//------------------------------// // Chapter 16: Humans in Ponyville // Story: Project Sunflower: Harmony // by Hoopy McGee //------------------------------// ~~*The Goddess*~~ Once again, the humans attempted to open a gateway, and once again the Goddess allowed it. Into the world her people had once called Paradise came more machines, tearing into the soil and buzzing through the air of her former home. This, she also allowed. A single creature made its way through the gateway, primed full of precious information. This the Goddess did not allow. She stretched forth her will and the Infiltrator, the poor, butchered thing that it was, was caught. It struggled and writhed like a minnow in her hand. With a single ancient Word, the Goddess calmed it. With a delicate touch, she reached into it, and soon knew everything it did. Information flooded into her, filling in the blanks of what she knew of the worlds on the other side of the portal. Some of the information even managed to surprise her. This next part had to be done very delicately. The Infiltrator’s mind was first stripped bare, leaving it a blank slate. The Goddess held the knowledge before her like a gigantic puzzle, turning it this way and that, considering it from every angle. And then she began to make changes. Everything provided by that so-called “Queen” was removed and set aside. The Caretaker would find no allies on the world known to the ponies as Equus. He wouldn’t know that Equus even existed. Then she began to remove other information as well, with all the care and precision of a surgeon. When she was done, the Goddess had two collections of pure information. The larger of the two she put aside for the moment. The smaller one was returned to the mind of the Infiltrator, where it expanded to fill the empty space. And then the Goddess began to speak more Words of magic, invoking what little power she still had at her command, filling in the blank spaces in the information with carefully-crafted half-truths and outright lies. The story that the Goddess wove unfolded in the Infiltrator’s mind. It was a story of a race of inquisitive creatures driven by curiosity to explore. Gone was any mention of humanity’s pony allies, as well as most of the information regarding their military capabilities. When the Goddess finished weaving her tale, it created an image of a fairly harmless race of explorers who would find Paradise fascinating, but who could be easily quelled should they attempt to invade. It amused her to no end that the one who had the audacity to give himself the name of “Caretaker” had been so very careless. He thought her harmless, now. Tamed and shackled by the massive shield that allowed only a trickle of her magic, processed and pacified, to reach the world below. Magic that was harnessed to maintain the machinery which upheld the mockery the Caretaker declared to be “existence”. But even he couldn’t change the fact that the Veil between worlds was hers. Nothing passed through it without her approval. What she was doing now, allowing these humans to send their machines through, was a violation of what had once been some of her most basic guiding principles. She would never have allowed it, were it not for what the Caretaker had done. That she had gone along willingly at first, even helping to create the shield that bound her… that was the part that had haunted her the most, all this time. The Infiltrator was nearly ready to be released. The Goddess studied it carefully, looking for flaws or inconsistencies in the information that it held. The Caretaker knew she controlled the Veil, but he couldn’t be allowed to know how much she could influence what passed through it. If he discovered what she was doing, then the slow, careful work of uncounted ages would come undone in moments. But now that there was Earth and Equus, the trap was set and the final pieces were moving into place. For the first time in longer than she could remember, the Goddess could see all the way to the end. Finally satisfied with her arrangements, she let the Infiltrator slip away, watching as it slid back into the world she could no longer directly touch. The Infiltrator swam through the air, unseen amongst the Dreamers. Its destination was a single mountain, standing tall and lonely amongst the forests. It was far beneath this mountain that the Caretaker had made his home. The Infiltrator passed through the stone of the mountain as if it were fog. The Goddess wasted no time. Speaking Words of magic carefully yet quickly, she began creating a message, once again filled with half-truths and outright lies. A message designed to manipulate a creature she had never even met in a world she could only occasionally see. It didn’t take long for the Infiltrator to reappear, speeding through the air towards the still-open gateway. The Goddess had expected this. The Caretaker was a cautious sort, and the small amount of information he had collected wouldn’t be nearly enough. No doubt the Infiltrator was instructed to range further this time, to gather as much data as possible even if that meant that it couldn’t return quickly. As the Infiltrator passed through the gateway, the Goddess once again caught it. It amused her to note that its instructions had been changed exactly as she had hoped. The Caretaker wouldn’t be expecting his butchered abomination back any time soon, which was all to the best. He would never see the Infiltrator again. She worked quickly, uncertain of how much longer the humans would leave the gateway open. The Infiltrator’s mission parameters were changed, and the Goddess’ message was implanted carefully. It now had only one purpose: hers. Once again, she released the Infiltrator. It shot through the gate, single-minded and determined to fulfill her will. “Blessings be on you,” the Goddess whispered. ”Forgive me for what I’ve done.” All she could do now was wait. Wait for events to unfold, wait for the vessel that had been prepared for her. Soon, if fate was kind, she would walk her world again. ~~*Twilight*~~ The sun was fading, and so was Twilight. She put the book aside with a