02 - Face to Face
Week 1, Wednesday-Thursday
Eric rubbed his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time since the first flying pony had emerged from the dome, wondering if this time he’d wake up in his bunk with his fellow pilots still snoring around him and he could put the nightmare of the morning behind him. Upon opening his eyes he confirmed once again that he was already awake, and that things had in fact happened the way he remembered them. Looking back up he saw the winged unicorn who called herself Celestia or something else childish like that was still speaking with the Admiral.
“It has been a pleasure to be able to converse with you this day. Regrettably, I must return to Canterlot. My sister and my subjects will understandably be upset with my sudden disappearance. Will you still be here when I am able to return?”
“I think that would be a safe assumption to make. My superiors will want to keep a friendly set of eyes on that there dome, and even if they didn’t, our engines are shot to shit from it showing up.” William Holt said with a friendly smile on his face.
Eric watched as Celestia seemed to nod in acceptance, even though it seemed she didn’t know what engines were, which was interesting in itself.
“Very well, we shall take our leave for the time being. I shall try to make more time on the next morning, and I look forward to speaking further with you and your superiors if they are able to attend.” With that, the unicorn climbed into the small chariot, and the three with wings spread them and took off, flying low over the water before diving into the dome. Holt kept the smile on his face until they were out of sight and then turned to the crewmen with a scowl.
“You, Simmons, go down below and find out from Engineer Henderson how long it’ll be before he can have our engines up and running. Report to the bridge once you know. Major Jeffries, Lieutenant Molino and Master Chief St. Clair please come with me.” Turning sharply on his heel, the Admiral strode purposefully across the deck towards the island. The three men looked at each other before hurrying to catch up. Climbing the stairwells that led to the command bridge, they were all struck by a sense of melancholy at how empty it was. Crossing over to where an old-fashioned map of the Pacific had been unrolled, Holt took another look at it and marked down a short note next to a red ‘X’. The silence dragged on as the other three men looked uneasily at each other and the quiet figure of the Admiral.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it men, this is officially shit that is way over our pay grades.” Connor took a short breath and broke the silence.
“I don’t think there was anything else that you could have done in the situation sir…” Holt whirled on him, his face a little red.
“YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THAT?” Turning away and gripping the edge of a console tightly, he stared out the window until he’d gotten his anger under control. Letting out a loud sigh and rubbing a hand across his face, he finally pulled a pipe from his pocket along with a small bag of tobacco. Filling the pipe, he replaced the bag and took out a small matchbook. Igniting the tobacco with a few quick puffs, he breathed out a small cloud of acrid smoke.
“Well, don’t just stand there. Gimme your ideas on all of this.” Connor looked at the others before speaking up.
“Well sir, I’m honestly not sure quite what to make of all this. First that dome shows up and kills over half the crew, then next thing we know we’ve got flying, talking ponies coming out of it to take a look around? I dunno if the two are related or not, but I think for now we ought to sit tight, keep playing nice if they come back, and wait for some help to find us. I’m sure they’ve gotten a satellite overhead to find where we are, so maybe they dug up an older ship or something to come look for us, one that won’t shut off when it gets close.”
“Anyone got objections to that?” Bill asked Andrew and Sam. They both looked at each other and shook their heads.
“Alright, then that’s what we’ll do. Andrew, I want you to organize a few teams of men, have them run the boats over to the other ships and tell them the plan. Until then, I want every available man either working on getting things up and running, or collecting the bodies.” The three men snapped to attention.
“Right away sir.”
…
Tapping his foot impatiently on the carpeted aircraft floor, President Foster looked at his watch and then out the window. Too energetic to stay in the seat any longer, he heaved himself up and walked into the conference room, where Curtis Moore, the Chief of Staff, was organizing some paperwork.
“So what’s the rest of the world want Curtis?”
“Oh, the usual. There’s been another meeting of the Security Council called; they want to try to make some headway in ending the fighting in Asia. The head of the EU also called, says there’s an important matter that needs to be discussed. Russia’s wanting to know if we’ll take a stand in deterring the Chinese from making a play for Siberia or not, and the Middle East continues to actually remain calm. Guess President Alder helping the Arab League crush Iran’s military five years ago really has worked out for the better.”
“Seems like business as usual. How about Israel? Are they still making noise about trying to regain our favor?”
“Of course, though I told the Prime Minister that you would take it under due consideration.” Tyler smiled slightly at that, before a small frown crossed his face.
“And those hotspots of radiation? I noticed in the morning brief that there weren’t any reports of new ones anywhere.”
“Not a damn one. It’s like they dried up and disappeared, there’s even reports coming in that a few in the middle of growing abruptly shrunk and were gone without a trace.”
“Keep me informed on anything new we hear, the bastards had to have gone somewhere. Still nothing from Bill or anyone else in the Stennis group?”
