//------------------------------// // Chapter 4; Society // Story: The Student // by Fireheart 1945 //------------------------------// In her dorm room, Celestia allowed herself some relaxation. Since she had no roommate, she didn't have to worry about being disturbed or found out here. She went over the notes she had taken on her first day. Although the number of classes she would have to do this month would be stressful, it wouldn't be anything she couldn't handle. Better than doing endless paperwork... much of it being sent in by nobles trying to gain more privileges. So far the classes had revealed much... and left her with perhaps more questions than answers. Although humanity had clearly done terrible things in its past, there was much good mixed in, and it was hard to say what opening up Equestria to the rest of the world would do. She wanted to do good for that world, of course; to help struggling nations with farming, to open trade deals, and allow for... maybe not immigration, given the limited land that not only ponies but ALL sapient species from the homeworld had to utilize, but some cooperation and foreign workers. Celestia found herself not hating humans, despite their history; but she knew that there were bad nations, or at least ones with bad leaders and leading parties out there, and her need to know personally how much she could trust this (to her) completely alien species was paramount. Alien? We're on their world, she thought with a mental laugh. If anything, we're the aliens. It was a humorous thought that allowed her a moment to breathe more easily. Upon the stamping of a metal-shod hoof, she looked carefully at her shoes; all the nails pounded into her hooves were still in place, and there was no sign of rust or damage; Equestrian farriers utilized tremendous skill, as well as utilizing a level of magic to make sure the nails stayed in place. She'd have to rely upon their work for months at least; going to a horse farm or somewhere similar made her shiver a little. While Earth horses and ponies were clearly animals, they were much too similar to Equestrian ponies - and Saddle Arabians - for comfort. She had actually been asked why Equestria still used nail-on horseshoes, along with asking whether they hurt. The question to the latter was no; the hoof wall, the part that was made of keratin, couldn't feel anything at all, and while the frog and fetlock could, there was no more sensation among them than perhaps the weight and slight displacement, neither of which caused pain. As for why such an old technology was still used, the answer was that it was a simple and effective solution, especially for city ponies, farmers, and those who used the roads often, such as post and delivery ponies and movers. While magic could theoretically be used, glue spells often lost their power over time. A pony consciously holding a horseshoe to their hoof was also impractical; the ability to hold things in the hoof didn't extend to the hoof wall, and a pony could easily stop thinking about holding the shoe on and lose them; back hooves couldn't hold things anyway, so that solution didn't really work. Boots and other hoofwear might be good in limited situations, but failed to deal with hoof damage, and such hoofwear could easily come off or be lost in mud and other sticky conditions. While a bit time-consuming, a good shoeing ensured a pony's hooves would remain uncracked and undamaged so they could go about their lives without constant pain when walking. Even pegasi, who often resisted being shoed, usually had to go in every so often. Of those who had lived in cloud cities, this hadn't mattered... until the Transition to Earth. Now, Cloudsdale and to an extent Las Pegasus were the only sky cities, and given the limited amount of Equestrian clouds that had been brought over, more pegasi were living on the ground, and they had to undergo shoeing much more; even Rainbow Dash had eventually consented - unhappily, until she was actually shod and found that the process hadn't hurt at all. With increasing urbanization, and many hooved species that had lived outside cities now living either in or near them, others, such as yaks, buffalo, and hippogriffs, were looking for nail-on shoes of their own to protect their hooves as well. That thought process done with, she levitated a letter Luna had sent her. Dear Sister, Greetings. We miss thee badly, and hope ye will return to us with all due haste when thine mission is complete. Celestia hadn't realized how much she missed her sister's old-speak; while Luna had gotten lesson in modern Equestrian - or English, as the inhabitants of this world called it - she often fell back into medieval speech. It didn't bother Celestia at all; she had once spoken the same way. It did, however, often confuse modern speakers, who, for instance, had sometimes thought that Nightmare Moon was still present in Luna due to her reference to herself in the plural form. It was a problem that had largely gone away after a few years, though the rumors still persisted. For a moment, she allowed her sisterly love for Luna to envelop her - a few tears streamed down her face - before continuing. We