//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9 
// Story: My Little Pony: the Harmony of Friendship 
// by Godzilla313 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 9

The twins went back and started to pack what few earthly goods they had and prepared for their new life.  They were still rattled over what they had done, knowing that hurting people was the last thing they ever wanted to do.  They had not killed anyone, but considering what happened to their attackers, they might as well have been dead.  In fact, one might have called it a fate worse than death.  It was bad enough they had done this.  It was worse knowing you could have avoided this by just believing what you had been told and going with it.  However, Sunset did what she could to console them on the way back, because she knew that this could hurt their chances over in the other world.  Going over all depressed would not help matters much.

While on the way back, they were dead silent all the way.  They were still breaking into tears from time to time, and even muttering something about wishing something befall them as just desserts for their actions.  Now THAT was unhealthy thinking!  She couldn’t let that go and got right in front of them stopping them in their tracks, and saying, “That will be quite enough of that!”
“We proverbially murdered three people tonight!” shouted Quill, now feeling the need to let it out.  Sunset wanted to say something for the sharp rebuke, but she also knew they had to let it out, so she let it go, and said, “Stop thinking like that.  You didn’t murder them.  Look, there is such a thing as self-defense, you know.  They would have done worse to you if you had not acted.  You…”
Now she was fishing for words now, trying to figure out how to frame it.  She then said, “Okay, I know you hate fighting and hurting others.  They had weapons, and would have killed you if they could have gotten away with it, and we right after, because we would not have just stood there and let it happen.  Tell me, Downy, what made you decide to sing?”
She swallowed and said, “I knew what might happen, and I knew it might be the only way to act,” but then she quickened the pace of her speech and said, “…but I never intended to use it as a weapon!”
She put one hand one each of their shoulders and said, “Yes, I know.  You were desperate, and you had no idea what it was going to do.  You were in fear for your life, and you acted in the only way you thought you could.  You couldn’t have stopped them physically, but you could with your music, though you knew you didn’t have control over the power that came from it.”
“But…” sputtered Quill, but Sunset said, “Stop.  You have to forgive yourself.  I know that’s easy to say, but you just have to.  Truth is, you saved your sister, and you saved us.  Okay, it was probably overkill, but ask yourselves, what was the alternative?”
They fell silent now, and could not say anything in return.  She just let that settle in, because she knew that thinking about it would probably be the best thing for them now.  Nonetheless, she didn’t expect them all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed the next day, knowing that they probably not have gotten over what happened, made worse by their entire world changing.  At that, Sunset thought, “Oh dear Celestia!  They’re going to change in huge ways when they cross over.  I have to get their minds ready for it so they don’t panic or go into shock again when they get over there.”
She then told them, “Do you two have any money?”
“We do have bank accounts where we’ve kept our allowances,” answered Downy.
“Good,” she answered back, “We’re going to your bank tomorrow and you are going to empty them out and close the accounts.  Then, we’re going to go get breakfast, and we’re going to have a feast.  It will be your last fling in this world, or last if you want to stay when you go over, so you might as well not worry about price. You won’t be needing it over there, anyway, and there is no exchange rates for human money and pony money.  I have some things you are going to need to know.  So, go back, get it ready, and be ready to go early, preferably before everyone is awake.  I’ll try to distract the people at the desk so they don’t see you slip by with all your worldly possessions.”
With that, they arrived at the shelter, and they went to prepare.

They went right to bed when they finished, knowing they would have to get up early.  Indeed, they did, and moved quickly and carefully, hoping they would not be noticed taking all their goods with them.  Granted, it was not much, but they had their instruments along with the few clothes, personal effects, and memoirs they had.  Most important to them was the photo album of the foster parents they spent the most time with and had the most peace.  Those memories were ones they never wanted to leave behind.  The one thing they had to do was leave and not have any suspicions be thrown on Sunset.  Therefore, they waited for the maintenance crew to come in the back service entrance before the shelter was officially open, hid among the stuff in the store room near that door, and as soon as maintenance went past to go hang their coats, they quickly slipped out.  They waited in the alley until they saw Sunset pass by and signaled her over.  Once that was done, they led her away from the front entrance and took a roundabout way to the bank.  They explained their actions as to why they were meeting her in this way, and Sunset realized the risk she was taking.  Sure, she had a bag with her as well as she was going to be there for a spell while the twins got settled, but there might be some issues with her if it seemed that she aided them in running away. Agreeing that there might be issues, she went with it, but she also told them that Twilight was working some “magic” of her own, and by the time they had their things unpacked in Equestria, any actual evidence that they had ever existed would be stricken from the record.  Only those who actually knew them would remember them, but with now no trace of them left behind or any proof they ever were, there was nothing they could do to pursue them.  They got to the bank, and Sunset waited a few shops down so as no one could make any connections.  It took a good half hour to get it done, considering some red tape in closing the accounts needed to be done, but they came out, ready to go get some food.

