Princess Celestia was no slouch when it came to investigation and documentation. She flicked through the notes before her and glanced down each page looking for patterns—there were plenty.
"Visits to the library every day. Time spent in the medical textbook section and history section." The words slipped from her lips in the otherwise deserted room. She reached for a cup of tea with her magic, barely expressing a fraction of a percent of her power upon the delicate porcelain as she floated it to her lips.
The further she read, the more Celestia was satisfied that not only Lyra Heartstrings but also Joyce Robertson were doing precisely what they said they would do in her realm. "Just like regular ponies."
The happy reports were set aside, and Princess Celestia opened a case with a royal seal on it. This box of papers was more substantial than the reports on Joyce and Lyra's goings on—this was from Commander Shard.
"The town of Stonecrop is surrounded by a shimmering wall of magic. The particular hue of the magic is not only unknown, but also is defying any ability to delve. We humbly request scholars to inspect it before we proceed." Celestia reread the words, this time not using the silly voice she always associated with Commander Shard.
Exploring and making contact was his mission, but Celestia valued Shard because he would not compromise a single pony life in haste. The rest of the report was on troop movements, the quality of their rations, reports on equipment, and a plethora of things Princess Celestia knew were packed in there for filler.
She had to use her own signature of magic to trigger one of the pages to jump into the air and flip around. New words began appearing.
Princess Celestia, the barrier of magic isn't a barrier at all, it's a threshold of sorts. Magic from Equestria is overlaid with foreign magic in ways that shouldn't be possible. I can't explore this from out here, so I'm going in after I add this note to the reports. Wish me luck.
—B
"You pompous, arrogant, clever stallion. Good luck, nephew." Sipping her tea, Princess Celestia could tell when a pony was approaching her door. Carefully levitating the paper to the fireplace, she let a little more than a fraction of a percent of her power seep into it. "Come in!" Celestia said while the paper burned in the fireplace.
Joyce opened the door and immediately bowed when she realized Princess Celestia was definitely present. "Your Majesty."
"Joyce, I said we don't use titles while having tea." Princess Celestia didn't need to arrange her features into a happy smile—it was already so. She made sure the seals on the communication boxes were secure with magic before standing up. "And majesty is a title for kings and queens. Would you like a history lesson?"
The reply and offer confused and excited Joyce. She'd been reading of Equestria's history as a side project to her studying its medicine. Princess Celestia was a central focus of almost everything to do with Equestria, going back to its foundation. "Y-Yes please."
"It's too stuffy in here. Let's retire to the garden." Walking out into the castle hallway again, Princess Celestia didn't ignore her guards so much as acknowledged their tireless devotion without making any grandiose gestures. "Please see that tea is brought to the garden, Dizzy Dive and Sun Blitz." Big gestures of thanks weren't needed when she made sure to know their names and treat them as the useful elements of security they were.
"Yes, Your Highness," both stallions said before marching the opposite way than Celestia walked.
"A long time ago, when I was a young filly, there was three great leaders of the three tribes: Commander Hurricane, Princess Platinum, and Chancellor Puddinghead—don't laugh, these are serious names." Despite her admonition, Princess Celestia loosed a few giggles before continuing. "And the ponies of each tribe thought only for themselves and their own kind…"
Joyce listened in rapt fascination as the current ruler of Equestria spoke of the origins of the country. Mythical monsters, wise advisers, and a little unicorn filly who got her cutie mark—and wings—that day. It was fantastical beyond measure, and from what Joyce had read for that filly to be Princess Celestia as a foal, it would have to have been over a thousand years ago.
Neither Celestia nor Joyce noticed the tea set brought out, teacher and student wrapped in the exciting tale of the first Hearth's Warming Eve together so that the outside world were muted. By the time Celestia finished, ending with her own ascension, the sun was bright and warm in the noonday sun. Two hours had passed.
"Equestria was formed by togetherness and friendship. It stands by the same powers. Poetic," Joyce said, only daring to say a word when Celestia had shown her story to be over. "Thank you."
"You see why I was so quick to offer you a place as one of my ponies?" With her story over, Princess Celestia began preparing the tea herself, delighting in the simple process that would always bring such joy.
"I'm trying to prove it was a good decision." It didn't take a philosophy degree for Joyce to understand why she felt so humbled: Princess Celestia could have studied the amount of medicine Joyce had at least fifty times over, and still had time free to practice.
