Escape from Arora Ridge Quarry

by Glimbursts

Chapter Six – You need to look after Yourself

When everything feels like it’s just too much
But you gotta let it in, even if it’s tough
Know it gets better, know it gets better
We push through the weather, weather

Let it ra-a-a-ain
(There’s beauty, there’s beauty in the breakdown)
Let it ra-a-a-ain
Don’t be afraid of walls coming down
Sometimes it hurts, you’ll figure it out
Let it ra-a-a-ain
(There’s beauty, there’s beauty in the breakdown)

Let it rain, let it ra-a-a-ain...

Pipp sniffed as she looked at her phone screen. She’d been watching and re-watching Sunset Shimmer's performance of Let it Rain at the leaving party. It was a beautiful song, and it was certainly helping her through her current feelings.

They had returned to the Brighthouse in the early hours of the morning. Most headed straight to bed, including Pipp.

However, bed was where she’d stayed, even after the sun had come up. She hadn’t slept as fresh feelings of guilt washed over her. She felt awful for the role she’d played in Sunny’s disappearance. Covering her head with the covers. She started flipping through her phone and hadn’t moved for hours.

Suddenly she heard Izzy’s voice. “Pipp? Are you still in bed? It’s time to get up sleepyhead, you need to eat something.”

Pipp groaned as she rose upwards, curling the covers around her head like a hood. “I can’t eat at a time like this, Izzy,” she wined. “It’s all my fault that Sunny’s gone.”

“No, it isn’t,” Izzy responded. “It was Sunny’s own idea and she convinced us to support her.”

“But we should have listened to Zipp and Hitch,” Pipp moaned. “I got so caught up with the thought of giving her a whole new look for her disguise. Why do things always go wrong when I don’t listen to Zipp!”

“Well, I didn’t listen either,” Izzy reasoned. “I wanted to give Sunny an awesome disguise too. I worked so hard on that cutie mark design. But I know we’ll find her.”

“How?” Pipp sniffed. “How will we find her?”

“By working together,” Izzy smiled. “We might not be the best when it comes to solving clues. Or doing magic. But we can help those who are. We can encourage them. We can support them. How can Zipp think about clues and things if she’s got the munchie munches or a sleepyhead? We got to make sure they don’t work themselves too hard and I can’t do it on my own.”

“You’re right, Iz,” Pipp smiled as she came out from under her bedsheets.

“Course I am,” Izzy beamed. “I trust Sunny too. She’s so strong and resilient. She’ll come through and her disguise is really awesome.”

“I just hope it’s holding up,” Pipp admitted as she led them towards the ramp. “I mean as long as she doesn’t get wet it should be okay for a while.”

“It’ll be fine,” Izzy grinned optimistically. “Now I’ve got an awesome lunch prepared for you.”

“Oh, Iz, you better have not made a mess again,’ Pipp chuckled. “Wait, lunch? What happened to breakfast? Have I been under my sheets that long?”

In the living area, Zipp and Hitch were tucking into healthy portions of daisy and clover sandwiches. They were watching the TV at Izzy’s insistence, as a way to take a break from their investigations. Pipp smiled as she sat down, and Izzy passed a full plate to her.

“Wow, you are looking after us,” Pipp gasped.

“Oh good,” Zipp smiled. “Well done, Iz. Have you had any joy with Misty?”

Izzy sighed despondently, “Not yet and she’s been up all night reading books.”

“Really,” Pipp gasped. “I mean I was up but that’s because I couldn’t sleep. Where is she?”

“In the Crystal Chamber,” Hitch sighed. “She’s been searching through the books from Opaline’s castle for something, but she’s not told us what.”

Suddenly, the TV show cut to an intermission screen and an announcer's voice could be heard.

“We interrupt this scheduled broadcast with a special news bulletin.”

The news jingle played as the screen cut directly to Dazzle Feather sat alone at the news desk.

“Sorry to interrupt your scheduled broadcast,” Dazzle said. “Reports are emerging that many Earth Ponies have been mysteriously disappearing. Queen Haven herself made this announcement to the press moments ago.”

The screen cut to Queen Haven stood in front of a lectern. She had a grave look on her face.

