What now? (G5 story) (Patreon)

(Notification: this is all probably going to be WAY wrong and turn into head canon in 6 months, but hope folks enjoy regardless. It’s what’s been bouncing around in my head since the movie came out.)

“So, what now?” Sunny asked as the five friends shared slices of pizza at Canter Corner. Sunny’s wings and horns had dissolved back into rainbow light, but the three gems remained fused together. Izzy’s magical glow confirmed that inspite of the disappearance, magic still persisted, and Sunny felt as if the wings and horn were just set aside, like they waited in her saddlebags ready to be put back on.

“Well, I’ve got a whole social media campaign to get going,” Pipp replied as she ate her pineapple and passionfruit pizza. The P4, she’d called it. “While every one’s really happy that we can fly, I’m going to have to go on Oprah Whinneyfrey and sob my eyes out. Get our story out there while everypony’s feeling good.”

“And the duty of policing litter never ends,” Hitch added as he enjoyed his mesquite smoked mushroom pizza. “Granted, unicorn magic is pretty useful at cleaning it up anyway, but rules are rules.”

“I just want to do more stuff with you guys,” Izzy beamed as she levitated her daffodil and daisy pizza with mayonnaise beside her. “But I was looking at that wrecked robot and was thinking it’d look amazing as a water feature! Oooh, we could even turn it into a memorial.”

“I was kinda thinking I could help you rebuild the Lighthouse,” Zipp said as she munched her plain cheese pizza. “I mean, the downstairs can probably be saved, unless unicorn magic’s really good at unsmashing buildings.”

“I’m just glad to be able to float things,” Izzy beamed.

“Wait till you learn the horn laser spell,” Hitch chuckled.

“Lightshow!” Pipp crooned.

While fixing her home up was high on her personal list of to dos, she was pretty sure that Canterlogic would handle it. Phyllis had privately assured Sunny that she’d fix Sprout’s mess. Indeed, the mare witnessing fear pushed too far seemed the most keen to make amends. “I mean, what about the rest of Equestria? How are they handling the magic and flying coming back?”

“Well,” Pipp winced, screwing up her face. “Most of them aren’t.”

“They’re not?” Sunny asked in alarm, her broccoli and kale slice forgotten.

“Cause magic apparently hasn’t come back there yet,” she continued.

“It hasn’t?” Sunny’s alarm grew by the second.

“Why not?” Zipp asked as she narrowed her eyes.

“Beats me. It only affected Maretime Bay, Zephyr Heights, and Bridlewood. I mean, we all know magic’s back because,” and she hopped into the air for a momentary hover before landing. “But everywhere else in Equestria they’re... well... the same.”

“But why?” Zipp asked as she rubbed her chin. “Didn’t the lights in the sky reach them?”

“Nope,” Pipp said as she pulled out her phone and scrolled through her feed.

The idea that magic was localized never occurred to her. Had it really skipped the majority of Equestria? What if it turned out to be temporary? “But... I mean... we have magic. That’s got to matter, right?” Sunny asked, feeling a looming anxiety build in her.

“Well, not everypony agrees it was magic,” Pipp replied. “There’s some influencers in the Twin Cities who point to my... ahem... exposure as a fraud and claim it’s just being done on a large scale now. They even copied unicorn levitation with some photoluminescent paint and careful camera angles.”

“So we’ve got the whole of Zephyr heights on wires now. Brilliant,” Zipp scoffed. “If we could have done that, we would have ages ago!”

“What else are they saying?” Sunny asked as the pit in her stomach grew.

“Well, Lonespire at least says there might be magic, but it’s probably something natural and unrelated to the three pony kinds getting along. They say some elements in the crystals of Bridlewood are probably the cause, not friendship.” Pipp went on relentlessly.

“They would say that,” Izzy muttered, dropping her eyes.

Pipp went on relentlessly, “And Graygirder says even if we did bring back magic, it doesn’t matter because there’s no magic there and they’ve got work to do and no time to play with pony magic theories.” She covered her face with a wing. “Oh no...”

“What is it?” Hitch asked with a frown.

“The Eyrie’s saying that if magic is coming back, pegasi need to strike down the unicorns and win ‘the war’,” she muttered.

“What war?” Sunny said in alarm.

“I don’t know. Whatever war we’re apparently supposed to be winning,” Pipp said as she lowered her wing and rolled her eyes.

“Let me guess: Uncle Stormy?” Zipp asked with a groan.

“Uncle Stormy,” Pipp echoed. “Why did I teach him to use Wingbook? Some people just shouldn’t social media.”

