//------------------------------// // Chapter 30 - First Contact // Story: Pandemic // by ASGeek2012 //------------------------------// Twilight and Starlight encountered the first native domiciles just short of a river which meandered roughly parallel to the road that bisected the town. They stopped at the edge of the forest bordering the settlement. "This is interesting," Twilight said as she observed the settlement through the binoculars. "Their abodes are further apart than I expected. They're nowhere near as close together as they are in Ponyville." "The center of town looked more dense," said Starlight. Twilight lowered the binoculars. "Yes, but those buildings didn't look like domiciles. They looked more, well, businesslike. Do they actually keep their businesses that far apart from their dwellings?" "Well, you've said this is a different culture." "True, but they're also quite advanced. I would think they would be a little more efficient. How long must it take to walk to the nearest store?" "Unless they use those self-propelled carriages to get everywhere," Starlight suggested. "I suppose that must be the case," said Twilight. "The number of roads they've built would otherwise seem excessive. What a fascinating development." "No, it's an unfortunate development," said Starlight. "We're going to have a hard time getting across without being seen. There's hardly any cover at all." She turned her head. "Maybe we should skirt the town further to the south." "This settlement stretches a long distance along the main road," said Twilight. "I don't want to take another whole day to get where we're going." "Yes, but I don't fancy being run over by one of those vehicles." Twilight raised the binoculars again and slowly panned across the scene. "Wait, I have an idea. Starlight, take a look." Starlight swapped places with Twilight and peered through the lenses. "Uh, okay. Those look a little like deer." "Yes, and they're grazing unmolested near the edge of the fenced in areas around the domiciles," said Twilight. "The natives must be used to their presence. I can use an illusion spell to make us look like them." Starlight turned from the binoculars. "Well, that's certainly better than making us look like those weird equines we saw earlier. They creeped me out." "I had considered that, but if they are used as beasts of burden, they may think we escaped and would try to round us up." Twilight put the binoculars away. "I think this is our best bet." "Well, okay," Starlight said in a wary voice. "You sure you got a good look at them? They weren't exactly like deer from our world." "I think so," said Twilight as her horn started to glow. "Hold still." After a few moments of concentration, Twilight wove a tapestry of swirling magic around herself and her companion. As the spell sparkled into existence, their images morphed into two does. Starlight blinked rapidly as she stared at Twilight. "I swear, these tiny eyes that all their animals have are bizarre." "Let's not be too hasty to judge," said Twilight. "They evolved under different conditions. I'm sure they're quite well-adapted to their environment." Starlight glanced down at herself and raised a fore-hoof. "It still looks odd." "Try not to move your legs more than just for walking," said Twilight. "Their front legs didn't appear to be nearly as flexible as ours." Starlight glanced towards the settlement. "Let's just get going and get this over and done with as soon as possible." "I don't want to go too fast," said Twilight as they set out. "I need to take more readings. I'm detecting smatterings of transformation magic from within the settlement." "How long can you maintain the illusion?" Starlight said as she looked around. "Just don't attempt to cast any strong spells," said Twilight. "It could break the delicate magic of the illusion. If we're careful, I can keep it going for a few hours before--" Starlight suddenly stopped, staring off to the side. "Uh, Twilight?" "Why did you stop? I thought you wanted to -- oh!" Twilight had followed Starlight's gaze until it fell on a native standing some distance away on a trail which bordered the settlement. The native stared at them in bemusement. "I think something's wrong with the illusion," Starlight murmured. "No, it should be working just fine," said Twilight. The native's expression went from bemusement to shock. "Then why is the native looking at us funny?" "Oh, it must be because we're not speaking the local deer language." The native paled. "Or ... ah ... maybe their deer don't talk?" Twilight murmured. Starlight very nearly face-hoofed. "I'll cast a silence spell around us," Twilight said. "Let's get out of here. Fast." They progressed through a winding strip of land that was less tended than the neater enclosed plots surrounding the domiciles. "Now that's really puzzling," Starlight murmured. "All that land around the houses and no crops?" "It is just getting into spring," said Twilight. "Perhaps they haven't planted yet." "But you would think the land would look like it had been tilled in the past. I'm still struggling to understand how this world works." Starlight's ears swiveled and twitched when a strange mechanical buzzing sound came from above. She looked up as an odd contraption sped by overhead: an elongated metal object with rigid wings on either side. "And things