//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 
// Story: Your Friends From Across Time 
// by EquestrianKnight97 
//------------------------------//

"I got them! I think I got them!"

"Are you sure?"

"I can feel their consciousness coming back!"

"So can I! I feel it, too! It's faint, but it's there, Luster! Keep trying to get a hold of it!"

"I... I think I know what you mean! I'm sensing something strange!"

"Just keep trying! I know it's hard, but we're almost there!"


[...]


The sounds were low to your ears, but you could hear creatures talking as you stared at the great white void. Everything else was numb to you, though, as if your nervous system had decided to completely clock-out for the day. Your body floated across a sea of nothingness, drifting aimlessly. Yet you could not keep yourself from the faint voices in the distance, even though you could not tell where it was coming from.


[...]


"Don't let off just yet!"

"I'm doing all I can! But the trance is fighting back!"

"Then we just need to push back a little harder!"


[...]


Suddenly, a great grasp took hold of your waist, and without warning you were hoisted up at a great speed. Your body rushed through the sea of nothingness, with columns of bubbles clashing against you, and soon enough the white light began to fade. You could see something beyond it but your vision was too weak to get a good description of it. But whatever it was, it was becoming clearer and clearer by the second.


[...]


"I think we got---"


[...]


You were brought out of the void.

But like a fish ripped from its aquatic home, the experience was beyond unpleasant. 

You closed your eyes and grasped your chest as it failed to take in air, leading you to produce the nastiest mixture of gasps and groans and coughs. Once your skin and fur were exposed to the cold, naked air after being submerged in that sea, you swore you were going into shock, as you flipped and rolled over endlessly on whatever surface you were on.

"Give them some space!" you heard a female voice shout. "Give them space!"

Rolling over on your back, you opened your misty eyes. Once your tears left the corners of your eyes, you sat up on your flank and looked at your surroundings. You were in the classroom where you took your history lessons with Professor Ocellus, as evident by the amphitheater environment. As you already knew, you were not alone in the room. Three ponies, all very familiar to you, stared down at you with concern.

To your left was Luster Dawn, and to your right were two of the most important ponies of the school: Vice-Principal Sunburst and the headmare of the school, Starlight Glimmer, a light purple unicorn mare with a purple and teal-streaked mane and who wore a magenta dress with a dark purple skirt.

Staggering, you got up on all four hooves. You looked back and forth between Luster and the pair of older ponies, waiting for any of them to say something to you, but the seconds passed on with nocreature breaking the silence. Below your vision, you spotted something unfamiliar on the floor, and so you were met with a drawn magical circle that you happened to be standing in.

"What is this---"

You barely finished before a horrible disturbance deep in your stomach crawled its way up your throat with haste. Sweat beaded from your forehead as you searched and searched until you found a small trash can at the side of the desk behind you. You rushed over to it until your legs suddenly gave in under your weight, but by then you were able to crawl over. Then, with your head placed over the can's entrance --- you expelled.

Luster called out your name, and the pink unicorn went over to sit by your side as you retched and trembled. She patted and rubbed your back as you continued your disposal, which went on until you merely spat. Heaving, and with a blush of embarrassment, you took your face out of the trash can and saw a floating tissue wrapped in a golden light. Knowing it was Luster, you took the tissue, wiping off the disgusting residue from your lips and chin.

"Th-Thank you," you uttered weakly. You brought your back to the front of the desk and breathed in and out, trying to calm down. Sadly, along with your upset stomach came a headache that throbbed and split your brain in half. Even trying to touch your forehead was enough to draw out a stinging hiss. 

"What happened to me?"

Luster answered. "After we got away from the monster, we were beginning to leave the fairgrounds when you yelled in pain. The next thing I know, this field of electricity pulled you off the ground, and then it vanished in a flash, dropping you. You had your eyes opened, but they were all white and milky, like you were under some type of curse. It took me a while, but I brought you to the school for Headmare Starlight and Vice Principal Sunburst to help you out."

"What? No. I disappeared. I..." You doubted for a moment whether or not to tell the truth, but you continued once you thought of how important it was to be honest. "I went to the future."

