"What?!" Both pegsi sisters yelled in unison. Alphabittle winced at their loud voices. He was used to the quiet forest of Bridlewood and this was quite the contrast. "Dad?!"
"Well, it's about time! Why didn't you tell us sooner?! I was starting to doubt that he was even real!" Pipp squealed.
"Alright, settle down, girls." Haven tried calming her daughters down by motioning her hoof down. "If you manage to compose both of yourselves, I'll explain everything."
"Hey, why'd bring him up when I showed this crystal." Questioned Sunny.
"Is there dad a crystal or did he make the crystal?" Asked Izzy.
"As I said, I'll explain everything, but first, I want to show you."
Meanwhile...
Sprout opened the door of Hitch and (currently) Sunny's house. "Hey have you-" he stopped when he noticed it was empty. "Aww crude, they ran off on another adventure." He said with a moving voice. He was about to turn around and leave when he heard a strange noise. His ears twitched to get a better hearing of it. It sounded like...whispering. Sprout's curiosity got the better of him and he walked towards it. The sound seemed to be coming from the guest room Sunny occupied. He slowly created down the hall; careful not to make too much noise. This reminded him of when he would sneak into the kitchen to get a snack without his mom finding out. But that was long ago when he was a colt and now he was a stallion and this seemed much more unnerving. He was in a 3-way battle with his flight, fight, and curiosity. He reached the doorway of the room and peeked inside. What he saw puzzled him. On a table that housed some of Sunny's belongings, he saw a strange black mist. He approached it, cautiously. There sat a green bell. It was the source of the black mist as well as the whispering. He couldn't make out what it was saying, but it was definitely there and he was uneasy about it. His fur stood on end as he shook slightly in fear. "Was returning magic really such a good idea?" Despite his fear, his curiosity got the better of him and he slowly began to reach out to the bell with his hoof. Just as the tip of his hoof touched the bell, a powerful blast of air shot at him and knocked him to the ground. It was almost as if a mighty force had hit him. "CHEVALIER...FULFILL WHAT YOUR DESTINY DICTATES" His mind flashed with images inside his head. Once it was over, he panicked and ran outside. The black mist and whispering continued on the bell. "CEASE THIS FUTILE STRUGGLE"
——————————————————————————————————————
Queen Haven guided the group of her daughters, their friends, and Alphabittle down a hallway that led to her bedroom. She opened and gestured for them all to go inside. "Uh, isn't it a little improper to enter the queen's room, just like that?"
"I invite you in and besides, you've stolen my crown so I'd say this is tame by comparison." So with her permission, they entered. A member of the castle staff walked by just in time to see the Queen guiding Alphabittle inside. Queen Haven looked at her and blushed. "Don't get the wrong idea!"
She entered at last and closed the door.
"Who were you talking to?" Asked Alphabittle.
"Nopony! Now come along!" She approached the wall beside her bed and touched a part of it that had a blue stain paint stain on it. She then pressed it and the wall opened to reveal a passageway. All the ponies gasped.
"Now I know why you didn't want the painters to get rid of that stain." Understood Pipp.
"You're only beginning to understand these secrets. I'm ashamed to admit that being not be to fly wasn't the only thing I kept secret. Her ears dropped as she had a dejected look on her face. The others were all so caught up in the reveal that just opened up in front of them that the only one who noticed this was Zipp. Haven led the group down the passageway except it was darker. "This definitely wasn't what I expected." Sunny quipped.
They eventually arrived at a door that looked quite heavily secured. There was a code that had to be entered on a small keypad. "How long has this been here?" Asked Zipp.
"HOW has this been here?" Also asked Pipp.
"Girls, just wait..." Haven stared at the keypad and thought about what she would put in. She took a deep breath and began to type it in. "B-E-L-L-F-L-O-W-E-R." The keypad beeped with a green light and the door opened. Once the door opened it revealed a small room with shelves of books and a small table with chairs in the center.
"A library?!" Both Zipp and Sunny gleamed at the sight. Zipp loved doing research and books were usually a source of that, so naturally, she developed an appeal for them. Sunny of course was similar.
"Oh, no..." Pipp and Hitch sighed.
"I never would've expected Zipp to like books this much." Said Hitch as he saw both mares head into the library first.
"She likes them way more than you think. Before we got magic back, she tried finding other ways for us to fly by reading about aerodynamics or whatever it was." She mentality patted herself on the back for remembering that word even though she fell asleep in the classes that taught her that back in school.
"This is incredible! Most of these books are probably thousands of years old!" Sunny examined. She felt like she had just uncovered a treasure. Zipp likewise was examining the books but she neared her nose a bit too close to the dust-covered books. She sneezed which made the other ponies laugh.
"Sorry for the condition of this place. Most of the servants don't even know about this place." Queen Haven chuckled a bit but she quickly got serious again and moved toward the table in the middle. She went to the left corner of the table and looked back at a shelf that stood vertically. Based on the look on her face, it was clear that multiple thoughts raced through her mind. She took a book from the shelf and examined its cover. She started at it intently like she was in a trace. She broke out of it when she heard Alphabittle to her right bump into a shelf. He managed to keep it in place with his hooves but was unable to keep several books from falling.
"Uh, sorry..." Alphabittle mumbled softly in awkwardness. He was like a bull in a china shop. Queen Haven sighed but more or less ignored the mess. This confused her daughters who looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"Uh, mom, are you okay?" Zipp asked.
"I'm fine, dear." She replied without taking her eyes off the book.
"Okay to are so not." Said Pipp.
"Yeah, you would never just leave a mess like that. You would rush and clean it yourself or make us do it." Queen Haven simply stared at her daughters for a few seconds before placing the book she was holding on the table. Dust flew from it as she did so. They coughed but managed to dispel the dust with their wings.
"Whew, this place is in desperate need of a serious clean-up. A unicorn's touch would do the trick!" Said Izzy.
"Can you all just...just sit over here?" Haven hesitated for a moment. The group agreed and sat in the chairs. Luckily, there were enough for all of them except Alphabittle who settle on the ground; especially since he was too big.
They all saw the book's cover.
"The Compass that lead to a Bellflower."
Sunny read. "What does that mean?"
Queen Haven sighed again and finally spoke.
"This...this is the story of how I met my husband."
"Why did we have to come all the way here for that? Why didn't you tell us when we were out there?"
"Because I want to hold onto what's left of him while I tell it. It makes me feel better...and worse. And this is mostly a secret."
"Uh, pardon me, Your Highness but what does this have to do with this mystery of crystals?" Asked Alphabittle.
"It... it is important to that. She took a deep breath and opened the book. And she read.
"It was a normal day, or normal for me at least. I wander out to the river to escape my boring princess training."
A young Queen Haven sat at a bank of a small river. She admired her reflection as she felt the cool summer air flow through her mane and coat. She closed he eyes and hummed softly. She stopped and opened her eyes as she heard faint singing that started to become louder and clearer. She stood up slightly and saw another pony on the other side of the river. It was a young silver-colored colt with a copper mane. He was dancing and singing on the opposite shore. "The world or ain't anybody in it gonna tell me where to go, I'll put on a show. They don't tell me what to do, I have that lust to pursue. I have no strife in life I keep on. I play that fife on and on..." His green eyes that were previously closed opened and blinked as they landed on the young pegasus filly across from him. "Yeah, that's right, and I'll keep on playing it until I find a cute little wife." She smiled knowing that he had seen her. The young Haven blushed as she tried to hide her face. The colt continued singing. He walked onto some rocks on the very edge of the bank. "I must have gotten myself caught in a tangle because what I see right in front of me is an angel." He leaned in trying to get closer to her but he leaned in too much and fell into the river. Haven stood in a panic as she looks at the water and worried for his safety. Her worries were relieved when his head popped out of the water. He gasped for air as he hurried onto shore on Haven's side. He climbed onto the shore and shook himself dry like a dog.
"Oh, I was about to ask if you wanted a towel." Haven laughed.
"No thanks, your majesty." He bowed. Haven raised an eyebrow.
"Is it that obvious?"
"But of course! Only a pony as lovely as you could possibly be royalty. Also, you're very well known."
Haven blushed. "Anyway..." She looks down at the ground to avoid his gaze. "What's your name?"
"Oh, I go by many names but the one I was born with is none other than...Venture Some..!" He looked pridefully.
"Well nice to meet you, Venture Some. What are you doing here?"
"I was just trotting along; singing my sweet tunes."
"They were lovely indeed!" Haven giggled.
"Say what's a pretty young bellflower doing out here? Shouldn't you be doing your little princessy things?"
"Yes but I'm tired of it! Do you know how exhausting it is to listen to my mom's long lessons on how to be a queen and all that?"
"Unfortunately not as I was not born into no royalty."
"But-"
Before the story could continue, it was interrupted by present-day Haven's crying. "Oh, I can't do this!" She wept as she closed the book. This caused all the others at the table to let out disappointed groans, especially Izzy.
"Aww, I wanted to hear more of it!"
"Why'd you stop? Me and Pipp want to find out more about him." Zipp stood up and asked with a bit of anger. "I'm sorry but I...I can't...just thinking about him is too much to bear."
"But that's why we want to find out about him. Why are you so sad about him? What happened? Why haven't we seen him since we were fillies?"
"Yeah!" Pipp said with a voice crack.
"Alright...I'll tell...you." Queen Haven said in between sniffs. "As I read you about him, he always had a huge need to explore, face the challenges, climb the highest mountains, literally and figuratively all that, and it was always so difficult to just get him to sit down and stay still, but...I loved that..." She put a hoof up to her chest and hummed. "But the point is..." She snapped out of it. "...One day, he told he had heard of a great empire up at the Frozen North and wanted to go find it. I pleaded with him not to go because it was really far away and the temperature is just...no...but that need to explore shun through and...he went...I haven't seen him since."
"What?! Did you go look for him?" Zipp said desperately as if her mother was at fault.
"Of course I did but, I couldn't go much farther. If I tried I...I may not have come back either..."
The whole library was quiet. All the ponies just stood there; not saying it or doing anything. Pipp was weeping on her sister's shoulder. Zipp in turn was struggling to hold back tears. Although Pipp had no struggle with expressing her emotions, Zipp did and always true to maintain a cool and calm persona. Though if you looked closely you could see her eyes water and her cheeks shaking lightly. Hitch himself was quiet. He wasn't as emotionally hurt as it wasn't his father but he had grown attached to his new pegasus friends and seeing them in sorrow made him feel it too. It especially hurt as his role as sheriff was to keep everypony safe.
Izzy was almost unable to comprehend the whole thing. She had a very bubbly and cheerful personality and death was never a favorite topic of hers.
Alphabittle, too pitted but it was mainly for Queen Haven. He had been around longer and understood such things.
But Sunny was different. She especially knew what it felt like to lose a father. And he was full of exploration and a need for knowledge, just like her father. Something flashed in her green eyes. It was a sparkle. Like the once she had when she strived to unite ponykind. Her sorrowful look changed to that of determination.
"I'm so sorry for all of this. There's no need to make you all so sad. Especially about a loss that was so long ago." Queen Haven stood up and true to put the book back before Sunny placed her hoof on the table loud enough to catch everypony's attention. "We'll find this empire!"
"What?!" Everypony in the room gasped and asked in surprise.
"Absolutely not! Haven scolded Sunny as if she was her daughter. "Did you not just listen to me explaining that I lost my husband when he tried to look for it."
"I..." Sunny turned to look at her friends who still looked at her with wide gapped mouths and widened eyes. "...We'll find it."
"No. I will not permit it. I've already lost my husband and I don't intend to lose you ponies that reunited Equestria and my daughters."
"But did your husband have magic?" Sunny asked.
"We'll...no. You know that was long before your little adventure yesterday."
"Exactly! He didn't have magic and we do! But not just pegasus flight but unicorn magic as well!" Sunny pointed out to which Zipp and Pipp flexed their wings and Izzy's horn glowed.
"And we're a team! We work together to bring back magic so why can't we do this?" Asked Izzy.
"This isn't just some excursion across Equestria to collect crystals; this is journeying to the coldest and farthest reaches of Equestria where Nopony has come back. As generic as it sounds, it's true."
"Please, you have to trust us. Remember that just 2 days ago, you all didn't trust earth ponies and unicorns, and now we're living in harmony! Just imagine if you let us go look for this empire."
"And just what would I imagine? You all gave magic back and brought us together but what would finding an empire do?"
"It could be our key to finding how this happened. We have proof that unicorns, earth ponies, and pegasi once lived together in harmony under the reign of Twilight Sparke—"
"Twi-what?" Interrupted Haven.
"Twilight Sparke," Sunny repeated, believing that the queen had simply not heard her clearly but Haven simply rose an eyebrow in obvious confusion.
"Y...you don't know her?" The orange earth pony asked again.
Queen Haven shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not. Am I supposed to? Is she somepony important?" Sunny gasped so wide that it seemed her jaw almost touched the floor. "Are you kidding? Of course, she is!"
"Aw, shucks, here we go again..." Hitch rolled his eyes in preparation for what he knew was coming.
"She was only the greatest, wisest, smartest, and most amazing pony in Equestria! She and her friends all saved ancient Equestria from all sorts of villains and proved that friendship was magic!"
"Those old fairy tales?" Haven't asked.
"They aren't fairy tales! You saw how is being together brought magic back!"
"Yes but there's no guarantee that everyone about ancient Equestria is true."
"But it is!" Sunny pleaded. "My father had proof of that!"
"Okay, but what does this 'Twilight' have to do with this empire?"
"I don't know, but I think discovering it could help us understand what happened. If my father's research is correct, The empire has been around since Twilight's time."
Queen Haven looked at the young mare for a few seconds as it seemed that gears were turning in her head. "No. I still will not allow it."
"Mom..." Zipp approached her. I want to go. You know how much I wanted to be like my dad and I want to finish what he started."
"But honey, this is dangerous. If I lost you too...I don't know what I would do..." She looked away at the bookshelf with the book of her husband. Alphabittle thought about saying something but stopped himself.
"Come on, mom. With magic and friends, we might be able to make it." Said Zipp but her mother still didn't seem convinced.
"I'm going there to get to the bottom of this!" Sunny said with determination.
"If Sunny's going, I'm going." Said, Hitch.
"Isn't it a bit chilly there?" Asked Izzy.
"I wanna make dad proud!" Finally said, Pipp.
At last, Alphabittle spoke. "Let them go, Haven. Your children have dreams and goals and they are determined. I understand what that's like."
"How? I thought you didn't have kids." Said Izzy.
"Oh...I uh..." Alphabittle found himself unable to answer.
——————————————————————————————————————
Far, far, far away stood a valley that had gotten overrun with trees and thick shrubbery. A tall mountain stood Northeast of it. Amongst the foliage, lay ruins of buildings from long ago that were slowly crumbling away. In one particularly large foliage patch, stirred a large mass. It was a creature of extraordinary size. Its head rose up and looked at the sky. He blinked slowly and sighed. "How much everything has changed after you are gone..." A tear ran down the creature's eye. It coughed slightly and smoke floated out. "I am...so sorry..." The creature's voice was on the verge of breaking. "It was my job to...you appointed me..." It couldn't finish its sentences as he wailed up. More tears started coming down from both eyes in rapid succession. He wiped away as many as he could with his massive forearms. "If what I saw is true, There might still be hope, but...will you ever forgive me...any of you?..."
——————————————————————————————————————
"Fine...you may go to find this empire..." Queen Haven finally permitted her daughters and their friend's request. They all cheered in joy and excitement. "But..." She raised a hoof out and they all paused. "I will be coming with you." They all gasped in surprise at that.
"But, but what about the kingdom?" Asked Pipp.
"I will set up some arrangements and put my most trusted advisers in charge. If I don't go, what kind of mother would I be if I let my daughters go alone somewhere dangerous?" She embraced her daughters tightly. "
"Thanks, mom..." Pipp sniffed with tears of happiness.
"You're the best." Said Zipp.
After a few more seconds of the mother-daughter(s) hug, they stopped and Haven smiled. "Right but we can't go immediately. We need to make preparations."
——————————————————————————————————————
A few days had passed. Sunny and her friends had been spending them preparing for their journey. To accompany their excitement, there was also a tinge of fear and worry. They were heading out to a part of Equestria that has remained untouched for a while and the weather was harsh. And that's not even bringing up what the actual journey would be like. It would be quite long as the Frozen North wasn't exactly your typical walk to the park. Many obstacles would undoubtedly be encountered including all sorts of fierce beasts. Maretime Bay, Zephyr Heights, and Bridlewood were all in places of Equestria that were quite scarce of any monsters but who knows what existed beyond them. One of the biggest surprises that had come about during these days was Sprout. Once he heard about what the group was attempting, he begged to join them. This was definitely a shocker as the cowardly, mama's boy that had also declared war with a giant machine didn't seem like the type to go on this perilous journey. But he begged and said it was to make up for what he did, so they eventually agreed
——————————————————————————————————————
Sunny sighed as she finished up her breakfast. "This is it, dad." She looked at the picture of her father. "Today we set off and figure out what caused this." She said cheerfully. "I will make you proud. You and mom..." She said as she stroked her hoof across the picture one last time. She walked by the guest room she was using and saw something. She approached and saw it was the green bell that she had in her collection of her father's artifacts. Normally it wouldn't catch her attention like this but there was something else. Right in front of the bell was another dark crystal. Nearly identical to the first. Sunny grabbed it and inspected it to see if it was the same one that had gotten misplaced. But as she turned it around, it was clear, it wasn't the same. It had something written on it, but it said:
"Taketh this bell with you. It is a tool of valorous succor."
She blinked her eyes rapidly to make sure she hadn't seen it wrong but that's exactly what it said. "Did Hitch write this?" She asked herself. Just then, the door opened, and Hitch yelled inside.
"Sunny! Pipp said we'll go meet them near your lighthouse and we have to go now!"
"Coming!' She shouted back. Sunny looked at the crystal then the bell. She thought for a moment and decided to stuff the bell in her bag.
Sunny stepped outside where Hitch was waiting for her. He was carrying down bags full of food and other essentials they would need on this voyage. "Ready to go?" He asked.
"You kidding, I've been waiting for this for days!"
Hitch chuckled. They started walking towards their location. "Hey, Sunny?"
"Yeah?"
"Does any part of you feel just a little worried?"
"Sunny looked down at her hooves as they stepped on the dirt below. "A bit, but I'm thinking of positives and that's what excites me."
"But remember, Sunny; everything is not gonna run smoothly. Remember what happened with the crystals."
"Yes, I remember but I think we can do it."
"Well, I hope so since we are literally diving into the unknown...again."
The colt and mare arrived at the location they agreed to meet up. Sunny gazed at the spot where her lighthouse once stood. It had been cleared out and her belongings returned to her but there was still a debate about what her new home would be like. Sunny shook those thoughts out of her mind. She was tired of thinking about tragedies. To lighten the mood, Sunny brought up a more cheerful topic. "Hey, what was that with you and Pipp that other day?"
Hitch nearly froze but he looked at her. "What do you mean?"
"You were looking at her."
"Well, of course. I have eyeballs."
"No." Sunny did io n between giggles. "I mean the way you looked at her...it reminded me of how you used to look at the filly back in school."
"Are you trying to say that I have a crush on Pipp?" Hitch asked in a are-you-serious? voice.
"Seems like it."
"Of course, I don't! Pipp is just a friend like you, Izzy, and Zipp.
"Well, I've never seen you look at any of us that way."
"Uhh..." Much like Alphabittle, Hitch was lost for words. "Oh hey! Look over there!" He pointed at the distance where Phyllis Cloverleaf and her son, Sprout we're approaching. Behind them, Izzy, Pipp, Zipp, Queen Haven, and Alphabittle followed.
During the days when they prepared for the journey, Phyllis and Alphabittle revealed that they would not be able to come along so the group would be made up of the mane 5, Sprout, and Haven. They were carrying bags with supplies.
"Hey, guys!" Sunny greeted. "Are you all ready to go?"
"Definitely!" Said Izzy. The others agreed.
"Yeah, I'm totally ready." Sprouts said, nonchalantly.
Hitch however was quite uncertain. "Are you sure about that?" He asked the red stallion.
"Of course I'm sure. We already talked about it these past few days." Sprout groaned in annoyance before Phyllis came up to him and embraced his head tightly. "Oh, my poor sugar cube! I'm sorry I won't be able to come along." She cooed in a babish voice.
"Mommy! Not in front of the others!" He whispered loudly when he noticed the other ponies laughing and looking at him with amusement.
Alphabittle approached Izzy and placed his hoof on her shoulder. "You watch out for yourself, okay?"
"Pfft, I'll be fine, Alphabittle! Don't worry about a thing!" She reassured him.
"Well, I hope so."
"Mom, you don't really seem like the type to go on these kinds of things."
"Oh, I'm not, but I would go to the ends of Equestria for you, girls, and if that's where we're heading, then I'm by your sides."
After saying their goodbyes, they knew it was time.
"Well, It's time!" Sunny announced. They all cheered and began walking while using a map that was handed to them by Queen Haven. As they began their journey, Sunny's ear twitched as she looked at the bell in her bag. She could've sworn she heard a chuckle...