=== BABW: A New (Old) Magic ===
=== Chapter 11: Over The World Wall ===
Much like Natasha’s conversion sometime before, the week of Kyoko’s conversion and physical rehab had come and gone without incident. That is if you were to discount the warning that mysterious voice, or the now mysterious robed figure, had given to the now ten Elements and two Princesses present in the Bureau at the end of Kyoko’s Conversion proper. Given such a stern warning, the princesses felt it was appropriate to take a more… hooves-on approach with the newly christened Conduits of Terra. Which is where this tale resumes…
[ November 16, 2080 – St. Louis, USA ]
Andre hung languidly off the edge of the couch, his mane in a mess as his very countenance gave the impression of someone whose mind was wracked with a combination of stress and sleep deprivation.
“Today’s the day… today’s the day… today’s the day…” he mumbled over and over again as the main screen in the media room prattled on. The subject was yet another discussion on President Aguillar’s re-election as all the states had certified their results, and there was only the formality of the Electoral College and the Inauguration left before her second term officially started near the end of January coming.
“Say Andre, are you sure you’re alright. Maybe I could get you a safe sedative from the Isegawa’s before we depart for Ponyville later on?” Twilight asked as she sat on the floor next to the nervous blue stallion.
“I guess… I mean we have everything packed up to go that we could take. It’s gonna be weird not having access to the Internet for the next however long,” Andre mused as he sighed heavily. “But Princess Luna did say that she was going to have to, help us, with this whole Terran Magic thing.”
“Trust me, if she is anything like Princess Celestia you will be in the best hooves imaginable!” Twilight replied, her face beaming with confidence, masking a bit of envy.
I wish I had a chance to study under Luna this closely… some of the things I read about her in the archives…
“Andre, are you okay? I heard you and Twilight talking, and I thought all of us would have been asleep right now,” Kyoko mused as she poked her grass-green-maned head through the open doorway to the media room.
Andre blushed a little as he felt his attraction for Kyoko grow even stronger, now that their species matched again. He took an obviously deep breath and answered her. “I guess the three of us are having a spate of insomnia. I’m just so worked up about this move I really couldn’t stay asleep. And Twilight found me half-asleep in here.”
“I see,” Kyoko started as she sat next to the mulberry Unicorn on the floor. “I’m pretty nervous about all of this too. But it’s gonna look weird if we’re all stumbling around half-asleep when we ‘ship out’, right?”
Andre sighed as he gently eased himself off the edge of the couch and stood up on the floor. “You’re right. We still have some time before we leave right? I guess I can go ahead and just sleep the rest of that off. Maybe it will settle my nerves, too.”
Twilight yawned a heavy yawn as she walked slowly toward the open door. “I agree Andre. There’ll be better times and places to discuss all of this, so let’s go ahead and get some shuteye.”
~~! Sometime around Noon !~~
“I wish we could just go already. I feel like a literal caged bird,” Ethan groused as he paced and flitted about, moseying in and around the piles of belongings of the ten Element Bearers.
“You think you’re worked up. I haven’t had a good, long leisure flight in months. I’m dying to get back into Equestrian air-space!” Rainbow Dash groused in accordance; her voice filled with equal amounts of anxiety and anticipation.
Twilight just giggled a bit as she looked at the two stir-crazy Pegasi try and calm themselves before the Princesses made their entrance into the dormitory.
“So Twilight, are you absolutely sure you have everything. We all know you can get a little… overzealous when it comes to retrieving lost items,” Rarity asked, as she looked at the mulberry Unicorn with all seriousness.
“Oh come on, Rarity, I’ll be fine. And yes I do have everything all squared away,” Twilight replied with a bit of nonchalant-ness to her voice.
“What happens when she does end up losing something?” Andre asked, his curiosity piqued by the white Unicorn.
“She nearly overturned Golden Oaks Library trying to find one missing book. And Ah don’t mean that figuratively. She almost literally uprooted the tree the library is made out of,” Applejack replied, shaking her head afterwards.
Andre didn’t know what to be shocked by: the fact the library she apparently lived in and ran was built out of an oak, that she was strong enough to rip said oak out of the ground when sufficiently motivated, or that losing one book would be sufficient motivation to rip said oak out of the ground.
“Ok, I was not about to rip the library out of the ground… just jostle it a little. And that was a very important book to me…” Twilight replied defensively, as she had a habit of letting her magic get out of control when stressed.
The Conduits chuckled loudly, as they found the idea of the somewhat small Unicorn mare shaking what had to be quite the fair sized tree to be an ultimately humorous sight; though the idea did get the four of them to thinking out loud.
“The humorous image of Twilight shaking an oak tree like we would have shaken a clothes hamper aside, I would like to see more of how other Unicorns use their magic in their daily lives,” Natasha mused as she had finally stifled her laughter.
“I have to agree with her, I mean I can imagine some Unicorns only using their magic for things they couldn’t do by hoof or mouth. At the same time… there are some Unicorns that use their magic every chance they get,” Andre added while winking at Twilight.
Twilight turned up her nose and made a loud humph. “Sometimes I want to show off, is that wrong?”
“You know you sound like a certain cerulean passer-through we get in Ponyville from time to time, dear…” Rarity admonished with a dry tone, as she shook her head at Twilight.
“Sorry…” Twilight replied quietly, her ears drooping along the sides of her head. She knew more than anything else she hated doing anything that would remind her friends, or herself, of said cerulean interloper.
“I know what I want to do when I get to Ponyville. Take a long flight around the surrounding area. No flight plan or someone barking out orders to me. Just… being able to be in the air and taking whatever line or curve I feel like at the moment,” Ethan stated with a bit of a faraway look in his eye, as he reflexively beat his wings.
