The walk to Maretime Bay was a lengthy one, but it gave Anon time to think between the questions of the mares and stallions. "It would be for the best if I kept my knowledge of this world a secret. Revealing it could raise too many questions, and Zipp probably wouldn't be satisfied by it and just get suspicious. Who the hell would believe their world was depicted in an alien TV show for children? What the hell is even up with that anyway? Part of me still doesn't believe that i'm walking around with THE Sunny Starscout and the rest, but... It all feels so real..."

Zipp smiled, stating "Quiet one, aren't you. Though, I guess it's a lot to take in... new world and all. It IS kinda strange that we all talk the same language despite that...", as the rest of the group blinked and nodded quickly at her words

Pipp gasped, stating "That's so truuuuee-a! Really, how ARE we even communicating right now!?" - before she flapped her wings, hovering beside anon as she stated "Honestly, there's so many questions we should have for you, but i'm just pulling a blank!"

Misty smiled in amusement to her friends, before sighing "When I was... Friendly with Opaline... She did teach me a bit about magic. As i've been telling you, Sunny." she stated, glancing over to the earth pony mare - who blinked and nodded with a grin

"It's always so fascinating when you get into that! Opaline may have been evil, but she knew so much about magic, more than any... Oh, uh, sorry, go on" she stated with a small blush and chuckle, Hitch giving her a fond grin as Misty looked down thoughtfully

"Opaline always said... In the old days, Equestria was so powerful, that most of the world just spoke its language anyway. But Opaline didn't just deal with our world. She had... Interdimensional portals. Rifts, that would bring her to other worlds! She made friends - or, uh, 'allies' in some, who had strange languages unknown to ponies. Apparently there were spells that could automatically translate them in a pony's head... Maybe something like that's happening with Anon..."

Zipp nodded with a frown, bringing a hoof to her chin "It makes sense. I never considered how strange it was that we could communicate with the ponies in Starlight Ridge... So we've got some kinda auto-translation spell working on him. I can dig it." she commented, before frowning "And Opaline had allies from outside this dimension... Greeeeat, i'm sure they're gonna be real happy to hear about what happened to her."

Pipp grimaced, stating "When you put it that way, it sounds like our troubles are only beginning...", as Hitch nodded uneasily.

"We'll have to be prepared." the yellow stallion commented, as Comet exhaled and commented "...Looks like I stumbled right in on a crisis, huh?"

Pipp glanced over to him, before chuckling with a grin "And the end of the last crisis! So, uh... Yaaay? there'll be lots of celebrations, i'm sure!"

Anon nodded with a smile, exhaling "Better than the alternative, I guess. With Opaline gone, hopefully we'll have peace for a little while...", as the others nodded slowly in agreement to that.

Pipp hummed, glancing down at her phone "Still a dead line... I can do a biiig interview of you when we get back to Maretime bay! I'll answer your questions, you'll answer mine, the world will get to meet this mysterious, handsome alien stallion... It'll be great!" she exclaimed, clapping her forehooves together eagerly, as Zipp chuckled

"Normally i'd be a bit reluctant, but... You know what, Sis? Sure! It'll be fascinating to hear more about a whole new world..." she commented, gazing over Anon in interest, as Sunny chuckled and added "I think we can all agree on that, Zipp."

Back at the castle, Allura stepped along the path - sniffing audiably as she gazed around, her wings extending as her pupils narrowed "I smell them... Those blasted ponies that took the nova charm out from under our noses. And yet there's something even more overpowering here..."

Her eyes narrowed, as she stepped onto some nearby dirt - carving a set of runic symbols into it with a claw, as Twitch blinked and hopped back, watching thoughtfully. It took only a few moments, before Allura narrowed her eyes and growled - light shining out from beneath her eyelids, as a glowing six-pointed star formed above the glyphs, a HUGE arrow pointing from it towards the together tree that destroyed Opaline's castle, with many smaller arrows pointing in all directions - before fading as the glow in Allura's eyes dimmed.

