//------------------------------//
// Zipp, Izzy and Sunny talk about History 
// Story: Adjacent Adventure 
// by Merallakos 
//------------------------------//

Izzy, Sunny and Zipp rode together on the back of the Maretime Bay tram, watching the scenery scroll by.

"So," Sunny blew a hair from her face. "What have you found so far?"

"Honestly," Zipp said, "most of the stuff in the secret archive is too delicate to touch. The place was sealed away before anything could be digitally archived."

Sunny asked, “Would telekinesis wor–?”

“No. I checked with Marble.”

"Oh come on!" Izzy jabbed Zipp. "You didn't come all this way just to tell us that!"

Zipp smiled. "That doesn't mean that I didn't find anything."

"What did you fiiiind?" Izzy asked.

"Three things." Zipp smirked, "First, you know how everything hints at ponies coming over to Zephyr heights from Canterlot, right? And some ponies talk about the travel, but nopony ever talks about the the actual route, right?"

Sunny and Izzy nodded.

"Well, that changed. I found two travel logs. For the first time ever, I pieced together a fairly comprehensive route from here to Canterlot." Zipp produced a map from her backpack, holding it on display for Izzy and Sunny to see.

"Wow," Sunny's eyebrows shot up. "That's incredible, Zipp!"

"Woah," Izzy pursed her lips, eyes tracing north. "That's a lot of mountains. No wonder Canterlot never got involved in the war."

"Hey, wait a minute," Sunny studied the map. "If what we figured out about the coastlines is true, then shouldn't Canterlot be to the west of us? And, there are too many mountains."

"But we already know that if that were really true, earth pony sailors would've already found Canterlot Mountain." Zipp countered.

"Yes, but--"

"Oh not this again!" Izzy interrupted. "What else have you found, Zipp?"

Zipp took a deep breath. "Well, I looked into Argyle's accounts of Twilight."

"Twilight?" Sunny asked.

Zipp raised an eyebrow. "Well, have you ever looked into her?"

Sunny raised an eyebrow back, Izzy pursed her lips quizzically.

"Some ponies say she's a unicorn." Zipp gestured. "Most say she was an alicorn. Some say she was a student. Others say she was a princess."

"Uh, duh." Sunny rolled her eyes. "Because she was a unicorn who became an alicorn, and a student who became a princess!" 

"I think you're right." Zipp tapped the side of her muzzle, "Buuut sources are conflicting. Some accounts... The way they're phrased make it seem as though Twilight was only a unicorn or only a student."

"Mhhmhmm," Izzy mhm’d , "I'm not so sure about that, Zipp."

"I guess it's worth considering." Sunny's face scrunched in thought. "But wouldn't that just mean that the accounts were written at different points in Twilight life?"

"Yes, except for this." Zipp frowned. "Almost every one of them is after Twilight became an alicorn and a princess. And the same holds true for tons of accounts regarding Twilight's friends, and Equestria in general."

"Elaborate," Sunny said.

"In some stories, Rarity can use magic, but in others she never had it. Some stories say that Applejack had earth-pony magic that helped her farm. Others say she was just a regular pony. And some stories categorically deny that pegasi controlled the weather. Considering some of the incidents in Zephyr Heights... we obviously could."

"Guess that's one good thing about the magic fade," Sunny said.

Zipp chuckled uncomfortably. “It’s getting harder to fly. I used to be able to do loop de loops with a thought.”

“Yeah, now it’s like it takes actual skill or something.,” Izzy rolled her eyes.

Sunny laughed.

"Hmmm," Izzy thought. "You said you found three things, Zipp?"

Zipp nodded, taking her map back out. She pointed to a spot in the mountains north of Zephyr Heights. "I went to Craterhold."

Sunny frowned, "It exists?"

Zipp reached into her backpack, spreading a series of photos like cards.

"Woah," Izzy and Sunny gasped. They were quickly taking the photos from Zipp's hooves, examining them eagerly.

"Look!" Izzy presented two photos, "It's a Starswirl statue. And this one is Twilight dressed as Starswirl! It’s Nightmare Nights!"

"I found a wall with the three crystals," Sunny said, showing a photo. "And the building kind of looks like a temple?"

"For somewhere so remote, this place sure does have a lot of defenses," Izzy observed. "And weapons."

"I think there was a big battle at some point." Zipp shivered. "We found some skeletons… According to basically everypony, the Storm is basically perpetual. There are even multiple reports of explorers getting struck by lightning."

Sunny looked up from the photos. "Zipp, wasn't this dangerous?"

Zipp took out one last photo. Zipp, Thunder and Z.Z. were frozen in a screaming gallop against the wind, lightning and a broken building behind them.

"Very dangerous." Zipp said. "But don't you guys want to know more?"

“Not if it kills you.” Sunny said slowly.

“...Are you okay, Sunny?” Izzy asked.

Sunny shook her head. “I’m fine.”

“Zipp.” Izzy took Zipp’s hoof, “It’s dangerous.”

“Hey,” Zipp smiled, “I have a plan.”