//------------------------------// // Chapter 53 - To Plan // Story: Finding a Place // by Battlecat //------------------------------// Thursday, January 12, 2017 When I returned to the waking world, I discovered Sunset had snuggled up tightly against me. She was wearing her normal long sleeved purple pajamas and she had one arm draped over me. Her head was tucked tightly under my chin, and I could feel the heat of her breath on my chest. Every once in a while she snorted cutely. I could barely keep the smile off my face as I looked at the riot of red and gold hair. I reached out with my free hand and swiped my alarm off before turning my thoughts inwards for my morning conversation. You realize what everyone would think we did if they saw us. They can believe whatever they want, Spark. Sunset and Twilight know they can trust me. Not for lack of desire though. Well yeah, I’m not made of stone. They are beautiful, brilliant women. They are also stunning ponies. Yes, also true. I’m just glad I can control myself. I doubt you’d have managed it before your visit to Equestria. We wouldn’t be here snuggling with Sunset without the same so it’s rather moot. True. Well, time to get up. Indeed it is, let’s get started. I gently kissed her on the forehead and began the task of untangling myself from my snuggly girlfriend. This new morning challenge was near the top of the list of things I would never, ever complain about. Fortunately, Sunset was a ridiculously heavy sleeper so I wasn’t terribly worried about waking her up. Still, she had a dang good grip. I had left her relaxing in a lucid dream with Fluttershy. My wake-up call came much earlier than theirs; ushered in by a recording of ‘Shine like Rainbows’. While I wished I had gotten the idea from my books, the inspiration for using music this way came from an entirely different place. Over the past two days, I’d discovered that Runic was not going to be easy to learn. The symbols had multiple meanings that varied depending on context. Even worse, some of the runes were specific to magic use, an art that I knew very little about. Even those skilled in Runic like Sunset and Twilight had to take care while reading it to make sure they didn’t miss a detail. Now the truth was, there were other ponies with similar skills in Equestria, including the teachers at Celestia’s school. The problem was the debacle in Canterlot left all of us quite wary of ponies outside our immediate circle of friends. We needed to learn what was in the books and make copies of the information before it became a political problem. So that left just the three of us with me being the one slowing everything down. In the meantime, Sunset and I had watched a few movies that involved dreams or dream manipulation. Anything was a potential source of inspiration for how to handle dream worlds. To my surprise, Inception was quite inspiring and the dreams they crafted were vaguely recognizable. Their use of music to synchronize the different dream layers was inspired even if time compression in dreams didn’t work like that. Easily recognizable music was exactly what I needed as long as I could identify it from within the astral realm at any speed adjustment. I carefully slipped out of bed and walked out of the bedroom. I tightened the drawstring of my sweatpants and pulled a t-shirt over my head as I walked down to the kitchen. I set the timer on the coffee pot while I pondered the strange routine I was developing. Five thirty was pretty early for most people but for me, it was just a modification of my life-long routine. It had always been just a habit before I moved to Canterlot. Now the early start was necessary to get the best use out of my days and nights. I had begun splitting up my time in the dream realm while trying not to exhaust my magic. Among my activities, I had decided to spend a minimum of two subjective hours training in a lucid dream. Following on the heels of our successful dance lessons, I was going to revisit every lesson Spark and I could recall. The goal was to train my reflexes and muscle memory to improve my combat ability. The counterbalance was I wouldn’t get physically stronger while training in the dream realm. The reflexes and honed technique would be worthless without the physical ability to back it up. The cool air bit at my skin, waking me up the rest of the way but it was well above freezing. The snow had mostly melted while we were away on our vacation. Central Oregon wasn’t known for long lasting cold weather which was awesome. I started by repeating the lessons I’d revisited in my dreams. Today I was practicing my Taekwondo, in particular, a few of my third-degree black belt forms. I could feel my muscles straining to match the effortless practice from the Astral Realm. It was a critical reminder about limits that didn’t exist in the Astral Realm. Once I’d repeated everything from my sleep training, I turned my focus to core strength and balance. I started off simple, going through a regimen of push-ups and crunches. I moved on to more advanced challenges as the morning progressed. When I started on more advanced exercises, I ditched my t-shirt. The cool air was refreshing and just improved my focus. Every day, I tried to wrap up by pushing my limits to find out how much had changed in both my body and mind. I was already stronger than I had been before my accident and my endurance had increased to match. There was no real way to know how much of that was magic and how much was just due to my increased focus on training. Today, I was exploring apparent changes to my equilibrium and balance. Spinning or other rapid movement didn’t seem to make me dizzy anymore and being upside down for extended periods of time wasn’t making me light headed. To test my new limits, I ran through a series of cartwheels and other simple flips from parkour that had been challenging before. The real surprises came when I switched to handstands. The only limit to how long I could hold the poses seemed to be my endurance. My head remained clear and I didn’t feel like blood was pooling in my hands or head. This seemed more magical than any other changes I’d noticed but I couldn’t think of any way to confirm my suspicion. I kept pushing myself, finally choosing to attempt a one-armed handstand. It was a feat I had never accomplished for more than about ten seconds prior to my accident. I set a timer an then flipped up onto one hand and tensed all my muscles to hold the pose. With some small adjustments to keep my balance stead, I easily went flying past my original record. I was coming up on four minutes when the back door opened as Sunset walked out on to the porch. I couldn’t look or even turn my head in her direction but I could clearly hear her speaking. “Now there’s a sight worth waking up for,” she whispered as she walked down the stairs. I felt myself flush red at the compliment; especially because I was starting to believe her, even if I didn’t quite get it. I could smell the coffee as she drifted past but I couldn’t see her until she was halfway up the path towards the hot tub. When she was close to the stairs she looked over her shoulder and smiled at me. I forced a small smile but I couldn’t speak with my muscles tensed so I just admired my girlfriend. Sunset had a deep purple housecoat wrapped loosely around her shoulders, revealing the shoulder strap of her teal one-piece swimsuit. Her hair was a chaotic mess that would have made Rarity faint. She had a sports bag over her shoulder with two travel mugs poking out of one of the pouches. As she continued up the walkway towards the pool, her hips were swaying provocatively. Even with the robe hiding most of her figure, it was impossible to miss the confident strut. It was a rare sign that the best parts of old Sunset were coming back, particularly her confidence. The playful smirk on her face when she glanced over her shoulder a second time as she ascended the stairs informed me she knew exactly what she was doing. That was just confirmed when she paused to snap a quick picture of me with her phone. When she walked into the gazebo to drop off the bag, I drew my magic forth with Spark’s help. As my wings sprouted, I pushed myself straight up into the air with all my