//------------------------------// // The Hurricane-Pt 2: Ignorance is Bliss // Story: Blue Angel // by V-Pony //------------------------------// Just a heads up: as we'll be dealing with the history of humans, there will likely be a few controversial questions in this chapter, so please don't flame me; this stuff gets deep, and we get really sciency again, so hold on!! And without further ado, let's begin! (I'll credit those questions given to me at the end of the chapter as well!) Last note: Volare crashed before seeing the final four episodes of Season 2, just so ya'll know ^^ ---------------------------------- August 26th, Morning ---------------------------------- “Ok then!” Twilight chirped and hovered the quill above her parchment, eyes aglow with excitement. Finally, she was really going to learn about the humans! She surprised Volare by flopping down on the bed next to him, her eyes skimming the questions already laid out on the paper before she began. “Well, for starters, how long have humans been on Earth?” “Whew, tough one right off the bat,” Volare chuckled and chewed thoughtfully on an apple before answering. “That really depends on who you talk to.” “How’s that?” The Unicorn cocked her head to the side. “You don’t have any concrete evidence?” “Well, there’s plenty of evidence,” Volare’s eyes flicked left and right as he searched for the right words. “Well, there are plenty of theories, I should say.” “What kinds of theories?” “Well, some of them are religious and some of them have to do with the evolution of life.” “Ah, I see,” Twilight tapped her lip with the quill. “Can you tell me the major ones?” “Hmm…well, the evolutionary theories state that all life basically evolved from a primordial soup billions of years in the past, with modern humans showing up about 200,000 years ago. There’s some evidence to support that, but even more seems to be mostly conjecture or dead ends or hoaxes.” “And the religious ones,” the Unicorn prodded as she scribbled down his answers. Volare closed his eyes to think about this one. Damn, I hope she asks some questions I know a better answer to! “I’ll just name off what I know: In the Christian religion it’s widely believed through the texts that humans were created about 6000 years ago. I’m not sure what the other major religions state about creation and even though I’m here in a different world…I’d rather not speculate and invite trouble.” “Fair enough. Why the discrepancy in years though?” “Again, I’m not totally sure…but to suffice it to say that humans are the dominate species on Earth and have been for thousands of years,” Volare finally said, getting rather uncomfortable already, which Twilight had begun to notice. “Which religion did you follow, may I ask?” “I-I’d rather not talk about it, Twilight,” Volare’s head spun a bit. Anything he’d ever learned kinda went flying out the window once he ended up here anyway. “Sorry about that, Volare,” she patted his hoof with hers. “I just figured the best place to start was the beginning; I didn’t know it was such a sensitive subject.” “It’s ok, Twilight…you didn’t know…” Twilight sat there in silence for a bit as she frowned over her notes and what to do next before her ears suddenly perked up. “Hey Volare, tell ya what.” “Hm?” “So we don’t have this happen again, if I start to ask a question you don’t feel comfortable answering, just say “pass” and we’ll come back to it later or ignore it altogether. Sound fair?” “Sounds good to me,” he nodded. “Good! Oh, and if it’s any consolation, I’m not totally sure of the ponies’ origin either,” Twilight’s statement shocked Volare a bit. “I can tell you what I know of the founding of Equestria, though.” Volare somewhat recalled its origin from the Hearth’s Warming Eve episode, but he felt a refresher was in order. “Go ahead,” he smiled and settled in as Twilight described how the Earth Ponies, the Unicorns, and the Pegasi at first only cared for each other for their own welfare, as only the Earth Ponies could grow the food, only the Pegasi could control the weather, and only the Unicorns could raise the sun and moon. “Wait, so the sun and the moon really don’t rise without help here,” Volare inquired. “As far as I know, no, they don’t,” Twilight shook her head. “Otherwise, why else would there have been so much time devoted to doing so?” “Good deduction,” he nodded. “How do the sun and moon rise on Earth,” Twilight suddenly asked. “Oh, heh, they don’t rise or fall at all, at least not in the sense they do here,” Volare chuckled at Twilight’s astonished expression. “The Moon actually revolves around the Earth similar to Equestria, but the Earth orbits the sun due to the sun’s gravity, revolving on its own axis as it moves, which gives the appearance of the sun rising and falling.” “That’s…that’s…wow,” Twilight scribbled on the parchment furiously before floating it over to her desk and grabbing a new piece of paper. “Yeah, it is pretty amazing when you think about it,” Volare smiled softly and munched on another apple slice. “So, back to the founding of Equestria.” “Right, right! Um, well, like I said, the three tribes eventually came to mistrust each other due to their lack of care of what happened to the other tribes, only for themselves. This eventually bred mistrust, and the fragile peace they had with each other dissolved when a huge blizzard blew up around them one day, forcing them to leave the land due to the famine it caused.” She then went on to describe how the blizzard followed them everywhere they went due to creatures in the storm known as Wendigos feeding off their hate for each other. The blizzard finally abated once the tribal leaders made peace with one another, and the place they finally founded in peace they named Equestria; this was over 1600 years ago that she knew of. “What happened after that,” Volare asked. Although he knew the history, he was completely engrossed in the narration she was providing and obviously enjoying herself. Twilight was quite the history buff, it seemed. “Well, things were very peaceful for a time, but as you know, nature abhors a vacuum,” Twilight’s face fell as she described the reign of chaos brought on by the creature known as Discord, who ruled Equestria in a state of unrest and unhappiness before Celestia and Luna discovered the Elements of Harmony, and used them to defeat Discord and imprison him in stone. Once he was defeated, the two princesses took on the task of raising the moon and sun in the evening and morning, leaving the three pony tribes to go about their lives without having to worry about day and night, focusing more on keeping things in order on the ground and in the sky, in the case of the Pegasi. This switch-over took place roughly 1100 