Emma’s POV – A Message
It took a while to recover from that cut near the heart. I was a bit frazzled at the event, but I managed to get out of my moping state and go back to work on my project. A weapon to defend myself with. Originally, it was a special tool to help Twilight with some of her experiments. After that sudden attack however, I decided to change the design of my tool to something more offensive, as well as durable.
The modifications didn’t halt the finish date. In fact, I finally have it done, down to the point! Folding it up, I put it in my pocket. The materials of Equestria open up a lot of possibilities, yet they haven’t focused on upgrading their weaponry or their technology. It’s wasted opportunities passing by right now. Truly a shame.
“Hey, Emma?” Spike called. I turned to him as he came in peeking through the crack of the door. “Some pony left you something.”
“What is it?” I replied.
“I don’t know. I didn’t open it yet.” Spike claimed as he brought in a package the size of a shoe box. “It has your name on it.”
Inspecting the box from the sides, I find only rope wrapping it up nice and tight, and the fore mentioned sticker addressed to just Emma. Opening the box, I find the contents to be… chocolate. The fancy kind, judging from the swirls and the vanilla that seems to be seeping by just a drop, to make it look extra extravagant.
“Chocolate huh?” Spike spoke. “Who’s it from?”
Along with the high class treats was a note. Opening the envelope, it simply reads, “Try to find me, and I’ll have something you may want to know.”
“How creepy.” Spike noted as he took one of my chocolate.
“I wonder who it could be from.” I thought.
“Probably some prank Pinkie and Rainbow came up with.” Spike guessed.
“That wouldn’t be far from the truth.” I giggled. “But I do love a good mystery hunt.”
“How are you gonna them?” Spike questioned. “It doesn’t say who it’s from.”
I held my chin, and took a moment to think about it. With an idea, I brought the chocolate downstairs and went to see Twilight.
As I raced down to see my library loving friend, I was able to see a massive project coming into place. Many notes were scattered about, but none were littered among the chalk drawings on the black carpet. Several gems lay about, glowing, probably charged with magic. I walked carefully around her area to go and speak with Twilight. Tapping her shoulder, she jumped and looked at me in surprise. “Oh! I didn’t see you there!”
“Twi, what is all of this?” I questioned.
“An experiment.” She answered. “That I’ll need your help with later.”
“How exactly am I going to help you?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I just need your help with testing.” Twilight stated. “Not now of course. A while later will be fine.”
“Okay then.” I nodded. “That sounds fine.”
“Great!” Twilight smiled before turning away. “By the way, was there something you needed from me?”
“Do you know where these chocolates are from?”
Twilight once again spun to me and inspected the chocolate. She used her magic to take a piece and tasted it herself. “Hmm… It’s really good.” She smacked at the candy within her mouth. “Might be from Sugar Cube Corner. Pinkie probably made this.”
With that piece of evidence, I began to head to my next destination.
3rd POV – The Humans of Equestria
Emma walked outside with her only clue in the box, held close by. As she approached the well-known establishment of bakery sweets and other tasty wares, she peeked inside to see if the Pink pony was at the counter. She indeed was, and easily spotted the human sticking her head inside.
“Hey Emma!” She greeted.
“Hi Pinkie.” Emma responded with a smile. She opened the box and showed Pinkie its contents. “I was wondering if you could help me with something.”
“You need help eating that candy?” Pinkie inquired. Before I could say anything, she picked up the box and gulped down the chocolate. “Mmm~! That’s tasty!”
“Pinkie!” Emma shouted. “That was my only clue!”
“Oops!” Pinkie yelped. “Sorry! I can’t control myself when I’m around candy.”
“Ugh.” Emma groaned. “I was gonna ask if you knew any pony that bought that chocolate from here or not?”
“We don’t sell this kind of candy here.” Pinkie laughed. “This chocolate is totally different than the ones we make!”
“Well, great.” Emma sighed. “How am I supposed to find out where these chocolates are from?”
“Oh! That’s easy!” Pinkie stated. “It’s the same tasty stuff I get at Bonbons shop! I can take you there real quick!”
Emma simply gave a small, surprised stare to her pink friend. “Oh. Well, perfect. Lead the way.”
“Okay, just give me a second to tell the Cakes.” Pinkie told her before dashing away. In a few moments, Pinkie returned and said, “They said it was alright! Come on!”
Emma’s hand was pulled by Pinkie’s hoof, as the mare giggled in delight of the small time they would share. Emma simply smiled as she did her best to enjoy these times of simplistic friendship. The two ventured through towns with a few waves of greet and grins. Pass the markets of murmurs and trades of many fruits and trinkets, they find the shop of sweets.