“Not a peep, though the satellite overheads have confirmed that the F-15 dispatched from Hickam is on the deck, so the current theory is that the dome disrupted or destroyed all the advanced systems on the ships, which would explain the communication blackout. I spoke with General Carter at Hickam and he says they still have some functional SH 60 Seahawks, so that should be able to get you to the Stennis without any problems once they attach extra fuel pods. Now, as for actually getting there, the John F Kennedy is being held about 100 miles south of the anomaly, so you’ll fly there, refuel and then continue on the rest of the trip.” Curtis paused, ruffling the papers anxiously.
“Speak your mind Curtis, you and I have known each other long enough for you to be able to say what you think around me.” Foster had an idea of what his longtime friend would say, and ended up being right.
“I really don’t think this is a good idea Tyler. I mean, there’s plenty of other people who could be going, who should be going instead. I mean, for Christ’s sake the media’s already raising unholy hell over you not allowing them to come along.”
“I understand your worry Curtis, but I want to get a handle on this situation personally, and without having cameras sending it worldwide for everyone to see, mistakes and all. Don’t worry so much, it’ll all work out.”
“I hope your right about that Tyler, I really do.”
…
“Princess Celestia! Just where in the wide wide world of Equestria did you go?” Twilight shouted as she ran across the throne room to press against her mentor, blushing a second later as she realized everypony was looking at her.
“Relax Twilight my dear, as you can see I am just fine. I just needed to go retrieve something.” Star Dancer, Cloudhammer and Flare all suddenly found the floor in front of their hooves to be very interesting.
“But… but…” Twilight sputtered, a few stray hairs starting to spring out of place from her mane. Wrinkling her nose, she started sniffing at all four of the ponies in front of her. “And just what is that smell?”
“Everypony, I find myself somewhat tired given the events of the day, and would like to take some time to relax. If you’d all return to your homes, I will summon you for a full meeting of the Council this evening. In the meantime, I ask that you continue to perform as admirably as you have so far during these troubled times, and I will speak with you all soon.” The nobleponies all looked at each other in confusion, but after a pointed glance from Celestia the guards began to escort everypony from the room. Finally there were only the Bearers, Celestia, Luna, Cloudhammer, Star Dancer and Flare left. Celestia sighed and walked slowly to the window, staring out at the city and the disc hovering over it.
“What is it sister?” Luna asked, trotting up to the window next to her.
“It appears we have some new neighbors.” Celestia stated simply.
“What do you mean Princess? Just what is going on?” Twilight asked, pushing her mane back into some semblance of order. Her friends all crowded up beside her, each waiting to hear what Celestia said next.
“Just what I said Twilight. It seems that” she indicated the disk with an inclination of her head, “leads to someplace else, where there live creatures that appear to be intelligent. They apparently call themselves humans, and have a very diverse language, not unlike Equestrian.” Turning around, she could see everypony was rooted to the spot, dawning understanding and worry writing itself across their faces, with one glaring exception.
“You mean there’s a whole nother place full of possible new friends?” Pinkie Pie asked, starting to twitch in place like a coiled spring. Applejack and Rarity took a half step away from her, expecting an explosion of confetti and party streamers. Instead, Pinkie simply nodded seriously and sat down.
“Cool.” Everypony sighed a little in relief, and then looked back up as Celestia coughed politely.
“As I was saying, the disk does lead somewhere else; a place that I am not even sure is within Equestria itself. Given the importance of this discovery, I believe that you need to hear this from the start. Star Dancer, as the first pony to go through the disk, if you would please describe what happened to you?”
Star Dancer quailed under all the gazes that were turned his way. He could practically feel the glare his father was giving him, but Celestia’s warm smile gave him a little bit of confidence and he stood back up straight. Taking a deep breath he explained first about his dreams, and how he’d dismissed them as just a side effect of a lack of sleep from helping with the anti-magic fields. Moving to when the disk first appeared in the sky, he described that unexplainable feeling that had driven him to fly into it. He shuddered as he remembered the feeling of flying through a soap bubble and that strange feeling of otherness, only to smile as his nostrils were treated to the memory of the salt in the air. His wing twitched as he described seeing the strange flying monster swooping down on him, dislocating his wing with the force of its passage and forcing him to crash onto the surface of the strange island full of the odd creatures.
“And when I woke up three of them were holding me down, they’d managed to put my wing back into its joint. I panicked and shouted at them, but they didn’t seem to understand Equestrian. One of them then bandaged my wing and side to keep it from moving, and another one made some gesture that indicated all them, me and the roof. I decided to trust them and they led me down some very cramped hallways and up a set of stairs that led out onto the island’s surface. I saw a large group of them gathered around something, and heard my father’s voice. So I pushed through the crowd and started to talk to him, and that’s when we all noticed that Princess Celestia was flying out of the dome on the water’s surface.” All eyes turned to Celestia as she continued the story.
