Princess Twilight looked at each of her friends in turn. Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow had their mouths wide open as if they were all screaming, but the sounds of the magical energy roaring past her ears drowned their voices out. How had one simple experiment go all horribly wrong? How did a logical and seemingly flawless theory for long-distance teleportation get so out of control? Twilight was so wrapped up in trying to understand where she had gone wrong that she did not notice how serious things were becoming.
Luckily the girls were not in pain, and that was probably why Twilight did not worry too much. Whatever this was, it was not physically harming them, but the potential for something serious was still lingering in the back of her mind. Despite the raw fear in Applejack's, Fluttershy's and Rarity's faces, Pinkie seemed to be having the time of her life and Rainbow, seeing as Pinkie was having a ball, seemed to partake in her friend's antics. Twilight took comfort in that. Pinkie seemed to just know when things were bad and her lack of concern came as a relief.
But what had happened? There was no denying that whatever transpired was becoming more and more dangerous, just not to Twilight and her friends. Whatever they had created was protecting them within a dome of increasingly powerful magic. The danger was happening outside that strange dome that was expanding slowly with each fluctuation of power that exploded out of Twilight's horn. Despite her best effort, Twilight could not control her own power as more and more magic was pulled from her horn. Numerous times she had tried to stifle this 'extraction' by closing her eyes willing herself to stop, but that failed. Trying to manipulate the raw power of the Elements by channeling the trace amount of residual powers that seemed to be permanently residing within each of her friends and herself did not quite pan out as Twilight had predicted.
Trying to use the Elements of Harmony without the pieces physically on themselves was deemed to be impossible. But all it took was understanding where the power was being drawn from. Once she had learned that, it seemed simple to extrapolate her findings and when she was confident that she understood the power and how it could be controlled, then she asked her friends to lend her their powers.
Discord, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stood equidistant from one another at three points around the magical dome that had formed around them. They were using their powers to try and hold back the runaway power and prevented it from getting wider. Celestia and Luna had come right away when they sensed the huge explosion of raw energy pinpointed by what looked like a pillar of light into the sky.
Celestia knew what Twilight had attempted to do; Twilight had told Celestia of her intentions of trying to use the Elements of Harmony by using residual essences that seemed to be left within each of them. At first, Celestia was doubtful. How could the Elements be used without them being physically present? Then again, the Elements of Harmony existed all around them, so the theory was sound. She eventually assented only because Twilight had given her full confidence that she could control this power, and that nothing could go wrong.
At first Twilight seemed to maintain some semblance of control over the immense power that swirled in and around her. Then it suddenly surged out of control and the harder she tried to retain control, the more she started losing her hold on it. It was like trying to stop a river using loose sand. Wherever the water pushed, the sand would lose hold, so you compensated by putting more side on the hold that only helped move the water. The erosion steadily grew more and more out of control, and by the time she understood that she had to stop it was too late. The raw power had grown too strong for her to control.
Then it had started to emanate from her friends, who had come to watch her and give their support. They were drawn into the circle of power and, like with all other times, they formed a perimeter around her with her in the middle. Beams of various hues shot out into the sky and swirled together. By the time the other princesses appeared trying to help get the magic under control, it was too late. The little trickle of a stream had turned into a torrent.
"Discord, do you know what it's doing?" Celestia asked, shouting over the roar of air and magic that swirled just inches in front of her.
"Well, my dear Celestia, your brilliant student has managed to open a portal into a different dimension that is slowly growing bigger and bigger. If we let this continue any longer it may break Equestria and the rest of the world in half. That would end very badly for all of us, especially me! Think of it! You'd all be dead and I'd have no one to play with!"
"Discord!"
The draconequus rolled his eyes. "I was just joking. Best thing is to let the girls go through the tear in the space-time vortex that they've created and we'll just find a way to bring them back later."
"Will they be safe?" Luna asked gently gazing at the six mares in front of them.
"They're big girls. They can take care of themselves," Discord replied waving his claw in the air dismissively. "I do this kind of thing all the time. We should be worrying about ourselves. I hate being the fatalist, but it's all of us, or them. And I'm hoping you'll pick all of us because if you pick them then we'd all be going bye-bye anyway. Won't that be a shame? I think it'll be a shame. We don't like shames, do we now?"
"Discord!" Celestia barked. "Concentrate, your side of the shield is weakening."
"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha," Discord grumbled and muttered something under his breath.
"Sister?" Luna asked. She felt her magic slipping now. "I... can't hold it... much longer..."
Celestia looked at her sister. Even she felt the strain. Even Discord started to be serious. That meant things were going bad. Real bad. She gazed at her ex-student and wondered how it had come to this.
"Twilight, I'm sorry," Celestia whispered. "I know you'd understand." Quickly she turned to Discord. "What do we do?"
"Well... we push... up," came the response.
"Up?"
"Yes. Up. High into the sky. This light-show is like a road. A beacon. Just send them up and they'll be on their way."
"Where to?" Celestia asked.
Discord shrugged. "I dunno. A breathable, inhabitable world, hopefully. Not some dead world or the moon. Twilight could survive, but the rest of the girls..."
"You seem to know quite a lot about this, Discord. Why?"
The draconequus smiled. "Oh, you know me. Ever the explorer. Well, if we can't contain it, can't stop it, can't make it go away, then we'll have to do the next best thing. Send them on their merry way!"
Celestia was not satisfied with the answer. "Will you be able to find them?"