“You know, you keep talking like that and Ponies in Ponyville might think we’re siblings or something,” Rainbow Dash ribbed as she bopped Ethan in the side jokingly.
“Actually that is kinda funny…” Ethan replied as he chuckled in agreement.
“So what about you miss Green?” Applejack asked of Kyoko.
“Oh what I want to do? Um… let me think,” Kyoko replied as she sat on the haunches and crossed her front legs. “Well I would start with as many plant encyclopedias and horticulture books as I could get. I want to know everything about the plant life across the Aurora and how it might be different.”
Applejack nodded by how practical the green Earth Pony mare was. “Well one quick thing Ah can tell ya: STAY AWAY from Poison Joke unless you are wearing protection,” she intoned with all seriousness, as she nodded sagely.
Kyoko nodded in agreement as she wondered what kind of plant Poison Joke had to be for Applejack to warn about it specifically.
“Oh don’t tell me you are still sour over the whole Apple-teeny situation?” Rainbow Dash sighed as she could tell Applejack’s super-serious expression from her default one.
“Yes Ah am still sour. As far as Ah’m concerned, any batch of Poison Joke deserves splash of kerosene and a lit match…” Applejack replied, her expression not changing one bit.
Kyoko looked over at Fluttershy, who could only shrug as she really wasn’t going to argue with the apple-bucker considering what Poison Joke put all of them through those couple of years ago.
“Anyway… I guess the Princesses should be showing up any moment to see us through to the other side, right?” Natasha said before the conversation could drift any further.
With a flash of golden and azure light, the red Unicorn’s question was answered.
“Good afternoon, my little Ponies, both new and old~” Princess Celestia replied with a sing-songy voice, seemingly more befitting a zealous mother addressing her children than royalty addressing her subjects.
“Good afternoon… everyone… as you can see… I’m not quite in gear yet… I had a long night with a project. A project our four new Ponies should appreciate greatly, I would imagine. But in any case, we should probably get on with the show, because I would like to return to my chambers in a reasonable amount of time,” Princess Luna added, yawns interspersed with her words. It was clear that the Princess of the Night’s body wasn’t keeping up anywhere near what her mind was, but such was the limitation of having a physical body for a ‘goddess’.
Celestia shook her head and smiled at her still groggy sister. “In any case, I want you all and the four Conduits of Terra especially, to ruminate on this question for rest of today as we transition you to your home in Equestria: what does it mean to harmonize one’s Will with one’s Power? And this is another question that obviously applies only to the four Conduits: how are you to reconcile your human experiences with the new culture you will find yourself immersed in. You may encounter Ponies that will be enraptured by the stories of your daily life that you personally find mundane. On the other hoof, you will encounter Ponies that will regard you with suspicion, as you are outsiders encroaching upon their home. I want you all to remember: you are not being moved to Equestria simply to learn how to control your innate Equestrian and your newfound Terran magics, but you are also learning, first-hoof, how your new home operates.”
The ten Ponies and one Dragon assembled before the Princesses all thought silently upon those words, though Fluttershy had an unrelated question that she had to ask.
“Princess Celestia, I’m sorry if I am interrupting. But what is going to happen to the Bureaus since all ten of us are leaving?”
Celestia thought for a few moments, before responding. “We will continue apace. Though we realize that the recent loss of influence in the American legislature and outright defeat in the American executive elections mean that those who profess to be above any elected government may take more… direct means to realize this belief…”
“… And there is no telling if or when our facilities may be caught in that cross-wind. Therefore it is vital that we begin developing the Conduits of Terra and figuring out the ultimate capacity for Terran Magic, lest it begin to leak and some unscrupulous actors figure this out ahead of us,” Luna concluded for her sister, which got a bit of a frown but an understanding nod from the taller Alicorn.
“You make it sound like you are forging weapons out of us, Princess Luna,” Kyoko mused with a large amount of trepidation.
“Though I do not intend to leave that impression; that is what Power is at its core: the strength to make your Will reality. That is why it is important that we develop the strength that will be necessary to properly rebuild this world into one that thrives and whose bounty is accessible to all, instead of the few that may find themselves on the top of the proverbial pyramid at any given time in history,” Luna responded, her tone softening considerably as her body began to get more in gear.
Kyoko sighed as she couldn’t help but agree, but still find herself nervous at the idea of some kind of wider conflict that could result from their efforts.
“With that said, should the thirteen of us make our way to the Gate to Equestria?” Celestia asked, resuming her mirthful, matronly tone.
“Yes, we should,” Andre replied, chuckling a bit as he felt a little more at ease.
== -- ==
A few minutes later, they all arrived at the Transport Room. Since this room had a direct connection to the New Light Bridge, it was one of the points of greatest exposure to raw magic. Therefore the Doctors Isegawa stood in the control room, which was more than adequately shielded, during the big sendoff.
Princess Luna, before opening the gates, made a brief statement to everyone present. "As you know, we will soon be in Ponyville; the center of operations, so to speak, for your second wave of training in Equestrian Magic. Because Equestria is a land of magic itself - you, Conduits of the Elements of Terra, should be able to safely practice both your Equestrian and Terran Magic. To the Doctors Isegawa, we will be keeping you informed of all of their progress, and we hope that you will keep us informed of the happenings here on Earth, along with our many Earth-side contacts. We cannot know if or when this world may start turning even worse than it is now, but hopefully we will be afforded enough time to get everyone sufficiently prepared. We thank you for all you have done for Equestria and the whole of Earth so far, and we hope for your continued goodwill and support into the future."
