The Fate of the Magic

by Harrison Sparrow

5. Making Progress/New Powers

After Sunny and Zack had their long conversation, they went down to the festival site with the other girls, who are ready to begin construction.

"So what have you girls got planned?" Zack asked. "You all have a part, right?"

"Well, I drew the blueprints for the main stage, so that's what most of us should be focusing on today." Pipp replied.

"Big job. But what about the rest?"

"No need to worry about it, buddy, we got it all covered." Zipp assured.

As they walked over the hill, they stopped to realize that the main stage has already made big progress!

"That's one way to start the structuring." Izzy said.

But Pipp groaned with worry. "But is it matching the blueprints?! Somepony may have left something!" She then flew down to the site.

"Hey, I'm sure it's not that bad, Pipp!" Misty called out. "Right?"

Hitch has been telling everyone earlier on how the main stage should look like, and he thinks it's going according to plan.

"Alright, just add a couple more of those here and we should be about done on the structuring. We're doing a good job!"

"Hitch! What is going on here!? Why have you started without us!?"

"Oh, morning, Pipp. Just thought we'd make a jump start."

"But what about the blueprints we written down? It has to be perfect!"

"Hey, take it easy. Me and Sparky kept it in our trains of remembrance, so there's no need to overreact."

"Exactly as you planned it, Pipp." Sparky said.

"*sigh* I do hope you're right, guys. We can't let this be a disaster. *gasp* Oh no, and now I have to tell the Pippsqueaks about the costumes!" She brings out her phone and starts texting her fans. "Sunny, get your smoothie slot ready ASAP! Zipp, start working on the sound system! And Izzy and Misty, start the glittering and glamoring right now!"

"Right on it, Pipp!" The unicorns said.

"What?! Pipp, you know I can't do the sound stuff on my own!" Zipp called.

"Then don't just stand there, find somepony who will help out!!" Pipp said, as she flew away.

"Says the one who's in charge of the festival!!" Zipp shouted back in frustration, and Izzy sneaked by her side.

"Actually, Zipperoonie, it's our festival." She corrected. "Me and Pipp's."

"*sigh* No need to tell me that, Izzy. Let's just get to work."

As Zack watches them, he turns to Sunny, not knowing that she makes smoothies.

"Just hearing from Pipp about you doing a smoothie slot... do you make smoothies?"

"Oh yes, I didn't tell you that. Only the best ones for anyone's taste. They're kind of my addiction."

"Are they? I guess that's your daily job."

"Mostly. What about you? What's your job?"

"Ah, it's kind of big one, going back-and-forth every weekday, but... I work at a drinking factory."

"Ooh, drinks. You have a favorite flavor in mind?"

"Blueberry. It makes me wanna relax, close my eyes and have big dreams. I'll save one for you, if you're interested."

"Aw, thanks. But I'll have one of my smoothies later on. We're gonna be spending most of the day here anyways. Got costumes to make, lighting to sort out, sound systems to test... It's like you said, big job."

"Is there anything I can help with?"

"Uh, sorry, the roles have been taken, so..."

"At least I can look around, right?"

"Sure you can. I'm not gonna stop you."

Zack turned to have a look at the stage. "I gotta say, this stage is coming along nicely. Maybe with a touch of magic, I guess we can make things quicker than expected."

"Well, I told you, we can do anything as long as we're together. That's the power of friendship after all."

They then watched Izzy applying rubies onto the boards at the bottom of the stage. "Wow. I'll admit, that Izzy girl is really enjoying this right now."

"I love Izzy. She's actually the first-ever non-earth pony friend I've ever made."

"Really? That's too bad, because I never really made my first non-pegasus friend yet. But really, I... *sigh* I actually don't have any pony friends." He said sadly.

Sunny took that in and frowned. "...You don't?" Zack shakes his head in response. "Well, on that extremely sad note... seeing that you know so much about me already, even though we first met like 24 hours ago... you can be friends with us, if you want." Zack looked at her and slowly regained his smile. But suddenly, the noises in her head came back again, as she lowered her head and put her hoof on it, groaning with pain.