"Eventually, but there are a lot of dimensions out there. It'll be hard to find the exact one they went to."
Again, Celestia was not satisfied with his response, but it would have to do. "Luna, if you please."
"Yes, sister."
Princess Celestia smiled at Twilight and her friends. "I trust you girls. We'll figure out a way to bring you back somehow. Take care."
With that, Luna and her sister pushed the spell forwards while Discord held the dome in place. A sudden flash of bright light blinded them (except Discord who had managed to slip on a pair of shades). As the light faded Celestia looked and frowned. Twilight Sparkle and her friends, the other Elements of Harmony, were gone.
Twilight's eyes opened to see... a strange creature sitting on a brown rattan chair staring right at her with a very confused frown on his face. He placed a newspaper, or what seemed to be a newspaper, down on a table next to him and continued to look at her. He opened his mouth to speak, thought about it, then reached on a little side table and rang a bell.
At once another creature, similar to the sitting one, came out of a side door and stopped when it saw Twilight. It ran over and began talking rapidly to the sitting one, but the one sitting down just waved its arms. That seemed to calm the newcomer, whom Twilight noticed was wearing a white garb. The other one seemed naked except for a bit of cloth that covered his mid-lower section. She understood instantly that it was a towel, and noted that to her left was a fairly decently sized swimming pool. She had the presence of mind to understand that this was a sign of an advanced community, and she noted at how the sitting creature seemed to gauge her with a cautious and curious manner. Eventually it stood up on its rear legs and slowly moved towards her.
Twilight tried to stand, but she felt too dizzy. Perhaps she had used too much magic? She felt herself stumble a little and remained lying down.
The creature stopped a few dozen steps away and began to make sounds with its mouth. It took a moment for Twilight to realize that it was trying to communicate with her. She didn't understand a single sound or word that came out of its mouth and there were a few minutes of strange glances between this creature and the other one who had stayed back.
Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she remembered a spell she had learned that helped her understand creatures by projecting thought in the form of words into her mind. The power of words and their meanings were a type of magic she had wanted to understand more about and had found a wonderful spell that helped her further this field of study. At first she wanted to use her power to help learn the language of the animals, and perhaps share it with Fluttershy. Sadly, she never got around to actually testing that spell, but she would used it now.
Struggling, Twilight stood and and spread her wings. That caught the creature by surprise and she noticed him fall backwards onto the ground after tripping over his own feet. Her horn glowed brightly and in a flash of bright light she looked at the creature in front of her with expectation.
"Well... that was interesting."
Twilight stopped. The spell had worked! She had understood it.
"What happened?" The second creature asked.
Judging from the pitch in their voices, she knew that the first was a male and the second was a female.
"I don't know. Perhaps it took a picture? Did that light come from her horn? That is a horn, right?"
Twilight nodded.
That silenced the creature and he stood up and put one of his claws, or what looked to be claws, on his chin, much like how Spike does it when he's deep in contemplation. "Wait, so you understand me?"
Twilight nodded again.
"Did that... light have anything to do with that?"
Twilight nodded once more.
"Amazing. This is terrific. Do you see, Julie? This horse understands speech! Imagine that. It isn't very common to see imaginary creatures in today's world. In fact, it isn't common at all! So, you understand English, that the name of the language we're speaking in. According to legend, you're a unicorn."
Twilight opened her mouth to tell him that wasn't quite right. She was a unicorn, but now she was a-.
"Master, please. It might be dangerous. We should call the police... have them-"
"Nonsense! If this creature wanted to do me harm, she would have done it when I approached her. No, I think that she's harmless... well, unless provoked. And calling the police might have that effect on her. Besides, since when do we get to see a real live unicorn! And it is obviously sentient, answering my questions with what seems to be a universal form of acknowledgement! A nodding of the head. Astounding! See the way it listens? It's taking things in. So, instead of freaking out, let's make our new friend feel comfortable. Once she trusts us enough then we'll see what we can do."
Twilight saw that the female never broke eye contact with her, but still maintained the distance. Twilight felt glad that the second one didn't approach. She felt strangely safe with the male, she wasn't sure why, just that she did not feel a need to be defensive. She opened her mouth to say something when another voice was heard.
"Daddy! Daddy!" A voice shouted and a little, mini version of the creature appeared from behind a small wall that led towards a rather large house. Twilight hadn't really noticed it before, but when the little one spotted her it screamed. She froze afraid that she did something wrong. The little thing in a pink dress hopped in one place and started towards the larger creature. "Daddy! Daddy! That's Twilight! Daddy! Twilight Sparkle! Princess Twilight Sparkle!"
Of course, Twilight was stunned. How did the little girl know her?
The father of what she assumed to be a girl turned to rush towards her, but was caught up in her father's arms. "You know this unicorn?"
"Alicorn, daddy. She's not a unicorn," The girl replied with a bored expression. "I told you this already! See, she has wings!"
The father made a face, but had a smile across his lips as well. "Wouldn't that make her Pegasus?"
The girl smacked her head as if her father had said the most ignorant thing in the world. "No, daddy. Pegasuses have wings and no horn. She's got both. She's an alicorn. And she's Twilight, Daddy. From my show! You know..."
"Your... show?"
That made her perk her ears. A show? What was this little girl talking about? Then she listened in astonishment as the little girl began to describe Twilight's adventures with her friends and that she watched them all the time. Despite her surprise, she quickly came to understand that the little girl actually loved her and her friends. She was so excited that Twilight blushed a little at the affection that the little girl was throwing at her and the praises she was being bestowed. Still, somewhere deep inside she was freaking out. She was not entirely sure how to react with strangers knowing almost everything about her.
