//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Friends like these // by Istaran //------------------------------// Nathaniel King strode slowly toward the sign bearing his name, dragging his roller suitcase behind him. His three piece suit fit snuggly, helping him look the part of the big shot ambassador he liked to think he was. It was still a little hard for him to take seriously, something he'd need to remedy someday soon, even after spending time video conferencing with Element of Magic. Part of his brain refused to think of her as anything but CGI. But apparently there was some kind of portal, now, so contact with the other world had grown beyond mere bits. "You my chauffeur?" he asked the man with the sign. "Only if you're Nathaniel King," the man replied, his own uniform well pressed, his hat on nice and straight. His bearing was rigid, like a soldier, perhaps an ex-soldier. "Gregory Smith," he introduced. "If you'll follow me to the car?" "You have got to be joking," Nathaniel said, when they reached the jeep convertible that was waiting for him. It even had its top down. "I thought it rains all the time here?" He wasn't that surprised it wasn't a limo, knowing the country didn't necessarily consider him that big of a big shot just yet, but this was kind of insulting. "No, sir," Greg replied. "The roads in Equestria are mostly unpaved, and besides... you're going to want the top down for this." Talking was impossible as they started driving, the wind whipping through the vehicle simply too much, but once they rounded the first corner, getting past the obstruction of the parking structure, Nate was too stunned for words anyways. A brilliant blue dome of sky dominated the view before him, with impossibly white clouds distributed into a giant word 'welcome'. Even as he watched, a few smaller figures were flying among them, pushing bits back into place to maintain the fragile signage. They merged onto the freeway, driving straight towards it, or so he thought at first. As the miles rolled by, the impossibly large dome became impossibly larger, while revealing a smaller opening, an archway through which normal, overcast Seattle sky could be seen, complete with their iconic skyline. The Space Needle was instantly recognizable, as was the 'Doom Tower' as it had been dubbed. Approaching that arch gave the impression of driving toward a tunnel, as though that impossibly blue sky were but a painted mountainside. It was something else though, he knew. Oh boy, was it something else. "Get off there," he shouted to his driver, pointing at the last exit before the 'tunnel' entrance. A military blockade greeted him, confirming his identity before allowing him through. They parked the jeep on this side of the break, and he got out, approaching. He got out and strode forward. He could smell it already. The other world smelled like sunshine and flowers and sickening sweetness. Washington's trees were vibrant, but looked dull and lifeless compared to what was just on the other side. He stepped across the line, hesitantly, surprised a little when he didn't turn into some cartoon caricature of himself when he did. Pony guards stood on the other side, guarding a construction project around a railway that seemed to exactly parallel the main freeway here. They were adding a new platform? The ponies' spears seemed woefully inadequate compared to the human soldiers' firearms, but they would probably still prove deadly to an unarmed ambassador if he somehow provoked their usage. He strolled toward them, fearlessly though, trusting the allegedly friendly ponies not to start an international... no, interplanetary incident in such a bloodthirsty fashion. "Nathaniel King?" the nearest guard said as he approached. "Queen Celestia has bid me greet you and bring you on to Canterlot, where you'll be able to meet the other diplomats. Welcome to Equestria." A hoof met a hand in an awkward hoof/hand shake, before the somewhat dazed ambassador began to follow him. Whatever doubts he had had before were gone now. Magic was definitely a real thing. "Ladies and Gentlecolts... excuse me, GentleMen of the United Nations, thank you so much for accepting my wife and I here, among your number," began ambassador Shining Armor. "I know that things have already been tense and complicated among your people, and that our sudden presence here, the tying of our two worlds together, has made things far more complex. I assure you, we come seeking only peace and friendship with all of your people. Our peoples have so much to learn from one another, and so many ways we can benefit from our mutual friendship, respect, and cooperation. I only hope that by being here we can help all nations on both worlds to move forward together, in peace." Princess Cadance smiled nervously, waving at them all before the pair trotted off to the seating that had been specially prepared for them, hastily. "Not a single, strong thread of love in the room," she whispered to her husband. "Not just between them, I mean leading out as well. These men barely love their own parents." "Be strong, my love," Shining answered in a whisper as they sat down. "Perhaps you can change that, bit by bit, while we're here?" Trotting up to the break in reality, Twilight paused, her friends coming to a stop after her. "Alright, everypony, this is it. Our first hoofstep onto an alien world. One small step for pony, one giant le- Pinkie!?" The pink pony finally landed on the far side of the pavement from her balloon-assisted leap. "What? You said a giant leap, right?" Seeing that the earth pony had suffered no ill effects, the unicorn shook her head and sighed as she followed after, along with the other elements, and Dopple, Fluttershy's coltfriend, if that was even quite the right word. The door of the house straight ahead of them opened, and Thunder Peal trotted out. "About time you guys got here. Come on in, Robert and Relena are waiting for you." "Wait, is that... Thunder