Legends Never Die: The Search For Sunny

by bookhorse125

Rise and Return

In Zephyr Heights, two ponies were standing on the highest balcony in the palace, gazing over the city as the sun set, though the city was every bit as alive as it was during the day. The bright lights from Zephyr Heights seemed a thousand times brighter in the dark night, and the city practically glowed.

Queen Haven sighed. “It seems such a shame to leave it,” she whispered. “Every time I assert that this is what I must do, I look at the city, and suddenly, I have doubts again.” She leaned her head against the shoulder of the unicorn standing beside her.

“You don’t have to go after them,” Alphabittle told her. “You know this city needs you.”

“But they need me more.” It was barely audible, but it felt so good to say it aloud. “Every minute they’re away, I feel like I’m… that I’m missing something. Something important.” She looked over the city in all of its beauty and said, “It would be worth giving all of this up… if I could just be with them for one more day.”

“If you go…” Alphabittle cleared his throat. “If you go, then I’m going, too.”

A sob escaped her throat, but it wasn’t of pain - it was one of happiness. “I was hoping you would say that,” Haven said, leaning into him and shivering in the cold night.

“We can go inside if-” Alphabittle started, but Haven cut him off.

“No, it’s fine. I just… I wanted to see it one last time.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “It’s so pretty.”

“You built all of this.” The unicorn shifted his feet and looked at her.

“No, they build all of this.” Haven corrected, straightening. “A queen must never take credit for the actions of her citizens. They did all of this. I just… supervised.”

“Encouraged. Provided. Stood there and looked beautiful.” Alphabittle grinned and lowered his head so she could swat him with her wing. “I speak nothing but the truth.”

“Poor you. If only you had a shred of self esteem,” Haven quipped, rolling her eyes but sharing a smile with him. She tried to ignore the fact that her heart was currently beating a mile a minute and that her face was heating up, so she didn’t know whether she was blushing or not.

Alphabittle pulled her into a hug, and the two looked above the city, to the black night sky above it. The palace was far enough above the rest of the city that you could see some of the stars - though not as much as you would be able to from anywhere else in Equestria. Still, seeing the glowing dots of light shining up there, surrounding the pale, glowing moon gave Haven a sense of peace. It was as if she could sense that her daughters were okay. Still, she had a sense that something was coming - something that would put her little fillies in danger.

And she had to be there for them - to see them, to protect them, to just be with them one last time in case something went… wrong, and-

Don’t think about that, she commanded herself. Think of something that makes you happy. She turned to Alphabittle and felt a smile coming to her lips. Something happy.

---

Lofty Skies touched down in front of Sunny Starscout’s old lighthouse and immediately began pacing while she waited for her friends, a bag hanging from her middle that held everything (she hoped) that she would need while she and the other Crusaders went to go save the world.

“Where are they?” the pegasus muttered to herself. She flew over to the window that Jinx had left unlocked and pushed it open, flying inside and throughout the entire lighthouse to see if her friends were hiding anywhere inside. She decided not to question why the kitchen looked like a miniature pizza restaurant.

As she finally made her way to the top of the lighthouse, something caught her eye - the lamp that was sitting underneath the giant lens in the center, surrounded by the figures of six ponies. Lofty Skies took a closer look and saw that the lamp was designed to have light shoot out of the top and through the crystal in the top, fracturing and spreading the light farther. And there was the giant lens right above it…

The pegasus began to get an idea. She and her friends obviously knew how important friendship was, and how important harmony was to maintain - but did everypony else?

What if she left behind a reminder, to show ponies that they could be friends? The unity crystals that Sunny Starscout and her friends had put together had been stolen - she and her friends were going to find those and bring them back as another reminder. But for the time being…

Lofty Skies positioned the lamp so that it was directly underneath the lens and turned it on. Sure enough, light poured out of the top of the lamp and was fractured by the crystal, but once it hit the lens, it was projected across the entire room, golden images of earth ponies and unicorns and pegasi and stars, galloping around in circles.

Surely everypony would see this, the filly thought with a satisfied nod. She rearranged the pony figures so that they stood protectively around the lamp once more, so that, if anypony came to investigate, they would see that ponies used to be friends - and hopefully remember that they were right now.