“After landing on the island, which turned out to an enormous oceangoing vessel, I was approached by the apparent leader of the group, and with his cooperation was able to take knowledge of his species’ language from his mind. His name was William Holt,” her mouth twisted oddly as she spoke the strange words, and everypony else muttered them to themselves, trying out different inflections, “and he claimed that he was part of some larger group called the United States Navy, and I believe his rank was Rear Admiral Lower Half.” The throne room echoed to the sound of the strange words as Celestia continued, “I spoke for a short time with him and decided that I would return after the sunrise tomorrow.”
“Are ya’ll sure that was a good idea Princess?” Applejack asked frankly. “Ah mean, Ah like making new friends as much as the next pony, but we don’t know nothin about em.”
“But they did fix Star’s wing AJ, which counts for something, right?” Pinkie asked from where she stood next to Star Dancer, lifting his right wing to prove her point. The tan pegasus jumped in shock, landing on his haunches as everypony else laughed.
“Don’t worry son, you get used to it in time.” Cloudhammer said with tired resignation. Turning back to Celestia, his eyes hardened once again into the Guard stare. “Princess, if you are determined to go, then please at least allow a proper escort to be assembled.”
“Of course, I wouldn’t think anything else.” Celestia said with a slight twinkle in her eyes as she turned to Luna. “And what of you, sister? You’ve been awfully quiet during this whole tale.”
“Do not take my silence the wrong way, sister. I am just as curious as anypony else about this strange new land that has made itself apparent to us. I cannot help but notice that its appearance coincides with the disappearance of the anti-magic fields. What if the connection between them is more than merely coincidence?”
“A very astute analysis Luna, which is why I would ask that you lead a team of the professors and unicorn guards to study the disk and find out anything you can. In the meantime, I am indeed tired and would like to take some time to rest. Twilight, if you’d please accompany me for a moment.”
Nodding, everypony bowed as the sun goddess walked out of the throne room, Twilight following close behind. The unicorn fidgeted, doing her best to contain the dozens of questions that already floated through her head, steadily growing more numerous as the castle halls passed. What did the word ‘human’ mean? Could they use magic? Were they hostile or friendly? How tall did they get? How long did they live? She was so embroiled in her own thoughts that she didn’t even notice they’d arrived at the door to Celestia’s chambers until she had walked headlong into the door. Rubbing her nose in irritation, she looked up at Celestia as the doors swung open.
“You could have at least warned me…” Twilight grumped as the two entered the beautifully furnished room. All of Twilight’s annoyance vanished as she looked in awe at all the beautiful furniture and paintings decorating the walls. She’d never come in here as a filly, and she intently categorized and noted down everything.
A sigh interrupted her train of thought and she looked over to see Celestia lying on the massive bed that took up one whole corner of the room. Twilight blushed in embarrassment and trotted to stand nearby.
“So what did you want to see me about Princess?” Celestia lifted her head to look out the window for a few moments and then swung those ancient eyes to pierce Twilight’s violet ones.
“I want you to accompany me tomorrow morning, to visit these humans again.” Twilight’s mind blanked for a few seconds. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she looked back to Celestia
“Come again?”
“You heard correctly my dear.” Celestia smile warmly as a single stray hair sprang up from Twilight’s mane and the unicorn was off.
“But, but surely there are ponies more qualified than I! I mean, sure I’m pretty good with magic, but I’m still just a filly compared to some of the professors at the School, why not take one of them?” She fell silent as Celestia rose from the bed and moved to stand in front of her.
“You truly are humble for one so gifted. You are my prized student and I feel that you would be invaluable in helping us learn as much as possible about our new neighbors. I know you have it in you, after all you have faced down not only Nightmare Moon but Discord, and the whole affair with journeying to the zebra lands.” Twilight smiled and blushed a little at the praise that Celestia was heaping upon her.
“I’ll… I’ll try my best Princess.”
“I know you will Twilight, now, I am afraid that I must ask you to grant me some peace, I am actually quite tired.” Twilight stared blankly at her for a few seconds before it clicked in her head and she backed out of the chamber, shutting the door behind her. Celestia sighed, idly levitating her crown and other jewelry off and climbing back into bed.
…
“Welcome to Hickam Air Force Base Mr. President!” General Carter shouted over the sound of the engines as they walked hurriedly to a waiting car. Getting in, the car sped off toward the base command center.
“So do we have anything new? Are the creatures still there?”
“No sir, it appears that they returned back through the dome. However, we are currently sending a helicopter with replacement equipment to enable them to communicate with the John F. Kennedy, which will relay the transmission through more conventional channels to here at Hickam. There’ll be some delay, but it’s the best that we can do sir.”
“Alright, then let’s try to get in touch with our boys on those boats.” Tyler concealed his anger at not being able to speak with the creatures right away, but hopefully Bill might have some good news for him.
Pulling up to the central office, Carter led the President down the hallways to the Signals Room, where a frenzy of activity stopped as he walked through the door.
“Don’t stop on my account, you’re all doing just fine. Now where do I sit?”