years ago. “For the most part, things have been the same in Equestria ever since.” “And then what happened?” Volare smiled like a young kid being told an old story by their grandmother, if the grandmother were a Unicorn even younger than he was, that is. “Now hang on a moment, I only said I’d describe the creation of Equestria, not its whole history,” Twilight booped his nose with her hoof and grinned. “That’ll be a question you can ask me later. Now…back to humans!” “Right, what else you wanna know,” he conceded, a bit disappointed to not hear about the battles against Nightmare Moon and Discord from her point of view just yet. “Plenty,” Twilight riffled the pile of parchments next to her. “How many humans live there?” “Ok, that’s one I can give a mostly definitive answer on,” Volare laughed. “As far as I know, the Earth population is about 6.8 billion people.” Twilight’s jaw dropped. “6.8 billion, with a “B”?!” “Yep.” “Holy Celestia…how long do you all live?” “I think the average lifespan of a healthy human is between 80 and 100 years.” “We’ve only got a shade over 2 million ponies in Equestria, and only 1000 or so in Ponyville if you include all the farms, so that number is….just mind-boggling! How in the world do you feed them all,” she scribbled on her parchment some more, missing Volare’s sudden frown. “Actually…we can’t,” Twilight’s scribbling halted at his answer. “Y-you can’t? Why not,” she looked up with a worried expression. “Because…because…” Volare hunted for the right words. “Because people reproduced faster than we could keep up with our resources, so the Earth is in a pretty poor state compared to what it could have been if people had more knowledge, plain and simple.” “B-but what do you do about the ones you can’t feed”- Twilight began but cut herself off at the sad look on the Pegasus’ face. “I-I’m sorry…” “Again, it’s ok…you didn’t know,” Volare muttered. If anything, he should be the one to say sorry; he was the one guilty of already knowing a lot about Equestria, so he knew the questions that were safe to ask. But Twilight had no idea of the bad situation on Earth… “…maybe we should stop, Volare,” Twilight suddenly said, her gaze focused squarely on the bedspread where she’d dropped her notes. “This is obviously very uncomfortable for you and”- “No, Twilight,” he grabbed her hoof, causing her vision to meet his determined one. “You deserve to know the truth…besides, as a scientist, you know not everything is sunshine and rainbows," he smiled grimly. “Yes but”- “I can take it…just ask away, Twilight,” he released her hoof and nudged the notes towards her. “You sure,” she asked with concern. “Completely…besides, it’s certainly making me appreciate your world more.” “Heh, alright then,” she floated the paper up again and cleared her throat. “How do you all stay organized, especially with so many people?” “Now that is an interesting question,” Volare reached over and grabbed another apple slice, frowning when he saw that only three more remained in his bowl. “For the most part, many countries are ruled by a democratic system, with the people all having an equal say-so in the dealings of the country as well as who gets elected to lead them via a rather complex political system I’d rather not get into; too much scum to wade through in there.” “Interesting…we here just leave the major decisions up to the Princesses and mainly just keep things flowing smoothly for them,” Twilight muttered. “A Monarchy, eh,” the Pegasus inquired. “Sorta-it's actually a Diarchy, by the way-with both Princesses sharing equal duties," Twilight replied with a smart little nudge. "Anyway, we don’t have much direct input on the government decisions because they always act with their subjects’ well-being first in mind, instead of themselves. However, we can send letters to them requesting a change here or there, or reporting our findings which could then lead to a change in the future.” “Hmph, wish the so-called democratic leaders of countries acted with their subjects in mind all of the time like that.” “They don’t?” Twilight asked, her naivety showing yet again…it was scarily adorable. “No…a lot of times they act with their own self-interests in mind; almost as if they consider it a right to be in power rather than providing a service to their subjects.” “That’s horrible!” “The human nature to dominate is pretty nasty at times,” he sighed and opened his eyes, munching on the apple slice and appreciating how its sweet juice seemed to wash the bad taste of those thoughts out of his mouth. “But, the way the world is, for the most part, things stay in order due to democracy, although there are a few stragglers in the dictatorship department. The sooner that gets rectified the better, I say. Anyways, next question,” he took another bite and waited. “Actually, I was going to ask if you had any other questions about Equestria before we move on,” Twilight said as she put the finishing touches on the parchment and hovered it over to her desk before turning back to him with a smile. “I figure an exchange like that is fair, and I’ll be as open a book as I can.” “Hmm…funny, I’ve never met a talking purple book before,” Volare smirked. “Oh, hush!” the Unicorn laughed and slapped his leg under the bedsheet. “Go on, ask me!” “Well, let’s see,” Volare thought over what he didn’t already know about Equestria from the show. “What towns and places exist in Equestria, besides Ponyville of course.” * “Oh, plenty,” she replied, dragging her hooves over the bedspread in a roughly circular shape. “Here’s Ponyville in the middle,” she created an indentation in the sheet and then pinched up the sheets into a small hill above it. “And to the northeast is Canterlot, where the Princesses live. At the base of the mountain of Canterlot and to the East of Ponyville is the Whitetail Wood, where the Running of the Leaves takes place every fall. To the West and South is the Everfree Forest,” she indicated that with a sweep of her hoof. “To the northeast is the big city of Manehatten. To the southeast is the town of Trottingham, and way down in the southwest desert is the town of Appleoosa,” she indicated the towns with further indentations. “Moving back up north of Ponyville is the village of Hoofington in the northwest and East past Canterlot is the city of Fillydelphia. And finally, above us and to the north is the city of Cloudsdale, where a lot of Pegasi live.” “Interesting,” Volare chuckled at the creativity of the names of the towns and cities. “What are the jobs of the ponies? Are they still the same as they were before Celestia and Luna took over the job of moving the sun and moon?” “For the most part yes,” Twilight nodded. “Earth Ponies farm the ground, giving us food, but