're really not so different, you and I."

Zack chuckled and smiled weakly. "No..." He said, breathing deeply and fighting back his tears. "No, I don't think we are."

With the tears now pouring down on her face, Sunny leaned in on Zack and nuzzled him for a hug. "I'm so glad we have each other..." She said in a broken voice, and Zack hugged her back, having a warm embrace.

"Yeah... me too."

After a couple more seconds, when they break up their hug, Sunny wiped her tears away and reminded Zack about their next stop. "So... how about that 'other place' you said we were going to? You ready to move on?"

"I was gonna say the same thing. Okay, I know a shortcut, but there's one small problem..."

Author's Note

Cherry Cloudburst: Zack's mother who is a dark red Pegasus with smooth brown hair. Her cutie mark is a bursting cloud.

8. Forgiveness/Melody Water Park

As Sunny and Zack continued on their adventure to the 'other place', Zack knew of a shortcut they can use to get there quicker. But later on, they've encountered a dead end. The quickest way was so high up over a cliff, as Sunny looked up in shock, and Zack looked down in shame.

"You have got to be kidding." Sunny said.

"*scoff* I wish I was, but I'm not. See, this is the problem I was talking about."

"You did say this was a shortcut, right?"

"And it is! I can get up there easily, no problem, but you? Maybe your mind's telling you to climb these rocks, but no, I think it's way too dangerous."

"Yeah, you're right on that part."

"Well, we could find another way round, but it'll take forever. *sigh* I made a mistake, what was I thinking...?"

Sunny looked up at the cliff and had to think of what to do for a few seconds, and she had an idea. "Tell you what, how about you go on ahead? I'll figure something out."

"What? No, I can't just leave you here!"

"Well, what's it gonna take for you to trust me, Zacky Boy?" She said, and Zack got surprised by what she just called him. "Do you trust me?"

"*groan* Alright, Sunny-Bunny, I trust you." Zack said, reluctantly giving in as he began ascending to the top of the cliff. "You know, for the record, Mom used to call me Zacky Boy when I was little."

"Really cute. And I was surprised when you called me Sunny-Bunny. Dad used to call me that, too."

"A-ha, well, that's even cuter. Sounded like you and your dad used to love seeing bunnies and give 'em lotsa hugs." Zack said, and he reaches the top of the cliff and lands. He began waiting for Sunny, but then became impatient. "You know what? This is really a bad idea. How about I come back down and pick you up so-" When he turned around, Sunny swooshed up into the sky in her alicorn form, putting him in an absolute shock. "HOLY DEWDROP!!"

Sunny laughed and landed right in front of him, spreading her wings with a smile. "Ta-da!"

"H... how did you do that!?" Zack asked, feeling speechless and at a lost for words, and Sunny deactivated her power. "And that!? I-I don't..."

"Believe it? Neither do I!"

"Are you an alicorn?!"

"Ah, that's another thing you know about me! Congratulations, Thunderlane." Sunny said, as she continued walking on, leaving him so confused.

"What? Wait, hold on!" Zack called, running after her.

Meanwhile, at the Crystal Tea Room in Bridlewood, Alphabittle was still feeling down ever since Misty yelled at him, and Haven was there to comfort him, whilst drinking some tea.

"Are you having any second thoughts about this role, Alphy?" Haven asked. "The big day is tomorrow."

"Maybe I am." Alphabittle replied. "I just... I just feel so bad about... how Misty reacted when I told her about her parents. I've known them for so long, but... that psycho monster took that poor little filly away and tried to put her into a life of darkness for 16 years. If only I saved her in time..."

"You've done everything you could. But you should be lucky that she's still alive, right?"

Behind her, the door opened as Misty entered with Izzy and the pegasus sisters by her side. Alphabittle looked up to see her, and Misty stood still. She began having cold hooves, feeling nervous about what to say to him.

"It's okay. We're with you." Zipp said, putting her hoof on Misty.

Misty breathed as she walked up to Alphabittle, who walked out of his service area to be in front of her.

"Alphabittle, I..." Misty tried to talk. She turned to her friends, who nod to her, knowing that things will be okay, and she turned back to him. "I'm sorry. I really am. I-I shouldn't have reacted like that, I just didn't know that I had any parents. *sniff* I understand if you're still mad at me, I-"

"Misty, no." Alphabittle said, holding her chin. "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself. It's my fault that I didn't tell you sooner. You did nothing wrong."

"Do you... do you really know anything about me? Like, at all?"

"Of course I do. Your parents, the day you were born, Opaline taking you away... all of it. If she hadn't come down and attacked Bridlewood in the first place, none of this would've happened, and your life would've been a whole lot better. And I'm sorry I acted like I didn't know you before, I... I just got nervous, that's all. I forgive you."

Misty looked up to him and smiled. "I forgive you too... Dad."

Alphabittle gasped at what she just called him, and the others were all surprised by it.

"Excuse me, what did she just say?" Pipp asked.

"She called him 'Dad'!" Izzy replied happily. "Isn't that sweet?!"

"I... I don't know what to say, I-" Alphabittle said, and Misty swopped into him for a tight hug. Haven felt touched by this, and Alphabittle smiled, hugging Misty back, and their cutie marks began glowing.

Pipp, although feeling happy for Misty, moaned, as her prediction that Alphabittle was Misty's uncle didn't came true. "And here I thought he was her uncle." She said.

"Sorry, sis. Not everything that you predict comes true." Zipp said. "Besides, you should like 'Dad' better. Right, Mom?"

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Haven replied. "Oh, and where's my little introduction from you two?"

"*chuckle* Hi, Mom." Zipp said, as she and Pipp hug their mother with lovingly smiles.

Whilst watching them hugging, Izzy began tearing up. "So much love... *sniff* I've never been so emotional in my life!" She sobbed.

As Zipp reopened her eyes, she then saw an interesting book on the shelf. "Can you excuse me, please?" She walked over to it to have closer look, as it was about the history of magic in Equestria. "Hmm... Hey, Alphabittle. How much for this book?"

Having gotten over the hill with ease, Sunny continued strolling along with Zack, who was still confused about her alicorn magic.

"I-I just don't get it. I mean, how did you get that power of yours even though you're not an actual alicorn?" He asked.

"The night we brought magic back." Sunny answered, without turning her head.

"Okay, but how does it even work? Is it like, uh, an on-off switch or something?"

"You think?"

"Well, you deactivated it somehow, so it's gotta be something like that, right? I mean, it's kinda obvious. Or... is it complicated?"

"I'm still getting to grips with it. I just basically believe that I can turn into one. But I only do it whenever I get into tough situations, like that cliff back there."

"That cliff? But you made it look so easy! You had me thinking you turned into a permanent one."

Sunny, having heard that, stopped and turned to face him. "What, you've never seen a real alicorn before?"

"Nopony has seen a real alicorn in centuries. Not since ancient times, that is."

"Hmm... yeah, that's true. But do you wish to see a real one someday?"

"Oh, would I love to. We would hang out on a sunny day, eat ice cream, take hundreds of photos, and make it the most memorable day ever!" Zack said happily, but his face turned to confusion as Sunny stared at him. "What, are you... jealous?"

Sunny suddenly bursts out in total laughter, putting Zack in shock. "NO! Again with the strong words, you dummy!" She said, hitting Zack's chest.

"But-but for a few seconds there, I thought you were mad!"

"How could I be mad about you doing that? I would do the same thing, even with my friends!"

Zack sighed with relief and chuckled. "You really got me."

"Yeah, I have a knack for that sometimes." Sunny replied cheekily, but she then turned her head again, hearing some loud noises. "Wait, what's that?"

Zack was hearing the same, but he then realized they've arrived at their final stop. "We're here!" He said, as he ran up to a bush with Sunny following behind.

"Whoa, where exactly is here?" Sunny asked.

Zack took a little peek through the bush, and turned to Sunny with a smile. "Have a look at this."

Sunny walked up to him, who removes the bush out of her way. Sunny gasped with joy, as it's revealed that they've ended up at a massive water park, filled with all sorts of slides, fun and games. Sunny ran down to the park in a flash, where lots of ponies and dragons were having a fun time together. The two arrived at the entrance, and Sunny looked at the arch, where the name of the park is 'Melody Water Park'.

"Sunny Starscout, welcome to Melody Water Park." Zack said.

Sunny got so excited and couldn't wait. "Come on, let's get in!" She said, as the two went up to the security gates, where three guards were checking in on some guests. One of them was a young turquoise and purple dragon named Jelly, who was scanning some bags by a few ponies, which were only filled with their own swimming equipment.

"All good! Have a great day swimming, you hear?" Jelly said, as the ponies grabbed their bags and ran off in excitement. She then turned to see Sunny and Zack showing up. "Whoa, hold up, you two ponies! I can't let you go in the park without me checking your bags. Safety first."

"Ah come on, Jelly, you know who I am!" Zack said, revealing that they've first met a while back. This came as a surprise to Sunny.

"HA!" Jelly said loudly, slamming her paw on the desk and pointing at him. "You know I do, Zackety-Zack, it's been too long! How ya doing, bud?!"

"Cool, as always. And you prolly need to remove the term 'been too long'. It's only been six months."

"Oh right, right. Totally gone off target. And who's this little girlfriend of yours?"

"Girlfriend?!" Sunny said in shock. "No, we're just... just friends, thank you. So, have you two met before?"

"Oh yeah, Jelly's the first dragon I've ever made a friend with." Zack said.

"Wait, I thought you said you never had any friends." Sunny reminded.

"Pony friends." Zack corrected. "I did tell ya that, didn't I?"

"Okay, my bad, but this is some sorta surprise. Hi, Jelly, I'm Sunny Starscout, and I triple-promise you, that my bag is all clear." She said with confidence.

"Uh, I'll be the judge of that, thank you. I know you're excited, but come on." Jelly said, as she demanded them to hand over the bags, who do so, and she started checking them. Whilst checking Sunny's, she started looking at Twilight Sparkle's logo and the three buttons. "Wow, are these cutie marks from the ancient guardians?"

"Wait, you know them?" Sunny said, not knowing this.

"Oh absolutely! Zack shared me some stories about 'em ever since we first met, ain't that right?"

"You know me too well. Hey, you still remember that one story where they saved Equestria from the Storm King's army?"

"And the one where they came together to defeat King Sombra! I remember them all, you know!"

"*laugh* How am I not surprised!? Now, about our bags..."

"It's an absolute win! Your access has been granted, ponies!" Jelly said with a smile, as she handed them back their bags.

Sunny squealed with extreme excitement. "Thank you so much, Jelly! You will not regret this!"

"Hey, I regret nothing here. Now go on! The water's waiting!" Sunny immediately dashed into the park with such happiness, leaving her in a tad shock. "Whoa. She's a fast runner."

Zack chuckled nervously as he followed Sunny, who looks around the whole area. Everyone was so happy, she felt like she was in paradise.

"You need to slow your legs a little, Sunny-Bunny." Zack said, having caught up. "So, what do you think?"

"What do I think? Oh my gosh, Zack, THIS IS SO COOL!!!" Sunny shouted. "My first time ever at a water park, and I'm already in love!"

"I had a feeling you were gonna say something like that. There's so much you can do here; volleyball, obstacle courses, water bowling..."

Sunny gasped as she stared at the park's biggest water slide. "And the biggest of them all: The Slide of Heaven! OH, I CANNOT WAIT!!"

Zack chuckled with a bit of a scare. "Yeah, that as well. Looks pretty scary, though. I think I'm gonna pass and leave it all to yourself." He turned around to leave, but then...

"Hold it right here, Zacky Boy!" Sunny demanded, as Zack came to a stop, feeling nervous. "You didn't bring me all this way just to tell me you're afraid of a little water, did you?"

"What, me? Afraid of water? No! Absolutely not!"

"Is that true?" Sunny said, as she slowly crept up to him. "Are you even afraid of... what's the word? Oh, heights?"

"NO! Just... you know, chasing bees! I'm not scared of flying or, well, anything here, really."

"Oh yeah? Then why don't you prove it? You versus me, let's see who's the best of all games and slides in Melody Water Park." Sunny said in a threatening-like voice.

"Wait, are you forcing me to challenge you on every single thing here? You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, I certainly would."

"*scoff* I don't think you know how any of these work, do you?"

"Well, why don't we find out?" Sunny turned her eyes to see a pool nearby, and smirks. "First one to dip in that pool over there wins- GO!!" She yelled, as she zoomed off in a blink.

"Wha- WHAT?! HEY!!" Zack shouted, as he chased her down, but was just too slow, as Sunny dives into the pool, leaving him in a surprised state.

"*laugh* I WIN!"

"C'mon now, that's not even fair! You didn't even give me time to prep myself!"

"Ha-ha, gotcha!" Sunny winked.

Then, Jelly swooped down on them. "Wowee, are you two doing a myriad of challenges?!"

"Why, yes we are!" Sunny answered. "But, why aren't you at the security gate?"

"Someone just took over for the rest of the day. I'm also a certified referee. You prolly didn't know I have more than one job here."

"I knew that before." Zack said, unamused. "And you gotta help me out here, Jell, she brought me into this, and cheated on the first one!" He madly pointed at Sunny.

"What, getting into the pool first? Look at you, you haven't finished your race!" Jelly said as she then threw Zack into the pool by surprise. "Winner: SUNNY!"

"Yes! Easy start!" Sunny said. Zack then faced her with a grumpy face. "*giggle* Oh no, somepony's looking jealous."

Left with no choice, Zack gave in and decided to take her on. "Okay, Sunny Starscout. You wanna do this? You got it!" He said bravely.

Sunny chuckled menacingly. "Atta-boy!"

The duo's battle began as they started doing more games and challenges around the park, including a water relay, which Zack ultimately lost because of a slow teammate. But he caught up to Sunny, as he won a water bomb challenge, a slip n slide, and a balloon spoon race. Sunny, however, was still proving to be a tough competitor, as she won games like an obstacle course, a water blaster challenge, and a log rolling challenge where they tried to survive whilst avoiding water bombs being thrown at them. Jelly was announcing the winner on every single one of them, until it got up to a tie between Sunny and Zack. But they had one more challenge left...

"Alright, you two ponies, you proved really challenging on one another today, such close competition! But now, for our final challenge, a RACE down the one and only... SLIDE OF HEAVEN!!" Jelly announced, as she pointed to the big slide in excitement.

Sunny chuckled sinisterly, thinking that she could win it with ease, but Zack was feeling very nervous.

"Oh, I have a real bad feeling about this..."

"What's the matter, you scared? Better not be, unless you wanna feel the wraith of the magical alicorn?!" She growled through her teeth, right at his face.

"Alright, alright! I'll try to be brave, even if it may cost me my life."