“Right here sir.” Carter guided Foster to a chair next to a communication officer at a receiver set, with cables running from it into another bulky machine that appeared hastily set up.
“What’s that for?” Foster asked, peering at the device curiously.
“We managed to rig up a basic encryption on the signal. It’s not the best, but it should keep most anyone out for about half an hour or so.” Carter explained.
“Alright, then when will we know when the helicopter gets there?” Foster’s answer came almost as soon as he finished speaking as the set started hissing with static. Finally an audible voice came through.
“…Base. I repeat, this is Echo Base, can anyone hear me on this damn thing?”
“We read you Echo Base, glad to hear you’re alive out there.” The communication officer replied
“Not all of us made it; we took a pretty heavy hit this morning.”
“What’s the status of your battlegroup Echo Base?”
“We’re currently at two-fifths capacity, but managing just fine otherwise.” Everyone in the room winced and turned away to look in their own private direction. President Foster was pale as he tried to grasp the enormity of loss.
“My God, that’s…”
“About 3400 men from the carrier alone sir.” Carter whispered into his ear. Shaking his head in disbelief, Foster rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.
“Give me the headset.” The comms officer complied immediately, and Foster stood up.
“Echo Base, this is Papa Eagle. I hear you had visitors this morning?”
“Roger that Papa Eagle, they couldn’t stay long, but promised to come back in the morning once we had a chance to get a better handle on things.”
“What’s your opinion on them Echo Base?”
“Well, they seemed nice enough, but you know how that can go Eagle.”
“That I do Echo, that I do. You all hang tight; we’ll be sending some friends for when they come back.”
“Roger that, Echo Base signing off.” The static died off and Foster put the headset on the desk.
“Alright, when will the helicopter be ready to depart?”
“We’re attaching the fuel pods now, in order to get out there and prepared before dawn you would need to depart at midnight.”
“Then I’m going to get a little bit of rest. Wake me at 11.”
“Yes sir, Mr. President.”
…
Luna wasn’t looking forward to this Council meeting. As much as she trusted her sister, she was leery of being so trusting of a species from somewhere that she was increasingly suspicious weren’t from anywhere in Equestria at all. The initial findings from her team had only served to worsen her fears. But, Celestia seemed to have confidence in her course of action and so Luna needed to as well. Sighing lightly, she looked over at Celestia as nobleponies and Guard officers straggled in through the door.
“Are you sure about this ‘Tia? I do not call your judgment into question, but this seems to be moving a little too quickly.”
“I understand your worry Luna, I do. I admit to a little trepidation myself, but I also feel that this opportunity is one that we have a chance to seize on now before anypony on either side jumps to conclusions. As much as I loathe to admit it, Star Dancer’s reckless behavior may have worked out for the best in the long run. I only hope that Cloudhammer hasn’t disciplined the poor stallion too harshly. Now, let’s put on a brave face for the nobles, they’ll be looking to us for guidance.” Rising as the last of the nobleponies took their places, Celestia nodded at Cloudhammer, who secured the doors and then paced around the large table to stand next to Celestia and General Amber Dusk, the unicorn giving his compatriot a nod.
“My dear friends and fellow ponies, I am glad to see that you all were able to attend this most important Council meeting. The news I have to share with you is something of great import and will, I hope, change Equestria for the better. This morning, a pegasus acting on his own initiative flew into the disk and discovered that it leads to somewhere else. There was a large vessel there, whose crew was courteous enough to allow him to land on it. I traveled there with a small escort to locate the missing pegasus and conversed with the vessel’s captain briefly. I learned that his species calls itself humans, and that he and his crew belong to a nation called the United States.” The assembled ponies were deathly silent as the two strange words echoed around them.
“I was regrettably unable to converse further with him, but assured him that I would return after raising the sun tomorrow morning, so that more formal diplomatic relations could be established between our two races. I feel that given time and effort, we can call these humans friends of all Equestria. I now open this meeting to questions.”
As expected, every pony started shouting questions, some banging their hooves on the table until a large white unicorn stallion lit his horn and boomed out in a magically amplified voice.
“BE SILENT, ALL OF YOU!” Gradually, the other ponies quieted down and Celestia nodded her thanks to the speaker.
“I recognize Sir Fancypants, what question do you have?” Inclining his head gratefully, he turned instead to his fellow nobles.
“My friends, what Princess Celestia tells us truly is astounding news. As shocking as it is to encounter a new species, we ponies have managed to exist in cooperation with every species encountered before, from Diamond Dogs to dragons to griffons to zebras. I know that if we maintain the spirit of harmony that had guided us for a thousand years and more, we will manage to exist in cooperation with these humans too. So what say you?”
The other ponies looked at each other, before a few of them started to stamp their hooves on the floor. It spread quickly, and soon everypony present was stamping their hooves in support. Celestia smiled and once the furor died down she raised her voice slightly.
