Spike eyed the crumbling gravestone in the distance.
Five centuries since she'd passed.
Five too many.
"Is... everything alright?" Sunny stepped a little closer to the dragon. "Like..." she gestured vaguely around them. "All of this--you live like this?"
A sigh. Spike gave a slow nod, crouching down to the ground. "I've... been living here for centuries now. It's my home. Or at least... was my home." He glanced up at the mare. "You... said that your father used to tell you stories about Twilight?"
"Mm-hm."
"Ooh, I sometimes hear stories about Twilight too!" Izzy waved her hoof in the air. "Like, this one time, she found this scroll that let her go back in time, but then a different unicorn named Starlight Glimmer who was a big meanie took it and tried to destroy the world!"
"You're close!" Spike chuckled, fidgeting with a small mound of dirt. "Little bit off, but things happened a bit differently from that. Oh--" He gasped. It felt nice to finally have somepony to talk to again. "--will you be staying for long? I... know that the town's hardly in any shape to be lived in after so many years, but the castle's still okay! For the most part."
A feeling of warmth flooded his aged heart as he watched Sunny's eyes widen.
"No, actually." The earth pony stallion standing behind Sunny cleared his throat. "We were planning on heading back home after this, right, Sunny?"
The mare rolled her eyes. "Not now, Hitch, I know Twilight's not here anymore, but Spike can still tell us a lot about ancient Equestria! Don't you think it'd be worth it to stay just one night?"
"Fine. Just stick together then." Hitch huffed. He looked over his shoulder. "Where's Pipp?"
"Oh, she's probably just romping through town streaming." The lone pegasus remaining dropped to the ground, albeit a little roughly. "She'll be back."
"Riiiight. Sure." Hitch turned back to Spike. "So, uh, Mister Dragon--"
"Spike, if you please."
"--Spike, right. You talk to Sunny and Izzy for a bit. Zipp and I are gonna go look for our missing pegasus."
"Sure thing. Hitch, right?"
Hitch grinned, tapping his badge. "Yup. Sheriff Hitch."
"Okay."
"Er..." Hitch seemed to be caught a little off-guard by the stale reaction, apparently. "Anyway, yeah. You girls stick with the dragon."
Zipp cleared her throat.
"You know what I mean, Zipp."
The pegasus chuckled, leaping into the air with a flap of her wings. Hitch led the way underneath, soon disappearing around a dilapidated corner.
"Soooooo..." The unicorn was the first to break the silence. "What was Twilight like?"
"Izzy!"
"Whaat?" Izzy shrugged, "I'm just wonderin'!"
"No, no, it's alright." Spike laughed. "Just meeting you guys has been enough to lift my spirits. Though, I'd have to admit, it's still hard letting go, even after so many hundreds of years. What were you asking again? You were wondering what she was like?"
"Eyup!" Izzy squeaked.
Spike sucked in a breath. "Right. Well, she tended to be pretty level-headed... most of the time. Analytical to a fault..." A sly grin grew across his face. "Dare I say she was a shut-in nerd?"
He looked up at Sunny. "Don't write that down."
"Mm, too late..." The mare mumbled. "I'll uh, erase it when I get back if you'd like."
"Nah, it's fine." Spike sighed. "Not like she's around anymore to complain, anyway. How about I show you two around town?"
"A... forest?" Sunny stared up at the thick canopy in front of them. "Is there something particularly important about this forest? Oh--is it another hidden unicorn town?"
"Nope, but it's not just any forest," Spike walked up to a nearby tree, winding up for a punch. "You watching, Sunny? Izz--"
"Apples!" Izzy cheered. The leaves above rustled a little before an apple emerged, floating gently down in Izzy's magic.
"...Right. Well, that's Sweet Apple Acres for ya." Spike shrugged. "Sunny, does your hometown grow any fruit trees?"
Sunny shook her head.
Spike let the punch loose, slamming his fist into the trunk of the tree. The ground shuddered from the impact, followed shortly by a barrage of apples raining down from above.
"It's not exactly how the Apple family did it when they were still living here, but it's the best I can do. They called it applebucking".
"A--" Sunny's surprise was cut off by an apple hitting her square on the head. "--ow. Er, Apple family? They used to live here?"
A nod. "Are they important to you?"
Sunny flipped through her notebook. "Yeah! I've read all about Applejack. Pinkie, too. Maretime Bay's history books only talk about those two. Said that the Apple family business eventually grew beyond apples into all sorts of produce. I think... hold on..." She slipped her saddlebags off and rummaged inside, pulling out a small, flat tin. "Yeah, I knew I had some cans with me!"
"Candied apples?" Spike squinted. "Oh--dang, the Apple family lives on, huh?"
"I'm pretty sure, yeah." Sunny lowered her hoof. "They still advertise their stuff as 'family owned and operated' to this day, though nopony knows where they're actually based. It's nowhere near Maretime Bay, that's for sure."
"Appleloosa?"
Sunny shrugged. "Maybe, but I wouldn't know where that is."
A quiet splat came from behind them.
"Sorry!" Izzy kicked aside the rotten apple. "I was just tasting some, but this one went splat!"
"Heh. Yeah, that's what happens with the bad ones."
Sunny nodded, wandering deeper into the undergrowth. "I do wonder why they left this place, though. It doesn't look all that ba--"
"Stand back!" Spike shouted. He stepped past the surprised mare, bending down to something in the brush. A soft symphony of clicks and whimpers rose before him.
"Timberwolves." The dragon stood up again, a small bundle of sticks in his arms now. "I can't say that I'm sure it happened, but it always felt like the years leading up to magic's disappearance came alongside a surge in the wild creatures' population. Sweet Apple Acres gave up defending against the encroaching timberwolves ages ago."
Sunny gasped as the bundle moved. Slowly, a glowing set of eyes opened up, staring directly into the mare's own.
"Cute!" Izzy squealed. The young timberwolf bristled at the sudden noise.
"Izzy!" Sunny shushed, looking over her shoulder. "Can you maybe be a little... calmer?"
"Oh, there's nothing to worry about these days." Spike set the pup on the ground. "The timberwolves are far more docile now, from what I've seen. Honestly, I'm surprised they survived through the magic-less years at all."
"So... why did you tell me to stand back, then?" Sunny's eyes trailed the now-visibly excited pup as it ran circles around them. "Is its mother nearby?"
Spike shrugged. "Beats me, though like I said, they tend to be far more docile now. I just didn't want you stepping on the pup. It's one of the little things that I've filled my days with over the years, watching over the wildlife like this."
"Pipp! Pippsqueak! Hey!" Zipp flitted through the empty streets, stopping only occasionally for the odd noise every now and then. "Hitch, you see her down there?"
"Nope."
"C'mon, sis," The mare's voice gradually faded as she dipped behind some buildings. "Are you really gonna get yourself this hopelessly lost again? This isn't the royal gardens, you know!"
Hitch listened to Zipp's calling for a few more seconds, before turning his attention to the dilapidated buildings around him. "Pipp?" He peered into the empty foyer of what was probably once a house. "You in there?"
Nothing.
"Any luck?" Sunny cantered up beside him. "We didn't see her anywhere while we were up at the edge of the forest."
Hitch shook his head.
"We've got apples!" Izzy grinned as she caught up. "Very tasty apples, too!"
"Apple family." Sunny gave a nod toward Izzy. "Turns out they used to live right here. Can you believe that?"
"Pipp?" Zipp's voice echoed in the distance.
Spike cleared his throat. "So, uh, we gonna keep looking for your friend now?"
Another nod. "Yeah, we're still looking." Sunny continued past Hitch. "Let's see now... if I were Pipp, I would..." She narrowed her eyes, peering past the rows of abandoned buildings. "Oh, oh, I think I've got an idea!"
"Hm?"
Sunny turned to Spike. "We were talking about Fluttershy earlier, right? Didn't she live in a cottage nearby?"
"...Yes. Do you think Pipp might've gone there?"
"Mm-hm!" Sunny began walking in the opposite direction. "She likes taking pictures and recording videos, so if she found a place that's filled with cute critters, then she'd be having the time of her life there!"
"Don't you think you might be projecting a little?" Hitch deadpanned.
Sunny chuckled. "Mmmaybe. But hey, it's worth a shot if we haven't checked there already, right?"
"...Fine. Zipp! You comin' with us?"
"In a bit! Checking the train station at the moment!" Zipp's voice echoed back.
"Does she have, like, a super-voice or something?" Izzy whispered to Sunny. "That's some strong yelling!"
Sunny stared at the vine-infested cottage. "It's..."
"A little run-down? Yeah." Spike laughed, grabbing a fistful of vines and tugging. "It was her wish to leave her home to nature, so I haven't touched it since. Not even after she vanished."
A loud pop tore through the air, followed by a flash of light.
"WHO DARES SET FOOT ON THE TERRITORY OF THE WEED EATER?" A wavering voice boomed, before devolving into a fit of cackling.
Almost instantly, a long-unspoken name resurfaced in the dragon's mind.
"...Discord?" Spike raised a brow. "This is where you've been all those years?"
"In the flesh!" Discord bowed... or more accurately, the vine-encrusted dirt golem shaped like him bowed. It opened its mouth, revealing the draconequus lounging with his feet up on a table.
"You know this guy?" Hitch frowned. "He's a little... uh..."
