Maretime Bay couldn't have been more different that day. The sun shone, the ocean continued to flow and ebb beautifully, and ponies simply went about their usual routines of the day. There was no indication whatsoever of any sort of disaster happening anywhere in the world, which was certainly a relief after the chaos the Mane 5 had recently been through.
The knowledge of Opaline was deeply troubling, but the last they had seen of her was her stuck in a bubble, which reduced the tension inherent in the situation somewhat. As a result, they were relatively easy about things, and simply continued onwards with their day.
Pipp was, as usual, talking to her fans, using her streaming software to try and get her hoof on the pulse of pony life. This was a key thing for her, and as such she took her fans highly seriously. "And that is why you should always be prepared for any weather come rain or shine!" she said, finishing an advert for an umbrella. "Incredibly useful in rain or sun!"
Zipp glanced over. "Pipp, why would ponies put up an umbrella in the sun?"
"It's a parasol, actually," Pipp replied. "Umbrellas have thicker coating to ward off sun. And look especially good with this fashion accessory!" She turned to show them something she had around her neck.
Zipp rolled her eyes. "Pipp, you look like a bird that's swallowed a plate."
Pipp snorted. "It's the new fashion! Old Equestria Redux! This is the Puddinghead ruff, and apparently it makes ponies very attractive."
Zipp snorted in return. "To other birds that have swallowed plates, perhaps."
"And what exactly are you doing apart from snarking?" Pipp asked.
"Trying to make sense of how Troggles work," Zipp replied. "Their magic is unlike anything we've ever seen before. The fact they respond to magic and can steal voices- something intangible, may I point out- merits further investigation in my mind."
"Didn't we kinda blow the Troggles up?" Pipp asked. "They poofed out of existance when we threw rubies at them."
"Doesn't mean there aren't more Troggles," Zipp answered, updating her board. "Note to self: head out to Bridlewood and collect samples of Troggle nests."
Outside, Sunny and Hitch were hard at work in the Community Garden. "This is a bumper crop we've had this year!" Hitch grinned, as he shifted another watermelon over to a cart.
"I've got more pearnanas than I know what to do with!" Sunny replied, collecting up some other plants. "Earth Pony magic keeps getting... well, bigger in more ways than one!"
"That's one way of putting it," Hitch answered, glancing back to see more plants. "Flora magic is really handy for getting out of a food related jam. Think of how many famines could have been ended with this method of growing!"
Suddenly, their attention was attracted by loud galloping. Emerging from the pathway was a figure whose coat was seemingly red.
"That's not Sprout, is it?" Sunny asked.
"No," Hitch answered. "Shade's wrong. Besides, he was at Canterlove Studios last I looked." He frowned as he looked closer. "Wait a second... I know that bracelet anywhere!"
The figure was now close enough for them to reasonably discern who it was. It was Izzy, and she looked a mess. Her breathing was ragged as she came to a stop. Her body stank with an unusual stench, and her eyes were wild. But not the positive type of wild. She seemed to be vacantly staring off into space with her eyeballs basically jammed open.
"Izzy, what's wrong?" Hitch asked, looking at her. "What happened to you?"
Izzy looked at her friends, and said only one word before collapsing. "Th- them..."
Sunny looked at Hitch. "We need to get her to the Brighthouse and find out what's going on. But we also need to clean her up."
Hitch flipped Izzy onto his back and began to move her towards the Brighthouse. "You're not kidding, Sunny. That is a seriously foul smell. I haven't smelt anything like that in a long time."
After getting Izzy comprehensively cleaned and revived, Hitch ordered the others to gather at the Brighthouse to speak to Izzy. "Izzy," he said, "did something weird happen?"
Izzy looked at him. "We were attacked," she said slowly, her face still staring off into the distance.
"By whom?" Zipp asked.
"Them," Izzy said.
"Izzy, you're not making a whole lotta sense," Hitch said. "What was that red stuff on you? It smelled like blood." He winced as Sunny kicked him. "Ow!"
