Chapter 13: The Human In Company Part 1
Dark chasms of shadow and darkness dominated this place. He was under the Earth's solid ground, in carved tunnels that once held the relic of a time now destroyed entirely. Into view, the remains of twisted metal and decimated carriages can be seen, displaying the fate of those unfortunate enough to be caught in its wake of destruction. However, his primary concern is with the shaded figure that sits before him, bleeding and crippled. It speaks to him with urgency. The words are jumbled and distorted but he can already tell, it wants him to leave. The more he hears, the more his own sorrow grows in strength. He can't let go, he couldn't, but it was not up to him, this figure refused to go any further. He cries out at it in protest.
“WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!”
His words cease when echoes of a blood-curdling roars pierce out from the darkness. The figure is now desperate and pointing behind him, screaming. He looks behind his back and yet another shaded figure comes into view. It grabs him by the arm, yet he's not willing to go. But the other is easily capable of overpowering him, and thus he leaves the other behind. The shade that carried him rushes to the light, leading to what he assumes is safety. As the blinding light of day encompasses them, the last words of the abandoned shade now become clear.
“Take him and RUN!”
Tim's eyes opened as he gasped for air. His heart was beating rapidly out of control, taking it a few seconds for it to go back to normal. All the while Tim was wondering what to make of this. His dream from the night before had been similar to the one he had the night prior. Both had been too familiar for it to be coincidence. He sat in the bed for several minutes pondering the dream. Never had he had ones this memorable, or that surreal, yet lifelike at the same time. He couldn't think straight. Tim rubbed his eyes and looked out the window. It was still dark out. He began to recollect on the dreams he had been having as of late.
“What the hell's going on? Why do I keep having these nightmares? Why are they.....why are they so.......”
Tim shook his head slapped himself for good measure.
“Get your shit together Berfield! You're a fucking soldier, you don't let a bad dream get to ya' like this!”
Determined to put this behind him, Tim got out of bed and proceeded with his daily routine. The thoughts of what his dreams might mean slowly retreated as he counted every push-up in sequence. Even more so when he began the sit-up routine. By the time he finished his pull-ups with his AKM-book set-up, he had worked up quite the sweat and was now concerned with getting cleaned up and dressed. Tim walked over to the door adjacent to his bed. He was informed yesterday by Twilight that this was the bathroom for his own personal use. Considering how he hadn't bathed in about four days, he figured a refresher was well overdue. The bathroom was probably the nicest he'd ever seen or been in. Back home there were shower rooms, but to have one bathroom all to himself was a luxury that he could have never imagined.
...................one shower scene later.......................
Tim had finally finished and got dressed. He decided to leave his jacket off in favor of his old, stained T-shirt and rugged OD cargo pants. He took a quick glance in the mirror. To him, he looked rather scraggly. He might have been clean, but this was the only set of clothes he had on him, so he made do. When he took a look out the window, the sun had just begun to rise. Tim figured everyone else was probably still asleep. Tim's thinking process was interrupted when his stomach growled.
“Shit, guess this makes it an opportune time to finish them pancakes. Now, where did Twilight say she put them?”
As he recalled, Twilight stored inside something she called an "icebox". Tim figured that it was probably just another word for fridge, so best place for him to start looking would be the kitchen. Problem was, he didn't necessarily know where the kitchen was, with the castle being a bigger sized home than Tim was accustomed to. Finding his way around had been tricky the last couple of days. He knew where the library, map room, and bedroom areas were pretty well, as that's where a majority of his time was spent. Everywhere else was still a bit of a mystery. Despite this, Tim set out to find it.
The journey was a series of twists, turns, and opening doors. Every once in a while he'd run into a set of guards. He attempted to give them a friendly hello, but the responses he got were not as courteous. Some ignored him, others gave him the stink-eye, and a few of the guards awkwardly lifted a waving hoof that lacked all sincerity. Tim expected as much, not like his unit would show someone like Twilight the same pleasantries. In fact, he was pretty certain they wouldn’t show any, opting to mess with her instead.
After several minutes of searching, he eventually found an open archway with no doors at all. When he looked inside there was a series of cabinets, countertops, and kitchen appliances, all fitting within the castle's general color-scheme of lavender, gold, and crystal blue. As he stepped further into the room, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. Sitting at the dining table was Princess Celestia, who at the moment seemed to be enjoying a hot cup of tea. She was currently wearing a pink bathrobe, a very contrasting look compared to her regalia from yesterday. Yet she still managed to have that serene manner about her.
"Oh, good mornin' Princess." Tim said politely.
Celestia's head turned to see who it was. When she saw that it was Tim, she smiled.
"Good morning to you as well Tim." she said pleasantly. "Strange, I would never had guessed you would be up this early."
"Actually, waking up before dawn is pretty routine for me." said Tim.
"Well it looks like we have something in common then. Come, take a seat."
He was quite sure what she meant by that statement until he remembered what he and Luna discussed last night about the moon and sun of this world.
"Right, sun doesn't rise till you do. That seems like an awful lot of responsibility for just one person." said Tim.
"I will admit, it has taken its toll over the millennia, and to make it more tedious I have to keep a daily time schedule on when the sun is supposed to be raised and when it needs to set, and then daylight savings time comes in and....uhk. I don't even want to get started."
"Sounds rough. Wait.....Millennia?!"
"Oh, Twilight hasn't told you? Alicorns are blessed with long lifespans."
"Long? Like, how long?" Tim asked curiously.
"Well to give you an example, I'm 10,011 years old."
"Holy shit! Well I have to say you look good for your age. Does that mean you're like, immortal?"
"Well I thank you for the compliment." chuckled Celestia. "As for your question on whether or not we are immortal, I can safely say we're not. While Alicorns live much longer and are substantially more powerful than other ponies, we still age as time passes and we are still capable of contracting sickness, so it's safe to assume we're mortal."
"Still, 10,000 years is a long time to be alive. I've bet you've seen a lot of things."
