Starlight had only just finished casting the translation spell upon her friends when two pegasus fillies and one mare landed nearby to the general consternation of the humans.
"I thought they weren't supposed to show up until later," Starlight said.
Kevin smiled faintly. "The yellow one is Laura Tanner. I shouldn't be surprised she led the charge to get here early. If you don't need me for anything else, I should go smooth things over."
"We're fine," said Starlight. "Thanks for agreeing to help with the translation spell."
Kevin smiled more fully before heading away.
"<Oh, this is so exciting, I'm about ready to explode!>" Pinkie said in Equestrian. When the yellow pegasus filly looked towards her, she waved a fore-hoof wildly. "<Hi, new-ponies-who-shouldn't-be-ponies-but-we're-going-to-call-you-that-for-now-anyway!>"
"<Ah, Pinkie, dear,>" said Rarity, gently poking Pinkie's side. She cleared her throat and continued in English. "Perhaps you should use their native language."
"Oops, sorry!" Pinkie said before repeating her greeting.
Fluttershy's eyes suddenly widened, and she blushed. "I'm not sure I like how many swear words this language has."
"You don't have to use them," said Starlight. "I don't." After a pause she muttered, "Not much, anyway."
Applejack smiled. "Don't worry about it none, Fluttershy. I ain't about ta go usin' that there rough language anyway. I got lotsa other ways ta express stuff like that."
Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Now just how did you manage that?"
Applejack eyed her warily. "Uh, manage wut?"
Rarity smiled. "Not to put too fine a point on it, darling, but even in a foreign language, you somehow still sound like a country bumpkin."
Applejack smirked. "Flattery will get ya nowhere."
Fluttershy giggled as the bird perched in her mane flitted over to her haunches. "I'm just happy I can speak to the creatures here as well as at home. Though, um, their language is a bit more salty as well."
Starlight remembered their first unintentional contact with a native when Twilight tried to disguise them as the local wildlife. "Uh, yeah, the animals here are not like back in Equestria. We found out the hard way that their deer aren't sapient."
"Yes, I did sense that," said Fluttershy. "This world is really different from ours."
"Ya ain't kiddin'," said Applejack. "I almost couldn't believe they could do all this without magic. I'd love ta see how they do their farmin'."
"It's a lot more complicated than what earth ponies do back home," said Starlight.
"It's too bad Sunset felt she had to change these humans just to give them magic," said Rarity. "Perhaps they would find magic useful."
"We better not go down that rabbit hole," said Applejack. "Like Twilight said, we gotta stick ta the idea that this world ain't supposed ta have magic in the first place. This is more like tellin' them what they can do if they're stuck with it anyway."
"From the way these pegasi flew in, it appears they've become used to magic already," said Rarity.
"That's the whole problem," said Starlight. "Sunset made it so natural for them to be ponies that they act as if they've been that way since birth."
Starlight refrained from pointing out what to her was -- to use an Earthism -- the elephant in the room. She had not discussed it openly with Twilight for fear of getting into an argument. Starlight had a lot of trouble with the idea of changing them back to human against their will. All she could think of was how she had gone against the will of the ponies of Our Town once they came to realize that they truly did miss their cutie marks. She realized this was a different situation, but she still struggled with bad memories of the past.
Pinkie jabbed a hoof in the direction Kevin had gone. "Hey, look, they're coming over here!"
Starlight turned as Kevin approached, the three humans-turned-ponies and several Secret Service agents in tow. She was taken by how much the ponies looked like native Equestrians. The only thing really out of place was the adult mare with no cutie mark. Even their scent was similar enough that they could pass for tourists in Ponyville.
Kevin gestured towards his Equestrian compatriots as he said, "This one is called Starlight Glimmer."
Starlight nodded and smiled faintly. "Hello."
"And these are her friends, Rarity ..." Kevin continued.
"Hello, dears."
"Applejack ..."
"Howdy."
"Pinkie Pie ..."
"Hellohellohello!"
"And Fluttershy."
"Um, hi."
The three pegasi exchanged bemused looks before the yellow and orange filly Kevin had referred to as Laura said, "Those are interesting names. I don't think I've ever heard ones like that before."
The purple-furred filly with the tri-colored red and orange hair turned to her yellow companion. "Are we supposed to have names like that now?"
"I'm not sure," said Laura. She smiled. "They do sound kind of neat."
The white-coated pegasus mare chuckled. "I wouldn't even know what kind of name like that to pick for myself."
"Don't need ta go changin' yer names on our account," said Applejack. "Besides, things are kinda different where we come from."
"In that case, I'm Laura," said Laura. She gestured towards the purple filly. "This is Emma." She indicated the white mare. "And Joan."
"I like those names myself," said Pinkie. "I wouldn't change a single letter."
"They're who ya are, after all," said Applejack.
Laura slowly smiled. "I guess you're right."
"These ponies are from another world," said Kevin.
Emma stared. "But they look like us."
