//------------------------------//
// Chapter 16 
// Story: Your Friends From Across Time 
// by EquestrianKnight97 
//------------------------------//

The natural brightness in the house had dwindled to near dimness as the sun outside dipped down the horizon hour by hour. But while the sun and the interior lighting had changed, you yourself had remained nearly still upon Izzy's couch, waiting while she and Violette completed their crafts right next to you. 

After your encounter with the two unicorns at the Crystal Tea Room, the three of you left to go to Izzy's home. On the way there, though, the older unicorn insisted that all of you get some lunch from a nearby food cart, especially with you not having eaten anything since arriving in the future. With hours having passed by, you could not remember the fancy name of the cart, but you had to admit that you did enjoy the carrot dog, fries, and cola that Izzy let you pick out.

After that lunch break, the three of you were on the move again. Within nearly half an hour, you reached the outskirts of Bridlewood where Izzy lived. You and Violette followed her to a pink treehouse with pink and purple leaves, which you were not surprised to find out she lived in.

What did take you off guard was the interior of the house. Upon following Izzy and Violette through the front door, you were flabbergasted by the wide range of weird art mishmash that was set up in the welcoming space. You could not place a name to every device or material, but you spotted a few wind chimes, a large rolling pin --- which held kitchen utensils --- connected to an arch that held bottles, and a spinning umbrella with paper butterflies attached by strings.

Once all three of you were in the house, you followed the two unicorns up a ramp to a mezzanine overlooking the welcoming space. When you reached the top of the ramp, you found two separate worktables before you along with a couch. Upon and around the worktables were numerous lanterns with wooden frames, glass panels, candles inside, and hooks on top, along with paintbrushes, palettes, and cups.

Some of the glass panels of the lanterns were already painted with various beautiful designs. From what you could point out, there were flowers, birds, ocean waves, trees, suns, animals, fishes, hearts, and many more lovely images that you could not keep track of. When Izzy herself saw how amazed you were by the artwork, she smugly pointed out how it took nearly two days to paint most of the lanterns, but she insisted that no better duo of unicorn artists would be able to do that much before the Gala.

With no time to waste, Izzy and Violette went to their own worktables, placed on somewhat messy aprons, and resumed their painting. You stood awkwardly on the mezzanine for a few minutes, unsure of what to do. Eventually, Izzy took notice of your standing around and told you that you were more than welcome to sit on the couch. And with that request, you found your place on the furniture, which you sat on for many hours.

Though you mainly minded your own business, staring off towards the window to your right, your ears did pick up on the occasional small talk between Izzy and Violette. Mostly it was bits and pieces about Violette's friend Skye and the things she did with her, though Izzy also mentioned her recent interactions with Sunny, Hitch, Pipp, and Zipp. 

At a few moments within the passing hours, Violette would ask for Izzy's opinion on whichever lantern she was painting. Though you did not comprehend the artist jargon occurring between the two unicorns, you could pick up that Izzy's critiques were constructive, polite, and encouraging --- pointing out little flaws here and there while giving compliments to good details.

During the moments when you were not eavesdropping, you thought about your mission and what your next step was. You knew that time here was quicker than in the present, so hopefully you could take as much time as needed to find a solution to the monster problem. But because you did not know how many days here equaled one day back in the present, you know you could not wait too long.

Luckily, you were satisfied with Canterlot being the next stop on your journey. It was your home, after all, so you knew for a fact that it held a great deal of magical knowledge and artifacts  --- unless those things were removed from the city during the time Equestria was divided. But still, you could think of at least three places in Canterlot where you could research the fundamentals of hope.

The first was the Library of Magic, which you took a field trip to as a foal in elementary school. It had a section dedicated to Starswirl the Bearded, one of the most important unicorn mages in Equestrian history, as well as a restricted section only accessible to a few elites in the city. You could try starting there, and hopefully the restricted section could be easy to get into, unless there were magical securities placed in check.

The second location of interest was the Canterlot Archives, a great magical repository. Like the library, it also had an area holding the works of Starswirl the Bearded. 

And lastly, there was the School for Gifted Unicorns. Though you never went there yourself --- being an earth pony, after all --- you had heard tales of how talented the students were supposed to be, and how insightful the magical lessons were. Perhaps you would find something of interest in that school related to your goal.

Regardless of where you would start, you still had to take into account that your days here were limited, so it was possible that you may be able to conduct your search in at least one or two locations.

"How you doing over there, [Y/N]?"

Izzy's peppy voice derailed your train of thought, which was brought back to the station of reality. You twisted your head away from the window and faced the smiling purple unicorn.

"I'm doing alright," you answered plainly.

"I know I asked before, but you're sure you don't want to help with the lanterns?"

