Pipp arrived back at the Brighthouse sometime later. She fluttered around the living area and kitchen but couldn’t find anypony. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice but wasn’t sure where it was coming from. “Sunny, where you at?” she called.
“In the storeroom,” Sunny shouted back. “Little help?”
As Pipp entered, Sunny yelped as the large box she’d been trying to take from the top shelf started to topple. Quickly, Pipp flew over to assist and stopped it from crashing down onto her friend.
“You could have asked you know?” Pipp smiled.
“Yeah, but everypony is so busy,” Sunny grinned. “I just wanted to get this out so I could show Sunset and Starlight.”
“What’s in here anyway?” Pipp asked curling her nose up at the cloud of dust that was kicked up.
“It’s my dad’s research,” Sunny smiled. “What we could save from the lighthouse anyway.”
Her ears drooped as she said this, a wave of sadness washing over her.
“Oooh, Sunny,” Pipp gasped, pulling her into a hug.
“I’m fine,” Sunny replied after a moment. “I still miss him, and it just catches me by surprise sometimes. He’d be so amazed and excited we’ve got two guests from ancient Equestria here. Who knew that time travel was possible!”
“I know right,” Pipp giggled. “My Pippsqueaks can barely believe it either. I’m hoping I can do a livestream with them. Especially if they can show off some magic.”
“It’s amazing isn’t it,” Sunny giggled. “I can’t wait to see more things that magic can really do. I’ve never seen anything like what they were doing earlier.”
“Yeah, that’s something I was going to ask you about. What’s with the chair with the hole in it?” Pipp asked dramatically. “What did I misssss?”
Meanwhile, Zipp was at her workstation going through her investigations with Sunset and Starlight. They were just watching the recording Zipp had taken of Twilight’s message. “…You must… element… watch out… I’m with you.”
“Any ideas on the missing parts?” Zipp asked hopefully, switching her phone to record mode. “Like what does she mean by element? I picked up this book from the archives in Zephyr Heights.”
Zipp opened the book she’d found with Misty. “It mentions here the Elements of Harmony. Could they be what Twilight is talking about?”
“Well, Twilight and her friends embody the Elements of Harmony,” Starlight replied thoughtfully. “They used the elements to defeat some of the biggest threats to Equestria.”
“Apart from what future Twilight told us on our way here,” Sunset responded, a hoof on her chin in thought. “We need to identify the Elements of Unity, not Harmony.”
“Like the Unity Crystals?” Zipp asked. “We called them that, so maybe she called them the elements?”
“I don’t think so,” Sunset replied. “I’d doubt she’d want you to fire rainbow lasers from the things powering all the magic. That would be too risky, these have to be something else.”
“Rainbow lasers? Really?” Starlight smirked.
“Hey, when magic doesn’t exist naturally you suddenly find all sorts of new ways to describe it,” Sunset shrugged.
“So, we don't think the Unity Crystals would be the Elements of Unity,” Zipp summarised as she crossed something off on a list. “The book mentions a ‘Tree’ of Harmony and that was connected to those Elements?”
“That’s right, the Tree of Harmony is where the elements originally came from,” Sunset confirmed.
“So maybe we need to find that tree?” Zipp asked.
Starlight shook her head. “No, the Tree of Harmony was destroyed and the Elements of Harmony along with it.”
“Again, Twilight said we need to identify the Elements of Unity,” Sunset clarified. “That doesn't sound like something we can just go and collect. We’ve got to work out what each one is first.”
"Trust Twilight to make things more complicated," Starlight laughed.
“Wait, if the Elements of Harmony are connected to a tree. Maybe the Elements of Unity are connected to one too,” Zipp theorised. “This book says, the Tree of Harmony was a ‘Together Tree’ and they connect all of the ponies in Equestria. But that’s all it says on them specifically. Maybe we need to find another Together Tree.”
“I’ve never heard of Together Trees,” Starlight sighed. “As far as I know there was only one Tree of Harmony.”
“Must be something that ponies after our time came up with,” Sunset shrugged.
“Come up with what?” Sunny asked as she approached, Pipp flying behind her.
“Together Trees,” Zipp replied. “That’s the next area my investigation into the elements needs to focus on.”
“Brilliant, I know you’ve got this Detective Zipp,” Sunny grinned. “In the meantime, I’ve found my dad’s research.”
Starlight and Sunset watched as Sunny opened the large box. She let out a squeak of delight as she carefully removed a set of models. “These are what my dad called the Guardians of Friendship, but we never knew what their names were! Could I ask you to name them all?”