that fly without flapping their wings. Perfect." "Now you see another reason I chose not to go directly to the center of the crisis by air," said Twilight. "I spotted some moving lights in the sky when I did another reconnaissance flight and surmised they were likely flying self-propelled carriages. I don't know what altitudes they fly at, whether they're armed or not, or what patterns they fly in." "Twilight, this world is weird," Starlight declared. "Mechanical flight has been theorized back home, just never developed," said Twilight. "And there is Pinkie Pie's little hoof-powered flying device." "Pinkie is another level of weird all to herself. I'm not sure it's a fair comparison." "And if she were the first one to greet a native of this world if he wound up in Equestria?" Starlight paused. "Good point." "See? It's all a matter of perspective." While most of the natives had left them alone, some had ventured to the edges of their properties and held up small, flat, rectangular devices. They would then pause and lower the device before heading away. Now yet another of them was doing the same thing. "Twilight, do you have any idea what the hay that native is doing?" Starlight asked. "This is like the third time." "I've been wondering myself," said Twilight. "I was worried that it was some sort of detector or scanning device, but I felt nothing impinge on my magical aura. The ones using it seem to be relaxed and content." Starlight stared as the native held up the little device, paused, then lowered it, smiling before heading away. "Uh, stupid question: just how do you tell genders with these natives?" "My working theory is that the two raised mounds on some adult natives are mammary glands, so they would be female," said Twilight. "Those are awfully big for where they're located. Wouldn't it make the mares top-heavy?" "I'm sure their bodies are adapted to that sort of thing," said Twilight. "Though what I find odd is the fact that they're all wearing clothing, even though it's pleasantly warm in the sunshine." "Oh, yeah, that," Starlight said in a distracted voice. "I read that they had a nudity taboo." Twilight's eyes widened. "They do? I hope we don't upset the natives with our lack of such. Though we do have clothing in the saddlebags." "Uh, the clothing we have doesn't exactly cover up the bits that the natives care about." "What do they care about?" "The genitalia, for one." Twilight blinked. "Well, that must make matters of sex rather complicated." Starlight looked forward. "I think we have a more immediate concern." Up ahead was a short embankment, and atop the small rise was a ribbon of paved road. Vehicles sped by in either direction at irregular intervals. "How do we get past that?" Starlight asked as they came to a stop. "Just try to cross?" "And get hit by one of those carriages?" "Surely they must consider that wildlife would need to cross their roads." Twilight turned her head and raised a fore-hoof. "Look!" Twilight galloped a short distance southward. As Starlight caught up, she saw what had captured Twilight's interest: a triangular yellow sign with the silhouette of a deer on it. "That must be marking the official crossing point for deer," said Twilight. "See? It has a picture instead of lettering so their deer can understand it without having to know a written language." "Okay, so, how do we signal the natives to stop?" "I would imagine just appearing at the edge of the road would be enough." The two disguised ponies bounded up the embankment and ventured to the edge of the paved surface. An oncoming vehicle on that side of the road did appear to slow down at first, but rather than stopping, it simply steered closer to the parallel yellow lines in the center of the road and went on its way. A vehicle going the other way on the other side barreled on through without slowing. "I don't think this is working," Starlight murmured as the experience repeated with another vehicle on that side. "Perhaps there's some protocol we're not following," said Twilight. "Or we could forget protocol and teleport." Starlight gestured towards the other side of the road with her head. "There's some level ground up ahead. It looks far enough from the road that we won't be spotted, and I don't see any houses." "I'd have to drop the illusion spell first," said Twilight. "Then get a good look at that location up ahead, and we can climb back down and out of view. Maybe put us right at the edge of the trees over there so we can just duck right into cover." "Good idea." Twilight stared on ahead for another moment to fix the plot of land in her mind. They scrambled down the embankment, their disguises fell, and they vanished with a flash of Twilight's horn. They reappeared at the far end of a grassy area between the road and what they assumed was the edge of another forest. They immediately plunged into the trees, Twilight glancing behind her as they cantered forward. "I don't think we were spotted. We better stop so I can recast the--" She nearly ran into Starlight, who had come to a dead stop. To Twilight's surprise, they had emerged from the trees almost as quickly as they had entered them. A narrow, slightly inclined dirt road stretched north-south between them and more trees. Yet that was not what now riveted Starlight's wide-eyed gaze. Directly across the road stood a