//------------------------------// // Make Your Mark chapter 1 // Story: The Second Dream // by totallynotabrony //------------------------------// “So, why are we breaking into the castle again?” I asked. “I thought you would enjoy it,” Zipp replied. “Thanks!  There’s a reason we’re friends.” The two of us were currently hugging the outside wall of the Zephyr Heights palace, wings beating to hold us against the stone. “Well, that, and if someone catches us, you have plausible deniability,” she said.  “I’m still impressed how the first time you were in this castle you were able to come up with a lie on the spot so good that you leveraged it into a job that you still do today, Miss Martial Law.” She had a point, and I appreciated the compliment. “But can’t you just walk through the front door?” I asked.  “Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy this, I just would have thought that would be easier. It is your house, after all.” “But if I did this officially, then I might have to talk to my mom,” Zipp replied. “Oh.  Yeah, I feel that.” We opened a window and stealthed our way down the hallway, avoiding a few patrolling guards, and entered Pipp’s bedroom.  I couldn’t tell if it was plainer than I expected, or if Pipp had just moved all her junk to her new bedroom at the Crystal Brighthouse in Maretime Bay. It was apparently Pipp that had asked Zipp to do this whole thing in the first place, though probably not how.  Pipp wanted us to pick up her lucky microphone. We easily located the thing - bejeweled as expected - and grabbed it.  After that, it was a simple matter to go back out the way we came.  I did stop and take a selfie inside Pipp’s bedroom, though.  The canternet would love this. They called it the canternet here.  That didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.  While horse puns dominated a pony-led society, to make the pun, there had to first be a basis on which to pun it.  I was probably overthinking it. We made the flight back. Back in Maretime Bay, on the street by the waterfront, Zipp handed Pipp back her microphone.  Pipp promptly handed it to Sunny.  “Okay, Sunny, just remember: pretend you’re talking to us and not, like, all of Equestria, and you’ll do great.”  She lifted her phone to record. Hitch and Izzy were there too.  I lowered my voice to stay out of the clip and asked, “What’s going on?” “It’s a promotion for Maretime Bay Day,” Hitch said.  “Now that all the pony races are friends, we’re inviting everyone.” Three times the holidays. Count me in. Despite already being a friend of Sunny’s, I actually learned a lot by listening to her spiel.  I also made sure to re-share the video. “Okay Sunny, do the thing!” Pipp prompted, making sure the video caught her voice.  “Turn into an alicorn!  That’s an earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn all in one!” Is that what we were calling Sunny’s mysterious power?  I suppose it made sense, considering she gained ethereal wings and horn when it activated.  It happened so rarely though that I had only seen it a time or two. Just then, one of the birds constantly hanging around Hitch snatched the phone and flew away with it. We all gave chase.  Unsurprisingly, Zipp and I were in the lead.  Pipp could fly too, but she wasn’t really an exertion type of person. “You’re going low, I’ll pin it down from above!” I called to Zipp as we ducked and weaved through the streets.  Of course, I couldn’t keep up with Zipp’s speed and started to fall behind.  Though, I really wanted to be the one to get the phone back; Hitch was watching. He still hadn’t given me an answer on the whole thing about upgrading our sleeping together to sleeping together.  I wasn’t sure how long I should wait before prompting him again. I was so distracted by that line of thought that I almost missed the phone flying directly at my face.  Zipp had apparently gotten it away from the thieving bird, but fumbled it in my direction.  I got my hooves up, also fumbled the phone, and in trying to recover it, crashed into a tree. I stumbled up, but triumphant.  The rest of the crew arrived at a gallop.  I handed the phone back to Pipp. Izzy brushed a few leaves off me with her magic and giggled.  “A little ground glitter never hurt anypony.” “Are you actually hurt?” Hitch asked me. I was going to be bruised, absolutely, but a coat of hair meant never having to admit that.  “I’m totally fine, no problem.” “Thank hoofness for magic,” Sunny said. I noticed that I’d landed in somebody’s yard.  I didn’t think the tree was any worse for wear, but Izzy had distractedly walked through the flower bed. And the homeowner was not amused.  She was a yellow earth pony that I might have seen before, and she introduced herself by emerging from the house and refuting Sunny’s earlier statement.  “I, for one, do not agree.” “Is this about your flowers, Posey?” Sunny said.  “It was an accident, but we’ll fix them right away.” Posey apparently had a bone to pick.  “No.  What I meant was that I wish magic had never come back.  And I'm not the only pony around here who thinks so.  You pegasi are always flying too fast!  Or too low!  Or too high up!  I just don't like it, okay?  And every time I’m at the market, there’s some smug unicorn using their magic to shop!  I almost got hit in the head by a bag of floating apples yesterday!  Magic is not very safe.  At least not for the rest of us ponies who don't have it.  Right, Sheriff Hitch?” Put on the spot, Hitch stuttered.  “Uh... I don't know-” “Hold on a moment,” I said.  “We’re outside Maretime Bay.” We were outside the city, sure, it had been a long chase with the bird.  I didn’t actually know where Hitch’s authority ended, but was willing to bet this Karen didn’t either. “So if it’s an inter-city issue, that would be my jurisdiction.” Posey suddenly looked much less likely to complain to me.  Hitch, though thankful I had gotten him out of the spotlight, looked uncertain whether he was comfortable with the challenge to authority and I was suddenly unsure if I had done the right thing in saving him or if he would go off on another “Sentra is too dominant for me” thing. Sunny interceded.  “Everypony’s just still learning how to use it, that’s all.  Magic takes practice.” Posey hmph’d.  “Then they should do it somewhere else other than my garden!”  She tromped back into her house and slammed the door. Izzy and Sunny got the flowers straightened out and then we headed back into town.  It was pizza night at the Crystal Brighthouse. Regardless of any romantic intentions, moving in with Hitch had been a great idea.  I didn’t miss the communal bedrooms and everything else at the Brighthouse.  The kitchen was great, though.  The six of us got to work.  Though, Zipp seemed distracted. “Extra cheese, Zipp?” Pipp asked her. “Huh?  Oh, sorry.  Just thinking about something weird that happened earlier.” “The thing with Posey? Pipp assumed. “How could she not love magic?” Sunny said. “Earth ponies have never had magic before.  Maybe Posey’s jealous,” Hitch said. His comment wasn't directed at me, but I subtly tucked my wings closer. Zipp changed the subject, asking Sunny, “So have you figured out the whole ‘magical wings and horn appearing at random times’ thing yet?” Sunny shook her head.  “No, and it’s been getting worse.  Just the other day it happened randomly at the smoothie stand and I ruined half a dozen drinks.” “Maybe Posey has a point,” Zipp said.  “Magic is unpredictable.” “It may be unpredictable, but it's not dangerous,” Sunny argued. “Depends on how you look at it,” I said.  “And I definitely see some prickly issues here.  We’ve already got people saying that nobody should have magic.  Let me know if someone starts saying that the only way to stop bad guy with magic is with a good guy with magic.  That’ll be my cue that this issue has gotten serious.” Sunny went on.  “We just need to show the Earth ponies that magic is nothing to be afraid of.  It makes Equestria a better place.  And it's fun!  We’re going to use Maretime Bay Day as our chance to show off all the amazing things magic can do!  Then everypony will remember just how special it is that we have friendship and magic in our lives again!” That sounded like a problem for her. Anyway, the pizza was pretty good. Later that evening, I lingered at the Brighthouse.  I was working on a new strategy for Hitch, and had pulled back slightly.  Ordinarily I would have followed him around like a puppy, but needed some time to think. Heading for the sitting area upstairs, I just caught the end of a phone call Zipp was making with her mom.  Or rather, shirking and avoiding her mom.  She hung up the phone and let out an extended groan. “I feel that,” I commented, coming out onto the balcony with her.  “Moms, amirite?” “I’m not ready to go back to Zephyr Heights and become a full-time, heir-to-the-throne princess yet,” she confided. “What happens if you just…don’t?” “My mom would be disappointed with me.  