"Loopy? Yup, that's Discord alright." Spike climbed up the thick layers of vine to the roof of the cottage. "Discord, how's it been, man? I haven't seen you in ages!"
Discord opened an eye, peering at Spike before rising from his seat. He picked his feet off of the table and slipped them back on with an audible click. He stepped closer, and closer, and closer...
"Uh, Discord?"
The draconequus leaned in close to Spike, to the point where their foreheads were nearly touching.
"Mayonnaise."
"Bing bong!" Izzy whispered with a chuckle.
"Okay, what's with the word mayonnaise that makes it such a bad word for you unicorns?" Hitch spun around to face Izzy. "Who ruined mayo for you guys?"
Izzy shrugged. "Legends say that it involved a pegasus. Though, a different legend says that we unicorns started it."
"Oh. Okay."
"Hey! Heeeeey!" Discord slithered around the group. "We talking about mayo without ol' Uncle Discord? Hmm?" He pat Izzy's frilly mane. "Ooh, I like this one. Very puffy."
A quiet yip rose from the underbrush nearby.
"Timby!" Izzy squeaked, bending down to the timberwolf pup.
"You named him?" Spike cocked his head.
"Yup!" Izzy stood back up. "Ooh, Hitch, you wanna meet Timby?"
"Who's Tim--" Hitch was promptly tackled by the hyperactive bundle of sticks.
"Ignoring me again?" Discord sighed as Hitch struggled against the timberwolf. "Kids these days and their lack of attention, good grief."
Spike smiled, shaking his head. "No, I think it's more that they might be a little... afraid of you. Except for Izzy, though. That was certainly quite the entrance you made there with the golem."
"And I suppose they don't hear of the ol' Lord of Chaos in their bedtime stories anymore, do they?"
A shrug. "Beats me. Couldn't you, like, check for yourself?"
"Meh." Discord snapped his claws, summoning a comedically small walker. "I'm too old for that."
"Suuuuure." Spike glanced at the three ponies continuing to struggle behind him. "So... uh, I've been meaning to ask you something. About Fluttershy."
The draconequus froze at the mentioning of that name. He looked down at the walker, waving it away with a paw before turning back to Spike.
"Fluttershy, you say?"
"Yeah. All anypony knows is that she disappeared one day. Twilight was devastated when she heard."
"Well..." Discord hung his head. "I suppose you should see her for yourself."
"See--" Spike tripped over his words. "See her? You mean she's still--"
"Not all there." Discord walked up to the vines, holding a bundle aside to reveal a worn door. "I did what I could. The rest is up to her to figure out."
Spike looked over his shoulder. The timberwolf was frolicking in front of Hitch, and Sunny was talking to Izzy about... something. It wouldn't hurt to slip away for a moment, right?
He set his hand on the weathered doorknob and twisted.
It was... dark, to say the least. Nothing like what the cottage had been years ago. Spike flinched at the touch of a vine that'd penetrated the ceiling.
"This is how she's living?" Spike muttered under his breath. "I... wow. I honestly didn't kno--"
"Tut tut," Discord's voice echoed through the damp hallway. "You wait just one moment."
"Wh--"
He turned his head back to the door. A small seam was beginning to form across its surface, spreading quickly to the floor and ceiling before tearing open. Behind it, a considerably newer-looking door, and walls, and ceiling, and--oh man, he could already guess what was coming next.
Slowly, Spike turned back around.
And all thoughts left his head.
"F-Fluttershy?" Spike stepped closer to the stony mare. "This is where you went?"
The sound of stone grinding on stone filled the air. He could almost make out a smile on Fluttershy's face before the stone receded into a mass of bark and leaves.
"Spike?" Her voice rustled through the leaves. "Spike, is that really you?"
"I could ask the same."
The branches shuddered for a moment vaporizing, leaving only Fluttershy's wooden form before him. Two mismatched wings broke free from the bark, followed by a pair of hooves. A scaly arm emerged next, followed finally by one more hoof.
And all fell silent.
"Flu--"
A burst of light exploded from underneath the remaining bark, blowing off the last of the mare's wooded fortress. Her eyes immediately shot to her mismatched limbs. "Oh," she sighed, "it's happened again."
"You'll get it someday, sweetheart," Discord slithered out of the ceiling. "I know you can."
"This--" Spike gestured at Fluttershy. "This is what you were talking about, isn't it, Discord? Her body was failing, so you made her a new one. And now she's a--"
"Draconequus." Discord nodded. "Just for the record, she asked for it."
Fluttershy blew a raspberry at Discord before turning her attention back to Spike. "Spike, it's been so long since you've visited! How's Twilight?"
Spike cringed.
"O-oh..." Fluttershy visibly wilted. "I see. I'm too late, aren't I? But it's only been a few years!"
This time, it was Discord's turn to cringe. "Well... you see, Flutters, you said that you wanted to return the cottage to nature, but I couldn't let you live like that, so I opened a pocket universe inside it! One that... well, happened to... pass time...slower than the rest of the world..."
Fluttershy's eyes shot to Spike. "How long has it been?"
"About five centuries..."
Fluttershy let out a quiet gasp. She frowned at Discord. "You and I are gonna have a long talk later, mister."
As for Discord's part, he shriveled into a raisin.
"Well," Spike coughed. "Uh... I don't suppose you'd be interested in stepping outside again, after everything you just learned. The world's a changed place. Having you around would be a great help."
Fluttershy shook her head. "Not yet. I don't want to scare anypony looking like this. What would they think?"
"Probably the same thing they were thinking when they saw mister raisin over there." Spike grumbled. "If you want, I could show you some new friends I made today. One of them seems to have a thing for animals just like you."
"Oh?" Fluttershy cocked her head. She fluttered her wings, lifting quietly into the air. "Well... I guess if it's been this long already, I should at least take a look..."
She landed in front of the door, opening it with her mouth. Bright, rolling fields stretched across the horizon, broken up only by the many animals dotting the landscape.
"Oh, right--" Discord snapped his fingers. The scenery around them melted away, leaving only the dilapidated cottage in its wake.
Fluttershy scrunched her muzzle at the sudden stench of rotting wood, but nevertheless repeated her actions. The light that streamed through was considerably dimmer this time as she stepped through.
"Oh, there's a second one now?" Hitch's voice grumbled.
"My my, what a rude way to welcome an old friend of mine." Discord slipped past Fluttershy. "I'll have you know, we draconequuses are very--"
"Hush now, Discord." Fluttershy set a hoof on his shoulder. "You don't want to leave a bad impression on them, do you?"
Spike was next to peek out the door. "Sunny?" He began, glancing at the mare. "I'd like you to meet Fluttershy."
"Fl-Fluttershy?" Sunny stepped closer to the draconequus. "You're... you're still alive! A-and you're a--"
"Draconequus, yes, yes, we went over this before already with mister buff boy over there." Discord pointed a claw at Spike. "Anyhoo, enough with the surprise already, 'kay? Save it for when I invert your sofas."
"What."
"That's the spirit!" Discord stretched a long arm around Sunny. "Boredom is what makes things funnier when they happen!"
Hitch groaned, rubbing his face. "Listen. Spike. Buddy. Is it just me, or is this Discord guy a massive prankster?"
"Oh, he's a prankster alright," Spike chuckled. "You'll get used to him after a while. He really doesn't mean any harm. Or at least, usually he doesn't." He looked to Fluttershy. "Oh, Flutters, anything on your mind? I know it's been a while since you stepped outside, and... well, the whole deal with Discord distorting time and all. Actually, wait, come to think of it--" He pointed a finger at Discord, his earlier grin quickly fading. "Fluttershy's disappearance was the last straw for Twilight. Why didn't you at least tell her what you two were doing? Twilight would've been thrilled to know that at least one of her closest friends could still be by her side!"
"Woah woah, easy there on the pointing!" Discord ducked away from Spike's finger. "I didn't think that she'd mind, okay? When you're immortal, you think of time completely differently. I thought that Twilight wouldn't mind! I thought that, after taking on the responsibilities of Celestia and Luna, she'd know she'd be facing millennia of life!"
"Well you thought wrong." Spike crossed his arms.
An eerie silence set over the group. Not even Timby made a sound.
"...Spike?" Fluttershy was the first to speak again. "Spike, I know it must be hard, learning that Twilight could've still been alive, but moving on is the best choice you have. As Discord said, immortality makes you think about time differently. Twilight..." She let out a long, sad sigh. "I guess Twilight never quite accepted that immortality in the end. Do you know at least remember what happened to her?"
Spike clenched his eyes shut, turning away. A quiet sniffle rose out of him.
"I-I understand. We can talk about it some other time, then."
Discord raised a claw, opening his mouth to speak before being shot down by a glare from Fluttershy.
"You knew about this, didn't you?" Fluttershy scolded the draconequus. "You were the one that always entered and left the cottage! If I knew this would happen, I never would've agreed to this!"
For the second time that day, Discord shriveled up.
Fluttershy took a deep breath, turning back to the other ponies. "Well, I suppose now's as good a time as any to introduce ourselves." Her eyes turned to Sunny. "Spike already mentioned you. You're Sunny, right?"
Sunny gave a timid nod to the draconequus.
"And I'm Hitch." Hitch tapped his badge. "Sheriff Hit--whoa!" He tumbled to the ground as Timby once again tackled him.
