The next morning, after plans were "more finalized than finalized" -- Sunny's words -- Terra sent Pipp, Zipp, Hitch, Sunny and Izzy on their way to Bridlewood to retrieve the Unicorn Crystal. The journey didn't take very long, thanks to the power of flight, and the five ponies soon stood at the entrance to the thick and expansive forest.
"This is Bridlewood?" Pipp said. "It looks so...eugh...spooky..."
"Well, it is a forest, sis." Zipp rolled her eyes. "I'm sure it's not that bad."
Izzy nodded. "Zipp's right! Bridlewood isn't scary at all. It's just a little...um..." She struggled for a moment to find a good word. "Unique!"
Pipp's eyes widened.
"In a good way!"
The Pegasus's expression didn't change.
"C'mon, let's go inside!" Izzy glanced at Sunny. "But first...Sunny?"
Sunny nodded and sidled up to Izzy. They lit their horns up, and Pipp, Zipp and Hitch were bathed in a prismatic blinding light. Once their hooves touched ground, all of them began to examine themselves, and promptly freaked out.
"Uhhh...where are my wings?" Zipp asked, spinning around in circles.
"Where are my wings?!" Pipp's words were practically a screech.
"And what's this thing on my head?" Hitch touched the horn delicately.
"Oh, I just turned you all into unicorns." Izzy waved a hoof. "Terra taught me the spell! It's temporary, so it'll wear off after two hours. That should give us more than enough time!"
Sunny sighed. "I told you this was a bad idea, Izzy."
"It's temporary." Izzy emphasized. "Now c'mon, let's transform!"
Once the two alicorns had changed into their unicorn alter egos of Dicey Roll and Moon Flower, they began their journey into the forest.
The first stop on the trip was a quaint little shop in the heart of town, known as the Crystal Tea Room. Everypony had agreed on avoiding Izzy's house, especially after Hitch, Pipp and Zipp had heard about what happened with Izzy's parents. Besides, neither one of them had any reason to keep the Unicorn Crystal, anyway.
The shop was cozy and inviting, although the "inviting" part could barely fit due to the depressive nature of all the unicorns.
"Hey, Izzy- er, I mean, Moon Flower..." Pipp asked. "Why is everyone so grumpy?"
"They've always been like that, ever since magic went away. Nopony's wanted to do anything. There's no hope, no passion, no happiness..." Izzy kicked the ground lightly with her hoof as she walked. "Me and my dad are the only ponies left who haven't turned sad."
Pipp put her hoof to her chest. "That's awful!"
Izzy guided the group through the shop, stopping at the table of one unicorn in particular who was running his hoof along the grooves of the table.
"Pssssst!"
"Huh?"
Izzy beamed. "Hi! Word around the streets is that you, my friend, collect crystals. Would you happen to have a blue diamond-shaped one in your fine collection?"
The unicorn looked at Izzy, his eyes showing nothing but unbridled fear. It took him a minute or two to actually speak anything of coherency.
"Gloomy Doomies."
Izzy gasped. "What? T-them?" She bit her lip. "How could they have the Crystal?"
"Stole my crystals from me while I was walking. Ran off with them into..." The unicorn gulped. "The jinxie part."
Izzy gasped again, and more dramatically.
"Uh, sorry to interrupt..." Zipp pushed forward. "But what's 'the jinxie part', exactly?"
"Rumor has it that if you go in that part of Bridlewood, you stay jinxie'd for life!" Izzy shook her head. "And there's no getting rid of those jinxies."
"Why would ponies want to go in that part of the woods if it's so cursed?" Sunny asked.
"Beats me. But nopony's even dared to face them. They take advantage of all the upset in Bridlewood to steal all sorts of items." Izzy gave a sympathetic look to the unicorn. "Don't worry. We'll get your crystals back, and all the other stuff back too!"
"Wait. Don't tell me we're actually gonna face the Gloomy Doomies?!" Pipp placed her hooves to her cheeks.
"We'll have to, if we want the Unicorn Crystal." Sunny said. "Er, thank you, mister."
"Yeah, thanks a bunch!"
As the group turned to leave, they were stopped by a voice that Izzy knew all too well.
"Hey, Izzy!"
Izzy turned around. "Oh, Alphabittle!" She trotted over. "What's up?"
"I heard the whole conversation." Alphabittle smirked. "Going to see the Gloomy Doomies, are you?"
"Yeah! We need to get the Uni- uh...I mean, we have to get something important back from them!"
Alphabittle raised an eyebrow as if noticing Izzy's slipup, but ultimately chose not to comment on it. "Well..." He leaned closer. "I just so happen to have a map to their little hideout. If you want it, though..."
Izzy watched as the older unicorn grabbed a rectangular-shaped box from one of the shelves behind him and set it down on the table. "You'll have to beat me at Trot-Bo."
"Trot-Bo?" Izzy looked nervous. "I, uh...w-well, I don't know how to play Trot-Bo..."
"I do."
Zipp confidently stepped forward and sidled up next to Izzy. "I'm a pro at Trot-Bo. Rhyme unintended." She had herself a chuckle. "Allow me to be your opponent, if you will."
