In which our heroine discovers the wisdom of learning from history—and then repeating it.
Princess Celestia sat at morning meal with her sister, levitating a bite of apple-cinnamon muffin.
“So, sister, Lady Teelo should have arrived in Ponyville by now. How did you handle the Snøskred’s last minute request?” The white alicorn asked with a smile.
“We managed to free another large chariot from storage to transport Kona Søyle to the Bridge,” her sister replied, swallowing a bite of her parsnip gratin gruyère. “Originally the Snøskred wanted her entire retinue to be present.”
“Thirty trolls?” Celestia raised an eyebrow. “By chariot? Really? The Snøskred knows very well that wouldn’t be possible, doesn’t he?”
“Of course. But in truth he is blameless. It was a last minute request by the Kongen, delivered mere hours before he asked us.”
“Ah. A diplomatic ploy, perhaps?” Celestia asked, not really believing it.
“I do not believe so, sister. The Kongen is a troll’s troll when it comes to the virtue of straightforward behavior. It might have been suggested to him by Alene Avgrunn, but we don’t believe it was. The Kongen is unfamiliar with Equestria, and may honestly have believed his request was reasonable. At any rate the Kona was there waiting at the Bridge for her queen. That should satisfy the trolls.”
“Hmm. And speaking of trolls, how is Ambassador Truth Speaker adapting to his new post?”
“Quite well. His reports were somewhat—circumspect in the beginning, but of late they have taken on almost a trollish directness. He reports that his staff finds their trollish counterparts to be conscientious and—given the nature of trolls—somewhat simpler to deal with than they had originally feared.”
“Trolls are easy to deal with—if you can avoid certain rigidities in their customs,” Celestia chuckled. “Do you find your dealings with them as onerous as you had feared sister?”
“Neigh,” Luna admitted. “Even without her being physically present, Lady Teelo’s odd relationship to both sides has been oil on troubled waters. Her declaring us part of her clan has had—unexpected—repercussions. We think both sides see little ground for insulting one another, since ponies and trolls are now kin,” she chuckled.
“We admit we find ourselves puzzled, sister. That we are clan with Lady Teelo is undeniable. Yet she is queen of the trolls, and thus by troll law all ponies are now a new clan within the trollish species. It is delightfully perplexing—even the Snøskred agrees.”
Celestia chuckled again. “I have now seen everything, sister. A troll agreeing with a pony? Will wonders never cease?
“One beneficial effect is that the trolls are far less prickly than they were. Furthermore, our ponies are just as cautious, given they owe their lives to Lady Teelo twice over,” Luna continued. “For if they insult the trolls they insult her and if the trolls insult us then they insult her. Was this your plan all along, sister?”
The white alicorn just smiled and said nothing, finishing her muffin.
“Ah,” Luna said, nodding.
ooOoo
Earth, Saturday morning, May 28, 2013 8:00 AM
John O’Gara knocked on the door as his wife and co-conspirators stood on the steps behind him. It was eight o’clock in the morning of a beautiful summer day. Emma had not reappeared, meaning they were here to try and keep her parents from going to the police when they found out.
The fact the Bridge hadn’t reopened argued some kind of disaster had occurred. Nothing Emma could have said would have kept Teagan from sending her home. Even if she had somehow managed the impossible, Teagan would certainly have sent word back. Since she hadn’t the evidence suggested she couldn’t.
The last hour had been spent trying to calm Elaine enough to carry out the plan. Teagan’s mother had alternated between rage and despair, only the combined efforts of the other three had let her regain control. Well—some control. They hoped it would be enough.
The door opened to reveal a boy about twelve, fully dressed with a backpack slung over his shoulder.
“Hi David, are your parents home?” John asked Emma’s younger brother.
“Hi Mr. O’Gara,” David said, looking uncertainly at the three adults behind him. “Yeah, they’re here.” He turned and yelled back in the house. “Mom, Teelo’s parents are here to see you!”
Despite the serious reason for their visit John found himself smiling at the boy’s lack of manners. He was clearly impatient, fidgeting in place until his mother appeared.”