"Indeed I have. The majority of my life has been a pleasure to witness. Seeing and visiting so many places, passing my knowledge to a younger generation and it warms my heart when I see just how happy my subjects are."
The subject of life left Tim to ponder his own whilst resuming the current conversation.
"Any regrets?" He asked.
Celestia turned to him with a confused look in her eyes. That kind of question was rather unexpected and not one that was normally asked of her. But upon further investigation on why he asked, she figured that his way of life was probably nowhere near as peaceful as hers. It was then that she actually began to recall if she did do anything regretful in her lifetime, and there was one moment in particular.
"Just one, it was the time of my sister's banishment." Celesta replied.
"Banishment? What happened?"
Celestia sat there in silence for a brief moment, reflecting on the time she alienated and banished her own sister. Everypony knew the tale, but only a handful of ponies knew the personal details of it. She realized that Tim probably had little to no knowledge on the affair, and decided to fill him in. After his breakdown yesterday, it was probably best she attempt to relate with him. Not everything in Equestria was perfect.
"Many years ago, Luna and I ruled Equestria equally, but as time went on I ended up gaining more attention than I deserved, and Luna resented me for it. During the day so many ponies would come before me, thanking me for raising the sun, and adore me as a leader. I accepted it, as at the time I found it humbling. But Luna received little to no credit where it was due. I was so oblivious to the fact that so many ignored her, myself included."
"She felt like she wasn't getting attention?"
"It was more than that. She felt like so many preferred me over her, that the masses viewed her as the inferior part of two halves. She never spoke with anypony because she was under the mindset that nopony cared about her or wouldn’t give her the chance. She grew to be a loner, and I grew to be very ignorant.”
"How long did this go on exactly?" asked Tim.
"A long time, at least half a millennia. By the time I had learned of what was happening, it was already too late. Luna had turned to a darker power and tried to take Equestria by force. It ended with a battle between the two of us. The only way to stop her was to banish her by magical means. When it was over, I found that I would be ruling the country by myself. In her absence I not only had to deal with the stress of her responsibility, but also the fact that I was the one who forced her down that path. My greatest fear is if she were to return to it, and I be responsible for it. I...can't lose her again."
Tim could see the signs clear as day. This was what Luna meant when she said she was a threat to Equestria, though from the way it was told, it didn't necessarily sound like it was entirely her fault. Tim found himself in a very delicate situation; he knew he should have just kept his mouth shut. This moment of the past still haunted her, an experience he was way too familiar with. Whatever happened between the two was clearly still embedded deeply within her thoughts. He felt like a hypocrite, the day prior he was concerned that they not ask anything about him or his people, and here she was, just willing to share her past when he had asked.
"I'm sorry, it wasn't my place to ask a question like that, I didn't mean to butt in on anything personal." said Tim.
"No need for apologies, Tim." said Celestia. "In fact I don't really get the chance to talk about this too much. Sometimes I feel like I can never put my mind at ease with everypony looking up to me as the can-do-no wrong leader. It felt good, thank you for listening."
"Uh…well...your welcome."
"Well, enough of feeling sorry for myself, shall we move on to something else?" Celestia suggested.
"Sure thing."
"Did you sleep well?"
"Eh...........no, not really."
"Oh? How come?"
"I dunno, I've been having some really bad nightmares as of late."
"Huh, interesting."
"It's nothing to be worried about. Honest. Take's more than a bad dream to rub me the wrong way."
"Be careful, Tim, dreams are indicators of one's well-being."
"What?"
Tim looked at her as if she was crazy. To him, a bad dream was just that, a bad dream.
"With all due respect princess, I can handle a nightmare or two."
"Even so, my sister often tells me ponies tend to have nightmares when they're going through something troubling to them. Perhaps you humans tend to process stress in a similar manner? Is something troubling you?"
"No.....yes.......maybe, I mean, might be. Why, is Princess Luna a counselor or somethin'?"
"Of a sort, yes. When a pony is in deep internal turmoil, she offers them guidance through their dreams, so that they might be motivated to face the problem."
"Through their dreams? I guess that's a magic ability of hers?"
"Yes, and one that she has mastered. If you ask nicely, I'm sure she'll be willing to help you."
"Well.............give me some time to think about. It's not that I doubt her abilities, it's just…….I don't know if I like the idea of someone going through my head. Plus, I'm not entirely sure if she'll agree to it or not."
"Well I realize her attitude yesterday didn't do her any favors. Tim, I've been meaning to get this off my chest since it happened; I want to apologize for my sister's behavior towards you yesterday."
"Princess, there's no need, in fact I think you'll be happy to know she dropped by last night and apologized to me herself."
"She did?" Celestia said in surprise
"Yeah, we settled our little dispute. I respect how loyal she is to protect her people, and I can see that you're pretty dedicated to them as well. Reminds me of the duty I have to mine, it's why I need to get back to Earth."
Celestia let out a sigh of relief. After the big argument last night, Celestia was concerned that her sister might have been pushed to the point where she might have resented both Tim and herself. If Celestia had to apologize under Luna's behalf, it would probably make the situation worse. But she took comfort in knowing that Luna was willing to accept that she was in the wrong and was willing to make amends. It was a clear sign that she had put her older self behind her.
"I'm glad to hear you two managed to work things out." said Celestia. "But if you two have already let bygones be bygones, why so hesitant on letting her into your dreams?"
"Because....................because I'm not sure it's that serious."
Celestia saw he was being stubbornly tight-lipped about the subject. Whatever was going on in his head clearly had some sort of impact in his behavior. If it truly didn't bother him he wouldn't have brought it up. Despite this, Celestia would just have to accept his decision.
"Very well, if you change your mind though, I'm sure Luna is more than willing to help." said Celestia.
"I'll keep it mind." said Tim. "Now if we could just find a way back to Earth."
"We brought several texts from the Canterlot Library that cover a variety of subjects related to portals. We may be able to find something that can see to your safe return home."
"Yeah,.....home."
