4 - The Great Rescue Pt. 1

Opal, you've got to wake up.

Everypony's waiting.

I'm waiting.

Opal woke up, having the most weird of the weird dreams in his life. The dreams of "insanity" as he call it, seem to happen even more frequently before. This time, Opal hasn't really woke up. He was dreaming. Opal hates dreaming while dreaming. That makes "dreamception" true. Sort of.

So now, he's dreaming with Princess Luna watching. Opal's eyes grew large as he saw Princess Luna in his dream.

"Opal Gemstone, your studies about humans are true," Princess Luna said, "your dreams tell about it."

"I haven't exactly remembered everything," Opal said.

"That is why you must meet me at the location of your old house," Luna said back, "Prince Opal Stoneheart Gemstone."

Opal suddenly jolts up awake. He looked at the time, 1AM. Opal looked outside, and Princess Luna is seen in the empty lot where his house was. He heads there, leaving a half-asleep Spike curious.

Princess Luna opened a trapdoor after Opal approached her. She gave Opal a book, which he seemed to recognize.

"So, remember this?" Luna asked, "You gave this to me once."

"I-I-I did?" Opal looked at Luna, "when?"

"Last month," Luna flipped the book open with her magic, knowing that he can't use magic yet.

Opal read the entry created by somepony named "Starlight Phoenix."

Opal, wake up.

It's me, Starlight Phoenix.

Can't you remember me?

Why did you marry Twilight Sparkle?

Hello? Opal?

Opal, I know you are sleeping.

This isn't a joke anymore.

Stop laughing, and listen to me.

Equestria is in danger.

You must listen to Princess Luna.

Wake up, now.

The gatekeeper will stay strong.

Opal?

We need you. Everypony needs you.

I need you.

Ponies need the day.

May Princess Celestia help you in this quest.

Twilight Sparkle, I wish you good luck for my friend.

The time is running short, Opal.

It's drawing closer.

The sky will be covered in darkness.

Your magic will be the key to everything.

Earth is where you'll head next.

This isn't a joke either.

Earth is where humans live.

I was human.

You're confused, sign of alertness.

The time's up.

Fifty.

Opal, you've got to wake up.

Everypony's waiting.

I'm waiting.

Opal stepped back after reading the last 3 sentences, as it exactly mirrored the dream he had in his dream.

"A human!" Opal closed the book, "A human wrote those words!"

"Ah, human it is. Lyra Heartstrings has read this words too," Luna picked up the book and placed it back and closed the trapdoor, "she might be your next clue."

"Hmm..." Opal felt magic, before finding himself back in the spare bed beside Ruby in the Golden Oak Library.

Opal felt like his mind will explode. Starlight Phoenix? Who is she? Some sort of human who can visit Equestria? Opal thought about the words she wrote.

'She tried to wake me up three times,' Opal started to put the pieces together mentally, 'and three is a number for most cutie marks, odd. She also said about humans. Which means Lyra can help. She knows a bit about them. Then she said it's not a joke two times. That makes five. Five, hours? Minutes? Days? Maybe months. Me marrying Twilight Sparkle?! This pony is a time traveller! But she also said to listen to Princess Luna, so the final clue lies in Lyra Heartstrings' knowledge about humans...Oh Sweet Celestia.'

'Twilight Sparkle is in trouble.' He lastly thought before fainting because of stress in finding out what next.

Twilight woke up in the good side of the bed, only finding Opal fidgeting around books centering about humans. She approached Opal, looked at the 3-paged thesis he was making, and looked at Opal.

"Did you even sleep yesterday?" asked Twilight, and she was ignored. "I'll take that as a yes."

Opal looked at Twilight before realising what he did, "Oh, God. What'd I do? I hardly even remember this things I did, I think."

'Great,' Twilight looked at the thesis and reads it. What surprise she had! The humans Opal had researched are the ones who specialized in magic. Twilight looked at Opal before realising he's asleep.

