“START!”

Hitch Trailblazer and Sunny Starscout launched their respective fireworks into the sky alongside two other ponies who launched theirs.

They anxiously awaited whose firework was gonna blow first. After the first ten seconds, the purple firework was extinguished within a puff of smoke—much to the disappointment of one of the players.

Five seconds later, the green firework went out prematurely as well; the other contestant hung his head in defeat. All that were left were two fireworks that have yet to explode.

Hitch and Sunny bit their lips as they anticipated who was going to be the lucky winner. Just before their fireworks could reach to the clouds, Sunny’s was taken out before it could reach its potential.

Thus, Hitch’s firework exploded in a blaze of glory. All the sparks formed into his happy face, motivating him to victoriously jump.

“Yes! Yes! Looks like luck is on my side!” Hitch boasted. Sparky the baby dragon happily clapped his hands.

“Ugh! How come I never win this game?! This is the tenth time I lose!” Sunny exclaimed.

“Sorry, Sunny. Guess today’s my lucky day, am I right? Haha!” Hitch chuckled.

“How about we play games that are actually skill-based? Then we’ll see how ‘lucky’ you are,” Sunny smirked.

“Oh, you’re on! Let’s start with…uh…Fruit Puncher,” Hitch suggested.

“Oh, that’s a good one! Let’s go!”

As both earth ponies were ready to begin, the announcer placed the timer on top of a ladder and set it for 45 seconds. After he blew the whistle, two other ponies threw three different types of fruit in the air.

“Remember, punching apples gives you points, and punching tomatoes will make you lose points!” said the announcer.

As time went, Hitch and Sunny quickly punched as many apples as possible while cautiously avoiding the tomatoes.

Forty-five seconds later, all the points from each side were calculated. Seeing that Sunny won just by one point, the announcer declared her as the winner of the game.

“Ah-ha! See? Told ya you wouldn’t be so lucky,” Sunny gloated.

“Alright, ya got me. Guess my luck charm ran out.”

“Well, you did pretty good though. Good game,” Sunny complimented, shaking Hitch’s hoof.

Later that day, the earth ponies left the amusement park and returned back home in Maretime Bay. Both of them were eating some Cotten candy while they were trotting together.

Then Hitch noticed some other ponies were trying to practice their earth pony magic. One of the mares grew some grass on the concrete while another made some flowers bloom.

Then a stallion tried to shoot some beams from his hoof which ended up growing three large trees on the ground. The trees then sprouted oranges on their branches, letting one of them fall. The stallion picked up the orange, happy with the literal fruit of his labor.

“It seems like everypony is actually getting the hang of it. They all look so…happy more than ever,” Hitch observed.

“Yeah, I know. It feels like yesterday everypony was living in fear and hatred. Now we have the magic of friendship again! Nopony will have to be afraid of each other anymore!” Sunny rejoiced.

“You’re right. Hey, Sunny, may I ask you something?”

“Of course,” Sunny nodded.

“Now, I’m not saying this to scare you or anything, but…have you ever wondered what would happen if, let’s say, um…our magic would go rogue?” Hitch asked.

“Go rogue?”

“You know, because we haven’t used our magic for so long. What if it becomes unstable and dangerous?”

“I don’t see how it could be a threat,” Sunny replied. “So far, everything seems to be working just fine.”

“Yeah, for now. One day, we may never find out what will go wrong until it will backfire on us badly. Huh, hopefully not too literally,” he chuckled.

“Don’t worry, Hitch. The more we keep ourselves united in friendship, the stronger our magic will be. Nothing can go wrong,” Sunny assured.

“Hmm, you’re right. Sorry if I got worried too much. I just want Equestria to be safe from any potential problems. That’s all,” Hitch sighed.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Sunny replied, smiling.

Then Hitch suddenly bumped against a random earth pony mare walking by.

“Oh, sorry, sorry! Didn’t see you there!”

“No, no, it’s alright, miss. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry, I was just wondering where my coltfriend went,” she said. Then she narrowed her eyes on Hitch. “Wait a minute, are you the sheriff of this town? You’re Hitch, right?”

“That’s me,” he proudly confirmed. “I…take it you’re not from here?”

“No, I’m from…(clears throat)…a far place. My name is Banana Bonanza. Nice to meet you, Sheriff,” she introduced herself.

“Likewise! This is my friend Sunny.”

“Hi, Banana! Welcome to Maretime Bay!”

“Thanks, Sunny. We’ve come to—,”

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you, ‘Anna! Why can’t you just sit down and wait patiently for once?” her coltfriend yelled out, running over to them. Then he noticed Hitch standing by.