"Whoa!" Zack went to check on her. "Whoa, Sunny, are you okay?"

"I don't know, I..." Sunny continued groaning, struggling to get it to stop.

In front of them, the structuring of the main stage from the right was about to collapse with ponies near it, as they look up, fearing the worse that was about to happen!

"EVERYPONY RUN!!!" Dahlia yelled, as everyone gets clear from the collapsing structure just in time. A massive ruble was made as the dust cleared.

"Okay, don't worry, everyone, this is just a temporary setback. It's all part of the job!" Phyllis chuckled nervously. "Let's try again and get everything right this time."

The noises in Sunny's head stopped again as Zack helped her get back up, and Izzy, Misty and Zipp ran up to her with worry.

"Sunny!" Izzy exclaimed.

"Are you alright?" Zipp said.

"What happened?" Misty asked.

"I'm fine now." Sunny replied, breathing heavily. "I'm okay."

"What was that?" Zack asked.

"I... I have no idea, it... it must've happened when the structuring was about to fall apart, and ponies were in danger." She guessed.

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"The noises in my head! They came back!"

"Just when the main stage was collapsing?" Misty thought.

"YES! No! *scoff* I don't know!"

Zack doesn't know where she is coming from. "I'm sorry, what is she on about again?"

"She's been coming down with these high, squeaky noises in her head ever since it happened last night." Zipp answered.

"Last night? Why didn't any of you tell me about this?"

"Uh, because it was none of your business." Izzy answered.

"Okay, but maybe it is now, so does she need a hospital? It looked serious!"

"No! I don't need to go to the hospital, Zack. But there has to be an explanation on why this is really happening to me..." Sunny wondered.

Zipp then thought of something. "Maybe, it could be that your magic is becoming more stronger than ever before, Sunny. Maybe you got yourself a new power!"

"Wh- what? A new power?"

"I've been studying a lot about magic, you know. Let's head back to the Brighthouse and talk about it there."

Sunny stopped her as she raised her hoof. "No, Zipp, we have work to do here, remember? We now have a giant mess to clean, and FYI, Pipp's gonna explode!"

"But on the bright side, at least the rubies are still intact." Izzy said, as she looked at them on the walls, until they collapse and fall down. "Bright side's gone."

"*sigh* Don't worry, Sunny, we'll take it from here." Misty said. "Just go back and recover."

"Well, it's time for more uni-cycling. And I LOVE uni-cycling!"

"You keep saying that, do you, Izzy?" Misty said, as the unicorns went off to clear the rubble.

"Zack, I'm... I'm sorry, I-" Sunny tried to say, feeling guilty.

"Hey, hey..." Zack said softly, as he brought her head up. "It's okay. Get some rest and I'll see you later, alright?"

"Let's go, Sunny." Zipp said, as she and Sunny leave the site and head back home.

As Zack watched on, he turns to see Sprout having an argument with his mother.

"I told you, Mommy, this wasn't my fault! Do I really have to repeat myself!?"

"Now, you listen to me, Sprout." Phyllis said, as Zack widens his eyes after hearing that name. "I know you didn't tighten that screw hard enough, so will you please just admit that you've made a mistake?"

"But I thought- *growl* So you thought I made a mistake on that one part?!"

"Sprout...?" Zack said suspiciously, as he remembered what Sunny said about him destroying her lighthouse.

"You signed your name on that paper, so you should be helping me, right?" Sprout argued.

"*scoff* You can't always rely on other ponies to do all the work for you! You have to do some of it yourself!"

"You!" Zack shouted, walking up to Sprout in anger. "You're Sprout, aren't you?"

"Ah great, and who are you supposed to be, Mr. Stranger?"

Zack felt insulted by that. "Mr. Stranger?! Sunny told me about you! You're the pony who destroyed her lighthouse that day!"

"Really? This again? I thought we moved on from that."

"Well, you should've been thrown in jail! Because last time I checked, nopony should ever do something reckless like that!"

"Reckless?! Like, making my Sproutacus Maximus? That was my finest invention ever!"

"Oh yeah?! More like a dangerous invention to me!"

Hitch, who saw them argue, jumped in and stopped them. "Hey-hey-hey! Both of you stop! Now what's going on here?"

