The Busker
It was a decent enough gig: play the summer in Equestria, that fantastical land that had just been announced about two years ago; a whole new world of non-humans who had apparently built a culture similar to mankind. It would be his last year of freedom, he knew, so the decision was easy.
So off he went to New York with dozens of others like him, all of them desiring that glance at that incredible new world, for dozens of reasons. His? He just wanted that last taste of freedom to do what he wanted to while he still could. Tomorrow would be drudgery and depression; here now was the sun in all its glory even as it faded and it was something he couldn’t deny.
The group met in the Equestria Mission to the UN, a small office in one of the Twin Towers. There had been a plot to destroy them back in 2001 but thankfully a combined team of Federal agents in the US and police from other countries managed to tear apart a small terrorist group named Al-Qaeda. It had been their “bid for the big time,” so the President at the time had said, and now that they had been soundly defeated, the remnants of that group had slunk back into the shadows. He remembered it well: after meeting with the President, a senior Saudi general by the name of Bin Laden had told the world, “No sensible soul will ever stand for the darkness of terrorism. The world may have its legitimate issues, but bloodshed is the last option, not the first method.”
In any case, thousands of people from around the world had applied for the hundred slots available and he hoped that each day his name would be amongst those selected for the trip. Sure enough, each day it was, and a glimmer of joy appeared in his eyes. Finally, the day of the final hundred came, and lo and behold, there he was amongst them.
“Wow, and I thought there were others so much better than I,” he admitted.
“Yes,” a pegasus that had been in charge of the final selection process had said, “there were better from a technical standpoint, to be honest. But you showed the sort of honest humanity that we’re looking for in this mission. We want to show the best of your people to ours, and you, sir, fit the bill. Plus, there was your secret weapon – nice touch.”
“Secret weapon?” he asked.
“Yes – Ambassador Apple is a huge fan of Fleet Foxes. She’s been a total fan since she heard them when we first arrived on human-Earth and I think that was the deciding factor,” the pegasus said with a grin.
And so Robin Skyler Kirkland, 25 years of age, was selected as part of the Human Ambassador program to Equestria for the summer of 2029.
Robin arrived in Equestria the first day after graduating from his final year at business school. He was already marking time until his freedom was over, and from the first moment he stepped through the portal in the UN mission and crossed over into the Foreign Ministry building in the capital of Canterlot, he knew his time was ticking down. Time flowed the same here – literally the same here; Canterlot’s location and space on this Earth wasn’t far from the eastern seaboard on his own – and each second slipping by was another reminder of the cage that held him in the end.
As he walked into the main hall, he looked around; the place was magnificent in a way that made Buckingham Palace in the UK, which he’d toured as a child, look positively dowdy in comparison. The place also had a solemn, sacred feel, as if he were in St. Peter’s Basilica. From the opulent carpets and drapes to the veined marble walls, from the priceless antiques to the tastefully arranged plants and flowers, to the guards, all decked out as Roman legionnaires in outfits of silver and gold, this place spoke to an opulence few humans could comprehend.
“This place is just incredible, isn’t it?” he spoke aloud, his thoughts suddenly given voice.
“Oh, I dunno, humankind has come up with things of marvelous and beauteous equal, if you ask me,” a voice said to his side. “The Louvre, the Vatican, the Empire State Building…Disneyland.” There was an impish catch at the end of those words and Robin turned to face the speaker. The speaker in question was a beautiful blonde woman his age. She wore a white t-shirt, Capri pants and slip-on shoes. A guitar was strapped on her back and she had a pleasant smile on her face.
“Well, I’m not sure they’d include Disneyland with the Eight Wonders of the world, miss…?” he fished for a name.
“Skye. Skye Hanover,” the woman said, with an earnest smile. And this is my sister, Cyndi,” she said, hooking a thumb behind her. Behind her stood a slightly younger woman, who looked to be Skye’s opposite. Glistening raven-black hair and deep blue eyes framed a beautiful face; the woman wore a soft gray blouse and a long blue skirt.
“Um, hi,” Cyndi said, clearly not much of a talker. “And you are?”
“Robin. Robin Kirkland,” he said with a smile. “You know, Skye, I think I swear I’ve seen you before…wait, don’t tell me…Carmel, am I right? Carmel by the Sea, August last year. You were playing guitar by the carousel.”
“Good memory,” she replied, “and now I remember you. I recall seeing you a couple of weeks before…San Francisco…the Embarcadero, right?”
He laughed. “Small world when it comes to buskers, I guess. So, what got you interested in the program, Skye?”
“My sister, actually. I’ve always enjoyed things like this, but my sister wanted to try it for the first time – she has an incredible voice, you should hear it sometime. But as to the program itself, why would anyone miss an opportunity to experience new sights and sounds in a situation such as this? And what brings you here?”
“Freedom,” he said with a satisfied sigh. “The chance to give and receive it.”
“Funny, these…ponies, is it? They don’t seem like they’re in bondage,” Cyndi said with the barest hint of a smile.
“Perhaps not, but you’re confusing liberty with freedom. The beings here are obviously not slaves – no slaves could create this culture. But being free? That feeling about leaving your life behind and traveling on the open road with no end, that feeling you get when you sit in a pasture and there is nothing to do, as you planned? That feeling that you’re not bound to the physics of coffee and rush hour? That is freedom and that, regardless of Earth and regardless of species, we probably have too little.”
“Perhaps you’re right in that sir,” Cyndi said with a playful curtsey even as she favored him with a smile.
“Okay, looks like they’re starting now,” Skye said to the other two as the attendants started to fill into the small room.
The humans filed into an opulent room. As they took their seats, Robin found himself seated right next to the two women, as well as a few other fellow buskers he’d known from his many summers of travel: Joao, a Brazilian-born juggler; Esteban, a well-traveled Spaniard who played a Spanish guitar with incredible skill; and Kumiko, a young woman from Hawaii who often performed tricks of skill and daring with a samurai sword. There were many others that were there, and for a moment, it seemed like a kinder, gentler version of half the displays at a Burning Man festival.
As they sat, one of the beings of this world walked to the podium. She was a unicorn with a mane the shade of amethyst and beautiful blue eyes; he’d once dated a girl with eyes the same shade of blue and it always caught his attention. The unicorn stood before something absolutely amazing: a soft pink alicorn, sitting on a throne before them, looking as serene as a Buddha and exuding calm and class, enough so that the murmurs in the crowd died down.