"Come on, Zack, you're not gonna die! Everyone's been on there many times!" Jelly said, as she watched the two walk off to the slide. "Nice persuading, by the way, Sunny."

Sunny and Zack arrived at the top. The earth pony was confident, whilst Zack, looking all the way down, was trying too hard not to be scared, as he took a massive breathe.

"Just so you know, Sunny Starscout, I've never been on this thing before, my blood pressure's rising like supernova, and I'm already seeing my life flashing before my eyes."

"What, you're just saying that? Don't you wanna top off our date with a bang? Don't you wanna win this thing?"

"Well, I do, honestly. But I will hand it to you, you've been an amazing competitor, and I would really hate to see you lose."

"*scoff* Thanks, but I don't think you stand a chance on this biggie." Sunny replied threateningly. "Not by a long shot."

Jelly lands behind them as they buckle up and get ready to slide down. "This is it, little ponies. Only one survives, and only one dies." She said.

"WHAT?!" Zack snapped.

"*laugh* Kidding! GOOOO!!!" Jelly shouted, as she slammed the button, which opens the gates and forces Sunny and Zack to begin sliding. The two were screaming and cheering as they twirled around the tower at such high speed. Sunny was having such a blast, and Zack was begging for complete mercy. And by the time they reached the end of the slide, both of them flew off at the exact same point. Jelly took a photo of them from down below before the two ponies splashed into the pool. They then rested their heads on the deck in total laughter.

"Oh, that was SO much fun!!" Sunny said happily. "Am I right?"

"Yeah, I'm... well, I'm thrilled! Phew... Maybe it wasn't so bad."

Jelly clapped as she landed in front of them. "Man, that was CLOSE! Hey, did you see the picture I've taken? So adorable!" She showed them the photos, which displayed Sunny and Zack flying from the slide. Sunny was joyous, but Zack was freaked out. "I've made two copies, just in case."

Sunny chuckled at it as she took her copy. "Look at you, Thunder-Boy! You really loved it!"

"Aw come on, it looks... humiliating! Oh, and Jell, who won the race?" He asked, but Jelly was having a long thought, causing Zack to get desperate for an answer. "Come on, say it! Me or her!?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Jelly snapped, stunning them. "I don't know."

"You don't know who won? Is that it?! There's gotta be a proper answer than that!"

"Hang on. On second thought... shall we just call it a tie?" Sunny asked.

"A tie? Who even said it was tie!?"

"Well, I... I..." Sunny tried to speak, but the noises kicked in her head again, meaning there's trouble happening. She put her hoofs on it to try and focus.

Zack tried to figure out what's going on. "Sunny? Sunny, are you alright? Can you hear me?"

The vision revealed another pony in danger nearby, but this time, they were hanging onto a cliff and were about to slip.

Sunny got out of the vision and gasped. "Oh no, there's a pony dangling on a cliff!" Sunny exclaimed.

"What? Where?"

"Up there!" Sunny pointed at the danger, and Zack and Jelly turned to see it as well.

"I see 'em! Hang on, Jelly's onto the rescue!!" The dragon said, as she flew off to save her.

"Jelly, wait!" Sunny said, as she activated her alicorn ability... "I got this!" ...and took off in a flash.

"NO, SUNNY, STOP!!" Zack shouted, but she ignored him as she flew past Jelly, catching her by surprise.

"What in the-?! HEY, YOU'RE STEALING MY SAVE!!!" Jelly yelled, as she tried to catch up, but was too slow, as when the pony slipped and fell from the cliff, Sunny caught her in the nick of time, saving her.

Jelly stopped mid-air, as she inspected Sunny's alicorn form. "How is that possible?" She asked herself, as Sunny landed on solid ground with the mare in her hoofs.

"You okay?" Sunny asked.

"I... Yeah, thanks to you." The mare replied with a smile. "I'll try and be careful next time."

"SUNNY STARSCOUT!!" Jelly shouted from afar and landed nearby in frustration. "WHAT in sweet mother of Celestia was that!? I mean, how did you become like that and how could you steal my save?"

"Sorry, Jelly, I guess you... probably didn't know I had this and were just a little too slow."

"Yeah, I'll have you know now that I'm also a certified lifeguard, so that makes it three jobs. But right now, I need some serious context! Zack, how long have you known this?"

"About two hours ago. I was shocked myself, too." Zack answered, and he then faced Sunny. "What was that, Sunny? I didn't know you'd-"

"See it happening? It was my new power thingy that Zipp figured out."

"What are you talking about? Wait, was it those noises again?"

"Yes! Because she was in peril, they kicked in and helped me find out what was happening. They gave me a vision of her in danger!"

"And, after that, you then swooped in and saved her life?" Sunny nodded in response. "So that's how it works! Right. Are you okay with it, though?"

"Maybe, as long as everypony learns to be careful most of the time."

"Hold on a sec, do you have superpowers? Are you a superhero?!" Jelly asked.

Sunny wasn't having it. "Zipp thought I'd be too, but that's just a comic book thing."

"But I love superheroes! My all-time favorite, they are. Oh, and speaking of which, Sunny, because you saved her, shall I reward you the final point of the day?"

"Are you serious?! That wasn't part of the duel!" Zack argued.

"No thanks, Jelly. I think we're better off with a tie." Sunny said, as she faced Zack with a smile, who sighed. "But I will say, we've won an amazing time here, so thank you for having us."

"Aw, such a sweet compliment, Sunny, you're really welcome." Jelly said, as she and Sunny shake on it. "And just you wait till I get this on the news, everyone will be amazed with what you've just did!"

"Oh, and one more thing, Jell. You interested in attending a big music festival tomorrow?" Zack asked, as he showed her a Glastonpony poster. "Sunny and her friends have been working on it."

"Glastonpony? A music festival?! *gasp* Oh my gosh, tomorrow's my day off and I'm SO in!"

"Really? That's great!" Sunny said. "Hope to see you there."

"Ooh, I can't believe this is really happening to me! I'm gonna LOVE this!!" Jelly laughed in excitement, as she took the poster and flew away.

"I think you've just made her day right there." Sunny smiled to Zack, as they headed back to the park to get their stuff.

"Ah, it's what friends do. What else can you do for them?"

"So many possibilities, Zack. Like, give them free chocolate?"

"Oh, absolutely."

"Spend quality time with them?"

"Can't say 'no' to that."

"And tell them that you've also saved a filly from drowning in rough waters?"

"Wait, you did that with your powers?! Save a filly?!!" Zack said in surprise.

"Yeah, but it wasn't easy."

Author's Note

Jelly: a young turquoise and purple dragon who has a knack for being positive and happy for most of the time. She's been friends with Zack ever since dragons came back to Equestria.

9. Opaline Strikes/Betrayal

A little while later, in the evening, Sunny and Zack have arrived back at the Crystal Brighthouse, having had such an adventure.

"Well, home sweet home." Zack said. "Gotta say, you have quite a house."

"Yeah, it really is magical. And having additional friends makes it even more magical."

"If I had a house like that, I'd be living the dream."

"I'm already living mine."

Zack chuckled, and brought something out of his bag. "Before I go... I have something for you." It was some sort of plain looking sphere, as Sunny took it with confusion.

"A sphere? Why would you gimme something like this?"

"I know you may think that, but it has a big surprise inside. It's for the big finale. It's on all day, right?"

"The festival? Yeah, but what will it even do?"

"Just place it in the sky at night, and it'll activate. I tested it out myself before, and I think you'll love it."

"Hmm... alright." Sunny said, as she put it in her bag. "You have anything else for me?"

"Well, I guess I can give out a compliment about your hair. I prolly didn't tell you how colorful it looks."

Sunny looked at her mane with a smile. "Thank you. What else do you like about me? My cutie mark? My... friends and their talents?"

"I actually like yours more." Zack replied. "And about your dad, did he like shining stars?"

"*giggle* Maybe he did. Did your mom like bursting clouds?"

"Oh yeah, and she loved eating cherries. It was her favorite."

Sunny felt touched by that and smiled at him even more. "Thanks for today, Zack. I know it was, well, a little crazy, but... I had a great time."

"Me too... and you're welcome."

"So, are you gonna come down tomorrow?"

"*sigh* Sorry, but I'm working, so I don't have the day off. But I'll be able to see it on TV. I really wish I could go, though."

"Okay." Sunny said, feeling a little disappointed. "I guess that's more important, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well... see you around?"

"See you around." Zack nodded.

They smile at each other for one more time before Sunny runs off to her home, as Zack watched on lovingly.

Inside the Brighthouse, Sunny's friends were about to have dinner, as Izzy and Misty brought down the chicken curries to the table.

"Alright, everypony, dinner is served!" Izzy said.

Sparky had a sniff of the curry, and felt wowed. "Smells good!" He said. "Already calling this meal my favorite!"

"Yeah, don't have it right now, Sparky, it might be too hot." Zipp reminded, then had a smell of it herself. "But you're right, it even looks good."

"I'm a dragon, Zipp, and dragons eat hot things!"

"Oh, do they?"

"I wish Sunny would be back by now." Misty said. "She wouldn't want hers to get cold." Just as she said that, Sunny stormed right in with a huge smile on her face.

"GUYS!"

"Hey, Sunny!" Izzy said happily.

"Well, you're back right on time, Sunny Starscout." Hitch said. "We thought you'd be too late."

Sunny had a sniff of the meal. "What are we having tonight? Ooh, chicken curry?"

"Yup, all on the house." Izzy said.

"We actually thought it'd be a good choice." Misty said, as Sunny sat down to eat.

"So, tell us, Sunny, how was your date with Zack?" Pipp asked.

"Oh, it was amazing! And you will not believe where he just took me today."

"Ooh, somewhere happy and exciting?!" Izzy asked.

Sunny brought out her phone... "Check this." ...and showed them a video of Melody Water Park. "Melody Water Park!"

"Wow!" Sparky said, as he and the others were starstruck.

"Well, would you look at that!" Zipp smiled.

"I've never been to a water park!" Misty said. "It looks incredible, Sunny!"

"I know, right?! So many games and slides, it's the biggest park there's ever been in the entire land! And FYI, me and Zack did everything there."

"*gasp* No way." Pipp said.

"Can we go there someday, Sunny? Please??" Sparky begged.

"Certainly. I wouldn't want any of you to miss out."

"YES! We'll start planning a trip right away and we will try everything there!"

"Hold on, Sparky Sparkeroni, not until a few days after Glastonpony." Hitch said. "But yeah, I quite like that idea."

"I think you two made amends today, haven't you?"

"Yeah, we've forgiven each other. I may have been a little too hard on him, but we've agreed that he can make friends with ponies and dragons that we trust."

"Okay. And what about Misty and Alphabittle?"

"We went down to Bridlewood and I said sorry." Misty replied. "He said he wanted to forfeit his role, but he feels a lot better now."

"Wait, you went to Bridlewood? Izzy, you were supposed to be doing my job!"

"And I did! We just had to take care of a little friendship problem. Friends and family always come first, you know."

"Oh, right. I did mention that Misty owed him an apology. My bad..."

"But the biggest surprise, Sunny, was that Misty called Alphabittle her dad!" Pipp revealed, and Sunny was shocked as she faced Misty.

"I had to." Misty said with a sad face. "Because I wanted to know what it was like having a family."

"But, Misty, we're your family."

"I know, but... I meant a family who... who would be your parents. You know, the first family you would have when you were a filly? I would've had something like that, like all of you ponies did... but Opaline took that away from me..."

"We understand. But I don't blame you, Misty. We're really proud of you that you now have a dad." Sunny smiled. Misty took that in, feeling touched as she smiled back at her.

"We sure are." Zipp nodded, and she brought out the book she got from earlier. "And hey, I'm also really proud that I was able to win this book today."

"You won that from Alphabittle? How?" Sunny asked.

"Rubik's Cube challenge. Nailed it in one quick shot."

"Wow, Zipp, I'm... I'm surprised! What's it about?"

"The history of magic in Equestria. I know the alicorn magic book was intriguing, but this one? It has an article about something called 'The Elements of Harmony'." Zipp said, as she opened the book and turned to the page.

"What are the Elements of Harmony, Zipp?" Hitch asked.

"It says on this page, that they are ancient, legendary objects. Also know as the most powerful magic known to ponydom, each artefact represents an element of friendship and only activates if the wielder possesses the corresponding trait and if all six are used in conjunction."

"I remembered when my dad used to tell me a story about this." Sunny said.

"Really?"

"Yes. Twilight Sparkle and her friends have wielded them on rare occasions as a last resort to restore and enforce the balance of peace and order across Ancient Equestria."

"But what do they really do?" Izzy asked. "How powerful are they?"

"Well, if you ask me, very powerful." Zipp answered. "If the magic of all six elements are combined together, they can ultimately overpower and banish someone for good."

"So, how do we activate them?" Misty asked. "Will they help us defeat Opaline?"

"I don't think we can." Sunny said. "Dad said they were destroyed, so they're a thing in the past now. As are the ancient guardians."

"But there's gotta be something to bring them back, right? If Opaline begins her attack at any point, maybe we should be the ones who can wield the elements against her!"

"Misty... Sunny's right." Zipp said, as she closed the book. "It's not possible anymore. And besides, we're not guardians. We're just... us. You know, just regular ponies with only simple forms of magic."

Misty lowered her head in shame. "*sigh* I wish we could be the new guardians..."

"Us being the new Guardians of Harmony?" Izzy said. "Wouldn't that be the ultimate dream?"

"Alright, alright." Sunny interjected, raising his hoof. "Tomorrow is a big day for all of us, so how about we not worry about Opaline for now and just think that everything will be smooth and it'll be a memorable day?"

"Smart thinking there." Zipp nodded. "But I'll try and keep a lookout for any trouble, just to be extra safe."

"You should leave that to the guards, Zipp." Pipp said. "It's their job, you know that?"

"Yeah yeah, but come on, I'll enjoy the show at the same time! And I can't wait to see Mom rocking it on TV."

"And Tongues of Fire are gonna storm the stage like FIRE!" Sparky said.

"Well, you should be happier that they'll be our first act, Sparky." Hitch revealed, and Sparky cheered loudly, causing everyone to laugh.

A few hours later, at the dark castle, Opaline was planning her assault, and she brought out an amulet that has five rings.

"There are you are, my precious. Soon enough, you will give me the ultimate power of destruction! By the time I fill you up with five cutie marks, that is. But that'll only be part of my plan, as I know there's even more I can steal out there. Now, if only that pathetic bubble-shield would be gone by now! How long has it been since I started tearing it apart!?"

Just as she said that, she heard a loud bang outside as she went to have a look. The dragon stone she set alight in the sky has fully destroyed Twilight's invisibubble, and that means one thing... Opaline is finally free!

