This story is a sequel to Back and There Again
Rarity has 'landed' safely in Equestria and she can finally see all her friends and family again. Aiden can finally meet all these good people he's heard so much about, and maybe try his hand at a bit of amateur diplomacy.
Unfortunately, they weren't the only ones to find a way to travel to Equus...
Events fifteen hundred years in the making will come to fruition as old enemies and allies vie to decide the fate of two worlds.
This story takes place before the events of Season 8.
Extra tags (since five character tags are the limit): Tempest Shadow, Changelings
Chapters (26)
Woo! Welcome back. And I see Aiden and Rarity managed to make a spectacular entry, even if only one was able to observe it.
I kinda feel even more sorry for Garken now. Brainwashing is never fun.
Why not get the cover art commissioned?
wow this story is starting out super good and i can only imagine it is going to get way better as it goes.
9029543
Thank you! I hope I can meet that expectation!
9029384
It was fun to write a dragon that wasn't a jerk for no apparent reason.
Yeah... Garken... all I'll say there for now is that he may have the longest road of any character in this fic... and there will be a lot of them involved.
9029505
That's a fair question, and I may look into it for both stories, but it's going to have to wait until after Bronycon because right now my finances are spoken for.
Thank you all for reading. Probably... Wednesday for the next chapter.
And thus we have hit on the biggest plot twist of this universe - a dragon which is fairly amicable. I certainly didn't see that one coming!
(And one hopes that Rarity remembers to inform the Crystal City that there might be a dragon coming over to visit - otherwise I foresee a lot of confused, if perhaps short lived, panic in the future 
)
And it's nice to see Rarity developing more interest in her magic and more hooves-on applications of it. No surprises there I imagine, considering what she has been put through recently without the usual magical powerhouses nearby to fall back on. Events like these are bound to make one more appreciative of the powers they (potentially could) wield, both to protect yourself and the people you care about. I'm looking towards her chats/sessions with Twilight - I'm sure the later would be all too happy to talk magical shop with Rarity. Assuming Twilight can be pried away from the spaceship once the due make it to Equestria proper
Anyways, this was a very fun start to the sequel and I'm eagerly looking towards more
A white dragon named Nall, huh? Someone's played Lunar, it looks like.
In any case, we're off to an interesting start!
9032563
I do appreciate obscure references... even the ones that date me. Honestly it was not a great game for the gameplay, very repetitive and the dungeons were too big. But I did enjoy the characters and storyline... and the outtakes. Ditto the second one.
Ack!
Somehow this is a worse cliffhanger than when the limo blew up.
Oh dearie me, Cadance is knowledgable on humanity's past visit to Equestria, isn't she?
I'd say whoops, but Cadance married Shining Armor. She finds dorks doing dorky things endearing.
Haha, oh Cadence. Obviously she isn't about to take any sort of offense, though I do wonder how she knows the language. Translator spell of some kind?
Anyways! This was a wonderful chapter. I have always loved Marco Polo-like adventures and seeing new cultures, wonders and unknows being explored through the eyes of someone seeing them for the first time, so I loved all of Aiden's reactions and impressions about the Crystal Empire and I can't wait to see more of them. Doubtlessly there is much of Equestria yet to be seen and explored.
And naturally I can't wait to see how Aiden (and Rarity now I imagine) are going to perceive the other Alicorns and their magical "signatures". Cadence was described wonderfully, and she left quite the impression. Given that the three remaining princesses are more potent magically, I imagine they will make quite the impression as well.
TL:DR - Great chapter, m0ar plx
a grate chapter.
warning Aiden land of the magic of friendship i am betting you will be reeving a permanent magic based Translator spell vary soon.
Nall reminds old generation's Spike... a bit.
9040395
And you might just be right about that...
Why thank you
9039530
It's funny the things I consider fun notes to go out on end up being cliffhangery. Next chapter coming soon!
9039550
Right? Shining might be a bigger dork than Aiden... he'll be fine.
9040141
I loved this comment. You've hit at exactly the reason why Aiden is our perspective character (for the most part) for this story. In Back it had to be Rarity, beyond introductions and the occasional bit happening when she wasn't around. Because it was her journey. Now that they're in Equus? It's Aiden's turn to be seeing everything, and growing from the experience. Both characters still have a long way to go in terms of who they can become, but it's Aiden's eyes I want to show Equestria through. Because this is his journey. ...Good thing Rarity's there for him... he has a slight tendency to stumble a bit... from time to time.
