//------------------------------//
// How One Came, As Was Foretold 
// Story: The Once And Future Princess 
// by Lets Do This 
//------------------------------//

Another long, tiring, timeless day of hiking cross-country brought them to the end of the Foal Mountain range. And long before they got there, their goal was in sight. It towered against the cloud-filled, dusky half of the sky, like a shadowy spire rising to the heavens -- Mount Canterlot.

As they ascended one of the hills surrounding the mountain itself, they finally came across a sign of habitation. It was a set of train tracks, reasonably well-maintained, that appeared to be heading that way. Following these, they quickly came to a well-appointed local train station.

And caught a train.

As they stood upon the station's platform, looking around in amazement, a horn sounded in the distance. A candy-colored train and set of passenger cars came into view, chuffing up the track. It pulled to a stop before them, and the doors to the front passenger car slid open. A mustachioed conductor looked out.

"You folks the only ones here? I don't suppose you have tickets, right? Never mind, forget I asked, force of habit. We've been told to pick up anypony looking for a ride, and bring them up to Canterlot. Climb aboard, if you're headed that way."

Sunny and her friends willingly trotted into the car, which turned out to be the First Class compartment. It was half-full of a mixture of earth-ponies in work clothes, and unicorns in richer, more expensive-looking garb. The two tribes of ponies were pointedly sitting on opposite sides of the car, each carefully pretending to ignore the other.

Finding seats by the windows, Sunny's group watched in amazement as the train car chuffed out of the station, then rattled up the track, swiftly beginning the ascent into the heights. And when the train had rounded a few turns and gotten out of the lower hills, it came around a bend and they saw, high in the distance...

"Canterlot..." Sunny whispered.

And she sounded heartbroken. For it was nothing at all like she'd expected.

The city was a wreck. There were the huge platforms, yes, with towers and spires built atop them. But the platforms were shattered, at least half their stone collapsed into the plains far below. The buildings remaining were crumbling and decrepit, looking gray and lifeless in the half-light from the Sun low in the East. And the sky all round the city itself was a mass of dark, gloomy rain-clouds.

"This place is supposed to be old, right?" Zipp asked, doubtfully. "Bit of a fixer-upper, if you ask me." And then she winced when Pipp fiercely elbowed her, nodding at Sunny.

"Well, we got here, at least," Izzy offered. "That's something. And you never know. There might still be books here, and ponies with answers. Right, Sunny?"

Sunny nodded, just to be agreeable. But she said nothing, and seemed to draw into herself, hunched against the back of her seat.

"Let's... just wait till we get there," Hitch said carefully. "See what we find."

The train made good time at least. Soon it had passed through the outer boroughs of the massive city, and rolled into what looked like a main terminus, not far from the ruins of a grand, regal palace.

Sunny thanked the conductor, who nodded agreeably to them all. And then she led the way off the train. And straight into pandemonium.

The streets of the city were thronged with ponies of every station and profession, milling about, some of them selling things, most shouting at one another. Taking care to stick close together, the group made their way up through town, following their snouts. They eventually arrived in what appeared to be a grand open pavilion or celebration area... if you ignored the broken, inexpertly barricaded far edge, where the platform had cracked and sheared off.

Off to the right, up a broad set of steps, were tall doors leading into what looked like an outer wing of the palace itself. A crude stage had been erected close to the stairs, and from this, ponies were loudly haranging the crowd. And the central topic of debate, it seemed, was who was entitled to rule the city now.

"... and it cannot be argued," declared a richly-robed unicorn mare with a jet-black mane, "that I, Sable Tress, am the rightful heir to the throne of Canterlot! My family has lived here for generations! Our investments practically built this place. You'll find the names of my illustrious ancestors adorning many a concert hall and shopping district in this great city!"

