//------------------------------//
// Lost to Time 
// Story: The Right Place in the Wrong Time 
// by RunicTreetops 
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"Yeah, I have no idea what I'm looking at."

Those Unity Crystals sure are... crystals. They're just kinda floating there, being all magic-y. Sunny, Izzy, Zipp, and Pipp accompanied you as you all made your way to the top of the Crystal Brighthouse while Hitch went digging for the map of Equestria. When it comes to the crystals, Sunny has been doing most of the talking.

"Well, the five of us were able to unite the three ponykinds while on our search for these crystals. After we all came together and combined them, the result is what you see in front of you. Plus, it gave unicorns and pegasi their magic back, and later on, earth ponies got magic too!"

You've managed to deduce by now that you're in some kind of alternate world or timeline or something. That magical artifact is obviously to blame, and everything seems to work differently here. Last you checked, magic is in everything. Your magic pool feels the same as it did before, and your spells seem just as effective as before (besides your teleportation circle spell). No matter what the circumstances are, you're completely certain that magic does not rely on these Unity Crystals back home. So, the question remains: Where are you, exactly? At the very least, you're in good company. These five ponies have been nothing but friendly (at least after you explained yourself) and Maretime Bay doesn't seem like a bad place. You still aren't used to the more "modern" technology that these ponies have, but at least friendship is still magic.

"I've been trying to work out how they function," Zipp adds, "but so far I haven't gotten many leads."

You give her a smile. She sounds like Twilight, or maybe Rarity when she gets really into her mystery novels. 

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out. Try to be careful though, in my experience, magical artifacts can be unpredictable. At least they make a really neat landmark!"

Your group laughs at the remark before Sunny starts walking towards the way you came.

"Come on everypony, let's see if Hitch has found that map yet."

You all descend into the mares' bedrooms. Well, bedroom is more like it. It's just one big room divided into sections for Sunny, Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp. As they explained earlier to you, Hitch has his own home closer to the police station. Each of their bedroom section thingies is immediately recognizable as theirs. Zipp has her detective equipment, Pipp has a noticeable pink vanity and a desk for her laptop, Izzy's space is a complete mess, and Sunny's is...

Wait.

You stop dead in your tracks. On your way to the crystals, you didn't notice it before, and at a glance, it would be pretty inconspicuous. There, next to Sunny's bed, was a little shelf hanging on the wall. On top of that shelf were six figurines, seemingly made out of wood. A pink earth pony. A rainbow-maned pegasus. A unicorn with a stylish mane. A timid-looking pegasus. An orange earth pony wearing a rustic hat. And there, in the middle of them all, stood a purple alicorn.

Shock takes control of you. If you have something you want to say, you can't quite find the words. You take a slow step forward, then another. You reach out and pick up the alicorn figurine. The horn, the wings, the mane, even the cutie mark. If you had any doubts, you certainly don't now.

"What's wrong?"

You hear Sunny's words, but you fail to register anything. Why does Sunny have these? Why do they look so old? Who made them? The figurine even has her wings, and she only just got those a few weeks ago.

"Hello? Are you okay?"

That time you realized that your new friends are trying to get your attention. You turn to face them, the figurine still in your hands.

"Where did you get these?"

"Oh, my dad gave them to me. Those are the ponies of legend, the 'Mane Six!' There's Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and-"

"Twilight Sparkle," you say in unison.

"Yes! You've actually heard of her? I've never met another creature who's studied up on ancient Equestrian history!"

Ancient Equestrian history? You feel a weight form deep in your stomach. You're a bit afraid to continue this conversation any further, if only because you're afraid you're right about the conclusion you just came to.

"I've done more than hear of her, Sunny. I know her. She's my best friend."

"WHAT?!" Everypony in attendance goes wide-eyed, though Sunny herself seems hardly capable of containing her excitement.

"HOW? WHERE? WHEN? TELL ME EVERYTHING!"

"Hey, hey, slow down there. And maybe back up a little bit?" Sunny is 100% up in your personal space after that.

"Hey, I heard a commotion up here. What's going on?" Hitch enters the room with what appears to be a rolled-up map.

"Our new friend here claims to have MET Princess Twilight Sparkle!"

"Whaaaaat? Nah, there's no way. She hasn't been around for hundreds of moons!"

"Yeah, and apparently, I haven't either..." you mumble.

Hitch puts the map down as you take a seat on the end of Sunny's bed.

"You know those friends I mentioned earlier? Well," you say as you gesture to the toys on Sunny's shelf, "these are them. The Elements of Harmony. My closest friends."