“AYY, Hitch ol’ buddy!” the stallion greeted, hugging him tightly.

“Nice to see you too…Crimson…!” Hitch replied, trying to breathe.

“It’s been a long time, man! We should visit each other more often!” Crimson said, letting him go.

“Uh, you literally visited Maretime Bay last week,” Hitch corrected.

“I know, but each week feels like a whole new experience!” Then he noticed Sunny right next to Hitch. “Oh, I’m sorry, ma’am, where are my manners? I’m a close associate of his: Crimson Wool, by name. And you must be Sunny Starscout.”

“Yep, that’s me,” she nervously replied, shaking his hoof. “Wait, you know my name?”

“We’ve…heard that you brought the magic back to Equestria. We’re both so…(*ahem*)…grateful that you restored our homeland back to normal,” he explained.

“Yes, we thank you, Sunny,” said Banana, constantly shifting her eye contact between Sunny and Crimson.

None of the visitors noticed Zipp flying above them and spying on them with her binoculars.

“It wasn’t just me that helped bring the magic back; it was all of us,” corrected Sunny. “We brought the magic back together. That’s what Twilight Sparkle would’ve wanted.”

The moment Sunny drifted her eyes off to the side, Crimson strangely twitched his right eye once he heard the name drop. Banana firmly held her hoof on his shoulder, silently telling him to remain calm.

“Of course. Anyway, we’re here to take a tour around the place. And to see an old friend…again. Nothing more,” Crimson affirmed.

Suddenly, his head vibrated from a strange humming sound only he could hear. His heart started to beat faster the moment he recognized what that meant.

“Great! I was thinking we should go to—,”

“Actually, Hitch, on second thought…there’s something we have to attend to,” Crimson interrupted, motioning his marefriend to follow him.

“Really? But you just got here.”

“I know, but my…uh…boss won’t be happy if I’m late, y’know? Sorry for this late-minute change,” Crimson nervously smiled, trotting off.

“Oh, okay! I hope we see you again soon?”

“Of course! We’ll keep in touch, Sunny!” Banana confirmed, waving goodbye.

Hitch stood there confused as to why they left so abruptly. “Huh. He didn’t mention he had to work today. I thought this was his day off?”

“What does he do?” Sunny asked.

“Oh, he’s a tentmaker. Believe me when I say that he makes some of the absolute best tents in all of Equestria!” Hitch happily bragged. “The one I have feels like I’m in a motel and a restaurant at the same time.”

“Wait, I remember Izzy saying something similar! Only hers is like a bouncing house type of tent. He actually makes those tents?”

“Yes! He’s a genius! You should go to him and try out one of his tents. Trust me, it will make you think twice about going out camping,” Hitch winked.

Sunny grinned. “Well, I hope we can meet them again soon. He and Banana seem to be really nice ponies.”

“If they can spare the time,” said Hitch. “I’ve never seen them in such a hurry before.”

At that moment, Zipp landed before them and lifted the spy glasses off her eyes.

“Zipp?”

“I don’t know, guys. Something about them seems off. I’ve been keeping an eye on them for a while, and something tells me they’re—,”

She suddenly appears right behind Hitch and Sunny, bringing their faces closer to hers while the background turned dark. “—up to no good.”

“What the—? You can’t just spy on ponies! And Crimson would never keep a secret from me,” defended Hitch.

“This isn’t the face of somepony who is honest,” retorted Zipp, holding a picture of Crimson looking suspicious.

“Okay, first of all, that doesn’t mean anything because he hasn’t done anything that warrants suspicion. Second, you’re getting so worked up over nothing. He’s a good friend, and he’s always been upfront about everything.”

Zipp scoffs at him. “If you haven’t noticed, your ‘friend’ has been going in and out of Maretime Bay at least once a week with zero explanation. Even worse, the way he speaks to you guys seems like he’s insincere. I hate to break it to you, but he’s not what he appears to be.”

“Hey, I don’t eavesdrop on your conversations with Pipp or tell you how to make friends! Stop worrying about—,”

Once Sunny noticed the Unity Crystals were flickering in the Lighthouse, she broke up the fight between them.

“Guys, STOP! Let’s not argue over this, okay? Zipp, I get that you’re a detective and all, but that doesn’t mean you should stand between Crimson and Hitch’s friendship. For all we know, Crimson may be having a stressful time and is trying to make some time to hang out.”

Zipp took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Hitch. I’m just trying my best to make sure we don’t encounter any potential villain who may try to steal our magic…since we just got it all back, y’know.”

