//------------------------------// // Ch.3 The Arrival // Story: Time Enough for Everything at Last // by Jay Watson //------------------------------// Starlight was slow to come around, her body in a good deal of pain, especially her head and upper chest area. She could not see at the moment, her vision still wiped out from the bright flash of light, along with being too dizzy to really focus. She heard voices, but it was just a jumble of sounds in her ears. Her eyes finally started to clear up, making out the various amorphous shapes that hovered above her. She managed to mumble a few syllables, trying to find out who was with her. But was told to "take it easy ma'am" by a male voice. She could finally make out the faces above her, all looking down at her and wearing expressions of concern. When she asked why she was in the Ponyville hospital, she was met with "where ma'am?" by another voice "You're in Maretime Bay General Hospital." “Is this near Baltimare?” she asked them, still a little groggy. But after a few seconds of being able to actually see more clearly, Starlight quickly realized she did not recognize any of the nurses or the physician that was at her bedside. In fact, she did not recognize the hospital room she was currently in. Then her memory of what happened started to come back. She recalled talking with Moondancer a few seconds before the room went berserk with uncontrolled magical energies. She remembered the rushing of wind and there being a loud bang or explosion in the lab, and then, silence. ‘The portal, the PORTAL!’ She remembered and then felt her body go stiff, realizing she was now interacting with the ponies in this particular place in Equestria's time line. She was no longer home. Things quickly got serious for her. Awake enough and aware enough to know she was in serious trouble. As the two nurses tried to calm her down and keep her in bed, Starlight used her magic to teleport herself outside of the hospital. She found herself standing on a sidewalk of an unfamiliar town that was, apparently, by the shore of a sea or ocean. ‘I must be somewhere on the coast!’ Starlight was quick to determine where she was and also not linger around someplace unfamiliar. Her sudden appearance startled several earth ponies walking by, as well as a couple pegasus ponies who witnessed it as well. As discreetly as she could so as not to draw any more attention, Starlight quietly slunk away, seeking out any safe and unseen place in order to regain her bearings. ‘A good spy is a calm spy! A good spy is a calm spy!’ She repeated her mantra, recalling how to act so as to not arouse suspicion from those she walked past. Fortunately for her, the streets she traversed were named as she made a turn off of Main Street and headed uptown to the center of Maretime Bay, up Third Avenue. ---------------------------------------- Hitch got a call at his desk from the hospital, informing him that the unicorn mare that was found this morning out on Great West Road was now awake and loose in Maretime Bay. They told him that the mare very well could have been injured and/or lost. Zipp, who was at the station as well, offered to help Hitch by providing flight recon over the town for him. They set out to find the wayward pony after being given a simple description of her. Starlight tried to remain as calm as possible while she sought out a place to hide, somewhere to recoup and get a handle on her situation. Fortunately, she came across a small bookstore, which was pretty much deserted, and went inside. The mare behind the counter warmly greeted her, welcoming the new arrival from Bridlewood to Maretime Bay. “Bridlewood?” Starlight had no idea where this mare spoke about but played along with her hosts misassumptions about her. Starlight headed for the rear of the store, looking for any books pertaining to the history of this area. Even an atlas would have been some kind of start. Zipp had spotted the pony in question enter the store but did not pursue. She called Hitch on her headset and relayed the information. She followed his orders: maintain visual contact and await further instructions. He would be there in less than three minutes. Zipp took up a spot behind some bushes across the street, keeping an eye on the front door. Waiting was nerve wracking for Zipp, thinking the pony they were following would slip away. Hitch finally got there, getting Zipp to come out from her cover. She'll watch the back door while he goes in through the front. Hitch crept slowly toward the back of the store, catching Starlight momentarily by surprise. When she made her horn glow bright with magic, Hitch backed away, explaining that he was the sheriff and wanted to help, assuring Starlight that everything was going to be alright. Starlight's horn stopped glowing, understanding she'd gotten the attention of the constable and