"Oh well," Twilight said, "He'll wake up soon. Now..."

Twilight began to move and sort the things Opal did. It took a little while without Spike, but when Spike woke up, he helped. The joy of service and reading.

After placing the last book, Opal woke up. Opal looked around, and facehooved.

"Princess Luna, please," Opal crazily said, "please next time call me when I'm NOT sleeping..."

Twilight giggled before noticing Opal walking outside and into the empty lot. Twilight followed him, much to her instincts. Opal opened a trapdoor, and threw the book he read outside, the pages leading into the one he read that night.

"Oh, oh dear. Starlight, I know that pony," Twilight thinked about her, while Opal stared at Twilight, "Ah yes! She moved out of Ponyville last Winter Wrap Up day! She was quite the adventure type."

"Did she lived here?" Opal asked.

"No, no. She lived in the outskirts, near the Everfree Forest." Twilight looked at Opal, "Don't tell me you're going to a memory-hunt."

"Well..." Opal straightened his posture, "I was told by Princess Luna at I should visit Lyra Heartstrings, whoever she/he is."

"Lyra? Ooh!" Twilight pointed at the bench where Lyra and Bonbon are sitting. "She's right there!"

Opal looked at the bench before facehooving, "Great."

Twilight called Lyra and she came with Bonbon to them Opal introduced himself, then Lyra tried to stand like a biped, only falling to her back.

"Honestly," Bonbon commented, "she always does that, ever since Starlight left."

"Heh." Lyra stood up again, "So, Opal, humans?"

Opal nodded.

"They're ape-like creatures. I don't know why," Lyra explained, "but they had magic! Like us unicorns! Maybe because of their 'technology' that made them stop using magic. But, if your claims are true, and this?"

Lyra levitated the book and read a small part of Starlight's entry.

"Yup, human! No one does that here! Except for you," said Lyra, "Except for you because you write lots of journals."

That nearly blew Opal off, before Scootaloo suddenly thrown a rock and the rock hit Opal.

Opal's memories shifted, and he remembered more, and his horn shifted from a normal fixed, into a broken horn that seemed to need to be healed, and Opal tried to ignore the pain.

"Uh..." Twilight pointed at Opal's horn.

"It-it's bad, ri-right? Owowowowowow..." Opal tried not to feel the pain, "OHGOSHITHURTS!"

Opal promptly fainted, leaving the nurse ponies take him to the hospital. Lyra, and Twilight looked at each other.

"Awkward," Lyra whispered, "What a sensitive pony."

Twilight chuckled, "Never heard him like that, I hope he gets well soon."

"He owe me lots of books," Lyra said, looking at the hospital where Opal currently is.

"Books?" Twilight raised an eyebrow, "What books?"

"Apparently one of his hobbies are creating poorly-grammared story books," Twilight raised her second eyebrow, "Yeah, books and papers for Mayor Mare. He basically went from 'mining' to 'writing' in just a day. His stories usually talk about you. And Princess Celestia."

"About me?" Twilight walked closer, "really?"

"Like he was in love with you," Bonbon added, "Yes he does!"

'So that makes sense, Starlight asked why he married me.' Twilight looked up, temporarily ignoring everything. 'Now, he doesn't know I love him back. Just not this time, not this time.

"Um... Twilight?" asked Lyra.

"Yes?"

"Why are you smiling?"

Twilight blushed, "I wasn't! I wasn't!"

"Ooh," Lyra said, "Somepony has a crush on him...!"

"No I don't!" Twilight tried to deny it.

"Yes you do!" Lyra teased back.

"No, I DON'T!" Twilight's shout was as loud as the Royal Canterlot Voice. "Wow, I didn't know my shout was that loud."

Twilight walked to the Library, leaving a jaw-slacked Lyra and Bonbon poking Lyra in the empty lot.

"Do you really have to, Twilight?" asked Spike.