diminutive native a bit shorter than either of them. The native was wearing what Twilight assumed was a skirt similar to some of the adult females. She had long, light brown hair and held a large pink ball in her hands. She appeared frozen in place, just staring. "This isn't good, is it?" Starlight murmured. "Maybe we should attempt contact," Twilight said softy. "I think she may be their equivalent of a foal." The little native suddenly spoke, a short sentence followed by an inquisitive look. "And that definitely was not Latin or Greek," Starlight said. "It might be worth a try anyway," said Twilight. She put on her best smile and stepped forward. "Ahem. " The native blinked and cocked her head. "" The native asked another question in the same unintelligible language. "Well, Latin didn't work," Twilight said. "Let me try Greek. " The native just looked more confused. "This isn't working," Starlight murmured. "Let's just keep going." "No, wait, maybe we can try pictographs. I can scratch something out in the dirt with a hoof." "And just what can we show her that will mean anything?" The native child suddenly giggled and said something else. Starlight raised an eyebrow. "Is it me, or does she find us amusing?" "It's better than the alternative." Twilight considered. "That gives me an idea." She turned to the native child. She smiled again, pointed to the ball with a hoof, then to the ground. She repeated the gesture several times. The native tilted her head again, nodded, then slowly placed the ball on the ground. Twilight's horn glowed softly, as did the ball. The ball levitated into the air. The native uttered a sharp gasp and stumbled back, eyes wide, mouth dropped open. She clapped her hands together a few times and babbled on in her own language, hopping up and down with a delighted look on her face. She whirled around, facing the other way, and cried out something at what must have been the top of her lungs. Starlight's ears drew back. She peered through the trees in the direction the native was shouting and only then caught a glimpse of the native domicile a short distance away. The road they stood upon looped sharply at the north and back around to the front of the house. Twilight's eyes widened. "Starlight, look at the back of the native's head!" When a male voice shouted in return, Starlight was about to respond that they had bigger problems until she saw it herself: a streak of bright green down the back of the native's hair. "I can detect the transformation spell!" Twilight cried. "I think it triggered no more than an hour or so ago. Magic is flowing into her to keep it powered, but where is it coming from? Do you see anything like a mana battery around here?" The two natives exchanged more dialog, and now a much larger figure than the child was approaching from around the bend in the road. "We can discuss it later!" Starlight cried. "Let's get out of here!" "I feel like I've almost figured this out. We just need a few more minutes!" The native child gave the two ponies a forlorn look before running up the road, just as the larger male figure appeared. He had darker hair, some of it on his face, and he held a long, thin object in his hands. He stared at the two with an expression somewhere between confusion and fear. The native child rushed up to him, talking very quickly and gesturing wildly. In the process, she turned her head, and the larger native suddenly uttered a sharp command. The little native stopped, and the larger one picked up a few strands of her green hair. He paled and barked another order, thrusting an arm towards the domicile. "All I can tell is that it's coming from the general direction of the more densely populated section of the town," said Twilight. "But from no one specific direction. Maybe Aunt Sunset scattered a bunch of mana batteries about town? But it would be a huge undertaking to--" The native child fled towards the domicile. The adult shouted something at them, gesturing wildly with one hand while holding the thin object with the other. "We don't have time!" Starlight cried. "I think that native is really upset with us." "Then this is a perfect opportunity to open a dialog and smooth things over," said Twilight as she stepped forward. The adult backed up a step and again shouted, this time brandishing the thin object. "He probably thinks we just infected his foal," said Starlight. Twilight kept walking. "Then it's imperative we strive to clear up misunderstandings like this, or we'll never--" The trembling native started to point the thin object at them. "LOOK OUT!" Starlight screamed, her horn blazing. Magic flickered in a hemisphere around the two ponies a second before a sharp retort sounded from the native's position. Light flashed as Starlight's shield intercepted a tiny projectile, and then again when a second one was launched, the two impacts separated by a fair distance. Twilight and Starlight turned tail and galloped back into the trees, the latter shifting her shield around to cover their escape, though no further shots came. As soon as they were safely away from the native, Twilight re-cast her illusion spell, and they again appeared as a pair of deer. "That was not the best first contact scenario," Starlight muttered. "I had gambled that a young child might be more accepting of the fantastic," Twilight explained. "And she