Alphabittle grinned. "All right. Have a seat."
Izzy took a few paces back, allowing Zipp to do her thing. Sunny and the others came up, with the other alicorn placing a hoof on her friend's shoulder comfortingly as she watched the game's setup.
"Don't worry." she assured. "I'm sure Zipp's got this in the bag."
Izzy swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded.
Alphabittle dealt the cards accordingly -- 30 each in two piles that served as stock piles, as well as 5 cards for each player. "Here's the deal." he said. "If you can beat me once, and only once, you can have the map. And if you lose..."
Zipp stared at his outstretched hoof, getting the gist of what he meant but thinking about what she had on hoof to trade. Finally, she looked over her shoulder and extended her own hoof to Sunny.
"...Zipp?"
"Give me my Crystal."
"Sis, no!" Pipp cried. "If you lose, then he'll have both the map and the Pe- I- I mean your special Crystal!"
"I won't lose." Zipp responded coolly. "I'll show him what-for. Just give me my Crystal."
Sunny took a deep breath. She didn't want to give up the Crystal, just on the minute chance that Zipp lost. But at the same time, she knew that she needed to trust in her friend -- if she said she was a pro at Trot-Bo and knew she could beat Alphabittle at his own game, then she had to take her words at face value.
She reached into her saddlebag, pulled out the Pegasus Crystal, and placed it in Zipp's hoof. The disguised Pegasus gave a single nod of thanks before she gave the Crystal to Alphabittle.
"Thank you." the unicorn said, placing it behind him. "Now, I'll give you the honor of going first, little pony."
Zipp examined her hand. A 1, two 7's, an 11, and a 12. A reasonable hand, she figured. But she knew that based on the like-new state of Alphabittle's cards, the odds would easily turn in her favor later on. She set the 1 down, placed a 2 down from her stock pile, and overturned the next card.
A 3. She set it down and turned over the next one.
Drat. A 5.
She looked at her hand again to determine what cards to put down. Within seconds, she grabbed ahold of the two 7's and placed them next to her stock pile, beginning a new discard pile.
Alphabittle's eyes widened. "You can't put two down at once!"
"Yes you can, actually." Zipp raised a hoof. "If you read the rules, you would know that. It's your turn."
Alphabittle stifled a growl and examined his own hand. He didn't have as much luck with his own stock pile as Zipp did with hers, but he did manage to deplete his hand, which allowed him to draw 5 more. Eventually, he put down a 9 for a new discard pile.
Izzy, Sunny, Pipp and Hitch all watched nervously as the game raged on. It was a very close call, with both Zipp and Alphabittle keeping pace with how many cards were in their stock pile. The tension that Sunny in particular had been building melted away as she watched her Pegasus friend at work.
When Zipp had 11 cards left in her stock pile and Alphabittle had 8, the latter took ahold of the cards and shuffled them.
"You've done well." he praised. "I can tell you've been playing this game for a long time."
"Sure have. I know all the tips and tricks like the back of my hoof."
"Do you now?" Alphabittle shuffled for what had to be the fifth or sixth time now. "Well, I have a three-card advantage over you. Let's see how you do. It's your turn."
Zipp, wanting to remain collected so as not to give away anything, resisted a smirk as she watched the unicorn place the newly-shuffled deck back in its rightful place next to four building piles that had been set up. She drew 4 cards to complete her hand and examined them.
Although well-hidden by the cards, her smirk came forth and grew.
She made play after play, depleting card after card in her stock pile, getting rid of building pile after building pile. Alphabittle's expression gradually went from bemused to bewildered.
"Impossible!" was the only thing he could say as he watched Zipp at work. She paid him no mind, being completely focused on the game.
2 cards left in the stock pile.
One was a 12, which she eagerly played to get rid of a building pile.
Her hoof rested on the last face-down card.
"You know that if this is a 1, a 3, or a 10, I win?" Zipp said, her tone as cool as ice. "Especially if it's a 1. That's the good card."
Alphabittle merely stammered.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Zipp turned over the last card.
It was a 9.
Alphabittle gave a breathy chuckle. "Well well well, would you look at that. Luck ran out for ya, didn't it?" He smiled, although it certainly wasn't the kind of smile that held any niceties.
Zipp set down a 7 to start her fourth discard pile.
"Now, my little pony...watch and learn."
He picked up 3 cards to complete his hand of 5. From there, he laid down the three he had picked up -- a perfect order of 1, 2 and 3. His other two cards were a 10 and an 11, which helped him with one of the other building piles.
Zipp scrutinized everything -- her opponent, his hand, his stock pile, his discard piles, the building piles. She could feel her muscles begin to tense, but did everything in her power to relax them. Her mouth fought with her brain as it tried to curve up into a smile again, but she forced the frown to remain as a tried-and-true poker face.
In one turn, Alphabittle had cleared two discard piles, and had only a single card in his stock pile by the end of it.
He closed his eyes and overturned the card.
A 10.