"Are you saying they're aliens?" asked Joan.
"Yes!" Pinkie said. "We just don't have antennae or icky tentacles or ray guns. And we're not here to steal your water or your women."
Rarity stared at Pinkie. "What??"
"Oh, and we don't put icky things in you that burst out of you later, and then some woman with lots of weapons has to go hunt it down."
"Pinkie, where in the world are you getting this stuff?"
Pinkie smiled. "Just something that I got from Starlight's translation spell."
"But I didn't get ..." Rarity trailed off. "Never mind."
"They're from the same world as Sunset Shimmer," said Kevin.
Laura flinched.
Joan gave Fluttershy a bemused look. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, how are you doing that?"
"Hmm?" Fluttershy said as a chipmunk scampered up to her and settled at her fore-hooves to nibble on a nut. "How do I do what?"
"Get all those animals to sit still like that?"
Fluttershy smiled. "Oh, that! That's my talent. I can communicate with animals."
Emma stared. "You can?"
"Is that another pony thing?" Joan asked.
"Well, it's my thing, so to speak," said Fluttershy.
Laura glanced at Fluttershy's side. "Um, you're a pegasus, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"So don't you control the weather in your world?"
Fluttershy chuckled. "Oh, no, I don't do anything like that. I hardly use my wings, actually."
Laura's eyes went wide. "Not use your wings??"
Fluttershy blushed and scraped a fore-hoof on the ground. "I mean, I can use them, and I do. I'm just not a strong flier. If you want to talk to a strong flier, my friend Rainbow Dash is--"
"She may not be the best example to use right now, dear," said Rarity gently. She turned towards the native ponies. "Surely some of you had interests before you became ponies."
Joan was the first to respond. "I did some work with bird rehabilitation."
"You did?" said Fluttershy. "What kind of rehabilitation?"
"I trained with professionals who helped wildlife in the wake of oil spills."
"Oil? I'm not sure I understand.”
"She means petroleum," said Kevin. "It's a kind of fuel burned for energy, but it's nasty stuff if it gets loose in the environment. It can coat birds' feathers and prevent them from flying."
"Then bird rehabilitation sounds like important work," said Fluttershy.
Joan smiled. "I didn't do it for very long, but yes, it was rewarding. I've done less drastic rehabilitation since then. It's how I was able to help us care for our wings."
"She's really good at that," said Laura.
Fluttershy smiled. "I'd love to talk to you more about it."
"Well, sure," said Joan in a slightly bemused voice. "Though it's not something I'm going to be doing now."
"An' why not?" Applejack asked.
Joan hesitated and glanced at her friends. "We have other things we can do. That we should be doing."
"Nothin' says ya can't do what ya like ta do." Applejack looked at Emma. "What 'bout you? Did ya have something ya liked to do before all this started?"
"Well," Emma said in a halting voice. "I was interested in sewing."
"Oh, really, now?" Rarity said with a smile.
"I mean, I wasn't that great at it, but--"
"Don't sell yourself short," said Joan. "Laura told me how well you adjusted your clothing when you were still changing."
Emma slowly smiled.
"We simply must talk more on that," said Rarity.
"But it's not something I can do now," said Emma.
"Why not?"
"Well, hooves don't really work well with that."
"Nonsense," Rarity declared. "I have a friend who does quite well for herself where fashion design is concerned, and she's an earth pony."
Emma's eyes widened. "An earth pony designing clothes? But ..."
Applejack grinned. "An' ya prob'ly thought all earth ponies did was farmin'."
Laura looked towards her. "You don't?"
"Me? I'm an apple farmer through and through. My family's been doin' it fer generations. But I got me a li'l sister who's gonna find her future off the farm, an' that's jus' fine and dandy with me."
"And I haven't farmed a single day in my life!" said Pinkie. "Wellll, technically we called what we did on the rock farm farming, but that's not quite the same thing."
Laura glanced first at the butterflies of Fluttershy's cutie mark, and then the balloons of Pinkie's. "Um, if I may ask, what do you do?" she asked of Pinkie.
Pinkie threw her forelegs wide. "I make ponies happy!"
Laura blinked in astonishment as a party horn sounded from nowhere and confetti materialized out of nothing and fluttered down around them. Starlight wondered if subjecting the native ponies to Pinkie Pie right from the start was a good idea.
"I can throw some of the best parties," said Pinkie. "I'd love to throw a Welcome To Ponykind party for every one of your friends."
"Ah, Pinkie--" Rarity began.
"Oh, yes, right, I forgot, they're not supposed to be ponies. Maybe a Welcome To Being Ponies Until Twilight Comes Up With A Whiz-Bang Way To Change You Back party?"
"Not supposed to be ponies?" Laura said. "That doesn't make any sense. We are ponies."
"But you weren't before," said Pinkie.
"Does that matter?"
Starlight raised a hoof. "Pinkie, don't try to debate the point, it's no use. That's not what we're here for."