Also, Pipp would instead become queen.” “Oh.”  I frowned.  “That sure is a problem.  I wish I could do something to help.  I completely understand that sometimes moms are demanding of your time for limited benefit to you.  I regularly go half an hour on the phone with mine and only have to say just two or three well placed ‘uh-huh’s.” Well, I guess I wouldn’t have to any more, since I was now in Equestria. “It’s not just my mom, though,” Zipp sighed.  “It’s all of Zephyr Heights.  I have a leadership responsibility, but I really prefer my life here in Maretime Bay.” “I’m sure the whole Big Tomboy Energy thing you have going on would make you a great q-uh, leader.”  I almost said queen there, and didn’t think it would help Zipp’s mood.  “But I also want for you to be happy.” “Me too,” she said, mood just as gloomy as before. Just then, two pegasi flying by screamed and dropped twenty feet through the air.  They successfully recovered, though, and resumed flying. “That’s not good,” Zipp observed in surprise. “Weird,” I said.  “What could have caused that?” “I have no idea.  It’s…”  she trailed off.  “I wonder if something is going on with magic?” She glanced towards the rainbow emanating from the top of the Brighthouse. I had even less reply to that than her maternal troubles.  I said goodnight to her and left. On the way back downstairs, I passed Izzy, who appeared to be lugging an entire briefcase of glitter towards where she was crafting with Sunny and Pipp.  I made an I’m watching you gesture and she gave me a wide berth. By now, she understood my feelings on glitter. Back at the station that evening, I got into bed with Hitch.  He seemed in a good mood, perhaps looking forward to the coming holiday. Maybe if he was in a bad mood he would want to snuggle.   “Don’t take selfies in bed,” he said. I glanced at him.  No, still residual happy.  Well, it was worth a shot. In the morning, amid dealing with all the animals that hung around Hitch, we got a call to the station for some kind of disturbance at the beach.  I still wasn’t sure if I should be close to Hitch or giving him space, but didn’t fancy cleaning sand from everywhere, so I let him handle it alone. He was back later, talking about some kind of disagreement. “A unicorn said her magic got interrupted, and it caused an accidental sand castle crunch,” he said, shrugging.  “The owner of the castle wasn’t happy, let me tell you.” “What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the pink egg he was carrying. “This?  Um, it-”  Hitch shook his head.  “I have no idea.  I found it at the beach.” “If you of all people don’t know what it is, it must be rare,” I noted. “Yeah, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Hitch said.  He set up a basket of sand, packed the egg into it, and set it under a lamp in the cabinet behind his desk.  His voice shifted to baby mode.  “That’s better.  All roasty and toasty.  I’ll just keep you safe here until we can find who you belong to, okay?” He was just enlisting one of his birds to keep watch when the door opened and Posey came in.  “Who were you just talking to?” she asked. Hitch quickly closed the cabinet.  “Nopony, nopony at all!  How can I help you, Posey?” “I was just trotting down Mane Street when I noticed that my hooves were stuck to the sidewalk.  I tried and tried to move, but I couldn’t for, like, a really long time.  I think somepony’s pranking me.  Probably one of those unicorns.  I’d like to file a complaint.” Here we go with the Karen again.  Hitch pointed.  “Okay, the complaint box is over there on the wall.” It was overflowing as of late.  Maybe there had been that many weird things going on.  Maybe I could try sorting some of those complaints out, to give Hitch a hand. “I’d prefer if you took it down yourself,” Posey said flatly. “I would, but I’m late for an important meeting.  Duty calls!” Hitch hurried out. Nice, he just backhandedly called Posey unimportant.  I shifted slightly at my desk, and Posey’s eyes fell on me.  “How do you know it was a unicorn?” I asked. “Sparkly stuff stuck my hooves to the ground,” she replied, impatiently.   I couldn’t fault her logic, though I wondered who could have done it.  I rubbed my chin, remembering Hitch’s comment about unicorn magic being on the frizz and the pegasi I had seen falling the other day.  “Strange.  There have been reports of unusual magic activity lately.  