“Then I bid you all a good evening. Rest well, tomorrow is a bright new day for all of us, and will require all of us to do our very best.” As the nobleponies left, Fancypants lingered and politely refused the guard’s indication that he leave. He approached the throne and bowed deeply, rising when Celestia bade him to.
“I thank you for your strong words Fancypants. I do admit that the meeting would have dragged on much longer had you not intervened.” Fancypants nodded humbly.
“I of course serve at the pleasure of the Princesses and Equestria. I do wish you the best of luck with your next meeting with these, how did it go… ah, humans. May I ask if you are taking a representative to accompany you?”
“I am sorry, but I have already selected somepony of more than adequate talent for the job. I am certain you shall get a chance to meet humans as well my dear.” With a nod of his head, Fancypants turned and trotted away. Stopping at the door, he looked back.
“I do hope you and Miss Sparkle have a wonderful trip.” With a wink, he trotted through the doors and out of sight.
“I find him dangerous Celestia.” Cloudhammer said, rising to his hooves.
“Indeed he is Cloudhammer, but he’s the right kind of dangerous. Don’t worry so much about him. Have you assembled a team to take us back through the disk?”
“Yes, the team pulling the royal chariot will consist of myself, Captain Sky Shimmer, First Lieutenant Willow Spark and First Lieutenant Dawn Breeze. Captain Flare will also be riding in the chariot with yourself and Miss Sparkle.”
“I thought Dawn Breeze was a Second Lieutenant?” Celestia asked cheerfully as they walked towards the doors and turned toward the royal chambers.
“She served with distinction during the crisis, and I felt that her promotion was long overdue.” Cloudhammer replied evenly.
“I’m glad to see you seem to be adjusting well to being in a position you railed against for so many years." She chuckled lightly as they reached the doors to her room.
“Sleep well Princess.” Cloudhammer replied with a toss of his head as he trotted away.
“Thank you Cloudhammer, say hello to Morning Sun for me. And don’t go too hard on Star Dancer, I recall a certain young, hot-blooded pegasus doing far too many dangerous things about forty-five years ago.” Celestia called after his retreating form, laughing as his wings ruffled. Trotting into her chambers, she went to the balcony and reached out toward the sun, feeling the usual sense of her consciousness expanding to encompass all of Equestria. However, to her surprise the feeling kept going, giving her a peculiar sensation of water, metal and unfamiliar flesh. In shock she realized that she was feeling the area immediately around the dome on the other side. Concentrating her perception she could feel the edge of the disk tingling against her mind, like when a limb that’s been asleep starts to wake up. With a start she realized that the disk was growing, incredibly slow, but growing nonetheless. Returning her focus to lowering the sun, she pondered how best to address that concern.
…
President Foster groused to himself as the helicopter sliced through the dark of the predawn morning, angled in low with its running lights on at full power. As they drew closer closer to the Stennis group Foster noted a strange, buzzing static coming through the helmet he was wearing before the radio finally cut out. The helicopter’s engine groaned as most of the lights on the panel went out, but with a gut-wrenching lurch the pilot horsed the helicopter back into level flight. A few minutes passed before he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning, he could see Curtis pointing out the front window. Squinting, Foster could see a dark streak against the lighter water, a softly glowing dome of light visible a short distance away. The pilot flashed a light towards the object, and another series of flashes came back. Banking, the pilot soon had the helicopter settling smoothly onto the carrier deck. Unstrapping himself, Foster waited for one of the two Secret Service agents to open the door before disembarking, hurrying across toward the island, where a small crowd could be seen waiting.
“Permission to come aboard Admiral?” Foster asked as he saluted.
“Permission granted, Mr. President. Sorry we couldn’t put together a bigger reception for you.” The strain in Bill’s voice was clear.
“My condolences for your losses Bill. Wish there were more that we could do. We’ll be sending recovery vessels as soon as possible to recover your dead. Now, what have you got for me?” Foster hated being so callous with a friend, but time was of the essence.
“Well sir, its one hell of a tale. The first one flew up out of the dome over there, got caught in the jet wash of the F-15, and tumbled onto the deck with a dislocated wing. My senior surviving pilot, Major Jeffries, caught it, and he brought it down to the ship’s infirmary. Lieutenant Molino helped set its limb, after which time it tried to communicate with us to no avail. During this time, two more of them came out of the dome, a unicorn riding in a chariot pulled by another pegasus. These two were both wearing gold armor, and the chariot was obviously crafted with care. They landed on the deck, with my surviving MAAs setting up defensive positions in case hostilities ensued. The pegasus attempted communication but again with no success. The first one was brought back on deck by Molino and Major Jeffries, and it appeared that the two pegasus… pegasi? In any case, it appeared that the two were related. By this time, I’d gotten tired of waiting in the island and was making my way to see what was going on with my own eyes. Then a big one with both wings and a horn flew up out of the dome and landed on the deck. The other three had their chins to the deck so fast I was expecting them to go cross-eyed. The big one talked to them briefly, and then tried to talk to me. When that didn’t work, its horn lit up and some strange light wrapped around my head. Felt damn peculiar but when it was done, it smiled and spoke perfect English at me. Asked my name and everything. Spoke to her for a little while, and she said that her name was Princess Celestia of Equestria or something like that.”