"The future?" asked Sunburst, with a confused frown. "What are you talking about?"

"I know it sounds crazy, it's true. I woke up in this forest outside a place called Maretime Bay. I followed a rainbow in the distance, and that lead me to... to..."

Your tongue was in a twist. You knew actually what you wanted to say --- that you went to the house of a grumpy mare who lived outside of the town while she and her friend were taking care of their outdoor plants. But there was a problem:

You could not remember her name. 

But it was not just her name that slipped your mind. 

You could not remember any of the names of the ponies you met when you left the present. All you had were images of them. The two mares you first met when you left the forest. The unicorn and earth pony who brought you to their home. The stallion who was sheriff of the town. The two pegasi princesses. The puzzle pieces in your head were there when it came to their faces, but you were missing the pieces for knowing who they were exactly.

"I... I... I can't remember their names. I can see their faces, but I don't remember who they were."

"[Y/N]," Starlight called out. The purple unicorn walked forward and sat in front of you, tenderness present on her face. "We need you to keep going on about what you went through. It's important. We don't know what happened, but when Luster brought you here we found out that you were in some type of magical trance."

"A very strong one at that," Sunburst admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "It took us a while of searching just to find the right counter-spell, but the hard part was bringing your consciousness back. It was like trying to get a toy with a barely functioning claw machine."

"I... I..." Your thoughts still hovered over the mystery of why you could barely remember the identities of the ponies you spent nearly three days with. You felt as if you were repeatedly ramming a block against a round hole like a toddler every time you tried to solve the conundrum on your own. 

"[Y/N]," the headmare called out to you again, pleading with her patient blue eyes.  "We really need you to explain what you encounter."

As much as you felt like getting lost in the enigma you faced, you knew that the ponies with more experience with magic were likely the ones who could help you find the answers that you were seeking.

"I... went to this mare's house outside of Maretime Bay, and when I talked to her about where I could find Ponyville, we talked until she evidently told me that it had been many moons since the three pony races were last united. Then I got attacked by a monster that knocked me unconscious. When I woke up, I talked with the town's sheriff and some mares about how I wasn't from their time period. They eventually told me that I could join them to find this... spirit who could help me come back home. Two days later, I left with the mares to find the spirit and we camped down in a cave. That was the last thing I remember before waking up here."

You knew that what you said was very condensed and lacking in some other details, but honestly you were too drained to explain everything. 

"[Y/N]," Sunburst said. "You said that you were stuck in the future for two days?"

"Roughly two and a half," you said. "It must have been in the evening by the time I got sent to the forest."

Sunburst's frown grew. "That can't be. [Y/N], it's only been a few hours since Luster brought you here after the monster attack. It's not even midnight yet."

Your eyes widen. "What? No. I swear. I was there at Maretime Bay for more than one day. I even took a tour with the mares around the town. We went to the park and the sheriff's office and the beach and I---"

"We don't know for certain if you really went into the future," Starlight calmly interrupted. "It's possible that the magical trance you were under simply altered your perception of time --- making things go faster than they actually were in the outside world."

You looked down at your hooves that shook with fatigue. "But... But... I remember it all. Everything aside from the ponies' names. It all... felt so real to me."

"Magic is very complicated, [Y/N]. There are a number of spells out there that can affect both the body and mind in ways incomprehensible to some creatures less experienced with it."

"And trust us," Sunburst interjected, "this trance was definitely something else. I performed an analysis spell on you while you were out of it, and aside from your cardiovascular and pulmonary systems, your body's entire metabolism was in a preserved, frozen state. It was as if time itself halted most of your cells' activities."

You could detect the scientific interest within the vice principal's words, but you on the other hoof were not intrigued with the invasion of privacy that the trance had imposed upon you, even if it was all over now. 

"I... I still don't feel so good," you admitted.

"What hurts?" Luster asked.

"I guess my head and stomach, mainly. But my throat is a bit dry, too."

Luster got up on her hooves. "I'll head to the nurse and get some water and painkillers."

You nodded. "Thanks."

The pink unicorn left your side and went over to the door leading out of the classroom. Once the door closed, Starlight sat up and walked back to Sunburst, and you drew your eyes to the floor to collect your thoughts. 