"I agree, but I am innerested as to what this here filly did before all this happened," said Applejack.
"Who, me?" Laura said in an uncertain voice. "Well, nothing, really."
"Ya sure? Nothing ya really had a callin' fer or something ya could do really well?"
Laura shook her head. "Nothing. I felt like I was just drifting through life."
"That can happen ta the best of us, sugarcube. It can be jus' a matter of time before ya find it."
"But I already have," Laura protested. "I can fly. I can make clouds. All three of us made a cloud on our first attempt, and it was indoors."
Starlight wondered how many more humans had seen this transformation as Laura had: giving them a purpose that they didn't have before. It was hard not to want to be happy for this young pony.
"And it was fun to do," said Emma.
"And I want to see what else I can do," said Joan.
"Of course," said Applejack. "Our point is, jus' don't loose sight of what else ya like ta do."
"I really don't have anything else," said Laura.
"Yet."
Laura looked towards the sky for a moment. "Right now, all I care about is what I can do as a pegasus. It's not because I have to, but because I want to. I know that this was done purposely to us for reasons I don't completely understand, but I honestly don't care anymore."
"What Applejack means, dear, is that the course of your life is not set in stone," said Rarity. "Even if you acquire a cutie mark, nothing says you cannot pursue other interests."
"Yes, about that," said Laura. "When does a cutie mark happen?"
Starlight raised an eyebrow. "You know about cutie marks? Did you learn that from Sunset?"
"No, she never mentioned them at all. It was just something that came to me."
"It did to all of us eventually," said Emma. "But Laura thought of it first."
Starlight thought back to some of her earliest research into cutie mark magic. The one thing she could never quite figure out was its ultimate source. She had left the question unanswered when she realized it was irrelevant for what she originally wanted to do.
Nothing in Sunset's transformation spell referenced cutie marks, yet Derpy had acquired one anyway. They had speculated that it was simply inherent to being a pony. Young ponies in Equestria learned about cutie marks at an early age from their parents and teachers, but what if the very knowledge of it was indeed inherent as well?
"But I don't know all the details," said Laura. "Just that it's very significant, like a rite of passage. From talking to the other ponies, I'm not the only one starting to think about it."
Starlight looked at her friends and could tell they were in something of a quandary. A cutie mark was not something one was supposed to discourage a pony from getting. "All we can really say is that it's not something you can force into being," Starlight said. "It happens when it's time to happen, and even then you may still need to figure out exactly what it means. You don't need to dwell on it all the time."
Applejack chuckled. "My li'l sister and her friends fretted about it for a long time, an' it jus' happened one day when they weren't really expectin' it."
"I just feel like it would make me complete somehow," said Laura. "I keep hearing about how we're not supposed to be like this, and I'm afraid somepony will want to take all this away from me. Maybe if I have a cutie mark, they'd think twice about it."
Starlight almost shivered at how close Laura had come to the truth.
"I think she has a point, though, Laura," said Joan. "No need to worry yourself about it."
"I just want to have some fun seeing what I can do," said Emma. "Having a cutie mark would be cool, but I'm not really all that worried about it." She glanced at Rarity. "Especially since there might be more things that I can do than I thought."
Starlight watched as Laura looked thoughtful. From her size, she couldn't be more than maybe sixteen or seventeen, yet she seemed far more mature than her age. It was little wonder her friends looked to her as a sort of leader.
Laura turned her head. By this time, other pegasi had landed, and the approaching sound of diesel engines heralded the arrival of the first transport. "We better go and get with the others." She turned back towards Starlight and her friends. "It was really nice to meet you all. Will you be staying for a while?"
"Of course," said Pinkie. "We want to meet all the ponies!"
Laura smiled before she and her friends flew off.
"I'm not sure we should have started talking to them until the rest arrived," said Rarity. "Twilight gave the impression we were to talk to them as a group."
"Yeah, but as I got ta thinkin' about it, I realized that the biggest problem we're facin' is their herd instinct," said Applejack. "Talkin' ta them as one big group is jus' gonna play along with that. We gotta get 'em thinkin' like individuals."
"Applejack has a point," said Starlight. "And Twilight did give us latitude to decide how to approach this."
Pinkie suddenly thrust a hoof past Starlight. "Oo, something's up!"
Starlight turned just as a Secret Service agent came rushing over. "Miss Glimmer? You're needed back at the magic lab at once."
"What's going on?" Starlight asked.
"Miss Sparkle needs to consult with you. She said it had something to do with Sunset's cutie mark."
Starlight arrived at the lab in the basement of Sunset's house to find Twilight slowly pacing about the pedestal which held the jar containing Sunset's cutie mark. Ever since it had been placed there, four heavily armed soldiers had stood watch over it, but now they had stepped away to allow Twilight access.
Starlight's eyes widened. When she had last seen the cutie mark, it was floating serenely in the center of the jar. Now it jittered about like a nervous firefly. “Uhh, it shouldn't be doing that.”
