"Alright, so over the weekend, feel free to continue practicing with Class I levitation spells. If you get bored, and want a little bit of a challenge before we start Class II curriculum, juggling with your magic is a great way to hone your dexterity. Just, make sure it's with nothing fragile," Sunset said, looking out over her last class of the week as they returned her gaze with attentive eyes. "Lastly, before dismissal, I know I told you all if you had any questions about magic that you were afraid to ask face to face, to put them in the Anonymous Questions box by the door."
Sunset Shimmer lit up her horn, and detached the wooden slotted box from its spot next to the front door, floating it over to her desk, unlocked it, and lifted the hinged lid.
"Looks like just one today, and it is..." Sunset paused, floating the folded piece of paper up and unfolded it. "Is it true there is a potion that can turn a mare into a stallion?" Sunset had to take a moment and chuckle. "I see that stories of Princess Twilight have been starting to circulate around a bit. She apparently won a magic duel by using a spell to turn a mare into a stallion. I can tell you that it was almost certainly an illusion. While potions can be just as powerful as spells, to my knowledge, I don't believe there is such a thing as a 'gender fluid'. With that being said, please enjoy your weekend."
As the unicorns of her class began to put on their saddlebags and turn to the exit, Sunset turned to the light blue unicorn in the front row who was putting her Magic 101 into her saddlebags.
"Misty? Would you mind staying around a moment?" She said. Misty looked up at her and nodded as the tables started to empty out.
"I-I'm sorry, Miss Shimmer. I've been trying, I really have been," the mare told her as Sunset walked around the curved bar, which had been converted into her desk.
"I know you have been, Misty. I just wanted to come and make sure that you're not getting discouraged or anything as a late arrival. I wanted to make sure that I wasn't giving the impression that this was an elite school, because that's the only magic school experience I had in my fillyhood. Everypony has their niche in magic, and I promise that I will try my best to find yours."
Sunset's three classes had been of varying skill levels. The fillies and colts class was understandably more novice, and her two adult classes were still more geared towards beginner spells. But if Sunset was internally honest with herself, her newest student, Misty, was struggling with even the most basic levitation spells. To her credit, she had been sitting up front and paying attention to everything that she had to teach. The couple of quizzes that she had taken had received adequate scores. Knowledge wasn't the problem; in Misty's case is was sadly a matter of ability.
It had reminded her a lot of her brother, Sunburst.
"Thank you, Miss Shimmer. I promise I'll keep trying hard," Misty said as she got up, got her saddlebags strapped around her midsection, and turned to exit. For just a moment, Sunset curiously eyed her simplistic butterfly cutie mark as she made her way out of the school.
Sunset did a quick walk around the tables to make sure nothing got left behind or nothing was going to be left too messy or cluttered for the weekend. It hadn't been bad for a second week. Satisfied with the state of her 'classroom' for the weekend, she made her way back to her desk to begin getting things in order before she went out for dinner. She didn't even get a single folder put back together before her phone resting off to the right began to vibrate, and the screen lit up with an incoming video call. Sunset glanced over at it, and immediately smiled at the avatar on the screen. She picked up the phone, slid the tip of her hoof across the screen to accept the call, and held it up to her face.
"Evening, Sunny. How's it going?" She asked.
"Well, I've been wanting to call you all week, but I didn't want to interrupt the flow of your week," Sunny said.
"Why, what's going on?" Sunset asked, leaning back in her chair.
"Well... See for yourself..." Sunny said, and the feed from her camera was jostled for a moment before she got her phone turned around, and Sunset's eyes widened at what the earth mare was showing her.
"You did that in just the short time I've been gone?" Sunset asked, looking at a crystal and glass lighthouse that didn't look anything like Sunny's home had when she had left for Bridlewood a couple weeks ago.
"That's just it. We didn't do anything. This just appeared overnight a couple nights ago. Isn't it absolutely amazing?" Sunny asked, turning the phone back to herself. "And that's not all. Watch this..."
Sunset watched closely and quietly as Sunny set her phone against a fence post and stepped off into the grass. She looked back and made sure she could see herself in the camera, and then returned her attention to the grass in front of her. The earth mare took a deep breath, raised her hoof, and the very tip of it began to glow green. She placed her glowing hoof on the ground, and the grass around it began to glow, moments before a sunflower sprouted up from the ground, grew rapidly, and in a matter of seconds, was taller than Sunny, and was in full bloom by the time the mare took a breath and took a step back. She looked up at her work, before trotting back to her phone and picked it up.
"I mean, just look! Earth pony magic!"
Sunset was too stunned for words at the moment, and Sunny had to double check to make sure she hadn't accidentally disconnected the call.
"Sunset, you good?"
"That also just started happening in the past few days?" Sunset asked.
Sunny nodded on-screen.
"Everypony in town can do it to an extent! You should see how excited Sprout is, you know, because it's pretty much a namesake for him. Anyways, I was wondering if you knew anything about it."
Sunset quickly gathered her thoughts.
"No... I mean, earth ponies have historically had natural affinity for farming, flora, physical strength, and endurance. But what you just showed me? Sunny, earth ponies have not had that kind of magic in all of recorded Equestrian history."
Sunny's eyes widened along with her smile.
"Wow! Earth pony magic for the first time ever! This is so exciting!" Sunny nearly squee'd.
"I won't doubt that's it's very exciting, but don't forget to be careful. Just like unicorns and pegasi, if earth ponies have magic of their own now, they have to use it safely," Sunset advised.
Sunny nodded.
"Hitch has been brainstorming guidelines for the past few days. He's got a lot on his plate too. He found a huge egg on the beach a few days ago!"
"An egg?"
"Yup! Way too big to be a seagull or turtle. He's got it incubating at the station for now. But enough about our adventures over here, has everything been going good with your new school since we last talked?"
"Pretty good, yeah. We're taking things one step at a time. For now I'm doing three classes a day, four days a week. One for the fillies and colts, and two for older ponies. Things have been pretty smooth sailing, except... Well, except for my late arrival."
"Late arrival?"
"Her name's Misty. Showed up at the end of last week, after classes had gotten started. We had already drawn a lottery to see who would be in my first batch of classes, but it felt wrong to shut a newcomer out just because they were out and about, and I was able to squeeze her into one of the last available spots of my last class for the day."
"That's great, what's so strange about that?" Sunny asked.
"Well, I've been keeping my eye out for any naturally talented unicorns who can assist with teaching classes, like Izzy. But Misty has caught my eye because, well, I don't want to sound rude, and I really don't want to sound like a snobby supremacist, but it's because she can barely do anything. The unicorns who didn't get selected for my first set of classes, I handed out Class I books to all of them, I'm talking about the baseline stuff, the simplest of the simple stuff. Misty is having trouble even with that. I want to help her find what area of magic she's good at, but in the meantime, is it really fair to have her in my first set of classes when more able unicorns are stuck waiting?" Sunset asked.
"Hm. It's a valid concern, Sunset. You want to make sure all your students are good uses of your time. Maybe ask around town about her, find out what her hobbies are, what area of Bridlewood she grew up in. Maybe the better you get to know her, the better you can get to know the magic inside her," Sunny suggested.
Sunset smiled, and heard her stomach grumble for a meal.
"Thanks, Sunny. Well, I've got to go grab some dinner. Enjoy your weekend!"
With a smile and a wave goodbye, the call ended, and Sunset turned her screen off. Quickly organizing her desk before she got any hungrier, she got up, grabbed her keys, and before leaving her desk, turned to the back wall where she had put a filing cabinet under the counter, and pulled the top drawer open, running the tip of her hoof through her student files, going to the 'M' section and pulling a file folder out.
"Good idea, Sunny. I think I'll do just that over dinner."
Just because Alphabittle donated the Crystal Tea Room to Sunset Shimmer's teaching efforts, it didn't mean he was out of the bartending and foodservice business. Since the decision was made to convert one of the largest structures in Bridlewood into a classroom, the Bridlewood elder rented out a much smaller bistro on the west side of town, and it was here that Sunset decided to get some dinner on this brisk Friday evening.
"Evening, Sunset. Come on up, what can I get you?" Alphabittle greeted from behind the bar as the mare walked through the door. She took a quick glance around, seeing three other ponies in the small restaurant that could seat about twenty.
"Daisy Deluxe with lettuce, tomato, and mayo, please," Sunset said, placing her order as she took a seat at the bar. "And an apple ale, too. Not much of a rush tonight, eh?"
"Ah it just ended, this is the last of the dinner crowd," Alphabittle told her as he quickly wrote her order down and got to work making it. A couple minutes later, he came to the counter with a scrumptious looking daisy sandwich and a mug of foamy apple ale, setting both down in front of the unicorn. "So, how are you settling into Bridlewood, Sunset?"
"Well enough," Sunset replied before taking a bite of her sandwich. When she did, Alphabittle smirked at the look of bliss on her face. "Mmmm, amazing. That's why I've always loved little hole-in-the-wall dives like this. It's where you always get the best food."
"Glad you like it. Since I moved out of the Tea Room, I've moved to a much quicker menu," Alphabittle told her. "So, plans for the weekend?"
"Probably finalize the lessons for practical spellcasting in the fields outside the forest. I think we should start with defensive spells; those are the easiest spells to demonstrate the strengths of casting cooperatively."
"Well, I certainly hope you set aside some time for yourself. You can't be expected to work seven days a week, now can you?"
"No worries," Sunset said, taking a sip of her ale. "I'm not gonna work myself to the bone. I'm gonna take a little bit to continue familiarizing myself with Bridlewood. By the way," Sunset paused, reaching around to her saddlebags and pulled out a file folder, opening it up to look at whatever papers were inside. "Could you tell me where Acorn Avenue is?"
"Yeah, that's actually close by. Just a half-mile north. Those are just residences, though. Nothing to do up there at this time of night," the white unicorn told her.
"Oh I'm not planning on doing anything, just wanted to make sure the paperwork of a new student is all in order before I file it away and forget about it," Sunset replied.
"I know I'm not a part of the first class, but I don't open this place on Monday. Could we observe the defensive spell lesson?" Alphabittle asked.
"Of course. Anything to give yourself a leg up when the next class begins. It's still Class II material. It's one of those spells that strengthens with expertise... And the number of ponies."
"It certainly sounds like the best kind of spells to start out practical use lessons, especially after the accident," Alphabittle reasoned.
"My thoughts exactly. Have some defensive and protective spells learned and memorized before we move onto other types of spells, so if there's a chance of injury, magical defenses can help mitigate those chances."
Sunset finished the last bite of her sandwich and gulped down the last of her ale, covering her mouth with her hoof to let out a small burp.
"Mm. Alphabittle, that absolutely hit the spot. Keep the change," Sunset said, reaching into her saddlebag and sliding a 10-bit coin across the bar counter to him. "I'll be seeing you around."
With that, Sunset got up and turned to leave.
"Always a pleasure, Sunset. Come again!" Alphabittle called, taking the plate and mug and setting it on the pile of dishes to be done after he closed up.
Sunset double-checked the address on Misty's student file, confirmed it as 926 Acorn Avenue, and headed towards the north edge of Bridlewood; not that the forest was anywhere close to ending, but it is where unicorn settlement had largely ended, and where Bridlewood's town limits were currently considered to be. Sure enough, about a half mile down the path, there was a sign post in the ground on the corner, with an acorn engraved into it, with the words 'Acorn Ave' in basic ponish.
The addresses began with 902. There weren't a lot of dwellings out this far. The house numbers were either carved into the bark, or painted on rocks out front. They were easy enough to see in the ambient light the crystals protruding from the ground gave out, mostly various shades of blue, pink, and green.
Sunset came to the end of the path, where there was just a single house on the right, with the numbers '922' painted on a rock to the left of the path up to the door. The house was dark, so the occupants were likely in bed, or out in town. It didn't matter; this was clearly the last house on the road; the forest quickly thickened into wilds where there was no discernible path.
'Well,' Sunset thought to herself. 'Guess I'm not finding out anymore about her tonight. It's not exactly easy to get your address wrong... What's going on here?'
Clutching her small lantern, Misty hopped from rock to rock, keeping her hooves off of the forest floor as much as she could. The luminescent crystals of Bridlewood were long gone, and she depended on her dim lantern to show her the way. She had to be at least a mile out from the village by now, and hopefully the markers she had left to find her way through the thick forest would be incognito enough to not be noticed. It may have been a moot point, who would come out this far anyway? But she had been instructed to not leave clear tracks back to her campsite, so it was going through brush, kicking off of trees, and hopping across boulders and rocks to throw off anypony who got a whiff of her path.
Finally, she came to a clandestine campsite. A simple tent and sleeping arrangements, and nothing more. Keeping her lantern dim, she set it down next to her tent, and reached inside through the flap, coming out with a small golden compact mirror, flipping it open to see her reflection for but a moment, before it swirled with hazy smoke, and a dark purple equine figure took her reflection's place.
Sunset awoke to the slightly cool breeze coming in through her open window. She sat up, pulled the blanket off of her, and stood up with a stretch, and took a look around her small bedroom that she had created from one of the former Tea Room's storage rooms. When she had told Izzy that she was moving to Bridlewood, some of the village's unicorns had insisted that she get a house of her own. Once she had discovered that they had renovated the Crystal Tea Room for her, she was adamant that one of the largest buildings in the forest would be enough for her. With how busy she figured she would be with the school, she didn't really like the idea of having to keep two places clean and tidy.
She didn't have a whole lot of prep to do over the weekend for this morning's class, and figured that planning her curriculum would be fairly simple until her students were ready to progress to Class II, III, and above. For now, she was keeping things simple, basic, and straightforward.
That was good for her, and her students, because she honestly spent a considerable portion of the weekend unable to get her mind off of her newest student, Misty. Sunset had a couple novice students in her younger class, but even they showed some ability. Misty, mysteriously, didn't seem to have any. At the very least, she should have been able to do simple levitation, but she even had trouble with that. Part of the headmare's thought process wanted to set some time aside just for her, get to the heart of why she was having so much trouble with what most unicorns knew to do just by instinct. After all, most unicorns could do basic levitation ever since Reunification Day, months before she showed up.
But another part of her wanted to exercise caution. Her experiences at Canterlot High had taught her to not to disregard her intuition if she began to feel like something wasn't right, but to also not come right out and scream about things not being right. Over the weekend, she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right with Misty.
After a quick shower and a brush of her mane, she put her saddlebags on and was out the front door into the brisk autumn morning. Knowing that she was on schedule to arrive about fifteen minutes before class started, she figured at least some of her class would beat her out to the grassy prairie just south of Bridlewood. She had announced that practical magic lessons with actual practice and demonstrations were going to begin after a week of taking down student information and reading the basics, so no doubt they would be eager and excited. Sure enough, after a ten minute trot south, she caught up with a couple of her students as she passed Izzy's house on the south side of town, and when they reached the grasslands, she indeed found more than half of her morning class, mostly sitting in groups of two or three, reading or otherwise mingling to pass the time.
As she scanned the groups, it didn't take her long to notice Misty standing alone with an open book back closer to the trees.
"Good morning, Misty. Your class isn't until tonight, right?" Sunset asked, remembering that she had put the new arrival into the evening slot.
"I know, Miss Shimmer. I just figured since I didn't have anything else to do this morning, that I'd come and watch, if that's okay," the unicorn replied.
"Of course it's okay, I doubt you're the only one that wants to get a head start," Sunset told her, having also noticed a few others from her afternoon and evening classes had come to get a look ahead of time. Sunset continued walking towards the open grass, not wanting the unicorn to get a hint of her newest suspicion; the pink-spotted butterfly cutie mark.
Sunset knew if she focused on this too hard, it wouldn't be fair to everypony else she had taken under her tutelage, and made a mental note to come back to it later. She went to the center of the scattered groups of students and took off her saddlebags, taking out a clipboard to begin to take attendance of the students who had already shown up, and those who were continuing to come out of the treeline one and two at a time. When that was done, it was time to start her class proper. She silently cast a minor amplification spell on her vocal chords before she got to her hooves.
