The life and times of a unicorn who thought outside the box.
It is said that in times of danger, heroes will come together to face the rising tide of evil, and fight back to preserve the light. These heroes can come from the strangest of places.
This is the story of one such hero. Although she appears to be Izzy Moonbow, you may be surprised to learn her true origins...
Part of the Rebirth of Magic continuity. Tags will be updated as the story continues.
It is said that in times of danger, heroes will come together to face the rising tide of evil, and fight back to preserve the light. These heroes can come from the strangest of places.
This is the story of one such hero. Although she appears to be Izzy Moonbow, you may be surprised to learn her true origins...
Right, stop the tape! Let's make this a bit more fun!
If you've already read the title, you'll know this about me, Izzy Moonbow of the Bridlewood Moonbows. Come to think of it, I haven't spoken to the Vanhoover Moonbows in a really long time, but that's a story for another time.
I'm here to tell you my story. Hopefully it won't take too long, but I reckon you'll find it interesting. It's the story of a pony who, though seemingly very ordinary, found herself in a situation that was rather extraordinary.
But I'm sure you want to hear how it all started. For that we have to go back.
No, beyond me arriving in Maretime Bay. A bit further back please! Keep it going! Past the balloon! And even past the wall being put up! No, not that far! They don't need to see that Oregon bit! It's boring!
Ahh, here we are. That's much, much better for them to see and read about.
I know in the movie that I say I've never seen the sea before, but the truth is that isn't quite true. You see, I actually had seen the sea before. I lived some of my life either next to it or within two hours drive of the sea.
Because I originally wasn't a unicorn. That doesn't mean I was an Earth Pony, or a Pegasus. It means I was a human, just like you! Assuming it's a human who is reading this, that is.
It's been so long since those days that it feels weird talking about them as if they are a part of my own life. For all I can feel it's as if those were the memories of another being altogether. I'll try my best to recall them, though.
I wasn't born Izzy Moonbow, of course. I was a human in those days. A plain old human who had his own struggles and codes of life.
That human was called James. Jimmy to his friends. He lived in a seaside town, in a seaside street, in a seaside house set back from a roadway. He lived in this house with several other people, within a room with a nice view of the sun sparkling on the water and the skies entering easily.
This could be awkward for him, as he was a pretty heavy sleeper, am I right? Of course I am, I'm talking about myself. Still feels weird saying that. Kinda like how putting a certain white sauce on things still tastes a bit odd.
I mentioned how Jimmy had a good view of the sea. Well, today wasn't so good for that as there was a strong pail of fog that had floated in from the Bermuda Triangle, covering everything in a dense cloud of nothingness. This was a problem for him, as he needed to convey a family member for treatment. Or rather, away from treatment as they had been treated overnight and needed urgent transportation back to the town he lived in.
Jimmy hauled himself away from his bed and then almost immediately fell down the stairs to the bottom. He hit the bottom and bounced upright, in defiance of all known laws of logic, physics, and time. But this was handy for him, as he could find some cheese to eat before leaving.
Much like a previous time, the cheese was slippery, and lacked a rind (therefore not improving with age). James knew this as he had recently watched a video in which an English TV presenter had talked at great length about cheese.
James then dealt with his cheese enemy and ate it on a piece of bread that could easily have been confused for hard tack. It really was that hard. Oh, sorry, I meant to say Jimmy. There are far too many James' in this story.
But let us focus on the interesting bit. Jimmy had to get his car ready to go and out to the hospital. Jimmy lived on an island connected to the mainland by a bridge, and this was the only way on or off, unless you fancied trying a boat to get about (the number of shipwrecks made this a rather bad idea).
But Jimmy was ready to go at last, having saved time by showering the previous night and sleeping in his clothes. He then went down the steps from the house and started the car remotely. It was one of those clever remote start things, which some people had. I must try to fit something similar to my moped some day.
Jimmy got in and drove along the road, with a familiar piece of music on the radio. "Well, I wasn't expecting that," he said. "And tonight, I drive along a road..."
Jimmy was much of the way to the island exit when suddenly something flew out of the air and hit the windshield. This forced him to stop and check if the windshield was cracked, and it luckily was not.
But still, what was that object that had apparently struck his car in such a way it had bounced. This suggested a small bouncy thing. Jimmy was proud of the fact he had figured it out. His genius terrified him sometimes.
He walked over to the side of the road and saw something still bouncing at the side of the road. It was a tennis ball, which was seemingly refusing to pay any heed to physics, endlessly bouncing up and down.
This was strange, so Jimmy naturally picked it up and peered at it closely. This would later prove to be something of a mistake. For him, but not for me!
The tennis ball was enormously strong, and sucked him into a treeline at incredible speed, dragging him along as he bounced up and down like a speedbump. He finally stopped in a block of trees that blocked any view from the road, and blue appeared somewhere.
"Arise, brave hero!" said a voice. "Take her place!"
I must inform you now Jimmy's hair was long. Kinda like mine. It pulled up a bit, and then began to shift to blue in a wave. Nothing seemed to be happening in any particular order. A tail popped out of his rear, cutting a hole through his pants, which were getting rather tight from the force being exerted on them. His face was stretched out into a muzzle as a horn popped through some of the hair, which was already changing over to the new colour entirely.
His hands and feet were already hooves, and purple fur was already starting to spread all over his frame. Or her frame, as it became a few seconds later. Her spine was forced downwards, and the rapid expansion of her chest and other parts quickly led to her shirt and pants being torn to pieces, fabric landing all over the floor in a mess.
His eyes turned pink as two pony ears replaced his older human ones. The last of the fur coloration had spread all over her body as it was now, and it now seemed to be finished.
And this is where I'll refer to myself exclusively in the first person to avoid causing any further confusion with the person I used to be.
The car engine was still running. I, admittedly, didn't have any of Izzy's knowledge apart from what we saw in the show, but it was worth trying. I trotted round the other side, and tried to manipulate the key with my horn. Magic, not a uni-pecker, silly!
Nothing happened. "Huh," I said. "Maybe this place doesn't have any magic?"
I would soon get an answer to that, as a large pink wave began to approach over the beach front. It seemed like water, but the light conditions were completely wrong for it to sparkle like that.
Speaking of which, some of the local sparkle was ready bright right now! The sparkles helped me to realize what it was. There was a wave of glitter approaching me! This would be so handy for crafting things!
Seconds later, it slammed into the landscape, uprooting several trees and flowing between buildings and structures, not damaging them but making them a lot more colorful.
"YAY!"
The stuff continued to flood onwards through the waterways, and made things even more colorful.
It was then I realised there was a bit of a flaw with where I had chosen to stand. The glitter was coming my way!
I held my breath as it approached, expecting it to swallow me up. Instead, it carried me along the top of it towards the edge of the scenery.
It was all very confusing at first. First driving down a road, then being turned into a fictional character, then swallowed up by a large amount of glitter? That sort of thing only happens in fanfiction, right?
But the situation unfolding before me suggested otherwise. As the wave began to drop down towards the ground, a large line of trees fell into view and I saw them before me, in vibrant and interesting colours. I got even more clues when I fell below the treeline and touched down on the ground in the middle of the forest.
Once all had stopped, and the glitter had vanished from the floor, I checked everything over to ensure I was still in one piece. Sure enough, it was still all there. Horn, muzzle, hooves, tail, mane, and even the bracelet! Sure enough all was in order and in its proper place.
I was still Izzy. Which was handy. How would the unicorns react to a human being deposited in the middle of a forest filled with no humans? They would surely go a bit crazy!
Or show no emotion whatsoever. That was what normally happened on the ground around here. A group of unicorns sat there, or slumped, looking completely lethargic and miserable.
"Hi guys!" I said, bouncing over. "How are you today?"
They looked up, barely moving their eyes. "Just great," said one, his voice revealing that the opposite was completely true. "We were fine here before you wandered in. Now can we please get some peace, Izzy?"
"Sure thing!" I said, and headed away, before stopping on the path. "Oooh," I said, spotting some lights on the pathway. "Crystals! There's so much magic here!"
One of the other unicorns suddenly perked up and looked at me. "She said a bad word!" he said, in an inexplicable British accent which sounded very out of place in this area. "Quick, so we don't get jinxed!"
I headed away before they started the strange 'bing bong' ritual which they had to do whenever they encountered the curse words. I, in my excitement to be within Bridlewood at last, a place I never thought I could go, had forgotten this.
On my way it was. I trotted down the path, the crystals guiding my way through the pathway and down to the forest floor. Some leaves scattered along the way, but the forest was absolutely beautiful. The trees glowed with spectral energy that provided natural light here. I believe the word you would use is bioluminescence? I just call it sparkle. All living things have it, by the way!
Anyway, my journey took a while to reach my home, which was nestled at the bottom of a copse of trees filled with green and purple plants. It was a literal treehouse, as it was carved out of a tree. It looked even better than it did in the movie in my opinion, and up ahead was the door. I bounded over and pulled it open, to see the interior was just as I remembered it.
"Home sweet home!" I said, and I shut the door behind me with a bang. So many things were yet to happen that were exciting that would happen in this very room! So much laughter, an entire song, and happy memories for me and my friends!
But there was a bit of a mess on the table. So I took a look at where it needed to go, and tried to light my horn. "Let's clean this place up a bit! I must have forgotten to clear up before I left!"
This moment of speech alarmed me. Although this was where Izzy lived, I had never been here before, and whomever had been Izzy before was no longer here. That felt really weird saying that, so let's move on before the multiverse collapses in on us. I had lit my horn, hoping to use it to move the rubbish around.
Nothing happened.
"Oh," I said. "We must be before the events of the movie if nobody has any magic. Not to worry! Where horns have failed, hooves will prevail!"
So, I got to work cleaning up the mess sitting on the table. I must have forgotten to move the tea set out of the way, as it had a dirty teapot inside. This would need cleaning, so I got to work on scrubbing it and the top plate out to prevent any dirt buildup. This was done within a few minutes, and as such I was able to put it back within the flower arrangement that doubled as a table for my home.
The next stage concerned the large quantities of cups and saucers, which also looked to need some cleaning. This would be no problem. I took them off their position and immersed them in water and some cleaning liquid, scrubbing the rubbish out of them.
As I did this, I sang. "This is how a unicorn sings, early in the morning! Bounce and dance and sing a lot, even on an awning!" I often made up silly songs whilst doing other things. It never mattered to me that the words rarely made sense. What mattered was it got me into the rhythm required for the task at hand.
Sure enough, the dishes and cups were clean, and put neatly back into cupboards ready for future use. I realised it wasn't morning based on the light, but rather early evening. I was about to go and watch the evening sunset, when I suddenly heard a loud crash over in the area.
"What was that?" I said, addressing nobody in particular. "Sorry, what was that, Auntie Buttons? There's a thing on the branch outside? I'll have to take a look!"
I headed for the door and opened it, and in doing so resisted making the obvious joke. I soon arrived at the outside, and saw something very peculiar sitting on the branch there.
And that thing would be very important for the next part of my story. But I won't tell you know, as it will spoil that next part.
I was about to go and watch the evening sunset, when I suddenly heard a loud crash over in the area.
"What was that?" I said, addressing nobody in particular. "Sorry, what was that, Auntie Buttons? There's a thing on the branch outside? I'll have to take a look!"
I headed for the door and opened it, and in doing so resisted making the obvious joke. I soon arrived at the outside, and saw something very peculiar sitting on the branch there.
All I can say about it was it looked like a balloon. A very odd balloon I'll admit, but a balloon nonetheless. I clambered up into the branches and moved it down to the floor level. It was then I realised why it looked so odd.
"It's a Chineighse lantern!" I said, in amazement. "I haven't seen one of these in moons!"
Thankfully, it seemed as though this one was out of fuel, so the risk of it burning the forest down was minimal at best, unless of course it had shed fire along its route from wherever it had started.
I decided the best place to look at it would be indoors, so I went back indoors and closed the door behind me. Nopony could see this at all. It was too risky, and I had to be sneaky. Too bad I was only medium sneaky.
After a few moments of fumbling with the chords and connectors on the lantern, I finally had it free and the thing was well placed. Time to look at the content inside.
The lantern had within it a piece of paper. The paper was yellow and torn on one side, as if it had been hastily removed. The council could have done a better job with a knife and fork in my opinion. It had a series of arches drawn on it, which I think were meant to emulate a rainbow, and a table with a chequered tablecloth in the middle. In the sky was a pegasus floating above it, and an earth pony and a unicorn sat on opposite sides of the table. The table itself in between two clouds whilst stars glowed across the image.
Above the rainbow was written the message DEAR UNICORNS AND PEGASI. The 'I' in 'pegasi' was written above the rest of the word, as the original author appeared to have started to write 'pegasuses'. This suggested the writer was a child.
And below the table were more words. YOU HAVE FRIENDS IN MARETIME BAY COME VISIT US!
"Maretime Bay!" I said, putting the image down. "That's where Sunny lives! Of course! This is the moment in the story when Izzy receives the message Sunny wrote as a filly! I must be pretty close to the start of the movie right now!"
A silly thought then flooded into my head. If I could get to Maretime Bay and talk to Sunny, then I could convince her who I truly was and how to bring about a better world whilst avoiding some of the bad things! This was perfect!"
If I was going to undertake a long journey, I needed to get some supplies together. I began to dig through all my cupboards and storage spaces. I knew exactly what I needed. First priority was to get some crafting supplies. I would need card, paper, some ink markers and a lot of glue and glitter. This had potential to be a very long journey, so I needed to ensure I had all the things I needed on my person to be certain I didn't get bored.
The rumbling of my stomach then interrupted my thoughts and I realised I had overlooked something rather critical in my preparations. The one thing I needed to take with me more than my crafting supplies was food and drink. If I got dehydrated out there it could end quite badly for me.
I pulled out some bottles of water and some squash. I checked my fridge and found I still had some boxes of macaroni and cheese in there. "My favourite," I said. "Now where did I put my coolbox?" I asked myself, glancing about for it.
Luckily, it was under my bed. Because where else would you store a coolbox? I dropped some blue ice canisters into the box and then placed the macaroni and cheese boxes on top of that. Most of the drink bottles went in on top of that, and as I dropped the stuff into the box I began to sing.
"There's an inn of old renown/ where they brew a beer so brown/ Hurricane came rolling down the hill/ one Wodnsday night to drink his fill!
"On a three-stringed cello there/ played the Owner's pat so fair! The hornèd cow that night was seen/ to dance a jig upon the green; Called by the fiddle to the middle of the muddle/ where the cow with a caper sent the small dog squealing; Hurricane in a fuddle went to huddle by the griddle/ but he slipped in a puddle and the world went reeling!
"Downsides went up- hey! Outsides went wide! As the fiddle played a twiddle/ and Hurricane slept till Sonnertag! Upsides went west- hey! Broadsides went boom! With a twiddle on the fiddle in the middle by the griddle/ and Hurricane slept till Sonnertag!"
Before long I was bouncing about the place, so caught up in the music that I jumped when the door knocked. "Coming!" I called, and ran over to the door, opening it.
Alphabittle was standing on the other side. "A unicorn told me you said a bad word earlier," he said. "And what in Bridlewood is happening in here? I'm pretty certain you were singing!"
"Just going for a walk," I replied. "I should be back soon."
"Good," Alphabittle said. "Try to be back before nightfall. There are dangerous things in the forests, after all." And with that he was on his way.
I snuck back in and checked my stuff. "I'll set off in the morning, then."
The next morning brought with it a bright sunlight, which led me to believe that it must be some point in summer. Normally, the sun doesn't rise this early in the day, but the summer would certainly be a time of year when such a thing would happen. The lack of a notable body of water around here was a bit of a downer, though. I have no idea whatsoever if unicorns can swim, or even how underwater locomotion would even function with this arrangement of limbs. I am, however, getting a bit distracted, which is probably not that advisable at the moment. I do have a story to tell, and that I shall tell.
My morning preparations consisted of a quick shower and grabbing the things I needed to begin my epic cross country journey TO THE EXTREME! I made my way through my home, checking everything. "Right. Gas is off, lights are off, water is off, doors are shut, climate control is turned off. All is fine and dandy in here!"
