My Little Pony (R:G5): Ponies Unite! (Book 1: A New Generation)

by Kibat Grenbuku

Rating: everyone
Tags: Mystery, Comedy, Misty, My Little Pony: A New Generation, Adventure, Mane 5, Argyle Starshine, Alternate Universe, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 49005

Maretime Bay’s outcast Sunny Starscout must unite the three pony tribes with the help of her new friends all the while evading dark forces on the hunt for her.

Sunny Starscout has always been seen as the outcast of her home of Maretime Bay, reason being that the three pony tribes shouldn’t live in fear of each other, but on one particular day, something very strange had happened. She herself is capable of magic!

At the same day, she meets Izzy Moonbow, a unicorn who had unexpectedly came to town to meet new friends… that doesn’t goes so well. And to make matters weirder, a magical pendant had reawakened the spirit of Friendship and Harmony herself, Princess Twilight Sparkle!

Now on the run, Sunny, Izzy, and Twilight must find a way to reunite the three tribes in Unity, all the while dark forces hunt them with a goal to forever destroy or rule Equestria with an iron hoof.

My Little Pony G5 belongs to Hasbro and their respective owners.

Any characters that are not in the original movie or shows belong to me.

[THIS IS MY ORIGINAL STORY, DO NOT STEAL!]

Published 2024-03-19 23:30:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-07-16 15:30:27 UTC

Chapter 8: Crystal Chess

Aerovad paced as he shot his spell arrows from his horn at the barks of the trees, small pieces ricocheted off from the placed shots. He was furious as a million thoughts went through his head. How is it possible for a foal like her to wield such power? Why are is siblings not taking his side of this matter? Who could he turn to if said siblings turned against him? Would they even care?

No he thought to himself, Gaialum and Luvios have done nothing, but stay on the sidelines observing. Observe. That’s what they’ve done for past five hundred years. Nothing but watching the foolish mortals just go by and allow that freak of abomination that is Sunny Starscout.

As charged he shot another and blast it towards at another tree, a armored hoof got the shot. Looking at owner of said hoof, it was his sister. “Every living being, including plants,” Gaialum lectured, “deserve respect.”

Aerovad chuckles a scoff, “You came here to lecture me again about choices, or are you here to help me? Because if it’s the latter, then you’re going to regret crossing me.”

“Your ambition with this child is poisoning you brother,” she tells him, walking up to him, “if you continue on this journey of insanity, you’ll spark a war again the mortals.”

“Spark a war with them?” He questions giving her a suspicious look, “Have you seen those ponies? They’re completely out of the loop and out of touch with magic. When that child is destroyed, the master’s plan will come to fruition.”

She groaned as she puts her forehoof on the bridge of her nose, “You honestly think that by destroying the filly, that the war of Skyros can be avoided? Whether you believe it or not, no matter what we do, war is inevitable.” She turned away as she continues on, “My brother, you must give up this ambition… and I suggest that you abandon it completely. Otherwise, there will be serious consequences.”

She could sense the wind’s howl, knowing that’s brother’s anger had begun to rise. “If I knew any better…” he growls, “You planned this from the start… Traitor!!”

She turns around to look at him, casting a shield of magical energy from her brother’s attack. “You would dare accuse me of treason for the fall of Skyros?! Have you lost your mind?!”

“No!” He screams, “I understand completely! You and Opaline planned all of this! Even Luvios! You’re all traitors! ALL OF YOU!!!”

There it was, the broken sanity finally shatters, the wind’s began to pick up. She sighed as she took one last glance that what she thought was her brother. “If you refuse heed my warning,” she took off her cloak, unveiling her gold, silver, and brass armor, summoning a magical blade from her horn and got into a defensive stance, “Then I’m left with no choice, but to strike you down myself.”

“You’re welcome to try, dear ‘sister,’” he growls, summoning his dagger and energy blade from his horn.

Both let out their own war cry and charged. The battle against two powerful forces of nature has begun.

The Unicorns and disguised Champions gathered around, watching anxiously as a nervous Izzy and Alphabittle sat from either end of the square table. Argyle sat at the right side of the table and placed a fourteen by fourteen chessboard. The board was polished and shiny, like as if it was taken proper care. The black and white tiles were made obsidian and pearl, as were the pieces, but those caught the attention of Sunny, Izzy, and Zipp, the first pieces on pearl white bases shared the colors of their pelts, but along with those, four other pieces’s colors consisted of charcoal black, cyan blue, pale yellow, and light pink. The pieces on the black bases were also in different colors; bright gold, sickly green, fiery red and orange, dark purple, crimson red, navy blue, and smokey black.

“Zipp,” Sunny whispered, “Check out the pieces.”

Zipp nods as he said, “I can tell. Three of the seven pieces, they have our colors.”

But then question came to the apricot mare’s mind when she asked quietly, “But who are the others?” The Prince shook his head with a shrug.

“Alright, here’s how this version works,” Argyle explains as he places the pieces on either side of the board, “This is a best two out of three chess game. Each player has seven pieces. The goal of each round is to eliminate all seven of the opponents pieces off the board. Stage one is the standard way of playing chess.”

“As it should be.” Alphabittle said sternly.

“Ah, but here’s where things get… tricky.” The silver pony further explains, “In stage two, the tiles will rise by the height of the base, or half the height of the piece. I suggest you’d be careful with how and where you move your pieces, they can be a little… mischievous. They happen to have a habit of change heights after a round.”

“And the third stage?” Izzy nervously ask.

“If both players win a stage,” Argyle tells them, “stage three will consist of two pieces each of player’s choosing, and the board’s six by six center tiles will be raised, but I suggest you’d pick up the pace as after a round, the tiles will drop. The first player eliminates one or both of the opponent’s pieces wins the game. Are we clear.”

“U-uh, yeah! Crystal! Eheheh…” Izzy gives an anxious giggle, while the gray stallion just gives her a look of superiority.

Pipp whispers to the other, “Oh, I don’t like where this is going.”

“Neither do I,” Misty said quietly, “Dad’s not a slouch when it comes to chess.”

Hitch then asked her, “When was the last time he played?”

Misty looked at the two ponies, specifically her friend and said, “It was with Mr. Moonarrow. They we’re tied the last time with Mr. Moonarrow picking up a win five days before he left Bridlewood.”

Lampwick went to his niece’s side and tells her, “You got this Izzy Bee, I know you can win this.”

She nods as she took a deep breath and Argyle says, “Well then, without any further delay, Alphabittle, you may begin when ready.”

And without any hesitation, the gray stallion began to make his first move, taking the smokey black piece from A1 to A3.

Izzy once again just give the gray stallion a weak smile as she gulps, “Oh boy…” she looks down at the board.

Pipp leaned to Argyle and asks, “Um, not be rude with your choice of to take on Mr. Grumpypants here, but why Izzy? I mean, aside from her dad playing against him the past couple of times, but you see how scared she is to face him.”

“You just answered yourself,” He explains quietly, “Her dad faced him before. Plus, if she wants to overcome her fear of facing the Tribe’s chief, she must overcome another obstacle, herself.”

They observe as the lavender Unicorn began to make her own move by taking the lavender to one square, once again flashing a weak smile.

“Oh, I am sooo disappointed.” Alphabittle said quietly, unimpressed as he shook his head. Adding further insult to injury as the game goes on for what felt like ten minutes, Izzy was not performing well, already losing five of her white pieces and she only eliminated Alphabittle’s black piece. Once again, a look of superiority emerged on his face as he tells Izzy, “You’re faltering. Obvious that you never played chess before.”

Izzy just gulped again as she said with a nervous giggle, “N-never too late to learn! R-right?”

The gray stallion shook his head as proceeded to move his piece, and slid the white piece, placing it where it once stood.

“Argyle,” the Pegasus Prince whispered, “You gotta pull her out of the match. She’s going to make a fool of herself in the second round!”

The silver Earth Pony shook his head as he tells him, “Izzy can win this. Just give her time to fully process the game.”

“Fu-fully process the game? She’s a nervous wreck out there!”

“Zipp, please. Trust me.” Zipp could only sigh frustrated as he witnessed Alphabittle took Izzy’s last white piece, earning a groan from the crowd. Argyle looks as he once again went to the side of the table as he announces, “Winner of the first round goes to the Unicorn Tribe’s chief, Alphabittle!”

Once the silver pony returns the pieces to their respective sides, Izzy looked at the stallion and whispers, “Do you see what Misty and I mean?! I can’t beat him!”

“Izzy, calm down.” He tells her as he took a seat, “I know you can win this. I have faith.”

“How?”

“Don’t think like a regular chess player in the next round.” Argyle advises, “You’re a creative mare Izzy, find an angle within the playing field. And don’t be scared of the chief. Every champion will make a mistake in every game, and here in the next round, the tiles move, he isn’t going to expect this.” He places his forehoof on her shoulder as he said, “You may have lost the first round, but I know you can bounce back. Go show him what your creativity can inspire to everypony here.”

The silver stallion returns to his friends in the crowd, which Sunny said, “I got a bad feeling about this.”

“Eh, it’ll wear off.” Argyle said with a shrug.

As the second round starts, the tiles suddenly popped up at different heights that the silver Earth Pony described earlier. The gray stallion made his first move once again, this time moving the sickly green piece up to one square. Izzy looked at her pieces, then at Alphabittle’s pieces, now trying to come up with a strategy and to not let her opponent get the best of her again, she boldly decided to move her light pink piece.

“Your move.” She said.

The gray Unicorn was a little taken aback by her sudden confidence. Looking at her, his expression soften somewhat as he tells her, “You know, your father gave me the same expression whenever we played chess. For nearly nineteen years, he’s always wanting to prove himself to the tribe. Wanted to lead it one day to unity.” He then made his move.

“Dad always has a good heart.” Izzy tells him, “And he was being honest you know. About the Unity Crystals.”

“Elizabeth,” Alphabittle shook his head, “Archie’s research is nothing but gobbledegook. Besides, the other tribes are dangerous as they come.”

Izzy then moved her piece to a raised tile as she said, “What if I tell you that all of us were played for generations, and my dad was right?”

This earns a raised brow. “What do you mean?” He asked.

“I mean that two Alicorns are the reason why all three of the tribes are segregated.”

“Alicorns?” Alphabittle chuckled as he shook his head, “Izzy, those ponies haven’t appeared in centuries. I doubt that they even here today.”

Aerovad kept firing shot after shot at his sister, as she hid behind bushes, trees, and other shrubs. “You can’t hide forever you traitor!” He shouts at her, charging up another shot, “My winds knows exactly where you are!”

“Your head’s filled with too much hot air, brother.” She said as she burrows down into a tunnel she made, then casts two large vines behind him and tries to grab him by the wings. “The Master will be more than forgiving of you if you end this crusade.”

“And lick his boots again like a pathetic sycophantic slave we were reduced to?” The green Alicorn asked scornfully, firing two more shots at the vines, then was about to resume his hunt for the Alicorn of Earth, but he then was caught off guard as an enormous tree erupted from the ground, it’s branches began whacking at him, acorns peppered at him. Having enough of the charade, his horn once again surges to form a blade and begins to cut down the branches. “The Master had always, always held us back! I will not let his paws stop me from achieving my goal!”

She shook her head, she tried every bargaining plea for him, only to be given threats. “You really just want your horn and wings removed.” She said disappointed. As the winds blows harsher, she could barely hear what is surrounding her. Looking around the nearly bent trees that’s being pushed against the wind, she tries to locate her fallen brother, using her tracking magic.

Her search was all for naught as when she turned around, she felt a sharped curved blade pierce her heart, making her gasp. Looking up to see her own brother, with a disappointed look of his own, he tells her, “You could’ve joined me dear sister… but no. You chose to stay on the sidelines and watch your plants grow and wilt on repeat. Your path is now clear. And now, you will wilt here and be one with your own garden of solitude.”

Pulling the dagger out, letting out a mist of green from the puncture wound, the emerald green Alicorn face his back to his sister and leaves the area. Gaialum collapsed on the ground, gasping as she clings on for her life. She knew that she would have to face it one day… but she never knew that it would be the day. She was going to die.

If only she could’ve told her brother what Aerovad had done.

…

But… there is one that could stop him. If she could reach her in time, convince them that she is on their side, she could give them one last line of defense. One power that could stop the mad Alicorn for good. She had to get up. She had to get to the Prophecy’s Child. If this is the price to pay by helping the Master’s enemy… then so be it.

Izzy was getting her confidence back and into her plan of the game, all the while as she continues about her proof of Aerovad. She then heard Alphabittle as he made his next move for one of his pieces, which he was only down to two, "If an Alicorn is indeed here, then why hasn't shown up here in Bridlewood?"

She shrugs as she guesses, "Perhaps they wanted to? Perhaps there's a greater power that has forbidden them to make themselves known?" She looked at him with a cocky stare as she moved her piece against the gray stallion's as she then poses a question, "And if we're spinning the top on that question, if they were told not to... what would happen if one is to, oh, maybe, rebel against such a order?"

The gray Unicorn chuckled again as he watches Izzy place his eliminated piece with the rest of them, comparing to the measly three from the light purple mare's pieces. "You're beginning to sound like your father the more you play. You sure it isn't the pressure of competition?"

"Oh, it's on now." She tells him dead serious, taking the white piece as her next move. Throughout the game Izzy’s mind cogs were turning and spinning as if she sees a spot or a miscalculation that Alphabittle made, she’ll take the chance to make it as her move.

Sunny was amazed from’s her friend’s creative tactics, as she whispers to Argyle, “Wow, Izzy’s been looking confident than the first round.”

He chuckles, “See? Give anypony the time to learn and they might get the hang of it.”

Sunny and Zipp nods in agreement as they watch Izzy eliminate another black piece. Only one more to go. “I’m worried though.” Zipp said, catching the silver stallion’s attention, “Say that they go into the third round, the pressure’s going to be on a lot with those two.” Argyle nods with another chuckle, which he covered his mouth with his forehoof.

“What’s so funny?” Misty asked him.

Composing himself, he tells them, “I’ll tell you later after the game.”

The group got confused as he got up as they heard Izzy exclaim, “Checkmate!”

An audience of cheers from the Unicorns was made. “Very well then.” Argyle tells them, “We move on to round three. Choose your two pieces.” As Izzy took the apricot and light pink pieces, Alphabittle’s brown eyes looked at the young Unicorn mare. He could think of their arguments and conversations they had in their younger years. His attention turned to an empty table where he originally sat at before the challenge was made. Just him and Archie Moonarrow, playing a good ol’ game of chess like… oh, how the memories flashed back in his mind.

13 Years earlier

“Hey.” A young stallion’s voice caught Alphabittle’s attention, shaking his head, seeing a midnight indigo, skinny Unicorn stallion in his early twenties, with a short aurora blue and green, tidy mane, green fetlocks, and two different colored eyes, blue on his right, and green on his left. “We’re still playing, or did you already waved your white flag?” He asked with a tease.

The young gray stallion shook his head as he tells him, “Just getting started old friend.”

Archie gave him a kind smile as they continued on with their game of chess. As they play, the indigo Unicorn questions him, “You seem to be lost. Something on your mind?”

“Your Lumi-seer lineage that you carry,” Alphabittle laments, looking out the window, rain pouring down outside, “You always seem to look at the brighter side of life. But, where is the brightness in you coming from?” He shook his head as he looked at his friend, “I mean, look around Archie. The crystals in Bridlewood hasn’t been luminous for centuries. Nopony celebrates anything anymore, not even on somepony’s birthday, they just don’t have such positivity.”

After he moved one of the white pawn pieces, Archie then looked out the window. “You’re just afraid to get wet.”

“What?”

“Look outside Alpha,” He lectures his friend, urging him to look. The gray stallion does so as Archie asks, “Aside from the trees, the greenery, and the crystals, what do you currently see?”

He looks nonchalantly, then Alphabittle replies plainly, “All I see is rain.”

Archie gave him a caring smile and asks, “Are you afraid of getting wet?”

“Pfft, no, of course not. That’s why we have umbrellas.”

“But say that, and raincoats, or anything to protect you from the rain aren’t options, are you still afraid of getting wet?”

Alphabittle’s brow rose in confusion and tells him, “No, I’m not afraid.”

Archie held his gaze outside and asks, “You’d say that, but deep down, you’d wanted to control the downpour so you wouldn’t have to. Everypony here, and the other tribes, are getting themselves drenched in this downpour of pessimism. Telling yourself it’s no use. Nothing seems exciting anymore. You want that downpour to stop, but by keep thinking about the negatives, you’re just drowning yourself in hopelessness.”

Whatever happened to the tough guy Alphabittle I use to know?

The old gray stallion looks at his black based pieces, he stares at the navy blue and smokey black ones. The friendship they shared and had for years, yet still he’s been the same old grumpy chief that gets constantly teased about by Archie. Taking navy blue and gold and place them on the board, the tiles began to rise at the height of the pieces as a six by six area.

I’m the same stallion you always knew Archie.

"The tiles has been raised." Argyle said as if he's suddenly commentating the outcome, "Remember, the tiles will drop after each turn has been play, so I suggest that you keep your composure and think very, very, carefully."

Hearing that bass drop in his tone at the end with the group seemed to be nerved slight as Pipp chuckled awkwardly, "Rrrrright, ehehe... no pressure or anything." While a stare down between the two Unicorns, as Lampwick looks at his niece hopefully.

As she won the last round, Izzy went first as she moved the apricot piece two squares forward. Alphabittle could tell that his old friend’s daughter has his fighting spirit. He believes that it’ll be interesting as he moved his navy blue piece. Suddenly, the upper left tile at the center of the board quickly slinked back down, catching both players by surprise, especially Lampwick.

“Great Scott!” The wacky maned stallion exclaims quietly, “I never seen a tile move that quickly!”

Argyle chuckled from the older pony’s reaction, “Well, you don’t what tile is going to drop, and if you come at a tie break, you best hope and pray that the one you’re on isn’t going to.”

Izzy made analysis carefully as she move the light pink piece, and Sunny could tell that the cogs in her friend’s head is turning steadily. “She’s got an ace up her sleeve,” Sunny whispers to her friends, “I think she might win this.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions Sunny,” Hitch said back quietly, “Alphabittle might got something too.” No sooner than he said that, the gray stallion moves his gold piece. “See?”

“Aren’t you over exaggerating here Hitch?”

“He might,” Argyle tells the Pegasus Prince with a shrug, “He might not. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

As the each of the pieces get closer, more tiles dropped like a snapping mousetrap. Izzy made her move as she began to eliminated the navy blue piece. Alphabittle chuckles as he shook his head. “Rookie mistake.” He said as he moved two squares in forward, just one square away from the apricot one. Izzy immediately took notice and panics, moving he light pink piece in between the others. Once again, the gray Unicorn shook his head, slowly than last time. “You put up a good game Moonbow,” he said as he eliminated the piece in front of the golden one, and now there was only two, “But now, this game has come to an end. Checkmate.”

Suddenly a tile drops, causing Alphabittle to have him and Izzy to look at the board, their jaws nearly detached from their heads. The white tile that the gold piece was one dropped, leaving the apricot piece on the black tile standing tall and victorious.

"I..." Izzy gasped, she slowly turned her head towards her friends, speechless, she then found her voice as she started quietly, "I-I won." Her voice gone to normal volume, "I won." Then cheers as she rushes to them, "I WON!!" She hugged Sunny, which surprised her for a second, but then returns the embrace. More cheers and praises filled the teahouse as other Unicorns gathered around. She's beaten the chief!

Misty just looked at her father, an expressionless face was worn. She went to him, nervous at first, then she said with an awkward chuckle, "U-Um, s-some game, right? Ehehehe... R-right?"

Alphabittle looked at his daughter, then back at the chessboard, the tile still raised with the apricot piece still on top. An acknowledged smile slowly crept upon his lips and nods. Relaxing his posture and looking up at the ceiling, he said to himself quietly, "You should be proud of her Archie." His sights returns to Izzy and her friends, getting up from the chair and walks to them and said, "I'll admit Moonbow, you're the first Unicorn of this generation to beat the Unicorn Tribe's chief. Never happened before over the possession of the Unicorn Crystal." He looks at the trophy, and went to go grab it. As he came back, he presented it to her and tells her, "Your father would be very proud of you."

Izzy looks up at him as she took the trophy. She place it on the ground and hugged him, catching the gray stallion and everyone off guard for a moment as she tells him, "Dad would be proud of you too you know. Being a good sport." It took a moment for him to process the gesture and returns the favor, wrapping his forelegs around her.

Pipp whispered to Misty, "Is she allowed to do that?" Misty just shook her head with a shrug, not knowing, nor did she care, neither wanting to ruin the moment either.

Argyle then spoke up as he removed the Unicorn crystal, "I hate to cut the emotional moment short, but there is something else we must confess." Alphabittle released Izzy from the embrace, everyone was looking at the group as light purple Unicorn and Misty rejoins them as he continues on, "There's a real reason why we needed this crystal."

"And what would that be?" Alphabittle asks.

Argyle didn't answer at first, but then he removes his fake horn and every Unicorn gasps out of fear and shock as explains, "Unity. We came here for the Unity of the three tribes." Alphabittle then scowls at Izzy as the crowd murmurs in fright as the others removed their fake horns and cloaks, but he hears Argyle go on, "Fret not my fellow ponies. The myths about the other tribes being the enemy has been nothing but a lie by the Alicorns."

"And we have proof." Sunny tells them, taking the helm of the explanation, "Alphabittle, you asked why haven't the other Alicorns haven't appeared... It's because of me."

The gray stallion was confused. Sensing the confusion, Hitch tells him, "I think you may need to sit down for this, there's a lot you don't know."

Suddenly, the doors burst open, scaring the Unicorns and startling the Champions of Unity. A wounded golden yellow Alicorn wearing armor and a earth brown mask, grunting in pain as she looked at Sunny. "Ch-Child..." She groaned out and passed out on the floor.

Both Hitch and Zipp went to the stranger and noticed the wound. Both of them gasped in shock. Zipp turned to them and exclaimed in urgency, "She's injured!"

Prologue: Friendship was Magic

Long ago, there were six elements; Laughter, Honesty, Generosity, Loyalty, Kindness, and Magic. Their shining beacon of hope rests in the hooves of six guardians. Six young mares had brought hope and harmony to Equestria, under the guidance of their friend and leader, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Together, they took on many terrifying and fearsome foes, such as Lord Tirek, a centaur who could steal magic with one single inhale; Queen Chrysalis, an insectoid shapeshifter taking love from ponies; and the most scariest of them all, King Sombra, a conqueror of darkness and evil.

Despite their attempts at conquest to rule over Equestria, they were defeated and imprisoned. After the battle, Twilight Sparkle had been coronated as the ruler of Equestria, keeping the nation safe. It was then, centuries later, the Guardians had ascended, their spirits living on, forever watching over us. Even to this day.

As the earth pony stallion looked through some of the old texts on an old piece of parchment paper, readjusting his glasses, looking through the sentences carefully as if at any point he could miss something important. He looks at the board of a map, decorated with drawings of a chest with six locks, a crown, and a colorized stone with green swirls. He exhaled a sigh. They have to be out there somewhere in Equestria, Argyle thought to himself, I know they are, it’s just missing something.

He had a light blue coat, a royal blue mane and tail with white and purple streaks, cornflower-blue hooves, and purple eyes. His eyebrows and sideburns were dark violet. He used to wear dark maroon-rimmed glasses and a wooden pendant hollowed out with the outline of a six pointed star, a resemblance to Princess Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark. His cutie mark was a yellow shooting star.

He turns his attention to a treasure chest with a somber smile. Opening it reveals other relics of Equestria’s ancient history, such as gems, bits that wouldn’t be used in the current era, and costume pieces he has yet to restore. Among the timeless pieces of the past however, there was one he took out, a frame containing a picture.

“I’m so close to uncovering this mystery,” he said to the picture, “It’s what you and I dreamt of for years now. Our daughter doesn’t know it yet… but she’ll understand it, and help us figure it out one day, or my name isn’t Argyle Starshine.”

“Daddy!” A little filly’s voice shouts in complain from downstairs.

He sighed, he knew who that was. “Gotta go honey.” He said in a apologetic tone as he kissed the picture, placed it back in the chest, closing the lid and locking it. He went to go downstairs and sees that a three foals were playing small figures. “Alright, what’s going on here?” He asked them.

The only filly is an apricot-orange-coated Earth Pony, her fetlocks colored in a paler shade and the insides of her ears being colored in a shade of coral. She possesses aqua eyes, small yet fluttery-like lashes, thin magenta eyebrows, dark coral hooves, as well as having a silky, magenta-pink and purple mane and tail. Her mane is in a loose, swirl-like hairstyle at the bottom, with rainbow-colored streaks. As for her cutie mark, it consists of a pink star with a blue trail, with two smaller stars on the anterior side of the large one. This is his daughter and the pride and joy of his life, Sunny Starscout.

“Sprout’s doing it again!” His daughter told him.

The colt, Sprout Cloverleaf, is a red Earth Pony with a slicked back, blond mane, white socks, maroon hooves, and wavy blond tail. He also has green eyes, thick, dark red eyebrows, and a cutie mark of a purple beetroot. The red colt scoffs as he says, “Come on Sunny! Everypony knows how truly evil unicorns are!” He then proceeds to use the little white unicorn figurine and made ‘pew pew,’ noises at the orange and pink ones, doing an evil laugh afterwards.

“That isn’t true!” Sunny argues, “Unicorns are our friends, and so are the Pegasi!”

“Oh yeah?” He asks her with a raised brow, “Then what about Cozy Glow and King Sombra? Were they friends too?”

“Please knock it off!” The other colt begged. Hitch Trailblazer is a light amber-coated earth pony, having his fetlocks, chest and blaze being colored in white. He possesses amber eyes, brown eyebrows, chocolate-brown hooves, as well as having a sleek aqua-green mane and tail, with his mane being short and his tail being short-length. As for his cutie mark, it consists of a golden shield with a teal horseshoe in the center, with two teal hearts on the bottom of each side of the shield.

He got in between them, which he first tells the red colt, “Sprout, Mr. Starshine worked hard on those for Sunny, please give the Rarity figure back to her.” The red colt rolled his eyes as he does so, which the yellow colt looks at Sunny as he continues, “and Sunny, I doubt that Unicorns and Pegasi would be friends with us if it were possible.”

“But it’s true, Hitch!” Sunny defended as she picked up a purple figure, showing it to the colts, “If it weren’t for Twilight Sparkle, she wouldn’t have brought peace to Equestria! Friendship wouldn’t be magic without the Guardians!”

“Ha! If they were meant to be heroes of Equestria, why aren’t they here now?” Sprout laughs.

Hitch punched his friend’s shoulder, who winced and was scold at, saying to him, “That was uncalled for!”

“But it is a question!” The red colt said.

The light amber colt sighed as he placed his forehoof to his temple. For as as long as he knew with those two from school, they always had different views of Equestria, Sunny Starscout viewing the three tribes as equals and believing that they should be reunited once again thanks to her dad’s teachings about ancient Equestria, while Sprout always viewed the other tribes as enemies and would make his effort of becoming the hero of their home, Maretime Bay.

“Alright you three,” the cornflower blue stallion said with a chuckle, once again readjusting his glasses, “I think it’s nearly about time to head to bed. Sprout, Hitch, Ms. Cloverleaf should be here any minute to come and pick you two up.” As he said that, there was a knock on the door. “Huh, more like any second.” He mutters as he went to the door.

He opens it and from the other side is Ms. Phyllis Cloverleaf herself. She has a light peach pink coat, slightly lighter fetlocks, reddish hooves, and pale blue eyes. Her eyebrows, tail, and mane are all golden blonde, the latter of which consists of large curls bundled atop her head. She wears hot pink glasses with eyelash silhouettes attached via silver screws, as well as a pearl necklace and earrings. She has subtle lavender eyeshadow. She also wears a brown lanyard with her ID tag on it. Her cutie mark is a graph of three purple bars with a hot pink arrow going over it, depicting rising stocks.

“Argyle.” She said plainly.

“Phyllis.” He greets warmly.

The mare then noticed the figurines on the table, she gave Argyle a raised brow and asks, “Still trying to brainwash my son and his friend, I see?”

The light-blue stallion rolled his eyes as he said to her in a respectful tone, “Phyllis, you know that the stories of what they told you from generations ago are a lie. You just to-”

“That’s quite enough.” She cuts him off rudely, holding up her left forehoof. She let out a frustrated sigh as she rubbed her temples, “Why are you even teaching foals these things anyways? The whole entire town had been talking about their kids hearing about this nonsense. The more you tell them this, the more we put the risk of having the other tribes trying to hurt us.”

Argyle just shook his head and tries to tell her, once again being respectful as he could, “Unicorns and Pegasi are part of our lives too you know. Offering peace with them could rebuild the society we longed for for so many years.”

“Like cupcakes!” Sunny cuts in, bringing a plate of them with unicorn faces on them.

Ms. Cloverleaf just looks at them in disgust as she said the colts, “Come along you two, we’re leaving.”

Hitch and Sprout went out with the mare, but the light-amber colt looked at the stallion, giving him a weak smile and a wave goodbye.

“You know,” the light-peach pink earth pony said to Argyle, “you’re an earth pony. You need to act like one.”

As the trio left the lighthouse, the light-blue stallion sighed and shook his head with a frown as he thought to himself, I knew how a long time ago. It’s you and this town forgotten how to be like it. He closed the door and he could see his daughter sighing sadly, her head on her left side on the table. “What’s wrong Sunny Bunny?” He asked tenderly, kneeling down at her height.

“Sprout and Hitch don’t believe that the stories are true,” she said to him, a small frown on her lips, “Sprout even called me a weirdo.” She looked up at him, with sadness in her eyes as she asks, “Am I weird, daddy?”

Argyle, being the best father in her eyes, placed his hoof on her forehead, ‘checking her temperature,’ if you will, looked at her and said, “Hmm, just as I suspected… you are not weird. You’re very special.”

She looked at him and asked, “I-I am?”

“Oh yeah,” he tells her, cupping her cheeks, “And it’s this special kind that ponies should really be jealous of.”

