Waking up from her first full night of rest in a while, Zeph looked around the brightly lit room.

“How long was I asleep?” Zeph asked as her eyes landed on Argon, who shrugged.

“I guess adventuring and being freaked out about your decisions really takes it out of you. Anyway, let’s see if we can’t find Cozy.”

Making her way out of her guest room, Zeph made her way into the headquarters’ lounge area, where she found Clef and Blossom sitting together drinking tea.

Clef waved her over. “We have plenty of tea if you want some!”

“Uhm, maybe later. Do you know where Cozy’s at?”

“I haven’t seen her since I ended my watch last night,” replied Clef.

“Midnight said she saw her in the ground-level garden while she was on watch. So, I’d imagine she might be sleeping?” interjected Blossom.

Zeph thought for a long moment. She had never actually seen Cozy sleep, even when she went on camping trips with her and Flare. Cozy was always the last one to sleep, and the first one to rise.

“I’ll go check the garden.”

Making her way down to the ground-level garden, Zeph found Willow watering plants.

“You wouldn’t happen to know where Cozy is, would you?”

“She was around when I first started working, but she left not long after first light. Said she was goin to stretch her wings. Which, I gotta admit, being able to fly sounds mighty fun.”

“Oh—okay, I guess I’ll just wait for her to get back then. You know where Cedar and Kira are?”

“Just look around a bit and you should find them. They’re helping with the waterin. Though they should take a water break themselves. So when you see em, have em come up to the bar and grab a drink.”

After thanking Willow, Zeph started walking around the garden as her mind wandered. Looking back at Argon, she sighed. “I know, I know, we’ve already talked about it, but are you really sure? Like, really—really sure?”

Argon nodded.

Sighing in disappointment that Argon’s answer was still the same as last night, Zeph continued looking around the garden until she found Kira humming a song and dancing while she watered.

“You’re pretty good!” exclaimed Zeph as she approached Kira from behind, causing her to spin around and smile at her.

“When I woke up this morning, I couldn’t get this song out of my head. It was in my dreams last night, and I just can’t seem to stop thinking about it.”

“What were you dreaming about?”

“The music was playing; I was dancing with a yellow blur… I can’t remember any real details other than the song, and the way I felt. I felt really happy. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Sounds like a pretty good dream. Still wish there was less night?”

“Maybe nights are alright, but only when the dreams are good.”

Zeph giggled. “Have you seen Cozy yet today?”

“I saw her fly by not too long ago. I’m pretty sure she landed on… that building.” Kira pointed to the treehouse that Zeph knew was Runa’s workshop from the tour Clef had given her.

“It’s kind of strange that Cozy seems to really like spending time with Runa. Usually, the only pony Cozy spends any real amount of time with is Flare.”

“Who?”

“My best friend back on the Lost Isles. Cozy’s, too. She’s a pegasus about the same age as me, but she’s got golden yellow fur, and her mane has these really cool orange streaks. She—loves surfing, spending—way too much time on roller skates, and her lifelong dream is to make the best pizza in the Lost Isles.”

“I have no idea what any of those things are, but they have exciting names! Especially ‘pizza.’ For some reason, I’m picturing a buzzing yellow pea.”

“Actually, its spelling is more like pie than pea. Which I assume is because it’s basically a flat pie.”

“Pie… I seem to be able to remember pie. Now that I think about it, I think those glittery berries were used in pie.”

“We saw a lot of them around the ruins we found you in, but after that, not so much. I wonder if they were some food crop that whatever society that used to live there grew?”

Kira shrugged.

Sometimes Kira reminded Zeph of Argon. She could speak, unlike him, but often shrugged or ended conversations with a smile or some other gesture.

“Oh—Willow wants you and Cedar to go get a drink at the bar.”

“Okay.”

With that, Kira started skipping off in the opposite direction of the bar.

“You’re going the wrong way!”

“Didn’t you want me to tell Cedar?”

“Y-yeah, sure. Thank you.”

Kira smiled at Zeph, then continued to skip away, leaving her alone with Argon. Looking back to Argon, she saw that he was deep in thought with a sorrowful expression on his face.

“What you thinking?”