I had decided to put my items back inside the fridge before setting off today, as otherwise they might defrost. And I would have to start freezing them all over again, which would be very annoying. And the last thing I wanted to be was annoyed before setting off on a trip as important as this.
It would impair my enjoyment of the trip between here and there, considering that I knew little of what was going to lie between here and there, there and here, and everywhere else, of course. It was enough time to ponder about my future in this story. So many exciting things I could do and see. So many things I wanted to say and see as I went on my way across this wondrous land!
I checked the things in the fridge to see if they had frozen properly. Sure enough they had, so it would soon be time for me to be on my way towards Maretime Bay. I moved the blue ice packs first and dropped them into the box. They each made a satisfying clunk as they hit the bottom. It was a nice sound that it made. I always enjoyed new and strange sounds. Remixing these with Pipp would be fun, assuming we even made it that far. First I had to get to Maretime Bay and ensure I met Sunny, as without her none of this would work.
I then added the food and drinks on top, producing a nice products sandwich inside that helped to protect the items from being squished. I then closed the lid and popped it onto my back, securing the box in place with a set of tethers that ensured it wouldn't fall off. I checked around my home one last time to ensure that I hadn't left anything out of place, or that I was in the wrong position for the day. Thought I thoroughly doubted that anypony would see me leave. Based on the information I had seen yesterday it's unlikely they'd get out of bed to stop a unicorn walking off out of the forest.
I went through the door, and closed it, locking the door behind me. I wouldn't be coming back here for a while if all went according to plan. After all of that I headed for the edge of the forest. The warm, bright colours of Bridlewood slowly shifted to menacing greens, as if I had somehow found myself deep within Mirkwood. A cupcake if you get that reference.
After another while of long walking, I was finally out of the forest and into an open field. It stretched out endlessly before me, with a sky so enormous it would have given Montana a run for its money!
I continued out of the forest and into the field, soaking up the wonder forming around me. It was like I was in paradise. Everything was so bright, colorful, and cheerful, with the world seemingly full of endless possibilities. I cantered through the fields, my kit secure as I bounded along.
Eventually, my path took me off the surface and through a cave full of glowing crystals that lit my way towards the very edge of the world. I soon emerged from the tunnel, and found myself charging through a pass and up towards the sky. I whooped and hollered as I continued onwards through what was simply the most beautiful places I had ever seen. And that's coming from somebody who, before being a unicorn, lived in some pretty neat places in their time.
I continued to make my way along the road, with some yellow bricks scattered about on the floor suggesting some fairly major renovations recently. But that didn't concern me one bit. I just kept going.
The sun was halfway through the sky, so I stopped for lunch. I popped some food in my portable microwave and had my lunch, and then put the microwave back in Hammerspace where it belonged. I was then once again back on my way into this wonderful land. Onwards I went, smiling all the way and bouncing along with happiness in my eyes. It's hard to get across how joyous this all was, to finally see a fictional world I loved unfolding right in front of my eyes. I was in heaven here, flying along through this wonderful landscape.
Eventually, the sun set in the sky, and I had to stop to make camp for the night. Conveniently, there was a cave nearby, so I popped into it and put my stuff down inside, before laying down a blanket to sleep on. Before long, I felt the call of the snoozy ocean beckon before me, so I went to sleep, snoring and snoozing as dreams floated through my mind. It wouldn't be long now until I got to my destination, right?
The sun eventually rose over Equestria, slowly beginning to bathe all who lived within it with its wondrous and beautiful light. This I know because of information I picked up later from my friends, whom of course I haven't met yet. When we last spoke I had settled down to sleep in a cave off the beaten path worn smooth by years of horseshoes going back and forth on it. Do we wear horseshoes? I don't think we do. I certainly don't. Perhaps that's specifically an earth pony thing.
Anyway, the sunlight soon began to enter the cave, and this caused some of the rocks in the walls to begin glowing. My sleep was disrupted by a spectral purple light that shone within the cavern. I sat up as I slowly gained consciousness, my eyes looking closely at the world through blurry lenses, I realised the world was beginning to awaken, and bright sparkle floated through the skies.
The effect inside this place was incredible. The golden light from outside and the purple light inside was absolutely incredible to witness with my own two eyes. To see a place like this was remarkable. True, I had been to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky once, but even those caves lacked bioluminescence! To see this sort of thing amazed me.
Perhaps I should work for the tourist board of Equestria. I bet you of the other world would love to travel here if you got the chance. Most bronies do, I believe.
I relaxed as I got up, knowing I was in no danger from the beauty surrounding me. I chose to take the slow path out, emerging into the light with a grin on my face. Once I was out, I took a look around and noticed something in the area before me. In the dark of the night the previous night, I hadn't spotted it at all.
On the road was a badly faded signpost, so I trotted over to see what it said. The text was worn by the passing of time and both sun and rain (the humidity suggested to me I was somewhere fairly far south), but there still seemed to be some of the former blue and gold colour left in the signwork itself. I stepped in to take a closer look, and saw the text was still there somehow, clinging on despite the elements. It was time to see what it said.
Unfortunately, the text was just a series of squiggles. It was completely illegible, making it impossible to read.
I then realised why. "Oh! Silly me! Forgot to put my glasses on!" I reached into my bag and slapped my glasses on over my face. I needed these to read things, but not to walk. Try to travel whilst wearing these and I'd fall over.
It seems that some thing don't really change, even when you're a human stuck in a pony body on the other side of a screen. I scanned the text and found that, to my amazement, I could read it.
Maretime Bay, 30 miles, the sign read. Perfect! I could maintain an average speed of eight miles an hour, so I would be there just before lunch. I could arrive there, go meet Sunny, and then we could have lunch at her house. My microwave was hopefully working, and I sincerely hoped earth ponies liked mac and cheese.
I had my course set, and off I went into the great unknown that lay before me. The path soon began to change as well. It wasn't much like the rocky outcrops and flat plains I had been traversing for much of the previous day.
Gradually, the landscape began to give way from the rolling fields and mighty boulders that had been my constant companions. The landscape shifted to coastal pathways and sheer cliffs that fell away for miles below towards the sea. What an incredible sight. Granted, I had lived next to the sea in the past, but the Equestrian sea was something else. It was such a pure shade of blue that I almost put on a pair of sunglasses to try and avoid getting dazzled. It was, not to put too fine a point on it, one of the most beautiful things I had witnessed yet. And to know that very few ever would experience it made me a bit sad.
So, to stop being sad, I continued on my way towards Maretime Bay. The town was starting to come into view. The buildings stretching out along the coastline like a series of... well, a series of somethings, but I'm not too sure what. There were also ponies roaming about on the ground, and they seemed pretty happy as well.
I turned back towards the path, travelling past the local lighthouse. I paused to look at the lens. It appeared that the light gear had been removed, but the lens was still in place. "That'd allow the light to be sent a long way."
I then trotted towards town, before an earth pony spotted me.
He screamed, and bolted for it, alerting his friends. "GUYS! IT'S A UNICORN! RAISE THE ALARM!"
"Oh boy, here we go," I said, and continued on my way into the path. Ponies were running and screaming as they sped away from where I was, which was a bit odd to witness in first person. I wasn't that scary, right?
I finally made my way under a bridge, and spotted her heading the other way. I had found her! I had found Sunny Starscout! She looked more confused than anything else, and I quickly made my way over before she got knocked to the floor and dazed.
As she woke up, I stopped in order to let her eyes recover and see me properly. I had practiced for this moment all the way here, and I hoped she'd be happy I was here. After all, it was her biggest dream to meet a unicorn, right?
I looked at Sunny quite closely, waiting for her to acknowledge me. Come on! Surely she knew who I was, right?
But it seemed my appearance wasn't ringing any bells upstairs, if you know what I mean. Sunny continued to gawp at me, seemingly amazed. It was almost as if she'd never seen a unicorn before!
The awkward silence continued for a few more seconds, before she finally spoke. "U- unicorn!"
What happened next confused me. I knew earth ponies hated unicorns, but I hadn't expected a response like this. Ponies were running and screaming for cover! It was complete madness as they raced about and ran away. You'd think a tank was rolling down the street from the way they were acting! I wasn't that scary, right?
I glanced to Sunny in confusion, who still had the exact same facial expression glued to her face. "Is everypony playing hide and seek?" I asked, before turning my head towards a pony standing behind a trailer, who seemed to be worryingly close to the water's edge. He was behaving very strangely. "I see you!"
"AHHHH!" the earth pony screamed. "IT'S A UNICORN!" And then he jumped off the edge, with a loud splash a few seconds later confirming he had landed in the water.
What in Equestria was causing all of this peculiar behaviour? I looked about. "I was hoping they'd be more friendly. Still, I'd best be careful. Wouldn't want to end up in a trap!"
I kept Sunny in my peripheral vision, and noticed her looking about in a panic. I, on the other hand, began to trot towards the water's edge to get another look at that lovely sea. "Now, if I recall correctly there's a trap about here..."
Some distant bellowing about picking up litter and something about a foal not being somepony's kid briefly registered in my ears before I got pushed to one side. A trap slammed shut just about where I was about to step before I glanced back. Sunny had pushed me out of the way. Silly me! I must have forgotten that trap was there!
Sunny moved her head in the direction of a nearby street. "I've got to get you out of here!" she said, panic ringing through her voice. "There's a side street we can use to avoid the fire from the batteries! Come on!"
I knew what she was referring to. If I recalled the film correctly one of the streets was set up with Splatapaults ready to fire and hit anything in the way. I had to keep my head down and be careful.
I dashed down the same street as Sunny, stunned once more at seeing a place from one of my favourite movies flying past my eyes. "I've never seen this street before! it's so weird seeing the street layout from a first person view!"
Sunny looked back, and it was then I realised she had pulled ahead. "Come on, we have to keep going!"
"What's got you so worked up, Sunny?" I asked.
Her response confirmed my worst fears. "The Earth Ponies are terrified of unicorns, and by logical extension you. We need to escape or else they'll throw you in jail, or maybe worse!"
I knew precisely what she meant by worse. I didn't particularly fancy swinging from a rope, and drew a hoof across my neck. Hangman really isn't a fun game. "I hadn't thought of that. But- STOP! Splatapaults in the next street!"
Sunny stopped and peered round the next corner to check for threats. She needn't have bothered. Splatapault balls are very easy to spot, after all. They are big and green, not unlike a tennis ball!
I noticed Sunny speaking to herself, and then she looked back to me. "Eventually they'll have to stop to reload. That's our opening. When I say go, we go."
I nodded. "Gotcha!" Knowing Sunny was watching the enemy took my mind off things, so I glanced in the other direction. OK, that was a bit alarming.
Plenty of ponies were at the bottom of the pathway, seemingly marching in step. No doubt Hitch had put together an attack force to try and capture me. Well, he isn't getting me! Nothing can slow me down!"
Just then, Sunny brought me back to reality. "GO!"
We sped across the road and avoided heavy fire from the batteries, although I did hear one pony bellow 'death to the unicorn'. That's a bit harsh.
Townsponies were piling into the streets, many of them armed with catapults and slingshots. They were preparing to fire at us. One was wearing some foam thing, clearly worried about a horn. Silly filly! I always watch where I point this thing!
We were now back on main street, running past the cinema. I bounced between the traps as if I were playing hopscotch, but suddenly one of the traps closed.
"Sunny?" I asked, glancing about in surprise. Where had she gone? It was then I clicked she was inside the closed trap. The townsponies were closing in. Some of them had sharp pointy things! They must really dislike unicorns.
"Izzy? Can you hear me?" a voice suddenly said from inside the box. It was Sunny! She was inside the box? But why had she gone inside the box?
"Loud and clear, Mrs. Box!" I replied.
There was a muffled reply from inside the box. "Miss Box. I'm not married. Hit the big red button."
"The big red button on the side?" I asked.
"Yes! Now hurry up before Hitch catches us!"
I punched the button, and the trap deactivated, revealing a rather disheveled looking Sunny on the inside. We exchanged a few words before speeding out of town towards the lighthouse.
The lighthouse looked incredible! Even more amazing than it did in the movie! I made my way around the interior, and took a closer look at the many wonderful things inside after Sunny made a bit of a mess of letting us in. You are normally meant to let yourself in before shutting the door, but the poor girl was probably really stressed right now.
I was stunned at how real everything looked. An actual cooker! Plugged into the wall! True, there seemed to be several different types of plugs in the walls, but it was possible they were changing the voltage over. I took a closer look at the controls. "It's incredible to see all these things in real life. A laptop screen doesn't allow you to appreciate the level of detail the animators put into every object. It feels so real!"
Sunny's voice interrupted my looking. "Izzy, we need to talk."
My heart leaped for joy at hearing her say my name. "You remember my name! That's a great start!" I said, as I turned around to face her.
Sunny blinked. "No, seriously. You shouldn't know who I am at this point in the movie-" She suddenly stopped talking, and jammed her hooves in her mouth.
She was in the same boat as me! She wasn't from this world either! This was such an incredible find! "It's OK. I'm not from here either. I'm from another world! I also know the movie REALLY well, which is handy."
Sunny then asked a very strange question. "Which continent?"
What an oddly specific question. Had she once been a human too? "North America." I stepped closer, noticing her eyes were still as wide as dinner plates, and leaned forward. "Do you Earth Ponies also engage in staaaaaaaaaring contests?"
Sunny backed up, and her face dropped. "Sorry, Izzy. But seriously, if we already have this knowledge, we can skip so much dialogue. So, you know how magic has been vanishing, right?"
"Yes!" I said. I had been counting the number of minutes in my mind, knowing it takes Hitch and Sprout a while to get to the lighthouse. I mean, they do need to get their gear first. "It makes sense to move the plot forward and go and get the pegasus crystal next. It helps I know what's happening. For example, Hitch is about to turn up outside and use a megaphone!"
And just like that- "Sunny Starscout- OW! The settings on this thing are off. Sunny Starscout, you are under arrest! Come out with your hooves up!" Hitch had entered the vicinity of the lighthouse!
"She'll be unable to walk with her hooves up," Sprout said.
I looked to Sunny. "I'll create a distraction. I know how to get Earth Ponies on side."
"Best of luck," Sunny replied.
I went over and opened the door. Normally, I would try to sneak off, but I was only medium sneaky, and as such would probably be unable to get away from two law enforcement officers looking at the building.
"Hi guys!" I said. "Hello Hitch! Hey Sprout!"
Hitch looked confused. "Wait. How does she know what we're called?"
"Now, I know what you're thinking-"
Sprout screamed, and looked at his anti mind reading hat. "She's already reading our minds! These things don't work at all!" He then ran off for some reason. Sprout is weird.
Just then, I felt a tap on my shoulder, and glanced back to see Sunny having packed some bags. That was the signal. "Ooh! Look! Giant piano behind you!"
Hitch looked behind him, and the two of us dashed for the pathway out of Maretime Bay. We kept going as long as we dared, before stopping to catch our breath on the cliffside. "You OK, Sunny? You look pretty out of it."
Sunny did seem to be breathing quite heavily, but probably less from exertion and more from the thrill of the escape. "Hitch cannot legally arrest us here as we're outside the town borders."
Wow. She really did reflect her name. The sunlight caught her mane really well. I found myself staring, before Sunny spotted me. "Yes? Is something wrong?"
"You're really pretty. Is it something you did with your mane?"
Sunny seemed flattered by the complement. "Thanks!" She then opened an old book- her dad's journal- and showed me the map. Well, that journey seemed simple enough to complete up the slopes. It looked as though we were off to Zephyr Heights next. "Do you have any food on you?"
I produced my microwave. "Not only do I have food, but I have a way of cooking it! What do you have?"
"I've tossed some sandwiches into my bag for storage, but I'm not sure it's enough," Sunny replied, passing them to me.
I then got out my cool bag and dropped them in. "You should really keep those in a cool bag to keep them fresh. Have they been in a fridge?"
"Yeah," Sunny replied. "Keeping them cool is good in a humid climate like this. Weather's nice for a trip, isn't it?"
"Yes indeedally!" I said, as we set off on our great adventure. The day was lovely. It was a shame I'd forgotten to bring the freezer, but oh well. Things could easily have been a lot worse on that front.