"Magic. And more of it than I would have expected... There is an object of GREAT power here." she commented - before frowning "And something else... Omnipresent... Hold on." she muttered, carving a few more runes into the soil, as a complex lattice of runes and letters began to form in hologram in front of her, her eyes narrowing briefly - before widening "Scrying AND mind magic!? Oh no you don't!" she growled

Twitch blinked and looked on in shock, as Allura growled and shook her head a few times, even slapping her own face once or twice with a growled "focus, don't let it win...", drawing another rune, before using her mind-controlling purr - the waves of magic from it reflecting from the rune, before striking her in her own face, as she growled an instruction to herself that even she would be unable to break - fighting mind control with more mind control, as she strained to retain her train of thought "Fashion... a rune to block... The mind magic and scrying spell surrounding us... Do not stop until... The effect is... Neutralized..."

She blinked, before smiling widely and straightening, her eyes widening as her irises glowed and she stated in a trance "At once, me." - walking over to a set of rocks with wooden, jerky movements as Twitch raised an eyebrow

The trip took a few more hours, but eventually the group would arrive at Maretime Bay - Misty grinning and turning her head back to the group, as she exclaimed "Aaand we're here! Tadaaah! Heh~" - blushing briefly, as Sunny smiled to her.

"Thanks Misty. Now, let's get Anon checked into the hospital. I'm sure it'll all come out fine, but we should always doublecheck... Oh, and Anon, just a biiit of advanced warning, ponies can be a little... Jumpy." - she grimaced - "We've been getting better, but, well... A few centuries of propaganda telling you to fear the unknown are hard to unwind."

Hitch grimaced, looking down in shame as he muttered "Tell me about it...", as Pipp hovered over to rest a hoof on his shoulder, smiling down at him - as he gave a brief smile back, the group slowly entering the town.

Within, various ponies blinked and rushed over in shock and relief - one mare exclaiming "Sunny! You managed to beat Opaline?", as a second shouted "What's the new creature?", a third exclaiming "Are we safe!? Is she gone!?"

Sunny blinked, before blushing "...Oh, right, Opaline's defeat is still new...", inhaling as she stepped forwards with a smile "Yes, Opaline was defeated. And I can't thank all of you enough! Things were close, and I almost lost, but then..." a few tears came to her eyes as she glanced down "I heard all of you singing. The... The Together Tree in Opaline's castle. It came to life. It TURNED on her! And, well, let's just say she isn't going to be a problem anymore!"

The ponies each blinked and cheered, as Sunny smiled "As for the new creature... It's a long story. One Pipp's going to explain to you all soon enough. But don't worry, he's friendly." she stated cheerfully, the crowd giving various nods and slowly dispersing

Zipp chuckled, nudging Anon's shoulder as she whispered "no way they'd be so quick to disperse if they knew where you REALLY came from~" in amusement - Anon blinking and giving a small laugh, as he nodded and replied "Very true. Very true."

Sunny grinned in amusement "Let's not push our luck, guys. Come on!", rushing forwards, as the others nodded and moved to follow her - it being a fairly simple walk to the Maretime Bay hospital, as the receptionist blinked and glanced up

"Hello, how can I--" the receptionist began, before his eyes widened "...Oh my gosh, Sunny! And all the rest of you! How can I help? Do you have any burn injuries? We've had a lot of them in the last day or two, all mild thankfully enough.." he commented, rushing forwards, as Sunny smiled and stated "Thankfully not. I shielded myself pretty well. We just need a little checkup on our new friend. He got hit by a glitching spell, and we aren't exactly sure what's gonna happen with him thanks to it..."

The receptionist blinked, before frowning and nodding "The effects of magic on the pony body are a mystery to us too, but when it comes to an exotic species like that, we have even less of a clue... Still, come on in! I'll make sure a doctor gets to see you soon enough."

Pipp nodded with a smile, dropping a card on the table "I'll cover this checkup." she stated simply, as the other mares and stallion followed Anon to the waiting area.

The checkup was simple enough. The mare that Anon ended up meeting did a few tests on his blood, and nothing jumped out. The usual blood markers were of course mostly irrelevant to anon, outside of a few special cases. It was good to have confirmation that Equestrian species needed the same minerals he did to survive - and apparently they had the same 'amino acids' and basic sugars, which basically translated to the doctor saying that food from this world would be just as digestable to a human as food from earth. So he wouldn't starve to death. Neat, that was one terrifying possibility he hadn't considered crossed off the list.