She looked at him confused. “… They should?” She asks.

He nods and tells her, “You have the kind of special that somepony would look at you and say, ‘You are very special, you know that? I wish I was a lot like you.’ The Unicorns and the Pegasi could agree too. They would have some ponies in their lives, never appreciating what they do, or who they are as a pony.”

“Like Pinkie Pie?” Sunny asks him.

He chuckles and agrees, “Yes, exactly like Pinkie Pie.” He could see a little smile forming on his daughter’s face, “and I happened to notice Hitch is beginning to believe it himself.”

She looked at him in shock and asked, “He is? How?”

“Because there’s a certain sparkle in his eye,” he explains to her, “I”ve seen that sparkle before. It’s the same sparkle when I told you those stories.”

“I really wish I could met a Unicorn and a Pegasus,” she tells him, “I really want to be friends with them.” She then proudly proclaims as she puffs her chest in a prideful stance, “When I grow up, I'm going to show everypony that we are right. And someday, the both of us will meet unicorns or a Pegasus, and we'll be best friends forever!“

Chuckling, he tells his daughter, almost in a whisper, “Well, maybe today is that day.” He suddenly feints a gasp and points, “Look! A Unicorn!”

Sunny got excited and asked excitedly, “Where?! Where?!”

“Over here!” He exclaims, now wearing a fake Unicorn horn, suddenly picked up his daughter and placed her on his back, who was giggling. He tells her, “Hold on tight!” Then, he made whooshing noises.

As she felt herself soaring on her father’s back, she suddenly gasps. An idea struck the little filly’s mind. “Daddy, I got an idea!” She tells him, sliding off of him, “We can write them a letter!”

He was shocked at first, then his thoughts wonder, This… could actually work! Why didn’t I think about this?! Honey, our daughter is a genius! “Sunny Bunny, that’s brilliant!” He exclaims.

As Sunny finished her three pictures with the words Argyle read aloud, “Dear Unicorns and Pegasi, you have friends in Maretime Bay. Come visit us." Each picture contains three ponies, one of each different race, with a grassy meadow and rainbow behind them. “These are great Sunny.” He tells her proudly.

“Can we send them?” She asks.

He chuckles and said, “Well, I do believe it is our duty to send them. In fact, I know just how we can send them safely.” He went to his work desk and began to work on three more lanterns, but as added decorations, he added little horns and a pair of wings on each one. After their construction, they placed the drawing letter in a little compartment, securing the the piece of paper inside.

“With these lanterns,” Argyle said, “They’ll be a spark of a new beginning for Equestria and restoring unity of the three races.”

“Peace with Pegasi!” Sunny exclaims, “Unity with Unicorns!” She then pulls on a string as three balloons inflated to the shape of what hot air balloons were like years ago. The helium then lifted off the lanterns and took off into the air, the gentle breeze of wind guiding them to their respective destinations.

As the father and daughter watched them leave their lighthouse home, Sunny couldn’t help but give a gaping smile. Just seeing the lanterns soar through the night sky made her feel something that it has always been there, and yet somehow, she can’t explain it what it is.

Argyle then said, “Come on, it’s time for bed.” He carried her to her, and tucked her in.

“Could you tell me that story?” She asked him.

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Again?” He gave it some thought, then he said, “There’s actually one story I want to tell you.” This brought his daughter’s interest as she leaned in close as he begun his narration, “Long ago, there were two princesses, Celestia and Luna. They were from the realm above the heavens and where alicorns are born, Skyros. They served under their father, Alcorvious, along side their siblings, the alicorns of earth, water, wind, and fire. Together they protected Skyros from the forces of fear and shadows, the Son of Darkness. One day, the Son eventually defeated the alicorns, caused by a traitor, forcing Celestia and Luna to retrieve the source of all Equestria’s magic, the Father’s Gem. When the Father found the alicorns, the traitor, and the Son however, Alcorvious had banished them all to exile, the Son and the traitor far away from Skyros, never to be seen again, but he failed to realize that he was infected by a curse that the Son casted. As for Celestia and Luna, they found themselves in undiscovered lands, after they descended themselves from the heavens, leading to them finding Equestria, and rule it with harmony and unity. And the Father’s Gem was placed inside a secret location, remained hidden. As for Skyros, it fell to such ruin, that the Father of Alicorns had closed off the realm completely, never opened to anyone again.”

Sunny was in awe of the story and asks, “What happened to Alcorvious?”

“Nopony knows,” he said as he shook his head, “But legends say that Alcorvious had sat upon his throne, waiting for his precious gem to return to him and reopen the gates to Skyros once more. If that happens, however, he’ll unintentionally unleash the curse to Equestria, cascading an endless cycle of fear that nopony can escape from.”

“Is that why the Elements of Harmony were made?” Sunny asked him.

“Part of it was, yes,” he nodded as he answers, “But without them, I feel as if it’ll take a new source of power to stop the curse.”

She then said, “Then someday, I want to save Skyros!”

He chuckles and gave her a kiss on her forehead as he said, “Maybe someday. And I know mommy will watch over you when you do.”

“You’ll be there too, right?” She asked him.

He gave her a soft smile as he says, “There will come a time when you won’t need me Sunny Bunny. But no matter what, we will be there for each other, and we will do our part.”

“Hoof to heart.” Both father and daughter said in unison.

He then the medallion that was around his neck and places on the nightstand next to her bed. “Twilight’s looking at you too Sunny Bunny,” he tells her, stroking her head and giving it one more kiss on her forehead, “I know you’ll make her proud… I know you’ll make me proud.”

As she settles in under her blankets, she then says, “Goodnight, Daddy.”

He gave her a soft expression and said, “Goodnight, my little pony.”

The drowsiness getting to her, she let out quietly, “Goodnight, friends…” setting her into sleep, and as if someone else was in there with her in the room, there was a female’s voice humming to a familiar tune.

From outside, two black cloaked, quadrupedal figures wearing decorated horned masks stood yards away from the lighthouse, a gentle breeze swept through the night from the west.

“So what they said is true,” one of the figures said, “The Prophecy’s Child is indeed here in the mortal realm.” He shook his head with the question, “How? How can a child be born in a realm like this? A disgusting and a disgraceful land founded by a mad titan that is a goat?”

“All of magic work like a symphony, brother,” the other figure said, “When working in perfect harmony and unity, a song could be heard and formed. This… this form of magic was unheard, escaped from the master’s line of sight.” The blue mask figure looked at their brother as they reached a conclusion, “Somepony was given this magic.”

The green masked figure gave out a sigh of frustration, “Such an individual like this ‘child,’ is dangerous to be raised here in this realm.”

“Are you suggesting-”

“I’m not suggesting anything, brother,” the figure cuts him off, unveiling a sheathed dagger, it’s gold and black handle gleamed in the moonlight, under his emerald green wing, “I’m demanding we eradicate her.”

“Aerovad, no,” his brother said and shook his head, placing his hoof on the butt of the dagger before his brother could unveil it further.

“You would allow this abomination of our society to continue to walk among this realm?”

“Unfortunately, we must, brother,” the blue masked figure said, looking back at the lighthouse, “You know master’s rules. We must let the mortals make their own choices. It’s why he made them gain free will.”

“Including her?”

The blue masked alicorn sighed, turning around and unfurled his wings, “We may be immortals, but it is he who has judgement.” He then took off in flight and disappeared in the midnight sky.

Aerovad could only scowl at the lighthouse. This filly, he angrily thought to himself, Since when did magic given her such power? The magic that the master made from his own blood, sweat, and tears? He looked back at his dagger and unsheathes it, it’s dual silver and jade green blade reflecting off of the moon’s light. Returning his gaze at the filly’s home with only one thought in mind, Free will or no, the Prophecy’s Child must be destroyed. Mark my words, you will meet your end.

Chapter 1: Gonna Be My Day

13 Years later

*BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BE- *click*
The alarm clock had shut off as the young mare got up with a yawn, stretching out her forelegs. Opening her eyes, Sunny first noticed that she has a bed mane, completely messy. She looked at the nightstand and grabbed a pair of glasses, ones that belonged to her father. As her vision came into view, she looked at the calendar and got out of bed in excitement, brushing and straightening out her man, readying her teal bag, looking at the mirror. Yep, she thought to herself cheerfully, Ready to take on the world! She then hurries downstairs to go get her roller skates and helmet, putting it on.

"Today's the day, Dad!” She tells the small picture of herself and her father, readjusting it, “I actually have a plan this time. Wish me luck!" She shuts the door, strapped on her skates, and set off. Down the Point and around into Maretime Bay, at top speed, a pony on a mission.

Through the past year, she'd managed to find a job delivering smoothies for Natural Flavors, who ran the smoothie stand on Shore Street, and she's been working hard on fitting in and getting ponies to like her, or at least stop frowning in her direction as she swept by.

Well, enough of the restraint, she told herself as she readjusts her glasses. Today, everything will change. Today, the gloves come off...

If the calendar was to go by and memory served her correctly, today was the Annual Presentation at Canterlogic. It’s time for her to put her plan into action.

As she skated through town on her delivery route, with the smoothie-cart rattling along behind her, she put up stickers of smiling pegasi and unicorns. She drew hearts on the posters of the dark, menacing pony. She made balloon animals and smiled at fillies and colts, getting them to smile back at her, unsure why they were doing it but eager to join in.

She let out all the pent-up excitement, all the way through town. Today she was going to make a difference. Today she was getting in. And everything would change, she was sure of it.

Eager and excited, she rolled up to the front walkway of the Canterlogic factory, smoothie-cart in tow. And was quickly confronted by Hitch, appearing from behind the sign at the base of the walkway.

"What is it with me and critters?" Hitch asked. "I'm like a magnet to them." Turning to the critters, Hitch bent down and asked, "Guys, come on. Give Hitch a little space." In response, the critters only took a step back, much to Hitch's chagrin.

"So, what's up?" Sunny asked.

"Oh, please, like you don't know," Hitch eyed Sunny suspiciously, before he pointed to a billboard next to him. "Today is the Annual Presentation at Canterlogic."

"Hey, I'm headed there right now," Sunny said, about to roll her way in, when Hitch stopped her.

"No, you're not," Hitch said sternly. "Listen, I know that you have come up with some hare-brained scheme to sabotage it, and if you think I'm just going to let you walk in..."

In defiance, Sunny simply skated around Hitch, before she turned around and began in a sing-song voice, "Hey Hitch...~"

"No."

“Hitchie~“

The sheriff gave her a faltered look, he hasn’t been called that in ages! “S-Sunny, don’t think about it.” He stutters as he tries to warn her.

"Come on~" She urges him, waggling her hoof toward him

"Good morning, Sheriff Hitch," An Earth Pony mare greeted.

"Morning, Mayflower," Hitch returned the greeting. "Dahlia," He quickly turned to look sternly at Sunny, "Sunny, I'm on duty." Nevertheless, Sunny held a hoof up. Hitch realized he was being exactly the kind of stressed, yet peacemaking pony, and he hasn’t been in the brightest mood as of late. Hitch took notice of what his friend was trying to do and sighed, giving her a smile, “Okay, fine.” They began their secret hoofshake.

"Up high! Down low! Hitch it to a post! Flip it sunny side up and on a piece of toast!”

The both of them laughed afterward, making the sheriff feel a little better. He really needed it, and his friend could tell by the look on his face. “Thanks Sunny.”

“Anytime, sheriff.”

he heard an exhausted, gasping sound coming from behind him and turned to see Sprout himself, trudging up to lean against the placard.

"I did what you asked for, Hitch. She never left my sight. Not even once."

"Oh, hey, Sprout!" Sunny said. "You okay? You seem kinda wheezy."

The red colt managed to pull himself together enough to look affronted. "That's Deputy Sprout to you."

“Easy, Sprout.” Hitch said in a calm tone, but then caught Sunny as she started to turn away, towards the path. Hitch quickly got in front of her. "Hey, wait up! I'm not finished!” He sighed before he continued on, “Look, Sunny, we both know how this goes. Every year you try to sneak in, and every year I stop you."

"Look, you have nothing to worry about," Sunny insisted, giving him a reassuring look, "I'll just go into the factory, deliver my smoothies..."

“Oh no you won’t," Deputy Sprout shook his head. "You can't even step a hoof in there. My mom had you banned."

"I'm asking as your friend, Sunny," Hitch said, and meant it. "Not as Sheriff. Just... please try not to pull any stunts today?"

Sunny sighed in annoyance, as her ears went flat, “A-alright. I’ll try.”

Hitch sighed as well, out of relief, “Thank you.” He then gestures to Sprout as he then said, “Now, give your delivery to Sprout, and go home."

As he turns to head to the building, his foalhood friend stops him as she tells him, “He saw it, you know.” Turns to look at Sunny as she continues on, “The sparkle in your eye. He saw that you have it in you.” Sprout gags as he took the cart and headed inside, after seeing him leave, she finished saying, “My dad has a lot of faith in you. He knows that you’ve took his stories by heart, and I know it too.” Hitch was about to saying something in turn, but Sunny giggled as she raised her hoof, “Don’t worry Hitch. I understand that you’re not ready to admit it yet.”

She took out a little figurine, but this one wasn’t like her collection of the Guardians of Harmony. It’s a figurine of him. Hitch was taken completely off guard by this as he hesitatingly took the small figure. “S-Sunny…” he tries to get out.

“I made it myself.” She explains to him, giving him a kind smile, “Think of it as an apology gift between friends.” She turned around and heads home, leaving the surprised Hitch Trailblazer.

The sheriff once again looked at the figure and smiled a little. She seemed to master Argyle’ talent of figurine making as well. You should be proud of her Mr. Starshine, he thought to himself as he placed the figure in his pouch of his sheriff’s gear, I can see why she takes up after you.

Meanwhile, Sunny snuck around the building all the while avoiding everyone else’s attention, sneaking in through the back door, wings and horn costume pieces on hoof, including a colorful sign. Today’s reall is gonna be the day, Dad, she thought to herself, Today I might get the Earth Ponies to listen. This just has to work!

She went inside, being stealthy as she could like she always does. Of course, she’s done this a multitude of times, but she knows that this time, this time for sure is going to be different. Then she found the way to the main stage, where she could hear the newest inventions being introduced by Phyllis Cloverleaf herself. Sunny and Phyllis really don’t see eye to eye just like he father, and it is unfortunate that it’s resulted to this ‘one pony against the world,’ scenario, but she has to try. This could be the one. It has to be the one.

“You’ll know you’ll fail.” A young male’s voice said behind her.

“Ah!” Sunny yelps as she looks back, earning the silver-grey young stallion a chuckle. “Oh,” she calms down as she places her hoof on her chest, settling her heartbeat down, realizing it’s just a friendly fellow Earth Pony “heheh, you really startled me. I didn’t even hear hoofsteps.”

“I get that a lot from other Earth Ponies.” He said with a shrug.

Looking at the other side of the stage, she could see Hitch and Sprout, who of which is enjoying a smoothie. For as long as the three had been together, Sprout would always be the instigator of starting something and not in a good way. She doesn’t even know how she and Hitch even put up with him, or why how they even became friends with him in the first place.

“You really seem adamant about this,” the silver-grey pony observed, “Wanting to prove the whole town wrong.” He paused for a second as he asks in a low, but gentle, tone, “But will it be worth it?”

“All the more so, so the three tribes can have Unity.” Sunny tells him confidently.

A stern pause lingered for a few moments. Then the silver-grey stallion said, “Well then, I won’t stop you.”

Sunny looks back at him, quite surprised. “Y-you aren’t?” She asked him.

Then, as if on cue, she could hear Ms. Cloverleaf speaking, “Now, please, stand back," Everypony all did as they were told, "This product-testing demonstration is fully automated."

Now is my chance! Sunny thought to herself as she charges in, knocking the test dummy out of the way, causing the crowd to gasp, Hitch’s face fell in a state of shock, and of course, Sprout being dramatic as always, did a spit take. Sunny raised her sign up as she proclaims proudly, “Earth ponies of Maretime Bay! Fear is not your friend! But the unicorns and pegasi can be! Let's extend the hoof of friendship."

Just as she was about to continue, the floors beneath Sunny suddenly gave way as her hooves were suddenly clasped inside what appeared to be robotic boots. "That is not what I meant," Sunny commented at the predicament she finds herself in.

"Turn it off," Phyllis whispered to some of the staffs. "Turn it off, turn it off!" The staffs frantically tried to turn off the machine, while Phyllis continued, "So now you can prevent an aerial abduction with a set of Anti-Pegalift Boots!"

With that, a large robotic version of a pegasus, with claws beneath it, came falling out of the ceiling, narrowly grabbing Sunny, who ducked her head to avoid being caught, as she continued, "Peace with pegasi! Unity with unicorns!" However, the only thing the robots managed to snatch away from Sunny are her fake wings, horns, and sign. "Whoa! Give me that back!" As of complying, one of the robots dropped the billboard on Sunny's head.

"Sunny..." Hitch shook his head as he leaped in, while his deputy stayed behind to watch the show. “That’s quite enough,” he insisted to his friend, “It’s time to go.”

"Peace...with Pegasi!" Sunny continued, when she was suddenly lifted up by a claw, with the boots taken off of her, and the platform beneath her, flipping over to reveal a large red X.

"Uh...everypony take a look at our Unicorn Entrapment Device," Phyllis presented. Sunny was then fitted with a fake unicorn horn, dropped onto the red X, and in the blink of an eye, was entrapped in a metal box, with a red flashing alarm.

In the meantime, Sheriff Hitch came to the rescue, as he barked at the frantic staffs of Canterlogic, "Toots, Sweets, shut her down. Sheriff's orders!"

"We're trying!" One of the staffs explained, as he frantically pressed several buttons.

"Fully automated means it has to go through the whole cycle," The other staff explained.

Sunny tried to get herself free from the contraptions, but it’s no use, the claw had her strapped tightly around her barrel. As she continues to struggle and tries to preach her message, she heard something… or rather, somepony. “Find the Unity Crystals…” the voice said, making Sunny stop and look around. The voice sounded feminine, young, and somewhat royal. It was odd, nopony she knew sounded like that. Then she heard it again, “Hear their song… save our home.”

Sunny was now fitted with a pair of robotic wings, facing another machine, developed by the Canterlogic engineers. In appearance, it appeared to be a large electric fan, built with catapults for blades, with a tank of strange green liquid mounted on the other side.

"Oh no!" Sunny whimpered.

Sunny was lifted off the floor and was spinning around in the air, as if she was a toy airplane, with several strange green liquids lobbed at her, as she continued, "Peace with Pegasi! Unity with unicorns!"

In the meantime, the audience were all protected from the green sticky projectiles, behind a see-through wall.

"And this is the Splat-a-pult!" Phyllis stammered, presenting the said machine, while Sunny was having a wild flight of her life.

"Cease fire!" Sunny screamed, only to be hit, in the face, by one of the globs.

“Unity rests within you…” the feminine voice said to her, Sunny’s hooves started to shimmer a golden glow, underneath the helmet and the robotic wings, the same golden glow peaks through the cracks.

“Find your sparkle…”

Hitch couldn’t take the sight of it anymore and hurries to the plug.

“Seek the other tribes…”

The ponies behind the control panel are trying and trying to shut down the mechanisms, but to no avail.

“Tear down the walls of fear they hid for so long…”

The golden light now envelopes around Sunny, now taking notice that something was happening as she rose higher and higher. Everyone in the crowd took notice as well, some where frightened, others were shocked and confused from what is happening. Hitch, who wasn’t taking distracted by pull the plug, did a double take and see what seems to be a glowing magical ball of golden fire with a multicolored hue, circling and spinning faster and faster. And then…

“Unleash your magic! Break free!”

*KABOOOOOOMM!!!!!*

A shockwave golden magic was sent throughout the the building and phasing through the walls, unveiling an awesome sight. Seeing before them is Sunny Starscout, the robotic wings and fake horn are no longer attached to her as they’re now pieces of scrap on the stage floor, her glowing horn was a shimmer gold with a cascading amber orange at the tip, her wings in the same glowing gold had fiery feathers of reds, oranges, and yellows, her eyes glowing white, no irises or pupils present.

The audience couldn’t believe it, nor did they want to believe it, neither did Phyllis or her son. This couldn’t be real! Sunny has magic?! Hitch wasn’t like the rest of the Earth Ponies in attendance, he heard that magic does existed from Argyle, but this? This was a whole new level of it! Sunny was now presented as an Alicorn!

In a forest, far away from the little town, Aerovad swing around his dagger against the barks of the trees, slashing at them with such venom and hate. His siblings refused to listen. Why? Why are they refusing to listen? They should’ve been out there hunting the Child of Prophecy by now, yet they refuse to listen!

Just as he was striking at the trees, two cloaked figures wearing masks stood watch.

The earth brown masked figure sighed in disgust, “He has been doing this for years now. Honestly, why does he believe that a simple child would even pose a threat to our master?”

“As I told you multiple times Gaialum,” the blue masked figure reminded his sister, “Aerovad always believes in perfection. If he wants to defeat her his way, he’ll do it his way…” he sighs before he finished, “Even if he has to do it himself, or breaking the rules.”

Gaialum was about to retort in dissatisfaction, but suddenly, the branches and leaves of the trees and bushes starts to shake against the wind. Aerovad too stops, taking notice of the wind’s sudden change… the wind that he controls.

The three alicorns looked behind them and in surprise, and sudden golden wave rushed through them, they shielded the visors from the incoming debris of sticks and pebbles hurled at them. The wind then dies down and the two alicorns looked at each other.

Aerovad then proclaims, “THERE!! You see now?! It is her power! Her powers have now made itself known!”

“Brother, the master said-”

“The master and the law be darned!” Aerovad snaps at his brother, “This child will lead us to the destruction of everything we worked for! Fought for!” He unfurled his wings as he then says, “The child must be destroyed!!” He took off to the skies and left his siblings behind.

Gaialum looked at her brother and asked in concern, “Luvios? Should we go after him?”

The blue masked alicorn sighed and shook his head, “No. Let him do what he wants. If this is the path he chose, then we will not follow him.”

“But-”

“He’s made his choice, Gaialum,” Luvios cuts her off, “If he wants to suffer the wrath of the master, or get shattered in piece by the child, then that is is choice. We will not intervene.”

The earth brown masked alicorn looked at the skies where his brother took off one last time and sighs, and so the two siblings wandered in the other direction, leaving their brother to his own fate. Whether he perishes or not, the master knows what to do with him. He always has a plan… he always does.

As the glow started to die down, Hitch started to call out for his friend, “Sunny! Sunny!”

She shook her head, wondering what is happening as her horn and wings had disappeared and she should’ve been brought down any minute… more like any second as she then realizes that she’s no longer attached by the robot arm and start plummeting down to the stage head first, screaming as she fell. She landed on the right side of her head, unintentionally giving herself a concussion. Her vision suddenly doubled and her hearing muffled, like as if someone shoved cotton in her ears.

She couldn’t see clearly, but the yellow fuzzy figure, knowing well that it’s Hitch, tries to reach out for him, but she blacks out at the last second, fading into unconsciousness.

Chapter 2: New Friends, New Adventure

Sunny began to awake with a groan as she place her hoof on the right side of her head, and tries to sit up. She suddenly felt a pair of hooves on her back and her left side of her barrel as she then heard a familiar voice, “Whoa whoa, easy! I don’t want you to move around so much.”

She opened her eyes weakly and sees Hitch with a concern look on his face. She sighs a weak chuckle, “Not my best landing or performance…”

He too sighs, but out relief, as he shook his head. “Thank goodness, you’re alright.” He tells her as he gave her her glasses, “You were out cold for nearly half of the day.”

She looked at him surprised as she puts them on. It’s nearly the end of the day already? She looked around and noticed that she was… home? How did she get here? “Hitch…” she asked groggily, holding her right side of her head again, feeling like somepony took a drum and banged it repeatedly, “What… what even happened?”

“You tell me.” He questions back, “What even was all of that? You were capable of magic?”

She looked at him in shock. “I was what?!” She asked him.

“Yeah,” he explains to her, “Just as you were spinning around on that contraption you were attached to, you suddenly exploded with… well, magic… at least I think it was.”

“Oh no!” Sunny gasped, “Nopony was hurt, were they?!”

He shook his head and said, “No. Nopony was.” She sighed in relief, only to receive a bombshell, “But you sure did tore the Maretime Bay community in half.”

She was confused and was about to ask what he meant by that, until she noticed on his belt sash that his sheriff’s badge is no longer on it. She gasps and asked, “Hitch! Your badge! What happened to it?!”

He then looks at where his badge use to be and sighed sadly, “So you do notice…” he looked his friend, who now wore an expression of concern of her own. He then tells her, “Well, after you got knocked out from that free fall, I tried to get help,”

“Sunny!” He yells in fright as ran towards his unconscious foalhood friend, he tries to shake her awake as he yells, “Sunny! Sunny, wake up!” He looks at the staff and Ms. Cloverleaf and shouts, “Don’t just stand there! Get help!”

Some of the ponies were left afraid and confused, wondering how or why they should even help, and Hitch really couldn’t blame them. But then he heard Ms. Cloverleaf, “Help her? After all of that? Hitch Trailblazer, we need to get her out of Maretime Bay! She could be a-a-a Unicorn, or a Pegasus!”

The sheriff just looked at her and said, “You’re kidding me, right? She’s an Earth Pony! You see a horn on her? Or any wings?”

“Have you not seen the light show she did?!” Sprout argues, “She hid this from us and she knows it!”

“What?!” Hitch stood up, now angry that his own best friend would even accuse Sunny, “She’s a Earth Pony like us Sprout! If she knew something bout this, she would’ve told us! Heck, Mr. Starshine would’ve told us!”

“Ugh, there you go again!” Sprout groans, “Mr. Starshine, always Mr. Starshine! If you admire him so much, why don’t you go live with them! You’d fit right in with those weirdos!”

Hitch’s face went from angry to shock from what he heard. His own best friend, since they were foals no less, would lash out on Argyle and Sunny? Is this how he truly felt about them? “I cannot believe what I’m hearing from you,” Hitch said with a disappointed look in his eyes, “Argyle was a kinder stallion than you let on. He introduced us to Sunny since we were foals Sprout, and how… dare you? You had no right to bring them down like this, putting dirt on their reputation.” He turned around and hulled Sunny on his back, carrying her home.

“You know, you are an Earth Pony, Hitch!” Sprout tells him, “You need to get back acting like one!”

Hitch stops to look at his friend and said to him, “I don’t even know that even means anymore...” he took off his badge and dropped it to the ground as he looked forward giving his now former best friend his last remark, “and clearly neither do you or anypony else in this town.”

As he passes by Ms. Cloverleaf, she wanted to tell him something, but it’s clear to her now that he was too angry to even talk with right now. He then passed by other ponies that were in attendance, clearly shocked by his sudden outburst and his self let go of being sheriff of Maretime Bay. He suddenly heard a conundrum of ponies.

“Sunny shouldn’t deserve this treatment!”

“Why? She’s capable of magic, we need to get her out!”

“But Hitch is right! She’s an Earth Pony like us!”

“She has no right to be here!”

“She needs to stay!”

As Hitch left the building, he looked to the sky and if her father was here, he would only ask him one question. “How did it all go so wrong so fast?”

“They… they want me to leave?!” Sunny asked in fright.

“Some do, some don’t.” Hitch answered her, “They also had you removed from your smoothie job until this entire debacle clears up.” He frustratingly sighs with a shrug, “You sure did caused a huge split in the community Sunny. It’s my fault that I didn’t get you out in time.” He looked at her, seemingly unsure as he then tells her, “But… at the same time, your dad was right. The Earth Ponies here lived in fear for too long, and they’re just too stubborn to even see it.”

“Hitch,” Sunny said, “What are you saying?”

He looked at and then tells her, “I… I think I’m going to leave Maretime Bay permanently, Sunny.”

“WHAT?!”

“Look, you and I saw how this town is!” Hitch tells her, “If this fear continues to stray in the community, then why should I bother staying here? It’s a toxic thing we’re right now Sunny. It made Sprout toxic! Made me toxic.” He stood up from the stool he sat on and gave out a sigh, “I understand if you don’t want to come with me. Heck, I don’t think your dad wants you to either… or maybe not. I don’t know. I just… I need some time to think and process this.”

As Hitch was about to leave, Sunny said, “Hitch you can’t leave either! You’re my best friend! If you leave then…”

“I know,” he simply said and was about to go downstairs, but then he said, “I’ll get you something to eat. I’ll be back.”

As he left, Sunny began to slump herself on the pillow, contemplating about everything. She just found out she’s magical, and now the town is half and half about her, and her best friend is considering himself leaving Maretime Bay! She doesn’t know what to think or do anymore. For the first time in her life ever since she starting this campaign, she had no plan, not even for this outcome.

Tears were falling down from her eyes as she looked at the photo of Argyle. She took it and placed it on her lap. “Dad,” she whimpered, her lip quivering, “You told me I was special… but now everypony of the town hates me because I have magic. I… I don’t know what to do!” She began to cry a she held the picture close to her chest.

Suddenly, the amulet jumped off of the nightstand. Sunny heard a thud on the ground, directing her attention to the floor as she wiped away her tears. She picked up the medallion with her forehoof, but it then suddenly jumps, making the apricot earth pony to reel back in fright. This is maddening! she thought to herself, now getting confused, First I find out I have some magical powers, and now a jumping medallion? What’s next, Twilight Sparkle herself making her appearance?!

Then a light purple mist swirled around the medallion and from the mist an apparition formed. The apparition the form of a tall mare with a lavender coat, her mane and tail are a dark indigo color with streaks of purple and pink. Her mane and tail flowed like as it was underwater, reflecting off of a beautiful galaxy. Her eyes are purple and almond-shaped. Her cutie mark was a pink six-pointed starburst with five smaller white stars.

“Ugh, I swear Argyle,” the apparition spoke as she shook her head, “You sometimes have the worst timing to call me, I-” she stops as she took notice of Sunny. The awkward silence that plagued the room made the ghost quiet uncomfortable as she then said, “Uhh…” she then waves her left forehoof as she said in a questionably spooky tone, “This isn’t the mare you’re looking for?”