might. I caught myself with my wings and swiftly flew over just in time to scoop her up as she walked out of the gazebo in her swimsuit. She let out a squeal of laughter and wrapped her arms around my neck as I hauled her up into the air. I only took her on a short loop around the gazebo before landing and placing her gently on her feet beside the hot tub. She gave me a short kiss on the lips and then pulled me into a hug. “Your swimsuit is in the gazebo,” She purred in my ear. “Go put it on and join me. Or just join me if you prefer.” Sunset gave me a slow, sexy wink, making it clear what she was thinking. Then she slipped into the warm water, letting out a satisfied sigh. I felt my pony ears and cheeks get warm. “You’re in a naughty mood this morning love.” “You know you like it,” Sunset shot back. I just laughed as I slipped out of sight in the small structure to get changed into my trunks. Once done, I grabbed the two coffee mugs and carried them over, handing one to Sunset before slipping into the hot water beside her, wings and all. I wrapped one velvety wing and an arm around her. She snuggled in closer and leaned her head against mine. “Life is pretty good, isn’t it, Silver?” “It is,” I replied quietly. “Not perfect but it is pretty good.” Sunset ran her hand down my other wing, making me shiver with delight. “I’m guessing a certainly lavender mare to cuddle under this wing would improve things more.” “I can’t deny it, that would step things in the right direction,” I said, leaning in to kiss Sunset before taking a sip of coffee. “Of course it would,” she giggled. “So, are we still on for translating the titles of your books after school?” We’d been trying to make the time to start the translation project since our visit to Equestria. My attempts to understand the basics of the language was the least of our problems. Since our return, we were just too busy! The dojo was amazingly popular and I’d wound up working there every evening. That was going to subside now that Steel Rain had the classes better organized but it was still going to be steady. For her part, Sunset had been looking for a job and working on finishing some sort of gadget to help her research on magic in this world. I nodded. “Yup, I finally get a night off. I need to start learning the stuff that Luna can’t teach me about how the Sentinels accessed the astral realm. She uses her magic to access the Astral Realm in a completely different way than I do. Those books might be the only remaining record of how Thestral dreamwalkers managed.” “We’ll find out soon,” Sunset said reassuringly. “It’s going to be fascinating to see what your ancestors considered vital to preserve.” We snuggled in the hot tub for about fifteen minutes, chatting quietly and sipping our coffee. The cool morning air was invigorating and the heat from the water relaxed my muscles from the hard round of exercise. When we got out, I wrapped Sunset in her towel, scooped her into my arms again, and flew her down to the porch. When we landed, I finally let my wings fade away. Twenty minutes with no strain after a full night of dreamwalking was a big step forward. I finished getting tidied up and dressed long before Sunset. While she finished up her shower, I set about making breakfast. It was just some apple-cinnamon oatmeal; simple but filling. I had just finished eating my portion when Sunset walked down the stairs dressed in her blue jeans and her yellow and blue blouse with her hair wrapped in a towel. She was carrying a hairbrush in one hand and her journal under her arm “There’s a new message here from Twilight,” Sunset said as she sat down at the table. “I asked her how things were going with the Yaks before coming down to the pool. It should be late afternoon there.” “Twilight was right, going out of sync like this is difficult,” I commented. “Want some help with your hair while you check and eat your breakfast? I’ve already eaten.” Sunset nodded and settled down at the table while I grabbed her bowl of oatmeal. I set it and a glass of milk in front of her then pulled a chair up right behind her. She took a bite of her breakfast and then hummed with satisfaction as I ran my hand down her neck. “Not that I’m complaining but breakfast and help with my hair? You’re going to spoil me at this rate Silver. ” I considered her friendly accusation while I unraveled her hair from the towel. “A little bit maybe but you have to admit with this amazing hair of yours, getting ready is always going to be slower. This I can help with, just like I helped Twilight that first night.” Sunset laughed warmly. “I almost forgot about that. She came down in nothing but a towel right?” I kissed her gently on the neck making her squirm in her chair. Then I started running the brush through her hair. Honestly, it almost wasn’t necessary; her hair was as silky soft as Twilight’s had been. “I think I’m lucky she was wearing anything at all,” I replied with an amused smile. “Given my health back then, I probably would have keeled over right there. What kind of shampoo do you use? Your hair is always so soft.” “I use Mane n’ Tail brand Shampoo and Conditioner.” “Mane and Tail?” I echoed. “That almost sounds like it’s a brand for . . . well for ponies.” “Actually it is!” She laughed. “It took forever to find a shampoo that worked for me. Everything I used from the thrift store was turning my hair to straw. I finally bought the stuff I use when I saw the horses on the bottle. For some reason, it just works for my hair. Maybe a bit of my equine heritage carries over.” “I can’t argue with the results. You know Rarity will have a fit if she ever finds out. I’m pretty sure your shampoo alone costs a tenth of what she uses.” “Oh, I’ll milk that one for all it’s worth when the time comes. Now, let’s see what’s going on with Twi . . . uh, oh. I’d better read this to you.” Oh, it’s going . . . ok. The Yaks are . . . passionate about their views. They’ve had a . . . spirited visit to Sweet Apple Acres, a . . . an interesting tea party with Fluttershy, and a destr- delightful visit to Carousel Boutique. No firm decisions on our next steps but we’re working on it. Sunset read the entry out loud, complete with the pauses that were in the text for some reason. She anticipated my question before I could ask it. “Horn writing is difficult when a pony isn’t at their best,” Sunset explained, running her fingers over the page. “Emotional control is a critical part of unicorn magic training to prevent surges. The last thing you need is a unicorn chef like Saffron flinging a knife through a wall or another pony when startled. It shouldn’t be a surprise I was pretty terrible at those lessons. Those pauses are a well-documented sign that a unicorn is emotional, distraught, or just plain exhausted. Twilight’s writing is also shakier than normal so it’s clear she’s not telling us something. I suspect negotiations with the Yaks aren’t going well.” It sounded plausible but I found it hard to imagine having my thoughts bleed into my actions the way it was for Twilight. If anyone would know the quirks of unicorn writing techniques it would be Sunset, so I had to accept it as accurate. “So, how do we help her?” Sunset shrugged as she began to write. “She’s in negotiations with another country. I’m not going to push her. Us showing up at the wrong time could make the situation worse instead of better. All we can do is offer.” Even as she spoke, she began writing a reply. You sure you’re ok Twilight? We can help out if you need us. As soon as Sunset finished writing, Twilight’s response began to appear below. No, I can do this . . . really I can. I can’t disappoint- no, I shouldn’t take more of your time; I’m sure you two have lots to do. We’re fine. I’m fine. Thank you for offering though. I have to go organize the next . . . event. Have a good day at school my loves. Very well, just call if you change your mind. Stay strong my dear Princess. Sunset closed the book and shook her head. “I hope you’re ok, Twilight. I really do.” I ran my hand through her hair before letting it rest on her shoulder. She put her hand over mine and gave it a squeeze. This was going to be the hardest part of our relationship. It was painful to sit here knowing our girlfriend was