sigh and rubbed at her dry, tired eyes with her fetlock. So much information, and so little of it actually helpful in any way. She now knew more about the Dreamrealms than most ponies alive, having read through nearly everything the Royal Library contained on the subject, and she still felt no closer to actually visiting the place than she had when she’d started. Each night Twilight had tried to reach the correct state of mind, and each night she failed. Trixie Lulamoon had achieved it on her very first try, which struck Twilight as monstrously unfair, but at least the other mare had been kind enough to give her a tip on how to get there herself. “Twilight, it’s time!” Spike called from the far end of the apartment Twilight was staying in. Twilight sighed and placed the book on meditation techniques that she’d been reading back on the stack next to her. It was one she’d read already, but it had seemed the most logical and helpful of the bunch, so she had been skimming through it to see if she’d missed anything that could be helpful. “Thanks, Spike,” Twilight said. She got up and stretched, trying to work some of the kinks out of her back. The little dragon walked over and gathered up some of the books she’d just set aside, no doubt to put it away. On impulse, Twilight gathered him up in a hug and nuzzled him on the cheek. “You’ve been such a great help to me this week!” “Aww, come on,” Spike protested, blushing as he half-heartedly pushed her head away. “No, I mean it,” Twilight said as she let him go. “I know I take you for granted sometimes, but you’ve really been a fantastic help. It really means a lot to me.” “Pssh…” Spike waved dismissively as he looked away, but he wasn’t able to hide his smile. “Someone has to make sure you eat when you’re on one of your study binges.” “And I appreciate it,” Twilight said as she ruffled his spines. Spike batted her hoof away. “Hey! I just got those straight!” He re-straightened his spines. “Uh. Thanks, Twilight. But you’d better get going if you don’t want to be late.” “You’re right. See you later, Spike!” Twilight gave him another quick hug before walking out the door. The chamber where the potential Dreamguard were meeting was a quick trot away. Twilight arrived and took her usual place on a cushion that was somewhat secluded from the others. Several of the candidates were already there, chatting amongst themselves. A quick glance showed her that Trixie wasn’t there, which was a pity; Twilight had been hoping to get a few last-minute pointers from the mare before trying again tonight. A few minutes after the last of the candidates had settled, Princess Luna entered. She swept gracefully through the room and settled onto a divan. Folding her wings across her sides, the princess looked around the room and smiled. “Begin,” she said. Twilight took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. It was time to try again, but she wasn’t too optimistic. Having musicians in the room hadn’t worked, and the incense had made her sneeze. Exercise before meditation had just made her sweaty and uncomfortable. Twilight had tried everything that both she and Luna could think of before Trixie had suggested multiplication tables. Twilight decided that it was worth a try, even if it seemed counter-intuitive. She worked her way quickly through the single digits, then began multiplying double digits together. After a few minutes, she lost herself in the process, running almost on automatic. The numbers, beautiful and perfect and wonderfully predictable, danced in her head. She reached the point where she was multiplying triple digits against double digits when somepony talking nearby shook her out of her relaxed state of mind. Twilight opened her eyes to scold whoever it was. The first thing she saw was Princess Luna. She was talking softly to Trixie and a tiny mare that she recognized as another Dreamguard candidate. The very next thing she noticed was that each of them seemed to be hovering in a featureless grey void that stretched out to infinity. “Princess?” Twilight said tentatively, getting the attention of all three of the others. The tiny mare looked away shyly while Trixie gaped at her incredulously. Princess Luna, however, simply smiled warmly. “Twilight! I’m so glad you’ve finally made it!” “I did?” It had been a goal fraught with mounting frustration for over a week. To have made it so unexpectedly… Twilight couldn’t believe it at first. But a quick check around the featureless void she found herself in was enough to tell her that her environment matched all descriptions she’d read of the Threshold. “I did!” Relief flooded her only to be quickly displaced by joy. She turned to Trixie, who was still gaping at her. “Oh, Trixie, thank you! I never would have made it here if it hadn’t been for your advice!” The resultant extremely loud and unexpected scream from the other mare jolted Twilight out of the mental state she’d finally managed to achieve. She blinked, disoriented at finding herself still sitting on her cushion. “What the heck was that about?” she muttered to herself. ~~*Erin*~~ The Sunday sun had just crested the eastern horizon when the specially-commissioned train pulled into Ponyville. Almost nopony in town was awake yet, which suited Erin just fine. She took a moment to straighten her yellow sundress before going back to shifting nervously from hoof to hoof. When the doors finally opened, she let out a little involuntary yelp of excitement. The first person out of the passenger car was an older man, probably in his late fifties. His bald head gleamed in the early sunlight, and he had a scruffy grey beard on his narrow face. He honestly looked a slightly villainous, but when he broke into an impish smile Erin began to relax. “Miss Sunflower, I presume?” the man said, approaching with his hand stretched out. Erin giggled and held out a hoof, which he shook. “I’m Jerry Mallon. I’m the head of this little gang of interdimensional explorers.” “Yup, I’m Sunflower,” Erin said. “You can call me Erin if you like, it doesn’t matter to me. How was the trip?” “Hectic at first. The ponies shuffled