was at first. She was even excited to see magic." "Twilight, we were just attacked!" Twilight sighed. "I know, but I'm guessing the male was the foal's father. He was likely just protecting his family. I just didn't expect his reaction to be so ... so violent." "But if that's the kind of reception we're going to get--" "He was more fearful than angry," said Twilight. "His attacks were not aimed well." "They were aimed well enough!" "That was just a random native," said Twilight. "We're looking for a center of government, or a local noble of some influence. I'm hoping they'll be more reasonable." "I still say you should let me just blast everypony with a pacification spell," said Starlight. "Do you realize how fast that projectile was going? It reached us in a blink of an eye! That's not much reaction time." "Now I'm really glad we didn't try to go straight to the source," said Twilight. "Who knows what kind of security they might have if they're that frightened of this spreading!" "Let's just get there," Starlight said. "How far are we?" A crude map materialized before Twilight. "According to my navigation spell, not far. As long as we keep the illusion spell going, we should be fine." "There it is," said Twilight as she emerged from the brush. Starlight joined her, muttering under her breath about burrs that clung to her fur under the illusion spell. She tilted her head as she gazed at the structure located on the other side of a narrow paved road. "It looks a bit less impressive close up." The main structure had a high, pitched roof, and to one side of it was a spire. The simple symbol they had spotted from a distance -- a horizontal bar crossed with a longer vertical bar -- lay perched atop it. Several tall, narrow openings just under the roof revealed something metallic housed within it. "Look just under the symbol, Starlight," said Twilight. "I think there's a bell inside. That would be just the thing to summon the citizens to some important meeting or audience with the local imperial governor or magistrate." "Hrm," Starlight murmured. "It looks a little more like a schoolhouse." "We can work with that," Twilight said. "The more intellectuals we can find, the more apt they'll be to know their older languages." "And you still don't want me to just blast out a pacification spell?" Starlight asked as they approached the large double-doors. "Have it ready," said Twilight. "And I'll have a shield ready as well." They stopped at the door, and their disguises disappeared. "I've maintained the silence spell so we can enter quietly. Now, stay alert, but don't act rashly." Starlight took a deep breath. "I'll try." Twilight nodded, smiled, and nudged one of the doors open with her magic just enough for them to slip inside. They took no more than a single step when both stopped dead. The chamber they had entered stretched some distance before them, almost the complete length of the building. Flanking a central aisle were evenly spaced rows of polished wooden benches. Upon a raised dais was a long table covered in white cloth. The benches were haphazardly occupied by several natives. Some sported the beginnings of transformation in the form of streaks of color in their hair. All were bent over, silent, as if in meditation. Starlight blinked when her gaze fell upon the back of the building. Affixed to the wall just behind the cloth-covered table was the same symbol as that atop the spire, except this appeared to have a statue of a native attached to it. "Um, I don't think this is a government institution. At all." "I'm afraid you're right," said Twilight. "We better--" One of the natives in the benches suddenly lifted her head, stood, and started out into the aisle. "Twilight, quick, cast an illusion--!" The adult female native cast her eyes on them, let out a startled yelp, and stumbled back a few steps, her eyes wide and shimmering. Several other natives lifted their heads and cast concerned looks at her, until they followed her gaze and bolted to their feet in shock. Soon every eye was on them. "Should I make with the mind magic?" Starlight murmured. Twilight's eyes darted over the natives. "No. Nopony is acting hostile. I'm dropping the silence spell." Starlight nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off the others. Light flickered faintly around them, and Twilight stepped forward. She cleared her throat and said in Latin, "" A native suddenly made an urgent gesture, moving a hand to the forehead, then chest, then each shoulder. "Was that a greeting?" Starlight whispered. "I'm not sure," Twilight whispered back. She repeated her annoucement in Greek, but this earned only more nervous looks. "All right, that's it, I'm going for it," Starlight said as her horn started to glow. "No, not yet!" Twilight cried. "This isn't working, Twilight! Again!" Suddenly, a thin male native bolted out of the room and out a side door. The others shrank back. "Two minutes, Starlight," said Twilight. "Give me two minutes." Father Lyle Donovan stared at the blank document on his computer as he had for the past half hour. Beside him, his half-finished cup of coffee had long since gone stone cold. He finally leaned back in his chair and slipped off his glasses, running a hand through his gray hair. He could only keep asking himself the same question that still had no answer despite