stressed out. The mood was markedly subdued as we finished getting ready for school. Bzzzt - “Would the following students please report to the office: Adagio Dazzle and Sunset Shimmer.” The day had been quiet and relatively uneventful up until the announcement. It came just after the lunch bell and I had to hurry to meet up with Sunset before she made it there. I caught up with her and Adagio at the top of the stairs. I hooked my arm around Sunset’s and gave her cheek a quick nuzzle. “So what do you think this is about?” Adagio grumbled. “I haven’t caused any trouble yet today.” Sunset raised her eyebrow at Adagio. “What about yesterday?” she teased. “A sharp word here, a blunt observation there,” she admitted, waving her hand dismissively. “Nothing that would justify going to Principal Celestia.” I shook my head. “Adagio, most students here haven’t had a thousand years to sharpen their wit. You might be cutting deeper than you think.” “A fair point,” she conceded. “Still, it seems odd that I’d be called down with Sunset.” When we reached the ground floor “I’ll go grab you some lunch and meet you in the music room.” “Sounds good,” Sunset replied. “While you’re waiting for me, could you try to get a hold of Twilight? The human one I mean. We need to make good on that promise to our marefriend.” “Consider it done love,” I said, giving her kiss on the cheek before letting her head into the office to see what was going on. Granny was of course quite happy to give me some lunch for Sunset to take with me. Since her priority was to see everyone at CHS eating healthy and not skipping meals, she tended to be pretty flexible. With two takeaway lunches in hand, I walked down to the music room and settled in to watch my friends practice. I pulled out my phone and started tapping out a message to human Twilight. Silver - 12:08 PM: Hey Twilight, how’s are things going? It only took a few moments for a reply to show up. Sparkle - 12:09 PM: Hello? Who is this? I was surprised she didn’t recognize my number at first. I supposed it was possible the phone wasn’t matching me up with the information we’d given her at Christmas or she hadn’t programmed in a name. Silver - 12:11 PM: I’m Silver Spark. You met me and my girlfriend Sunset at Celestia’s Christmas dinner. Sorry we didn’t get in touch sooner, life got a little crazy! While I waited for her next response, I went into the profile editor. During the Christmas dinner, I had thought of her as Sparkle to try and separate her in my mind from my girlfriend. Seeing it written here on the chat just felt impersonal and there was a non-zero chance we’d be getting Princess Twilight a phone of her own in the future. Instead of risking confusion, I decided to give the human Twilight a better nickname. Her love of science had been clear during our short conversation so there was an easy choice. I finished typing it in just as the next message came through. SciTwi - 12:13 PM: Really? You two really meant it? To be honest, I didn’t think you’d actually bother. Seeing that kind of response from her was painful. It made me feel bad we didn’t contact her sooner. Texting was so easy I honestly didn’t have much of an excuse outside of just being busy and a bit absent-minded. Silver - 12:14 PM: Why wouldn’t we? I enjoyed our chat and so did Sunset. I listened to the girls discussing something related to timing for the song they were working on while I waited for the next text to hopefully come in. It was a new song they were calling Friendship through the Ages. It was coming along though it still seemed to need some work. Still, I was impressed with their ability to create completely new songs. I wouldn’t even know where to start. The buzzing of my phone drew my attention back to my conversation. SciTwi - 12:16 PM: I’m sorry but I did the math. The odds that a pair of popular, good-looking students from another school would want to spend time with a boring, plain, mousey bookworm like me came out to be less than 2%. It seemed far more probable you were simply being polite at Christmas dinner. Please don't be mad. Now that wasn’t going to stand. She was the dimensional twin of my beautiful marefriend who loved books. It appeared that Twilight was right in suspecting that her counterpart harbored self-doubt. Even my princess occasionally got caught up in doubts about herself, though she was improving. I tapped out an answer as quickly as my fingers would allow. Silver - 12:19 PM: I’m just sorry to hear you’ve had experiences that would make your estimates that pessimistic. I'm no good with numbers so there's not much I can say to counter your numbers except this: We're chatting now so that 2% is suddenly a bit closer to 100% by my way of counting. ;-) SciTwi - 12:21 PM: I suppose you're right. :-) Thank you, it's rare for me to be glad my math was wrong. I suspected she still wasn’t entirely convinced we really wanted to see her. The only solution was to set something up as soon as possible. Silver - 12:23 PM: So, do you want to throw your math off even further and meet up with us for coffee on the weekend? SciTwi - 12:24 PM: I’d really like that. There’s a nice place near the Crystal Mall called Joe’s Café. Does ten on Saturday fit your schedule? I had been wondering where the counterpart to Donut Joe’s shop would be. Now I could find out if it was as good as the Equestrian version. Silver - 12:26 PM: Time and place sound good. I’ll confirm with Sunset and let you know if there are any issues. Gotta go! I turned off my phone and sat back against the wall to listen to the rehearsal. Sunset walked into the music room a few minutes later. She settled down beside me with a somewhat bemused expression on her face. I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as I handed her the bag with her lunch. I could tell my friends were itching to ask Sunset what was going on but they managed to resist while Sunset took the first few bites of her lunch. “So what were you called to the office for?” Pinkie asked abruptly. “Was it bad? Did you get in trouble for something?” Sunset blinked a few times and then shook her head. “Sonata was right. Celestia was plotting something.” “Come on, don’t be cryptic!” Dash demanded. “What are they doing? Do we have pod people or another magical conspiracy to knock down?” Everyone was watching Sunset as if she might be about to explode or something. The stunned expression slowly turned into a small smile. “This new student safety committee is a cover to keep the school board of their back,” Sunset replied. “The actual purpose of the group is going to be developing plans to help the school cope with magical incidents.” Now that’s a good idea. It could be depending on what they come up with. Could also be disastrous. How so? They could jump into a fireball to protect their friends and almost die. Right. Thanks so much. “Interesting,” Rarity muttered. “It sounds like a good idea on paper but what can they actually do?” “That’s why they called me in,” Sunset laughed. “They wanted to know what the authorities in Equestria are trained to do during major incidents. I remember Princess Celestia once told me that putting an army up against Gods and Monsters was an unnecessary waste.” Rainbow Dash snorted. “That seems silly. Why have an army that can’t do anything against the real threats?” “Would you try to use a pistol to stop a nuclear bomb falling from an airplane?” Sunset asked. “That thing can kill thousands of people before they even know they’re in danger. Look at it this way: Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are powerful enough to move stars and planets. Now consider that the Elements of Harmony you five bonded with were strong enough to banish Luna to the moon for a thousand years.” We all stared at Sunset for a moment. I hadn’t thought about it that way. I mean I knew Luna was powerful since I’d actually witnessed her moving the moon but I hadn’t entirely realized the Elements of Harmony were actually stronger. Where could something that powerful come from? “How awful!” Fluttershy squeaked. “So what can normal people . . . or ponies do?” “Their primary job is to keep Equestria safe from the little problems,” Sunset sighed. “Patrolling the streets, stopping criminals, that sort