us through the palace and onto a train before we could even blink. Though, they were nice enough to carry all of our gear for us.” He clapped his hands. “Oh, that reminds me! A few of these boxes are for you. Maggie Henson asked us to deliver them for you.” “Awesome! That’s got to be all the stuff I ordered.” Erin’s grin melted into a concerned frown. “At least I hope that’s all of it.” “It makes a stack as high as I am tall,” Jerry said, eyes twinkling. “I have to admit, I’m curious as to what all that is.” Erin winked. “It’s a surprise for the ponies.” While the two of them had been talking, several men and a few women exited the train. They were busy looking around, whispering animatedly to each other while pointing out various buildings and landmarks. Jerry saw her looking and chuckled. “I suppose I should introduce the gang,” he said, then whistled sharply to get everyone’s attention. “Over here, guys!” Erin looked them over as they approached. For the most part, they looked to be late twenties to early thirties, though a couple of them ranged into their forties or older. They all wore comfortable, casual clothes that would probably have Rarity wringing her hooves in disappointment, but which Applejack would probably approve of as sensible enough for a hard day of work. Jerry ran through the names far too quickly for Erin to remember. Only a few of them stuck in her head during that first introduction. There were two men named Rob, who were introduced as Rob One and Rob Two. Of the three women, one had the unusual name of Tandy. The last name Erin remembered from the flurry of introductions was a man who looked to be a few years older than she was. Lucas Vasquez had short black hair, meltingly dark brown eyes and a confident grin that had Erin’s own smile turning a little goofy before she noticed what she was doing and clamped down on it. There was no way she was going to remember all of the names. Fortunately, they were all wearing name tags, so she wouldn’t be too lost. Which raised an interesting question. “So, why the name tags?” Erin asked, pointing to the one Jerry was wearing. Jerry adjusted his tag and gave it a little buff with the collar of his shirt. “Before we came over, we were given this big speech about how we’re all ‘representatives of humanity’ and all that. We’re supposed to be nice, friendly and approachable. We’re also supposed to be on our best behavior.” He looked at the group of assembled humanity out of the corner of his eye. “Isn’t that right, gang?” The group responded with reasonably eager assertions that this was, in fact, the case. “Well, that’s good,” Erin said. If she were to be honest, it was something she’d been a little concerned about. “So, I think we should get you guys settled, huh?” “Sounds good,” Jerry replied with a nod. He turned to the group of humans and began issuing orders. Soon enough, all of their gear and luggage was brought out and stacked onto the carts that they had also brought along. It was quite the parade that Erin led through town. First to the Moondrop Inn, where she’d reserved rooms for all of them. Unfortunately there had only been four rooms available, so they would have to pack two or three to a room. “Not a problem,” Jerry said when she told him that. “We expected a little bit of hardship.” After the gear had been stored, Erin guided the group to her home, where they dropped off her new purchases off in her living room. The Ponyville town hall was their next stop. Along the way, Erin pointed out various interesting shops as well as some of her favorite places to eat. The occasional pony who was awake early enough all had the same basic reaction: stopping and staring in amazed bewilderment at the troop of humans marching through their small town. Mayor Mare was waiting for them, adjusting her collar and smiling professionally as the group approached. Erin and the other humans stopped a short distance away. “Welcome, everyone,” the mayor said. “Welcome… to Ponyville!” ~~*Pinkie Pie*~~ The start of the day for a baker was different than the start of the day for most ponies. The sky was dark when the Cakes got out of bed for work, and it was still dark by the time the first of the new bread was coming out of the ovens. Granted, as an apprentice baker, Pinkie didn’t have to work that early most days. Though, she tried to get up early anyway in order to help the Cakes with the twins, even on her days off. The Cakes weren’t so lucky. Every day for them was long and tiring. Pinkie knew in her heart that the only thing that kept the two of them going was the sincere love they had for their jobs and their even deeper love for each other. Pinkie’s usual job in the morning was to assist with the baking and to clean the shelves. The second part was one of her most favorite jobs ever, as cleaning the shelves often meant she got to gobble down the rare unsold pastry. The Cakes had heard of other bakeries selling day-old wares, but they wanted no part of it. It was fresh or nothing at Sugarcube Corner. Thus it was that she took care of her chores and her breakfast simultaneously, which was the best way to work as far as Pinkie Pie was concerned. Today was one of those days that Pinkie had agreed to work in the morning. Not that she minded! After her initial frenzy of cleaning, the Cakes would usually put her on the register. That meant that she got to greet everypony who came in. Not to mention every donkey, cow, mule and, just recently, human. Pinkie was nudged from her reverie by a pair of voices from a nearby table, one of them mentioning “humans”. She looked over to see Daisy and Lily enjoying a snack. Since there were no customers in line, Pinkie took that moment to nonchalantly sidle over for a little eavesdropping. “They wanted to put one of those things on my shop!” Lily was saying. “As if I’d let them do that!” She scoffed and added, “I sent them on their way, of course.” “I let them do it,” Daisy said, which caused Lily to sputter a little. “Why would you do that?” “Good question!” Pinkie exclaimed, momentarily forgetting that eavesdroppers aren’t supposed to participate in