• Published 9th Jun 2023
  • 413 Views, 11 Comments

Trials of Sarah: A New Mark - Zipp Storm



Sarah's Adventures with the Mane Five, Mighty Ones and their new pokemon partners continue after returning magic to Equestria

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Chapter 2: Ali-Conned

On Maretime Bay, the ponies were all going about their daily lives, when suddenly Sunny passed by rolling skating very fast, while she dodged some ponies she almost crashed with.

"Pardon me, excuse, but also, I have a really important announcement! One that will change all of our lives!" Sunny stated, as she kept skating around. Some ponies stared at her curiously, and others just looked with bored expressions. "Hurry, come listen!" Sunny instructed, as the ponies came closer to her. "Ponies of Maretime Bay: I have some alarming news... We eat too much junk food!" she said with worry.

Ironically, Toots was eating a bag of chips and an earth pony mare at his side was popping bubble gum. "You're just saying that to get us to come to your Smoothie Cart!" Dahlia said, standing at Toots side as well, while he nodded in agreement.

"What?! No! But it is something we need to talk about" Sunny pointed out. "Why constantly eat junk food, full of, well, junk, when we have amazing new earth pony powers we could be using to create fresh fruits and veggies of our own?" she pointed out, taking out some fliers with fruits and vegetables images from her bag. "Imagine the possibilities!" she told with a smile.

"Like what?" Toots asked.

"We could magically combine plants to make them more delicious or, or even invent new flavors of fruits." Sunny said, as she gave some of the fliers to the ponies around. "We can grow as ponies by growing our own food! Just like ponies did in Ancient Equestria with the help of Applejack."

However, it wasn't enough to convince the ponies. "Not another one of Sunny's lost causes..." Dahlia complained as she facehoofed herself. Then she walked away, and the ponies around threw the cards to the ground, not interested in Sunny's idea.

"Ugh, yuck to that. And yum to you!" Toots said, as he threw the card and ate a donut, then walked away happily after eating the donut.

Sunny looked on with disappointment that her idea was rejected. "Hey! How's your rally going?" Zipp asked with a sheepish smile, as she arrived along the rest of the Mane 6.

"Judging from the fliers on the ground, I'd say not well." Sarah implied.

"So far, its a failure. Nopony even took a flier did they?" Sunny asked dejectedly, Sugarcoat and Sugarcake nuzzled her in comfort. The Filly Trio cooed sadly at her Auntie and fluttered over to her, landing in her arms, hugging her.

"Hehe, thanks you three." Sunny thanked the little fillies as they cooed, reaching up to her Auntie before her Alicorn/Human Mother took them in her hooves and on her back.

"To be fair these fliers do have a giant 'no' sign across a picture of a French Fry." Zipp pointed out showing one of the fliers.

“Sunny. I know you are trying to take these announcements seriously, but you need to come up with more important matters other than junk foods.” Sarah said, stating that Sunny’s announcement needs some work.

“You just need to find another way to get ponies to listen, and you can’t just pop one up out of the blue.” Edge Blade replied.

"I know, but there's so much around here that needs to be changed. How can I make our world a better place when no pony is willing to listen to me? With all this new Earth Pony Magic, the possibilities are endless. I just wanna help!" Sunny spoke not knowing her cutie mark was glowing and she turned into her Alicorn form unknowingly which caused ponies to suddenly become very interested in her and her rally idea.

"You're finally listening to met?" Sunny cheered and laughing not knowing the real reason behind the sudden change to which Sarah slightly frowned and lowered her ears.


(The scene opens up with Sunny and Sarah roller skating out of the Brighthouse and Castle of Friendship together with Tempest, Glimmer Glow and Snowdrop on her back and Spike and Discord on the side before Sunny changed into an Alicorn and their cutie marks appeared behind them)

Hey!

You gotta let it glow

Hey!

You gotta let it shine

(Switching to the Mighty Ones, Zipp and Pipp, the sisters were flying above the clouds together with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy before Zipp flew in front of Zephyr Heights as her cutie mark appeared behind her while Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Pipp appeared in the Mane Melody stage with Jazz Hooves and Rocky signing as Pipp's cutie mark appeared behind her.)

Oh, let's make our mark together

Just riding on forever

Just keeps on getting better, better, better

(Izzy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie is seen next uni-cycling before she happily leaps up and shows Izzy's cutie mark in the background. Applejack, Hitch and Sparky come out of the Police Station together with Hitch's animal friends as he poses and Sparky flies off his back as Hitch's cutie mark is shown)

Everypony, everywhere

You can feel it in the air

Find your spark and just glow and shine

(Opaline's Dark Castle is shown next with the evil Alicorn and Misty in front of what appears to be a magical pool of water as Opaline smirks evilly before the final scene features the Mane Five, the Mighty Ones, their Pokemon all together with Sarah, her family, the Guardians of Harmony, Celestia, Luna, Cadence, adult Six, Discord, Queen Novo, Princess Skystar, Throax, Pharynx, Prince Rutherford and Grandpa Gruff, walking and flying to the beat as Sunny's lantern is shown with Prisbeam Power inside of it before the title appears with the Guardians of Harmony, Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Mane Five, Mighty Ones and Sarah all together as Sunny changes into her Alicorn form)

Make a mark that you can share

Hoof to heart, you know we care

Oh ponies, come on, let's all unite

Trials of Sarah: Mark Your Mark


At Sunny's Smoothie Truck, the healthy smoothie sales were going very well with a huge line of ponies waiting to be served, to her joy and made her wonder why they suddenly listened to her. Zipp and Pipp giggled and Zipp suggested she looked at her Alicorn Mirror to which she saw she changed into an Alicorn by accident.

"My Alicorn Magic! Ugh! It was an accident! This always happens..." she groaned.

"But its not a bad thing, its a wonderful thing! That line is full of eager ponies who want to listen to you." Pipp smiled before Sarah and Snowdrop came over.

"Hi Sunny, need help with this line?" Sarah asked before the pair noticing the eliciting chattering from the ponies and the stares they were getting.

"Why are they all staring at us?" Sunny asked.

"Well its because...well...you're Alicorns. Soon everypony will be watching your every move while breathing down your neck at every moment shouting, 'Sunny, Sunny, Sunny, Sarah, Sarah, Sarah! Ah! We love you!"

"Ugh!" Sarah groaned. "I already get that at home, I don't need that here."