“She?” Foster asked curiously.
“I know how it sounds Tyler, but her voice was definitely a girl’s. The others all seemed to be males, far as I could and was willing to tell.”
“Well, in any case you did good Bill. Damn good considering the circumstances of the morning.” Foster turned as the sun was beginning to rise over the edge of the horizon.
“I suppose Tyler, doesn’t make it any easier.” Bill turned to watch the sun creep into the sky. They didn’t have to wait long. Not five minutes after the sun had started its climb into the sky, a burst of gold and white could be seen as four pegasi flew up out of the dome. A large chariot soon followed, carrying a trio of forms on it that resolved into that of the winged unicorn from yesterday, a gold-armored unicorn, and a purple unicorn.
In an obviously well-practiced maneuver, the four pegasi angled in and smoothly came to a halt on the deck. The gold armored unicorn immediately disembarked and took up position with the pegasi unhitching themselves from the front. The winged unicorn and the purple one got off next and, flanked by armored bodies on both sides, walked forwards to stand before Foster, Curtis and Bill. The Secret Service agents tensed slightly, the five armored ones doing the same.
The winged unicorn spoke softly to the pegasi and unicorn and after a moment they relaxed a hair. Foster gestured to the agents and they let their arms hang a little more loosely at their sides. Looking back to the winged unicorn, he smiled the best politician’s smile he could.
“Greetings, my name is Tyler Foster. I am the President of the United States. This is Curtis Moore, my Chief of Staff, and you have already met Read Admiral Holt. I am very pleased to extend this greeting on behalf of both myself and the people of the United States of America.” The winged unicorn inclined her head gracefully.
“I am Princess Celestia, one of the rulers of Equestria, along with my sister Princess Luna. You have already met General Cloudhammer and Captain Flare,” she indicated the pegasus standing next to her and the unicorn, “my other escorts are Captain Sky Shimmer, First Lieutenant Dawn Breeze, and First Lieutenant Willow Spark. Finally, this is Twilight Sparkle, my personal protégé. I am also very pleased to extend my sincerest greetings on behalf of all of our subjects, with the hope that our two races can come together for the benefit of us all.”
Foster looked over the gold-armored… ponies, was what they looked like, he realized. He could tell that each of them was much like his own Secret Service agents, utterly dedicated to their cause. Looking next to the purple unicorn, he could tell that this one was out of its element. Comparing it to the five others he surmised that this one was a female, given that he knew the gold ones were males. Finally bringing his eyes to the winged unicorn, he could tell that this one was different, and not because she had wings and a horn. It was in the eyes, like it always was. The magenta orbs looked serenely back at his blue, and he could tell that there was power behind those eyes.
Finally making up his mind, President Tyler Foster took a step forward and extended his hand. Looking at his hand curiously for a moment, Princess Celestia took a step forward and extended her hoof. Taking it gently in his hand, Foster gave it a delicate shake, and then released it. The two leaders regarded each other for a moment with their best smiles on.
“Well met, President Tyler Foster.”
“Well met, Princess Celestia.”
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I ended up proofing this chapter myself, so apologies if anything slipped through
Now this is a refreshing change of pace, showing the Equestrian side first.
Loving it, but I've got an inquiry. Are they even going to address with Celestia the fact that the anomaly (which she can logically be assumed to be linked to) killed thousands and crippled an entire battlegroup (which is a colossal threat given such capabilities)? I just figure that it would make sense to probe such an egregious loss with those who potentially caused it instead of immediately putting the president in harm's way (as even though they came off as nice, you'd think sustaining such losses would warrant a copious amount of caution/suspicion, not to mention that this sort of threat would put the USA extremely on edge). Why would the USA (or any government), which puts little trust into many other nations (I mean really, most super powers are sparing with trust), put so much confidence (based on virtually nonexistent evidence of good intention [a few minutes of dialogue doesn't suffice, word of mouth is never very reliable]) into an unknown entity/race that could be a potential threat, that they would put the president on their doorstep with minimal protection or premeditation. Sounds a bit rushed and unrealistic given the normal mentality of this world's super powers (as generally if an entire battlgroup drops of the map and is severely damaged by an unknown force, the states and most likely the entire UN security council would put military action on a hot key). Just wondering...
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I spotted fewer errors in this one than in the previous chapter so well done with that. Minors errors all of them. This is better written than most Conversion Bureau fics even after only one self proof. Very well done. I like how well and (relatively) realistically you portray the characters. I haven't read a Bureau fic yet that didn't make me roll my eyes at more than one point and want to slap the author for a line or two, but here you've gone and made one. Very, very well done. You just might save this genre of pony fics.
