In the building of Canterlogic, construction ponies were walking around, carrying metal, tools, or other equipment or just lazily slouching around. Phyllis entered the room, wearing a general's hat and gown. "Ponies!" She snapped, each construction worker turned to her as she spoke. "We have to get this done now! You all are useless! Utterly useless!"

Phyllis walked forward as she took a smoothie from a pink pony, whose frizzy mane instantly turned straight. "The unicorns or the pegasi could attack at any moment, and they'll use their magical prowess to eliminate us! Do you want that to happen? You!" She again faced the pink pony, who put on a confused expression. "What's your name?"

"Uh... Pinkamena?" The pink mare said, her straight hair turning bubbly once more. "Why?"

"Well, Pinkamena, do you want the unicorns and pegasi to come and invade our town? Kill your relatives? Friends?" Phyllis asked.

"No! I would never want that!" Pinkamena said, waving her hooves in an x manner. "I love my Mom and Dad!"

Phyllis nodded as she turned back to the construction ponies. "Now, if you want none of your friends or family to get harmed, I suggest you stop lazing around!"

The construction ponies quickly went back to work, each with a look of fear in their eyes. Phyllis turned to a curtain as she went under it. "Toots, Sweets, how's production on the Phyllisbot going?"

The next day, the group was walking through a field, everyone except Hitch looked amazed by the beauty. "Woah! The beauty! Eee! I have to get a picture!" Pipp said, pulling out her phone as she took many photos. "Ooh, does the lighting look good on me? I'm not sure..."

"Pipp!" Zipp snapped. "We're out in the wild, nopony's going to see or like these photos!"

Pipp scoffed, briefly taking a photo before returning it from where she pulled it. "And? I can't have memories? Besides, the land is so, so beautiful!"

Further on the path, Sprout noticed Hitch's... well, not-so-pleased look. Sprout, who had nothing better to do, slowed his pace a little to join him. "Yo, what's wrong?" Sprout asked. "No offense, but that look ain't good."

"Sprout, you know what's wrong," Hitch said. "We're on a crazy quest to get some crystals that don't work! And the worst part of it all is that my jurisdiction has little to no matter out here!"

Sprout chuckled, noticing the problem. "Oh, I see. You're homesick! That explains it!" Sprout said. "That, and you're just Hitch-ing."

"Hitch-ing?" Hitch asked. "What!? I am not Hitch-ing! Whatever that is. I'll let you know that I'm doing the opposite of Hitch-ing!"

"Yeah, sure, buddy," Sprout said. "Come on, this quest isn't so bad! I mean, we're traveling to places we've never seen! I mean, a city in the skies? That's amazing!"

"You're right, the whole heist and the drug fog really captured the city's ever-so-amazing beauty!" Hitch sarcastically said. "Come on, if we hurry, we can drag go back home and drag Sunny with us. I mean, Phyllis is probably worried sick about you!"

Sprout raised his voice to talk, only to stop himself. What was the point? Sprout sighed as he jogged forward, leaving Hitch alone. "What!? You can't do that! I'm the sheriff! I have a badge!"

Just then, Izzy walked over to him as she whispered, "Yeah, didn't we establish that your jurisdiction didn't matter out here? Also, your badge fell off like, a few hours ago. And between you and me, that badge might've been giving you an unhealthy power dynamic." Izzy finished as she bounced forward, landing next to Sunny.

Hitch's eyes widened as he touched his sash, and his badge wasn't there to his disappointment. "What?! No, no, no! My badge! My shiny badge!"

"We're almost to the river everypony!" Sunny shouted, pulling out her father's journal, along with the map she put inside.

Hitch groaned as he stomped towards Sunny, who noticed but didn't act. "Listen, Hitch, I know what you're going to say."

"Then you know what I'm going to tell you," Hitch said, pacing around Sunny, who looked at the map. "After this little escapade, quest, whatever, I'll be dragging you and Sprout back to Maretime Bay, where I can arrest you. Crystal?"