"*laugh* Yes! YES!!!" Opaline shouted, as she lit up her fire powers in pure evil. "FINALLY! After all these moons, I AM FREE!" The dark alicorn flew out of her castle as she went down to reclaim the dragon stone, and she looked up to the sky with a menacing smile. "You have failed, Twilight Sparkle! Now I can start taking back what's rightfully mine!!" She then looked out at the distance... "And very soon, you will fail too, Sunny Starscout." ...and unleashed her most villainous laugh yet, as lightning struck over.

Oh no... this could be bad...

A few hours later, the biggest day has arrived, as everyone was arriving at the Glastonpony festival site! The sky was completely blue and sunny, a perfect day for the event, and cameras where absolutely everywhere. Haven and Alphabittle were being filmed on TV as they were doing their roles together, and they seemed to be loving it.

"Greetings and salutations to everypony who came down here today!" Haven said. "We are live at the Glastonpony festival in what promises to be the most magical, spectacular music event in all of Equestria."

"I don't know about you, Queen Haven, but I haven't seen such a massive crowd like this before. They should all be in for a real treat today, especially that we have a line-up that absolutely won't disappoint us."

"Right you are, Alphy. Electric Blue, Ruby Jubilee, The Dreamlands, and so much more are gonna be having everypony throwing their hoofs up high!"

"Hey, don't leave out us!"

"*chuckle* I wasn't even thinking about that. Our very first act will be coming on stage real soon, so stay tuned right here, and get yourself ready for Glastonpony!"

Down at the festival grounds, everyone was playing games, eating food, and having a nice chat together. Sunny and her friends are waiting patiently and excitingly for the show to begin.

"As soon as Tongues of Fire get on that stage, they oughta steal the show right from the get-go!" Sparky said heroically.

"*laugh* I can tell you're already feeling the energy, Sparky." Sunny said. "Good way for you to build up the hype."

"IT'S ALREADY TO THE MAX!!" Sparky cheered loudly, and the ponies around him cheer along.

"Way to go, Sparky Sparkeroni!" Izzy praised, and she turned her head to the stage. "Ooh, here comes Pipp! It's starting!!"

Pipp shows up on the stage, hovering in the air as she gives everyone a massive cheer. "Hello, everypony! Where are my fans at!? Lemme hear you scream!!" The crowd screamed in absolute excitement. "Love it! We're really honoured to have you all down here with us today. Oh, and before I step aside, can you please send a shoutout to my friends who have worked ever so hard together in turning this dream into a reality - Izzy Moonbow and co!" Everyone cheered for Izzy and the others for all their hard work, as they feel so proud. "And now, it's time to experience the biggest event you will ever witness in the whole world - it's GLASTONPONY!" "Please welcome, our first act of the day, and also the first-ever dragon act in history, making their rocking debut, and coming all the way from the Isle of Scaly, it's TONGUES OF FIRE!!!"

Everyone roared as the punk rock band appeared on the stage. Flamber took the mic with a massive smile. "WHAT'S UP, EQUESTRIA!?!?! YOU READY TO ROCK THIS WORLD AND TAKE IT ALL THE WAY TO THE SKY?!!" Everyone agreed with another cheer. "Stoner, drop the hammer!"

Stoner nodded his head as he began rocking with his electric guitar to start their first song. Reaper used his bass guitar, Doomer started banging on the drums, and Flamber sang into the mic. They were already sending Glastonpony off to a big start, as everyone was jumping along to the music. Sparky was so happy to see them performing, it took him over the moon.

Jelly, thought to have been late, just arrived down on Sunny and her friends. "*exhale* Sorry! Thought I was running late!"

"Jelly, you've made it!" Sunny said happily.

"Hey, Sunny!" Jelly said, as they had a high-five. "I was hoping to make a more super-heroic entrance. Really loving this kinda music, though! Who are these guys?"

"They're Tongues of Fire, my favorite band!!" Sparky yelled within the loud noises.

"Thank you, little one, I heard that perfectly!"

"These are my friends, by the way!" Sunny told her.

Her friends waved hi to Jelly, and Izzy was admired with how she looks. "Hi, new dragon friend! I'm Izzy!"

"Hi, Izzy! Nice meeting you!" Jelly said, as they shake hoofs. "Sunny said you came up with this idea together, huh?"

"Yes, YES, YES!! Just wait till the end, your eyes will not deceive you!"

"Whoa, what's gonna happen?!"

"Pipp Petals is our closing act! And if you haven't heard, she's a princess who loves singing! Plus, she has a massive surprise for all of us!"

"Whatever it is, I can't wait!!"

Having heard that however, Sunny looked into her bag and finds out she had forgotten the sphere that Zack gifted her yesterday. "Oh no... Still have time." She said to herself, as she ran back to the Brighthouse, but her friends were unbeknownst about it, as they were all distracted by the music coming from Tongues of Fire.

As soon as the band finished their first track, everyone cheered for them. "OH YEAH!! How about that for a rocket start!?" Flamber said.

"YOU ROCK, TONGUES OF FIRE!!!" Sparky yelled.

"ALRIGHT! Glad you're enjoying it right now, but that's not all we have for you yet, as our next song goes out to a very special little fan of ours, who's a part of a very special family of friends!"

"Hey-hey, that's you, Sparky!" Hitch said happily.

"ME?!"

"That's right, we're pointing right at YOU, Sparky Sparkeroni!" Reaper said.

"Give him a nice cheer wherever you are, as this one's called..." Stoner tried to say.

Suddenly, a massive fleet of dark clouds approached and covered the festival site. Everyone was looking up with a worried and scared look.

"Wait, what's going on?" Flamber asked. "What's happening?"

"Dude, look!" Doomer said, pointing at the sky.

"Oh no..." Stoner said softly.

"I don't like the look of this." Reaper said.

"What are these clouds doing here?" Pipp asked. "I thought the weather was supposed to be clear all day!"

"No..." Misty said, as she knew they looked familiar. "It's not that, it's..."

"What is it, Misty?" Izzy asked.

"...Opaline!"

Then, a wave of fire lines strike from the clouds, as they hit Tongues of Fire, who didn't see them coming for even a second, and they posses them. Everyone gasped with terror, as the possessed dragons are under control by the evil Opaline, who descends from above and cackles madly, scaring everyone.

"She broke out of Twilight Sparkle's enchanted invisibubble with the Dragon Stone!" Misty said.

"What?!" Zipp said loudly.

"Your special guest has arrived, little ponies! All fear the most powerful fire alicorn, OPALINE ARCANA!!!" Opaline shouted, as she and the possessed dragons began blasting fire all over the site, destroying everything and causing everyone to scream and run for their lives. Sunny's friends were in a massive shock as they tried to remain brave and stay behind, but they were forgetting one thing.

"Wait, where's Sunny!?!" Izzy asked.

And then, Opaline commanded the possessed dragons to fire their flames around Sparky and the five ponies, trapping them. "Nowhere to run now." She chuckled menacingly.

Back at the Brighthouse, Sunny was still looking for the sphere. She tried looking everywhere downstairs and had no luck, and then ran upstairs. "*groan* Where did I leave it!?" She asked herself in frustration, then, she went to her bed, looked under it, and finally found the sphere. "There you are! What was I doing?" Suddenly, the sounds in her head kicked in again, showing her another vision, and it revealed that Opaline has trapped her friends in separate bubbles back at the destroyed festival site. She gasped in horror and got into a massive scare. "No! NO-NO-NO-NO-NO!!!" She quickly put on her alicorn form and zipped out of the Brighthouse to try and rescue them.

"Well, well, well. We met again, hopeless ponies, and for the last time!" Opaline said.

"Why are you doing this!? You're a MONSTER!" Zipp yelled angrily.

"LET US GO!!" Izzy shouted, slamming her hooves.

"I don't think I can do that, not after you ponies tried to stop me and ruin my plans!" Opaline said, and she faced Misty. "Especially that you left me to do all the work myself, ever since you brought your pathetic, careless friends to me, Misty! You shouldn't even be here since you betrayed them."

"They're not pathetic, you are!" Misty struggled. "And I should've betrayed you when I had the chance!"

"WELL, YOU ALREADY DID, YOU BACK-STABBING LITTLE TRAITOR!!!" She raged. "After all you have done for me, THIS IS WHAT I GET?!! And all this time, I thought we were friends!"

"NO! We were never friends! You treated me like a slave, and I never should've worked with you!"

"Then it figures. Well, how about I return the favor by TAKING YOUR CUTIE MARKS!!??" Opaline said, as she used her magic on the five ponies to steal their cutie marks, and installed them in the amulet, filling in the five rings and making her even more powerful.

"NO!!" Pipp yelled.

"Well, look at this!" Opaline said, surprised by Misty's mark. "I should've known you were hiding yours from me, Misty. Oh, and it appears that your little dragon friend has not met his defeat yet! Don't mind if I do?" She then pulled in Sparky towards her and trapped him in a separate bubble.

"SPARKY, NO!!!" Hitch screamed.

"HELP ME!!!" Sparky screamed.

"Oh, don't be scared, little dragon. Opaline will look after you from now on."

"PLEASE, LET HIM GO!!!" Misty begged tearfully.

"STOP!!!!" Sunny shouted from afar, as she charged towards them fast and hard. But the possessed dragons stop her and hurdle her to the ground.

"SUNNY!!" Izzy yelled.

"You're too late, Sunny Starscout! A shame you couldn't keep me trapped in your own bubble forever. Say goodbye once and for all, little ponies!!" Opaline laughed maniacally, as she threw the trapped ponies out of their bubbles and into the ground.

"NOOOOO!!!" Sparky screamed, as he was then taken away by Opaline and the dragons.

Shortly after, the ponies regained consciousness and slowly got back up on their hooves. They looked around, assessing the destruction of the site.

"Sparky... We have to save him!" Zipp said, as she tried to fly, but failed. She looked at her wings and was shocked to find out that she lost her magic. "No-no-no-no-no!"

"What?" Izzy said speechlessly, as she tried and failed to light up her horn. "We... we lost our magic?"

Misty sat down in utter sadness. "Without our cutie marks... we did." She revealed, as the others gasped weakly and sadly.

Sunny turned to see her friends with a worried face, who couldn't look at her for a single second. "Are you all okay?" She asked.

Pipp took a couple breaths and faced her in anger. "No thanks to you."

Sunny didn't understand. "No thanks to me? What happened?"

"Misty said Opaline used the Dragon Stone to break out of Twilight Sparkle's enchanted invisibubble..." Hitch said softly.

"How did she-" Sunny asked, but got cut out.

"AND OPALINE ATTACKED US!!" Hitch suddenly shouted, putting Sunny in shock.

"Yeah, and you weren't here to stop her!" Pipp said. "You promised you'd keep her away from us!"

"Where were you, Sunny!?" Zipp asked madly. "Where did you go!?" Sunny sighed and sat down, facing away from them. "I'm asking again: where did you go??"

"*sigh* I went back to the Brighthouse." Sunny answered in depression.

"Why?"

"Because... I forget my gift that Zack brought me."

"Your gift from Zack?" Hitch said in disgust. "Zack Thunderlane?! Your boyfriend?!!"

"He gave you a gift?! Why didn't you tell us about that last night when you got back!?" Misty asked.

Sunny stood back up and faced them with frustration. "Look, I didn't know that Opaline would do this, okay?! I just got so caught up with everything that's been happening to me these past few days! Being with Zack, organizing the festival, handling my new powers, ALL OF IT!"

"Ah, so your powers have failed you now?" Hitch thought. "*scoff* Really hard to believe!"

Sunny felt insulted by that. "You think you understand how it works, don't you? No." She spread her wings. "I'm the alicorn here, not you!"

"Oh, so what!? You think it's okay to do whatever you want, whenever you want?! What happened to keeping everypony safe!? What happened to keeping us safe!?" Sunny scoffed and turned away from him. "If only it weren't for that smart boyfriend of yours." He scowled.

Having to have heard that, Sunny turned back in such anger. "Don't you DARE bring Zack into this!!"

"NO, SUNNY! Look around you!! Look at US!! All of this happened because you weren't here to stop any of it! Opaline destroyed Glastonpony because of you. She stolen our cutie marks and our magic because of you! She possessed Tongues of Fire, and Sparky is gone, BECAUSE OF YOU!!"

"But it's not too late! We can still stop her! We can still save him!"

"How, Sunny!?" Zipp asked furiously. "How are we supposed to do all that without our cutie marks!?!"

"I DON'T KNOW! But I'm going to figure it out!" Sunny said, as she turned away and started walking off, having had enough of their argument.

"Oh yeah?! Well, you should've figured out by now, Sunny Starscout, that Opaline Arcana is too dangerous to have any friends!!" Hitch shouted.

Sunny stopped and ran up to him in a snap. "WELL, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY WE'RE FRIENDS!!!" Her alicorn horn sparkled as she yelled angrily.

Hitch and the other girls gasped in horror of what Sunny just said. Sunny snapped out of it, deactivating her power, and realized what she did. Hitch looked down as the girls stare at her. As Misty whimpers, Hitch looked up at Sunny, feeling completely hurt.

"You know what...? Neither do I..." He said weakly, as he turned away and strides off. He went by the other girls, who were still staring at Sunny, and soon began to shed tears.

"Girls..." Sunny tried to talk, but they were't having any of it.

"Come on, Pipp... We're going home..." Zipp said, as she and Pipp turned away and followed Hitch.

"Pipp, Zipp, I..." Sunny tried to speak, but they completely ignored her. She then faced a heartbroken Misty. "Misty..."

"Don't apologize." Misty said tearfully. "I don't want to hear it..." She turned away and walked off as well. She was so sad when she accidentally betrayed Sunny at Opaline's. But now, she was betrayed back.

Sunny gasped, realizing those similar words when she said them to Misty, and her voice started to break. "No..." She tried so hard to not cry herself, and she then looked at Izzy. "Izzy..."

But the devastated unicorn faced away. "*sniff* Just don't talk to me..." She whimpered, as she abandoned her as well.

"No! Izzy!" Sunny called out, breaking down and begging for her to come back. "Izzy, please...!" Now all alone, she continued sobbing, having lost everything she loved. She betrayed her friends, which also meant she failed friendship.

Meanwhile, at the drinking factory in Zephyr Heights, Zack was doing his job until he looked up at the TV, where the ZBS news program was showing the Glastonpony disaster.

"Major tragedy has struck at the Glastonpony Festival today, as hundreds of music fans were under attack by a mysterious alicorn, who has brought nothing but reign of terror and fear down on what could've been the most magical and exciting music festival in all of Equestria. No casualties have been reported as of now, but this was a very unexpected and devastating thing to happen." Skye Silver reported.

Zack took all of that in, and became so worried. "No... Sunny!" He said, as he decided to make a big decision. "*sigh* I'm sorry, Mom..." He madly took off his apron and handed it in to the main office. "Sorry, boss, but I have to go."