"A timberwolf pup!" Fluttershy gasped, rushing over to Hitch. "I didn't know that you were friends with one!"
"Not... so much... friend--" Hitch pushed the yipping bundle of sticks off his flank. "Spike found 'em at the edge of the forest. We put him back, but apparently he followed me all the way here!"
A songbird landed on the stallion's head. "Hey, shoo! Play with Timby or whatever his name is." Hitch waved his hooves over his head. The bird hopped off, perching instead on the timberwolf's own head. Both, however, continued to stare at Hitch.
Fluttershy's eyes sparkled as she grinned the widest she had in years. "You can talk to animals too?"
"I guess so." Hitch rolled his eyes. "What, that something you can do as well?"
Fluttershy nodded enthusiastically. Her wings fluttered on her back for a moment as she regained her composure.
"Interesting..." Sunny mumbled to herself, writing in her journal. "So pegasi... er, former pegasi can also communicate with wild creatu--"
"Aaaaaanyways," Hitch let out a loud, albeit obviously fake, yawn. "We should probably get going now. Find where Zipp and Pipp are and all. Been nice talking to you, Fluttershy, Discord. We'll be off now! Spike?"
A quiet sigh. Spike slowly turned, waddling back down the path away from the cottage.
"I see Zipp!" Izzy suddenly shouted, pointing a hoof at the sky. "Pipp's with her, too!"
Hitch rolled his eyes. "Took you two long enough. Pipp, where were you all that time?"
"Exploring!" Pipp cheered, landing with a soft thud. "There's no network out here, but I was thinking that I could make a vlog on some of the abandoned buildings. My favorite so far's been the old boutique! Everything's still there, even the unfinished dresses!"
"Rarity." Spike sighed. "She was the one that owned that place. Carousel Boutique, she called it."
"Aaand there's yet another historical figure, right there." Sunny flipped through her journal. "Rarity Belle, Element of Generosity, right?"
Spike nodded. "Yeah. Been a long time since I've heard that name being said, that's for sure." He glanced at Pipp. "Why don't we head back to the castle now? We can stop by the boutique on the way there. With Sugarcube Corner now gone, I can't say there's much else beyond those two that we haven't looked at."
"Oh--" Pipp cringed. "I... kinda already explored the castle earlier. It's wicked spooky inside. There's this giant set of pedestals, for one. I even took some pictures!"
Spike raised a brow.
"...I probably should've asked before I barged into your home, shouldn't I?"
"No, no, it's perfectly fine if you did." Spike laughed. "Emphasis on if. I have a feeling that you somehow ended up at the Castle of the Two Sisters. Not sure how you managed to confuse it with Twilight's Castle... or how you managed to get out in one piece from the Everfree... er..." He cleared his throat. "Wait, no magic, nevermind. How did you stumble upon it, anyway?"
Pipp shrugged. "Wind blew me there. I flew back when it died down, though Zipp was the one that saw me first."
"And then you dragged me to the old boutique." Zipp rolled her eyes.
"--Yeah, and that." Pipp tucked her phone under her wing. "Well, on the bright side, nothing bad happened while I was there!"
"Are we just gonna stand around and talk?" Hitch grumbled. "'Cause we could just as easily talk on the go, too. I don't want to leave Sprout in charge of Maretime Bay for any longer than I have to. I'm sure we all remember what happened last time."
Spike raised a finger.
"Big meanie tries to start a war but destroys Sunny's house instead." Izzy deadpanned. "It's not nice to destroy somepony else's house."
"Oh. Okay. Uh..." Spike scratched his head. "Definitely didn't expect that, but I guess since Twi had to deal with a small, racist child who was trying to do the same thing ages ago..." He shrugged. "Don't really know what I'm trying to say, aside from that it's something that's happened before. The starting wars part, I mean."
He fell silent after that.
"So... are we going to Carousel Boutique, then?" Sunny cocked her head.
"Sure."
"Yup." Hitch nodded, staring up at the dilapidated building. "That's a boutique alright."
Sunny pressed a hoof into the weathered door. It gave way with a loud crash, ripping off its hinges and tipping onto the dust-carpeted flooring. Panic in her eyes, Sunny looked to Spike.
"It's fine." Spike sighed. "All the buildings are like that around here. There's no point in fixing them."
"You're acting surprisingly calm over this." Sunny stepped over the fallen door. "My dad used to tell me stories about how you were obsessed with Rarity back in the day."
"Were. She's gone now, just like Twilight."
"...Sorry. I'll stop bringing things up for now."
Spike gave a nod and followed her inside.
"Wow..." Sunny slowly spun in the center of the room. "I can just imagine what it was like when this place was still open. Dresses and suits on display on the ponnequins, colors all around..."
"And glitter!" Izzy held up an ancient-looking can of sequins in her magic. "Come look over here! I think I found the storeroom!"
Spike watched Sunny follow after her friend. Behind him, he could hear Hitch lecturing Sunny about staying with the group. His eyes turned downward to the discarded sheets of paper littering the floor where he stood. They must've fallen off one of the nearby counters at some point.
He bent down, scooping up a few of them. As expected, they were nothing more than old dress designs. A little tacky, in his opinion, but no doubt Rarity's. He shuffled the sheets. There were some traces of Yona's tastes in a few of these designs, though. Not that it was a bad thing, just... different. Fluffier.
A shallow chuckle escaped him. Spike stood back up, setting the designs on a countertop. "Sunny, Izzy, you done back there?"
"Just a moment!" Sunny's voice echoed back. Spike could just barely see Izzy's horn-light emanating from the otherwise dark room.
The light faded away. Sunny sauntered out of the storage room, wearing a sequin-studded dress. Izzy bounced out behind her.
"Tadaaaa!" Izzy exclaimed, gesturing with both hooves at Sunny. "You like it? I tried sewing to practice my horn magic!"
Spike popped a thumbs-up at the amateur effort. "Looks pretty good so far! Maybe one day, you can open a little dress shop of your own."
"Nah, too boring. I wanna explore!"
"Fair enough." Spike snorted. He glanced at Sunny, then to the mirror she was staring into.
He took a step toward the mare. "Hey, something up?"
Sunny shook her head. "No, just looking, that's all. I didn't think Izzy would be able to get this many sequins on in so little time."
"Hm. Yup." Spike nodded toward Izzy. "Unicorns are pretty quick with their horns once they know what they're doing. Anything else you'd like to check out before we leave, by the way? I feel like Hitch is getting pretty annoyed by how long everything's taken on your little trip."
"Y-yeah..." Sunny turned around, walking toward the door. "Probably should get going..."
She stepped over the broken door, leaving Spike and Izzy alone in the building.
"So tell me again why we're bringing a dragon, a unicorn, and two pegasi home with us?"
Sunny continued walking. "Tell me again why your little creature army's done nothing but grow over the past few days first."
Hitch side-eyed Timby. "Listen--"
"I know, I know. You have no idea." Sunny forced a chuckle. She kept her head low, dragging her hooves with each step.
"Seriously, Sunny." Spike jogged up beside the mare. "If something's bugging you, it's best to let it out. I've seen plenty enough of what happens when somepony tries to bottle things up for too long."
"My... mom." Her steps slowed. Hitch let out a quiet sigh as he too slowed his pace. "I used to play dress-up with her a lot when my dad was busy. She disappeared one day though, and we still haven't found her. After my dad... well, passed, I decided to stop thinking about it."
She brushed her hoof over her sleeve. "Sorry if it's a bit much to take in. It's just that making this outfit with Izzy--"
"It's alright. I understand."
A thin smile emerged on Sunny's lips. "Heh. Yeah. Like I'm one to talk when you've--"
"No."
She looked up. "No?"
"Don't talk to yourself that way. Please. Just because someone else has had it worse doesn't mean you matter less."
Sunny fell silent.
Spike walked ahead. "C'mon. There's something I'd like to show all of you."
"A... mirror." Zipp touched down on the decaying floor. She stepped closer to the machinery attached to the frame. "Interesting contraptions it's got surrounding it, though. It almost looks like..." Her eyes traced the path from the mirror's surface up to a small platform above it. "It needs a power source of some kind."
"Bingo." Spike shot finger-guns at Zipp as he backed himself to a bookshelf. "But before we do anything with that, I want you all to take a close look at yourselves. What do you see?"
"Me!" Izzy squeaked, peering at herself.
Hitch stepped up behind her. "Makes sense. It's a mirror, after al--oh?"
Hitch cocked his head. The caped pony staring back at him cocked their head as well.
"It's one of the only enchanted items I know of that've retained their magic all this time. From what I understand, it shows the destiny of whoever looks into it. Either that or it shows what they see themselves to be in the future. Don't really have the ability to ask anyone about that anymore, so I'm going off of a hunch."
"Ooh, I'll try next!" Pipp landed with a soft thud in front of the mirror.
Zipp facehoofed beside her. "Of course your reflection is your streaming career. Sunny, you wanna try next?"
Sunny shook her head. "No, it's alright. You can go."
"Thanks, but I can already see the Wonderbolts uniform on my reflection from here."
"Oh."
"...Uhhhhhwelp!" Spike clapped his hands together. "Might as well get on with the next part of it. Though, I definitely wouldn't advise sticking around for too long in there once it's open."
