The Tale of Neon Light

Written by DeffBwade

Chapter 4: Getting to Know You

It's been a couple of hours since me, Pipp, Zipp, and the three non-pegasi left the city of Zephyr Heights.

During that time, I've come to know a few things of our new...let's just call them allies for now.

The earth pony mare is named Sunny Starscout. She seems to be the scholarly and adventurous type, always wanting to learn new things about the world around her. And she seems really determined to bring not just magic back to Equestria, but friendship and harmony among the three pony tribes. Which makes you wonder if they really did get along back then.

The earth pony stallion, Hitch Trailblazer, seems to have strong sense of integrity and justice. I guess that's the kind of pony he has to be if he really is a sheriff. You can consider him to be the responsible one that always follows the rules. However, based on the fact that he's been grumpy this entire time, I can only guess he's still wary of us and what we're capable. I don't blame him. After all, I've only known him for a couple of hours. It's only natural if he too has grown up to believe that the other pony tribes are hostile.

And then there's the only unicorn in our group, Izzy Moonbow. She's...an interesting one to say the least. Energetic and optimistic are the words that I'd describe her. And also a bit scatterbrained. Not that that's a bad thing or anything. Let's just say that for a great majority of this trip, she's been bouncing happily, humming something under her breath, and smiling. I'm sure you can deduce her personality from that alone.

Other than Hitch being wary of us, none of the non-pegasi have really shown any red flags of having hostile intentions. For the most part...they seem alright, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna let my guard completely down. You know the saying that looks can be deceiving.

Zipp and Sunny already explained to Pipp and I that they needed to steal the pegasus crystal because they believe it's key to bringing back magic. Now we need to retrieve the unicorn crystal from a place called Bridlewood. Once we retrieve it, we can connect it with the pegasus crystal, and that'll bring both magic and friendship among the pony tribes.

In my opinion though, it sounds a little farfetched. I mean, how could connecting a couple of crystals together help us unite? Does it open up our eyes and take away the fears that we had or...or what?

But hey, I'm not the magical artifact expert here. And I'm more of a follower, so I just do what I'm told.

We were now in the middle of some random grass-field, with Pipp and Hitch reluctantly trailing behind.

"That's the tree from the map," Sunny announced as she indicating towards a giant cherry tree, "That means...it's this way."

"Dang, that would make a great wallpaper," I thought as I snapped a picture of the tree.

"What am I doing here?" I heard Hitch ask out loud, "Hoofing across daisy fields, looking for a magical crystal that doesn’t even exist!"

"It was supposed to be my best show ever and now it’s over," Pipp said with a dramatic voice. "I’m a criminal. And it’s all because..."

"No, it is not. Did I just agree with a Pegasus?" Hitch asked himself as he realized what he just said.

"Yes. Yes you did, dude," I said to him before running over to Pipp, who was now beside her sister.

"I'm only trusting you because I know you don't like to lie," I joined in the conversation before mumbling, "Even though you've been lying to me all these years and saving Pipp resulted in me becoming a criminal as well."

"Look, once we get our magic back, the whole kingdom will be so excited they won't even remember what even happened back there. You two will be heroes," Zipp reassured us, but Pipp just looked away still grumpy and I simply let out a sigh.

"After this whole escapade is over with you are gonna march on home to Maritime Bay with me," Hitch demanded, "Is that clear?"

"Great! Because this badge means that I'm the sheri—AHH! Oh no no no no! Where's my badge?!" the stallion screamed out...before pointing a hoof accusingly at Izzy, "Hey! You!"

"So for that reason alone, you think Izzy is the one that stole your badge? I believe there's a term for this."

"Oh! You know I think I did see a shiny badgey thing on the ground a few hours ago," Izzy explained.

"Welp, maybe it's for the best. Between you and me buddy, that badge was creating an unhealthy power dynamic," Izzy whispered before running off while singing, which caused the stallion's ears to droop.

"You have to admit that she's right. You're not in Maritime Bay anymore," I said to him, which more or less added salt to the wound.

"Oh come on!" I yelled as we stopped in our tracks due to large chasm with no seeable way of simply walking around it. And the bridge that's supposed to bring us to the other side? Gone, "Of course. Why not?"

"You know what would be great right now? Maybe something like..." Zipp started before spreading her wings, "...the ability to fly!"

"You know what would be even better? Not being stuck in the middle..." Pipp responded as she and her sister continued to argue.

"Oh well, that's the end of that!" Hitch said with joy, "Time to go home. I wished I could say it was nice to meeting all of you, but it wasn't."

As the earth pony mare started to give words of encouragement to the others, I turned my head and saw Izzy walking towards a big tree near us. She then started to...admire it?

I stopped my questioning, however, and instead felt my jaw drop as she started to cut the tree with her horn as if it were a chainsaw!

"Everypony happy now?" Sunny asked, apparently done encouraging the others, just in time for the tree fall and catch their attention.

"Ta-da!" Izzy said, pointing at the tree that was now working as a bridge to the other side of the chasm.

"Come on, everypony!" Sunny exclaimed as she and the others started crossing the improvised bridge.