Sunny was in shock as to who she is seeing and talking to. This wasn’t a random pony she knew. No. This is the Princess of Friendship herself! This is the leader of the Guardians of Harmony! The Element of Magic! It took her a while to process who it is after the old stallion running around in circles left her mind. “T… T… Twilight Sparkle!” She exclaims, now standing on her bed in excitement, “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Twilight Sparkle is in my house! This is so cool!” She then gasps in realization, “No, wait, this is bad! I-I gotta get you out of here!” She picked up the medallion, dragging Twilight along with her.

“Wh-whoa, hang on a second!” Twilight exclaims as she kept getting dragged as they went outside, Sunny came to a complete stop, “What is happening right now?”

“I got to get you out of Maretime Bay!” Sunny tells her in a panic, “If they see you, the Earth Ponies are going to freak out!”

“Hold on,” Twilight said calmly before Sunny started to take off again, “I know that Earth Ponies today aren’t use to seeing magic, but there’s no reason to get this frantic.”

“Sure, unless you count me as somehow magical, then yes, I have every reason to be frantic!” Sunny yells as she then took off like a bullet, but Twilight phases right in front of her, grinding the Earth Pony mare a screeching halt, “Princess, you don’t understand! You’re in real danger!”

The alicorn ghost placed her left forehoof on Sunny shoulder as she tells her, “I know that’s stress talking, not you. You need to take a breath and calm down.”

“After everything that’s-”

“Ah ah ah,” Twilight stops the apricot mare from speaking any further, “Breathe in…” she instructs as she inhales deeply, placing her hoof to her chest, “And out…” she exhale, extending her forehoof away from her body. “It’s a technique that a fellow princess taught me this. Now you try.”

The young mare thought that this wasn’t the time. But then again, this is Princess Twilight she’s speaking with, so without an argument, she breathes in deeply, and out letting all of the negativity escape from her breath. Repeated the breathing technique for five cycles and appears to have calmed down.

“There, now isn’t that better?” Twilight asked, kind of acting motherly towards her.

“… Kind of,” Sunny said with a nod, “But I do need to get you out of here.” Just as the princess was about to ask why, they suddenly heard Earth Ponies, their screaming pierced her ears, to which Sunny looked at the town to see frightened ponies screaming for their lives, away from the town plaza. “I-I’ll explain later!” She said to her hero, as she encapsulates her spirit back in the medallion and hurries into town.

"Hey! What's going on?!" Sunny asked through the crowd. "What's happening?" But instead of answering, the ponies continue to scream in fear, as they bumped into Sunny, knocking them both down to the ground. The source of all the ponies' fearful hysteria came walking down the street, shocking every ponies and critter that saw her, before she came across Sunny who was gasping in shock.

"Hi, new friend!" The newcomer greeted. "My name's Izzy!" Izzy Moonbow smiled at Sunny. She is a lavender-coated female pony with a medium build, with thin dark purple eyebrows, magenta eyes, small yet fluttery-like eyelashes, dark purple hooves, as well as having a lightly curly blue mane and tail with darker blue gradient at the bottom, with her mane being almost hoof-length. She also sports two accessories that seems hoofmade; a headband with a decoration of crystals and beads, in a color scheme of teal, blue, purple and magenta which she wears around the back of her head, and a friendship bracelet on her left hoof. As for her cutie mark, it consists of a purple heart with a blue button in the center, with the anterior side of the heart features three sewing pins: two pink and one purple. As per her pony type, Izzy sports a long, powder-blue horn, which brought the apricot mare to her attention.

"Uhh..." Sunny interrupted, as she slowly got up, staring at the unicorn "U...U...Unicorn!"

The earth ponies all screamed in terror as they galloped in random directions, determined to get away from Izzy Moonbow. They were even desperate to hide themselves out of sight, from pulling down curtains, closing shop, even diving into a manhole.

"Ooh, is everypony playing hide-and-seek?" Izzy asked, looking around at all the earth ponies running and hiding for their lives. "I see you!" Izzy called to a stallion. A stallion Sunny immediately recognized, it’s the young silver-grey stallion from the Canterlogic Presentation, taking a sip of tea from a fancy glass teacup.

“Hm?” He took notice of Izzy… and he isn’t afraid of her, as he is acting somewhat neutral towards her. “Ah, so an Unicorn outsider has come to this little humble town. I would welcome you, but I believe that my fellow residents aren’t exactly, shall I say… open to Unicorn or Pegasi outsiders.”

“Oh, that’s okay!” Izzy said cheerfully, “I’ll go find other friends who are! Bye!” She went off to a different part of the town, leaving Sunny to trail her behind.

“H-hey, wait!” the Earth Pony mare calls out to her, running after her.

The silver-grey stallion just chuckles and took another sip of his tea. Then, he hears another voice asking him, “Hey, did a Unicorn pass through here?” He looks up to see the now-former sheriff Hitch, seemingly frantic.

“Why, yes,” he answers him, “As a matter of fact, I just saw her just a few seconds ago. Sunny is chasing after her now.”

“What?!” Hitch asked in shock and he then too ran off in the direction where his friend went, calling out, “SUNNY!!”

The young stallion ponders as he then got up from the chair, placing his tip on the table next to the teacup, grabbing his black satchel and walked to the same direction, as he mumbles to himself, “This should be interesting.”

As the bubbly and curious Unicorn explore the town, many other Earth Ponies were screaming their heads off, running away from her. “Izzy!” She heard somepony call for her, she looks behind her and it’s the apricot mare from before. "I've got to get you out of here!" Sunny shouted, leading Izzy out of the chaos.

Sunny turned her head to make sure Izzy was following her.

"Earth ponies are serious about games," Izzy commented.

"They're not playing, they're terrified!" Sunny confirmed.

"Oh no!" Izzy frowned. "Of what?"

"You! You're a Unicorn," Sunny explained. "Earth ponies hate Unicorns.”

"Really? That seems harsh."

“SUNNY!” They heard another voice, looking behind them to see Hitch. Both friends looked at each other for a few seconds, then Sunny took Izzy by ear forehoof, tugging her to follow her yet again, hearing him shout her name again.

Sunny galloped over the tiles with red X's, while Izzy bounced over them, humming herself a merry tune. After a good while, the Earth Pony mare screeched to a halt, as she looked back, seeing bubbly Unicorn got distracted by a sign of a movie. "Oh, I haven't seen this one yet," Izzy commented, walking up to the movie theater, not looking where she was stepping.

“Izzy, watch out!” Sunny hollers as she ran towards the unaware purple Unicorn, tackling her out of the way and landing on top of her, her glasses fallen loose off of her face and a good few inches away from them.

The Earth Pony mare shook her head and opened her eyes and realized that her vision became blurry. “H-Hey! Where’s my glasses?!” She asked in worry, looking around in desperation.

“Here.” The purple Unicorn said as she gave Sunny her glasses. "So, your name's Sunny?" Izzy asked, having heard Hitch seconds ago.

“Y-yeah,” she says as she puts them back on, but then heard Hitch calling for her yet again, “But we’ll get to pleasantries when we get to my house, come on!” She and Izzy galloped out of town and hurried back to the lighthouse.

Had the two lingered a little longer, Hitch would’ve shown up at where he last saw them. He contemplated where else Sunny could’ve hide the Unicorn. He knew that she was running out of options, unless… she’s taking her to the lighthouse. “Sunny…” he shook his head as he rushed to his friend’s home.

Sunny, and Izzy were all running to the lighthouse to try and keep away from public, once they reached the door Sunny pulled it open and Izzy ran in with smiles on her face, while Sunny quickly came inside and closed the door which caused the picture on the side to tilt. Sunny quickly ran back to the picture and fixed it, before running back to her living room and quickly closing all the blinds in the house. After she closed the last one she looked at both Izzy who stared at her with the same smile they have been carrying all the way to her home.

Izzy got curious and proceeded toward Sunny “Do earth ponies also like staring contests? Hmmmmmm” she got close to Sunny’s face before blinking “Ah! You win I blinked!”

Izzy walked of toward a telescope while Sunny was still in utter shock of what she was seeing. Sunny finally had the ability to speak once more, “There’s a Unicorn in my house. This is so cool!” She exclaimed happily before she took in account of what had happened minutes prior. “Oh wait it’s bad. Very, very bad. What have I done?” Sunny was stressing out.

What has she done indeed.

First, she found out that she is somehow capable of magic, then she somehow brought back Twilight from limbo, and now a Unicorn is here in Maretime Bay, in her home, hiding her from Earth Ponies!

Izzy then spoke up while looking through the telescope. “Woah, I’ve never seen an earth pony before… we look exactly the same, except for this of course.” Izzy said while pointing at her horn.

She moved over to Sunny who quickly hopped down. “Woah! Hey! Careful where you point that thing.” Sunny asked while pushing Izzy’s horn away this caused Izzy to react a little bit.

“Why?” Izzy asked curiously. This was followed up with Sunny’s answer.

“Well.. I uh.. um. Sorta don’t want to get zapped by a wayward laser beam. But of course you know that already.” She chuckled. “You’ve probably been reading my mind this whole time.” She then got curious question. “Isn’t it supposed to glow, by the way? Or does it happen when you levitate stuff?” Sunny asked.

Her medallion suddenly glowed, and Twilight had been brought forth to the Earth Pony and Unicorn. “A curious mare, with a lot of questions I see.” The Princess titters, but the falls to a sigh, “I apologize for what I’m about to tell you.”

“What do you-?”

“I’m the reason why the connection to Equestria’s magic had been cut off,” Twilight unintentionally cuts Sunny off as she explains, “Centuries ago, an alicorn had begun to spread rumors of the three tribes, causing disharmony and distrust towards one another. My friends and I became suspicious of this phenomenon, so we investigated. Who we met shook us to our core. Her name is Opaline Arcana, the Skyros Alicorn of Fire.”

“Wait! The Skyros?! The home realm of the Alicorns?!”

The princess nods at the young mare’s answer as she continues, “She only used that disharmony as a distraction to obtain the magic of all three tribes, making herself an all-powerful being after she heard from a soothsayer explaining that a new ruler would one day rise to Skyros, and lead it to a newer tomorrow. That ruler is known as the Child of Prophecy. I too received a vision of such future from an old friend, and of that vision… I saw you.”

Sunny was perplexed, confused even. “M-me?!” She asked, she shook her head wildly in denial, “B-But I can’t be the one! I-I couldn’t be!”

“Then how is it that a magical shockwave was blasted throughout the entire nation?” Twilight asked rhetorically. The young apricot mare couldn’t form a counter argument, and the realization had set in her mind. “Your father wanted to tell you this when you were older, but I guess complication arose… speaking of Argyle Starshine, I hope that he’s doing well?”

“Ohh…” Sunny trails off for a moment, should she even tell her? However, the news will have to wait as Sunny then asks, getting back on track, “Wait, you said Opaline is the reason why the three tribes had split. If that’s the case, what happened to the magic?”

The Princess sighed as she continues on her tale, “It is because of Opaline’s thirst for power, my friends and I had banished her away from Equestria, however the damage was already done. Ponies squabbled and fought in believing the rumors. I turned to my fellow Guardians and Princesses for guidance, and the only thing my mentor had told me was to take the magic away from everypony by using me and my friends’ combined power of Harmony, creating three crystals, one for each tribe.”

Sunny placed her forehoof on her chin in thought. Three tribes, three crystals, she ponders, That means that the Earth Pony crystal is… “One of the crystals is here in Maretime Bay!” Sunny said outloud, she turns to the Unicorn with an excited look, “Izzy, we need to find the crystal! Help me look!”

And so the two mares looked through the lighthouse’s rooms, searching every nook and cranny, every cabinet and drawer. All the while, Twilight could only look on, a small smile curved on her lips. A very lively mare, she thought to herself, I envy her though. She seems to love a much better life then I did when I was Princess Celestia’s student. She seems more open to accept anypony, no matter who or what they are. I wish I could’ve gotten something like that centuries ago.

“Nothing in here Sunny!” Izzy hollers from the bottom of the chest she was searching through.

Sunny then ponders in thought, she turns to the ghostly alicorn. “Princess Twilight,” Sunny asks, “Can you sense where the crystals are even without magic?”

Twilight was snapped out of her thoughts and thankfully for Sunny, she heard the question loud and clear. “I can,” she said, “Though, this will require me a lot of focus on searching it.” She shuts her eyes as her horn glows a bright magenta. Through her magical senses, she could find a trace magic… upstairs? “It’s… right above us.” She tells them almost sounding like a question.

This threw off Sunny as well. How could the one of crystals be here? Unless… her eyes went wide and rushed off to her dad’s studies. Izzy got curious and followed her upstairs. As they got up to Argyle’s research, the two mares looked everywhere in the room. From the post board, to his work desk, even in chests full of relics. All except one of course, Sunny was told to never open this until he was comfortable on tell her what was stored in it... and perhaps, it was best that she wouldn't open it.

“Hey Sunny!” Izzy exclaims, who was looking at the table in awe and surprise. Sunny turned away from the locked trunk and went to the table. What they were looking stunned the apricot mare in amazement, open slots took form of three different shapes; the largest was a U/V like shape, as if it looked like wings. Then there was a small tear drop shape at the tips of the wings. At the middle is a circular shape, recognizing immediately that this is where the earth pony crystal, furthermore the Unity Crystals as a whole, would be placed.

“I can sense the crystal here in this room.” Twilight tells them, looking towards at the lantern, “It’s from in there.”

The apricot mare looked at the lantern. It was the same one that her father made back when she was a little filly. It was nothing out of the ordinary, so why does she have that brain scratching feeling that she’s overlooking something? She took the lantern, by the look of it, there wasn’t too revealing about the lantern… that is until she noticed that there’s a panel sticking out from the base.

Sliding it open, and there’s a piece of white folded paper. She took it out and began to unfold it. On it was writing, who’s writing style seems to be from her dad’s. He hasn’t wrote her anything since he was alive. It reads:

”To my sweet filly, I wanted to give this to you when you’re older, but due to my condition… I won’t be around to say to you face to face. So, I’m writing this while you’re asleep. I know this isn’t much for you to give from my previous possessions, however there is something that contains within the lantern, a special crystal from our tribe. This crystal has been passed down from generation to generation. This crystal is one of the three. I planned to go out of Maretime Bay to search for these crystals… but again, my conditions restricting me from any kind of journey. My one last wish of you is this: Find the crystals, unite the tribes, and bring magic back to Equestria. I know you’re very special my little Sunny Bunny, and I know you want to go out from our home to venture out to the frontier, but this is very important. If by chance though, make some friends along the way from the other tribes.

I love you sweetheart,
Dad.

P.S.
I’ll tell your mom that you love her too. Hoof to heart.”

Sunny placed her hooves to her mouth, nearly breaking down crying as tears from in her eyes.

“Are you okay?” Izzy asked her new friend.

Sunny tries to regain composure and she tells the Unicorn and Princess, “I-I’m fine, really.” She shows them the note as she explains to them, “I-It’s, um… it’s from my dad.”

Twilight gingerly took note from the young mare, reading the letter carefully and her ghostly heart sunk. She looked at Sunny, whom looked very distraught with sadness. “Oh, Sunny…” Twilight said quietly and sincerely, “I’m so sorry.” Sunny couldn’t take it and went to hug her hero. Even though she’s a specter, she could feel Twilight’s fore legs wrapped around her body, as if a warm blanket had wrapped around her.

It would’ve lasted longer, had it not there was loud knocks at the door, along with a familiar shout from outside, “Sunny! Sunny, open up!”

"Hitch!" Sunny quietly said, then turns to the other two mares, "We need to go!" She took the crystal and stashed it into her bag. They went out on the balcony as the apricot mare tells them, "The only way out is through that door."

Izzy looks over at the other side and suggests, "Why don't we just jump?"

"Jump?" Sunny asks, looking at her Unicorn friend's direction and her eyes shrank into pinpricks, now realizing what Izzy was suggesting as she stares at approximately a hundred and sixty-five feet long drop. "Jump?! There is no way I'm jumping off the lighthouse to the ocean!"

"Well, it's much better than the leaps of faith I had to go through," Twilight tells them, igniting her horn with a magenta aura, "Luckily, I have a destination in mind if we get enough acceleration during the freefall."

"Is that safe?" the young Earth Pony mare asks worryingly.

The light purple Unicorn took Sunny's hoof and exclaims, "Only one way to find out!"

"I-Izzy, wait-!!" Too late as both mares, while the young Earth Pony mare clutched onto the medallion, fell to the ocean.

Hitch has had enough waiting and busted the door open, hurrying upstairs. He only got up there too late as he heard screams, one of excitement, the other terrified, the latter he recognizes as his best friend. He leaned over the balcony in shock as both mares went what seemed to be through a puff a smoke.

Hitch couldn’t believe what he witnessed, a Unicorn took his foalhood friend away to who-knows-where. He looked around frantically, trying to figure out where the Unicorn mare could’ve taken Sunny. He looked at some of the journals that Argyle had left behind, as it talks about the three pony tribes places of residencies. One is Maretime Bay, and the others are Bridlewood, a village for Unicorns, and Zeyphr Heights, a city for Pegasi built on a cliff.

Just before he closed the journal, something else in Starshine’s writing caught his eye. As I’m writing this, It inscribes, My beloved wife is pregnant with our foal. She then told me something that I’m not prepared for, something I will have to face alone: Taking care our child alone. She told me that she’s going to die after conceiving our child, but reassured me that she’ll always be close to my heart and be my sunny sky to light the way… now that she says that, I think that’s what we’ll call our foal.

The butter yellow stallion’s heartstrings were tugged. “Poor Sunny…” he said to himself with his ears flattened, “She never got a chance to meet her mom.” But as he said that, something else had brought to his attention and his stomach nearly dropped upon what he read. “Wh-what?” He breathlessly asked, almost dropping the journal as he placed it back on the table, “Sunny’s mom… she’s a what?!”

He read that sentence again and again, there was no way that her mother could’ve been… could she? Is she? He looked at a small drawing that seems like it was drawn by Argyle himself, almost like a pony with glowing wings and horn. Is this supposed to be Sunny herself?

“What is going on here?” He asked himself. He sighed frustratedly as he placed a hoof on his forehead. All of this is very new, Sunny being capable of magic, a Unicorn intrudes the town, and now both of them are gone, and he just found out that Sunny’s mom was… he didn’t want to think about it, nor did he have time to think about it, he has to find Sunny. He went to the closet grabbed a tan-brown satchel, placed one Argyle’s journals into it, and wrapped it on his right shoulder.

As he went downstairs, before he went out the front door he looked at the photo of Argyle and little Sunny with a gentle exhale through his nose. “Whatever it take Mr. Starshine,” Hitch vows, “I will get her back. Pinkie Promise.” He then does the motions and he recites, “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” There’s no going back on it now as he sets out to find his missing friend.

Chapter 3: Looking Out for You

Out and away from Maretime Bay

The mares catapulted out from the magenta puff of smoke and onto a dirt trail, picking up dust on impact, while Twilight gently glides towards them. Twilight had giggled the site the way the two young mares were positioned, with Izzy on top of Sunny. "Don't worry," The ghostly Alicorn explains to them, "It took me a while to get use to it as well."

"That..." Izzy said slowly as she got up, then explodes of excitement, "Amazing! Was that really magic?!"

"Well," Twilight giggled in embarrassment, "That isn't all I can do, but yes. It was magic."

Izzy got excited as she helped Sunny up as she exclaims, "Sunny! We got teleported by magic! Did you see the-" But the Earth Pony mare was unresponsive at the moment, trying to process what just happened. Izzy then took notice of how Sunny looked as she gave the mare her glasses and asked, “Hey, you look kind of woozy. Are you okay?”

"Okay?!" She freaked as she puts them back on, "I jumped off of a hundred and fifty-five-"

"Sixty-five."

"Sixty-five foot drop from my house to the shore!" She didn't minded that she got corrected, but continues on, “I am on the run with a Unicorn who has no magic and a ghost of an Alicorn who has some capabilities of magic, and now Hitch is probably going to find me and bring me back to Maretime Bay, and doing that might cause a civil war! What are we gonna do?!”

"Alright, calm down," Twilight tells her with serenity, placing her forehoof on the hyperventilating Earth Pony, "I know this situation is dire, and venturing outside of your home is very scary. Believe me, I had my fair share of an adventure like that."

Sunny nods and proceeds to do the breathing technique the Princess showed her earlier. While Sunny was trying to calm herself, Izzy came up to her and started sniffing her face. The apricot mare took notice. “What are you doing?” she asked her.

“You don’t smell.”

“Thanks. Wait what?” This caused much confusion between both Sunny and Twilight.

"What does smell have to do with anything?" The Princess asks with a cocked brow.

“Well," Izzy explains, "I was told that all you earth ponies smelt like rotten sardines, but you do not. Hmm.”

This caused Sunny to become curious of what Unicorns thought of ponies like herself. “What else do Unicorns say about Earth ponies?”

Izzy responded “Oh, just that you're lazy and not the brightest crystals in the forest.” Sunny then frowned at this.

“Charming.” she said sarcastically.

“Nope, just those three."

Twilight giggled as she shook her head as she said, "Sounds like somepony I know."

"So," the light purple mare asked, "what’s the plan?”

Sunny too looks at the ghostly Alicorn. Twilight clears her throat and explains, "Well, we have the Earth Pony crystal. Our next destination should be Zephyr Heights, home of the Pegasi." She looked beyond at one of the mountains from a horizon's view as she continues, "Somepony there has to know where that crystal is kept."

Sunny and Izzy looked at the same direction as the Princess. "Then it's settled then." The apricot mare declares, "We're going to Zephyr Heights!" She then opens up her book, showing them the map of Equestria.

“Uh, but the pegasi are bad news.” Izzy said with uncertainty.

Sunny looked at her with confidence. “Earth Ponies were wrong about Unicorns. They could welcome us with open wings.” Sunny said.

"She is correct," Twilight tells the light purple Unicorn, "Pegasi are no different than anypony else. They may have wings, you have a horn, Earth Ponies have their strength, and Alicorns have the combination of all three, but we're all the same species of Equine nature. We got magic in our blood, nothing more, nothing less." She then looks down at her forehoof which seems to flicker in and out of existence and groans, "Speaking of."

Sunny gasps in shock of the sight, "P-Princess! What's going on?!" Izzy too looked confused as she waves her hoof back and forth through the Alicorn's forelimb

Twilight sighs, "I unfortunately cannot stay out of the medallion for too long. Doing so will have my magic depleted and my form wavers from disappearing." She looked at them with sadness as she continues, "I'm so sorry my little ponies, but I must return inside the medallion."

Sunny looked at her in surprise at first, but then she nods in understanding and held out the relic, sucking Twilight back inside. The young Earth Pony mare placed the medallion around her neck and tells the light purple Unicorn, "I guess we're going to have to make this journey without her for now until her magic is back."

Izzy nods in agreement and the two went along their way to the trail lays before them. "Um... Sunny?" Izzy asked a little nervously, "You reaaaally think that the Pegasi are going to greet us with open wings?"

Sunny gave her a comforting smile and confidently tells her, "I'm sure of it Izzy. I'll be looking out for you if they don't. I promise."

Izzy gave her a smile in return as they hurried on their way as she exclaims, "Last one there gets the rotten egg!" Sunny, not caring if her new friend says it wrong raced after her, giggling like a little filly.

Maretime Bay

As the new Sheriff, Sprout was having the time of his life. Who would’ve thought? He, Sprout Cloverleaf, would finally be the new Sheriff of Maretime Bay? About time too. He thought to himself in delight as he took a bite from his slice of pizza. With Sunny and Hitch out of the way, perhaps things are finally looking up for him.

“Are you in charge here?” A male’s voice asked the red stallion. He looks over and sees a black cloaked figure by the door.

He was a little confused, but then he put two and two together and laughs, “Okay, this ought to be something.” He then plays along as he then tells the stranger, “Yes, I’m Sheriff Sprout Cloverleaf. How can I help you citizen?”

“Cut the theatrics colt,” he tells him, his green mask glimmers in the light as he began to walk closer to the desk, “You kept somepony here, and I want her.”

Sprout raised a brow and says, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The green masked pony snarls at him as he tossed the desk aside with such strength, it nearly broke the desk in half as it hits the wall. “You know exactly whom I speak of!” Sprout squealed in fright as he pins himself against the corner of the room, the stronger stallion got close to his face as he continues on, “The Prophecy’s Child! She lives here in this town! Where can I find her!?”

…

…

“Who?” Sprout asked weakly.

Not satisfied with the answer, he grabbed him by the shoulders and flew him outside, while said red pony screamed his head and kicking his hind legs. “Mare!” The green Alicorn demands, “Apricot pelt! Purple Mane! Rainbow streak! Teal Eyes! Where?!”

“I-I don’t know!” The red stallion tells him, “Sh-she just left town! I don’t know where! I swear!”

The green Alicorn got close to Sprout’s face yet again and tells him with a growl, “You reek of incompetence and greed. If you send anypony to stop me from accomplishing my goals, I will make an example out of you and everypony that is connected to you. Understood?”

“Y-yeah! C-crystal clear!”

“… good.” He said as he tossed him at the town’s fountain and took of like a bullet, heading towards a different direction.

The splash from the fountain caused to get the attention of the butter yellow stallion who was about to leave town. He hurries over and sees Sprout appearing head first out of the water. “Sprout?” Hitch asked him in surprise, “What happened?” The red stallion couldn’t say a word as he shakingly pointed at the sky to see a emerald green streak leading away from town before disappearing. “A Pegasus?!” Hitched asked in shock.

Sprout mutters only one word, “A-A-A-Alicorn!”

Hitch looked at his foalhood friend with a shocked expression. “Sprout, what do you tell that Alicorn?” He asked calmly.

“H-He was asking about Sunny! I don’t know why!” Sprout told him as he got out of the fountain.

The former sheriff’s eyes shrank as a dark thought came into mind. Aside from Unicorns, they were also capable of sensing magic, but multiply it by five. In his mind, if this Alicorn got their hooves on Sunny, they might make her their pawn, a prisoner in Tartarus, or worse.

“Sprout! Do you have any idea what you just done!?” He angrily asked him, “You just put somepony’s life on the line!” He took the red stallion by the ear and sternly tell him, "If and when I find Sunny, you owe her a serious apology to her, me, and everypony here in Maretime Bay and to the other races."

"Wha-What?!" Sprout asked him in shock, "You can't order me to do that! I'm a sheriff!”

"Consider this your demotion." Hitch said as he took the badge and placed it on his leather belt. "You're going home and tell Ms. Cloverleaf what had happened, and you and nopony else will absolutely under no circumstances to any other further actions until I come back.”

“I’m going with you.” A voice said behind Hitch, to his shock it’s the young silver stallion from earlier.

The butter yellow Earth Pony was surprised by this gesture and said, “Uh… I didn’t ask for volunteers.”

“Well, you’re going to need help whether you like it or not Sheriff Trailblazer.”

“Temporary Sheriff.” Sprout buds in rudely.

“Temporary?” Another voice cuts in as Ms. Cloverleaf came in to the scene as she began questioning, “What’s all of this about?”

Before either Hitch or Sprout could explain what is happening, they were saved the trouble by the silver stallion, “Your son here had caused so much trouble. He’s given up information of Sunny’s whereabouts to an ancient Alicorn and is on the hunt and planning to eradicate her.”

“WHAT?!” Both Ms. Cloverleaf and Hitch asked in unison.

They both looked at the red stallion, either one couldn’t believe what they heard. Not only did Sprout told a mad Alicorn on a pony hunt of his own for his own reason, he placed her in more danger than Hitch realized. He looked at the silver stallion and asked, “Do you know where Sunny could be going?”

The stallion smiled and said, “I know exactly where she’s going.”

3 Days Later

As the two mares trekked above the canyon, Izzy had been feeling uneasy. She looks around the skies and tells her new companion, “Uhh… n-not to freak you out, but you do know that they could steal our luminescence, r-right?”

“Lumi-what?” Sunny asked her confused as she looked up from her book.

“Luminescence,” the light purple unicorn explains to her, “You know, your Sparkle.”

“My Sparkle?” Sunny repeats.

“Uh-huh. The happy you are, the brighter your Sparkle becomes. Your’s is lavender.”

“Lavender, huh?” Sunny asked with a smile, the light purple mare nods, “So how can you see another pony’s Luminescence? Do you just look at them and go, ‘Mm-hmm, mm-hmm… yes, you have Luminescence.’”

Izzy giggled and explains, “Well, not exactly. It's a little complicated, but to summarize my ability short and to the point: I can see other ponies Luminescence thanks to my family lineage of Lumi-seers."

"Lumi...seers?"

"Yepper! The Lumi-seers were a very popular kind of mystics centuries ago. But sadly, after the tribes split, nopony ever talks about them anymore." The light purple Unicorn's ears went flat after she finished her short explaination.

Sunny felt bad for her friend, just from hearing about such a lineage, a group of mystics, forgotten to time. Funnily enough, it felt like how nopony from Maretime Bay, other than herself and her dad, ever mentioned about the Guardians of Harmony, it's lore, anything. But this gave her an idea as her ears sprang back up.

"Then, why don't we make a biography about them once this is over?" Sunny offers.

"R-Really?!" Her friend asked in shock.

"Sure. I'm positive that there's a lot of stories about them, and I would love to hear one."

This gave the light purple Unicorn squeal in excitement, "Oh my gosh, yes! I would to make one with you!" She then went in for a hug, which caught Sunny by surprise for a second, but giggled afterwards. "Thanks Sunny."

Just then, a woosh was heard, whizzing pass them overhead, startling the two mares. "W-w-what was that?" Izzy asked startled.

Something then swooped behind them causing them to look, it continued from above them until some rocks fell down near them causing the duo to run forward, they looked back to see a figure following them. "Izzy, run!" Sunny exclaims as she and friend galloped as fast as they could. They then started to climb up the wall, avoiding any fallen rockings that might hit their heads or eyes.

As they got to the top, Sunny then looked behind her to see the figure still following them. But she was so focused on the figure she almost didn’t realized she was slipping off the cliff. “Sunny!” Izzy shouted and grabbed Sunny by her hooves pulling her up to safety.