“Greetings,” the unicorn at the lectern stated. “My name is Rarity, and I am the Minister of Arts and Sciences for the Principality of Equestria. Behind me is her highness, the Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, though Princess Cadance will suffice. The reason you are all here is because of a program undertaken by my Ministry; the United States Smithsonian Institution; the United Kingdom Ministry of Media and Sport; and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. The reason these organizations have bonded together to form the “Friendship is Magic” Program – FiMPro for short – is because of the events of two years ago that occurred when our realities were introduced. The events of those years have left mistrust between the nations of human-Earth and the various nations on what humans refer to as Alter-Earth.” The unicorn paused for a long time as she seemed to be fighting something, something personal.
“Two years ago?” Cyndi whispered to Robin, even as Skye had a sympathetic look in her eyes for the unicorn. “Can you explain that?”
“Sure, though I don’t know how you managed to miss that since that was just about everything the news talked about that summer. There was an alien girl who grew up on our world, supposedly originally from this one, abandoned by her family. She was raised as a person like us, but then two years ago her people – these ponies – found our reality and demanded her back. Her adoptive parents fought them in court – here in Equestria, of all places – and apparently won the case, as far as the media said. Seemed a bit short for a custody case – those tend to run forever since custody battles tend to be brutal – but it went from mid-June to late August of ’27.”
“Ah,” Cyndi said. “Skye and I had some problems in our family that year so…we sorta had more important things on our mind than what’s on the news, y’know?”
“Oh, I can hear you on that. But what kind of family doesn’t have problems?”
“Yeah, no kidding.”
Meanwhile, the unicorn looked as though what she was struggling through was too much, so the alicorn descended from the throne, whispered in Rarity’s ear and the unicorn walked out as in defeat. The alicorn waited until Rarity had completely left before continuing. “Fillies and gen…excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, she is the reason FiMPro exists. Ponies like Rarity have an intense mistrust of humanity after the events of two years ago, an event we on this Earth refer to as the War of the Elements.
“The member governments of FiMPro believe that had ponies been on Earth and humans in Equestria before the events, we would all find that we’re not that different as various people. We eat, we sleep, we love, we live. We love music, reading, and all the various pursuits in life. If humans and ponies understood that prior to the trial two years ago, we would not have had such a rough time between our peoples. There would not have been riots in Manehattan or massive protests in Washington. There wouldn’t have been mass threats against humans in Fillydelphia or rallies for war in New York. We would have understood each other a little better, and we would have realized that this was a conflict between two families for a child than an excuse for near civil war amongst my people and calls for invasion on yours.
“FiMPro hopes to achieve that. You hundred will be sent to the various cities around the globe – Manehattan, Ponyville, Drake City, Quaggaton, Gryphondor, and others – to put your species’ best feet forward. In turn, hundreds of ponies have been carefully selected to do the same in your world – Washington, London, Moscow, Sydney and the like. It is hoped that dragons, zebras and the other races of this Earth will also join the program, so we can find out that despite how different we may seem, in the end we’re not different in the least.
“Now, I’m sure you have questions, so, please, feel free to ask them.” A person from the back raised his hand, and Cadance pointed at him. “Please, name, home location, occupation and question.”
The man stood up. “Merritt Jenkins, Hobart, Australia. Firedancer by trade. My question: are you single?” Both the crowd and Cadance laughed; it was clearly an icebreaker question and nothing more.
“Sorry, but you’re a little too late for that one,” Cadance said saucily. “Very much married. Next question?”
“Pedro De La Cruz, Oaxaca, Mexico. Mariachi singer and guitarist. My understanding is that Equestria is led by two princesses other than yourself; and if so, are there any lese majeste laws we should worry about?”
“I’m glad you asked that, sir. Her majesty Princess Celestia, as well as her sister Princess Luna are away on other business at the moment, and I am filling in their stead; I hope that they will return by the end of the program so that you will meet them. As for lese majeste laws, we don’t have them. We feel it’s important for the commons to speak out if necessary. That being said, I can assure you I am not having an affair with a minotaur, despite what the Canterlot Times-Herald says,” she joked with a smile, and the crowd warmed up to her.
“Oh, she’s good,” Robin said with a grin.
“Beg pardon?” Skye asked.
“Well, politicians throughout the world tend to be, to quote Catcher in the Rye, nothing but a bunch of phonies. But this Princess Cadance seems to be very real and genuine.” He brushed the hair out of his eyes as he turned to look at her. “If it’s an act – and I’m getting the feeling it’s not – it’s a damn good one.”
“I get that feeling as well,” Cyndi responded. “Maybe that’s another thing that makes us all the same: politicos who are honest are extremely rare.”
“Sadly, I think you’re right,” he said as he raised his hand.
“Yes, you sir,” Cadance pointed to Robin.
He stood. “Robin Kirkland, Seattle, US. Guitarist and singer. My question is: do you have a plan as to how we’ll be touring?”
“I’m glad you asked that, Mr. Kirkland. The plan is to optimally put you in groups of two or three. Some of you, like Mr. De La Cruz’ mariachi group already come pre-packaged, but others might find the best group to work together, and I’m sure there’s a few of you who likely work best solo. We’ll leave that to you as to how you’ll best distribute yourselves.”
The princess took a few more questions before breaking everything up and inviting everyone to stay for the after-meeting refreshments. Robin enjoyed a few, talking to several of his friends and making a few new ones; there was one particular cute girl, a mask-opera performer from China, who he thought was particularly alluring.
“There you are!” a voice called out and he noticed both Skye and Cyndi walking towards him.
“You were looking for me? I’m charmed,” he said with a smile.
“It’s because you’re so charming,” Skye said affably while Cyndi just blushed.
“So what can I do for such wonderful ladies as you?” he asked.
“Well….” she started.
“Do you mind if we travel with you?” Cyndi suddenly piped up. “Some of these others…they make me nervous. Like that Spaniard, for example.”
“You have nothing to fear from Esteban, I assure you,” Robin said with a smile. “While he seems the ladies’ man, it’s not ladies he’s after. Now, Rheinhold, the Austrian cellist there,” he said, “he is one to watch out for if you’re one for keeping your virtue.”
“You seem quite familiar with many of them.”
“I’ve been busking for many a summer now,” he said with a sad smile, “and I know so many of these folks, both the good and the bad. Fortunately, none of the bad are here.”
“Seems all the more reason we should stick with you,” Skye replied.
“Well, the thought had crossed my mind,” he admitted. “Besides, from what you said earlier, your sister has a lovely voice, and I would cherish the chance to hear it.” At that, Cyndi blushed even more than the last, and Skye laughed, placing a hand on her sister’s shoulder for comfort.
And so it was settled. The three went up to the organizer, a dragon named Spike, and he marked the trio down together, though he looked at both women and said, “For some reason, you two seem familiar. I can’t put my claw on it, though.”
