The Moon had just risen in the Heavens as the herd approached the secluded forest village of Bridlewood. Along the way, Sugar Moonlight repeatedly ran ahead of everypony else, then turned toward Pipp and pursed her lips as they approached her.
"I like our new friend! She's weird," said Izzy. "Plus, she has stylish saddlebags."
Zipp stopped flying circles overhead and touched down next to her sister. "Is our 'new friend' flirting with you?" she asked, while Sugar was up ahead of the herd.
"No, I'm pretty sure she thinks we're filming for the show, somehow. Wait, maybe I should be filming this?" said Pipp.
"I'd prefer we didn't," said Sunny. "I don't want to reveal details of what we're doing right now."
"That's probably for the best," said Hitch, trying and failing to shoo a bird who had been riding on his head for the past five minutes.
"Great, the new filly thinks she's on camera," said Sprout. "Aren't you at least going to tell Sugar about the Elements? Sunny only talks about the legend when she's way ahead of us."
"I'd rather not scare her off, if the only reason she's doing this is for her career," said Pipp.
Sweets turned her head toward the herd. "About that, do any of you actually believe those old legends about the Guardians of Harmony? I know Argyle was right about the return of magic, but summoning ghosts is pretty far-fetched."
"I used to doubt that any of those stories were real, but Sunny's made me a believer," said Hitch as a second bird landed on his withers. "Sometimes, things were just meant to be. It's kismet."
"Ugh. You know how much I hate that word," said Sprout. "Things don't happen for larger reasons. That's why bad things happen to good ponies, and vice versa."
"Things happened for reasons back when the Tree of Harmony controlled Equestria," said Sunny. "According to the legends, anyway."
"Using legends to justify legends isn't logical," said Sprout. "Besides, doesn't it bother any of you that you're using false pretenses to gain the cooperation of the Bearer of Honesty?" said Sprout.
"I don't think it matters. At least, I hope it doesn't. This is the only chance I have...." said Sunny, and then her ears folded slightly to the sides. "I mean, it's an important chance to learn about magic."
Sprout narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Sunny, but said nothing.
"Eh, I don't think she'll catch on," said Zipp. "She doesn't seem too perceptive."
"She'd have to be pretty dense to miss it. I knew something was up the moment I saw Hitch's tell," said Sprout.
"My tell?" asked Hitch.
"Yeah. Whenever you lie, your tail jerks to the side," said Sprout. "It's super obvious."
Hitch's eyes widened. "So that's why I keep losing at poker."
"Smooth move, genius. Now he'll be able to beat you," said Zipp, with a grin.
Sprout laughed. "He'll end up replacing it with another one, just as obvious. Everypony has a tell. Which is good, because I'd earn a lot less if it weren't for our weekly game."
"You could just ask me for a raise," said Hitch. "Though I prefer losing to you at poker, because that way we get to socialize."
"Socialize with whom? We play poker alone—" said Sprout, but then Izzy jumped right in front of him.
"Do I have a tell?" she asked, grinning madly as she bounced up and down in place.
"Maybe you should try lying," suggested Sunny.
"Let's see. I know! I hate surprise parties," said Izzy. Her eyes fluttered, her ears flopped, her knee twitched, and her tail stood straight up.
"That... is the most obvious tell I've ever seen in my life," said Sprout, blinking a few times as though watching a mirage.
"Really? Ohmygosh! What was it?" asked Izzy.
"Guys, I'm waiting," called Sugar Moonlight, prompting the herd to pick up the pace. She was posing in front of the forest with treehouses visible behind her. "I think this angle is good. Princess Pipp?"
Pipp took a photo with her phone once they were a little closer. "Beautiful! But, um, the cameras are off at night," she said. "So you can relax a little."
Sugar's energy seemed to disappear almost immediately. "Thank goodness, I'm spent."
"What cameras?" asked Sunny, in a voice low enough Sugar wouldn't overhear.
"Sugar is an amazing showpony, but she's not exactly the sharpest bulb in the deck, if you follow," whispered Sweets.
Few ponies were outside their trees now that night had fallen, but one was tending to his garden. His horn was glowing as though he were trying to use magic. He stopped and waved at the herd as they passed.