The pegasus flew back downstairs and out the window, which she carefully shut the window and turned around to see a pony poking their head out from behind one of the trees, frantically gesturing to her. Not just anypony - a green unicorn with a purple mane that Lofty recognized.

“Psst!” Jinx looked behind her and waved frantically. “Over here!”

Lofty Skies flew over there and skidded to a stop next to Rose Blossom. “Isn’t this exciting?”

“This is terrifying!” Rose corrected her, fiddling with the strap on her saddlebag. “Our parents are going to ground us for sure this time!”

“Does it matter?” Lofty put her hoof in front of her. “We made a pact that we would always stay friends, no matter what! Remember? That’s why we ran away the first time! And now we’re doing it again! Except it’s not just for us - it’s for everypony!” Jinx and Rose didn’t hesitate now as they put their hooves on top of Lofty’s.

Jinx gasped and pointed to the lighthouse. “Look! What is that?”

Rose Blossom scurried to see, but Lofty Skies already knew what her friend was talking about.

“A reminder,” she said.

---

Sunny crouched behind a tree as she watched Cozy Glow fly back inside. She had been trying to gain her bearings - she had no idea where she was - but seeing the pegasus in such a state had her mind in a conflicted state. She wished she could reach her… but she didn’t want to risk the filly reopening the mind link and trapping Sunny back in her grasp.

But would it be worth it if she showed Cozy what it was like to have friends and happiness?

Not if she couldn’t save the world and get back to her friends, Sunny told herself firmly. She had to believe that.

Still, a part of her wondered.

The cave that she had been trapped in was actually a large stone formation that was strangely in the shape of a skull of what looked like a ram, complete with the large, curved horns. It was sitting right in the middle of a muddy brown lake and, with the torches gleaming inside it, the eyes looked like they were alive, and seeing her.

Sunny shuddered and backed away. She had to get out of here. If only she had a map…

Wait. She did have a map! Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her father’s journal and flipped to the page with his final message to her - the message that had gotten her into this whole mess. Sometimes, when Sunny couldn’t sleep at night because she felt like everything she and her friends were doing was failing, she pulled out her journal and read her dad’s message, and it always filled her with hope and encouragement.

Right now, though she didn’t need any of that - just being free was enough for her. Sunny pulled out the map and opened it, trying to pinpoint her location based on her surroundings. Clearly, she had to be somewhat close to the sea, and according to this map, the other creatures lived on the other side of a very big channel of water.

Well. This got a bit more complicated. But she would figure it out. She had to. She didn’t have any other choice.

First step: get as far away from here as possible. Then, when the sun came up, she could find her way east, and then figure out how to cross the water. Of course, she could probably just fly… yes. She would probably just do that.

Sunny nodded confidently and turned away from the villains’ cave and made her way through the wilted jungle surrounding it. She finally came to a clearing where she decided to rest for the night, and curled up under a tree that was significantly softer than sleeping on a slab of stone. Her eyes grew heavy, but when she opened them again, it wasn’t quite dawn - close, but not quite. The stars were growing dimmer and the sky lighter, but… she paused.

Was that star growing… brighter instead of fading away? Sunny stood up and watched it, and… yes. It was growing brighter and brighter until she realized that it wasn’t a star, but a… lantern?

A small pink lantern with a piece of paper attached to it.

As the lantern came to a rest in the middle of the clearing, Sunny dashed up to it and took off the piece of paper that it held. Her eyes immediately filled with tears of happiness, for it was the exact same drawing that she had sent on a lantern just like this all those years ago, the one that had been found by Izzy. A unicorn, an earth pony, and a pegasus were all having a picnic together, and the words Dear unicorns and pegasi, you have friends in Maretime Bay. Come visit us! were written in crayon by a young foal.

Sunny smiled and tucked the paper away into her dad’s journal - a reminder of her friends. Taking a deep breath, she turned and faced the sunrise.