Sunny shakily breathed, "O-Oh w-wow, t-that is alot...I-I am not used to all this attention. I...um need....s-space! I need space!" she ducked inside of her truck and took out her compact mirror. "I have to get a hold on this...I don't wanna be an Alicorn anymore."

She changed back into an Earth Pony to her relief as she closed the mirror.


Back at Opaline's Castle, Opaline herself watched in disbelief how Sunny could summon her Alicorn form, unlike the other Alicorns in the history of Equestria like Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Twilight, Doug, Deliah or even Opaline herself, and the fact Sarah knows about this and is helping Sunny to control it.

"Sunny can transform into her Alicorn form and this Sarah character is helping her control it?" Opaline asked herself in awe opening her wings in anger. “I've never seen this before... And she doesn't want to always be an Alicorn?"

Behind her, Misty was slurping loudly a smoothie that only Celestia knows where she got it from.

"However, if I can get Sunny to embrace her Alicorn powers, just imagine what we could accomplish with another Alicorn by our side. Especially after my previous ‘daughter’ Edge Blade betrayed me and stole three of my creations!”

“What about Sarah? This Edge Blade? And all the returned survivors?” Misty asked Opaline, wondering what to do about Sarah.

“Grrr, given she’s the daughter of the pair whom previously banished me twice! She could be just as powerful as they were and more so until we learn more about her, they’ll have to wait.” Opaline answered, saying that she needs to learn more about Sarah before planning something for her. “As for Edge Blade, anything I can do, she can do too, but she’s not the point right now. With Sunny, I'll be even closer to the magic I need."

"Totally." Misty said, slurping loudly from her smoothie again.

This time, Opaline's eye twitched. "What is that?" she asked Misty with a frown.

"A smoothie! It's got jicama in it, which isn't my favorite, but it still tastes like happiness." Misty explained with a smile. "Want some?"

Opaline immediately replied by hitting the smoothie with a fire blast from her horn, which startled Misty from that.

"This is no time to drink vegetables!" Opaline said. "But it is time to plot. We have a job to do," She stated as she gave a grin at Misty. "Misty, I'm going to need you to infiltrate."

"But how?" Misty asked.

"Ugh! Join a group of ponies! Blend in! I don't care!" Opaline replied with annoyance. "Just do whatever you have to do and find a way to get Sunny vulnerable and find out more about Sarah Tomoe and where Edge has been keeping my three other creations." she ordered and she walked towards the boiler.

"And as for Sunny's compact... Well, I think it could use a little extra Alicorn magic, don't you?" she stated, and then she started to laugh maniacally while she used her magic to change her reflection aspect to look exactly like Sunny in her Alicorn form.


Back at Sunny's stand, Izzy and Zipp were helping her and Sarah out to deliver the smoothies. Zipp got out of the stand and flew away, while Pipp sat on a table with the adult Student Six, Hitch and Sparky.

Pipp sighed frustrated, but nopony seemed to care, so she sighed louder, but still nopony paid her attention. Nopony, except Hitch and his baby dragon.

"She's doing a Professor Rarity sigh." Smolder chuckled before Hitch took the bait.

"Something bothering you, Pipp?"

Pipp looked over at Zipp, who came back rolling a giant watermelon over to Sunny's stand.

"Don't mention it to Zipp, but yes!" Pipp told her friends, raising her wing to cover the conversation from Zipp, who is rolling a giant watermelon to Sunny’s smoothie stand, as she brings out her phone. "None of my Clip Trots have been doing well!" she explained. "These super popular and adorable ponies, the Filly Four, have been totally slaying the game!" she added, showing one of the Filly Four Clip Trots to Hitch.

"I'm not saying it's a competition or anything, but this post had got thousands of hooftaps! My latest post only got three likes and one monkey. And I don't even know what a monkey means!" She cried out with panic, slamming her cheek on the table with frustration.

"Don't you think you're overracting...just a bit?" Ocellus questioned.

"In a little bit of a slump?" Hitch asked Pipp.

"I've been trying everything lately, singing loudly, singing softly, singing in general..." Pipp explained, moving her hooves to prove her point while Spark looked confused.

"Oh my hoofness "What if I've been..." she stopped and gasped dramatically, putting her hooves on her mouth. "... shadowbanished?!"

Sarah and the adult Student Six just looked at each other before playfully rolling their eyes while Hitch just stared at her, not understanding why she was so dramatic so suddenly.

"I don't know what that means, but it sounds ominous." Jazz said, arriving suddenly and sitting at Hitch’s side, putting a hoof on her cheek while Hitch decided to slurp from his smoothie and check on his phone.

"Thank you, Jazz" Pipp thanked with a nervous look. "Shadowbanishing is when your content gets blocked to viewers!" she explained. "I mean, it has to be that, right?" she asked with panic. "There can't be any other explanation!" she pointed out.

"Maybe it because you only sing?" Smolder suggested but Pipp ignored that.

Hitch started to laugh suddenly, which made Pipp feel even worse.

"Why are you laughing at such a serious time as this?!" Jazz scolded Hitch.

"Oh, sorry!" Hitch apologized. "It's just this video of Sparky. You gotta see it!" he explained, as Jazz and Pipp got closer to Hitch to look at his phone.

The video showed Hitch extending a fork with a cucumber slice to Sparky, who had hiccup and then let out his dragon fire at the cucumber, which turned into a rock. Sparky licked the rock a bit, and then he hugged it cutely, while thousands of heart emojis popped up.

"Aw!" Jazz and Pipp said as they looked at Sparky's video.

"That was so adorable. Wow." Jazz said to Hitch.

"And look at all these comments, shares and likes..." Pipp said, grabbing Hitch's phone and checking the stats of the video. "... and monkeys. What does that mean?!" she cried out desperately again.

"Yeah, my little buddy has some sort of magic touch!" Hitch said, pointing at the baby dragon that just kept smiling at his smoothie. "I call it 'Sparky's Spark'. All of his stuff goes viral."

"Hmm, viral, you say..." Pipp commented, looking at Hitch with a smug while the sheriff grabbed his phone back. "Do you think I could borrow him for a little bit?" Pipp asked Hitch with a nervous smile and her wings open.

"Dragon-sit? Usually, Izzy and sometimes Twilighy do that." Hitch pointed out, while also saying sometimes Twilight dragon-sit Sparky with her knowledge from her experience of taking care of Spike, as he rubbed the back of his head before turning to Pipp with a smile.. "But sure! I could use a little 'me' time And you can bond with Sparky!"

