Sunny Starscout and The Mystery of Magic

by OneLonelyPickle

29 - The Great Escape

Author's Note:

Sorry! Everyone must have thought the new chapter was coming yesterday but when I wrote my blog post I thought "tomorrow" was Saturday. My bad!

Enjoy this extra long chapter to wrap up Arc 3!

Sunny stretched her hooves and groaned groggily. The thick bed cover was clumped over to one side, so Sunny flopped around to hug it. She sighed contently and smacked her lips. She hadn’t yet really woken up. It was one of the best sleeps she had had in a long time.

As she laid in the relative silence, a faint, persistent creaking hit her ears and made them twitch. Her eyes burst open when she remembered herself.

“O-Oh! Granny! I’m s-so sorry, I fell asleep on your bed!”

Sure enough the old soul was still in her rocking chair, Rockhoof knows how many hours after Sunny passed out. Though, Rutabaga looked pleased.

“Hush now deary, it’s okay. I always sleep in my chair, you see.”

Sunny protested.

“But my snoring! I’m just… listen, I’m going to go, okay?”

Rutabaga cackled.

“Deary deary deary, I used to be around your great-grandfather most of the day and when he took his naps, he snored even louder than you.” She patted her lap and Sunny saw some little spongy things there. “I took my ear plugs out earlier so I could hear you snore. It was nostalgic, believe it or not. Only a Starscout can snore that loud.”

Sunny looked down and blushed, a goofy smile on her face. She smoothed as best she could the stray strands of magenta hair in front of her face back behind her ear. Her mane was a mess – the Prench braids her grandmother had given her two days prior had become loose and the whole thing was a write-off. Sunny whinnied.

“My mane....”

Rutabaga chuckled.

“Well, deary, you best go down and find your friend then, hmm?”

Sunny got out of bed and resigned herself to her fate that she would need Izzy to fix her mane. She quickly looked and felt to her side for her little knapsack though could not find it. Rutabaga’s body jolted and she reached down beside her rocking chair. She pulled up Sunny’s knapsack and handed it to her.

“Here, deary. You run off now. Have fun, but don’t get lost! Your great-grandfather loved his journeys—your mother too, once upon a time. My Argyle did too so long as the journey went over water. But I think it’s in your blood to want to go see new lands and new ponies. And you have friends with you, too, to keep you company and keep you safe.” She smiled wide. “How exciting.”

Sunny beamed and wrapped her other grandmother up in a snug embrace before turning to leave the room. Rutabaga called after her.

“Take your time but hurry back! My door’s always open deary!”

Sunny turned back one final time.

“I wish I could stay but, this journey…”

“Say no more deary. I understand the call of adventure.” She sighed longingly, looked to the ceiling, and shook her head. “It never did reach out to me, that call, but I love to see how much joy it brings to ponies. And after all, aren’t we here to enjoy life while we can?” She cackled. Sunny and Rutabaga shared one final mutual smile. Then, Sunny left.

“Goodbye granny!”

She made for the spiral stairs at the other end of the hall that wrapped around the tree. She breathed in and then breathed out. A frown plastered her face as she descended the stairs.

There’s no way I was going to tell grandma about everything about the journey. I’ll see her when I get back and explain what it was all about! It won’t take that long to unite Equestria! How big can one country be?

She kept trying to force herself to smile and forget her nagging thoughts.

Listen, brain, if I told her and she made me feel bad or said I shouldn’t go, I might hav—

Sunny closed her eyes and grunted loudly.

“Nope, this is how it’s got to be. Plus, I’ll have so many cool things to share with her when I get back! And then they won’t have to hide underground in this big, weird tree anymore, once the races are all united!”

She descended the last step and entered the floor where the infirmary was. At the bottom was Hitch, looking particularly smug.

“Your body seems finr Sunny but talking to yourself? I think all that alicorn stuff made you crazy.”

His eyes shifted to her mane.

“Whoa uhhh… yeah it made your hair crazy too…”

Sunny hoofpunched his shoulder and he yelped.

“Good to see you, Mr. Trailblazer!”

Hitch rubbed his shoulder and squinted.

“Uhuh, seems like it. Sleep well?”

“Like a foal! You?”

He flashed his signature smile.

“You betcha. Come on, let’s get some grub!” They began to walk and talk. “I was thinking: if that owl thing Westley is best buds with Curio, then he’s probably already told Castle Rockhoof that we’re here. If they have the town surrounded, maybe it’s best to lay low for some time?”

Sunny looked up at Hitch, a downward curve in her brow.

“We don’t have time to spare though! Did you forget about the yetis?”

“No, I didn’t, but I’m trying to prevent us from getting thrown in those jail cells again! It won’t be so nice if it happens again Sunny!”