would probably be safer with him. She did not flee, instead asking him to take her somewhere safe and secure before she was willing to say more. Hitch led Starlight out the backdoor to find Zipp waiting. As discreetly as possible, Hitch and Zipp escorted Starlight back to the police station, trying not to arouse suspicion. Hitch shut the shades and put the "out to lunch" sign on the front door, locking it as well. Introductions were made as Starlight began to explain the who, what, when, why, and how she ended up in this town. Both Hitch and Zipp were stunned by the seemingly impossible to believe story. But when Starlight mentioned a princess from the past and her friends, Hitch went pale and his mouth fell open more. Hitch told Zipp to go get Sunny from the Crystal Brighthouse, and to make sure Sunny brought those wooden figurines that were in her bedroom, it was critical. Zipp was off in a flash, getting to the Brighthouse in less than a minute. She found Sunny assisting in the construction of her new home, the Crystal Brighthouse, like she had been doing since reuniting the three pony tribes. When Sunny kept insisting on knowing why she had to leave so abruptly, Zipp actually got upset and raised her voice from her frustration, repeating that she could not say here, only that Sunny had to come with her and bring the figurines. Hearing Zipp's insistence and seeing the desperate look in her eyes was enough to convince Sunny to do as asked. Once back at the station, Sunny was introduced to Starlight, along with the story of what happened. Sunny was dumbstruck too, unable to process what she just heard. Sunny produced the wooden figurines from a small drawstring pouch. Hitch and Zipp watched Starlight's reaction, seeing the mare begin to tremble in understanding of just where she was and how far from her time she was sent. "You... You know these ponies, don't you?" Sunny could barely get the words out of her mouth, seeing the shocked look on Starlight's face. Starlight only nodded slightly. Hitch brought forth a map of Appleloosa County, showing the various other small towns that dotted the landscape, as well as highlighting Maretime Bay. Starlight became more upset, overlaying a map of the old Equestria over the new map, showing how much of the land had been changed. Whole towns and villages Starlight remembered were wiped off the map and new towns and villages now existed. Even Canterlot Castle was gone. It was just too much to bear and Starlight broke down. Hitch, Sunny, and Zipp really didn't know what to do or say in that moment as they watched their guest become overwhelmed with emotion. “It's gone... It's all gone! She did it…. she really, really did it! She failed Celestia and Luna!” Her anguish exploded into a fit of tears. The pain quickly turned to anger and Starlight spun around to face the six small figurines on Hitch's desk, hollering at them as if they were actually in the room. “You maniacs! You blew it up! Aw, damn you! Damn you all to Tartarus!” Hitch, Sunny, and Zipp were scared; they had no idea what Starlight was raving on about. They figured it must have something to do with the pony princess of her time and this trip she'd been sent on. The situation got even scarier and upsetting as Starlight then realized what else was gone from her life. “Sunbu-r-r-st! Luste-r-r-r-r!” Starlight screamed at the top of her lungs, remembering her husband and eight-month-old-daughter now long dead and in the past. Her roar made her hosts take a few steps back, afraid of her rage. Starlight again addressed the small purple alicorn figurine. “This is all your fault, Twilight! You had to tempt fate and look what happened to me! I hate you so much!” Starlight let loose such a scream of rage and anguish, her unicorn horn glowing incredibly bright with magic energy. The brightness blinded Hitch, Sunny, and Zipp briefly. The time traveling pony let loose an enormous burst of magical energy, sending a pulse wave exploding outward from her horn. The pulse wave was so intense that its energy blew out every structure's windows within a mile radius of the police station and sent a pulse wave clear across Appleloosa County and out further still. ---------------------------------------- Far off in her castle, situated in Darkwood Forest, Opaline gazed intensely into her mirror pool, crafting a new spell for her latest plans to rule Equestria. Carefully she added the critical ingredient to her mixture, succeeding in getting the intended reaction. She smiled to herself, pleased with how her experiment was going. Suddenly, Opaline could sense it, like a warning wind of an approaching storm. She hurried to protect her potion, casting a protection spell on the mirror pool. She had only seconds to act to prevent a total loss of her experiment, but it was for naught. The energy pulse hit the castle with tremendous