"Ope--" Sunny caught sight of the journal in Spike's claws as he walked past. "...Wait. Wait. Hold on, is this the mirror-portal?"
"Yup!" Spike grinned, setting the dusty book on the platform. "I was surprised when I was able to reactivate it as well! I thought that when its 30-moon cycle ended, it'd be closed for good!"
A low, almost gurgling noise began to fill the room as flickering mana poured life from the journal into the portal.
"It's... a bit louder than it was before." Spike chuckled. "But it still works!"
Sunny stared wide-eyed at the now-swirling surface of the portal. "Can I try it?"
Spike nodded. "It's why I brought you all here in the first place. Just keep in mind that you should not stay for long in there. I did some Twilight-style experiments with some plants to see if the world on the other side was still okay, and they... uh, weren't so okay after about a month. You'll see what I mean."
"Or maybe you forgot to water them." Izzy snickered.
Spike paused for a moment before facepalming. "I'm an idiot. Still, I'll be coming through as well, just in case."
"Well," Sunny stepped up to the portal, reaching a hoof through. "Jokes aside, here goes nothing."
"Sunny!"
The girl groaned.
"Sunny!"
Something was batting at her face. She opened an eye.
"Gah!" Sunny scooted back, sending Spike tumbling off her chest. "Spike? You're... you're a dog? That wasn't ever mentioned in the books I read!"
Spike shrugged.
"And I'm--" Sunny stared down at her new hands. "I'm human now." She clapped them against her cheeks. "I'm human now! I have hands!"
She laughed, pulling a portion of her dress out for a better view. "And it even transformed my clothes! I read all about this when I was a filly! Though, isn't there supposed to be a school or something here?"
"O-kaaaay," Spike mumbled, "Might be best not to make too much of a scene now, 'kay?"
She perked her head up. "Hm? Why?"
Spike shrugged again. "Just in case. Hundreds of years have passed since Twilight last set hoof--er, foot here. Even with the landscape looking like..." he gestured vaguely at the barren desert around them. "...well, this, it's better to be safe than sorry. There isn't much to see around here anymore, anyway. And... well," He turned around, looking up at what remained of the statue the exit portal had attached to. "This is part of why I'm surprised it still worked in the first place. I don't know what happened, but I think at some point the portal on this side was removed from the school."
"Sure looks like it." Sunny shaded her eyes. "It's so... flat here. And dry."
"Mm-hm. You'd expect to at least see signs of civilization around, but no. Anyway, we should probably get going now. Just in case. I still have a sneaking suspicion that something terrible happened here."
"So, how was it?" Izzy cocked her head. "Did you meet any humans on the other side?"
Sunny shook her head. "No, not rea--wait a second. You know about huma--"
"Nothiiiiing!"
Sunny snorted. "Well, I guess it makes sense that you unicorns still know some history."
Hitch cleared his throat.
"Oh! Right. We should probably get going now." Sunny turned to Spike. "Thanks for showing us around! It's been really fun getting to learn about this place. Would you mind if I dropped by again someti--"
"--Who said I wasn't gonna be going with you?" Spike smirked. "It's been ages since I've left Ponyville. These old bones are aching for adventure!"
Sunny rolled her eyes. "Okaaaay, gramps. Don't forget to bring your cane while you're at it."
"Again," Hitch groaned. "Are we really bringing everyone back with us? I know Sprout made a mess after Izzy visited, and... uh, after everyone else stopped by as well, but what are the townsfolk gonna think when they see him?"
Zipp nudged Hitch's raised hoof away from Spike. "We'll get to it when we get to it, sheriff. Let him enjoy life for once, will you?"
"Sheesh, I make a joke about being a decrepit old dude and all of you hop on the bandwagon."
"That's 'cause you are a decrepit old dude." Izzy smirked.
Spike pretended not to see her pull a pair of sunglasses out of nowhere. "So. We headed out now? Gotta say bye to Twilight before we go."
Everyone looked to Hitch.
"I can't believe you. All of you."
Spike responded to Hitch's complaints with a wide grin as he continued trailing behind Zipp and Pipp through the air.
"I mean, seriously. How can a guy like you pull off puppy eyes with that body? You knew I'd cave when you asked to see this Canterlot place, didn't you? Couldn't you have gone by yourself with all that time you've spent living alone?"
Timby barked beside Hitch.
"Mount Canterhorn, right?" Zipp shouted back.
"Yeah!" Spike responded. "Canterlot was built into the side of the peak. The last I heard of it, Cloudsdale had to anchor itself to the mountain when the magic started to fade. There should be a palace there as well, but I'm not sure if--"
"That's where we live!"
"Wait, what?"
"Canterlot's still there." Sunny peeked over Spike's shoulder. "Or at least, a part of it is. It's known as Zephyr Heights now. Zipp discovered an old airship station underground. I'm not sure if anything else from that time survived."
An amused huff rose from the dragon. "Guessing that's the result of the two cities merging."
"Mmyeah, you could say that. My dad sometimes told me stories about Celestia and Luna. Said that they lived for thousands and thousands of years, but then they just... disappeared. You said you still talked with them, right?"
"Talked. I'd rather not wake up choking on a rubber duck or whatever again."
"Oh."
"...Have you... uh," Hitch's voice mumbled from behind Sunny. "Maybe considered asking them not to do that?"
Spike sighed. "Yup. Got a platter of cheese in response, courtesy of Luna. At this point, I really think they've both gone off their rockers. I know it's all probably in 'good humor' or whatever they'd call it, but I don't like spitting out anything bigger than maybe a scroll or two by dragonfire."
"A platter of cheese."
"Yeah."
Izzy quietly giggled behind Hitch.
As for the stallion himself, he paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "...Was it good cheese?"
"No."
"...Oh."
"...Y'know..." a cocky smirk began to grow across Spike's face. "Back in my day, some cows could talk. I wonder where ol' Lulu got that cheese from..."
A pause.
"Oh. Oh. First the puppy eyes, and now this?" Hitch groaned. "Please don't be like Sunny. I already know plenty enough about what happened in the dungeons."
"I said that was a joke!" Sunny grumbled. "You really held onto that all this time?"
"That's why you don't tell a pubescent colt about the Canterlot Ho--"
"O-kaaaaaay!" Spike dipped downward, sending the ponies and timberwolf on his back lurching backward. "That's enough of that, thank you."
"Like you're one to talk."
He could just barely hear the snickers of Zipp and Pipp up ahead.
Spike stared up at the eroding rafters. "It's a lot less... dusty than I thought it'd be."
"You can thank Zipp for that." Sunny chuckled. "She's been a bit of a one-mare-army in keeping the place in shape. This is the airship station that we were talking about earlier."
"It's so..." Spike took a tentative step deeper into the room. A quiet chuckle escaped him. "Familiar. I never rode on any of the airships myself, but I remember seeing this place a few times before..."
He turned to the shattered murals barely holding to the window frames. To the open doors of the station from which they'd arrived.
"I missed so, so much. Didn't I?"
"Eyup." Sunny pointed a hoof at the stained glass surrounding the doors. "Do... you recognize any of that, by the way? The three separate crystals, I mean. I know the mural's pretty damaged and all, but you can kinda tell what's what still."
"Hm?" Spike turned his head to Sunny. Then back to the doors. "Oh, those?" He scratched his head. "--Man, it's been a while. I think those were the forms that the Elements of Harmony took on when they rematerialized. I wanna say that it happened right around the time when magic started to fade when that happened. Can't say for sure, though. The newspapers were all shutting down left and right around that time."
"Elements of Harmony, huh?" Sunny walked past Spike. "I can see the connection. Six elements became three crystals, one for each tribe, right?"
"Mm-hm. And then they just kinda disappeared. I was thinking of going out to collect them all just in case, but... well..." He hung his head. "Twilight happened. I didn't want to leave her, even after she was long-gone."
"But we found them again!" Izzy chirped, pulling Spike into a hug. "And just like us, they fit together just like a puzzle!"
Spike cocked his head. "You mean you've wielded them before?"
Sunny shrugged. "Yeah, you could say that. They didn't actually do anything at first when I fit them together. It was after the town came together when they activated. I even got a neat set of wings and a horn for a little while!"
"So... the entire town... hm..." Spike's face shifted from expression to expression as he continued his muttering, punctuated by a single sigh after a few seconds. He broke away from Izzy. "You know what? I don't understand this magic mumbo-jumbo anymore. It's been too long since I've seen it. I would say that it sounds like everyone there's now the collective bearers, but if only you saw any effect, then that could also mean that you're the sole bearer of the Elements..."
"Ooh, the Elements of Harmony?" Discord's disembodied head emerged from Sunny's saddlebag. "What fun! Send me a postcard the next time you shoot the rainbow death lasers!"
Spike snorted. "Guessing you were with us the entire time?"
Discord reappeared before Spike with a snap. "Indubitably," he bowed. "I say, you've got some nerve slandering your former princesses the way you did earlier. I mean, I'd be doing it as well, but you didn't care to invite me?"
Spike raised a brow. Timby continued clutching onto Hitch's unamused head in surprise.
Zipp coughed. "Alright! I guess the gang's all here then. Who's up for a tour of Zephyr Heights proper?"