They picked a rather nice place to eat breakfast, and they ordered the finest things they could.  Yet, they still seemed a bit down, though not as bad as the night before.  They were wondering what her bag was all about, but she said she’d explain later, and just started off by asking, “So, how are you feeling?”
After trying to find the words, Quill finally said, “Well, what you told us last night, it kind of took the sting off it after we had some time to think about it.  It still stinks what happened, and we’re still kicking ourselves a bit, but…”
Quill stopped, not sure of the words, and Downy, able to finish his thoughts from time to time, jumped in and said, “…it’s strange: we feel like we can’t forgive ourselves, but after what you said, we are wondering if there is anything we need to be forgiven of.”
Sunset then said, “Believe me, forgiving yourself after a bad mistake is one of the hardest things you can do; believe me when I tell you I understand!  But, you know what?  I learned to tell myself that my past does not define me.  It may have made me what I am, but it was because I learned from that past, and it made sure I was never like that again.  Therefore, that past does not define who I am now.  Instead, learn from this what being given this kind of power means.  Remember this, and do all you can to make sure you don’t repeat the same mistakes.  And, I think, once you start to learn some basics, you’ll be able to avoid doing something like that ever again.”
They both nodded, having looks on their faces that basically said that they were still a bit down, but that they would be able to make it.  Downy then said, “But, last night, you said there were some things we’d need to know.”
“Ah, yes…that…” she said, taking a breath and blowing it out.  She sipped her coffee and said, “Enjoy this meal and the sights of this world, because things are going to radically change for you.  First of all, let me tell you about Equestria.”
They now ate and listened intently as she taught.

“Equestria is a world devoid of humans, where there are several sentient beings: griffons, dragons, cows, buffaloes, donkeys, minotaur, even goats and sheep, to name a few.  The majority of them are quadruped, but the majority of sentient beings are, well, ponies, made up of three kinds: unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies—what we would call normal ponies, considering that the first two don’t exist here.”
“Well, you said we’re…unicorns,” interrupted Quill, uneasy in thinking that they were not actually human, and still not yet used to the idea of that, “so, why are we humans here?”
“Well, I can’t remember if I told you this, but…I’m not human either,” she answered.  Even if she had mentioned it, they could not remember if she did, because she really didn’t go into a lot of details at the time.  Moreover, at the time they learned all this, the thought never came up to explain why they were humans there, or why Princess Twilight was also human, but because of the denial that the twins were somewhat living in, they did not ask for details.  It still seemed a bit unreal to them, but now things were about to change radically, and they now wanted to know everything.  Sunset them went into the story of how she got there, and how it was that, when she and Princess Twilight crossed over, they were deposited here as humans.  She had no explanation as to why, but it was what it was, and she just accepted it.  Of course, common sense made the twins then conclude the obvious, and Downy said, “So, what you are saying is that, we’ll become unicorns when we get there ourselves?”
“That’s about the size of it,” answered Sunset, “and because of that, I wanted to talk to you and help you mentally prepare for the change if I can.”
Before she could, Quill then said, “So, you’re saying you could have been like this Princess Twilight…”
“And, yes, I blew it,” finished Sunset, “But, Princess Celestia has given me amnesty and is going to let it all go if I come over for a while and help Princess Twilight and her friends get you used to living over there.”
“Hmm…” pondered Downy, “The principal and vice-principal are the doubles of…what did you call them…Oh, alicorns, yes.  It is going to seem interesting to see them over there like that.”
“In any case, they are going to help you as well,” answered Sunset, “They’re going to you have you meet them when you get there and stay at Canterlot Castle.”
“They have high schools in castles?” asked Quill, to which Sunset laughed and said, “Oh no, silly!  In fact, things are different there.”
