> Pokemon Alola Journey - Trials of Sarah: Journey for the Royal Family Arc 1 - MLP: A New Generation
>  by Zipp Storm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prolouge: A New Misadventure
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two weeks had passed ever since the gang left Alola on their journey to find Sarah's real parents, King Doug and Queen Delilah, and find the one who knows of their current whereabouts. So far, their journey was smooth sailing and for the most part, everything was good since they didn't run into any trouble or enemies who wanted to make trouble with. It was also enlightening for everybody to spend time together more easily whenever they take a break from their adventure and it seemed like things would be easy-going for them.

But, it wouldn't be much of a breeze for long as the princess and her family would be sent on a wild misadventure in the wild blue yonder that would reveal something of an unexpected connection between a particular world and her parents.

It all started when everybody was sound asleep one night in a large clearing after much time traveling the world and search for the one who has the answers to their current location. While the others are heavy sleepers and far gone into Dreamland, for Sarah and her family, they all suddenly found themselves in a strange dream realm as they sharply woke up and slowly looked around as they stood up.

Everywhere they looked in the realm, there were clouds all around them, and those that couldn't fly looked to actually be standing on a giant platform of dark clouds below them. Unlike normal clouds made from water vapor, though, these clouds in the dream realm are solid and they didn't appear to fall through them.

"Uh...... Guys?" Sarah blinked.

"Yeah, Ponchita?" asked a wary James as they looked around.

"Where are we?"

"Okay, what's the dealio? Why are we here, what's with the dark cloud blanket?" snorted Mienshao.

"I'm wondering how we even got here," remarked Ching Wan. "This is definitely not our campsite since our stuff isn't here and neither are the others."

"I'll say, wish we know who's trapped us here."

"Doesn't look like there's a way out either,” put in Mist and Spark, seeing no exit.

"We'll worry about that later. Somehow, we've got to find out who's responsible for bringing us here while we were asleep,” replied Totem Luxray, hoping to see the one responsible through his species' unique eyesight.

"But, there's nothing but big cloud in this joint. Where do we start?" pointed out Mai.

"The first thing we need to do is not panic," replied Tsukumaro to everybody. "As long as we stick together, we'll see who is it that brought us to this realm."

Before any of them can make a move, however, a power strike of lightning shot throughout the realm and spooked everyone for a moment. But, out of all of them, Reshiram wasn't even fazed as he seemed to recognize the thunderbolt being fired as several more soon darted across the cloud realm.

"Hey, what gives?! What's with the supernatural light show?” boomed Shaymin's brother (currently in Land Form) as he glared around, looking for the perpetrator that nearly struck them.

"And, who's making it by any chance?" added a startled Saba.

"I may be docile now but even I have a limit as to when and how much of my buttons can be pushed,” Salamence snorted, annoyed as he tried to step or fly forward and see who he can smash. "I'm gonna bust out of these clouds and see who's the joker trying to cook us!”

"Salamence, get back!"

"That lightning's too powerful for you to take as Part-Flying Type, you'll be fried before you take your fifth step should one hit you!” barked Zeraora and Kommo-o as Danny and Danielle used Psychic to stop him in his tracks as a few more lightning bolts shot out and nearly struck him.

"Alright, already! I get the message!” the Dragon Pokemon barked in return before he was quickly pulled back.

"Look! Who's the skyscraper coming towards us?" peeped Zorua as she pointed everyone from atop Zeraora's head to reveal the silhouette of a giant, black Pokemon appearing before the group from within the clouds.

The Pokemon looked to be jet black while having more of an upright body that appears to be vaguely humanoid. It also had piercing red eyes and dark gray-black skin that could be mistaken for armor. Like Reshiram, the pokemon also has a large, generator-like tail but it had a long mane that ends in a tip, usually glowing an iridescent blue color. And, to top it all off, it also has a set of small black wings behind its three-clawed arms.

Everyone was stunned to see the new Pokemon before them but Reshiram took one look at the silhouette before his group and he knew exactly who or what Pokemon it belonged to.

"Ah, Zekrom, you're here,” he nodded, revealing the Pokemon to be his counterpart, the Dragon of Ideals and the Deep Black Pokemon from Unova - Zekrom.

"ZEKROM/ZEKROM/ZEKROM?!" gasped everybody else in shock.

"No way!"

"That's Zekrom?!"

"Holy Arceus!"

"Impossible!"

"WHAT?!" Wyveon and his friends spluttered along with Ching Wan and Hashimoto, looking between Reshiram and Zekrom and seeing some similarities between them despite the clear differences between them.

"That Pokemon is definitely Zekrom,” replied a shocked Star.

"The majestic Deep Black Pokemon who's also part of the Unova Region's Tao Trio?" clarified Calyrex as he and his flabbergasted sons looked towards the Shiny Aura Pokemon who nodded confirmation.

"I never would've thought......I'd ever get to see another living legend here," admitted Sunset.

"Yeah, let alone from the Dragon of Ideals himself," added an equally shocked Flora.

"That's Zekrom, the Dragon of Ideals and Reshiram's counterpart! What's he doing here?!” thought Sarah, trying to wrap her head around the fact that she and her family finally crossed paths with the Deep Black Pokemon.

"So, you're with the Princess since you've reawakened, I'd reckon?" Zekrom asked the Vast White Pokemon.

Reshiram nodded, "I have. I thought I'd recognized those bolts of yours since we were brought here."

He sighed for a moment as he closed his eyes before he looked towards his counterpart again. "I assume you have a reason for summoning all of us here, then?” he questioned knowingly.

Zekrom nodded back, "Yes. There is a disturbance in the multiverse that I've been overseeing for some time and I have a feeling you and the princess deserve the right to know.”

He then roared as he exuded his power and opened up a wormhole to show what looked to be like a city on the edge of an ocean filled with ponies living out their lives peacefully but none the wiser about what lied before them outside of their seaside town.

"What's that?" asked Sarah.

"My dear princess, that there is a land known as Equestria, a place where three types of ponies-Earth Ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns-once used to live in harmony alongside Pokemon and dragons. What you're seeing here is a small part of that world known as Maretime Bay, the seaside town of the Earth Ponies.”

"Used to?” asked Keldeo.

"What do you mean 'Used to'?”

"That can't be right.”

"Why aren't there any dragons and Pokemon living with them?” asked Pearl, Diamond, and Amethyst in confusion.

"Dear Zekrom, how can it be possible for those ponies to live by themselves and not alongside Pokemon and dragons in cooperation and harmony?" questioned Magearna worriedly as she stepped forward to meet the Dragon of Ideals.

"I'm afraid total discord, paranoia, and mistrust took hold of them and they all lived separately after an ancient evil once doomed the land many moons ago in their time. This had many ramifications when this evil was thwarted once, the most serious of which being that Pokemon and dragons were forced out of Equestria for a reason they don't know. Friendship and love once reigned there but over time and with the ancient evil's prior assault, Ponies had since taken those qualities for granted and they've begun suspecting one another of treachery and deception before it became what you see now."

Zekrom sighed for the ponies given what they're setting themselves up for, "I worry that if this continues and if the ancient evil were to resurface, without their friendships and love rekindled and if they're not reunited with the Pokemon and dragons they've banished, all of those ponies will die and they'll have no one to blame but themselves for their untimely demise. However, I have hope that you, Princess, will be able to help them and restore than land to what it once was."

The portal closed and opened again but this time, it revealed a female apricot Earth Pony in her early adulthood (her mid-20s, to be precise) with a purple mane and tail who looked down in the dumps and was looking over the sea as she sat down.

"Whoa, who's the rundown sloth?" remarked Jolteon.

"What's up with her?" questioned Vaporeon, looking at how depressed the pony is.

"She looks sad," frowned Flareon sympathetically.

"That pony, my friends, is known as Sunny Starscout. She is a resident of those parts and the only Earth Pony who truly believes that dragons, Pokemon, and all ponies want to become friends again," Zekrom replied to them. "Unfortunately, nobody in Maretime Bay shared her sentiments and dismissed them as well as the old legends she once heard of, thinking they'll be better off by themselves in the long run."

"Oh....... Poor Sunny,” whimpered Poipole (voice reference: Calumon - Digimon Tamers (English Dub)).

“That's........Pretty harsh on her," admitted Tepig, feeling sorry for Sunny.

"Hardly surprising if the idiots who demeaned and put her down for having hope for friendship and love for all ponies, dragons, and Pokemon are already losing their heads on the truth, honestly," scoffed Venom, wanting to pummel Sunny's detractors.

"Agreed. I'm convinced the new motto those Equestrian Ponies have for strangers and would-be friends these days is, 'Have your red and white flags at the ready'," added an unimpressed Totem Marowak.

"Alright, that's enough! We don't need any thoughts like that on those ponies, I understand your feelings but as we all know, we mustn't let our anger control us!" barked Shadow firmly at the two. "We all feel her pain but there's no need to further antagonize the ponies including her own people, denigrating them won't help their situation any further."

"Indeed. As much as I hate to admit it, they'll need our help. Sunny, most of all," nodded Camo as his children looked at him while he made his answer.

"Daddy/Dad....." they all chirped.

"I can't believe those guys, why would they go so far as to ostracize Sunny for believing in a better future and knowing there's so much more for them out there?" grumbled Hashimoto. "They're not helping themselves by antagonizing their own people, the Pokemon, and the dragons like this!"

"If they keep this up, wouldn't that accelerate the return of whatever ancient evil was sealed away previously?" questioned Dracozolt.

"As far as we know, they'll be signing their own death warrants by pulling such stupid stunts like this," added Hurricane.

"It's just as I said; fear can be a powerful motivator for many people who are purposely misled, told many lies over and over again until they believe them, and who don't know the whole story on anything including getting all the facts in order," replied Tsukumaro grimly.

"Until the paranoia becomes too much for them and they don't know who to trust and what is said to them is the truth or lies," Nikki added, feeling the same.

"That's the danger our current human society is facing given what everybody in America is facing with all of the pointless and deadly propaganda being pushed out by corrupt politicians wanting to do their thing," agreed James darkly.

"Sunny........" sighed Sarah sadly, feeling said for the downcast Earth Pony.

"That is why I'm sending you and your family to deal with the matter personally yourselves, Princess,” Zekrom pitched to them.

"Wait, you mean we're going to Equestria?" Sarah blinked.

"We're really going there?!" gasped Skylar in shock, hearing what Zekrom was suggesting to them.

The Deep Black Pokemon nodded again, "Yes. As long as the literal discord between the ponies along with the unknown whereabouts of the dragons and Pokemon that once lived there continues, the ancient evil that threatened Sunny's world will fall into darkness once more and everyone will be doomed to extinction."

"In hindsight, that does not inspire confidence," Goodra quipped.

"It most certainly doesn't," nodded Noctowl in agreement.

"Then, what Sunny is facing right now is much more dangerous than she would initially think and it's something that friendship alone won't solve,” added Cresselia.

"But, given what's at stake here and since Equestria's on the verge of a major meltdown and collapse by their own hooves, it'll be stupid of us to see what we can't do," Rosa suggested, wanting to see what they can do to help Sunny.

"Do we have a choice?” Slurpuff shrugged.

"Right. And, Princess Sarah won't be going alone on that," Zekrom continued, turning everyone's attention to him again. "I want you all to join her and help Sunny reunite Equestria and retrieve the Pokemon and dragons as well.”

"Hmm?/What?/Huh?" they all questioned in surprise and confusion.

"Okay, Big Black, I get the idea that Pokemon and Dragons were booted out from those big babies' so-called fear of them and that they're on the verge of total decimation without them living alongside them," Zorua quipped, expressing a bit of skepticism on Zekrom's words. "But, why would you have all of us go with her by any chance?"

"You all might not know it, Little Zorua. But, once upon a time, King Doug and Queen Delilah, long before the princess was born, once came to Equestria before it had changed moons later during their previous rule before the Ultra Beast War changed everything for them and our world."

Everyone was shocked by what they had heard; Doug and Delilah once traveled to Equestria during their previous reign, long before Sunny and the world she had come to know took over? All long before Delilah became pregnant with their only child?

"No........”

"That can't be right.....”

"Crazy......" gasped the Night Lights, their jaws dropping as they voiced everybody's shocked and surprised thoughts.

"You mean, my parents once crossed over to the Ponies' world before us?" Sarah balked as Zekrom chuckled.

"Indeed. But, the Equestria they once traveled to was nothing like the Equestria you see before you all those moons ago in the Ponies' time and that was long before Sunny Starscout and the ponies she lived with came to be."

"Are you kidding me?!"

"How did they-?”

"*Impossible!”

"I can't believe it!”

"No way!”

"That's wild!”

"That's way too tall for the likes of Thor and Odin!” balked Wyveon and his friends.

"That's so cool!" chirped Mai as she excitedly jumped up and down. "Ponies and Pokemon and dragons living there that they would've seen, oh my!"

"I guess my parents must've made a much bigger first impression than I thought," Sarah commented in blank shock as she tried to wrap her head around that new and untold truth.

"You're absolutely right, Princess. In fact, they ultimately became good friends and allies of Equestria and its citizens after they were called to assist with stopping the ancient evil that once plagued them, long before you were born."

"But, what about Ash and the others? Won't they be worried about us if we go?"

"I'll inform them of your mission. In the meantime, while you're gone, they'll see what they can find regarding your parents until you come back. My trust in Equestria's salvation is now in you."

Sarah gulped but she knew this is what they had to do, for Sunny's sake. Without waiting for her family's answer, she quickly jumped into the portal and made her way to Equestria.

"........Now, what?" asked Mai again, looking towards everybody as they all the same thoughts that Sarah had.

"I guess we got no choice. Might as well take the plunge, come on!" Zorua decided for everyone as they nodded.

Quickly, they all followed Sarah as they made the jump to Equestria, hoping to meet Sunny and help her deal with restoring her broken world and rekindling the friendships and love between Ponies, Pokemon, and the dragons along with finding the two aforementioned creatures. When they were the only ones left, Reshiram nodded to his counterpart, Zekrom nodding back knowingly as the Dragon of Truth followed, the Dragon of Ideals left alone in the dreamscape as he closed his eyes and sighed before he disappeared.

"Good luck, Princess," Zekrom finished before he vanished and Sarah's latest misadventure begins.





(Journey Movie/Special Theme 1 - Pokemon 4Ever/Heroes Movie Title (American))

The first movie/journey arc titles begin with the 'Pikachu Project presents' and the Pokemon titles soon after, appearing amidst a space of black magic, glowing hearts, and sparkles glistening the area from a Pokeball similar to how they appeared in the American movie titles for Pokemon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back.

The titles then moved on to show the new Equestria in its beautiful glory but slowly declining as eight silhouettes of three Galarian Rapidash and five unknown ponies (1 Unicorn, 2 Pegasi, and 2 Earth Ponies), joined by Sarah, her own Rapidash, her children, Silvally, and Blitz, emerging from a ball of bright white light while a misty figure of an evil Alicorn mare appeared and looked ready to swallow them in her darkness. The eight figures along with Sarah and her team shown prepare to make a stand for Equestria as the final titles appear and show MLP: A New Generation before they ended.

(Journey Movie/Special Theme end)
> Meeting Izzy Moonbow/Maretime Bay
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When everybody emerged from Zekrom's portal, the four humans with them suddenly started to stumble and wobble as they felt a sudden change in their bodies, all of them continuing to wobble until they fell and hit the ground with startled yelps.

"Guys!” gasped Blitz as the others saw them on the ground.

Star, Blitz, Winter, Totem Luxray, the Lake Guardians, Magearna, Mischief, Persian, Lolita, and Mienshao quickly rushed over and helped them up. But, as they did so, they suddenly realized that something was off about Sarah, Tsukumaro, Nikki, and James when they looked closer at them.

"Uh, Mom, are you guys feeling okay?" Blitz asked awkwardly.

"Yeah, you fellas aren't looking so hot," added Mienshao in agreement.

"What? Of course, we're okay, why'd you ask?" replied Sarah, the four dusting themselves off. "Do we have something on our faces?"

"Well, if you could even call them faces as far as we know," remarked Silvally as he and the others joined them to see the four humans in their new bodies. "Why are you guys on all fours like the rest of us barring those who can still stand on two?"

"What are you talking about, we're human, aren't-?"

"Uh, Mom, you're not 'human' anymore. Not in a traditional sense, anyway,” squirmed Star.

"Princess, I think you all might want to take a look at yourselves," put in Magearna, allowing Sarah, Tsukumaro, and her adopted parents to see each other before they stopped and saw that something was indeed wrong with them as their family found out.

Taking careful and slow looks at themselves, they saw that their old human bodies have changed completely to pony bodies and they now had multi-colored horsehair instead of skin all over and they had different mane styles pertaining to their own human characteristics. They saw that their faces had morphed into snouts and they had pointed ears on their heads along with horns and wings (although they had one or two of these depending on what type of pony they all are).

They also had manes and tails in their own styles pertaining to their original human characteristics and by their new looks, their family saw that they looked almost nothing like their original human selves from their world.

Tsukumaro had become a tan-like brown Unicorn and had a black mane and tail, both with a blue streak in the center of both of them. Nikki became more of a cream-like Pegasus and her own mane and tail which, compared to Tsukumaro's, were both longer and brown with blue butterfly clips attached to her mane.

James became a brown Earth Pony with a short black mane and tail while wearing a sash with a Dragonite pin on it around his neck. And, finally, with Sarah, she was a combination of all three Pony types known as an Alicorn, being white all over with a blonde mane and tail with gold and white streaks running down them and rainbow-colored wing feathers. Her royal attire even changed in order to suit her new pony appearance.

The four of them looked at each other in surprise and bewilderment at their new bodies and at each other before.........

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Sarah, Tsukumaro, Nikki, and James all began to freak out as their panicked screams can be heard for miles while their family, fearing that they might attract any unwanted attention from elsewhere, tried to help them calm down and try to adapt to their new pony bodies. Even the adults' Pokemon teams all emerged from their balls after hearing their screaming to help them adapt to their new bodies despite the fact that they were also aghast and flabbergasted by what they saw.

When they finally calmed down at their Pokemon and the dragons' insistence that everything would be fine as long as they took it easy, the four humans took a deep breath and relaxed as they tried to wrap their heads around the new pony bodies they gained.

"Whoa..... Okay, this is not what I was expecting after making that jump," admitted Sarah, startled as she looked at herself.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Oh, oh, my, okay, this is not happening! This is not happening!" spoke a flustered and aghast James, looking over himself as well while his Dragon Types and Dusk and Luna's father tried their best to soothe him. "I never thought we'd be ponies just by crossing over! What happened to our old human bodies, did anything happen to them? Did we lost them?!"

"I sure hope not, I did not sign up to be something like this.......this, well, thing with wings! I don't even know how to fly! I can't even walk on four legs!" Nikki also gasped, trying to calm herself down but failing as Sawsbuck and Haxorus' eldest daughter, Lucario, and Dusk and Luna's mother continued to soothe her.

"I assure you, I thought My Lord and Lady were mad when they told me what it felt like for them to walk on all fours. But, with a little practice and some time to get used to these new bodies, as they said, it really isn't all that bad for them to handle," Tsukumaro reassured.

"Unh! Rapidash, Mudsdale! Is-unh, this how-ah, you guys and Ponyta felt when-enh, you first started-unh, walking?" Sarah asked her Draft Horse and Unique Horn Pokemon, trying her best to stand on her new legs as they walked over to her with Solar, Scorch, Ponyta, Wooloo, and Yamper joining them. "I no longer find walking like a lion weird or hard since I was one a couple of times before but this is just ridiculous!"

"Yes. It is a little tricky at first when you're a horse or a pony but it gets better as you keep practicing," smiled Rapidash sheepishly.

"Just make sure to distribute your weight on each hoof and put one hoof in front of the other while doing so including your back hooves. Then, after walking for a few miles on that, it becomes second nature before you start running," Mudsdale agreed, sharing Rapidash's awkward smile.

"Okay, just need to get a bit of practice in before we can be more comfortable with this kind of stuff," Sarah admitted as she tried to do their motions.

"We know how crazy it must be for you to have an extra pair of legs for your and your folks, Sarah," smiled her old babysitter kindly. "Nobody said it would be easy to put two legs in front of another pair, even newborns having those sort of things usually take some time to learn the ropes on just walking alone."

"And, I know this is going to be a stretch but aren't these kinds of creatures also skilled in using magical powers? And, can you still use your magic as we've seen from that MLP show we've been watching?" Tifu asked as Cinder and Zuri nodded in agreement.

Sarah sighed as she admitted, "I don't know, Tifu. I'm not sure if I can, I don't feel some sort of magic from this world to do it."

"Wait, you mean this Equestria doesn't have any magic like the one the girls saw from that weird Kid's TV show?" questioned Hashimoto, raising an eyebrow.

"You don't think Zekrom could've given us a heads-up about that in addition to what he said to us before we jumped in, right?" Vaporeon asked, concerned.

"If that's the case and even if it's possible that if its magic is gone for some reason, then Equestria must be in real trouble," noted Tsukumaro. "More trouble than anybody would dare to admit, no matter how much they try to sugarcoat the seriousness of it all."

"Then, it's best that we focus on our mission to find Sunny Starscout and help her restore this world as well as rekindle the friendships between all ponies, dragons, and Pokemon," informed Reshiram.

"If we can figure out where the dragons and the Pokemon of this world have gotten to after they were banished by those awful ruffians for ponies,” added Espeon.

"But, we don't know where we are. Where exactly did Zekrom's portal dump us?” Shaymin's brother questioned.

"Guys, stop me if I'm wrong but I think we just landed outside of Maretime Bay," answered Zeraora, pointing everyone to said pony town in the distance and a nearby sign that said 'Welcome to Maretime Bay'.

".......Yep, we found it," replied Sarah.

".....How convenient and generous of Zekrom to open the portal right in the middle of the outskirts of this place," blinked Nala.

"I would count it being illogical but it's a good thing we did only drop here without being seen by anybody," admitted Azelf.

"So, what'll we do now?" quizzed Curly, stumped on what they should do.

"Since we were brought here, all we have to do is to find Sunny Starscout and ask if we can help her to restore the world and find out what the ancient evil is so we can help stop it," replied Sirius.

"But, everybody in Maretime Bay would be frightened of other ponies as well as Pokemon and dragons roaming around in these parts or so, where do we start?" pondered Donna (both of whom were also brought out to help soothe Nikki and James' panicked feelings over being ponies).

"You never know who could be lurking around waiting to jump us if you're not careful," Hydro replied. "Whatever you do, don't jinx it!"

That was easier said than done given how Hydro would put it because right after she said that, everybody heard rustling in the bushes from nearby. Turning to them and taking on defensive positions, everybody prepared to attack who would be crazy enough to find them and do them harm already. But, what they didn't expect to find was a Unicorn who was completely energetic and extremely optimistic for her own good, popping out of the bushes.

The Unicorn was revealed to be in her mid-20s as well and was lilac all over but with blue hooves. Her cerulean mane and tail were also long but they were wavy and went from blue roots to violet tips. She had magenta eyes along with a long, powder-blue horn with white swirls. But, what really distinguished her as an Equestrian Pony was that she had a cutie mark on her flank that featured a purple heart with a blue button on the center, its anterior side of the heart featuring three sewing pins (two pink and one purple).

"Ooooooh! Hi there, new neighbor! My name's Izzy, Izzy Moonbow! I haven't seen you guys around here, where'd you come from? What's your passion? What do you do for a living?" the unicorn, Izzy Moonbow, greeted ecstatically as she got into a flabbergasted Sarah's face.

"Um........ Sarah Tomoe. And, this is my-" Sarah gulped before Izzy took notice of her family, and then......

"EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!" she squealed again, nearly deafening everyone around her before she zipped excitedly over to Sarah's Pokemon and dragons.

"Wow, you got an actual Skitty! I always wanted one of those-AH, and there's an adorable Yampy-Yam Yamper! Ponyta, Ponyta, Ponyta, I love these cuties! EEEEEE!!!!!!!!! And, you got real live dragons here, too! Oh, it's been so long since I've seen any actual Pokemon and dragons around here! Where did you come from, how did you guys return? What have you been doing? Come on, I gotta know! Tell me, tell me, TELL ME!!!!!!!!"

Izzy then got into Keldeo's face, still lost in her excitement as everyone else looked creeped out by her as if she had an absolute fetish for Pokemon and dragons.

"*Uh, Izzy, yeah...... Nice to meet you..... But, haven't you heard of, oh, I don't know........ Uh, personal space?*" Keldeo cringed, gently pushing her back.

But, his response only served to fuel Izzy's excitement even further as she bounced on her hooves, squealing, "EEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! Telepathy, you speak through Telepathy! Wicked, WICKED! SO COOL!"

"Man, I haven't seen somebody this energetic and happy since Skitty and Yamper came into the family," blinked Goodra in surprise.

"Is this.......Normal, for a unicorn by the likes of her?" quizzed Wyveon awkwardly.

"I think that energy is all hers and nobody else's," replied Apollo.

"Suddenly, I'm starting to regret coming to this world," quipped Mirage.

"Somebody's feeling a little too bright today," James sweatdropped.

"Why do I get the feeling she's a 'Sugar Rush' girly?" Eternatus groaned.

"........Anyway, what are you doing here? And, why are you spying on us?" Sarah asked Izzy, changing the topic.

"Spying? I'm not spying on you guys, I'm just going over to two to see if I can find a new friend to play with! You know how it gets boring every now and then with seeing the same dull faces, and the same dull settings, and doing the same dull things with nothing fun to do all the time. Come on!" Izzy replied, casually walking into Maretime Bay without a care in the world.

"Oh, god, she has a death wish or something if the reactions from those phobic mules she's gonna get will tell us anything," Eternatus grumbled.

"What is she trying to do?" gawked Skystorm in shock at the excessively optimistic Unicorn.

"Whatever it is, I have a bad feeling she doesn't know what she's getting herself into," fretted Mesprit worriedly.

"W-We gotta s-s-stop her before s-she gets h-herself hurt or w-w-worse!" replied Uxie.

"I really, really have a bad feeling about this," Twilight quipped as they hurried after Izzy.

"I just hope she has common sense and learns to stay out of trouble before she antagonizes those paranoid worrywarts in town!" said Dawn to his sister.

"This won't end well," mused Sarah, gravely concerned for Izzy and what she's about to do while she and her entire family followed.





Within Maretime Bay, Sunny was just put down for her continued efforts to continue to promote the old ways of the Magic of Friendship many years ago. The ambitious and yet thick-headed believer in the old Equestria that High Princess Twilight Sparkle once ruled over along with her friends in different parts of the world (despite the five of them leading their own lives at the time) wanted to bring Ponykind, dragons, and Pokemon back together but no matter what she did, everyone would just shut her down and dismiss her claims, thinking she was bonkers. After her recently failed attempt, she was down in the dumps and she didn't know what to do now........

But, her fortunes were to immediately change when she caught sight of everybody screaming and running away from something that they think is threatening them, much to her surprise as she watched their paranoia taking hold.

"What's going on, what's happening?" she asked her fellow citizens.

None of them answered her as the Earth Ponies continued to scream in fear, a few of them bumping into her and knocking her down.

However, when the source of their panic and fear finally came into view as they walked down the street, everybody in the entire town including the critters with them was shocked to see what was passing them. Before long, the source came across the startled Sunny Starscout, the latter gasping in total shock at the sight before he as her vision cleared.

"Hi, new friend!" The newcomer greeted, revealing itself to be Izzy before Sarah. her family, James, Tsukumaro, and Nikki joined them. "My name's Izzy!"

"Hey, you okay?" asked Sarah, extending a hoof as she helped Sunny up, the latter taking her hoof and getting up while continuing to stare at the group before her with nothing to say until.......

"U-U-Unicorns, Pegasi, Pokemon, and REAL LIFE DRAGONS!" she blurted out, at last, smiling with absolute joy as she looked at them all.

Her fellow citizens, however, didn't share the same sentiments as she did with all of them flying into a total panic, galloping in different directions, and also being determined to get away from Sarah, her family, and Izzy and avoid her like the plague. They were also desperate to hide themselves from what they saw as a threat doing things from pulling down curtains in their houses and shops to closing down the shops themselves and even diving down manholes.

This left Sarah and her family flabbergasted, shocked, aghast, outraged, angered, and stunned as they weren't expecting the situation with the ponies to be as serious as it was.

"What are they doing?!" gasped Mai.

"Are they that scared of us?" quipped Wyveon.

"Ooooh! Is everypony playing Hide-And-Seek?" Izzy asked, looking around and oblivious to the Earth Ponies running and hiding for their eyes before she saw an Earth Pony stallion. "I see you!"

"ARGH! UNICORN AND PEGASUS ALERT!" shrieked the stallion in a panic before he dived off a cliff and into the sea with a big splash.

"Seriously?" blinked Sarah in bemusement.

"My word!"

"The nerve of some people," snorted Ruby and Sapphire indignantly.

"He wasn't very nice."

"That's a fine 'Hello' and 'How do you do' he gave us," Puff and Big Buff agreed.

"This is worse than we thought; they're acting as if we're a dangerous threat to them and we didn't do anything to pose such a thing to them," Virizion stated, not liking what she and everyone else was seeing.

"Whatever stupid propaganda is being pushed here and whoever's running this stupid media ratings gold mine sure did a good job on those guys," remarked Terrakion in annoyance.

"Hey! What's going on here?!" another Earth Pony named Hitch Trailblazer, the local sheriff, asked as he and his partner, Deputy Sprout, came to check on the disturbance and panic going on.

It didn't take them long to find out what was making his fellow ponies so frantic when he saw Izzy, Tsukumaro, Sarah, and James along with their Pokemon and dragons (their wings and horns clearly giving them away to the two) as he gasped in shock and horror.

"IT CAN'T BE! Unicorn, Pegasi, Dragon, and Pokemon attack!" he freaked.

In his exaggerated panic, Deputy Sprout immediately slammed into the door out of fright, face first. But, Hitch, having trouble at first to try and keep order and do something about what he perceived as a threat, decided to take the opportunity to do something by shattering a nearby glass case and activating an alarm.

"This is not a drill! I repeat: this is not a drill!" he shouted, springing into action while Sprout just ran away.

"A vulnerable young pony!" he cried, seeing a young foal on the ground.

Through a display of ingenious atheleticism he had while growing up, Hitch managed to grab the foal trying to make sense of the madness going on before landing the foal to a random mare. "Your son is safe now, M'am!" he said to her before he left.

"This isn't my baby!" the mare cried after him.

"You're welcome!" he called back, oblivious to the mare's words in his haste as he continued to bark orders and pointed to a pony at a scrap dump. "Man the Splat-a-pults! Activate the Traps! Pick up that litter, MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!"

While everyone else was continuing to run about in a panic while trying to find a place for each of them to hide, Sarah, her family, and Sunny all watched as tiles covered with red X marks started to appear all around them.

"What's with these big babies?!" groaned Rosethorn.

"We knew Zekrom warned us about discord, fear, and paranoia tearing this land apart but this is taking it a step too far!" Delcatty gawked.

"Something tells me that they'll consider anybody besides their own people monsters or any other threat and would do anything to subdue or destroy them without thinking of the consequences," Boltund replied, seething at the paranoid Earth Ponies and their overreacting.

"This isn't good," added Star, already having a bad feeling about the ponies sans Sunny and Izzy.

"I don't know what it is but it looks like those cowards want to fight!" remarked Dusk.

"I don't know what's going on with them anymore!" groaned Sarah, getting aggravated.

"Wow!" Izzy cooed, trotting towards a railing, obviously oblivious to the trap before her. "Is that the sea? Oh, I've never seen the sea before!"

"Izzy, stop!" Flareon shrieked before Sunny ran over and pushed her away from the trap as it set off another alarm.

"I am so gonna kill these ponies for doing what they did to try and kill us and Izzy!" snarled Talonflame.

"Do that later when we make it out alive, Talonflame, okay?" asked Cinderace, sharing her annoyance.

"I've got to get you all out of here, follow me!" Sunny shouted to the entire group, leading them out of the chaos going on through Maretime Bay with Sarah, Tsukumaro, and her adopted parents trying their best to keep up while running on their new bodies.

"Gee, Earth Ponies sure are serious when it comes to playing games," Izzy commented, still oblivious to the danger around her new friends and herself.

"They're not playing games, they're terrified!"

"Oh no........! ......Of what?"

"All of you! Don't you know, you're Unicorns, Pegasi, and you all have real Pokemon and dragons! Earth Ponies hate Unicorns and Pegasi with a passion and Pokemon and dragons were kicked out of Equestria long ago!"

"We knew that already but thanks for giving us that abridged recap!" Glastrier noted incredulously.

"Yeah, thanks for the heads-up even if it's pointless to us now!" Dracovish added.

"Really, that seems harsh," Izzy quipped as they continued to run.

Just when they think they were safe from harm as they continued to run, everybody screeched to a halt, barely an inch from being hit by what looked like green sticky blobs. The blobs were fired from what are some catapult devices called Splat-a-pults and two ponies were manning each of them along with another Earth Pony named Phyllis, pointing at their targets and underestimating what Sarah and her family could do.

"Oh, come on!" snapped Silvally. "We don't need this crap they're pulling!"

"Why can't they just damn stop?! I'm getting annoyed right now!" barked Eternatus furiously.

"Suicune, give them your Hydro Pump!" shouted Sarah angrily, pointing at the Earth Ponies trying to harm them.

"Right!" nodded Suicune as she fired her upgrade to Water Gun and shattered the machines as she blasted them, forcing the Earth Ponies manning them to run.

"Let's go!" called Sunny, once again leading everybody through the ongoing chaos, she, Sarah, and her family dodging as best they could and Izzy bouncing around them.

"Uh, guys? Is it just me or do we happen to be one happy-go-lucky Unicorn short right now?" asked Zorua, seeing an energetic member of the group was missing.

Everyone skidded to a halt as they realized that Izzy was missing, only to gasp in shock and horror as they saw her looking at a poster at a nearby movie theater, still oblivious to the traps around her including the one dead-set in front of her.

"Oooh, I haven't seen this one yet!" Izzy chirped as she walked up to the theater.

"Izzy, watch out for that-!" screamed Sarah but warning her too late as she soon became stuck in an entrapment box as a flashing alarm went off to signal her capture. "IZZY, NO!"

"IZZY!!!!!!!!!" snapped an aggravated Haxorus, holding his head in exasperation. "You happy-go-lucky, no-cares-in-the-world troublemaker!"

"What is she doing, for crying out loud?!" Wildfire gawked, sharing Haxorus' exasperation as they and Sandy ran to her.

"I can't believe you would be so careless as to waltz right into that trap!" Star groaned.

"Now, don't worry, dear! We'll have you down in no time, and fast!" reassured Audino.

"It's official, that happy-go-lucky pipsqueak is a literal running gag," Eternatus moaned bitterly.

"I've never known another creature to be so irresponsible for her own safety and oblivious to even the slightest sign of danger," Zeraora deadpanned before he facepalmed and groaned.

"You're proving to be more of a threat to yourself than you'd care to admit, Young Lady!" barked Rapidash incredulously.

Just as Sarah, her family, and Sunny try to figure out how to get Izzy loose, Hitch arrived on the scene and he felt very proud of himself although he ended up being a bit cocky as he soaked in the "praise and cheers" coming from his fellow ponies in their hidings spots after they had captured their "threat". The princess, her family, and Sunny didn't share his sentiments as the Earth Pony cautiously walked over to the box containing Izzy.

In the meantime, while Sunny went to rescue her new friend, the aforementioned group sent offended and distrustful glares at the other Earth Ponies around them including Hitch, realizing that they're being even bigger fools than they realized. They could now see what Zekrom meant about them being filled with paranoia, fear, and mistrust for the other two Pony species, Pokemon, and dragons, and they had a sinking feeling the same can be said of the other Unicorns and Pegasi living in the current Equestria.

Hitch turned to Sunny and gasped in shock as she saw what he was about to do. "Sunny! Don't even think about it!" he snarled, making her flinch but become defiant to his orders.

During their time growing up, Sunny had always been the rebel between the two, and when she had finally been given new hope in her world and what its real future could be, Hitch and Sprout always had to be the ones to stomp them out. But, with Izzy, Sarah, and her entire family, knowing what this could mean, she wasn't going to risk losing that chance and her new friends and continued to extend her hoof towards the cage.

"No, don't you dare touch that box! No, no, no, no, no, no!" Hitch continued, growing more frantic with every second Sunny got closer and closer to it. "Sunny Starscout, I forbid it!"

Sunny turned to her childhood friend as he frantically looked at her, begging her to not go through with her choice. But, eventually, she gave him a hardened glare before she then freed Izzy from the entrapment box containing her without a second thought leaving Hitch horrified by what she had done.

"SUNNY!" he freaked in horror.

Seeing this, Sarah and her family couldn't help but give her a brief but proud smile at the Earth Pony for doing the right thing despite what Hitch and everyone else thought.

"So, your name's Sunny?" Izzy asked her new friend.

But, seeing that Izzy was free again, everybody in the town went into a panic again as they screamed and ran in different directions.

For the Earth Ponies, this turned out to be a bad thing and a worst-case scenario for Hitch (and Sprout, after he managed to join him) as the two saw their fellow ponies accidentally setting off their own traps and finding themselves stuck in their own unicorn entrapment cages. Seeing this and deciding to use the ongoing chaos to her advantage again, Sunny quickly guided everyone out of town and to her home where they would be safe for now.

"Bye! It was nice meeting you all!" Izzy called to the Earth Ponies.

"NOT NOW, IZZY!" berated Sarah, Tsukumaro, and her adopted parents angrily at the happy-go-lucky Unicorn.

"As I said, that happy-go-lucky Unicorn of ours is a living running gag," Eternatus quipped in annoyance at Izzy.

"Deputy Sprout, to the Lighthouse!" growled Hitch, wanting to stop Sunny but seeing Sprout casually walk into one of the last remaining entrapment cages on purpose.

"Oh dear, I appear to be trapped," Sprout retorted in a monotone voice, causing Hitch to give an aggravated sigh at him.

"You have got to be kidding me, " he groaned before he was given a quick calling card by the Night Lights as Dart and her brothers bashed and slapped him hard before they dashed back to their family, leaving him to fall down in pain with an annoyed moan and become knocked out. "I can't believe you, Sunny......."
> The Quest Begins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, after they had managed to lose Hitch and the rest of Maretime Bay, Sunny managed to get Izzy, Nikki, James, Tsukumaro, Sarah, and her family to her lighthouse home. Her home had a large open backyard which was big enough to hold her larger Pokemon and dragons while her smaller Pokemon and the dragon hatchlings along with her medium-sized Pokemon joined them inside her home. After they entered, Sunny quickly closed the door and covered the windows, trying to wrap her head around everything that had happened.

The still-oblivious Izzy, however, continued to smile at Sunny, who looked in awe of her along with Sarah and her entire family.

”Do Earth Ponies also like staring contests?” Izzy asked, proceeding to stare down Sunny until she blinked, still thinking everything was a game. "Agh! You win, I blinked."

"Do you ever think about anything else other than playing games whenever you're in trouble?" remarked Luna incredulously.

"Don't bother trying to talk her out of it, honey," sighed his and Dusk's mother. "She's not going to listen to you no matter how many times you try to convince her of what she's doing otherwise." 

"Your mother's right, Son. It's best if we let her find out for herself; experience always seems to be the best teacher on mostly everything," agreed their father.

"I can't believe it, this is so unreal! Three unicorns, a Pegasus, Pokemon, and dragons, all in my house! This is so cool!" Sunny began before she began to notice the gravity of her actions and the ramifications that came from them. "Wait, wait! No, oh no, no! This is bad, very, very, very bad! Oh, man! What have I done?! Okay, okay, come on Sunny. Stay calm, don't panic, don't go wild or anything! Oh, man, what have I done?! What have I done?!"

".........Um, you saved us, Sunny. Thanks," smiled Sarah warmly.

"You really saved our bacons out there," agreed a happy and relieved Cufant while Izzy looked around her home, wide-eyed and as curious as a kitten."Who's the guy that's antagonizing you when you freed Izzy?"

"Hitch, Hitch Trailblazer. He's the local sheriff in town and he's my childhood friend. Although, he doesn't really care as much about friendship with other ponies as well as finding out what happened to the Pokemon and dragons that used to live in our world as I do."

"Oooh! Wow! Ah, I've never seen another Earth Pony or Pegasus until recently! We look exactly the same, well, except for this and this, of course!" she buzzed excitedly before gesturing to her horn and Nikki's wings. "And, your Pokemon, your dragons, I've never found anything about them until meeting you all!"

"WAH!" 

"Watch it!"

"Hey, that's dangerous!" 

"Watch where you're pointing that damn thing!" 

"You can poke an eye out with that horn!" yelped Tyrunt and Amaura, Beautifly, Echo, Boulder, Flo, dodging Izzy as she casually showed and waved her horn about to the group and Sunny and they ducked.

"Young Lady, these horns of ours are absolutely dangerous to others including your own! Mind what you're doing!" Rapidash snapped, annoyed at Izzy. "Oh, yeah,"

Sunny gulped while chuckling awkwardly, ducking her head as well. "Be careful where you point that thing, okay?"

"Why?"

"Why? You almost poked some of our eyes out with that!" groaned a bemused Glaceon. 

"I know Unicorns can sometimes use their horns as swords to fight as exemplified by Rapidash and Ponyta but this is ridiculous the way you're just waving it around like it's your favorite toy," Inferno commented.

"Yeah. And, well, uh...... I, um, I just......Don't, want to get zapped by some sort of wayward laser beam," added Sunny, trying to find the right words for Izzy. "But, you know that already, of course. You both have been reading my mind this whole time, he-he."

Sarah, Tsukumaro, and Izzy looked at each other in confusion, the princess admitting, to Sunny's surprise, "Uh, Sunny, about that....... We can't do that now, it's not possible. I can't feel anything that'll make us do that, our horns can't do anything."

"What? But, a-aren't they supposed to glow, by the way? Or, do they only glow when you levitate stuff as my Rapidash do? Of course, I know they're technically Unique Horn Pokemon and they're Unicorns by default but-"

"Huh?! Rapidash?" blinked Sarah, Nikki, James, and Tsukumaro in surprise, looking at Sunny (who covered her mouth when she realized she made a mistake).

"You have your own Rapidash?"

"And, you didn't say anything about them?!" gasped Nikki and James.