dwelling on it for the entire morning: what do I say to them? Lyle liked to take his time when he crafted his Sunday morning sermons, thus he often penned them over the course of the entire week. He still thought of it in terms of "penning" them despite having switched to using a computer in recent years due to his arthritis. While it was only Tuesday, he generally already had some idea what to say. The latest news coming out of the Emergency Area had robbed him of that. Carbondale's only Catholic Church had rarely seen half the pews filled on a typical Sunday service. That past weekend, it had been packed. He expected standing room only for that coming Sunday, and a lot of people were going to be looking to him for the words of comfort that the government and media had failed to provide. He had hoped for guidance from higher up in the Church hierarchy, but even the Vatican had yet to make any formal statement. His musing was abruptly interrupted by a rapid knock on his door. "Father Donovan! We've got a huge problem!" Lyle sighed and rubbed his eyes. While he appreciated the volunteer work that Brad did for the church, he did tend to be a bit excitable. "Come in, please," Lyle said in a soft voice. A thin young man with black hair stumbled into the room, his eyes wild. "Father, we have an emergency!" Lyle gave him a level look. "Brad, calm down." "How can you say that?!" Brad cried. "This is serious!" Lyle folded his hands in his lap and spoke in the same fatherly tone that he used in his sermons. "Did a pipe break and flood the basement again?" "Well, no, but--" "Is the church on fire?" "No, of course not, but--" "Has someone died in the pews?" "What?? No!" Lyle smiled. "Then I think you can take a few moments to calm down. Deep breaths, now." Brad did as he was instructed, and he did appear a bit more calm. "Very good," said Lyle. "Now, what is it?" Brad took one last deep breath and said, "There are two unicorns in the church who are speaking in tongues." Lyle raised an eyebrow. "Come again?" "I think they're unicorns," said Brad. "One has wings, too. But they're definitely speaking in tongues." Lyle stood. "What of their coloration?" Brad gave him a perplexed look. "Huh? What does that have to do with it?" "Does it look like this ETS disease?" "Oh. Well, one is sort of purple and the other is a kind of pale pink." "Then they could very well be unfortunate victims of this terrible affliction and are seeking solace or help," said Lyle. "But the way they're talking, Father! And the horn on one of them was glowing! What if they're possessed?" Lyle placed a hand on Brad's shoulder. "Now, how many times have I told you that the Exorcist movies are not an entirely accurate depiction of the Church's view on possession?" "Sorry, Father," Brad said in a sheepish voice. "Let's see what's what and go from there, shall we?" Lyle headed out of his office and into the church proper. He stopped short just as he came around the end of the first pew and his eyes fell upon the two creatures. Several of his parishioners had managed to push past their initial fear and were taking pictures of them on their cell phones. Lyle stared in a combination of fascination and sympathy, his mind still holding to the idea that these were people where ETS had taken its unfortunate course. While the state had been reluctant to make official predictions of the ultimate outcome, it didn't take much to guess. As he approached, he could hear them speaking with one another. Their language was like nothing he had ever heard. It had an unusually melodic, almost sing-song cadence to it. At one point he wondered if perhaps they were singing to one another. Despite the strangeness of it, it was actually pleasing to the ears. The purple one with the wings and horn noticed him. She said something to her companion before turning to him and taking a step forward. "" Lyle was initially too surprised to respond. He had not heard someone speak that in years, not since his days in the seminary. It was heavily accented, and the word choice was odd, but it was understandable. "" Brad's eyes widened. A smile spread across the creature's muzzle. "" Lyle carefully parsed the words in his head. He had to fill in a gap or two, but he thought he got the gist of it. "Father, what's going on?" Brad said in an urgent whisper. "What language is that?" Lyle turned his head. "Brad, everyone, please, calm down. She is speaking a variety of Latin." "" said the purple pony. "" Lyle had the creature repeat her request so that he understood it. He was not sure he should translate that for the benefit of his parishioners. Someone -- certainly Brad -- would get upset over the potential of "witchcraft" being involved, which would only fuel fears of possession or whatnot. He had to admit to a certain degree of wariness himself, but he wasn't willing to jump to conclusions. "" "" said the purple one. "" Lyle had the pony repeat her response several times before he felt he understood everything. He took a deep breath and said a short prayer in his head to seek some form of guidance. His beliefs -- and the fact that this creature spoke what was once the lingua franca of the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church -- sparked a hope that this was indeed an act of God. At the same time, the pragmatic side of him said these could be