> A New Age
>  by James Pwyll
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Pasts and Futures
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Given what the last few days had been for her, it was unsurprising that Sunny had decided that a quiet moment at home was just what she needed. Granted, a quiet time was exactly the kind of life she'd known until now, but having experienced life beyond what she knew, it was pretty clear that her relatively ho-hum routine was precisely what she needed to go back to, at least for the moment. So, with her usual course of action of curling up with a good book, and an old-looking one at that, the young pony had taken to simply getting herself a small glass of water. Nothing fancy course, but it was what she enjoyed. And speaking of enjoyment, she smiled to herself as she looked at page after page, taking in all that was written there. But, as with all situations such as this, a time eventually came when her ears perked up, and she began to hear very distinct voices just outside her door. She chuckled briefly before setting her book aside, getting up from her chair and trotting over to open her home to those she knew she was about to receive. After a slight creaking of her door, she looked beyond it and widened her smile. "Anypony care for some tea?"

Though she'd been expecting it, she was nevertheless taken aback by the sudden tackle-hug that was given to her courtesy of her new friend, Izzy. "Oh my gosh! How have you been, Sunny?! It's been so long since we last saw each other!"

Mere moments later, a more reserved voice spoke from behind her. "It's been a day, Izzy," Zipp remarked as she too entered Sunny's home.

But Izzy waved her off. "Pfft! That's a lifetime in my book!"

When her and Sunny finally parted, the latter looked to the side to see that Zipp's sister, Pipp, had also arrived. "You know, I never really paid that much attention to your home the first time, Sunny. It's really...quaint." A sudden elbow to her side from Zipp made her change her tune pretty quickly. "Oh! But lovely all the same! And I love that you were able to get it all fixed up after that whole debacle."

Sunny chuckled. "You'd be amazed how quickly broken things get fixed when you have a few magical neighbours." She gave a little bow of her head. "And it's nice to see the both of you too." She looked past them, expecting to see the fifth of their number, and finding herself a bit surprised to find him absent. "No Hitch today?"

Zipp gestured behind herself. "He'll be along. He needed to stop for a bit to help an old mare cross the street."

Sunny, having known Hitch better and longer than any of them, shook her head and smiled. "Of course he did." She turned, pointing to the rest of her living room. "Well, everypony, make yourselves at home. I'll get the kettle on."

The other mares did exactly that, with Pipp taking a moment to stop by the nearest window to look out at the immediate area beyond. "You know, if somepony had told me that one day I'd be mingling with unicorns and earth ponies, I'd have called them crazy." Feeling that her sister's gaze was on her, she was sure to add an addendum to that. "Of course, I'm glad they were right."

Zipp smirked to that. "Dang right. Who'd have ever thought it? The three tribes, together again."

Sunny, who had returned to where she'd set her book, nodded to that. "Just as it's supposed to be." Then, while all her friends were looking elsewhere, she turned, gazing into a mirror that was hanging close beside her, and seeing her reflection. Though to be fair, with her newly and magically-created horn and wings, it was definitely a reflection that was going to take some getting used to. "And there were certainly a few more surprises than I was expecting from it."

Izzy squealed with delight. "It's all so great, right?! You, me, all of us, everypony outside, all friends again! It's amazing!"

Sunny placed her hoof gently upon her new companion's shoulder. "Believe me, I'm as glad as anypony, but you have to remember, Canterlot wasn't built in a day. We can't expect all these years of division to just get wiped away overnight. It'll take time, and work."

"Work we're more than willing to put in." The new voice caught the mares off-guard, and they turned in unison to see that it was, as expected, Hitch who had now arrived, giving a quick bow of his head to his host before speaking further. "Am I right?"

Sunny's smile widened. "You most certainly are, Mr Trailblazer." She'd have wanted to speak to him further of course, but it was around now when her kettle finished squealing in its usual way, and so she walked over to get the now-piping hot water into the tea pot. "It'll be ready in a moment." As she poured it, she noticed, off to the side, Izzy pointing to her own horn, silently mouthing the word "magic" to her. Sunny giggled, knowing exactly what her friend was getting at. "I know, I know. But magic is still new to me, Izzy. For now I'd rather do this the old-fashioned way."

Zipp, looking away from her, found herself feeling just a touch curious about what Sunny had been reading prior to their arrival, and so walked over to the idle book. It took little time for her to see what had captured her interest not so long ago, as the pictures beside the text were as clear as day. "Princess Twilight?"

Sunny looked over to her, giving a nod before fixing her gaze upon the book herself. "Yep. And all her friends too. Applejack, Rarity, all of them. After what we all went through, I figured it was worth brushing up on a few things, so I went through all my Dad's research to find the oldest tomes he'd found when he...well...when he was still working on it."

Pipp, though recognising the sensitivity of that particular point, looked to her with slight confusion. "Aren't you already the world's biggest pony-friendship fan-filly? What could you possibly need brushing up on?"

Though they weren't exactly the words she'd have chosen to describe herself, Sunny could certainly not deny the truth of them, so, after wandering over to pick up her book, she began to explain herself. "Well...I guess I look back on how we all met, all the things we saw and did, and I can't help but feel..." She trailed off, giggling slightly. "It's silly."

But Izzy was right next to her now, looking as eager to learn as ever. "What? What's silly? Sillier than a pegasi's shield against unicorns? Because that was pretty silly."

Zipp opened her mouth to retort to her unicorn friend's comment, only to stop and think about it for a moment before giving a quick shrug. "Meh, when she's right she's right."

Though she was naturally concerned about her phrasing of this, Sunny eventually relented and accepted that her friends likely weren't going to let the matter go until they heard it. "I feel...like maybe this is what Princess Twilight felt when she first began her journey. Few friends, not expecting some big adventure to come her way, but then she steps outside her door and finds more remarkable ponies to be close to." She blushed a little. "I guess I couldn't help but maybe see a little of myself in her." A silence followed, and the others all looked deep in thought, leading to an embarrassed face on Sunny's part. "I told you it was silly."

Hitch walked to her, his voice devoid of the usual 'prim and proper law-stallion' demeanor he usually tried to put on. "Not at all. It's only natural to want to see something of ourselves in our heroes. And some of them in us too. There's a reason they are our heroes after all."

Zipp nodded, putting on a smile of her own. "He's not wrong, you know." She pointed to herself and looked just a touch smug about the whole thing. "If you came up to me and say that I was kind of like Rainbow Dash back in the day, I'd call that a pretty big compliment." She paused, her eyes darting left and right before continuing. "She...was the awesome one, right?"

Izzy clapped her hooves together. "Oh, what I'd give to have somepony say I made parties as great as Pinkie Pie!" She looked slyly to Hitch, keeping her voice to a whisper. "Don't tell anypony, but I'm pretty sure I give great parties already. Like the time I gave a surprise birthday party to my neighbour back home? I mean, nopony was happy about it, but it's the thought that counts, right?"

