The entrance to Bridlewood was… ‘not’ what Hitch expected.
Creepy looking trees arched together creating a darkened tunnel into the center of the woods. Attached to said trees were signs that read, ‘Keep out!’, ‘We meant it!’, ‘No non-JewelHorns allowed!’, ‘Why are you still here?’, etc.
“This… is not what I expected,” Hitch said.
Poor Hunk was already shaking in his boots.
“You know what? I’m not in that big of a hurry to grab a crystal. How’s about we just run away to some secluded field and start our own colony?”
But Izzy galloped ahead toward the scary woods.
“Come on! My house isn’t far from here!”
She sang along and soon everyone else, one-by-one, followed her in. All they had to go on was the sound of her merry singing to make their trek through the woods.
The forest, at first, looked just as creepy inside as it did outside. But the atmosphere shifted quickly when the bright sunlight of the early morn peeked through the leaves, making them glow in pink, blue, and violet shades of color.
Now this was the kind of magical Hitch was hoping to see. And still he couldn’t believe he just thought that. His vision darted towards the side, and he froze at an especially beautiful sight.
Sunny Starscout, the way the sunlight captured the radiance of her mane, the glow of her coat, and the shimmering brightness of her emerald-green eyes. Something about this forest seemed to emulate her natural beauty. Sunny noticed Hitch staring and now it was her turn to be stunned.
In her eyes, Hitch was always a handsome colt. But right now, with his aquamarine mane blending into the green-and-blue hues of the forest. And his coat a golden brown, making him appear as though he were glowing like a precious jewel. The way his warm brown eyes were so deep she could swim in them.
Without fully realizing it, the two were drawn towards one another, their eyes locked as they drew in closer. Their eyelids slowly closed; their lips puckered…
“Well, here we are guys!”
Izzy’s voice, once again, interrupted the moment and the two quickly pulled away, snapping themselves to reality. Something about this forest really got to them. Sunny was relieved nobody else seemed to notice, everyone was far too distracted with the beauty of the woods to even take notice of the fact both Sunny and Hitch were only seconds away from kissing!
Sunny shook her head, trying to shake away the dream-like state she was in. Her brain was blurry, her face as hot as a scorching day at the beach. She drew her attention towards Izzy’s house. A beautiful cottage built around a beautiful willow tree with dangling branches resembling jewels. Izzy opened the door and stepped aside to allow everyone in.
“La Villa Izzy!”
“Wow!”
The cottage was just as beautiful inside as it was outside. Everything from its walls to the very stairs were made entirely out of tree bark, which Izzy painted with beautiful patterns to make it feel more like a real home. There were strings of lanterns hanging from the walls and a wide collection of nick-knacks everywhere. Self-made umbrella hats, paintings made of macaroni and buttons, hats with jewels and paper flowers, even a tiny umbrella with crystalline butterflies dangling from it. The butterflies spun around as though they were flying when the umbrella spun.
Sunny saw a strand contraption with a large pin roller and bottles dangled from it. When she turned the roller, the spoons and forks attached it struck the bottles created a beautiful melody.
“Did you make all of this?” Zipp asked, amazed.
“Yup! ‘Uni-cycling’!” Izzy giggled. “Isn’t it funky?”
“It is… gorgeoooous!” Pipp sang.
Lance started snapping pictures everywhere. “Man, I so wish I could livestream all this. Our viewers would eat this up!”
His screen then turned to a collection of wires on the floor, which led to a large curtain. Curious, Lance approached it. Katie saw this and gasped, sweat already forming on her brow.
“Wait! No, no, no, no! You’re not supposed to go in there!”
But it was too late. Lance pulled the curtain open and couldn’t believe what he saw. His phone still recording, he captured what appeared to be an array of gadgets, each carved out of tree, bark, and crystal, with multicolored liquids pumping into them via tubes attached to a chemistry lab in the corner of the room.
“Whoa… what is all of this?”
“Oh, that’s Katie’s lab,” Izzy replied.
Katie blushed and tried hiding behind the curtain.
“Kate, you made all that?!” Lance asked, astounded.
“It’s Katie and yes. Bridlewood isn’t exactly big on technological innovations, so I work with basic chemicals that function as a natural energy source, along with crystals and dead wood. Some crystals actually contain some electrical magnetic energies inside the core, which function like batteries.”
Katie realized she was rambling and silenced herself.
“You know… boring science stuff.”