“Relax. I’m well rested, I’m over the voice / alicorn sickness, and right after we eat, I’ll be nice and full!” Sunny glared with determination straight ahead and hoof pumped the air. “Come and get me, jerkfaces! Sunny Starscout is back in action!” Hitch rolled his eyes but couldn’t help smiling.

“Alright, alright, fine. Hey, keep your mane like that and maybe you’ll just scare them all to death.”

Sunny stuck her tongue back at her friend who smiled proudly at his jest. They wound up at some more stairs and, having descended them about halfway, they ran into Izzy, who literally tackled Sunny to the ground in a huge Unihug.

“Sunny! You’re okay! I’m so glad you’re okay, I’m SO SO sorry, I didn’t sleep well the other night, you know, at your grandmother’s place, so I just—”

“It’s okay little doll.” Sunny squeezed tight and felt Izzy’s warmth. “I’m glad you two are here with me.”

Izzy’s little tears rolled down her face as she held her friend. Hitch didn’t quite get to that level though he was smiling cheek to cheek. He chuckled.

“Alright fillies let’s break it up, come on now.”

Sunny looked over at him and quickly scooped him up into a big group hug. He gasped for air.

“T-too much… l-love…”

Sunny squeezed harder and harder. Izzy waved a hoof.

“H-He’s right, S-Sunny… sorry…”

Sunny let go and blushed.

“I’m embarrassed! Oh my gosh I just—”

Sunny watched her panting friends. They all looked at one another for a moment. Then they burst into laughter for a few minutes. Just when the cacophony started dying down, it restarted due to Izzy’s uncontrolled snortlaughter at Sunny’s mane once Hitch pointed it out. Thinking they had all gone mad, a curious Regan peeked his head down the staircase.

“Errr, y’all alrigh’? Do ye want any eats or?”

Stomping hooves clambering up the stairs was the response. Sunny’s bright, wide-eyed face greeted Regan.

“Do I!”

---

Izzy sat back, content as can be, and patted her bloated stomach. A little burp escaped her lips and she looked around nervously to see if any other diners had heard. When she saw nopony looking her way, she closed her eyes and sighed.

“That was… wow…”

Hitch and Sunny (whose mane was back to its normal self thanks to Izzy’s hard brushing) were in similar states of post-gorging bliss.

The Underground Treehouse of Friendship had a large, grandiose dining hall, with roots hanging from the ceiling that contained clear crystals twinkling with prismatic light. Sunny, Izzy, and Hitch were seated near the end of the long table, with their hosts Jay, Firecracker, and Regan also feasting across from them. Another pony was constantly moving back and forth from the dining hall to an adjacent room behind a swiveling wooden door, huffing in a frustrated tizzy.

“Ate enough, didja?”

Regan waved him away.

“Now now Chaucer, ye know it’s a special occasion. These three are off on tha journey that will unite Equestria!”

Sunny watched the one called Chaucer turn back and stumble into what she imagined was a kitchen. He was a husky smoke-colored stallion, much plumper than she had seen before. A tight, black mustache hung above his perpetually frowny lip. His eyes, black, matched his short, slicked-to-the-side and balding mane. Clearly, he was some type of chef, given his attire. Regan saw Sunny looking and nodded knowingly toward her.

“That’s Chaucer, he’s our chef. Wanted to be your family’s chef but he lost tha job to that Spencer fella! Didja meet him at yer place?”

Sunny nodded.

“Yeah, he was super nice. But we’re full now, Regan—it’s time to spill the beans!” Sunny motioned around her as she continued. “What is all of this?”

Firecracker interjected. “Regan, should we really tell them? I was thinking about it and—” Sunny felt her brow dip down, a bit annoyed another mare was as impetuous as she. Regan held up his hoof to Firecracker silencing her but just barely.

“Firecracker, and ye too, Jay.” He looked over at the slowest eating of the group, who stared directly at his food looking rather unsure about everything. “We need to trust somepony. We have spent too much time scrutinizin’ every Tom, Dick, and Harry who shows promise and enthusiasm. Nothing is going to change if we keep held up in tha Tree forever, only leavin’ once or twice a day. Sooner or later, the Realm’s soldiers’ll find this place now that we lost tha support o’ the Starscouts.”

Sunny flashed an eager smile.

“Not this Starscout!” Regan smiled back and raised his glass of cider. “Now, answer time!”

Firecracker cut Regan off with her hoof.

“I’ll go first.” She looked Sunny up and down, both mares looking somewhat sour having to see the other. “The Society of the Sun has existed since the fall of Equestria. We live and operate in secret, the only ponies who openly investigate the true history of the nation. This is the Underground Treehouse of Friendship, planted long ago to carry on the legacy of the Treehouse of Harmony.” Sunny’s ear twitched. Her eyelids got heavy. Firecracker pushed back the fiery, rambunctious mane from her lily-white face and opened her mouth to continue, but Izzy waved her hoof.