Pipp seemed rather interested in this whole discussion, and looked over to Sunny's book. "I'll admit, I usually never focused that much on history, especially the ancient kind. Getting caught up in my work and singing, you know? I never really learned all that much about Princess Twilight, or her friends."

Sunny sighed, her ears drooping a touch. "You're not alone. Chances are, if you asked naypony in the street, they'd likely have never heard of them." But then, seeing a chance to gush, Sunny leapt on it, taking a few steps closer towards her musical, royal friend. "Oh, there's just so much to say! Humble beginnings! Adventures and battles and victories! Bringing peace and friendship across the land and even to other races! There was nothing those six ponies couldn't do!"

Pipp glanced over to her sister. "Well, looks like you've got your work cut out if you want ponies to compare you to them."

Zipp merely shrugged. "Meh, early days, sis." A smirk came to her. "Besides, they never had access to the wonderful world of trending, now did they?"

Sunny looked again to the passages in her book, a nostalgic sigh escaping her. "It really is incredible, looking back to what they accomplished. All the weird and wonderful things they did. Fighting monsters, going to other worlds, time travel..."

That last one immediately caught Hitch's interest, and he looked utterly dumbfounded by it. "Um...pardon?"

Sunny smiled and nodded to him. "Oh yes. She got involved in time travel as part of a conflict with a mare who eventually became her apprentice."

Zipp snorted. "Well, that's one way to make a memorable first impression at a job interview, I guess." Then, curiosity began to take hold of her too, and she craned her neck over as if to get a better look at the book. "Any other weird stuff in there?"

Sunny flipped over a few pages before answering. "Well, did you know that Princess Twilight once walked through a magic mirror that took her to a world of strange, ape-people? And that she even got a crush on one of them for a brief time?"

Another silence followed her words, and then a frown by Zipp. "Okay, now I know you're making this stuff up!"

In response, Sunny placed a hoof upon her own chest. "Hoof on heart, I swear it's the truth. And the bizarre things don't end there. You could spend years looking at all the things those ponies did."

Izzy nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I bet you could even spend nine years looking at it!"

Pipp arched an eyebrow to her more eager friend, then turned again to Sunny. "Well...I suppose if you're going to choose an icon, you could do far worse than Princess Twilight. I can't even begin to think of what other ponies could match her in terms of all she saw and accomplished."

Hitch looked to Pipp and gave a nod of agreement. "Hear, hear. If nothing else, we should be grateful to her and her friends for having done as much as they did to foster good relations. Of all the legacies a pony can leave, peace around the world is a hard one to beat."

Hearing that, and thinking on it for a good long while, Sunny's ears began to droop, this time far more so than earlier. "Yeah...they did do that for us, didn't they?" Everypony in the room could feel her mood going south, but rather than ask what was wrong, they watched as she returned to the tea pot, remembering that it was in need of pouring. Sunny knew her friends were giving her space, and she was grateful, but eventually, and after ensuring that all five cups were full, she took a deep breath before addressing them all. "Do you ever stop and think that...maybe we've let them down?"

Naturally, a remark like that caused some confusion around the others as to what she could have meant. For Pipp, there seemed to be one interpretation, which she now chose to comment on. "I don't think any of them could have seen what we've all done together as any kind of disappointment, Sunny." She gestured to her ascended friend. "Especially if they got a good look at you!"

But Sunny shook her head. "I don't just mean the five of us and what we've gone through in the last few days. I'm talking about ponykind." Having finished with the tea, she walked around the counter so she was facing all of them. "By the time Princess Twilight took the crown, Equestria had been completely transformed from what it used to be. And a few years after, when she had taken on an apprentice, this land was..." She smiled, albeit a small one. "It was a paradise. A utopia where everycreature, regardless of who or what they were, could come together in peace and harmony. The kind of world that would have been unthinkable back when Twilight was our age." Her smile faded, replaced with a look that very definitely looked like shame. "And is that the world we've all known?"

Suddenly understanding where she was coming from, everypony in the room looked uncomfortable, with Hitch especially scratching behind his head. "Yeah...I guess not." He grimaced. "I know I certainly wasn't exactly a poster-colt for thinking things could ever get better." He looked away, suddenly seeming very uncomfortable. "Heck, looking back, all I ever did was keep up the lie that we were all meant to be apart, whether I meant it or not. Keeping things steady was more important to me that trying to make things better..." He looked to Sunny again, a small smile coming to him. "Like you tried to."

Sunny smiled, but it was short-lived, and she looked away, to the view beyond her window. "With Twilight and her friends, Equestria was a united land of friendship. But as soon as they were gone?" She frowned. "It all fell apart. It was like we ponies were just waiting for an excuse to go back to the divided, mistrustful ways of the dark ages. It just..." Slowly, she hung her head. "Is that what we're like? A people who just can't stand being around each other unless somepony comes along to show us how wrong we are?"

They could all see she was upset, and in truth her words were getting to them too. Given what they knew of their respective peoples, it was hard to argue otherwise. And yet, there was one face in all that which actually managed to keep up a smile. It was Izzy, and she stepped forward to place her hoof under Sunny's chin, raising her face up to look to her. "Things have been bad since Princess Twilight was around. You're not wrong. But things aren't all doom and gloom, Sunny." She looked around, gesturing to each of the other ponies. "Looks at us. Earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns. All under the same roof, being friends. That's the world Princess Twilight knew, and, if we keep at it, it can be that way again." She looked to Sunny again. "I know it can feel like all of Twilight's work went to waste, but all that good stuff can still be here and come back. We just need to make it happen, you'll see. That's what you taught us, remember?"

Sunny thought on that, slowly smiling again, though admittedly not as widely as Izzy. "I want to believe that, Izzy. I really do. But with so many years of division between us, can we really do it? Make things just as happy and peaceful as it was in Equestria's heyday?"

Izzy shrugged. "Maybe. I mean, who'd have ever guessed that Twilight's journey would end up where it did when she first set hoof outside her front door?"

Looking around, Sunny could see that all of her other friends seemed to agree with that sentiment, as evidenced by the happy looks they were all giving her. And as for Sunny herself, her eyes drifted yet again to her book, and the image of a pink star cutie mark in the middle of the page, and she too began to feel that tiny spark of hope. "Well then...let's see where our journey takes us...friends."

Though not wanting to spoil the mood, Pipp eventually cleared her throat, gaining the attention of the rest, before pointing to Sunny once more. "So...what do we call you, exactly? A pegacorn? A unisus? I feel like we need to come up with a proper name for all this."

Sunny's face lit up, and Hitch, already feeling where this was going, gave himself a face-hoof. "Here we go."