"Alright, good morning everypony. I see by how many of you beat me out here this morning that we're all pretty excited to finally try some spellcasting today," she began, seeing some smiles widen when they heard the confirmation of what they would be doing out here in the fields today. "I think the best place to start, beyond simple levitation magic, is defensive magic. Not only are defensive shield spells still fairly simple, they'll also be great to have memorized and practiced for when we get into potentially more dangerous spells."
Sunset took one last look around all the students that had gathered before continuing.
"I'd like you all to stay spread out from each other for now. I was also expecting Miss Moonbow to be here as well, but she has seemed to gone off somewhere. No matter, that's why I brought this..."
Sunset lit her horn up, and pulled a spell tome and a rolled scroll out of the saddlebags that sat next to her feet. She opened the spell book, turned the first few pages, before returning it to her bags.
"Clypeus!" Sunset called out, her horn flashing, before a circular, glowing orange barrier materialized in front of her. There were a few 'oohs' and 'ahs' from the gathered students as they were mesmerized by Sunset's new spell.
"Clypeus is one of the most simple protective shield spells. It is maintained via focus, and is directed by your horn. The barrier can absorb magical energy, as well deflect most physical objects. Now, I trust you've all brought your copies of Magical Defense 101, so please get them out and turn to page 4. Morning class only, please. If you insist, you may read along, but I have to insist that demonstrations be limited to my morning class only; you'll all get your turn."
Sunset picked up the book again, and read aloud, as her class followed along silently.
"Defensive magic spells are the foundation of any well-rounded mage. Finding their beginnings in the school of Restoration, magical wards block magical energy and small physical objects. More advanced spells can even absorb the magical energy for it to be turned on the offensive caster. Shield spells can protect a portion of your body, your entire body, and more advanced defensive mages can project shields around buildings, and even entire cities, or causing whole armies to be impeded."
Sunset cleared her throat before lowering the book from her face, returning her attention to her scattered students.
"Clypeus can protect about half of your body, and can be projected in any direction, usually the direction your head and horn is facing. I'd like for each of you to try casting it now, and keeping it up for a few moments, until I sound this whistle."
Sunset slowly turned on her hooves, watching as each group looked the page over for proper pronunciation, and began casting. Most of the results were mere flickers, or shields that lasted barely a second. But most of them improved with each subsequent attempt. After a few minutes, she sounded the whistle, and the spellcasting stopped.
"Alright, some really great first attempts. Remember, you're generally not going to nail a spell on the first try, and that it will take focused study to really hone a spell's performance. Most mages specialize in one discipline of magic. My plan is to take you all through the most basic spells of several disciplines, or 'schools' of magic, so we can discover what you're talented with. We're starting with defense because it's the best way to protect yourself and each other, not only during class and practice, but in actual emergency situations. So now, how about a pop quiz?" Sunset asked.
There were some looks of concern and uncertainty from her class upon hearing this question.
"Don't worry, nothing too serious. But some unicorns find their magic is more powerful in stressful situations," Sunset began, turning her attention to the rolled scroll in her magical grasp.
"Enchanted scrolls serve as one-time-use spells for unicorns that have the ability, but not necessarily the knowledge, to cast a particular spell. That's where this comes in. You have to protect yourselves from this spell."
Their uncertainty grew, and one unicorn closer by even called out, "you want us to block a spell after barely practicing?"
Sunset smiled as she unfurled the scroll.
"Don't worry. Failure won't get you hurt..." She said, putting the scroll in front of her. "Just wet. Imber!"
The scroll immediately left her magical grasp, glowed blue for a moment, before disintegrating to nothing in glowing blue flames, before shooting up to the sky, to a point dozens of feet up, where rain clouds started to form.
"Better get those spells ready, last shield up gets lunch on me," Sunset told them.
As the raindrops began to descend onto the grassy field full of unicorns, calls of 'Clypeus!' began to echo across the immediate area. Sunset smirked confidently when she saw that although some of her students' shields dissipated against the rain, some of them managed to hold them up for a bit longer, acting as magical umbrellas against her unexpected shower.
But also all too apparent were the groaning and complaining of those who hadn't maintained their shields, and they and their saddlebags were now getting wet as a consequence. Try as they might, no shield lasted over sixty seconds, and now every unicorn on the field was now getting wet.
Sunset caught a glimpse of Misty looking up worriedly at the rain that was beginning to fall through the trees, before she turned and galloped farther into the forest where the spell had spread to.
"Alright, good tries, everypony. Now, close in and form a circle around me. Quickly, this rain is only going to last another few minutes," Sunset instructed.
Half of her class saw that as a good thing, as the two dozen unicorns closed in from their groups and surrounded Sunset, taking about thirty seconds to space themselves out evenly.
"Now, listen carefully. Clypeus simul. Clypeus simul. Channel your horns, and on the count of three, repeat that. Ready? One, two, three!"
"Clypeus simul!" Came the near-unified call from her class.
There were startled gasps and widening eyes as they witnessed a brighter, far larger curved barrier materialize above Sunset, and covered the entire group, as they quickly felt the absence of rain on their coats.
"Not only can your magic be more powerful when your emotions are more powerful, but it is almost certainly stronger when you work together," Sunset lectured them, as almost all eyes were on the large glowing shield between them and the rain clouds. Even the unicorns who had trouble casting alone were astounded by the fact that motes of magic continued to float up from their horns to contribute to the group shield.
The rain began to let up, and when they no longer saw the drops fall on the shield, they let go of their focus, and the shield vanished as the morning sun shined down on them once again.
"Fantastic first try, everypony. Well done," Sunset said. She happened to glance back at the hill to the south and saw Izzy come towards the forest, pushing... Something, with her magic.
"The first 'offensive' spell I'll have for you will let you form groups to practice together. Nothing dangerous, pretty much a magical water balloon. For now, feel free to continue practicing Clypeus and Clypeus Simul either alone or in groups."
As her students began to pair and trio off, she left the center of the field and went down to see what Izzy had been doing with her morning, and found the unicorn pushing a rusty old... Scooter?
"Hey Izzy. What have you got there?"
"Morning, Sunset! Check it out!" Izzy said ecstatically, motioning to the rusty, muddy grey scooter. "This is going to be the best unicycling project of. All. Time."
"Sunset, really, I've got it handled. I'm your assistant, remember? I gotta be a little capable," Izzy commented when Sunset offered to help her carry the derelict scooter back to her house at the edge of Bridlewood. "By the way, sorry about being late for class. When I saw this thing, I couldn't resist the unicycling opportunity."
"It's alright, Izzy. You were there, in a way. You made me the rainfall scroll last night in case something came up," Sunset replied, walking next to her protege as she levitated the vehicle down the path. She had seen scooters all around back in the mirror world, but it was almost always self-pulled carriages, airships, or trains when it came to methods of transportation in Equestria. Yet Izzy told her she had found this off to the side of a path to the southwest, like it had broken down and the previous owner had decided to cut their losses. Sunset had seen it sometimes in the mirror world. Junkers, they were called.
"You have a place to put this? You know, in case of adverse weather?" Sunset asked as they came up to Izzy's house.
"I'll get a tarp thrown over it for today. I'll have a small canopy built for it in no time, you'll see. Then I'll see about actually fixing it up," Izzy said, as she gently set the scooter down in the grass a few feet from her door.
"I never took you for a mechanic, Izzy," Sunset told her as the lilac unicorn began to look the vehicle over. "But it looks like you'll have plenty to keep you busy when we're not having classes."
"Yup! I'll have it up and running in no time. Don't worry, I'll be making it to the next class. What do we have, an hour or two?" Izzy asked.
Sunset nodded.
"I'm wondering where to do lunch, no sense in doing the second class of the day on an empty stomach. By the way, Izzy, is there a record keeper or something like that in town?" Sunset asked.
"What, you mean like music?" Izzy asked as she dug out a blue tarp from a nearby supply chest and began to drape it over the scooter.
"No, like, birth certificates, vital records and reports, that sort of thing," Sunset clarified.
"Hm. Well, one of the village elders is a Keeper, and I think they keep track of that kind of thing. I'll check with Alphabittle; he can point us in the right direction, and we'll probably have time to pay them a visit after our last class. Why, what's up?" Izzy asked.
"I don't want to jump to any conclusions yet, and don't want to encourage anypony else to, either, so I'm playing this pretty close to the chest for now, Izzy. I'm curious about one of my students, and the information she gave me in her file is raising my suspicions a bit. So I just want to see if this Keeper has any additional info that could shed a little more light my way."
Izzy looked at her quizzically as she secured the tarp with a bit of rope.
"I don't get it, why not just ask this student yourself?" Izzy asked as they went back to the main path and began trotting farther into town.
"That would... Be jumping to a conclusion. I don't know yet. If she isn't up to anything, I don't want her to know I'm suspicious yet, and if she is up to something, well, same, I don't want her to know I'm suspicious, and have her vanish," Sunset explained.
Izzy was trying to put this explanation together, but didn't want to push too hard. Sunset had to know what she was doing.
"Well, like I said, we can check with Alphabittle if you want to hit up his place for lunch," Izzy suggested.
"Sadly, he said he doesn't open on Monday, and he's in the first class tomorrow morning," Sunset answered, immediately recalling how satisfied she had felt on her previous visit to Alphabittle's new restaurant and bar, bummed that they wouldn't be eating there today.
She also had to keep getting used to the terms she hadn't heard on a regular basis; such as Elder, which she was guessing was a unicorn that had been given any kind of authority outside of their own home, mostly older ones.
They came to the more densely populated areas of Bridlewood. A playground on the left had several fillies and colts playing, and they waved when they recognized the two new teachers in town, who immediately waved back.
"Wonder how long it'll be before we're having magic water fights in town," Izzy said, snickering.
"Well, the village-wide enchanting isn't close to done yet, so magic practice is restricted to out in the open fields for now, so, not anytime soon," Sunset answered. She knew unicorns were eager to use more and more forms of magic, but they had to do so safely, which was why she was here. "I assume you've heard about the 'magical' developments over in Maretime Bay?"
"Ooh, yeah! Sunny sent me a small demonstration. So Bridlewood isn't the only place about to get magical!" Izzy replied excitedly.
"Yeah, and I can't help but be a little bit worried about that. I know Sunny will probably visit sooner or later, and she'll probably wonder if I've uncovered anything about it. But I was serious when I told her; earth ponies have never had that kind of direct, influential magic in all of recorded history. I can spend years and years showing all of you all manner of horn-powered spells, but the earth ponies are stepping into completely uncharted territory. I mean, hoof-powered agrokinesis? How are they going to be comfortable stepping anywhere now?" Sunset wondered aloud.
"Agro-what-is?" Izzy asked.
"Agrokinesis. Manipulating plants with magic," Sunset replied. "If things get out of control, I'm not sure if I'll have any advice to give them. I remember the first time I didn't have the answers to magic-based problems, and it got frustrating pretty quickly; to the point that I was snapping at my friends. Don't get me wrong, I'll help Sunny however I can, and I hope they can thrive with magic as part of their daily lives now."
"Well, if Zephyr Heights can figure out flying traffic flow, and we can figure out magic, I'm sure the earth ponies will do just fine, even if they struggle at times; everypony does," Izzy offered.
"Yeah, you're right about that. Well, enough magic talk for now, let's go eat!"
Sunset's future lesson planning was interrupted by a soft knock on the door, followed by Izzy coming into the school.
"Evening, Sunset. I just finished dinner, and Alphabittle says the Keeper has stayed over to talk to you if you're available," Izzy said from the doorway.
Sunset closed the planner she had been writing in, and looked up at Izzy.
"Well, he certainly didn't need to stay over just for me, I'd plan my visit around his schedule," Sunset replied, putting her pen down.
"We've been busy with classes all day, so we really can't help it. Come on, I've just finished dinner."
Sunset returned the planner to a drawer under her desk, grabbed a file folder, and got up from her seat, strapping on her saddlebags, passing the tables and joining Izzy at the front door. They stepped outside, closed the door, locked it, and headed deeper into town.
While Sunset sometimes missed the waves crashing against the cliffs of Maretime Bay, she had quickly grown to love the ambience of Bridlewood. The owls, woodpeckers, songbirds, chittering of critters, and the wind moving through the leaves and branches; it was positively enchanting, and dare she say, more fitting for teaching magic than the halls of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.
"So I know you haven't had a lot of time yet, but got a plan for that scooter you found?" Sunset asked as she walked next to her assistant teacher.
"Well, I've been thinking, I love unicycling, making old things new and all that. I think fixing that scooter up could help me bring my unicycling services to the rest of Bridlewood so much more easily. I could call it... Izzy Does It!" the unicorn answered gleefully.
"Certainly catchy, I'll give you that," Sunset commented.
"Thanks, I thought so too! Fixing it up will let me bring my fixing-up to all of Bridlewood, and maybe even beyond! There's gotta be plenty to unicycle in Zephyr Heights and Maretime Bay, too. But, one step at a time Izzy. One step at a time," the unicorn told herself.
Sunset chuckled at how Izzy wanted to tackle her new project at a breakneck pace, but was proud of how she wasn't forgetting her commitment to the new school.
While most Bridlewoodians considered the large tree that was now her school to be the center of the village, the fact was that Bridlewood was quite far spread out through the forest. Sunset had honestly thought about asking Izzy if she wanted to move in closer to town, be closer to the other villagers, but she had a feeling that her assistant was happy where she was. She never minded the walk into town, and was closer to the open fields than anypony else for practice. While she sometimes worried that Izzy was lonely all the way out there, she remembered that some ponies preferred their solitude, at least at home. Some ponies needed that to recharge their social batteries.
And judging by the amount of work that scooter was going to take to get up and running, being that far away from others would probably spare the rest of the village from the noise of tools that it would take to get it into working order.
"Aaand here we are!" Izzy announced, as they came to another hollowed-out tree structure, and the first thing Sunset thought was how this treehouse was entirely too small to be even comparable to a studio apartment, let alone anything with enough room to serve as an archive of any sort.
"This small place is the Bridlewood Archives? Bit small, isn't it?" Sunset asked as she came up to the door along with Izzy.
"If it was in the tree, yeah, probably. Luckily, it isn't!" Izzy said, opening the door, and she was right; the inside was quite small, but right there almost at the entrance, was a descending staircase, going underground. Sunset followed Izzy down the spiraling stairs down to what could be considered the basement. At the bottom of the stairs was another thick wooden door, which Izzy pushed open.
Now, Sunset was impressed.
The staircase under the tree had descended into a wide open cavern, which had been repurposed into the Bridlewood Archives. Aisles of shelves lined the room, each stacked with books and scrolls. At the front of the room was a small desk, where an older dark gray unicorn stallion sat, who looked up from his paperwork to see his two visitors.
"Izzy Moonbow! How have you been?" the archives clerk greeted elatedly.
"I've been well enough. Sunset Shimmer, you may have seen him around town, but allow me to formally introduce Portfolio, Elder Keeper of Bridlewood," Izzy said with a smile.
"Ah, Miss Shimmer. A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."
"Likewise, Mr. Portfolio. I wish my intentions were more clear, I never wanted you to be down here waiting on me to be available," Sunset replied.
"Nonsense. You're our new magic teacher, and your schedule is undoubtedly more full and busy than mine is. I knew any new arrivals would have questions about the history of our forest village, and I'm happy to assist in any way that I can. So, Miss Shimmer, how may I help you?" Portfolio asked, giving the unicorn mare his undivided attention.
Sunset cleared her throat.
"Well, this is just a hunch, and probably a long shot, but... How far back do your records go? How long do you keep them before you make room for more?" Sunset asked.
"Myself, and every Keeper before me has tried to keep everything up to date for at least our lifetime, if not longer. Anything significant in the last 50 years hopefully won't take me long to find. Anything past that, might take some time. Things get old, misplaced, sadly," Portfolio answered.
"What about something like missing pony reports?" Sunset asked.
She saw Portfolio's attentive ears droop for barely a moment, and his expression turned somber.