“Boring?!” Lance exclaimed in shock. “Are you kidding? This is nothing like what we got back in Zephyr Heights!”
Katie was… speechless. Aside from Izzy, no other elf had ever complimented her work before. Maybe her older brother and parents, but ‘never’ a complete stranger. And especially not a hoity-toity fairy prince.
“You… actually like it?”
“Well, I don’t understand all of it,” Lance admitted. “But it looks so cool! If you could make it all work, ha! You just might be a genius!”
“Might be?”
To which Katie took that as a personal offense. She marched past Lance, shoving him to the side.
“Step aside, pop-star. Watch the master at work.”
She cracked her knuckles and started typing on a makeshift keyboard which she constructed out of an old tree bark and opal crystals, each one with a letter carved onto it. The screens around her lit up as the liquids pumped into the machines and each screen showcased a memory from times Katie recorded stuff Izzy made over the years.
One screen even showcased the day Izzy first round Sunny’s drawing, and the lantern, which she still had hanging from the ceiling of the room. Everyone else was left in awe at Katie’s brilliant masterpiece.
“It would seem that Izzy isn’t the only skilled artist around here,” Allura complimented.
Her words warmed Katie’s insides. It felt so nice to get compliments from more than just a few people and one pony. Then, in a flash, Katie remembered something.
“Oh wait, wait! Izzy! Iz! Go get the thing!”
“Oh my gosh!” Izzy gasped. “Hold everything! Aah! We’ve never gotten to use this with actual friends!”
Izzy giggled and rushed to retrieve the item Katie requested. The unicorn returned in a matter of seconds, with what resembled a rosebud with tangled vines at the bottom, with four outstretched on the floor and green wheels to blend in with the green. When Izzy pressed the button, the flower opened up and became a table set with a teapot and cups at the ready.
“Ta-daaaa!”
“Ah! Cool!” Zipp said.
“It’s so adorable!” Pipp commented. “Do you take commissions? I know lots of skylings who’d love something like this.”
Izzy was rather intrigued at the idea.
“Huh… I never thought of making this into a business before.”
“I have!” Katie raised her hand. “But not a lot of Jewel-Horns appreciate our… vision!”
“Well, I think they’re a bunch of dopes!” Lance declared.
Both he and Katie froze as they looked at each other. Katie started to blush and Lance, for the first time in his life, was beginning to feel a bit self-cautious.
“Hate to interrupt, but we don’t have time for this right now,” Keith said.
“He’s right,” Sunny agreed.
“Aww…” Izzy and Katie sighed, in dismay.
“If we’re gonna get the information we need on the Jewel-Horn Crystal, we can’t stick out like sore hooves,” Sunny continued. “We need to look like Jewel-Horns.”
Pipp stomped her hooves happily. “Yay, makeovers! I love makeovers!”
“Uh, no,” Zipp laughed nervously. “No, this is not… this is not what I signed up for. No.”
“Think you can find a jewel that brings out my eyes?” Lance asked.
“So, Izzy, can you do it?” Sunny asked.
Izzy sipped from her teacup. “A glow-up? Honey, you came to the right cottage.”
(~)
To begin the group’s lesson in how to look and act like Jewel-Horns, Izzy put on a pair of fake glasses and switched on a slide projector with very exaggerated illustrations of both Skylings and Earth Folk. The Earth Folk looked like starving hobos, while the Skylings were borderline vampires with jagged teeth and distorted proportions.
Katie:
I thought that Earth Folks were the bounty ladder's bottom rung
Izzy:
I heard that Skylings were brutes you'd hate to be among
Katie:
"You smell like fishes!”
Izzy:
“You're vicious!”
Katie:
“I bet you eat your young!"
Meet any one of you, the thing to do is run away
Katie kicked the projector (And the screen) away, wearing a satisfied smile on her face while she and Izzy danced along with Sunny, Pipp, and Allura, with Izzy in the center of their little dance line.
Izzy:
But although I know we're all a bunch of different breeds
Take away our wings and horns, and we're just frightened steeds
So let's put aside our differences, 'cause what we need's a win
Oh-oh-oh
Katie climbed up the stairs and pulled on a cord which unleashed a bunch of books.
Katie:
Come on, rip out all the pages of your history books
Just because we're undercover doesn't mean we're crooks
Izzy:
When we walk you through the crowd and give your brand new looks a spin
Izzy kicked a chair which caught Hunk and sent him all the way towards the mirror vanity. Izzy spun him around, adding on some white makeup and powdered his cheeks with red blush, making him look like a clown.
