//------------------------------// // Settling In // Story: PonyFall: Australia // by Thunderbug80 //------------------------------// Settling In April 28, 2012 It took some time to sort out living arrangements for the Equestrians. The initial thought was that our groups would revert back to how they were before we'd all met up: I'd take Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Angel, John would take the Crusaders, and Matt and Michelle would take Twilight and Princess Luna. Matt then suggested that everyone with injuries should be left in his care, as he was the most qualified to ensure they healed properly. This meant that John, Apple Bloom, Angel, and Luna would go with him and Michelle to Moey's place. John insisted that he was fine, but agreed that Apple Bloom should probably continue to receive proper medical treatment. He offered to care for Sweetie and Scootaloo with Victoria at my place. Perhaps he could explain things to her, and it might be best if she was only exposed to Equestrians who were children for now. I was expecting Twilight to go with Matt's group, but she said she didn't want to be a distraction for those who needed Matt's expertise, so she offered to come along with my group to my mother-in-law's place. That's how I somehow ended up with Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Twilight Sparkle. I was going to ask how I was supposed to gain my wife's favor back if I agreed to house all of the Equestrian young women by myself, but the way Twilight looked at Pinkie and Fluttershy helped stay my tongue. She just wanted to be close to two of her best friends, and I didn't have the heart to try and stop her. Moey had actually brought a van, so he said he would drop John, Sweetie, and Scootaloo off with Victoria to save any awkwardness between her and I. When the time came for us to get moving, we all said our goodbyes and promised to keep in touch and visit whenever we could. Eventually Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and I all watched as the others squeezed into Moey's van and headed off to their new homes. After another twenty minutes or so of packing the last bits of gear into my car, the girls and I jumped in and started the journey home. Twilight, who was in the passenger's seat, busied herself with examining the dials on the radio and dashboard. "Matt never let me study anything in his car," she said when she noticed me watching her. I rolled my eyes and let her be. I was used to former ponies being fascinated by the mundane by now. Twilight seemed to appreciate my indifference, however, and jumped at the chance to have a play with the radio. After a few minutes of experimentation, she settled onto a radio station that was playing We Are Young by Fun. I couldn't help but notice Fluttershy silently bopping her head to the music in the rear view mirror. From this to Lady Gaga, her musical preferences certainly weren't what I once would have expected. The drive out to my mother-in-law's house took a little more than an hour. Most of that time was spent with the girls catching up on what had happened with each other over the previous few weeks. I suppose with all the excitement of the past few days, there really hadn't been much time for them to just sit and... well, talk. It gave me a chance to learn more of Twilight Sparkle's first few weeks on Earth. Twilight's first few days hadn't been much different from Pinkie's and Fluttershy's. She'd had the same questions about where she was, had similar reactions to, and the need to get used to, her new human form, and horror at discovering humanity's more carnivorous side. It seemed Matthew had eventually shown Twilight episodes of the show, as well, and had dealt with the aftermath. One big difference, however, was that Twilight had had to cope with losing her magic. Sure, Fluttershy hadn't been quite as good with animals as she'd been used to at first, and Pinkie... well Pinkie had been a bit toned down, so to speak. But Twilight Sparkle was the living representation of the Element of Magic... and she had no magic. I didn't miss the strain in her voice as she explained that part of her experiences to her friends. It would have been hard to try to cope with that, and no doubt she was still trying to come to terms with it. Another bloody major difference was that Twilight Sparkle had been unfortunate enough to witness humanity's more violent tendencies first-hand very early on. Apparently she'd seen a man attacked with some kind of blade by another man at the hospital Matthew worked in. It clearly wasn't a memory she wanted to dwell on, and I was thankful that both Pinkie and Fluttershy knew better than to press for details. The rest of Twilight's experiences up to this point could be summed up as Matthew being charged with taking care of Princess Luna, who had been hit by a car upon her arrival on Earth and ended up in his hospital, his subsequent "kidnapping" of Luna to help avoid her being put in a foster home, and their eventual arrival in Australia in an effort to escape the law. Considering what Matthew had been through with Twilight, and what John had dealt with with the crusaders, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of troubles everyone else who had found ponies had gone through. Just as we learned of Twilight's experiences, she also learned of ours. She'd been pretty much in the dark the past few days, as there'd only been enough time to give her the most basic of rundowns before Moey had arrived, and much of her time had been spent with Sweetie Belle. She displayed a range of emotions as Pinkie and Fluttershy described the events that took place since their arrival in Australia. Concern regarding Discord's antics, curiosity towards Ashton, relief that everyone was as healthy and safe as we were considering all we had been through. I pretended not to notice her sympathetic demeanor when the girls explained who Victoria was and why we weren't currently together. The rest of the drive was uneventful. The girls continued to chat about various new things they'd discovered on Earth, while I focused on what the next step would be