the conversations they listen in on. The two startled mares turned to look at her. Pinkie smiled and slowly backed away to find a new place where she could be unobtrusive while still being close enough to listen in as their conversation started back up. “Uh, because they’ll be paying a monthly fee of twenty bits to anypony who lets them set one up,” Daisy replied after a few seconds. She rolled her eyes. “I mean, business is good, but extra bits for doing nothing is always nice. Though, I guess it will be using some of my electricity.” Lily’s mouth had been hanging open all through Daisy’s explanation. She shut it with a snap. “Nobody told me they were offering money for that!” “And how long did you let them talk before you slammed the door in their face?” Daisy asked, grinning. Lily’s face turned lemon-sour. “Okay, point taken. But what do those things even do? I don’t want some weird bit of human stuff hanging off of my shop, especially when it’s also my home!” Daisy shrugged and sipped her coffee. “I think the one in charge said it was a ‘wireless network’. I guess it works a little like a radio?” “Wait, wait…” Lily waved a hoof, frowning. “You mean, it’s just for human radio broadcasts?” “I guess so?” Daisy shrugged again. “I don’t really know, but it seems likely. A pony named Radio Wave was with them. I guess he’s from Manehattan, where he works on radio towers.” Lily perked up at that. “Oh! Is he cute?” Daisy giggled at that. Pinkie, who was busily pretending to clean a non-existent dirty spot from a nearby countertop, didn’t bother correcting their misunderstanding about the wireless network. This was partially because she didn’t want them to know she’d still been listening, but mostly because she had no idea how to explain what it really was. Some customers came in then, and Pinkie had to stop her eavesdropping so she could take their order. By the time she’d gotten them their food, Daisy and Lily had finished up and were already halfway out the door. With a sigh, Pinkie got back to her chores. The humans sure had stirred things up, Pinkie reflected. Pinkie stopped mid-chore, tilting her head as a thought struck her. Ponies had herds. A group of bears, she knew, was called a sleuth, and beavers had colonies. Birds had flocks and wolves had packs. And, of course, everypony knew that a group of alligators was called a congregation. But she had no idea what a group of humans was called! Pinkie made a mental note to ask Sunflower when she saw her next. This led her to think over her plans for the party she was going to throw for the humans before they left. And time, like it sometimes did, played that game where it suddenly went by much too fast, and before Pinkie even knew it was lunchtime, there was Mrs. Cake tapping her on the shoulder. There was probably some calculation that explained how quickly time flew when you were having fun, and by what amount. There was probably some complicated mathemagical equation that would allow a pony to figure out exactly how much fun you were having by how quickly time passed, and vice-versa. Twilight would probably know, but she was still in Canterlot learning how to be a Dream-poker, though her latest letter said she’d be coming back tomorrow. Pinkie realized that she was forgetting something. A second nudge on her shoulder reminded her what it was. “Yes, Mrs. Cake?” Pinkie asked, blinking up at the older mare. “Time for your lunch, dearie. You can take the rest of the afternoon off,” the mare replied with a very special smile. It was one that most ponies had, a smile that showed how much you cared for the pony you were talking to. Mrs. Cake had gotten really good at that one now that she was a mom. Pinkie smiled back, trying her best to match Mrs. Cake’s. And, since she loved Mrs. Cake very, very much, it was pretty darned close. “Okie dokie! I’m gonna go get Mister Hugglebunny and head out.” Mrs. Cake’s smile became a little stiff. If Pinkie hadn’t known better, she’d have sworn that the older mare was maybe just a bit creeped out by her new friend. “Okay, Pinkie. You have fun!” Mister Hugglebunny was on his nightstand, looking especially dapper in his new clothes. Rarity had taken one look at Pinkie’s amateur sewing job, which had the tablet nearly falling out of the front of Mister Hugglebunny’s overalls, and had immediately insisted on fitting the stuffed rabbit with a new pair out of dark blue denim. Now the tablet was nice and snug, all cuddled up on the plush bunny’s tummy, the wire for his charger exiting out of one of his pockets. Pinkie poked him, whispered “Time to get up!” in his ear and unplugged him. She put him on her back, went downstairs, and was soon out in the clear afternoon sun of Ponyville. The market was bustling, though not as much as usual. Many ponies had filled up their houses with food the previous week, when the papers had convinced them that a massive wave of changelings was about to conquer all of Equestria. When that turned out not to happen, there were quite a few ponies trying to hide their embarrassment about having filled up their spare rooms with as much food as they could get their hooves on. It had been good for the market ponies and farmers, though. Still, there were plenty of ponies shopping, and Pinkie was wearing herself out waving to all of her friends who, of course, was everypony. Mister Hugglebunny got a few odd looks, but then, he usually did. Pinkie was a mare with a mission, today. Two days ago, she found out that Sunflower was coming back from Sweet Apple Acres and spending the afternoons in the movie theater, which was suddenly and mysteriously closed for business. When Pinkie had asked her about it, Sunflower had simply winked and said, “It’s a surprise!” Pinkie loved surprises, usually. But that was only for surprises that were actually a surprise. To know about a surprise but having to wait for days and days to find out what it actually was made Pinkie’s brain itch. She just had to know! And, so, today was the day for finding Sunflower, turning on the puppy-dog eyes, and pestering her until she spilled the secret. It was the only tactic