Taking a sip from her tea, Celestia offered a cup for Joyce to sample. Only once the flavor had left her palate did Princess Celestia opt to talk again. "Your cutie mark is plain as day, you have already walked your destiny in your own world, that you would help teach our doctors what you know while you learn to help ponies is already a boon to Equestria. If you save the life of a single pony, my bits are well-spent."
"Are all leaders here—uh, this world—like this?" Joyce asked. When Celestia only answered by raising an eyebrow, Joyce continued, "I mean, you've given us so much, and we're strangers to your world. You trust us in ways that almost frighten me. I don't know if I can live up to what you're saying, but I don't know if I could live with myself if I failed. I just—"
Joyce froze when a pure white hoof with gold trim pressed under her chin. She closed her mouth at the behest of the hoof.
"Relax." Celestia took her time, had another sip of tea, and then considered talking further. "I trust you because you came to me honestly, and bringing with you promise and talent. You only asked me for a chance to find and fulfill your destiny—I have never turned a pony down, in all my years, who was that honest."
Sitting for a moment, Joyce calmed herself back down by sipping at her tea. Eventually she needed to ask a new question. "So there have been dishonest ones?"
"Yes. Dishonest ponies. It is practically anathema today, but I could name a hoofful who have caused me trouble." A twinkle entered Princess Celestia's eyes. "You don't plan to enslave and take over a city, do you?" When Joyce spluttered and shook her head, Celestia let out a relieved sigh. "That's good. I don't think I could deal with that problem again.
"I have a favor to ask of you, Joyce. It is something I don't wish you to do if you don't feel like you should." Princess Celestia's tone had become grave.
"Anythi—"
Celestia cut Joyce off with words this time. "I need information about the world you came from. I understand if you don't want to answer, for obvious reasons."
"You need to protect your ponies." Joyce hadn't intended it as a question, but Celestia nodded to her all the same. "What will you do with the information?"
"Make a decision. If I think we could have positive relations, I will send an envoy to offer that, but if you don't think peace could be established I will not hesitate to close the portal by whatever means it takes." The moment she spoke, Princess Celestia realized she had said something Joyce did not like.
"I-If you do—decide to close the portal that is—could I ask one favor?" A tense strain settled over Joyce, like someone had gripped her whole body in a giant hand.
Then Princess Celestia remembered her notes, and if she could have bopped herself on the head without looking silly, she would have. "Your daughter. Of course."
The weight crushing Joyce left. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Then— I will help."
"I promise that if I have to close connection to your old world, I will do everything I can to ensure you are united with your daughter to your satisfaction. What I need to know is how they will react to having such a border, and how they will react to ponies."
"It really depends what's happening there. If a magical pulse wasn't turning everyone into ponies? I don't think it would have been accepted very well at all—possibly even seen as an act of aggression. The locals to the town that merged with— Stonecrop, wasn't it?" Joyce waited for Celestia to dip her head before continuing. "Right. There was even one guy who started dating the mayor of Stonecrop. I think the folks there will be fine with ponies. Elsewhere might get a little strange."
"I'd worried that might be the case. Ponies can be xenophobic—" Celestia stopped at Joyce's look of confusion. "Fear of foreign people. Ponies can be that way, but actually meeting them is usually the cure."
"What Dream did—The Knowing—put a lot of pony-like knowledge up here." Joyce tapped her head with her hoof. "So much so that when I first saw you I felt—well—obliged to listen and bow. You might encounter that if you went. I could help you by talk—"
"Joyce, you are here to learn. I have a pony I trust implicitly already there." She was tipping her hand a little, but Celestia trusted Joyce for what she seemed to be—a mare trying to take care of her fillies. "He has orders to make contact with the teacher, Candela, and to make as peaceful contact with any authorities he can."
Focusing on all the little things that could go wrong under normal circumstances, Joyce couldn't begin to think of how the changes to Australia would have affected the government and diplomatic situation. "I don't think anything else I can give you will be much use. I was just a doctor."
Princess Celestia sympathized with Joyce to a certain extent, but she couldn't fathom being clueless about any aspect of daily life in Equestria. She could, however, understand how confusing everything was for Joyce Robertson. "I understand, Joyce. Now, why don't you tell me how your first week at the medical school went?"
The change in topic came as a relief to Joyce. She reached for her tea with one wing and, as she did, noticed Princess Celestia's eyes drawn to it. "I've started researching the topics I need a crash-course in, and will be doing that next week. Dr. Rough Stitch has been amazing at helping me find all the books I need—bar a few."