“Maybe we just remind you of some female dragons whose hearts you charmed?” Cyndi replied.
The dragon laughed, a deep bassy chortle. “I wish – don’t know many of my kind, since I was raised by a pony. But, hey, those are the breaks. Anyway, you three have a wonderful time here on our Earth, okay?”
The next day, itinerary in hand, they were on a train to Ponyville. The three sat there, just chatting, ignoring the stares they got from all the ponies around them – they’d been informed that this was going to happen, and so they were well prepared for such.
“So, my primary influence is Fleet Foxes,” Robin said, “though I have a little Blitzen Trapper, Great Lake Swimmers and The Sea and Cake in there, too. From the classic stuff, CSNY, obviously, plus some Dylan, Tom Petty and Yes. You guys?”
“Oh, a little bit of everything here and there,” Skye replied. “Mainly Death Cab for Cutie and Iron & Wine, some Sufjan Stevens, occasionally some Davendra Barnhart.”
“As for me, a lot of everything,” Cyndi replied. “My tastes in music run to the eclectic.”
As they were talking, dozens of ponies came walking up to them, disgusted looks and angry glances in their eyes. There were murmurs and whispers of “foal stealers”, “family destroyers”, and “warmongers.” There were a few that gave the would-be provocateurs sad and disapproving glances of their own, but no one really came up to step up defense for the three humans.
“Warmongers?” Robin wondered at that last one.
Cyndi shook her head. “The day we left, I got up early and I just happened to run into Princess Luna the morning before she departed Canterlot. It was a nice conversation; she’s a real pleasant person to talk to. Anyway, while on human-Earth there were calls to break off relations with Alter-Earth and declare war, over on this side the custody battle almost did start a civil war – apparently Princess Cadance wasn’t exaggerating. Ponydom blames humans for that, which is why they call it the War of the Elements.”
“Yeah, makes me wonder what the Elements are,” he said.
“Maybe ‘the elements’ involved in the battle, i.e. the plaintiffs and defendants?” she replied.
“You know, that sounds both odd…and plausible,” he replied in turn. “Well, time to start doing what we’re getting paid for: making peace. Skye, pass me my guitar, if you would.” She did as requested, and after quickly getting comfortable with the seats, he started playing:
“In that dream I'm as old as the mountains
Still is starlight reflected in fountains
Children grown on the edge of the ocean
Kept like jewelry, kept with devotion
In that dream moving slow through the morning”
It worked. Between Robin’s calming voice and fingers on his guitar, he had the ponies’ rapt attention – the rabble-rousers included. He continued to sing along, and as he switched from one song to the next, he briefly stole a glance. Skye had picked up her guitar and had joined in, improvising in bits and pieces for accompaniment. Cyndi, on the other hand, looked at him and the moment he noticed, turned and blushed. Blushed? Well, now….
By the time they’d arrived in Ponyville and ended their impromptu set, the ponies were applauding, either clapping outright or stomping on the floor. Even one of the ones attempting trouble had apologized for her earlier comments and wished them well on their time in Ponyville. As they debarked the train, they were met by their contact, a young stallion named Snails. He was an entomology professor, he said, and was on loan from the University of Canterlot to FiMPro as a research fellow; he was initially assigned to travel to the human world, but had been requested by none other than Princess Celestia herself to remain behind to assist some of the humans, as he was married to one of the particulars in the custody battle. He admitted that he’d been one of the ones that hadn’t done anything to stop them – but his reason was to see how the humans would handle it.
“That was incredible! I’ll be honest, if you’d been in trouble, I was given arrest authority by the Crown, but you dealt with your oppressors so very smoothly. If you don’t mind, I’ll have to talk to you three to record some documents for a few of my homonologist colleagues back at CanterU. Nearly all of them are involved with the FiMPro project, but they needed extra hooves, and I’ve always been the curious sort, which is why I volunteered.”
“Homonologists?” Skye asked.
“Homonolgy? Study of humans? Don’t you have a study of your own species, like equinology applies to us?”
“Oh, that’s anthropology, on our world,” Robin answered. “My older sister, in fact, is an anthropologist. I’ll give you her email address, if you’d like.”
“What’s e-mail?”
The following morning after a wonderful overnight stay at an inn in the center of town, they prepped for their performance in the town square by the fountain. As they were discussing sets, they found a few songs that they all agreed would work well in English and weren’t likely to offend the ponies. So, with that in mind, Robin and Skye played their guitars, while Cyndi sang:
“You would come to me then without answers
Lick my wounds and remove my demands for now
Eucalyptus and orange trees are blooming
In that dream there's no darkness a-looming
In that dream moving slow through the morning time”
Robin almost lost concentration the moment she started singing. Cyndi’s voice was incredible – and that was an understatement. It was beautiful, angelic, rapturous, as if she were a siren herself. It commanded the attention of all who heard it, and ponies who were within earshot, and the square became filled with dozens of very interested ponies.
As they performed during the day, Robin put his guitar case out there, and ponies started throwing bits in it. By the time they’d stopped for lunch, Skye looked surprised and Cyndi looked annoyed.
“Isn’t that kind of rude?” the younger sister asked. “The Equestriani government’s paying us a lot of money to perform around the country, so collecting tips seems really gauche, if you ask me.”
“Only if it was for me,” Robin answered. “You see, I really don’t need the money, but what I do is at the end of the year, I gather all the money I collect and then throw in some of my own money, then donate the whole thing to a local charity. I’ll probably do that with the FiMPro money this year as well – it’s not what we earn that’s important to me, it’s the freedom.”
“You must be quite well-off to be able to do this,” Skye inquired. There was a questioning look in her eyes, and for just the fraction of a moment, Robin felt as he was being put on the spot.
“Then why not say you’re donating all the money you’re collecting for charity?” Cyndi asked.
“Well, tell me this, then: do you know the names of any charities here in Equestria?” Cyndi looked as if she were about to say something, then thought better of it. “See?” Robin said, not unkindly. “If you just put up a ‘FOR CHARITY’ sign without a specific one mentioned, people think you’re just scamming them, but if you look like the money’s for you, well, to them, that’s a sort of charity they’re donating to and leaves you free to turn the money around and donate it to someone else who really needs it,” he pointed out.
“That’s just fascinating!” Snails said as he walked up to them. He’d picked up lunch for them from a local eatery, and apologized for the vegetarian fare, as he knew humans were omnivores. “That’s quite a unique way of looking at it, Robin.”