Pipp laughed nervously. "Yes, yes. Bonding!" Pipp repeated nervously. "That's exactly what I plan to do, and definitely not crack the code of 'Sparky's Spark'." she assured with a nervous chuckle. "Not that."


Back at Sunny's stand, the line kept growing while Sunny, Sarah, Zipp and Izzy gave smoothies.

"How can I help you, fellow thirsty and engaged citizen?" Sunny asked Windy, who was the first on the line right now.

"I'll take the Alicorn-Special!" Windy said excitedly.

"Alicorn-Special?" Sunny was confused as she looked at Sunset, who shrugged in confusion as well. "Uh, we don't have anything like that." she said.

"I don't really care what it is." Windy stated. "I just want a smoothie that an Alicorn, like yourself or Sarah, would drink." she said with a smile, while the ponies behind her cheered in agreement.

"Okay, sure. Yeah, I'll conjure that up." Sunny assured, while Sarah, Izzy and Zipp looked at each other confused, and then got back to work.

"But I kinda want it made by the Alicorn Sunny, you know?" Windy pointed out a little nervousness.

“Wait, that’s what you mean, Windy?” Sunset asked with a raised eyebrow as Windy nodded her head in response.

"Please, oh please, do the Alicorn-thing again, Sunny!" Seashell pleaded.

"It's so cool!" Peach Fizz said with a smile.

"The thing is, it doesn't exactly work like that" Sunny said with a nervous smile, which caused disappointed looks on Windy and the three fillies. "Why don't I help you with your orders and tell you about this awesome idea I have instead?"

"Ugh!" the ponies groaned, as they started to walk away from the stand.

"To get more ponies interested in fruits and veggies, we can build a community garden!" Sunny explained, as her body started to shine in a golden light, and Zipp looked at her a bit surprised.

“Seriously, that’s all you ponies care about?” Sarah said in a little anger at the ponies that all they want is to see Sunny as an Alicorn.

"A massive one, where everypony can practice the art of––" she tried to add, but then she sneezed and the whole stand shook, which made the ponies look back at her. "Excuse me" Sunny apologized for the sneeze. "I think some dust got kicked up. Anyway, I––"

"Uh, Sunny? You're an Alicorn again" Zipp told her, touching her left golden wing.

"So sparkly!" Izzy said with a smile, touching the other wing while Sunny brought out the Alicorn mirror again and looked at her reflection.

“We really gotta help you get that magic under control.” Sarah winced, seeing they need to figure out how to get Sunny’s magic under control later.

"Amazing!" Glory said with a smile.

"Gorgeous!" Peach Fizz said in awe.

"Wow! I wanna be like you when I grow up!" Seashell commented with a smile.

"You do?" Sunny said with a hopeful smile, letting the mirror open and putting it on the table.

"Are there any super-cool causes we can help with right now?!" Peach Fizz asked excitedly.

"Really?" Sunny asked with a smile. "Actually... there are!" she assured, then she pulled a list of some ideas she had. "Um... Okay! Let's see" she said, rolling out the list that was large enough to even get out of the stand, while the ponies around stared at it in shock.

”Okay, I’m starting to see some Twilight list making in her now.” Zipp sweat dropped.

"We can start with some planters around town and save 'Airhorns for Armadillos!' for later. That name kinda speaks for itself..." she said, not noticing that her reflection on the Alicorn mirror moved and looked at her with an evil laugh, with Opaline’s voice laughing.


Later on, Glory made a little hole on a planter while Peach Fizz put a seed on the earth and closed the hole. Then Seashell used her magic and made the seed grow into a big berry plant.

"All my dreams are coming true" Sunny cheered with a bright smile. "The community is literally growing together!" she added, then she squealed happily.

“Sunny. Don’t you think these ponies are more into our Alicorn stats than the cause?” Sarah asked Sunny, saying how these ponies have been lately.

“Well, yeah. But maybe it's because they’ve never seen an Alicorn before.” Sunny said, saying that the ponies must be just excited since they never saw an Alicorn before, much less two as she and Sarah walked towards the Pippsqueaks.

“What are you growing over there? Grapefruits? Ah, no, uh... zucchini?"

"It's a grape-chini!" Seashell replied, showing the fusion between a grape and a zucchini to Sunny.

“A grape-what?” Sarah asked, confused at what she and Sunny were saying.

"A combination, grepefruit-zucchini!" Glory added, while both she and Peach Fizz lifted up one of the grape-chinis.

"Oh. Interesting!" Sunny said in a bit of confusion. "I'm just happy you're all showing such enthusiasm," she confessed with an honest smile.

“Yeah, very creative you three.” Sarah added with a smile.

The fillies got so happy at Sunny and Sarah’s words, that Glory and Peach Fizz let the grape-chini fall. "We made the Alicorns happy!" Peach Fizz cheered, and then the three fillies squealed excitedly, while Sunny felt uncomfortable to be referred to as 'the Alicorn' while Sarah just raised an eyebrow at this.

"Neigh-way!" Seashell said suddenly, looking in a certain direction, while her friends and Sunny stared at the same direction. "Is that..." she added.

"The Filly Four!" the three fillies said, as the four ponies stared at the other four ponies walking towards them.

They were all wearing sunglasses, and the first three ponies posed dramatically, while the fourth one, being Misty in cover and with a fake butterfly Cutie Mark, tripped and fell into a Trash Can.

"Sunny, Sarah, we've been looking for both of you everywhere!" Sugar said to Sunny, who looked a little anxious while the fillies just squealed like fangirls. "It's so nice to finally meet." she said, lowering her sunglasses a bit, while Misty got out of the trash can with a sheepish smile and the other two looked at their phones.

"Uh.....you were looking for me?" Sarah questioned folding one ear nervously.

"We went to school together, Sugar." Sunny pointed out, a bit nervous, having met her before back in her school days. "I sat next to you in––" she tried to add, but Sugar cut her off.

"I'm Sugar." Sugar introduced herself, completely ignoring Sunny's comment. "This is Rosedust." she pointed at the green earth pony mare with light blue mane. "Lily." She presented the pink earth pony mare with a purple mare and a white stripe. "And uh... what's that new unicorn's name?" She asked Rosedust, while Misty was trying to hide the whole time.