"Ooh, Zephyr?" Discord clapped his mismatched limbs together before shouting into the ether. "'Shy, I didn't know your rascal of a brother got a city named after him! Maybe these two little princesses here are actually his great-great-great-great-great--"
"Discord, I'm feeling kind of... peeved right now..." Fluttershy's voice rung through the station as a small tornado of dust and loose paper began to form in the center of the station. "You better behave, mister."
The weathered flooring beneath them began to rumble. Small chunks of debris lifted into the air, spiraling about within the whirlwind as the light streaming through the stained glass flickered erratically.
Fluttershy's airy voice cut through the wind, still timid as ever. "Um... would everypony mind stepping back a little? I don't want anypony to get hurt."
Larger items began to take to the air now. Pieces of glass and stone swirled about, and Timby clutched ever harder to Hitch. Spike shielded his face with an arm.
Discord, for his part, munched on his popcorn silently.
"Fluttershy!" Spike shouted, "Are you sure a tornado is part of whatever it is you're trying to do?"
Pipp squeaked as she too began to lift off the floor. "Oh--"
"Gotcha!" Spike grabbed her by the hoof. "Flutters! Can you hear me?"
Just as suddenly as it formed, the tornado dissipated. All at once, the formerly-airborne rubble collapsed into a heap in the middle of the station floor.
A pale-yellow pegasus lay atop the debris, unconscious.
"Fluttershy!" Spike rushed to the pegasus' side. "Oh good, she's still breathing. Zipp--" he looked up to the mare hovering close by. "You take everyone else on tour. I'll stay back and watch over Flutters."
"And me?" Discord's face filled the dragon's vision.
"You just behave yourself. Capiche?" Spike pushed Discord's face away. "Do whatever. Just don't... well... do chaos things."
"Yessire!"
Spike raised a brow at the saluting draconequus.
"Are you sure you're fine with being left behind?" Sunny cocked her head. "There's a lot that you probably haven't seen before."
"Mm-hm. I've already seen everything up to smartphones and computers before in the human world. I'm sure things aren't too far off from that here after several centuries. Technology sorta lags behind here compared to the other side of the mirror."
"That's--" Sunny snorted a chuckle. "--Yeah. That's about it, actually. But don't you want to see the architecture at least? You came out here to sightsee, didn't you?"
"I'll be fine." Spike waved her off. "I've waited this long to leave Ponyville, I can afford another few centuries if I have to. Right now what's important is making sure that Fluttershy's safe."
Zipp pointed a hoof at the towering structure above them. "And here, we've got the royal palace! I know you and Izzy have been inside it before already, and I think Hitch as well, but this angle really brings out how big the whole thing is."
She gave a heavy flap of her wings, sending herself careening upward toward the higher levels. "My parents always told me that this place was passed down over countless generations! Said that it always belonged to the pegasi since it was built. But--"
The pegasus vanished through an open window on one of the upper towers.
A thundering thud of hooves-on-stone marked her landing upon return, wings still splayed. She dropped the roll of fabric from her mouth onto the ground. "When I found some dusty old banners deep in the basement, I sorta started doubting that idea."
Sunny's eyes widened. "Is that--"
"See for yourself." Zipp smirked, tapping the roll with a hoof. It unrolled partway; just enough to see the stylized forms of two alicorns.
"There's more?"
Zipp nodded, unrolling the tapestry further. Beneath the old Equestrian flag was Twilight Sparkle.
"The manufacturers told me that I had to change them all to pegasi before I could put it on a scarf," Pipp added.
Hitch rolled his eyes.
"Can... can I--"
"Keep it," Zipp nudged the edge of the tapestry with a hoof. "There's several more in storage just like it."
A dim, sputtering glow enveloped the tapestry. Sunny's eyes shot to the struggling Izzy beside her. "Izzy?"
Izzy shot a pained smile in response. Stray sparks shot off in every direction from her horn, lighting up the moonlit path around beneath them.
"Izzy!" Sunny gasped, eyes growing wide. She took a tentative step closer to her friend. "Izzy, your horn! What's happening?!"
"...Mm...hmm..." Izzy stammered. The light at the tip of her horn intensified into a brilliant pale-blue glow. "St-stand... back..."
"Wha--"
A solid beam of mana burst from Izzy's horn.
Fluttershy stirred.
"Fluttershy?" Spike nudged her hoof. "Is that really you?"
The mare kept her eyes clenched shut, curling her tail against her chest. She brought her wings up over her face.
A quiet whisper escaped her. "Did I do it?"
"Yes, you certainly did." Discord smiled, wrapping himself around her. "You finally found your body."
Fluttershy unfurled her wings as she stood up. She took a deep breath, keeping her eyes shut the entire way through.
One eye opened. Then the other. She peeked at Discord, then at Spike. "I did it!" A smile crept across her face. "Yay!" She peered at her wings, giving them an experimental flap. For a split second, a dragon's wing flickered into existence over her regular ones.
She frowned.
"Now now, Flutters, don't you worry if it's imperfect!" Discord exclaimed. A flash of light later and a giant talking eraser was standing in his place. "We all mess up sometimes. And besides, you're closer than you've ever been before!"
"It's definitely good enough if you're shooting for that pony look." Spike shrugged. "I wonder why you only managed to do it now..."
A quiet pop sounded from Discord.
"Eheh." The draconequus chuckled, placing the cork back in his horn. "My, is it just me, or does anyone else feel like a shaken bottle of soda?"
Spike raised a brow.
Fluttershy raised a hoof.
"Good, it's not just me." Discord stuffed another cork into his ear. "Excuse me for a moment."
He vanished with a puff of confetti. A distant explosion rumbled through the air moments before the draconequus returned, now thoroughly covered in soot.
"Well then," Spike stood up. "Now that that's done and over with, we should catch up with the others."
Fluttershy nodded, raising a hoof and... lowering it again. She cocked her head, letting her mane fall over her eyes.
Discord knelt down beside her. "Is something wrong?"
"I... can't turn back."
"I mean, you don't have to stay a draconequu--"
"I can't turn back." Fluttershy grew a little louder, relenting for a moment from her outburst as she shook her head. "Something feels... stuck, I think."
Spike glanced at Discord. A bright flash of pale-blue light shot through the room.
"Izzy!" Sunny caught her friend as she fell unconscious. "Izzy, are you okay?"
A stray spark arced from the unicorn's horn to the walkway beneath them.
"Okay, what is going on?" Hitch tore Timby off his head again, much to the chagrin of the terrified timberwolf pup. "In a single day, we've run into a dragon who was old enough to remember when magic disappeared, met a shape-shifting trickster and his absolutely ancient friend, watched said friend turn herself into a pegasus, and now this?"
He stomped up to Sunny. "How much more dangerous will this all get? Is this what the world's going to be like from now on?"
Sunny shrunk back. "M-maybe?"
Pipp leaned toward her sister. "Should we--"
Zipp shook her head.
"Sunny!" Spike's voice yelled in the distance.
"Spike?" Sunny turned her head.
"Sunny... phew!" Spike panted, "What happened? There was this flash of light, and--" he paused, eyes turning to Izzy. "--oh."
"Do you think it has something to do with magic coming back?"
"...Maybe? I mean--" Spike pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "--Fluttershy said after she woke that she wasn't able to turn back, so there might be something going on there, too."
Sunny looked back at Izzy. There were still occasional sparks of light shooting off the mare's horn, though not nearly as much as there'd been before.
"We should get her into a hospital."
"Er--" Zipp cringed. "I don't think anyone around here is all that willing to treat a unicorn yet. Y'know, history of the bad blood between everyone and all that. We should probably lea--"
"I'm awake!" Izzy gasped. "Wow, that was a banger of a spell, wasn't it? Everypony did get out of the way in time, right? Or did I fry some brains with my crazy unicorn magic?"
A smile returned to Sunny's face. "No, Izzy, you didn't fry anyone's brains. You sure you're okay?"
"I... think so?" Izzy did her best to stare up at her horn. "I don't think I'm gonna try doing that again though. I'll try medium magic instea--"
"Nope!" Hitch cut in. "Nopony is doing any magic until we figure out what's going on. Izzy, I know you said you aren't hurt, but what if you are next time? Magic only just came back, and almost nopony kno--" He paused, eyes turning downward. A small, leafy vine had twisted itself up a foreleg. "--uhhh, Sunny? Any chance you know a thing or two about earth pony magic?"
"Congrats." Spike snickered. "Not only are you a critter magnet, but you've got some very green hooves now, too!"
Hitch rolled his eyes. "Figures I'd be the one. Still--if we can, we should try to avoid using any kind of magic as much as possible for now. It isn't safe. The last thing I'd want is for one of you to get hurt."
Spike rolled his eyes. "Are you really putting a tennis ball on her horn to stop another flare-up?"
"It's the best we've got, okay?" Zipp landed with another can of balls. "I know inhibitor rings and stuff like that exist, but we'd kinda have to raid a museum these days to get one. This is how we pegasi have dealt with unicorns for as long as Zephyr Heights has existed, so hopefully, it'll be enough for now. And look, I've brought backups, too!"
"Uh-huh." Spike cringed. "Let's hope."
"So, uh--" Hitch cleared his throat. "--I think we should all be getting some rest in the meantime. It's getting late, and we've had quite a day as it is. Spike?"
"Yeah?"