Pinkie had left. Nothing else had worked, not even a box of freshly-baked snickerdoodles! “I wonder if Sunflower is done with her work at Sweet Apple Acres?” Pinkie asked Mister Hugglebunny. “If she did, then she’s probably at her house. Oh, I hope she’s learning all sorts of cool earth pony stuff out there. I wonder if I should teach her some of my own tricks?” Slumped lazily across her back, Mister Hugglebunny’s silence spoke volumes. Pinkie sighed. “Yeah, you’re right,” she said. “I’d better let her get the basic stuff down first. Thanks, Mister Hugglebunny!” The rabbit on her back made that “bing!” sound that let her know that he had been listening. After a few seconds, his somber voice said, “I’m sorry, Pinkie Pie. I didn’t quite catch that.” “Oh, don’t worry about it,” Pinkie said. She continued on her way at a steady walk. She would have tried her usual pronking, but Mister Hugglebunny didn’t have the best grip strength in his plush little paws. She found Sunflower standing outside of her house for some reason. The mare was across the street, standing in the shade of a tree, staring up at her roof with her eyes half-lidded. The weird little smile on her face looked a little like the one a pony got when they were looking at the last cupcake in a box and nopony else was around to take it first. When Pinkie got closer, she noticed that her friend was humming a tuneless little song. Pinkie sidled up next to Sunflower and looked where she was looking. There were several humans up on the roof and, as far as Pinkie could tell, all of them were male. A couple of them weren’t wearing shirts, which Pinkie found strange. She’d never seen a half-clothed human before. But Sunflower had grown up seeing humans, so that couldn’t be what she was so interested in. Pinkie decided to ask her. “Whatcha looking at?” Pinkie asked brightly. “Gah!” Sunflower replied, jumping in place. She blinked, and then she said, “Pinkie!” “Yup!” “You startled me!” “I wasn’t trying to.” Pinkie tilted her head at her. “You didn’t notice me walk up next to you?” Sunflower blinked a couple more times, then cleared her throat and looked away while she scuffed the ground with a hoof. “Uh… No?” “Oh.” Pinkie considered that for a moment, then shrugged. It probably wasn’t important. “So, what were you looking at?” “Nothing!” Sunflower yelped. Then she cleared her throat. “Nothing. I was just… uh… trying to figure out how much work was left on the solar tiles.” Pinkie used her own peepers to ponder the problem. “Looks like they’re a little over halfway, Sunflower,” she said. “That means they’ll be done by this weekend, probably, right?” Sunflower sighed. “Yeah, I suppose so.” She glanced up at the shirtless humans on the roof and muttered, “It was fun while it lasted, I guess.” Pinkie frowned as she looked at the humans. Sunflower had said “fun”. Something about the other humans being here was fun. Something about them leaving made Sunflower a little sad. She watched as one of the humans, a darker-skinned one Pinkie knew as Lucas, stretched his arms over his head then rubbed a shoulder. He certainly had some clearly-defined muscles and a distressing lack of body fat, she noted. Next to her, Sunflower let out a little sigh. Gears turned in Pinkie’s head and eventually it clicked. She had just figured out why Sunflower was sad! Oh, why couldn’t she have figured it out before! On impulse, she hugged her friend, who turned to her with a confused expression. “I know what’s bothering you,” Pinkie said. Sunflower’s eyes got really big for half a second, so Pinkie hurried to add, “Maybe we can invite some of the humans to stay here, so you don’t have to be the only human in Ponyville. What do you think?” Sunflower looked confused for a second, then smiled. “Not a half-bad idea, Pinkie, but I don’t think these particular ones will want to stay.” Pinkie’s ears drooped. “Oh. Well… maybe some new humans will show up and want to stay! You can have all sorts of human friends, so you won’t be lonely!” The smile that broke out on Sunflower’s face warmed Pinkie’s heart. It didn’t hurt that she also found herself on the receiving end of a fierce hug from the other mare. “I’m never lonely in Ponyville, Pinkie,” Sunflower said. “How can I be? You live here!” Pinkie’s heart swelled with joy and her smile got so wide her face could barely hold it all. “So, anyway,” Sunflower said, “I’ve been thinking about that surprise, and I decided I’d show you as long as you promise not to tell anypony else.” Pinkie, who by this point had forgotten all about her super-important mission, gaped at the other mare for a moment. Then she let out an ear-sundering shriek of pure joy and jumped in the air, doing a double-backflip before landing back on her hooves. “You will?!” “Uh…” Sunflower glanced at her own back, where Mister Hugglebunny had landed during Pinkie’s sudden outbreak of gymnastics. “Yeah, sure.” “Hurray!” Pinkie cheered. And then, just to show she really meant it, she did a cartwheel. Sunflower giggled. “As a reward, I will allow you to carry Mister Hugglebunny,” Pinkie said. “Oh, I couldn’t—” Pinkie put on her serious face. “I have another reason,” she said in her serious voice. “What’s that?” “I feel the need to do a lot of bouncing, and he can’t hold on all that well.” Sunflower chuckled. “Got it.” The two of them made their way to the movie theater, with Sunflower walking and Pinkie Pie pronking along joyfully. They didn’t talk much, though that might have been because Pinkie was humming a cheerful little ditty to herself. It was a song she’d been working on for a while, but she didn’t have all the words to yet. When they reached the Ponyville theater, Sunflower knocked. After a minute, the dark grey stallion who owned the place opened the door. “Hi, Mister Lantern,” Pinkie said, waving. The other pony broke into a wide grin. “Hullo, Pinkie,” Shadow Lantern replied in his Trottingham accent. “An’ Miss Sunflower. Was hopin’ you’d be back today, I was. The ‘lectrician pulled an all-nighter, and the workponies got everythin’ else set up this mornin’, sweet as popcorn. I was jes’ about to fire it up for