I wonder if this is another mishap.” “The only mishap is that ponies like you came to this town!” “Wow, racist much?” “I don’t need that from you…whatever you are!” I glanced at my foreleg.  “Oh, look at the time.  I’m late for an important meeting.” Posey sputtered as I got up and left.  Yeah, I probably should have helped her, me being the law and everything, but there was no evidence that a crime had actually been committed, and something more worrying might actually be going on.  Posey didn’t know it, and probably wouldn’t have liked it, but her report might actually be helping us. Plus, let’s be honest here, she was kind of annoying. The meeting turned out to be down at Pipp's Mane Melody combination salon/karaoke bar.  I had inadvertently stumbled into a makeover session, but was fairly confident that at this point not even Pipp could get the gel out of my mane. Still, she found things to critique.  “I see your fetlocks are trimmed.  A little out of fashion, but you’ve never been one to notice.” “You wish you could set your own style trends.” I still wasn’t exactly sure whether the two of us had fallen into habitual trading of insults or if we were actually friends.  Funny how that could sometimes be hard to tell. The big purpose of the meeting, though, was about Zipp.  Apparently, everyone thought she was paranoid for thinking magic was glitching.  Pipp even sang a special song especially about that. “You don’t get it, do you?!” Zipp burst out.  “We can’t just sing a song and ignore everything!  If we lose magic this time, we may never get it back again!  And it’ll be our fault.” “Why wouldn’t you all believe Zipp?” I said, backing her up.  “She’s probably smarter than all of us, but more importantly, you could at least investigate her claim before branding her paranoid.  Fortunately, I have some more evidence for the pile.  There were a few more apparent incidents.”  Zipp and I had seen the falling pegasi together.  Since then, apparently the ruined sandcastle and the sticky hooves might also be related. And just then, a pegasus crashed into the street outside. Posey was once more in the middle of it.  “It isn’t fair!  We earth ponies don’t get any magic, and then the ponies that do have it don’t even know how to use it!” All six of us did another “oh look at the time, we have somewhere else to be” and retreated to the Brighthouse. “Thanks for believing me,” Zipp said to me quietly as we traveled. “Hey, no problem, what are friends for?” We circled up again on the upper floor of the Brighthouse.  The crystals we had collected and united to kick off magic were here, floating gently in a beam of rainbow light that soared straight up from the building like a beacon.  Zipp went over the information she had collected.  “I think I finally know what’s happening to magic. Why it’s glitching.”  She pointed to the crystals.  “The magic is in the crystals.  They might be powered by ponies.” “Soylent Green?” I said, though everyone else’s audible surprise overrode my voice. As a demonstration, Zipp said, “Okay, check this out.  Pipp, when we were fillies, I used to steal Mom’s chocolate-dipped cherries and blame it on you.” Pipp gasped.  “I knew it!  You got me grounded, like, twelve times!” “Yeah.  And guess what?  I don't like karaoke!  It’s the worst!” This time everyone gasped.  Izzy demanded, “Hey, you take that back!  Karaoke is a fun activity for every age and skill level!” “Zipp’s allowed to like what she likes,” Sunny said, trying to be moderate.  “Just because we enjoy something doesn’t mean she has to.” Hitch said, “Sunny, there's no need to get all huffy about it.  Izzy was just trying to stand up for Pipp.” “Don’t call me huffy!” “I didn’t call you huffy!  I said you were being huffy!” Everyone started shouting at once.  Since we were confessing sins, I said, to no one in particular, “I once ate sakura niku while knowing full well what it was.” I don’t think anyone heard me, though, and at any rate, the crystals started vibrating, interrupting the constant stream of rainbow light.  The instant the arguments stopped, so did the interference. “You...you were right,” Sunny admitted. “So, when ponies aren’t treating each other with kindness…” Izzy began. “...the Crystals get weaker, and the more unstable magic becomes in Equestria.” Zipp finished. “So…friendship is magic?” I said.  “Like literally?  Because there are some ponies out there that I really don’t-” A wave of static went across the crystals.  “-okay, okay!” “I wonder if this had anything to do with why the Crystals were separated all those years ago. Ugh. Or why I still can't seem to figure out my Alicorn magic,” Sunny said. “I don’t know,” said Zipp.  “I want to find out.  But if we want to keep magic in Equestria, first we need to get everypony back on the same page.” “Zipp’s right, we can’t give up,” Sunny said, rallying everyone.  “We can still make Bay Day the celebration it’s supposed to be, for everypony!” With that agreed, the holiday was tomorrow. We just had to make it a success. That evening, back at Hitch’s place, I could tell he had a lot on his mind.  Problems with magic, the egg he found, and maybe the overflowing complaint box.  His shoulders looked tense as he sat at the edge of the bed. Maybe he was still thinking about the day, or maybe mentally preparing himself for another night beside me. “Do you want a back rub?” I asked. “That’s…”  he sighed, and then resignedly admitted, “I would appreciate that very much.” It was a good thing I had reluctantly let Pipp do a hooficure on me at the salon.  When it came to personal image, I had a very definite one, but there was a big difference between dark and actually dirty.  Dirt is nobody’s fetish. But- Nobody’s fetish! The massage did not include a happy ending, though it wasn’t as if I had planned for that, my personal longing aside.  At least Hitch seemed contented, and fell asleep quicker than usual. In the morning, it was time for the festival.  The town had been decorated and prepared for a street fair.  I had to say, I was excited.  Everybody loves a fair, and this was my first one in another world. Hitch and I met up with the others.  Despite the racist rumblings around town, there had been a pretty good turnout and the crowd was thronging. “Ponies showed up after all,” Izzy said.  “And look, there’s the Queen!  Hello, your Majesticness!” Zipp had told me her mom was going to come for the festival.  On top of backing her up with the magic glitching, I had offered to do her the favor of keeping Queen Haven occupied.  Somehow, dealing with someone else’s mom made it a little easier. “It’s good to see you, Miss Martial Law,” the Queen said, greeting me.  She smiled and winked.  “And thank you for seeing to our business.” I could only assume she meant getting the charges against her dropped.  As much as I would really have liked to see someone punished for being a phony pony full of baloney, I hadn’t actually done anything.  Maybe now that every pegasus could fly, Zephyr Heights had decided that she was actually innocent.  Or maybe, like Zipp, nobody else wanted to step up and take her job. “No problem,” I said, though remained wary.  There was no telling what a national leader might request if she thought she was already receiving preferential treatment. I had begun to realize that I, personally and all by myself, was the closest thing to national law enforcement that existed in Equestria.  It had happened by accident, and was only sustained because people like Queen Haven went along with it. Speaking of going along with things, despite ponies coming for the festival, I could tell the crowd was getting restless.  The earth ponies didn’t like unicorn ice cream.  Unicorns were eating out of trash cans.  Pegasi were falling out of the sky- Okay, probably should do something about that. However, as I started forward to help, the growing storm of emotion seemed to rise with actual storm clouds appearing in the sky like magic.  Well, maybe literally magic. “My hooves are stuck!” Hitch called, and I immediately diverted in his direction to help.  There was some kind of magic holding him down, but it didn’t look like any kind of unicorn magic I had seen before. “The glitches are getting worse!” Zipp said as the wind picked up and the clouds grew even darker.  We managed to get Hitch free. “Nothing has gone to plan today,” Sunny lamented.  “We have to try to save this.”  She glanced at the festival schedule, trying to make the best of it, and shoved Pipp towards the event stage. “We still need all the positivity we can get,” Pipp agreed, apparently with the program. As Pipp took the stage, Sunny hurriedly announced, “Everypony, please welcome pop star Princess Pipp Petals to sing the brand-new Maretime Bay Day song!” “New song?  We want to hear the real Maretime Bay song!  Sung by an Earth pony!” shouted someone in the crowd. That was when the lightning started.   