He raised his hoof and stomped it on the table -- not hard enough to send all the cards jostling, but hard enough to communicate his anger and frustration without a single word spoken.
His head became bowed down, and he gave a small smile.
"Your turn."
Zipp blinked. She examined the building piles.
One of them just so happened to house an 8 on its top.
She drew a card to complete her hand, and played the final card in her stock pile.
"And that's the game." Zipp laid down the cards in her hand and outstretched her hoof. "The map and the Crystal, please."
Alphabittle sighed as he retrieved the map and the Pegasus Crystal and placed them on the counter. "Here. You earned them." he said. "How'd you get so good?"
"Well, the first red flag for you was the shuffling." Zipp explained. "See, Trot-Bo cards are a little tricky in that a unicorn can shuffle them over ten times and still have the cards end up in ascending numerical order."
"That so?" Alphabittle gathered up the cards and began putting them back into the Trot-Bo box. "Very interesting. Got any more tips you want to share?"
"Sure." Zipp gave a nonchalant shrug. "It's important to keep your head in the game at all times. Even one slip-up can cost you the entire game. I've learned from enough games with my sister." She rolled her eyes playfully. "You should also discard your cards in descending numerical order. Makes for easier playing."
Alphabittle nodded, then put the Trot-Bo box back on its proper shelf. "I'll keep that in mind." He turned back around and gave Zipp a friendly smile. "Gotta say, you're the first opponent I've had in a while who's actually fun. Come back and play another round sometime, huh?"
Zipp slid off of her stool, grabbing the items. "Will do." She waved. "See ya."
As the disguised Pegasus returned to the group, murmurs of excitement rippled throughout.
"Zipp, you were aaaamaaaaaziiiing!" Pipp said in singsong. "I knew you could do it."
"Yeah!" Izzy gave a small hop. "You're really good!"
"It's nothing." A small blush crept across Zipp's cheeks. "Trot-Bo just happens to be my favorite game, that's all. And I've had years of practice."
"And you managed to get the map, plus the Pegasus Crystal!" Hitch said.
"All right, ponies." Sunny grabbed the Crystal from Zipp, slipped it into her saddlebag, and turned towards the exit. "Let's go see what these Gloomy Doomies are all about."
Feeling much more confident, the group made their way back outside. Things were looking up for them, and they hoped the momentum continued on until they had all three Unity Crystals in their possession.
The map that Alphabittle had was, to Izzy's and everyone else's surprise, very coherent with the names of its landmarks and seemingly up-to-date. With it, they were able to get into the underbelly of Bridlewood, where hardly any unicorn had walked.
"Hey, Izzy?" Hitch said. "Do you know anything about these 'Doomy Gloomies' ponies?"
"Gloomy Doomies." Izzy corrected, before she shook her head. "And not a clue! I've admittedly never been to this part of Bridlewood before. I don't even know if it is Bridlewood. But it feels like Bridlewood, so that's a good sign, right?"
No one answered, so she decided to answer her own question with a bold "Righty-o!" and continue along.
As the group traversed deeper and deeper inside, fog gradually began to obscure their visions. Although Sunny and Izzy used magic on the tips of their horns as flashlights, it didn't help very much.
"Everypony, try to stick together!" Sunny ordered. "We can't afford to get lo-"
A ghostly moan cut through the air. Poses stiffened. Eyes darted around nervously. All seemed quiet for a minute or two after the moan died off.
"What was that?" Pipp's voice was a murmur as she stuck close to Zipp.
"Izzy..." Hitch glanced at the alicorn. "There aren't any ghosts that live in Bridlewood that you know of...right?"
Izzy bit her lip. "W-well...only in legends!" she said. "But I've never seen a ghost in Bridlewood. Then again, I've never been to this part of the forest, either..."
Another ghostly moan. This one caused screams to be elicited, with everyone hugging each other tightly.
"Everypony, run!" Sunny cried, sprinting away as fast as her hooves would carry her. The others followed suit. No one had any clear direction -- all they knew was to keep running forward.
The next thing Sunny knew, she was tumbling down a sloped surface of some kind. Hitch, who trailed her, stopped just in time, but the barrage of Izzy, Pipp and Zipp caused him, and them, to go down next.
Sunny landed flat on her stomach and let out a groan. As she slowly opened her eyes, she found that the fog was only slightly less prominent, which allowed her to see just a bit ahead of her. Before she could take in her surroundings, however, the four-pony ball crashed into the ground.
Another moan.
Sunny bolted straight up and squinted. It sounded closer, now...almost too close for her liking.
"H-h-hello?" she called, trying to spot any pony-shaped figures in the mist. She could swear she saw faint outlines, but for all she knew it was her eyes playing tricks on her. She turned to face the rest of the group, who were slowly getting to their hooves.
"Is everypony okay?"
"I'm...fine...whoa." Izzy wobbled and sat on the ground, rubbing her head. "I just need to sit for a minute."
"Ugh!" Pipp pawed at her mane, filled with dirt and rocks. "My mane's all ruined now!"
Zipp shook her leg free of a pebble that was resting on it and digging into her, helping Hitch up as well. Her eyes widened slightly as she spotted equine-shaped outlines growing closer and closer.