“It’s just human nature,” he shrugged, taking a bite of a watercress-and-cheese sandwich supplied to him. “If we’re all the same as Princess Cadance states, then it wouldn’t surprise me if ponies acted much the same way.”
“Well, let’s put that to the test,” Snails said, “a gentlestallion’s wager. “I’m willing to bet that if we try putting up a sign, ponies will contribute more. If I lose, I’ll throw in a hundred bits into the whole collection, and if you lose—”
“I’ll throw in a hundred bucks,” Robin said instantly.
“Well, I wasn’t going to make you, but….” Snails offered a hoof. “Deal?”
Robin took and shook it. “Deal.”
The afternoon performance came, and it was an entirely different set of ponies than had come by in the morning. Snails had supplied a generic FOR CHARITY sign and the trio performed for several hours. Sure enough, Robin had been right, and they’d made hardly even a fraction of what they made earlier.
“See?” he said, as he recorded the amount of money they’d collected in a small notebook he used for such purposes. “You can’t say that it’s general mistrust of humans, because the ones from earlier today gave a lot. It’s just human nature – in a sense – at work.”
“That’s very intriguing,” Snails said as he finished writing down everything before he magicked both pen and papers into his saddlebags. “It’s late, and we should break down for the day. Tomorrow we head to Rockton. As for me, I’ve got to file my daily report, and then let my wife know how I’m doing – she’s a bit nervous about me being with humans, though I told her I’d be fine.”
“Well, if you don’t mind, I’m going to look around the town,” Skye said.
“I’ll take your stuff back to the inn if you’d like, sis,” Cyndi offered.
“Tell you what: let’s both do that,” Robin replied, “and then we’ll go grab something to eat at that ‘meatery’ I saw on the other end of town. I dunno about you, but I could really go for some protein right now.”
She blushed slightly, but recomposed herself quickly. “Sure, let’s.”
Half-an-hour later, the pair were at the Meatery, a restaurant that catered to the few carnivores that lived in town. To his surprise, they’d scored a free meal, both because the gryphon who owned the place loved their music and because Robin had just introduced the owner to a new, exotic type of meal: the cheeseburger.
“So, tell me about yourself,” she asked. “From what Skye tells me, buskers usually don’t have much money, so the fact that you can just collect it all and spend your own is rather interesting.”
“Well, if we were around other humans right now, I wouldn’t be admitting this….” he began.
“My lips are sealed,” she replied.
“Thanks. My Dad’s Bob Kirkland, CEO of Kirkland Industries,” Robin admitted. When that was met with a blank stare, he said, “Sometimes people are familiar with the name, sometimes not. Kirkland Industries owns a lot of factories around the world – well, our Earth – and we contract with a lot of the major companies to build stuff for them – Sony, Microsoft, Apple, Dalek-Ix, Samsung, you know, all the names. But the big thing about Kirkland Industries is that most of the people we hire are disabled, because they’re entitled to a life too. It started way back when my great-grandfather’s sister was born blind and he vowed to ensure that she and others like her had normal lives. It’s in our family blood, and that’s why I donate all my busking funds to charity – people who have one foot in the disadvantaged bin deserve to be treated as people, not locked away so no one can see them.”
“That’s really admirable of you,” Cyndi said, taking a bite of her salad. “Is that why you’re always talking about freedom?”
“More than just that, to be honest,” he sighed. “I just graduated with my master’s from Harvard Business School this year, and this is my last summer to do the things I want to do; I promised Dad I’d join the family business after that. Don’t get me wrong, what my family’s business is doing is important and I’m pretty good at business, but…well, even being from a wealthy, privileged family, a gilded cage is still a cage.”
“I know how you feel,” she said. “My sister and I…we live in cages, too.”
“Really?”
“You might laugh at what I’m about to tell you, but it’s true nonetheless.”
“I promise I won’t laugh,” Robin said, raising two fingers. “Scout’s honor.” When she looked at him oddly, he grinned. “Yeah, I was in the Boy Scouts for a while and so it stuck.”
“Ah, I see,” she commented. She paused for a second, and admitted, “Well, Skye and I? We’re…we’re princesses.”
“Oh,” he said. “Really?”
“Yup. I’m not allowed to say where we’re from – I promised I wouldn’t – but if you think about it, you’ll figure it out. After all, most of the princesses on Earth – human-Earth, that is – are in their twenties this year. For example, Princess Aiko of Japan? She’s 28; Princess Isabella of Denmark is 22; Princess Alexia of the Netherlands is 24; and the Princesses of Monaco….” She shut up and left it at that.
“You’re from Monaco?”
“I didn’t say we were,” she said enigmatically. “But there’s at least fifteen more princesses left that I haven’t mentioned, and we could be one of those.”
“Okay, I get your point. But neither of you act like princesses.”
“It’s because, like you put it, when we’re away from everything, we’re free, no longer in the gilded cage. I can be me, instead of pretending to be a princess that’s me.” She took another drink from her glass of lemonade and then said, “I’d really appreciate it if you kept it quiet. I’d appreciate it even more if you just treated us like regular people instead of, well…you know.”
“Well, we’re both used to gilded cages but we’re free right now, so how could I even think about putting you back in?” he stated. “Mum’s the word. But,” he laughed, “for a moment I thought you were going to say something goofy.”
“Like what?”
“Oh, something outlandish – like you and Skye are the missing princesses who rule this place in disguise.”
“Maybe I am,” Cyndi said haughtily. “Should I show you my horn?”
“Funny.”
“I thought so. But they’re not missing – you heard what that other princess, Cadance, said; they’re just on other business – and the fact that I ran into Princess Luna before she departed. Being a princess myself, I’m guessing they’re on goodwill tours of the human nations, trying to defuse the anger. That’s what Skye and I would be doing if the situation applied to us.” A sudden look crossed her face and she said, “But if you ask me, I feel sorry for them.”
“Sorry? How so? Every bit of information I read about them says they’re goddesses! How do you feel sorry for a goddess?”
“Because that’s an even bigger cage than you or I have. And what if they’re not goddesses?”
“How could they not be? The documentation says both of them are thousands of years old.”
“Well, sea turtles and sequoia trees live for hundreds and thousands of years, respectively, and you don’t see anyone worshiping those.”
“But they’re alicorns! They’ve got to live on a whole other plane of existence than we do.”
“Well, so do we as compared to, say, ants, and as far as I know, they don’t worship us,” she said. “I’ll bet if you were to ask someone like Princess Celestia, I’m going to bet they feel the same way as just about every royal does: trapped, unhappy, wanting to break free of their cages. Maybe their ‘business’ is actually a vacation for them, an actual way to escape the cage for just a brief moment.”
“Just like you?”
