Friends From Across Time

by EquestrianKnight97

Chapter 2 (Unicorn)

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long wait.

I'll try to update the story with new chapters on either a two-week or monthly schedule.

Don't be afraid to give feedback on any errors you might find.

No. This is not your destiny.

A darkness has fallen over Equestria, and you may be the only one who can help stop it.

I have no knowledge of the troubles you face, but this school will be your guide.

You must learn what you can here, about the joys and necessities of friendship.

Or else be the case, Equestria will be gone.

I will send my assistant after you, but the task is up to you.

[...]

RING

---

As your eyes and consciousness come awake, you feel the familiar sense of grass and dirt underneath your stomach. Your blurred vision is temporarily blinded by the sun from above, but when the rays of light dial it down a bit, you're able to find yourself laying on the ground in a grass field surrounded by two buildings.

Wherever you are, it definitely isn't the busy, noisy, active streets of Canterlot (Which are now in flames). Aside from the songs of birds and the monotone sound of rushing water, that you could not find, the outdoors you're experiencing are relatively calm and peaceful. But though the warm beams of sunshine and gentle breezes in the air do their best to welcome you, your body refuses to get comfortable.

Your brain expands and pounds against the inside of your skull, and your vision is still blurry, to the point where you lift a weak hoof to wipe away at your eye as if there was actual mist or fog present on your pupils. Worst of all is your body, which suddenly feels like a poorly made construction project that's about to collapse. You swear to Celestia that your appendages are going to tear themselves away from your torso if you even though about moving an inch from where you are.

While your body was aching and in need of recovery, your mind is anxious about the previous events of today -- that is to say the unexplained explosions that rocked Canterlot. So many thoughts and questions ran through your head as you lay motionless, to the point where your condition is of secondary concern.

What were those blasts? How many lives were lost? Are Sunny and Bran alive? Was your family near any of the explosions? Why are you far away from the city? What is this place?

Your home, including the people in your life and the places you've known and been to for years, is in pieces -- and there's no telling what the future of the city will be like with everything in tatters.

Thought fear urged you to get up and find out the answers on your own, your urge to do so would have to wait. For now, you were simply a helpless sap. All you could do was stay flat on the ground. hoping that someone would notice an injured young pony and all for the appropriate medical services. Though your vision is unlikely to heal itself any time soon, you could still make out the images in front of you.

Some yards beyond the grass field in front of you is an average size lake, which itself is actually in the middle between the two buildings that first caught your eye. The building on your right was purple and had what must be waterfalls running down from several places, and the building on your left was also purple, except unlike the former, this one had a serious shine on it -- as if it is made out of crystals.

You turn your head back to the left and see a mountain far, far away from wherever you are.

The moment you spot it, you're hit with a cannon blast of emotions -- ranging from confusion and fear to momentary relief. It just does not make any sense. In fact, it seems so surreal, with all the unholy events you've witnessed today. But there's no way that your eyes could be deceiving you. Even with poor sight, you recognize the significant icon on such a familiar mountain.

"There's no smoke," you say in awe, summoning your weak limbs beneath you to raise. "There's no smoke. How--"

A fierce jolt of pain shoots through your spine and your legs give out. When your body hits the ground again, you feel a punch of breath leave your lungs, rendering you nearly breathless as you gasp for extra air -- your tongue even grazing against the few tall blades of grass.

Like a flickering light, you feel your eyelids begin to droop down, caused by the exhaustion taking a huge toll on your body. You struggle as best as you can against the looming shadow of sleep, wanting to find out the answers to all the questions running through your head. But in the end, the unseen goliath wins out in the end.

Your eyes shut down along with your consciousness.

---

Waking up, the first thing you notice is the smell, which seems to be some form of a sanitizer or an air freshener. Opening your eyes, you find yourself tucked underneath some sheets on a bed, though you could tell from the feeling of rubbery plastic on your back that the bed had no regular mattress. The room you're in is small, but still large enough to hold two other beds, a gurney, a set of chairs, and a desk where a pony was sat in front of you.

"Excuse me," you call out weakly.

The pony at the desk, a white earth mare with a pink mane in a bun and a nursing cap on, turns around to look at you.

"My stars!" the mare exclaims. "You're awake! I'll go get them! Just stay there."

Ignoring her words, you try to get up out of bed, but your forelegs cave in before you're even able to take off the covers. The nurse rushes over to your side, gently placing her hooves on your forehead and lowering you back on the pillow. Though you judge the bed to be unusual, with how your body and mind are you're not exactly picky about finding a replacement anytime soon.

"You have to stay in bed," the nurse warns. "You had quite a fever when you were brought in from outside. It feels like it's gone down, but don't take any risks."