“Hi John, what’s up?” She asked.
David slipped out the door. “Excuse me, I gotta go.”
“Be back by seven, young man,” Olivia Halstead ordered her son.
“I know, Mom!” David said casting his eyes toward heaven. “I’m gonna be late. Dan and Will are already waiting for me!”
“Have fun, dear,” she said, waving him off. He instantly took off running.
“Always in a hurry, that one.” She smiled at John. “Won’t you come in? Who are your friends?”
“This is Matt Sanders and Evelyn Lewis,” he replied as they filed inside. “Is Jacob home?”
“Jacob! John and Elaine are here! They want to see you!” She called out as she led them to the living room. “Matt, Evelyn, good to meet you.”
“Coming!” Her husband called. By the time they were seated he had joined them.
“Hey John, Elaine, nice to see you! Is Teagan off to that boarding school of hers?” He asked cheerfully. “Emma was already moping when she came home last night. Don’t know how she’ll make it through the summer.”
“Actually, that’s kind of why we’re here,” John said, turning serious.
“I don’t follow,” Jacob replied with a slight frown.
“Emma came back to see us last night around one AM,” John replied. “She let herself in the house while Teagan’s—escort—was there. She had a very long conversation with him, actually. In spite of the fact he would have preferred anonymity.”
“I’m so sorry!” Olivia exclaimed in embarrassment. “I’ll go right upstairs and bring her down to apologize!” She started to get up.
“Emma isn’t upstairs, Olivia,” Elaine said, just a hint of bitterness in her voice.
“What do you mean? Did she stay at your house last night? Where is she?” Olivia asked.
“That is a very long story…” John said with a sigh.
ooOoo
Sun Hammer stood over the fallen unicorn. One of the pegasi landed and started checking Subtle Dancer’s wounds.
“This is bad,” the pegasi said, pulling off his helmet. “See if any of the medical supplies survived. They’re in boxes marked with a red plus on a white background. Move!” He snapped at Sun Hammer who silently bolted toward the smashed chariots. Teagan came running up, Crush already sheathed across her back.
“I’ve been trained in emergency first aid,” she said, dropping to her knees. “I’ve never actually done it, but I’m not afraid of blood and my hands are probably a lot more dexterous than your hoof flanges, no offense.”
“None taken, Lady Teagan,” the corpspony said, bobbing his head. “I’ll take any hoof offered right now. I need you to put pressure right here,” he indicated a point just below a deep gash on Subtle Dancer’s neck. Teagan immediately complied and the sluggish flow of blood slowed significantly.
“Sun Hammer where are those supplies?” The corpspony bellowed.
“A’m lookin’ as fast as A can!” Sun Hammer shouted as metal bonged and clanged. His shout was followed by a furious string of brogue so fast Teagan couldn’t follow it.
The trolls moved toward Teagan’s voice and Emma was herded along by Søyle. She didn’t resist, still shocked by the savagery of the fight, not to mention the aborted attack against her. When she saw the black unicorn’s body laying on the ground with Teagan pushing down with both hands on its shoulder and the armored pegasus rapidly cataloging Subtle Dancer’s many injuries she gasped.
Teagan looked up. “Emma, get over here! I need your help!” There was something in the girl’s voice that acted like a slap in the face. Emma jerked out of her shock and staggered over to kneel beside Teagan.
“Another helping hand, doc!” Teagan said. “Where do you need more pressure?”
“Here and here,” the corpspony said, pointing at two more pressure points.
“Emma, put your hands right where mine are! Now push and don’t let up until I say you can.”
Teagan watched for a moment then nodded and put her own hands where the corpspony told her to. Emma shuddered, feeling the warm body under her hands. She could feel a fast but faint pulse. She wasn’t sure but she didn’t think that was a good sign. She tried not to look at the blood
“Here be the box ye wanted!” Sun Hammer said, galloping up and set the box down by the corpsman who immediately opened it with his teeth. Emma winced, that couldn’t be very sanitary.
“Thanks, now find the rest of them! Lady Teagan, listen to me. The three slashes are the biggest problems. Have you ever stitched a wound before?”
