Monica glided easily over Ponyville. Her eyes scanned the world below to see all of the town. Ponies bustled in and out of one of the larger stone buildings; those who were leaving had various groceries and other goods, leading Monica to suspect it was an indoor market or store of some kind. The periphery of the town was dotted by several farms that each grew a variety of crops: carrots, potatoes, corn, squash; near the river there was even an earth pony wading through a rice paddy. The farms expanded in all directions, save one. The dark, foreboding trees of the Everfree, contrasted to the levity of the town on its outskirts, made it look as though it had been deliberately placed just to spoil the beauty.
Where Monica was flying, she followed a path that ran parallel to the edge of the forest to the largest farm. What made this farm unique aside from its size was that its crop was based on fruiting trees. Monica had no trouble finding a pony who was willing to point her in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.
Wonder if my greeting there will really be more tame than Pinkie’s? Who am I kidding? Anything would be more tame than something set up by her! Looking amongst the branches, Monica kept an eye out for a rainbow mane below her. Failing at that, she looked around the skies to see if Rainbow Dash was perhaps flying overhead.
Thunk.
Monica’s eyes were drawn once again to the ground where she saw four ponies. The largest—and only one she recognized from Pinkie’s party—was a red stallion earth pony with a rustic orange mane. On his flank was a green apple for a cutie mark. He had a large yoke around his neck that framed his face. He bucked a tree next to him, and all the apples fell to the ground.
Another pony, a chocolate brown unicorn mare with a white mane, tail and face, used magic to quickly gather the apples and place them in a central cart. She had a cutie mark of the traditional medical logo. It was a pin with two wings attached to it, and two snakes entwining the pin.
The cart itself was being pulled by another earth pony stallion with a peach coat and an ocean blue mane. His cutie mark was a simple green leaf. He stopped the cart by another tree as Monica inclined her wings to dive down.
Pulling to a stop and dropping to the ground, Monica saw one last pony, an orange mare with a blonde mane and tail, tied up with red ribbon, and her head covered with a stetson. Adorning her flanks was the image of three, red, healthy-looking apples. The mare bucked the tree, shaking it, and making it relinquish yet more apples. As the chocolate brown mare stuffed the apples into the cart, the orange mare used a forehoof to wipe some sweat off of her brow before looking up and seeing Monica.
“Howdy!” she announced happily in an accent that Monica could only describe as reminding her of some holovids dedicated to what was called ‘The Wild West’. She walked over to Monica a few steps before turning back to the other three and flagging them to come over. “Big Mac, Wilhelm, Brigitte, c’mere! We have a guest!”
The four ponies gathered around Monica before the orange mare extended a hoof towards Monica. “Good afternoon to you miss, I’m Applejack.”
Monica bumped her hoof to Applejack’s and smiled warmly. “Monica Radrim.”
“Newfoal?" Applejack slid her hat back. "Well shucks, welcome to Equestria, Ponyville, and Sweet Apple Acres.” Applejack extended a hoof to each of the ponies in turn. “This is Big Macintosh.” She indicated the large red stallion. “And that’s Wilhelm and Brigitte respectively,” she completed, sweeping her hoof over the remaining stallion and mare. “We’re all happy to welcome you Monica, but what brings you to our humble farm?” Applejack asked, tilting her head.
“I was hoping I could see Rainbow Dash? I met her down in the archive, helped her find a book she was interested in, and she asked me if I wanted an introduction to the town by some ponies who were a little less... high-strung compared to Pinkie Pie.”
Wilhelm laughed then, before speaking in a German accent. “Yes, Pinkie Pie does have that effect on newfoals. I remember when Brigitte and I were first coming to Ponyville with twenty other newfoals. I think she very well traumatized half of them! Isn’t that right Brigitte?”
Brigitte leaned into Wilhelm affectionately. “Yes, that must have been almost nine years ago,” she hummed, before looking Monica in the eyes. “And a wonderful nine years they've been. I hope you have as pleasant an experience as we have.”
Applejack trotted over to Wilhelm’s side and gave him an affectionate smile. “Likewise.” She looked back at Monica. “As for Rainbow Dash, she was helping out by watering the west fields. She’s been talking about some adventure book she picked up for a while. Never mentioned it was human though.”
