Hitch's report of the derelict apple orchard intrigued all of Sunny's friends. None more so than Sunny and Izzy who eagerly jumped at the opportunity to learn the origins of the strange magic spells their pals had encountered.

After informing Maretime Bay of their intentions, the friend group set out for the abandoned town where the magic disturbances started. Zipp was on edge the entire time, feathers puffed around her neck in intense anticipation, while Hitch was just as wired.

Izzy felt unnerved seeing her friends so antsy; normally, she was the plucky, crazy one of the group but now they carried that title with their jumping at every noise. Their anxious energy was too much to be around, so Izzy gradually found herself at the back of the pack as they trudged through landscapes untouched for generations.

"This is a little anticlimactic," Izzy sighed. For miles, all she saw were either dead plants or overgrown ones. No magic, no mystery, no fun.

A tickle of wind bounced the curls in her mane and with it... "Find me..."

Izzy beamed. Hitch and Zipp had well informed her of the two words they'd heard over and over. Now, she was hearing it. Her eyes darted about, trying to find its source, and realized none of her friends had heard the faint cry.

Like helium escaping a balloon, the voice squeaked again, "Find me."

Izzy soon realized the analogy was accurate: behind her, standing solitary in the middle of a field, was a vibrant, blue balloon. It was frozen in the air, not rising, falling, or wavering in the breeze. Izzy's wide smile very quickly faltered. This wasn't fun anymore.

"I'm here," the balloon said, pulsing a white glow. "Find me... find us... we're this way."

The balloon started moving too quickly and, without thinking, Izzy took off after it. Her friends hardly had time to get her to stop; all Izzy had on her mind was catching the balloon and learning its secrets, learning who was behind all of this eerie magic.

She lit up her horn to encase the balloon in her aura, but no matter how hard she tried, her magic couldn't grip it. It was as if the balloon was emitting a field around itself to prevent capture. She'd have to use the old fashioned way.

Izzy lunged out her head, intent on grabbing the balloon's string in her teeth, and paid no mind to where the balloon was leading her.

She could hear her friends' warnings, their screams of desperation to get her to stop. But by the time she realized what they were trying to say, her hooves and the balloon had carried her over the edge of the cliff...