As the group of five friends were setting up camp, Sunny was trying to convince herself that having a plan B or C wasn't the same as doubting their quest. The fact of the matter was, there was no telling what the crystals were going to do, and she didn't want her and her new friends to scatter to the winds if things didn't turn out the way she was hoping they would. She wasn't oblivious to the way things were in Maretime Bay. CanterLogic's profits depended on the earth ponies being afraid of pegasi and unicorns, and she would be daft if she thought those would be profits that Phyllis Cloverleaf was going to just let slip away.
But she honestly couldn't figure out any other avenue where this would work. The citizens of Maretime Bay would have to let go of their fears and prejudices. She hadn't gotten a very good look at Zephyr Heights, but if the royal family had to create a charade that only they could fly, then things were no better there. She wanted to be optimistic about Bridlewood, but she figured that just like the other two tribes, something would be off about the unicorns too.
Ponies belonged together, and it would take changes and effort from everypony.
Which was exactly why this quest, this plan had to work.
Even if she were invited back to Zephyr Heights, or Bridlewood, she knew Hitch wouldn't leave behind his commitment to Maretime Bay, nor could she ask the pegasi sisters to renounce their royal lineage. If they wanted to be together, and strengthen their friendships, they would need to figure out some way to live in one place or be able to go from place to place freely; and that meant that all three tribes would more than likely have to go through a lot of changes.
"Alright, everypony. I think this is the best place to stop for the night," Hitch said as the group came to an outcropping, after having spent the evening crossing over the last range of mountains between them and the prairie and forests that were home to Bridlewood. If they got a good start in the morning, they'd likely get to Bridlewood around lunchtime. They got the campsite set up, and got a fire going.
"So, looking forward to getting back home, Izzy?" Sunny asked after dinner had been served.
"Well, I'll just say that what I'm looking forward to most is showing Bridlewood to all of you,"Izzy answered. "I've been brainstorming ways to make all of you blend in. When we get to my place, give me a bit to craft some horns, and we'll be having a look around in no time!"
"Fake horns? Well, just as long as the adhesive isn't painful to remove," Hitch commented.
"Yeah, but it's probably more important that they don't fall off," Zipp added.
"Don't worry. I'm sure I can whip something up that's friendly for everypony's coats, stays on until you want it to come off, and then get it off with enough soap and water," Izzy ensured the others.
"Well, if we're getting an early start in the morning, we should probably get some sleep," Sunny said as she finished her plate, before wiping it off and returning it to her saddlebags.
Sprout couldn't believe he was going to say this, but he was pretty sure it was about time to try a new pizza, as having this one three nights in a row was getting just a little stale.
Money wasn't usually a problem for Sprout, especially with how often he ate at his favorite pizza places in town. But after not seeing his mom at home until late at night, he found himself beginning to long for a home-cooked meal. She hadn't said anything to him after he had taken down all the sheriff posters from around town; and to be honest, he hadn't even told her that he was the one that had done the removing.
The acting sheriff didn't want to get too judgemental; he wanted to believe his mom was just preparing for the worst. He wasn't quite sure how far away Bridlewood was from here, it had been years since he had seen one of Sunny's maps, but he was pretty sure it didn't take this long to get there and back. He was happy to keep covering for Hitch for as long as he needed to, but he was pretty sure he had heard Sunny say something about a 'pegasus city' before she had left, and that could only increase the chances of something going wrong. Or, maybe nothing had gone wrong, and that had just increased the time it would take to complete this trip of theirs.
He had also honestly been wondering about Sunny, and whether she would come back at all. After her years and years of longing, she had finally met a unicorn, and he wouldn't be surprised at all if she had chosen to stay in Bridlewood, and Hitch would be coming back alone. Or perhaps Sunny would come home briefly to pack up, perhaps sell the lighthouse. He honestly couldn't imagine a scenario where she would want to stay in town. Her activism over the years had cost her her job at CanterLogic, and had made her fairly ostracized. Her smoothie cart business was staying afloat because, well, honestly because her smoothies were really, really good. But he couldn't imagine that she'd stay in town just for that.
The possibilities of Sunny leaving her hometown made him think; would she be better off out there? From what little he had heard of their conversation a few nights ago, unicorns were just as wary of pegasi and earth ponies that earth ponies were to unicorns and pegasi. Were unicorns afraid of getting snatched up by pegasi? Didn't their magic help them defend themselves from things like that? Earth ponies had a good reason to be afraid; they had never had any magic to call their own; only unicorns had magic spells, and only pegasi could fly. After all, everypony in Maretime Bay knew why the tribes lived separately now; all those eons ago when an earth pony had gotten hurt by a unicorn. Earth ponies needed to protect themselves, so they had gone as far as they possibly could, all they way to the edge of the continent.
But when Izzy had come to town, she didn't want to hurt anypony.
Maybe just like with Sunny, there were unicorns and pegasi who wanted nothing more than to meet other kinds of ponies.
Maybe she would leave Maretime Bay. Maybe she would be better off somewhere out there. But Sprout had to admit, it was quite possible that quite a few ponies in town would miss her.
Not to mention her smoothies.