It took less than an hour, but you finally arrived at the beach of Maretime Bay. Technically, as Sunny told you, everything south of the town consisted of sand and ocean, but it was the southwestern part of town that most ponies went to to relax and play at, as it had the most space.
As the three of you walked amongst the sand heading southeast, Sunny tried to entice you with the history of the beach and the annual events that occurred there, mostly during the summers. Your ears managed to collect bits and pieces of what Sunny was telling you, but most of your attention was focused on the layout of the beach.
By now, it must have been sometime in the afternoon, and yet the atmosphere radiated the feeling that you were experiencing a blissful sunset evening. Though you never stopped in your tracks behind Sunny and Izzy, you took your time taking in all that you could of your surroundings.
The sand before you was of a royal amber-gold color, and the grains were small and sparse enough for them to deliver a soft texture beneath your hooves, even when they clung to your fur. Beyond to your left, the loud, dark blue ocean waves crashed into each other, creating sprays of white foam that flew into the air. And above in the clear sapphire sky flew a fleet of white birds that cried out as they soared underneath the warm sun.
Though the beach was not crowded, you and the two mares were not the only creatures here. There were plenty of ponies around you that decided to spend their time here doing various activities, but as you noticed, most of the playing was done by the foals and teenagers. Along with the native language of the birds high up, the laughter and shouts of the younger ponies filled your ears.
"Are you okay, [Y/N]?"
Caught off guard, you looked up to see Izzy staring at you with a concerned frown.
"You've kinda been staring at a bunch of nothing for a while now."
You realized what she meant when you realized that you had been admiring the sand you had been stepping on for a while. It was almost like you were in a wonderland daze that felt too comforting for you to wake up from. It did not make much sense --- being around mere dirt and water --- and yet you felt like you could build a foundation here.
"Oh. I'm fine," you answered. "It's just that I've... never been to the beach before."
"Were there any beaches in Old Equestria?"
You nodded. "There were, it's just that my family never took me to one. Outside of field trips,.... I've never really been outside of my home, at least before I was sent to Ponyville to attend the school."
"But you had fun at home, right?" Izzy asked.
You shrugged. "I guess. My home had movie theaters and parks and arcades, but mainly I just stayed at home reading comic books and manga."
"What's a...' The unicorn's face scrunched up. "manga?"
"It's like a comic book, except they aren't made in Equestria. They were from this place called Neighpon. I don't know if it exists anymore, but it was filled with creatures like kappas and onis. Ponies began living there long before I was born."
Sunny decided to involve herself in the conversation. "Did you do all of these things on your own? I mean, did you have anypony to spend time with?"
You nearly flinched, which embarrassed you. Luckily, it did not seem that any of the mares noticed that.
"I didn't have any friends back home --- if that's what you mean. I was mostly by myself."
"What about when you went to the School of Friendship?" Sunny asked once more. "You must have gotten along with a bunch of creatures at a place centered on friendship."
"I got along with creatures at the school --- both students and teachers --- but I didn't make any relationships there. At most, I was part of a study group from time to time."
"Geez. That sounds a bit lonely," Izzy chimed in.
"I was okay with it. I've never been much of a social pony anyway."
"Well, I guess if that makes you more comfortable," Sunny said. "But I hope you do find somepony to get closer to when we bring you back home. I know it's not my business, but life gets more colorful if there's someone else to share it with."
You bestowed a faux smile on your face. "I don't doubt that. But thank you."
"So, what do you like about the beach? Since it's your first time to one?"
You were a bit caught off by the initiation of what you guessed was small talk, but you had a confidence in yourself that convinced you that nothing invasive was going to occur.
"The beach?" you started off. "Well, I like the sand, it's not as rough as I thought it would be. And I don't want to go out swimming, but the ocean seems nice to be in --- as long as I don't get swept up in the waves."
Sunny chuckled. "Even though Maretime Bay's beach is the only one I've been to, I have to agree with what you said. Is there anything else here that interests you?"
You bit your bottom lip. "I guess the atmosphere is nice. The sun is out so it's warm, but it's not too humid either. And I do like the sounds of the waves and birds. I guess it's something you could lose yourself in."
The orange earth pony brightened her smile toward you. "See? Doesn't it feel good sharing your experience with somepony else? You wouldn't be able to do that with yourself."