they also run businesses in town. Unicorns help with magical decisions around town and in Canterlot…in fact, not many Unicorns live here in Ponyville at all,” she explained bashfully. “Why’s that?” “Heh, I think a lot of them consider it too backwater and not as regal as Canterlot; but it suits me just fine,” she smiled sweetly “Seems like a great place to live; kinda quiet and outta the way, but still plenty of things to see and do.” “Exactly; it’s a good balance, I think,” she nodded. “Anything else you wanna know about?” “Yeah, do you have any important historical figures in Equestria?” “Not too terribly many besides the Princesses that I know of personally,” Twilight replied. “I mean, the really big ones are the leaders of the pony tribes that founded Equestria; Chancellor Puddinghead of the Earth Ponies, Commander Hurricane of the Pegasi, and Princess Platinum of the Unicorns. But the really big one I know of is Starswirl the Bearded, one of the most influential Unicorns in history!” “Oh really?” “Yes, he revolutionized so much with his studies of magic and magical theory,” Twilight’s eyes glittered excitedly as she named off just a hoof-full of the books he’d written, the creatures he’d studied, and the spells he’s created; the only reason why it was a hoof-full was because Volare raised his own hoof for her to stop for a moment. “Damn Twilight, you sure do know a lot about him,” he chuckled at her enthusiasm. “I sure do! Outside of Celestia herself, he’s my biggest influence of study,” she finally paused and shook herself. “Heh, sorry if a lot of that went over your head; I just get a little excited about him, that’s all.” “It’s quite alright,” he grinned encouragingly. “So, do you have any influences in your life, Volare,” Twilight asked, and Volare very nearly rattled off the very first name that popped in his head…Rainbow Dash. But he stopped himself and shook his head. “Pass,” he replied, and Twilight’s face fell. “O-oh, ok.” “Just for now,” he reassured her with a smile. Could he really tell her though? “Alrighty then. Any other questions?” “Yeah, it’s about the weather,” Volare replied, eager to change the subject quickly. “Oh? You interested in how it’s created from Cloudsdale and maintained by the Pegasi; it’s quite a fascinating process, if a bit less understood than I’d like,” she pouted slightly, nearly drawing another laugh from Volare. So damn adorable! “Yeah, Dash touched on that a bit; she said the weather around Ponyville is fairly unpredictable so they keep things in check to make growing crops a lot easier,” Volare added. “Is that so strange,” Twilight questioned curiously. “Actually, yes; you see on Earth, the weather moves along completely on its own due to the rotation of the Earth creating convection currents, jet streams, and wind which push the clouds along into weather formations,” he mused. “I supposed you could say it’s all automated. But that also puts us at the mercy of it.” “That’s wild,” Twilight scribbled in her notes and looked up. “Did you know that the weather only acts on its own in select places around Equestria?” “Oh really; do tell,” Volare asked, very much interested now; they never really addressed this much in the show. “Well, the Everfree Forest comes to mind, but many believe that’s because of the Zap Apples that grow there.” “Zap Apples?” “Yes, the very reason why Ponyville was founded was because of the magical Zap Apples found in the Everfree Forest by none other than Applejack’s grandmother Grannysmith,” the Unicorn nodded as she spoke. “Ponies came from miles around to try the ingredients she created with the Zap Apples. Many then settled here in this valley, founding the town, and that was very nearly 150 years ago, making Grannysmith by far the oldest pony I know of besides the Princesses of course.” “So what do the Zap Apples do, exactly,” Volare crunched on his final apple slice, looking at it closely. It seemed normal to him. “This isn’t a Zap Apple, is it?” “Oh, no, Zap Apples have a very….tingly texture, if that’s the word for it; not to mention the color spectrum striations. No, that’s just a run-of-the-mill, though nonetheless delicious, Sweet Apple Acres apple. Red delicious, unless I missed my guess. Applejack would know for sure," the Unicorn levitated one of the fruits for a moment as if to glean the truth from it before laying it back in the bowl again, tangent set aside for now. “Makes sense,” Volare popped the remaining fruit into his mouth with a grin. They really were delicious. “But what makes the Zap Apples special and how would fruit affect the weather?” “I’m not completely sure, but it seems their magical, electrical properties disturb the normally stable atmosphere above the Everfree, creating unpredictable weather without the input of the Pegasi.” She paused thoughtfully. “In fact, without the Pegasi to keep the weather stable around Ponyville, no telling what kind of storms and bad weather might leak out of the forest and dampen our day here, to say the least.” “So why is the weather so stable here,” Volare inquired as he digested the latest information and the fruit in his belly, a theory growing in his mind. “Is it because of the presence of the Princesses?” “I’d imagine so, because from what I’ve read there are other places on this planet where the weather can go haywire like it is on Earth,” again, she paused, chewing her lower lip in concentration. “And just about all of those places have a strange magical phenomenon around them, like Zap Apples, or an active volcano, etc.” “Makes me wonder if all of your weather is magical here instead of natural like Earth,” Volare wondered out loud but stopped as Twilight looked up at him, bright-eyed. “What?” “Volare, say that again,” she demanded. “Um, all of your weather is magical here?” “I think you might be onto something,” Twilight grabbed a separate book from the shelf simply titled “Theories” and pulled out a separate ink quill. “How so,” Volare asked, somewhat confused. “I’ve always somewhat wondered about how the weather around Equestria is formed, but I’ve never had any real time to devote to it nor any other examples to compare it to,” Twilight explained as she uncapped a bottle of ink, blue instead of the usual black. “But now that you’ve explained how the weather on your planet works, I think I have enough evidence to form a hypothesis.” “A hypothesis on what; the weather?” “Exactly. You see, your weather is caused by the convection currents on Earth which form due to the Earth's rotation, exposing the atmosphere to the warm sun, right?" “Right…” Volare replied, not quite sure of what she was getting at. Unless… “So that would support my theory of Equstria having either a very slow rotation-slow enough