Twilight looked towards Starlight. "I know, which is why I called you. It started about twenty minutes ago. I can't figure out why or if we need to be worried about it."
Starlight stepped up to the jar and peered into it. She lighted her horn. "I'm not sensing any active tampering."
"I didn't, either," said Twilight as she turned away. "I decided to let you handle this so I can get back to finishing Sunset's spell."
"How's that working out?" Starlight asked without taking her eyes from the jar.
"It's progressing, if slower than I wanted," said Twilight in a tired voice. "I've had to adjust my request for materials twice now. I fear I'm running the mages ragged back home."
"They could use the exercise," Starlight quipped. "What about the thaumic pulse? Have they done that?"
"Yes, it went off without any problems despite the power outage. Apparently the EAS towers have their own isolated electrical supply. It's too soon to tell whether it had the appropriate effect."
Starlight lifted the jar in her magic and brought it closer. "Well, like all cutie marks I've taken, I can feel it trying to reunite with its owner."
"I was concerned that pull had become stronger somehow," said Twilight.
"I don't think that's what's happening here. It's more like it's being buffeted around by eddies in the magic flow, like a leaf in the wind."
"Could the buildup of transformation magic be doing that? It's at the point where it's saturating even my senses."
Starlight narrowed her eyes and cast another spell, magical energy spiraling around the jar and into the air above it. She studied the pattern for a few moments before blinking in surprise. "No, not transformation magic. Cutie mark magic."
Twilight looked towards her. "Wait, what?"
Starlight replaced the jar and turned towards her friend. "In many ways, cutie mark magic is mysterious and my knowledge of it is incomplete. But it's still magic, and it follows the same tenets as other magic types, which means its flow can be detected when present."
"Is that even possible? I thought it was more a passive thing."
"Yes, it's passive after the mark appears," said Starlight. "But before that, it can be sensed. If I had gone forward with my original plans, I would've devoted research to finding how to sense when a young pony would get their cutie mark and intercept or interrupt it somehow."
"But the surge for an individual pony would be rather strong and fast, almost like trying to catch a bullet from one of the human's guns."
"Yes, but when it's starting to build up for potentially thousands or millions of ponies, it kinda gets a lot more noticeable," said Starlight. "I had theorized that there was a prelude to being marked, like an actor waiting offstage to make an entrance." She glanced at the jar. "Apparently, my theory was correct. What a way to find out."
Twilight's eyes widened. "But if you are correct, that could mean that many of these transformed humans are closer to attaining a cutie mark than we ever thought!"
"Possibly," said Starlight. "It's all speculation at this point."
Twilight face-hoofed. "As if we don't have enough deadlines! Is there any way you can stop or stall this?"
"Not a chance. Even if I had completed that research, this is a scale beyond what I could hope to do anything about."
Twilight took a deep breath. "All right, no need to panic. My friends are going to talk to the transformed humans and show them that they can decide what to do for themselves. If they can get enough of them rethinking their lives, that could delay their cutie marks for a while."
"Let's hope so," said Starlight. "I have no idea if the presence of the magic means it's a done deal or not. Honestly, when it comes to cutie marks, I'm beginning to think a human term applies very well to me: one-hit wonder. About the only other idea I've ever come up with is an enchantment to temporarily switch cutie marks, and I don't see any use for that."
"Starlight, I know you said this may be beyond your abilities, but please see if there is anything you can do," said Twilight. "Even if it's just understanding better the nature of what's happening."
"I'll do my best." Starlight turned back towards the jar. "But I have a more immediate concern."
Twilight glanced at the jar. "Sunset's cutie mark?"
"If it is responding to the flow of cutie mark magic, this buffeting may get worse and potentially damage the enchantment on the glass."
"Maybe we should send it through the portal," said Twilight. "That would remove it from the buffeting, wouldn't it?"
"Maybe," said Starlight. "Right now, that sounds like the best option."
"We'll have to clear it with Mr. Heller, but I doubt he'll object."
"I'll take care of it," said Starlight. "You focus on Sunset's spell."
"Thank you. I'll bring this up with Princess Celestia. She's currently looking for a means to contact Triss so I can speak with her."
Starlight frowned. "I'm going to be honest with you, Twilight. I don't know whether we can trust her completely."
"I'd like some questions answered myself," said Twilight.
For Starlight, it ran deeper than that, but she had trouble putting it into words. She saw how Celestia, another immortal being far younger than Triss, had taken upon herself the decision to suppress the memories of all her subjects. In Starlight's mind, part of why Celestia did it was because she had the power to do so. She had read that Celestia accrued her power over time, thus she could only imagine what kind of power a being billions of years older could possess, or what her mindset was concerning using that power to her own ends.
The humans had another saying: absolute power corrupts absolutely. Had she heard that phrase before all this had started, she would've considered Celestia to be an exception. Yet while casting the memory suppression spell was not a fall to corruption per se, it did represent an action that ponies considered outside the norm for her. Who knew what a being like Triss might do?
