//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: And Effect 
// Story: Remnant 
// by Ebonyglow 
//------------------------------//

The morning sun crept in through the windows of the Brighthouse, stirring Sunny awake from her sleep. Grumbling to herself, she rubbed her eyes, slowly fluttering them open. The room was relatively quiet, with only occasional, faint snores meeting her ears. With her friends, who were all still sound asleep—especially Zipp, the Brighthouse was far more relaxed than its usual bustling self.

Sunny silently cursed the sun for waking her a touch earlier than she preferred, as it was taking a few moments for her vision to clear. Not wanting to disturb her friends, she carefully and quietly rolled out of bed. She felt slightly more tired than usual, but she couldn't say she was surprised. The revelation the group had found the previous day had been exciting, too exciting. She had stayed up later than she'd like to admit, theorizing what the whole thing meant.

Groggily she looked into her mirror, only to discover her mane's dire state. It was unkempt, uncombed hairs sticking out and darting in random directions, truly encompassing a somewhat chaotic look. Fumbling with a brush, she slowly and meticulously fixed the shoddy state her hair had been in, giving herself a nod of approval moments later as she faced the mirror again. After a quick trip to the bathroom to brush her teeth and take a short, cold shower to wake herself up, she had been on her way downstairs to mix up some breakfast. Ensuring she wasn't too loud going down the stairs, she entered the kitchen and got to work. Flipping open some of the cabinets, she scrounged for her target, her grumbling stomach ushering her to get started already.

"Aha! There you are!" she cheered, finding a box of pancake mix in the far recesses of the pantry. "Knew hiding you back there would ensure Izzy didn't eat up everything."

Chuckling to herself as she reminisced about some of the unicorn's recent "experimental" pancake breakfasts, she licked her lips as she prepared her meal. Mixing her ingredients and laying out a hot griddle, she held her soon-to-be delectable mixture in her maw and poured it onto the pan. After a few flips and a few minutes, she had her delicious delights ready.

Carefully shifting her food from its pan to a plate, her stomach grumbled again. She would have quickly gone to get some syrup, but the Brighthouse's doorbell ringing took the priority of her attention. Tilting her head, curious as to whom may be paying her home a visit at such an early hour, she set aside her meal and trotted towards the door. She swung the front door open and her eyes widened as she was met with a familiar face.

"Oh, Misty!” She paused, looking over the mare. “Nice…to see you?"

The unicorn before her was a mess, with twigs in her hair and dirt ruffled all over her mane. To say she looked like she had just gone for an intense run through who knows what was an understatement.

"H-hi, Sunny," Misty awkwardly greeted, rubbing the back of her mane. "I was…wondering if you and the others are free today?" She perked up, peeking her head into the Brighthouse and looking around. "Especially Hitch! I - er - haven't seen Sparky in a bit!"

Sunny tilted her head and looked at the mare from top to bottom. "Well…we're going to be a bit busy today." She smiled, nodding her head. "But you're welcome to join us!"

Misty beamed at the confirmation, accepting the invitation and slipping into the home. "Do you mind if I go clean up?" She stopped to tug at a stick in her mane, much too embarrassed to look at Sunny directly. "If that's okay, of course."

"Not a problem at all," Sunny replied before eyeing her curiously, "but what the hay were you doing?"

"Oh! Um…just tripped on my way here is all!" she chuckled, hurriedly trotting towards the first floor's bathroom. "I'll be out in a jiffy!"

Sunny watched the mare disappear behind the bathroom door, pursing her lips in curiosity. Truthfully, she didn't even know where Misty lived, nor did her friends, but whenever they asked the unicorn, she seemed to deflect it. Hitch had suggested they don't press her on it, assuming there was some possible discomfort regarding her home, and they had all agreed. As much as Sunny wished to figure out more about the mare, she was more than okay with just appreciating her newer friend's company.

The quirky unicorn had been around them plenty since Sparky had shown up and always seemed to have an odd draw towards the drake. Hitch frequently felt slightly discomforted by her fixation on the dragon, but Sunny chalked it up to mere curiosity. After all, she liked to believe that even the shyest of ponies could be drawn out of their shell when a unique creature was shown to them. Shrugging off the thought, Sunny was reminded of her complaining stomach and wheeled around with the intent to finally silence it. Much to her chagrin, however, she managed only two short steps before the doorbell rang once more.