a test. You can be my first audience!” “That’s great!” Sunflower tipped Pinkie a wink as they followed the stallion inside. “You’re gonna love this.” Sunflower led her to the theater’s seats, where she sat down and faced the screen. Mister Hugglebunny got his own seat on Sunflower’s left side. Pinkie didn’t join them at first, instead looking around and trying to figure out where the surprise was. Sunflower nudged her in the ribs. “Pinkie, sit down.” “But what’s the surprise?” Sunflower rolled her eyes and patted the seat next to her. “You’re about to see it.” It clicked, and Pinkie felt a little slow for not realizing earlier. “You brought a human movie!” Sunflower snickered at that. “Not exactly.” The lights went out. There was a click, a hum, and then music. A sepia-toned lion inside a circle with writing on it showed up on the movie screen. The lion roared, but without any of the flickering images or fuzzy sound that Pinkie was used to when watching a movie. In fact, this image looked almost as clear as the screen that Sunflower had given to them to watch movies on. As the lion roared, Sunflower leaned over and whispered, “I brought a whole bunch of movies, and a digital projector with wireless remote speakers, too.” The lion faded away, and a title screen came on. “The Wizard of Oz,” Pinkie read aloud. “I figured this would be a good movie to show everypony on the first human movie day,” Sunflower said. Pinkie, overcome with emotion, smiled at her friend and then gathered her up in a big hug. “Oh, I love you so much, Sunflower!” Giggling, Sunflower hugged Pinkie back before giving her a little push. “Oh, just watch the movie, you silly filly.” Pinkie did so. After a few minutes, she asked, “So, I’m guessing the cow doesn’t have any lines?” Sunflower just laughed. ~~*Changeling*~~ The changeling sat up expectantly in its tiny cell. Someone was coming, someone with an aura both sharp and somehow warm. Someone who, unlike the guards it could sense on the other side of the thick steel door, actually wanted to be here. It was a familiar aura, one the changeling was surprised to find that it was eager to be near again. The door opened, allowing the human named Raka into the cell. She looked around with a disdainful sniff. “I see they’ve at least brought in some furnishings,” she said. It was true. The bench that had been the only furniture had been replaced with a low couch. There was also the addition of several cushions on the floor, big enough for the changeling to curl up and sleep in. The guard who had dropped them off had mentioned that they were dog beds. He had seemed oddly disappointed when the changeling had simply thanked him for them. They were oddly comfortable. The red one was its favorite. “Yes,” the changeling said. It hopped off the bench and gestured towards it with one hole-riddled hoof. “Please, make yourself comfortable.” “Are you sure?” The changeling nodded. “I’m just as comfortable on the floor as I am on the bench,” it said. “Well, thank you.” Raka sat down. Then she regarded the changeling curiously for a few minutes. “So, can we pick up where we left off yesterday?” “If you wish,” the changeling said. Answering a few questions in return for being treated well seemed a fair trade, after all. “First things first, though. I can’t keep calling you ‘changeling’, so I decided to give you a name.” The changeling blinked. “Why? I told you about my designation, didn’t I?” “You did, but it’s a mouthful. Having a simple name to call you by is just easier.” The changeling considered this, then nodded. “I have no objections. If anything, I’m curious as to what you would name me.” “Well, I have a few ideas. My first one is ‘Riddle’.” “Riddle,” the changeling repeated. “Interesting choice. Why?” “Well, I’m trying to figure out more about you.” Raka smiled and spread her hands out before her in a gesture that the changeling recognized as a shrug. “It seemed appropriate, I guess.” “Riddle,” the changeling repeated. It thought about it for a long moment. “I find this acceptable. I’m Riddle.” Raka snorted and shot him a bemused smile. “Don’t you want to hear my other choices?” Riddle shook its head. “No need. I like Riddle.” It smiled. “Besides, I think I like it better than ‘Puzzle’ or ‘Conundrum’, and those seem to be obvious second choices.” Warm laughter filled the room, and Riddle felt something completely unexpected from the human. A burst of warmth, a trickle of affection. It had been days since Riddle had last fed on any kind of love, and in its surprise, it almost missed its chance. The warm light from the human was small and nowhere near sufficient to sate its hunger, but it was still very welcome. Riddle realized that there was now a chance for survival. Somehow, this Raka cared for it, even if just a little bit, without it being disguised as somepony else. Optimism wasn’t a very familiar concept to changelings, but Riddle was finding the experience enjoyable. “So, what else do you want to know?” Riddle asked. “We were going to discuss the various levels of changelings in a hive yesterday,” Raka said as she flipped through a notebook. “You mentioned something about changelings being able to go up levels?” “Except for workers, yes,” Riddle replied. “Soldiers, like myself, can be… well, promoted, I guess. For each promotion, the changeling will be fed an overabundance of love nectar, which will allow them to grow larger, stronger, and smarter. When one reaches the rank of Captain, part of the change is that they may choose a gender, and even reproduce.” “So, you’re currently asexual?” Raka asked as she scribbled in her notebook. “Yes,” Riddle said. “Though, I was speculating towards female, should I ever make it that far.” It grimaced. “I won’t have that option, now. I will be a soldier for the rest of my life.” “Oh, never say never,” Raka replied absentmindedly, still taking notes. Riddle blinked at her, waiting for her to catch up and ask another question. “Why female?” Raka asked eventually. “Most soldiers are inclined towards females,” came Riddle’s prompt reply. “Since none but generals, nymphs, and Chrysalis