Your Friends From Across Time

by EquestrianKnight97

Chapter 9 (Pt 2)

As you expected, you and the mares took another quick break in the forest before you began your journey once more. To your surprise, Izzy volunteered once again to pull the wagon once the break was over. Though you had planned on offering your assistance if need be, you felt no need to get in her way, especially if she insisted that she still had enough energy to keep going.

Throughout the trek after the third break, you found yourself once again by yourself as you trailed behind the four other ponies. You felt like you needed the semi-solitude after the barrage of questions that Pipp dumped on you. To the best of your teenage knowledge, you could only recall a few pop culture icons that your folks back home would reminisce about, such as Sapphire Shores, Countess Coloratura, Feather Bangs, and Songbird Serenade.

The highlight of your conversation with the princess, though, seemed to be when you mentioned how Rarity built a clothing empire across and beyond Equestria that revolutionized fashion --- at least that is what you had heard during your foalhood. She was overjoyed to know that some details about the Element of Generosity that Sunny had shared with her were true and that she hoped that she would be able to find a Carousel Boutique store the next time she went with the others to Old Equestria.

Eventually, you all heard a rumbling boom vibrate through the air that coincided with the darkening of the sky. You looked up to see enormous dark clouds, most of them blocking the sun as they passed through. Before Sunny even suggested it, you knew that you all would have to camp somewhere with adequate shelter against the incoming rain.

Zipp and Pipp took up the task of flying ahead to search for such a place to hunker down while you continued on with Sunny and Izzy. Just as you worried about having to sleep in the rain within a muddy tent, the pegasi returned minutes later with fortunate news of a nearby cave with enough room to house the wagon.

Within no time, you all arrived at the cave and unpacked a few belongings from the wagon --- such as the sleeping bags, lanterns, pre-cut firewood, and other miscellaneous camping materials. By luck, the cave was deep enough that the wagon's placement inside of it still left enough walking room, and the floor was even enough that you did not have to worry about the wagon or anything else moving out of place. As a safety precaution, Izzy set up what she called "an alarm system" near the entrance of the cave, consisting of a long string packed with empty tin cans and glass bottles --- so that during the night they would be aware of any animal trying to enter.

With the camp made up, Izzy got to setting up the fire with the wood and some stones she found outside to make an encircling ring. With a tripod placed on top of the fire to hold a cooking pot, Izzy made a helping of chowder soup that consisted of carrots, peas, corn, and potatoes. Sitting in one of the foldable chairs that were brought, you waited for nearly an hour for the soup to be made --- simply staring at the embers from the fire that floated to the cave ceiling.

Dinnertime went by relatively fast. The soup itself was good, and the bread loaf and cheese wedge you had alongside it also helped to fill you up. As much as you wanted seconds, it was best to not be a burden on the food supply, even if the place you were going to was less than a day away by now.

When everycreature else was done, they went off to do their own thing in the cave, as by now the rain had begun to fall down to the earth by the sound of it. Pipp was on her phone trying to do something with it, but the only thing you heard from her was a complaint about a lack of 'Canternet service'. Izzy was in her own little corner trying to construct what you assumed to be paper mache items or some form of crafts. You saw that she had a lot of glitter bottles, glue, and paper on her side. Zipp and Sunny stayed at the fire in their own chairs just like you.

"Are you sure about that?" Sunny said. "They couldn't all have been like that."

"Well, most of them were like that," Zipp asserted, irritation barely concealed in her voice. "I'm telling you, Sunny, I could barely hold it all together having to hear those snooty nobles go on about how Zephyr Heights was being overrun by 'dullard' earth ponies and 'fanatical' unicorns. If that's who I have to share governing the kingdom with, I'm going to re-find Tartarus just to put them all in there."

"It's just that I haven't heard Izzy say anything about earth ponies and pegasi having a hard time after moving to Bridlewood, and as far as I'm aware Posey is the only one upset about all the newcomers arriving. I really thought we changed things after finding the Unity Crystals."

The white pegasus leaned back in her chair. "I'm pretty sure it's just the upper crust of the city that feel that way, but the fact that some of them are influencers just gets to me. If their bigotry gets a huge platform on the Canternet then a bunch of pegasi are gonna get the same mindset, and that might undo a lot of the work we all put in to reunite Equestria." She let out a huge sigh. "I don't know. I just... really wanted to leave that Founders' Day party. But, of course, mom wouldn't have appreciated that."

