Ari got up early that Wednesday morning with a long trip ahead of her. She took the train to Philadelphia, then transferred to another one heading further west. Spring Breeze and some other ponies would pick her up at the station.
This was already the furthest west she’d ever been, never having gone past Pennsylvania. Growing up she’d been very much locked into her tiny microcosm of the world she’d been born into. As a young adult… she supposed she had some freedom to move around wherever but maybe it just never registered to her. She’d wanted her freedom so badly but never thought to use it…
Never once had she thought of traveling around, making a trip to any faraway land. Even just moving around New York and New Jersey on the train had seemed an adventure already. She imagined most people would scoff at somebody who said they’d never been outside these three states.
Even now, on the longest trip she’d ever made she was only going halfway to the west, to where the ponies had things under control to some extent. She was going to the border of the promised land but not in it just yet.
Some doubts lingered in her mind as she came within three stops of her destination. She would be the only human around for a few days…
It wasn’t that she was afraid of ‘racism’ or anything. That was just a stupid meme created by the government to hold Shimmerism down. The Shimmerists were the most accepting of Ari, the ones who wanted to help humans enough to actually do something other than just hope the system would randomly fix everything someday.
It was more… embarrassing? Maybe this was how a fat person felt wearing a bikini to a beach party. A beach party where she was the only overweight person among a hundred models.
There was no secret that Ari was ashamed of her humanity. She tried reminding herself that nopony would ever be more disgusted with her form than Ari herself was. Hopefully.
The train finally reached her station. She got out to look for Spring Breeze’s van. It had still been dark when she woke up this morning but now the midday sun made the world bright and warm.
Something that brightened the world even more passed her by. An actual pony got off the train just before she did. And more ponies were waiting outside.
There were actually ponies here! They weren’t the majority but they were noticeable.
Ari’s doubts vanished the second she saw them. They really were such angelic-looking creatures! Just being around them made her happy. Already it felt like a different world. Things were more ‘alive’ here.
But where was Spring? Ari could find plenty of ponies but none of them were the right color… only when a pegasus got off the train and immediately took to the sky did Ari remember. Flying was only banned in the overwhelmingly human ‘dead zones’ but not here.
She looked up to find Spring Breeze up in the air, a break in the clouds revealing the sunny skies right behind her. They made eye contact and Spring flew down, practically tackling Ari with her.
“Friendo!”
“Friendo!”
Ari regained her balance, turning around once with Spring Breeze in her grasp. Meeting your internet friends was supposed to be weird in real life, but if anything Spring was cuter in person! She was so dang soft too. Ari could just hug her forever and never get enough.
Tears in her eyes, she held Spring Breeze close, getting an affectionate nuzzle just under her chin. Ari could kind of understand why humans were always bothering ponies, asking if they could pet them.
It was so easy to hold her up too. Pegasi were really light! Or maybe all ponies were. Ari would have to see.
“It’s so good to finally see you in person, Ari!” Spring Breeze pulled her head back just enough to look Ari in the eyes. “Oh, or did you want me to call you Cloud Weaver?”
Ari agonized over that decision. It was like the final stage of coming ‘out’.
“Either one is fine,” she said.
“I got you a present!”
Spring Breeze gestured to her unicorn friend who levitated a surprisingly nice jacket. Orange, specifically Sunset Orange as it was now called, Ari’s new favorite color. It had huge pockets in it and long sleeves, just like Ari liked.
“We made it ourselves,” said Spring Breeze. “I know you like oversized shirts so we made it big. Check out the back”
Ari turned it over, finding a symbol embroidered on the back. It was Sunset Shimmer’s cutie mark and the words, written in white, ‘heroes never die’.
“I love it! But won’t this make all the ponies think I’m trying too hard to fit in?”
“Not at all. Getting a human to wear something like this is the best feeling in the world, trust me.”
“Well I won’t stop you from getting the best feeling in the world.” Ari put the jacket on. It fit her perfectly! Which was to say it was too big. She preferred oversized coats to more easily slide her hands into the sleeves.