Before anyone was allowed to continue, though, Princess Celestia turned to the red Unicorn and the green Earth Pony. "Before we embark, I would like to ask the two of you, Natasha and Kyoko, if you have come up with new names for yourselves?"
The two Ponies in question thought for a few moments before they both gave their responses.
“Red Blaze, I believe Red Blaze should work for me quite nicely,” the red Unicorn responded.
“Midori Hana for me, fitting don’t you think?” the green Earth Pony added.
Celestia nodded as she committed the two names to memory; already picturing where and how to sign the new names on the official documentation for registering the two mares into the Equestrian Civil Records when they all arrived in Ponyville.
“And with that I would believe it is time for us to depart. Doctor Hayato, Doctor Jun, is there anything either of you would like to add?” Celestia asked as the unshielded drones set everyone’s belongings on the ground and left the loading bay.
“Yes Princess, I would like to speak first,” Dr. Jun replied as she adjusted the microphone to her 5’6” frame. “On behalf of ourselves and our clinic staff, we would like to thank you two personally and all of your Equestrians for the assistance you have rendered to us so far, and we fervently hope for your continued support and well wishes going into the future. In so far as the four new Ponies you have taken into your care, we wish them all luck in their lessons and life experiences over there in Equestria. Especially our darling Kyoko; whether your call yourself ‘Kyoko Isegawa’ or ‘Midori Hana’, know that you will be our dear daughter, now and forever-more. And before I forget, Mr. Andre ‘Blue Vague’ Bowman, we also hope that one day, preferably soon, I and my husband will call you son-in-law.”
The last line made Midori Hana and Blue Vague about as red faced as any not-red Pony had any right being.
Dr. Hayato then re-adjusted the microphone for himself as he made to give his remarks. “I would like to echo the last sentiments of my dear wife. I would also like to invite that little purple dragon friend of yours for an interview and examination the next time you are on this side of the Aurora. I promise I won’t bite!”
“Not that he could feel you even if you did, more likely than not…” Dr. Jun responded as she shot her husband a disdainful glare.
Spike, for his part, just peered out from behind Luna’s indigo and midnight blue mane, waving tepidly at the middle aged Japanese couple.
“Unless anyone else has anything further to say, I believe it is time for us to hit the proverbial road, yes?” Celestia asked of everyone present.
With no one making motion to say anything further, Celestia used her magic to activate the Gate to Equestria, which manifested as a single plane of swirling, rainbow-like light inside of the frame said gate; as if the diurnal and nocturnal versions of the Aurora Barrier were mixing together at the same time.
The first things through were the inanimate belongings of all the travelers, which passed through with ease on the wood and steel palettes.
The next were the Elements of Harmony, as they all waved their goodbyes to the Doctors Isegawa.
Then the Conduits of Terra passed through, waving just as hard, and Hana waving the hardest of them all.
Finally, with a last bow, the Princesses and Spike stepped through threshold, Celestia magically programming to close exactly ten seconds afterward.
With the gate closed and the thaumatic sinks exposed in order to soak the ambient magic that leaked from the gate, the Doctors Isegawa were left alone to their thoughts in the control room.
Dr. Jun turned to Dr. Hayato, with a bit of worry in her voice. "So, how do you think they are going to do over there?"
Dr. Hayato replied, having absorbed the sense of purpose all thirteen creatures shared and projected before they left. "Despite looking like giant plush toys, I can tell they are tough and resilient creatures. They'll be just fine, although Kyoko and her three friends will come back changed. You don't go to an entirely new place, and live there without being changed. But it's my firm belief that they will be changed for the better."
Elsewhere, in a shrine somewhere deep inside the Earth, the mysterious robed figure began to speak to the Bearers of Harmony and her new Conduits of Terra: Learn from them, Conduits of the World's Power. Learn from them, Bearers of the Other World's Will. Learn the ultimate truth behind all magic, and life itself: Without Power, Will is just idle hope; and without Will, Power is just mindless aggression. If all ten of you can learn these truths, you will be worthy of forging A New Age for both worlds. But you must hurry, for the time of decision draws ever closer...
She looked with forlorn at a great square pyramid, with a giant, ornate stone figure on top of it. The figure, the Seal of all Terran Mana, was already beginning to crumble into ethereal dust.
============================================
[ November 16, ???? – Ponyville, Equestria ]
The Four Bearers saw things they'd never think they see, in that instant that seemed to stretch forever. Travelling at incalculable speeds through a magic, inter-dimensional bridge had thrown them all for a massive sensory loop. They saw all kinds of images - the History of Equestria, the History of Earth, the History of the Universe itself; staring sideways through time, and sensing other things that made utterly no sense. Colors felt like sounds, sounds like tastes, visions like feelings. Thankfully, this experience was brief, as they could perceive the Gate on the other side opening up.
Ponyville: a supposedly quiet, nondescript town that lay near the center of Equestria. A fair distance to be sure, from the capital of Canterlot, but still no more than a solid day’s flight by a decent Pegasus. A town that now found itself as the unwitting, but still logical, location of the training of a quartet of Converts in a magic that the whole of Equestria has not seen since before its existence as a nation.
"It's really good to be back home," Twilight said, wondering if Owloysius was able to keep everything in order like she wanted.
"Yeah it's nice to see a familiar place again, well sorta familiar," Spike said, figuring they were in the Ponyville New Citizen Reception Center. Which was notably empty at the time. Celestia purposefully had the schedule cleared in order to sort things out between the group of eleven.
"Woo-hoo~!! I'm gonna have to get to work on a big party, with a big cake, and lots of ice cream, and lots of music..." Pinkie Pie positively shouted; while she had done an admirable job of keeping herself restrained while on Earth, being in her element again made her want to go full bore on a project.
