Truth or Magic?

The Mane Five were sitting together in their Brighthouse as a board filled with pictures stood in front of them. Hitch was pacing back and forth while Zipp was scrutinizing every picture—mostly on a pic of Crimson.

“So let’s do a quick recap for a moment,” said Hitch. “Banana’s boss is missing, Maretime Bay had a sour taste of ice cream monsters running around, and a pair of ponies who just so happened to be out cold during the incident claim they were attacked by a lizard beast. Did I miss anything?”

“I think so, yeah.”

“Same.”

“That’s it.” Sunny, Pipp, & Izzy all concurred.

“Something tells me they’re all connected somehow. If what those stallions said is true, then this could mean only one thing: the lizard monster orchestrated every single one of these crimes,” explained Zipp.

“Zipp, come on, there’s no evidence a lizard creature is committing these crimes. For all we know, Mr. Pulp is getting old & forgot what planet he lives on, and those stallions could have spoken a false testimony since their memory is faulty!” Hitch argued.

“Oh, Hitch, you know darn well a detective like me doesn’t accept answers like that. Based on what you and Sunny shared with us earlier, I’ve come to the conclusion that the lizard creature kidnapped Mr. Pulp…”

She drew closer to Hitch’s face with dangling keys. “…as a distraction.”

“Distraction?” the others simultaneously repeated.

“Yes! If he is responsible, then he wanted us to catch us off-guard by kidnapping that poor guy while his real plan is to corrupt our magic with…whatever sort of power he has,” Zipp expounded. “He’s obviously no ordinary lizard. He’s a criminal mastermind who clearly has a thing against magic.”

“Wooow, this makes so much sense!” Sunny spoke.

“Aaaaaaannd where is the source of this ‘evidence’ of yours, hmm?” Hitch asked, arching his eyebrow in doubt.

“Eye witness testimony, Sheriff! I mean, those guys were pretty sincere about their recollection of the incident. It’s always—,”

“Oh, sure. Real convincing proof right there,” Hitch sarcastically remarked. “It’s not like it’s the worse kind of testimony to rely on or anything.”

“Hitch, your sarcasm isn’t helping anypony,” Zipp scolded.

“Neither is your so-called proof of this catastrophe we’re facing!” Hitch retorted.

Sunny then frowned at him. “Hitch, come on. You shouldn’t be dismissive of a possible answer to all our problems. What if Zipp is right?”

“I don’t rely on ‘what ifs’, Sunny. I rely on solid evidence so that I know what has to be done,” replied Hitch.

“Isn’t that what you are doing?” Zipp retorted, arching an eyebrow. “You think magic is going crazy when there’s little evidence to the contrary. If our magic IS going haywire as you say it is, then why hasn’t it done so last year?”

“Well—um, I…uh…”

“You would think that it would explode in our faces the very moment the magic of friendship was restored to us,” Zipp explained. “But no, it had to wait a full year before things could go wrong. Does that make any sense to you…Sheriff?”

“Ohhhh, this is getting 🎶goooood🎶!” said Pipp.

“Took the words right out of my mouth,” Izzy grinned, hoof-bumping each other.

“I…haven’t really thought of it like that,” said Hitch, confused.

“And?”

“Now that I think about it, it could be possible that there is more to this dilemma than meets the eye,” mumbled Hitch.

“Ahhhh, so you agree with my hypothesis?” Zipp asked, smirking.

“I still have my doubts, but I am more than willing to investigate further evidence on this case.”

“Hehe, you know Hitch—always headstrong with his line of reasoning,” Sunny giggled.

“Clearly,” replied Zipp, rolling her eyes. “But hey, it’s a start at least.”

Suddenly, Crimson opened the front doors. The Mave Five turned to see him walk right inside their dwelling with a somber look on his face.

“Crimson! Again, hello to you, my dude!” Hitch shouted, trotting downstairs.

“I heard everything that happened out there, and I fear that things may get worse from here on out,” Crimson stated, looking down at the floor.

“Don’t worry, Crimson, everything will be alright. Zipp seems to have uncovered this case despite Hitch’s…reasonable doubts. But they’re still working on it,” informed Sunny.

