//------------------------------// // Sunset and the Princess // Story: Forgotten: Sunrise // by milesprower06 //------------------------------// "Alright, my little sunshine..." Sunset coo'd, lightly running the tip of her hoof along Ray's top scales, which he stretched into fluttering his new wings. "You're not gonna give Sunny a hard time while I'm gone, right?" The winged lizard gave a flap of his wings to climb up the unicorn's hoof as she brought him up to her muzzle. He gave her snout an affectionate flick of his tongue before Sunset nuzzled him in response, before setting him back down in his new terrarium. She made sure he had fresh water and a full food dish before adjusting the lid to give him the space to come and go as he pleased. "So he won't jump out of a corner at me or anything, right?" Sunny asked. "No," Sunset answered with a chuckle. "He likes hanging out near houseplants, at least he did back in the mirror world. I imagine he'll want to use his new wings a bit, and he's smart enough to know that his food and water are here in the terrarium, so he'll never go far." "I'll move one of the taller plants in here for him to explore," Sunny said as the two mares went back out into the hallway. Sunset had instructed her on how to clean the terrarium, and what his diet was, in case his food ran out. She was leaving her chest at the foot of her bed, but taking some of its contents with her, such as her yearbooks and guitar, after Pipp told her they could definitely find her a small amp in Zephyr Heights. They made their way out into the bright afternoon, where Pipp was already waiting, taking a selfie with Sunset's packed cart. It took a bit of rearranging to make room for the pegasus' camping supplies, but after that, the unicorn and Pegasus were ready to go. "Well, I hope you enjoy your time up there, and I'll see you when we head for the Crystal Empire in a week or two," Sunny told Sunset. "If you're coming along, who's going to watch Ray?" Sunset asked as she did a final inspection of the cart. "Hitch is great with animals. Like, great to a fault. He'll be in good hooves," Sunny assured her. "Well, thanks for everything so far, Sunny. I'll see you in a bit." The unicorn and earth pony shared a short hug, before Sunset got hitched up to the cart, and she and Pipp were headed northeast into the hills. "I hope my fans enjoy this set of posts. Hashtag 'roughing it'!" Pipp said as she posed for a selfie in front of Sunset's cart, with the hills outside Maretime Bay becoming more distant as they quickly approached a forest of giant sequoia trees. "So... Tell me something. Without the need to raise the sun and moon, without flight, without magic... How did your family come to the position it's in now?" Sunset asked as she pulled the cart of supplies behind her. Pipp's ears flicked for a moment as she put away her phone and slowed her pace just enough to walk beside the unicorn. "Coming clean already? Yeah, I suppose I could do that, what with the first less-than-warm welcome mom gave you when you arrived. Better you hear it from me than someone else. My family has always been performers. Not only did we know how to look good and pass illusions off as the real thing, but we knew ponies who could help us do that, put on a show. Once city-wide media became a thing, I don't even know how many moons ago, we got the entire city convinced that the royal family got their magic of flight back, and that we were using that magic to protect the city. We never could have done it without the help of all the stagehands working in the background with the wires and lighting. I suppose they felt the same way we did; maintaining the illusion of flight would be better for everypony and keep panic from spreading." "So I'm guessing that didn't last?" Sunset asked. Pipp shook her head. "The guards on outer patrol spotted Sunny and Izzy coming towards the city, and brought them before mom. She had them put into the dungeon until she could question them, but she obviously wasn't in any hurry, because Zipp and I were the first ones down there. I was down there for the content creation I could do, but Zipp was far more interested in the reason they were there; restoring magic for all of Equestria. Maybe... Maybe I would have been a bit more interested too if I didn't have a show that night... Which they managed to sneak into and try and take the crystal on mom's crown. In their sneaking around, they freaked out the stagehand controlling my wires, and that's when the cat came out of the bag. We were all over the news within minutes. I managed to get free of my harness and into the alleys before the guards surrounded us. I saw that they were after the gem and grabbed it on my way out. With nothing to lose and mom in custody, I figured the best shot would be to tag along and see what came of it." "Well, something good obviously came of it," Sunset commented. "So, they actually let you guys back into power?" "We were as surprised as you were. But I guess that news quickly spread that the royal family had a few hooves in bringing magic back. And... Well, she enjoys the luxury, but I have to give mom credit where it's due; she's great at handling the bureaucracy of the day-to-day city operations." "Sounds like it's working out so far for everypony." "You'd think so. Having a city of pegasi that can suddenly fly is proving to be a struggle. You know, mid-air collisions and such." "Yeah, I can understand how that would take some time to figure out." "So how's the phone working out?" Pipp asked. "Great. I mean, Sunny and her museum remain the most accurate source of history. I haven't had a lot of spare time yet, but I have made the time to check out some of your vlogs, especially your series on exploring Twilight's castle. Pretty impressive footage." "Wow, thanks! Always great to have another fan. It was at the perfect time too, when more ponies were getting curious about Equestria's ancient history. The different museums have been swapping artifacts and working to get our stories more straight. We can take a look at the Zephyr Heights museum when we get there if you like," Pipp offered. "That definitely sounds like a plan, Pipp. Let's do it."