//------------------------------//
// North 
// Story: Forgotten: Sunrise 
// by milesprower06 
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Sunset was completely clueless about hydrogen fuel cells, but she assumed it was somewhat comparable to the hybrid vehicles that she had started to see in her final  years in the mirror world. If this vehicle used petrol, she likely wouldn't be able to sit back here in the bed of the Scouticus Maximus leaning against the barrels without choking on gasoline vapors as the truck headed north over arctic tundra. Sunny advised her to take in the relaxing scenery while she could, before the frigid cold forced her inside for the final quarter of the journey.

Aside from magic-fueled teleporting and the zeppelin-powered military airships, Sunset remembered the quickest way to get around Equestria was the national rail network. According to what Sunny had told her, the tracks had long since rotted away or had been long-buried by generations' worth of vegetation. The separate tribes were still working on connecting their cities and towns with simple roads, and were still relying on physical maps until Zephyr Heights installed signal towers in between locales, the previous six months having been getting better signal strength in Bridlewood and Maretime Bay. It made Sunset wonder what had happened to Equestria's other metropolises, such as Las Pegasus and Manehattan. Had they survived? Been razed or abandoned in whatever unrest had befallen Equestria's citizens? Or were they just as isolated as Bridlewood, Maretime Bay, and Zephyr Heights had been, and just weren't aware of each other yet?

The vehicle's passenger cabin wasn't as crowded this time, either. This trip, it was Sunny, Sprout, Zipp, Pipp, and herself, with Izzy currently tending to matters in Bridlewood and Hitch handling his office in Maretime Bay, in addition to caring for Ray. The current plan was to spend two to three days sorting, packing, and loading artifacts into the trailer they were pulling, and then she would disembark at the halfway point home, to head towards Bridlewood to spend some time with Izzy and the other unicorns.

The only part of the Crystal Empire she had seen was the interior of the castle when she stealthily approached Twilight's guest room all those years ago. If it weren't for the pictures Pipp had taken, she couldn't imagine an entire city buried in ice and snow. But in just about a day's time, she would see it for herself.

The food they had packed obviously wasn't up to par to the dishes she had eaten at Maretime Bay's and Zephyr Heights' restaurants and castle, but they certainly sufficed for a trip such as this. Finishing the granola bar that she had started a few minutes ago, she got up as she felt a brisk breeze blow her mane from overhead, and figured that the mild temperatures would soon be behind them along with the arctic tundra. Getting to her hooves, she climbed over to the top hatch, opened it, and slid down the ladder, depositing the granola bar wrapper into the trash can in the corner.

Sprout was driving, and Sunny was in the passenger seat reading 'The History of Magic', one of the first and few ancient books that were in good enough condition that CanterLogic was able to reprint them. The earth pony wasn't able to hide her disappointment, but she took Sunset's suggestion and left the Class V spell tomes right where they were in what used to be Canterlot Library's restricted section. Sunset figured after spending some time in Bridlewood with Izzy, she could finally earn some bits at CanterLogic by helping Sunny go through what was undoubtedly going to be a few metric tons of books that they were going to pull out of the Crystal Empire's library. The trailer Sprout had built was climate controlled all the way down to zero degrees, so they would be able to keep them in their frozen or near-frozen state for the journey back south, which the earth stallion warned may take a bit longer with the added weight.

There wasn't enough time to get fitted for cold weather gear of her own, but without Izzy on this trip, she was a close enough fit. Pipp was currently playing an offline game on her phone, since they had lost all phone signals a day and a half ago.

"Hey there, Sunny," Sunset checked in, coming up to the passenger seat, holding herself upright by grabbing one of the straps bolted to the ceiling in between the driver and passenger seats. "How's the book?"

Sunny glanced at her with a look of... Disappointment?

"I'm just... Thinking about something I said back when I was almost a foal. Playing with my dolls with Hitch and Sprout, I was quite adamant when I said that ponies never used their magic against each other. That... Couldn't have been farther from the truth. The more I discover about Equestrian history, the more I realize that magic was almost always involved in every single conflict. Nightmare Moon, Trixie Lulamoon, Queen Chrysalis, Starlight Glimmer, Tempest Shadow... All of them wielded powerful magic of one kind or another. It's... Not quite the picture my dad painted for me when I was younger."

Sunset smiled down at her as she turned to the next page.

"I can see why your dad would teach somepony so young history with a bit of rose-tinted glasses. Yeah, magic, or magical artifacts, were frequently the source of conflict throughout Equestrian history. But don't let that discourage you. Whenever nefarious ponies threatened us, heroes rose up to face them; I should know, I have firsthoof experience with that, on both sides. And it should also be noted that more than half of the names you just mentioned eventually found the light. Trixie became the counselor for Twilight's school, Starlight became the new headmare, and Tempest, or Fizzlepop Berrytwist, her given name, became the captain of her royal guard. My point is, history is almost always more complicated than books give it credit for, Sunny."

Sunny looked up at her, and nodded with a light smile.

"Thanks, Sunset. I'll try and remember that."