"Ha!" retorted a blond-maned unicorn wearing a top-hat and a spangled vest. "Money isn't everything. And it's incontestable that I, Gilt Wand, am the rightful heir to the throne. For it is I, and none other, who caused the Sun to rise again, thus saving all of us from the chill threat of endless Night!"

Izzy frowned. "Humph! He's got a lot of nerve," she grumbled. "We all know it was you, Sunny."

"Why, I've never heard such nonsense!" A portly, sandy-coated earth-pony dressed in overalls was climbing onto the stage, shaking a forehoof. "The name's Grain Bin, and I say who needs a bunch of nobles and fatcats lording it over us again, eh?" He swung to the crowd, gesturing fiercely. "What we need now is representation, for the hard-working ponies of the soil, the farmers and laborers who built and fed this monstrosity for generations! And I don't see why I've got any less claim to ruling this place than any of you well-hoofed parasites!"

"Well, I never!" Sable Tress lofted her snout, pouting. "A common pony, thinking to set himself up as equal to landed gentry?"

"You watch yourself, hayseed!" Gilt Wand said. "In a couple of shakes, I'll show you what true magic ability can do, in the right hooves!"

The crowd around the stage was growing tense. Ponies were glaring at each other, shouting over each other:

"Nobility and tradition should be our guide!"

"I say magic should lead! Might makes right!"

"No! It's time for a change! For equal representation under the law!"

"Peanuts? Popcorn? Anypony for a candy apple?"

This last came from an earth pony pushcart vendor, who was gamely struggling to maneuver his unstable, heavily-laden cart through the increasingly unruly crowd.

And then one of the cart's wheels accidentally rolled over someone's hoof.

"Hey! Watch it!"

The pushcart was shoved over, bowling over several angry ponies. Who got up and started pushing and shoving crossly. The crowd quickly turned violent, ponies throwing blows and shouting. And Sunny and her friends were in the midst of it all, hunched together for mutual protection.

Zipp bounced into the air, hovering and looking round. "That way!" she called, pointing. Hitch followed her, leading the others through the crowd, bodily throwing blocks and clearing a path for them. Together they all struggled across the celebration area, and then up the steps, coming to the tall doors. They pushed through these, then slammed the doors behind them.

And found themselves in a dilapidated entrance hall, with frayed red carpeting on the floor and a grand sweeping staircase beyond. The marble walls echoed with the sound of the doors closing, and the increasingly angry roar of the crowd outside.

"I may think twice before booking a tour here." Pipp reached up a shaking hoof to straighten her gilded headband. "Even the crowds at my concerts are more well-behaved than this."

"It's like there's nopony in charge here," Hitch said, amazed. "Nopony at all."

Sunny nodded sadly. "Magic has returned. Canterlot has returned. But not the Princess. And all ponies here can do is argue and fight about who gets to rule in her place." She shook her head. "I was hoping we'd find somepony, maybe even Princess Twilight herself, in charge of things. Somepony who could answer some of our questions..."

"May I help you, my dears?"

They all turned in surprise, and found a gray-maned, richly-cloaked dowager descending the staircase, calmly and regally. She was escorted by a pair of fierce-looking armored guards. And trotting at her hooves was a small brown colt, wearing a peaked blue hat with tiny bells around the brim.

"Come along, Cinnamon. Don't dawdle!" the elderly mare said to the colt. And then she smiled at Sunny and her friends. In that particular way that suggested an explanation was expected.

"We didn't mean to intrude," Sunny said. "The crowd was getting unruly outside, and we were looking for someplace safe."

"Of course, my dear. And you are...?"

"I'm Sunny Starscout, from Maretime Bay. And this is Hitch, our local Sheriff. And my friend Izzy Moonbow, from Bridlewood. And these are the pegasus Princesses, Zipp and Pipp, from Zephyr Heights."

"Charmed to make your acquaintances, all of you." The elderly unicorn dropped a carefully measured, arthritic curtsey. "And I," she said in return, "am Lady Da. And if you're looking for somepony in authority, I suppose I might do. I'm the closest thing to actual hereditary nobility left in this crumbling old ruin." She smiled mirthlessly. "They've even asked me to rule, more than once. But of course I don't want the job."