“Oo oo what’s a Treehouse of Harmony?”

Jay answered before Firecracker could.

“It used to be an important place for many different ponies and races to meet in old Equestria, but it was lost centuries ago. Apparently, it shined bright like a diamond.”

Izzy looked to her friends, her eyes twinkling. That brought Sunny back from her bored slump. Hitch was patiently and quietly taking it all in. Firecracker resumed her explanation.

“We have a chapter here in the Realm of the Earth Ponies, but there is also one in Unicornia and one in the Cloudlands. Far away somewhere south, we also apparently have a correspondent in the jungle.” She looked at Regan. “Right?”

Regan chuckled.

“Aye, fancies himself the Daring Do of the modern era—well, none of that will make sense. Ack, he’s a right lad, him. I seen him once, and we write at least once a year. Same goes for the rest of the chapters.”

Jay chimed in.

“This is all VERY secret. Like, the kind of secret that, if the wrong pony hears, we’re all going to the castle dungeons until the end of time… maybe even beyond that! I hope you three understand! Especially you, Starscout, you have a big mouth!”

Sunny shouted.

“Do not!”

Hitch and Izzy looked at her and, feeling the gazes of everypony, Sunny sheepishly sat back.

“Heh heh okay maybe a little…”

Hitch joined in.

“We get it: mum’s the word. So, you guys have been living underground and communicating with Unicorns and Feath” — He changed the course of his words seeing Sunny and even Regan glaring— “Pegasi… you’ve been doing all that all this time and nopony has found this place? What about the other chapters?”

Izzy nodded, clearly engaged in the conversation.

“Yeah, I’ve never, ever heard of this Society thing!”

Regan smiled.

“Well, if tha sister of tha Voice of the Five Tribes doesn’t know we exist, ye can imagine how secretive we really are, hmm?” He changed his tone and expression to more serious. “We only revealed ourselves to ye because of Sunny, and because of what we heard. Not just Sir Bastion goin’ all the way to Ponedunk to get ye—it was when one of our ears on tha ground brought news of that voice of yers!” He looked at Sunny and flicked his eyebrows. The other two looked at Sunny with curiosity. She patted her chest.

“I guess I’m sort of a big deal, huh?”

Hitch took the opportunity to tap her shoulder, and she rubbed it much the same as he had done earlier.

“Oi, we already have a pony full of him or herself in this friendship threesome.”

“Yeah but I have a good reason to be!”

“What, and I don’t? Noearthpony has even talked about how I have super strength yet!”

Jay replied.

“All the descendants of Rockhoof do, to some degree. Your brother is the same way you know…” Jay rolled his eyes. Hitch became serious and nearly jumped out of his seat.

“Wait, my brother? Have you met him… you see him lately?!”

Jay sighed.

“Don’t get excited, Trailblazer, I haven’t seen him in months. He used to come up for the festival sometimes. Might have met him two or three times total. But he always liked to show off in that ‘Hey let me compete in the Strongpony contest just for fun—oh look I won’ way.” Firecracker jabbed him.

“Pretty sure that’s just called ‘being modest’.” Firecracker, usually tomfoalish, wrapped her forehooves together and gushed. “Halter is… amazing.” She sighed longingly. “That’s what a Knight should act like, and look like!” She looked at Hitch with a deadpan expression. “Then there’s you, pretty boy.”

“W-what about me?” Hitch seemed genuinely hurt. Sunny tapped his shoulder.

“There there Casanova. There are plenty of fish in the sea, remember?”

Izzy tapped Hitch’s other shoulder and he looked dejectedly to her.

“It’s okay Hitchy—you can’t please everycorn.” Hitch and Sunny both looked at Izzy. She blushed. “Pony. Everypony, heheh… sorry!”

Regan cleared his throat.

“Are ye lookin’ fer yer brother?”

Hitch nodded, a melancholy about him making him appear like a lost foal.

“I didn’t expect to hear any news all the way here in Tall Tale… he went east about a month ago, towards the Unicorn lands…”

“So ye think he was foalnapped?”

“By the Hornhe—b-by the Unicorns, yes.”

“Ack, nasty business. Sorry to hear, I can’t provide any information about that ‘cept stuff ye probably don’t want to hear…”

“About what they… could be doing to him?”

“Aye lad… aye.”

Jay crossed his hooves and sat back, his defiant face turned up in a scowl.

“If it ain’t the Unicorns it’s the Diamond Dogs. The Realm is getting it from all sides.”

Regan added.