"What? Oh, clear," Sunny said, waving her hoof absentmindedly. "Now, I think we're just over..." She took her eyes off the map, revealing not a river, but a massive gap in front of them "...here."

"Woah, this is one large river!" Izzy said, taking the map. "Who names a river a... ra-vene? That sounds weird, raa-vine? Ra-vine? Ra-viné?"

"A ravine?!" Sunny hurriedly retook the map, and she pointed to where they were. On the map, there was a giant crack with the words "RAVINE", well, the text was smudged, so it really looked like river, not ravine. "Oh, no, no, no, no! How could I notice!?"

"Well, that's the end of that, time to go home!" Hitch said, smiling as he turned around and started walking. Sprout, on the other back, pulled him back as he turned him forward.

"Hey, shouldn't there be a bridge?" Zipp asked, trailing his hoof on the map.

"There should be one, but the only one I see is that one," Sunny pointed to a broken bridge, a gap in between two stone ledges. "And I don't think we'll be able to hop, skip, and jump our way across."

"Hey, why don't we just make our own bridge?"

The five turned and saw Sprout, next to a tree with no leaves. "I mean, this tree looks long enough to reach the other side. If we work together, we could topple this tree down."

"Yeah, but what if it doesn't hold us?" Pipp asked. "I, for one, do not want to freefall to my death!"

"Oh, wait!" Sunny rummaged in her bag as she pulled out a lasso. "I brought this along, never know when it could be useful. We could tie this on Sprout and let him go across, and if it breaks, we can just pull him up!"

"Wait, why me?!" Sprout asked, his face starting to sweat. "Why not Hitch?! He's the sheriff here, he should do it!"

Sunny, Izzy, Zipp, and Pipp turned to Hitch, who sighed dejectedly. "I'm going to have to get forced to do this, aren't I?"

A few minutes later, the lasso was tied on Hitch's back as Sunny and Zipp lifted him onto the tree. "If I die, I'm haunting you to the grave," Hitch sharply said.

"Don't worry, Hitch, you won't die," Sunny assured before she paused. "Well, hopefully, you won't."

"Was that supposed to assure me?!" Hitch asked, gulping as he looked down below him. "Here I go, I guess." Hitch took a deep breath as he walked forward. The Mane Five held on to the rope tightly as Hitch walked across. At the midpoint, Sunny's breath hitched, the lasso wasn't long enough to make it across.

"Hitch! Stop!" Sunny shouted, and that was enough to stop Hitch. "The lasso won't be able to reach the other side. We'll have to, well, let go."

"WHAT?!" Hitch screamed. "No, no! I'm turning around!" Hitch was about to turn around before he heard the tree creak. "Scratch that."

"Just keep heading forward, don't look down, don't look back, got it?" Zipp instructed. Hitch nodded as he took a step forward. Then another one. "Good, good, just keep doing that, alright?"

As Hitch kept walking forward, the tree started to creak more, but Hitch was already past the midpoint, so he kept going. A few steps later, Hitch jumped down to the other side as he took deep breaths. "I did it! I did it!" Hitch cheered, untying the lasso from his body.

"Yes, you did," Sprout said. He walked over to the edge of the cliff, before slowly backing away. "But, quick question, how are we supposed to get across?"

"We could... walk on the tree again?" Sunny said, drawing lines in the dirt. "If it supported Hitch, it can support us, right?"

"Uh, did you not hear the creaks it made?" Zipp asked, raising his hooves in the air. "It could break!"

"I see your point, but..." Izzy walked over to the tree and jumped on it. "...I could just try!" Izzy smiled.

"Wait, Izzy, no!" Pipp said, reaching out for her friend, but she had already started walking. Izzy, somehow, didn't look troubled at all, it looked like she was weightless because it didn't creak, not even once. "And, woah, Izzy's got skills!" Pipp complimented. A few seconds later, Izzy jumped down next to Hitch, who looked surprised.

"How did you..." Hitch trailed off. And in response, Izzy only shrugged as she followed a butterfly.

