Wings of Tomorrow ~ Lament of the World

by Keeper of Jericho

4. To know the difference

“So, Angel Bunny is doing fine?” Fluttershy asked, after the two ponies had spent a long time simply being together in a friendly embrace, enjoying the comfort and the warmth such an action brought them. Not a word had been spoken, there had been no need for them. Fluttershy had been too overwhelmed by her great feelings of relief to be able to put how she felt into words, and Twilight understood that words hadn’t been what she had needed. But now the timid mare had finally calmed down, and she could ask for more information from her friend.

“Yes, he most definitely is,” Twilight confirmed, nodding as she spoke. “Mind though, I have only seen him once or twice from afar. I didn’t really go near your house a lot. It reminded me of your absence too much, and that hurt.” She gave Fluttershy another hug. Both ponies had lost count of how many they had shared by now, but Twilight couldn’t get enough of it. It was as if she needed the physical contact to convince herself that it was real, that she really had one of her beloved friends back after a lifetime of missing her.

“And… what… what about my other little animal friends?” Fluttershy inquired shyly.

Twilight tapped her chin with her hoof, thinking. “Well, again, it’s hard to say since I didn’t go to your place much. So I can’t speak for the animals that lived inside your house, but those outside seemed to be doing fine. The birds and bunnies and chickens were tending to your garden last time I was there to take a look. Well, they tried to. At least they succeeded in preventing a jungle from growing around your house.” She smiled at her friend again. “So, I’m sure if those outside managed to take care of themselves and your house in your absence, those inside won’t have fared much worse. Angel was there to help take care of them, after all.”

Fluttershy released a deep sigh of relief. “Oh, that’s very good to hear. When you told me that I could still go home, I was worried about those poor little ones, with nopony to take care of them because I wasn’t there. I’m glad Angel provided some help in my absence, he’s such a nice bunny.” Twilight wondered for a moment if she had to tell her friend about those not-so-rare ponies who had gotten a black eye or a bruise thanks to a well thrown carrot, courtesy of said ‘nice bunny’, but decided against it in the end. She didn’t want to put a downer on Fluttershy’s spirits again.

Another moment of silence fell between the two, with Twilight thinking of what else she really had to tell her friend, and Fluttershy wondering how her house and all of its little inhabitants were doing. Thinking about her little friend Angel, however, made her mind wander to thoughts of her other friends. She looked up from the couch at Twilight again.

“Ehm, Twilight, what about our friends? How… how are they doing? And… and you, if you don’t mind me asking…”

“Well, I’m doing okay, or at least I like to think so,” Twilight replied and smiled a bit awkwardly. “As you can see, I don’t live in the library here. It’s public domain now, not meant for habitation and all that. I’m not the librarian there either; some pony who came over from Baltimare got that job for some reason. I just work at the town hall now, doing office work for the mayor. It’s not terribly exciting, but it keeps the bits coming at least. I’m not very wealthy, but I’m not poor either. I could afford this house, for starters. It’s no palace, but it’s enough for a mare on her own. I even earn enough to afford electricity!”

Twilight was positively beaming when she spoke that last sentence, but Fluttershy wasn’t sure she got the meaning of it. She couldn’t imagine for the life of her why Twilight would buy lightning. It seemed… dangerous and not very safe. Twilight must have seen the confusion on Fluttershy’s face, for she began to explain before her friend had even opened her mouth to ask.

“Right, I keep forgetting you’re new to all of this,” Twilight said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly and looking apologetically at her friend. “It’s quite simple though. Thanks to Steel Gear’s inventions and technology, Equestria developed in a way that pretty much made machines the heart of its society. This can be seen especially in our industry. There are trains and airships everywhere, to send ponies and wares all across the country as quickly as possible. That’s just one example though. Another would be the weather factory. I doubt you’d recognise the place. Machines make the weather much faster, so it gives the pegasi a lot more time to get everything going according to schedule.”

She paused briefly to see if Fluttershy was following her so far. When she nodded, Twilight continued. “Now, most of our machines need steam to work. It’s like the blood in our bodies, without it, we wouldn’t work either. Machines need steam coursing through them, and the steam engine is the part that takes care of doing that. Just like our heart; it’s the heart of a machine. In the engine, water gets turned into steam. But you need heat for that, and a good fuel source to keep the heat going. You could use fire, but then there wouldn’t be one tree in Equestria left standing, they’d all be cut for their wood. And we still wouldn’t have enough.”

