Forget Me in the Meadow

Whatever this was.

Silence gripped all of them, and nopony dared break it. Zipp, whose jaw was slacked, made the first response.

"Sunny?" She guessed that the orange pony didn't hear her, because she wore a mix of expressions ranging from horror to guilt to confusion. Instead, she turned to the sheriff.

"Hitch, what are we going to do? We can't leave her there." Her first instinct made her take a moment to think. 'Can we leave her here? Sunny's magic targeted her, but what did it do exactly? It doesn't seem like she was in control of it. What are we supposed to do now?' An argument came from the red unicorn, but the other hushed her. Everypony's eyes were on Hitch.

"The best thing we could do is put her in the holding cell at the station. There, she won't be a danger to anypony, and she'll be safe until she wakes up." Hitch responded, and Zipp nodded. She hesitantly approached the unconscious pony, though her hooves preferred to walk away. Looking at her now, the mare was no longer tense, her ears weren't pinned, and her expression seemed almost graceful. It was hard to picture her standing on shaky hooves, just trying to keep herself upright. 'It's like she's a different pony, I can't imagine what made her act like that.' Zipp put the thought aside, heaving her up. She hovered behind Hitch, as they headed back into town the same way they came.

It was difficult for Zipp to keep her focus while the other pegasus lay in her arms. Under all the dirt, there was in fact a grayness to her fur. It covered her whole body: her coat and eyes, her mane, and her soft feathers all had the same dullness. As her wings beat, the mare's head shifted to lean on Zipp's shoulder. Swallowing hard, she revisited old thoughts to distract herself. 'Where did this pony come from? Everything happened so fast, I didn't even ask for her name.' Quiet jingling made Zipp's eyes wander again. 'That jewelry... it doesn't look like any of Zephyr Heights traditional jewelry... though I guess I wouldn't know, I don't wear any. Perhaps I'll ask Pipp.'

It wasn't long before the ponies reached the sheriff station. Hitch held the door open for Zipp, and she carefully laid the mare on the fold-out bed inside of the holding cell, tucking the sheet around her. As soon as the cell door locked, it finally gave them some relief.

"Must be glad I tagged along with you this morning." Zipp tried to lighten the mood, offering a weak smile. Hitch sat beside his desk, rubbing a hoof to his forehead.

"I am actually, thank you for helping with this... whatever this was."

"Don't mention it. Besides, it wasn't just me, all of our friends came to the rescue out there." She pointed out, nodding toward the cell. Finally, she was able to reflect on what had happened, and raise questions that needed answers. It left her with an itch that needed scratching. "This turned out to be one big mystery."

"Well, then you are the right pony to try and solve it."

Zipp dug a hoof at the station floor. "You think so? I suppose I'll have to talk with Sunny and find out what happened with her magic too." She sat down, looking back at the door. "Though, it must've shocked her more than us, I'll wait. Did you get any other information from the unicorns that could help?"

The sheriff shook his head, which Zipp expected. "Nothing more than you know already. They don't know where she came from specifically, and she's not from Maretime Bay. I know almost every pony that moved here recently, but I don't recognize her."

"She's not from Zephyr Heights either. It may be a big city, but once you live in it for so long, it's like a small town too. And by judging her last interaction with unicorns, she's definitely not from Bridlewood." Zipp spoke her thoughts aloud, but, before she became too invested in her thoughts, she saw Hitch's hoof waving.

"Before you dive into this case, detective, go and get breakfast. There's a lot of time between now and later, and I know how you get about investigations." The sheriff advised with a knowing look, which made Zipp sigh. Before she could argue, he quickly added, gesturing to the cell. "And, she's not going anywhere, you can come back to check on her after."

"Alright, breakfast first," Zipp relented, heading for the door with a new energy. Before leaving, Hitch called after her.

"Would you mind checking in on Marble Swirl? That's one of the unicorns. It's best to give them some time to settle down, and I would check in on them myself, but I have duties here that I have to see to." Zipp gave a brisk nod to his request, then closed the door. Her first destination was Sunny's smoothie cart, hoping it was open.

-

Clouds that drifted lazily over the sea were dyed orange and red by the sun as it sank down behind the roofs. Maretime Bay had erupted with gossip nearly all morning until everypony knew about it. Anywhere she went, Zipp was questioned by the passersby for details. "It's classified," She said endlessly, invoking many protests, but it helped her get on with the day. Now that the town's buzz became a hum, she decided it was time to find Marble and talk to them. In order to locate them, she went to the only unicorn who knew all the unicorns from Bridlewood. Izzy trotted beside Zipp, humming a string of tunes.

"They like to spend a lot of time alone," Izzy said. "I've spent some time with them, but in Bridlewood lots of unicorns wanted to do things alone. Luckily, now that we have magic again, everypony is coming together!" Zipp grinned at Izzy's enthusiastic skipping and her greeting ponies as they walked by.

"Do you know the other unicorn too?"

"Of course, she and Marble are inseparable. They live together near the town square." Izzy replied, pointing a hoof in the direction. Zipp gestured for her to lead on. After a fair amount of walking, they arrived at the doorstep of a cozy looking home. When Zipp knocked, she listened as hoofsteps approached, then the door opened. A skeptical face answered, before quickly softening upon them. Izzy, however, wore a big smile.

"Cherry Berry, am I glad to see you!"

A timid call came from inside. "Cher, who is it?"

"I'm glad it's you, Izzy, and Zipp. Thank you for helping us earlier, come on in. I've started some tea if you want some." Cherry invited, stepping aside. Zipp dipped her head, entering after Izzy. She saw Marble peeking out from behind a wall to see who was there, before they eagerly came to greet them.

"We're actually here to see how both of you are doing, if you're willing to talk about what happened." Zipp announced, settled onto a chair in the living room while they took the sofa. After the tea was poured, Marble shared first.

"There isn't much to add. I like watching the sun rise so we went down the path this morning to watch it. Cherry saw the pony before I did, coming up the road." They began, touching their teacup gingerly. "She looked bothered, and I don't like confrontation very much, so I thought we'd just pass her, but it only made her angry. I didn't know if she needed help, honestly! After that, well... it's like she was stuck in the past, talking about magic like it was gone again."

When Marble finished, Cherry took their hoof, presumably to comfort them.

"Things have changed since magic was restored," The red unicorn used the moment to speak. "Ponies aren't enemies anymore, at least that's how it should be, right? But for some reason that pegasus still thinks unicorns are her enemies, and I can't help but wonder if that's an opinion shared by other pegasi." Her hard gaze drifted toward Zipp, creating a tension that gave her goosebumps. Her feathers yearned to fluff up in defense, and she desperately wanted to say, 'That's not true.' But it was best that she kept her composure.

"When I said, 'these ponies are my friends,' I meant it. And I assure you the other pegasi feel the same way." Zipp kept her voice calm.

The refute made Cherry's eyes lower. "You're right, I remember hearing that."

Izzy finally chimed in. "It's ok Cherry, we know that you ponies had a hard time today. That's why we came to see you, to make sure that you are ok." Both Marble and Cherry still looked on edge, which indicated to Zipp that they needed space to sort it out. They weren't able to give her any answers, and much of their perspective only put weight on the questions she had. As she and Izzy said their goodbyes, Zipp made a mental note to go back to the sheriff's office in the morning.

"Let's go, Izzy, dinner must be done by now. Sunny and Pipp will be waiting for us."