of thing. It’s no different from Earth; you use the appropriate tool for a job. When a big disaster crops up the primary role of the guard is to evacuate the civilians to safety.” Is it just me or are there some responsibilities missing from the guard’s role? No Spark, I agree. It sounds like they’re waiting for trouble to come to them. If what she says is accurate, Equestria’s been fighting enemies reactively. Twilight has implied they’ve been blindsided by most of the enemies they’ve faced. That sounds like a recipe for disaster. “It’s awfully hard to prepare when you don’t know what could happen,” Pinkie chirped, echoing my thoughts perfectly. “Oh, I agree,” Sunset nodded. “Twilight is working on fixing that for both worlds. They’re still trying to get information on what’s been sent here but I suspect most of that information wound up in Celestia’s secret archives along with the details about the Starlight Council. Until they find details, all we can do is prepare for the widest variety of problems.” “I have my concerns but at least it’s a step in the right direction,” I mused. “So why did they want Adagio as well?” “They wanted to know if there was any way for non-magical people to resist the Siren’s mind control,” Sunset replied hesitantly. “She sort of answered but the response basically sums up to ‘I just don’t know’. It’s just-” Rainbow Dash threw her hands up in the air and swore before Sunset could continue. “Typical! That stupid arrogant bush headed fish monster can kiss my ass!” Rainbow Dash continued venting while the rest of us just watched quietly. At this point, we all knew better than to contradict Rainbow Dash when Adagio came up. The fact that the two of them could spend any time in the same room without coming to blows still surprised me. To this day, none of us knew what had actually transpired during their first afternoon together. Whatever it was had left them barely able to tolerate one another. I was surprised when Fluttershy half raising her hand and opening her mouth. As usual, she quickly collapsed in on herself but for one moment it almost looked like she was going to interrupt Dash’s rant. Even though she was the element of Kindness it was unusual for her to even consider contradicting Dash. Fortunately, it only took a couple minutes for Dash to get it out of her system. Once she calmed down, the girls just got back to practice before the afternoon bell rang. The rest of the day passed without incident. Applejack, Applebloom, Sunset, and I left school together at 3:30. Sunset and I were going to be driving them to school most of the time. It just made sense with the two of them right next door. Plus, my help gave Mac a bit more flexibility in his workday on the farm since he didn’t have to drive us in. Granny could take her time and drive into the school in time to organize lunch. Considering Granny insisted on me and Sunset would be staying for dinner at least once a week, it was a fair exchange. “It’s a shame you have to leave the book in the car,” I told Sunset. “Last time I brought it to class, I got in trouble for having my phone unmuted,” Sunset laughed. “It doesn’t have any volume control and Cranky Doodle was pissed! He wasn’t willing to believe it was a magical book making the noise. Even with the sealed vents, I’ve decided leaving it in my locker would just be bait for anyone who still has a chip on their shoulder.” “Good call,” I said, unlocking the car door. “Things are better but some of our classmates probably still sympathize with Gilda.” We were both unsurprised to find the book buzzing and shaking in the back seat of the car underneath a blanket. Sunset pulled it out and began flipping the pages to find the new entry. I looked over her shoulder and noticed there were some odd discolored spots on the text we had exchanged earlier in the day. Below the discoloration, there was something new. I think I might have just started a war. Pinkie is missing. She left a note saying she’d be back in time but the Yaks ran out of patience with our efforts. I don’t want to fail Celestia but I don’t know how I can fix this. Help. Please. Without a timestamp like our phones, there was no way to know how long it had been since the message arrived. Sunset hadn’t checked the book at lunch because of her meeting with the principals so it could have been hours. The contents of the message made my blood run cold and made those discolorations unnerving. I hoped the marks were just tearstains and not something worse. Even as I took stock of the message, Spark and I were comparing and discarding plans in my mind. The first thing was to get AJ home but time was of the essence. “Take your sister home AJ,” I ordered, holding the keys out to her. “We’ll let you know if we need a ride home later.” “We’ll sleep at Twilight’s place tonight if we have to,” Sunset replied. “Let’s go!” Applejack didn’t take the keys. She just crossed her arms and glared at me. “No can do; Ah’m comin’ with ya,” Applejack said firmly. “Y’all aren’t runnin’ off alone this time.” Sunset shook her head vehemently. “You don’t have to do that! We’re not even sure how bad it is but for all we know it could be a battlefield already.” “Twilight has come runnin’ every time we’ve needed her, even in the dead of night,” Applejack countered, pulling the disguise pendant she got at Christmas out of her backpack. “There might not be much ah’ll be able to do but ah’ want Twi to understand we won’t abandon her. Ah’ agreed with Silver’s promise after the Fall Formal, even if ah’ didn’t say the words myself. The only reason I’m not callin’ the others is cause we don’t know how bad it is.” “Can ah’ come too?” Applebloom pleaded. “I have the pendant from Twilight with me and I promise I’ll do exactly what you say.” Applejack hesitated for just a minute and then sighed. “Ah’m not lettin’ Silver and Sunset to run off and do this alone so I guess yer comin’ too Bloom. You’d better behave and come straight back home if we tell ya.” “Ah will!” she chirped in response. “Your sister to, Applejack!?” Sunset gasped. “Are you crazy?” Applebloom glared at Sunset. “She ain’t crazy! Twilight saved me too! Ah wanna help, even if I just hafta come straight home!” I felt like the situation had rapidly spiraled out of my control. I shifted my gaze from Applebloom back to Applejack trying to come up with a reason they couldn’t come. It was their expressions that made me hesitate more than anything. There was a hint of stubborn determination on both of their faces that warned me there wasn’t any room for argument. I felt a headache coming on and pressed my fingers to my temples while I tried to think. I think we might have to bring them along. You realize taking those two into a war zone is the height of irresponsibility. Yes, I know Spark. Fortunately, Applejack is a sensible person. She won’t risk her sister. I see. Bloom coming along just gives us an excuse to send her home. Risky. It might not be bad yet and there might be a chance. Besides, Applejack is right about one thing. Yeah, I know. Twilight needs to know she’s got more friends than just us in this world. “Fine, but you’re going to do exactly as I say,” I concluded, shoving the keys back into my pocket and starting to walk towards the portal. “First sign of trouble, you two come straight back through the portal and wait to hear from us. Text Granny so she knows you’ll be late coming home.” Sunset shook her head and let out a defeated sigh. “Fine. If you’re coming, you’ll need to come up with nicknames we can use to distinguish you from your counterparts.” “Yay!” Applebloom cheered. “Oh! Auntie Orange calls me Blossom sometimes! Ah’ can use that name!” “Ah’ll take my cue from Blossom there then,” AJ chuckled as she pulled out her phone to call Granny. “It’s a bit fancy for my tastes but Aunt Orange likes to call me Jaqueline.” “Right then,” I nodded. “Let’s go help Twilight.” Equestria – 1003-08-13 The four of us hurried out of the portal and took stock of our situation. Well, Blossom and Jaqueline kind of tumbled out and slid across the floor. As soon as they got onto their hooves, Jaqueline had a bit of a freak out when she realized none of us were wearing clothes. While Sunset reassured them that going without clothing was perfectly normal for ponies, I practically galloped over to the nearest window. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw no obvious signs of trouble in Ponyville. The town was still standing and the only smoke I could see was from chimneys so it was safe to assume things hadn’t turned completely awful yet. Based on the position of the sun, It couldn’t be later than nine in the morning here in Equestria. When I turned back, Jaqueline and Blossom were just putting on their disguise pendants. Blossom had red fur with a blond mane and tail. The colors were quite similar to Mac’s. Jaqueline’s pendant changed her fur from orange to a pale peach color while her mane and tail became a deep auburn red with a streak of amber. Strangely, she retained her hat through the transformation, just like we kept our backpacks. Also unsurprising was the absence of cutie marks on both of their flanks. It was just like with Fluttershy and actually, Blossom’s counterparts didn’t have marks yet either. I did comment on how the two of them were surprisingly quick at picking up walking on four legs. Jaqueline chuckled nervously. “It’s a bit like crawling but it’s easier if ah’ don’t think about it.” At that Jaqueline’s front hooves crossed and she stumbled several times before sprawling onto the floor. “See?” She grumbled. “Think too hard and down ah’ go.” “It was like that when I first became human,” Sunset giggled as horn began to shimmer with a teal aura. The same aura enveloped Jaqueline, lifting her back to her hooves. “Just another quirk of the transformations I guess. Still, even with the help, my old instincts were still buried underneath. It’s quite the challenge to keep the two shapes separate in my mind.” “That was so cool, you just lifted her up without touching her!” Blossom marveled as she bounced around the room. “That was magic, right Sunset? Can we do that too?” “Most creatures in this world have some magic,” Sunset replied. “As Earth Ponies your magic makes you stronger and enhances your endurance. Earth ponies also have a connection to the natural world, even if it has nothing to do with their special talent. If you’re anything like your counterparts you’ll have a special affinity for apple trees.” “Neat!” Blossom kept peppering us with questions as we slowly made our way through the Castle. I was fighting the itch to jump out the nearest window and fly to town to find Twilight. It wouldn’t be fair to my friends from the human world. I began to regret that decision when we stepped into the castle foyer. The condition of the room banished the relative calm I had been feeling. The fur on the back of my neck began to bristle as I surveyed the situation. “Sweet Celestia,” Sunset gasped. “What happened here?!” The place was in a complete shambles. While some cleaning had been done, the damage was still extensive. Shattered crystals and broken furniture had been piled in the corners. Makeshift repairs had been done to the railings on the upper floor. Even the castle walls had been damaged, though it almost looked like it was beginning to grow back. “Ah’d say something pretty awful happened here,” Jaqueline observed. “Still, Ah’m not ready to throw in the towel yet. Ah’ think we can still- . . . Silver? You ok there?” I didn’t respond to Jaqueline’s question; my mind was on other things. There was no way this was the result of negotiations. Someone deliberately destroyed part of Twilight’s home. There’s no sign of Twilight and the others. We need to find them. Keep the armor in reserve. Yes. We’ll be faster without it. My heart was pounding in my ears and I dimly noted my wings had spread aggressively. I was in motion before anyone else could react. I dimly heard someone calling out as I half galloped; half flew out the giant front doors of Twilight’s castle. “Silver!” “Dagnabit, there he goes.” I barely registered the voices as I burst out onto the sun-drenched path to Ponyville. There was a red haze around the edge of my vision but I just ignored it as I tried to get my bearings. Thousands of scents and sounds assaulted my senses as Spark and I searched for any sign of Twilight or her pony friends. I thought I had gotten used to my above average senses during my visit to Equestria but this was something completely different. Without Spark’s help, the sheer volume of information would have overwhelmed me. It only took a few moments to pick out the unmistakable sounds of Pony Pinkie bouncing through town and the voice of Twilight telling her friends to hurry. I hurried to intercept the group and arrived at the actual edge of town just as Pinkie came bouncing around the corner. The smile that was almost always on Pinkie’s face grew even bigger when her eyes found me but she didn’t exactly look surprised. The fact that she seemed so cheerful was enough to make my focus falter. I skidded to a stop and stared as she waved mid bounce, seemingly unconcerned. “Sparky!” Pinkie shouted as she bounced past me, her eyes swinging to the three Ponies run up behind me. “Sunny! Blossom! Jaqueline! Head to the town square and lend a hoof getting everything set up! We’ve got to catch them before the sheep finish doing sheep things on the railway tracks!” Pinkie then turned and continued trotting towards the train station. The others went galloping past a moment later, looking like they were desperately trying to catch up with Pinkie. Twilight was bringing up the rear. When she spotted us a relieved smile replaced the worried frown on her face. She barely slowed down enough to greet us as she went by. “Oh my gosh, you’re really here, I’ll see you in a minute, we’ve got to catch Pinkie first, she’s got a plan, I hope!” Twilight gasped as she galloped past. Even with the revelation that everyone was ok, my body was still tense. My heart was still racing as I turned to check on my friends. Sunset’s face was twisted up in a smirk as she struggled to hold herself together while she watched our two human friends. Jaqueline and Blossom’s mouths were hanging wide open as they watched Pinkie bounce away. “What the heck; was that Pinkie?!” Jaqueline bleated. “How did she know the nicknames we just picked out?” Sunset stared at the retreating ponies for a moment longer before she just collapsed onto the ground and began laughing. “Welcome to Equestria,” She giggled hysterically. “Whatever you do, don’t question Pinkie Pie. You wanted to help stop a war, looks like we’ve got our marching orders.” The laughter shattered what anxiety I was still carrying. My wings and shoulders slumped as I let out a deep sigh. Sunset’s laughter subsided as concern spread across her face. She walked over to me and nuzzled my cheek comfortingly. “She’s ok Silver,” she murmured in my ear. “They’re all ok.” I nodded without speaking as I leaned into her touch. There was a painful lump in my throat that was refusing to go away. “Y’all seemed pretty focused there, Silver,” Jaqueline commented. “What got into you?” I looked into those worried emerald eyes and managed to put a weak smile on my face. “I don’t actually know exactly. When I saw the destruction in the castle all we could think about was protecting Twilight.” “It’s not the first time this has happened, is it?” Sunset murmured. “I’m sure I’ve seen you get aggressively focused like that before.” What do you think Spark? The first time I remember was the day we rescued Sunset from that mob. Yeah. I think it happened on Halloween as well. We’re going to have to figure out what’s going on with us. Just another mystery. Joy. “It’s not,” I simply confirmed out loud. “But right now we need to go see where we can help.” “Fair enough,” Sunset replied. “I suspect time is of the essence.” I did my best to keep a more sedate pace as we walked the rest of the way into town. The town square was bustling with activity as ponies dashed here and there, setting up streamers, pulling up tents and preparing food. Blossom and Jaqueline stopped short to stare at the bustling village square. “Well ah’ll be,” Jaqueline exclaimed as she looked over the scene. “Didn’t realize there’d be this many familiar faces. It’s like half our friends from school are here. You ok there Blossom?” Blossom had stopped mid step and was pointing with her hoof. “Apple- Jaqueline, look