"Ah. Well, that narrows it down almost completely. Not too many of those. One moment."
Portfolio got up, and went down three aisles, before disappearing behind one of the rows of shelves. His hoofsteps got softer, before stopping for several moments. The two mares waited as he softly hummed to himself from behind the shelf he was at, using the tip of his hoof to peruse the lines and rows of records.
Two minutes later, he returned with a trio of file folders in his magical grasp, and he carefully set them on the desk in front of Sunset.
"Runaways are exceedingly rare, but every once in a long while, a unicorn wondered what laid beyond our forest. Most of them came back before getting too far. Have a look," Portfolio said, motioning to the folders.
Sunset opened the first two folders, seeing a photo or artist's rendition attached to an incident report.
"Those two were well before my time, I'm afraid. Both left the forest and weren't heard from again," the Keeper commented.
Sunset turned her attention to the third folder, and when she opened it, her heart skipped a beat.
"That one, sadly, is much more recent. Nearly twenty years ago, I think. Poor thing vanished from her back yard," Portfolio commented.
Sunset hadn't looked at the report, because her eyes were glued to the photograph of the light blue unicorn filly, who didn't look to be even two years old.
Portfolio noticed how the expression of Bridlewood's new teacher had changed as she stared down at the photo.
"Miss Shimmer?" He asked softly.
Sunset took a deep breath, turned to her saddlebags, opened the flap, pulled out a file folder of her own, opened it, and pulled out the instant-developed photo of her most mysterious student, Misty. She held it out, and let it drop right down next to the twenty year old photo in the report.
Bridlewood's Elder Keeper stared dumbfounded down at the new and old photographs of Sunset's newest student, twenty years apart.
"By the gods... After all these years..." Portfolio mused, adjusting his glasses. "When did she come to you?"
"At the end of last week. She came into the school and asked if there were any more spots available. I squeezed her into the evening class," Sunset answered.
"I've got to speak with her," Portfolio said immediately.
"Whoa, whoa. Not so fast. She vanishes from her back yard without a trace, and shows up out of the blue just after I open the school. I don't think this is the time for all the 'where have you been?' questions."
"Why not?" Izzy asked.
"She barely has any magical ability. The address she gave me for her student file doesn't exist. I think something is up. She must have relatives in the area. Where do her parents live?" Sunset asked.
Portfolio's expressed went from shocked to sorrowful.
"She was their only child. When she disappeared, they kept hoping she would be found. When weeks turned to months, and into years... They couldn't deal with the grief forever. They passed away some time ago," Portfolio informed her.
"What is it, Sunset?" Izzy asked, when she saw the look of uncertainty and worry on the unicorn's face.
"Something Sunny told me before I came here. About how now that magic is back, threats that want to exploit that magic probably won't be far behind," Sunset replied.
Portfolio's eyes widened.
"Now I'm not saying for certain that this is the case here. I'm not going to jump to conclusions like that. But I am saying we should be wary and not overplay our hand. Based upon the age she vanished, she might not remember much. But right now, I have no idea where she's going at night, because as I said, the address in her file doesn't exist."
"So what do we do?" Portfolio asked. Sunset gave a sigh of resignation.
"If I was still at Canterlot High, I'd ask for my friends to cover for me while I put all my effort into getting to the bottom of this, but the fact is that I don't have that luxury anymore. I have a school and students to worry about, and without a doubt Sunny is going to come by sooner or later asking about the new magic that earth ponies have. So for now, let's just keep an eye on her."
Seemingly satisfied, Izzy turned and began to make her way back up to ground level, no doubt eager to start work on her scooter project.
"Portfolio, her parents' house; do you have an address? Who took it over when they died?" Sunset asked once Izzy had started ascending the stairs behind her.
"No one, I'm afraid. The property has likely fallen into disrepair. Izzy's not the only one to live in seclusion. It's likely quite grown over by now and will likely be that much harder to spot, but yes, I can point you in the right direction."
The record-keeping unicorn spent another few minutes looking up the location of what Sunset was after, as there were many paths that snaked off into the forest, until they weren't really paths anymore. With that, he unfolded a map, put a mark on it, and slid it over to Sunset.
"There you are, Miss Shimmer. I am glad Bridlewood is slowly getting over our superstitions. Months ago, no one would dare disturb a site like that. I hope your suspicions about her are wrong, though. To think that she was taken at such a young age just to get involved with something nefarious... That doesn't sit well with me," Portfolio told her.
"Nor me. Don't worry, I'm going to try my best to get to the bottom of this, if there is something to get to the bottom to. Thank you very much, Portfolio. Have a pleasant evening."
With that, Sunset made her way to the top of the stairs, and found Izzy waiting just outside.
"So, what now?" Izzy asked.
"This is a lot to think about, and I'm honestly still stumbling around in the dark. Probably shouldn't do anything more this evening, or I'll be literally stumbling around in the dark. We've got the rest of the week's classes, and then a weekend coming up, and I did promise you some one on one instruction. I might as well start with the defensive spells you missed this morning. I'll swing by tomorrow after breakfast, because I know you've been wanting to get started on that scooter of yours too; I might be able to help with that too."
Izzy's smile widened, and Sunset's phone started to go off in her saddlebags. She lit up her horn, lifted the flap, and pulled her phone out, and swiped her hoof across the screen, to see a text alert on the notifications screen.
Sunny Hey, just wanted to let you know we'll be stopping by Bridlewood in a few days! We're on our way up to the Crystal Empire again to get another load of books. We'll be stopping to rest and visit. Please let us know if you want to tag along.
Sunset smiled softly at her phone.
"Looks like it's going to be quite the busy weekend, too. So go get some rest, and I'll see you in the morning, Izz," Sunset told her friend. Izzy waved goodbye before she headed south down back towards her house on the edge of town, while Sunset headed back towards the renovated schoolhouse. The crystals on the edges of the path began to glow dimly in the darkening ambience of the forest.
Arriving back at the schoolhouse, she went inside before locking the doors, and headed towards the back where she had made her combination bedroom-office. She pulled her phone out and gave a quick reply to Sunny.
Sunset We'll keep an eye out. Looking forward to seeing you again.
With that, she placed the phone on the charging pad, and hung her saddlebags on the chair next to the oak desk, digging out the map Portfolio had given her, and pinned it to the bulletin board she had hung above her desk, next to a calendar and lesson plan for the month.
Portfolio was right; Misty was a sweet mare, and Sunset hated to think that she was caught up in something malevolent. She thought back to her confrontation with Twilight in the middle of the Friendship Games, and that was the primary factor keeping her from attempting to find wherever Misty was outside of class and start interrogating her about her intentions.
And if it was something with ill intentions, Sunset wasn't sure she was completely prepared for that yet either. She thought back to all the problems she had a hand in solving in and around Canterlot High. Most of them had been people who had stumbled upon Equestrian magic, and had absolutely no idea what they were getting into.
As she fell into bed after shutting off the light, she felt a stinging in her chest when she remembered that the only true sources of magical malevolence they had faced over there had been the sirens...
Sunset sat reclined in a lawn chair outside of Izzy's house, watching as her protege, armed with a new magical masking spell, apply coats of paint remover to the scooter she had brought back to her home. Before she worked on anything mechanical, she wanted to get all the chipped and dull paint off and ready to apply a fresh coat when everything was up and running.
"This spell is amazing," Izzy told her teacher, as she continued wiping the acetone-soaked rag across the vehicle. "I don't breathe in any fumes, and no weight to the mask!"
"Again, it's all you, Izzy. You sure picked it up awfully fast. For a lot of ponies, their emotions boost their magical ability. So you must really be looking forward to getting this thing restored, up and running," Sunset replied.
"You can say that again."
"So what did you do before you took that trip to Maretime Bay?" Sunset asked.
"Pretty much what I want to do with this scooter; fixed, restored, and renewed knickknacks of unicorns around the forest."
"That was how you made a living?" Sunset asked.
"If you can call it that..." Izzy replied.
For as often as she tried, Sunset couldn't imagine life in Bridlewood before reunification. A unicorn village without magic, and absolutely full of superstition.
"So what made you want to go to Maretime Bay? From what Sunny tells me, that's what set off the chain of events that led to Equestria becoming reunited," Sunset asked.
"She had launched a small weather balloon with her dad when she was little, an invitation for pegasi and unicorns to come to Maretime Bay. It drifted into Bridlewood, where I was staying with Alphabittle. When I showed it to him, he warned me about leaving the forest, but it never really left my mind, that there were other ponies out there, wanting to meet unicorns and pegasi."
Sunset had made a mental note of Izzy never really mentioning her parents; Alphabittle had always been the caretaker in her stories of when she was younger. She had never really mentioned her parents, or ever told her about any siblings. She didn't want to assume anything, and wasn't sure how sensitive a subject it was, but she was fairly certain that Izzy Moonbow was an orphan.
"So, if you knew back then that it was only Sunny who had sent that invitation, and that the rest of Maretime Bay were scared to death of unicorns, would you still have gone there?"
Izzy seemed to think about the question for a few moments as she continued wiping down the scooter.
"Yeah, I think so. Don't forget, we had tales about earth ponies and pegasi that were just as tall as the ones the other tribes had about us. So even though I initially thought it was a town of smelly, simple-minded earth ponies, I went anyway. I wanted friends, no matter what their flaws were. I was more afraid of the pegasi than the earth ponies, because back then, we thought they could take our sparkle."
Sunset smiled at the answer as she checked her phone for the time.
"Well, I've got to go get ready for this water fight that the first class wants; a great way to test projectile magic, defensive magic, and have a bit of fun while we're at it. Then an even more important matter..."
With that, Sunset left Izzy with her pet project, and returned downtown to the school, where her first class of the day had just finished settling in.
"Alright, good morning class. Now, before I get you divided into teams for the water fight, I have a very important question for you all," Sunset paused as she walked between the tables to her front desk.
"Who is interested in going on a field trip to the Crystal Empire?"
Sunset Shimmer slowly paced between the trees of what she had designated the play area, which was considerable, because she wanted her students to have as much room as possible to move around. Aside from the field trip which was quickly approaching, dueling had been the talk of her classes, and they had finally zoned out an area to practice with shields and water-based projectiles; a magic water balloon fight, for lack of a better term.
Izzy had also, at her request, quickly fashioned her a black and white striped 'referee' shirt, so she hopefully wouldn't catch any errant projectiles of students whose horns were quicker than their eyes, and if she did, well, that would be points off for the offending team.
Concerning the upcoming field trip, Sunset wanted to bring as many helping hooves as possible, but was also aware that there was limited room in their vehicle. With the addition of the trailer they would now be pulling, Sprout had been able to make some last minute conversions to the cargo bed of the Scouticus Maximus, increasing the vehicle to a seating capacity of twelve, but only a sleeping capacity of eight. Sunny and Sprout were arriving sometime today with Zipp, so they would be able to take on an additional five passengers at Bridlewood.
Sunset had gotten considerably more than that number of volunteers, even after warning them that the weather was going to be brutally cold, and the rations vastly prioritized nutrition over taste. That didn't deter too many of them, so she had some choices to make. She also figured they would be gone for four days at the absolute minimum, so the headmare also had to figure out if there would be classes or practice sessions while she was gone, and if so, that would mean Izzy would have to stay put here in Bridlewood. She was sure her protege wouldn't mind in the slightest; decreased classes meant more spare time to work on that scooter passion project of hers, which was coming along little by little each and every day so far.
Sunset glanced down at her enchanted 'scoreboard' tablet she held in her magical grasp. It was a small stroke of genius on her part; she was here mainly to observe proper spellcasting; scoring was being handled entirely by the tablet. Anytime a player got a hit with a water projectile, they scored two points. At the same time, whenever a defender successfully blocked a hit with a shield, that took a point away from the attacker. Lastly, if a defender managed to 'capture' an attacker's projectile and shoot it back at them, that was three points if they scored a hit. It was a system that valued agility, aim, and endurance. She was wondering how interesting and intense matches like these would get when more advanced magic started being practiced, like cloaking spells, speed spells, and teleportation. But for now, this was little more than magical projectile dodge ball.
She heard a series of splashes and shield hits from a few dozen feet away on her left, and her tablet gave off an alert that one of the meters had just been filled. Lifting her whistle up to her lips, she gave it a long blow, signifying that the game was over, and all spellcasting was to cease.
"Alright, great job, Red Team. Blue Team, way to put up a good fight. That's the game, and I believe that means it's time for lunch. And before anyone asks, don't worry, I'm still deciding on who to take on the field trip, and what to have the rest of you get up to while we're gone. Class dismissed!"
With that, Sunset set a wicker basket down in front of her, and one by one, her students filed by, depositing the red and blue sashes that had denoted their team placement for the game, before they headed back into Bridlewood for a meal.
If Sunset was honest with herself, the thing that was making who to fill up the Scouticus with was made even trickier by deciding on whether to bring Misty along. She had eagerly volunteered for the trip when it became known that it was going to be artifact-collecting, without a major need for spellcasting. Sunset was truly divided on what to do; try and keep an eye on her up in the Crystal Empire, or have Izzy keep an eye on her down here. She still didn't know what to make of the orphan who had returned out of nowhere, and perhaps Izzy's enthusiasm could help crack that nut a little bit. The headmare was concerned that she herself would try and approach this situation a little too academically, so maybe Izzy's enthusiasm would be the right choice to try and get her to open up a bit.
Sunset picked up the basket of sashes, and made her way back towards Bridlewood as well, when her phone went off in her saddlebags. Digging it out, she magically swiped across the lock screen and saw the incoming text message.
Sunny We're here! Parking out front!
Sunset picked up her pace to a healthy trot while typing in a reply that she'd be out to meet them in a few moments. She came back to the main road into town, came to the school house, and trotted in just long enough to drop the basket of sashes on her desk, and walked right back out, locking the door behind her and headed back south down the road towards Izzy's house.
Several minutes later, she saw that Sunny, Zipp, and Sprout were talking with Izzy as she was no doubt gushing to them about her new scooter project. The earth mare spotted her first, and greeted her with a wave.
"Hi there, Sunset!" Sunny told her elatedly, coming forward and throwing her hooves around her neck, with Sunset immediately returning the hug. "Izzy's been showing us what she's been working on in her spare time. I can't wait to see your school, and I really have to show you my new magic!"
Zipp snickered, then gave Sprout a nudge with her front leg. He rolled his eyes for a moment before reaching into his saddlebags to pull out a five-bit coin and tossed it to the pegasus.
"We had a bet on how long it would be before she mentioned showing you the new earth pony magic," Zipp said, spinning the coin on her hoof before dropping it into her own saddlebags.
"I figured she'd wait longer than two minutes because she already showed her over a video chat," Sprout said, but smirked at Sunny, taking the lost bet in stride. "Well, she can show you all she wants, because I've had enough portable camp food until we're back in that truck; I'd like some homecooked Bridlewood meals."
With that, Sprout began heading into town, with Zipp right behind him, also looking forward to a change in cuisine.
"I'd recommend Alphabittle's bistro on the west side, you two," Sunset called after him, before returning her attention to Sunny. "Well, I'd say the best place to show me is just outside the treeline, that's where our classes attempt new spells. I'll meet you out there in a moment. I have to have a quick word with my assistant here."
Sunny nodded, and headed back towards the edge of the forest from where they had come, while Sunset turned to Izzy.
"What can I do for you, boss?" Izzy asked, setting down the wrench she was holding as she took a seat next to the in-progress vehicle.
"I'm wondering if I can convince you to stay here in Bridlewood while we make this trip up north. I figure you could keep the classes occupied with things to do, and have plenty of spare time to continue work on this scooter, since I know how much it's meant to you these past few days."
Izzy smiled at her headmare.
"I can certainly do that if you want me to," she answered.
"And... there's something else that I'd like your input on. Misty. I'm wondering whether I should select her for the field trip, or if I should leave her here, and have you try to get closer to her, you know, get her to open up a bit maybe. She's a tough nut to crack, and I'm just afraid if I try too hard, that I'd let it slip that I'm suspicious of her. So, Izzy, what do you think?"
