//------------------------------// // 2. Mythconceptions // Story: Imperatives // by Sharp Quill //------------------------------// In the infinite void of hyperspace existed an endless plane, softly glowing a deep and near ultraviolet purple. It took a while for Meg to locate her destination, her old office from which she had been—would be— kidnapped. It helped that magic generators were rare at that point in time; their presence discolored the skin of the universe, rendering it tangerine. That the kidnappers helped themselves to all the magic generators in the facility also provided a reference point in time. All that was left was to pass through the skin and wait. No, there was one more thing. Meg resumed her human form; she had to do that now, as her original universe would not permit violations of its conservation laws. That out of the way, she cast a teleportation spell and appeared in what was once her office. Nostalgia overwhelmed her. It had been so many years since she’d last seen it. There, on the desk, was the photo of the two of them in Hawaii. She still had it; digital pictures did not degrade with time. How ironic she had arrived at a time, like her own, when there was no Steve anywhere in this universe. Only this time it was because he was in Equestria, along with her past self, on that trip to Las Pegasus. Meg plunked into her old chair, memories flooding back. Before her was her old workstation. Here and now it was state of the art; by the standards of her own time, it seemed hopelessly outdated, little better than an abacus, a relic in a museum. There was not a trace of magic in its operation. Enough reminiscing. She checked the time on the computer. About an hour for her to prepare her office for ransacking; the goons were to get what they were supposed to get—and nothing more. “I was quite sincere,” Andy said. His face beamed from her computer monitor. “Our time as enemies has passed. Why shouldn’t we collaborate?” Twilight still had not accepted the former Lord Tirek’s offer, first made back in Tartarus, to cooperatively investigate the similarities between the human and pony realms. There was no specific reason why. She just couldn’t help but feel she’d regret it. Somehow. Eventually. But if that were the case, that he had something nefarious planned, there was only one way to uncover it. So when Andy’s desire for this chat had come in through channels, she took Luna’s advice and agreed. Twilight only added the condition that it’d be a video chat. Not having been to his current residence, talking to him in person would have been too inconvenient. She couldn’t use a plaid pill to go there directly, and using a portal was too risky as she wouldn’t have the option of the pill’s return spell. “Okay, let’s start now,” she finally said, “with the subject of language. You witnessed the development of modern Equish, right?” A human pen hovered over a pad of paper. “Excellent!” he exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “I did. However, I would not use the word ‘development.’” “Oh?” “Modern Equish did not so much ‘develop’ as appear fully formed.” The pen continued hovering over a blank sheet of paper. “Fully formed,” she repeated. “It had to form somewhere.” Andy nodded. “One would think so. English certainly formed here in this world, I have learned, over the course of many centuries.” “I’m well aware of that.” A shrug. “I assume magic was somehow responsible, though that would be more your specialty than mine.” And there was an all-too-obvious explanation, not that she was going to mention time travel to the former centaur. It begged the question anyway. How do time travelers get an entire population of ponies to switch over to English, accent and all? And to do it so thoroughly that no trace remained of their earlier tongue? There wasn’t a spell for that! “How do you know Equish didn’t evolve over centuries?” she asked. Andy looked up and to the side, lost in thought. “I can’t prove it,” he eventually said. His eyes returned to the webcam. “One day, I learned of a large population of ponies, all of whom spoke what would become known as Equish. I don’t know how long they were there—generations certainly—so it’s possible their language evolved over time. But even if it did…” He was lost in thought once more. “Even if it did,” he resumed, “it bore no similarity to any other language I was aware of at the time.” He paused again. “Another strange thing to consider: that part of the continent, where Equestria is today, was uninhabited wilderness