over there! Is that Granny with Macintosh and . . . is that me?” The ponies in question were just beginning to set up a tent, with the same urgency as everypony else. With Applejack absent, it looked like they could use a bit of extra help since Applejack was with Twilight. I chuckled. “How about I introduce you to your counterpart’s family?” “You help them; I’m going to go help out with the stage!” Sunset said. “I think they need more ponies there as well.” “Sounds good love,” I replied. “Then find Twilight. I’ll stay in the background until we see how the Yaks are acting.” Sunset waved as she hurried over to the stage to see where she could help while I took Jaqueline and Blossom over to the Apple family booth. Mac noticed us approaching first but he didn’t react except for a slight widening of his eyes when he saw Jaqueline. When we were almost there Applebloom spotted me. Her reaction wasn’t nearly as reserved as she galloped over and threw her arms around my neck, nearly knocking me off my hooves. “SILVER! You came back! Applejack told me about that awful duel and Diamond Tiara said we’d see the last of y’all but I didn’t wanna believe her. Ah’ was afraid you wouldn’t visit again, ‘specially cause we still gotta show you how Applebuckin works!” I wrapped a wing around Applebloom. “It’ll take more than a few noble jerks or a duel to keep me away.” She laughed. “Ah wish I coulda seen you beat that mean pony; watchin’ you train with Rainbow Dash just isn’t the same!” “I know, right?!” Blossom chimed in. “Y’all shoulda seen him at Halloween. He took down them nasty bullies easy!” Applebloom’s eyes shifted to Blossom, her eyes focused squarely on the familar bow in her hair. Her gaze then shifted to Jaqueline, her eyes opening even wider when she saw the hat and ponytail. “Wait . . . no way, are yew . . .” I grinned at Applebloom when she trailed off. “These two are Jaqueline and Blossom. I believe your sister may have mentioned they’d be visiting at some point.” “Eeeyup!” Big Mac confirmed. “Howdy cousins.” Jaqueline and Blossom both looked pleasantly surprised by Big Mac’s word. Granny Smith hobbled over and squinted at them. “Y’all treat yer grandmother with respect?” she asked firmly. “Yes, Granny!” Blossom said before she could stop herself. Jaqueline shuffled her hooves nervously. “Yes’m. We all do. She’s been takin care of us since Blossom was just a baby.” “Good, but Y’all better call me Granny just like the rest of my kin,” she replied with a satisfied nod. “Now don’t just’ stand there gabbing! You two grab a rope so Mac can get those pegs in the ground! Time’s a-wastin’; we got new customers to impress!” Jaqueline looked down at her hooves and then over at me, clearly confused about how she could help. As an answer, I walked over and took a rope in my teeth. After a moment of confused hesitation, Jaqueline followed my lead. While we began pulling the tent up, Applebloom walked over to her counterpart and smiled warmly. “Come on Blossom!” Applebloom chirped. “Let’s go start unloadin’ the apples from the cart! Once we’re done I’ll introduce you to the other Crusaders!” For some reason, that declaration from Applebloom sent a shiver down my spine. The next half hour was a blur of activity as we rushed to set up the festival. Once the Apple family tent was up, Jaqueline and I went from booth to booth making sure everypony was set up while Blossom helped Applebloom. I did make a point of giving Bon Bon’s booth a wide berth though. That was one conflict I wasn’t interested in revisiting anytime soon if at all possible. All the ponies we met seemed to think Jaqueline was a just another distant relative of Applejack which was fine by us. Her lack of a cutie mark caused a few raised eyebrows but nopony said anything in the frenzy of preparations. At some point, Twilight and her friends arrived with their guests following close behind. I wasn’t sure what I had expected the Yaks to be but three giant, hair covered creatures with enormous horns wasn’t it. I only had a moment to look at the new arrivals as I hurried around to help various groups finish preparations. They wore extensive ornamentation on their horns, earrings, and their long beards were carefully groomed. The fact that their hair hung over their eyes made their moods extremely hard to read. To my surprise, I also spotted Princess Celestia in the crowd. I was pleased to see her talking with Sunset and that both of them had smiles on their faces. As much as I wanted to join them, I decided to stick to the shadows in case the Yaks were just as unfamiliar with Thestrals as the average pony. The situation was already strained enough and I was content to stay on the sidelines until the situation had stabilized. When I ran out of ponies to help, I settled into the shadows beside the Apple Family booth while Jaqueline helped Mac sell their goods. Fortunately, my hearing allowed me to keep track of things and to my relief, the Yaks declared there would be no war. “Ah’ wish wars in our world could be stopped with a simple party,” Jaqueline snorted when I told her. “No kidding, that would be really nice,” I replied. “Thank you for insisting on coming by the way. You took to your hooves with surprising ease.” “Easier than I expected to be honest,” Jaqueline laughed, lifting her front hoof to look at it. “Ah’ didn’t really have time to think about it so I just went with the flow. Not quite a hand but these aren’t as far off as ah’ expected. You want to see adaptable tho jus’ look over there. You’d hardly know Blossom first walked on four hooves a couple hours ago. She’s a natural.” She pointed out into the square where Blossom was talking enthusiastically with Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. What I could hear was a conversation about crusading together. The four fillies were oblivious to the worried glances from other ponies as they discussed ideas to get their cutie marks with their newest member. It was fairly clear the Crusaders had a reputation of sorts here. The local Applejack had been watching their conversation with an increasingly amused expression. She walked over and tipped her hat at the two of us. “Afternoon Silver, it’s good to see ya,” she chuckled. “Ah’ see you brought a couple friends along to help with our little crisis. Nice to meet ya, I’m Applejack.” Jaqueline grinned at her and held out a hoof. “Just glad ah’ managed to convince Silver to let Blossom and me come along. He was thinking ‘bout being stubborn. Ah’m Jaqueline in case ya haven’t be told.” The interdimensional twins shook hooves while eyeing each other speculatively. It was interesting to look at the two of them side by side. The fur and hair colors were the only difference between the two. Their body shapes, voices, ponytails, and even the hats were nearly identical. The only other difference was Jaqueline only had a hair band in her mane, while Applejack also had one in her tail. “Y’all helpin’ out here in town made mah’ part in all this easier. Yaks are the most ornery folks I’ve ever met. Twilight needed all the help she could get and I saw a proper smile back on her face the moment she saw ya. Speaking of Twi, why aren’t you with your marefriends, Silver?” I looked over at the two mares standing there talking with Princess Celestia and the leader of the yak delegation. I smiled sadly and shook my head. “Sometimes the best way to help is to stay off to the side,” I admitted. “I have no idea how well Thestrals are known outside Equestria. Given how badly things were going with the yaks, an unexpected new kind of pony popping in out of nowhere might have made things much worse. I can support Twilight from the sidelines until we’re sure things have settled down.” Applejack looked aghast at my blunt assessment of the situation but Jaqueline just laughed. “You should have seen him when he saw the mess in the castle. I swear if he’d found those yaks before he ran into Pinkie we’d be havin’ a different conversation.” I covered my face with my wings and groaned while the other ponies just chuckled. That was when Applejack’s eyes shifted to examine Jaqueline’s flank. Her eyebrow went up when she saw the blank fur. “Ah noticed ya don’t have your mark yet, cousin. Fluttershy mentioned