It was about a week after Sunny, Hitch, Izzy, Pipp, Misty and Zipp got back from their adventure with Mystery Incorporated in Nowhere, Kansas… and where they unfortunately met Misty’s birth mother, Paradise Moonray.
Turns out, Paradise was taken in by Opaline as a filly and raised to follow her adoptive ‘mother’ in her path for conquest… nearly killed Misty in the last fight.
But Misty believed that there was some form of good in her, and begged the ponies that while they searched for the remaining crystals on their Unity Quests, they had to find someway to make sure they got through to Paradise next time.
Sunny and the others agreed to help, but even they were unsure of what they could do. They couldn’t reform Opaline last time, and if Paradise was like her or worst, it would be impossible to convince her.
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So… one day, they decided to do some research in the bedroom, the history books Sunny’s father had gathered over the years scattered around the beds, and they spent who knows how long looking… and found nothing. “Ohhhhh… what if my mom was just a and Opaline were just forgotten parts of history that we’re never gonna find again?” Misty closed a book in front of her with a sigh. “We have to find the rest of those crystals, or Mom, in her power-mad state, is gonna destroy Equestria to nothing but ashes!”
“We know, Misty, and we’re not gonna stop until we can try and get through to her,” Zipp said from her detective board. “But if we can’t…”
Misty sighed. “I know, I know… she’s going to have to be dealt with.”
“How did Alphabittle take the news when you told him?” Pipp asked. “Told him what?” Izzy asked innocently. “The fact that Misty’s mom is Opaline’s adopted daughter and out to take vengeance on all of us?”
“Izzy!” Hitch and Zipp shushed her-- even Sparky put his little hands on his hips with a slight glare. “No, no… it’s okay. I get it,” Misty said. “Kinda hard to forget what she almost did to us. I just feel bad for Le Quack and Katz that they were helping her without realizing her true intentions with it. Almost seeing her kill me must’ve been a nightmare for them.”
“I’m happy you see the good in people, Misty. It’s a quality that not a lot of ponies have,” Sunny said to her friend kindly. “And we’re gonna help you in whatever way you can.”
“Thanks, Sunny,” Misty took a breath of relief. “So… did your dad’s journals say anything else about a clue to where the next crystal might be?”
“Not yet. But I haven’t gone through all his journals yet. Some of these, I didn’t know he had,” Sunny explained. “But I guess we’re just gonna have to look until we find--”
Suddenly, her eyes fell on a small, blue-colored burlap journal at the bottom of the stack, curiosity getting the best of her as she picked it up. “Funny… my dad never showed me this journal before,” she muttered before flipping it open to the first page. “Dear Argyle Starshine, I decided to write down everything there is to know about the Smurfs so that, if we lost touch over the years, you would have this to remember me by. Treat this book with care, old friend. Sincerely… Papa Smurf.”
“Smurf?” Pipp repeated with a giggle. “Sounds like a foal’s first word.”
“What in Equestria is a Smurf?” asked Zipp with a confused glance. Sunny flipped the page as they all gathered around, and it showed a diagram of a creature all in blue, with a white hat and white pants on. “It says here that a Smurf is a mythical creature that resides in an enchanted forest in a faraway kingdom,” Sunny said. “They are typically brought to a small village of over-sized mushrooms by storks, and they can live to be over 500 years old!”
“Yeesh… that’s a lot of birthdays to remember,” Hitch said, and Sparky babbled in agreement. “They’re very hardworking too, from what I’m reading,” Sunny said, flipping through the journal more. “Each Smurf is named after their personality traits, and they love to sing and be together as a family.”
“Aww…” Misty cooed. “They sound nice.”
“Wait…” Zipp said, pausing. “This ‘Papa Smurf’ guy got your dad this journal somehow. Do you think Papa Smurf might know where the third Twilight Sparkle cutie mark crystal is?”
“Could be,” said Sunny, closing the journal. “We just need to figure out how to get to the Smurf village. And also? We really need to shorten the name to something easier to remember.”
“What about, uh…” Izzy tried to think. “The Twilight Sparkle Crystals of Glitteriness and Awesomeness?”
“No no no,” Pipp shook her head. “What about the Glam Crystals?”
“Twilight Crystals?”
“Sparkle Crystals?”
“Star Crystals?”
As her friends babbled on and on about names, Sunny lifted a hoof to stop them. “Why don’t we just call them… cutie mark crystals?”
“Oh,” Izzy blinked before shrugging. “Makes sense.”
Sunny sighed as another catastrophe was narrowly avoided. “Huh… I wonder how my dad and this… Papa Smurf character met. I’d love to learn more from Papa Smurf when we find out how to get to the village. Hmmm… but we’d have to bend down to hear everything they’re saying, cause according to this, they’re only as small as three apples stacked on top of each other.”
“Wow… that’s small,” Zipp commented. “But, it’s fascinating! Not many creatures in Equestria are that size and aren’t able of communicating,” Hitch said. “And yes, I am talking about my animal buddies.”
“I wonder how they would like a little bit of my own music to match theirs?” Pipp asked before beginning to sing.
All you need is your beat
All you need is your beat
Yeah-heh, yeah yeah yeah yeah!
And all you need is your beat
Come on, ponies!
All you need is your beat!
“Whoo! Go, Pipp! Whoo!” Misty said as the others applauded. “Thank you, thank you!” Pipp giggled before tucking her microphone away… just as Sunny found something alarming in the journal. “Listen to this… it seems that life for the Smurfs isn’t as peaceful as we thought it might be. We Smurfs do have a threat, however. The evil wizard Gargamel has been after us for as long as we could remember, trying to steal our essence and become the most powerful warlock in all the world… and nothing will stop him from doing such.”
“Whoa… that sounds horrible,” Izzy frowned. “Poor little Smurfs…”
“Sounds like a male version of Opaline,” Pipp shuddered. “I’m just glad we don’t have to see him for ourselves-- he must be UUUUGLY!”
Suddenly, the cutie marks of the ponies began to glow, leaving them to sigh. “Looks like we’re gonna have to read more later,” Hitch said. “I’ll take Sparky with us, just in case Paradise were to come.”
“Good idea,” said Sunny. “All right, everypony. Let’s roll out!”