Should she be scared that they knew so much? Should she be flattered? Suddenly she looked around and fear pulsated through her body. Where were the others? Panic welled up in her gut. Had something dreadful happened to them?
"Sir," came another voice and another male creature appeared. "Sir, you've gotta come see this... in the barn there's..." The voice died as he spotted Twilight. "Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle. There's two more o' 'em creatures, sir! An orange and white one in the garage."
"Rarity! Applejack!" The little girl screamed and was off faster than one could blink.
"Peter, please make sure that my daughter doesn't do anything stupid."
"On it, guv'ner." With that, the newcomer took off after the girl.
At that moment, another one of the creatures appeared next to the half-naked male. He looked at Twilight intently for a few minutes, raised a single, solitary eyebrow and walked towards the father and whispered something in his ear.
Twilight looked at the three remaining beings one at a time studying each intently. The other newcomer wore a black suit and stood perfectly still and at attention. In his left arm he held a tray with a tall glass of translucent white liquid. It looked like lemonade. On his forearm he had a towel or cloth draped over his forearm. A butler? Had to have been one.
"Another one?" The first male creature asked.
"Actually three more, sir. Pink, yellow, and blue. The yellow one fainted when she saw one of the drivers cleaning the car. It's lying on the front lawn. The driver didn't fare any better and is unconscious next to the car. The pink one is bouncing around in the playroom, literally. We've locked the doors, but she seems quite harmless and is intently investigating the toys. The blue one is in the lounge and tried to fly out the window. I doubt it knew the windows are quite strong. Shall we lock them in a cage?"
Twilight heaved a sigh of relief when she heard all that, but immediately felt quite apprehensive at the mention of locking them in a cage.
"Do we have a cage big enough for them?"
"Yes, sir."
"What? Where?"
"In the field, sir. The previous owners used them to transport sheep."
"No, no. Not necessary. Tell me, what do you think, Andrew?"
"Small equines, sir. Judging by its size and shape, I would further venture to guess that is a pony, sir. They have a mix of wings and horns. This one is an exception. It seems she has both."
"That's because she's an alicorn, Andrew."
"Alicorn, sir?"
The man nodded. "Right?"
Twilight took a moment to understand that he was addressing her. She nodded. Her mouth still wasn't working.
"I'll make a mental note of it, sir. I presume that the horned ones are unicorns and the winged ones are...?"
"Pegasuses," The man filled in.
"Pegasuses?"
"Pegasuses." The man turned his head to look at Andrew. "Or something like that."
"Pegasi, sir?"
"That does sound better."
"Latin, sir. I think that is how one pluralizes."
The man nodded. "I see. You seem to know a lot about this."
"Thank you, sir."
Twilight was unsure of what to do. She had to do something. Then her mouth decided it wanted to work again and she opened and closed it a few times. When she was satisfied that things were working properly, she looked at the two in front of her and a determined expression took hold. She was going to do this.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and inhaled a breath, coughed a little, and then braced herself. She looked at the one that seemed to be in charge of everything and said: "Hello, I'm Twilight Sparkle, a Princess of Equestria."
The creature eyes widened. "You can talk?"
"Y-yes. I can talk..."
"Amazing," The man stood there for a long pause. Then he shook his head while chuckling to himself. "Well then, since we're doing introductions, my name's Tap, and this," he gestured to his surroundings, "is my home. I'm president, founder, CEO and Managing Director of several various companies, which would be pointless to name considering you're not from around here, but trust me when I say they are all impressive. Anyway, it pales in comparison to you! Fancy that! A talking... er... what's a horse called, again?"
"Equine, sir."
"A talking equine! But that's irrelevant. On behalf of this world, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to you and your friends. So, Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, welcome to the planet Earth."
Twilight tried to wrap her head around what he had said. "Earth?"
"Yes, yes. That's what we call our beloved world. I take it you're not from this planet."
"I... I'm not sure. I don't think so. On our world we don't have creatures like you."
"That might be a good thing," The creature muttered to himself. "Anyway, if there were sentient creatures that weren't human, then we'd likely know about it by now."
"Um... thank you for your kindness. I don't know what to do and-"
"You will stay with me, here, of course," Tap stated without hesitation.
"But... I, no we, don't want to impose-"
"If you're thinking about finding alternative arrangements, then let me stop you right there. Not going to happen. You're huge!"
"Excuse me?" Twilight said, a little confused (and insulted) about what he just said.
"You! Being here! It's huge! Sentient beings that are not human!"
"Oh!" Twilight felt a relieved and slightly embarrassed. "You don't have any other sentient beings on this world?"
"No! The implications go beyond... well, everything. You being here changes everything, and you're basically going to be in demand everywhere. And there are some individuals who will use you, and your powers, for questionable purposes. We don't have anything with your kind of power here and humans inherently fear what they don't understand."
"You don't seem to be very afraid."
"I'm weird. Anyway, you're going to stay here along with your friends. I have enough space on my property to accommodate you all."
"I don't know what to say. Thank you?"
"I just find it incredible you can talk!" Tap coughed into a fist and smiled. "I mean, you're very welcome. But don't think I'm just doing this out of the kindness of my heart. I mean, yes, a part of it is from kindness, but that's not the only reason. You see, you're the first intelligent creature that isn't human to come into contact with us. For years we've been scouring the world and beyond that for intelligence. And you happen to land right here on my property! So, I am going to use you to my advantage."