force, causing the whole structure to tremble to its foundations. The pulse wave struck Opaline like a wrecking ball, causing her to stumble to the stone floor and lose concentration, resulting in the potion she was attempting to brew being rendered inert. Her whole body suddenly tingled with intense magic energy, causing her coat, mane, and tail to stand on end. Never had Opaline felt such power like this before! Misty Brightdawn came running into Opaline's lab after the pulse wave had passed through the castle. "Mistress Opaline! Mistress Opaline! What was that tremor? Why is my horn glowing now?" she was as scared and confused as any pony would be in her situation. Opaline turned to face her ward, evil delight twinkling in the alicorn's eyes and a villainous grin on her face. So frightening the appearance of her mistress was that Misty suddenly became as afraid of her as she was the strange sensation making her whole body tingle. “That, my dear Misty, is what is called power; such power the likes of which have not been seen on Equestria in centuries!” Opaline roared in triumph, as if recognizing the energy. She waved Misty closer to the pool, wanting her to see a demonstration of her power. Even with the buzzing feeling in her body dissipating, she could harness some of it to act as a beacon, to trace back its origin from the castle. Misty watched as her mistress summoned the magic power to make the pool display a topographical map of Equestria. She gasped at the sight of the virtual model of their world, so life-like in its appearance! Opaline shut her eyes and concentrated, making the map pulse with rhythmic repetition, her horn began to glow brighter now, sending a beam of magic energy into the pool and making it reveal its origin to her. The beam from her horn began to move across the three-dimensional model, passing to the east of her castle to fall on the town of Maretime Bay. Opaline's eyes widened a little more. “There! That is where the magic energy originated! We must discover what it is and harness it for my plans of total domination of Equestria! With such power under my control, I shall reign supreme!” Opaline gave a loud, evil laugh that seemed to fill the whole castle with its sound, making Misty cringe at the thought of what her mistress might have in mind. ---------------------------------------- The emergency calls came flooding into the station and Hitch was instantly overwhelmed. Sunny inexplicably now transformed into her alicorn form, quickly escorted Starlight out of town and back to the Crystal Brighthouse as a safe refuge. This would let Hitch and Zipp take care of as many of the emergencies as possible. The upper floors of the Brighthouse had yet to be completed but there was enough space below to have Sunny move back in. As soon as she had squirreled Starlight away in a bedroom, she dismissed the work crew for the rest of the day, saying she needed some privacy. The workers departed, leaving Sunny alone to tend to the homesick mare in her care. Less than an hour later, Pipp called, frantic to know what happened in Maretime Bay; it was on all the news networks! 'Something' made a huge energy explosion and no pony knew what the source was or how it happened. She could not reach Zipp on her phone; she was not answering calls or responding to texts. Sunny told Pipp to get to the Brighthouse as soon as she could, she would only tell Pipp in person. Pipp promised to get there as quickly as possible. It was about six p.m. when Zipp arrived at the Brighthouse, exhausted and bewildered by seeing Sunny still in her alicorn form. Sunny could not explain why she still had her wings and horn, as she had not summoned her power and it did not seem to be wearing off. She relayed Starlight's current condition; she had put their guest down in one of the bedrooms and listened as Starlight basically cried herself to sleep. Zipp felt terrible for the strange mare, how awful to be trapped in this situation. An hour or so more passed and Hitch arrived at the Brighthouse with Pipp who caught up to him on his way up the road to Sunny's place. Hitch did not have to ask; Sunny was already relaying the information of what had happened. Pipp felt lost in what they were speaking about, as if a spectator of something going on. Less than five minutes after they arrived, in rushed Izzy Moonbow, her horn still glowing with a soft lavender light and a look of confusion on her face. Izzy was elated and bewildered all at the same time. She had seen the energy wave approach and pass through Bridlewood as it happened this afternoon. All the unicorns were affected by it. She came to Maretime Bay to see if any of her friends knew what caused the wave to happen. She was also puzzled to see Sunny in alicorn form for no apparent reason. Finally, all together at last, Sunny gathered every pony in the living