//------------------------------// // Breakfast // Story: Forgotten: The Crystal Princess // by milesprower06 //------------------------------// Sunny was trying very, very hard to keep her giggles internalized as she sat across from Flurry Heart, watching the Crystal Princess struggle to keep her fork and knife afloat in her magical grasp as she cut into the fresh hot pancakes in front of her as they sat in one of Zephyr Heights' diners that served breakfast. She was assuming that something had sapped Flurry's magic over the centuries that she had been in limbo, or that perhaps, just like the rest of the unicorns in Equestria, she was learning to use magic all over again. "I guess no matter how many centuries pass, you really can't improve on the perfect pancake," Flurry commented as soon as she had swallowed her current bite of syrup-soaked breakfast. "So, now that we're in a more conversation-friendly setting, what is that you do for a living, Sunny Starscout?" "Well, before Reunification Day, I ran a smoothie cart. I devoted pretty much all of my spare time to continuing my dad's research into Ancient Equestria, Princess Twilight, and her friends. Since we brought the Unity Crystals together, I've been helping run a history museum in Maretime Bay, using artifacts we've found, as well as sharing what we have with the pegasi and unicorns, and they with us." "Your dad sounded like an amazing pony, Sunny. Again, I'm sorry that he passed before what sounded like his time." "Thank you, and yes, he was. He was unbelievably patient with almost everypony... Everypony else who didn't think a day like this could come... A reunified Equestria." A family of pegasi passed by on their way out, and not only the kids, but also the parents stared in wonder at the alicorn for just a moment, before they smiled awkwardly, with the parents offering short bows before hurrying their kids along. Flurry returned the awkward smile to Sunny. "Guess you're not used to that, either," Sunny offered. "No no, that I am, sadly, completely used to," Flurry Heart answered. "According to my research, alicorns were worshiped in Ancient Equestria, and nopony has seen one in, well, like we said, centuries. Now we've got one in the flesh." Flurry couldn't help but cringe a bit at Sunny's explanation. "Worshiped? That... Well, to be perfectly honest, that's probably more true than I'd like it to be, Sunny. I always tried to spend as much time as I could in the city, in the streets, with my citizens, letting them get to know me as personally as they could, so they could see that I was no different than they were. I guess I was always trying to convince myself of that much more than I was trying to convince them. Even back in my day, alicorns were extremely rare, and I was the only natural-born one in all of recorded history." "Natural-born?" "Every other alicorn had to earn either their wings or horn by accomplishing some great feat, like Twilight or my mom, or accept an impossibly heavy burden from others, like Celestia or Luna. But me? I didn't do anything like that. I took over looking after the Crystal Empire, and the Heart, once my mom and dad stepped down, but it was usually unbearably dull. I hadn't done anything to prove myself worthy of my wings or horn." Sunny swallowed her last bite of pancakes. "But you have, Flurry. You made the unity crystals, and that in turn, helped me and my friends bring all of ponykind together again." Flurry smiled at Sunny's reassuring words. "Thank you, but it wasn't just me. It took the sacrifice of Princess Luna and Spike, and if I had had my way, they never would have gone through with it; I guess that's why they had started the ritual before I had the chance to stop it, once I realized what the price would be, and now that I'm here... I don't know what I'm supposed to do." "I mean, are you supposed to know what to do? You've been in limbo for a really long time. I don't think you're supposed to hit the ground running towards, well, anything really," Sunny told her, finishing her last sip of orange juice. "So, what do you think I should do, Sunny?" Sunny couldn't help but shrug. "Well, I know I'd absolutely love to show you our museum in Maretime Bay, and see if you can help me with missing pieces from Ancient Equestria. Other than that, just acclimate yourself to a new Equestria. Take some time to, well, to not be a Princess." Flurry's eyes widened slightly at those last words, but her smile widened even more. "When you put it like that... I really like the sound of that." Sunny smiled warmly at the alicorn as her phone vibrated on the table. "Say, what is that thing?" Flurry asked. "Oh this? It's a smartphone." "Well, I don't really know what a phone is, so whether it's smart or not probably doesn't matter to me," Flurry commented as she watched Sunny scroll through the alert she had just gotten. Sunny giggled. "They used to be just here in Zephyr Heights, but since reunification, they're rapidly becoming more popular in Maretime Bay and Bridlewood too. Ponies use them to keep schedules, talk to each other over long distances, keep up with news, learn new things... Just a whole bunch of uses." Sunny turned the phone towards Flurry, and showed her a page from Ponypedia. "Amazing... Libraries worth of knowledge at the tip of your hoof... Simply amazing!" Flurry continued scrolling through Ponypedia pages while Sunny paid the bill for breakfast. "Truth be told, probably one of the most popular uses is watching livestreamers. Princess Pipp is one of the most popular ones," Sunny explained. "Livestreamers?" Flurry asked as they got up from their table and headed for the exit. "Yeah, watching other ponies do things live on camera. For Pipp, it's usually beauty tips, singing, or blog updates. With a little bit of gaming thrown in, too." There was that perplexed look on Flurry's face again. "What's a blog?"