Sunset headed south towards the edge of the forest to meet Sunny, as she reflected on what Izzy had told her what she thought on what to do with Misty.
"Don't get me wrong, Sunset, I'm flattered that you think I can get her to open up a bit, but I think it might be best if she goes with you to the Crystal Empire. I don't have any teaching experience as it is, and if she does try something nefarious, I think you're the pony to have close by if and when that happens."
Sunset knew her protege had a point; she didn't want to give most of her students some time off to practice, and give Izzy time to work on scooter project, just to have her take on what was essentially a babysitting job as well. Sunset wasn't sure what Misty, or whoever had possibly sent her, was after, but bringing her along to the Crystal Empire could be the better option, if only to keep an eye on her herself.
She came to the edge of the forest, and immediately saw Sunny standing excitedly in the grass.
"Alright, Sunny. Let me see this new magic firsthoof," Sunset told her.
Sunny gave her a quick nod, then closed her eyes in concentration. Just like last time, her front right hoof began to sparkle and glow, and then as if time had sped up exponentially, a sunflower stalk rose out of the grass, and within five seconds, was at full bloom, facing towards the west as the high sun slowly began to cast angled shadows as noon turned into afternoon.
"The one I made in Maretime Bay didn't last. Sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers, but when I wanted to grow them around the lighthouse, dad told me that the soil had too much sand mixed in," Sunny told the unicorn.
"Hmm," Sunset began, stepping closer to study the instantly-grown plant. "Growth can be accelerated to full maturity within seconds, but it still needs the right type of soil to thrive. Well, there goes at least one of my worries."
"What do you mean?" Sunny asked.
"Well, the last thing you probably want is for an earth pony to read a botany book, decide something looks pretty, and before you know it, you've got a problematic invasive species of plant where it doesn't belong," Sunset explained.
"Even if that happens, I think we've got the answer for that too," Sunny said.
Out of the corner of her eye, Sunset saw the mare's hooves glow again, along with the sunflower, then took a step back when the process was reversed. The bloom shrunk to nothing more than a sprout, and the towering stalk sunk into the grass before vanishing entirely.
"Wow..." the unicorn commented. "This agrokinesis is closer to unicorn magic than I thought. It can be entirely reversed. So how do you do it?"
"Concentration is the most important part," Sunny answered. "Just the right amount of focus. Too little or too much, and whatever we grow could quickly get out of control. We have to clearly picture what we want to grow. I'm thinking of starting a community garden, because some earth ponies are coming up with entirely new foods. Like, combinations of produce!"
"Incredible. This could make supply issues and famine ancient history," Sunset commented.
"I just wish that doing it so often wasn't exhausting," the earth mare complained.
"Welcome to a unicorn's world. Magic is awe-inspiring and fun, and just like us, the energy has to come from inside you."
Before Sunny could respond, her stomach also started to grumble.
"You feel like joining Sprout and Zipp at Alphabittle's bistro for some lunch? I'm eager to see what he's done since he's handed off the Crystal Tea Room to you," Sunny asked.
"You read my mind. Let's go before there aren't any seats left," Sunset answered as they walked back into the treeline, and the light level decreased significantly.
"So, have you learned anything more about your new student?" Sunny asked as they walked deeper into Bridlewood proper.
"She has a file in the archives; missing pony from twenty years ago. Vanished from her parents' backyard, and was never seen again until now. With how young an age she was at when she disappeared, she probably doesn't even remember Bridlewood," Sunset told her.
"Surely her parents would have recognized her," Sunny countered.
Sunset nodded.
"That would have certainly been the easy route, if they were still alive. She was their only child, and they couldn't deal with the grief of losing her forever," Sunset explained.
"Oh..." Sunny replied as the somber mood settled over the pair.
"I haven't been able to devote a ton of time to digging deeper, and maybe that's a good thing for now. I don't know where she's staying at night, but the address she gave me on her student information doesn't exist. I've only got one theory so far, and I haven't been able to confirm or bust it yet," Sunset continued.
"And that is?" Sunny asked.
"I've got a feeling her cutie mark is fake... That she doesn't have a cutie mark," the unicorn told the earth mare.
"That... Doesn't make any sense," Sunny replied, puzzled. "Everypony has a cutie mark at our age."
"Naturally, yes. Unnaturally is another story. The mark on her flank is a simple butterfly, and I've got a hunch it could be drawn on. She was watching one of our first morning classes earlier in the week, and when rain came into play, she bolted back into the forest. My point is, a lack of a cutie mark, natural or otherwise, would certainly explain her lack of magical prowess."
Sunny gave this some thought. Sunset was still the only pony she knew with two cutie marks; one on each flank, and with the generations of ponies that had come and gone without magic, the significance of a pony's cutie mark had faded somewhat; Sunny had read that a common practice for a lot of ponies in Ancient Equestria was to hold a celebration called a 'Cute-ceañera' to celebrate getting one's cutie mark, and that practice had all but vanished.
But a cutie mark was still something that every adult pony had. She had never heard of a pony Misty's age without one.
"So what are you going to do?" Sunny asked.
"For now? Take the wait-and-see approach. I know it's risky, but it's the only one I think is acceptable. I've accused ponies and people of being something they're not before, and the results were disastrous almost every time. If she is here at the behest of somepony else, and she figures out that we're on to her, she could vanish back to whoever sent her here, and we'll be back to square one. Or... Maybe something else brought her back to Bridlewood. Maybe, somewhere really deep down, are 20-year old memories waiting to surface. For now, she'll be coming with us to the Crystal Empire. I don't want to leave her here with the others."
'Just... Don't do what you did with Twilight,' Sunset told herself as she sat in the passenger seat of the Scouticus Maximus as Sprout drove the vehicle north towards the Crystal Empire. Right now it was nothing but arctic tundra, but in another couple hours, they would be able to make out the Crystal Mountains on the bottom of the horizon.
She glanced back at the students she had selected for the trip; Onyx, Bridlewood's resident beat poet, her frequent partner Bongo, Jasper, and of course, Misty. With eight ponies, the vehicle was at its max capacity. Sleeping was right below what Sunset would consider 'cramped'.
It had been just about 24 hours since they had left Bridlewood. Jasper was thrilled to have been picked at first, but after he hadn't gotten the best sleep, he was wondering if this had been such a good idea. He hadn't complained yet, but Sunset noticed how his demeanor had changed; he was ready to be out of the Scouticus and have some space to himself again.
"I'm gonna go get some air," Jasper said to the other three. Sunset saw him unbuckle his seatbelt, go towards the back, and pushed the roof hatch open, climbing up the ladder and went to sit with Zipp and Sunny in the somewhat chilly, but fresh air. After a moment, Onyx and Bongo followed her, leaving Misty alone in the back, who was reading the spellbook she had gotten along with the rest of the class on their first day. Sunset unbuckled her seat belt, and went in back, taking a seat across from Misty, who had watched her classmates go up top, then returned her attention to her book.
"Not interested in going up yourself?" Sunset asked her.
"It's a little chilly, and I think anypony else up there would make it a bit cramped again, and honestly, the space is nice," Misty replied.
That was the truth. Honestly, if the engine was as muffled as it was in here, and the weather was pleasant enough, she was sure that a few of them, Jasper especially, would prefer to sleep in the cargo bed. But the weather wasn't exactly ideal for sleeping outside, and in another few hours, it would likely be cold enough for everyone but Zipp to come inside; pegasi could handle the cold much better. Or, on the other hand, perhaps not; Jasper had taken a liking to the most basic alteration spells, maybe he could keep it warm back there.
"I'm still a bit surprised you picked me to come along, Miss Shimmer. I mean, I know how much I've been struggling with the basics, I figured you'd select somepony more... Talented," Misty admitted.
"Misty, I wish I could say I know what it's like to be you, that I've walked in your hoofsteps, that I struggled with basic magic at one point. But I can't. But that doesn't mean that I don't believe that everypony has their place. Just because you're struggling with your magic now doesn't mean that you'll be any less valuable on this field trip. You're another set of hooves. I'm honestly surprised that more unicorns aren't struggling like you are, because this is the first time in generations that magic has been back. But just like every other one of my students, I'm going to help you find your place."
Misty smiled at her.
"Thanks, Miss Sunset. I'm trying my best, I promise."
Sunset had her neck craned to the right from her side seat in the back as the descent into the blizzard surrounding the Crystal Empire finally leveled out. Sprout had to weave around several crystal clusters sticking up out of the snow, and a couple minutes later, he slowed to a stop, setting the parking brake, and began to unbuckle himself from his seat.
"Alright, class," Sunset began after she had unbuckled herself, immediately going to the floor compartments in between the seats and opening them, passing out the folded garment bags out to the respective unicorns that matched the nametags. "You've all been fitted for your cold weather gear. If you feel you need to take some of it off indoors, you can do so, but keep any parts you take off in your pack so you don't lose them. Also, the radio headsets; those stay on at all times. Each group will have a channel, and the emergency channel will be 1; that overrides all other audio feeds. Clear?"
Sunset got affirmative nods and responses from her chosen students, who began to put on their gear in the confines of the passenger section. Once everypony was dressed, they exited out into the snow, and once again the eerie quiet that accompanied the eye of the storm was downright unsettling, especially to the unicorns who had not been here before.
"Freaky," Jasper commented, looking up at the towering cyclone of snow that surrounded the city.
"Alright, class. Assignments; Bongo, Jasper, you're with Zipp in the library; you'll be helping her sort and pack up books. That'll be the vast majority of what we'll be taking back. You're on channel 2. I will be with Sunny in the castle right up there, we'll be on channel 3. Misty, you're helping Sprout continue exploring one of the residences we've uncovered and bringing back anything of significance; you two will be on channel 4. Onyx, you have the first watch and patrol with the Scouticus. Unload the empty containers and help load them back up as the other groups fill them up. Stay on channel 1, and periodically check in with the other channels."
Sunny couldn't help but be impressed with the efficiency with which Sunset directed her small class. If her magic lessons were so clear and concise, the unicorns of Bridlewood were likely making considerable strides in their magical studies.
"Couple more things; if you're outside for long, cast basic spells to keep your horns warm, or use the fleece warmers in your kit. If you get chilled and need to warm up, return to the vehicle; it will be idling continuously. Lastly, if for some reason something catastrophic should happen, you've all been instructed on how to set up the emergency transponders right up there," Sunset instructed, pointing to the six steel rods with cylinders in the front of the Scouticus' cargo bed. "Set one up, but do not under any circumstances leave the safety of the vehicle. The chances of you making it out of the storm on hoof are slim to none. We have enough food to last all eight of us for three weeks, and Zephyr Heights, Maretime Bay, and Bridlewood will all send help if they don't hear from us in half that time. Clear?"
Again, the headmare got nods all around.
"Alright. In that case, welcome to the northernmost city of Ancient Equestria. I'm hoping we learn a lot here. First break is in two hours for dinner. Obviously, be very careful, and be mindful of your chaperones, which are Sprout, Zipp, Sunny, and myself."
With that, everypony went to their separate radio channels, and split off into their respective groups. Bongo and Jasper followed Zipp towards the large, two story library to the right, Misty and Sprout went towards a half-buried house on the other side of the street, Onyx opened the back of the trailer to start to pull out the empty cargo containers, and Sunset followed Sunny through the snow towards the Crystal Castle. Thankfully, their route inside hadn't been re-buried due to the absence of blowing snow and wind, and they made their way up the stairs and into the Crystal Heart chamber.
"So what are we after this time, if most of the trailer is going to be taken up by the books in the library?" Sunset asked, pulling off her goggles and mask once they were inside, with Sunny doing the same.
"I'd like to reserve at least one container for anything we can find that belonged to the royal family. Pictures, journals, things of that sort. I thought we'd start where I last left off, Princess Flurry Heart's room," Sunny told her.
"Well, you probably know this place better than I do, so lead the way," Sunset said, waving her ahead. "I was only here like, twice. First time was stealing a crown."
"Alright, here we are," Sprout said, with Sunset's student Misty right behind him as they came up to the front door of a half-buried crystal structure. "Luckily last time we were here, Sunset melted the snow around the door, otherwise we'd have to climb in through the second story window."
"So what kind of things are we looking for, Mr. Cloverleaf?" Misty asked as he pulled the door open and they stepped inside.
"If it looks like it would look good in a museum, let me know, and we'll set it aside for packing. Photos, books... First time we found an intact suit of ancient pony armor."
Misty nodded, and started to look around, waiting for a good opportunity to slink away. Maybe she should have asked Sunset to be put in the library group. But then again, there would have been more ponies to work around there. Here there was just Sprout, and that would make it easier. Besides, there were more places to put books than in a library. She'd keep an eye out for any bookshelves and closets.
'Alright, just remember what Opaline wanted in exchange for a cutie mark, Misty. Powerful magical spells. Class Five...'
Sprout slowly made his way down the stairs into the basement of the house he and Misty Brightdawn were continuing to explore. According to Sunset, it was the residence of one Flash Sentry and his descendants; nearly all of whom had been royal guards for the Crystal Empire. Apparently she had known a 'mirror' version of this Flash Sentry in the dimension she had come from.
Even after Sunset had showed him pictures from the other world and her bipedal friends, he still couldn't quite wrap his mind around other forms of ponies he knew, or even himself. Was there another Sprout Cloverleaf out there in the multiverse somewhere?
Who could say, really? He knew Sunset had come back to Equestria because she had encountered, well, herself, and the both of them in one place for long wouldn't be good for the stability of the whole fabric-of-existence stuff, so it was probably best that the dimension-hopping was over, at least for now.
He finished coming down the steps onto a tiled crystal floor, and to his surprise, it wasn't as cold as he was expecting. He was able to remove his hood and mask, leaving his radio in his ear as he made his way over to the storage shelves.
"Alright, I'm down in the basement, Misty. Everything going good up there?" He asked through his headset.
"So far, a pretty normal looking bedroom," Misty replied. "Keeping an eye out for things that look good in a museum, and Headmare Sunset wants spellbooks."
"Even if it doesn't look good right now," Sprout began. "The restorers in Zephyr Heights do amazing work, so just remember that. Even if it might look like junk right now, keep it in mind."
Sprout knew that the vast majority of the space in their new trailer would be for books from the immense library across the street, but once that was cleared out, they were going to have much more freedom to look around these houses for things to keep and restore.
He had to admit, once there was no more room in the museums across Equestria, he wouldn't mind a set of antique pony armor on display in the corner of his bedroom.
Sunset was slowly making her way down the shelves of the Crystal Castle library. While it was considerably smaller than the main library out on the main road, it was still sizeable. While Sunny wanted to keep an eye out for history books, Sunset was still adamant on tracking down spellbooks, and keeping the more dangerous ones out of reach for now. Luckily, of the two dozen spellbooks she had found on the shelves so far, they had all been Class III and below, which meant that the librarians of the Empire had been wisely keeping them out of public spaces. Or at least, that was her hope.
She heard the library doors open and shut, before galloping hooves came down the main concourse.
"Sunset!" She heard Sunny say as the galloping got closer. The unicorn stopped where she was in her current aisle, turned, and went out to the table in the center where she had been stacking spellbooks, where the earth pony could easily see her.
"You could say that," she said, opening the left flap of her saddlebags and pulling out a book.
"It's the personal journal of Princess Flurry Heart," Sunny said, opening the bound book to where a bookmark had been placed, which looked brand new.
"Reading journals now, are we?" Sunset asked, not sure how she felt about invading the privacy of princesses, even those who were long gone.
"I figured this entry would be of interest, because she mentions you," Sunny answered.
Yep, that would be enough to get the unicorn's attention as Sunny offered the open journal to her, and she turned it and read the hoofwriting silently:
For years, Twilight didn't stop fretting over what could have possibly happened to Sunset Shimmer, and once again, I should be incredibly careful on what I wish for. It's been quite a few years since Luster Dawn left her tutelage, and a while ago Twilight told me about another talented unicorn she's encountered trying out for the school. According to her, she is the most gifted pyromancer she has ever encountered.