Ari carefully looked around. Not everybody, or even everypony, here would be a Shimmerist or appreciate the jacket. But Ari could be brave. She wasn’t alone anymore.
None of them gave any sign of noticing, let alone objecting.
“You look great in that!” Spring gave her a nuzzle. “Of all the humans I’ve converted to Shimmerism, you’re my favorite.”
“Ha! Do you convert a lot of humans to Shimmerism?”
“I’m up to twenty-three... explicitly.” Spring giggled. “But probably a lot more indirectly.”
Spring Breeze really was a hero. Ari wished she could be that effective. All those posters had to have done something. Just probably not very much.
One of the vans, close to the only one left, honked at them.
“Oh, we should get back there. We got a little bit of driving to do still,” Spring warned. “A couple more ponies to pick up before we head over to the house.”
There was one and only one thing that became much cheaper. And that was cars.
Ponies didn’t want cars. They wanted vans and buses. And they strongly preferred electric vehicles over anything else due to their sensitive noses and ears. Towns taken over by ponies often banned non-EVs entirely.
That meant your standard ICE passenger car had simply lost 25% of its demand overnight. A hundred million cars suddenly appeared on the used car market as ponies tried to sell them for any price they could get. The SSP had a fleet of a hundred thousand of them just sitting around. You could easily get one for free these days if you knew the right pony to ask about it.
So the van wasn’t surprising. But it was a sight to see an endless stream of ponies quickly pouring out when Spring opened the door. There had to be fifteen stuffed in there! Ari could hardly keep up with all of Spring Breeze’s introductions.
“They’re packed in there, huh?” Ari looked them over. Even if she was squished, being packed in with so many ponies sounded like a dream come true. If Ari couldn’t be a pony she could at least be covered in them.
“Yo! You!” The unicorn driver called out to Ari. “Shotgun! You’re the only one!”
Ari quickly figure out she meant to sit in the front seat and got in. The unicorn started the van, then grabbed the wheel with her magic, driving off easily enough. The pony did need a booster seat to see over the dashboard. Ari couldn’t see them working the pedals.
“What do you mean?” Ari asked. “That I’m the only one.”
“Yeah, get this,” said the unicorn. “Unicorns are allowed to drive in Illinois but we’re not allowed to sit in the passenger seat. Figure that one out. Lots of really weird laws like that till things catch up.”
“Oh, I get it.” Ari leaned against the window. “I’m the only one who can sit up here.”
“Yep! The seat you’re in hardly ever sees action.”
Looking back, Ari did wish she could be squished up with all the adorable ponies in the back row. But if they were picking up even more ponies than this, they would need the room. Even this small amount of separation was a lot.
They were chatting away back there, and seemed to know each other really well. It was difficult for Ari to get a word in.
It wasn’t long until they were on the highway. Spring Breeze started fidgeting her wings about as soon as they started to go fast.
“You okay back there?” Ari asked her.
“You don’t know what it’s like being a pegasus in a car,” said Spring Breeze. “You know that feeling when you’re stuck behind someone going ten under the speed limit? It’s like that! You just want to fly.”
Only then did Ari notice the distinct lack of pegasi. Only two of the ponies back there had wings. Spring Breeze and one stallion who looked half asleep. Tiny for a stallion and an unusual green color. She supposed there really was no reason to not just fly places unless they were tired.
“What are the restrictions like in Illinois, anyway?” Ari asked. “I’ve seen a couple of pegasi flying over the highway.”
Those little guys were fast, too! Easily able to outpace seventy miles.
“Oh! You can fly over anything that isn’t private property. But no more than 200 yards upwards,” said Spring Breeze. “You know how humans are. Those other humans. Sometimes they’ll call the cops for ‘trespassing’ when you zip over their lawn for a hundredth of a second.”
The tired pegasus woke up however slightly. “That one’s always fun, huh? But yeah, you can fly over most highways in the nation… save a couple of asshole states. Don’t recommend it though. Busy highways stink. Only good if you’re worried about getting lost.”