The image of all trees being cut so they could be burned for the sake of machines was terrifying for Fluttershy. She could already picture all the poor little critters without a home, because everything green was gone. The mere idea hurt her kind heart, and it showed on her face. Luckily, Twilight knew her friend well and she was quick to put her at ease.

“Don’t worry, not a single tree was cut to be used as a fuel source,” she explained. “You see, Steel Gear must have gotten the same image you just had, and he knew that wood would never be a sufficient fuel source. He was the one who designed the first Steam Engine, and even if inventors have modified or improved it throughout the centuries, they all still use the same basic principles Steel Gear invented. It’s just another sign of his genius. Foreseeing the problems with wood, he looked for other things that could drive his Steam Engines. He discovered that electricity, when put through the right kind of metal, gave off the necessary amounts of heat to turn water into steam. All he needed was a way to create the electricity. Putting a thunder cloud in his engine wouldn’t exactly work, though it's said he tried.”

Fluttershy tried to imagine a pony trying to put a thunder cloud in a machine, and came to the conclusion that it would look ridiculous, as well as dangerous. She wasn’t a weather pony, but she understood weather well enough. Thunderclouds that produced lightning were just too unstable, and had to be handled with great care. You couldn’t just use the lightning in it for any other purpose than to create lightning.

“How… then how did he do it? He couldn’t use thunder clouds…” As she asked, Fluttershy quietly wondered what all this complicated stuff about machines had to do with Twilight buying electricity, but she figured that it would become clear if she let Twilight say her piece. So, Fluttershy patiently waited and listened attentively. She thought that what Twilight was telling her was probably common knowledge to all other ponies. And if there really was no way back, she had better catch on quickly and learn these things.

“Steel Gear poured a lot of time in his research for a good source of power that could provide him with the heat to turn water into steam. He tried a lot of different things and eventually his efforts were rewarded,” Twilight replied. “Orichalcon ore has been known to us for ages, but only as material for jewellery. Steel Gear discovered that orichalcon, if infused with enough magic, gives off a startling amount of heat. It was exactly what he needed. He didn’t need to burn wood or generate electricity through metal. All he needed, as it turned out, was a bit of magic and some orichalcon.”

Twilight smiled widely. “It’s brilliant really, and yet so simple. It’s much better and less devastating for Equestria than using wood, and it’s not as needlessly complicated as using electricity. You just take a lump of orichalcon, charge it, and when the magic has run out, you simply recharge it. Simple and effective.” She glanced at Fluttershy to see if she was still following. She was, so Twilight happily continued. “So now that he had all the necessary elements, Steel Gear completed his engine, and with it, changed Equestria forever. Nowadays, the Steam Engine is used in every machine. Airships fly with them, our industry runs on them. It’s hard to imagine an Equestria without it now.”

“But when it comes to our daily lives, in our houses, machines aren’t that common actually, as you can see when you look around my house,” Twilight said. Fluttershy took a quick glance around the living room and realised her friend was right. Everything inside Twilight’s house resembled a pony house as Fluttershy knew them. There were no strange machines that used steam to work anywhere. “That’s because a steam engine is quite large, as are the machines that use them. Not only that, but what would we need them for at home? We use them to make our jobs easier, but don’t really need them in our houses. There are two exceptions, though. You can use a steam engine to generate electricity for light and heat to warm your house.”

She looked at her friend, and Fluttershy saw the same look of pride Twilight had had when she had told her that she could afford electricity. “I have both,” she explained. Her horn glowed as she used her magic to flip a little switch that sat on the wall, next to the door. Suddenly, Fluttershy could see a light lighting up above their heads. A lamp with a nice-looking lampshade was spreading a warm light through the room. “See? Isn’t it wonderful?”

“Oh… It’s… nice…” Fluttershy said quietly, but she avoided Twilight’s gaze. “But… I don’t really understand why it’s so special… If you don’t mind me saying so. We had lamps back in Ponyville… and other machines that worked on electricity…”

Twilight’s smile dropped immediately, and her eyes widened in shock. “Oh… Right,” she said, slowly, as she remembered that little detail now. Her face met her hoof, and the unicorn groaned. “Horsefeathers… I must look so silly to you now.”

