A Day Out With Dad

Chapters

Chapter 1: Misty’s Very Special Request
Chapter 2: Solving Puzzles and Growing Tensions
Chapter 3: Making Memories Together

Chapter 1: Misty’s Very Special Request

“Zipp! Zipp!! Guess what?!”

Zipp was startled out of her concentration by the sound of Misty’s voice. She turned around just in time to see the unicorn running excitedly through the doors to the Crystal Brighthouse. She was grinning ear to ear, sporting the biggest smile on her face she had in a good while. There was a light spring in her step, and an atmosphere of joy surrounding her entire being. It was unlike her to be this cheery on normal occasions as she was normally very reserved. Whatever had happened to the unicorn in the past few hours since she had left just have been the greatest news ever.

Misty skidded to a halt right behind the bamboozled detective, still having that expression of pure elation on her face, and seemingly completely oblivious to the fact that she had just interrupted some very important business. She had never been this happy in her entire life, and Zipp was curious to know what the reason was. Not that she minded the fact that Misty was happy of course. It was always great to see the pony she practically called her sister at this point so filled with energy. Given what she had been through for years, it was rare to see something like this, though it certainly wasn’t the first time that she had been more upbeat than she usually was.

Since they had all gotten back from the family vacation a couple days ago, the pegasus had noticed Misty acting a lot more relaxed than usual, like a huge burden had finally been taken off her. Perhaps it was because she had stopped stressing over the trip and learned to go with the flow, or the fact that she had gotten to spend some quality time with her newly expanded family in a way she never got to before. Her whole world had changed ever since the announcement of a future royal wedding, and it was great to see her settle into this new role so easily now, to the point where she could talk to Zipp about anything now. That was what family did for each other.

Still, Zipp wanted answers as she always did, though she knew better at this point not to pressure the unicorn into answering anything. If she wanted to talk, then she could, and that was the most important thing to remember when trying to get the answer to any mystery. Not everything was a complicated puzzle, and sometimes, ponies just needed the space to feel comfortable.

“What’s got you so excited, Misty?” Zipp asked, smiling and setting her research on the history of Auroricorns on the table. She had been in the middle of finishing her latest theory before she had gotten interrupted, but she knew the investigation could wait. Family was much more important.

“It’s Sire’s Day, Zipp!!” exclaimed Misty happily, practically jumping up and down with sheer happiness. “I get to celebrate today with my Dad!!”

“That’s incredible!” Zipp replied. “I honestly forgot today was Sire’s Day. I’ve been so busy finishing my thesis on Auroricorns that I didn’t think to mark it on the calendar. You think the trip would’ve reminded me to do so. That was the whole point of it.”

Misty giggled. “That’s okay. I know you’ve been quite busy.”

“So…why did you come to me?” inquired Zipp. “I mean, I know we’ve been talking a lot lately, given everything that’s happened in the past week, but…what made you come over to see me?”

“Well…” Misty said, her tone barely containing her excitement. “I really want this day out with Alpha-I mean Dad to go as perfectly as possible. The last time he and I got to spend a whole day together, just the two of us, was the next day after we reunited. And then there was the Night Market, the whole food fight, which didn’t really count, Opaline, and…well, you know.”

“Yeah, I think I get it.”

“So would you mind…doing one little, or maybe it’s big, favor for me?”

“Of course. Anything for my new sister.”

Misty blushed at that. “Aww, thanks, Zipp. It’s…” She hesitated, her smile vanishing at that moment. “I know Dad likes excitement. He told me he loves getting out of the Tea Room whenever he can. So I wanted to set up a little mystery for him, and you’re good at that.”

Zipp almost did a double take. This was the most unusual request she had ever gotten. She had her fair share of interesting misadventures before, but this was on a whole new level. Not to mention, she didn’t even know what that meant. “Set up a mystery? Like…fake a crime scene?!”

“It’s not like that!” Misty corrected herself quickly. Her confidence was quickly evaporating, and she shifted in place uncomfortably. “I just…it’s a game. Sunny told me that sometimes there are these escape rooms with pretend mysteries that ponies have fun in, and…I was wondering if you could set up something like that, but around Maretime Bay, Bridlewood, and Zephyr Heights?”

“Okay okay okay,” Zipp said. “Let me get this straight. You want to take Alphabittle to all three cities in order to solve a fake mystery. And then…”

“There’s a grand prize at the end,” Misty explained. “Ponies win some form of reward for completing the challenge, whether that be a certificate or what. And…I think that’s it. But you can come up with something creative.”

“I’m sure I could. Nothing says a detective can’t set up her own mystery. But even if I could get Mom to fake a national emergency, which I don’t think she’ll agree to anyway, what would the case even be? You’d have to plan out everything in advance, not throw everything at me last minute!”

“Oh.”

Zipp could see the unicorn’s face fall at this revelation. It was clear that this idea meant so much to her, and the last thing she wanted to do was let her down, especially since Sire’s Day was a special occasion that only came once a year. Misty only had one chance to make this day out with her father memorable, and she would never fit give herself if she didn’t at least try something.

Seeing Misty begin to walk away in a downtrodden state was the last straw, and her sisterly instinct took over. She didn’t know what she was getting herself into, but she owed it in her heart to give the idea her best shot. After all, as absurd as the request sounded, she knew that if it ultimately came down to it, she would do the same for Pipp any day. The one core truth about family was that they never gave up on each other, and she knew that all too well.

“Misty?”

Misty turned around, obviously trying to hold back tears.

“I think…I think we can give it a try.”