Crimson’s eyes were half-widened until he relaxed and cleared his throat. “Why…that’s comforting to hear.”

“Zipp thinks there’s an evil lizard beast trying to get rid of our magic! If he’s real, then we’ll give him a sweet taste of justice…with a cherry on top!” Izzy added.

“Whoever he is, he better not create those horrible ice cream monsters again. They’re giving me nightmares already!” Pipp shouted.

“Pipp, it’s only been a few hours,” reminded Zipp.

“That’s beside the point!!”

Then Crimson turned his attention to Sunny. “Listen, as much as I am…pleased to see you are doing well, I still think that the worst is yet to come. That’s why I’m asking you to hide somewhere safe,” Crimson advised.

“But…our Brighthouse is somewhere safe,” Sunny objected.

“No, you would be an easy target if you remain here. If what your friend says is true, then you are in even greater danger. I’ll lead you to a distant city where you’ll be safe.”

“Are you sure? I can take on that lizard creature with my alicorn powers easily! It won’t stand a chance!” Sunny proudly assured.

“Yeah, Sunny can take on anything life throws at her!” Izzy added, quickly dodging a burnt toast popping out of the toaster. “Like that.”

However, Crimson appeared slightly agitated at the confidence boost. Thinking quickly, he grew a sly grin and then nodded his head in acceptance.

“Very well, then. I trust you know what you are doing,” he said.

“But we appreciate your help though! I can always count on you for support,” smiled Hitch.

Crimson chuckled at the remark. “Yes…of course…” Then he exited the Brighthouse. When no one was looking, he took out his sign and a marker from his back.

“So how are we gonna find this lizard creeper?” Pipp asked.

“Yeah, it could be crawling anywhere!” Izzy added.

“Hmm, that’s something I haven’t figured out yet,” Hitch admitted.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll find a way soon,” said Sunny.

Zipp casually took a look outside the window and saw a sign pointing towards a particular direction. Narrowing her eyes, she flew outside and read the direction thereon.

“Guys, it seems like we won’t have to look far. Our mysterious culprit is apparently interested in us finding him,” she said, showing them the sign.

The others walked out of the Brighthouse and read where the sign wanted to take them. “The creature is at Zephyr Heights?!” Hitch exclaimed.

“Oh no! Everypony could be in danger!” Pipp cried.

“That monster made a big mistake going there,” Hitch growled. “If that thing harms anypony, ooooh-ho-ho-ho…it’ll wish it were never born.”

“Come on, everypony, let’s save the magic of friendship!” declared Sunny.

The Mane Five then left Maretime Bay and went on their way to the city of Zephyr Heights. Unbeknownst to them, Axor’s blue eyes gazed at them as they departed.

His eyes then turned back to red, and he teleported right outside the Brighthouse. As he opened the front doors wide, he breathed in and exhaled the fresh air before he cracked his knuckles. “Right on schedule, ladies. Right on schedule.”

As they arrived in Zephyr Heights, they looked around to see if their suspect was in sight. Zipp narrowed her eyes straight ahead and noticed that there was a slime ball on the pavement.

Quickly trotting to it, she picked it up with her hoof and tasted it. “It’s the same sorbet that ransacked Maretime Bay earlier! This villain must be close by!”

Her friends followed her lead as they searched across the streets of the city. But before they could proceed further, they spotted Queen Haven standing outside the palace between her guards.

“Mom?!” Zipp & Pipp spoke in unison.

As the Mane Five reverently approached her, Pipp ran forward and hugged her. “Mom! I’m so glad you’re okay! Listen, things are getting waaaay out of hoof right now. There’s some creepy lizard wreaking havoc out there, and it will—Mom?”

Queen Haven did not move or respond to Pipp’s words. In fact, none of her guards standing next to her moved an inch either. Confused, Pipp waved her hoof in front of her which still didn’t faze her.

“Mom? Mom! Are you alright?” Zipp asked, worried.

Zipp then attempted to move her body, but Haven was surprisingly too strong to move out of place. This forced the sisters to move their mother with all their might but to no avail.

“What the heck?! Why does she feel like a statue?!” Pipp groaned, pushing hard.