“I’m not sure about Guardians of Friendship,” Starlight giggled. “But sure,”
“Ooh, ooh, could I get a video of this?” Pipp asked. “I’m sure my followers would love it. I could do a whole series.”
“Not entirely sure what followers are but sure,” Starlight replied before starting.
She pointed to each model in turn. Stating the name of the pony in question, which element they represented and an overview of their personality. Sunny especially was completely in awe.
“This is amazing, eee he he!” Sunny squealed with delight. “I’ve adored the stories so much and now I actually have names of the ponies who were involved.”
Sunny’s smile grew wider as she next removed a parchment of paper from the box.
“This was one of my favourite stories my dad used to tell me,” she grinned. “It’s about when the guardians travelled to a faraway village. All the villagers had been enslaved by an evil unicorn who took away their cutie marks and replaced them with equal signs.”
Sunset shot Starlight a knowing look whilst Starlight tried to look as innocent as possible.
“The guardians battled the evil unicorn and banished her to the snowy mountains never to be seen again,” Sunny continued with a beaming smile. “He’d always elaborate more but that’s the general gist of it. Please tell me it’s true. They sound so brave.”
“Did they freeze the unicorn and leave her buried in a cave?” Pipp gasped.
“I hope not,” Sunset giggled barely controlling herself.
“What’s funny?” Sunny asked worriedly. “It’s not just made up, is it?”
Starlight took a deep breath. “It’s not made up but, well. There are some details wrong.”
“Like the part of the evil unicorn being banished,” Sunset chuckled looking pointedly at Starlight.
Zipp looked from Sunset to Starlight and gasped. “Wait? Starlight! You’re the unicorn from the story?”
Starlight looked more and more uncomfortable as she looked at Sunny’s, Pipp’s and Zipp’s expressions. Sunset was not helping as she tried to hold in her giggles.
“Fine, yes. I’m the one who took away an entire village’s cutie marks. It’s a long story,” Starlight sighed. “What I’ll say quickly is, I took the cutie marks because I wanted equality. Twilight and her friends showed up and eventually, everypony got their cutie marks back. I wasn’t banished, I escaped into the mountains. Then, sometime later, I tried to get revenge on Twilight. However, she showed me the error of my ways and made me her student which was way more than I deserved.”
Sunny looked at Starlight with a mixture of awe and disappointment. Starlight sighed as she saw this. “Sunny, trust me that’s the really quick version,” she explained. “There was so much more to it, but it’s a massive story.”
“I…I just can’t believe I’m actually in the same room as somepony from one of the stories,” Sunny replied. “But the thought dad could have been wrong…”
“I promise I’ll tell you the full story another time if you’d like,” Starlight smiled. “I’m sure a lot your dad told you will be true.”
“Don’t worry, she’s not evil now,” Sunset winked.
“You’re one to talk!” Starlight pointed at Sunset. “You stole Twilight’s crown and took it through the portal!”
“What? Really?” Pipp gasped.
“Oh, I wasn’t anywhere near as competent as Starlight,” Sunset smiled. “I stole the crown and took it to the human world to gain power, but it overwhelmed me. I turned into a raging she-demon and made the whole school into a mindless zombie army. The idea was to use them to take over Equestria. But come on, how dumb of a plan is that! As soon as they stepped through the portal they would have been beaten easily. If anything, Twilight saved me, and I’m ever so grateful to her. She also showed me the error of my ways and the true meaning of friendship. Now I’ve got an awesome group of friends, and we protect that world from the magic that seeps through from Equestria.”
“Wait, so you’re both bad ponies which Twilight first defeated and then helped.” Sunny gasped. “That’s so cool.”
“Yeah, it’s epic you’ve both turned your lives around like that,” Zipp grinned.
“I suppose it is,” Sunset agreed. “I know I feel much happier now.”
“Definitely,” Starlight grinned. “So, the sleeping arrangements? Time’s kind of getting away from us.”
“Oh yeah sure,” Sunny smiled. “Come on, let’s make a plan over lunch.”
A short time later, Izzy was in the community garden. She groaned as yet another fruit, an apple this time, splattered all over her face. Sighing she collapsed to the ground. “This isn’t working,” she moaned.
“Hay Izzy,” Hitch smiled as he arrived. “What’s going on?”
He looked around at the garden. The area Izzy was sitting in was covered in splattered fruit and veg. Sparky, who’d been riding on Hitch’s back, jumped down enthusiastically and ran over to the mess.
“Sparky, no eating that fruit,” Hitch groaned. “Come on Izzy, what’s up?”
“Sunny said I could use the plants in her patch of the garden to practice some magic,” Izzy sighed. “But everything I try blows up in my face.”