"You never asked!" Sunny defended before she turned and said, "It's alright, guys. Come on out."

Everyone turned to where Sunny was looking and at her word, from a lift that lead up to another floor upstairs, there came a small family of three Galarian Rapidash (two of them being females and the only male being a Shiny). Izzy was shocked to discover that her new friend has three Pokemon living with her in secret but Sarah and her family were stunned by the bombshell Sunny had dropped on everyone with their first Pokemon sighting in Equestria since coming.

"By Articuno's chilling Blizzard! Those are Galarian Rapidashes!" gasped a shocked Calyrex.

"They look just like you, Mommy!" blinked Ponyta in surprise.

"Really like you!" added Yamper.

"But, wait! Look at them, one of them is a Shiny while the other two are their normal colors!" gawked Wooloo at the Shiny Galarian Rapidash and seeing the clear cosmetic differences between the three Unique Horn Pokemon belonging to Sunny Starscout.

"Yeah, the first two are the same as Mom but the other is in beige and turquoise and even his horn and hooves are all navy blue," Scorch noted as well.

"Thank you," smiled the male Rapidash. 

"Greetings," greeted the two female Rapidash, all three bowing to them warmly.

"No way....... You have Galarian Rapidash?!" gawked Sarah, shocked as she looked at the Unique Horn Pokemon in Sunny's care. "But, how? I thought all Pokemon and dragons were kicked out by the ponies years ago!"

"They were but when my dad was younger, he came across them as baby Galarian Ponyta and caught them. So, he's had them ever since they were foals. They were so precious to him that when Pokemon and dragons were later banished, he hid them in order to protect them," explained Sunny.

"The only one he confided to about them was me when I was a filly. When he died a few years ago, they became my guardians and I've kept them hidden from everypony else as well. This here's Sugarcoat and Sugarcake, Siren's the only boy here. So, can any of you guys levitate things as they can?"

"Well, actually......" Izzy started to squirm uncomfortably.

"No, no, wait! Don't answer that yet, let me get my notebook!" Sunny replied, stopping her before she galloped to a nearby kitchen island, excitedly clearing some tin cans before whipping out a notebook from one of her saddlebags and slammed it on the island's counter, flipping through its pages. "Okay, let's see, 142 questions for a Unicorn-no! Make that three! Question Number One - where do you live?"

"Bridlewood."

"Huh/Huh/Huh?" everybody in Sarah's family with them blinked in surprise, realizing what this could mean if they spill the beans early.

"Uh, well..... Um, we're kinda, uh, f-f-far away, really?" answered Sarah, waving her hooves for emphasis and not wanting her family and herself to be called out on Zekrom's mission for them. "Like, somewhere out of town. We're not normally from these parts, well, if you know what I mean......"

Sunny smiled brightly as she slammed her hoof on the island in excitement and continued her questions, "I KNEW IT! Do unicorns really live in trees?"

"Well....."

"Do they eat pizza? If so, what toppings would they like on them? If not, then why not?"

"I don't know-"

"Can you actually fry pony brains with a single horn zap?" She then gasped, transitioning to another question that ties into her last one, throwing a can of baked beans at the unicorns and Alicorn. "Can you make this float!"

"HEY!" Cinderace screamed incredulously, making her yelp and stop her questions as he grabbed the can before it can hit Tsukumaro, Izzy, and Sarah and she turned to everyone in surprise. "Stop the presses! What the hell are you even talking about, fry pony brains with a single horn zap? What kind of idiotic trash were you being fed from these propaganda towers this town has?"

"Ms. Sunny, um...... There's something you should know about us, Izzy, and this magic of yours," replied Tsukumaro, worried.

"We....... Haven't tried that yet," added Sarah awkwardly.

".......What?" Sunny blinked in surprise.

"Yeah, that whole 'fry pony brains' crap you're pushing out there, totally busted," retorted Talonflame, slapping a wing on her head and making her yelp again. "I mean, come on! You're telling me our caretaker here's capable of hurting somebody with this weird magic you're projecting? She can't do that and neither can her old man since we got here! It's impossible!" 

"There's no way she'd be able to hurt any of your town's panic-happy stooges that just ran from us," added Sonic, nodding with an indignant look. 

"Do we really 100% look like we were going to do something dangerous to you, young miss?" asked Nitro. "Also, you'll that it is also 100% possible that Sarah and her godfather are currently incapable of performing magic in this land. And, I think I speak for Izzy, too, since she didn't perform any."

Now, Sunny was even more confused, "You, can't do magic?"

"Nope, but I can do this!" Izzy answered, stomping her hoof and bouncing the can of beans that had been set down in front of her a few times on her horn before dropping it and spilling the beans. "TA-DA~!"

"Wait...... You lost your Unicorn magic, Izzy?" quizzed Sarah, she, her family, and Sunny shocked by this and looking concerned for the happy-go-lucky unicorn.

"W-w-w-Wait, hold up? You don't have magic, none of you?" Sunny asked her "guests", startled and thrown off by this new revelation.

"SUNNY STARSCOUT!" bellowed a familiar voice along with some feedback that made everybody jump as they looked around. "Ow, that hurt....."

"What was that?!" Arctozolt shouted in surprise, Sunny gasping as she knew exactly who it was before reaching the door and cracking it enough to see who arrived at her home.

"Nobody would've been able to follow us after we lost them!" Stufful whimpered, snuggling close to Ching Wan.

"Oh no, Hitch!" Sunny fretted, seeing her childhood friend and Sprout outside.

"Not him again," groaned Zorua.

"Sunny Starscout! I know you're in there, you're now a fugitive for harboring Unicorns, a Pegasus, Pokemon, and dragons in there!" shouted Hitch through a microphone, feeling betrayed by someone he considered a friend. "Give them up and hand them over in the name of the law and you'll be spared!"

"Yeah, you're completely surrounded!" added Sprout, neglecting the fact that only he and Hitch were there.

"Will you just let me do my job?!" seethed Hitch quietly to his partner and second childhood friend, who pouted in response. "You are under arrest! Come out with your hooves up, it'll be a lot easier for us if you comply!"

"Oh, oh my, this is bad! Listen, how sneaky are you? Don't get into detail, just tell me!" Sunny asked her guests frantically.

"Um, very, when we needed to be."

"Um, medium sneaky?" Sarah and Izzy answered curiously. "Great, I can work with that. Listen, go through the back and I'll distract them. Take Sugarcoat, Sugarcake, and Siren with you and I'll meet you later when Hitch and Sprout are out of my hair."

"Pfft! Relax, bookwormy, I'll talk to them. They'll come around easily," snorted Izzy amusingly as she went out the door.

"Izzy, what are you doin-ARGH!"

"No, no, no, no, no!" Sunny and Sarah begged, both of them too late as she walked out and started to greet them.

"Hi, guys! Now, I know what you're thinking-"

"ARRRGH! Look at her, Hitch! She's already reading our minds, she's got something evil plotting! AAAHHHH!!!!!!!!" Sprout shrieked, giving himself up to the rumors they've heard about Equestria's Unicorns before he ran away with his tail between his legs. "Quick, run away! Before she fries our brains!"

Hitch was shocked as he watched his "partner" and second childhood friend running off in a frightened panic again but while his back was turned, he didn't notice Sunny, Sarah, and her family sneaking off with Zarude quickly grabbing Izzy with his Vine Whip.

"Sprout, what are-where are you going?!" Hitch demanded incredulously.

"TO GET REINFORCEMENTS TO HELP US!!!!!!!" Sprout shouted, already a mile away from both him and Sunny's house.

Hitch suddenly blinked in confusion. "We have reinforcements?" he pondered before he looked back and was dumbstruck to see his "perpetrators" out of sight.

"OH, COME ON! GRR.........SUNNY!!!!!!!!!"

After giving Hitch and Sprout the slip, Sunny, her Rapidash, Izzy, Sarah, and her family all galloped/ran/flew far off into the outskirts, leaving Maretime Bay behind. While they were continuing to make a break for it, Sunny was still trying to wrap her head around the shocking truths that she learned from Izzy, Tsukumaro, and the princess. Unicorns are unable to do magic now besides Sugarcake, Sugarcoat, and Siren, her world is indeed much bigger than she had first known, what was going on?

She was only able to think more on the matter and tried to question them and the others further as they stopped to catch their breath, feeling like they managed to get some distance from Hitch and Sprout.

"Okay, so, you guys don't have any magic?" she quizzed Izzy.

"No, but if it makes you feel any better, we used to have it but that was, like, many, many, many moons ago. And, before we knew it, it just sort of vanished, poof!"

"But, that's impossible! Magic just simply can't vanish into thin air, not without a reason," Star stated to the happy-go-lucky Unicorn.

"Something's wrong, really wrong," mused Kaji.

"And, a really big kind of wrong if Unicorns can't do any magic like Tsukumaro and Sarah can't here," Melody agreed.

"But, who could've done such a thing other than that ancient evil Zekrom mentioned to us before we came here?" Ching Wan questioned.

"Well, we won't know until we look and find any leads to that evil," Zorro replied.

"So, something must've happened to cause her and all unicorns to lose their magic," Kion added in agreement. "That is, sans Sarah and Tsukumaro, until we found out that they also can't perform it here........"

"Yeah, and apart from us even though we don't know how we retained ours," replied Siren, curious as he looked towards a sunflower and plucked it with his magic (a navy blue aura for him) and sighing sadly. "I just don't understand what became of this world and of the ponies living in it besides Sunny and this Izzy fella......." 

"You're not the only one, bro," nodded Sugarcake as she joined him. "Even I still wonder about that or why the ponies would do such horrible things to each other, our fellow Pokemon, and the dragons......"

"Pfft, don't we all? Everybody seems to think those pesky Pegasi have something to do with it but-" Izzy continued, before turning and noticing James giving her an offended look but Sunny looked to be conflicted. "Hey, you two look a little woozy and a bit iffy, what's wrong?"

"Sunny, are you okay?" Sugarcoat asked worriedly for her, Sugarcake, and Siren's charge as she approached and nuzzled her.

"Okay, Sunny, keep it together. Keep calm, now, let's recap - I come across Unicorns (one who can't do magic apart from the other two who, unfortunately, don't know how), a Pegasus, some Pokemon, and dragons in the span of one short afternoon, oh, man! What are we gonna do?! I am so dead!"

Sunny didn't know what she was gonna do now that she's stuck between a rock and a hard place. But, before she could panic any further, she and Sarah were suddenly being sniffed out of nowhere by Izzy.

"What are you doing?" they asked blankly.

"You don't smell, neither of you," Izzy answered, making them blink in surprise.

"Thanks..... Wait, what?"

"Uh....... Was that necessary?" 

"GROSS!" groaned Twilight and Dawn's adopted kids.

"Um, pardon me, Ms. Moonbow, but why would you be so compelled as to sniff Sarah and Ms. Starscout?" questioned Magearna.

"I was told that Earth Ponies like you smelled like rotten sardines, but....... You two don't smell anything like that," Izzy replied before she was distracted by a butterfly.

"What else do those Unicorns you associate yourself with say about Earth Ponies or Pegasi, Ms. Izzy?" Tsukumaro quizzed curiously.

"Oh, just that you're all lazy and totally not the brightest crystals in the forest," replied Izzy, her eyes still on the butterfly as she tried to catch it.

"Okay, that's just racist, saying that they're lazy and dumb," snorted Keldeo, not impressed with the lies the ponies are saying about each other. "I never thought your ponies and everyone else in this world would suffer from extreme xenophobia."

"That's literally a xenophobic insult to the whole Earth Pony species," moaned an aggravated Sarah.

"Indeed," the three veteran Swords agreed grimly.

"Charming," Sunny replied, her ego now broken from what she heard the Unicorns said about the Earth Ponies.

"Do you have any idea how crazy and egotistical they're being, sounding like that and looking down on others while putting themselves up too high?" Silver argued to Izzy, who just shrugged as she continued to chase the butterfly.

"Nope, just those three."

"And, what about the Pokemon and the dragons that used to live here? What do they say about them after all of the Ponies kicked them out?" asked James.

"Oh, them? Well, just so that they're not the brightest crystals in the forest either, and, that ponies of all sorts will be better off without those 'spawns of the devil', as they would say. Don't know why, they're actually really cool."

"They, said, WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!" screamed Hydro angrily, now infuriated by the Ponies also seeing them as monsters just as the Vikings of Berk once had.

"Uh, are you okay, Miss?" squirmed Sunny, gulping at Hydro losing her cool while the others tried to calm her down.

"Uh, yeah, best not get on her bad side while you still can, Sunny," warned Sarah, also worried for Hydro. "Long story short, she's had a bad experience with being referred to as just a monster when she and her fellow dragons are usually much more than that."

"Noted," Sunny nodded, not wanting to know.

"Sheesh, there always seemed to be a bunch of propaganda hounds and xenophobic maniacs around when you don't need them!"

"I agree, it's terrible how those Ponies tried to depict each other and the Pokemon and dragons they used to live with for so long in such a terrible light these days," James and Nikki winced, not liking the situation they're in, at all.

"If I'm not mistaken, everything that's happening all ties back to this ancient evil Zekrom told us about that's mostly or mainly responsible for making Equestria as broken as it is," Tsukumaro added, recalling what Zekrom told everyone before they entered.

"Ancient evil, what are you talking about?" Sunny blinked in surprise at them.

"Oh, nothing, never mind. We'll tell you later when you're ready," chuckled Sarah, quickly covering up for her adopted parents and Tsukumaro.

Sunny was surprised by this but she had a feeling that there was something strange about Sarah and her family so she decided not to press the princess further on it and instead, turned to Izzy, who was still chasing after and trying to catch the butterfly that distracted her.

"So, what's the plan?" Izzy asked the group and Sunny.

Sunny turned to Sarah before she suddenly discovered an epiphany on what they have to do now. "Wait, I got it!" she exclaimed before she pulled out a notebook she had in her saddlebags. She opened the pages of it to show a map of some sort, pointing its way to a location dubbed simply as "Zephyr Heights".

"Everyone, I've decided, we're going on a quest.....to Zephyr Heights," she told them, pointing to their intended destination on the map.

"W-What's Zephyr Heights?" Uxie asked as the Lake Guardians joined her.

"It's where all of Equestrias' Pegasi live, long after the royal monarchy that once ruled over the land was abolished and the Pegasi decided to live there when a city called Cloudsdale crash-landed on the mountains."

"The Pegasi city?" Izzy quizzed.

"Yes. We need to find out what happened to all of your magic and bring it back. They probably have magic, maybe they can give us a hand."

"Hmm....... I don't know, Sunny," Sarah replied, looking suspicious at Sunny's theory. "If those Pegasi also gave in to their xenophobia just as Hitch and your fellow Earth Ponies had done earlier, I wouldn't trust them with even one inch of my body or gear."

Izzy shook her head at this, also finding Sunny's idea to be bonkers, "No, no way! But, the Pegasi are all bad news! They don't care about anybody but themselves!"

"But, what if you're all wrong about them?" Sunny argued, wanting them to be hopeful as everyone looked skeptically about her thoughts. "Earth Ponies were wrong about Unicorns and with you and us, Unicorns could be wrong about us Earth Ponies. Maybe they could welcome us with open wings."

"But, what if they don't?"

"Yeah, Sunny, you really should backtrack and think this through for once," Blitz agreed worriedly.

"What you're saying could be nothing more than a pipe dream if the Pegasi, Unicorns, and Earth Ponies' xenophobia and racism runs deep, much deeper than you could imagine," Voltage added, not wanting to take any chances.

"You can keep that stupid dream to yourself, missy. If they go aggro and freak out over all of us without giving you a chance to explain and proving my family's worries right, we're bailing," put in Eternatus before he turned to Izzy. "And, if you start singing a musical number on this trip, I'm done!"

Unfortunately, to his chagrin and seeing Izzy smirk slyly at him when she realized he had a certain weakness to what he considered some icky-sticky, goody-two-shoes stuff and fluff (which was never to his liking at the least), she began to sing and become worried for Sunny in the process while he groaned in annoyance.

Even Silvally couldn't help but mutter, "Too late....." 


(I'm Looking Out For You (MLP: A New Generation) - Izzy Moonbow)







(Izzy Moonbow)



 Up ahead, is the sky growing dark?



Where it leads is a big question mark



And I'm scared that I'll end up a pony gone missing from pegasus-ing



(Sunny Starscout) 



But you're not alone



You got a pony or two in your crew



(Izzy Moonbow)



 I do? Who?



(Sunny Starscout) 



I'm looking out for you



When you're off track


Sarah and Sunny both stopped Izzy, from nearly falling off a cliff, after being distracted by a butterfly.


(Sunny Starscout)



I got your back



You can rely on me



I'm lookin' out for you


"Hey girls, wait up!" Sarah said as they hopped across rocks.


(Sunny Starscout)



Back at home it was earth ponies first



Heard it so many times I could burst



And I fought for a change but it's lonely



Cos, you know, party of uno



(Izzy Moonbow)



Well, if you need a friendly steed like you-know-who



(Sunny Starscout)



I think I do


Sarah and Tsukumaro smiled, watching Sunny and Izzy touching hooves together.


(Both)



I'm lookin' out for you



(Sunny Starscout)



When you're off track



I got your back



(Both)



You can rely on me



I'm lookin' out for you


Both Sunny and Izzy stacked up on each other to get an apple from a tree.


(Sunny Starscout)



Lost in the hills



(Izzy Moonbow)



I've got the skills



Pony let's get going



(Sunny Starscout)



Get going



(Izzy Moonbow)



Get going


"C'mon, Sarah! Join in!" Sunny invited the young Sun Princess rolled her eyes playfully before to join the song to Eternatus and Silvally's chargin.


(All three)



I'm lookin' out



(Chorus)



I'm lookin' out for you



I'll go where you're going to



It's all I ever want to do



I am lookin' out


All three mares, along with Sarah's whole family, adoptive parents and Tsukumaro were galloping across the land, singing their song. 


(All three) 



For you!


The group reached a rocky mountain area in the dead night and decided it as best to set up camp for the night.
> Hitch Sets Off
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

That evening, back at Maretime Bay after he had recovered from the ordeal he had, Hitch was in his office with a clearly disinterested Sprout (focusing more on his pizza as he ate) as he ranted and seethed about Sunny. Despite their being childhood friends, he and Sunny couldn't have been more polar opposites in terms of what they wanted and their professions as well as their dreams. While he was bound by laws and tradition (which led him to eventually being the local sheriff in the first place along with his work), Sunny was much more rebellious and outgoing and once she sets her mind to anything, there's no stopping her.

He couldn't understand why his childhood friend would betray him and risk her own life for a couple of Unicorns, a Pegasus, an Earth Pony who doesn't care about him and his fellow ponies, and a huge cluster of Pokemon and dragons they're with. He didn't think it would've been possible for her to throw him and her own kind away for strangers she barely knew and connected with in a way he couldn't come to grips with.

"Argh, I can't believe it! I told her, Sprout, I told her a million times and yet, she still does the complete opposite and goes beyond my concerns and expectations for her," he ranted. "Why would she even-DARGH! Why can't she just stay out of trouble and listen to me for once?! I was only trying to look out for her......."

".........Fine. If that's the way she wants it........ No more, no more favors, no more bailing her out. She made her choice when she sold her lot with them and I've made mine when I became the sheriff, no point and no choice."

He turned to Sprout (who was going through another pizza slice) as he barked, "Alright. Sprout, come on, it's time for us to take drastic action. We need to find Sunny and arrest her, bring her back to face the full force of the law!"

Sprout stopped before he raised an eyebrow at Hitch and questioned, "Question; when you said 'we', you mean.....?" Hitch just nodded to him,

"You and I."

Sprout's eyes widened in shock and horror, dropping his pizza slice as he stammered. "Uh, why-I-I-I-I-I'd love to, but, I'd-! I, uh, I just remembered, my workspace needs cleaning and my papers are all scrambled! You know, we've been really busy recently and that business with the Unicorn intruding made things hectic, and what's more-?" he stammered, trying to come up with an excuse to get out of work.

"I see...... You know what, I think you're right. This is a job for Hitch, and Hitch only," sighed Hitch in defeat, rolling his eyes at his partner and second childhood friend bailing out on him. "Alright, Sprout. You stay here and hold the fort while I'm out dancing with danger. I don't know when I'll be back but while I'm gone, keep everypony calm, maintain the peace, and be a pillar of strength." But, Hitch shuddered at the last part that he said, not wanting to think what'll happen if Sprout was left to his own devices while he's away. "D'oh, who am I kidding, really? Look, just try not to start a war while I'm off retrieving Sunny, okay?"

With an annoyed and further-betrayed slam of the doors, Hitch was gone, following Sunny and her new friends with the intention of dragging her back.

However, all won't be well for Sprout for not long after his best friend was now gone on his mission, he was now stewing in what looked to be brewing jealously of Hitch and what he had done to become the sheriff. Even at a young age, Sprout and Hitch were also very competitive at anything when they were foals and to him, Sprout didn't like losing and being considered second-best/second rate/second choice compared to Hitch. But now, with what he told her, Sprout was left seething at his friend and his popularity and deep down, he hated every single second of it.

"Oh, great! It's always 'Sheriff Hitch this' & 'Sheriff Hitch that'! Everypony loves Hitch, UGH! What does he have, anyway?" he sulked, looking through photos of their times hanging out together as they always had been. 

It was true that he and Hitch seemed to be inseparable for the most part and they got along well like they're born as peas from the same pod. However, they do have their differences and the more he looked at the photos of himself and Hitch (the majority of them with his best friend solo), the more his jealousy fueled him and his popularity enraged him. He hated being inferior and second-best more than anything whenever they're doing stuff together and that sickened him to the point when he could no longer hold it in anymore.

"Sure, he's got a perfect mane, shredded abs, paid-off mortgage, 'OI! So, what? I've got stuff and I can do cool things, too! He's not the only one who can climb up to the top! I can do, um, uh......."

He looked towards the picture on their calendar and in his continued jealous fury, he violently ripped it off, shoved a cabinet drawer violently, kicking another drawer and causing the upper drawer above it to reopen, doing anything he can to sustain his jealously. But, even still, he felt like he was still in Hitch's shadow and he was becoming sick of it.

"Sprouty, are you in there?" called a voice, revealing itself to be Phyllis, his mother, as she entered.

"Where's Hitch, the ponies all over town are absolutely terrified by what had happened this afternoon. They want answers and they need them now!"

"He went after Sunny, another solo Hitch mission," Sprout sulked angrily.

"Oh, Sugarcube, why the Sprout Pout? That's great news, actually, Hitch might've done you a favor."

"It is, Momma?"

"Of course, in fact......" She then picked up Hitch's discarded Sheriff badge and placed it on his strap. "For now, at least, you're Maretime Bay's new sheriff."

Sprout was surprised at this but then he realized that with Hitch's departure, it was time for him to rise above the ranks and finally be the hero he wanted to be.

"Hey, you're right, I am! Hey, there, everypony! The name's Sprout, Sheriff Sprout. What's the problem, filly?" he bragged.

Sprout continued to brag excitedly as he reveled in his temporary position and when he was satisfied with what he had gotten, he nodded with a determined grin that looked unnaturally sick. All the while, a dark presence loomed over Maretime Bay while a plume of dark cloud saw Phyllis and her son through the window on Hitch's office and narrowed its darkened eyes as if it had some plan in mind in tearing apart Equestria and its ponies, starting with Sprout and his mother, before disappearing.
> Zephyr Heights
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the same time, while the dark presence started to take shape and Sprout was beginning his temporary position as sheriff for his goal of "safeguarding" Maretown Bay that he had in mind from Hitch, Izzy, Sunny, Sarah, and her family had managed to set up camp, planning to make their way to Zephyr Heights the next morning.

Luckily, and surprisingly (despite having been sent to Equestria by Zekrom from her dream), Sarah had her satchel brought with her when they went through the Deep Black Pokemon's portal (hanging from her right side now according to her new body structure), still holding everything she had packed for her intended journey to find her parents. This included the enchanted tent for the girls and much of her family to sleep in for the night (which threw both Izzy and Sunny into a loop and made them gawk in amazement when they saw the size of the tent's interior despite its two-story appearance).

Once everything was set and they decided to hang around for a bit before going to sleep, they huddled around the campfire to talk about anything and everything, particularly on the subject of magic.

"So, Tsukumaro, Sarah........ I've been wondering ever since you confessed to not doing this stuff, but," she began, trying to find the right words again. ".......Can you two do any magic, like, real magic?"

"I-I don't know, Ms. Sunny," Tsukumaro answered. "We've never even known about your magic, we've never bothered to try to use it with everything that has happened."

"I'm not sure if we can if no Unicorn really has any and if the magic you mentioned really is gone from this world," Sarah agreed while deciding to humor her new pony friend. ".......But, I suppose it won't hurt to try."

".....You sound like you two don't know how to perform magic as well," Sunny replied, not sure of what to make of her answers but eventually smiling again as she had an idea. "But, if you really can do magic, maybe I can help you find out."

Reaching for her saddlebag, she took two pins she had on it and placed them in front of the older Unicorn and the young Alolan Alicorn princess with the others and Izzy watching curiously. "Try and levitate these."

Sarah and Tsukumaro looked at each other as they tried to come to terms with what is being asked of them; the magic that Sunny was asking them to perform was foreign to them and nothing like what they had done and witnessed, the most notable and shared between them being the Patronus Charm. They knew it would take some time to learn a new form of magic or a new spell as was exemplified when they and the rest of their family had been watching from the Harry Potter movie series during movie nights at their house or when Sarah was at any of the others' places when holding or attending sleepovers.

But, the magic Sunny and Izzy mentioned was nothing like what they had practiced and learned in their own times and they were antsy about what would happen if they tried to learn this new magical power. It didn't help that their suspicions and worries were compounded by the fact that Izzy couldn't perform her magic and telling them that Unicorns in her and Sunny's world, as a whole, couldn't perform it.

"Guys, are you okay.....?" asked Sunny, feeling worried for them.

That got them to snap out of their trances and look between Sunny and each other before they nodded, deciding that they have to take a chance if they were to have any means of helping her and Izzy with restoring Equestria.

So, knowing what they and the rest of their family came to do and deciding to trust Sunny with her help, they looked to her pins laid down before them (one housing an emblem of Twilight Sparkle's Star Cutie Mark for Sarah and the other with an emblem of Fluttershy's Butterflies Cutie Mark for Tsukumaro) and concentrated, closing their eyes as they tried to focus on the pins.

At first, nothing happened and it looked as though Izzy's prior explanation on Equestria's magic being gone for everyone was proven right. However, while that might be the case for her and her species, that changed when Tsukumaro and Sarah's horns finally lit up and they were coated in their own distinct magical auras (Sarah - rainbow-colored, Tsukumaro - dark brown). Then, their energies focused on the pins still, the pins ultimately floated in the air as they were coated in the same auras.

Tsukumaro was left speechless as he opened his eyes and gasped, seeing the Fluttershy pin floating in his own aura. Even Sarah was also taken aback by the fact that she also had Equestrian magic unlike Izzy and the Unicorns she referred to as she took in the sight of the Twilight Sparkle pin floating in her new magical grasp, her entire family also sharing her and her godfather's shocked sentiments.

"No......" she gasped quietly in total shock.

"B-b-But, how......?" stuttered Sunny, stunned.

Izzy was quiet in shock herself until she finally squealed with excitement. "EEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! MAGIC, MAGIC, MAGIC! You still have your magic, both of you! YIPPEE!" she cheered, startling the two as they looked at Izzy, both looking flabbergasted at what she said while Sunny took back her pins.

"W-W-What-Ms. Izzy! What are you talking about?!" replied a still-gobsmacked Tsukumaro. "This is our first time using this form of magic, we had no idea about it and we were only just able to use it!"

"Yeah, we don't know about this magic! How were we supposed to know what to do with it?" a still-shocked Sarah agreed.

"Um, well, yes...... Moving on, I think it's time to see what else your parents can do now that they're an Earth Pony and a Pegasus before we turn in," put in Phoenix, stopping Izzy and wanting to get some sleep before long.

"You think they would have some form of Equestrian magic along with what Mom and Tsukumaro just demonstrated?" asked Aqua.

"Well, we won't know until we have them try and see for themselves, Sis," replied Milotic, wanting to have Nikki and James give it a go.

"But, I don't know how to even fly with these wings on my body and I don't know anything about this Equestrian Magic business!" Nikki fretted, not fond of the idea of flying in her new Pegasus body.

"And, what else can I do besides trotting and running?" put in James, feeling uneasy about testing his Earth Pony body as well. "I don't know what I'll be doing, I might as well be plowing a field or just grazing in the open sun!"

"But, this is a real breakthrough for all of us! There has to be some form of Equestrian magic that you two can also perform!" Sunny urged excitedly, now rejuvenated with newfound hope for Equestria with Sarah and her family's help. "With your magic to help us along the way, we can get more ponies to help us with our cause to find out what happened to the Unicorns' magic, find out where the Pokemon and dragons had been banished to, and restore Equestria back to its former glory!"

"And, you think everything would be riding on us by the time we get going and see what's about to go down at Zephyr heights at the top of this world's version of Old Smokey?" quipped Silvally.

"Positive! We've got to see if you have your magic as well! Even if there's even a slight chance of it backfiring, it'll prove that you know something about the magic lost around here that we don't!"

"Come on, Ms. Nikki, Mr. James, give it a go for us. Please.....?" peeped Mai, trying her best to do the sad puppy face along with her younger siblings and cousins who agreed to the idea.

"I don't know........" James replied. "We're still new to this whole, magic, thing...... We don't know anything about it by the looks of it, Sunny, girl."

Sunny did consider his words and was concerned that she should've said something different but she still smiled nonetheless, "That's fine; whatever it is, we'll take what we can get."

"But-" Nikki began, wanting to stay out of what was being suggested of her and her husband but Sarah took it upon herself to join her adopted mother and soothe her.

"Mom, my opinion may not matter because I also don't know how to fly yet and I don't know how to use my wings for other things besides that, either. But, if it means giving us another possible opportunity to find out what happened to Equestria's magic, you and dad have got to try," she encouraged hopefully, getting both of her adopted parents' full attention.

"We may not know exactly why we were able to have Equestrian Magic compared to Izzy and Sunny and those Pegasi if they don't have any or if they do but what other choice do we have? This may be our only chance or so to figure out what those Pegasi know and to see if they have magic left in them as you do along with us. if Tsukumaro and I can use Equestrian magic for some reason, then perhaps you and Dad can use it, too. Just trust yourselves as well as us and Sunny and you'll be able to fly, to take the first step and learn to spread your wings and truly fly, to be free. And, Dad will probably know what kind of magic he has on him as well. You and Dad, we're all here with you, always."

Nikki and James looked at each other as they tried to take in Sarah's words and they did their best to try and ignore the younger Pokemon and the dragon hatchlings' sad puppy faces; they're still opposed to experimenting with an unknown form of magic they have no idea on controlling or knowing what to do with it. But, even so, they knew that they had no choice as Sarah and Tsukumaro haven't and they had to take that chance, too.

Eventually, they nodded in agreement, and with the sad puppy faces from the younger Pokemon and the dragon hatchlings off of them as they cheered in response to their answer, Nikki and James prepared to see what they can do as a Pegasus and an Earth Pony.

Twenty minutes later, things were going about as smoothly as they had hoped but they did have the occasional bumps along the road while experimenting with any possible abilities with any hidden Equestrian Magic in the two.

James, after some particular experimenting with what they have and after being told by Sunny that Earth Ponies back then once had phenomenal strength that surpasses that of a Unicorn or Pegasus, discovered that he did have that sort of unnatural strength. He also discovered that he was much more in tune with the earth around him and could hear the thoughts and feelings of plants and animals. The adult man-turned-Earth Pony was stunned and in awe with his new abilities and he seemed to be amazed that he had something a normal human being wouldn't normally be capable of (even though he'd much rather return to his old self again when this adventure was over).

Nikki, in the meantime, soon discovered that her Pegasi Magic (after some considerable trial and error along with some careful coaching from Sarah's Flying Types) allowed her to walk on clouds naturally and essentially have control of the weather. She was even able to fly despite finding the process terrifying and difficult in the beginning although nobody wanted to take a greater chance at what she can really do with her wing power since she was still getting used to her new body.

It proved to be a success for everybody and they were satisfied with what they had found and accomplished. But, that also left them with a burning question that'll continue to plague them; how was it possible for the four to even have Equestrian Magic? Deciding not to dwell on it further, they all went to sleep, preparing for the trek up to Zephyr Heights.





The next day, everyone was carefully walking through a small ravine together. They had gotten up bright and early in the morning so they were able to get a considerable head-start on their way to Zephyr Heights. As they walked along, Izzy decided that it was a perfect time to strike up a conversation with her new friends.

"You know, not to freak you out or anything but you do happen to know that Pegasi can possibly steal your luminescence, don't you?"

"Wait, my lumi-what?" asked Sunny, stumped.

"Luminescence! You know, like your sparkle. Like, yours is.......lavender."

"Don't even start," Eternatus grumbled to Izzy as he, Reshiram, and much of Sarah's dragons and Flying Types flew beside them. "I hate to be a party pooper to you but where'd you get that stupid idea from, anyway?"

"Huh?" Sunny blinked again.

Izzy, however, ignored him as she continued to speak with Sunny. "And, the happier you are, the brighter it shines!"

"Forgive me for being so blunt on that, Little Moonbow. But, I must tell you that what you're saying is ludicrous and downright nonsense," retorted Reshiram skeptically as he looked to the happy-go-lucky unicorn. "No pony species in this world would be capable of doing such a foolish thing and it's never been attempted given what we have seen thus far. And, do you happen to know anything about the Pegasi in person that has done anything as reckless as that?"

Izzy tried to come up with a response to Reshiram's retort as her ears twitched in hard thought (all while coming up with wacky faces while doing so). But, before she could think further, a whooshing sound was heard, attracting everyone's attention.

"Hey, what's that sound?" quizzed Hashimoto, looking around but finding nothing that made the noise as they went along the path to Zephyr Heights.

Everyone kept their eyes and ears open for the sound as they continued on but then, the whooshing sound from before sounded off once more. "There it is again," Sarafina pointed out.

"Who's there?" demanded Sarah, lighting up her horn and preparing to fight despite not knowing how in her new form as she followed a shadow that appeared. "I'll be lenient with you, I'm not afraid to hurt you if you threaten my family, Izzy, and Sunny. Show yourself!"

The whooshing sounds were heard again and in the bright sun, the shadow was making itself clearer despite the mist around them upon their slow but careful ascent up the mountain. The princess squinted as best she could and she could make out the silhouette of another Pegasus just as another whoosh filled the air and the shadow zipped by across the cliffs, startling Izzy and Sunny.

Sarah didn't have time to react as the Pegasus knocked some rocks loose from the cliff above them, sending them tumbling down their way and scaring both Sunny and Izzy into running, surprising Sarah and her family.

"Girls, wait! Don't run, we have to stick together!" cried Sarah, she and her family quickly galloping, running, and flying after the frightened mares.

As they ran ahead, Sunny looked back to see that the Pegasus that scared her and Izzy off was hot on their heels.

"Hurry!" she called to everyone behind her as they soon reached the edge of a cliff that had appeared to have been a landslide at one point.

Seeing the Pegasus catching up to the group, Winter and Shadow cursed and decided to grab the two mares before they flew them over to a rocket edge. Nebby and their dragon friends along with the other powerful reptiles followed their lead as he carried the younger Pokemon, they and the dragon hatchlings following suit, and Cressela, Danny, Danielle using Psychic to help their trainer/human mother's other and larger Pokemon get up the landslide (sans Eternatus and her Flying Types).

James and Tsukumaro managed to scale the landslide along with Sugarcoat, Shortcake, and Siren while Sarah and Nikki were able to flutter over it (the former managing to get some practice in during the previous night as well).

They managed to regroup on the top of the cliff, all of them unknowingly reaching Zephyr Heights at the same time, all of them relieved to be alive from their near-death experience and who nearly killed them.

Seeing Izzy and Sunny safely in Shadow and Winter's grasp, the princess quickly rushed over to them. "You okay, girls?" she asked, looking them all over.

"We're fine, Sarah, thanks," panted Sandy in relief.

The group then looked back over the cliffside after they caught their breath, seeing nothing but a sea of clouds below them before they all exchanged looks, wondering who would be crazy enough to try and kill them all just now. But, the adrenaline rush they were feeling wasn't over as they were soon greeted by the Pegasus that supposedly attacked them, revealing itself from the clouds.

The new Pegasus startled Sunny and Izzy as it approached, the two of them screaming as they hugged each other, sandwiching Sarah in between them. Everyone watched as the Pony swooped down, then over their heads, landed on several nearby rocky ledges, and then perched herself atop a nearby rock, revealing itself in a display of pride and glory found only in an Equestrian Pegasus.

The Pegasus looked to be female and based on her appearance, she was white with silver hooves. In contrast to Nikki and Sarah's wings, her own wings are covered in long and light blue and lavender feathers, and her mane (resembling gelled hair) and tail (at an average length) are both a hot pink with aqua and pink streaks. She is discovered to have turquoise eyes with pink eyebrows and her Cutie Mark on her flank showed a pink lightning bolt with a yellow crown resting on top.

Izzy and Sunny couldn't believe what they were seeing. "Another real Pegasus!" gasped Sunny in awe.

"No way, just like Mistress Nikki?!"

"Now, that's an entrance," Hashimoto admitted.

"If only she didn't try to kill us if she threw those boulders at us," snorted Siren, thinking she nearly killed the entire group.

"What is with that ludicrous hairstyle?" admitted Sarah's Rapidash in surprise.

The Pegasus relaxed herself and then gasped, seeing the entire group before her. "Whoa! Check it out, Pokemon and dragons, after all this time? Two unicorns, a Pegasus, an Earth Pony, and a Pegasus-Unicorn hybrid-an Alicorn, like in the legends?! Together?" the Pegasus commented, impressed.

"Well, now, this day just got a whole lot more interesting......."

Suddenly, before anybody could answer, they all heard the sound of metal clanking and running hooves coming from nearby them along the path to Zephyr Heights, seeing two Pegasus guards coming around the corner. The sight of them frightened the Pegasus before them and prepared to take off before she looked at the two mares and their friends, "Don't tell them that you saw me."

Then, she quickly darted off, disappearing into the clouds as Izzy then called out after her, "There's no way we could!"

"Wow, we didn't even know her name. But, she seems nice. Is she cool or what?" buzzed Izzy excitedly to Sunny and Sarah, nudging them coolly.

"AAAAAHHH!!!!!!"

A frightened scream called their and everyone else's attention as they turned and saw the two Pegasus guards before them, one of them between looking startled at the giant group before them and looking incredulous at her partner as the latter looked to be cowering behind his fellow guard.

".......Hello there," replied Sarah awkwardly, waving a hoof.

"Oh, Thunder, pull yourself together! Will ya?" groaned the blue female Pegasus guard.

"B-B-B-B-B-But, Zoom! Look at them, there are two Earth Ponies over there!" the green Pegasus guard, Thunder, whimpered.

"Ah, don't worry about them, they're harmless. They probably have peas for brains," snorted Zoom.

"We're standing right here, you know," commented James indignantly as he and Sunny threw offended glares at them.

"A-And, w-w-w-what about that big Pegasus?"

"She's a Pegasus, obviously, 'oi! She's one of us, you know."

"Oh, yeah? Then, how do you explain that ALICORN, THOSE DRAGONS, THAT UNICORN, AND ALL THOSE POKEMON, THOSE DEVILS WAITING TO ATTACK US?!" screamed Thunder, still in his panic as he pointed at Sarah, her family, and Izzy.

"Listen here, you bastard! Nobody makes that comment in front of-!" snarled Hydro impulsively before she was cut off by Winter and Shadow as they raised their wings at her, shocking them. "Winter, Shadow! You-!"

"Enough, we know that it's only natural for the pony to freak out upon seeing all of us here given they've seen our kind in years," pacified Shadow firmly but calmly, startling the two guards as they saw the dragons talking amongst themselves.

"We'd do well to see what they want with us and if we really mean any trouble to them so let's give them the benefit of the doubt first before we react," added Winter in agreement, making Hydro snort in disgust before she backed off and Hurricane soothed his little sister figure.

"I'd normally prefer to be originally called the Darkest Day back then. But, I'll be setting myself up with my pipsqueak as usual," commented Eternatus, startling Thunder again along with Zoom before she shook off the shock and turned to her partner.

"Well, have you brought the shield with you?"

".......Uh, what shield?"

"Didn't you read the guard guide.....?"

"YES! Dugh, okay, no....."

"What?! You-! Why didn't-ARGH!" groaned Zoom, exasperated at her partner before she walked up to the confused and incredulous group, watching as they succumb to their xenophobia while she spreads her wings to try and look threatening (but failing). "Oh, very well. I've got this."

Soon, Sarah, Nikki, James, Tsukumaro, Izzy, and Sunny were crowded in an elevator, being escorted by Zoom, Thunder, and a few more Pegasus guards with Izzy, Tsukumaro, and Sarah having tennis balls on top of their horns. The latter two were confused by the use of tennis balls as locks for their magic but they decided not to question it.

"That's creative," commented Izzy about the tennis ball as Sunny just skimmed through her notebook again.

When they were taken to Zephyr Heights, Sunny and Sarah were stripped of much of their belongings their satchels, Sunny's Rapidash Guardians, and the latter's Pokemon half of her family (sans Magearna and her parents' Special Ops Squad (Tomoe Squad)) as they were forced back into their Pokeballs along with Nikki, James, and Tsukumaro's Pokemon (and the advisor's belongings as well) But, they weren't able to confiscate Sarah's heirlooms, her Dragon Blade, and the Dragon Heart Scepter, so they had no choice but to let her keep them.

They also couldn't bother to do anything to her dragon half of her family since they'd be both signing their death warrants by going up against them at any time and they don't have the means to subdue them. As they all couldn't fit in the elevator at once, they were simply ordered to follow the guards and their "prisoners", a task made easier with their ability to talk with them (much to their shock).

"That's right, be smug until we beat the damn snot out of you with Odin's fury, you creeps," snarled Charger.

"Charger, calm down," replied Rosa, trying her best to soothe the annoyed Rumblehorn.

"Man, I can't believe Sarah would be willing to have us all turned in peacefully even if those Pegasi were scared of all of us just as Maretime Bay's Earth Pony fraidy cats are," commented Dawn.