“Really?!” Misty asked, her eyes now sparkling with excitement. Zipp’s heart warmed at the sight of this. She knew she was doing the right thing. They deserved to have the perfect day out together, and the idea was certainly an interesting one for sure.

“Yeah,” she said, smiling. “So long as it’s nothing too crazy and we keep it small scale…who’s to say it can’t work?”

That was when Misty jumped into the pegasus’s hooves and hugged her, thanking her for agreeing to do this. Zipp couldn’t believe she was agreeing to it either, but she always promised her that no matter what happened, she would always be there for her when she needed it most.

“Thank you, Zipp!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!” Misty thanked her profusely. “You have no idea how much this means to me!”

Zipp chuckled. “Don’t thank me yet, Misty. This is going to require all of us to put our brains together. And a whole lot of planning too. But…I promise I’ll make it work, okay? We got this.”

“We so DON’T got this.”

“Hitch, come on!” Zipp insisted. “You said that no idea was too far fetched in an era where magic basically controls the world. What’s so bad about letting Misty and Alphabittle have their fun?”

The ponies were all gathered on the balcony, where the Unity Crystals were. This was their place to strategize about important things, and she could think of nothing more important than this. She had messaged her friends to meet her on top of the Brighthouse an hour earlier, and they had all agreed, completely unaware of the insanity they were about to get themselves into.

Now Zipp had the Herculean task of convincing them to go along with Misty’s ridiculous plan, and none of them had any idea how to pull it off. It was one thing to solve a real problem going on in Maretime Bay. They were all used to it by this point, and it had become routine. But making a problem happen just for the sake of entertainment was a whole other ballgame.

“Because none of us have any idea what we’re doing,” Sunny reasoned. “I know I told Misty about the escape rooms Dad used to take me to, but recreating it ourselves does kinda sound too far fetched to be plausible.”

“Come on,” Zipp pleaded. “I already promised Misty that I would make this work out. And I don’t want to let her down. She obviously wants this special day with her Dad so badly that if I were to tell her that I can’t do it…it would crush her.”

“She would understand, Zipp,” Sunny answered. “You know how much work actually goes into these fake mystery shacks? A ton. It’s not something we can accomplish in a day, even if we put all our minds to it.”

“I’m not asking for it to be something elaborate.” Zipp countered firmly. “Just something fun, low stakes. We plant clues towards an overarching mystery in here, Zephyr Heights, and Bridlewood. To solve the clues and advance through the game, they have to complete various activities throughout, all culminating in one grand reward.”

“Alright,” Hitch relented. “That sounds a bit more reasonable. I thought you wanted to build an entire secret lair or something. That would’ve been impossible.”

“Don’t give my sister any ideas, Hitch.” Pipp stated flatly.

“So what sort of awesome spectacular, epic quest against the forces of evil will our brave adventurer Misty be going on today?!” Izzy inquired in a theatrical tone. She giggled. “Kidding. But I do have a ton of ideas for activities!”

“Yeah!” Sunny piped up, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “They start off in Bridlewood, finding a mysterious trail of rubies leading them to Maretime Bay. We could then have them participate in the Hall of Mirrors at the Boardtrot! Once they traverse through the entire hall, they’ll find a magical map to Zephyr Heights, courtesy of Sparky, the guardian dragon! He’ll transport them to the city with his dragon fire magic! After they get there, they locate the culprit, one of us, who will be waiting in the castle, having stolen Queen Haven’s throne! The two of them will have to battle it out for the future of Zephyr Heights and defeat the usurper! After he or she is brought to justice, Misty and Alphabittle will be hailed as heroes, made official knights of the kingdom, and the two will be closer than ever before!!”

“Or,” Pipp interjected. “They could visit Mane Melody, where they must perform a song together in order to proceed! Nothing says father-daughter bonding like some good old fashioned music!! After which, they go to Zephyr Heights and discover the culprit has abducted Mom and imprisoned her in the dungeons! Together, they must free her and unite as a family to take them down! The entirety of the kingdom celebrates through the power of song in front of our Together Tree, spreading love and unity across the land for miles!”

“Boring!” Izzy quipped. “I say we have them get a charm bracelet from my crafting wagon! They’ll go to the Brighthouse and be met by Señor Butterscotch, who will tell them that in order to pass, they must answer a riddle!! After which, they go to Zephyr Heights and battle the culprit outside the castle using the power of creativity, pelting them with all the glitter you can imagine! Their cutie marks will glow, and blast the culprit hundreds of miles away, never to be seen again!!”

Hitch gulped. “Izzy, you do realize that one of us has to be the culprit, right?”

“Ooooh. Yeah, that would be a problem, wouldn’t it?”

“I say songs are better!” Pipp argued passionately. “Music is the universal language of all ponykind! Either we do that or nothing at all!”

“Señor Butterscotch was born to be a cheap puppet Sphinx ripoff!” Izzy countered angrily.

“They’ll LOVE the medieval fantasy aesthetic of my plan!” Sunny yelled. “What better way to bond than seeing your wildest imaginations play out in real life?!!”

“I say the mystery should be a tame, completely safe version of hide and seek!” Hitch shouted. “Completely contained in Maretime Bay!”

“That wasn’t the prompt!” Sunny shot back at him. “We’re supposed to utilize all three cities!!”

“Well, my prompt is better!”

“Am I the bad guy?” Izzy asked curiously.

“Guys,” Zipp tried to say. “You all have great ideas. So why don’t we put them altogether and create something truly unique? Remember, creating a special day for Misty comes first. Let’s just put our minds together and focus on creating the best mystery game possible. Okay?”

The others all looked at each other for a solid moment, almost as if they were considering cooperation as a genuine possibility. Then they grinned at one another mischievously and shook their heads collectively.