"Ugh," she groaned, making an about-face and begrudgingly walking towards the door. "What the hay is going on today! It's 8 A.M. for hoof’s sake!"

Swinging the door open, her scowl morphed to surprise as she met a familiar stallion.

It was Hitch, clearly a morning pony, as he was looking as pristine and full of energy as ever. His head was tilted curiously and a smirk was on his face.. "Am I…interrupting anything?"

Sunny paused for a moment, blinking wildly. "What?! No! You're always welcome here!" she blurted out, throwing on a forced smile.

"So you weren't just whining through the door, and I'm just hearing things?" he teased.

Sunny cringed. "Heh…you heard that?"

"Known you since we were foals. I've told you for years you raise your voice when you're annoyed," he taunted further, winking at her.

"I'm not annoyed. I'm just tired, okay?" Scrunching her muzzle, she rolled her eyes at her childhood friend, then shook her head before motioning for him to enter. "Whatever, just come in, dork."

"Really, still with that name?" Hitch grumbled, trotting past her and into the Brighthouse. "You've been calling me that since we were foals!"

"Not my fault you've always been one~"

Sunny chuckled to herself, closing the front door. She issued a silent prayer that she'd have no other sudden visitors today, at least until after she ate, and trotted back towards the kitchen. Sighing with relief once she planted herself near the kitchen's island, she licked her lips and set to sate her hunger. Hitch busied himself with surveying the Brighthouse's interior, seemingly concerned.

Already wolfing down one syrup-covered pancake, Sunny eyed Hitch and spoke through a mouthful of food. "Sho…why're you here sho early?"

"Didn't your dad always bug you about eating with your mouth open?" Hitch grumbled.

"Nhope!"

He rolled his eyes, glancing at the stairs leading to the second floor. "Zipp asked me to come here first thing in the morning since she apparently doesn't want to risk losing a single moment of research."

"Aww, look at you being sho caring~"

Hitch furrowed his brow. "How do you manage to be so smug with me even while eating?"

"Speaking of caring." Sunny gulped down the remnants of her first pancake, ignoring his question and eyeing the stud. "Where's Sparky? He wasn't with you yesterday either."

The stallion perked up. "It took a bit of convincing and a lot of instructions, but Sprout offered to watch over the little guy for a bit. I told him it could be part of him redeeming himself for destroying the original lighthouse and whatnot." He sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "It's nice to have a break from him—Sparky, I mean. He's cute and all, but…I feel like he holds me back from doing things a lot too."

Shrugging, Sunny went back to snacking on her last remaining pancake. She couldn't lie, Sparky was…interesting, to say the least, but Hitch did seem to care for the small drake. Dragons hadn't been seen within Equestria in moons; for all she knew, there weren't any left in the world besides Sparky. Her dad had spoken about a place called the Dragonlands when she was a foal, but those stories always sounded more fantastical than any of the rest.

Though her friend had made a point, Sparky had been a touch more troublesome than anything else for the most part. It wasn't an issue to her that he was around, but he was definitely restricting Hitch from being anything beyond a stressed-out caretaker half the time. Hearing that Sprout was handling the dragon answered a few questions she had and also filled her with a sense of relief. Having him around was a risk to their research, and him giving Sprout some much-deserved trouble did earn a partially devious smirk from her.

"Ahhh, that's way better!"

The two turned toward the bathroom, seeing Misty crack the door open as a mist of steam flowed out. The unicorn looked genuinely refreshed, with a towel wrapped carefully around her mane and a natural smile spread across her face.

Closing the door behind her, she perked up as she saw Hitch. "Oh! Hitch, nice to see you!"

"Same to you, Misty," Hitch politely replied. Looking over at the kitchen wall's clock, his eyes widened. "Oh shoot! If it's alright, I need to go get Zipp. She asked me to wake her up around now." He sighed. "She really, really wants to ensure she isn't losing valuable time with the crystals."

Earning an understanding nod from Sunny, the stallion slipped up the stairs and out of view.

Misty watched as he disappeared upstairs, her face producing a raised brow and frown. "Where's Sparky?"

"Sprout's watching over him," Sunny answered, having turned to wash her plate. "Hope that isn't upsetting; I know you said you were interested in seeing him."

Recalling Opaline's instructions to prioritize the group over Sparky for the time being, Misty shook her head. "It's fine! Just curious, is all." She glanced around before grumbling and chatter on the second floor grabbed her attention. "What did he mean when he said Zipp wants to investigate the crystals?"