“This is it!” Pinkie informed Emma. “I buy a lot of candy here for Nightmare Night too! Bonbon is really good at making those super tasty treats!”
“That’s neat to know.” Emma thought.
“Why do you need to talk to her anyways?”
“Someone gave me a challenge to find out who sent this note.” Emma claimed. “Whoever it was bought chocolate for me as well. I figured the easiest way to track them is to find out where these came from. The candy looked like a brand of some sort, so either the shopkeeper has seen them before, or the makers of the candy sent the message along with it.”
“Wow! You’re super smart Emma!” Pinkie stated.
Emma’s cheeks turned a rosy red before saying, “Oh, it’s nothing.”
“I wish I could stick with you some more, but I have to get back to the shop. I didn’t tell them I’d be gone for long, just went to show you the shop.” Pinkie explained. “You’ll be fine from here, right?”
“Don’t worry Pinkie. I’ll be fine.” Emma smirked.
“Okie dokie artichokie!” Pinkie winked before hopping away. “I hope you find what you’re looking for!”
After Pinkie’s departure, Emma went inside the candy store, and was greeted by a mare with a mane of dark blue and pink swirls. Her cyan eyes was directed to Emma, causing a genuine smile curl under her lip.
“Oh! Welcome! Need something?”
“Hey, just here to ask a question.” Emma told her.
“What is it?”
“Did you send me a package of chocolate?”
The keeper of the shop held her chin, thinking about it. “I didn’t send a package to you, Miss.”
“Oh. Okay then.” Emma nodded.
“But I know who sent it.”
Emma looked up as the pony went to the door in the back. She opened it, and waved to the human to enter with her. “This way.”
Emma raised an eyebrow and followed her in. The next room led to the living room of her home. There, a mint green unicorn was sitting in an odd fashion. Her yellow eyes turned to Emma, acknowledging her presence. Emma was seated by Bonbon before she was left alone with the unicorn mare.
A minute of silence passes. Emma found the sender of the message, but she has no idea who it is. At least she’s not a threat, that’s for sure. Emma has had a pretty awful week if being stabbed in the chest counts for anything. The human crosses her legs before using the confidence she has managed to pick up to ask…
“So… you sent the message?”
“Yeah. I knew you were smart enough to figure out where the chocolate from.”
“Had to get some help, but you gave me a clue that could send me only here.” Emma stated. “By the way… what’s your name?”
“Lyra Heartstrings.” She answered.
“Nice to meet you Lyra. My name is Emma.”
“It’s a pleasure.” Lyra smirked. “So, I guess you’re wondering why you’re here?”
“You said in your message that you knew something interesting.” Emma answered. “Or that was my assumption to say the least.”
“Yes, I do.” Lyra nodded. “I don’t usually say this to a lot of ponies. But you’re not just some pony. You’re human.”
“And what makes that so different?” She questioned, raising an eyebrow.
“Because fellow humans must know this common knowledge.”
Suddenly, the atmosphere of the room changed from casual to confidential. Emma’s eyes widened at the unicorn. Holding her heart, Emma taps her foot on the floor. Unsure how to react, especially when a unicorn is right before her, meaning she could be after the Heart Shard. As Emma awaited for some sort of response from Lyra, the store clerk came in brought some lemonade.
“You seem parched, so I got some drinks from the kitchen.”
“Thanks Bonbon.” Lyra said gratefully. She levitated the glass of lemonade to Emma and herself. Bonbon left the two alone once more as Emma took a small sip from the glass. Lyra noticed the discomfort of the human and set her glass down after a gulp.
“You don’t need to worry. After all, I’m the one who sent a warning to your friends so they could go and rescue you.”
Emma eased up a bit after hearing this. She lets out a sigh of relief before setting her glass down as well.
“I guess you know of the reason why you won’t see humans nowadays.” Lyra deduced.
“It’s awful when I think about it.” Emma stated. “That they’re extinct… and that some ponies would still hunt and even… kill again.”
“Yeah, but don’t worry.” Lyra winked. “You’re not alone in this world.”
Emma closed her eyes and took a moment to think about Lyra’s words. Finally, she thought of something. “What was this information you wanted to tell me anyways?”
“I have three things I want to tell you Emma.” She said as a matter of fact. Emma continued listening while she took another chug at the lemonade. “First: You’re not the only human. There are other native humans of this world that are in hiding, in more ways than one. For example, I myself used to be human.”
Emma choked halfway in her gulp of her beverage a bit. She swallowed it down before saying, “You used to be WHAT!?”
“Human.” Lyra repeated. “I used a special machine in the ancient cities.”