“Nah!” her friends said in unison before taking the elevator back downstairs and proceeding to each go their separate ways, all the while Pipp chatted at length about her idea being the best one out of all of them.

Zipp groaned. This wasn’t going well at all.

Bridlewood…

Misty ran into the Crystal Tea Room as fast as her hooves could take her, slamming them open in the process, and startling Alphabittle. He dropped the tea he was pouring into a cup, causing it to spill all over the counter. He blinked in surprise upon seeing her, brightening instantly.

Misty took a deep breath to calm herself after all of that running. She wiped sweat off her forehead using her hoof before looking back at him. “Dad! I made it!”

“Misty!” Alphabittle greeted her enthusiastically. He got up and walked towards her, smiling. “There you are. I don’t know what epic plans you have for our day out, but I’m sure ready to find out! What are you thinking?”

“I don’t know either,” Misty admitted. “Zipp said she was going to figure it out with the others. But I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough! Today will be absolutely perfect.”

Alphabittle chuckled. “I don’t doubt it, kid. You and your friends always come up with the best ideas. Now what do you say we get this ‘Father-Daughter Day 2.0’ extravaganza rockin’?!”

“I’d love that!” Misty answered, feeling increasingly more excited by the minute. Finally, she was going to have the best day ever with her father, and nothing would get in the way this time. She trusted her friends to sort out everything, and give them a truly memorable experience.

“Then let’s go!” he declared. “This special day isn’t going to wait around forever!”

Chapter 2: Solving Puzzles and Growing Tensions

“Huh. Interesting. I didn’t know we had a trail of rubies just lying around,” Alphabittle mused as he studied the trail outside of the Tea Room, which was now mysteriously littered with fragments of red rubies all leading to an unknown location. “I assume we cleaned those up after Bridlewoodstock.”

Misty crouched down to the ground as well upon noticing this. She was curious why they had been placed there too, and so soon as well. She certainly couldn’t remember seeing them when she was walking into town. Whatever her friends were doing, they clearly were trying to keep it a secret from her at the moment. She couldn’t see any sign of them no matter where she looked. It was possible they had already taken off to the next location, and she had no idea what their plan actually was.

The only thing she knew was that the rubies were part of the mystery somehow, and that they had to follow the trail to wherever it led in order to get more answers. The process was fascinating to her, the idea of creating this intriguing game of clues. To many ponies, this was a common game that friends liked to play whenever they hung out. But to Misty, it was all new. She was learning the rules as she went along, and that invigorated her. It made her even more excited to play, as for all she cared, this was a real mystery worth solving. She could tell that Alphabittle was enjoying it as well. He seemed engrossed in studying the patterns and where they could lead.

“I don’t know why they’re here either,” Misty answered, getting back on her hooves. “Zipp didn’t really inform me what the plan was. But I guess we gotta follow those rubies to wherever they lead.” She squinted her eyes, trying her best to see some form of end point for the trail. “It appears to be leading out of town, the way I came.”

“Fascinating!” Alphabittle commented. “The idea that gems seemingly so innocuous could hold a deep, dark secret! Whoever’s setting all this up, they are really good! No notes from me. Lead the way, Detective Misty!”

“After you, Assistant Detective Dad!” Misty replied back in the same mock-professional tone. She giggled, watching him eagerly walk along the trail and study every single ruby laid out. She followed him, doing the same and seeing if she could spot any deviations in the pattern.

They hiked along the trail and through the Bridlewood Forest for a good while, chatting to each other about where the clues could lead. Misty had to admire how interested Alphabittle was in the intricacies of the mystery. It was like he was a natural-born detective. The technical talk, terminology like “culprits” and “targets,” the theories on what the patterns could mean…it was like it came to him naturally, and he was hiding his true talents. She loved seeing this side to her father, the geeky and the nerdy side. He had showed interest like this before, but never to this extent.

“You know why I love getting out of the Tea Room?” he asked her with a warm smile.

“No. Why?” Misty inquired back.

“It gives me the chance to explore things about Bridlewood I never thought possible before,” Alphabittle’s replied. “I mean, after learning that Breezies were still around and ran an interior market within the Wishing Tree no less, it made me realize how much I truly didn’t know about the town I practically lead. So I like doing these excursions, to find out what else is really out there waiting to be discovered. I mean, now that you came back into my life, I have a lot more time for that now.”

“I always thought I knew everything there was to know about the world too,” Misty told him. “I mean…after Opaline basically lied to me all my life, I thought that Equestria was a selfish and cruel place. But I realized the only thing truly cruel about it was ponies like her, and that…there was a life for me out there for me to enjoy.”

“You never know when opportunities might come your way,” Alphabittle advised her. “So the best thing to do is always keep your mind open to new possibilities, as long as they’re in your comfort zone, of course.”

As they continued to walk along the trail, a pink head with a purple mane and tail peeked out from one of the bushes to the right. It was Pipp, and she was surveying their every move. She wanted to ensure that everything went according to her plan, and she was prepared to sabotage the others’ efforts in the process if that meant the special day went according to how she envisioned it.

“Perfect!” she exclaimed as quietly as she could. “Now I just need to ensure that they get to Mane Melody and foil Sunny’s plan in the process. Hope those rubies don’t lead to a crossroads, otherwise it’ll get awkward real fast.”

With that, she ducked under the bush again, just in time to see Misty take a quick glance in her direction upon hearing a sound. Fortunately, she wasn’t spotted, but it had been a real close call.

“The trail leads to a CROSSROADS?!” Misty asked in shock.