still wrangle with the Council; We still wonder if it was a good idea to allow such a body into existence. With the reduction of Our power, it becomes obvious how much We had taken said power for granted, despite not using it regularly. The dragon representatives are still demanding more mining rights, and the diamond dogs likewise, though each party refuses to endorse the other's proposals. Clearly each desires their own to be the ones to whom We give the privilege. How absurd that two species with the same interests will reject each others' proposals rather than cooperate and share, which is the obvious solution. Idiots Please ignore the latter word; upon looking on it hours later, We realize that it is inappropriate. However, We still feel great frustration at the bickering. Nonetheless, We agreed to accept that other species had their rights and their obligations and that they ought to be represented within the body of government, and part of Us feels content in the right of this decision, despite the folly of others. On a better note, the hippogriffs and griffons agreed to aid one another in building a navy and air force for Our beloved nation. The hippogriffs will be responsible for shipbuilding, based upon those designs we know of from the humans, and the griffons will largely stick to designing aircraft. Each faction agreed to aid the other if those on one side of this venture were faltering. We have much confidence that Our country will have the military it needs, or at least the backbone of one, upon which a stronger body will be built upon. Much testing is required. The dragons did agree to stop harassing Klugetown, and it is more than time that they did so; idle, foolish dragon youths have so often preferred taking over working. We are sorry to say that a bill that would arrest all without a legal, paying job after a period of 6 months has been proposed by the council, and Klugetown and the Abyssinians are pushing hard for it. We may have to accept it; it would solve the dragon problem, though We fear insurrection among them if it is accepted. Strangely, the more elderly, mature dragons have not objected to this bill, and one even expressed his secret sympathy for it to Us after that particular meeting was adjourned. Perhaps there is hope after all. Finally, on a less happy note, meteorologists, both among us and the humans in Brazil, have detected a cyclone forming. It seems headed towards Brazil, and indeed woe unto them should this be true. However, with this world's radically independent weather, We are not sure at all if it will not change direction on some scientific whim. We have managed to calm the people, but their fears remain beneath the surface, such that it was tenable in Klugetown when We went there on a tour advocating unification for our peoples. As ye know, beloved Sister, our Saddle Arabian cousins, along with the dragons, took up lodging within the deserts there, and our port cities in what used to be the south are still rudimentary; such a storm would easily destroy what we've built over the past year, and that's not even mentioning the lives it would destroy. The Saddlers who are used to living nomadic lifestyles are already trekking northward, with much distress as they move toward more crowded areas. There have been... incidents. Ones of near violence as those already established in the new cities south north of the Macintosh Mountains fear their supplies of food may be in danger. We again managed to calm the situation, and have promised more food, so that all may eat. This again was another Council headache, but in the end they did agree, although the hippogriffs and those representatives living in ports added an amendment that would expand fishing in the nor south. A curse upon these reversed directions Please ignore that as well. We wish we could speak face to face, and not by letter; no paper or ink can express how much We miss ye, nor of our anxiety and fears deep down for the survival of Our people, whether they be ponies, dragons, yaks, or any of them. The unity of our forced-together nation is another thing that has hindered Us in tackling dreams; how can We help others when We ourselves are in a nightmare each day?... or is daymare a word? Regardless, we hope your mission goes well. We shall write again as the situation permits. May whatever divine authorities exist be with you. Sincerely, Your loving Sister. Celestia held back tears as she allowed memories, both happy and sad, to play themselves across her mind like pictures on a human television. While Luna was more than willing to rule alone, or with help from Twilight, Shining Armor, and Cadence, she understood politics, especially in a modern sense, more than her sister did. Not surprising, given that Luna had been banished for 1000 years. All because of Celestia's own negligence. Luna had, before her possession and banishment, been getting more and more angry that her had work in raising the moon and giving ponies a beautiful night was being shunned. Yes, Celestia had explained that nighttime, being darker than day, was the more natural time to sleep, and more scary given that the dark made it easier