And I was too polite to mention it, but Sunny did smell a bit odd. Like she'd been through a sewage pipe. That left me unable to test my theory as to whether all Earth Ponies smell of fish or not.
Oh well! There'd be plenty of time to ask her about her life!
I don't think you want to know every detail about the journey we took to Zephyr Heights, and truth be told I don't particularly want to disclose them either. Let's just say that Sunny and I talked about many things on our journey across Equestria. We even had a song (too bad I accidentally missed my entry at one point).
I noticed throughout the trip that Sunny was looking about in amazement at the scenery around her. I could only conclude that she'd popped through into this land later than me, as I'd already seen a lot of this during my journey to Maretime Bay. Still, some of it was new, and I certainly loved seeing it again. Like Sunny, I don't think I could ever get bored of Equestria and roaming through this land. If I'm going to spend the rest of my life here, I'm content with it. There are worse places to spend your life.
Speaking of looking at thing, I couldn't help but notice Sunny was acting weird. I noticed a handful of times she looked away when I was speaking to her. OK, seems like she may have issues with maintaining eye contact, but that was hardly an issue right now. Provided we were going the correct direction, we were completely fine.
Or maybe it was something else. I had called her pretty earlier, and to be completely honest suddenly being switched to the other gender does scramble the brain a bit. And if Sunny had originally been a male human (which is entirely possible) she was probably going through the same sort of confusion.
But let's not spend lots of time dwelling on that. We had a mission to complete, and I imagined we'd have plenty of time to figure things out like that.
I also had fun singing with her. Having adjusted to having a much higher pitched voice, it was surprisingly easy to roll with the flow. Good thing I didn't have to tackle the harmony. I don't think I could have sung that low, seeing as my voice seems to be one step below helium.
After the end of our long journey, we stopped at the convenient campground. Above us lay Zephyr Heights, a shining gem that almost called out as a beacon to the rest of Equestria. At least it seemed that way with all the lights on. The electricity bill must be enormous.
I glanced over to Sunny, who was gawping at the sight. Yep, I know the feeling. To be suddenly transported to such a beautiful land is quite the experience. I doubt I'd want to go back to my old life if given the choice, to be honest. "They must have really good lungs to live up there," I said. I suspected we had a hard climb ahead of us, and I'm not exactly an athlete if you know what I mean.
Sunny glanced over to me, almost as if marking out a campground. "Tell me about it," she said. "That place is a fortress. Not only is it on top of a mountain, but the only paths up there are long and steep to climb. We'll have a difficult climb ahead of us when we set off." She paused and glanced over to another section of ground before her. "Let's get some sleep. Pitch camp here, and we'll set off in the morning. Now if only I'd had time to pack a..."
Before she could finish her sentence, I produced a purply pink tent and put it where she was looking.
"Tent," she finished, and looked at me, confused. "Izzy, where were you carrying a tent?"
I laughed. Doesn't she know? "The same place I was carrying my microwave earlier! It's quite handy to be able to produce objects from nowhere. And I wasn't carrying a tent." I then placed an orange tent on another section of ground, also fully assembled. "I brought two tents! One for each of us. I also packed three more for when we meet the others."
I then got my microwave out, and we had a delicious meal over the campfire of mac and cheese served with fish. I discovered that Sunny had brought some fish with her when we'd set off, and this served as a critical part of our meal. It was even already in a fillet, which was nice- although I asked her to lay off a bit on the mayo. I'll explain more later, but there's a pretty good reason mayonnaise is one of the things that brings bad luck.
Once we had finished our meal and did some stargazing, looking up at the night sky, we then turned in for the night. I popped into my sleeping bag and closed the zipper at the front, before dropping off into sleepytime, feeling the call of the snoozy ocean as I went to sleepyland.
Sunny was up before me, and had already prepared a nice breakfast before we set off for Zephyr Heights. I can see why other ponies hang around. Her cooking skills are second to none, really. Need somepony to prepare a meal from scratch? Ask her.
Still, the ascent towards Zephyr Heights was very tough. Although it started on a level path on the plains, it wasn't long before things became more difficult. The path became steeper, and the terrain tougher, with large boulders being placed at seemingly random intervals before us. The path slowly became less well defined as we went along, but at least that was better than what we eventually ended up with.
As the path kinda just... stopped. It seemed to vanish into the cliffs as we approached the cloud layer. It was getting to be pretty tough going as we made the climb. The higher you get, the thinner air gets, after all, and the more rests you need to take if you're not used to it. Of course the pegasi were used to it, as they live up here their whole lives. We weren't as we live down below.
At last, we arrived in a nearby canyon that provided some shelter from the relentless heat of the sun. I looked about, suddenly feeling an odd energy.
Energy, you ask? I can sense this thing all ponies have. It's called sparkle, and it's an indication of how a pony is feeling. The more intense the emotion, the stronger the sparkle is. It also varies in color depending on mood. It's all very strange.
Obviously, the entire journey I had been aware of Sunny's sparkle, but behind me there was another sparkle signature. "Stop!" I said.
Sunny turned to me. "What's wrong?"
"There's something in the canyon with us," I said. I thought I knew who it was.
"I saw movement as well," Sunny said.
Just then, rocks began to fall, and we could hear quick movement behind us! And whatever it is, it's chasing us!" I called. "Run!"
We sprinted for the cliff face as the rocks continued to fall, and whomever it was jumped about at speed, trying to gain some sort of ground behind us. We jumped for it, but Sunny slipped. "Could you give me a boost?" Sunny called. "I'm a bit stuck!"
I placed my head under her rear hooves. "No problem! I'm not a mountain goat either!"
At last, we made it to the top, and we sat there for a moment to catch our breath. That was quite exciting!
"Well, that was strenuous," Sunny said.
"At least the thing that was following us is gone," I said.
Suddenly, the sparkle flared back into life, and Zipp leaped up the rockface in front of us before leaping between the rocks and eyeing us with a quizzical eye.
Sunny had seemingly decided to stick to the script and screamed, so I did as well.
Zipp, however, didn't. "Sunny and Izzy? Huh. They're right on schedule."
What?
Zipp knows us? How is that possible?
There's no way...
Suddenly, there was loud clanking of armour, and I saw two pegasus soldiers approaching round the bend.
Zipp saw them too, and headed for the cliff face. "I'll see you two in the throne room. Just don't tell them you saw me." And just like that she leaped off the cliff and down into the canyon below.
"There's no way we could! We don't even know your name!" I replied, my voice getting quieter as I did so. I couldn't resist doing that line. "She seems nice."
"But how does she know us?" Sunny asked.
Suddenly, the guards spoke up. Or one of them did. "How did they get here?"
The other, a taller mare, sighed. "Probably climbed up. Stop overreacting."
"B- but it's a unicorn! And an earth pony!"
"They're harmless!" the mare said. "Earth ponies have very tiny brains."
Sunny pulled a face whilst I continued grinning like an idiot.
"But what about that?"
"Stand back, I got this," the female said, walking over and calmly sticking a tennis ball on my horn. "You two are coming with us."
No sooner had we bumped into Zipp, then those two guards caught us! And then they took us away up the mountain and into Zephyr Heights! Totally amazing place, by the way, but I hardly think you'll want to hear me talking all about the different bits of scenery and stuff that I found around the place.
No. Whilst Sunny was busy looking down from the plaza in front of the palace, I was looking up. "They have a castle!" I said excitedly, pointing at the enormous structure in front of us. "Look at that! It's just like in Disneyland! I wonder if it gets smaller the closer to the top you get to create the illusion it's taller than it actually is?"
"Why don't we ask?" Sunny suggested. She looked to one of the guards, whom we knew to be Zoom. "Does the castle ge-"
"No speaking unless spoken to!" Zoom replied. "You're coming with us."
We were soon pulled through the door, and soon found lots of guard within the throne room. This place was even more magnificent than I'd thought it could be! Everything was gilded in white and gold, and light flooded in through windows. The whole place felt very warm and inviting to me, and I could only hope the figures we would meet would be equally warm and inviting.
The guards blasted a loud fanfare, and came to a stop as we were stopped in place. "Her Majesty, Queen Haven, and Their Royal Highnesses Pipp Petals and Zephyrina Storm!" Thunder boomed.
Just then, a dog came to a stop in front of the central throne. I knew this wasn't the Queen, but that moment had been so funny I couldn't resist the urge to recreate it. "Your Majesty," I said, bowing in front of the dog.
Sunny tapped me. "Don't mares normally curtsy?" she said.
"How the heck would we do that?" I replied. "It's not like we're wearing any clothes!"
Just then, the lights moved up, and the three members of the Pegasus Royal Family flew downwards, miraculously without getting the wires crossed or crashing into each other. The Queen was at the center, being the most important, and Pipp and Zipp were to her side. Pipp was on her phone (what a surprise), but Zipp was harder to read. She seemed nervous somehow.
The trio touched down in exact formation, and I saw Zipp. "Hi new friends!"
Zipp's eyes widened, and she shook her head. I nodded, and pulled my hoof across my mouth in a zipping motion.
Whilst all this was going on, the Queen fiddled with her sunglasses. "Guards, state your business," she said. "Pipp needs to rehearse, Cloudpuff here needs his bubble bath, and I need to practice my laugh." What followed sounded extremely forced. She frowned. "Still needs some work."
Zoom was next to speak. "Your Highness-"
"Your Majesty," Queen Haven corrected. "Ruling monarch is Your Majesty, anypony else is Your Highness."
"My apologies, Your Majesty. Slip of the tongue. But we apprehended these two outside the city." She indicated to us.
Queen Haven adjusted her glasses, and did what was possibly the most forced gasp ever. "What in Faust's name?" she asked. "A unicorn, and an earth pony, in Zephyr Heights?" This was accompanied by a sudden surge in volume. "Why are you here? Who sent you?"
"We've got them both under control, Your Majesty," Thunder said. "We fitted the shield, and this Earth Pony won't think to attack. Their capacity for logical thought is exceedingly limited."
Sunny looked annoyed again, whilst I looked at the tennis ball.
Queen Haven seemed to still be concerned. "Is this some sort of prelude to war? Or an invitation to dialogue? Nopony must know we have them here!"
"Check it out, guys!" said a voice. It was Pipp, and she had turned her phone to us. "Something that hasn't been seen in millennia! It's a unicorn and Earth Pony!"
Haven took the phone from her. "There's nothing to fear," she said. "They are under the custody of the army. We will protect you." She then glowered at Pipp. "Shut it off."
Pipp fiddled with some buttons whilst Sunny looked in her journal. "Your Majesty, I have a few questions-"
"I'll be the one asking questions, not you," the Queen replied. "Process them to the holding cells until Military Intelligence can question them. And confiscate the book!"
A guard took Sunny's book and moved us both towards another part of the palace. The Royals then vanished into the rafters as we were hauled away.
"They don't seem so nice," I said. "Then again, given that this place is in a state of cold war, other races turning up uninvited would cause some concern."
After a few minutes of walking, we reached the cells. The guard addressed us both. "It's going to be slightly crowded in there," she said. "We've already got a prisoner in there. You'll just have to learn to share."
Before we could react we were pushed into a cell, and the guard spoke again. "Play nice, you three," she said. "No stabbing things with horns, OK? I know how boisterous you unicorns can get."
Moments later, a figure suddenly appeared from behind a chair. She was a turquoise unicorn with a frizzy mane in blue and turquoise strands. "Err, hi guys! I'm Misty!"
"Misty? What are you doing here?" Sunny asked, looking very confused.
"You took the words out of my mouth," I said. "It's great to have another unicorn here! You have no idea how lonely it can be to be the solo unicorn in the group."
Several minutes passed, and we soon got to chatting with one another. I relaxed in the vibrating chair whilst Sunny looked through the list of Blu-Ray disks with Misty. "Yikes," she said. "They sure don't like the other species here."
"It seems that the propaganda is baked into every aspect of their society," Misty replied. "Like this one about a unicorn flooding the world in mayonnaise!"
"Bing bong!" I said quickly.
Both Sunny and Misty turned around. "I thought you weren't affected by those," Sunny said.
"Just checking," I said. "What surprises me more is that Misty didn't react. Are you from another part of unicorn territory?"
"You could say that," Misty said, looking quite shy. I chose not to press her further. Wouldn't want to be like Zipp at the sleepover, huh?
Just then, Zipp arrived, trotting down the corridor at great speed. "You three, we need to talk," she said.
"Your Majesticfulness!" I said. "How can we verily serve thee with our unhastidious ablutions?"
"What?" Sunny asked.
"Zipp. Just call me Zipp," she said. "Where are you two from? And not in the Equestrian sense."
"Wait," I said. "Are you saying that you used to be a human too?"
Zipp nodded.
"Welcome to the club, Zipp!" I said. "Seems like we're all in that boat in here. Well, maybe not Misty-"
"Yeah, actually," Misty said. "That's why I didn't react to the mayonnaise."
"BING BONG!"
"Izzy, that wasn't funny a minute ago and it isn't funny now," Sunny said.
Zipp seemed relieved at this revelation. "So, I can speak more frankly with you guys," she said, and held up the journal. "But we need to talk about magic, and specifically about this."
"My journal!" Sunny said. "What was it that interested you?"
"See the symbol in the book?" Zipp pointed out. "That's Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark. I've seen it all over the castle, and-"
Just then, a distorted fanfare played over some nearby speakers. It became apparent it was being played over a pair of phones, and then two guards rolled out a red carpet. Literally.
Pipp then bounced down the corridor. "Zipp!" she hissed. "What are you doing here? Mom told you to stay away!"
Zipp rolled her eyes, and smirked. "Right, right. Then what are you doing here?"
After chatting with her and confirming the suspicions about flight, Pipp then flounced away, with the two guards taking the carpet away with them. Zipp then turned back to us. "Right," she said. "I've got some stuff I want to check with you guys, but we can't really do it in here with you behind bars."
"Got any other ideas?" Sunny asked. "I'd rather not be stuck behind some walls and bars."
"Nopony would," I added.
"Of course," Zipp replied. "That's why I'm going to apply some leverage." She then headed away down the corridor.
With her gone, we went back to talking, when suddenly there was a rumbling noise. Misty looked sheepish. "Sorry. I haven't eaten in a really long time. I'm actually really hungry!"
Well, no matter. I pulled out my microwave and placed it on the floor. "Well, what would you like to eat?"
Misty's eyes went wide at the choice on offer. "I don't know where to start!" she said.
Well, you know what they say. Food is one of the fastest ways to somepony's heart. That, and a simple act of kindness costs you nothing!
The dinner went pretty well, and we are permitted to leave our cell and explore the palace a bit. The place was HUGE! An absolute playground for us to explore and enjoy the things inside! And the thing that stood out to me the most was the fact the building was SO BIG! It was so large it could have fitted most of the homes of my old coastal town or indeed Bridlewood inside and there would still be space!
We were placed on the bottom floor of the palace where the guest rooms where. I could only assume the Royal Family had once been bigger, as such an enormous building for only three ponies to live in hardly seemed like a sensible use of funds. That or they had guests all the time, which would probably require a tea delivery service at all times.
I wonder what the pegasi would think of unicorn tea? I noticed they drink a fair bit of tea, as well as coffee in the morning, but that was hardly something revolutionary in my neck of the woods. Tea, after all, is supposed to be both refreshing and cooling, which is pretty nice.
Zipp didn't seem to think that the hugeness of the place was all that special. Then again it was her house, so she was likely just used to the place by this point. I had no clue how long she'd been in that body, but it didn't really matter. She seemed to know this place pretty well, so she often served as a guide.
The layers of the building were pretty impressive. Staircases seemed to be a minimum, with long sweeping ramps that connected the floors and allowed for traffic up and down. According to Zipp, when the place had been built that had been done to allow luggage trolleys to be pulled between the floors without any need for unloading them, carrying the things to a different trolley, reloading them, and then continuing on the way.
I tried going up one, but it was very slippery, and I slid backwards more than once. Pipp (who seemed to be more friendly than before) stated there was another reason. During balls, ladies in big dresses need to be able to pass without crashing into each other, which is why they were so wide. And stairs would increase the risks of them tripping up!
