Zipp felt this view would never get old.

As she soared in from above the town, she whooped as she put herself into a dive. Wings back, cut airspeed. Once down to appropriate speed, tip down, drop at a near vertical angle before you hit the ground, then hit the brakes (spread wings out), then fly down the street and land.

It was a routine she had practiced many a time in her lab, with the huge turbofan below her providing an easy means of testing new flying tricks. And the skies over Maretime Bay were ideal for trying them out.

Zipp roared in from the sea, dipping down and touching the water with her hoof. She whooped as she started to pull up. Now there were two sentences she wouldn't have said only a few months ago. But here she was, thundering around with the freedom of a bird. No longer was she stuck on the ground, she could soar about the skies as she saw fit.

And that was all thanks to the work of her and four friends. Well, mostly the friend she was going to visit today, but they had all played their part, hoof to heart.

She looked up as she climbed towards her dive point. The coastline jutted out here, and a large building site had cropped up where the lighthouse had once stood tall. Zipp was glad to see that place was getting rebuilt. She didn't know where Sunny was living whilst her home was repaired, but soon she would be able to move back into her old home.

Zipp knew how that felt. Places you live are so much more than just buildings. They have memories attached to them. Memories of things said, things done, and the spirits of the people you knew and loved. And based on their conversations, this was why Sprout had targeted the building. Not just because of the magic, but because of what it meant to Sunny. That place carried the memories of her childhood, and seeing it destroyed was intended to serve a psychological blow.

Zipp dived down towards the town, thinking again to herself. Sunny sure seemed to have been through a lot in her short life, and undoubtedly needed some support. When they got Canternet fully set up in the area, she would look into getting Sunny some therapy sessions.

All around her, stands were being put up and put into service. Zipp was partly here because of them. The stands were for the upcoming Maretime Bay Food Festival, a day when earth ponies showed off their creations and promoted food and drink from their native diets. Zipp had been dispatched to attend by her mother (who had recently been restored to the throne), as not only is food a superb way to learn about another culture, it also shows commitment to the idea of unity- taking in the traditions of another culture who until recently had been sworn enemies. How quickly things had changed.

Zipp touched down in the street and smiled. "Right, which way to the Prancing Pony?" she asked.

"Two streets towards CanterLogic, then take a right and walk a block," said a voice. "You chose a good time of year to visit. Maretime Bay Day can get very hot, which I imagine you might struggle with!"

Zipp nodded. "Thanks." The climate here was something she'd have to get used to on top of everything else. Maretime Bay was a long way south of Zephyr Heights, nestled in a horseshoe shaped bay not far from where Baltimare used to be, according to an old map which they'd found in the archives. Now that had been a treasure trove of information.

Anyway, the climate led to a number of differences between pegasi and earth ponies. Pegasi usually lived at high altitude, and to compensate their bodies had larger lungs (to cope with the thinner air) and longer fur (to cope with the colder air). Earth ponies, on the other hand, had smaller lungs and short fur for the humidity.

No wonder Sunny was so often out of breath during her time in Zephyr Heights.

Zipp strolled through the streets, soaking up all the things around her, before she stepped towards her destination. This particular cafe had been recommended to her by Sunny, and as such they'd set it as the place to meet for lunch before Zipp checked into her hotel room.

Zipp wandered in, showed her reservation to the bouncer, then waited as she was shown to a table and sat down. Good thing she'd thought to secure a reservation indoors. Zipp was feeling the heat, so switching to air conditioning was quite a nice change.

"Afternoon, Zipp! Sorry I'm late!"

Zipp glanced over to see a familiar orange mare make her way over to the table. She deposited her bag next to the chair and sat down in the opposite chair.

Zipp smiled. "No worry, Sunny. I only just got here myself." She shifted in the chair. "You do something different with your mane?"

Sunny nodded. "Yeah. I've been unable to get these rainbow streaks I gained out of my mane, so I've decided to wear my braid differently so they're less obvious. I'm so not in the mood for getting all my paperwork updated with new photos, let me tell you that!"