"Uh...what's that?"
Sunny stiffened. Her gaze remained locked on the outlines that were, sure enough, growing closer.
"Oh my hoofness, are those new friends?!" Izzy waved. "Hi, new friends!"
She didn't get a response. The figures kept advancing, and as they did, she realized that it was a trio.
"Stay back." Sunny ordered, conjuring up a shield and standing at the forefront of the group, her posture as poised as she could make it. She forced herself to take deep breaths to calm her nerves, assuring herself that she, and the others, could protect themselves easily if need be.
Finally, after what felt like hours, the mysterious beings made themselves known. Unicorns, to be specific, which was typical for Bridlewood. All of them had dark coats, dark manes and dark tails, which helped them blend well with the spooky setting.
"W-who are you? What do you want?" Sunny asked.
None of them responded. After a half-minute, the pony at the forefront opened their mouth.
"We could ask you the same thing."
His tone was melancholy, although not to the extent of the other Bridlewood unicorns. His two comrades nodded in unison.
"I- well...we...were hoping you could help us find something. Something very precious to us." Sunny explained, lowering her shield. "It's a blue crystal. Diamond-shaped, like the horn of a unicorn. Have you seen it?"
The lead unicorn's eyes flashed with anger briefly. "I have not. But our leader might have."
Sunny's eyes brightened. "Oh! That's good. Can you, um...take us to them, please?"
"One does not simply ask to see our dear leader, pony."
"Valencia." the lead unicorn snapped. "Bite your tongue and know your place."
The second unicorn fell silent, not uttering any kind of an apology and keeping her glare fixated on the opposing group.
"Anyway, she is correct. Seeing our leader is something reserved for..." A long pause. "Special ponies."
"W-well we're special ponies!" Izzy moved to be next to Sunny, shedding her disguise and spreading her wings out. "We're alicorns!"
The trio's eyes widened. Gasps were shared among them. It was made quite clear that they had never seen an alicorn before, and while curiosity overtook them, caution ultimately won over.
"Yes, yes, very special indeed." the third unicorn said, her voice not melancholy like the others. Her gaze shifted to the lead unicorn. "In that case...Rapid River, should we show them the way?"
Rapid River didn't say anything for a few moments, his jaw dropped in shock. Eventually he came to his senses, shaking his head and blinking rapidly. "I, uh...y-yes. If you five would be so kind as to follow me."
Everyone was quick to note that his tone was no longer melancholy -- something that intrigued Sunny and co. as they followed the group through the expansive fog.
"Uh, Izzy...are you sure these are the Doomy Gloomy ponies?" Hitch asked.
"Gloomy Doomies." Izzy corrected again. "And yup! You can tell by their coats, their manes, and their voices."
Hitch raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. Well, at least they seem friendly. Enough."
The destination took only a few minutes to get to. On Zipp's insistence, the trio of unicorns revealed that they were, indeed, part of the Gloomy Doomies, but would not reveal anything more, even with her prying. So, the group determined that seeing their unnamed leader would give them all the answers they wanted.
The Gloomy Doomies' hideout was located in a rather expansive wooded area, obscured only by bushes. Rock formations of all kinds could be seen, from a large flat rock that jutted out like a diving board to a set of what appeared to be stairs leading to the top of another rock. Unicorns of all kinds lingered about the campsite, glaring at the newcomers as they walked.
"They sure love their rocks..." Pipp muttered under her breath.
"Izzy, why did you go and change back like that?" Sunny hissed. "What makes a pony 'special' is entirely subjective!"
"Well, it was better to be safe than sorry!" Izzy countered back. "Besides, nopony's out here besides the Gloomy Doomies, anyway."
The alicorns' conversation was cut short by the three unicorns leading them towards a tall, gaping cave entrance. Jaws dropped, wondering what kind of creature would need a cave that was so tall, and the nerves began to spread as the group tried to prepare themselves for what was to come.
"Mara?" Rapid River called. "There are some guests here to see you."
A pause.
"And to whom shall I be speaking to?" came the reply, which sounded like many ponies were talking at once but also carried a sense of dread that lessened the threatening factor.
"Two alicorns."
Instinctively, Sunny and the others backed up a few steps as a dark figure clad in a tall ethereal cloak came shuffling forth from the cave. Sunny could easily see that it was a unicorn, judging by the horn protruding from the silhouette, but what caught her attention the most was that they were floating by a mysterious force.
I thought magic went away for everypony, except for me, Izzy, Pipp and Zipp...so how is this unicorn self-levitating? Could they have not been affected by the Unity Crystals' separation? Or is it just special effects?
A million questions ran through her mind, and simultaneously, it picked up on the unicorn's mouth moving.
"Um...I'm sorry?"
"Identify yourselves."
"Oh! Well, I'm Sunny Starscout. Ah, Princess Sunny, for short. Or just Sunny." Sunny nervously chuckled, glancing at her friends and gesturing for them to follow suit.
"I'm Princess Izzy Moonbow! Princess Izzy, for short. Or just Izzy!"