Sunny rushed on over to Pipp, looking as excited as ever. "Well, my Dad made a lot of headway into deciphering ancient Equestrian texts, and he came up with a bunch of possible translations if you wanna hear them!"

The colour drained from Pipp's face, but then she looked over to Hitch, who was stifling a chuckle, before finally speaking to her. "Take my advice, Princess. Never, ever activate Sunny's researcher mode."
> Penance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hitch, do I really need to keep doing this?" Sprout asked, his voice bearing the usual, slightly whiny tint he'd become known for.

Hitch, sitting in his Sheriff's chair, arched an eyebrow to him. "Yes, Sprout, at minimum. And if you keep complaining, I'll have to ask you to do even more."

Sprout grumbled under his breath, but didn't press the matter. Instead, he turned to face the whiteboard beside him, lifting up the pen he'd been given before finally writing on it, speaking the words aloud as he did so. "I will not use ponies' fears to create a totalitarian regime with myself at the top."

Hitch leaned closer. "Aaaaaaaand?"

Sprout rolled his eyes. "Nor will I create a giant, robotic doomsday version of myself to wreak havoc."

A firm nod from Hitch. "That's better. Now, just write that a hundred times, and you'll be done for the day." Picking up his newspaper, the young stallion smirked a little. "After you take down our old line-up wall."

Sprout took a break from his writing to look to the wall in question, where those they'd arrest would be lined-up for photos. The wall, as it had always done, before the shadowy caricatures of a pegasus and unicorn, looking as scary as they'd usually depicted them. Sighing, the now-again deputy nodded. "Ugh, fine." After writing that apologetic sentence on the whiteboard a couple more times, he looked over his shoulder to his superior. "You know, now that earth ponies are supposed to be friends with unicorns and pegasi again, what's even the point of the two of us? I mean, Maretime bay doesn't really have much use for us anymore."

Setting his newspaper down, Hitch hopped off his chair before walking around his desk. "It's true, we no longer fear what we don't understand. But there will always be a place for the law and order that we represent."

Realising what he'd unleashed, Sprout banged his head against the whiteboard, slightly smudging his writing. "Oh no, what have I done?"

Ignoring him, Hitch carried on with his speech. "Wherever a pony litters, we'll be there. Wherever a bunch of rowdy-looking youths loiters near some easily-terrified elders, we'll be there. Whenever a cat is stuck up a tree, we'll be there. Maretime Bay is our home, and no matter how small the trouble, we'll be its guardians, come heck or high water!"

A sudden clapping of hooves caught the two stallions off-guard, and they turned together to see that it was Sprout's mother, Phyllis, who had just arrived at the station. "Well said, Sheriff. A fine speech indeed."

Hitch took on a slightly prideful look, rubbing his Sheriff's badge briefly. "Thanks you, Mrs Cloverleaf. I practice."

Sprout chuckled drily. "Trust me, he really does." Then, looking to his mother, he started to look a bit more hopeful. "So...you here to take me home, Mom?"

But Phyllis shook her head, wagging her hoof to her son. "Ah-ah, Sprout. There'll be no getting out of detention early."

Sprout facehoofed himself. "It's not detention, Mom! It's community service!"

But his mother seemed unconcerned with the difference. "Either way, you still have a lot to work on, son. So chop-chop!"

Hitch eyed her carefully. "And speaking of which, there is the tiny matter of Canterlogic and its staff being used to help push his little coup."

Here, Mrs Cloverleaf smiled. "Ah, and that brings me to the second reason I'm here, aside from visiting my little Sprouty-wouty," she explained, giving her son's cheek a quick pinch, much to the latter's chagrin. Then, after clearing her throat, she spoke aloud in that usual presentation voice she'd become known for. "As of today, Canterlotgic will no longer be creating anti-unicorn or pegasi appliances. Instead, we will be focusing on devices for those good folk!"

Hitch sat back into his chair, his tone giving away his surprise. "Really?"

Phyllis nodded, her smile widening. "Indeed! Why, we've already begun manufacture of our new flight goggles, with the option of customisation of course. And that's just the beginning! Unicorn horn bracelets, pegasi wing-feather dye, the sky's the limit."

Hitch nodded, then looked over to Sprout. "See? She knows how to start making things right."

But Sprout gave him a knowing look. "Wait for it."

Following that, Phyllis couldn't help herself. "And of course, it's all in everypony's best interests for us to expand our product base, given that we now have triple our usual clientele to deal with! Think of all those bits pouring into the company!"

Sprout snorted. "Yep, there it is."

Hitch rubbed his temples. "Well, I guess it's more important that you are doing good work, rather than why you're doing it."

Phyllis glanced to him, looking deep in thought for a brief moment before speaking up. "And since I'm here...it's likely you'll be meeting with Miss Sunny again soon, so perhaps you could relay an invitation? I would love for her to come over for some afternoon tea this week."

Both Sprout and Hitch looked to her, taken aback by her offer. "Really?" Sprout asked.

Phyllis looked to him. "But of course! You may have noticed, but I haven't exactly been the nicest of mares to her over the years. Always thinking of her as an odd duck because of how her...well...how she was raised."

Hitch frowned. "That's one way of putting it."

Phyllis heard the remark, but, knowing the stallion had the right of it, did not try to defend herself. "In any case, I think it's high past time I tried to mend some bridges."

Hitch considered that, then offered her a genuine smile. "In that case, Mrs Cloverleaf, consider your message delivered."

Phyllis clapped her hooves together again. "Delightful! Now..." She turned to her son. "I'll see you back home, son. It's your favourite for dinner tonight. Boiled sprouts!"

Sprout actually seemed to like that thought, but his smile faded as soon as he saw Hitch suddenly looking very amused by that information. "Wait, seriously?!" the latter remarked.

Narrowing his eyes, Sprout pointed an accusatory hoof to the Sheriff. "You take that one to your grave!"
> Back to the Fans
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Across all of Zephyr Heights, pegasi young and old looked to their phones with excitement and eagerness, as a channel that had been quiet for an unprecedented amount of time suddenly fired up again. Smiles were abound across the city-state as Pipp Petals, their beloved and recently reinstated princess, addressed her audience once more. "Goooooooood morning, Zephyr Heights! This is your princess, Pipp Petals, back online and ready to stream to you all yet again!" Stepping back, the young mare gestured to the rest of her room, smiling widely. "As you can see, I'm back where I belong and ready to update all of you on what I've been doing." Looking back to her camera, she spoke again with her usual eagerness. "There's a lot of ground to cover and I'm raring to get going with it, but first..." She glanced to the side. "We have a surprise for you today! Making her online debut is my sweet sister, and your future queen, Zipp Storm!" After a long silence, Pipp frowned, reaching over to the side. "I said, Zipp Storm!"