“Ponies of Equestria, I stand before you today to inform you of a new magical threat that is looming over our land. I hope doing so will help protect you all.

“With immediate effect, work at the Hydroelectric Construction Sites will stop overnight. Similarly, the parks of Zephyr Heights will be closed during the hours of nightfall. I also urge everypony to remain at home between the hours of sunset and sunrise, no matter where you live.

“You may be wondering what the reason for this is. I’m saddened to announce that several Earth Ponies have disappeared. The safety of all is my primary concern; therefore, these measures must be implemented to protect everypony.

The disappearances have been identified as being caused by magical creatures. We currently have no idea where these creatures may strike next. So far, they have targeted Earth Ponies. However, they could start targeting Pegasi and Unicorns. I therefore ask everypony to take this issue seriously.”

Please rest assured that the Guardians of Unity are on the case. They are doing all they can, and I am confident in their abilities. They will stop these creatures, one way or another.”

There was a chorus of voices as the waiting media absorbed this information. Many raised their hoofs to ask questions and Queen Haven selected one.

“Queen Haven, there are reports that Sunny Starscout is one of those missing, is this true?”

Queen Haven sighed and looked down in dismay. “As I mentioned, the Guardians of Unity are looking into this and that includes Sunny. I therefore cannot comment on their specific whereabouts. We must all trust our protectors, they have saved us all before and I am confident they will do so again.”

With that, Queen Haven stepped back from the lectern to a cacophony of voices shouting questions. As she walked off stage, Zoom and Thunder both stepped forward protectively.

“Sorry, no more questions,” Zoom informed.

In the Brighthouse, Zipp and Hitch looked at each other with worry. They both started getting up, leaving their half-eaten plates of food behind.

“No, no, don’t do that,” Izzy gasped as she blocked their way.

“Izzy, everypony is counting on us,” Hitch said.

“Especially Sunny,” Zipp added.

“Yes, but how can you investigate if you’re tired and hungry?” Izzy asked.

“Izzy’s right,” Pipp protested. “How can we help Sunny if we don’t take care of ourselves?”

“Says you after crying under your bedsheets all day,” Zipp frowned.

“I know, but that’s why I’ve stopped crying,” Pipp responded. “You were right Zipp, we should have listened to both of you. But, crying isn’t going to save Sunny and the others. Supporting both of you and being there when it’s time for action will.”

Zipp sighed as she sat down again. “I hear you, Sis. I’m sorry for snapping.”

“You’re right, Izzy, Pipp,” Hitch sighed as he also sat down again. “We need to look after ourselves if we’re going to find and save Sunny.”

“You can count on us to help,” Pipp winked.

“Cool, cool, just tell that to Misty,” Zipp sighed.

“Oh, I’ve already put a call in for somepony to help with that,” Izzy grinned.

A short time later, there was a knock on the door. Izzy practically skipped over and beamed as she opened it to reveal Alphabittle. However, he looked far from happy and Izzy’s face fell at seeing his sour expression. “Oh? Y...you don’t look happy to see me?”

“I’m sorry, Izzy,” he sighed. “It’s just I’ve been forced to bring somepony else along.”

Alphabittle moved inside and revealed Strawberry was standing behind him. “Izzy Moonbow, meet Strawberry Sunflash,” Alphabittle sighed. “Now, Strawberry. You’ve seen the Brighthouse so now you can go back to Bridlewood.”

Strawberry scowled and looked Alphabittle in the eye. “Oh no, you’re not getting rid of me that easily! I will prove that I’m just as much an expert on magic as Misty Brightdawn. Where is she?”

Alphabittle sighed as Zipp flew over and put herself in the doorway. “Look, I’m sorry, we don’t have time for tours or magic competitions right now.”

Hitch hurried over, and stood next to Alphabittle, “Zipp’s right, there are lives of many ponies at stake and we need Alphabittle’s help. We don’t have time to show you around.”

“I saw the news on my way here,” Strawberry sniffed arrogantly. “Unlike some Bridlewood residents, I’ve embraced technology. If there’s a magical creature problem, then the more horns the better.”

“No,” Zipp said crossly. “We’ve got enough problems with Misty as it is. We don’t need somepony coming and turning this into a competition and making it more difficult.”