"Seriously?" Zipp looked amazed. "Why not?"

"My dear Princess," Lady Da replied, "they can't even get my latté order right at the café! So how am I expected to rule anypony?"

Trotting closer, she eyed the five ponies with varying shades of misgiving. Princesses or no, she seemed to regard any non-unicorn with lofty -- though not unkindly -- disdain. Even Izzy received little more than a raised eyebrow. To which the purple unicorn responded with her usual carefree, beaming smile.

"I imagine," Lady Da said, "you're all here to press your own claim to be the ones who should rule. The ones who caused the return of magic and so on."

"It's no claim, your Ladyship," Zipp retorted.

"Not a bit," Pipp agreed.

"Sunny here brought us all together," Izzy added. "Uh huh! And she brought back magic, and brought back Equestria... and she's even talked with Princess Twilight herself!"

"Izzy!" Sunny warned.

"What? Lead with your strong suit, I say."

But Lady Da merely looked amused. "My dears, everypony and their sister is here, making much the same claims. And it's going to take a lot more than a smile and a very charming personality for an earth pony to get noticed." She smiled at Sunny in a kindly way, despite her words. "And as for a unicorn from Bridlewood..." Lady Da's snout wrinkled slightly. "Well, it would be a challenge indeed for a forest unicorn, a tree-hugger, to make inroads in what's left of high society around here."

"Huh?" Izzy looked at Sunny, puzzled. "I've never hugged a tree in my life." She leaned closer and spoke behind a hoof. "Pro tip: if a tree ever tries to hug you back, run!"

"Still," Lady Da went on, a little wistfully, "if you could prove what you say, then I for one would back you in a heartbeat."

"Really?" Hitch said. "I mean, you hardly know us."

"Perforce, Sheriff, I've had to become a sharp judge of character." The dowager smiled thinly. "And what this city, and Equestria as a whole, needs in my view is a leader much like the Princesses once were: caring, and selfless, and singular in focus. Wanting only the best for us, all of us. A leader who leads by example, giving us reason to reach beyond ourselves. Who brings out the best in each of us, so we share our abilities and talents, instead of keeping them to ourselves. A Princess," she finished grandly, "who deserves our best, because she encourages us to seek the best in ourselves."

She chuckled lightly. "Oh listen to me, do. Rattling on, like the aged pensioner I am. Dreams like that are a-bit-the-bushel, trust me! Now, you are more than welcome to wait in here until things have quieted down outside. But I wouldn't get my hopes up about making an impression, not with this crowd. Honestly, it would take a miracle to bring this lot together!"

So saying, she nodded kindly, then trotted off down a side corridor accompanied by the colt and by the guard ponies. The guards eyed Sunny and their friends for a moment with disinterested sternness, then faced front, ignoring them.

"Sunny?" Pipp asked, surprised. "Why didn't you show her your magic? The wings and the horn?"

"And the fact that you can move the Sun?" Zipp added. "That's pretty hard to ignore, take it from me!"

"I tried," Sunny said, desperately. "All the time she was talking." She shook her head. "But the way I feel right now... I just don't have it in me. And what good would it do?" She tossed her forehooves in exasperation. "They wouldn't believe it. They'd just say it was an illusion, a trick of some sort." She sighed. "Lady Da was right. We're not going to convince anypony here. We might as well just turn around and head back home. Before the ponies back in Maretime Bay start to worry about us. We'll find some other way to move the Sun. Maybe Izzy was right and I just need more practice."

The group sat in unhappy silence for a moment, unsure what to say.

"Well," Zipp said quietly. "Having come all this way, I would like to see what kind of Audience Hall they had in this place."

"Really?" Pipp stared at her. "You've never shown much interest in the trappings of royalty back home."