"Zipp Storm."
"Pipp Petals. I'm Zipp's little sister. You can just call me Pipp."
"And I'm Hitch Trailblazer." Hitch bowed. "It's nice to meet you."
A pause. It seemed the unicorn liked to pause before they spoke, which unnerved Sunny and the others greatly. "My name is Mara. I am the leader of the Gloomy Doomies." Her eyes glowed a bright white suddenly, and she narrowed them. "What is your purpose for coming here?"
"We're looking for a crystal." Sunny explained. "It's diamond-shaped, blue. We were wondering if you had it in your possession, and if we could, ah...have it back?"
"The crystals we keep are powerful. They are essential for allowing us to thrive here, in a world that rejects all magic." Mara explained. "The Unicorn Crystal has been all but discarded by the unicorns of Bridlewood. It is in better hooves now. And I will not allow simple ponies like you to take it."
"We're not simple!" Pipp protested. "Sunny and Izzy are alicorns! Alicorns! Don't tell me you don't know what alicorns are?"
"That word means nothing, filly." Mara spat. "'Alicorn' is simply a fancy word for the horn of a unicorn. Sunny and Izzy are simply winged unicorns."
"Yeah, like the winged unicorns that ruled Equestria in the past!" Zipp countered. "And the winged unicorn that will rule Equestria in the present!"
Silence fell. Zipp clasped a hoof to her mouth, her eyes widening in shock as she realized that she had let the secret of Terra accidentally slip within her building rage.
Mara, however, didn't notice Zipp's slipup -- and if she did, she didn't call the disguised Pegasus out on it. "Don't make me laugh. There is no ruler of Equestria. There has not been such a ruler in eons. And there shall never be one."
"Oh yeah?" Zipp made her way to the front. "If you give us the Unicorn Crystal, I can prove you wrong."
"And how is that? You are simply a unicorn, with no wings to speak of. Do not tell me you are planning to rule Equestria?"
Zipp grit her teeth. She stood rigid for a few moments, contemplating whether what she was about to do was the right thing to do. Ultimately, though, her anger took over her common sense, and she swiveled her head towards Sunny and Izzy.
"Do it."
"Zipp, no!" Izzy cried out. "You could-"
"I don't care about the consequences, Izzy. Reverse what you've done."
Izzy bit her lip, but ultimately relented, firing up her horn and encasing Zipp in brilliant blue light. Within seconds, her horn had faded away, leaving only her wings exposed.
Mara moved back a few inches. The other three unicorns let out gasps of shock.
"I'm not planning on ruling Equestria." she began. "I'm the Queen of Zephyr Heights, and I don't want to become ruler of anything beyond that. But I'd like to make a proposal."
Mara's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Don't you want to have magic back? Don't you want Equestria to return to the way it was?"
"We..." Mara illuminated her horn for a moment. "...have magic."
That stopped Zipp cold. Her jaw dropped, as did those of her friends. "H-how..."
"The loss of magic did not affect us because we live in such an isolated part of Bridlewood. Thus, we are the only beings who still have magic." Mara's muzzle wrinkled. "Or, were the only beings."
Sunny and Izzy exchanged a glance, realizing that Mara's reasoning made sense, though they certainly didn't believe it was possible.
"So, if you want your precious Crystal back..." Mara sneered. "...then defeat me in a magic battle. The winner shall be the one who takes the Crystal for themselves."
"And what happens if we lose?" Izzy asked.
"Then you shall remain with us, as valued members of the Gloomy Doomies. Forever until your deaths."
Both alicorns waited. Waited for Mara to pick which pony she wanted to fight. But she did not respond, only glaring at the group menacingly.
"Um...w-would you excuse us for a moment? We'd like to discuss this in private." Sunny twiddled her hooves. "May we go right outside?"
Mara nodded, and the five ponies began making their way out of the cave, looking back to make sure she wasn't going to follow them.
"Aren't you guys scared?" Izzy asked, trotting ahead of the group and walking backwards.
"Us? Scared?" Zipp scoffed. "Of course not."
"We totally believe in you guys!" Pipp chirped. "I haven't seen what either of you can do yet, but I just know you have so much potential. You'll do great!"
"And don't forget. If you need help, we got your backs." Hitch nodded. "Go beat Mara and get that Unicorn Crystal!"
The words sounded so cliched, so automatic to Izzy. But no matter how they sounded, her friends' support was all that she needed. "Thanks so so much!" she said with a smile, before turning around as she passed through the exit of the cave into the campsite that laid before her.
Sunny, with a smile also on her face, trotted over to her alicorn friend. "So who's going to be the pony that faces down Mara?"
"I'll do it!" Izzy frantically waved her hoof in the air. "I was born and raised in Bridlewood, after all. If anypony's gonna get that Crystal, it'll be yours truly!"
Sunny didn't need to second-guess Izzy's decision, placing her utmost confidence in her. "All right. Good luck in there. Don't forget what Terra taught us!"
"Oh don't worry. I have a few tricks up my pony sleeve that's sure to rock the glittery socks off these Gloomy Doomies!" Izzy giggled as she began to bounce into the cave.