two unfortunate souls rendered delusional by their disease. In that case, he could provide for their spiritual needs, but their physical and mental state were beyond his capabilities. "" Lyle said to the pony before turning to Brad. "I want you to call the county sheriff. Tell him we may have two extreme cases of ETS. I'll clear the others out of the church in the meantime." Brad nodded quickly. "I-I'll get right on it, Father!" he said before running off. Within a few minutes, the others who had occupied the benches had left, leaving only the Latin-speaking male native with the rigid collar on his shirt and the skittish, lanky native. Starlight raised an eyebrow slightly as they started chattering in their own language. She leaned over and said softly to Twilight, "I think they're stalling us." The thin native gave them a nervous look before continuing his conversation in more urgent tones. "Maybe they're discussing who the best one to receive the spell would be," Twilight said. "There's only two of them now," said Starlight. "I can zap them both with the same pacification spell." "No, not yet!" "Twilight, this is not a government office." Starlight's gaze drifted to the figure attached to the symbol at the other end of the chamber. "In fact, this place is giving me the same weird vibe as Sunset's shrine." "We don't have anyplace else to go," said Twilight. "We've initiated contact and have to follow though." "Then we need to be a little more forceful about it. What if they sent those other natives away just to gather weapons or something?" "They did look a bit scared, but I don't think they were hostile," said Twilight. "A lot of them had those flat, rectangular thingies," said Starlight. "What if they are some sort of scanning device?" "I highly doubt that," said Twilight. "And they had a reason to be scared. All of them are affected by the transformation spell." Starlight's eyes widened. "Wait, what? All of them?" "That's what's so terrible about this. Only a few were showing signs of starting the transformation, but every last one had the transformation spell structure imprinted in them. Aunt Sunset must have done exactly what she had planned. They all caught the virus, either got over the initial sickness or they're at the tail end of it, but now the transformation spell is just waiting to be powered." Starlight glanced at the two natives. "You mean even them?" "Yes, even them," said Twilight. She pointed a hoof at the Latin-speaking native. "I can sense magical energy starting to flow into him now. His transformation will likely start very soon, perhaps by the end of the day. Now you see why I would prefer his consent? I don't want somepony associating your spell with his transformation." "And what about him associating it with your spell?" "It's certainly a risk, but at least I would have established easier communication." Twilight sighed. "All right, let me prompt them again. See if you can cast a sensing ward as surreptitiously as possible so we know if somepony approaches the building." Starlight nodded and started channeling magic slowly, her horn giving off only a faint glow. Twilight took a step closer to the two natives. "" The natives conferred for another moment before the collared one turned to her. "" "" The native hesitated, and Twilight could not tell if he were simply nervous about this or dubious of her claims. "" The native considered. He turned to one of the benches and plucked something from a holder attached to the back of the next bench. He placed what looked like a small booklet with a green cover on the floor in the middle of the aisle. While the wording on it was incomprehensible, it did have the same symbol as atop the spire and in the back. Twilight nodded. "" Her horn glowed, and so did the booklet. It rose into the air. The reaction was immediate. The lanky man stumbled back in shock. The collared native simply stared, his eyes glistening with both worry and indecision. "" The green cover turned blue, then purple, then back to normal. "" The booklet shrunk to half its size, then reverted to normal. Twilight lifted the booklet until it was at the level of the native's waist. "" The lanky native barked a protest, but the collared one waved him silent. He reached out a hand and took the booklet. The glow faded. "" said Twilight. The native stared down at the booklet for a moment before saying in a low, almost reverent voice, "" Twilight had hoped Starlight had been wrong, but it was obvious now that this was a religious shrine of some sort, and this native was likely a cleric or priest. Twilight paused to pick her words carefully. She had not wanted to be viewed as a monster by the populace, but what she wanted even less was to be seen as a divine avatar. "" She paused. "" Twilight understood she was taking a risk by playing the "evil" card. She did truly believe that what Sunset was doing was evil -- even if Sunset couldn't see that herself -- but she knew enough about the ancient pony tribes to understand that the word could have sensitive spiritual connotations as well. The native cleric looked thoughtful for a long moment before he finally said, "" Twilight smiled. "" She turned to Starlight. "He's going to do it." "Well, he better hurry," Starlight said. "I think I sense something approaching." Twilight was about to reply when the lanky