Later that evening

Once nighttime finally hit, we all decided to stop make a camping spot to settle down. We found the necessary materials to make a fire. Sunny used her hooves to create a spark to ignite said materials (neat trick by the way), and then Zipp flapped her wings to make the fire come alive.

Hitch, however, decided to sit away from us and try to make his own fire by rubbing a stick.

"No thank you. I’ve got it!" Hitch spat back. He finally managed to get a little flame to ignite and cheered...only for it to die out immediately.

"Alright, that was sad to watch. Come on, don’t be a hero dude. Come get warm" Zipp said, but the stallion continued to be stubborn and kept trying to make a fire himself.

Sunny apparently had enough of the stallion's stubbornness and got up and walked over to him.

"So...Izzy?" I spoke up, trying to make conversation (which is hard when you're considered the quiet and shy one), "What's Bridlewood like? Is it...majestic and magical...or...or what?"

She didn't answer me, however, as she was instead...admiring me with sparkling eyes?

I would've been flattered by such a compliment...if I knew what the hay she was talking about.

"You know...your sparkle! That special light that's within you that represents your feelings! And the happier you get, the brighter it shines!" she explained with glee.

"Normally a pony's sparkle is just one color," Izzy said before pointing at me, "But yours is a mix of cyan and pink. I've never seen anything like it!"

"Your sparkle is..." the unicorn said as she seemingly analyzed the pink pegasus, "...aquamarine!"

"My sparkle is aquamarine?" Pipp asked before flapping her wings excitedly, "That's like my sixth favorite color!"

"Sixth favorite?" I asked with a smirk, "Do I even wanna know what the first five are?"

It was at that moment that Sunny came back and sat down, followed by Hitch who still looked reluctant.

"So I think we should set off at first light," Sunny suggested, "Last stop: Bridlewood."

"You mean next stop?" I asked before I saw in the corner of my vision Izzy looking...upset, which felt out of character for somepony like her. I turned to the unicorn and asked, "You alright, I-Izzy?"

"...Yeah... Yeah I'm fine. It's just that...being with you ponies has been the best thing that ever happened to me. I guess...I just don't want to have our adventure to end," she admitted.

"But Izzy...you'll get your magic," Sunny reassured, which work because Izzy smiled at that.

"And who said that this has to be our only adventure? You know the saying that when one story ends, another begins? And besides, even if we fail in bringing back magic and friendship, then that's still fine. Just because our kinds are afraid of each other doesn't mean that we have to," I said before turning to the three non-pegasi specifically, "I think I speak for everypony when I say that you three aren't anything like what I was taught back at Zephyr Heights."

"Yeah, I can vouch for that," Zipp commented before we both turned Pipp expectantly.

And so was I when I said what I said. Sunny and Hitch clearly don't have tiny brains, and Izzy isn't using her horn to fry ours (not that she could, but she wouldn't if she could).

But if I'm being honest...none of that stuff really matters to me right now. Looking back, it seems that all pegasi were taught to fear the other tribes simply because of what they were capable of.

And after being around these three, I now realize that you should judge an ally based on their performance and not their appearance. In other words, don't judge somepony based on what they are, but rather who they are.

"Hey Izzy? Can I ask you a question?" Hitch asked, turning to the lilac unicorn, "Why did you come to Maritime Bay?"

"I always wanted to visit. When I was a filly, I found this pretty lantern. It had a message inside. It said that I had friends in Maritime Bay,” Izzy explained. Reaching into her mane, Izzy pulled out a worn out piece of paper. It showed a drawing, clearly done by a foal, of an earth pony, a unicorn, and a pegasus under a rainbow. There was also a message that read 'Dear unicorns and pegasi, you have friends in Maretime Bay. Come visit us.'

"She found that when she was a filly? Dang, she must've really wanted to go if she held onto it for so long."

Now I can see why Izzy didn't go to Maritime Bay soon after she found the message considering she was just a filly, but what about her parents or literally any other grown up? Was she really the only unicorn that was willing to go to an earth pony town to make some friends?

I noticed Sunny's ears perk up and have a big smile on her face, as if she was ecstatic about something. Looking back at the drawing Izzy was holding, it wasn't too hard to figure out what the apricot mare was implying.

"I made it with my dad," Sunny said as the paper was handed to her, "We always promised each other that, someday, we would prove that all ponies are meant to be friends… We'll do our part, hoof to heart," she finished with a smile, while holding the note close to her chest.

I knew that Sunny wanted to bring friendship among the pony tribes, but now I know that it's more than just a quest or a goal in life. It's promise that she held onto along with her dad since she was a filly.

And considering the fact that her dad wasn't here helping her to fulfill that promise... It's only natural to assume that she has to do it on her own.

"But wait...she's not on her own," I thought as I glanced at the ponies around me, "Me, Pipp, Zipp, Izzy, Hitch? She has all of us to help bring magic and friendship back to Equestria. It all depends on each of us doing our part. And I promise you, Sunny, that I will do my part."

"What do we have to lose, right? I have to admit, a unicorn forest does sound kind of magical," he admitted, actually showing optimism.