"Well, I think that's settled," Sunny said, facing Sprout, Pipp, and Zipp. "Now, who wants to go first?"

Pipp, Zipp, and Sprout exchanged glances as they pointed to Sunny. "...Right! Yep, I've got this!" Sunny gulped as she jumped onto the tree, it creaking slightly. She took some time to stabilize herself as she took a deep breath and walked forward. She took small but careful steps. "Come on, come on..." She muttered to herself as she passed the halfway point.

"Yeah! You can do this, Sunny!" Sprout said, cheering her on. "Don't look down! Because that's the worst mistake somepony could do!" A few minutes later, Sunny jumped down next to Hitch, breathing long and deep breaths.

"That was the most terrifying experience I've ever had..." Sunny said, breathing in and out. "...and I survived."

Pipp and Zipp now faced Sprout, who backed away slowly. "And it comes down to me, doesn't it?" Sprout said plainly, to which the two siblings nodded in unison. "I get it, you're royalty, ponies die for you." Sprout jumped on the tree and walked on it, sporting a nonchalant expression. A few seconds later, he jumped down next to Sunny and Hitch. "But now you have to pick who goes first!"

Pipp and Zipp looked at each other, narrowing their eyes at each other. "You go first!" They both said, strangely at the same time. "No, you go first! Stop copying me!" They said.

"You were the one who ruined my show, and to make up for it, you go first." Pipp smugly said.

"Yeah? But I was the one who saved you, and if I hadn't, you could've fallen to your death. That, or you would've gotten infected by that crazy fog." Zipp retorted back, a smirk growing on his face. "So, come on, Pipp! You go first!"

"Ugh! Fine!" Pipp groaned, jumping on the tree graciously. "If I'm going to die, I'll die graciously!" Pipp said. As she walked, she danced. Which, in hindsight, wasn't exactly smart for her. "I call this one, the leaping pegasus!" She said she jumped into the air, her wings unfurling for a second as she landed graciously back down. The tree creaked a little, but it was surprising (and relieving) that it hadn't broken. "And now... my landing!" Pipp jumped down next to Izzy as she bowed down. "Tada!"

"Alright, now, it's my turn," Zipp said. "I can do this, I can do this!" Zipp jumped onto the tree as she unfurled his wings, turning them sideways to balance herself.

"Aww, why didn't I think of that?" Pipp asked, frowning. "But, it gives me a lot of new ideas! So, yay!"

A few seconds later, Zipp jumped down onto the ground, and just in time too! The tree broke in half as both of its ends fell inside the ravine. "Huh, looks like I was lucky," Zipp said, turning to her friends. "Now, are we going to go? Or what?"

The five looked at each other before turning back to Zipp. "We won't make it to Bridlewood today, as the trip between Zephyr Heights and Bridlewood is much longer than from Maretime Bay, so we'll stop in a cave tonight."

"Ooh! Camping!" Pipp clapped her hooves, her face brightening up. "I've always wanted to go camping, eek!"

"Yeah, you've got to try Sprout's homemade soup! It is amazing!" Izzy said, patting Sprout on the back, to which the stallion blushed in embarrassment.

"Sprout can cook?" Hitch disbelievingly asked, his eyes widening. "That's pretty cool, in my opinion."

Sprout's face turned from embarrassment red to blushing red. "You think so?" Sprout asked, clearly trying to keep his cool.

"Uh, yeah?" Hitch asked, tilting his head a little. "I mean, every stallion should know how to cook, it shouldn't only be a mares job."

"Nice to know you aren't sexist," Pipp smiled. "Maybe you're not a bad of an earth pony, Mr. Sheriff."

"Oh, haha," Hitch rolled his eyes muttering something to himself. "Come on, I don't want to stay here any longer. Thinking of my near-death makes me paranoid."

Back in Zephyr Heights, Queen Haven stared out of her barred window. "Oh, my darling kids, where are you?" She quietly asked. Her cell was one of the royal ones, as it was the only one they had, so Queen Haven could live peacefully... for now.

"Ex-Queen Haven! You have a visitor!"

