16 - She Hears Us
"Lower your heads." All the others gathered around the table did so in unison. "Clear your minds, leaving only room for them to reach it. Know that our True Lords await us above, not in some distant heaven, but directly above us. Great and powerful ponies, heed our calls and our feverish prayers. Hear it, and respond! Make yourself known to us!" The crowd echoed those last words, voices rising together in a call of unity and reverence.
Answering them was another sound, deep and melodious. It filled the air with energy and power. A song began to play around them, voiced by entities of alien mind and history. They looked around with wonder as it grew louder.
In the center of the room, the center of that table, a pony appeared. They were larger than Applejack, with wings and a serene smile. They also had none of the adjustments that Applejack had, so their snout was whole and hooves without bumps. "I have heard you." She looked them over with her bright eyes that seemed to see through them. "What would you ask of me?"
One man lifted his head with an expression of awe on his face, reaching for her with one hand. "Great and powerful pony, please share your magic with us, that we might stand with you in the coming age of enlightenment."
She smirked with one side of her mouth, cocking her head to the side as she considered that request. "Human, you have so many toys already, and you do not play with them well. While many enrich your life, others end it or make it full of suffering." She angled her ears around the room slowly. "And you would have more? No, humans. What you need is understanding first. I have studied you, dear humans. You must shed your clothing, before you can step into this hall, and receive enlightenment."
Some of the humans gasped, in horror or pleasure, it was hard to tell which. They knew they were all seen by her, as she was inside their minds. Some had robes that fell away at a mere thought. Others scrambled to pull them off, and yet others balked at the idea. Twilight raised a hoof. "I meant that metaphorically, but I do appreciate your eagerness. I will contact those in power, soon. Until then, think of us, and know that we are watching, kindly." She vanished with a single flap of her wings, leaving behind nothing but silence and empty space where she had stood moments before.
The man who had made the request covered his mouth with his hands, face going bright red as he stared at the floor in horror. "It, it actually worked!" He curled up on himself with a whimper. "Oh god, what have we done? What will they do to us?"
His fellow gathered around him, comforting him with their presence, speaking soft words that soothed his anxiety. One reached for his shoulder. "She came with a smile, brother. She has promised us what we asked for. Today is a day to rejoice!"
Another held his hand, lifting it gently. "Be at peace, brother."
A restaurant fell silent, a TV in the corner showing Twilight's speech to the human cultists, turned up to be heard over the din of people speaking to one another. One of the 'faithful' had recorded the whole thing on their phone and uploaded it for the world to see in record time, and it was spreading like wildfire.
All eyes turned to Applejack, who just finished a drink before returning it to the table, oblivious to what was going on around her. She turned to look at the nearest person, the waitress, who had the TV behind her, so she couldn't see what was happening on screen. "What's everyone gettin' all tense 'bout?"
Cindy, who had seen it, reached to grab Applejack's closer arm. "I think we should be heading out."
"Huh? Wha—" Applejack noticed where everyone was looking, and slowly turned around to see what they were seeing, just in time to watch as the footage of Twilight speaking played, without audio, but she could still read their lips and understand exactly what was being said, and who it was saying it.
Twilight, making promises to humans she didn't know, that she would actively change their life in some way.
Secret Service agents closed in on Applejack and Cindy, their presence alone more than enough to make it clear what they wanted. Applejack gathered up Angel and started for the door. "Twilight," she huffed on the way. "What rotten timin'." She didn't blame Twilight, not directly, but there was a hint of frustration in her voice as she made her way out into the parking lot and waited there with her family for their escort home.
Applejack didn't like the feeling of eyes watching her every move. She gently bounced her colt instead of looking back at them. "Did you like dinner? Yes you did." She rubbed noses with the giggling foal, happy they seemed to be blissfully unaware of any issues.
The car arrived for them, and Applejack got in with a long sigh of relief as she set her son down in the back seat and sat beside him. Cindy joined them as the doors closed behind them, locking them away from the public, but not from their guards. One of those agents was looking to Applejack. "Ma'am, do you have any information about that broadcast?"
"Hay no!" Applejack huffed softly. "Not even all sure how she did it. Twilight's a clever girl, ain't too surprisin' she'd—" Applejack trailed off, noticing how intently the other was watching her. "Ah'm gonna be interrogated, ain't ah?"