“Don’t worry, it’s probably not the whole city wanting to go to war. Our Uncle Stormy’s a loudmouth,” Zipp explained. “He really... REALLY... doesn’t like unicorns. Or Earth Ponies. Or our mom, for that matter.”

“Well, would you want to live in Eyrie?” Pipp asked with a shake of her head. “Don’t worry about it. All he can do is talk.” The fact both of them were telling Sunny not to worry was somehow more worrying.

“Like Sprout did?” Hitch asked, and the worried look spread to both of them.

“Sunny, are you okay?” Izzy asked with a worried smile. “Your Sparkle’s gone all... buzzy.”

Anxiety chewed at Sunny’s gut. She hadn’t thought bringing back magic would make some people angry. “Is there anypony that believes magic’s back and it’s a good thing? Anypony at all?” she asked Pipp plaintively. Pizza was forgotten in this urgency.

“Well... ahem... Manureville wants to see actual magic,” the pegasus said after some flicking. “We are very eager to witness these phenomenons in our town.”

“Someone actually thought that was a good name?” Izzy mused as her muzzle scrunched.

“It’s an Earth Pony farming community up the coast. They make most of the food in Maretime Bay. Probably for Zephyr Heights too,” Hitch explained. “I mean, it sounds better than that Eyrie place... if you ignore the smell.”

“But what are we going to do, march Ms. Cloverleaf, our mom, and Applebittle to Manureville and get them to be friends?” Zipp mused.

“Maybe they each have part of a crystal that needs uniting?” Izzy hypothesized.

“I don’t think that’s it either. Remember, putting the crystal together alone didn’t do anything,” Sunny said as she tapped her temple with a hoof.

“What we need is a campaign,” Pipp said solemnly.

“I thought that was Uncle Stormy’s line,” Zipp countered.

“I mean a media campaign. Cameras. Attention. Exposure. We need enough people seeing magic elsewhere that they do what our leaders did, put aside their problems, and unite.” Pipp said with a nod.

“Maybe,” Sunny mused. She still wasn’t sure what the trigger for magic was? Did other ponies just need to get over the old prejudices? Was that it? “Are you okay with that?”

Pipp blinked. “Ooooh, I did just volunteer myself, didn’t I?” She took a deep breath, leaning back her head a moment before letting it all out at once. “Okay. I can just package them. Public outreach. Magic exposure. Get folks not talking about being a fake. Wonderful! Totally on board with this.” Pipp said with a strained smile.

“Are you sure, because your sparkle’s now all–”

“IamgoingtopooptownstopaskingifImokaywiththis!” Pipp blurted all at once as she shook Izzy. She released the unicorn, taking a deep breath. “I’m fine. I’m fine. I am in my centered place.”

“Well I’m all for it,” Zipp said with a grin. “If it helps us understand how magic works, maybe we can figure out how to get magic everywhere else in Equestria!”

“Ugh, last time I ran off Sprout took over the town, formed an army, and made a giant robot. I can’t just leave again!” Hitch proclaimed as he leaned back. “If I leave for a week, Maritime bay will be a smoking crater when we return!”

“And Zephyr Heights and Bridlewood will be completely untouched,” Zipp said, patting him on the back.

“Maybe a second chance wouldn’t be the worst thing for Sprout. Especially with his mom and everypony keeping him from getting... too enthusiastic?” Sunny suggested with a strained smile.

“Sunny, he broke your house,” he said evenly.

“It’s just a house,” she lied. “And Canterlogic’s fixing it anyway. I doubt Mrs. Cloverleaf will let him do it again.”

“Uuuugh...” Hitch leaned back. “I still think it’s a bad idea... but... if you want to give him a second chance, I guess I will too.” He rubbed his face. “At least Phyllis won’t be handing her factory over to him. Not with them retooling to make ‘sale phones’ and stuff.”

“Cell,” Pipp corrected absently.

“Sale, Cell, Cellophane. Gonna be a crater. Just sayin...” Hitch grumbled.

“So we’re doing this? Going all the way to um... Man... Ma...” Izzy’s muzzle screwed up. “I can’t say it. I feel like somepony’s gonna wash my mouth out with soap.”

“I guess so. We’ll show them magic. Maybe that’s all they need,” Sunny said with a smile, but more questions bubbled up inside her. What if they left Maretime Bay and their wings and horns faded? What if they came back, and their magic didn’t. What if it went away again? What if it did... and never came back?

“Sunny?” Izzy asked in a small, worried voice.