Were you really sent many of years ahead to the future? A future where ponykind was rebuilding itself after being separated for so long? A future in which Equestria's non-pony residents were nowhere left to be seen? What caused such a place to exist in the first place? 

And most of all... why did it bother you.

You were back home, in your appropriate timeline, with creatures that you were familiar with and at a place you have known for months. Why did it matter to you that you accomplished the very thing that the mares of Maretime Bay tried to help you out with? And if Headmare Starlight was right, then none of it was real to begin with. It was all in your head. Though you wonder what caused you to fall under that spell to begin with.

Minutes passed on until Luster came back to the classroom, levitating three clear bottles of water and a small vial of medicine pills. You were surprised that the headmare and vice principal had nothing else to say to you after the pink unicorn had left --- simply staring at anything else other than you.

"Here you go," Luster said, placing the items before your hooves. 

"Thank you," you said. After reading the instructions, you twisted the cap on the vial and shook out two painkiller pills before popping them into your mouth. While the pills sat on top of your tongue, you opened up the bottle and drank a fair 
amount of water to wash the medicine down your esophagus.

Looking at the older unicorns in the room, you spoke up. "What happened to the monster at the fairgrounds?"

Both ponies gazed at each other with apprehension. Just as you thought that there would be no answer to your question, Luster kicked out the awkward silence.

"When I was trying to get you to the school, we came across the monster again. Luckily, Discord arrived to put it inside of a magical bubble. He told me that Georgia went to Fluttershy's cottage to look for him. She and the others are safe."

"Was... anycreature hurt?"

A frown brought Luster's face down. "Yes. I went back to the fairgrounds to help the injured while Headmare Starlight and Vice Principal Sunburst looked for the counterspell. No creature lost their life, but... something happened to some of them. It's like their essence or livelihood was stripped from them. They're still alive, it's just that they're in a half-conscious state and need to be taken care of by others. It might be due to the monster, but there's no certainty yet."

That unsettled you. "Were they in a trance like me?"

The pink unicorn shook her head. "Not exactly. They can still move around, it's just in an aimless, directionless manner unless they have guidance. They even need help consuming food and water. But worse of all were their eyes. They just seemed so... soulless."

The last part of her sentence was said with a near shutter, betraying her vulnerability. Nonetheless, she continued.

"Even the mayor got turned into that state. Luckily Vice-Mayor Tiara is handling the situation as best as she can."

"So, nocreature knows why the monster came out of the train?" you asked.

"There were creatures that evacuated the train, but they weren't in the car where the monster came out of. The ones that were..." She bit her bottom lip. "They didn't make it through the explosion."

A shadow fell over your face. You had the fortune to not see the horrors within that burnt car, but it did not stop you from realizing that, even at a distance, you had stared at the smoking grave of several creatures. Between the monster attack and your possible journey to the future, you had no clue as to how you were holding it all together.

In fact, you were certain that you were just a ticking timebomb waiting to go off at the slightest news of another tragedy or mishap.

"[Y/N]," Starlight said. Her voice took you off guard, as there was a near minute of silence after learning about the demise of the unfortunate train passengers. "There's something you need to know."

"Starlight," Sunburst interrupted hastily. "Please. Now isn't the best time for them."

The purple unicorn looked over to her colleague. "If we don't tell them now, they'll learn about it eventually. It's better that they learn it from us rather than be angry later on for keeping the truth from them." She brought her eyes back to you. "I have to tell you something, but you need to understand that as much as you may want to, you're not in any position to do anything --- especially since you're still a minor under the school's care."

You stared blankly at her, waiting for her to deliver the news, whatever it may be. 

"While we were looking for a spell to get you out of the trance, one of the staff came by with a radio. The channel that was on talked about multiple explosions throughout central Equestria, and that moments later monsters came out and attacked residents. Some of these events occurred in small towns, like Ponyville. But most of them were in cities."

You stayed silent as stone, all while Starlight took in a deep breath --- unable to look at you.

"[Y/N], this is going to be hard to hear, but one of those cities were---"

You did not even wait.