"Oh I do hope nothing major has happened trend-wise, I have a business to maintain and all," said Rarity, already thinking of how to further incorporate neutrals like gray and brown in her designs without seeming too drab.
"My animals should be fine physically, but I hope that being gone for so long haven't upset them too much. Especially Angel..." Fluttershy said worriedly, then again she was always concerned about something.
"Ah just hope Ah didn't miss anything major with Apple Bloom back at the farm. She'd be right devastated if she found her Cutie Mark, and Ah wasn't there for it," Applejack stated. Her family was so important to her, as was Sweet Apple Acres. Thankfully the farm had plenty of help come in during Apple-Bucking Season, and the winter Cider Season was still a little while away from getting underway in earnest.
"I'm just glad to be back under Equestrian skies. I thought I was gonna go totally stir-crazy, having to watch everywhere I went, and then when I did go somewhere, it was so hard to breathe," Rainbow Dash said, already looking forward to showing off for Golden Storm and any other Converts still in Ponyville.
For their part, the four Terran Ponies stood there completely and absolutely STUNNED at, well, everything. The gate to the dimensional portal was carved and adorned so richly. The wood and stone of the reception center were entirely natural. As they looked around, everything was like they had walked back in time about 100 years or so, removed anything that had to do with high technology, miniaturized it for someone half the size of a normal person, and then just painted it in bright colors because they could. The one phrase the four Conduits kept thinking as they soaked in the sights and smells - everything was just so bright and fresh. The air was pure, the ground felt solid, the water was clean, and the sun was shining in the bright blue morning sky. It really was like they were walking through a storybook, except now they were characters in the story.
"Golden Storm, are we dreaming? Because if you told me we were dreaming this, and we'd soon wake up in a nice white room with lots of padding and some very calm sounding doctors, I would totally believe you," Blue Vague asked Golden Storm, mouth slightly agape.
"No, I'm pretty sure this is real. I mean we were turned into Ponies and everything, and it has been a good few weeks or months," Golden Storm replied after a bit of pause.
"I'm just... dumbfounded. I mean we all read the brochures. We all watched the slide-shows. We all heard the stories. But to see it, to feel it, to smell it… it's really a little overwhelming," Red Blaze said, looking out the windows onto the thatch roofs of a large residential area of Ponyville.
"It's like everything is alive. Even the things that should be inanimate, like the houses and the stone roads, just feel... alive somehow. Like if everything were to suddenly get up and start dancing then it would not be entirely out of the ordinary here," Midori Hana said, muzzle pressed against the window like Blaze's.
The other nine travelers all blanched at that statement. They've had enough dancing and singing random, inanimate objects to last them a lifetime; after Discord worked his magic to the world upside-down, and nearly inside-out.
Celestia cleared her throat to get everyone's attention, and they all gathered back around in the center of the reception hall in order to hear what she and Luna had to say. Celestia then began. "My little Ponies, as you can see, we are back in Equestria. Conduits of the Elements of Terra, I want you to consider three things while you study and train here. One is to learn firsthand Equestrian life and culture; this will be the part I will actively assist you with, by giving you the knowledge of our written language."
Celestia's horn flashed briefly as the four Conduits felt a brief pang of pain in their skulls. After it subsided, they looked around, and marveled at the fact that none of them struggled to read any of the signs or posters that adorned the Transport Hall of the Reception Center.
"Two, is to learn how to wield the Magic that is innate in your bodies. For Blue Vague and Red Blaze, that is Unicorn Explicit Magic. For Golden Storm, that is Pegasus Weather Magic. For Midori Hana, that is Earth Pony Life Magic. Finally, you are to learn how to invoke and control the Terran Magic that has been imbued into yourselves. That is to be done here in Equestria, to ensure that you do not cause some kind of incident on Earth. While the Elements of Terra are in the midst of this learning process, Elements of Harmony, I want you all to pay close attention to how the mana flows around the Terran Conduits. For, if our suspicions are correct, once the mana is unsealed from Earth, it will be able to flow here across the New Light Bridge."
While most of the Bearers of Harmony had a hard time contemplating what that meant, Twilight Sparkle seemed intrigued by that notion.
“Princess, do you have a reason for thinking this way. I mean I had hunches myself, but I always thought it would have been a little crazy for a new source of Magic to flow here as well.”
The two Princesses looked at each other and nodded.
Princess Celestia then made her reply with her best I don’t quite know tone. “We cannot say for certain that the Terran Magic would flow back to Equestria and the wider world, like water down an ancient riverbed per se. But we believe, due to the seemingly unique nature of our two world’s histories, that it would be a fair assumption to make.”
The others nodded in seeming agreement with that assessment.
Luna then began to speak. "We have already commissioned a reputable home-building firm from Manehatten to construct a residence for you all, Conduits of Terra; this should be ready by tomorrow. In the meantime I ask that you all call the dormitories here your temporary home. I will allow the rest of today for you all to start getting acclimated here, before I begin supervising your training. And believe me… you will learn a lot under my indigo wings."
And with a wink and a nod, Celestia and Luna then excused themselves and teleported back to Canterlot, the Conduits merely looked on at the now empty space they once occupied with some manner of trepidation toward the future; especially since Luna emphasized the ‘will’ in her last statement in the manner which she did.
“Oookay then, Vague, would you mind helping us get all of our belongings back home?” Twilight asked, hoping to take the Conduits on an impromptu tour of the town.
“Sure, I mean we may as well,” Blue Vague answered, and all of the Conduits agreeing.