The both of them after a few moments sighed in relief as Izzy asks, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Sunny sighed, trying to normalize her breathing, "Thanks Izz."

All of a sudden, a Pegasus shot out from below revealing himself, making both Sunny and Izzy screamed and hugged together in fright. The Pegasus then did some tricks climbing up some rocks before landing, afterwards he lifted up one hoof while looking at them with a stern expression.

“A real Pegasus...” Sunny said with awe.

The Pegasus in question a tall, thin, white-coated male, possessing turquoise-blue eyes, thin hot-red eyebrows, silver-gray hooves, as well as having a gelled, hot-red mane and tail with both lighter red and aqua streaks. As for his cutie mark, it consists of a hot-red and aqua-blue lightning bolt with a yellow crown on top. As per his pony type, he has a pair of large feathered-wings, with a gradient of different shades of blue, purple and hot-red.

He looked at the two mares and looked at them surprised. “Woah, a Unicorn and a Earth Pony?" He let out a chuckle in after he regains himself, "Well this day just got a whole lot more interesting.” Suddenly, he heard hoofsteps coming towards them and saw two Pegasi guards, he then jumped toward the edge of the cliff before looking at the mares. “Don’t tell them you ladies saw me.” He smiled before jumping down the cliff.

“There’s no way we cooooould! We don’t even know your naaaaame!” Izzy yelled before smiling, she then turned toward Sunny, “He seems nice.”

"AAAH!!" A shout startled Sunny and her companion, as they turned around to see they were seen by two Pegasi guards.

"Uh, hello there." Sunny waved a hoof, but one of the Pegasus guard quivered, as he hid behind his comrade.

"Thunder, get it together!" The other guard barked.

"But-but that's an earth pony," The guard, identified to be Thunder, quivered.

"They're harmless," The other guard reassured. "They have tiny brains," She said, much to Sunny's annoyance, causing her to frown, they then turned their attention toward Izzy who was Smiling with her mouth opened wide.

"What do we do about her?" Thunder asked, pointing to Izzy.

"Well, did you bring the shield?"

"What shield?"

"Didn't you read the guard guide?"

"Yes! OK, no."

The other guard let out an exasperated groan, "Oh, fine!" She said, as she walked over to the group, spreading her wings. "I've got this."

They were now all in an elevator Izzy had tennis ball on her horn while Sunny is just standing idly by waiting. “That’s creative” Izzy commented.

Sunny beside her was skimming through the pages of her notebook, then she began asking questions to one of the guards. "What's it like to fly? Is your wingspan the same as your height?"

"Well, I..." Thunder was interrupted when Sunny asked another question.

"Do you need a license to fly? How far can you go?"

"Can you fly to the moon?" Izzy asked.

"Do pegasi wear horseshoes or do they just weigh you down?" Sunny continued to ask.

"Well, I-I do collect sneakers," Thunder answered.

"Hey, don't answer anything!" The other guard berated. "They could be spies," She whispered.

Sunny and Izzy then turned to look out the window of the elevator. They both gasped in amazement to see a utopia of Pegasi ponies in front of them.

"Wow!" Sunny and Izzy both marveled at the grand sight from inside the elevator.

"This is so awesome!" Sunny marveled. "I wish Dad was here to see this. I wonder what he would say if he was still here?"

Before she could wonder any further, a loud announcer voice was heard booming on the TV screens, as they changed channel to a news broadcast, with two news reporter – one orange male and one periwinkle female.

"Good morning, Zephyr Heights!" The male reporter greeted. "It's another beautiful day, in the big city. Looks like warm breezes and clear skies for tonight's royal celebration!"

"Royal celebration?" Izzy Moonbow asked, pressing her face against the window of the elevator. "Ha! Talk about great timing!"

The second reporter then took over as she announced, "Tonight's royal bash for Queen Haven will be stunning, but the real jewel in the crown will be Princess Pipp's performance. Isn't that right, Skye?"

"Ha!" The reporter, Skye, agreed. "Oh, my, yes, Dazzle," He said to the other reporter identified to be Dazzle. "And this just in - an exclusive vid from Pipp for all you loyal fans out there in ZH."

With that, a lot of the pegasus ponies stopped what they were doing as they looked up to see what their princess has to say, along with Sunset, who specifically wanted to see what's going on. Before long, a social livestream video was shown on the big screen, with an overflowing amount of heart, happy face, and cat emojis on the right, next to the said Princess Pipp.

In appearance, Pipp is a light pink-coated female pegasus, having her fetlocks being colored in a paler shade of her coat. She has kiwi-green eyes, small yet fluttery-like eyelashes, thin deep-purple eyebrows, golden hooves (possibly painted), as well as having a wavy violet mane and tail, with her mane being swooped back to her right side.

"What is up everypony?" Pipp greeted her people. "Big shout-out to all my fans, the PippSqueaks. So tonight's the night, I can't wait to debut my new song later. It has a very special place in my heart, but not as much as you guys!" She sang in a lovely voice, "Ok, guys, I love you lots. Got to go," With that, Pipp signed off with, "Pipp, Pipp, hooray!"

"Pipp, Pipp, hooray!" Everypony from outside cheered.

"Pipp, Pipp, hooray!" Izzy cheered, along with the two guards in the elevator.

Once they reached the top, the elevator clicked open.

"Move it," The other guard ordered.

"You betcha!" Izzy complied, while Sunny looked at the pegasus, suspiciously.

"Do you see anypony flying here?" Sunny asked, but her question fell on deaf ears, when Izzy looked up and gasped.

"They have a castle!" Izzy exclaimed.

After some time of marching through the halls of the castle, Sunny and Izzy have arrived at the throne room, where another squadron of guards were marching, before they took their place, at the sides of a carpet.

"Bow before our queen!" Thunder ordered, to which some other guards blew into trumpets, sounding a fanfare.

Sunny and Izzy watched as the guards bowed their heads in respect, to which a small, white, winged pomeranian appeared on the scene, sitting in front of the throne, scratching its head with its hindleg.

"Your Majesty," Izzy bowed to the dog.

However, spot lights were shown from the ceilings, which the little dog yapped. Sunny looked up, nudging Izzy to do the same. In the background, the sound of upbeat music was heard. Everypony in the room watched as three pegasus ponies came swooping into the room, before they gently flapped their wings, lowering themselves to the throne.

Sunny looked to see they are the celebrity, Princess Pipp, who is noticeably chubbier and shorter than the other ponies, along with a deep magenta music note with white bulbs, with a yellow crown motif featured on the interior of the music note, the mysterious Pegasus stallion who chased them before.

The third is the queen. She has a dusty lilac coat, periwinkle mane with lilac streaks flipped to the side and braided at the back, a long tail and blue, thin eyebrows. She has mauve hooves, indigo-to-periwinkle wings, and icy blue eyes with lavender eye shadow. She also wears a dark purple vest, and a golden necklace with a turquoise gem in the middle and a golden crown with the turquoise crystal in the center.

Sunny looked at the crystal as all three Pegasi landed on their respective thrones, the little dog yapped and ran circles around the queen. That has to be it! Sunny thought in excitement, It's the Pegasus Unity crystal!

"Hi new friend!" Izzy waved to the mysterious Pegasi, who shook her head, pleading not to get her involved.

"Guards," The queen began. "State your business and please make it quick. We're on a very tight schedule today. Before the celebration, Cloudpuff needs his pedicure," She turned to the dog, identified to be Cloudpuff. "Pipp needs to rehearse and I need to practice my laugh," To show her point, the queen laughed out loud, which squeaked at the end of her laughter. "Oh goodness. That's not right."

Both Pipp and the male Pegasus snickered. "You'll get there mother. It's just how you use your voice."

"Thank you Zephyros." The queen tells him sincerely.

"Your Highness," The other guard began, as she and Thunder presented, "We found these intruders in our territory."

The queen lowered her glasses, shocked to see, "An Earth Pony and a Unicorn in Zephyr Heights!"

"We have these two under control, Your Highness!" The other guard explained.

"And we deployed the shield," Thunder pointed to the ball stuck on Izzy's horn.

Still, the queen wasn't pleased, "Is this an attack on the night of our royal celebration? Why are you here? Who sent you?"

Sunny was quick to answer the queen’s last question, “Princess Twilight Sparkle sent us.”

The room went quiet. The male white pegasus, who is identified as Zephyros, was in shock, as was his mother. They looked at each other for a moment before Pipp, understandably confused, asked, “Who’s Princess Twilight?”

Her answer ignored, the Queen looks at the two mares and slowly repeated her last question, “Who sent you.”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle did, your highness.” The apricot mare tells her honestly, “I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s the truth! She sent us to reunite the tribes!”

“Reunite the-“ The Queen stops herself from such an answer, shaking her head, “That isn’t possible! Princess Twilight Sparkle and the Guardians of Harmony are just a fairytale!”

“B-but-“

“Enough.” The eldest Pegasus cuts Sunny off, she then turns to her son and said very sternly, “Zephyros, I need to you and the guards to escort them to the dungeon. Nopony can ever know that these two are here.”

“Check it out Pippsqueaks!” Pipp suddenly announced as she positions her phone at herself, then turns it around towards Sunny and Izzy, “Live from the castle! It’s a real Unicorn and Earth Pony!”

“PIPP!” Both her mother and sibling shouts at her.

“Turn that off!” The queen demands as she took her daughter’s phone and killed the live stream. “You have any idea how much of a repercussion this is going to cause to our kingdom?! You want our kind to panic?!”

The young princess, realizing her mistake, hung her head in shame and said, “… Sorry mom.”

The queen just sighs as she shook her head as she handed her phone back to Pipp, then back at Zeyphros, “Please, just escort them to the dungeon, and confiscate the book.”

“What? Hold on!” Sunny protested as one of the guards took her journal. “But-but your majesty! Please! Your majesty! Please!”

All of a sudden, the apricot mare’s body shimmered a shining glow and suddenly formed a horn and wings. The guards backed away, everypony gasping from the mare’s form. At first she looked at them confused as to why they’re retreating away rom her, but it wasn’t until she looked at her hooves and saw her reflection from the glossy floor and gasped.

“Oh… oh my gosh!” She exclaims as she looked at her wings, beginning to hyperventilate, she then looked at her friend and frantically ask, “Izzy, why is this happening?!”

“Why are you asking me?!” Izzy asked in turn, just as freaked out as she was, she looked at her forehead and compliments, “But your horn looks cool.”

“Izzy, you’re not helping!”

“Oh! Sorry!”

“Guards!” The queen commands, “Stop her!”

Sunny looks behind her as the guards pointed their spears towards her and Izzy, she was scared. What is she going to do? She doesn’t know how her magical powers even work! She then tells them, “P-Please! I don’t want to hurt you!” They refused to rebuttal as one of the was about to jab at her, but she shouts, “DON’T!!” as another shockwave of golden fire cascades around the room and out through the kingdom, depleting herself into fatigue.

She didn’t know what even happened as she fell onto her side. She could hear Izzy calling her name as her vision once again fades to black, following the queen commanding the guards to do something. She fell unconscious.

As Aerovad flies above his skies, he began to seethe in relentless anger. At this rate, he thought to himself, This would take forever to find her! But it seems his hunt wouldn’t take long as he felt something… something familiar. It was the same feeling from moments ago. It has to be her… no… it is her. He looks at one mountain in particular and a wicked smile curved on his lips.

“There you are.” He said in a vicious delight as he took off full speed to his next destination, Zephyr Heights.

Chapter 4: Learning from the Past

Sunny gasps as she regains consciousness and shouts, “IZZY!” She looked around as she notices her vision is blurry again, she was beginning to panic, “Izzy! Izzy where are you?!”

“Whoa! Easy Sunny!” She could hear her friend tell her calmly, she felt a pair of hooves on her shoulders. “You really gave me a scare.” The apricot mare then felt the frame of her glasses on her hooves and then quickly puts them back on, seeing the concerning face of Izzy Moonbow.

Upon seeing her face, Sunny sighed and said, “I’m so sorry Izzy.”

The light purple Unicorn giggled, “Ah, it’s not a big deal. I’m not hurt, and neither was everypony else. I was more worried about you.”

Sunny’s eyes went wide as she realized more of her possessions were missing. “The medallion! My journal! The Pegasi must’ve taken them!”

“More like recovered.” A male voice told them, causing the two mares to look at the dungeon jail-like door. Standing there is the white Pegasus. “I’m sorry you three got locked up here, but I have to talk to you.”

“Prince Zephyros?” Sunny asked.

“Your majesticness. Y-your grateful highness.” Izzy continued stuttering until she was stopped by the Pegasus.

“Zipp. Just call me Zipp.” He added quickly reassuring Izzy.

“Ok, Zipp,” Sunny stated, “I’m Sunny, and this is my friend.”

“Izzy Moonbow.” She said in a low voice.

“Sunny, Izzy, I really need to ask you something important.” he tell them and then whispered the his topic, “About the magic and you being sent here by Princess Twilight.”

“That’s why we’re here. We know why Unicorns and Earth Ponies lost their magic, and why the three tribes separated. So we thought maybe-“ She was cut off by Zipp.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. Lost theirs? As in no magic?” He asked with curiosity, to which the duo shook their heads at Zipp causing realisation to come to his head. “Well, that changes things. Listen, I might have some information that could help, but you need to tell me about these.” He then pulls out from her wing Sunny’s Journal and the medallion.

Sunny gasps “My journal! And the medallion!” Zipp gave the two items to her, letting out a sigh of relief, “I thought I wouldn’t see them again. Thank you Zipp.”

He shrugs as he tells her, “Eh, it’s not that big of a deal.” As the apricot mare put the medallion around her neck, the white Pegasus remarks, “They must be very important to you. Where did they come from?”

“My dad gave them to me,” Sunny explained to him, “They were his before he…”

Zipp took notice of the tone in her sentence, and said sincerely, “I’m sorry.”

She nods in thanks, then asks, “Why do you ask though?”

“That star…” Zipp couldn’t finish the thought as a fanfare, came from down the hall to reveal two guards, holding their phones out with trumpet symbols on the screens.

The guards rolled down a red carpet for Princess Pipp, who began making her way down toward the main group but stopped when she saw Zipp.

“Zipp what are you doing here? Mom said to stay away.” She said with a sneer causing Zipp to smirk.

“Right. Then why are you here? Zipp asked with slight sarcasm.

“Duh! For the content!” Pipp scoffed while pulling her phone out.

“Ho, no you don’t.” The Prince warns her as he took her phone, “Wasn’t mom’s reminder enough for you?”

“Oh, c’mon bro!” The young Princess insists, “The whole world should know about this! Especially about her!” She points at Sunny, “I mean, that wasn’t special effects or anything like that!”

Sunny, still feeling guilty about earlier, has then asked, “I-I know Izzy told me about that, but, um… back in the throne room-“

“Oh, you didn’t hurt anypony.” The white Pegasus told her, “Everypony’s fine. You really caught us off guard, and gotten everypony’s feathers flying. Heh, especially Pippy’s.”

“Oh, zip it Zipp.” Pipp retorts, making her brother chuckle.

“Princess Pipp, can I ask you something?” Sunny asks her curiously.

“Sure.”

“Why are you, your brother, and the queen are the only ones flying? Twilight told us that the crystals had sapped out of all ponies abilities of their respective magics, Pegasi’s flight included.” The question is what caught Pipp off guard she became very nervous and turned toward the group to respond.

“Everypony knows that only royals can fly, of course.” Pipp said while still being nervous.

“What?!” Both Sunny and Izzy responded.

“I know, it’s not fair, but that’s just the way it is. If there was some way we could teach the citizens to fly, you know we would do it in a wing-beat. Right Zipp?” Pipp looked at her brother, waiting for an answer.

“Yeah, sure. In a wing-beat.” Zipp replied with sarcasm and a deadpanned expression. While Sunny and Izzy looked at each other.

“Me-me-me!” She said in a singsong voice before trotting back down the hall. “Red feather, Yellow feather, Red feather, Yellow feather…” she continued down until she was gone causing Zipp to look back at the group.

“I have to show you something.” He explained, before he put his hoof on a scanner and opened up the cell. “You coming or what?” Zipp called, causing Sunny and Izzy to follow.

Canyon

“O-Okay, so let me see if I got this right,” Hitch said to the silver stallion as they climbed the canyon, “The four Alicorns who are here in Equestria right now are keeping an eye on us?”

“All of them were suppose to.” The young stallion corrects him, as he got to the top of the ledge.

“Suppose to?”

“Under Alcorvious’s order, to keep an eye on every mortal being that walks the ground we walk on today.”

Hitch grabbed hold of the stallion’s hoof, hoisted up and onto the ledge, and of course, like the critters back in his town, he was greeted with snuggles from the local critters – bunnies – who have already taken a liking to him.

“You know, you should be a caretaker for animals.” The silver pony suggests, “You seem quite attached to them.”

The sheriff gave out a chuckle as he nuzzled one of the bunny’s cheek with his hoof, “Well… more like they’re attracted to me.”

His volunteer chuckled in turn, before his eyes caught something on the ground and asks, “What’s that?”

The butter yellow stallion turned as well when he noticed a familiar sticker on the ground. "Litter," He said. "I mean, a clue," With that, the competent sheriff proceeded to investigate the scene, finding one of Izzy Moonbow's hair, hanging on a branch. "Hmm. Unicorn hair," He deduced, with the bunnies and the silver pony following him, watching as he picked up a feather, and tasted it. "Pegasi." The sheriff proceeded to be on his way, placing his ears next to the ground to confirm, "Track's gone cold…”

“You seem very desperate.” The young stallion pointed out.

Hitch raised his head up off the ground and sighs, “It’s my fault that Sunny’s gotten involved in this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, isn’t it obvious? From how the residents of Maretime Bay treated her, to now? I just… I don’t know. Mr. Starshine always says I have some form of belief in the old ways of Equestria, keeping ponies safe from… but now, look at where we are now. Out at a canyon, search for my best friend. She doesn’t deserve to be taken away like this! She should-“

“Continue to be miserable in a town who doesn’t believe her?” The stallion interrupted him, have the sheriff turn his head away, letting out a sigh. “Sheriff,” he tells him, “I might’ve not known you or Sunny that long, but from how you two interacted over the years, you seem to care and kind to her, even though you’d have to get her out of trouble.”

That earned a chuckle from Hitch, then sighs as he looked towards the skies. “Sunny… wherever you are, know this: I won’t rest until I find you. I will keep my promise to your dad. And when I do find you, I’m going to help fulfill your dream.” He had his chest puffed out with pride as he proclaims, “Peace with Pegasi! Unity with Unicorns!”

With that, Sheriff Hitch was met with a round of high-pitch cheering and applauses, as he looked down to see a whole herd of bunnies, clapping their ears in admiration of his vow.

"Oh, thank you. Thank you," Hitch said to the bunnies. "No, no. You're too kind."

Shaking his head, the silver pony looked beyond the horizon and said, “Hey Casanova! I think I found where your friend is.”

“What do you-?” Hitch was about to ask until he saw, to his horror, Sunny and Izzy's mugshots. “SUNNY?!” He exclaims in shock as one of the bunnies faints from the sight of the mugshots.

Zephyr Heights Station

Zipp slid the metal grate open, as he looks down at the room below. Zipp jumped down and landed before looking back up at the group. “Watch your step.” He warns them. Both Sunny and Izzy jumped down to where the white Pegasus was. He then pushed down a lever which caused the platform they were on to descend in a big room, this caused Sunny and Izzy to look on in awe at the place they were at.

“Where are we?” Sunny asked.

“Pretty cool, right?" Zipp asked, then goes on to explain as they reached the ground, "I’m pretty sure it was some sort of station, for when earth ponies and unicorns used to visit Zephyr Heights.”

Sunny walked over toward a portrait of Maretime Bay and put her hoof on it removing some of the dust. “It’s like everypony just forgot.” Sunny guessed.

She then looked upwards to see a picture of a forest known as Bridlewood which showed one pony of each kind. “This is proof. All ponykinds did use to be friends! My dad was right.” Sunny exclaimed while looking at Izzy. They noticed Zipp who was looking at another portrait, this time on some Pegasi that wore blue suits with yellow stripes around their heads, with some headgear covering their eyes. The duo walked toward Zipp to which Sunny tells him, “You know what I was really true, right? About all Pegasi not being able to fly?”

Zipp sighed with a nod, "Yeah, I know."

"You know?"

"Yeah."

"Then why were you faking it?"

"Dunno..." He shrugs as he sulks over to a blackboard with equations and a diagram of a pegasus's wing, "Our family had been doing it for years. Can't really remember when that started, but mom told me that, 'It's important to keep our tradition alive.'" He shook his head as he continues on, "What tradition? That we kept lying to the other Pegasi in the dark that we can't fly either?" He gave out a sad chuckle, "Surprising what some wires and good lighting will do. I mean, getting the illusion of flying is good and all, but it isn't enough. I’m just so tired of living that ridiculous lie that we had to carry. That’s why I come down here-to get away from all of that. And… Well,” Zipp ran and jumped onto a lever which caused a fan to turn on, "To do this!" He spreads his wings open which lifted him upwards into the air he then flew backwards doing a flip before flying back toward the room. Zipp then smiled with happiness filling her to the core.

"That was incredible Zipp!" Sunny complimented the Prince as he took a playful bow.

“His sparkle is so bright right now!” Izzy commented.

The white Pegasus smiled in appreciation. He then tells them, “That’s not why I brought you down here, however." Zipp pointed upwards to reveal a big purple star with five miniature stars surrounding it on a stained glass making the group stare in awe once more. "This is what I wanted to show you.”

"Oh, my stars!" Sunny exclaimed, looking down at her journal, to see the star matched with the one on the cover of her jounral.

"This was made a long, long time ago," Zipp lectured. "When we still had magic." As they gazed upon to murals, the medallion began to glow a bright purple once again. He took notice and asked Sunny, "Hey, what's up with your-?!"

The ghostly Alicorn suddenly took form once again, leaving Zipp aghast by what he's seeing. As she yawns and stretched out her wings, legs, and back, she titters, "Wow, now I know how Rainbow Dash feels whenever she takes these kinds of naps."

"Princess Twilight!" Sunny exclaims.

"Hmm? Oh!" the purple Alicorn said sincerely, "Sunny, I'm so sorry about earlier."

"It's alright," the apricot mare said with a smile, "Besides! We're finally in Zephyr Heights!"

The former ruler of Equestria took a look around, nostalgia began to wash over her. "I remember this station," she lectures, "Ponies from all over Equestria would come here, to find a place to unwind and relax from the noise of the world. Heck, even I came here at some points during my days off from my rule."

"Hold on," Zipp said in shock, "You're Twilight Sparkle?!"

She turns around and took notice of Zipp and asks, "Oh! A new friend you made Sunny?"

The Earth Pony mare nods as she gave her the introduction, "Prince Zephyros of Zephyr Heights, meet Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Zipp bows his head in respect as Twilight said in her regal tone, "Rise my fellow pony." He does so, making the Princess giggle again, "It's been a while since I said that."

"Wow..." Zipp gasps, "I... I can't believe that it's you. I-I mean, it is you, like, I've read all of your accomplishments as a Princess and a Guardian!" He turned around mutters to himself, "I can't believe she's actually here, this is incredible!"

Shaking her head from the white Pegasus's reaction of seeing her, she then tells him, "I'm quite honored. It's good to know that there are some ponies that heard our stories.

As the Prince contains himself, he then asks, "So, it's true on what Sunny said then. All of the magic had been, how did you put it Sunny?"

"Sapped out?"

"Yeah, sapped out?" Twilight sighs with a sad nod for his answer. "But why?"

As Twilight looked at the murals, so much had happened and it only took one day for their enemy to arrive from the heavens itself. She took a deep breath as she looked at the three ponies and tell them, "My little ponies, I think it's time that you knew what really happened."

As the two stallions enter the city stealthily as they could, they found a safe spot to hide, where nopony could hear or find them for the time being. "Okay, we can't keep playing hide and seek with the Pegasi forever." Hitch said to the silver pony, "We need a disguise."

"Got you covered chief." The young stallion said to him, pulling out two velvet cloaks, one is a velvet blue, the other is a dark grey. "This should keep us hidden and blend in with the crowd for now."

The butter yellow stallion nods as he took the dark grey cloak and drapes it on his head and back, while the silver Earth Pony does the same with the velvet blue one. They wandered through the crowd, not a single Pegasi even acknowledge them, and none of them were the wiser.

"By the way," Hitch said to the stallion, "I never got your name.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been with us in Maretime Bay the whole time, and none of us ever knew your name.”

The young stallion sighs a chuckle as he tells him, “To be perfectly honest with you, I don’t really have a name.”

This caught Hitch by surprise. “You don’t have a name?”

“Nope.” The silver stallion told him, “I’ve gone through many names, but there’s never a name that I can truly be stuck with.”

The Sheriff gave it some thought, seeing him as a very strange outcast like Sunny, but very kind, and helpful, one name came to mind. “Argyle.” He said aloud.

“Pardon?”

“I was thinking Argyle.” Hitch proposed, “Argyle Silverline. You know, because you reminded me of Sunny’s dad and your mane and tail are a bright silver.”

The stallion gave it some thought, it does have a nice ring to it. “Argyle Silverline, eh?” He said, then chuckles again as he nods, “Alright. Argyle it is.” Now settled with his new name, Argyle gave himself a smile. “Heh, you know it’s funny,” he said to Hitch, “To think that we had separated ourselves from the other tribes, we’d forgotten where we came from, and what was our purpose through Unity.”

The sheriff nods in agreement as he said, “Well, you got the rumors to thank for that.”

“And where did the rumors come from I wonder?” Argyle said in a tone that the sheriff seemed to make him stop.

Hitch then had the voice to say, “You knew what happened back then… did you?”

This in turn caused the silver pony to stop himself, then turns to look at the butter yellow stallion. With a chuckling scoff, he then tells him, “Alright. You got me there. I mean, I’ve heard stories of what happened back then, but that’s where they were left as, stories. Besides, you’d have a hard time believing that kind of tale.”

Hitch cocks a brow and said, “Try me.”

“That eager, eh?” Argyle chuckled, then the both of them took a seat at a bench as he then says, “Hitch… let me tell you a tale. It’s a tale about broken friendships and deceit.”

Centuries ago, before Celestia and Luna ever came to Equestria, they were the embodiments of day and night, under the guidance of the Father of Alicorns Alcorvious, they raised and lower the sun and moon, training to one day be rulers of Skyros, the realm of the Alicorns.

However, they weren’t the only who have such control. They had four other siblings, known as the Elements of Nature. Luvios, the Alicorn of Water and the eldest son of Alcorvious.

Aerovad, the Wind Alicorn, and the master of storms.

The Earth Alicorn, Gaialum, who is said to embody nature itself.

And the most destructive one of all, Opaline, the Alicorn of Fire.

You mention about them before. What do they do?

Well, as they’re named, they are the representatives of nature. They’re recognized as graceful and benevolent beings of other mortals of other realms. They enjoy their praises and in turn, they would give gifts to the mortals. But one of the Alicorns, Opaline wanted more than just recognition.

What did she want?

She wanted to be known as the most powerful Alicorn in all of Skyros and she even demanded to the Father of Alicorns they they should be worshipped as gods, having them to kneel and beg, and acknowledge them as the superior race.

That wouldn’t be fair.

Try telling that to Opaline, lest you want to face her wrath. Now, of course, Alcorvious, he’s all about fairness, he doesn’t have the heart to be a cruel and relentless ruler, as many mortals consider him as the greatest and most powerful being in all of Skyros.

But Opaline wouldn’t hear the end of it and began to scheme behind her Father’s back. Before she could put it into action however, the Son of Darkness came, along with a being only known as the traitor.

Was it one of the Nature Alicorns?

That’s what they thought as well, and they still continue to search to this day. After the shattering of Skyros, all six Alicorns were sent flinging down Equestria, where Celestia and Luna set their reign, along with hiding away an artifact known as the Father’s Gem. They never really told me what it is or how it works when I became the new ruler. Even so, I wished it would’ve helped against Opaline when she started to invade from the shadows.

But why would she want to separate the three tribes?

She believed that if she caused a discord and placed wedges in between the tribes, it would make a much easier targets to steal their magic. However, in her bidding attempt to steal said magic, she failed.

My friends and I put a stop to Opaline’s plans and casted her to exile, never setting hoof on Equestria ever again… but we were too little, too late. The damage was done by Opaline’s lies, and everypony turned against one another. I felt so worthless and helpless, watching as my entire kingdom crumbled before my eyes. My friends however, weren’t willing to give up that easy.

To take all of the magic away from the three tribes, the Guardians created the Unity Crystals, made by the shards of the Elements of Harmony themselves. It worked… to a degree. Their magic was taken away, and Princess Twilight entrusted three of her friends to take their respective crystal and hide them away so nopony could ever use them for darker purposes.

While my friends hid away the crystals, remaining behind in their newfound homes, I received a vision of the one who could unite the tribes, the Prophecy’s Child. I searched everywhere in all of the books and research that I had, but nothing came up from the vision. I knew that there was something that I was missing, just that one nagging thing… that’s when it hit me.

If the Prophecy’s Child wasn’t of her time there… it would mean that the child would be born from the future. And so, she enlists the help from one of her closest allies, and sent them centuries to the future, where one day, the Prophecy’s child would be born.

“And that child is you Sunny.” Twilight finished.

The young Earth Pony mare's eyes went wide. "M-Me?" she whispered at first, "I-I'm the Prophecy's Child?"

"Well, it makes sense," Zipp tells her, "Where else would your magic come from?"

Sunny shook her head and she said, "But that doesn't make any sense! How is it possible that I'm the only pony in this generation to have magic?!"

The Princess shook her head as she explains, "That I'm so sure myself. I may be smart and wisest of my era, but even such a mystery requires a lot of research." She looks at the murals again as she continues on, "For now, we must find the other Unity Crystals before Opaline or anypony else take them for their own gains."

Sunny, after letting the new info sunk in and now motivated, spoke up, "Then we got to get the Pegasus Crystal." She looked at the white Pegasus and asks, "How do we get it?"