"It's not that I'm not interested," Zipp retorted. "Someday I'm going to have to take over from Mother, I know that. But I have been sort of keeping it at wing's length until now. And well... I'd just like to see what kind of standard I'm going to have to live up to."

Izzy nodded readily. "I'd like to take the tour, if there is one. Just so we can tell the ponies back home about it. 'Cause you know they'll ask."

"Hey, I'm in," Hitch said, and his rabbit nodded in agreement. Then Hitch put a hoof on Sunny's shoulder. "But it's not up to us, is it? It's your call, Sunny. What do you say?"

She looked up at them, and managed a smile. "Sure, why not? Just so we can honestly say we've seen it all."


------------------------------


They met few guards as they trotted along the chilly, echoing marble corridors. What few they passed merely glanced their way then marched onwards, apparently seeing nothing that concerned them.

By process of elimination, working ever upwards through the palace, they came at last to the tall, ornately-carven doors of the Audience Hall. And found that the doors appeared to be locked. Hitch put his shoulder to one, and shoved hard, to no effect. Zipp and Pipp tried the other, with the same result.

Zipp glanced around, at the ceiling overhead. "There's more than enough holes in the roof around here," Zipp noted. "I could always try flying around, through a window or something, and see if I can open the doors from the far side." She spread her wings, readying herself to take off.

"No, wait!" Izzy's eyes were wide, the hairs of her mane standing on end. "Sunny... you give it a try."

Shrugging, Sunny reached up a hoof and gently shoved the doors.

And they clicked open and swung wide, as if they'd never been locked at all.

Hitch exchanged a glance with his rabbit. "Ahhh... I probably just loosened it up for you," he said.

"Izzy?" Sunny stared at her in amazement.

The unicorn shrugged. "The doors were magically sealed. I could feel the spell charging up, whenever you moved towards them."

"Me?"

Izzy beamed. "It takes a Princess!"

Sunny winced at that, and looked down, ashamed. "I'm not a Princess," she whispered. "I don't deserve to be. I don't know nearly enough. And I keep landing everypony in worse and worse trouble as a result. I'm an accident waiting to happen... not a Princess."

She felt Izzy's hoof touch her shoulder, and looked up.

"You are one to me," Izzy said, seriously. "And I don't need some dumb set of doors to tell me that. I know you, Sunny. The real you. I know how much this matters, how much you care. And I'd follow you in a heartbeat, wherever you led us. You know that."

"That goes for me, too," said Zipp. "And I am a Princess -- or will be, someday. But... if you ruled here, I think I could be happy being in charge back home. Knowing I'd have somepony like you to turn to, if things got tight."

"Hear, hear," Pipp added softly.

"You know how I feel," Hitch said. "You're my friend, Sunny. I'd back you all the way. You got my vote."

"So, c'mon!" Izzy waved a hoof. "What are we all waiting for? Let's go check out your throne room!" Laughing, she bounded away through the open doors.

With a grateful smile, Sunny followed her, the others right behind her.

And her momentarily feeling of warm happiness crashed back to cold reality again.

In the cavernous marble hall their hoofsteps echoed loudly, hollowly. Like everything else in the city, the chamber was old, disheveled, and apparently abandoned. Once-red carpeting was torn where it wasn't simply frayed. The curtains on the stained-glass windows were wispy rags. Atop the dais at the far end, the throne itself was toppled, its tall back snapped in half, the cushion leaking stuffing from multiple rips in the stained fabric. And the roof itself had collapsed in several places, revealing the looming gray rainclouds overhead.

Sunny came to a halt, midway up the central carpet. She sat down hard. She held her mouth tight shut, to keep from sobbing aloud.

"There's nothing here," she finally gasped. "No experts, no answers, and no Princesses." She glanced around at the others. "We did come all this way for nothing. I'm so sorry, gang!"

The others gathered around her, trying their best to console her.

Then voice rang out sharply behind them.