the previous time I had passed through, maybe two—no, three centuries earlier. I’m not sure where those ponies had come from.” He rubbed his chin in thought. “Actually, I had not previously encountered ponies anywhere prior to that. Donkeys, yes. Goats, yes. Even cows. But not ponies.” Twilight didn’t know what to make of that as she wrote it all down. It raised more questions than it answered. Time travel, again, while superficially providing an answer, again begged the question. A large number of ponies couldn’t be sent from the present to the distant past, thus becoming their own distant ancestors. She now knew enough about genetics to understand that was—at best—highly improbable. Unless… “What happened to this population? They didn’t somehow all die off after transferring their language to another population of ponies, did they?” Andy was not amused. “I hope you are not accusing me of genocide.” The thought had occurred to her, though on reflection she regretted thinking that; Lord Tirek had wanted to conquer and rule, not mindlessly destroy. “It could have been a pandemic, or a natural disaster,” she quickly said. Even if some had survived, so long as their descendants had all died out before modern times, it could still work. “To my knowledge they were the ancestors of present-day Equestrians. There were no other ponies so far as I know. I do know that Celestia and Luna were born to them.” “They established their rule by defeating Discord,” Twilight said, seeing where this was going. “I gave them all to Discord to do with as he pleased,” Andy said with a wave of a hand. “They were too far away for me to bother with; that’s why it took so long for me to become aware of them.” He sighed. “In hindsight, that may not have been the wisest course of action.” Since it had directly led to his imprisonment in Tartarus. It’s ancient history, she tried to tell herself. Nothing would be served by holding him accountable for what he had done so—no, he had already been held accountable, by his long imprisonment in Tartarus. Regardless, it confirmed that those ponies hadn’t died out, that their descendants—amongst them Twilight herself—still lived. They could not have been time travelers from the present. So where had they come from? As tempting as it was to visit them in the past and find out, that wasn’t an option. Traveling that far through time was simply impossible. Not now, anyway—not in the foreseeable future either. “Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Andy looked at her expectantly. “Imagine what we could accomplish if we had quality time together.” “Don’t push your luck.” He threw up his hands. “Hear me out first. I’ve been invited to visit my old home at Knossos, what’s left of it anyway. Perhaps you could come along? There would be a stopover in Athens; I figured we could visit that cave that led me to your realm. Who knows? You might detect some residue of that portal, though after so many centuries I wouldn’t get our hopes up.” She would have jumped at that chance not so long ago; it had become academic, now that the mechanism behind those portals had been discovered. Andy didn’t know that. Should she tell him? No, he had no need to know. And he was almost certainly right, that there’d be no residue to detect. That could be her excuse to decline. On second thought, however… Knossos had contact with the Equestrian realm. The human legend of the minotaur originated there. It was probably a long shot, but could evidence of that contact survive to the present day? She could arrange to go there without him, but only Androgeos, son of King Minos, who became the centaur Lord Tirek, could fluently read Minoan. And as for that cave… who’s to say it didn’t have evidence of Equestrian contact? Andy was patiently waiting for her reply. Even better, might he not also let loose a few details concerning his escape from Tartarus? Meg would love learning how she would free him. “I accept.” Susie ran up the stairs with Dinky close behind her, both shouting noises of excitement. Once they were out of sight, Matt considered his sister. “Do you always have to visit us as a pony?” Meg drifted down onto the sofa and folded her wings. “Plaid pills only work for magical creatures. You know that.” “You could have a unicorn bring you over?” Meg frowned at him. “You’re missing the point. If a SWAT team forced their way in here, guns drawn, I want a quick exit.” Matt sat down next to her. “Aren’t you getting a little paranoid? We’ve been back for a month and no one has so much