“No, but I did practice on a dummy arm,” she replied.
The corpspony nodded. “Normally we let unicorns do this, there’s too much chance of infection if an earth pony or pegasus does it, but we don’t have any more unicorns. Think you can do this?”
“He’s my friend. I can do it,” Teagan said. “You’ll need to talk me through it though.”
“No problem. Here, let me apply pressure. See if you can set a needle up, they’re already threaded.”
Emma watched as Teagan took a large curved needle with a trailing thread and what looked like a short pair of forceps with a bizarre circular end piece. Teagan looked at it for a moment then put her hand over the circle and squeezed. The forceps obediently pinched.
“Well, that’s not awkward,” she muttered, fitting the needle into the tips of the forceps and squeezed until there was a click. She let go and the forceps remained closed. Nodding, she carefully set the forceps so they rested on the flat circular back piece, the tips facing upward.
“All right, how do we clean the wound?” Teagan asked the corpspony. He nodded to a jar with a green lid.
“That’s antiseptic cream. Smooth a dollop along the wound. Don’t use too much,” he said.
“Doesn’t that risk infection?” Teagan asked uneasily. He looked at her.
“It’s antiseptic, Lady Teagan,” he said. “Let’s get on with this.”
Teagan opened the jar, noting the scalloped gear like edges, for easier gripping by a pony’s hoof flanges. She took a little of the cream and carefully smeared it along the edges of all three slashes.
“Okay, now go ahead and set the first stitch. Just take it slow He’s not going to feel it.” The corpspony’s voice was gentle, encouraging.
“Never did this through fur,” Teelo grimaced. “How far from the wound edge and how deep?”
“See the tip of the needle where it changes color?” He asked. She nodded. “That’s the distance. You want to get as near to the bottom of the wound as you can. Then up through the other side. Leave two inches of thread on each side of the stitch and then do the next one. On these cuts make them every half inch. Got it?”
“Yes. I sure wish Rarity was here! ” Teagan picked up the forceps and awkwardly set the first stitch.
It took nearly fifteen minutes to set the stitches and carefully draw them closed and knot the ends. Teagan was glad Subtle Dancer was unconscious, it would have been too nerve wracking to feel him flinching. Her hands were shaking so badly by the end Emma had to tie the last three stitches for her.
While she was setting the stitches the corpspony was checking the unicorn for other damage. The monster changeling had apparently done a lot of damage in the few seconds before the trolls had lured it off. The laundry list included a concussion, three broken ribs, a separated shoulder and three fang-slashes on his neck.
“The concussion worries me,” the corpspony said grimly. “He’s a unicorn. They don’t deal with concussions nearly as well as pegasi or earth ponies. That horn of theirs has a thick nerve connecting it directly to their forebrain and a concussion can put serious stress on it. He could lose his magic forever if he’s unlucky. Or die if he’s really unlucky. We need to get him to a hospital as soon as possible.”
“Ponyville has a hospital,” Teagan said. “You guys have any kind of medical airlift? A stretcher to haul wounded?”
“Yeah, we call it a patient sling,” the corpspony responded. “We actually have some with us, they’re standard issue. Takes four pegasi to deploy, though. Right now we’re belly deep in hostile territory. No way will the wing commander authorize it.”
“You let me worry about that,” Teagan said grimly. “Subtle Dancer is a high level mage and he’s the director of the Horns. Besides, Celestia will kill me if anything happens to him.”
She stalked off to find Stormwind.
The corpspony looked after her with his mouth open.
“Heroes,” he finally said, shaking his head. Then he looked at Emma.
“You okay?” he asked gently.
“No,” she said with a quivering voice. “I didn’t think it would be like this! Blood and killing and war! That’s not how it is in the show! It’s supposed to be all songs and dances and nicey-nice tea parties!”
“Show? What show?” He asked in confusion. “Did something hit you in the head during the fight? Where did you get hit?”
Emma laughed bitterly. “No. I didn’t get hurt. Søyle killed that thing before it could touch me. But this is just too much.”
