//------------------------------// // 1: Travel Day/Sleepless Night // Story: Sour Days, Sweet Nights // by pjabrony //------------------------------// In the plush foyer of the Manehattan high-rise, the two ponies bowed their heads as Princess Twilight Sparkle wheeled in the horseshoe mirror. They had not expected the princess herself to come. Twilight had to lean back as one of the ponies, a sky-blue unicorn mare with a mane the color of egg yolks, nearly slashed her with her horn. The stallion at least knew how to bow without advancing, but as he was an Earth pony, he couldn’t have hit Twilight anyway. She noticed the mottled flecks of lighter white in his beige coat. Well, she thought, maybe these ponies can start making friends with the one I’m bringing over based on both having freckles. “Is everything ready?” she asked. “Yes,” said the mare. “We’ve got a room for her and everything.” “So what’s this person like, that we’re hosting?” the stallion asked. “She’s a high-school student in the other world. Young, still learning about friendship.” “And their world doesn’t have any magic, am I right?” “None that’s native, but Equestrian magic is spreading, and that’s why we’re doing this program.” The couple exchanged a look. They shared the same worries. Would Equestria’s magic be diluted by going into the other world? But there was also the realization that it was not their concern. Princess Twilight knew what she was doing. Or so they hoped. “But they change into ponies when they get here, right? So, if she’s a unicorn, will she be able to do magic?” the mare asked. Twilight spoke in a reassuring tone. “This is all still new. It should be possible, but she may not know how any more than she knows how to walk on four hooves. In any case, that’s not what we’re doing this for. Please get to know her as a person, and show yourselves as representatives of Equestria. But it’s time now. I’ll just pop through and bring her back.” Twilight stepped toward the portal. “Oh, and please don’t get curious and step through…you probably wouldn’t like what you turned into.” “We wouldn’t dream of it!” They stepped back further. “But I would like to know, what’s her name?” Twilight flipped through her list. “Let’s see, I know she goes to Crystal Prep school there, and her name is…Sour Sweet.” She disappeared in a swirl of magic. Only two ponies remained. The stallion took a deep breath. “I hope we can handle this.” “I’m sure we can.” Both of them thought back a few weeks… Reggie pinned down the letter that he had just brought in and tore open the envelope with his teeth. Before he could take it out, he heard the door open and raised his head to see his wife Little enter the apartment, finally home from work. “Hello, darling,” she said. “How was your day?” “Lazy. I didn’t get anything done short of bringing in the mail.” Little smiled, and it was genuine. She was happy to have him be a house husband. Most of the housework was automatic anyway, run by her unicorn magic or by labor-saving devices that were also magical, and what had to be done by hoof Reggie took care of before Little complained. If anything, he was more concerned than she was with keeping a good house. “Anything interesting in the mail at least?” “Something from the Chamber of Commerce.” “What was that?” she asked, easing her way onto the couch. “I didn’t read it. It was addressed to you.” “And yet it bears your teeth-marks.” Again she shot him a playful grin. “I shouldn’t have used my own name for the business. Well, be a dear and read it for me. Actually, pour me a drink and read it, if you please.” He got up and went to the sidebar. Normally such a bald request would be met by a playful retort, but Little had done a hard day’s work, and Reggie perhaps felt a bit guilty. Once she had the drink in her horn’s magic field, he looked over the letter. He was also smart enough to not read it verbatim, but to look it over and give her the gist. On rare occasions, Reggie had worked at Little’s office, helping out as a secretary and go-fer. He knew how she worked. “It’s about the portal.” He read further. “You know, the thing in Canterlot that leads to the other world?” She flashed him a look of confusion. “Princess Twilight Sparkle visited there a couple of times, found it inhabited.” Little’s stress-addled memory began to work. “Oh, right. Some sort of tall, gangly creature. I think I saw a picture once. If I remember correctly we have a permanent ambassador there now. Sunset…Shimmer, I think.” “Right name, though I’m not sure what her position is there.” “So what about it? They don’t want us to go through, do they? I hear that they don’t even have magic in that world.” He put down the letter. “No, but they are starting up an exchange program, and they want to know if we’d be willing to host one of the people from that world.” “Oh, sure. We’ve got plenty of space in the building.” “Well, it’s not just that. See, when ponies go through the portal, they turn into the residents of that world…and dragons turn into dogs. I don’t understand how it all works. But they figure that anyone who comes here will turn into a pony and be completely unfamiliar with how to handle themselves, so they need caring for.” Now Little had to think twice. She was up for it, but over the years she’d learned that, in marriage, snap decisions rarely worked out. “Hm. Well, what do you think? We