Sure enough the older sister was pulled into view, letting out an irritated sigh as soon as the camera caught sight of her. "I can't believe I agreed to this," Zipp mumbled under her breath.

Pipp, eyeing her camera nervously, elbowed Zipp slightly. "Well? Say something!" she whispered.

Frowning to Pipp for a moment, Zipp eventually did as she was asked, clearing her throat before speaking to her new audience. "Er...hello, Zephyr Heights. Zipp Storm here. It's...good to be here?"

Pipp rolled her eyes. "Okay, sure, we'll work on that, anyway!" She nudged past Zipp to once more become the centre of attention. "Let's start things off by recapping what we've been up to. As you've no doubt heard by now, pegasi will be reuniting with earth ponies and unicorns after centuries of being apart! So get yourself ready for some new visitors to our grand old city in the near future! Also, totally get yourselves a train ticket to go and visit Maretime Bay sometime. It is totes gorgeous!" Then, she felt a tap on her shoulder, turning to see Zipp give her a knowing look, which flipped a switch in her mind as she merrily clapped her hooves together. "Oh! Of course! How silly of me! Zipp, you wanna take this one?"

Zipp chuckled as she again took prominence on the screen. "As of today, my mother, Queen Haven, has decreed that the old Zephyr Heights trains station will be renovated to provide better travel between pony communities. So, if you want a look at a piece of genuine history of our city, head on down there to have a look-see."

Pipp squealed with delight. "You heard it here, folks! Soon you can take a fancy new train wherever you ponies want!" She giggled. "I mean, obviously you're gonna want to try out those great new, working wings of yours, but still, travelling by train sounds pretty neat to me."

Zipp took on a smirk. "And speaking of flying, I'm sure we're all excited about finally being able to get up in the skies again, like pegasi are supposed to. But, at the request of a new friend of ours..." She shared a look with her sister, who gave her a silent nod before giving her the floor to continue. "It's been recommended that we all take a moment to stay calm and practice our new flight in safe environments for the time being. Places are being set up in public spaces around the city for those who want to see what they can do. Remember, we've been out of the game for a long time now, and if we rush headlong into it, ponies will get hurt."

Pipp fluffed up her own wings, admiring them for a moment as she enthusiastically flapped a few times. "Maybe Sunny can dig up one of those old books of hers to see of all those old-timey pegasi had any flying tips. Should make for some pretty popular content."

Zipp tapped her chin as she considered that. "I'll ask her next time I see her." She looked over to Pipp, thinking for a moment before again looking to the camera. "And for those looking forward to my sister's next performance, please know it won't be solo for once."

With her eyes widening with that sudden remembrance, Pipp immediately launched herself back into frame to look to her unseen audience with glee. "Oh my gosh, she's right! I totally forgot! Some of our new friends will be coming over and practicing with me on the weekend and we're gonna livestream it to all of you wonderful Pipsqueaks!"

Zipp chuckled. "You heard it here, ponies. Pipp Petals sharing the stage. Will wonders never cease?"

Pipp gave her a playful shove after that and the two laughed together, but then, when the laughter was over, they took on a more sombre look. After remaining silent for a time, it eventually fell to Pipp to finally speak again. "And...before we go, we wanted to say, from all of us here in the royal family, that we're sorry for having lied to all of you for so long."

Zipp nodded grimly. "Yeah. We didn't like it, and we thought we had good reason for pretending we could fly for all those years. But even so, it was no excuse. Ponies should be able to trust those who lead them, and we broke your trust by tricking you." She bowed her head to the camera. "We hope that, one day, we can earn it back."

Pipp followed her sister's example and, in a move that left the entire city speechless for some time, joined her in bowing humbly before the masses. Then, after almost a full minute of not saying anything, Pipp whispered to her sibling. "Even though it was totally not cool for them to arrest our Mom after finding out."

Standing up again, Zipp actually resumed her smile from that. "Yep, definitely not cool, Zephyr Heights."

Regaining her prior perkiness, Pipp held onto her sister and smiled happily to the camera. "So from both of us here at the palace, have a great day, Pipsqueaks!"

Zipp nervously grinned "And you too, Zipp...squeaks?"

Slowly, Pipp turned to frown at her sister. "Okay, we're definitely gonna have to work on that one."
> The Queen's Visit
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alphabittle had been in this line of work for most of his adult life. Through his years of tending the bar of Bridlewood's most famous, and only, drinking establishment, he'd seen every unicorn this woodland of theirs had to offer, old and young alike. He knew everypony, and was more or less the only unicorn their community knew personally. For all intents and purposes, he was the Dad of their group, and as such there was little his neighbours could bring to him that ever really surprised him. That is, of course, with the exception of Bridlewood's other most notable resident, Izzy. Alphabittle had nothing against the young mare, but she did have a tendency to be far more energetic than the old stallion could really cope with, especially when she made her first arrival of the day in his place. Today was no exception, as Izzy burst through the front doors as she usually did, scaring the living daylights out of a nearby elderly mare, before announcing her presence to the rest. "Good morning, Bridlewood!"

"Good morning, Izzy," the other patrons all chimed in together, though more out of habit than any real enthusiasm to see her. 

Alphabittle, though quietly chuckling to this usual routine, still managed to get her expected drink ready for when she got to him. A tall, ice-cold chocolate milkshake, topped with an almost blasphemous amount of cream, and also the customary cherry on top. Reaching him, Izzy graciously bowed her head before taking the drink and, as usual, gulping it down in one go, much to Alphabittle's amusement. "You know, given that you usually have enough sugar in you already to keep everypony in this village going, is more chocolate at the start of your day really the best idea?"

Izzy giggled to that. "Oh, definitely! You know how much I like to go around, visiting everypony in the neighbourhood and do all my usual stuff, right? Gotta pack the fuel in somehow." Alphabittle rolled his eyes, but said nothing as Izzy clapped her hooves together. "Oh, and let's not forget needing to be ready for our super-special visitor today!"

The stallion sighed. "Izzy, I appreciate you want to do your part to get all sorts of ponies back together, but you can't really rush things like that. Besides, I'm pretty sure the Queen has far more important things to do than come down to our little..." But, before he could finish, all attention in the place was diverted to the sudden sounds of trumpets from outside, leading to an arched eyebrow on the bartender's part. "Well, I've been wrong before I guess."

As expected, the doors opened, and a pair of fully-armoured pegasi guards rolled out the literal red carpet, which the aforementioned Queen Haven confidently strode down. Behind her, following ever faithfully, was her beloved pet, Cloudpuff, whom Izzy gave an enthusiastic wave to. As for the Queen, she arrived right next to Izzy, looking to Alphabittle in her usual, overly-formal stature before finally cracking a smile. "Mr Blossomforth."

Alphabittle gave an over-the-top bow to her. "Your Majesty."