In one swift, fluid moment, you jumped off your hooves, galloped past the three unicorns, and shoulder-checked the door wide open. It was completely an autopilot decision. Nothing else mattered to you except finding the school's entrance. It was the only set of doors that you were familiar with going through ever since you came here.

You could hear voices behind you as you ran from hallway to hallway, but you could not distinguish who they belonged to. The beating of your heart and lungs against your ribcage and the thunder of your hoof steps blurred your senses to the outside world like a bull seeing red. To your luck, the school seemed completely deserted, otherwise, you would have found yourself barrelling into various creatures, regardless of their grade or profession.

Taking a sharp turn, you recognized that you were at one of the two hallways that connected to the front doors, as evident by the row of columns with attached banners that you passed. Throughout your whole gallop, you had only one anxious thought in your head on repeat like a broken record player.

Don't let it be true. Don't let it be true. Don't let it be true. Don't...

You bolted to the left and came in front of a grand pair of closed doors, much larger than the one you busted through in the classroom. They were filled with a type of teal stained glass, and the crest of the school, a golden shield with a six-pointed star and six gems separated between the points, was split in the middle. Standing on your hindlegs, you grabbed both handlebars and pushed. Once there was enough space, you lept in between the doors and made your way to the bridge over the school's lake.

As you crossed the bridge in a hurry, you heard the voices once again behind you, but the blood rushing through your head muffled any translation of what they meant. 

You had to see it for yourself.

You just had to.

Maybe she was wrong.

Maybe it was as untouched as a respected museum relic.

Once your hooves touched grass instead of cold stone, that was when you turned around, skidding against the ground in an attempt to halt yourself. By the time you did stop, fatigue held your head down as you caught your breath. You almost did not want to face it, as fear began to get the better of you. But a single ounce of stubbornness prevented you from turning back from your dire sense of curiosity.

You looked up.

You looked up...

You looked up...

And your world came crashing down.

Your heart nearly stopped pumping blood as your vessels ran ice cold, and your lungs weakened while your brain went numb from overload. Your mouth dropped wide open in horror, and the most painful of gasps and groans arose from your vocal cords, as if you were about the retch up something once again. 

"No. No. No."

You paced back and forth as your youthful eyes were glued to the horror before you, even though your legs shook underneath your weight. You continued to sputter your incomprehensible nonsense, though the few whispers that did escape could not make sense of what you saw.

"This... This isn't real... It can't be... No..."

"[Y/N]!"

Your eyes were still stuck on what you were witnessing, but in the corner of your sight, you could see three dots --- one pink, the second orange, and the final purple --- rushing towards you from the bridge of the school. You took the time to look at the three unicorns as they met you on the field, each of them out of breath.

There was no mirror present before you, but you knew in your spirit that you were obliterated. Your lips trembled viciously, and your eyelids squinted to prevent the flow of tears from pouring out. Even beyond your sight, you could feel the contortions your face was making as you tried to hold it all together out of some asinine sense of pride.

In return for your lack of strength, each of the ponies held a solemn frown, though Luster was the only one to look you in the eyes. They seemed to be a sense of pleading on her face, but no words came out of her in an effort to argue her case to you. 

You wanted to say something --- anything --- that could make things easier for you. Even a dark, insensitive joke came to your brain, but you failed to find the correct speech in time. An invisible wave of nausea took hold of your mind, and soon your body went numb. Before you noticed it, your legs were swept from under you and you fell to the ground on your side with a heavy thud.

"[Y/N]!" you heard Luster yell through a muffle. By now the world was beginning to exit itself from your sight and hearing, slowly yet surely. With everything becoming blurry and with dark spots floating around, you saw the three unicorns hurry over to you. Luster was the first to reach you, putting a hoof on your cheek while her mouth moved frantically. 

Before you went out, before the world became shrouded in darkness, you looked past Luster and past the school at the mountain miles away. By now, the sun was on the other side of the horizon, but the dark purple sky twinkling with the brightest of early-bird stars was a perfect background for such a mountain. But today was an exception. On the side of the mountain laid a city, a city that was now a victim to tendrils of black smoke and large flickering spots of flames.

It was Canterlot.

Your home.