to scare - or worse, ambush - someone. She had also tried to convince Luna that her night was indeed appreciated, by the thestrals - bat ponies - if by no one else. She had argued against extending the night in particular, which Luna had time and again demanded, becoming more and more upset each time she was refused. She would eventually agree each time with her older sister, but she became more distant with each rejection. It had culminated when Luna, without Celestia's backing, had gone on a tour, during the day and during the night, extolling the virtues of the stars that the moon and night made visible, and calling upon ponies to appreciate both night and day. It had been received very badly. Most ponies refused to even get up during the night to see her on the tour, and more than once an irate pony trying to sleep had cursed her and told her to let them sleep, not knowing who they were addressing. Even her speeches during the day had gone badly, with many ponies just not listening or giving it a polite audience before leaving without committing to the cause. And while her well-loved thestrals had loved what she had to say, for Luna the rejection of the vast majority of the ponies she ruled was too much to bear... as was the chewing out Celestia had given her sister upon learning what she had done. It had culminated in a duel in the old castle, and in Luna's banishment. Luna had, for years after being freed of Nightmare Moon, done all she could to redeem herself. It was a shame she carried to this day, even though her friends had managed to prevent her from torturing herself every night with the tantabus. Part of the reason Celestia had decided that she would be going on this mission, besides wanting to find things out first-hoof, was to give Luna some time to rule on her own, without her bigger sister there to interfere. Perhaps it would have been a better idea if their world hadn't been destroyed and they hadn't been forced to flee. With various species all wanting to be represented in government, with all their competing interests, in a democratic Council that the Diarchy had never had to wield... perhaps leaving Luna, even with friends to help her, hadn't been the brightest idea. However, the needs of the nation - the new Equestria, the one that now represented every survivor of the Disaster that had ruined their world and made it uninhabitable - required action, and required knowledge that would better inform those actions. Somepony had to go out there and bring back direct information about the world beyond, one who had power. Twilight, as brilliant as she was, was needed with the other Element Bearers in Equestria in case there were any crises. Luna wasn't the most experienced with disguises or diplomacy. Cadence still had a preteen filly to raise, as did her husband. That left Celestia. She could have left it to plenty of young minds curious about the outside world; Sunburst had wanted to go on an expedition to England, and later to Brazil. Both of these proposals were vetoed, though not unkindly. The royals needed one of their own, one with experience with others and could process information well, to go. Any other pony, or member of any of the other species for that matter, might, accidentally or otherwise, reveal Equestria's status before the rest of the world. In the wrong hooves - hands, rather - such information might lead to disaster. And so, Celestia had gone. A few plane rides later, from Equestria's newly constructed airport near Manehattan, she had gone from Brazil, to Puerto Rico, to Florida, and finally to Maine. There were certainly other colleges she could have gone to, most of them much larger and more prestigious, such as Yale or Harvard. But she had deliberately chosen a more out-of-the-way college in a less populated state in order to draw less attention. Perhaps a changeling, reformed or not, might have done better at spying. That was what she was technically doing; the false identification, the magical and physical hiding of her wings, all of it was done to allow her to enter a college and learn about humanity and its history. She had no intentions of harming anyone; battle and physical harm didn't come naturally to her, and she almost always preferred to solve problems peacefully. But no human secret service that was at all competent would buy that, nor her mission to learn about humans in order to help her country to make an informed decision about them. She looked at a Maine State flag that was flying outside. That had been another surprise to her; that American states considered themselves somewhat-autonomous entities within a federalized republic. It had been a bigger surprise to learn that they had once had much greater autonomy. Equestrian provinces, as much as they differed (sometimes to the point of having their own buckball and hoofball teams), each answered to a governor, usually a noble, appointed by the Diarchy. While they could run themselves, they mostly lacked democratic systems, except basic ones for local mayors and officials. All ponies, or at least the vast, vast majority saw themselves as one big country, without major differences. That a country had