//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 High Horse // Story: Equinophobia // by eLLen //------------------------------// “She’s here.” Ryan looked up but didn’t see anything, for her chair was turned away from the others. “What’s happening? Who?” she asked. “Princess Celestia. Her chariot is landing,” Twilight answered. “A chariot is landing? Like, from the sky?” “Yes. It’s pulled by pegasi.” “That… makes sense.” “Mmhm. I’m going to go greet her.” Ryan heard the door open and close behind her. She didn’t bother moving, though; she’d let everything flow to her. She didn’t feel like getting up, anyways. That, and the seat was quite comfortable. “Are you okay, Ryan?” Fluttershy’s soft voice spoke. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just been thinking.” “About what, if you don’t mind me asking?” “Home,” she simply replied, lacking emotion. “Oh… What about home?” “…It’s nothing.” Fluttershy walked around the couch to look at her. “You can talk to me,” she said, “I’ll listen.” Ryan sighed. Could Fluttershy stop being so sweet, please? “What if I can’t go home, Fluttershy? What if I’m stuck here?” “Don’t think like that. There’s no one more knowledgeable than Princess Celestia.” “I know. I’m just worried, is all. I’m trying not to be.” “Then don’t. I’m sure you’ll go home.” Ryan looked up at daintily. “You think so?” Fluttershy smiled. “I promise.” The sound of the door opening interrupted the moment, followed by Twilight’s voice coming from behind. “She’s here, Ryan. Remember to bow as she comes in and address her by her title.” “Okay... Oh, wait! I need you to cast that language spell on me.” “I never cast it on you?” “No.” “Huh.” One burst of magic later she said, “There you go. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” Well, that’s finally fixed, Ryan thought. Twilight left to the door, followed by Fluttershy, leaving Ryan in a bit of awkward anticipation. She’d never met royalty before, much less the Supreme Immortal Goddess of the Sun Itself. It’s easy to imagine her share of distress. But, really, what could go wrong? As long as she followed Twilight’s example everything would probably go along fine. “Ryan,” Twilight called, “I would like to introduce you to Princess Celestia.” Well, show time, Ryan thought. She got up from her seat, turning to face where the others were. “Uh, hello, your ma-” She froze mid-title, mouth hanging open and eyes-widened, her face spelling horrific surprise. “Uh…” she weakly said to the Supreme Immortal Goddess of the Sun Itself. Twilight winced then rushed out, “Excuse-me-one-moment-Princess.” Alighting her horn, she teleported herself and Ryan back to the other side of the room, Ryan back in her aways-facing chair. Celestia looked upon the scene with mild amusement. Twilight had informed her already of Ryan’s status so she wasn’t too surprised. She was just glad she ordered the guards to stay outside. “Um… Princess?” Fluttershy said, trying to break the awkward stalemate, “I was just making tart for your visit. Would you like some?” Celestia smiled down at her. “I would very much appreciate that.” Meanwhile, Twilight was in the midst of a crisis. Not because of Ryan’s reaction to her beloved mentor, but to the inner conflict of whether to feel sorry for Ryan or scold Ryan. She settled on an odd blend. “Ryan!” she hissed, “You said you’d be fine.” “You didn’t tell me she was a full-size horse!” she hissed back. “Full-size? What do you mean full-size?” “You didn’t tell me she was so big!” Ryan exclaimed a tad bit too loudly. Across the room, Celestia looked down at her pastry dessert. “Ryan!” Twilight chided, “Don’t say that. She’s just taller than the average pony.” “She’s twice the size,” she intensely deadpanned. “Ugh, alright. Fine. But you need to talk to her. And most definitely apologize.” “Fine,” she relented, “I think I’ll be okay with her, mostly. I was just caught off-guard. Size doesn’t affect a fear as much as you would think.” Twilight nodded then went back to the Princess, beckoning for Ryan to follow. With a deep breath, she did so. “I’ll start this time,” Twilight said aside, then turned to Celestia, “Princess? This is Ryan, the human I told you about. Ryan, this is Princess Celestia.” “Uh… hey?” Ryan greeted. Twilight looked away so no one could see how badly she cringed. “Hello, Ryan,” the Princess said, her voice smooth and silky, very much controlled as if from practice, “Twilight’s told me about you.” “Yeah…” she replied. Acting natural isn’t working! she thought to herself. “I would like to apologize, Ryan,” she said, drawing everyone’s attention. “Huh? What for?” “For any misunderstandings that occurred between you and my subjects. Especially due to your phobia.” “Oh, uh… It’s fine. Everything’s been taken care of.” Celestia put on a gentle smile. “That’s good to hear. Now then, I assume you would like to get to