The path of rubies split at the entrance to Maretime Bay. There was no unified sense of direction. The fragments continued in two completely separate ways, with the trail to the right eventually leading towards the beach and the Boadtrot amusement park, whereas the trail to the left led further into town and in the direction of Mane Melody. It was obvious that there was some disagreement on where the trail should have led, and neither party had been aware that the other had been there first.

Alphabittle didn’t seem phased in the slightest. In fact, he seemed to love this new challenge more than anything. “Hmm, this is interesting. It appears the culprit wants us thrown off, to choose the wrong trail and ultimately lose their cover! But we’re too smart for them! Right, Misty?”

Misty shook her head, refocusing herself after she had gotten momentarily distracted. Inside, she was worried about what sort of argument had most likely erupted between her friends. But she couldn’t let herself think about that now. “Huh? Oh! Yeah. They won’t distract us!”

“The key thing here is to trust your instincts,” Alphabittle said in another one of his sagely advice moments. “Trust your heart to make the right call. Where do you think we should go?”

Misty thought about it. She thought about it long and hard. In truth, she knew that no matter what path she chose, she wouldn’t be derailing anything. If she didn’t go with one pony’s path, then the mystery would still go on with the other one. But in her heart, she wanted to check out the Boadtrot more. She had already been to Mane Melody a ton of times, and she knew that she would have a lot more fun at the park.

“We should go…” she decided. “This way!” She pointed with her hoof towards the trail of rubies on the right.

“Then the Boardtrot it shall be!” Alphabittle decreed gleefully. “I have always wanted to spend more time at this place. Impressive work you guys did with it.”

They headed towards the right and disappeared from view, much to the chagrin of Pipp, who was once again spying from a certain vantage point. This time, she was so far away that she couldn’t be seen, but thanks to Zipp’s headset, she was able to see ponies and objects from a great distance. And she certainly wasn’t happy that her plans had been foiled again.

“Ugh! What am I doing wrong?!” she whined. Then she got into focus. “Don’t panic, Pipp. You can still save this. You just gotta make sure that they don’t find the map.” She sighed. “Sorry, Sparky. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

“Enjoying your solo act, sis?” came a voice from behind her.

Pipp yelped, almost flying into the air from fear, but stopping herself once she realized it was just her older sister. She was standing there with a smug look on her face, almost as if she knew things would go wrong from the start.

“Come to gloat?!” she challenged her angrily.

Zipp shook her head. “No. I’m just on a lookout for Izzy. I’m trying to stop her before she jeopardizes everything with that little craft wagon of hers. I already thought the trail of rubies was pushing it, but if anything else litters the ground, they’ll become confused.”

Pipp glared at her. “Well, I can’t help. I’m trying to ensure things go my way.”

“And how’s that working out for you so far?” Zipp questioned her.

The pegasus influencer groaned. “Not good at all. But I’m still not trying your idea! I really want them to sing a song together, and bond over it! It would be so cute!!”

“I know it would, Pipp,” admitted Zipp. “But we have to think of Misty first and foremost. This is her special day. Stop trying to make things go your way and just let she and her Dad have fun. You know they hardly ever get a chance to do this.”

Pipp sighed deeply. “I know. I just want what’s best for them too! Don’t you understand how much it would benefit both of them?”

“I do understand. But whether or not they do so is not up to you. Just come to me whenever you’re ready to be reasonable. I have to round up Izzy before she runs over somepony.” With that, Zipp flew off in the direction of the Boardtrot, leaving her little sister where she was.

“Look at all these mirrors!” Alphabittle exclaimed. “This is magic that I’ve never seen before!”

“I haven’t been in here before either!” Misty agreed, looking around in awe at the sights around her. “This place is incredible!”

The two of them were now in the Hall of Mirrors, the exact place where the trail of rubies stopped. It was an ever-evolving hallway, with mirrors on every single side, even on the floor and ceiling. There was seemingly no end in sight. The tall glass mirror reflections stared back at them with their contorted expressions, many of them making out different animals and shapes.

Misty was impressed by this. She hadn’t actually been inside the Hall and explored it before. She was always a little creeped out by the concept of mirrors that contorted your expressions to look goofy. It sounded fun on paper, but she personally never got the appeal behind it, and she probably never would if she was to be honest with herself. Still, it was fascinating to see this all up close.

She and Alphabittle walked down the colorful hallway, being careful not to stare at the off-putting mirrors the whole way through. Loud and upbeat music played as they traversed through and Misty actually found herself humming along to the tune after a while. Eventually though, they reached the end of the corridor, where they were meant to meet Sparky and get the map to Zephyr Heights.

However, just as they were about to proceed and ask for further directions, there was the sound of screaming from one of the CAST MEMBERS ONLY rooms to the right. Suddenly, a door in the wall burst open to reveal a terrified Sunny running for her life with Sparky in her hooves. Chasing after her was both Pipp and Hitch, with Zipp trying to round them both up.

“Sunny?!” Misty asked in surprise, not expecting to see her show up this early into the day.

“What are those ponies doing?” Alphabittle inquired curiously. “Looks like this is some sort of chase. Could this be part of the performance?”

“GET AWAY FROM HIM, YOU FREAKS!!” Sunny shrieked, clutching the now frightened baby dragon tighter in her hooves. She glanced at them both and laughed nervously. “Haha, all part of the show! Nothing to see here!”

“Get back here with Sparky!” Hitch yelled. “I didn’t say you could use him for your cheap medieval fantasy!!”

“Well, you didn’t say no either when we talked about it!!” Sunny shot back. “And he makes a good guardian dragon!!”

“He’s a BABY!!!”