regions that had real, intense local politics and any considerable autonomy from the national government would have surprised many back in Equestria; kings, princes, queens, and the occasional emperor or empress had reigned supreme before the Disaster; a few merchant republics existed, but only nobles of great wealth had any say in them. A couple of peasants' republics existed, both as nominal vassals of bigger states, but these were the exception, and both of them were small and relatively unknown. "Dirigo," she murmured. The word meant "I direct" or "I lead." Without context, she would normally have questioned why the Latin word wasn't more common in government; used within context, of the North Star giving direction to people by night, the question was answered. It wasn't the only word she had learned of during her short stay. "Bug" referred to lobsters, "Ayuh" was a another way to say yes, and "Wicked" meant "very;" to hear someone say, "That's some wicked good coffee right there," had been a bit confusing to say the least, and would probably take some getting used to. She filed all this away into her mind and thought again of Equestria. Aside from Luna's letters, she received newspapers from Spike every day. The Crystal Empire wasn't continually threatened with annihilation by the winter anymore, although it was usually very cold and snowy there regardless, and only the Crystal Heart kept any of the land down there arable. Dragons and diamond dogs, as Luna's recent letter had mentioned, largely worked as miners, but in many cases both were very greedy and refused to cooperate from one species to the other, and it was often difficult to wrangle the various industries' and treasury's worth of gems, gold, silver, and other valuable metals out of them. Not all were hostile; a number of dragon students were in Equestrian schools, and a number of dragons had been hired to fight fires (ironic given their destructive history, but their hides were nearly invulnerable to heat), as smiths, and even a few engineers. Some diamond dogs had come out of their underground hideouts to discuss their history and lore. But sadly, most of their younger populations remained against civilization and change. Yaks faced the same problem, though Prince Rutherford was doing his best. According to some reports, some yaks had learned to speak full sentences in Equestrian/English, and others would soon follow. Kirin, hippogriffs, and griffons most easily adopted the new society, although the different interests - kirin loved the arts and crafts, hippogriffs loved the sea, griffons loved money - meant that each group often came into conflict with another at some point. Saddle Arabians weren't fond of living in more northern areas of Equestria, being used to living as nomads or in desert cities, and as such were difficult to both accommodate and feed given their often remote locations. Zebras were the most interesting; many chose to live in savanna areas (though there weren't many of those) and in jungles; Zecora had often complained that she was getting crowded within her home, although Fluttershy and Applejack had given hints that she wasn't being serious and was secretly happy to have her kin with her. The Everfree Forest had lost much of its magic since the Transition, so it wasn't as dangerous as it had been for centuries. Shining Armor was making some strides with the military; designs from the human Cold War had come through, and although these were long since out of date, they provided a bridge between the modern and the past in regards to military rifle, tank, artillery, and airplane design. Already, Equestrian engineers - including ponies, kirin, and Saddle Arabians - had constructed a hull for a jet-propelled aircraft; it was only an unarmored, unarmed prototype, but it was promising, especially with Twilight leading the project. Working automatic rifles had been tested already; not as good as the most modern weapons, but good enough to provide a stopgap for the military. Artillery hadn't been so hard to figure out, but there had been a number of near-accidents in testing breech-fired guns. A tank had been made, based on a combination of American designs; there was no reactive armor, but magically-reinforced steel and a potential shield generator - which was also in testing - might give it some viability on the battlefield. Hopefully, that would not be put to the test by a war with external or internal forces. Basic gyrocopters had been built, and looked promising, but as of yet none had been built that could reasonably hold, aim, and fire rockets. Airships were clearly out of date when it came to military service; missiles and gunfire could easy destroy them. Pegasi harnesses with machine guns were in testing, but so far, the prototypes were heavy and the added machine gun fire threw off those pegasi who were brave enough to fly in them. On the other hoof, plans for a navy were a success; smaller steel vessels were already in service, with a few destroyers and frigates having been constructed. However, plans for a battleship, even one with a massive shield generator, were delayed. Partly, this was due to the size of the