the point?” “The point?” she responded, confused. “You going home.” “Oh, right. Yes, please.” “Alright then,” she said, “Would you mind recounting your experiences here so far? I’d like to hear it for myself.” “Sure thing,” she complied. She told a summary of what had happened, from finding herself on a farm to her shameful argument with Fluttershy to the dealings with Discord only a few hours ago. The Princess didn’t say much during the tale, only occasionally asking for clarification on a matter. She did, however, take special interest in a few select moments, usually involving Ryan’s arrival or the Spirit of Chaos. “So there you have it,” she finished. There was a brief silence as the members of the party took it all in. “Hold on,” Twilight spoke up, “You said Lyra already knew about humans and their languages outside of simple myths? I barely found anything other than casual mentions in the mythology section of my library.” Ryan nodded. “Then how…?” she trailed off, her question need not be spoken. “I may be able to answer that,” Celestia said, drawing their attention, “There is actually a small wealth of knowledge on your kind, Ryan, however it’s not public knowledge. I’ll have to look into how Miss Heartstrings got ahold of this information later.” “Why isn’t it public? We already have small mentions of them like I said, so why put away the rest?” Twilight asked “An odd fact of life is that when you make a mention of something, such as in a myth, pony’s will accept it as that. A myth and nothing more. However, if you make no mention or hide it entirely, then someone who discovers it will be more inclined to believe in it.” “Okay… Then why are humans being kept hidden?” Twilight continued. “The reason for that is a longer tale,” she led. “Could you tell us?” Twilight asked, intrigued. Celestia nodded. “Bear with me here because it may take bit. Now, let’s see… “There is a gateway, of sorts,” she began, “that’s been around for a very long time. Longer than I’ve lead Equestria, most likely, though not discovered until my rule. Although I do not know what it exactly is or how it works, I know it serves as a link between worlds. Equus and your Earth.” She paused, seeing as she’d gotten their full attention. “The gateway was a door open to both sides, though it was seldom used. On this side it was guarded for the purpose of keeping the random pony from wandering in, and also in case a… less-kind being were to emerge from it. On the other side, it was also kept from the public but due to an entirely different reason. It was simply secluded and hard to reach, and there was no motivation to explore the area it rested in. Judging from the reactions of those who came through, their arrival was an accident. Confusion, disbelief, questioning… “Few humans came from that gateway, always at long period of times in between arrivals. In turn, few ponies went in; only those I approved could, and that was after I permitted them to know of the gateway. It remained that way for several centuries in a simple system of arrivals and departures as there was never any need to go further. It was even pleasant at times to meet the humans. To hear their tales from an entirely different world. We would tell them of us in turn. I imagine this is how so many of our animals appeared as myths in your world,” she said to Ryan, “This, however was what led to the system’s downfall.” She looked thoughtful as she recounted, “It became quickly apparent that our worlds’ peoples were very different. Where we would tell them of our peaceful kingdom’s steady advancements, they would tell us of their conflicts. Their wars.” Both Twilight’s and Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Humans were said to be a violent race. One man told me of horrific monstrosities committed just out of irrational hatred of others. The tales only grew worse as time went on.” “…What did they say?” Twilight asked tentatively. She paused. “Terrible things I wouldn’t ever wish upon another.” She only nodded back. “Princess?” Ryan drew, “Did any of those humans that came through ever go back?” Celestia slowly turned to her; her eyes bore into Ryan’s. Then, with a straight, emotionless tone, she said, “Yes. Every human that wished to return did so.” Ryan’s eyes widened but she was cut off by Celestia. “Please, allow me to finish my story first,” she said. Ryan hesitated but let her continue. “We were shocked by the stories,” she said, “But there was nothing we could do. Magical, talking ponies suddenly appearing with words of peace wouldn’t be taken to too kindly. We would leave them to their affairs and we would manage our own, as we did with other nations in this world. Those humans that returned were put under a promise not to reveal us or the gateway on their world. Much of the time, it seemed that promise was kept. “Then there was one person who entered. He