to not create any natural wind currents and weather,-or it has no rotation at all, which would explain the need to raise the sun and moon magically and to give us warmth and convection currents, as well as the need for weather creation and control by the Pegasi,” Twilight swatted the paper with the back of her hoof and grinned toothily. "And that would also explain why large storms are so rare; without convection and rotation, those storms can't exist without the outside help of either magical phenomena or the Pegasi!" “Wow. Mind equals blown, Twilight,” Volare chuckled. “What?” Twlight cocked her head. “Never mind; just an Earth saying.” “Heh, if you say so…I’ve just been reluctant to share this theory because of the lack of outside examples. But now that I have your planet as a contrast, I can delve into this more when I have the time. Maybe I’ll even show it to Princess Celestia and see what she thinks!” The Unicorn grinned widely and grabbed the blue Pegasus’ hoof. “And it’s thanks to you, Volare! I’ll be sure to credit you in my theory when I talk about it!” “Oh, heh, it was nothing,” he rubbed the back of his head in slight embarrassment before looking back down at her. “Ok, I think I’ve asked enough questions. Your turn again, Twilight.” He was interrupted by the sound of the clock on the wall striking 12. “Oh wow, it’s noon already?!” Twilight exclaimed and hopped off the bed, storing her notes in the desk drawer. “I’ll get some lunch ready!” “Um, Twilight,” Volare twiddled his hooves slightly. Her jumping off the bedsheets had released a pressure in his lower body. “Yes, Volare,” the purple Unicorn paused at the top of the stairs. “Um…where’s your bathroom? I kinda gotta go, ya know?” “O-oh!” she flushed pink and nodded towards the spiral stairs leading further upstairs. “The closest one is up there.” “Oh, thanks,” he rolled his legs over the edge of the bed and tentatively tried to stand. “Hey, I think I’m getting a little better,” he managed to say before his legs buckled and he toppled to the side of the bed, with Twilight barely catching him before his face struck the floorboards. “Ugh, or not.” Twilight supported him with her magic as he sat back up on the bed, trying to shake some feeling back into his legs. “You lost a lot of blood last night, Volare; you gotta take it slow.” “Oh yeah; well you don’t have to piss like a racehorse,” he laughed at his own dumb joke before Twilight cracked a bemused smile herself. “You think you could help me up to the bathroom?” “Well, um, I could, but…” she kicked the floorboard nervously. “I can only hold you up if I maintain line of sight…” “So you’ll have to watch me use the bathroom,” Volare groaned. “Pretty much,” Twilight grimaced. “And I’m pretty sure neither of us wants to know each other that intimately.” “Yet,” Volare chuckled before Twilight shook him in irritation with her magic. “Ah, stop shaking me! Not helping!” “So what do we do,” Twilight asked, blushing terribly now. “Uh, I dunno…you got a bucket?” “…you can’t be serious,” Twilight said with a hint of revulsion in her voice. “Got any better ideas?” “…nope,” Twilight headed downstairs and grabbed a metal bucket from the kitchen, passing the groaning Spike on the way back, lying by one of the windows in the warm noon sunshine. “Spike, you really need to get a move on.” “But Twilight…so many apples…urgh.” “Deal with it; we’ve only got a short time to work with before I leave out of town.” “Yeah, but that’s two days from now,” Spike rolled over but Twilight was already up the stairs. “Will this work?” She asked and sat the pail down. While she’d been gone, Volare had managed to shakily stand next to the bed. He nodded with a strange look on his face. “That’ll do,” he stood over the bucket, a bit unsure of how he was going to do this, when he looked up to see Twilight still standing there, mouth slightly agape. “You wanna hold my hoof or something, Doc?” “Um, no, no, I’m good,” Twilight stumbled over her words and herself as she made her way back to the stairs. “I’ll just um, get lunch ready, ok?” “Sounds good,” Volare replied, sweat beading on his brow. “…you sure you’ll be”- “Twilight, I’m sure I can figure out how to piss in a bucket!” “Right, right, sorry!” She scrambled down the stairs to the kitchen and fired up the stove, eager to drown out the liquid on metal noises upstairs. Spike stumbled into the kitchen after a while and slumped down at the breakfast table before noticing the embarrassed expression on Twilight’s face. “What’s up, Twilight? You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.” “Huh-wha? Nope, not a ghost…” she focused on making the cooking the oatmeal without burning it. “A monster?” Spike yawned his question. “No, Spike…” “A snake?” “SPIKE!” Twilight snapped splashing hot oatmeal on the floor, her mind involuntarily pummeling her with dirty thoughts. “If you really have to know, I had to help Volare use the bathroom because he was so weak, ok? If you’d been awake, I’d have gotten you, another male, to help, but because you were lounging about, I had to help! That answer your question!?” She breathed hard a few times, glaring at the shocked baby dragon before she regained her composure. “Oatmeal?” She stated rather than asked as she spooned it into a bowl she hovered down from the cupboard and placed in front of Spike. “For lunch,” Spike started to complain, but stopped himself at Twilight’s stern look. “I mean, oatmeal for lunch; my favorite!” He dug in as Twilight left with two steaming bowls of her own. “Hey Twilight,” the dragon said before she left the kitchen. The Unicorn looked back over her shoulder. He felt bad for her as she’d obviously had a rough night. “Is Volare ok? I mean, is he gonna be ok?” “I don’t know Spike,” Twilight replied. “He can’t lift his wing and he’s very weak right now. But his sense of humor is intact.” “So there’s hope for him yet, huh,” Spike gave her a comforting smile which she returned with a nod. “It seems that way…hey Spike?” “Yep?” the baby dragon licked the oatmeal from his lips. “I’m in the process of asking him the questions I’ve wanted to of the humans and their world. But I’m not going to wear him out too much; he needs his rest. Do you want to help me go window shopping today?” “Window shopping…” the dragon wondered until it clicked in his head. “Oh, right, the upstairs window,” he looked up at the broken portal. “Sure, I’ll go help ya find one. But what about Volare?” “Heh, he’s got one of Dash’s Daring Do novels up there,” she flipped her mane as she nodded towards the ceiling. “He certainly won’t be bored if he doesn’t want to sleep while we’re gone.” “Sounds like a plan, Twilight,” the dragon grinned and shoveled more oatmeal into his jaws while