"Minty?" Rosedust replied, unsure and careless to tell the truth. "That slot is always on rotation, so we forget. Ha!" she said with a fake laugh.

"We were just about to go shopping. Wanna join?" Sugar asked Sunny and Sarah with a smug.

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” Sarah said with an unsure look.

"I don't need to go shopping, but..." Sunny tried to say, and then Lily cut her off.

"But if you come with us, everypony is going to see us together and we're super influential." Lilly told her in a very egocentric tone.

"Imagine what you could do with all that power." Misty added.

"Exactly, Marcy!" Sugar said with a smile.

"Misty." Misty corrected ringing a bell in Sunny and Sarah’s head since Edge mentioned Misty’s background before when they first met her.

"Whatever. All you have to do is hang out with us." Sugar stated. "And stay in an Alicorn like your dear Sarah, of course." she added, placing her hind leg around Sunny's neck.

“That’s not your call. We make our own choices of who we want to be.” Sarah said with a stern tone at the Filly Four.

"Right!" Sunny said with a nervous chuckle, walking away from the Filly Four. "Uh... One sec." she said with a nervous smile. "I just need to freshen up. Over there." she pointed at an alley. “Sarah, you think you can take care of things with the garden while I’m gone?”

“Uh, sure. I can try.” Sarah answered Sunny.

"Freshen up? In a hardware store?" Sugar questioned. "Weird, but okay." she added, while Sunny quickly walked away from the mares, while Misty lowered her sunglasses and looked at Sunny strangely while looking at Sarah, wondering.

"Student Six?" Sarah asked.

"We're already on it." Sandbar smiled before he and his friends followed Sunny.

Sunny dialed Pipp's number, while Pipp was reading a magazine in her salon as she picked up her phone and answered the call. "Hey!" she greeted, not even reading who called her.

"Pipp!" Sunny called out in panic. "The Filly Four want me and Sarah to hang out with them." she explained worriedly, while Pipp's jaw dropped in surprise. "What should I do?"

Pipp gasped as she threw her magazine away and dropped her phone in shock. "The Filly Four?!" She asked Sunny, grabbing the phone back. "They're the ones eclipsing me on social media! They're like..." She chuckled a bit before continuing. "... super-famous right now."

"They are?" Sunny asked, as she walked deeper into the alley to keep the conversation away from the Filly Four.

"Yeah!" Pipp replied. "You need to do all you can to get them on your side" she stated. "Ah, your school days are coming full-circle, Sunny. You and Sarah are going from misfit to popular pony!" she added with a smile, while Sparky suddenly appeared at her side and she patted his head with a smile.

"Okay! I'm gonna do it then." Sunny assured, ending the call with Pipp. However, she still felt unsure about the idea, and it made her horns and wings disappear. "Oh no, no. Not now!"

"Sunny..." Opaline's voice called to her from the Alicorn mirror on her bag. Sunny looked around to see who was calling her, but she found no one. "Sunny..." the voice called again, and this time Sunny could hear it from her bag, so she opened it and took out the Alicorn mirror. She opened, and her reflection started to talk with her. "Sunny." her reflection called out.

"Is this... me?" Sunny asked in confusion.

"Yes." Opaline, disguised as Sunny's reflection, replied with a smile. "Hello, me! Hello, you." she said as the Student Six and Edge Blade were eavesdropping and silently gasped while looking at each other, knowing that voice anywhere.

"Wow!" Sunny said, hopping excited. "I need to share this with Zipp and Sarah right away!" Sunny stated, turning around and running to look for Zipp and Sarah.

"Wait!" Opaline told her, which made Sunny trip and threw the mirror in front of her, while Opaline chuckled a little bit. "This 'magic mirror' is only for Alicorns, Sunny." She explained.

“Wait. Sunset is an Alicorn, can I show this to her?” Sunset asked her ‘reflection’.

Um. You could… But this mirror has been imprinted with you so you can’t show this to her.” Opaline lied, not wanting Sunset into this. I'm your inner voice. I'm here to guide you." She assured her.

"You are?" Sunny questioned. “Sarah is usually my guide to teach me more about magic and friendship.” She added, stating how Sarah had been teaching and helping her with the ways of ancient Equestria of the Guardians of Friendship when they first met.

"Yes!" Opaline reassured. "Sarah is a good mentor to you, but if any other type of pony uses it, it will lose its enchantment." she explained, while Sunny looked worried at her 'reflection'. "Because Alicorns are special. You are special. Haven't you noticed?"

"No, no." Sunny said. "But I do feel... different." she explained a little down.

"Not different. Special. Better even." Opaline assured, while Sunny grabbed the mirror again. "Why be a basic, boring earth pony, when you can be an Alicorn like Sarah?!" She asked Sunny, as 'her reflection' opened her wings and showed that the wings were permanently attached to her.

"Then how... How do I stay an Alicorn?" Sunny asked to 'her reflection' desperately, this time willing to become an Alicorn, permanently if possible.

"Find the source of your power and harness it." Opaline instructed her. "Then all your wildest dreams can come true!"

"Even the community garden?!" Sunny asked with a hopeful smile.

Opaline stared blankly at her. "That's your wildest dream?" she asked in disbelief. "We'll work on that, but yes!" she assured her, trying to play along.

"I've been drafting my garden dream board at the Brighthouse!" Sunny explained with a bright smile, while her horn and wings appeared once again. "Oh, I really want it to become a place where I can help other ponies use their magic." She stated. "A place where everypony can––" she tried to add, but then 'her reflection' cut her off.

"Yes. That's it! Look." Opaline told her, as Sunny looked at her Alicorn form with a smile. "Go take what's rightfully yours."

"Wow. Thank you so much... Me!" Sunny thanked 'her reflection', a.k.a. Opaline. "Uh... Mirror me? Sunny-Squared?" she kept asking, while Opaline looked at her with a bored expression. "I'll come up with a better name soon." She said in assuredness, then she squealed excitedly and closed the mirror to put it away.

Edge and the Adult Student Six looked at each other and nodded, knowing they had to keep watch over that 'magic' mirror of Sunny's.


At Opaline’s Castle, Opaline gave an evil laugh after Sunny put the mirror away.

“Sunny's easier to manipulate than I thought.” Opaline said with a smirk as she walked around the pond. “As long as Misty puts on the pressure on Sunny and gets more information about Sarah, too, she'll be on our side in no time.” She said while looking at the pond with a smirk, thinking that her plan will be easier than she thought.