It also looks like you're going the "expanding dome consuming the earth with magical radiation" route as the reason for humans being converted. I'm not sure if I prefer it to the "Dystopian future/end of the world" scenario to it but I'm not at all a fan of either. I'd personally prefer something lighter, like some already existing disease or threat to which a magical potion with certain transformative side-effects is the only known cure. Some direction that doesn't involve so much conflict between the two worlds or a vast migration. I would just rather see the two worlds work to coexist while their populations become a little more mixed. Curious ponies one one side wanting to see the human world, human researchers and journalists wanting to learn about the new magical one, and the few who actually go through the conversion either out of necessity or by choice dealing with the change in whichever realm they choose to settle. But that's just me rambling. I read too much but never bother to write my own.
Again, nice work. Can't wait for more, and shame on those people downvoting you. I know it's just because people can't stand the Conversion Bureau fics. This is one of the few of them that doesn't make me want to vomit and the only one I don't dislike, but at least I give them a chance before casting a vote. Honestly, it's just as bad as people who will upvote it, like they would the more poorly written fics, simply because of the genre.
Yes progress.... continue... (also i dont say good story or that kind of ego boost because there is no need to say that, at leats is what i think )
I really like the feel of the story, again very Baum like, very Oz, which is only good. Celestia is so Ozma in your works, which I find fascinating, since you indicated you have never read that classic series.
I really liked Fancypants, and 'the right kind of dangerous', that was awesome sauce on wonder toast. I also like how Cloudhammer is dealing.
The descriptions work well to convey the situation, though I could use a little more 'color' to the world, perhaps, a little more detail about the look and feel of the world. It works, I could just use more, maybe.
I find it interesting the world you have this happening in, very Nearly Now, rather than future, which is particularly interesting, though obviously a Nearly Now where the world is in better shape than it is at present. I wonder what the miracle is.
I also like how the sides are kind of mirrors of each other, in some ways.
At every moment of the meetings I am expecting Klaatu. I keep waiting for the misunderstanding, the shot, the fallen pegasus.
That is my only complaint: having suffered such casualties, faced with strange aliens and such destruction, none of these humans feel human to me yet. They seem better than human, better than reality. But then, it is a fiction, of course, and it is common to portray humans as how they wish they were, than how they are.
I am shocked the Question has not been asked. Men are dead, lots of them, and the only new thing is the dome in the ocean. That the president did not ask about why his people were slaughtered is astonishing. These soldiers should be on edge, frightened, angry and filled with testosterone and rage. They've been slaughtered by an invisible force.
I would imagine some strong demands, not casual conversation. I would imagine lots of guns trained on these ponies every second, by angry men who have lost their friends and coworkers. And I would expect the usual human xenophobia, too.
I am definitely entranced.
Gah, this is one of those times I hate being the author and knowing what's coming, because I can't tell you all.
Rest assured, there is a lot of heavy stuff coming, and the misunderstanding is coming Chaty, it is most certainly coming.
As for the President flying out there in person, that's more his personality I developed for him. Tyler Foster is an idealist, who defeated the incumbent in the reelection campaign for failing to deliver on all of his promises(the conflict in Asia, South America, and the economy). He's a very hands-on President who believes that sending surrogates to do the work for you is piss-poor leadership (and he does know that one man can't do everything, but for something important like this, he feels driven to be the one there in person.)
Also, I don't think I did a good job of it, but the whole meeting between Tyler and Celestia was pretty much a parade of politician smiles. Tyler is curious and concerned on the inside, but he's been doing the politician game long enough to know how to dance. And Celestia's been doing it for a thousand plus years, so she probably invented the dance
And trust me, the Question is being asked, but not in the open yet. They want to know exactly what they're dealing with before they start getting hostile. For all they know, there's entire legions of Royal Guard waiting on the other side with the same people-killing powers at their disposal
I very much enjoy your brief, yet informative writing. But that also brings up an issue: all the human characters feel pretty much the same. That is, too many names introduced too quickly; there's Foster, Carter, Curtis etc.
Lots of text, but it doesn't seem to lack in substance. There's just one thing... You cheated with the language barrier. Cheated.
274328 I'm working on it, but humans are so much harder to write for than ponies
As for the language thing, I know, but I couldn't think of an easier way to work it without wasting 2-3 weeks of the story's timeline on ponies learning english... just got a lot of things to do and only 52 weeks to do them in lol
I seriously do love this story! ;D I know my comment is painfully short compared to the other ones here, but what can you do? I don't know what can you do to make me write more but I certainly know just the thing. I just need to write more! xD So overall the story is awesome. On the cons side I noticed that the ponies were calling the ship a 'island' but then changed to 'vessel' without any reason. And you kinda really cheated on the language barrier (like Microshazm pointed out), and it was reckless of Celestia to try magic on some other species, it could have hurt them or they could take it as an attack and shoot her in her alicorn face. That said, I hope the story will be continued! x)
Ok, here's a request:
In TCB fics, it's come to my attention that the portrayal of humans is... weak. They bow down to ponydom in what is basically a snap of one's fingers, and allow our culture to be basically wiped out.
