Ascending Across Time
Chapter Ten
The weather outside was bright, cheerful, and sunny, with a little wind complementing the serenity of the day almost perfectly. Birds were chirping, the sun was beaming, and folks were out and about in the nearby park.
"What. A. Day!" Someone said, extending their limbs out and stretching each of them.
"You said it," another one agreed, sighing contently.
"The Pegasi have outdone themselves today, Bon Bon. Wouldn't you agree?"
Bon Bon nodded in response, "Definitely, Lyra." She glanced towards the large, luxurious crystal castle in the distance and continued speaking, "You know, Princess Twilight hasn't come out of there in a while. You think something happened?"
Lyra shrugged, "Who's to say? She's probably busy with her studies. I remember how that pony always preferred studying to hanging out. I know she's come a long way and that other pony that's living with her probably understands it best."
Ponyville itself was unchanged since the last time Twilight and the others were last seen. Ponies around the town hadn't taken notice of their disappearance, though the family members of each of them did notice and, rather than cause panic to stir, kept it under wraps for the time being.
Walking to their favorite bakery, Sugar Cube Corner, Lyra, and Bon Bon continued to talk about a variety of things, with topics ranging from recent events to hilarious situations they found themselves in during their pasts. Once they arrived at the shop, Lyra opened up the door with her magic and allowed Bon Bon to enter first.
"Thanks, Lyra," smiled Bon Bon, entering into the shop and noticing the empty counter in front of her.
Lyra entered shortly after and also took notice of the empty counter. The two ponies walked up to it and rang the bell, hoping that someone would answer them shortly.
"Ooh," someone called from the kitchen, "I'll be just a minute there!"
"Take your time, Mrs. Cake," Lyra answered, "it's just us!"
Once Mrs. Cake came out from the kitchen, she greeted Lyra and Bon Bon politely and asked them what they wanted. The two good friends ordered a couple of pastries and cupcakes, thanking Mrs. Cake for her service before even receiving anything. Mrs. Cake blushed bashfully and assisted Lyra and Bon Bon, making sure to follow their order to perfection.
"Come to think of it," Bon Bon started to say after a while, "where's Pinkie Pie, Mrs. Cake?"
"I don't know," Mrs. Cake replied, "Neither Mr. Cake nor myself have seen her in about a few days."
"Close to a week, dearie!" Mr. Cake called from the kitchen.
Mrs. Cake giggled nervously, "Apparently a week, according to the mister. You two wouldn't happen to have seen her, have you?"
"No," the two responded.
"Oh well," Mrs. Cake thought, finishing up the order and placing it in a neat and tidy box for Lyra and Bon Bon, "perhaps she's on a friendship quest or something with Twilight. I noticed that happening a lot recently."
"Oh yeah," Lyra said, "that is a thing now with them. Wonder how those are." She took out a few bits and gave them to Mrs. Cake, thanking her for the pastries.
"Thank you, dearies," Mrs. Cake beamed happily, "and we'll see you next time. I have that velvet cake you like coming in soon, Bon Bon."
"I'll be sure to swing by and pick some up then, Mrs. Cake," smiled Bon Bon, "thank you again!"
"See you soon, you two!"
Exiting the shop together, Bon Bon looked once more towards the castle and saw a bright light flashing on the inside of it. She didn't think too much of it - chalking it up to a spell gone awry - and continued chatting amongst Lyra as they both proceeded home for the time being.
Inside the castle, the light had disappeared nearly as quickly as it appeared. The girls were all thrown from the portal that the cutie map had created, being flung up before falling back down and landing hard on the table. Looking around cautiously, Twilight noticed that they were back home and sighed out of relief; the portal had worked in succession.
Thank Celestia, she thought, laying on the table for a short while, we're finally back home.
Twilight looked around and saw the others, smiling once she saw Rarity come through last. Struggling a bit, Twilight stood up on her hind hooves, remembering where she was for a brief second before falling forward on her two front hooves, giggling quietly to herself in the process.
Been so long that I forgot I had four legs, she told herself, not two.
The others began to groan slightly, forgetting how draining the process of the journey was. Each of the ponies started looking around carefully, one-by-one slowly coming to the conclusion that the transportation worked and they were finally home after being away for so long.
Rainbow Dash quickly flapped her wings and took off into the air, performing barrel rolls and flips happily, "Finally! This feels soooo good after all that time!"