As Starlight settled into the role of being the primary contact for the humans to allow Twilight to work uninterrupted on her plans for the counterspell -- or Operation Bright Sunrise as the humans called it -- she began to appreciate the huge task that Twilight would have after the crisis was over. Starlight doubted she would ever have the patience for it.
"I'll have to clear this with my superiors," said Anthony. "But I think they'll acquiesce if it means preventing Sunset from regaining her abilities, especially if there's a clear danger."
"I actually don't know if there's any danger," said Starlight. "I just want to be careful."
"Agreed."
"Meanwhile, I have a request." Starlight levitated a dozen gems over towards Anthony's side of the table. "These hold an enchantment that some of our mages back home have cast. It's designed to tell if the thaumic pulse had any effect."
Anthony picked up and examined one of the gems. "How do they work?"
"Bring one to an area you want to check and tap the gem three times," said Starlight. "If the gem glows green, then it's detected that new transformations have been halted temporarily. If it glows some other color, note what color it is and let me know."
"How large an area does one of these check?"
"Not very large. No more than a hundred miles. So you'll just have to take a random sample and call it good. Twilight is fairly certain that if they all turn up green, we're good."
Anthony put down the gem and turned to another agent. "Arrange for these to be flown out at once. Let Washington figure out where they want to test."
"Yes, sir," said the agent as he stood and took out his cell phone.
Starlight glanced at the agent as he stepped away from the table. "You still have cell phone coverage?"
"The towers have their own backup power," said Anthony. "And we've temporarily knocked civilians off the networks except for emergency systems like 911."
Starlight was only slowly coming to understand how Earth technology worked, but already she could see things she wished Equestria had. Certainly being able to pick up a device and within seconds speak to someone on the other side of the world as easily as talking to someone next door would be a boon. Foals who had grown up and left home to seek their own future could be contacted in seconds instead of days as it would be via mail.
At the same time, she saw the downsides. Even their first day on this world, she had smelled the pollution given off by just one vehicle. Since then, it remained an ever-present and unpleasant odor that she had to ignore. She could see other reasons now why the transformed might not want to be changed back. In their new forms, they could do things that needed no polluting technology to accomplish.
Yet she was not here to judge the humans. They had no magic, and they had to find other ways to accomplish the same tasks. She just wished that Sunset had found a less invasive way to introduce magic to them.
"Your request about Sunset's cutie mark dovetails into something I wanted to talk to you about," said Anthony. He slid a folder across the table. "I want to know if we need to be worried about this."
Starlight opened the folder with her magic. Inside was the transcript of an interview with a person named Robert McDermott describing his vision. "When did this happen?"
"This morning. He had Sunset's vision last night just as he completed his transformation."
Starlight frowned. "I told you the psychic shield I set up around Josie probably wouldn't work. Dream magic is not the same as mind magic."
"That's not why I called your attention to it, but now that you brought it up, do you have any alternate ideas?"
Starlight had almost replied "nothing short of killing the night ponies" but didn't want to give the humans any more ideas than they already had. She really didn't care for how harsh their justice system was. She could only speculate what they would have done to her in wake of her attempt to tamper with the timeline, or even what she did in Our Town considering how much they threw the term "brainwashing" about.
That was another reason she would not want Twilight's job after this was over: she would have to constantly walk the tightrope of concealing her past transgressions from a suspicious humanity.
"Not at the moment," Starlight said.
"What about temporarily relocating the night ponies to Equestria as you're doing with Sunset's cutie mark?"
"Yeah, that could work, but we'd have to round up all of them, and I thought Sandra said earlier that there's been reports of full transformations outside the emergency zone. Night ponies are linked together in the dream world. Soon as one got the vision, they all did." Starlight gestured to the transcript. "So back to this. Am I reading this right? He was able to challenge the figure in the vision?"
"He's the unofficially adopted son of the Tanners," said Anthony. "He was told of Sunset's culpability."
"Then I'd say this is proof that Twilight was right, that they can still think for themselves."
"That's not the point I want to debate. I'm more concerned with the final part of the vision. It almost suggests that he didn't need to worry about Sunset because she'll be all right in the end. I wouldn't be concerned about this if it wasn't for what's happening with Sunset's cutie mark."
"You think someone is going to help her escape?"
"Considering that at least one member of the same family seems to be ignoring the revelation concerning Sunset and is still happy and content to be a pony -- and has expressed a desire to talk to Sunset herself -- yes, I feel it's a genuine concern."
Starlight set down the folder. "Maybe if Sunset had appeared in their vision, yeah, you'd have a point, but I think you're being a tiny bit paranoid. As far as I can tell, what's happening to her cutie mark has nothing to do with whatever anyone feels about her."
Starlight did admit to some concern, especially considering how unmarking Sunset had taken such effort, but the last thing she wanted was for the humans to reverse themselves concerning letting the transformed come together. She really felt like having her friends talk to them had a chance of working, if the encounter with Joan and Emma was any indication.