Twilight showed some apprehension at those words.
"Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to do anything horrible or dastardly. But let's not beat around the bush. You're a literal goldmine and I intend to expand my already substantial fortune through you."
Again, Twilight showed some apprehension at those words.
"Would you prefer if I did it all sneaky-like and trick you? I don't think so. Up front and honest. You know what to expect from me, and I know what to expect from you. I vow never to put you in any situation that would cause you harm, and to your friends, and that I will ensure that you are all safe."
"How will you make a fortune through us?" Twilight asked, still not liking the sound of that.
"Well, I'd get the press to come and talk to you. Use you to promote certain products. It's all about give and take, but let's not go over this out here. I'll show you my intentions in my office later on. Right now I'm sure that you want to make sure that your friends are safe. Andrew."
"Sir?"
"Make sure that Her Highness and her friends are well looked after. I'm leaving them in your charge."
Andrew bowed low. "But sir..."
"Look, I don't need a babysitter. Plus, with what's to come, they'll need you more than I would.
Andrew lifted his head and looked at Twilight. "Very well, sir. It will be my pleasure."
"What d'ya mean you don't know?" Applejack shouted.
"I don't know! This wasn't supposed to happen," Twilight replied at the visibly upset Applejack.
"Calm down, AJ. I'm sure Princess Celestia and Luna are doing everything they can do make sure we get back home safely," Rainbow replied. "Cut Twilight some slack. She did warn us it'd be dangerous."
Applejack sighed. "I know. I just wish it were otherwise."
Tap was sitting in a large chair behind a huge desk gazing at his laptop -- an amazing human invention. They were sitting in Tap's office, which was almost as big as Fluttershy's cottage in terms of floor space with a high ceiling with long wooden cross beams near the top. Each beam had a fan whirring lazily keeping a steady stream of air moving around the room. This was offset by a huge tower air conditioner in one corner keeping the entire room a constant cool temperature that thwarted the grizzling summer heat outside. In fact, most rooms had one of these monsters in them.
The office was essentially divided into three parts. The working area with Tap's large desk, a middle portion where there was a complete sofa set with chairs made of leather, and a small library-like area where Tap liked to sit and read. Despite initial apprehensions on sitting on the leather sofas, Tap assured them that they were fake. They didn't seem fake, but if it was a white lie, the girls ran with it. Although they knew and understood that the cows and other animals were non-sentient and were bred for a variety of things, Tap was very conscious of their wonts and needs and had explicitly declared that everyone should be vegetarian in honor of the guests.
Apparently this was done before because nobody seemed that shocked about being forced to cut meat completely out of their diet.
There was tea on a low round table in the middle of the sofas, and each had their own cup with intricate flower designs on it. Rarity was quite taken by the delicacy of the art and beautiful colors. Apparently they had been a gift by a kind of king called a Shah from a country far away. The handles were plated with gold.
Andrew stood to Twilight's left just behind her sofa. She had gotten used to having him follow her around at the insistence of Tap. Tap had explicitly refused to have Twilight or any of her friends wander around alone. It bothered Twilight a little, but Andrew was a wealth of knowledge and seemed very observant and intelligent. She quickly got used to his presence and insights into human culture.
Sadly, only Twilight seemed to retain some semblance of her powers. Rarity's magic was so weak, she could not even use basic levitation spells on her tea cup. Twilight could just about manage that much magic. It was nothing even close to what she was really capable of.
"Well, couldn't you reverse what you did?" Tap asked nonchalantly.
Twilight sighed. "No. I can't generate near enough magical power to do what I did on Equesria. It's like this world is sapping out all my magical potential. If I could just generate the same amount of power, I could theoretically send us all back to our world-"
"Theoretically?" Tap didn't seem to like the sound of that. "You're lucky you ended up here. From what you were saying you could have ended up anywhere. Even in the middle of the ocean. And that would've be very, very bad for your non-winged friends."
In the silence that lingered, only the sound of Tap's daughter playing with Fluttershy could be heard. She was sitting in between the mare's front hooves and playing. In her hands was a Fluttershy doll. It was clear that Aria's favorite pony was Fluttershy, and the girl spend practically every waking moment near or with the mare. Every once in a while she would show Fluttershy the doll and the mare would smile gently and nod and say something to her. The girl's eyes were like stars whenever they looked at Fluttershy. It was quite clear Aria had a very special place in her heart for her.
"Theoretically." Twilight sighed, nodding at Tap's question. "Magic is very unpredictable."
Again he typed something on his laptop.
"You see, on our world, the other princesses and Discord helped contain the spell from going out of control."
"Discord?"
Twilight explained briefly what and who Discord was. This only seemed to further confuse him instead of enlighten, but Tap did not pursue it. It was hard for him to wrap his head around magic anyway.
"Well, we gotta get home! My farm ain't gonna buck itself!" Applejack announced.
"I'm sorry, your farm is going to what?" Tap asked flabbergast at what the mare had just said.
"Buck. Ya know. Kickin' them trees?"
"Oh! Buck! With a 'B'!" Tap laughed to himself. "Thought you said something else."
