Friendship is Revolution

by ultiville

Take Leaf by Leaf the Evening Strange

The long summer light leaves the brook mottled in gold and green. It's hypnotic, but reminds Twilight how late in the afternoon it is. Reluctantly she looks away towards the low peak above her.

"I'd like to watch the sunset from the top, I think," she turns to Fiona, "ready to move on?"

The human nods. "How are we going to cross the river, though?"

Twilight laughs. "Would you rather fly, or teleport?"

"Well, I'm sure you know your own strength, so no offense, but I think I'd be afraid of hurting you if I tried to ride on you. You're not very big."

Twilight's smile doesn't fade. "You're right, I do, but suit yourself."

She gets to her hooves, still feeling fresh, and shakes her legs mostly free of the fine sand. Fiona walks over and places a hand lightly on her back. Twilight looks back at her and smiles, then they're on the other bank. Fiona lets out a heavy breath.

"Something wrong?" Twilight frowns. She knows teleportation is instantaneous, not even noticeable.

"I'm not used to traveling without feeling it," Fiona says, "it's disorienting, I feel like I must have somehow forgotten how I got here."

"Oh. Interesting. Sorry."

Fiona blushes. "Oh! No, I'm sorry. I forgot you really have forgotten how you got here."

Twilight sighs a bit, but smiles. "It's okay. I didn't mean that. I really do find it interesting! It's something I knew unicorns could do long before I experienced it myself, so I never felt that way about it." Fiona nods, and her smile returns.

Twilight begins walking up the wooded hill. As she'd seen from the air, the ground is mostly open, the occasional thorny bush or patch of overgrowth easily avoided. They pass the walk in easy conversation. Twilight asks the names of local plants and birds, many of which she hasn't ever seen before, and Fiona knows most of them.

"Did you study this area?" Twilight asks. "You seem to know it very well."

"I went to school out here, actually, at the college in town. That's where I met AJ."

"College?"

They spend a pleasant half hour or so comparing the Equestrian and American educational systems. Then they crest a ridge and abruptly the mountain ends, and the next valley is spread out before them. It contains the town Twilight saw from the air and, she now knows, Fiona and AJ's old college. The sun has begun to fall behind the hills now, and both ladies fall silent. The lengthening shadows are most of the way down the surrounding mountains, and in the shadows the green trees turn a regal purple. Fiona laughs.

"What's so funny?" Twilight asks, bemused.

"These are sometimes called the Purple Mountains, because they look like this at sunset. It just struck me that they look kind of like you. I had years of purple twilights before I met you, but never made the connection until now."

"Huh," Twilight smiles.

Below they can see the long shadows creeping down the western hillsides, swallowing up the farmland at their bases. Two rivers meet in the center of the town, one coming in from the east, the other apparently fed by the one they just crossed. In the sunset glow they stretch across the still-green valley like liquid gold. Neither the mare nor the woman speak, and neither can hold her jaw quite closed. Twilight goes to her haunches, and Fiona squats. After a moment she sits fully and leans up against Twilight, who puts her wing around her companionably.

Below the night looks like it's flooding the valley, and Twilight is reminded of the rising oceans. Still, it's beautiful. As the sweep of night falls over the town, they can see it light up as the street and home lights pop on. Finally the shadow hits the eastern edge of the valley, the mountains there smoldering above it. Then at last the sun sinks, leaving only the hues of sunset, and they too are purple.

"Wow," Twilight says, "I suppose you lose something when somepony raises the sun herself. Celestia can never really take her time like that. I've never seen anything like it."

"Where does your name come from then?"

"Well, we do have sunrises and sunsets, they're just very short. But my mom's name is Twilight Velvet and my dad's is Night Light, so mine is mostly a sort of jokey combination."

"Interesting. That's kind of like how we name racehorses here on Earth."

"I hope some day we figure out why there are all these similarities."

"Me too." Fiona goes quiet for a bit. "Twilight?"

"Yes?"

"I think dinner will be soon."

Twilight snorts. "That's all?"

"No," Fiona looks down for a moment, "do you think we can fly back?"

Twilight grins.

"Of course we can. Come on, put your arms around my neck, and lie on my back. It's okay, you won't hurt me. Rainbow Dash carried several of us once, and she doesn't even have earth pony strength like I do."

Fiona does so, hesitantly.

"Got a good grip?"