she headed upstairs. “Knock knock,” she announced halfway up. “Is it safe to come in?” “Yep, I’m back in bed,” Volare replied as she cleared the top step with steaming bowls hovering around her. “What’s that?” “Oatmeal,” she smiled before her vision met the bucket. “What’s that,” she echoed, a bit uneasy. “Heh, certainly not oatmeal, I promise,” the pilot smirked as Twilight hovered the bowl over to him before setting her own bowl down and picking up the bucket with her magic, keeping it well away from her. “I’ll just, um…” she unlatched the window and tossed the contents out, praying nopony happened to be outside at the moment. When no sound of promised murder reached her ears, she relaxed and sat the bucket back inside before relatching the window. “Hopefully by tomorrow you’ll be able to use the stairs, cuz I think that was a one-time thing.” “Sorry, Twilight,” the blue Pegasus replied sheepishly. “It’s ok, just….bleh,” Twilight shuddered and made her way back over to the bed, covering up Volare with the bedsheet before settling back on the bed herself. “Mmm, what’s in this oatmeal,” Volare asked as he ate it nearly as quickly as Spike. “Heh, just cinnamon and brown sugar.” “You ever considered cooking,” Volare asked through a mouthful. “Oh, please stop it,” Twilight nudged him with a blush. “First you think I should be a doctor, now a cook? I’m just a simple Unicorn who happens to read up on these subjects a lot, that’s all.” “Knowledge is power, Twilight,” Volare grinned as he finished the oatmeal and sighed. “And you make a pretty powerful cook and doctor if I do say so myself.” “Oh knock it off, already; you’re embarrassing me.” “But you’re too good at what you do to be that modest, Twilight,” he smiled and settled back. “Ahh…so, where were we in our little Q&A?” “Oh, right,” Twilight hovered the quill back over to herself as she slurped down the rest of her oatmeal before setting it down on the bedside table. She grabbed up her notes and readied herself for the next round of questions. “Heh, I don’t know about you, but this has been quite fascinating so far.” “Indeed,” Volare nodded and awaited her questions. “Ok, let’s see here…” Twilight’s eyes skimmed down her list. “Let’s move on to some personal questions. What does your diet consists of?” “Oh, hm…well, don’t get offended at this, but my diet consisted of a lot of protein before I came here…protein from meat.” “You ate…meat,” the Unicorn shuddered at the last word. “As in, dead animals? That’s…ew.” “Well, when you put it that way, of course it sounds bad,” he replied with a huff. “I prefer my meat cooked, thank you very much! Besides, I balance it out with lots of vegetables and bread and whatnot. I’m not some savage beast!” “I know…just, I’ve seen what a bear did to a deer it caught years ago…and I guess that’s my own personal concept of eating meat,” Twilight looked away, a little ashamed. “Sorry.” “Please stop saying sorry, Twilight,” he patted her hoof. “Makes me feel like the bad guy when you’re upset.” Twilight looked up in surprise. She didn’t know how to respond to that one. “Um, I…sorry for apologizing…oops. Well, this is awkward yet again. Um, do other humans eat meat?” “All the time, but like I said, if they don’t balance it out with other things, they’ll develop health problems. Even so, meat is kinda at a premium for most cultures due to the cost of raising it for slaughter.” “Wait, you raise animals…just to kill them,” Twilight felt her stomach do a little flip flop. “Yes, many cultures do,” he said solemnly, aware they’d stumbled onto a sensitive subject. “…what sort of animals?” “Mainly cattle like cows, sheep, goats, that sort of thing,” he replied, carefully withholding a certain but of information he’d only reveal if she asked. “So all those herds of animals that Dash said she’d seen…” Twilight’s eyes got a far away look to them. “Those were only there to die?” “What sort of animals did she see,” Volare said after a long pause. “Cows like you said, a few goats, and…” Twilight’s face turned a little green. Oh god no… “…animals that looked like bigger versions of Earth Ponies, and not nearly as colorful,” Twilight finally said. “And they weren’t running free either…they were tied up behind fences.” “Those were horses…Twilight, this may be hard for you to hear, but…” He struggled for the right words. “Some cultures do also raise horses for food, though it’s out of practice in most countries…most people view horses as too intelligent and…and…well, too ingrained in the history of humans to eat.” “I-I see,” Twilight felt the oatmeal in her stomach rise to the back of her throat before she forced it back down. “What do you mean by ingrained, though?” “Heh, without the help of horses and plows, humans would have never gotten to where they are in agriculture, Twilight,” Volare grinned. “True, they’ve mainly fallen by the wayside as work animals, horses are very important to human culture, perhaps the most revered work animal in the particular culture I’m from. In fact, without horses, the country I’m from might not have even come to exist.” “Do they eat horses in your country, Volare,” Twilight asked, apparently fixated on that particular revelation. “No, it’s illegal in most places to raise them for slaughter, mainly because of their connection with our past.” “Good…I’d really hate to think I was talking with someone who…who did those sort of things at home, then basically sat down and had a conversation with something similar to his dinner later,” Twilight mused. “It’d be…too morbid for me to process…sorry…you wanna try another question?” “Yes, please,” he squeezed her hoof with his own, and she was glad he did…it kept the tears of disgust from forming and reminded her that he was…different. “If it’s any consolation, I’ve got no problem being a vegetarian here either.” “Heh, thanks…I think I’ll just leave that little bit out,” she crossed out the “diet” section and moved on. “What other important resources are on your planet?” “Plenty,” he leaned up and began tapping his hoof as he counted them off. “Most currency on Earth is based on the value of gold, a soft and shiny yellow metal. Then there is oil, which is used to power over 80% of industry, although nuclear, wind, water, and solar power are catching up as oil is getting pretty expensive because only a few countries sell a lot of it, allowing them to control the prices of it.” “That doesn’t sound very fair,” Twilight pointed out, making Volare nod. “Indeed, hence the move towards alternate energy. There’s also your basic resources like timber, water, other precious metals, and gemstones, all used as currency on the world market that connects all countries and dictates the prices of everything.” “Wow, so it’s