"This blue pegasus was trying to terrorize me, Sheriff Hitch!"

"Terrorize?!! I was just asking why you destroyed Sunny's lighthouse! And how you betrayed her!!"

"OKAY!" Hitch shouted, not wanting to hear anymore of it. "Okay. Listen, there's no need to go through about what happened that night any further. That's all in the past now." Hitch said, and he turned to Sprout with a touch of anger. "And we have talked about this before, Sprout."

"But, I-"

"Alright, that's enough, sugarcube. Back to work, now." Phyllis demanded, and Sprout sighed with annoyance, walking away.

Hitch then turned back at Zack. "Was that really necessary?"

"Apologies, sir. You must be Sheriff Hitch, right? Zack Thunderlane. I didn't know you had a badge."

"Hitch Trailblazer to you." They firmly shake hooves. "I'm sorry he accused you of something like that, he... he can be dramatic."

"Nah, it's fine. Sunny told me about what he did, so I just wanted to know why."

"Did she? Believe me, buddy, everypony saw that disaster before, even myself."

"You were there? Why didn't you arrest him?"

"I fired him. Sprout was my deputy before magic came back, but during all that time, he was so jealous that I earned the position as sheriff, and he didn't. So now, I have Zipp as my replacement, and man, is she one heck of a partner?"

Zack, judging with the look on Hitch's face, thinks he has a crush on her. "You two seem to be really close to one another, huh?"

Hitch blushed a little. "What?! No! No, we're not. Or, not really, she's... well, you can just say that she's a really good friend. The best in the business."

"You sure about that? I'm sensing a little hint otherwise." Zack thought with a smirk on his face.

Grandma Figgy giggled as she stepped in. "And I would certainly feel the same way as you do, young man."

"Grandma Figgy, are you serious right now?!" Hitch said in frustration.

"Oh c'mon, Hitchy boy, it's obvious! No need to stop yourself from telling somepony you trust about how you really feel about Zipp. They'd be happy for you!" Hitch sighed with hesitation. "And who is he, I may ask?"

"Yeah, this is uh... Zack. Sunny's new friend."

"Well, I'll be, it's nice to see you, Mr. Zack."

"You too, uh, Miss Piggy?"

"Excuse me?!!" Hitch said in shock and disgust.

Grandma Figgy laughed by that and corrected him. "It's Figgy."

"Yeah, I know, I heard you, just... lightening the mood. *giggle*" Sparky flew in beside him, taking him by surprise. "Oh, and who are you, little green buddy?"

"You must be Zack, huh? My name's Sparky, a.k.a. the coolest dragon in all of Equestria!"

"Are you!? Wow, for a guy your size, you somehow look the part."

"Go easy on him, okay? He's my son." Hitch said in defence.

"Your what?"

Sparky looked at Hitch with a hurt expression, and with nothing to say, he flew off.

"Sparky! Hey, where are you going?!" Hitch called out, but Sparky just ignored him. "What was that all about?"

"Maybe he didn't like what you just said?" Zack thought.

"*scoff* Something's not right here, I've been taking care of him for so long. I know he's been changing a lot, but I didn't think he would react like that."

Figgy put her hoof over his neck. "Don't worry, he may be off to my house, so I'll go keep an eye on him. You just get back to doing your duties." She said, as she walked away.

"Sheriff Hitch! A little help over here, please?" Posey called out. "I need some ideas of where to put my flowers, so I don't make any conflict with Dahlia's."

"Yeah, I'm coming, Posey!" Hitch answered, as he turned away. "Nice meeting you, Zack. And stay outta trouble, understand?"

"I understand, Hitch. I understand... ...Sparky's his son? How's that possible?" He questioned himself.

---

Back at the Brighthouse, Sunny was in her bed whilst Zipp was showing her some research on figuring out how her alicorn powers are continuously growing.

"Alright, so here's what I was able to dig up on. Ever since the day we brought magic back to Equestria, and you got your alicorn ability, it turns out that, overtime, it's been growing, and you're starting to earn more powers."

"Wait, is that suppose to be a good thing?"