But the Queen waved him off. "Oh, none of that. I think we can afford to be a bit more relaxed around one another." In a flash, Izzy appeared right next to her, forelegs wide and ready to hug, only to be halted by a raised hoof from the older mare. "Not that I'm inviting impromptu hugs at anypony's request."

"Darn it!" Izzy grumbled.

The two elder ponies were amused by this, seeing her go off to chatter excitedly to the guards who'd arrived with Haven. And as for Haven herself, she looked around before pulling up a barstool and sitting upon it in about the least queenly-looking image one could imagine. "I don't supposed a fine chardonnay is on the menu?"

Alphabittle sighed and shook his head. "Milkshakes and coffee, I'm afraid," he replied, offering her one similar to what Izzy had been drinking not so long ago.

After eyeing it for a time, Haven took a sip, immediately wincing from it. "My, how...sweet."

Her unicorn counterpart gave a shrug. "We don't call it the sugarbomb for nothing."

Putting her glass aside for one moment, Haven glanced around, and while many of the local unicorns were giving her their full attention, many were simply back in their usual routine of looking to the latest poet on the stage, who of course gave the usual slow drumbeats after every line. "I say, were things here in Bridlewood always so...reserved?"

Leaning on the counter, Alphabittle nodded. "Usually. Aside from Izzy we were never the happiest ponies."

Haven looked back to him. "So I've heard. From what my daughters tell me this town was downright sobering before your magic returned. Afraid of your old power, unhappy every day." She tapped her chin. "We pegasi and the earth ponies all seem to have gained at least some generally happy lives for ourselves, but you? Whatever happened to all of us in that distant past, you unicorns clearly took the worst of it."

Taking a nearby empty glass, Alphabittle started cleaning it. "Maybe, but I try not to think about it too much. Doesn't do a pony's self-esteem all that much good if you start to obsess too much on how your community drew the shortest of short straws."

Realising she'd brought up a sore spot, Haven immediately backtracked, clearing her throat and tapping her hoof against the counter for a moment, creating no small amount of awkwardness for the guards behind her. But then, her mood improved a bit as she took on another smile when she looked to her host. "Well, whatever the past might have had in store for us, the present, and hopefully the future, is looking considerably brighter I'd say."

Alphabittle chortled to that. "No argument there, your Highness." He looked to the side, where Izzy was enthusiastically headbanging to every drumbeat on the stage. "And we have ponies like her to thank for it."

Haven's smile widened. "That we do. Words cannot express how proud I was of my dear daughters for having helped bring us all together. One can only imagine what else they will do when the time comes."

Making a milkshake of his own, Alphabittle raised it to his guest. "Well then, here's to a quintet of ponies who have just made our lives a heck of a lot more interesting."

Taking her own, still-too-sugary-for-her drink, Haven matched the motion. "I'll drink to that."
> Filly Talk
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was no question that the city of Zephyr Heights was about the most impressive place a pony could be in this day and age. High up, where once only pegasi could go, this shining place was truly a marvel, especially when you were standing on a balcony on one of its tallest towers, as Izzy was currently doing. The energetic unicorn mare was utterly gobsmacked by every direction she looked at, astounded not only by the scale and beauty of the city, but also the new delight of watching so many of its citizens flying around with their reclaimed ancient power. And of course, having a brilliantly sunny day to see it all on was no problem either, with a cool breeze just to put the cherry on top of the cake. But, as always, there came a time when she had to pull herself away and go back inside. Inside, in this case, being the room of her new friend, Pipp Petals, which was about as glamorous to look at as one would expect of a princess. Her other friend, Sunny, was also here, and was similarly impressed by it all, which she was sure to remark on. "Thanks for inviting us for tea, Pipp, especially in a place as nice as this."

"Oh, it's no trouble," Pipp answered. "Aside from Zipp I never really had that many friends, so it's nice to finally throw a tea party for some."

Zipp, who was sitting right next to the younger sister, chuckled. "Yeah, things always got way too awkward when it was just the two of us having these things. We'd run out of things to say and then boom, nothing but silence for the rest of the hour."

Izzy and Sunny both winced to that. "Ooof, yeah, I can definitely see the benefits of having more ponies here," the latter remarked.

Pipp glanced around, then looked squarely to Sunny. "So...Hitch not here today?"

Sunny, taking her first sip of tea, shook her head. "Afraid not. He needed to stay in Maretime Bay to keep a lookout during the unveiling of Canterlogic's new product line. He really takes his job seriously."

To that, Pipp started to smirk, which Zipp saw and rolled her eyes to. "Okay, here we go."

Both Sunny and Izzy looked to her with confusion, then became somewhat concerned when Pipp rushed over to the door of her room, locked it, then flew straight back. "Okay then. If he's not here, we can finally get down to business."

Izzy, gulping her own tea, tilted her head. "Business?"

Pipp nodded firmly. "Oh yeah." Reaching under the table, she re-emerged seconds later and slammed what looked like a pile of paper upon it. "Sunny Starscout, would you be a dear and explain this to us?"

Looking forward, both of the guests saw that it was, of all things, a calendar. And, to be more specific, it was one utterly dominated by pictures of Hitch in various costumes. Izzy, upon seeing that, whistled briefly. "Wow. that photographer really likes Hitch."

In contrast, Sunny simply giggled. "Oh, that. Yeah, it was a bit of a fundraiser set up by the Mare's Institute for a bit of charity work. Hitch volunteered and, well, the calendars kind of became a big seller for a bit."

Zipp snorted. "I'll bet."

Pipp waved her off. "Yes, yes, charity work, all very nice. But Sunny, sweetie..." She leaned forward. "We kind of need to ask the question about, you know, you and him."

Zipp buried her face in her hooves, groaning uncomfortably, all while Sunny just stared at her royal friend with the expected level of confusion. "Um...what question?"

Pipp rolled her eyes. "Honey, don't even try to play innocent here. You and him have been besties all your lives, and here he is, this utter Adonis, and there's no spark there?"

Like Izzy did earlier, Sunny tilted her head to the side. "I'm...I'm not following."

In response, Pipp gave herself a facehoof. "You know, a spark? That special warmth? A beautiful blossoming of feelings?"

Izzy, having apparently picked up what she was putting down, took on a knowing smile of her own, gently elbowing Sunny to her side. "A little bow-chicka-bow-wow?"

"Izzy!" Pipp said, aghast. "But yes, pretty much that."

At long last, Sunny's eyes widened with understanding, and after a second of looking to Zipp, who was silently mouthing an uncomfortable-looking apology to her, she turned straight back to Pipp. "What?! Hitch?! Ew! No! We've been together since we were basically foals! Him and me...that'd be like dating my own brother at this point!"