“Just like me,” she said with a sad voice, “just like you.”
“I never thought about it like that before,” he admitted. He looked at her, and it suddenly clicked. “Cyndi. Cynthia. Kirkland Industries has a factory in Andorra, whose ruler is King Enrique…and whose daughters are named Ciela and Cynthia…and whose mother is a former American Olympic ice skater named Jillian Hanover.”
She looked at him, saying nothing.
“I’ll keep my mouth shut, Cyndi. I won’t go back on my word.”
“Then let me offer you an extra incentive to do so,” she said as she leaned across the table and kissed him.
It was a few weeks later, in the city of Las Neighgas, and Skye woke up in the middle of the night – and found her sister’s bed unslept in. Again. By now, the three humans and stallion had become good friends and the princesses’ secret was known to the two males, who kept it quiet, as was Robin’s secret, which was kept quiet as well. It was also obvious to Skye and Snails that the other two members of their small group had fallen for each other.
Skye smiled as the empty bed next to her, and then got up and knocked on the door of the hotel room across the way. Sleepy-eyed, Robin answered the door. He found Skye standing there, arms crossed, an accusing look in her face.
“I know she’s in there, Robin,” Skye accused.
“I…uh,” he said, realizing what was going on.
But the smile that then lit on her face was sympathetic. “You know this won’t last, and that it can’t. Both of you live in different worlds,” she said. As the old saying goes, ‘the princess is in another castle.’”
“My feelings won’t change,” he said, his tone firm.
“I know. And hers won’t either, which is why it will be so painful when the end comes. But until then, love each other like no man and woman has. After all, to paraphrase another old saying, what happens in Las Neighgas stays in Las Neighgas.”
“Then a question for you, your highness,” he said, indicating he wanted her opinion as a royal figure and not as the average person. “If you could just walk away from it all, would you?”
“Well, the very first thing I would walk away from is being called ‘your highness,’” she said with a laugh. “But if given that chance…Cyndi and I would run as far and fast as we could and never look back and go to a place where we could be free – and she could have a boyfriend that very much needs a shave.”
“Yeah, Cyndi said the same thing,” Robin said, running his hands over his stubble. “I’ll get to it in the morning. Anyway, you have a good night, Skye.”
As he went back to bed, he found Cyndi, sitting up, looking at him with sad eyes. “I hope you feel I’m not using you,” she said.
“Do you think I’m using you?”
“Of course not. But….” She couldn’t finish her words, instead just pulling Robin back to the bed and holding him. “I wish I could be normal,” she said softly.
“You are normal,” he replied. “You just wish that you didn’t have your cage, just like me. And you know what? While we’re here, we don’t.”
“You’re right, we don’t,” she said with a sudden smile. “So, for the rest of our time here, we’re just Robin and Cyndi?”
“That’s the way I think it should be,” he said, kissing her tenderly.
Skye wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but she managed to hear what they were saying anyway, and she smiled. They could never be a true couple, but for their short time here in the FiMPro, it was what they both deserved: to be free from their cages. She was about to go back into her room, when she heard some shouting down the hall. Curious as to what it was, she went.
“Snails, Ah’ve always trusted yer judgement,” a female voice said, “but Ah think y’ shouldn’t continue this. It’s hertin’ Rarity real bad, an’ she is family.”
“Bloomie,” he heard Snails’ voice, “I want you to think about something: how much pain could have been averted if we ponies knew humans better than we do? I’ve been with these three for the past few weeks and you know what? They’re just like the average stallion and mare. I’m even watching a pair of them fall in love right in front of my eyes, and apart from the homolo…I mean, anthropological aspects of it, they’re no different than when you and I were first dating. Or Scootaloo and Featherweight, or Diamond Tiara and Snips, or Silver Spoon and Inkspot, or….”
“Yeah, Ah know whut yer gunna say next,” Apple Bloom said with a smile. “Like Sweetie an’ Pip, if they c’n ever figure it out.”
“Exactly,” Snails said to his wife.
“Excuse me,” Skye popped in. “I didn’t mean to overhear, but it’s echoing through the halls.”
“Oh,” Apple Bloom said, meaning to apologize before she realized she was speaking to a human. “Look, Ah got nuthin’ to say t’ a bunch o’ people that took someone Ah love from me.”
“Skye, this is my wife, Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom, this is Skye Hanover, one of the humans I’m working with.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” Skye said, offering a hand.
Apple Bloom didn’t reciprocate. “Wish Ah could say th’ same, but Ah can’t.”
Giving his wife a disappointed look, Snails said, “Skye, what Bloomie is referring to is the Sandalwood case – the pony raised on your Earth as DJ Martinez. She’s our niece, so it’s somewhat personal. My sincerest apologies for not telling you that part beforehand, Skye.”
“I quite understand, Snails,” Skye said a sad look on her face. “So, Apple Bloom, you’re blaming my entire species because of something that happened between a couple of humans and a few of your people?”
“Y’ humans took mah niece! Whut am Ah s’pposed t’ think?” she snarled.
“That maybe it was her choice?” Skye replied. “I’ve read up on the case, and everything I’ve seen – on both sides, since Snails was willing to give me the pony perspective – and everything I can see ultimately said that it was her choice, that she loved her human family and she considered herself a human and wanted to live amongst her ‘people’, quote unquote.”
“But she’s not!” Apple Bloom replied. “She’s just a…Ah wouldn’t ‘spect a human t’ understand what it’s like havin’ sumthin’ taken away from ya.”
“I’m watching my younger sister build a relationship with a man she can never have at the end of the day,” Skye said. “And it hurts me to see that. So don’t think I wouldn’t understand.”
“An’ why should Ah believe ya?”
Skye immediately revealed why.
Apple Bloom suddenly felt shame, shock and embarrassment. “Ah…Ah understand now. Ah’m sorry, Princess.”
Finally and regrettably it was the last week of August, and the FiMPro was winding down. At the exit conference, Princess Cadance pronounced the thing a smashing success, but the proof was Rarity herself, staying in the room the whole time and even managing a “thank you” to the humans assembled.
“And as a special reward, each of you is to meet with her majesty Princess Celestia and her highness Princess Luna, who arrived back in Canterlot just recently from their business away from the palace,” Cadance said. “They wanted to meet with you all individually to thank you for your efforts. Thank you once again, and fare you all well in your future endeavors,” the alicorn said as she and Rarity departed the room to applause.
“Damn, this was fun,” Jennifer, a Canadian street mime and a friend of Robin’s, said to him, “I should do this again next year. Hey, Robin, where’s your pals? You know, Skye and her sister – you two started dating while you were here, right?”