Monica stared at the two mares leaning slightly against Wilhelm, her mouth hanging open. Catching herself, she shook her head and looked to the sky to see Rainbow Dash gliding down towards them.
The cyan pegasus landed and walked towards Big Macintosh. “West fields are watered AJ.” She stopped by Big Mac and planted a quick peck on his cheek. “Good afternoon, Mac.” She smiled before turning at last to Monica. “Hey there Monica! I see you already met my family, except Apple Bloom; you can meet her soon enough though.” She trotted up to Monica “So that Illiad book read like one of Twilight’s checklists, but I’m really enjoying the sequel. I just got to the part where Odysseus got back to his island, about time too!”
Monica smiled and blushed. “Good to know you enjoyed it.”
Rainbow Dash took a quick glance around the trees and several filled carts nearby. “Harvesting done for the day AJ?”
“Well,” Applejack answered, adjusting her stetson. “We were already ahead when we started today, so any work was an accomplishment. Seeing as how we've got a guest to entertain though, I figure we can cut it short.” Applejack looked at Dash and winked. “Presuming you really did water the west fields.”
Rainbow Dash reached a hoof across her chest and lifted her chin up. “Wonderbolts Honor.” Opening her eyes, she said to Monica, “Lucky thing I’m mostly just practicing for the next few weeks, show seasons are packed tight for scheduling.”
“Eeyup,” Macintosh declared, finally breaking his silence.
“So!” Wilhelm piped up. “Big Mac and I can put away the apples while you and the others show Monica around the farm, then we can meet up for a late lunch in the comfort of home, yes?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Applejack said, breaking from Wilhelm’s side and walking up to Monica. “Come on, we’ll show you around!”
Monica followed behind the three other mares, head bent low, brow creased, and lips pursed as she looked between them. Applejack pointed out spots around the farm of any remote interest, with Rainbow and Brigitte offering explanations, anecdotes, or further asides as necessary.
“That there’s the barn.” Applejack pointed.
“I've always been the one to help repair it since Wilhelm and I moved here,” Brigitte added.
“Not to mention it’s where Big Mac proposed to me.” Rainbow breathed on a hoof and brushed it against her chest. “That was two years ago; same day eight years ago I got into the Wonderbolts. It’s a good day.” Rainbow grinned widely.
“And here we are, home sweet home,” Applejack announced, “where the rooms are warm, the food filling, and there’s always a place to hang your hat.” The house was painted red with black shingles, white trim, and a weathervane on the roof. Applejack opened the door and ushered the others in.
“Not that you’d ever hang up that hat AJ,” Rainbow said as she crossed the threshold, earning a scoff from the orange mare.
Monica entered the house to find a cozy exterior with a living room leading to a dining room, followed by a kitchen. Off to the left were some stairs leading to the second story. Applejack led them to the dining room before offering a seat to Monica. Taking a seat beside her was Rainbow Dash, while Brigitte and Applejack walked into the kitchen and gathered ingredients for the planned meal.
“So, The Odyssey,” Rainbow started almost immediately, “Loving it, but humans aren't afraid of writing some messed up stuff. I mean that Cyclops just ate those humans! I’m lucky Apple Bloom wasn't around when I read that aloud.”
Monica nodded. “Yeah, human literature can get intense compared to what I've heard of Equestrian literature.”
“So once I’m done, are there any other books you’d recommend?” Rainbow leaned forward excitedly with an eager smile on her face.
“Well, if you’re looking for fighting, travel, adventure and some human mythology, there are plenty of other Ancient Greek writings like Hercules. Or if you’re looking for something by a different culture, I think the archives have some versions of the King Arthur Myth.” Monica raised up a hoof and waved it to the side.
“Awesome, that’s exactly what I was hoping to hear. Ever since the author of Daring Do ended the series, I've been looking for something to act as a replacement, but nothing had that right feeling of... well danger.”
Monica chuckled, “Well, if you look at the total of human works, there are plenty of dangerous adventures.”
“And what about you Monica?” Applejack interrupted through the kitchen door. “What can you tell us about yourself?”
“Oh well, I lived in San Diego originally, then I moved to New York with my uncle. I converted just a few weeks ago after he was hit by the PER.”
