Fire over Maretime

by The Blue EM2


Resolution

"Izzy, back up to the safe zone! If you've got heat problems you'll need to stay away from Cloudpuff as much as possible!"

The remaining four machines all formed a cordon around the area as Cloudpuff was brought to a succesful stop in the middle of a field far, far away from the town. He still seemed annoyed, though, and this needed to be solved pretty promptly in order to prevent the situation from getting any worse than it already was.

"Have you got the target in place?" Sprout radioed. "I need confirmation on whether we are go for phase three."

"We are go for phase 3, Sprout," Hitch radioed back, still bemused at the idea of taking instructions from his deputy, whom he might just keep in this role based on his role in saving the day today. "We can safely initiate phase three of the plan, over?"

"Finally, they sign off their radio messages correctly," Sprout said, presumably fully aware that the pilots of the mechs could all hear him. "Alright then. Keep tight and make sure to keep him in place until the contact arrives. In the meantime, you should probably fire off the odd warning shot to ensure he doesn't move or try to fly away into the darkness, got it?"

"We're good on that front," Sunny noted, and looked up as the gigantic dog woofed at them repeatedly, trying to blow them away with sustained barking. This, however, would prove to be of little utility as the mechs had braces deployed into the ground to hold them steady.

As suggested, they fired off the odd warning shot to try and keep Cloudpuff on the ground, but eventually Haven arrived, riding on the pallet arm of a crane that had been requisitioned to help her talk with the gigantic object.

"Darling, how are you?" Haven asked, looking directly into Cloudpuff's eyes. He at least seemed a bit more docile now, and looked at her with pleading eyes.

"You're not supposed to be this big," Haven continued, looking sad. "I'm sorry. I had no idea the jewellery would do this to you. I'm going to give you your favourite treat when we get back to Zephyr Heights."

Cloudpuff's face lit up like a Hearth's Warming ornament, and he barked in approval.

"But you'll only get it if you take that amulet off and give it to me," Haven continued onwards. She extended her hoof. "Now who's a good doggy?"

Cloudpuff eventually relented, and reached behind his neck. He succesfully disconnected the amulet, and passed it to Haven. Seconds later, there was another bright flash, and everypony either covered their eyes or adjusted the light filtering gear in their mech cockpits to protect them from the glare, specifically their eyes, which were rather vital for seeing what one was doing.

Once it had cleared, Cloudpuff was back to normal, and floated up to his owner's arms.

Zipp broke the silence. "I had to break up the party, but who's going to clean up the mess?"


As the sun set over Maretime Bay, the world was finally coming to something that vaguely resembled normal. With Cloudpuff returned to his previous annoying, albeit much safer state, the citizens of Maretime Bay could finally relax and return to work repairing the damage. The sweet shop had been fixed in a few hours with everypony pulling together to get it fixed, and the glorious sight of union and cooperation was one that warmed the hearts of all who saw it.

Sunny looked out from the top of the lighthouse, now fully stabilised and repaired, and down upon the water, watching as the gigantic flaming orange that was the sun descended below the edge of the horizon and eventually began to fide, turning the skies spectacular shades of orange and red.

"Great, isn't it?" she suddenly heard Hitch ask, as he trotted up the stairs to join her. "These sunsets are one of many reasons I enjoy living here. You can't get enough of nature's beauty."

"Legend has it that one of the princesses used to move the sun," Sunny replied. "After they vanished and there was no magic, physics took over and kept it and the moon on the move. A most convenient solution."

"I could hardly imagine you sitting there all day moving them around!" Hitch joked. "You'd already be off on another adventure before the sun had a chance to rise!"

A machine at the back of the cabin beeped, indicating the next batch of smoothies were ready. "Ah! Perfect! I also need to turn on the light, just in case any ships need to navigate. You never know these days!"

Sunny trotted to the back wall and pulled down a switch, which in turn caused the light to turn on, swinging round and round in a glorious beam that could be seen for miles and miles.

"Maybe with the magic restored and longer distance travel possible once again, more creatures will arrive here," Hitch noted. "Still, I'm amazed the one who caused the problem in the first place was the one who helped us fix it in the second place."

"Truly ironic," Sunny smiled, as she and Hitch took the lift down to the main room, specifically to avoid being caught in the beam of the lighthouse. "What I do know for certain is that we probably still have plenty of adventures ahead of us. My old map notes so many old places we could find and explore!"

"One step at a time, Sunny," Hitch replied. "Let's learn to trot before we try to gallop." He trotted towards the door, and pushed it open. "Onwards to adven- OW!"

Sunny laughed at Hitch's predicament. "Clearly my doors dislike you as much as your doors dislike mine!"

Hitch shook his head and trotted away, as the last traces of the sun faded into nothingness. Another chaotic day was over, and as Sunny watched her pegasus friends fly back towards Zephyr Heights, she felt proud to have helped in keeping the world a better place.