once we arrived at the house. With everything that had happened in the past few days, it might be nice to just take a moment to sit back and relax. It had been far too long since any of us had been able to have a day where we weren't tense, stressed, and worried. Twilight Sparkle's arrival the other night gave me as good a reason as any to come to a firm decision. It was time we actually had a little fun. As we neared the house, I pressed a button on the keychain. The house was situated on a river and surrounded by woodland. The main property was also surrounded by a white concrete wall, with a large gate that slowly swung open upon pressing the keychain button. It was a great spot: large, isolated, secure, and private. I drove onto the private driveway and parked in a covered parking spot, making sure to close the gate behind us. Twilight let out a small whistle as we all got out of the car. "I know you said you were financially secure before the, er..." she blushed slightly, "incident with your wife, but I'd say this is more than just secure," she finished, indicating the house. "It's not mine, remember?" I said. "And it's nice, yeah. But there are far more extravagant homes deeper in the city. Particularly around the harbor." Despite my attempt to downplay how nice a home it was, even I was impressed every time I saw it. Victoria's parents had worked hard their entire lives, her mother even more so after her husband had passed. This was just one of half a dozen homes she had scattered about Australia and New Zealand. I led the girls up a gently sloping path to the upper entrance. After a moment of fumbling with the key, I opened the door and we all entered into a large living area. On the far wall was a huge sliding glass door that opened onto a balcony that overlooked the back yard and swimming pool, and offered an amazing view of the river and surrounding wooded areas. Near the sliding door was a modular corner sofa that seated six, as well as two single chairs. A flat screen television was attached to the wall next to the door. Immediately to our right was a grand piano that both Victoria and her mother liked to play whenever we visited. To our left was a hallway leading to an open kitchen and dining room, also overlooking the back yard, two bathrooms, three bedrooms, and a staircase leading to the lower level. Pinkie took a moment to admire one of the many paintings decorating the walls. "Ooh, are these from famous human painters?" she asked. I actually laughed. "No, all of these were painted by family. That one was done by Victoria's grandmother." "Not bad," she complimented. Once the Equestrians finished admiring their surroundings, I led them to the sofa and we all took a seat. It felt incredible to be seated on something that was comfortable for once. Too many hours spent either in the car or roughing it in the woods had done a number on my back and legs. Judging from the stretching and leaning back into the cushions that the girls did, they seemed to feel the same way. "So," Twilight said after nobody else spoke up. "What's the plan?" I grunted. "The plan is to have no plan. At least, for now," I said. "It's been far too long since Pinkie, Fluttershy, or I have had a moment to relax, and it's done no good for our mental states." I motioned toward Twilight. "And judging from what you told us on the way here, I reckon you could use a bit of a breather yourself." Twilight seemed to consider my words. "Well," she said, looking thoughtful, "it is true that chronic stress can lead to the production of more cortisol than the body can handle, wearing down the brain's ability to function properly. Disruption of synapse regulation, leading to the loss of sociability, and shrinking of the prefrontal cortex—" It was at that point Twilight noticed us all staring at her. Her cheeks reddened slightly and she cleared her throat. "Ahem, stress is bad, yes." "Well, it's time to take a load off," I said. "I don't know about you girls, but I can't wait for a fresh shower. After that, there's plenty of things to do here. Swimming, hiking, fishing. We have two kayaks to take out onto the river, or there's about ten bicycles and some good riding trails if you can figure out how to use them. There's both a tennis and basketball court, and if you'd rather not do something physical you can try to figure out how to use the piano, we have some violins and a few guitars, and a study with lots of books. If all else fails, there's television, and plenty of comfortable beds if you just want a nap." Even with my earlier talk of us needing relaxation, I felt that it wasn't until that very moment that it finally sunk in for us all. The genuine smiles and expressions of relief on everyone's face was all it took to convince me that my plan was a good one. For once, we weren't going to worry about anything. And what a wonderful feeling it would be. I felt revitalized after my shower. While I enjoyed camping, my least-favorite part of it was having to go without proper bathing facilities most of the time. It also felt good to get into some fresh clothes thanks to the extra outfits I'd had in the boot of the car. The girls were able to change clothes as well, as they all either fit the same size as my wife, or her mother, and there were plenty of clothes for both in the wardrobes. Fluttershy ended up wearing a turquoise blue dress with yellow lace accents that flowed down to her knees. Pinkie Pie wore a blue cardigan over a white shirt with a pink skirt. Twilight chose a light blue button-up shirt and a deep purple skirt that went well with her hair. After we were all bathed and changed, Pinkie took Fluttershy downstairs to go have a look around the property, and Twilight decided to check out some of the books. Personally, I decided to grab a laptop and see if I could get in touch with DragonLS. I knew I should have been relaxing, but it had definitely been too long since I'd been able to catch up on how he and Princess Celestia were doing. I figured I'd be better able to relax after finally getting an email out. As soon as I logged into my email account I saw what I should have