“I say Sparky’s part of my extravaganza!” Pipp declared. “He’s clearly qualified to be my backup vocalist!!”

“All of you, CUT IT OUT!!” Zipp admonished them angrily. “They’re watching us!! And you are just going to ruin everything!!”

“I ruin nothing!!” Hitch protested innocently.

The four ponies chased each other out of the Hall of Mirrors, shouting their heads off. But not before they left, Sparky burped out a piece of paper that spawned from his dragon fire. It flew through the now empty corridor and landed next to Misty and Alphabittle.

Misty was shaken by the chaos that had just erupted between her friends that she didn’t notice what the baby dragon had done at first. She could feel that there was tension between them, tension that they didn’t want her to know about, which made her all the more nervous. It was just a simple request. She didn’t want to believe her friends would prioritize their own self interests over the day, but she could tell that they were not agreeing on some of the activities she and Alphabittle were supposed to perform, and that was a massive sore point between them.

Still, the quest had to go on, so she looked all around the room for any sign of the next clue until her eyes landed upon the fallen piece of paper. Cautiously, she walked over to it and picked it up, unfurling it. Sure enough, it was the magical map to Zephyr Heights that was meant to show them the way to the city. The front of it was glowing green, showing the vague outline of the Royal Palace. This was their chance.

“Perfect!” Alphabittle stated proudly, walking over and taking the map from her. “Now that we have the map, we’re onto the final step of our journey!!” He held it into the air like a sword like a knight in shining armor. “Evil doers beware!! You are no match for the combined teamwork of Misty Wisty and her trusty steed ALPHABITTLE BLOSSOMFORTH!!!”

Misty giggled at his theatrical display. She had never seen him so happy and in the moment before in her life. It almost made her forget the chaos that had just occurred a couple of moments ago. She was spending quality time with her father, the exact way that it should have been from the start. Her perfect day with him could still be salvaged. And she wasn’t going to let it go to waste now.

“Then onward we shall go!!” Misty joined in, grinning excitedly. “Our foes shall tremble at the mention of our name!! Dad, we have followed the quest, and it has led us to our victory!!”

“Yeah!!” Alphabittle cheered. “Now hurry! We don’t have a moment to lose! Our enemies could be just around the corner, waiting to strike!!”

“Just one problem,” Misty cut in, realizing the fundamental flaw with their plan. “How are we gonna get to the city? We don’t exactly have the Marestream.”

“We could just teleport.” Alphabittle pointed out with a knowing smile.

Misty grinned sheepishly, her eyes glancing at her horn. “Oh yeah, I forgot. I have magic.”

Together, their horns glowed and they cast a spell on the map, which pulsed with energy. Within seconds, they were gone from sight, on their way to finishing the quest once and for all.

Outside the Hall of Mirrors building, Zipp finally caught up with the rest of her friends, who were currently engaged in a full on screaming match with one another, blaming each other for everything going wrong. She couldn’t take it anymore. She had to deal with it all day, and she was absolutely sick of it. Why couldn’t they all just agree on something?! Why did it have to be this complicated?! It was just a fun mystery game. The least they could do was work together like they were supposed to.

Finally having enough, the detective yelled out: “That’s enough!! Can’t you guys agree on something and stop arguing?! We are ruining the whole day for them, and none of you even care!!”

“I’ll stop arguing when you admit my idea’s better than Sunny’s filly fantasy, sis!!” Pipp shot back.

Sunny gasped, her eyes narrowing in anger. “Filly fantasy?! How dare you!! The Chronicles of Captain Shining Armor is a fantasy series intended to be enjoyed by all ages!!”

Hitch scoffed. “Like I would ever read something so fillyish! I clearly have more advanced tastes than you.”

“More ADVANCED tastes?!” Sunny demanded. “Do tell me what exactly THAT’S supposed to mean?!”

“My idea for a contained hide and seek game was clearly more safe than whatever your ‘silly quest’ was!”

“Well at least my idea’s actually exciting!!”

“EXCUSE ME?!”

“Um, guys,” Pipp interrupted, getting all of their attentions in the process. “I just realized that we’ve been trying to find Izzy all day, but…we never exactly told her what her role was yet, did we?”

All of them gasped in shock.

“Oh no!!” Hitch realized with dread. “She doesn’t know what to do in there! Quick, we gotta get to Zephyr Heights before she causes any damage! To the Marestream, ponies!!”

With that, the ponies finally had something they could agree on. This whole day had been a mess so far, and the only thing they could do was stop it from getting worse than it already was. They ran out of the park in the direction of the Marestream, which wasn’t parked very far from where they currently were.

They arrived to chaos.

As soon as father and daughter poofed into the throne room of the Royal Palace, they were greeted by the sight of Zoom and Thunder stuffing Queen Haven into a large sack. Izzy was there, sitting on the throne and ordering them to seal it as tight as they possibly could. The pegasus monarch was yelling in protest, but she could barely be heard inside the bag as they tied it close with a knot.

Upon seeing their shocked reactions, the hyperactive unicorn grinned sheepishly. “Whoops! Sorry, you guys weren’t supposed to come yet! We were gonna take Queen Haven down to the dungeons so that you could rescue her!”

“The dungeons?!” Misty couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But why?!”

“Since nopony volunteered to be The Maniac,” Izzy explained. “I decided that I would volunteer and get us a head start! That way you wouldn’t have to worry about figuring out who would play who. Now FEAR ME!!!” She giggled. “Kidding. But still, I will destroy you and your daughter, and claim the reign of Zephyr Heights for all unicorn kind!!”