room as she, Hitch, and Zipp began to tell Pipp and Izzy what had happened in Maretime Bay today. This was one of the few times when Izzy didn't interrupt some pony's story with a bunch of questions. Her reaction was much as her friends' the first time they heard it. When Pipp, thrilled to hear such an epic story, stated that she wanted to podcast and post what she now knew, Zipp literally slapped the phone out of her little sister's hoof, warning Pipp not to. This was something so big and incredible, that this required absolute secrecy. They couldn't tell a soul, not even their mother. The schism it would cause in their world would be incalculable. The magic energy that had made Sunny take on her alicorn form and made Izzy's horn glow finally faded away, returning Sunny to her regular earth-pony appearance. They heard the click of a door handle being turned and they listened to the slow hoof-steps on the floor just above them, and then come slowly down the ramp to the lower level. Sunny and her friends all stood up, watching Starlight Glimmer make her appearance, solemn expressions worn by all. Her appearance was haggard, as if pushed beyond all physical limits. The five of them made room for her, allowing the guest whatever seat to sit in. Starlight lumbered over to the big recliner, plopping her body down in exhaustion. “Water, please.” Her voice was rough and raspy, vocal cords swollen and sore from giving voice to her pain. “Absolutely,” Sunny spoke softly as she hurried to her kitchen for a glass. She added several chunks of ice to the glass before pouring the chilled water from a pitcher she kept in her refrigerator. She returned with the glass, presenting the offering. Using her magic, Starlight effortlessly levitated the glass from Sunny's hooves to suspend it at her lips. Starlight took several long slow gulps of the cool liquid, feeling it soothe her throat some. Putting the glass down on the table next to her, Starlight reclined herself in the overstuffed and comforting recliner, looking up at the ceiling above her. Hitch and the others all took a seat on the couch and in the two other chairs across from where Starlight sat, all of them giving their guest full and unbroken attention. Sniff! Sniff! Starlight thought she recognized the smell of fresh paint. “This is your new home Sunny?” Starlight kept looking up at the ceiling, as if lost in its expanse of whiteness. “Ye... Yes.” Sunny stammered a little. Starlight's gaze never left the ceiling. “The ponies who painted your ceiling need to come back and give it a second coating. I can still see the spackle marks on the sheetrock underneath.” She said it with such deadpan delivery that it momentarily threw all of them off. Each of them had a restrained smile at the joke made, unsure if they should be smiling at such a serious time. Starlight took a few deep breaths before continuing. “Sheriff,” “Yes ma'am?” Hitch leaned in closer from his seat. “How is it I ended up in that hospital emergency room this morning?” Hitch went on to explain how he got an emergency call from a citizen of Maretime Bay who had found her lying alongside the Great West Road and had summoned the paramedics to bring her to the hospital. At first, he thought she might have been the victim of a hit and run accident. It wasn't until the hospital called him when she had gone on the lamb that he knew she was not injured as the result of an accident. Izzy still was not one hundred percent sure of just who Starlight was or how she got there. Calmly and slowly, Starlight again told her story, this time adding in the names of those who had helped her perform such an incredible feat of magic. “Who... Who are Sunburst and Luster? You were shouting out for them.” Zipp was a bit afraid to ask, believing it might upset Starlight more. Starlight gave a heavy sigh before answering. “Sunburst Blaze is my husband. Luster is our eight- month-old daughter; Luster Dawn.” “Oh, I'm... I'm so sorry!” Pipp felt tears pooling in her eyes, feeling the depth of pain Starlight must be experiencing at the moment, being torn away from her family like this. It must be awful for Starlight! She leaned over to put an understanding hoof on Starlight's, wanting to let the guest know she had her empathy. A small smile of thanks flashed across Starlight's lips, then disappeared, appreciative of the pegasus pony's concern. Sunny brought out her wood figurines once more, wondering if the ponies she was naming were any of these. Starlight introduced the ‘Mane Six’ to these ponies, naming each one and giving a small factoid about them. She saved the most important one for last. “And this is... Princess Twilight Sparkle.” For so long Sunny wished to know the name of the pony princess her dad had used as a model to make this figurine from and was so prominently featured in the stories he told her. For a