She then went on to talk about pony culture and how foals are educated.  One thing that was of fierce importance was for a pony to gain a cutie mark: a mark that showed a special talent a pony has which is then turned to bettering all of pony society.  Normally, they get as far as what they would know as a middle school education, which almost all ponies would have their marks by that point, and then spend time focusing all their efforts focusing on their talent or talents, (for a pony could have more than one,) and usually apprenticed under someone of similar skills.  Therefore, what would be considered as pony higher education was learning one’s trade, with universities being there for the purpose of honing one’s talent if the pony felt the need.  Therefore, whereas in this world, they would be still living at home and going to school, in Equestria, they would be already living on their own, working a trade.  Thus, ponies matured faster in Equestria than their human counterparts would, and so when Quill and Downy were told they would get a new start, this was very literal.  It was then that Sunset said, “But, the main thing I wanted to deal with is your transformations.”
That caused them to pause and look askance at Sunset, and Downy then said, “I’m not sure I am going to like that.”
“Hey, I’m going to have to readjust myself after walking on two legs and eating meat for so long,” she answered, shuddering about how she ate here someone that could have been her next door neighbor, “But I wanted to warn you ahead of time to try to take some of the punch out of the change that’s going to happen.”
“So, we’re going to be on all fours as well?” Quill asked somewhat rhetorically.
“Um, yes,” answered Sunset, “And, you won’t have hands.”
“Hold on!” he protested, “How are we going to function?  You said our talents would be in music; how are we going to play instruments with no hands!”
“Slow down, there Cochise,” answered Sunset, trying to calm Quill down, “We play music, build houses, farm, play sports, but we have our ways of doing it, even without hands.  We have adequate music teachers there who will teach you how to use your new limbs, so don’t worry.  Also, because we three are unicorns, we have an advantage of being able to use some telekinesis magic.  It’s normally the first thing a foal learns how to control, and does it so much that it becomes second nature, using that in place of hands.  However, one thing you will learn how to do is use your mouths as appendages, and there are ways for you to actually hold things.  Understand that ponies have physically adapted over many millennia, and the flesh in between the…for the lack of a better term…fingernail portion of our fore hoofs, we’ve adapted to be able to squeeze it on things and be able to pick it up.  We’ve also adapted to where we can hold something between the hoof and wrist, but indeed, without thumbs, we also use our mouths and, in our case, our levitation magic.  You’ll get used to it, though I am going to warn you that it is going to be instinctive for you to try to flex what used to be hands and fingers, and it is going to feel very awkward that you can’t move them.  It will feel like you are using your fingertips to walk, and you may even have sore wrist muscles for a time because of the muscles that you use to use your fingers and hands I guarantee you will be trying to use out of instinct and straining yourselves trying to make that stiff feeling you will feel in your fore hoofs feel normal and comfortable.  That is going to be the hardest part: adapting to the physical changes, going about on all fours, and how to function to where all that seems natural.  Know it is not going to be easy.”
The twins sighed, having a guess as to how hard this might end up being, but Sunset assured them, “Hey, you two are fighters.  You’ve adapted to chance quite frequently, and I am sure this will serve you well.”
“You also said something about eating before, though,” said Downy, “Knowing equines are herbivores, then I am guessing that we will be so as well.”
“That’s about the size of it,” answered Sunset, “But, we still get proteins, and that’s normally through eggs.  Yes, we eat eggs.  The vast majority of chicken eggs we eat are not fertilized, so no harm is being done.  That being said, we are herbivores, but don’t worry: we don’t graze!”
Sunset said this with a grin and a roll of her eyes as if to say how unsightly it would be for ponies to just go out and eat the lawn, as if they had evolved past that, and that actually caused the twins to giggle a bit.  Sunset then said, “But we do eat produce, but we also eat grains—raw, but also in breads, cakes, and baked goods—and, well, hay.”
At that, the twins both gave a “gross!” look, but Sunset said, “Hey, don’t worry.  We ponies think straight hay is bland as well, and we really do know how to dress it up to where it is okay to eat.  Also, we eat flowers, and before you retch at the thought, know that, to a pony tongue, they actually taste good.  Yet, it is best to get them from a florist, because they know the ones that are safe to eat, and the ones that are toxic, so don’t go eating wild flowers unless you really know what you are eating.  They actually have good flavor, and some are sweet, some are tart, and they really can enhance a good sandwich.”
They gave her the “really?” look, and Sunset said, “Just take my word for it.  We’ll get you started on small amounts until you get used to it and find out what you like.”
“Okay, but what about the people…ponies…you know what I mean,” said Quill, “How do they live?  How do they travel?”