After that there was some conversation about what the consequences of delaying their return could lead to, but each one was quickly shot down by a level-minded and clearly intelligent counter-argument by Twilight. She was worried about Spike, who had been left behind. She knew that the princesses would make sure that he was taken care of. Applejack had her brother and granny to take care of Applebloom and the farm. Sweetie Belle was luckily with her parents back home. Pinkie was perfectly happy with her situation. Fluttershy was concerned about her wild animals, but they were wild for a reason. Sure Fluttershy made their lives better, but truth was they could get along without her -- for the most part. Rainbow had the weather schedule, but was assured that a suitable replacement would have been selected in the interim; Ponyville would manage without her for a little while.
"So? What are we s'posed to do? Just wait around here?" Applejack asked.
Tap coughed loudly. "Well, like I said to Twilight, I don't mind, and my daughter seems to have taken quite a liking to you all, especially Miss Fluttershy."
Fluttershy blushed, earning a hug from the young girl. She gently placed a hoof on the child’s head and stroked it affectionately.
"You'd make a wonderful mother one day," Tap commented.
The butter-colored mare blushed even harder.
"Your stay here isn't simply because of my generosity. You're actually quite lucky to have landed here. My home is huge, as you can plainly see. You're free to use anything here. My staff are discrete and you’ll be safe. In the meantime, I will see what I can do to make your stay here less boring and more... fun. Perhaps even help you find a way to get home. But, like I said to Twilight, I am going to take full advantage of this situation."
"What d'ya mean?" Applejack asked narrowing her eyes.
"I'm going to tell the world about you. People everywhere will come to know of your existence and I'll be your spokesperson. You won't have to do or say anything, and I won't ever infringe on your personal space nor force you to do things that you're not comfortable in doing. No. What I'm going to do is use you to become famous myself. So, if you excuse me, I think I will get started right away." With that, Tap stood up, bowed his head slightly, and left with the small rectangle he called a mobile.
As soon as he left the room, Twilight turned to the others. "Well girls, what do you think?"
"He certainly is upfront," Applejack said, nodding a little to herself. "I don't like the way he says he'll 'use' us, but I prefer that approach then doing it behind my back. I like him, though I don't understand him."
Rainbow asked scoffed. "Hey, if he's gonna make himself famous, I guess that's cool. He's a little stuffy, like one of Rarity's high society types, but nicer."
"Rainbow!" Rarity admonished, but somehow she couldn’t fault the weather-pony’s astute observation.
"No, I mean, what do you think about his offer. About staying here until we figure something out?"
"Honestly, I don't completely understand what he means about 'taking advantage of the situation'. But he clearly is a gentlecolt and seems to be rather concerned about our well-being. It would be a shame not to take advantage of his kindness. I feel that he is somepony we can rely on. Considering all things, we were certainly very lucky to have landed here."
"Rarity does have a point," Twilight pointed out.
"We are on a strange world with strange creatures who believe we are characters from a fictional show. We can barely use magic, we do not know the customs and we have no idea what's out there. Tap has said that we need to stay here for our own safety, or until we get a better grasp of our predicament. Then, after that, let's see."
"I don't think Tap is the type who will hold us here against our will," Fluttershy said quietly. "He's also a very kind father."
Twilight looked to each of her friends. "So, we stay?"
They all nodded.
"Waitaminute! Where's Pinkie?" Rainbow suddenly blurted.
Somewhere they heard a scream followed by a: "Pinkie! How the hell did you fit in the freezer?"
Twilight sighed. "At least Pinkie is having fun."
Rarity was walking back from the gymnasium when she spotted Tap chatting with a black-skinned man in a formal suit. She took note of the man and, as she walked by, took note of the large black car with little blue flags at the front.
"Rarity," Tap said without turning.
"Hm?"
"Can you please call the girls to my office? I've got a surprise for you all."
With that, Tap led the gentleman away and entered the den.
By the time the girls entered Tap's office, the black gentleman was packing away a suitcase and shaking Tap's hand. He looked at the ponies and smiled. "My name is Mahwe Abadi. I'm the secretary to Mr. Akufu Swahena, the newly appointed minister for the Welfare of Non-Human Sentients such as yourselves. I represent an organization that helps oversee much of the world's governance. May I privileged to be the first person from a government institution to welcome you to our world."
"Oh, well, I'm Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Equestria, and these are my friends, Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy."
"I know very well who you are, Your Highness. Mr. Tap here has given us a large report about you and where you've come from. As you know, your presence here has changed everything we've ever known and there are a lot of details we have to contend with." Mahwe looked at Tap as if asking for permission to say something.
Tap nodded.
"We are your first line of defense. Keeping your location a secret is impossible, so we're helping Tap maintain his compound. I'm sure you've noticed that we've helped increase the height of his perimeter wall and assigned some guards. Already we have come to know that there are those that wish to do you harm. Your very presence changes entire geopolitical dynamics the repercussions for which have yet to be seen."
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked astonished at this news.
"Never mind. It's long, boring and depressing to talk about that stuff. Trust me. Anyway, that's why I've asked the UN to help us out," Tap replied before Mahwe could speak. "Just know that keeping you a secret and locking you away is the worst thing I could do, but it might've kept you safe. Prisoners within here."
"UN?"
"United Nations. It's a organization that oversees the world's numerous problems. I approached them not long after you arrived here letting them know that non-human sentient beings had arrived. Through them we are making people aware that there is, in fact, life 'out there' that is as intelligent as us. Well, as intelligent as some of us," Tap chuckled a little at his own joke. "Anyway, it’s been done. You’re all ‘special citizens of the world’,” Tap grinned holding up six small square booklets in red with silvery symbols on the front. “Sorry it took me so long, but better late than never, right?”