Anthony leaned forward. "Doctor Conner keeps harping on the idea that the transformed are not about to start an armed revolt. What he fails to understand is that with magic, it's entirely possible to execute a successful unarmed revolt.”
Starlight frowned. "The unicorns are wired for nothing more than the basic levitation spell. Given the friendship utopia that Sunset wanted to create, I doubt she would have taught them combat spells."
"We're more concerned with the pegasi," said Anthony. "Of all the pony tribes, they have the most potential to do damage on a large scale."
"Oh, come on!"
"Perhaps they can't fire missiles or drop bombs, but being able to induce a crippling drought or flood might be just as effective."
"Ponies would never do such a thing!" Starlight proclaimed.
"You mean Equestrian ponies would never do such a thing. Who knows what the exact mindset of these ponies will be when they see that they won't be living in a universal pony utopia?"
"Try asking them," Starlight retorted. "Oh, wait, never mind. They're too brainwashed for that."
Anthony folded his hands and regarded Starlight with forced patience. "Perhaps this should wait until Twilight has more time."
Starlight wanted to agree. She had no idea how Twilight managed to put up with this. Starlight admitted she was looking through a more narrow lens; the transformed humans were largely indistinguishable from ponies back home, other than their heightened herd instinct which Equestrian ponies themselves had at one point in the past.
"Well, sorry, you're stuck with me," said Starlight. "Look, I get it, you don't understand what's going to happen. That's why my friends are here. Don't be fooled by their unassuming nature. Fluttershy may be timid, but I'm told she stared down a freaking dragon about a hundred times her size and made it cry. Hell, she stared down a damn cockatrice! Oh, but, wait, she's a pegasus, too, so now you're going to worry that--"
"All right, enough," said Anthony. "I get it."
"I hope so. All we want is a chance to fix this. You trusted us this far; we're asking for just a little more. The pegasi will not be wreaking havoc with your weather. If you think it will help, we can call on one more friend, a pegasus who's probably the best there is at both flying and weather control. She can make sure they don't cause a disaster by accident."
Anthony tapped a finger on the table. Starlight found that gesture annoying, but it generally meant he was about to come to a conclusion. "We're still going to keep the pegasi under close observation, especially Laura Tanner, considering her close ties to Sunset's human persona."
"From what I know of that filly, I doubt she'll be much of a threat."
"Still, I feel this is an adequate compromise until we're sure there is no plot concerning Sunset."
"Now that we got that out of the way, there's something else I wanted to talk about," said Starlight. "Twilight doesn't want to ask this question because she's afraid of the answer, so I'll ask it instead: what are your world's plans for Sunset?"
"That's still being discussed at a level far above me," said Anthony. "So all I have are possibilities."
"Please humor me and name some."
"There's talk of putting her on trial similar to the way the Nazis were at Nuremberg. She would be given a chance to defend her actions, but it's unlikely going to sway anyone."
"I already consider her a crazy-ass nutball even if Twilight doesn't," said Starlight.
"The bulk of the discussion revolves around what to do with her upon a guilty verdict. You may believe that we would jump at the chance to execute her, but not every head of state condones the death sentence, even in a situation like this. In that case, the question becomes how to incarcerate her without risking her using her magic to escape, even for only as long as it takes to try her."
"If you keep her separated from her cutie mark, there's not a lot she can do."
"But can you guarantee that? I've heard you openly admit that cutie mark magic is still very much a mystery to you."
Starlight could have explained to him that she managed to keep the cutie marks of an entire town away from their owners for some time before she was discovered, but that would have meant admitting her duplicitous past.
Anthony leaned back in his seat. "That leaves us with some rather unsavory options, such as surgically removing or breaking her horn."
Starlight's stomach turned. "That's disgusting!"
"As I said--"
"It's also outright mutilation, and we won't have any part in that," Starlight snapped. "Considering how many blood vessels are in a unicorn horn, you'd likely kill her anyway in the attempt."
"As I said, these are only possibilities right now," said Anthony. "I am sure they will want to talk to Twilight first before deciding anything."
Starlight hoped they would, because she doubted she could get through more of this conversation without getting sick. She hopped off the chair. "I better get back to the settlement and see how my friends are doing. And, yeah, don't worry, if anyone there is fomenting rebellion, you'll be the first to know."
She trotted out before Anthony could say another word.
Twilight gazes at the ethereal corridor with both fondness and wistfulness. Here is where she had gained her Ascension, something she had not thought would ever happen – or even could happen. It is a reminder of the enormous responsibility she took on that day. She wants to think that she would not have had it any other way even if she had known what sort of decisions and challenges awaited her.
Celestia smiles as she steps up to her former student. "You remember this place?"
"It's hard not to," Twilight says in a hushed voice. "It made me what I am today."
