(Fluttershys POV)
“We’re going to the Crystal Empire!”
…
…
“Huh?!” The rest of the girls and I chorused in unified confusion. After exchanging some murmurs amongst ourselves, we all turned our attention back to the purple unicorn who had made the announcement.
“The Crystal Empire,” Twilight began, “it’s returned after a thousand years, and Princess Celestia is sending me there to help Cadance and my brother stop Sombra from taking it over again.”
“Well that’s all well and good, sugarcube,” Applejack started, “but how are we supposed to save it? And where the hay is this Empire, anyhow?”
“I… don’t actually know. Princess Celestia said that Cadance and Shining were already there trying to figure that out. Though they’ve had a few… complications… of their own.” Before anypony could question what those ‘complications’ were, Twilight continued. “And it’s in the Frozen North. The Princess suggested that we should head back to Ponyville and pack anything we might need before getting on the train north.”
“Oh my, the Frozen North, darling?” Rarity asked. At Twilight’s nod, she continued. “Well, I must get back to Carousel Boutique and grab a few scarves at the very least!”
“A few? Please!” Replied the cyan pegasus known as Rainbow Dash next to her. “Knowing you, you're gonna pack, like, a bajillion bags!”
“Hmph!” Rarity ‘hmphed’ “A proper lady always packs the necessities, Rainbow Dash! For some place as cold and frigid as the Frozen North, well… well I can’t allow myself to be unprepared, now can I?”
Applejack decided that now would be a good time to chime it. “Now now, you two. Despite how much I hate to say it, Rainbow does have a point, Rares. You do have a tendency to overpack, at least a little…”
As the packing discussion between the three continued on, I noticed that Twilight didn’t seem to be paying much attention. In fact, she seemed… lost.
“Um, Twilight?” I asked as I stepped closer to her.
This seemed to snap her out of it. “Oh, hey Fluttershy. Sorry, I was lost in thought. What’s up?”
“Well, you just seemed lost in thought, and I wanted to know if something was wrong… if you don’t mind talking about it, of course.”
“Oh, I don’t mind. It’s just… you know a lot about strange creatures, right?” At my nod, she continued. “Well, it’s just… have you ever heard of a ‘human’ before?”
That question threw me for a loop. “A human…? I… No, I can’t say I've ever heard of one.”
Twilight sighed “Well, apparently, there’s one in the Crystal Empire right now. Cadance and Shining are keeping an eye on him and, according to Princess Luna, he’s intelligent enough to speak but doesn’t know a single word of Equish! And she asked me to help him find a temporary solution to the language barrier until Sombra is defeated.” Twilight’s nerves seemed to be getting to her at that moment, and I wasn’t entirely sure what to do.
“Now calm down there, sugarcube. Did the Princess tell you anything about this “human” thing?” Applejack intervened, having seemingly overheard what we were talking about.
“Not much. Just that his name is Jackson Brunner, he is an adult of his species, the two currently believe that he is most likely from another world, and he has, so far, proven himself to be non-hostile, if not a bit snarky and rambly at times.”
“Wait wait wait, hold up. Do you girls think this Jackson guy could be the complications that Twilight mentioned earlier?” It was Rainbow who said that.
“Well… he’s more like one of them on a slowly growing list, according to the princesses.” Twilight responded.
“Well-” I started to say, before Pinkie interrupted me.
“OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!!! THAT MUST HAVE BEEN WHY MY PINKIE SENSE WAS GOING CRA-ZY YESTERDAY! But- wait, it told me he ended up in Ponyville. Why did it…?” Pinkie seemed to trail off at that moment, so I tried to speak up again, only to be interrupted by the pink earth pony a second time. “WAIT, I’VE GOT IT! Clearly my Pinkie sense went off because he needs a welcome party! Well, Pinkie Pie is on th-” Now it was Pinkie’s turn to be interrupted, this time by an orange hoof to the mouth.
“Now settle down there, Pinks. Let poor Fluttershy over here say what she wants to say.”
I nodded to Applejack in appreciation before continuing. “Well, I think we should give him a chance to prove himself. He’s already proven to be friendly. Maybe the best approach is to help him and extend our hoof in friendship to him?”
“Helping him is non-negotiable, Fluttershy. It’s a direct assignment from Princess Luna. But I do agree that we should extend our hoof in friendship to him. Right, girls?”
Pinkie was the first to agree, if her rapid head bobbing was anything to go by. Rarity was next, followed by Rainbow, and lastly came a reluctant Applejack.