“Oh! You’re a civilian,” the corpspony was suddenly sympathetic. “I guess you’re not used to fighting, huh? You did do a pretty good job helping us with Subtle Dancer—for a civilian, I mean.”
“Thanks. Yeah, I’m not a soldier or a hero. I’m just scared out of my mind! How can you be so calm? We were nearly killed!”
He shrugged. “I knew the risks going in and I took an oath to protect Equestria. You get used to it.” He grinned at her. “What’s your name, anyway?”
“Emma. Emma Halstead. What’s yours?”
“Cloud Maker. But my friends call me Stitch. You know, ‘cause I’m a medic and all,” he gestured at Subtle Dancer and grinned at her, waggling his eyebrows.
She gave a burst of startled laughter. He smiled wider. “See? It’s not that bad. The battle’s over. Lady Teagan took down Chrysalis, Subtle Dancer handled the changeling army, and the Sun Shield dealt with those overgrown bugs that wrecked our chariots. The trolls pulled that monster off Subtle Dancer just in time too. I call that a win.”
Emma became aware of the horrible moans coming from the changelings in the distance and shivered. They weren’t as loud now, and it sounded like there were fewer of them.
“What happens to them?” She asked, waving toward the surrounding changelings. He shrugged.
“I have no idea. That’s the wing commander’s decision, or maybe Lady Teagan’s. My job is patching up the wounded. He glanced up.
“And speaking of, here’s the wing commander now.”
Teagan and the pegasus with two gold stars on his chest plate were arguing.
“I can’t split my forces in the middle of hostile territory, Lady Teagan! If anything happens to you Captain Strong Shield will have my head!”
“And if anything happens to Subtle Dancer Princess Celestia will have mine! Besides, I outrank you, Stormwind. Not to mention you owe me! I saved the world, remember? Twice. I’m a queen too. Last time I looked queen outranks wing commander!”
“The Sun Shield answer only to the Princess, Your Majesty, not to the queen of the trolls,” Stormwind answered a little stiffly.
“You’re supposed to obey my orders though, right?” She asked, turning to face him. Her face was flushed from frustrated anger.
Stormwind hesitated. She didn’t give him a chance to recover.
“I saved Princess Celestia from death on two separate occasions, Stormwind. Doesn’t that buy me a little slack? I’m not being unreasonable here. Subtle Dancer is no ordinary unicorn and you damn well know it! He’s more important to Equestria than I am, the Princess depends on him! All I’m asking is you get him to a hospital before it’s too late!”
“Four pegasi to transport him,” Stormwind protested. “Plus another six to protect them? That’s half the wing! We’re going to have to do a fighting retreat out of this forest—and you want me to split my wing in half?”
“Yes. Remember you also have three trolls along with me and Crush. That’s not to be sneezed at. Would you want to go up against a force like that if you were a monster?”
Stormwind glared at her. “At least go with them, Lady Teagan! That way I can withdraw without worrying about you.”
“No,” she shook her head. “I’m not abandoning anyone in this damned forest. My best friend is here, Stormwind. My trolls are here! And my clan is here.”
She looked at him.
“You’re family, Stormwind. Every stubborn four-footed one of you. Wings or horn or neither, you’re still family and I do not abandon my family. You got that?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Stormwind said resignedly. “Under protest, I yield. You will answer to the Princess for this, you know.”
“I know,” she said, tossing her head to get the hair out of her face. “But I’d rather look her in the eye and tell her I saved Subtle Dancer than tell her I got him killed. He’s family too, Stormwind. So is she.”
The pegasus sighed.
“Get him ready for transport, Stitch,” Stormwind said with ill grace. “You’re going with him.”
“Yes, sir,” Stitch saluted without expression.
“Any idea how we’re gonna survive their counter-attack?” Stormwind asked sourly, nodding at the changelings. “They’re not gonna stay down much longer, you know.”
“I killed their queen, Stormwind. The drones won’t survive. They’re certainly not going to be fighting us,” Teelo said, wincing as she spoke. Stormwind looked at her quizzically.
“What makes you think Chrysalis is dead?” He asked with raised eyebrows.