"Excuse me! Who opened this door? Quickly now, who was it?"

They looked round, guiltily. Lady Da and her guards were standing in the open doorway. The elderly pony was staring at them, with a look of stern astonishment.

Sunny winced. "I did, your Ladyship." She got up and turned to face the dowager as she strode towards them. "I'm so sorry. If we're trespassing, we'll leave. We just had to see..."

"Oh, my dear! You misunderstand me." Lady Da gestured to the open doors. "These doors have remained shut, ever since the magic was lost, many moons ago. Ever since Equestria itself began to slip away, bit by bit, into the mists of time. Nopony could open these doors, try as they might. Without magic, they simply could not be opened."

"Seriously?" Sunny asked. Her Ladyship nodded.

"And those with a more fanciful turn of mind," she went on, "started saying that one day a pony would arrive who could open these doors. And that pony would be..."

"... the Princess?" Izzy said, eagerly.

Lady Da gave her a flat look.

"That is how these urban legends tend to go."

Behind her, more ponies were appearing at the doorway, an entire crowd of them. In the lead were the ponies from the stage outside: Sable Tress, Gilt Wand, and Grain Bin. They were looking astonished, and more than a little put out. "Lady Da!" Sable huffed. "What is the meaning of this? Who opened these doors?"

Sunny was about to speak, but Pipp nudged her. "Let me take this, Sunny."

"Are you sure?" Sunny whispered back.

Pipp nodded, smiling. "Press agent, remember? Besides --" Her eyes narrowed. "I speak influencer."

Turning to the crowd, Pipp gestured grandly with a wing. "Look no further, citizens of Canterlot! For here she is, your new Princess, as promised in song and story: Her Royal Highness, Princess Sunny Starscout!"

Sunny tried a smile, hoping that she didn't look too demented.

The response was an uproarious laugh from the crowd. "An earth pony?" Sable Tress snorted. "Really! Is this somepony's idea of a joke?"

"I agree!" Gilt Wand snapped. "An earth pony could never have opened these doors! The most pure, noble, and powerful unicorns in the land have tried and failed!"

"And what's wrong, I'd like to know," Grain Bin growled, "with an earth pony succeeding where you wimpy ivory-tower toothpick-heads have failed? If all it takes is strength, we've got that in buckets!"

"It is simply not to be believed." Sable Tress sniffed. "Now who was it really. Lady Da? Was it you?"

"Oh, I know it seems impossible," Pipp went on. "I myself found it hard to believe, at first. But here you have before you, live and in person, the mare who brought back magic -- who brought back Canterlot itself. And has now arrived to claim her throne!"

She turned and gestured to the other members of the group.

"With her are her loyal Court, gathered from the far-flung domains of all the pony tribes. From Zephyr Heights, we have Crown Princess Zephyrina Storm, Mistress of Wind and Weather!"

Zipp didn't need coaching. She leapt up and took wing, arrowing through a gap in the roof. She began ping-ponging back and forth across the sky, clearing away the looming gray clouds, revealing the pale orange sky overhead.

"From the mysterious forests of Bridlewood," Pipp called, with sultry look, "we have Sunny's court Sorcerer and advisor on magic, Isadora Moonbow!"

"That's me!" Izzy excitedly waved a hoof. "I also do sparkle readings!"

"From Sunny's own home town of Maretime Bay," Pipp went on, "we have her bodyguard and Master of Beasts -- Sheriff Hitch Trailblazer!"

Hitch uncomfortably took a step forwards and bowed. Then turned to the rabbit. "Back, back I say, dangerous critter!"

The rabbit glanced around. And then got it, and looked fierce -- at least, as much as a long-eared gray ball of fluff could.

"And I," Pipp said, "have the great honor to be Her Highness's seneschal and Minister of Social Media -- Princess Pipsissewa Petals, at your service!"