His eyes met hers, and for a moment, he seemed like he wanted to say something, but then made his usual gesture that she has come to know as, “nothing important.” Though she got the feeling he really meant, “nothing I want to talk about.”

Things had been awkward with him since last night. At dinner, it had been pseudo-decided that Argon should be returned home by the Sparkmasters. Cozy wasn’t present for the meal, so it’s not considered a final decision, but it didn’t really seem like it mattered. Zeph hoped Cozy would have some way to allow her to accompany Argon without putting all pegasi kind in danger, but also knew that she would probably be thrilled to learn that she no longer had to be on a mission to return a bunny home.

Zeph lethargically made her way to Runa’s workshop and stood at the door for a moment. Her heart sank as she felt her hope flicker. This was it. Either Cozy would know something, or—

The door of the workshop swung open, revealing Runa, who smiled at her, then turned around and yelled, “Found her!”

“That was quick,” remarked Cozy, who was in the far back of the workshop working on something.

“You were looking for me?”

“Yeah. Cozy figured by the time I found you, she’d be done.”

Zeph followed Runa over to Cozy, who appeared to be carefully etching an intricate pattern into a purple crystal. When she was done, she inspected it for a few moments before muttering, “We really need a purer crystal, but maybe…”

“Purer crystal for what?” inquired Zeph.

“I recently spent quite a lot of time disassembling illusion magic while I was in the Everfog. This is a crude attempt at a dragon-style adaptation of some… copied parts of it and reworking—a lot. The purity of the crystal is going to determine how long the spell lasts,” Cozy said before holding out the stone. “Tap it with your hoof.”

Doing as Cozy asked, Zeph felt a tingly surge pulse through her. “That felt weird.”

“Direct enchantment magic can feel a little strange, depending on what it does. In this case… you might want to look behind you.”

Looking behind her, Zeph was quick to realize her wings were gone. Freaking out for a moment, Zeph tried to lift a wing, but found that it felt normal. Reaching up with her hoof, she could feel her wing but couldn’t see it. Looking a little further back, she also noticed that her tail feathers had turned into a short bob of hair.

“You still look pretty funny for an earth pony, but at least you don’t look like a pegasus anymore.” Cozy looked knowingly over to Runa. “How long do you think the spell’s going to last?”

Runa lowered her head and put her horn disturbingly close to Zeph’s face for a moment before pulling away. “About an hour.”

“That’s what I was afraid of… It uses a lot of power to have the warning circuit, but without it, there wouldn’t be any warning as to when the spell was going to run out. I think we’re just going to have to go gemstone hunting. An hour is too risky, especially for a pony as reckless as our dear detective—especially given that the spell recharge time is going to be almost double its length.”

“So, not to interrupt, but can you explain what’s going on?” interjected Zeph.

“Clef told me about the ‘decision’ that was made last night while I wasn’t around. And because I know you, I figured I should prepare a counter plan so you don’t decide it’s a good idea to run off in the middle of the night again.”

“I assume that means you agree with them on it being too dangerous to let earth ponies know pegasi exist?”

“I don’t have enough information to ‘agree.’ That said, I’m fine with being cautious. That includes being cautious about our little fuzzy friend, too.”

“What do you mean?”

“We can’t trust the Sparkmasters. While certainly an interesting group of ponies—especially one of them.” Cozy smiled apologetically towards Runa. “It doesn’t change the fact we’ve only known them for a day…ish. We have little reason to trust them. Especially not with such a labor-intensive task that they get no direct benefit from.”

“Which is understandable. Unicorns aren’t exactly known for our generosity,” interjected Runa.

“So you think the other Sparkmasters have ulterior motives?” asked Zeph.

“I certainly don’t trust Stardust nor Blossom. Willow is the only one I’d trust at his word alone.”

“What about Clef and Midnight?”

“Clef I trust, mostly… Midnight, though… She’s a bit greedy. I wouldn’t trust her unless I knew she’s getting a good deal out of something, or it’s to the benefit of her brother.”

“How about yourself?”

“I can’t say I’m much better… Like Stardust, I’m here to pursue my own selfish desires.”

“Which are?”