all interconnected?” “Very…heh, I’d try to explain the Internet, but I’d be here all week doing that,” Volare laughed. And there’s some things there of her and her friends I’d rather she not know about…eesh. “Suffice it to say that the Internet keep everyone connected, and let’s leave it at that.” “Fair enough for now,” she smiled. “You mentioned you flew a machine called a jet for a living. What’s that entail?” “Oh, it’s a military jet. That particular type of jet is used to promote the Navy branch of the United States Armed Forces,” Volare explained. “The United States?” Twilight asked. “Is that your country?” “Mhm, it is; to say that it was founded in battle would be a bit of an understatement.” “Oh really,” Twilight scribbled on her parchment. “Go on.” “Alrighty then” Volare cracked his neck and went on to describe the entire military history of his country, from beginning to present. He covered all the major wars he could think of, from the Revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil War, World War 1, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and Gulf War 1, all the way up to Gulf War 2 and present. He described the opposing countries and their leaders as horrid villains that had no place on the earth, only 6 feet under it. By the time he was finished, he wasn’t sure if Twilight’s expression was one of awe or just plain shock…maybe a little of both. “So there you have it; my country’s history. It ain’t pretty, but it’s the truth,” he said solemnly. “You ok, Twilight?” “Hm, yeah, yeah, just,” she shook her mane a bit. “It’s a lot to take in, Volare. I mean, I knew from Dash’s reports that you were a pretty violent species, but I didn’t realize the history of it ran back so far. Any other particular reason other nations fight, or does ‘for anything under the sun’ work pretty well,” Twilight tried to joke, but by Volare’s expression, she realized she’d guess right. “That’s a lot of death…” she tried to wrap her mind around it; the most death she’d ever seen was a massive die-off of butterflies after their long migration and the worst she’d read about had been deaths during the blizzards before Equestria was founded. “Do you have a standing military,” the Pegasus inquired. “Sort of,” Twilight tapped her quill. “The Princesses have their Royal Guards, and of course there are the Wonderbolts, but they’re mainly for show," she chuckled as she described the only combat effort she'd observed; it had gotten them trapped in a water tower by Spike, who'd grown large and nasty due to a sudden onset of greed stemming from an over-abundance of birthday gifts. “Um, not to interrupt, but I’ve got another question,” Volare said, making sure to choose his words carefully so as not to arouse suspicion; he wasn’t supposed to have ever seen the guards before. “I’ve noticed there aren’t many stallions here in Ponyville…they wouldn’t happen to be serving as the Princesses guards, would they?” “That’s very perceptive, Volare,” Twilight narrowed her eyes slightly. “How’d you know?” Crap! “Oh, um, well, a lot of the military on Earth are men and are picked from the closest population center, so I just surmised that since Ponyville is the closest town to Canterlot that the same rules applied. And when I saw that there are a lot more mares here than stallions…I guess I just put two and two together.” “Very impressive,” Twilight smiled. “Although there are a few mares in the Royal Guard, for the most part, yes, the force is made up of stallions conscripted from Ponyville. I guess it’s just something about the stallions from this area that meet the Princesses’ preferences.” I wonder if that’s why we all got excited when we met Volare, a free stallion in Ponyville…no, no, no, knock it off, Twilight! Stay professional! “How long do they serve?” “Well, from what I’ve heard, most of them serve between 4 and 5 years, although a lot of them sign on for longer tours or they get assigned to other towns.” “Good job security?” Volare mused. “Or they really enjoy the high life of being a Guard, though I don’t know how anypony could just stand there with that stern emotionless face all day,” Twilight made a serious face. “Halt, who goes there?” she made a motion with her quill as if it were a spear pointed at Volare. “Only a crippled human-turned Pegasus; I swear I’m mostly harmless,” Volare laughed and held his front hooves over his head before Twilight collapsed into giggles. “So do those guys go out and fight battles?” “No, I mean, I suppose they could, but…I guess you could say the Guards are more there as a deterrent rather than a fighting force,” Twilight explained. “The Princesses usually have more than enough power to handle the really big problems, I’d wager. You see, there’s never really been any large-scale battles like on Earth here in Equestria; just small skirmishes.” “Can you tell me about those?” “Sure,” Twilight smiled and then launched herself into her own tale involving the battle against Nightmare Moon and the second battle against Discord when he escaped his stone prison, both of which he recalled from the show. “I’ve got a question about Nightmare Moon, Twilight,” he interrupted. “Yes?” “What exactly made her transform, I mean from Luna to Nightmare Moon,” he asked slowly. “From what you described, Luna controlled the moon for close to 100 years before becoming Nightmare Moon…why the sudden change of heart and bitterness?” “You know, that’s something I was never able to figure out, Volare,” Twilight replied. “I’ve searched through books and texts, but was never able to find any solid evidence on why she just suddenly changed. You’d think if she had any reservations about it, they’d show up before 100 years passed.” “Have you ever spoken to Celestia about it,” Volare offered. “I figure if anyone would know about her, it would be her own sister. Or have you ever spoken to Luna herself?” “No, neither…honestly, I felt it was kinda taboo to speak about,” Twilight said quietly. “You think you could ask about that for me when you go to Canterlot?” “Hmm…I suppose I could,” she then smiled. “Unless you want to speak to the Princesses yourself.” “M-myself?!” Volare sputtered. “B-but, I dunno, Twilight. I mean, I’m just a regular guy, er pony, and I”- “Oh come on, they won’t bite,” Twilight shoved him with a hoof. “I’ve known Celestia for years and Luna is, well, she’s getting back to being part of pony society, so don’t be scared of them. They’re really pretty laid-back for Princesses.” “Only cuz they know you,” Volare muttered. “Are you sure?” “Yeah, it’ll be fine! But first you’ll have to recover from your crash,” she nodded at his injury. “This would be weeks if not months in the future, mind you.” “Of course, of course,” Volare nodded. He