Sunny Starscout trotted up the lane from Maretime Bay toward the ruins of
the town’s lighthouse, her home. Weeks after the day she and her friends found the secret to bring magic back to the world, the same day that saw the destruction of her beloved home, the civil engineers sent word that they’d reached a conclusion about the structure.
Cresting the hill, she saw dozens of ponies in hardhats spread out over the site, shouting orders and moving the rubble into discrete piles. Her smile grew in anticipation. This much activity must mean something good. She drew closer and soon a pony looked up from a group, then tapped on the shoulder of an older pink mare with a curly blonde mane sticking out below her hardhat. Phyllis Cloverleaf turned, smiling at Sunny’s approach.
“Sunny!” she called as she trotted closer, picking up a spare hardhat from a cart as she passed. “I’m so glad you were able to come. I have some great news from the engineers.” She handed Sunny the headwear, then gave her a brief hug.
“That’s what I was hoping, Mrs. Cloverleaf,” Sunny answered, strapping the hat on.
“Oh, you call me Phyllis, Sunny. After all that’s happened, I think we’re past formalities.” She started walking with Sunny back toward the work site. “So, my engineers tell me that while the light tower was a total loss and will have to be rebuilt, and the lower structure suffered significant damage over 18% of it, the foundations of the building are totally intact. Isn’t that wonderful?”
Sunny smiled, turning the information over in her head. “It certainly sounds like good news.” She raised a brow. “Does that mean we can fix it?”
“That means we don’t have to demolish the building and start over.” She waved a hoof at Sunny’s shocked expression. “The mayor declared the lighthouse as a site of historical significance, so we’d rebuild it either way, but now we should have you back in your home in a few weeks instead of months.”
“It really is so generous of you to pay for the repairs,” Sunny said, looking back to Phyllis. “But I didn’t expect you to oversee the work, too.”
Phyllis shook her head, looking down. “After the part Canterlogic and I played in causing the damage, it’s really the least I can do to make it right again. I really am sorry I let things get so far out of hoof.”
Sunny smiled and stepped in to hug her briefly. “You did the right thing in the end, Phyllis. That’s what matters.” She pulled back and pointed to the rainbow streak in her long mane. “And I got an awesome new look out of it.”
They laughed, turning toward the building again. Phyllis spoke first, nodding to Sunny’s forehead. “Do you know what happened with the, um, the rest of it?”
Sunny shook her head. “My horn and wings? I’m not entirely sure. The best bet Izzy and I can come up with is that the initial surge of magic revealed something of a… potential form. My dad found some descriptions of the ruling Princesses in ancient Equestria, and they all seemed to combine aspects of all three types of ponies.” She chuckled. “He always thought that was some poetic license on the part of the writers, showing equality between the tribes. Who knew it was literal?”
Phyllis laughed with her, adjusting her glasses. “Y’know, I may have given your father a hard time for ignoring what everypony thought they knew, but deep down I really did respect him, Sunny. He always stood by what he believed. That takes a lot of courage, and it’s clear you got a lot of that from him.”
Sunny nodded, smiling at the memories. “Thank you. That, and so much more.”
Phyllis glanced at her watch. “Oh! I have to go. I have a meeting with executives from some of the Zephyr Heights communication companies. If all goes well, Canterlogic will produce the cell phone towers and devices to link up Maretime Bay with the rest of Equestria.”
“Good luck, Phyllis.” Sunny looked around, seeing only busy workers. “Who should I talk to about getting in to recover some of my stuff?”
“Ah, honey, most of it’s been pulled out already to make sure nothing gets damaged with the renovations. My foreman can show you where it is.” She waved toward a large group of ponies. “Sprout, sweetie! Come over here for a minute.”
Sunny smiled at the call. “Sprout’s your foreman? What about his job as deputy?”
Phyllis nodded as the red stallion reluctantly approached. “Well, he’s still on indefinite suspension after the whole ‘attempted coup and trying to start a war’ incident, so I gave him a job so he can keep up his mortgage payments. Plus he really wanted to help with rebuilding your home.” When Sprout arrived, somewhat reluctant to look Sunny in the eyes, Phyllis turned to him. “Sprout, sweetie, can you take care of Sunny? She needs a few of her things from the house.”
“Um, sure, mommy,” Sprout murmured, and Phyllis gave them both quick hugs before trotting back toward town.
Sprout then turned to Sunny. “Hi, Sunny. I, um, I’m really sorry about what I did to your house. It looks like we can fix it, and pretty quickly, but I shouldn’t have done what I did.”
Sunny gave him her best stern expression, which kept slipping into a slight smile when she spoke. “I’d be lying if I said I was happy about my house being destroyed, Sprout.” As he shrank away from the disapproving words, she dropped the façade and ducked in to hug him. “But I’m glad you weren’t hurt when the tower came down on Sprouticus Maximus.”
Sprout blinked. “You’re not angry at me?”
“Of course not, Sprout. You’ve been my friend since we were foals. We may have disagreed about a few things.” She stepped back, tilting her head. “And maybe you took things really way too far, but you’re still a good pony after it all.” She reached out a hoof. “And I still want to be your friend, if you’re willing.”
Sprout wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, then shook Sunny’s hoof. “I’d really like that.” Sniffing back more tears he stepped toward several covered trailers. “Now let’s get you the things you needed from the house.” They walked over together, Sunny giving him a gentle bump with her flank, bringing a smile to Sprout’s face.