Twilight told me there is no such thing as bad students, just bad teachers, but I have an incredibly hard time accepting that. I remember the stories I was told about Sunset Shimmer, and luckily for us, her problems became apparent before being offered an alicorn form. Princess Twilight told me that she had turned over a new leaf in her new home, but she vanished with absolutely no trace once she was supposed to come back to Equestria. It worried Twilight sick for years, it took all of her friends to keep her focused enough to run the country. It took her so long to begin to consider selecting another gifted pony from the school as a protege. When Luster Dawn accepted the position, I figured that Twilight was finally beginning to move on. But then Luster did something quite unexpected; she turned down the offer of an alicorn form. Twilight of course respected her decision, and so the student and teacher went their separate ways.
Then a short time later, came the pyromancer, Opaline Arcana. She was everything Twilight could have wanted when it came to a protege; raw ability, ambitious, and driven to succeed. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Luster turned her offer down that Twilight seemed to put Opaline on the fast track to Alicornhood. The problem is, once that happened... Things changed. Opaline changed, and revealed a side of herself she had kept hidden quite convincingly.
Aunt Twilight is wrong. There are bad students. Sometimes those students find redemption like Sunset had. But there are good students that go bad at the drop of a bit. There are bad students that become so skilled at creating a facade of innocence that they even fool princesses. Perhaps Opaline is all of these and more.
If she gets her way, I fear for Equestria's future. I hope Twilight knows what she's doing.
The journal of one Princess Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire gave Sunset hope that it would fill in some of the gaps between her last correspondence with Twilight and her arrival through the mirror into the current generation.
But as it turned out, Princess Flurry Heart didn't get out all that much.
"This doesn't tell us a whole lot more than we already know; she goes weeks... Months... Years, in-between entries," Sunset commented as she flipped through the pages, making mental notes of the dates of the entries. "Guess ruling up here must have been pretty mundane."
"Even back in Twilight's days with the rail network getting all the way up here, yeah, the Empire was pretty isolated from the rest of Equestria," Sunny replied as she was going down another row of books as Sunset sat and flipped through the Princess' journal.
"But ponies like Opaline are exactly what we need to be on the lookout for, Sunny. Megalomaniacs who think they're better than everypony else, be it by birthright, or whatever higher power they believe in."
Sunset was hoping that Sprout was keeping an eye on Misty. She still didn't know nearly enough to make any sort of accusations, and getting the young mare to open up to her would likely take time; time that they possibly didn't have.
"Alright, this one is almost ready to go," she heard Zipp call.
"I'll go let Onyx know," Jasper called, after helping the pegasus put the lid on the large container and latch it. Sunset closed the journal and dropped it into her saddlebags, coming back out into the main concourse to see Zipp push the full container down the floor.
"Need any help, Zipp?" Sunset asked.
"Nope," the pegasus replied after briefly turning to the unicorn. "CanterLogic designed these to be easy to move fully loaded, with low-friction casters."
Regardless, Sunset followed the crate out and helped move it down the stairs to the Scouticus, and assisted in getting it loaded into the back.
"Miss Shimmer!" Sunset heard, turning to see Misty coming down out of the front door of the residence she and Sprout had been going through.
"Misty?" Sunset asked, going halfway across the street to meet the unicorn, seeing she had a book in her hooves.
"I-I remember what you said about specific spellbooks, and I found this one on a bookshelf in there," Misty said, holding out the book to Sunset. The headmare looked down at it, and accepted it, immediately turning it sideways and looking at the bottom of the binding.
V
Sunset took a breath.
"You've got a good eye, Misty. Great job, and thank you. Let me know if you find anything else," Sunset told her. Misty nodded with a smile before turning to head back inside the residence, as the headmare silently watched, before looking down at the spell tome once more.
Sigils, Seals, and Shields Incantations for Masters of Combative and Defensive Magic
She flipped through the first few pages, quickly determining that these were high-level spells where the timing was much more important, and the consequences much heavier.
And thus the plot and puzzle thickened, the pieces shifting. If Misty was here at the behest of somepony else, they weren't interested in high-level spells if she was bringing them right to her. Artifacts, perhaps? Those were equally dangerous, especially if you didn't know what you had. But they were also considerably more rare. If Flurry Heart's final letter was accurate, the entire city evacuated; did they take the artifacts with them, or were they still here, buried in the snow?
If they were, they would be just as hard to get to as Misty's motivations.
Sunny gave a short stretch from the driver's seat of the Scouticus as the vehicle continued steadily south, pulling a trailer full of books back to Maretime Bay. The last rays of the sun were shining through the passenger side window, and the snow was beginning to give way to the arctic tundra. She quickly glanced behind her, seeing all the occupants either asleep or trying to sleep. Her passenger for the next hour before Sprout took over was Sunset. The unicorn sat in the passenger seat, buckled in, and flipping the pages of a leather-bound book she had pulled out of her saddlebags. It had a golden version of her cutie mark engraved on the front cover.
"Hey Sunset? I have a question, and I hope you don't take it the wrong way," Sunny said.
"No worries, Sunny. Ask away," Sunset replied, as she glanced up from her yearbook.
"When you came back through the mirror for the first time, to take Princess Twilight's crown, why did you go back? Why didn't you put it on then and there?" Sunny asked, remembering the story of how Sunset had gone back through the portal to gather followers to bring back through to Equestria.
Sunset thought about it for a moment, taking a quiet breath, as she carefully went back in her mind to her thought processes way back then.
"I suppose, because it wasn't about just having it. That wasn't enough. I had something to prove. I had to show Princess Celestia that it was rightfully mine in the first place; that she had made a mistake in expelling me, in choosing Twilight as a successor. Stealing it wasn't enough, and it would have proved nothing more than me being a capable thief. When Twilight became an alicorn, I had believed that she had usurped a position that had belonged to me. I never believed Celestia when she told me that I wasn't ready for the darker aspects of magic that I so desperately wanted to begin researching, that I had started looking at against her wishes when I was caught and expelled on the night I crossed over the first time."
Sunny listened intently as Sunset paused to gather more of her thoughts.
"I was just... Angry. Back then I honestly believed that everything that I had earned had been stolen. I hadn't realistically thought the whole thing through. If I had made a clean getaway and returned with my teenage army, what then? They weren't going to automatically be able to adapt to their equine forms. I was just laser focused on proving to Celestia that I could command the respect of others. That's all a moot point, of course. When I did put it on, it pulled all of the darkness inside to the surface, and I finally realized why Celestia was keeping it from me. You need a very clear and guarded mind when you deal with things like that."
Sunset flipped back a few pages to her junior year Fall Formal, bringing back the memories a bit more vividly, and her shoulder blades tingled in response.
"So how did it affect you?" Sunny asked.
"The three or four minutes of my dark transformation into a she-demon? I want to say the worst of it was the burns on my shoulder blades that didn't heal for a few weeks, but that was just the physical toll. The emotional toll was... Worse."
Sunset glanced over at Sunny who was renewing her focus on the road. They both looked behind them when they noticed Sprout begin to stir, and quietly sit up in his sleeping bag to avoid disturbing the others.
"Guess that's my cue. I've gotta stretch anyway, been sitting here for over five hours," Sunny said. She let off the throttle, and let the Scouticus come to a slow, smooth stop, before setting the brakes. With that, she hopped out to get some fresh, if chilly air, and Sunset did the same, returning her yearbook to her right saddlebag before walking around the front of the vehicle over to Sunny.
"Sunny? Is there a particular reason for those questions? You sound worried about something," Sunset told her.
The earth mare took a breath.
"If somepony as experienced as you tripped up with unfamiliar magic, what chance to earth ponies have? Our magic is brand new. That means no books to consult, no teachers with prior experience to guide us. It's exciting, and the same time... Pretty scary," Sunny admitted.
Sunset put a hoof around her shoulder.
"I'd honestly say that's an excellent mindset to have; cautious optimism. Taking it slow and steady is a good idea, but eventually earth ponies will have to start pushing themselves to learn their limits, and what they're capable of. Having books to fall back on is nice, but honestly, Sunny? That security doesn't even begin to compare to being magical pioneers; to write the first books yourselves. It's scary, but you have no idea how much I envy you all right now," Sunset told her.
Sunny managed a small smile.
"Thanks, Sunset. Say, do you think I could stay with you awhile in Bridlewood? I'd love to see some of your classes, and it's been a bit since I've seen Izzy," Sunny asked.
"You can absolutely stay as long as you like, Sunny. I wonder how Izzy's vehicle project is coming along too," Sunset replied.
A couple of Sunset's students had gotten out to stretch their legs and take bathroom breaks before they got back in the vehicle for another several hours. By the time everypony was ready to go, Sprout was in the driver's seat with a cup of coffee.
"Ready to go when everypony else is," he announced.
"Alright, back to it, I suppose," Sunny said. Once they were on board, they headed in back to their sleeping bags, while Zipp took the passenger seat to keep Sprout company for the night drive.
"Well, hope I can get to sleep now," Sunny commented.
"Why wouldn't you be able to?" Sunset asked.
"Because now you've got me thinking up titles of the first books about earth pony magic."
'Good thing Rainbow isn't here,' Sunset thought to herself. 'She'd come up with some lewd ones.'
Sunset was the last one of the Bridlewood drop-offs to disembark from the Scouticus, turning back to Sprout, still in the driver's seat.
"Alright, thanks Sprout. You and Zipp have a safe trip back to Maretime Bay," she said, smiling up at the earth pony.
"Thanks Sunset. See you soon," Sprout replied before Sunset closed the passenger door, turning back to Sunny and her students as the vehicle pulled away and continued south over the rolling hills as the sun continued towards the horizon as the early afternoon continued on.
"Alright, class. Congratulations on a successful and safe trip. The rest of the day is yours, and I'll see you in class tomorrow," she told them.
Onyx, Jasper, Bongo, and Misty nodded at her with smiles before turning and galloping into the forest, likely eager to get back to their friends and classmates to tell them all about their trip, leaving Sunny and Sunset at the treeline.
"Well, I'm not sure what you have in mind for the rest of the day, but I'd love to see what you've done to the Tea Room," Sunny told the unicorn.
"I'd be happy to give you the dime tour, if you think your stomach will be good until dinner," Sunset told her as they started to walk into the forest, far behind the students.
The two of them didn't get far before they saw almost all of their group looking at something next to Izzy's house.
"Pretty cool, huh? If anypony needs anything unicycled, please don't hesitate to give me a call, or come on by!" Sunset heard Izzy's voice.
Sunny and Sunset made their way through the small crowd, and saw that Izzy had completed her project in just a few short days. What had been a rusty, muddy scooter mere days ago was now completely renewed and restored into something quite impressive. Izzy saw that her best friend and teacher had arrived, so decided to immediately restart her presentation.
"Presenting, Izzy Does It!" she announced, repeating 'it' several times in a mock echo.
The two most drastic changes were the fresh coat of paint, and the box that had been attached to the back, where she had painted her cutie mark, with flower patterns almost everywhere else across the silver, teal, and fuchsia paint job.
"My unicycling cart! My trailer of treasures, my wagon of whimsy, my..."
"Carriage of creativity?" Sunny guessed as Izzy opened the side of the trailer, revealing all kinds of compartments and hideaways.
"Boom! Zing! You got it." Izzy affirmed.
"Wow. A complete restoration like this? In just under a week? Color me impressed," Sunset told her assistant.
"Just tell me what color 'impressed' is to you, and you got it!" Izzy replied, getting chuckles from the group in response. "Usually ponies had to come to me for their unicycling needs. With this, I can be a lot more mobile, and if I need to bring something back to my place, it can get there and back that much faster!"
Sunset silently hoped that Izzy would stay away from her guitar; she knew plenty of musicians who absolutely covered their instruments in stickers and paint, but she preferred the clean look of the sunburst paint job of her Flying V.
"Well Sunny," Sunset began as she and the other students turned to head farther into Bridlewood. "I don't mean to put you on the spot, but do you think you might want to give us a demonstration of earth pony magic while you're here?"
Sunny's smile widened, as did her eyes at the prospect.
"Well, if you can give me a secluded spot to practice for a few days, I'd be happy to see what I can come up with!"
Sunset Shimmer sat in one of the back rooms of the schoolhouse, having converted it into her private office, carefully reading through the fourth chapter of Sigils, Seals, and Shields, the Class V tome that Misty had found up in the Crystal Empire.
She had decided that if she was going to dare take a crack at spells this advanced, she might as well start with defensive-based spells. Shields wouldn't be dangerous to her surroundings if they failed. With her office door open, she heard the front door to the building open and shut, followed by a "Sunset?"
"I'm back here, Sunny," the unicorn replied.
The earth mare came to her doorway, cradling a flowerpot that had... Some kind of vegetable protruding from the soil.
"Hey there, Sunny. Practice is going well, I take it? What have you got there?" Sunset asked.
"This is the 'unexpected results' part I was talking about. I was practicing growing specific fruits, and I don't know if I told you, but before I started working in the museum, I ran a smoothie cart for a living, and with smoothies, you're combining fruits and veggies together all the time, so that's what came to mind when I was instantly creating fruit, then this happened."
Sunset looked at the fruit in the pot as Sunny set it down on her desk. It looked like a small tree, and on it was a single fruit, that looked like a pear, up until about halfway, where the tip became much more yellow and textured like a banana.
"So... What were you thinking of?" Sunset asked.
"Combining a pear and a banana, for the pear-nana delight smoothie," the earth mare answered.
"Be right back," the unicorn told her, getting up and leaving the room for a moment. She returned with a wooden cutting board and a chef's knife. She pulled the odd-looking fruit from the branch, set it down on the cutting board, got it as steady as she could, and began slicing it up into bite-sized pieces. Once that was done, she picked up a piece, gave it a sniff, then shrugged, and popped it in her mouth.
"Yup, that definitely tastes like a 'pearnana' smoothie to me," Sunset told her, immediately going for another piece. Sunny followed her example and tried a bite herself, and her taste buds immediately loved it, going back for another slice.
"Well, I think you've just proven that this is going to revolutionize gardening and farming in Equestria," Sunset told her.
"How?" Sunny asked.
"Well just think of the new possible flavors, not to mention the space that will be saved in gardening plots and farm fields. I'm surprised that Izzy hasn't come to you and asked for an entire spectrum of flowers yet," Sunset answered.
"Well, um, she kinda has," the earth mare admitted.
Sunset chuckled.
"Well, I can definitely clear you some time for a demonstration for the classes tomorrow. I could definitely source a blender if you want to get back into smoothie making for a day. What do you say?" Sunset asked.
Sunny popped another slice of pearnana into her mouth.
"I'd say let's do it."
Izzy drove her new scooter down the main path into Bridlewood, not wanting to be late to class; apparently there would be smoothies today.
With her new vehicle, she had kept herself plenty busy with the faster-paced unicycling, and looked forward to offering these services in Maretime Bay when she visited. But right now, she was looking forward to what Sunset called a special class demonstration, which would apparently involve smoothies. She got several waves and greetings as she passed by unicorns not attending class today, which she returned while keeping her eyes on the road ahead. Pulling up next to Sunset's schoolhouse, she parked her scooter, then headed inside, where she saw a few students already mingling, as there was about five minutes before class was scheduled to start. She took her seat up front, seeing Sunset and Sunny up at the front desk behind more than a dozen flowerpots.
"You sure about this, Sunset? I have never taught a class before," Sunny said to the headmare.
"Don't sweat it, Sunny. Because you won't be teaching. I will be. You will be the demonstration. All you have to focus on is your new magic," Sunset assured her.
"Alright, if you say so," Sunny replied, bending down underneath the counter to put two blenders up on the top of the bar, and plugged them in.