Celestia caught a somber tone in his voice as he said that.
"Is something wrong?" asked Celestia curiously.
"Huh..oh, no, nothin's wrong."
On the contrary, something was indeed wrong. The mere mention of home now troubled him. He knew Earth's current state was awful, downright nightmare in some areas, but he had come to call it home. But as of now, it occurred to him how much he was enjoying the benefits this world had to offer. He missed his friends and comrades of course, but the thought of returning almost seemed wrong at this point. Like his instincts were telling him to stay. This place was safe. Here, he wasn't risking his life by just walking across a street, or entering a building. The plants flourished, the water was plentiful and pure, and the air didn't reek of defilement or decay. The idea of humanity calling Equestria home still hovered about in his head. This wasn't just a place where man could survive, but prosper. This place was salvation.
As much as he wanted this place to stay the way it was, he would have no choice but to tell his superiors of this place. It didn't matter at this point, if humanity wished to survive, it couldn't stay on Earth. The Princesses would have to deal with The Survivors at one point or another, Tim could only pray that the first real contact with the two would play out peacefully. Maybe once he told the Princesses a little bit about The Survivors they would be more lenient to see where he was coming from. He realized then that returning home was no longer his primary goal, but proving that humanity deserved a second chance was. He needed to be the example if man wanted a better future.
"So, what brings you here this morning?" asked Celestia.
Tim snapped out of his deep thought. As he recalled what she just said, he remembered what brought him here to begin with.
"Breakfast, I got a batch of pancakes that needs to be finished off."
Tim got up from his chair and made his way to the fridge, which looked ancient compared to the ones he was used to, and opened the door. The box of pancakes was atop one of the many shelves. Pulling them out, he realized that the pancakes were cold. Looking around he noticed that there really wasn't a way of reheating them himself. Celestia quickly noticed the same thing, letting out a light chuckle.
"Here, let me help you with that." she said.
Her horn lit up with a golden aura. The box of pancakes disappeared from his grasp and reappeared at the table, already sitting on a plate and with trails of steam rising off them, as if they were freshly cooked.
"Thanks." said Tim.
"My pleasure." said Celestia.
Tim sat at the chair he previously sat in, grabbing a fork and taking a bite of his pancakes.
"Does magic do everything around here?" asked Tim.
"Well, I will say it has its limitations, but it has accomplished many things."
"Like raising the sun?"
"Well yes, But I believe I was born with that ability."
That particular topic made Celestia bring up a very curious question she was itching to ask.
"Tim, your world is devoid of any sort of magic, yes?"
Tim nodded in confirmation, as his mouth was full of pancake, preventing him from speaking.
"So how does the sun and moon rise in your world?"
Tim swallowed the food that he was currently chewing.
"Well, it just does. Twilight asked the same question yesterday. From the little I was taught, it's somethin' called gravity."
"Gravity? Pray tell, what's that?"
"Well, I ain't exactly got the book knowledge on it, but basically it's what keeps everything on the ground, and why things fall, it pulls everything towards a central point."
"If that were the case, then wouldn't the sun and moon fall as well?"
"Well, it's different for big objects, they have their own centers of gravity too and they just kinda circle around each other, but the sun's at the center, and the Earth circles the sun, and then it also circles the moon....or wait, was it the other way around. Or did the moon circle the sun, or...aw...shit."
Celestia was slightly amused from the way he explained the conversation topic. She didn't doubt that gravity was the factor for moving the two celestial bodies, but she was sure there was a better way of wording it. She found it interesting nonetheless, a possible study to look into in the future. This human was turning out to be the exact opposite of what she initially had envisioned. He clearly had much to offer in the ways of understanding.
"Well that's...very enlightening." said Celestia
Tim gave her a disbelieving look.
"Your polite, I'll give ya' that." he said.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of Tim, you said yourself that you're not the intellectual type, not everypony in Equestria is an expert either."
"Truth be told, I'm just kinda sorry that you got stuck with me for first contact with the human race. I take it that it hasn't been as breathtaking for you as it has been for me?"
"Actually the experience has actually surpassed my expectations. I have to say, now that I've actually met you in person, I'd say it puts old worries to rest. From Starswirl's description of your kind, it made it out that humans were too violent for any sort of formal first contact. I'm glad that wasn't the case."
"I won't deny that some of Starswirl's fears were well placed, we can be violent, beyond reasoning. But the human race is filled with plenty of good folks too."
"If that's the case, then why did your world end in war? Wouldn't the good ultimately try to put a stop to it?"
"It's complicated. I can't say for sure why Armageddon fell upon us or if there were people who tried to prevent it. It was before my time. All I'll say is that it happened, and the aftermath changed everyone's priorities. The good folk in the world wanted safety for themselves and those they cared about. The bad wanted to plunder and kill others for their own gain, and the in between did whatever was convenient for them, kill, loot, spare, save, it didn't matter. But the reasoning behind everyone's motives was simple. We were all just trying to survive in our own way."
"So that's all that mattered, survival? What about things like love, sympathy, happiness, or mercy?"
"My world doesn't show mercy, to anyone or anything. Even now, it's as ruthless as the day The Conflict started. I can tell you right now, happiness is pretty much dead. Sure, we might feel joyful every so often, but to be happy is to be properly fed, have plenty of water, and that everyone live their lives with content, which I can say isn't the case for most folks. Sympathy wasn't held in any high regard from either the good or the bad, most killed anyone that caused problems for them and people were pretty brutal when dealing out payback. As for love, well, I guess that still survived, but damn if it didn't come with a cost. Nothing's worse than losing someone you love, even when you move on with your life it's still there to haunt you."
Celestia let that sink in a little. Tim wasn't like any individual she had ever met. Not once did she meet one who had such a firm belief that the cruelest aspects of life could just be accepted as a harsh reality, yet still succumb to heartbreak like everypony else. This Earth was sounding more and more like the unrelenting world Starswirl made it out to be. Only this time, instead of fearing the world's inhabitants, she now felt sorry for them. This Earth had clearly thrown everything it had towards them, and somehow they came out of it alive.