“So you can fly alongside the car?” Ari asked.
“Oh yeah! In fact…” Spring Breeze climbed over the tired pegasus and rolled down the window. “I’m going to stretch my wings a second.”
Spring Breeze jumped right out the window. Ari stuck her head out the front window to get a better look!
Spring fell behind rapidly before unfurling her wings and stopping hard. It wasn’t long before came bounding up and forward again, never even touching the ground. Soon she was neck and neck with the van, right next to Ari. They were face-to-face.
“That’s incredible!” Ari had to shout over the rushing wind. She put an elbow on the cil and leaned out and over. “Are you allowed to jump out of cars like that?!”
“Huh?!” Spring Breeze had to shout to be heard over the wind. “Well, not really! But no cops no problems! Hey, watch this!”
Spring Breeze straightened herself out a little and began making prancing motions with her legs as she bobbed up and down. She never actually touched the ground, but the effect was the same. It looked like she skipping alongside the car at some seventy miles an hour.
Ari laughed. Next, Spring did a little flip before zipping far ahead of the van. They passed her a minute later, sitting on the side of the road, beckoning to them as in imitation of a hitchhike.
How Ari wished that was her! How badly she wished to be racing alongside the car by Spring Breeze’s side!
She could almost picture Purple’s response to that. She’d look Ari right in the eye with the smuggest grin in history and say ‘Ah! But you get to ride shotgun! That’s just as cool as flying, right? Oh! Or maybe you can just get a pilot’s license and your own personal jet! Haha!’
That bitch would totally say something like that! Most people in society still felt the same way. The whole ‘get a pilot’s license meme was so infuriating...
But not here, at least. The other Shimmerists could at least sympathize with Ari’s pains and desires.
“She’s really showing off, huh?” The second pegasus fidgeted as if watching her made him restless.
He chuckled and turned to Ari.
“I think she’s making the poor heathen ape feel bad! Hey! You want me to show her up? My talent is flying specifically. I can run circles around her.”
Maybe Ari made her shame a little too obvious!
Spring Breeze landed on the roof of the van a moment later. Leaning over the edge, she stuck her head back inside the passenger window.
“What were we talking about?”
“I asked her if she wanted me to dunk on you!” He called out to her.
“Ah! Nope!” Spring Breeze laughed and swung back into the car. “That’s enough showing off.”
“Thanks.” Ari turned back to face the unfamiliar pegasus. “But I’m not a heathen. I officially converted to Shimmerism a while ago.”
“Yeah!” Spring pressed her muzzle against him, defending Ari. “I don’t even know how to make her jacket more explicit! Does it have to say ‘Hi, I’m literally a Shimmerist’ for you to get it?”
“Gah!” He tumbled over. “Sorry! Sorry! It was just a slip!”
“That poor human has to do all of this without Shim Sham’s help and you’re off calling her a heathen,” one of the others chimed in.
“I said it was a mistake!”
“We need more humans to become like her if we’re going to fix this planet,” they continued their lecture. “So have a little respect. Praise Sunset Shimmer!”
“Praise Sunset Shimmer!” All of the echoes with enthusiasm, Ari loudest of all.
And that brought her smile back. She really was with her own kind!
The van pulled up to a palatial estate. The freaking mansion they rolled up to was crazy huge!
But seeing as it was owned by ponies, this massive property wasn’t being hoarded for the ego of one man. The place was crowded with ponies moving about the lawn and not just because of Shimcon. A whole host of ponies lived on these grounds. Structures dotted the sprawling lawn, many permanent but a few tents still lingered. Seven buses were parked out front.
It seemed they had a small plot of land on the way back for farming. Earth ponies could work wonders with even just that much. Ari knew using your own private property for farming (or anything really) was something the government was increasingly fighting against. This was likely the most they could get away with.
The ponies in the van listed off some of the local grievances they had on the way over. Just here, for example, they wanted to build more housing for themselves on their own land but the local humans wouldn’t let them. There was a much worse story not too far from here where the state was seizing their property to build a highway to nowhere (an increasingly common tactic the humans were using to destroy pony communities to the satisfaction of billionaires).