“Oh no, not at all,” Fluttershy replied quickly, smiling apologetically as she pat Twilight on the back. “I would never think such a thing about a friend. I’m sure you have a good reason to be so proud of having lamps.”

“Actually, I do,” Twilight said. She regained her composure and gave Fluttershy a serious look. “You have to understand that not everypony here can afford to have something that seems so simple and common to you. Because of Steel Gear’s interference, our technology developed very differently, and is very different from what you’re used to. In some ways it’s more advanced, in others it’s not. Technology in our daily lives is an example of the latter. Every machine runs on a Steam Engine. Now those aren’t hard to get. But like I just told you, you need orichalcon to make the engine work. And orichalcon is very expensive, because it’s hard to find. So, not everypony can afford to buy a house that has electricity. That I was able to do so means that I’m quite well paid, and believe me, not everypony is as lucky as me. A lot of ponies only have candles and hearths to light and warm their houses.”

Now that managed to surprise Fluttershy, and she stared at her friend in silent shock. Slowly, the implications of what Twilight had just said began to sink in, and they worried her. “Does… does that mean there are poor ponies? Who… who can’t even warm their hooves during the winter, or… or read in bed or take a warm bath?” she asked slowly, a frown on her face.

“Oh no, water is still supplied through the town’s water network, so everypony with a house has access to warm water,” Twilight quickly assured her friend. “But… I can’t deny there are ponies who are… poor… due to a variety of reasons and a combination of unfortunate circumstances.” When she saw how Fluttershy’s face went pale, she hurriedly added to her statement. “Not a lot, though! And definitely not in Ponyville. Everypony here has a house and can take a bath, even if they don’t have lamps. But that doesn’t make them poor! They just… earn a bit less than ponies like me…” Twilight trailed off and smiled awkwardly, feeling decidedly uncomfortable. There were a lot of aspects in this new society that were sure to shock her friend in a bad way.

“B… but how could Princess Celestia allow such a thing to happen!” Fluttershy asked aloud, unable to imagine the kind and wise monarch allowing any of her subjects to live without at least the most basic of comforts.

Twilight only smiled even more awkwardly, and she began to sweat nervously as well. “Ah, yeah, about that… Ha ha… Eh… I’ll tell you later. You wanted to know how our friends were doing, right? Well you already know now that I’m perfectly fine, even if I miss my library and Spike, of course. But aside from that, I’m just great!” she said, speaking quickly so that Fluttershy didn’t get a chance to interrupt. “And Applejack is doing great as well. She has barely changed at all, like I said before. She’s very much the pony you remember her to be, and I bet she’ll be very happy to see you again.”

“It would make me very happy to see her again, too…” Fluttershy replied, taken aback by Twilight’s sudden change of topic. She hadn’t failed to notice how uncomfortable it had made Twilight when she had mentioned Princess Celestia. It was yet another thing that brought her worry, but since Twilight seemed so insistent about avoiding it for now, Fluttershy decided it could wait. She wouldn’t mind to hear about her friends first.

“I’ll tell her that you’re back as soon as you’ve settled in a bit,” Twilight said, smiling at her friend, looking normal again. She tapped her chin with her hoof, thinking of who she should talk about next. Given what she knew about the other Elements, there really wasn’t much choice. “Rarity is doing very well, too. Her boutique is still here in Ponyville, though somepony else runs it. Rarity’s still great with fashion, you see, and it really took off at one point. Her designs became so famous she managed to launch her own brand, and in the end, she moved to Canterlot and opened a second boutique there.”

“Oh, that’s very nice. She always dreamed of going to Canterlot,” Fluttershy said, smiling as well. She was happy to hear that Rarity had managed to make one of her dreams come true, even if it was in a different life. Fluttershy was never the pony to deny one of her friends their happiness.

“Indeed she did. We were all happy for her too that she got this chance. It is not easy to set up a business in Canterlot. It’s even harder than it was back in our other life. Rarity is a… well, a commoner, despite everything. And Canterlot really is the city of the upper class and high society. It’s really difficult to enter its closed social spheres, and without the right support, it’s impossible to set up a business there,” Twilight went on to explain. “Rarity managed it, because she had the support of one of the nobles. Due to that, she really made it, and her boutique became very profitable. She managed to work her way up the social ladder, with her own four hooves, and she’s now a respected citizen of Canterlot. That is really quite the achievement for a pony of common birth.”