Pipp blinked slowly, then picked up the calendar and pointed to an especially handsome example of the stallion's photos. "You mean you've been friends you whole life with him, with aaaaaaaaaaaall of this..." she said, gesturing enthusiastically to the picture. "And there's been...nothing?!"

Sunny, who had taken to being rather satisfied with the Princess' feelings of confusion and frustration, took another sip of tea before replying in a more calm and collected manner. "Correct. Were are simply a mare and a stallion who have been best friends our entire lives and are very close to one another, but do not have any romantic leanings."

Izzy looked to her, saying nothing for almost a full minute, then slowly glanced to Pipp. "That's...that's an option?"

Pipp, having recovered from the revelation, shrugged to her unicorn companion. "It would appear so."

Finally taking some of her own tea, Zipp chortled before speaking to her sister. "Told you."

Pipp frowned to that, but then sighed, setting the calendar to one side. "Well then...I clearly misinterpreted the relationship at play here."

Sunny giggled, reaching out and patting her on the hoof. "I wouldn't worry about it. It's an easy mistake to make, especially considering all the mares back home who had a crush on him." She turned to look out of the window. "Seriously, that guy couldn't go one day without some mare giving him doe eyes."

Pipp nodded, accepting that truth, then allowing her eyes to drift down to his calendar again. "So...was Hitch the only one to do something like this?"

Finishing her tea, Sunny shook her head. "Not really. Sprout tried it, at his mother's suggestion of course. But, lo and behold, he couldn't quite compete."

Looking down to the calendar herself, Zipp's tone was as sarcastic as one would expect after hearing something like that. "Oh no, how unexpected."
> Critters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hitch always took pride in his work, waking up early to see his morning routine done and finished so he could set out and perform his duties for as long as possible. Setting hoof outside his door, he took in a lungful of cool and crisp morning air, looking to the side and smiling at the barest glimmer of light on the far horizon, the sun signaling its arrival over the vast sea beside their home. Morning was here, and Maretime Bay once more needed its sheriff. True, the days of living in fear of supposedly evil unicorns and pegasi were long gone now, but there was always a place for law and order, and the young stallion was sure to enforce it. Granted, there were few, if any, other ponies out here right now, but Hitch knew it was best to get out there before the big crowds. So, starting his journey along the walkway beside the beach, he noted a few others here, such as the street cleaners and those just emerging to set up their shops for the day. But, as ever, there was that sound. The sound of tiny feet just behind him, leading to his usual sigh. "Really, guys?"

He turned, looking down to see those who were following him. It was the critters, the tiny animals from in and around the town that always managed to find him. Why they were always drawn to him, he didn't know, only that it was something that had become more and more prominent as the years had gone on. Where once he'd maybe draw in a seagull here and there, these days it was entire squadrons of tiny birds and animals. Presently, there was a squirrel, a mouse, a stray cat, a pigeon and even a little rabbit. He had no issue with animals of course, especially ones as adorable as these, but they certainly threw off the air of authority he usually tried to give off. "Look, I appreciate that you all seem to like me, but my duties don't really involve animals all that much. So could you maybe...I dunno, go to your nests or burrows or whatever until after I've finished my rounds?" Alas, his words only had the effect of causing a few happy-sounding squeaks and chirps from his small following, leading to another sigh on his part. "Well, if it didn't work the last few times, why would it work today?"

"Morning, Sheriff!" a voice called to him from the side.

Turning, Hitch smiled when he saw that it was the local flower vendor, a mare roughly a few years older than him, and he stepped closer to return the greeting. "And to you. With luck we'll have a sunny day today."

The mare nodded. "Hooves crossed. And speaking of sunny things, how's your bestie?"

Hitch chuckled. "Oh, she's fine. She went off to Zephyr Heights yesterday and I think she's enjoying a bit of a sleepover with our new friends. She should be back later today."

Again, the mare nodded, then took on a wider smile as she looked just past the stallion. "Good to know your talents are as undiminished as ever."

Hitch's ears drooped, knowing full well what those words meant. And sure enough, as he looked around, he saw that he'd gathered even more animals by his side, this time with the group including full-grown seagulls and even a dog. "Sunny keeps telling me I should be happy to be this good with animals, but I really wish I could go one day without the crowd."

The flower vendor giggled. "I tell you, my little filly would adore having a talent like yours. All those animals at her beck and call? She'd be the happiest child in Maretime Bay."

Hitch chuckled drily. " Trust me, she'd get tired of it pretty quickly."

Giving a quick bow of her head, the vendor turned to her shop door. "Well then, don't let me keep you."

The town sheriff watched as she retreated back into her home, then turned and frowned at his as-yet unconcerned  fluffy fan club. "Alright, fine, you can follow." The result of that was even more happy sounds by the animals, to which even Hitch couldn't resist smiling. "Don't get too excited. I'm only allowing this because I'm in a good mood today." He began to walk off again, with his unofficial deputies loyally following close behind. It was a largely unremarkable early hour for his rounds today. Nothing out of the ordinary, and while he was ashamed to consider it, he did sort of pine for the days when he actually had things to do, like checking the unicorn traps. But, as he constantly reminded himself, that was peacetime. Preparedness  for bad times was all well and good, but friendship was more important now, and he was naturally glad of it. But, as always, there was that one thing he spotted that soured his mood, and his eyes narrowed as he galloped onward to the source of it. "Why? Why do I get this every morning?"

The cause of his dismay? A piece of newspaper that had been crumpled up and thrown on the side of the sidewalk, right next to the local bins. It wasn't even a great distance away, it was literally right next to the recycling bin, barely an inch from it. He shook his head, then took on an even more irritated look when he glanced up to see that the general waste bin was overflowing with other crumpled bits of paper, while the neighboring recycling bin was practically empty, leading to a facehoof on his part. "Why, just...just why?!" Then, as he let his dismay set in, he was distracted by the sudden sound of a gull-call. Looking down, he saw his recently-acquired seagull companion hop over to the offending piece of paper, before promptly picking it up with its beak. Tilting his head, Hitch watched it fly up the short distance to the recycling bit, then dropped it in, giving another call. After blinking to this a few times, Hitch eventually gave a genuine smile, then reached out and gave the bird a quick pat on the head. "That'll do, Deputy. That'll do."
> Practice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some situations a pony simply did not wish to find themselves in, regardless of the reasons behind it. For Pipp, who was very much used to things being planned out and under control, today was one such occasion. For she was not within the comfortable confines of her room, her palace, nor even within the boundaries of Zephyr Heights. Instead, she stood upon a precipice, quite literally. A tall cliff-edge, peering over a vast chasm below, so deep that cloud obscured what was beneath it. A loud gulp came from the princess, and it was clear to all that she was hesitant. But it wasn't long before an encouraging nudge was felt to her side, causing her to turn and look upon her companion for the afternoon. Izzy, who was as excited as always. "Come on, Pipp! You've flown a tonne of times by now!"