Hitch blinked before remembering. “Oh, has this got something to do with our visitors?”
Izzy smiled now, getting to her hoofs. Meanwhile, Sparky ran around jumping in the mess and making Dragon Prints everywhere.
“Yeah, you should have seen it Hitch,” Izzy smiled. “There’s so much more magic can do than float stuff. Starlight is amazing. She was floating herself around and teleporting all over. She transforms items, Hitch. Like Sparky does but more controlled. That would be brilliant for my Unicycling, I could create anything from anything!”
“Wow, sounds brilliant,” Hitch gasped. “Wish I’d been there to see it, but I had so many ponies to calm down today. I barely even had time to watch Sparky.”
“Wait, where is Sparky?” Izzy asked looking around.
“What?” Hitch replied as he suddenly realised Sparky wasn’t there. “Oh, come on Sparky where have you gone now?”
“He’s here,” came a voice.
Misty walked into the garden with Sparky cradled in one hoof. “He saw me coming and ran out to meet me.”
Sparky grinned and made happy noises, waving the top of a smashed carrot in one claw.
“He’s really taking to you now Misty,” Izzy smiled.
She lifted Sparky from Misty’s hoof and placed him on her back. “Come on Sparky, let’s give Hitch a break.”
“Thanks’ Izzy,” Hitch grinned. “Are the others inside?”
“I saw Pipp taking Sunset and Starlight into town,” Izzy replied. “They’re getting somewhere set up for them to sleep and needed some stuff. I think Sunny and Zipp are inside.”
“Who’s Sunset Starlight?” Misty asked.
“Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer,” Hitch clarified. “They, well. Appeared last night. Didn’t you see the light show?”
“No, I was…erm…busy getting my aunt something,” Misty replied. “We live out of town, so I didn’t see anything.”
“Oh, you missed lots,” Izzy exclaimed. “This flower appeared at the tree and Sunny touched it and two Unicorns from the past appeared.”
“Unicorns from the past,” Misty gasped.
“Yeah, their magic is amazing,” Izzy grinned. “I was trying to do something similar but all I got was mushed fruit and veg.”
She gestured to the ruined patch of garden. Hitch smiled as he walked over.
“I’ve got this Izzy,” he grinned as he raised a hoof and it began to glow.
Hitch tapped the ground with his glowing hoof. The plants all started glowing and quickly grew new fruits, replacing those that had been squished.
“There, all fixed,” he grinned.
“Thanks’ Hitch,” Izzy beamed. “Now, I’ll take Sparky Spark Spark back to your Office and take care of him for a while.”
Sparky made happy whooping noises as Izzy trotted away, he liked his dragonsitter, Izzy.
“Thanks, Izzy,” Hitch grinned. “Come on Misty, let’s see what’s what at the Brighthouse.”
“Okay, yeah, sure,” Misty replied, watching Sparky disappear with Izzy.
Misty sighed to herself as she followed Hitch. She didn’t understand, why didn’t she take Sparky when she had the chance?
As they walked into the Brighthouse, banging could be heard from upstairs. “Knock Knock,” Hitch yelled.
“Up here!” Sunny cried from upstairs before grunting.
“Little help Sheriff,” Zipp added, also sounding a little strained.
Both Misty and Hitch ran upstairs and gasped when they saw Sunny and Zipp were trying to move a large cupboard. They quickly went to assist.
“Where are we going with this?” Hitch asked.
“Over to the right,” Sunny groaned. “We’re trying to make space for two more beds in here.”
“Starlight stores like mad,” Zipp grunted. “We’re going to make her a separate room but need to move all the other beds and furniture up a bit closer.”
“Wait, a separate room? Wouldn’t that need a wall?” Misty asked as they put the cupboard in position.
“Starlight said she’d handle that with magic,” Sunny gasped as she caught her breath. “Stick around Misty because this is going to be awesome. Eee he he!”
Misty blinked with confusion before she continued to help move the furniture.
Eventually, Pipp returned with Sunset and Starlight in tow. After they had been introduced to Misty, Starlight surveyed the area.
“I hope this is enough space,” Sunny asked hopefully.
“Oh, this is more than enough,” Starlight grinned. “I’ll make sure this additional room is small as I don’t want to impose that much.”
“So, what did you go into town for?” Hitch asked. “I don’t see anything.”
“Oh, it’s all outside,” Sunset replied. “You can’t just make a wall appear out of nothing. You need some raw material.”
“Kid of wish you’d waited too,” Starlight sighed. “You all look exhausted, and we could have moved everything so much easier.”
“It’s not a problem,” Hitch replied.