This, at least, got the crowd’s minds on something besides fighting, for once.  A bolt struck the signboard over the sheriff station’s front door. “Eggy!” Hitch exclaimed, rushing inside.  It took me a moment to remember the pink egg. He was just in time to miss the magical void that suddenly opened in the street in front of the stage, growing wider and sucking up everything in its path down into a pit of utter blackness. Of course I was streaming all of this, even as I had to hobble away from the expanding void on three legs because I was holding the phone.  “Everypony, get back!” Sunny wisely shouted. The crowd collectively began to shout and run. Earth ponies were still getting stuck, though, and unable to move as the void got closer, swallowing up the street and everything in its path.  And then, it took Posey and a pegasus mare I vaguely recalled was named Windy. The pair fell into the hole, screaming. “No!” Sunny shouted.  She concentrated, stepping towards the edge.  “Come on, Alicorn magic, work!” Hitch had reemerged from the station, carrying the egg protectively.  I glanced at him, and then at the hole.  Should I do something stupid/heroic…? Sunny jumped first. Realizing the situation, that Sunny was going to need all the help she could get for her magic to work, Zipp tried one last time to rally the crowd.  “The magic will come back to us if we can work together!  Come on, unicorns!  Come on, pegasi!  Come on, earth ponies!” By some miracle, it actually seemed to work.  Everyone moved forward to help free those that were stuck.  Now that the chips were down, it seemed like the town was finally going to put aside differences and come together. In the midst of all this, Zipp glanced at me.  She glanced at Hitch.  She smirked, gave me a wink, and then shoved Hitch from behind. Unprepared, he stumbled forward.  Desperately, he tried to protect the egg, tripped into me, and knocked me over on my back, landing atop me. There were a lot of our body parts touching, but the ones that surprised both of us were our lips.  Coincidentally, magic returned just then and we both felt the little zing that went through us. Hitch jerked his head back, gasping.  I asked, “Is that the egg or something else hard pressing into me?” “It’s the egg.”  It took a second, but Hitch suddenly went beet red and scrambled to get up.  He sputtered.  “Is that the mouth that’s had genitals in it?” “I’ve never done that before, I was just offering to let you do it for the first time,” I clarified. “First time? That…that was my first kiss.” He looked like he didn't know how to feel. The usual crowd of animals raced over, all chittering happily, apparently congratulating Hitch. “Did you just... talk!?” Hitch gasped.  “Did I just... understand you!?  Whaaaaat?!” “I thought you were always able to understand animals,” I said. “I mean, yeah, sort of, but not like directly speaking.”  He shook his head and glanced around at several other earth ponies who seemed to be glowing. “Earth pony magic!?” Sunny exclaimed. “When we work together, maybe we can invent new magic,” Zipp said. I don’t know if she had intended that to be a double entendre, but if her giving Hitch a literal push was her way of helping me out, I would make her the maid of honor at our wedding. Was it too early to start making “get Hitched” jokes? In the midst of all this, and the sudden turnaround in the town's attitude, the void had disappeared and Sunny dropped off the two ponies she had rescued from it.  The magical wings and horn she had sprouted disappeared now that she didn’t need them. The skies had already cleared up and it seemed like the magic storm was over.  Day saved, I guess. I, for one, breathed a sigh of relief. Just then, the egg Hitch was holding cracked open.  He gasped and held it up.  Whatever was inside apparently wanted out. The shell split, the top half of the egg falling away to reveal a green, scaly lizard. Hitch’s mouth dropped open.  “A dragon!?” Apparently that was at least as exciting as the narrowly-avoided magic apocalypses that had just happened. Everyone started to gather around the baby dragon.  “He’s so cute!” said Izzy. “Adorbs!” added Pipp. I didn’t move, though, suddenly worried and too preoccupied to join in greeting the new baby.  It had been a busy day, and my relationship with Hitch had taken a big jump, but this might be moving just a bit too fast. Did we just adopt a kid?