"What about your world's current state, is it still as bad as before?" she asked.
"Thankfully, no. Humanity eventually managed to unite from the destruction of war and start looking after one another when we realized just how few of us were left."
"So you all formed a government? Just like that?"
"Oh no! Trust me; in the early days the idea of a unified government in the wasteland sounded like complete bullshit, and from what I heard, things were tense when it first started out. Not every human was willing to join our ranks; plenty of raider groups were still operating when I left the East Coast when I was about 12."
"You were all by yourself at that age?"
"Yeah. I'd occasionally tag along with a small group of people whenever it was convenient, but wouldn't stay too long. However, when I came across this one settlement, they said there was a place across the ocean that had food, water and protection. Really didn’t have nothin’ to lose, so I figured it was worth the risk."
It then occurred to Tim that he was now heading into his own past and Celestia was clearly paying attention to every detail of it, he guessed that the locals were rubbing off on him. But for some reason, he felt a bit more comfortable about talking on the subject, and this particular part in his life was one of the happier moments.
"You know, I might not be too keen on touching any of my past experiences, but I feel as if you deserve to hear it, after all you were kind enough to share one." Tim expressed.
This caught Celestia's interest. She had a good feeling that this could provide more details on Tim, humans, and insight on their way of life, but she was hesitant, as she took into account on how it might affect him.
"Are you sure? I wouldn't want any bad times to resurface." asked Celestia.
"I'm sure, besides, this one don't exactly bring up any bad memories."
"Well, I suppose if it's alright with you, I'd love to hear it."
Tim then proceeded to continue the story of how he tagged along for a ride on an old U.S navy destroyer the settlement managed to patch up. Everyone in the settlement had heard the broadcast that promised haven, and so, they journeyed across the irradiated Atlantic to the promise of a new life. They never even knew if the broadcast was legitimate, for all they knew it could have been sent out years ago, but after a lifetime of suffering, they were all were willing to take the risks for a chance to finally be free from the wrath of the wastes. Tim shared the story on account of two reasons. Celestia told him one of hers, and the 4 weeks he spent on that ship were some of his best.
Twilight's eyes opened at the sight of sunlight entering through her window. She rose from the covers, stretching out her wings in the process. She had a bad crick in her back. Her thoughts on yesterday's events came immediately to mind, probably the reason she hadn't slept so well. She knew things turned out badly, Luna and Tim shouting at each other, Tim's breakdown, and Luna and Celestia getting into an argument immediately afterwards left the current state of affairs less than undesirable. Her instincts told her that tensions would be high, and as she climbed out of bed, they told her that it was in her best interest to keep things under control.
Twilight walked to the mirror to brush the horrendous bedhead she received from a rough night's sleep. It was particularly bad today, enough so that it probably would have made Rarity faint. After about fifteen minutes of brushing, her hair had returned to its usual style. Twilight made her way out of her room and towards the library. Celestia's guards had brought in all the necessary materials required to assess a solution for Tim's predicament. Books, scrolls, tomes, and artifacts that would aid in this pursuit came straight from the Canterlot Library. In most cases, Twilight would have been delving into those books the moment they were brought in, but events from the day prior hindered any chance of that happening. The way Tim had bluntly described his life sent chills down her spine.
“Everyday a new danger, everyday, one hell after the other.” She recalled mentally.
What kind of species would commit to their own destruction, exploit one another, endure the worst life had to offer, and come out still standing? If what Tim said was true, it meant that humans were not just dangerous, but resilient. But at the same time, these traits didn't stand out when she first encountered him. The way he smiled and patted Fluttershy showed he was compassionate. The way he jested so often showed he could be lighthearted. And the way he broke down last night showed he could feel sorrow, possibly unstable if pushed to any further extent. But Tim never tried to hide that fact that humans were dangerous. In confirming that truth, he somehow became less of a danger. If she was pestering him with questions before, there was a maelstrom of them waiting for him now. This meant her efforts had to be divided into both helping Tim and getting this information out of him.
Twilight had finally reached the library, with the same worries still on her mind. If today was going to be anything like yesterday, there was a very high chance something drastic may occur. However, her worry was quickly replaced with surprise when she opened the doors and saw Princess Luna levitating multiple books around her, reading segments from each of them and projecting portions of them around her via magic.
"Princess Luna?" said Twilight.
"Good morning young Twilight." replied Luna with a smile.
"Good morning to you to, but what brings you to the library?" asked Twilight.
"I came early to go over some of the texts me and my sister brought with us, I took it upon myself to find an optimal option to see Mr. Berfield's safe return home."
"That's...nice?"
Twilight was somewhat puzzled. Aside from the fact that this was usually what she would normally do, why would Luna, the one who was so persistent in assuming Tim as a threat, be the first one to jump on helping him.
"Do you need any help?" Twilight asked politely.
Luna set down all of the books but one. She levitated it a bit closer and studied it profusely.
"No need, I seem to have found what I was looking, however if you'd be so polite as to speak with my sister, I request her presence and yours to speak on this."
"Of course. Do you know where she is?"
"I believe she stepped into the kitchen for her morning tea. Oh, I almost forgot, please ask Mr. Berfield to meet me here as well, it's best if we...now how did he put it? Ah, yes! Knock three birds with one stone."
"Wait, did you talk with Tim?"
"Yes, I saw fit to offer him my deepest apologies, my behavior from yesterday was, inappropriate." said Luna. She then let out a mild snicker. "Believe it or not it actually ended in a friendly exchange, and I see what you meant by his eccentric behavior. It's quite charming."
"So, are you two good!?" asked Twilight.
"Yes, I believe so."
"That's wonderful! I'll go ahead and tell Tim and the Princess and we'll meet back with you here."
"Thank you Miss Sparkle."
