To Save our Legacy

On a beautiful morning, where the radiant summer sun shone unchallenged above the cloudless sky, warming up the morning seabreeze that filtered through the curtains of the open window, I found myself immersed in the brighthouse’s expanded kitchen, fixing up some early breakfast to start the day. A pair of slices of my infamous pan-tumaca being my go-to early morning pick-me-up. I never really bothered to explain the translation from my mother language to the ponies here, but hell yeah they made for a simple yet delicious breakfast. And it’s not like I was going to find any bacon, actual bacon, in your average supermarket… Did ponies here have actual supermarkets? They surely didn't back then, but who knew?

But I digress. Earlier in the morning, I had managed to wake up after a surprisingly good night’s sleep, and had to disentangle myself from a still slumbering Sunny’s grasp without disturbing her rest. I wouldn’t erase that peaceful smile she wore in her sleep for the world. No nightmares plagued my dreams this time thankfully. I had slept much better than the last couple of nights in the wild and the brig. A fluffy pony snuggled to your side will surely do the trick.

‘Well, at least where my state of mind is concerned. My back isn’t exactly agreeing with my choice of position’ I mused to myself. Resting with half your body dangling from the bed isn’t exactly what most physiotherapists would recommend for your back’s long term health.

Still, I had a pleasant dream at least. A shame Luna wasn't around to actually remind me of what it consisted of. We had some wild times together back then with the crazy stuff my human mind could conjure. Ponies, even immortal ones, were simply too innocent…

All in all, I felt refreshed and ready to tackle what I hoped wouldn’t be a long day like the previous one.

As I was set on my cooking, adding the last of the squashed tomato to the toast, and mentally sorting my daily goals for that day, I heard the telltale clopping of hoof steps approaching me from behind as the mystery pony descended from the ramp and into the main hall. A quick look to my left revealed the mystery pony to be a drowsy-looking Izzy, wearing a drooling, sleepy face and a grave case of bed mane obstructing most of her face.

After surprisingly finding me standing against the kitchen table, considering the amount of mane covering her line of view, she approached me at a half-asleep pace.

“Mmmmmmorning, Alex...” She tiredly groaned in slurred greetings, her long mane remaining in disarrange to partially cover her drowsy eyes and the big yawn that followed. For a moment, I thought she was going to bump into the kitchen counter.

Thankfully, that didn't end up being the case. Coming to a stop at my side, she caught a whiff of my breakfast. Her hunger cramps worked her mind into a similar goal. With a shine from her horn, she opened the fridge and pulled out a gallon of milk and a banana. She repeated the process, this time pulling a cereal box labeled ‘Crispy Hooves.’

‘Damn, that’s a creepy name for a cereal brand.’

“Guten Morgen!” I enthusiastically greeted her back, tussling her disheveled mane. “I see you aren’t an early riser, eh? Yeah, I can’t blame you. I used to set like, five or so alarms to make sure I actually got up on time for college.” I joked while recalling the good old days back on Earth.

Who am I kidding? They’re trash compared to the times I spent in Equestria.

Izzy, drowsily humming in acknowledgment, started slicing the banana with her telekinesis and depositing it along with the cereal into a bowl full of milk. “Yeah well, that’s what you get for being an independent artist!” She suddenly blurted out with raised spirits. “A visionary of the subtle arts, such as myself, never has to get up early if they don’t want to.” After a few moments of haphazard mixing, she trotted her way to the island and took a seat on one of the tall stools. With a hungry look in her eyes, she started wolfing down her chosen breakfast after taking a seat beside me.

Feeling like messing with her, I decided to tease a little. “Well, there’s a thing I always say to aspiring artists…”

“… Yeah?” She asked with a curious tilt of her messy head, her mouth full of half-chewed breakfast deliciousness.

I cleared my throat and switched to an asian accent “Venti matcha, with two pump’ classic syrup, please.” I remembered that video from Earth and just couldn’t resist.

With an offended snort, she threw the banana peel at me. I half-seriously raised my arm to defend myself, snickering at her reaction.

However, her mock offense promptly evaporated by expression touring a bit sour. In a bored tone, she softly commented. “Meh, unicorns weren’t exactly interested in my crafting back in Bridlewood. Actually, they had NO interest in any kind of art, apart from the biweekly poetry sessions at the Crystal Tea Room.” She sulked for a bit, speaking of her hometown below the canopy of the renamed Bridlewood Forest. “We were just a big bunch of boring, superstitious ponies, with barely any spark to brighten our way...”

My heart went out for her. “Wow, that must have been hard for you, being so energetic and…” I didn’t exactly know how else to refer to her at that moment, fearing I would speak out my lane and upset her. Also, my mind still wasn’t at its fullest after recently waking up.

“Annoying?” She finished for me, her ears dropping alongside her mood.

I didn't waste a second to firmly correct her. “Oh no, Izzy, that’s so incredibly far from the truth.” I clarified, leaving behind the half-chewed slice of toast to reach her side. “Believe me, I’ve met many annoying ponies in my time, and I can assure you that you’re nothing remotely like them. In fact, I think Equestria is desperately going to be in need of more of your enthusiasm in the coming days. After all, you and the girls have an important mission, as I told you all yesterday.”