“What’re these things?” Applejack asked as Tap handed one to her. She opened it and saw a picture of herself on the inside of the front page. She hated how she looked in it, but Tap had insisted that her hat could not be in the picture.
“Passports. Special passports. They grant you carte blanche entry into almost any country on this planet, with the exception of a few,” Tap replied. “They’re diplomatic passports."
“What’s a passport?” Rarity asked.
“They are official documents recognized by multiple governments, kingdoms, whatever, on this world. It’s so they know who you are and where you’re from. Of course, it was hard for me to convince them about your existence, which is why I had those officials come and visit you. I didn't want to make you a citizen of a single country, that would be ridiculous and cause unnecessary tension with other nations."
"What? Why?" Applejack asked, clearly surprised by those words.
"You're aliens from another world that can do magic. Who wouldn't want to 'claim' right of ownership of you? There are some that will not extend you the common courtesy reserved I have." Tap shrugged sadly. "And there are those who won't even do that for our own kind. That's why I went public the way I did. To make sure that you don't run into some of humanity's worst elements and that you didn't suddenly disappear. The press is always a double-edged sword, but I think we are doing the right thing in announcing your presence. It would've been harder keeping you a secret. And also to make me more famous."
On that note, Fluttershy peered out the window towards the large gates that led into Tap’s property. Outside was an army of people milling about. There were so many camped outside with various banners hanging on the gate or nailed on wooden posts with things like, ‘I love Twilight’, ‘Rainbow is 20% cooler’, ‘Bronies Believe’.
The scariest part, to Fluttershy at least, wasn’t the fact there were fans, but the sheer amount of them that had parked themselves in the empty lot opposite Tap's front gate. They were called 'Bronies' and 'Pegasisters' and each and every single one of them had come from all over the world to make their acquaintances.
The cartoon shows weren’t exactly right; there a number of minor things that differed, but for the most part it was pretty accurate. That was slightly worrisome, but Tap assured them that it was all very understandable and started telling them about theories in something he called 'physics'. It was completely over their heads and Tap resigned himself to telling them that one day they would learn about it as he believed that, without magic, that was their best chance of getting home.
Tap was usually very lenient when it came to whatever is was the girls wanted, but he was very, very, very strict when it came to allowing people onto his property to see them. The taller walls were built by his own staff and the strange men from the UN. Electrical barbed wiring was installed across the top to deter trespassers and guards from the UN were now stationed just outside the property.
Tap did nothing to prevent the girls from going to the gate and chatting with their fans, only insisting that they don’t go outside lest they be mobbed. Of course Rainbow and Pinkie did not listen and spent most of their time hanging out with the fans outside the gate. Rarity visited quite often as well, but she chose to stay within the gate. Twilight rarely ventured anywhere apart from Tap's study, even often falling asleep on one of the large sofas there while she read book after book in hopes of finding an answer to their situation. Without magic, she needed to turn to human science, but most concepts were so strange to her that she found herself referring to material that simplified or had to explain theories that were completely out of context to her.
Coincidentally, time passed much the same as it did on Equestria, apart from the regulation of the sun and moon. This was done through some cosmic influences and gravity as opposed to magic, at least that's what she had understood from the television that was usually on in the corner of Tap's office. He always had it turned on and almost always on either the news or a nature show. They had figured the passage of time out with the help of Pinkie, who happened to have a clock stored in her hair, and matched it with a clock in the house. It was exactly the same.
A few weeks before meeting the UN representative, the had those officials visit for the first time. He explained to them that on Twilight's world magic was commonplace. This was what Tap had been harping on about when it came to them. Twilight had been asked to demonstrate some simple magic spells, which was fine. The dignitaries from several nations, and representatives of large companies, were astounded. Some couldn't believe and thought that Twilight was some sort of 'automaton' and that the 'magic' was tricks with lights, lasers and mirror. The actually believed it was all a rude practical joke. Twilight enjoyed proving them wrong.
Doctors had also come to extract blood after Tap asked if it was okay with them. The girls agreed thinking nothing of it, but Tap was very careful about who got the samples and which labs they were sent to. Later he confessed that he had been a little careless and found out that certain companies that he had refused managed to get their hands on their samples. When Twilight asked why is was so important, it was just blood, Tap explained about cloning, and told them about how humans had cloned sheep and other things successfully. The girls were astounded by that revelation, but Tap told them not to worry about it, that he had 'people looking into it' and left it at that. It was a part of Tap they saw and actually feared.
Originally, Twilight thought that if she waited and rested long enough, her magic would return. Sadly, that didn't happen. She seemed to have a limit on her power. It other words, they were stuck and had no choice but to either wait for help or help themselves.
Despite her initial apprehension, Applejack had taken quite a liking to the no-nonsense, result-driven man that Tap was and spent most of her time in his office or the garden with Peter. Peter was a man with a 'green thumb', as he put it and, despite his peculiar accent, Applejack and him got one well and understood one another. In the office, she constantly sat and learned all about financials, quarters, and investment opportunities. Tap seemed to enjoy her presence and respected the earth pony’s wit and sharp eye when it came to figures and analyzing them. Outside, she was learning how to use several of the gardening tools and equipment that Peter used. As the gardener overseeing such a huge piece or property, he needed the equipment to make his life easier. This didn't include the farmstead, which had their own setup in terms of staff. It was about an hours drive away from the house via the fields, or twice that via the normal road.