project and the sheer amount of magic and material it required, but also because the past hundred years or so of human history had shown that air power could easily defeat warships, and as such this put the "Las Pegasus Project" in doubt. Trying to unite numerous different species, with different cultures, beliefs, and practices into a single army was difficult; many griffons made it clear they were on for pay, dragons because they were allowed to utilize their destructive powers (they tried to distain firearms, but Shining had threatened to kick any dragon who refused to use their weapons out of the army). Zebras, kirin, hippogriffs, and ponies usually fell in line rather quickly, although most hippogriffs preferred naval service to that of the army. Yaks and buffalo were difficult to assimilate into the army, given their gigantic size; Shining had solved the problem by giving them heavy weapons to carry and fire along with heavy armor, in essence turning any one of the enormous creatures into walking tanks to provide heavy firepower in battle. They wouldn't be able to stand up to actual tanks, but, as super-heavy infantry, they would still be useful. As for anything to ward off potential nuclear attacks... It was unlikely; nuclear weapons were so destructive that no human nation had used one against another since the Second World War. But the explosions themselves were extremely destructive, and that was without figuring in the radiation. While it might be theoretically possible to intercept bombers, ICBMs would simply come in too quickly to be shot down by anything Equestria had. Only a continent-wide shield might block such a weapon, but even the detonation of one such weapon against said shield would likely break or crack it; Twilight had run the math, and even with every skilled mage in Equestria backing up such a shield, it would be unlikely to stand up to multiple hits. Or, even if the shield were somehow made unbreakable, the radiation that would seep in might doom the nation anyway. Again in theory, the Elements of Harmony and the Crystal Heart could protect against both... but no one sane in Equestria wanted to try that theory. Fortunately, as noted before, nuclear attacks were unlikely; while many African and South American nations were furious over their coasts being damaged and many people dying when Equestria had displaced untold amounts of water upon Transition, they lacked nuclear weapons, and as Equestria was working hard to repair that damage and make it up to those nations, they probably would not be a threat. Another problem were industrialization and social clashes. Different species were now living where one alone had largely dominated. The various cultures, religions, and political ideals often had differing views. Unreformed changelings tended to despise their reformed brothers as traitors, while the reformed saw their unreformed kin as blind to a better reality at best and as brutes at worst. Dragons weren't used to living in clustered locations, and their varying sizes made it hard to accommodate all of them. Kirin and hippogriffs had generally assimilated well, although this was largely due to positive relations with Equestria before the Transition. Zebras found the climate in many places difficult to get used to, and their strange language and customs made many of their equine cousins anxious, although Zecora had been able to patch up a number of incidents. These were just some of the social problems. Another was class. Most species had a higher and lower class system, usually based on historical feudalism that had developed into rule by kings and nobility over commoners. In wealthier places like Equestria, a middle class had emerged due to many commoners spending money to make money. Nobles often scoffed at both the lower and middle classes, who in turn loathed the nobility's ignorance and disregard for them. Dragons and zebras didn't have class structures; most dragons did what they had wanted prior to the Disaster, unless the Dragon Lord used their scepter to give a command, while zebras had been tribal, with chiefs either inheriting their titles or being elected. That title of chief wasn't an invulnerable one; no zebra chieftain could impose absolute rule without his being overthrown by his own people. By and large, zebras had also followed their own pursuits, though in the interest of their particular tribe as opposed for their own greed. Most zebras lived outside cities in small communities, but around 15% or so were in cities trying to make money for their respective tribes, which meant change for them as well. Limited industrialization had existed in Equestria prior to the Disaster; now it was being, not exactly forced, but highly promoted and backed by the governing authorities. Equestria needed to supply its own weapons and munitions, and be able to compete against global market. While some Ma-and-Pa businesses - Sweet Apple Acres, for instance - were able to remain afloat (and indeed prosper anew after the Transition), many previously small farms and businesses had been bought out by the wealthy; blacksmiths were largely absorbed into factories, with their former