Twilight turned around and made her way out of the library. Luna then noticed that Starswirl's journal was sitting on the far end of the table closest to her. On impulse, she levitated it towards her and opened to the part where Starswirl encountered humanity. As she read it over one last time, she had trouble coming to terms with the possibility that Starswirl, and herself, were wrong about humanity, yet right to fear it. The whole night Luna had thought about what Tim had said. He understood her fears and took no action to decline them, as if he was well aware of the danger he could have posed, but didn't. Tim was a mystery, and Luna wanted to understand that mystery.
Twilight left the room with traces of optimism in her mind. She smiled with glee knowing that things had thankfully simmered down. Now all that was on her mind now was finding Tim and the Princess so they could all meet together in the library to begin today's work. After walking down the corridors of her castle, passing several doors and guards in the process. She was about to enter the kitchen when she stopped a few feet in front of the entryway. She could vaguely hear the sound of conversation. When she poked her head inside she saw Tim and Princess Celestia talking.
"Tim?" said Twilight.
Tim turned his head to see who it was and standing under the doorway was Twilight.
"Oh hey, mornin' Princess." greeted Tim with a smile.
"Good morning, Twilight." said Celestia
"Good morning." said Twilight. "What were you two talking about?"
"Oh, I was just sharing an old story from when I was young." said Tim. "You know what, you'd probably enjoy it too, wanna sit down, I don't mind tellin' it again."
As much as Twilight would have taken him on his offer, she remembered why she set out to find the two.
"I'm afraid it will have to wait." said Twilight. "Right now, Princess Luna needs all three of us in the library."
"Whatever for?" asked Celestia.
"I believe she found a way for Tim to return to Earth."
Tim's expression turned to ecstatic on the moment those words left Twilight's mouth. Shoveling whatever was left on his plate; Tim got up from his chair and raced out the door.
"Gotta grab a few things, meet y'all at the library!" he said as he made his way out.
"Wait Tim, we're supposed to go togeth-"
Twilight's words were in vain, as Tim was already out of speaking distance when she popped her out into the hallway. Twilight sighed; her attempts to calm him were in vain.
"And he's off." uttered Twilight.
"Well, it seems you weren't kidding about his eccentric behavior, Twilight." said Celestia.
"Why, did he say something that made you uncomfortable?"
"No of course not, well nothing more than what I believe were the occasional human swear words. Regardless, my observation was intended as a compliment."
"Oh, okay. So uh, what did he talk about? Was it important? Was it something about his species, or himself? Was it bad? Was it good?"
"Twilight, what's on your mind? You seem to be very, well, eccentric."
Twilight sighed; she knew it was better to speak her mind now than hide things from her teacher.
"It's Tim."
"What about him worries you, Twilight?"
"I can't exactly pinpoint an exact cause, but for some reason I feel as if he's hiding things from me!"
"What makes you think that? Do you not trust him?"
"No, I trust him, I just think that.......I don't know Princess, but I feel like there's something that's out of place, and his lack of information just makes it worse."
"Twilight, if Tim is what you're worried about then why not speak with him? Solving issues directly tends to be the best solution in most cases and he seems to be just as reasonable as any pony."
"I've tried, but for the last couple of days he's been on the defensive and starts acting secretive whenever I try to ask anything important or about him. I know I probably sound nosy, but it's just because I want to get a better understanding of him."
"I'm afraid he made it clear that he doesn't make a habit of speaking on either of those topics."
"Then how come when you two talk he goes and shares a story from his life with you? How come he was willing to talk with Princess Luna after she made him relive a bad moment in his life? I don't want to come across nosy....."
"Twilight, the reason Tim was willing to share was out of a sense of repaying a debt. I had shared my experience from when Luna was absent from our realm and he felt I was entitled for one in return. Granted it was more lighthearted than I anticipated, I still learned much from it. Rather than force it out of him, I somehow earned it. By taking the time to sit and speak with him on a personal level, he found me more approachable in conversation and thus was more willing to share. My dear student, take my advice and let him go at his own pace for now. He's probably been through more stress than any of us realize and it's often made worse when one doesn't take that into account. Now, it's probably best if I get ready for the day, we'll meet at the library."
"Of course, Princess."
Even after knowing The Princess throughout her entire childhood and afterwards, the amount of wisdom Celestia often had to offer still astounded her. Perhaps she was right, maybe she had been a bit forceful before with the lists and the tedious questions. She decided to take Celestia up on her advice and let these things play out naturally. Twilight walked out into the hallway and proceeded to the library, rethinking how to approach Tim.
Luna had been reading in depth on the book that provided the optimal solution for Tim. The layout looked to be quite complex and time-consuming, yet would probably yield the most successful results. Her vigorous reading was interrupted when the door from behind was forcefully opened. As she turned around, she saw that it was Tim who had barged in unannounced. This caught her by even more surprised when she noticed that neither Twilight nor her sister were accompanying him.
"Mr. Berfield, good morning to you." said Luna courteously. "Tell me, do you know the whereabouts of my sister or Princess Twilight?"
"They were in the kitchen last I saw." said Tim.
"Are they making their way here?"
"I think so; Princess Twilight said you found something that could send me home?"
Luna realized that he probably came ahead of them, eager to learn of her discovery as soon as possible. Luna gave a subtle smile to him, slightly amused by his shortcomings.
"Yes, I believe I do." said Luna.
"Hell yes. What do ya got?"
Tim outstretched his hand towards the floating tome, but not before Luna closed it.
"Hey, what gives?"
"I realize your eager to started, but it's probably best if both my sister and Princess Twilight be here to add their own expertise. We'll get started once they've arrived."
Tim would have protested, but took that astute observation into account.
"Suppose that makes sense, after all, y'all are the experts on this stuff."
The room grew quite as the conversation died down. Then Tim remembered what Celestia had told him of Luna's ability to manipulate dreams. He was considering whether to ask her to help him. The nightmares seemed to have grown stronger in the last couple of days, and he could definitely trace a connection to them being the source of his feelings of dread.