"That's the thing," He tells them, "We really can't. The crystal is attached to my mom's crown. She never takes it off."

“So what do we do then?” Sunny asked.

"I got it!" Zipp exclaimed. "Pipp's performing at tonight's royal celebration. All eyes will be on her, especially my mom's. She'll be distracted. So we just need to swap the real crown with a fake."

"And where are we going to get one at this time of day?" Sunny asked.

"Ooh, I can craft a decoy!" Izzy bounced. "But I will need a box of macaroni, a tube of glue, 14 gooey bunnies and three jellybeans. Oh, and glitter. Lots of glitter."

"I'll get the supplies," Zipp volunteered himself, before proceeding to lay out the foundation of their plan. "I'll pass them off to Sunny, and then she'll will give them to you. Once you produce the decoy, get your flanks to the palace. Everypony who's anypony will be there, so security will be tight. I'll distract them, so you can sneak in."

"Maximum sneaky," Izzy stated.

"You'll need to be stealthy," Zipp added. "Carefully make your way to the Grand Hall, but watch out for the guards. I'll open the door to the back stage of the Throne Room. Here's a map, so you don't get lost." He gave Sunny the map, having her stash it in her bag.

"Alright!" Izzy cheered.

"And once Pipp starts singing, my mom will be so caught up, that swapping the crowns will be easy-breezy."

"Easy-breezy," Sunny commented. "Sure..."

Chapter 5: Glowin' Up

Hours had passed since the group had come up with the plan, but now was the time to take action, they were all in elevator ready to execute the plan but the Elevator was moving a bit slow giving the group the chance to talk to each other.

Zipp smiled with confidence. “Alright are you guys ready!”

“You know," Sunny told him, "You could make a leader to a team. Always a planner and organizer, and finding other angles.”

Zipp smiled at her in return. "Thanks," He tells her, "but I think I'd rather take orders from somepony else, than just bossing ponies around.”

The Earth Pony mare flashed a smile toward the him, before realizing they were near the top. Once they got up, they prepared to move out. “Let’s hope this works.” Sunny whispered hopefully. The doors opened allowing Zipp to walk down the path, a bunch of other Pegasi were asking Zipp questions to which he ignored them and smirked while looking behind him.

Sunny and Izzy poked their heads out and looked left and right to make sure that it was safe to sneak across, when they realized it was safe they quickly darted out toward the right.

They climbed on top of a statue and looked down to see some guards, they quickly got down behind a hedge and peeked around the corner to see Zipp walk inside. They then made it through past the guards to the Grand Hall, where they saw two guards standing by with one of them on their phone.

They quickly hid under a table with accessories on top of it and quickly sneaked away from the guards, they ended following Zipp who opened a door to the backstage of the throne room, allowing the duo to quickly enter without being spotted.

Once they were behind the throne, they looked around the corner and noticed lot’s of pegasi around which made them nervous. “Well, now we just gotta get that crystal, and we’re home free!” Izzy exclaimed with excitement.

"Izzy, shh!" Sunny shushes her.

"Oops, sorry." Izzy whispered.

Sunny just shook her head with a smile. Of course, it wasn't her Unicorn friend's fault, she was just trying to be supportive. For now though, all they can do is wait.

As Zipp was leaning against the rail, contemplating what could go wrong and other alternatives would be at play, he heard his mother say, “I hear you payed our guests a little visit.”

Zipp, a little surprised, but at the same time not really, looked at her. He scoffs, "She told you, did she?"

"Oh, you know she tells me everything," Queen Haven replied, while she was working on powdering herself. "I wish you would tell me more. You're going to be king one day. You'll wear this crown. And trust me, it is heavier than it looks."

"I know, mom, I know." Zipp said with a nod as he leans on the rail again, "It's just... frustrating to say the least."

"Of being king?"

"No, of lying to the other Pegasi. Seriously, how do you believe we're going to keep up with this charade?"

"Honey," Haven turns to look at him, "why would you want to disrupt things?"

“Cause it’s a lie, and it's wrong!” Zipp exclaimed with frustration.

Haven was still disappointed in Zipp. “It makes them feel safe."

"Safe?!" He asked, now it was his turn to feel disappointed, "How is lying to them about our flying makes them feel safe?! When you married Dad, was he a royal? No! He never was! And he was a better pony than any other pony should be! Even when he went through all of this, he felt so stupid lying to our people!"

Queen Haven replied with a huffed sigh, placing her forehoof on his cheek, "Oh, honey, one day you'll understand."

Zipp, completely upset with her elongated brainwashed queen his mother had become, gently taking her hoof off of him, remarking her, "I completely understand everything. It's you who doesn't get it." As he went towards the door, he stops and sighed, "Sometimes I wished Dad was still here."

He then left the room, passing by his sister as she was practicing her melody, only to get a scowling glance from him. Looking on at the upset stallion, she then looks at Haven and asks, "What's wrong with Zipp?"

The queen sighed and told her while shaking her head solemnly, "He's just misses your father, sweetheart." She looked at the pink Pegasus and then asked her, "You ready?"

"Yep. The audience is going to love me~!" She tells her in a sing songy tone.

The dusty lilac Pegasus kissed her daughter's forehead as she says, "I know they will. As will I."

Zephyr Heights Throne Room

The entire room went dark with the pegasi looking upwards stuck in awe, music started to play for everyone to hear. Haven and Zipp were lowered down for everyone to see.

“Remember to smile.” Haven said with a smile, making the prince just scoff in disgust.

"Yeah..." Zipp retorts quietly, "Because that's all we do."

They took their seats and the lights went dark. Zipp looked at the right side to get a peak behind his mother's throne, seeing both Sunny and Izzy, ready to make their move. Just as Zipp had said, his sister, Pipp, made a grand entrance above her adoring fans, as she proceeded to sing, and "fly" to further captivate the audience. All eyes were all on Pipp's performance, including Queen Haven's. Though, even the light purple Unicorn couldn't help but whistle as she bopped her head to the rhythm of Pipp's singing.

"Wow, she's got nice sets of pipes!" Izzy commented.

"Psst, Izzy!" Sunny whispers to her, getting her attention. As Izzy was giving her friend support, Sunny managed to change the queen’s crown with no problem, she looked at Zipp who looked back at her and they both nodded. They started sneaking away from the throne.

As they got to the door, both mares were caught off guard by a familiar face. "Sunny!" Hitch exclaims, only for said mare to shut the door in his face, but a painful yelp could be heard as her foalhood friend's forehoof was wedged in the door.

"You alright?" A male's voiced asked.

Sunny's ears twitched as she opened the door again to see in a double take surprise that it wasn't just Hitch that followed her and Izzy, it was the silver stallion back from Maretime Bay. As the two mares went out the door and closed it quietly, the apricot mare then asked them in a panic, "What are you doing here?!"

Hitch looks at his friend and tells her, shaking his forehoof through the pain, "I went through all the trouble of finding and warning you, and you go slam a door on me?!"

"I was trying to escape with the Pegasus Crystal!" She stops and asks curiously, "W-wait, warn me? About what?"

"Aerovad," Argyle explained, "He's coming to here to destroy you."

Sunny's eyes went wide as she exclaims, "WHAT?!" Her eyes went wide, realizing that she just shouted, she covered her mouth with her forehooves. And this was going so well! she thought to herself.

"We need to get you out of here, now." Hitch told her.

"Wait!" Sunny said to him, "We need to get Zipp! He has to know too!"

Suddenly, they heard, "AH!!! INTRUDER!!!" A Pegasus ran out through the door and accidently bumped into Sunny, who knocked off her glasses. Now noticing the Earth Ponies and Izzy, the Pegasus then exclaimed, "AH!!! IT'S THE PRISONERS AND THEIR COMRADES!!! WE'RE BEING INVADED!!!"

"Oh, great.." Hitch said with a deadpan tone.

"Where are my glasses?" Sunny asked as she slowly got up.

Izzy picked them up and said, "Here."

Sunny thankfully took them and placed them back on and said, "I really got to stop getting myself in situations that involve losing my glasses."

Before the escape could continue, the spotlights began to flicker out of control, interrupting Princess Pipp's performance.

“What the…” Pipp asked herself.

All the spotlights pointed at the single black cloaked figure. Looking through the opened door, Argyle whispered, "No... It's him... Aerovad."

"Good evening mares and gentlecolts." The emerald green Alicorn greets in a somewhat regal manner, "I hate to interrupt tonight's entertainment, but unfortunately, I'm looking for somepony. Somepony, quote on quote, 'special,' and I know you're keeping her away from my eyes."

Pipp continued to stare in confusion as she kept her wings 'flapping'. “What is happening?”

Aerovad looked up at the pink Pegasus Princess and tells her, seemingly impatient, "What is happening, Princess, is I'm on a pony hunt, and eliminate her from existence."

Queen Haven got up from her throne and she told him cautiously, "I'm sorry to inform you, but no such pony of another tribe had come through here. And even as such, hunting another pony is extreme forbidden. You're only wasting time here for a pointless hunt."

The Alicorn wasn't having it as he turns his head towards the control panel, firing a translucent green arrow-like spell at it, causing Pipp to start flying all over the place while screaming. The group and the rest of the Pegasi to look up in shock.

"Pipp!" Zipp exclaims as Pipp continued to zoom around before finally stopping, hanging upside down for all to see the wires, this caused a commotion to start as all of the Pegasi gasped and jeered.

“She’s a fake!” One exclaimed. “Fake!” Many more yelled which caused terror to fill Pipp’s face. Pictures were being taken as well.

"Ah... the truth hurts, doesn't it Princess?" Aerovad asked menacingly as he began to take off his black cloak, revealing a set of metallic green, black, and silver armor, his horn and wings ignited with elemental energy, scaring the Pegasi in attendance. He walks towards with his horn forming a cutlass-like blade. He then looks at the queen and threatens her, "Now, tell me where the Earth Pony is, or your precious daughter won't have her wings for an eternity."

Everyone gasps.

Izzy tells them, "We gotta get them out of here!"

"How?!" Hitch asked, "We don't have any magic of any kind! We don't know how to even fight this guy!"

Sunny was thinking any plans that could get the Pegasi out safely, but then she heard, "I'll distract him."

They turn to Argyle in shock and Hitch insists, "No way! That guy'll tear you apart by the moment he sees you!"

"Then I'll improvise." He shrugs as he went to the door.

"Be careful, uh..." Sunny said, but stutters, then she remembers, "I'm sorry, you never told us your name."

The silver pony looked at the apricot mare, giving her a friendly smile as he said, "My name is Argyle Silverline." Her eyes went wide from hearing the name, and without saying another word, the silver pony went to the throne room. She and the others leaned by the doorframe as they watch Argyle, pulling the hood of his cloak down.

“Start talking!” The emerald green Alicorn demanded, “Where is the Prophecy’s Child!?”

“If you’re looking for her,” Argyle shouts through the crowd, getting everyone’s attention towards him, “You’re found the wrong place to find her.”

Aerovad moved his horn away from the frightened Princess, and slowly and cautiously walked towards the silver stallion. Upon his inspection of said stallion, he then said, “You… don’t look like any pony that I’ve seen before. Either you’re really brave to face a god like myself… or you’re really foolish.”

“Or maybe I’m not stupid for defending what I believe.” Argyle tells him boldly, as he took off his cloak, unveiling himself to everypony in attendance that another Earth Pony is here. They backed away from him in fright. He sighed in disappointment and tells the Alicorn, “Your sister had caused quite mess centuries ago, didn’t she? All of these… rumors. Rumors about the three tribes blaming and shunning each other for who they are.”

“In case you’ve forgotten,” Aerovad retorts, “We Alicorns of Nature only observe. We don’t set off a chain reaction such as this. This was only a work of a mortal like yourself to make that choice.”

“If it was a pointless argument between the three tribes,” the silver pony questions, “how and why isn’t it possible for the Guardians of Harmony to reform the tribes trust?” He gave him an all knowing smirk as he reveals the answer, “Opaline was the source of that problem, and you kept the truth hidden.”

Now all eyes were gazed back upon the Alicorn as he went silent for a moment. Then… his lips curved into a wicked smile, “You’re clever than I’d give you credit for.” More gasps were softly heard as he continues on, “Yes, Opaline was the reason why the tribes split. She had every intention to seek power for herself… but I specifically told her to only separate them to find the Prophecy’s Child. She will pay dearly with her life for her act of treason.”

“That’s all you’d really do, isn’t it?” Argyle asked, “You, the master of storms rather take a life, innocent or not. You don’t care who gets hurt, you just do this to satisfy your goals.”

The green Alicorn chuckles uncaringly, “You say it as if was a trait of mine.”

“Because it’s true, isn’t it?” Sunny asked as she came on the stage, the Pegasi gasped at the sight of her, Izzy and Hitch, but she wasn’t bothered by it as she was more focused on Aerovad, “You allowed and permitted Opaline to spread these lies about the tribes in a negative way. I was told that Opaline had done all of that to seek power… but to hear you talk about how everypony’s lives doesn’t matter to you. How could you be so cruel?!”

“Ah…” Aerovad said, his smile grew wider, “So the Prophecy’s Child comes out of hiding at last.”

“If you want her, you’re going to have to go through me!” Izzy proclaims as she stood by her friend’s side.

“And me!” Hitch joins, staying close to his foalhood friend as possible defensively.

The Alicorn laughs, “You two? What could you possibly do against me? I have control of the wind, and you have nothing.”

“We might not have our magic,” Zipp spoke up as he joins the mares and sheriff, “But if there’s one thing they have what you, and your siblings lack centuries ago, is Unity. My father told me that there’s always a possibility that the three tribes can reunite again, and here we are.” He looks at Queen Haven and proudly proclaims, “And if anypony else tells us otherwise, we will find a way to prove them wrong.”

“Lord Aerovad,” Argyle boldly concludes as he stood by the group, “You kept listen to the wind so much, you’ve forgotten about the currents that help guides it with Nature itself.”

Aerovad just scoffs and retorts, “You are very unbearably naive.”

“Well…” the silver pony said, seemingly lost in thought for a second as a smile curved on his lips, “I was given a name just today.”

Aerovad has heard enough and unleashed a powerful blast of magic act the group towards them, causing the everypony to look away, expecting the impact… but it never came. Sunny was the first to look, her expression had shifted in awe. “The Unity Crystals!” She exclaims excitedly. Floating right in front of them are the Earth Pony and Pegasus crystals, forming a shield of white glowing energy, surrounding the group.

“That…” the green Alicorn stutters, “That’s not possible!”

“Yeah, why don’t you return to your master and tell them this,” Hitch warns him, “As long as we live and breathe, the Champions of Unity will always be there to those in need.”

The Alicorn growls at them, “This… is not yet over Child! Do you hear me?! I will not hesitate to destroy you and your friends the next time I see you! You will never beat against the wind! NEVER!!!” He then ascended and shot a blast of magic at the ceiling, soaring through the night in retreat.

The Pegasi all looked at the group for a moment and they started gossiping.

"They drove that Alicorn back!"

"They saved us!"

"Their magic protected us!"

Then a little Pegasus foal cheers, "Hip hip hooray for the Champions of Unity!"

"HIP HIP HOORAY!!"

"HIP HIP HOORAY!!"

"HIP HIP HOORAY!!"

The crowd cheers for them as their chant continued. Nopony in the group, newly named the Champions of Unity, couldn't believe it, let alone Sunny. She never gotten such praise before, all she and her friends did was stand up to an insane Alicorn with a tyrannical and cynical pursuit of his conquest, without any magic, and drove him away from the realm of the Pegasi, given a heroic name in the process.

Queen Haven couldn't believe it either. All of those fairytale, all of those stories of Ancient Equestria... it was all real. She couldn't find the words as she got up from the marble floor. Haven found her voice as she stutters, “Y-you… you really did saved us.”

The group looked at her, they were just as amazed as they were. Izzy piped up and said, “Well, yeah we did! That’s what heroes do!” Then she looks at Sunny and asks, “Do they?”

“Uh, a little help please?” Pipp asked, sounding embarrassed.

Fifteen minutes later

It took a while to calm the crowd and convince the guards to not arrest the royals, thanks to Sunny's negotiations, and after clearing out the throne room to make sure further discussions were held behind closed door. Haven sighed as she starts, "I must thank you four again for protecting my subjects. To think that the three tribes had lived in this lie, caused by Alicorns out of all ponies."

“It’ll get worse if Aerovad, or any of his siblings, decide to go after the Unity Crystals.” Argyle tells them.

“He’s right,” Hitch tells Sunny, placing his hoof on her shoulder, “He won’t stop hunting you until you’re truly gone. We need to get you somewhere safe.”

Sunny took the Earth Pony and Pegasus crystals out from her bag, putting them together as they did when they formed that magical shield not too long ago. She let out a sigh to herself. On the one hoof, they were right. Aerovad is one of the most powerful Alicorns, and the journey will continue to get difficult for them if they keep going forward. On the other hoof however, this was her choice to leave Maretime Bay and achieve her father’s dream of Unity. If she wasn’t going to, then who would?

She placed her hoof on top of Hitch’s as she tells him, “Hitch, we’ve came this far. What good will hiding me do for everypony? He can trace my magic whenever I trigger my Alicorn form… if I can ever figure it out how that works.” She stood up and continued on, “Besides, you said so yourself: As long as we live and breathe, the Champions of Unity will always be there to those in need.”

“Yeah!” Izzy exclaims, “Besides, there’s one more Crystal we need to get!”

“And two more tribes to unite,” Argyle tells them, “If the Crystals are indeed going to work, we’re going to need everypony’s cooperation, and Sunny’s negotiations.”

Sunny’s ears went flat and was about to say something, but they were interrupted by the Pegasus Princess, "Can somepony explain why those things are so important that you had to ruin my whole show over it?"

“Really Pipp?” Zipp asked annoyed, “Now?”

“Yes! Now!” She retorts, pointing to him, “You left me hanging there in the spotlight, now everypony knows we can’t fly! And I had to be saved by them!”

Her brother just looked at her irritated, but tries to keep his calm and says, “Pipp, I was in shock. We all were. You saw the spell bolt that Aerovad shot. Plus, he’s an Alicorn.”

“That doesn’t excuse you for you to recover from shock and stand with-with them!”

“I had to show the Pegasi that we can stand in Unity with the other races, showing them that we were wrong about them.”

“So you would choose to side with strangers over your own family!?”

“I SIDED WITH THEM BECAUSE I’M SICK OF LIVING THIS LIE AND BEING UNFAIR TO OUR PEOPLE!” Zipp snapped, having enough of his sister’s think headedness, “Living in fear doesn’t keep us safe! It keeps hurting us without our flight!” He shook his head as he continued, “I can’t believe that of all days that I would have to say this in front of you, but I’m sick of living this life where I have to wear a crown where’s built on lies. You want that crown? You can have it!”

Zipp storms off out of the throne room, and his mother thought she saw a tear or two streaming down his eye. Everyone in the room was silent for a moment.

The queen rubbed the side of her head, almost having a migraine from the argument. A part of her hoof touched her crown.

“I can’t believe that he just yelled at me!” Pipp broke the silence, clearly irritated.

Haven took off her crown and gave it a look at it and sighed, “Perhaps he was right…”

“Huh?” Pipp asked.

“Zipp and your father told me that one day it was going to bite us in the flank.” Queen Haven then looked at the thrones that she and her children sat upon daily as she continues, “When I took the throne after my mother died, I thought nothing could ruin our family tradition… but then came in your father. Kind, understanding, caring… but when he found out about our fake flight, being such a detective he is, he wanted me to come clean. I told him that it kept us all safe, but he then told me the same thing Zipp told me tonight.” She looked at the crown, it’s metallic reflection of her as a tear as she began to cry, “Oh, my beloved Horizon… what have I done?”

The Earth Ponies, the Unicorn, and the celebrity Pegasus could only watch in sympathy. Sunny went to the queen and placed her hoof on her shoulder as she said, “It isn’t too late. You can still lead the Pegasi, but we all need to work together in Unity in order for that to happen. Once we return magic to Equestria, you’ll be able to fly again, without the use of wires or lights. My dad had a huge hope for Unity to happen. I believe your husband wanted the same thing.”

The dusty lilac Pegasus looked at her, gave it some thought. She nodded to the young Earth Pony mare and tells her, “You’re right… you’re absolutely right.” She looked at her daughter, who also now wore an apologetic look on her face. “Go check on your brother, please.”

Pipp nods and left the room.

Haven rose to her hooves as she looked at the group and said to them, “I think it is time that the Pegasi to stop living this life of fear. If it is Unity that you want Ms. Starscout, then that is what you shall have.”

Sunny’s eyes went wide. “Y-you mean it?!” She asked excitedly.

“As long as I have my wings, and prayed for the day when magic returns, I sincerely mean it.” She told her.

She turns to her friends, a joyous look on her face. She ran to them and hugged them as tightly as she could. Argyle, who wasn’t in the embracement group, replies to them, “It took us centuries, but it was worth it. And so the path of Unity begins.”

Pipp went to the door that led to her brother’s room, who she could hear him sobbing from the other side. She felt guilty about everything that happened today, especially when she doubted him for years. She began to knock on his door and says, “Zipp? Can I talk to you?”

“Go away!” A muffled shout from his brother could be heard.

“Zipp, please?” She asks again, “I know you don’t want to see me, and if you still don’t, that’s fine. I just want you hear this from me.” She took a deep breath and began to tell him, “I’m so sorry. Okay? I know it might not be good enough for you to hear me say that after all these years, but I really am. I’m sorry that I drive you crazy. I’m sorry that I had to make your life hard that it was already. I’m sorry that every time when I go out do my performances that I don’t give you any credit. I’m sorry for being a terrible sister! I’m-“ The door opened as they looked at each other. Zipp wanted to say something, but this only allowed Pipp to continue on, tears streaming down her eyes, “I’m really sorry, Zipp… I really am…”

Without saying a word, her brother wrapped his forelegs and wings around the both of them, allowing the light pink Princess to bury her face into his chest. He rested his chin on top of her head and said quietly, “I’m sorry too.”

Chapter 6: Sparkles and Crystals

As the group prepared themselves to leave Zephyr Heights, they looked back at the brother/sister Pegasi duo, embracing their mother goodbye, reminding them to come home safe when the journey is over. As they took their saddlebags and left the front gate, the Pegasi cheers for their heroes for a safe travel as well, hoping their Champion's mission succeeds.

As they do so however, if they were observant enough, they would've spotted two black cloaked figures above a rock formation. The two Alicorns watch as the six ponies leave the city, Gaialum couldn't help but vent her frustrations. "We should've stopped him." She tells Luvios, "We should've told him to back off, but you chose to let him go and cause havoc!"

"As I told you before Gaialum," the blue masked Alicorn said calmly, "It was his choice to reject the master's commands. Aerovad won't stop until the Prophecy's Child's story comes to an early end."

"But over a child?" She asked, "She doesn't full control of her powers! He's needs to stop and let things take their own course like the wind itself."

Luvios shook his head and reminds her, "He is the wind dear sister." He looks at the morning horizon, "He goes wherever, and whenever he wants. This is his choice." Gaialum wasn't hearing the end of it, she unfurls her wings and was about to take off. "Are you going to defy the master as well?"

"If it means to keep my brother away from harm, then yes!" Gaialum said coldly, she flew as fast as she could.

Far from sight, the blue masked Alicorn could only sigh, "Shame."

It was close to night. Hitch tried to get a spark from rubbing two sticks together, only to groan in frustration. "Gah! It wasn't this hard during colt scouts!" He exclaims, throwing his forehooves up in irritation.

"Here, let me try something," Sunny said as Hitch voluntarily moved out of her way to work her own magic. She licked her hooves together, as if they were flints, creating sparks that ignited a fire.

"Whoa!" Everyone excluding Hitch and Argyle exclaimed.

"How did you do that?" Pipp asked in awe.

"Oh," she said in nostalgia, "It's just a trick my dad once showed me, when he and I went camping together."

"A camping trick, eh?" The Pegasus Prince asked, "How do you do it?"

"Well, you click your hooves together like this, to make a spark." She explains as she demonstrates to them, creating a spark from her hooves, which accidentally got Argyle's light grey saddlebag.

“Ms. Starscout, please be careful!” Silverline exclaims as he quickly grabbed his bag and tries to brush off the sparks.

“Oh gosh! I’m so sorry!” Sunny yelps, trying to help him brush away the sparks. The silver pony shook his head, muttering under his breath which no one could hear what he said. Upon close examination, the apricot mare compliments about the bag, “That is an interesting bag you got with you.”

“Ah, it’s a one of a kind Sunny,” he tells her with a proud smile.

“One of a kind?”

“Quite.” Argyle answers, “This bag holds a lot of things that I need.” This got a lot of ponies in the group confused, which proceeds to explain further, asking Hitch, “Do you remember the cloaks I brought out?” The sheriff nods, allowing the silver stallion to continue, “This bag holds a magical property within in it. As you can see, there’s nothing inside the bag.” He opens it and shows the bag, and, true to his word, it is completely empty. “But,” he continues on, as if he’s professional business pony, he began to place his right forehoof in the bag and pulled out a water bottle.

The group was stunned by him pulling out the water bottle out of the bag.

“Wait a second. There was nothing in it.” Pipp said in amazement, looking at the bag’s interior.

“Never judge thing by their appearance Ms. Petals,” Silverline wisely tells her, “Even carpet bag, I’m sure I never do.”

“Fascinating,” Pipp Petals commented, continued to be in awe.

Izzy could tell that Argyle he took pride in his belonging, then she said, “Huh, you don’t have a sparkle Argyle.”

“Sparkle?” Both Argyle and Pipp ask.

“Yeah, sparkles!” Izzy began to lecture. “It’s that special light inside of every pony, that shows your feeling! And the happier you get, the brighter it shines!” She turned to Pipp as she follows up, “And your sparkle is aquamarine.”

“My sparkle is aquamarine?” Pipp gasped. “That's, like, my sixth favorite color!”

“Your sixth favorite color?” Zipp asked. “What are the other five then, pray tell?”

“Well, my natural pink is one,” Pipp began. “The violet color in my hair is second. The green colors of my eyes are third. And the colors in your wings are the fourth and fifth.”

“The colors in my wings?” The Pegasus Prince asked, looking genuinely surprised. “You actually liked them?”

“Of course, Zipp!” Pipp replied. “Didn’t mother ever tell you that you have the most beautiful wings any pegasi have ever seen? Even I envied them! All I ever wanted was to see you flapping them more often!”

He gave her a smirk, “Maybe you’ll get to see more of it once we get everypony’s magic back.”

Just hearing that made Izzy’s ears go flat. Sunny then took notice. "What's wrong Izzy?" Sunny asked.

Looking up, Izzy began, "It's just that...being with you ponies has been the best thing that's ever happened to me. I guess I just don't want our adventure to end."

“Who says that it will?” Argyle asked with a smirk of his own. Both Izzy and Sunny looked at him confused, as he continues on, “Once you give magic back to Equestria, there’s much to do afterwards, like many other mysteries waiting to be solved, many other places to explore, maybe learning a friendship lesson or two along the way…” he shrugs with a chuckle, “Shall I go on?”

“Nah, I think I got it.” Izzy told him with a cheery smile.

The silver stallion gave her a nod in understanding. Hitch then spoke up, “Speaking of journeys, Why did you come to Maretime Bay Izzy?”

"I always wanted to visit," Izzy began. "When I was a filly, I found this pretty lantern. It had a message inside,” Reaching into her mane, Izzy pulled out the worn out piece of paper. “It says I have friends in Maretime Bay!" Upon seeing the message, Sunny was in shock, which didn't go unnoticed for the light purple unicorn. "What’s wrong? Why are you looking at..." Upon coming to an epiphany, Izzy followed Sunny's gaze to the old paper, then back to the awestruck mare. "No...way..." a realization finally dawned on her as Izzy exclaimed, "It was you!"

Sunny nodded as she took the drawing and explained, “I made it with my dad. We always promised each other that someday we would prove that all ponies were meant to be friends. We'll do our part. Hoof to heart.” Everyone smiled at the words that had been spoken.

“I want to do my part.” Hitch said, making Sunny smile even more and the group, except for Argyle, cheers. “Besides, I have a huge promise to keep. I have to admit a Unicorn forest does sound kind of magical.” He expressed with optimism.

“Well,” Zipp spoke up, a yawn escaped his lips, “If we are going to Bridlewood, we better get some sleep.”

They agreed and got themselves situated in their sleeping bags, all except for Sunny who said, “You guys go ahead. There’s something that I need to do.”

As the apricot mare went away from the group, Pipp then a thought come into her mind. “Y’know this whole adventure we’ve been on feels strange considering everything that’s happened so far.” Pipp giggled causing the others to giggle.

Sunny continued towards the edge of the cliff near where Hitch tried to light a fire, she sat down overlooking the view of the land she had never seen in her life. Readjusting her glasses up on the bridge of her nose, she took the wooden pendant and summoned Twilight.

As she was materialized, the purple Alicorn looked at the young mare. “Are you alright Sunny?” She asked, then she took notice of where they are and looked at the campsite, “Why are you not getting rest?”

The apricot Earth Pony took a deep breath and began to explain, “I’ve been having a lot of thoughts on some things Princess.”

“About what?”

“Well… before I awakened my powers, there was a mare’s voice.”

This piqued Twilight’s curiosity. “A voice?” She asked.

Sunny nods as she continues on, “I thought it was yours at the time, but that couldn’t be you. She sounded younger, I think.”

The purple Alicorn placed her hoof on her chin in thought. “That almost sounded like you’re talking about-“ she stops herself, which caught Sunny’s attention, “No… no that couldn’t be possible.”

“Princess?”

Twilight sighs as she shook her head, unsure as to how to answer. “Whoever it was,” she tells her, “She seemed to have helped you awaken your Alicorn powers. For what purpose, that remains to be seen.” She looks at the campsite, then back at Sunny with a kind smile as she advices, “For now, you should get some sleep.”