still wasn’t convinced, but if Twilight said it was ok… “So let’s get back to you and your friends’ exploits!” “Right! No questions on Discord?” “Nah, I think you described him fairly well,” Volare shook his head. “Master of Chaos, likes to cause major headaches, and he got beaten twice by the Elements of Harmony and re-encased in stone. Sounds like a done deal to me.” “Heh, hopefully for good this time,” the Unicorn nodded in agreement. “Let’s see, who else…oh yeah…do you know of Queen Chrysalis?” “Queen Chrysalis?” He asked, the unfamiliar name rolling off his tongue with a hiss. “Who was that?” “You mean who is that,” Twilight corrected him. “She’s the Queen of the Changelings, and we battled her and her army about 6 months ago at a Royal Canterlot Wedding where she tried to impersonate the bride and take the groom for herself, for she fed off of the power of his love for her.” “What happened,” Volare asked, eyes wide. This Queen sounded like a first-class bitch! “Well, my friends and I did our best, but the Queen was too powerful…she even took down Celestia for goodness’ sake!” Twilight exclaimed, drawing an audible gasp from the Pegasus. “No way…” “Way,” she nodded grimly. “It was the power of the groom’s love for his bride that allowed her to do it.” Her face brightened. “But it was the power of the bride’s love for the groom that broke the trance over him and together, they defeated the Queen, blasting her off far over the Everfree Forest!” Twilight pumped a hoof with a grin. “But you say is. Is she still alive?!” “As far as we know, nopony found her body, so we can only assume so,” the Unicorn frowned. “But on the same token, nopony has seen hide nor hair of her since, so maybe she wised up and left the area for good.” “Hopefully…wait, who was the bride and groom? Did you know them personally?” Volare asked suddenly, but was only met by a sly smirk from the Librarian. “Twilight?” “Heh, answer a few personal questions of mine and I’ll consider answering that one,” Twilight winked and grinned. “Alright, fine.” “Back to your own military,” Twilight added her current note page to the growing stack on her desk and took up a fresh sheet. For some reason, although she was a fairly peaceful Unicorn, the fact that a species like his could survive millennia of warfare and even thrive despite it was intriguing. “From what you’ve told me and what I’ve seen, you seem to be a nation of war, so I can understand your fascination of battle and military history.” “Indeed, and that’s just my own country…I’d be willing to bet that violent streak runs all the way to the beginning with everyone,” Volare added, noting they were right back to where they’d started. “I hope you don’t rope me in with the psychos that my country has been trying to stop for centuries, Twilight.” “No, no, I understand why you did it,” she shook her head again. “Just…doesn’t it affect you; talking about all that death and waste?” “It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it, I suppose,” he sighed. “My training taught me to be as detached as I could, because the more you think about what your duty there entails…the greater your chances of going nuts thinking about “coulda, shoulda, woulda” all the time, ya know?” “It’d be like I questioned every decision I ever made in regards to magic,” Twilight mused. “I see how that could drive a pony out of their mind. But tell me; have you ever done something in your jet that you’ve regretted? Please answer if you can, if anything to prove that you’re not some murdering monster.” So I guess the phrase “making sure I’m still human” wouldn’t be applicable here… “Well, as many hours as I’ve had in a jet, I was never really one for wanting to go out and blow something up; I didn’t get a rush from that. Just the sensation of flying one of those beautiful machines was more than enough to get my juices flowing,” Volare reminisced and closed his eyes. “However, you can’t be in the Navy for over 5 years without seeing some sort of combat I suppose, and I flew more than a handful of missions in my time, but only in two did I see combat.” “You can tell me about it if it doesn’t bother you too badly,” Twilight took out a new piece of paper and re-dipped her quill. “I guess none of it’s classified here,” Volare paused, thinking back over the details of those two missions…how he’d been offered the information on who his targets had been during the mission debriefing… “Actually Twilight, I think I’ll pass on this one,” he replied suddenly, and his friend’s face fell. “Are you ok, Volare?” She asked, seeing the creases forming across his brow. “What happened on those missions that’s got you troubled?” “Let’s just put it this way, Twilight,” he looked up, forcing a pained smile. “I wouldn’t even open up the debriefing files after the missions because I didn’t want to know what happened to my targets.” He sighed and wiped his brow. “Please understand, Twilight...I was taught to be detached, but I was afraid that if I knew who I’d….who I’d done in. If I’d seen their faces…I’m not sure if I could have gone on doing my job. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss, Twilight.” “I-I’m sorry, Volare,” Twilight held up the parchment. “I can…burn this one if you like, and we can forget we ever spoke about it.” “No, don’t do that,” he held up a hoof. “I’ll likely tell you eventually, but for now, I’d rather your opinion of me not be sullied any further.” “But, Volare, like you said: it’s a dirty job, but somepony’s gotta”- “I know,” he cut her off. “And not all facts are sunshine and rainbows…but that doesn’t mean I don’t wish them to be sometimes…” The Pegasi sighed and leaned back into the pillows for a long moment; a moment cut off as the clock on the wall struck 3 o’clock. “Heh, hard to believe we’ve been talking all-Ahhh” he yawned mightily and shook his spiky mane. “Sorry,” he smiled sheepishly. “You wanna call it a day, Volare?” Twilight patted him through the blanket, giving him a comforting smile. But that smile was merely a mask, hiding what she felt about this…this human and his race. She didn’t want to blame him for where he came from, but all the same, she had no idea just how rough the situation was on Earth. “Hey, I’ve got a question.” “Hmm?” “Do you…do you like it here better than Earth,” she asked point blank, making him look up in surprise. “I mean, we don’t have the problems you have there on Earth, we don’t have constant war, famine, serious disease…I mean, we have our share of problems sure, but for the most part, it’s pretty stable here.” “Heh, I know what you mean Twilight, and to be honest,” Volare closed his eyes and thought for a long moment. Was he really ready to accept this place as a home? She was right after