"What? Where do you think you're going, Mr. Thunderlane!?" The boss asked, getting angry as he got out of his chair and followed Zack to the exit. "You haven't even completed your shift!"

"Yeah? Well, there are other things that mean a lot to me in life than just making drinks all day."

"Like what!? I swear, Mr. Thunderlane, if you walk outta that door, you will be kicked outta this company for good!"

Zack looked outside and then turned to the boss with anger. "You know what? Say goodbye right now! I quit." He said, as he ran out of the door and flew away to find Sunny.

Down at a small, quiet lake, a grief-stricken and guilt-ridden Sunny sat down and looked over the water, shedding tears as they splashed onto it.

"I'm so sorry, Dad..." She whimpered, as she's never felt so upset since failing to bring magic back on her first adventure. But this situation was a whole lot worse, seeing that she accidentally pushed her friends away after not being there for them when Opaline attacked. She's lost all hope. She had nothing. She's alone.

A few seconds later, Zack, after having a long search, has found her, as he walked up slowly. "Sunny?"

Sunny slowly turned to see him. "Zack?" She continued sobbing as they embraced. "What are you doing here? I thought you were doing your job."

"I quit. I saw the news, I was so worried about you. What happened?"

"Oh, Zack... This is all my fault... My friends... the festival..."

"What do you mean it's all your fault? You would never do anything wrong!"

"I... I got into a fight with my friends. I forgot about the gift you gave me. I went back home to get it, but then... Opaline attacked everyone, and she... she stole my friends' cutie marks... and took Sparky... I wasn't there to stop her..."

"Wait, who... who's Opaline?"

"You know when you told me that nopony saw a real alicorn for a long time?"

"Yeah...?"

"Opaline Arcana is one of them... but she's evil... And she's still here..."

"And you knew her?" Zack said, feeling a tad upset, seeing that Sunny didn't tell him about the villain before.

"Yes, and I know I should've told you about her before, but I couldn't because I didn't want you to be afraid... I'm sorry I kept her from you..."

"No... Sunny, I don't blame you for that. I understand where you're coming from. You can still turn things around."

"No, I can't! I lost my dad... and now I lost my friends... I'm supposed to be the alicorn who would keep everyone safe, but now... I'm just not... I don't know who I am anymore..."

Zack became very sad himself, seeing that Sunny had been abandoned, and he sat down next to her. "I remember a time when... when I was supposed to have a dad. I should've told you that before."

Sunny turned to him with her head still down. "What...? Why didn't you have one?"

"Mom said she'd met him years ago, and they've been hanging out for so long. But then, one day, when Mom became pregnant and was about to have me... Dad got so scared and... and he abandoned her... like he didn't want to be part of a family. A few years after I was born, I knew how much she was struggling without him, so I tried to help out and make her happy, by telling her stories, and playing a lotta games... just to show how much I loved her. And it all worked out."

Sunny understood that, and she told him about her mother. "I had a mom myself... but she left all those years ago. I wish I knew where she was now..." Zack elbowed her for another hug, as they both closed their eyes.

But then...

"We know what that felt like." Someone said, as Sunny and Zack reopened their eyes and turned to see in surprise, that it was the spirits of their deceased parents, Argyle Starshine and Cherry Cloudburst! They stood up and got so emotional.

"Mom...? Is... is it really you?" Zack asked in tears.

"Yes. It's really me, Zacky Boy." Zack hugged her, having missed her for so long, and she hugged him back. "Look at you. All grown up!"

Argyle touched her daughter's cheek, who gasped in tears of joy.

"Dad..."

"I'm right here, my little pony." Argyle said with a smile, and Sunny immediately hugged him.

"I missed you... How is this possible?"

"We heard you've lost all hope." Cherry said. "You were so sad and alone."

"You were... watching over me?"

"Of course we were." Argyle said. "How could we not?"

"So... you saw what happened? At the festival?" Argyle and Cherry nodded, and Sunny went teary again. "I didn't mean any of it. *sniff* I never wanted to fallout with my friends..."

"We know." Cherry agreed.

"I'm so sorry... I failed friendship..."

Argyle nuzzled her in comfort. "Sunny... everypony makes mistakes by accident, even if it breaks their hearts sometimes."

"Believe me, we both did." Cherry said. "But at some point, we learnt how to fix them and move on."

"Exactly. But I don't want my beautiful daughter to give up on everything. I told you that before, remember? Before the day I passed?" Sunny nodded weakly.

"We were talking about you two yesterday." Zack said, wiping his tears. "How you wanted us to hold onto our dreams."

Cherry giggled happily. "I'm surprised! You two were sharing your own stories with each other."

"We even shared ours, too." Argyle said.

"Wait, what are you two talking about?" Sunny asked in confusion.

"*sigh* It's a long story, but... we found a new light, one day." Cherry told.

In a flashback, Argyle was walking through the woods. It was a little dark, but he felt so calm and brave. Then, he came across Cherry, who was also having a stroll of her own. They looked at each other in shock, and Cherry went to hide behind a long bush, panting in a panic.

"Hey, it's okay!" Argyle called. "I'm not gonna hurt you. You can trust me."

"But you're an earth pony!" Cherry argued. "How do you know I can trust you?"

"Well, because... I'm friendly. It took me a long time to finally see a real Pegasus myself, but I'm not scared of you. And I wouldn't be scared to see a real unicorn either."

"But Pegasi said that earth ponies are strangers. And so are unicorns!"

"Really? Well, I find that very hard to believe."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because I believe there could be magic and friendship in Equestria again, just like there were in ancient times." He said, and Cherry realized this as she slowly came out of hiding. "Do you feel the same way?"

"I... well, yes. Yes, I do."

Argyle giggled surprisingly. "That's great! Now, I have to ask... can you fly?"

Cherry felt saddened as she flapped her wings and couldn't take off. "No, I can't. Nopony can."

"Oh... I'm sorry." Argyle said in disappointment. "But all the earth ponies back in Maretime Bay don't know that."

"They don't?"

"No. They're just too blinded by fear and mistrust. All they care about is... themselves."

"Then, if they're all back there, where it is safe... what are you doing out here?"

"Well, I decided to have a nice, relaxing walk. You know, keep my hooves moving, whilst my daughter is at school."

"Wait, you have a daughter?"

"I do, and she believes in the same thing. You have somepony in your family?"

"Yeah, I... I have a son. And he also wishes for all pony kind to reunite and be friends again. I... I never thought I would come across somepony who wanted something similar. It's like it came out of nowhere!"

They both chuckled by that, and smiled at each other.

"I'm Argyle Starshine."

"Cherry Cloudburst."

They shake hooves, and Argyle looks at Cherry's necklace by surprise.

"Hey, I didn't think you would have a similar necklace."

Cherry widened her eyes as she looked at Argyle's. "Oh, neither did I. Isn't that something?" She and Argyle chuckled once again.

"Ever since we met, it was like we found our one true happy place... but it didn't last long." Cherry said.

"No. When the earth ponies and Pegasi found out we were seeing each other... they've torn us apart. And we never met eye-to-eye ever again."

Sunny took that in, as she looked at Cherry in shock. "You... you met my dad?!"

"I did. Does that ring a bell to you?"

"I... I remembered him telling me that he met a Pegasus... but I didn't know it was you!"

"I didn't know your dad met my mom, either." Zack said, smiling.

"Zack... do you still have it?" Cherry asked.

"Yeah, I do." He said, as he brought out the necklace she worn. Sunny was so surprised as she brought out the same one her dad worn. They stared at one another with a loving smile, and turned to their parents, who had a nuzzle.

"Mom... ever since you left, I had a huge hole in my heart. But you gave me courage, strength and hope to be the son I should always be. And I will never ever forget that about you."

"I know you won't." Cherry smiled lovingly. "And I've been so lucky to have you."

"And Dad... I didn't know where I was since I lost you. But because of your love and care, you made me the daughter I am still now. I never wanted to let you or any of my friends down..." She looked down in shame. "But hopefully, it's not too late for me to make a change."

"It isn't." Argyle agreed, as he brought her head back up. "And it's never too late for you to get that spark back. And more importantly, your friends. Your family."

With those words, Sunny smiled tearfully and gave him one more big hug. "I love you so much, Dad..."

Argyle hugged her daughter back. "I love you too, Sunny-Bunny."

"Actually... can't we all just have a hug together, please?" Zack asked in tears. "This is already too much!"

Cherry giggled as they all had a massive group hug. It was like they never got to have something like this, but now, it miraculously happened. A one of a kind miracle.

"Zack... promise me, you'll take care of my daughter." Argyle said.

"I will, Mr. Argyle. I promise." He nodded, and he faced his mother. "I will always love you, Mom."

"And I'll always love you more, my baby. We may not be here anymore, but we will always watch over you two. No matter what."

"We'll do our part, hoof to heart." Argyle reminded.

Taking that in, Sunny and Zack joined in and they all did it together.

"Hoof to heart."

Argyle and Cherry's spirits ascended back into the sky as Sunny and Zack waved them goodbye. Sunny took a deep breath and wiped her tears before looking down at her dad's necklace.

"So... who are you?" Zack asked.

Sunny closed her eyes and pressed the necklace on her neck before looking back up with a determined face. "I am Sunny Starscout... and I'm gonna do what is right."

From this moment, she never gave up after all. She was gonna save Sparky and Equestria, one way or another.

10. Friendship is Sacrifice

After a temporary, heart-to-heart reunion with their parents, Sunny and Zack were racing back to Maretime Bay to get the gang back together and save the world.

"How do you know they're gonna be at the Brighthouse?" Zack asked.

"Zipp said they were going home, so they have to be there. I'm sure of it!"

As soon as they went by the 'Welcome to Maretime Bay' sign, they stopped to see in shock, that the tower of the Brighthouse has been destroyed, and the Unity Crystals have been stolen!

"No, no, NO!" Sunny said in worry.

"The crystals!"

They continued racing towards the building until they made it inside. Sunny's friends have been assessing the damage since they saw it first before she did.

"Opaline's stolen the crystals, too, didn't she?" Sunny asked.

Hitch, although still upset about earlier, sighed and nodded. "Yes. She did."

Sunny became more worried. "So, without them... has everypony lost their magic?"

Zack tested himself to see if he can still fly, and he does, leaving everyone surprised. "Wait. Mine's still working."

"But, how is that even possible?" Misty asked. "We thought the magic disappeared everywhere!"

"Beats me to say it, but I'm shocked as you are, Misty."

"Then they must be still active somehow." Sunny said. "That means there's still hope."

"No, there isn't." Zipp said, still feeling hurt. "Opaline has taken everything from us now; Sparky, our cutie marks... all of it."

"And because of that, we can't activate the Marestream." Izzy said. "We can't do anything..."

"We needed you, Sunny, but you betrayed us. It's over." Pipp said in defeat.

"No. No, it is not over." Sunny said, fighting back her tears, as her friends turned away from her. "Listen to me, I know I screwed up, and I know I should've been there for all of you when you needed me. But now, I need you more. With such dangerous power, Opaline is going to take over all of Equestria soon if we don't do something right now. I know it feels hopeless, but I still have my powers. We don't have a choice here. The only way we can stop her... is together. Not alone. Together."

Even though her friends heard that, they were still not sure about it.

Zack sighed and stepped in for her. "She's right. You guys can hate her all you want when this is over, but if we don't do this, then there won't be anything left to save. There won't be a tomorrow. So what's it gonna be? I know I'm in on this. So like it or not, you all have to be in, too. For Equestria."

"Please..." Sunny begged softly.

They had to think for a few seconds, but they all gave in and agreed to help out. One by one, they said... "For Equestria."

"Okay. But we need a plan, so what do we have in mind?" Pipp asked.

"We've been keeping Opaline from everypony for too long now, so we have to tell 'em." Sunny said.

"I agree." Zack said. "Hitch, get everyone on high alert."

"What do you mean?"

"Bring them all down to Maretime Bay." He then looked back with a heroic look. "We're going all in."

Sunny was surprised to hear that, but she felt proud.

Back at Opaline's castle, the evil alicorn, lead by the possessed dragons, was taking a caged Sparky into the room where Misty used to sleep in. The Unity Crystals, although still active, were applied onto an armored necklace that Opaline was wearing, which has made her even more powerful.

"Here's where you will stay, little dragon, until I need you for something... business-worthy."

"You can't do this! LET ME GO!!" Sparky shouted, struggling to try and break himself out.

"What?! I don't want to have anything bad happening to you now, would I?"

"You don't care about me! You're just a careless MONSTER! I know you tried to drain all my magic the other day!"

"Ah, you know that? Ha! How am I not surprised!? Well, that's because I needed to empower an important object that is worthy of mine. Nothing more or less, to be exact. And, if you don't mind, I'll need to borrow a little more of your fire later, so I can finally accomplish what I should've done a long time ago!"

Sparky became frightened. "Wh... What are you gonna do!?"

"*giggle* You will see. Soon enough." Opaline said, as she and the other dragons walked out of the room.

"YOU'LL NEVER GET AWAY WITH THIS, OPALINE!!" Sparky yelled in anger.

The alicorn faced him and smiled maliciously. "Oh... I already have." She said, as she closed the door and barred it with dark thorns.

Around the land, everyone's phones have brought up a high alert that Hitch sent, saying they all need to head down to Maretime Bay. This put them all in a scare, but nonetheless, they soon rallied up in Mane Street, where Sunny and her friends took centre stage outside the Sheriff Stallion.

"Alright, everypony listen!" Hitch called out. "We're sorry we had to bring you all down here during this dark time, but Equestria's in danger once again. Somehow, the evil fire alicorn, Opaline Arcana, has returned."

"*gasp* Did he just say 'evil fire alicorn'?!" Jazz asked in shock.

"Wait, so you're saying she was the one responsible for what happened at Glastonpony?!" Posey said, then turned angry. "What about the fact that you ponies knew her all this time, and never told us anything!?"

"Yeah, why did none of youse tell us!?" Sweets asked.

The crowd began exclaiming, talking over each other in anger, as Sunny and the others couldn't call them down. Then, she unleashed her alicorn power to get their attention.

"IT WAS MY IDEA!" She shouted, as the crowd stopped yelling and faced her in shock. "It was my idea to keep Opaline Arcana a secret."

"Sunny?!"

"But, why!?"

"Why didn't you tell us sooner!?" Rocky Riff asked.

"Because you would all panic if I did." Sunny answered. "And I wouldn't forgive myself for that. From the moment we brought magic and friendship back to the land, I wanted all of you ponies to be as happy as you could be together, but we were so worried that something bad would happen ever since we first saw Opaline. And now, she's broken out of Twilight Sparkle's invisibubble. And not only has she ruined the Glastonpony Festival, but she's also stolen my friends' cutie marks, the Unity Crystals... and our little dragon, Sparky Sparkeroni. And to make matters even worse, she's planning to take over the entire world for herself." The crowd gasped in a scare. "I know you're all scared right now..."