Bending my knees a bit in front of her, I sympathetically messed with her mane, eliciting a small, thankful giggle from the sleepy unicorn.

“Thank you.” She offered me her warmest smile. We shared a tender moment for a bit, which I promptly crashed by booping her snout.

Crossed eyed, the need to sneeze overcame her surprise, filling the kitchen with the sound of a horsey snort.

“Hey…” She weakly proteste, rubbing her itchy nose with her fetlock.

“That’s what you get for being so adorable.” I snickered at her offended pout, rising back on my feet to resume my breakfast.

“Ha!” A very proud Izzy got off her seat and fell into an alluring pose. “Were you expecting any less?~” She purred with a healthy dose of bedroom eyes, only for her disheveled mane to cascade back down her forehead and grant her a striking resemblance to the girl from The Ring.

“Ugh. Can’t a mare flirt properly anymore?...” She complained, blowing the rebel strands of blue with purple hints at the end back into their proper place.

“Points for effort though.” I chuckled at her failed number, earring yet another pout from the purple mare.

I liked Izzy. From the very short time I had known her, I found myself enjoying her presence. She was fun and a bit loopy, and had that sassy touch that I really enjoyed in the world of innocent, naive ponies. Her shameless advances, albeit in a joking manner, gave her a distinctive charm which I had only glimpsed in a scarce number of ponies. Also, I had to compliment her looks. She was actually a smidge bigger than your average unicorn which, considering the size difference between your average human and this world's equines, only worked to earn points in my list. The way she styled her mane, not the sorry nest of vultures that she was currently wearing, reminded me more of what a human woman would sport than a typical pony-styled mane.

And yes, she had a nice rear, it had to be said.

Once she had fought to bring some semblance of order into her messy mane, she followed my example and returned to her breakfast. “Eh, I guess you’re right. Now that everypony seems… you know, alive and more willing to try new things, I’m sure I can steal their breath away with my work!” She pumped her hoof in victory. A second later, her eyes widened in realization. “Oh! That reminds me, I need to make you a friendship bracelet! Something like this!” She twisted said hoof to show me hers. A simple string bracelet decorated with numerous gems of various sizes and colors.

“Sure thing, Izzy, I’ll make sure not to lose it.” I agreed with her proposal.

‘Not gonna lose it like I used to do with the ones Pinkie used to make me. Faust, that really angered her…’ I remembered with a full-body shudder. Angry Pinkie was always bad news.

We continued munching on our breakfast for a few minutes, a tranquil silence settling between the both of us, only interrupted by the distant sound of the waves crashing against the cliff on which the brighthouse stood and our hearty munching.

Another set of clopping hooves perked our ears and made us both turn our heads towards the kitchen entrance in unison. Sunny was now approaching us with her own messy bed-mane and a warm, greeting smile. “Morning guys… oh! Is that tomato toast, Alex? It smells delicious.” She greeted me while sniffing the air.

“Sure is, Sunny.” I called back with a wave. “Want me to fix some for you?” I offered, returning the smile while pointing to the counter behind me.

“Mm mm.” She politely shook her head no. “Thank you though. I have to open the smoothie stand in a couple of minutes anyway, I’ll have some breakfast there. Izzy, are you still pla….” She started to ask her friend when a knowing look from the unicorn froze her solid.

Izzy coyly turned to look back and forth between us, a mischievous smirk on her features.

‘Oh, I know what you're thinking, you cheeky little…’ I mentally snickered, narrowing my eyes in a similar fashion to hers.

Sunny also understood the meaning behind the expression and dryly countered with a deadpan look, “Izzy… no.”

She couldn't hold it any longer. “Pfffft hahaha! Come on guys, I was kidding!” The cheeky unicorn burst into laughter.

Sharing a similar humor, I decided to roll with the joke, “Don’t you worry Izzy, I’ll save you a spot for tonight.” I proposed with a seductive look and a naughty wink.

Izzy was more than willing to play along. “Oh myyyy.~” She purred. “Sorry honey, but today I’m leaving for Bridlewood to gather the last of my things. I plan on returning before Saturday morning, though. I don’t want to miss the royal parade. After that, weeell…” Having finished her breakfast, she moved to place her bowl in the sink, making sure to noticeably and shamelessly brush her flank and tail against me on her way, gifting me with a good look at… well, everything.

‘Such a tease…’ I mused to myself with a roll of my eyes.

“Ahem!” A sharp cry from Sunny dissolved the playful atmosphere. “Well, that’s great, Izzy.” SHe addressed her unicorn friend. “We’ll be waiting for you to return. What about you, Alex? Any plans for today?” She inquired with a faint blush on her cheeks. I quickly washed the dirty plate and left it to dry, returning my sight to her, barely containing my mirth.

“I was thinking about taking a stroll around town, see if I can familiarize myself with the layout… and also cause a panic attack for Hitch to handle, hehe.” I rubbed my hands evilly, thinking back to what happened yesterday morning. However, something Izzy had said suddenly clicked.

“Wait.” I called for the unicorn before she could exit the premises. “Izzy, what did you mean by ‘royal parade’?” I asked the mare, slightly startled at her particular choice of words.