was of a higher, nobility class. He didn’t take well to the radical shift from their world to this world. He left sooner than most did but did return within a month…” Pause. “This time with a legion of soldiers.” A gasp was audible. “He saw this new world as nothing more than opportunity. The noble planned to lead and conquer for his own personal gain, but I met him myself shortly after his arrival. I bid him to stop his advance and turn back, but he paid no heed, only saying he wouldn’t take orders from mere livestock. Unfortunately for him, he’d never dealt with a Goddess. “He and his men were imprisoned without casualty to either side, thankfully, but now we had a new issue on our hooves. If this could happen once, who’s to say it wouldn’t happen again? Maybe next time an army led by an experienced general? We didn’t know if the noble had told anyone else about us. The gateway was now our biggest liability and we had to address it immediately. Thus, the decision was unanimous: we decided to close the gateway. That, however, created a new challenge of actually carrying out the task. We didn’t know what kind of ancient magic powered it, so we had to try another method. We would overpower it with our own magic, forcing it shut.” “Princess?” Twilight asked quietly, “How did you manage that? If my estimations are correct, a portal across space constantly being run for centuries would take an obscene amount magic.” “Correct. So let me ask me you: What source of magic did we have that would be powerful enough to accomplish such a task?” “The Elements of Harmony,” she answered immediately. “I agree it would be powerful enough, but they weren’t available to us at the time. No, we used another source.” “Mm,” she thought, then answered, “The Crystal Heart.” “That’s right,” she affirmed, “The Heart was put in place and much of its power put towards the gate. In a chain of events, the closure of the portal lead to the placement of the Heart, which lead to the rise of the Crystal Empire around it.” “Wait a second,” Twilight said, “What about when Sombra invaded? Wouldn’t that have affected the portal?” “Normally yes, but Sombra was not a fool. He kept enough magic flowing into the gateway as to keep it closed. The last thing he needed were unexpected visitors in his new empire. Now then… “The Crystal Heart was used to seal the gateway. It took a number of years to get it right, but we succeeded. Fortunately, no others emerged from the gateway in the meantime. It was by sheer luck that the noble was selfish enough to keep the knowledge of us to himself. He must have wanted to be the only one to reap the rewards of this world. The intruders were then sent back beforehoof with all memories of this place forcibly wiped. The door was locked to both sides and it has been ever since.” Celestia closed her eyes for a moment then opened them to the same scenery around her. Three sets of eyes stared at her in mixtures surprise and concern. “That’s… a lot to take in,” Twilight finally said, summarizing her feelings. Fluttershy nodded in agreement. “I know,” she said, “I wish it were a more pleasant tale to tell. Can I ask of you all not to repeat this to anypony? It isn’t public knowledge and it won’t be quite yet.” “Of course, Princess,” Twilight affirmed, “But… may I ask why it’s not? And how something as big as the Crystal Empire’s creation has been kept bogged down?” “Ah yes, that was your original question, wasn’t it? Excuse me for going on a tangent, but I believe hearing the story was necessary. As for your questions, the first one is simply because I wish to keep my subjects safe. What if someone like Chryssalis were to gain knowledge of the other world? The results would be bad for everyone involved. As to how, I kept records of the gateway to myself and sworn those involved to secrecy.” “You… withheld history from us?” Twilight asked, disbelief present. Celestia saw where this was going and quickly moved to put a stop to it. “I know it may be hard to understand,” she said, “But sometimes sacrifices must be made for the greater good, as unlikable as it sounds.” Twilight numbly nodded. “Princess?” came the voice she’d been waiting for. Ryan looked at her, eyes hopeful, “I appreciate that you told us all this, but it doesn’t answer my question. Can I go back?” Celestia turned to her. Her eyes were emotionless, hardened from centuries of leadership. She took a breath before responding; her eyes locked into Ryan’s, even if Ryan couldn’t meet the gaze completely. “No,” she said her voice firm and blunt, “The gateway’s been locked.” All eyes turned to her, shock taking full force. Ryan floundered dumbly before saying, “No? What do you mean no? I need to go home.” “The gateway’s been locked and it will remain so,” she said her voice mellow but powerful. “But, but… Can’t you unlock it?!” she interrogated, her voice rising, “Turn the