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Home

"Sunny." Hitch began again, placing a hoof over hers. "I'm serious. You don't have to place all the--"

"No."

"No?" Hitch raised a brow.

"No." Sunny planted both hooves on the table. "I, Sunny Starscout, am responsible for this. These deaths, this destruction... all of it, because I brought back the magic. Please, leave my friends out of this. I only dragged them along. Forgive them. I know I cannot bring back the dead. I know I cannot replace all the cherished memories and mementos destroyed in tonight's blaze. But if there is anything--anything I can do to make things better, I am willing to do it. If..."

Izzy stirred beside her. Sunny paused, glancing down at her friend for a moment.

"If I must, I will destroy magic. For good."

Just as before, the ponies before them remained silent.

Silent tears fell between the mare's hooves.

"You can't destroy a force of nature, kid."

She looked up, spotting Alphabittle from the crowd as he stepped closer.

"Magic's been gone a long time, but it was never gone for good. It was bound to come back at some point, whether or not you were there to give it that final push."

Sunny sniffed. "B-but all... all the ponies that died! I can't imagine how painful it was for them... all the different things that could've happened. You... you're f-fine with that?"

"Can't say I'm happy about it, but... look at you--" he lifted her chin with a hoof. "You didn't mean for this to happen. You and your friends came here as soon as the fires broke out to help. Heck, you even rallied the pegasi to our aid! Never in my life did I imagine any of this--the good or the bad--happening to us. I'd say that if it weren't for you and your friends here, Bridlewood wouldn't have had enough of itself left standing to even be on the map!"

Sunny's breaths softened. "Y-you think?"

Alphabittle gave a solemn nod.

Her gaze turned to the other unicorns behind him. Many of them still appeared dazed by the night's events. Fluttershy continued to fret over them as she treated their wounds. She watched the temporary pegasus zip back and forth between ponies, her eyes darting across each body she passed. Pained wails rose from the mass from time to time, as the soil beneath them slowly took on a splotchy red hue.

One of the unicorns appeared to reach for her with a hoof, their mouth agape in an unheard screech as flame shone from their unpatched eye.

"Sunny!"

The words that came from the unicorn's mouth were not their own.

"Sunny! Sunny, it's alright!"

Hooves rose all around her, clutching onto her every limb as steam and smoke curled up around her.

It was hot.

Really hot.

She could feel her coat beginning to burn away in patches. The hooves clutched tighter, their grip seemingly enhanced by the heat.

"Sunny!"

Everything stopped.

Time itself.

Had stopped.

Sunny's eyes trembled.

Warmth.

Not the warmth of the flames, but that of a body.

A living body.

Slowly, she turned her head. She could still recall that moment as vividly as it had happened.

But that forever-pained face wasn't there.

And neither were the hooves.

Most of them, at least.

She closed her eyes and leaned into Hitch.

And time flowed once more.

She could feel her breaths flutter.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Wet.

Her eyes were wet.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Sunny kept her eyes shut. Had she blacked out? Whatever the case, she could feel Hitch's rhythmic hoofsteps beneath her as he continued walking... well, wherever it was that they were headed.

"You feeling any better yet, Sunny?" Hitch's voice came in a soft whisper. "You've been out for over an hour."

She opened an eye. Izzy was trailing them, though her eyes seemed locked to the ground.

Hitch slowed his steps as Sunny stirred, propping herself up by a fetlock as she looked upward.

"Pipp and Zipp are still at Bridlewood with the rest. Heard that they were already starting work on rebuilding things. You keep resting for now. We're almost home."

"Whhuh..." Sunny's words melted together as she made a weak gesture at Izzy. She let out a cough instead.

"Izzy said she's staying with us since her home was burnt down in the blaze."

A huff escaped Sunny as she fell back onto her barrel.

She shut her eyes again.

Sunny awoke with a start. This time, there was no gentle sway of movement beneath her, or the crunch of dried leaves and twigs underneath a set of hooves.

Just the still air, and the faint buzz of the lights.

She turned her head. She could just barely hear music playing somewhere down the hall.

The couch underneath her creaked as she moved.

"Oh, you're finally awake!" Hitch's voice interrupted the silence as the music abruptly stopped. "Want something to eat? It's been nearly a day since you first passed out."

Before she could respond, Hitch emerged from the hallway with a plate. He placed it beside her and sat down.

"Daisy sandwich?" Hitch nudged the plate closer. A chuckle rose from him. "Izzy's eaten three already."

Sunny eyed the sandwich. Her stomach grumbled.

"Eat up. I figured you'd be awake sometime soon."

She opened her mouth, but in the place of words came only an airy rasp punctuated by a wet cough.

Hitch pat her back. "Now now, don't force yourself. Your throat's still raw from the trip back."

Sunny nodded, pulling the plate in and taking the sandwich.

Spike landed at the entrance of Twilight's Castle.

Or at least, what remained of it.

He sat down at the grave beside the doors. "Hey, Twi. I'm home."

The chirps of crickets in the night served as his answer.

"It's..." the dragon chuckled, leaning back on an arm. "It's been pretty wild these past couple of days. I made some new friends, finally, for one. Though... a lot of ponies died today as well, from a magical surge. It would be nice if you could tell me why that happened."

Sticks crackled as Timby walked up beside him.

Spike gave the timberwolf pup a pat on the head. "And look, I think we have a new pet! Though, Timby here likes to follow Hitch around more. I think he's following me because Discord sent him back to Ponyville when we had to rush to save Bridlewood."

He scratched his head. "Hm. I should probably tell you about my new friends, shouldn't I? Hitch is an earth pony from a town called Maretime Bay. He says he's the sheriff there, so I think he's pretty important. Everyone in that town is an earth pony, by the way.

"I know you tried hard to keep the tribes together not too long ago, but they ended up drifting apart anyway. But they're together again! Another pony from Maretime Bay named Sunny said she helped bring the tribes back together again, and she was able to bring back magic! Though... that last part is what ended up leading to the magic surge."

Spike pawed absentmindedly at the dirt as he glanced up at the moon. "Twilight, do you think things will be better now?"

Timby cocked his head.

"Do you think that, maybe now that magic has returned, things can go back to how they used to be?"

No response, save for the crickets.

"You're right. I should go to bed. 'Night, Twi."

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