owners now toiling as part of assembly lines (most blacksmiths who had made their business as farriers had taken up their trades at hospitals and spas, although some independent smiths, mostly working for the Royal Guard, survived). The railroad network was expanding, pushing many wagon businesses out of work. Airships, on the other hoof, had literally taken off as an alternate mode of goods transfer; previously, they had mostly been used as pleasure craft and aerial cruise liners. A nascent automobile industry had started six months ago, with subsidies from the government. While the latter was only just now producing prototype trucks to transfer goods (no pleasure or personal vehicles were being designed or tested yet), it looked as if it would prosper if things worked well. Oil was another industry getting off the ground. Hippogriffs had hunted whales for their oil and sold the excess for centuries. Now, with oil deposits being found in the ground by team surveys, it was likely that Equestrian industry and vehicles wouldn't be limited to steam power in the near future. Naturally, most of those driven out of business were angry, and there had been protests. A waggoneers' protest had blocked the construction of a new railroad line for a week before Royal Guards had arrested those who interfered with the work. A group of blacksmiths had gone even further; they'd tried to destroy a steel factory, succeeding in damaging numerous machines before being caught and jailed. Angry ex-farmers continued to picket their old farms, and some had turned to banditry, robbing trains carrying foodstuffs and selling it to whoever was willing to buy. Other protests had taken place in harbors, as old wooden ship companies were displaced by ones building steel ships. Again, there had been sabotage and arrests. While this issue - of old businesses going out of business - wasn't explosive yet, it was clear that a large portion of the pony lower classes were upset; ironically, not at their princesses, who were ultimately the ones behind the efforts of modernization, but at the billionaires and millionaires actually financing most of the changes. Perhaps that was to be expected in a society that often worshipped the alicorns; the claim of "evil councilors" who were guiding the princesses were making the rounds. Celestia knew she and her compatriots weren't gods, but their subjects persisted in that view. Changelings hadn't complained much; they were used to massive work projects within their old hive, prior to the changeling reformation, although the reformed were a bit more squeamish about using heavy machinery. Dragons got to use their fire to heat forges, which helped to decrease their appetite to destroy things, but they again weren't comfortable living and working so closely with others. Kirin, in their natural love of the arts, continued largely in those traditions, but a number of them did find themselves low on funds, taking up jobs within factories (the fact that kirin often became flustered and turned into niriks was a major complaint of factory owners). Some ponies were able to adjust, but the change of an Equestria that had largely been agrarian and whose cities had been centers of commerce and beauty was shocking to many. Fortunately, Luna had been able to keep things remarkably in check; factory owners had to pay an honest wage, provide pensions to injured and retired workers, and had to ensure their jobs were as safe as possible; however, radical rises in paychecks were rejected, and those convicted of destroying, or attempting to destroy, factory machinery were sentenced to five years in prison and a hefty fine, with community service and hard labor being given in a few cases to make the point. A Council Judiciary was set up to deal with clashes between species and to keep the peace in matters both large and small, and so far it had mostly succeeded, although there was still considerable grumbling. The fact that they had all survived the Disaster and that they were in a new and dangerous world where war, despotism, and nukes were all too real helped to keep thing calm; few wanted to survive whatever was responsible for the destruction of their homeworld only to die here. Luna continued promoting unity in the face of both internal and external problems, and this was helping to keep the various species on the same side. At least, for now. But that might not last forever as internal pressures increased. There was a "Fwoosh!" as a scroll appeared in front of her, momentarily ablaze with purple fire. A letter from Twilight. What does my faithful student have to write to me about? She found out quickly; Dear Silver Mane, I write to you regarding the Council and our R&D efforts. I assume your sister told you about the failure of the diamond dogs and the dragons to agree? Well, I'm glad to announce that, after some negotiations, that failure is no more; the two sides have agreed to a joint mining venture, with a 50/50 split of profits between the companies taking part. Additionally, the enforced employment bill has been struck down, though only after the dragons agreed, upon being... muscled by the rest of the Council to take