Her attention caught by the words, Princess Celestia jerked her focus from Joyce's wing. "You need some rare books?"
"Not so much rare, as just—" A little pink token appeared on the grass before Joyce. "What's this?"
"A pass for access to my private library. Any academic in the city would have suggested you ask me for access, and rightly so. You are— You're a private project, Joyce Robertson. Every so often I find a pony in whom I see great potential, and I think I've found it in you and another young mare recently. Fate doesn't often give me a reason, so when I catch a glimpse of destiny like that, I find a push is in order." Taking another sip of her tea and teleporting two slices of cheesecake before them, Princess Celestia felt her eyes drawn to Joyce's wings again.
"Would you like to see them?" It might be getting a little old, but Joyce certainly couldn't stop herself from offering Princess Celestia a chance to examine her wings. Stretching her left one up and out, she turned it so the underside was facing Princess Celestia.
Delight filled Celestia. Summoning a notepad and some writing equipment, she almost completely forgot that she was examining a pony. So rarely had she something truly new to study that time passed quickly for her. An internal sense, a twinge in the back of her head, urged Princess Celestia to break her focus.
"Are you done, Your Highness?" Joyce had a mild cramp in her wing, but the excitement she witnessed in Celestia's focus on it was enough to make her tough it out. She could sense something off with the world around her—it should be early evening, but the sun was still in the sky.
Tilting her head back, Princess Celestia looked up at her sun. It was her sun, but there was more for her to do than just lower it. Energizing her horn, she felt the resistance of something too massive for any other pony to move—any other team of ponies, for that matter. Setting the sun to rest, she lifted the moon. Luna's moon.
Spellbound, Joyce watched as day flipped to night at the behest of the pony before her. What to others would be a religious experience, Joyce felt was simple awe at Princess Celestia moving stars and moons around. "That's amazing."
Princess Celestia flicked her mane a little—to cover her eye that had loosed some tears for her missing sister—before she turned to look back at Joyce. "It is a burden, but one I bear gladly. Ponies were taking harm doing this, before myself and—"
Joyce was aware that Princess Celestia might have almost said something she didn't want to. "Princess Celestia, you don't have to explain yourself to me. Why you move the sun and the moon is unimportant. They need moving, and you move them. Thank you." What else can I say to somepony who, back on Earth, would be hailed as a god? Joyce thought.
Lyra had spent the whole day wearing herself out. Her Saturday had been spent with Princess Cadance, learning outlines for things she would have to study herself, but today was magic. Lyra loved the idea of studying magic, but she had quickly learned that she had limits, and Twilight Sparkle seemed completely oblivious to those limits.
"Another one. You have to master these basic spells, which means casting them fast and precisely." Twilight Sparkle demonstrated for Lyra, the slightest twinge of her horn lighting up causing a flickering light to illuminate.
"How do you have so much magic?" Despite her protest, Lyra performed the spell as best she could. Rather than a soft, flame-like light, instead she had a miniature star-in-the-making. "Ack!" The dampening spell came to mind quickly, and despite her magical fatigue, Lyra cast it and snuffed out the light before it could do any harm.
Twilight, as the teacher in their relationship, beamed with delight. "And that's why we learn the dimming spell first!"
It was impossible for Lyra to get upset at Twilight despite her being right about almost everything. To Lyra, Twilight Sparkle seemed like a cross between Robin and Dream (Lyra's little sister and almost-adoptive little sister, respectively), but with a measure of Candela's (Lyra's former teacher) intimate knowledge of how being a pony is meant to be. "Why don't I have as much magic as you do?"
"How long have you been doing magic?" Twilight Sparkle asked.
"Err. About three months."
"I," Twilight Sparkle said, "have been doing magic for six years!"
"Hang on. So magic is like a muscle? The more you use it the more you can do?" At Twilight's nod, Lyra almost cheered. The concept was more Lyra-friendly than being told: "This is all the magic you will ever have." The idea that magic was something that could be improved meant that Lyra could improve it. "So that is why you keep pushing me to cast until I almost fall over?"
The rush of having her student realize that the teaching method had multiple layers to it pleased Twilight Sparkle. She nodded up to Lyra. "Yup. Each time you push yourself, you are making up for weeks of time lost doing—well—whatever you did before you learned magic."