"You made you what you are today, Twilight," Celestia replies. "Never forget that. I am little more than an arbiter when it comes to Ascension. Even this place is just a facilitator. Perhaps I still do not know the exact nature of the forces which govern this place, nor why they once considered Sunset worthy of such, but nothing is arbitrary about it."
"And Flurry Heart?"
"She is still a mystery to me. I imagine none of us will understand until she is older, perhaps not until she gains her cutie mark."
Twilight's face becomes troubled as she is reminded of what could be about to happen on Earth. "We better get going, I need to get back to work on that magic mirror."
Celestia nods. "Come with me."
Twilight falls into step beside Celestia. "Star Singer told me you're the one Triss really wants to see."
"As grateful as I am to Triss -- if she indeed was the being who warned me upon reaching the second threshold -- I wish to meet her under less dire circumstances, especially after some of the doubts you expressed about her."
"I hope I'm wrong," Twilight says. "I hope there's some other explanation."
"I do as well." Celestia stops and lifts a hoof. "Over there."
Ahead is a diffuse circle of pale white light. Twilight can sense the portal magic even from there. "You managed to interface this plane with Sunset's portal!"
Celestia smiles. "Thanks to your equations."
"I wasn't sure they would work in this realm."
Celestia turns to Twilight. "You have a far greater understanding of magic than you give yourself credit for, beyond that even of Starswirl the Bearded."
Twilight's pupils shrink, and her ears draw back. "What?? No, Starswirl is beyond comparison, he--"
"Twilight," Celestia says firmly. "Nopony can be thought of as so powerful or clever that nopony else can aspire to reach their level of prowess. Even me. When you cross that second threshold, you have the potential to become more powerful than either myself or Luna."
Twilight swallows hard. It is bad enough she may have to decide the fate of Sunset, but to hear she may have even bigger responsibilities waiting for her is just a little too much for her to take in. "All right, let me take care of this."
"If you can, please present to Triss my idea concerning a means to contact Sunset."
"I will."
Twilight approaches the circle of light. She pauses before it, takes a deep breath, and steps through.
At once she is in another place. Her eyes widen. Everything here emphasizes the vastness of this universe, even on the macroscopic scale in which she trods. Galaxies at her hooves, stars in the air, great displays of distant and myriad planets all serve to make her feel like she is no more than a tiny speck, a single grain of sand on a cosmic beach.
Yet she can already sense she is not alone, even before a voice says, "You must be Twilight Sparkle. Welcome."
Twilight turns, and she is at once reminded of her last trip to the dragon kingdom when her gaze falls upon the golden-crowned form which approaches her on claws as quiet as pegasi hooves on clouds. "And you are Triss," Twilight says in a voice betraying a small amount of wonder at seeing such an immeasurably old being.
Triss smiles as she sits down upon her haunches. "I admit, I had hoped to see Princess Celestia, but I am glad to meet you as well."
"You understand that I'm trying to stop what's happening on Earth?"
Triss nods once. "I do. I contacted Star Singer specifically to help in that effort."
"Unfortunately, it didn't deter Sunset."
"But at least you know the truth about the threat she brings upon this world."
Twilight cannot help but be in awe of this creature. She thought Celestia to be old, but her former mentor is but a foal compared to a being like this. She feels that Triss could teach her things about magic that are no more than glimmers of possibility in her own thoughts.
She shakes off these musings for now. "But is it the whole truth?"
Triss tilts her head. "I do not understand."
"Is there something else you should tell me?"
"I know a great deal that you do not about this universe, but to share all that knowledge would take centuries, even millennia."
"That's not what I mean," Twilight says a little more sharply than intended. "I want to know if you took any other action in this crisis. Was contacting Star Singer the only thing you did?"
Triss regards Twilight with a glistening gaze for a long moment before she finally replies in a soft voice, "You sound like you already know, or you wouldn't be asking me."
"Sunset never planned for the crystal ponies. There's no way she could. But a being like you who may have had glimpses into Equestria over the eons--"
"They're not exactly like the crystal ponies of your world," Triss states. "For example, the ones of your world could never do what you intend concerning your counterspell."
Twilight's eyes widen. "You already know what I plan to do? Are you watching me somehow?"
"Not exactly. You are a fellow great mage. I knew of Sunset's incomplete conduit spell. I knew what crystal ponies of Equestria could do. I knew what sort of enormous effort it would take to cast a counterspell, and I thus attempted to facilitate matters."
"So you did modify her transformation spell?"
"Yes."
"I don't understand," Twilight says in a rising voice. "If you have that sort of power, why didn't you outright stop her?"
Triss is quiet for a long moment. She raises her head and turns towards the round windows displaying the planetscapes. She sweeps a fore-claw towards them. "Have you looked at these, Twilight?"
Twilight lifts her gaze. "What about them?"
Triss points. "This one."
Twilight's breath catches as she sees what Star Singer had described: a world covered in husks of crystal towers.
"Or this one."