Hitch nodded his head toward Izzy. "Can you watch over her during the night to make sure she doesn't flare up again? We can switch off in shifts."
A distant rumble filled the air.
"A thunderstorm?" Sunny cocked her head. "I don't see that many clouds arou--oh no."
"Oh no?" Spike slowly turned in the direction that Sunny was looking.
His eyes widened.
It was hardly visible at first; hardly even a speck on the horizon.
But steadily, it grew brighter.
And brighter.
And brighter.
"Fire." Spike muttered. "Fire! Izzy! The other unicorns! If you had that flare-up, then most likely a good number of other unicorns did as well!"
He took to the air. "Zipp, Pipp, do you think Zephyr Heights is ready for some old-school rainmaking?"
"Rainmaking?" Zipp scratched her head. Pipp only raised her brow.
Spike nodded towards Fluttershy before extending a claw to the non-pegasi of the group. "Fluttershy should know the basics. Sunny, Hitch, Izzy, grab on!"
Spike touched down with a heavy thud in a clearing. Flames licked at the air all around, lighting up the forest in brilliant orange hues. Pale plumes of smoke curled skyward, obscuring the open air above them.
He sucked in a breath as he shook off the landing. "We don't have much time. We should focus first on saving as many ponies as we can." He lifted off again with a flap of his wings. "You three try and find whatever fire department there is around here. I'm going to check for survivors."
The three watched him disappear into the smoke.
"Izzy, we should--" Sunny turned to her friend, though she was already gone. "Izzy?"
Singed dirt and shattered crystal crunched beneath her hooves with every step.
Careful breaths. In, out. In, out.
In.
Out.
In.
Flickers of yellow and red danced in her eyes.
She spotted the charred remains of the Crystal Tea Room sign. Maybe nobody was hurt?
She stepped past the sign.
The door was intact.
That was a good sign.
She held her hoof over the doorknob.
No heat.
She turned the knob and pulled.
"H-hello?" Izzy's voice came in hushed squeaks as the door creaked open. "Is anyone there?"
It was empty.
Her eyes scanned past the numerous overturned chairs and tables to the various holes burnt through the walls and roof. She grit her teeth as her attention turned to a sooty silhouette against a pockmarked wall.
"Izzy!" Sunny's voice called from outside. "Izzy, what are you doing? If you're looking for Alphabittle, I just saw him run past not too long ago with a bucket! Hitch! Can you check on Izzy for a moment?"
"On it."
"Izzy?" Hitch opened the door. "You alright there?"
Izzy's gaze slowly turned downward. More ash littered the floor just beneath the silhouette. Pale white slivers broke the otherwise nearly uniform grey.
"M-maybe it was just a teapot?" an erratic chuckle rose from Izzy.
"Izzy." Hitch grabbed her by the cheeks. "Snap out of it. Yes, that is a teapot that's shattered there. Can't you see the porcelain glaze on the shards?"
Izzy gave a weak nod, finally taking her eyes off the ash.
"Alright then." Hitch let go of her. "Do you know if there are any buckets left in the back?"
She shook her head.
"I'll go check. You head out and join Sunny, alright?"
Another nod.
He watched her disappear through the door before turning his attention to the bar counter. He let out a small cough. Though the building wasn't burning, a thin haze still filled the room. Carefully, he stepped over the shattered glassware littering the floor around the front counter.
And Alphabittle's stuff.
So much of Alphabittle's stuff.
Something clattered against his foreleg in the dark, drawing his eyes downward.
"Ah, there we go--" Hitch took the stacked buckets by the handle. "I knew there'd be more in he--"
He paused as the building around him creaked.
"--ere." Hitch finished through grit teeth. Slowly, he backed out from behind the counter. It was probably a good idea to leave while this place was still standing, burning or not.
"Hitch!" Sunny threw the door open. "Get out of there, the fire's spreading to the trees around the building!"
"Coming, coming!" Hitch stepped past the rubble. He could see the flames licking at the siding through the holes dotting the walls. "Would've been real nice if this place had a better-equipped fire department."
Once outside, he set the buckets on the ground beside him. "Told ya he had more. Where's Izzy? She was just here a moment ago?"
A drop of... something landed on his muzzle. And then another. And another.
Quiet pings and pangs rose from the buckets as the drizzle strengthened into a downpour. Thunderous flaps began to fill the air overhead as silhouettes darted past the moon.
"They did it!" Sunny peeked through her sopping-wet mane. The pegasi are here!"
Hitch nodded, turning his head upward. "They sure did."
Fluttershy landed beside them. Worry seeped into her voice as she glanced about. "Are we too late?"
"Hopefully not." Hitch passed her a bucket. "I know it's raining now and all, but if you can, could you try and douse some of the hotspots ahead of time?"
"My my, mister sheriff here has been busy." Discord's voice rose from the bucket. His head followed after, slithering up and out. "Teaching the pegasi how to make it rain in under an hour turned out to be a little harder than we thought, so we had to make do with something else."
"All in a day's work." Discord bowed. He snapped a claw, and a jug of strawberry milk materialized in it. "Do you know how raw my good paw was from all that snapping?"
"Okay, okay, enough talk!" Hitch shooed away the draconequus. "I'm gonna go help Spike check for survivors. Sunny, wanna help?"
"I'll join in a bit. I'm going to look for Izzy first. She seems really shaken by all of this happening, and I want to make sure she's safe."
"Alright."
Fluttershy fluttered her wings. "Do you mind if we join you? Discord can--"
Discord reappeared in a flash with a bundle of dazed unicorns in his arms. "Already ahead of you, Flutters."
He vanished again, leaving the unicorns in a pile.
Hitch blinked. He stared at the barely-conscious ponies in front of him, then cleared his throat. "Well then."
"That is three-thousand, seven-hundred and fifty-six accounted for." Hitch sat beside Spike amidst the smoldering remains of the town. "Out of this population count, of which is accurate as of the previous month according to records saved by Alphabittle, we have counted twenty-three hundred in various states of injury ranging from smoke inhalation to full-body burns and lost limbs, and four-hundred and thirty-two casualties, forty-four of which were foals."
He looked up for a moment at the ponies watching. "Nearly all infrastructure in Bridlewood is currently unsafe due to fire damage, and the surrounding forest fire caused by tonight's events is still only half-contained."
Hitch paused again, glancing at Izzy. She remained still, curled in a fetal position as Sunny stroked her mane. "The cause of the fire according to every source we have spoken to is, for the first time in many centuries, magical in origin. It is currently believed that there may be potential for additional future events similar to tonight's due to the abrupt return of magic to the world, though we sincerely hope that this has been, and will be, a one-time occurrence."
He took a breath before continuing. "Next, we must thank the pegasi, along with the draconequuses Discord and Fluttershy, for assisting in controlling the fire, as well as recovering both the living and dead from the ruins. Without them, the death toll would surely have been far higher than it turned out to be. I will now give Sunny the chance to make a statement on the return of magic and its relation to the disaster we have witnessed tonight."
He slid the microphone to Sunny.
"I..." Sunny choked on her words. "I'm sorry. For everything. I thought that reuniting the tribes--that bringing back magic for everyone--would make the world a better place. I never expected such destruction."
She bowed her head. "If that makes me responsible for every pony that's lost their life tonight, then I accept that."
"Sunny--" Hitch mouthed, his eyes growing wide. "Sunny, you don't have to do this."
"Sunny." Hitch began again, placing a hoof over hers. "I'm serious. You don't have to place all the--"
"No."
"No?" Hitch raised a brow.
"No." Sunny planted both hooves on the table. "I, Sunny Starscout, am responsible for this. These deaths, this destruction... all of it, because I brought back the magic. Please, leave my friends out of this. I only dragged them along. Forgive them. I know I cannot bring back the dead. I know I cannot replace all the cherished memories and mementos destroyed in tonight's blaze. But if there is anything--anything I can do to make things better, I am willing to do it. If..."
Izzy stirred beside her. Sunny paused, glancing down at her friend for a moment.
"If I must, I will destroy magic. For good."
Just as before, the ponies before them remained silent.
Silent tears fell between the mare's hooves.
"You can't destroy a force of nature, kid."
She looked up, spotting Alphabittle from the crowd as he stepped closer.
"Magic's been gone a long time, but it was never gone for good. It was bound to come back at some point, whether or not you were there to give it that final push."
Sunny sniffed. "B-but all... all the ponies that died! I can't imagine how painful it was for them... all the different things that could've happened. You... you're f-fine with that?"
"Can't say I'm happy about it, but... look at you--" he lifted her chin with a hoof. "You didn't mean for this to happen. You and your friends came here as soon as the fires broke out to help. Heck, you even rallied the pegasi to our aid! Never in my life did I imagine any of this--the good or the bad--happening to us. I'd say that if it weren't for you and your friends here, Bridlewood wouldn't have had enough of itself left standing to even be on the map!"
Sunny's breaths softened. "Y-you think?"
Alphabittle gave a solemn nod.
Her gaze turned to the other unicorns behind him. Many of them still appeared dazed by the night's events. Fluttershy continued to fret over them as she treated their wounds. She watched the temporary pegasus zip back and forth between ponies, her eyes darting across each body she passed. Pained wails rose from the mass from time to time, as the soil beneath them slowly took on a splotchy red hue.