"Well, maybe you can get Pipp to do a livestream confronting how there's still prejudice in Zephyr Heights. I know that's probably not your thing, but I figure you could still help out."

"Maybe. But even if we get the majority of pegasi to be more tolerable, it's the pegasi that make the laws that still have the final say. They're all just so stuck in their ways."

"Well, how about we just talk about something else?" Sunny suggested. "Those ponies aren't with us right now, so we can't try to change their minds anyway."

Zipp exhaled again. "Sure. Well, there was thing funny thing that happened with one of our cousins at the punch bowl table..."

Whatever the two mares adjacent to you were now talking about ceased to enter your head. All that mattered to you right now was the fire before you, whose light cast the cave floor and walls with a low orange glow that strangely emanated a feeling of safety in your mind. It was as if a blanket was wrapped around you so snuggly that it convinced you that nothing in the outside world could lay a claw on you, even if your mental troubles were a different issue.

You kept your gaze on the embers that arose from the crackling firewood. Whenever a group of them escaped from the flames, your eyes would follow them as they gently floated up to the ceiling, before they finally disintegrated into nothingness. Then you would start the whole thing all over again.

For some reason, you could not help but be mesmerized by the fire. It was almost like you were a moth, except you had the common sense to not let such a dangerous entity engulf you fully, at least physically that is. You were searching for something within the flame, a great enigma that you just could not wrap your mind around. There was something about the sight before you that reminded you of something from your life.

You hoped that the answers would come before you in the embers that buzzed through the smoke-filled air. You squinted your eyes at them, with a glare to examine each and every glowing speck as if they were an insect.

[...]

I don't know if I told you this before, [Y/N], but I really love fireflies. I know there aren't that much here, but back at my grandparents' place, whenever I visited, I would stay outside as long as I could after dinner to catch them all in this glass jar. Then, I would go to bed with them before letting them go the next day. You really have to come to the countryside when you can. There's more open air there.

[...]

Oh...

Now you remembered. Honestly, you wished you had not now that you thought of it. You would not be tracing the embers anymore, just the solitary flame from the wood stack.

"Are you okay?"

With your trance disturbed, you looked abruptly to your side to see Izzy bestowing a blank stare upon you. Her horn was glowing bright purple as she levitated what looked like a pack of marshmallows, a box of graham crackers, a wrapped chocolate bar, some napkins, and five thin sticks bundled together.

"What did you say?" you asked the unicorn.

"I wanted to know if you're okay. You've just been staring at the fire ever since dinner ended, and that was a long time ago."

A short silence passed as you stared at the floor. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Cause it seems that something is really eating you up."

You sighed, pulling up your head. "No. I'm really okay. Just have some small stuff on my mind."

You looked up at Izzy, waiting to see if she would remain persistent in you telling her the truth. But aside from a skeptical frown, she did not seem willing to push the matter any further.

"Okay, then," she then said with a smile. "I'll leave you alone. But just remember it's not good to bottle things up. It reflects badly on your sparkle. But anyway, I'm gonna have myself a snack."

Humming to herself, the unicorn sat down in a chair to your left, with all of her items now on the floor. Izzy opened up the bag, drew out a single marshmallow, and plunged a stick into the sugary treat with her own hooves. Content, she drew the stick over the fire, watching as the marshmallow lit up and began to burn.

In no time, a strong, sweet smell blended with the scent of burnt wood within the cave, and it soon became evident to you that Izzy would not be the only one enjoying a snack once you saw Zipp and Sunny leave their chairs.

"Hey, Iz," Zipp said. "Do you mind if we have some, too?"

"Of course! Why do you think I brought four more sticks? Come get as much as you want!"

Though your attention was mainly on the fire once more, you heard rustling that suggested that the other two mares were getting what they needed for their own s'mores. Having what they came for, Zipp and Sunny returned to their chairs, scooted them a bit closer to the fire circle, and plunged their marshmallow-headed sticks into the flames.

"So, what are we going to tell Discord to convince him to give back the pegasus crystal?" Izzy asked out loud. By now, her marshmallow was hot enough that she withdrew it from the flames and used her magic to sandwich it between two chocolate squares and two crackers. "He really wanted to hold on to it the last time we talked."

"We just need to convince Discord of how magic allows ponies to be more of themselves," Sunny said. "How it allows them to embrace their talents and realize their potential in the world. That's all."