There was the sound of a bowl dropping onto the counter carelessly when Brigitte poked her head through the door. “PER?” she asked. When Monica nodded Brigitte took a deep breath. “Well I’m glad he wasn’t kidnapped and forced to listen to their drivel about humanity. I’ve heard of some of the things they do, and I cannot approve of any of them.”
“Yeah, it did throw off our plans a little bit, but we took it in stride and made the best of it by ourselves.” Monica idly kicked at the air with a hoof.
“And that”—Brigitte floated out a wooden spoon and waved it through the air beside her hoof like a mother chastising their child—“is exactly the kind of thing the PER would suppress, they’re convinced that every newfoal should simply await instruction by Celestia. Ridiculous, not to mention inefficient.” Taking another deep breath, Brigitte calmed herself. “My apologies, anyway, how was New York?”
“Never a lack of things to do,” Monica answered.
Just then, the door swung open, and in came the yellow-coated, red-maned mare Apple Bloom. On her flank was the image of three Erlenmeyer flasks, each filled with a different colored liquid: one red, one green, and one a soft blue.
“Apple Bloom!” Brigitte exclaimed, trotting into the dining room as Apple Bloom did the same. “How was your day at the pharmacy with Zecora, mein schwägerin?” Brigitte kissed Apple Bloom on her cheeks before hugging her.
“Yeah yeah, good to see you too sis’.” Apple Bloom pulled out of the hug and returned the kisses.
Stepping back, Apple Bloom looked at Monica, and her face brightened. “Hey there! I know you! We met at that party Pinkie Pie held! Monotone Radical or something?”
“Monica Radrim actually,” she chuckled, offering a hoof to the young mare.
“Right, sorry about that. What brings you to Sweet Apple Acres?”
Rainbow Dash cut in. “I asked her to come over so we could talk about adventure books, and so she could see what... non-Pinkie hospitality looks like.”
Monica nodded at the statement before the door opened once more, and Wilhelm and Big Mac entered. Behind them was a dog, by the looks of it a spaniel of some kind, with a slight limp.
“Well, all the harvested apples are ready to be taken to market over the next few days, but Winona is limping again,” Wilhelm said.
Brigitte, with a concerned expression, walked to the dog and held the paw it was favoring while Macintosh and Wilhelm entered the kitchen to help. The brown unicorn’s horn glowed and encased the pet’s paw in a glow of magic. Soon Brigitte’s expression flattened as she raised her eyebrows at the dog. Winona grinned widely and started panting, in a dog’s way of communicating laughter.
“Winona just wants to see her pups at Fluttershy's again,” she announced. “Honestly, that hound is too smart for her own good.” Brigitte stood up. “Shall I oblige?” she asked openly.
“Me, Mac, and Wilhelm have got things set straight here,” Applejack answered. “Why don’t you take Dash and Monica with you? By the time you get back, lunch’ll be ready.”
Brigitte nodded and looked to Dash and Monica. “Does that sound good?”
“Sure does,” Monica answered while Rainbow nodded eagerly. The two pegasi stood up and walked outside, behind Brigitte and Winona.
Walking down the trail out of Sweet Apple Acres, Monica turned to Brigitte and asked, “So, Brigitte, your accent, I take it you’re from the German constituency back on Earth?”
“Yes, Leipzig, spent my entire childhood there. Wilhelm worked in farming kelp with hydroponics out in the countryside. Pretty early on we decided to move to Equestria together.”
Continuing towards the edge of the Everfree Forest, Monica looked to her right and saw Winona, lifting her paw towards Monica’s muzzle in a bid for sympathy.
“Are you sure she’s faking it? I mean, keeping up a lie this long seems a little out of ways for a dog.” Monica faced Brigitte to her left to see that she was smiling warmly.
“That dog has been with the Apple family since before Wilhelm and I became a part of it. Earth pony magic, it... tames the world around it, crops grow faster, the animals become more intelligent and domesticated. I remember when Fluttershy introduced me to the bear that had been wandering around the edge of Ponyville for years; he was gentler than her pet rabbit!” Brigitte laughed at the memory. “Of course the influence has limits. The fields by the Everfree are always a little slow to grow.”
“So anyway,” Rainbow Dash interjected, “How are you getting along in Equestria? You like flying?”