power off or something?!” “If I did that it could take decades to recalibrate the magic to lock the gate again. Decades of opportunity for something to come through. As far as I know, there’s a whole army on the other side waiting for the gate to reopen.” “But, but, isn’t there something you can do?! You’re a Goddess!” Celestia got up, turning for the door. “I’m sorry, Ryan,” she said. Then holding her gaze a moment longer, she broke away and opened the door. “Twilight? I’ll be taking my leave. There is nothing more to discuss.” “No! We’re not done,” Ryan pleaded, “I need to go home! I can’t stay here!” Celestia looked back at her once more. “I am truly sorry, Ryan.” Then she left, followed awkwardly by Twilight who looked between the two blankly. Ryan watched until she was gone then watched longer after. Suddenly letting out a breath she’d been holding, she slumped into her seat, opened eyes staring miles. “Ryan?” said the soft voice of Fluttershy, but she didn’t say anymore. What could she say? “No, no, no,” she muttered. “Ryan… ” “This isn’t happening.” “…I’m sorry, Ryan. I’m so sorry.” Ryan looked up at her, revealing her glistening eyes. “Don’t be,” she said weakly, “It’s not your fault… It’s hers,” she suddenly added bitterly. Face twisting into a snarl, she jumped up to her feet and stamped her way to the door. Swinging it open with a slam, she looked out to see Twilight alone and staring upwards. “Where is she?” Ryan said to Twilight, the harshness catching her off guard. “Ryan?” she reacted, surprised. “Where’d she go?” Twilight looked at her helplessly for a moment before pointing upwards. Following the direction, she made out the shape of a chariot flying away, pulled by pegasi. Even if she couldn’t see her, Ryan knew who it held. “She left me… ” she said. “Ryan? Are you-” “She just left me here!” “Ryan?” The alicorn was ignored. Ryan watched, a maddening scowl crossing her face, as her last hope carelessly flew away. Then she snapped. “WELL, FUCK YOU TOO!” She sank to her knees as her anger dissipated, the shock turning into misery. Her eyes closed as tears began a stream down her face. She distantly heard familiar voices trying to comfort her, but she didn’t care for them. They were nothing to her at the moment. She sobbed, not paying attention to what was happening around her. All that mattered had already been taken away. When all her tears had dried up and left her a miserable husk, she sat in solitude on her chair. She didn’t remember sitting down. Everything was a blur. Instead, she’d been reliving the words of the Goddess endlessly in her head. Her empty eyes had to look somewhere, so she focused aimlessly on the window drapes hanging from their rack - that is, until Fluttershy appeared in her vision. “Ryan?” she said, trying once again now that things were… calmer. Ryan said nothing. “I’m not going to ask if you’re okay because I know you’re not, but I want you to talk to me.” “… ” “I want you to know that, even if it doesn’t seem like it, everything is going to be alright. Everything happens for a reason.” “…You lied to me.” “What?” “You promised I’d get to go home.” “I… ” “You were wrong. And now I’m stuck here.” There were no bitterness in her words. Only simple statements of the truth. “…I’m sorry,” she apologized guiltily. Ryan said nothing. Fluttershy left her vision once again, returning the window-covering drapes to view. This time Twilight blocked her vision. “Ryan?” she said softly. “…?” “I’m honestly conflicted right now.” “Join the club.” Twilight flinched. “I just want to know… is this justified? Doing this to you? Are humans that bad?” Ryan lazily glanced at her. “What do you think?” “…I think… If there can be someone like you, then it can’t be that bad.” “…” “I want you to know I’m going to talk to Princess Celestia.” “…” She left, leaving Ryan with her drapes once again. Why? Why am I in this forsaken land? Just because of sheer chance? Just because of sheer chance my life has been taken away? Why? I’m just another sacrifice, huh? The next in line to be screwed over for the “greater good.” Now everything’s going to hell for not just me, but for everyone I knew as well. All that I said earlier is actually happening. I’m stuck here, my family’s worried sick, and we’ll never see each other again. So that’s it? It’s over. My life is over? She scowled. No. I’m going to go home. I don’t care what it takes. I’m going home. She said the gateway is locked to both sides. That’s a lie. That Crystal Heart is the key. If that Sombra guy didn’t stop the magic so the gate would stay closed, then that means stopping the flow opens the gate. And that’s how I’ll get home. Greater good? Who is she to decide that? I’m leaving whether she likes it or not. She got up, a newfound determination driving her. A stubborn, unrelenting determination. I’ll open that gate, she thought, Even if it kills me.