“Don’t forget now there’re tha yetis, too.”

“Exactly. It’s a tough spot. Even if we evade the soldiers and the Knights, it might be somepony else that finds this place and destroys it.” Jay rubbed his face roughly. “Argghhh…”

Hitch rested against one of his hooves on the table, pushing his half-empty plate in front of him. He sighed.

“I know it wasn’t yetis because Halter hated the cold. And Diamond Dogs are too stupid to get him”— he turned to Sunny and Izzy — “You remember those dopes on the road to the Castle?” Sunny nodded and Izzy shivered. Hitch continued after another long sigh. “He’s in the Unicorn lands. We’ll just… find him when we get there.” Sunny and Izzy each offered a reassuring touch and Hitch smiled at each of them in turn.

“Hoof to heart!” Sunny exclaimed and took the hoof she had on Hitch’s shoulder and rested it on her chest. This made Jay and Firecracker smile, and Regan clapped.

“Aye, aye! Hoof to heart, all of us now!” And the three members of the Society of the Sun made the same gesture. “The very first member of tha Society was a pony named Brightlee Dawn. The charter of our Society, err”— Regan looked around, a confused look on his face— “Ack, where’d we put that thing anyway?”

Jay spun the end of his hoof around in the air nonchalantly.

“Chaucer, he tried to use it as a bib, remember?”

Regan smacked one of his hooves against the other.

“Right! He did, didn’t he!” Regan chuckled at that, then returned to his serious state. “Anyway, our charter states that tha members must perform their duties as Brightlee Dawn did: with excitement, enthusiasm, and a desire always to help with a smile!” He chuckled again and leaned over to nudge Jay. “Some of us are more smiley and enthusiastic than others, eh Jay?”

Jay rolled his eyes but smiled.

“Ehh I always did want to be an actor, not a member of a secret society. But, that’s life, and all that.”

Sunny yawned and sat back.

“That’s great and all, but for me, hoof to heart means you do everything with all your heart. You make a promise on your words! They can’t just be words, they have to be actions, too!”

Hitch looked sidelong at Sunny.

“Wasn’t that pretty much all you did in Maretime Bay was talk all the time?”

“Protest is not just talking, it’s a lot more than that! It is action!” Sunny crossed her hooves and nodded once. “Anyway, I’m here now.” She looked with determination at Regan. “We need to start heading north. We might have spent a bit too much time here.” She looked at Hitch and Izzy meekly. Izzy smiled back but Hitch had wide eyes.

“Oh, ya think? I’m glad we learned all that we did but this place has got to be surrounded now! It’s been three whole days since that thing at the castle!” He looked at Regan. “Please tell me you have some sort of escape route that leads all the way to the Frozen North?” Hitch clasped his hooves in a pleading gesture. Regan chuckled.

“Aye, somethin’ like that, lad. Though, it’ll only take us to tha outskirts o’ town.”

Jay jumped in.

“And it probably won’t be much use. With the theft of Rockhoof’s Shovel, the Realm has volunteers and reservists out searching, not just the usual soldiers. They’re all over. There are bound to be ponies on the road.”

Sunny and Izzy gasped; Hitch jumped onto his hooves.

“What?” he roared. “Rockhoof’s Shovel is GONE?!”

The three Society members looked at one another. Regan scratched the top of his head. He opened his mouth to speak and looked up behind Sunny at the wall.

“Ack, ye didn’t know—OI WE GOT TO GO!”

Regan leapt out of his chair, so much in a hurry he was running in place in the air trying to scramble forward. He was like a lightning bolt, zipping through the Tree gathering things. Jay and Firecracker got up as well and ran to one of the exits. Sunny and her friends got up as well.

“I—what?!” Hitch looked to Sunny, his face totally lost to confusion. Izzy also looked to Sunny. Sunny trotted after the departing Society members.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

Jay ran ahead through the door, but Firecracker remained for a brief moment.

“It’s time for you to go! 9 o’clock, this is your best shot!”

---

Before anypony really knew what was going on, Sunny, Hitch and Izzy had their things and were loading them into a wagon. It was big enough inside for all of their things. They were outside in the cave, near a tunnel that went steeply upwards. A tiny wooden building with some fences built around it and something like a stable was positioned nearby.

“Wait for Regan, he will be here once he’s packed!” said Jay, once again in his full black outfit. Firecracker pointed a hoof at Hitch.

“You! You better bring back your brother and tell him to come marry me!”

Hitch gulped and flashed a wide, shaky grin.

“W-what, you uhhh want me as your stepbrother t-that bad?”

Firecracker returned the cocky expression without the loss of confidence, almost getting snout to snout with Hitch.

“He’s such a hot slice of stallion, yeah, I could live with his dopey little baby brother as my family.”