“Do I ever! It reminds me of that feeling of weightlessness I would get when I was a child in a swimming pool.” Monica looked about at the trees. “So what can you tell me about this Fluttershy?”
“I’ve been friends with her since we were fillies, barely talks to anypony,” Rainbow Dash responded. “She lives in a cottage where we’re headed. She takes care of the animals in the area, and anypony’s pets that get hurt.” Rainbow Dash looked at Winona. The dog whined slightly before barking and lowering her leg, forgetting the injured ruse. “She took in Winona’s litter of pups that she had a few years ago, she’s been begging to visit every few weeks since then.”
“So Brigitte, you and Wilhelm have been together since before you came to Equestria?” Monica asked, continuing the theme of family, and hoping to answer the question to the proverbial elephant in the apple orchard.
“Yes,” Brigitte answered.
“And the two of you came to Equestria, and now Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Big Mac are in it as well?”
“Hang on a minute!” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “I thought those conversion bureaus explained herds.”
“Yes they do,” answered both Monica and Brigitte simultaneously.
Brigitte let Monica speak first. “They did, but I just can’t wrap my head around how it works, I mean, I get the impression that Big Macintosh and Applejack are siblings along with Apple Bloom.”
“Huh?” Rainbow Dash said, prompting Brigitte to whisper in her ear. Rainbow’s eyes widened, her mouth hung open, and she blinked rapidly for a few moments. “Ooookay, let me see if I can explain this properly. Big Mac and I are a couple. Brigitte, Applejack, and Wilhelm are...” Rainbow turned to Brigitte. “What was the word you used when Twilight was trying to explain this to you all those years ago?”
“Polygamous,” Brigitte answered.
“Right,” Rainbow responded. “So, Brigitte, Applejack, and Wilhelm are one thing, and Big Mac and I are another. Together, we’re a herd. Sometimes its just one mare and stallion, other times there are no boundaries within the herd.”
“So that’s how Equestrians handle relationships?” Monica asked.
“It’s more complicated than that, or simpler, depending out how you look at it,” Brigitte replied before muttering, “How to explain, how to explain...” She looked up as a stroke of inspiration hit her. “You know how ponies are friendly, yes? And how we always end up making large groups at the end of things?”
Monica nodded.
“Well, these groups are called herds. But there isn't always a sexual component to the relationship. We just usually go with what makes us happy... Sometimes, it’s one partner, no partner, or multiple partners. It’s all quite casual.”
“Casual, but not always sexual.” Monica glanced over to Rainbow Dash, who was nodding.
“Like the line between Big Mac and I, and the others,” Rainbow Dash said. “We’re all close, but when it comes to intimacy, I’m with Mac, and Wilhelm is partnered with Applejack and Brigitte. We don’t share that way. Applejack and I are way too stubborn to be involved with the same stallion.” She smirked.
“And here we are!” Brigitte announced as a cottage, built into a tree much like the Ponyville library, came into sight.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Winona bolted towards the house and was soon met by three other dogs. Around the cottage were bird houses, coops, pens, feeding troughs, and burrows dug into the ground. When the group reached the bridge leading up to the door, Rainbow put a hoof in front of Monica.
“Before we go inside, I gotta tell you something,” said Rainbow. “Fluttershy is, well, shy, but particularly around newfoals.”
“Why?” Monica asked. Memories of an archive pony fleeing from her back in New York flashed through her mind.
“Nothing personal,” Dash responded. “It’s just that she doesn't like hearing about a planet without a sun, or animals.”
“Well we have a sun, it’s just the atmosphere was turned opaque after some experiment went wrong,” Brigitte amended.
“Yeah, well,” Rainbow said, “She’s not gonna get better unless she meets more newfoals.” After knocking on the door, she waited for a few seconds before lifting her hoof.
“Oh! Just a minute! Hang on! Oh, Angel, mummy needs to answer the door. I know I was about to feed you but—OW! Now that’s not very nice.” A series of hoofsteps from inside the cottage approached the door. It opened, and Monica saw Fluttershy.
Fluttershy’s coat was a pristine butter color, and her mane was a shade of pink that Monica found equally pleasing to the eye. Her frame, compared to Rainbow’s and Monica’s, was far more gracile, as though the yellow pegasus would dissolve into nothingness at a touch. For that, she had three extra inches in height on Rainbow Dash.