Peal?" Rainbow Dash asked, before breaking out in happy laughter, darting forward to approach the smaller mare. "I haven't seen you since flight school. Wow, you haven't changed a bit... which is kind of amazing, considering how long ago that was. How are you still a filly?! Or are you like, her little sister or something?" "It's a long story, involving Discord," Robert called out from within, before the element bearers could enter the building. "Come on in... welcome to Relena's house. I guess it's lucky we didn't get cut in half by the portal. Now... you brought the elements with you, right? Because there's something very important that only you six can deal with..." "Apple... jack, right?" John Capelli said as the door closed behind them. When Relena confirmed, he did a little celebratory fist pump before excusing himself. "Sorry, I've just taken so long getting your names straight... I'll leave you to your little meeting now..." "We're really going to just drive to Equestria from here in an old white van?" Angelica asked skeptically. "We are getting. Sonata. Back," Adagio stated, hands gripping the steering wheel tightly enough for her yellow knuckles to turn white. "Okay, I get that, but aren't there, like, a bunch of armed soldiers with tanks and stuff in the way?" Angelica questioned. "We are getting. Sonata. Back," Adagio stated. "We can avoid the obvious spots like the freeway, and take some of the side roads out toward the big edge. The military can't have gotten everything cordoned off yet," Aria suggested. Adagio nodded. "We are getting. Sonata. Back." "What if she doesn't want to come back? She really seemed to like that guy," Angelica pointed out. Adagio simply growled. "How'd you get in here," Frank asked the woman that looked like his wife. Now that he knew to look for it, the difference in posture was enough to tell them apart, even before anything else. "The police..." "I have my ways... feminine wiles, and so forth," Chrysalis answered, gesturing vaguely. "Suffice to say they won't interfere." Frank stiffened, afraid of her. "What do you want?" "Why, simply your love, of course," she said. "I've cooked for you, cleaned for you, taken care of your children... yes, plural, including the one that wasn't mine. I've seen the joy on your face, especially at our most intimate of times... tell me. Do you have any love in your heart for me?" She knew the answer, of course, before he even said it. But sometimes... sometimes forcing someone to confront the possibility drew something out that hadn't been fully formed. "No. Not at all," he answered. "Now get out of here before I-" "I thought as much," she said, a bit sadly. "I don't need you anymore, not to get home. And as for love... well, let's just say I've found someone better, anyways. But for our childrens' sake, I thought I'd give you one last chance. Goodbye." Frank was a bit put off guard by that, not sure what to make of the sudden twist. "W-wait. My wife, our son. What have you done with them? Where are they?" "Done with them?" Chrysalis asked with a laugh. "My dear Frank, why she murdered one of our children, and fled with your firstborn. What do you think I did to her?" Frank gulped, unable to answer. "I let them go, of course. I bet she's still convinced I'm right on her heels, that every other trucker she meets at a rest stop is secretly one of my children stalking her," she laughed cruelly. "Good luck finding her again." And with that she turned to take her leave, enjoying her villainous triumph. She had to enjoy it while she could. Her new boyfriend was already starting to be a good influence on her, she could feel it. But he wasn't here right now, so for now she could still revel in a good gloat. I never once got you to love me, she thought as she walked away, but you did help me train to be lovable. And now that I have a fresh start? Two worlds are going to feed my unstoppable hive. "So you're finally going to give it to me straight, hmm?" Dr Schrodinger asked Robert. "That's right, doc. It's going to take a while... I just hope you have enough tape to record it all," the boy said, as he settled onto the couch. "It took fifteen years to live through, so you won't get every single moment, but I'll start with the really important bits. Maybe if you really know what I've had to really deal with, you can actually be more of real help to me." "Let us, as they say, keep it real, then," the psychiatrist said with a chuckle, getting out his digital recorder and pushing the record button. Istaran sat on the top of his tower, overlooking his city, and the bright, colorful world beyond. Even at night, the difference in brightness was stark, the line separating the two worlds clearly visible from here, even miles away. "Are you planning to conquer it?" the griffon next to him asked, gesturing broadly with a wing. Bardrick... that was his name. "Nope! I might need to do some things here or there to make them suspect I will, just to keep it lively," the human said, grinning as he looked down at it all. "What I've done already is enough to send shockwaves across both worlds, and make an indelible mark for all time. I've started a new epoch. They might as well start the calendars over. This is year zero. Or one, if they prefer. They'll need to synchronize calendars across two worlds now, anyways, so why not? I am the wind, and I have blown their minds. Besides... I have enough to do with just the one city." Bardrick snorted in amusement. "If you do too much here, the people will just flee. And then what?" "Some will. Some have," Istaran admitted. "The more that leave, the more room is open for new things. Room for me to invent. And not everyone will leave. Some will come. This is the border of two worlds. This is where change happens. Some will flee, but some will come. And some will simply be stubborn." "You're insane," Bardrick replied at length, not sounding too bothered about it. "I am the wind," Istaran said, sounding like agreement.