“So we’re all in agreement. With that out of the way, let’s get on the train. It’s gonna be a long trip.” And with that, Twilight stepped onto the train back to Ponyville, the rest of us following close behind.
“Now Angel Bunny, I need you to help Harry out as much as you can for the next few weeks. You’ve seen how we run things for the past few years, so I’m sure you can keep things running smoothly, right?” At Angel’s nod, I smiled. “Good. I’ll see you all in two weeks. Be good, now!”
With those parting words, I stepped out of my house and met up with Applejack, who was waiting just down the road after helping me carry the animal feed here, and the two of us began walking to the train station. We shared some pleasant conversation for most of the walk, until the topic turned back to the Crystal Empire.
“I’m just saying that this is a creature we know next to nothing about. What if it’s dangerous? Or just playing nice until it gets what it wants?” I was honestly surprised that it was Applejack who was saying this. I thought for sure I would be having this conversation with Rainbow Dash, but not Applejack.
“It’s like Twilight said. According to Princess Luna, he doesn’t seem to mean any harm to any of us, and Cadance and Shining both seem to trust him if they’re letting him stay with them.” I calmly explained to the apple farmer. “I just think he deserves a chance to prove himself before we do anything rash.”
“I hope you're right, Shy.” Applejack replied after a moment. “But once we meet him, I’m gonna keep an eye on him. Just in case.”
“I’m sure you're just being paranoid, AJ.” Rainbow's voice replied from above. “Besides, if Fluttershy is willing to give the guy a chance, why shouldn’t we?”
“I know that, Rainbow. I just got a bad feeling about this whole situation is all.”
We arrived at the train station. Twilight and Rarity were already there, the former looking through a book and the latter having Spike carry six different bags of varying shapes and sizes. I heard bits being exchanged between AJ and Rainbow behind me as I approached Twilight.
“Oh, there you are Fluttershy.” She said as she noticed my approach. “Oh, and you brought Applejack and Rainbow Dash with you! Great! Now we just need to wait for Pinkie Pie and we should be good to go.” She closed the book she was reading and placed them in her saddle bag. “I was talking with the conductor earlier. He said that, if he really pushes the engine to the limit, we can get there in just four days. Princess Luna also sent a letter, and said she would be checking in on us in our dreams during the trip and giving us updates on what's going on in the Empire.” She started looking around towards the rest of the girls. “Everypony have your affairs in order?”
“Big Mac’s gonna watch the crusaders while we’re gone.” Replied Applejack. “I’m sure he can and Granny can handle a little extra farm work for a couple weeks.”
“All of my appointments have either been rescheduled or canceled, so I have no problems here.” Rarity added.
“I have Angel and Harry watching over the animals.” I chimed in.
“And I have all of the supplies we need for Jackson’s party!” Pinkie yelled, appearing next to Rarity seemingly out of thin air and throwing confetti everywhere.
“Pinkie, this is a serious situation. We don’t have time to throw a party.” Twilight replied in an exasperated voice. Clearly, this was not the first time these two have had this conversation today.
“But it’s always time for a party! And I need to throw Jackson a super-duper special “Welcome to Equestria” party! I can’t have him feeling left out!”
“But-” Twilight started before Rarity butted in.
“Honestly, darling, you're not going to get her to stop. You know this. We all know this. Just let her plan the party. It’s… easier that way.”
Twilight replied with a sigh. “Fine. But not until after I figure out how to get around the language barrier. Understood?”
“Loud and clear!” was Pinkie’s reply as she trotted onto the train. The rest of us followed and got settled into the booths of the passenger car. After a few moments, the train started up and we had begun our trip northwards.
(Raritys POV)
"So what are you reading there, darling?" I asked Twilight as I settled into the seat across from her.
"It's a book about translation spells. Princess Luna mentioned something interesting about Jackson's language. According to Cadance, while it's completely incomprehensible to Equish speakers when spoken, it does share some words when written. Specifically in Unicorn Script." Twilight levitated another book out of her saddlebags. "I'm hoping that, at the very least, I can find or even create some sort of spell that can translate what he writes into Equish and what we write into his native language, using those similarities as a basis. It's not as good as a spoken conversation, but it should be good as a temporary solution."
"Oh, well maybe I can help with that. I know a little bit about translation spells."
Twilight cocked her head. "You do?"
I nodded "Of course, dear. Even in a small town like Ponyville, I've occasionally had to deal with clientele in the past who… didn't speak the best Equish." One particular incident involving a group of griffins from the Griffin Territories briefly flashed through my mind before I continued. "Most of the time, it was just easier for me to cast a translation spell and for us to both speak in our native tongues." I looked over the page that Twilight was on. "I may not be as knowledgeable or experienced as you are, but I'm sure with the two of us working together, we can figure this out rather quickly."