What was most fun was the vending machines. There was a place where you could get coins to use them, but I found that by pushing the buttons, each played a different note. This was very exciting to me, as I love making music!
Before long, I was going backwards and forwards, hitting the buttons in different patterns trying to make a melody. Before long I had a halting but clear rendition of the My Little Pony theme from Generation 4. Having Sunny turn up and provide a harmony line by pushing different buttons made my life easier.
So much happened in the week since we arrived in Zephyr Heights, that I can't tell you everything that happened. Not least because I didn't witness everything that happened, and of the things I did see telling you all of them would take me so long we'd still be here when Discord comes back!
Wait, he's already come back? Thanks for warning me.
Anyway, one place I quite liked going to during the day was the Royal Garden. This sat in the middle of the Palace, flanked on two sides by the North and South towers. It was a calm, relaxing, peaceful place, filled with lovely plants and some animal sounds. Although to ensure the plants grew properly, the top was open to the sunlight.
I liked this place because it reminded me of the Elizabethan Gardens back in my former hometown of human world. The gardens here had mock castles, a rockery, and even an artificial stream and waterfall. I wonder how much water they used, or if they just derived their water from some sort of cloud conversion system?
The number of pathways was amazing. This would be a great place for hide and seek, and I could bet Pipp and Zipp had played in here when they were fillies. I must ask them if they did.
But anyway, I popped around the corner and saw something I wasn't expecting to see. Sitting in front of the artificial river were two figures I was hardly expecting to see interact.
It was Pipp and Misty! Misty was closer to the water, and Pipp had one of her wings around her shoulders. Clearly the two were bonding as friends! I quietly smiled and backed away. Truth be told I hadn't interacted with Misty anywhere near as much as I probably should have. Although the poor dear hadn't divulged much of her past, from what I can remember Opaline probably had a big part in making her the way she is- seemingly petrified of making friends and jumping at any loud noises heard anywhere. Seems as though Pipp wasn't as prejudiced as she seemed at first.
I made my way through the garden and stopped behind some more bushes to look at some other plant life when I suddenly heard something angelic floating through the air. I recognized it pretty quickly. It was Pipp! She was singing!
I dashed back to look, and saw Pipp was gently singing to Misty, clearly some sort of cheerful tune to calm her. At least that was my guess. She had the voice of an angel- and the wings to match. I had to figure out precisely why her wings looked like those of no other pegasi. Perhaps this was just something that happened to younger pegasi, and they eventually shed that layer in favor of ones more like Zipp or Haven?
It was rude to stare, so I simply got on my way and went to another part of the garden to relax. Besides, I had some macaroni art to work on, as I was planning on giving it to the Queen at the celebration!
Another night, I woke up in the middle of the night. Well, I say middle of the night. It was actually four in the morning, about three hours before I normally wake up. I wasn't entirely sure why, but I felt something was wrong. Very wrong.
I got up out of the bed (how do they make them this comfortable?) and headed into the corridor. My sparkle detector was running crazy. I was detecting some serious dark vibes from the next room, and as such I went and knocked on the door.
I heard a shout, and moments later the door opened. Sunny was staying in that room. She looked a mess. Her mane was all over the place, and her fur was wet. It seemed like she had been sweating pretty heavily, which is odd as the rooms are climate controlled for the weather. Seeing as it was summer, it should've been pretty difficult to start sweating. Unless...
"I- is there something you want?" Sunny asked, her voice sounding odd. Her eyes darted about as if looking for something. Or somepony.
"I sensed your sparkle was pretty dark and wanted to see if you were OK," I replied.
Sunny nodded and stepped back, inviting me in. I closed my own room's door and locked it before popping into hers and shutting the door behind me. I then took a seat in the chair and looked. "I'm guessing you're not OK."
Sunny shook her head, still looking pretty frazzled. "I- I had a bad dream."
"How bad? The 'I forgot my things for school' type of bad, or worse?"
Sunny sighed. "Worse." She then described the details to me. "Izzy, i- it was horrible! I don't know if it's just my imagination playing up or whether watching Invasion of the Tripods in the dark with Zipp was a bad idea, b- but I can remember every detail! What sort of dream does that?"
I hopped out of my seat and hugged her. "We all get bad dreams," I said, calmly, and in a soothing voice. "Everypony gets them. But we have to remember that dreams are exactly that. Dreams. They aren't real. Things that live in our dreams can't hurt us, because they don't exist. Our friends can see us through. And that's what I'll do."
Sunny replied, with relief in her voice. "Thanks, Izzy. I really do feel better after that. I'm glad I met you."
"The honor's mine, Sunny," I replied, as we separated from our hug. "I can give you some sleep tea if that would help you sleep."
Sunny checked for bags under her eyes. "Hey, it's better than nothing. I'd like to try some if that's possible."
I went to get some, and brought it back, mixing a bit into Sunny's mug. It seemed to do the trick, and she nodded off in minutes.
It was a nice afternoon before the Royal Celebration, all things considered. We were gathered in one of the lower sitting rooms (they have loads of them for some reason!), chatting casually about things. Zipp had ordered in McWings, which was apparently a very popular fast food chain here, and I have to say the fries were delicious! I don't know how they get them tasting so good! I sat there, processing the flavors in my mind and wondering how it was pulled off.
The chicken was nice too. Turns out G5 Ponies are omnivores, although the meal course at the banquet suggested as much. Zipp had turned on the radio, and some different tunes were playing. Presumably the equivalent of Top 40, as there was a reasonable variety. A lot of it was pop, though.
"What do you think, huh?" Zipp said, cutting through the thoughts I was having.
"The music or the food?" I asked.
"Both," she replied. "You should check the charts. Pipp's broken a record by having five singles in the Top 10 at once. Helps she has an enormous fanbase. I sometimes can't help but feel being royalty gives us an unfair advantage sometimes." She sighed, and then tweaked the volume.
"Oh!" I said. "I like both. You guys do fries really nicely."
"Corporate secret, apparently," Zipp noted, before relaxing in her chair. "This is a great place to unwind." She looked again. "The chicken?"
"Really good," I replied. "You know, how do pegasi grow food without plant magic? I thought the whole thing was that only Earth Ponies can grow food."
Zipp shrugged. "We grow it in massive greenhouses. An entire empire's worth of food grown in several cylindrical buildings the height of a skyscraper. Saves space too. Not only that, rural communities grow their own using the same techniques." She glanced over. "Hey, Sunny. What's up? You haven't said anything the entire time."
Sunny glanced up and sighed. "Truth be told, Zipp, I didn't sleep hugely well last night."
"Nightmare?" Zipp asked.
"Yeah," Sunny replied. "It was really strange, but also quite graphic at the same time. I know normally most dreams don't stick in your mind, but this one did." She glanced down at the floor. "Perhaps I should stop watching scary movies late at night."
Zipp scoffed. "Come on! Invasion of the Tripods isn't that scary!"
I looked at her. "Just because something isn't scary to you doesn't mean somepony else wouldn't find it scary." I glanced back. "But as I said last night dreams can't hurt you, as they're just your brain trying to process your day. We can safely move on from them."
Sunny nodded, and took a bite out of a fry. "Hmm! Nice!"
Zipp glanced up, as she had finished. "When you two are finished, I'll take you two down to see something pretty remarkable. But only when you two are ready, of course."
Sunny nodded. "Sounds good," she said, bits of fry flying out of her mouth as she spoke. She clearly wasn't used to eating with that mouth.
Misty then suddenly popped in through the door. "Can I come too?"
Later on, we rode Zipp's gondola down into the workshop she spent a lot of time in. The place was pretty big, but also very dusty. A blackboard sat over to one side, and had numbers all over it. Desks and mechanical equipment were sitting around, with various unfinished experiments on them. But dominating the entire scene was a massive stained glass window with the central panel missing. Just like in the movie.
"This place is pretty incredible to see in real life," Sunny breathed.
"Tell me about it! You can certainly say that!" I replied.
Sunny glanced over. "I just did."
"Figure of speech!"
Zipp was walking backwards as she showed us around. "Pretty impressive, huh? Seems the previous Zipp found the place and turned it into her personal workshop. It was probably some sort of cable station from the days when we were all united and still travelled about. But seeing you guys have seen the film you probably already know that." She flipped the board over. "Which is why I want to speak to you two. I've got a plan so crazy it might just work."
"And what's that?" I asked. "I love it when a good plan comes together!"
Zipp nodded. "I've got a plan to reunite the crystals early and skip a considerable chunk of the story. You guys already know where the Pegasus Crystal is, so we just need the Earth Pony and Unicorn ones."
Sunny spoke up. "Funny you should mention those, as I just happen to have the Earth Pony crystal on me." She fished it out of her bag.
"When did you get that?" I asked.
"Removed it from the bottom of my lantern before I left for CanterLogic," she replied.
"Perfect!" Zipp said. "Izzy, do you have the Unicorn Crystal?"
My face fell. "No. But I do have a tin of baked beans!"
Zipp sighed. "It's OK. I doubt Alphabittle would let anypony wander off with it anyway. OK, so that speeds things up a little. This just means we need to get the Pegasus Crystal and we'll be good to go."
"Will that be as hard as in the movie or harder?" I asked.
"Harder," Zipp said. "The crystal, as you know, is part of mom's crown, and there's no guarantee she's one of us, if you know what I mean. We had a break in a little while back, courtesy of- wait a second, where did Misty go?"
"Hey! Misty! Over here!" Sunny called.
The unicorn quickly cantered her way back over. "Sorry guys! I got distracted! I have a very short atten- ooh! Shiny!"
Zipp shook her head. "Anyway, we had a break the day you two arrived, and this meant that security has been beefed up dramatically. Not just in more guards, but the crown? She-"
"Never takes it off," the four of us said in unison.
"So, we need a diversion," Zipp continued. "Izzy, I need you to create a replica crown that at a glance can pass for the real thing. I can get you the supplies you need if you tell me what they are."
I nodded. "I'll need a box of macaroni, a tube of glue, fourteen gooey bunnies, and three jelly beans. And glitter. Lots of glitter."
"I'll secure you those then get them to you. You make the crown, then we head for the palace. I'll distract the reporters and guards so you two can access a side tunnel on the palace, usually only used for moving food supplies. That'll get you two backstage so you can swap the crowns. We'll rendezvous outside the palace and then head for Bridlewood. Any questions?"
"What can I do?" Misty asked.
"You can keep guard," Zipp said. "Now let's get to work."
Night fell, and I had made the crown. Replicating the original as closely as I could took a LOT of work, but it was certainly worth it. And a good deal of fun as well, to boot. I was working on it pretty closely for an about an hour whilst the others kept lookout for me.
I hid it in my transport supplies and prepared for access. In order to pull the heist off, we'd need to get behind the thrones, to an area we weren't allowed to go. Whilst Zipp soaked up the attention of the reporters and the guards, we snuck between some bushes and trees. Misty had gone on ahead of us to check everything was ready. After all, nopony could know we were here. We were operating on the very limits of our stealth capabilities. Only being medium sneaky was proving to be a bit of a problem here.
I stopped when a spotlight was flying over. It was attached to a helicopter that was on patrol. I didn't fancy getting caught up in any of that, so when the light cleared we dashed across and into the access tunnel. We squeezed up it, and this brought us out into an underground storage area.
Sunny pulled on some night vision goggles. "Elevator at the other end of the room," she said. "Let's go."
I followed her to the other end, and once we were on the elevator we were behind the thrones. Ponies were already beginning to throng the area in anticipation of the show. We hid behind the thrones.
"I've got the crown ready to go," I said, handing it to Sunny. "You'll need to stand on top of me to drop it into position, but be quick. I don't know how long I'll be able to stay in place before I start sliding about."
Sunny nodded. "Fine by me," she said. "Well, looks like there's no going back. I can only hope this plan works."
"If it does, the results will be so worth it," I said. "Magic being back early!"
We looked over as the lights began to drop. Showtime.
As the music flooded in, I suddenly found myself asking myself why I agreed to these crazy schemes. The song acted as the perfect distraction, and as the lights shifted Sunny hopped on top of me. I braced to take the weight, but ponies sure do weigh a lot!
Sunny slipped about on top of me as she tried to move the crown into position. "Could you stop shifting about so much?"
I grimaced. "It's kinda hard to focus on where I'm moving when you're standing on my head!"
A bit more wobbling later, and Sunny finally seemed to have done it. "Swapped!" she said, passing the crown down to me. "Queen Haven didn't even notice a thing."
"Just like in the movie!" I said. "Now let's go!" I indicated to the exit. "Did Zipp indicate to you where to go?"
"Apparently there was a side alley she'd found that would hide our position," Sunny explained as she sprinted to the door. She then pushed the button to open it- and a guard was on the other side, talking on his phone.
Sunny quickly closed the door and turned around. "We need to find another exit."
I pointed. "Uh, Sunny? We've got another problem!"
Cloudpuff had appeared, and he was growling! We both screamed (quietly) and ran for another door as fast as we could. "Quick! Get that door open!"
Sunny slammed into the door button, and opened it. But Hitch was standing on the other side, in one of the weirdest disguises I've ever seen!
"Sunny Starscout, Izzy Moonbow, you are under arre-"
Sunny mashed the button again, and the doors slammed in his face. She looked at me. "I'd forgotten about Hitch!"
And unfortunately for us Cloudpuff was closing in. He covered the ground at incredible speed, and as he approached us he leaped into the air and into Sunny's bag, pulling the crown out and running off with it.
"No!" Sunny said. "We have to get it back!"
The door suddenly opened, and Hitch stormed in. "You two stop right there." Then his eyes drifted upwards to Pipp, and I could see he was entranced.
"Quick! Run whilst Hitch is distracted!" I shouted. Myself and Sunny set off into the chamber, trying to both find an errant dog and avoid a rather annoyed cop. This day was beginning to suck pretty bad, and I didn't even have any glitter to improve it with!
We weaved and dodged through the crowd to try and avoid being caught. Provided nopony looked too hard we'd probably look like other members of the crowd, but our luck would eventually run out. I rolled under a table and into another room.
Sitting on the table was another crown! I grabbed it and stuffed it into a bag before going back into the chamber. Sunny was in danger from that Hitch, and I wasn't gonna let my best friend down!
As I continued to speed forward through the room, I suddenly found Cloudpuff, who was going in the opposite direction to Zipp. I stopped in front of him, trying to dodge the lights that would reveal my super sparkly horn!
I looked at him, even as he growled at me. "Good doggy..."
Zipp then suddenly called out to me. "Izzy, what's that in your bag?" She dashed forward to put herself between me and a dog who looked like it was in bitey season.
"Oh, that's a crown I found in one of the dressing rooms," I said nonchalantly. It seemed that crowns just appeared in large amounts around here.
Zipp then addressed me again. "Izzy, I'm going to pass you at speed. Be ready to catch the object under my wing."
"Gotcha!" I said, and lowered my head. Seconds later, the crown touched down on my head, and I swung down to hide the fact Zipp had just pulled the other one out of my bag. I then deposited the crown to Cloudpuff, who seemed happy to have this fake in his teeth. He then trotted off, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, we could set off for Bridlewo-
Hitch suddenly appeared nearby. "Stop right there!"
I sped off. "No thanks! I quite like the exercise!" I raced around as fast as I could, speeding under objects and trying to avoid being spotted as much as possible.
As I cleared the centre and moved to a safe place, I saw Sunny and Zipp talking. I didn't hear what they were saying, but it looked very urgent and important. I slowed down, but then saw Hitch coming our way again.
"This way!" Sunny called to me, as we ran off towards another part of the room.
"Any news?" I asked.
"Turns out the crown you found and the one Cloudpuff took from us were both fakes!" Sunny said. "Looks like somepony anticipated this theft!"
"Bummer," I said, as we skidded under a curtain and tried to hide.
Turns out we couldn't have made a worse choice. The space we had sliddden into? It was the technicians' room. A single pony was there, operating the sound systems and cables required for flight to work. He suddenly saw us, and screamed. "AHHH! IT'S THE PRISONERS! GET AWAY FROM ME!"
I glanced to Sunny. "I don't think he likes us very much."