“But-“

“I know that you have a lot of questions,” Twilight stops Sunny with a titter, “but those questions will unfortunately have to wait. You need your sleep Sunny, your friends will worry if you don’t get enough rest, you’ll end up like what happened with me.”

“What happened?”

“Used pancakes as a pillow one time.”

“O-oh!” Sunny giggled from her hero’s answer, “Well then, I wish you goodnight then.”

“Goodnight.” Twilight repeats as she was brought back into the medallion.

Sunny sighs with a smile on her face as she looked up at the moon as she said to herself, “Our dream’s going to come true dad. We’re so close. I hope I’m making you proud up there, and mom too.” She returns back to the campsite and got in her sleeping bag, closing her eyes and entering herself to the world of dreams.

As Sunny opened her eyes she could see that she was no longer at the campsite, but somewhere else… somewhere that she can’t identify. Looking above her, the sky itself seems to be like an encasing of crystal, even the ground she’s been laying on was as well. Everything was crystal.

“H-Hello?” She calls out, her voice echoes throughout the strange realm, “Is somepony here?”

She looked around, but there wasn’t anyone there in sight, not a Earth Pony, Unicorn, or Pegasus in sight. This made the apricot mare on edge, as she took cautionary steps forward on the plane. Every step she took, the clop of her hooves also seem to echo. Looking around the realm, it’s like as if it isn’t moving as she walks. Her heartbeat was increasing, like as if something was going to jump out at her at any minute.

…

“AH!” Sunny yelps as she jumped to turn around, looking behind her as she suddenly felt like she was touched by her shoulder. Then she heard somepony giggling. “W-Who’s there?” She asked, looking around.

Taking slow backward steps, the apricot mare watches for any sign of movement around the realm. When she doesn’t see anything, she turns around and was suddenly tackle by something, knocking her glasses off, and summersaulting backwards with such force, ending up on her back as four hooves were on top of her chest and barrel.

“Ugh…” she groans, her eyes squinting, “Even in dreams too?”

She then heard somepony, “Maybe you should consider putting a strap on your glasses so they don’t go flying.” That… that voice. It’s the same voice she heard when she was spinning out of control and activating her Alicorn powers for the first time. “Speaking of…” she continued as she give Sunny her eyewear.

Putting them on, her sight returned to be greeted by a friendly smiling Alicorn mare made out of crystals. Sunny’s mouth was agape in shock. The crystal pony giggled, “You ponies always make the silliest of faces whenever you meet a Princess, you know that?” She got off of the surprised apricot mare and helped her up with her magic.

“I-It’s you.” She said, almost sounding hushed, then returns to normal, “You were the voice I heard!”

“Hehe, this isn’t the first time we met, you know.” Sunny looked at her confused. The crystal pony looked at her in the same manner, but with a addition of sadness, “Wait… You don’t remember?”

Sunny shook her head and said, “If I did, I would’ve remembered your name.”

Then it was the crystal mare’s turn to shake her head, “B-but you have to remember! You were the one who saved me!”

“I did?”

“Yes!” The crystal pony answers as she nods, “And I can prove it too!”

The mysterious mare’s horn glows brightly, creating a crystal replica of Sunny when she was a filly, she was asleep in the same position when she first woke up here, the area around them began to turn dark. Filly Sunny stirred awake to hear the crying. The image then start to look at her older self, that’s when Sunny herself turned around and noticed the same mare, only this time she was sitting on her haunches, crying.

Sunny saw her younger self walk up to the crystal pony and asks, “Are you okay?”

The crystal mare looks behind her, looking at the young Sunny. “Who… who are you?” she asked the little filly, “How did you get here? Nopony should’ve been able to find me… unless…” the crystal mare suddenly felt hope and asks, “Did she sent you here?!”

“Who did?”

“My Q7h583k %28o8ty5 W0q4io3Z, was she the one who sent you?!”

The filly shook her head no, the hope on the crystal pony’s face slowly fell, but then the young Sunny said, “But I’ve heard about her in stories. My daddy told me all about her.”

The crystal mare’s ears perked up. “H-he did?” This made the filly nod her head. “Did… did he said some stories about me? Or my family? Anypony at all?”

“What’s your name?” The filly asked curiously.

“Oh. I’m so sorry, I never said, did I?” She said as she stood up on her hooves, giving her a bow as she introduces herself, “My name is D.i4eh Ywzt5 the V4txyqk {4u6v3ax.”

The filly gasps in excitement, “You’re the V4txyqk {4u6v3ax?! Whoa! You’re really real!” The mare giggled a little, but then she suddenly gasps, placing her forehoof to her lips. “W-What? Did I say something wrong?”

The crystal pony looked down at the black as she said, “It… it’s been so long… since I felt some form of comfort… what’s like to smile…” she looked around the pitch blackness of the realm they stand on.

“Why were you crying?” Filly Sunny asked the crystal pony.

The mare looked at little pony and said, “I’ve been wandering here for so long. The darkness was the only thing that I’ve been seeing… and I’ve been walking around here endlessly, waiting for something, at least a glimmer of light to shine through. No matter how hard I tried, there was no warmth… no love… no feeling. I miss them…”

“Isn’t there anything I can do?” The filly asks her.

The crystal pony looked at her, telling her, “I’m… not sure what you can do.”

The filly then said, “How about this?” She went up to the crystal alicorn and gave her a hug, which caught the mare off guard, feeling rather warm from the embrace. She felt something that was ripped away from her, something she hasn’t felt in a long time. Hope.

The crystal pony returns the gesture by wrapping her forelegs around the young Sunny as a bright light engulfed the black void, turning it to the same crystalline plane the young mare found herself in when she first came here. The ponies looked around and were amazed.

“Better?” The filly asked.

The crystal pony looked at the little pony, giving her a kind smile. She then asks her, “Would you mind we stay like this until you wake up?”

“Sure. If it makes you happy.”

She sighed happily, “Thank you.”

As Sunny watched the tender moment pass, she looked at the crystal pony who was watching with her, her lips curved into a solemn smile. “You didn’t came back after you woke up from the dream realm,” the crystal pony explained, “But that warm feeling when we embraced, it never went away.” She looked at her and told her, “I remembered that warm feeling, and it gave me hope. Hope that I would return to Equestria one day.”

Sunny had so many questions, as she then said, “It’s strange. I’m starting to remember that moment… but… I can’t remember your name.” The crystal pony sighed from the outcome, but then she heard her say, “But, I know, deep down, somewhere in my memories, your name is somewhere, I just need to keep searching.” The crystal pony lifted her head up and looked at her friend. Sunny then could feel a warm feeling… the sun must be rising. “Oh… I guess it’s time for me to wake up again.”

“W-Wait!” The crystal pony exclaims before she left, “You didn’t tell me your name.”

Sunny looked at her surprised, but then turned to a smile as she said, “Sunny. Sunny Starscout. And don’t worry, I’ll come back. I promise.”

The crystal pony then exclaims as Sunny was lifted away to wake up, “Please do! Please remember me!”

As she woke up, she could feel the morning sun hit her face, it’s warmth blanketing her. As she got up, she realized that she is the first one up. She picked up her glasses and puts them on, her vision became clear. As she looked at the direction where Bridlewood is, she thought to herself, I’ll remember you. I promise.

Chapter 7: Fit Right In

“Come on! My place isn’t, far from here.” Izzy encouraged, Sunny began walking immediately, her excitement was beyond anything she could’ve imagine. She was going into Unicorn territory. The others hesitated before obliging. They all walked through into a dark part of the woods, Izzy and Sunny were ahead while the others followed closely behind.

They eventually look forward to see a house covered by the sun with the colours of the leaves popping brightly, “Welp, here we are guys.” Izzy announced before opening the door. “La Vila Izzy.” Everyone walked in and were in amazement of the sight they saw. From colored glass stained windows, to little figurines.

Sheriff Hitch looked at a portrait of colorful macaronis, and was startled when the eyes turned to look at him. Sunny Starscout cranked the lever of an instrumental object, with colorful glass bottles hanging by strings, that played a familiar tune, courtesy of spatulas and spoons attached to the roller.

Izzy was mesmerized at a colorful butterfly chandelier she made, when Zipp came up to her. "Did you make all this?" Zipp asked.

"Yup!" Izzy nodded. "Unicycling. Isn't it funky?"

“Unicycling?” Argyle asked in curiosity, looking at a strange telescope, “Wouldn’t it just be called Unicorn Recycling?”

“Yeah, but it was kind of a mouthful,” Izzy explains, “So I thought I’d combine the two words together, and ta-da! Unicycling!”

"It is gorgeous~" Pipp sang, flapping her wings.

"I also make friendship bracelets!" Izzy chirped, holding a bowl of bracelets up to her friends, before she exclaimed. "Wait, wait! Watch this! Hold everything!" With an excited yelp, Izzy dashed off to the side, before she wheeled in a large, flower contraption. "I've never gotten to use this with actual friends!"

With an excited giggle, and a touch of button, the flower suddenly sprang open to reveal a tea pot in the center, with tea cups on the edge of every petals.

"Ta-daaaa!" Izzy sang, much to her friends' astonishment.

“Izzy, what was that noise?” A female’s voice asked from the second level, this made everypony freeze in shock, albeit Argyle was just surprised.

“Oh! Uhh,” Izzy looked at the others and whispers to them, “Quick! Hide!” She returns to her calling voice, “N-Nopony important Misty!” The question became for everypony was formed of one: Where?!

“Izzy.” The female, identified as Misty warns her, “What’s going on?” They looked, everyone horrified by what her reaction was going to be, while Izzy had a much nervous reaction.

From atop of the curved staircase was Misty, who is a slender, sky-blue-coated female unicorn, having freckles on her cheeks and her fetlocks, insides of her ears, as well as her chest to her stomach, being colored in a lavender-pink. She possesses mint-green eyes, small yet fluttery-like eyelashes, hale-navy eyebrows, grayish-purple hooves, as well as a two-tone purple and hot pink mane and tail with noticeable tips of coral-orange, with her mane being swooped to her right side with three cornrows on the left side of her scalp. As per her pony type, she possesses a long, bumpy horn with a sky-blue and lavender-pink gradient, complete with a pattern of pink swirls around it. Her cutie mark consists of a butterfly with its body colored in a coral-pink, with its dark purple and magenta-pink wings having magenta and coral-pink spots.

Misty was in shock, but then calmly and collectively asks as she walked down the stairs, “Elizabeth Moonbow… am I seeing three Earth Ponies and two Pegasi. Here. In this house?”

“Uhhhh…” The light purple Unicorn trails off, then said, “Maaaaybe?”

“IZZY! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!” Misty rushes at her and grabbed by shoulders, shaking her in a panic, “WHY ARE THEY HERE?!”

“Misty relax,” Izzy reassured her, “They’re here to help get our magic back.”

“Get our mag- Have you gone crazy?!” Misty asked her, “How can three small brained Earth Ponies, and two brutish Pegasi are going to help?! You know how dangerous they are!”

“Actually,” Argyle explains to her calmly, “You, and the rest of your tribe, and our respective tribes, were fooled for centuries.”

“Fooled?” Misty asked him nervously, “W-what do you mean?”

“Two Alicorns were the ones responsible for the segregation of the tribes,” Sunny added, “One wanted to take the magic of everypony, and the other wanted,” she gulped at the last sentence, not even sure how to tell her, “to hunt down the Prophecy’s child… m-meaning me.”

Misty was incredible shock, she sat on her haunches and shook her head, “No… no, there is no way an Alicorn could be responsible. I-If that were true, then they would’ve have magic on them, which is impossible!”

“Not really.” Pipp tells her, as she pulled out her phone and played a video of Aerovad, threatening her and everypony of his hunt, and his admittance of his role he played.

They also gave the sky blue Unicorn mare an explanation of Twilight’s creation of the Unity Crystals, why Opaline wanted everypony’s magic, why Aerovad wanted Sunny gone, and more. Misty was incredible shock. “So, let me see if I got the whole story right,” Misty recaps, “You’re here because some mad Alicorn is after you, just because you’re trying reform peace with three tribes?” The ponies nodded yes. “And in order to do that, you need the Unicorn Crystal and the tribe itself to unite with the other tribes, so magic can come back?”

“Pretty much our adventure in a nutshell, yes.” Hitch said casually.

There was an awkward silence that lasted for a moment or two, then Misty said, “As much I want to believe it, this whole entire thing sounds crazy.”

“Believe me,” Zipp tells her, “Neither of us wanted to believe it either, yet here we are.”

For the most part, Misty nodded her head a couple of times, there seemed to parts of their story that adds up, but there are some parts that didn’t add up, when she turns to Sunny and asks, “But if that Alicorn, Aerovad, wanted you gone, why doesn’t the other Alicorns just intervene? Y’know, convince him that you’re just trying to live your life at one moment at a time?”

Sunny shook her head and said, “I really don’t know.”

“Well, wherever they are,” the Pegasus Prince said, “They’re doing a poor job of stopping him.”

Argyle then said, “As much as I want to theorize on such a topic, we need to focus on finding the Unicorn Crystal.”

The others, excluding Misty, nodded as Sunny said, “Right. Izzy, you’re good at making things. Does that include disguises?”

Izzy answers cheerfully, “Honey you came to right cottage.”

Later, after the five younger ponies were outfitted with fake unicorn horns, and cloaks for Pipp and Zipp to hide their wings, the seven heroes were back on the road, into a more colorful part of Bridlewoods.

“Y’know, I gotta admit,” Zipp said looking at the cloak Izzy made, “For a pony of creativity, you know how to make an impression.”

“I know, right?” Pipp agreed with her brother, “These cloaks makes us look fabulous~!”

“Alright, enough prattle,” Argyle tells them, “We got a crystal to find.”

“Follow us,” Misty said as they left Izzy’s cottage, but then warns them, “And please try to act casual.”

They all nodded and it was back on the road once more.

A few minutes later they came across a bit of crystals, Izzy began running up to them. “Ta-da Crystals, Crystals, Crystals, Crystals!”

“She does know we’re looking for just the one, right?” Zipp joked. Izzy continued saying crystals until the town was revealed. They all began walking in noticing all of the depressed Unicorns.

One was getting hit in head by apples repeatedly. “Ow. Ow.” A few foals were playing with horseshoes while two other Unicorns spoke in a deadpanned tone. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

There were also three foals on a playground bored out of their minds.

“Well, this is cheerful.” Hitch said concerned, looking around.

“These other unicorns seem so different than you.” Sunny pointed out.

Izzy responded. “Yeah, I get that a lot, my sparkle is a little to sparkly for Bridlewood.”

This made Hitch express a curious look. “How can you tell which ones are magic?” Hitch asked, all of a sudden the foal on the swing perked up and pointed at Hitch.

“Oooh, you said a bad word. Hurry before we get jinxed.” The other two foals stood up before doing a chant. They stretched themselves backwards before making a raspberry noise, and then they jumped around while doing the chant. “Bing Bong, Bing Bong, Bing Bong, Bing Bong.” This caused confusion to go amongst the group.

Argyle broke the awkward silence saying, "Did they seriously just said Bing Bong? What am I, a Changeling?"

“Unicorns are very superstitious, if a pony ever says a forbidden word we have to a ritual to ward off the jinxies.” Misty whispered.

“Jinxies?” Pipp questioned.

“Bad luck.” Izzy continued.

"Hah!" Argyle laughed, shaking his head, "Bad luck. Please, if there's one thing that is bad and if anything I'd learned from this adventure, it's bad timing."

"Any, um, 'forbidden words,' we should avoid saying?" Sunny questions.

Misty began to list off, "Magic, wing, feather...

"Oh, and mayonnaise." Izzy whispers.

"May-OOF!" Misty quickly silenced Sunny's mouth.

"What's wrong with may-" Hitch also received the same treatment from Izzy.

"Ah-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da!" Izzy shook her head, just as several unicorns stood petrified for a moment, before they continued on their way.

Once the coast was clear, Izzy uncovered Hitch's mouth, "Come on! There's something I want to show you."

"Forbidden words?" Sunny asked the two male Earth Ponies.

"Don't ask me," Argyle said as they continued on walking, "I mean, look at the current state Equestria's in so far: Earth Ponies building machines for pointless defenses, Pegasi on wires made from I'm assuming telephone pole prototypes, and now Unicorns are Bing Bonging everyone who says 'magic' all the time."

"Bing bong!" A random unicorn said.

Slightly annoyed, Argyle said casually, "I'm sorry, but if hay hits the fan, I'm going to hit Saddle Arabia."

After the awkward tension, the heroes at last arrived at a building, with a sign that reads:

"The Crystal Tea Room?" Sunny read.

"There's a pony inside who collects crystals," Izzy explained. "Maybe he could help us."

"That's great, Izzy!" Sunny leaned over towards the sheriff. "Oh, and guys?"

Hitch replies, "We know, we know." he was then joined by Zipp and Argyle, "No forbidden words in the teahouse."

Upon entering inside they saw a bunch of depressed unicorns, with one Unicorn up on a stage singing. They then found a certain, but unusual thin Unicorn on a table by himself, arranging and rearranging the different colored crystals, muttering to himself. His blue and purple streaky mane was untidy and frizzled like a wild flame, grey ashy circles around his amber eyes, along with more ash marks on his candle white pelt and fetlocks. He wore brass goggles on top of his head with three different sizes of magnifying glasses. His cutie mark consists of a waxy crystal with a tear drop flame on top of it.

Izzy caught notice with an excited gasp and whispered, “That’s him! That's the pony I was talking about!”

"Who is he?" Zipp asked.

Their answer was given as the white Unicorn stallion caught sight of the seven ponies and waves at them, urging them to go over the strange stallion's table. Izzy was the first one there and hugs him. "Ahh, my little Izzy Bee," He said joyfully, after the let go of the embrace looked at her, "You were gone for two days my niece, no note, no nothing."

"I left a note in the fridge Uncle Lampwick." Izzy told him shaking her head.

"Oh," He said with a embarrassed blush, "so that's why the lettuce in my daffodil sandwich was so papery yesterday." Both Unicorns giggled, then he took notice of the sky blue Unicorn, "Ah, I see that you've brought Mistina Brightdawn and some other guests! Come come! Have a seat!"

The sky blue mare then tells the him, "J-Just Misty, Mr. Lampwick."

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Lampwick.”

“Ah, the pleasure is all mine.” Lampwick said to Sunny as the others took a seat, “So, what brought you to our humble abode? Assuming that you have rubies to trade for any items of importance?”

“Actually,” Hitch explains to wacky maned stallion, “We’re here on a very important mission.”

“That being?” Lampwick took a sip of his beverage, being tea.

Sunny then whispers to him, “To bring magic back.” Like a geyser, he does a spit-take, aimed at the apricot mare’s face and glasses. To her dismay, she mutters to herself as she took off her glasses, cleaning them, “And I thought that this whole adventure wasn’t going to involve my glasses.”

“Bring-Bring back the M-word back?!” Lampwick whispered back in shock, “But that’s impossible!”

“Not probable,” Izzy corrects him, “We found two of the Unity Crystals, and we gotten the Pegasus tribe to agree to unite the tribes!” Sunny partially opened her bag to show the white Unicorn, and the look on his face was in absolute stunning shock.

“Well, I’ll be Faust darned,” he quietly said, “They truly do exist.” He then turned to his niece and said to her, “Well, it seems that once again your parents had proven me wrong, my Izzy Bee… and I owe your father a hundred bits.”

“Wait,” Zipp said, “Izzy, your dad was studying the Unity Crystals?”

“Uh-huh!” She confirms, “My dad is a Lumi-seer, and he’s been dreaming of leaving Bridlewood and wanting to track those crystals. But, because of little ol’ me, he had to take care of me. He left since when I was seven, he told me that he was placing his trust in my Uncle to watch over me until he comes back.”

Lampwick shook his head as he somberly said, “Haven’t seen him come home since then. Poor Moonarrow, I hope he’s been doing alright.”

They each gave the niece and uncle duo looks of sympathy, Sunny being the one who could mostly relate to her friend. “Your dad sounds a lot like mine,” Sunny tells her light purple Unicorn friend, “My dad was so into Ancient Equestria’s lore, he even made class lessons in our school where I go to. Then he… suddenly just collapsed on the floor due to a heart attack.” Now all eyes were on her, Hitch saddened having to listen this tale again, while the others were either surprised, shocked, or sympathetic as she continues on, “I didn’t understand what was going on. He was perfectly healthy. I still miss him, even to this day.”

Lampwick, feeling the same pit feeling the apricot mare had in her stomach, looked to her and said, “Little missy, I’m sure your father was a great pony in your eyes, and I can see why.” She looked at him as he continues, “You have an amazing gift for learning and how much of a leader you’ve inspired your friends to be.”

The grateful look on the Earth Pony mare’s face was more than enough encouragement to lift her spirits. Suddenly, they heard, “Time's up! Pass it over, Jasper." With a defeated sigh, 'Jasper' handed over the puzzle cube, which the large unicorn quickly solved in the blink of an eye.

This drawers the heroes' attention to a bar table, where they see a large, heavyset unicorn with a medium gray coat and dark gray hooves. He has a wispy white mane and tail, bushy eyebrows, sideburns, and a beard. He has freckles on his cheeks, and brown eyes. His cutie mark is a teapot.

"Oh, no," Izzy moaned in horror.

“What’s wrong?” Sunny asked.

Misty explains, “That’s my dad, Alphabittle.”

“You’re dad?" Sunny asked.

The sky blue pony nods as she continues on explaining, “He’s been like this ever since his dad stepped down as the tribe’s chief. He’s also very good at puzzle, and I mean, very good, especially in chess. That’s how he came to win that.” She points at the trophy on a shelf, behind him. There, the six of the seven heroes spotted a beautiful blue crystal, shaped exactly like the one, from the stained glass portrait, back in Zephyr Heights.

"There it is!" Sunny pointed, before she exclaimed.

Pipp wonders in a whisper, “But this Alphabittle guy seems tough. How can we beat this guy?”

Argyle stood up and was about to head to the gray Unicorn’s table, but Sunny asked in a hushed tone, “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to offer a challenge for him to play against one of you.”

Sunny shook her head. "You should let me take a shot at him. I can try and solve that puzzle cube."

“No offense,” He teases her, “But I unfortunately think that your poker face may need some work. I saw it when we were confronting Aerovad.” The Earth Pony mare was clearly not amused by that remark, but then her friend tells her, “Look, just let me set up a game where he could be at his weakest. My plan is absolutely fool proof.”

"Fine,” Sunny sighed, then asks, “but at least let me be in on the action... please?” She gave him the pleading eyes with her head tilted to the side.

The silver pony chuckled while he shook his head, “Aww, how can I say no to a determined face like that?

"Wait," Izzy stopped both Argyle and Sunny, to advise, "Alphabittle can smell fear."

“What?” The silver stallion chuckled in disbelief, “Aerovad showed off devastating powers that could carry you away with strong gusts of wind, and that didn’t bother you, but an old stallion is scary?”

“Argyle if he wins, we lose all of the crystals.” Pipp pointed out.

"I got this," The silver pony replied to Izzy, then he looks at the apricot mare, reminding her, "Be cool, and let me do the talking.” Sunny nods and follows him to the table the tribe’s chief sits at. They both took a seat as Argyle starts the conversation with the gray stallion, “You must be quite the game player, I see."

"It passes the time," Alphabittle shrugged. "Why? Do you play?"

“Played some, won some, lost some, drew some,” Argyle admits, then two little armadillo-mice squeaks at him, he then orders, “Dragon tea, strong.” They hurried along, passing along a porcelain tea cup, a strong scent of Dragon tea lingered, causing the apricot mare’s eyes to water and taking her glasses off.

“Ugh… how can you handle that?” Sunny asked him.

"Is that so?" Alphabittle asked the silver pony.

He nods as he adds, “I also heard you were quite the chessboard hustler.” He chuckles before adding, “You know, I’m something of a chess player myself.”

Alphabittle raised a brow as he asks, “Are you?”

“Quite.” Argyle nods, “Especially Crystal Chess.”

“Ah…” the gray stallion seemed intrigued, “Crystal Chess? Never heard of it.”

The young stallion chuckled with shake of his head, “I thought you haven’t. It was a very old Equestrian chess game,” he paused for a moment to take a sip of his tea, “Ahh… strong… just how I like it.” He looks at the gray stallion as he adds, “I even have somepony who’s creative enough to play it.”

“Really?” Alphabittle asked, “And who would that be?”

“Izzy Moonbow.”

Just as Argyle said that, light purple Unicorn choked and coughed on her tea she was drinking. Even the Champions of Unity, Lampwick, and the rest of the Unicorns in the teahouse in shock, with the music stopping.

“Izzy you say?” Alphabittle asked with a look of suspicion on his face, he looks at the semi-composed Unicorn mare, who gave him a nervous giggled and wave.

“With that in mind,” Argyle continues with a confident smile, “I want Izzy challenge you to a match of Crystal Chess,” pointed to the Unicorn crystal, sitting behind Alphabittle on the shelf, “for that."

"You think Izzy can beat me?" The gray elder stallion scoffed.

With that same cocky smile, the silver pony said, "Only way to find out is to play."

"Big talk for a little pony."

“It’s not about you got or have, it’s what you do with it that makes you the master of the game.”

Sunny pulled him aside as she hurriedly tells Alphabittle, “Uhh, give us a moment, please?” She pulls him over back to their table and slapped him upside to the back of his head and asks in a hushed tone, “Have you gone crazy?!”

“I don’t know any game called Crystal Chess!” Izzy argues in the same tone as Sunny’s.

“Which is why I will explain it to the both of you so you’d understand the game.” He tells them, rubbing the back of his head where the apricot Earth Pony hit him.

“You’re taking a big gamble here,” The Pegasus Prince reminds him, “Are you sure you think this is a good idea?”

“Trust me.” Argyle reassured.

"Izzy," Alphabittle called. "If your friend is finished stalling, do we have a deal?"

The light purple Unicorn looked at silver stallion, who mouthed the same words, Trust me, she looked at Alphabittle, taking a deep breath and said, “Deal.”

Chapter 9: A Truth Comes to Light

As she regains consciousness, Gaialum's vision returned to her as she noticed that the mask was no longer over her earthy green eyes. Looking at her right, she could see the Sunny, Zipp, and Izzy keeping an eye on her. Her focus was more on the apricot mare as she said groggily, "You... You're the Prophecy’s Child."

"So I was told," Sunny said, a little nervous as she rubs the back of her head, "You're not... Opaline, are you?"

"Opaline?" Gaialum asked surprised, "No, Opaline is my sister. I've take it that you've also encountered my brother, Aerovad."

"Hold up, your brother?" Zipp asked surprised, "There is like... no resemblance between you two."

The golden yellow Alicorn giggled weakly, "Us Alicorns can lead complicated lives... I just wish it didn't resort to violence..."

Sunny then realized something upon closer examination of the armor she wears. She then concluded, "Then you must Gaialum, one of the four Alicorns of Nature!"

"I am..." She tells them somberly "and I will not be soon, I'm afraid..."

Izzy looked confused and said, "Aren't you one right now?"

Gaialum giggled, "Such innocence shines within you." She rests her head back on the pillow with a sad sigh, "Unfortunately, I'm too late to remove the poison that resides within my brother's dagger."

"Poison?" Zipp asks.

"It's a very special kind for immortals that needed to be brought down in case they try to bring malice and destruction of the mortal realm," Gaialum explained, "and Aerovad had many clever uses for it."

"Like the time that he used it against Grogar's older brother, Glogar?"

"The very same." She replies Sunny, "But it was also used for another purpose."

The three ponies looked at each other confused for a moment, but Sunny made a horrifying realization. "I-It was meant for me..."

Gaialum nods, but then said something that Sunny wouldn't believe, "And he took away your father because of his vengeance."

Now the three ponies were gasping shock. "Wh-what?" Sunny whispered.

The golden yellow mare shook her head with another sigh amd begun her tale.

I was tending to a garden that needed my help. My brother Luvios would help tend it. He was a kind and giving Alicorn, but all of that changed when Aerovad came in interrupting our duty.

He came to us and said, "My siblings, I've tracked down the beast that was destroying the trees in White Tail Woods. I tried to bring it down, but it's scales are too rough to pierce through just using my spell bolts. What I need is a dagger powerful enough to bring it down."

Luvios and I volunteered to help him create the blade. When we went along with him, we saw then enormous beast, stronger than a dragon and faster than a Pegasi.

We stopped it together... but after that, Aerovad went off somewhere alone.

When we came back to the garden... we felt something was amiss... and it was when I knew our brother had committed something horrible.

I went to confront him and I demanded to know what did he do. He then admitted to me, "The Prophecy’s Child's father is dead."

"Had I know that was Aerovad's intentions..." Gaialum said somberly and apologetically, "I could've stopped him... I'm so sorry my child..."

Sunny was in a bottle of charged emotions, she could barely speak. Izzy took notice of her friend and asks, “Sunny?”

The apricot mare began to scream at the Alicorn as her horn and wings began to materialize, but instead of the golden hue it had before, it was now dark red, “WHY?! WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP HIM?!” Both Zipp and Izzy tries pry away from Gaialum, but Sunny was somehow stronger than the two ponies as the apricot Earth Pony loomed over her as she continues to scream, “MY FATHER IS DEAD BECAUSE OF HIM!! WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP HIM?! HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?!”

“Had I known, I would have!” Gaialum defended herself.

“That’s doesn’t explain why you didn’t go out and went after him! You could’ve saved my dad, but you stayed at your garden AND DID NOTHING!!” The pendant glows and Princess Twilight appears, using her magic to pry Sunny away from the golden yellow Alicorn. Sunny stops from her sudden blind rage and looked at her glowing wings as they disappeared. “I… No, I didn’t… P-Princess I-” she stops as Twilight raised her right forehoof, telling her enough.

Izzy could see that Sunny’s luminescence had changed color… no, two different colors, a mixture of red and blue. That never happened before… but then again, it would make sense given the circumstances. “Izzy,” Twilight instructs the light purple Unicorn, “Please comfort her, while I talk to our injured friend.” Izzy nods as she and Zipp escorts their friend out of the room and away from the scene.

“You… consider me as a friend?” Gaialum asked the Alicorn ghost, “Why?”