Meanwhile, in Mane Melody, Pipp sat Sparky on a chair, while the baby dragon looked at Pipp with a smile.

"Okay, Sparky. I need your help here" Pipp told the baby dragon. "I can't risk losing all relevance in the digital world" she stated, twirling Sparky on the chair once. "I must go viral. What gives you that 'spark' I'm missing?" she asked him, but Sparky replied with a giggle. "Hmm. Let's see..." she said, taking out her phone and looking at a video of Sparky dancing adorably, with thousands of heart emojis popping out.

Then the video moved to Pipp doing something similar, but barely getting some likes. Then, another video of Sparky crying appeared, once again getting thousands of likes in seconds. A video of Pipp doing the same appeared, and once again, it barely got any likes. And then, another video of Sparky wearing different outfits also got thousands of likes, while the video of Pipp doing the same didn't get any.

Pipp looked at the videos with sadness, while Sparky appeared at her side with his pacifier. He took it out of his mouth and put it in Pipp's, as he laughed a bit.

"Can you please not right now?" Pipp begged, with the pacifier on her mouth. She slowly got up and threw her phone away, as well as the pacifier from her mouth. "Ugh! What does Sparky have that I don't?!" she questioned, looking at the baby dragon with a frown. "I have to get to the bottom of this." She stated, pulling out another phone from down her wing.

"Good thing I carry several phones on me for good measure." she added, now looking at a picture of the Filly Four getting thousands of likes and gasping. "No! Oh, my eyes! It burns!" she cried out, throwing the phone that Sparky caught in time, as he extended it to Pipp, who looked at him concerned.


Back in Maretime Bay, Sunny got back with the Filly Four and Sarah, who was helping the Pippsqueaks with the gardening, while the Filly Four were taking lots of selfies of themselves.

"Alright!" Sunny said, landing near the other mares. "Feeling much better. After looking at gardening tools, I'm in!" She assured them with a smile.

“What?” Sarah asked in confusion on what changed Sunny’s mind.

"Perf! Then let's get shopping." Sugar stated.

"I have another idea!" Sunny said, as she flew in front of the Filly Four. "I decided I'm going to make an announcement about this huge project I've been working on and I want to get everypony involved." She explained. "Only if they want to get involved, though."

Since the Pippsqueaks were still there, they immediately replied jumping in front of Sunny.

"Yes!" Glory said first with a smile.

"We do!" Peach Fizz added.

"Please!" Seashell added.

“Wow. You three really have the energy.” Sarah said in surprise that the Pippsqueaks wanted to help out that quickly.

The Filly Four looked surprised at the fillies enthusiasm, and Sugar even lifted her sunglasses a bit, but then she smiled.

"The Filly Four would love to help." She said, walking towards Sunny and Sarah and placing her hind hoof around Sunny's neck.

"We'll rally all the ponies in town to hear the news! We're here for you two.” Pointing at Sunny and Sarah’s chest, she took out her phone and lifted her glasses up.

"Burt first, smile!" They both smiled at the camera. "That is so going viral" she assured, while Sunny looked excitedly, but nervous at the same time.

Sarah saw this and gave a worried look at Sunny. “You sure you're okay with this, Sunny? I get the feeling you might not want to do this.”

Sunny gave an unsure look to Sarah. “To be honest, I’m not sure, Sarah. But I won’t know for myself if I don’t try.” She said to Sunset as she’s going to give this a try and see how this plays out as she walks off.

Sarah watched Sunny go as she is worried for her. ‘What changed Sunny’s mind about this? And I get the feeling she might not like it.’ She thought, while wondering what changed Sunny’s mind and had a feeling that Sunny might not like it.

"Psst. Sarah!" Sandbar whispered gesturing for her to come over to them by the alleyway.

"What is you six?" Sarah asked them.

"Something's seriously wrong with that mirror Sunny and mysteriously got on her birthday." Smolder frowned.

"Wrong how?" Sarah asked.

"We think Opaline is using it to spy on Sunny and the new magic. We heard her voice while she pretended to be Sunny's so called 'Inner Voice'. Edge Blade snarled.

Sarah gasped, "Twilight said Opaline is a master manipulator...she must be trying to manipulate Sunny to use her new magic for her own gain..."

"W-What do we do?" Ocellus questioned.

"Well Sunny said her biggest dream was uniting ponies together, so we shouldn't worry about things yet. But she might start to question her self-worth." Sandbar frowned concerned for Sunny. "We'll keep an eye on her."

Sarah nodded, "I'll alert Twilight and the others when they come back from patrolling."


Back at the Brighthouse in the bedroom, Izzy was doing some Unicycling stuff for 'Izzy Does It', as put a tea cup on her desk and brought out a frying pan with a smile as she crushed the tea with it.

"Perfect!" Izzy said.

Zipp, at her side of the room, kept researching the evil forces Twilight said through the message as she is trying to solve this mystery. Then, Hitch entered the room singing to himself cheerfully. "Whoa, there." Zipp said, walking towards Hitch. "What's gotten into you?" she asked him with a smile.

"Yeah, you seem so... chill." Izzy said with a relaxed tone, while Zipp nodded in agreement.

"Pipp offered to watch Sparky for the afternoon and I finally got some much needed 'me' time." Hitch explained with a bright smile. "Which is going to end with myself, a bubble bath, and the newest Bridlewood Beatnik jazz album." He added with a relaxed tone, pulling out an album that had an abstract drawing of Onyx and Jasper on it.

"Cool, cool." Zipp said, and then she realized something. "Wait–– You let Pipp do what?" she asked him about the thing he mentioned about Pipp and Sparky.

"No doubt Pipp's having a relaxing time with Sparky, too." Hitch answered Zipp with a smile as he searched around as Izzy walked close to them.

“Now, where did I put that hydrating face mask?" He questioned himself, while Zipp and Izzy looked at each other a bit confused.


Meanwhile, Pipp was having trouble with Sparky, since he was still a baby and needed to be taken care of. He was making gibberish noises on a makeshift hammock Pipp made to entertain the baby dragon. Just for the record: she was terrible at dragonsit.