As Mara's ears picked up on the sound of what appeared to be a spring hopping along, she narrowed her glowing eyes and kept her gaze fixated on the blue-maned alicorn that was approaching her.
"Leave." was the only command she gave the three unicorns that had led the group to her, and they immediately obeyed, galloping past Izzy as fast as their hooves would take them. Izzy paid them little mind, steeling her nerves as she faced down her towering opponent. She could see the confident smirk on Mara's face, but her own smile didn't falter.
"You may have the first attempt."
That was all Izzy needed. She took flight, swirling around into the air in a showy fashion before rearing back and firing a purple beam of magic directly at Mara's face. While it appeared to be a direct hit, Mara's unchanging expression showed that it didn't seem to do much damage, if any at all.
"How cute." the unicorn said plainly. "My turn." Taking a deep breath, magic surged into her horn until it glowed a color that Izzy was unable to identify. Before she knew it, a bright beam shot straight at her, leaving her with little room to dodge. She definitely wasn't the most agile pony -- Sunny outranked her in that regard as far as the two of them went -- but she had learned a few tips and tricks from Terra, and it was that which allowed her to dodge by rolling to the side, nearly colliding with the cave wall.
Mara narrowed her eyes. "Feh. Missed." She rolled her hoof around idly. "Oh well, there's always a next time."
Izzy bit her lip, her brain scrambling to try and figure out her next move. For her genki nature, not even she was dumb enough to try hitting Mara with magic again and again, and she knew that she needed to come up with a good strategy -- and fast, for she wanted to get the Unicorn Crystal and restore magic to the rest of Equestria as soon as possible.
If I can't attack her body, then maybe... Her gaze drifted to the dark cloak, with the rolling waves on its ends that lapped the ground. Suddenly, an idea began to form in her brain, and she grinned as she lit up her horn. Conjured into existence was a rope, which she took in her mouth and casually trotted closer to Mara.
"What? What are you..." Mara watched as Izzy's trot turned into her becoming nothing more than a blur, circling the cloak at blinding speeds. The unicorn felt a squeezing sensation at the bottom of her cloak, which got tighter the more Izzy circled her. After a few seconds, Izzy stopped, and with one end of the rope in her magic, she stood up on her hind legs and gave a mighty yank.
The sound of something fluttering reached Mara's ears. Dread pierced her heart. She didn't need to look back to know what the sound was, but she could certainly feel the pain that resulted from it, as she plummeted to the ground and landed hard on her stomach. The glow from her eyes faded away, slowly but surely, until they looked like the normal eyes of a pony.
Izzy eyed the cloak curiously. Its ends came to a stop, until it looked like nothing more than an ordinary cloak. "Oh wow, that actually worked!" She giggled. "For a second there, I thought I was gonna look really dumb."
"M-m-" Mara attempted to get to her hooves. "My cloak...w-what did..." She grit her teeth and a groan slipped out before she could finish her sentence.
"Aww, nothing special, really. Just used a teeeeeny-tiny bit of Accelero to remove the source of your magic."
Mara wanted to scream at this alicorn that had somehow beaten her without putting up much of a fight, but she was too in pain at the moment to do much of anything but slowly get herself into a standing position. Izzy watched with a grin on her face, not disappearing even when Mara whipped her head around so fast that she could have gotten whiplash from it.
"You..." Her lips curled back and exposed her gritted teeth. "How dare you. To remove what has kept me alive, what has kept the Gloomy Doomies running...to end our battle so soon after it begun..." She shot daggers at Izzy, which only intensified the longer she looked at her smile. "It is blasphemous."
"I dunno what that word means!" replied an innocent Izzy. "But hey, I won the battle! That means I get to have the Cry-" Her hoof running across something hard interrupted her, and her eyes widened as she flipped the cloak over. Sure enough, in an inner pocket was the Unicorn Crystal, shining brightly and in pristine condition.
"No!" Mara cried out with an outstretched hoof. "Don't take that! Please!"
"But we need it to restore magic!" Izzy countered. "It's for the good of Equestria!"
Mara's horn sparked, and she growled. "That Unicorn Crystal grants me abilities that I never would have been able to obtain in my lifetime, no matter what knowledge I obtained, no matter what spells I practiced, no matter how hard I tried. Without it, I am nothing but a cheat, a fraud, a liar to these ponies who have built up their trust in me." She slowly approached Izzy. "Did you honestly think I would put such a powerful force at stake for something as trivial as a battle of magic abilities?"
Piecing the puzzle together, Izzy gasped. "So you cheated?!" she exclaimed. "B-but...why? Why not..." She stammered for a few moments. "Why not pick something else to...nonono, why not just concede and let us have the Crystal?!"
Mara heaved a sigh. "You are a dumb little pony." she tutted, stopping in front of Izzy and straightening her posture in a feeble attempt to tower above the alicorn to some degree. "There is no other power source that is available to me. I do not have magic. I cannot obtain magic. I cannot use magic. What portion of this do you need elaborated upon?"