Then they finally gave up. Panting in exhaustion, they each tapped the helmets of the guards—still completely motionless.

“Uh-oh…are you guys thinking what I’m thinking?” Izzy asked.

“Somepony must’ve done something horrible to them!” Sunny fearfully replied.

“Oh really? I was thinking they were playing some kind of mannequin game, but that could be it too,” Izzy clarified.

“Whoever is responsible for this will have to answer for all this chaos!” Zipp exclaimed.

“That…would be me,” an ominous voice called out.

Thunderous clouds covered the sky, every tree transformed into a monster, and every building was instantly covered with growing vines.

The Mane Five remained close to each other and witnessed the chaos unfold before their own eyes. Just when they thought they have seen everything, Toffee emerged from the darkness behind them—calmly smirking at them.

“Admiring the scenery, are we?”

The Mane Five widened their eyes in shock and gasped at the sight of their suspect. “It’s…it’s YOU!!” Sunny shouted.

“Sorry for what happened to her royal highness. Couldn’t risk her spoiling my…surprise party if you will,” said Toffee. “She’s lucky she’s temporarily in suspended animation.”

“I don’t believe it. You’re actually real?!” Hitch yelled, flabbergasted in disbelief.

“Oh. My. Gosh!! You look creepy, and you’re somehow dressed so formally! That’s even 🎶scarier🎶!” Pipp acknowledged.

“Yoooooouu…are far from what I imagined you would look like,” Zipp admitted.

“Hey, did you get a haircut? It looks nice on you,” Izzy complimented.

Toffee could only chuckle in amusement at their different reactions. “The name’s Toffee, and I’ve come here to free you from all your magical burdens. Don’t worry, it will be a quick and painless process. You’ll thank me later.”

“Magical burdens? What are you talking about? You’re the one who was corrupting earth pony magic, right?” Sunny asked.

“Hmmm, ‘corrupt’ is a rather strong word; I prefer the term ‘liberation’. You see, your magic is nothing but an imprisonment. This whole ‘magic of friendship’ is something only cowardly liars would express,” Toffee scoffed.

“So you are behind this! You tried to make our magic look bad just so Hitch could make it a taboo!” accused Zipp.

“Zipp, I know what you’re gonna say next. ‘I told you so!’ If you’re thinking about rubbing it in my face, forget it,” said Hitch, annoyed.

“I wasn’t thinking about it,” replied Zipp, darting her eyes back and forth. “…I think.”

“I tried to show you ponies that this magic does more harm than good. Magic doesn’t make you friends; it makes you slaves. From what I’ve observed, you let this power make all the choices for you…isn’t that right, Sunny Starscout?”

Sunny looked at him surprised. “How do you—?”

“A little birdie told me. He told me everything about you, my dear. Believe me when I say that I despise everything about you; you enforced your arbitrary philosophy on your so-called friends and expect them to walk in your footsteps—or hoof steps, in your case?” Toffee challenged, circling her.

“That’s not true! I would never force them to be my friends! Friendship is a choice and—!”

“Don’t make me laugh,” Toffee interrupted. “Your magic is anything but a choice. Your Unity Crystals are proof that you have no free agency on your own. Ha, and you are protecting them with your very own lives.”

Then Sunny looked at him even more confused.

“You don’t know the whole story, don’t you? Yet you call yourself a savior. Poor little pony—so blind to the truth,” mocked Toffee.

“Sunny, don’t listen to him! He’s trying to mess with your head!” Hitch warned.

“Yeah! We can take him down together!” Izzy agreed.

“And we can save our home together too! Seriously, this doomy gloomy shenanigans is creeping me out!!” Pipp complained.

Sunny then regained her confidence and activated her alicorn powers. “If you want to get rid of our magic, you’ll have to go through us first, Toffee! We won’t let you harm Equestria on our watch!”

“And please make it hard for yourself. I won’t be so kind with you after what you did to our mom!” Zipp angrily growled.

However, Toffee casually yawned to himself. Cracking his neck, he raised his hands and his fingers glowed green. They morphed into two different weapons: a buzzsaw on his left hand and a mace on his right hand.

“I intend to make it hard…for you,” he evilly smiled.