It took a lot of willpower to resist rolling your eyes. Sunny meant well, but she was not going to get you to be a very talkative creature anytime soon. And given that you probably would not be around her and Izzy for much longer, you did not see a need to get to know any of them. But right now did not seem like the right time to mention that --- though perhaps it was best to never mention it at all.
"Well, I still don't know if---"
"SUNNY! IZZY! HEY!"
A high-pitched feminine voice rang out, causing you to look all around for the source. It was not until you looked at Izzy and Sunny that your eyes followed where their gaze went. High above in the air, two winged creatures began to float down --- the sun's glare sequestering their appearance in a shadowy cloak. With the sunlight being too much, you held your foreleg above your eyebrows.
"That sounds like Pipp," Izzy commented.
"Wow! They're back earlier than I thought they would be," Sunny said before waving. "Hey, girls!"
The duo of winged creatures were close enough to the ground that you were able to see that they were both pegasi. One was a white mare with a short, slick pink mane with a blue strip through the middle. The other pegasus was a pink mare with an average, wavy purple mane. For the latter mare, there was a glint near her head that you noticed, which you guessed was just reflected sunlight.
The two pegasi landed gently in front of the three of you, sending particles of sand floating into the air. You and the other two mares continued to walk forward.
"Hey, Sunny. Hey, Izzy!" greeted the white pegasus. She, along with the pink pegasus, smiled right at the earth pony and unicorn. "You girls doing okay?"
"We're all right," Sunny replied. "How was your meeting in Zephyr Height?"
"Well, you know how I feel about royal duties and all that," said the white pegasus. "Always a drag. Always repetitious and mundane. I'm just lucky that Founders' Day isn't the busiest pegasus holiday we have."
"Oh, come on, Zipp," said the pink pegasus. "You of all ponies should recognize how important history is. I thought you would be excited with celebrating how our family founded Zephyr Heights."
The other pegasus rolled her eyes. "First of all, our family didn't find the city --- they just became the rulers after a whole mess of other bad leaders. And second, we barely even teach the foals that much about all that happened during the Resistance. We don't go into the complexities of how the family came to the throne. All we do is say that everypony else involved was the bad guy and then play some silly games."
The pink pegasus sighed. "Okay, well, I rather not get into it with you right now. So, Sunny, Iz --- what did you do while we were gone?"
"Oh, nothing too big happened," Izzy answered. "Other than taking care of this pony behind us and showing them around the town."
"You mean them?" the white pegasus asked, pointing a forehoof toward you. "What exactly do they need help with?"
"Well...," you began to say. "You see, I---"
"Maybe it's best that I introduce all three of you to each other," interrupted Sunny, before pointing to the white pegasus. "[Y/N], this is Zipp, and the pony next to her is Pipp. They're the royal sisters that we told you about earlier. Zipp and Pipp, this is [Y/N]. They're kind of a... visitor to Maretime Bay."
"A visitor?" Pipp stated perplexedly. "But they're an earth pony. How can they be from anywhere other than here?"
Sunny chuckled sheepishly. "You see, that's another thing. It might seem a bit off, but they're apparently from the past. Though given how magic has returned to Equestria, I think something like this was bound to happen."
"Yeah!" chimed in Izzy energetically. "They came from like waaay back when all the ponies got along, and the princesses were still around, and Equestria had other creatures, and---"
"Woah, woah, woah," Zipp said, holding up a hoof. "Hold on a minute. You're telling me that they're from hundreds of moons ago? As in --- they somehow traveled to the future?"
"Well, duh, Zipp!" Izzy replied, unamused. "You're just repeating what Sunny said."
Zipp looked over to her sister, at which the two shared a concerned look. "We've been flying for a while now. We were actually at the Brighthouse earlier on until we realized that you two weren't there. Is it okay if we go back there to talk?"
The walk back to the Crystal Brighthouse took less than an hour. Even though you wished to stay a bit longer at the beach, you knew that there were more pressing matters to take care of, and those matters were discussed at the kitchen table.
With it having been hours since you last ate, Sunny worked up some dandelion sandwiches with chips --- you had plain ones --- and brought cups and a pitcher of juice over to the table. While taking breaks in between bites, you and Sunny told the pegasi sisters about your journey here --- from the events at the festival in the past, to the monster attack outside of Posey's home.
Needless to say, both sisters were rather taken aback, despite how short the recap really was.
