"Dang it."
Starlight mumbles her frustration under her breath. You let out a quiet chuckle.
"Another flop, I take it?"
"Yeah. That's attempt number... what, 137?"
"Only 136, Glim. No need to get your tail in a knot over it, haha."
"Pfft. Just you wait. I'm getting closer. I can feel it."
"If there really is something out there, I'm sure you of all ponies will find it. Even if I have a hard time believing it myself."
She sighs.
"Thanks, Anon."
The two of you lie comfortably on Starlight's bed. She rests on her stomach as she closes her eyes and starts to concentrate once more, her horn beginning to glow a magical turquoise color all the while. Her breathing is slow and methodical, making the amount of effort she is putting into concentrating on this spell all the more obvious. You, meanwhile, lie perpendicular to her, your head resting on the side of her torso as you quietly read through a book on magical theory. Some parts still go over your head, but you've been stuck in Equestria for a few years now and you've actually gotten a pretty good grasp on a lot of magical concepts.
...What? You can't be interested in magic just because you're a human?
The room has an all-around peaceful atmosphere. The gentle crackling coming from the fireplace prevents the room from feeling too quiet, as do the faint sounds of Starlight's magic and the occasional turning of a page from your book. Your head gently rises and falls in tandem with Starlight's controlled breathing. Your marefriend's coat is as soft as ever, and she smells faintly of berries and mint.
The lights in her Castle of Friendship room are turned off, leaving exclusively the fireplace and Starlight's magic to illuminate everything. It's enough to let you see the pages of your book while also remaining cozy. The warmth of the fire is holding strong against the bitter winter air, which is appreciated, considering a castle made of crystal isn't exactly a good insulator.
Eventually, Starlight's horn flashes. You both gasp as she instinctively recoils, knocking you off of her in the process.
"Ah, sorry Anon!"
"I'm good. What just happened?"
You both stop for a moment as you look at Starlight's horn. The glowing turquoise aura enveloping it has grown extremely bright, and after a few seconds of silence, Starlight slowly begins to smile. Her eyes seem to sparkle in the dimly lit room as she looks at her horn, then back at you.
"This is it!"
"Y-you found it?"
"I found it!"
Starlight hops off of the bed and begins to concentrate once more. You look at her with a mixture of excitement and confusion. A couple of weeks ago, she told you an interesting story. Apparently, while practicing a few spells that should allow for long-distance communication between unicorns, Starlight felt something strange. It felt as though a similar (but not identical) feeling to that spell was coursing through her. However, it was coming from somewhere up above her, and it was very, VERY faint. The feeling was fleeting, and she quickly lost the connection. She told you that, even though it felt like it was coming from somewhere unbelievably far away, the feeling wasn't the same as a simple message like she would get from, say, Twilight. Instead, it felt like a massive collection of information, an entire network of messages coming through in one big package.
You... didn't really get it.
The idea of a message coming from outer space carrying loads of information at once? And she just so happened to intercept it while trying to practice a (comparably) short-range spell? It just seemed a bit far-fetched. You absolutely believe that there is life out there. After all, you are a human that just kind of woke up in Equestria one day with no way home, and you had to have come from somewhere. And yet, this just seemed too... weird.
Of course, now that Starlight is standing before you actively making that connection, there is little you can do but applaud the fact that she was right and you were wrong.
"I've got it!"
The magic surrounding Starlight's horn seems to stabilize. Rather than a glowing aura surrounding her horn, it now looks as though the magic is flowing through her horn, highlighting the grooves within it and only providing a small glow at the very tip of it.
"Soooo, now what?"
"There's a lot of info coming through, but it's surprisingly easy for me to maintain this spell. It almost feels as though the information is... encrypted or something. Like you're supposed to take in the info a little bit at a time."
"What kind of info is it?"
"I'm not sure. I... I don't know how to decipher it."
"Huh. Is it a different language or something?"
"No no, nothing like that. It's like... hold on." Starlight tilts her head just a bit and narrows her eyes. "I feel like a part of the message is telling me how to view the message."
"View? Like... visibly?"
Starlight closes her eyes and concentrates once more. After a few seconds, the light at the tip of her horn slowly peels away, floating in midair before her. It quickly spreads, creating a paper-thin rectangle in midair made out of her turquoise magic. Starlight opens her eyes again as you both gasp.
"What is this?"
You gulp. A single bead of sweat begins to form on your brow. Your eyes go wide, and your jaw hangs open.
This rectangle is a screen. And on that screen, you see a very, very familiar sight. A sight you never thought you'd see again.
"The internet."
"H-huh?!"
"...It's the internet."
"What's 'the internet?'" You stare at the magical screen in shocked silence for a few moments, too dumbfounded to say anything. "Nonny? You know what this is?"
You suddenly snap back to your senses.
"Y-yes! This is a massive network of information from my old world! This is the internet!"