A white fluff-ball poked out of Fluttershy’s mane. Beady black eyes like coal sat above a mouth that was contorted into a permanent scowl. The bunny looked at Monica, and its face hardened into an even fiercer expression.
“Hi Rainbow Dash, what brings you here?” Fluttershy asked, blinking slowly and stepping outside.
“Heya Flutters, Winona was feeling lonely. Aaand...” Rainbow pointed towards Monica. “There’s somepony I’d like you to meet.”
Fluttershy looked over at Monica and lowered her head. She started backing into her cottage. “Oh, hello, very pleasant to meet you, but I—”
Rainbow Dash shut the cottage door, keeping Fluttershy from exiting. Fluttershy hit the door with her rump and sat down.
“Fluttershy,” Rainbow said, “allow me to introduce Monica Radrim. She’s working at the archives with Twilight, let me tell ya, she knows what ponies like.” Rainbow waved over to Monica, bidding her to step closer.
Monica tentatively stepped towards the yellow pegasus. She didn’t seem frightened so much as increasingly uncomfortable as she followed Monica’s movements with her eyes—or at least the one eye that wasn’t hidden by her mane. Monica stopped about a meter from Fluttershy and sat down.
Lowering her head so that it was below Fluttershy’s, Monica gave the friendliest smile she could give. Her lips turned upward, and the lips on the side of her muzzle parted a small distance as she squinted. “Hi?”
Fluttershy peeked out from behind her mane. “So, you work with Twilight?”
“Yep!” Monica nodded happily. She stood up, and Fluttershy did the same. “I hear that you take care of animals.”
“Oh yes, I love it, birds, squirrels, mice; I just always know what they need and want!”
As Fluttershy continued to talk about her animals, Rainbow walked over to Brigitte. “Gotta say, pretty clever of her to start Fluttershy talking about animals.” Rainbow elbowed Brigitte’s side.
“Yes, well, I admit it wasn’t the best idea of mine to start off by talking about a burn patient of mine.” Brigitte blushed.
“That’s really interesting to hear about.” Monica drew circles on the ground with her hoof. “Wish I could have had pets back on earth, sounds pleasant.”
“Oh.” Fluttershy looked down. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have gone on about something like that.”
“Horseapples,” Rainbow Dash whispered to Brigitte, before trotting up between Fluttershy and Monica. “So how about some tea?” she asked. Ugh, I just know it’s going to be some bitter tasting green tea.
Fluttershy snapped out of her morose mood, stiffening her body, and nodded. “Oh, that sounds good, are you okay with that, Monica? Brigitte?”
Monica and Brigitte nodded, and Fluttershy opened the door, ushering them in.
There was a living room, furnished more with bird cages than anything else, and a kitchen off to the right. Opposite that was a staircase leading upstairs. Pink and green permeated the decorum.
Fluttershy walked into the kitchen while Monica, Brigitte, and Rainbow Dash sat at the table. All the while, the little bunny perched atop Fluttershy’s head continued scowling at Monica.
“So Fluttershy,” Brigitte said. “How’s Angel?”
The bunny faced Brigitte and his mouth curled into a leer. He reached into Fluttershy’s mane and brought out a sizeable pebble.
“Oh, Angel’s been doing well.” Fluttershy turned on the kettle and sat at the table with Monica. “He’s grown particularly fond of his pet rock. He doesn’t have to feed it, or clean it, or take it on walks; it’s perfect for him.”
Angel stroked the rock, squeaking and chattering happily.
“Hehe,” Rainbow chuckled. “Maybe we’re finally seeing a different side to Angel, a gentler, kinder, more caring—OW!”
A rock struck against Rainbow’s temple, making her clutch it with a hoof.
“Angel!” Fluttershy gasped. “You apologize to Rainbow Dash right now!”
Folding his arms, Angel looked away and turned his nose upwards.
“If you don’t apologize, Thomas Edison is going back on the road,” Fluttershy said. Angel Bunny looked at her with his mouth agape, before crossing his arms and frowning.
“Very well,” Brigitte said.