“What? That crack you heard when I hit her? That was her breaking the sound barrier just before she broke the ground. Nobody survives that.”
“She took out Princess Celestia one on one, remember?” Stormwind said. “Five bits says she’s still alive.”
Teagan hesitated. “No bet. Damn. Skrent, Flint! Guys, I need you to do me a favor…”
ooOoo
Earth, Saturday morning, May 28, 2013 8:10 AM
“Seriously, John. Where is Emma?” Olivia asked, losing her smile. “If she didn’t spend the night at your house and she’s not here, exactly where is she?”
“With Teagan,” John said. “The two of you need to listen to me very carefully, and not say anything until I’m finished. It’s very important you hear me out. Teagan gave Emma something last night, a keepsake from her—travels. Do you know where it is?”
“I remember she came home with something wrapped in a blue cloth. It was about a foot and a half long,” Jacob said. “When I asked her what it was Emma said it was something Teagan had wanted her to look after till she got back.”
“I think Teagan wanted to prove to Emma she trusted her,” John said. “But the people who gave her that keepsake never told her about the secret inside. Emma found the secret, that’s why she came back to our house last night.”
“What secret? Is that thing dangerous?” Jacob asked sharply.
“Not the way you mean,” Matt spoke up. “It won’t explode or anything. But now that Emma’s gone with Teelo we need to share the secret with you. So you won’t worry about Emma.”
Elaine snorted. “I know the secret, Matt. I still worry about both of them.”
“What are you talking about?” Olivia asked uneasily. “What do you mean she went with Teagan? How could you let her do that?”
“You won’t believe us if we tell you,” Evelyn spoke for the first time. “The keepsake is the only thing that will convince you we’re not crazy.”
“Who are you?” Jacob asked, starting to get angry.
“My name is Evelyn Lewis, Mr. Halstead. I’m the private investigator Teelo retained in January to help her recover a friend that had been kidnapped,” the PI said calmly. “If you want to know more we need the keepsake. It will answer all your questions.”
“Why won’t you tell me where our daughter is? Elaine, where is she?” Olivia demanded.
“With Teagan, Olivia. On their way to a city called Hejm,” Elaine said carefully.
“And where’s that, exactly?” Jacob asked. “Sounds European—wait, my daughter’s going to Europe?” He looked at the four in disbelief.
“No. We have to have that keepsake if you want your questions answered, Jacob. Would it be in Emma’s room?” John asked.
“It should be. I’ll go get it.” Olivia stood up abruptly.
“I’ll go with you,” Elaine said and the two women left the room.
“Your name is Matt, right? How do you know my daughter?” Jacob asked, taking a deep breath to calm himself.
“Matthew Sanders, Mr. Halstead. I met your daughter when Teelo brought her by my dojo. I’m Teelo’s Krav Maga instructor.”
“So why are you here with a private investigator?” The man was clearly worried, his eyes searching them for some clue what was going on.
“Evelyn and I were involved in Teelo’s second trip, Mr. Halstead. Where we went and what we did there—I can’t tell that you until we have the keepsake.”
“Damn it!” Jacob swore. “What secret? What the hell is going on? Where’s my daughter!” His voice was raised.
“Calm yourself, Mr. Halstead. There’s no reason to believe Teelo and Emma are in the slightest danger,” Evelyn said in a placating voice. “Just wait until your wife gets back and everything will be explained. You have my word.”
“You’d better be right. Or I’m calling the police,” he growled. The four waited for ten uncomfortable minutes until the two women returned. Olivia was carrying a bundle wrapped in a blue cloth.
“We should sit at the table for this,” Elaine said. Wordlessly Olivia led them into the dining room, and sat down at the table, placing the bundle in front of her.
“Now what is this about?” Jacob growled again.
“Unwrap it,” John instructed Olivia. She did, laying the cloth out once she had so they could all see it. It showed a deep blue star field with a border of ornate ferns and hearts. On the star field were two unicorns chasing each other in an eternal circle. One was white with pink mane and tail, the other dark blue with a silver mane and tail. Inside the circle was a stylized golden sun and a crescent moon on a blue globe.