Strawberry blinked with surprise. Her arrogance melted away and she looked generally concerned. “What do you mean problems? She’d better be alright, what’s wrong?”

“Why would you care?” Hitch asked unsurely. “You’ve just said you wanted to prove you were better than her.”

“Well, yes. But she’s still my best friend's daughter,” Strawberry revealed.

Everypony turned and looked at Alphabittle with surprise. He looked equally surprised at their reaction. Then, after a look of realisation, he sighed and looked down. “She means Misty’s mother. She was best friends with her.”

“Luna Brightdawn was my best friend since I was a filly,” Strawberry sighed. “I remember when Misty was born, she was all Luna could talk about. Look, I admit I can be a stubborn and arrogant pony at times. I do want to prove I’m better. But I won’t do that if Misty’s already struggling through something. I owe it to Luna to help her.”

Zipp sighed and looked at Hitch. “Maybe, another pair of eyes looking at the books would help.”

“Misty’s driving herself too hard as it is,” Hitch admitted. “I don’t know.”

Alphabittle started to look very worried. “Wait? What’s going on? Where is Misty?”

Hitch groaned, “Okay, come in and close the door, we’ll bring you up to speed.”

“What? Really?” Zipp gasped.

“I think we’re going to need more magical allies if we’re going to rescue Sunny,” Hitch admitted.

Strawberry gasped and her eyes widened in shock. “Rescue Sunny? So, the reports are true, she’s been taken!”

Zipp let out a deep sigh of resignation. “Yes, she has.”

“And Misty’s in the Crystal Chamber trawling through books and getting no rest because she blames herself,” Izzy added.

“And that she thinks she’s got to do all the magic stuff alone,” Pipp admitted.

“Then I need to speak to her,” Alphabittle frowned. “Which way?”

Upstairs, the Crystal Chamber was a complete and utter mess. There were piles of books all over the place. Some were stacked neatly, but the majority were messy unorganised piles. Random books lay scattered around as well.

Misty let out a bellowing cry of frustration as she suddenly slammed the book that she’d been reading closed. She picked it up with her magic and flung it across the chamber, letting out another cry. It impacted one of the few neat piles, causing it to fall over.

There were dark lines under her tired bloodshot eyes. She sat panting, blinking rapidly as she struggled to stay awake. She looked around with frustration, picking up another book and opening it. Suddenly, the lift activated and started to lower.

“I said I don’t need anything!” Misty shouted irritably.

She tried to focus her eyes on the pages of the book, but it remained stubbornly out of focus. Then, she heard the lift coming back up and growled with annoyance. “Go away, Izzy!”

Misty turned and readied the book, intending to throw it at Izzy who she thought was coming up the lift. However, as it reached the top, she gasped as she saw Alphabittle standing on it alone.

“Misty,” Alphabittle gasped. “Oh, my little Mistywhisty. There’s no need for this.”

Misty stared at her father as the book fell to the floor. Her eyes started to fill with tears as she struggled to answer. Her mouth made juddering movements, but nothing came out. Finally, she let out a cry of anguish as she closed her eyes and let the tears fall.

Alphabittle moved forward and off the lift. However, he didn’t get far as Misty jumped up and hurried forward and into his embrace.

“I…It’s all m…my fault,” Misty sobbed. “I…I can’t… I can’t find it!”

“Find what?” Alphabittle said soothingly as he heard the lift going down.

“The s…spell,” Misty wept. “T…The one that w…will find Sunny.”

Alphabittle sighed as he rubbed Misty’s back and mane soothingly. “Oh, Misty. You’ll find it if you take your time. Staying up all night won’t help.”

“I…I know,” Misty cried. “I…It’s just I should have listened… I should have listened to Hitch and Zipp. I s…should have taken their side... Convinced Sunny it was a bad idea, that we should be more careful. I didn’t think it would be something like magic creatures. N…Now I’ve got to try and deal with it alone.”

“Like you haven’t already dealt with powerful magic?” another voice said.

Misty gasped as she saw the lift had come back up. Stood on it was Strawberry with Izzy standing behind her.

“You defeated a powerful Alicorn,” Strawberry continued. “You bested that flytrap I accidentally made into a pony-eating monster.”