“Ancient cities?”
“Another thing I want to tell you is that there are ancient cities. There’s technology you should be aware of, and some others that you have never seen before. Once you get the chance, you should travel in those places. Human cities tend to leave behind all sorts of artifacts. But beware of the hunters out to get you. Any pony after the Heart Shards will definitely go after you, and won’t hold back trying to take it from you.”
Emma looked down and said, “I got the idea already. After that night, I won’t look at Equestria the same way again…”
“Yeah… I know how you feel.” Lyra sighed. “Anyways, as for your last piece of information: Humans stick together. I know you’re not the same kind of human as me, but we humans have to stick together. There are other humans like you and me who are in the world, maybe in deep danger or so. If possible and in convenience, you should help them. We watch others backs, and continue living.”
Emma took in the info to heart and mind. She lied on the couch as she found a new world behind the scenes. Humans aren’t extinct. They were in hiding after all these years.
But even after all those scandalous secrets have been told, Emma wasn’t satisfied. She stood up and asked, “I want to know one more thing though.”
Lyra raised an eyebrow at her, but complied to help quench her curiosity. “What is it?”
“What happened to the humans? I thought they were extinct from this world.” Emma questioned. “There’s a lot of information you’re sharing with me because I’m human. And I’m grateful. But if I’m going to be helping other humans, I want to know what happened first. I want to know why and how all of this even started.”
Lyra sighed and slouched on her chair as she begged, “Oh man… don’t make me go through the history book. Come on Emma.”
“You can’t just give me the rules of how to survive as a human in Equestria and expect me to be satisfied. I want to know more about this world, starting with humans.”
“Fine!” Lyra groaned. “Honestly, I thought I’d just get this over with, but you sure know how to stick your head in everything.”
She used her magic to levitate a book over to the table. She opened it and squinted at the text, turning a few pages before she reached the right one. “Here we go.”
Lyra cleared her throat a bit before reading the text. With a few coughs, she reads aloud, “Day 91 after The Hunt began. We have thrown off our pursuers for the time being, but the casualty rating grows higher and higher. Many unicorns have their own Heart Shard by now, but they continue to kill. We have the weapons to fend them off, but to keep our humanity we have tried our best to only injure and scare them away. Those of us who refused to give mercy and went off to fight the magic users were not seen since. Perhaps they were arrested and thrown to the dungeon for their crime. Or maybe they were killed. I don’t know.”
“It really seems bad to be a human at this time and age. If I want my family to live, then we have no choice. We’re making our way to the professor’s lab, where we’ll turn our physical forms into that of a pony. We’ll live amongst them, and live on. For humanity cannot continue without humans. I know there are other methods of survival, but I cannot find the people who know of them. This is our only way out. My family are anxious though. This will be the last time they’ll be human for a very long time. But hopefully, this will end well. And our grandchildren will be free to be who they are in Equestria once more. To be themselves. To be… human.”
Closing the book, Lyra closed her eyes and said, “This was from a hundred years ago, written by my grandpa. When I was born, I was still human. My parents took me to the same city that had the machine, and turned me into… a unicorn.”
I didn’t know what to say. Lyra used to be human, but she had to lose her form over the fact that there are still horrible ponies out there. I looked down and said, “I’m… sorry about that…”
“It’s no big deal.” Lyra assured me. “Humans have lost. So what? At least we’re not dead. And all of those Heart Shards are gone too.”
“What did the unicorns do with the Heart Shards anyways?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t born yet.” Lyra claimed. “But my parents were always scared whenever they thought about it. Even hearing the word Heart was frightening for them.”
“I see…”
“I do know… that they challenged the throne to Equestria with it. A lot of ponies got hurt against a magic using army wielding Heart Shards. It was the most disastrous event in the world. When Celestia confiscated them, she somehow managed to bury the secret of the Heart Shard along with it. Any pony who ever used or heard of it was wiped of their memory. It became less than a myth. Heart Shards were forgotten. Just some log books about those days remain.” Lyra explained. “I’m guessing your captors found one, huh?”
“Yep.”
“That’s a nightmare for humans you know.” Lyra stated. “The Human Hunt will begin again. No one’s happy about this. I don’t want to point fingers, but thanks to your… appearance, you kinda triggered the Human Hunt again. This time, they’re all going after the only one they can find.”
I shivered at the thought. “… I was afraid of that…”
The silence flows in, and I was quiet. Bonbon came in and brought me a box of chocolate as a gift. Once I said my goodbye, Lyra held onto my hand for a moment just to tell me…
“A Heart Shard is the key to incredible power… So please don’t die Emma. A lot of lives are counting on you just for that.”