The human nods, and then they're in the air. Twilight feels Fiona draw in a tight breath, gets ready for a scream, stays low in case her passenger asks her to land.

"Faster," says Fiona, breathlessly.

Above them, the stars start to come out.

Twilight barely feels Fiona breathing while they fly, and the human's knees and hands stay locked to her barrel and mane, but when she looks back, she sees a smile on the doctor's face. It's fully dark now, and the evening sky here is even more spectacular than the one Twilight remembers. She's read about the cosmology of this world - universe, really - and the depth of stars displayed in the cloudless sky, far from the lights of the city, takes her breath away. Even in August, the evening air so high above the ground is cool and pleasant, and her wings and coat feel like they're drinking it in. Behind her Fiona, furless and clad only in shorts and a tee-shirt, shivers a little.

Twilight is swift, though, even if she's a bit rusty, and soon the lights of the farmhouse are large and clear below them, and the delicious scent of vegetables stewing in a pan of sizzling butter wafts to their eager noses. She feels the previously breathless Fiona take it in deeply, chest pressing against Twilight's neck. Not long later, her hooves meet the packed-earth drive with a quadruple-thud.

"You can get off now," she tells Fiona after a moment, "unless you want to ride me in to dinner."

"R-right," Fiona blushes, then reddens further as she stumbles trying to dismount from Twilight's low frame. The alicorn catches her in her magic before she can fall, but forces herself to look away to hide her little smile. After the moment of awkwardness, the pair walk up towards the screen door, from which the delectable smell and inviting glow spill into the night.

"Thanks for taking me flying," Fiona says.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. And thanks for coming with me on the walk. I've got a lot to think about."

"I do too."

Their moment ends when the door opens and Annie-Jane rushes out.

"Twilight! I'm so glad you're up and about!" She takes Twilight up in an enthusiastic hug. "How much better're you feeling?"

"A lot, thanks," Twilight smiles, "I got tired out after I flew for a bit earlier today, but after I took a nap, I felt like a whole new pony. Again. We hiked up that mountain over there and I feel pretty good!"

"Hey, that's great! Ready for dinner?"

"Very. I feel like I haven't eaten in weeks."

"To be fair, you haven't," Fiona says, "you've been on a nutrient drip for most of the month."

"Oh yeah, good point," Twilight's stomach rumbles in agreement. Both humans break out laughing.

"That was so loud!" AJ says, "I thought that was creative license in the show."

"Yes, well," Twilight looks away, "it smells amazing. This is your parents' place, right? Did they cook?"

"Nah, they're on vacation, we're housesitting for them while we take care of you. They're getting back in a few days. I made it all myself. Even kept it strictly plants and dairy out of respect for you ladies. I deserve a medal for that one, I almost cried after looking at the cuts of beef in their freezer."

"Well, I appreciate it," Twilight gulps.

"Aw, sorry, I was just kidding with you, I forget you're not used to other people eating it like Fiona here is. She doesn't mind the joking. Forgive me?"

"Sure, I know it's your way," Twilight says, and bumps her hoof against AJ's offered fist.

"That one is a liberty from the show, but it's surprisingly satisfying. I think it'll catch on back home." The trio makes its way into the house, and Twilight sees the homey dining room table set with several pots of vegetables and a quiche. Two of the place settings have chairs drawn up, while the third doesn't.

"I didn't know if you wanted a chair," AJ says, "or if you'd rather just eat standing. I know dogs your size can sit in chairs, but I didn't know if you cared for them."

"I know how to sit in a chair, but I'm happy to stand, thanks. Mostly I'm just eager to eat."

"I hear that!" AJ grins. "Around here guests start, so serve yourself whatever you like."

Twilight helps herself to some broccoli, some sweet potatoes, and a generous serving of the quiche. The pale human faces glow slightly with the light of her magic manipulating the implements and pots.

"I guess I'll get used to that sometime," AJ laughs, "but it still seems pretty amazing right now. How many things can you move around at once like that?"

"Oh, I'm not sure, really. In terms of power, basically as many as I want to, but if I'm doing different things with them, probably just three or four at once before I start to risk doing the wrong thing with the wrong item and crashing them into each other or something. If it's just doing the same thing with everything, though, like raising a bunch of rocks the same distance into the air, probably more or less as many as I can see. Raising gravel is an exercise we did at school. My record was 10,227 small rocks."

"Is that all?"

"It was all they could fit in the sandbox in the exam room."