“Looks like a yin and yang symbol,” Jacob said, studying it. “The never-ending cycle of day and night, right?”
“Yes,” John said, nodding. “The border is traditional Irish design with some Greek influence. The heart symbols are actually Roman, I think.”
“So this is really old?” Jacob asked, examining the box.
“No. She brought it back from her first trip. It’s only about eighteen months old,” John said. “Her friends commissioned it. The box is hand carved, but it’s the contents we’re interested in. Go ahead and open it, Olivia. The latches are on the front there.”
Fumbling for a moment, Olivia finally mastered the clever latches. She opened the box with far less reverence than Emma had.
“Little pony dolls?” She asked doubtfully.
“They’re the secret, Olivia,” John said. “Take out the white winged unicorn and set it on the table facing you.”
Clearly unhappy, the woman did.
“Now ask it who it is,” John said.
“What?” She asked, startled.
“Ask it who it is. Trust me,” John said.
“Wh—who are you?” Olivia played along, addressing the statue.
The statue yawned and stretched its wings. Then it started flapping, until it was hovering in front of the wide eyed woman’s face.
“Hello, I am Princess Celestia, ruler of the magical land of Equestria. I don’t recognize you, what is your name?”
“Olivia,” the woman answered, clearly shocked into automatic pilot mode.
“Greetings, Olivia,” she looked around until she saw Elaine. “Greetings, Lady Elaine. I’m happy to meet you again, in a manner of speaking.”
The statuette settled to the table, folded its wings, and became inert stone once more.
“What the hell?” Jacob swore, staring at the tiny winged unicorn. “That’s impossible! Nobody could build something like that! And it flew. How did it fly?”
The figurine came back to life and turned to him.
“Who are you?” It asked.
“Jacob Halstead,” he answered, wide eyed.
“I enchanted this toy so it could do a few tricks every day, Mr. Halstead. It can answer a few simple questions before the magic runs out for the day. The magic returns with the sun. Flying takes a lot of magic, so if you want the figurine to fly more than once a day make sure you play with it in the sunlight.” The figurine reverted again.
“Magic? There’s no such thing as magic,” Olivia said, stunned. “How is it talking? Answering questions? That takes some serious computer power doesn’t it? It’s not big enough! And the way it moves, it’s as though it were alive!”
“All right, John. Enough games. What is going on?” Jacob demanded. “Where is Emma?”
“Teelo and your daughter are now in Equestria, Mr. Halstead,” Matt said quietly. “I’ve been there myself, all four of us have. It’s a real place, but how exactly the Bridge of Days works I couldn’t tell you.”
“The what?” Jacob asked, still struggling to process what he’d just seen.
“The Bridge of Days,” Evelyn answered. “We don’t know exactly what it is or how it works. It’s like a doorway between Earth and Equestria. All I can give you is a handful of educated guesses and some speculation based on my trip there.”
“Start talking,” he said grimly.
“All right. Keep in mind I’ve got very little hard evidence aside from this keepsake. And frankly, their technology might as well be magic because it’s way beyond anything we’ve got. You ever heard of Clark’s Axiom?”
“Yeah,” he eyed the stone figurine. “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. So is this magic? Or some kind of weird super-science stuff?”
Evelyn shrugged. “I don’t know. How could we tell the difference? What I do know is that Equestria is filled with sentient non-humans. They seem to speak English, but their alphabet is nothing like ours. They seem to have a general technology level about equal to the late 19th century, with a few areas as advanced as early 20th. Except they also use ‘magic’, which means their tech level is so far beyond ours it’s like we’re still using stone axes.
“I went to Equestria on Christmas day and spent three weeks there. I’ve spent the last six months trying to make sense of it all. The only thing I can figure is the Equestrians had some kind of modifications done to them early in their history, maybe genetic engineering or nanotechnology—had to have been something along those lines.
“I also know the current rulers of Equestria overthrew the original ruler. Maybe that’s why their tech is such a hodgepodge of old-school and Flash Gordon. They probably commandeered some advanced tech when they revolted. It would explain a lot of what I saw.”