Hitch’s ears fell down.

“Ouch… d-dopey?”

Firecracker pushed air out of the side of her mouth and turned away.

“Don’t start crying, I was just joking! You go and unite Equestria, pretty boy!”

Sunny patted Hitch.

“That was rather meek of you. You’re normally a bit more tougher than that, Hitch!”

Hitch rubbed the back of his neck.

“I don’t know what it is about her but…” he cocked his head as he watched her retreat at a trotting pace beside Jay, her red-orange tail dancing about like the fire at the end of a torch. “She seems different. You know?” He rubbed his chin. “I think because she’s more like a stallion than a mare, I mean besides being madly in love with Halter.” Sunny raised her hoof and shook her head.

“Sure friend, whatever you say. Now, where is that—”

As if on cue, Regan galloped into view, briefly speaking to his friends as they crossed paths. A big sack of goods was on his back. He was completely out of breath when he finally got all his things piled into the wagon, leaving on himself only his usual chest sash and some weird mechanical device strapped to his side.

“Alrigh’ – we’re ready to go ponies! Onward and outward, aye?”

Sunny pointed a hoof at his chest.

“YOU’RE coming too?! I knew something was up! This is a serious journey to unite Equestria, are you sure you can keep up?!”

Regan nodded and jumped in the wagon.

“Ack, of course I can! Let’s go! Lad,” he said, looking at Hitch. “Get yerself strapped in so we can go!”

“Me?! Why me?”

“Didn’t you say you wanted some attention because ye’re related to Rockhoof? Well, now is tha time to put up or shut up, Willy Jim!”

“Willy Jim?”

Hitch looked at the ground, puzzled. “W-wait, I’ve heard that before! And your accent! Oh I can almost remember now—you must have a cousin or something that I’ve met before!”

Regan smirked.

“We’ll talk later. Enough exposition, let’s blow this joint and get to tha North already!” He looked at Sunny. “That still the plan, fearless leader.”

Sunny blushed and felt the glow of respect emanating from her. Hitch whinnied and Izzy boarded the wagon, smiling gently at her friend.

“Why yes,” Sunny said, hoping aboard and placing her hoof on the top of her chest. “Yes, it is our plan. Onward, noble steed!” she said to Hitch. He had just finished strapping himself in. He glared back at her.

“Okay you get that one joke but next time you say something like that I’m dumping this thing in a huge puddle of mud, got it?”

Sunny sheepishly giggled and waved.

“Yes! Sorry! I couldn’t help it! Can you please take us out of here, Hitch?”

Izzy joined in.

“Only you can do it Hitch! We’re not strong enough!”

Regan also added his own voice, which he made high-pitched like a filly’s.

“Oh yes Mr. Hitch the Hero, please oh please save us.”

Hitch shook in uncomfortable horror as Regan burst out laughing.

“N-Never do that again Regan.”

Regan wrapped his hooves around the mares.

“ADVENTURE AND ROMANCE AWAITS LAD AND LASSES! AWAY WITH US! AWAY TO THE UNKNOWN!”

Izzy and Sunny both cheered.

“ADVENTURE!”

Hitch rolled his eyes with a smile.

“Yeah yeah… just, hold on, okay?”

He started at a great pace, despite the steepness of the path. They eventually leveled out and the tunnel became pitch black. Regan activated a hooflight on his leg which amplified the light of one of the underground crystals contained inside. It illuminated the remainder of their tunnel trek; Izzy clapped.

“A hooflight! Wow!”

Regan grinned.

“Nifty, ye? We at tha Society don’t reject Unicorn technology, especially the best of it!”

The end of the new tunnel had some light at what appeared to be its exit, though it also looked like something was blocking it.

“Right! This is going to be our great escape, party members!” Regan announced. He unstrapped the device to his side and started wrapping it around Sunny, who flinched.

“W-what is this?”

“Our ticket out of this jam! The soldiers’ll be waiting for us, I’m sure. They’ve got Tall Tale surrounded.”

Regan held up the device once strapped to Sunny properly. It looked like a weirdly shaped disc attached to a metal rectangle, which had a funny looking mesh part at the end closest to Sunny’s mouth. However, what was really attractive was the faint glow of a green crystal inside of the semi-transparent casing. Regan saw Sunny’s expression and explained.

“Aye, it’s the same as the crystals we have in the cave. They’re Eldridge crystals; the Unicorns call them magic batteries.” He looked at Izzy, who was mesmerized by the glowing green. “Surprised ye didn’t realize, Ms. Moonbow.”

Sunny began to bounce.

“Magic? So, they ARE magic?!”

“Ack, sort of. Izzy?”

Izzy covered her cheeks with her hooves.