"It's hard for them to take us seriously since we not only dwarf them in terms of power despite their numbers but we dragons and Pokemon like Sunny's guardians and the rest of our family haven't been seen in years ever since they were kicked out until Sarah reasoned with them, Son," replied Melody.

"It would be best for them if we don't give them any more reason to be frightened of us and start antagonizing everyone for one reason or another," suggested Magearna as everyone took in the sights of Zephyr Heights from down below.

Looking down upon the Pegasi town, Sarah and her family with her have discovered that it almost looked like New York City as there were many food shops, alleyways, areas similar to Times Square, Madison Square Garden, and other sights similar to any locales on the real-life city, and theaters for movies and Broadway musicals.

The city even had a large TV billboard screen that depicted a newscast about a royal celebration being held in honor of the Pegasi Queen, Haven, and that the real treat of the celebration would be a performance of one of her two daughters, Princess Pipp Petals.

The screen then showed Pipp herself and everyone could see how she looked by her appearance - a light pink Pegasus with gold hooves (her legs having a slight gradation to a lighter link color on her feathers), fluffy white wings that are made out of soft, white feathers, and a wavy mane being swept up on one side and her average-lengthed tail in a similar wavy manner. She had kiwi-green eyes with violet eyebrows and while her Cutie Mark was obscured on the TV screen, she looked as though she was wearing a golden tiara with a green jewel and golden wheat encrusted on it.

Pipp simply smiled at her cheering fans, telling everybody that she has a brand new song dedicated to them that she was going to perform at the celebration. It meant a lot to her but not as much to her fans before she signed off on her live stream but that didn't matter as she was too excited to care.

Before long, the elevator arrived at the top floor of their current destination as it clicked open. "Move, now," barked Zoom, still uneasy with the dragons as they landed near the others.

"You betcha!" chirped Izzy in compliance.

But, her enthusiasm wasn't shared by Sarah and Sunny as they looked at the Pegasus and her fellow guards suspiciously. Sarah was surprised by what she was seeing; none of the guards could even fly as she and Nikki could and like the Earth Ponies and Unicorns, they didn't have any magic, too.

"Do you see anyone flying here besides Nikki and Sarah?" Sunny asked quietly but her question soon fell on deaf ears.

"They even have a castle!" Izzy exclaimed with a gasp, seeing the castle before them before they walked over.

"Uh, Mom, Dad, Tsukumaro........ Did you notice anything strange about these Pegasi the moment we were brought here?" quizzed Sarah, seeing that not a single Pegasus was flying as she and Nikki could prior.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, Ponchita......"

"Yes, something is definitely wrong."

"Indeed, none of these Pegasi we're seeing here knows how to fly. Strange, very strange," pondered her adopted parents and Tsukumaro in surprise.

The walk through the castle took several minutes as they all walked through several hallways but at long last, Sarah, her family with her, Sunny, and Izzy were brought to the throne room with another squadron of non-flying Pegasus guards waiting for them until they took their places.

"Ahem, bow before our queen!" ordered Thunder, a few other guards blowing their trumpets at hand or hoof, sounding off a fanfare.

Magearna, the Tomoe Squad, the dragons, Sarah, Nikki, James, Tsukumaro, Izzy, and Sunny all watched as the guards bowed their heads in respect to their queen, first seeing a small, white, winged female Pomeranian appearing before them, sitting in front of the throne and scratching her head with one of her hind legs.

"Your Majesty," replied Izzy, bowing before the dog while getting a facehoof from Sunny and an amused eye roll from Sarah along with annoyed sighs from everyone else.

But, everyone watched on as spotlights were then shown from the ceiling above them, making the little dog yip in excitement as she watched. Sunny nudged Izzy upright to watch as well and in the background, the sound of upbeat music was soon heard. The group gathered in the throne room saw as three Pegasi soon came swooping down before they landed gently, lowering themselves to the throne as they flapped their wings.

As everyone decided to bow in respect to them, Sarah took a glance at the three Pegasi before them. The oldest one of the three was Queen Haven herself, a pale pink Pegasus with a blue and purple mane and tail, purple hooves, blue and purple wings, and ocean blue eyes while wearing a pair of sunglasses on her, a purple vest with a blue and gold necklace, and a crown of the same coloration.

The second was actually Princess Pipp who was the youngest of the small family of three. But, to Sarah's shock, standing with them was the same mysterious white Pegasus that she and everyone else met at the cliffs leading to the city.

"Wait, that must be the Pegasus we met from earlier today! What's she doing here with them and why is she a princess like me.......?" she thought.

"Hi, new friend!" Izzy waved impulsively to the mysterious Pegasus happily, the pony in question shaking her head frantically and quietly pleading with her to not get her involved.

"Guards, state your business, and please make it quick. We're on a very tight schedule today and before the celebration, Cloudpuff needs his pedicure," Queen Haven ordered, wanting to know what's going on. "Pipp needs to rehearse soon and I need to practice my laugh for the celebration. HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Ahem, nope, still not right, oh....."

"Your Highness! We found these intruders scampering around in our territory, one of them having a gigantic amount of Pokemon that we've just confiscated," replied one of the guards as he and the still-antsy Thunder presented the group before her.

Queen Haven lowered her glasses and balked in shock to see Sarah, her family joining her right now, Sunny, and Izzy along with Magearna and Tsukumaro, Nikki, and James' Pokemon (who the guards failed to confiscate), present with them.

"AH, IMPOSSIBLE! Two Unicorns, a hybrid, Earth Ponies, POKEMON, AND, DRAGONS! Here, in Zephyr Heights!" she gawked.

"Hold on! We've got them all under control, your Honor!" reassured Zoom quickly to her.

"And, we've deployed the shields on them before they could do anything, at least until the hybrid made a deal with us peacefully involving this," Thunder added, gesturing to the balls on Izzy, Tsukumaro, and Sarah's horns.

"Is this an attack on the night of our royal celebration? Why are you all here, who sent you fools?" demanded Queen Haven suspiciously before she gasped. "HAH! Nobody must know about their presence, they must not know they're here!"

"Sorry, Mom, forgive me," thought Pipp for she had already started casting a livestream of what had transpired in the throne room with the mysterious Pegasus, showing the group on screen, resulting in her mother to reassure the citizens that they've been captured and she'll protect them and angrily forcing Pipp to cancel the stream.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty?" Sunny asked. "We just wanted to ask you a few questions about magic. You see, we-"

"Guards! Please escort the prisoners to the dungeons until I can question them properly!" snapped Queen Haven, now having also succumbed to her xenophobia.

"And, what about the Pokemon and the Dragons we have from them?" questioned Thunder.

Queen Haven let out a huff as she gestured with a dismissive hoof wave and said, "Put them all in solitary confinement until we exile them for being in our presence and confiscate the book while you're at it!"

"W-What?! NO!" gasped Sunny in horror, the mysterious Pegasus gasped in shock at how far her mother was willing to go to do something to protect their citizens, even if it didn't feel right to her.

"HEY! That's not fair!" Dart spat furiously, she and her brothers snapping at Queen Haven as the Pegasi gasped at hearing her talk before her brothers pitched in, also angry.

"You're a big, fat bully!" agreed Pouncer.

"You're a monster!" snarled Ruffrunner.

"NO! What are you doing?!" Sarah gasped in shock, horror, and utter outrage. "Don't you know that you're just going to kill off my family by kicking them out?!"

"Oh, please! We're all better off without those ugly createns, young lady! You don't seem to realize but you've thrown your lot in with them the moment you and your friends met them and became one of them in the process," scoffed the arrogant Pegasus queen.

"Haven't you known the trouble they've brought to us years ago, the legends that told of their terrifying power and threatening to kill us with their mighty strength and unholy presence? Everything that Ponykind once thought good of them was gone the moment they turned on us and when we finally realized the extent of the power we had on our hooves with them still around! Who knows who would be willing to target us by using those same beasts and what good will it do to us just to consider living alongside those wretched beings with them? Life with those menacing creatures will be a living nightmare for us, that's a fact! Everypony knows that they're all nothing but monsters! Worthless, savage, deadly beasts are what they all are and that will never change! So, let me be the first to say to you and your friend that you're better off without them, it's for your own good!"

Unfortunately, her rant about the dragons and Pokemon and how they were deemed to be nothing but monsters to the Pegasi was a step too far in Sarah's eyes. The little human-turned-alicorn princess couldn't stand to hear Queen Haven continue to demean the two species she saw as friends and the insults that extended to her family as angry tears filled her eyes and her rage built up. Her party was growing worried as they knew she would explode and go on her own extreme tangent on Pipp's mother if she wasn't careful with her emotions.

"Oh, dear, I was hoping this wouldn't happen to her!" squeaked Magearna worriedly as she saw Sarah preparing to blow up in her outrage and her rainbow aura appeared on her horn, giving off a rainbow glow that looked more violent.

"Wh-what's going on?!" Pipp stammered.

"W-w-w-What's she doing?!" Zoom demanded.

"Oh, you've done it now, partners," replied James, looking worried for his adopted daughter. "I think you all might want to cover your ears."

"S-s-s-s- STOP! D-d-d-d-Don't t-t-t-try a-a-a-anything stup-" Thunder began as he pointed his spear at Sarah and trembled with fear before he was cut off by Hydro as she screamed, "Just do it!"

Fearing that this could be big trouble for all of them, Magearna, the dragons, Tsukumaro, Nikki, and James braced themselves while the latter two got Izzy and Sunny to do the same, the mysterious also looking frightened as she followed suit.

Finally, when she couldn't handle it anymore........

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Sarah finally let her emotions loose as the tennis ball on her horn shot off and ricocheted around the throne room as everyone ducked, screamed, and ran for cover, her rage boiling over as she couldn't take it anymore and her aura exploded, forcing everybody still standing to be knocked down hard. It looked as though that Sarah had finally reached the end of her rope with the ponies' xenophobia (despite not seeing the other Unicorns and how they would react) very early on as her rage-filled screaming can be heard for miles, the Pegasi down below hearing her as they all got shivers running down their spines.

When she had finished, she was breathing heavily, trying her best to calm herself down as the thought of her being permanently separated from her Pokemon and dragon family was too much for her to bear, let alone go through. Everyone else soon managed to pick themselves up and they saw the angered and devastated Sarah focusing her attention on the frightened Queen Haven, her own outrage dwarfed by the pissed-off alicorn's.

"How dare you say that Pokemon and dragons are nothing but monsters.........!" she seethed as she took one step forward. ".....How dare you demean my family as nothing but creatures when you haven't even seen what they can really do!"

"Stop right there!" shouted Zoom as she and Thunder blocked her off from Queen Haven, as she took two more steps forward and then glowered angrily at them before she continued, her angry tears streaming down her eyes.

"You would knowingly shackle my heart with banishing, killing off my own family, who are all helping me to find two very special people in my life that I wanted to see again after so long? Who would all do anything and everything, risking life and limb, just to ensure my safety and my happiness ever since I started meeting them?!"

Not wanting to look weak, she rubbed her tears off her face and continued glaring at the offending Pegasi (sans the mysterious Pegasus she and her family and new friends met earlier). "You're wrong about them; yes, they're everything you said but they're always so much more!" she continued to spit.

"You're speaking to the queen, Winged Unicorn!" snarled Zoom, getting angry herself. "Stand down right now and respect her or we'll either force you out of our kingdom or kill you now!"

"First of all, I'm actually an Alicorn, not just termed a winged unicorn. And, second, you'd be wise not to get in trouble with me because........."

She took a deep breath and told the Pegasi as she spread her wings, deciding it pointless to keep her true identity a secret anymore, ".......I am a princess!"

While her family looked on sorrowfully for the little princess as she was forced into a position she didn't want to be in and thus, expose herself in the process, Izzy, Sunny, and the Pegasi with them all looked on and gasped in utter shock.

"WHAT?!"

"No way!"

"Say, what?!" Queen Haven and her daughters gasped, aghast and flabbergasted as Sarah continued again.

Izzy and Sunny were shocked after the bombshell was dropped; none of them knew that Sarah was a princess when she lied to them about where she and her family had come from and now that they did, along with finding out they didn't belong in Equestria, they didn't know what to say.

"........My name is Sarah, Princess Sarah Tomoe, the only daughter of my real parents - King Doug and Queen Delilah Tomoe. And, for your information, I do not tolerate nor appreciate the fact that you and all of the ponies living in this world besides Izzy and Sunny and a little bird in the room would demean the only family I have anywhere as monsters. You may think of them as such and I understand that I can't change your opinions but trust me when I say again that they're so much more since you haven't seen what they can really do and you only knew what you knew because you didn't even get to know them by taking the first step."

Feeling emotionally drained and wanting to get out of Zephyr Heights now, Sarah took her satchel back along with her Pokemon family and Sunny's Rapidash Guardian friends from the frightened and stunned guards that confiscated them.

"I see now that there's no point in helping ponies who have given in to their fears and pointless xenophobia reconnect with one another if any and all encounters are going to be like this. And, I suspect that the Unicorns, apart from Izzy, won't be as welcoming just as you guys and much of Maretime Bay besides Sunny all aren't. If it helps, we're leaving, goodbye........"

And, with that, she turned away in a drained huff as she led her worried family along with the greatly concerned Izzy and Sunny out of the throne room, leaving the shocked Pegasi behind. All but one, though, as the mysterious white Pegasus felt sorry for Sarah and quickly decided to follow them while grabbing Sunny's book in the process.





Once they were a good distance away from the throne room and in one of the large hallways, Sarah soon released her Pokemon and brought out Sugarcoat, Sugarcake, and Siren before returning them to Sunny.

Then, she started to cry heavily as she hugged Blitz in relief and sorrow, her family feeling her pain as they came for a group hug while Sunny and Izzy sadly watched on.

"Oh, Sarah......." whimpered Izzy sorrowfully.

"Tsukumaro....... Is Sarah really a princess?" asked Sunny, wondering if she chose the right words to ask.

Tsukumaro sighed solemnly as he faced the two ponies. "Yes, you heard right. What you've heard from my goddaughter is the truth. She's a princess from another world," he confirmed to them.

"Whoa......!" the two ponies gawked in awe and amazement.

"Please forgive us for deceiving you earlier but a friend of ours warned us about what happened to your world and the inhabitants living in including your own kinds and we didn't want to compromise the mission we were given from him by telling you who we are and why we're really here," replied Magearna as she broke from the hug and faced them as well, bowing apologetically.

"Yeah, we're sorry for lying to you about our origins but as Meagerna put in her own way, it was necessary for us to keep you in the dark and ensure that you don't know about our true purpose for your own good," agreed Shadow, coming to face them an also giving the two ponies an apologetic bow. "Above all else, please don't take it too harshly and blame Sarah for lying earlier."

Seeing that Sarah would have no alternative reason to lie to them and neither would her family since they all cared too much for each other and them to do so, Izzy and Sunny nodded warmly and understandably at them.

"We understand, I suppose what happened to her to cause her to break down like that must've been really painful," replied Sunny gently, just as the mysterious Pegasus came from around the corner and quickly hid herself away, deciding to eavesdrop on the conversation and discover why Sarah exploded as she did.

"But, what I don't understand is why, why did Sarah blow up like a giant volcano on a hot stove turned up to eleven?" pondered Izzy in her usual, optimistic way.

"Was she really that scared of losing her family when the Pegasi Queen wanted to banish them?" Sunny asked, her concern taking over.

Blitz wiped Sarah's tears as she tried and failed to pull herself together, still lost in her angst and tearful sorrowful fear of losing her family all over again as most of her Pokemon and dragons in her family continued to hold her to their comforting embrace. Tsukumaro could see that she was too emotionally distraught to tell them calmly herself so Tsukumaro sighed, deciding to tell them everything until Sarah would be ready to confirm his story herself.

Breaking off from the group hug, Nikki and James joined the trio, looking apologetic at the two ponies as they also knew they had to tell the truth. "Look, we're sorry for what had happened earlier and for Sarah exploding as she did but there's a reason why she doesn't want to lose everyone she loves again," said James.

"It's just, our daughter has been through so much throughout her life and she's had a previous life of hers ripped away by someone who's out to kill her after he was shamed and banished from her home for a crime he committed involving her," added Nikki remorsefully.

Sunny, feeling that what she and Izzy are about to listen would be a truly tragic story, wanted to know so that they can give her a hand in pulling through whatever's ailing her behind their backs. Even if it would not be the faint of heart, she wanted to help in any way they can and she could tell that Izzy wanted to off Sarah her support as well.

"Guys, Sarah, whatever it is....... We can help, just tell us, please," she gently begged.

But, as the three adults were about to tell them Sarah's story, said princess had finally calmed down and approached them with Blitz, Curly, Silvally, Mai, Zeraora, Zorua, Keldeo, and Totem Luxray, deciding to tell Izzy and Sunny herself.

"Princess," Tsukumaro spoke, only for her to shake her head solemnly.

"I think it's best if they hear it from me," she told him, getting a reluctant nod.

"You really want to know?" she asked her pony friends to which the two of them replied with, "Yes."

Sighing and pushing her sorrow aside, she finally began her tragic story, one that would truly open their eyes to her about what she had to go through before coming to Equestria and see their royal friend in a whole new light. Recalling everything she had seen and was told throughout her time with her family and friends, she did her best to stay strong as she recounted each important detail in her story.

"Alright, I'll tell you........ Many years ago, my ex-uncle, Lothor (formerly Donald Tomoe), attempted to have me killed when I was two weeks old so that he can have the throne for himself but my parents' Pokemon partners, the Tomoe Squad, saved my life and he was banished from our kingdom as a result. But, he returned with a vengeance with an evil syndicate he managed to create known as Team Eclipse and attempted to destroy us. My real parents and the Last King and Queen, Doug and Delilah Tomoe, were forced to send me to the future with the help of my godfather, Tsukumaro, to look after me. They gave me to my adopted parents, Nikki and James, for my own safety while they went back and sacrificed themselves to seal them away, or so we thought. Nobody knew what happened to them ever since until my family and friends found out that they're somehow still alive. Right now, we're on a journey to find them, guided by my parents' gift and my personal guardian intended to be given to me for my fifth birthday, Magearna. Until we can find out where they are and bring them back to my home, I can't afford to lose anybody I love, my family most of all........"

Izzy and Sunny were floored by what they heard as they tried to wrap their heads around how tragic and heartbreaking her story is. Even the mysterious Pegasus couldn't help but feel deeply touched from her hiding spot as a few tears welled in her eyes, now realizing that Sarah was going through a lot on her end and she went through painful things her fellow Pegasi, the Unicorns, and the Earth Ponies can only imagine.

"We were sent here to help you restore Equestria to what it once was while making sure to defend this world from an ancient evil that once plagued you all," finished Reshiram, knowing that Sarah is at her limit. "We knew of this world now because the princess' parents supposedly crossed over back then during their previous rule."

"And, as it appears, the Pegasi Queen has compromised everything by foolishly pushing the princess to the breaking point and making her trapped between wanting to help save Equestria as intended or leaving it behind and allowing Ponykind to rot away under its own fear and xenophobia of the unknown after they lost their magic," added Calyrex. "It seems that if we're to have any hope of succeeding, we need your help, now more than ever."

While the Pokemon joining the princess tried to comfort her as she was being overtaken by the painful memories of what she had to go through again along with the same heart wrenching loss she almost suffered through with losing her family, Sugarcoat, Shortcake, and Siren all approached her solemnly. They were also stunned by what Sarah told them, Izzy, and Sunny and they didn't know what to say.

"Sarah, I'm so sorry, I had no idea," began Sugarcoat.

"We all are, none of us knew the kind of pain you're going through, at all," Sugarcake agreed remorsefully. "We felt bad about losing Sunny's father, our old trainer, friend, and father figure before but having your life ripped away from you at such a tender age, we can't even begin to describe what it might be for us!”

"Me too, I can't imagine what'll happen if we were stripped out of Sunny and her father's lives and if he hadn't found and given us to Sunny," added Siren, extremely sympathetic. "But, if you now fully hate Ponykind for all this, even if you haven't yet seen what the Unicorns can do to strangers, Pokemon, and dragons, why would you decide to stay even after everything Queen Haven did just to save her own ponies?”

Sarah didn't know how to answer or what to tell him; she knew that her family came to Equestria in order to find Sunny and help her restore her home and rekindle the friendship and love between ponies, Pokemon, and dragons but after her meltdown and Queen Haven's hate-filled rant about the Pokemon and the dragons, she didn't know what to think anymore.

"Man...... Sounds like you had a rough life back then before growing up in the future," replied a voice, making everyone turn to find the mysterious white Pegasus coming towards them and looking sympathetically at Sarah. "But, if you're still willing to help change the world for the better, count me in. I'm sorry for what my mother did to you guys but I hope you understand if you get past her rant about Pokemon and dragons. In the meantime......I have to talk to you."

"Princess?" greeted Sunny Starscout in surprise.

"Your majesticness," Izzy stammered. "Y-Y-Y-Your Graceful Highness, uh-!"

"Zipp, just, calm me Zipp. Zipp Storm," replied the Pegasus princess, Zipp Storm.

Sunny smiled, "Oh, okay, Zipp. Now, I'm Sunny, Sunny Starscout, and these are my friends."

"Izzy Moonbow!" added Izzy, still smiling before she gestured to Sarah and her family as the princess finally recovered. "You already know Princess Sarah and her family from earlier, don't you?"

"Well, now, at least someone in this modern-day death trap knows even a little sliver of kindness towards strangers," Inferno admitted, finding Zipp to be much more mature and kindhearted despite her once-proud exterior from before.

"She's got a lot of spunk and she nearly tried to kill us but I'm seeing that she's not all-in on the flashy, pristine royalty gig going on," Dawn (Midday Lycanroc) pointed out.

"I wonder why she didn't want to be called out by Izzy when she saw her earlier," pondered Beautifly.

"Who cares? At least, we know for sure that she's on our side by the looks of it," Oshawott smiled at Zipp.

"We'll see," Hydro snorted.

"Yeah, I'm more along those lines," Zipp replied before she looked around to see if they're alone before continuing. "Sunny, Izzy, I really need to ask you, Princess Sarah, and everyone else here something important........About magic."

"That's why we're here! Maybe you can tell us how yours works?" Sunny smiled again, speaking on behalf of everyone. "Izzy has no idea how the Unicorns lost their magic. Well, apart from my Galarian Rapidash friends-family, I mean, and Sarah and her family's. So, we thought, maybe-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! Hold up, lost theirs? As in, no magic?" Zipp asked in surprise, getting headshakes from both Izzy and Sunny along with mostly everyone and Sugarcake, Siren, and Sugarcoat. "Well, that changes the game a lot."

She then turned to Nikki, curious about her own magic. "So, your name is......"

"Nikki, call me Nikki," replied the human-turned-Pegasus in question.

"Alright, Nikki. So, aside from your Pokemon and the dragon's special attacks and such, can you really fly? Do you still have your magic?"

"Yes, although, I'm not exactly sure how or why I was able to have it. Even Sarah, James, and Tsukumaro were also able to have Equestrian Magic in addition to Sunny's Rapidash outside of you Pegasi, the Earth Ponies, and the Unicorns. And, my daughter and I were barely able to know how to fly. We......honestly, don't know why that is...... But, we hoped to find out soon before this world is lost forever. But, why aren't you and your fellow Pegasi able to fly just as we can?"

"I don't know, I've been thinking that a lot ever since I first met you guys hours ago and saw you two flying. Listen, I might have some information that could help. But, first, you need me to tell me about......" Zipp replied, reaching into her wings and pulling out Sunny's journal.

"My journal! Thank you, Zipp!" Sunny exclaimed happily as she reclaimed it. "I thought I'd never see it again."

"Wow, are you like a ninja or something?" asked Tepig in surprise.

"Yeah. And, to answer your question, my little piggy - sometimes, I feel like one. But, honestly, yes and no, I can be pretty sneaky when I want to be even though I don't practice Ninjutsu."

"Nice!" Izzy smiled at her, impressed. "I'm only medium sneaky."

"So, where did that come from and who was that sword and shield you have slung on you made for?"

"It's was my father's," replied Sunny, regarding her journal.

"They're the heirlooms of my birth parents, why?" Sarah added, curious as to why Zipp would be interested in the Sun Sword and the Moon Shield.

Zipp hummed before she replied while pointing to the star on the cover of Sunny's journal, "I think I've seen them before along with that star........"

But, before Zipp could continue, she was cut off by the sound of a robotic fanfare as they turned their attention to a couple of other Pegasus guards, rolling a red carpet along the floor. The Pegasus with them was Princess Pipp who was taking a selfie with her cell phone for her famous PippSqueaks social media account before her performance. As she walked along the red carpet, she was surprised to find her older sister with the group.

"Zipp, what are you doing here?" she asked, shocked to see her hanging around with the Pegasi's so-called "enemies". "Mom said to stay away from them!"

"Right. Then, why are you here, anyway?" Zipp retorted, smirking.

"Hmph, for the content."

She then posed with a duckface for her selfie, prompting Izzy to quickly wrap her hoof around Sunny and bring the surprised Earth Pony mare close for the shot. But, this left the four humans-turned-ponies before them in absolute shock, all of them slack-jawed and dumbstruck that Pipp was able to work a cell phone as a normal human can in their world and even their family was flabbergasted.

"W-W-W....... N-No way! Princess Pipp is actually using a cell phone?!” Sarah thought, her eyes twitching. "But, h-th-that's not possible! There's no way she can use it with just her bare hooves!"

"Uh, Princess, can I ask you something?" pitched in Sunny. "Aside from Sarah and Nikki, why isn't anypony here flying?"

Sunny's honest question threw Pipp for a loop as she gasped, trying to reel herself in as she regained her composure but failing to keep up the act in front of the others as she replied with nervous chuckles, "Well, ahem, everypony here knows that only royals can fly, of course."

"WHAT?!" Sunny and Izzy balked in shock while some of Sarah's dragons and Pokemon comically fell with exaggerated and dramatic groans at her rebuttal.

"Seriously?" Sarah asked, even more dumbfounded.

"That can't be right, why would she put down her own fellow Pegasi from below like that? Why lie to us like that?" Tsukumaro questioned quietly, confused by what she's saying to the group. "The Pegasi we've been seeing can't fly given what we've seen since coming here. Why would she say that only Pegasi royals know how to fly when that same problem could ail her and her own family as well?"

"Tsukumaro, it's okay. I can fly, as we found out, and I'm not royalty in one sense but we can't think too much on that now," chirped Nikki gently, shaking her head so as to keep him from questioning anything further, to which he relented with a nod.

"That's a lie!”

"We dragons were flying just fine along with Sarah and her Flying Types earlier!" snapped an offended Latios and Latias as Pipp ignored them (despite clearly hearing their angry retorts) and continued her bragging with Zipp not sharing her enthusiasm.

"I know it's not fair but that's just the way it is. If there was some way we could teach the citizens to fly, you know we would in a wing-beat. Right, Zipp?"

"Yeah, in a wing-beat," snorted Zipp sarcastically.

Before their conversation could go on, Pipp's phone vibrated as she realized what she was about to miss. "Oh, dress rehearsals. Gotta go, and so should you," Pipp replied, gesturing Zipp to leave before she left with her guards, singing as she did so.

Turning her attention back to Sunny and her companions, Zipp decided to speak, feeling that Pipp and their mother really put them down hard with what they said to them. “I’m really sorry about my Mom earlier, guys. Especially you, Sarah, what happened in the past really affected all of Equestria. And, out of all the ponies in the land, as far as I know, she's been taking it pretty hard. Never got over it, really,” she said apologetically, getting an understanding nod from the princess.

"So..... What did happen?" Sunny quizzed curiously.

"I'll have to show you something. Follow me," Zipp replied, leading the way to a place in the palace that only she knew about as everyone wondered what she had in mind to show them.
> The Legend of Scarlet Nightmare
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the same time, outside of the borders leading to Zephyr Heights, Hitch had just managed to climb the steep cliffs on the mountains but he was exhausted from his long journey as he had to catch his breath, making not stopped since leaving Maretime Bay to get Sunny. His lackluster arrival startled and caught the attention of the mountain bunnies living in the area and they already took a liking to him as they cuddled him. Even if he's a hardened sheriff despite his own xenophobia towards Unicorns and Pegasi as well as dragons and Pokemon besides Earth Ponies, Hitch Trailblazer did have a caring side to him when Maretime Bay's citizens respect him for his hard work and being a beacon of light for them in safeguarding their home which also garnered him attention from the local critters there.

But, despite their comfort, he remembered his mission involving Sunny and her betrayal so he had to continue before he ended up finding a familiar sticker of some sort on the ground as he picked it up.

"Litter-or, a clue......." he mused as he proceeded to investigate, finding one of Izzy's mane hairs hanging on a branch and a nearby feather, tasting it as his eyes narrowed, all while his bunny fan club grew and followed him. "Hmm, Unicorn hair. Pegasi...."

He then proceeded to move on, placing his ears on the ground to listen for anything, only to confirm, "Track's gone cold....."

Nevertheless, Hitch Trailblazer continued to move on, his optimism undeterred as he shook his head. Admittingly, even though he made his vow the previous night clear, he still didn't want to hurt or punish Sunny given that they're childhood friends and that she was only doing what she feels is right after meeting Izzy, Sarah, and her family. But, Hitch also knew that Sunny had crossed a line with him just as he did with her and for them, there is no turning back. He couldn't let whatever personal feelings get to him since he had a mission to do; Sunny betrayed him and her own people/ponies and now, she's going to pay.

"Sunny, Sunny, Sunny, Sunny....... Did you really think you've escaped from me, even after everything we've been through? I thought, like Sprout, you, of all ponies, would understand my feelings and why I had to do what I did! Do what was right for all of us back at Maretime Bay! Well, think again. I will not eat, I will not sleep... Well, maybe a quick nap and snack if I can't find you in the next few hours. But, after that, nothing will stop me!"

He was soon interrupted by a round of high-pitched chirping that sounded like cheers and applause, making him look down as he saw a whole herd of bunnies, clapping admiration of his vow.

"Oh, thank you! No, no, no, you're too kind!" he chuckled to them modestly before he continued and one of the bunnies urged its companions to quiet down and listen as he said, "I'll follow you wherever you go. Whether harshest deserts, the coldest tundras, no trail too dangerous, no clue too small. The past matters not! It's justice......."

But, he was soon cut off when the bunnies, sounding very surprised, interrupted him and pointed him to Pipp's earlier livestream, showcasing cameos from Sunny, Izzy, Sarah, and her family.

".....Gotcha....!" Hitch sneered, motivated to finish his mission. 





Back inside the castle, Zipp continued to lead her new friends to her intended destination, sliding a grated platform they came across which revealed a lift beneath them. Spreading her wings, Zipp glided down gently before she landed on the lift and turned to the group above her.

"Watch your step!" she warned, as everyone else hopped into the lift save for Sarah's dragons and her flying types as they flew down and Cresselia, Danny, and Danielle carried everyone else that the lift couldn't fit with Psychic.

Admittingly, Zipp was glad that her home was big enough to include Eternatus as well given his giant size and if it didn't, she knew it would've been a real headache trying to get him to basically squeeze inside. She then pushed a lever to activate the lift and it took herself and her friends to the floor of a giant room which is revealed to be an ancient ruin of sorts.

"What..... What is this place?" Keldeo gasped in awe as they were led inside from the lift by Zipp.

"Where are we?" asked an awestruck Sunny.

"Pretty, NYA!"

"We had no idea this even existed besides you, Zipp," admitted Mulan, surprised as she and Absol looked the ruins all over.

"Looks like we're in some kind of ruins of an old building from an age long past, so to speak," replied Totem Luxray, amazed by what he and his, Kion, and Kiara's pride are seeing.

"This is ancient history before us that most ponies today won't know about, darlings! Beautiful!" gushed Espeon before she brushed against an old poster advertising Bridlewood and sneezed from the dust. "ACHOO! Though, it could use some dusting.....”

"It's amazing, right? I'm pretty sure it's some sort of station for when Earth Ponies, Unicorns, Pokemon, and dragons used to visit Zephyr Heights," the rebellious princess answered with Sunny looking at a poster advertising a visit to her home with Izzy following her and the others close behind. "It's like everypony just....forgot."

"Nice digs," quipped Eternatus.

"And, after some time when the magic was gone, this was abandoned until you found it recently?" Sarah gasped, stunned as she and everyone else saw proof of what Equestria in this new age used to be like before the three pony tribes separated.

Sunny could hardly believe her eyes as she returned to the Maretime Bay poster and wiped the dust off of a stick-like thing painted on it, revealing what looked to be her lighthouse. In addition, when she looked up, her heart fluttered with happiness and pride to see a large worn-out and shredded billboard above the group and the poster saying, "Visit Bridlewood." But, what further elevated her hopes for Equestria's real future was that it featured a Unicorn, a Pegasus, and an Earth Pony exploring Izzy's woodland home together. If she needed any proof that the ponies deserve to be together and that they can still bring back the Pokemon and dragons somehow, this was that proof she was looking for.

"This is proof, guys! We did it, this is what we're looking for! Our common hope for all of Equestria!" Sunny cheered excitedly, walking up to Zipp's side as everyone looked at a poster depicting Pegasus flying while also advertising Zephyr Heights. "My dad was right, all of Ponykind did use to be friends and live under the same sky at some point in time, TOGETHER!"

"Must be really weird being the only Pegasi that can fly," she then quipped to Zipp, who looked extremely conflicted before sighing regretfully.

With that, she decided to speak with them about something she decided to tell them, sighing with remorse. "Everyone, I have something to say. I want to explain something that you ought to know, especially since Nikki and Sarah are the only ones among us that can really fly," she told them, making them look at her in surprise.

"What's the dealio, Zipp?"

"What's eating you?" Spectrier and Glastrier asked in confusion.

"Zipp, is there something you know that you're not telling us?" Kaji asked her gently but firmly.

Zipp sighed remorsefully again and nodded, knowing that Kaji was right about what he said as she confessed, "You see, the truth is......... We can't fly, either, we've been really faking it."

Everyone gasped in surprise and shock while some of the others expressed angered realizations as Zipp confessed to what is essentially the Pegasi's Big Lie. Unlike Sarah and Nikki when they experimented with their Equestrian Magic, Zipp and her fellow Pegasi couldn't find it in themselves to fly since they don't have any magic as well.

"I knew your kind was up to something about that!" gawked Talonflame in angered shock.

"Say, what?!"

"So, that's it!"

"How could your kind-?!"

"Fake flying?! Can you really do that?"

"Of all the-!" spluttered Star, Azelf, Hashimoto, Cufant, and Wyveon.

"Faking it?!" gasped Sunny, shocked by the truth as Izzy, Sarah, Nikki, James, and Tsukumaro were also aghast. "B-But-but, how?!"

"You'd be surprised what some wires and good lighting from the right spots would do," Zipp answered, sulking as she came across a blackboard that had mathematical equations and a diagram of a Pegasus' wing that she did herself which could be her research on a Pegasus' magical flight. "But, honestly, I'm just so sick and tired of living that ridiculous lie, what good did come out of it in the end?"

Sarah and the Swords of Justice frowned sympathetically, seeing how miserable Zipp was feeling by being forced to live in a fantasy and feeling that it's not meant for you if it's really not what one hopes for. For her, it didn't help either that the Pegasi Big Lie was fed into her family's own subjects and she could tell for much of her life growing up that her mother and Pipp have deluded themselves into believing it.

"I can tell; most royals are often like that but even if it's for the greater good or a noble cause, there's no point in lying to everybody about it."

"She's right, the truth is always easier to accept than a well-meant lie."

"Can't say I blame them when it comes to that but they should've known better than to believe that bottom-dwelling trash talk."

"And, you're afraid that if your subjects find out about that horrible lie, they'll turn against you because you've given them a sense of false hope for what they desired most in their lives.”

"Which would mean it'll be the end of you and your family once everybody finally knows somehow," they deduced sympathetically to Zipp, who just nodded in confirmation and gratitude to their comfort.

"But, why, Ms. Zipp?" asked Mai worriedly. "Why go through the act with your sister and mother, anyway?"

"It's kinda personal but...... Mom usually told us that it's to make our subjects feel safe which she thinks is important since I'm the heir to her throne, being her oldest child and Pipp will be mine years later. But, the thing is, I hate that........ I don't want to be queen; all those speeches, that event planning, the royal gatherings, it's...... Well, it's just not my dig, it was meant to be hers! I didn't ask to become queen, never have, never will! Pipp has her performance career and her fans but me - I don't really have anything. I'm nothing but one of the royal daughters to everyone, I'm still searching for what'll make me somepony, somepony special for reasons other.....For other than the crown."

"You mean, you're searching for something that'll let everybody know the real you and not your royal status?" Camo blinked in surprise.

"So, that's why you were a little rusty with your sister when she lied to us as she did!" Twilight said.

"And, why she flew in those videos of herself," added Nova thoughtfully.

"I get it, you feel like you're not ready or you don't want to take your mother's place and be queen someday," frowned Sarah sadly, feeling sorry for Zipp in her current predicament. "That's a given since you being distant from your family showed that you're no longer willing to go along with the Big Lie, right?"

Zipp just nodded. “Exactly, that's why I come down here – to get away from all of that, and...well, to do this."

To show what she meant to everybody, with a canter and a leap, Zipp did some parkour as she landed on a lever, activating whatever machinery is in the room, turning on a giant fan she found long before meeting the gang to spring to life, blowing a gust of air to carry her up high as she spread her wings. Zipp laughed happily as she did some flips and a few loops as she made use of the current blowing at her; as everyone saw, she felt happier and free from her stringent of a royal lifestyle and living the Big Lie 24/7.

"Wow!"

"Awesome!"

"Phenomenal!"

"Amazing!"

"Impressive!"

"Whoa, her sparkle is so bright now!" Sunny, Sarah, Tsukumaro, Nikki, James, and Izzy cried and squealed in delight as Zipp glided back down to them and out of the fan's air current.

"But, that's not why I brought you all here. This is what I wanted to show you," she explained, turning everyone's attention to what was left of a large stained glass window on the wall that she pointed, showing a familiar pink star on the top.

"Oh, my stars.......!" gasped Sunny, looking down on the star on her journal's cover and seeing the stars on it and the window match.

"This was made a long, long time ago. When we still had magic and we all lived happily together along with the Pokemon and dragons of this world........"

"It's beautiful!" Izzy commented ecstatically.

Everyone looked at the other stained glass windows that had been scattered and uncovered by Zipp when she first discovered the area and were in awe of what was depicted in some legends pertaining to them to Ponykind before they were lost. But, one picture on the window caused Sarah to gasp in shock for on the window, there was a picture of two Alicorns (male and female) holding her family's Sun Sword and Moon Shield together in the air.

"Mom, Dad! Tsukumaro, guys, come over here!" she shouted. "Are those Alicorns really-?!"

"What is it, honey?" asked Nikki as she, James, Tsukumaro, Sunny, Zipp, and Izzy joined her.

"Sarah, are you okay?" quizzed Sunny, concerned as Sarah trembled.

"NO! I-It can't be, it's them! It really is!" gasped Tsukumaro as he saw the window picture of King Doug and Queen Delilah as Alicorns and with their heirlooms and also began to tremble. "My Lord and Lady, they're both depicted on that window!"

"No way!" gasped Izzy.

"Boy, there's something that's a sign to their having been here before!" added James, gawking in shock.

"Guys, are you seeing King Doug and Queen Delilah on that picture over there?" replied Zipp as she came alongside and smiled sadly at the two Alicorns depicted on the window. "Legend has it that they were the greatest Allies Equestria had ever known back then, spreading love and friendship all over the land during their time when...... They suddenly vanished, without warning."

"Oh yeah, I know that......." replied Sarah, her sorrow taking over as she remembered what happened to her real parents.

Sunny then looked towards a picture of a Pegasus pony with some sort of wing-like crystal to help spread light, love, friendship, and cheer to Equestria alongside Doug and Delilah, the crystal getting her attention. Turning away from the window, however, Sarah decided to look amongst the stained glass pictures that had been scattered around the area for any more hidden leads on her parents.

"What's that?" she questioned.

"That's the Pegasus Crystal known as the Wings of Loyalty," Zipp replied knowingly. "It's part of my mom's crown."

"Hmm, where's the Unicorn Crystal?" Sunny quizzed herself, seeing that the picture of a Unicorn helping to bring peace to the world was missing something, like another crystal to go along with the Wings of Loyalty.

But, just as she found the crystal in the form of a diamond, and showed her new friends how it fits with the Wings while coming up with a plan to bring back magic to Equestria.......

"Uh, guys.......?" Sarah spoke up, getting everyone's attention as they turned to Sarah as she found a stained glass window that depicted Pokemon and dragons fighting together against a menacing Alicorn mare. "I think you might want to take a look.......

Everyone came over and looked at the picture she found, most of them gasping in stunned horror and shock as they saw what she saw.

"No way, those are Pokemon!" gasped Sugarcake, seeing the pokemon on the picture along with the dragons. "And, dragons, too!"

"Is that an Alicorn?" gawked Sugarcoat, seeing the Alicorn mare and what a monster she is. "She sorta looks like you in a way, Sarah."

"But, it's definitely not friendly and I don't think Sarah had anything to do with this," replied Siren as he observed the mare as well. "It looked like that mare was out for something but not just blood."

"Zipp, what is this? What did this window tell you when you found it?" Sarah asked the rebellious princess.

"Oh, that....... That window is actually the Legend of Scarlet Nightmare," Zipp replied, looking grim.

"The Legend of Scarlet Nightmare?" echoed Sunny in surprise and confusion. "I've never heard that before."

"It's a legend that Equestria would never forget; it was the catalyst that started the decline of magic until our world is what you see now," Zipp lectured, still looking grim but with a twinge of sorrow as she looked out to the horizon on the open part of the window from before.

"Many moons ago in our world, Pokemon and dragons had once lived together in harmony with us ponies when we were still all united. The dragons were our greatest companions as they brought us rain and peace along with our Pokemon partners, families, friends. It was paradise as they were the protectors of Ponykind. But, everything changed with the appearance of Scarlet Nightmare, an Alicorn of terrifying power most know as the 'Ancient Evil' who's dark magic allowed her to create Shadow Pokemon and Shadow Dragons, creatures of darkness that fed on the fear, hatred, anger, mistrust, xenophobia of everyone around them, multiplying as they turned anything and anypony into stone. The Pokemon and Dragons all came together and fought the best that they could for us but it wasn't enough and we nearly lost all of them to her dark magic........”