You explain everything, from the magical surge that brought you to Equestria to your defeat of Shadowmere to your discovery of magic and eventually to Twilight's ascension to princesshood. Your audience is very attentive, and they seem to hang on your every word. Sunny especially, who occasionally lets out an adorable-sounding squee. Your story finally reaches your group arriving at the Castle of the Two Sisters, and you end your tale with an awkward cough. You were never good at presentations. Thankfully, Sunny takes over in the talking department.

"You know, when you told us your name, I thought it sounded familiar. When you called yourself a 'human,' I got a bit suspicious. The term 'Castle of the Two Sisters' kept nagging at me too, but after hearing your story, I think it's safe to say that my assumptions were right. You really are the famous human of legend. You're the Hero of Equestria! There's even a story about when you accidentally got transported through time! What are the odds that you got transported HERE?! This is so, so cool! It's like I'm talking to history itself! Right here! In my bedroom!"

Yup, your suspicions were right. That artifact sent you far, far into the future. Wait, "Hero of Equestria?"

"I'm a hero? I mean, I guess I helped take care of Shadowmere, and I did also help protect Ponyville during the Everfree Forest's invasion, but I don't think I'm some big shot worthy of a title like that."

"Wh- Shadowmere? The Everfree Forest? I mean, those stories ARE out there, but those weren't what gave you your title. They were just ploys from... hold on. Do you know what caused those incidents to happen?"

"Uhh, Shadowmere broke out of Tartarus, and the Everfree Forest had some tricks up its sleeve when it started spreading without the Tree of Harmony to contain it?"

"Oh, so you're at THAT part of the timeline. Good to know."

"Wait, you can't just say that. What happens?"

It was Izzy who responded that statement, surprisingly.

"Sorry, chief, but that information is STRICTLY confidential! We can't go ruining the surprise, or else it won't happen!"

She... has a point. Upon further thought, you probably don't want to know about your future. It would just lead to untold amounts of stress in the long run. Sunny continued her thoughts.

"Still, I have so many questions! Do you think you could maybe stay a while?"

"I don't know, I'm sure my friends are fine but I don't want them to worry about me. Speaking of, did you find that map, Hitch?"

"Sure did. Come take a look."

You all make your way to Pipp's desk (it was the nearest flat surface to lay the map out on). The map is a bit crude, but still functional. You recognize the geography of the landscape, but the cities shown on it are completely foreign to you.

"So Maretime Bay is near the North Luna Ocean, near where Vanhoover is. Is Vanhoover still a thing?"

"No, Vanhoover fell into disarray many moons ago and was abandoned," Sunny says.

"Well, in either case, The Castle of the Two Sisters is, or was, in the center of the Everfree Forest, which is about halfway across Equestria. I guess if I wanted to go, I could theoretically make it just fine, but that's a very, very long journey."

"Do you even have a plan? Let's say you got there, and let's say that, miraculously, it's still standing. What would you do?"

"I guess I would try to find the artifact that sent me here and... undo it, I suppose?"

"You don't know how it works, plus you don't even know if it's still there," Zipp added, "especially after this long."

"That's true, but what other options do I have?"

Sunny took the opportunity to speak again. "Well, I may be able to do some research on your little 'artifact.' If I'm right, it's a powerful relic even more ancient than the royal sisters called the Time Tuner. Maybe I can find out what happened to it!"

The Time Tuner, huh? Good job. You messed with a strange artifact in a creepy hole in the wall in an abandoned, trap-filled castle, and got sent through time for it. Real good judgement call there, bud.

"Yeah, that would be great Sunny, thank you."

"It's really no problem! I can't believe I get to help the Hero! Um, as your friend, I know that I shouldn't ask for anything in return, but do you think you could maybe stay a little longer and tell me more about ancient Equestria?"

You glance outside a nearby window. It's dark out, indicating that it's getting pretty late. Wait, how do day and night work without Tia and Luna?

"Isn't it getting a bit late for that?"

"Well, research takes time, so I'm sorry to say that my research will most likely take a few days. You know what, don't worry about it, I don't want to bother you or anything..."

Her ears drooped to the sides of her head. Darn it, you hate it when these confounding ponies do that. How are you supposed to say no to that? You really do want to get home as soon as possible, but at least your time here should be pleasant.

"Fine, I'll do it. I'm not sure how interesting I'll be though, haha."

Sunny gives you a very wide grin. For a split second, you feel like you see a bit of Twilight in that grin. This girl is a mystery, you'll give her that. Still, it seems as though you've found the truth. You've been sent into the far future, a future where your friends are gone and ponies drifted apart only to come back together again thanks to these new friends you've made (seriously, how do you keep accidentally making friends with super important ponies). You need to find the Time Tuner to get back home, but to do so, you're gonna be stuck here for at least a few days. You have to admit that you're more than a little anxious, but who knows? Maybe this whole ordeal will be fun. Welcome to Maretime Bay.