Blake wasn't entirely certain the diversion to Ponyville would be worth the cost in effort. But considering he'd nearly barbequed half the team recently, he didn't think of his own position as particularly enviable. It was time to be in the background, cooling off and taking the 'L.'
More importantly, maybe less direct leadership would mean more time to figure out the alien instincts of this body.
The simple exhaustion after the first outburst was enough to help him start recovering—all those flames weren't free, they drew on some source of magical energy. The same one that Janet insisted was transforming them permanently when they used it.
So they touched down in the town of Ponyville, which had seemed far more insignificant at a distance. The closer they came, the more hopeful Blake grew that there might actually be something useful here, besides one of Janet's old friends.
The town was quite a bit bigger than Canter Creek, though the structures looked to date from about the same time period. Well, except for a few—Ponyville had a few shining beacons that transcended age and nature and probably many other things besides.
A gigantic crystal tree rose taller than anything else in the city, so large in fact that Blake couldn't guess easily at how high. Maybe twenty stories, maybe thirty. But it was built naturally, more like a giant real tree had been transfigured into a substance that could somehow uphold its weight. Then a crew of ponies had come along and carved out places for themselves.
Unless the even-more unthinkable was responsible, and somehow it had been grown with its rooms and corridors already in place and fully intact. But if that were true, the natives of this planet would be so far ahead of anything on Earth that it was the other direction of cultural leakage that he should fear.
Ponyville was humble enough that it lacked a dedicated place for them to tie off, just like Canter Creek. Instead, they found themselves an empty field just outside of town, where a vaguely square shape to the grass suggested there might sometimes be crops planted. But there were none now, not even the growing trestle of a vineyard. So they were probably safe to land.
The field was along a road into town, fully unpaved with a little schoolhouse not far off. Aside from a few passing foals, nopony gathered to stare. These creatures had their own lives to live, they weren't stopping for a random ship.
"We don't have to worry about anything here," Janet explained, from inside the cargo bay. "We might want to keep a small team just so that no one gets lost. But Ponyville is about as safe as Equestria gets. We won't be stopped or searched or attacked. There won't be robberies or muggings or fights."
"Sounds like a great place," Ryan said. "What was that other big building, the one that looked like a... hippie compound?"
"That's the friendship school," Janet said. "It basically amounts to the same thing, except they treat it academically. Friendship is a serious subject here, like calculus."
A few of them laughed, Blake included. The idea was so absurd it was almost comical. About as comical as giant horses wandering around.
"Laugh if you want," Janet said, smiling weakly. "Just don’t expect to go far with sarcasm or insincerity with these. They won't understand you. They will start to figure out you're not being nice, though. Then they'll shut you out. The best thing for you to do if you want this to go smoothly, just be nice to everyone we meet. It'll be simple."
Janet opened the door with one hoof, lowering the ramp down. "I'm going to talk to my old friend, Tracy. There's a chance he'll know something useful to us. If he doesn't, I won't keep us here burning daylight. Maybe plan to meet back at the ship at noon. If I don't turn up, it means there was more to it."
"I'd like to meet him," Blake said. And not just to make sure this isn't actually a waste of our time. "There might be some questions you don't even know to ask. I'd like to represent the Bright Hawk."
"Will he not want to go back with us?" Kaelynn asked. She lingered near one wall, leaning up against it and occasionally suppressing a yawn. She did a decent job pretending to be awake, though her lack of interest would've set him off if he actually cared.
But what's bothering her? Is she just burned out and afraid after last night? She hadn't been close to him when the flames started, yet she was also the wettest member of their group. She had scales instead of fur, and always felt like she should be as damp as an amphibian.
Yet she wasn't. "Your friend," she continued. "We're trying to find a way back to Earth. He'll want to use it too, right?"
Janet shook her head once. "Tracy is how I know it happens at all. Maybe you weren't around for when I told the story? He transformed during a standup meeting. Melted into a pony right before our eyes. Raised so much hell on the other side I still don't fully know the consequences. Anyway, he's a pony now. If he used the return Worldgate, it would be no different than your friend here."
She nodded once to Galena. "He'd need to keep using the Worldgate to keep his disguise intact. But Tracy just never had that much of a life to lose back on Earth. Here he has everything he ever wanted."
She spun in a slow circle, facing each of them with an intense glare. "Don't let that be you. You have to resist Equestria's temptations, if you ever want to see your humanity again."
"Resist its temptations," Jordan—Vesper repeated from one shadowy corner. "It isn't hell. Our trip convinces me it isn't paradise either. It's just... a place, like the one we left. Maybe nicer. Jury's still out."
"I'll be back by noon," Janet interrupted. "Blake, you can come or not, I don't care. I'm gonna talk to my contact and head back."
"I'm coming," he said. And he did, following her down the ramp and across the field. Before he knew what had happened, they'd left the Bright Hawk behind. Not one of the other crew followed.
They're afraid of me. They want to keep their distance after last night. Maybe they were right to stay away.