Zipp looked down with a heavy sigh as she continued, "That's, believe it or not, when King Doug and Queen Delilah managed to banish her and her creations after a long-fought battle, restoring everypony and all of the dragons and Pokemon to life. But, that peace wasn't to last; after she was defeated, Ponykind feared both dragons and Pokemon and the danger they would pose despite the fact that they've been our loyal friends, family, and so much more...... And, as you know, the rest is history."

"So, after they were banished, the magic started to disappear from our world," Sunny realized before she slowly turned to Sarah, her adopted parents, and Tsukumaro in utter surprise. "Their being banished must've tied into the loss of Equestrian Magic with us and since you guys came here together, you've had your own Equestrian magic all along! This, th-this is incredible!"

"Yeah, and what's even crazier, those dragons here in the legend are nothing like the dragons of Berk!" stated Star in shock as she looked at the dragons in the picture. "They looked like those dragons from that Disney movie, Raya and the Last Dragon, that we once saw!”

"And, even those Shadow Pokemon and Dragons sound like the Drunn from that movie!" Skylar added, startled from what she heard.

"Do you know what happened to them after they were kicked out, Ms. Zipp?" Tsukumaro pondered.

"All I know is that they now live in a place called the PokeDragon Isles, just north of Bridlewood," Zipp answered before she solemnly went to a second tapestry on the room's right side and pulled it back. "But, not all of them made it to the Isles....."

Sans Zipp (solemnly smiling at the statues), everyone was left in awe and bewilderment from what they saw behind the tapestry she pulled back; behind it there stood eight stone statues (four Pokemon and four dragons together). With the dragons, they all resembled the dragons from Raya and the Last Dragon in terms of their appearance, all of them having long, spindly bodies along with hair serving as their manes and one or two horns on their heads but shaped differently to differentiate them.

As for the Pokemon statues alongside them, they had some faded color on them in contrast to their grey bodies and they all looked different with their appearances as well. But, their stonified forms made it hard to see the details on their bodies, and the only thing they can point out was that they're all the same size as Umbreon's daughters.

"Everyone, I want you to meet my family's Pokemon and dragon friends. The Pokemon here are as follows - Helioseon: the Solar Eclipse Pokemon; Thundereon: the Thundering Pokemon; Freezeon: the Brain Freeze Pokemon and Seleneon: the Lunar Eclipse Pokemon, Helioseon's sister."

But, the sad frown on Zipp's face prior returned as she looked from the Pokemon statues to the dragon statues as she introduced them, "And, my dragon friends, Tamu, Sefu, Drake......"

She then turned to the final dragon as she tried to keep her emotions in check. "And, Ryu, he's my big brother and the one who understood me the most. I miss them........" she finished, wiping away a tear.

"Incredible! So, besides us with Sarah, Tsukumaro, Nikki, and James, these four dragons and four Pokemon with you in this room are the last ones to ever stand on this land even when in stone," Kurma observed in awe.

"I never knew there were still dragons and Pokemon living in Equestria in some form," breathed Blossom, stunned as she looked at the stonified Seleneon.

"We all didn't, honestly," Sokka admitted, also amazed while he, Persian, and Kurma checked out the statue of Tamu as Zipp smiled softly in response.

"Yeah. See that girl along with Thundereon - that's Tamu, she has the power of Invisibility, my Mom's closest friend, her sister under the skin and feathers. Sefu, she's best at Illumination, always was a great night light for Pipp and I when we were fillies and on dark nights. Drake - a shapeshifter, always had a knack for putting on a show as someone else whenever he can. And, Ryu - he brings the rain."

"And, these guys became statues to save everybody back then?" Izzy quizzed, thunderstruck at the sight of the dragon and Pokemon statues.

"Were they really that special to you, being part of your family?” asked Shadow with a gentle and sympathetic frown.

Zipp nodded again. "I was devastated along with Pipp when we heard the news that Ryu and the others gave themselves up to save everyone with Doug and Delilah's help, even more so when I found them like this when I discovered these ruins. When Scarlet attacked and Tamu was turned to stone, helping to save all of us, Mom lost it. She felt like she lost a part of herself that day, Tamu was everything to her just as we and our subjects were."

Curious as to know what exactly transpired during the last battle between Equestria's final defenders and Scarlet, Zorua and Mischief went over to Ryu's statue form, carefully climbed up his body, and then, gently touched his chest as they tapped into their illusion flashbacks and showed everyone what had happened in the chaotic struggle that ensued.

(Flashback)

It was the tail end of the Legend of Scarlet Nightmare and everywhere in Equestria, her forces of Shadow Dragons and Shadow Pokemon spawned throughout the world and laid waste to everything that crossed her path, turning every last pony of all species including the dragons and Pokemon that swore to defend and protect their friends and families was turned to stone and destroying many buildings in cities and towns and other landmarks until nothing was left.

All except for one tiny spot, a moderate amount of land including a battered castle at the top of a mountain that would eventually form the basis of Zephyr Heights, a storm raging in the background as a group of ten were fighting against Scarlet herself along with whatever of her forces joined her. She looked to be a tall, red Alicorn mare standing at 8'00" with black armor, a flowing red mane coated in a black transparent layer along with bat-like wings and a horn while cackling at the defenders as they were thrown together and surrounded.

The heroes being rag-dolled in the fight were shown as Helioseon, Thundereon, Freezeon, Selenon, Tamu, Sefu, Drake, and Ryu, who were the last dragons and Pokemon still standing. With them are King Doug and Queen Delilah (both of them as alicorns), also being thrown to them after their own scuffle with some of Scarlet's minions.

"Come on, Ryu, you and your friends have lost! Face the truth, I'm the only one in this world who will lead this world to eternal glory," sneered Scarlet, taking delight into the heroes' predicament as they tried to figure out what to do. "Why fight and delay the inevitable, those 'princesses' and their friends foolishly thought they can take on me since they believed that 'friendship is magic' and it can solve all problems, HA! How pathetic......!"

Everyone gathered on the heroes' side looked around as they saw the situation looking more and more hopeless and Delilah and Doug looking hopelessly at their dragon and Pokemon friends.

By the sound of Scarlet's gloating, it seemed as though the original defenders of Equestria were killed by Scarlet and were no match for her evil might which left them and their eight friends as the only ones surviving to end the war against the monstrous Alicorn.

But, rather than accept defeat, Helioseon and Ryu (the latter remembering Zipp and wanting his little sister safe from harm) decided to take the first step in the heroes' last stand against their common enemy. They weren't going to let everyone they know and love die by her mad hooves and since she even hinted that she'll do the same to Zipp and the rest of their family, now it's personal.

"Not in a million years," retorted Ryu quietly.

As he said this and shared a knowing nod with the Solar Eclipse Pokemon, he cupped a nearby puddle of water in a small crater on the floor, clasped them together with Helioseon transferring his power to whatever he's creating, and together, they made three crystals: the Wings of Loyalty, the Unicorn Crystal being the Unicorn's Eye, and the Earth Pony Crystal called the Earth Pony Hope.

Seeing what Ryu did and knowing what this would mean for the Ponies, Pokemon, and dragons that were to be brought back and/or survive Scarlet and her wrath, they knew they had to make the ultimate sacrifice. United in their cause, Ryu's siblings, Thundereon, Freezeon, and Seleneon all transferred their power to the crystals and when they had finished, they turned to Doug and Delilah, trusting them to finish the job for them.

The two thunderstruck Alicorns didn't know what to think as they were about to have a major responsibility thrusted on their shoulders but Ryu and Helioseon just smiled encouragingly at them as the former handed the two the crystals after he combined them.

The group looked at Doug and Delilah one last time as they all gave trusting smiles to them before a Shadow Pokemon came and turned them to stone but not without Ryu saying one last time, "Take care of them......"

This final sacrifice from them and what they left for the two was enough for Sarah's real parents to take action and thus, end Scarlet's wrath in their honor and memory. They then looked at each other and nodded and, harnessing the power of all three crystals left for them along with the Sun Sword and Moon Shield in their magical grasp, they blasted Scarlet and her forces, banishing them from Equestria.

(Flashback ends)

Sunny, Izzy, and the others (sans a sorrowful Zipp still looking at her dragon brother) were left speechless, all of them in awe by what they had witnessed from Ryu's final memories before he, his siblings, and their Pokemon companions were turned to stone and Scarlet was first defeated.

"Zipp, I'm so sorry," Sunny began after a while, now feeling sorry for Zipp and what she, Pipp, and Queen Haven have lost. "I had no idea how much they meant to you all"

"That's really, very sad......" frowned Izzy sadly.

"So, Mama's parents were able to stop that big Alicorn meanie with their sword and shield before they had to do the same with Lothor, Team Eclipse, and Necrozma," gasped a stunned Nebby.

"And, they had to beat her with those crystals that Ryu, his siblings, and your Pokemon friends made to save you all and Equestria, right, Ms. Zipp?" Nebula added, getting another confirming nod from the distraught Pegasus as she approached Ryu's statue and embraced him, starting to cry again.

"He was everything to me along with Pipp before everything that happened now," she said honestly, nuzzling her lost brother. 

"They were all great Pokemon and dragons to us, greater than anypony could possibly imagine. Pipp, Mom, and I thought they were the best in the world after everything they did; those buffoons that put those awesome guys down don't even see what we saw in them....... Mom became a broken pony after we lost them. If I could bring them back, even for just one day, it would change everything for everypony. Then, we may be a family again......."

Sarah walked over to Zipp and placed a reassuring hoof on her shoulder, deciding to do something for her involving her lost extended family. "We'll get them back, Zipp. If Scarlet somehow managed to break free from whatever magic my parents used to seal her away and is responsible for the magic being gone as well, she'll be sorry she ever messed with us, even you."

Zipp looked towards Sarah and seeing her reassuring smile (her drive and flame to help save Equestria reforged and rekindled by what she had shown and explained to them), nodded warmly and happily, knowing that joining forces with her new friends would surely bring Ryu and her family's friends back.

Sunny felt the same way and turning back to the stained glass window Zipp had shown them, she saw the glass representation of the Unicorn's Eye she found and looked to a reflection of the Wings of Loyalty on the floor. Getting an idea as she saw an opening from the Wings, she slid the Eye into place, showing a perfect fit between them.

"Look," she called, getting everyone's attention as they saw what she did.

"They fit?" blinked Izzy.

"Check it out, these two crystals belonged together, united. It's just like what Ryu and your family did when they made them for King Doug and Queen Delilah to use against Scarlet, Zipp!"

"So, what are you saying?" the confused Pegasus asked her.

"Maybe you lost your magic because the crystals were separated," Sunny theorized. "If we can get the Wings of Loyalty and the Unicorn's Eye, we can put them back together and the magic will be back!"

"I don't know, Ms. Sunny. That sounds way too simple to be true and I have a feeling it's more complex than that," warned Tsukumaro, suspicious in that Sunny's theory has a lot of holes in it and it doesn't make much sense.

"Tsukumaro's right, Sunny. What good would that theory do?" Sarah added, concerned that Sunny's jumping the shark. "Magic is usually very complicated and simply sticking them together just doesn't hold water."

"But, think about it, guys! Maybe it's not as complex as you might think," suggested Izzy, nevertheless getting in with Sunny's theory along with Zipp. "If we can get them and put them back together......."

"Then, the magic will return?" finished Zipp.

"And, not only will all three Ponykinds will get along again but the Pokemon and dragons that have been banished will return again if Scarlet rears her ugly head and flank again!" nodded Sunny. "They'll finally know that we still deserve them and each other as friends and family and will have to come back to help us stop her if she shows up again!"

"Alright!"

"WHOO-HOO-HOO!" hollered Izzy and Zipp.

But, Sarah was worried for Sunny and what she had in mind to save Equestria; thinking back to the flashback of Ryu, his family, their Pokemon friends, and her real parents fighting one last time against Scarlet Nightmare and succeeding, she had a funny feeling that Sunny was way in over her head with her current theory. She and Tsukumaro still think that it's never as simple as it sounds and there was something missing in her reasoning besides the crystals themselves.

"I have a bad feeling about this....... Magic has always been complicated and is either not told in great detail or simply unexplainable unless one performs it to get even a basic understanding of it," Sarah thought worriedly as she looked at Sunny.

"Sunny doesn't realize that it's not something like crystals that can make friendships real, it's the people, ponies, Pokemon, dragons, any and all creatures that make them happen when they take the first step. What Sunny's hoping for to happen is nothing but a pipe dream and something out of a literal fairy tale and this problem can't be solved as simply as that. Come on, Sunny, please be realistic. The only way for us to restore your magic and Equestria is to get everyone to trust each other, it's all about trust! You need to understand this if we're going to stop Scarlet and end this madness!"

"But, what about the Unicorn's Eye? How will we know if the Unicorns really have it?" Zipp questioned, wondering how they're going to start.

Izzy smiled to them as she said, "Well, if you're looking for crystals including the Unicorn's Eye, we've got a gazillion of them in Bridlewood. So, even if nopony welcomes you when you get there unless you're a Unicorn, if you want your crystal, you'll get to the right place."

"Then, that's where we're heading next," Sunny declared before she turned to Zipp. "After we find a way to get the Wings of Loyalty from your mom, of course."

"Ugh...... Problamo," Zipp cringed in worry and annoyance. "She's never taken it off and she keeps it on her to remind her of Tamu, it's like she's still with her whenever she has it with her at all times even if she's gone from our lives."

"She never takes it off?"

"Even when she sleeps?!" Nikki and James gasped in bewilderment.

"Never, nor when she goes for a shower or a swim in the pool. Even I don't get why she doesn't take it off if it meant for her to be separated from a potential sliver of Tamu; even if she didn't want to admit it, she honestly wanted her back more than anything which is why she clings onto it as much as she can."

 "Well, that is a problem," Winter pondered.

"Yeah, she needn't obsess over it just because she desperately wants her best friend back in private and she wants to keep an aura of superiority on her that's under the guise of an intentional lie for whatever greater good she thinks of," Star grumbled, rolling her eyes.

"I don't even want to think about coming across that insolent hag again after what she did to poor Sarah," Ruby rebuffed, Sapphire nodding in agreement with her head-mate.

"Yeah, she made her blow up last time with her previous insults about dragons and Pokemon," agreed Flora.

"How are we going to get the Wings of Loyalty as long as she keeps her hooves on them all day and all night for as long as she lives?" asked Sunset.

Suddenly, Zipp gasped as she remembered the celebration that Pipp would be throwing for their and Queen Haven's subjects in the coming night. "I got it! Pipp's performing at tonight's royal celebration; all eyes will be on her, especially my mom's. She'll be distracted by then, so we'll just swap the real crown with a fake," she suggested.

"And, how exactly do you plan to get one at this time of day?" Eternatus quipped skeptically. "If anything, she may be a total jack with what she tried to do with us and with how she broke my pipsqueak but she's no fool. She's bound to know something's amiss, eventually."

"I can craft a decoy!" Izzy added as she bounced excitedly. "But, I'll need a box of macaroni, a tube of luge, 14 gooey bunnies, and three jellybeans! Ooh, and glitter, lots of glitter!"

"Are you guys sure your decoy is going to pass off for the crown when we get the Wings of Loyalty?" Dart questioned, unsure of what to make of the decoy plan.

"What if Pipp figures out what you're planning to do and then rats you out?" added Pouncer as Ruffrunner nodded in agreement.

"It'll work, Dart, Pouncer. Trust me, it'll only be for until we get the Unicorn's Eye and see if Sunny's theory works. In the meantime, I'll go and get the supplies," reassured Zipp Storm as she then laid down the groundwork for their decoy ploy. "First, I'll pass them off to Sarah. Tsukumaro, and Sunny. Then, they will get them to you. Once you produce the decoy, get your flanks back to the palace. Everypony who's anypony will be there so security will be tight. I'll distract them so you guys can sneak in."

"Maximum sneaky!" Izzy stated with a grin as Zipp produced a map.

"Right, but you need to be stealthy, be like the ninja. Carefully make your way to the Grand Hall but watch out for the guards when you get there. I'll open the door to the backstage of the throne room. Here's a map of the entire palace so you don't get lost."

"Alright!" Izzy cheered, already liking Zipp's plan.

"And, once Pipp starts singing, my mom will be so caught up with her performance, swapping the crowns will be easy-breezy."

"Easy-breezy, sure," commented Sunny.

"I don't like this, girls. We've got ourselves a few snags right off the bat with this plan even though it's the only one we have right now," replied Sarah, knowing that it had to be done but feeling doubtful at the same time.

"One of them would be involving my family and since your mom and Pipp were already given a start by them along with the guards, Zipp, they won't hesitate to pick us off. I suggest that they hide somewhere in the city or in the palace where nobody can find them and take them from me. I don't want to run into those Zoom and Thunder guys given how clumsy and crazy they were before and if they ever try to take them from me again."

"I definitely don't think we can take another meltdown like that when those guards and that queen made you go wild, Sarah," agreed Raikou.

"So, that's it? We'll be sitting ducks on this one until the crown swap is finished?" groaned Jolteon. "This is lame, I need action! Let us have a go at it, too!"

"If you want to get yourself somehow beaten to a pulp if you attract unwanted attention during the mission, Jolteon, be our guest," Arcanine retorted, calling out her bluff.

"I can give Zippy a hand with distracting them, they won't know what hit 'em! Besides, I need payback for them humiliating us and Sarah when they took us from her and nearly kicked us out! I heard Queenie's stupid rant from my Pokeball!"

"There's no point in dealing with her, Jolteon. We don't want to cause any trouble and we're here to help restore Equestria, remember that," reminded Umbreon to his Electric Type daughter.

"I think we better sit this one out, too. We don't want to go through a repeat of that as well," suggested Siren to Sunny.

"Okay, but stay close to Sarah's family so you don't somehow get separated behind our backs, Si," Sunny relented.

"There's an alleyway that's just big enough for all of them to lay low until we got the Wings of Loyalty and get out of here," Zipp requested. "It's right down from the palace and it should be perfect for them."

"Right," Sarah nodded.

"We'll make sure to look after them until you're done with the plan and you got the Wings, Ponchita," reassured James.

"If there is any sign of trouble when you do get them or you end up close, we'll regroup and come up with a Plan B or otherwise," Nikki agreed.

"I'm worried about what can go wrong at any time should anybody suspect us but it looks like we'll have to risk it no matter what," mused Azul.

"Yes, since Queen Haven forced Sarah to reveal who she really is, no doubt she'll be sending out arrest warrants and have some of the Pegasi keeping their eyes and ears open for us," Entei agreed grimly.

"I think we got our work cut out for us this time with what we're up against," Nico stated.

"Princess, are you sure you want to do this, after everything you've been through earlier today?" warned Calyrex (in Shadow Rider Form). "There could be a chance for those Pegasi to do you and your friends along with Tsukumaro real harm and we don't want anything to happen to you."

"This may be our only chance to take another step in restoring Equestria and I think Sunny needs a nudge in the right direction, I sensed that she's making it sound too simple with her previous theory," Sarah explained to the High King Pokemon.

"Besides, if this is all the work of Scarlet and if she did somehow break from my parents' seal, with the power of the crystals waning over many moons after everything we saw from Ryu's memories, we don't have a choice. I know I was hit hard by Queen Haven's crazy rant but I know now that she's also suffering after she, Pipp, and Zipp lost their extended family. I have to help them in order to bring back Tamu and Ryu along with their siblings and their Pokemon friends, for their sakes, for Zipp's sake."

"........I understand," Calyrex relented.

"We understand as well, Princess. Promise us you'll all be careful," Cobalion replied, giving her a hardened but relenting look of approval.

Sarah nodded, "I will."
> Glowin' Up
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that night, Sunny and her friends are all putting their plan to take the Wings of Loyalty into action, being in position behind Queen Haven's throne and in anticipation of the upcoming show. Nikki and James, in the meantime, managed to gather their family, Sugarcake, Siren, and Sugarcoat into the alleyway Zipp mentioned to them and they braced themselves for what was about to come later on. It was a major gamble for all of them to make in order to take that next big step to restore Equestria and bring back the lost friendships and love between the ponies, Pokemon, and dragons, especially with the stakes by their knowing of Scarlet Nightmare and the possibility that she's responsible for the world being in such strife.

Upon the perch from the throne room, Zipp was leaning against the railings along with her mother and little sister, who came to see her before the show would begin soon. She could only hope that their plan would be foolproof enough that'll allow them and herself to "borrow" the Wings of Loyalty for the sake of restoring their homeland and bring back their extended family and Pokemon friends.

"I've heard you've been visiting our guests, child," Queen Haven began as she was powdering herself to spruce up her appearance.

"Huh? Pipp told you about that?" she gawked in shock at her.

"Oh, you know she tells me everything. Never one to miss a trick when it comes to you and how much of a rebel you are. Honestly, I wish you would tell me more about your insecurities and your ideas for the future. You're going to be queen one day and your sister long after depending on what you do to further propel us to prosperity and happiness. You'll wear this crown one day when I step down. And, trust me, this thing is much, much heavier than it looks." 

"Actually, Mom, there's something I want to tell you and Pipp that's really important," Zipp began, frowning towards her mother as she explained. "The Unicorns, they don't have any magic. I've been doing a lot of thinking and I think it's tied to the fact that we can't fly for some-"

"Zephyrina! Where did you get such an idea?! Oh, I just don't know what I'm going to do with you, young mare!" groaned an aghast and shocked Queen Haven as she turned to her eldest daughter.

"I don't know what kind of foolish things those Unicorns have been putting into your head since they came here but you must remember that we have a duty to protect our citizens. The Pegasi are all happy enough knowing that we royals can fly and they can't. Why would you ever want to disrupt things as a result of your careless behavior even if it's for the best?"

"It's a lie, I don't want to live it anymore! What would be the point of it all?"

"It makes them feel safe and our lies being exposed is what scares me the most. When everybody knows that everything's a lie in the end and we've given them false hope, the Pegasi will rebel and they'll demand answers as to why we lied to them. How do you think they'll react to the truth once you tell them?"

"But, none of it would've mattered anyway if the Pegasi eventually find out and start questioning things. They're not stupid even they're being told lies daily."

"Yes, but nevertheless, our lies will continue to make them feel safe no matter what. One day, you'll understand. Your sister does......." reaffirmed Queen Haven much to Zipp's disgruntlement as Pipp arrived, being carried on wires and scatting as she warmed up her vocals. "Oh, here she is now."

"Showtime!" Queen Haven announced, spreading her wings proudly as the lights dimmed.

Then, the sound of upbeat pop music played in the background as the royals were carried up and gently lowered into the throne room. "Remember to smile!" she chirped to her daughters as they flapped their wings.

"Ugh!" Zipp groaned in disdain, as both she and her mom took their seat on their thrones.

Cloudpuff yapped as he took a sit besides Queen Haven. Looking behind her mother's throne, Zipp looked to see Sunny, Izzy, and Sarah, were all in place for the next phase of the plan. Just as Zipp had said, her sister, Pipp, made a grand entrance above her adoring fans, as she proceeded to sing, and "fly" to further captivate the audience.


(Pipp Petals)



We got the light



We’re coming in stronger



We’re in it together



If you want it it’s all inside your mind



We got thе light



Won’t wait any longer



We’ll get it togеther



If you want it then you can paint the sky


Just as Zipp said, all eyes were all on Pipp's performance, including Queen Haven's. Though, even Sunset Shimmer couldn't help but whistle as she bopped her head to the rhythm of Pipp's singing.

"Wow, she's got nice sets of pipes!" Sunset commented.

"Uh, Sunset?" Sunny called, as she stood on top of Izzy. "Little help here?"

"Oh, right," Working her magic, Sarah levitated Sunny up, until she's right on top of Queen Haven's throne.


Used to care what they'd say



Let 'em into my brain



But I found a new way



Ooh-hoo-ooh



Every time I fall down



I pick it up like rebound



Gotta get through somehow


From there, Sunny made the swap with the fake crown that Izzy had crafted, while Sunny stole the real crown. Once the task was done, Sarah gently placed Sunny back on the floor, before she walked over to inspect the pegasus crystal embedded crown.

"Huh, so this is the pegasus crystal?" Sarah looked over the crown.

"Yeah!" Sunny nodded before putting the crown in her saddlebag. "C'mon! Next stop is Bridlewood!"

With that, the three mares galloped towards the nearest exit. Unfortunately, a guard was at the door. Fortunately, he was too busy talking to someone, possibly his girlfriend, on the phone, to notice.

"No, you hang up," The guard insisted.

Sunny and Izzy quickly closed the doors, when they and Sunset heard a dog whimper, to which they turned to see the royal dog, Cloudpuff, growling and flaring up his wings.

Sunny and Izzy both let out a scream, while Sarah focused her magic to stop the dog in its tracks. But the dog continued to bark and wriggle in Sarah’s telekinetic grip.

"You're a spunky little one, aren't you?" Sarah said to the dog.


We don’t fly like we used to



We take what we’ve been through



And we can feel brand new



Ooh-hoo-hoo



I know I am a fighter, I feel the fire



I’m shinin’ brighter



Ooh-hoo-hoo


With Sarah holding off Cloudpuff, Sunny and Izzy galloped to another door, only to find Sheriff Hitch, in a paper-thin pegasus disguise, complete with a mustache.

"Sunny Starscout," The sheriff barked. "You're under arrest..." Before he could finish, Sunny closed the door on him.

Turning to another direction, Sunny and Izzy dashed off to find another way out, while Sheriff Hitch dashed in, only to find himself enchanted with Princess Pipp's performance, swaying his hip to the sound of her enchanting voice.


Glowin' up kind of love



Dip and slide through the cut



Glowin' up kind of love



We say "Hi", you say "What?"


Sarah was still wrestling with Cloudpuff, when the two guards from before caught her in the act.

"Hey!" The other guard shouted. "What are you doing with the queen's royal dog?"

"Uh...I was just playing?" Sarah grinned nervously, as she held the dog in her hoof and gave it a scratch behind the ears. "I just love dogs! And isn't he a cutie being a small puffball with tiny wings?" Unfortunately, the small dog wriggled himself free from Sarah’s grip. "H-Hey! Come back here!" With that, Sarah took off chasing the dog, with Thunder and the other guard exchanging agreement.

"I don't blame her," Thunder commented. "He is cute."


Everywhere that I’ve been



Yeah, they say I’m say different



But I’m good in my skin



Ooh-hoo-ooh (Hey)



If it doesn’t feel right



Break it in with tie-dye



And don’t you stop ’til sunrise


Cloudpuff dashed into the crowd of pegasus ponies, to forcing Sunset to sneak around the crowd in hopes of cutting off the little dog's escape at the other side. Unfortunately, she was too late. By then, Cloudpuff had gotten to Sunny and Izzy and stole the crown back, intent on giving it back to Queen Haven.

Sunny and Izzy gave chase, only to crash into Sarah in the process, "OOF!" The three mares grunted as they fell to the floor.

"Wipeout!" Izzy moaned.

Sunny looked up and pointed, "There he goes!"

Working up her magic, Sarah levitated Sunny and Izzy off of her, before they resumed the chase.


We don’t fly like we used to



We take what we’ve been through



And we can feel brand new



Ooh-hoo-hoo


Cloudpuff returned to the throne, wagging his tail as he sat at the base of the step. Before her mother had time to notice, Zipp quickly stepped in, struggling to pry the crown away from the dog. "Give me that!" Zipp grunted, pulling the tiara off, while Cloudpuff ran off with the pegasus crystal into the crowd.

At that moment, Sheriff Hitch had finally found his targets and was closing in on them. Thinking fast, Sarah beckoned both Sunny and Izzy to hide behind some curtains, while she stepped in and blocked Sheriff Hitch's path. "Get out of my way!" he ordered.

"Sheriff, I know you and Sunny go way back," Sarah began. "But you don't understand."


I know I am a fighter (Fighter), I feel the fire (Fire)



I’m shinin’ brighter



Ooh-hoo-hoo



We got the light



We’re coming in stronger



We’re in it together


"No, you don't understand!" Sheriff Hitch argued. "I'm trying to keep Sunny out of trouble!"

"By arresting her?" Sarah countered. "Yeah, real helpful."

"It's not like I wanted to put her in jail! She's at the point of no–" Before Hitch could continue, Cloudpuff arrived and crashed into the stallion's leg, dropping the pegasus crystal in the process. "Huh?"

When Hitch looked down, like all the little critters, the little dog immediately took an instant liking to the stallion.

"Hey, he likes you!" Sarah said to the stallion.

"I can see that," The sheriff replied. "What is it with me and critters?"

Before the conversation could continue, the spotlights began to flicker out of control, interrupting Princess Pipp's performance.

"What the..." Pipp said in confusion.

Next thing everyone knew, the spotlight shines on Sarah and Sheriff Hitch. The pegasus crowd all shared confused looks at the new ponies. Then, out of impulse, both Hitch started to dance and sing awkwardly:


(Sheriff Hitch)



Throwing up



Find a glove



Fly around,



bup-bup-bup



Doing stuff that I love



You're like, why?



I'm like what?


"What is happening?" Princess Pipp asked, unsure as to how her spotlight could be taken by the winged unicorn and strange pegasus.

Sheriff Hitch continued to sing awkwardly, with Cloudpuff howling with the stallion:


(Sheriff Hitch)



Crisp and dry



Eat some mud



Glowing up



Lovey dove...


As the show went on and everybody was none the wiser of Sarah, Sunny, Izzy, and Zipp's plan to take the Wings of Loyalty and make a break for Bridlewood with everyone else, a scream was heard and the crowd looked to see Pipp Petals suddenly zipping around and spiraling out of control. In the midst of the chaos that began to break out, Hitch had managed to sneak into Zephyr Heights and find Sunny along with her friends but was distracted when he was seen "dancing" with Queen Haven's dog, Cloudpuff (who had actually fallen in love with him while he had disguised himself as a Pegasus) with the Wings of Loyalty.

Seeing her chance, Zipp made her move as she took the Wings and left the dumbfounded Hitch with the royal dog while the rebellious princess regrouped with Sarah (who was wearing a hat Zipp had gotten for her to hide her horn earlier), Izzy, and Sunny.

"I got it!" Zipp cheered, handing Sunny the Wings.

"Yes!" smiled Sunny as they quickly took off and tucked it away in her saddlebag.

"Good job, Zipp! Ryu would be proud of you if he could see you now!" smiled Sarah to Zipp.

"Thanks, let's go!" nodded the rebel princess as she led the other three with her to an exit.

"Nice work with the lights earlier," Sarah completed Sunny and Izzy as they ran. "By the way, how did you two manage to do it with how tight security is? "

Sunny blinked in surprise as she admitted, "We didn't do anything!"

"But, we did meet this nice Pegasus backstage as we got there. But, he was scared of us and he jumped on this strange thingamajig with all the flashing buttons, the levers, and he just took off screaming!" chirped Izzy, still as optimistic as always.

"Let me guess; is he one of the Pegasi responsible for the lighting and who was in on the Big Lie?"

"FREEZE!"

"Hold it right there!" two loud voices barked, stopping the quartet in their tracks as they saw some Pegasi guards spotting them and gasping in shock.

"The prisoners!" another guard cried, seeing Zipp's friends.

At that moment, Pipp came swooping down as she was still out of control from her wiring system going haywire until she crashed into Hitch and knocked his fake wings off, blowing his cover. "Oh, boy......" he peeped meekly.

"It's another Earth Pony!" gasped a random Pegasus, pointing to Hitch as he panicked and fled, leaving a heartbroken Cloudpuff behind.

"Whoooooooooa!" cried Pipp helplessly as she then accidentally crashed into Sarah this time, consequently knocking her hat from Zipp off her head from behind.

"Look, the Winged Unicorn from earlier!"

"No, wait! Look at her!"

"Oh, my stars! She's not just a Winged Unicorn!"

"No! It can't be, it's not possible!"

"But, how?!"

"She's an Alicorn!"

"An Alicorn?!"

"I thought her kind was dead!" gasped some of the other Pegasi spectators in shock (some of them fainting as the sight of an Alicorn with them became too much for them to bear) when they saw Sarah pick herself up and realize that everyone was staring at her now that she lost her hat.

But, everybody's troubles were only going to get worse because when Pipp came to the end of her flight, she was hung upside down as the wires on her were shown in the spotlight, shocking the entire Pegasi crowd.

"That's not flying!"

"Oh, of all the-!"

"She's a fake Pegasus!"

"She's fooled us with those wires and lighting tricks!"

"A fake?!"

"FAKE!"

"Let's get her!" snarled the audience furiously with one of the reporters in the room snapping a photo.

"The royals can't fly, either?"

"Have they been lying to us all this time?"

"Why, those lousy, good-for-nothings, backstabbing, feather-brained weasels!"

"You're going to pay for making fools out of us!"

Pipp gulped as she realized she was in big trouble now along with her mother but when she looked around the room, in desperate need of help, she saw her older sister, who stopped to look at the commotion and had her sights on her.

"Zipp?" she pleaded, only to see her doing nothing as she looked sadly at her.

Zipp was conflicted on what to do; even though she and Pipp had always butted heads in one way or another, she still loved and cared for her. The rebellious princess knew that she wanted to be free from the stringent and overbearing annoyances of her royal lifestyle and the Big Lie she was forced to live but she didn't want Pipp to suffer for her selfishness no matter how badly she wanted to change her destiny. She also wondered what Ryu would say if she were to abandon Pipp now and go with Sunny, Sarah, her family, and Izzy to complete their common goal. Would he be ashamed, would he be mad, would he be disappointed in her for not caring for her family this time?

Sunny and Izzy were galloping their way towards the exit but Sunny bumped into Zipp as she realized that she and Sarah haven't rejoined them yet. "Zipp! Sarah, hurry!" she shouted, forcing the rebellious princess to follow but not after solemnly mouthing "I'm sorry" to her devastated little sister.

But, Sunny had also dropped the Wings of Loyalty from her saddlebag as Sarah quickly picked it up and saw the three of them leaving. "Sunny! Hey, wait! You forgot-Sunny! WAIT!" she shouted, being too late as they soon disappeared.

"Princess Pipp is a fake, she's going down hard! Who's with me?!" shouted an angry Pegasus spectator as Pipp's former fans raged on the frightened younger princess and her equally frightened mother.

Sarah gasped in horror as she heard the angry crowd of Pegasi voicing their agreement and saw Pipp being left hanging helplessly above the enraged crowd as her popularity took a nosedive. The human-turned-Alicorn knew that she made a vow to help Zipp bring back her extended family along with helping Sunny restore Equestria and defeat Scarlet Nightmare should she ever escape. And, seeing the two in such a mess and remembering the vow she made to Zipp, she knew she couldn't leave them alone, thinking Ryu, his siblings, and their Pokemon friends won't be so forgiving if they weren't saved.

With no other choice, Sarah quickly stashed the Wings into her Satchel, concentrated her magic (straining as she did so) as she focused on a spell, and shot it at Pipp as she disappeared and reappeared next to her mother. Queen Haven was shocked as she looked between her daughter and where she used to be.

"Wh-Pipp! You ca-b-what? H-How?! How is it-when?!" she stuttered, completely dumbfounded.

"I-I, I don't know, Mother! Someone saved me, but-?" Pipp began before they found themselves at the mercy of the outraged Pegasi as they accused and pointed their hooves furiously at them.

But, they soon forgot their rage as Sarah suddenly teleported between them and the disgraced royals in a flash of light (through a teleportation spell she and Tsukumaro managed to learn before coming to Zephyr Heights), spreading her wings out and shocking the crowd as they backed away from her in fear.

"You will not harm them by my order as the Sun Princess!" she declared angrily before she disappeared with a stomp of her front right hoof and another flash of light, taking Pipp and Queen Haven with her.

"What happened?!"

"That Alicorn, she's gone!"

"S-S-She has magic! And, she managed to take the royals as well!"

"We're all gonna die!"

"We're doomed! Doomed, I tell you!" the crowd now panicked, screaming in absolute terror as they tried and failed to comprehend what just happened.

With Sarah, she, Pipp, and Queen Haven reappeared just outside the castle in another ball of light. Of course, having not experienced something like teleportation in their lives, they both felt dizzy and dazed from having traveled in such a haphazard way.

"Whoa! My life just suddenly flashed before my-Oh......." groaned Pipp, trying to shake off her nausea. 

"You! Alicorn! I demand an explanation! What is the meaning of this?!" snapped Queen Haven, turning to Sarah. "Disrupting the royal celebration, the highlight of my daughter's career?! What are you playing at, a ploy to bring down my kingdom?!"

"Will all due respect, Your Highness, I was just trying to help," replied Sarah (trying to keep herself calm) as she glared back at the queen with an unfortunate Pipp stuck in the middle as she watched their spat (but also looking as miffed about everything). "If I hadn't used that teleportation spell, that crowd would've beaten you two to a pulp for the Big Lie you've made up."

"Oh, really? By stealing the spotlight when I least expect it, ruining my reputation AND my career in the process?" scoffed Pipp, feeling insulted. "Pfft! Yeah, right, some help you are."

"I'm serious, your career and reputation would've been busted regardless because somebody was bound to pick up that Big Lie sooner or later," retorted the Alicorn before the two, a little annoyed at them.

"Look, I'm sorry for going aggro on you all earlier today and I know I scared you to death with my outburst on what you planned to do with my family but that's not the point! My friends and I along with my family have a reason for doing all of this. We're trying to restore your magic as well as that of the Unicorns and the Earth Ponies as well as bring back your lost loved ones because of what this evil Alicorn from long ago, Scarlet Nightmare, had done. And, to do that, not only do we need your crystal along with two others known as the Earth Pony Hope and the Unicorn's Eye, we also needed your Wings of Loyalty."

To exemplify her point, she took out the Wings of Loyalty and presented it to them as she continued, "I now understand the pain you're going through from what Zipp told us earlier this afternoon so we needed this to-"

"Wait! Hold on, how did that get in there?" gasped Queen Haven in shock, seeing the Wings of Loyalty and the crown on her head. "If those are the Wings of Loyalty, then what have I been...... What is this?"

"It's a crown from my friend, Izzy. She's a real artist, runs in the Unicorns in us. I think you'll find it just as beautiful as the Wings of Loyalty, Your Highness."

Impressed by the detail, Queen Haven put the crown back on her head as she commented, "Hmm...... Good crafts-ponyship, not bad. But, still, I'm going to have you arrested and tried for sabatoge and I'll make sure you face justice for trying to steal my crown jewel! It was-!"

"FREEZE!" several voices shouted, causing the trio to turn and come face to face with an entire squadron of angry Pegasus guards surrounding them. "Queen Haven, you, your daughter, and the Alicorn are under arrest for conspiracy, deception, and treason amongst a host of charges I'm sure will be no cakewalk for you!" the leading commander spat angrily.

"Your days of royalty are numbered!"

"Surrender now or we'll drag you back by force!" added two more guards, just as furious as the squadron kept their spears pointed at them.

"......How DARE you betray me and my family! I'm your queen, you should serve me! I've kept you safe for many years with the Big Lie and this is how you repay me?!" snarled a shocked Queen Haven.

"If you've been honest with us about you traitors also not being able to fly like the rest of us from the start, we would've been more lenient on you! But, you decided to continue to play us for fools and your daughter helped you with your stupid act!" scoffed the commander. "And, because you've shown that you're a fake, you've shown why we can't trust royalty like you anymore! You also had the nerve to house an Alicorn, a creature that has never been seen nor mentioned in our records for many moons! And if that wasn't bad enough, with your lies, you've made complete fools out of us by believing that only royals could fly! As of this moment, we don't take orders from you anymore! You're coming with us whether you like it or not, all of you!"

The angry guards closed in on the three trapped ponies but not wanting her youngest daughter trapped in the mess they all made together, Queen Haven turned to Sarah and said, "You, Alicorn! Get out of here and take Pipp with you!"

A horrified Pipp turned to Queen Haven as she screamed, "W-Mom, NO!"

Smiling sadly as she held her daughter and kissed her before her arrest, she told Pipp, "It's alright, sweetheart, I'll be fine. Go, it's not safe for you here anymore, find your sister and get out of here!"

Then, she turned to Sarah one last time with a hopeful and slightly apologetic frown. "Look after her......." she said quietly.

Sarah was conflicted again but once again reminding herself of the vow she made to Zipp, she also steeled herself and nodded, before taking Pipp with her despite her protests and struggles to break from her magical grasp and teleported themselves to a separate alleyway. This left the stunned and shocked guards to arrest Queen Haven as they now saw no point in finding the fallen princess, thinking she would be toast along with Sarah since she didn't have the ability to fly either and they would find themselves in trouble to their liking.

In a separate alleyway, the Sun Princess managed to teleport herself and Pipp away from danger. But, once she was put down and back on her own hooves, Pipp was left crestfallen and devastated over the loss of her mother when she was arrested, angrily turning away from Sarah as tears of grief fell from her eyes.

"......Um, you're welcome?" Sarah called, raising an eyebrow.

"I never asked you to do this, I never asked for your help in anything," Pipp began, frowning with anger as she slowly got in her face and ranted. "Why would I bother thanking you for anything? You've ruined my show with your stupid transgressions, you've turned my own sister against me with your machinations, you've turned everypony against me and my mother back home while ALSO RUINING ME LIFE!"

"Excuse me? I went along with Zipp's plan because I wanted to help her and I made a personal vow to her! You ended your own life by living the Big Lie you and your mother made up! What makes you think I played a part in destroying it when it was your fault alone?!"

"You've ruined everything ever since you've set one hoof on Zephyr Heights and brought your monsters along with those two scumbags for ponies with you! And, you know what made it worse? The fact that you, YOU, are the only pony here in Equestria that-tha-that-t, you have WINGS, MAGIC! That suggests to me now that you're no ordinary pony! Zipp told us earlier that Unicorns don't have magic so how come you lied to her and us when she said YOU AND YOUR SO-CALLED FRIEND OF A UNICORN AND THE REST OF THOSE HORNED INGRATES DIDN'T HAVE ANY?!"

Sarah snarled as she was getting tired of Pipp trying to deny the truth and deflect whatever responsibilities she needed to take for her and her mother's actions for lying to their own subjects.