“Pony smokes, seriously? I didn’t think you’d have any here in the Dirt Realm! I just thought they were the false batteries…”

Regan finished her thought.

“The bioglow crystal? Aye we have some of those. But this one is an Eldridge. It’s almost spent, but there’s enough juice in her for one more use, Sunny!”

Sunny shrugged.

“Okay but what the hay is it?!”

Izzy raised her hoof and waved.

“Oo oo I know this one! That’s a voice magnifier! You can talk really really loud with one of those! Like, so loud it breaks glass and gets you in trouble with your grandmother!” She laughed nervously and both Sunny and Regan looked at her. She sucked in her lips, her eyes darting side to side. “Or uhh so I’ve heard.”

Sunny felt the machine and tapped on it. She smiled wide.

“Are you serious? This thing would have been amazing to have for my protesting about Equestrian unity back in Maretime Bay!”

Hitch had brought the party almost to the exit, the streaks of light coming through the cracks evident. Some kind of wooden structure blocked the exit, however. Hitch stopped.

“Right,” he whispered. “Finish explaining whatever that is—when we’re out there, I’m legging it and you all have to keep quiet!”

“No use for that, Hitch Trailblazer!” Regan exclaimed. “Subterfuge won’t save us now! That’s what this is for!” He patted Sunny’s side. “Let’s go out with a bang, Ms. Starscout! Shout your lungs out! Tell the town how you feel! And—” He held up his hoof beside her head. “At tha same time, we’ll be gettin’ rid of any soldiers that are waiting for us!”

Sunny looked down toward the mouthpiece of the contraption and thought. Hitch trotted in place.

“You sure that’s a good idea? Can’t we just escape quietly?”

“No! Not possible! Our adventure can’t start that way, no chance Trailblazer!”

“Uhh wait are you saying we can’t or you don’t WANT us to?!”

Sunny interrupted.

“He’s right, Hitch. We need to go out with a bang.”

Regan roared with laughter.

“Yes! YES! SUNNY LET THEM HEAR YE!”

“How do I get it to turn on?!”

“The button on the side, the green one!” Regan directed Hitch. “Move the door blocking the tunnel! All of Tall Tale needs to hear this!”

The party urged Hitch on. He whinnied one last time in frustration and facehoofed.

“Okay fine. Fine!”

He bucked the door open and it flew into a tree some metres away. Regan coughed.

“J-jeez ye didn’t have to buck it that hard! We just paid it off!”

“Be careful what you wish for Regan!”

The outside light poured in in earnest. Hitch brought the wagon out. They were inside a thick patch of trees within a forest.

“Give it all ye got Sunny! Now’s the time!” Regan cheered.

Sunny closed her eyes. She saw her grandmother’s dour expression, she saw the looks on all the faces again from the catacombs under her family’s house. Then she saw pictures of Bastion and Curio: a wide, smug and evil grin and an old calculating scowl. She saw the darkness and the terror. But she also saw an image of her parents. And her friends. She saw the light for what it was. She opened her eyes and clicked the green button.

---

In the center of Tall Tale sat a stage. It was beginning its first performance of the day. Miss Lumina was donning her hat and cape. She sniffed back her tears.

“Ohh sister…”

She spoke to her reflection in her dressing room mirror. With a final heavy sigh, she got up and practiced smiling. She worked her face muscles in every direction and practiced the projection of her voice.

“La la laaaaaaa… mi re doooooo…”

With a final throat clearing, she appeared on stage behind the curtain. Her accomplice was giving the usual spiel just beyond.

“Despair no more, for Tall Tale’s bringer of happiness and joy has arrived!”

Lumina closed her eyes and the curtain drew open. She stepped forward. Her accomplice began.

“Miss—”

A loud voice crashed through the street like a tidal wave of sound.

“LISTEN UP! MY NAME IS SUNNY STARSCOUT AND I’M GOING TO UNITE EQUESTRIA! UNICORNS, EARTH PONIES, AND PEGASI WILL LIVE TOGETHER! THAT’S MY PROMISE, HOOF TO HEART! NO MATTER WHAT, JUST WAIT AND SEE!”

Lumina fell like all the others, and for at least a minute couldn’t move. When she was able to, she stood up and looked to the sky. The sun was peeking out from some clouds.

Sunny…

She smiled. Her eyes filled with tears.

Wow. That voice is something else.

The townsponies all scrambled about.

“What was that?”

“WAS THAT A UNICORN ATTACK?!”

“WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE!”

“Did she say Starscout?? The Starscouts are attacking us?!”

Miss Lumina’s stage accomplice looked to her, completely paralyzed with confusion and fear. Miss Lumina laid her hoof on his shoulder and addressed the crowd.

