“So, what exactly is the place called again?” I ask Izzy, as we walk past a massive tree in an empty field.
“Maretime Bay. Isn’t it a fun name?” she says with excitement, before continuing to hum.
“Yes, I suppose,” I reply flatly.
I don’t see what’s so fun about it.
The rest of the trip passes by in a blink. I’m sure there are a lot of things she said to me during our journey, but I hardly remember anything.
As we get closer to the city, she suddenly stops me with a hoof.
“There is one thing I must ask you first, Mr. Dusk.” Her voice is surprisingly subdued and serious. I decide it is probably for the best if I listen to her this time. “Maretime Bay is first and foremost an earth pony city. You are okay with meeting them, right? "
I try my best to look impassive, but inside I’m feeling deeply confused.
What sort of answer does she expect? Is this some kind of trick question? I look at her trying to gauge her expression, but the only thing I see on her face is worry. It doesn’t seem like she has any ulterior motives. I suppose it is for the best if I approach this situation honestly before it ruins me in the long run.
“Where I come from there is no distinction made between the three tribes. Is it perhaps different here?”
She whistles a little in amazement.
“Wow! And here I thought I’d need to give you a pep-talk! That’s a relief,” she says with the usual cheer in her voice. A moment later her enthusiasm evaporates as quickly as it came and she slightly hangs her head, her hoof awkwardly digging at the ground. “Around here until very recently the idea of different kinds of ponies becoming friends was unheard of. Until Sunny was able to convince the tribes to put their differences aside and magic returned as a result, almost everypony used to believe the others were out for them. And now that we all realized this was a lie, some of us are having a harder time adjusting than others. Most ponies won’t mind us, but these things take time.” She then looks me in the eyes with genuine concern. “If you get a few frowns or weird faces, please don’t take it as anything personal.”
I nod and mumble an agreement. At the same time my mind struggles to make sense of her words.
Disharmony among the tribes? The ‘return’ of magic? That’s quite unusual, even to my ears. If such a crisis really did happen, where are the Windigos?
These are deeply troubling revelations, especially since Izzy’s biggest concern seems to be a few undignified looks. Does she not know? Did Equestria forget those old horrors? Just what happened to this world?
I’ll need to investigate this, but not here, not now, and especially not with her help. Perhaps this ‘Sunny’ will know more.
We trot into the city. I’m surprised by just how small it is. My Empire had homes that numbered in the thousands, yet here I can hardly see a few hundred around me. The architecture of these houses is also nothing like what I’m used to. Especially that massive building in the distance.
’CanterLogic,’ I read on a nearby sign. I wouldn’t admit this to anypony, but it takes some effort to spell out the name. Writing seems to have advanced somewhat during my imprisonment. What an odd name. Is it an institute of mathematics perhaps? But no, surely not. The ponies around us don’t really seem like the brightest bunch.
My attention turns to the citizens, as we continue our walk. Izzy wasn’t exaggerating. I see only one or two pairs of wings or horns. Everyone else is an earth pony. I notice that while some, especially the foals, ignore us or even cheerfully wave, I’m also catching a lot of malicious sideways-glances.
“Can we please hurry a little,” I whisper to Izzy, with a subtle nod towards the crowd. She doesn’t say anything, but she picks up the pace. I’m glad to see her hurry. It’s not the crowd I fear, of course. Their disdain won’t mean anything soon. I merely don’t want to be lynched by a banal mob, before I can assume my rightful place once again.
Just when I think we might reach our destination without any trouble, a custard-yellow earth pony trots in our way. He sports a cocky smile and I see a badge on his chest. A constable? This doesn’t bode well. I shoot a questioning glance towards Izzy, but she doesn’t even bother to look at me.
“Hitch! It’s so good to see you!” she yells, overjoyed.
Oh, brilliant. A friend. My tail flicks in frustration, but thankfully neither of them notice.
“Hey, Izzy! Long time no see,” he says as the two fly into each others’ hooves in a short hug.
Then he turns to me.
“And you are?”
That’s funny. His previously warm demeanor is immediately ice cold, even though I’ve done nothing to bring out anyone’s ire.
“The name is Crystal Dusk,” I reply coolly. Who does he think he is?
“I’m Hitch, Maretime Bay’s sheriff. I’m currently off-duty and, for your sake, I hope we won’t need to meet in a more formal way.”
“Hitch!” Izzy shoots him a stinging look, as she steps between us. “He is a friend of mine, what’s wrong with you?”
“Is that so?” he says while measuring me up. Then he turns to the mare. “Look, Izzy, I know what we accomplished and all. I’m the first in line to admit I was wrong and that we should all sing and dance together being friends. But until everypony else thinks so as well, I’d really appreciate if you at least told me in advance or something, before you drop in with a unicorn who looks this-” he pauses for a second, searching for the right word, before leaning in towards her and lowering his voice, “-suspicious.”
I look at him with wild bemusement. Of everyone I’ve met since my return, this little earth pony came closest to realizing who he’s dealing with.
“What!” Izzy gasps in shock. “Hitch, I can’t believe you’re saying this! Mr. Dusk has been nothing but nice to me and you’re accusing him of being suspicious based on his... looks?”
I acknowledge his frown and his ears flopping with an almost imperceptible smirk.
“I... You know that’s not what I meant,” he stammers. “It’s merely my job to keep things calm and safe.”
“Mr. Dusk, let’s move on. See you, Hitch.”
Izzy starts trotting away. As I walk past him, I turn my head towards the destitute pony.
“It was nice to meet you, Sheriff.”
He looks a bit dazed as we leave him. Things could not have worked out better for me. He’s now doubting himself, and likely won’t cause any further issue.
No one else bothers to stop us afterwards and we quickly reach the lighthouse at the end of the town. I open my mouth to ask why we even came here, but she turns to me before I can say a word.
“This is her house!” Izzy says as she waves her hoof in a wide arc.
An alicorn living in a lighthouse. Sounds like the punchline to a bad joke. But then, I am with the unicorn who lives inside a tree.
I stand back as she walks up to the door to knock. A moment of silence later I can hear a latch slide out of its place and the door opens to an orange pony. I can’t help but feel shocked. She looks like an earth pony, but there are two translucent wings draped on her back and a similarly ghostly horn sitting atop her head. She’s clearly not an alicorn, but I have never seen such a thing as her before.
“Izzy! I didn’t expect you to drop by,” she says emphatically as the two mares embrace each other. After an awfully long hug, she asks, “Are the others with you?”
“Nope, just us two.”
“Two?”
Then she notices me. Her eyes widen slightly and recognition flashes on her face. This is bad.
Then she shakes her head slightly and takes a step closer.
“Oh. Sorry, I thought you were somepony I know,” she tells me with an apologetic smile. “Have we seen each other before?”
“He’s a friend! I met him recently,” Izzy chimes in. Bless her simple heart.
“I’m Crystal Dusk. And you must be Sunny, right? Nice to meet you.” I give her my most winning smile.
“Yup, Sunny Starscout. Come in, let’s talk somewhere more comfortable.”
We follow her inside. Unlike what I expected from the unassuming outside look of the lighthouse, I am taken aback by the sight of the treasures that we find inside. Artifacts from my time litter the room, some familiar, some less so.
Sunny points us towards a couch and she sits in front of us herself.
“So why the visit?”
This is it. My chance.