Pipp, naturally, gestured to the dangerous lack of ground over the edge of the aforementioned cliff. "Yes, but this is a little different, Izzy! I've flown in controlled places, yes, but I've never...done this!"

Izzy snorted briefly. "Don't worry! If what Sunny says is true, you pegasi used to be able to do way more dangerous flying than this back in the day."

A begrudging nod from Pipp. "Maybe so, but you'll forgive me if I'm not exactly comfortable with testing that theory out in, well, this type of way!"

Izzy considered that, then resumed her smile. "Alright then, no problem."

Pipp blinked to her. "No...problem?"

Izzy shook her head. "Nope. I'll just practice my own stuff." Her horn lit up with her words, indicating that she was ready to start levitating something.

Pipp, though grateful that she'd been given a reprieve from testing her flight abilities, nevertheless watched with uncertainty. After all, Izzy was an unpredictable mare to say the least, and there was no telling what she'd do here. Sure enough, the pegasus mare took a step back as she saw her friend cast her glow upon the entirety of her body, and within moments of realising this, she saw with astonishment as Izzy was now levitating herself, as if possessing flight of her own. Granted, her levitation was only about an inch off the ground, and yes she seemed to struggle a great deal with it, but even so, the princess was impressed. "I...I've never seen a unicorn do something like that."

Izzy giggled. "Well, to be fair, how much unicorn magic have you, me or anypony else really seen?"

Pipp shrugged. "Hmmm, good point."

Then, after maintaining her levitation for a few moments longer, Izzy glanced over the edge of the cliff, soon developing a mischievous smirk for herself. "You know, it'd be a shame if we came all the way out here and didn't make use of this place."

Suddenly feeling more nervous, Pipp looked to her friend warily. "Izzy...what are you suggesting?"

Izzy, to Pipp's immediate surprise, began to inch her magically-enveloped self over to the edge of the cliff. "Well, we gotta test these powers of ours out, right?"

Instantly, Pipp's eyes shot open, realisation coming to her over what her friend was about to do. "Izzy...get away from the edge." But, after seeing Izzy just keep that happy smile of hers, she herself had to step closer. "Izzy, I'm telling you, this isn't funny, please come back over here."

Unfortunately, her pleas were completely unheeded, as Izzy made that final nudge to take herself right over the edge. Immediately, Pipp covered her eyes, unable to bear the sight of her friend falling to her doom. But, as the moments passed, there was no sound of screams or distress, only silence. So, slowly, the princess peeked out from her hooves, and what she saw astonished her. Izzy was still floating, now, completely above the seemingly-endless drop below, and even had the confidence to show it. "Wow, you don't really appreciate how high up we are until you're over it, right?"

Though relieved that her friend was okay, Pipp knew she was still in danger, and so resumed her previous requests. "Izzy, for the love of the sun, please come back over here!"

Izzy giggled, then, after just a few seconds, started to look concerned. "Um...uh-oh."

Pipp's face went pale. "Uh-oh? What uh-oh?!"

"I...um...seem to be kinda, sorta...stuck," Izzy replied.

Panic gripped the pink pegasus now, and in a jolt of decisiveness, she spread out her wings and, in an almighty thrust, launched herself right past where her friend was hovering, fear be damned. Izzy watched as her friend swerved around, hooves outstretched, then pushed her back over to the solid ground of the cliff's top. Pipp was right behind her, and as Izzy finally relented on her magic, allowing herself back to the ground, the two panted heavily, Izzy from the exhaustion of maintaining her magic, while Pipp's was largely out of her heart beating frantically. "Izzy?" she managed to get out.

Slowly, Izzy looked to her. "Yeah, Pipp?"

Pipp glared angrily at her. "Never...ever...under any circumstances, do that again!"

Though as optimistic about things as she usually was, even Izzy couldn't help but agree to Pipp's request with a nod. "Yeah...I think I was just about done by the time you pushed me. One more moment and...well..." She didn't finish, and quite frankly Pipp didn't want her to. Instead, the two completely flopped down onto their bellies, their collective tiredness plain for all to see. For a long time, the only thing that could be heard on this high plateau was the sound of the two mares trying to catch their breath. But, of course, it eventually fell to Izzy to change that, looking to Pipp with a slight smirk. "If it makes you feel any better...you did just prove to yourself that you can fly over big heights like that."

Rather expectedly, Pipp's eyes narrowed to that. "I do wish I hadn't had to try and save a dear friend to have to prove it though, Izzy!"

As before, Izzy nodded, accepting her companion's position, and then, after glancing around and looking like she was just about done for the day, she looked once more to Pipp. "So...ice cream?"

Pipp, regaining her smile, nodded. "Ice cream."
> Successor
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Being part of the usual meet-and-greets was all part of the responsibilities of the elder princess, but even with so much experiences of going through all of them, Zipp still felt bored out of her skull whenever her mother asked her to join her for it. Haven, by contrast, always managed to look as pleased as punch to be having the various aristocrats and wealthy elites of Zephyr Heights come to her throne room. Maybe it was just joy of having her old position reinstated after the fake flight scandal, but Zipp's mother really was getting into it these days. But, to Zipp's gratitude, there came a time when the last of the visiting ponies left, and as soon as the guards had closed the door of the chambers, the eldest daughter let out a very tired-sounding sigh. "I swear, if I have to hear one more old stallion's story about how unhappy he is with the weather, I'm just gonna fly off out of the window."

Haven, rather than be disappointed with her daughter's attitude, merely smiled. "I understand that this is hardly the highlight of your week, Zipp, but you know as well as I do how important it is to keep an open dialogue with the ponies of the city. We royals simply cannot be the types who lock ourselves in our high towers and never show ourselves." Her look of pride intensified. "We must be examples, there to be seen for ponies to look up to as beacons of respectability and integrity." After seeing her child give her an arched eyebrow, Haven rolled her eyes. "Well, mostly a beacon of integrity, give or take the odd bout of deception for the greater good."

Zipp shook her head, then, looked past Haven to the empty seat on the other side of her. "And you never ask Pipp to be here for this because...?"

Taking a quick moment to pet her beloved dog, Haven maintained her smile. "Well, not to put too fine a point on it my dear, but your sister has never had much difficulty in connecting with the common folk. Why, I daresay no pony in the history of our society has been as popular as her."

Zipp leaned back into her chair in a most un-princess-like way. "Yeah, I actually joined her for one of her videos recently. Getting your face out there for all the city to see? I couldn't imagine doing that as regularly as she does." Then, curiosity came to her as she again regarded her lone parent. "And was there some other reason?"

Haven looked to her daughter firmly this time. "Because you are the heir, Zipp. One day the crown will fall to you, not to Pipp. So it is necessary to prioritise having you be here to learn these formalities."