“I was talking about the royal farewell parade for Zipp and Pipp. You know, since they’re leaving their home at Zephyr Heights’ palace and… well, being royalty and all, I'm sure the queen will have planned some…” It was then that the realization struck hard. “Oooooh, hehe…” She rubbed her fetlock nervously, averting her sight to everywhere but my raised eyebrow. “Yeah… perhaps we forgot to mention that little detail…” She let it drag on, an embarrassed smile appearing on her face while she lowered her gaze after seeing my absolutely shocked reaction.

I was far from happy at their ‘little mishap’. “A little detail, Izzy?! Having two princesses in front of me without me knowing is a little detail to you?!” I sharply turned to the other mare in the room, slightly startling her. “Sunny, why didn’t you tell me about this?!” I demanded, accusingly pointing a finger at her.

With a nervous chuckle she answered while rubbing her withers. “Well, we thought it was better for them to tell you. I-I mean, I know for a fact that Zipp doesn’t like being treated like royalty, but I’m not sure about Pipp. P-Perhaps it slipped her mind?...” She tried with a nervous grin which lasted but a second against my furious scowl. “Please don’t be angry at them, Alex, there was a lot going on with your arrival and the new brighthouse!” She pleaded.

Not wanting to make a world of it, I sighed and let it go. “Fine, just… please, don’t keep these things from me. I need to be aware of everything that’s happening around here. The fact that there’s actually a royal family that isn’t from the alicorn dynasty is something I really, really need to take into account.” There weren’t any plans for establishing another royal dynasty last time I checked, nor any family had risen to claim the privilege in the short power vacuum during the transition to Twilight's takeover of the thorne. It seemed the pegasi had tried to take the matter into their own hooves and become completely independent from the rest of the country. That was the only reason I could come up with for the pegasi to establish a new government.

Leaving that huge piece of information to later digest, I put my plan in motion. “Well, no matter. I’ll be on my way now. I’ll see what I can find around town.” I explained, earning approving nods from the mares. “I'm also going to need a job if I’m going to fully integrate myself into pony society here… and no, Sunny, I’m not going to accept charity or anything like that. I have more than enough skills to make myself useful.” I sharply cut her off before she could protest.

‘I’m a graduated Biologist, and a doctor in Bioarchanology with a fair number of years of experience in the field. I think that’s enough to find me something, even if it’s just loading boxes… please don’t let it be loading boxes, my back hurts enough already.’

Sunny was NOT happy with my rebuttal, but seeing my will unwavering, she caved in.“Fiiine, good luck with that, Alex. If you don’t manage to find anything, come see me at the smoothie stand and we’ll think of something, alright?” Sunny said while trotting her way out of the kitchen and up to the bedroom, most likely to fix herself up a bit before leaving.

Seeing no reason to deny it, I thanked her and wished her a good day. Repeating the same with Izzy and wishing her a safe trip, I strode out of the doors and into the beautiful morning.

I took a deep breath, enjoying the salty taste of the seaside breeze, the raw purity of the air a trait I welcomed in earnest once I had arrived in Equestria after years of breathing the polluted air from my home world.

With barely a cloud in sight, the blue sky stretched all the way to the horizon beyond the sea to the east and behind the tall peaks of the Zephyr Range. The gentle, salty breeze from the endless blue lazily rocked the leaves that adorned the nearby trees. Laid before me was the dirt road I would take to once again reach the town. With a tiniest bit of apprehension, I set off at a leisurely pace, admiring the unfamiliar flora that littered the sides of the road. Small critters stuck their heads from the foliage, their foraging momentarily interrupted by the threat of a big, unfamiliar creature nearby.

At this time in the morning, many ponies had already begun their day, hurrying on their way to work, opening up their stalls, foals in small groups scampered on their way to school, their parents calling for them to slow down.

Just an average morning in an average town.

I felt bad for having to ruin that normalcy again, but I really needed to take a look around, either for a job or something else that might help me in my most pressing goal. I still was planning on leaving in search of clues. I had to check the state of the capital amongst many other things. Perhaps one of the princesses had managed to survive after all this time…

Who I wished it would’ve been was as obvious as day, a vain hope as they came.

‘I need to be sure about this. The situation regarding the Unity Crystals has drastically changed, and I need to be really, really careful. The ponies are only just starting to retreat from the cliff edge. I cannot jeopardize that.’

I crossed the arch that marked the entrance to the lower level of the seaside town, the lingering ponies quickly taking notice of me. Fortunately, this time there were no panicked ponies running away screaming nor were there any hastily closing-up doors or windows awaiting me. The ponies around me tensed up and chose to give me a wide berth, but remained mostly calm and collected. With a friendly smile, I chose to ignore their behavior. I was more than used to it but then, and they were sure to come around, eventually.

Passing by the local cinema and the market, I took one of the side roads towards the second level. I managed to remember the way to Hitch’s office, choosing to now take a closer look at the ‘Wanted’ poster in the front wall of the building. Still proudly displayed in the forefront, the photo of a red-furred earth pony with a golden mane defied the bystanders around them with its angry leer. Scribbled under it was a reward, advertised for any information on his location, and a bigger reward for his capture. The list of his infractions was surprisingly long.

‘Numerous public order offenses, damage to private property, corruption, abuse of a position of public trust, conspiracy to defraud, illegal manufacturing of dangerous weapons… Damn, this guy’s got it rough… Sprout Cloverleaf, huh? Well, I’ll certainly keep my eyes open for you.’

Leaving behind the wanted poster and a mental note, I pushed the double doors open and entered the office, only to find Hitch lazily sitting back on his chair while absentmindedly fooling around with the desktop telephone in his hoof, his distracted humming abruptly stopping at the sight of my unamused face and raised eyebrow. He sheepishly returned the telephone to its rightful place and gave me an embarrassed smile. “Hehe, slow morning, I guess. Not much to do around here.”

“I can see that.” I drily answered while looking at the small cell where I spent my first night in town. It was currently unoccupied, and would remain as such if I could help it.

Searching around the office, I made my intentions known. “I remember from yesterday that you had a map of the town somewhere…. ah, there it is.” I found the map hanging on the wall beside the drawer. I moved to stand in front of it while signaling for Hitch to come closer.

“You need something from it?” He spoke with a questioning head tilt.

“I was planning on taking a walk around town and familiarizing myself with my new surroundings. Do you mind pointing out to me any locations you think I should know about? You know, things like the hospital, bank, town hall, whatever you think is worth checking out.” I replied while trying to memorize the town’s layout. It seemed to be composed of three levels, the highest one containing the Canterlogic facility as well as… some kind of museum? And a thermosolar power plant too. I would’ve thought they’d have preferred to harness power from the wind or the sea considering where the town stood. The lowest level seemed to connect with the beach that surrounded the entire bay.

Horseshoe Bay and the city that once bordered it had been a preferred tourist destination as well as the second most important trading port with Northern Essia. Whatever remains of it had been erased by the ages, and now the coastal town which only occupied a third or so of the semicircular inland indentations was as much civilization as you would find. Although not stipulated as such, the humongous trading port had given past to a ridiculous harbor barely able to fit two small vessels. The skeleton of the late city was still distinguishable from the artificial looking protuberances of land at the southern end of the bay, built by the very same settlers to fit the expansion of the coastal metropolis.

A metropolis that once housed over a hundred thousand souls. By what I could discern from the map, Maretime Bay could fit five thousand ponies give or take.

Some of the icons in the legend used for different elements of the map seemed different to what I was used to. With Hitch’s assistance, I created a mental checklist of places I should visit to get myself started.

“Thanks a bunch, sheriff, I’ll check out those places as soon as I can.” I offered a thankful nod once I had absorbed the layout. “Also, I was planning on getting a job. I’m gonna need the bits if I’m going to pay rent.” I added as I finished memorizing the individual locations and planning a route.

“What rent? I don’t remember Sunny saying anything about that.” Hitch curiously inquired. It was true, she hadn’t mentioned the need for any monetary compensation, but I still felt like I should at least pay for some of the household expenses if I was going to be staying with her.

“I’m going to try to convince her to allow me to pitch in with some of the expenses, like groceries and such. I’m also going to need certain things to help with my investigation and planning, whatever research material to crack those crystals while open… metaphorically.” I reassured the sheriff when I saw his big eyes widening in concern. The memory of the room they were hosted brought an idea to mind. “Now that I think about it, how about installing some cameras in the crystals’ room in the brighthouse? Wouldn’t hurt to have them under surveillance, right?”

Hitch nodded in agreement. “It’s a good idea, I’ll see if I can get my hooves on more of them to install them around the brighthouse too… with the girls’ permission, of course.”

“I don’t want to catch one of them pointing at me from behind the bathroom cabinet or something like that.” I joked. His flustered expression was very amusing.

With an annoyed huff, he returned to his desk. “Yeah right, like I have nothing better to watch. I’m gonna get started with my paperwork before doing my rounds. I’ll see you this afternoon.” With a parting wave, he sat back on his desk and started to look over some files.

Chuckling in amusement, I said my goodbyes and began my tour around town, the town hall my first destination.

‘Let’s see… All the way up the street and to the left, and I should arrive near the town hall. Better try and get some sort of citizenship. I’m still technically an Equestrian citizen, but that’s going to be a bit hard to demonstrate.’

Judging from the reactions I got from the ponies, none of them seemed to know who I was. Only Sunny and Miss Cloverleaf had sniffed out my identity. I thought it would be better if I just registered as a new citizen until I could prove who I really was, if I ever got the chance to do so.

A new beginning didn't sound that bad if I’m being honest. My backpack was bursting at the seams with my previous life. The notion of preserving the important stuff and discarding the rest to begin again was truly tantalizing, especially considering that my chances of returning to the past were below zero. If we hadn't had enough time to properly plan my journey forwards, it goes beyond saying what came out from the one back to the past.

While on my way to the town hall, I found myself on the receiving end of a multitude of cautious and wary faces, the majority of them from earth ponies, but the few pegasi and unicorns I crossed paths with didn’t extend to me anything better.

'Well, at least they are suspicious of me and not of each other. Better that than the alternative, that’s for sure.'

As I was about to turn left at the end of the main road, I walked near a group of mares who seemed to be trying out different sunglasses from a nearby stand, the unamused face from the salespony speaking volumes. One of them, an earth pony with pale yellow fur and a pink mane and tail, quickly took notice of me and regarded me with a disgusted look, as if I had strangled her puppy or something. It caught by surprise.

‘Woah, her color scheme reminds me a lot of Fluttershy’s, but that scowl she’s giving me in no way resembles my friend. Sorry if my existence offends you Karen, but you’re gonna have to deal with it.’ I mentally scoffed. I only spared her a blank side look and leisurely stepped onto the side street.

What awaited me once I reached my destination could be summarized as a tedious hour of paperwork. After a comical entry into the town hall, where the staff members armed themselves with staplers and pencils of various kinds in a cute effort to fend me off, I was directed to the Council representative for civil affairs, A quick explanation of why she had never seen me or my kind before, she granted me a temporary residency permit until a more permanent solution could be found.

After that, I decided to check out the bank. I had to retrace my steps and reach the mid-section of the lower level. On my way, I passed in front of a small two-storey building, seemingly undergoing heavy renovations. Its bright pink façade was a striking sight, with two large ‘M’ letters stylized like musical notes decorating the main entrance, in addition to a small sign protruding from one end, advertising whatever business it would soon become.

‘What’s this? Some kind of music store?’

Intrigued, I decided to ask the earth pony standing nearby, nervously observing the renovation efforts with jittering hooves.

Her coat was a light turquoise, while her mane and tail were two shades of red and magenta, her cutie mark depicting a horseshoe with a nail polish brush inside. She seemed on edge, darting her eyes around the facade, possibly looking for imperfections in the building’s front-facing side.

“Excuse me, mind telling me what this new store is supposed to be about?” I softly called to her, trying to not scare her.

I was met with partial success, as she jumped from my voice and quickly turned around to search for its origin. Her eyes turned to pinpricks at the sight of me, now looking ready to bolt at any second. Thankfully, she quickly regained her bearings and, with a gulp and a shake of her head, she addressed me in a more-or-less calm voice.

“Oh, hey there…” She nervously greeted me. “Sorry for the jump, I guess I was a little too absorbed in my work, hehe. What was your question again?” She inquired, looking more relaxed now that she saw I wasn’t showing any aggressive behavior.

“I was just wondering what this new store is about. It looks like some kind of music shop?”

With a polite giggle, she corrected me. “Oh no, no. This is being refurbished into a mane salon, and a karaoke stage for anypony willing. I’m actually going to start working on it as soon as it’s finished, I was just checking that everything was going accordingly…” She finished while returning her attention back to the building.

‘A mane salon? I could really use a haircut myself soon, my hair’s getting a bit too long for my taste. Thank goodness the stasis stopped all bodily functions; I can only imagine what I would have looked like after hundreds of years of my hair growing non-stop.’ I chuckled at the disturbing image.

“Well, I’ll be sure to remember. I might need to swing by soon anyway. I guess I’ll see you around… um…”

“Jazz Hooves, a pleasure to meet you.” She introduced herself, extending a hoof.

I grabbed it with my hand and introduced myself with a shake. “Alexander, but just call me Alex, or ‘the new guy,’ whatever you prefer.” I jocked with a smile, eliciting a small giggle from her. “Well then, I’ll let you resume your worrying over the renovations. Still a lot of things to be done, I’ll wager. I’ll see you around, Jazz.” I said my goodbyes while restarting my march down the road.

“See you soon!” She reciprocated with a vigorous wave of her foreleg. Not a bad start, considering my previous encounters with ponies.

Now with a livelier step, I continued with my tour.

Another day of being Sunny Starscout, another day spent at the smoothie stand. Not that it was a bad thing or anything, but today was being, well…

“Uuuughh, what a boring daaayyy…” I moaned to myself while tiredly laying against my stand’s counter, a cute, wheeled stand, it’s wooden frame painted in shades of aquamarine and touched of white with a huge, custom-made sign in the shape of a smoothie atop of it to attract thirsty customers. I had run it since my humble origins selling lemonade when just a filly, and I’m proud to say it bloomed into a successful enterprise. I was very fond of it, and more than happy to attend my fellow townsponies with a fresh, healthy drink, more so now to fight against the summer heat.

That was the norm for me. However, that day my fruit delivery was late for some reason, and without any fresh ingredients I couldn’t open up shop. It broke my heart to send away my usual customers, but I simply had no fresh produce to use, and I wasn’t gonna sell them cupped ice!

So now, the only thing I had left to do was to wait for my fruits and veggies to be delivered while slowly getting cooked under the scorching sun.

Well, perhaps I was exaggerating a little, but I really disliked having nothing to do while watching everypony go around their day, busy with their jobs or whatever else they were doing.

Bored to tears, I decided to check my phone to see if there was any news regarding the girls. Now that they were all away in their respective hometowns, I could only chat with them through the group chat we had created for us. WIth a longing sigh and wished I had them here.

‘I could really use a bit of conversation right now. Even after reuniting the crystals, I still haven’t made any more friends in town. I miss the girls…” I lamented, downhearted and bored. Not a healthy combination.

My mind went to the memories of my friends. We were a small bunch, and we had barely known each other beyond our trip around Equestria, but after all we had been through, I wouldn’t change a thing. It feels great to be able to share your passions, your fears, and your wonders with somepony else who you can trust will listen to and support you.

A buzz from the phone brought me out of my daydreaming. It was the pegasi sisters.

11:34.Hey there Sunny. How’s everything back at the fort?

11:34. Nothing new around town. Just waiting for my fruit to arrive. Seems the delivery pony has forgotten about little ol’ me. 😞

11:34. Sheesh, sorry to hear that. Must be a bummer.

11:35. Hey Sunny, I just remembered. I have, like, a 1000 phones I’m not using at the moment back home. Think I should bring one for Alex??

11:35. That’s a great idea Pipp!!! Thank you so much!😍😍

11:35. Anything 4 u Sunny girl 😊 I’ll be sure to pack a few for him to choose. Just hope he doesn’t mind the decoration.😝

11:36. We’ll talk later Sunny; we are now in the middle of packing the rest of our things. And knowing my sister, that’s going to take a while….

11:36. HEYY!!

11:36. 🤣🤣

11:36. See you back at Mbay Sunny. Good luck with the smoothies.

11:36. Bye Bye Sunny girl. 😘

11:37. See you soon girls!! 😊😊

I turned off the screen, my mood now much brighter thanks to them. With literally nothing else to do, I kept glancing left and right looking for the delivery pony.

‘It’s almost midday and still no sign of my delivery! Most ponies have already eaten breakfast by now! I know Freshy Mix is taking the afternoon shift, but still…’

A weird figure in the corner of my eye suddenly caught my attention. Twisting my head, I saw my new human friend casually walking near the railings. He seemed to be vividly taking in the sights, a calm smile on his face and his eyes filled with curiosity.

‘He looks so happy and peaceful… I mean, that’s great news! I thought the ponies here would give him a hard time. He already has enough to deal with as it is...’ I bit the inside of my cheeks. ‘I hope he isn't trying to bottle things up. We all know how that ends up.’

I was about to get his attention when one of the old unicorn containment traps suddenly appeared from the ground sensing his proximity. The color drained from my face. I thought all of them had been deactivated!

Pushing myself up the counter I tried to warn him. “ALEX!! WAIT!!!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Thankfully, my warning rang true as I saw him taking a big jump back and landing in some kind of cheap ninja defensive position. Though the initial scare, I had to admit he looked very funny like that.

Practically sensing his distress from where I stood, I left the stand and hurried towards him. He was clearly agitated, abandoning the comical pose at the sight of me and regarded me with a worried look.

“What in the hot-’n-spicy kentucky-fried fuck was that? I almost ended up jumping off the railing!” He loudly inquired with a piercing, annoyed voice.

I pointed towards the big X mark on the floor in front of us. “You need to be careful, Alex! That over there is an old unicorn containment trap! If you step on one of them, a metal box comes out of the floor and traps you inside! A-And considering your bigger height… oh my hoofness.” I then realized what could have just happened.

His anger rose exponentially after catching my explanation. “And why the actual fuck is that thing still active?! It could have split me in two!!” He was clenching his fists in rage. I never had seen him act like that. It was kinda rather scary, not gonna lie.

I sat on my rump and tried to calm him down. Placing a hoof on his clenched fist, I spoke softly. “I’m so sorry Alex. I-I thought all of the traps had already been deactivated! Oh my gosh! Y-you could h-have...” Instead of reassuring him I only ended up losing my composure, small tears lining the corners of my eyes at the gross image that my mind conjured.

I started to hyperventilate, terrible outcomes of what could have happened running wildly in my mind. But, before I had the chance to completely lose it, I felt a comforting touch on my scalp.

I raised my head, and through teary eyes, I saw him gently petting my mane, a more calm expression now adorning his features.

He got down on one knee, and held my head with both his hands, forcing my gaze towards his concerned eyes. Continuing his ministrations, he spoke with a soothing voice. “It’s fine, Sunny, it’s okay.” he softly apologized, moving to brush his fingers over my ears. “I’m sorry for lashing out like that. It’s just… I’ve had enough close calls in my life to start again now. I didn’t mean to scare you. Come on, let me see that beautiful smile of yours.” He asked while giving me one of his own.

His touch did wonders to help calm down my nerves; without his help. I wouldn’t have been able to think straight again for a while.

Now with my nerves settled, I could register the alien sensation on my mane and fur. ‘Mmmmm that… Okay, that actually feels great. I guess I’m gonna have to freak out more often, hehe.’ I mentally chuckled while leaning into his caress.

“Thank you, Alex, mmmmm…” I could help the tiny moan that escaped my lips. “I’m going to have a serious talk with Hitch about this. It’s dangerous for everypony on the streets.” I finally answered with the smile he was looking for. However, I didn’t make any attempt to move from where I was sitting, gently turning my head to guide his hands.

After a few more moments, I heard him chuckle, “Heh. I can see that your tail is wagging. I can guess you really like this, huh? These cursed soft hands of mine seem to create addicts wherever I take them…”

I couldn’t help myself. It felt really, really good. Making a great effort to extract myself from his caressing, I stood up to give him an embarrassed smile. “S-sorry about that, it felt really nice a-and…” Before I could begin rambling, he signaled me to stop with his hand.

“You’re good, Sunny. I did manage to cultivate a fun little club of sorts back in the day when it came to my hands. I guess you’re the founding member of a new club, huh?.” He reassured me while raising an inquiring eyebrow.

I could only giggle at the comment. I wasn’t going to pass up the chance, mind you.

Looking behind me, he caught sight of my work place and pointed to the stand. “Oh, isn’t that the smoothie stand you mentioned?”

“Yes, it is! Although I’m afraid I can’t prepare you one to try right now. The delivery pony bringing my order of fresh fruits hasn’t arrived and…” I contemplated while following his gaze. “You know what? I’m tired of waiting! I’ve been here all morning wasting my time for nothing!” My fruition manifested in hard stomp on the stony road. “I’m closing for now, and I’m going to let Freshy take the late shift, see if the delivery arrives by then. You and I are going for a walk by the beach, how does that sound?” I asked, bringing up my fearsome puppy eyes.

He didn’t need much convincing. “That sounds great, Sunny. I still haven’t visited the beach. Lead the way.” He motioned with his hand.

With a celebratory trot in place, I quickly closed down the stand, grabbed my things on the way out and began to lead him towards the entrance to the beach.

‘Oooh, I have sooooo many questions for him! This is going to be great, hehehe!’ I celebrated excitedly while making sure I was carrying my trusty notebook.

It took us a minute or so to reach the side path that led down to the beach. Sunny vibrated in excitement, a noticeable spring in her step as she cheerfully greeted everypony we passed by.

The cool breeze from the sea and the warm rays from the summer sun made for the perfect combination to take a relaxing stroll. A few families were spread out along the shore, the foals playing tag in the water or building impressive sandcastles with the help of their parents.

Not wasting a moment, Sunny turned to regard me with what I had learned to recognize was a fangirling expression.

“Hey, Alex! Miiiind if I ask you some more questions? There’s a lot to be learned from you, and I really, really, really, really want to know more about you, and Ancient Equestria, and your adventures with the Element Bearers, and…” She carried on while talking a mile a minute.

With calming gestures, I prompted her to slow down. “Now now, slow down, Sunny. I’m more than happy to answer all your questions, but…” I agreed with her request. However, before she had the chance to open her muzzle to retort, I continued. “I think I’m entitled to have some questions of my own answered, don’t you think?”

With a confused tilt of her head, she asked. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I’m sure there’s a very interesting story behind the reunification of the Unity Crystals, am I right? I also have a lot to relearn about current and past events, as well as how this new society of ponies works. I’m sure many things have changed in all these centuries. So, mind bringing me up to speed?”

With a vigorous nod, she started to retell the story of how she and her friends managed to not only find the crystals that, for many years, had been hidden away and the knowledge of their existence pretty much forgotten. With great pride, she also recounted how the journey to that point had also managed to bring her and her new friends together, and the rest of ponykind along with them.

However, a small piece of her story got my immediate attention. “You said that there was a stained-glass mural at the abandoned station in Zephyr Heights, and that it depicted three ponies, one of each race, and their respective crystals?”

“Mmh hmm! Although part of it was broken. That’s what led us to initially believe that there were only two crystals instead of three!”

‘Interesting… I’ll have to look into it. I wanted to visit Zephyr Heights anyway, see how it turned out so many years after its construction. A shame I hadn’t been there for the inauguration.’

I added yet another mental reminder to carry out such a visit to my growing list of things to look into. “Please, continue Sunny.” I urged.

She did so in earnest. Their journey reminded me a lot of something the girls and I would have been through in the past. It sounded like this one had been their inauguration journey, if you can call it that. But, at the end of her story, I had to abruptly stop our stroll along the coast. Speechless, I dragged my sight from the calm sea down to meet hers and shakily struggled to ask. “W-what did you just say?”

Feeling my change of mood, she nervously repeated the part of the story. “A-After the pieces of the portrait were joined together by each representative of the tribes, the unity Crystals buried under the rubble began to glow. Then, they rose to the sky, taking me with them. While I was dangling in the air, they started to revolve in circles around me, and I couldn’t really see well what was happening. Before I knew it, the crystals had stopped swirling, and they joined together above me, summoning a huge surge of magic followed by a beautiful aurora that stretched from the lighthouse towards the horizon. When I had finally been lowered back down to the ground, I could see the unicorns’ horns and the pegasi’s wings glowing, as magic finally returned to everypony. My friends called to me, and urged me to look at myself and… there they were, a pair of golden wings at my sides, and a beautiful golden horn on my forehead. Somehow, I had turned into an alicorn! I-I stayed like that for another hour or so, until they suddenly disappeared…”

I was left absolutely breathless, any semblance of thought coming to a screeching halt.

‘That’s not possible. That… is not fucking possible!’

“Alex, i-is something wrong?...” She nervously inquired, but I was barely able to respond.

“Sunny… what you are telling me… is impossible. That magic you just described, i-it shouldn’t… it can’t… the knowledge necessary for it, it s-shouldn’t exist.” I had to sit down, my legs suddenly feeling like jelly. I was having a very hard time coming to terms with what I had just been told.

“B-but, why not? It didn’t harm me or anypony else, it just came and went! Why do you say it shouldn’t exist, is it dangerous?!” She stepped back to stand in front of my sitting form.

I wasn’t able to answer her, the reason for it rang thunderously in my mind, erasing any other thoughts.

‘It shouldn’t exist… because I burned it all.’

Coming down from the vocational resort, I arrived at a rather private stretch of beach. It wasn’t very big, nor was it a big vacation spot either. Its prices made sure only a fraction of the population could afford it, if you catch my drift. A few hammocks were spread along the moon-shaped bay. In a pair of them near the northern end of it, laid two alicorn princesses. Well, ex-princesses to be exact. Chuckling at the image of the two greatest icons of Equestria’s pony population resting on their backs like your average tourist, I approached them from the side.

They were both taking in the sun, wearing comically large sunglasses whale seeping from some kind of tropical juice.

With an amused snicker, I greeted the sisters. “Now THAT’S how you rule a country!”

A giggle came from the older one. Taking off her glasses, she looked over her withers to greet me. “Not anymore, my little human. That’s your problem to deal with now.”

“Our sister is right, my friend. As you well know, we both stepped down to allow young Twilight to take up our former position of ruling Equestria. We thought it was past time for a change in leadership.” The youngest sister answered from her place without bothering to remove her glasses.

I gave a hearty laugh. After sharing a tender nuzzle with Celestia, I walked towards Luna’s hammock to repeat the gesture. “Yeah, I can see that you’re both enjoying retired life.”

“Why, yes! Now we get to live alongside our ponies. Just enjoying a normal life for a few more decades, and then we’ll die! Isn’t that exciting!!” She exclaimed with a bit too much joy.

Open-mouthed I could only ask. “….. for Faust’s sake Luna, that is way too depressing to even think about. Why are you so happy about something like that?” That had caught me completely off guard, recent… happenings souring the topic to unprecedented levels.

Behind me, Celestia rose to correct her sister. “What I think my dear sister is trying to say is that, for the first time in countless centuries, we have the chance to be, well, normal ponies. Ponies that live their lives, have fun, and find love… all things that our position as rulers denied us. We are the same as everypony else now, and now that we are no longer the sovereigns of this land and thus no longer bound to the sun and the moon, we shall pass away, as everypony eventually does. Although that doesn’t mean we’re in a hurry to do so, right Luna?”

“Oh, absolutely not, sister. We have spent many a year in our banishment and now is the perfect chance for us to experience life once again.”

That still sounded a bit too creepy for my taste, but I guess being immortal until your role is fulfilled will get you to think like that… A particular way of thinking I would grow accustomed to very quickly.

Shaking my head to refresh my thoughts, I told the sisters the true reason behind my visit.

“Well, as great as it is to see you again, I’m afraid this is not exactly a passing visit. I’m sure you have heard of the rising, um… ‘issues’ amongst the west coast settlements that are now spreading all over the country…”

With a dejected nod, Celestia confirmed my guess. “Yes, Alexander, we have read about the most recent developments in the newspapers, and have heard about it from a few of the local residents. I can’t imagine what might be causing them. My little ponies haven’t behaved like that since before my sister and I ascended to the throne…”

From the other side, Luna added. “‘Tis true that we find the recent news most disturbing. We cannot fathom how such rifts are spreading amongst our ponies. We now enjoy a new golden age, with the creatures of Equus once again joining together in peace and harmony. ‘Tis true our ponies don’t tend to deal well with sudden changes, but whatever the origin it might be, it is spreading far too fast for that to be the sole concern. Have you or your friends managed to find the cause, young human?”

“I’m afraid we haven’t, Luna. From what we can tell, it seems that many ponies have… how to say it… started to question their role in society, and have even begun to regard the other races with suspicion and mistrust.” That was as close as I could come with to try and describe what we had glimpsed from the general fog of unrest.

“It’s as if they’ve started to think that they are no longer necessary for Equestria to function… or they think they’re inferior. I’ve even heard whisperings that some have even started to see the ISIT program as a kind of replacement for whatever tasks the other races had to historically fill in. That’s absolutely not what I intended.” I strongly affirmed. “I firmly believe that each of the pony tribes and every other species on the planet has a role to play in the future of Equus, and no amount of technology I provide is going to sway my opinion on that. But… all that unfiltered suspicion, mistrust and apprehension…” Concern dripped from my very word, earning worried frowns from the alicorns at my side. “H-Have either of you ever seen anything like this in your time? We could really use any hindsight you can provide. It honestly feels like we’re starting to lose control of the situation…”

The sisters looked at each other, an uncertain expression adorning their features. After a moment of voiceless debate, they came to an agreement. Celestia incorporated from her hammock and motioned for me to sit beside her.

I obeyed and soon found myself surrounded by her wing in a one-sided hug.

“Very well, my little human. As it happens, there was a time, way before the three tribes united, when peace between us was indeed a fickle and fleeting concept. It was a time when greed and mistrust ended up costing many lives. Where our ancestors, blind in their greed and envy, committed the atrocity that brought an end to our home.”

I believe I couldn't have been more physically invested in her storytelling, giving her my one hundred and ten percent attention.

“Let me tell you the story of our birthplace, the Kingdom of Ustaryn…”