"You think?" Sunny replied, before turning to the guard. "It's OK, we're not going to hurt you."
"That's what an earth pony would say, isn't it?" the technician replied, who ran away from the console. What followed was us running round and round the console in a ridiculous game of round and round the mulberry bush.
"It's OK!" I said. "We're not gonna fry your brain or anything!"
The technician didn't seem to buy this argument. "PLEASE SPARE ME! I HAVE A WIFE AND KIDS!"
We all stopped in front of the console again and he accidentally hit a button. We could see on the display that the sound systems were starting to power down and the lights were glitching pretty badly. The lights then focused on Hitch as he made up random words to the song. How dare he come up with silly songs! That's my job!
I noticed the technician move back onto the console. "NO! DON'T MOVE THAT LEVER!"
But it was too late. He moved the cable control lever backwards, and suddenly Pipp was being pulled around the chamber! I looked to Sunny. "We need to go, now, before this place goes wild!"
"I'm not arguing with you on that one!" Sunny replied, and we left the room and charged into the street, only briefly hearing shouting behind us as we made our way along.
Outside the city was pretty wild! Everywhere you looked there was shouting and noise, and ponies running around with big things! There was also the sound of sirens, and engines, and... wait. Was that gunfire?
We had to keep going as choppers roared overhead. Armored vehicles were starting to lock off several streets as we made our way out of the city. The scene wasn't much fun anymore. To be honest it was actually pretty scary.
Suddenly, Sunny's radio flickered into life. "Crown secured. Proceeding to extraction point!"
Zipp had the crown! Yay! We could get on with the plot!
Sunny quickly spoke back to her. "You'd better hurry! The city's being locked down! There's tanks and soldiers everywhere I look!"
Presumably the media was fully aware of the chaos we'd inflicted. We'd have to deal with that later. Our main focus was on getting out of here. I briefly heard a scream over the radio before the line abruptly went dead. "What was that?"
"I don't know!" Sunny said. "But all that matters is we get out of here!"
We skidded round a bend and came to a stop nearby. A tank had parked in the street and had trained its guns on the pathway. This wasn't going to work.
I pointed up. "Climb the side of the building and jump across!"
Sunny looked to me. "This had better work!"
I went across first, jumping clear as the tank seemed to take notice of us. I then turned back. "SUNNY! JUMP!"
Sunny glanced from the tank to me, and then sprinted for it, and jumped. She flew across the gap and grabbed onto my hooves. But she slipped, and fell down.
"DON'T LET GO!" she screamed, as something started spinning. I shifted backwards with all my might and pulled her onto the platform, just as a splatter of bullets flew from the tank.
That had been too close. They'd had it way easier in the movie. A chopper roared overhead, a heavy duty searchlight scanning the road below. They were serious about catching us here. But this time they weren't playing. Not at all.
We ran for it into the night, no longer caring about the mission and simply wanting to get out of here alive. Who knew heists could be so dangerous?
We arrived at the rally point and stopped. "I think we lost them!" I said.
"No you didn't," said a voice, and Hitch then appeared.
"Hitch?" Sunny asked. "What are you doing here?"
"Taking you back to Maretime Bay," Hitch said. "You'd best come quietly too, Izzy."
He knew my name! This was a good start! "What happens if I come loudly?"
Hitch rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. We're stuck in the middle of a city which seems to be at war and actively hates us. We're in a right mess."
Sunny looked at him. "Please, you have to let us go. What we have is vitally important to the future of the world!"
Suddenly, Misty appeared, looking utterly out of breath. "I've... got... the... crown!" she said, showing it to us.
"Where's Zipp?" I asked.
"She stayed back to stop the guards from capturing me," Misty puffed. "The army's hunting the princesses."
Suddenly, there was a crash from a can, and I looked over. Pipp emerged into view, and she looked like she'd had a bad day. "Which one of you is going to explain to me why that damn piece of metal is so important you had to ruin my whole show over it!?" She showed her phone to us. "The army's arrested her! I saw them beating her before I ran!"
Sunny looked over. "Wait, Zipp didn't tell Pipp the plan?"
"Was she meant to?" Misty asked.
"Yes," I said. "And that means we're one princess down. But at least we have one! Her mom's the queen. The one they arrested."
Hitch looked at me. "If Pipp's mom is the queen, that makes her a princess.
"No shit Sherlock!"
Suddenly, an alert flashed over Pipp's phone, a harsh buzzing tone. Back in the human world, we had this thing called EAS that alerted us to any danger. I could only assume this was something similar for the pegasi.
A voice spoke- one I recognized as that of Dazzle, one of the newscasters who served as the public face of ZBS. "And now, at the request of the New Government, General Gulfstream addresses the nation."
The camera shifted to show a soldier standing at a podium, flanked by other soldiers. He raised his head and began to speak.
"My fellow pegasi, you have all overseen the complete farce that befell our country tonight. The very foundations of our society, on which our glorious nation was founded, were shown to be nothing but lies, convenient props for a false leadership. The former Queen was exposed as a consulate threat to our future, a weak and pathetic leader. During her twenty five years on that throne, she transformed our nation from a feared global power to the laughing stock of inferior races." He leaned closer to the camera. "This cannot do."
He indicated to turn the camera. "Your former monarch, to whom you dedicated so much of your affection and time, is a traitor. She has agreed to confess to her crimes."
The camera swung over to the (formerly) Queen Haven. Pipp audibly gasped when she saw the state she was in. "Mom!"
I could see why. The Queen was battered and bruised, and had clearly been beaten. She was covered in dirt and her mane was disheveled, huge bags under her eyes. She coughed as she started speaking. "I, Queen Haven, of the House of Cornuequus, do hereby confess to crimes against the State. I conspired to defraud the Bank of Zephyr Heights, spied for foreign powers, committed High Treason, and the worst charge of all- I was a phoney pony full of baloney. I humbly apologise for wronging you all, and sincerely hope you can forgive me." She suddenly raised her head. "Pipp! Run! Save yourself!"
A soldier immediately bashed her over the head with an iron bar, before the camera turned back to Gulfstream.
"I wonder if somepony was holding a gun to her head during that confession," Sunny commented.
Gulfstream then began speaking again. "As of now, a Military Government is in charge. Using the powers outlined in the Emergency Powers Act, I hereby abolish both the Royal Family and Parliament through Defense Prerogative. As of 5AM tomorrow, all citizens must swear an oath of loyalty to the Government. Refusal to do so will result in your immediate termination.
"All citizens from the ages of 18 to 50 are required to report to their closest recruiting office to be signed up for compulsory military service. Refuse to do so, and you will be shot.
"Any and all civil liberties have now been suspended during this time of crisis. These include the right to elections, the right of habitus corpus, the right to a trial by jury, and the right to compensation for unlawful activity. Justice shall be upheld by the police and military, who have been given all powers neccesary to maintain order.
"Protests are now illegal. Anypony involved in a protest will be arrested and tried under a military court. A curfew is also in effect between 9PM and 7AM. Anypony caught disobeying this law will be classed an enemy of the state and shot on sight.
"As previously mentioned, the Parliament has been abolished. Democracy made this Empire weak and unable to defend itself against the provocations of inferior races. As such, all of their powers have been returned to the Military Government.
"These are difficult times, but we shall see them through and emerge victorious over the slovenly idiocy of the Earth Ponies and the arcane science of the Unicorns. All praise be to Faust and to the New Pegasus Empire, a nation reborn!"
His face vanished, and a different emblem appeared on screen- the seal of the Pegasus Empire. Text appeared below. GLORIA PEGASI
I blinked in shock. "He's turned himself into a dictator!"
Pipp was hyperventilating. "We have to go back!" she said. "We can't just leave mom and Zipp with those pigs! Who knows what they'll do to them!"
"We can't!" Sunny said.
"And why is that?" Pipp snapped.
"Because if we do, then we might get killed and all of this will have been for nothing! We have to move on and get to Bridlewood!"
"She is right, you know," I said. "We can bring back magic, but we need the crystal. We get magic back, we save your folks. Deal?"
"Uh, guys?" Misty said. "Soldiers over there! We can't go back!"
Pipp looked over, then back. "Fine! I know a way out. Follow me."
I tried to talk to Pipp as we walked, but she wouldn't respond to anything I was saying. She was clearly hurting, and some soothing words seemingly wouldn't help.
I looked over as we left the city behind and headed into the unknown. We had stopped overnight a ways outside the city, with each of us keeping watch when we stopped to ensure the army didn't catch us.
Sunny was acting weird for most of the day. I know, coming from me. She seemed really tense for some reason, and was jumping at every conceivable noise that was made. What was going on? I tried to talk to her, but each time I tried she just insisted she was fine. Only she clearly wasn't.
That next night was when it all went wrong. I was resting peacefully in the snoozy ocean when suddenly I was jolted awake by a loud scream.
"Huh?" I asked, and stuck my head out of my tent. (I'd also brought yellow and pink tents for Hitch and Pipp, but the Zipp tent was out of use for obvious reasons.) I realised where the sound had come from. It was from Sunny's tent!
I charged over and opened it, before looking inside to a horrible sight. Sunny's eyes were shut, but she seemed to be having a fully blown panic attack or fit of some sort. She was tossing and turning constantly, and if I didn't wake her up she was risking seriously injuring herself.
I moved in, trying my best to keep moving despite my friend crying in distress, and put a hoof on her face. "Sunny?"
"GET AWAY FROM ME!"
Before I knew what had happened my muzzle exploded in pain, and I fell back, clutching it. There was an unpleasant coppery smell in my nostrils, and I held it as best I could.
This seemed to wake Sunny up, who jolted upright and looked at me. She blinked, breathing heavily. "Wha- Izzy, I'm so sorry!" She trotted over to me as best she could.
"I'll be fine," I said. "Just a little nosebleed. But what's going on?"
Sunny looked at me, wild eyed and with some sort of thousand yard stare. "It's the nightmares again. They're getting worse! And-"
I tried my best to hug her as she began to sob, doing my best to stop a trail of blood dribbling down her fur. "Sunny, this is serious. I won't take no for an answer, because-"
The sun rose the next morning, and I did as a friend should. Sunny had begged me not to leave her that night, and I didn't. I stayed with her in the tent the entire night to ensure she was OK. She did eventually return to sleep of some sort, but I chose to stay in case the nightmare began again.
But we both popped out of the tent as the sun rose upon Equestria. Seeing the sun's rays cast across the land light a golden beam was absolutely beautiful, and seemed to restore Sunny's spirit.
"You know Izzy, there are some things worth celebrating about this place," she said.
"I know! This sunrise is soooo pretty!" I said.
I saw Sunny smile. "Look at that. The sun rises over Equestria, and shows us the sheer wonder of this land." She paused. "And we're the only humans to have ever witnessed it in the flesh, so to speak. The others have only seen it through a screen."
I heard the sound of noise, and Hitch, Pipp, and Misty pulled themselves out of their tents. "That was the worst night's sleep I've ever had," Pipp complained. "Was that mattress filled with rocks?"
"Not to my knowledge," I said. "Now then, Sunny, weren't you going to cook us breakfast?"
Sunny looked bewildered. "How? I don't have a..."
She trailed off as I placed a grill in front of her. "Here you go!"
"Izzy, how were you carrying a grill?" she asked.
"I can carry anything!" I said. "Pop it in Hammerspace and you can access it at any time!"
"A shame you can't access a way of un-screwing up this situation," Pipp complained.
Hitch looked at us. "Is she always like this?"
"Maybe?" I ventured. "Misty spent more time with her."
Misty was now next to the grill as well, and looked a bit upset. "Guys, shall we just eat? The sooner we get moving, the better."
Hitch put one of his front legs around her shoulder. "We need to work together to get out of here. The sooner we get those crystals put back together, the sooner we can get home."
That struck a chord with me, and as such I looked to Sunny. Before I could say 'two shakes of a pony's tail', Sunny was already at work and busy cooking something for us to east before we got on our way.
And it was delicious. Sunny was a surprisingly skilled cook- not that there's anything wrong with microwaved meals, of course. They were how I'd eaten for a remarkable amount of my journeys across Equestria, after all.
After we had eaten and had tea and coffee to drink before setting off, we packed up the campsite and placed the tents into storage before we set off on our journey. Our journey quickly took us down from the mountainside and into new terrain, not too dissimilar to that I had previously wandered across when my journey had begun all that time ago.
We were soon roaming across beautiful green fields with the sun shining, plants sitting there with purpose, and magical, bright light. Before I realised what I was doing I was happily cantering through the field, whooping and hollering once more. The mission had temporarily left my mind, and I was simply soaking up the wonder of being in Equestria.
This didn't sit too well with some of my colleagues, who seemed to be heading in other directions. Misty seemed to largely be keeping herself to herself, and seemed reluctant to talk even after I had tried to break the ice. Pipp, on the other hand, wasn't happy at all, based on all the shouting. I couldn't make out the words, but something told me she didn't like Sunny very much at that moment.
So I tried my luck with Hitch, who seemed a bit glum as we trotted along. "Hey buddy! Why are you looking so down?"
Hitch looked at me. "Why are you so cheerful?"
"Because it's a sunny day and the sun it out?"
Hitch shook his head. "It's hard to be cheerful in a time like this. I'm far from home, in an alien environment, with no allies to speak of apart from a bunch of cartoon characters from a children's movie!" He stopped when he realised what he had said. "I've said too much, haven't I?"
Hitch was also from another world? YAY! "Another one?" I asked. "Where were you from?"
"Sorry?" Hitch asked. "I just said you guys are fiction where I'm from. So where does it- wait a moment. You're not saying that..."
"Yep!" I said, dancing round him. "From another world too! Carried in on a wave of glitter!"
"That beats a car crash, I guess," Hitch commented. "But if I'm here, and you're here, and we're both former humans, than how many other ponies are former humans."
I grinned. "Sunny, Zipp, and Misty definitely are. I'm not sure about Pipp, though. She might be, or might be not. I don't know. Need to do more looking."
"That certainly makes me feel less lonely," Hitch admitted. "Come on. We'd best be getting some speed up whilst we still have light."
"LOOK!" I cried. "The Tree of Harmony!"
Sitting in the distance was a big, pink tree, its branches looming over the land and casting quite the spell upon all who looked upon it.
"That is quite something," Misty said calmly. "It's really pretty."
"Interesting choice of words," Sunny said.
I grinned. "Know what this means? It means what the Mane 6 did wasn't in vain!"
"Of course it isn't!" Pipp said. "What they did mattered during their lives, and they provide an example for others to follow." She looked puzzled as we looked at her. "What? Zipp told me all of you were former humans."
"Lucky guess," Hitch admitted, as we continued on our way. We still had a lot of ground to cover before night fell, and we couldn't afford to waste time as much as I wanted to soak up the scene.
"Come on, Hitch! Sit with us!" Misty called, as I got a campfire going.
Hitch grumbled his way over and sat down. "Alright. At least knowing that there are other people in my situation makes things a little easier on me. Possibly not on you guys, but it's comforting to know I'm not alone."
Sunny took a map out and looked it. "Well, not far to go now," she said. "Next stop, Bridlewood. We'll put the three crystals together, bring magic back, and hopefully fix the world while we're at it."
Misty spoke up. "You do remember that in the movie that putting the crystals together at that point didn't work?"
"I have seen the film, remember?" Sunny replied. "But they only had two of them. All three might do the trick." She then glanced over to me. "What's wrong, Izzy?"
"Something Hitch said to me has got me thinking. He said the sooner we get this over we can go home. But I don't think I want to."
"You don't want to go back to Bridlewood?" Sunny asked, confused.
"No. I mean I wouldn't want to go back to the human world, even if I could. My old life was so dull, and I was unhappy. Being here and going on this adventure has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. As Izzy, I've never felt more comfortable in my own skin. Even if things aren't going to plan."
"That's true," Sunny said. "Being in Equestria is a dream come true for me too. But we can have our world's magic back, and things can go back to how they were!"
"How can we when so much has gone wrong?" I asked. "How is there any hope left?"
Sunny sighed at me and looked over the campfire. "I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. Do you remember the old stories?"
"Which ones?"