"THIS MESSAGE IS FROM YOUR OLD WORLD?!"
"It sure looks like it!"
"Anon... this is incredible! Wh-what does the internet do?! What's on it?!"
Starlight looks at you with unbridled glee, the sparkle in her eyes having fully returned. That joy fades just a tad when she hears you sigh.
"Everything, Starlight. Pretty much all human knowledge is stored somewhere on the internet."
"Th-that's impossible. Surely you just mean that it's, like, an encyclopedia or something, right?"
"You can find pretty much every single encyclopedia ever written on the internet, Starlight. As well as... more or less everything else."
"I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this to be honest."
"I can see why. I have no idea how a communication spell did this, but... yeah, I imagine coming from someone who has lived their entire life without a computer, hearing about the internet must sound pretty ridiculous."
"Do you know how to use it?"
She motions towards the magical screen still floating in the air. You look at it with a bit of apprehension but, seeing the anticipation on your marefriend's face, you steel yourself and step forwards. You bring a hand to the screen and glide your index finger across it. Sure enough, it responds like you would expect a browser on a touch screen to, complete with a pop-up keyboard and everything.
"What do you want to know?"
"Umm... I don't know, really."
"I guess there are countless options to choose from, huh?"
"D-do you think you could... you know... look up information on humans in general? You're the only one I've ever seen, after all."
With a nod, you do a quick image search for "humans." Probably a weird thing to look up considering they made the internet, but you do so regardless. Starlight gasps excitedly as you pull up image after image of humans of all kinds. She seems absolutely enamored, both by the internet itself and the humans she's looking at.
"They're beautiful," she whispers. "Just like you."
A blush makes its way to your face as you continue scrolling for her.
"I think you can now see what I meant when I said I'm nothing special among humans."
You can't help but feel a bit self-conscious as you scroll by pictures of all kinds of celebrities, models, and people that are all-around more attractive than you.
"I don't know, Nonny. Pretty though they may be, you look better than any of these photos."
Your blush deepens as you wordlessly keep scrolling. Eventually, you reach the end of the page.
"Want to try? So long as you can figure out how to work a keyboard, I can guide you through the webpages."
"Yes, please!"
You step aside as Starlight gladly takes control of the screen. You share quite a few laughs as the hours seem to fly by, looking up everything from human foods to human history to... funny cat videos. Starlight makes tons of mistakes, but she's a quick learner, and soon enough she's surfing the web like a seasoned veteran.
It's all just so nostalgic for you. Getting to see this relic of a life you've left behind. If not for your mirror, you might have forgotten what humans actually look like. However, the fact that this is here at all proves that you're light-years away from your home. You see news articles pop up about people you've never heard of. It looks like climate change is still a problem. Politics are still front and center, and you still couldn't care less about it. Yup, it's still the internet all right.
"Ooo, I wonder what'll happen if I look up your name." Your eyes suddenly go wide. You open your mouth to protest, but before you can say anything, she's already completed her search. "Woah, what's this?"
Starlight clicks on the first link she can see, which sends her to the only social media profile you ever had. You weren't on it 24/7 or anything like that, but you used it enough to be able to keep up with family and friends.
"S-Starlight, maybe don't click on that."
Your anxious words are barely a mumble, and Starlight doesn't hear them. Instead, she scrolls down a bit, seeing a list of people you have added. With the way that website works, the first people she sees are the people you interacted with the most: your mom, your grandparents, your closest friends. The pictures leave you completely speechless. You had almost forgotten what they looked like.
"Do you know these people? They certainly seem interesting!" Starlight continues to scroll down excitedly, and although you want to say something, anything, your mouth simply refuses to speak. However, Starlight's enthusiasm comes to an immediate halt as she gasps, grabbing your full attention. "What the heck?!"
The most recent post on your account is not a post you made. Instead, it is a collection of images, along with a caption. Starlight slowly scrolls through the images, her eyes wide as she lingers on each one for a good long moment. You stare blankly at the screen, now choosing to say nothing.
A picture of you as a child, happily celebrating your birthday surrounded by your family. A picture of you and your dad at a baseball game. You and your best friends going to see a terrible movie. Your first car. Your old girlfriend. Finally, a picture of you celebrating your college graduation with everyone previously mentioned.
The last image is not a picture. Instead, it's a scan of a piece of paper. An obituary, with a name in big, bold letters at the top.
Anon.
Starlight reads through the obituary very slowly. It was clearly written by your parents, each and every sentence a loving retelling of your life, your deeds, and the people that you met along the way. No death date is listed.
As Starlight tries to scroll to the next picture, she instead sees the caption that the pictures were posted alongside.
"Miss you, Anon. Wherever you are, we hope you're happy."
Those are the words that break you. Everything on the screen seems to blur together as you start to feel nauseous. Meanwhile, Starlight finally breaks the uncomfortable silence.