The nurse trots away from you and heads for the opened door nearby. "I'll be right back. I'm getting the school staff. They want to ask some questions for you."

She disappears into the hallway outside, her hoofsteps audible for just a few seconds until they themselves fade away. Eventually, your catch up on the sound of two or more voices conversing with each other. The stomping of hooves, more than one set this time, comes back into your earshot, and soon the nurse returns with two other ponies behind her. One was a blue unicorn mare with a lighter blue mane and a purple dress decorated with blue and yellow stars. The other was an orange unicorn stallion with a red mane that matched his noticeable beard, glasses, and a dark blue robe with turquoise stars embedded.

"Thank Celestia you're awake," says the stallion. "We were worried that you really had it bad back there for a moment."

"I was?" You ask. "For how long?"

"It's been less than an hour since we found you outside the school and brought you here," says the unicorn mare. "We were just on our way back from lunch in town, and encountering you was definitely not scheduled for today."

The unicorn stallion continued. "Anyway, how do you feel? When we first saw you we thought you were taking a nap, but then we saw you breathing really heavily and noticed all the sweat."

Learning from last time, you slowly rise up your top half from the bed, though you never spring to the floor.

"I got a bit of a headache," you say. "And I feel a bit tired -- maybe even a bit hungry and thirsty."

The stallion looks over to the nurse. "Could you go over to the staff room and get them a wrapped sandwich and a juice bottle?" He turns back to you. "You don't have any allergies or preferences, do you?"

You shake your head. "Normally, I would be picky, but today isn't the best day for that."

The nurse nods to the stallion before leaving. With just the three of you left, the two unicorns each levitate a chair behind them and sit themselves down at the foot of your bed.

"You really are lucky that Nurse Redheart decided to come in today to check inventory," the mare says with a worry-free smile. "Otherwise, we would have to take you over to the general hospital -- which we would have done if you didn't wake up sooner, but taking you there ourselves would be a bit harder."

You nod. "I guess I'm very lucky."

"Well," the stallion says, "I believe it's only proper for us to all introduce ourselves. My name is Sunburst. I'm the vice-principal of the school here."

"And I am Trixie Lulamoon," says the mare. "The guidance counselor. And you are...?"

You tell them your full name (As well as any nickname(s) you might have.), but then you ponder over a certain fact that Sunburst made.

"I'm at a school?"

"Yes. You're at a school," Sunburst answers with a smile. "Not just any school. This is the School of Friendship, founded by Princess Twilight herself -- right here in Ponyville."

Your eyes widen. "Ponyville?" You've heard of the town. In fact, with it being the former residence of Princess Twilight, everycreature in Equestira and beyond knew of the place's significance in helping the ruler ascend to the throne. But still...

Why in Equestria am I so far away from home?

Both unicorns seem taken aback by your confusion, as evident by them looking at each other for a quick moment.

"Yes, this is Ponyville. Home of Equestria's greatest heroes, " Trixie states in a grandeur tone. "From the Elements of Harmony themselves to even the principal of this very school. I'm assuming you made a visit here for some reason like that?"

"I know a bit about Ponyville," you say. "But I didn't come here to meet anypony."

"Well then, can you tell us why you're here in the first place?" Sunburst asks hesitantly. "I don't say that to be a busybody, but something must have really gone down for you to have been tired out like that."

"I..." You look down at the sheets as you wait for the words that you're searching for. "I... I can't really remember how I got here. Or why I'm here in the first place. It's all just... fuzzy."

What you said was true. For some reason, your mind had no storage of any recent memories before you woke up. The most you can remember is preparing to leave your house in anticipation of school during the morning. The experience is like skipping through the middle portion of an intriguing movie, with your only knowledge being of the dull beginning and the dynamic ending.

A forceful attempt at digging in deeper into your memories is met with a push-back in the form of a very offended headache. You place a forehoof on the spot where the pain originates, rubbing it in smooth, small circles.

As you tend to your twinge, you see Sunburst and Trixie stare at each other again with the same looks of uncertainty and surprise.

"You have to understand that it's a bit concerning if you can't remember much of why you're here," Sunburst states. "Where you with other people on a trip somewhere? Were you on a train ride to another town and happened just to make a visit here?"

"I promise, I"m telling you the truth. I can't recall leaving home to come down to Ponyville."

Trixie adds in. "We really don't mean to be pushy, but you seem to be a minor -- or at least a young adult. If you don't know why you're here then you'll have to find a way to get back home."

"Since we didn't find any belongings on you," Sunburst says, "we going to guess that you don't have any funds for a train or carriage. Unless you think you've misplaced your items somewhere."

You shake your head. "If I did, I don't know where it is."