brief moment, it brought her closer to her father again, seeing what he saw in this little wood carving, wishing to impart what he had read about this pony to Sunny. All five of Starlight's hosts began telling of Equestria's history as they knew it, as it had been taught for quite a long time. Starlight remained silent, listening to each one of these ponies fill in more detail for each pony nation's point of view. It became clearer to Starlight now, Twilight's premonition of some great calamity and their world coming to an end. But, as evidence of their world not coming to an untimely demise, here were five ponies that proved that Equestria may have been changed, but not destroyed. Their kind did not die off. Now that the proverbial ‘cat was out of the bag’, Sunny and her friends were not sure what they could do to help Starlight. With magic having only just returned to their world four months ago after centuries without it, unicorns simply forgot most of their magic abilities from the past. When Starlight demonstrated a simple Transfiguration spell on the glass of water on the end table next to her, turning it into a teacup, her hosts were in total awe of her magic power. “No pony in Bridlewood can do something like that!” Izzy was wide eyed at the amazing power Starlight wielded so easily. This stunned Starlight somewhat. “Wait, you've never seen a unicorn cast a Transfiguration spell before? Ever?” Starlight watched Izzy give a small shake of her head, indicating she had not. “Divination spells?” Starlight grew more perplexed as again, Izzy shook her head. “Levitation spells? Summoning Familiar spells? Create Light spells?” Starlight continued to quiz the fellow unicorn, seeing the vacant look of unfamiliarity on Izzy's expression. Izzy had no idea what Starlight was talking about “Well,” Starlight was at a loss at the moment, “what magic can you do?” Izzy instantly brightened. “Oh, well I can do this!” Concentrating on the objects on the table, she performed a simple levitation spell by picking up one of the little figurines off the table, her horn glowing softly with lavender light. She was eager to see if Starlight approved. “But you can't do something like this?” Starlight's horn also began to glow, her eyes closing slightly with concentration, summoning to appear front of her with a magical burst of energy was the pillow from the bedroom she had been resting in. Her hosts oohed and ahhed, never seeing such a display of magic power before. Starlight was stunned. These five ponies have never seen a rudimentary Teleportation spell? Every unicorn colt or filly by the time they were ten years old could do something of this level of difficulty where she was from. “You must be the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria if you can do magic like that!” Pipp was sure Starlight was, having spent some time in Bridlewood with Izzy and met some of her neighbors. The unicorns all, basically, could do the same thing; make things levitate but not much else. Here was a mare doing unheard of things right before her eyes. Oh, how many hits, likes, and shares a video of Starlight doing magic would generate on her live stream made her mind boggle. For the time being, there wasn't really anything the five of them could do for Starlight. The sound of the guest's stomach giving a low growl made a few of them smirk a little, realizing they were not being courteous to their guest by offering her something to eat. Sunny offered to whip up a quick meal for all of them, making sure to ask Starlight if there was anything in particular, she would want. “I... Don't suppose you still have... pizza in the future, do you?” Starlight was hesitant to ask for something she might not expect them to know of. But she was met with smiles and a small chuckle of relief. “Oh, you bet! We've got the best right here in Maretime Bay, Panucci's Pizza. We can order for delivery.” Hitch was hoping for something quick and easy for them, wanting to talk more with Starlight rather than cook. “Get two of the large veggie supreme pies. Every pony here is hungry and going to be talking for a while and we'll need something to munch on.” Zipp also wanted to know more about the time Starlight was from. There were questions about pegasus ponies from the past she hoped she could get answers to. For now, Starlight would stay at Sunny's home and try to figure out her next steps. Sitting and eating together around the table in Sunny's kitchen, Starlight told them she was glad to see the magic of friendship was strong with them. She could not put her hoof on it yet, but these five seemed to be rather tight knit and had some kind of special chemistry between them. Somehow, the wheel of fate had brought her here to meet them and presented her with the best group of ponies who might be able to assist in any plan for trying to get back home.