~~Queen~~ Haven turned around as a light blue pegasus with silver hair with yellow stands walked towards her. His cutie mark was a gold sword with wisps of air around it. "Peris?" Haven asked, her voice trembling. "Gosh, I haven't seen you since..."

"Since Whisper's funeral?" The pegasus - Peris - asked. "It's... nice to see you too, Haven. Even if we're standing in a prison cell." Peris and Haven shared a laugh before Peris' expression turned serious. "Haven, take a walk with me."

"Walk? Peris, I'm in jail, I can't get out!" Haven said, only for Peris to hold up the replica of the pegasus crystal, which made Haven gasp. The pegasus crystal was given to the current ruler, the pony which the Heights respected and trusted. "Peris... is that?"

Peris nodded, his face showing a small smile. "It is! You see, after the whole fiasco yesterday, I gave a speech, and the next thing I knew, I was given this! Zephyr Heights is still in turmoil, but maybe I can get them to listen! You can have your throne back!"

Haven gasped. "I... really? I don't think they'd accept me back, to say the least. And besides! If they gave you the pegasus crystal, then that means they trust you! You can be the next king of Zephyr Heights! Why would you not want that?"

"Because it's your destiny, look at your cutie mark!" Peris pointed to Haven's cutie mark, which was a combined pair of indigo wings with a gold crown floating above it. "It represents you, being a leader! How did you get your cutie mark again?"

"It's when I, well, lead my team to victory during a school-wide competition," Haven said, blushing in embarrassment. "I got my cutie mark when I realized I had a natural talent for leadership. But it's not your cutie mark that defines how you are as a leader, it's how you act that does. If they trust you, then you're the new leader."

Haven sighed, looking into Peris' eyes. "You can be a good leader. If they trust you, then you have to do it. Be a leader, lead Zephyr Heights before it goes into turmoil! I can't be that leader, since I've broken their trust." She winced. "Please, do this for me."

"Very well," Peris hesitantly nodded. "But at the very least, I can get you out of this cell, even if it'll only be today. I need you to meet someone, he requested for both of us."

Haven's ears twitched at the mention of someone. "Who?" She asked.

"You may know him as the leader of the Royal Guard," Peris said. "Captain Horizon."

"Horizon? What does he want?" Haven asked.

"I'm... not sure, he said it would be a surprise," Peris said, his ears drooping. "But he seemed quite happy, so it must be good!"

"Alright, let's go then, shall we?" Haven asked, holding her hoof out, which Peris took. "Just make sure not to let the ponies take pictures of me, I look dreadful like this."

"Dreadful? I wouldn't say that," Peris said, noting the ex-queen's half-frizzy mane with some trash particles. "...Maybe a little, but there's nothing a little soap and water won't fix!"

Back with the Mane Six, the group was trudging through a dark forest. "Ick! Ew!" Pipp said, wet dirt getting on her hooves. "Why did we have to go through this dark forest? I can't even see anything!" Pipp swatted the leaves around her, which hit Hitch.

"Ow!" Hitch complained, rubbing a hoof on his left eye. "Couldn't we go through another route? We didn't have to go through the creepy forest!"

"Hitch, you were the one who traveled to Zephyr Heights to arrest me and Sprout," Sunny said, rolling her eyes, though, in the dark, no one could see it. "You didn't have to come either, y'know?"

"At least we have a new friend now!" Izzy said, bouncing on each of the mud puddles. "And is it just me, or are these muddy puddles super fun to jump on?"

"I think that's just you, Iz," Zipp said, somehow seeing his sister's desperate attempt to get the mud off her hooves. "Pipp, even if you clean your hooves now, it'll still get dirty later."

Pipp raised her hoof in retort but quickly put it back down, Zipp had a point after all. "Ugh, fine! But when we get out of this creepy forest, expect me to be wiping my hooves off for a solid five minutes!"

Zipp rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure thing."

Sunny chuckled as she rearranged some leaves in front of her until she gasped. They had made it out of the forest! Sunny turned around to face her friends. "We made it out!"