---

As a princess of the Crystal Empire, and having been given a proper crystaling, Flurry Heart was well attuned to the Crystal Heart and the Empire itself. She had a sort of sixth sense that told her when her home was in danger, and she was getting that feeling right now - more than ever.

Before, it had been there, but it had been so slight that she had hardly noticed it - though she should have. Her mother had always told her that, if there was a little bit of danger, there was a lot of danger, and she should always pay attention to those things.

But Flurry didn’t. She didn’t and now she was going to pay the price.

It was the same dream she’d had the night before Sunny started acting strange: her, walking through the empty castle in the center of the Empire, her horn lit, trying to see through the pressing wall of darkness, calling out but hearing only echoes in response.

Then there was a shred of light ahead - the throne room doors were open. Flurry rushed forward only to skid to a halt - and this was where the dream changed. Instead of her parents being imprisoned in a cage of black crystal, it was her friends, Sunny, Sprout, Hitch, Zipp, Pipp, and Izzy. Jagged black crystals pushed their way up and out, surrounding the pony on the throne, and when Flurry saw him, she lost herself to fear.

The shadow pony laughed, and her heart would stop, her blood would freeze, and tendrils of blackness would wrap around her, dragging her down, until she couldn’t see anything, couldn’t remember anything, lost herself completely-

Flurry jerked awake, breathing hard. It’s just a dream, she told herself. Just a dream. And yet, she couldn’t quite convince herself that.

She stood up, trying to catch her breath, as she looked around their camp. Everypony else was sleeping peacefully, giving no indication that they were having awful nightmares about their worst enemies coming back. Flurry decided it would help her if she went for a fly, and she spread her large wings, rising above the camp as the cold night rush air rushed into her face, whipping away her worries.

As she hovered there, Flurry turned north… and stopped.

Even from here, she could see the dark light gathering on the horizon, like a storm in the distance, gathering strength until it would strike with full force, leaving a path of destruction in its wake.

Then she felt something, like her soul was being pulled away from her by force, her heart splitting in two. Flurry let out a cry of pain and forgot to flap her wings, plummeting down to the ground faster than a speeding Wonderbolt. Luckily, it wasn’t that much of a fall, and her fear and panic overwhelmed her pain.

“Izzy.”

“Murph.”

“Izzy, wake up.”

“Urgh… what?” The unicorn yawned and blinked open her eyes to see Flurry standing over her, looking absolutely terrified. “Flurry? What’s going on?”

“He… he’s back.”

“What? Who?”

“He-” Flurry’s voice caught in her throat, and she forced it out. “King Sombra. He’s back.”

Author's Note:

Aaand scene!

Don't worry, I already have the sequel set up and am working on the first chapter, which I can hopefully release later today, or tomorrow at the latest.

Constructive criticism is appreciated. Thank you for reading!

Comments

[Yoshifan30]

The cave that she had been trapped in was actually a large stone formation that was strangely in the shape of a skull of what looked like a ram, complete with the large, curved horns. It was sitting right in the middle of a muddy brown lake and, with the torches gleaming inside it, the eyes looked like they were alive, and seeing her.

Ha I know it's that place during season 9 that's where they hide

[Yoshifan30]

“He-” Flurry’s voice caught in her throat, and she forced it out. “King Sombra. He’s back .”

he's back 😰

[Yoshifan30]

So it looks like things are really intense now and wow Okay so it looks like Queen Haven and Alphabittle decided to go after the others to help them despite everything she would do anything for those kids especially her own children meanwhile it looks like the harmony of Crusaders are preparing to go out there to find sunny and the others as well and lofty check out the lamp and turn it on for reminding other ponies that friendship is still and bring hope to them any other side Sunny finally made it out but she saw cozy having conflict and she wanted to help her but right now she can't because she might open the Mind link so until then she has to go and it looks like she's going to get some help And the other side flurry heart and the others are sleeping but apparently she's having a nightmare and she sense Danger and she never thought she will see him again and it looks like the King has returned this is a pretty intense situation now I wonder how the others will stop them well I guess we'll find out next time

[Phetiamwantip]

Bookhorse125, I hearby present you a trophy for finishing your Legend Never Die: The Search For Sunny. Congratulations. 🏆