She blinked and realized all four of her friends were just staring at her. “I’m fine,” she muttered, forcing a smile at their skepticism. “I’m fine! Just a lot to tackle. Pipp, Zipp, why don’t you talk to your mom and let her know what we’re doing, and Hitch, you can talk to Sprout. Maybe with his mom there. Just in case. Izzy, you can... um... do whatever you want, I guess.” Normally, half a pizza was two meals, but her appetite had vanished like magic.

“I’ll just hang with you, and help you pack for Manauvwahville,” Izzy said, over pronouncing the name so much that it made Sunny chuckle. They trotted back to Hitch’s place. Aside from all the unicorn traps being uninstalled, Maritime Bay didn’t seem all that much different aside from an occasional pegasi or unicorn tourist. Already, Mrs. Cloverleaf had a crane at her house, clear things for the eventual reconstruction. It was kinda scary how fast Earth ponies could do things when they really, really wanted to. Hopefully friendship was something they wanted as much as she did.

“Fortunately, it’s all just moving the same suitcase,” Sunny said brightly as she trotted back to Hitch’s place. Not that it had that much in the first place: the mended photo of her dad, the fused crystal which was now glowing with a comforting light, a pair of feathers tied with some blue mane. The six sided star medallion her father used to wear. Her journal. A fake unicorn horn. Momentos and confirmation that all that she’d been through was actually real.

“You doing okay, Sunny?” Izzy asked as she followed her into Hitch’s guestroom. She wondered who did his decorating. The apples and cowpony motif didn’t seem like him. She could only identify the cacti from pictures in textbooks. Several were in a dusty bookcase. ‘The Mysteries of Bridlewood.’ ‘Zephyr Heights: A retrospective.’ ‘Ancient Equestria, a comprehensive guide.’ That had been one of her presents to him growing up.

“Of course. Of course,” she said with an easy smile as she climbed on the bed and faced her. “It’s just been a lot the last few days.” Izzy sat down next to her and Sunny sighed, her smile slipping. “It’s just, I never really thought about life after friendship. I think a part of me never really thought I’d actually do it. But I did. We did.”

“Only we didn’t. Not everywhere,” Izzy corrected, then her eyes widened. “Ah. Yeah. I getcha.” Sunny looked at her hopefully, and the unicorn gave an easy smile. “You’re feeling like ‘whoa, no!’ then ‘Yeeee, boom!’” she said as she jerked her head back, staggered with her tongue hanging out. “And now you’re like ‘I got to go through that again?’”

“What if we fail. Or worse? What if magic goes away again?”

Izzy put a leg around her shoulders. “Know what isn’t going to happen?” she asked with a knowing smile.”

Sunny blinked in bafflement. “What?”

“Me stopping being your friend.” Sunny sniffed and immediately hugged her, her worries bleeding away like poison. When she released it, the unicorn beamed at her. “There’s your lavender sparkle. No more buzzyies.”

Sunny wiped away the tears in the corners of her eyes, trying to think what to say. Her eyes settled on the bookcase again. “Izzy, according to the unicorns, what happened to Equestria?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, our history teacher taught us that there was this great big pony war long after the princesses left. According to Miss Textbook, Earth Ponies fought against Pegasi and Unicorns for our freedom and independence and drove both out of Maretime Bay and other Earth Pony towns.” Sunny omitted the brain frying lasers.

“Well our history says that there was a war where Earth Ponies and Pegasi tried to take over Equestria, but we drove them out of our towns and cities and that all of you are living in your smelly little villages. Then the pegasi did something that took away all our magic and here we are.”

“But what was the war over, and who was fighting it, and for what? And why’d the magic just go away? And what does it mean now that it’s back?” Sunny mused.

“No idea. Back at school, history wasn’t really a high priority. Unicorns won, Earth Ponies jinxed us, Pegasi stole form us. The end.” She gave a shrug and blew a strand of mane out of her face. “I wasn’t big on all the ‘wars’ and ‘fighting’ and junk.”

“I wonder what the pegasi story is,” Sunny mused.

“Earth Ponies and Unicorns attacked us,” Zipp said as she stepped into the doorway, leaning against the frame. “We fell back to our cities like Zephyr Heights and the Eyrie. Unicorns and Earth Ponies both lost. Unless you’re my Uncle Stormy. Then we’re still at war, and soon as the ‘time is right’ we’ll win once and for all. Oh, and if you’re wondering how our history says we lost our flight, it doesn’t. We just did.”

“Really? That’s all?” Izzy asked, baffled.

“Well the official version is only common pegasi did, but we all know that was a big lie,” Zipp said with a roll of her eyes. “The reality is we don’t know why. If anyone knew, they didn’t write it down.” She nodded her head to the side. “Pipp’ll be along. I told mom we’re going. Pipp’s better at making her accept it. The old ‘Good Daughter, Bad Daughter’ routine, ya know?”