"Thanks, Rarity. That helps a lot." Twilight replied as I took a glance at the other book: "Languages and Writing Systems of the Early to Mid Celestial Era, by Lord Blank Page."
"And why do you have a language book?" I asked.
"Well, besides the fact that it's one of the best resources I have for studying Unicorn Script, as it was still commonly used in the Early Celestial Era, Jackson seems to write in a variation of Unicorn Script. I was hoping that maybe I could find some sort of reference or maybe a common precursor in this book." Twilight explained.
"But didn't the princess say he was from another world? Do you really think his language would be in there?" I questioned.
"That's just the current theory." was Twilight's dismissive reply. "If there's even a chance that I can find some sort of reference to this 'English' language - even if it's just a small hoofnote - I need to look into it. It can speed up the process a lot."
I thought about it for a moment. "Well, alright dear. How about this?" I took the language book in my telekinesis as I slid the translation magic book back to her. "How about I look for any references about 'English', while you focus on the spell. Sound good?"
Twilight, after getting over the fact that I had just taken a book from her without warning (which, in hindsight, was not my smartest move), nodded once and smiled. "Sounds good." She replied. "Thanks again for the help."
"Oh, it's not a problem, darling. Anything for a friend." With that came the end of our conversation and the beginning of my journey into the world of languages both alive and dead.
(Fluttershys POV)
It had been several hours since we left Ponyville for the Crystal Empire. For the most part, I had been sitting by the windows and watching the rolling fields of Central Equestria fly by. It was a beautiful sight, one that was only improved by the setting sun.
I glanced around the rest of the cabin. Rainbow and Applejack had already gone to the attached bunk car and went to bed about half an hour ago, and Twilight made Spike join them. She and Rarity were still looking through the books Twilight had brought with her, and Pinkie was nowhere to be found. I would be concerned about that, but I was used to her antics at this point. Knowing her, she was just somew-
"I'm actually right behind you, silly!" Pinkie from right behind me, causing me to jump up in surprise. I may be used to her antics, but that doesn't mean she doesn't scare me when she sneaks up on me like that.
"So watcha thinking about?" Pinkie questioned as I calmed myself down.
"Honestly… nothing." At Pinkie's inquisitive look, I continued. "I've been trying to keep my mind off of this situation, at least early on. I would really not like to think about Sombra or the Empire or…" My eyes wandered over to Twilight and Rarity as I trailed off. Pinkie noticed almost immediately.
"Do you remember what happened with Iron Will?"
"What?"
"Iron Will? You know, that big mean minotaur who had this assertiveness seminar and-"
"No no, I know who you're talking about, Pinkie." I quickly clarified for the party pony. "I just don't understand what he has to do with this."
"Isn't it obvious?" Pinkie tilted her head while I shook mine. "Well, after Rarity and I pointed out how you were being a big, bossy, pushy, meanie pants and you had your whole moment of self reflection, you went straight up in Iron Will's face and told him off! You told him you weren’t satisfied with his services! And he listened!” Pinkie enthusiastically told her oversimplified version of events. “Oh, and there was the dragon before that! The way you stood up for yourself and your friends scared him away!”
Upon seeing my still confused look, she continued. “You see, Fluttershy? You’re brave. You’re assertive. And I know that you can handle whatever Sombra has to throw at us!” She held her hooves out wide. “And if Jackson turns out to be a big meanie pants, then I know that you can handle him as well!” Pinkie lightly punched me on the shoulder. “You’ve got this!” Before I could get another word in, the sound of an alarm came from Pinkie’s now vibrating tail. “Sorry Fluttershy but IgottagothecupcakesaredoneokayBYYYYEEEEEE!!!!” And in a puff of smoke, she vanished. I just shook my head as I turned my attention back out the window.
During my conversation with Pinkie, Celestia’s Sun had fully set and Luna was guiding her Moon into the sky, so that it could begin its journey across the night sky.
“She’s right, you know.” Said Twilight, who had apparently been listening in from her booth. “But just know that, no matter what, we’re behind you. Me, Pinkie, and the rest of our friends.”
I responded with a loud yawn. “Thanks. I’m gonna head to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.” I got up and started walking to the bunk car.
“Goodnight, Fluttershy!” I heard Rarity call after me as I crossed the threshold and closed the door behind me.