---!!---
A short while later, they set off from the Center - Blue Vague and Golden Storm walking with a pair of carts full of the belongings of the Bearers of Harmony. Neither of the stallions felt it was an imposition, mostly because they didn’t want to argue with Rarity over it, and only she and Twilight had a significant amount of belongings that needed transportation anyway.
"What exactly is the Everfree Forest anyway?" Midori Hana asked of Fluttershy. The brochures really didn't do a good job in her estimation of explaining it.
"Well, they are what most of us call a Wild Zones: there are places in Equestria where Nature is allowed to do what it will, with little to no interference from us," Fluttershy replied. While she could appreciate and agree with the intent of these zones, she did not appreciate the effective reality of what that meant for many of the denizens of such.
Hrm, sounds like national parks and wilderness areas to me... Blue Vague thought to himself. He wondered how long it took the Princesses to convince the population that everything and everywhere within Equestria's borders didn't have to be put under clockwork management.
As they approached her cottage, they saw what this meant to Fluttershy personally. They also began to understand just why she was chosen as the Element of Kindness.
"Wow, it's like a rehabilitation center for animals," Midori Hana said, in awe at all the live animals, even if some weren't in the best of shape.
"Yeah, really the only place live animals were kept back on Earth, were in the nature preserve Domes; well not counting some of the more robust breeds of domesticated animals. So this is a new experience for us as a group mostly," Blue Vague said, while looking at a bunch of chickens just scratching at the ground and carrying on as chickens were wanton to do.
Just then, a white blur shot out of the cottage, Golden Storm swearing it was way faster than Rainbow Dash managed to get in Earth's atmosphere that day they had their little dogfight. The white blur turned out to be a young white rabbit that effectively latched onto Fluttershy's leg, like a child who hadn't seen a parent in forever. He looked at Fluttershy with first a look of mild rage at being left 'alone' for so long, which soon softened into crying that she was back.
“Oh Angel, did you miss me?” Fluttershy cooed as she picked up the white rabbit and nuzzled him along her cheek.
Angel and Luna had spent the last few months taking care of everything here, most of the animals had recovered on their own but the long term cases still remained. Fluttershy thanked her ten travelling mates for walking all the way out to the edge of town with her, as she floated over to the cart to retrieve her bag. Before walking back into the cottage, she turned to the other ten to speak.
"Thank you so very much. I don't have too much to unpack, so as soon as I get Angel settled back down, we'll meet together back in Ponyville again, around sundown; if that's alright with you all?"
“Sure thing, suga’cube!” Applejack replied, as the two stallions turned the cart around and everyone else began walking toward Sweet Apple Acres, led by the aforementioned orange farm-hoof.
-----
"Applejack?! Applejack!! Look Big Mac, Applejack's back!" shouted yellow and rose-red-maned filly. Applejack and ran ahead to meet her. They shared a warm and loving embrace as a fairly large red and blond-maned stallion came up to meet them.
"Hey everyone, it's been way too long," Applejack said, trying to speak clearly while crying.
"Eeyup, too long," Big Macintosh replied, succinct as ever.
The 3 of them continued on like this for a few minutes, before Applejack managed to compose herself long enough to introduce her family properly. "Alright, okay. Guys," she started, while addressing the four Terran Ponies. "The yellow filly here is mah little sister Apple Bloom, and the big stallion here is mah older brother Big Macintosh."
Golden Storm would have chuckled at how the whole family was named after apples, but thought better of it.
"Alright then, well I'll meet up with y'all later in Ponyville around sundown. Gotta start catching up and everything," Applejack said before walking away to the main house with her saddle/duffel bag across her back.
“No prob, AJ. Come on guys, you all are totally going to flip when you see where I live!” Rainbow Dash chirped excitedly, as she led the way from Applejack’s family farm to a seemingly non-descript area near the edge of Ponyville.
-----
The four Conduits were fairly surprised, to say the least, when they got to the edge of Ponyville and looked up a few human-scale stories off the ground. What greeted them were a tower-like structure, and the 'grounds' surrounding it, made entirely out of clouds. To further enrage every human materials scientist ever, they thought, there was a permanent, de-saturated rainbow coming out of the top of the tower, and apparently liquefied rainbow flowing like miniature waterfalls off the sides of the grounds, some just disappearing into the ether.
"Well... I am honestly speechless..." Blue Vague said, the sight defying all sense of logic, well, logic borne of human experience anyway.
"It's a house... that's a tower... that's made out of clouds... with materialized rainbows..." Golden Storm said while trying to rationalize the whole thing. He thought that Pegasi cloud-forming was limited to just forming rain and storm clouds, not for full-blown construction.
"I know right. It's so awesome, just like me! Wait until I tell you how I made the rainbow from just a tiny amount of liquid from the Rainbow Pools at Cloudsdale and…" Rainbow Dash said, while absolutely beaming with pride. And without missing a beat, she began to recount (in unusually, for her, excruciating detail) how exactly she fabricated said rainbows.
“Dash, I think this is enough for one example of your absolute non-chalance regarding their learned laws of physics,” Twilight politely suggested, seeing as how the four Terran Ponies were clearly not quite ready for this open defiance of everything that seemed possible by the rules of material science they learned as humans.
"I dunno, I like it. It just exudes a personal confidence. I would have gone a bit easier on the rainbows myself though," Red Blaze said, appreciating the somewhat classical Greek styling of the edifice after starting to recover from the initial shock.
"Too bad we can't go inside to see it, I heard only Pegasi can naturally cloud-walk; so we'd just probably sink right through like rocks in espresso foam," Midori Hana concluded sadly.