Zipp scoffed. "I'm pretty sure you mentioned something like that to him already when we were at Canterlot. What we really need to do is find a way to distract him and take the crystal when he's not looking."

The earth pony shook her head. "That won't work. He'll just come back for it. And even if we hide that crystal, he'll probably take the other two back at home. We need to find a way to change his heart. Maybe we can stress how Twilight and the others would have wanted ponies to accept each others' differences rather than fear each other. If we can show him how everypony's been getting along for the past several months, he'll have to see that their efforts weren't in vain."

"Well, if we do get around to talking it out with him, let's be sure not to introduce him to Posey or any of the Zephyr Heights royals."

By now, Sunny's and Zipp's marshmallows had adopted a golden tint within the flames, and white, gooey droplets began to drip down. Both mares drew back their sticks and began to construct their own s'mores. Abruptly, a groan roared out throughout the cave that even unsettled you, until you looked to see that it was an upset Pipp, who floated towards Izzy with her phone in her hoof.

"I can't believe this wishy-washy service!" the pink pegasus whined as she landed next to the unicorn. "I can barely access the Canternet from here!"

"We are in a cave, Pipp," Zipp said, unamused, until a sly smile sprang from her lips. "If you really want to, you can go outside where there might be better reception."

Pipp glared. "Ha, ha. Very funny, Zipp." Looking down at her phone, she sighed in defeat. "Iz? Do you mind if I have some s'mores? I'm, like, really stressed that I can't get anything done in here."

"Sure!" Izzy said before taking another bite from her half-eaten treat. With her magic, she levitated a stick to Pipp, who stuck it inside a marshmallow she got. The pink pegasus sat down in the last seat around the fire, just between Izzy and Sunny, and held the stick over the fire. In that short amount of time, Pipp went from upset to at ease, as seen by her smile.

"So, girls," Pipp said. "You all remember that filly that emailed me after I made that post about the day everypony at Zephyr Heights found out I couldn't fly?"

Sunny nodded, readying another marshmallow for the fire. "I remember. I think you said her name was Felicity."

Pipp giggled at the answer. "That's right. Well, she sent me another message while we were on our journey. She got her friends' parents to agree to have them spend the weekends with her whenever she goes to her grandparents' back at Bridlewood. I won't be able to bring it up on my phone, but she just told me how she's been having fun playing with her friends in the woods and having her first sleepover."

Sunny could not help but giggle herself. "That sounds like good news!"

"Yeah!" Izzy added. "I remember making memories of my playtimes in the Bridlewood forests when I was a wee foal. It's good to know that other foals are discovering those wonders, too."

Surrounded by warm, colorful feelings, Pipp hugged herself and sighed. "I'm just glad that she was able to get her friends back after lying just to impress them. I was really worried that she had lost their trust forever when I first read her message, but I'm glad to know that they changed their minds after she explained to them why she lied in the first place."

[...]

We trusted you, dude. How could you do this to us? Did you even think about us?]

[...]

You squinted your eyes and shook your head, trying desperately to get that memory out.

"I've seen friendships break down before," Izzy shuddered. "It's nothing pretty, so it's good that they were able to talk it out."

"I just hope that we never have to go through anything like that that could end our friendship," Sunny admitted solemnly. "I hate to do anything that would hurt you guys."

"Are you kidding, Sunny?" Zipp exclaimed. "You don't have an ounce of bad in you to drive us away." She bestowed a prideful smile on the earth pony. "Trust me: we're not going anywhere."

"Friends are like family, Sunny," said Izzy. "Nothing's ever gonna pull us apart from each other. Even on our bad days."

[...]

I never want to see your face again, you hear?.... NO! Don't even try to defend this crap you pulled. Just hearing your voice is too much for me!

[...]

You hissed like a viper, but not out of territorial anger. It was as if somecreature was driving a red-hot needle into the side of your brain and then pulling it out to repeat the process --- all while taking sadist delight in watching you wither and squirm. You brought a hoof to your forehead and closed your eyes, hoping that the darkness would ease you in place of the failure of a camp's fire that once nurtured you.

"[Y/N]?" you heard Sunny ask. "Are you okay?"

You opened your eyes and were met with the worrying stares of four mares around you. They were no longer preparing s'mores to eat, as your incident had alerted them to something more pressing.

The first excuse that came to your mind was to say that it was nothing, but even with your throbbing headache, you could remember the pained sound you made. So, another idea that arrived was to blame the event on some kind of insect that bit you. It was a cave, after all, so anything could be in here that was not obvious to spot upon an initial search.