“I’m really happy for her,” Fluttershy replied. “But… she… she hasn’t forgotten about us here in Ponyville, has she? I… I would really miss her if she had…” Fluttershy rubbed her hooves together nervously while she waited for the answer. She had spoken the truth; She and Rarity had been very close friends, and their weekly spa day had always been one of the highlights of Fluttershy’s week. It would truly sadden her if that was lost now, due to Rarity’s newfound status. Not that she thought her vain or haughty, but Fluttershy knew the price that came with fame. She had experienced it firsthoof, and it hadn’t really been pleasant.

So her relief was quite great when she felt Twilight wrap a leg around her to give her a reassuring hug. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy. Me and Rarity still frequently write each other, and she visits Ponyville at least once a month to make sure her boutique is still being run correctly. She may have worked herself up really high, but she hasn’t forgotten her roots, or her friends. But she is a very busy pony, that I can’t deny.”

For the second time that day, Fluttershy allowed a deep sigh of relief to escape her. “Thank goodness… that’s very nice to know… It would have been really upsetting if Rarity wouldn’t have time for her friends any more. Thank you for telling me.”

Twilight simply tightened her hug. “That’s what friends are for, right? I’m just glad I can make you feel better by giving you good news.”

“Oh, you most certainly are doing that,” Fluttershy said, nodding as she looked gratefully at her friend. There was a brief moment during which the two ponies simply hugged each other again, then Fluttershy smiled shyly and asked another question. “So what about the others? What about Pinkie Pie? You said you’d tell me later… It’s later now, as Pinkie would say.”

Twilight groaned, and let out a sad sigh. “I was afraid you’d ask that…”

Fluttershy’s smile vanished, replaced by an expression of worry. “Why? Did… did something bad happen to Pinkie? You said she didn’t work at Sugarcube Corner any more… What… what’s wrong with her?”

Twilight looked quite unhappy, torn between simply telling the truth and not telling it for the sake of Fluttershy, who had just begun to feel somewhat accepting towards her situation. Though, in the end, she knew that there was little point in keeping it hidden any longer. Fluttershy would find out anyways, perhaps it was best to get the less pleasant parts over with first.

“Pinkie, she’s … fine. I mean, she isn’t sick or anything,” Twilight answered truthfully, though it was visibly difficult for her to speak. “She still lives in Ponyville. Well, just outside of the town actually, but that doesn’t matter, she’s still considered a part of our community. If you take the path to Sweet Apple Acres, you’ll pass her place. She runs a… a rock farm.” Fluttershy gasped quietly, and Twilight swallowed hard. It would be especially difficult to tell the next part, but Twilight knew she had no choice. “And… as far as I know, she… she hasn’t thrown a single party in her entire life.”

Fluttershy was astonished. She was completely speechless. Twilight’s latest revelation had completely floored her, figuratively of course. She felt how her brain had the greatest of difficulties with processing this new information. It wasn’t possible. Just like it was impossible for the sun to shine during the night, it was impossible for Pinkie Pie to not throw parties. That’s what she had always believed. That’s what everypony had always believed. Pinkie Pie threw parties. It was a simple, universal truth, one that could not be denied. There was that one incident with Discord, she had to admit, but that didn’t count.

Fluttershy felt her mouth open to ask, to beg Twilight for an explanation, but no words would leave her lips. It didn’t matter; Twilight knew what her friend wanted to ask. After another sigh, she spoke again.

“I know, it sounds hard to believe. It’s hard even for us, and we’ve seen her like that all our lives, growing up,” she said, the tone of her voice sombre. “But Pinkie… she’s… well, there’s no going around it… she’s depressed, Fluttershy. Do you remember how she looked when she thought we didn’t like her anymore? That’s how she’s looked all her life now. Just like us, she remembers the other Ponyville. She knows she once threw the best parties in all of Equestria. But not here. I asked her why, once, and she said… She said she simply couldn’t, because she was sad. She’s depressed, that’s all there is. Applejack, Rarity, and I have tried everything, but nothing’s worked. We couldn’t help her.”

“But… but why?” Fluttershy demanded. “Why is she so sad and… and so depressed?”