Tap's property was huge, which was great for them all because they could spend a long time in the property without actually going outside it and gave Rainbow a lot of room to fly around in. It was also difficult to manage it all, but the house where the family lived was seperated from the rest of the land by a wall with a very sturdy gate leading out to a barn where the machinery was kept. There were plenty of trespassers near the rear gate, and Tap hated that because they'd trample the wheat in the fields which was the primarily crop. The Bronies were quite good about not going back there and helped the guards catch trespassers. As a result, Tap even allowed some of them to camp there but still avoided meeting with them directly.
During the days, Rainbow spent her time showing off for her fans, usually trying to do a Sonic Rainboom but never pulling it off. It irked her that she could not go any faster, but it never stopped her from trying. With all the encouragement she garnered from her fans it helped bolster her will. So she kept on persisting in hopes that the next time she would do it. Also, it was a new experience for her to be unable to control the wind or clouds. She had not gotten used to the way the clouds from this world felt and was amazed that even she could not control them. She also found that she couldn't go as high up as she could in Equestria. At night, she spent most of her time in the entertainment center playing one of Tap's numerous gaming consoles. Since the controllers were geared towards human hands, Rainbow used a console that let her use her body instead. She, of course, had to play standing upright, but she didn't mind.
Rarity spent her time with Tap’s wife, Sunny. They both had a love for fashion, design, pretty trinkets and shopping. Tap had forbidden Sunny from taking Rarity shopping, but it was clear that Tap’s demands were really more of 'strong suggestions' and did not seem to have any form of authority whatsoever when it came to her. In fact, Sunny got away with a lot whether or not Tap liked it. So Rarity went to the malls and spas practically every other day. Rarity did not like letting Sunny pay for everything, but was assured that since Tap didn't mind then neither should she. That was true. Tap never complained and once when Rarity did apologize, Tap stated that ever since Rarity went as Sunny's shopping buddy, his bills were less than half what they used to be and to 'keep up the good work'. Rarity obliged with guile. But Rarity did not just go with Sunny alone. When they went, a small contingent followed. Much like Andrew, these men were there to protect them and ensure they were safe at all times. Rarity and Sunny never ran into trouble, but one could never be too sure.
Fluttershy spent most of her time with the daughter, Aria and the child's governess. They played in the garden and, when things started to settle down little, Tap allowed some of the children from the people outside the gate to come and play. That was pretty much the only time Tap allowed outsiders onto his property, along with their respective guardians. The children would play, screaming and hollering, chasing each other, making friends, and just being kids. At one point the parents wanted Fluttershy and Tap to start a daycare of sorts, to which Tap declined. Fluttershy was upset, as she didn’t want to hurt any feelings, but Tap stated that the 'pony craze' would pass and the kids would settle down and the families would return to their homes. The singles, however, would remain there until they left.
Pinkie, of course, spent most of her time with the crowd outside, much to the joy of the Bronies, who would’ve probably torn Tap’s estate apart if she hadn’t. The party pony kept the crowds thoroughly entertained despite the many complaints of the local populace who were unused to such things. Pinkie won them over, however, and the complaints had all but ceased shortly after. She had a way with people.
Tap, despite his demeanor, always made sure that the people outside the gate had access to clean water and showers. The nearest town was a few miles away, but Tap had insisted that the bars, pubs, restaurants, and other public joints allowed these people into the premises with the promise of good business.
Then there was the staff. Julie, the head maid who oversaw the upkeep of the house. It was she that Twilight had met with Tap the day upon her arrival. It took Julie a lot longer to warm up to the ponies, but she mostly kept to herself and out of the way. Managing the other maids was her job and she did it with a commendable obsession and discretion.
Sarah, Aria's governess and teacher, who, like Fluttershy, seemed to have an overwhelmingly loving heart and was happiest when surrounded by children. Sarah was strict with the little girl when it came to proper things, which Rarity thoroughly approved of, and to which Applejack turned her nose up at a little, but at the same time they would play in the garden and Sarah wasn't afraid of getting dirty. It was clear that she had a rough side to her as well, which earned Applejack's respect and Rarity's admonishment.
Andrew was Tap’s personal butler, and was now bound to Twilight. He always seemed be in the right place at the right time. Tap had instructed him to stay with Twilight at all times and to never leave her sight whatsoever. He obeyed without question and Twilight actually found that he grew on her to the point where she felt slightly lost if his presence wasn't around.
Vincent and Paul, the two drivers who maintained Tap's 'fleet' (as he called it) of cars. They kept to themselves mostly, but were friendly enough.
Peter, the gardener, who also did maintenance, spent the vast majority of his time in the fields. Once in a while he would come to the house to repair things or clean the pool. Applejack and Rainbow liked him quite a lot, and he returned affection by playing cards or drinking with them, which annoyed Tap as well. Not the fact that his guests were drinking with the help, but the fact that Peter seemed to always drink no matter what time of the day it was.
There were the maids that were worked under Julie: Andrea, Valentina, Rosey, Emily and Joy, who spent a lot of time cleaning, doing the laundry, and dusting, the chefs Antonio, Matt and Trever who lived in the kitchen, it seemed, and cooked endless delicacies. In many cases, the maids were actually the wives of the cooks or the drivers.
All the staff lived within the property. The couples lived in small houses towards the rear end of the house, while the singles lived in small rooms in the upper floor of the other barn, which had been converted into the garage where the cars were kept. This was the barn where Applejack and Rarity had landed upon their arrival into this world. The other barn, outside the main property, housed the farming equipment. The small houses were located along the far end of the property using one wall as the perimeter. To get there, one would need to go through the garage.