"Bucky McGillicuddy," Applejack cried, "Kicks McGee! Y'all are finally normal again!"
"Those are names," Starlight said slowly, trying to process what Applejack said. She reached up and felt her horn, using magic to cast simple short-distance teleportation spells around the room, "Good to have you back!"
Scootaloo even felt giddy, jumping up and flapping her wings rapidly, hovering in place for a while, "WE'RE PONIES AGAIN! WOOHOO!"
Sweetie Belle smiled and used her magic to lift a nearby comic, "Still got it!" She dropped it quickly thereafter, blushing cutely, "Well, sort of."
"Seems as if things are finally back to normal," Twilight concluded, looking around once more to make sure that nobody was hurt from the journey.
Celebrating in their ways, the girls happily agreed, coming together for a group hug, their first as ponies in a very long time.
As the girls remained hugging, however, Sweetie Belle pulled away for a moment as her thoughts traveled to Hugo. She wondered what Hugo would think about Equestria and everyone in it.
She walked away from them and out towards the balcony, but she didn't notice that Fluttershy had taken notice of her slight disappearance and when the hug ended, she looked at her friends for a brief moment.
"Excuse me while I try to cheer up Sweetie Belle," she quietly spoke, following the young mare towards the balcony and found her gazing at the sky, "you miss him, don't you?"
Sweetie Belle nodded as her frown deepened, but didn't say a word as she quickly threw her hooves around her friend, letting the tears fall down her face.
"He'll be here," Fluttershy assured, "I have a feeling. That Louis fellow seems very kind and trustworthy."
"I suppose so," Sweetie Belle cried, wiping her eyes dry.
The sun was beginning to set in the valley in the distance and casted shadows on the crystal castle and, subsequently, all of Ponyville. Sweetie Belle watched the moon rise slowly through the sky, taking the sun's place as the day concluded. She sighed once more, walking back inside the castle and down the stairs, out the front door.
She slowly walked through the town and proceeded back home, actually astounded by her memory of getting there. Arriving home, Sweetie Belle opened up the door and went upstairs, going to her room and checking in for the night.
As for Fluttershy, she watched Sweetie Belle head home for a while before re-entering into the castle. She noticed the others continuing to chant and celebrate their return. Twilight noticed Fluttershy's troubles and motioned for her to join her in the next room. Fluttershy did so and, when Twilight joined her, wondered what was wrong.
"It's Sweetie Belle," Fluttershy whispered, flapping one of her wings out of instinct briefly, "and her missing Hugo."
"I'm sure it's just her being worried," thought Twilight, "as long as Louis keeps an eye on him, I have a sneaking suspicion that they'll both pop up around here sometimes, don't you think so, Fluttershy?"
"Probably," agreed Fluttershy, "but to see somepony get beat like that and not know how they're doing. I just wish her the best during this turbulent time for her."
"A little bed rest in her actual bed for once will help with that," Twilight smiled, "and I'm pretty sure the same could go for the rest of us."
"Oh, most certainly," giggled Fluttershy.
The two rejoined the others in the other room and continued to celebrate their return.
After a few more days, Sweetie Belle, along with Rarity, Scootaloo, and Fluttershy, were joining Twilight in the castle for a brunch together. Twilight did this so that each of them could feel more at home once more and forget about the things they left behind in the other realm, which mostly worked for Rarity and Fluttershy, but not so much for Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo was only present because she had spent the previous night with Sweetie Belle for a sleepover. The two talked nearly endlessly through the night, wishing Apple Bloom could join them for their sleepover, but understanding that family came first.
As the group was enjoying their brunch, the table they were eating at started glowing a bit. Scootaloo knocked on the table and looked towards Twilight, wondering if what was happening was meant to happen. Twilight, nervously chuckling, assured that it wasn't.
"Brace for impact, everypony," Twilight warned, watching as the others backed away from the table.
In the center of the table, a circular pattern started to take form, shining a bright light once more. Within a couple of moments, a couple of beings shot out from the center of the table and landed squarely on top of it. Sweetie Belle cautiously moved closer to the table and felt her hooves tremble slightly, wondering what was happening.
"Seems like I was right," Fluttershy whispered, shifting her glance slightly to Sweetie Belle.