"Alright class, let's get settled down and seated," Sunset announced, picking up her clipboard to take attendance, finding Misty was not present, for the third day in a row. "Now, we've got a guest demonstrator with us today, I'm sure most of you are already quite familiar with Ms. Sunny Starscout here. She and the earth ponies of Maretime Bay are experiencing something phenomenal; acute agrokinesis has begun to manifest in all earth ponies since the reunification of the tribes. In simpler terms, earth ponies have magic for the first time in recorded history, and I've asked Sunny to demonstrate how Equestrian agriculture is about to be turned on its head in more ways than one."
Sunny gave Sunset's students a smile and nod.
"So before she accepted a position at the Maretime Bay Museum of History, Sunny ran a smoothie stand. For those unfamiliar, a smoothie is a thick, creamy beverage that is made from blended fruits, vegetables, and other ingredients. So, to start out, Sunny, could we get some strawberries?" Sunset asked.
Sunny stepped over to the flowerpot all the way on the left, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then raised her right hoof, and placed the tip on the soil. The class watched as her entire hoof glowed green, moments before the stems, flowers, leaves, and finally the fruit of a strawberry plant grew out of the soil to maturity in just a matter of seconds. The students gave soft applause and astonished murmurs as Sunny withdrew her hoof.
Onyx raised her hoof.
"Yes, Onyx?" Sunset called.
"So no seeds? Just fertile soil?" the unicorn asked.
"Correct, that's the most magical part. If you want the plant to last, the soil needs the right pH balance, but if you intend on harvesting immediately, there's no need," Sunset replied, as she lit up her horn and picked off the berries that had grown on the ends, depositing them in a nearby bowl.
"Alright, Sunny. For our next ingredient, let's do a combination fruit like you showed me earlier. Let's get a pearnana," Sunset said.
Stepping over to the next pot, Sunny repeated the motions of the previous pot, placing her hoof onto the soil, then a sapling quickly sprung out of the soil, producing a full-sized fruit within moments before Sunny reversed her magic, reverting the sapling to nothing to avoid damaging the pot, leaving the fruit.
"The agrokinesis can manipulate the plants both ways, they can be grown rapidly, and they can also be withered away," Sunset explained as she magically took hold of the pearnana over to a cutting board, where she quickly cut it into slices.
"As you can see, it's all mental, and Sunny can create fruit combinations that are entirely safe to eat," Sunset explained before popping a slice into her mouth. "If your smoothie ingredients are fresh and not frozen, then you generally add ice to your blender to make it colder, but this also may result in a watered-down taste."
Sunset tossed the strawberries into the first blender, then the sliced pearnana, before adding in a few ice cubes and a couple scoops of yogurt, before capping the blender and turning it on while Sunny continued with the magical fruit growing.
After a few moments, Sunset thought she heard something off with the blender motor, so she shut it off, only to discover that the vibrating noise wasn't coming from the motor. She looked down to the shelves, saw a glowing, vibrating book, and her heart nearly came out of her chest.
"Sunset, everything okay over there?" Sunny asked, who hadn't looked away from the flowerpots yet.
Sunset pulled the book off of the shelf with the quivering hooves, and confirmed that it was the enchanted messaging book, one of several that she had left Canterlot High with. She opened the cover, and flipped to the second page, after the letter she had written to her friends, and had gotten no response to.
"Sunset?" Sunny asked, finally glancing over and watched Sunset's expression go from shocked, to joyful, then to a look of worry. The earth mare stepped away from the pots and came over to Sunset. "Is everything okay?" She asked softly.
Finally, Sunset tore her eyes away from the book, and looked over at Sunny.
"Back in my office for a moment," Sunset told her softly, before turning to the class, most of whom were wondering what was going on. "Class, just a moment, sorry for the interruption."
With that, Sunset walked around the center wall back towards her offices, with Sunny right behind her, waiting for her to enter before closing the door, giving the two of them some privacy.
"What is it, Sunset?" Sunny asked.
The unicorn took a deep breath.
"Do you remember when I came back to Maretime Bay with the books I had taken, unsure of what to do with the Class V books? You told me there might come a time where we'd need them to face a threat."
"Yeah?" Sunny replied.
Sunset took a deep breath.
"I think that time is now."
With that, Sunset turned the open book towards Sunny, allowing her to read the message that had appeared on the otherwise blank page:
Surrender your school to my authority, or I will rain fire down upon Bridlewood.
When Izzy saw Sunny and Headmare Sunset come out of her back office with somewhat serious faces, she had a feeling that smoothie time was about to be put on hold.
Sunny stood off to the side while Sunset stepped behind the center of the bar.
"No, everything is not alright. I have just received a threat against the school, and Bridlewood," she answered succinctly, casting a spell down at her book, which flipped open, and a hologram projected itself up above the bar area, showing the hostile message for the class to see.
Concerned murmurs began to spread throughout the class, and Sunset held her hoof up for silence.
"Now before I explain further, I think it's time that you all know a little bit about me. I feel it's the least you deserve if I'm going to ask you to stand with me in defense of your homes," Sunset continued.
"I know Izzy has told you that I come from a far away land. That's true in a sense, but it's not just about where I'm from... But when. I was born in the Celestial Era. More than that, I was the protege of Princess Celestia, and later a student of Princess Twilight Sparkle. How is this possible? Because when I was younger, more impatient, and dangerously ambitious, I left Celestia's tutelage through, shall we say, interdimensional means. She had a magic mirror that was a portal to an alternate dimension, and it was there that I spent nearly two years. Princess Twilight showed me the error of my power-hungry ways, and thus renewed my studies under her, while I remained in the mirror dimension and defended the school and its students from several magical threats. Of course, eventually, the time came to return home. I spent my final months making preparations, saying my goodbyes... And when I stepped back through the portal, I came out the other side here... Into the derelict ruins of Princess Twilight's castle, generations in the future."
Sunset paused for a moment, letting her class digest this information for a moment.
"For several days, I didn't know what to do with myself. My plans, my family, my friends... Dead and gone. Then as I began learning about this modern Equestria, and how pegasi hadn't flown and unicorns hadn't had magic in eons, I was initially worried that without a teacher, unicorns learning about magic, particularly the more dangerous spells, would be a recipe for disaster. I only kept the Class V spell tomes I had found because Sunny told me that one day we might need them when we faced down threats to Equestria... And it looks like we've got our first one."
Sunny took the opportunity to speak up.
"Learning about my own kind of magic has been amazing, wonderful, and a bit scary. This magical world we've just begun to inherit comes with a price; we have to be vigilant for those who would use it for their own ends, to subjugate everypony they view as beneath them, who want to take our magic to make themselves more powerful," Sunny told them.
"They'll come from all walks of life," Sunset continued. "Jealous rulers, reality-warping demigods, conquering warlords from far off lands... Even sometimes from our own ranks and friends. Sometimes they can be reasoned with, and be convinced to see the error of their ways..." Sunset said, walking back over to where her magical journal laid open on the bar top. "...And sometimes they can't."
"B-But, we've never even begun to try offensive combat spells," Jasper said, unable to hide the fear in his voice.
"I know. You are all still novices, still finding your steady ground. But together, we can do anything," Sunset paused, pointing over at Sunny. "Five fast friends did the impossible and reunited ponykind after untold centuries of being separated. Princess Twilight and her friends faced down many threats to Equestria, and I promise you that they didn't always believe they were up to the task, or think of themselves as world-renowned saviors of Equestria. I have a feeling that whoever this is," Sunset paused, holding up her open journal. "They don't think a bunch of first-year magic students are going to amount to much of anything. But this is your home, and this is your magic. Now who will stand with me and defend it?"
Immediately, three quarters of the seated students stood up. A few moments later, some of the more uneasy ones got to their hooves. A few moments after that, the entire room was standing.
Sunset nodded proudly.
"Don't worry, You have everything you need in here," she pointed at her head. "And in here," lowering her hoof down to her chest. "The first two spells I've taught you; shields and water projectiles. Working together, you will be able to project a shield around the entire forest. If any of this 'fire' gets through, that's when your water spell comes in handy. So, while I head to the edge of the forest and find out what we're dealing with, I want all of you to spread out. Get fillies and colts into their homes and keep them there, and wait for my signal to cast the shield. If it gets attacked, it will start to falter and crack, so you'll have to keep an eye on it, and mend any cracks with another cast of custodire. Now, don't overdo it. I've told you all about the magical exhaustion headaches. If that happens, you won't be of any use. Take it slow, cast in turns. Most importantly, be there for each other. Support each other. Whoever this is, I'm sure they're expecting a village full of first-years to panic and run at the first sign of adversity. But we can do anything together. Are you ready?"
Sunset got nods, some determined, some less so, from across the room.
"Sunset, what about me? I have, you know, the alicorn thing," Sunny offered.
"I know," Sunset replied, glancing over to her. "You're our ace in the hole, so let's not reveal it just yet."
"My what in the what?" Sunny mumbled to herself.
Sunset took the open journal, and grabbed the closest pen from the desk, positioning it just below the written threat.
Meet me at the south edge of the forest.
With that, she closed the book, and returned her attention to the class.
"Now, while I go find out more about what we're dealing with, a couple special assignments; Izzy, that new scooter of yours looks pretty fast, faster than any galloping gait I've seen. You're on mobile repair duty; keep your eyes on the shield once it goes up and patch up any weak spots."
The unicorn gave her a nod and a determined salute.
"Alphabittle," She said, turning to the towering stallion in the back. "You know the forest almost better than anypony. Same as Izzy, watch for any weak spots, but while you do that, look on the outskirts for any campsites or hiding places; I'm afraid our late arrival might have something to do with this. Find Misty Brightdawn. If you do, keep her secure until this is over."
Sunset walked slowly south towards the south end of Bridlewood, watching as the populace of the town sprang into action behind her; children were ushered inside, and adults quickly formed groups and spread out throughout town and the thicker forest beyond.
She was relieved that she had managed to inspire confidence in the unicorns, and was truly hoping that their confidence would hold and persevere through what was going to come. There was too much unknown here, namely who had made the threat against Bridlewood, and what their capabilities were. She knew her own capabilities, but it was likely going to take more than her; every magical threat she faced, she did so with the support of her friends, and this would be no different. Everypony had to believe in themselves, and if they won the day, she knew her students would make unbelievable strides in their studies.
Sunset saw the sunshine intensify as the treeline approached and gave way to the open hills and prairie.
"Canticum confractus," she whispered as she approached the treeline, her horn flashing momentarily before an invisible magical shield surrounded her body to ward off any surprise attack that she might be walking into. The unicorns would need time to spread out across the forest; close enough to hear each other, but far enough to make their inevitable group shield as wide-reaching as possible, and the more time she could stall with talking, the better.
Taking one more deep breath, she steeled herself, and stepped out into the prairie, going out as far away from the forest as she could, where she could still be seen and heard by the closest unicorns who were hiding in the bushes, waiting for the signal.
Coming to a stop, Sunset carefully surveyed her surroundings, unsure if she wanted to fire off a detection spell to see if anypony was around, and she silently cursed herself as the doubt began to slowly creep in, as she realized in wanting to buy time to get everypony in as defensible position as possible, she had told their potential enemy exactly where she would be.
She took another deep breath, and pushed the doubt back; this was better than panicking. Everypony in Bridlewood knew that at the first sign of trouble. That was the number one rule; if you heard a pony close by cast it, you cast it too, thus causing the chain reaction throughout the forest. It was risky, but it was the best way to work as one team.
Sunset slowly pulled the journal from her saddlebags, and turned to the page that had writing on it, checking to make sure nothing new had been added.
"Did I come out here to waste time? If you're out here, show yourself," Sunset called out.
Silence was her answer, and she was beginning to feel somewhat exposed out here. She didn't want to spend too much energy on teleportation, and the treeline was a good ten seconds behind her at a full gallop. Her shield would absorb the first blow, but she couldn't be sure it would sustain against a second, without recasting.
"Well, well..." she heard a voice reply, from several paces in front of her. A section of the prairie directly in front of her shimmered and rippled; a cloaking enchantment slowly dispelling, revealing a tall, dark orchid alicorn.
"I wasn't sure if the reports were accurate. I had to see it for myself. Sunset Shimmer. You are quite the interdimensional time traveler."
The alicorn had dark blue eyes. Her mane and tail were white with light cyan stripes running the length. She wore dark steel fetlock guards on all four of her legs. Her cutie mark appeared to be a violet horn with a diamond-shaped hole in it, and two blazing wings of blue flame on either side.
"Opaline Arcana, I presume," Sunset replied in kind, not moving from her spot on the prairie grass.
"Ah, so you do still do your homework, I see," Opaline affirmed. "Twilight barely mentioned you; whenever she did, she seemed to excuse herself rather quickly, as if she had played a role in your unexpected disappearance all that time ago."
"Princess Twilight had nothing to do with it, not that she or I had much choice in the matter. You don't mess with time travel without drastic consequences," Sunset told her, wondering what the alicorn was getting at.
"So you didn't vanish purposefully? Like you did with Celestia? Most curious... So you merely went adrift on the tides of time until the fates decided to dump you out here?" She asked.
"Where, and when, I was clearly needed," Sunset answered.
"And thus cleared the path for Luster Dawn, and then myself, of course. Dawn was too shortsighted, did you know she actually rejected Twilight's offer of alicornhood? Rejected greatness, just like that. Can you imagine such foolishness?"
"It's not for everypony," Sunset commented, refusing to let her guard down.
"Quite true," Opaline admitted. "It is only for a rare, select few, who can seize the moment, for their ambition to spark a fire."
Sunset saw Opaline's horn and wings dimly glow for a moment with that last word.
"So you seized the moment to threaten us? When no one in that forest even knows who you are?" Sunset asked.
"Truly? What are you teaching in those classes of yours?"
"We haven't gotten to ancient history yet, I'm afraid," Sunset answered.
"Well, they'll know me soon enough," Opaline told her. "I assume you are here to submit yourself to my authority."
"Yeah, the thing is, I took a straw poll before coming out here, and the ponies in there aren't too keen on surrendering to an alicorn they don't even know," Sunset told her.
"Resisting would be unwise, Sunset Shimmer. I'm sure you don't want to lead your students to their doom," the alicorn warned.
"I won't lead them into enslavement, either," Sunset told her, taking a single step back, having a feeling that this parley was nearing its end.
She saw Opaline's horn light up, and braced herself.
"Custodire!"
A dome of magical energy came up out of the ground and surrounded Sunset a second before Opaline fired off a flaming bolt towards her. The shield rippled, began to crack, but held, and the cracks began to vanish as she heard the voices behind her begin to call out the shield spell in response.
"Custodire!"
"Custodire!"
The voices were like an echo that were quickly lost in the trees, but the shield that surrounded Sunset grew exponentially, and in as the seconds passed, what was at first around her body was now slowly enveloping the entire forest behind her.
"So," Opaline snarled, the glow of her horn becoming brighter. She unfurled her wings, which also became engulfed in purple and blue flames. "You have chosen fire. 'The best offense is a good defense', and all that? What chance do you think you have against me?"
"I have no idea," Sunset said, standing on the cusp of the gargantuan magical barrier. "But I've learned that sometimes a chance has to be taken. I've learned a lot more than that in my interdimensional travels, Opaline Arcana. One thing above all else..."
Sunset paused, closed her eyes, took a breath, focused on a familiar energy inside herself, and on the exhale, wings of fire burst out from her backside, surprising Opaline and even causing her to take a few steps back as the unicorn opened her eyes again.
"...I've learned that sometimes it's best to fight fire with fire."
Due to her pulling around her smoothie cart, as well as her smaller delivery cart, Sunny was more than used to prolonged galloping, and so was having little trouble keeping up with the fiery spectacle above the canopy of Bridlewood. Two trails of fire, one orange, one blue, were currently dancing around each other in a helix as fireballs rained from the sky, impacting the shield that had covered nearly the entire populated portion of the forest. The unicorns of Bridlewood were scattered throughout the trees, keeping a careful eye on the shield, and repairing any weak spots as the cracks showed from the impacts.
"That's it, you guys are doing great! Keep it up!" Sunny encouraged as she ran to keep up with what must have been Sunset and whoever this attacker was.