It took a while for the girls to learn who was married to whom. Paul was married to Valentina, Vincent was married to Andrea, Peter's wife didn't technically work for the household, instead being a stay-at-home mother-to-be, who lived in one of the cottages. There were no other kids, so the prospect of another child was exciting, and Sunny had made sure that Peter's wife got all the help she needed along with all of Aria's old clothes. The dynamic of the household was always happy, warm, and laid-back in a way that made people want to work. Tap usually kept business outside his estate.
Plus Tap gave them all Sunday off to do whatever they wanted, even use his things. It wasn't rare to see the staff in swimwear on a hot Sunday afternoon taking a dip in the pool with Tap reading a book at they splashed and had fun. But Tap always kept his distance from them. There was always that barrier of who was really in charge. Twilight noticed it and felt a strange sympathy for the man, but knew that his wife and daughter were exceptions to that wall. Everyone knew and respected that. And, it seemed, that feeling extended to her. Twilight could always see that Tap lowered his guard in her presence. In fact, he lowered it in front of all the girls.
“Well, what do we need passports for? Everything we need is right here and you’ve been an excellent host. Do you mean to say that you’re sending us away?” Rarity asked suddenly very worried.
“Yes. I am.”
The girls looked at each other in shock.
“Oh, don't look at me like that. I'm not sending you away in that sense. Look, you girls might be here for a while, right?”
The all nodded slowly.
"And you really want to just sit here?"
Their faces were a mixture of shock, disappointment and understanding.
Twilight spoke up. "You’re right! I’m so sorry, Tap. We’ll be out of your hooves-er, hands as soon as you-"
"You misunderstand. I’m not throwing you out of my home, that would be silly. No, you see, I’m sending you out. You cannot stay here, it is a cage. True, a gilded cage, but a cage nonetheless. No, I want you to go and see the world. Now that we've told everyone that you exist, now that you have passports, and now that we have established you are real, now you can go and see the world and find the answers you seek.”
The girls were dumbfounded.
"You mean... we're going off on an adventure?" Pinkied asked, her eyes opening wide.
"Exactly."
"But you said that them Bronies were dangerous,” Applejack put in.
"You misunderstood again. Some people can be and, I regret to say, will be dangerous, the Bronies are probably be the safest people you can be with... so long as you're not alone with them." The girls all blushed. They had seen things on the Internet. "But there is another reason why I am sending you away. Your presence here might endanger my family, which is why I had the UN put guards around. Instead of handing you over to some single government organization that will most probably treat you like prisoners, I've decided to send you on a fact-finding mission across the globe. You’re all going on a trip.”
“Where to?” Twilight asked slowly.
Tap walked to the window and pointed to the sky outside. “Everywhere.”
“You’re not coming with us?” Twilight asked.
Tap shook his head. “No, but I will meet you from time to time. I've got my own issues to deal with. After all, someone has got to cash in on this, and that is why you'll be followed by said people." Tap gestured to a group standing near the door. "They will record your trip. You watched those god-awful reality shows?"
The girls all nodded.
"Yeah, well, you're going to be in one. At least you don't vote each other off here, but the more public you are the safer you will be. I'll be making lots of money from this, so you're helping me big time."
"Is money all you think about?" Applejack asked.
"Yes."
Applejack giggled at that. "You can't lie to me."
"Okay, but don't tell anyone else. But with money I can do things better and more effectively, so it's a useful tool."
Applejack nodded. "Good point."
The others laughed at that.
“Why must I sit on this thing! I can fly on my own!” Rainbow moaned, folding her hooves and pouting a little.
“Relax, you’ll enjoy it. Now, Twilight, here’s a credit card with your name on it. Spend wisely. Most of the places you’ll be going to will already have accommodation waiting so all you’ll need to worry about is having fun. Remember to keep an eye out for something to help you get home. Stay together, keep your eyes and ears open, and listen to Andrew.”
“I… I don’t know what to say…”
“‘Thank you’ is always a good start,” Tap said and let Twilight use her magic to hold onto the piece of plastic. “Andrew will be with you at all times. The rest if these guys here are all trained paramilitary peoples. They will protect you from harm."
"What's a paramili-thingy?" Applejack asked glancing towards the group.
"Human speak for highly trained... specialists. It's just a precaution, so you don't have to worry none. Anyway, should you require anything, just tell Andrew and he’ll do the rest. He's knowledgeable in several languages, is a tough guy, and I pay him for less than what he's worth.”
"Is he also a para-thingy?"
Tap smiled. "Yes. And then some."
“Thank you for coming with us, Andrew,” Twilight stated.
Andrew bowed. “The pleasure is all mine, Princess.”
“Please, call me Twilight.”
“Very well, Princess Twilight.”
“No… I mean, just Twilight. No need for ‘princess’.”
“As you wish, Your Highness,” Andrew replied.
Twilight opened her mouth again but Tap placed a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t bother. I’ve been trying to get him to stop calling me ‘sir’ for years. He’s stubborn that way. Just go with it.”
A bell sounded followed by an announcement.
“Well, that’s your flight. Enjoy yourselves out there. Don’t forget to send me pictures!”
Aria and Fluttershy wept as they parted, but Tap whispered something in her ear that seemed to calm the girl down a little bit. They all waved to one another as the Mane Six entered the aero-bridge. And with that, the Heroines of Equestria set off. They were going to see the world. Our world.