"Anyway, I'm gonna catch a nap in my own bed. Don't worry, I'll meet with you all this evening in Ponyville," Rainbow Dash said excitably, grabbing her bag and looking forward to crashing in her own bed for the first time in months.
“Alrighty then, Dashie.” Pinkie Pie shouted as she waved at Rainbow, which got a wave back from a cyan colored leg. “My house next, so let’s go go go…” the pink party-starter then giggled as she began practically shoving Storm and Vague on the way toward Sugarcube Corner.
-----
Hana's jaw hit the ground, utterly stunned by the edifice now before her. "Wow, that's.... just... wow..."
Storm was more confused than surprised. "Is that something you live in or something you eat?"
Blaze was a little more logical about the whole thing. "Well, I guess the former seeing as it's still standing."
Vague could swear he was feeling the rapid loss of his ability to be surprised with everything he had seen in just a couple of hours in Ponyville. "I highly doubt anyone could mistake what this place sells."
"Yep, welcome to the Sugarcube Corner. Well we sell cakes, pies, cookies, tarts, candy canes, regular candies... pretty much anything made out of sugar and can be thrown into an oven," Pinkie Pie said bounding around the place like she was trying to advertise something that really didn't need much advertising.
"Pinkie? Is that you Pinkie?" a rather calm sounding male voice called out from the door they were standing near.
"Oh hey Mr. Cake, yeah it's me. And look, I brought new friends," Pinkie said, bounding back to her landlord/employer/something of an adoptive father.
"Yeah Pinkie, you're gonna have to explain this situation to us..." Vague stated somewhat flatly.
"Okay. Well, I both work and live here at the Sugarcube Corner, where I help the Cakes with baking and sometimes babysit when they take a night out," Pinkie said, oddly calmly and succinctly.
The Four Terran Ponies didn't what to be more surprised by - the fact they got a simple answer out of Pinkie Pie, or the fact the Cakes saw fit to entrust their foals to her.
With the explanations done for now, Pinkie grabbed her case and walked inside. After putting it down, she popped her head out the still open door to speak before new friends left. "Ok let me get the Cakes caught up on everything, and get my stuff put away. Then we'll meet at Twilight's for our little evening picnic, 'kay?!”
“And with that being said, would you all mind a short trip to my humble abode?” Rarity asked, rapidly flashing her eyes as she did.
“Yeah sure…” Golden Storm replied, not exactly sure how to respond to marshmallow-white mare.
-----
"I am not sure that humble would be the correct word to describe this place, but it does live up to its name," Blue Vague said, looking at the merry-go-round-like building.
"That it does, Blue, that it does..." Golden Storm added, trying to figure out if Rarity slept in the upper-tier or somewhere in the center of the building.
"Well here is my home and place of business - the Carousel Boutique: where the finest of the fine come to find the perfect wardrobe." Rarity said, as she began to trail off, both verbally and physically, as she recited the extensive list of stores that contracted with her to sell her work.
"She certainly has made a name for herself, or is trying very hard to," Red Blaze said, looking all around.
"Rarity? Rarity!! It's been too long!" shouted a Unicorn filly as snow-white of coat as Rarity.
"Oh Sweetie Belle, it truly has been too long, hasn't it. But don't worry, your big sister Rarity has returned," Rarity cried as she ran to Sweetie Belle, nuzzling her; both crying tears of joy after meeting after such a long absence. Rarity asked, while in the middle of reconnecting with Sweetie, "Vague, Storm, if you don't mind could you bring my bags inside for me?"
Blue Vague and Golden Storm wheeled both carts around in order to start offloading all of Rarity's belongings. As they moved the things into the building proper, they were duly impressed at all the various designs that were scattered amongst the mannequins, all at various degrees of being finished. The shop itself was also remarkably clean given Rarity wasn't there for so long; Sweetie Belle obviously taking the time to help maintain the shop as best she could. What caught their eyes most of all though, were the absolute abundance of gems - so much so that she adorned a good number of her designs with the things.
"Say Rarity, how are you able to sell these designs with all of these gems all over them? Wouldn't that get inordinately expensive?" Golden Storm asked.
"Well, here in Equestria, gems are an incredibly common occurrence. Aside from things like the Fire Ruby that dear Spike gave me, they are so common that I was able to design a spell for the expressed purpose of finding them as a filly." Rarity replied while starting to get her sewing machines and mannequins back into place; Spike for his part just waved a bit absent-mindedly from the door frame as he was reminded of his gift of said Fire Ruby.
Blue Vague just shrugged, it wouldn't be a surprise that gemstones would be that common here given the general craziness this world contains.
As the two Terrans left to rejoin Twilight and others outside, Rarity gave one last message for the time being. "Well tell the others that I will see you all later, sundown it was?"
“Yeah, sundown, please don't be fashionably late like you like to be!” Twilight started as six of them started walking away from the Carousel Boutique. “So I will guess it’s onward to the Golden Oaks Library then.”
-----
The six of them got the house-tree/library. The four Terran Ponies honestly felt the sight of a library and multi-room domicile carved or built into an apparently still-living tree should have been more surprising than it was; but honestly at this point they had run out of ability to be shocked by Equestria's general theory of architecture.
Twilight nervously said, "Well, here we are, if you wanna take a look that'd be fine, just try not to get the books out of order, okay?"
"Apparently these places are bigger on the inside than they are on the outside, or our perception of space is starting to falter," Red Blaze said, noticing that even though it was at least a 2 story library/house-tree, there was still plenty of clearance overhead.
"Seeing as the entire realm is filled with all kinds of magic, it might be both," Midori Hana added, looking for a book on Equestrian plants to read back at her dormitory.
Spike for his part just scrambled upstairs, he wanted a nap in his own basket so bad, and he needed to decompress from being on Earth all that time anyway.
