//------------------------------// // Part 1 - Don't Count On It, Argyle // Story: A New...Something? // by Leondude //------------------------------// The pony-shaped lights galloped around the darkened bedroom as Sunny snuggled next to her Fausticorn plush, waiting for her father to tell her another epic tale involving the Guardians of Harmony and how they defeated and/or even tamed some of the most ferocious beasts and loathsome ne’er do wells that plagued Ancient Equestria. She always liked listening to their heroic exploits compared to the scary stories her history teacher usually rambled on about, to say nothing of how her hare-brained biology teacher believed unicorns are aliens from outer space. “Once upon a time,” Argyle said as he looked at the night-light, “Earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns lived in harmony. Then, one day, a fearsome trio of Tartarus escapees worked together to get revenge on the Guardians of Harmony for throwing them in there in the first place. Through their sneaky ways, they spread rumours about how unicorns wanted to shoot lasers at all the other ponies and eat them for breakfast and how pegasi were vicious animals that would also like to eat the other ponies. Because of the ponies fighting each other, the Windigoes cursed them with a winter that would have lasted for all of eternity if not for the timely arrival of the Guardians of Harmony. With the strength of their bonds, they cast out the Windigoes with a big rainbow laser and punished the trio by turning them into stone, making sure they never harmed another pony again. The end.” Sunny was confused by the ending of the story when compared to the reality of her world, “But if the Guardians of Harmony saved the day, then why can’t we be friends any more?” “Who knows?” Argyle replied, “Politics, morality, whether the Guardians of Harmony were real or not, even that baloney critical race theory your teachers keeps trying to shove down your throat. Maybe one day, we’ll figure it out.” A red unicorn with a dishevelled mane and tail suddenly appeared in the window before descending, “Don’t count on it, Argyle.” Sunny gasped excitedly, “UNICORN!” Argyle looked at the bouncing unicorn with confusion, “Can I help you?” “Depends,” the unicorn replied before descending again, “Do you...Know where the...Magic is?” “Well, there’s a crystal under my daughter’s night-light that, if joined up with these two other crystals, should bring the magic back,” Argyle replied. “Cool,” the bouncing unicorn said before looking at Sunny, “By the way...If you...Want to be...Friends with...Other ponies...Might I...Suggest...Creating a...Facehoof account?” “She’s too young for that and we can’t afford wi-fi,” Argyle replied. “Bummer,” the unicorn said before descending again, this time with a loud crunch, “Could you take me to Bridlewood, please? I think I broke my leg and I’d rather take my chances with the local witch doctor than the hicks in this backwater town. Not that I’m implying all Earth ponies are backwards hicks, just the ones in Maretime Bay because they would rather spend money on machinery that supposedly protects them from our mind-reading capabilities than actually look up whether or not unicorns and pegasi want to eat them. Plus, I’m very certain the surgeons here would hack my leg off and mount it over a fireplace next to a T-shirt saying ‘I slayed a unicorn and all I got was this lousy T-shirt’.” Argyle continued to stare at the window in confusion, wondering what the hay just happened and how did a unicorn manage to sneak into Maretime Bay without getting arrested by the extremely xenophobic police. Sunny, meanwhile, was sound asleep. Deciding he had nothing better to do, Argyle went downstairs and trotted outside to help the strange unicorn. It was another sunny day as Sunny prepared to make her way to the Canterlogic fashion show in another attempt to change Maretime Bay’s views with facts and logic that she had spent hours printing off of her cheap computer. She would have used the computers in the public library but she was banned two years ago for ‘suspicious behaviour’. Normally, she wouldn’t trust Twilipedia but she checked out the sources and they were legitimate enough to prove that pegasi and unicorns aren’t the laser-shooting cannibals the history and biology books liked to write them as. And what were those sources? The manuscripts for the original Harry Trotter books before recent re-releases were rewritten to align with her town’s backwards ideals. For example, Harry Trotter was a unicorn in the original books rather than an Earth pony who had to cut off a unicorn horn so he could wield unicorn magic. As she roller-skated down to her destination, she engaged in the old Equestrian tradition of belting out into a musical number. Good morning, sun No time to chat, I got to run, Because I got places to be So much to do, Excited, yes, and nervous too, A change is starting with me To make her journey quicker, she attached herself to a tram that had just recently stopped.  I never worry about upsetting carts, Hardened hear-Agh! Unfortunately, due to tram wheels and roller-skate wheels being very different, her roller-skates got stuck and she fell over in her attempt at reaching her destination.  And then she heard screaming. “What the?” Sunny pondered. As she got up, she curiously trotted over to investigate what had happened. Suddenly, a stampede of ponies pushed her over as they ran in a hurry. There were two possible reasons as to why everypony would be charging down the same path. Either they really wanted to see the fashion show or there was a natural disaster on the horizon. She would have gotten up again to continue investigating but, amidst all the commotion, she saw something she never thought she’d get to see in her lifetime. The unicorn friend she made on Facehoof. “Hi, Sunny,” Izzy said innocently. Sunny stared in awe at the unicorn before her. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The smoove lavender coat contrasting the wild but surprisingly luscious blue mane, all topped off by beautiful magenta eyes. For a while, she thought Izzy Moonbow was just a fake persona created by the police to arrest her for being a ‘horn-lover’. Who else would have been patient enough to wait for her responses because of the awful broadband she had to use after getting banned? But there she is, right in front of her. She was so amazed by Izzy’s sudden arrival that she didn’t even notice the screaming ponies that were running away from them. Unsurprisingly, Izzy eventually noticed Sunny’s constant leering. “Do you also like staring contests?” Izzy asked. Sunny blushed, “Oh, sorry about that. It’s just so crazy seeing an actual unicorn in person. So, what brings you over to Maretime Bay?” “A big tree fell on my house,” Izzy replied, “So I thought I’d hang out with you since, you know, we’ve been besties since forever.” “I wouldn’t say forever but we have definitely known each other ever since I set up my Facehoof account,” Sunny sheepishly pointed out. “By the way, is everypony playing hide-and seek?” Izzy asked before spotting a random Earth pony behind an ice-cream stall, “I see you.” “Ah, it’s a unicorn!” the pony screamed as he galloped into the sea. Distracted by the sudden arrival of the majestic mare before her, it only just occurred to Sunny what town she lived in. A backwater town that had most likely been brainwashed by the insane ramblings of Mrs Hashbrown and Mr Twigmane, who were most likely brainwashed by their own teachers in school, to say nothing about all the monster movies such as ‘Horns’ and ‘The Creature From Bridlewood’. As much as she would have loved giving Izzy the grand tour of Maretime Bay, she realized it wouldn’t be long until Hitch and his deputy, Sprout, would try to detain Izzy. While she could convince Hitch to treat Izzy in an equine manner, she feared what would happen if Sprout got his hooves on her. Or worse, if an angry mob of ponies showed up and took matters into their own hooves. Given the mass hysteria at the sight of one unicorn, was it any wonder the unicorn stallion from Sunny’s childhood would rather be dragged back to Bridlewood than take his chances at the Maretime Bay General Hospital?  “I got to get you outta here!” Sunny exclaimed as she dragged Izzy along with her. “Where are we going?” Izzy asked obliviously.