“No?” Sunny said, trying not to wince. As an only child, she was a little glad she didn’t know. “Do you really think you’re–”

“Got all your stuff packed up?” Zipp asked.

Sunny glanced at her then at her suitcase. She closed it with a thump. “I think I’ll just leave it here. Sprout probably won’t drive a giant robot into Hitch’s house.” She glanced out the window. “Probably. I mean, it’s pretty unlikely, right?”

“Last week, I thought being friends with an earth pony or unicorn pretty unlikely, but one can hope,” Zipp replied. “How are we even getting to Manureville anyway?”

“Can we call it M’ville? The big M?” Izzy suggested with a strained smile.

Sunny trotted over to the bookcase and pulled one open. ‘Territories of Equestria’. It’d been her father’s. She opened it up to one of the center pages, where a map unfolded. It wasn’t much of a map. The most detailed were on the left, where Maretime Bay was centered. To the north east was Zephyr Heights, and to the south west, the forest of Bridlewood. Further east she could see cities like Lonespire, Graygirder, and the like. The Eyrie lay on the northern most edge of the map, at the base of giant mountains. Many more were marked as ‘ruins’. Until now, they’d just been dots on a map. Now they were ponies who didn’t have magic yet.

But it was possible.

“I know the train runs between Zephyr Heights and... M’ville,” Sunny said. Well, at least there was a railroad on the map.

“Yeah, but that’s a freight train,” Zipp said, shaking her head. “I mean, we could probably ride along, but it’s not exactly going to be easy.”

“Well it looks like it’s a little more than twice the distance from Zephyr Heights to Bridlewood. So we could walk it, I suppose,” Sunny said, looking at a road connecting the two.

“Darn. If I’d know I could have secured a shoot modelling some athlesureware,” Pipp said as she trotted in. She frowned at her sister. “Way to leave me with mom,” she said in a low voice.

“You’re better with her than I am. I drop the bomb and you get her over it,” Zipp said with a smile. Pipp sighed and shook her head. “Hey, if I’d stayed, we’ve been in there for hours yelling at each other. This way, it’s over and everypony moves on. Right?”

“So the plan is a hike to Man–” Pipp started to say when she caught Sunny’s desperate hoofwave.

“M’ville. It’s name is now officially M’ville,” Sunny explained as Izzy’s muzzle looked like it was trying to turn outside in.

“Riiiight. Anyway, a hike to M’ville. Got it. Mother will put in a call to... somepony. A paper if nothing else. We’ll get some good photos. Magic will spread and everypony will be ‘woah’. Word will spread. Magic everywhere. Job done.” She said with a confident smile and nod. “Or at the very least they’ll stop calling me a fake, which will be just as good!”

“Where’s the Sheriff?” Zipp asked as she looked at the doorway.

“He was right behind me. Dragging Sprout along by the hoof,” Pipp commented with a sigh.

“Why was he dragging Sprout?” Izzy asked with a frown.

“On account that he wouldn’t stop thanking me and crying,” Hitch called from the front of the house. A few moments later Hitch trotted in looking... damp.

“Did it rain?” Sunny asked, looking out the window at the clear sky.

“No. First Sprout cried because he was sure that I was going to fire him. Then I told him I was giving him a second chance, which made him cry again!” He shook his head and sighed. “I’m pretty sure his mom’ll make sure he doesn’t get ‘too encouraged’. Just to be safe, I made Toot and Sweet both deputies as well. They won’t build any more giant robots without Phyllis’s okay.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Does make me wonder how much of this I can do...”

“What do you mean?” Sunny asked.

He took a deep breath, “I leave for two days. I leave for a week... part of being Sherriff is being here, Sunny.” As her face fell he stepped forward and raised her chin. “But I get this is really important. Not just for you, but important for everypony. Just don’t expect me to go trotting all the way to Eyrie.”

Sunny tried to match his easy smile, but it sat uneasily on her. He had other obligations. So did Pipp and Zipp. Only Izzy seemed to be completely free, but how much did she actually know about Izzy? Personality, sure, but what of her past? Her future plans? Still, don’t look a gift pony in the mouth. “Thanks,” she told him.

“Look, this should be easy. We go to M’ville, show them magic, they’ll know its possible and poof! Magic there too. And once other towns see magic can spread, they’ll be heads over hooves happy and want to get it too,” Pipp assured everypony.

“So I guess this is it then,” Sunny said with a deep breath. “Let’s go bring magic to the rest of Equestria.” And together, they set off.