herself can produce soldiers, Captains and higher are needed to maintain a supply of worker drones. That can be more easily accomplished with a larger number of females.” Raka grimaced at that. When Riddle had explained about the workers, she’d shown some distaste towards the idea of an entire class of changelings, smaller and weaker than the others and barely sapient, whose only duty was to do the dirty work of the hive. “Such a structured life, where even your breeding is so regulated,” Raka said. “I’m frankly amazed that you are so willingly giving us so much information. Doesn’t it bother you that we might be able to use this information against your queen?” “Not my queen any longer,” Riddle said. “Should she ever find my mind again, she will crush it. She has to know that I won’t be subject to her will over here, and since I’m captured… Well. She doesn’t have the same option as she does for other changeling prisoners.” “Which is?” “Misinformation,” Riddle said. “Ordinarily, you can do whatever you like to a changeling prisoner. You can beat them, abuse them, any torture at all, and yet they’ll only tell you exactly what Chrysalis wants. It’s a wonderful way to spread lies amongst the enemy, and the queen has never been one to turn down an advantage.” Raka frowned at Riddle, and then at her notebook. “How can I trust what you’re telling me now, then?” “The gate is closed. I’m not being controlled by Chrysalis right now." “That doesn’t mean you’re automatically telling the truth,” Raka pointed out. Riddle considered this for a long moment, then shrugged. “I guess you have no way of knowing. I may be lying right now, though I have no reason to do so. For all you know, everything out of my mouth has been a lie.” Suspicion grew in the human, tainting the room with a sour, acidic tang. “So why should I believe you’re telling the truth?” “I have no reason not to, and my survival depends on your goodwill,” Riddle replied with a shrug. “I’ve been telling you the truth this whole time. After all, the queen isn’t in my head, forcing my mouth shut while you burn me and pluck out my eyes, allowing me to speak only when my torturers are convinced I’m thoroughly broken, and thus accepting the lies she feeds me as the absolute truth.” Nausea replaced the suspiciousness that clouded the air between Raka and Riddle. “You say that as if it’s happened before,” she said. “Oh, it has. To another soldier of the generation before mine, who was disguised as a merchant’s guardpony and captured by a band of griffon bandits. The information that Chrysalis gave them prompted them to move their territory several miles further south, which shifted trade routes as merchants moved to avoid their new territory. Thus bringing those merchants closer to our hive, which made it much easier for our soldiers to replace them.” Riddle shrugged. “Naturally, other changelings disguised as guards showed up to disperse the bandits before they could follow through on their plans of eating the prisoner. Our disguises fail when we die. It would have ruined the plan.” “Well, at least they rescued it,” Raka muttered. Riddle tilted its head. “Rescue? No, of course not. What use is a crippled soldier that will never recover?” Outrage joined the nausea that filled the room, tainting the air in reds and oranges. “They killed it,” Raka said. Riddle shrugged. “You’ve asked before why I don’t feel what you call ‘loyalty’ for the queen.” “I think I know why, now,” Raka said, looking away. Riddle looked at her, considering how much further these emotions could be pushed. Sympathy often led to affection, it knew, but too much horror might drive Raka away, and humans were an unknown quantity. “Do you know how many changelings died when we tried to take Canterlot?” Riddle asked eventually. Raka blinked and her brows lowered before she replied. Her confusion tinged the air. “No, I don’t.” “Neither do I. Neither did Chrysalis. We’re all replaceable to her, so she never bothered counting. She just ordered her generals and daughters to begin producing replacements. Her defeat was far more important than our deaths, which was an inconvenience, but hardly tragic. All I know was how empty the hive felt. And so many wounded… Those unable to recover were no longer useful, of course, so the number of wounded dropped off quite rapidly.” Raka looked away. Riddle watched silently, paying close attention to the emotions she was emitting. Finally the human cleared her throat. “I think I have enough for now.” Riddle nodded. It waited a few seconds while Raka turned and walked towards the door. Just before she knocked, it called out. “Raka?” Raka, her hand raised to knock, turned and looked back. “Yes?” “Thank you for my new name,” Riddle replied. “I like it very much.” Raka offered up a wavering smile, then rapped on the metal door. After she’d left, Riddle curled up in its red doggie bed, nose-to-tail, and considered the future. Raka would no doubt process all of what had been said. On her return, she would be so full of sympathy that she would almost subconsciously begin emitting more affection. Perhaps even enough to sustain Riddle for the foreseeable future. ~~*Chrysalis*~~ If it were to be mapped, the hive of the changelings would look a little like an enormous cone. The bulk of it was underground, with a few disguised openings in the dry, hilly countryside that made up the area the ponies called the Badlands. The higher up one was, the higher in rank they were. Generals and the six princess nymphs lived on the top layer, with hugely opulent chambers. Officers made up the second level. Their chambers were much more spartan, but they didn’t have to share. One level further down was where the common soldiery lived, huddled together in large rooms when they slept. Workers had no need for sleep, so they had no rooms of their own. Instead, they simply worked until they died. Various chambers were below the soldiers’, some for growing the fungi that made up the bulk of the changelings’ physical diet and others for the prisoners that fed them emotionally. Further down were the hatcheries, as well as large rooms for