The rock glowed and floated towards an open window. This made the white grump reach out and shake his head. The pebble stopped just outside the window. Angel bowed his head to Rainbow, and the rock floated back to him. Angel stroked the stone vigorously and chattered sweet nothings into its non-existent ears.
“So this Twilight’s going to be interviewing me every month about how I’m adapting to life in Equestria, for as long as my sentence is going to be?” Miles gazed at Willard’s face with a flat expression of great incredulity.
“Yep, could be worse, she didn’t seem overly judgmental of the fact you were HLF.” Willard resumed looking down the road they were walking, content to spend their day off together. “You need to relax colt—” The immediate snicker from Miles made Willard correct his speech. “You need to relax kid, an HLF who was converted, lived long enough to get to Equestria, and in that time has managed to reconcile what happened to them is a rare occurrence no doubt.”
“Greaaaat...” Miles sighed. “I’m a novelty.”
“If Twilight was looking for a novel, she has the archives for those,” Willard punned.
The two of them laughed as they crested the hill to see four royal guards: a unicorn in front, two pegasi to the sides, and an earth pony in the back, marching in diamond formation. Between them was Prince Blueblood, without his fashioned collar, and instead in chains.
As the group approached, Miles whistled. “Whew! What did you do? Call your aunt a horse?”
The poisonous glare Blueblood gave him foretold a great fury and nemesis within him. He stopped in his tracks. Before the earth pony behind him could press forward, Blueblood snapped at Miles. “Base cur and plebe! Mocking your superiors when they've done so much for you.”
The earth pony guard kicked a hoof at Blueblood’s fetlock. “Yeah yeah, do something for us and keep walking. No floating couches for you, ever again.”
“I do not have to listen to you!” Blueblood yelled. “Auntie disowned me for carrying out her will! All she says is slander against my good name! I have done what is right, and shall continue to do so, with or without her.”
“Her will?” Willard asked, pressing a hoof to Miles’ lips and letting him insult Blueblood by proxy. “Was that will by any chance making a complete and total ass of yourself?”
“No!” Blueblood turned to face Willard, chains clanking. “The noble goal of converting humans and making sure you know your proper place.”
Willard felt his hoof shoved aside before he heard Miles scream, “You’re PER!?”
“Its proper leader!” Blueblood replied.
Miles stood there, feet from Blueblood, while the guards kept a razor focus on the confrontation. Miles’ eyes narrowed as every memory of what he had done to PER operatives flashed through his mind. The minor queasiness held back and buried by the tumult of rage.
“Miles,” Willard said. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”
“Listen to your superiors, plebe, and run along.” Blueblood smirked when Miles lifted his head up and took a step back.
Hwarghk-Sthoup!
The sound was the only indication of what happened for a few seconds.
With a trembling hoof, Blueblood reached over to his face, and pressed it to just above his left brow. He drew it back as he felt a warm damp glob flow down and over his eye. His mouth quivered as his pupils shrunk to pinpricks.
“Y-you... you spat on me!” the former prince whispered, mortified. “UGH!” he yelled, swatting at his face so hard he nearly bruised himself. “Guards! Take me away from this ruffian; I demand it!”
Obliging, the unicorn guard grabbed a lead chain with his magic and dragged Blueblood along the road on his haunches. He was too distracted trying to remove any remnant of the massive globule to pay attention to anything else.
The earth pony guard inclined his head to Miles. “Thank you for doing the world a service. The stallion’s been spouting enough libel over the last hour to double his sentence. Maybe now he’ll just whimper quietly, and my headache can go away.” With that the guard marched off, taking up the rear as Blueblood brought himself to his feet and walked with shaking legs, occasionally brushing a hoof over his face.
Miles took a deep breath and let it all out before sagging to the ground. “You know, that felt better than anything I ever did in the HLF. Seeing that pompous blowhard reduced to the sniveling coward he is, knowing that he’ll always be a name to be mocked...” Miles began to laugh, and laugh harder as he went over it. “He really is ridiculous isn't he? He honestly thinks he’s the leader of the PER?” Miles let the giddiness die down before he turned to Willard, who was staring towards Canterlot. “You okay?”
“If someone that high up has been caught, no matter how full of themselves they are, we’re close to something really big going down.” Willard looked at some apple trees by the side of the road. “That’s even considering two universes colliding.”