"The old stories we used to be told as kids, or foals I guess. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why." Sunny paused. "But I think, Izzy, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something."
"What was that?" I asked.
"That there’s some good in this world, Izzy… and it’s worth fighting for.”
Hitch looked at me. "Did you just quote Lord of the Rings?"
I smiled at Sunny. For such a young mare she does have surprising depths of wisdom.
We awoke the next morning on the side of a cliff face, with the terrain sweeping out before us, and also remarkably empty. I know most countries don't have occupants jammed into every conceivable bit of space, but Equestria was eerily empty for the most part. Rather like a place full of ghosts, in fact. It was certainly very spooky at times, and maybe a bit jinxy as well.
I yawned as I got out of my tent, and saw Sunny was already hard at work on breakfast. "Hey Izzy!" she said. "Looking forward to breakfast?"
"Yes indeed Sunnyroni!" I said. "What ya cookin'?"
"Pancakes with Outingdale's syrup and ice cream," she replied.
"Sounds weird, but I can dig it," I said. "Izzy is something of an extreme omnivore in the show, after all."
Sunny looked down. "It's actually to make it up to a friend."
"What do you mean?"
"As you probably heard yesterday, Pipp and I had a bit of a fight, and... well, I realised something. I've been a terrible friend to all of you. I've been so focused on the plan and the end goal I've not been thinking about what you want. I couldn't see the wood for the trees, so to speak. So, I decided to cook Pipp's favourite breakfast for her. Zipp told me she likes to have this on weekends, and seeing as it is Sunday it counts."
I looked up. "You're not a terrible pony, Sunny. We all make mistakes. It's not how we fall. It's how we get back up from the fall that counts."
Sunny smiled. "Thanks, Izzy. Here's hoping Pipp likes it- I may not have done it exactly the way she has it at home."
After we'd all had a very filling and good breakfast, we turned to a map which Hitch had layed out. "I wanted to discuss potential routes to Bridlewood with you," he said.
"What are our options?" Pipp asked.
"Well," Hitch said, "the map gives us two options. One route takes us through Ghastly Gorge whilst another takes us over the mountains. Based on the scale of this map, the route over the mountains and into the next valley is shorter."
"The Ghastly Gorge route is considerably better layed out, and has fewer changes of altitude," Sunny pointed out.
"But my route is faster because the journey is shorter," Hitch said. "Frankly, we've wasted enough time already, and we need to speed up."
"I second that," Pipp said. "I haven't had a shower in a while, and need a wash. I'm probably starting to smell."
So, we ended up at loggerheads. In defiance of all common sense, we decided to split up and went two different routes. Hitch and Pipp took Hitch's route, whilst Sunny and I chose the path through Ghastly Gorge, which required us to head down. But Misty had mysteriously vanished. Nopony had seen her in a bit.
As we made our way into the gorge, our eyes began to focus on the darkness. The landscape was full of apparent danger, as visibility was poor. Rocks and boulders littered the path, and the terrain was treacherous. There were some signs in and around the landscape which hinted at a formal pathway.
We trotted past a sign. WELCOME TO GHASTLY GORGE NATIONAL MONUMENT. WE WELCOME CAREFUL TRAVELLERS.
We continued past it, seeing more evidence of civilization sitting about, such as the ruins of a hotel and some cabins. Again, it was spooky seeing all this old evidence of a past that had faded away into memory.
We ducked into a nearby building which called itself a Ranger Station. If this was anything like the National Monuments of the old world, we'd find some useful clues in here.
We started digging through all the paperwork and objects. I looked in a fridge and found a lot of very old donuts. "Donuts!"
Sunny looked over. "Izzy, you shouldn't eat those. They're probably hundreds of years old, and you'll be sicker than a mule if you eat them."
"Isn't that offensive to mules?" I asked.
"Are mules even alive in Equestria anymore?" Sunny asked. "I know ponies and dragons are still about, but the others? No sign of them yet."
I turned my attention to another stack of paperwork and began to hunt through it, before finding a document. "Sunny! Look at this!"
Sunny dashed over and looked at it. "The Battle of Thunder Bay National Historic Site?" she read. "Come and visit this historic battlefield, which celebrates the Earth Pony victory over the unicorns and pegasi. Don't miss out on the cyclorama of Gadsden's Charge and the shrine to earth pony liberty."
I looked at her in confusion. "I looked at unicorn history before I left Bridlewood, and I read that Thunder Bay was a unicorn victory!"
Sunny nodded. "No doubt each tribe believes they won the battle. If we get the earth pony, unicorn, and pegasus narratives together, we can figure out what really happened by noticing the similarities!"
We continued searching for a bit longer as we found more useful things. To my surprise, there was a functioning freezer, so I took a look inside. There was a hayburger inside, but I didn't fancy one right now. Besides, the McWings had tasted pretty nice, so I hoped to have some soon.
I collected up a few of the toys, as I intended to give some to the foals in Bridlewood. I chose to leave behind the evil unicorn toy. It had a 'brain frying' feature which caused the horn to go red when you pushed the tail down. That dampened my spirits a bit. We've got a lot of work to do if racism is baked this deeply into society that the stereotypes are being incorporated into children's toys.
Once we had all the things we needed, we left, and the pathway began to climb out of the gorge and up into the mountains. As we went along, there was large amounts of things lying about. Chunks of metal, and even what appeared to be ponies frozen into ice. Had some sort of disaster happened here?
Sunny beat me to it. "What is all of this? Was there an avalanche?"
"I don't know," I replied. "But it seems snow is a regular hazard around here!"
We were most of the way up into the clouds when the terrain shifted a bit. We came across an imposing stone memorial which sat by itself in the middle of the terrain. It stretched into the skies, and had a torch burning at the top. The base was surrounded by brass plates which had names written on them. Names of ponies, probably. The ponies who had died in the accident?
I looked at the text of the memorial closely. "In memory of those who perished in the Battle of Mount Sullivan," I read. "These brave earth pony soldiers succesfully held off a series of unicorn attacks, until the enemy buried them in an avalanche to try and break through. Their names live forever."
I saw some more text below. It was simple, and effective, and to the point. TO THE BRAVE SOLDIERS WHO NEVER CAME HOME.
I certainly knew what that was like. In my hometown there was a memorial to the crew of a ship that was lost off the coast. It's still spooky to think about to this day, that your life can suddenly end like that.
As we looked at the memorial, and saw the broken and scattered military equipment- vehicles, machine guns, and other paraphernalia of war that seemed to litter the mountainside- I heard a strange sound. It sounded like some sort of swallowing.
I glanced over and saw Sunny. It looked like she was desperately fighting back tears. I trotted over to her. "What's wrong?"
Sunny looked down, clearly trying to disguise her pain. "Back in the human world, I had ancestors who fought in the Great War. One of them never came home. He's still out there, somewhere, unable to leave the battlefield." She paused. "He died in the service of his country in a completely pointless war. And the same here. All of this could have been avoided if everypony had just sat down and talked! So answer me this- how can ponies be so cruel to one another?"
She broke down that instant. I couldn't blame her; having also lost loved ones to war I could empathize with her pain. I pulled her into a hug. "Hey. If it's any consolation, we can work to prevent a war like this from ever happening again."
"What chance do we have of preventing another war if Twilight couldn't prevent one?" Sunny asked, her speech distorted by her tears.
"I don't know," I admitted. "But that's no reason to not try."
Our words were interrupted by a series of loud clanking noises on the mountainside. As we looked over, a big machine lumbered over and stopped before us.
"What do you mean?" I asked, somewhat confused by what Sunny was saying.
She looked at me, her eyes full of fear. "How can that be here? That thing's been haunting my nightmares!"
The machine suddenly shifted forward, and the front started to shimmer. The plates on the front shifted back, revealing the pilot. He looked down at us with a cruel smirk. The first thing I noticed was that he was wearing a striped shirt.
He smiled again, and began to speak. "Indeed, and I have been in your nightmares, Sunny Starscout. Or should I say Tom?"
Sunny glanced at me. "What the Heck? How does he know that?"
"I know the truth of this world," he said, adjusting the settings on his machine and looking at us quite intently. "And it is a depressing truth indeed. This reality was not meant to be, and the one before it should still be. And the bronies who moved forward deserve to perish for their foolishness. Isn't that right, Jimmy Hook?"
OK, this was weird. "How do you know that?" I asked, just as confused as Sunny.
"I know the names of all the traitors," the pilot said, adjusting his goggles as his machine stood on the side of the mountain, like a giant mechanical squid. "Not that you would understand, given you enjoy being the Pinkie Pie clone."
"I am not a Pinkie Pie clone!" I said, leaning closer. "I'm very different to Pinkie!"
"You make stuff, have a giddy personality, and make friends," he answered.
"Nope! I didn't have any friends when I started my journey, and I don't break the fourth wall anywhere near as much as Pinkie did!"
The figure waved his hand. "That is irrelevant. I thought I'd killed them anyway to stop them getting in the way of my plan. I can only assume she got in the way again. But no matter. Things are proceeding on schedule, and it will only be matter of time before Generation 5 is wiped off the face of the multiverse like the abomination it is." The plates on the front slammed shut, and the machine clambered upwards. "Let's see how much of a fight you put up compared to Sprout. I would say I enjoyed talking to you both- but I really didn't. Prepare to die!"
Suddenly, a pair of energy cannons on the side of the machine began to spin, and a series of blasts began to impact the ground. "I ALWAYS PREFERRED MY UNICORN BURGERS WELL DONE!"
"Run!" Sunny shouted, and we quickly began to move to dodge all the blasts flying towards us.
The energy fire was soon joined by a pair of rotating gun things which began to fire bullets at us! They were extremely loud, and I was worried I might lose some hearing if we didn't stop this soon!
"The auto targeting must be off," the pilot commented. "No matter. The end will come, and I will flatten you!"
We dodged into the snow before us as the heat from the energy blasts was starting to melt the snow into slush. And gaining traction on the snow was difficult. We were slipping and sliding about all over the place, which would have been fun were it not for the fact we were trying to dodge a rampaging death machine intent on killing us.
Suddenly, the machine leaped forward and stopped just short of us, before using one of its arms to start flipping things over. "Come out, come out, wherever you are! Stop and stand so I can flatten you!"
"What makes you think we'd do that?" Sunny replied. "We will stop you!"
"Wrong, on both counts," the pilot replied, as he switched the energy cannons to firing forward. "Not even the fools who screwed around with me online can stop me! This world shall feel my wrath as the other dimensions did so long ago!"
Wait, what? This guy had hopped from our dimension to this one? Just who was he?
Sunny indicated to me. "Look! That tank still seems to have a working cannon!"
A wreck in front of us sat, partly uncovered by the freshly melted snow. But it didn't look like a tank. It looked more like some sort of box on wheels.
"Can we use that?" I asked.
"Of course we can!" Sunny answered. "That looks to have some sort of 10 pounder gun. Not powerful enough to break that thing, but enough to drive it off!"
"I never took you for a gun nut!" I said, as we hopped in through the hatch and closed it.
"My grandfather was a tank commander during the Cold War! Armored warfare's in the blood!"
Sunny looked over and began aligning the weapon, before pulling a lever back and sticking a shell in it. "Still live! Here's hoping this'll do the trick!"
"Are you sure this'll work?" I asked.
"At the very least it'll give him a nasty headache!" Sunny replied.
The machine was lumbering around slowly, hunting for us in the same way a tiger stalks its prey. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
Sunny glanced at me. "Keep your hoof near that pedal, but don't press down until he gets closer."
"I hope you know what you're doing."
The machine stepped closer and closer, before it stopped for a moment. "Wait. Where could they be?"
And luck had it, the machine had stopped next to us.
"Surprise, motherfucker," Sunny said under her breath. "FIRE!"
I stomped down on the pedal, and the entire machine shook as the cannon discharged. A single shell slammed into the machine, sending it rocking backwards and stumbling backwards. The shielding failed, and part of the metalwork came off at speed.
The pilot looked cross. "This isn't the last you'll see of me!" he shouted.
Sunny had pulled open the back of the cannon and had loaded another shell, ready to fire again. But to our surprise the machine then walked off and vanished, dropping off down the mountainside.
Sunny popped open the hatch and we clambered out. "Izzy. I think I know who that guy is."
Sunny explained her theory to me, based on things she'd picked up and her nightmares. Safe to say I didn't think it made a whole lot of sense, but I did agree that somepony (or somebody, I suppose) wanting to blow up our world was a bad thing. I mean, plenty of innocent ponies live here. What did they ever do to that guy? He wasn't called Rob, by the way. That would have violated the One Steve Limit!
So we made our way onwards into the terrain, and we eventually made our way off the mountain and back into the fields and pastures. This was an odd sense of homecoming for me. These were much the same sorts of fields and lands where my journey had begun all that time ago. And already it was so close to its end. It actually made me quite sad, you know. These times and friends had been awesome to know, and although that tennis ball hadn't exactly been placed well for me, it still had worked out pretty well in the end.
I was, for once, in a place I loved, doing something that mattered. They would remember us for this, whereas I doubted anypony back home would have even noticed I was gone.
Later on, our paths converged with the others just outside Bridlewood. Hitch and Pipp arrived first, looking very odd. They were dressed in fancy yellow suits, and Hitch was holding a clicky thing.
"What happened to you two?" I asked.
Hitch looked over. "You wouldn't believe us if we told you," he said.
"But we'll tell you anyway," Pipp said. What they'd been through sounded super scary!
Misty then arrived after them. But it was who was with him that surprised us most.
"Sprout?" Sunny asked. "What are you doing here?"
"Saving your hides," he said. "Me and Misty-"
"Misty and I," Hitch corrected.
"I don't think now is the time for corrections," Misty said.
"Anyway," Sprout said, "we drove off some ghosts and a big guy in some epic battle. If he comes back, I'll kick his butt again!"
I shrugged. "Sounds pretty par for the course these days. Shall we go into Bridlewood?"
Pipp looked over. "Do you have a shower? I could do with a shower, a bath, and a manicure. These days have really taken a toll on me."
"Sure!" I said. "Every house in Bridlewood has running water. We get it from a spring in town, and the contents are piped to all the houses."
"Can we get moving?" Sunny asked. "We can chat, relax, and maybe have a drink when we get there. In the meantime, I suggest we keep going and get into the forest."
"Aren't you bossy!" Sprout said.
"Sunny has a point. We are exposed," I said. And with that, I stepped into the forest of Bridlewood for the first time in a long time.
After so long away, you have no idea how good it felt to be back home. Well, back home in this place, not the ocean place I used to be in, but you know what I mean! My home in the place which gave my life meaning!
As we trotted into Bridlewood, I found myself wondering and wandering. What had changed since I was last here? How would the locals react to me being gone for so long? Had a giant cake monster covered all the world's cake in cake?
Now that would be crazy!
As we trotted along, the small group following me as we went along, the others soon got to chatting about what they had experienced during their journeys. Boy was it a wild set of trips! Turns out me and Sunny had had the least bizarre one of all of them- and that's saying something, really!
Pipp and Hitch dealing with a nutcase in a decaying building full of radioactive junk? I don't remember that in the movie. Nor do I recall a scene where Sprout and Misty were fighting ghosts and escaped by glitching out reality.
I can't recall any of this stuff going on in the movie at all. What was happening for things to have changed so much in the world?
It was very confusing. Belizzling, you could say. Look, I know Izzy doesn't start using that word until after the film's events have concluded, but why does that matter here? I can do what I want and no writer can stop me!
I noticed Pipp and Hitch appeared to be close. I mean, surviving a chaotic encounter with some bad guys would rather forge a bond. It also makes sense in other respects- Hitch didn't meet Zipp, so that eliminates the chance of that ship starting about now. So that put him with Pipp. Interesting, but I can ship it!
If there was one pony I was suspicious of, though, it was Sprout. I already knew things had changed thanks to Misty being around, but Sprout raised all sorts of questions. How could he be here when he's supposed to be causing chaos in Maretime Bay?
My only interaction with him up to this point suggested a distinct prejudice towards unicorns, as he'd been wearing the anti mind reading hat and had run off after realising it was as useful as a plate made of cheesecake. And as much as I love plates made of cheesecake, they are virtually useless for putting food on as they go all squidgy very quickly. And that's not fun when you're trying to enjoy a hayburger or some chicken on your plate.