Now she is directed towards a landscape dominated by an enormous tree similar to the Tree of Harmony, except it is a long dead, crumbling shell.
"And this."
Twilight's stomach twists as her eyes fall upon an open graveyard of bleached white skeletons of deer-like creatures, forever preserved by the lack of atmosphere. She forces her gaze from it. "What's the purpose of showing me this?"
Triss lowers her now trembling fore-leg. "I have seen more death than any creature should be forced to endure no matter what her crime, and all because one civilization feared what they did not understand."
"Then that is all the more reason to want to stop Sunset right from the start!" Twilight cries. "Tell me the truth, Triss. Did you have the power to stop her?"
Triss takes a slow, deep breath. "I did."
"And why didn't you?!"
"Using the enormous power that opened up to me upon crossing the second threshold still takes great care, planning, and time," Triss explains. "I had exactly one chance to do the right thing."
"The right thing was stopping Sunset," Twilight declares. "Again, I ask, why didn't you?"
"You can look at these worlds and ask me that?!" Triss thunders.
Twilight gasps and steps back, her ears flattening.
"You have no idea what it's like to have watched quadrillions of beings die and knowing you're doomed to watch quadrillions more because you can do nothing to stop them!" Triss cries, her voice cracking. "I found myself asking, what if Sunset were partially successful, and a true technomagical society could be realized? They would have both the power to detect the Devourers, and the means and motivation to destroy them."
"I don't believe this," Twilight says. "You're as bad as Sunset!"
"You can say that after seeing all this death?"
"You don't have any more right to play with the destiny of a species than she does!" Twilight shouts.
"And if you were in my place, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and the destiny of a number of beings many orders of magnitude greater than your very age were at stake, what would you do?"
Twilight has no immediate answer as she is forced to recall her struggle with deciding the fate of a single pony. She also remembers the fear she shared with Sandra and Kevin about potential unborn foals who could be conceived before she has a chance to even attempt changing anyone back.
"I am not only thinking of this universe, but yours as well," says Triss.
"That's what Sunset said," says Twilight in a low voice.
"But not in the way she intends. What if a random portal opens close enough for a Devourer to detect Equestria? I don't want to see your people hurt any more than the magical beings of this universe."
Twilight frowns. "It's interesting how many of these words came from Sunset when she was trying to justify her actions."
"Do not equate me with her. I would never have advocated the forced transformation of an entire species, but I could not give up the opportunity that had presented itself."
"And you're doing the same thing Sunset did. You're ignoring humanity's own magical awakening!"
Triss pauses. "I beg your pardon?"
"You don't know?"
"Know what?"
"That there are humans who can passively channel magic."
Triss takes a step closer to Twilight, her voice more urgent. "Twilight, what are you telling me?"
"I'm telling you that humanity was on the brink of developing magic on their own! It would've taken millennia before it developed enough to be of any use, but that's a blink of an eye to a creature like you."
Triss remains silent, her expression somber and troubled.
"Granted, there's some question of whether Equestria was responsible," Twilight explains. "But that's beside the point. You could have stopped Sunset, humanity would develop magic on their own, and they could have achieved your grand purpose. They would've been introduced to magic slowly so their culture could assimilate it. Instead, you just helped give this planet an enormous culture shock. Magic will be feared instead of embraced, just like the civilization who created the Devourers in the first place! Who knows how long it will take before they come to some sort of accommodation?"
"I-I had no idea," Triss says in a quavering voice.
Twilight's heart aches as she contemplates whether to believe this creature or not. She ponders Triss' earlier question again: what would Twilight have done in a situation like this? She wants to believe she would have taken more time to pursue another solution.
Triss raises her shimmering gaze. "A species has never taken that long to develop magic. I never checked again because I didn't think I needed to."
Twilight takes a deep breath. "Then it is indeed possible that our explorers did something to awaken that potential. So in a way, we both bear responsibility for what happens to humanity."
Tears trickle from Triss' eyes. "You cannot imagine how much sorrow this brings me. I feel I have condemned this species as much as if they had come into magic on their own. I don't want to be responsible for the very death that I have lamented for billions of years!"
"Don't count them out just yet. If there's anything I've learned about humanity, it's that they are extremely tenacious and resourceful. Also, Princess Celestia is committed to helping in any way possible. If the humans are destined to have a pony population in their midst, we'll help them make it work."
"How can I help?" Triss begs. "Please, I want to help! I want to fix my horrible mistake!"
"Would it be possible to change the transformed back?"
"Sadly, no," says Triss. "It would take me enough time and preparation for such a feat that several generations of ponies would pass. Then I fear it would cause more harm than good."
"What about what you did with Star Singer?" Twilight asks. "Could you do something like that again?"
"Perhaps," Triss says. "With Star Singer, it was easier, as she had already reached out and contacted me. But for what purpose?"
"To help educate Sunset Shimmer on what she did wrong," Twilight declares. "And just maybe she will be repentant enough to help me and earn some mercy from the humans."