"Uh-Uh! Sorry, Ms. Oh-So-High-And-Mighty, but don't act like you're the only victim here! What I've done is purely out of self-defense and because I wanted to help you and Queen Haven, I couldn't just leave you high and dry when there was much more at stake than just your popularity! My actions don't even come close to you both lying to everybody 24/7 that only royals can fly and they can't!"

She then pushed Pipp away from her face as she continued, "You're a princess, and princesses are known to be fair, kind, just, and loyal, an inspiration to everyone in their own kingdoms. But, you told us earlier that only royals are only able to fly and instead of telling the truth, you and your mother decided to delude yourselves and your own subjects by promoting that lie and making everybody fall for it! Don't you even care that there are more important things in life than just being popular and that lying to them is only going to make things worse for both them and yourselves? This is why Zipp never went along with it; she was tired of living your Big Lie and deceiving herself and wanted something more to help her be somebody and not just a princess. Isn't that what telling the truth is for, to set you free from the pain you're all going through?"

"It doesn't matter now that my own sister backstabbed me and my mother was taken and with them being distant from my life, all I had left were my fans while I was popular until now! IT'S NOT FAIR! My own sister left me hanging by my wires, a fake unveiled from her smoke and mirrors before everypony's eyes! She could've done something to help me get out of that mess, but nooooo, she had to run off and I had to figure out how to get out of this jam before you interfered! I barely got away with you before they arrested Mom and all because my own dear sister couldn't find it in herself to put me first but SHE SOLD ME OUT BEFORE YOU SAVED MY SKIN!"

Pipp sniffed as she was lost in her anger and grief while she ranted again, "All my life, between her and Mom, I-I was like some kind of third-wheel pony hauling a two-horse cart. I had to be contented with Mom being the queen and Zipp being the heir since she was the eldest and next in line for the throne; she's always been the favorite between us. Me, I'm nothing with only a pretty voice to boot. Both of them never had time for me with their duties and all that, I was left in the dust by both of them because they had more important things to worry about other than spending time with me as they should've."

"You couldn't possibly know what it's like for me as the youngest daughter, trying to compete with Zipp for her attention just to get her to notice me when she would often tell me to stop fooling around with my phone and be like Zipp! When, in fact, there's only one of her, ONLY, ONE, ZIPP STORM?!" she finished before she finally broke down, sobbing heavily into her front legs as she laid down with her back turned.

Sarah was stunned by the gutwrenching truth; as Pipp and Zipp were Queen Haven's only two daughters, there was always going to be some form of sibling rivalry between them, even if they didn't notice it right away. And, not only that, Queen Haven was pulling off some favoritism when she was grooming Zipp.

She then realized why she had been livestreaming all the time and meddling with her phone; she was trying to fill in the void that Zipp and Queen Haven had left in her heart with her fans given her singing and performance career and vlogging. But, it was only a hollow comfort for her as her fans appreciated her for what she did and not for who she really is beneath the surface of being a princess. Pipp honestly felt like her own mother and sister didn't want anything to do with her and/or didn't have time to do anything with her in terms of family bonding between them. Now, with the reveal of her loneliness and the pain of having to deal with her own family be with her supporting what she can do and for who she's meant to be, it threw Sarah for a loop, and now, her opinion on her completely changed.

She was now starting to realize that given how close Ryu, his siblings, and their Pokemon friends really were to Zipp, Pipp, and Queen Haven, she realized that without them around after the dragons and Pokemon were banished, Pipp had no one else to turn to for help and to support her on her career and livestreaming.

Granted, Zipp and Queen Haven both suffered from the loss of her big brother and her closest friend but if any of them were close to Pipp, their loss after their banishment and stone-cold deaths by Scarlet Nightmare's power left her the most broken between them. So, to make up for that and believing her own family no longer cared for her, she decided to fill the void with her fans and fake friends from them when she started her performance career.

Now, Sarah felt sorry for Pipp so she decided to take the first step in trusting her as she stepped forward and placed a comforting hoof on her.

".......I'm sorry, Pipp. I had no idea that you felt that way," she began, a sympathetic frown on her. "You're right, I don't understand what you're going through. But, I think it's best for you to know......... Zipp, actually, doesn't want to be future queen, ever."

Pipp was surprised as she stopped crying and turned to the Alicorn, ".......W-What?"

"Zipp told me, my family, and my friends everything; she hated the thought of being Zephyr Heights' new queen and she would rather leave that responsibility to your mother. Hell, maybe she'd even consider you had she given you a nudge in the right direction. She's not ready to take up the crown yet but I don't think she ever will be given her rebellious nature. If anything, she actually admitted to us that she had nothing compared to you."

Pipp was shocked as Sarah continued to tell her about Zipp's true feelings, "I don't think you've heard this from her yet since she was training her parkour and didn't want any part of royalty but she was a little jealous of you. Your mother has the crown, you have your social media, performance career, and your amazing singing but Zipp....... She's got nothing, just, Zipp, and her princess title. She wanted something more, something to make her be her true self just as you were, Pipp."

"I.....I never knew," the former princess blinked, now understanding why Zipp was so distant as she was

"That was why she was being distant from you and your mother in the first place. She's been trying to find something else that'll make her special and unique and not just a princess ever since......you guys lost Ryu, his siblings, Helioseon, Seleneon, Thundereon, and Freezeon to Scarlet Nightmare's last attack many moons ago."

Pipp smiled sadly, remembering the dragons and Pokemon that had been extremely close to the three of them very well.

"Yeah, Tamu and the others....... They were all great friends to us, especially Tamu. She always brought up the best out of Mother, always chatting and hanging around with each other whenever she's herself and not just the queen. Ryu and Zipp, they're almost like brothers even though he's a dragon. Zipp always looked up to him and wanted to be a leader like him. The others and I, we got along so well together......."

Then, she frowned again as she remembered how broken they were from their greatest loss. "When they sacrificed themselves for us and the rest of Ponykind, especially Ryu with Zipp, we were all so devastated. Mom and I were heartbroken but Zipp was really devastated even if she didn't show it, it was like we all lost a valuable part of us...... I'm sure if they're here now and seeing what has become of our world along with what we've done, they would be very disappointed."

She then smiled at Sarah, now feeling grateful to her and Zipp along with her family and their new friends for actually doing her and Queen Haven a great deal, feeling as though a great weight was finally lifted off of her.

"I'm also sure that they'll be very proud of you for what you've done for us - me, Zipp, and Mom," she finished, a warm smile now on her face. "What happened earlier tonight was rough but now, I'm glad that the truth of us royals also not flying was finally out. Thanks, Sarah."

The Sun Princess nodded warmly as the two then shared a hug, a new friendship blossoming between them.

"Now, Pipp, I know it'll take a while to set things right back at Zephyr Heights and since you're a wanted mare now," she told Pipp as she brought up the Wings of Loyalty. "Let's find a way to get your extended family and friends back, starting with this and finding your sister. If the Wings of Loyalty have anything to do with helping us stopping Scarlet again, we'll need to bring it to them. I promise we'll explain everything once we find them."

"Okay," Pipp nodded with a soft smile.

Together, the two friends quickly set off to find everyone, knowing that the fates of Zipp, Pipp, and Queen Haven's loved ones and their Pokemon friends along with the rest of the world are now lying on their hooves along with everyone else's hooves, paws, and claws. With this, Sarah and Pipp started over and began a new friendship that'll propel everyone yet another step further to saving everyone and Equestria.





Meanwhile, as Sarah and Pipp made their way to the others, the sounds of police sirens filled the air as everyone in Sunny Starscout's party was galloping for their lives with Hitch following close behind. Sunny was shocked to see her childhood friend had tracked them all down to the Pegasi city as he did but she knew there were more dire matters to attend to as they had to get away from the Pegasus guards searching for them with Zipp leading the escape. They had even managed to meet up with Tsukumaro after he had to fight his way through some guards that were about to arrest him prior and they were all running together.

"Quick, this way! This is where Sarah's family is!" she shouted, guiding the group to take refuge in the alleyway Nikki, James, and Sarah's family all were. "Ok, I think.......I think we lost them!" gasped Hitch as he, Sunny, Zipp, and Izzy all panted in relief.

"Tsukumaro, Sunny, Izzy, Zipp!"

"What happened?"

"We heard the sirens going off earlier!"

"We were worried you might've been caught!"

"Are you all okay?" Hashimoto, Winter, Silver, Ching Wan, and Boltund asked worriedly.

"Okay, not that I'm suspicious or anything, really. But, how and when did the runt who started our whole journey show up?" Eternatus quipped, reminding the ambitious and hopeful Earth Pony of her childhood friend.

"Hitch, what are you even doing here?!" she asked in surprise.

"Looking for, arresting, and saving you," he answered before sarcastically continuing, "Yeah, all three of those things. So, you're welcome!"

"Oh, gee..... Thanks, but, we didn't need any saving, okay? We were doing just fine until you goofed everything up," Zipp snorted, rolling her eyes as she approached the headstrong yet paranoid detective. "And, who are you?" Hitch questioned.

"That fine pony you're speaking to is Ms. Zipp, Ms. Zipp Storm," answered Magearna as she approached them, making him yelp at her.

"Her mom is also the queen!" Izzy chirped again, surprising Hitch.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Hold on a minute," he blinked before he looked at Zipp, dumbfounded. "So, does that mean you're actually a princess?"

Zipp snorted amusingly and said with a mocking smirk, "Huh, well, look at that. The Sheriff of Maretime Bay promoted himself by becoming a detective."

"What?" Hitch chirped in annoyance as he deadpanned.

But, the banter was soon cut off as everyone took note of a TV screen in front of them from above announcing an urgent news broadcast. The news of Pipp and Queen Haven's lies about royals flying had gotten out in the open much sooner than anybody had ever anticipated as the city's top news reporters, Sky and Dazzle, appeared to share the new story with a photo of Pipp hanging upside down from her wires. It was clear the media was having a field day with what they had just discovered but indirectly from Zipp, Sarah, Izzy, and Sunny's actions.

"Welcome back to Zephyr Top Gear, mares and gentlecoats. In a recent hit of Breaking News, Zephyr Heights is now in a tremendous state of turmoil for tonight, there was a shocking revelation that the Pegasi royals can't fly. This was met with a huge public outcry by all the citizens as they demanded to know what the royals were playing at with their Big Lie," reported Dazzle, starting off the program.

The broadcast then cuts to an interview with a pegasus foal, talking into the microphone, "Pipp used to be my favorite."

"If we can't trust our own royalty, who can we trust?" another pegasus civilian asked hopelessly before the microphone was taken by a pegasus stallion.

"I blame the Unicorns and the Earth Ponies for this crap!" the stallion went on record to say. "They always ruin everything when you don't need them!"

"Forget them! What happened to that strange Alicorn who helped Queen Haven and Princess Pipp escape?" another pegasus asked, shoving the angry stallion to the side roughly, his question bringing a look of horror to Sunny.

"Alicorn?! Oh no, Sarah!" she gasped.

Izzy, Tsukumaro, and Zipp also gasped in horror and shock by the revelation; they were all so busy in their haste to try and get away from the chaos that ensued back at the palace with the Wings of Loyalty, they had accidentally left Sarah behind. "What did you do?!" cried Mai, aghast as she turned to the quartet. 

"I can't believe you!" 

"You bailed on Sarah after you got the Wings of Loyalty!" Mist and Spark snarled as Ruby and Sapphire went to soothe them.

"Give us one good reason why we shouldn't take you down for betraying her," warned Sokka as he prepared to use Razor Shell.

"How could you do this to Mom?! We're supposed to be friends!" snapped Blitz as Curly did her best to comfort her crush.

"It wasn't our fault, everything was in chaos while we were looking for the Wings! And, we were just desperate to get out!" Sunny defended.

"Well, look on the bright side, at least they managed to get away safely. Look!" Izzy replied, pointing back to the news broadcast as it showed Sarah teleporting with Queen Haven and Pipp, both in tow in a flash of light before Queen Haven's arrest.

"For the moment, with all the panic that has been stirred tonight, the Alicorn who assisted in their escape is still at large along with the royals," continued Sky. "But, rest assured, there will be serious consequences for them by the official word of the guards. For if anypony should find them within Zephyr Heights' boundaries, they're to be hunted down and arrested on the spot."

Then, Dazzle gave them an update which showed Queen Haven's arrest (much to Zipp's horror as she gasped and watched on) as she was escorted to prison by Thunder and Zoom, "This just in, Queen Haven has just been arrested for being a phony pony full of baloney!"

"No comments and no photos!" she huffed as she walked before she quickly changed her mind with a grin. "Okay, one photo."

"What was that all about?" asked Terrakion.

"What did you all do up there?" Kommo-o demanded firmly.

"Anypony else care to explain what's going on?" Hitch added, raising an annoyed eyebrow.

"I'm sorry but this is really important. We had to get the crystal, look!" Sunny defended, reaching into her saddlebag for the Wings of Loyalty, only to find nothing as she and Zipp were horrified. "Oh, no! No, no! No, n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-no, no! It's gone, I can't find it!"

"Seriously?!" Zipp cried. A whistle was heard, attracting everyone's attention as they saw Sarah with Pipp and the Wings of Loyalty in her magical grasp.

"Looking for this?" smiled Sarah smugly, twirling the Wings in her magic.

"Sarah!" cried Sunny, relieved as she ran up to and hugged her Alicorn friend. "You're alright!"

"AUNTIE!!!!!!!!" cheered the Night Lights, tackling her to the ground and giving her loving nuzzles, making her laugh and yelp at them.

"Oh, sweetheart, thank heavens!" smiled Nikki in relief.

"You really had us going for you there, Ponchita," joked James as Pipp cleared her throat, looking a little irritated as she glared at Zipp.

"Oh. Yeah, but......... You guys remember Pipp Petals, do you? I saved her from being arrested when this whole fiasco started," Sarah replied, directing everyone to Pipp as she marched up to her sister.

"Oh boy, here we go," groaned Zorua with an annoyed eye-roll.

"This again with the drama queen?" Hurricane sighed in exasperation.

"Will somepony please explain to me why THAT THING was so important to you all that you had the nerve to come in and ruin my whole show over it, essentially making me the laughing stock of all of Zeyphr Heights?" she snarled, pointing at the Wings in Sarah's grasp.

"Trust me, Pipp, it was," Zipp replied, galloping to her sister as she angrily got in her face.

"Don't you start now, Zipp! You could've bailed me out when I was stuck up there but you threw me out and left me hanging until Sarah came in and saved my skin for you! Now, because of you, everypony knows that we can't fly apart from her and that other Pegasus!"

A vibration from Pipp's phone caused them to cut their conversation short as they looked to a news update from the Zephyr Top Gear with Dazzle giving the update and showing a mugshot of Queen Haven. "In yet another update for our breaking news, arrest warrants are being made for Zipp Storm and Pipp Petals," continued Dazzle.

"Pipp! Zipp! Please, save yourselves! Run!" Queen Haven exclaimed dramatically before she posed for another photo snap of her profile.

Zipp and Pipp were both horrified by what had happened and they knew that they and their new friends were at the epicenter of Zephyr Heights' current predicament and what was on the wrong track for them. With all of the Pegasi having turned their backs on them and Queen Haven and being made orphans with their mother's arrest, they were now officially wanted mares.

"Oh, no! No! No, no-no-no-no-no, this can't be! This can't be happening!" shrieked Pipp, looking frantic. "This is SO, NOT, HAPPENING! We're in so much trouble, I never thought things would actually get worse even if exposing the Big Lie was for the best but it just got worst!"

"Pipp! Calm down!" Zipp snapped, quickly grabbing her sister and getting her attention before she could descend into a panic attack. "Listen, forget about all that! We think there's a way we can bring back magic but we need the Wings of Loyalty to do that. I'm sure Sarah must've told you already when she explained it to you and Mom earlier."

"Zipp, have you lost your mind?!"

"Please, Zipp! Trust me, this is the only way we can do it. This might be our only chance to bring back Ryu, Tamu, and the others; don't you and Mom want them back after everything they did for us before Scarlet Nightmare attacked moons ago?"

Pipp frowned but suddenly became thoughtful as she remembered the devastating losses she and her family had with losing their greatest friends and Zipp's big brother. If it really was their chance to bring them back and save Equestria, what have they got to lose?

"You're......... You're right, I can't believe I forgot about them, I know they would only want what's best for us and they've done so much for you, Mom, and I before Scarlet appeared and attacked them and everypony else along with the dragons and Pokemon we've all banished. And, Zipp........ I'm sorry, Sarah told me earlier that you didn't want to be queen since Mom had been grooming you for her position one day until she retires. I had no idea you hated that since I had been too absorbed in my social media to care. I thought you both didn't care about me......."

Zipp frowned remorsefully along with her sister, realizing now that she hadn't had given herself any time to spend with her given her recently distant nature and longing for something more to make herself her own pony. "I'm sorry, too, for not paying attention to you and leaving you hanging in the spotlight earlier. Will you help us?" she offered.

Pipp sighed before she gave a determined nod. ".......Alright, fine, I know a way out. Come on!" she declared, now taking the lead with her sister.

"Hey, wait! Wait! You guys can't-! What are you-we can't possibly-!" Hitch cried in shock as everybody else left him behind. "GET BACK HERE! I'M THE SHERIFF AND I'M SUPPOSED TO BE IN CHARGE!" 

"Not in this town, Donut Lord!" Zorua retorted from her normal place on Zeraora's head.

"You've no jurisdiction here and this is completely out of your league, dork!" Hydro taunted with a mocking laugh.

"Come on, we've got to get out of here before the guards catch us!" Zarude shouted to everybody as Sarah used her magic to lift Hitch and drag him along.

"Uh, hang on, first off, who died and made you leaders of this pack?" he commented skeptically before he looked to Sarah. "And, second, how is it that your Alicorn 'friend' actually has magic, unlike the Unicorn with you?"

"And, how can she and Nikki actually fly unlike Pipp and Zipp, is that what you're gonna ask?” Echo quipped, directing to Nikki deciding to fly so she can keep an eye on everyone from in the air but at a reasonable height where she can see them with the help of Sarah's Flying Types.

"What?! Flying, f-flying?! What, what, what?! Flying-what?!" Hitch spluttered in shock, pointing to Nikki flying. "I don't care what you've either inhaled or eaten while you're with those giant birds, you can't possibly tell me that in this world, they can fly and those Pegasi can't! How does it make any sense?!"

"Oh, yeah! Don't you know; Sarah here's a princess from another world whose birth parents were actually our allies and who defeated the evil Alicorn, Scarlet Nightmare, a long time ago before they vanished. Now, she was sent here with her giant family to help us restore Equestria!" chirped Izzy, giving Hitch an abridged explanation. "And, for the record, we don't know why they still have magic but we'll let you know when we do."

This revelation threw Hitch for a loop as he was slack-jawed in shock before he finally built of the nerve and wit to finally say, in his total bewilderment............

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT????????!!!!!!!!!!!!"

But, as Pipp and Zipp lead everybody to a way out of Zephyr Heights and away from danger while being forced to leave Queen Haven to face the music from her family's own subjects, they had no idea that they were being watched by a Braivary. But, the Flying Type spying on them was no ordinary Braivary as it was black and white all over and it had glowing red eyes that narrowed at the entire group before it eventually flew off into the night.

At the base of the mountains leading back to Zephyr Heights, a familiar dark Alicorn mare was waiting for someone as she meditated underneath some nearby trees from a forest. She then heard a caw coming from above her and she turned to her left, seeing the dark Braivary coming down as it bowed to her.

"Mistress Scarlet, I've returned with bad news. It appears that we've gotten ourselves nearly 200 intruders having crossed over from another world and I think they may be related to your old enemies," the Braivary reported. "They've all appeared to be comprised of Pokemon and dragons but those dragons are not like the ones from this world."

"Oh, intruders? Pokemon and dragons, you say?" asked the Alicorn mare, revealing herself to be Scarlet Nightmare as she got up and emerged from the shadows. "I suspected as much but I never expected an entire army of sorts, never thought we'd find out about those again after so long. Did you find out who they were or who's leading them?"

"Just recently, a small group currently comprised of eight ponies are attempting to assemble the lost Equestrian Crystals those dragons and Pokemon from long ago once created together along with that army. But, there is an Alicorn mare amongst them and what makes it worse, she's actually related to the hooligans responsible for your imprisonment.”

Scarlet was intrigued when she heard this as she hummed and rubbed her thoughtfully, "A daughter, to them? Hmm......... How interesting, not once did I ever think they would have children and they're actually married. Somehow, she must've found out about me and my work on this miserable world and its ponies and is planning to ruin everything I've planned ever since those vile menaces were done away with by them. Those two and their companions that locked me away before are more resourceful than I first thought......"

"Shall our forces deal with her accordingly before we move on to the main course?”

"No, do reconnaissance first. And then, once they reach Bridlewood and that infuriating Earth Pony meets her match with her pitiful goal, we'll strike. We must find out if their daughter is as annoying as them the last time they crossed over. If she is, then she's our number one threat to cut off from our eternal nightmare for them."

"Understood," nodded the Shadow Braivary, bowing one last time before taking off to find Sarah's family and pony party to watch and keep tabs on them, leaving Scarlet with a lot to think about for her full return to power.
> Friendship Worth Fighting For
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, the Mane Five, Sarah, and her entire family were continuing on their way to Bridlewood, unaware of the danger that would be closing in on them later on throughout their journey. Now, after camping out for the night and managing to get away from Zephyr Heights, they were walking in a vast daisy field as they came to a large floral tree from a map Sunny has on her.

"There it is, that's the same tree from the map. That means it's, this way," she smiled, leading everyone else as Zipp, Izzy, Sarah, her family, and Tsukmaro followed.

However, Hitch and Pipp picked up the rear as both of them didn't like what was going on for different reasons. Hitch was vehemently against coming along for the ride given his previous xenophobia and his remembering to bring Sunny back to Maretime Bay and have her answer for her actions but he was outvoted and they were far away from his and Sunny's home so he has no jurisdiction to act upon his initial motives. Despite knowing that she and Zipp had to go on this journey since it is their only chance to save their family's lost dragon and Pokemon companions, Pipp was still miffed from her life being ruined since her sister and their new friends had to go against the status quo the Pegasi had been following for moons.

"What am I even doing here? Hoofing it across daisy fields, getting close with these mindless beasts, looking for a magical crystal that doesn't even exist!" he grumbled.

"I heard that," Sarah glowered lowly, making him yelp before he resigned himself to grumbling again.

"You think you had it rough? Last night was supposed to be my best show ever, now it's over. I'm a wanted mare, all because of......." Pipp began, still sore from the previous night.

"THEM!" they snapped together. 

"And, let me tell you, THAT is so, NOT, COOL."

"Definitely not, e-did I just agree with a Pegasus?" Hitch replied in agreement before he blinked in surprise and Pipp caught up with her sister.

"Hey, Sis! Are you sure that Earth Pony even knows where to find this other crystal based on her sense of direction?" Pipp asked, skeptical of Sunny.

"Don't you trust me at all, especially knowing why we had to do this?" Zipp quizzed back.

"Oh, I don't know since you used to have better things to do back home. I want Ryu, Tamu, and the others back more than anything just as you and Mom do. But, you, your idiotic and persistent questioning of the status quo, and your rebellious attitude are what got us into this mess in the first place! You were the one that blew my cover and got Mom thrown in jail! Remember that?"

"Look, I'm sorry but we have no choice. This is too important for us to ignore and if Scarlet really is back, we have to be ready for her. Once we get our magic back and we finish her off and get the Pokemon and dragons back with us including Ryu and the others, they won't even remember what happened back then. You'll be a hero when we're done, Pipp."

Pipp just rolled her eyes, doubtful of Zipp's hope despite knowing that she's just as desperate for a solution to bring back their extended dragon and Pokemon family and friends. While the two sisters squabbled for a bit, Hitch caught up with Sunny and began to strike up a conversation with her for the first time in two days.

"Let's get one thing straight-" he began before he was cut off.

"We're almost to the river, everypony!" Sunny updated, making him groan before he got her attention again.

"Sunny, listen. I don't know what you're planning to do or why you decided to align yourself with another princess from another world we know nothing about. But, after this whole escapade is over, you're coming back with me to Maretime Bay. Is that clear?" he demanded with a snarl.

"Crystal," Sunny smirked at him.

Hitch smirked back as he started to brag about his position. "Great! 'Cause as you can see here, this badge here proves that I'm the sh-" he began but feeling nothing as he felt a vacant spot where his badge was supposed to be, making him panic.

"AH! Oh, no! Wh-where is it, where is it?! No, no, no, no! That's impossible! Where's my badge, what happened to my badge?! Hey, YOU!"

Hitch quickly pointed to Izzy, immediately suspecting that she might have something to do with his lost badge. "I know Unicorns like you like shiny things!" he accused, getting annoyed looks from some of Sarah's Pokemon and dragons that heard him.

"That jerk's really asking for it," Hydro snarled, hating his xenophobia more than ever.

"This is all his fault! If he and his own fellow ponies haven't freaked out and antagonized us, this would've been smooth sailing for us!" grumbled Jolteon, giving Hitch the stink eye.

"Let's not get bogged down about that too much. We'll deal with him later; right now, we must focus on finding a way to restore Equestria's magic, reunite the ponies with the dragons and Pokemon, and deal with Scarlet Nightmare when she appears," replied Cobalion firmly.

"If she shows her ugly face, you mean," implemented Wyveon, getting a knowing nod from Twilight and Dawn (Deathgripper).

"Are we there yet?" asked Stufful innocently while she rode on Sugarcake with Sugarcoat and Siren in either side of them.

"Not yet, Stufful, sweetie," smiled Sugarcoat as she looked at the small Flailing Pokemon sweetly. "Hopefully, the forest of Bridlewood should be past this daisy field."

"You know something, guys, I can't help but wonder if everything that's happening to all of us is because of Scarlet Nightmare," pondered Zarude, remembering the legend pertaining to the dark Alicorn mare. "Do you think the ponies themselves are the ones responsible for throwing their own home into decline after they banished the dragons and Pokemon, allowing her to return?"

"You think they caused the seal that was placed on her by King Doug and Queen Delilah to weaken and allow her to somehow break free?" asked Curly worriedly.

"If so, and she's somehow at large with all the chaos that's been running rampant aside from our own actions to help Sunny Starscout restore Equestria's magic and reunite the pony tribes along with the Pokemon and dragons, we'll probably have more of our work cut out for us," Rubble mused.

"But, there's one thing I don't get about Sunny's theory and what we just saw from Mischief's illusion flashback of Ryu's final memory of the battle against her. And, I think it has a few holes in it," interjected Blossom, also skeptical of Sunny's current plan. "It is true that we needed the Unicorn's Eye and the Wings of Loyalty but don't you think she needed to know about the Earth Pony Hope that we saw being created by Ryu and Helioseon?"

"And, not only that, I honestly believe that it'll take more than just those crystals together that can help bring magic back and end Scarlet's power. Remember when they and the others got Delilah and Doug to trust them with them and their powers being held in them?" Zorro added.

"Yes, it has to be the power of trust that allowed them to use the crystals. The Wings of Loyalty, the Unicorn's Eye, and the Earth Pony Hope together are powerful but they can't reach their full potential if someone doesn't have the courage to take the first step and bring everyone together to end her monstrosity," nodded Virizion.

"Well, let's hope we're ready for her somehow if she somehow rears her mugshot by the time we get to Bridlewood and get the Unicorn's Eye," Ching Wan hoped.

"I hope you're right, Ching Wan," nodded Blitz in agreement.

Later, everyone soon made it to a bridge that's along the path to Bridlewood but when they looked at it, they noticed that the middle section of the bridge was missing.

"Uh-oh, looks like we got a problem," said Sarah, seeing the hole.

"It looks like part of the bridge is gone," Tsukumaro replied, examining the bridge's missing section. "This could be either due to wear and tear from the steady march of time for having been here so long or the Unicorns, in their paranoia-filled drive to keep others out, intentionally sabotaged it for their own safety."

"I'm betting money on the sabotage part, Old Man. If those Unicorns are anything like those Earth Ponies and Pegasi that'll freak out from anybody who's not like them in any way, shape, or form, I wouldn't be surprised by their reactions," put in James knowingly.

"They must be really that desperate to protect their own if they had to destroy part of their bridge leading on the way to Bridlewood after they lost their magic as well and started suspecting the Earth Ponies and Pegasi having stolen it for themselves when it could be the work of Scarlet Nightmare," mused Nikki thoughtfully.

"Now, what are we gonna do?" Sunny asked.

"Well, Zipp, any more of your bright ideas?" Pipp quipped accusingly at her older sister.

"Uh, let me think. Uh........ You know what would be great right about now? Hmm...... Maybe something like, oh, I don't know..... THE ABILITY TO FLY?!" she responded, resulting in the two of them getting into a squabble.

"Or, you know what would've been even better? Something like, oh, really..... Not being stuck out in the middle of nowhere, being nothing more than MERE OUTCASTS FROM OUR OWN KINGDOM?"

Hitch gulped as he saw no point in continuing on and the situation was making him very, very nervous. "Oh, boy...... Well, that's enough of that for one day. Guess it's time to go home; I wish I could say it was nice meeting you but it wasn't. Come on, Sunny," Hitch excused, trying to get away before......

"No, you don't," Zarude said, giving him a warning glare as he used his Vine Whip to drag the cowardly Maretime Bay sheriff back, much to his displeasure.

"Want to run that by us again, dork?" Charger challenged Hitch.

Lolita tried to think of a way for everybody to get across the bridge even though she knew that the dragons and Sarah's Flying Types can help them get across as Pipp and Zipp's squabble began to escalate and Hitch continued to try and make excuses to get back to Maretime Bay to the point of his protests becoming more frantic as he was given glares and being questioned by some of her cousins and siblings.

Then, when it all became too much for her as she failed to concentrate, she eventually snapped at everybody going bonkers.

"Will you all just SHUT UP?!" she bellowed, getting everybody arguing or snapping at one another behind the others to stop and turn to her in surprise and bewilderment while Sunny looked thankful to Persian's daughter, eager for the noise to stop. "I can't think straight on how we can get across that bridge between your screaming as well as my brothers and sisters' justified demanding of you, Mr. Hitch, and the Sisters Grimm's petty squabbling!"

"As much as I would want to condone my daughter's brashness, she is right," agreed Persian, sharing Lolita's frustrations.

"This is no time for us to be fighting when so much is at stake! Scarlet Nightmare will be at large and Ponykind will still be at each other's throats if Equestria's magic isn't somehow returned and we can't stop her! To that end, we must all put aside our differences and agree to work towards a common cause which is the return of Equestrian Magic, Scarlet Nightmare's defeat, and the return of the dragons and Pokemon of this world!"

"They're right, both of them! This senseless fighting is getting us nowhere! Look, we're gonna get to the other side, find the Unicorn's Eye, and bring back our magic! And, once we do, you'll both get to fly and have your Pokemon and dragon family back, you'll get your fans back, and you'll have me in custody! Everypony happy now?!" Sunny snapped as well, snarling at the startled Hitch, Pipp, and Zipp and looking between each of them.

Suddenly, before things could get out of hand with everyone and anybody else could break up their fighting, they all heard a loud CRASH in front of them. They all turned and to their shock and surprise, they saw Izzy standing next to a chopped down tree which she had used to act as a bridge.

"TA-DAAAAA~!"

"You didn't.......!"

"Impossible!"

"How did you-?!"

"No.........!" gasped Sarah, Tsukumaro, Nikki, James, slackjawed in shock by what they saw her do.

"I think she just solved our bridge problem, everybody," noted Zeraora, rubbing his eyes to make sure that he's not dreaming (which he isn't).

"Don't tell me you just cut down that tree, resorting to cutting it the same way that a beaver did with its teeth!" Zorua replied, gobsmacked at the happy-go-lucky Unicorn who simply nodded proudly.

"Alright!" Zipp cheered, impressed.

"Aw, great......" groaned Hitch, hanging his head dejectedly.

"I gotta hand it to that Izzy, she's really something of a mystery," Danny smiled, also impressed.

"I think you're right, brother," agreed Danielle.

"Well, come on, everyone! Time is of the essence, we must be absolutely punctual if we're to make good time on our way to this Bridlewood!" Noctowl told everyone as Sunny nodded in agreement.

"Let's go!" she declared as they walked across the tree together with the dragons and Sarah's Flying Types following them from the air.

"You do know you could ride on us whenever you're tired of walking, Sarah," noted Shadow.

"Where's the exercise part in that,? We need our exercise and we'll be fine as long as we take it easy and don't draw any unwanted attention to us," replied Sarah, getting an amused yet knowing chuckle and headshake from the older Night Fury as they all continued on their journey. 





Darkness fell as nighttime rolled in again. For the second night along their trip to Bridlewood, everybody decided to make camp with Zipp lighting a campfire along with Flareon and with Audino supervising them while Sarah bringing out her enchanted tent and pitching it up with Tsukumaro's assistance and Noctowl's keen eye to ensure there were no mistakes as usual. When Pipp saw the interior of the enchanted tent along with Zipp (after the campfire was made), she thought it looked absolutely gorgeous as it looked like a palace-on-the-go from within according to its two-story design.

In addition to the usual fixings that were in the tent the previous times she and everyone else before Hitch, Pipp, and Zipp tagged along, it now had a small kitchen inside which allowed Sarah and her family to make dinner for everyone while Sarah stashed two Shaderoot and Iceroot Carrots for Spectrier and Glastrier (to their absolute joy as they ate away).

Hitch, on the other hand, was sitting alone nearby and he was trying to light up a campfire the old-fashioned way with using two sticks and without matches.

"Urgh, mmm, come on..... Come on, you stupid stick," he grumbled as he rubbed the sticks together.

"You need some backup, Sheriff?" Zipp snarked.

"No, thank you! I got it. Come on, urgh, if only I had a match," Hitch grumbled, only managing to get a single spark before it fizzled out, annoying him.

"Yeah, no. If you want to try going against the tried-and-true method of fire without matches, Hitchy-Baby, be our guest!" Zorua quipped.

"Totally, that's just sad, way too sad. Come on, dude, quit trying to be a hero. Come and get warm," Zipp smirked, chuckling.

Feeling sorry for her childhood friend and despite their still brimming turmoil towards each other initially, Sunny decided to comfort him as she came over to his spot.

"Sunny, are you sure about all this? There's not much we can do, it's pointless," Hitch said. "Because, if we just go back to Maretime Bay and simply-"

"What have we got to lose? What makes you think all of it would be a waste of time when there's so much we could still do to help everypony?" Sunny questioned, not wanting Hitch to dampen everyone's spirits and hopes for a better future.

"Have you forgotten, by giving magic back to our enemies? Also, getting the dragons and Pokemon our people had to banish for our own safety to come back? What have we got to lose, you say? Uh, let me think, oh, I don't know....... After everything we've just gone through earlier today, uh....... Oh, I know, how about- A LOT?!"

"Come on, Hitch! You telling me that it's not worth our time to continue helping our new friends and looking for a way to bring back Equestrian Magic for everypony, we're not the only ones who've had it rough as far as we know. Do you really want us to live our lives as ordinary ponies and continuing to be scared of the unknown for the rest of our lives? Do you really want me to give up Sugarcoat, Sugarcake, and Siren, after everything we've been through together?"

Hitch groaned, wondering why he was even putting up with Sunny at all, "I don't know, Sunny, the world's broken ever since we lost our magic. We can't afford to trust anypony anymore."

Sunny frowned as she gently retorted, "Or, maybe the world's broken and we lost our magic and we don't trust anypony now aside from our new friends because everypony chose to. Isn't that the case?"

Hitch chuckled a little when he heard how wise Sunny was becoming despite her adventurous attitude and their previous misgivings before. "You know, you sound just like your father," he replied.

"He's the best pony I've ever had before he passed away."

"I really do want to believe that our world and magic can be restored but how can we when the world's proven us otherwise?"

"We can still make it happen once we find the Unicorn's Eye and set things right!"

"Your fellow ponies back home and those angry Pegasi back at Zephyr Heights would tell you otherwise, Sunny."

"That doesn't mean we can't keep trying if only to save everypony as we hoped! There's still a chance for all of us to fix this mess we've all gotten ourselves into!"

"Yeah, and you know what happened when you took that first step? You turned your back on your own ponies and betrayed me and Sprout, you joined forces with an Alicorn and other ponies we know nothing about, and we're on the hunt to find and use crystals that don't exist to save this world from its own demise and from an evil Alicorn mare that's nothing but a fairy tale! Look around, we're a world full of ponies who are fearful and mistrusting of others because we can't stop fighting over who's to blame for the loss of magic! You want to know why Pokemon and dragons don't belong with us despite what they did to protect and care for us back then, Sunny? They could potentially turn against us and plot to take over the world and steal it and our magic for themselves, even if we do bring them all back!"

"But, we can still change that no matter what!"

"Sunny, I'm done believing in that nonsense. None of it matters anymore since it's all still a fairy tale, what's important to me now is making sure you're safe and we get back home so you can face the consequences for your actions. I really want to go back to Maretime Bay where I'm needed."

Sunny sighed as she frowned at her childhood friend before she gave a determined glare and sighed as she gently smiled at Hitch, knowing that he'll eventually come around as long as she can convince him to take a chance despite his own disgruntlement over everything.

"If that's what you want, I won't stop you. But, you should know........ I'm now actually glad you're here, Hitch, we all are," she told her before going back to the others.

Hitch was left speechless by what had been discussed between them and what Sunny had told her. He didn't know what to say as Sunny sat next to Zipp and joined urged him to join everyone else, to which he did despite his own feelings.

As everybody else gathered around the campfire with some of the dragon hatchlings, younger Pokemon, and the Night Lights playing together a small distance from the campsite, Sunny began to lay down the groundwork for the final phase of her plan to restore magic to Equestria could be. But, as she did so, Izzy started to feel down as she realized that with their potential final moments together, this could be the last time she could see and be with her new friends.

"So, at first light, I think we should set off for our last stop - Bridlewood. That's where we'll find the Unicorn's Eye and once we get that and put it together with the Wings of Loyalty, our magic will be back to normal and Scarlet Nightmare will be put to a stop once we're done," she began before she saw Izzy's downcast look.

"What's wrong, Izzy?"

"Nothing...... It's just, oh........ Being with you all, ponies, Pokemon, dragons alike, you've all been the best thing that's ever happened to me," she spoke out, sighing sadly. "I've got to see, do, and learn things with all of you that I've never been able to do so on my own. I......I guess I just, don't want our adventure to end."

"But, Izzy, remember what we promised? You'll get your magic back after everything that's happened."

"Hold on, I got a question to ask you, Izzy. Why did you come to Maretime Bay, really?" asked Hitch, now curious as to why Izzy would travel all the way from Bridlewood to their hometown in the first place.

"I've always wanted to visit but everybody at Bridlewood keeps telling me stuff that'll make a normal Unicorn there to hightail it back to their homes and never come out about places like that as well as you all, the Pokemon, and the dragons. But, I held hope that I would one day go there and make a new friend. When I was a little filly, I found this pretty lantern with a message that said, 'I had friends in Maretime Bay'."

She then pulled out a piece of paper from her mane and unfurled it to reveal a drawing that looked like an Earth Pony, a Pegasus, and a Unicorn, all of them together as in the ancient legends Sunny read in her journey and was told about by her father that said: "Hello, Pegasi and Unicorns! Come visit Maretime Bay, you have a friend there". There was even a Galarian Rapidash and a dragon drawn on it, waving and smiling along with the ponies on it. Sunny gasped, stunned as she saw the drawing Izzy was holding, the Unicorn then looking at the drawing and the surprised look on her face which told her what she was now realizing.

"I-I-It was you! Sunny, did you make this?" she gasped as she handed it to Hitch (who was also surprised to see the drawing) for the two Earth Ponies to see.

Startled by this, Sunny's Rapidash Guardians came over and saw the drawing, recognizing it as Sunny's handiwork as well as her signature on it. "Sunny, is this really your old drawing?" gasped Sugarcoat.

"You never told us what happened to it after it somehow disappeared," Sugarcake said to her.

"It still looks as beautiful as ever. Did you really draw this, your dream on paper?" Siren breathed in awe.

Sunny nodded fondly as she took back her childhood drawing, "I made it with my dad when I was just a filly. Before he died and left you three with me, we promised each other that someday, no matter what happens, we would prove that all ponies, Pokemon, and the dragons were meant to be family, friends. We'll do our part, hoof to hoof, heart to heart."

Everyone smiled warmly at each other as well as at Sunny for the vow she made with her father and the dream they shared for the future of Equestria that it so badly needed. And, as much as he didn't want to admit it, Hitch realized that his childhood friend's dream wasn't as crazy as he once thought. Maybe she's right from the very beginning; Ponykind, the Pokemon, and the dragons really do deserve to be together, after all.

"Hey, um....... Guys, I can see where you're going....... Listen, I know I gave you a lot of trouble before, and....." he said to them, looking between the and the Night Furies playing with their fellow Pokemon/dragon siblings and seeing how cute they really were. "If it helps, I want to do my part. Sunny's right, what've we got to lose, right?"

Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp were delighted to hear this as they cheered for Hitch deciding to take a chance to believe their, Sunny, and everyone else's noble cause. The others, despite their own eagerness of having Hitch believe in their cause, were understandably still skeptical of him and if he genuinely believes in restoring Equestria back to its normal self, reuniting the ponies, Pokemon, and dragons and stopping Scarlet Nightmare. But, they had to agree that he's starting to see the light.

"I don't trust him, he's probably up to something since he planned to arrest Sunny and throw the book at her," Jolteon snorted.

"But, at least, he's able to see that things aren't as hopeless as he used to think," Mudsdale replied.

"Hopefully, he'll fully understand what we have to do now that he's joining us," Winter added.

"For now, let's give him a chance. He's already realized where he went wrong despite his own feelings on the matter so the least we can do is trust him," put in Umbreon.

"I hope we can, Umbreon," nodded Hashimoto before he turned to Sarah, Nikki, James, and Tsukumaro for their opinions on Hitch. "What do you think?"

".........I suppose it wouldn't hurt for him to further see why a united Equestria is worth fighting for," Tsukumaro eventually spoke. "He did have the best intentions for the Earth Ponies at Maretime Bay when he did what he did."

"I'm sure we would've done to same thing if Ponchita and her friends are in danger," replied James and Nikki.

".....Alright, but one chance unless he breaks it," Sarah said warningly.

