Friendship is Revolution

by ultiville

The New Normal

Summer fades into autumn. The leaves here change all on their own, and fall all on their own, at rates that differ between species and even between individual trees. Twilight finds it vexingly chaotic, but when they walk along the tree-lined road between Alanna's house and Harvard Square, and Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash cavort and wrestle in falling leaves, or when one lands gently on Fluttershy's nose and provokes an adorably subdued sneeze, she can't help but smile.

She's reminded of one of the more curious movies she's seen, and by this time, it's quite a few, one of Fiona's favorites, Pleasantville. There was a lot in it she didn't understand, and a lot more she needed to research, but the core concept, of color seeping into a monochrome world, struck her. As the leaves fall as they will, drawn by no conscious force but by the wind and the rain and the invisible mathematics of genes and physics, she feels like maybe a little more color is falling with them, painting the world and even her coat with colors just a bit brighter than before. She remembers her diary, how confused, even how angry, she was at the strangeness of the world, how it seemed to hurtle along, uncontrolled. Now she knows it is, quite literally, in constant free-fall around its massive sun, and she's no longer sure if the confusion, anger, and fear are stronger than the wonder she feels at knowing that, and so much more.

She wonders again how she got here, and when or how she'll leave, and if she'll visit even more worlds, after. If she visits a dozen in her perhaps-immortal life, she thinks she might have a few things to teach even Celestia.

"A, um, penny for your thoughts, dear?" Rarity breaks through her reverie. She's been drifting into thought more and more, lately.

"Oh, sorry," she says, looking down at her hooves, "I didn't mean to zone out. I was just thinking."

"Well, yes, I rather assumed. That's why I asked what you were thinking about."

"I...I don't even really know, I guess. Just how strange this place is, how our different worlds shape us, even the small things. Would we be us if our leaves fell on their own?"

"Mmmm," Rarity looks askance at her, "it is a wonder, isn't it, how it all just seems to work, all on its own? And still manages to be so beautiful."

"Yeah." Twilight says, and lapses for a bit into silence. "I wonder if we wanted to come here."

"Much as I'd like to go home, I certainly am glad we did."

"So am I."

They walk on, and then the days walk on with them. Every day Twilight wakes up and reads the news, and the protests grow, both in size and number. True to Agent Harris's word, Congress soon passes an equal rights bill, and it's a load off her mind, but despite her fears, it seems the humans agree that they need major changes. They still can't agree on quite what they are, but Twilight remains resolved to leave them to it.

Her friends keep busy helping out. As the winter approaches, the die-hards in the park gear up for colder weather. Applejack helps them make a greenhouse, her magic bringing the seedlings to food-bearing size far faster than they'd expected. Pinkie's rock farming background comes in unexpectedly handy, as she manages to produce and move large stones, helping make make a crude shelter they can heat with a fire and sleep in. Rarity produces a surprisingly number of chic (and, of course, cozy) parkas. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash mostly just help out, with varying degrees of skill but high enthusiasm.

And Twilight herself tries to figure out how to research spells in a world without magic. A host of Congressional candidates have emerged with platforms supporting strong reforms, running as independents, funded by donations or even just running on word-of-mouth alone. It looks likely they'll win, barring true voter fraud. The humans, as she'd hoped, have it well in hand. That means, though, that the time to stall is over: she wants to figure out two things: if magic can help the atmosphere, and how she can get them home. One way or another, she's pretty sure their time here should be reaching an end.

Of course, that just leaves two problems. First, while she's pretty sure she can team up with Rainbow Dash to change the atmosphere's composition, she needs to figure out what to do with all the stuff they take out. Second, she has no idea at all how to move between worlds, and no basis for research.

Much though the latter bothers her, she decides she's got to go for the first. At least that's the kind of thing she has some idea how to deal with. So she starts poking around online, but the science is so different from Equestria's that she can't really figure it out. Then, a few weeks in, she has a realization - she doesn't have to. Many prominent scientists are active online, so instead of trying to figure out the best plan herself, she just sends messages to as many as she can find, asking. Many ignore her or don't believe her, of course, but a few respond, and once they've talked voice to voice, or face to face, more and more believe her. Eventually she's talking to many of the world's greatest minds, figuring out what to do with a pile of carbon and assorted exotic greenhouse gasses. She loves it, in between being too busy to realize how cool the whole thing is.

And so September goes, and life walks on.

---

Mr. Gray hasn't left Boston, though even he couldn't say why. He's not angry about being thwarted by the ponies, and he's not just telling himself that. In fact, he finds it funny enough he wishes he could tell someone, but he holds his past close. He is, after all, a professional.

Still, if he could tell his story, there'd be a long list of enemies he's foiled, and genuine good he's done, though he'd be the first to admit that was never the core of his motivation. Still, more than a handful of criminals, terrorists (domestic and otherwise), kingpins, and warlords owe their deaths or prison terms to his action, and he thinks, overall, he's made the world better. So it amuses him, when he thinks about it, that the ones that beat him looked like they came, quite literally, from a kids show. He supposes that as ways to go out go, it isn't bad.

Still, he's in Boston. It's a fine city to relax in, especially in the fall. He can't afford sentiment, but he allows himself to appreciate New England's fall days. It's easier than thinking about other reasons he might be staying. Easier than wondering if he's getting soft. So the end of September finds him sitting at an outdoor table at one of downtown Boston's many bars. He's sipping a hard cider, a beverage he's only recently acquired a taste for, but he's drinking in the evening, the street traffic, the orange trees in the park across the street, and the similarly orange light of sunset seeping in between the buildings.

He's heard New England autumns make people introspective, but in this case, it's between that, the alcohol, and the strange mood that's taken him for the whole month. It's a brew far more potent than the cider.

"Is this seat taken?"

He looks up at the speaker, a slightly younger man with dark hair and a tightly-kept mustache and goatee, wearing an expensive-looking suit. It certainly could be a perspective employer. He hasn't been advertising his presence here, but in his line of work, one doesn't always need to. He shrugs, and gestures to the open chair. The other man smiles at him and sits.

"Hello, Mr. Gray," he says softly. There isn't much of anyone around, in any case; it's early for the bar's evening rush.

"I think you have me mistaken for someone else," he says, mostly as a formality.

"Only if I've missed an alias change. I know you're the person I'm looking for, if not the name."

He shrugs again. The stranger continues.

"My name is David Lasombra." Mr. Gray does recognize that, though of course he doesn't show it. "I have a proposal for you."

Comments

[ultiville]

Might be a few days between updates again - heading to BronyCon to play the MLP CCG forever. I'll bring my ipad keyboard and try to update if I can but I'll likely be too busy/tired. Time will tell.

[Akeion98]

Lasombera and Gray meet eh? Also the way you described him reminded me of V is for vendetta.