She bowed grandly. And In the silence that followed, a pony at the back of the crowd bounded and waved frantically. "It is her! Pipp! Pipp! I'm your biggest fan! Pipp-pipp-hooray!"

Pipp smiled in return. "Pipp-pipp-hooray!" she called back lightly.

The rest of the crowd just stared at Sunny, who felt distinctly on the spot. And then they began grumbling amongst themselves.

"How do we know she's a Princess?" somepony yelled.

"Yeah! We need proof!"

"Geez," muttered Zipp, flapping down to rejoin them. "Like, the doors weren't enough for you?"

But Pipp smiled at Sunny. "Go on," she said. "Show them!"

Sunny took a breath, and nodded. And summoned her wings and horn. This time it worked, with her friends gathered close around her, their friendship and support adding to her magic somehow, making the gleaming, ethereal appendages glow brightly.

The crowd gasped, those in back craning their necks to see.

"And now, Sunny," Pipp breathed. "Show them what else you can do."

"I still can't raise the Sun," Sunny whispered back.

"Then lower it, just a bit," Pipp said. "Just to make the point."

Sunny nodded, and turned, feeling around with her heightened awareness. She found the Sun, hovering low over the eastern horizon, beyond the mountain's peak. Pointing a hoof in that direction, she concentrated, just as Izzy had taught her. She imagined the Sun and Moon on a see-saw, which she only had to... tilt slightly.

And was surprised: it was much easier this time, making the Sun set. The pale orange sky overhead, visible through the rents in the ceiling, faded to the color of burnt coals, then to the chill, star-filled purple of late evening.

That got the point across. The crowd gasped, a little fearfully.

Zipp nodded, with a smirk. "I say we hide it entirely," she muttered. "And threaten not to bring it back, unless they listen to reason."

"Absolutely not!" Sunny stared at her, shocked. "We're playing with fire as it is." And she immediately turned to raising the Sun again. And found that raising it was somehow much harder. She could barely move it at all. "Izzy! I need a little help here."

But Izzy shook her head, smiling. "You can do it, Sunny," she said. "It's all you, remember? And we're all behind you. Right, gang?"

The others nodded, smiling proudly. And with the warmth of their trust fueling her magic, Sunny felt the Sun shift, just a little. And then start moving again. With relief, she brought it back up to where it had been before, standing just above the horizon, in the pale half-light of early dawn.

"Well..." Sable Tress said uncomfortably. "That... certainly puts a different spin on things. But what happens now? Do you just... take over? Are we supposed to just bend knee to you, swear allegiance, follow your commands -- just like that?"

There were similar disgruntled murmurings from the rest of the crowd. And Pipp was about to reply, but Sunny put up a hoof. Her wings and horn still glowing, she turned to address the crowd herself.

"That's not what we're here for. We're not here to rule anypony. If anything, we're here to help keep an eye on things, if you'll let us. I'd say the pony tribes should continue to rule themselves, as they have done. My friends and I can act as, well... a kind of a higher court so to speak. Helping sort out differences between the tribes that can't be dealt with any other way."

There was murmuring among the crowd. Some of it sounded positive, almost relieved. Sunny pressed on.

"Because the magic is returning," she said. "And with it, the Equestria that ponies once knew. And that's okay! This is how ponies used to be. It's how ponies should be. Living and working together, just like me and my friends. I know it'll be strange, and hard to get used to. I know that from personal experience, believe me! And too, it may be a little frightening at first." She smiled down at Cinnamon. The small colt was peering nervously around Lady Da's forelegs. In return, he smiled back. "But strange is kind of the new normal now," Sunny went on. "And we're all going to have to get used to it. But I know we can do it. I know we can make this work. We can get there -- together."

She smiled hopefully, at her friends, and at the crowd before her.

Please, she thought. Let me help. Let me help bring it all back.

For a moment, nopony said a word.

Then Lady Da stepped forward. And curtseyed deeply.

"Princess Starscout," she said, simply.