You stared closer at the aprons that Izzy and Violette wore and you saw that they were covered in a bit more paint than when you came here. The mental image of such substances clinging to the fur of your coat made you less than enthusiastic.

"No thanks. I appreciate the offer again, but I'm good just... hanging out over here until you're done."

Luckily, Izzy seemed unbothered by the rejection.

"Okay. Whatever makes you feel best. I just didn't want you to think that I was ignoring you like you're part of the couch or something."

The purple unicorn returned her attention to her artwork, but before you could do the same for the window, you saw Violette looking at you with her hoof raised as if she were in class.

"Is everything alright?" you asked the filly.

"I read Sunny's notes from when you first came here. Is everything you said about the Guardians of Harmony true?"

A quizzical frown came over your face. "I can't recall everything I said, but I do remember sharing what I could about Discord, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. I'm certain that what I said was true --- at least from how I saw them."

The filly nodded. "I believe you. Ever since magic came back and unicorns reunited with the pegasi and earth ponies, we've been learning as much as we could about the Guardians and Ancient Equestria in school. It was kind of hard, you know, learning about all that history since it was boring, but your notes made some of the Guardians sound like actual ponies I want to meet."

"Really?" 

"Yeah. You really brought out their personalities. History books and lectures don't really do that for me."

You could not help but chuckle. "I kind of get what you mean. Classes were a bit boring for me too when I was in school. But I think Sunny may have exaggerated a few details about the Guardians. It wasn't like I was super close with them or anything like that."

"Still, it must have been nice to know so many awesome heroes up close."

"I guess you can say that."

"So, did Princess Twilight really make Equestria where every creature would feel welcomed? I mean, before the unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies separated?"

You pressed your lips together. "I'm... certain she did what she could to make the country friendly toward everyone. She never passed any laws hurting non-ponies, but I know that some ponies weren't welcoming towards all the types of new creatures coming in."

"Would someone like me be accepted back then?"

Confused, you tilted your head. "But, you're a pony, right? You already would have been accepted in Equestria."

Violette's head lowered a bit as a small frown overcame her. "I'm not talking about my race. I mean if ponies back then would be bothered by my colors."

"Your colors?"

"Yeah. I mean... the way I look."

Like a rainy cloud, shame came down on you once you realized your cluelessness. 

"Oh! That! Well... I'm sorry I didn't know what you meant. It's just... I didn't think it was my business to..."

"No. It's fine. I'm glad you were nice enough to not point it out, but I know you noticed --- like everypony. A lot of classmates in school used to give me a hard time about my spots."

"Bullies?"

The filly nodded. 

"I had my fair share, too. Even in high school."

"But I'm not really bothered by it anymore. I'm proud of my spots now. I have them because I come from paint ponies. They were able to practice healing magic by using art. That's what Sunny told me."

"Paint ponies? I guess that makes sense. If there are bat ponies and crystal ponies, I guess there are a lot of other types of ponies I haven't heard of."

To your relief, Violette was able to crack a smile before returning to her work. "Well. I'm certain I would have loved being a part of the past. But I'm okay with being here, too."

"Speaking of the past," interjected Izzy, "did everypony back then had a grey sparkle?"

"Sparkle?" you asked. "What do you mean?"

The older unicorn turned around on her stool to face you. "Your sparkle. You know --- your luminescence. The aura around you that tells you what kind of pony you are."

"I've... never heard about that before."

"Well, yours is all grey, with just a little tint of color. A pony with a grey sparkle is usually sad all the time, which doesn't make sense if Old Equestria was meant to be a happy place. So was everypony in your time sad for the most part?"

A swarming army of invisible ants crawled up from the tips of your hind hooves to your head --- making you want to squirm and leave your seat. And yet, you had the composure and dignity to remain where you were, though you failed to put on a confident facade for your face.

"N-No. I don't think so," you answered. "Most creatures back in my time weren't really sad all the time. And that includes me --- I think."

You were quick to detect the defensiveness in your voice once the words left your mouth, but Izzy herself seemed not to notice anything unusual about your response, as given by the unicorn shrugging.

"Well, if you say so," she said calmly, before returning back to her painting. "Vi, how is your gala dress going on?"

Without looking away at her her work, Violette responded to her mentor. "It's already done. Ms. Mariama did a great job making it. I wasn't certain if Skye and me having similar dresses would work, but when I saw them, I couldn't think of a better way to show ponies how the two of us are like sisters."

"Well, that sounds real awesome! What do the dresses look like?"

"I can't really explain all the parts that make them up, but they're both girly-like and frilly with gold, white, and purple colors."

"Woah! I definitely have to find you two when I get to Canterlot. I know you'll both be beautiful! And speaking of Canterlot --- what about the Gala makes you really excited?"