See everyone next go round... in a few days.
👍
Yup, Troldance is a thing here.
I like this Cadance!
Garken's side of the story grows more fascinating by the chapter.
I think I like his parts ever-so-slightly more than Aiden and Rarity's.
Interesting to see Tempest there.
Oooh, enter Tempest. And Cadance continues to be the Princess of Trolling.
... Though Rarity's time with the Esper Corps has sharpened her own skills in that area.
I love this story, your talent in characterization grows by leaps and bounds.
The "glasses" are part of his status ?
9049823
I was actually suspecting that Oni and storm creatures are related, so this wasn't much of surprise
9049792
I can respect that! He certainly has a rougher time ahead of him than Aiden, at least for the moment.
9049823
Since the Oni (and their king) haven't been on Equus in 1500 years, I knew that, even beating Rarity and Aiden there, they'd need some source of information about the world. Their king being the swell fellow he is... that would mean at least one captive. Now... details of that... will be forthcoming.
9049841
I blame Cooper. Though it's also a bit of revenge for a few times she was the brunt back on Earth (the corpse conversation springs to mind).
Also, I love Cadance. She doesn't get to really have fun with her roll in the show, because of the target audience. You can't really tease about love when love itself is presented in only the most simplistic ways. I'm not saying that's bad, but it's fun to let her play a bit more in situations like this.
9050594
High praise, thank you!
9050741
We'll be going into the glasses, but long story short? Yes. Cursed item. And while the Oni are not natives of Equus (they were brought there by the demon race the same way humans were brought by the angel race), there are definitely similarities to the storm creatures. I didn't pick the word 'Oni' at random, and the storm creatures were definitely ogre-like in their presentation in the movie. If they'd have actually called them ogres I wouldn't have been the least surprised. It did lead to my decision (in part) as to who the captured pony would be. More on that in the coming chapters.
Quick Edit: I don't like to take credit for canon with some kind of retcon, but it makes me think 'could some powerful mage have modeled the storm creatures after the Oni, based on historical records or (given how old some beings can get on Equus) from seeing them during the war? Hmm... if we accepted that, they're every bit as related as you say. I like it... they certainly did seem to be magically created or enhanced somehow, so... hmm... interesting.
Next chapter will be
Friday, and probably another over that weekend since my Bronycon vacation starts then!EDIT: Early Saturday morning (EST) for the new chapter. I just nixed about 1500 words because it just wasn't working; I'm too tired to write properly... Vacation has started but I worked eleven hours yesterday and I'm going to bed. Chapter is started though, and will be finished tonight whenever I wake up.
9050851
yeah Cadance doesn't get the support she needs in the show. Hence some of my fan fics fixing that. In fact one fan fic series makes her the scariest princess to the main Character
Oooh. Okay, this is getting really good really quickly. I love your characterization of Cadance, and Tempest was a pleasant surprise! Also Rarity and Aiden being flirty is still adorable.
I can't wait for them to catch up with the rest of the six, but meeting the Princesses should be at least as interesting...
Hmm, I wonder what Tempest'll be doing.
9050851
they could be descendants of warslaves who were lost/stranded on Equus. Question is who is that satyr who declared himself as Storm King :P
1.bp.blogspot.com/-ocs4ICI7FsE/UyCAXzvKIqI/AAAAAAAAEeQ/fT6FzWc6F7E/s1600/NoCapes!.gif#no%20capes%20500x282
I take it Rarity has seen The Incredibles?
(I would hope so, given that he was selecting movies to help give a broader understanding of our culture)
9060262
Waiting for her to say no spoilers in his earshot.
"Screw subtle! I've been waiting to actually see you two ever since you started bonding!"
Also Garken's story continues to grow ever more amazing.
A reference to one particular superhero fashionista?
Funny enough, when I saw that cartoon, I thought of Rarity
I just realized... hammerspace which can be entered by owner - that's Pinkie's Trick! That's how she skips space and carries her supplies.
9060262
Well, they did watch several beyond the Star Wars trilogy during that last week they were on Earth. I deliberately didn't go over which ones... partly so I could reference whatever I wanted, but also because... well ponies watching movies has been done in a lot of fics, so I didn't think it'd add too much. You can safely assume she's seen at least 10-15 of the best (and worst) movies available, at least according to Aiden... who's a bit of a nerd. And The Incredibles would certainly speak to Espers, so it was a good addition to the list on the 'best' side.
9060368
Wouldn't be the first time!
9060516
Cadance was so much fun. Subtle is for ponies not wearing crowns!