"You don't want to know." Lyra said the words without thinking, but the moment they were out she realized her mistake: Twilight Sparkle's mind was like a steel trap when knowledge was involved. Lyra sighed at the excited look on Twilight's face. "Lots of school, making friends with the wrong peo—ponies. Becoming a pony was the best thing that ever happened to me."
"What did you look like?" Twilight Sparkle asked.
Lyra tried to think the best way to explain it. "Wait. You've got mythical beasts here, right?"
Twilight tilted her head to the side in confusion.
"Like, pegasi, griffons, and unicorns." Rolling her eyes, Lyra got a giggle from Twilight while she indicated her own horn. "So do you know minotaurs?"
"Y-Yes. You were a minotaur?"
"What? No. But kinda. I guess it's hard to explain. But if you imagine a minotaur but without all the bull stuff." Lyra was at a loss. "Anyway. That's kinda changed now. The whole country is turning into bat ponies, and I was like one of about four who didn't. As near as we could work it out it was because I got my cutie mark in Equestria."
Lyra sensed she had triggered something, a happy memory in Twilight. The filly's eyes widened, her smile grew, and finally her mouth opened.
Words tumbled from Twilight's mouth, and she had no idea how or desire to stop them. "I was trying to do the admission test to come to Princess Celestia's school. I had to hatch a dragon egg! So I tried everything I could—I'd even studied for just such a thing! I cast five spells for chicken farmers who can't get a chick to hatch, two used by cockatrice hunters, and one spell that was meant to work on sea serpent eggs. In the end I just tried to break the egg myself.
"Then I had a magic surge. Power, like Princess Celestia uses, rushed into me. Everything happened at once. I turned my parents into houseplants, the egg hatched, and I got my cutie mark!" Twilight practically lived the memory. She stared back through the preceding months and remembered Spike hatching, and remembered Princess Celestia calling her back down and undoing the magic Twilight'd wrought on her parents.
Feeling a huge sense of her own delight at being reminded of when she got her cutie mark, Lyra found herself smiling just as wide as Twilight did. "So you got your cutie mark then?"
"Yup!"
"And your parents were turned back?" Lyra asked.
"Yeah. It was only because of the power matrix that they stayed that way. As soon as I stopped my magic, they turned back."
"And what about the egg?"
"Spike." Twilight's tone practically melted into a gooey puddle of remembered affection. "He's only a tiny baby dragon, but Mom and Dad are helping me take care of him."
Lyra hadn't studied dragons yet, and didn't know their level of sapience. "So he's a pet?"
"What?!" Twilight Sparkle jerked back in shock. "He's a dragon, not a pet!" She even blew out a puff of air in a very equine grunt.
The ferocity of Twilight's reply took Lyra aback. "S-Sorry. Kinda new to this world, remember? We don't have dragons back home."
The explanation appeased Twilight's anger, and tickled at her curiosity. "None at all?"
"There were stories about them, but no evidence they actually existed. I think they were just made up." Lyra turned back to her task and formed another light spell, and this time it didn't threaten to set fire to the world. "It's funny, but most of the stories have to do with dragons stealing a princess, and a prince or knight having to rescue them."
"Why would a prince or knight need to rescue a princess?" Twilight asked. "I'm pretty sure any princess would be able to deal with a dragon all on her own."
Lyra had finished the spell for no more than a few seconds before she cast the (much easier) spell to snuff the light out. "Think of them more as damsels in distress. Haven't you read stories where there's somepony who needs rescuing, and only her true love can save them?"
With the topic shifting to her favorite subject, Twilight Sparkle puffed up her little chest. "I have read every single book in Mom and Dad's library!" Her claim came at a cost, mostly because she was honest. "E-Even the romance ones."
Hoping against hope that Equestrian romance novels were unlike their Earth equivalents, Lyra went on: "Well. Was there any of those where somepony needed to save somepony else from a dragon?"
Twilight nodded, almost turning her whole head into an unflattering shade of puce due to how much she blushed. "They—they kissed at the end!" She paused for a moment, then looked around to make sure there was nopony else in the study room with them. "In one, they saved the dragon from the pony. I liked that one!"
Casting the light spell again, straining against her magic reserves, Lyra snuffed it back out with a groan. "Ugh. I think I'm done, Twilight."
Narrowing her eyes, Twilight Sparkle examined Lyra—magically. The strain to Lyra's magical aura was obvious, as was the fact she had pushed herself hard. "That should do for today. But you should keep doing that every night. You'll be stronger in no time!"