"Well, judging by the sounds you got in your head, and what you thought caused it to happen, it seems pretty obvious to me."

"*groan* But I don't want these sounds in my head forever, Zipp! Can't you or anypony else try and help me make it go away for good?"

"Sorry, Sun. I don't think we can treat something like that. Except tinnitus, like Hitch thought."

"There must be something we could do!"

"Okay, let's rewind to last night. When you first started experiencing them, what did it really feel like?"

"PAINFUL! How else can I describe it?!" Sunny said in a grump.

"But you still seemed okay, even after it happened. And despite that grumpy look on your face, everything seems normal and positive to me. So be honest, do you still feel okay as of right now?"

"I... Well, yes, I do. I don't feel sick or anything, so I'm not sure why I'm even in bed."

"Alright, we're getting somewhere! Now onto the next topic: when it occurred a second time, back at the site earlier, you mentioned that it only happened because those ponies were in danger of being crushed by the falling stage, right? Well, you got lucky that no one was hurt. But is it true that you saw that?"

"Well... when it did kick in, Zipp, it... it gave me a vision."

"A vision?! HA! That means you saw something, I knew it! I never doubt my instincts!"

"Okay, okay, I get it! So yeah, I had a vision of the main stage that was about to fall on those ponies, but... I don't know, shouldn't I have stopped it from falling?"

"Who knows? Maybe, add that with your alicorn powers, and you can stop anything bad from happening and save everypony! You could actually become a SUPERHERO!"

"A superhero?! You might be thinking a little too much there..." Sunny said unsurely.

"Oh, come on, you don't know what being a superhero feels like? I have one that I love so much. Oh, and why don't we treat Opaline Arcana as a supervillain!? It might be intense, but seeing as how your first outing panned out, I know you would win in a rematch."

Sunny raised her hoof, as she didn't want to hear anymore about the evil alicorn. "Zipp, can we please not bring Opaline into this? I don't wanna end up worrying about her too much. And besides, a superhero's a comic book thing."

"Alright, alright. I got a little too excited there. Now, what about last night? Did you see anything bad at that point?"

"Uh, no. I... If I remember it, it was all over the place, like... it was showing me certain spots of Bridlewood, Maretime Bay, Zephyr Heights, and... well, possibly everywhere around Equestria. It was weird, but I didn't think it would do that."

"Maybe it was trying to help you get to grips with it?"

"I can't be sure, Zipp." Sunny said, as she got out of her bed. "But, if your theory is right, then... maybe my life has just gotten more difficult than ever before. I don't know if I can handle it."

Seeing her friend being so worried and doubtful, Zipp comforted her. "Hey, it's okay. You'll figure it out. I know you will." Sunny smiled at her slowly, but then... the sounds kick in yet again, as she puts her hoof on her head. "*gasp* It's come back again?!"

"Yes, somehow! It's-"

"No-no-no, don't complain, focus! What do you see? What's happening!?"

Sunny took a few breathes and started to embrace the sounds, focusing on her vision as it was showing that a filly is stranded at sea, and a huge wave is approaching. "Somepony's in trouble! They're stranded out at sea and a big wave is coming!" She then ran towards the window.

"Where?!"

"HERE! At the beach!" Sunny opens the window wide open and sees the endangered filly out at sea, screaming for help. Sunny closed her eyes and activates her alicorn powers. "I can do this." Without hesitation, she jumped out and flew away to the rescue.

Zipp started to feel excited again and decides to follow her to the scene. "I gotta see this!" But then, she quickly turned back to close the window. "Safety first."

Sunny and Zipp zoomed down to the beach, where the filly's parents are in a huge scare. The clouds have gotten dark, and the winds have increased in speed, forcing the waves to become dangerous, and the lifeguard is too nervous to go save him.

"SOMEPONY PLEASE SAVE OUR SON!!" The parents yelled.

"Ponies, don't worry! We're here to help!" Sunny said. "Do you know where he is?"

"He's all the way out there! And the wave's gonna drown him!" The mother panicked.

"I can't take on those waters, Starscout. It's too dangerous for me to go in." The lifeguard said. "It's too dangerous for everyone!"