"Oh!" Sunny smiled, stowing away her plate and cheerily pivoting to face the mare. "They've been acting a bit weird lately, so she and I have been all over them. Some kind of weird, magical pulse-y thing they've been doing."

Misty tapped her chin with a forehoof, her wandering eyes stopping at the stairs. "Could I - um - see them?"

Looking at them as well, Sunny cringed and sucked in air through her clenched teeth. "Errr…I'm not sure. Zipp is paranoid about them, and after what happened yesterday, I don't know if she wants anypony else involved with the investigation."

Momentary panic set over Misty, as she wasn't entirely sure how to convince the mare to trust her. Thinking, her eyes went wide as she remembered Opaline's instructions. Scurrying over to her saddlebag, which she had set aside before her shower, she began digging through it.

"Well, I'm asking because I might be able to help!"

The unicorn's sudden, eager outburst piqued Sunny's interest. "Huh? How?"

Sifting through various supplies, Misty beamed as she found her target. She withdrew the journal Opaline had given her and proudly presented it to Sunny. "Because I found this!"

Sunny’s ears flicked as she curiously eyed the book being shown to her. There was no title or labeled authors, but the cover immediately grabbed her interest. There was no mistaking that purple star lying in the middle and she could only hazard a guess as to what the colored gems within the horseshoe around it meant. Her instinctual desire to learn more of the past taking control of her, she hastily trotted forward and somewhat rudely grabbed the book from Misty's grasp.

She flipped open the aged cover, eyes widening as she perused each page one by one. The wonder and awe that filled her pupils were as great, if not even greater, than when she and her friends had restored magic—as if what was before her was the holy grail of books. To her, it was, as she couldn't mistake the entries for any other ponies' but the ones she looked up to, especially the ones from her idol.

"This…this is…" She kept flipping through the pages, her jaw almost going slack. "Rainbow Dash…Fluttershy…these names!" Giddiness began to wash over her. "Applejack, Rarity…there's no way!" She flipped through more and more pages, her excitement making it hard to focus on anything outside of the book in her grasp. "Pinkie Pie and…Twilight Sparkle! Misty, where did you find this?! This is a journal written by the Elements of Harmony!"

For the most part, Misty had no clue of the significance of the book she had bestowed upon the mare. From what she knew, Twilight Sparkle and her peers were the villains. Opaline had made it clear to her time and time again about the history of Equestria and how the Elements were the ones to ruin everything. Still, putting her own knowledge beside herself, she had to put on an act—lest she risk failing Opaline.

"Well…I - uh - found it in some old…abandoned…" she trailed off, trying to find a good story. "Castle! Yeah, that's where it was, an old, abandoned castle! Waaay outside of Equestria."

Sunny somehow managed to pry her eyes off the journal, looking up at the unicorn with sheer wonder. "Really?! Since when did you go on journeys like that?!"

"Heh, well, that's the thing!" Misty snickered, starting to indulge herself in her acting a touch too much. "Your friends have told me you're quite adventurous!" She puffed out her chest, flicking her mane. "You know, I'm something of an adventurer myself!"

Seeing the unicorn's sudden pride filled Sunny with countless questions. Where did she go to find this book? Where was it? What else was there? Since when was she the adventurous type?! The sea of ideas running through the mare's mind sent her for a whirlwind, and it only intensified as she read through each journal entry. This was the finding of a lifetime, something she never would have thought she'd encounter.

"I…I have no idea what to say! Misty, this might have answers Zipp and I have been looking for!" She set the book down carefully on the counter, fighting the temptation to look through it further. "I'll have to show everypony once they come back down!"

Misty took the opportunity to latch onto Sunny's enthusiasm. "So, do you think I could see the crystals then? I'm, well, really interested in helping!"

Sunny tapped the book, nodding her head. "Bringing something like this? I'd say there's no way Zipp won't see you as a vital contributor to this now!" She deviously smirked, winking at Misty. "How about we show her this after you and I go up? Seeing her go from all grumpy to totally surprised outta give her a much-needed laugh!"

"Um…sure!" Misty replied, eager to find more information for the alicorn awaiting her report. "Let's head up then!"

Motioning for the unicorn to follow, Sunny gleefully eyed the book on the counter as she made her way to the second floor. Her excitement and curiosity had reached new bounds, and she was thrilled to look over its contents with her friends. Her hopes and spirits were high, and messing with Zipp after all the stress they'd been through should offer some levity for them all, followed by extremely thorough research.