Could you not do that?
I mean, this is humanity we're talking about. We don't give and we don't back down. We've survived for thousands of years, despite sickness, plauge, disaster and ourselves. We've been to the moon and back, we've harnessed the blood of the sun, the secrets of the atom.
And we did all those things without magic, flight, or a goddess watching out for us.
That ought to count for something.
Agree with Dalek IX. The President is like the king in Chess. You keep him (or her) safely protected and far behind front lines. Not let him land on an undermanned carrier in the middle of the sea during a maritine emergancy, let alone walk up to aliens you've just meet. The US has plenty of pawns for that.
Plus using a future British carrier for a Nimitz is the worst possible thing ever!
Good job on this chapter, but there should to be more tension with these situations. The fact that there's a abnormality that killed hundreds and crippled equipment, should of caused more concern with the crew. Especially when ponies just start coming out of the same abnormality. Would like to of seen a bit more weapons drawn at the creatures. After all, if you saw a strange creature appear after an incident like that, you would pull out a weapon and be prepared for the worst.
As a request, could you have some humans come through the "disk" to the other side? Would like to see the non-political ponies reactions to people. As well as rainbow dash's reaction to a fighter jet. Also, if there is going to be a battle, perhaps have an AC-130 somewhere in the mix. (These are just thoughts and can be ignored)
Made some minor edits for consistency and the like, italicized the Stennis and John F Kennedy's names, and added a bit that showed Celestia knowing that the 'island' was in fact a vessel (yanking your knowledge of English straight from somebeing else's head would include some sense of what the words mean and such.)
273923 "They want to know exactly what they're dealing with before they start getting hostile. For all they know, there's entire legions of Royal Guard waiting on the other side with the same people-killing powers at their disposal"
Royal Guards: armor, wings, any other medieval weapons.
Humans: Guns, Tanks. Jets, Stealth Bombers, NUUUUKEES! huge numbers compared to ponies, better tactics, and a bunch of other awesome shit
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Alright. You're the President of the good old US-of-A. Talking magic horses appear from nowhere, along with an island. They are ruled by bona-fide gods of the sun and moon respectively. What ye do?
If the answer is "Launch ALL the weapons", you're me. And I would make the single worst president of the USA, of all time.
When you talk to gods (And you do want to talk first), you talk polite, lest they slap your shazbot so hard your descendents (assuming you survive to have any) will have slapped shazbot encoded into their genetic structure.
279424 Im not sure whether you were mocking me or just being funny/silly
Errrr..... The story showed up on my tracking list as being updated, and there are comments on chapter 3, but I can't see any chapter 3. What witchcraft is this??
Wut? My tracking email said a new chapter was up. But it's not.
It can only be attributable to human error.
My apologies for that, I'd released chapter 3 before it was really ready, and I get up the walls crazy if i feel I've not given my absolute best on a chapter. It will be returning by the end of the day today
Read all TCB stories.
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That's...not something I'd recomend you do, unless you like getting a shotgun blast of misanthropy to the face.
I see what you did there
Looking back, I don't know why I didn't think about that. I thought about the idea that the magic was being drained away, but I didn't think it'd be doing that. Shoulda figured that out.
Also, I've also seen what else you seem to have done there. So every time they raise and lower the sun, that barriers going to grow bigger, isn't it. That is most certainly a unique way of explaining why it keeps growing.
And yes, I did spot a number of small minor mistakes. I would suggest that when you have the time and the willingness to do so, that you go through and nab some of them. A few my head autofixed but one or two were just jarring enough to make me have to pause.
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I would like to suggest that there might be a pseudo sort of shell shock going on here. Its not that the feelings aren't there, its just that the situation is so...incredulous that they're simply going from moment to moment and not really focusing on the anger or sadness.
I mean, I would certainly and without a doubt state that if what had come out of the barrier had either looked truly alien, or looked human enough but gave off a bad vibe, all that you suggested would likely have occurred. (actually, if it had been human it would probably have been fired upon due to the suspicion that this was some world power testing out a super weapon)
One has to remember, these aren't your normal 'aliens' your meeting. These are ponies (multi-colored at that), some of which have wings and horns, and can use magic. For some people it'd probably be a mental overload on the sheer ridiculousness of it all.
If nothing else, I'd like to think that in that situation, I wouldn't know what to think. Probably that I'd gone nuts and the rest of the world was tagging along for the ride.
dam i love it
This doesn't end with all humans turned into ponies does it?
I don't like it if it does end that way.
It's an awesome story don't get me wrong, but I'll be disappointed if that's the case.
Cloudhammer great story but the one nitpick I have is the cover art, that aircraft carrier doesn't look right. It doesn't look like it's made for jets.