“Hey there Pippsqueaks,” Pipp said suddenly, her phone in hoof. “It’s ya, girl, Pipp. Back with another live stream of the magic building. So, you’ve seen us getting the material and heard from our experts Starlight and Sunset what’s going to happen. So, it’s time to see it in action.”
Starlight looked at Sunset with a confused expression. However, Sunset smirked and strode forward with confidence as Pipp turned the camera on her.
“That’s right,” Sunset smiled into the camera. “The building material is outside and yours truly will be transporting it in. Starlight is our expert here. She will be casting the actual spell which will create the small partition wall we need. Then we’ll have a separate bedroom for her.”
“We only need it because I snore like a train,” Starlight replied absently. “Are we doing this or not?”
Sunset gave a mock salute. “One conveyer coming up,” she grinned.
Sunset winked at the camera before teleporting with a flash. Pipp was so surprised she nearly dropped her phone. She looked around with confusion before Sunny got her attention and pointed downstairs.
Sunset had teleported so that she was between Starlight and the door. With her horn glowing, the material was already starting to float inside and upwards so Starlight could use it.
Meanwhile, Starlight took a wide stance, taking a few deep breaths her horn started to glow, the aura around it getting bigger and bigger as she put more energy into it. Then, a beam shot at where the material was hovering and a second towards where the wall needed to be. Pipp fluttered around now, filming the whole thing as the wall started to grow from seemingly nowhere.
Starlight grunted with the sustained effort but kept it up as the wall continued to grow and finally reached the ceiling. The material stopped flowing and Starlight cut the spell, sitting down and panting.
Pipp flew down in front of Starlight, still filming as Sunny approached.
“That was amazing, eee he he!” Sunny squeaked. “Are all buildings from the time of harmony built that way?”
“Heck no,” Starlight grunted waving a hoof. “I’m pooped. I mean, I’m pretty good when it comes to magic, but doing that all day to build an entire building just isn’t sustainable.”
Sunset teleported in, beads of sweat even on her brow as she turned to the camera.
“As Starlight infers, this building method wasn’t commonly used,” she smiled. “As you can see, it’s tiring to the extreme and it's a complex spell. Therefore, you have to be very proficient with magic to cast it. Starlight here is a magic expert, so any unicorns out there please don’t try at home. Also, that’s just a partition wall, you can’t use this method for any load-bearing walls. However, for creating a small additional room to create a little more privacy it’s perfect.”
“There you have it Pippsqueaks,” Pipp grinned turning the camera back to herself. “A demonstration from two experts in magic of what it really can do. Stay tuned for more insights from our new time-travelling friends. Pip Pip Hooray.”
With that, Pipp ended the live stream and grinned excitedly. “That’s already got thousands of likes and hoof taps, even a few monkeys. Still need to work out what those are...”
“Knew it was a good idea,” Sunset smiled.
“What are you talking about,” Starlight grunted. “None of what you said just then made any sense to me.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Sunset grinned. “We’re just showing off the good that magic can do.”
“I have no idea how but fine,” Starlight huffed as she got to her hoofs. “Let’s get the beds in and make sure everypony has enough space. It’s already getting late.”
“Sure, we don’t want to impose too much here,” Sunset agreed. “I’m quite certain that we’ll be going home when the time is right.”
Misty watched as the two Unicorns made their way downstairs, Hitch and Pipp following excitedly asking more questions. She looked back at the wall, having never seen magic as powerful as that before. She trotted over and carefully tapped it, almost surprised when she found it was solid.
“Incredible wasn’t it,” Sunny breathed.
Misty squeaked with surprise. She’d forgotten Sunny was still there.
“Just think Misty,” Sunny continued as she walked over to her. “Maybe someday you’ll be using magic like that.”
“Y…yeah, maybe,” Misty sighed. “I just need to get my cutie mark first and I don’t…”
“Hey, it’s fine,” Sunny comforted. “You’ll get your cutie mark when you’re ready. I mean, it’s odd that you haven’t already but I bet there are others out there that haven’t got theirs yet.”
Misty gulped before looking out at the darkness starting to fall outside. “Oh, my, erm. Aunt will be expecting me. Sorry for stopping by and going so quickly.”
“No worries, you were a big help, Misty,” Sunny smiled. “Remember, you’re welcome anytime. Short or long, it doesn't matter. It's always great to see you."
Misty gave a small smile before heading downstairs, she said goodbye to the others as Sunset and Starlight levitated two beds inside before running down the drive. Gasping, she dived into some bushes and covered her head with her hoofs. “Should I really do this?” she said to herself softly. “I don’t know what I want anymore.”