But encouragement at this stage was all too easy; this was minute two of the battle. What about minute five, or ten?
Sunny wasn't sure what an 'ace in the hole' was, but she had a feeling that Sunset Shimmer didn't want this opponent, whoever they were, to know about her alicorn form until the perfect moment to catch her off guard.
'Be careful up there, Sunset,' Sunny thought to herself.
Sunset fired off a trio of magical bolts of energy towards Opaline, who was twisting through the air along with her. Two bolts missed, and the third impacted the magical shield the alicorn had cast right before taking to the air.
Thankfully, the magical shield, cast with the magic of the entire population of Bridlewood, seemed to be withstanding Opaline's meteoric bombardment so far. In retaliation, Opaline, surrounded by an aura of blue fire, fired off her own pair of offensive spells; their trajectories bent towards Sunset.
"Custodire sorbeo!" Sunset called out, her horn modifying the magical shield around her body. Both spells impacted, but the shield absorbed them, and while Sunset felt the physical impacts, she felt her magical reserves surge.
'Nice and easy, Sunset. She's an alicorn, but she has limits too. Make her reach them before you do,' she told herself.
"I want you to remember your choices when Bridlewood burns to ash!" Opaline taunted.
Sunset wouldn't say she wasn't worried or scared, but she kept reminding herself to let those emotions fuel her determination, and in turn fuel her magic. She could only hope that Opaline would lose her patience, and use more of her magical reserves than she did; and that Sunny could come through in a pinch with her own alicorn form if it was needed.
She had always been worried; against the Dazzlings, against Midnight, Gloriosa... None of them had been a sure-fire victory, and it had been her and her friends all working together to support each other.
Newbies or not, students or not; she knew the unicorns of Bridlewood would give it their all.
"Rest assured, Arcana, I will remember my choices, and my students will remember theirs. Burn this forest, and we will rise from the ashes like phoenixes!"
Izzy zoomed along on her new scooter, as the tires left grooves in the dirt every time she did a hard turn.
"Everypony's doing great! Let's kick alicorn butt!" She yelled through the trees, occasionally looking up at the shield that was under constant barrage from the fiery meteors falling from the red sky above.
"Custodire!" Izzy shouted, her horn firing off a long white-blue beam up at the shield dome, repairing a long crack that had appeared after several hits from the fireballs.
She still felt plenty of magical energy in her horn, so she decided to pull double-duty. While she was here on the outskirts keeping an eye on the shield and the outlying students, she could also double Alphabittle's search party of one, and also keep an eye out for Misty.
Izzy had a hard time believing that the sweet mare had anything to do with this attack; but honestly, it made the most sense. Izzy had never seen her before, and the address she had given Sunset didn't exist. Where else could she have come from?
Most important of all; when this was over, could they help her?
Izzy turned so hard into the next right bend that she had to lean to counterbalance and prevent her new scooter from falling over onto its side.
Why couldn't there have been a whole cluster of scooters out there rusting in the meadow? She would have fixed them all up, and Bridlewood could start a racing league. She had quite enjoyed Sunset's retelling of that 'motocross' race her school had run back in the mirror world. They could absolutely do that here.
Misty looked up at the sky with fear in her eyes; she hadn't been informed of this at all; Opaline hadn't told her she was coming, that she was going to try something like this. She had no idea that the spell tome she left for Opaline to find would do something like this. The fireballs were indiscriminate, and if the shield fell, ponies were undoubtedly going to be hurt.
Her gaze shifted just slightly to the right, and she saw a large fireball slam into the shield, and a crack immediately appeared and began to rapidly spread.
Misty swallowed as she nervously glanced around at her surroundings, looking through the bushes, crystals, and trees. There was nopony else around.
She took a breath, and decided to give it one more try. She closed her eyes, concentrated as hard as she could, and remembered the words from the spell tome.
"Custodire!"
Her personal shield faltering, Sunset had no choice but to give a flap of her flaming wings, and let Opaline's latest attack fly under her, and deliver three glancing blows to the portion of the shield that they were fighting over.
Growing more frustrated at the unicorn's midair agility, Opaline gritted her teeth and let loose a barrage of magical bolts directly down at the shield, which began to crack. The cracks spread, and the spells to repair it weren't coming fast enough.
Sunset's gaze went from the shield, back up to Opaline, and she saw the magical glow around her horn flicker for just a moment.
She looked back down into Bridlewood as the shield began to ripple and fail, and miraculously, Opaline's magical meteor storm was also beginning to let up. The only question is would the shield be able to stay up to absorb the last of the fiery projectiles.
If any made it through, she hoped her students would be ready with water spells.
"Now, Sunny!" Sunset shouted.
Sunset fired off a volley of magical projectiles, forcing Opaline on the defensive, distracting her from the glow of golden light coming up from almost directly below Sunset.
Opaline cast another defensive spell, surrounding herself with a glowing blue shield, and Sunset saw her horn flicker again. Sunset held back; not sure if the shield was an absorption spell; if it was, any offensive hit could recharge the alicorn's emptying reserves.
Unfortunately, that was something that Sunny didn't know, and a flurry of magical golden projectiles came up from the brightening glow below, two of them impacting the shield around Opaline, and just as Sunset feared, the flashing impacts turned into motes of energy that floated up to the alicorn's horn.
"Such power!" Opaline shouted, laughing confidently. She gave a victorious smirk as the spreading cracks were finally too much for the shield, and it began to dissipate into nothing.
Luckily, the meteor storm seemed to be over as well, and the sickening red sky faded to the cloudy evening sky.
Opaline's confidence was shaken once more when a second pony flew up from the forest canopy; this one with a glowing horn and wings. Another alicorn? No wonder that single burst of spells had recharged her reserves considerably. But it was still two versus one.
"Because you have put up a considerable defense, Sunset Shimmer, I offer you one final chance; surrender," Opaline demanded as the second pony came up to her side.
"Never," Sunset answered immediately.
Both of their horns began to glow intensely.
"Ignis tempesta!" Opaline cast.
Sunset's eyes widened.
The spell that had set fire to the Crystal Tea Room.
"Take my hoof Sunny, and focus," Sunset told her friend, offering her left hoof. Sunny looked over to Sunset worriedly as a gargantuan fireball appeared in the sky, and began to descend towards the forest, which now had no shield to protect it, and the only thing between the forest and the fire was the two of them. She took Sunset's hoof in her own, and began to focus as she hovered in place next to Sunset in midair.
Sunset began to siphon the incredible magical energy Sunny's alicorn form was giving off. This was going to be risky, but it was the best way to ensure Bridlewood's safety.
"Verto!" Sunset shouted.
Sunny blinked as Sunset's horn flashed, and when her eyes opened again, their position had changed; they were where Opaline was, and the alicorn was now floating right in front of her huge fireball, and there was no time to get out of the way. Her horn flickering, she quickly cast a spell on her front hooves, which she quickly raised up, and they impacted the front of the fiery projectile, stopping it in it's tracks as it slowly pushed her down towards the canopy.
Sunset felt that the flow of her magical reserves was now a trickle, but she had no choice. She just hoped that Izzy had some really good aspirin and an ice pack.
"Revoco comprimo sigillum repurcutio!" She screamed, wincing in pain as her horn let out one final volley of energy which surged towards the alicorn who was attempting to hold back the fireball.
Sunset's spell impacted right where Opaline's hooves were, and there was a deafening bang and flash, and Sunny immediately brought her leg up to shield her eyes.
There was a wave of heat, and when it passed, she lowered her leg and slowly opened her eyes; finding Opaline and her fiery spell were nowhere to be seen.
Then she felt Sunset's hoof slip from her grasp. She looked to her left, and saw Sunset, completely exhausted, begin to fall towards the forest floor.
Sunset Shimmer had had some wild parties with Pinkie Pie over the years at Canterlot High where she slept like a corpse, but nothing quite like this, where she felt herself slowly return to the waking world, and she felt the scrapes on several areas of her body.
She let out a groan as she rubbed her eyes, and that brought blurry forms into her vision.
"Sunset? Sunset, are you alright?" She heard a voice ask. It sounded familiar.
Right now, she was just grateful that she didn't have a migraine with all the magic she had used.
"S-Sunny? What happened?" Sunset asked, her vision still clearing.
"You passed out right after Opaline vanished. Luckily, you hit enough tree branches on the way down that I was able to catch you before you hit the ground," Sunny told her.
"How long have I been out?" The unicorn asked, beginning to slowly sit up, finding herself inside one of many of Bridlewood's hollowed out trees.
"You've been sleeping quite soundly for just about two days now," she heard Alphabittle answer.
"Something doesn't feel right," Sunset told them, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.
Alphabittle and Sunny exchanged glances.
"Yeah, we know," Sunny replied. "We brought a mirror."
With that, Alphabittle levitated over a full length mirror, and placed it directly in front of Sunset, and she saw the scrapes on her sides, a cut on her head, and her wings felt—
"Yah!" Sunset yelped, nearly jumping off the bed she was on.
She caught her breath as she leaned in to take a closer look at her reflection.
Yup. There they were. A pair of wings that matched her amber coat perfectly.
And they weren't glowing or on fire, either.
To be absolutely sure, she turned her head away from her reflection to look at her back, as she slowly unfurled them, and then folded them back to her sides, and turned back to Sunny and Alphabittle absolutely stunned.
"H... Hah... How...?" She asked, dumbfounded.
Sunny shrugged.
"You tell me. I caught you like that," Sunny answered.
Sunset looked back at the pair of wings once again.
"I mean... This is a good thing! ...Right...?" Alphabittle asked.
Sunset took a deep breath, then another.
"Alright, one step at a time. Alphabittle, is anypony hurt?" Sunset asked.
"Tension headaches from a few who pushed themselves beyond their limits to keep the shield up as the last of the meteors fell, but beyond that, no serious injuries," Alphabittle told her.
Sunset was stunned she didn't have one herself, and was wondering if her unexpected, newfound alicornhood was the reason for that.
"What about Misty? Did you find her?" Sunset asked.
Alphabittle nodded.
"Found her on the northern outskirts of the village, curled up on the ground, clutching her head; one serious tension headache. She claimed she was trying to help keep the shield up. She's a few beds down, we've been keeping her comfortable while it runs its course," the stallion told her.
Now Sunset recognized where she was; the village infirmary.
Finally, she got up onto her hooves, pushing herself off the bed.
"Where?" She asked.
Alphabittle pointed down towards the end of the row of beds, where a curtain and canopy were set up, ostensibly to keep the bed and the surrounding area as dark as possible.
Sunset silently walked down the center of the aisle of beds to where the curtain was.
"We haven't let her out of our sight, and won't until you decide what to do," Alphabittle whispered.
Sunset nodded, before getting the tip of her hoof on the divider, and stepped through.
Misty laid there, shaking her back left hoof, with a cool damp cloth over her eyes, clearly in misery as she endured the incurable tension headaches that came with casting too much magic at once, completely draining one's magical reserves.
"Misty?" She asked quietly.
The mare quietly gasped.
"M-Miss Shimmer? I'm... I'm so sorry... I..."
"Shh," Sunset interrupted. "I'm going to give you all the time you need to recover, Misty. Once this passes, though, it's time for you to talk, understood?"
Misty fell silent, but nodded, not moving the cool cloth from over her eyes.
With that, Sunset stepped out from the curtain, returning Misty to near complete darkness, and walked towards the entrance with Alphabittle and Sunny.
"We've been combing the outskirts of the village while you've been out. We found where she's made camp. We haven't touched anything, figured you should be the first to take a look at it, whenever you're ready. We marked it on a map for you," Sunny told her.
"Thanks," Sunset replied as she came to the front door of the infirmary, and pushed it open.
On the other side, surrounding the immediate area, were two dozen unicorns who had been waiting for any word of their teacher's condition.
Their eyes widened when they saw the wings, and when half of them began to bow, the other half took on a look of confusion for a second or two, before they too began to kneel.
Sunny saw Sunset's expression, and took a step back as she saw the unicorn's eye begin to twitch.
"No, no, no!" Sunset snapped, the tips of her wings bristling in frustration. "None of that! No bowing, no reverence, and the first pony to call me 'Princess' will be writing lines until their hooves fall off!"
Their teacher's brief tirade brought everypony out of their bows, and they were now confused and saddened that they had angered her.
Sunset took another deep breath.
"Alright, now," she began, in a much calmer tone, taking a moment to look at everypony present. "I understand that nopony was seriously hurt during the attack. All of you managed to create and maintain a shield of that size for nearly ten minutes. That... Is very, very impressive."
There were signs of relief and pride across several of the gathered unicorns.
"Because of your actions, and how well you all worked together on a moment's notice, your homes and loved ones are safe. You should all be proud of yourselves, because I certainly am," Sunset told them, getting some smiles on their faces.
"Obviously this situation is a little more complicated now. We're going to allow Misty Brightdawn to recover comfortably in the infirmary, and after she does, she'll hopefully tell me how she's involved in all of this. I know because of my rather long nap in there, you've all probably taken a couple days off. Well, what's one more? Because that's what I'm going to need. Again, I'm very proud of all of you. Well done. I can't wait to see what you'll all be able to do weeks and months from now."
As Sunset began to walk through the crowd, wings tightly tucked into her sides, Sunny could tell she was still a little worked up, and so silently followed her towards where she was very likely heading; her school.
Sunset didn't wait around for Sunny as she made her way for the school, so by the time Sunny had gotten there, and opened the front door, Sunset was nowhere to be seen in the main room.
"Sunset?" Sunny asked, really not sure if the unicorn wanted to be left alone after that outburst just outside the infirmary.
She continued past the tables and Sunset's 'desk' that used to serve as the bar when the building used to be the Crystal Tea Room, and went around to the back rooms, where she heard chests being unlatched and items being dug through. She walked through the doorway to see Sunset levitating a bunch of magic spellbooks around her, looking at the titles before quickly dismissing them. Ray skittered around in his terrarium.
"Sunset, is everything okay?" Sunny asked.
Sunset gave a frustrated sigh.
"I'm probably wasting my time looking through these tomes for some kind of reversal spell. There were only, like, five alicorns in all of the recorded history I've read... Opaline makes six... So what the hell, why not make it seven?" She said, quickly shoving the books back into their places on the shelf against the wall.
"Would you just explain to me why this change evidently isn't a good thing?" Sunny asked, once again attempting to get her attention.
"I already explained why, Sunny. I'm the last pony who should have this kind of power. I crossed dimensions because I wouldn't listen to my mentor who stressed that I should be more patient," Sunset replied.
Sunny took a breath.
"Have you really not forgiven yourself after all this time? After all the good that you did over there?" The earth mare asked.
"It's not a case of forgiving myself. That doesn't mean that this door should be automatically re-opened."
"Well, I don't completely understand the force that grants alicornhood, but apparently it disagrees. You put life and limb on the line to defend your students, whom you've only known for a few weeks. More importantly, an alicorn living in and defending Bridlewood will make Opaline think twice about trying this again," Sunny reasoned.
Sunset took a breath as she walked over to her desk and fell into her chair, swiveling around to refill Ray's water dish with the pitcher of water she kept on the back cabinet, before turning back to the front desk, facing Sunny.
"Fair point, you're probably right about that," Sunset admitted.
"I know at least part of what you're feeling, Sunset. When I first started putting that museum wing together, some ponies came in just to see 'the alicorn', and not the history I was gathering. You're always going to have ponies like that. Just never forget the good that you can do with something like this," Sunny told her.
Sunset took another breath.
"I meant what I said; if I hear the word 'Princess' while anypony addresses me, they'll learn very quickly not to do that. I'm not going to be the Princess of Bridlewood or anything like that. School Headmare is quite enough for me," Sunset told her.
"A lesson I'm sure they'll learn quickly, Sunset. So... Any idea what you're going to do with Misty?" Sunny asked.
"I suppose that all depends on what she has to say when she's on her hooves again," Sunset answered.