Pipp sighed in defeat. "Oh, Pipp. What have you gotten yourself into?" She asked herself with worry, pulling out her phone. "Up-and-up he goes, like the Filly Four." She said in frustration. "Oh! Why can't I get one thing to trend? What is my skill set if not this?!" She cried out, looking at her phone. "What is my Sparky's spark?!"

Then, Sparky threw an orange to her head, but Pipp thought that something finally popped into her mind. "I have an idea!" She said excitedly, but then the baby dragon threw an apple to her face, and she realized that she still had no ideas at all. "Nope. It was Sparky."

Sparky threw another apple at her face, also holding her phone to record her, and the camera showed Pipp getting hit by the apples that Sparky kept throwing at her.

"Ow!" Pipp cried out multiple times, while Sparky just giggled at her.


Back with the others, Sarah and Sunny were being treated like actual Alicorns princesses by the three fillies, while Sunny and Sarah sat next to each other while they felt really uncomfortable with this kind of treat.

"Would the Alicorns like to be fanned with an earth pony-grown branch?" Glory asked them cheerfully, holding a tree branch with her mouth and moving it like a big hand fan.

"Or maybe they would like to try one of these fresh earth pony-grown grapes, made by me?" Seashell suggested, with the grapes on her forehead, while Sunny smiled sheepishly.

"Uh... okay? Thanks!" Sunny said nervously, as she tried to grab one of the grapes, but then Misty stopped her.

"No, no. You two mustn't lift one perfect Alicorn-hoove of yours." Misty said with a wink. "You both deserve to be treated like the Alicorn-royalty that you both are, all the time, forever." she declared, while the fillies walked away and Sunny and Sarah looked at Misty confused. "Isn't it nice?"

“Yeah, that was a little uncomfortable and weird coming from you.” Sarah said to Misty, finding that uncomfortable from that as Sunny nodded in agreement.

Sugar suddenly appeared at Sunny's side, and Misty walked away. "You have to tell us, how do you get your mane so shiny?" she asked her, touching her mane.

"Does it feel weird when you glow?" Lily asked Sunny, appearing at her other side.

"What's it like being ethereal?" Rosedust asked her about the golden horn and wings.

Sunny, feeling too overwhelmed and uncomfortable, stood up and extended her wings to part the Filly Four. "Uh, I gotta go, you know, do the 'Ali' stuff I do." she said with a sheepish smile, flying away from the mares and landing in front of a crowd of ponies carrying signs that pretty much indicated they loved Sunny... as an Alicorn. "That's the Ali-part of being an Alicorn. So. Yeah. Great. See you in a sec.”

"Anything for the Alicorns!" the three fillies shouted, which made Sunny run now and escape the crowd.

"I love you, Alicorns!" Toots said in the crowd.

The Student Six, Edge and Sarah went after her as she returned to the same alley from before, and took out the Alicorn mirror to talk again with herself, or should I say, to talk with Opaline.

"What should I do?" Sunny asked 'her reflection'. "I feel so lost." she said with worry and pain.

"Continue on this path to glory." Opaline, once again disguised as Sunny, instructed her. "You are an Alicorn. You should be praised, admired, feared." she stated with an evil grin that Sunny didn't notice.

"But I don't want that!" Sunny replied at the edge of tears. “Sarah told me that Alicorns are just like everypony else! I don’t want ponies to just remember me as an Alicorn!”

"Do you remember how horrible it was before?" Opaline asked her, reminding her of those times before she even met Izzy and Sarah when absolutely nopony listened to her and her ideas about a unified Equestria. "How nopony would listen to you? How small you felt?"

Sunny sobbed a bit, looking at the ground with pain since remembering her life before Sarah and Izzy's arrival was always painful for her. "Yes I do." She replied with sadness, closing the Alicorn mirror. And then, both her horn and wings faded away. "No! Come back. Come back!"

Sunny looked at the ground broken, feeling that nopony cared at all about her unless she was an Alicorn. And, unfortunately, it was the truth.

"Sarah helped me learn that I don't need to be an Alicorn for ponies to like me, right?" She said, now sobbing and letting out tears of pain. "Right?" she asked again, turning around and looking at the ponies gathering.


Sunny approached the crowd and asked where the podium was but one pony shushed her telling her the Alicorn was speaking to her annoyance before she walked through the crowd up to the podium. "Sunny?" Sarah gently called to her as she made her way up onto the podium.

"Uh....my fellow ponies." Sunny called only to get immediately booed and hissed at by the crowd who wanted the Alicorn side of her to Sarah and Edge Blade's disgust and annoyance.

"Psst, Sugar. Why is everypony really here?" Sunny whispered to Sugar Moonlight.

"Well duh, we want you to like us." Sugar replied.

"I do like you." Sunny commented.

"Well not you. The Alicorn. None of these ponies actually care about these causes."

"Nopony even likes you before....well your popular now at least when you're an Alicorn." Rosedust and Lily explained.

"This isn't what I wanted....at all..!" Sunny frowned heartbroken before she ran off.

"Sunny! Wait!" Sarah called, but her friend was already gone. “Ugh! You ponies have no right to do that to Sunny! You crushed her spirit and confidence because you want to see the Alicorns! You ponies are hurting Sunny!”

"B-But we didn't do anything wrong." Dahlia tried to protest but is a bit scared.

“Really, Dahlia!” Edge Blade cried out. “You ponies hurt Sunny’s feelings, all because you wanted to see the Alicorns! You ponies don’t even care about the effort she’s done and the risks she took while trying to help ponies! Sunny has done more for us than any of you ponies could! Something you all seemed to have forgotten! Sunny has risked everything to help bring the three tribes together! She brought us together! Helped bring back the magic! Helped rebuild Equestria the way it should be! When you ponies were afraid to be friends with one another when all of you were afraid of each other all because of some rumors and fake lies causing Scarlet Nightmare to return again. And this was before Sunny became an Alicorn! She did so many great things as an Earth Pony even defeat an Ancient evil and this is how you repaid her!? That’s not friendship or harmony! That’s using her for power and fame! I’m looking at you, Fillies Four!” She glared at the Fillies Four, who flinched at that as she returned to the crowd. “Alicorns are like everypony else! We’re not gods! We’re guardians that help ponies in need when they are having trouble if needed! Yet you just see Sunny as a nopony when she’s not an Alicorn! Well news flash, Sunny is better than any of us! Unlike someponies I am looking at, they don't seem to care!”