“That was my niece, Sunny Starscout.”

The crowd collectively gasped. The same little filly from the other day was raised in the crowd.

“She’s the traitor! We must all be vigilant around such a threat!” The crowd barked in agreement. Lumina shook her head.

“No! It’s not like that! I don’t know the full story, but the truth is like this…”

---

Cerena was nearly toppled over by the sound of her granddaughter’s voice, amplified to a level Cerena had never heard before. Even being beside her father during his own shouts, never did the noise rattle her very bones. Cerena picked herself off her floor, disoriented.

It’s impossible… she thought to herself. She tackled into the boarded-up balcony door of her bedroom. There’s no way you can do it, Sunny! You and your friends are going to—she was interrupted from her thoughts when at last her tackles brought her crashing through the wood. Sunny’s voice had already shattered the glass doors on the other side leading to the balcony. Cerena, feeling the summer air on her fur, got up and looked toward the source of the commotion. She knew where they would be heading—the secret northern exit.

But it’s trapped!

Cerena looked out to the distance. To her left was Tall Tale, from where there were dogs barking, babies crying and ponies asking loudly about what they had just heard (and felt). To the right was the forest, surrounding the city on all sides. Directly ahead, though Cerena could not see it clearly, was a tiny trail that nopony ever used.

A trail used by the Society, and her father. He had told Cerena about it, but even after her change of heart she had never been able to tell the soldiers about it. Something stopped her from that final betrayal of everything her father tried to teach her. She looked down, still catching her breath.

I have to—

“Grandmother!”

Cerena shot around. Furyis looked frantic.

“That was Sunny! If we go now, I think we can stop them before they leave!”

Behind him appeared Argus, looking particularly stern. Cerena couldn’t hold his gaze.

“Cerena,” he barked.

Furyis looked to his great uncle, seeing a different look on his face than he usually had. With his fine suit and bushy eyebrows, he looked much more patriarchal than normal. Cerena turned back toward the north.

“Furyis,” she began. Cerena bit her lip hard. She remembered the last time she saw Willder’s smile, and Caela’s. They both were smiling the last time she saw them. They were happy. She breathed in deep before exhaling. She commanded her grandson and gave him instructions. When he finally ran away in a daze, Argus stepped into the room.

---

Positioned among the trees outside of Tall Tale was a contingency of soldiers of the Realm. They were on an overgrown trail—seemingly nothing more than a hoofpath for explorers or hikers. The head of that group of soldiers, a mare in a copper-color set of armor, narrowed her eyes forward. She repositioned her crossbow, mounted on a wooden stand.

“Right! Keep focus, men and mares!” she commanded, loud enough to be heard despite the giant globs of wax in everypony’s ears. “My promotion depends on it!” She had a dark teal fur coat and piercing green eyes and barely stood still. She was hopping in place and slapping the top of her weapon. “Don’t be afraid of that voice as long as your ears are clogged! Remember what the bird said: if we capture the Starscout, Sir Curio will reward us all! And I’ll finally get my promotion!”

Her sergeant leaned in and spoke loudly. The other soldiers returned to their original positions, somewhat rattled by the shouting that had occurred, but mostly okay thanks to the ear wax.

“Ms. Seaside, are you sure you’re going to get a promotion, err—”

“Yes! Don’t ruin my moment! Get ready!”

The sound of hooves trampling the dirt ahead gave away their quarry. Ms. Seaside, the Page, widened her toothy grin. “Any second now men and mares! Aim those crossbows!”

About ten of the soldiers had weapons similar to that of their superior, each hidden partially behind a tree. The tips of each of their arrows were rounded and blunt but glowed a-cold looking blue. They were presents from Sir Curio the Right Hoof himself.

The sergeant placed a string of thick rope between his teeth and carried the rest of the rope in one of his hooves and wrapped partially around his body. He was poised to leap out.

Just down the path, Sunny Starscout dropped the Unicorn device, the light of its crystals having gone from dim to nonexistent. Regan was hooting and hollering.

“An excellent cry of adventure! Marvelous! HEE HAW! Pick it up, Trailblazer, let’s get out of ‘ere!”

Hitch was at the top of his game and at a full gallop. The wagon rumbled behind him—Izzy was gripping tight to the side, unable to hide her shaky grin. Sunny was more unabashed about her mood and screamed at the top of her lungs.

“HERE WE COME YETI PRINCE! YOU BETTER BE READY, BUDDY!”

The second wave of sound, impressive though much smaller than the previous one, went ahead of them, bouncing off the trees as it went. Her friends all cringed—Hitch barely stopped himself from wiping out and taking everypony with him. He stopped and glared back at Sunny, his voice shaky.

“C-can you not? F-Friendly fire, Sunny!’