"Geez. I guess I'm just glad to be visiting the capital of Old Equestria. It's also nice to be a part of an important tradition. I've been a bit more interested in history after reading Sunny's notes."

"I'm pretty sure Queen Haven did a good job cleaning up the city, so you'll definitely get a better first impression than I did. But I just really think that it'll be nice to see Discord again. I know he has Reginald and some other critters to keep him company, but I feel like he would appreciate a few more visitors."

A few more minutes of silence passed on within the room, aside from the chirping and chatter of animals outside. Eventually, though, Violette finally spoke again.

"I'm done with the last one, Izzy."

The purple glow around Izzy's paintbrush disappeared, making the artistic instrument drop on the table. The older unicorn scooted off her stool and walked across the mezzanine to Violette's worktable. When she arrived, Izzy bent her neck down to stare at the numerous lanterns on the surface and even levitated a few close to her snout to examine them much further.

An inspective glare was on the purple mare's face as her eyes scanned the lanterns. Violette herself looked up at Izzy with an uncertain frown, waiting for some reply to come from her mentor. And as the seconds went on, even you were eager to see this silent treatment come to an end. 

But, then, without so much of a verbal warning, Izzy donned the biggest, whitest smile you have ever seen out of her today.

"These. Are. Perfect!" she shouted with a strong hue of exuberance radiating from her body. "Just. Perfect! I really love this one with the ocean waves you made! The sea foam looks so realistic!"

"So... They're all good? Like --- all of them?" Violette asked, all while her frown slowly, yet surely, was replaced with a small smile.

The older unicorn placed a proud hoof on Violette's shoulder. "You're gosh-darn right they are! I just know that everypony at the Gala is gonna fall in love with them. I think we did a great job, don't you?"

The filly giggled in agreement. "Yeah, I think we did."

Izzy looked in your direction, and for a moment it seemed as if she was getting ready to address you, but she quickly returned her eyes back to her art student.

"Well, it looks like the sun's going down. And since you're done with your share, how about you head-on home?"

"Don't you want me to help with the rest of your lanterns?" the filly asked. "You still got a few left."

"Nope. It's just a few. I'll handle them after dinner. And besides, I don't want you to get in trouble with your mom for being out after dark."

Violette hopped off her stool. "Well, I guess I'll see you in Canterlot, soon."

Izzy crouched down to nuzzle her cheek against the filly's own. "You betcha, Vi. Take care!"

Using her magic, the filly pulled off her apron and hung it over the stool. She then levitated a small pair of saddlebags lying against her worktable and fastened them around her torso. 

"See you later, Izzy! Bye, [Y/N]!" Violette exclaimed to the two of you, before trotting down the ramp of the mezzanine. A few seconds after her disappearance, you heard the creaking of a door both opening and finally shutting. Izzy herself then went over to her stool and similarly used her magic to undo her apron and place it on her own stool. The unicorn let out a content sigh as she went to look at her lanterns.

"She's a really great filly. And I'm not just saying that because she's my favorite art student. I was really happy for her when she finally started to get over how she looked."

You shifted in your seat to face Izzy. "Yeah. I could tell that her... appearance bothered her. Or at least it used to."

Izzy kept her eyes on the lanterns. "Yep. I'm just glad that that's in the past."

You twiddled with your forehooves. "So, um... do you know when we're heading to Canterlot?"

The mare finally looked at you with a smile. "We'll be leaving in the morning when Sunny and the others come by."

"They're on their way here?"

She nodded. "They should be camping a few miles outside of the village. It's a bit of a walk from Maretime Bay to here, so they must have needed to take a break, especially if they're bringing a wagon with them."

"Did they send that through a text? That's what it's called, right? A text?"

"Yeah, you're right. I was messaging Pipp on my phone while we had lunch. I even told her that you were with me and all about your important mission. I wanted to do a video call with you, but the reception was a bit spotty today."

Some gears began to turn in your head. "Do... Do you think they'll be able to help me with any research? For my mission?"

"I think we'll have plenty of time in between the Gala events to do that. But we need to talk to them first."

A small smile formed from your lips --- dimly, yet surely, radiating with hope. "Well, I guess it's worth a shot."

Izzy turned around and headed towards the ramp. "You can wait up here if you want, but I'll be making dinner." She looked back at you. "How do you feel about potatoes, broccoli, and rice? That's all I got in the fridge for today. Besides breakfast stuff."

"I'm okay with that."

"Righty-O, then. I'll let you know when it's ready."

The mare shifted her gaze forward and went down the mezzanine. When her presence was no longer visible, you returned your sight to the window, appreciating the dark purple shade of dusk outside.