"I have to admit, really...... A Unicorn forest like Bridlewood does sound kind of magical," Hitch smiled as he now felt a little more comfortable with the group...... Until, however, they eventually reached Bridlewood and saw how lifeless and dull it has become without magic. "Or, not....."

"You were saying, dork?" Eternatus quipped with a groan, raising a skeptical and irked eyebrow at Hitch, who just shrugged.

"Come on! My house isn't far from here, we can stay there until we have a plan to get the Eye!" Izzy called, leading everybody through the forest.

However, despite her cheerful demeanor managing to lighten up the atmosphere around them, everybody couldn't help but notice that Bridlewood, even from its outskirts, looked boring. With the Equestrian Magic gone, the forest was slightly dark and lifeless and there were very few colored plants and florals dotting the area. In hindsight, remembering the legend about Scarlet Nightmare and what she did back then along with the banishment of the Pokémon and dragons that used to live in Equestria, they realized that the Unicorns also suffered as harshly as the Earth Ponies and Pegasi have been.

"Well, this is totally depressing," Zorua stated, looking around. "I'd imagine it being more lively and the Unicorns roaming around and being more jumpy with some leftover magic."

"Never thought a Unicorn forest with actual Unicorns like Izzy could be something like this."

"Well, they don't have magic anymore like the others besides Master Sarah, her adopted parents, and Master Tsukumaro do, remember, Ani-chan?" Ching Wan and Hashimoto bantered. 

"I never thought the Unicorns would also be hit hard with losing own magic," Sugarcoat admitted. "And, the Earth Ponies and Pegasi think they're responsible for their magic losses." 

"That definitely sounds hypocritical of them," added Sugarcake. 

"Which is why we have to do this, girls," reassured Siren as they arrived at Izzy's house in a light-filled area.

"Well, here we are! La Villa Izzy!" chirped Izzy, opening the door to her home with a cheerful smile. Everyone was stunned as they entered Izzy's home with some of Sarah's larger Pokémon having to stay outside due to them being unable to fit in her literal treehouse abode. Everywhere they looked, they could see little bits and bobs of the many things that she was able to make and cycle up with her own unique creative touch, and all without the use of her magic. "Wow......!"

"They're amazing!" Leafeon smiled in amazement.

"This is totally wild!" Sunflare admitted with an awestruck smile.

"I can't believe there are so many things you've built up without having your lost magic!" Lilac gawked.

"Incredible, an assortment of toys, cutlery, every-day human items for ponies all by your own hooves!" blinked Calyrex in fascination. "You've must've had quite an artistic eye in order to conjure up these magnificent pieces!"

"Did you make all of this?" Zipp asked, also in awe from Izzy's creations.

"Yep, every last one! I call it, 'Uni-cycling'! Isn't it funky?"

"It's beautiful, Izzy."

"You must've had a mountain of art supplies big enough to fill even a giant kitchen pantry in the White House," Nikki and James admitted, also completely awestruck by Izzy's hoof-made things.

"Very creative and from a Unicorn such as you, Ms. Izzy," nodded Tsukumaro, impressed.

"I also make friendship bracelets along with this stuff! Oh, wait, wait! Watch this, hold everything! I've never actually gotten to do this with any actual friends!" Izzy continued, bringing forth a mobile table in the shape of a flower and opening it to reveal a tea party set she personally made. "TA-DAAAA~!"

"Whoa!"

"Unbelievable!" 

"Cool......!" 

"Oh, Izzy, it's adorable!" 

"And, cute!" 

"Awesome!"

"I so wish I had live-streamed that!" Zipp, Rosethorn, Mai, Pearl, Amethyst, Diamond, and Pipp gasped in awe at the table and the tea party set by Izzy.

"Hold it there, girls. I'm sorry to be a party pooper but as much as I would like to relax, too, I'm afraid we still have a lot of work to do," Sarah reminded gently.

"Sarah's right, we don't have time for that stuff right now. We came here to restore Equestrian Magic and if we can find any available information about the Unicorn's Eye, we have to dress the part," added Sunny in agreement, getting to the task at hand. "We can't stick out like sore hooves to the Unicorns and if they're anything like the Pegasi and Earth Ponies, we must keep my guardians and Sarah's family hidden. To that end, we need to look like Unicorns in order to blend in."

"Wait, does that mean......makeovers?" Pipp perked up as she squealed in delight, bringing dread to her older sister. "YAY! Makeovers, I just love makeovers!"

"Oh, no. No, no. No. This-t,this is not what I signed up for, no. No how, no way," Zipp stammered in embarrassment, chuckling nervously.

"Oh, boy........" James peeped quietly as he and Tsukumaro looked at each other in dread.

"That's only for Pegasi and Earth Ponies, in this case, James. Tsukumaro's fine but we'll need to spruce you and Nikki up and keep her wings hidden," Sunny clarified in reassurance. "And, Sarah, we'll have to hide your windows as well to make sure they don't recognize you as an Alicorn."

"I'm down with that," nodded Sarah before she turned to Izzy. "Izzy, can you do something about all this?"

"A glow-up for your entry to Bridlewood? Honey, if you want a glow-up, you've come to the right cottage!" she smiled brightly.

"Oh, not again......" Silvally groaned, knowing that another song number is coming up. 

"Okay, I'm all for musical numbers as long as they make sense and aren't boring but this is just way too predictable even for a kids' movie," Shaymin remarked, making a fourth wall break.

"What is it with these ponies and their song and dance numbers?" grumbled Hydro with a pout, sharing their sentiments as Izzy began to sing.


(Fit Right in - MLP: A New Generation - Izzy Moonbow)



(Izzy Moonbow)



I thought Earth ponies were the pony ladder's bottom rung



I heard that Pegasi were brutes you'd hate to be among



"You smell like fishes! You're vicious! I bet you eat your young!"



Meet any one of you, the thing to do is run away



But although I know we're all a bunch of different breeds



Take away our wings and horns, and we're just frightened steeds



So let's put aside our differences, 'cause what we need's a win



Oh-oh-oh



Come on, rip out all the pages of your history books



Just because we're undercover doesn't mean we're crooks



When we walk you through the crowd and give your brand new looks a spin



You're gonna fit right in



Hitch Trailblazer: This is a new low.



(Izzy Moonbow)



You're gonna fit right in



Hitch Trailblazer: It's never gonna work!



They taught us unicorns were super-scary maniacs



With horns like razors and tongues like tasers and teeth like tacks



They take your hooves and then they grind them into midnight snacks



Zoura: Oh please!



The basic gist of it is unicorns are not okay!



Zoura: And you’re done



(Sunny Starscout)



Look, I know we're riskin' everything for this endeavor



But look at us, we're brave and strong and weird and clever



We're runnin' out of options and we're desperate to begin



(Izzy Moonbow)



You're gonna fit right in



Hitch Trailblazer: [chuckles] If you say so.



(Sunny Starscout and Izzy Moonbow)



You're gonna fit right in



(Izzy Moonbow)



I know you will, now watch and learn



This is how a unicorn walks (walks)



This is how a unicorn talks (talks)



This is how a unicorn hoops (hoops?)



This is how a unicorn—



Hitch Trailblazer: Oops!



Sunny Starscout: Oh!



Zipp Storm: Geez!



Izzy Moonbow: Stop!



This is how a unicorn struts



Oh, watch us shake our unicorn butts



Now you're in the unicorn know



Sunny Starscout: Whoa!



(Izzy Moonbow)



Soon you'll be a unicorn pro!



[rapping]



Oh, a unicorn horn makes a unicorn stride



It's the more-head on your forehead, it's the source of your pride



Every unicorn who's born has worn a horn that's unique



So we'll whip them up as we speak, you'll be lookin' très magnifique



And with those rocks in our pockets, we'll reap the reward



And folks'll be floored, we'll strike a new chord



Our magic restored!



(All)



Lately, all Equestria has lost its heart



But if we can help to find it, we should play our part



(Hitch Trailblazer)



If we fail, we'll go to prison



(Sunny Starscout)



But if not, we'll start to grin



(Izzy Moonbow)



So let's begin



(Sunny Starscout and Izzy Moonbow)



We're gonna fit right in



(Izzy Moonbow)



This is how a unicorn walks



This is how a unicorn talks



Now you're lookin' unicorn strong



This is how a unicorn...



(Sunny Starscout and Izzy Moonbow)



...ends this song!






Later, after going through the final preparations, Sarah, Pipp, Zipp, Hitch, Nikki, James, and Tsukumaro all have their disguises ready from Izzy and they were on their way to meet the Unicorn leader of Bridlewood and inquire him/her of the Unicorn's Eye.

For Zipp, Pipp, and Nikki, they were given unique horns designed by Izzy along with small jackets that covered up their wings, James, Sunny, and Hitch just had her horns fitted on them and as for Sarah, she was given another small jacket to cover her own wings while her horn helped to pass her off as a Unicorn.

With the Pokémon and dragons, the majority of Sarah's family would have to hide out until the Unicorn's Eye can be found but with Rapidash, Ponyta, Siren, Sugarcoat, Sugarcake, and Keldeo would join them in the village for despite their own unique colorings, they were the only Pokémon that can be passed off as normal Unicorns without setting somebody in Bridlewood off and arouse suspicion amongst them.

Taking their first steps into the village with Izzy leading the way, she pointed to many of the crystals in the forest and gave them a tour of the village of Bridlewood while giggling happily along the way (being eager to show her disguised friends her homeland). But, her cheerful demeanor wasn't shared by the rest of the Unicorns upon entering, each of them looking downcast, moping around as they all sulked gloomily.

Little did they know, however, that the Shadow Braivary belonging to Scarlet Nightmare was eavesdropping on them from out of sight, smirking slyly at the heroes. 

"Whoa, what's with the Unicorn snore fest?" Siren admitted with a whisper, a little uneasy as they walked.

"Seems like the losses that they had also occurred in the past due to Scarlet Nightmare's attack, brother," replied Sugarcoat, also not liking what she's seeing.

"Well...... I guess we just found out why Izzy's so happy to meet us when we first met her and Sunny at Maretime Bay," Sarah squirmed a little. 

"Those poor darlings, it must be terrible for them without their magic to make them happy."

"Ponchita's right, they're looking even worse than kids who just flunked an important elementary school test and got into time out for bad grades," Nikki and James agreed, gravely concerned for the Unicorns.

"It's no wonder why Ms. Izzy would be so eager to have new friends when she first found out about Ms. Sunny's lantern drawing," stated Tsukumaro, also concerned.

"I don't like this, everybody. Those Unicorns are nothing like Dear Izzy and they could be looking for trouble if they're having a bad mane or hair day," warned Rapidash as she looked to her only daughter. "Darling, stay with us and don't try to mingle with them if they give you any trouble."

"Yes, Mommy," nodded Ponyta, a little scared as she huddled close.

"These other Unicorns around us seemed to be a whole lot different from you," Sunny commented to Izzy, feeling unnerved by how depressed and lifeless the village Unicorns are. Hitch looked around at the crystals in the forest, his previous suspicions and his doubts about Izzy's plan to "fit right in" still running high.

"This is all well and good, Izzy, but how can we tell which ones can use magic?" he asked the happy-go-lucky Unicorn, getting shocked gasps from some nearby Unicorn foals they just passed.

"Ooooooooh, you just said a bad word, Mister!" a male foal suggested, surprising Hitch as he raised a confused eyebrow while the foal turned to the other foals with him. "Hurry, dance! Before we all get jinxed!"

Then, surprising the small party along with Hitch, the Unicorn foals snorted to the foal's warning before they did a strange dance as they bounced along their hooves, singing or scatting, "Bing-bong-bing! Bing, bong! Bing, bong! Bing, bong! Bing, bong!"

Everyone in Sunny and Sarah's party was bemused by this with the Mane Five looking on in confusion and Sarah and her family shrugged at each other, stumped over what they saw.

"Uh...... Could somebody explain to us why those foals acted like that?" Keldeo replied, unsure of what to think.

"Yeah..... Uh, I'm gonna need some context on that jig they did," Zipp agreed with an awkward nod.

"Oh, that? Unicorns are very superstitious. If a pony ever says a forbidden word like that, we usually have to do a ritual to ward off the Jinxies."

"Ritual?" chirped Siren, Sugarcake, and Sugarcoat in confusion.

"Jinxies?" Nikki and Pipp echoed in surprise.

"Bad luck, actually," Izzy clarified.

"Forbidden words, what are they?" Hitch inquired carefully to her.

"You know. Like, 'magic', 'wing', 'Pokemon', 'dragon', 'scale', 'feather', that kind of stuff, oh! And, 'mayonnaise'."

"But, what in the Sam Hill is wrong with may-?" James began in confusion before Izzy frantically muffled him to avoid setting off a nearby Unicorn behind them, who continued to sulk. 

Izzy sighed in relief as she released James and shushed everybody. "Come on, there's something I want to show you," she replied, leading everybody to a building in the village that looked like a moderate Unicorn teahouse/restaurant/bar.

"The Crystal Tea Room?" asked Keldeo, reading the sign. "Why did you bring us here?"

"Amongst all of us Unicorns, there is a pony inside who collects crystals including the Unicorn's Eye. Maybe he can help us with what we're doing."

"That's great, Izzy! You're the best!" smiled Sunny before she gave a warning look to James. "And, James, remember what we all agreed on just now-"

"I know, no forbidden words," the disguised Earth Pony nodded.

Sticking close to each other as they entered the Crystal Tea Room, the small party saw that the atmosphere from within the restaurant sadly wasn't all that different from the rest of the village. Like the rest of the villagers, the Unicorns dining inside were miserable and a quartet of them were singing just as pitifully on stage.

"Earth pony jinx, something stinks. Pegasus neighs......." they sang droopily.

The group looked around to find the pony who is responsible for being the best crystal collector in all of Bridlewood until Izzy pointed them to a middle age Unicorn stallion having a darker brown and yet short mane and tail at one of the tables off to the left side. "That's the pony I was talking about, he's our finest collector of crystals. If you're looking for the Unicorn's Eye, that guy's your man," she informed them.

Nodding to her, Sunny went over to the Unicorn and began to make inquiries on the second of the Equestria Crystals. "Hi, there. So, word has it around this forest that you collect crystals, on top of being the best crystal collector or hunter in the area. Do you happen to know anything about one called the Unicorn's Eye?" she questioned to him.

The crystal collector sighed as he nodded before he went on to dramatically explain what he had done with them. "Yes, I do. I used to have quite the collection on me throughout my travels. I did, really, no problem. But, I've lost them all competing in a limbo contest with....... D'oh...... Alphabittle!" he finished, wailing dramatically.

"Alphabittle?"

"Huh.....?" "Who or what names their pony Alphabittle?" Sunny, Keldeo, and Sarah blinked in surprise and confusion.

Izzy gasped in horror, dread coming across her face as she feared the worst. "Oh, no..... I know that name from anywhere in this forest," she began, a small bell ringing catching their attention as they looked to the source of it.

The party saw that in the midst of what looked to be a contest involving a Rubik's Cube with another Unicorn pony named Jasper, a tall and great Unicorn with a small white beard, mane, and tail, revealed to be Alphabittle, had managed to solve the difficult puzzle in no time. Jasper was disheartened when he failed to solve it in time just as he did.

"I'm sorry, my boy. But, your time's up," Alphabittle smirked smugly at the disgruntled Jasper. "Guess that makes me the winner, again. Now, pay up."

"Urgh, fine. Just don't think you'll roll over all of us with your stupid victory streak," Jasper snarled, handing over a knickknack that looked personal to him to the arrogant Unicorn before he sadly walked away.

"You could always try winning it back!" the Unicorn player called before he took it and placed it on some shelves behind him amongst whatever other "prizes" he had won and stole from the losers including the Unicorn's Eye. "Alright, suit yourself, chap. Heh-heh....."

"Hey, that wasn't fair!" spat Ponyta in shock as Rapidash held her back gently, not wanting her daughter to get into a fight. 

"Who's the idiot gambler robbing everybody of those things?" 

"He's even got the Unicorn's Eye from that nice crystal collector!"

"Izzy, dear, do you know him?" Sunny's Galarian Rapidash guardians said, finding Alphabittle already to be unpleasant and aggravating.

"That's Alphabittle, our leader. He's always had a knack for winning possibly every game and messing with his opponents to win every time," Izzy replied fearfully, gulping as everyone's eyes were on him. "They said he's never lost a single game or puzzle and he's never made any friends by winning all the time and being a genius which gave him some respect but also some loathing from others while growing up. His opponents have a hard time dealing with him in every game because he usually places so much pressure on them and seeks to outdo them in everything involving games and puzzles including making bets with their personal knickknacks. He takes advantage of them losing anything they possess and care about to him and playing off of their fears to win!"

"If you ask me, I think he's got no honor, at all," scoffed Keldeo. "What's the point in winning a game or something or being a genius if all you're going to do is push everybody who wants to play for fun and be your friend for the sake of having fun and being happy away?"

"How are we supposed to deal with that?" Zipp asked worriedly.

"I don't know...... We've never gone up against anybody as competitive as that," Sunny replied worriedly. "If we can't get the Unicorn's Eye, how are we supposed to bring everypony's you-know-what back?"

".......I'll have a go against him," Sarah suggested, taking a step forward.

"Sarah, are you sure you can go up against Alphabittle?" Izzy asked, greatly concerned as she walked with her along with Keldeo, who knew what she was thinking.

"If beating him at his own game is the only way to get him to hand over the Eye, I have to do it before Scarlet Nightmare appears again," she reassured her Unicorn friend. "Then, we can find the Earth Pony Hope and once we face down Scarlet and get everyone to stand against her, we're home free."

"You're not going to back down as usual with situations like this, are you, Princess?" quizzed Keldeo. "What if he wants something out of you like your eggs from that dead Night Fury couple we'll been safeguarding from Berk?"

"I have my old crown that I've found amongst my parents' wealth in the treasure room months ago. It'll be no big deal, you guys can make me a new one but whatever time I have with it, will always be the best I've ever had with another thing to remind me of them. What's more, I have your support and faith, that's all I need in order to win."

".......Okay, but be careful, Sarah. Alphabittle can smell fear and he's never lost a match," Izzy relented.

"I've faced down creeps much worse than him along with some humans back in my world. He's got nothing as far as I can see," replied Sarah as she went forward.

Meeting with Alphabittle at his table, she sat down and brought out some gold coins from her family's wealth as she gave the surprised yet intrigued Unicorn leader a hardened glare. "Tea, please," she said lowly.

Alphabittle hummed curiously as he looked at Sarah while a hedgehog-like critter with him brought the princess her drink but she stopped it as it tried to give her some milk, her glare unwavering.

"Hmm....... You look like a strange fellow for someone of your type," Alphabittle began, chuckling smugly at her. "Those eyes of yours, I haven't seen eyes like that in a challenger for some time. I assume you're here for business or something else in mind, right?"

"I get that from ponies all the time," Sarah rebutted simply, unfazed as she sipped her tea. "I take it you're quite the game player with all of those knickknacks you've 'won' from your challengers, right?"

"It passes the time, always looking for a challenge on anything considering I've been a genius for my whole life and a real competitor. Champion of Champions and Master of Games, that's what they all call me. Why, do you play?"

"Of course. In fact, I don't just play games, I win 'em." Alphabittle smirked, finding Sarah to be interesting from her hardened declaration. "Is that so?"

"Yeah. And, what's more, since you're so eager to play, I'll make an offer you can't refuse," she nodded, eying the Unicorn's Eye before pointing at it. "I challenge to play a game for a prize worthy of only my liking, amongst all the crystals you've won from the crystal collector - the Unicorn's Eye!"

This gamble of hers garnered surprised and shocked gasps from virtually every single Unicorn and the Mane Five (sans her oarty from ehr family) in the restaurant as they stopped what they're doing and turned their attention to the duo, just as a shadowy pony figure was lurking in the village and arrived at the Crystal Tea Room.

"That thing...... Hmm-mmm-mmm, do you really think you can beat me?" smirked Alphabittle again. "You really are a strange unicorn, aren't you?" "Only one way to find out and that's to play hard or go home."

"Tough talk for such a small pony."

"On the contrary, I've been medium-sized according to my tastes," retorted Sarah, bringing out a beautiful crown that was made for her when she would be older back then in Alola's past. "This enough for you, what do you say?"

"Heh. Bring it on, kid......"

But, just before Sarah and Alphabittle can get their game duel going, the doors to the Crystal Tea Room were kicked open with a loud BANG, startling everyone as they jumped from the noise. They all turned to find a small, all-black Kantonian Ponyta standing in the busted doorway with a powerful red-eyed glare at Sarah and Alphabittle and gasped in shock.

"Hold it!" the Ponyta called, pointing at the two before it came over to them while everyone else watched on worriedly and suspiciously with a twinge of fear.

"Whoa, I've heard of Ponytas but I've never seen one all black....."

"That is one weird Ponyta." 

"But, who is it? And, where did it come from?" 

"Something tells me that is no ordinary Ponyta," Hitch, Zipp, Sugarcoat, and Sunny whispered, greatly concerned.

"I don't know, Big Bro. Who's that Ponyta going towards Sarah and Alphabittle?"

"Somepony horrible by its appearance, I'd reckon," quipped Shortcake and Siren.

"Watch yourselves, everyone. This could mean trouble," warned Tsukumaro, throwing the black Ponyta a warning glare as it reached Sarah and Alphabittle's table.

"Are you the Unicorn leader and the so-called Master of Games in this lowly pony dump known as Bridlewood, Pops?" asked the black Ponyta (voice reference: Norm - Fairly Oddparents)) bluntly.

"Yes, that's right. I'm the Unicorn leader and the Master of Games," answered Alphabittle, regaining his cocky smirk. "And, throughout my life, since my very first games as a little foal, I've never lost against anypony once. Do you want to play against me for something and lose, too?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do," nodded the Ponyta before it pointed to the Unicorn's Eye as well.

"I would also like to challenge you for the Unicorn's Eye. How about it, two-on-one? You obviously know more about any and all games with your know-how. If this Unicorn and myself win, the Unicorn's Eye will be ours. But, if you win, you can start on what special valuables we have, right?"

Sarah was surprised by the appearance of the mysterious black Ponyta and what it was doing for the Unicorn's Eye. She suddenly had the same uneasy feeling about the strange visitor to Bridlewood as her friends and her family had but she didn't want to speak out too much just in case there really is something off about the weird Pokémon before her and everyone else. Deciding to dwell on that later, she looked to the Ponyta curiously.

"Excuse me, are you sure you want to do this? We won't be playing fair by going up against one Unicorn," Sarah questioned the Ponyta, who gave her a soft, sweet look regarding her concerns. 

"Where's your sense of competition, Missy? I'm sure we can have fun and win the Unicorn's Eye if we both try hard do our best. Trust me," it said to her before looking back at the amused and still-intrigued Alphabittle.

"How about it, Pops? Shall we play it your way for the prize of the day?"

"........Have it your way, Little Pony," Alphabittle smirked again, feeling overconfident in another victory for him. "But, if you're both going to win it, then you'll have to beat me in one of my favorite duels ever played."

"And, what kind of duel is that?" inquired Sarah.

"One of the oldest duels ever known in the history of Ponykind: a duel......of Song!"

"Huh?!" The Mane Five, Nikki, James, Tsukumaro, Sugarcake, Sugarcoat, Keldeo, Rapidash, and Ponyta gawked as they comically faltered.

Sarah and the Ponyta just looked at each other before they nodded with shared smirks and then told him, "Deal/Deal."

"So, what's the catch?" Ponyta quizzed.

"What'll we have to sing about?" added the princess.

"Simple; the winner must sing for me the best reason for giving it to either of you. Make sure your vocals are all warmed up, I'm looking for the best performance between you two. Ready?"

"Very well."

"Let's get it on," they agreed, being led to the stage as they took their positions.

"Alright, let's see what you gals got," Alphabittle announced.

"Fine then/Fine then." Ponyta and Sarah glared at each other before they broke into song. 


(Give Me the Wand - Fairly Oddparents Parody - Give me the Jewel) 



(Alphabittle)



I'm a swinging P-O-N-Y-T and A
Huh? Hey
Let me tell you
What that spells to me
While I've been collecting gems
Their shiny and new, man
My unicorn powers stopped for me 
And that's pretty dang annoying to me
I've got that crazy gem you ponies got
If want the gemstome you'll have to sing alot (Hey!)
To give each and every child a great big smile
To me this means a lot, it ain't no evil plot
Gimme the jewel, and you'll all see
Gimme the jewel, your buddy, I'd be
Gimme the jewel, a-da-do-da-dee
I'll make you a natural blonde
If you give me the jewel
(Shoo-doop-shoo-be-do-wah)


"Okay, he's good." Hitch winced, seeing their chance at getting the Unicorn's Eye more complicated. 

"He-he, wait until Sarah starts to sing." Keldeo smirked. 


(Sarah)
I'm a very selfless young unicorn gal
I'm doin my very best to restore this land
(Shoop-bah-doo-bap-Dooby-doo-wah!)
This grim magic world
Lost all of it spark (Ponyta: Well duh)
But gonna get your powers back
And to restore your land 



(Ponyta and Sarah)
Give us the jewel, we'll have a ball
(Doot-doot-bap-dooby-doo-zow!)



(Alphabittle)
Give me the wand



I'll give you a call



(Doot-doot-bap-dooby-doo-zow!)



(Alphabittle, Ponyta and Sarah)
Give us the jewel, a-do-doo-dow



(Doot-doot-bap-dooby-doo-zow!)



We really hope, you all respond



Come on, give us the jewel



(Alphabittle)
Don't be so cruel!



(Doot-doot-bap-dooby-doo-zow)



(Ponyta and Sarah)
Give us the jewel, and end this duel



(Doot-doot-bap-dooby-doo-zow)



Give us the wand, a-doo-dah-dee



(Doot-doot-bap-dooby-doo-zow)



Don't let yourself be ruled



Now give us the jewel!


Everyone was stunned by how well both the black Ponyta and Sarah sang in their duel; between their parts and their clashing reasons for wanting the Unicorn's Eye from Alphabittle, it was hard to tell which one of the two would be able to win the crystal. Even Alphabittle couldn't help but be impressed with both reasons even though he has to choose between one of them.

The others were also amazed by how well Sarah was able to sing and despite the black Ponyta's impressive and sly vocals and the Unicorns were taken by the song by both of them along with Alphabittle's additional vocals in tune with theirs at the tail end.

"Ooooooh! Sarah's got herself some slick vocals!" squealed Izzy excitedly. "She's going to win, I can feel it!"

"Whoa....... I never knew she could sing so well," Pipp admitted in awe.

"If I wasn't so shocked by her singing, I would've live-streamed that until my eyeballs fell!" gasped a stunned Pipp as Hitch was left in stunned silence.

"Wha-how?!"

"EEEEEEE!!!!!! Sweet, awesome, radical! Love it, love it, love it, LOOOOOOOOOOVE IT~!"

"You guys never told us she could sing like that!” Sunny's guardians all said, completely flabbergasted over Sarah's singing.

"You'd be surprised about what she can do, even my teachers and I couldn't help but feel impressed when she lets the music take her over," Keldeo smirked.

"That's our Ponchita."

"She's got a talent for anything."

"I've never known another goddaughter like her and I won't ever will," James, Nikki, and Tsukumaro smiled.

"Well now, I must say, you've both moved me with your impressive vocals and I couldn't be happier," Alphabittle admitted, looking between the pair as he cleared his throat and took the Unicorn's Eye as he thought for a moment. "But, there's only one among you who's given me reason to trust you with the Unicorn's Eye. And, that winner is.........."

Everyone watched with bated breath, wondering who Alphabittle will entrust the Unicorn's Eye to.

He then presented the crystal to.......Sarah, much to her surprise as she held the Unicorn's Eye and took back her crown. "T-Thank you, Alphabittle," she smiled, getting a nod of respect from the Unicorn leader.

She returned to her friends and her family as they all cheered happily for her success. The black Ponyta watched on without any reaction to its loss but when it noticed a tuff of feathers coming from her jacket on her right-hand side, it smirked darkly before it then managed to slip out without being discovered and arousing immediately suspicion as if it had suspected she would win and it was part of some plan it had in mind.

In the midst of the group's celebrations, though, Ponyta was so ecstatic about her human caretaker/aunt winning the Unicorn's Eye that she tackled her happily to the ground and nuzzled her, making her laugh. Her tackle also caused one of her wings to unfurl from her jacket and be exposed, causing the Unicorns to gasp in shock at what she really is.

"An Alicorn?! I thought they were extinct for years!" gawked a flabbergasted Alphabittle.

"And, Pegasi!" spat Zipp, she, Pipp, and Nikki throwing their jackets away and glaring at them, immediately seeing trouble afoot.

"Don't forget about us, you rapscallion!" added Tsukumaro with a glare as he stepped forward and prepared himself to fight while Sunny, James, and Hitch took off their horns and prepared to fight or run.

"And, a Unicorn! Which, you knew already!" Izzy added.

"Izzy! W-how did you-?!" gasped Alphabittle, seeing Izzy as the Unicorns glared at them.

"Alphabittle, I know it doesn't look like it but trust me when I said we're here to help," Sunny spoke up.

"Help, huh? We've never needed help from anypony, not even from fools like you. Now, give me the crystal," Alphabittle snarled.

"No deal, Alphabittle," spat Sarah as she held the Unicorn's Eye in her magical grasp. "I won fair and square and you can't take back your earlier word since the loser left since he's not here."

"I'll be sure to rectify that immediately once we're through with you. You tricked me when you made the offer and now that I see through your ugly mug, you can consider our earlier deal off. The crystal, NOW!"

"Uh......Wait! Magic! Wing! Feather! Pokemon! Dragon! MAYONNAISE!!!" Hitch cried out in panic, causing Alphabittle and the other unicorns to cry out in panic and perform their Jinxie ritual again.

"Ha...........HAH!!!" bellowed Keldeo, quickly firing a Focus Blast at the startled Unicorns, blasting at them and leaving them stunned and dazed all over the restaurant from the power of his attack. "Now's our chance, c'mon!"

"Go, go, go!" cried Sunny, urging everybody to run out of Bridlewood as they got the Unicorn's Eye, leaving the Crystal Tea Room for the rest of the party.

"You'll regret this, YOU'LL REGRET THIS!!!!!!!" yelled an outraged but still stunned Alphabittle he and the other Unicorns with him were left high and dry.

With both the Unicorn's Eye and the Wings of Loyalty with them, the group managed to run into the force and then head into a clearing where they found Sarah's entire family waiting for them, the clearing acting as a makeshift safe spot for them.

"You guys okay?" Hashimoto asked as they reunited with them, panting in relief.

"I suppose you all ran into trouble finding the Unicorn's Eye?" put in Zeraora.

"But, did you guys get it?" asked Pyre.

"Let's hope you managed to remember it since you didn't forget about Aunt Sarah this time!" Wildfire added.

"Yep, right here," smiled Sarah, panting as she showed her family the crystal.

"Great! But, what's going on?" asked Zorua.

"Alright, Kid, what kind of mess did you all get into this time?" quizzed Mischief.

But then, everyone heard some nearby bushes rustling until they saw Queen Haven, managing to escape from prison but looking a little ruffled.

"Mom!" Pipp and Zipp cried happily.

"Oh, my darlings! Thank hoofness!" Queen Haven gasped, hugging them in relief. 

"You escaped!"

"But, how did you find us all the way here?"

Zipp and Pipp soon got their answer when Queen Haven's pet and Hitch's unintentional critter crush, Cloudpuff, suddenly burst out of the bushes and tackled said pony (screaming as he was startled by her appearance) to the ground. After reuniting with him, Hitch discovered that she had his badge in her mouth that he lost during the whole scuffle for the Wings of Loyalty, which was how she and Queen Haven were able to track them down.

"Ah! Is that-Yes! My badge, oh, my lovely badge! I promise I'll never leave you alone again!" he hollered happily, glad to have his sheriff's badge back.

"Oh, my little fillies! I'm so glad that we found you, I know it's hard for us ever since this debacle started but we can still make things right," Queen Haven smiled to her daughters. "Now, why don't we just go back to Zephyr Heights and explain everything that happened. You know, spin the story and then, they'll love us again, right?"

Zipp and Pipp looked at each other worriedly but before they could voice their opinions to her and explain that they needed their extended family and friends back more than anything, they saw a disheveled Alphabittle and a few unicorns (including one of the foals they've previously seen) that had recovered from the ordeal and had gone through the trouble of chasing them.

"Uh......."

"Listen, let us explain-!" Izzy and Sunny began frantically before Zoom, Thunder, and an eight Pegasus guard platoon arrived.

"Aha! There you are, Your Ex-Queen Criminal Highness Haven!" spat Zoom, still sore from her and her fellow Pegasi being lied to. "You've given us the slip for the last time and you're coming with us!"

"AH! Look out, Unicorns!" Thunder cried, throwing a tennis ball at the Unicorns which did nothing.

"Ahem..... Return the Unicorn's Eye to us and never come back!" snarled Alphabittle.

"HA! Your crystals? They rightly belong to us, unlike you conniving horned maims!" spat Queen Haven.

"Not anymore, it doesn't! I won it fair and square!"

"Hah! I certainly doubt it! Unicorns are known to be cheaters!"

"You Pegasi always thought you were better than us!"

"Hey, that's our queen you're talking to!" Zoom defended Queen Haven. 

"She's not a queen here!" a unicorn mare replied. 

"Who do you think you are?!" Zoom growled. 

"We're gonna zap you with our horns!"

"This is our land!"

"You're not welcome here!" the other three unicorns growled as the two kinds looked ready to fight each other, making the unicorn foal scared. 

"Surrender the crystal or I'll use my powers against you!" Alphabittle threatened. 

"I'd like to see you try!" Queen Haven challenged.

"Will, you, all, SHUT UP????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" screamed an aggravated Eternatus, finally having enough of the Pegasi and Unicorns arguing and his agitated roar terrifying the two pony tribes and nearly deafening everybody as they were forced to cover or fold their ears and look to him when he had finished and took a deep breath. "Thank you......."

"Was that really necessary?" asked Sarah incredulously, shaking her head to regain her bearings.

"Sorry, but these idiotic children with us are all making me sick with their boisterous and sickening squabbles and I can't stand it any longer," Eternatus replied, shaking his own head and sighing again. "I've been meaning to do that since they needed to have the truth told to them. We're already on a stupid time crunch as it is."

"Uh, t-t-thanks, Eternatus........" replied Sunny, before she cleared her throat and spoke again, "As we've been trying to say, NOPONY HAS MAGIC! But, we're here to bring it back."

Everyone sans the Mane Five and their entire party gasped in shock and surprise as the bombshell dropped and they tried to wrap their heads around what Sunny had just told them.

“Is it possible?”

“Did she just say magic?”

“This is a trick, there's no way,” a female unicorn, Zoom, and Thunder whispered in complete bewilderment.

"I know it sounds impossible to you all but trust is, this is going to work and then, we'll all have our magic back!" Sunny pleaded.

"Children, you don't really believe-?" Queen Haven began in denial before Pipp and Zipp turned to her with pleading looks.

"Mom, please! This could be our only chance; if our magic is back, then we can start all over again!" begged Pipp.

"Please, Mom, we can't go on like this," added Zipp. "Don't you remember Tamu and Ryu and what they, Sefu, Drake, and our Pokemon friends did.......? Don't you want them back, too?"

"Pipp, Zipp, I........." Queen Haven began, her previous resolve faltering after she was reminded of her sister figure and best friend until she gave a relenting groan and agreed. "Oh, alright, but only for now."

"Hmph, you're wasting your time, kid," Alphabittle scoffed before Twilight and her brother appeared and pointed their tails threateningly at the Unicorn leader, spooking him as he gave a frightened yelp at them along with his fellow Unicorns.

"These scorpion tails of ours are filled with the deadliest poison known to man and dragons where we come from and they pack a paralyzing punch!"

"Anybody who dares to harm our friends and our family, especially our rider, Sarah, will know our trick known as the Two-Sting Fatality! Got it?!" Twilight and Dawn’s fully-grown children threatened menacingly.

"Yeah, we got it!" squeaked the Unicorns fearfully.

"Good!” nodded Dawn as he and Twilight lowered their tails but kept their glares on them.

Standing in front of everyone, Sunny got out the Wings of Loyalty and Izzy got out the Unicorn's Eye. "Ready, Izzy?" Sunny asked, prepared to make the big moment happen.

"Ready!" Izzy replied.

The two friends then put the crystals together but to Sunny's shock, as they were combined together, nothing happened.

"What? I-I don't understand it," she breathed, becoming frantic as she tried again. "It's not working, it has to! Why isn't it working?!"

"I think I know why........" Sarah replied, deciding to let her Earth Pony friend and everyone else know what she and her family had discovered from the flashback of Ryu's final memory as she took the crystals and saw the empty center from them.

"Sunny, didn't you remember the flashback of that final battle against Scarlet Nightmare and what Zipp and Pipp's extended family and friends did? Ryu and Helioseon along with their siblings and friends created three Equestrian Crystals; we've only collected two of them which are the Unicorn's Eye and the Wings of Loyalty. You still need to find the Earth Pony Hope but, even if you do........ That alone won't be able to bring magic back, it's impossible."

"Impossible?!"

"You're lying!"

"What are you talking about?" Alphabittle, Queen Haven, and Thunder gasped in shock as the Pegasi and Unicorns voiced their opinions as well.

Sarah sighed as she shook her head at the Pegasi and Unicorns and spoke out when they're done after silencing them with a raised hoof, "I mean, the real magic that you have in the entire world is the friendship, the love, the trust you have for each other........ The very things you've forsaken after Scarlet Nightmare's actions caused you to tear yourselves apart and turn your backs on the ones you protected you and destroy your friendships, love, and trust between each other and them!"

"I can't believe you are all stupid to believe you would think of yourselves as self-sufficient and independent to survive in this broken world but you've proven my and my family's suspicions about all of you correct. Yes, Scarlet Nightmare may have been the one to leave you all broken, afraid, and shaken to the point where you can't hope to trust each other again but instead of turning to the ones who supported you for help, you backstabbed them and decided to kick them out of your world out of fear! They didn't deserve that nor asked for it to happen, not after what Ryu and the others did to save you all!"

As Sarah spoke and admonished everyone that had been fighting, despite some of them being stubborn and not wanting to admit to her being right about their actions and what they've done, her consistent mentioning of Scarlet Nightmare started to get the attention of some of the other ponies with them. They either had heard of the legend involving her before but thought nothing of it or just passed her off as another fairy tale but what they all didn't know was that said Alicorn mare was lying and waiting to appear and from within their shadows, she chuckled darkly in amusement, enjoying the ponies tearing each other apart as if that's what she wanted while she listened in.

"How delightful......." she smirked with a sly and quiet chuckle.

"But, you know how things would be for all of us if the dragons and Pokemon were to remain with us!"

"Why should we invite them back in when they'll eventually turn on us and claim Equestria and the world for themselves?"

"They'll have some sort of elaborate scheme planned behind our backs and they'll kill us just as-!" two Pegasus guards and a Unicorn stallion tried to argue.

"SILENCE!" Sarah bellowed angrily, making the three of them shut up as they closed their mouths and perform a zipping motion over them while the rest of the Unicorns and Pegasi, even Queen Haven and Alphabittle, flinched in fear of her.

"Look at yourselves, everyone! You're becoming nothing more than savage monsters ever since you've banished the Pokemon and dragons after Scarlet was first defeated all those moons ago! This is what you really are and what happens when you let your fear, anger, hatred, and distrust for everyone and everything around you catch hold of you and take you over! You're letting it all stem from the aftermath of that one event divide you and develop misconceptions about one another, deepening the rift between you all and causing all of Equestria's magic to disappear and your work to become broken as it slowly eats you alive!"

The little princess did her best to control herself as she continued on with her speech, determined to help the ponies finally see the light and discover what their previous actions had brought them. Her family and the Mane Five could see how hard she was trying not to break down again after what happened with Queen Haven at Zephyr Heights last time and it was once again starting to take its toll but she pressed on, vowing not to crack again.

"You want to know why my family and I are able to use magic? It's because we still have our friendship, we're a family; that's how it's meant to be. That's the true mark of Equestria and where the magic really comes from. Sure, we may not be a normal family for the most part and we may be the strangest family ever known but that doesn't matter! What mattered to us is that the love, our friendship, and trust we have for each other remained strong and it's continued to grow stronger over the years despite everything being thrown in our path," she told everybody passionately yet calmly.

"You all have a chance to make everything right again if you just trust us now to finish what has been started by my parents, the Alicorns who once crossed over here during their previous rule: King Doug and Queen Delilah. To finally learn the true Magic of Friendship and learn to trust each other again, that's what they would want for all of us, for me......."

"B-But, how would you know that?" inquired a stunned Alphabittle.

"There's no way, how could you......?" Queen Haven asked in disbelief.

Sarah looked between them and answered for everyone to hear, a tear rolling down her left eye as the memories played again, "Because, before my family and I came here, they gave their lives to save me and our kingdom many years ago in our world. Back when I was only a baby......."

The Pegasi, Unicorns, and their leaders gasped in total shock, all of them flabbergasted as they wondered why Doug and Delilah didn't come back if they knew them before.

"Y-Y-You mean........ You're actually an orphan, and, the Earth Pony and Pegasus with you are........?" Hitch began, spluttering in shock before trailing off as he didn't know about Sarah's past prior to his joining the group.

Even Pipp was stunned by the bombshell revelation that had dropped with the fact that Sarah was an orphan and when she realized that Nikki and James are her adopted parents and not her real ones. She was even thrown off from hearing that the human-turned-Alicorn basically had her previous life ripped away from whatever had plagued her and her real parents back in their world when she was only a baby.

When she was finished, she returned the crystals to a sympathetic Izzy and Sunny as they gave her comforting looks. "This has to be why Ryu, Tamu, and the others trusted them back then to seal Scarlet and her creations away when she first attacked Equestria. And, now, you have to do the same if you want to restore your magic and your homeland and finish Scarlet Nightmare off for good!" she concluded, making her point clear.

"But, that's impossible! Scarlet Nightmare is nothing but an old mare's tale," Zoom replied skeptically.

"She's been gone for several moons by now! She would've already been nothing but dust in the wind!" scoffed another Unicorn.

"Oh, my little ponies....... Some things never leave you even when somepony such as myself once left this world behind," chuckled a voice that startled everyone as they looked around, Sarah, her family, and the Mane Five gathering together as they braced themselves for what's to come.