“As for them speaking English, well, I don’t think they actually do. It makes no sense that they would. I’m betting it was some kind of universal translator, based on ‘magic’.” She made air quotes with her fingers.
“I also bet the translation wasn’t perfect. Some of the words they used might not literally mean what they say. For instance their names are just goofy.”
“Goofy how? Like nonsense words?” Olivia asked.
“No. The words are English; they’re just too—well weird. One of them is named Rarity. Another is named Pinkamena Diane Pie—but she goes by Pinkie. And yeah, she’s pink. See what I mean? The two rulers are named Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.”
“The Equestrians look just like these figurines. The first time you see them your mind screams pony. Until you get a really good look. Then you’ll never mistake them for ordinary horses again.”
“What are you talking about?” Jacob demanded irritably. “We’re supposed to believe Emma went to visit talking horses?”
Evelyn pointed at the figurine. “Straight from the horse’s mouth, Mr. Halstead. Do you doubt your own ears?”
He looked like he wanted to protest, but subsided.
“What I mean is, at first glance they look like an ordinary pony or horse,” Evelyn said. “Equestrians are four legged. But their front hooves have this weird mutation, some kind of flange that unfolds from the frog of their hoof. They can use the flange the way we use fingers. It isn’t quite as good as fingers, so they use their mouths as hands a lot more than we do, their lips are very dexterous.”
“Their shoulder joints are really weird, too, much more complex than a horse’s with nearly the same range of motion as a human. Oh, and their eyes are huge, and face forward like a predator’s. They also have full color vision and depth perception.”
“Look,” she picked up the figurines of Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. “Notice there are three different kinds? They call them tribes, or at least that’s the word we hear. This is an earth pony, a unicorn, and a pegasus,” she tapped each figurine in turn.
“All three live together peacefully and can even interbreed, so clearly they’re the same species. But each tribe has their own special tricks.”
“The earth ponies have prehensile tails. Pegasi have wings, little stubby things that shouldn’t be able to lift them—but they can fly, and even hover. That’s why I’m thinking some kind of genetic engineering or nanotech. And the unicorns—” She shook her head.
“Well, they’re unicorns. Somehow the unicorns seem to be able to use ‘magic’ to lift and move objects and even teleport.”
“Teleport?” Jacob asked skeptically. “You’re kidding me! So what are they? Space ponies from Mars?”
“Not Mars,” Evelyn said, rolling her eyes. “Not part of our solar system at all. We call it Equestria, but that’s probably not its name. Their planet was terraformed, Mr. Halstead! It’s the result of engineering on a planetary level! Their star is some kind of dim white dwarf, but there’s an artificial sun and moon that orbit the planet. Somebody made those devices and put them in orbit as part of the terraforming. Somehow Princess Celestia got hold of the controls for the artificial sun. Princess Luna has the controls for the moon. They told me themselves the ponies didn’t create Equestria, so someone else must have. And that someone else has access to unbelievably advanced technology.”
“Unbelievable is the right word,” Jacob said sourly. “You really expect us to swallow this tripe? What did you do with our daughter?” He shouted the last word at her.
“Lady Teelo is going to Hejm for the summer,” the tiny voice of Princess Celestia answered Jacob unexpectedly. “The magic is fading, but I can speak with you again tomorrow.” The statue solidified.
“Do we have technology capable of making that?” Evelyn asked Emma’s father. “Can we fake that?” She picked up a blue winged unicorn and sat it down next to Celestia’s statue.
“Princess Luna, where is Emma?” She asked.
“Lady Teelo’s friend? She asked us several questions last night but we haven’t seen her since,” the blue figurine replied in cool formal tones.
“Who made you?” Jacob butted in.
“Jewel Shard, the artist, constructed the actual figurines,” Luna replied. “Our sister provided the enchantments and each of us posed for our own figurine to provide the anima.” Her figurine solidified again.
“Let’s say we believe you,” Olivia said in the awkward silence that followed. “When will Emma be coming home?”
“The first of August,” John said quietly.
The shocked stares of Emma’s parents said it all.