“Maybe the Princess was right, maybe I do need help.” Tim thought to himself. “It couldn't hurt.......................Alright, here goes nothing.”
"Hey, uh, Princess Luna?" said Tim.
"Yes, Mr. Berfield?"
"I heard you can enter people's dreams, is that true?"
"Yes, that is true. Why do you ask?"
"Well I've been...you see I...well the only reason I'm asking is because I been-"
Tim's sentence was cut short when both heard a loud bang followed by a large burst of confetti blast into his face. The disturbance came out of nowhere. Luna jerked back and cried out in shock. Tim, under the belief that he was being attacked, cursed and pulled a knife out on instinct. Almost immediately afterwards a familiar pink pony popped into view, and almost seemingly out of nowhere.
"SURPRISE!" announced Pinkie Pie.
"FUCK!" shouted Tim.
Tim took up a defensive stance, and almost lunged his knife out at the perpetrator. However, his nerves calmed upon realizing who was responsible for this whole outburst. Two surprises in a row was something he was not accustomed to. Tim's heart was beating rapidly, and it took a few quick breathers for it to return to normal.
"God damn, don't sneak up on me like that!" stated Tim, sheathing his knife.
"I'm sorry, but it's not my fault you took so long to trigger my secret party cannon surprise party. I've been here all night!" said Pinkie in defense.
"Secret surprise party-what!?"
It was at that moment Twilight entered the room, she had heard the outburst from the end of the hallway and had raced towards the library.
"What's all the commotion about?" she asked.
Her first sight when she entered the room was one to give her quite the wake-up-call. Tim was covered with strips of confetti, which lazily fell off of him. Princess Luna, with an annoyed look on her face, was in a similar state. Pinkie Pie was there with her trademark party cannon by her side, along with an assortment of several celebratory delights arranged on a long table. To top it off, the whole scene was tied together with a big "Welcome to Ponyville" banner hanging from the ceiling, which she didn't recall being there before.
"Pinkie? What are you doing here?" asked Twilight.
"Hey Twilight, I was just explaining to Tim why I surprised him with my secret party cannon surprise party, but I think he's more confused than surprised."
"Well no shit I'm confused! You pop out of nowhere with that...thing...as I was talking. Nearly gave me a heart attack."
"I believe the same could be said of me." said Luna. "Miss Pie, in the future please do give us a warning before taking such an initiative."
"Well sorry if I wanted to greet Ponyville's newest visitor with their own 'Welcome to Ponyville' party." said Pinkie Pie in defense.
"But Pinkie, it's just us four-"
"FIVE! Princess Celestia's about to walk through the door in three, two, one..."
All looked towards the door and sure enough, the celestial princess walked into the fiasco that had arisen.
"Oh, Pinkie Pie, it's good to see you." said Celestia.
"You too Princess." Pinkie replied.
"Still, four ponies and one human is not quite the crowd your parties are used to drawing." Twilight noted.
"Well, for some reason, everypony I invited didn't want to show up, maybe it's because they're all afraid of him?"
"Pinkie!" said Twilight, making clear indication that what she said wasn't very polite.
"What? It’s true." said Pinkie.
This whole debate made Tim even more confused. He had an off feeling about this pink pony from the moment they first met. He could have sworn she read his mind on that first day, and the fact that she flat-out predicted the exact moment Celestia entered the room wasn't helping any. He would have asked how she did it, but quite frankly, he was scared to find out. He placed his hand on his forehead in an attempt to relieve him of his confusion.
"Listen, I appreciate the gesture, but now's just not the time."
Pinkie's usually perky attitude withered a little bit after that was said.
"Oh, okay, that's fine; I'll just save it for another time then." Pinkie said in a bit of a sullen tone
With that, Pinkie shoved the party cannon and party decor to the side of the room, which also seemingly disappeared from reality. Tim had an uncanny feeling that this pony might be hiding something, as her ability to do the impossible came off as unnatural.
"So, what were you and Luna going to talk about?" asked Pinkie Pie.
Tim was going to ask Luna to help him with his nightmares, but openly discussing something personal with the other three in attendance made tackling that uncomfortable for him.
"It was nothin' important. Forget I said anything."
Luna gave him a strange look, why would Tim ask her of her abilities and not give a basic reasoning behind it. Thankfully, it didn't take her long to put two and two together.
“Of course, he's probably having a hard time mentally adjusting to our world, probably causing him stress which undoubtedly manifests in his dreams.” Luna thought to herself. “I can see why he hides it, these matters are often very personal. I'll drop by when an opportunity arises.”
"Well, now that is out of the way perhaps we can proceed to discuss my findings?" suggested Luna.
The group came to a general agreement, as it was the reason they were gathered here in the first place, with the exception of Pinkie Pie. Luna levitated the tome that held the key solution, opened it and laid it on the table. As they looked down upon the ancient pages, a detailed diagram of a portal could be seen, accompanied by several series of notes and statistical charts. Tim tried to decipher it as best he could, but most of what it covered went completely over his head.
"What's it say?" asked Tim.
"This was written several centuries ago by an anonymous spellcaster." Luna informed. "It appears to be schematics on how to construct a two-way portal."
"Cool!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.
"Pinkie, this goes beyond cool, this is astounding! I thought most portals lead to random destinations." asked a very giddy Twilight.
"In most cases yes, but we have the key component to narrowing down the pathway."
"And what might that be?" asked Celestia.
"Mr. Berfield."
Tim gave the Princess of the Night a puzzled look.
"Me?" he said with confusion. "What makes me so special?"
"Well, it's not necessarily you so much as it is what you have. You see, a regular portal can be created but with no clear indication of where it might lead."
"That's right, Starswirl called it the Unstable Plane Theory, it's what causes the portal to lead to so many destinations." added Twilight.
"Certain spells can narrow down to a particular location, but for a brief period of time, and are often unstable upon entry." said Celestia. "But Luna, why is this relevant?"
"Yeah, what makes this one so different?" asked Tim.