“We actually own all the nearby properties, too. Big manor up there is just the crown jewel.” The driver gestured to the smaller houses as they pass. As it turned out, she was part of the community hosting the event. “And then we own a deli and a couple more houses downtown.”
Owning things on any level broke Ari’s brain.
Trying to pool their resources together to get a few, large properties seemed to be the strategy for a lot of the smaller, more fragile communities. The government was only willing to work with ponies where they were a huge part of the population. So in a lot of places, it was buy up land or be forced back to the way things were.
But this was it, wasn’t it? Tiny, but an actual for real pony community that stretched the length of this street! Ari was actually inside one.
This was what ‘making it’ felt like.
The van stopped and everypony poured out. Ari put her backpack on and looked up at the huge house. How many could live there now? Apparently, they bought up enough property for everypony who transformed in this city.
“Do I get to stay in this mansion?” Ari asked the driver. That unicorn increasingly seemed like the one in charge.
She thought for a moment about where to put Ari. Ari really hoped they weren’t going to shove her into one of those tents.
“Ari needs to have one of the beds,” said their driver.
“Why does the partial get a bed?” That tired pegasus asked.
“Did you forget how fragile humans are?” She asked. “They can’t just sleep on the floor or outside like we can. She can stay in the same room as you, Spring Breeze.”
“Me and my friends already brought our stuff up there,” said Spring Breeze. “I’ll show it to you. April should be around here somewhere, too. You’ll probably meet her at some point.”
Spring Breeze rushed up to the door, waiting for Ari to follow before opening it.
She put her hoof into a little groove and pressed, causing something to unlatch. Turned out it was a sliding door that Spring effortlessly threw to the side before stepping in.
Ari followed. She turned back to find the sliding door slowly closing behind them. That was a neat feature! The worst part of sliding doors was shutting and locking them, but this did both automatically for you.
“That was neat. How do I get a door like that?” Ari asked.
“Part of this conference is showing off accessibility options,” said Spring Breeze. “We’re still figuring out the best way to do things as ponies. This house was set up as a sort of concept piece. You don’t need hands for anything in the whole building! TV, toilets, sink, doors, windows, lights, AC… some of those you got five options for hands-free use.”
“I love this place already!”
She took just one step in… and her love for it grew only more.
The interior was completely brazen. Zero attempts to hide that this was a Shimmerist community center existed.
Orange banners bearing crests with Sunset Shimmer’s cutie mark hung from the wall. Portraits of Sunset Shimmer filled the front room. Ari could tell there would be no need to hide who she really was here or keep her opinions in check.
For the first time, she felt she could relax in a sense.
Though she did quickly learn what being a giraffe felt like. She towered over everypony and stood out too much for them not to look.
“Hey, where’s Ragnarok?” Ari asked. He was the pony who invited her in the first place. She was excited to meet him in real life.
“Probably down in the basement,” said Spring Breeze. “It’s going to rain hard tonight and he wants to talk to you during the storm. Wooo.”
“How dramatic.”
“So we’re actually in the west wing.” Spring Breeze stopped and turned to another pony up on the balcony who was calling her over. “Oh! There’s April now. Just wait here a second.”
Spring Breeze flew up and over the banister.
Ari decided to sit on the couch for a moment. She felt was less huge like that. Humans were larger than ponies, but standing on your hind legs (only legs, Ari reminded herself) gave you the appearance of being enormous.
A pony and a human sitting on a couch were almost at eye level.
Heck, there was one at eye level right now. Another stallion, a big red earth pony guy was sizing her up. He even smelled the air around her a little, which put Ari off. She reminded herself that was more normal for ponies…
“I gotta admit you stink less than most humans,” he said with a sly smile. “Skipped the meat today?”
“Oh!” Ari felt relief in knowing exactly what he was talking about. “Yeah, I know how gross humans smell after they eat meat. Especially pork, right? So I became a vegetarian about a month ago. Eating animals is kind of gross if you think about it. It would have been nice if we could all have just… stopped being gross and smelly, huh?”