Blue Vague noticed a sleeping owl roosting in an un-lit corner as he and Storm moved Twilight's books back into the library proper for sorting. "Hrm, you keep an owl… interesting choice for a pet."
"Yeah that's Owloysius, he helps me during the night during long sessions when Spike should be asleep," Twilight Sparkle beamed, taking pride in her pet and secondary assistant.
"All things considered, that makes a lot of sense. Dunno if that means I'm going crazy or I'm just getting used to how things work on this side," Vague replied, finding keeping a nocturnal assistant for someone who apparently studied every waking hour she could, would indeed make a lot of sense.
"Well, here are some bits, the money on this side of the Aurora Barrier. Just take a stroll around town and we'll all meet here at the Library at sun-down, which should be around... 5:20 PM if any of you still have working watches. Oh and here is a map... and I marked some places of interest if want to stroll around on your own, including a nice watch shop if none of you have working watches." Twilight Sparkle said, taking out four of many, many, MANY maps Celestia had sent to the library for safe-keeping in case Converts started arriving faster than the town's ability to give guided tours could handle.
“Alright then Twilight, we’ll see you all after while then,” Hana replied, as the Four Conduits all walked out of the library.
-----
Hrm, these watches are pretty nice, and it's easier to see the time on them than I thought... Blue Vague though, as he and the other Conduits sat in a common area of the Ponyville New Citizen Reception Center, near the cafeteria, of course. They decided to spend some of their time in contemplation of their near-term future.
Red Blaze thought of the new home the four of them were to live in, hoping it wouldn't be anything too ostentatious, but that seemed to be of little concern to the larger population of Ponyville at least; and it was probably true all over Equestria. Midori Hana was busy studying some books on the flora of Equestria, inwardly noting how Poison Joke appeared to be a particularly nasty weed. Golden Storm was staring outside at the sky, just remarking on how remarkably blue it was. He figured if he engaged Rainbow Dash in another aerial show he'd probably lose, but he really wanted to see how good a flier she was. Blue Vague was trying to practice moving water he had ran out of a nearby faucet, going from bucket to bucket with his Terran Magic instead of his Explicit Magic. He wasn't having much luck at the exercise though, constantly spilling the water all over the floor and having to mop it up and wring it out.
I should have realized only two months learning the very basics of Unicorn Magic wouldn't be enough to really get used to channeling through this body. Hopefully the exposure and Princess Luna will help, it's going to have to... he thought to himself.
Midori heard the dripping of water on the wood floors, and seeing Vague as the source of said dripping. “What are you doing, Blue?”
“I’m trying to see if I could try and control this water in this bucket, at least with my Unicorn Magic, but I’m having next to no luck whatsoever. It’s like trying to hold gelatin in your hands, or hooves I guess, except you aren’t even touching it,” Vague replied, as he continued to think about the problem.
"I guess this is one of the things that Voice meant when she was talking about Will and Power. Right now, we are still neophytes when it comes to our Equestrian bodies. If magic is channeled through the body like I think, then it stands to reason until we get used to using our natural Equestrian Magic, it's going to be a pain in the ass to use our Terran Magic."
Golden Storm thought about his Wind Magic only seemed to have two modes, trickle and full blast. Red Blaze feared what that meant regarding her Element of Fire. Midori Hana, only having her body for little over a week, was wondering how her Earth magic even manifested.
"Blue Vague is right. If we had to go fight some monster or if we had to protect a Bureau back on Earth from some violent mob, we wouldn't be able to control our Terran Magic at all. We'd either get ourselves injured or killed not being able to do anything, or cause who knows how much collateral damage going all-out," Golden Storm said, following Blue Vague's train of thought.
"I for one wouldn't feel comfortable only being able to only light a candle or burn an entire building to the ground," Red Blaze added, figuring that she'd have the most to learn about controlling her element.
"I'm just wondering what the Terran Element of Earth is. Like do I control rocks, dirt, plants? I wish the Voice had told me then," Midori Hana added on her part, still trying to figure out how to make her magic manifest safely.
The four Terran Ponies continued to discuss the day's events and predictions for the near future, all the while walking back towards the main hall of the Center. They heard from some of the workers that the rest of the new Converts were supposed to be coming in for processing now, since Celestia's business with them was more or less completed for today. They were coming in from all over the world, most of them speaking 'accented' Equestrian (which to them sounded pretty much like English anyway). The four briefly wondered how they were all speaking supposedly fluent Equestrian so quickly regardless of previous nationality, figuring it had to be some magic done after the fact in order to ease the transition.
Well, at least we aren't the only ones that have to will have to embrace this madness... Blue Vague thought to himself. They were all going to one of the three larger cities anyway, and none of them had to deal with learning two different kinds of magic at the same time.
===== =====
It was now close to the appointed time, and the Four Terran Ponies were already at Twilight's Library; they weren't exactly doing anything before except talking and touring the town so why not show up early, they thought. Twilight certainly appreciated the punctuality, being a stickler for organization and detail. As time went on, the other five Bearers began to arrive. Fluttershy came bearing burnable plants she learned from an Earth Pony would keep mosquitoes at bay in case they went close to the Everfree Forest. Applejack brought plenty of apples and apple goods, along with some of the early batches of apple juice to keep everyone fed that evening. Pinkie Pie arrived with some of her creations as well, especially the pineapple mini-cakes that seemed to rapidly disappear while in the presence of Blue Vague. Rarity brought a nice blanket for everyone to sit on, not wanting to smell wet fur from the evening dew. Rainbow Dash was the last to arrive, as she landed from clearing the sky overhead, making sure they had a nice clear view of what she was going to be an amazing sight for the newcomers to their group.