"Yeah, we're scared and we wanna be prepared!" Toots interrupted with a fright.

"And you're right! But we don't have to live like this. We can stand up together, and take the fight to Opaline and save Equestria! You still have your own magic, and you can use it to defend yourself and fight back! Because as long as we're all together, WE CAN DO ANYTHING!!"

"WHO IS WITH US!?!" Izzy yelled, as she raised her hoof.

After many seconds of silence, the crowd stood up and chanted "TAKE THE FIGHT". Then, Pipp gasped as she saw something coming from afar.

"Look!" She said, as everyone else did the same.

It was Spike and all of the other dragons from the Isle of Scaly! It appeared that Jelly has told them about what happened earlier. They approached from over the sea and landed in the middle of the street, as the ponies got clear of their landings.

"Hey! Thought you guys could use some heavy backup!" Blaize Skysong said, as Sunny and her friends smiled.

"Yeah, we heard what happened, so we thought it'd be right if we help you all out." Tumble said.

"I... I don't believe it!" Sunny said happily.

"Ah, you should believe it, all right!" Jelly said. "And just so you know, I kinda told 'em about the whole incident thing."

"*gasp* Jelly, did you do this?!"

"*laugh* Surprise, surprise!"

"We'll help you ponies take the fight to Opaline." Spike said. "We now know that she was the one who stole our dragon stone. She took everything from me all those moons ago, and I was never the same after that."

"We know, but we've got your back." Blaize said.

"Hold on just a sec, if Opaline is made of fire, how can any of you dragons stop her?" Dahlia asked.

"Good question." Lava smirked. "We'll fight her fire with our own fire!"

"I'm not so sure about that..." Windy doubted.

"Oh! How about some water?" Figgy suggested. "That'll teach her not to mess with ponies like us!"

"Hmm... Water." Sunny said, and she turned to Sprout. "Hey, Sprout!"

"Huh? You talking to me?"

"What do you say we do a little 'emperor' work?" She suggested, as Sprout raised his eyes after hearing that. "You could get your job back."

Sprout looked back at the Canterlogic building and turned to see Phyllis, who nodded with a smile. He then faced Sunny with a smirk. "I thought you would never ask. Everyone follow me!" He ran off as everyone followed suite.

"Sunny, are you sure about this?" Zack asked with worry. "After what he did?"

"Everypony deserves a second chance." Sunny replied with confidence, as Zack smiled.

Inside Canterlogic, the ponies and dragons were building a variety of hi-tech equipment in an attempt to deal with Opaline's fire power, whilst Sunny and the gang drew some attack plans. They tested themselves as Blaize set a line of oil on fire, and the ponies used their water gadgets were they successfully extinguish it. And as soon as everyone finished setting up their gear, they marched out of the building and onto Opaline's.

At Opaline's, the possessed dragons were at the top of the castle, scouting out for any intruders whilst Opaline sends the caged Sparky into a firestorm machine that will transfer his fire into the sky.

"Please! You don't wanna do this!" Sparky begged.

"Why wouldn't I!? You do know this is the only thing that is left for me to take over the land of Equestria! And by the time it is finished, I will show everypony how powerful Opaline Arcana can really be!!" Opaline shouted monstrously, scaring Sparky even more. She chuckled sinisterly as she slightly faced him in a more villainous voice, with her eyes now glowing. "Don't you worry, it won't even hurt a bit."

As she walked away, Sparky looked up at the machine, feeling helpless as it began to power up.

Afar back from the castle, the ponies and dragons are nearing their arrival. Sprout has rebuilt his Sproutacus Maximus as he was in control of it, and Phyllis was in the passenger seat.

"You know when I told you this toy was a little too much the other day?" Phyllis asked, reminding him of the night he attempted to attack the unicorns and Pegasi.

"Yeah, I heard you, Mom. Loud and clear."

"I'm beginning to think that you're now doing something real dangerous again. But this time, it's... really brave, too."

"And daring? This isn't a toy, I know what I'm doing. And you heard Sunny, if we all survive this, it'll be the long-awaited return of Deputy Sprout!"

"Only if we stop Opaline, that is." Phyllis reminded.

Outside, Zack was still inspecting the machine himself, feeling a little concerned as he faced Sunny.

"I'm still surprised that you're letting him do this. You sure you trust him?"

"We need everything we got against Opaline."

"But how will we handle all of this without your friends' magic?"

Sunny sighed as she looked down. "I'm not sure. But I want them back, Zack. I don't want to be alone when this is over." She turned to see her friends behind them. "But without them... where do I belong?"

"Sunny, you'll never be alone. Ever. Like your dad said, they're your family. When they get their magic back, I'm sure they'll forgive you."

"I started all this, Dad." Misty said to Alphabittle, feeling guilty. "I never should've listened to her."

"I know. You were just trying to protect yourself. But this time, we'll show her who owns the land, and get your mark back."

"I just really want Sparky to still be okay when we save him."

"We got this together, Misty." Izzy said, trying to be hopeful.

"Eyes up, everyone! Approaching the castle at 12 o'clock!" Zoom called out from the sky.

"You heard her! Be on your guard!" Zipp said, as they all readied themselves for battle.

"Since when did you start delivering orders, Zipp?" Hitch asked.

"I learnt from the best." Zipp smirked.

From afar, the possessed Stoner sees the army approaching the castle. He alerts the others, who prepare to attack, and flies inside to warn Opaline. As the army moves closer and closer, Sunny stops as she has another vision. It was showing that Opaline has been alerted about their arrival, as she growls in anger.

"*gasp* She knows we're here!" Sunny said.

"PONIES, DRAGONS, GET READY TO ATTACK!" Spike called, as they all aimed their weapons. "Remember, we do this together! No one gets left behind!"

The possessed Tongues of Fire dragons roared from atop the castle, as they began flying down and towards the army.

"It's Tongues of Fire!! THEY'RE POSSESSED!!" Jelly yelled.

"GIVE IT ALL YOU GOT!!!" Thunder yelled.

The possessed dragons roared loudly, as they closed in on them.

"EVERYPONY CHAAAAARGE!!!!" Hitch battlecries, as they all engaged in battle! The possessed dragons fired down on them, and the army fired back their water. One of their machines caught fire, but they quickly snuffed it out.

"ADVANCE TO THE CASTLE!! GO, GO, GO!!!" Zack called out, as they all move forward whilst fighting back.

Jelly takes to the skies as she tackles the possessed Flamber. She starts slapping him in the face, trying to get him to snap out of it, but to no avail. "Come on, come on, buddy! SNAP OUT OF IT, WOULD YA?!! WHOA!" They crash down to the ground, and the earth ponies use their magic to trap Flamber with strong vines. They struggle to keep him pinned, but they've been foiled as Reaper flew down and fired on them, which they just evade, but allowed Flamber to break free and continue attacking.

Sprout rapidly fired water out of his machine, but one of the dragons charged at him and began knocking it down. Sprout and Phyllis immediately got out before it fell.

"Now what!?" Phyllis asked.

Sprout thought of something as he brought out the water from the cannons and poured them into their own weapons. "Plan B!" He said, as he threw one one to his mother, who smiled, and they began to engage on foot.

As Sunny was firing back, she turned to see the castle and calls out her friends. "GUYS, LET'S GO!! WE HAVE TO GET TO THE CASTLE NOW!!" She said, alerting them as they advance together in an attempt to stop Opaline.

But the evil alicorn saw this from her monitor, and she lashes out in rage. "NONE OF YOU WILL STOP ME FROM FOILING MY PLANS!!! LET'S SEE IF THIS WILL SLOW YOU DOWN!!!"

She activates the machine, which began draining Sparky's fire and transferring it into the sky. Then, it unleashed a dangerous firestorm, where lightning began to struck down on the battlefield and cause huge blazes of fire. One of them splits Zack from Sunny and her friends, as they were hurled into the ground.

"ZACK!!!" Sunny screamed in a scare.

Zack panted in short breathes as he turned back to see everyone still fighting. He deeply sighed as he faced back at her with confidence, and hovered up in the air. "I'll take care of this! You go save that dragon!"

Sunny, although still worried about him, smiles a bit. "You're so crazy!"

Zack smiled back at her. "I like crazy." He said, as he flew back to help the others out.

"Sunny, let's go!" Izzy said, as they continue to move forward.

But then, lightning struck near them as they quickly took cover next to a big rock. The castle was just nearby, but time is wasting away.

"We're so close, we can't stop now!" Pipp said.

"But the storm's getting worse out here!" Zipp said.

"What are we gonna do!?" Izzy asked.

"Don't ask me, I don't know!" Hitch said.

"But we can't let Sparky die!" Misty said. "We have to save him before it's too late!"

Sunny had to think hard for a few seconds, and then, she had a plan. "I know what needs to be done." She said, as the others look at her.

"What? What do you have in mind, Sunny?" Hitch asked.

"It's hard to explain, but... there's something I have to tell you guys... and you're not gonna like it. Ever since we brought magic back together, we were exposed to the world once again."

"What are you talking about?" Zipp asked, not understanding.

"There's a reason why Twilight Sparkle had to sacrifice herself to keep everypony safe from danger. She did that ever since Opaline tried to steal magic back in Ancient Equestria. But when we completed our mission, bringing everyone back together in harmony... that was when the darkness would return as well. As did Opaline."

"Wait, Sunny, what are you saying?" Pipp asked.

"I saw her in possession of the Unity Crystals, and she's already become more powerful than ever before. But there's only one way I can save everyone. I have to undo what we did."

"What...?!"

"I have to destroy the crystals." Sunny revealed.

The others gasped in shock by that, and were extremely against it.

"Sunny, no!" Misty said.

"Are you insane?! You can't do that!" Zipp said.

"Why not?"

"Because if you do, the magic will be gone forever and we won't be together anymore!" Izzy feared. "Do you really want to throw away everything that we did?! It's what you and your dad ever wanted your whole lives!"

"I know that. It's what we all wanted, even Zack and his mom. But I wasn't there for you back then, so I have to return the favor."

"No, Sunny, none of that matters now!" Hitch said, trying to cheer her up.

"Yeah, we don't care about what happened! We care about you!" Izzy said, and that hit Sunny hard. "We care about each other... as a family." The others nodded to that.

Sunny shedded a tear. "You guys are the bestest friends I could ever have. But right now, there are worse things, so I have to take on Opaline alone." She tried to run off.

"No, Sunny, you can't do this!" Zipp said, stopping her.

"I have to! It's for our own good!" Sunny said, trying to break free.

"No, without our cutie marks, you'll be killed!" Pipp feared with worry, which stunned Sunny, knowing the danger she'll put herself into.

"Sunny... this is all on me." Misty said, as she stepped forward. "I made Opaline a monster in the first place, I put you and our friends in that mess. But I never wanted to since you've been so good to me. We know it's risky, but please. Let us help you stop her! Let us help you save Sparky! Hoof to heart! Right?"

Sunny looked at the others, who were begging whilst on a verge of tears, but then faced Misty with determination. "Sorry, Misty. But this is my mess now... So I have to fix it..." She got out of hiding, unleashed her alicorn form, and turned angry. "...by myself!" Without hesitation, she ran away and flew off towards the castle.

"No! NO!"

"SUNNY, DON'T DO THIS!!"

"STOP!!"

None of that worked as Sunny completely ignored them. She grinded her teeth, charged her power and fired it to break through the walls, ending up in Opaline's lair.

"OPALINE!!!"

Alerted by that, the evil alicorn comes out of hiding from above and lands with her fire power active. "Well, look who came crawling back... Sunny Starscout. You made a grave mistake bringing your army of friends down here!"

"No, I didn't! Give back my friends' cutie marks and let Sparky go! It's me you want!"

"You?!" Opaline laughed maniacally. "I won't be needing you, nor do I even want you! But if you want your helpless little dragon back, you'll have to go through me. Especially that he's now suffering in a little thing I created!" She revealed the machine to Sunny, showing Sparky losing all his dragon fire as his green skin was fading to grey once again.

Sunny gasped and became really wrathful. "LET HIM GO!"

"I'm afraid that's not possible now. Once I finished draining the last of his fire, I'll start taking everypony else's cutie marks, including yours, and the entire land will soon be mine to rule!"

"YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM!!" Sunny growled through her teeth.

"It's already over, Sunny! GIVE UP!"

"NEVER!!!" She shouted, as she sparkled her horn and the two began fighting, flying around the room and blasting their powers at each other.

The others were watching from afar back and got very worried, thinking that Sunny's on her way to being defeated.

"We have to get over there!" Izzy said.

"Wait! How about we get one of the dragons to throw us over!?" Misty thought.

They looked over at the battlefield, as it was getting very tense by the second. Zipp saw Spike nearby, who was too focused on fighting the possessed dragons.

"Wishful thinking!!" She said, and they called out to him.

"HEY, SPIKE!!"

"SPIKE, OVER HERE!!"

Spike heard the calls as he turned to them. "Huh? What is it!?"

"We need to get over to the castle! Can you throw us over there?!"

"Okay! I'm coming!" Spike said, as he flew over and landed right beside them. "Grab onto my leg and hold on!" The ponies tightly grabbed onto his leg. He moved it back... "Go get her, friends!!" ...and swung it forward, successfully throwing them over to the broken walls.

They looked through the fight and saw Sparky suffocating in the machine.

"SPARKY!!" Hitch yelled, as he tried to go save him, but Misty stopped him.

"WAIT! I'll save him, Hitch!" She said, as she brought a rock and ran into the castle.

"MISTY, DON'T!!" Pipp shouted.

As Opaline and Sunny's fight continued to emerge, Misty stayed out of sight and quickly sneaked up to the machine. She looked up, exhaled deeply and climbed up to the top, right where Sparky is.

"SPARKY!"

"M... Misty!" Sparky said, struggling.

"Hold on, buddy, I'm getting you outta here!" She said, as she began breaking the glass with the rock. Small cracks appeared, but she banged it harder and harder and the glass started to break apart.

"Those alicorns tried to take everything from me!!" Opaline shouted. YOU WILL NOT TAKE IT FROM ME THIS TIME!!"

"THAT MAGIC NEVER BELONGED TO YOU!!!" Sunny shouted back, straining.

Opaline then noticed Izzy, Pipp, Zipp and Hitch trying to sneak by. She trapped them in a bubble, which made Sunny enraged, and they fired at each other right at the same moment; with their lazers in the balance. Misty kept banging the glass, as Sparky was collapsing. And after many hard knocks, it completely breaks and she grabbed Sparky out of the machine, saving him, but he's in a poor state. And then, with all the power she has possessed in herself, Opaline unleashed her biggest and most hardest strike on Sunny, which blasts her unconsciously to the ground and strips her cutie mark, transferring it into the villain, making her even more powerful.