But as the excuses came, that was when the weight came over you.

The weight of a thousand shadows that laid across your bare back so forcefully that breathing almost felt like a herculean task. With the weight of those shadows came the whispers of contempt and ridicule in numerous languages that you were sadly familiar with, and the more you became an opponent to truth, the more invasive that weight and those whispers became. You gritted your teeth against the pain as you felt something lodge in your throat that wanted to spew itself out, even if it meant showing a gross public display, and your breathing quickened as your chest heaved and sunk.

It became too much. You had to let it out. It had been eating at your sides and spine this entire time. You knew that you would be consumed by it if you did not.

You had to.

You had to.

Even if the mares could offer no assistance.

Accepting this, shadows lifted themselves off of you one by one, and with their weights left their whispers as well. Your breaths became more steady and the lump in your throat vanished.

Those several seconds of intensity felt like hell, but at least it was over.

But a new challenge was before you.

Not much had changed in the outside world while you had your dilemma. The mares still gave you their own unique frowns, but those looks all held the same silent concern that stifled the air, leaving alive only the crackling of firewood and the beating of raindrops.

You bit your lip and looked down at the ground with a pained expression, unable to meet anycreature's eye. Either one of the others would have to say something first, or you would have to be the one to initiate a conversation.

Finally, you broke the silence.

"What if... what if I can't go back home?" You continued on when nocreature else talked. "What if Discord decides not to bring me back to the past --- or can't even if he wanted to? What if I'm stuck here? I just... can't see anything good coming out of all of this. I'm grateful --- really, I am. But..."

You felt entitled and embarrassed --- spilling your guts out to these ponies when that was probably the last thing they wanted to sit through. All they sought was to have a good time around the campfire sharing the best stories of their lives, and you went ahead and ruined that for your own selfishness. All you wanted to do was curl up into a ball and vanish.

A few minutes passed by in silence, as nocreature else could think of what words to say. The only conversation that occured was between the firewood and the raindrops. To be honest with yourself, you preferred that no one else talked about what you just spoke of. It would be better, though unrealistic, for the mares to simply resume their previous talks. Suddenly, Pipp cleared her throat with a cough.

"Well... I'll be honest. As somepony who was once technically homeless like you --- although not in the same way that you are and it was for a short time--- I can get the feeling of not knowing if you'll ever see the one place that you want to go back to ever again. But, you're not really alone. You got us. And you can always just stay with us at the Brighthouse in Maretime Bay until we find a way to get you back to the past."

Seeing an opportunity, Sunny spoke up after Pipp. "I know that with how we've talked about Discord stealing the crystal that it seems like he's a person who's uncaring, but please don't get it wrong. There's good in everybody. How else do you think that Fluttershy was able to get through to him after Celestia wanted him freed from stone? I'm sure that once he recognizes you as a friendship student that he'll be more than willing to give it a chance at bringing you back. Especially if he remembers you."

"Yeah," Zipp added in, smiling. "It might take some time, but I'm sure that if we can combine Discord's chaos magic with a powerful spell that a really talented unicorn can use, then we might be able to have some idea on how to bring you back home."

"And even if Zipp's idea doesn't work, we're not gonna give up trying!" Izzy cheered with a supportive grin.

"I know it seems hard right now, [Y/N], but don't give up even a shred of hope just yet," Sunny urged softly. "Especially when you have friends by your side."

You sat still in your chair, your mouth slightly agape. A part of you had envisioned that the mares would be a mixture of confused, disgusted, and annoyed at your small rant. But instead, each of the four of them granted you with warm smiles and bright optimism --- the complete opposite of what you thought you had coming. And you could tell, somehow, that their support was genuine, and that there were no masks that could be pulled off.

But...

Nothing changed.

Nothing changed for you.

The shadows were no longer on you, but a darkness still surrounded you on all sides --- relentless in its efforts to swallow you whole. It was strong enough to cast your head down, as you were ashamed that the doubts in your mind overcame your caretakers' gentle words.

You had to be honest with them. It was not right to pretend that what they said had gotten to you. But at the very least you could be thankful for their attempts.

"I... I really---"

A bright, white light overcame your vision and numbed your senses. Like an eraser against a whiteboard, your connection to the world was terminated and you ceased to be.

You were nothing.

You were gone.