Sweetie Belle approached slowly, her eyes widened at the sight of both Hugo and Louis entering through the portal on the cutie map table.
"I have wings?" Louis asked, opening up his new wings and examining them. He looked at Hugo and saw his different appearance, "A-And you're a horse! What is this?"
"You is Pegasus and I'm earth pony, I think," Hugo responded, "They equivalent to horses back at home, remember?" He glanced down at his flank and noticed that he had the picture of a flowerpot and a watering can on it. "What this is?"
Sweetie Belle giggled lightly, approaching Hugo in the process, "That, Hugo, is a cutie mark. We all have a different one here in Equestria." She pointed to hers, then to the marks of her friends.
Hugo looked at the different cutie marks and wondered more what their significance was, "Different marks? Like tattoos?"
"Not necessarily," admitted Sweetie Belle, "you see, in Equestria, all ponies are born with a blank flank and it's their job to find out what makes them special and what their destiny may be in the future."
"Mine are diamonds because I tend to see the beauty of everything and everypony," Rarity smiled.
"Mine is a star glimmering," Starlight added, "kind of like a glimmering hope if you know what I mean."
"A star sparkling during the twilight hour," Twilight said, "like the dawn to a brand new day or the twilight of a new era."
"And Scootaloo's and myself have similar cutie marks," Sweetie Belle pointed out, "but if you look closely, they are different. We each have our talents, but our main objective overlaps with each other, plus Apple Bloom, as we help other ponies search for their destiny and help them understand it as well."
"What's mine?" Louis wondered, looking back to see a screwdriver and a bolt of electricity on his flank.
"Seems to be something science-related," smiled Twilight, glancing back towards Starlight, "which would make sense, wouldn't you agree?"
Starlight nodded, "Definitely. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for your help, Louis."
"And yours, Hugo," Sweetie Belle continued, studying Hugo's cutie mark for a few seconds, "yours seems to be plant related. That would make sense too since you told me that your parents taught you all that you knew. That must be your special talent here in Equestria."
"That makes sense," Hugo nodded slowly, glancing towards his cutie mark once more.
"Everypony has a unique talent here in Equestria," Twilight reiterated, "and that's what makes ponies unique. No two ponies will have the same mark."
Starlight felt a blush form on her cheeks and cleared her throat as a result of her nervousness, "Yeeeah, not a single duplicate."
With Louis and Hugo now in Equestria, Sweetie Belle and the others did their best to make them feel at home and get accustomed to their new environments.
Back on Earth, Daniel closely followed Louis and Hugo back to Mystique Physique, making sure to not be seen in the process.
"Maintenant Hugo," Louis said, "si nous continuons avec cela, nous ne reviendrons peut-être pas. Es-tu sûr de ça?"
Hugo nodded, gazing at the portal the entire time, "J'ai promis, Louis. Je dois la revoir, comme je l'avais dit."
Louis rested a hand on Hugos' shoulder and helped him through the portal, "Alors il vaut mieux que nous tenions cette promesse. Allons-y."
"Allons-y," added Hugo as the two stepped through the portal.
That left Daniel all alone in the basement of the shop. He stepped out from hiding and approached the portal, staring at it intensely. He still hated Hugo for trying to steal Sweetie Belle away from him and wanted to do whatever he could to make sure Hugo never stood in the way again.
"So," he said to nobody in particular, "you weren't man enough to face me here and had to run off to wherever the fuck you are. Typical French attitude, running away from a fight you know you can't win. Well, that's where you're wrong, you son of a bitch. I will find you, I will get to you, and I will kill you. Do you think you can just up and steal my girl like that? I think not! Now," he began to approach the portal slowly, "get your ass back here and face your punishment. You are going down, bitch!"
Jumping into the portal, Daniel laughed maniacally, bent on getting back at Hugo for cutting between him and Sweetie Belle.
Translation:
Maintenant, Hugo - Now, Hugo
Si nous continuons avec cela, nous ne reviendrons peut-être pas. Es-tu sûr de ça? - If we continue with this, we may not be coming back. Are you sure about that?
J'ai promis, Louis. Je dois la revoir, comme je l'avais dit - I promised, Louis. I have to see her again, like I said.
Alors il vaut mieux que nous tenions cette promesse. Allons-y - So we better keep that promise. Let's go.
Allons-y - Let's go.