Anyway, he was talking with Misty in a way that conveyed no hostility whatsoever. He was really friendly with her, and they seemed to have struck up some sort of accord with one another. It was almost as if they were friends with each other.
And if that's the case that's a really positive development. Either Sprout has gotten over his prejudice, or he's another one of us!
I set those aside for a moment as my house loomed into view. "Hello house!" I called. "I've missed you!"
"Who greets their house?" Pipp asked.
"Izzy, apparently," Hitch added.
"Perhaps it's some sort of unicorn ritual?" Sprout suggested. "Any suggestions, Misty?"
"Don't look at me!" Misty said. "I'm not from Bridlewood!"
"Whatever it is," Sunny said, "it clearly means something to her. And as long as she's not hurting anybody by doing it, I don't see any reason to worry."
I pulled my key out of hammerspace and stuck it in the lock, before turning it. The lock squeaked as I opened it- I probably need to oil it someday- and the door handle was similarly talkative as it rotated under my hoof.
"How can we turn things with no hands?" Hitch asked.
"I've long since stopped questioning stuff in this world," Pipp commented, clearly used to the fact stuff just sticks to our hooves. I like it. Imagine having to pick everything up with our mouths! That'd be a nightmare for hygiene!
The door was open, and we stepped inside La Casa Izzy. Once everypony was inside, I closed the door behind me and locked it, before turning to my friends. "Welcome to my home!"
"This is so pretty!" Pipp said, snapping a few pictures with her phone. "I had no idea this place could look so stunning when seen in real life!"
Sunny trotted over to a machine and began to turn it. My bottle machine which plays the My Little Pony theme, by the way. "Nice bit of engineering, Izzy."
"Thanks!" I said. "Truth be told it was already here when I got here but that's a moot point."
Sunny looked beyond it and saw something, and her face frowned. "Izzy, is that a basement down there?"
"Yep!" I said. I'd spotted the door for the basement when I'd first arrived, but I didn't mention it to you earlier as it wasn't relevant. "I make my cupcakes down there!"
Sunny looked up at me. She looked worried.
I laughed. "Relax, I'm just kidding! I actually do my baking up here in the kitchen. Why would I bake things in a place with no cooking facilities or ventilation?"
"You'd have loved the kitchens in the palace," Pipp said, who was rather taken with a windmill sitting next to a window. She even gave it a quick spin and filmed it, which was sweet.
I popped over to my teapot and turned on the kettle. I'd already dropped some tea leaves into the pot as I prefer that over teabags- teabags tend to produce a rather sour taste I don't really like, so I brew using leaves from the beginning and savor the taste then.
After a few minutes it was done, so I opened the kettle, poured the water in, and let the tea brew properly. I then brought the teapot over, opened up my table (which was currently disguised as a hidden flower), and handed out some cups. "Tea's here! Be careful, it's hot!"
I poured it out and then left the teapot on the central platform, in case anypony wanted any more. After a relaxing cup of tea, our thoughts turned to securing the next crystal.
Hitch was the first to speak. "I know I'm stating the obvious here, but we kinda don't blend in. Earth ponies aren't known for existing in large numbers in these parts."
"Nor pegasi, for that matter," Pipp said. "Right, Zi- oh. Still feels weird her not being here."
"And I'm not even here at this point!" Sprout added.
"In short, we can't afford to stick out like sore hooves," Sunny said, standing next to an implement that made her look like she had a horn. Foreshadowing is a literary device used to-
OK, I'll stop!
"So, once we've got the unicorn crystal we'll go and grab the earth pony one, right?" Sprout asked.
"One step ahead of you there," Sunny said. "Got it right here. If we put all three together it might reboot magic earlier."
"That didn't work in the film," Misty pointed out.
"But they only had two crystals," Sunny pointed out. "All three might do the trick."
I took a look over my new visitors and smiled. "You know, this group composition makes things slightly easier than in the movie."
"How so?" Pipp asked.
"The group currently consists of two unicorns, myself and Misty, three earth ponies, Hitch, Sprout, and Sunny, and a single pegasus, you of course. That makes my life easier, as I'll only need to cover one set of wings during this heist. For the other three I'll just need to fit horns and secure them much more firmly than in the film. We wouldn't want them to come flying off at the worst possible moment, would we?"
The others nodded in agreement, so I did. "Good."
"So, when can we get going?" Misty asked.
I sighed. "Unfortunately, I have good news and bad news. Which would you rather hear first?"
"Bad," Sunny said.
"I don't have enough crafting supplies to fit you guys out for this mission. I used some on my way to Maretime Bay, and some of it got left behind in Zephyr Heights when escaping from the heist."
There were a few murmurs. "So, what's the good news?" Hitch asked cautiously.
"Easy!" I said. "There's a shop in Vanhoover where I buy this sort of stuff, so I can get it into stock very easily. Vanhoover is a unicorn capital, by the way. Bridlewood is just a suburb in a forest near the city, so I can head out, buy some stuff, then come back before you can say 'bouncing bunnycorns'!"
"Bouncing bunnycorns?" Pipp said. "What a funny saying."
I pointed outside. "Unfortunately, the light is fading, so making the journey tonight would be a bad idea. I'll set out in the morning and go shopping tomorrow!"
After a good night's sleep, I woke up- and then went straight back to sleep again as my alarm clock hadn't gone off. A few minutes later, my alarm clock did go off.
"IZZY, IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP!" it boomed.
"OK!" I said, and bounced out of bed before trotting over to the shower. I had a quick shower, even if I did have a lot of mane to handle with shampoo and similar chemicals, but it wasn't too hard. I wasn't too smelly, even if it had been a while since Zephyr Heights.
I bounded outside and put together some things before taking a bite of toast and putting it in my bag. During my journey I could always take another bite as I walked along. Or possibly two if I was particularly peckish.
I noticed everypony else was fast asleep. I didn't blame them. We'd been on the move for such a long time in rough conditions that everypony must have just enjoyed getting to sleep in a proper bed.
Where did I get all these beds, I hear you ask? Easy. Same place I get everything else. Unfortunately hammerspace doesn't seem to do glitter, and that's annoying, as it would save me a long trip to Vanhoover.
I left the house and closed the door, locking the door behind me and trotting away on a path. The forest was waking up, and other unicorns were wandering around, not doing much.
"Morning Onyx!" I called. "Lovely day, isn't it?"
"Naught but the rhythm, the rhythm of time and space and all inbetween, just the skies burning, burning, burning onwards with no rhyme or purpose but simply to move things forward, with all the power of stars and skies and the limitless void of space. If we move forward with time and space to this..."
I tuned her out as I walked towards the train station. Bridlewood train station sits on the outside of the forest, and provides relatively fast service to Vanhoover. I passed the crystal tea rooms, when suddenly-
"Hey! Izzy!"
I turned to see a familiar gruff stallion. "Hey Alphabittle!"
He frowned. "Where have you been, Izzy? You said you'd be back before nightfall, and you've been gone for days!"
"I got waylaid."
"We were worried sick about you!" Alphabittle replied. "We thought you'd been sold into slavery by an earth pony- they still practice it, after all- or been eaten by a pegasus!"
I could only hope he wouldn't try to go into my house, given earth ponies and a pegasus were in there right now. "Well, I wasn't in either case. And as you can see I only stayed in unicorn lands. So, if all's good, I'll need to be on my way."
Alphabittle trotted closer. "Please don't scare me like that again. Ever since I lost her you're the closest thing I have to a daughter. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. You remind me of her in so many ways."
I nodded. "OK, Alphabittle!" I had to be on my way, so off I went.
"And make sure you get on the right bit of the train! It divides at Mane Vale Ridge!"
"Gotcha!" As I trotted away, I thought to myself. Alphabittle had a daughter? And she was missing? When was this established?
After quite a hectic journey, I arrived in Vanhoover, the unicorn capital. My trip suggested the unicorns were the least technologically advanced of the three tribes. I mean, they used those scrolling departure boards rather than digital displays, and the train was pulled by a steam engine. You don't get more low tech then that!
In Vanhoover proper, ponies either walked past skyscrapers and through streets or they took... well, the locals called them trams, but I'd have called them trolleys back in the world I had come from. I made my way through bustling streets that looked like scenes out of the turn of the century.
Newspaper sellers calling to ponies in the street, reporting news and telling them to read all about it. Bakeries with fresh bread wafting their smells about. And more of the trolleys rumbling past, taking power from overhead wires.
I looked around with a smile on my face. This was the big city, and was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. True, Zephyr Heights was great, but I hadn't really had a chance to explore it properly, largely being confined to a palace.
And I strolled past another stand, selling pastries. They smelled so good that I bought one and ate it as I walked along. Shops with very long names were in the streets- including Moonbow's department store! I queried that, and it turns out one of my relatives owns a department store empire!
So Izzy clarifying she's a Bridlewood Moonbow isn't just a throwaway line! It has world building significance!
Eventually, I reached the store. Buster & Bailey's, it was called. Well, it was actually called Buster & Bailey's Grand Emporium of Supplies and Crafts for the Creatively Minded and Inventive with Hooves, but that takes WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too long to say!
I bounced in through the door, to hear the last chords of a barbershop quartet singing something or other. No wonder everypony was so musical in this world.
I stopped at the desk. "Good morning!" I said.
The store clerk, a pony with a straw hat, tipped his. "Salutations, Izzy!" he said. "Your usual order?"
"Yes please, just with extra glue and some extra glitter."
"I shall have Barnstoneworth collect it forthwith."
A few minutes of waiting, and the mountain of things I was buying was loaded into a large bag, that was passed to me. "Hopefully you won't do your back in carrying this lot," the clerk said.
"I should be fine," I smiled, and handed over some coins.
"Pleasant travels, Izzy," he smiled in return, and I set off. Once he was out of view I popped the bag into hammerspace and continued on my way. I wonder if I can store other pony's things in there as well? It'd make moving Pipp's wardrobe around a lot easier! How many suitcases does she bring with her?!
After quite a long day in the big city, I was finally home, and got off the train, exhausted but happy to have been out and about and explored a bit more of the world. Just how much was waiting for us to find beyond the confines of what was shown to us in the movie? This place seemed to have limitless potential!
I then made my way from the station after the train had left (I watched it out- interesting sight). I then continued on my way and into the next region, back towards my home. As I climbed the short hill towards Bridlewood proper, the others saw me, and began to back away as I bounced along.
"Beware!" said one old unicorn. "She's been buying crafting things again! And you know what the old rituals say about ponies who buy crafting things!"
Without a moment to hesitate, they all flipped the other way up, turned on their heads twice, then landed on their hooves once more.
That was weird! And that's coming from me!
I went into the forest and made my way back home with a smile on my face and a spring in my step as the evening sunlight cascaded into the forest canopy and down onto all inside the treeline. Being here again made me happy, as after all it was where my Equestrian journey began, and now was about to take a big step forward.
And not only that I was doing it with my friends by my side. Which was super amazing as well, as you can probably attest.
As I rounded the bend to my home and made my way down the hill, I suddenly spotted a hint of blonde near a bush. This was odd. Bushes usually don't have blonde strands in them.
So I trotted round the side of the bush to see what might be causing this strange colour. And what I saw was just so adorable!
Sprout and Misty were sitting there, largely hidden from the outside world by bushes and shrubs. They were holding hooves and gazing into each other's eyes.
Well, this was interesting. I thought Sprout was a bigot at this point in the movie. And yet here he was with a unicorn, with the gentlest of smiles.
I knew then what was going on.
SPROUT AND MISTY WERE IN LOVE!
I then spoke up. "You might want to move from there. Trees often dump water on that spot, hence all the bushes."
They both jumped and looked at me. "Uh- erm- yeah, sure, we'll move!" Misty said awkwardly.
"Gotcha, we'll head over," Sprout said, looking equally embarrassed. "Look, what you saw-"
"Your secret is safe with me," I smiled, winking. "Now then, next is dinner. And I have a Bridlewood staple lined up for tonight!"
The next morning, Sunny seemed to be agitated. "What's wrong, Sunny?" I asked.
Sunny looked at me. "I can't help but feel we're running out of time!" she said. "I've completely lost track of what day it is, and we don't know how long we have left until shit hits the fan!"
"Language!" Hitch said.
"Hitch, this is a stressful situation. I think I can be allowed to curse every once in a while." Sunny turned her attention back to me. "Izzy, I'm serious. We don't know where or what Gulfstream and his goons are up to out there. They could be about to launch an attack on Bridlewood, and if that happens we've been cost our only chance at bringing back magic."
"I thought bringing the tribes back together was dependent on the leaders putting a photo back together," Sprout said, unhelpfully.
"That's not a lot of use if Bridlewood's on fire and two tribes are at war," Pipp pointed out.
"Pipp does have a point, Sprout," I said. "Well, I did the trip yesterday and got the supplies so- wait, I have an idea!"
"What's that?" Hitch asked.
"Pipp, can't you use phone data to check whether the General is going anything?" I asked.
Pipp shook her head. "No can do. I've already tried that. There isn't Wi-Fi in Bridlewood- seriously, how does anypony get anything done?- and the nearest C-Net tower is over 100 miles away. Put simply, this device won't be able to pick up anything around here."
"That sucks," Misty said.
"Sure does," Pipp sighed. "All this sitting about. Any progress on the plan?"
"Well," I said, revealing some information to them, "I think I've got the basic plan nailed down. We go to Bridlewood, go into the tea shop, get the crystal, then come back here. BOOM! Magic restored!"
"No, I meant the disguises."
"Oh!" I said, as I poured some more tea into a cup. "Well, yesterday I went out and purchased all the things that I needed to buy to make it work. All that card took up a lot of space in the other place!"
Sunny glanced at me. "So, Izzy, can you do it?"
"Flip baked beans and deposit them on the floor? Yes I can!"
"No, make us look like convincing unicorns."
I looked about, getting an odd sensation. If I knew that feeling well, it meant that a song was approaching. And seeing as I'd been looking forward to this moment since my adventure began, I knew I didn't want to waste it at all!
Sprout seemed to get it too. "Huh? There's an odd feeling on the tip of my tongue."
"A song's coming on!" I said. "To your hooves, everypony!"
"Who's going to fill in Zipp's position in the dance choreography?" Pipp asked. "She's not here!"
"I can do that!" Misty said, and stopped in front of a box. "Just let me know when I need to start with my moves and I'll get rolling along!"
So, that was that. As music echoed in the background, I slammed a projector down in front of a projector screen and slipped some glasses on.
I pointed to some vaguely racist displays claiming ponies could be categorized by intelligence based on facial features.
"I thought Earth ponies were the pony ladder's bottom rung! I heard that pegasi were brutes, you'd hate to be among!"
I stopped next to Hitch. "You smell like fishes!" (you're vicious),
And then stopped next to Pipp." I bet you eat your young/ Meet any one of you, the thing to do is run away!"
Pipp looked annoyed, but then again I had to fit all the words in or the story wouldn't progress! The world was sure insistent on us doing all the songs and moves, huh?
Myself, Sunny, and Pipp formed up and began to line dance. "But although, I know we're all a bunch of different breeds/ Take away our wings and horns, and we're just frightened steeds/ So let's put aside our different just 'cause what we need's a win, oh-oh-oh!"
I moved up to my stairway to the bedroom and leaned back.
"Come on, rip out all the pages of your history books/ Just because we're undercover doesn't mean we're crooks!"
I then loaded Hitch into a chair and sent it flying into my bathroom.
"When we walk, you through the crowd and give your brand-new looks a spin! You're gonna fit right in!"
I applied some makeup to Hitch's face. Boy did he look annoyed.
"This is a new low."
"You're gonna fit right in!" I sang to him.
"It's never gonna work!" Hitch protested. And just then he remembered he could sing too!
"They taught us unicorns were super scary maniacs! With horns like razors and tongues like tasers and teeth like tacks!"
I hid behind a shower curtain and grabbed a hairdryer before holding it in a maniacal pose, before sliding the curtain back.
But Hitch continued. "They take your hooves and then they grind 'em into midnight snacks!"