"Alright, well, I'll get out of your mane for now. I'll be here for the next couple days, at least, before heading back home."
"Thanks, Sunny."
With that, Sunny turned and left the office, and shortly after the building entirely. When she was back out in the open area of the forest, she dug her phone out of her saddlebags, and brought up her list of contacts, immediately starting a video call. A few moments later, the standby screen was replaced with a live feed from a familiar white pegasus.
"Hey Sunny, what's up?" Zipp Storm asked.
"Hey Zipp. If you're not terribly busy, I'm wondering if I could get a favor."
Sunset really couldn't ask for better weather as the late afternoon sun shone its rays down through the Bridlewood canopy as she made her way through the thick outer forest on the outskirts of Bridlewood. She paid close attention to the topography on the map Alphabittle had given her.
She was hoping to finish up here before it got too dark.
She slowly scanned what little of the horizon she could see between the trees, and paused when her gaze passed over a foreign object.
There it was, a small one-pony tent about thirty yards away. Paying careful attention to her horn, she slowly stepped forward, watching out for any traps or alarms, magical or otherwise as she approached the campsite.
It was rather minimalist; not even a fire ring to keep warm, nor an air mattress inside the tent; just a pair of saddlebags and a sleeping bag.
She pulled the saddlebags out of the tent, and found them rather light; a few protein bars, and a locket.
Sunset could feel the magic coming from the locket. Lighting up her horn, she cast a nullification spell on the locket, temporarily eliminating any magical threat it might pose, before putting it in her own saddlebags.
There was little else here; Misty Brightdawn had come to Bridlewood with next to nothing.
Sunset stood in the back room that she had repurposed to her bedroom, consisting of a twin bed, dresser, and full length mirror. She stared at her reflection, and in the back of her mind, she heard what Celestia had told her so long ago, standing in front of the mirror portal.
'Look into this mirror and tell me what you see.'
She also recalled her insanely self-absorbed answer to that question.
'A beautiful pony that has nothing but power and potential.'
She knew that was why she wanted nothing to do with these wings; she didn't want to acknowledge the snide, ambitious mare she used to be. She knew that mare was long gone, but even with everything she had been through, she still wasn't comfortable with this new power.
But she knew Sunny was right; this would open up a whole new repertoire of spells, and any threats to the forest would never know what hit them, or if they knew what waited within the trees, would certainly think twice about attacking.
She heard the front door to the school open, and she immediately turned and headed out into the main hall, and saw Misty Brightdawn nervously approach the bar area in the middle of the hall.
"A-Alphabittle said you wanted to see me, Miss Shimmer," Misty said.
"Are you feeling better?" Sunset asked her as she took her place on the other side of the bar, setting the file folder down on the polished wooden surface.
"Yes, I am," Misty replied, still unable to hide the worry from her voice.
"Then yes, I do want to see you. We can start at the beginning. Did Opaline send you here, Misty?" Sunset asked, motioning for the mare to sit down at the table closest to the bar, facing her.
Misty nodded as she took a seat.
"What did she want you to do here?" Sunset asked.
"Find her high-level spellbooks," Misty answered.
"Is that where she got the meteor spell from? From you?" Sunset asked.
Misty nodded, visibly shaking.
"Where did you find it?"
"The Crystal Empire, in the guard's house I was searching with Sprout," Misty told her.
"I thought you gave the Class V book you found to me."
"I f-found two. Opaline told me to give one to you, to avoid suspicion," Misty replied.
'Clever', Sunset silently admitted to herself. Because the ruse had worked.
"Did you know she was going to attack Bridlewood?" Sunset asked.
Misty shook her head, sniffling as she came closer to tears.
"No. No, I had no idea," Misty said, her voice wavering.
"So you gave her a Class V pyromancy spellbook, and you didn't think she would use it?" Sunset asked.
"Sh-she told me she was the last alicorn in existence. That she was looking to reclaim what was rightfully hers, that had been taken and hidden away generations ago."
Sunset remained calm while Misty was unable to hold back the tears any longer. She reached into her saddlebags and pulled out the locket she had found at the campsite.
"What is this?" Sunset asked.
"H-How I communicated with her while I was away. How she gave me instructions," Misty told her.
"And she didn't tell you that she was coming to Bridlewood?" Sunset asked.
Misty shook her head.
"Not a word, at all, I swear," Misty answered, her voice quivering again.
Sunset took a quiet breath as she picked up the file folder and began walking around the bar, and sat down at the table in front of Misty.
"I have a feeling that Opaline is all you've ever known for most of your life. So it wouldn't exactly be fair if I held whatever lies she may have filled your mind with against you, now that she's shown her true colors. So Misty, I'm going to give you a choice..."
Sunset put the locket on the table in front of the mare.
"You can take that locket, leave Bridlewood, and never return..." Sunset told her, letting her words sink in a moment to let her know that she meant it, before setting the file folder on the table. She slid it towards the mare, and opened it, revealing a copy of the missing pony poster from twenty years ago, complete with a photo of her.
"...Or you can stay here, forsake your allegiance to her, and you and I can find out as much as we can about this long-lost filly, together."
Misty swallowed the lump in her throat, as her gaze went back and forth between Opaline's locket, and the old photo of herself.
Slowly, she picked up the locket, and looked down at it for barely a moment, before tossing it down to the floor, where it rolled a couple times before coming to rest on the floor. She looked up at Sunset with an uncertain hope in her eyes.
Bridlewood's new alicorn gave her the slightest of smiles before lighting up her horn. Misty's eyes went wide, then Sunset turned her head towards where the locket had come to rest on the floor, and fired a bright yellow beam at it. The locket glowed, sparked, then melted as the enchantment on it disintegrated, and it became nothing more than a pile of ash on the floor.
With that, Sunset stood up, closed the file folder, put it back into her saddlebags, then offered Misty her front right hoof.
Misty silently followed Sunset Shimmer on the northeastern path into the depths of Bridlewood. Neither of them said anything after leaving the school, but Misty didn't dare look any of the unicorns they passed in the eyes, because she was afraid they would blame her for what happened.
And that they would be absolutely right if they did.
Misty wasn't really afraid of where Sunset was taking her, but the headmare was being quite mum on the details so far, as they got deeper into the forest, and she saw less and less unicorns on the road. Soon, there was absolutely nopony else around, and the unicorn saw Sunset was bringing her to a rather dilapidated tree house.
The tree was certainly dead and rotting, and had sunk considerably into the ground as some of the surrounding swampland had begun to claim it, but what was left of the doorway was still visible, and looked passable as she and Sunset came up to it.
"What is this place?" Misty asked, a deep recess of her mind inexplicably and insatiably curious about the long-abandoned structure.
Sunset took a breath, her horn lit up, and then she offered Misty her left hoof.
"Take my hoof, Misty, and take a deep breath," the alicorn told her.
The unicorn did as she was told, and then placed her right hoof on top of Sunset's.
Almost immediately, it was as if she had been pushed in on all sides, then just as if she thought she would be flattened, it was as if she was turned inward on herself. Squeezing her eyes shut as she was blinded by white light, she took several rapid breaths before she felt the pressure on her body lighten, and slowly, she opened her eyes.
She was still in the forest, and no longer saw Sunset. She looked at her right hoof, which was now glowing faintly, before lowering it to the forest floor. She turned to the cabin, and her eyes widened when she saw that it was no longer dilapidated and in ruin, but considerably well-kept. Turning her whole body towards it, she saw a glowing butterfly float towards it from behind her. It passed through the open front door, and she slowly followed it.
The interior of the house was small, cozy, if a bit... Faded, and dull. Almost like she was in an old photograph.
Misty slowly glanced around the front living room that was just inside the front door. A short hallway on the right lead to two more smaller rooms, and a small kitchen area was in the back, before another door went out to the back yard, which was right where the small glowing butterfly was headed.
It was as if something in the far recesses of her mind was pushing in her head, struggling to get out as she slowly stepped towards the back of the cabin. As she stepped through the kitchen, through the open back door, and into the yard, the faded, dull tone of her surroundings didn't change. The butterfly got to the center of the yard, and then stopped. It floated there, slowly flapping its wings to hover in place.
A small part of her wanted to go no further, but again, that pushing feeling in the back of her head continued, and urged her forth towards the glowing flying insect. The closer she got, the stronger and more urgent the sense of dread grew within her. She reached the center of the small yard, and just as she was about to reach out for the butterfly, she saw a pair of menacing eyes from the dark treeline leer at her, barely a moment before the towering orchid figure lunged out at her, hooves ready to snatch her away.
Misty screamed, bringing up her glowing right hoof to helplessly shield herself, before the glow intensified a hundredfold, and surrounded her in white light again.
Once again, the pressure around her sharply increased, then slowly lessened, along with the blinding brightness.
She lowered her hoof, almost hyperventilating, and saw her standing behind the abandoned structure now, with Sunset right next to her where she had been.
Misty looked around, as tears quickly threatened her eyes as the distant memories came flooding back.
"Sh... She found me here. This... This was my home... And she took me away...!" Misty said, as she began to cry, falling back on her haunches.
Sunset stepped forward and put her foreleg around Misty's heaving shoulders.
"M... My mom and d-dad... Do you know what happened to them?" Misty asked as she continued to weep.
"I'm so sorry, Misty," was all Sunset needed to say, and Misty felt her heart continue to be squeezed as she buried her face in her front hooves.
She had nothing and nopony now.
Sunset leaned in farther, and wrapped her legs around the grieving unicorn.
"I want to help you through this, Misty. I do. If I've become a staunch believer in anything, it's second chances. And I don't just mean a second chance at your magical education. I mean a second chance at life, at making friends... At a family."
Misty looked up at the alicorn with wet, blurry vision.
"What are you saying?" she asked.
Sunset smiled softly at her.
"I'm saying that it's been a long while since I've been a big sister, but I can be one to you, if you want me to be," Sunset told her.
This brought a new torrent of emotions to the surface as Misty's lips trembled, moments before she buried her face in Sunset's chest as she burst into wailing cry, throwing her legs around her. She tried and failed to form words around her bursting emotions, but Sunset felt her nod into her chest, and she squeezed her in response.
What came next finally brought pause to the overwhelmed pony, as she felt herself be pulled out of and away from Sunset's embrace. At first she was worried, but as she took a deep breath and her flanks began to tingle and tickle, she realized that whatever this force was, it was benevolent.
It was as if she had never had a clearer picture of the kind of pony she wanted to be.
She was gently set down on the forest floor again, and the tingling on her flank slowly faded, but it drew her attention to something that threatened to bring her churning emotions right back to the surface again, as she gazed down at the new cutie mark on her right flank.
It was a blue, purple, and peach butterfly.
Misty took several deep breaths to avoid exploding in another overwhelming wave of emotions, as Sunset stepped forward, and the two ponies embraced again.
Sunset Shimmer took a deep breath as she and Misty stood behind the front door of the schoolhouse, formerly the Crystal Tearoom.
"Are you sure about this, Sunset?" Misty asked softly.
Sunset offered her an encouraging smile.
"I am. The sooner the truth comes out, the sooner things get as close to back to normal as they can around here," Sunset told her.
The slightly shorter unicorn nodded and stood back as Sunset opened the door, and stepped out into the forest clearing, where nearly all of her current students were gathered, as she had told everypony she had an announcement to make, and wanted everypony there.
"Alright, thank you for coming, everypony," Sunset began, closing the door behind her, leaving Misty inside. "I know we've had quite the exciting few days here, and I hope you all have enjoyed the time to relax. To reiterate once again, I'm very proud of all of you for how bravely you defended Bridlewood. Now, I'd like to tell you all something you probably don't know about our opponent. This 'Opaline Arcana' is far older than I could have imagined; she's familiar with ancient Equestria, with Princess Twilight. My spell sent her right back to wherever she came from, and I intend to find out where that is. Hopefully, now that she knows we can defend ourselves, she will think twice about attacking our homes again. If she does come back, we will be ready. Because we will continue getting better and stronger every day. Because now we have taken something away from her, or rather, taken something back. Nearly twenty years ago, Opaline came into this forest clandestinely, and stole away one of Bridlewood's own. She was so young that she barely remembered her life before she was taken. She was raised on whatever lies she was told, and in that time, her only family succumbed to the grief of never knowing what had happened to her. Now, I have decided to take her in, and I'm hoping that we, all of us, can show her her home for the first time all over again. Bridlewood, please welcome home, Misty Brightdawn."
With that, Sunset lit up her horn, turned back towards the schoolhouse door, opened it, and Misty stepped out into the clearing.
The applause was slow at first as the unicorn stepped up to Sunset, and once they hugged, the applause and cheering grew throughout the whole gathered crowd, with several voices shouting words of encouragement at her.
"Welcome back, Misty!" "You're finally home!"
Misty managed to keep her emotions under control as Sunset released her from the embrace, and they turned to face the crowd.
"Th-thank you, everypony. I wish I could say I remember some of you, but the truth is, I don't. But I am looking forward to getting to know as many of you as I can," Misty told the crowd.
"Alright, students. Let's enjoy one more day off, because then it's back to classes tomorrow morning!" Sunset told them.
As Misty began to mingle with Alphabittle and Onyx, the crowd began to disperse back throughout Bridlewood, and Sunny came up to Sunset with a familiar white pegasus, catching her before she went back inside.
"Well, this is a surprise, Zipp. It's great to see you again," Sunset greeted. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Zipp smirked as Sunny gave a soft smile.
"Isn't it obvious? Congrats on the new wings. Sunny gave me a call and said you might be interested in some flying lessons."
"I will admit," Sunset began, gliding on the updraft alongside Zipp as they soared east through the clouds. "I'm glad you came here. The difference between magical wings and actual ones is enough where I definitely needed some pointers."
"To be perfectly fair, you didn't need a lot of pointers. Those magical ones gave you a leg up, or a wing up, where a lot of Zephyr Heights is still finding their balance," Zipp offered.
The pegasus and alicorn had been flying for a good hour now, with Zipp wanting to improve her endurance flying. So she gave Sunset some basic pointers, and told her to pick a direction.
So she had, and with a purpose, as her horn glowed faintly as she tracked magical residue as they continued towards the east coast, coasting over a forest.
"And, just so you know, Sunny told me about Misty, and I think it's awesome what you did for her," Zipp told the alicorn.
Sunset gave her a smile.
"Thanks. I'm glad we got to the bottom of that. I'm just glad we got her away from Opaline," she replied.
Sunset spotted what she had been looking for on the horizon, and began to descend into the trees, and Zipp immediately followed. The pair of ponies weaved between the branches and trees, and touched down on the forest floor, a few dozen feet from the treeline. Slowly, they made their way forward, with Zipp following Sunset's lead. They came to the treeline, and had a great view of the coastline down the hill.
There, on the edge of the cliffside, was an ancient castle. Or, at least, what looked like to be the bottom half of a castle, with the top half scattered all over the landscape around it.
Zipp's wings twitched when she saw a few pieces of masonry glow, and float back into place.
"What...?" Zipp asked, confused.
"The residence of our attacker yesterday. Misty told me where to find it. I teleported her and the gigantic fireball she was about to hit the forest with back to where she came from," Sunset explained at just above a whisper, not taking her eyes off of the castle.
"So, what now? We going down there to finish her off?" Zipp asked.
"No," Sunset said, glancing at Zipp and seeing her expression change to something akin to relieved. "Just wanted to confirm that Misty was telling the truth. She'll be piecing that castle back together for weeks. At least now I know where to find her."
"I don't get it," Zipp replied as they turned back into the forest to head back the way they came. "Why wait for her to cause trouble again?"
"Because... Everypony deserves a second chance. I got one, and I made the most of it. I used to be just like her, Zipp," Sunset explained. "Obsessed with power, I didn't care about anyone but myself and my raw talent, worried about only how far it could take me. Princess Twilight wasn't perfect, but she could usually be counted on to be a good judge of character. She must have seen something in Opaline. A side of her that hasn't been nurtured in a long time..."
Sunset glanced back at the end of the treeline as she and Zipp took to the skies again.