“They left already, had to go back home early,” he lied. He knew the truth, and it ached in his heart: this past week, Skye had forced her sister to start withdrawing from the relationship. Skye tearfully apologized to Robin personally and begged his forgiveness; if there were another way, she said, she would never have started forcing them apart. But they were a princess from another land and a scion with other responsibilities, the intersection they met at through destiny now had them pointing in different directions. But how could Robin be angry? He’d tasted both freedom and love in his last chance out of his gilded cage; and besides, as he told Skye, how could he blame her for giving them both a brief moment of love together? It was like blaming the sun for its life-giving light and warmth.
“That’s a shame. Well, I’m sure you’ll be seeing her when you get back home, right? As for me, I hooked up with Merritt, that hunky Aussie, and I think I’ll be spending the summer – their summer – at the bottom of the world with him.”
“That’s great, Jen,” he said. “Best of luck for both of you.”
An hour later, he stood before the Solar Throne Room, where he’d meet with the two alicorn princesses in private. As he stood there, Snails came up to him. “So, this is it, then. Gonna be dull not having you around, Robin.”
“Hey, gonna miss you too, Snails. Keep in touch, okay – especially since I gave you my regular address for, as the saying goes, snail mail.”
Snails grinned. “That’s an interesting way to call it, but yeah, I will. Oh, and I found a local charity that I can give the money to: the Home for Disadvantaged Ponies. It’s a place where the blind and deaf go, since we have so very few of them, where they can live in dignity.”
“Couldn’t ask for anything better than that, my friend,” he said. “I’ve asked Princess Cadance to give you the pay she was going to give me so it can go to that donation.”
“And don’t worry, Bloomie and I have agreed to add to it,” he promised. “Anyways, gotta get going; I’ve got a 2pm class to teach. So I’ll talk to you later okay?” Snails offered a hoof once more.
In turn, Robin man-hugged his friend. “Yeah, see ya soon, Snails.”
As his friend walked off, a guard by the door caught his attention. “Mr. Kirkland? Her majesty and her highness will see you now.” The guard opened the door, and Robin Kirkland walked in.
Robin walked into the room, looking around. It was incredible, beautiful, very much solemn…and more like an altar’s nave than a throne room, like the one he saw in Buckingham palace so long ago. That one had been designed for kings and queens. This one, this one was designed—
“For an alicorn worshipped as a goddess-queen, one who would rather not be,” someone said from the front of the room. Robin looked forward and up on the dais, seated before him was large, horse-sized white alicorn and a younger, navy-blue one next to her. Princesses Celestia and Luna. Both of them smiled serenely at him, but it was the look in the eyes of both that betrayed them.
“For alicorns that would rather spend the summer as humans, isn’t that right, Skye? Or is it Celestia? Or Princess Celestia, your majesty?” he said, somewhat angry.
“You knew?” Luna suddenly said, shocked.
“I was just looking up something on my phone, which I haven’t used in months,” he said, a sad smile on his face. “Did you know, this close to the portal you use to get to my world, I can get cellphone signals? Anyway, twenty minutes ago, I looked up info on Andorra, hoping to find some way, any way to convince King Enrique of my love for his 24-year-old daughter, with his older daughter’s words as proof. Except King Enrique doesn’t have two adult daughters. The information packet Dad once showed me apparently had typos, and Wikipedia confirms Princess Ciela was born in 2021 and Cynthia in ’25…making them eight and four years old, respectively. After that, I put two and two together – Ciela means sky or heaven, as does Celestia; and Cyndi is short for Cynthia, which is another name for the moon, as is Luna.”
“I never lied to you,” Luna said. “I couldn’t!”
“You didn’t,” Robin said, “not technically. But misdirection is as dishonest as lying, Cyndi…Luna. I mean, Princess Luna, your highness.”
“Don’t call me that,” she said, looking at him with eyes on the verge of tears. “Please don’t separate me from you, Robin.”
“Then why the subterfuge? Why lie to me? God, it’s not like I haven’t read The Last Unicorn or anything like that. I could have dealt with the fact of who you are!”
“Because we live on a higher plane than you, my love,” Luna said, “but we are not goddesses any more than the Emperor of Japan once claimed to be.”
“Robin, Luna didn’t lie when she said what she did,” Celestia said. “She does love you and if there was a way, I would let her go. But our ponies – not only won’t they change their minds like the Japanese, but they refuse to. They need to believe in us as goddesses, as they did with our mother before she abdicated. But if we abdicate, Cadance takes the throne and she’s not ready. It would be disastrous for both Equestria and Cadance, and I wouldn’t do that to her.”
“So when is fair? Thousands of years from now, when I’m dead and gone, Luna?”
“The…the amniomorphic spell works both ways, and there are ways to infuse a body to extend life. I…could make you one of us. You could stay with me, and we could be together.”
“Now, that would be great, but it’s also a pipe dream,” he said with a sad smile. “I wasn’t lying when I said I was in just as much a gilded cage as you. The reason I have to join the family business is because Dad really does need me; believe me when I say if he had his way, I would stay here with you.” Robin looked down. “But Dad’s dying of cancer, and if I don’t take over the business, CEO goes to my cousin Jake. Jake’s an asshat who already has said that he’d do strategic liquidation – by the way, if you’re not familiar with that term, it means that he’d fire every blind, deaf and disabled person who works for the company because it would save the company cash he could use it to pad his salary. We place our factories where there’s a need for jobs, not where it will save us the most bucks, and Jake’s nothing but a ruthless pirate whose side of the family owns a minority but sadly influential stake.”
“So you’re just as trapped as me,” Luna said, tearfully. “I’m going to lose you anyway.”
“Like your sister said, it was just a brief time, but for that time I loved you like no man ever loved a woman.”
“And I you like no mare ever a stallion,” she said, shifting to her human form as she approached him. The moment it was done, she leapt forward and kissed him with all the love in her heart. Celestia turned away, both to give them privacy and to once again curse herself for this. Unlike the last pony and human couple she saw, this one could never be.
She let them have as much time to say goodbye as she could, until she knew Luna’s heart was breaking. “Luna, it’s time to say goodbye,” the sun princess gently said.
Cyndi…no, Luna, he told himself, looked at him with heartbroken eyes. “I will always—” she started, but he silenced her with a finger to her lips.
“I know,” he said kindly, “and so will I. Always.” Nothing more to say, he nodded to Celestia and left, not daring to turn around, knowing if he did, he would break his promise to his father. But he had his cage to return to and it was time to her to return to hers as well.