the same thing happened with Posey but ah heard that changed pretty darn quick.” Jaqueline looked over her shoulder at the blank fur and then shrugged. “Ah’ve been too busy to think about it. I mean, eventually, I’ll be workin’ at mah farm full time but ah aim to go to college first.” “College?” Applejack asked. “That like the school Twi went to? What do you need that fancy book learnin’ for? Hard work has always been enough to keep things running here in Ponyville.” There was no malice in Applejack’s voice, just genuine curiosity. Jaqueline “Ah can’t speak to your situation but it’s been hard since we lost Ma and Pa,” Jaqueline admitted. “Mac’s practical knowledge and pure quality have kept the farm runnin’ but just barely. It’s gonna take a bit more than just hard work to keep us viable long term. There’s an agriculture program at the local college I’m gonna take along with some business classes. Mah world’s changin’ faster than a wildfire and ah gotta make sure we can keep pace.” Even as she spoke, her flank started glowing. When the glow faded, there was a pair of red apples on Jaqueline’s flank with a rolled up scroll going diagonally between them in a shape that somewhat resembled a percentage sign. The two red apples were perfectly identical to the three on Applejack’s flank. “Huh, well ah’ll be,” Applejack chuckled. “Look like you know what yer talkin’ about. Ah’ll be curious to hear what ya learn from a school ‘bout farming. Someday, ah’ll have to show you how we run the farm here. Maybe ah can teach you a few Earth Pony tricks that might help you out.” “Mac and ah’ can cover things here and keep an eye on Blossom,” Granny rasped before Jaqueline could respond. “Take yer’ new cousin and show her how her Earth Pony kin run a farm. She can return the favor when you go visit her.” Jaqueline looked excited by the opportunity but then she glanced over at me. There was a pleading look on her face but she looked almost afraid to ask. That’s when I recalled the strict conditions I’d put on her coming to Equestria. Her and Blossom hadn’t just listened; they’d stepped up to help the ponies of a town in an alien world she’d never seen before today without hesitation. At that moment, I couldn’t have been prouder to call her my friend. “You’ve more than earned a break, Jaqueline,” I chuckled. “If Granny says things are under control, then you’re good to go. Just remember, I’m still driving you and Blossom home. Thank you for helping.” Jaqueline walked over and threw her arms around my shoulders. I used my wings to return the hug, eliciting an amused laugh from her. Then she joined Applejack and walked off towards Sweet Apple Acres. Granny Smith watched them go before turning her attention back to me. “Wasn’t rightly sure what to think when Applejack told me ‘bout these visitors you’d be bringing. Ah was worried we’d be dealin’ with some weird otherworldly critters. Glad to see they’re jus’ normal ponies with a couple quirks like you. Now, y’all need to stop hidin’ and go spend time with your marefriends.” I looked over at Granny Smith sitting in the rocking chair they had brought along. She shooed me away with her front hoof, clearly telling me to skedaddle. It was the last thing I wanted to do but her expression told me this wasn’t up for debate. I stood up and gave my wings a stretch before folding them back up. I nodded at Big Mac before slowly walking out into the square towards where Twilight was standing with Sunset and Celestia. The Yaks had wandered out into the crowd, following Pinkie to look at all the different activities but there were two members of the royal guard standing a short distance away from Celestia. I saw them both flinch when they saw me walk out into the square. One of them looked like he was preparing to challenge me but the other guard stopped him. By the time I reached my marefriends, the two guards were back at parade rest as if nothing was wrong. “There you are!” Sunset said as I walked over. “Been having fun?” I took a moment to give Sunset and Twilight each a quick nuzzle. “Yes, I have been, though I’d say things have improved immensely in the last few seconds.” That earned me a small laugh from each of my marefriends. Then I turned my attention to the other princess standing with us. Celestia was smiling but it felt just a bit forced; like she wasn’t exactly sure what to say to me. Considering what we had discovered last time we met, I couldn’t blame her. I wasn’t sure what to say either. “It’s lovely to see you in good health, Silver Spark,” she finally said to break the silence. “I trust you’re fully recovered.” “It’s nice to see you too, Celestia,” I replied with a simple nod of my head. “I seem to be back to normal, such as it is. The medicine your doctors provided for my burned wings was incredibly effective.” The two guards seemed to take offense to my casual greeting based on the glares I was receiving but I barely paid them any attention. I was more interested in how Celestia reacted as I silently hoped the casual treatment wouldn’t cause offense. It seemed I was right because her smile softened and she seemed to relax a bit. “Good,” she replied as her eyes shifted to my wings as if confirming my statement. “I am pleased to see there are no lasting injuries. Sunset and Twilight have mentioned you recently discovered something of great importance.” I looked over at Twilight. “You didn’t tell her?” “No, Sunset and I decided we should wait for you and Luna,” Twilight replied. “Plus we don’t actually have the letter to show them.” “I took a photo of it so we just need Luna to come by for a visit,” I replied. “We can transfer a copy to your tablet easily enough. Honestly, the sooner they both know the truth, the better.” Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Is this something you believe Luna would want to be woken up for? She’s only been asleep for a couple hours but I can send her a letter if it’s urgent.” I shook my head. “The information we discovered isn’t time sensitive. It’s just something that would be best shared with you and Luna at the same time.” “Very well, I will contain my curiosity until that day comes,” Celestia smiled. “Twilight, please have Spike send me a letter to arrange a visit when things are quieter. Now, I believe I shall partake of some of those delightful apple products.” With that, she turned and walked towards the Apple Family stand with her two guards trailing a respectful distance behind. I looked over at Twilight, noting her slightly frazzled mane and the beginnings of dark circles under her eyes. I draped my wing over her back and kissed her cheek. “So how are you holding up Twilight?” I asked. “It looks like everything has worked out.” Twilight didn’t answer right away, instead just leaning against me. I used my wing to hug her a bit tighter. I could feel the tension in her back and wings as I held her tightly against me. “I’m just barely holding together,” she finally admitted. “It was almost a complete disaster. Pinkie saved the day by showing them the best of Equestria with this carnival but it was a near thing. I almost had to go to Celestia and tell her I started a war with a player piano.” There was nothing I could really say to that, I just stared at Twilight trying to figure out how that was even possible. Sunset let out a delightfully equine snort of surprise as she wheeled around to look Twilight in the eye. “How on Earth did you manage that?” “I learned to never try to replicate anything from Yakyakistan unless you can get it perfect,” Twilight grumbled. “They have extremely high standards.” Sunset stared at her and began to laugh in spite of the seriousness of the situation. “Sorry Twi, but if I’m hearing you right, you effectively tried to impress an Italian chef with their own recipe. Am I right?” “I don’t know where Italy is but I think your analogy fits,” Twilight snorted. “Not my finest moment but at least I didn’t have a meltdown. Still, it was a real relief to see you two. I can’t believe you brought Applejack and Applebloom from your world along though.” “It was their idea,” I replied. “Jaqueline wants you to know that your human friends will be here when you need them just as you’ve been there for all of us. She made it quite clear