"Ugh, finally!" Pipp said, walking out of the forest and basking in the light of the sun. "Dirt. Goes. Off. Now!" Pipp started picking at her hooves, removing the mud and grime that was on them.

"Yeesh, that scene was short," Izzy remarked, spinning around in a circle. "Well, let's move on to the time skip!"

"Time... skip?" Sunny asked. "Izzy, we're not in a movie, nor are we in a fanfiction."

"Uh, you don't know about the..." Izzy began before she paused. "...Nevermind!" Izzy trotted away, leaving only a confused Sunny.

That night, the group took refuge inside a cave. Sunny, Izzy, Zipp, Pipp, and Sprout were around a campfire, whilst Hitch was all alone, trying and failing to make a fire. "Come on, come on..." Hitch muttered, rubbing two sticks together. And to his joy, a small spark of fire lit up!.. Only to be distinguished by a small drop of water from the sky. "Aw, dang it."

"Ooh, sparkle? What is that?" Hitch turned around to see the five, all chatting around their fire eating marshmallows. Hitch didn't know why, but he felt... jealous seeing them. Maybe a little sadness in there, but jealousy nonetheless. "Is it how sparkly my mane is?" Pipp asked.

"Uh, no." Izzy giggled, pulling out another marshmallow from her hair. "Your sparkle is like... hm, a representation of your emotions, to put it lightly."

"What? Didn't you say it represented how... happy a pony was?" Sprout asked, spinning his hoof around. "Wait, I'm stupid. Joy is an emotion."

"Yup!" Izzy said. "Only a particular few unicorns can see others sparkle, I'm one of them! They call us..." Izzy waved her hooves around, trying to be scary. "...Sparkleseers."

"Sparkleseers? No offense, Izzy. But that sounds like a dumb name," Zipp bluntly said, eating his roasted marshmallow. "But unicorns do unicorns, so I can't judge them."

"Each pony's sparkle is unique, it being a color that represents them the most!" Izzy explained. "Sunny's lavender, Sprout's green, and I'm indigo!"

"What's mine? What's mine?" Pipp asked, her face looking like one of a filly who was on a sugar rush.

"Yours is... an aquamarine!" Izzy said, Pipp immediately squealing.

"Aquamarine? That's like, my sixth favorite color! After pink, purple, yellow, gold, and green, of course!" Pipp said. "Zipp, if you remark how that's like, my color scheme, I will not hesitate to punch you!"

Zipp chuckled, wiping the crumbs off his face. "No, Pipp, I won't... this time," Zipp said. "Izzy, what's mine?"

"Yours is... a hot pink! Like your mane!" Izzy revealed, somehow appearing beside Zipp as she touched his mane. "So silky..."

"Izzy!" Zipp screeched, pushing Izzy's hooves off his mane, which caused the others to laugh.

"We've done everyone except... Hitch!" Sunny pointed to Hitch, who only groaned in response. "What color is his sparkle?"

"Right now? It's pretty dull," Izzy said. "But I can just make out a yellow... I think."

"Dull? But that would mean..." Sunny took a closer look at Hitch's expression, which showed a mix of sadness, jealousy, and for some reason, frustration. "...I'll be right back."

Sunny stood up from where she sat as she walked over to Hitch, who kept on struggling to make a small fire. "Hey, Hitch," Sunny said, sitting next to him. "So... what're you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing, Sunny?" Hitch asked, groaning in anger before snapping the sticks and chucking them away. "Well, I'm not doing anything now."

"Okay, this is just... sad," Zipp remarked, looking at the show before them. "Yo, Hitch, get your flank over here!"

"No. No way." Hitch said, crossing his hooves. "Sunny, are you sure about this? We can just go back to Maretime Bay, forget this ever happened..."

"Hitch, what do we have to lose?" Sunny asked.

"Oh, I don't know... oh, wait, everything!" Hitch said, standing up. "We could lose everything if we give magic back to our enemies!"