They did manage to check his blood magic levels, which were fairly low by pony standards, but still non-zero. Even if they were high, apparently that wouldn't lead to death - if anything it would improve health of basically any species... At the cost of mood swings, and magic-induced insanity at the high end. neat.

Once he met up again with the ponies on his way out, they all began heading toward the brighthouse, Sunny smiling "Sooo... I'm thinking that once we get to the brighthouse, we help you get comfortable and settle in, then the questions can begin! Where you come from! What you want to know about our world! What your species know about magic! Ours has, heh, kiiinda fallen behind in the last few centuries."

Zipp nodded with a frown "Everything was lost. It's a big shame.." she commented, as Izzy shrugged "I mean, the way we cast magic now doesn't match the records from the old days. So does it really matter?" she questioned thoughtfully

Zipp nodded "They could do really complicated things in the old days. At the very least, it'd be great to actually UNDERSTAND how all of this stuff works. So much knowledge was lost in the fall, we were sent back centuries... It's really tragic."

Sunny nodded with a sigh "That Opaline has a lot to answer for. And now she has, I guess." she commented, giving a small smile as the others nodded

Back at Opaline's castle, Twitch watched Allura work in a trance thoughtfully; her knowledge of magic always was impressive, and it looked like she was really wracking her brain to defeat... Whatever this thing was around them. Time after time, she carved something into a stone and tested it against her projection, before going to the drawing board. Eventually, she tested the projection one last time, the markers finally indicating that the external force was gone as Allura blinked - snapping out of it as she shook her head

"Ghhhh... Well that's disorienting." she muttered, before gazing down at the stone in her claws, chuckling "But at least now i'm safe. Stay close, Twitch. This stone will block the magic surrounding us. What it wants to DO is beyond me, but i'm not about to think that anything that would just randomly mindcontrol somecreature going through a portal has the best intentions."

Twitch raised an eyebrow at her, as Allura blinked "Well, neither did we! But it's not like I would want to meet a clone of myself and get brainwashed, hmm? We have our own goals. There's no hypocrisy in admitting your thirst for power."

Twitch nodded, as Allura inhaled "I'll make a second for you, we'll fashion them into necklaces... And then we'll follow that scent trail. I can still pick it up. It hasn't been that long..." she stated with a sniff, before moving to collect another stone and a piece of flint, Twitch nodding eagerly.

Finally, Anon and the ponies reached the Crystal Brighthouse - the prisbeam shining out of its top, as Anon exhaled in wonder. It seemed to change color as he walked - and not only that, but he could definitely see particles within it, flowing into the upper atmosphere. The show didn't do it justice, it was a sight to behold.

Misty blinked and glanced over, before smiling "Yeah... It is an impressive sight..." she commented, the others nodding as Sunny chuckled and replied "You can kinda get used to it, but sometimes you do remember just how good it looks."

Anon smiled - remembering his plan to play dumb, as he questioned "So what's the point of it? Just an amazing lightshow? It's pretty out of place when compared to the town.." - Zipp tensing up a bit, as she stated "Oh, you know... It may be called a brighthouse, but the town still needs a lighthouse, y'know? It also has some magical effects on the area." she replied vaguely

Anon nodded, thinking "She doesn't trust me completely yet. To be fair, i'm keeping stuff from her as well. And they ARE letting me stay with them, so it's not like they're being too paranoid..", even as Sunny moved to open the door, grinning back to the group as she inhaled

"So... I don't know about the rest of you, but all that walking and combat's made me hungry! I'll whip us up a meal while Pipp does her intro. She's reeeeaaaallllyyy well known in this world - like, an actual celebrity. I don't think any force in the world could stop her from introducing you to her fans", snickering into a hoof

Pipp blinked and grinned "Heyyy, the Pippsqueaks need to know about this alien! And besides, I know you've got to be curious too!"

Sunny chuckled, stating "Guilty here, I guess." - as Anon smiled and nodded "I'll join you in the kitchen for a bit. I can eat a lot, but it's probably best to assume we don't all eat the same stuff." he commented, moving to enter the brighthouse

Sunny blinked and nodded "Good idea! Heh, I may have to break out the old 'questions for a unicorn' list~" she commented with a chuckle and glance to Izzy - who chuckled and grinned in return, stating "Yeah, that one really fell through, didn't it?"

Sunny blushed "The days after we met were so eventful, I kinda forgot for a while... Right, dinner! So, Anon, here are the options..." she commented, moving to open the fridge - as Anon leaned in curiously. A lot was edible, though everything was plant-based, of course, For now, he figured a selection of fruit and vegetables would work. Maybe something apple-based, to honor Applejack's memory.

He reached in to collect a few, stating "Well, I can definitely have these..." he stated softly, glancing over the other foods as he stated "...Really, I can probably list what I CAN'T eat here more easily than what I CAN...", as Zipp blinked and raised an eyebrow, looking over his shoulder

As he explained the human diet, his mind dwelt on the show. "Applejack... They were all real, weren't they? And all dead now... Equestria gone and buried... Jesus. I really need to know what happened to them, for closure if nothing else. it's almost hard to believe that they've been gone for... Centuries, probably."

As Pipp chatted away into her phone in the Background, Sunny smiled "Right... So no grasses, got it. Well, your diet doesn't seem too restrictive. I can definitely work with it! Oh, this interview's gonna be fascinating! By the time you're done, i'll make sure to have something ready for you. Maybe something based on applejack? How do you know that name?"

Her voice warped toward the end of the sentence, seeming somewhat multitoned, as she spoke more slowly, with strange placement of emphasis. Slightly remniscent of Autumn Blaze's broken english.

Anon blinked in shock and jerked his head back a little at the sound of Sunny's warped voice, taking a small step back as his eyes widened "W-Wha-- How did you know I was-- Th-That I was thinking of Apple--"

Sunny blinked and tilted her head "...Thinking of apples? That IS what we call this fruit..." she stated with furrowed eyebrows, holding an apple forwards "...Wait, you mean you know these fruits too? From your dimension? Huh. I guess starlight ridge wasn't too different to Equestria when we went there, maybe all the dimensions connected to that portal have similar life to Equestria too..."

Zipp nodded with a frown "That's just what I was wondering... How did you know that those foods were edible?"

Anon blinked, thinking "Ah... Crap, gotta remember Zipp's watching like a hawk. But what the HELL was that just now from Sunny!? And why did nopony react to it!?", glancing between the assembled ponies - before stating aloud "Uh... Yeah. Actually that is REALLY strange. We seem to have a lot of the same plantlife. And quite a few similar animals, from what we saw on the walk..."

Author's Note

So, the interview's about to start! Anything in particular Anon should lead with? Exactly how much should he keep close to his chest about Earth? He has to say enough to sate Zipp if she isn't gonna be on his flank forever.

So, Allura managed to resist my control for long enough to break free... Damnit. I'll have to eliminate her somehow, or break through her defenses... But she's one tough creature, and she actually understands magic enough to counter what I throw at her... I'll have to plan this out carefully, or everything i've been plotting will break...

Funny how she thought she could beat my scrying, though. A camera works just as well from a distance, and a more trained ear can pick up a sound from afar as well.

And what's this? A magical interface to a system of some kind? I see an option to post comments... Curious. I definitely see the hoofprints of another in here... Could it be...

Shush, [REDACTED] - get outta the author's notes, you'll give too much away!

Make me, ape. And, authors notes? Oh, that's funny. The interface uses mind magic to manipulate you, right... You think this is a story. Fine, i'll let you live your delusion. The alternative would be cruel to force on you.

Touche, figment! To the readers, I guess you can talk to [REDACTED] in the comments if you want to. I won't let it reveal anything too spoilery though.

Like I even need to reveal anything. The pieces are in place already, I just need to wait for things to move along.

Quiet you!

P.S.

Fun fact, Allura's behavior in her first segment in this chapter changed quite substantially mid-write. There are lots of moving pieces in this story, and I figured out that she would probably see that force and counter it. What are the implications of that? We'll find out soon enough..