"I..." Izzy stared into her opponent's eyes. The amber irises and dark pupils bore into her with malice and hurt, and funnily enough, the alicorn found them more menacing than when the eyes were glowing. Try as she might, she couldn't tear her gaze away, up until she began blinking rapidly. "I had...no idea." she finally spit out. "I'm so sorry. I wish there was a wa-"
Her mane and tail billowed for a few moments in the breeze that was created by Mara galloping deeper into the cave without another word spoken. By the time she turned around, the leader of the Gloomy Doomies had disappeared into the darkness. Briefly she contemplated running after her, but ultimately decided that was an issue best left to after magic was restored.
As she plodded out of the cave, Sunny, Hitch, Zipp and Pipp gave cries of relief.
"Izzy!" Sunny wrapped her legs around her friend, pulling her into a hug. "How did it go? Did you win?"
A pause. And then, "Yeah. I won."
"Izzy, what's wrong?" Pipp asked. "What happened in there?"
The alicorn didn't respond. She sat on the ground and rubbed her leg, avoiding all eye contact. Although she didn't know for sure, she felt like every unicorn in the immediate vicinity was glaring at her, as if knowing that their leader had just run away and probably, maybe, abandoned them.
The others exchanged worried glances, but didn't press Izzy any further.
"Mara..." Izzy lifted her head up. "She...she doesn't have magic."
"What?" Hitch blinked. "But that's impossible! She told us she and the rest of the Doomy Gloomies-" He shook his head furiously. "Gloomy Doomies had magic!"
"With the Unicorn Crystal, yeah. W-well, she does, anyway. I dunno about the other Gloomy Doomies." Izzy looked around, but didn't see any unicorn actively using their magic. "But when I beat her, she told me that the Unicorn Crystal allowed her to use magic, since she can't use magic at all."
"At all?" Sunny tilted her head. "Like...she really can't use magic? Not because Equestria doesn't have it, but because she lacks the ability?"
Izzy nodded. "I told her that us having the Crystal was for the good of all of Equestria. But she didn't listen. And when I tried to apologize, she ran off."
"Deeper into the cave?" Zipp looked past Izzy and through the cave's gaping mouth. "Well, we're not going to find her if we look for her in there."
"What're we gonna tell these guys?" Hitch gestured to the rest of the unicorns. "I don't think they'll like it if we tell them their leader's gone AWOL."
Izzy reached behind her and pulled out the Unicorn Crystal. "Here. Take this, and run."
"Run where?" Pipp interjected.
"To the outskirts of Bridlewood." Izzy placed the Crystal in Sunny's hooves. "I'll stay here and break the news."
"But what if they attack you?"
Izzy smiled. "Don't worry. I'll hold them off. Just go, okay?"
Hitch, Pipp and Zipp stared at Izzy for a few seconds before turning around and heading out of the campsite. Sunny lingered for a little bit longer, biting her lip in worry and concern before she relented.
"Stay safe." were her last words before she followed the others, tucking the Crystal into her saddlebag.
Izzy watched them go until they were out of sight, which was a rather easy feat given how the area was still shrouded in fog. Taking a deep breath, she looked around for a rock she could stand on, hoping to get as many ponies as possible with how high up she was. Luckily, there were two, but she didn't know which one was the rock Mara used to call meetings. Regardless, she made a decision and began climbing up to the land where the base of the rock sat, forgoing any usage of her wings to assist her. As her back hooves scrabbled in search of a rock, she hoisted herself up with her left front hoof gripping another rock. Up and up she went until she finally reached the top, and she made her way to the very edge of the rock, looking down at the campsite below.
"Um...a-attention, Doomy Gloomies! I, er, I mean Gloomy Doomies!" Izzy called. The knot in her stomach began to form and grow bigger with each unicorn that gathered. Although all of them had curious expressions, she couldn't find relief in them because she knew what those expressions were going to turn to.
I could lie. The thought was sudden, and she tried to push it away. Lying was a viable option, but she knew that lying would only get these unicorns even more upset, and she didn't want to risk that. So, she took another deep breath, and opened her maw.
"Recently, uh...I had a battle with your leader, Mara, for the Unicorn Crystal." she began. "I ended up winning after I removed her cloak and caught her cheating-"
Gasps rung out in the clearing. Izzy could swear she heard words like "impossible" and "incredible" among the murmurs that followed. She cleared her throat and pressed onward.
"And she...she told me that she doesn't have magic."
Louder gasps. More murmurs.
"She didn't wanna give me the Unicorn Crystal at first, even though she said the winner could have it. I tried to reason with her, and I told her that giving me and my friends the Crystal would help Equestria, but she didn't listen. And then I tried to apologize, and she..." Izzy pointed to the cave. "...ran deep into the cave."
The murmurs turned into cries of horror.
"I-I'm really sorry! I fought fairly. She put the Unicorn Crystal up for grabs, not me. I just..." Izzy slumped onto the ground. "I just wanna save Equestria and bring back magic to everypony..."
Her blurted excuses did little in the way of providing solace to the worried crowd. She buried her face in her hooves, struggling to fight back the tears that she felt pooling in her eyes.
After a minute or two, she couldn't take it anymore. "I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry!" she cried, before lighting up her horn and teleporting away in a bright purple flash, leaving the Gloomy Doomies behind. Although she couldn't see it, the unicorns in the group had ceased their reactions, looking up at the spot where Izzy once was with unreadable expressions.
In the back of the group, Rapid River stared with intent at the cave that his leader had escaped into. And unbeknownst to him, Valencia, as well as the third unicorn who had come with them, Cosmic Gust, were also staring at the same cave. All three of them shared the same exact thought and began to adopt the same exact mission as they began mentally running through preparations.
Izzy's teleportation took her to where the others were currently heading to, just outside of the forest that contained her home. She sat down and decided to let her tears flow free, her body racking with each sob she gave. Her crying only served to get worse when intrusive thoughts began to form, of what would have happened if she had stayed in the Gloomy Doomies' campsite.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed by the time she heard the galloping hoofsteps of her friends approach her. She looked up, her orchid-colored eyes bloodshot as she turned her head towards them.
"Izzy?" Pipp was the first to notice, swooping over to her side. "Why are you crying?"
Izzy swallowed a lump that was in her throat, finding it hard to answer the pop princess's question at first because the words refused to come out. Eventually, though, they did. "I told the- the Gloomy Doomies what happened, and..."
Everyone waited for the alicorn to finish her explanation. They didn't need much, however, to know that whatever had happened in the time that they left was bad enough to have left Izzy in emotional distress.
"They...were upset." Izzy's ears folded downwards. "I was afraid they were gonna start attacking me, so...I teleported away after giving an apology."
Sunny held a hoof to her mouth. Zipp and Hitch's eyes widened in unison. And Pipp's expression was one of empathy as she placed her hooves on Izzy's shoulders and touched ground.
"It's good that you explained things to them." the Pegasus soothed. "Just running off without saying anything wouldn't have made you any better than Mara."
Izzy merely stared at her friend wordlessly.
"You did really good, Izzy. I'm so proud of you." Pipp encased Izzy in a tight hug. "We can always go back when magic gets returned and explain everything. Don't worry."
The words were few, but the impact was tremendous. Izzy collapsed in a fit of sobs, returning the hug eagerly. Pipp winced as the tears began soaking into her fur, and she gave herself a mental reminder to clean herself thoroughly the second she was able to. But for now, she was willing to sacrifice her cleanliness to help out a friend in need.
A few minutes later, Izzy pulled away from the Pegasus, standing up and wiping her tears away. "T-thanks, Pipp. I really needed that." She gave her a smile before turning to the others. "So now that we have all the Unity Crystals, what's next?"
"Let's go back to my house." Sunny decided. "If we're going to put together the Crystals, then we're going to need to do some research on the aftermath and make sure we restore magic to everypony without any aftereffects."
Nods were shared among the rest of the group, and together, they galloped down the pathway, excitement fluttering about as they realized that their mission was so close to being completed that they could almost taste it. Soon, everypony would have magic again, and Equestria would become a better place to live, work, and thrive.
Back in Maretime Bay, the ponies who lived there walked with a sense of paranoia. Phyllis had been screaming nonstop about Sunny and her friends coming back to Maretime Bay and destroying it and everypony in it, capitalizing on the fear of her fellow citizens to create a sense of danger. By doing this, sales at Canterlogic had increased tenfold, with ponies buying everything from Pega-Periscope Goggles to Anti-Mind-Reading Hats, keeping in line with the "to be scared is to be prepared" motto that the company was known for. Phyllis had lost track of just how much money she had made in the span of a day and a half -- an unreasonable amount it was for such a short span of time, but whether it was reasonable or not hardly made a difference to her. Money was power, and she was soon on her way to becoming the richest pony in the town.
Sprout, meanwhile, was the only pony to not have bought into the ridiculous hype. It seemed that every few minutes he would have somepony barge in, wanting to file a complaint because they looked into the water and thought they saw an alicorn or a Pegasus or a unicorn staring back at them when it was nothing more but a trick of the eyes. As temporary Sheriff, he was forced to comply, and filed each complaint accordingly. By the time he had gone home on the day when Sunny and the others had left, he had been so wiped out that he didn't bother to listen to his mother's boasting. That had gotten him a good chewing-out.
Now, he closed the window and the blinds, his chance at getting some fresh air ruined by his mother yelling that Sunny and her friends would come "any day now". He was almost tempted to go out and drag them all back by the ears himself, but being the only cop in town at the moment found that desire dashed. As he sat at his desk, he picked up a pencil in his teeth, mindlessly writing out plans to stop his mother if she ever decided to attack the innocent ponies he had become acquainted with.
Something in his gut told him that was going to happen soon.
The difference was that he wasn't crazy enough to go out to the town square with a sense of certainty and scream his thoughts through a megaphone and scare innocent ponies. He was above that, and so, he continued to write out his plans, holding on to the hope that Sunny, Hitch, Izzy and whatever ponies they had brought with them would return to Maretime Bay sooner rather than later.