It’s an early night on the beaches of Maretime Bay. Waves wash against the shore as two ponies, Izzy and Sunny, lay on blankets, looking out at the star filled sky above the ocean.
“Back when I lived in Bridlewood, I never could’ve imagined something like this!” Izzy says excitedly, “the ocean, and all these stars… I’m used to bogs and swamps and catching peaks of the stars through trees!”
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Sunny looks up at the sky before drawing her attention back to Izzy,” I think a lot of ponies here take Maretime Bay’s natural beauty for granted. It’s easy to forget just how lucky we are to live here!”
“I know! I mean, Bridlewood is a pretty place, don’t get me wrong. But it’s a different type of pretty from Maretime Bay Same with Zephyr Heights! They’re all so different, but in good ways.”
“It’s hard to believe that not too long ago we weren’t even allowed to visit each other’s hometowns. We were all isolated in our own little corners of Equestria. I can’t imagine going back to that now.”
“Yep! And to think, that all changed thanks to a letter you wrote as a filly! There’s no doubt about it in my mind,” Izzy taps her head, “We were all destined to meet! That was just the first tiny domino to fall, and it set off a whole big chain reaction that brought everyone here!” The purple unicorn stretches her arms out, motioning towards the Brighthouse and Maretime Bay.
“I still remember when we all moved in at first, that was my first time ever living with other ponies that weren’t family. And then I had my first T.U.E.S day here and created Señor Butterscotch! I really thought you all had forgotten about it, or just didn’t care. I almost always celebrated it by myself back in Bridlewood, so I guess I was just used to it,” Izzy smiles while looking at Sunny.
“I still feel bad about that,” Sunny frowns. “I mean, unicorn customs were all still so new to me, and I was so busy, it slipped my mind. At least we all made it up to you after I remembered.”
“Oh Sunny, it’s okay!” Izzy pats Sunny on the back. “I had a good time with Señor Butterscotch, honest!”
The orange earth pony reaches out and hugs her unicorn friend, “I know, but I feel bad still. I should’ve paid closer attention to what you were saying that morning. You shouldn’t have been stuck spending most of that day with just your inanimate friend.”
“Hey, I like my inanimate friends! Kind of like you with the lantern.”
“The lantern you just had to tell everypony I slept with…” Sunny’s voice trails off slightly, “…sometimes.”
“Mhm! I didn’t think you would mind. Plus it was sort of an open secret anyway, not like I was giving out your deepest darkest secrets, right?”
“Right… At least you didn’t announce it to the whole town. They probably would’ve paid more attention to that than they do my lectures and speeches,” Sunny grumbles slightly. “Anyway, you mentioned inanimate ‘friends’, was Señor Butterscotch not the first imaginary friend you made?”
“He wasn’t! I’ve made inanimate friends ever since I started making things.” Izzy pauses for a moment and thinks, “Which was when I was a filly, so I’ve created little imaginary friends since I was a filly! Like I said earlier, I wasn’t really that well liked growing up. Eventually I came up with the idea to make my own friends! I had a pet rock at one point, an origami unicorn, an old white sheet I put eyes and a hair tie on to look like a ghost, all kinds of unicycled friends!”
“Oh…” There’s an awkward pause as Sunny thinks of what to say next, “That does make sense. Definitely sounds like something you’d do. But… you really didn’t have anyone else?”
“No… I guess I haven’t talked much about my foalhood, huh?” Izzy’s normally vibrant expression fades somewhat, she pushes sand around with her hoof as she begins talking.
“Growing up, I struggled to make friends. Not because I was different from how you know me now. It was kinda the other way round. The other unicorns were so different from me that it made me a bit of an outcast. It was like when I tried to bring Hearts and Hooves day celebrations to Maretime Bay that one time,” Izzy looks away from Sunny, her eyes staring out towards the ocean. “Everyone looked at me weird, I’d go up to them and say hi and they’d just walk away. And If I brought one of my unicycled friends around they’d all stare or just leave. It’d be me and my unicycled friend all alone sitting on a bench in a park, or sitting on a swing set.”
Izzy pulls her attention back to Sunny, “I tried to not let all of that get to me but… it did. I was just a filly, I didn’t know what to do besides just be my usual silly self,” Izzy smiles slightly.
“I don’t hold it against anypony who acted that way, it wasn’t their fault. That’s just how Bridlewood was growing up. Unicorns had a tendency to avoid stuff that was out of the ordinary, like me. Even now we can get all caught up in superstitions and traditions and everything.”
Sunny shakes her head slightly in disbelief, looking somewhat flustered,“And your guardians or parents never brought this up to the school or tried to help you make friends? I can’t believe they just let you struggle like that!” Sunny raises her voice.
“I mean, I realize I can be pushy sometimes, but even I know you can’t force someone to like you. Even if that did happen they would’ve just stuck around because they felt obligated to, and I wouldn’t have wanted that.”
“Still! How can a school just let that kind of culture persist?! Tradition or not, superstition to the point of ignoring and abandoning somepony shouldn’t be accepted!”
“I don’t know, I was just a filly. I didn’t completely understand it at the time. And even when I grew up I didn’t think about it too much. It was just the way it was, it’s what I was used to. Then I came to Maretime Bay, and everything changed! That letter really ended up mixing everything up, for all 6 of us.”
“So you didn’t even realize your foalhood wasn’t normal until you met us?”
“Well, I knew I was different, obviously. That none of the other foals wanted to hang out with me. There were a lot of nights where I’d be falling asleep hugging one of my unicycled friends, a little misty eyed because of being ignored at school. So I knew.” Izzy bows her head, a somber look on her face.
“What I didn’t realize was just how amazing it is to have friends. And that’s definitely not the case now, I have you guys! Plus my unicycled friends! That’s twice the friends I have now!” Izzy smiles at Sunny while holding up both her front hooves.
Sunny reaches out and hugs her unicorn friend, the two embracing as Sunny speaks up, giggling somewhat, “You do! We all have each other. And no matter what happens, no one, not Opaline, not Allura, can take that way.”
Izzy returns the embrace and wraps her arms around Sunny, “Daww, come here you!”
The two share a hug, moon and stars still shining over the ocean, moving in the night sky as the planet rotates. But for the two fateful friends, it feels as though the world has stopped, just for them.