all…it was certainly more stable. “I’ve only been here a couple of days, and although I’ve nearly died twice,” he gave a sarcastic little chuckle. “From what I’ve seen…it’s already head and shoulders over Earth.” “So…you think you could call this place home? I mean, not my Library specifically,” Twilight caught hersellf and laughed nervously. “But Equestria as a whole, or maybe even here in Ponyville…you think you could live here?” “Why do you want me to stay, Twilight? Maybe I’ve still got some reservations about it.” Maybe there’s a chance I could go back…maybe, god forbid, this is all a damn dream… “Even if you did Volare,” Twilight placed her hoof over his. “I’m sorry if this sounds selfish, but I wouldn’t want you to go back.” “But why…I’m just a violent human like the rest. Why wouldn’t you want me to go back with my own kind?” “Because…because I think you’re different,” Twilight said before she could stop herself. “Different how?” “I just…even though you held an occupation that involved killing others, you obviously didn’t enjoy that aspect of it,” she explained her theory as best as she could. “But you enjoyed the perks of flying that came with it, right?” “Affirmative,” he quipped. “Well, you’re a Pegasus, and you can enjoy that flight whenever you want now,” the Unicorn said slowly. “So I don’t think you should go back to Earth, because I think it’s better for you here. Again, sorry if that sounds selfish.” “Twilight,” Volare began but she cut him off when she threw a hug around his neck. “Wha-?” “Please consider staying…I’m sorry if this insults you, but your planet just sounds like the worst place possible compared to here,” she looked up with less than dry eyes. “I just don’t want you going back and risking yourself when you don’t have to, that’s all. It’s not fair…it’s not fair…” “Twilight,” the Pegasus started but stopped again. Was she right? Could he…should he…would he…no, you were taught to not ask those questions. Make a decision and stick with it, Volare! “I had just achieved my dream of joining the Blue Angels when I came here…that’s hard to let go…” “Please stay,” the Unicorn pleaded. “Is that the only thing holding you there?” “I…in all honesty…” Decide! He couldn’t take the sorrowful look on her face much longer! “Yes?” “It may take me a while to cut the ties I had with Earth, but…I don’t think I’d have it any other way, Twilight,” the Unicorn’s face broke into a small smile. “R-really? You mean it,” she asked, her smile growing as she spoke. “Heh, don’t think I have much choice between not having a human body and those pleading eyes of yours,” Volare beamed back and returned the hug. “Yes…I’ll very, very, very strongly consider staying." “Good,” Twilight said into his neck and leaned back up, wiping her nose a bit. “Again, sorry I put you through these questions…I just feel like I’ve been interrogating you or something.” “Nah, you’re missing the bright lamp in my face,” the pilot chuckled. “Heh, yeah, that’s more Pinkie’s specialty.” “I know, right,” Volare laughed but cut himself off at Twilight’s questioning look. Shit. “H-how did you know about that?” the mare cocked her head to the side in puzzlement. “Good guess? Nah, I’m just tired and agreeing with you, that’s all,” Volare bullshitted as fast as he could. “That tired, huh,” Twilight giggled and patted him on the head with a hoof. “You want something to eat before you turn in? I’ve got some fresh carrots in the cellar.” Yuck…carrots…then again… “Those sound...nice, Twilight. I’ll take a few.” “Ok,” she chirped and headed downstairs, returning a few moments later with said vegetables. “Here you go,” she placed them within hoof’s reach and looked down at Volare with a soft smile. “What?” he asked after a moment. “Oh nothing, nothing,” Twilight tossed her mane. “Just mulling some things over in my head; like how crazy and unlikely all the circumstances are for you to be here, considering how rough and tumble your world is. It’s pretty amazing you got here in one piece.” “Heh, mostly,” Volare chuckled, the fiery crash entering his mind for the briefest of moments, but he pushed it away before it could take up residence and cleared his throat. “You know, I’m kinda glad you helped me talk about some of the not so great parts of my world today; like I said, it certainly helps me appreciate yours more.” “You’re welcome, Volare; it can be yours too if you want it," her words cheered him more than she could realize; just like Applejack and the others, she was so willing to offer her home to him. That particular trait was so hard to find on Earth...if he hadn't seen the show before, he wouldn't have been able to wrap his mind around just how in the world they could be so...welcoming. "I’ve got some more questions for you tomorrow, but you can trust me when I say they’re mostly fun ones,” she tilted her head thoughtfully before smiling and turning back to the stairs. “You have a good rest, Volare; there’s a Daring Do novel by your bed if you can’t sleep.” “Wait, where are you going?” “Oh, Spike and I are gonna go get a window to replace the one you mistook for the front door,” she gave him another smile, a bit pained this time. “Oh, right…hey, I wanna repay you for that, and for all of this eventually,” the Pegasus’ words stopped her on the stairs. “Don’t sweat it, Volare…you’ve been put through enough as it is; you don’t need to pile onto yourself,” the Unicorn frowned and headed down, stopping once more as he called out to her. “Wait, what about the wedding?! I thought you were gonna tell me more about that!” “Oh don’t worry…that’s one of the things we’ll cover tomorrow,” Twilight popped her head back up above floor level and winked. “Aww, no fair!” “Heh, sleep well, Volare.” The pilot grumbled and settled back into the pillows, listening to Spike and Twilight rummaging around downstairs for a moment before the front door opened and shut, leaving him alone in the Library…alone with his thoughts. He chomped on a carrot in mild frustration. Could I really, truly call this world my home? It was certainly better than Earth in more ways than one…urgh, this is happening too fast! Even so…what about my dream of flying with the Blue Angels? That’s gone now…but if it’s gone, what’s holding me there anyways? Decide, dammit! It was as his eyelids slipped shut and the carrot fell from his hoof that he made his decision, albeit a mildly conflicted one: If there were no possible way to go back and achieve his dream…then he’d make Equestria his new home. Perhaps he’d find a new dream here. Home…I actually like the sound of that…Heh, now I almost hope that I don’t find a way to go back…ignorance truly might be bliss in that regard… ----------------------------- * Equestria map used: