As time passed, Sunny and Izzy began to grow, in both strength and in physical appearance. The pair were already naturals at magic as fillies, but their magic only served to get stronger as they grew bigger. Although there were times when they had arguments, they always managed to reconcile in the end.
Likewise, Terra made sure to tell them all sorts of stories about Ancient Equestria -- if not for Sunny's benefit, than for Izzy's. From the lunar imprisonment of Princess Luna, to every baddie that the Guardians of Harmony had to fight, to Terra's own experiences with visiting such kingdoms as Griffonstone and Abyssinia, they learned it all and made sure to remember it.
As for Sunny's and Izzy's parents, on the other hoof...
Astral kicked the final mound of dirt onto the grave, a sigh leaving him as he looked at the mound of brown that stuck out amongst a field of white flowers. He held a hoof to his heart, not bothering to fight the tears that welled up in his eyes.
With his other hoof, he grabbed a couple flowers and laid them on the grave.
"Stella..."
His voice was but a whisper, dancing on the soft breeze. Tears began to cascade down his face, and he folded his ears down as he let them fall.
Like Argyle, he too held out for his daughter's return, but very soon, he decided that enough was enough. Unlike his wife, however, he was going to "the edge of the daisy fields" to visit Izzy, not to bring her home.
Sadly, as much as he chased Stella shortly after her sudden departure -- if not to find her, then to somehow run into his daughter -- he could never quite catch up to her.
Until he did. And came across one of the worst surprises of his life.
As he looked straight ahead of him, he forced himself to move. I hope Izzy hasn't suffered the same fate as Stella...what'll I even tell her, if she's alive?
No. No time for answering that question. I have to find her, no matter what it takes. Stella may have starved herself to death looking for her, but I won't.
Please don't worry, my little Izzy. I'm coming for you.
A slow march turned into a slow trot, and then to a full-on gallop as he sped away from his wife's grave and headed straight.
Most ponies knew him. They were often wary of his preachings about all three kinds of ponies once living in unity, and wanted absolutely nothing to do with him nor his knowledge. Of course, the same also went for his daughter, in spite of her being a filly -- there was a reason she didn't have many friends.
He tried many times over to convince his fellow citizens, but each time, it was to no avail. Either he was overwhelmingly booed off of whatever makeshift stage he had created, or nopony bothered to give him even a second of their time and simply went about their daily lives. However, he never gave up hope -- after all, if he couldn't convince them, then perhaps his daughter would be able to.
But even they didn't turn their back on a pony in need. Especially if their needs were dire.
And especially if said pony was but a mere colt.
"Somepony, please help! We need a doctor, stat!"
As Sunny and Izzy were eating some toast with eggs, Terra came down the stairs, a yawn parting from her jaws. "Good morning." she mumbled sleepily.
"Mornin', Terra!"
"Good morning!" Sunny nearly coughed through her mouthful of toast, and swallowed before she continued to speak. "How'd you sleep?"
"Fine." Another yawn racked Terra's body and made its way forth. "When I wake up a little more, I have something I would like to discuss with you two."
"All righty!" Izzy chomped on her toast, chewing noisily as she watched the older alicorn walk into the kitchen and immediately go for the tin of coffee in the pantry.
Once Terra settled down with her coffee, she got to explaining.
"Both of you have trained with me for many years. You have studied, learned, and mastered the magic of all three pony kinds. You have traveled with me to various Equestrian cities to retrieve crucial items, food, and other necessities. And now..."
She took a deep breath.
"It is time for you to find the other three saviors."
Sunny and Izzy shared a surprised glance.
"I do not know where these other saviors might be. But I trust that you will be able to find them, form a bond of friendship with them, and bring magic back to Equestria."
"I, um..." Sunny fiddled with a string that was poking out of the couch she was sitting on. "I think I might know where one savior is."
"You do?" Izzy asked. "Who is it?"
"My fillyhood friend. Hitch Trailblazer." Sunny explained. "He lives back in Maretime Bay. He has such a good and kind heart, and he's always helping other ponies whenever he was able to. He was...the only friend I had when I was a filly."
Izzy nodded, as though understanding. She herself never had any friends to speak of, but she knew all too well what it was like when nopony supported you no matter what you said or what you did.
"If we find him, a-and meet up with him again, maybe he could help us find the other two saviors!" Sunny could hear her voice crack slightly, but forced herself to keep it under control.
Terra tapped a hoof to her chin. "I see. He does sound like a good pony."
"He is!"
The alicorn smiled. "I will not stop either of you from identifying the other saviors. If you believe Hitch is one of them, Sunny, then by all means."
Sunny couldn't help but give an excited squeal, stomping her hooves on the couch as her body was filled with a rush of emotion at the thought of seeing Hitch again. It's been so long...I never even got to say goodbye to him as much as I got to say goodbye to my dad, thanks to my magic getting in the way. But now, we can reunite, and restore magic back to him, and the rest of the ponies of Equestria!
A blush crept into her cheeks as she blissfully ignored Izzy asking Terra a question, followed by Terra giving an answer and shaking her head.
"All right. Now that both of you have full stomachs, why-"
A knock on the door interrupted her. Three heads each swiveled to stare at the door, eyes widened out of both curiosity and fear.
"Stay back, both of you!" Terra warned. "I will answer the door."
Slowly, her hooves took her to the wooden door. Her heartbeat accelerated with every step, and she couldn't help but warm up her horn by wrapping it in her lustrous blue aura.
Her magic gripped the door handle, and it turned. She almost felt like she was going to pass out with how fast her heart was beating.
Silence fell across the entire scene. An Earth pony with an oak-brown coat and a blonde mane and tail stood at the door.
Izzy's eyes began to water as she hopped off of the couch and trotted to Terra's side.
"Dad?"
"Izzy."
Father and daughter both stood there for what seemed like moons, gazing at each other, the daughter's eyes full of relief and longing and the father's eyes full of pain and grief.
Finally, Izzy moved to hug her dad, wrapping her front legs around him and holding him as tight as she could. He, in return, did the same thing, tears cascading down both of their faces as they began to sob.
"I will assume you are Izzy's father?" Terra asked, a small smile forming on her maw as she watched the reunion.
"I am." Astral Crown responded, his voice cracking as he continued to embrace his daughter with a loving hug.
Seeing the reunion made Sunny think about her own father. I wonder if he's okay...I know he's waiting for me to come back. And I want to come back, so badly. Just wait, Dad, okay? Aside from that brief thought, she pushed her emotions to the side, however -- as much as she missed her dad, Izzy's reunion with her own dad was more important at the moment.
Finally, the two ponies broke their embrace.
"Please, feel free to come inside." Terra, feeling much more relieved, went into the living room and allowed Astral to come in. He followed her, taking in the sights of the tree that his daughter had so lovingly called her home.
"Would you like some coffee, um..."
"Astral Crown. But please, just call me Astral." the stallion responded. "I would love some coffee. Dark, with a couple sugar cubes in it, if you have any."
Terra nodded and went into the kitchen, allowing him and Izzy to have some time with each other (mostly) alone.
"So this is where you've been living all these years. This is 'the edge of the daisy fields'."
"Yup! Terra's been helping me to hone all my new magic. I've gotten soooooo good at it, Dad! I can levitate things, and fly, and even grow plants just by stomping my hooves on the ground!"
"And...Terra is..."
"She's an alicorn, like me. She has the traits and abilities of all three kinds of ponies. Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns too, of course!" Izzy explained. "Her story's kinda long, though..."
"And who's your friend here?"
Sunny opened her mouth to speak, but whatever words she was going to say were taken out of her mouth by Izzy. "Sunny Starscout! She's an alicorn too! I told Mom about her, but I dunno if she told you..."
"Hmm. Well, it's nice to meet you, Sunny." Astral smiled. "I see you've become good friends with my Izzy."
"Yeah. We're like two peas in a pod! Being with Izzy is a lot of fun."
Astral couldn't help but chuckle.
"Hey, Dad...where's Mom? Did she come too? How's she been doing?"
The chuckling stopped.
The mood of the room suddenly turned dark and ominous, and Terra could certainly feel it as she walked into the living room, levitating a hot cup of coffee. As she passed it to Astral for him to take in his hooves, a heavy sigh left him.
"Izzy...I'm..." The stallion set the cup down beside him, struggling to find the best way to word his explanation. Eventually, he decided to cut right to the chase.
Izzy is a full-grown mare now. She's no longer a filly, Astral. She can handle the truth.
He took a deep breath.
"Izzy...your mother ran off to find you shortly after we received Terra's letter. I chased after her, but I couldn't catch up to her. At least..."
Izzy's eyes widened.
"Until I did."
The alicorn's eyes darted back and forth slightly, trying to figure out what her dad meant. When the realization hit her, however, it felt like the weight of the entire population of Bridlewood slamming into her all at once. Her orchid eyes became misty as she fixated her gaze towards one spot on the floor.
"I'm sorry, Izzy. She was suffering for such a long time, but I certainly didn't think she would die of starvation and dehydration the way she did."
Sunny held a hoof to her mouth in shock. Likewise, Terra's eyes widened. Neither one of them said anything, though, only glancing at Izzy with worry written all over their faces.
It felt like hours before Izzy finally worked up the courage to say something, anything, in response. "Where...did she die?" she asked, her voice only but a whisper.
"I can take you to her grave, if you'd like."
Izzy glanced at Terra, who only gave her a single nod of approval. With that, the younger alicorn got up and followed her father out of the house.
Sunny's ears folded down, and she too looked at the floor.
"Sunny? Is something wrong?" Terra asked, breaking the heavy silence that hung over the room like a thick black storm cloud.
"It's...my dad. I want to make sure he's okay. He probably misses me a lot."
"I am quite sure he does." Terra took a sip of her coffee. "Is he coming to visit as well?"
"Not that I know of. I don't even remember receiving any letters from him...and I was so focused on my studies and trying to be a good future ruler of Equestria that I hardly sent him any!" Sunny's voice began to crack. "I just...I don't...I-"
"Shh. Do not say anything further, Sunny. When you arrive in Maretime Bay, you may go and see your father at your own discretion." Terra soothed. "Izzy's mother was a special case. From the looks of it, she had been suffering from something for years -- perhaps a hidden illness of sorts."
"Dad didn't have any illnesses. He seemed perfectly fine when I left him!"
"I am sure he is fine." Terra immediately bit her lip, realizing that probably wasn't the best thing to say if she had no clue of Sunny's father's fate. "But if, for some reason, he is not, then by all means...please take however long you need to in order to grieve."
"But finding the other-"
"Your father's death, if it has occurred, will always take a backseat to finding the other two saviors, Sunny."
Neither one of them said anything for a long time after that. The room felt devoid of life, even moreso without Izzy's constant enthusiasm to liven things up.
Finally, Sunny got off of the couch. "I'm gonna go up to my room and...maybe get some sleep."
"That is fine. I will be going out to retrieve some more groceries later on, so do not be alarmed by my disappearance, all right?"
"I won't."
Terra listened to the slow plodding of her protege's hooves on the wooden stairs, suddenly developing a sinking feeling in her heart as she remembered the loss of Princess Twilight and how Equestria never quite returned to the way it used to be after her passing. Although she continued with her duties, grief still weighed on her, and made its home in the deep chambers of her heart even after she froze herself. Sometimes, she wished that she had learned a resurrection spell, to bring the Princess and all five of her friends back from the dead. But bringing back somepony from the dead wasn't always a good idea -- at least, that was the conclusion she had come to after lots of thinking.
She levitated her cup of coffee up to her lips and took another sip, this time a much larger one than the previous ones. Whatever effects the harmful drug commonly known as "caffeine" was known to do to ponies were absolute no-sells with her today. She went to the window, hopping up onto the ledge and laying down. A heavy sigh left her as she watched the world go by, with the flowers lightly swaying in the breeze and the creatures of Equestria living their lives to the fullest both on the ground and in the air.
It was about the only thing she felt like doing at the moment. Whatever happiness had lingered following her sendoff of Sunny and Izzy on their journey was completely crushed.
A mound of dirt came into Izzy's line of vision. She immediately ran to it, eyeing the lone flower that had been placed on the makeshift grave.
"This was where I found her." Astral explained as he approached the grave. "I wanted to bury her in Bridlewood, but I was too far from home. So I decided to bury her here."
Izzy bit her lip as she felt tears pricking at her eyes. With a choking sob, she allowed them to fall, laying down and burying her face in her hooves. Astral didn't say a word, instead rubbing a hoof along his daughter's back as his crimson gaze settled on the grave.
The pair stayed like that for a very long time, until Izzy got back up into a sitting position and found the will to say a few parting words.
"Mom...I don't have any regrets in running away from home, but if I knew this was what it was gonna come to, then I would have stayed ho-" A bolt of pain ricocheting through her heart stopped her, and she held a hoof to her chest, slightly quaking at the reaction. With a sigh, she continued. "I wish you could've seen me. I'm so good at unicorn magic now, and Pegasus flight, and Earth pony magic too. Maybe I could have..."
She trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.
"Magic wouldn't have cured what she was going through, sweetie." Astral soothed. "Don't you remember? All the times we advised her to seek help, only for her to refuse?"
Izzy, although not wanting to admit to it, nodded anyway.
"'You can't help somepony who doesn't want to help themselves.' It's an old saying that runs in the family. Try as hard as you might, if somepony refuses help, then you can't help them anymore. It's only up to them to come to their senses and admit the truth." Astral gave a heavy sigh. Although there wasn't anypony in Bridlewood who could've helped her, anyway, he wanted to say, but forced himself to keep his mouth shut, knowing that would only upset Izzy further.
As she looked towards Astral, Izzy nodded again. "I...I understand, Dad. It's a good moral, I think." Her gaze swiveled back to Stella's grave. "Mom, please just know this. I miss you. I'll miss you each and every single day. Each of the crafts I make will be made with you in mind. And...I'll always think of you. You'll be in my heart, okay?"
The last sentence made Astral smile. She still loves her uni-cycling, after all these years...
Izzy stood up and picked a flower from the field, using her magic to levitate it onto her mother's grave, right next to her father's flower. A small smile graced her maw as she turned to her father once more.
"Dad, let's go back home."
As she walked past him, Astral briefly watched her begin to leave, before forcing his hooves to move once more as he followed her.
The sound of hooves descending the stairs caused Terra to wake up from her sudden and rather impromptu sleep. A yawn left her body as she turned to spot Sunny, roller skates caught in her orange magic aura.
"Are you going out?"
Sunny only nodded before she sat down and began putting the skates on her hooves without a single word spoken. Whatever nap she had taken -- if she had taken one at all -- didn't seem to help, Terra noted. But she did know that Sunny loved to rollerskate. Perhaps that would help ease her worries.
With another yawn spilling out, Terra left the window ledge and took a seat on the couch, turning on the television and using it as idle background noise as she telekinetically grabbed a book from the bookshelf and began reading it. The reminder of going grocery shopping still lingered in her mind, but she ignored it for the time being.
Meanwhile, Sunny got right to it, pushing with her front leg and allowing the wind to guide her as she splayed out her wings. No matter how many times her hooves took her around and around the lengthy pathway, however, she couldn't shake the feeling that something with her dad...was off.
Maybe it's just the death of Izzy's mother. Maybe I'm just overthinking things. Maybe Dad's fine. Maybe he's not fine. Maybe he's sick. Maybe he's injured. Maybe he's dea-
A stumble brought her back to her senses, and she once again collided with the ground. This time, it wasn't a rock that caused her downfall, but rather, it was a wheel with rusted metal that was moving about as well as one on a rusty, ten-year-old shopping cart. She sighed, not bothering to get up as soon as she did the last time she fell.
Maybe...when Izzy returns, we should leave for Maretime Bay. Maybe I shouldn't do that, since she needs time to grieve over the loss of her mom.
Maybe I'll be selfish if I drag her along with me.
She stayed in the dirt for a long time, all the "maybe's" floating around in her head as she felt something cascading down her face.
By the time she did another round on the pathway and returned home, Izzy and her father had already returned home themselves, as they sat on the couch and watched TV.
"Where's Terra?" the orange-furred alicorn asked, knowing that she was asking a rhetorical question but not finding the will to stop herself.
"She said she had to go and get some food." Izzy responded. "What's wrong, Sunny?"
"I'm..."
Her gaze drifted to Astral Crown, who tilted his head in confusion and wore an expression of concern.
"I'll tell you later."
"Okay." Izzy shrugged nonchalantly.
The rest of the day moved in a rather agonizing manner for Sunny. Normally, her days were filled with training, rollerskating, or heading out into town. But now? She just felt...bored. She didn't feel like doing much of anything, or really going anywhere. Not even the sun's shining rays had any effect on her.
Eventually, Terra returned with bags in hoof, stuffed to the brim with fresh ingredients, some non-perishable canned food, and some snacks. Her mood hadn't improved any, and the very first thing she did when she got home -- after putting the groceries away, of course -- was dig into an entire tub of chocolate ice cream. "Bored eating", as they so called it.
By the time dusk rolled around, Sunny made her way downstairs, having spent hours holed up in her room. She was surprised to see Izzy in the kitchen, seemingly gathering ingredients for something. "Izzy?"
"In heeee-eeeeeere!" Izzy called in singsong, levitating a small canister and adding it to the floating pile of ingredients.
"Can you come with me? Outside? We have to lower the sun and raise the moon. And...we need to talk."
Izzy nearly dropped the items she was holding. Luckily, she managed to place them on the countertop for the time being so she wouldn't create such a mess. Once that disaster was averted, she made her way out of the kitchen and nodded to Sunny.
"Okey-dokey, let's talk."
Once the sun was lowered and the moon was raised, Izzy and Sunny laid down in the grass, the former working her magic to bring the stars out for another night of play.
"Izzy..." Sunny hesitated for a moment, a heavy sigh leaving her body. "I want to leave for Maretime Bay first thing tomorrow."
"Huh? Why? I was thinking we could go to Zephyr Heights first, honestly. Maybe they might have some clues!"
"Seeing your dad, a-and you learning of your mom's death...it made me worried about my dad. I want to see him and make sure he's okay." Sunny explained. "I want to reunite with him after so many years spent away from home. And, on a lesser note...I want to reunite with Hitch, too."
"Really?
Sunny nodded. "I really want to go with you, Izzy. You're my best friend. Can you please come with me?"
Izzy briefly hesitated for a few seconds before nodding. "Of course I will! After all, we should look everywhere for the other three saviors, right? And it really wouldn't hurt to check Maretime Bay!"
"Are...you sure? I don't want you to go if you don't want to. I-I mean you're still grieving, aren't you?"
"I'll be fine. Even if she didn't let me go to the edge of the daisy fields, and even though she was super-duper sick, my mom will always hold a special place in my heart." Izzy held a hoof to her chest. "I can see her, you know. Up there."
She extended her other hoof towards one particular star that seemed to twinkle brighter than all of the other ones. Sunny blinked twice, to make sure that the star wasn't playing some kind of trick on her eyes. But indeed, its light was nearly blinding.
"She'll always be watching over me. I know it and feel it. And if your dad is..." Izzy trailed off, not wanting to say anything further. She simply swept her hoof across the sky, hoping that Sunny would pick up on her drift.
If I find out he's dead...then he will always be up there, watching me, too. A small smile crept onto Sunny's maw. Between the warm rays of the sunlight and the twinkling calm of the stars, he'll always be there.
"I see that smile!" Izzy giggled. "Did I cheer ya up?"
"Yes. Yes you did. Thank you so much." The words danced on the Princess of the Sun's lips, and she couldn't help but begin to cry. She sat up, and using her magic, she lifted Izzy and embraced her in a hug, which the other alicorn happily returned once she processed what was going on.
The two friends returned home after about a half-hour of stargazing, hearing their stomachs rumble as they became hungry for dinner.
"Hey, what were you doing with all those ingredients earlier?" Sunny asked.
"Oh, those? I was gonna try and use them for my next uni-cycled craft!" Izzy chirped. "I dunno what I'm gonna make yet...but it's gonna be fantastic!"
Sunny simply shook her head. Typical Izzy...always making last-minute, mish-mosh crafts. She followed Izzy as she skipped into the house and went straight for the kitchen, not seeing any sign of Terra.
"Oh yeah, Izzy?"
"Hm?"
Sunny smiled, this time bigger and more genuine.
"Allow me to make dinner tonight. What do you want?"
Izzy's eyes shone, and she laughed giddily.
"I thought you'd never ask!"