“Well, we don’t have cars, if that’s what you’re asking,” answered Sunset, “You’re going to find yourselves a lot stronger than you ever were here, because most ponies haul wagons when they need to move things, or go on long journeys, or just use saddle pouches to carry things.  We can actually go for many miles longer than any human.  However, for great distances, we do have a transit system of trains to get us from city to city.”
“Oh, so you have cities?” asked Downy, who then said, “Oh, but you must if you can build castles.”
“Oh yes,” answered Sunset, “And know it is a mix of modern technology with some old fashioned feel to things.  I mean, we have radio and records, paved roads in some towns and in the cities, and even mass transit in those cities and a sewage system, we do have cameras and film, but for whatever reason, we don’t have television, computers, and things like that.  I guess it has something to do with how commonplace magic is in Equestria, and where we would build technology to do some things, magic replaces it, so we’ve never had the need for some of the things we have here.  I guess the best way to put it is that we have what we would call modern technology when it seemed we would have a need for such things.  Perhaps one day there will be computers, and the concept of a tablet over there would not seem too farfetched, considering it’s all by touch, and you don’t need a lot of manipulation to use them, but only if ponies feel such things are needed.  Truth is, it is an odd mix, and a bit hard to describe, but it is its own world, this is for sure.”
They were finishing up their breakfast, and pondering all that they were told.  Quill finally conceded, “Okay, well, I guess it’s cool you told us ahead of time.  It’s better than being blindsided by all of this.”
“There’s more to learn,” added Sunset, “But it’s mostly details, and it’s best learned by experience.  In any case, I’d ask you two if there was any place around here that you wanted to see, but I have to know: how diligently do they check on things during weekends?”
“Normally, if we’re old enough, we’re left on our own and just let the front desk know where we’ll be and how long we’ll be gone,” answered Downy, “They don’t normally poke their heads in on days we don’t have to be up, for school, say.”
“Okay,” nodded Sunset, “So they won’t be noticing you’re gone anytime in the immediate future.  But, it won’t take all that long for people to notice you have not been around, especially when they don’t hear any singing or music coming from your room.  Once they poke their heads in and see your place cleaned out, they’re going to freak, but we should be long gone before then.  Still, we should go ahead and get us crossed over as soon as we can.  The longer we delay, the smaller our window gets before they start hunting for us.  That could get sticky.”
They nodded and pulled out their funds, leaving enough to pay the bill, but then took the rest of it and put it under the napkins and such.  Since they had no use for it anymore anyway, they just left it to be found.  The waitress was going to get the tip of a lifetime!

Before long, they were at the school and the statue, and they were surprised to see the other girls there to send them off, along with Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna.  The twins then said, “Wait, you know?”
“Well, with all the recent happenings in the school with this lot,” answered Celestia, “How could we not know?”
“We shall cover for you here,” said Luna, “We’ve gone through all your classrooms and removed any physical evidence you were ever here, and wiped you out of the records.”
“By this point,” said Twilight, “It should already be that you have never existed.  All your birth records they drew up for you here, school records, social security numbers, doctor appointments, even your records on the foster data bases, and any other way they could trace you, has been wiped out.  They will look for you, but without a paper trail so to speak, there won’t be much to go off.  They’ll question us, clearly, but we are going to deny any existence of you.”
They smiled as a tear rolled down Downy’s face, and she said, “You have really shown us what having good friends is like.  Thank you so much!  We are going to miss you.”
“Well, maybe,” said Sunset, “But, actually, I think you two are going to be pleasantly surprised when you get to the other side.”
They were going to ask, but Pinkie chimed in and said, “Oh, don’t ask, but make it fun by finding out!  What a great adventure you are going on!”
They both laughed and said deep thanks to the others.  They then spent a few moments hugging it out and saying individual good-byes while Sunset said, “I’ll go before you so you can see how this works.  All you have to do is step forward as if there was nothing there, like this.”
With that, she went through with no effort, and the twins knew this was it.  They turned back to the others and said, “I guess this is it,” taking one last good look around at the world they knew.  There was a slight bit of hesitation, but Celestia the said, “Think of it like this: this is the end of a sad life, and your rebirth into a happy one.  When you go through, treat it as if you have put it all behind you, every painful memory, mistake, struggle, and other things that have stood in your way, and that they are no more—they never happened.  Only remember the good lessons and memories from here and hold those close to your hearts.  They will aid you in your new lives.  It’s okay.  Sunset, when she returns, can give us reports, so do not worry about us.  This is your time, and this is your new chance.  Reach out and take it.”
They looked at them one last, turned around, took a deep breath, held hands, and then closed their eyes and stepped through…