"I guess the unicorns here aren't superstitious about magic anymore," said Sunny. "That's great."
"The unicorn carrot on his head was glowing," said Sugar Moonlight. "Is that healthy?"
Sprout looked over to Sweets and made a disturbing face. Sweets successfully stifled a giggle.
"I think that's normal, Sugar," said Pipp. "Don't worry too much about it."
"Awesome. One less thing to worry about," said Sugar.
"Sweets, why are you coming with us again?" asked Sunny.
"Uh, It's like Phyllis said. I'm just here to help with your adventure," she said, and immediately blew a gum bubble. It popped onto her muzzle and she quickly sucked it back into her mouth. Then she turned to Izzy. "You're Izzy Moonbow, is that right?"
"That's me!" she replied. "Last I checked, anyway."
"I've heard the story of your adventure, but I'm curious about the superstitions here," Sweets continued. "Sunny said you weren't superstitious like the rest of the unicorns in Bridlewood, but she didn't know why."
"Oh, that's right!" said Sunny. "I've been meaning to ask you about that."
"I used to be superstitious just like everypony else! They taught us all to do the bing-bong ritual in school," explained Izzy. "But once I became an adult, I just... stopped, I guess," said Izzy.
"Okay, but why?" said Sprout. "Did you want to be an outcast, or something?"
Izzy shrugged. "It wasn't fun anymore. Oh! here we are." Izzy stopped in front of the hollowed-out base of a gargantuan tree. A large sign in the shape of a teapot read: "CRYSTAL TEA ROOM". It was difficult to see in the darkness, even with the moon out. The crystals embedded in the lawn let off a pale glow, but it didn't help much.
"Where are all the lights in this village?" asked Sweets.
Izzy giggled. "Indoors, of course. We don't want to catch the forest on fire, silly!"
"She means electric lights, doofus," said Sprout. "It's like you don't have power out here."
"If they do, we didn't see it," said Pipp.
"We have a small amount of electronics, but the technology is mostly mousadillo based," said Izzy.
"Mouse-what?" said Sweets, looking incredulous.
Hitch held out his leg and cleared his throat. "Mouseadillo," he said, and a tiny armored rodent fell out of the tree into his open hoof, then smiled at the other ponies. Sprout scowled at the little fellow, who promptly squeaked, rolled into a ball, and bounced off into the grass.
"You didn't have to do that," said Zipp, frowning.
Sunny shook her head quickly, as though waking up. "Hitch, how in the world did you make that happen?" asked Sunny.
Hitch shrugged. "To be honest, I have no idea. I just figured it might work. Critters won't leave me alone, you know? How many birds am I up to, by the way?"
"You're at four, and one of them appears to be a barn owl," said Pipp, examining the tagalongs on Hitch's back. "That's probably what scared the little guy off, actually. Not that you aren't scary, Sprout."
"Thank you, Pipp," said Sprout. "Wait, that wasn't a compliment, was it?"
"It was! I thought you wanted to be scary?" said Pipp.
"Oh, he just does that to push people away so he won't have to fear rejection later," said Izzy. "At least, that's what Sunny told me."
"Izzy!" said Sunny.
"I'm very confused right now," said Sugar Moonlight. "But that's normal, so it's all good."
Suddenly, the door to the Crystal Tea Room swung open, and Alphabittle leaned his large head out of the building. "Sorry folks, we closed early tonight because... oh. It's you. What are you all doing here?"
"We're here to see the library!" said Izzy, smiling.
Alphabittle facehoofed. "Izzy, for the last time. My personal collection of artifacts is not a 'library'."
"Sure it is, see?" Izzy pulled out a library card from her saddlebags. Sunny glanced at it. It had clearly been written in crayon and laminated with what appeared to be several layers of Trotch tape.
"Forgery is a crime, Izzy," Sprout pointed out.
"Can I apply for one of these?" asked Sugar, looking at the card.
"Alphabittle, please ignore everypony but Sunny," requested Zipp.
"We're looking for the ancient city of Griffinstone," said Sunny. "Is there any chance you have a book or a map that could show us the way?"
"I do, but as I said, this isn't a library. You'll have to look elsewhere," said Alphabittle, and he leaned back in and prepared to shut the door.