But then they walked into Ponyville, and Blake had a hard time staying mad. Yeah, even Vesper hadn't wanted to come along for this trip, but was that really the end of the world, when the town was so great?
Within seconds of reaching the main road, at least three different ponies had welcomed them to the city. By the time they crossed a bridge and into the town itself, ponies were starting to recognize Janet. They greeted her with comical mispronunciations of her name, and she responded with polite smiles and awkward waves.
The town itself was not particularly advanced, with thatched-roof buildings that never exceeded a few stories, except in its strangest examples. The streets were either cobblestone or simple dirt, and the streetlights were sparse.
Yet just a few steps inside, and Blake felt something different. Like a spirit of the place, a living genus loci that tried to sweep him in under its expansive wings.
The streets were packed with creatures on their daily business, shopping from the various little restaurants and stalls, carrying things back and forth, or meeting in small groups around town. A group of a half-dozen pegasi swept across the sky before him, kicking clouds and clearing away to perfect sunshine.
He stared, unsure of what he was looking at—at least until Janet grabbed him by one leg, dragging him forward. "What are they doing?" he asked. "That's like... are they kicking clouds?"
She nodded. "You're in the core of Equestria now. They produce and distribute their own weather. I know how impossible it sounds, it's completely true. You'll just have to take my word for it.
He didn't argue. There was too little time for that. They stopped in front of a single building among many. The front was obviously meant to be used as a storefront, though he saw none now. Just plain curtains.
Janet hesitated for a second by the door, then rapped against it with her knuckles, a few times.
"We'll just have to hope one of them is in for lunch," she whispered. "Tracy is usually out at his radio project. On some days Rose is here, others she's running the flower stand."
Someone shifted around inside, wood creaking under their hooves. Apparently Blake did have a little luck left, after all.
"Anything I should know?"
Janet shrugged. "Same rules as the whole town. Tracy's gone native, don't try to persuade him otherwise. It's cruel at this point, seeing as he has no way of getting home. The choice was stolen from him."
The door swung open, and a single mare stood inside. She was... pretty, certainly. Blake had long since given up denying that he could find these natives attractive, however much the idea could disgust him in principle.
She was older than some, with a bright red mane and a cream-colored coat. She also seemed to recognize Janet with only a glance, grinning eagerly. "Janet, you're back! I wasn't certain I'd ever see you again." She stopped, finally noticing Blake standing beside her. "Is this the reason why? You did find yourself quite the strange pony. I'm... afraid I don't know what you are."
"He's a kirin," Janet said, before Blake could even open his mouth. "But no, it's not like that. Could we come in? This is important. I can't impress on you enough how urgent this conversation is."
"Sure." Rose stepped aside, though she lingered a little in front of Blake. "I'm Roseluck. I'm certain I would remember if we've met before, so I must assume you're new to Ponyville."
He nodded. "Sure am. I'm not emigrating here, so don't worry. My name is Blake. I'm from the same place Janet is. The same place... I think she said his name was 'Tracy'? Your... boyfriend?"
Just a few steps inside, and Blake knew he was standing somewhere different from the rest of town. A large flatscreen TV was situated against the far wall, with an entertainment center beneath and even surround speakers. There were a few other oddities as well—a few movie posters on the wall, a few photos of places that he couldn't imagine being anywhere in Equestria. One by a bookshelf showed a couple at the aquarium with a stuffed shark—a human couple.
"It's been a long time since anypony used that name," she said. "Tracy is what he used to be called, when he still lived on the other side. Now he's a pony, and he calls himself Spark Gap."
"Oh, sorry," Blake said flatly. He let the emotions wash over him, lingering on nothing. If he got too invested in this conversation, he might burn down a city. Calm, collected. He was just here to observe.
I'm not a wreck. I'm not completely out of control because I failed once. It's okay.
"We'd like to talk to him," Janet said. "I'm sure he'd see us, when you tell him it's about Earth. Can you give him a call?"
Roseluck shook her head once. "Spark is at work. I'm afraid we don't have any radio transmitter on this side that would reach him there. The relay station has all the power. You can either visit him there, or wait for him to be home for lunch. He did say he was coming."
"We'll wait," Blake said, before Janet could drag him back out into the city. The less of this place he saw, the better. I don't need more reasons to stay right now. I'm getting my people home. "But maybe you can help us until he gets here?"
Janet rolled her eyes. "She probably can't. Roseluck doesn't do adventuring. Neither does Tracy, but she has no reason to listen for that kind of thing."
"What kind of thing?" she asked. "I was already making lunch. I'll just... throw in a little extra for you." Her eyes settled on Blake, tracing his scaly back and strange tail. "Do you eat normal food?"
"Yes," he answered, without hesitation. "I spend most of my time on an airship eating things out of cans. Whatever's normal here, I'll take it."
"Thanks, Rose," Janet added. "No pressure if you don't know any of the answers. Tracy might not have them either. But we have to ask. It's about getting home."