as knocked on our door.” “Which only proves they’re not interested in you… and that they don’t have a clue I’ve been visiting.” “Or maybe that thought has occurred to them, and they don’t care as much as you think.” Meg shrugged. “Oh, sure, I bet they have this house under observation, but they haven’t seen me at the front door—or any door. Very few know how it works.” “Then by your own argument it’s safe enough to visit as your human self.” She sighed. “If it’s the human me you miss, you’ll just have to come to Equestria to see her.” He shook his head. “When was the last time you were even human?” “The last time I used a keyboard, for your information.” Matt grimaced. “Sorry. It’s just that I can’t cross over on a whim to visit you. You couldn’t bring me across right now even if you wanted to.” He looked at the blank screen of the TV. “Too bad none of those alleged portal sightings were real. I mean, just because Andy used one thousands of years ago to enter Equestria doesn’t mean they exist today.” Meg threw him a wry smile. “Hey, if it prevents everyone from knowing how we really cross over, so much the better.” The smile became evil. “But if you want a portal right here in your house so you can visit whenever you want, that can be arranged.” A flat look. “Don’t joke about something like that.” “It’s not a joke. Well, not the part about the portal itself. We recently discovered how they are made and controlled. But putting one here would be a very bad idea. If word ever got out…” He stared at her for a few seconds. “You’re serious.” “Yeah. We could set up a big portal right now, let people and ponies go back and forth for business, tourism, whatever. Except.” “Except for all the craziness going on right now.” “Right.” Matt ran his hand through her mane. “Speaking of craziness, what about the trial? I assume you’ll ignore the Senate, since you ignored the House’s subpoena.” “I’m considering it.” His hand froze. “Now I know you’re joking.” Meg’s ears flattened. “I’d do it for one reason and one reason only, to get back at that bastard for what they did to Susie.” Matt pulled back his hand. “That isn’t how it works. They ask the questions. You answer what they ask. Get real. Even if you cooperate, do your best not to rock any boats, you’d still wind up behind bars. That’s your reward for showing up.” A grim smile. “Not if I show up as a pony. They can’t stop me from returning to Equestria whenever I want. I don’t have to play their game.” “Show up—” He shook his head. “Look, if it was only your life at risk, then maybe you could do what you want. But if you’re going to drag Susie into the limelight, just when it seemed everything had returned to normal for her.” He glanced at the ceiling, at where his daughter was playing with a unicorn filly. “What passes for normal, these days.” Meg stared at him. “And so long as those goons are out there, you’re at risk of being used to get to me.” “Then what are they waiting for?” She looked away. “I don’t know. Doesn’t prove they won’t.” “Did you ever consider that maybe, just maybe, they don’t care about you anymore?” “They care enough to have a warrant for my arrest for their bullshit accusations, to subpoena me to testify before Congress.” Matt threw his hands up. “All the more reason not to do something stupid. Just saying.” Meg’s head dropped to the cushion. In almost a whisper, she said, “I know it works out for me, somehow.” It took Matt a few moments to respond. “What, your cutie mark told you that? or something?” “My future self.” She turned away. “I met her—me—whatever.” More moments passed. “No, you’re not joking.” “An occupational hazard of time traveling,” she muttered. “And what about the rest of us? How does it work out for us?” “I wasn’t told.” Matt stood up. “Keep that in mind.” “This is fascinating, Spike! The ancient Greeks did not consider unicorns to be mythological. They really believed they existed.” Spike put the cup of hot cocoa on the desk next to the computer. “It’s not like unicorns don’t exist.” “But they never saw one!” Twilight lifted the cup in her magic. Tiny marshmallows were already starting to melt, just as she liked it. “They thought unicorns were in a place called India—” She pointed at the words on the screen as she read them. “—‘a distant and fabulous realm.’” “So ‘India’ is just another name for Equestria?” “No, apparently not. It’s a country in the human realm. I don’t think they mean what we mean by the world realm.” Spike took a sip of his own cocoa. “So were there unicorns in India?” “No… apparently