Zipp stared at her for a time, then frowned. "Mom...you know how I feel about that."

A short nod from the queen. "Naturally. Few things about my daughters escape my notice. I've known since you were a filly that the thought of becoming queen is hardly an appealing prospect to you." Looking to the side, she gave a nod to her guards who, recognising that this was quickly becoming a very private and personal moment between the two, swiftly gave a salute before vacating the throne room. Only once they were all gone did Haven resume eye contact with her heir. "Zipp, believe me when I say that I understand. I recall quite vividly how unhappy I was to have that burden placed on my shoulders." Getting off her throne, she began to walk to one of the nearby windows, looking out to the bustling metropolis that was their home. "Me? Ruling over all those ponies? Being responsible for them and making decisions that would affect thousands of lives? Sometimes the stress would be so much for me that it would honestly make me sick."

Zipp, walking alongside her, looked to her with some concern. "I can't imagine your coronation was a particularly happy day for you then."

Haven shook her head. "You're not wrong. I was dreading it more than anything else. But..." She took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Eventually, I came to accept that this was my responsibility. That it was a duty to my people and that, whatever my own feelings on the matter, ponies needed somepony to watch out for them." She turned to her daughter. "And when I look to you, see all that you have done, I believe that you will be a greater queen than I could ever have been."

Zipp snorted. "You're my Mom. I'm pretty sure it's part if your job to say encouraging things like that."

In response, Haven shook her head. "But I mean every word of it, Zipp. Had I had my way, we pegasi would have remained isolated from the rest of the world. Fear of other ponies with us for the rest of our history. But you? You actually took action to lift us out of that era of blindness. You opened our eyes. My eyes. Because of you, your sister, and all your friends, we are in a far better place now than we've been for generations." She looked away, almost ashamed. "Nothing I have done in my reign has even come close to that kind of good." A smile returned to her. "You've helped our people so much, and all before you gain the crown. If that's not a sign of how well you will rule, I don't know what is."

To say that Zipp was taken aback by her mother's words would have been an understatement, as it was clear that her perspective of the matter had given the younger mare a lot to think about. For right now though, she was sure to let her mother know of her continuing concern. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still not exactly thrilled with the idea of doing what you do every day."

Looking her daughter in the eye, Haven smirked. "Zipp, sweetheart, I'd honestly be more worried about you if you did enjoy boring meetings like this."
> Legacy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was understandable that, whenever ponies had to do something like this, there was an air of discomfort about it. Not that it wasn't something they wanted to do exactly, but that simply being there tended to drudge up unpleasant thoughts. Not so for Sunny Starscout, although it was a given that the mare was often out of step with other ponies, even within her own community. So, on a day when she had some free time, she was sure to go to where she'd been planning to go for some days now. A pretty, grass-covered hill, just a short distance from her home. A mighty and old oak tree shaded the spot, and it had a good view of Maretime Bay from its summit. But it wasn't the views or the tree Sunny had come here for, but what lay at the latter's base. A stone, clearly marking the presence of the one beneath. Flowers had begun to grow and sprout where once there had been dug-up earth, and upon the stone itself was etched a name. One that Sunny knew and loved well. The mare smiled, taking in a deep breath before finally breaking the long silence. "Hey there, Dad."

Of course, the stone itself could not reply, but her words were soon followed by a gentle breeze, causing a slight rustling in the branches of the aforementioned oak. Sunny, taking this as a response, smiled. "Sorry it took me longer than usual to visit, but, well, I've kinda had a lot to do since last time." She took a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing. "All that stuff you taught me as a filly? All those stories? All those things you hoped would one day be true?" A slight welling appeared in her eyes. "It all happened, Dad. Pegasi and unicorns are back, and they're back with us! The ponies of Maretime Bay aren't frightened of them anymore!" Turning, she glanced back to her home, pointing to it with an outstretched hoof. "You can probably see some of the pegasi flying in the skies over there. It's incredible." Again, she regarded the stone. "I had such an adventure before all this happened, and I made a bunch of new friends along the way." She chuckled. "Hitch had a hard time adjusting of course, as did everypony else, but...I really think things have changed for the better now, just like you always hoped they would."

Silence fell again, and Sunny, even though she didn't say it outright, wanted more than anything for her departed father to respond. To say something, anything, after his daughter had told him all this. But of course, the cold stone remained as quiet as a grave usually was. Sighing, Sunny took her hoof off the stone for the time being., "I just...I wish you had been here to see it. You, more than anypony I know, wanted this to be the world we lived in. The world I lived in. And for you to never get the chance to see it become reality, I..." The wellings in her eyes returned, fiercer than before. She did her best to try and hide it, or to hold it back, but it was for nothing, as a single tear began to fall at last. "None of this would have been possible without you and what you taught, Dad. It isn't right that you...that you left before your dream came true." Slowly, she shook her head. "I just...I want you to know I've spent my life trying to make others see what you always knew to be true about us. That friendship was possible."

"He knows," a voice whispered from behind. Sunny looked behind her, seeing the smiling face of her oldest friend, Hitch, walking up the hill to join her. Sunny's prior smile returned, and once he was alongside her, the two looked down to the stone together, with Hitch's voice one of calm softness. "Wherever he is, he knows what you've done. What you've accomplished. And there's nopony who would be more proud of what you've done than him."

Sunny chuckled, leaning to the side so her head was resting on the stallion's shoulder. "You always knew what to say to cheer me up, Hitch."

Hitch smiled back to her, wrapping his forehoof around her to hold her close. "You know I'm right. Ponies can leave a lot of things in this world when they're gone. Books, buildings, that sort of thing. But your father? He left behind something better than all of that." He looked his best friend right in the eye. "He left, you, Sunny. A mare filled with dreams and hopes of friendship and unity. His dream, carried on. And you made it real in his name. The things he taught you, the ideas he raised you on, that made you into the mare who changed the world for the better. And I can't think of a single pony who has left as remarkable a legacy as that."

Sunny's smile widened, and for a time all the two did was hug, a pleasant moment to contrast against the more melancholy feelings that had preceded it. What had been a relatively cloudy day began to give way at last, letting bright sunlight pour down on where the two were standing. It illuminated the tree, causing its leaves, which were already beginning to change with the season, to become a bright gold. The two ponies looked up to that, Sunny taking another deep breath before looking once more to her friend. "I just wish most ponies around here didn't think my Dad was crazy when he was alive."

Hitch nudged her a little. "Well, not all of us felt that way about him."

The two smiled as old friends do, and after simply staring fondly to the final resting place of Sunny's father, they turned, heading back down the hill to return to her home. And after a while, Sunny paused, glancing over her shoulder to give one last look to the one who had meant so much to her. "Thanks, Dad...for everything."