Coming through the door, Nurse Redheart returns to the room with a tray of food carefully balanced on her back. Before you had a chance to do anything, Sunburst points his hoof towards you. "If your headache is serious, I'd rather you didn't use your magic yourself. I got it."

With a yellow glow of his horn, the unicorn levitates the tray off the nurse and floats it to you. Feeling it rest on your lap, you look down to examines the items meant for you: a sunflower sandwich, a square cardboard juice box, a small bowl of miscellaneous fruit, and a small stack of crackers wrapped in plastic. Your stomach ceases its stressful rumbles as the sight of food sets your mind and your hunger at peace.

You pick up the sandwich with your hooves and bite your bottom lip as you bring it closer to your mouth. Before you're able to delve into your meal, you look back at Sunburst.

"Thank you, sir," you say with evident gratitude to the unicorn, who grins back. You say the same to Redheart before taking it your first bite of the sandwich.

"It's no problem," Sunburst says. "But back to the matter at hoof. We just need to know where your home is so we can provide you some money for transportation. Maybe even contact your family, so that they know you're safe."

You pause from eating. "I live in Canterlot. And as for my family...., they're off on a trip to Manehattan. So I have the entire house to myself."

That last part about your family is untrue, but with how things back home have been, you didn't want your folks to have another issue on their hooves to worry about. Luckily for you, it seems that neither Sunburst nor Trixie are hesitant to trust the lie you've said.

Sunburst nods. "Canterlot. That's less than a day's trip by train." The stallion gets off his seat and heads to the door. "I'll be right back. I just need to get some bits for your ride back home. I won't be long."

With Sunburst gone, and Trixie and Redheart sitting around while attending to their own businesses, you retreat to eating your sandwich in peace, thinking about your situation. Despite your inability to recall the event or events that led you here, you strangely felt at ease -- as if the mystery was barely bothering you at all. It might have been because of the hospitality of the ponies of this school, or because of the food you're enjoying right now, but whatever the reason is, you feel that today is going to work in your best interest.

And to be honest, another good bit of news was that you did not have to go to school -- at least for today. Of course, once you got back home your family would compel you to go back, but for now, at least you did not have to worry about any hate or harassment from anycreature. Tomorrow or the day after might be a different story, but right now things are fine.

"Canterlot, huh?" Trixie quips to you. "It's been a long while since I've been there. The last time I went was for the coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle."

"Okay," you simply state. She must have been a little filly when that happened. You've just finished your sunflower sandwich and decide you switch over to the open bowl of fruit -- respectfully digging your snout into the contents with some sense of dignity.

"I wouldn't call the princess my best friend," Trixie continues, "but over time we have grown accustomed to each other, so I guess you can stay that we're both on good terms as acquaintances."

"Well, that's nice to know." This used to be the Princess' school, so it makes sense that she might want to get a bit familiar with the staff here.

"Still, despite how close we are, I still wonder how she's able to cope with her responsibilities as Equestria's leader. Though it seems like a luxury and anypony's dream, being a princess has to come with a lot of hardships that even I couldn't bear."

"Well, after two decades of ruling with little to no national crises, I can say that the princess is doing a fine job overseeing the country."

Trixie raises her eyebrows. "Decades? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, it's been twenty years since she replaced Celestia and Luna. And with how things are, I think she's done good with keeping the peace."

Trixie looks over to the nurse -- with both mares seeming confused and in disbelief with something you must have said. They both look back at you with concern.

"I think you're mistaken," Trixie says. "It's only been a year and a half since Twilight took the throne. Not twenty years."

The urge to finish your food is squashed as you try to understand Trixie's comment. "Um, no. No, it has been twenty years since Princess Twilight took over."

Trixie shakes her head, her face displaying little sign of agreeing with your assessment. "No, it hasn't."

Confusion, and maybe a slight bit of frustration, takes hold of you as you try to comprehend the mare's insistent, false claims. "Well, we're in the year 10XX, and she was coronated in 10YY. So it's been twenty years."

"But 10YY was a year and six months ago. We're in the year 10ZZ, now."

With a light purple glow of her horn, Trixie levitates a calendar from the nurse's table and places it right in front your face. Through the transparent purple glow, you read the calendar's writing. The current page of the calendar displayed the last month of summer in place of what should have been the last month of spring. But the month isn't what catches your attention.

"That doesn't make any sense."

You grip the calendar with your magic and rapidly flip back the pages to observe the details of the months that have already passed by, before finally flipping up to the months leading to the end of the year. A bulky feeling of alarm pumps out your heart and works its way up to your throat, as you breathe heavily.

Each month on the calendar indicates that you are nearly 19 years into the past.