not. It’s all based on relief sculptures seen in yet another ancient civilization. They weren’t even based on ponies—or even horses. That didn’t happen until many centuries later.” “I dunno. Doesn’t prove it wasn’t based on actual unicorns. We know that portal existed.” “Yes, in Greece. Where they never saw a unicorn.” Twilight continued scrolling through the webpage. She couldn’t help rolling her eyes upon encountering the “unicorns can only be tamed by a virgin” myth. Cadance would love that one. How do these things get started? And humans used the word alicorn to refer to the substance out of which horns were composed—as well as the horn itself? Well, they were certainly right to believe it had magical properties, though not so much medicinal ones. Her eyes went wide. “They ground up the horn into powder!?” Spike spit out a mouthful of cocoa. “What? How? I thought they never even saw one?” “It’s…” She cast a spell to clean up the mess. “There, that’s better. Not unicorns, obviously, but other animals—fake alicorn powder.” “Do they still do that?” Her jaw set. “I certainly hope not. I will not tolerate that happening to any Equestrian unicorn.” “Uh, or alicorn?” The worry on Spike’s face was as plain as the fins on his head. Her smile was determined. “I can look after myself.” “Maybe you should bring someone along with more, uh, experience in such things?” Experience? Who has more experience dealing with Tirek? Discord? Possibly. But he can’t go to that realm. Celestia? Perhaps, but she has a country to run. Meg? Sure, she knows the human realm but that doesn’t mean she knows anything about ancient archaeological— “You’re not suggesting…” Spike nodded. “Can a human Andy be any worse to deal with than Ahuizotl or Caballeron? And ancient ruins are right up her alley.” And I’m sworn to secrecy. Ahuizotl and Caballeron were only hive-less changelings role playing a part, she now knew. It was part of the deal to gain their assistance, to have one of them masquerade as Meg the pegasus. In exchange, they were granted permission to freely mingle with ponies—so long as they behaved themselves, of course. So far they had. They’d been mingling all along, after all, without causing problems. One was in Ponyville even then, serving as the librarian at the Golden Oak Library. Part of that deal was, for the time being, to keep their changeling nature a secret, until a path to acceptance and integration could be found. Regardless, Twilight couldn’t deny Daring knew her way around ancient ruins. And just because her villains were fictional didn’t mean she lacked understanding on what made them tick. That’s how she wrote them so convincingly, after all. “I’ll suggest it to her,” she said. “She’ll probably have to go as Yearling, but that would work too.” “Sure! Researching the next Daring Do book.” And why not? She’d even include that in the invitation. Twilight finished her cocoa and locked her computer. There was a changeling she needed to see. Tomatoes. Eggs. Honey. Carrots. Aged hay. Various flowers. Meg’s saddlebags were filling up nicely. Up ahead she spied an apple cart. Applejack spied her back and waved. Sure, why not? She still had room for some apples. No sooner had she arrived than the orange mare greeted her. “Howdy, Meg! Haven’t seen you around these parts much.” Meg looked over the cart, wondering what to get; at least eight varieties were laid out, each in its own basket. “I know. Spending most of my time in Canterlot these days. Only here today because Dinky was visiting my niece.” Applejack nodded. “Susie did make a few friends while she was here, I reckon. Apple Bloom wouldn’t mind seeing her again.” “I’ll see what I can do.” “Need some help making up your mind?” They all looked so good. “Well, I know I want about a pound. That’s all I can carry, I’m afraid.” “Not a problem! Looks like you’ve been busy shopping.” Meg shrugged. “Doing my part to support the Ponyville economy.” A gust of wind ruffled her mane. “Hey. What’s up?” “Meg, here, is about to buy some apples.” Rainbow Dash took offense. “I pay for them!” “Eventually.” “I’ll let you choose which ones,” Meg interjected, heading the inevitable argument off at the pass. She reached for her bit bag. “One pound of apples, coming up.” Applejack proceeded to select a variety of apples and place them in the scale. “So,” Dash said, addressing Meg. “How about we fly back to Canterlot once you’re done here. You could still use some flight training.” Meg gave her a blank look. She was planning on flying back