AJ and Fiona both laugh.

"You know," Fiona said, "when you talked earlier about everything you could do with your magic, I kind of thought you were exaggerating. I hope you'll forgive me."

"I get that a lot," Twilight says, "even from ponies. Before I became the Princess of Friendship, I got my cutie mark in Magic, and being Celestia's prized student isn't really about moral quality. She teaches it and appreciates it but, well, my predecessor was Sunset Shimmer. It's always been about magic aptitude first and foremost."

"The show barely covered your schooling," Fiona says, "what was it like, being singled out like that?"

"Honestly, Celestia was so busy, I mostly did the same things other students at the School for Gifted Unicorns did. There's a reason I was hoping to spend time with her at the Gala. I met with her for about an hour most weeks, unless she had some other pressing business, but other than that I attended classes like everypony else, more or less. I did take more advanced ones, and by the time I moved to Ponyville my schedule was almost entirely independent study. It was certainly nothing like the high school in that other human world! Is that what school here is usually like?"

"Well," AJ says, "that one is sort of a parody of it, but it's pretty close, 'least if you go to public school. Did you live with your parents while you were at Celestia's school?"

"I did for a while, since they live in Canterlot. Once I got to be legally an adult I moved in to the dorms. Some of the students lived in them the whole time, of course, if their families weren't from the city. I could have done that, but I didn't want to leave them and Shining behind before I was old enough to be independent. Did you?"

"I went to a public high school, so it didn't have dorms, everyone lived with their parents. Our public schools all serve one or two towns that are near them, though, so there's not really any need."

"Huh," Twilight says, "what about schools for really talented students? Do you really have enough people that you can have them everywhere?"

"No, those are private," Fiona says, "they work more like yours. I went to a boarding school just outside Boston, but my parents live in Pennsylvania, which is a few hundred miles south along the coast. Though as I said earlier we mostly don't specialize until college anyway. I went to private school because my parents wanted me to be able to have a chance at the best colleges."

The dinner conversation continues like this. To Twilight, the many levels of American education seem needlessly complicated, and did when Fiona first mentioned them, but she supposes that with the sheer numbers involved, there may be no alternative to all of the different types of schools.

The meal is pleasant, and the women good conversationalists, and soon AJ brings out a delicious-looking pecan pie and serves up a slice to each of them.

"So Twilight," she says, "I've got to work tomorrow, so I'm heading back to the city after dinner. You want to come, or do you need some more R&R out here first?"

"Well," Twilight says, "it is really peaceful out here, and I really enjoyed our walk, Fiona, but I think I should be getting back. I know RD said the Boston police are looking into that shooting, but they don't have my magic. I want to look into it myself. And it's much easier for me to do research there, and Rosie was so nice to me, that if I was helping her business I want to get back to that too. I think I will come with you, if you don't mind."

"Of course not, I'd love some company on the road. We can tell stories of our wild school days!"

"Well, I think that'll mostly be my listening, then."

She's right, of course. Twilight was perhaps the least wild student in history, with her peak being pulling an all-nighter to study for an exam or two. AJ, though, seems to have no end of stories of her misadventures, mostly involving America's strong control of sex, drugs, and alcohol among the youth, and her and her friends' attempts to circumvent these controls. Coming from a society with a vast and undocumented list of potions and brews of all sorts, Twilight doesn't really understand why these laws exist, but she appreciates AJ's inventiveness in trying to avoid them. And she certainly learns a lot about human society and deviousness from their many schemes and near misses. Before she knows it, the moonlit countryside has mostly passed behind them, and the lights of the city are visible in the distance as they come down from the foothills to the coast.

"AJ," she says, "if you don't agree with all these laws, how did you end up working where you do?"

"Well," she says, "I'm good at it, and it's a good job. But I don't think laws are bad, they're important. I just wish some of our laws were better. It wouldn't get us anywhere if we only enforced the ones we agreed with, though. I vote to change the laws I don't like, I give to campaigns for it. I think we're getting there on a lot of them, and they'll be changed soon."

"That makes sense," Twilight says. The lights loom large before them, and before she knows it, AJ's pulling up to the bar. She's surprised at how happy she is to see it, and how much she hopes her little storeroom nest is still waiting for her.

Author's Note:

The title of this chapter is from the poem "You, Andrew Marvell" by Archibald MacLeish. The poem is well in to the public domain and you can find it online; I recommend doing so, as it is quite beautiful.