I nodded and gave a polite smile as I walked through the door. Looking up, I wonder how I’m going to live here in Equestria.
Twilight’s POV – Almost Done
Building this portal is taking some time. It’s not even the final version! The testing phase is taking a lot out of me. A lot of money was spent on the parts, but it will all be worth it. I charged the gems and the energy lines are flowing perfectly stable. Checking on the room to make sure everything was set from a safe distance, I clap my hooves together in glee. With everything in place, I just have to be prepared when Emma comes back.
In all honesty, I don’t really want her to leave. She’s been a great housemate, and a kind friend. She’s the only one who talks to me about books and other interesting things. We’d discuss about potions, inventions, machines, and all sorts of subjects. But knowing that she can’t fit in Ponyville very well, and could be taken away by these ponies, I have no choice. She’d rather leave anyways.
That’s what I keep telling myself. But lately, I would pause for a moment to reconsider. I keep thinking of excuses like, this is dangerous. And that it’s impossible to make this portal work. But as the student of Celestia, I have my pride to be able to make it happen! It’s also for Emma’s sake. I can’t stop now! Especially with my first portal being made.
“I can do it. Don’t worry Emma. You’ll be home soon.”
Rainbow’s POV – Warrior Emma
Just doing the same thing every day. Do work, spare a cloud from its busting, and then nap on it. I gotta say, I deserved it after the whole crazy fight the other day. Especially when Emma was in knee deep of trouble. Having talked to her since then.
I hope she’s okay. She really needs to get some guts and know when to fight. She doesn’t look like a goody two hooves like Fluttershy, but she hesitates just as much.
Now that there are ponies after her, she’s gotta fight, right?
Well… If she doesn’t fight, then I’ll protect her. I’m not gonna let any pony take her down like that.
Ugh, she got me worried about her! And I didn’t even see her yet! I don’t know why I keep worrying about her! Maybe it’s because of the fact that she keeps getting into more trouble than I can count! I should go see her. If she stays at that library too long, she’ll definitely turn into a book worm.
I got off the cloud and took a peek down below. Taking a quick scan, I saw Emma just coming out of the candy store. I was kinda relieved to see she didn’t stay stuck in the house again. I was also kinda craving some sweets too. Maybe she won’t mind if I take some off her hands?
I flew in from behind, and raced my way to her. She turned too late when I got her to the ground. Emma gave that death glare at me, making me laugh at her.
“Gotcha Emma!” I told her.
“Get off Dash.” She demanded.
I let her get up and brush off the dust. Once she was cleaner, she grinned and said, “So, what are you doing up and about?”
“Just thought you could use a bodyguard.” I acknowledged.
“Thanks, but no thanks.” Emma remarked. “I actually made a weapon for myself. I plan to use it when I’m in danger.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Well look at you! Finally decided to take my advice, huh?” I brought her close and rubbed her mane lightly. “I’m so proud of you!!”
“Stop that! I’m not a dog!” Emma complained.
I let the girl get some space. After she combed her hair a bit, I asked, “so what is this weapon anyways?”
“It was supposed to help Twi in some of her experiments and stuff. But now, I changed it to be a bit more offensive.”
“Which is…?”
“A spear.” Emma answered.
“Really? A spear?” I said, crossing my hooves. “Where is it?”
Emma took out a little stick from her pocket and swung it out. The stick got longer and the end got bigger and pointier. As cool as it was, Emma kinda screwed it up by letting it get out of her hand. The thing plopped to the floor, and she had to bend over to pick it up.
“Wow. You’re not really good at that.” I pointed out.
“I’ll get used to it.” Emma remarked. “I admit, I’m… not much of a spear fighter.”
“Then why’d you make one!?” I questioned.
“So I have something to defend myself with!!” she reminded me. She sighed and sat down, saying, “Oh, who am I kidding? I can’t fight off timber wolves with this thing…”
I sat by her and wrapped my hoof around her shoulder. “Hey, don’t get all glum. I was just wondering, because if you still can’t fight, then I don’t mind doing the dirty work for you.”
“Dash, I appreciate it. I really do.” Emma said sincerely. “But if there’s ever a time when you won’t be there… I need to know how to take care of myself. We’re not always going to be close by.”
“Not if I can help it champ.” I smirked, holding her tighter. “By the way, you going to eat those?”
Emma looked at the box and rolled her eyes. She handed them over with hardly a word. “What? Not gonna eat any?”
“Not hungry.” She claimed. “Gotta head back to the library. See you later?”
“You bet!”
