All in all, it had been quite an eventful week for Maretime Bay. An unexpectedly chaotic protest from a well-known advocate for pony unity, a unicorn "attack", a new regime implemented by the town's police deputy, all leading up to a robot rampage set in motion by the aforementioned deputy.
But the wildest event of all had been the return of magic in Equestria. The unicorns and Pegasi who had been without their unique abilities for so long had regained them, thanks chiefly to the setting aside of old prejudices between themselves and the Earth ponies.
But while the dust had settled, and a new day had dawned, there were still issues that needed to be dealt with, damage that could not easily be fixed...
Sunny Starscout looked upon the ruins of the building that she had called "home" all her life. The former deputy (and brief ruler) Sprout's would-be vehicle of war had demolished most of the lighthouse, leaving her with little but memories of her life spent there with her.
"I'm sorry, dad." Sunny gazed at the partially damaged picture of herself with her father, Argyle. "I helped bring back the magic, but I couldn't protect our home..."
So Sunny gazed at torn photograph, she was approached by Phyllis Cloverleaf,
"I was wrong about him." Phyllis sighed ruefully as she too looked upon the image of a pony who had long since left their word. "I was wrong about you. I was wrong about a lot of ponies."
"It's okay." Sunny said fairly.
"No, it isn't." Phyllis shook her head. "Sprout used my factory, my resources, to create the monstrosity that destroyed your home, because he believed the fearful nonsense I had been preaching to everypony in town for years. If I had been as open-minded and accepting as you and your father, then perhaps this wouldn't have happened."
"You wanted to keep ponies safe, that's all." Sunny reminded her. "Even though I never agreed with your reasoning, I couldn't fault you for wanting to look out for Maretime Bay."
"Well, it ends here." Phyllis announced. "From this point on, CanterLogic is no more. No more 'defenses' against ponies who are not our enemies. No more propaganda. And absolutely no chance of a repeat of what happened yesterday."
"That's the spirit." Sunny smiled.
"And after the excitement of the last few days, I daresay I am more than ready for retirement." Phyllis smiled. "But not before I take care of a few matters. First of all, I'm going to have a serious talk with that son of mine. One I think has been long overdue..."
Though Sunny said nothing, she couldn't help but agree that Sprout had been badly in need of an attitude adjustment for a very long time.
"And secondly, I'm going to provide you with the resources you need to rebuild your home." Phyllis announced.
"Oh, you don't need to do that." Sunny tried to gently turn her down. "I can handle this on my own-"
"No, no." Phyllis cut her off. "I insist. This mess is partially my fault, and I am going to give you the means to fix it. Bricks, mortar, furniture... whatever you need, it's yours. No questions asked."
"...Well, if you insist." Sunny sighed, knowing now that there was no persuading Phyllis otherwise. "Hopefully, it won't take too much to fix this old place up."
"You could always give it an upgrade." Phyllis noted. "No harm in sprucing up the old place."
Phyllis looked the remains of the building up and down, considering what kind of additions could be made, and found herself taking note of a very unique sight: up in the sky were the three crystals that, once united, had brought magic back to Equestria. Since then, they had remained hovering in the air, right above the remains of the lighthouse.
"It's starting to look like that little arrangement is going to be permanent." Phyllis mused.
"Guess so." Sunny smiled. "A little nice reminder of what can be accomplished when ponies believe in unity, don't you think?"
"I should say so." Phyllis nodded. "And a nice little reminder of what can happen when the right pony sticks to her beliefs. You should be proud, Sunny."
"Thanks, Phyllis." Sunny beamed. "But I didn't do it all by myself. I had help from my friends. And the Earth Pony crystal? Well, it turned out that my dad had it all along."
"He did?" Phyllis gaped.
"That's right." Sunny nodded. "It was part of a lamp he made for me when I was a filly." He smiled with nostalgia. "He must have believed that somehow, someway, I'd find out about the crystals, and bring both them and all three pony kinds back together."
"What a wily old stallion." Phyllis chuckled. "It seems I underestimated him in more ways than one. That makes this his victory as much as it does you and your friends."
"It really does." Sunny smiled wistfully. "If only he could be here to see it..."
"He'd be so proud of you, there's no doubting that." Phyllis assured her. "What you accomplished in these last few days will be his legacy. That, and the daughter he raised to believe in pony unity."
"Yeah..."
Sunny once again looked at the ruins of the lighthouse, then looked upwards, at the connected crystals floating overhead. A thought came into being: a thought that would combine the place where Sunny had spent her happy past with her father with the objects that represented the bright shining future of Equestria. A thought that would lead to a wonderful beacon of unity for all ponies in Maretime Bay and beyond to see...
"Hmm..." She rolled the thought over in her head before facing Phyllis. "You said you'd be willing to provide any resources I need?"
"Exactly correct." Phyllis nodded.
"Great." Sunny grinned. "Because I just thought of a way to "upgrade" this place in a way that will show all of Equestria the light of unity."
"You always were a pony of great ambition." Phyllis chuckled. "Whatever you need to make this vision of yours a reality, consider it yours."
Sunny could hardly suppress her chuckle of glee as her idea took its place at the front of her mind, and began to expand beyond a simple concept.
'Just you wait and see, dad.' She thought as she once more looked upon her treasured family photo. 'When we're through, this old lighthouse won't just be home anymore. It'll be a bright shining beacon of friendship. A beacon that wouldn't have been possible without you.'
The crystals continued to glow high above the idealistic Earth Pony as she began to tell Phyllis just what would be needed to make her dream a reality. From out of the ruins of the old lighthouse would arise something that would fulfill the structure's original purpose in a way nopony could've possibly imagined.
To Be Continued...