"Who's that?!" Izzy peeped fearfully, holding the Unicorn's Eye tightly.

"Someone's out here besides us!" Sunny cried as she held onto the Wings of Loyalty as the chuckle slowly grew into low mocking laughter.

"Who's there?" Queen Haven demanded, looking around along with her guards, their previous grievances forgotten.

"Where are you?!" demanded Zoom.

"Show yourself, right now!" shouted an agitated Alphabittle.

The low chuckle grew into a burst of demonic female laughter as everyone became even more uneasy and tried to stay strong but couldn't and before they could understand what the hell's going on, a gust of wind blew as the skies darkened. Then, in a flash of lightning amongst a series of shadowy flames coming from everyone's shadows, the main culprit behind Equestria's decline and the loss of everyone's magic (sans that belonging to Sarah, James, Tsukumaro, and Nikki) herself appeared in her physical form, the Alicorn Angel of Darkness herself: Scarlet Nightmare.

The ponies all gasped and screamed in shock and horror at seeing the supposed old mare's tale being back from her imprisonment and in the flesh while she gave a demonic smile to them, eager for her revenge and to enact her new plan of attack.

"No....... I-I-Is that.....?" Alphablittle stuttered, feeling small in Scarlet's presence.

"It's impossible......." breathed a horrified Queen Haven.

"That's her! The one who Ryu and the others fought with along with King Doug and Queen Delilah!" Pipp cried, pointing at the Angel of Darkness.

"Scarlet Nightmare......" snarled Zipp, seething at the evil mare who took her big brother away from her.

"How can this be? She's not supposed to be here!" panicked Hitch before being shushed from an equally horrorstruck Sunny.

"So, you're the one they called Scarlet Nightmare, am I right?" Tsukumaro asked, steeling himself along with his family to fight as they got into defensive positions.

"Well, quite a glittering assemblage here, I see. Fallen royalty, delusional horned nobility, the exotic gentry, and...... Oh, how quaint, even the optimistic rabble," Scarlet Nightmare (voice reference: Maleficent - Disney's Sleeping Beauty) began, gesturing slyly towards everyone around her and irking Zipp as she tried to charge at her but was stopped by Pipp and her mother.

Scarlet chuckled as she continued, "I really felt quite distressed at not being given a welcome home party-"

"You weren't wanted nor were meant to come back!" Zipp snarled.

"Not wha-Heh..... Oh dear, what an awkward situation, really. I had hoped we could come together again on equal terms, especially since you've been helping in my return ever since my first assault all those moons ago." The Angel of Darkness then turned to Sarah who had her parents' heirlooms on her and was ready to fight. 

"So, you're the daughter of the ones responsible for my imprisonment. Hmm-Mmm-Mmm, I would've expected something more from the only daughter of King Doug and Queen Delilah, much more, but the fact that you stand here before me now and you have their heirlooms suggests to me that you are indeed no ordinary child."

"B-B-But, tha-that's not possible!" Alphabittle denied, slowly losing his previous nerve.

"How did you escape? Ryu and the others all banished you to the ends of the earth along with every last one of your demons!" Queen Haven exclaimed in disbelief.

"Bravo, bravo, an extraordinary deduction, Your Highness. And, in all honesty, regarding my being free, I would very much like to thank you for setting me free. You obviously seemed so surprised to see me back at my full strength and you thought there was some other force behind it when you've been responsible for my return to grace this whole time."

"What do you mean?" Alphabittle questioned, standing in front of his fellow unicorns as they cowered behind him while he steeled himself. "You must've done something to our magic and now, you'll return it to-!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, my dear Alphabittle. For you see, my beautiful slaves, my Shadow Dragons and Shadow Pokemon, all feed off of your fear, distrust, hatred, and paranoia of each other, and as your so-called 'magic of friendship' grows weaker until it is but a mere fairy tale, we grow stronger as we kept feeding off of your xenophobia......... Yes, Alphabittle, it was you and every last Unicorn, Earth Pony, and Pegasus that bought me back and killed Equestria."

"No, it can't be! But, it was the Pegasi-!" 

"It was you all who killed off your only means of defense by banishing your own Pokemon and dragon friends, YOU who turned against each other and lost your own magic by making each other enemies!" 

"But, why?!" demanded Queen Haven, badly shaken from the truth along with every last one of the other ponies with her, Alphabittle, and the Mane Five.

"Because you immediately suspected the worst and wanted to save your own skins. You'll find that fear and paranoia can indeed be powerful weapons for you to use against one another; not that you even knew what you were doing since you've dismissed my legend at first glance after hearing about it, you knew about it because you or your families before you were there all those moons ago when I made my attack and when those blasted lizards, those runts for Pokemon, and those meddling Alicorns imprisoned me and you've helped me to escape after the prospect of my return became too much for you to bear. I've been waiting for moons for my release and when I felt a dwindling power around me in the middle of my 'sentence', I realized that because Doug and Delilah's seal relied on the magic of friendship from all of you coming together and trusting each other, you've given me a hail mary of my own for my return......." 

Everyone couldn't believe what they were hearing, especially the ponies when the bombshell dropped as Scarlet continued.

"I knew right then and there that as long as you would be fearful of one another and see yourselves as enemies and if someone should ever find the Equestrian Crystals, they would bring me back just to bring the magic back. And so, ever since you've cut yourselves off from each other and back to your designated tribes, my babies and I have been feeding off of your ongoing xenophobia, your fear of the unknown, and your hatred for others for something trivial as bringing back friendship, just to prepare for my grand return so I can have my revenge......"

Scarlet chuckled darkly as she allowed everything she said to sink in. "Yes, my friends, I knew you would sink so low into becoming savage beasts towards each other and you've helped to accelerate my return," she taunted. 

"But, my parents stopped you along with their friends the first time! And now, my family, friends, and I are going to do the same to you!" Sarah yelled in defiance. 

"But, why go through all of this? Why didn't she just ask us to help her with her power?" Izzy replied, wondering why Scarlet would plan such a scheme. 

"I know why! Because, if we had realized what everything we're doing would lead to her coming back, we would've come up with more elaborate plans to counter her return and get everypony to fully trust each other along with the dragons and ponies again!" Sunny gasped in shock. 

"But, even you can't even begin to comprehend the power that I now have thanks to all of you and your tearing each other apart for all these moons! No mere mortal can......" sneered Scarlet. 

"You've been eating too much fear and mistrust and watching too many horror movies for your own good to do pull something like this, Scarlet Nightmare!" Zipp snapped. "And, since you took my big brother from me, I'll make you pay for this!" 

"A typical mortal response as usual from a pony of such spunk, Zipp Storm. But, unlike your Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends and family of old, of whom I've killed one by one since they never stood a chance against me when fear and hatred took hold of this land again, I'm a superior being of pure magic and hatred incarnate. And, now that my demons and I are free to enact our revenge, I shall take over Equestria and remake it as one land under my image as it was meant to be! But, first........" She then smirked at the little princess before she fired a spell that immediately paralyzed her and allowed her to be snatched away and dragged over to her.

"PRINCESS!" Magearna cried, running after her before falling again. 

"Sarah!"

"Honey!"

"NO!"

"Ponchita!"

"Put her down right now!"

"Release the princess!" 

"Let her go!" 

"What they said! As the Sheriff, I order you to put her down!" The Mane Five, James, Nikki, and Tsukumaro shouted at her, seeing Sarah in her magical grasp. 

"Don't hurt her!"

 "Please, give her back!"

 "You'll be sorry if you skewer her!" 

"Don't you dare!" 

"Let my mother go, you creepy crone!" 

"Unhand King Doug and Queen Delilah's daughter, this instant!" demanded Blitz, Curly, Skystorm, Hurricane, Silvally, and Calyrex. 

"You're no match for Master Sarah when she breaks free, then you'll be sorry!" snapped Hashimoto. 

Scarlet Nightmare just cackled before she gave a taunting smirk towards everybody gathered, "No, you're no match for your own selves since the darkness has taken everyone over thanks to your fear and paranoia of each other because you have no more magic to fight me with and you've lost your only protectors. I, on the other hand, am the hero who's going to save Equestria from destruction. But first, I think I'll have some fun with Doug and Delilah's daughter while my beauties and I work towards your land's downfall and then the world......." 

"You won't get away with this, Scarlet Nightmare, you fiend!" Magearna angrily called, devastated as she helplessly watched Scarlet continuing to hold her charge in her grasp as she gave a final taunting smirk towards the Artificial Pokemon. "Oh, I already have......." she finished with a final dark smirk before she disappeared with Sarah in tow.

"NOOOOOOOO/NOOOOOOO/NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sarah's friends and family screamed in horror. 

"Princess!!!!!!!!!" Magearna shouted again as she cried and broke down over the loss of her charge, being separated not long after they were finally together. Sunny was horrified by everything that had happened and with Sarah being taken, she was left broken and with a feeling of hopelessness. "SARAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed, devastated.

It wasn't easy for them to escape when Scarlet's forces appeared as they ran but with Sarah's family's help, they were able to keep going despite nearly being killed one too many times. Once they were out of danger and they felt they were safe as they reached another forest to take shelter in until a plan could be made, everyone was at a loss over what to do now. Things had never been this out of hand before and they have no idea what to do since they've never even considered going up against Scarlet again.

 "Did we lose them?" Salamence as he comforted a frightened Eevee and Skitty. 

"I don't know but I did lose my lunch back there while running," groaned Dracozolt as he tried to hold his stomach in and not throw up, looking green in the face.

 "AAARRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!! I hate all of this!" screamed Talonflame furiously, really hating how things were going. 

"Come on, Sis," Cranidos replied worriedly for his sister figure.

"Come on nothing, Crans! What are we supposed to do now?!"

 "Thisssss issss a total dissssaster, I just can't believe it......." moaned Seviper, feeling miserable as he curled around a crying Magearna and did his best to comfort Sarah's distraught guardian. 

"We just got our tails whipped by the worst pony ever to exist in this whole adventure!" fretted Stufful. 

"What'll we do now, Sunny? We gotta do something," Zipp asked the devastated Earth Pony. "We've got to take down Scarlet if we're going to have any chance of getting Sarah back and finding the Earth Pony Hope!"

"But how, dear? You heard what she said; we can't fly, the Unicorns have no magic, and we've only got a handful of dragons and Pokemon on us to help stop this fight!" Queen Haven pointed out, already losing hope. "She's getting more and more powerful with all of the hatred, fear, and mistrust she and her demons can all feed and it's all our fault!" 

"There's still a chance we can fix all of this, right, Sunny?" Izzy asked, only to hear nothing from Sunny.

"Sunny......?" 

"What's wrong?" 

"Are you okay......?" she asked again along with Nikki and James, everyone seeing the Earth Pony now completely broken.

"I thought it could work before Sarah made us realize we were missing the Earth Pony Hope, I thought I could do the right thing......." she said to everyone with her in total despair, resorting to taking the crystals and giving them back to their owners, Alphabittle and Queen Haven looking on in surprise and bewilderment before she decided to leave for Maretime Bay. "I'm so sorry for causing you all this trouble......."

"Sunny, wait! Are you really gonna quit while you're ahead, we can't give up!"

"Where are you going?" Zipp and Pipp asked worriedly as they, Izzy, and Hitch tried to follow as everyone else watched in worry and hopelessness.

"I'm going home, everypony," Sunny replied simply, no longer having the drive to fight anymore. 

"But, what about Sarah, are you really just going to abandon her? You're her friend, we all are! She needs us!" Izzy begged. 

"What about us, Scarlet is at full power now because of everything we and everypony else have done since she was sealed away the first time! I thought that I could make a difference, to take the first step and show everybody that we can be more than just enemies and just friends with our own kind....... But, the truth is, while everyone else helped to accelerate her return, I was the one to instigate her coming back in full force and taking Sarah from us. Everything bad that's happened to us since you both and her family first came to Maretime Bay, Izzy, is my fault. Everywhere I go, I just make things worse........" 

"That's not true! We've faced problems like this before, we can get through this together! Right?"

"Yeah!"

"Of course!" Pipp and Zipp added reassuringly, only failing to convince Sunny otherwise. 

"I'm really sorry that I've let you all down including Sarah," she finished sadly, turning away from everybody and just making her way home. 

Everyone was shocked and further devastated that the pony who had the most hope for Equestria's survival and the return of the Pokemon and dragons along with the evil Alicorn's defeat had all but given up hope. 

"Oh, what are we gonna do?" asked Shortcake, not liking Sunny being so down on herself and losing hope with everything that had happened and Scarlet's return. 

"What else can we do, Shortcake? Scarlet won and with Sarah in her grasp, we're already at her mercy," frowned Sugarcoat solemnly, nuzzling her and Siren's younger sister. 

"Let's just go home and see if we can help her," Siren replied before he turned to the Pegasi and Unicorns sans Zipp, Pipp, and Izzy. "I hope you and the other Earth Ponies are all happy with what you've done. Is it all worth it just to have them for your own and all of the pain that had come because of your own fear and xenophobia and for your peoples' own safety, now?"

None one of the two pony tribes before everybody didn't know what to think or even admit it if they're too proud to say it as Sunny's guardians left to rejoin their charge but what can they say after everything they've done, intentionally or unintentionally? Izzy was the most devastated in seeing Sunny having already given up due to her own mistakes and her own part in Scarlet's revival as she didn't know what to think. And, realizing that Sunny was really beating herself up hard, Hitch decided to join her and try to comfort her, even if he also played a part in everything that happened and started her journey. 

"I guess this is goodbye...... Friends," he replied sorrowfully, now realizing that he and Sunny are parting ways with their new friends. 

"Better hurry, we'll think of something. Don't worry," reassured Zipp. Nodding gently, Hitch hurried to catch up with Sunny and her Pokemon guardians, leaving everybody else wondering what they should do while Sarah's family looked to each other and nodded in shared determination before silently leaving.
> Hope Rekindled
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Arriving back at Maretime Bay, the dejected Sunny and her guardians came back along the path leading to the quartet's lighthouse home while Hitch prepared to head back to the town. "I'm right here if you need to talk, Sunny," Hitch told her gently. 

But, his encouragement was all for naught as she just looked at him, still feeling depressed while her guardians gave her an angry glare, a shared dejected frown, and a headshake from Siren, Shortcake, and Sugarcoat, mentally telling him that now's not the time for him to comfort her and that he shared part of the blame for what's been going on and for Scarlet's return. 

Sighing in defeat and realizing that the three Galarian Rapidashes were right, Hitch turned away and left the quartet alone since he knew that they needed time to themselves. 

Entering their home, Sunny and her Rapidash Guardians looked around and thought about everything that had happened on their adventure as well as the ramifications that came out of it. Sunny was still dejected that everything had gone wrong since she, her new friends, and everyone else had helped in the evil Alicorn's return to her full glory but she also made several mistakes that compromised everything and accelerated her return. No longer convinced in doing what she feels is right in accordance with everything she heard from her late father, she decided not to bother anymore, still unsure of what to do with Scarlet ready to enact her revenge in full force.

Going into her room, she decided to leave the past behind as she put away her Mane Six figures and the lamp her father made for her into an open drawer while her guardians sadly watched, unsure of what to say first. Sighing in defeat, she turned to the large stand where the lightbulb was along with the multiple drawings she did from her childhood. However, when she pulled out the drawing Izzy got from her and looked at another one like it, she suddenly noticed that an object in the center looked awfully familiar to her.

She looked at the object between both drawings and after rubbing her hoof on the drawing, a small beam of light shone through and hit the top of her father's lamp showing her the pictures of Unicorns, Earth Ponies, and Pegasi living happily together; a sight that her father showed her when she was a filly before and after she got her Rapidashes. 

Looking back at the lamp after thinking back to the Wings of Loyalty and the Unicorn's Eye along with the flashback of Ryu's final memories and the moment when he and Helioseon first created the Equestrian Crystals, she gasped as she then noticed something about the top of the lamp. Pulling it out and looking at it, she saw that it was a crystal that looked like a disc. Then, looking back at an odd shape of the stand which looked like the Wings and the Eye together, she placed it on the center circle, causing it to and the other two pieces to sink and it was in the very same shape that Sarah had noticed. 

Sunny's eyes widened in awe and amazement as she realized what the crystal actually was, it was the third and final Equestria Crystal she was missing: the Earth Pony Hope. Her father had it with them all along and she didn't even know about it, until now. 

With her hope renewed, after telling an equally amazed Siren, Shortcake, and Sugarcoat about the Earth Pony Hope, they quickly galloped back into the streets of Maretime Bay. But, as they galloped to find Hitch and show him the Earth Pony Hope, Sunny Starscout slowed down and stopped as she noticed that the town was empty and devoid of life.

"Sunny!" Hitch cried, coming out of his station frantically. 

"Hitch, Hitch! I figured it out, I found the Earth Pony Hope! It was right with us-!" Sunny began, the sound of fireworks catching their attention as they saw some going off at a large building that's actually Sprout and Phyllis' home. 

Sensing trouble afoot, they all hurried over, only to see all of the townsfolk wearing helmets on them and marching down the streets.

"Huh? Hey, w-wait! What is going on here?" Hitch asked an Earth Pony named Toots. 

"We can't tell you, Sheriff Hitch. We've signed the Official Sprout Act," Toots replied, much to Hitch's bewilderment.

"Official Sprout what?" 

"What could that Momma's Boy be doing while we were gone?" asked Siren. 

"Why would you put him in charge of the town while you were looking for us and Sunny?" quizzed Sugarcoat to Hitch, having a bad feeling about what's going to happen. 

"I don't know...... What in the name of Faust did he even do?" pondered Hitch worriedly.

"I don't know but we have to find out what's going on," Sunny replied before she turned to her guardians. "Siren, Shortcake, Sugarcoat, until we find out what's going on, please stay hidden and keep out of trouble." 

Despite their reluctance to leave their charge alone, her three Galarian Rapidashes agreed as they went off to hide while Sunny and Hitch went off to the building known as Canterlogic, finding all of the citizens in line and wearing helmets called Anti-Mind Reading Helmets and Sprout being escorted by a few of them acting as his subjects and slaves with Phyllis standing beside him as he took to a podium.

"The Stallion-in-Chief!" another Earth Pony, Sweets, announced.

"Sprout?" Sunny and Hitch quipped in surprise. 

"Sprout! What are you doing?" Hitch called, not knowing what their childhood friend is doing, a nearby crab and two chickens seeing him and coming to his side. 

"Awwww, Little Sheriff Hitchy came trotting back, waaaah. I'm glad you and Sunny made it back, really. You're just in time to see me do what you couldn't – ATTACK OUR ENEMIES!" Sprout snapped, his jealousy taking over.

"Ugh! No, wait! Wait, wait, no! Sprout, please, listen to me! What you're doing is wrong, we were all wrong from the start! The Pegasi and the Unicorns along with the Pokemon and dragons can be our friends again. There's no need to be afraid of them. Besides, they don't even have magic!"

"Please, Sprout! You don't understand what's really going on and you need to stop this now!" Sunny added, also aghast by what Sprout had done and what he had become in her, her guardians, and Hitch's absence. "Scarlet Nightmare has just returned along with her Shadow Pokemon and Shadow Dragons! They're all coming to take over Equestria and unless we join forces with them and stop her, we're all doomed!"

".....What?" Phyllis gawked in silent bewilderment.

"No magic, HA! That makes it even better!" cackled Sprout mockingly. "And you must've gotten your heads in the clouds too much, guys! Scarlet Nightmare? She's nothing more than an old mare's tale, it's nothing but a bunch of baloney!"

She then turned to the rest of her fellow ponies, desperate to get them to realize the danger they're all in, "We can still bring magic back, bring friendships back! And, with Scarlet's return, we have to come together! To try and fix everything since King Doug and Queen Delilah first sealed her away! But, we have to join forces and do the right thing because we saw Scarlet Nightmare! She's back and her demons nearly attacked us before we were saved by some REAL Pokemon belonging to our friend, Sarah, after she was kidnapped! With their help along with the Unicorns and the Pegasi and even the dragons and the Pokemon, we can still save this world!"

The citizens seemed to be convinced as they started to take off their helmets until Sprout used his new power to force them to think twice before he brought in what looked to be a giant and automized version of Hitch's Splat-a-Pult, a machine that's built to kill ponies. "Say hello.......to Sprouticus Maximus!" he cackled, horrifying the ponies around him including his own mother, Sunny, and Hitch.

"Baby! This is a bit too much, dear!" cried Phyllis, realizing his mistake.

"Troops, on to Bridlewood!" Sprout demanded.

But, as he activated his machine, a shadowy blur swooped in and destroyed it, revealing itself to be a Shadow Braivary.

The citizens screamed in shock and terror as they immediately recognized what it was, suggesting that they've heard the legend before and truly believed it between them while denying it on the surface. Even Phyllis and Sprout couldn't handle seeing the evil Pokemon copycat.

"What is that?"

"It-it's-!"

"Oh! Oh my goodness, NO!"

"It's a Shadow Braivary!"

"What's it doing here?!"

"The spawn of Scarlet Nightmare!"

"I thought she and her demons were dead!" some of the citizens cried out in horror as they stepped back and held each other in fear.

"That's impossible......!" breathed Phyllis in terrified silence.

"No, no! Y-You can't be real! You're just one of that Sarah's Pokemon coming to destroy us!" screamed Sprout, being the cowardly pony he always had been.

"We are indeed real and so is our mistress, little pony," the Shadow Braivary smirked as an entire flock of Shadow Braivary (100, in total) emerged in the sky, giving the Earth Ponies reason to fully know that Scarlet Nightmare is indeed back with a vengeance. "And, now, we bid you all farewell. Attack! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!!!!!" 

Some of the ponies took the initiative to run as they attacked but just before they could be turned to stone as the Shadow Braivary divebombed them, they were thrown back by a powerful Moongiest Beam and deflected by a strong Protect, followed by three Moonblasts that knocked some of them away. The Pokemon that had emerged to protect them were Nebula and Nebby as they growled and screeched at Scarlet's minions.

"Get away from our new Auntie Sunny and Uncle Hitch!" Nebby roared.

"Nebby! Nebula!" gasped Sunny in shock, seeing Sarah's Sunne and Moone Pokemon protecting them.

"But, where did those Moonblasts come from?" asked Hitch, wondering who also saved them.

"Sunny!" called a familiar voice, the two of them turning to find Zipp, Pipp, Izzy, Sunny's guardians (the ones responsible for the previous Moonblasts), and the rest of Sarah's family coming towards them.

"W-what are you all doing here?" Sunny asked, aghast at them returning to her and Hitch.

"It's too dangerous for you all to stay here!" Hitch replied, still knowing the danger at hand.

"We don't care what anypony says!"

"We've been through too much to leave you alone without knowing how to deal with Scarlet Nightmare and save everypony and Equestria!"

"Yeah, we just wanna stay friends! For the sake of the Pokemon and dragons, and our family!" the three ponies told them.

"You didn't think you could be rid of us that easily, did you?" smirked Siren, nudging her playfully.

"I thought we agreed to be friends forever and stick together no matter what happens! Especially when we still have to save Sarah and protect you," replied Sugarcoat incredulously to Sunny, knowing that the Earth Pony was crazy to give up so easily and keep them hidden for their own safety as she did before.

"Yeah, but-!" Sunny tried to explain.

"Uh-Uh! Sorry, but don't think you're the only ones who need to fix this," interrupted Hydro, smirking at her. "Besides, we still got a job to do and that's to bring back your magic, save this world, and welcome back the Pokemon and dragons living here with open arms!"

"Sunny Starscout, you and our new friends along with Hitch aren't the only ones who can make a difference. We all can," reassured Reshiram with a knowing nod and smile.

"And, we choose to come back, stay with you all, and fight!"

"Yeah! No way are we missing out on all of this!" smirked Mist and Spark, nodding their heads in agreement.

"But, where are Nikki, James, and Tsukumaro, and the rest of you guys? What happened to them?" she asked again, seeing that a quarter of Sarah's family is missing.

"They're off to get some reinforcements to help us!” replied Nebula.

"And, they better hurry 'cause here comes trouble!" added Nebby, seeing the Shadow Pokemon preparing to attack while more hoof steps can be heard galloping towards the group as they turned.

The heroes' party turned and they saw Nikki, James, Tsukumaro, and their own party from Sarah's family joined by Alphabittle, Queen Haven, Cloudpuff, and all of the other Unicorns and Pegasi behind them. Their presence suggested to the Mane Five that Sarah's adopted parents and godfather were successful in their mission to get reinforcements after Scarlet made her attack on everywhere else including Zephyr Heights and after some convincing, the Unicorns and Pegasi all agreed to unite with them, the Mane Five, and the Earth Ponies to fight back against them and take a stand.

"Mom!"

"Alphabittle!" Zipp, Pipp, and Izzy gasped in delight.

"All soldiers, ATTACK!!!!!!!!!" Tsukumaro bellowed, the reinforcements with him, Nikki, James, and their party charging forward with renewed vigor as the Shadow Braivary flock divebombed again and turned into other different Pokemon and dragons before they brawled with all of the ponies, Sarah's family, and the Mane Five along with Sunny's guardians.

As they fought, Phyllis, Sprout, and the Earth Ponies looked on in shock as the other two pony tribes had come to their home to do the very thing they least expected upon Scarlet Nightmare's return: to help them, with the assistance of some REAL Pokemon and REAL dragons, of all creatures.

With Thunder and Zoom, they led the charge with the other Pegasi in Queen Haven's royal guard along with a handful of Sarah's dragons covering them from above as they flew. Voltage and Hurricane ran some blockers for the ponies, blasting the Shadow Braivary with their lightning and water blast attacks while Glastrier and Calyrex (having changed to his Ice Rider Form) catapulted Glacial Lance, freezing a number of the Shadow Pokemon charging from the ground before blasting them.

Oshawott, Vaporeon, Keldeo, and Suicune got together as they unleashed a Water Gun and Hydro Pump frenzy on some of the Shadow Pokemon and the Shadow Braivary attacking them and everyone else from ground level.

Azul and Azula quickly leapt off of Aurorus's back and landed on Thunder and Zoom's backs as the two Pegasi galloped through the street, becoming their Pokemon gattling guns as they fired Water Gun at the Shadow Braviary, Bewear, Beartic, Pidgeot, Trumbeak, Gumshoos, Kantonian Persian, and Ariados.

Alphabittle and the Unicorns all bucked and kicked the Shadow Pokemon coming at their as hard as they could while making use of their horns, swinging and thrusting them like swords while Sarah's Rapidash and Ponyta assisted them with their move sets, using attacks like Psycho Cut and Moonblast. Mudsdale even used Mud Slap to make them go blind before Terrakion, Cobalion, and Virizion blasted them on both ground level and on the air using Hyper Beam, Flash Cannon, and Magical Leaf. Then, with a few others, they used High Horsepower and Sacred Sword to bash and slice and dice a Shadow Houndoom platoon coming at them.

From the air, Phoenix and Nova had Queen Haven and some of the Pegasi joining her on their backs for aerial combat along with Winter, Shadow, Rubble, Starfire, Skystorm, Flystorm, Rosa, and Lilac. With everybody now on board with 

"Okay, dragons, dive in and do your thing!" the Pegasus Queen called.

"Yes, M'am!" the pair carrying her and her party answered.

Divebombing at high speed while the Pegasi hung onto their backs and their fellow dragons with them giving them cover, blasting a majority of their common enemies, they've blasted any stragglers from Scarlet's forces coming at them, making them screech and cry out in pain. The battle took a while until the current fleet they're all dealing with was finally gone.

"That's it for these guys!" called Zorua after she and Zeraora had finished their their lot.

"Good thing we got here while we did," Zipp replied.

"No kidding, I think we might just survive this until we find Scarlet and Sarah," noted Whiplash.

"Hashi, Star, and I'll check on the Earth Ponies," said Ching Wan.

"Okay," Zarude replied.

As everybody else regrouped to prepare for what would be the next stage of their rebellion against Scarlet, Star and the Wushu Brothers quickly rushed over to the Earth Ponies. None of them, not even Phyllis and Sprout, could muster up a response as they saw the other two pony tribes, Sunny, Hitch, their friends, and Sarah's family fighting against her forces to save their homeworld and them as well. For years ever since Ponykind lost their magic after she was first sealed away and they banished the dragons and Pokemon that used to live with and protect them, they've always thought of both species as enemies and they've used them as scapegoats for their own grievances. But now, with Scarlet Nightmare's return and the arrival of their unexpected reinforcements, that all seemed to change with said army fighting back against their common enemy while the Earth Ponies all cowered in the face of danger as Scarlet's return became a reality.

They were soon snapped out of their own stupor when Star, Hashimoto, and Ching Wan arrived as they exited Canterlogic and came face to face with them.

".......I-I don't understand," Phyllis started, she and her own son finding it difficult to speak with the three Pokemon diplomatically after what everybody just went through right now.

"Trust us, we're not as thrilled about all of this given the circumstances and your first impressions about us and our family," Ching Wan replied knowingly. "But, since our master was taken by your kind's old enemy and since she wants to kill you all and us to take back what she lost years ago, you can say that we're all on the same side now."

"We're glad that you're all okay, really. At least those Shadow Pokemon and Shadow Dragons didn't do you any harm," added Star, looking at the Earth Ponies with a hard look but with gentle, motherly eyes. "We know you may have some misgivings about us, the Unicorns, and the Pegasi before but if we don't do something now, you won't have any magic to get back."

"We don't expect you to trust us right away but you should know that no matter what happens, we'll fight to protect all of you and everyone else Scarlet Nightmare's planning to attack once she's finished with Equestria," nodded Hashimoto just as Alphabittle, Queen Haven, and the Mane Five arrived to check on the Earth Ponies as well. "Unless we come together and fight as one to end her wrath before she kills us all including Master Sarah, there won't be a Maretime Bay, a Bridlewood, or a Zephyr Heights for you all to return to, no Equestria for you to defend, and not while you're alone."

"Sprout! Thank Faust you're safe!" Hitch said to his and Sunny's childhood friend, hugging him in relief.

"Are you crazy?! Becoming emperor and causing war as a joke, building a war machine and causing everypony to fight in a pointless war as soldiers, using them as weapons because you're paranoid and afraid of our fellow ponies when we're actually helping the real enemy that's been under our noses the whole time? You almost got yourself and your mother killed as well!"

Sprout didn't know what to think as the Earth Ponies took off their helmets and looked down in shame as he did, he didn't know what to say since he went back on his promise to Hitch to keep everyone else safe before Scarlet's forces attacking opened his and their eyes.

"We're so glad you're alright but you have no idea what's going on and what you're really fighting for!" Sunny added in relief.

"Look, I know it doesn't look like much but what you're seeing is the truth. The Pegasi, the Unicorns, the Pokemon and dragons in Sarah's care, every last one of them wants to help us and be our friends. With their help, we can stop Scarlet Nightmare, get our friend back, and save Equestria while bringing back the Pokemon and dragons that used to live with and protect us before she was first sealed away moons ago. But, we can't do that unless we work together. Please, Sprout, you all have to trust us!"

"...........After everything that's happened, how can you be sure that we can possibly trust them?" Sprout questioned, geuninely guilty for his actions and still wondering if what Sunny told him is the truth.

"It may feel impossible but sometimes, you just have to take the first step. Even if you're not ready," replied Nebby, coming over to the group and looking at Sprout gently. "That's what Mama believed in.”

"And now, we have to do whatever it takes to get her back and take down Scarlet Nightmare" Sunny stated to all of the ponies gathered along with her friends. "To bring friendship and magic back to Equestria, once and for all!"

"But, Scarlet took her to a place that we don't know about and they could be anywhere in Equestria," stated Zipp doubtfully. "How would we know where they are?"

"My species are well known feeling the aura of our masters and friends, I can lead you all to where Mom is if her aura's still strong," suggested Star.

".......Can you do that?" Phyllis asked in surprise.

"I'm not an Aura Pokemon for nothing; that's literally what we Lucario can do, even Aunt Nikki's Lucario can track down his master's aura. I am a Guardian of the Aura, after all. Actually, I really need to think about having Mom finally take me to the Sinnoh Region to see Lucario Kingdom when we're done.”

"Then, you can find out where Sarah is judging by her aura, Star?" asked Pipp.

"If she's still alive and somewhere in Equestria, she's bound to be fighting back somehow. Honestly, I hope she is still fighting back after being captured," nodded Star, before concentrating her own aura. "Aura is with me.......”

Through her aura connection, she looked throughout all of Equestria for Sarah and her aura until, after a few tense moments from everyone else around her as they waited for an answer, she came across what looked to be an old temple at the base of the mountains leading to Zephyr Heights.

"I found her, at an old temple at the base of Zephyr Heights!"

"Let's go!" shouted Sunny, getting knowing nods from everybody as they quickly rushed off to the mountains.
> Battle for Equestria
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

But, while the attack on Maretime Bay was being staved off and the ponies had finally come together with Sarah's family and the Mane Five, in her temple at the base of the mountains, Scarlet Nightmare was walking through one of the hallways. Her Shadow Pokemon and Shadow Dragons all stood at attention and bowed to their master, ready for whatever orders she would give them. She had also gotten wind of her initial assault on Maretime Bay failing but she wasn't concerned about that in the slightest, she had gauged her enemies and knows what they're capable of now There was something of a more pressing matter on her mind that she needed to do first before she would attack again.

Entering a series of dungeons under the temple, Scarlet reached the cage at the farthest end and smirked at a disheveled Sarah, an anti-magic ring placed on her horn along with a brace on her wings preventing her from using magic or flying. It also didn't help that she had her heirlooms on her (sans her Twilight Amulet that refused to be taken off), her Dragon Blade, and her Dragon Heart Scepter, technically leaving her defenseless against her.

During her time in her imprisonment, Scarlet had not only weakened badly through a series of beatings that left her with numerous cuts, scratches, and bruises all over her body but she also stole her Alicorn Magic, making her twice as powerful and leaving her weak and low on energy despite her best efforts to resist her might until help arrives.

Scarlet continued to smirk as she observed her prisoner at her worst with everything she did to her, hearing her groaning as her stomach growled in hunger while she laid on the prison floor.

"Oh, come now, Princess Sarah. Why so melancholy of the new future I'm about to bring to Equestria?" she mocked. "A new wonderous future lies before you; Equestria under my wing and you as my first esteemed guest."

Sarah just glared at her as she continued, "I must say, though; when King Doug, Queen Delilah, and those eight pests and I first fought, they all caught me off guard when Ryu and Helioseon created the crystals and your insolent mother and father took their power a step further when they combined them with their heirlooms I've taken from you. I was blasted out to kingdom come and I've underestimated them by a wide margin but with them gone, you're the last reminder of my suffering and now that I have you, Equestria will be mine and the world will soon fall within my reach."

"You....... You, haven't, won....... Yet, Scarlet," Sarah grunted, snarling and slowly panting at the evil Alicorn. "My friends, ugh........ My family, dugh...... They'll all stop you, when they, catch up....... You haven't, seen....... What they, can..... Really do, together........"

"We'll see, Princess. Your time is almost up, as we speak. If your friends and your supersized family can really go up against me, ME, the Mistress of Equestria's Hatred and Fear, they'll see what they'll do while I have you as my bargaining chip."

"Mistress!" cried a Shadow Kantonian Persian as it, a Shadow Lucario, a Shadow Gengar, and a Shadow Swampert appeared and bowed to her with an urgent message for their leader.

"Mistress, we've got trouble! All of those annoying ponies and that Alicorn's army have just arrived at the temple! They've joined forces and are looking to destroy us all!"

"Excellent, they've arrived at the nick of time. Please, prepare a warm welcome for them and when we join you," Scarlet smirked, waving a hoof at them as they bowed in acknoledgement to her orders and went to prepare her army while she smirked at her prisoner. "Well, my little pony, it's over. As they always say, showtime......"

Sarah just glared at Scarlet, hoping that if Sunny, their friends, the pony tribes, and her family are coming, they'll stay strong and fight to the bitter end for Equestria's survival.





True to the Shadow Persian's warning to its master and Star's aura, Sunny, her friends, the pony tribes (now all united), and Sarah's entire family arrived in front of Scarlet's temple. There, they came face to face with the evil Alicorn's army as they all hissed and growled at them while guarding the temple before they saw Scarlet appearing to join them and chuckled at the sight of her opposition.

"So, you finally found my temple and you've all come as we've expected," she began as she walked out and stood in front of her army. "You're all brave but foolish, a Pokemon or dragon dies like any other pony and now, you'll all feel the same pain Twilight Sparkle and every last one of her friends in this world felt when they fell to my wrath."

"We're not afraid of death as long as we stand together against you, you big meanie!" Nebula spat.

"Where's our Mama?" demanded Nebby giving her a searing glare.

Scarlet chuckled darkly as she tapped into her magic and teleported Sarah from her cell in front of them, falling onto her right side as she still felt weak from her latest round of torture from an enemy such as her.

"SARAH/SARAH/SARAH/HONEY/PONCHITA!"

"Princess!"

"Mama!"

"AUNTIE!" the Mane Five and her family cried in shock, Sunny Starscout, Magearna, and Hitch Trailblazer running up to help her while Scarlet threw her Dragon Blade, her parents' heirlooms, and her Dragon Heart Scepter to them as well.

"Take them and the princess. She'll be of more use to you now that I got what I wanted."

"Sarah, I'm so sorry for everything! Are you alright?" Sunny asked frantically as Zeraora grabbed her weapons and joined them.

"Yeah......." Sarah panted weakly.

"What happened to you?" Zeraora quizzed, concerned over her lack of strength.

"She...... S-She, ugh, took my, magic...... Right after, she....... Captured, me......... Now, she's more....... Powerful, with it......"

"What?!"

"She stole your magic?"

"That can't be!" Izzy, Zipp, and Pipp gasped.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! It took a while since she's a stubborn little cookie but I finally did it. You may have finally brought Ponykind together but you're too late since I've taken all of her power while you were fooling around," Scarlet cackled, looking at the shocked and now-angered army.

"And now, with the power of the only daughter of King Doug and Queen Delilah at my command along with all the anger, fear, mistrust, and paranoia my army fed upon ever since your whole journey started, even with your army, no one shall ever defeat Equestria's Angel of Darkness, its own Hatred Incarnate! Between you poor, simple fools, I am INVINCIBLE!"

Nobody knew what to say while Sunny snarled at her until she blinked and then smirked before she began to taunt, "How can you be invincible if you didn't have me to kick everything off? I *have* made things worse everywhere I go just to return magic to Equestria and bring back the Pokemon and dragons, right?"

Scarlet was surprised as she stared at her but she rubbed her chin thoughtfully, realizing that she was also able to return through Sunny's efforts and haste to do what everyone once thought was impossible.

"You speak the truth, I haven't been able to become stronger without your efforts in particular," Scarlet admitted.

"Then, if I'm responsible for you coming back as well, I might be just the pony to put you down for good along with all my friends."

"You're a fool to think you can put me down like those infernal Alicorns did before their daughter crossed over."

"One last fight; we win, Equestria is saved and if you win, you can start on us. Winner take all?"

Scarlet looked hard at Sunny but she smirked before she nodded, agreeing to what'll be the final battle for Equestria's fate for the future.

"Show me your true strength," she dared.

Sunny then turned to everyone else and said, "Okay, everypony, this looks like this will be our final battle. Now, let's give her everything we got!"

"YEAH/YEAH/YEAH!!!!!!!!!" everyone with her and Sarah shouted in agreement, ready to fight for Equestria against Scarlet.

"This battlefield will be your grave when I'm through with you, you poor unfortunate souls! Let the contest for Equestria and your magic BEGIN!" declared Scarlet, firing a dark blast from her horn and signaling her army to attack.

Letting out war cries and standing united in their fight for Equestria, all past petty and ignorant grievances now forgotten in the face of danger, all three pony tribes and Sarah's entire family of Pokemon and dragons along with herself, her parents, Tsukumaro, and the Mane Five charged forward, putting themselves on the line to finally end Scarlet Nightmare and her reign of terror for the final time.

Marowak was the first to throw the first punch as he barreled through his own grunts with Flare Blitz while Audino and Aqua joined forces to fire a Twin Ice Beam attack to freeze a platoon coming towards them before the Hearing Pokemon then joined up with Ponyta to use Focus Blast and Psybeam to destroy the platoon.

Winter and Shadow took to the skies with some of the other dragons along with Sarah's Flying Types and Reshiram to combat against Scarlet's Flying Type spawn while the other dragons did what else they could on ground level, the Striker Class Fury couple firing barrage after barrage of plasma shots, Hydro and Hurricane firing water at her demons, and Melody and Echo firing amber blasts amongst the ones fighting back. For some of the younger dragons including Twilight and Dawn's children, Puff and Big Puff, and the Night Fury Hatchlings from Sarah's conservation project, they didn't know how to fight back so the older hatchlings, Twilight, and Dawn had to step in to protect them so they wouldn't be easily targeted.

"Okay, fine. Just stay away from anyone older than you but keep close to one of us," replied Twilight to her and Dawn's children after saving them from an attack from a Shadow Raichu pair. 

Against some Shadow Kantonian Meowths and Kantonian Persians, Persian and Lolita joined forces as mother and daughter attacked together with Shadow Claw and Fury Swipes, showing their foes the true might of the Alolan Monarchy's last remaining royal cats. Blitz and Curly, on the other hand, attacked as one against some Shadow Alolan Ratattas and Raticates with Volt Charge and a feint combo of Charm and Thunderbolt.

Noctowl and Braviary soared against some Shadow Skarmory and Shadow Staraptors and sliced them with Steel Wing and Wing Attack while Talonflame burned them with Ember to make their cutting easier and she took down a few with her Aerial Ace and Brave Bird attacks (despite having to take in recoil damage from her last attack).

The Unicorns bucked and bashed their way through against some of the Shadow Spawn of dragons and Pokemon that came their way, continuing to buck at them with their four legs between each hit and using their horns as swords to skewer them as they had done before. Tsukumaro was able to use his magic along with his bucking and horn by itself to his advantage (feeling glad and relieved that he and Sarah had practiced combative training with their magic on the way to Bridlewood even if it wasn't much as they would've hoped).

Even if they don't have much magical strength and they're not as in tune with the natural earth compared to James and their ancestors, Sunny, Hitch, and their fellow Earth Ponies fought hard as they bucked and headbutted each Shadow Pokemon and Shadow Dragon that dared to hurt them. Even Sprout and Phyllis, after overcoming their xenophobia and realizing who the real culprit responsible for everyone's troubles in Equestria is, helped out in any way they can as they got their hooves dirty for the greater good. Nothing else mattered to them anymore; like everybody else, what mattered most to the tiny family of two is the survival of them and everyone else living in their homeworld as well as Sarah and her family.