Sarah Bertwell, head of the Human Archives Project in Manhattan, was having a good day. A unicorn from Equestria by the name of Immaculate Rendition, a soft-spoken fuschia mare who had ironically been nicknamed ‘Rend’, had successfully created, through the use of a special magical ink infused stone from Equestria, a copy of Saint Francis in Ecstasy by Giovanni Bellini. As it was made completely from materials from Equestria, it could be transported across the barrier. The slab came in at around a square meter, and was being carefully brought down to the lower levels of the archive for storage until the next shipment to Equestria.
“Careful!” Sarah said, reaching out cautiously to the slab as Rend, two other human workers, and she brought it into an elevator on a cart.
They were travelling downwards when one of the other workers, a man by the name of Michael, turned to Rendition. “Think we’ll have magic-computers to transfer these files before, or after we manage to print out every painting that’s survived from the renaissance?”
“No idea,” the pony answered. “But we can still try to get as much as we can to Equestria.”
The door opened, and the four of them continued down the hall. Sarah squinted her eyes when she saw a half-dozen men in plain worker’s suits pulling a line of ten white and unmarked crates. The men stopped before the vault door when Sarah walked towards them.
“Excuse me, but if you’re bringing in more ink and paper from Equestria, the printing press room is down in the west wing.” Sarah walked to the panel to the vault door and ushered Rend and the others towards the door.
The man at the front tipped a slate-grey cap he wore on his head. “Thank you madam for the advice; however...” He reached between the front two crates and pulled out a rifle. He leveled it at Sarah and opened fire, striking her in the belly with a purple blast of ionized particles. He turned the rifle to the two human workers and sprayed the hallway with several semi-automatic shots, hitting each of them multiple times. Rend ducked to the ground as the light flashed around her. Sarah fell to her knees as a sensation of tickling numbness worked from her stomach. She fell on her side as she began to black out. “We come with salvation, not ink.”
Rend’s eyes widened in shock as Sarah’s legs and arms began to bend at angles unnatural to human physiology, and her skin turned waxy and loose.
Rend was distracted from the rest of the conversion process as the ten crates cracked open with a pneumatic hiss. From eight crates stepped out eight diamond dogs, partially covered by white unmarked armor of the PER’s traditional style.
Rendition recognized them as the troll subspecies: motivated solely by greed, they were all over the news as the PER’s answer to gryphonization. Their greed was matched only by the strength of their pack ties, giving them the coordination that made each one added to a fight an exponentially greater threat. Their digging abilities were unmatched, and their strength and durability ensured they would never be reckoned with lightly.
The ninth crate opened to reveal six sets of human-sized PER armor and potion rifles, along with six cubular devices riddled with electronics. Grabbing a device, one of the humans tossed it to a diamond dog.
“Alpha squad, start setting up the bombs throughout the foundations, server rooms, book storages, and all other places marked on your DATabs,” the man instructed. The tenth crate opened, revealing a massive aerosol dispenser, a few pipes flowed with purple ooze that Rendition recognized was potion. “Beta squad, set up the disperser on the roof, that should keep the JRSF from bothering to check up on this stuff.”
“And ponies?” the diamond dog asked, sweeping his paw over Sarah and the others while he used the other to hoist out an RAC-8 automatic rail-gun.
“Wait for them to finish converting, then lock them in a room until T-minus twenty minutes to detonation of the foundations,” the man answered as he pulled on a white helmet. He flipped some switches and sealed himself into the suit.
“And rock?” The diamond dog pointed to the stone slab with the image of the Patron Saint of Animals, Saint Francis of Assisi, etched into it.
The man flipped off the safety to his potion rifle. “Exactly what we’re going to do with the rest of this barrier to human ascension, destroy it.”
The diamond dog smiled as he stepped over to the slab, and the shaking form of a terrified unicorn. With a bare fist, he brought it down and smashed it. The innate magic of his troll body warped and melted the stone as if he were digging through it, wracking the slab with cracks as it disintegrated into a pile of what was effectively dust.
Another troll began setting up some explosive charges on the door as the man gave a happy sigh. “By the end of the day gentlemen, New York will be converted and Equestria will thank us for having prevented these works from surviving the cleansing of earth.”