The crowd looked at each other, muttering as they forgot the good deeds Sunny had done for them, like restoring magic and bringing the tribes together again. And they are all starting to feel guilty as they mistreated Sunny as they all lowered their heads down in guilt.

Misty was among the crowd, but is feeling frightened from Edge's outburst, seeing how angry she is when her friends are being mistreated, making a note to not to get on her bad side.

Sarah sighed before she spoke this time. “Now I expect you ponies to apologize to Sunny from every single one of you! Or you’re all gonna see why you shouldn’t ticked off an Alicorn other than making them mad at this! I’m out of here!” She called out as she and Edge flew away, flying back to the Brighthouse to comfort Sunny after what just happened.

The crowd then went their separate ways as Misty is the only one standing, still scared from Sunset’s outbursts and made a note about her as she walked off, seeing that this plan has failed, Opaline would not be pleased while also being conflicted by Sarah from what she just said.

Twilight and the Patronus Nine (whom had overheard and saw what just happened) were very concerned for Sunny.

"Oh my." Fluttershy whimpered.

"Let's go after her. Come on!" Rainbow exclaimed. before the group ran after their friend.


Meanwhile, Sunny made it to the Brighthouse and quickly ran up stairs, where she met Izzy and Zipp.

"Hey, hey, Sunny!" Izzy called to her. "We have something really exciting we wanna show you that we've been working on and––" she tried to explain, but then Sunny looked at her with teary eyes.

"Do you wanna show me, or show the Alicorn?" Sunny asked them with both anger and sadness, which worried Izzy and Zipp, and then Sunny sobbed a little. "I can't do this!" she cried out, walking towards her room, while Zipp and Izzy looked at each other with worry.

Sarah and Edge came in with the Patronus Nine as she gave a concerned look at Sunny, who went into the bedroom as she walked towards Zipp and Izzy.

“Sarah, Edge what happened?” Zipp asked, wondering what just happened.

“Yeah. There’s something I gotta tell you two.” Sarah said, knowing that she needs to tell them what has happened today as she spoke to them.


After a few minutes, Sunny was crying on her bed, while The Patronus Nine, Edge, Sarah, Zipp, Spike and Izzy looked at her with worry.

"Go away." Sunny pleaded to her friends as she sobbed.

“Sunny. We don’t want you to be alone after what happened." Sarah said as she placed a comforting hoof on Sunny.

"Sarah and Edge told us what happened. We don't like to see you hurting, Sunny." Zipp said with lowered ears and worry.

"What's wrong?" Izzy questioned as she came closer to her best friend.

"It was a lie. Nopony actually cares about these causes. All they care about it me being an Alicorn, but I don't want to be followed and adored just because of what I am. I want ponies to believe, truly believe in what their fighting for." Sunny admitted before Discord popped in.

"Oh what's wrong with the little pony? Is nopony really appreciating you?" Discord asked.

"Discord...." Sarah and Fluttershy gently warned him not to make Sunny feel any worse.

"Oh relax. I'm here for support. You shouldn't let what other ponies think of you affect your own confidence. When Twilight first became an Alicorn she didn't like all of the new attention she was getting either."

"Y-You didn't?" Sunny asked the Guardian of Magic.

"No." Twilight replied. "In fact, I secretly wished that I was just a unicorn again. When I first became an Alicorn everything changed; royal duties, juggling my personal life with my friends and when I chosen to rule after Celestia and Luna, I was terrified that our friendship would just drift apart since my friends all had lives in Ponyville while Spike and I were moving away to Canterlot. But I realized, just because I was an Alicorn, I wasn't that different from anypony else."

"You reunited everypony together even before you became an Alicorn. You became the symbol of Unity yourself as Alicorns are always are. Like Edge, Tempest, Snowdrop, Doug, Deliah, Twilight, Luna, Celestia and Cadence. They all represent Unity between everypony and creature in Equestria." Fluttershy added.

"Yeah, you perfect the way you are, Sunny. Earth Pony or Alicorn." Rainbow Dash encouraged.

"Being an Alicorn doesn't make you any different!" Izzy assured her with a smile. "It makes you the same."

"It does?" Sunny asked, still unsure.

"You're everypony, all-in-one! Like Sarah and her family, Zipp's spy gear." Izzy said with a smile. "Or one of those pens you push that has every color!" She added with a cheery tone. "But as an earth pony or an Alicorn, you've inspired all of us to be better ponies. Which is what made you and Alicorn in the first place. That's your true power."

Finally, Sunny got up from her bed and smiled. "Thank you, Izzy, Sarah, Twilight. I guess that is true." She said, feeling better from what the three ponies just said.

"And really, really wise?" Zipp said, looking at Izzy with a smirk.

"I carry the limitless knowledge of my Unicorn ancestors." Izzy said cheerfully, looking at the ceiling, while Zipp looked too confused.

“And we had experienced this before.” Spike mentioned on behalf of himself and the others who chuckled.


Back with Pipp, she kept complaining about not being viral anymore while Sparky played around the salon.

“Am I never going to go viral? Pipp asked herself as she sobbed. “Am I?!” She cried out dramatically. "Zipp was right! The likes and validation, it isn't worth it" Pipp stated suddenly. "This isn't fun anymore! So what's the point?" she questioned, laying frustrated on the ground. "I'm just going to stop and... be me own, un-viral self. Be an obscure, but sane, popstar princess."

And then Sparky came in front of her and let out a small dragon flame that reached Pipp's tiara and turned it into a ridiculous bow.

"Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no, no!" Pipp cried out in panic, and then Sparky turned on her camera phone and recorded her. "Sparky!" she scolded him, while the baby dragon edited several videos of funny stuff that happened to Pipp the whole day. He started to laugh out loud, dropping the phone while Pipp grabbed it and looked at it. "Sparky, you created this?" she asked him.

Sparky hiccuped a bubble and said something that sounded like 'Yeah...' to Pipp.

"But... but... it's unflattering! It's embarrassing!" Pipp said with panic. "It's... It's... Hilarious!" she stated, now laughing a bit, as Sparky laughed with her as well. The video kept playing, and Pipp kept laughing at herself. "You know what? It actually feels kinda good to laugh at myself. Thank you." she told Sparky, then she ducked and the baby dragon sat on her back. "Well. As fun as that was, we have somewhere super important to be right now, huh?" she said.

She walked towards the exit, but when she passed in front of a mirror, she stepped back a bit and looked at her reflection, more specifically to her bow.