"She's clearly been through trauma, and this probing isn't helping," Sunny pointed out. She turned to Izzy, and spoke gently. "Izzy, we're here for you. Obviously something serious happened, and we want to help. If you don't want to tell us, you don't have to."
Izzy's face changed. "No, you should know," she said. "I was back home in Bridlewood when suddenly these big monsters attacked us! They were chasing unicorns around and attacking them! Then one blew up the Crystal Tearooms and killed Alphabittle!"
"That would explain the blood," Hitch said quietly to Zipp.
"Killed Alphabittle?" Pipp asked in shock.
Izzy looked. "I saw it rip him apart in front of my own eyes!" Unable to hold it in any longer, the unicorn burst into tears.
The others felt bad for their probing, and quickly took Izzy in a hug. "Shh, it's OK," Pipp said soothingly. "We'll help stop them!"
"I- I feel such a coward for running away!" Izzy said. "I don't know if anypony is still alive in Bridlewood now!"
Sunny looked over. "Well, whatever this threat is, we can stop it," she said. "We reunited the tribes, after all. And defeated Opaline. There's nothing we can't do when we put our minds to it!"
Izzy nodded. "Thanks, guys," she said. "But I don't think I'll be sleeping very well for the next few days."
"Nopony is blaming you," Hitch answered. "For what it's worth, sorry for being so insensitive."
The meeting was suddenly interrupted by Pipp and Zipp's phones buzzing. Pipp took hers out first. "Breaking news?" she said. "Zipp, turn on the TV and tune it to ZBS quick!"
Zipp grabbed the remote and turned it on, switching the channel as fast as she could. Sitting there behind the news desk were the familiar faces of Dazzle Feather and Skye Silver.
"This just in!" Skye said. "Reports have come in of a series of explosions around Bridlewood. There has been no confirmation of what precisely was the cause from Unicorn authorities, but some amateur footage has appeared of what appears to be some sort of attack."
"That's right, Skye," Dazzle added, before a video popped up. The clip, though grainy, showed a force of large machines advancing out of the forest and towards the camera.
"Tripods?" Zipp asked. "Why build machines on three legs?"
Izzy's face turned white. "That's the things that attacked us!" she said.
The shock of the moment meant none of the others corrected Izzy's bad grammar. They simply sat there, dumbfounded.
"Whatever these things are, the footage suggests they are heading for Pegasus territory," Dazzle continued. "We will continue to bring you updates on this situation as it develops."
Pipp looked over. "I've heard enough!" she said. "We need to get to Zephyr Heights and warn mom!"
"Or we could videocall her," Zipp suggested.
Pipp took out her device and initiated a call to her mother's phone. "Please pick up! Please pick up!"
After a few seconds Queen Haven's face appeared on the screen. "Hello Pipp!" she said. "I wasn't expecting a call!"
"Mom, you have to get out of Zephyr Heights, now," Pipp said quickly.
"Whatever for? The weather's lovely!"
"ZBS have reported that something's on its way towards Zephyr Heights. You need to get to safety before it arrives!"
"Hold on a second." There was a few seconds of fumbling and looking at a news report. Then the face returned. "This is probably just a media joke or promotion for a movie. Speaking of which, have you two been watching scary movies late at night again?"
"Izzy saw them with her own eyes!" Zipp protested. "This isn't a joke!"
"I'm certain there is nothing to worry about," Queen Haven replied. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get ready for a visit to Golden Shoals. It's a lovely Spa town near the Unicorn border. I'm meeting Alphie there- it's been such a long time since we last spoke. Now shouldn't you two be doing something more productive than watching TV?"
The call abruptly ended, and Zipp shook her head in frustration. "All the things we've seen, and she dismisses this?" she said. "Pipp, I'm not the only one who finds her frustrating, right?"
"Maybe they'll avoid that area?" Hitch ventured.
Sunny looked out of the door. "We need to get ready to move," she said. "Pack some provisions and prepare the Marestream. We're off to Bridlewo-"
Sunny's words died in her throat as an ominous sound cut through the air.