“Well.”
He paused, his smile not so cocky, unsure of how to react to that.
“You’re a social Shimmerist then?” He asked.
“Isn’t everypony here?”
“Nah! I’m a separatist Shimmerist from way out west.” His smile was back. “I don’t believe we can reconcile with humans. This nation has always been treating this group or that like garbage and now apparently it’s our turn. So I say the only way we can have a decent life is to get free of the humans entirely.”
“I admit I want ponies to take over the government because that’s what’s best for us.” Ari nodded. “Well… short of becoming ponies. But I totally understand you wanting independence
“You do?”
“Yeah! It makes sense. I mean, the government is completely hostile to your very existence and literally wishes they could irradicate you all. They shackle you with unreasonable demands and give you nothing in return. All their energy just goes toward just taking away what you want. It’s like of course you’d want to get away with that. What the hell does everyone even expect?”
He didn’t seem entirely sure what to say to that.
“Oh yeah, it’s like ‘hey, we decided to force you all out of your homes and chase you into the woods where you’ll be second-class citizens and you’re not allowed to control the weather, or sell food, or use your magic however you like or fly if you’re in New York and we’re going to harass you constantly with our rehumanizer guys… But you gotta have ‘harmony’ with us. You guys gotta help us despite all that.’ It’s pathetic, right?”
“Um.” The stallion pawed at the couch cushion.
“Do you not agree?” Ari asked. She expected a separatist Shimmerist to be on board with what she was saying.
“Of course I agree.” He shook his head. “I just think it’s a tragedy that ETS didn’t convert every last human in this nation. It would have been better had humans just ceased to exist, you know?”
“Yeah, you’re right. If Purple even waited until ponies were a clear majority, nobody would be suffering right now. We were so close, huh?”
“Well. Yeah!” He raised his eyebrows. “Because ponies are better than humans.”
Ari nodded firmly.
“In every way! Because humans suck! They’re sentient garbage.”
“Right!” Ari nodded with even more conviction.
He frowned. He made some kind of horse noises. Then he walked away.
“Well, that pony seemed nice. I love this place!”
Spring Breeze landed next to Ari and soon led her off to the west wing.
Their bedroom was filled with bags and the floor was covered in sleeping mats. There wouldn’t be much room on the bed for anypony but Ari.
The room overlooked the expansive lawn, where Ari got to see a huge group of foals playing something like tag.
She went to sit down on the bed, only to pull back a the last minute realizing a pony was already sleeping there. It was one of those night ponies! The grey stallion sprawled out wide across the bed instead of tucking his legs in.
The little guy looked pretty banged up, and was covered in nicks and scars. The left side of his face was particularly bad… like someone hit him in the face with a hammer. And he would have had to have gotten all those wounds after becoming a pony, too since ETS cured everything.
“That’s Shiv.” Spring didn’t give him much heed. “He’s impossible to wake up during the day. Don’t bother keeping your voice down.”
Ari frowned, not keen on following that advice. Then again a sunbeam was shining directly in Shiv’s eyes so if he could sleep through that…
Actually, did sunlight make it harder or easier for them to sleep? Ari had no idea.
“Come over here, I want to show you some of the stuff I’ll be presenting tomorrow.”
Ari had to sit on the floor to be in front of the computer with Spring Breeze. Everything here was hands-free… but pony-sized.
“See, they made it so you can type with your ears.” By which she meant, ponies could type with their ears. Spring Breeze swiveled her ears about, each position corresponding to a different symbol, allowing her to slowly type out a short message.
“That looks pretty slow, though,” said Ari.
“Yeah. It’s really more for activating certain commands. You combine it with eye tracking and…” Spring Breeze shifted her eyes, looking at the start menu. Flicking her left ear served as a click bringing it up. With a second flick, she opened MS Word next.
“That’s really impressive! Wish I had at least gotten pony ears so I could use that.”
“Well, I do have some other software that might be able to help you.”
They spent a few hours going through all these pony-accessible programs.