“Because you’re not like the others I’ve encountered like Opaline and Aerovad.” Twilight explained as she sat on her haunches, “But that does leave me a curious question as to why. Why didn’t you follow your siblings?”

Gaialum sighs, giving herself a moment to reflect on that day. She then tells her, “Nature is a mysterious thing like magic. It can be controlled, and at the same time there are things you can’t control. Sometimes I prefer to let things run their course, but on those days… those, I regret not stepping from preventing disaster. Luvios told me it was for the better to just forget about it and move on… but when Aerovad took that filly’s father’s life, I felt sick to my core. And to hear him admitting to it like as if he was proud of what he had done and yet not satisfied, I felt betrayed. Opaline with her lust for power, Aerovad for his hunt, and Luvios for not stepping in, I was done letting myself getting caught in this web of deceit and hurt.”

Twilight nods as she looked at the dagger wound Gaialum had sustained and can’t help, but feel sympathetic towards the golden yellow Alicorn. She had been through many battle against many powerful foe like Tirek, the Storm King, King Sombra, she could go on, but to see her own brother to fall from grace and give in to temptation of a hunt for Sunny, it was heartbreaking and disappointing.

“Twilight,” Gaialum says to her, “I… I need you to do something for me. Can you fulfill it?”

Twilight looked quite perplex and asks, “Why me? I can’t really do much other than advise and console others as a spirit.”

“That’s why I am here.” The golden yellow mare explains, “My spirit within this body is slowly fading, but yours is stronger. I made my body a special case for any spirit to be reborn through here.” She then took out a small item from her pouch to reveal to some sort of seed. She continues on, “I told my brother Luvios that when I die, I would like my spirit to be transferred in to this seed here, so I can heal and finally rest. I wasn’t able to find somepony to take this body for a good cause… until now.”

“You want me to possess your body?!”

“It is the only way that this body can live on.” She tells Twilight, “You can help your subjects and your Champions to be guided to the right direction.” She lended her other forehoof as she says, “Take my hoof.”

The purple Alicorn was hesitant at first. Was she really going to go through with this? To live in another’s body? Bright side was that she no longer have to continue ‘recharging,’ herself within the pendant and would continue to guide Equestria to a new era, but on the other, it would mean that would make her a target for many enemies, old and new. There were times in her age that she wished that she wouldn’t live the life she had, being a ruler of Equestria… but if Princess Celestia has faith that she made the right choice of having her as her successor, then she will answer the call.

“One last time,” she said to herself as she place her forehoof on Gaialum’s, transferring herself to her new body, and to her surprise, the cut from the dagger was healing, but she could also feel everything again, including Gaialum’s spirit transferring to the seed.

“Oh, and Twilight?” Gaialum pleads, “Please save my siblings. They don’t deserve this cruel fates they placed themselves in.”

As a smokey yellow hue envelope both mares, it changed to purple and began to fade. Twilight was no longer a spirit. She opened her amethyst eyes looking at her body as Gaialum’s armor’s colors had change with it’s shades of magenta, violet, and crystal blue, even the mask had changed… but it was a mask no longer, for it became a crown. A crown design she had recognized, for it took on the design of her Element of Harmony, the Element of Magic.

Looking at the seed in her forehoof, she held it closely to her chest as she said to herself, “Equestria is in a need of guidance. I’ll do whatever it takes to help lead my fellow ponies to a better future.” With that promise set in motion, she places the seed in the pouch and went outside.

She could see that Izzy was doing everything she can to comfort her friend. As all three ponies looked at the Princess, somehow reborn, Zipp and Izzy were in shock. Sunny wasn't, and she asked her, "Why would it choose me?"

Twilight just shook her head and tells her, "There are some things we can't explain Sunny. You weren't asked to be Prophecy's Child, and I understand where you're coming from. I didn't ask to be the Element of Harmony, or be a successor to Equestria's throne, nor did I wanted to."

Sunny sighed as she faced her back towards her hero. She then said, "Maybe I better off everypony just stayed away from me."

"WHAT?!" Zipp and Izzy were shocked to hear their friend say such a thing, so was Twilight.

"Sunny, what are you talking about?" Izzy asked her, sitting next to her, "You're the reason why we're on this journey in the first place! I wanted to have new friends that is beyond just Bridlewood, and I have them, you, Zipp, Pipp, and Hitch! You’re just going throw all of that away now?"

"It would've been better if you didn't get involved!" Sunny retorts, "I don't want everypony to suffer or die beacuse some deranged maniac wants me dead!"

"What, and let him do it to you?" Zipp questions her, "Sunny, you are the best thing that could ever happen to our lives right now. If you haven't gone to Zephyr Heights, you wouldn't have proven Aerovad that in Unity, we are stronger together."

Sunny was in shock to hear his words, and tries to argue again, but Twilight steps in as she said, "I've made many mistakes before Sunny, but one thing I regretted saying to one of my closest friends was that I was better without my friends. How wrong I was saying it to them. If I could travel back to that point, I would tell my younger self how wrong she was, I would."

The apricot mare's ears flattened with head hung, then she heard her mentor say, "I understand what you're going through Sunny. You're thinking to yourself that you don't deserve any of this in the truth of what happened to your father, you just want this magic to be gone from your own body. Believing that you are not a good leader. Such an act can't be done, even if you wanted to. But fret not, your friends will help you learn how to control your powers."

Zipp and Izzy nodded in agreement as the light purple Unicorn added, "Besides, I always wanted a study buddy of my own."

"And I could have a flight partner with me, if my sister's too busy with her celebrity events." Zipp offers. Sunny looked at them in surprise at first, but then it shifts a heartwarming smile as she embraces her friends.

Twilight witness the friendship that strengthened between the three ponies, a smile formed across her lips, a memory of when she had her friends by her side flooded in her mind. Though, something about this scene with Sunny and her friends reminder her about of another event, even the apricot mare seemed familiar to her. Could she be...? No, not possible. She wouldn't even be here if that were the case. But without wasting any time, she walks past them, remembering that she has a promise to keep with Gaialum.

The three took notice and Sunny was the first to ask, "Princess Twilight? Where are you going?"

"Aerovad is still out there hunting for you." She explains to them, "I will draw him away and put a stop to him for good."

"Hold on, alone?"

"The risk may be great Prince Zipp," She tells him, "I know his capablilities, but he never knew about mine." She unfurls her wings and a bright shimmering flash of colors appeared on her wings, which caught everyone by surprise. "Oh!" She exclaims, "My rainbow wings! I haven't had these since I've visted Hope Hollow! How fitting actually."

The Earth Pony mare looked at the purple Alicorn in worry and tells her, "Come back to us, okay?"

The Princess gave her a reassured look and tells her, "I will, I promise." Without any delay, she spreads out her wings ann launches herself up to the sky and dashes towards the one place where she can end the conflict between her young friends and the mad Alicorn... home. She shot a powerful spell towards her and it spirals into a portal, having her go through it.

"So, what're all saying is true then?" Alphabittle asked the seven ponies after he watched the video that Pipp showed him, "That green Alicorn, he's the reason why we have none of… that at all?"

"And many other reasons," The Pegasus Prince told him, "He and another Alicorn name Opaline divided us. They're the reason why we got stuck in this mess."

Alphabittle looked at his daughter first, who gave him a nod, confirming on what they said to them. He took a deep breath and said, "Alright. I believe you. Not firmly, but I do believe you." That earned the other ponies a nod, but then he asks, "But that begs the question, how do you plan to give everypony their mag... their M-word back?"

Sunny could tell he wanted to say 'Magic,' but of course, he didn't want to jinx himself if that the other Unicorns caught ear of the word. "We're going to use these crystals and the agreement of the three tribes to bring back magic to Equestria. I know you might not like the idea, but look at what happened centuries ago. We need to stay united and face whatever evil will come to us and try to tear us apart."

"Imagine how many happy Unicorns will be to have that back Alphabittle! Dad would agree." Izzy urges the gray stallion excitedly.

"I don't deny it would be great to have it back, Ms. Moonbow," Alphabittle tells her, "but if the unification of the three tribes do happen, you do know the risks you're willing to take?"

"We do," the apricot mare tells them, "That's why we have to do that to put an end to Aerovad and Opaline's reign of terror."

The gray stallion gave it some thought for a few seconds, then he remembers something, then looks at Lampwick and asks, "Mr. Lampwick, did you and your brother kept those hot air balloons in your shed from years back?"

Both Izzy and Lampwick excitedly gasp from the question and the waxy white Unicorn tells him, "Yes sir, I still do!"

Sunny got equally excited when they mentioned hot air ballons and squeals, "Hot air ballons?! I've always wanted to ride one!"

"Well, it's beginning too look like we're going to get our firsthoof experience." Zipp tells her with a playful nudge.

"H-hold up, we're going to ride those?"

"Yep." Pipp confirms to Misty, then out of concern she follows up, "Why? Are you scared of heights?"

"U-Uh... Kind of." She explains, "The last time Izzy and I used the hot air balloons was when we were little fillies. It was calming at first, but then the wind got wacky all of a sudden. I got really scared, and we've shelved those back in the shed."

Izzy nodded and said, "Yeah, I remembered that. You wouldn't come out from your room for the past few weeks."

"Lucky you," Argyle said, "You got us now to keep things under control."

"Hooray, heheh, great." She said meekly.

As Lampwick pulled back the drapes, three huge wicker baskets. From left to right there was a beach tan, spring green, and winter blue. The balloons them selves were draped on a banister also different colors. From left there is a magenta balloon with purple swirls and accents, the middle is a sunshine red and yellow, and on the right is a pink and blue swirl striped one. Despite the colorful designs however, they seemed to be

"Come on, everypony," Sunny said confidently, "We got work to do."

Without any time to waste, they got to work on the balloons, sewing up patches on the envelopes on the balloons thanks to Izzy's creative sewing skills, reworking the burners and propellers, much of the workings of the hot air balloons needed.

As they worked however, Sunny noticed one pony is absent. She looked at the silver stallion, seemingly reluctant at the doorway. She went to the stallion and asked him, "Argyle? Are you alright?"

He took notice of the apricot mare and sighed, "Not really."

"What's wrong?"

"Well, giving how this part of your journey's nearing it's end," he explains, almost sounding somberly, "I unfortunately cannot be anymore useful in this sense."

Sunny was confused. "What do you mean?" She asked him.

"It means my adventure with you has already come to an end." He tells her, making her eyes go wide. "And before you try to convince me that you need me... you honestly really don't. I've seen what you and the others are capable of." He nudges his head, asking to follow her. She does so as the silver stallion continues on, "Your quest is to unite Ponykind. Mine is to fulfill a promise I made to an old friend."

Sunny couldn't help but want to tell him to stay with them. He was an important member of their journey in the first place. "You know you're an amazing pony to be with Argyle." She said to him, "A pony that we can call a friend. You shouldn't be so dismissive in your role helping us."

Argyle chuckled in disbelief for a second and asks, "You consider me as a friend?"

"Why not?" She says, "Everything that led up to this point, you were an outcast like me..." She looks at Izzy and Zipp, two ponies that defied the 'norm' of this generation, then she looks at Hitch, Pipp, and Misty, three ponies who were trapped from the clutches of their own shadow needed a little nudge to break free from it. "We all were in our own way. In fact, if you haven't gone with Hitch in the first place, I don't think any of this would've worked."

"It could have," Argyle said nonchalantly as he shrugged his shoulders, "or it couldn't. The future is an uncertainty. One thing I do know though is that your future, and theirs, will shape it the way you couldn't even imagine."

Sunny looked at her silver friend and then asks, "What about you?"

He chuckles and said, "Well... That's something for me to find out for myself." The two ponies looked at each other, the apricot mare just gave him a sad smile with a tear streaming down her cheek. “Hey, just because I’m saying goodbye know, that doesn’t mean you won’t be seeing me again. So, don’t cry just because I’m leaving. Just smile because I’m still here, wherever I am.”

Sunny could barely hold herself together and gave him a hug. This is the second ‘Argyle,’ she had to say goodbye to. Sure, Argyle Silverline may be leaving, and it may not hit her the hardest as her father’s death… but in her heart, she felt like it was playing that scene again. As she let him go and rubbed her eyes to wipe away the tears. “Can you promise me something Argyle?” She asks.

“Anything.” He said.

“Wherever you are, you’ll do your part, from hoof to heart.”

His eyebrows were raised at first, then gave himself a chuckle. He then looks out at the horizon and gave himself a small smile. "Yeah... I'll do that. From hoof to heart." Sunny pulls him in for a hug, the silver stallion was taken off-guard for a second, but he returns the embrace with a smile. After a few seconds, they let each other go and Argyle went on his way. He then turns to look at Sunny one more time as he then says, "Until then, I bid you a fairly fond farewell." He bows his head and then went on his way on the trail that lead them into Bridlewood. As he leaves, Sunny could hear the silver earth pony humming to himself... a familiar tune she knew all to well.

"Where's he going?" Her foalhood friend asked him, catching Sunny's attention as she looked at the sheriff.

She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders as said, "Don't know. But I know we'll see him again."

"Wait, he's leaving?"

Sunny nods as she says with a sad smile, "It's a path he's heading on his own. His role is done."

"What was his role?" She didn't answer him for a few seconds, probing Hitch to ask her again, "Sunny? What was his role?"

"He said he guided us to where we needed to be." She answered him, and without any further words, she went back in to help out their friends with the balloons.

Hitch took a moment to look at the direction where Argyle left, taking in a sigh while showing sad expression on his face. But then, he shook his head and calls out, “Argyle, hold on!” This caught the silver stallion’s attention as the sheriff catches up to him. He stops right in front of him and tells the silver earth pony, “You can’t just up leave us.”

Argyle chuckled as he shook his head, “Like I told your friend sheriff, you don’t need me to be the guiding hoof. This is something that you Unicorns, Pegasi, and Terrans have to do on your own.”

“You mean Earth Ponies?” Hitch asked.

“Well, that’s what we were called eons ago.” The silver stallion explained in a matter of fact tone, “You should pass that on to Sunny. She’d be surprised by such info.”

“But-”

“Fret not Hitch,” Argyle cuts him off, putting up his forehoof, “You’ll see me again very soon. Until then, keep your friends safe and save the world.” He turned around and took his leave once more, humming a little tune.

Hitch stares on as the young stallion wonders to who knows where, giving out a sigh as he says, “Until we do meet again.”

As they get the hot air balloons ready for lift off, Izzy and Misty gave their respective elders a hug as Alphabittle warns the two unicorn mares, “You two come back safely to us.”

“We will dad,” Misty tells him.

Sunny looked at Misty and couldn’t help but feel a tinge of hurt of the sight of the two Unicorns. Oh, how the universe had been unkind to her and her father. All they wanted was to unite the three tribes, but the set of circumstances, through her eyes, was unjust. Her father, Argyle Starbright, shot down by a misguided Alicorn. Her society, wanted her shunned only because she has mystical powers beyond her understanding. Yet, through all of this, she has her foalhood friend and new ones that she can be dependent on.

Wish you were here right now dad, The apricot mare thought to herself as she looks up at the sky, You’d loved them. They’re helping us accomplish our dream together. Just one more tribe. Our tribe.

“Hey.” Zipp says, shaking Sunny out of her thoughts making her look at the Pegasus Prince, “You okay?”

She nods and said, “Just… nervous.”

“About reuniting the three pony races?” Sunny nods again to the white Pegasus’s question. He couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, “Don’t worry. I’m just as nervous as you are. But hey,” He took her hoof and guides it to her heart, “We’re doing our part together, and I know we will succeed. We just got to have faith.”

She looks at her friends who are boarding on their respective hot air balloons, to which Hitch calls out, “Hey! As much as I love the scenery here too, we gotta go!”

As Zipp went to the craft, rolling his irises, the apricot mare closed her eyes and quietly tells herself, “From hoof to heart.” Taking one more deep breath, she smiles to herself and hurries to the balloons. Before stepping on, Alphabittle stops her with a request.

“I know how dangerous this Aerovad guy is, but please, make sure he stays away from them,” he sighs before continuing, “The last thing I want to lose them both. See that they get home safely.”

She nods and tells him, “I will Alphabittle. I promise.” She lends her hoof for a shake, which the elder Unicorn takes firmly.

“I can see why your father and Izzy’s wants to make this happen, and now you’re finally going to achieve this.”

“We all have a part to play sir,” Sunny tells him, “And we’ll do it, from hoof to heart.” She then hurries to the hot air balloon where Hitch is stationed at, untying the rope and casts off to the sky, heading to Maretime Bay immediately.

Alphabittle, watching to balloons taking off, said to himself quietly, “Please, old friend, watch over them.”

Chapter 10: Close to Home

Misty was leaned forward against the basket, looking below at the ground. She got a little nervous. The last time she and her friend went on a hot air balloon ride, they nearly crashed into a tree. Had Lampwick not been there to get the fillies out in time, injuries and severe consequences would’ve follow suit.

Izzy took notice of Misty’s nervousness and asks, “Am I going too high for you?” The sky blue mare turns to look at her friend and shook her head no, trying to put up a brave face. Izzy shrugs and says, “Okay, but if you want, I can lower it a little.”

“Thanks, but I this is good enough.”

The lavender Unicorn nods as she adjusts the thruster and went to Misty’s side, letting out a sigh, “Isn’t the scenery beautiful?”

The sky blue Unicorn nodded in agreement as she leans against rim of the basket. “You’re very lucky, you know?”

“Excuse me?”

“Getting the chance to make friends outside of our race,” Misty explains her as she looks at her, “I mean, you’re practically the only Unicorn that was brave enough to venture out to the other tribes.” She shook her head with a chuckle, “How you’re braver than all of us, I’ll never know.”

“I could take you on another journey,” Izzy offers, making her foalhood friend look at her in shock, “Well, I figured that if you wanted to, there could be a lot of other places in Equestria that hasn’t been discovered yet.” She giggled before she continues, “Besides, you’ve been cooped up indoors most of the time, like as if rain was going to come pouring down. If you don’t want to, I understand.”

“No, I like the idea!” Misty tells her, almost rushed, “It’s just… Well, we’re going to get our magic back, but I’m… nervous.”

Izzy’s brow raised as she asks, “About what?”

“About how our magic will be used.” She explains, “I mean, it’s hard enough to live in a world without magic, but once we do get it back, what then? That psycho Alicorn is after your friend, and that paints us with huge targets on our backs once magic is returned to Equestria.”

Izzy understandingly nods and got herself lost in thought for a moment. True that once Aerovad has been dealt with, there will be other evil forces that would probably take the magic for themselves, or worse, use Sunny. “Then,” she proclaims, “We need to make sure that it never even happens.”

“How?”

“We work together in Unity, that’s how.” Izzy tells her, placing her forehoof on her friend’s shoulder, “Even if when things get scary, even when we have to journey through the unknown, we have each other to rely on.”

Misty nods and breathes a calm sigh, “You’re right. Thanks Izzy.”

“Hey, it’s not like I’m gonna go anywhere before our next call of our journey.” Izzy jokes, nudging Misty’s shoulder, making the two unicorns giggle.

As Zipp has been working on the thruster of the balloon, he heard Pipp say, “You know Zipp… I’ve been thinking.”

“For what? Your next performance once we get our flight back?” Zipp asks jokingly.

“Something of the sorts,” The pink mare shrugs with an unsure tone, something of which her brother caught on of as she continues, “I mean, we’re going to Sunny’s hometown where they’re bound to be the most stubborn race out of the three, but…” she sighs as she looks at him with worry, “What if this doesn’t work out? What if no matter how many times we try and convince them, they’ll keep saying no and turn everypony away?”

“Then we don’t give up,” The Pegasus Prince tells her, “We find a way to actually get them to listen. Plus, Sunny is counting on us to help her. You saw she wasn’t in control of her own magic. We need to give her support in every way we can.”

The young Pegasus mare sighs as she looked at him, “I know… but if we don’t, what then? We just go back home and pretend that it never happened? And just sit around our thrones and wait for a miracle?”

Zipp shook his head, “The three races have waiting too long for miracles. Keep them waiting, and everything that is up to this point would be all for nothing. Besides, if Sunny hadn’t shown up at our doorstep, we wouldn’t be closer as siblings.” He chuckled as he placed his forehoof on her shoulder, “Plus, how else am I supposed to pry you away from your phone.”

“Oh, har har.” Pipp rolled her eyes, a smile curves in on her lips. She exhales in thought as she says, “You’re right about Sunny though. If she’s indeed the one to reunite the three pony races and keep that peace, we need to be there for her.” Zipp smiles in turn, but that slowly fades to a frown as he looks away, rubbing his upper foreleg. The Pegasus Princess took notice. “What’s with the face?” She asked.

“Look…” He began, “about what happened back home-”

“Zipp,” The light pink mare cuts him off, “We’ve apologized and said our own peace. There isn’t anything further to apologize about.” She sighed a chuckle as she looks at him, “You know, I envy you sometimes.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean how much you care about following dad’s hoofsteps,” she explains to him, “Not even afraid to admit that we as Pegasi are wrong about the other tribes. Heck, if that psycho hadn’t shown up ruin the concert, I guess you and the others wouldn’t step up to him.”

Zipp sighed and said, “That’s what I want to talk about.” That caught his sister’s attention as he continues on, “At the concert, I… was kind of the reason why the performance was a mess.” Before Pipp could even get a word out from her mouth, he then says, “So, I want to make it up to by helping you for your next performance.”

The light pink Pegasus wise shocked. “Y-you…” she stutters, “You want to help out with my next concert?”

Zipp rubbed the back of his head as he goes on, “Well, I mean, it was my fault that this even happened in the first place, and besides, hearing you say that your favorite colors were the ones of my wing feathers, I’d figured you’d find inspiration for your next attire.”

His sister was speechless, her own brother wants to get involved with her next performance? She went up to him and gave him a hug as she said, “You have no idea how much you mean to me.” She backs herself a little to look at her brother as she then said, “You really don’t have to do that.”

“Well, I want to.” Zipp said, making his sister smile and went back in for another hug, making the white Pegasus return the embrace. “Love you Zipp.”

He chuckles, “Love you too Pipp.”

As Hitch scouts using his telescope, he collapsed it as he looks at his foalhood friend as he tells her, “We should be getting close to Maretime Bay.” She nods while she adjusts the thruster, but the sheriff could tell that there was something on her mind. “You okay?” He asks.

“Yeah.” She said plainly.

He said a brow and said, “I know that tone Sunny.” The apricot mare hung her head as she sat down on her haunches. Hitch sat next to her, placing his left foreleg around her shoulder and comforts her. She nuzzle hoof on his and her friend asks, “What’s wrong?”

Sunny looks at him and reflects a question of her own, “You think we can really convince the other Earth Ponies?”

“What made you ask that?”

“It doesn’t take a smart pony to know how stubborn they are. I mean, what are we going to do when we confront them?” She sighed before continuing, “I’m practically at fault for causing a division in Maretime Bay in the first place. If I wasn’t born with magic, if I wasn’t taught about ancient Equestria… if I wasn’t chosen… would my life be any different than this?”

Hitch shook his head as he tells her, “Sunny, don’t doubt yourself like I did years ago. You and your dad helped me realize that how powerful the magic of friendship is, and it can be again. You helped the other races realize the truth. You’re achieving something that Opaline and Aerovad thought would be impossible: reuniting the tribes and bring the magic of Equestria back. Heck, if Princess Twilight has faith in you, then so do us.”

“But I nearly choked the life out of somepony Hitch,” she tells him with worry in her eyes, “What kind of a leader am I that would cause harm to others?”

“Those alicorns may have hidden the truth from you,” he said as he sat in front of her, placing both of his front hooves on her shoulders, “But you are stronger than anypony ever realize. So Sunny, for once in your life, don’t ever lie to yourself, and don’t ever lose faith in yourself. You helped gain that realization, and you have me and your friends to back you up. It’s your time to truly tell the world how wrong they were from the lies they were told.” He pulls her in for a hug as he finishes saying, “We will never lose faith. We will never be broken. The six of us will show Equestria what Unity truly means to all ponykind.”

“And Sprout?” She asks him, “What about him?”

Hitch sighs as he shook his head. “It’s his choice if he wants to accept it or not.”

She understandingly nods as she then looks behind Hitch and to say, “Well… speaking of.” She got up and shout to the others, "We're getting close to Maretime Bay! Be ready for anything!"

"Way ahead of ya!" Izzy shouts back as she grabs a helmet, puts it on her head, and lowers the goggles onto her eyes, adjusting them for a second. Misty just rolls her eyes as the three hot air balloons began to descend towards the plaza, some of the Earth Ponies took notice, even seeing four other passengers on their respective balloons, they rushed inside buildings in fear, while some were took shocked to see not only the light purple Unicorn again, but a sky blue one, and two Pegasi.

"Yeesh, talk about a welcoming committee." Zipp said as he shook his ahead.

As if on cue, Ms. Cloverleaf noticed Sunny and Hitch exiting their balloon, and she is outraged. Both Earth Ponies took notice the angry mare, then at each other. "You got this Sunny." he whispers to her. She nods and took a deep breath of her own.

Everfree Forest

As Princess Twilight reappeared to this cursed forest, she couldn't remember the last time she went here, only the first. The time when and her friends traversed through to stop Nightmare Moon. The forest seemed eerily quiet than she remembered. If only Pinkie Pie could be here to sing that song… how did it go again?

She shook her head for now and placed the seed Gaialum had given her. Quite a ironic place to plant it as this forest was created by a chaotic being… it’s way past time that this forest was given it’s opposite. She digged a small hole, placed the seed, and covered it back up with the soil.

“At least the forest’s creatures will warm up to you.” She sighed with a sad smile. She ignites her horn and teleported away from the Everfree, returning to her mission at hoof.

Maretime Bay

“Sunny Starscout, what is the meaning of this?!” Phyllis asked completely outraged, “I sent a sheriff out after you, and-”

“Hitch went looking out for me,” Sunny corrects her, and proceeds to cut Ms. Cloverleaf again, “And you have been cutting me off for long enough! So now, it’s my turn, so for once in your lives, Stop! Talking!” Everyone, except for her friends, was taken completely off guard by the apricot mare’s outburst. She calms down a bit before continuing on, “Ms. Cloverleaf, I’ve brought my friends here with me, because we discovered the truth behind the segregation of the three races.”

“Ha! What truth?” Sprout laughs mockingly, “And pray tell-”

“I said stop talking!” Sunny snaps at the red stallion, “I’ll deal with you later.” She turns back to the light peach pink mare as she resumes, “The cause was by two Alicorns, Opaline and Aerovad. They’ve done huge damage to everypony, causing generations of fear to invoke our lives. It’s time that we stop allowing this fear to be our every day norm.”

Ms. Cloverleaf sighs and shook her head, “Sunny, I know you take up much of your father, but if he were here right now, he would want you to live a normal life.”

“What, live a life of fear?” Zipp asked as he stood next to the apricot Earth Pony, “Living in constant fear of one another has been the normal life for everypony, and look how well that ended up!”

“What are you talking about?” Sprout asked.

“Sending that psycho Alicorn after us for starters!” Izzy answers him, stepping up to him, “You could’ve steered him away from our location, but noooo!!! You chose to be a coward and told him where Sunny and I were!”

“Hey, I was grabbed by the throat and hung in the air by that maniac, what was I suppose to do?!” Sunny just looks at Sprout very disappointed and upset. “What?” He asked her.

“You led that maniac to where I was so he could KILL ME!!!” She had him pinned up the brick wall, her dark red wings and horn reappeared, “The same maniac you gave info to that killed my dad years ago!”

“Wait, what?!”

“And now because of you, you put everypony else in danger! What you did is unforgivable.”

“Hold up, reverse!” Sprout said, raising his forehooves in defense, “That green Alicorn guy. He killed your-?”

“CAN THE CHILD COME OUT TO PLAY?!” They heard from the skies as a barrage of wispy green arrows whizzing towards everypony. All of the Earth Ponies moved out of the way and look up at the sky, the laugh sent a shiver down Sunny’s spine confirming the worst. Aerovad has followed them.

“Scatter!” Zipp shouts, and like rats, the ponies ran in different directions.

Fortunately for them, Aerovad wasn’t going after them… unfortunately for Sunny, that is who the green Alicorn is going after. Placing his shots at the apricot mare, he noticed how much faster she was going. That’s not possible! the Alicorn thought to himself, She shouldn’t gain more speed like this… unless… the Crystals. They’re giving her more power!

As she ducked through other alleyways and paths, trying to shake away from insane green Alicorn, Sunny kept looking back from time to time, seeing if she at least slowed him down, or trying to lose his line of sight. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t get away from him. As she tried to move out of the way from one of Aerovad's blast, she lost her footing and onto her side.

The green Alicorn glides to the ground and comes to a stop, slowly stalking him like a wolf ready to pounce. "You have nowhere left to run freak." He snarled with a grin, "No matter where you go, or what you'll do, I will always achieve my victory..." His horn glows brightly as he pulls out the dagger from it's sheathe as he the exclaims, "AND THAT IS HERE AND NOW!!!"

He yells and lunges towards the apricot mare, and she looks away... but the attack never came as she heard somepony scream in pain. She looks to only see that somepony else took the blow for her, whom of which she didn't expect. Lying on the floor in front of her, yowling in pain was Sprout, clenching his right eye.

"Really?" Aerovad asked plainly, "You would forsake your life for this abomination?"

The red stallion got up weakly as he looks at the tyrant Alicorn and said, "Not an abomination..." he looks at her, with a look of regret on his face as he said, "A friend." Sunny looks at him in shock as she sees him giving a weak smile.

He was then ragdolled aside by Aerovad's magic, throwing him to a wall of one of the buildings.

"Sprout!" Sunny cries.

"I tire of you mortals insolence!" Aerovad yells in a rage, his horn glows brighter as a huge barrage of wispy like arrow floated from the heavens. "If you will not step aside, then all mortals will die!" He then casts them down with a wrathful shout.