Joining forces with the King of Bountiful Harvests and his Steeds, Zarude used Darkest Lariat on the Shadow Pokemon and Shadow Dragons that surrounded him and tried to kill him, burning them until they're nothing but ash. As for Calyrex (in Ice Rider Form still), he used Icicle Crash and Glacial Lance with Glastrier while the Wild Horse Pokemon used fired Ice Beam and Blizzard along with smashing them with Headbutt and High Horsepower once they're frozen. Spectrier, on his own, used Phantom Force, Double Kick, Dark Pulse, and Shadow Ball to blast and knock his foes back while using Agility to increase his speed to give them a hard time trying to hit him.

Stufful (after gaining her confidence), Yamper, and Scorch joined forces to show their larger foes what small Pokemon can really do with Yamper unleashing Howl to increase his family's attack power while Scorch kicked a Shadow Raboot doppelganger with Blaze Kick and Stufful then using Rock Slide to destroy the other Shadow Pokemon with it.

Danny and Danielle along with Goodra, Houndoom, Latios, Latias, and Salamence converged Shadow Ball, Ice Beam, Shadow Claw, and Flamethrower into one team blast to tear through the Shadow Dragons coming at them, all while the Eon Pokemon siblings used Dragon Dance in conjunction to increase their attack power and speed to allow them to hit first.

As for Sarah and Sunny's guardians, Sugarcoat, Shortcake, and Siren were all able to kick and buck any Shadow Dragons coming at them while firing Moonblast to force them out of range and back while the little princess managed to regain enough strength to allow her to buck a few others with her rear hooves and kick with her front legs and hooves.

But, as they continued their assault, they suddenly took notice of Tsukumaro, James, Nikki, and Sunny (having joined them during the fight) fighting another group while two Shadow Pokemon (Shadow Seviper and Shadow Carnivine) sneaking up from behind them to pull a fast one on them.

Sarah gasped as she quickly rushed over to her adopted parents and godfather with the three Galarian Rapidashes galloping after her to get to Sunny in time.

"SUNNY, LOOK OUT!" Sugarcoat shouted, just as they reached their loved ones and forced them out of the way before they clashed with the Shadow Pokemon.

Despite having managed to destroy the Shadow Seviper and Shadow Carnivine, it also resulted in the four of them being turned to stone in the process, their loved ones looking on in horror as they saw them becoming statues along with the Mane Five and some of Sarah's family (all of them gasping or crying out in horror as soon as they heard their screams).

"Honey!"

"Ponchita!"

"Princess!" Nikki, James, and Tsukumaro cried in shock.

"NO!!!!!!!" Sunny screamed, engulfed in utter terror as she rushed over to her Galarian Rapidashes just as they and Sarah were now completely stone. "SUGARCOAT, SHORTCAKE, SIREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Everyone else saw what happened and were horrified that Sunny's guardians and Sarah gave themselves up to protect their loved ones but none of them had time to dwell on it any longer as they soon started to feel angry. Their grief-filled anger was shown in their continued fighting but with renewed strength, everybody wanting to avenge their fallen four fighters and friends/family as they let out furious yells and continued to skewer, cut down, blasted, slashed, and beat up the Shadow Pokemon and Shadow Dragons.

"SARAH! NO! YOU FIENDS, YOU BASTARDS! I'LL KILL YOU, I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" Tyrantrum raged as he and Aurorus used Ancient Power, Head Smash, Ice Fang, and Rock Tomb along with their feet, tails, and heads mercilessly against their foes.

"Four down....... Now, now, dearies, there's no need to rush to your deaths. But, I've expected better from you all given how lackluster you were being as fighters," Scarlet scoffed with a dark chuckle, seeing that her revenge is coming into fruition with Sarah and Sunny's guardians defeated.

"You....... I'll fix you! Give back my family and Sarah, you hear me?! GIVE THEM BACK!!!!!!!!!!!" Sunny snarled, letting out a war cry as she charged at Scarlet to get her revenge, only to be blasted back hard as she tumbled on the ground with a pained yell.

"Sunny!" gasped Hitch, Sprout, Zipp, Pipp, and Izzy as they rushed to her aid while Scarlet continued to smirk darkly at the heroes' army.

"You still have a future if you stop fighting and learn to accept that there is no hope for you left to defeat me. I was born from the rage and fear that came out of your hearts when King Doug and Queen Delilah first sealed me away and you allowed your paranoia over history with me repeating itself with your own Pokemon and dragon protectors. When tensions between Equestria and its neighboring kingdoms became too much for Princess Twilight Sparkle and every last one of her friends to bear in their time due to civil unrest that sprung up from petty affairs in the civilian circles and the political scene, their growing fights and grumblings resulted in giving me life. And, from those same tensions that crumbled relationships Equestria had with the rest of the world, I've built up my strength, feeding as much of the anger, fear, hatred, paranoia, and mistrust there is until I'm virtually invincible at that time. Thus, after being born and seeing and hearing everything that's happening, I've begun to realize that friendship can only take one so far before it crumbles when nobody knows who can be trusted, what is worth trusting, who your friends really should be, and so on if that same fear and paranoia they felt could be used against them."

"You used all of the unrest and panic that's been brewed back then to throw Equestria into chaos the first time and had Twilight Sparkle and all of her friends destroyed and shatter their friendships with everybody they knew and love!" Sunny spat furiously.

"They were simpletons that knew nothing about how fragile friendship really is."

"Don't you dare mock them and their friendship!" screamed Izzy defiantly. "Everypony back then may have caused the world to be thrown out of whack that forced the Pokemon and dragons we were living alongside with to save us all from total disaster but you're still responsible for everything that led us to this point!"

"If everypony back then had settled down and discussed things more calmly and with leveled heads, Equestria and its neighboring kingdoms that were cut off from us as the years went by would've continued to live happily!" Hitch added in agreement, glaring at Scarlet as the fighting continued around the group and Scarlet.

"But, you ruined everything, and now, after King Doug and Queen Delilah along with the last dragons and Pokemon managed to seal you away last time, you've proven that there's no point where you're never willing to sink so low because you represent all that is made out of our deepest, darkest fears! Even the ones that are nonexistent and mainly came down to paranoia and total misconception!"

"A small stepping stone on a long path that leads to your own demise coming soon, Hitch, my boy. But, it was necessary for me to make all of this happen since I still plan to remake Equestria as my own and take over the world by crushing all of those who'd dare to oppose me and remember the old legends about Twilight Sparkle and every last one of her friendship posse. However, you all stand in the way of my grand plans for this land's future and I can't allow you all to interfere with my intended goals."

"Why do you care about Equestria when all you've done is destroy everyone back then and right now along with the help of your demons for Pokemon and dragons, especially when you took my, Pipp, and our mother's extended family from us?" growled Zipp as she and Pipp glared at Scarlet.

"Haven't you realized it yet? There can only be room for one pony who's the perfect fit to rule and oversee Equestria's prosperity and that pony........IS ME!"

"Sorry to disappoint you, Scarlet Nightmare! But, everypony-no, everyone, including the dragons and Pokemon, is in charge of Equestria's prosperity because we all get to choose who our friends and family can be and live together happily with them and nobody should cross the line of having to hurt others to force them to be friends with you nor take this land as your own and have us all living both a lie and a total nightmare because we couldn't trust each other!" Sprout declared, finally standing up for himself fully as he threw a defiant glare back at her.

"I may have crossed that line once and there will be a lot I'll have to atone for but if there's one thing I've learned throughout this whole war we're in with you, it's that friends are forever and together, we stand strong! We all have a power that you don't understand and you never will since you were only born from everyone's fears, hatred, mistrust, and the lies we've been living and that something is what'll keep us, the Pokemon, and the dragons together as one! We will be the ones to choose Equestria's future because we all need each other for the dragons and Pokemon needed us just as we needed them and that's how it's going to stay!"

"Your so-called defenders have all been driven out of this waste dump of a kingdom and out of your lives by the mere memory of me!"

"They're not as gone as you might think!" Sunny defiantly shouted.

"To business, Sunny Starscout. And, with that, I'm going to teach you all including your ingrate royal friend's family a lesson you'll never forget. Let's match the powers of Scarlet Nightmare, Equestria's Hatred Incarnate, against the descendants of the late Princess Twilight Sparkle and her pony entourage!" finished Scarlet, signaling her army to fight back even harder as they clashed with her demons again.

"Sunny, Scarlet's army is growing stronger!" Tyrunt shouted as he and Amaura did their best to fight back.

"They aren't backing off!" shouted Totem Marowak.

"They're everywhere!" cried Sonic, she and Nitro along with Shaymin, Silver, Whiplash, Reignstorm, Mirage, and Charger striking back at the demons as best they could while their enemies closed in.

Sunny looked around as the situation was starting to become hopeless; everyone fought to the best of their abilities but they were starting to become tired as much of the ponies fighting back were losing their energy from having exerted themselves too much in the fight. With their exhaustion, some of the Unicorns, Earth Ponies, and Pegasi were turned into stone when their guards were let down. She was horrified that they were starting to fall behind and were being backed into a corner as she tried to figure out what to do, seeing some of Sarah's family also becoming stone once they were overcome by Scarlet and her demons.

It looked as though everybody had finally hit a roadblock they weren't sure they were going to clear to end Scarlet Nightmare and her army until she bumped into the statue of Sarah and looked to her, wanting to have some sort of miracle given to her if she were with them. Then, as if she was suddenly struck by lightning and had a Jimmy Neutron inspired Brain Blast, she suddenly remembered something that she and Sarah once asked Zipp about when she revealed to them, their families, and Izzy her, Pipp, and their mother's extended family back at the summit ruins of Zephyr Heights and as they prepared to get the Wings of Loyalty during the royal celebration that was thrown for all the Pegasi.





(Flashback)

"Zipp, there's something we don't know about all of this," Sunny began to Zipp as she looked at the petrified forms of Ryu, his siblings, and their Pokemon. "About your family including your brother, really."

"What made them decide to trust my parents with their crystals?" Sarah pondered looking at Ryu and Helioseon's statues. "They must have had some reason for wanting to entrust their power and the crystals themselves to Mom and Dad........"

"You know, that's something I've never been able to know and I don't know what goes on in Ryu's head most of the time," Zipp admitted, smiling fondly as she looked at her big brother's statue again.

"But, in cases like this, I felt that he knew that whenever the situation calls for it, he can place his trust in the most unexpected of ways and ponies to help them see the light in what they should do in their own lives or give them a nudge in the right direction. I have no idea why he, his siblings, and our Pokemon friends would trust them, either. It could've been one of them who would've done it, I still think about how things could've been different if any of them had used them and their power to save Equestria back then. In the end, all I know is that they trusted Doug and Delilah and they trusted them, and so........."

(Flashback ends)





When she was snapped back to reality by Scarlet's victorious cackling, a rainbow of light shone over her eyes and she gasped in total realization, now seeing how she and everybody else surviving the ongoing war can still beat her. They have to do the exact same thing that Zipp and Pipp's extended family and Doug and Delilah had done all those moons ago.

"It's over, fools! You've already lost," Scarlet Nightmare gloated. "There's no one left to help you and you don't have magic that can stop me anymore!"

"No...... You're wrong, Scarlet, this is not about magic! It's about trust!" Sunny began, getting everyone's attention as she stepped forward, glaring at her.

"What......?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's why our friendship, our love, our trust for each other can still work! By doing the one thing that Sarah and her family wanted all of us to do, what my father wanted us to do before he died! To come together at this time and fix everything including destroying you! But, that can only happen if we all come together and that's what we did since I finally know that it's not the crystals that make friendships, it's US!"

Everyone was surprised and amazed that Sunny was able to realize and understand that the only ones that needed to be brought together aren't the Equestria Crystals but all three of the pony tribes that have fought one another and had separated each other for many years following their enemies' downfall.

"It's us ponies that needed to be brought back together, all along! We can still bring back the magic we lost because of you and fix everything that's wrong with us since that time; we can stay and live separated from one another on account of fear and mistrust among us all or we can do the very thing that Sarah and her family had done before meeting us and after everything King Doug and Queen Delilah when they crossed over - trust friendship and love! So, I should thank you for helping us see that, especially me! Thanks to you, I finally saw the light!"

"HA! Do you really think things would go back to normal and you could destroy me by trusting friendship, an idea or value that's as fragile and weak as your egos and your hearts? Don't make me laugh, you're just deluding yourself with an empty promise for the future! Must you always insist on playing the hero as that puny princess had done before I did away with her and your guardians?"

"Everypony we love may be turned to stone by you and our friends may be gone but their spirits still live, inside us!" Sunny finished firmly, making her last stand against Equestria's Angel of Darkness.

"As long as we keep them in our hearts and we're together....... If they think of us now and then and if they don't forget me and my friends, our hearts will be one as we're united by our friendship, our loyalty, our trust in each other! Our friends are our power and we're theirs! That's the true magic you'll never take away from us, EVER!"

That was the moment that changed everything and turned the tide of the war in the heroes' favor as the crystals reemerged and they started to glow, regaining and triggering their lost power.

Everyone was shocked and surprised when they saw all three crystals that had been created by Ryu and Helioseon started to glow their respective colors (Wings of Loyalty - blue, Unicorn's Eye - purple, Earth Pony Hope - white). They soon surrounded Sunny after hearing her previous declarations against Scarlet, speeding up as they made her float into the air.

"Whoa!" she gasped.

"What?" Scarlet breathed, her eyes widening at the shocking sight before her.

Hitch, Pipp, Izzy, and Zipp also gasped in shock as the crystals continued to circle around Sunny, their combined and revived power granting her with a pair of golden-yellow wings and a horn made from their magic along with a rainbow streak in her tail and mane as it lost two ribbons. She marveled at the sight of her new body features and gave a determined smirk towards her horrified enemy as she and her forces started to flinch and inch back at what would be a most welcome sight for all.

"This is not possible! It can't be here!" the evil Alicorn breathed again, growing more agitated and starting to reel back at the sight of Sunny now being another Alicorn. "I destroyed the Alicorns and all magic along with those that followed Twilight Sparkle and her fools! Who are you?!"

"I've been asking myself the same thing. Am I an Earth Pony, a believer, a troublemaker, an optimist who believes in something more, a friend to all, somepony who's more than what she is on the surface.......? Turns out, I'm all of those things," Sunny replied simply before tapping into the crystals' power and shooting a ray of light at Scarlet.

Akin to the death of Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Scarlet was hit hard by the ray of light as her chest gained a hole on it, screaming as she tried to fight off the pain. Not wanting to give her any opening, Sunny hits her with a second ray of light with small patches of it appearing on her face and her body while her minions screamed and withered in pain as if they felt it, too.

Finally, Sunny looked at the crystals one last time as she gave a final glare as she unleashed their power one last time and then hit Scarlet and her minions with a much more powerful ray of light that surrounded the area and everyone surviving along with their foes, all of them still withering and screaming in pain until they couldn't resist anymore. The crystals then floated above the new Alicorn and then came together in the intended formation they needed to be in and with a final blast of light, unleashed a powerful rainbow aurora borealis of magic throughout Equestria. The return of the Magic of Friendship was too much for Scarlet Nightmare and with one final angered and agonizing scream of defeat, she exploded into nothing but shadow along with her minions as they were all dissolved and banished, never to return again.

The magic's return also restored everyone and the Pokemon and dragons in Sarah's family that was turned into stone, much to their amazement and awe as they soon directed their attention towards Sunny and the restored Equestria Crystals.

Sarah's entire family cheered as they reunited and were delighted from what had become of the land, everybody around them, and the final defeat of Scarlet Nightmare and her forces. What added to their exuberant joy was the sight of Izzy's horn glowing along with Pipp and Zipp's wings and Hitch and Sprout's hooves and bodies, the magic of all three pony tribes finally returning to their rightful owners with Scarlet's defeat and their moment of coming together with each other and the little princess' family.

"Whoa! Ha, ha, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Zipp laughed, feeling herself taking flight as she zipped around happily along with Pipp.

"We're flying! We're really flying!" Pipp cheered excitedly, their mother, Alphabittle, and Phyllis regaining their own magic along with the rest of their fellow ponies as they all cheered and celebrated the return of their magic and Scarlet Nightmare's destruction.

With everyone's magic returned, Sunny drifted back down to the ground as the ponies cheered for her and even her friends joined her in amazement, admiration, and excitement for their Earth Pony-turned-Alicorn friend.

"Wow, Sunny! Check you out!"

"Wow...... You know, beautiful," Pipp and Hitch commented in awe.

"I can't believe it!" Sunny exclaimed, hardly believing her eyes as she looked at her horn and wings. "I'm actually an Alicorn now!"

"Now, THAT is what I call a Glow Up!" Izzy chirped ecstatically.

Then, Sunny heard three sets of gasps from behind her and she turned to find her Rapidash guardians having been released from their stone prison and were looking around in awe at the Earth Ponies, the Pegasi, and the Unicorns celebrating the return of their magic. She was stunned but then she started to cry tears of joy as she saw her remaining family alive and breathing again.

"Sugar, Short, Si?" she called, getting their attention.

"Sunny......?" Siren breathed in awe and relief, the small family of four reunited as they looked at each other before they ran to and nuzzled each other happily as tears streamed down their faces, Sunny crying as she buried herself into their nuzzling embrace.

"You were awesome, Sunny," Shortcake praised.

"Your father would be so proud of you, just as we are........" added Sugarcoat, giving her a tearful nod and smile of approval.

"I can't believe it! We did it, we brought everypony and magic back together!" Sunny cried happily until Siren noticed something off as they broke free and he saw what the problem was.

"Uh, Sunny, everyone, it might be a little too early for you to have a celebration......." the Shiny male Galarian Rapidash admitted, much to her surprise as he turned and pointed to the source of his worries. "Look." 

The Mane Five and everyone else looked to where or what he's pointing at and there was Sarah, still a stone statue as she wasn't affected and brought back by the magic's return.

"Sarah!"

"Oh, no!"

"It can't be! She should've been revived, too!"

"That's impossible!"

"She's still a statue!" the Mane Five cried as Sunny rushed over and held her petrified friend.

"Sarah.....? No, no...... You can't, please, no........" Sunny begged, holding her stoned face as she tried to deny what didn't happen.

But, it was too late for her to hold her emotions in as she continued to look into her dead, stone-cold eyes as she realized what had happened; Sarah didn't get her Alicorn magic back from Scarlet after she had managed to destroy the Angel of Darkness and her minions and as a result, she wasn't effected and revived by the magic's return. Seeing that she had failed her fellow Alicorn and one of her closest friends, Sunny bawled as she broke down, hugging Sarah as everyone else watched solemnly and some of them started crying along with much of Sarah's family (their devastation being shown in their various ways of dealing with their emotions from crying to trying and failing to shut out the pain from their loss and letting it out as they screamed).

"Mama......?" Nebby cooed, walking towards the grief-stricken Sunny and his petrified human mother, also heartbroken. But, if they thought Sarah's story had ended with her death through the ultimate sacrifice for her family and her pony friends, they were wrong. A final surprise lied in wait for everyone as moments later, it suddenly started to rain, the sight of it amongst the now-bright aurora-covered sky catching everyone by surprise.

"Rain?" Alphabittle blinked.

"But, how? There wasn't any storm schedule to be around this time," pondered a stumped Phyllis.

"Where did it come from?" Queen Haven quizzed, sharing their confusion. But, before anybody else could voice their confusion and surprise, Blitz and Curly's ears perked up as they thought they could hear a distant sound. They looked at each other and turned to the sound coming from north of Bridlewood.

"What is that?" Blitz asked.

All of the ponies and Sarah's family turned to what Blitz and Curly were seeing, coming over from the water. But, what they all saw coming towards them left everyone in total shock and amazement.

"I don't believe it.......!" breathed Sprout, joining the Mane Five in awe.

What they all saw was also something that shook Pipp, Zipp, and Queen Haven to the core as tears started welling up from their eyes; there were the once-exiled dragons and Pokemon of Equestria, returning home and also having been brought back by the Magic of Friendship that Sunny had unleashed. Leading them all were the royal Pegasi's dragon family and Pokemon friends including Tamu, Sefu, Drake, and Ryu with Helioseon, Seleneon, Thundereon, and Freezeon riding on their backs (the dragons all running on raindrops like they were makeshift stepping stones).

Nobody knew what to say as they were all shocked to see them come back as they flew overhead with Zipp, Pipp, and Queen Haven's old friends/extended family leading the way. Lead by Ryu, the dragons, and he and his siblings' partners all flew down and circled Sarah's stone form together, putting their revived magic to use to make her statue glow and float up into the sky in the center of their formation. Then, before they knew it, everyone saw her stone for breaking and chipping off of her body before it was blasted off of her and she was back to her full glory (her Alicorn magic also returned) to her family's shock and relief.

When she finally opened her eyes, Sarah gasped as she spread her wings and flew around, seeing all of the dragons and Pokemon that had once been kicked out of Equestria, finally back where they belonged, joining them in the air as they flew the ponies (getting a playful nudge from Ryu and Helioseon in the process). The little princess soon saw her family and the Mane Five amongst the ecstatic crowd as they all cheered, she descended down to them, flying over their heads before she gently touched the ground and smiled.

“AUNTIE!!!”

”Auntie Sarah!”

"Mama!!!!!!"

"You're alright!" the younger/baby dragons, Nebby, and Nebula cheered and cried as they immediately dogpiled and nuzzled her, making her laugh as she managed to get up and break free from their tearful embrace before she saw Sunny and walked over to her.

"Sunny......." she began.

"Sarah," smiled Sunny Starscout before they eventually shared a loving hug.

The reunions weren't over yet as Tamu, Sefu, Drake, and Ryu joined the Mane Five and Sarah's family while Helioseon, Seleneon, Thundereon, and Freezeon jumped off their friends' backs and met them as well. No longer being stone on account of Scarlet Nightmare anymore, much of Sunny and Sarah's giant party was in awe of how beautiful the eight of them really were.

Helioseon looked like a small four-legged Egyptian Sphinx of a cat, having a blue body and Sphinx-inspired ears with yellow stripes. His sphere-shaped tail complemented the crescent-shaped insignias on his waist and shoulders and on the center of her forehead, there was another crescent on him but instead, it had three points on it.

Seleneon is more like her brother's skinny female counterpart, being dark red all over and having a three-point crescent moon on her forehead coupled with two crescent earrings fixed to her ears. Her neck had more of a large tan-inspired shading with her tail having a singular loop in the center and having crescent moons dotted on her waist and shoulders.

Thundereon resembled Zekrom but in his own unique way, his upper back having large golden wing structures resembling the Deep Black Pokemon's wings while his chest, lower back, tail, and ears having pristine crystalline blue fur that gave him a powerful appearance.

And, for Freezeon, she had a crystal blue coloration with a clear face covering that reached her chest. Her stellar appearance was complemented by her tail being a series of linked crystal spheres that circled her, giving her a more regal appearance.

But, the dragons that were their partners and the royal Pegasi's extended family were no slouches either in terms of their appearances, being similar to Sisu's siblings yet having their own distinct looks that clearly differentiate them from one another.

Tamu was more of a light green dragon with a darker forest green mane and having white tuffs at the ends of it. Her underbelly and upper dorsal fin were while like her mane tuffs and her tail also had her green and white coloration while a single crescent horn dotted her forehead.

With Sefu, he was more light orange with a blond mane coated with shades of black on the edges (similar to a male lion) and sharing a white dorsal fin with Tamu. But, his underbelly and tail were a darker shade of orange with his tail having a black tuff at the end and he instead had two straight horns on his head.

Drake was instead a light purple with darker purple shading on his body with a violet dorsal fin and underbelly. His tail had white tuffs at the end and his singular purple horn with white shading was shaped like a lightning bolt.

And finally, Ryu resembled Pengu but he instead has a single green and blue teardrop-shaped horn instead of two. His body and face coloring were also a cerulean blue while his dark blue mane reached his shoulders and his tail and eyes were more of a turquoise blue, making it look like he has the sea in them.

Queen Haven and Pipp stepped forward while Zipp was frozen in shock as she stood back, the three of them unsure of what to say to their revived Pokemon friends and extended dragon family.

"Drake, Ryu, Sefu........" Pipp breathed in shock.

"T-T-Tamu........ Is, that you?" Queen Haven began slowly, not wanting their return to be a dream.

"..........Yes."

"We're back," nodded Ryu and Tamu warmly, confirming their return.

"........TAMU!" cheered Queen Haven, losing herself as she and Pipp rushed to the eight Pokemon and dragons and hugged them first, tears of joy falling from their faces.

"Haven, Pipp........" Tamu breathed in relief, nuzzling her sister figure and the queen's second daughter while the four Pokemon nuzzled them happily and Drake and Sefu joined in.

"It's good to breathe in your perfume-filled stench again, kiddo," smiled Drake, chuckling as Pipp smiled brightly at him and Sefu as they also hugged her.

"I'll take, t-t-that as a c-complement," sniffed the younger Pegasus princess happily, relieved to be with the family that understood her as well.

Queen Haven and Tamu continued to hug each other before the queen looked over to Ryu and nodded in relief and happiness to the eldest of the dragon siblings with them. He nodded back and then, taking notice of Zipp, he walked forward and stopped a few inches from his previous party. The eldest daughter of Queen Haven still didn't know what to say as she looked at her big brother in utter shock, her body trembling as she looked like she was going to faint.

".......Zipp!" Ryu called, feeling proud of Zipp and delighted to be back with her.

".......Big Bro," Zipp finally answered, eventually slowly walking to him before she went into a gallop as she and Ryu finally hugged and she bawled in total happiness.

The two of them held each other tight as they cried, both Pegasus and dragon thinking that if they let each other go, then everything that had happened would be nothing but a pleasant dream. But, this was real; they felt each other, they felt the happiness and pain they went through as they were reunited. The others just gave tearful smiles as they watched.

For Zipp, even though she wanted to have something more than continue to live the lie she and her sister had once pushed about royals being the only ones who can fly, what she wanted most of all was her big brother back. And now, with Scarlet Nightmare's defeat and the return of magic along with the dragons and Pokemon of Equestria, she finally got her wish. And, with their return, nothing will tear both her and Ryu apart ever again.

And, their joy and happiness have spread to all corners of Equestria; for the Unicorns, when most of the Unicorn tribe returned to Bridlewood for a rest, they saw their home teeming with life once again. The crystals around them glowed brightly and the trees were becoming filled with bright, colorful leaves again. Some of the foals, ecstatic by the presence of their magic returning to the world and being real, rushed over to their parents to tell them that it is indeed real.

Some of the Pegasi returned to Zephyr with their flight magic as they flew around the streets and skyscrapers of the city, hollering excitedly. After realizing that Scarlet Nightmare was responsible for the loss of everyone's magic moons ago along with themselves with what they did to each other and the Pokemon and dragons, they no longer cared about the royal family's Big Lie. Instead, they opted to start over with them to look forward to and build a better and brighter future for everybody, not just themselves.

The Pokemon and dragons that were once exiled were given a hefty apology by all of the ponies and welcomed back with open arms. To their surprise and relief, most of them held no ill will against them as they said to have missed their old friends, families, and masters so much, their well-being the only things on their minds as well as their own. But, while some of them would take time to forgive them since the pain of some regarding their exile all those moons ago after Scarlet's first defeat ran deep for them, the majority of the Pokemon and dragons returning were just glad to be back in their rightful home with their rightful friends and families.





At Maretime Bay, after most of the ponies and Sarah's family returned, the same happiness was shared by everybody as they mingled together and Sprout and Phyllis along with Alphabittle and Haven apologized and forgave each other for their earlier actions and the sins of the past while also taking in the return of the Magic of Friendship.

"Oh, I see you made a new friend," cooed Queen Haven to Cloudpuff as her dog played with a male Earth Pony foal before she flew up to and nuzzled Tamu (who joined her along with Seleneon).

"Oh, good to see you again too, Cloudpuff," giggled Tamu, Cloudpuff yipping happily to her dragon and Pokemon friends before she rejoined the Earth Pony foal she was playing with earlier.

"Hi there, little buddy!" chuckled Alphabittle to another foal meeting him.

"Wow!" Hitch blinked in awe, seeing Izzy and Tsukumaro replace some fallen trolley cars back on the tramway with some Earth Ponies cheering for the two of them. Pipp and Zipp, with Drake, Sefu, and Ryu beside them, joined some of the other Earth Ponies including Toots and critters that took a shine to Hitch for some selfies and photos, the two Pegasi sisters happier than they had ever been with the return of their extended family.

"Stunni-i-i-i-i-ing!" sang Pipp after successfully taking a photo.

"Mommy, was I a good sheriff?" asked Sprout meekly as he and his mother mingled about.

"Oh, uh, uh....... Look, a flying dog!" Phyllis began sheepishly before she noticed Cloudpuff and started following her, leaving Sprout to sulk just as Nikki came to him.

"Sprout, you have the makings of a good sheriff but you allowed your paranoia and fear to take you over and take it the wrong way," she gently admonished while giving him a warm smile. "Being a good sheriff doesn't mean destroying your enemies, it's about protecting the people, ponies, those you love the right way..... By learning to trust others to help you when you needed it."

"......What do you mean?"

"You failed at being a good sheriff because when you took Hitch's position and warped his last words to you, that he trusted you to keep everybody in Maretime Bay safe while he's gone, you thought you would do things your way just to spite him. He trusted you and you betrayed him; nobody, not even Sunny and Hitch themselves, thought you were capable of such madness."

Sprout frowned remorsefully as he realized that he nearly pushed his fellow ponies to a nonexistant war with the other pony tribes after giving into his previous xenophobia before Scarlet revealed herself and attacked everybody, even the Earth Ponies.

"Now, I don't know if you're jealous of Hitch when he and Sunny told us what had happened while my family and I along with the others were convincing the Pegasi and the Unicorns to join forces with us against Scarlet Nightmare or if you really hate him because he has something that you don't...... But, it's not uncommon for someone to feel envious-wanting something that someone else has-or jealous-fearful of losing someone or something you love-of others. You were afraid of losing Hitch since along with Sunny, he was your only real friend by the sound of it despite your making fun of her, right?"

Sprout squirmed as Nikki hit the nail on the head with him and his xenophobia and fear of the unknown but he ultimately nodded, confirming that fact as he hung his head down, ashamed. Sarah's adopted mother rubbed him gently, making him feel better despite his previous actions weighing him down a lot.

"I'm sorry........ None of us, even me........ We-I didn't know anything about real friendship," he began, tears welling up in his eyes.

"And, Hitch, I just couldn't stand seeing him be better at being a sheriff than me. He always seemed to be more popular with everypony else and even the critters seemed to adore him given all of his hard work and his best efforts at maintaining peace around Maretime Bay. Me, I'm nothing compared to him; I'm just a third wheel, a tagalong, an errand boy, a servant, nothing but second best, and a total coward compared to him........ It's not fair, what does he have that I don't? Why can't I be just as good as him......?"

"I'm sure you'll find what you're good at in your own way, Sprout," Nikki answered softly. "But, if you want that to happen, you start by taking the first step........"

Sprout knew that the first step he had to take meant apologizing to everybody in Maretime Bay along with Alphabittle and Queen Haven for his previous actions as well and even Sunny and Hitch for nearly putting them in danger before Scarlet's forces made their mark. He was worried that he'll never be forgiven, especially when he allowed himself to do what he did since he was jealous of Hitch and afraid of what he thought could come from the Unicorns and the Pegasi.

"Do you think they'll forgive me and if Sunny and Hitch would even want me back.......?"

"I think you know the answer to that with the return of all your magic, the dragons, and the Pokemon living in this world. It's never too late to change and start over......"

With that, Nikki smiled as she gave him a small peck on his forehead, leaving Sprout surprised with everything that he heard and what could be possible. He thought it would be impossible given the weight of his actions but then, he had to smile, knowing she was right and that it was indeed never too late to start all over again.

With Sunny Starscout, the Earth Pony-turned Alicorn watched on and marveled at the sight of all the Pokemon, dragons, and ponies living and mingling together happily in cooperation, friendship, love, and harmony. This was a sight she had hoped to see ever since she was a foal and when her father told her the stories of the old Equestria under the reign of Twilight Sparkle and her friends. For her, this was perfect.

"You did it, Sunny," smiled Hitch as the Mane Five, the Mighty Ones, and Sarah and her family came together one last time.

"No, we did it. Together," Sunny replied warmly.

"Now, we never have to be apart!" Izzy grinned, making the five chuckle as they brought their hooves together and happily shouted, "Hooves to hearts!"

Then, the new princess turned to Sarah and her family along with her friends and the Mighty Ones, feeling grateful for everything they've done.

"Sarah, thanks," she smiled to Sarah.

"No problem, we're just glad we could help," Sarah smiled back before she looked to the group before her and her family.

"This is what we've been all fighting for and we've managed to do it but our journey with you is over now as your new one is just beginning. You've all fought bravely alongside us in this world and you've all come so far since we've first met you, Sunny, Hitch, Izzy, Zipp, Pipp. You risked your lives to do what is right and help bring back magic and your lost loved ones home. Throughout this journey, you've all surprised even me that you were able to come together and believe that there's still hope for friendship and magic even when it seemed impossible with everything compounded by Scarlet Nightmare's return. Now, it is time for us to leave."

This announcement suddenly left the Mane Five crestfallen as they realized that with their journey with Sarah over and everything back to what it used to be in Equestria, she and her family would have to leave and return home, their mission to help bring back magic and stop Scarlet Nightmare done.

"What?" Pipp peeped sadly.

"Oh, no......" moaned Izzy miserably.

"Do you have to go? Why don't you stay a little longer, to help us with a few things before you all split?" asked Zipp, a little devastated.

"Sorry, Ms. Zipp, but we can't," replied Tsukumaro gently with a soft frown. "My Lord and Lady are still somewhere in our world and now, we'll need to return home and rejoin our friends on the other side. If they really are alive, we must do everything we can to bring them back."

"Then, you'll do us all proud by finding Doug and Delilah, all of you. Give them our best regards when you do," smiled Ryu (voice reference: Doggie Cruger - Power Rangers SPD) gently as he held Zipp. "And, Sarah, we'll never thank you and your family enough for vanquishing Scarlet Nightmare, for good. You finished the work that we and your parents started all those moons ago, they both would be very proud if they see you now."

"Thanks, Ryu," smiled Sarah, nodding to him.

And, it wouldn't be goodbye forever as everybody thought for the Equestria Crystals then returned and floated down to the little princess, glowing before they changed into the shape or pin of an Alicorn, the new pin placing itself on the strap of the holder housing Sarah's Dragon Heart Scepter.

"The crystals!" gasped Sunny.

"......What did they do?" asked James, baffled as Ryu smiled warmly.

"I see, they came together to create the Alicorn Pin which will allow you to travel back and forth between Equestria and your world. With our powers back and the Magic of Friendship safely returned for everyone to share, there's no need for the crystals to be here anymore. But, don't worry, we'll all live on; as long as we keep believing in our friendships, our love, our trust, and happiness for each other, there will be no more evils like Scarlet Nightmare to ever return again. So, in a way, this isn't goodbye forever but more like see you real soon, as you humans would put it."

"Then, we can come and visit them any time we like?!" gasped Sarah in surprise along with the Mane Five.

Ryu nodded warmly, "Of course, Sarah. It would make no sense for your world and ours to be separated even if it could be for the greater good, you and your family have earned the right to cross over to Equestria whenever you wish."

".......But, what about us, what if we want to see her world, too?" quizzed Izzy worriedly, not wanting to part ways with her royal friend.

"I believe my own magic can help with that," replied Tsukumaro, whipping out his wand and performing the Doubling Charm on the Alicorn Pin, creating five more Alicorn Pins for the Mane Five. The younger dragons all cheered as the Mane Five marveled at their new tokens, knowing that it really isn't goodbye forever.

"Awesome," smiled Zipp just as the portal back to Sarah's family's world opened.

"That's our ride. Goodbye, everyone, and thanks for everything," smiled the princess.

The others in her family also said their goodbyes as they all prepared to head back through the portal and return to their homeworld as the other ponies, Pokemon, and dragons joined them to say goodbye to their world's saviors as well.

"Wait!" called Sunny as she walked over to Sarah and they shared a final hug.

"Goodbye, Sarah. I'll see you and your real parents if you do return, we all will."

"Okay, we'll come back once we have them home, Sunny," nodded Sarah with a reassuring smile before she and her family made their way to the portal. "Come on, everybody, let's go home. Goodbye, my friends!"

With everybody in Equestria waving and saying their goodbyes to their new friends and the group responsible for Scarlet Nightmare's demise, Sarah and her family went through the portal and it closed on them once Sarah entered and they were left alone. Nobody knew when or if they would really return once they found King Doug and Queen Delilah but for their new friends including the Mane Five and the Mighty Ones, only time will tell and nothing like that will be impossible as long as they don't stop believing in the Magic of Friendship. One thing, to them, is certain; Sarah and her entire family may be gone for now but it is the memories of them, the new Legend of Sarah Tomoe, the Sun Princess of Alola and the only daughter of Doug and Delilah Tomoe, and her family that stays fresh in their minds for the rest of their lives. For Sunny and all her friends, old and new, they would never, ever forget what had become.........their greatest adventure.

(End Credits Songs: Lead The Way ft. Jhene Aiko - Raya And The Last Dragon, To Know The Unknown - Pokemon 3: Spell of the Unknown, CELEB-R-A-T-E - Pokemon 4Ever)





(Epilogue)

When Sarah and her family arrived home after parting ways with the Mane Five and the Mighty Ones, they were soon greeted by a surprised Ash and the Pokemon School Gang, all of them worried after Zekrom told them of their mission after they left.

While much of them were glad to be home after the wild and crazy escapades they went through with Sunny and her friends for the past couple of days, James, Nikki, and Tsukumaro were most relieved to see that they've regained their human bodies after spending the last couple of days as ponies even if the whole adventure, surprisingly, didn't last long with the journey only lasting a whole day in the real world.

Needless to say, none of them, not even Sarah herself, would ever think about taking being human for granted again.

Of course, with them being back and having heard from Zekrom about their mission, they had a million questions to ask them and the rest of their family and they had to calm them and their partners down before they told them everything. How Equestria had lost its magic and the pony tribes split into three and were ruled by living in fear and paranoia of the unknown and each other. How they discovered that Pokemon and dragons once lived alongside them before they were banished. How Scarlet Nightmare was the one entity responsible for Equestria's decline and destruction and that they joined forces with the Mane Five to stop her permanently and save the world before it fell into darkness. For Sarah and her family, it was an understatement to say that they were shocked beyond belief at the whole story.

"Oh, no way! You guys were ponies for a few days?!"

"Incredible!"

"Amazing, I never knew of a world where magic reigns!"

"I wish I could've been there!"

"That's phenomenal!" Sarah's friends praised in awe at them.

"BOOP-BOOP! I had no idea that even happened back then!" gawked Rotom-Dex in amazement. "I mean, King Doug and Queen Delilah having to seal an evil away long before they tangled with Necrozma, Lothor, and Team Eclipse? That's unbelievable!"

"Sarah, do you think after we find your parents and get back, you can give us a few tips?" asked Sophocles.

"It wasn't easy but it was smooth sailing after a while," Sarah admitted, smiling.

"I can see the headlines in Equestria now, 'Evil Alicorn and Army Defeated by Princesses and Pony, Pokemon, and Dragon Army'," blinked Mallow, still trying to wrap her head over everything she and the others heard.

"Cool, you know what that means, right?" Ash smiled, suddenly getting ideas. "Once we find your parents, you can take us with you and show us what's going on there!"

"NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!" screamed a panicked James, Nikki, and Tsukumaro, not wanting to go through with being ponies again.

Sarah, on the other hand, just smiled as she chuckled at her adopted parents and her godfather.





Back in Equestria, all of the ponies were continuing to settle down happily to their new and improved lives with their Pokemon and dragon companions and with their magic in the know once again. And, out of all of them, Sunny, her guardians, Izzy, Hitch, and Pipp and Zipp along with their extended family (with Ryu, Sefu, Drake, Helioseon, Thundereon, and Freezeon joining them while Tamu and Seleneon were catching up with their mother at another spot in Maretime Bay) being the ones who are making the most out of it. They were currently having a picnic together at Sunny, Siren, Sugarcoat, and Shortcake's lighthouse home and contemplated on everything the Mane Five went through ever since Sarah and her family first crossed over. During this time, Izzy, Pipp, Zipp, and Hitch managed to get their own Pokemon partners just as Sunny had with her guardians. For Hitch, he got himself a Bounsweet, Izzy - an energetic Maractus, Pipp - an elegant female Swanna, and Pipp - a swift and honorable male Hawlucha.

Then, Izzy's nose twitched and her horn lit up as if she had a Jimmy Neutron Brain Blast and brought out some stuff she got from a saddlebag she brought along with her from her home in Bridlewood and started crafting again.

"What's up, Izzy?" Sunny asked as they came up to her.

"I've thought about this new game while figuring out what we could also do on our picnic," Izzy replied.

When she had finished, everybody say that from whatever materials she brought out of them, she managed to create a game that's not unlike a Pokemon card game but along with custom Pokemon cards she crafted, she had six wooden figurines of certain Pokemon on either side of a custom table board along with a dozen others (60 in total which she probably crafted prior to the picnic) on the side and some small wooden balls with Pokemon energy of all 18 Pokemon Types painted on them.

Then, as she began to set up the new game she thought off, everyone looked on curiously at what she had made. Sunny, being the most curious, stepped up to one side of the board and looked at the pieces on her side while Siren, Sugarcoat, and Shortcake stood alongside her.

"Hmm...... Six Pokemon for you and me, then what?" she asked, still smiling.

Izzy gave a knowing hum as she took up two Water Type energy balls while whipping forward a Water Type figurine on the field and setting down a Pokemon card in front of her while preparing one of two slingshots that would be used for the balls.

"Just watch........!" she smirked while she began her game and shot the balls before the movie ends as their and everyone else's new journey in the revitalized and reunited Equestria truly began.





Disclaimer Note: Freezeon, Helioseon, Seleneon and Thundereon belong to redballbomb on Deviantart who gave me permission to use them in the story.