Emma got up and left. I took a bite of the chocolate, and found out it was one of those fancy candy Rarity would usually have. It was okay but it kinda made me want to drink some water.
3rd POV – Gateway to Trouble
Several ponies cloaked in brown garb rounded up near the library. They checked around and quickly discussed of certain affairs.
“Does every pony know their place?” One of them asked.
“Yes. We all know our roles and formations.”
“Back up tactics?”
“All ready as well.”
“Good.” The leader nodded. “We’ll break in about one hour.”
“Hold on…” One of them spoke. He looked out to see a tall figure heading their way. Quickly, he said, “Split up! Something’s coming this way!”
They did as told and practically disappeared. Emma finally returned home after another mind exhausting day. She can’t take any more pressure, and has decided to call it in for the day. That is after she helps Twilight of course. When she opens the door, she is greeted by a smiling Twilight, hair frazzled, and a bit of smoky fur on her cheeks.
“Whoa, Twi, what’s with the gray make up?”
“I’m so glad you came back!” She said with glee. “Right on time too! Finally, we have everything we need!”
“What… is it that you’re doing anyways?”
Twilight took in a deep breath and said, “I know you haven’t been happy Emma. I know living in Ponyville isn’t working out for you. Equestria even seems more dangerous for you than any pony else. Which is why, the girls and I have been talking. As your friends, we care for you and your happiness. Knowing that, it was up to me to make this portal.”
“Portal?” Emma muttered with widened eyes.
“To your world Emma.” Twilight finished. “It’s… a prototype, very first time I made one. Might be a teensy bit faulty, but it should get the work done. All I have to do is cast the spell.”
Emma stood still as Twilight took measures for Emma. The human looked down shamefully, once again asking for so much and being given too much. She has yet to repay any of her friend’s kindness. While she thought about all of this, Twilight used her magic to power the device. The sparks fly and the gems start to brighten even more. The blinding lights could not hide the portal that was before them. Emma gazed at the hole in the fabric of space and time. The ripple before her shows a world of skyscrapers and bustling streets. It wasn’t her home, but it was a start to get back home. As she took a step, Twilight grunted. Emma turned to Twilight and saw her struggling.
“Twilight, are you alright?” Emma asked.
“I’m fine! Just go! I can’t keep this open forever!”
Emma nodded, and continued. When she touched the portal however, it rejected her. Pushing the human to the wall, and surging straight back to Twilight, a loud explosion was made, almost shaking the town. Twilight fell back as the spell bounced around the room and out of the window.
After the accident, Emma fought the pain and went to Twilight. She was lying on the floor, still breathing. Picking her up, she called to the mare.
“Twilight, are you okay!? Twilight!?” Emma shouted.
“I-It’s okay Emma. I’m fine.” She assured her. “That one didn’t work. Perhaps my calculations were off… Sorry Emma.”
“Don’t worry about that! You just took a magic fuse to the head!”
“It’s fine. Besides, that’s just the first test. The next one should be more stable.”
Emma’s eyes shrunk. She frowned at the unicorn as she got up and wobbled to her notes.
“I need to change the algorithm of the lines, so that way the portal will let things through. That should make it to where-”
“Twilight, please stop…”
Twilight turned to the crying Emma. She stood there for a moment before hugging Twilight tightly. “It’s alright. I don’t need to go back. Honest…”
“But… Emma…”
“I have everything I could ask for. A roof over my head, and friends who only give. I haven’t been very good to any of you though. I haven’t repaid anyone for what they did.”
“Emma…”
The girl stopped hugging Twilight and said, “I want to stay here in Equestria for a bit longer. I want to try and make my friends happy this time.”
The tired unicorn looked at her friend, as if something had changed. She nodded and gave a comforting smile. “Alright Emma… I’ll stop this.”
Just as amends were made, the door broke down and in came a group of cloaked ponies. The two turned to the threat as they backed them to a corner.
“What’s going on!?” Emma questioned.
“Get that mare!” One of them ordered.
Two of the ponies rushed forth, and attempted to apprehend Twilight. Emma manages to shove them aside, but was thrown to the side by the other.
“Emma!” Twilight called out. She turned to the attackers and attempted to use her magic. But she seemed to have run out of energy, as only a few sparks manage to fly out. Emma took out her weapon, but before she can get it to turn into a spear, she was shot by a blast of magic onto her side. Blood spewed out, and she was tossed to the ground, breathing heavily. Twilight screamed out loud before being tied down by the others. The group then dragged Twilight out of the library, letting her see Emma bleed out. She struggled as much as she could, but was eventually knocked out by the cloaked stallion.
“Best be asleep Sparkle.” He spoke. “You’re our key to Canterlot!”