“Hold it right there, adorable and lovable Maniac!” Alphabittle shouted, instantly getting into character. “My daughter Misty and I have come to rescue my beloved!” He turned towards her. “Misty, get into position!”

“Oh!” Misty realized. The game was still going, and she had to get into the groove as well. “Your reign is over, Maniac!! By the powers that be, we challenge you to a duel for the throne!!”

Quickly, she ran over towards her father and got into a defensive stance. It felt a bit awkward at first, but her mind soon adjusted to the rules of the game. The atmosphere was intense. She could feel her heart pounding in a way she hadn’t before. This was great. She felt so alive. This was what adventure felt like, and she was loving every single second of it.

A determined smile lit up her face and she prepared to duke it out with the “Maniac” for the fate of the kingdom. Fighting alongside her father, even if it was just make believe, was the greatest Sire’s Day she could have ever asked for. This was the best day of her life, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. She stomped her hooves on the floor in a challenging manner and prepared to charge! But just then-

“Izzy, stop!! We’re not ready yet!!”

The doors to the throne room burst open and Sunny ran up to them, followed by Pipp, Zipp, and Hitch. They all had panicked expressions on their faces and were sweating like they had just run a marathon. Zipp seemed angry beyond all belief, whereas the others just looked very concerned.

“I told you guys to just listen to me and work together!” Zipp shouted. “But did you listen?! No, because of course you don’t!! You never do!! Izzy, you’re not The Maniac!!”

Izzy looked pretty crestfallen at that. “Aww, I’m not? But I practiced for the part and everything! Can’t you all give me a chance?”

“Hitch was supposed to be The Maniac!!” Sunny reminded her bluntly, causing the sheriff to gasp in horror. “It was supposed to be a secret earth pony uprising, not unicorns! That was the plot twist! It had it all written out in my script!”

“I’m a law-abiding sheriff!!” Hitch protested. “Never in a thousand moons would I ever agree to have my name slandered through the mud like this, even just for a game!!”

“Not even for one of your best friends?!” Pipp accused him. “How DARE you?!!”

“Oh, so NOW you care about Misty?!” Zipp yelled. “I have been dealing with your antics ALL DAY, with you constantly trying to sabotage Misty and get her to sing at Mane Melody!!”

“Wait, that’s where the alternate trail led?” Alphabittle asked. “Huh. You know, I think I wouldn’t’ve minded going there too. But it was ultimately your choice, Misty.”

Misty stood there, unmoving. Her thoughts were spiraling out of control like a tornado. The perfect day she had envisioned was crumbling before her eyes faster than a millisecond. Everything had been going so well except for a few minor hiccups, and they were both having so much fun. Now it was all falling apart, and she could do nothing but watch her friends fight.

“We didn’t tell Izzy what her role was, nopony knew what to do AT ALL!! And now we don’t even know where Mom’s gonna go!!” Zipp finished furiously. “This day has been a complete DISASTER because none of you listened to my instructions!!”

“We could still put her in the dungeon-“ Pipp offered.

“THAT’S MEANINGLESS!!” Zipp exploded, startling her. “All I wanted to do was give Misty, my new stepsister, the absolute perfect day she always wanted!! And you guys just had to muck it up!! You couldn’t agree on anything, even when I gave you all THE PERFECT OUTLINE TO COMBINE YOUR IDEAS AND WORK TOGETHER!!!”

“Guys…” Misty tried to say softly.

“Oh, so now it’s my fault?!” Pipp shot back. “Maybe if you came up with an actual step by step plan, then none of us would have felt the need to fill in the blanks in the first place!!”

“Guys…”

“I agree with Pipp,” Sunny said, her tone barely containing the rage she was feeling. “You barely gave us anything to work with, and then now you’re mad at us for trying to do the steps you clearly didn’t think of ahead of time!!”

“Well, I’m doing the best I can!! This was all sprung on me last minute!!”

“Guys…”

“That’s no excuse!!”

“THIS WHOLE CASE IS CLOSED!!” Hitch bellowed. “I DEMAND THIS INVESTIGATION BE CEASED IMMEDIATELY!!!”

“GUYS!!!” Misty screamed at the top of her lungs, startling everypony present. Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them back hurriedly. She sniffled, feeling the weight of everything crash down upon her. She couldn’t take it anymore. “I can’t believe you ponies!! All I wanted was the perfect day to spend with my Dad!! And you couldn’t even let me do that!!“

The other ponies stood there, frozen in shock at her outburst. They looked at each other with regret as fresh tears spilled out of the unicorn’s eyes.

“I just wanted a perfect day to remember…” she continued, sniffling. “A day that I could look back and say, ‘that actually went perfectly! For once, I’m not the one who messed everything up!!’ I guess even that’s too much for you all to bear, huh?!!!”

“Misty-“ Alphabittle began to put a comforting hoof on his daughter’s shoulder, but before he could do so, she sprinted out of the throne room and down the hallway.

Before long, she was gone.

Chapter 3: Making Memories Together

Alphabittle found Misty sitting in front of the Zephyr Heights Together Tree later that day.

“I thought you would be here,” he said solemnly. He walked over to her as carefully as he could. She seemed to notice him coming as she turned her head to look at him, revealing tears in her eyes. His heart broke at the sight, and he sat next to her, hoping to comfort her in any way he could.

“I’m sorry everything went wrong today. You know they had your best interests at heart. They just…” He was flailing for the right word to say that would not demean how she was feeling. “…they just got caught up in the moment is all.”

Misty sniffled, blinking back a tear that was coming down one of her eyes. “They always do. Every time they want to do something nice for me, something always has to go wrong in the process…I thought this would be the perfect day for us to just…relax and bond after everything that’s happened over the past year. But they couldn’t even let me do that.”