anyway, but what she had in mind by “flying” and what Rainbow Dash had in mind… “I mean, you are spending most of your time as a pegasus now, so it wouldn’t hurt to improve your flying skills.” Applejack adjusted her Stetson. “She does have a point, to be honest.” Meg exhaled. “How much do I need to improve. Twenty percent?” Dash returned a blank look of her own. “I dunno? The point’s to improve, to strive for awesomeness.” Meg shook her head. “Sorry. I’m under lot of stress right now.” And to be fair, that twenty percent gag was a throw-away line in a single episode. It was even possible it’d never happened. “All the more reason for flight training.” And the worst part was? Meg couldn’t deny Dash was right. How long was she going to live primarily as a pegasus? At least I don’t have a horn. Twilight was even more insistent on giving Steve magic lessons. Flying was as instinctual to a pegasus as walking was to a human; spell casting to a unicorn… not so much, not if the unicorn wants to do anything beyond telekinesis. The book knowledge and training required to do serious spell work was daunting. It was something easy to overlook, when a certain purple pony made it look so easy. Applejack broke the silence. “Steve isn’t around, is he? Do you already have train tickets back to Canterlot?” Rainbow Dash was speechless; apparently she hadn’t considered that possibility. “No, I’m alone. Steve’s been tied up helping to make sense out of the data being gathered from one of the stars.” Dash looked up at a star. “That one?” The one star bright enough to be seen in daylight. “Yeah, that’s the one. Princess Luna’s keeping it near us, so that it’s easier to visit. They’ve been up there three times already.” “But not you?” Applejack finished bagging the apples. “That’d be three bits.” Meg counted them out. “Nothing I could contribute.” “So what is a star, exactly?” “A gigantic diamond stuffed full of incredibly sophisticated spells.” Dash snorted. “Diamond? Better not mention that to Rarity.” “It wasn’t on my to-do list.” Meg stowed the apples in a saddlebag. Now a giggle-snort. “Better make sure it’s not on Twilight’s to-do list either!” “That’s enough, sugarcube.” Meg sighed and looked at Dash. “I’m ready to return to Canterlot.” Twilight looked up from a book. “Well, that didn’t take long.” Spike had brought a disguised pegasus mare into the library. They were both approaching her. On reaching the desk, Yearling adjusted her fake glasses. “I was already in the area,” she explained. “I had a feeling something worth my while was here.” She grinned. “My cutie mark, you know. Looks like it was right once again.” While other ponies had similar cutie marks, in appearance, none to Twilight’s knowledge had that specific ability. She wondered how well it would work in a magic-less realm. She doubted she was the only one who wondered. “So you’re interested in visiting ancient human ruins?” “That’s why I’m here.” “In the company of the former Lord Tirek?” “I believe ‘former’ is the operative word. As a human he does not concern me. And he is the domain expert here, is he not?” “He can read the long dead Minoan language, originally being a Minoan, yes.” It was looking promising so far, but there were a few more details that needed addressing. “There will be a lot of publicity, possibly even a camera crew filming a documentary. Who do you intend to go as?” Yearling faked surprise. “Why, as a world-famous author doing research on her next book, naturally. And if the publicity surrounding our little expedition increases human awareness of my books, why, who could have guessed?” Twilight wanted to role her eyes. Something worth her while all right. Yearling looked up in thought. “Though having use of my wings would be nice. Nothing like getting a bird’s-eye view of things.” Spike waved that off. “Oh, that’s not a problem. Just go invisible.” Yearling raised an eyebrow at the dragon. “We can talk about that later,” Twilight said. “Though calling this an expedition is not accurate. The sites we’ll be visiting are international tourist attractions, very much on the beaten path. We’ll be staying in hotels, not tents. Actually…” Twilight looked thoughtful. “We can return here each night. Probably should; it’d be considerably safer.” They would still have the hotel rooms; no human need know they wouldn’t be sleeping in them. The disguised pegasus thought it over. “It’s an option. It’s just that often at night happen the most interesting things.” What those things could possibly be, Twilight could not imagine.