“Hehe, sorry Hitch.”

Hitch shook his head and trotted in place to warm up again.

“Alright, alright, Hitch, you’re the descendant of a great hero. A champion! Just run right through!”

Regan leaned down and patted Hitch’s rump.

“Aye lad just lower yer head an’ charge. We’ve abandoned all reason, all fear!” He rose a hoof toward the heavens. “We’re rushing into danger and adventure! No space for mice now—only predators!”

Izzy hoofpunched the air.

“Yeah! Predators!”

Sunny did the same.

“Weird word choice but… yeah! Let’s go!”

Hitch groaned one final time then steeled himself.

“Here goes! Hang on everypony!”

Hitch launched himself forward and his gallop caused a cloud of dust behind the wagon. All three of the passengers had to hang on for dear life—if they stuck out their head, their open cheeks would be waving in the wind behind them.

Eventually, Hitch noticed a figure in the trees. Then he noticed several.

“Oh no… OH NO GUYS, DUCK! THEY HAVE CROSSBOWS!”

The passengers did as commanded, Sunny only because Regan was holding her down.

“Let me go I can… I have to…”

“Stop ye crazy lass!”

Hitch pushed forward. He heard shouting and grunting and struggling on either side of him as he ran and ran, daring not to look up. Once he was past the disturbance, he looked back.

The soldiers had been accosted by a number of stallions, some of them familiar to Sunny and her friends. One of them was her cousin, Furyis, waving at them. Sunny looked up from her hiding spot and glared.

“Furyis!”

Her cousin was all smiles.

“Hey cos! I guess Grandmother had a change of heart! Well, I’m not fully on board but what she says goes!” One of the soldiers tried to get back up and Furyis bucked him, causing his helmet to shatter. “Have a safe trip! You better come back in one piece so I can tell you about your crazy family!”

Sunny couldn’t make heads or tails of it, but Hitch started galloping once more.

“We can figure out what the hay that was once we’re outta here!” he explained. Sunny turned back around. A small smile appeared on her face. Regan leaned forward and laughed.

“Ack, like I said Sunny: yer grandmother has her reasons fer actin’ tha way she does!”

The entourage burst out of the forest and onto a dirt road that led across a wide-open field toward even more forest up ahead. They caught a fine glimpse of the cloudy, white sky and the immense mountains beyond, obscured by the apparent fog that lingered in the distance. Sunny looked up, her mouth becoming wide.

“Tha Frozen North!” Regan exclaimed. “Ye’re gonna love Vanhoover—I know we can’t stay long, but there is one thing I want to show ye’s before we leave!”

And so, they were off, their party of eager adventurers having increased by one.

---

Argus stood beside his sister. They both peered off into the distance, toward the lumbering Frozen North mountains far away where the air was as cold as ice. He sighed.

“I can’t be too surprised. Despite how you’ve been all these years, you’re still our father’s daughter.”

Cerena snapped back.

“I made a mistake before. This was the right thing to do.”

“For the family?”

“For Sunny. For Equestria.”

Argus turned to her, still upset.

“What about what we decided, that we would put the family first, no matter what? Y’know, half the reason I never married and had my own foals was because I didn’t have to go through what you did!”

Cerena teared up, but she smiled and looked back toward the distant snow-capped peaks, little more than some matte painting of blurry, foggy triangles against a grey-blue backdrop.

“It’s not too late for you. Just like it wasn’t for me.”

She sniffed.

“I’m really afraid brother, I am. But I am also happy because I know she is happy.” She breathed out uneasily. “She’ll return. She’ll complete her mission. We have to trust her now. When I thought about doing things the other way I—” She bit her lip. “I thought of what father’s face would be if he was alive to see what we did to our own blood. Can you imagine it, Argus? Father would be so disappointed…”

Argus maintained his angry stare for a little while longer before reason chipped away at his resolve and he sighed, leaning over the balcony.

“Yeah, you’re right…”

He looked over.

“What about that voice? If things go sour and the Hornheads or Featherfreaks get that power…”

A cold rush of air blew from the north. Both older ponies shivered. Argus grumbled.

“A grim omen…”

Cerena smiled.

“We have to hope that won’t happen. We have no choice now, Argus.” She turned to him and smiled even wider. Argus hadn’t seen that since before his nephew Willder left. “It’s out of our hooves!”

She rushed away like she was young and spry again. Argus held out his hoof.

“S-sister! Let’s not go crazy here, you—”

“The festival!” she exclaimed. “We need to get ready! We can still put one on, right?”

Comments

[Eroraf86]

Onward to new adventures!

[Level Dasher]

Very nice. I love Granny, and I love that Cerena had a change of heart. Onward to the Frozen North!