Chatter from the roof met their ears as they reached the second floor and loomed inches away from the stairwell to the Brighthouse's top floor. From the sound of it and the absence of ponies in bed, Zipp, Pipp, and Izzy had all woken up and made their way to the gallery. Putting her happy trot up the stairs to a halt, Sunny stopped to glance back curiously at Misty when she noticed that the unicorn had ceased her advance.

"Is something the matter?" Sunny asked, pausing midway up the stairs.

Misty clutched at the amulet around her neck as it shimmered with magic, then shook her head. "No, no! I just need to do something reeeeally quick! I'll be up there in a minute! Y-you go on ahead!"

Seeing no reason to doubt the mare and having her enthusiasm clouding any inklings of suspicion, Sunny simply nodded her head and continued her way upstairs. She smiled when she peered out from the top of them and saw her friends gathered around the crystals. She could already envision the look on Zipp's face once she presented her with the journal Misty had brought, but she didn't want to spoil anything just yet.

Pipp glanced to the side and caught sight of her. "There you are, Sunny! I was wondering where you were. Good morning!"

Izzy waved over at her. "Moooorning, Sunny! Hope ya slept well!"

"Morning, Sunny…" Zipp grumbled, bags visible under her eyes.

Sunny looked the pegasus up and down, trotting to her and cheekily nudging her shoulder. "Rough night?~"

Her efforts rewarded her with a slightly annoyed side-eye from Zipp.

She bid her two other friends good morning and shared a laugh together over Zipp's grumpy state. They sat calmly, chatting a bit with one another as the cool, morning wind swept over them. The radiating crystals slightly illuminated the area, and they basked in their glow. Pulling himself from a riveting conversation with Izzy about crafting together some new contraptions, Hitch surveyed the area.

"Hey, where's Misty?" he inquired, looking past Sunny and toward the stairs.

That earned a reaction from Zipp, as the pegasus' eyes went wide and she whirled around to face Sunny. "Misty? Sunny, I told you we shouldn't be having anypony outside of us here during the investigation! Especially now that we know the crystals are related to us!"

"Pffft, c'mon Zipp," Sunny dismissed, wrapping a foreleg around her friend. "Trust me, she's got something amazing to show us. You'll realize she's crucial to this after you see it."

Zipp rolled her eyes. "I have reasons to not trust her, Sunny. She's always made me suspicious. Showing up out of nowhere, snooping around, and messing with things."

"Oh you'll see, trust me!" Sunny tittered, pulling away from Zipp and looking over the crystals.

The gems were flowing the brightest they ever had with magic. The arcane effects danced and rippled through every last inch of them, and it felt like a literal aura of something was radiating off them. A warmth washed over Sunny as she viewed them, her own magic stirring deep within her in their presence. Whatever the crystals were trying to do, be it sending a message, summoning something, or some other unknown effect, it felt like it'd be a good result.

"Hey! Sorry for taking so long!"

The group turned, seeing Misty creeping up the stairs. She was met with primarily smiles, though Zipp gave a frustrated scoff at the sight of her. Still, Sunny stood her ground, ushering the unicorn to make her way up the stairs. Despite being thrown off by Zipp's glare, Misty, albeit sheepishly, did so, slowly inching up the stairs.

Moments later, however, once she set her hooves down on the Brighthouse's gallery, the entire group's eyes went wide.

The crystals surged with magic when she arrived, beginning to shake within their glass container. Magic flowed nonstop within them, sparks bursting from them left and right. Stunned, all six ponies gawked at the gems, unsure of what was happening or what to do.

Zipp immediately pulled out her notepad, hastily jotting down details and observations. "See! Something is going wrong! I told you only we should be the ones to see it!"

The crystals continued to shake, their movements intensifying as more colorful sparks shot out of them. Dancing bolts of electricity surged out of them and connected to the sides of the glass, a light show of unknown power forming before their very eyes.

"Wait, wait!" Sunny blurted out, looking over at Misty before eyeing Zipp. "The magic got stronger when she got here! That has to mean something!"

Zipp pulled her gaze away from the crystals. "Yeah! That she isn't meant to be here!"

"Or that she is!" Sunny countered.

Pipp shielded her eyes, stepping back away from the gems. "Well, whatever is going on, this is way more intense than before!" She slid her hoof below her wing and fished out her phone. "I gotta record this!"