Alphabittle nodded in understanding. “You just wanted something in your life to feel like it’s going right for once, that finally, you wouldn’t feel like you’re the reason that things constantly spiral out of control.”

Misty didn’t give any answer, but the silence from her was all he needed to know he hit the nail right on the head. His heart broke for her. All she wanted was a stable life after all of the trauma she had endured over the years. Yet instead, it felt like the world around her was constantly changing and not in a good way. In just a few weeks, she had learned that she would eventually be joining a new expanded family, meaning that her entire life would at some point be uprooted, and then when she had brought up the idea of going on a camping trip as a family, things had gone horribly wrong each time. Even if they had fun and it turned out to be okay in the end, it still did not change the fact that she felt responsible for everything, and she did not deserve to have that burden placed upon her.

He searched his mind for anything to say, something that would cheer his baby filly up. But he had nothing. It was at that point he realized that he needed to be honest with her. He couldn’t sugarcoat the truth or try to make things seem less terrible than they already were. She deserved to have something that she could look back on fondly, a day of bonding that would go right for once. It made him angry inside that her friends could not put their egos aside just to make her feel better.

“It’s not easy,” he finally said. “And I know how you feel.” He sighed deeply, tears of his own glistening in his eyes. “When I lost you, it was the worst feeling that I ever felt, like I would never see you again. It turned me off from the world, made me angry at it.. I tried to move on, but you can’t suppress your emotions that easily. Even as ponies tried to tell me it was okay, I knew it wasn’t. I felt responsible for the fact that I wasn’t there to stop you from disappearing. I just wanted something in my life to feel like it was going right…anything. And finally…something did.”

Misty finally looked up from the ground, turning her head to look back at him.

“It doesn’t get any easier,” he finished. “So I understand how you feel…about everything going wrong, like your life doesn’t make sense anymore. I’ve been there, kid. And I don’t want to pretend like you don’t have the right to be upset at your friends right now because you clearly do. They should have known better. They put this burden on themselves of making your special day the best it could possibly be, and as such, they should have acted more responsible.”

That was when Misty finally spoke again, and her voice still carried that sense of bitterness. It wasn’t like her to be this angry on normal occasions, but he completely understood why she was

“It doesn’t matter…” she spoke bitterly. “The day is ruined anyway. We didn’t get to do anything fun without something messing it all up. It was a complete disaster, both for you and me…”

Alphabittle chuckled. “Oh, I wouldn’t call this day a disaster by any means.”

Misty blinked in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“I had a ton of fun,” he explained. “I mean, sure. Did things go horribly wrong at every corner? Absolutely, and you have every right to be upset about that. But I didn’t need the day to go perfectly to enjoy it. I like experiencing things on the fly, going with the flow, anticipating where my crazy life takes me next! After all…it led me back to you.” He smiled warmly.

Misty smiled back, though it was a half-smile as she was not fully convinced yet. “So…you’re saying-“

“Sure,” Alphabittle told her. “It’s good when things go absolutely perfectly, no issues whatsoever. But it’s also just as exhilarating when things do go wrong. Things spiral out of control, you spill your tea, you forget a line or two at Slam Poetry. That’s all normal. What matters is that you’re making long-lasting memories with your family, and spending quality time with them. I didn’t need a well-thought out mystery game to enjoy my day out with you. I just needed you to be with me the whole way through. Even so, I learned a ton about what being a detective is all about. I don’t envy Zipp at all!”

Misty definitely felt better upon hearing that as she began to relax. “Thanks, Dad.” Her smile faded though as the reality of the day came back to her. “But I’m pretty sure we can’t salvage the rest of the day, even if we wanted to.”

“Oh, I think your friends would beg to differ.”

Both ponies turned around to see Queen Haven standing in front of Zipp and the others. They were slowly walking towards them and all wore expressions of genuine concern on their faces. It was obvious that they had talked things out inside, and had now come to some form of agreement. Though Misty wasn’t sure if she could completely forgive them just yet after everything that had happened throughout the day.

Sunny stopped in front of the two ponies and hung her head low in shame. “We’re sorry, Misty. This was supposed to be your perfect day, and yet we couldn’t agree on anything. I’m supposed to set the example here. But instead, I let everything get out of control. I gave into my own perfect fantasy on how I would enjoy the day, when I should’ve thought of you. I should’ve listened to Zipp.”

“We all should have,” Pipp added. “This whole time, we’ve been thinking about how we wanted the day to go, instead of thinking about how you probably wanted the day to go. It was our responsibility to come up with something together, and we just ruined it all.”

“Yeah,” Izzy agreed. “You deserve better, Misty. And we want to make it up to you.”

“There might still be time to salvage this day yet,” Zipp said kindly, reaching a hoof out towards Misty in order to help her up. “But only if you’ll let us fix it…together. What do you say, sis?”

Misty thought about it. She thought about it long and hard. It was at that moment that the Sun broke through the clouds and cast a heavenly golden light upon her. The rays warmed her to the core, and she could feel her broken heart mending. They meant well. All they wanted was to do what they thought was best for her, even if they ended up getting too carried away with it. It was only fair that she let them try again and demonstrate that they had truly learned their lesson.

So she grasped Zipp’s hoof in a display of acceptance…and smiled.

The duel for the fate of Zephyr Heights officially began that evening. Misty and Alphabittle stood in the throne room of the palace, swords aimed high and at the ready. A crowd of royal guards were watching with a mix of trepidation and anticipation. Whoever won this battle would be the undisputed ruler of the kingdom, and lead the pegasi for all time. There was no time for questions, no room for negotiation. It was the noble Knights of Bridlewood vs the fiendish Maniac (who was actually just Izzy in a cheap Nightmare Night villain costume). A legendary brawl for the ages that history would never forget.