The ponies behind her, nobles and commoners both, blinked in shock. And then hurriedly moved to follow her example.

"Princess!" they shouted, in rising eagerness. "Princess Starscout! Yeah! Long live the Princess!"

"Uh, Sunny?" Hitch said, staring at her. "What's happening?"

Sunny looked at her wings, her horn. They were blazing alight, gleaming with an unearthly radiance -- like the Sun itself, she thought hectically.

And then she was rising into the air, lifted by the growing allegiance of the crowd before her, as they stared up at her in awe. It was like drawing power from the leylines at the stone circle, but also different: this kind of magic she could handle. She felt it gathering, flowing all around her. Her eyes gleamed. Her mane and tail slipped free of the hair-clips and rippled on unseen winds.

And then there was an explosion, and the magic flooded outwards. With her heightened awareness, Sunny felt it reach out to the ruined city, repairing it and restoring it. The broken platforms rose from the plains below, reattaching and healing themselves. The aged, dilapidated towers and dwellings of the city were renewed, glittering and gleaming in the coruscating light. And the magic washed outwards, down the mountain, renewing the land. And upwards too, chasing away the dark clouds from the sky.

And then, then Sunny realized... she knew how to raise the Sun.

Turning gently in midair, she stretched out a forehoof towards it. And with the wishes and dreams of her new subjects supporting her, backing her, giving her the power she needed, she easily lifted the golden orb, up and up and up, until it stood high in the brilliantly blue, cloudless sky.

She had no idea what time it was supposed to be now. So she put the Sun at half-past eleven, because it seemed about right. And gave it just the gentlest push to get it moving on its own again, for the rest of the day at least.

Then she looked down at her friends. "What do you think, gang? Good enough for now?"

"Oh yeah!" Zipp called back, pumping a hoof.

"Yay, Sunny!" Pipp added.

Hitch landed on his rump, staring up open-mouthed.

"Magic!" he gasped.

Izzy glanced at him. "Bing-bong!" she said mischiveously. And then grinned. "Juuuust kidding..."


------------------------------


Later that day, after seemingly endless rounds of introductions to noble ponies and officials and staff and excited citizenry eager to get a glimpse of the new Princess and her court, Sunny and her friends managed to escape to the relative quiet of an upper tower balcony. There they stood, leaning on the stone parapet, looking out on the revitalized landscape.

Below them, Canterlot itself sparkled under the late afternoon sun. Beyond, rolling meadows and cliffs dropped away to the plains below, green with trees and pastureland. And in the distance, across the plains, they saw a small suburban center, with houses and farms, even a windmill.

"That looks like Ponyville," Sunny said, glancing at the map in her journal, which now showed the city of Canterlot by name. "And that," she added, pointing to a distant cloudbank bedecked with rainbows, "looks like Cloudsdale. It's coming back, just like we hoped it would."

"We'll need to go visit them," Pipp said. "See who's there, whether they need any help."

"Pipp and I could fly over to Cloudsdale," Zipp offered. "Be kind of an advance party, let them know we're coming."

Sunny shook her head. "We should all go, together. It'll be better if everypony sees us together as a group. Just like Princess Twilight and her friends. We need to be an example for everypony now."

"Can't just talk the talk," Hitch agreed. "Gotta walk the walk." He noticed the rabbit, standing beside him, striking a determined pose. "Aw geez," he said. Then he shrugged. "Eh, might as well roll with it, I guess." And he struck a pose too, looking sternly proud. The rabbit cheered excitedly, and then fell over backwards in a faint.

Sunny laughed. "You've still got it, Hitch." And then she suddenly looked wistful.

"What is it?" Pipp asked.

"I just realized. We need to let the ponies back home know what's happened. They'll be expecting us back soon."

"They've probably already guessed, from the Sun," Hitch said. "But we can head back, fill them in on the details."