Izzy and Katie:
You're gonna fit right in
Hunk:
“Are you sure about this?”
Izzy:
You're gonna fit right in
Hunk:
“But what if it doesn’t work?
Hunk wiped his face clean with a rack, which left behind a very funny looking clown face imprinted on it.
Hunk:
They taught us other kinds were super-scary maniacs
With horns like razors and wings like tasers and teeth like tacks
They take your eyes and then they grind them into midnight snacks
The basic gist of it the world ain’t gonna be ready for this!
Sunny pranced around Hunk, in an effort to reassure him, while Pipp and Zipp spun colorful umbrellas. Katie and Izzy started measuring the twins’ wings and the length of their artificial horns.
Sunny:
Look, I know we're riskin' everything for this endeavor
But look at us, we're brave and strong and weird and clever
Thus closer to the finish than we’ve ever, ever been
Woah!
Keith:
So we better take a leap and put our faith in you
Sunny:
Get our crafty on with sparkles, tape, and super glue
Keith:
Cause we're runnin' out of options and we're desperate to begin
Izzy:
You're gonna fit right in
Hunk:
“Man, I hope so.”
Sunny and Izzy:
You're gonna fit right in
Izzy:
I know you will, now watch and learn
Following Izzy and Katie’s leads, the others tried mimicking their behavior. Keith was a bit uncertain about this, seeing he had no idea that much went into being a mage.
Izzy:
This is how a Jewel-Horn walks
(Walks)
This is how a Jewel-Horn talks
(Talks)
This is how a Jewel-Horn hoops
(Hoops?)
This is how a Jewel-Horn—
Oops!
Oh!
Geez!
Stop!
This is how a Jewel-Horn struts
Oh!
Watch us shake our Jewel-Horn butts
Katie:
“Not doing that!”
Lance still shook his butt, at which Allura slapped him in the head to make him stop.
Izzy:
Now you're in the Jewel-Horn know
Sunny:
Whoa!
Izzy:
Soon you'll be a Jewel-Horn pro!
Katie donned a backwards cap and some funky colorful glasses, complete with heavy jewelry and rings on her fingers and hoop earrings.
Katie:
“Alright, ya’ll, Kate-EG in the house!”
Oh, a Jewel-Horn stud makes a Jewel-Horn stride
It's the more-head on your forehead, it's the source of your pride
Every Jewel-Horn who's born has worn a bling that's unique
So we'll whip them up as speak, you'll be lookin' très magnifique
Izzy:
We’ll fake a phony protrusion and make a bony illusion
It’s not the perfect solution, but this world’s not big on inclusion
Katie and Izzy:
And with those rocks in our pockets, we'll reap the reward
And folks'll be floored, we'll strike a new chord
Our magic restored!
All:
Lately, all Equestria has lost its heart
But if we can help to find it, we should play our part
Hitch:
If we fail, we'll go to prison
Sunny:
But if not, we'll start to grin
Izzy:
So let's begin
All:
We're gonna fit right in
One by one, they stepped out from behind a curtain. Pipp walked out wearing a lovely golden unicorn horn decorated with rings and flowers, and a lavender cape to hide her wings. She struts like a movie star, winking at the pretend camera.
Lance walked out, dancing while showing off the new jewel on his forehead, a sparkly sapphire which, as he hoped, brought out his eyes.
Next, Zipp strut out wearing a red-and-green cape and matching horn, while Allura removed her gold circlet to show off her pink topaz jewel shaped like a raindrop.
Next, Hitch trotted out, whistling to himself as he posed dashingly with his green-and-blue horn. Hunk wore an orange jewel to match his orange headband.
Lastly, Sunny wore a multicolored horn with stars and Keith…
Well, Izzy styled his front bangs to the side (Almost like Katie’s) to have his natural ruby red jewel out for all to see. He didn’t try to model since the only thing about him that’s changed was his hair.
Sunny beamed with pride seeing Keith able to showcase his heritage without being judged. It was everything she ever wanted for him. And Allura had to admit, Keith looked quite dashing with his new look.
Izzy:
This is how a Jewel-Horn walks
Katie:
“Yeah, baby!”
Izzy:
This is how a Jewel-Horn talks
Katie:
“Work it!”
Izzy:
Now you're lookin' JewelHorn strong
Izzy and Katie:
This is how a Jewel-Horn
Ends this song!