The “Maniac” charged at once, letting out a playful growl and tried to catch the two off guard. Alphabittle quickly reacted, blocking her strike with one of his own. Misty joined in as well, holding her sword above her forehead and catching the next strike. With a loud battle cry, she was on the offensive, parrying and sparring as hard as she could. Strikes and blows went by in quick succession, almost looking like a blur to those in the audience. Another swing and Alphabittle was knocked back, but Misty anticipated this move. She wasn’t going to let her father be taken down so easily. She would avenge him. She got into a defensive stance for a solid moment, before outright lunging at the Maniac, surprising her and catching her off guard.

Misty laughed and whooped for joy, as she successfully countered an attack from the fiendish unicorn. The battle was intense and she could feel the adrenaline flow through her. This was exhilarating. It was a feeling that she had barely ever felt in her entire life. The feeling of going with the flow, and having a blast in the process. She swung again and repelled an attempt to cut her off at her hooves. She had never felt so alive before in her life. It was a feeling that she wished could go on forever. She didn’t want it to ever end. She was truly living the moment and having the best day of her life. The sound of thunder could be heard outside as Pipp commanded the special effects and lighting department to create a truly ambient battle scene.

As the Maniac swung again, Misty was about to swing her sword to block it when there was the sound of a CLANG and at once, her father was by her side again. He had faked getting injured in order to create a distraction! The Maniac roared with unbridled fury. Her plan was falling apart at the seams, and there was nothing she could do about it!

Misty smiled with determination, and Alphabittle grinned back at her. This was it. This was the quality time she always wanted to spend with him her whole life. It was truly the best day ever. They yelled with childish excitement and continued the battle, the two adding to the speed and intensity of it all. They had the advantage. They were winning. They would save the world, and they would defeat the forces of evil once and for all.

After a while, the Maniac was driven to her knees and put her hooves up in surrender. At that moment, the audience of guards erupted into thunderous applause, and the doors to the throne room burst open to reveal Queen Haven triumphantly walking towards her rightful place, led by Sunny and Hitch, the brave peasants who had joined the cause. She had been rescued from the dungeons and restored to the throne. The kingdom was saved, and all was at peace once more.

As the celebrations commenced inside, Zipp and Pipp both watched from the window. The detective smiled with pride. She had done it. She had given Misty the perfect day she always wanted, and she could not have asked for anything greater than that.

“I gotta say,” Pipp remarked. “Izzy makes a REALLY good Maniac. Why didn’t we think of this sooner?! She’s a natural!”

“She certainly is, isn’t she?” Zipp agreed. “Never underestimate the power of improv acting. When it comes to Izzy, there’s no beating her at that.”

“So I guess you were able to salvage the day after all…” Pipp said, smiling. “I’m sure Misty will thank you profusely after you managed to put this whole storyline together in just two hours, let alone getting Mom to go along with it.”

Zipp smiled back, glancing briefly at the parade of pegasi who were exiting the palace, carrying a clearly overjoyed Misty and Alphabittle on their backs, and hailing them as the brave knights they were. Fireworks went off in the sky as they did so. Something told her that the party would last long into the night, and she had no problem with that at all. They deserved to live every minute of it.

“What can I say?” she answered finally. “Like you said, we gotta look out for each other. We're family.”

Author's Note

FINALLY!! I am so relieved to have this story finally completed. I kid you not when I say that it’s been in development for about 10 months at this point. It might not be that long, I forgot when exactly Make Your Mark Chapter 5 came out. But it’s been in development hell ever since that fantastic chapter graced our Netflix screens. I said I planned to do it come Christmas time, then I went on hiatus, many months passed, I came back, and now I finally got this story completed. I’m a natural-born procrastinator, you know that? Anyways, it was actually the recent Tell Your Tale episode “A Swing and a Misty” (top-tier awesome episode by the way) that inspired me to finally complete this story. It started development purely as a sequel to “Father of the Bridlewood,” and now this episode entered the mix as well. So it’s a sequel story to both episodes and yes, ANOTHER Father’s Day story. I figured there was no better time to motivate myself to complete it than now, and I spent a whole day and a half putting it together. It’s another one of those episode-like stories as I’m treating these kinds of small narrative fics as what would happen if I was to write episodes for either show. Judging by how this story turned out, I think I’ve finally gotten the hang of the 23 minute slice of life format, but you guys be the judge. As such, this is sort of an amalgamation of both a MYM and TYT story. It’s both, but it’s also neither as it’s not specifically tied to one show’s timeline. Make that make sense in your heads, I’m not sure how to explain it. But yeah, you might be wondering why my stories are all of a sudden sequels to one another now, and trust me, I’ll be having an announcement about that coming soon on my Blog posts.

As for this story, feel free to let me know what you think of it in the comments below. Your feedback is always appreciated, and Happy Father’s Day! As for me, I need to go re-evaluate my life now that I’ve spent two sleepless nights writing two connected stories about the newly expanded Royal Family. At this point, I might as well start calling these stories the “Sisters Saga.”

Special thanks to the users in “The Writers’ Group” forum, who helped me decide a name for the ponified version of Father’s Day. Your contributions were invaluable in getting this story finally completed, thank you.
https://www.fimfiction.net/group/50/the-writers-group/thread/540803/what-would-ponies-call-fathers-day

Until next time, this is Admiral Producer signing out. Hoof to heart. :)