"NOOOOOOO!!!!!!" The trapped ponies screamed emotionally.

"SUNNY!!!!" Misty shrieked, who witnessed it after climbing off the machine.

Outside on the battlefield, almost everyone has ran out of water, and are soon trapped by the huge blazes and the possessed dragons. One by one, they steal all their cutie marks, including Zack's. Alphabittle and Haven were trapped themselves and they hugged together, preparing for the worst. The firestorm soon expanded across the land; Maretime Bay, Zephyr Heights, Bridlewood, literally everywhere, as the residents got into a huge scare.

Feeling victorious, Opaline landed and walked up to the downed Sunny, cackling madly. "Poor little pony! Did you really think you could stop me?!! NOW you see that nopony could ever-"

"STOOOPPP!!!!" Misty yelled as she got in front of the villain whilst cradling Sparky in her hoof, covering the injured Sunny, who slowly opened her eyes and couldn't muster the strength. "Please stop...!" She begged tearfully.

"No... Misty..." Sunny said weakly, groaning.

"SPARKY!!!" Hitch yelled, horrified at seeing the little dragon weak and grey.

"Misty?!! You don't even know what you're doing! GIVE ME BACK THE DRAGON AND GET OUT OF MY WAY, NOW!!" Opaline shouted.

"NO!!" Misty shouted back in anger. "How could you live with this!? HOW COULD YOU HAVE A HEART SO COLD!?!"

"Misty-"

"I DID EVERYTHING FOR YOU!!!"

Opaline was stunned by that a little as she never saw Misty yell at her like that before. "Now you listen to me-" She tried to say.

"I devoted my life to helping you! All this time, you had me believing like I never belonged anywhere because I had no friends and no family!! You had me thinking that you would be my MOTHER!!"

"Your mother?!!" Opaline said in disgust. "You should've known-"

"I ALREADY KNOW!!" Misty continued shouting. "Alphabittle told me everything! He saw you! You never saved me! I was never a lost filly!! YOU FOAL-NAPPED ME AND KILLED MY PARENTS!!" Opaline got shocked by that. "And all I did for you... you were never going to give me a cutie mark, were you!? WERE YOU, OPALINE!?!?"

Opaline didn't say anything for a few seconds, but she then scowled at her. "No, Misty. I wasn't."

The trapped ponies gasped, realizing the truth that Misty was used by Opaline.

"It was true." Zipp said sadly. "She was using her the whole time."

"See?!" Misty said, pointing at her. "You never cared about me! YOU NEVER LOVED ME!!!"

"You thought I cared about a worthless little brat like you?!" Opaline said, as she began yelling back at her. "You thought I actually LOVED YOU?!!"

"DON'T LET HER SCARE YOU, MISTY!!" Izzy shouted.

"How can I ever love you!?" She pointed at the trapped ponies. "How can THEY ever love you, Misty!!? After everything you've done!? You've been nothing but a thorn in my side since the night I found you!! I only kept you with me just so I could use you to get what I want, WHERE I SHOULD'VE GOT RID OF YOU ALL THOSE YEARS AGO!!!"

Having heard that, Misty felt stunned as she lowered her head. "I knew it." She said softly.

"You are nothing, Misty. Just like your cutie mark!"

"You lied to me." Misty said, who felt like she was about to explode.

"DON'T GIVE HER SPARKY!!!" Hitch yelled.

"DON'T DO IT!!!" Pipp shouted

"ENOUGH!!!" Opaline yelled, as she used her powers to bring out razor sharp thorns around them, which were growing. "Now you have a choice, Misty. Either you let your puny friends die, OR GIVE ME THE DRAGON!!" She said, as she began charging her power, trying to scare the unicorn.

"No! NO!" Misty said, having tears pouring down her eyes as she shut them tight.

"MISTY!!!" Izzy screamed, as she and the others were close to their deaths.

"LAST CHANCE!" Opaline said sharply.

"Misty, please..." Sunny begged, on the brink of death.

Being put in a crossroads, Misty started to think back about the horrible times where she was berated and spurned by Opaline and her friends, but then thought about the good, happier times where she smiled and had fun and hugs with the ponies she loved. After that, she knew she chose friendship. She knew what she had to do now. Time was running out, as it was now or never for her. She opened her eyes with fury, and brought out Sparky. "NOW, SPARKY!!!!!"

Using all that he had left in him, Sparky mustered the strength and fired out the last of his dragon fire. Taking Opaline by surprise, the fire collided with the Unity Crystals on her necklace, which then cracked and got destroyed. At the same time, a huge explosion occurred, blasting them away and draining everyone's magic from them, where they all scream in pain and collapse into unconsciousness despite being saved. Tongues of Fire were free from their evil possession, the firestorm has stopped, and everyone got their cutie marks back... But because the crystals were destroyed, the magic has died.

Opaline, now weakened and powerless again, reopened her eyes and gasped in horror as she saw the shattered crystals on the floor. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed, as she crawled towards them and tried to get them back together. "No, no, no, no, no...!" But it was no use, as she broke down in angry tears. Her plans were foiled for good.

Misty and the others went to check on Sunny and Sparky, who were still unconscious. Sparky's color returned to normal, but Sunny lost her rainbow hair since the magic had gone.

"What have you done...?" Opaline weeped, and suddenly shouted in rage. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?!?!?!?!"

The other ponies looked down in heartbreak, as all was lost forever. Everything was quiet all around, even outside. But suddenly, sparkles started to appear from the destroyed crystals. They appeared even more frequently as everyone saw what was happening.

"If only you knew any better..." Someone said, and suddenly, a purple alicorn appeared in front of Opaline. "...OPALINE ARCANA!!" It was Twilight Sparkle! Everyone gasped from this, and Twilight angrily picked up Opaline with her magic, who struggled to break free.

"Is.. is that...?!" Zipp said, feeling speechless.

"It's Twilight Sparkle!!" Misty shouted surprisingly.

"Twilight?! You can't be-" Opaline tried to say.

"I TOLD YOU THAT MAGIC WAS NOT YOURS TO TAKE!" Twilight said right at her face. "But now, you've crossed the line!" She then threw Opaline into the ground. "I've waited too long to do this! You took away my friends, my home, EVERYTHING I LOVED!! And now that you've done all this, YOU WON'T MIND ME RETURNING THE FAVOR!!!" She then unleashed some hard thorns from the ground around Opaline, which strangled her tightly on her neck and legs. But also, the Elements of Harmony, which were destroyed back in ancient times, have been resurrected and they applied themselves onto the Mane 6, which made them so powerful and brought them up in the air.

"Wha- what's happening to us!?" Pipp asked, feeling scared.

"It's the Elements of Harmony!" Misty said. "THEY'RE BACK!"

"And they've chosen US!!" Zipp said happily.

"WHAT?!!" Izzy shouted in shock. "I DON'T BELIEVE THIS, LOOK AT ALL THE SPARKLES!!"

Sunny was surprised herself, seeing how much power she and her friends have in possession of the elements. One by one, they grabbed each others hooves and held them together, and everyone else from the battlefield saw them powering up.

"Wait, is that what I think it is?!" Zack asked Jelly.

"It's the power of the elements! Exactly like in one of your stories!!"

"Misty...!" Alphabittle said softly, as he and Haven were seeing it themselves.

"My babies!" Haven said with worry.

Opaline, who still couldn't break free from the grasp of the thorns, looked up and saw the Mane 6, who were charging their ultimate power at her, and became completely horrified. "The Elements of Harmony! HOW!?"

"You said it yourself!" Sunny said. "We are the GUARDIANS of Harmony!"

Now fully charged, they unleashed their ultimate power down on Opaline, who screamed out in absolute agony and got vaporized to her death. Soon afterwards, the castle began to collapse around them, as the ponies and dragons outside got clear of the falling building, and a huge flow of dust spreads over them. The dust cleared a few seconds later, as Sparky and the Mane 6 appeared to have been shielded from the falling rubble. They all opened their eyes, feeling relieved to have survived the chaos. But Sunny was the only exception, and after the shield was depleted, she collapsed to the ground, and her friends got into a fright as they checked on her.

"*gasp* Sunny!" Izzy said.

"What happened, is she okay?!" Pipp asked.

Sparky bended down next to her head and tried to listen for any breaths. He began crying as there weren't any coming from her. "She's... she's not breathing!!" He said, as he and the others think her heart stopped beating.

"No! No-no-no!" Hitch said, as he attempted to revive her by pushing her belly. "Come on, Sunny! Come on, come back to us!! COME ON!!"

"Sunny, open your eyes!" Izzy said in tears. "SAY SOMETHING!"

"Sunny, we need you to breathe!" Misty cried, who was holding her head.

"SUNNY, PLEASE!" Pipp begged.

"Can you hear us!?!" Zipp asked.

Everyone else around them ran up and saw what happened in horror and heartbreak.

"Oh no!" Haven said.

"SOMEBODY HELP!!!" Misty screamed out.

"SUNNY, DON'T DO THIS TO US!!" Hitch shouted.

"Please! Wake up, Sunny...!" Sparky begged.

They kept begging for Sunny to respond, and Hitch tried all he could to revive her... but none of it worked. She was gone...

"Sunny...?!" Izzy said weakly, as her voice broke. "No!"

Hitch gave up and broke down in tears. "Oh, Sunny, we're sorry..."

"No, she can't be...!" Pipp sobbed, as her mother comforted her.

"We're sorry...!" Hitch weeped, as the others cried in complete heartbreak, having all felt that they deeply regretted rejecting her. He roared in anguish, as Figgy went up to hug him, and Zipp and Sparky joined in.

Haven went to comfort her daughters, and Alphabittle comforted Misty, hugging her tightly. Izzy stayed right by Sunny's side, refusing to let her go, but Jelly tried to take her away.

"Izzy... you have to leave her..." She said.

"No... No, I won't...!"

"Look, there's nothing you can do, she's gone!"

"NO!!" Izzy snapped, stunning Jelly, who stepped away and left her to cradle Sunny. "Sunny... we're so sorry... We said we needed you... but you needed us more... I know you would never betray us..." She said in tears of grief, as she took off her bracelet and left it on her friend's dead body. "You're my best friend, Sunny... And I'll always love you..." Jelly slowly but gently took her in, and she continued sobbing into her belly.

With Sunny and the magic gone, everything seemed lost, as everyone mourned her death. Having saw it all for himself, Zack was devastated as he walked up to Sunny and looked down on her. He slowly leaned into her and kissed her mouth, before deciding to leave her in tears. But then, a magical light appeared inside Sunny's body, swirling around it, and it even restores her rainbow mane. Zack gasped at this as he looks back at her, who slowly opened her eyes and looked back at him. She was revived; her injuries were healed!

"Z... Zack?"

"Sunny!" Zack chuckled in tears of joy.

"Are... are you an angel?" Sunny asked, and this made Zack laugh, having him think she made a loving comeback to when they first met. They then smiled at each other and kissed.

Haven opened her eyes and gasped in surprise. "Girls, look!" She said, as Pipp and Zipp turned to see their friend alive.

"Sunny... She's alive!" Figgy said happily, as Hitch and Sparky gasped.

"Misty!" Alphabittle alerted, as the blue unicorn turned and gasped to see that Sunny was back to life.

Jelly and Izzy saw this too and couldn't believe it. As Sunny and Zack continued kissing, their cutie marks glowed and the Pegasus' wings lit up and flapped. He gasped as he and Sunny were raised up into the sky, and the earth pony's alicorn magic returned. And when it summoned a massive bloom, all of the magic had also returned in Equestria, giving everyone their powers back. Sunny and Zack saw everyone smiling and cheering from above. Beginning to cry, Sunny smiled as she flew into Zack for a hug and sobbed.

"I love you!" She said, as they slowly descended to the ground.

"*sniff* I love you more." Zack smiled, fighting his tears. "Good comeback, by the way."

Behind them, Sunny's friends were so happy that they ran up to her, wanting for a big hug. She turned to see them and was emotionally relieved, as they embraced together in reconciliation.

"Oh, guys...!"

"I thought we lost you!" Pipp sobbed.

"I thought I lost you guys." Sunny said. "I thought I lost my family... where I really belonged. I'm sorry..."

"No... it's okay now." Hitch said. "We're sorry, too."

"Friends do screw up sometimes." Izzy said. "But you couldn't lose us, even if you wanted to."

"Yeah, you were in so much pressure of everything that was going on." Zipp said. "We should've known better."

"We wouldn't forgive ourselves if we lost you." Misty said.

"I promise. I promise... that I will never betray you ever again."

"We know. And we forgive you." Izzy smiled, as they group hugged again.

"I love you all so much."

"We love you too, Sunny." Zipp said.

"We would never hate each other, no matter what." Misty said.

"BFF's forever and ever." Izzy said.

Sunny opened her eyes and was proud to see Sparky jumping up to her. "Sparky! You're okay."

"I'm so happy you're okay, Sunny." The dragon said.

"We all are." Hitch said. "No more Opaline, no more dangers."

"And nightmares?" Sparky added.

"Yeah, that as well. *snicker*"

Zack watched on as he smiled that Sunny was back together with her friends. But suddenly, the ground began shaking around them, as everyone got clear of the rubble.

"What's happening here!?" Pipp asked. "Oh, please don't let it be another threat!"

Mere seconds later, a giant purple castle rises out of the ground, as everyone gasped by its magical, sparkling look. The gates opened, as they all walked through and looked around in awe. Then, the castle doors opened, revealing Twilight walking out.

"*laugh* It's not a threat, Pipp Petals." Twilight said. "It's my new castle!"

"WHAT?!" Pipp shouted in shock. "TWILIGHT SPARKLE KNOWS WHO I AM?!!!"

"Apparently, I know everypony."

Pipp squealed in such happiness, and fainted to the ground, but Zipp caught her.

"Whoa! Sorry, Your Highness. She needs some work."

The others couldn't believe their eyes when they were staring at the purple alicorn. It was like they've never seen an alicorn before.

"It's... it's really her!" Jazz said.

"Twilight Sparkle!" Sweets said, feeling starstruck.

"What a cool alicorn!" Onyx said.

"Okay, my eyes do not deceive me!" Jelly said, as she joyfully took a picture of the alicorn with her phone.

Sunny and the others walked up to her. "I... I can't believe it's really you!" She said, amazed. "Twilight, we thought you were..."

"You thought I was gone? Not really. I was trapped in those Unity Crystals that I created a long time ago. That was when Opaline tried to take all the magic away for herself that day."

"True, but I don't think we should be worrying about her anymore." Spike said, as he walked through the crowd and appeared in front of her, who began tearing up.