"We'll get you a date with Mom," said Pipp.
"Who?"
"Queen Haven, our mother," said Pipp.
Alphabittle's forehead glistened with a few beads of sweat. "Uh, why would you think I'd want to date a pegasus mare?"
"Okay, fine. Sorry for bothering—" said Pipp, smirking.
"Deal," said Alphabittle. "Wait here." He closed the door.
"Ooh. This episode's a drama," said Sugar.
"Uh, just curious: does the Queen know about this?" asked Hitch.
"Pipp's safe. Mom clearly likes him," said Zipp. "She'll act peeved—pardon my Prench—but she'll go along with it."
"What makes you say that?" said Sunny.
"Remember? She risked her life to save him," said Zipp. Then she turned her head and stared daggers directly at Deputy Sprout Cloverleaf.
Sprout looked mortified. "Look, Zipp. I'm sorry. I never meant to put anypony in danger, especially not your mom. I know how important family is. I wasn't thinking straight that day," he said. "Please believe me."
"Sprout, it's okay," said Izzy, hugging him.
"Oh, we know you didn't mean to put Mom in danger," said Pipp, smiling. "It's okay, really!"
"Uh, right, we all forgive you. Just like Sunny says, water under the bridge," said Zipp. The muscles in her neck pulled taut, the curious reflex visible even in the dim lighting.
Alphabittle opened the door and hoofed an old, weathered tome to Sunny. "Hope you can read Old Ponish," he said.
"I can, actually!" said Sunny, beaming as she took the book and flipped through it.
Sugar Moonlight giggled. "Wow! What a nerd."
"Alphabittle?" asked Sweets, stepping forward from the herd. "My name is Sweets, and I'm an licenced engineer representing CanterLogic Industries. I was wondering why you don't have electric power in Bridlewood. According to the history books, unicorn society used to be the very apex of technology, so it's a bit of a surprise."
"Oh, that? Eh, superstition, I guess. I suppose it's time for an upgrade, though," he said. "I'm not sure how we'll go about it, exactly. We're still good with tech, but we're behind the times in materials and training."
Sweets turned to Sprout. "Sprout, I need to tell you something."
"Let me guess. You're actually here to keep me out of trouble," he said.
"Right, I figured that was transparent. Phyllis gave me explicit instructions, but I know your mother very well. She would want me to seize this opportunity for CanterLogic," she said. "I think she trusts Hitch enough to watch out for you and would prefer I stay here."
"Stay here?" asked Sprout.
"What's this about?" said Alphabittle.
"With your permission, I'd like to survey the area to determine the best way to supply power to your village without affecting the beautiful scenery," she said. "And admittedly, I'd love to see what makes your current technology tick."
"Seems like a decent proposal, but we're not paying for anything until we have something in writing," said Alphabittle.
"CanterLogic might be willing to do it for free, depending on the potential for an energy contract. I'll need more time to be sure," she said. "Is there a place around here where I can stay?"
"Oh! You can house-sit for me while we're out saving the world," said Izzy.
"That's very generous of you, Izzy," said Sweets.
"Aww. I thought I was Generosity," said Pipp.
"I'm sure you are, Pipp," said Sunny, her nose deep in the book as she flipped from page to page.
"Sounds good. I'll see you tomorrow, Sweets—or Doctor Sweets, I suppose. Just let me know if you need anything," said Alphabittle, and then he closed the door.
Sunny put the book into her saddlebags. "I think Griffinstone is only a few hours from here at a canter, thank goodness. We need to get there before Sunset tomorrow. Maybe we should hike through the night?"
"Sunny, we're not getting anywhere without some rest," said Hitch. "Let's sleep at Izzy's place, assuming she can put us up for the night again."
"Yes! Beauty sleep," said Sugar. "I need lots of that."
"Slumber party!" said Izzy, doing a cartwheel.
"No parties, Izzy. We need to leave early in the morning," said Sprout. "That way we'll have plenty of time to be disappointed when the rest of you realize that Griffinstone is a creative fib parents tell their foals to get them to go to sleep."
"You spoilsport," said Izzy, sticking out her tongue.