realized sooner: DragonLS had already contacted me. Several times. It made sense. The last message I'd sent him had been well over a week ago. He'd probably become worried after I failed to respond to his email explaining how he'd found Applejack and Rainbow Dash. I opened the oldest of the messages first. To: Aussie_hunter@ausmail.com FROM: MidnightSkull_Dragon@wahoo.com SUBJECT: Everything OK? Greetings, Slorg. I hope this message sees you well. Obviously, I never received a response from you in regard to my last email. I can only hope there haven't been any more chaos antics that you or your entourage have had to deal with. Thus far, our princess still seems to be handling things fairly well. She does get a bit... demanding when she's bored. But she is otherwise coping well. I've made arrangements to meet up with Garrett and Applejack, and Cody and Rainbow Dash. Garrett goes by Cowboy_Appledash on Fimfic, and Cody is Silverness. The two have already met up in Chicago, and they'll be arriving here in Atlanta in the next day or two. Other than that, I have nothing new to report. I have high hopes of seeing a response back from you by then. - Gerald I felt somewhat bad for leaving Dragon, or Gerald, in the dark for so long. It wasn't as if I'd had a choice though, considering all that had happened in the past week. I opened the next email. To: Aussie_hunter@ausmail.com FROM: MidnightSkull_Dragon@wahoo.com SUBJECT: They're Real Greetings, Slorg. I truly hope this reaches you in good health. Garrett and Cody have arrived, and with them came Applejack and Rainbow Dash. I admit I had my suspicions at first, but AJ and Rainbow are definitely the real deal. They will not stop competing over which pony had it worse when they first arrived on Earth. It's actually worse than in the show, and I could not have conceived that to have been possible. Even Celestia lost her temper with them, but at least they settled down after that. Cody seems a bit overwhelmed by the whole pony business, and I believe something happened with Rainbow Dash that he isn't willing to tell us. But I feel having Garrett and myself around to help has assuaged his fears to some extent. Garrett is... different. How do I put this? He is... loud. And opinionated. But I admit that he seems to mean well. At least Applejack keeps him in check. I don't know if the show ever touched on this, but AJ doesn't take any crap from anyone. I never realized she was so... assertive. At any rate, everyone is safe and well. I am hoping the same can be said for you and those in your care. - Gerald I sat back in my chair. It was good to hear that Applejack and Rainbow Dash had truly been found. Even better that they were united with Princess Celestia. What wasn't great to hear was how Cody, or Silverness, was coping. I wondered what sort of things he'd had to deal with when he'd found Rainbow Dash, and what could make him overwhelmed. Rainbow seemed like the kind of pony who could handle herself well, but Dragon thought something had happened with her that Cody was reluctant to talk about. Considering what Pinkie, Fluttershy, Twilight, Angel, and the Crusaders had all been through, it could be just about anything. I'd need to find out and see if there was any way I could help. I also wasn't sure what to think of this Garrett bloke. Loud and opinionated were two words that did not go well with the type of people I generally got along with, but he got Applejack to Dragon in one piece so at least he seemed to have taken care of her. There was one more email. To: Aussie_hunter@ausmail.com FROM: MidnightSkull_Dragon@wahoo.com SUBJECT: Attacked Slorg, I'm not even sure if you're still alive at this point. I'm not sure of anything right now. If you are, then you need to know. We were attacked by Discord. Oh no. I knew Discord wouldn't stay out of the picture for long, but I'd been hoping that the Equestrians in the US would be safe for a while. I continued reading. We all managed to escape, but Cody and Rainbow Dash both got hurt pretty bad. I didn't know what to do, but Princess Celestia somehow managed to heal them. Not completely, but enough. It's like her magic is partially back. At this point I can only assume he got to you again. I truly hope not. It's foolish wishful thinking, but I hope you are still out there and this gets to you. I've had to leave college and relocate. I won't say where in case Discord can somehow read this. I'll keep checking for a reply. - Gerald I checked the date the email was sent. Two days ago. I sighed and pressed my thumbs into my temples. I couldn't afford to get stressed again right now. We all needed a break. The one thing I couldn't do was anything that would help Gerald's situation. He was in the US, and there wasn't anything I could do to directly assist him. I'd just have to trust in his ability to guide everyone to safety. What I could do was send an email to let him know he wasn't alone. Perhaps knowing that we'd gone from three Equestrians to eight since the last time I'd messaged him would help in some way. It was certainly a morale boost to know that Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Celestia were all together, despite the attack. As predicted, Celestia was also regaining her magic. That, at least, was another positive. I bent over the laptop and got to typing. I'd send out the long-overdue email. I would not mention the attack to Pinkie, Fluttershy, or Twilight. They all needed relaxation, not more worries. Just a day. A full day of peace and quiet. That's all I wanted. If there was a God, or fate, or even if Celestia or Discord could somehow pull the strings... whatever it was, I was begging it. Just leave us alone for one day, and we'd get back to it tomorrow. I finished the email, hit send, and went to grab a towel from the linen closet. As I made my way downstairs to the pool, I pushed the feelings of guilt out of my mind. I couldn't do anything to help the Equestrians on the other side of the world right now. All I could do was ensure that Pinkie, Twilight, and Fluttershy had a chance to emotionally recover, if only for a short time. I owed it to them.