everyone else would be coming as well if it had looked worse.” Twilight rubbed her arm across her eyes and looked over to where Blossom was playing some complex game of tag with the Crusaders. When she turned back to me, she had a content smile on her face. “Most ponies are lucky if they find friends like mine once in their lives,” Twilight mused. “I consider it one of the greatest miracles in two universes that I found them a second time.” “How could we abandon a mare that goes to such lengths to make Equestria a better place?” Sunset asked. “Oh, here comes one of your guests.” I felt my body tense up as one of the three Yaks trotted over with Pinkie. This was the moment where my presence could make everything go wrong. “This is one of my good friends Silver Spark,” Pinkie chirped. “Silver, this is Prince Rutherford.” I put out my hoof nervously and braced myself as I waited for the disaster to begin. I was surprised and relieved when Prince Rutherford tapped his hoof to mine in a polite greeting. “Yak is surprised to see Bat Winged Pony here,” the Prince rumbled. “Yaks believed none lived with other ponies.” I was surprised he recognized my tribe so quickly but I had to clamp down on my irritation when he called me a Bat-Winged Pony. It wasn’t an insult; it was just a descriptive name for my tribe. It wasn’t nearly as bad as some of the insults I’d heard and certainly not worth starting a fight over. “I’ve lived away from the other Thestrals my whole life,” I admitted. “I only met others a few weeks ago and learned the same thing. I’m surprised you’ve even encountered the others of my tribe.” He seemed to be staring at me but it was hard to tell with the thick hair covering his eyes. At that moment, I became horribly aware of the scars that covered my body. I forced my hooves to stay still in spite of my growing desire to retreat. “Yaks occasionally trade with Bat Winged ponies,” he finally replied. “Blue Bat Winged pony bears the scars of many battles. Yak is pleased to see a war pony being treated well by the leaders of pony nation.” I was startled by his interpretation of my injuries. Even though his view was relatively positive, the fact that he was examining the scars at all was still unnerving. It took every bit of my willpower to stand my ground. “The Princesses of Equestria have been true friends to me since the day I met them,” I said nervously, looking over at Twilight and Sunset. “I trust them with my life.” “Yak is pleased to hear such words,” Prince Rutherford declared loudly. “Yak is happy to be friends with ponies for a thousand years! Now, Pink Pony must show Yak more of her party.” We watched Pinkie hop off with the Yak following close behind. A sigh of relief slipped out of my lips. “That went better than I expected,” I muttered. “So, what do we do now?” “Well, I suppose we should get some dinner before heading home,” Sunset chuckled. “I’m sure we can find something to eat at this carnival. Is there anything that strikes your fancy Twilight?” Twilight shuffled her hoof nervously. “I really just want a hayburger right now.” “Fine by me,” I chuckled, nuzzling Twilight’s cheek. “Let’s go get you some comfort food and then we’ll have to see about dragging Jaqueline and Blossom home.” The rest of our short visit to Equestria just involved a walk around the mini-fair while making sure Twilight was properly calmed down. I hated leaving her after such a short visit but it was getting late for us and the tantalizing mystery of the books left by my ancestors was waiting. Twilight was tempted to join us while we translated the title but she had to ensure the remainder of the Yak’s visit was successful. We promised to visit again soon, especially with our plans to speak with Celestia and Luna. Fortunately, both Jaqueline and Blossom were ready to leave when we tracked them down. Based on the smiles on their faces, I was pretty sure they’d both be planning a longer visit soon. The three pony Crusaders had already invited Blossom and her other friends back for another visit. As for Jaqueline, she had been fascinated by her counterpart’s orchard. While both of them came from farming backgrounds, their actual experiences were wildly different thanks to the technological and magical differences between the two worlds. I got the impression they both saw an opportunity to learn from one another. After we dropped AJ and Applebloom at home Sunset and I made our way back home. It was finally time to find out what was hiding in that chest. Several hours later Sunset and I were sitting shoulder to shoulder on my couch drinking some tea as a break. The small tables around the room were covered with small stacks of sorted books with notes about the translated titles and guesses at the content. The journal was right next to us and we had been writing occasional updates for Twilight to read later as we discovered items she would find interesting. The whole process had been challenging and it might have gone more poorly if Sunset hadn’t already been tutoring me. She had spent half the time coaching me through using the translation guide Twilight had given us as we worked on the titles and the table of contents when they existed. We probably could have finished faster if I’d just let Sunset translate the works but I needed to learn. Especially given the treasure trove of information these boxes held. “So what’s next on the list?” Sunset asked enthusiastically. I blinked a few times and looked over at the box that still had at least ten books left. I noticed that in spite of her enthusiastic words, she looked as worn out as I felt. “My eyes feel like they’re going to fall out of my head,” I replied. “The rest of them will keep until later. I think we should call it a night.” Sunset glanced over at the clock. “Wow, I guess you’re right. At least we made progress. So which one do you think you’ll start with?” The diversity of the books was intriguing. Three books on metalworking that included detailed designs of armor and weapons for a wide variety of races. There were six history books that were written on an incredibly thin paper, each totaling at least two thousand pages. There was a series of eight books that appeared to be naturalist guides if the Audubon Society had supplemented their material with Tolkien and Lovecraft. “I think I’m going to start with the one called ‘Way of the Sentinel’,” I replied. “The title makes it sound like a decent starting point. ‘Pathways of Thought’ and ‘Beyond the Astral Realm’ both sound a bit too complicated for a beginner.” “You’re probably right but be careful about judging books by their covers,” Sunset giggled, bumping her shoulder against me. “Personally, I’m looking forward to translating this one.” She fondly ran her hand over the book called ‘Art of Soulcraft’ that was sitting on the table beside her. A brief examination of the table of contents implied it was a manual about creating soulbonded items like my Lunar Iron bracers. It was odd that the metal wasn’t mentioned in the table of contents though. Perhaps it was just a language shift or different terminology. I just hoped the answers we needed were inside that or another book. “Can’t blame you there, I’ll probably be looking over your shoulder for that one,” I said. “I just can’t wait to hear Twilight’s reaction. Unless we’ve completely misinterpreted the titles, those history books are exactly what she was hoping we’d find.” Sunset nodded and a sly smile appeared on her face. “I just wish we could be there to see her inevitable squee of delight.” “I’m sure she’ll be even more excited when she actually gets her hands on them,” I said as I got up to my feet and held my hand out to Sunset. “We didn’t tell her there’s probably over ten thousand pages in those books. So, ready to go Sunset?” Sunset took my hand and let me pull her to her feet. I didn’t let go of her hand until we separated to go to our bedrooms to get changed. My girlfriend would come back and join me once we were both ready to sleep. As I got changed Spark and I quietly discussed the day. As Sunset had said this morning, life was pretty good. Even with the near disaster in Equestria, today had gone rather well. I could only hope days like this were going to become more common in the future.