Cindy rested a hand on Applejack's side. "He's a bodyguard. It's not his job to do that. If they want, they'll send someone else around to ask questions." She glared at the guard. "If you want them to."
The Secret Service agent didn't confirm nor deny Cindy's words, simply riding silently. Applejack grumbled softly under her breath and said nothing more, putting a hoof down between herself and her son, but she wasn't letting him out of her sight as they rode on through the streets towards their home, a long and silent drive back to their little piece of paradise that waited for them beyond the white picket fence, a little place in the woods, secluded from any who might bother them.
And there were plenty who would.
Twilight brought a wing down on Fluttershy's back, stroking gently. "Your next generation translator is performing admirably. That it doesn't have that echo? You've really outdone yourself." Alone, they were whistling gently at one another. "Things are proceeding delightfully. We'll make this universe a better place, for us, and for them."
Fluttershy hid her face in Twilight's mane, with a soft moan of embarrassment at being praised so openly. "I still can't believe how easy it is to understand them. The words are just there, and the voices are right!" She drew her face out, colored as it was. "Have you tested it with other languages, ma'am?"
"I have! Several, in fact. Some were more eager to hear what I had to say than others, but they could all understand me." She hummed gently. "Language is no barrier between ponies and humans. How difficult will it be to construct more of those?"
"It's difficult." Fluttershy rested a hoof on her desk, watching it fill with plastic walls as she lifted the nearest object, which was her lunch, setting it down so that it was sitting within the fake confines of the little bubble she had created around herself. "We have most of the materials, but not all. At least, in an amount I'd need to make many. We don't have the energy to synthesize it. The solar collectors will require a week for each. For now, it's just the one you have."
Twilight turned about in the room, observing the way Fluttershy had changed it up, adding even more digital vegetation, until the walls were covered in green grass and flowers, dotted with trees of plastic, with birds flying overhead, rendered as 3D models that interacted with the world around them. "I love what you've done with your room. It's like a little slice of Equestrian wilderness. It's so calming every time I come in." She let out a soft whistle of amusement as she noticed a deer lumbering past, flicking an ear as the animal did the same to her.
"Oh, that." Fluttershy blushed as she picked up a small remote, pointing it at the deer, and then the trees, making them fade away until the walls were just bare metal again. "I couldn't sleep well. The sound of the ship bothered me, so I decided to get some proper rest."
Twilight buried her larger snout into Fluttershy's neck. "I wasn't asking you to turn it off. You room is a delightfully relaxing place to visit." She fluttered her wings once as she pulled her head back out, pressing a hoof to the wall, right beside the panel where Fluttershy's instruments were displayed. "The noise of the ship bothers me, too. I still find myself annoyed by the thumps and hums of a ship that was built by the best minds in all Equestria."
She raised a hoof in a slow wave. "So the little sounds of nature you surround yourself with? I'm thankful every chance I have for it. Thank you." She gave her fellow pony a peck on the cheek, delighting in the way Fluttershy flushed in response to her. "And don't be afraid to let me know when you're running low on anything. As soon as we land, we'll be able to sort things out."
"And when is that?" Rainbow arrived with a powerful flap of her wings. "We were moments away from doing that until you called it all off, Twi!" She jerked a hoof towards the nearest window. "You had me pull back at the last second! We were so close to landing!"
Twilight didn't budge an inch as she met Rainbow's gaze firmly. "Your words say you're annoyed, but I can hear the concern in your voice." She sighed gently. "We want the world we land on to be ready to receive us. It isn't. Have you been monitoring their broadcasts?"
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "No. They send out so much stuff, and half of it is so boring! Why would I listen to people babble on about weather patterns, or who's the best at hitting a little white ball?" She flapped her wings, only for them to strike against Twilight's face with a smack, the sudden air current striking Fluttershy moments later, nearly bowling her over in a great gust of wind. "It's time to do things! I've been waiting on this ship for too long already."
"Have you?" Twilight smirked lightly, brushing off the blow from Rainbow's wing as if it was nothing more than a gentle breeze. "We came here in only a month, after thousands of years. Waiting one or two more is nothing in comparison." She gestured and a hologram of earth sprang into being before her as she curled her arms around it. "A captivating blue marble. Its people yearn for peace, but all the conflict is also of their making. They hope for a miracle, but fear sudden changes."