"Well, the construction layout states that with enough substantial material from one particular dimension or world can be magically infused with the portal's frame. By doing so the portal can indefinitely connect to the plane from which said material came from." said Luna.
"So, what you're saying is if we had enough stuff from Earth we could make this portal go to Earth?"
"Yes, but the only material we have from Earth happens to belong to you."
Tim's mind kicked into high gear when he realized what she had in mind.
"My stuff? Like, how much of my stuff?" he asked.
"Well, all of it if we want the best results."
Tim backed up several feet. Twilight, seeing how unwilling he was to go through with this, attempted to persuade him to cooperate.
"Tim, you said yourself you wanted to go home." Twilight said.
"Yeah, but that don't mean I'm just gonna give up everything I own, which ain't much by the way!” Tim protested. “I still need some of this stuff when I get to Earth."
"Mr. Berfield please be reasonable, it's only some loose objects and clothes.” Luna argued. “I'm sure you can find some replacements more once you've returned home."
"Yeah Tim! It's just clothes, it's not like anypony here wears them for an extended period of time." said Pinkie Pie.
Tim's cheeks fared red at the thought of walking around with no clothes for the remainder of his time here.
"NO!" yelled Tim.
"Tim, please-" Twilight urged.
"Don't, "Tim, please" me! Look I know your society is fine with strutting around in the nude but humans tend to wear clothes for the sake of decency! Besides, until we have a surefire way of knowing exactly where on Earth this portal leads to, it's best I go prepared. Last thing I want is to die to a pack of mutants with no way to defend myself, and butt naked."
"Wait, wearing clothes is normal on Earth?" asked Twilight.
"Not just normal, but socially expected." Tim clarified.
"Huh, Interesting."
Twilight popped out her notebook where she had kept her findings on Tim and added another cliff note to her entries. Luna had lost her patience with this debate.
"Look, this is the easiest route to take." Luna made clear. "Your chances of returning home are slim if we do it the alternative way, which involves countless months of trying to find a spell to connect the portal with Earth. With this solution we can have it complete in a few days."
"Tim, you said yourself that you needed to return out of a sense of duty, isn't it worth the risk?" said Twilight.
"You don't know what it's like on Earth." he said. "Most of it is completely inhospitable. I show up without any of this my chances of survival are slim!"
"Tim, if it's safety you're worried about I can have the royal guard escort you towards the nearest safe location." Celestia suggested. "Provided you lead them to it."
Tim knew that if they went through with the escort, they even wouldn't last a day.
"They won't last an hour on Earth, I can guarantee you that."
"Mr. Berfield, unless you happen to know where we might find an alternative source of objects from Earth, this is the best course of action."
"Alternative source? Oh, wait a sec! I do know where to find more stuff from Earth!"
"You do?" said all the ponies, almost simultaneously.
"Yeah! When I woke up in the woods, there was a bunch of clutter that was sucked in with me. Maybe we could use that?"
"Tim, you don't mean the Everfree Forest? Do you?" asked Twilight. "It's dangerous, and not only that, it's expansive! How exactly are we supposed to find where you came in from?"
"I was trained as a scout. Retracing my steps isn't a problem for me."
"How well do you know the area?" asked Celestia.
"I have a general placement of everything I came into contact with in the woods and in town. Out in the wasteland you have look out for key locations if you wanna find your way back. If you can take me to the gazebo outside of town I'm sure I can find where I came in from."
"How long were you in the Everfree Forest? Is it a short distance?" asked Celestia.
"Not likely, when I came to I remember walking for about maybe three or four hours. Then I came across the stream and followed it down for about another one or two."
“A 4-6 hour trip there and back." Luna said, doing the map.
Celestia looked to the grandfather clock in the far room. It read as 10:00.
"It's ten o'clock, so it sounds like an overnight trip. We should probably get going as soon as possible and go prepared."
"And what of our safety? The Everfree Forest isn't the safest place in Equestria. Shouldn't we bring some of the guards?" asked Twilight.
"Not a good idea." said Tim. "If what y'all say about the forest being dangerous is true it's best we travel in a small group. Makes us less noticeable, plus if we run into trouble, it's easier to escape and avoid injury. Besides, that many people will definitely slow us down."
"Well, I feel as if three alicorns are quite capable of defending themselves." Celestia argued. "And we do have Mr. Berfield, who I'm sure is an expert in self-defense?"
"Yeah, you could say that."
"Well, It seems we have a plan that suites our needs." said Luna.
"OOH! That sounds exciting! Can I tag along?! I promise I won't slow you down." asked a very enthusiastic Pinkie Pie to Tim.
"Um, okay. I guess you can come, ain't like one more is gonna hurt."
"Sweet! I just need to get packed and go tell the others before we go. Meet you at the gazebo!"
"Wait others? What oth-"
Before he could ask who she was bringing, Pinkie darted out of the room at lightning speed, leaving a trail of dust in her wake. By this point, Tim had given up any hope of putting logic into any of her reality-breaking abilities.
"She's scary, y'all know that, right?" Tim simply put.
"You get used to it." said Twilight. "I suppose we should get ready?"
Tim would have said yes if he hadn't remembered what he wanted, what he needed to make clear. This was the moment he had been dreading since his first encounter with Twilight and her friends. It would mean either gaining their trust, or bringing the end to last remnants of mankind.
"Not yet. There's a few things that you probably need to know."
All but Luna, as she previously discussed this last night, took this sudden move by surprise.
"About our trip into the Everfree?" asked Twilight.
"No. About humanity and Earth. I know I've been hiding this stuff from you, but, in all honesty, it's best you know now."
"Tim, are you sure you..."
"Yes, I know I may not like it, but if we're gonna work together it's best you get a sense of the situation back on Earth. I'll answer whatever I can."