Zipp used her goggles to try and find the endangered filly, but due to the waves of the water, has no luck. "Sea's too rough. Sunny, get to higher ground! I'll use my drone!"

"Got it!"

As soon as Sunny went up into the sky, Zipp unleashes her drone to search for the filly. And after several seconds, Zipp has found him, but time is running out!

"Sunny, I found him! Wave's closing in fast!"

"I see him too! Wish me luck!" Sunny responded, as she flew down to the ocean.

"HURRY!!"

Embracing the dangers, Sunny weaved around the rising waters left and right in heroic fashion. She gasped as she sees the filly getting caught in the wave.

"HELP! HELP MEEEE!!!"

"HANG ON, I'M COMING!!"

It was now or never for Sunny, as she used her powers to dash forward as fast as lightning! She finally reached the filly and grabbed him tightly in her arms, but the wave was starting to fall down on them!. They closed their eyes as Sunny starts unleashing a huge power... and they exploded right out of the wave and into the air, alive and unscathed! Everyone from the beach saw what happened and cheered for Sunny, as she looked down on them and descended to the ground with a warm smile. She was a hero.

"You saved me...!" The filly said, as he hugged Sunny with tears in his eyes.

"You're okay." Sunny said warmly, hugging him back.

"MY BABY!" The filly's mother said with relief, as she and the father ran up and gathered to cuddle him.

"You saved our son! How can we ever repay you?" The father asked.

"Maybe a tearful and heartwarming 'thank you', I suppose?"

"What you did out there was very brave, Starscout." The lifeguard said. "I'll be closing the beach for everyone's safety until the storm passes."

"Thank you, sir. Happy to help." Sunny replied, as she deactivated her alicorn ability and sighed of relief.

"SUNNY!!" Zipp shouted, as she ran up and hugged her with joy. "I can't believe it, THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!!!"

"Yeah, it was!" Sunny agreed with a grin on her face, but then turned slightly mad. "But incredibly INSANE! I risked my life out there! I could've drowned myself!!"

"Except you didn't! Seriously, when I saw you flying like that and blasting outta the water like a rocket ship, that felt exactly like one of my favorite scenes from a comic book!! You ARE a superhero!!!"

"That again? Still sounds quite far-fetched to me, but... maybe you're right. Maybe this new thing isn't so bad after all."

"See, I knew you'd figure it out!"

"But I don't want it to go all haywire or something, so should everypony learn to be more careful from now on? Including us?"

"How are we supposed to know that? These things happen, and it's okay. It's how we learn from them that counts."

"*sigh* Yeah, you have a point. I know what I did back there was... well, if you'd like, daring and amazing... but I still don't know if my life has gotten more harder because of this."

"Sunny, you saved a filly's life because of that new power of yours. And I know you saved us before, ordering everyone to help out and stopping the troggles, but really, I've never seen you pull off anything like that. It was really heroic. I understand it'll take time, but... you'll get used to it, I promise."

Sunny brings her smile back and nuzzles her. "Thanks, Zipp. I couldn't have done it without you."

"What can I say except 'you're welcome'? Oh, and just wait till we tell the others about this. I bet they won't even believe a single word." Then, her phone rang as she brought it out from her wing... "Ah, perfect timing." ...and answered it. "Hey, Lil' Pippster. So, how's the costumes going? Good?"

"Oh yes, Big Zippster, very sensational, thank you very much. I mean, you can't even imagine how starstruck I am with my Pippsqueaks and their surprising design skills. Just look at this!" She shows her the new costumes.

"Wow! They look pretty good."

"I know! And to also add to the conversation, how is the festival stage going?"

"Ah, I'm glad you asked, because it's going great! Very great, to be precise."

"Oh really? Was that how you saw it? Well, I just received word... that THESE PHOTOS SHOW OTHERWISE!!" She shouted, as she displays the photos of the rubble of the stage on the phone.

Zipp was put in a shock, not knowing what to say. "Uh-oh..."