She spread her wings to encompass it all. "A dangerous, little world. One that needs a firm grasp to guide it in the right direction, and they have no leader to offer one. Each nation is their own, with different ways and values. I suppose I can't fault them. Ponies had their moments when they fractured and forgot they were all ponies, in the end. Still, we'll mend them and make them strong, together."
Fluttershy raised a hoof shyly. "Uhm, maybe we should just focus on the North Americans for now? They're our friends, and if we help them, they'll be able to help us in return." She fluttered her wings gently, frowning as she did so, and an image of the planet was summoned before her.
She reached out, painting Canada and America with her touches. "We've already spoken to these two, and they seem to have considerable weight, um, politically speaking?" She squinted at the world map before her, studying it closely. "That said, there's the European Union, which is a gathering of a lot of countries together."
Twilight dipped her head as she pulled away from the larger Earth projection, sending it over to Fluttershy instead. "If you'd be willing, I'd like to hear your thoughts on how we should move forward. The humans speak more languages than I care to count this moment. Many of them come with a nation of their own."
Rainbow tossed up both her forehooves. "How does this get us down there any faster?!" She kicked the floor and moved to sit at the back of the room, not looking at Twilight as she pouted about what was going on around her, sitting by herself in the corner as Fluttershy pointed at one map after another, growing more animated with each one as she considered all the different paths they could take.
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Hmmm.... It feels like Twilight has some plans that humans might not agree to.
i sense war comeing...
When did Fluttershy get hands?
It's cool that Twilight can freely teleport to and from the ship. I agree that it's unfair that in most alien invasion stories/movies, they focus on the good ol' U S of A. Except for Dr. Who, which focuses on London. (Gee, I wonder why...)
11900678
Fix, though I don't remember specifically mentioning Twilight teleporting around. Still, that is a power we've seen her do outside this fic quite a bit.
The English Language is Turing Complete.
It has a mind of its own, as well as Yours.
Thousands of Years, a Month to get there, and are having problems running simple replicators with solar power?
Makes me think of Riker as the memory form hacking the system from within because he didnt like the aliens running the computer running the simulation?
11900689
When she appeared out of nowhere, and then spread her wings and disappeared, I assumed that she teleported. Was it astral projection, or a hologram?
11900723
Oh! Sorry. I clearly didn't represent that well. That was just an image. Twilight did not actually penetrate American landspace nor airspace. She reached out to humans already in the right mindspace and did a little magic to complete their wishes to see her.
When is China going to get equal time? Stop being so Euro centric. China has all of Africa, Cental America, South America and most of Asia with them, like three quarters of the world. The ponies have spent too much time watching American TV and the BBC (that would explain the English bias).
One can estimate the distance to Equestria based on their TV watching. TV signals are lightspeed and Twilight watched the original Star Trek, so I place the distance at around 50 light years.
>>Booster Spice
Find Equestria, locate potentially habitable star systems within 50 light years, Equestria has to be one of them.
11900532
It's all good. Nothing to fear. No uprisings.
Twilight is going to start "capping" them.
The Tripods from the BBC did that, and the humans were nice and docile afterwards.
But like the author says - Twilight is a smart girl.
She learns from the mistakes of others.
The brain caps will have the latest OverHarmony chip installed, plus its sister chip LyricAugmentation.
Humans will be too busy bursting into song to worry about uprising.
The ponies' actions, particularly Twilight's, are starting to feel disturbingly Conversion Bureau-ish.
11900776
A quick search says that reduces it down to 300'sh possible choices.
Twilight accidentally gaining cultists who suddenly try to disrobe because of a misunderstood turn of phrase sounds like a typical thread on 4chan's MLP board.
Joking aside, Twilight basically saying "you can have magic you are wise and experienced enough to not blow yourselves up with it" seems reasonable.
Hopefully things won't get too much more dangerous just yet, even though Earth politics are naturally very complicated, especially with all the weapons everywhere.
11900979
Twilight gaining cultists seems inevitable.
11901014
That sounds fair, she seems pretty goddess like.
I got 64 G type stars within 50 light years, that's not so many. Using a bracket range of 40 to 50 light years should reduce that even more. Some low mass K type stars could also have habitable planets. Planets in the habitable zone of smaller stars are tidally locked. Bigger stars have too much radiation or are too unstable.