As he left, Luna broke out in song, forcing herself to sing:
“I know someday the smoke will all burn off
All these voices I'll someday have turned off
I will see you someday when I've woken
I'll be so happy just to have spoken
I'll have so much to tell you about it
In that dream I could hardly contain it
All my life I will wait to attain it
There, there, there”
She kept singing as she couldn’t take it anymore, collapsing to the floor as she transformed to her true form, the night alicorn completely shattered in heart, Celestia moving to her sister’s side, feeling guiltier than she ever had in life.
Robin walked through the doors and as he did, dared to steal one final glance at his love in her true form, looking at the crying dark eyes, eyes meant for him and him only. And then the golden doors were shut, and all was ended.
“Hey, Dad, can we go on the Ferris wheel?” a young girl asked.
Robin Kirkland, the 40-year-old CEO of Kirkland Industries looked down and smiled at his daughter. “That sounds like a plan. Let’s go get tickets,” he said with a laugh as the pair walked on the Santa Monica Pier. The place had changed since the last time he was here fifteen years prior, and the restoration of Pacific Park had made it even more a jewel of the beach.
Of course, this meant visitors and visitors meant buskers, students in their college years as he had been, performing for various reasons whether it be love, life, adventure, or in his case, freedom. And so many young men and women were there, performing for the onlookers who threw them cash…
…including, as he saw now, one raven-haired beauty who looked so very familiar. Too familiar.
Robin led his daughter down to the part of the pier where the buskers were. Sure enough, dressed in a gray T-shirt and deep blue jeans, strumming away at a guitar was a beautiful young woman, the image of a woman that had lovingly haunted his dreams for the past fifteen years.
She looked up. “Oh, hello to you, sir!” she said with a smile he knew from so long ago. “My name is Selena. Don’t mind me, I’m just a performer.”
“I was once one so long ago,” he said, wondering now if it was really her. She had her guitar case open, and he opened his wallet to add some money to it, as had others already.
Once he did, she said “Thank you, but I don’t need it. Truthfully, at the end of the summer I just take all the money I collect and donate it to a local charity. Someone I knew once did that and I thought it was a wonderful idea.”
“Then why not put up a sign saying so?” he said. Luna….
“That wouldn’t work, sir. People think you’re scamming them otherwise, but if they think it’s for you, well, then it’s a different sort of charity and one you can turn to donate at your desire.” She looked at him and her eyes spoke of her love.
“So…what’s the song you were performing, if I may ask?”
“It’s a song about two birds in love, living in cages next to each other. The birds loved each other passionately, but then one day they were separated, and the remaining bird sings about her love the day as strong as the last time they were together, so very long ago. I admit, it’s a sad song, but it speaks from the heart.”
“I know a little thing or two about the heart myself, miss,” he said. “I used to be a busker myself, once.”
“Really? And now?”
“Now, I’m just the CEO of a company that does great good for others, but as for me? I never know. I fell in love once with a woman that I could never get out of my mind; two divorces later, I’ve given up looking elsewhere and realize I belong only to her. Now, I’m sure she would want me to find happiness with someone else, but…you don’t always find what you’re looking for.”
“I…see,” the busker said, downcast.
“Dad, you know her?” the young girl asked. “I don’t think you’ve mentioned her before. Besides, I thought we were going on the Ferris Wheel.”
He chuckled, tousling his daughter’s blonde hair. “Don’t be so impatient, Luna,” he gently admonished her.
The name caught the attention of the busker. “You named your daughter Luna?”
“Of course. It’s my way of proving to the woman I love that my heart always belongs to her,” he said. “Sure, my wife wasn’t happy about it, but I think she knew I was the marked territory of someone else already. Probably why she’s the first ex-wife now.”
“I can understand that. I no longer date since I feel that I’d be lying to myself,” she admitted.
Robin wanted to say something, but instead let his eyes say it as he looked into hers. Finally, after a few minutes, he said, “Well, time waits for no impatient seven year old, miss, so I must get going. Perhaps…I’ll see you again someday.”
“Perhaps you will,” she said and as Robin and his daughter walked away out of earshot, she watched his retreating form and whispered, “And someday I hope I’ll be free of this cage to be with you, love.” And then he passed into the crowds and she turned away, wiped a tear from her eye and started playing a Paul Simon song as more passers-by stopped to listen to the young busker’s music.
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Yes!
First person this chapter to tell you that both story and side-story are amazing and to keep it up!
Sometimes you don't get the girl. Not sure what she was thinking anyway being so long lived and everything. Mayfly December Romances always leave someone alone for a long time.
Touching, really.
I might have to give a shot at writing a side story.
Luna is one of my favorite ponies, so this story did appeal to my tastes. Too bad it was short.
The Alter Earth thing seems to be causing alot of pain for alot of ponies. But it's one of life's funny things, where it all works out in the end.
It hasn't been one week since you ended Broken Heartstrings, and now this is up. You sir, are a machine that pumps out literary awesome!
643528
Because she thought she could use her magic to keep him alive indefinitely. Whether that's true or not (or even morally right) is debatable, but as long as both are in their cages, it's a moot situation.
643584
The War of the Elements was a huge, chaotic period in pony history. Discord probably would have loved it, because the chaos was being caused by the six ponies whose job it was to stop chaos.
643495 and 643633
Thanks!
643692
Turning a mortal immortal rarely goes right. Anyway keep up the good work.
Changelings would probably be the scariest security breach mankind would ever face. Invasion of the Body Snatchers for real.
>Kirkland Industries owns a lot of factories around the world – well, our Earth – and we contract with a lot of the major companies to build stuff for them – Sony, Microsoft, Apple, Dalek-Ix, Samsung, you know, all the names
One of these things is not like the others. /captainobvious
>She paused for a second, and admitted, “Well, Skye and I? We’re…we’re princesses.”
I knew this was going to happen the moment those two were introduced, although I didn't see that bit of misdirection immediately afterwards coming. Personally, I've been hoping for more info on Celestia's sneaking mission to Earth.
"“Greetings,” the alicorn at the lectern stated."
There's a slight typo here when Rarity introduces herself, although understandable since she's pairing off with Cadence here. I did need to go back to make sure Rarity hadn't somehow made that wing spell from Sonic Rainboom permanent and I hadn't noticed, though.
All in all, a very unique chapter in that we examine more of the pony side of things for a change, I figured out what was really going on the moment two sisters who looked almost nothing alike showed up to the point where the differences were like day and night.. Although I find the pairings of the CMC/school kids a bit jarring, since I thought the popular ship with Apple Bloom was with Pipsqueak, but it's your story and it's more of a personal nitpicking, so I can live with it.
Also, was that an Anthropology shout out I detected?