Misty sniffed as she blinked the tears from her eyes. Frowning she looked at Strawberry cooly. “Opaline was different, I knew how she worked. The flytrap, I just did what I had to.”

“Which you’ll do again,” Izzy said brightly. “Wearing yourself out isn’t going to help Sunny though.”

Misty groaned as she felt Alphabittle rubbing her back soothingly. “Misty,” he said. “Pushing yourself this hard to find the answers isn’t going to help. You need to take care of yourself as well. If you're too tired and hungry you won’t be able to help Sunny.”

“I’ve seen what you can do and it’s... impressive,” Strawberry added. “But right now you’re nowhere near impressive.”

Misty scowled at Strawberry, “Why are you even here?”

Strawberry sighed, looking less confident. “I came because I wanted to prove I’m better than you. But now I’ve realised, that’s not what your mum would want. She’d want me to help you.”

Misty gasped and pulled away from Alphabittle’s embrace. “What’s my mum got to do with it?”

“I was best friends with Luna,” Strawberry explained. “We were like two peas in a pod. The books I have, we both studied them. If we’d had magic when…”

She trailed off, closing her eyes as a pained expression appeared on her face. She sighed and looked back at Misty with determination. “Teach me, teach me how to properly interpret the spells. Tell me what you’re looking for and I’ll help you find it.”

Misty frowned, looking at Alphabittle unsurely.

“I’ll be honest,” Alphabittle sighed. “Strawberry can be an arrogant and conceited pony at times. But your mother proved, underneath that she’s got a kind and caring heart.”

Misty closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll show you. When we first met, I hated the feeling I’d just made an enemy. I'd prefer to make friends, not enemies. So, if letting you help me and teaching you will turn you into a friend, then let’s do that.”

Strawberry’s chest puffed up with pride. “Being friends with Luna’s daughter sounds brilliant. When do we start?”

Misty was about to reply, however there was a loud growling sound from her stomach.

Izzy couldn’t help giggling, “Right after Misty finally gets something to eat and has a nap.”

“Sure,” Strawberry replied. “But maybe I could organise this lot so our task will be easier? I assume these are the ones from Canterlot?”

Misty frowned and shook her head. “No, these are from Opaline’s library. These contain dangerous magic, the kind that nopony should currently get their hoofs on, if at all.”

“Then why are you looking through them?” Alphabittle asked in shock.

“Because I’m looking for a spell that I saw Opaline cast,” Misty explained. “A location spell, she used it to find the Dragon Stone before she sent me to retrieve it. I know that spell is in this lot somewhere, I just can’t find it.”

“No wonder with how messy it is,” Izzy admitted.

“That’s because we never organised them when they got put up here,” Misty growled before sighing. “Also, I got frustrated. I don’t even know if it will find Sunny. But it’s all I can think of right now.”

Strawberry nodded understandingly and looked determined. “Okay, I understand, the magic in these books could be dangerous. Go and get some rest, I’ll organise these and then we’ll find that spell together. I promise, if I see anything in these books, I’ll speak to you before using my horn.”

Misty locked eyes with Strawberry and they stared at each other for a moment. Then, Misty nodded, “Okay, I...I think I trust you.”

She started to walk shakily towards the lift. Alphabittle smiled as he joined her, supporting her as the tiredness started catching up with her.

As the lift descended, Alphabittle smiled as he rubbed Misty’s mane reassuringly. “You’ve made the right choice, Misty.”

“I want to make friends,” Misty yawned. “Not enemies.”

Comments

[Comickook]

Again, you did an excellent job on the dialogue, characterizations and future chapter set-up. REALLY liked the gang trying to reassure each other concerning the combination of their resources to find the missing Earth Ponies (including Sunny) as well as the reactions to Phyllis's statement on the missing Earth Ponies. Also liked Alphabittle, Izzy and Strawberry helping get through to Misty concerning her guilt and frustration (the latter involving the lack of luck in finding the location spell).

I am most assuredly going to be looking forward to more of these.

[Phetiamwantip]

I hope Misty will trust Strawberry since she's a friend with her mother. Along with Sunny's friend will try to find Sunny, too