“She has her reasons,” Twilight answered, remaining vague on purpose. She knew the truth behind Pinkie’s depression, but it was a truth of which she wasn’t she should share with Fluttershy yet. Telling your friend that one of her best friends lived permanently depressed was bad enough, but telling her the reason behind it would be even worse. She didn’t know if Fluttershy was ready to handle that yet. The poor pegasus had a lot to think about and get used to as it was. This new world no doubt frightened her, and telling her about the greatest of all changes might cause her to fear it even more, perhaps to the point where she wouldn’t feel safe in it, or not be able to adapt to it. A possibility Twilight really didn’t like, but one she had to keep in mind regardless.

Unfortunately, Fluttershy asked the question Twilight so feared. “What reasons?”

Twilight bit her lip and hesitated. “I… I really don’t think it’s a good idea to tell you, Fluttershy.” She paused for a moment and swallowed hard. “I… I know it must sound horrible, but I… I don’t think you’re ready for it. There are changes to the world that I haven’t told you about yet… because they aren’t good changes. And… and I don’t want to scare you with them. You have so much to adapt to as it is, so much to take in—”

“Twilight!” Fluttershy snapped, stomping her hoof. “This is one of my friends, our friends, we’re talking about. This is somepony I care for a lot! And if something is making Pinkie very sad and you know what it is, then I want you to tell me what it is!”

Twilight gaped at her friend, stunned by her sudden display of assertiveness. She knew that Fluttershy was right, however, and that put her in a really difficult position. Caught between a rock and a hard place, as the saying went. She could feel Fluttershy’s intense stare on her, making her only more uncomfortable. She tried really hard, and opened her mouth a couple of times, but no words would come out, so she fell silent, her head bowed and eyes closed.

Fluttershy noticed the discomfort of her friend, and after a few more moments of staring at her, she gave up. She didn’t want to make Twilight feel bad. She knew that Twilight rarely did things without a good reason. So whatever reason she had to remain silent, Fluttershy felt she had to respect it. And so, an uncomfortable silence reigned between the two ponies for a long time.

“Twilight?”

“Yes?”

“You didn’t tell me about Rainbow Dash yet.”

“I know.”

“Ehm… so… would you tell me? Please?”

Fluttershy was surprised when Twilight let out another deep sigh, one of sorrowful resignation. She had thought that changing the subject would have made her friend feel better, but she seemed even more sad than when she had spoken about Pinkie Pie.

“To tell you the truth,” Twilight said quietly. “I haven’t seen Rainbow Dash in this life yet. None of us have. I know that she’s doing fine, but I haven’t spoken to her. She doesn’t live in Ponyville. Or in Cloudsdale.”

Fluttershy was quiet for another brief moment. She didn’t like the tone of Twilight’s voice. Finally, she dared to ask, “Twilight, where’s Rainbow Dash?”

At long last, Twilight finally gave up. She couldn’t avoid it any longer; she couldn’t tell Fluttershy that she couldn’t tell her about two of her best friends because she might not be able to handle the truth yet. Fluttershy had the right to know, and perhaps she would handle it better than Twilight feared. And even if not, then it might still be better to tell her everything, good and bad, first, to have all the changes out of the way. But she wouldn’t lie, and she couldn’t remain silent. Another deep sigh left her lungs as she gave her friend a sad but resigned look.

“I’ll tell you. I didn’t want to, not yet… but I guess I have little choice. You do have the right to know. So I’ll tell you all of it. Why Pinkie is so sad, and why none of us have seen Rainbow Dash in this life,” Twilight announced, feeling nothing but deep regret, but knowing she had little choice.

Fluttershy nodded. She was grateful that her friend would be honest with her, but couldn’t deny feeling a hint of fear. What could be so terrible that Twilight didn’t want her to know? She heard her friend clear her throat, signalling that she was about to speak again, so she pushed all thought aside for now and directed all of her attention on listening.

Twilight gathered all of her courage, looked one last time at her friend, then closed her eyes and spoke. “Rainbow Dash doesn’t live in Ponyville because she wouldn’t be welcome here. She… she’s a soldier in the civil war, and she’s joined the other side. She’s fights for the Royal Army of the Royal Kingdom of Equestria. She’s an enemy of our state, the Free Republic of Equestria.”