The three alicorns looked to one another. Celestia was cautious to ask, and was starting to wonder if Luna had put him up to this. Twilight had a list at the ready, but acknowledged that his tone of voice was very serious and that he probably wished to get this over with as quickly as possible. Luna was naturally curious, but also noted that he was doing this because he felt he was coming off as untrustworthy and they deserved to know.
"We'll try and keep this brief." said Luna. "Where do your allegiances lie, and what is their intent?"
Tim took a deep breath.
"My allegiance is to a group known as The Survivor Coalition. Like I said before, we're basically all that's left of humanity. Our goal is to survive, plain and simple, and to maybe one day rebuild what we destroyed."
Luna caught the sincerity of his voice, one that made it abundantly clear that that was their one and only motive. Her worst fear of an armed human presence was now partly put to rest, given the lack of a hostility in their motives. Twilight stepped forward, so she could ask the next question.
"What type of government did they set up? And what role do you play in it?"
"The Survivors are led by a five-person council which pretty much make the big decisions. Each one represents a respected branch. The branches are Peace and Justice, Science, Agriculture, Preservation, and The Militia Defense Force. I fall under that last one."
"I assumed you were a soldier." asked Luna.
"Yeah, though we prefer to be called militiamen, our job is protect the people but also look for the resources we need. Food, water, medicine. Everything we find goes back to our home settlement, New Damascus."
"What of your other settlements?" asked Celestia.
"New Damascus is it. We have a few bases and such scattered across different parts of the world, but New Damascus is the closest thing to a city we have. It's our home."
"If that's the case, how many of you live there? How many of you are left?" asked Twilight.
Tim was quiet, he found difficulty in giving every inch of intel he had. But he grit his teeth, and the words came out.
"A little over fifty thousand."
The three princesses were stunned into silence. That number was so shockingly low that they all found difficulty in comprehending it. But the more they thought of it, the more things started to make sense. They saw exactly why Tim so hesitant to reveal this information, this was a civilization that hung by a thread, and any sort of careless talk could utterly destroy it.
There was no known word that could describe such an atrocity. Celestia's usual unyielding resolve was somewhat shaken from what she heard. This benevolent leader wasn't capable of comprehending that as a reality. Luna's doubts and fears were now replaced with pity upon learning the demoralizing truth.
Tim fell silent. His feelings of dread seemed somewhat relieved, but were immediately replaced with concern for what he just did. He might have just single-handedly doomed the entire human race. He saw that Celestia had just whispered something into Luna's ear, and then both Luna and her sister gave Tim a sympathetic look. Tim found it awfully suspicious but wasn't too worried about it. The two Alicorns then turned to him.
"I believe we've asked enough. We won't burden you with any more questions." stated Celestia. "We offer our deepest of condolences, I see why you were so hesitant to give us answers. Living with that kind of weight must be devastating."
"More than you know. I hope you can come to trust me now, I just put humanity on the line."
"I can assure you; no harm will come to them. We will see to it that you return home with no consequences on your part. We're a peaceful nation. Harming others is not in our nature."
"I'll hold you to your word on that, and from what Twilight has assured me that means a lot. Now, before we go are you sure you don't want to ask anything else?"
"Certain." said Celestia.
"Absolutely." said Luna.
Tim turned to Twilight, she was utterly speechless.
"Twilight?" He asked.
Twilight naturally wanted to ask more questions, but considering how both Celestia and Luna had just declined the offer, it was best to follow the same route.
"I have nothing more to say." she relented.
Tim was skeptical of that, predicting that she would probably ask more in the days to come. Nevertheless, he took her answer as a sign and proceeded to put this questionable act behind him.
"Alright, you should probably pack for a camping trip. Everyone meet up at the door when they're ready."
The group then proceeded to exit the library and get ready. Twilight was still wondering of what to make of the fact that so few were left. Canterlot had a rough population of around 70,000. Twilight seemed to have three new question for every answer she was given. She knew that conventional warfare couldn't kill that many and her thought process turned to one question.
“What did they build that could kill so many?”
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Ponies be like: EVerfree forest? That's a dangerous place.
Tim be like: Lol, Earth is just one big Everfree.
6932628 Everfree on Steroids
Wonderful chapter, can't wait for the two groups to run into each other.
Humanity is practically at the stage of Quality over Quantity (as i am sure Equestria will soon find out).
6932628 everfree? "I found a safe zone!"
nukes,nukes,justin bieber and more nukes
7074808
1% Percent of mankind was killed by nukes, 99.9999999% were killed by Justin Bieber.
LOOK AT THE MONSTROSITY!!,
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/ih3OJ9ezzs-rtiBzWxmqc9_jOOT8kfqSxujFuY43CnbM9Y__fAnUu3cPQHGtlT6ixvcbj2ioWgK9KUZVaLvmjyGyz2h4wlVSbnMVs1VoqFE7bfbQw50P=w500-h240-nc
They should know what gravity is, oh, and *you're (you are vs. your |possesive|)
Ah yes nuclear weapons, at once our greatest triumph and our worst mistake.
You know there are three routes to pick for humanity once they make full-contact with Equestria:
A: They can invade Equestria which would be the reckless, desperate and dangerous route to pick.
B: They unite an alliance with Equestria, gaining a future connection with the nation; this can result in Equestria sending small restoration forces to restore Earth to what it was before and possibly making both Equestria and Earth livable for both races
C: Humanity abandons Earth completely and lives on Equestria; they can either live under the rule of the princesses or make their own nation in Equestria, making the more spacious areas on Equestria (The Badlands, Everfree or the San Palomino Desert) areas to live at and settle
Either way, it'll not only depend on humanity's future actions but even Equestria and the other inhabitants too on how they act and react toward the remaining human race
Now that you mention it, i never seen a story with such a good build up. Most other writers, (Including probably me to be honest) would have been at the war already. All i have to say is: great work and continue like you do. (Not shure if you are currently rewriting or continuing the story, but i don’t care to be honest. Both are important.)
👍
Iiisjshdjbedhjen....WHAT!!!?!
Do you really want to know?😞
Its our biggest mistake, YET.