I produced a box labelled 'grinded pony hooves'. I know the correct word is ground, but I had to recreate the joke as I talked of pegasuses earlier!
Sadly, Hitch didn't appreciate my efforts. "The basic gist of it is unicorns are not okay!"
We both then suddenly teleported into my living room, and Sunny took up vocal responsibilities.
Look, I know we're riskin' everything for this endeavor! But look at us, we're brave and strong and weird and clever! Plus closer to the finish than we've ever, ever been, oh-oh-oh!"
Hey, she remembered the extra words not in the movie version! I returned the favor quite happily as Izzy gets several extra lines in the album. And by Izzy I mean me.
"So, we'd better take a leap and put our faith in you/ Get our crafty on with sparkles, tape, and super glue!"
Sunny then stood there awkwardly whilst Pipp, Sprout, and Misty danced with umbrellas for some reason. "Cause we're running out of options," I quickly prompted her, as the music looped over and over again.
Sunny looked surprised, then shrugged. "Oh! Sorry! 'Cause we're running out of options and we're desperate to begin!"
"You're gonna fit right in!" I then added.
Hitch shrugged his shoulders. "Ha-ha, if you say so."
"You're gonna fit right in!" We all harmonized for that one. We've got remarkable variety in timbre, you know!
I smiled as the world began to dissolve into a Disney acid sequence. "I know you will, now watch and learn!"
First we walked down a staircase that collapsed beneath us. "This is how a unicorn walks!" (walks)
They then landed on chairs whilst I landed behind a desk. "And this is how a unicorn talks!" (talks)
But before we could process that, we suddenly teleported to a basketball court and began throwing balls. "This is how a unicorn hoops!" (hoops)
And they mostly missed. "This is how a unicorn... oops!" (oh, geez stop)
Sprout looked over. "The sun was in my eye!"
Before we could process any of that, we were suddenly trotting through a void. "This is how a unicorn struts! (struts) Oh, watch us shake our unicorn butts!" (butts)
We then appeared on top of a stage, and Sunny was right in my face. You know, I've had worse. "Now, you're in the unicorn know/ (wow) Soon, you'll be a unicorn pro!"
Now for the fun bit. I grabbed a hat, slipped it over my head, and put a pair of sunglasses on. Time for a rap breakdown!
"Oh, a unicorn horn makes a unicorn stride/ It's the more-head on your forehead, it's the source of your pride! Every unicorn who's born has worn a horn that's unique/ So I'll whip them up as we speak, you'll be lookin' très magnifique!"
Now for the new words. Hopefully this'll work.
"We'll fake a phony protrusion to make a bony illusion/ It's not the perfect solution, but the world's not big on inclusion! And with those rocks in our pocket/ We'll reap the reward and folks'll be floored/ We'll strike a new chord our magic restored!"
We all teleported into a rainbow void and began singing in unison.
"Lately, all Equestria has lost its heart/ But if we can help to find it, we should play our part!"
Hitch then interrupted. "If we fail, we'll go to prison!"
For Sunny to answer. "But if not, we'll start to grin!"
I then took up responsibilities once more. "So, let's begin!"
We all sang backing vocals as our disguises fitted themselves to us. Handy, eh?
"We're gonna fit right in! We're gonna fit right in! We're gonna fit right in! We're gonna fit right in!" (we're gonna fit right in)
Each of them in turn walked past some camera and showed off their disguises. I stood off to the side and sang, watching as they exited through the door.
"This is how a unicorn walks! This is how a unicorn talks! Now, you're lookin' unicorn strong!"
I stopped outside the door and looked to Sunny. "This is how a unicorn ends the song!"
So, there we were, me and my friends, wandering through the forest. The birds chattered all around, and the forest crystals glowed with beautiful light. I hadn't lived here all too long, but it felt like home already to me. Probably because my journey began here all that time ago. The others had faces lit up with wonder as they looked at the scene.
"Maybe I should take a selfie?" Pipp asked, before reaching for her phone.
I dashed over and put her hoof down. "I don't think you wanna do that."
"Why not?" Pipp asked.
"Unicorns don't have phones. If you do that you'll expose yourself as a pegasus!"
Pipp's eyes widened. "Ohhhhh. That makes sense."
I then noticed Sunny looking closely at some crystals. I bounced over. "We have loads of lovely crystals, but I don't think that's the one you want to collect. The real one is in the Crystal Tearooms- but you'd already know that."
"We all have watched the film," Hitch said. "We're on a level page, somewhat, but there are some things that I don't recognise. Lore that has changed since we were in the human world?"
"Maybe?" Sunny suggested. "All I know is I want to write it all down!"
Hitch trotted forward and spotted several unicorns lying about. "What's got them down?" he asked. "Why aren't they using magic?"
Oopsie! Hitch shouldn't have done that! I made that exact mistake when I got here!
A colt looked over, in the same accusatory tone he had for me earlier. "You said a bad word!" he said to Hitch. "Quick, before we get jinxed!"
They then proceeded to do the usual ritual before returning to doing nothing. For a few seconds the scene was permeated only by the sound of several apples dropping on a mare's head, followed by her saying 'ow'.
Hitch glanced back. "Sorry. I'd forgotten about the jinxies. Remind me what they are again?"
"They're forbidden words," Misty said. We all looked at her in amazement. "What? I'm just filling in Zipp's lines of dialogue!"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Perhaps break the fourth wall a little less?" I suggested.
"Funny that, coming from you," Pipp commented.
Sprout, who had said nothing the entire time, then spoke up. "Perhaps you could tell us what the jinxies are? I could use a refresher on that front."
I nodded, dropping my voice as low as I could. "Wing, feather, magic, mayonnaise."
Pipp's eyes widened. "Yeah, we know the reason why now."
"Reason for what?" I asked. They weren't being clear.
Hitch then decided to clarify. "Why unicorns seem to be so afraid of ma-"
I slammed my hoof over his mouth. "I don't think you want to say that out loud."
Hitch calmly removed my hoof from his mouth. "Uhh, noted. Now then, shall we get on with our mission?"
"I was wondering when we'd stop goofing off and get on with the plot," Sunny interrupted. "Let's go get that crystal."
So we continued on our way, into the Crystal Tearoom. It was just as I remembered it! Full of low ceilings, and a series of oil lights which gave the place a charming, rustic atmosphere. A band played on stage, playing jaunty and cheerful tunes- precisely what you want at your local watering hole. Ponies sat around tables exchanging things, and enjoying drinks, all whilst looking very deflated.
No real surprise. I saw a unicorn slink over to a table and sit down dejected. I sat next to him.
"Hey, what's up?" I asked.
"I just lost," he said. "I swear Alphabittle has two different rubix cubes he swaps between when winning bets. If I could just catch him in the act of swapping them over..."
Sunny looked over, and spotted something interesting about the Rubix cube sitting on the table. "I think I've got the pattern figured out," she said.
"Sunny, you sure?" Pipp asked.
"I'm a champion at getting those things solved in nothing flat," Sunny smiled. "I know precisely how to get him to bite."
I was about to ask how she knew, but then remembered she'd seen the film, like me. "Good luck!"
Sunny walked over and talked with Alphabittle for a bit, then she signed a piece of paper before placing the pegasus crystal down as her bet piece. They then went over to the Let's Prance machine and began to compete.
And boy was it wild. Unlike in the movie, Sunny knew what she was doing from the off. Watching her move was like watching poetry in motion as she wracked up combo after combo on the machine. Unicorns watched in amazement as she bounced between the floor pieces as combo after combo blazed away under hooves.
"Keep it up, Sunny!" I called.
Pipp grinned. "That's the spirit, Sunny! Let the rhythm take you over!"
"I'm certainly feeling it!" Sunny replied, as she generated combo after combo.
Alphabittle looked over in utter confusion. "How... is... she... doing... this?" he wheezed. "I've... never... seen... somepony... play... this... well?"
Just then, the block hit the top, and the machine deployed the winning flag- for Sunny!
Sunny jumped in the air. "Yes! Only had to win one round!"
Alphabittle was muttering to himself, but passed the crystal over anyway.
I dashed over to her. "Sunny, we did it!"
"We sure did!" she said.
In that moment, I became aware of a projectile flying across the room. It was moving to quickly for anypony to interact, but it hit Sunny's fake horn and detached it.
The next moment was like the world had gone into slow motion. My mouth fell open in shock as the horn bounced on the floor, bouncing a few times before lying completely still.
Sunny seemed to notice it too, and her mouth fell open in shock. "Oh shit."
We both looked up. Alphabittle had put down a blowpipe he had presumably fired a projectile through. He looked very unhappy. "Just as I suspected," he said. "An earth pony." He moved closer. "Now give me back my crystal, and the other one too."
Sunny turned to him, her eyes wide with fear. "B- but I won!"
Alphabittle snorted. "No you didn't. The paperwork you signed specified any unicorn who wins. You aren't a unicorn, so cannot win by default. That and you tricked me. I know exactly what you are."
I tried to speak. "Alphabittle, aren't you being a bit ha-"
"Izzy, shut up. Don't concern yourself with things you don't understand."
I recoiled in surprise.
Alphabittle smiled. "You're a spy, purple mare. I always knew you were an earth pony. Your tiny brain clearly couldn't spot we sign with the day first, not the month."
Sunny gulped. "Look, maybe we can come to a deal-"
"There is no deal, spy. The only thing we do with spies is string them up- we have plenty of trees to hang your kind from. Did you really think we'd let you go and report back to your spymaster especially given Fillydelphia recently started rearming?"
I noticed Hitch exchanging looks with Sprout. Ooh boy, this was gonna hurt.
"She's not alone!"
I looked to see Pipp stepping forward, dumping her coat and removing the horn. "I'm not a unicorn either. I'm a pegasus, and she and I are friends!"
There was another gasp.
"I knew it!" shouted a unicorn. "The earth ponies and pegasi have allied to take over our lands!"
"You tried that trick at Thunder Bay, but it won't help you now," Alphabittle. "Now then, you'll have a 30 second headstart-"
"I'm an earth pony too," Sprout said, removing his horn. "I know I don't look like much, but if you let your bigotry consume you then you'll just be miserable."
"I'm an earth pony as well," Hitch added. "And I will not tolerate my friend being spoken to that way."
"And I'm a unicorn!" I said. "But you probably knew that already."
Misty then stepped forward. "And I'm also a unicorn, but you probably didn't know that seeing as I'm not from here."
Alphabittle froze, and looked at her in shock. "Can it really be?" he said. "After all this time... my Misty has returned to me?"
We all exchanged very confused glances. "Ooh!" I said. "That's who you were referring to when we passed on my way to the train station!"
"And why am I not surprised she's with a group of enemies," Alphabittle continued. "Well, you've lost your little hostage."
Hitch then suddenly shouted out. "Wing! Feather! Magic! MAYONNAISE!"
Good, he'd remembered that. Like a chain reaction, unicorns throughout the room began to bing bong like there was no tomorrow!
"Quick! Grab the crystals!" I shouted.
"Got it!" Sunny replied, grabbing both and shoving them in her bag. We then exited to a chaotic mix of noise and sound.
And above it all we could hear Alphabittle bellowing. "You'll pay for abducting my daughter!" he shouted, as we vanished into the distance.
Not that it was any of our concern anymore. We just had to get to safety.
Well, that got wild very quickly. In fact, it was so utterly belizzling I was still processing it as I galloped along towards wherever we were galloping to.
Not only was Misty here early, she was also Alphabittle's daughter? I don't remember this being established at any point in G5! Maybe it was a bit of background lore waiting to be discovered? Many possibilities, all of them strange, and none of them simple!
Misty seemed to be particularly baffled herself, and was breathing heavily. I dashed over to her. "What's going on, Misty?"
She looked at me, looking confused. "When was it established that Alphabittle's my dad?"
I shrugged. "I dunno. I guess we could discuss it a bit more if we get some time but-"
"Guys?" Hitch said. "Less discussing the plot, more running! I suspect Alphabittle's gonna have every unicorn in Bridlewood on our tail!"
I glanced behind me, and saw nopony on my tail. "There isn't a pony on my tail!" I said. "I doubt it could support the weight of a fully grown pony!"
"Not what he meant!" Sprout said. "Less talking, more running!"
We dashed through another clearing, taking several turns to try and throw our pursuers off us. It wasn't easy, though. I'm not exactly equipped for long distance running, you know!
I rolled through a bush and landed on the other side, trying to cover as much ground as I could.
"Anypony have any clue where we are?" Pipp asked.
"No clue!" Sunny said. "Dad's map doesn't include the interior pathways of Bridlewood!"
"No surprises there then!" Misty said. "I don't think he ever went to Bridlewood!"
Whilst we continued discussing this, we sped along another pathway and hid round a corner as a group of unicorns sped past.
"Find the earth ponies! Find the pegasus!" shouted a voice.
"That's kinda what we're doing!" said another voice.
I hadn't seen many soldiers yet, so that was a relief. Once the threat was clear, we moved forward and went behind another bush to try and hide ourselves from anything else that might pass us by.
My ears suddenly pricked up with the hearing of a strange noise, and my ears dropped. "Oh no."
"What's wrong, Izzy?" Sunny asked.
"I can hear engines! There are vehicles in the area!"
Hitch shook his head. "Tanks. You have gotta be kidding me.
We then heard another voice in the treeline.
"Our vehicles are unable to proceed further- the roadway up ahead is too narrow for our tracks. You'll have to continue on hoof, I'm afraid."
"Armored Personnel Carriers?" Misty suggested, as she looked about. "I hope not. If they are, they'll be carrying soldiers into battle. And dealing with those won't be fun."
"You think?" Sprout said. "I thought I'd escaped enough of this in Maretime Bay!"
Hitch sighed. "We'll talk later, Sprout. In the meantime we need to get out of here."
We dashed into a clearing nearby, hoping the vehicles couldn't follow us, with more extra shouts of BING BONG following us along.
Just then we heard another voice- one that I recognized. "This way!"
We popped out of a bush, and it was a face we hadn't seen in so long.
It was Zipp! She was alive, and boy did she look relieved to see us.
She wasn't the only one though, as Pipp's face lit up with a mixture of relief and joy as she saw her sister for the first time in a very long time. Or rather two people turned ponies who were now playing the parts of siblings, but you know what I mean.
She and Zipp reconnected, and we learned a bit of where she'd been. "Well, trekking across mountains and walking through forests rather does that to ya," Zipp said, followed by her sighing. "I could do with a shower."
"Walking across mountains?" Hitch said. "I don't remember that from the movie."
Safe to say that one surprised us. We weren't expecting a walk across the mountains from Zipp, but still she seemed happy to be with us once again.
Seems she wasn't alone, either. As we talked some soldiers turned up- but not to arrest us. They were on our side, after some prompting from Zipp of course. It would have made no sense for them to arrest Pipp!
And then to complete the complement was the Queen herself and a stallion nopony recognized. And in an interesting twist of fate he turned out to be Pipp and Zipp's dad! That answers that long running question.
Unfortunately, Alphabittle and his crew then arrived. So many ponies pointing guns at each other and arguing. The conversation between the Queen and Alphabittle got especially tense.
"His ancestors commanded the death squads that exterminated untold numbers of unicorns!" the unicorn ranted. Truth be told I've never seen him this annoyed. "For him to come here is the gravest of insults!"
"I'm pretty certain hooves are bloody on both sides of this fight," the Queen retorted. "None of this entitles you to the crystal!"
Alphabittle rolled his eyes. "What a silly old mare like you know about crystals?" he asked. "A decrepid old fool desperately holding onto a false crown, underpinned by the recollection and veneration of an imagined past."
Unfortunately, things soon got even worse, as that General guy did a broadcast that revealed he was even more crazy than I thought possible! Seriously, he makes dealing with Sprout look like foal's play.
Well, this was an interesting turn of events. The Queen quickly offered to form an alliance with the unicorns, reasoning that we shared the same enemy- that General. That meant quickly mobilizing our assets to return to Bridlewood, the place we had just been, and so we started our journey back.
This would not be easy, I knew. I had to be serious as I went along. But I knew that, with a little creativity, we would succeed and return this place to a sense of order.