need to find out how soon it would be, and for long. Then we can decide if we can reschedule things around caring for the exchange.” “Our friends would help, so it wouldn’t be all the time. But I think it could be nice. Of course, you’d have to take time off from work.” If, as Little thought, a good relationship required communication with the partner, it also facilitated that communication through nonverbal clues. She knew that Reggie wanted to do it, and that she should accede rather than going back and forth. “The business can take care of itself for a while,” she said. “I set it up that way, because I knew that I would want to do things like this. I’ll write back and tell them that we’d be happy to welcome a guest from the other world.” Now in the lobby, they both realized that it was easier to agree than to actually do it. But they arranged themselves in what they thought was the most welcoming pose and waited for Twilight to reemerge with their guest. After a few minutes, the magic started again. the portal shimmered and glowed. A gold and rose pony stepped through, rearing on her back hooves. She seemed to buck and stumble for a few steps before landing on all fours. “Take it easy,” Twilight said. “You’re going to find it easier to walk without keeping your hooves in the air.” As the pony stumbled around, Little and Reggie looked to what was normally the first point of introduction for a new pony and saw that, despite having just entered Equestria, she already had a cutie mark of three berries. “Welcome to Manehattan.” Little extended her hoof, but Sour was still looking at Twilight. “I thought you said it was called Equestria.” “Maneheattan is the city, Equestria is the country. And the world, it’s kind of a synecdoche thing.” Little was trying to make a good first impression, but although she finally got Sour to look at her, it was with confusion at the vocabulary word. She tried to recover. “So, you’re Sour Sweet?” “Yeah.” “And my name’s Little Lovehorn. So we’re both alliteratives! Like the people in comic books.” Sour’s look now combined confusion with condescension. Little was worried that she had come off as irresponsible. Reggie had been standing closer to Princess Twilight, who was already loading the mirror back onto its transportation cart. He saw Sour looking at it like a life preserver drifting out of range. “Thank you, your highness,” he said, “but we’ll take it from here. Sour, how would you like to see the park?” “I’d love to! A park is exactly what I came here to see.” Little heard Sour mutter something after finishing her sentence, but she put it down to a nervous habit and started walking to the lobby doors. “It’s this way,” she said, but as soon as she turned away she heard a crash. When she looked over her shoulder, Reggie was helping Sour up off the floor. “She’s not used to walking on four legs yet. To say nothing of how she handles her wings.” It was the first time that Little had noticed that Sour was a pegasus. “Oh, my. All right, let’s take it slow. Sour, just watch us and step in time with us.” Reggie and Little stood on either side of Sour and slowed their gait to where she could keep up. “Thanks, this is going to be a big help.” Again, Sour muttered under her breath. Reggie scowled. The sun hit their eyes as soon as they passed through the glass doors, and Sour had to keep her head down to see where her companions were stepping. It was only one street they had to cross before Little said they had reached the park. As they moved from asphalt to cobblestone, Little broke off and walked backward, leaving Reggie to mark Sour’s steps for her. She had done research, both in books and on site, knowing—or hoping—that the park would be a big attraction for her guest. “Celestial Park has been a part of Manehattan almost since the beginning. As the city was growing, the ponies decided that they wanted to keep some part of it clear from buildings. Deep within everypony’s heart, there’s a yearning for the natural world where we started from. But rather than costing the growth of the city, it actually helped it, since the buildings surrounding the park became that much more valuable.” The path wound around a knoll and went under a stone bridge. Once the ponies had passed under it, they were in a depression that was deep enough to conceal the outer buildings. If Sour had come through the mirror here, Little thought, she wouldn’t even know that she was in a city. “The weather around the park is strictly controlled, much more so than in the rest of the city. They try to keep the rain mostly at night, but even that is on a tight schedule, since ponies want to use the park then too.” “You control the weather?” This caught Little short, so Reggie answered. “Not us, but the pegasi. They didn’t tell you about that? You might even be able to move clouds yourself if you fly up there.” “Oh, but be careful if you do,” Little said, recovering. “We can’t be sure that you won’t fall.” “Flying? That’s everyone’s dream! But I’ve barely learned how to walk, and you’re talking about flying? Yeah, forget that.” Sour was taking a few steps in a circle, free from guidance. “Let’s cross the bridge up there. We come out a few blocks south of home but we can pass through a market where you can see what city life is like.” Sour was no longer dependent on the others to keep stride with her, but she was