"Spike...?"

"Hello, Twilight. It's me."

"Oh, Spike!"

Having not seen each other for so long, they had a warm embrace.

"I missed you so much." Twilight said.

"Me too. If only our friends could see all of this..."

Assessing this herself, Izzy felt so emotional and cried again. "Now this... this is what I call a happy reunion." She smiled.

"It's much more than that." Sunny said. "Together is where they belong."

"Where is it? The Dragon Stone?" Spike asked.

"Still in one piece." Twilight smiled, as she brought it out and gave it to him.

"Thank you."

"It belongs to the dragons, after all." She reminded, and she then turned to Sunny. "Sunny Starscout... what you did was very risky... but also very brave. Opaline Arcana took everything that we loved away from us. Our friends, our home, and our family."

"We know... and we're sorry."

"But thanks to you and your friends, she is no more. Your love and care for each other in that darkest moment was what brought back not only me... but the Elements of Harmony, too." She said, as she revealed them to the Mane 6. "And that was what led to her demise."

"Really? But weren't they destroyed back then?" Hitch asked.

"They were, but ever since you freed me, I was able to bring them all back together and have you six in possession of them, unlocking the ultimate power of friendship to overpower and defeat the alicorn who only cared about fear and hatred. If it weren't for any of you ponies, then Equestria would've been lost forever. But now, the world is freed from evil once again. Me and my friends used them before, so it's now my responsibility to hand over and grant you six the Elements of Harmony." She announced, as she gave every one of them their own element.

"Wait, you... you really mean it?!" Izzy said happily.

"So... does this officially make us the new Guardians of Harmony?" Misty asked. "I mean, we did defeat Opaline together, right?"

"Of course you did, Misty. And yes, I do mean it."

Izzy cheered wildly after hearing that, feeling happier than she ever felt before.

"But what about the Unity Crystals?" Sunny asked, feeling unsure. "Without them-"

"It's okay. You don't need them anymore. All you need from now on... is to believe in yourself. And promise us that you will continue your mission on spreading friendship, love and care, wherever you may go."

"We won't disappoint you, Twilight." Sunny smiled.

"Um... Sheriff Hitch?" Sparky said, having thought of something.

"What? Did you just call me Sheriff?" He said, taken by surprise.

"Can I...?" He tried to ask, as he turned to look at Misty with a cute face.

She didn't know what he was doing. "Wha... why are you looking at me like that?" Misty asked. "I don't understand."

"I think he... wants to be with you." Hitch thought.

Misty widened her eyes. "Me? But you're his dragon-dad, aren't you?"

"Well... yeah, but..."

Sparky turned to face back at him. "Please?" He asked.

Hitch wasn't sure about this. He didn't even know it would come so soon, as it felt like it was time to say goodbye.

"Hitch, I... I think you should." Zack said, stepping forward.

Hitch felt sad for a moment, but later nodded with a brave smile. "Yeah, you're right. I'm a dragon-dad no more. It's about time I focus on the one thing I wanted the most. And that's being a good sheriff." He said, facing Zipp, which made her proud of him.

"I had a feeling you would say that." She said.

Hitch then looked down on Sparky, feeling like he wanted to cry, and they had a hug.

"I'm sorry for everything." Sparky said.

"It's okay, Sparky. But this isn't goodbye. I'll still see you." He said, as he rubbed his head.

"You too." The dragon said, as he went up to Misty, who smiled and picked him up for a cuddle. He now belongs to her.

"Oh, Sparky!" Misty giggled.

"Aww, isn't this a sweet surprise?" Alphabittle said, joining beside Misty.

"It's even sweeter as us being together..." Haven said, kissing his head.

Spike was observing this himself, and he felt touched. "Seeing this... *sniff* reminds me of when I was little." He said to Twilight.

"Yeah. How much we missed those days."

"You earned him, Misty." Hitch said. "He's now yours."

"Thank you, Hitch."

Sunny then touched her in comfort. "You saved us." She said, seeing her as a hero. "You saved everyone."

"Kinda wanted to say that we saved everyone." Misty chuckled.

"Yeah, I think you're right." Sunny chuckled along.

Then, Sprout came up to them, clearing his throat. "Excuse me, Sheriff Hitch? So, about my, uh... machine-thingy. I know the first outing was... terrible and unforgiving, but... was I a good helper, this time?" He asked, reminding him that Sunny did say he would get his job back.

Sunny smirked for a bit and asked Hitch. "Well, what do you say?"

Hitch had to think for a sec, and said... "*sigh* Well, we know what you did back then was wrong..."

"Really wrong..." Zipp agreed.

"But what you did today? It was right."

"Really right. And helpful of you."

"You had a change of heart. So, I'm pleased to say... you've earned your reinstatement." Hitch said, as he handed Sprout his deputy badge back. "Welcome back, Deputy Sprout."

Sprout felt like crying for a sec, but he deeply sighed and fought them back. "Okay! You will not regret this, I swear on my life."

"I am proud of you, sugarcube." Phyllis smiled.

"HEY!!" Reaper shouted out, getting their attention. "Hey, sorry to burst this bonding moment and all, but... WHAT ABOUT THE GLASTONPONY FESTIVAL!?"

"Repear, dude, can you just chillax for one second?!" Flamber said. "But he's right! What about it?"

"Yeah, we wanna get back on stage and finish what we started!" Stoner added.

"And let these guys rock and do their part!" Doomer said, pointed out to the other artists, who laughed.

"He does have a point, and I'll have you know that I'm dying to play my new single!" Ruby said, opening her wings.

"Oooh, YES!!" Pipp squealed. "We cannot wait to hear you sing it! Right, Sunny?"

"I think we should postpone the festival for now. Because I have something I wanna do first..."

A few days later, after fixing the Crystal Brighthouse's tower, Sunny decided to have the Glastonpony Festival take place at Melody Water Park, much to Jelly's delight, who was at the security gate. Although still doing one of her jobs, she was so excited and couldn't wait for it to start.

"Alright, everyone, you know the drill! Step on up, show me your tickets, and get ready to have the best day of your lives!!" She called out in happiness.

Sunny's friends were all surprised by how amazing the park looked.

"Ooh, THIS IS SO BIGGER THAN I EVER THOUGHT!!!" Izzy shouted. "Look out, everyone! HERE COMES THE CANNONBALL OF IZZY MOONBOW!!!" She ran off to a pool in absolute joy, and bombed right into it, making a massive splash.

"Hey, be careful, Izzy!" Sunny said, chuckling. "*sigh* I'm just kidding. She's already loving it like I did."

"Oh yeah." Zack agreed. "Maybe not as ecstatic as you were, but she's still ecstatic."

Zipp and Hitch were riding down the Slide of Heaven, laughing as they flew off the ramps and into the pool.

"Should we do this thing more often?" Hitch asked. "I feel like I'm in the zone!"

"Sunny was right." Zipp chuckled. "This really is the place for a splashing good time. Especially that we're here together." She put her hoofs around him, who felt really touched by it.

"Yeah... just me and you." He smiled, as the two kissed.

Pipp, Misty and Sparky were throwing water bombs at each other, laughing in the process.

"You have to do better than that, Misty!" Pipp said, as she threw a bomb at her, who dodged it.

"I know my surroundings better than you do, Pipp! And I'm just getting started!" A bomb hit her from behind, as she turned to see it was Sparky, who laughed out.

"Gotcha!" He said, as he started running.

"Ooh, you get back here, LITTLE SPARKY!!" Misty called out, as she and Pipp chased him down, whilst Sunny and Zack watched on.

"So, what are you gonna do, now that you quit your job?" She asked him.

"I dunno. Maybe become a co-smoothie operator? Lend you an extra hoof?"

"Wait, are you serious?"

"You know I would be if I love you." He replied, which made Sunny giggle. "Oh, and um... did you forget your gift again?"

Sunny brought out the sphere from her bag, having reminded herself. "Not this time."

"Atta-girl." Zack smirked.

As the day progressed, the festival began as the bands and singers performed on stage, giving everyone an amazing time. When it got to dusk, Pipp was up last, promising to present a big finale, as she had Sunny's gift in her hooves.

"I hope everyone's had a magical and unforgettable day here at Glastonpony!" She called out, as the crowd cheered. "Thank you so much! And now, for tonight's big finale, I cannot wait to show you all a very special surprise that I have in store. This is from a very close friend of ours, and he has been making it for such a long time. He said that it's a sign of unity, magic, and more importantly, what Equestria should always and forever be about - friendship."

After saying that, Pipp then placed the sphere in a frame, which began ascending into the sky. Its lights lit up around the sphere, which brought out a magical, sparkling aurora. Everyone gasped in awe as they stared at it, and soon after, Pipp began singing along to her music, with the first song being her new single, which everyone fell in love with. The Pippsqueaks were tearing up, and her friends cheered for her. Sunny and Zack were watching it from afar, sitting on top of a cliff.

Sunny turned to Zack and nudged him. "Here's to the future?"

Zack faced back at her and said... "Here's to right now."

They smiled at each other lovingly, and as soon as the fireworks set off in the sky, they leaned in for a kiss, having a warm hug in the process, whilst their parents' spirts watched them from above, who too had a warm embrace. The aurora later spreads to Twilight's castle, who she and Spike looked out together from the balcony. Even without their friends, their legacy lived on within Sunny and the others, a.k.a. the new Guardians of Harmony.

THE END

4. An Unexpected Guest

The next morning, Sunny, feeling a little sleep-deprived, went down to the Sheriff Station, where Sparky seemed to be having a little too much random food for breakfast.

"Now, Sparky, what did we say the most important rule was when having breakfast in the morning?" Hitch asked Sparky.

"Not to have too much. There's no need for you to remind me about it every time, I got it all under control." He turned to see Sunny. "Oh, morning, Sunny!"

"*yawn* Morning, Sparky. Morning, Hitch."

"Are you okay? You don't look so good... but you look colorful, too!"

"Oh, do I?" She said, addressing her new look. "I'm fine. Just a bit under the weather, that's all." She then looked at all the food in shock. "Jeez, look at all this food you have!"

"Yeah, his chaotic dragon fire did all of this." Hitch explained. "I keep reminding him not to have a lot. He's gonna get a big fat tummy otherwise!"

"No, I'm not!" Sparky said annoyingly.

"Actually, Sparky, would you mind if me and Hitch have a little chat for a minute, please? It's kinda urgent."

"Okay. And I don't mind if you want any of these. I'm gonna go to the bathroom." He walks off upstairs.

"I'm warning you, Sparky. If you ever do something bad to that toilet, there's big trouble inbound."

"What, I owe you? I don't have any money!"

"That's not at all what I..." He face palms in frustration. "*sigh* What am I gonna do with him?"

"He's changing. He's beginning to understand more."

"Yeah, maybe you're right." He then felt surprised by Sunny's face and mane. "Whoa, and he's right about how you look. New colors on your hair, cool, but being all sleep deprived... what happened? Terrible night last night?"

"*sigh* Well, it's... complicated."

"In what way? Bad dreams? Nightmares? Or were anyone of the girls snoring or talking in their sleep?"

"No... Actually, I just came on by to remind you about... about the festival that we're gonna start working on today, so... it's nothing, really."

"Doesn't look like nothing to me, not with that look on your face. You obviously came down here for a reason, didn't you?"

"Hitch, I'm fine, really." Sunny replied, not wanting to talk about it.

But Hitch demanded a real answer. "Sunny, tell me, what's going on?"

"I told you, it's nothing!"

"Don't lie to me! I'm trying to help you here! As a sheriff, it's my job to make sure everypony is feeling okay." Sunny frowned in sadness with her head down. He sighs and puts his hoof on her chin. "Sunny, whatever's going on, we can talk about it together, okay? Just me and you. I'm all ears, so be honest with me."

Sunny took a few breathes. "Okay... Last night, I've been... I've been hearing some weird noises in my head."

"What kind of weird noises?"

"I don't know, they... must've sounded like really high, and squeaky in some way. So that's why I couldn't sleep well."

"Are you coming down with something? Like tinnitus?"

"No! I know what that means, Hitch. I just... never heard anything like it before."

"So it just happened last night? How many times?"

"Just once. But ever since it happened, I've spent the rest of the night thinking about it. I don't even know what caused it to happen or something, but... I think something is... changing me. And in what way, I don't know that either."

"Have you told the girls about this?"

"I didn't want to, but... I had no choice."

"You know we can't keep secrets from friends, Sunny, not like Misty did to us."

"I know that, okay? You see, a lot has changed ever since we fought Opaline that day and nearly lost Sparky. Misty is now living with us, and more dragons are all around Equestria after all these moons, since we first met most of them at the Isle of Scaly... And don't get me wrong here, this is really amazing, and I'm sure Dad would've loved to have seen all of this himself." She then became worried. "But what if Misty is right? What if Opaline does come back and does something even more dangerous?"

"Opaline manipulated and groomed her, Sunny, just like she tried to do the same to you. I know Twilight Sparkle tried to warn us about Opaline in the first place, but we all know now, thanks to Zipp and all her incredible detective skills. *snicker* She really gets me."

"And Misty said we treated her like Opaline never could. We treated her like a friend, so we made her return the favor."

"She chose us, Sunny." Hitch smiled. "Because of us, she chose friendship."

"And earned her cutie mark. But now it's only a matter of time before Opaline does come back for revenge, even if we don't know where or when."

"But everypony else doesn't know about Opaline yet."

"I know, but... I don't want them to be put in a panic. I just hope we can keep it that way as much as we can."

"You said you'd keep her away from us, right?"

"I did, and I'm gonna do everything I can to keep that promise." She looks over to Sparky, who is having more food after returning from the toilet. "I'm gonna make sure she never takes Misty or Sparky away from us ever again."

"I know you will. You have great power, Sunny. And with that, there must also come great responsibility. As long as we stick together, we'll kick that alicorn's flank for good. And, one more thing. If you ever have any more of these weird noises in your head again, then make sure you tell us, alright?"

"Thanks, Hitch."

After that long conversation, they hugged it out and Sunny regains her smile. Sunny does go through rough situations sometimes, but she will know when she needs someone close to comfort her.

Meanwhile, Opaline is outside her dark castle, figuring out a way to break out of the enchanted invisibubble that Twilight Sparkle created to keep her from invading Equestria.

"Twilight, Twilight, Twilight. You thought you could keep me locked away here forever? Well, just wait and see what will happen when I plant this dragon stone in the middle of this bubbly barrier of yours."

She digs a hole in the ground, plants the stone into it, and ignites it with her fire power. The stone lights up as it is lifted into the air, and unleashes a huge beam of fire into the sky, slowly starting to destroy the bubble.

"It may take a while, but by the time it is destroyed, I will finally be free from this dark, boring land, and nothing will ever stop me from getting what I want! So you better watch out, ponies and dragons. Opaline Arcana is coming for you..."