"And I should probably stay here," Sunny said. "There's no end of things for a new Princess to do. Lady Da is kind enough to help, but..." She sighed. "I'm going to miss Maretime Bay. I wish I didn't have to be a Princess so far away from home."

"Then don't be," Zipp said.

"What?"

"Seriously." she shrugged. "Mother always says, a Princess is as a Princess does. If you want to rule Equestria from a lighthouse in Maretime Bay, I'd say that's your call. Let 'em come to you, if they have anything urgent that needs your attention."

"I agree!" Pipp said with a smile. "Somehow, the idea of a Princess ruling from a lighthouse just feels right. After all, we're supposed to be leading the way now, guiding Equestria out of the darkness."

"And," Izzy said, "it'll mean you're that much closer to all of us. When ponies from Bridlewood and Zephyr Heights want to come see you. After all," she added aggressively, "you're our Princess. We saw ya first, honey!"

Sunny smiled and nodded. "Absolutely!"

"Well then," Zipp said. "Who's up for a little exploring? I want to check out the rest of this palace, before we go anywhere else."

"Sunny's palace," Izzy corrected her.

"Our palace," Sunny re-corrected. And motioned for the others to go ahead. "I want to hang out up here for a bit, where nopony official can find me for a while."

The others trotted off willingly, chattering and laughing together. Hitch had finally given in and allowed the rabbit to ride on his back. And Sunny grinned, pleased that she had such wonderful friends.

Then she settled her chin on her hooves on the warm stone of the parapet in front of her.

"We did it," she murmured to herself. "We found Canterlot..."

Indeed... said a voice beside her. A very good first step. But there will be many more challenges ahead.

Sunny turned and stared at the tall, smiling lavender alicorn, suddenly sitting beside her.

"Princess Twilight?"

Twilight nodded. "Princess Starscout," she answered formally. And then settled a comforting forehoof around Sunny's shoulders. "I'm proud of you, Sunny," Twilight went on. "Very proud indeed. You know how to lead your friends, how to be there for them. You know how to reach ponies, in ways that even I had difficulty with at first. And you know how to take on challenges and deal with them. I couldn't have asked for a better successor."

"Thanks." Sunny bit her lip nervously. "Um, Princess Twilight? About that cloud of dark magic, at Ponehenge?"

"That is one of the challenges I mentioned." Twilight nodded. "And its influence will rarely be so obvious. You'll need to be on your guard, from here on."

"And... that other pony I met there? The dark pony? The one who helped us?"

Twilight smiled. "She's an old friend, actually."

"Really? Is she a Princess, like you?"

"In a way. I'm the Princess of Friendship. And she... well, she's the other sort. She calls herself the Princess of War, sometimes. And you can trust her, Sunny. Though she does have her own way of doing things. You'll just have to get used to it."

"But... you could stop her, couldn't you? Aren't you more powerful than she is?"

Twilight shook her head. "You don't understand. She looks after me. She always has. And I suspect right now, she's looking after you as well. Though it may be hard to see at times. It's just how she is."

"Oh. Well, that's a relief. I guess." Sunny sighed.

"What is it?" Twilight asked. Though the look on her face suggested she already knew.

"I'm just worried," Sunny said, "that one day I'll find things have gone too far. That I've landed us in a mess that even I can't find my way out of."

Twilight nodded understandingly. "That's why you have your friends. They can help you. And you'll have me as well, for those times when it all gets a little too much to cope with."

"Thanks." For a while, Sunny stared into the distance, considering.

Then she stared up at the Princess, puzzled.

"Princess Twilight, why do you only appear to me when I'm alone? And not when my friends are around?"

Twilight smiled, amused.

"Because sometimes you need somepony to talk to," she said gently. "And your friends, well..."

She leaned close, whispered in Sunny's ear:

"... they have you."


The End



My Little Pony: A New Generation, its characters and indicia are the property of Hasbro.
No infringement is intended. This story is a work of fan fiction, written by fans for fans of the series.