Zipp had been surprised that night. Safe to say, nopony had seen that coming. "So, how have things been going, Sunny?"

As their drinks arrived, Sunny launched off into her story. "Well, I've mostly been focused on making the Maretime Bay Food Festival more friendly to unicorns and pegasi. I took a look at many of the dishes we often serve and they contain a lot of mayonnaise, so I suggested we try making ones without that in to be more inclusive."

"Good thinking. Where are you living nowadays?"

"I've got a room at the local Mareiott until construction work at the lighthouse is finished," Sunny replied. "Phyllis is footing the bill for that one."

"The building works or the hotel?"

"Both." Sunny then dropped her head, as if in sadness.

Zipp noticed this. "I noticed that the building works are quite extensive."

Sunny sighed. "They got a surveyor out to look at the ruins- only the bottom part of the building was left, and had taken quite a hit when the main tower fell on top of it. Sadly, he had to condemn what was left of the building as it had taken too much damage, and they're currently demolishing what's left." She looked away from Zipp, seemingly wiping something out of her eye. "Sorry. I know, it's ridiculous I'm getting emotional over an old building, but-"

Zipp looked empathetic. "Sunny, it's OK to be upset. I know that place meant a lot to you. And we can honour that legacy through what we do next."

Sunny nodded. "Thanks, Zipp. At least you understand. I got asked a lot why I was sad over an old building, but that's where I grew up, made a lot of memories. After dad passed it always felt like his soul remained there- and now it's gone. At least I was able to save some items from it." She then seemed to brighten up quite a bit. "But there is some good news. They've agreed to build a new lighthouse to replace it, and that's due to be finished by the next Maretime Bay Day. They let me take a look at the plans, and it looks great! When construction is done I'll be sure to invite you guys over."

The plates of food had since arrived, and both mares took to eating whilst chatting about what was going on with their lives. Zipp had surprisingly little to report- royal protocol rarely changed from day to day and Zipp suspected Sunny would find it incredibly boring anyway.

As they chatted away, Zipp suddenly noticed something about Sunny's meal. "Sunny, I don't mean to sound weird, but is that the low fat option?"

Thankfully, Sunny wasn't offended. "Yep! Normally I'd cook for myself as I'd know precisely what was in my meal, but at the moment I don't really have access to cooking facilities so I've been somewhat dependant on hotel food or the local cafes or grocery stores. And the diet around here is kinda fattening."

Zipp nodded. "I'll tell Pipp to take it easy when she arrives."

"So, anyway, since we last met I found I'd put on more than a bit of weight." Sunny looked serious again. "Obviously, that's not good for my health, so for the last little bit I've been on a diet. Seems to be working OK, although I seem to have snuck a few pounds on somewhere."

Zipp nodded. Once the meal was over, the two mares went their separate ways, with Sunny heading for the Mareiott.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash, and Zipp's ears perked. "What was that?" she asked, as she headed in its direction. "Come on, Sunny!"

Sunny dashed after her. "Looks like we're off on another adventure!"

Author's Note

Hello everybody, and welcome back to my stories. I had noted that it had been a while since I had written a story set in Equestria, and as such have decided to tell a new story in a genre I haven't worked in all that much- mystery. The decision to set the story inbetween the movie and MYM Chapter 1 was partly a self-imposed challenge to try and capture the tone and feel of the early days of G5, not to mention we know very little about what happens between the two (making it a goldmine for storytelling).

I also took the opportunity to reference some of the changes in direction the story took. The G5 comics appear to be based on an earlier version of the proposed TV series, as the first few show the lighthouse as having been rebuilt before switching to the Brighthouse partway through. I also decided to give an origin for the latter structure, as it is implied to have been built in the gap between the movie and MYM Chapter 1.

And now, there is action! What could this be about? Find out more... tomorrow!