storage and for training. There was even a library, one that rivaled the Royal Library in Canterlot. It was in this library that Chrysalis found herself. She had an ancient tome suspended in her magical field, open to a particular page. The header of the page read “The Last Prophecy of Queen Morphia”, and it contained a prophecy that was over a thousand years old. It had come to Queen Morphia in a vision during Nightmare Moon’s first attempt at bringing an eternal night. The old queen had been planning her next move, now that Equestria was short one princess. Then the fit came over her and she had dropped to the ground, limbs quaking and jittering, as she shrieked out this prophecy. Queen Chrysalis read the words once again, though she’d long since memorized them. To a world unknown, a single deceiver journeys Cast into the uncharted land, an alliance forged. Capture control of the sun and moon. Canterlot broken, cast down from the mountain. The changelings shall rise, the one true Queen shall rule the changelings forevermore. This wasn’t the first prophecy Queen Morphia had produced, but it was the one that had cost her the most physically. By the time she was done with the recitation, she was barely able to resist as her daughters devoured her. Three days later, once the fighting between them had ended with the deaths of all but one nymph, the newly-ascended Queen Ethereal had risen to the throne. Chrysalis snorted, a wry smile etching across her features. She had first encountered this prophecy while still a nymph herself, barely hatched and competing with her sisters for favor and advantage in the court of Queen Phantasm. From the moment she had first seen it, she had been determined to be the one true queen that the prophecy foretold. It was a misinterpretation of this prophecy that had led her to her ill-fated attempt to conquer Canterlot. “A single deceiver” had certainly meant a lone changeling. After planning for years, she had come to the conclusion that the “world unknown” meant Canterlot, and “uncharted land” could mean marriage, for no queen of the hive ever married. The alliance forged would then obviously mean her subjugated husband and whatever resources he would bring to her cause. Wishful thinking, she knew now. Still, when she had managed to bring down Celestia, she had taken that as proof that she had been right all along. But now she knew she had it right. Sending a single changeling to Earth had been something of a whim, prompted solely by the first two lines of the prophecy. After her disappointing attempt to conquer Equestria, she hadn’t expected very much from her new “single deceiver”. But now, an alliance was on the horizon. An alliance with a creature of unknown power. Chrysalis eyed the soldier that stood unmoving next to her. With Chrysalis’ own power suppressing the changeling’s mind, the Infiltrator had taken it over quite easily. Its movements were still somewhat awkward but were improving at an impressive rate. The gift of the soldier was both an attempt to curry favor with her strange new allies and a means to facilitate communication. Already, that gift was bearing fruit; the Infiltrator was an expert in strange magics completely unknown to the changelings, and had been teaching the changeling elite. The first spell it had shared had been a counter to the changeling-detection spells the ponies were using. It made the changeling casting it so unremarkable, so unnoticeable, that it would most likely be ignored by even the most attentive guards. The applications of such a spell were numerous, the implications staggering. Chrysalis held up the book near her right shoulder, where the Infiltrator could see it. “Does this mean anything to you?” The Infiltrator glanced at the page. “Yes,” it said. “This is part of a larger prophecy. It speaks of the liberation of our world.” “From the humans?” Chrysalis asked. The Infiltrator didn’t answer. It did that sometimes. Chrysalis scowled. “You promised assistance, correct?” “Correct.” “What is the rest of your prophecy?” Chrysalis already had a quill and scroll held in her magic, and she wrote quickly as the Infiltrator relayed the rest of the prophecy: “Dreamers in the maelstrom, the chaos breaks the crystal chains Magic flows, the mountain torn asunder The lost are found, the deceiver grows powerful A Goddess will arise to break time’s hold.” Queen Chrysalis’ eyes gleamed with greed. “A goddess?” she repeated, then licked her lips. “I like the sound of that.” She eyed the Infiltrator. “Am I to be that goddess?” The Infiltrator took a moment to answer. “It is a possible outcome.” Chrysalis could have danced with glee. “This Caretaker of yours, I assume he knows all this?” Again, there was that moment of hesitation. “The Caretaker will serve the Goddess when she walks the lands of Paradise.” Joyful laughter rebounded off the walls of the changelings’ library. Chrysalis did dance, then, spinning in a graceful circle. “I’m to be a goddess of two worlds!” she cried as she came to a halt. “Three, if I can bring the humans in line. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” The Infiltrator didn’t answer. This time, Chrysalis didn’t notice the silence, caught up as she was in her dreams. Eventually, she calmed. Now was a time for planning. She made her way to the Queen’s council chamber, sending a mental command to summon her daughters and her generals as she did so. Though communication could take place over any distance, Chrysalis still preferred to be face-to-face with those under her direct command. She liked to see them obeying her. They were all there by the time she arrived. Dozens of glowing azure eyes turned to her as she swept her way to her throne. “My children,” Chrysalis intoned. “We have plans to make. A time of great change is upon us, one that will see the changeling race changed forever.” She turned to the Infiltrator. “What are your thoughts on how to begin?” The Infiltrator didn’t respond for a few seconds. When its answer finally came, every changeling in the room heard it. “First, you must capture those who can control the sun and moon… “