One of the unicorns appeared to reach for her with a hoof, their mouth agape in an unheard screech as flame shone from their unpatched eye.
"Sunny!"
The words that came from the unicorn's mouth were not their own.
"Sunny! Sunny, it's alright!"
Hooves rose all around her, clutching onto her every limb as steam and smoke curled up around her.
It was hot.
Really hot.
She could feel her coat beginning to burn away in patches. The hooves clutched tighter, their grip seemingly enhanced by the heat.
"Sunny!"
Everything stopped.
Time itself.
Had stopped.
Sunny's eyes trembled.
Warmth.
Not the warmth of the flames, but that of a body.
A living body.
Slowly, she turned her head. She could still recall that moment as vividly as it had happened.
But that forever-pained face wasn't there.
And neither were the hooves.
Most of them, at least.
She closed her eyes and leaned into Hitch.
And time flowed once more.
She could feel her breaths flutter.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Wet.
Her eyes were wet.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Sunny kept her eyes shut. Had she blacked out? Whatever the case, she could feel Hitch's rhythmic hoofsteps beneath her as he continued walking... well, wherever it was that they were headed.
"You feeling any better yet, Sunny?" Hitch's voice came in a soft whisper. "You've been out for over an hour."
She opened an eye. Izzy was trailing them, though her eyes seemed locked to the ground.
Hitch slowed his steps as Sunny stirred, propping herself up by a fetlock as she looked upward.
"Pipp and Zipp are still at Bridlewood with the rest. Heard that they were already starting work on rebuilding things. You keep resting for now. We're almost home."
"Whhuh..." Sunny's words melted together as she made a weak gesture at Izzy. She let out a cough instead.
"Izzy said she's staying with us since her home was burnt down in the blaze."
A huff escaped Sunny as she fell back onto her barrel.
She shut her eyes again.
Sunny awoke with a start. This time, there was no gentle sway of movement beneath her, or the crunch of dried leaves and twigs underneath a set of hooves.
Just the still air, and the faint buzz of the lights.
She turned her head. She could just barely hear music playing somewhere down the hall.
The couch underneath her creaked as she moved.
"Oh, you're finally awake!" Hitch's voice interrupted the silence as the music abruptly stopped. "Want something to eat? It's been nearly a day since you first passed out."
Before she could respond, Hitch emerged from the hallway with a plate. He placed it beside her and sat down.
"Daisy sandwich?" Hitch nudged the plate closer. A chuckle rose from him. "Izzy's eaten three already."
Sunny eyed the sandwich. Her stomach grumbled.
"Eat up. I figured you'd be awake sometime soon."
She opened her mouth, but in the place of words came only an airy rasp punctuated by a wet cough.
Hitch pat her back. "Now now, don't force yourself. Your throat's still raw from the trip back."
Sunny nodded, pulling the plate in and taking the sandwich.
Spike landed at the entrance of Twilight's Castle.
Or at least, what remained of it.
He sat down at the grave beside the doors. "Hey, Twi. I'm home."
The chirps of crickets in the night served as his answer.
"It's..." the dragon chuckled, leaning back on an arm. "It's been pretty wild these past couple of days. I made some new friends, finally, for one. Though... a lot of ponies died today as well, from a magical surge. It would be nice if you could tell me why that happened."
Sticks crackled as Timby walked up beside him.
Spike gave the timberwolf pup a pat on the head. "And look, I think we have a new pet! Though, Timby here likes to follow Hitch around more. I think he's following me because Discord sent him back to Ponyville when we had to rush to save Bridlewood."
He scratched his head. "Hm. I should probably tell you about my new friends, shouldn't I? Hitch is an earth pony from a town called Maretime Bay. He says he's the sheriff there, so I think he's pretty important. Everyone in that town is an earth pony, by the way.
"I know you tried hard to keep the tribes together not too long ago, but they ended up drifting apart anyway. But they're together again! Another pony from Maretime Bay named Sunny said she helped bring the tribes back together again, and she was able to bring back magic! Though... that last part is what ended up leading to the magic surge."
Spike pawed absentmindedly at the dirt as he glanced up at the moon. "Twilight, do you think things will be better now?"
Timby cocked his head.
"Do you think that, maybe now that magic has returned, things can go back to how they used to be?"
Sunny trudged across the street, her smoothie cart rattling over the cobblestones with every slow step.
No rollerskates today.
No exploring or adventuring.
Just keep... today... normal.
She parked the cart in its usual spot. Walked back inside the converted trailer she called a smoothie stand, as usual.
A face appeared at the counter, teal-green eyes peering back at her own. Sunny's attention drifted to the horn atop the pony's head.
A new normal, perhaps, but still normal. Just take the order and be done with it.
Sunny stepped aside to give a better view of the menu options. "May I--"
"Oh!" the unicorn gasped, almost as if she herself hadn't been paying attention. "Uh, just a cup of ice. My horn's still feeling awful after... er, are you alright?"
Sunny kept her eyes clenched shut. She let out a heavy breath. "Yeah. Sorry, had something--" she brought a hoof up and rubbed an eye. "--fruit fly I think. In my eye. Right. Ice. Do you have a name I can call?"
"Misty."
"Alright." Sunny turned her back to the unicorn, stepping towards the ice machine. "Shaved or cubes? No charge for either."
She looked over her shoulder. Misty was gone.
"Misty?"
No response.
"Misty?" Sunny repeated, leaning over the counter.
The unicorn was nowhere to be seen. A snort escaped her as she placed the paper cup back on the stack beside her. What was that all about?
She pushed away the thought. Another customer was waiting. Her canned greeting was cut short once again, however, this time by the glint of... something sitting on the far edge of the counter.
Sunny cleared her throat. "So sorry--do you mind pushing the thing on the corner in a little? I don't want it to fall and break."
The lanky colt before her peered at the object in question, lifting a hoof and nudging it toward the napkin dispenser. Speaking of which, she still had to refill it. Again.
"Thanks. Now, what can I get you?"
"I'll have the strawberry special. Medium cup."
Sunny nodded. She could hear a few bits landing on the counter as she prepared the order. Her thoughts drifted back to the gold-colored... puck thing sitting on the corner. Was that a ribbon tied around it? Maybe Misty was bringing it for a friend, and got called away for something and left it behind. Or maybe--
The cold ooze of condensed milk dripping onto her hoof tore her from her thoughts. She set the nearly-empty can down and began adding strawberries to the pitcher.
"Sunny!"
Sunny shot up. That was Misty's voice.
"You're--Sunny, right?" Misty skid to a stop beside the colt waiting for his strawberry smoothie, panting. "My..." she wheezed, letting out a cough while bracing herself against the siding of the trailer. "My mom said she wanted to meet you!" She leaned to the side, waving frantically at wherever it was that her mother was standing.
Sunny raised a brow. This was decidedly less usual. "Oookay. Let me finish making this smoothie first. You still want the cup of ice?"
Misty paused for a moment before nodding vigorously.
"'Right. I'll grab that for you real quick first then. Are cubes fine?"
More nodding.
"Here you go then," she placed the cup in front of Misty. There was some kind of commotion behind the trailer by the sounds of it. Was Misty's mom a celebrity or something? She began blending the smoothie for the still-waiting colt. Figures the day she finally drags herself outside would be the day something strange happens again.
She turned around again, strawberry smoothie in hoof. Though, oddly, the colt didn't seem focused on her anymore--he was focused on the mare standing beside him. Sunny's own eyes shifted, catching glimpse of the tucked wings at the newcomer's side. Her gaze drifted up.
The Alicorn--whoever she was--stepped closer. A silvery amulet clinked against the wooden countertop with her movements. "I hear the smoothies here are the best one can get," she took the puck-shaped object from the corner and slid it towards Sunny. "I'll take whatever you feel like making. Consider this our payment."
Sunny's eyes darted between the Alicorn in front of her and the surrounding ponies. Nopony, save for the colt from earlier, seemed to take any notice.
"Can you wait in line next time?" he grumbled as he took his own smoothie from the counter. "There's an order and pickup line for a reason y'know."
...Nevermind.
The Alicorn stared daggers at the colt as he wandered off. She let out a snooty huff. "Regardless of interruption, I'll be keeping my eye on you, magic wielder."
She lit her horn and took the still-empty cup from Sunny's grasp.
Sunny rubbed her eyes. The Alicorn--no... unicorn? Unicorn--she swore she saw a pair of wings that past minute or so. Her eyes weren't deceiving her, were they? That was an Alicorn that'd just ordered from her, right?
She watched as they disappeared into the crowd.
"Hitch!" Sunny burst into the room, her breaths quick and heavy. "Hitch! I saw--an Alicorn! And she paid for a cup of nothing with this--"
Hitch peered over his desk as she dropped her saddlebags and extracted the strange object from earlier. She placed it on the surface of the table, nudging it closer to him.
"I haven't tried opening it yet," Sunny dropped into the chair with a grunt. "I... haven't ever had anything like this happen. I wanted to make sure that it'd be safe."
Hitch lowered his brows. A number of expressions continued to run through his face, chiefly among them, confusion.
"An Alicorn," he began slowly.
Sunny nodded. "A purple one, with a curly white mane. She was wearing some sort of necklace or brooch or something--an amulet, maybe, but I couldn't tell for sure what it looked like from behind the counter. Nobody else besides me seemed to notice her wings."