concentrating so much on her steps that, to Little’s eye, she wasn’t enjoying any of the surroundings. Hopefully, Little thought, once she got into the market where they could stand and observe, she would get a fuller experience. When they emerged into the avenue again, they had to wait for the traffic to cross, and it was the first chance Sour had to see the cabs and carts of Manehattan. As a checker cab stopped to let off its passengers, Sour said, “Wow, you guys really do work like horses, pulling carts and such.” “Little can’t pull one,” Reggie said. “She’d get tired too quickly. It’s kind of an Earth Pony thing.” This time it was both Sour and Little who mumbled a remark, but neither paid attention to the other as they reached the market. Little and Reggie knew their way around the stands well, but they bypassed the food stalls where Sour lingered. Instead they reached one where there was a gridwall full of fashion accessories. Little was looking over the display as Sour approached. “Do you want a decoration for your mane? Since you keep it in a ponytail.” “Thank you, but I like the one I have.” “Just a rubber band?” “What?! I thought I had my favorite berry clip. What happened to it?!” Sour craned her neck fruitlessly. “I can’t even see if it’s gone, and I can’t reach up to feel.” “You do have berries, though,” said Reggie. “They’re your cutie mark.” Now Sour moved her head a different way, toward where Reggie was pointing. “Well, that’s just weird.” Little was still at the stand. “So do you want a different one? I can try to come close if you like, but it’ll probably vanish when you get back to your world, just as your clip vanished here.” “No, thanks. Really. But isn’t it getting dark?” “Yes, I’m afraid so. We should have had you come through the mirror earlier. It’s almost the day wasted. Let’s get back home and we can plan for tomorrow.” Sour refused any further help getting back to the building. Back in the lobby, though, she didn’t know where to go. “The elevator’s back here,” Reggie said. “We moved to the top floor last year, so we don’t ever take the stairs anymore.” “He could, just doesn’t with me. He’s got endless endurance and stamina.” Little stepped into the lift and held the door open for the other two. Once they were all in she used her magic to spin the pulley that ran the elevator cable. Sour jumped from seeing the method used. “Sorry, I guess you’re not used to elevators.” “I’ve been on them, but I haven’t seen them pulled up by glowy magic. It’s amazing that you have all that power. And you use…” But Sour trailed off into her mutter again. “What was that?” Sour shook her head, and the rest of the ride went in silence. At the top, Reggie and Little went up to the door at the far end of the hall. Sour seemed to have lost some of her walking ability as she lagged behind. Reggie turned his head just in time to hear her say, “…use it to pull a rope. Real smart, there.” He scowled but said nothing as they entered the penthouse. The last rays of the sun darkened the apartment just as they opened the door wide, so Little turned on some of the lanterns with her magic. Sour stepped in and the door closed behind her. ***** Sour Sweet tried to lean back against the door. Staying on her feet for long stretches as a pony—or hooves, she reminded herself—was easier than in her own body, but she still felt the need to get into a relaxing posture. What she really wanted to do was to get a few moments alone to clear her head and think about everything. Her hosts had seemed all too happy to drag her around with no plan, but not to actually help with anything. “So, what would you like to do now?” That was Little, about whom Sour had not developed a good first impression. The stallion was the smarter one. “If it’s all right, I’d like to see if I can’t get to bed early. It’s been so much to wrap my mind around, and your world wears me out.” Ever since the incidents during the Friendship Games, Sour had been trying to be more pleasant. She was made aware of her speech patterns, where she would say something tactfully only to bare her soul in the next sentence. But breaking the habit wasn’t easy, and she needed to concentrate to do it. “Of course. We’d like to give you a tour of the place, but that’s better in the natural light anyway. Your room is this way.” Little led her down a hall to the left. She could barely see, as the only light came from the distant candles and the stars outside. But she could see the dim shape of the bed, which got the smallest bit brighter as Little turned it down with her magic. “I’ll get you some water. If you need it, the washroom is right outside the door.” Sour legitimately was tired, but she also wanted to just get a moment to herself. She thought about what she normally did as a nightly routine before going to bed. There was something missing. “I didn’t bring any pajamas. I don’t suppose you have a spare set.” For the first time, her unflappable hostess seemed shaken. “Oh, I…we normally don’t wear them. Your fur coat should keep you warm enough. I—I’m sorry.” “Don’t mind. I’ll see you in the morning.” Somewhat cowed, Little shut the door behind her. Sour was alone. With her eyes shut, she could think at last. In all the hullabaloo of the end of term, she had, perhaps, reacted too hastily when Dean Cadance had called her into her office. Cadance ran the school on her own now. Principal Cinch was still nominally in charge, her nameplate was still on her office door, but no one had seen her for weeks. Sour had just finished her finals and was looking forward to summer vacation when the dean had brought up the incidents at the Friendship Games. “It’s a whole different world there, and magic as well,” she had said. “It’s up to us to make sure that we become friends. Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle—the other world’s Twilight—have offered us the olive branch, and it’s up to us to take it up. That’s why we want to send our best students, you and your friends, to see that world.” “My friends?” “Sugar, Lemon, Indigo, and Sunny.” Were they her friends? Sour thought. They had teamed for the games and for other academic and athletic competitions, but friends? She was so concerned with the question that she missed Dean Cadance’s main point. “So would you like to?” “What? Yes. If it doesn’t—“ “Great!” Cadance jumped from her chair. “I’ll make the arrangements.” Before Sour knew what was happening, she was being given a handout with the times and places where she would be picked up and returned, and she discovered that she was giving up three weeks of her summer vacation. “This sounds like an amazing learning opportunity. And I don’t see why we can’t wait until next term to do it, rather than wasting my time.” Cadance ignored the backtalk. “Because you’re still a student who can’t afford to get behind in her classes. It’s a chance to get knowledge that few other people, let alone teenagers, will have, and that will put you ahead of the curve. Soon there won’t be any more summer vacations, you know, unless you’re planning to go into education.” Sour wasn’t sure what she wanted to do other than have the fun she was planning on. A few beach days, maybe an amusement park, and lounging around watching videos. But as she looked through the packet she found that things like cell phones didn’t even work in the place she was going to. But that got her dander up. She always saw things from both sides. This was a challenge, and she wasn’t going to back down. The next time her parents told her that she was addicted to technology, she would show them that she could go without. That was easier said than done, though, and now that she was actually here, in the other world, miles away from anyone she knew…no, more than that. No amount of miles would get her to anyone she knew. Although Sugar and the others were supposedly doing this too, but she didn’t know if the times were staggered of if they were coming to the same city or any way to find them. Then there were all the problems Sour was having with her new body. Learning to walk again was embarrassing enough, but sleeping was proving to be a challenge as well. Just fluffing her pillow was difficult, as she couldn’t grab it in her hooves. When she did stretch herself up and cradle it, using her hooves like chopsticks, she found that it was lighter and less supportive than what she was used to. Once that was done, she had another problem. Her wings, which she had ignored during the daytime and which hadn’t bothered her, now unfolded from her sides. Since Sour normally slept in the fetal position, it had the effect of jacking her midsection up. She could roll her midsection, but then her back legs were pressed against the mattress. Then she tried opening her wings entirely and letting them flare out, but she discovered that the undersides were very sensitive, and that both the sheet side and the mattress side had so much feeling that they were keeping her awake. Sitting up in bed, she reordered the blanket and forced her wings shut. The curtains on the window were see-through, and in any event they only covered about a quarter of the window on either side. Sour could see an array of stars much denser than the ones at her home, and the moon was larger as well. Either the ponies were used to sleeping with that much light, or they all wore sleep masks. She slammed her head down on the pillow facing away from the window and squeezed her eyelids closed before relaxing them. She tried singing songs in her head, or thinking about boring stuff like studying and getting ready for bed—another routine she’d been denied. But nothing helped. Sour had insomnia. What made it worse was that there was nothing else she could do. At home, she could always pull her phone off the charger and see if Lemon Zest was up (she always was), or grab her portable video game and put it on silent so her parents didn’t catch her, or if all else failed, read. But here she didn’t even have a book, and she couldn’t go wandering the halls just to tire herself out, lest she be a bad guest who made her hosts get up. So she lay there. From time to time she would drift in and out of the trancelike first stage of sleep, but she never lost any time. There was no clock that she could see in the room, but when she turned the hundredth time, the stars were fading and a dim light of morning was suffusing the sky. At last she heard the sounds of others moving about in the hall. Sliding out of bed, she landed on her hooves and stumbled about until she got walking down again. The door to her room was left open a crack, and that was fortunate since she had no idea how to open a door. She wedged her hoof into the space and forced it open. Bleary-eyed, she exhaled. Three more weeks of this.