Having felt a bit better after talking to Hitch, Sunny returns to the Brighthouse to get ready on starting the construction of Glastonpony. As she turned her head over to the kitchen, she felt surprised after seeing a familiar pegasus... none other than Zack!

"Oh, hey, Sunny! We have a new visitor here, if that's okay with you." Misty said.

Zack turns around and sees Sunny in shock. They both felt the same way. "Sunny?!"

"Zack?!"

As they then ran up to each other, the others took that in.

"Zack who?" Izzy questioned.

"I... I don't believe it!" Zack said, feeling a bit speechless.

"Me either! I mean, how did you-?"

"Wait a minute. You two know each other?" Zipp interrupted.

"Uh, I guess so? We just met at Zephyr Heights yesterday." Sunny said.

"Yeah, we did! And now, I somehow found you again."

"Ah, you were talking to him? So that's why you kept me waiting at the palace." Pipp figured. "At least you should've told me!"

"Oh come on, Pipp, it's not like we where in a rush or something."

"Seriously, why didn't you tell us about him earlier, Sunny?"

"Yeah, did you get carried away?" Zipp asked.

"Hey, there's no need to make a big deal outta this, girls." Zack interjected, as he turned to Sunny. "I'd assume you were in a lotta pressure because of me, right?"

"*scoff* No, I wasn't, but that's a good guess."

Seeing how they were talking to each other, Izzy thought something was coming up. "Oooh, is this what I think it is? Do I smell a little taste of romance in the air?!" She asked.

Sunny and Zack felt blushed and immediately turned their heads. "What?! No, we're not in love, we just met!" They both said.

"Oh... Nevermind."

"Okay, let's go back a little earlier." Zipp said. "So your name's Zack?"

"Yup, that's me."

"And what is your last name?" Izzy asked.

"Thunderlane."

"Thunderlane?" Sunny repeated. "Hold on, you didn't tell me that was your last name."

"Uh, you didn't tell me yours either, so I guess we ended up in the same boat. Unless you wanna tell me now?"

Sunny rolls her eyes. "Alright. It's Starscout."

"Sunny Starscout?" Sunny nodded to him. "Do you scout stars in the sky?"

Sunny felt confused. "Excuse me?"

The others started laughing at that, as Sunny and Zack turned in shock.

"What?! Girls, come on, how is that funny!?"

"Oh, have a laugh, Sunny, that was actually a good one!" Misty giggled.

Sunny turned to Zack in disgust. "What? I was trying to lighten the mood, I didn't know that made you feel embarrassed." He said in sorrow.

"Ha-ha, nice try, pegasus, who I think on the other hoof, makes lanes of thunder in the sky." Sunny said sarcastically.

"Excuse me?!" Zack said in shock.

"*snicker* Not bad there, Sunny." Zipp said.

"Anyway, are you gonna introduce me to these friends of yours? I kinda forgot."

"Sure, these Pegasi are Princesses Pipp Petals and Zipp Storm, and the unicorns are Misty Brightdawn and Izzy Moonbow. They're all special in their own way."

"I already told him my name, there's no need for that." Izzy implied. "But I would love to talk about my creativity!"

"Okay, so how about you guys tell him about your talents whilst I go get ready?"

"Uh, alright, Sunny. Suit yourself. Are you sure you're okay?" Pipp asked.

"I'm fine. Thank you." Sunny replied, as she then went upstairs, leaving Zack to talk to them.

"Right, so you two are princesses?" He said to Pipp and Zipp. "*gasp* Oh wait, I heard about you two, you are such great artists!"

Pipp felt touched by that. "Really? Aw, thanks."

"Uh, just to be clear, buddy, Pipp's a pop star, and I'm not." Zipp corrected.

"Then, what are you? You gotta have some sorta talent, right?"

"A fast-flying detective who always trusts her instincts."

"Detective? You do police work?! *chuckle* Wow, that is so cool!"

"I create so many things with my imagination!" Izzy added. "And more specifically, I love arts and crafts, as long as it involves glitter!"

"And me? Well, I have a knack for critters, I think. Or maybe, uh... that's just Hitch?" Misty thought, although she wasn't really sure what her own talent is.

"Oh, and I even have a hair salon down at Mane Street, if you're ever interested in a new, magical look." Pipp said.

"Ooh, well, thanks for the offer. I appreciate it." Zack then hears Sunny singing from upstairs. "Uh, do you girls mind if I have a look in the balcony?"

"Sure, as long as you promise not to touch any of our stuff, okay? Because if that happens, you owe us, buddy." Zipp said with a menacing voice.

"Okay, okay, I promise! *giggle* No touchy." Zack said, as he walked off upstairs.

"*sigh* I think they're so made for each other." Izzy admired, and then the rest looked at her in confusion. "What?"

As Zack entered the balcony, he finds Sunny singing in front of the mirror near her bed. He thought he found it quite attractive, as he stepped closer to her. Then, Sunny turns to see Zack approaching her and stops singing.

"Oh, I'm... I'm sorry if I disturbed you there, I-I didn't want you to stop singing, I was just..."

"You saw me do that? Just now?"

"I found it quite attractive, if that's okay. I mean, not only do you have a nice name, but I think you have a nice singing voice, too."

"Well... thank you, I guess. But, what are you actually doing up here?"

"I was curious, so I just thought I take a look around. Your friends allowed me to, so..."

"I don't mind that then. I'm trying to get ready. We have lots of work to do."

"Alright, no problem." Zack looks around the room and feels impressed. "Wow. I'll admit, I've never seen anything like this before. So do you girls live here together?"

"Yes, we do. We're a family."

"Really? I didn't know you were so close. But about this house, it... well, it does feel like a magical place and all. I suppose a lotta work was put into it."

"You do have a point there. But it didn't used to be like this."

"It didn't? Oh, I get it, we're on a cliff, right? And there's a huge sea out in the distance, so that basically means... this is a special type of lighthouse?"

"Well, you can say it is like that. We decided to call it the Crystal Brighthouse for a reason. The great symbol of both magic and friendship in all of Equestria."

"Huh. Is that right?"

Sunny enters the lift and lends her hoof out. "Mind if I show you the top?"

Zack enters as well, and Sunny activates it with the access panel as it takes them both up to the top, where the Unity Crystals are displayed.

"Whoa. What are these?" Zack asked, gazing at the glowing crystals.

"The Unity Crystals. They're the real source of maintaining magic across the land. And as long as friendship and harmony lasts among everyone, the light of these crystals will brighten the skies." Sunny said, as she and Zack look up at the blue sky where the beam from the crystals is shining upwards.

"So, if I'm thinking this right... If anyone fights, or has any arguments or so, then... what will happen?"

"Then the magic will destabilize, and everyone will lose their powers."

"Ah... Okay. Did it happen before?"

"Yeah, but that was only because earth ponies didn't have their own form of magic back then, and they felt left out. But in the end, they now do, so everything is okay." She then walked out onto the tower's balcony, looking over at the town as Zack joined her.

"Earth pony magic, huh? What does it even do? Fire rainbow beams like this one? Generate electricity? Or, create new houses?"

"*chuckle* No. What makes you think it does something like that?"

"I don't know, just clues to the puzzle, I think."

"It actually grows plants and other ingredients, like tomatoes and bananas."

"*gasp* No way! You ever saw somepony grow a giant pumpkin before? I mean, I would love to make a massive scary face on one if that were to happen."

"Well, we did have a giant berry rolling down on Mane Street the other day, and it ended up causing a mess. Even on our town's sheriff."

"Oof. Big mistake."

"Yup, big mistake. But you were right about what you said yesterday, ponies do make mistakes sometimes."

"That's true. So... you said this place didn't used to be like this, right? Was it really a lighthouse?"

"Yeah. An old, rusty lighthouse."

"What happened to it?"

"On the day we brought magic back, me and my friends were trying to gather all of the crystals that were scattered throughout the land. We tried to connect them altogether in the frame inside the lighthouse, but Sprout was using his war machine to try and stop us, and... he destroyed it, and I lost a lot of my personal belongings that Dad created for me." She said sadly. "And because he refused to stop, Sprout lost his job. I couldn't reveal it to everypony, but I felt betrayed by him that day."

Zack knew how she felt. "I'm sorry about that." He said softly, but he then raised his eyes. "But, what you were saying about you and your friends bringing magic back to Equestria. Was that really you?"

"It was." Sunny nodded. "You surprised?"

"Very! I didn't knew that! Well, you made a difference in the end, so at least you should be happy with that, right?"

"I was. But, you see, me and my dad used to live in that lighthouse for years, just to keep ourselves isolated from the other earth ponies."

"Why'd you do that?"

"Ever since I was a little filly, I always believed that earth ponies, unicorns and Pegasi used to be friends back in Ancient Equestria centuries ago. Dad used to tell me stories about Twilight Sparkle, how she made so many special friends, and how they all became the Guardians of Harmony."

"Guardians? Like, protectors of the land?"

"Yeah, that sorta thing. And all that time, I kept trying to tell everypony in Maretime Bay that fear wasn't their friend, but they never believed me. Not even Hitch. But that story about the guardians? It was hoofs down one of the greatest stories that Dad ever told me. And I don't think I'll ever forget that." Sunny thought, as she fought back tears of joy.

Zack took all of that in seriously, and something popped up. "Actually, Sunny... I don't know if you'll believe me or not, but... I remember my mom telling me the same exact story when I was a filly, too."

Sunny didn't think she would hear something like that, as she raised her eyebrows. "Wait, you believed the same story like I did? How?"

"You know when you were just telling me on how you tried to make everypony in town believe you? Well, it turns out, I had a similar fate."

"Really? How did it happen?"

"Every day, when I went to school, I kept bringing out every single fact there was about how everypony of all kinds used to be together. But yeah, just like you, they didn't believe any of it. They called me so many things, like a blind cow, a total liar... and I gave up. But deep down, Mom didn't want me to, because she always knew that friendship and harmony would return one day."

In a flashback to when Zack was a little filly, he came back home crying, as he jumped onto his bed and weeped into his pillow. His mother came to comfort him.

"Oh, Zacky Boy, what happened?"

"I give up, Mom. I tried EVERYTHING! And nopony would ever listen to me! They'll never believe me..." Zack weeped.

His mom sighed and puts her hoof on his back. "Baby, you know I always listen to you."

"But they won't... Why do we always have to fear about unicorns and earth ponies and treat them as enemies? That's not like us..."

"Of course it isn't, you know we're nothing like the rest of those ponies. I think you had another rough day, which I know you didn't want to have. So, how about you give me a warm cuddle so we can make you feel better?"

Zack wipes his tears and hugs his mother ever so tightly, and he sits on her legs.

"Did they ever treat you the same way, Mom?"

"Me? When I was a filly? You know me too well, Zacky Boy."

"You tell me everything about you! Like when you used to meet a-"

"I know, I know! I was surprised back then, and I really wish I could do it again. But if they ever found out, that would put both of us in grave danger. You know I don't want that, do you?"

"*sigh* No. But we both know it didn't used to be like this. And I wish we could fly and be friends again..."

"Me too. And I'm not saying you should give up on that dream of ours. I promise you, one day, that time will come. And everypony will know that you were right all along. Just have a little faith." She said, allowing Zack to regain a warm smile. "And, to make things even more better, I have something for you."

"*gasp* Really? What is it?"

Down in the kitchen, Zack's mom went inside the fridge and brought out a delicious chocolate unicorn cake. "Ta-da! Our very own chocolate unicorn cake!"

"WOW! Can I have a try, please? Please, can I?!"

"Of course! Don't have a mouthful, though." Zack eats some of the cake and finds it delicious. "So what's your score?"

"10 outta 10! I LOVE IT!"

"*chuckle* Atta-boy!"

"Why don't you try it?"

"Oh, you're persuading me to try it out? You asked for it!" She eats some it and felt so upbeat. "Best cake EVER!!!" She shouted in joy, as she picks up and twirl hugs Zack, and they both laugh.

"Mom? Can you tell me the story again?"

"Really?"

"Please?"

"Okay, okay, little hero. I'll do it when you're in bed."

A little later on, as Zack was tucked into his bed, his mom has finished the story she's been telling him every single day.

"...and they all lived happily ever after." She read, as she then closed the book. "The end! Again." She said in a happy-to-silly voice, making Zack laugh.

"Would you consider doing a career as a storyteller?"

"Maybe, but I would much prefer that if I were to tell everypony about those stories, not just Pegasi like us."

Zack's face saddened as he sighed. "You know, I still don't understand why we can't be together anymore. It doesn't feel right at all. Why?"

His mother strokes his cheek. "That, Zacky Boy, is a really big question, and it hasn't been answered for years. But maybe one day, you and me will figure it out. It's only a matter of time." She kisses him on the forehead and takes the plate filled with the rest of the cake.

"Do you think there might be somepony out there who would want the same thing like we do?"

"Like the one I've met? Who knows? Maybe they'll be just as special as you are."

"Can I keep the rest of the cake, please?"

"You can finish it off tomorrow. You need that tummy of yours to rest. Sleep is very important, you know." As she walks out of Zack's bedroom, she stops when her son says...

"Goodnight, Mom."

She looks back at him and smiles. "Goodnight, my little pony." She said lovingly, as she turned off the lights, and Zack falls asleep.

"It was that moment when I always had to remind myself, that maybe one day, I would find somepony as special as me. I may have got sidetracked into doing something so hard to be able to have a decent life and all, but... I didn't let all of that go away. Maybe now, that finally came true."

Sunny was wondering where he was coming from, and then, she finally understood. "We wanted the same thing." Zack turned to her. "We... we both wanted magic to come back and have everypony be friends again!"

"Yeah, and-and now, I'm with that pony who went beyond their limits and did it all!"

"And I didn't expect to see somepony who's had the same dream whilst growing up!"

"And I didn't knew it'd be right here!"

The two then became speechless, not knowing what else to say.

"This..."

"This..."

"THIS IS A MIRACLE!!" They both said happily, as they stared at each other, smiling.

"Sunny! What are you doing up there? We gotta move!" Zipp called out.

"Oh, I forgot! The festival!" Sunny said, as she and Zack went back onto the lift.

"*scoff* This was my fault, I'm sorry." Zack said with guilt.

"No, it's okay, I totally get it. I'm actually glad we got to talk and know more about each other."

"Yeah. Yeah, me too."

The lift takes them back down inside to the bedroom.

"So are you... gonna come down, or do you have somewhere else to be?"

"Oh, um, I actually have a day off, so I guess I can go with you and the others? See how the festival's going?"

"Then you may follow... Zack Thunderlane." Sunny smiled, as she walked out of the lift.

"Okay... Sunny Starscout." He replied handsomely, as he followed her.