"What is all of this? Is that your family? Why is it on the internet?"
The distracted Starlight takes a while to notice your thousand-yard stare directed towards the floor.
"Anon?"
"..."
You eyes begin to lose focus. Your head starts to pound as you finally become aware of the terrible weight that has been settling in your chest. For a brief moment you think Starlight is saying something, but your mind is moving too quick to process it. You feel like you're going numb. Your hands begin to shake, and you wonder...
You wonder...
...
You suddenly snap back to reality, your eyes regaining focus once more. You're lying on your back on Starlight's bed. There is a weight on top of you, and a quick glance reveals that Starlight has fallen asleep on your chest. Taking a look around the room, it appears that Starlight has dropped the spell. It's the middle of the night, and the only light remaining in the room is the fire, still slowly burning in the fireplace.
You rub your temple. There is still a throbbing in your head, but at least you've regained your other senses.
"Anon?"
You realize that your stirring must have caused Starlight to wake up. She looks into your eyes, genuine worry plain on her face.
"Hey, Glim."
"Are you okay? You zoned out on me, and I couldn't get through to you. Then you just about collapsed on top of me."
"Oh. S-sorry about that. I-I don't know what came over me, hehe..."
Starlight narrows her eyes just a bit, though her expression conveys nothing but concern for your well-being.
"Nonny. You're a terrible liar, you know that?"
You sigh.
"So I've been told."
"And you know you can tell me anything, right?"
"I do."
"...Okay. I'll, uh, I'll just..."
Starlight starts rolling off of you. But as she does so, a wave of emotion washes over you. Your lip begins to quiver as you do your best to hold everything in, but find it excruciatingly painful to do so. Before she can get off, you wrap your arms around her comparably small pony body and hold her tight against your chest. In that moment, you begin to sob.
Starlight opens her mouth to speak, but closes it before she does so. Instead, she simply wraps her front legs around you and returns the embrace, seemingly sharing in your sorrow.
For the next few minutes, no words are spoken. The only sounds in the room are the fire and your quiet sobs. Finally, you calm down enough to loosen your grip on Starlight. However, she does not let go.
"...Starlight?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
Starlight gives you a worried smile.
"I'm not going anywhere, Nonny."
"...So."
"So?"
"I guess we can say for certain that I'm an alien now."
"Nonny!"
Starlight looks at you with an almost offended-looking smile. You give her a tired laugh.
"Really though, I'm... glad I saw that." You sigh. "At least I know that everyone I left behind is still okay. Even if I disappeared on them..."
"Considering how long it took for them to post your obituary, it seems like they spent a long time searching for you before deciding that you're... you know."
"Their hopes weren't in vain, either."
"What do you mean?"
"They said that wherever I am, they hope I'm happy." You give Starlight a gentle scritch behind her ear, and it does the adorable flopping thing that pony ears do. You always smile when that happens. "And I am happy. Even if they don't know it."
Starlight gives you a smile, though it's clear that there is still something on her mind.
"I'm glad that you're seeing the bright side of things."
"Glim?"
"Hm?"
"Out with it."
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"Unlike me, you're an excellent liar. Buuuuuuut, you're bad at hiding when something is on your mind."
"...Wait, really?" Starlight's worry slightly fades when she asks her question in a genuinely surprised manner.
"Maybe I just know you too well."
Starlight gives you a gentle shove on your shoulder, and you chuckle at the notion.
"Look, Nonny, I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have messed around with something from your old life like that without consulting you first. I was too excited, and I got caught up in the moment."
"There's no need to apologize, Starlight. The internet is pretty cool. Besides, maybe one day I'll be ready to go through some of my old family photos on there with you. It's the closest I'll ever get to introducing you to my parents, at least."
"I appreciate it, but don't go doing anything you're not comfortable with."
"I didn't say right away. I'll probably need to prepare myself first. Plus, there's no rush. The internet isn't going anywhere."
"Wait, it's not?"
"Nope. Once you put something on the internet, it's there forever."
"That's... incredible. Human technology is amazing."
"You know, it's a shame that our connection seems to be read-only."
"Why is that?"
"Well, since everything on the internet is there forever, I think I'd like to put a picture of us on there somewhere."
Starlight's cheeks turn an adorable shade of pink and she glances away from you.
"Do you always have to be so cheesy?"
You pull her in closer and give her a smooch on the forehead.
"Always."
Starlight snuggles into you as you hold her tight. There are a lot of loved ones you accidentally left behind in your old life, but there are just as many loved ones who care about you in your new life as well. And just as your loved ones are finding solace in their hope that you are happy, so too are you doing the same for them.
"Thank you, Starlight. I love you."
"I love you too, Nonny."
"Hey, uh, Nonny?"
"Yeah?"
"What is 'clop?'"
"Don't click on that!"