Zipp was the first one to speak up. "So, you have no idea what or who sent you here from the past?"
You shook your head. "I far as I was aware, I didn't see a unicorn or any other creature cast a spell around me. But then again, I was in too much pain to really notice anything."
"And you're certain that the monster outside of Posey's place wasn't the same monster that attacked you at the fair back home?"
"They definitely looked different. The one back home looked like a big cat, and the one here was like a shadowy blob."
Zipp tapped a hoof under her chin, adopting a stoic face as she glared at the table. Pipp, on the other hand, carefully rubbed her hooves together as she looked at you.
"So..., [Y/N], is it?"
"That's my name."
"Right, okay. So, how exactly do you plan on getting back home? I mean, I'm glad to have you here and I hope you're enjoying your stay, but I imagine you want get back to the past, right?". So, have you got a clue about how to do that?"
"Oh, we're gonna have Discord help bring them back when we find him," Izzy said with a smile.
"Discord?" Pipp asked, stunned. "I thought we were just going to get the pegasus crystal from him. I kinda doubt that he's just going to help us or them."
The unicorn smirked. "Oh, I'm certain we can convince him with just the right words. He seems like a grumpy old draconequus, but I know he's a big softy deep down inside."
Pipp crossed her forelegs. "Well, he didn't seem like a great guy the first time we met him. But you're coming with us tomorrow to Candlebright Cove, aren't you, [Y/N]?"
"If that's where Discord is," you stated.
"Well, technically he may not be there. It's just that there's a pony there with info on where Discord may be."
"Sunny," said Zipp, "do you know if anypony here saw or heard anything strange since last night after that monster showed up?"
"Well, Sprout and Sugarpuff disappeared last night. We saw missing posters outside of the sheriff's office, and they disappeared sometime after I went to Posey's place with Hitch and Izzy,"
"Yeah," Izzy commented. "I hope Sprout is alright, even if he is a bit of a meanie."
"And is Hitch doing anything about it?" continued Zipp.
Sunny answered. "He's staying here with some volunteers to keep looking for the two of them. Mrs. Cloverleaf managed to talk him out of coming with us to find Discord."
"That's probably for the best. If that second monster is still around somewhere, it may be the reason why Sprout and Sugarpuff haven't shown up yet. But I'm gonna talk to Hitch and tell him to be extra careful out there and see what he's found out already. If anything dangerous happens while he's searching, I want him to call us --- even if we're on the way to Candlebright Cove."
"Definitely. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning, so take all the time you need, Zipp."
The white pegasus scooted out of her chair, taking her finished plate with her mouth and using her wing her grip her emptied cup. After going over to the sink to dispose of the items, Zipp lifted herself off the floor and floated away from the table and out of the kitchen.
"So, you're all friends with the sheriff?" you asked anycreature who would answer.
"Yeah," spoke Pipp. "All five of us went on this great big journey to find the Unity Crystals, even though we didn't exactly have the same motives for doing so. But hey! We bonded with each other, we brought magic back, and we reunited all of ponykind. Those kinds of accomplishments, like, have to be proof that our friendship is really important --- right?"
"I... guess." You looked over to Sunny. "I know that we had to come back here, but were you done with the tour?"
"By the time Zipp and Pipp came by, the tour was mostly done," she explained. "I mean, we didn't exactly take you everywhere in town, but if you want we can visit one more time before nightfall."
You mulled the proposition over in your head. "I'm good. I appreciate it, but I think I had my full of traveling for today, even though I did like the beach."
Izzy leaned across the table, beaming right at you with a smile. "So, what do you want to do here? Do you want to watch TV?"
"Oh, TV. That's like... what did you call it?"
"It's like watching a movie, except it's all in a small metal box."
"And we can watch... anything on it?"
The unicorn nodded. "Yep. We could watch ponies acting, ponies playing sports, ponies announcing the weather --- basically anything. Though to be honest we don't really get anything out of watching the weather forecast, aside from looking at the nice drawings of the sun and clouds. So, what do you think?"
"Well, I guess if there's nothing else to do... sure."
"Alrighty then!" Izzy leapt out of her chair and headed outside of the kitchen. "Come on, let's browse through a few channels until we find something interesting! I think there's a re-run of the Trotformers series on. It's about these pony robots! I'm sure you'll love it!"