up resolutions to encourage employment among their own people. As for the cyclone, it seems headed north, and may even miss Brazil; a pity we can't manipulate clouds anymore, I'd love a good chance to show our human co-inhabitants of this world some goodwill. Finally, after a police detachment from all affected species took part, the riots in the north have been quelled, and the refugees are either being fed, going home, or continuing their nomadic wanderings. So far, the current crises have been resolved, or in the case of the cyclone, sorted themselves out. I do worry, however. Our new government hasn't even been around a year, and we've faced severe challenges already. I earnestly hope these compromises are a sign of the system working, and not bad omens. On a more positive note, I'm pleased to say that scientific research is proceeding quite well. Moondancer, Sunburst, and Starlight are exploring a way to turn crystals from the Crystal Empire into power sources. Sunburst is on his way to building a crystal battery that can hold massive amounts of magical energy. So far we haven't found a way to connect it directly to our intended power sources; we've only managed to send magic directly into it by unicorn horns. But work continues, and this project is in its earlier stages. Fortunately, we've managed to confirm that a crystal that is properly powered can project energy efficiently, but getting it filled without exhausting our science staff is the tricky part. On the military front, we've begun designing a missile that is powered, and can track its target by, magic. Unfortunately, it's been two steps forward, one step back; the first missile we used nearly killed the pegasus pulling the real target, and while the second did hit what it was supposed to, it lacked sufficient explosive power to destroy it. At least firearms are easier, and don't require magic as part of their use; we're catching up to more modern designs there. But we're still way behind on tanks and aircraft. In addition, while we've tested shield devices successfully, they're way too big for personal use (not to mention they regulate an enormous amount of heat), and are likely to remain so; the best shields we can use on a battlefield will be the ones unicorns can cast, and those can be overwhelmed by enough firepower. My brother's shield is a case in point; our artillery took the shield down after about three minutes after the two batteries we had on standby commenced firing. Even a combined shield by numerous unicorns can't make an invulnerable shield, although it lasted about nine minutes longer under the same firepower. Diplomatically, in regards to the other nations on this world, we've been negotiating with NASA, the United States' Space Program. I... admit this is partly due to my own interests, as well as Luna's; the latter wants to explore the stars themselves, and see what living on, as opposing to being imprisoned in, the moon is like. But we're also hoping that a bit of cooperation between us and the various human nations might lead to a peaceful spirit between us, and cement our goodwill. Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, South Africa, Namibia, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea have all agreed to the reparations we've offered, as well as to recent continued offers of assistance in rebuilding their damaged coastlines. I do still worry about our future. I want to believe we can not just survive in this world, but make many, many new friends here. It's fascinating that while many species in our world are sapient, only humanity meets that criteria in this one... and, I admit, a little creepy, given the comparisons of their analog species (Earth horses and ponies compared to us, their cattle vs cows in our world, their zebras vs ours, et cetera). I doubt they will see us the same way as they see the native analogs - that is, I doubt they will treat us as livestock. But I do feel a bit worried as to how this happened, a little nudge at the back of my mind or a small feeling of frost in my stomach; not enough to derail my dealings with humanity, not at all, just the kind of oddity that one finds upon seeing one's own species' analog being non sapient. I believe that the best I could compare this phenomena to is the human film Planet of the Apes, wherein humans are essentially slave creatures and livestock. I do look forward to your rejoining us, though I know it's potentially years away. You've been like a second mother as well as a mentor to me, and I'll never forget that. From your student, Dusk Spark. Celestia allowed herself a moment to chuckle at the nickname Twilight had made for herself, not that it was unfitting. She also allowed herself a sigh of relief; at least things hadn't gone too badly. In fact, progress was being made. Still, she needed to get a feel for humanity itself, or at least determine how human beings lived and thought, in order to give Equestria the knowledge she needed for her survival in this new world. Unless their homeworld ceased it's self-destruction - something that seemed less and less likely every time she or Luna scryed the place - this was their home now.