"Really?! Right now?!" Zipp exclaimed.

"Content is content!"

Hitch backpedaled as well, worry spread over his face. "Is…is this dangerous?!"

"Doesn't seem like it!" Izzy chirped, tapping the glass, her mane shooting up as if it was flowing with static electricity. "It's not like the crystals would hurt us."

Misty shied back, gulping. "Did…did I do something wrong?"

"Yes!"

"No!"

Zipp and Sunny answered in unison, glowering at each other briefly as their views opposed one another. Setting aside their disagreement immediately, they returned their focus to the Unity Crystals, desperate to figure out what was happening.

Furiously jotting down more notes, Zipp rapidly looked up and down from her notepad. "That magic is unstable, and I may be no unicorn," she gestured toward the vibrating crystals, "but that doesn't look like it wants to be contained.

Izzy's eyes widened at Zipp's comment, a realization dawning upon her. "It looks like a magic overload!"

"A what?!" Hitch exclaimed.

"A magic overload!" Misty followed, covering her eyes with a foreleg. "It's what happens when too much magic flows through a unicorn!" Her expression morphed into a deeper worry. "I…I've only heard of it happening in unicorns, not objects!"

Every pony present took yet another step back, a massive bolt of magic clashing against the glass the crystals were contained inside.

"Something is holding it back, though!" Izzy continued, looking from Misty and toward the rest of the group. "Magic overloads aren't supposed to be stopped! It takes even more magic to contain it!"

Zipp continued writing down notes, looking from her notepad to the crystals and then over to Izzy. "What the hay could be holding back that much magic?!"

Sunny's mind was racing anew, but rather than the eagerness to share her new discovery, it was replaced by fear of her newer one. "Maybe because Zipp and I were arguing?!"

"Well, I'm sorry then!" Zipp quickly apologized, whirling her attention back to the crystals.

No change.

Pipp glared over at her sister. "Sorry, were you hoping that'd make the magic - y'know - explode?!"

"Maybe?" Zipp replied, squinting at the intense light of the crystals. "We need to figure out what's going on! And what's holding it back!"

Sunny's eyes widened as she recalled the book. "Wait! Maybe their journal can help!"

"Whose journal?!" Hitch cried out, nearing the balcony's edge before taking a few steps forward out of fear. "Can anypony please tell me what's going on!"

"Just hang on!" Sunny yelled, turning to make her way toward the stairwell.

The magic in the crystals had reached a constant, nonstop lightning funneling out of them as the beam they formed deepened in color. The rainbow flowing from them illuminated the sky, striking through the clouds like a glaring beacon. The very town itself was shrouded in the prismatic color it afforded, the intensity of its colors at a peak.

Sunny was desperate to find an answer. The crystals acting like this could be good or bad, and risking them was always a massive threat. She hoped that their reaction to Misty had to be a good thing. If they grew more robust with their bond, then her joining the mix and empowering them had to be a good sign. She had doubts, but she prayed that the journal could yield an answer—something to confirm her hunch and, ideally, find a method to calm the crystals down or at least carefully release whatever was trying to escape.

The second she stepped onto the stairs, her presence leaving the balcony, a sea of sharp gasps rang out. Her attention whirled backward, barely able to see her friends as she was nearly entirely downstairs, but there was no missing the loud, cracking boom that rang out. Colors danced in her vision, radiating heat surged all over her, and before she could even react, she was tossed from the stairs. The light was blinding, and her vision was entirely impaired as she heard her friends scream from the floor above.

The colors intensified. Cyan, orange, pink, red, and purple replaced the endless sea of white she saw. Flashes of silhouettes invaded her vision, impossible to make out but demanding to be looked upon. The magic she felt within her felt wrong, as if it was refusing her, and it sent an intense burning sensation through her body. Whatever it was, it rejected her, refused to find her, and repelled from her very being. That same magic in the crystals wanted nothing to do with her.

She hit the ground with a thump, and the wind was knocked out of her as that searing pain left her body. Her ears rang, her vision was dotted, and she felt as if every joint in her body ached worse than ever before. She gasped, desperate to heave air into her lungs, only finding it with a strenuous effort. Everything went silent, nothing filling the air bar the sounds of her friends' aching groans from the floor above.

Though one by one, five soft sounds of metal hitting the ground rang out from the silence.