644249
Another author is working on Celestia's first trip to Earth. As you can guess, not everyone's as fast a writer as I am.
644729
Fixed the error. The intent was originally to have Cadance speaking alone, but I thought it would have a greater impact if Rarity tried to speak to them and maybe overcome her concerns about humanity and then fail.
As for the CMCs and other school kids, I'm figuring it came at different times in their lives. By this point in the story, the CMCs are already in their 30s. AB and Pip being with others was intentional, as Snails' mark and AB being an earth pony tied them together in my mind somewhat.
And if there was an Anthropology shout out in this one, it wasn't intentional. I was referring to the discipline itself, not the story and I figured that ponies, getting the info that we're Homo sapiens sapiens probably figured that Homonology was the correct term for the studies of humans.
Didn't see the end coming at all. In hindsight it makes sense but since I lacked context for their names......so bravo good sir for pulling a fast one.
"There had been a plot to destroy them back in 2001 but thankfully a combined team of Federal agents in the US and police from other countries managed to tear apart a small terrorist group named Al-Qaeda."
Ah-ha! So it is an AU (beyond the obvious)! I had been wondering... certain background details seemed slightly off to me, but nothing definite enough to confirm my suspicions. Until now, that is.
Of course, now I'm wondering what ELSE is different and what effect those differences might have... and vice versa.
Are the changes somehow caused by DJ's appearance (butterfly effect), or was this universe an alternate version of our own to begin with?
Only 39 upturned thumbs? Come on people, this story deserves more than that. (ALL the mustaches.
)
646300
Well, here's some of the ones already mentioned:
Human-Earth
- Al-Qaeda destroyed, regrouped into ROP
- Bin Laden is a desk-driver (probably won't make an appearance)
- Romney beats Obama, two terms, then his VP is beaten by a Democrat, Democrat dies in office leaving his VP as president (first Hispanic prez/first female prez); she's on her second term when the Foalnapping Affair occurs (no idea who's in the White House as of the start of AAG, but Sen. MacAllister is running for office.)
- RAF buys into the YF-23 program and rolls out the F-23A, later upgrades to F/A-23.
- Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia all part of the "Greater Somalia Conflict Zone"
- No second Gulf War (Hussein was dealt with the first time)
- World generally more peaceful after Cold War
- BRICSK becomes an actual military organization much like NATO. Both organizations ensure peace and stability. (IRL, Kenya is not a part of the BRICS alliance nor is it military.)
Alter-Earth
- Celestia creates several ministries to deal with greater government issues
- Guards reorganized into Royal Equestriani Armed Forces, with an actual Army, Navy, and Air Force. REAF mainstay is F-23A, with F-35D as backup and other aircraft. REN has two fleets, mostly composed of Burke-class destroyers and Ticonderoga-class cruisers. Has two flattops, based on Nimitz-class, all flying F-35Fs.
- REA is 4 theatre armies.
- The Knights Elemental/Bearers are given a pseudo-military status (outside of their regular duties), classified as NATO OF-8 (LTG/VADM). Twilight, as Archmagus and Knight Commander, is an OF-9 (GEN/ADM).
- Equestria is a NATO member. Zebrababwe is a member of the OAS. Draconia has "junior partner" membership in BRICSK. Griphonia, Gazellis and others are militarily unaligned. All Alter-Earth nations are members of the UN.
...and DJ's still a raging smartass.
The first changes started occurring in 1979. Historically, that's when the last stable government in Somalia fell. IRL, they tried to create a new one and that lasted until 1991. In the AAG universe, it went south right at that point. There's also hints that there may have been a divergence even earlier, as Russia and China went had a brief war against each other (IRL Nixon managed to calm down both nations - see, he wasn't totally bad.
)
646357
D'oh, really should have caught on with the whole pirates thing. Or one of the numerous other changes you mentioned that I just didn't pick up on.
And looking back over the original story, I see that it can't be a butterfly effect situation because DJ ended up on Earth AFTER a number of those events...
Thanks for the timeline of changes! Now to figure out how each of those changes might be relevant in the future (I doubt I will have much success, but it'll be fun anyway).
646357
You know, that quip on Spacebattles wasn't some random suggestion, it was actually a reference to my own fic -- in which the Nez Perce were never forced from their land, OPERATION: Valkyrie succeeded, Putin died a hero's death getting intel from a Chinese base, and the United Nations is in a cold war with South China and the rest of the free world, among other things. But hey, you want to have Russia and China duking it out (you know, more then they already did in the OTL) I say go for it, just as long as you have Nixon quote Captain Kirk, you know the line.
644205
Well, she could always make herself age like everyone else (just to be clear, by all accounts she's just ageless, not immortal), but that would require her . . . Actually, I'm not sure what it would require, but I know it has to be a hell of a lot better than living forever.
647103
Actually, you brought up a very important thing: the only way the world would be a bit more at peace is if the two duked it out briefly. I might have to go into a "history lesson" sometime later.
And even if she's immortal, there's time displacement theory at work, human perception of time speeds up as we grow older; who knows what it's like for an alicorn already thousands of years old.
Sad to see what happened with Robin and Luna but they both have obligations and are too dutiful to ever give them up, their gilded cages are ones they go into voluntarily no matter how much they may want to escape them, the needs of the many will always outweigh those of the few
It's sad to see what happened to Ethiopia in this timeline, I guess after the Derg fell the new Republic didn't last and Ahma Selassie (he son of the last Emperor) didn't get invited back and it joined Somalia as a failed state, it's a proud country but it has ande seems to get a lot of crap slung its way in reality, history and fiction
Dalek-IX
ISeeWhatYouDidThere.jpg
Poor Luna and Robin
646357
Does that mean we ourselves are the primary branch in multiple alternate history scenarios that hold true to a specific reality.
So many dimensions at work here!
"Kumiko, a young woman from Hawaii who often performed tricks of skill and daring with a samurai sword"
I dont know anyone who practices samrai sword stuff, but F**** YEAH 808 STATE FTW 
"Kumiko, a young woman from Hawaii who often performed tricks of skill and daring with a samurai sword"
I dont know anyone who practices samrai sword stuff, but F**** YEAH 808 STATE FTW 
In a strange way, the story of Robin and Luna makes me hate the ponies of Equestria for putting the princesses on such high pedestals. Their love and respect for the princesses has in some way made them all jailers and wardens toward their own rulers.
643692
Have you met Pinkie Pie?!? Their job is to promote Harmony, not stop Chaos. The best way to fight Chaos is to put a cap in everyone's heads and cause the sun to grow cold and go out. You know... Heat Death.