“Hey, I totally get that. Even I myself have my own doubts about our newfound abilities. Just as I told Sunny, our magic may or may not lead to a…possibly dangerous scenario!” Hitch said, his voice echoing. “But hey, I’m just a little worried. No biggie!”

“Hmm, you might be up to something there. Wish to be my partner, Sheriff? I could use some extra eyes to make sure nothing is out of the ordinary,” Zipp proposed, putting her spy glasses back on.

“Haha, now you’re speaking my language!” Hitch chuckled.

As both Hitch and Zipp left together, Sunny wore an impressed look on her face. “That went better than I expected.”

Unbeknownst to Sunny, a pair of giant blue eyes glared daggers at her from the sky above. The fiery eyes then vanished into thin air before an evil cackle was uttered.

Later that same day, Crimson and Banana returned to their home. As the latter checked to make sure her bananas were all ripe and ready, the former sat on his couch while his heart was still beating fast.

“Why…? Why at this hour?!” he cried. Then he rushed to the washroom and washed his face for approximately five minutes. Afterwards, his heart then began to slow down and went back to its normal rhythm.

Breathing in and out three times, he dried his face and went back to the living room. “My master will speak with me shortly. Go to our bedroom and stay there until we’re finished.”

“Crimson, wait!” she pleaded, holding his face with her hooves. “Why are you doing this? Is this really worth it?”

Crimson sighed. “We’ve talked about this a dozen times already, ‘Anna. I had to make this deal with him so that Equestria won’t have to suffer from another alicorn tyranny again.”

“Why would you trust that guy?! How do you even know he’s telling the truth?”

“You should realize by now that Twilight Sparkle was evil! She used magic to bend everypony to her will! Do you understand why this Sunny Starscout is a possible threat? With her as a new alicorn, our lives are at risk!”

“You don’t know that!” Banana argued. “I’ve read all the books regarding Twilight—saying that she was the Princess of Friendship. She helped—,”

“Lies! ALL LIES! They wrote that horse spit to trick ponies like you into thinking that way,” interrupted Crimson. “But don’t worry, that will all change. My master will solve all our problems.”

“But—!”

Suddenly, a hologram appeared in the midst of the room. The dark figure with the red diamond-shaped hole on his chest looked down at Crimson with an evil smile. His presence alone caused the entire house to be filled with darkness.

“Go!” Crimson muttered, pushing Banana into the bedroom before closing it.

“Ahh, Crimson Wool. I see you were eager to see me again,” he grinned.

“I’m at your service…Lord Axor,” he greeted, bowing.

“Let’s just cut to the chase, shall we? As you’re already aware, I lost all the magic from my grasp thanks to those ponies and their…disgusting friendship,” Axor spoke, uttering the adjective with condescension. “But it’s all part of my plan. Equestria will only learn her lesson after she receives a smiting from the rod more than once.”

“Of course. But how will you accomplish this? You promised that you wouldn’t harm any of my fellow ponies,” Crimson reminded.

“Oh, don’t you worry a thing, my little pony. I won’t have to do anything…yet. See, I’m planning to send someone with incredible talent to your hometown. He will be assisting you shortly,” Axor informed.

“Really? Who will it be?”

“A distinguishable lizard who has a similar distaste for magic as you do. I can assure you, my friend, you’re gonna love that guy.”

“I see, master. But what about Sunny and her friends? What if this ally of yours isn’t strong enough to defeat them?” Crimson asked.

“We don’t need to defeat them. All we have to do is break them,” Axor replied, evilly chuckling.

Crimson looked at him confused.

“Honestly, your concerns are amusing but pointless. I have everything you need to make your life easier. Have faith in me, Crimson. I will make sure your precious world won’t be tormented by a follower of Twilight Sparkle,” Axor promised.

The earth pony then breathed a sigh of relief. Banana, however, cast a skeptical look at Axor while she hid behind the bedroom door.

“Thank you, my lord. Will I have a role to play in your plan?”

“You will, my dear boy. You will,” Axor smiled. The hologram then disappeared, bringing light back inside the house.

Banana then rushed out of the bedroom and hugged Crimson. “Please…don’t do this. I love you, Crimmy,” she said, crying on his neck.

“I’m sorry, ‘Anna. But it has to be done…for all of Equestria.”

Author's Note

Well, here we are now. The fourth entry into this Disney crossover multiverse saga. As my second G5 story overall, I hope this becomes a fun experience in writing these G5 characters into this whole new adventure.

Hopefully, you guys will enjoy this ride together, and let me know what you think in the comments below. See you all next time!