Twilight took the fact that Owloysius was already awake as meaning that Luna was close to formally raising the moon. Luna took greater appreciation for this task, since a lot of the Converts were thoroughly impressed and even awestruck by the Equestrian night sky; and they seemed to stay up later anyway just to appreciate it and the Equestrian version of night-life. The ten Ponies plus dragon all trotted quickly, Applejack and Blue Vague working the wagons this time, as they travelled northward from town out to some rolling hills. The four Conduits just soaked in how serene and picturesque everything was, having only seen a scene like this in media productions or games; all around them, there were rolling hills, gentle rivers and streams, and the animals were living their lives in the wild. The hills were all manners of green and brown, the soil was incredibly healthy looking, and the grass was nice and thick. They even saw the brief twinkling of some of the brightest stars; in this realm, Luna made sure to actively enhance the view of the stars in the sky, feeling that nopony should have to use a device to see them.
Rarity had already unfurled the massive blanket for everyone to sit on and stay dry from the dew, and Applejack and Fluttershy were setting the paper plates and various juices and water. Rainbow Dash had set up some torches to give a little extra light and warmth if needed; even with the fur coats, a late fall's night could still get fairly cool.
"Alright,” Twilight Sparkle started, addressing the Four Terran Ponies, "as you have learned by now, Princess Luna has resumed the active raising the Moon in the night sky over Equestria. So I want you all just to sit back and enjoy the show. I promise it's one that you all will never forget."
Just a bit of a personal appeal, this is the BGM I'd like you all to listen to while reading this next section in particular
Gundam SEED Stargazer - Hoshi no Tobira ~Stargazer~ (Instrumental)
The sky had gone midnight-blue now, the Sun was completely under the horizon. The now night sky was dotted with sundry very bright stars, ones that Luna didn't necessarily need to enhance view of in order for everyone to see when the sky was clear. As the four Terran Ponies tried to figure out what these super-bright stars were, they then saw Luna's signature aurora, the various indigos, blues, and violets all swirling around in a faint but noticeable sphere. As a pathway was being traced through the sky, they saw a familiar milk-white, cratered orb rise in the sky - the Moon, but aglow with Luna's bluish aura. The four Terran Ponies were absolutely floored by this utter display of power and beauty, having no idea just what 'raising the Moon' meant when it was described to them in the orientations.
The show then expanded, after the Moon was set onto the slow path across the sky. More of Luna's aura was coalescing behind the Moon, and then it exploded across the sky, like dark colored fireworks. As the waves of indigo and blue ripped across the sky, points began to light up. The array of lights flaring into 'existence' was like someone ordering everyone in a fairly large city to first shut off every light, and then turn them back on in particular sequence. Constellations in all shapes and sizes came into view: Orion, Sagittarius, Virgo, Leo, all the constellations were like Earth's Zodiac, and there were so many more. More stars all flared into view; Red Blaze could swear she could even see a faint hint of their actual color from the glow. Blue Vague remembered scenes like this in his various information trawls on the Internet. It was like Luna was recreating the old Hubble's Deep Field across the sky; but instead of being an image, it was the real thing. They could even see the bands of the Milky Way, or this cosmos's equivalent at least, in the sky. All four of them were absolutely dumbstruck, their eyes agape at this display of beauty and wonder of the natural world.
"Wow... I... it's just amazing," Midori Hana said haltingly, mind boggling at the incalculable numbers of points of lights in the sky now.
"So many of them… all stages of cycle, all sizes, it's as if Space itself wanted to welcome all of us Converts here," Red Blaze said, trying to see if she could pick out any Blue Super-Giants.
"I've been on night-flights high in the sky, and I can safely say I've never seen anything like this. Man, they have no idea what they are missing back on Earth," Golden Storm said to himself, wondering just how much of Earth's sky has been blocked from view due to the pollution.
"Try as they might to simulate this kind of sky in the Domes, they could never touch Luna in this department. It almost makes me feel sorry for them," Blue Vague said, just wanting everything to continue as it was indefinitely.
The Six Bearers of Harmony were also thoroughly impressed. Usually there were a few less pyrotechnics involved in the Raising of the Moon and Lighting of the Stars as they called it, except for certain night festivals; but Luna wanted to put on a special show for her new students and the rest of the newcomers.
I had to worry about the four them forgetting this night. I'm pretty sure this is something that none of us sitting here will forget... Twilight thought to herself.
The picnic under the full moon continued. Rainbow Dash lit the torches so that everyone had enough light to see what they were grabbing and eating and drinking. Applejack told more stories of the misadventures of Apple Bloom and her friends, who collectively call themselves the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders'. The Four Terran Ponies all wondered what symbol(s) would appear on their flanks whenever they found or mastered their special talent. Fluttershy tried her hoof at singing a song called "Stargazer ~Hoshi no Tobira~". She had found it while looking up various examples of Earth music, and found it particularly relevant; Midori Hana recognized the song somewhat, and helped her correct the lyrics, knowing Fluttershy couldn't be experienced singing anything in Japanese.
So they carried on into the night, the Four Terran Ponies thinking everything was going to work out fine, culture shock notwithstanding. Meanwhile, over in Canterlot Castle, Luna sat on a balcony, overlooking her work that night.
"I'm thoroughly glad that you all enjoyed the show. Let's hope you enjoy my lessons in two days’ time." she said, with a devious smirk on her face. The Four Terran Ponies were gonna have to get used to their Equestrian bodies and fast. There was no telling much time was left on Earth before the political detente between the Domes and the duly elected national governments would start to break down.