"Do they look like enemies to you?" Sunny asked, gesturing to the Mane Four. "And they certainly weren't enemies when we tried to escape Zephyr Heights."

"Look, I don't know," Hitch sighed. "Maybe I should go back to Maretime Bay, where I'm needed. I don't even know if I left a note."

"I... If that's what you want, fine, I won't stop you." Sunny said, giving him a small smile. "But... I'm really glad you're here, Hitch." She turned back to the fire, looking at each of her friend's faces, especially Sprout's. "And I think they are too." Sunny trotted back to the fire and sat down in her spot. She looked at Hitch as she gave him a warm smile and beckoned for him to come sit next to her.

Hitch sighed as he sat down between Sunny and Sprout. "I might regret this... but whatever," Hitch said.

"So, I think we should set off at first light, so... six?" Sunny asked, receiving approving nods. "If my time estimate is right, we should arrive in Bridlewood at eight."

Izzy face falls, which Sunny immediately notices. "Oh, Izzy... what's wrong?" Sunny asked.

"I guess... I don't want our adventure to end," Izzy said. "Being with you ponies is one of the best things to happen to me, I finally feel like I fit in."

"But Izzy, you'll get your magic back," Sunny said, trying to cheer Izzy up, which she did if only a little.

"Izzy... can I ask you a question?" Hitch asked. "Why did you come to Maretime Bay?"

"Well, even while I was just a little filly, I've always wanted to visit the other pony lands," Izzy admitted. "I found this lantern, and it had a message inside!" Izzy pulled out a folded-up paper from her mane, which Sunny recognized. "It said I had friends in Maretime Bay, and I thought... maybe there were others like me?"

Sunny hesitantly reached out for the note, that Izzy gently gave to her. Sunny started tearing up as she looked at the crayon drawings and the misspelled words inside. It didn't take long for the others to realize that... "It... it was you, wasn't it? You were the one who made that note!" Izzy asked.

"I made it with my Dad," Sunny revealed. "I promised him that someday, we would prove that all pony kinds were meant to be friends. And... just by us, being here together, I think I did." Sunny said, smiling. ""We'll do our part, hoof to heart." That was his motto in life, he always said that. I wish he was here now, to see us, all of us, together."

Hitch sighed as he hesitantly spoke up. "Listen, um, I want to do my part," Hitch said, to the group's surprise. "I mean, what do we have to lose, right?"

Sunny, Pipp, Izzy, and Zipp stomped their hooves on the ground in excitement as Sprout, unknowingly, pulled Hitch into the hug. The sheriff blushed a light red before Sprout quickly realized what he was doing as he pulled away. "Oh, Faust!" Sprout said, his face a brighter red. "I didn't mean to, I was just excited that you finally joined, and I..."

Hitch laughed as he stopped Sprout. "I know, Sprout. And it's not like I was exactly against it." Hitch said.

"Are they dating? Because if not, this will be a very hard thing to watch." Pipp whispered to Izzy, who only smiled in response.

"I have to admit, a unicorn forest does sound a little magical, even with no magic," Hitch said.

"It is!" Izzy answered.

Back in Zephyr Heights, Haven looked at the roof of her cell, pondering over something. "Horizon... wouldn't do that, he couldn't!"

"But then again... he would, wouldn't he?" Haven turned to the cell and saw Peris standing there with a frown on his face. "I wouldn't put it past him. And that's why we need you out there."

Author's Note

Hey! Sorry for the wait on this one, there was some stuff that happened in real life. Had to expose a girl who kept lying... and her lies did NOT make sense, and people BELIEVED HER? I wish I could say I was joking, but I was not. Well, originally, this chapter was going to be a LOT longer, but I moved some stuff to the next chapter, one of them being the "Haven, Peris, and General Horizon" talk. I'm sure you can guess what had happened between those three... maybe not.

Anyway, next chapter... unicorns! Mayonnaise, wing, feather, and magic! And songs! Because I can and I will.

If there's any problems, spelling errors, or anything, please comment it or private message me so I can change it! Hate comments will be deleted, so don't even try and hate!