"WHAT has happened out there, Zephyrina Storm!?! Did someone make a slip-up?! Have they forgotten to tighten a screw on one of those pipes?!! I told you and EVERYPONY at the site that this stage MUST BE PERFECT! AND NOW, IT'S ALREADY RUINED!!!"

"Okay, okay, chillax! You got me. But it was an accident, alright? So I promise you, it won't happen again."

"Won't happen again? Won't happen again?!" She repeated. "You call THAT a promise worth keeping? You better not break it, sis, or I swear, YOU are OUTTA THE JOB!"

"Outta the job?! You think you're the boss of me even though you're the youngest one in the family?! Gimme a break!"

"I told you, it's MY festival!"

"And Izzy's!" Zipp reminded. "Don't leave her out. And besides, the sound systems that you've assigned me up for? They're working optimally. So can you at least be happy with that?"

"*scoff* It's gonna take a lot more than optimal sound systems to make such an iconic festival. And... where are you? Are you back at Maretime Bay?! You should be working at the site!"

"Yeah, I know, I know, but I had to go back, because Sunny had another one of these head noisy things again. She told us about it this morning, remember?"

"Uh, yeah. And why?"

"Well, I was doing some digging, and we've finally understand how it happens. Whenever there's something bad going down, the sounds will kick in and it'll give Sunny a vision about what's happening. It kicked in again when you left, and she said she saw the stage that was about to collapse with those ponies in danger, and-"

"*gasp* PONIES IN DANGER?!?!" Pipp snapped. "You know I can't afford anypony getting hurt before the big day, Zipp! NOT ONE BIT!"

"No, they're fine! They're fine. So yeah, after it happened, we went back home to discuss the sounds there, and then they kicked in a third time. Only then, a filly was stranded at sea and a big wave was gonna drag him in! But Sunny saw what was gonna happen, so we swooped in, worked together, and saved the day!"

Pipp felt stunned by what she heard. "What?! Sunny, is that true?"

Sunny took over the phone. "Yes, Pipp. It is. I know I've just started experiencing it last night, but Zipp told me it'll take time for me to get used to it. And now that I thought hard about it... maybe I might."

"*sigh* And here, I thought you were coming down with something worrying. But... you saved a filly from drowning? That is amazing, Sunny! Well, you could've done something to stop the stage from falling earlier, but this? I'm literally speechless..."

Zipp puts her hoof over Sunny with a cool look. "I'm telling ya, she's a superhero now."

"Not really..." Sunny said unsurely.

And then, Izzy joined in on the call, having eavesdropped everything. "What?! Is it true that you're a superhero, Sunny? Like an ACTUAL SUPERHERO?!"

"Izzy, no! I'm... *groan* Why do I have to keep talking about this every single time? I'm not a superhero, it's just a comic book thing!"

"Wait, have you been hearing on what we were talking about?!" Zipp thought.

"It sounded exciting, so you know, just thought I join in, seeing that I love exciting things. *giggle* Anyway, I just wanna let you girls know that me and Misty have fully unicycled and completed the ruby boards! Ta-da!" She shows them the newly designed boards, taking them by surprise. "Yeah, before the wreck, we didn't actually like how they looked, so we thought about doing some fine improvements and making them exactly to our high standards. Thoughts?"

"Wow. I'll admit, Izzy, that's not bad at all. I like it!" Sunny said. "What do you think, Pipp?"

"Love it!"

"And me? Couldn't agree more." Zipp agreed. "But what about Misty? Where is she?"

"Oh, Alphabittle came down a couple minutes ago, and Misty's gone down to Bridlewood with him. But don't worry, it's nothing to fear about, I'm sure."

"O...kay, but what was her reaction to the boards, Izzy?" Pipp asked, reminding her.

"100% extremely positive! And seeing that we all love it, I'd say we are even!"

"Uh, all except two, you mean? We can't leave out Hitch and Sparky, right?" Sunny said.

Speaking of Hitch, he also joined in on the call, but with a worried look. "It's terrible!" He said.

"WHAT?!" The girls shouted in shock.

"No, no! Not the boards, they're good. I meant Sparky, who Sunny just mentioned!"

"What about Sparky, Hitch? Is everything alright?" Zipp asked.

Comments

[bratzkid1]

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