"Um... I will fix that later." Pipp told Sparky, finally walking out of Mane Melody.


Back at Opaline's Castle, Opaline was groaning and complaining about Sunny not wanting to be remembered just because she's an Alicorn.

"Foolish of me to think that Sunny could understand her Alicorn greatness! And this Sarah has seen what it is to be a true Alicorn and gave it to Sunny!" Opaline complained. "But I'm not giving up. I don't need another Alicorn! I can finish this ourselves! The way it's always been."

"Opaline!" Misty called out, entering the room with a smoothie that she quickly threw away. "Um, I have to tell you that... our plans failed."

"I know they failed." Opaline scolded Misty. "That Alicorn clearly doesn't understand what it means to be one." She said angrily. "She's a disgrace to my kind, and this Sarah Tomoe’s acts the same way as her blasted parents. And with my traitor of a daughter by her side too. Ugh! I hate that equality and unity stuff! So I'll do them a favor: I'll take their powers, all of their power!" She assured me. "But to do that, we'll need to go directly to the source."

Walking towards her cauldron images of the Crystal Brighthouse appeared. "The Brighthouse, home of the Unity Crystals. The one place I can't glance inside of." she said with frustration. "I need to find a new way in. And I know just the thing..." She stated as she used her magic on the pond as it started to create something as Opaline and Misty watched on.


Outside the Brighthouse, Izzy was leading Sunny to a new area, while Sunny walked with her eyes closed with Sunset and Zipp watching, they told Sarah what they did and nodded her head, seeing that this is something Sunny wanted.

"Okay, just two more steps to the left. Oh, one to the right." Izzy told Sunny, who obeyed and moved a step to the right. "Take it back now, ya'll!" she said cheerfully.

"Izzy!" Zipp scolded her.

“This is not the time to follow a music dance song!” Sarah scolded as well, seeing that Izzy was playing around.

Izzy chuckled a bit before speaking. "Okay, okay." She replied, getting back on track. "And now!" She instructed Sunny.

Sunny decided to open her eyes excited, and then her jaw dropped in awe and disbelief. "Oh! A community garden?!" She asked excitedly.

"Ta-da!" Izzy said with a cheery tone.

"What do you think?" Hitch asked her, standing behind her with Pipp at his side and Sparky ran around the garden.

"We knew you've been hoping to build something like this forever." Pipp told her with a smile.

"So, we made it happen!" Zipp added with a smile.

"A little helping hoof for the pony who helps all of us to be better." Izzy added.

“We wanted to surprise you, Sunny. And after what happened today, this should make you happy about something you dreamed of making.” Sunset said with a smile.

Sunny looked around in disbelief and joy. "I... I'm..." she tried to say, then her Cutie Mark glowed and once again her Alicorn form appeared, with a bright golden light covering her body. "So grateful for all of you"

"You turned into an Alicorn again!" Hitch pointed out.

Sunny looked at her wings and horn with a bright smile. "I know, but this time it feels different. I think I can only transform into an Alicorn when I feel like I'm truly helping somepony, because that's my best self." she said with a smile.

“That’s what being an Alicorn is all about, Sunny. Helping sompony and being yourself.” Twilight smiled with a proud smile.

“Twilight's right, Sunny. You just have to be yourself to be a great Alicorn. Never change who you are and always help ponies. That’s what you truly are.” Celestia praised.

Sunny smiled at both Celestia and Twilight as she hugged them all, “Thank you, for being there for me.”

"So you can't just do it for any reason." Zipp said, with her phone on her hoof. "It has to mean something special! Fascinating..." she said with a curious tone.

Then, her phone chimed and Zipp checked it out, and it was something that she didn't expect. "Uh... Pipp? Did you mean to post this?!" She asked her sister, showing the video Sparky made of her. "Because it's hilarious!"

The others started to laugh at the video, while Pipp looked on happily. "Yup!" she replied smiling. "Sparky found a way to show me that it isn't always about being perfect. It's about being true to yourself." She said with a smile.

"We like you for who you are, Pipp" Sunny told her with a smile. "And you all like me for who I am. No matter what kind of pony I am! And I know I can change the world with that" she stated with joy.

"Hey! Where is Sparky?" Zipp questioned, looking around.

"Sparky!" The Mane 6, and Twilight, all shouted together, starting to look over the baby dragon.

Hitch quickly found the baby dragon standing over a plant that had the form of Pipp's head, and the baby dragon let out another flame that added to the plant the same ridiculous bow Pipp had over her head right now.

"Oh no! I totally forgot." Pipp said, a bit worried, looking at the bow on her head.

Hitch recorded the whole thing with his phone. "And that one's gone viral too." he said with a smile.

"What can I say?" Pipp said with a little smile, and then Sparky started to throw apples over her head again. "Ouch! Ow! Sparky! Enough with the apples already!" She complained to him.

But then the baby dragon started to laugh, which ended on all of the Mane 6, and Twilight, started laughing as well.

"And Sunny, the Student Six told me something about that mirror you have." Sarah stated.

"What is it?" Sunny asked.

"We can't talk outside, In the Brighthouse, come on." Sarah urged before she gently pushed Sunny inside and the others followed before Edge Blade closed the door.

"Okay so what's up with the mirror?" Zipp asked.

".......We think Opaline enchanted it to spy on you and everyone else." Sarah frowned and the Mane Five gasped.

"We think she was manipulating you to try and use your powers for your own gain, like she did." Sandbar added.

"Most likely, Opaline had Misty give it to you for keeping a closer eye on you and us." Edge Blade snarled.

"So now she knows about you and the Fillies being with us." Ocellus frowned with worry while the Filly Trio whimpered in fear.

"I knew something was off about it." Zipp frowned. "Let's get rid of it." Zipp made a reach for the mirror but Edge Blade stopped her.

"No Zipp, with Opaline, we have to deceive the deceiver. Beat Opaline at her own game. We cannot let on that we know of her plans and her plotting. So for now we'll play it dumb with her so at the exact moment she'll let her guard down." Edge Blade stated.

"Good plan." Luna nodded. "As for Young Misty, what should we do with her?"

"We can't just leave her with Opaline forever." Gallus added.

"For now, we let her come to us as Opaline would want." Edge Blade decided. "As I said, she's kinda like Fluttershy, so when the time is right...we tell her the truth."