Hitch stared at Sunny, slowly pulling the shiny puck-shaped... thing that Misty had left behind--closer. "I'll take this in for inspection for hazardous substances. You stay safe in the meantime. Alright? I know AlphaBittle said it wasn't your fault, but I wouldn't be surprised if some ponies may have felt otherwise. Even if that wasn't an Alicorn that you saw back there, you need to watch your back."
"Yeah."
He slid the trinket aside, his voice softening a little. "Anything interesting happen at work today? Other than the supposed Alicorn sighting, of course--though I'm not entirely sure how we're gonna verify what you saw if you were the only one she revealed herself to."
Sunny shook her head.
"Do you... wanna talk some more about the Alicorn?"
A nod.
A sigh escaped Hitch as he slid aside the paperwork he'd been busy with. "Alright. So, we have a basic description. Purple, curly white mane, and presumably looks like a unicorn? Did she give any name?"
"She has a daughter named Misty, I think. Blue unicorn, frizzy mane. I really didn't see much resemblance, though. Something about their eyes."
"Want me to--"
"No!" Sunny nearly leapt from her seat. She quieted down a little. "No. It's possible I was just seeing things. Misty's mother might in fact just be a unicorn that I mistook for an Alicorn. I don't want to cause any alarm by having you or somebody else go after her. Not after how big of a disaster we've just been through. The last thing we need is for ponies to become suspicious of unicorns again right after their homes were destroyed."
"Security footage, then?" Hitch shrugged. "Not sure if those'll pick anything up out of the ordinary, but it's worth a shot."
"Would a cloaking spell be able to hide her wings from cameras?"
Hitch glanced down at the patch of moss that'd developed under his hoof, then at Sunny. "I... don't think I'm the one you should be asking about that stuff. Your smoothie trailer is parked by the boardwalk today, right? I can check the cameras there if you have something to do in the meantime."
"I'll go ask Izzy."
"Izzy?" Sunny peeked around the corner. A distinct scent of burnt plastic hung in the air.
The unicorn looked up from the chain of beads she'd been constructing.
"How're you feeling today?" Sunny sat down beside her. "I know it's been a lot to process after... well, y'know."
Izzy lifted the bead chain up to the sunlight. For a few seconds, the room was silent as she and Sunny watched the afternoon sun glisten against the glassy beads.
"Better," Izzy began. "You?"
Sunny hesitated.
"...Better. I think. Is it okay if I ask you some things about magic?"
Izzy dropped the bracelet she'd been making with a quiet 'oop'. "Isn't there anyone better you can ask? I don't really know very much about magic, just..." she picked the chain back up. "Make things floaty and stuff." She winced, dropping the chain again as her hooves shot to her head.
Sunny's eyes followed. Where there was a tennis ball there was now instead--
"Magic inhibitor," Izzy whispered through gritted teeth. "Zipp found one and gave it to me earlier. I don't want to hurt anypony again."
"Are you sure that's what you want? I don't think that's something you're supposed to be doing to yourself. Inhibitor rings were meant for--"
"I know."
Sunny retracted her hoof.
"And it's still not strong enough. This is my second ring," Izzy flopped across the table on top of her beads. "I was hoping that I could control it better! I wanted to try and fix my horn by myself, and I tried! I really did! But I've burnt up so many beads now just trying to lift them up. And when I tried using the inhibitor ring the first time around, it melted off! I wasn't even trying to use magic that time!"
She paused for breath. "Sunny, do you really think you can make magic go away again? It was fun the first few weeks to make things float and be able to grab things without using my hooves, but..." her gaze shifted to the singed heap to the side of her, then back to Sunny.
Spike nudged a ball closer to Timby with his foot, watching the young timberwolf set off in a frenzied scramble of twigs and leaves. Timby was more than excitable now that he'd grown accustomed to being around Spike, and better yet--there was finally someone to share all the apples with!
Timby whipped his head around, sending the ball careening past Spike before running after it again.
"Sunny? Izzy?" Hitch watched the two mares pass by him. Sunny had her saddlebags on again, and Izzy... Izzy was wearing both that ring and a tennis ball on her horn. "I was just heading your way! Where are you going?"
"Spike's place," Sunny began in a near-whisper. "Izzy wants to talk to him."
Hitch eyed Izzy. The unicorn hid her face behind her wavy mane.
He sighed. "Alright, but I'm coming with you two as well. Want me to call up Pipp and Zi--"
"Leave them out of this," Izzy cut him off. "You don't have to come either. This is just between us and Spike."
"I don't have to come, but how about if I want to come?" Hitch trot ahead and stood before the two. "I have a feeling I know why you're going. You want to ask Spike about how the magic disappeared, don't you?"
Sunny stepped past him, with Izzy trailing close behind.
"I'll take that as a maybe," Hitch himself now turned to follow. "Neither of you have to go through this by yourselves. I was there when it happened to--"
A shaky mutter escaped Sunny. "You were the one that helped save ponies. Izzy and I are the ones with blood on our hooves."
Hitch ran ahead again. "Wait, but I thought we had this discussion already! You said you were taking things one step at a time, and that you wanted to go back to making smoothies and shakes! What happened?"
"I'm not doing this for myself."
For a second time, Hitch shifted his gaze to Izzy. The unicorn didn't acknowledge him.
"Nothing I say is going to change your mind, is it?"
Slowly, Izzy began to shake her head in the slightest of ways.
"May I still come with you two?"
A moment's hesitation. And then, a singular nod.
Hitch drew in a breath. "Thank you. I'll let Sprout know that I'm heading off again. I'll catch up in a bit."
Sunny stared back down at Maretime Bay from the hilltop she and Izzy had reached. Hitch peeled an orange nearby.
She could already picture the entire town engulfed in flames.
No--she shook the thought from her head. She had to focus on the task at hoof.
"We ready to continue?" she turned around to face Hitch and Izzy.
"Not yet," Hitch offered a piece of orange to Izzy. For a brief moment, she saw her horn flicker to life... only to go dormant again as a crackle of energy dissipated into the ring.
It didn't stop the tennis ball from gaining a new scorch mark around the point where it'd been pierced, however.
Izzy mouthed a silent "sorry" before taking the fruit with a hoof.
Sunny looked away. All her life growing up, she'd read that using magic to grab and manipulate objects was to a unicorn like how walking was to every other pony. Even if they didn't necessarily have the strength to lift everything they set their eyes on, the external use of magic was instinctual to a unicorn. It was why, when magic had seemingly vanished, most if not all unicorns had fled from society.
To them, it must've been like cutting off a foreleg.
To Izzy, it was like discovering that she could finally walk, only to find that her legs had gained a mind of their own.
It was a terrible analogy, but it was how those dusty old textbooks had phrased things.
And now, Izzy wanted to cut off that leg all over again.
"Sunny!" a voice cheered from the distance. Sunny's ears swiveled towards its source.
"Sunny!" Misty yelled again as she scrambled up the hill. She stopped, panting, in front of the trio. "My--my mom said--that your smoothie cart was closed today--when she went to buy me something... woo!" she ran a hoof over her face, pushing the messy locks of curly mane out of the way. "I saw you going up the hill while I was sitting on a rooftop! What are you doing all the way up here?"
Sunny glanced at Izzy, who for the first time in a couple of days seemed to be genuinely enjoying something as she ate another orange slice.
"Having a snack," she said through a forced smile. "Misty, right? What're you doing all the way up here?"
"My mom wanted you to have this," Misty lifted the same shiny puck-shaped thingy from before from her saddlebags. Izzy watched the glow of Misty's horn with trembling eyes.
Misty's magic sputtered out, dropping the object on the ground. "Aw, whoops! Still not that good at magic like my mom is, haha--" She picked it up again and placed it on Sunny's head. "There, you have it now! For some reason it was in the lost and found at the police station."
Sunny heard Hitch facehoof behind her.
"So what are you gonna do after you're done having a snack up here?" Misty took the object off of Sunny's head again and opened it. "See? Look! It's a fancy mirror! I don't know why my mom wants you to have it, but she's got like, lots of weird random stuff at home that she collects... ooh, maybe you could use it to see customers from the other side of your smoothie wagon! Like how some carts have rear-view mirrors!"
"Misty. I have flip-up doors on both sides of the truck. I just keep one closed. Because on the other side of the truck is the ocean."
Misty dropped the mirror. "Oh."
"But..." Sunny picked it up from the ground, brushing off the dirt that was rapidly beginning to accumulate from the repeated drops. "Thanks. I'll just keep it in my saddlebags for now. You go back to your mom, alright?"
Misty stood firmly where she was.
Sunny sighed. "You want to come along with us too, don't you?"
"Well... if Hitch has any more oranges," Misty tilted her head towards Hitch.
"Listen. Misty," Hitch set the rest of the orange on top of his own bags. "How old are you? All that talk you made about your mom tells me that you're not old enough to be trekking off like this with complete strangers. At the very least, if you want to come along, then your mom or some other adult that you know should be accompanying you."
"But I am an adult!"
"Then I'd like to see some form of identification, please."
Misty stared back blankly.
"That's what I thought," Hitch ushered Misty down the hill. "You two stay here, I'm bringing Misty here down to the station. Sunny, I'd like to speak with you when I get back."