native suddenly uttered a shout. "Father, have you taken leave of your senses?!" Brad exclaimed. "Brad, calm down," said Lyle. "Nothing will be accomplished with histrionics." "But you just said you were going to submit to their witchcraft! What am I supposed to think?" "You saw it for yourself," Lyle said in a level voice. "I didn't feel so much as a tingle when I held the glowing prayer book." "But this isn't natural," Brad insisted. "Nor would powered flight or even a microwave oven appear to be natural to someone from centuries ago," said Lyle. "Yet we accept them as perfectly normal today." Brad hesitated, his eyes flicking to the creatures again. "I don't know a lot of Latin, but I thought I heard you say the word 'Deus', and I know that means God. What did you ask them?" "I asked if they were sent from God. She claimed not to be but stated she wanted to stop this evil which has been inflicted upon us." Lyle glanced at the purple pony. "I'm honestly not sure what's going on, other than I believe there's some deeper meaning here." "Next you're going to be telling me this creature is an angel just because she has wings." "I can't rule out anything," said Lyle. "And that includes the divine. Even if she was not sent from Him directly, could not some arrangement have been made to bring us help in our time of need?" "Why can't you let the sheriff handle this?" Brad asked. Lyle wondered that himself. All he could think of was that blank document and how he had such trouble finding the words of hope that people needed. He had not wanted to see the elephant in the room, which was his looming crisis of faith. This situation had stretched his ability to understand divine providence. Perhaps this was a calling, a path to greater understanding. "Nothing will be accomplished by shying away from the unknown. Now, I want you to go to the church steps to greet the sheriff when he arrives." "Are you sure you'll be okay alone?" said Brad. "I'm not sure of anything right now. That's why I'm doing this." Brad gave the two ponies a wary look before going around them and jogging for the door. Lyle waited until the church door had closed behind his assistant. "" The purple pony stepped forward, her horn starting to glow. "" Lyle could do one but prayed for help with the other. He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, his heart thumping. If this creature were actually some servant of God, what would he feel? What would he hear or see? He felt flushed for a moment, but that could be his own fears. Some years ago, he had a nasty bout with anxiety attacks, and a flushed sensation was often a precursor. Fear turned to excitement when thoughts and concepts raced through his head, and at once he thought perhaps this was the word of God. He listened intently, searching for a message but finding none. Ideas and constructs flitted through his mind with no particular ordering or reason. He saw pure structure rather than meaning, clinical definitions rather than insight. It felt like reading all the books of a library in completely random order. A bridge spanned the void into his mind, and his heart leapt. He tried to reach across the divide, but felt resistance. He sought a divine presence but came up short. Was that just his own crisis of faith rearing its head? Was he missing an important revelation? Had he missed hearing God's call even after-- I am not from God. Lyle flinched, and his heart raced. I apologize for the intrusion into your thoughts. Your language constructs are so different from ours, I had to reach a little further. Lyle fought the temptation to reel from this contact. Only the thoughts of his parishioners stopped him from backing down. Before he could try to respond, the bridge vanished. "You can open your eyes now." Lyle heard the pony speak in slightly accented English. His eyes flickered open. Both her and her companion looked tired, as if they had just run a marathon. The purple pony stepped up to him. "Thank you for trusting me. My name is Twilight Sparkle. My friend is Starlight Glimmer." She gave him a look both urgent and sympathetic. "I'm truly sorry to have sensed some of your thoughts. I had not intended to reach so deeply, but perhaps it was for the best. As much as you would hope, Father Donovan, we are not divine, not in the least. But we want to help." Lyle stared at Twilight for a long moment, his eyes glistening, his heart aching. What had just happened? He felt like he had indeed had a sort of spiritual experience, but he couldn't quite place it in the framework of his faith, at least not yet. All he could say was that he saw nothing but sincerity and concern in this strange creature's gaze. A ruckus arose at the door, and the county sheriff burst inside with several of his men. They stopped just a few pews in, the sheriff staring at the two ponies with a mix of confusion and trepidation. He took off his hat and scratched his head as he muttered, "The call had said it was bad, but I sure wasn't expecting this." Lyle raised his eyes to the sheriff. "Things are not quite as they seem. These two were sent to help us in our time of dire need." Twilight smiled. Starlight slowly followed suit. The sheriff looked askance at Lyle. "What exactly does that mean?" "It means that these two creatures are our friends," said Lyle. "Please treat them as such."