9060593
When I saw The Incredibles again a couple years ago I did the same thing. As to Pinkie... YEP! I was wondering if anyone would call out that similarity. Those two meeting is something I very much look forward to writing... even if I already basically have the scene laid out in my head.
Yeah Cadance is fun to get trolling
Well I, for one, have to proclaim to Aiden:
Fuck you, capes are awesome!
In any case, I am getting more and more intrigued by the Garken-Tempest alliance. Really curious to see where that takes them, or how they'll interact with our protags (if they do).
Y'know Tempest probably tops a very short list of ponies with the guts to handle that "operation". lucky Garken. Now how are they going to clean up all that offal? By this point the both of them are likely coated in gore, not to mention the smell. Eh, that's future Garken/Tempest's problem.
On a less unpleasant matter, a beautiful depiction of the two sisters. Easily one of the best I've ever seen. At first I thought they were sensing somepony's Heartsong, but the realization that they were feeling the Sisters' presence was just, perfect.
If anyone ever tells you you can't write, ignore the fool. They've no appreciation for talent.
I found some music, 'tis a poor match compared to what it has to live up to, but I felt compelled to find something.
9065803
I'm trying to minimize description of what they had to do there, because I'm really not aiming for a gore tag. But, as you say, it wasn't pretty. Cutting into his head is probably not as bad as some places in terms of mess and smell... but yeah, unpleasant to say the least.
Thank you very much for the high praise concerning the Royal Sisters. I really wanted to give them their due, because it's easy to forget sometimes just how larger than life they are, even compared to the rest of the canon.
Something I see too often with HiE is the human MC who's just way too underwhelmed by what he's seeing. 'Too cool for school' has its place... but this ain't it. Conversely, I love the reactions of humans in fantastic worlds when the author is more impressed by the world than by their own characters. Despite all he's seen, Aiden hasn't seen anything like those two.
Meghan? heh, I see what you did there. I like it!
9094530
It's practically obligatory... not to mention a good answer to anyone who balks at HiE fics. Gen 1 started it all, lest we forget. I even looked up the name to see if it was around 1500 years ago amongst the Anglo-Saxons. Sure enough...
I'll be honest, I half expected Garken and Tempest to teleport in the midst of the group having tea time.
9094923
Me too. Hell, I'm still kind of half expecting it.
Hilarity aside, they realistically have 2 options: attempt to go into hiding permanently, or reveal themselves and fight against the Oni by cooperating with authorities. And if they're going to do the latter, they might as well take it to the highest authorities they possibly can.
aww yes Megan, Danny, and Molly from G1.
Megan Moly Danny
a awesome chapter and i am happy to see a author bring back a little bit of G1.
Cuddles! Reunions! Brawling! Birbs! This story only ever seems to get better!
CelestiaXRaven? Never saw that one before...
Aww, Twilight's introduction/"magical feel" was fairly underwhelming compared to the other princesses, and Rarity didn't even comment on it, unlike with the others. I had hoped for something equally awesome.
And heh, Rarity and Aiden finally coming out of the closet with their feelings. I foresee much ribbing and teasing in their future
9103638
Not really all that surprising, she's arguably the weakest of the princesses, and unlike the other three she's not really an Aspect either. So all that really comes through is an impression of a particularly powerful and organized unicorn, plus some extra essence of Sky and a lingering effect from the Elements.
9103642
I guess that would depend mostly on headcanon, I imagine. Given what we have seen (or haven't seen) from them on the show, one would be pretty hard pressed to find evidence of any of them being more powerful than Twilight
9103638
9103642
I just couldn't put off those two admitting things to each other any longer without it getting silly. As to Twilight... we didn't get Rarity's response (yet) because we were in Aiden's point of view at the time, and he stepped away. Rarity and Twilight have a lot of interacting coming up (I do love me some Raritwi, even in a non-shipping sense), and Rarity's improved senses will definitely play into those. By the same token, yes, as an alicorn Twilight is the youngest, and has a lot of potential yet to realize. This story has a long way to go yet, and she's going to see plenty of chances to realize that potential.
I feel like Aiden is going to have a minor brain freeze when he finds out about this bit of information.
Aiden.exe is not responding.
-Close the program
-Wait for the program to respond
I really enjoy these descriptions of how magic feels for every pony we know. It's like an ultra-personal signature or fingerprint.
>Gareth and Gawain
I'm expecting great things of these two.
Oh Cadence...
Lovely entry and first impression.