“To study real magic, which is why I’ve decided I’m coming along with you. I’ve learned everything I can here, but I’ve only just begun scratching the surface of what I can learn with a teacher like Cozy.”

Zeph turned to Cozy with a raised eyebrow. “Just how much do you know about magic?”

“More than most ponies, it would seem.”

“Still not going to tell me anything, eh?”

“I like unraveling magic; you like unraveling mysteries. Why would I take the fun out of your hobby? Based on our time together thus far, what have you deduced?”

“That you probably spend all your time in the caves doing more than harvesting glow berries? I’m also thinking you can sense magic, too. How else could you have known what kind of magic the vines were using, despite never being to the mainland before? Which makes me wonder, the way you stare at Argon and Kira, what do you sense about them?”

“Suppose, since my secret’s out of the bag, I may as well share it with you, along with what I sense in you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. I didn’t sense it before because it was too weak, but now it’s clear as day. Can you sense it, Runa?”

Runa lowered her head again and once more put her horn too close for comfort for Zeph.

“You mind not putting the point so close to my face?”

“Sorry.” Runa pulled away from Zeph. “There does seem to be some type of magic present beyond the illusion spell, but I don’t know. I’ve never come across anything like it before.”

“There’s a fairytale that some ponies have the ability to ‘talk’ to animals. Though, analyzing Zeph, it’s less of the ability to talk to them and more that she can connect with them. It’s a complex magic that seems to be woven into her very being, which makes me believe it’s hereditary. Because of the way it’s integrated into her, I don’t believe there’s any way to copy it.”

“So you’re saying—I’m the reason I see images from Argon?”

“Yes and no. Watching you two interact, I’d say it’s only because he’s with you that you can use it, as he’s the one powering it. He seems to have the natural ability to convert magic. One fact of the world is that ponies have no magic, at least, not anymore. However, he seems to be able to bring life back to the pathways that reside inside ponies. At least, that’s my current theory.”

“And how does that work into Kira?”

Cozy pulled a yellow gemstone out of her bag and held it out for Zeph to see.

“This is a gemstone I found while following your trail. It’s just like the one in Kira’s forehead, except its core magical signature is different… The best way I can put it is that it’s a complex magic system that relies on a base type of magic which simply doesn’t seem to exist, and because of that, no matter how much magic is stored inside of it, it simply can’t function. However, Kira’s gem has been modified. It uses a base magic with a similar signature as Argon, which I’m going to refer to as bunny magic, as it’s certainly not natural magic like the Everglow, nor dragon magic like dragon artifacts.”

“So you’re saying if Argon touched that gemstone, we’d get another Kira?”

“I’d wager against it. I’d also offer a warning against him touching any other gems like this one, as well. Argon lost a lot of energy from the time we parted ways to when we reunited.”

“Can we do anything for him?”

Cozy walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a glowing sack. That she then sat down in front of Zeph, which prompted Argon to hop off her back and stare at the bag longingly.

“Yes. Eat as much as you want. That’s why I was collecting them last night.”

Before Cozy even finished her sentence, Argon had pulled out a cluster of glow berries and was nibbling. Zeph couldn’t help but smile.

“So all we have to do is feed him glow berries?”

“That does seem to be his primary power source, at least, from my observations thus far.”

After watching Argon for a few moments, Zeph turned her gaze back to Cozy and smiled at her, too.

“Thank you. For everything, not just the glow berries. I’m really not sure what I’d do without you.”

“A lot of swimming, I’d imagine. Jokes aside, if you’re done with the interrogation, we should start planning our trip to Shadow Falls.”

“That sounds creepy.”

“According to Runa, it’s the best nearby place to find the type of gemstones we need. Hopefully, we can find two at the level of purity and size we need.”

“Wouldn’t we need three—one for you, Kira, and then me? Unless I’m missing something.”

“Two will do. I can manage with this prototype for myself. I’ll modify it to disable the warning circuit, which, along with my smaller size, will save enough power that the spell recharge should be shorter than the duration.”

“Alright. What do we need to plan?”

Author's Note

🎊🌑🎊Happy lunar new year!🎊🌕🎊