Sunny could see the arrows hurling down towards everypony... she doesn't know what to do. Around her rushed thinking, she could try and use her powers, but how? She doesn't fully understand how to control them... yet if she doesn't try now, then she and her friends are doomed. Closing her eyes, she focuses on the magic within her, trying to think deeply on how she could trigger it... and then... she sees it... no... him. Her father, and the words they live by, "We'll do our part, hoof to heart."

She opens her eyes and a golden hue surrounds her irises, her horn and wings, now regaining their golden hue once again, she casts a huge barrage of stars towards the arrow, taking their every shot. Now turning her attention towards Aerovad, who was stunned to see her power unfold, she knocks him back with an energy ball, sending him flying toward to a forest.

As her horn and wings disappear, she collapses from exhaustion and looks at the direction where Sprout got himself launched. “S-Sprout?” She asked half tired, half worried. She weakly picked herself up and hurries to the red stallion. As she got to him, she gasps in shock at the sight of Sprout’s condition. A slash over his right with dark, visible vains. The stallion weakly opened his eyes, with his right eye now having tint of a sick green. “Sprout!” She exclaims, rushing to his side, lifting his head up.

He pants as he looks at her, pained and exhausted, he asks, “… It’s bad, isn’t it?”

“Sprout, just hang on!” Sunny tells him, cupping his face, “W-we’re gonna get help, okay?”

“Sunny, I…” He moaned, placing his right forehoof on her shoulder, “I’m sorry… I’m not… a good friend…” his grip on her was slipping as he exhales, “I… never was…” he tilted his head to the side unconscious.

“Sprout! Stay with me!” Sunny begged, she then turns to looks at Ms. Cloverleaf and Izzy and she shout, “HELP!!!”

Canterlot Castle

As Twilight entered the throne room, she could only look around the ruined room with nostalgia and sorrow. She and her friends inspired her subjects to spread the message of friendship, including her future pupil... a shame she wasn't chosen to be her successor as the visions had foretold her.

But now wasn't the time to reminisce on the past, she went her old throne, walked behind it and used a spell to cast a bright pillar of cyan and indigo light, a beam shot towards the sky. As she stares at the light for a few seconds, she went to the front of her throne, she took a seat as she said to herself, "Now, all that is left to do is wait for him to come." She closed her eyes and said quietly, "My friends... please be here with me... lend me your strength."

As he landed roughly on the patch of open grass, he weakly got himself back up once again and snarls at himself. “Defeat… AGAIN?!?!?! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!?!” The rage that swirled within Aerovad like a hurricane made from pure hatred has taken hold of his focus and his magic. “Every mortals are all fools!! They’ll now think of her as their champion! They will pay for not heeding my warning!” He then looked at the heaven and bellows out, “YOU THINK YOU HAVE WON FATHER!? YOU THINK YOU COULD GET RID OF ME?! THE ALICORN OF THE WIND?! I WILL DESTORY HER, THEN YOU!!!”

All of a sudden, a huge pillar of light shot up towards the skies.

He found this quite odd. That pillar of light seems to be coming from... A animal like growl emanated from his throat, he knows who shot that light. It's the same mare who defeated him centuries ago. "Twilight..." He snarled as flew as fast as he could towards Canterlot. It was way past time that they finished what they started, here and now.

Phyllis held her son’s hoof closely to her chest, hoping and praying whatever god or miracle there is that her little colt will fight whatever is infecting him. But, to her dismay, the doctor that is looking over him shook his head as he said, “It’s already reached his brain ma’am. I’m sorry, but we’re too late…”

“Oh…” she moans in sadness, “My baby…” she began to sob uncontrollably, all the while Sunny and the other Champions of Unity could only look on helpless.

The apricot mare was hesitant to join the grieving mother’s side. She knew all too well what it is like to lose a relative who you have held closely to. She went to her and sat behind her, letting out depressing sigh. “Ms. Cloverleaf?” She asks, catching the light peach pink mare’s attention, “I’m really sorry… for all of this. I didn’t wanted your son to get involved. Neither you or anypony else… I want to make it up to you… but I know no matter what I’ll do, I know… I know you’ll just blame me like you and everypony else does.”

Ms. Cloverleaf didn’t know what think or say to her. She could just yell at her, but what good would that do? She wasn't to blame for her son's death, it was that Alicorn. Sprout was only doing what was right... the only thing he did right. She sighs as she shook her head, "You remind me too much of your father Sunny."

Sunny looked at her surprised at first. Why would she? She’s been the oddball of the town, and now, here she is, staring at one of the ponies that despised her, on the hospital bed, clinging on for their dear life. She looks at Sprout, who was beginning to stir weakly awake.

Ms. Cloverleaf tries to offer comfort, “Sweetheart, the doctor’s doing everything they-”

“Mom,” Sprout stops her, “I’m old enough to know how real fairytales end. You don’t need to sugarcoat it.”

The light peach pink mare sighs, “I’m sorry honey…”

“Not your fault…” he said reassuringly, he then looks at the apricot Earth Pony, who was expecting to be at the center of the blame, but instead she heard, “And it wasn’t yours either.” Sunny looked at him surprised, and was going to ask him, but he cuts her off, “Look… from how I and everypony here treated you and your dad… it wasn’t fair. We took you for granted, and it was the biggest mistake we ever made.” Tears were streaming down the young mare’s face, holding onto the stallion’s forehoof as he continues, “I know I’m not a good friend to you… but for what it’s worth… I’m grateful to know you."

Sunny wiped away her tears and gave him a sad smile. "I will make it up to you and your mom," she tells him, gripping on to his hoof tightly, "I promise."

The red stallion shook his head as he tells her, "Getting the tribes to reunite would be good enough." This caught both mares by surprise as he continues, "That's what your dad wants, right? Well... go on then. Go make his dream come true and kick that psychotic Alicorn's butt for the both of us."

Sunny looked at his mother, who just sighs and tells her, "Go on. I'll keep him company until he passes."

If there was anything more Sunny could've done to prevent this tragedy from happening, she would in a heartbeat. She would've traded her life with his... but even if she did, would Sprout even appreciate her had she taken the blow? It was a question she kept tossing around as she left the hospital room.

Outside, her friends were waiting patiently, that was until they noticed the beam of light shot towards the sky. "Um, are beams of light in dark storms a good thing?" Pipp asked nervously.

Upon noticing the light, Sunny made her conclusion, "Princess Twilight. She going to face off Aerovad!"

The others looked at her in shock. "Well, what are we doing standing around like a bunch of prairie dogs?" Zipp tells them, "We got to go help her!"

"How?" Hitch asks him, "That light that the Princess created is too far away to even get to her!"

Sunny thought about it, then it made her face dread with nervousness of her own. Izzy took notice and asked, "You got something Sunny?"

"Well..." Sunny trails off, "I could try to... teleport us there?"

"WHAT?!" Everyone asked in shock, leading to Hitch telling, "Sunny, we don't know how your powers even work!"

"Well, there's always a first time for everything." Sunny giggled nervously, but clears her throat, "Besides, if I think about Princess Twilight, my teleportation could takes to her."

"Would that even be possible?" Misty asks.

"Well, we're running out of time and options at this point," Zipp tells her, then at Sunny, "We'll circle up and you'll work your magic."

The apricot mare nods as the other circle around her, latching onto each other's forelegs. Sunny focuses the magic within her, summoning her Alicorn wings and horn. "Okay then," She mutters, "Here it goes..." Now focusing on the image of what her mentor looks like, a swirl of gold dust, started to pick up, swirling around herself and her friends, who looked in amazement and surprise. As the gold matter and dust enveloped them, a puff of golden yellow smoke expels out, leaving nothing behind.

Chapter 11: Ponies Unite!

Canterlot Castle

Silence...

Silence was the only sound Twilight could hear, her eyes remained closed, but her ears listen for any form of sound it could hear. At first, she hears nothing, until breeze from the holes of the castle walls and ruined colored windows started to blow on through, then it starts to pick up into a rougher gusts, then they died down as the sounds of a storm brewed.

She opened her eyes and before her, standing at forty feet away from her throne stood the mad Alicorn, looking much worse for wear, staring at his bloodshot eyes. "So..." He said calmly, "I see that you have returned from the grave. The immortal and almighty Princess Twilight Sparkle, back to finish what she had started."

"You expected more I reckon?" She asked him.

"Not at all. Rather fitting actually." He tells her, he then looks at one of the glass stained murals, chuckling to himself, "Funny thing, friendship. It just like the bonds you have with family, you try to impress them and winning their trust, but in the end, you end up disappointing them.”

“That’s an awful way to look at friendship.”

“But the same happened to you, didn’t it?” Aerovad asked with a grin, “When you told your friends that you’d be better off without them.”

“I never meant it.” Twilight tells him sternly.

“Perhaps not,” he said with a shrug, “But what if you were right?”

“Excuse me?”

“What if you were indeed stronger without them?” He proposed, “What if they only held you back? You could’ve gone back to Seaquestria, and took the pearl by force, you could’ve gained the power, and taken your home back from the Storm King. Yet you chose to cry like a coward.”

“Unlike you,” she retorts, “I felt terrible and remorseful for what I said. Had I not been captured, I wouldn't be able to save Tempest from her enslavement. You on the other hoof? You wouldn't show any remorse for what you would and are willing to do."

The grin disappears from the green Alicorn’s lips as he tells her, “My actions are justified.”

“That isn’t what your sister told me.” She argues shaking her head, “I know what you did to Sunny’s father. Poisoning a young filly’s father? How is that justifiable?!”

“You would be the judge of me?!” He unfurls his wings, ready to launch himself, “I am the Alicorn of Wind, no mortal dares judges what I have done.”

“So, what, you’d rather be judge, juror, and executioner all at once?!” She asked him, completely baffled by his mindset, “That isn’t how justice works!”

“SILENCE!!!!” He bellows, strong currents of wind howl throughout the room, “I WILL NOT BE DENIED OF WHAT I WILL OR WILL NOT ACCOMPLISH BY A PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A SUCCESSOR!! YOU ARE UNFIT TO RULE EQUESTRIA! I CONDEMN YOU TO SUFFER, FOREVER!!!”

Twilight unfurled her own wings, their rainbow colors sparkle brightly. “Come give it a try!” She taunts him.

With a thunderous cry, the mad Alicorn shot lightning towards the Princess of Friendship, she dodges out of the way and casts a blast of her own, only to be blocked by a cocooned ball of wind, redirecting it to a wall. Twilight then ignites her horn, sending another shot, this time it lands a direct hit to his chest, sending him flying to a wall, crumbling behind him.

“You can’t win against me Princess!” He mocks, gathering up a scraps and splinters of concrete and wood, “Your power is nothing compared to mine!” Twilight could see the attack coming and hid behind a pillar, avoiding the shower of debris. She then teleports behind to a different pillar, recomposing herself. “You’ve only earned your title by false truths and broken promises.” Aerovad mocked, “Celestia was unwise to choose you as the next ruler. You could barely beat me last time.”

“I had my friends, what did you have?” She retorts.

He casts more shots of wind, sending Twilight flying to her throne, landing roughly and causing it lean backwards and onto it’s back side, making her roll down on the back steps.

“Something you will never have, nor will you ever use,” he tells her as his horn ignites into a blade of wind, charging at her howling, “POWER!!!!”

Twilight quickly charges up her own horn, and it forms into a blade of pure energy, parrying Aerovad’s attack with a lock. While doing so, she could sense that the mad Alicorn was about to prepare his dagger, readying for a swift attack on her. Seeing the dagger unsheathed, she pushed him back and slices the weapon in two, then four pieces. The destroyed dagger clatters on the floor, it’s poisonous abilities fades into the wind. The male Alicorn saw the dagger’s destruction and curses at her, “YOU FOOL!!! NOW THE PROPHECY’S CHILD WILL ROAM FREE FOREVER!!! YOU WILL SUFFER FROM THE CONSEQUENCES THAT YOU HAVE UNLEASHED UPON US!!!”

“You can suffer from the consequences of what you have done in Tartarus, Aerovad.” Twilight tells him.

He has had enough and charges towards her once again.

Outside of the Castle

A golden vortex raised and lowered, unveiling the Champions of Unity, some of them were in shock of where they are. Sunny looked at the architecture and immediately realized it. “Guys… we’re in Canter-”

“Hold on.” Hitch gags, his face looking a little green, “I think my stomach is still in Maretime Bay.”

Zipp rolled his eyes, but then he too realizes where they are as he finishes Sunny’s sentence, “We’re in Canterlot.” He looks at the apricot mare and asks her, “You’re sure this is where Princess Twilight is?”

As if on cue, a part of a wall far away from them exploded from a powerful blow of wind. Misty observes the damage and says, “Uhh… if that doesn’t scream a battle with two of the most powerful Alicorns alive, I’m not sure what else to call it.”

“The Princess is in trouble!” Sunny tells them, “Come on! We got to help her!” All of them agreed, and hurried inside.

As sudden as it happened, Twilight got flinged to another wall, weakening her. Aerovad glides down, and gently lands, shaking his head in disappointment. “Why Twilight?” He asks her, “For somepony with all of your power, all of that control… you let it all go to waste.” Twilight tried to get back on her hooves, but with a down push of the wind, she was back down on her barrel again, exhausted. “I expected a fight when I came here… instead, I gotten a squash match with you.”

“Aerovad!” They heard the voice that made the mad Alicorn snarl, who he had grown tired of hearing, and in came to the throne the six ponies that twice defied him. Sunny spoke up, “Get away from her!”

“You witch!” Izzy said in what she thought her friend was going to finish saying.

Said pony, the four others, and two Alicorns looked at the light purple Unicorn very confused. Pipp asked her, “I’m sorry. What?”

“What, you haven’t seen that movie?” Izzy asks her.

“Well, duh, I have, but why call him a witch? Wouldn't he be a warlock since he’s a guy?”

“Yeah, but it wouldn’t sound as cool though.” Izzy tries to make her case.

Then Pipp tries to make hers, “True, but it wouldn’t make sense gender wise.”

“Sure, but what if-”

“Uh, ladies?” Zipp butts in, “Now isn’t the time.” Both of them looked at the white Pegasus at first, then at each other sheepishly.

Aerovad just shook his head with a chuckle, “Are you really that insane? You really want to stop me that badly? Despite you possessing all three of the Unity Crystals, I can still toss you all around and break your bones, cascade you all aside to the winds.”

It was Hitch’s turn to shake his head and then he said, “You know you’d be breaking every law in Equestria.”

“You think I care about your mortals’ law?! I’m above the law!”

“Uhh,” Izzy buts in, in a teasing tone, “Actually the head Alicorn upstairs is the one above the-”

“Did I ask for your opinion you blubbering idiot?!”

“Hey!” Misty spoke up, “Don’t you dare call her an idiot! She’s our friend! Something that you seem to have forgotten!”

Aerovad just sneers at the group and tells them, “You think you’re really strong together when you’re in your little pact? I will crush you all, and when I’m done, I will be sure to pain the walls with your ashes.”

“We won’t let you leave our devoid of magic,” Sunny declares, standing proud and strong, “We will stand and fight. We will win.”

“With what?” Aerovad challenges, his wings unfurled once again, “All you have is magical rocks that could be called upon whenever you’re threatened. You tell me all of this power of positivity nonsense, but I will still be here, commanding my wind to sweep you away, and I will be victorious!”

He summoned the most powerful blustery of wind he could muster, at the same time, the Unity Crystals glowed, creating an orb of energy around the six ponies, protecting them from the sudden blast. Twilight could see the situation that her brave young heroes are in, she knows that with enough power of his elemental wind, the shield will eventually deplete, letting him go into an attack.

She closed her eyes and lowered her head.

I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now… I thought I could stop him alone… and now I’m placing these young ponies in danger… and I can’t do anything about it… my friends… I’m so sorry… I… I have failed you all…

…

…

…

Whoa whoa whoa, you’re just going to give up, like that? That’s not what I’ve taught you when you got your wings.

Twilight snaps her eyes open. That voice. That voice! It… no, it couldn’t be Rainbow Dash. It must be the howls of the wind.

Darling, we didn’t help you get this far only to have your beautiful mane ruined by a awful storm!

She heard another voice. Either she must be crazy, or she’s really hearing them from beyond the grave.

Yeah! Don’t let that bully slap you down just because you aren’t powerful he’s claiming to be! Oh! Hi lovely ponies and people!

Didn’t we taught ya’ll that friendship will always be stronger than any herd of baddies whenever we were together?

Don’t give up Twilight! You believed in us, now it’s our turn to believe in you!

As she got up slowly got back up onto her hooves, she could feel a strong surge of power as she unfurled her wings, her horn glowed brightly. “My friends…” she said to herself quietly, “If you can really hear me, I request for your help once more. Our next generation of ponies are destined to be the guardians of Equestria. The Champions of Unity. Send them the power to protect our home!”

Aerovad could feel a strong sense of power, so he turned around and see a multi color aura surrounding the Princess of Friendship. “What? What is this?!” He asked in shock.

Twilight then casts a powerful spell, not towards the mad Alicorn, but to the Unity Crystals, causing them to form six new crystals, gently guiding their respective colors to their new owner. All six ponies can’t believe what they’re receiving as a glow surrounds their necks, as their symbol of their cutie marks formed, with a golden rim surrounding it with a beautiful chain.

“Oh, my stars!” Pipp said almost in a gasp.

“Check these out!” Izzy said excitedly.

Hitch looked at his new pendant and tells them, “I don’t know about you guys, but I really do believe in magic.” Sunny looks at him with surprise at first, of which her friend chuckles, “I know, ‘bout time.”

“This is impossible!” Aerovad exclaims accusingly, catching the Champions’ attention, “Nopony could ever use such magic! That… I don’t understand how this is-”

“We’re creative that way.” Izzy tell him, “Something that you clearly lack.”

Aerovad growls at them, “You would dare have the gall to stand up to me?! A god?!”

“It’s courage that we have to stand up to you.” Zipp tells him.

Pipp chimed in, saying “And it’s enough to give us the confidence we need to stop you, whatever it takes!”

Aerovad yells in rage, “YOU HAVE NOTHING!!” Everyone moved out of the way from his incoming blast of wind towards them, separating them to form a circle, having him pinned. “You can’t beat me! I control the wind, and when I’m done with you, you and your tribes will fall in line!”

“You can’t mean that!” Misty tells him, “We have to be empathetic to the ones we love and care for!”

“But that’s something else you clearly lack.” Hitch spoke up to the green stallion, “You have no love. No kindness! What kind of a protector are you if you don’t have any of that?!”

Suddenly, their geodes, except for Sunny’s glowed brightly and casts a bright light at the mad Alicorn, catching him in mid air, yelling in agony. “AAAAGH!!!! I AM ETERNAL!! I AM THE MASTER OF THE WIND!!! WHAT DO ANY OF YOU TRULY HAVE?!?!?! WHAT KIND OF POWER DO YOU ANY OF YOU REALLY HAVE?!?!?!

Sunny, placed her pendant and geode to her chest, holding them close to her heart. She looks up at him and exclaims, “It’s not power Aerovad… it’s hope!” Now her crystal glowed brightly and it shot it’s own beam of light at the Alicorn of Wind as he screamed loudly. “And as long as we are together in Unity, we will never be broken! We will never fail!”

A screech of defeat came from the green Alicorn, trying to get out of the crossing blast, his joints was starting to become rigid, his body starting to go numb. He then sees that he was beginning to fade away. He could’ve been victorious, he could’ve have destroyed here and now. Yet fate had other plans for him. He slowly shuts his eyes, as he began to be enveloped in light, fading away completely.

Sunny could see the light getting brighter and brighter, and she all of a sudden began to feel faint and fell to her side.

Sunny began to open her eyes blinkingly. Looking around, she could see that she seems to be in that crystal like place once again. “Did I…” she started, but then groaned, “Did I seriously passed out?”

“Maaaaybe.” She heard, making her yelp. Looking behind her, it is the crystal Alicorn, giggling at her, “Don’t worry, you’re just unconscious due to the powers you used against Aerovad. Your friends brought you back to bed to give you proper rest.”

The apricot mare was shocked to hear about this. “W-wait, you mean I’m asleep?! For how long?!”

“In about seven hundred years.”

“WHAT?!”

“I’m joking! I’m joking!” The crystal mare reassures Sunny, “You’ve only been asleep for about five hours.”

The earth pony sighed in relief, “Oh, thank goodness…” then she realized something and asks her, “Wait a second, how did you know that I was fighting Aerovad?”

“Well,” the crystal mare explains, “since you’ve been able to reconnect me to your dreams, I could see what was happening in real time.” She sighed in sadness, “I wish I could’ve helped out, but I’m locked in a comatose state in a crystal.”

“It’s weird…” Sunny said to her, “I thought I felt you there with me during the fight… so, in way, you were there.” She placed her forehoof on the crystal mare’s shoulder, “and I think I’m starting to remember somethings about you.”

“You did!?” The mare asks her excitedly.

“You come from a royal line, right?” The crystal Alicorn nods to the question. “And… oh… what else was it? Oh yeah! You’re a daughter of another Alicorn yeah?”

“Yeah!”

“A-and your name is…” Sunny groaned in frustration, “Why can I remember somethings about you, but why can’t I remember your name?!”

The mares sighs with a smile and tells the apricot earth pony, “It’s okay, I’m sure you’ll figure it out one day. Just those tidbits of info is enough for now.” She notices that the twinkling lights from the crystals started to shimmer, “Oh, you’re starting to wake up again.”

Sunny sighed, “I’m sorry I couldn’t stay around longer.”

The mare giggled, “I wouldn’t be too worried. Besides, I have a gift for you when you wake up.”

“You do?” The apricot mare asked confused, “What is it?”

“You’ll see it when you wake up.” The crystal pony tells her and gave her playful wave, “See you again Sunny! And good morning to you!”

Epilogue 1: It’s Alright

Sunny began to awake with a groan as she tries to sit up. She suddenly felt a pair of hooves on her back and her left side of her barrel as she then heard a familiar voice, “Whoa whoa, easy! I don’t want you to move around so much.” She rests her head back on the pillow as she could hear Hitch explaining to her, “You gave all of us a scare back at the castle.”

As she took her glasses and placing them back on the bridge of her nose, she then teases him, “Well, maybe I like to sleep in the castle and live like a princess for… once?” She seemed confused her vision getting a little weird as she reeled her ear back, “Whoa, who changed my lenses on my glasses?”

“Uhh, you okay Sunny?” The sheriff asked, a little confused himself.

“I-I don’t know I-” Sunny began, but stops herself as she took her eyewear off and see that her vision… it’s crystal clear now. She gasps softly at first. She quickly got out of her bed and to the mirror, not caring that she has a messy mane, and puts the glasses back on, then off again. She scoffed in excitement first, the she repeated the process again, and began to giggle to herself and then began to cry with tears of joy.

“Sunny?” The yellow stallion asked in concern, “What’s wrong?”

“Hitch…” she turns to him, tossing the glasses on the bed and then says, “I can see… I can perfectly see! I CAN SEE YOU PERFECTLY!!!” She ran to him and gave him the biggest hug she could muster as she happily cries into his shoulder, mutter the same sentence over and over again, “I can see! I can see!”

Hitch was completely dumbfounded, but not the one for ruining the moment, he held her close to a caring embrace. As she they ended the hug, he then asked, “But how?”

“That crystal Alicorn from my dreams! She brought my sight back!”

“A crystal Alicorn?” They both heard Twilight’s voice from the staircase, looking towards it they see the Princess of Friendship herself had came up. “That’s the second time you mentioned about her Sunny. How is she able to do that?”

She began to stutter in excitement, “I-I-I don’t know! She was with me the entire time, like she wasn’t physically there, but in spirit! W-well, technically, she saw everything through me, but she was helping us! A-a-and I was remembering who she is! She’s of royalty, a-a-and her mom was an Alicorn herself! And she-”

“Hold on!” Twilight stops her, grabbing her by the shoulders, and in very concerned tone she asks, “Sunny, are you absolutely sure she’s an Alicorn?”

“W-well, yeah…” the apricot mare answers, “that’s what she took in the form of anyway.”

Twilight was stunned at first as she looked out of the window. She trots to it, stares at it for a good few seconds and says quietly, “My niece… You’re alive… somewhere…”

“Princess?”

“Sunny,” the lavender Alicorn turns her head to look at her with a very emotional smile on her face, “That Alicorn you came in contact with is my beloved niece, Flurry Heart.”

The young mare and stallion were both in shock as they looked at each other, then at the Princess as Sunny spoke up first, “Flurry Heart… she was the one helping us?”

Twilight nods as her answer and continues, “I think there’s more than just a connection. I believe she was trying to clue you in as to where she was kept hidden.” She sat on her haunches and exhaled in nostalgia, “The last time I saw her, she was around at your height, and she was kept frozen inside a crystal chamber… but not of the Crystal Empire.”

Both Earth Ponies were once again stunned by the revelation. Hitch then asks, “Well, if she not here in that kingdom specifically, does that mean she was moved somewhere else?”

“Not here in Equestria,” the Princess tells them as she shook her head, taking another sigh, “I may need to do some research, tracking her down will be most difficult. For now, Sunny, I suggest that you and your friends should go on and celebrate.”

The apricot mare was surprised by what her mentor told her, “Wait… does that mean-?”

“Hey Sunny!” She heard Pipp’s voice calling to her, making the young mare look at the window, seeing the Pegasus Princess… flying?! “Come on! We’re gonna be late for the concert!”

She looked at her mentor again, unable to contain her excitement, then looking at Hitch as he says, “Well? You heard the mare!”

They both laugh like little foals as they hurry downstairs. Before Sunny could leave through the front door, she took a moment to stop and look at the picture of her younger self and her dad, telling the still picture, “I did it dad. I finally made it. Wish you were here to see it…”

“Sunny, c’mon!” She heard Izzy exclaim.

She readjusted the picture and said, “Well, I gotta go dad… I love you.” She gave the picture a kiss and gently closed the door behind her, then rushing off to join her friends.

All the while from the top of the lighthouse, Twilight Sparkle couldn’t help but giggle to herself, oh how she and her friends reminded her so much of herself and the friends she made back at Ponyville. If only she had given the ability to rewind time and tell them how much they meant to them, she would do it over and over again, but for now, she knows that everything will be alright again, seeing the dancing colored lights from the spotlights as music loudly play at the Maretime Bay plaza, singing a cheerful song that would become the anthem of the Champions of Unity.

Deep down though, Twilight knew that not only will she have to find her niece again, she will have to train her Champions to learn how to control their Unity Geodes, as she dubbed them, and find the their true spark in their power.

She looks up to the skies and said to herself, “My fellow Princesses, please help me watch over my little ponies.”

Maretime Bay Shoreside

As Argyle Silverline stood next to the tiny waves of the ocean, listening to it’s gentle crashes, his ear flickers as the sound of approaching hoofsteps were coming towards him. A distorted voice spoke to him, “A little late to listen to the waves, wouldn’t you say friend?” The silver stallion looks behind him and he was greeted by a figure in a red cloak with a strange mask, in shape of a lioness.

The earth pony chuckles, “My sincere apology friend. I thought I’d take an nature walk and back here to the shore when I had time.”

“Sounds to me like you took more than a nature walk.”

“That obvious?”

“Obviously, yes.” Both of them shared a laugh as the figured stood next to him and asks, “So, how did your nature walk went?”

Argyle took a moment to reflect on his journey and reports back, “Well, aside from the danger and excitement we had, I gotten a chance to meet her finally.”

“Her?” The figure asked intrigued.

“Yeah. You’d like her. Her name is Sunny Starscout…” he exhales a chuckle as he then said, “It’s funny… we’re two of a kind, she and I.” He then summons a stardust blue horn and wings looking the reflection in the water as he continues on, “We both have these Alicorn powers, born with them, and we use them to protect others who can’t help themselves. Only difference being is the approach.”

“Well,” the figure said, turning off the distortion, revealing a mare’s voice, “To be fair, I had my share of similarities with another pony I know.” She pulls down the her hood of the cloak, letting her red, yellow, and black locks of her mane fall freely, her Rudy red eyes reflect off from the sun’s light.

Argyle chuckles and asks her, “And why do you think that is Sunset Shimmer?”

Epilogue 2: Or is it?

Far away

From inside a dark castle lit with teal fire, Luvios and a red cloaked figure with a salamander mask following behind him, marches straight towards to a throne. They bowed before an a mare. She is a tall mare who is an Alicorn with a long, slightly curved horn that is colored paler towards the tip. She is deep purple with dark blue eyes and glittery blue eyeshadow. Her mane is white with light streaks of cyan and is parted into two side sections with thin braids wrapped around her ears.

“Report.” She commanded.

“Sister, I brought with me some unfortunate news about our siblings,” The blue Alicorn stallion informs her, “Aerovad and Gaialum have succumbed to their fates.”

“Yes, yes, unfortunate,” she said in uncaring tone, “What else?”

Not even batting an eye, he moves along, “Aerovad had fallen by six young ponies dear sister.”

This caught her attention and asks, “Excuse me?”

“Aerovad had fallen by six young ponies, using six geodes of different Elements.” He cleared his throat as he then continues on, “That isn’t all, one of the young ponies is born Alicorn magic. It’s the Prophecy’s Child.”

“What?!” She yells as she got up from her throne, “You’re meaning to tell me that they are true?!”

“Yes, dear sister.” The blue stallion answers, “But that isn’t all. We have recovered an earth pony that seemed at the verge of his death… but, it seems that his mind was only poisoned by our brother’s dagger.”

She raised a brow of this information and then asks him, “And this pony… is he any useful?”

He looks at the stallion on the steal stretcher, a grin was plastered on his lips. “He may seem like an idiot,” he explains to her as he walks towards him, “But I believe, with a little bit of training and a twist of the truth, I do believe that he will make a fine inquisitior.”

Intrigued, she then says, “Very well… awaken him.”

“As you say.” He obliges. His horn glows brightly, surrounding the red stallion’s body, which starts to quiver to live, taking in a sharp deep inhale of life, opening his eyes.

As the red cloaked figure took a sigh, she took off her mask, letting her cerise pink mane with red and yellow highlights falling out from the gap of the cloak’s hood, her olive green eyes looking at her reflection with a disappointed look on her face as she kept asking herself, “Who am I?”